Chapter 23: Lab Escape.

Lucas rubbed the back of his head as he and Paula watched Jeff pull out a remote from his backpack. The boy tinkered around with the back for a bit before a click had him crack a smile.

"Now, I prepared a failsafe for just this occasion." The boy said to Paula. "Of course, once I press this button, that…horrid creation…of ours will just be on a rampage."

"Smart thinking as always," Paula replied to him, nodding her head. "Although…won't that mean it'll likely attack us?"

"There's a possibility." Jeff shrugged his shoulders. "We should be fine though."

"So…what are you talking about?" Lucas asked as Boney looked at the three in confusion.

"Ah, right," Jeff pushed his glasses up a little. "Well, my father and I have been forced to create those abominations of chimeras all around your island. These Piggly freaks wanted us to create this…devil looking one. They call it the Ultimate Chimera, and it's meant to be some type of super weapon. Well, we finished a prototype, and pressing this button will disable electronic power signals used to control those things. Once that Ultimate Chimera is off the signal, it'll basically just be free, and it'll probably be pissed."

Lucas nodded his head, only slightly understanding what was going on. But, that wasn't what he came here for, he came for the Needle.

"So…what about the Needle?" he asked. "The pigmasks said they needed Salsa, that monkey they held captive?"

"Ah, yeah, we can find him and his girlfriend up on the floor." Paula replied. "Now, let's bust out."

Jeff nodded his head and pressed the red button. Instantly, all the red lights in the basement they were in shut down. Lucas went to cast a PK Flash to light the area. However, just as quick as the lights had gone out, the flickered back on, then, a loud alarm started to blare.

Alert! Alert! The Ultimate Chimera has escaped!

"Looks like it worked. Let's blow this popsicle stand."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The four of them, along with Salsa, and the female monkey with a pink ribbon all skidded to a halt in the hallway as six Pigmask Generals, each holding onto a laser gun, looked at them.

"PK Fire γ!" Lucas watched as a large blast of fire erupted from Paula's finger tips, blowing the Pigmask captains back against the wall.

Quickly, he joined her as he reflected two beams back using his stick before casting a PK Love Alpha to blast another one back.

"DUCK!" Lucas listened to his furry friend and quickly dove out of the way of a security droid's big beam of lightning. Boney quickly bit down on a saltwater gun and unleashed a wave of water, short circuiting the droid as it exploded.

Salsa, meanwhile, jumped on top of a Pigmask Captain and began scratching through the hood of the person behind it. The Captain fumbled trying to reach his stun gun before the monkey quickly kicked him off as Paula encased the man in ice with PK Freeze.

It was lucky, perhaps, that Paula was able to fight. Lucas had initially thought that the amount of PSI Energy they had drained from her to power their weapons of submission would've weakened her powers. Yet, she was still fighting fit.

A pink grenade landed next to them and a flash of bright light erupted from them. Making Lucas flinch as he quickly covered his eyes. Unfortunately, Paula and Jeff had not been so lucky as the light had started a tear train of harsh crying.

Using his stick, he quickly bashed a pigmask who attempted to grab both of them with some type of robotic claw backwards, before turning around and flicking a healing Beta to both, the tear trail stopped as both kids shook them off.

Boney headbutted the last pigmask captain back as Paula quickly smashed the man's head in with her frying pan. Knocking the man out cold.

"Phew, security was tight." Salsa grunted. "I'm glad you managed to set that Chimera loose. We might not have made it out of here otherwise."

"Agreed, you did well to make friends, Salsa." The girl Monkey said.

Lucas flicked a bit of PSI from his fingertips as they approached the exit to the laboratory. However, just as he reached for the door, he heard Jeff paused and gasped.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" He asked Jeff.

"Actually, yes." Jeff replied, placing a finger on his chin. "Given the security alarm and stuff. I'd Imagine it wouldn't be too long before the Pigmasks try to swoop back in to recover this place and get it up and running again."

"Ah…I didn't think about that." Paula replied, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall. "When they get back, if both of us, along with Dr. Andonuts are missing…who knows what they might do."

"We know where Poo is, but we don't know what has happened to Ness." Jeff continued, rubbing the back of his head. "Whatever they've done to try and keep him in check, the realization that Paula, myself, and my father have escaped without him or Poo might cause our enemy to get desperate."

Lucas realized where this conversation was about to head, so quickly he blurted out. "I can't just leave you here! You've both been used to cause torture to my hometown. I can't let you guys just stay here! Especially when you've been worked and tortured yourselves!"

"We know," Paula replied, giving him an understanding look of concern. "But, you have to understand, given our current situation as well. We can't just run away and hide. They've got the rest of our friends."

"Master Lucas," Boney barked. "We need to hurry, there's no telling who or what will show up. The Needle is near, we need to get going."

Lucas looked at his furry companion, as well as Salsa and Samba, then turned back to Paula and Jeff. Both of them had dropped their conversation to a whisper, and he watched them go back and forth before he finally started to hear with their slightly rising voices, perhaps out of irritation for their bickering.

"I don't want to leave you and your father here! They'll work you both to exhaustion, until you're nothing but working zombies." Paula hissed at Jeff. "Your intellect will serve Lucas better if you go with him. You did design all those freaky chimera's they have running around."

Jeff shook his head. "I can't leave you here with just my father, the power draining will only get worse for you. None of them know that I secretly weakened the effect of pain it inflicts on you. I can only do it temporarily, so your torture will just be worse. In addition, your PSI Powers are far more useful to the enemy than I ever will be."

"But-"

"No, Paula, Ness would make the same case as well. We can't leave you in their hands. You know what we're up against. You cannot stay captive. Not to mention, Lucas will probably need you to identify the needles, won't he?"

The girl's face became a small red. "I-I suppose…" she replied, a quiet voice around her. "A-Are you sure?" Jeff nodded his head in response.

Returning the nod to him reluctantly, Paula turned to Lucas, Salsa, Boney, and Samba. "Okay," she said to them. "We…we talked it over, and I'm going to come with you…If that's alright with you…of course."

Lucas gave her a small smile. "Sure, I'd probably need some help either way, since my other friends aren't with me at the moment."

Paula gave him a weak smile as she stepped up to him and shook his hand. "Thank you again, Lucas. I know that what has happened to your home is terrible, and, believe me, I, and my friends never wanted this to happen. But…things changed that…unfortunately."

"I don't blame you. Fassad said that he needed you out of the way for the plan to work. So he likely played dirty…didn't he?"

Paula shivered at the sound of the man's name. Lucas perhaps thought it'd be better to not pursue that topic any further.

"Okay, Master Lucas." Boney barked as he wagged his tail. "We've got a Needle to find."

Lucas nodded as he and Paula turned and waved goodbye to Jeff. The blond boy waved goodbye back, reassuring Paula that he and Dr. Andonuts would be okay as they exited the laboratory.

From the top of a nearby hill, but just out of sight, the red-masked individual watched Lucas, Paula, Boney, Salsa, and Samba walk out of the laboratory.

"How unfortunate, guess it didn't work like you planned huh?"

T̸̖̤̝̣͓̫̀͋̌̾̈́̈̕͝h̶̢̞̲̯̼̮͉͚̟̮͔̋̋̎́̅̌͗̉͂̚e̶̡̘͍̺̰͍̮͉̟͗̈͒͂̆̉̈́͜ ̴͖͓̜̫̰͖̥͆̒͊̍̍̃̊̀͆͊̑̽͝ẉ̶͚̼̭͓̟̰̩̮͔̞͔̩̟̦͐͂̏̀̏̐̓̓̉͂̊ȁ̵͚̠̠̱̂̆͆͛͒̾̋̚͘͝r̶̛͎̔̃̇̂̈́̊͑̚͝ ̴̨̡̟̟̘̰̩̾̌̓̏́̋͊͌̔̍̊̀̚i̸̼̣͓̟̹̘͖̜͌̍̄͝s̵̟̫͉̩̖̰̱͈͈͑͗̔̈́̌͊͒̇̃͊̂ň̷̨̮̼͖̝̯͙̘̃̊̽̎̀͆̽̽͐̇͠'̶̹͉̫̝͔̠͉̞̖̘̃̄̋͗̿̈́͆̈́̓́̌͘͘t̴̨̡̛͈͉̯̗̬̍̓̈́͛̄̽̀̈̌̃̽͌̋ ̴̧̪̰́͂̈́̾̈́̄͑͑͐̐̂͌̍̚l̴̨̧̛̼̬̖̞̼̞͔̦͓̩̪̓̓̃͂͋̔̇̋͘̚͠ȏ̶̝̞̫̘͓̰̌̅͌͑̽͗̀͑̈̕ş̷̪͔̥̫͓̥̹̙̰̯̑̑̊͆͑ť̸̡̢̜̠͖̞̫͇̹͈̀̄͋̽͆̈́̀̊̋̀͜͠ ̸̙̜̗̺́̂́̇̇̄̐͑̈́j̷̧̡̅͝u̶̯̬͚͆̀͐̄̀̈̂͌̀͊͠s̸̲̖̣͍͇̑̽̊͗̇̈̌͝t̸̢͎̫͖̥͖̙͈̤̗̊͝ ̴̡̨̡̱͕̬̘͉̳͉̞̭͇̈́̔͛͌̀̐̈͒̕y̷̨̢͔̮̰̯̽̍̒͗̎̿̈͘e̵̲͇̹̣͕͔̟̤͈͐͆͗̀̌̃̒̂͆͆͋͛͋t̸͍̗̯̮̽͊͛̄͒́̽̀́̓̽.̸̼͖̈͜͝ ̶̨̬̪̮͋̈́͌̈́̂͊̓̊͝Y̸̪͙̲̩͍̳̠͙̲̠̥̦̤͒̿ǫ̴̢̝̻̖͙̪̟̭͉͖̲̝̝̈́͊̂̌̐̓̊̓͌̀̚̚͝ͅu̵̢̧̬̙͚̳̦̅̆͂̾͗̈́̆̐ͅ'̴̠̱̹͓̠̯͇͖̘̯̮̞̲̰̣̓͛̄́̍̔͛́̈́͝͝͝͝l̴̨̝̯͍̙͈̩͙͙̼̱̘͂̈̾̎́͂̉̅̒̎̕͜l̸̡͎̦̳͍̹͛̀̍̔̈́͊̅͑͗̇̓̄ ̶̬͈͈̗̗͎͛̇͐̇̃́̇͛ń̴̺̥̘̖̠̞͎̠̞̠̯̝͓͠e̴̡͍͕̥͍̖̗͖̭̱͖̩̦̞̔̀v̵̫̘͕̱̼͆̀̿̌̕̕ę̴̣̤̪̱̟̱̱̭͐̅̾̅͘͜͜͠r̴̮̺͈̖̙̯̆̋̅͒͝ͅ ̸̨̛͇̠͖͙̪̥̦͓̖̟͊͗̐͝b̷̢͍̰͎̲͕͙͕͖̐̇̄ŗ̴͈́̊͌̏͂è̴̠̦͖̰͎̺͖͔͓͒̒ǎ̵̢͙͉͓̰͎̘͓͇͍̺̲̆͗̔͋̑̽̂̏ͅͅk̶̨̛̗̲̙͙̱̩̘̭̭̫̗̅͌̔́̂̈̑̌̅̅̂̚͜ ̶̧̨̡̱̺̖̝̠̝̻͉̎͆̌̿͜ͅf̶̢̛̻̙͈̰͈̟͔̬̤̥̟̭̐̾͐̄͂̿͐̔̕ͅŗ̴̛͔̩͙̪͂̈̀̃̂̍̄̒̈́͑͠͝e̸̢̬̣̳̜͉̣͉̪͔̾̌ȩ̷͉̳̯̖̖̹̙̇̽́̆̉̐͋͌̾.̷̧̛̜̺͈̦̞͕͎̺͐̌̃͑̌͝͝ͅ

A few multi-colored sparks fizzled from the hand of the person. Recalling the seething anger and hatred of who he was. The friends he had lost, the things taken from him.

"Who are the Dark fallen four? What are you planning!"

E̴͖̤̓̎̔͊͗̐̓́̀̎͠v̶̧̠̪̝͔̊̀̊͒̊è̴̡̧̗͇̜͍͖̖̣̰̘͖͕̥͝ͅņ̷̡̢̮̲͚͕͈̣̖̹͙̅̀̕͜͠ ̴͙̦̯̮͇̩̦̙͊͑͋̆̿̀̏͐͒͋͂̎̊̕͜͝ȋ̶̢̧̡̧̨̤̮̭̗̙̜͕̬̦͛̄͊́̇̾f̸̱͖̯̂͝ ̵̳̇̉̑̾̚͝Ȉ̵͔̑̀̆̍̓̋͛͋ ̸͚̥̂̀̌̿̐͗̍ṯ̵͒̏̇̚̕̕o̶̢̪̲͇͇̗̼͋̏̀̃̆͐̊̆̄͊͒̚̕l̷̡̛͓͓͉͔̠̹͍̱͚̺̈́̆͛̃̍͂ď̷͎͚̳̙͙̤͔̉̑ ̶̮̱̺̦͇̠͈̼͗͠ͅÿ̷̡̲̱̩̠͙̹̲͈̪̦̘̝́̈̈́̐̏̈́̐̀̉̍͌̆̾̎͜͠o̴͍̫͍͎̖̾̈́̔̚u̴̢̧̲̹̗̪̦̘̯͉͎͇͎̅͐̈́̒̍̓̾̿͂̓̄̕,̶̛̼̬̣̩͍̞̲͎̖̭͔ ̶̨̨͎͖̦͚̝̮̬̩̞̭͕̩̎̚̕͝ͅy̶̙̹͕̝̘̳͈̤̞̼̮͗̿̒̄͑̀͌͛̆̌̾̈́̒̏̈́ó̵̢̡̧̨̬̙̬̬̮͙̖ụ̷̢̣̗̼͚̰̝͇̗̟̦̣̄̋́̚ͅ'̴̗̙͓̮̠̼͋̊̒͌̈́̏͜͜͠͝d̵̞̜͇̯̭̙̞̼͉̗̅̒̔͑̈́̀͋̓̕̕͘ ̵̯͔͎͚̼̲͎͍̦͗͛̈́̏̌͘ņ̷̢̺͔͎̮̈́́̀̅͊̈́̍̕e̶̛̲͈̱̹̙̊͊̓̀͐͌͊͑͋̈̃̚v̵̧̳̝̦̜̝̾̐̆̒̿̀̒̋̓̐́͗͘̕͠e̸͈̼̟̗̳̯̓̈̉͗̓͂͂̀̂̈́̅̈́̕r̴̺̼̟̦̖̮̳̖̘̝̼͐͆̌̈̈́̇̀̒̊̇͆͗́ ̴͇̥̹̬̜̼̥͍͋̅̃̎̈́̑̒̔̑̕͝͝b̶̝̔̏̾̍̔͒͋̍̋͆̊͌͆̚ẹ̶̛̬͔͙̫͇̺͌̓̕l̸̨̢̬̤̙͕̼̥̭͕̍̏̎́̂ǐ̸̛͉͕̚è̵͈͎͈̝͂ͅv̶̡̡̗͓̣̲̈́͂̋̈́̈́̒͜ͅȩ̵̡̻̻̳͚̞̬̖͈̒̚͝ ̵̟̒̔̃m̶̢̮̺̯̼͚͌̾̆̄̅͛̃̎̇̃͒̃̓͘͘͜è̵̢̨̨̥̱͍̖͖͍̳̜̣̱̊̆̈́ͅͅ.̴̡̗͙̞̖͉̘̘̩̬̖͇͇̥̐̏͒̌͜͝

Some Things never changed, no matter how hard he fought, no matter what he did, it was a downward spiral, his only chance to rely on Lucas. He could only hope that things improved from here.

That's all for today's chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it.

I'm well aware that this is a day late, sorry for that, my schedule blew up all of a sudden when I had to go drag myself over to my Grandfather's house to record a podcast for a project for English. I probably could've waited a bit longer, I swear, it feels like every time I do a project ahead of time for submission, the Teacher always gives an extension to those lazy losers who sit around in class and do nothing. Public School sucks.

You may notice that I completely did not show the Ultimate Chimera here. And, trust me, I have my reasons. The thing instantly gives you a game over a reason. Such a weird thing.

Also, hell yeah, Earthbound AND EarthBound Beginnings on Nintendo Switch Online! The one time I wish I was a content creator on YouTube, I popped off so hard. No remaster or remake, and Mother 3 still continues to be the butt of Nintendo Meme's. But, frankly, I don't really want remasters of these games. Well, maybe EB Zero could use a remaster...after all that game is...atrociously bad, even for an old 80s RPG. When the ROM Hacks need an Easy Ring and many guides recommend using it, that's certainly a problem.

Also, I can't be the only one who feels like Mother 3 should remain Not-Localized, am I? I mean...most of you reading this have likely played that fan translation. I think its blatantly obvious at the amount of stuff that would need to be censored and changed for the game to make it too North America and not have modern day media outlets trash it completely.

I don't want to get political, but, having played the game myself. I fully understand Nintendo's decision to not bring the game to the West. If they censor it, I'd be livid because frankly, I don't see anything offensive within the game. But if they don't censor it, our so called "Video Game Journalist Experts." would likely trash this game to hell for the things it shows.

Itoi has said in interviews that the reason he included some of those more adult themes or sensitive subjects in his games was to emphasize the important effects those things have on society. I recall an interview where he said that he had friends advise him on how to portray the Magypises so he could accurately portray them, where he also mentioned his reason for including them was to show they have just as much to contribute to society as everyone else.

Wow...I'm kinda talking off the rails here. Frankly, I might have wasted more time typing these author notes that nobody reads when I could've been playing EarthBound or Legends Arceus (Phenomenal Pokémon Game by the way, was definitely worth the 60 dollars I shelved for it!)

Anyway, if you have any thoughts, predictions, or suggestions, you're always free to leave them. Even a simple "Nice Chapter." means a lot.

See you all, next time!