Chapter 28: Lightning Swords and Public Speaking
(Author's Note: This is the third of three chapters posted on the same day, so please don't read it first unless you want to be confused. It was all originally going to be a single chapter, but it ended up too long, and while I could've split it into two chapters instead, I think there's been enough lengthy chapters already.)
Lucas knocked on Peach's door. No response.
He knocked again, and again, until that yellow star symbol with black dotted eyes opened up from the center and he was knocking on a Toad's mushroom head instead.
"Owowow!"
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Healing PSI went from his hands to the Toad who clutched his head with his hands. So much for the theory it was just a hat.
"No worries, protecting Her Highness is my job, so I can take more than that!" He said awkwardly in his nasally, high-pitched voice. "Not that I'm any good at it..." He muttered.
"What was that?"
"Uh, nothing! You're here to see the princess, right?" Lucas nodded. "And you mean no harm? Sorry, just procedure!" Lucas shook his head. "Not that I could stop you anyways..." He muttered. "Then come on in!" He stepped aside and gestured Lucas into the miniature castle, which had a red carpet covering the outskirts, a checkerboard floor, two small elevated areas on the left and right, and a large stairway with another red carpet past the sun symbol on the floor just ahead, the stairway leading further up to a smaller second floor that led to more doors. The walls and ceiling were covered in a mural that looked almost like the actual sky with clouds included, though they strangely had dotted eyes. "Just wait over there for now, she hasn't gotten-"
"Who is it..?" Peach stepped out from the rightmost door of the second floor balcony and leaned on the railing looking utterly exhausted. She was wearing only a nightgown, her hair was frazzled, her face had none of the usual makeup, and her eyes had bags under them.
"-ready yet...Your Highness, you don't have to come down, I can handle him!"
"No, it's fine, it's fine...I'm just a little tired, that's all..." She made her way over to the staircase to get a better look at him while he stepped closer to the bottom, but it was awkward bending his neck to look up at her. "What are you doing here so early in the..." She squinted at the grandfather clock that went tick-tock by the wall. "No, I suppose I'm the one who woke up late, aren't I?"
"Um...well...sorry, I didn't know you were still asleep! I just came here since you didn't answer my message...and 'cuz I'm giving you something..." He took out the same coin she'd once given him.
"Lucas, that was a gift: I don't want it back. You were supposed to spend it on something."
"Uh...that's um, that's what I'm doing, actually...what I mean is, could you do me a favor instead of giving me money? Not that I'm your boss or anything, you don't have to!"
"What is it?"
"It's, uh...it's complicated." He looked away in shame. "You know how I'm so bad at talking? Sorry about that...but you're real good at it, right? Like when you had to be Mario's lawyer, or do all that diplomacy since you're a princess...so, um...could you give me some tips?"
A brief pause. A few blinks.
"Of course I could. Just...give me a minute, please. I stayed up far too late last night..." She walked back to her bedroom and closed the door.
"She said something about being too defenseless, then trained almost all night...I know she had a bad week, but it's still not like her at all." Toad crossed his arms and shook his head while leaning back against the wall. "Maybe it's all the rescues adding up, but my bet is that it's more about Daisy being a terrible influence. Oh, but don't tell her I said that!" He whispered.
"Hehe, I won't..."
"I hope she doesn't get too good at fighting, or I'll be out of a job, haha!"
When Peach returned, she was wearing her usual pink dress and had straightened out her hair, surprisingly quickly given its length. Lucas, who had already gone up the stairs, tossed her the coin which she caught with one gloved hand, and though her dress lacked any pockets, the coin just vanished instead. She conjured an oversized gold key for an equally large keyhole on the double door just past the stairs, which opened up to a living room instead of a stairway like in her actual castle. It had a fancy red carpet over the checkerboard-patterned floor, two equally red couches with several pillows, a small table between them, and sky-blue walls covered with a TV and numerous framed paintings. Potted plants in the windowsill of the wide window had blooming flowers, and a circular stairwell at the edge of the room led up to the rooftop and down to whatever room was below.
"Wow, this is a nice place..."
"It is, isn't it? I'm going to have to prepare for Zelda and some other guests showing up here soon for a tea party, but I can spare at least a few minutes." Peach said while taking a seat on the opposite couch he did, with Toad next to her.
"Okay, thanks...sorry to waste your time."
"Nonsense, you paid for it. In fact, I'll have to find more time to give you advice later since you're paying me this much."
"I guess I did...I'm not a fan of money, though." He put his hands in his empty pockets. "So uh, where do we start?" His gaze wandered to the paintings. One was of a man and woman with crowns, the woman bearing a striking resemblance to Peach. Another depicted Peach, Mario, and their friends on their vacation in Isle Delfino. Yet another showed three Bob-Ombs walking in a row amid a cloudy background, the closest mostly out of frame.
"First of all, breathe. Second of all, breathe." She said raising two fingers. "Talking to people can be difficult, but never as difficult as your imagination can make it. Anxiety is often a self-fulfilling prophecy...the more you think things will go wrong, the more likely they will."
"Yeah, but what about when they do? What if I freeze up, or people laugh at me, or they make fun of me? Then what?"
Peach's eyebrows furrowed as she took a moment to think.
"If they mock you for your insecurity, that says more about them than you."
"I guess, but it still feels bad..."
"No matter how polite you are, there will always be people who don't like you...the trick is to stop caring about their opinion. Try to base your self-worth in your own achievements instead."
"Okay, but how do I stop worrying so much? Whenever I have to talk to a lot of people, it always feels like I'm gonna say something wrong and they'll make fun of me...I bet everyone's laughing at me behind my back ever since that stupid thing with Bayonetta."
"Hmm...that brings me to my next point: stop assuming malice in the audience. You always try to see the good in people, don't you? So why is it that you always assume they'll be cruel when it comes to you? Isn't there a contradiction there?"
Lucas froze up. "Um, well, sorry! It's just...well, it's 'cuz they've done that before..." He looked down with a frown. "Back before they started calling me a hero, a lot of the villagers got really sick of me...they called me a crybaby, and they didn't like how I wouldn't get with the times. The other kids were nicer, but some of the grown-ups got really mean...some folks are like that here too. Roy said I'm a wimp, and Ganondorf did too, and Bowser, and Wario...um, he only thought it, but he says it too..."
"Bowser is a terrible influence on his children..." Peach sighed and facepalmed. "I try to be a better one whenever I'm forced to live in his castles, but it hardly makes a difference. But never mind that, why should you care what they think?"
"Maybe they're mean, but they're right! If they weren't, then I wouldn't cry so much..."
"Are they, now? Would a wimp risk his well-being to restore a stranger's memories, and potentially fight a dark god in the process?"
"Wait, you know about that?"
"I make it my business to know everything around here." She said with a somewhat smug smile. "I heard from Samus how you're trying to help Pikachu as well. Good luck."
"Thanks..." Another silence ensued, and he didn't know what to say next. "Um...so..."
"My next piece of advice: don't be afraid of silence. You don't need to keep muttering if you can't think of something right away."
"Oh, sorry...but what if I get totally lost?"
"Well, it's hard to continue a speech if you forget what you were saying entirely. So to avoid that, try not to go off on tangents. Be concise. Think of one main point you want to say and stick to it. That way even if you forget the details, you know what to focus on."
"Okay...but what if I remember and I just freeze up since there's so many people?"
"That's a tough one...but I've found it can help to just focus on one person and pretend you're only talking to them."
"Huh...I guess I'll try that."
"Other than that...oh my, look at the time!" She said glancing at a digital clock. "I'm afraid I'll have to talk to you more later, so let me leave you with a few more pieces of advice: there is no one trick that'll make this easy overnight, so practice is everything. Stars know how many hours I've spent in front of mirrors preparing speeches...other than that, try to start small. Talk to one person, then a few before you work your way up to a crowd of thousands. And again, breathe. If you only remember one thing I've said, remember that."
"Okay, thanks...bye!" He got out of his seat, then stopped. "Wait, I forgot something...did you know Rosalina's your great-great-great...uh...great-aunt times a lot?"
"Of course I did, she told me."
"Oh...sorry, I'm just being stupid. Uh, thanks again!" He walked out through one of the double doors and closed it behind him before she could respond. He leaned back against it with a faint blush on his cheeks, how did she manage to be so pretty even when she was tired?
Lucas ran down the stairs and onto the sun symbol in the middle of the checkerboard floor. There was just enough space here to use PK Teleport Beta, so he ran in an increasingly wide circle then jumped through a portal just before he would've hit the side of the stairs.
A few minutes later...
"Jeff, are you there?" Lucas knocked on the door. No response. "It's fine if you don't wanna talk, just say something..." No response again.
Then he sensed something, or rather, didn't. Jeff's mental presence was absent. So where was he? He couldn't be on standby for assisting in a match on the weekend.
Then he had an idea where to look.
Lucas slid across the stone tiles of Bowser and Dedede's shared castle. He hadn't memorized its many rooms and hallways, but he didn't have to when he could close his eyes and search for Jeff's mental presence.
Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. Lucas quietly walked his way there until he was next to the closed door where he could listen in.
"So lemme get this straight: you're trying to bring someone from the future to the present, using a time machine that's in the present?" Iggy said. "That's crazy, even Dr. E. Gadd couldn't do that! All he did was make a portal to the past, and that only worked since it was this big tangled time loop where it all already happened."
"The Monado can sense Ether to predict the future, but the past? That's another story entirely." Shulk said.
"I know it's impossible based on what we know now, but isn't pushing those boundaries what science is about?" Jeff said. "People used to think flying machines were impossible too."
"Indeed." ROB said in his usual monotone voice, but he seemed much happier than last tournament. Lucas smiled. "Speaking of gathering information, we have a spy in our midst. I know you're there, Lucas."
"Eep!" Lucas jumped in surprise, then opened the door. "I wasn't trying to spy on you, really! I just came over and heard you guys talking but I didn't wanna butt in so I just waited...sorry..."
Inside was a room full of machinery, laboratory equipment, tables, mobile chairs, desks, and excessive amounts of papers and notes, some in neat piles or in drawers while others were scattered haphazardly. Shulk, ROB, Iggy, Mega Man, and Jeff all turned their heads.
"If you were just walking by, then why not keep walking? We're busy here." Jeff said with a frown as he swiveled his chair to squint at Lucas before adjusting his glasses.
"Actually, I came here to talk to you...you know how you said you owe me for being a messenger between you and your dad? There's something I wanted you to fix, but it can wait if you're busy!" Then he glanced over to ROB. "How'd you find me, anyways..?"
"My visible spectrum is not as limited as yours."
"Fix what?"
"Uh..this." Lucas took the sword handle out of his pocket and brushed off the dust. Jeff's eyes widened.
"Oh. That." He squinted in confusion. "But why now? You never wanted to use it last tournament..."
"I changed my mind, okay?" Lucas dodged the question. "It doesn't work, though..." He pressed the button to prove his point. Nothing happened.
"Oh, what? Don't leave us hanging!" Mega Man said.
"Yeah, tell us!" Iggy said.
"It's a sword my dad made that projects a blade of pure plasma contained in an electromagnetic field. Can cut through just about anything, from what Lucas told me."
"Oh my stars I want that so bad, gimme!" Iggy's eyes lit up behind his glasses.
"Almost like the Monado, except the Monado projects a blade of Ether instead..."
"Iggy, he just said it doesn't work..." Mega Man said. "How come it doesn't work, anyways? What part got broken?"
Lucas averted his eyes in shame. "Uh...I dunno.."
"What do you mean you don't know?! Now how are we gonna fix the cool sword?" Iggy sulked.
"I just don't, ok!" Lucas winced under everyone's disappointment. "I just...uh..." He paused. "It's cause I never tried using it before, and I didn't ask Dr. Andonuts how it worked. Sorry..."
"Your dad gave something like that to a hillbilly like him? That's a crime against science, man!" Iggy said.
"No it's not, and besides, he committed crimes against nature first." Jeff said. "Well, not the sword, but the user."
"Who's that?" Mega Man said. "Is he a robot? Some humans think we're crimes against nature too..."
"He's...he was a cyborg." Jeff said. "He used to be a human, and he had PK Love like Lucas...that's why the Pigmasks turned him half machine so they could force him to pull the Needles and fight Lucas."
"Geez, that's messed up...it's like how I had to kill the Robot Masters Dr. Wily reprogrammed into helping him take over-"
"I didn't kill him! Well, sort of...I didn't do it, but he still died..."
"Then who did?"
Lucas bit his lip.
"He did it to himself." Jeff thankfully answered for him. "He did it because his programming failed and his human side got through...he was trying to stop himself from killing Lucas. And destroying the world, obviously."
"I understand why he did..." ROB said, his eyes glowing blue and staring at the floor. "I would have done the same if it would have saved the rest of my kind."
"That's terrible...who is this guy, anyways? What was his name?" Mega Man said.
Lucas froze. He knew what the look Jeff gave him meant: he could just lie and say a fake name, since the real one was an anagram and might make them figure out.
Time seemed to slow. Should he lie? He'd told the other kids the truth eventually in the third tournament, but Shulk and ROB weren't kids, and some of the Koopalings were mean. How would everyone react? Would they even figure out what the anagram meant? Would they laugh at him if they knew the truth? Would they tell others even if he asked them not to?
He remembered to breathe when time resumed.
"Claus. His name was Claus." Only Shulk, Iggy, and Mega Man reacted visibly.
"You mean like Santa?" Mega Man said. "Santa's not real, science proved he was a myth a long time ago."
"Hold on...isn't that an anagram of your name?" Shulk said. "Lucas...Claus...it's the same five letters! Is that a coincidence?"
"What else could it be? How would it be on purpose? What, is he your long-lost evil twin or something?" Iggy said.
"..." Lucas grit his teeth. His grip on the handle tightened.
"The real question is, why'd you get the sword? If he had it and he kicked the bucket, shouldn't it go to the inventor instead? Why'd he give it t-"
"He wasn't evil!"
"Holy shit, you're telling me I was right?!" Iggy's face paled. "He's really your twin, and he killed himself right in front of you? That's so fucked up!"
"..."
"I guess that explains why you've got the sword, next of kin and all that. But I guess it's not like he ever wrote a will if he was some brainwashed cybo-"
"Shut up!" Lucas said, then cringed. "Sorry...just don't talk about him like that..." He stared at the floor. "Yeah, he was my twin, and he died, and I lied about it, and now I'm whining about it like a crybaby! You know the truth, so if you're all gonna laugh at me then just get it over with."
"No, of course we're not!" Mega Man said. "That's awful...it's like if Blues didn't survive when I had to fight him."
Iggy scratched his palm-tree-like plume of green hair. "Geez, now I feel bad. I know me and my siblings laughed at you earlier, but you never told us about this stuff! That's nuts...people say I'm crazy now, but I bet I'd be even weirder if that happened to me! No wonder you didn't wanna talk about it."
"It's strange, it's almost like what happened to Fiora..." Shulk said.
"Who's that?" Lucas said.
"My girlfriend."
"I'm sorry for your-"
"Don't be, she survived. That's why I said 'almost'. First I thought she was killed by a Mechon named Metal Face when they attacked Colony 9, so I swore revenge against all Mechons." He paused. "Oh, that's right, you don't know about them. Mechons are a race of living machines from the Mechonis, while we Homs are from the Bionis. I know we look like what you call humans, but we're not quite the same. Oh...I have to explain what the Bionis and Mechonis are too, don't I? The Mechonis and Bionis were two titans so large that they were like landmasses we could live on. Homs like Fiora and I are from the Bionis, while the Mechons are from the Mechonis. Anyways, as I was saying, Fiora didn't actually die. She was turned part-Mechon, or into a 'cyborg' as you would call it, and they made her pilot a larger machine called 'Face Nemesis'. I had to fight her several times, and it wasn't easy...but thankfully, she managed to break free of their control. After that, she told me it turned out she was sharing a body with Meyneth, who was actually-"
"Ugh, just get on with it!" Iggy said.
"Fine...to sum it up, she survived, and it turned out our real enemy wasn't the Mechons, but Zanza, a god who absorbed all life and recreated it in cycles to sustain himself. In the end, we used the Monado to defeat him and create a new world without gods. Luckily enough, that turned Fiora back to normal too, so she isn't a cyborg anymore."
"Okay...I don't get it, but I'm glad your girlfriend is alright." Lucas said. Relief washed over him, was no one actually going to make fun of him? "Uh, are you gonna say something?" He said turning to ROB.
"I thought you were aware that as the administrator below only Master Hand, I have access to all classified information, including the redacted sections of your file."
"Oh...right."
"Now that you are willing to share, I can declassify those sections if you want."
"I dunno...can you keep 'em the same for now? I don't wanna go around telling everyone." He wasn't so sure now, though.
"Most organics show sympathy to the suffering of others. The greater the suffering, the greater the sympathy. Keeping your past secret is doing more harm to your reputation than good." ROB said.
"Really? So I'm just being stupid?" Lucas cringed at his own stupidity. Why hadn't he thought of that? Why had he assumed everyone would be mean? Had hiding it been the wrong choice all along? Were people judging him more because they didn't know the whole truth?
"I'm not sure about that." Jeff said. "People will pity you, sure, but most people's sympathy doesn't last forever. Eventually they get tired of you acting different...they always want everything to go back to normal. Even if nothing can ever be 'normal' again for you..." He said bitterly.
"Yeah...I know." They both knew.
"You wish for the redacted sections to remain that way, then." ROB said, and Lucas nodded. "So be it. You can contact me via your computer terminal if you change your mind."
The room became quiet again.
"Thanks for not making fun of me..." Lucas said.
"Of course we didn't, I'm not that mean!" Iggy said, then held out his hand. "Can I have the sword now? Pretty please? I'll give it back, promise!"
"Actually, can you give it to me instead? Maybe I can figure out what's wrong if I copy it." Mega Man said.
"Okay, fine, he's right." Iggy said, so Lucas reluctantly handed the sword handle over to Mega Man, whose eyes glowed blue.
An identical sword handle appeared in his left hand, which pressed the button. A yellow blade of plasma extended from the handle forming a deadly energy blade. "Whoa, what the heck?! It works just fine!"
"It's even cooler than I imagined, bahahaha!" Iggy said. "Now let's test it out on something!"
"That doesn't make any sense, though..." Shulk held his chin. "Why should the replica work if the original doesn't? Did your technology change it somehow? Or is it like the Monado, where only certain people can wield it properly?"
"No, the internal structure is all the same...wait, that's it!" Mega Man said. "This thing's battery doesn't work at all! Looks like it can only keep it going for maybe five seconds with the crazy amount of voltage it needs, and the original doesn't have any charge left..."
"What the heck? Looks like your dad designed a crappy sword!" Iggy said.
Jeff shook his head. "No, he's not that stupid...at least not at science. And I know it worked, Lucas saw it in action."
Lucas nodded. He still had the scar to prove it, not that he wanted to show it...
"Then why does the copy work if it's identical?" Shulk said.
"It's connected to my system, so it can use my electricity too. I'm like a second battery."
"Is that how Claus used it too, since he was a cyborg? But that means I'll never be able to make it work..." Lucas sulked.
"You know, that reminds me...how did Claus become half robot anyways? Did those pig guys kidnap him?" Mega Man said.
"Sort of...it's complicated." Lucas sighed. "I guess I should explain it, but I have to explain something else or it won't make sense." He took another breath. "You all know how I cried about how Mom died...sorry about that, that was really dumb..." He stared at the wall again.
"It was kind of cringey, but eh, we're all cringe sometimes." Iggy shrugged. "She was being a bitch bringing it up anyways."
"It's not like she did it on purpose..."
"Yeah, we're not making fun of you, but what are you trying to say anyways?" Mega Man said.
"Oh, right, I got off track, sorry! What I meant is, you guys don't know how it happened..." He frowned. "It was one of Porky's Chimeras that did it. I...I saw it. Claus did too..."
"Oh crap, really? That sucks...wait, you said Chimeras are like crazy monsters, right? So how did you two survive if your mom didn't?"
"Well...we were coming back to the village through the forest, and Mom threw us in the river before it caught up. She tried to get away too, but she didn't make it..."
"Dang...so how did Claus get turned into a cyborg?"
"It's cause he wanted revenge...he went after it the next day, but it knocked him off a cliff, and that's where the pigs found him. Maybe...maybe he thought they were saving him, but then they toyed with his hopes! They took him apart and turned him into their robot...fuck, I can't even imagine what it was like! They didn't just enslave him or wipe his memories, they took away his free will! He couldn't even trust his own thoughts anymore...I think that's why he did it..."
Only then did Lucas notice the tears streaming down his cheeks and wipe them.
"And that's why I'll never forgive my dad." Jeff said with his arms crossed.
"But he didn't...he said he didn't know! Not at first...um, what I mean is..." Lucas sniffled again. "He thought he was just helping him. Claus was hurt too bad, he couldn't be healed without Dr. Andonuts replacing stuff with those stupid robot parts. It's just...after he did that, that's when Porky told him to do more. And he couldn't say no or else...I know it was still wrong, ok! I'm mad at him too...but he said it wasn't just 'cause he was a coward. He said if he died, then he couldn't fix the things he already did wrong...and he couldn't ever get back to you."
Jeff went silent for a moment.
"Even if he figures out time travel, he can't bring Claus back to life. Why should he get to fix my family if he can't fix yours? How's that fair?"
"I know it's not fair, but it's better than nothing...I mean, even if you don't think he deserves forgiveness, don't you deserve a chance to see him again?" Lucas said.
"I know I'd feel bad if my dad got kidnapped like that..." Mega Man said. "I guess I wouldn't really get it, though, since you never got to know him."
"I never got to know my father either, but it was because he and my mum died when I was too young to remember, not because he didn't bother raising me." Shulk said.
"Geez, everyone here has issues!" Iggy said. "Weren't we talking about Lucas though? Sorry about your bro, dude..."
"Yeah, that's terrible..." Mega Man said.
Lucas felt everyone's sympathy and pity. It was too much. "Sorry to bother you guys like that, and sorry I cried...I should go." He walked away quickly. "Just please don't tell anyone about it!"
He ran out the door and shut it behind him, then sniffled again and wiped his eyes while leaning his back against the wall. He sulked, he'd gone and embarrassed himself again. Even though they'd been surprisingly nice, he still couldn't take talking about it in front of so many people. Had he learned anything at all?
He'd started walking down the hallway when Jeff opened the door and stepped into the hallway, then closed it behind him
"Don't run off just yet."
Lucas cringed under the gaze of his glasses. "S-sorry, I know I was being annoying! I just couldn't think of a good way to say everything, and I just...I don't know! I didn't wanna embarrass myself again, but I guess that didn't work..."
"I'm not annoyed. I might be if you don't let me finish, though."
"Oh...sorry."
"Can you stop saying that? No one asked you to apologize." Jeff sighed. "It's fine that you got upset. Anyways, about the sword...why do you want me to fix it anyways?"
"That's, um...uhhhh..." He fidgeted, his hands holding the edge of his t-shirt. "I changed my mind."
"But why? I thought you'd hate that sword, if anything."
Lucas swallowed. He wasn't getting out of this, was he? Well, he could just refuse to answer.
"Well..." He sighed. "That's the thing. I did...I wanted to destroy it and the badge after it was all over, but Dr. Andonuts said I shouldn't since they were real valuable. And I have this problem where I'm scared of lightning, and I've been like that ever since Claus...you know..." He frowned. "I think it's gotten better now, but I don't think I'm really over it. He used the sword to channel his lightning, so I thought maybe if I used it, I'd get over it..." He looked at the hallway's red carpet. "I guess I wasted my time if only Claus can use it, though."
"Are you sure it works that way? What, was it connected to his mechanical parts?" Jeff said.
"Well, no...he held it in his left hand, and it's his right arm that got replaced with a metal one..." Lucas tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, then how'd it work?"
Jeff's eyes lit up in realization. "I think you just told me! You said he channeled PK Thunder through the blade, right? There's your power source, just like how the Monado uses Shulk's Ether. No wonder Porky never mass-produced them, Claus was the only one who could use it!"
"Really? That's messed up...it's like all he was was a tool to them."
"I know, but you can use PK Thunder too, can't you?"
"Yeah, Kumatora taught me...wait, that means I can use the sword too! Thanks, Jeff! I guess I didn't need your help to fix it after all, haha..."
"I helped you figure out how to use it, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did, so we're even now...thanks again." Lucas smiled. "Um, about your dad...there's some things I forgot to tell you last time. He wanted you to know he's proud of you for being a hero. He said he's sorry he couldn't do the same. And...he wanted you to know he loves you."
"...If he means it, he should've said it sooner." Jeff muttered. "Maybe before I let him get kidnapped through time and space."
Lucas's face was aghast. "Jeff, you didn't let it happen...it wasn't your fault! Porky showed up out of nowhere and kidnapped him in the middle of the night, there was nothing you could do!"
"I've stayed up plenty of nights, what was one more? I just thought I could finally relax and let my guard down."
"But...but even if you had fought him, he had his mech! What if you got hurt, or worse?"
"..."
"Jeff, you can't blame yourself like that, that's not fair..."
"Why the hell not? And how can you tell me that? Awfully hypocritical, isn't it?"
"Y-yeah...I know, I know...but it's still not fair! You did everything you could, ok? And I know it's hypocritical, I know I'm being stupid blaming myself for Claus too, I just can't help it! But I know what it's like...you got your hopes up, you thought you finally had him in your life again, and then Porky just took him away. And that feels worse than anything."
A silence lingered. Lucas held his arms out offering a hug, and to his surprise, Jeff actually accepted it. The blond with glasses was already over a head taller than him at the same age, clearly a trait that came from his mother's side considering how short Dr. Andonuts was. When Lucas let go, Jeff spoke up again.
"Thanks...I guess I should share some secrets too. You know what I told you earlier, how my grades are as good as ever? I lied. They're better now, but they weren't always good. They were terrible right after Dad disappeared off the face of the earth. People were sympathetic at first, but like I said, they always want things to go back to normal. 'What kind of Andonuts doesn't turn in his homework?' 'Why don't you try? Why are you wasting your potential?' I'd hear things like that from the teachers. And then some of the other kids thought, well, if I can't even be a nerd, what am I good for?"
"But you saved them from the aliens, how can they be so ungrateful?"
"People praise me too, that's why I'm such a waste of potential. And most of them still don't know that I'm gay...I can only imagine what they'd say then. Did you know they're not even allowed to teach anything about gay people in school? It's thanks to a law bloody Hatcher passed in 1988. They think we're like a disease...there's even an actual disease they blame on us, and they'll fucking celebrate if it kills us all. All because of what, because God says homosexuality is a sin? And how do they know that? How do they know he even exists?" Jeff shook his head. "I don't think it's even about religion, that's just their excuse. The real reason is because some people get disgusted by us and want a reason to say it's right to hate us."
Ness had said the 90's were a time of intense homophobia, but maybe he'd understated it.
"Sorry some people are like that...I mean, I'm not sorry, since it's not my fault, but I wish they weren't so mean." Lucas corrected himself. "I hope you and Tony don't have to hide it forever, that would suck." He paused. "I think your dad would be happy for you two, though."
"Well, let's hope I didn't inherit too much of his genes, so I don't screw it up like he did..."
"I don't think it's in the genes, haha..." Lucas smiled awkwardly. "I know things didn't work out for your mom and dad, but that doesn't mean it'll happen to you too. I don't think you'd neglect Tony like your dad did with your mom by focusing too much on his science stuff..."
"That doesn't mean he can't get tired of me and find someone better."
"Well, don't be too hard on yourself...he must like you for a reason, right? I know it's weird to hear me say that, though."
"It is weird...but you're acting weird a lot lately." Jeff squinted at him with those nearsighted eyes. "You wouldn't have said half of this last tournament."
"Huh...I guess you're right. I hope things get better for you too." He looked back at the door. "Uh, how come no one else came out here?"
"I said I'd go talk to you alone, that's why."
"Oh, okay. I should probably go now..."
"Don't forget the sword."
"Ah, sorry!" Lucas ran back to the door, took a breath, and opened it.
A boy in blue armor and a helmet concealing his hair slashed a cannonball into two half-melted halves with the yellow energy blade in his left hand. In place of his right was an arm cannon...
A boy in a gray jacket and a helmet concealing his hair faced the final Needle, its golden glow illuminating his back. In his left hand was an energy blade yellow as lightning, and his right held an arm cannon...but neither reached for the Needle. What was he waiting for? He could end the world any moment now. Lucas's heart raced. Was Claus still in there?
The boy turned and stared with those emotionless, mismatched red and blue eyes.
The boy turned and stared with those bright blue eyes. Lucas frowned and averted his gaze.
"Yo, that was sick! That sword really can cut through anything even though it's just a copy!" Iggy said. "Oh hey, he came back, I thought he was leaving. Thanks for the sword, dude!"
"Um, can I have it back now?"
"But why? We haven't fixed it yet, so it's useless." Mega Man stared at him in confusion, then the original sword handle lying on a desk.
"That's the thing: Jeff figured out it works just fine, I just have to charge it up with PK Thunder."
"That's a shame, I was actually hoping to work on it." Shulk said, then shrugged. "Oh well, problem solved. That means it's a lot like the Monado, isn't it? It just uses what you call 'PSI' instead of Ether."
"Yeah, that's what Jeff said too..." Lucas said, then held out his hand. "So can I have it now? You guys can always use the copy, right?"
Mega Man casually tossed it over and Lucas caught it, then immediately turned around and walked away. Just looking at Mega Man in his armor had almost made him miss the catch.
"Don't forget about the other club meeting!" Mega Man said as Lucas closed the door behind him.
Lucas leaned back against the door and sighed in relief. Talking to so many people was so difficult.
"So, does it work?" Jeff said.
"Oh right, you're still there...uh...I don't know. I know I'm supposed to charge it up with PK Thunder, but I've never done that before, and I don't know how Claus did it either...it's not like I can ask him." He said in that dull, sad tone.
"Hmm...I can't help you much there either, it's not like I have any PSI. But if I had to guess, he must have used just enough electricity to keep recharging it...try not to use too much, you don't want to fry it! Well, I'm sure Dad didn't design it to break easily, but you can never be too careful."
"Okay..."
Lucas held out the sword handle in front of him pointing upwards, closed his eyes and focused, then channeled millions of volts into it while pressing the button.
"Huh, how come it doesn't work?!" Lucas opened his eyes and pouted as it sparked and fizzled out.
"I don't know, did you ask my dad how Claus used it?"
"I guess I could've asked him, but I didn't think of that...ugh, I'm so stupid!" Lucas sulked. "He was always way more talented...he learned PSI when he was only ten, and he could take on all four of us at once."
"Didn't he have three years to train with it too? I doubt he could use that sword right away either. Porky must've forced Dad to make it, and then made Claus learn how to use it just so his minion could have a cool weapon..." Jeff said with a scowl.
"I know, it's stupid..." Lucas looked back at the sword. "But he must've been able to use it 'cuz he was better with PK Thunder. I guess I'm not using enough, or maybe I'm not controlling it right to make it stick? I dunno..."
"Then just keep practicing until you can." Jeff said. "And try not to break it..."
"How do you know that'll work, though?" Lucas said. "What if I never get any better?"
"I don't, but didn't you already get better anyways? Ness said you can use PK Thunder Beta now."
"I guess you're right..." Lucas smiled. "Thanks, Jeff. I'm gonna go now, that was kind of a lot of talking..."
"Trust me, I get it."
He ran off and teleported.
Later that day...
In the end, Lucas let Ness tell his story to the other kids who didn't know already. It felt cowardly, but he was already mentally exhausted from talking so much today, and the crowd of nineteen kids in Ness's house was a lot more intimidating than the eight or so last tournament. Either he'd look bad by having Ness say it for him or look worse by breaking down while he tried to explain.
"That's it, that's how it all ended...that's how Lucas saved the world."
"That's stupid, if that dragon's strong enough to fix the whole world, then why can't it bring back Lucas's mom or brother?" Jr pouted. "Not that I care or anything."
"It's okay, Morton crying too!"
"I'm not crying!" Junior blinked back a tear. "Why'd you call it the Light Dragon anyways, isn't it called the Dark Dragon? Are there two dragons or what?"
"No, she's just called the Dark Dragon when she's asleep and the Light Dragon when she's awake, like how we sleep at night and wake up in the morning. Well, except Duster, haha..." Lucas said. "I really wish she could've brought them back too, but she can only heal things and create new life, she can't bring back someone who's already gone."
"That still sounds stupid..."
Looking around the club room showed everyone had their own reactions. Morton and Kirby cried waterfalls. Pit sniffled despite having heard it all before, while Dark Pit and Wendy remained unfazed. Mostly. Ludwig kept up his usual pompous aura, but Lucas felt a flicker of emotion, a question of if he'd make the same sacrifice for Junior. The older Link was silent as ever, while the younger one and Lemmy lost their usual smiles. Henry and May were pale as a sheet, hardly believing the story of what happened to him and his village thanks to how peaceful their own was. Larry was the first to make eye contact as he looked around the room...
"Wait...that's why you said what you said in the arcade, isn't it? You told me to make sure my siblings don't do anything stupid...oh man..."
Lucas nodded. Roy was the next to give him a sympathetic look, but before he could open his mouth someone else did.
"Why'd you have him tell your story for you, huh? And why'd you hide it last time?" The other Roy said. He couldn't see his eyes through those pink sunglasses, but the look on his face said clear as day he was holding back some further mean comment.
"Because he felt like it, ok?" Ness said with a glare.
"It's fine, Ness, you don't have to do that..." Lucas said, then looked back at Roy and took about ten seconds in the span of two to think of what to say. "Okay, fine, it makes me sad to tell it! So what? I bet you'd feel bad if one of your brothers died...or are you really that mean?"
"'Course I would, I'm not a monster!" Roy grumbled to himself and crossed his arms. "Whatever..."
"Bro you got totally owned, ahahaha!" Lemmy burst into laughter.
"I know right? Bahahaha!" Iggy joined in.
"Yeah right, shut up! How 'bout I show you what 'owned' looks like in the ring? My muscle beats your gadgets or his circus ball nine times out of ten."
Iggy shrugged. "Eh, the matchup's more like 60/40 if you ask me, and that math doesn't look good on you when you're a year older."
"Hey, speaking of gadgets, that reminds me of something!" Mega Man changed the subject. "ROB's working on these new wrist-mounted communicators...see, the tournament's getting harder than ever for him and the Hands to manage since there's more than twice as many guys as last time. Some people don't even check their computers!" A sweat drop went down Lucas's face. "So he's gonna make a bunch of these things, they're based off Fox and Falco's tech. Hold on, gimme a sec to go get one." Mega Man disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"Seems like everyone and their mother can teleport at this point..." Wendy said.
"I know, right? How come he gets to do that too when he can do so much other stuff? Our portals are pretty much all we've got..." Henry said, sulking. "We've got our axes too, but even after all that training with Ike we're still nearly in dead last..."
"I doubt three months is enough to get even half as good as him, and he's even better with the sword..." May muttered quietly to herself with her head in her hands, sitting in the chair next to his.
"Eh, I don't think he's so unbeatable." Junior said. "He got lucky, but I'll show him who's boss next time!"
"Optimistic as ever, Junior..." Ludwig said. "Ike is among the top twenty competitors by any objective measure, if not the top t-"
Blink! Mega Man reappeared in the exact same spot, except standing on his chair instead and holding a wristband-shaped device. "Okay, here it is! See, it fits on your wrist just like this..." He equipped his communicator. "Problem is, not everyone has the same size wrists, so I'm gonna have to scan everyone so ROB can customize one for each of you. Just hold up your hands for a second, okay?"
"About that: how am I supposed to wear that when I already have these?" Wendy held up her hands showing the gold rings around her wrists, while the other Koopalings had spiked black wristbands instead. "If I got rid of one, it would look terribly asymmetrical...the same goes for all my brothers."
"I know, right?" May said. "They look pretty tacky if you ask me."
"Speak for yourself, I couldn't care less how it looks." Iggy said.
"Look, I'm sure there's enough room on your arm for both, okay? Just ask ROB if you got any complaints. Now let me scan you already!"
Eventually everyone raised their hands, some more reluctantly than others, and a blue light came from Mega Man's eyes scanning the room as he turned his head. "Aaaannd done! Looks like the normal size will fit most of you, except those beefy guys." He glanced at Morton and Roy. "And Kirby's a special case, he doesn't even have wrists..." Mega Man sighed looking at Kirby's stubby pink hands.
"Why do we need these things, anyways?" The younger Link asked.
"I'm glad you asked! This thing is way more advanced than those so-called 'smart' phones some of you use. Unlike them it's resilient, totally waterproof, hard to lose, and compact too! It even has a holographic screen and keypad you can use just like this." Mega Man tapped a button on the wristband, then typed at inhuman speeds on the holographic display that appeared. "You'll get automatic notifications of anything tournament-related, and it's easy to get in touch with the other fighters too. It can even interface with other tech...how about I give you a demonstration?" He said with a mischevious grin.
"Ooh, I like where this is going!" Iggy said with a grin.
"I don't like where this is going..." Lucas said.
Mega Man typed rapidly again. "You know how I said this is based off Fox and Falco's tech? I'm hacking into their comms, so everyone shut up! Here we go in 3, 2, 1..."
"Hi Fox, this is Slippy!" Mega Man said in a perfect imitation of Slippy's voice."I wanted to give you some tips on that reflector I made for you. See, I think you should try throwing it like Falco. I know running into people and hitting them with the reflector works sometimes, but I dunno, man. That Rock kid seemed to do it even better than you when he pulled off that sick combo where he copied your reflector and hit you into the wall on the Pokemon Stadium boulder over and o-"
"Check your G-Diffuser!" Lemmy said.
"DO A BARREL ROLL!" Pit said.
"Well actually, it's called an ai-" Iggy said.
"'WeLl aKsHuAlLy, iT's CaLlEd'-that's you." Roy said.
"Shut up, guys, you're ruining it!" Mega Man whispered in his normal voice.
"You're not Slippy...geez, how many times are people gonna hack my channel? First Palutena, now you."
"I'm totally Slippy!" Mega Man said. "Okay, fine, you got me...the year is 20XX, and you just got prank called!" He cut off the channel.
"Your first prank call...I'm so proud!" Iggy lifted his glasses and wiped a tear.
"I thought we were the ones turning you good, not the other way around..." The nicer Roy said.
"I know, that was a terrible idea, what if we get in trouble?" Lucas said.
"Eh, it'll be fine..." Mega Man said, then finally sat down instead of standing on his chair.
"Besides, it was fun!" Pit said.
"And people say you're the good angel." Dark Pit said.
"Well, now that we're done with all that...what were we doing again?" Larry said. "Weren't we talking about Lucas's story?"
So much for them forgetting.
"What did you do after it was all over?" Henry said. "I don't know how you got through all that, you're way braver than me..."
Lucas frowned. "It's not like I had a choice. It was either living with it or doing what Claus did."
"Oh crap, that came out wrong!" Henry said awkwardly. "I still think it's true, though..."
"So...what did you do after that again?" May said.
He paused. "Well, a lot of folks were busy after that, since society was changing so much after we overthrew the Pigmasks...but me? Honestly, I wasn't doing much."
"Why not?"
"I guess there is one thing I did besides train for the tournament...I went to Claus's funeral."
"Oh..."
"Yeah...I was in a really bad place after that. I didn't really get any better until I came here, and then Subspace happened, and you know the rest."
"What about that time you fell a hundred stories in that elevator? I still don't get how you survived, doesn't that break all the laws of physics?" Mega Man said.
"Like Ness said, we used PSI to shield ourselves and levitate...oh, he forgot to say how Kumatora slowed down the elevator with PK Ground too."
"And the time you fell from the sky?"
"Again, it's 'cuz we slowed down everyone's fall, even though we got split up...are we done here?"
"Why did Fassad work for Porky?" Ludwig said. "It makes no sense, didn't he realize that would end in his own death as well once Claus pulled the final ne-"
"I don't know, ok!" Lucas put his head in his hands. "Sorry, I just don't like talking about this...maybe that makes me a wimp, but whatever."
"How about I tell you guys one of my secrets instead?" Ness said. "Did ya know Ness isn't my real name? It's just a nickname...my real name is Nesley."
Most of the Koopalings burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, Ness's name is dumb, that's funny!" Morton said.
"Doesn't get much lamer than that." Roy said.
"Yeah, my name's Bowser, and that's cool, even if everyone calls me Junior!"
It got the attention off of Lucas, and that was something he would be thankful for for the rest of the day.
He was still thankful even hours later, when they finally got to the end of Terminator 2 after Ness insisted everyone watch it and the first Terminator so people would get his references for once, and because they were fun. At least, it was fun for those who stuck around for the full four hours...Kirby only stayed for the popcorn, and thankfully fell asleep before he'd eaten it all. The younger Link and Roy left at the start since they'd already seen both, while Wendy, Lemmy, and the older Link skipped out on the second.
By the time everyone else saw the last scene, they were certain the others had missed out.
"I know now why you cry..." The Terminator said, wiping little John Connor's tears with his cold, metal hand. "But it's something I can never do."
The kid who would one day lead the resistance against Skynet hugged the heartless machine. And surprisingly, he hugged back.
Then he let go and shook Sarah Connor's hand one last time, sharing a look of understanding. Every last trace of Skynet's tech sent back in time had to be destroyed, including him, for the future to be saved. That was why for the first time, he had ignored John's orders when they were for him to stay, because they would contradict his higher directive to keep him alive. But the Terminator could not self-terminate...only Sarah could press the button that lowered the metal chain he held onto into the molten steel.
"Goodbye."
The last bit of him to disappear into the lava was his hand curled into a thumbs up. One last sign to the crying boy that everything would be okay.
"WAAAAA! Why does robot man have to die? Morton sad..."
"We're all sad, pal." Ness gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "That's why this movie is one of the best."
Even though he'd seen the movie before, and worse in real life, Lucas almost shed a tear. A so-called machine learning to feel and sacrificing himself for a kid and the future...and that last reassurance that it was okay since his sacrifice was worth it...
Yeah. He felt that.
The sleepover at Ness's house went better than expected. Sure, the room was a mess, but no furniture was destroyed except a few pillows in the pillow fight, they'd carefully teleported Kirby back home without waking him up so he didn't eat Ness's refrigerator for breakfast, and thanks to appropriate spacing of sleeping arrangements, no one got impaled on the Koopalings' spiked shells whenever they rolled over in their sleep.
All in all, he called it a success.
Sadly, there was something more difficult than cleaning it up that he had to do later that day.
Lucas, Ness, Mewtwo, Samus, Kirby wearing an identical copy of Ness's hat, and Mario in his doctor's outfit stood around Pikachu who sat on a hospital bed, with Kirby having to stand on the bed itself since he was so short.
"Are you a-sure this is a good idea?"
"They're ready. Now that Lucas isn't as terrified as lightning, he should be able to handle Pikachu's mind. And even if I'm wrong, I am more than capable of handling this myself and ensuring no physical or mental harm comes to Pikachu, regardless of their blunders."
"You better not be wrong." Samus said.
"Of course I'm not." He said, then looked at Ness, Lucas, and Kirby. "Now then, it's about time you three got started."
"O-okay, if you say so..."
"Relax, Luke, we've got this. Compared to that crap with Mewtwo and Ganondorf, and Giygas for me, this is gonna be a cakewalk."
"Poyo!"
"What about you, Pikachu, are you ready to get your memories back?"
"Pika!" He smiled, the red circles on his cheeks sparking with electricity.
"Then here goes nothing."
Lucas, Ness, Kirby, and Mewtwo placed their hands on Pikachu's forehead and closed their eyes. Ness used PSI Hypnosis to make Pikachu fall asleep...
They dove into the land of his dreams.