Chapter 33: Unfinished Business

Author's Note: It's announcement time! I've started work on an adaptation of Earthbound, and I'll begin uploading it soon. If you're interested, keep an eye out for it! And don't worry, it won't take any time away from the updates to this story.

It took Quote very little time at all to realize that Mimiga Village was empty. By his count there should only have been four of them left, along with Sue, Booster, and Kazuma. Even such low numbers at least gave the impression that people lived there, but the place was a ghost town now. He felt his heart sink further with the understanding that, like Curly's adopted children, they had all likely been taken away by the Doctor. Trying to remain as motivated as possible, he proceeded towards Arthur's house. Perhaps Malco had figured out a plan.

When he flung open the door, however, the robot was nowhere to be seen. The only person in there was Professor Booster, who fortunately appeared unharmed.

"Quote? So you're safe after all," he remarked, standing up from the desk he'd been working at. Countless scraps of metal were strewn across it, and in the center was a green, bulky-looking metal device. "How did you get here?"

"I fell into the Labyrinth's waterway, and after a while it dropped me off at the reservoir. I should have gotten here much earlier than this, since I was supposed to meet someone here."

Booster's already tired expression only sank lower.

"Your robot friend from Bushlands? He was here about twenty minutes ago, wondering what the holdup was. When he thought something had happened to you, he decided to confront the Doctor himself…"

As if things couldn't get any worse. Malco wasn't built to fight like him and Curly, if he seriously tried to take him down alone then he didn't stand a chance.

"I need to go after him," Quote said at last. "Where is he?"

"The Egg Corridor, I think. He asked me how to get to the Doctor's fortress, and I told him about climbing the cliff face at the end of the island. After that he left looking completely furious… I can't tell why, though."

He suddenly recalled the damaged robot he and Curly had found in the Core chamber, and how it had mentioned Malco-class units going haywire under extreme stress. If that was the case, then his ally was possibly in even more danger to himself.

"If you plan to follow him," Professor Booster continued, "you'll need a way to catch up. Take this with you."

He presented the green device he'd been working on, which was revealed to be a rocket pack. Two gleaming thrusters protruded from the bottom, and a harness on the front kept it in place as Quote slipped it on. His antennae began to beep softly as if in response to it.

"This is the Booster Jetpack, 2.0, my finest creation. I modified it specifically for a soldier like you. Now you can activate it remotely thanks to your receptors, no hands required. It'll help you climb toward the Doctor's stronghold, once you get used to it."

Professor Booster sat back down in the chair and rested his hands on his knees.

"I have one last request of you, Quote. If you see Sue again, please take her and find a way to escape this island. She never wanted to come here in the first place, but she couldn't be left alone… Kazuma and their mother, Doctor Momorin Sakamoto, are the only family she has. Sue resisted coming to this island for as long as she could, but in the end she had no choice. I only wish I could have gotten her to safety before all this happened…"

Quote nodded, but internally he knew that he wasn't just going to leave. The Doctor still needed to be taken care of, after all. He had to be stopped from causing a global disaster. Moreover, Curly and Malco were missing, and he wasn't going anywhere until he'd found them. While he knew that stopping the enemy was the main objective, a large part of him wanted to ignore that altogether and search for his companions instead.

Either way, he'd been standing around long enough. He had things to do, and not much time to do them. Quote double-checked his weapons to make sure he was ready. The missile launcher had been lost, but he still had Bubbline, King's sword, and Polar Star, all in good condition.

He paused when his eyes landed on the last weapon. That small gun had served him well across his journey, but he hadn't forgotten that he'd stolen it before falling into Mimiga Village. Maybe, with the jetpack, he could return to that first cave and give Polar Star back to its rightful owner. It would take valuable time away from his other objectives, but something inside him felt compelled to do that.

Quote ran out of Arthur's house and made his way back to the grassy patch where he'd first arrived in the village. Far above him, he could still see the hole leading back to where that old hermit lived. He adjusted the straps on the Booster so it fit snugly and prepared to fly. Only… he wasn't sure how that worked. The Professor had mentioned it interfacing with his antennae, so was he supposed to activate it by thought?

Yes, it seemed, as when he concentrated on it for even a moment he was launched straight up into the air like a graceless bird. Even for his first time, Quote suspected he was performing lousily as even the slightest shift in weight caused him to almost careen into the cavern wall. He made his way back to the ground as gently as he could, only activating the Booster again to break his fall for a split second. It took the soldier two additional attempts before he finally made it all the way up to the ledge, and even then he learned a harsh lesson about the jetpack's limited flight time. After just a few seconds of sustained use it would overheat and need to recharge, cutting out altogether even if he was in the air with it. Quote was just barely able to haul himself into the upper tunnel before that happened again.

Being in the tunnel where he'd first awoken again felt extremely strange for the soldier. He had no idea how long it was since he was last there, as so much had happened to him. As he walked past the small cavern that he had been laying in, he reflected on all that he'd learned about so far.

He- Quote- was a soldier robot from the surface world, seven miles below the island. Many like him had been sent there during a war ten years earlier, to retrieve the Demon Crown and kill any Mimiga standing in the way. After that, however… something had happened to him to wipe his memory and leave him abandoned in that tiny room. It was actually quite frustrating to consider how little he still knew about himself. He'd learned so much about the people around him, yet his own past was a mystery. In his efforts to stop the Doctor, finding out more about himself had been pushed to the side. And until he was defeated at last, it would have to stay there.

The tunnel was much shorter than he remembered, and within minutes he'd arrived at the carved stone tiger head where the lone gunsmith lived. Quote walked inside slowly so as to not startle the old man- if he was even awake this time.

He was. The hermit looked just as withered and dirty as when Quote had first seen him, but he was standing up perfectly fine with his hands on the table where Polar Star had been. He turned his head to look at the soldier with tired but surprised eyes.

"You're awake after all… what do you want?" he asked in a gravelly voice. "Don't suppose you're itchin' for a fight, since I'm not much of a challenge right now. I would've been, if I still had my gun… someone pilfered it while I was asleep the other day. If I'd known that would happen, I'd have just slept with the thing in my chest pocket."

The hermit didn't take long to notice Polar Star in its holster around Quote's waist. He drew the gun and held it out, offering it back.

"So you're the one who took it! I should've known, you soldier types will grab any weapon you can get your hands on!"

He snatched it out of Quote's grip and backed away with the weapon cradled close to his chest.

"I didn't make this gun for you, you know. Hmph! Seems like you've managed to put a lot of wear on it in such a short time. Got in a lot of fights, did you?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry for stealing it from you."

Quote hadn't missed his comment about "soldier types," but he doubted the old man was in much of a talking mood now. He turned around to walk out, only for him to speak again before he had a chance to leave.

"I was raised to believe that one should only ever use the things he created himself. For the longest time, I thought those who fought using other people's weapons were fools through and through! Getting too confident with power that wasn't even their own, then blaming their failures on the stolen equipment… just thinking about it made me sick!"

Suddenly, the hermit's scowl softened to a gentler, even admiring expression. He delicately traced his fingers along Polar Star's barrel.

"But seeing this… this incomplete gun, which you've put to so much use despite its shortcomings… well, I'm very touched by your persistence. You obviously need this gun more than I do."

Quote gestured to Bubbline and the sword.

"It's fine, I have other weapons to use-"

"Nonsense, I insist that you keep it. This old man's finest creation, in the hands of someone as capable as you… that's a nice thought. Tell you what, I'll give it back so you can keep putting it to good use…"

The hermit smiled at him confidently.

"…after I've completed it, of course! Wait outside for a few minutes."

He did as requested and stood past the stone tiger's gaping maw, listening to the sounds of his weapon being worked on. In what felt like no time at all, he was beckoned back inside and presented with a truly remarkable gun.

Polar Star had been completely remodeled, and Quote found himself struck dumb with awe at the sleek, shiny pistol being given to him. A small scope was installed in the top, and its barrel had been extended by an inch. The most notable change, however, was its color: the formerly scratched cobalt casing was now a spotless, gleaming chrome.

"Impressive, isn't it? This is the Spur. I know you'll get a lot of use out of this beauty. Just hold down the trigger and watch as it charges up a powerful laser blast!"

"Wow…" he mumbled, taking the gun into his hands. It was heavier than before, but not by much. Just holding it made him feel stronger, and taking down his enemies now felt like it would be significantly easier.

"How can I repay you for this?"

"Don't bother," the hermit replied with a hearty laugh. "Just do your best out there."

Nodding in gratitude, Quote stepped out of his alcove into the tunnel again with his new weapon held tight.

"Oh, one more thing… do you know me? You seemed familiar with me when I came in."

The old man scratched his head.

"Yeah, I do. Some shifty-looking person in a hood dropped you off outside my cave a long time ago and said I needed to fix you up. Wouldn't tell me why, just that it was important. I didn't have anything else to do, so I gave it a shot. I did my best, but you just refused to reactivate, so I assumed you were scrap and left you somewhere else in the tunnel. Seems I was mistaken."

"…I see… thank you for everything, I'd better get moving now."

Malco must have been far ahead of him by that point, and he needed to catch up. It was time to pay a visit to the Doctor.

Even so, he began to question what the hermit had said. Quote only knew one "shifty-looking" hooded person; had he been the one to leave him there?


Near the surface of the island was an especially large cave system called the Plantation. Mimiga scurried about, tending to patches of Demon Flowers with upmost care. They most likely didn't realize the potential those vile plants held, and even if they did the Doctor had been forcing them to continue their work regardless. Only one person among the entire cave didn't concern himself with the flowers or the Mimiga, and indeed nobody had realized he was there.

Taking care not to dip his long green cloak into the massive water reservoir before him, the orange-scaled reptilian walked along the bank toward a collapsed figure nearby. He recognized her smooth blonde hair and pale skin… she was with that soldier in the Sand Zone, and just as he'd predicted they were sent to the Labyrinth. The man had sent their third friend there himself to assist them, and there the group had battled and almost destroyed the Core. Now it was above them all, hidden in the Doctor's fortress on the surface of the island.

Curly was very badly damaged and unconscious, but appeared to be alive. With his normal unintentionally twisted smile, Cthulhu began to drag her away.