The train took them past all signs of New Pork City, and then into another tunnel, taking them even deeper into the earth.
Both brothers tensed slightly as the train headed into the darkness, but the lights on the train became brighter, so they could still see a fair distance.
Lucas switched seats, sitting next to Claus so that they both looked forward into the darkness together.
At least nothing was looming out at them this time.
The seats were comfortable, and after a while of waiting for something to happen and nothing happening, Lucas almost felt like falling asleep. His eyes shut on their own a couple times, and he shook his head.
"You okay, Lucas?"
He turned to Claus and nodded. "Just a little sleepy."
"If you want to, you can take a nap." Claus offered.
Lucas shook his head again. "I want to be awake- in case something happens."
"Well, do you want to eat the last of the food then?"
"…I guess so. We're getting closer now, so there isn't much point in saving it."
Claus nodded as he began to dig into his backpack.
The meal was mostly quiet, the boys frequently looking up from their food to stare into the darkness.
Lucas didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but when he looked into the darkness and thought about the Dragon, he could feel it- feel a tug at his heart, pulling him forward, closer and closer to the one that they came to find.
Eventually the train began to slow slightly, and then it took them to another cavern and slid to a stop.
The first thing that Lucas noticed as he and Claus got off was that this cavern wasn't cramped, which made him sigh in relief. The cavern seemed to be about the same size as the one they had fought the ghosts in- Lucas's spirits dropped a little bit at the thought of that cavern and what had happened in it.
After the huge cavern they had just left behind, the one that was big enough to hold New Pork City- or what they thought of New Pork City as- it was quieter here. Much quieter here.
The last cavern had imitated the outside so perfectly it had wind and sunlight even without the sun and the sound of grasses rustling against each other.
Here, their footsteps echoed as they left the train behind. When they stopped, it was absolutely silent.
The twins looked round, trying to gather their bearings, trying to figure out where to go next. A creaking sound came from behind them, made them turn around.
The Paradise Special was beginning to change- to glow- and then it began to fade away, like smoke from a campfire disappearing into the sky, until there was nothing left.
The brothers stared at where it had been for a moment, and then Lucas turned to Claus.
"Well, it's not like we could've gone back anyway, right?" He didn't sound quite as certain as he thought he was.
"I guess." Claus said, sounding not quite certain either- but then he straightened up and turned away from where the train had been. "Well, I guess it's time to go."
"Right." Lucas agreed, turning to follow his brother, and then noticed something. "Hey Claus, there's some light coming from over there."
"Hey, you're right. Let's go check it out."
The brothers headed towards the light, cautious but curious, not knowing what to expect. There were some strange things in this place- light that came from nowhere, people that looked like people you knew but weren't- who knew what was waiting ahead for them in this place?
The light beckoned ahead of them, and Lucas felt his hope grow a notch or two.
The path was all downhill- going deeper and deeper, seeming to head almost into the heart of the earth itself-
Just then something darted in front of them- something blue streaked through the air in front of them, only seen briefly before disappearing- vanishing further into the light-
Lucas stopped briefly, trying to figure out what he'd seen, but Claus darted ahead.
"Look Lucas! It's a bluebird! Just like in Mom's song!"
"Claus, wait!"
They ran briefly through rocky tunnels that narrowed and closed in on them as they ran-
"Come on Lucas hurry!"
"Claus slow down!" At least Claus wasn't forgetting about him this time, Lucas reassured himself as he followed his brother deeper in, as they came upon a place where the tunnel open up into another cavern- and then Claus cried out and disappeared.
"Claus!"
Lucas sped up then made himself slow- he didn't want to trample Claus.
The ground was gone- Lucas stopped, looked down- saw Claus lying motionless on the ground below him- calling his brother's name, he started down the almost non-existent slope, before tripping and falling himself near the bottom.
"Claus!" he scrambled to his brother's side and began shaking him. "Claus, look at me!"
Claus groaned and opened his eyes- still one red, still one green, but both were aware of him and both were focused on him. "Ouch. Remind me not to do that again." He rubbed his head carefully, then tilted his head back and looked around.
"Claus?"
"I'm trying to figure out where it went."
Lucas tilted his head up too, but after a quick glance around revealed no birds, let alone bluebirds, he turned back to his brother and began healing.
Claus waited until he was done, then stood up and starched. "Thanks Lucas. But what was with that bluebird? Aren't bluebirds supposed to be good things? That one song of Mom's talks about following a bluebird, remember?"
"That's true." Lucas said quietly, still sitting on the ground. "That's true, and maybe that bluebird was just trying to lead us further in in…maybe you were just-"
"He was just hasty, that's all. You'll forgive your hasty brother, won't you?"
Lucas's mouth clamped itself shut and he fought to open it again. "Maybe you were just rushing to follow it too fast Claus. Maybe we were supposed to follow it more carefully."
Claus looked thoughtful at that, and Lucas stood up and faced him.
"Don't be in such a rush that you leave me behind Claus. We're going to stick together, remember?"
"Right." Claus nodded, looking somewhat sheepish. "Sorry Lucas- I guess I wasn't thinking."
Lucas sighed, trying to think of the best way to respond to that. "It's okay. Just please-" he sighed and dropped his head and looked down, trying to find the best way to phrase his worry - then stared- there was something sparkling on the ground.
It was half buried in the dirt the two of them had just kicked up, so Lucas couldn't see what it was- but he didn't need to see it to know what it was.
Slowly, he reached down and picked it up and brushed it off.
"Lucas? What's that you got there?"
Lucas opened up his hand and held it up to show Claus.
"Oh, it's that Badge." Claus looked down at his shirt and plucked at the small hole where the Franklin Badge had been before. "I guess it must've gotten ripped in the fall. Good thing you noticed it, Lucas."
"Yeah." Lucas said as he reached forward and attached it to his brother's shirt again.
"Lucas, I can do that myself. Besides, don't you want to wear it now? I've been wearing it for a while now."
Lucas shook his head quickly. He couldn't say anything- he hurt too much. His throat hurt, his stomach hurt, and his heart felt like it was being slowly ripped into tiny pieces.
"Are you sure?" Claus asked, not seeming to pick up on Lucas's feelings.
"Keep wearing it, Claus."
"Okay, if you say so." Claus said- still sounding confused, but willing to accept it.
A small sigh of relief escaped as Lucas straightened up.
"…Lucas? You okay?"
"…I will be. Just be more careful, okay?"
"Yeah, sure!" Claus promised easily. "Feel better now? Are you ready to go on?"
Lucas nodded, still slightly anxious, but better and ready to go on.
"Okay, let's go then…" Claus said, speaking as he turned to face ahead of them and Lucas following him- and then both boys stopped as they realized what had been behind them all this time.
A set of double doors, huge and looking as if they had been carved out of the rock surrounding them.
They were still some feet away- they drew closer, staring at it silently.
No one needed to say it- they could both feel it.
These doors must mean one thing.
They were close, so close now- Lucas could reach out and touch it. He stared up- and up- and up at the doors. He couldn't even see the top of them. The stone was carved- with scenes, with symbols and lines- intricate and so detailed that it was almost hypnotic- Lucas had to tear his eyes away and turn to Claus, who was also staring at the door in fascination.
"Claus, do you think the Dragon is behind these doors?" when there was no response, Lucas asked again "Claus?". When there was no response, Lucas- worrying- stepped closer and was about to rush-
But Claus turned and looked at him again, and his eyes showed that he was very definitely aware of him- both the eye that was red and the eye that was green were focused on him.
"Claus?"
"…look." Claus said, not moving his hand away from where it was touching the door.
Worried, curious, and somehow knowing, Lucas drew closer.
His older brother's hand was resting beneath a carving of the seven needles.
Lucas swallowed.
Claus turned away and stared at him with those eyes- "Lucas, why can't I remember still?"
"Don't worry Claus, you will."
Above their heads, there was the sound of rocks rattling but Lucas ignored that- it was most likely just the bluebird from before, finding a place to rest now that it had led them to the doors.
"Look, you remember more than you did, right?" he said, keeping his attention on Claus.
"I guess." Claus said, not sounding convinced.
"Well, you remember our family, and you remember Fuel, right?"
"Yeah." he sounded more convinced now.
"And you remember Mom dieing, and going after the Mecha-Drago, right?"
This response lacked the energy of the last one. "Yeah."
"So it's just the needles and the journey that you don't remember, right? I'm sure they'll come back eventually. Don't worry about it." Part of Lucas was whispering that it was good that Claus didn't remember, that it would be for the best if he never remembered, but Lucas did his best to ignore it.
"I guess so." Claus said slowly, still unhappy. "I just feel bad, because it seems like you're the one doing all the remembering, and I don't have anything to share with you. Do you remember everything already?"
"No." Lucas said quickly. Too quickly.
Claus gave him a look.
"I don't! …but I do remember more than I did." Lucas admitted reluctantly.
"Really? Like what?"
Lucas almost stepped back in his desire to avoid answering that question. "Uh- not much. Just fragments, really-"
"Fragments of what?"
Lucas couldn't answer that- he didn't know what to say. He couldn't talk about that- not until they were out and safe and he knew exactly what had happened, exactly what to tell Claus-
But Claus was right in front of him, waiting- and he had that look on his face, the one that meant that he wasn't going to give up until he got what he was looking for-
More rocks bumping against each other and then fell and crashed onto the floor, startling both of them.
"It's pointless." It was spoken in a dull tone of voice- the twins looked up as two figures began to drop towards them, dropped right towards them, they were going to land right on top of them-
The brothers threw themselves backwards, getting as far away as possible-
The figures landed on the ground between them- remained crouched there a moment, silent and still, as the twins hurriedly pushed themselves to their feet- and then they looked up- one facing Lucas and one facing Claus.
Lucas swallowed, almost choked- as he met the other's eyes.
They were dead eyes- there was nothing there, just empty consuming darkness- but that wasn't the worst thing. The worst thing was that those dead eyes were in Lucas's face.
And it was him- or it was meant to be him. The hair was the right color- it was unclean and unkempt, but it was recognizably his.
That was his shirt, red and yellow and short sleeves, and those were his blue shorts and his red shoes.
The other Lucas's skin was pale- not like the ghost creatures, but pale enough that anyone passing him on the street would stop and turn and stare.
He took a step closer and Lucas took a step back- numbly noticing out of the corner of his eye that the second figure was also stepping closer to Claus- and he also noticed the helmet they were wearing-
"Stop it."
Lucas turned to look at back at the first figure, the one that was him but wrong- it had stepped closer when he'd been staring at Claus and the one facing him. Lucas could see more details now.
The other Lucas was bigger and stronger than he was too- he was older than he was, Lucas realized numbly.
Kumatora shook her head. "The two of you did both pull the needles- but you were doing it separately. There were times when the two of you…well, you were both in the same place, but never for long. This trip through Magicant has been the first time the two of you have really been together for a long time."
How long had it been between the time Claus disappeared and the time Lucas had set out on the journey?
"Stop it." the wrong Lucas repeated.
"What do you mean?" Claus demanded.
The wrong Lucas didn't turn to look at him- didn't even shift in his direction- just kept staring at Lucas. "Stop it."
"Stop what?" both twins asked at the same time- Claus angry about being ignored, Lucas quieter-
"You can't stop it- you can't do anything. You're not making it better, you're making it worse."
"What are you-" Claus yelped as he dodged, the masked figure's energy sword slicing through where he'd just been.
"Claus!" Lucas yelled, then was forced back as his own counterpart swung.
As the bat passed in front of his nose, so very close to hitting him, so very barely missing him, a part of Lucas's mind commented on the weapon- it was so covered with filth that he could barely see the wood beneath-
Lucas stumbled backwards, then regained his balance- gripping his bat- bracing himself, reaching for his PSI-
"Lucas! You okay?" Claus called, still dodging the masked man's attacks.
"Fine! You?"
"Yeah. Lucas- this guy has mismatching eyes- and one of them is red. Is he the guy that you were thinking about before?"
Lucas didn't feel surprised. He'd known that, even though all he'd seen had been his back. "Claus-"
The wrong Lucas swung at him again, and Lucas dodged out of the way.
"He is, isn't he? He's the one that hurt you- I'm going to beat him up!"
"Claus, wait!" Lucas yelled at his brother as he lunged at the masked boy, then had to dodge again as the other Lucas came closer, a glop of mud coming off the edge of the bat and hitting Lucas on the cheek- he reached up to wipe it off, it was wet and cold on his cheek- but the other Lucas was keeping too close to him, was attacking too fast-
The wrong Lucas was bigger, with more reach- he had more muscles, was stronger and faster- he was taller and older.
He wasn't ten years old- and neither was the boy in the mask.
Lucas dodged around one attack and tried to dart around him but the other recovered too quickly, attacking again-
Lucas dodged, but not quite quick enough- most of the blow missed him, but it did hit him a glancing blow, sending him stumbling a couple steps back, wincing as he did so.
Okay, time for a new plan. Lucas decided, flinging out his hands as he did so. "PK Defense up omega!"
"PK Defense up omega." said the wrong Lucas in a monotone, repeating the gesture as well as the words.
Lucas watched dismayed as the orange energy flashed over his opponent.
"Oh come on!" Claus shouted from the other side of the room.
Before Lucas could respond or think of his next move, the other Lucas moved his bat up to point at him.
"PK -" Lucas started, taking a couple of steps backward-
"- Love omega."
The attack threw him- tossed him across the room and left him skidding across the ground.
"Lucas!" then Claus grunted in pain- Lucas looked up to see him knocked to the ground, but he quickly pushed himself up again. "PK Thunder!"
Lucas stumbled to his feet, reeling with memories that he couldn't focus on, he had to focus on the enemies in front of them-
The bolts of lightening hit- the masked boy twitched slightly at each successive bolt, but didn't show any reaction other than that. When the attack finished, he merely raised his own weapon. "PK Thunder."
Claus took a step back, bracing himself-
Part of Lucas's mind screamed at him to throw up a shield, raise their defenses again, anything- he felt frozen, just watching fatalistically, just knowing what would happen-
The bolts were drawn to the Franklin Badge and reflected off, bouncing away from Claus and hitting the masked boy straight on. His own reflected bolts seemed to hurt him more than Claus's had- he stumbled back a couple of steps this time before recovering.
The other Lucas, the wrong Lucas, was looming in front of him then- "It's useless. Nothing can save him- nothing can save them- nothing can save me- nothing can save us."
"No, you're wrong!" Lucas protested.
"PK Love omega."
Lucas was tossed across the room again. He began pushing himself to his feet- casting Lifeup omega as he did so- the wrong Lucas copied him.
Lucas wondered why as he finished getting up. He hadn't even managed to land a blow or any sort of attack on him at all yet. Although the masked boy had been hit by the lightening, and the omega level Lifeup had healed him as well…
"PK Shield!" Lucas tried, throwing up a protective barrier.
"PK Shield!"
"Lucas, stop giving him ideas!"
"Sorry!" Lucas called, ducking another blow, thinking quickly. "PK Flash!" he called, shutting his own eyes.
"PK Flash!"
Lucas grinned, his eyes still shut and protected. "PK Love omega!" he opened his eyes to the other Lucas stumbling backwards.
"PK Love! PK Love! PK Love omega!" Lucas kept casting it over and over again until the other Lucas was driven back into the wall.
Lucas was about to keep doing it, making sure the enemy didn't get up again, didn't give the masked boy any more chances to hurt Claus- but then he recognized the dragging feeling at his limbs- he was running out of energy- when he ran out he wouldn't be able to use his PSI anymore.
The other Lucas was already recovering, was already pushing himself up-
"PK Love omega."
Before the psychic attack hit him, Lucas had just enough time to see the masked boy lower his weapon and see the green and blue psychic energy rushing towards him.
He didn't see Claus get hit, but he heard him cry out- the sound seemed to come from far away, Lucas dazedly thought as he was thrown across the room again.
This was all familiar, so familiar, too familiar- the masked boy being hit by the lightening that he himself had summoned, the masked boy using PK Love to attack him-
The masked boy fired off a second one- Lucas, barely in the process of beginning to push himself up again, was thrown into the wall.
"PK Love omega."
The attack was coming from the wrong Lucas this time, Lucas realized- he looked up, trying to decide if he should try to throw up a shield, he knew he couldn't get up in time-
He looked up to find a figure standing in front of him, arms spread. For a moment, he thought he saw his father standing in front of him, shielding him with his body from the PK Love- then the attack hit the figure, sending him flying into Lucas- Lucas rocked but did not lose his balance.
It was Claus- Claus had been the one protecting him.
Their eyes met, Claus still dazed and confused from the attack.
"PK Love omega."
"PK Love omega!" Lucas countered without even turning to look at the oncoming attack. Even while it was leaving, he began casting again. "PK Lifeup gamma!"
Claus blinked, and then bounced to his feet, fully healed.
"PK Lifeup gamma." the wrong Lucas cast on the masked boy.
Claus groaned. "Thanks for thinking about me Lucas- but these guys take way too damage and they heal themselves every time you do, so you shouldn't heal me so much, okay?"
Before Lucas could respond, Claus was dashing off again.
"Come on stupid jerk! Fight like a man!"
You're not a man yet Claus- he isn't a man either- he's only thirteen- you're only thirteen-we're only thirteen-
We're thirteen years old.
The wrong Lucas was standing over him again-
Lucas grabbed his bat from off the ground and braced himself for the next attack.
"You know the truth."
"What?" Lucas hadn't expected a verbal attack-and what did he mean? He knew the truth about what?
The other Lucas swung his bat and Lucas barely managed to block it with his own bat.
"Stop lying."
"I'm not lying!" Lucas protested.
The other Lucas leaned forward, putting his weight behind the bats- Lucas lost his balance and stumbled backwards, barely managing to recover before he fell.
"I know what you want." intoned the other Lucas. "I know what your heart desires."
"I doubt it." Lucas said, bracing himself. Should he try PK Love again? Or should he save his PSI?
"You want everything to change." said the other Lucas tonelessly. "You want Porky and his minions to disappear- to have never have been there in the first place. You want the village to go back to the way it was, for Kumatora to have always lived there and Duster to have not gotten lost, to have Dad be home and for Claus to have never left us behind and disappeared like that- for Mom to still be alive."
Lucas froze at the way each of his desires had been so plainly outlined. He wanted to deny that the wrong Lucas knew anything about him, but the way he'd listed off each of his desires so plainly, so matter of factly…
"PK Love omega."
Lucas hit the ground- began healing himself even before he began picking himself up.
Just like before, the other Lucas repeated his actions- healed himself even though Lucas still had yet to inflect any damage to him.
"Well, you know what I want- what do you want?" Lucas challenged. "Why are you attacking us like this?"
"I want everything to stop."
"To stop?" Lucas repeated- and then he understood.
"Everything just gets worse and worse. Nothing gets better. Nothing ever improves. It would be better if everything just stopped- if nothing ever changed ever again."
"…you want everything to disappear." Lucas whispered, horrified and numb. "You want the world to be destroyed!"
"Not disappear. Not be destroyed. Just stop. Everyone, everything, everywhere, just stopped. Things won't change ever again- everything will be the same as it ever was. Nobody will get hurt ever again, no one will die ever again. We won't wake up alone anymore."
"No, we just won't ever wake up at all!" He was still horrorified, but the numbness was beginning to wear off. Partially because, bad and horrible as it was, Lucas could see it- could see why the wrong Lucas wanted it. But it was still wrong. "That plan- people might not get hurt anymore, might not die anymore, but they won't live anymore either! They might as well be dead!"
"But we won't hurt anymore- the pain will be all gone, gone forever."
"…I do want to stop hurting." Lucas admitted quietly. "It hurts a lot- especially when I don't know what to do. But it hurts when I fight too- when I get hit, when I get kicked. But I fight for a reason- and that reason is more important than my pain."
"What about his pain?"
"His pain?"
"Claus."
"…what are you talking about?" Lucas asked cautiously. "Claus got hurt yeah, but he's better now-"
In the background, Lucas could hear Claus yelling as he summoned the lightening bolts again.
"He's lying too." said the wrong Lucas.
"Claus isn't lying!"
"You're both lying. To each other, to yourselves- isn't it ironic? He left to fight it, and then he became just like it."
"What are…?" Lucas trailed off.
Claus had left to fight the Mecha-Drago, the creature that had killed their mom, the creature that was a Drago but different, twisted-
"Porky had the Pigmasks messing around with the animals and hurting them- they were mixing them up and turning them into things called chimeras. It made them crazy, like the ghosts we just fought, and they would go around trying to hurt people because of that. That's what happened to the Mecha-Drago, except they mixed it with machines instead of another animal…if it hadn't been for Porky and the Pigmasks, that Drago wouldn't have hurt anyone, and it definitely wouldn't have hurt Mom-"
The Mecha-Drago had mismatched eyes too, Lucas remembered as the other Lucas took another step forward. Its eyes had been green, but the Pigmasks had stolen one and given it a red one instead.
Lucas took a step back himself- then shook his head and gripped his bat tighter.
"Ignoring pain won't make it go away." he said- he looked up to meet the other Lucas's eyes, but they were so black, so dead, he couldn't- there was nothing there to meet.
"It's been too long- it's too late." the wrong Lucas said, not stopping his march forward.
"Three years is a long time." Lucas said quietly, agreeing with that much. "But it's not forever- and now we're together again."
The other Lucas swung, and Lucas blocked.
Was it his imagination, or was it easier now? It made sense though- the other Lucas wasn't him, but it wasn't someone other than him either- it couldn't be stronger than him.
"You can't help him- it's too late."
"I know that Porky hurt Claus- that he hurt him really bad-"
For the first time, the wrong Lucas showed emotion- he laughed harshly. "Hurt him? He played with him like a toy! Controlled him so completely that he ran away from us again and again- and do you remember what he did then?"
Phantom bolts of electricity chased themselves over Lucas's body. He didn't say anything for a moment.
The wrong Lucas started to step forward-
"It doesn't really matter." Lucas said quietly, but firmly.
"Doesn't really matter?" the other Lucas demanded. "He shot us, he stabbed us-"
"It doesn't matter." Lucas insisted, louder and firmer now. "It doesn't matter because it's not Claus's fault that Porky hurt him like that, and it's not Claus's fault that he was lost and confused and that Porky made him do those things! And it doesn't matter because Claus apologized and I forgave him!" Lucas stepped forward and swung his bat with all his might.
The wrong Lucas didn't move fast enough- the bat was smashed out of his hands and went flying.
"It doesn't matter how badly Claus hurt me in the past, or even how badly he hurts me in the future- I'll always forgive him. There have been things that I've done that have been bad too, but he doesn't hold them against me. We're brothers, we forgive each other- that's how it works!"
"PK-" the wrong Lucas started, throwing up his hand.
Lucas smacked his hand and then his knee, driving him to the ground. "It doesn't matter- it doesn't matter where Claus goes, what he does- he'll always be my brother. Any pain I went through is nothing compared to his. Everyone goes through pain- everyone suffers sometimes. You just have to be stronger than the pain- strong enough to keep it from making you do things that are wrong, strong to help keep others from experiencing pain." Lucas pointed his bat in the wrong Lucas's face. "You might know everything that's happened, but you're wrong about everything to do. Go away!"
The wrong Lucas looked up and he had eyes, real eyes, and then he began to change- his skin turned darker and began to flake off, peel away- he was turning to dust and ashes, crumbling away, like the dead sunflowers they'd found outside of New Pork City-
The eyes were the last to go- he kept staring at Lucas until he was gone.
And then small floating lights escaped from the falling dust and entered Lucas's chest- entered his heart- it shoved him back, he stumbled and barely managed to regain his balance. It felt like a punch to the stomach- memories were revealed and shot into their places so fast he had no time to analyze them.
But quick as it came and hard as it hit, it began to fade almost as fast.
Lucas shook his head, trying to shake off the disorientation, trying to remind himself of where he was and what was going on.
He was tired, his PSI almost totally drained- but he couldn't stop now. Reminding himself of that, he looked up.
That was when he saw Claus.
His brother was on the other side of the room, his bat raised above his head, the masked boy on his knees in front of him, just staring up at him-
"No!"
They both turned and stared- stopped for long enough that Lucas threw himself in between them.
"No, don't do it!"
"Lucas, isn't this the guy who hurt you? Why are you protecting him?"
"He's not bad Claus!" Lucas said, turning to face him, turning his back towards the boy in the mask.
Claus reached for him, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away. "Don't turn your back towards him! That's like asking him to attack you!"
Lucas wanted to protest that he wouldn't hurt him, but he remembered- remembered the sting of the energy sword, the pain of the gun, the burn of the lightening hitting him- Lucas didn't pull away from Claus, but he turned to stare at the masked boy, who was still on his knees, just watching them, his face so blank they could've have not been there at all.
Lucas's heart twisted at that expression. "I know you aren't a bad person." he called out to him, ignoring the way Claus tried to shove him behind him, trying to make him be quiet.
The masked boy didn't respond.
Lucas couldn't call him Claus- Claus was right in front of him, warm and alive and worried about him.
The masked boy wasn't Claus, but he wasn't not Claus either- the same way the wrong Lucas hadn't been Lucas himself either.
First, the wrong Lucas had confronted him with things- with the truth- no, not the truth- with parts of it. Then Lucas had confronted him with the rest of the truth.
"…has he said anything?" Lucas asked quietly.
Claus gave him a confused look. "No. Why?"
"…you can't kill him Claus."
"What? Why not? Didn't you kill that guy you were fighting?"
"No. we fought, but we talked too. He told me some things, and I told him some things…and then he crumbled away." Lucas stared at the masked boy for a moment, and then turned back to Claus. "Tell him who you are."
"…what?"
"Tell him who you are. Tell him your name, tell him about your family, the things you like and dislike…just tell him everything."
Claus gave Lucas a doubtful look- then turned to study the still kneeling, still silent masked boy. And then he sighed. "Uh…hi. My name's Claus…what's your name?"
No response.
Claus grumbled under his breath. "Fine, be that way. Uh- I like omelets and exploring with Lucas- and it's fun if Fuel comes along too. And I like it when Mom sings to us and cooks for us and tells us stories. And I like it when Dad takes us out and shows us how to do things- how to tie ropes so they won't come undone, how to milk cows, how to take care of the sheep- things like that. Oh, I also like learning and using my PSI and my other battle skills because I want to be really strong- strong enough to beat anyone- so that I can stop things like what happened to Mom from happening to anyone else ever again. I want to be able to protect everyone I love."
The masked boy twitched- for a moment, lightening- so faint as to be ghostly- seemed to dance over him before vanishing.
Claus darted a quick, confused look at Lucas, who nodded encouragingly.
Claus looked back at the masked boy, who now looked just the same as he had before. He studied him briefly, before stepping forward. "Hey, what's your name?"
The masked boy twitched but said nothing.
"You gotta have a name- what do your parents call you?"
Same response.
Claus groaned. "Look, there must be something you can tell us about yourself."
While Claus had been talking, he'd been walking closer as well. And Lucas had been following, following right behind him, not wanting to distract him, but needing to stick close to him.
"What do you fight for?" Claus continued. "You're strong alright, but what do you use that strength for? Is it just used to get what you want? Because that's not what strength is supposed to be used for. Strength is supposed to be used to keep other people safe. Is that what you do with your strength?"
The masked boy still didn't say anything- but he actually seemed to see them now. His eyes were focused on Claus- Lucas shifted forward, and the masked boy's eyes darted to him quickly before returning to Claus.
Claus had stopped walking forward now- stopped about an arm's length away from the masked boy. Lucas stopped right beside him.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Claus asked then, voice more curious than confrontational now. "Can't you talk at all?"
The eyes looked away from them then- focused on the ground.
Claus darted a brief look at Lucas. "Lucas, doesn't this guy ever talk?"
"…I don't think I've heard him ever talk when he's like this." Lucas said slowly, sorting through newly returned memories. "But I've heard him talk in other cases- and I heard references to him talking, so I know he can…"
"What do you mean you've never heard him talk like this?"
"Oh! Umm…I've never heard him talk with the helmet on!" That was true, really, Lucas told himself, trying not to feel guilty.
"Really? Let's take off his helmet then!"
Before Lucas could respond to that- not that he had any idea how to respond to that- Claus was right on front of the masked boy, tugging on his helmet. The masked boy was trying to squirm away, but not having any success.
After a brief moment of watching his brother struggle with his counterpart, Lucas joined him- wrapped his arms around the masked boy in a restraining hug, keeping him from wiggling free and dislodging Claus's grip on the helmet.
Claus gave a triumphant shout. "I've almost got it Lucas- keep holding him!" and then he yelped as the helmet popped off and the force of momentum knocked him backwards, sending him sprawling on the ground. "Ow!"
"You okay Claus?" Lucas called, still holding onto his brother's counterpart. Claus's voice had sounded more annoyed than hurt, but he wanted to make sure.
Claus was already on his feet, brushing himself off. "Yeah, I'm fine Lucas. Don't let go of that guy though."
Lucas nodded and turned back to the boy who had been masked- and stared.
He'd thought that he would look just like Claus had looked when he'd worn the helmet and had his face masked, but he looked more like the ghosts that could only be healed. His face was pale as snow and his mouth was stitched shut.
At least his features didn't all blend into each other- although the two features that stood out the most were the stitched shut mouth and those now-familiar mismatching eyes.
Lucas couldn't tear his eyes away from that stitched shut mouth. The thread was big and thick and black as night- and worse of all, embedded deep in his skin- Lucas shuddered, shifting, moving one of his hands-
"Lucas, what are you doing? Don't let go…" his brother's voice trailed off as he saw what Lucas was staring at. "…of him." he finished weakly, also staring now. "I guess that's why he hasn't been saying anything."
Lucas didn't say anything. Neither did the silenced boy- he just looked at them- waiting for their next move. He didn't look scared or angry. He didn't even look curious, really. Lucas thought that he saw traces of uneasiness lurking about on his face, in his eyes- but then Claus was talking again.
"Who are you? I know you can't talk, but do you have something with your name on it, or can you write it down or something…?" he trailed off as the silenced boy's eyes drifted towards him.
For a moment, he was motionless as well as speechless- and then he tapped his arm.
Both boys stared at it.
That arm was a machine, Lucas saw now- remembered now. The original arm was gone. The Pigmasks had done that too, taken away his real arm and replaced it with a machine.
Lucas stared at it a moment, wondering why the silent Claus would tap his arm when asked who he was- well, it wasn't his arm technically, it was a machine… wait.
Lucas turned-spun- to look at Claus, who was still looking at the arm himself, frowning puzzled.
"He's saying he's a machine." Lucas explained dully.
The silent boy's eyes- so much like Claus's, but so different- those eyes were aware of them, but so very far away from them.
"…is he like the Mecha-Drago?" Claus asked quietly.
Lucas turned to look at him.
"Is he…is he like the thing that killed Mom? I know that guy from before- that Porky guy- I know he's responsible for what happened, but that thing was still the one that who did it…you said that the Pigmasks made that Drago crazy by mixing it with machines, right?"
"Uh huh…"
"So maybe they did the same with this guy." Claus said, pointing at the silent boy.
Lucas stared at him as Claus turned back to his counterpart.
"Hey, you realize you're more than an arm, right dummy?"
The now helmet-less boy looked down at his arm and then at Claus, expression still mostly blank- but Lucas thought there was more expression then there had been before- mostly confusion, but still there.
"I mean, look at you." Claus reached over and pinched his counterpart's cheek.
The silent boy winced, briefly, but both brothers noticed.
"Ha!" Claus crowed, pointing at him. "See, I told you so! Besides, machines are things made by people and they don't have unnecessary parts. Obviously-" Claus said, reaching for the silent boy and the silent boy tried to move away but didn't move fast enough. "Some idiot thought you didn't need a mouth. But look, you have one."
"He can't see his own face Claus." Lucas pointed out quietly. Claus seemed to have the right idea- and anyway, this was his counterpart, so he should be the one to talk to them.
Claus waved the hand that was not holding onto the silent boy in the air dismissively. "Details." he said carelessly, then reached into his backpack and pulled out their dad's homemade knife. "Okay, stay still…"
"Claus-" Lucas started, suddenly worried again.
"Don't worry Lucas, I know what I'm doing."
"Okay." Lucas said, still somewhat uneasy, still eyeing the blade in his brother's hand- then he looked back at the silent boy and the stitched shut mouth and understood what his brother was up to.
"Stay still." Claus warned his counterpart again, and before he had a chance to respond, Claus cut through the thick threads that bound the silent boy's mouth shut.
His lips parted- air was sucked in with a gasp.
"Told ya." Claus said, smirking.
Lucas almost rolled his eyes and stepped closer. "You're breathing right now. Machines don't breathe."
Claus nodded. "You're no machine. You must've come from somewhere- who are your parents? Where do you come from?"
The still speechless boy, still sucking in air as if he'd been drowning, just stared up at them.
"He probably doesn't know still." Lucas said softly, and before Claus could respond, Lucas reached over and hugged both his brother and his brother's counterpart at the same time. "It's okay- it's not your fault that they hurt you. They didn't hurt you because you were bad- they hurt you because they were bad."
From within his arms, Lucas felt the silent boy tremble. And he knew Claus felt it too.
Claus sighed. "Lucas is right, you know. And I'm sure that you've got a family out there somewhere waiting for you- even if you don't remember them or where they are, I'm sure they remember you. They might get mad at you for disappearing but when you find them again, they'll be happy to see you and forgive you and welcome you back. Because that's what families do, you know."
The silent boy trembled more- Claus reached out and gripped him then.
"Hey, tell Lucas you're sorry you hurt him."
"Oh, he doesn't have to-" Lucas protested.
"Yes he does." Claus insisted. "Listen," he said, turning back to the silent boy, "it's not your fault those guys did bad things to you, but you still hurt Lucas. And when you hurt people, you're supposed to apologize. Your mom probably taught you that, but since your memory is in such bad shape, I think you need a reminder. Lucas is a good boy-"
A good boy? What am I, a dog? Lucas wondered to himself but said nothing.
"-and I know he didn't do anything to you, so you need to apologize." Claus paused briefly, before turning to face Lucas. "You're not allowed to forgive him until he apologizes."
Lucas chuckled sheepishly. "Too late, I already forgave him a long time ago."
Claus sighed impatiently, but someone else beat him to responding.
"I'm sorry."
Both brothers blinked, not quite sure they'd really heard it, and then turned to face the no longer silent boy.
"I'm sorry." he said again, and this time there was no question it was him- they were both staring at him, they saw his lips moving as he spoke the words.
Lucas smiled and hugged tighter, lowering his head so it pressed into the front of the counterpart's chest and into the side of Claus. "Don't worry, you're forgiven."
"Well, since Lucas forgave you for hurting him, I forgive you for being a pain in the neck and for hurting my brother." Claus announced. "but if you say anything more about being a machine, I'll smack you." He turned and looked at Lucas, and thus missed what caught Lucas's attention- the way the no longer silent boy began to glow- before crumpling and turning into lights, just the way Lucas's counterpart had.
The lights buried themselves in Claus's back- flying straight through it and into- Lucas knew without needing to see it- his heart. Claus screamed and collapsed into Lucas's arms.
"Claus! Claus!"
And then there was a creaking sound- Lucas looked up to see the huge doors beginning to tremble- and then they exploded outward, a strong wind like a storm diving out of it and hitting them- knocking them backwards, across the room- slamming them against the wall- they dropped and crumpled to the floor.
Blackness swallowed them.
OoOoOo
Ooh, look, a cliffhanger. I guess now is a good time for one, since the next chapter has the climax, and is only followed by the epilogue. Yes, we have a final boss coming up (crosses fingers in hopes that it comes out okay). Guess who it is? Hint: they've already shown up in this.
And we do finally get to meet the Dragon in the next chapter too.
Hang onto your red baseball caps, boys and girls- and as always, please review!
