Hey, everyone. Sorry for the almost two month break between uploads. Last month I was doing National Novel Writing Month instead, and this month I've been working through some mental health problems that make it pretty hard to write. So when I do write, I think a lot of my own personal struggles show through this chapter. Sorry about that. :(
One of my greatest challenges with this story was taking something like Mother 3 that truly exists inside a child's mind (both the innocent and the heart-wrenchingly painful) and transitioning that to the lens of a college student like Ninten who is more aware of politics and doesn't view the world as being particularly fantastical, even when PSI is involved. Basically, I wanted to tell a Mother story with an older, more logically-minded (not smarter, but just less tolerant of weird fantasy stuff) protagonist. It was hard for me to fit the real narrative of Mother 3 into that story, and the V-game bridges a lot of the gap.
But Lucas has to come from somewhere, so I tried to set Lucas' past inside real sociopolitical trends within US foreign policy (which makes more sense to Ninten). It might come off as being critical of America, and I wanted to say that I live in America and I like my country overall. But I think that Lucas is understandably bitter about some of the stuff that happened to him, and the more political setting makes sense with someone like Ninten as a protagonist. Hopefully the story still feels natural.
And considering that it's been a while since my last post, I thought I would refresh the plot a bit. here goes... *takes a deep breath*
-Ninten was going through Lucas' Magicant to try to find out where Lucas went, and ended up playing the Nowhere Islands V-game, which took him through various scenes in Mother 3. He eventually beat the game and Hinawa revealed Lucas' location.
-Ninten found Lucas dead in the forest, but his consciousness still lived on inside his Magicant. Lucas had died in an accident and didn't want Ninten to reveal to the world that it was possible to live past death in Magicant, as it would benefit the rich more than the poor. Ana disagreed, saying that anything helping people should be pursued.
-Ness is feeling a bit down since his father's cancer diagnosis so Ana and Ninten promised him an ice-cream outing to try and cheer him up.
-Ninten confronted his great-grandfather George and discovered that George is also dead like Lucas and that his consciousness is living on inside his own Magicant. George threatened to arrest Ninten if he didn't keep quiet, and Ninten called his bluff before running off to talk with Lucas. Now Ninten is worried that George might actually try to have him arrested and imprisoned on false charges.
Well, that's it. I hope you enjoy the chapter and as always reviews help me out a ton. :) Have a great day!
Ninten kept his head down and hands in his pockets as he walked onto the subway. He scanned the area and saw no open seats, so he walked over and hung onto one of the handles drooping down from the metal bar above him. A few people muttered under their breath, and Ninten heard a wet cough from someone further away, but for the most part people kept their eyes looking down at their phones and their lips shut.
Ninten looked out the window as the door closed behind him. No cops in the area, which was a good sign. And even if George had managed to send out the order for the police to capture Ninten, they wouldn't bother to stop every person in a hoodie to get a better look at their face.
Realistically, Ninten should be safe. Safer than some people were in their daily lives walking around their run-down neighborhoods. But rationality didn't stop him from looking out the window, and it didn't stop his heart from pounding in his chest.
The subway trip seemed to draw on for hours, but after Ninten walked out of the tunnels into the sunlight at the edge of the city it felt like no time had passed at all. As he walked up the concrete steps and entered the realm of the aboveground city, he let the sunlight trickle into the lower part of his face. He still kept his eyes covered by the shade of his hood, but he took his hands out of his hoodie pocket.
Just yesterday, he had been studying physics with Ana. He had an entire future laid out for him in paved stone, and all he had to do was keep walking.
But no, Ninten had to go and insult his great-grandfather. Now he would probably either live out the rest of his life as a fugitive or a convict. He had no doubt that George had as much sway over the justice system as he claimed. If there was one thing that George had taught him, it was that money could buy anything. Loyalty, love, and justice all revolved around wads of bills.
Mary had let it slip to Ninten a couple years ago that George had embezzled millions of dollars in relief funds. The news must have disturbed him then, but only now did the implications hit Ninten. George likely ruined thousands of people whose lives could have been improved by the relief funds, and he faced no charges. Meanwhile, people whose only charges were minor drug offences would continue to sit inside grimy prisons for decades.
And then there were the people like Ninten, who hadn't done anything wrong. Ninten tried not to think about how many other people his great-grandfather had shoved into prison in order to hide his own tracks.
He wove through the streets, jaywalking in order to keep from walking next to other people. It was paranoid to think that every person out there could be an informant for George, of course, but he just couldn't bring himself to flip his hood up and show his face to the world.
Thankfully, he had to deal with fewer people once he got away from the concrete sidewalks and walked along the dirt path of Sullivan Park. Ninten almost expected the forest life to fall still, but again his mind's workings were laughably naïve. The chickadees and robins chirped in the distance, and red leaves fluttered down to the ground in the soft breeze. Lucas had died and Ninten was on the run, but the forest was too large and powerful to stop and mourn for them.
Ninten's heart was still pounding in his chest by the time that he reached the waterfall basin where he and Ana had found Lucas' body in the morning. Ana was lying down on the dirt, her puffy jacket covered by a blanket of orange and yellow maple leaves. Ninten walked over and bent down next to her, noting the waterfall carving in her hand.
How long had she been talking with Lucas? Ninten shook his head, sat down next to her, and reached out with his mind. He felt the warmth of the psyspace portal pulsating in front of him, and he channeled his energy into Lucas' Magicant one more time.
No time to waste in the sunflower fields. Ninten took a quick glance at the green and yellow skies before running over to the waterfall sprite. The running water splashed on his feet and soaked his shoes, and Ninten did his best to ignore his soggy socks as he stared at the waterfall.
"Listen, Lucas," he said out loud. "I know I don't have the waterfall carving that got me in here last time, but please let me in. We need to talk."
Ninten paused for a moment, listening to the splashing water as it drained into the surrounding flower fields.
"Please," Ninten said. "I don't have anything else."
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and reached out with his consciousness.
The world materialized around Ninten in the same place where he had originally met Lucas, at the top of a waterfall by a much larger river. He looked around and saw Ana talking with Lucas by the waterfall's edge. The setting sun beyond the waterfall cast both Ana's and Lucas' shadows long enough to make them look like giants in the distance.
Ninten ran forward, and Lucas was the first one to turn around. He gave Ninten an eyebrow raise and a frown that seemed to say "What could it possibly be this time?"
"You won't believe what just happened," Ninten said, panting as he halted in front of Lucas.
"Ninten?" Ana whirled around. "How did you get here?"
"I took the subway."
"Yeah, but how did you get… here?" Ana gestured towards the air around her.
"I let him in," Lucas said. "I figured that if he ran all the way here then he has information that I should probably hear."
"Yeah," Ninten said. "Listen to this."
Even Lucas didn't manage to keep a neutral expression as Ninten explained what happened between him and George. Sure, Ana was the first one to gasp and put a hand over her mouth, but Lucas' eyes widened when Ninten mentioned that George and Mary had already been dead for years. After he explained George's threats, Ana walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Is there any possibility that he's bluffing?" Ana said.
"George?" Ninten snorted. "Even past death, I don't think there's anything beyond a remote possibility of him going easy on me."
Ana averted her gaze. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I'm sure that he's hurt hundreds of people in worse ways than I'll suffer. Besides, considering that he was the one who pointed out to my parents that they should adopt me, my experiences with him haven't been all bad."
Ana stiffened. "Stop acting like this is okay. Please. Your own great-grandfather is trying to throw you in prison just because you challenged is pride. Can't you see how messed up that is?"
Ninten shrugged. "Just another day in the life of dealing with George, I guess. I'll deal with the consequences when they catch up to me."
"You are not going to prison," Ana said. "They'll crack the smile on your face in the first couple of days."
Ninten shrugged. "We all change to match our environments."
"Prison is going to break you. You can't even talk to some of your professors because you're scared that they'll look at you like you're stupid. How are you going to deal with it day after day when the prison guards look at you like you're not even a goddamn human?"
"Listen, I don't really have a choice. I just wanted to tell Lucas that his secret is already out."
"We might be able to find a way to deal with George," Lucas said. "At this point, his spirit is just psyspace data, and data can always be erased. We just have to figure out how. And in case the police do hunt you down, I can teach you my secret."
"Your…" Ana's eyes flashed with rage as she turned back to Ninten. "Oh don't you dare listen to him, Ninten. You're not going to kill yourself."
"It might be the best way." Ninten managed a weak smile. "Although it would be kind of funny how a rich kid like me would manage to avoid consequences yet again."
"Consequences for what?" Ana said. "Stop acting like you did something wrong."
"Listen, Ana," Lucas said. "Sometimes life isn't fair. We do what we must in order to survive."
Ana barked a laugh. "This is surviving, Lucas?"
"Maybe not. But it's all I have."
"No. Ninten is innocent, and the courts will acquit him."
"You're acting like false sentences don't happen."
"And you're acting like they make up the majority of cases. I'll be the first one to admit that our justice system isn't perfect, but we need to have some faith in it."
Lucas snorted. "Right, the same justice system where you keep suspected terrorists in secret prison camps and never give them a trial. The rich and powerful will always get what they want, Ana. I've seen it before, and I'm seeing it now."
"Can we stop talking about this?" Ninten said. "I get that the American courts are a touchy subject, but arguing about it isn't going to change my plan of action. We'll try to take out George's psyspace data or whatever. If that fails, I'll fight the legal battle. And in case I lose both, I'll come up with a backup plan. Does that make everyone happy?"
"No," Ana said, "But I guess that there's nothing better we can do."
"I just want to let you both know that there's not any justice in this world," Lucas said. "Ninten's been good so far at taking matters into his own hands. I don't want either of you to place your faith in a broken system when we can work together to take our George ourselves."
"And you have a plan for that?" Ninten said.
Lucas smirked. "When do I ever not have a plan, Ninten?"
Ana crossed her arms. "Ugh. Why did you bother to argue with me about what to do if you already have a good idea for how to kick George's ass?"
"Well, 'good idea' might be a bit of a stretch."
Lucas sat down with his legs dangling off the ledge of the cliff. He sighed and looked out at the horizon, his gaze fixed towards the setting sun. In those moments, the sounds of the river running and the waterfall crashing in the basin below breathed life into the silence between Ninten, Ana, and Lucas.
Come to think of it, the river and waterfall should have been loud enough to drown out most of the conversation. But Ninten hadn't needed to shout, and Lucas and Ana kept their voices level even during their bickering. It was probably due to more Magicant shenanigans that Lucas could go on an hour-long rant about if Ninten asked.
Lucas sighed, cutting through the sounds of the crashing waterfall.
"In fact, even calling my suggestion a 'plan' might be a bit generous," Lucas said. "And it doesn't come from me. I would investigate ways to deal with George on my own, of course, but I'm stuck here in this data file. The forest might look vast from this view, but this world is just as small as any other."
A breeze passed by, ruffling Lucas' hair. The sea of leaves swayed in the trees below the cliff side. After a while with no outside contact, Ninten could see how even a whole world could seem sad and lonely.
So how must Mary be doing? She had George with her, of course, but Ninten didn't really consider talking to him to be a human interaction. She probably got bored in there, all alone on the rainy shores of her Magicant. And to know that the world would continue to move on without her, not being able to tell any of them what actually happened, must be torture.
Disconnect from society. Feelings of loneliness. Knowing that nothing will ever fix the emptiness. Ninten knew those symptoms, but as something else than life inside a Magicant.
"Lucas," Ninten said. "You've been depressed before, right?"
"That's what led me into my little accident, yes." Lucas looked up at Ninten. "I know that you struggle with some of those same feelings as well. Or, well, some of those non-feelings. I'm sorry."
Ninten shook his head. "This isn't about me. This is about Magicant."
"Okay," Ana said, frowning. "You're making even less sense than usual."
Ninten gestured towards the setting sun, glowing orange as it started to sink beneath the ground. He looked up at the dusk sky and watched as the light filtered through the clouds.
"This is all so beautiful," Ninten said. "But could you imagine being trapped in here, day after day, with no way to get out? You must know that the people outside there living in the real world must be laughing and playing with each other. But you're in here, alone, and even a paradise grows cold and lonely. And the worst part is that you're stuck here for an eternity. You're stuck inside a cage within your own mind, and the only way out is death."
"That's a little melodramatic, isn't it?" Ana said.
Lucas picked up a stone by the riverbank and ran his fingers over it, as if the rough rock were instead made of velvet. He flashed a sad smile and then looked up at Ana.
"No, that's what depression really feels like," Lucas said. "And that's what… being in my Magicant is like, sort of. That's why I told Ninten to keep my existence here a secret. A life without end might sound nice, but a life where every day passes the same way while I drift further away from the life I knew isn't something that I'm sure I want."
"If the practice of living on past death inside of a psyspace becomes normal," Ninten said, "Then everyone will have to exist alone as they start to forget everything that held meaning for them back in the real world."
"I told Ninten that I would teach him my secret if he wanted," Lucas said, "But I'm not sure how different it would feel from twenty years in prison. Living on my own Magicant makes me feel like I'm just dying more slowly. But once I cross that barrier and let my consciousness dissolve into the realm outside my own Magicant, I can never go back. So I'm here, for now. I don't know how long Ninten would last."
"So it's all the more important that we find a way to get rid of George," Ana said. "We can't let Ninten resort to anything drastic."
"I agree." Lucas looked over at Ninten. "Although like I said, I don't think my idea for defeating George is worth much. And it involves going back inside the Nowhere Islands V-game."
Ninten's stomach lurched. A series of memories flashed through his mind. Flames licking at Ninten's heels, heat distorting the view of the Mr. Saturn in the burning house. Claus shrinking back as Isaac pointed a laser gun straight at him. Hinawa's eyes wide with betrayal as the world faded to white after Ninten used 4th-D slip.
Of course Ninten wasn't done. The Nowhere Islands V-game would probably haunt him to his grave.
"Is there any other way?" Ana said. "I don't want Ninten to feel like he has to go back there again."
"I'll be fine," Ninten said, turning away.
"Okay," Ana said, "But how can Ninten entering the Nowhere Islands V-game again possibly help defeat George?"
"I honestly don't know," Lucas said.
Ninten blinked, glanced over at Lucas, and then met Ana's gaze. She looked just as confused as he felt. Ana shook her head and turned back to face Lucas.
"I hate to sound obvious and stupid," Ana said, "But shouldn't you know if you're the one who made the game?"
"Right," Lucas said. "About that. It turns out that I wasn't being completely honest with you when I said that I made the Nowhere Islands V-game."
Lucas took a deep breath.
"Actually," Lucas said, "It was pretty much a complete lie."
"Then who actually made the game?" Ninten said.
Lucas looked over at Ana. "This is something I would like to talk with you about alone."
Ana put her hands on her hips. "Oh, so you don't trust me at all even though he couldn't match your face to your name before yesterday."
"Ninten went through the Nowhere Islands V-game and suffered just for me," Lucas said. "So he deserves to know the truth. He can tell you afterwards if he likes, but I want to be alone with him since he understands the game so well."
Ana's eyes narrowed. "You know, Lucas. If anyone else was so touchy about wanting me away from Ninten, I would expect some sort of foul play."
"You know I wouldn't hurt him."
"Do I?" Ana took a step forward. "Do I really know that, Lucas? Back in school, when I thought I knew you, I don't think you ever showed me a bit of who you really are."
"I'm sorry for everything you and Ninten had to go through just to discover me here," Lucas said. "And I am sorry that I didn't tell you about my past. But I need to speak with Ninten alone."
"What if I refuse?"
"Ana," Ninten said. "Do you trust me to handle this by myself?"
"Of course I do, but it's hard not to be suspicious when Lucas wants to talk with you alone in a place where nobody will be able to hear if you try to scream."
"And you called Ninten melodramatic," Lucas said.
Ninten sighed. "Ana, I'm touched that you care. I really am. But I trust Lucas, and I'm asking you to trust him too. And if you can't do that, I'm asking you to trust my ability to leave his Magicant on my own if anything goes wrong. He can't keep me locked in here."
"Yeah, it's not like he already did that before," Ana said with a snort.
Lucas raised an eyebrow, looking back and forth between Ninten and Ana. "What happened?"
"Oh, don't act like you have no idea what-"
"It wasn't him, Ana." Ninten took a deep breath. "It was George."
"George trapped you in that dingy cave?" Ana frowned. "Well, if you say so…"
"I do. Please, Ana. I know it's hard, but I need to talk with Lucas alone."
Ana crossed her arms and frowned at Lucas.
"Seriously," Lucas said. "What happened to you, Ninten?"
"He got stuck inside your Magicant with no way to leave, forced to play the Nowhere Islands V-game again and again," Ana said. "I was worried that if we couldn't find a way out, his body would die of hunger or thirst. Shouldn't you know about this?"
"Like I said, I didn't actually make the game." Lucas looked out at the sunset. "But I'm sorry. It looks like you suffered even more than I thought on my behalf."
Ana opened her mouth, but then looked into Lucas' wide eyes and grunted instead of speaking.
"All right," Ana said. "I guess if this is what you want, Ninten, I can leave you two alone." Whirling around to face Lucas, "But you had better explain yourself afterwards."
Lucas nodded. "Feel free to reenter the waterfall sprite in thirty minutes or so. If all goes well by then, Ninten will be back in the Nowhere Islands V-game and I can explain more about what's going on."
Ana narrowed her eyes, nodded, and vanished from sight a moment later without a goodbye for Lucas or Ninten. Lucas got up to his feet and released a sigh, looking at the running water of the river and then the forest behind him. A bird chirped in the distance.
"I don't think Ana meant what she said personally," Ninten told Lucas. "It's just been stressful for both of us, and I don't think she's comfortable with her own assumptions of what can go on inside a psyspace anymore."
Lucas smiled at Ninten. "No, I agree with her. It does seem a bit shady for me to want to speak with you alone. Now I just need to make up an excuse to tell her after we're done talking."
Ninten's heart skipped a beat. An excuse for what?
"She's gone," Lucas said, facing towards the forest. "You can come out now."
A figure emerged from behind one of the trees. Ninten took a step back.
"And you're welcome, by the way," Lucas said. "I don't think you understand how big of a deal it is to get Ana Aniah to have blind faith in me and Ninten when none of the evidence adds up."
The figure walked out of the forest and into the sunlight of the riverbank, revealing red hair with the same cowlick as Lucas, along with the same pink cheeks and blue eyes.
Claus.
"Wait," Ninten said. "How are you here?"
"You didn't ask when I took you here the first time," Claus said.
Claus spoke in a voice just as deep as Lucas', but he looked about the same age as he did in the Nowhere Islands V-game, which would put him at about twelve or thirteen compared to Lucas being a freshman in college. Claus walked next to his brother, and Lucas had almost a full head of height on him.
"Oh, back when you were talking to Hinawa about whether or not I actually beat the V-game," Ninten said. "Wait, how did you get to this place back then as well? I thought that only Lucas could live here."
"Well, he's not usually supposed to come here," Lucas said. "I could dismiss him right now if I wanted to."
"Aw, but we both know you have a soft spot for your dear twin brother," Claus said.
Ninten frowned. When Claus had first taken him and Hinawa to the waterfall and forest where he and Lucas stood now, Ninten had no reason to question Lucas' claims that he and his surroundings were all part of the V-game. After all, this was the utopia that Ninten and Lucas had fought for. Leaves swaying in the wind, dusk cloaking the trees in a warm haze, an azure pool below the crashing waterfall.
The Dark Dragon was supposed to destroy the world and make it anew, protecting all life in the world. This new world, beautiful as it was, now seemed sad and empty to Ninten. It might look like a tranquil setting, but without the rest of the people present Ninten could see why Lucas might want to leave his consciousness to dissolve so that he could finally die for real.
This place contained Lucas' true spirit, something more real than a V-game could ever grasp, yet to Ninten it seemed more lifeless than a world that the Dark Dragon might have created inside the Nowhere Islands V-game. Still, if this place were real and if Claus were just a character within the V-game, how had Claus managed to come here in the first place?
"Finally putting the pieces together?" Lucas said. "I was worried that you'd figure me out a lot sooner."
"You shouldn't have," Claus said. "I never knew before talking to you here how distracting words can actually be. I'm sure that Ninten was captivated by your own tale and didn't stop to think about all the details. I wouldn't."
Ninten shook his head. "I still don't get it. Lucas, Claus is…"
"I should probably start from the beginning," Lucas said with a frown. "I promise I'll get to my dear brother eventually."
"That's him, all right," Claus said, rolling his eyes. "Always putting me off for later."
Lucas' eye twitched, but he made no other notion to acknowledge Claus.
"Actually, It might be easier to show you," Lucas said. "Just give me a moment."
The image of the trees and the sky started to fade into darkness. It looked like night, except that there were no stars to light up the sky. The wave of darkness grew closer and within seconds passed under Ninten's feet, erasing the ground and the waterfall nearby. The world fell silent.
Ninten looked over at Claus, who shrugged.
The world reformed around Ninten in an instant. He found himself standing on cobblestone ground next to a well in what looked like a central square of a town. Flower beds scattered around the well gave off a faintly sweet aroma, and wooden cabins lined up at the edge of the cobblestone square reminded Ninten of his early childhood years back in Podunk.
"Well, here we are," Lucas said, gesturing outwards. "Welcome to Tazmily Village."
Ninten frowned, studying the wooden panels of the houses.
"I don't understand," Ninten said. "It looks just like a normal town."
"Well, I wouldn't call it normal, and I think Claus would agree," Lucas said. "But it was a town."
"Wait." Ninten looked over at Lucas. "You mean this place was real?"
"Still is, technically." Lucas smiled. "The Nowhere Islands V-game was based off some real places and events."
"When you said that this place is 'technically' real, it raises quite a few suspicions."
"Oh, we're getting there," Lucas said. "But first, we have to go back in time to the industrial revolution."
"You mean Henry Ford and that assembly line stuff?"
"Further. Back to the steam engine and the loom. A bunch of privileged white people felt disenfranchised and complained that their country was falling to ruin because times were changing and all that."
"Sounds a bit familiar," Ninten said.
"It's been the story of America ever since its creation," Lucas said. "Anyways, these people were my ancestors, and they got so mad that people worked inside factories instead of farms that they took a few ships and sailed out into the Pacific Ocean."
"As you can assume," Claus said, "This wasn't quite how it was described to us when we were learning about our own history. There was a lot more talk about why it was necessary to strike out and start a new life."
"The reasons aren't all that important," Lucas said. "And our ancestors were honestly pretty stupid. Most people who felt disenfranchised went to California to get rich off of gold. Others went to Oregon to create their own little community and farm crops until they died. I think our ancestors would have fit in well there."
"But instead," Claus said, "They ended up finding a set of islands that they ended up calling the 'Nowhere Islands.' Amazingly enough, the islands were completely uncharted, so nobody knew to check there and find them. Not that I suspect anyone really cared."
"Our ancestors claimed that there weren't any natives inhabiting the islands when they arrived," Lucas said, "And there surely aren't any now."
"What made you so cynical about your heritage?" Ninten asked.
"Our ancestors lived in what they described as harmony with nature," Lucas said, ignoring Ninten, "And lived on without modern medicine or technology. From the records I've found, infant mortality was far higher than anywhere in the US. And without medicine to stop infections, many children perished as well. Tazmily Village was one of the most objectively dangerous places in the world to be born into. But generation after generation told themselves that they were living in a utopia."
"It wasn't all so bad," Claus said. "Some of my fondest memories were of the mountains we used to scale and the forests we used to run through. It's not good to watch so many people die without medicine, of course, but we were all able to appreciate natural beauty during out time here. And we also found this."
Claus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knelt down and placed his fingertips on the ground, and one of the rocks within the cobblestone ground wrestled itself free and flew up in front of Claus' face. Claus' eyes flashed open and he placed a hand under the stone, but the rock continued to levitate above his hand.
"It's worth pointing out," Lucas said, "That we discovered PSI after George did."
"But we made it our own," Claus said. "And then…"
"And then," Lucas said, nodding, "The Americans showed up on our doorstep."
"What did they want with you?" Ninten said. "This place doesn't look like it produces particularly valuable resources."
Lucas gestured towards the rock floating above Claus' hand. "They wanted psychics like me and Claus."
"A lot of people in Tazmily were psychics," Claus said, "And we had myths about a Dark Dragon that gave us powers and would return the world to a more natural state if we ever needed it to. It was the same beliefs that you saw in the V-game, really."
"And some of the Americans bought into it, believe it or not," Lucas said. "I'm assuming that these were the sort of people who would hang up crystals around their homes and talk about their metaphysical properties all the time. They thought that by raising their children here, they could create a new generation of psychics. The American Government wanted to test out the uses of psychic powers, so they supported these people and forced us to integrate them into their society. These were the first pigmasks."
Ninten blinked. "But Hinawa said that the pigmasks were fascist."
"These people weren't," Lucas said. "They were kind, but deluded. There was nothing special about the Nowhere Islands or Tazmily Village. Take a look at every island with a small human population and I'm sure you'll find at least one with a high percentage of psychics just by chance. We were that island, and the people read too much into it."
"But it gave the American government an excuse to insert themselves into our lives," Claus said. "And eventually they cracked down on us. The next wave they sent were military types. They put us under martial law and constructed bases on the island. The original pigmasks had to blend in and stay out of the conflict. Some of them moved back to America."
"So did these people actually wear pig masks?" Ninten said.
"No, that was part of the game's aesthetic," Lucas said. "But the new wave of pigmasks weren't any less malicious than the ones you saw in the game. And it soon became clear what they wanted."
A chill ran down Ninten's spine. "Which was…?"
"Me," Claus said, averting his gaze. "They wanted to test the limits of psychic powers, and I was one of the strongest psychics in the village."
"They took my brother from us," Lucas said. "Pushed him to his limits. Broke down his mind. Eventually, they must have gotten the information they wanted from us, because they gave Claus back. But every night, he would wake up screaming from nightmares."
"I never remembered what they were about," Claus said. "I guess it didn't matter. My chest tightened the same way each night, and I woke up feeling like I couldn't breathe."
"He refused to talk to us," Lucas said. "He barely ate. So I ran away from home. Struck out to go to one of the mythical shrines of the Dark Dragon," Lucas said. "That's where the story of my adventure came from. I dodged some American soldiers and made it to the shrine that my ancestors must have built. I prayed for the Dark Dragon to rebirth the world into a simpler place, just like the stories said he would. But of course he didn't. And when I got back…"
Lucas snapped, and the wooden houses in the distance crumbled to ashes. Ninten looked out into the distance and saw black scars on the earth where grass had been, with a few tufts of yellow vegetation struggling to remain upright in the landscape. A moaning wind blew across the town square, ruffling Lucas' shirt. He didn't seem to notice.
"This is what I came back to see," Lucas said, staring at the ashes.
"A fire?" Ninten said.
"Look down," Lucas said.
Ninten frowned, and then glanced at his feet. The cobblestone looked just as grey and rocky as ever.
"Out of everything that changed, I don't see why you want me to look at the streets," Ninten said.
"Exactly," Lucas said. "We paved the streets in stone, but we built our houses out of wood because they looked more natural. My ancestors probably thought they were being noble." Lucas snorted. "It was vanity. And that vanity brought the end of Tazmily Village."
"Are they still rebuilding?" Ninten said.
"Follow me." Lucas looked off into the distance. "I have something I want to show you."
Lucas walked along the cobblestone path. Claus followed behind, wincing as he looked around at the ashes where the houses used to be. Ninten let out a sigh and ran forward until he caught up with Claus.
"So I guess the first scene I saw in the V-game with the forest fire was based off of reality as well," Ninten said.
Claus nodded. "The events are a bit scrambled, but the Nowhere Islands V-game tells a familiar story for us."
Claus bit his lip and looked away. Ninten looked up at Lucas, whose posture seemed as relaxed as ever, and shook his head. Lucas must have known that it would hurt Claus to see the ashes of his homeland. Ninten couldn't see how he could possibly be the same shy boy playing with Dragos in the Nowhere Islands V-game.
"Here we are," Lucas said.
Lucas halted in front of a steel building with a pair of tanks parked on the outside. Burn marks covered the ground leading up to the building, but the steel itself looked untarnished.
"The pigmask military camp," Lucas said, "Was converted into a prison camp after the fire. The pigmasks blamed us for everything. Called us terrorists. I don't think most of us knew what Americans did to suspected terrorists. Would you like to look inside?"
Lucas walked up and placed his palm on the steel door, and then looked back at Ninten.
"Would you like to see, Ninten, what people in power really do to the helpless?" Lucas said.
"When you were talking about secret prison camps for suspected terrorists with Ana," Ninten said, "You meant-"
"Do you think it's different here than anywhere else?" Lucas said. "Than in even America? I can name you dozens of people who were held without trial in secret New York prisons. This is what the people in power do."
"I think they were afraid of us," Claus said. "They were afraid that our anger had boiled over after all of the abuse we had suffered. To this day, I'm still not sure if they were right about that."
Claus bit his lip and looked away.
"Is this painful for you?" Ninten said. "We can go somewhere else if you want."
"I'm… fine." Claus smiled, but it looked forced. "I just don't want to get any closer to the pigmask military camp. It has bad memories for me."
Oh, of course. That must be where they experimented on Claus because of his psychic powers.
"I think that neither of us want to go in there," Ninten said. "I'll stay here with you."
Claus gulped and nodded. "Thanks."
"I was the only one that they let go," Lucas said, closing his eyes. "I'm not sure why. I imagine that most of my childhood friends are still on Nowhere Islands and will live the rest of their lives out as undocumented prisoners."
"And as for me," Claus said, "I woke up one day within the Nowhere Islands V-game. Mom was there too, and a few others. I know you've met Isaac."
"I encountered them all when I went inside the Nowhere Islands V-game as well," Lucas said.
"We were told that we would watch the tragedies of our islands play out again and again," Claus said, "And we would never be able to stop them. Our jobs were to moderate the game and explain the rules to any players who entered. Some of us like Isaac went crazy from living within the cycle of suffering for so long and seeing no way out. So he tried to mess with the world within the game just to show that he could."
"I guess I can't really blame him too harshly, then," Ninten said. "But when I saw him pointing his laser gun at you, I couldn't just sit by and watch."
"I'm glad that you took action," Claus said. "But remember, that wasn't me. We saw ourselves inside the game, but we moderators had a life before, in the world outside of the V-game. At least, that's what our memories tell us."
Ninten gasped. "But that would mean…"
"That was another lie Lucas told you," Claus said. "Yes, the Claus, Lucas, and Kumatora inside the game are just constructs. But the moderators like me, Isaac, Fassad, and mother are real people who have been brought back from the dead. During all of those conversations we had in that glass box, when I was the Masked Man, you were talking to a real person."
"So there really is so much more to the Nowhere Islands V-game than it first appeared," Ninten said. "So much more than I could have imagined. You're actually… the real Claus?"
Claus flashed a sad smile. "Look into my eyes, Ninten. Even if my memories are lies, even if I'm not the actual Claus and my mind was created by someone else, I promise that there's something real behind them. Because isn't that what you taught me, Ninten? Even if I'm not the exact Claus that Lucas knew in the real life, I can still be Claus."
Claus looked over at the tanks, then at the steel fortress in front of him, then up at the cloudless sky. Claus stared up at the sun and closed his eyes.
"I can still be real," Claus said.