~*Improviso Vir*~

Unexpected Hero

Damn it.

The curse word, the swear, was unusual from the boy. But Lucas didn't care. He just wanted the words to release just a little of the pent up frustration he was feeling.

Claus. He had been there. Right there. And upon seeing his dear brother it hurt more than a thousand hornet stings to see Claus not saying a word. Not changing his expression at all. Lucas would have welcomed hateful sneers and angry shouting, but not this terrible stillness that had settled across his twin.

No. Just…no. To Lucas, it was almost like a fantasy had just come to an end. The hero was supposed to save everyone, and yet…here was Claus, dying on his lap as he cradled his poor brother's head. He missed him already, and those last few sentences rang in his head and echoed in his ears. The sorrow and confusion, the pain and hurt, was so great that the boy was certain…these feelings would have to expel themselves somehow. Lucas, caught in the throes of his own despair, imagined that the bolts of strange flashing light that danced through the darkness around the cliff edges was some sort of manifestation of the horror he was feeling.

Claus was almost motionless, his chest rising fractionally. Lucas knew there was no point in summoning his energy; the PK couldn't help him now. Nothing could. Tears leaped to the corners of his eyes.

Damn…What's the point of having these powers, the ability to listen to things, to see things, and to do things no one else can if it doesn't matter in the end?

There were so many things power could do, but if it couldn't protect his friends and family then Lucas didn't want it. He was aware of Kumatora and the others stirring around him, but ignored it.

If his life was like a legend, a fantasy, this wouldn't have happened. Claus would have been perfectly fine, Lucas would have broken the control Pokey had had on his twin and together they could have pulled the last Needle.

There was always a happily ever after.

But reality had stepped in, and the cruel truth was that Claus was once again dead. And Lucas knew this, and he understood, but deep inside he felt like someone had raked claws across his heart.

It had just opened, after all. A desperate hope that he could free Claus and then, at least, his dear brother would be alive. But no. Whatever Gods existed up there, or down there, really didn't give a darn about how terrible they were making his life. Lucas laid down Claus gently, and he struggled to contain himself, thin shoulders shaking, as he felt Claus pass on.

It was bad enough thinking Flint had been dead after taking Claus's-the Masked Man's-attack. But he wasn't. That was some small solace, at least.

The dreadful silence continued, no one saying anything. The light flickered fitfully again, bolts shooting through the dark mist, and for one moment Lucas wanted to kill. The urge sent fire into his veins and made his breathing even harsher and he slammed a fist onto the ground. Pokey did this. He ruined Nowhere Islands, perfect as it had been, with his stupid technology and strange devices that did so many things.

Because the childish man thought himself a King. An emperor. And only with the forced help of Dr. Andonuts did he even manage to do half of this, with monsters like the Ultimate Chimera on his side.

And his own brother, acting as a robotic slave. Lucas touched the strange weapon on his brother's arm, and he still didn't know if the arm was replaced or if it was simply fitted around Claus's hand. The helmet lay discarded to the side of them, and it was stained with signs of battle and wear.

Lucas thought privately to himself that, really, if the world ended from him pulling the last Needle, it couldn't possibly be any worse than his life right now.

Might be better, actually.

Lucas tilted his head up to look at the rocky ceiling, where up above New Pork City bustled about. He stared so hard that he swore he could almost see past the dark stone and at the many people above, all counting on what he did now.

His heart would be reflected into the Dragon's, and to be honest he hoped the Needles he had pulled so far overpowered the darkness that resided in Claus's heart. No, not Claus's. With his brother having had been little more than a robot, (he recalled bitterly Pokey's jibes on "his little robot slave"), that darkness would have to come from the guy controlling him.

The soul of a man that saw the world as his toy box obviously didn't need a great powerful being like the Dragon under his control.

And Lucas looked at the Needle now, and he knew what he had to do. The Magypsies, his family and friends, their sacrifices would be for nothing if he didn't sign off his story with six desperately hopeful words that he poured into the Dragon's soul with all of the strength in his young, tired, broken and beaten heart.

And they lived happily ever after.

~***~

This was…okay I guess. Just a spur of the moment thing.