Lucas woke up with a headache- and he didn't know where he was.

That was happening a lot lately, the calm part of his brain commented as he squeezed his eyes shut (the lights overhead were way too bright) and tried to remember where he was. He wasn't in his bed- actually, he wasn't sure he was in a bed at all. There were no covers over him, and it didn't feel like a bed- more like a table that had a little bit of padding.

It'd been one thing after another- Bronson and Jackie had seen someone who looked like Duster at a place called Club Titboo, and Mr. Wess had asked Lucas to go see if it really was him. It was, and Kumatora had been there too. But Duster had lost his memory and didn't know who he was or how to get home- and when he'd lost his memory, he'd hidden something important called the Egg of Light. No one seemed to know much about it, not even Mr. Wess, other than the fact it was important.

Because it was important, they'd set off to go get it-but while looking for it, they'd needed to enter a Pigmask base- but the Pigmasks had mistaken Lucas for someone else.

Lucas felt his heart twist at the memory and started to push himself up.

The light above him was artificial- he could see that now. It was harsh and unfriendly, but now that that his eyes had adjusted, he saw pale white walls around him-

Where was he anyway? Inside the Pigmask base still? No- after the Pigmasks mistaking him for "the Commander" and making him change into a pair of "the Commander's" clothes (which had fit perfectly- Lucas's fists clenched convulsively at the memory), he and the others had left to find the Egg- and after some fighting and a few more misadventures, they had found it and Duster had gotten his memory back. But right after that happened, more Pigmasks had come and they'd thought he was "the Commander" too, and they'd dragged him and Kumatora and Duster and Boney to Thunder Tower. Thunder Tower was what they'd been using to make lightening strike everybody's houses. Lucas didn't understand why- why did the Pigmasks want everybody to have Happy Boxes? What was the point of making everyone have silly boxes that glowed?

And then Fassad, the jerk who had brought the Happy Boxes to Tazmily in the first place, had come- and he'd kept chasing them all over Thunder Tower. And then, when they'd reached the top, he'd set off a bunch of bombs and blown the tower up.

There had been a flying ship nearby- Fassad had been planning to escape on it, but he'd slipped and fallen on one of his own banana peels. Duster had used Rope Snake to grab onto the flying ship's ladder- the person controlling it had begun shaking the ship about, trying to shake them off-

And then someone had come out. With the shaking and the yelling, it had been hard to get a good look- the helmet hadn't helped- but in spite of all that… in spite of everything...

Lucas breathed out slowly and turned around.

He was standing there- the other, the one who- Lucas's throat closed in on itself at the sight of his one visible eye focused unmovingly on Lucas.

Lucas stared right back, frozen except for both hands gripping the edge of the table-bed.

He'd been captured.

He remembered now…becoming separated from the others, seeing his mom's ghost in the field of sunflowers, the Needles, learning about the Dragon, being reunited with the others, and seeing the other boy again and again, only for him to always, always leave Lucas behind again-

Lucas had been with Duster and Kumatora and Boney- they'd been at the temple where Ionia's Needle was- the other and the Pigmasks had gotten there first, but they hadn't been able to get past the vines- Lucas and his friends had been able to beat the Pigmasks pretty easily- and then they'd fought the other…he'd been strong. Still, Lucas had thought they were winning- and then he'd collapsed and the Pigmasks had run away, he and the others had turned to watch to make sure they were really gone-

And then the other had grabbed him. Taken him here- knocked him out almost right after they had gotten here.

Why was the other still wearing that helmet? Was it because of Lucas? They'd been fighting before- but he had been the one to attack them- Lucas hadn't wanted to fight him- hadn't been able to attack him once- he didn't know if the other understood that or even if he'd noticed that at all-

Lucas needed to ask him that- to ask him so many things- but the words scratching at his throat refused to come out-

The door opened.

"Ah, you're awake."

Lucas turned to see a man in a lab coat approaching- the creepy grin on his face and the way his eyes gleamed under his glasses made Lucas's skin crawl- he tried not to shudder. He wasn't sure, but he thought the other boy's (Kumatora had called him "the Masked Man", refusing to call him the same thing as the Pigmasks) the other boy's face might have tightened, just a bit more than it had before.

"You slept longer than anticipated." the scientist continued, as if unaware of their feelings-or not caring. "But it really doesn't matter. The installation went as expected- but the Commander refused to let me wake you or test it when you were asleep."

"…huh?" Test what? The bad feeling got worse-

The scientist pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. "Try to use one of your PSI abilities…but do not use any of your attacks."

Lucas stared at the scientist, still not understanding, and then turned to look back at the other- even just in his mind, calling him the "Masked Man" felt wrong.

The scientist sighed and mumbled something, but Lucas didn't look away from the other. For one thing, he was probably the one in charge since they called him "The Commander" …for another…

Slowly, he lifted one arm and pointed at Lucas's neck.

Startled, Lucas put one hand on his neck- froze at the feeling of cold metal underneath his fingers.

Lucas yelped, startled- and looked down at himself for the first time since waking up. He couldn't see what was around his neck- it was too close to him, hidden under his chin- Lucas tugged at it, but it wouldn't budge- it went all the way around his neck and refused to let go-

He wasn't even wearing his clothes anymore- Lucas realized as he tugged again- his striped shirt and his shorts were both gone, replaced with a plain grey shirt and pants combo- the cloth was rough, almost feeling unfinished- nothing like their mom's carefully made clothes, or even the painstakingly but still sometimes uneven clothes that Lucas had started making himself-

Lucas tugged once more, before realizing he couldn't get the metal circle off himself- raised his head and stared at the other, silently begging-

"Nice, isn't it?" the scientist gave a happy sigh from behind them. "Shock collars have been around of course, but I've refined this one to the point where it has different settings- not to mention the fact that if this works as anticipated you will be unable to use your PSI abilities. If you would…a shield, a healing… something along those lines."

Lucas switched his gaze from the other to the scientist and then back again, as quickly as he could move his head-

The scientist mumbled something that sounded like "uncooperative subject" and held up a small device- Lucas couldn't see it all that well- and pressed a button.

It felt like being struck by lightening- like having all his nerves set on fire-

Lucas only realized he'd collapsed once he was on the floor.

That was okay though. The floor was nice and cool. He lay there a moment, trying to get his bearings- and realized there was an argument going on above his head.

"It won't kill him. This is the main setting, designed to be completely non-lethal-" the scientist's voice, speaking in a dismissive tone.

"I want him awake."

Lucas began listening more intently. He wanted to hear more of this voice- but there was only the scientist sighing once again- a rustle of movement- and then footsteps, coming closer…stopping, right in front of him.

Lucas slowly peeked open his eyes. Stiff, shiny boots filled his vision.

"Stand up."

Automatically, Lucas scrambled to his feet. Something about the other- and now that Lucas saw him closer up, it was so obvious that he wasn't any older than Lucas- something about the way he stood, the way he moved… it made him seem older than he was…reminded him of his dad. Flint had the same way of just looking at you-

"Are you going to do what I say?"

"I-I don't… what are you going to say?"

He was silent a moment, studying Lucas- and that was like Flint too. Finally, he spoke. "Try to use one of your PSI abilities."

Lucas hesitated. He really didn't want to- but he'd spotted the shocker remote in the hand of the other, so he must have taken it away from the scientist, and Lucas wanted to know if he could use his abilities too. Lucas didn't want to stay in this place, and he'd need his PSI to escape- but this boy…he needed to talk to him- needed to ask him…and he'd probably be more willing to listen to Lucas if Lucas listened to him.

Lucas gave both the other and the scientist one last quick glance before reluctantly stretching out his finger. "PK Shield." he intoned, figuring that was a safe one.

Nothing happened.

Lucas stared in disbelief, and then tried again. "PK Shield!"

Still nothing.

Why- why were his powers failing him?

Maybe a different one-

"PK Defense Up!"

Still nothing. Normally his body rolled, tingled, flowed with the power… right now, it was still, cold. The temperature of the room wasn't exactly warm, but something more than the cold still air chilled Lucas's body-

Lucas shivered- couldn't stop it.

The scientist was rubbing his hands together. "It works just as I predicted- combine those elements together, and PSI abilities are rendered useless." he chuckled. "The King will be quite pleased with this discovery- I must-"

The other cut him off with a gesture. "His Highness has already been informed of the boy's capture. I will report the collar's success tomorrow."

The scientist didn't seem so pleased anymore- but the other turned away from him, ignoring the face he made, and then pointed at Lucas. "When was the last time you ate?"

Lucas had to think about that- his confusion about everything else didn't help. But to judge by his empty stomach, it had been a while…

Apparently, his silence had been answer enough.

"Come." The other turned and left the room abruptly.

Lucas stared after him briefly, then turned to glance at the scientist, then hurried to follow the other boy.

He was waiting for him outside the room. "Too slow. You're mine now. You'll do as I say." The voice was soft- not taunting, not cruel.

Lucas stepped forward- wanting to hear more, confused and wanting to understand.

A flash of metal caught his eye, and he glanced down at the shocker remote in the other's hand.

"Glad to see you understand." he spun on his heel and began walking away again.

"But I don't understand!" Lucas called, jogging after him- they were the same height, so their legs should be the same length, but the other was faster, had more muscles or something- "Why- what are you-" the other- why did Kumatora and Duster call him "the Masked Man" when he was so obviously a boy and not yet a man?- turned to face him, and Lucas gestured helplessly, losing all his words.

"…what are you asking?"

"…why did you bring me here? What do you want with me? Do you treat all your enemies-?"

"You're not an enemy. Not anymore." Was it Lucas's imagination, or had a hint of satisfaction crept in his voice? It was true that every time the two of them had met, they'd both been drawn to each other- Lucas had seen it in the way the masked boy stared at him, even at their encounter at Thunder Tower, before Lucas had even heard of the Needles… "You can't interfere anymore- you're not a threat anymore. Now- you're mine. It's late- I'll feed you now. Come."

Not knowing what else to do, not willing to be separated from this person, Lucas followed.

Standing in front of the temple that hid the sixth Needle, Lucas had felt the sun on his face and body and been warm- even a little hot. Here, inside this strange place, it was freezing. Lucas wrapped his arms around himself as they walked past a vent that spat cold air at them.

The walls were grayish white, a pale sort of nothing color. The ceiling and floor were the same. There were no windows anywhere- no hint of the world outside of this place.

Everyone was staring at him. The fact that they were pretending not to made it even worse.

The food wasn't very good either. It was all very greasy, the new type of food that Lucas had heard called 'junk food'. He tried not to think about that name too much. Junk food was okay, but he didn't really like it- he liked the food in Tazmily a lot better, that was all. Except, of course, Tazmily had junk food too now-

Lucas swallowed the food in his mouth and tried to swallow the lump in his throat with it. The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach didn't help though.

Lucas glanced at the masked boy out of the corner of his eye.

He still hadn't heard anyone call him by name- any sort of name. In fact, he'd barely been involved in any sort of conversation at all. He'd just walked in, gotten his food, and then walked to a table.

The most interaction he'd had with anyone had been the way he'd occasionally turned around and looked at Lucas to make sure he was following.

He was almost done eating too. Lucas hurriedly turned away from his study of the other and returned to eating his own food. He'd gotten too distracted by the looking around and the thinking.

The other boy finished eating, and turned and pointedly stared at him as Lucas ate his food as quickly as he possibly could without choking. As Lucas was swallowing the last bite, the other stood up and began walking away.

Startled, Lucas just watched him, until he spun around to stare at him and Lucas realized he expected him to follow him still. He jumped to his feet and rushed after him- and he couldn't help but notice the way the Pigmasks began to chatter once the two of them left the room.

"Slow again." the other said, not looking at him, not slowing down.

"Sorry." Lucas said softly. He wasn't really sure why he was apologizing- it wasn't as if Lucas had really kept him waiting, and besides, he'd captured him!

Lucas wanted to stop and demand answers- but he wasn't sure how to ask the questions and the halls were full of Pigmasks, and there was no way Lucas was going to ask questions in front of them!

Finally, they came to a room. The other opened it and stepped inside.

Slightly hesitantly, Lucas followed, hoping it wasn't another lab or something similar.

It looked like a bedroom…there was a bed, and there was another door that seemed to lead to a bathroom- and a dresser for storing clothes- but other than that, it was empty- glaringly empty.

The walls were painted a dreary grey that made Lucas think of rain clouds that refused to rain, that just hung in the sky, heavy and motionless as tombstones…

"Bathroom's over there." The other said, pointing. "You'll sleep there." He pointed again, and Lucas saw the cot he'd missed in his survey of the room- it had been hidden behind the bed. "I've given orders and some things should arrive for you tomorrow. You'll wear my things tonight."

"What about my things? The clothes I was wearing, the stuff I was carrying?" The Franklin Badge jumped to Lucas's mind first of all- it had been a gift from Flint, and it had been something that had belonged to their dad when he had been a kid after all- quickly followed that vial Ionia had given them for getting into the Temple, and his nice comfy clothes that were his and all the other things he'd been carrying-

At least Duster had been the one carrying the Hummingbird Egg, so that was still safe.

"Those are your clothes." The other said, pointed to what Lucas was wearing. Again, that slight hint of satisfaction in the voice… "All that you have- all that you need- you'll get it from me. Your old things have been destroyed. You won't need them anymore- I'll give you what you need." Doing one of those swift turns of his, he turned to the dresser and pulled out what was probably pajamas- they were stiff and grey, like the imprisoning walls of this place.

He pushed the clothes into the still stunned Lucas's arms and pointed towards the bathroom.

Lucas hesitated. Still confused, still unsure...and more than anything else, not wanting to leave the other alone-

"Go."

Lucas stopped hesitating- that voice sounded just like his father's whenever he'd done something wrong. Sometimes he'd felt like that was everything he did.

The clothes fit perfectly- like the change of clothes the Pigmasks kept for the other at that one base.

Looking in the mirror, Lucas scowled at himself halfheartedly.

Okay... there was no way he could get out of this place without his powers. He still needed to get answers from the other, but now was as good a time as any to figure out the collar.

He traced the collar, then slowly stuck his fingers on the inside, trying to fit them between his skin and the collar- and it shocked him.

Not nearly as bad as the one the scientist had given him, but bad enough that it stung and made Lucas yelp.

"…are you trying to remove your collar?" The other's voice sounded surprisingly close- almost like he was waiting outside the door.

"No!" Lucas called back, then winced at how guilty he sounded. It was sorta the truth, after all. He hadn't really been trying to remove it, only to find out more about it.

His mom had always called it the "whoops" look- everyone had always known when he'd done something wrong- and sometimes, like now, when he hadn't even really done anything wrong, when he felt guilty even though he really shouldn't feel guilty- when one of Claus's plans went wrong, that was generally what happened. Claus's plans…they backfired on him sometimes. And Lucas had always been with him, his constant partner in crime- exploring, getting lost, and then finding their way home again- they'd always done everything together…until the night everything went wrong, when it all fell apart- the night of the funeral…and Claus had disappeared the next morning.

Lucas suddenly realized two things- one, the door was opening- and two, he was crying.

Not sobbing, thankfully- but there were tears on his cheeks and in his eyes and no matter how he rubbed at them, he wasn't able to get rid of them before the door opened and the other came in.

He froze as he saw Lucas's tears.

Lucas flushed as he got his cheeks clear of tears, only for two more to escape from his eyes. "You know, there's this thing called privacy." He'd been spending too much time with Kumatora, he reflected absentmindedly as he faced the other- he was embarrassed and he was a little mad at the other for walking in on him, but he wasn't ashamed- he wasn't ashamed of the fact that he loved his family and he missed them-

Finally, the other found his voice again. "…you're crying." It was said in an odd tone- Lucas couldn't quite figure out what it was that this masked boy was feeling- he thought he heard confusion- maybe the other didn't know how he was feeling either.

"Yeah, I am." Lucas said softly.

The other continued to stare at him, like he was some sort of strange never before seen chimera.

Lucas just stared back at him, wondering what was going through his head, trying to figure it out-

"Why?"

"Because I miss my friends and I don't know what's going on, because I miss my family-"

The other was silent still- but he dropped his head- almost as if he was trying to think.

Lucas took the opportunity to study him. The other had to be a boy- he was the same height as Lucas, who was still barely half his father's height, and what little he could see of the face (why was he still wearing his helmet? Why wouldn't he take it off?) seemed to suggest he was Lucas's own age- but the way he moved and the way he looked at people…that made him seem older.

Lucas felt something tugging painfully at his heart- he always felt this way with this person, every since they'd met in the skies above Thunder Tower…

The other took a step back- he had to be feeling it too, he had to be! -and turned his face so Lucas could see only the masked part. "Family?"

"Yes, my family," Lucas said quietly, taking a step forward, not willing to let him get any further away from him than he already was. "My mom's dead- she's been dead for three years now, but I still love her and I still miss her. She was the smartest and kindest person I know. I don't know where my dad is right now…he spends most of his time searching for my brother."

"…brother?" The something in the other's voice was growing, becoming stronger.

Lucas took another step forward. Hoping he was getting through, hoping he was getting him to understand, he continued talking. "Yes- my brother, my twin brother Claus…he disappeared three years ago, right after our mom died…I believe he's still alive, but everyone keeps telling me to give up on him, that he has to be dead-" Lucas shook his head, then faced the other again, looking him in the eyes as much as he could. "I believe- no, I know- that my brother is still alive."

The other didn't move- he barely seemed to breathe.

Lucas reached for him, suddenly needing to make sure that he was still alive, still real- but the other jerked away and spun on his heel, leaving the bathroom and Lucas stared after him, stung and wrung by a sudden feeling of loss and emptiness…

When Lucas entered the room, the other was already in bed, unmoving, with the blanket over his head.

Hesitantly, Lucas moved closer-

"Go to bed." The sudden harsh command made him jump a bit. "Go to sleep."

"…I have questions."

"…I'll answer them tomorrow. Go to sleep."

"Promise?"

"…yes. I promise. Go to sleep. Now."

Lucas was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to sleep- sleep in this strange place with this strange boy-man, with all the questions running in circles in his head, screaming- but he didn't argue.

He walked over to the cot and climbed in. The blankets were awful, scratchy and thin- but there were two of them, and that should keep him warm enough.

Lucas turned to face the other- only to realize that his bed only had one blanket.

"Aren't you cold?"

"No. Go to sleep."

"…goodnight." Lucas whispered.

No response.

Lucas shut his eyes and tried to think.

Surprisingly, once his eyes shut, he remembered walking hand in hand with Claus through a warm field of sunflowers- their mom stood at the end of the row, smiling at them… smiling at them like she was getting ready to welcome them home… he saw it so clearly for a moment that he smelled the sunflowers, smelled his mother's scent as they ran to her-

Lucas shuddered slightly- opened his eyes again and looked at the other. With the blanket over his head, Lucas wasn't quite sure which way he was facing. Still, he reached out- the cot was just close enough that he could reach the bed- felt the edge of the other's hand through the cloth and gripped it tight.

The other tensed, but didn't pull away.

Lucas smiled- kept smiling as the other still didn't pull away, kept smiling until he finally fell asleep.

OoOoOo

(Breathes sigh of relief that you guys like this so far)

In case anyone's wondering about pairings, I don't think there's going to be any real pairings… though the plot bunnies have been bugging me with some minor ship tease moments, so I guess we'll see what happens with that. Romance will definitely not be a huge thing though. Family/friendship, hurt/comfort, mystery and drama are going to be the main things of this.

Also, the rest of the chapters won't be posted anywhere near as quickly.