"What do you think you're doing?" Duster asked, arms crossed.
Kumatora scowled at him from her perch in the tree. "I'm looking for any sort of sign, any sort of clue that that stupid jerk went this way with Lucas!" Her voice had gotten louder with each word.
"Do you see anything?" Duster asked calmly, knowing that he wasn't the one she was really mad at.
Her face flushed, both at his calmness and her failure. "Not yet."
"We'll still find him."
Startled, she met his eyes and then smiled- just slightly, but enough to show that she was reassured. She turned back to scan once more, just to be sure- and then frowned.
"Do you see something?"
"Yeah- I think so!" She dropped from the tree in a shower of leaves and twigs and grinned at him. "This way, come on!"
Before he could respond, she was darting away into the forest. Duster groaned and followed, ignoring his leg. He was grateful for all of his father's thief training- if it hadn't been for that, there was no way he could've caught up to her.
Boney darted around him- normally content to heel, worry for Lucas was affecting him the same way as Kumatora-
They'd been searching the woods for hours, trying to catch up to the Masked Man and Lucas. They'd lost sight of them soon after he'd grabbed Lucas- he'd taken off into the sky with such speed that the two of them were high in the sky and already far away before Duster and Kumatora had a chance to take more than a few steps in pursuit-
Duster mentally cursed himself, following up that cursing with a list of his father's favorite insults. Lucas might be the hero of this journey, but he still was only thirteen, just barely a teenager- Duster was the adult, and it was his job to be the responsible one and look after the other two- and he'd failed.
What were the Pigmasks doing to Lucas right now? Duster devoutly hoped nothing. He might have thrown wrenches into their plans a few times, but he was just a kid. The Pigmasks might be a bad group, but that didn't mean that they were totally evil, right? And only the truly evil would hurt a kid-
They finally caught up with Kumatora, and found her standing still- staring intently up at something…Duster came to a stop and stared up, following her line of sight-
A large wall of dirty white rose up in front of them. It curved, almost as if someone had cleanly cut the bottom half off an egg. It was huge…
"Look." Kumatora said, unusually quiet, and pointed. "There's a door."
She was right.
Duster stared at it a minute- he realized the creeping feeling inside of him was fear- he didn't know why, but at the sight of that structure, whatever it was- something, something weird and strong rose up in him like a swimmer striking towards the surface-
He realized that Kumatora was calling his name- he started and turned to her.
"You okay?"
"I think so- it's just, when I look at that thing…" he trailed off- he wanted to look back at it, but he was afraid too, afraid that the same thing would happen again, and he'd get sucked into the whirlpool inside of him.
Boney whined.
"What?" Kumatora pressed- and at the worry in her voice and in those green eyes, Duster decided to try to explain to her.
"I felt something- something strong- inside of me. Actually…it felt a little…familiar."
"Like what?"
"Like…like when we finally found the Clayman that had the Hummingbird Egg…when my memories came back." Duster spun around and stared at the strange structure again. The whirlpool rose, but only lapped at his feet, not threatening to overwhelm him the way it had before.
"Do you think you've been here before?"
"I don't know." Duster said quietly, stepping closer, not taking his eyes off it. "I don't recognize it… I don't think it's one of the places my dad used for thief training, or as one of his hidey holes. But…it's important. It must be."
"…let's go in then."
He turned to look at her again, and she gestured, a little helplessly.
"That stupid Masked Man may have taken Lucas inside- he was headed in this direction after all- and if this place is important, we should check it out anyway, right?"
Boney barked in agreement.
"Yeah…you're right. Let's go."
This thing had to have been abandoned for a while, judging by the vines growing on it, but the door swished open for them easily, with an unearthly sound that chilled him- the inside was dark, and smelled of dust. There were no windows, but artificial lights flickered weakly along the tops of the walls- at least, some of them did. Others remained dark and dead, and even the ones that worked flickered like candles in the wind.
But there was enough light for Duster to look down and see the footprints on the ground, clearly outlined in the dust. "Someone's been here recently."
"Alright, we've found where that masked jerk is-"
"No." Duster said shortly, bending down and examining them. Two sets, but it looked like they belonged to the same person- whoever it was, they'd come in, and then they'd left.
"No? What do you mean, no?"
"Look at the size of these prints. Whoever left them is my height or taller, but the Masked Man is closer to Lucas's height than mine." Duster stood up and dusted his hands off. "I don't know who was here, but it wasn't him. I don't think it was one of the Pigmasks either. For one thing, the only Pigmasks we've seen wandering around by themselves were the Fierce Pork Trooper and the one who stayed at Lydia's to take care for the bunnies- they really don't seem to like being alone. For another, the boot prints look different- all of the Pigmasks' boots look the same, although there are some size differences. These though… these might actually be handmade, the way the villagers used to…" Duster trailed off and frowned at the prints.
"Duster?"
Before Duster had a chance to respond, Boney trotted up beside him and sniffed at the prints, before barking in surprise.
"(Flint was here!)."
"Are you sure Boney?" Duster asked, and Boney turned and gave him a look.
"(Of course I'm sure! The nose knows! Flint was here!)"
"Who's Flint?" Kumatora asked.
"Lucas's dad."
"What was Lucas's dad doing in a place like this?" Kumatora gestured to the walls surrounding them- "With all this technology, it must be one of the Pigmask labs, right? I mean, those automatic doors, the lack of windows and artificial lights in here- what else could it be? I mean, it looks like they've forgotten about it, but still-"
It's not a Pigmask base. Duster wanted to say, It's the furthest thing from a Pigmask base. But he didn't know why he wanted to say that, and Boney interrupted before he could begin to start sorting through the strange impulse.
"...(he must have been looking for Claus.)" the Lab whined softly.
"Looking for Claus?" Duster repeated, a sick feeling creeping around his insides. When he'd gotten his memory back and mentally reviewed the most recent events, he had noticed that Claus wasn't there with them when Lucas and Boney arrived at the Club, and he knew that Claus would never have stayed behind- he'd also noticed that Lucas didn't talk about him.
He'd assumed that Claus had been killed by the same creature that had killed their mother, and that Lucas just didn't want to talk about something that undoubtedly hurt him deeply. Duster had planned to wait and find a good moment, and talk to him about it then- he knew some of the villagers gave Lucas grief about being a "crybaby", and sometimes Lucas was a little too sensitive, but there was nothing wrong about caring for people and missing the ones you loved when they died- and from everything Duster had seen, Lucas had grown up quite a bit in the last three years- channeled his sensitivity to make him stronger, not weaker.
Duster had planned to talk to Lucas alone, and ask about what had happened then- but with everything going on and the fate of the world at stake, he hadn't had a chance- but Flint wouldn't spend time looking for a dead person, would he?
"...that's Lucas's brother, right?" Kumatora asked- she and Duster traded looks as he nodded slowly. Duster suspected they were both remembering Tanetane Island. All three of them had seen things- things that tried to mess with their heads- but Lucas had been the most affected. Maybe the fact that he was the youngest had something to do with it-
Kumatora sighed softly and turned away slightly. "...I remember when I first met Lucas, his brother was missing and Lucas was worried about him." She folded her arms and snorted softly. "He showed up out of nowhere with a couple of Dragos, saved our lives, and then the old geezer told him what was going and then ordered him to stay in Tazmily. Told him that he was certain that Claus would come back sooner or later." she chuckled bitterly and folded her arms tighter. "He told Lucas to work with his dad and the others to 'work together to protect our village'. Geezer didn't seem to realize that some people love their blindfolds, and there's only so much one person can do by themselves." Kumatora sighed, then turned to him and gave a small smile. "Well, at least one part of his plan worked."
"Which part was that?"
"The one where I found you, of course! It was more complicated than I expected, but worth it in the end." She smiled, but then it faded, and she sighed again. "I wish he'd been right about Lucas's brother too."
Duster remembered Claus- bright and vivid, rushing around like a small fireball- he threw himself into whatever he did, Lucas always at his side- how he was independent, never letting people do things for him, but also how he loved to do things for other people- how he'd constantly driven his mother crazy with "gifts" of flowers he'd picked from her garden and from the flower boxes in the village- even when he'd gotten older and realized why she wasn't very enthusiastic about those gifts, he started bringing her wildflowers he and Lucas had picked instead. "Claus never would've stayed away unless something kept him coming home." Duster said out loud, and Boney barked in agreement.
"I kinda figured that." Kumatora said. "If he was anything at all like Lucas, leaving his family behind to worry about him would be something he could never do..." For a moment, green eyes stared into space before she chuckled- a sound that wasn't quite bitter but was close. "The very first time I met Lucas, something in me knew we were going to be friends- and I couldn't stop myself from looking over my shoulder as we walked away- he'd followed a couple of steps after us- he was still staring after me and Salsa- I could see it on his face, how much he wanted to come with us, but he smiled at me anyway." She shook her head, then raised it and looked Duster in his eyes. "Come on, let's get going. The sooner we catch up to the masked jerk, the sooner we can rescue Lucas and punch that jerk in the face."
She started moving before Duster could respond- walked further down the hallway, Boney quickly following behind her-
Duster took a step forward and stumbled- the whirlpool in his head- he'd forgotten about it until now, but it surged back, looming in front of him before receding- but it was still closer than it had been before.
Duster breathed out, trying to steady himself, before continuing on down the hallway.
There was a poster on the wall- part of him was vaguely surprised that they hadn't seen it, but it was faded- the same color as the wall now.
Duster was aware that he was trembling- he turned his head away from the poster and kept walking- but with every step he took, the whirlpool got closer- thinking about Lucas and all the other problems had kept it away for a while, but now-
Kumatora was saying something, something about searching for clues- but there was a roaring in his ears, like the sea coming in- he found himself walking further in, going so fast he walked past the others. He was aware of Kumatora and Boney following after him, but he just couldn't focus-
"Hey kid! What are you doing?"
His dad's voice. His dad had said that. Had they come here as a part of his thief training after all? But then why didn't he remember this place?
His feet led him down the hallway and then out into a room-
And then there was bright light- sunlight, he vaguely realized, holding up one hand in front of his face and squinting- they weren't back outside, not yet, but other than the one wall behind them and the floor beneath them, the room was made of windows. He stared, realizing that that at some points, vines had grown over the windows- he keep walking forward, not able to make himself stop- pressed one hand against the glass-
"This looks like some kinda place for people to enjoy the view." Kumatora's voice swung back into focus, just for a moment- he didn't know what she saw-
Duster suddenly found himself ten years old, standing by the windows, holding a green eyed baby in his arms, staring at the island in front of him and the ocean surrounding it.
"We're going to be living here from now on- this is home now." he told the baby seriously, as she tried to grab his nose. "Hey, stop that!" he said, giggling just a little bit, "I'm trying to explain to you-"
"Hey kid! What are you doing?"
Dusty yelped and spun to face the man in the doorway. "Oh, it's you sir- I'm sorry. I just- I just wanted to show the baby our new home."
The man snorted and moved closer, standing next to him. "You do realize that babies can barely tell the difference between people, let alone places?" It was spoken softly, without contempt, and his hand landed softly on Dusty's head.
"Oh." Dusty said softly, not knowing what else to say- he held the baby a bit tighter, then yelped as she succeeded in grabbing his nose and giggled at him triumphantly.
The man chuckled as he reached down and claimed the baby, freeing Dusty's nose in the process.
Dusty let the man take her- began rubbing his nose-
"Are you scared?" he froze at the sound of the man's voice- didn't look up. "It'll be okay kid- you'll see. It'll feel like home in no time."
"…I guess. I just wish the rest of my family was here too."
"I understand kid."
"You do?"
"Yeah, I've got some friends who didn't make it either." he sighed and turned away. "Come on, back inside. Babies are fragile you know- even though we're not technically outside, evening's coming on and these windows aren't great at keeping in heat- the little princess might catch cold."
"Okay sir." Dusty said, turning to follow him- and walking right into Kumatora's fist. "Ow."
"Duster! Hey Duster!" she yelled, shaking him, "look at me! I'm right here!"
"…Kumatora?" he still felt like the world was spinning around him, but he could focus on her face now.
"Yeah, it's me!"
"Oh." Duster looked at her, then looked around- eyes flickering around the windowed room, then at the woods outside that surrounded the vine covered and ruined ship. Kumatora was staring at him, one hand on each of his shoulders- Boney was by his side, whining softly. "What was that?"
"You tell me." Kumatora answered, worry loud and clear in her voice.
OoOoO
So, who knows what they've just found? Is it too vague? Blatantly obvious? Somewhere in between? Because this plot point is one of the one reasons why I feel safe in posting this story. I have seen nobody use this idea, and if I'm wrong and someone's already done this, please tell me so that I can go read it.
Also, if you catch me making a mistake(spelling error, logic fail, continuity flaw, whatever), please tell me so that I can fix it. I try to catch everything, but sometimes I fail. On the other hand, if you don't see any flaws and just think I'm doing an okay job, please feel free to tell me that too! ^^
And again, thanks to my beta ChocolateAntelope, who is helping me fix things!
And a very big thank you to those that have reviewed already! (bows in thankfulness) I hope you continue to enjoy the story.