The scream dragged Lucas out of dreams and into the room's darkness.

He flung himself upright in bed to find Claus sitting straight up, his eyes still shut as he screamed without stopping.

"Claus!" Lucas flung his arms around his brother.

Claus jerked and his scream cut off, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Claus, Claus it's me! Open your eyes!"

Claus stayed still a moment- just long enough for Lucas to wonder if his brother had been able to find his way back to peaceful sleep- when Claus flinched before moaning and trying to pull away. Lucas held on, hugged him closer and began to hum, trying to sooth his twin back to happy dreams. But Claus kept moving-

And then Claus's eyes snapped open.

"Claus?" Lucas leaned over but his twin's eyes didn't seem to see him at all, looking through him like he wasn't even there- staring at something that wasn't there.

And then he began to thrash as if trying to escape.

Lucas began rocking him back and forth, humming again, louder this time. Mom had done this for them when they'd had nightmares. Lucas hoped it would work now, but he couldn't get rid of the fear either. The fear that came from the way Claus's eyes were focused on something Lucas couldn't see and the way Claus kept trying to get away as if he thought some monster was attacking him-

Claus lashed out with a punch then, but they were too close together for it to build up any real momentum. Lucas just absorbed it with a grunt, then gathered his brother even closer and began to sing instead of just humming.

"I see the moon

The moon sees me

The moon sees somebody

I want to see-"

Except that wasn't true. Mom was gone and the moon couldn't see her anymore. Nobody could see her anymore. People had told Lucas that she was watching over them, but the only time Lucas really seen anything like that had been in that field of sunflowers after he'd gotten knocked on the head-

Lucas's breath escaped in a hiss as he forced himself to focus on the present.

Claus was still thrashing, but Lucas thought he seemed less frantic now.

Lucas kept rocking, kept singing. Feelings of helplessness scratched at his voice and tried to steal it as Claus's grunts and cries kept drowning out the song, but Lucas kept singing. There was so little he could do right now, he was at least going to help his brother get a decent night's sleep.

Claus suddenly slumped over, his head bumping against Lucas's as it fell-

"Claus?"

Claus mumbled something Lucas couldn't make out. Lucas leaned closer and managed to make out "No- it's not true. I do have a family. They are real, they are! No- don't hurt them! Don't hurt them! Don't make them not real!"

"Claus?" Lucas repeated, fear raising his voice higher.

"Lucas?" Claus whispered, so quietly Lucas wondered if he'd imagined it. And then he was shoved, sent flying onto the cold hard floor. "Run, Lucas! Don't let him get you!"

Head spinning, Lucas was still trying to understand when Claus retreated from the top of the bed. Lucas discovered he'd hidden underneath the beds when his head peeked out slightly from underneath the bed. His mismatched eyes darted from one side to the other, before grabbing Lucas and dragging him underneath.

Even after that, Claus didn't let go of Lucas. Lucas didn't try to get away, trying to comfort Claus by allowing him to hold him. He could feel him shaking violently, almost as if he was going to shake himself apart.

Lucas hugged Claus back and started to stroke his back. Claus buried his face in Lucas's back and kept trembling.

"Claus…" Lucas started to say it was okay, then stopped. "I'm here Claus."

Claus hugged him tighter, but said nothing.

"Do you want me to keep singing?"

"No! They'll hear."

Lucas breathed out, then whispered "Okay" and hoped his voice didn't sound as broken as it felt.

"Lucas, don't let him get you too."

"I won't."

Claus sighed softly, relieved. He didn't loosen his grip on Lucas but did relax the rest of his body, resting on Lucas's shoulder instead of hiding in it.

Lucas, still confused, just sat there and kept stroking his brother's back. Was what had just happened a good sign? A bad sign?

Since even the singing didn't seem to comfort Claus- and since he was worried about them being heard- Lucas didn't go back to singing or even humming. Comforting things to whisper ran through his head but none were good enough to risk worrying Claus by breaking the silence. So Lucas just stroked his brother's back until Claus finally relaxed fully and slipped back into more peaceful dreams.

Once Lucas was sure Claus was safe in sleep, he carefully pulled one of the blankets off the bed and laid it on the floor, and carefully laid Claus down on it. He stirred, but Lucas laid down next to him, putting one arm over him, reassuring him with his presence. Once his brother settled and remained settled, Lucas cautiously returned to the bed only to grab the other blankets and the pillows. He wished he was strong like Dad, strong enough to lift Claus and return him to the bed, but Claus was too heavy.

It'd be easier if it weren't for the mechanical arm. If Porky hadn't put that stupid weight on him-

Lucas shook his head as he tucked his brother in. It wouldn't do him any good to think about that. He couldn't change it, so it was best not to think about it.

"Don't let him get you too."

Claus had made him promise that, Lucas thought as he slid next to his brother and touched their foreheads together, reassuring himself with that touch that his brother was there and alive.

Claus must've been warning him about Porky. What had Porky done to give him such nightmares? What had Porky done to Claus to make him forget about his family? Lucas unconsciously tightened his arms around his brother.

What was Lucas going to do? He wanted to take Claus and run far far away. Part of him wanted to race home, lock and barricade the door and all the windows and never come out again, but he knew that wouldn't work. Even ignoring the impossibility of actually making it happen, all by himself, once he woke up, Claus would get mad at him.

And Lucas was beginning to suspect that Porky would follow. Whatever his plan was, he needed the Needles pulled and he needed Claus to pull the Needles for him.

Whatever Porky was planning, they needed to face it and fight it, but they were running out of time. Porky had lied to Claus again and told him that Duster and Kumatora were bad people and that they had to be captured. And Claus believed Porky- and he thought that Lucas was naive. He hadn't said so, but Lucas could tell what he was thinking.

Lucas had to bring back Claus's memory as quickly as possible. Maybe that nightmare had been a good thing? Maybe it meant his memory was coming back.

Still, Lucas couldn't help worrying, even though he knew that just made things worse. What if Claus still didn't remember, even after Lucas told him all about their past? It wasn't like there was much to tell, really. Until Mom died, they'd always lived peacefully in the village. Sure, there had been problems, but they'd been small ones, like Lucas and Claus jumping on the bed too much until they broke it.

But this was much worse than a broken bed. This was Claus. Not to mention Duster and Kumatora were in danger too. And Lucas didn't want to disappoint Ionia, because he'd said he'd pull the Needles. Even though Lucas knew Claus waking up the Dragon wouldn't destroy the world, right now he was the only one who knew that, because the others didn't know it was Claus under the helmet.

Lucas briefly considered "losing" the helmet before dismissing the idea. There was nowhere in the room he could hide it without Claus finding it. It would just upset Claus, and that wouldn't accomplish anything.

Maybe Lucas could convince Claus to take off his helmet the next time he saw Duster and Kumatora? Duster would recognize Claus. Because they'd fought before, and because Claus had captured Lucas, they probably wouldn't trust him much, not at first anyway. But it'd be a step closer at least. Duster would understand that Claus had lost his memory, just like he had. Once Duster knew that, he would understand that Claus had been confused and he hadn't joined the Pigmasks because he'd wanted to. And then Claus could tell them that Lucas was fine.

And then what? Lucas wanted to think that they'd all be friends then, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. For one thing, Claus seemed determined to make sure they didn't interfere anymore. What if they promised to be careful? Kumatora probably wouldn't want to do that. She was very upfront and open about how she felt and she worried about people, even when she tried to hide it. When it came to that, she was a little bit like Claus.

Lucas chuckled softly, briefly at the thought.

He'd talk with Claus about their past as much as he could. Every moment that he could. Even if Claus got uncomfortable, he'd go on- unless Claus started hurting really bad. Lucas needed to push him a little- but he couldn't push him too hard. He was so hurt already-

It didn't help that the Pigmasks always had something they "needed" Claus to do. If only Claus wasn't gone so much-

Lucas hissed out a breath, reminding himself to focus on the things that he could control.

Could he do anything else? He could talk to Claus more about his journey with Duster and Kumatora. That probably wouldn't help his memories come back, but it would help him understand Duster and Kumatora and why they didn't like the Army better.

Maybe that would help. Maybe...

Lucas finally drifted back to sleep, but his worries followed him there, lurking beneath the waves of his dreams.

OoOoOo

"Lucas."

Lucas buried his head in the pillow.

"Lucas." A hand landed lightly on his shoulder.

Lucas curled up into a ball.

"Lucas." The hand shook him slightly.

"Don't wanna get up," Lucas mumbled into the pillow, then groggily wondered if his voice had reached the room at all.

"Lucas." A more forceful shake this time. Lucas would've complained, or maybe even started worrying, except that all this shaking was accompanied by Claus's voice. Claus always wanted to get up early and he always wanted Lucas to join him.

"Five more minutes."

"Lucas!"

Lucas giggled into the pillow. Claus was getting fed up now. How long until he grabbed his pillow?

"Lucas, get up now." Huh, he was imitating Dad now. Still, Claus's 13 year old voice wasn't up to equaling Dad's deep impressive voice yet.

"Nope," Lucas responded, curling up tighter around his pillow, just waiting- and then Claus made a grab for it. Gleefully, Lucas smacked him in the face causing him to sputter, then jumped up on the bed and swung again. This time, Claus ducked out of the way.

"Lucas, what are you doing?"

"Defend yourself!" Lucas cried, tossing Claus his pillow and grabbing Claus's. Claus caught it automatically, still looking confused. Lucas jumped down from the bed and swung the pillow at his brother.

Claus dodged again. "We should be getting ready."

"The mess hall won't be going anywhere without us."

Claus blinked. Apparently that was a new thought to him.

Lucas smacked him with the pillow again and grinned. "Gotcha."

Claus scowled slightly and hit him back. Still grinning, Lucas let the pillow hit him and counter attacked.

After a while of swinging their pillows, Claus knocked Lucas's pillow away.

"Drat, you won. I guess you're still the king of pillow fights Claus," Lucas said with a playful sigh.

Lucas picked up his pillow and tossed it back onto the bed.

"We should be getting ready now," Claus said slowly, still clutching at the pillow as he turned back to Lucas.

"We can get ready now, Claus," Lucas said softly as he took his brother's pillow. Unable to resist, he slapped him on the shoulder with it. "Smile, Claus! It was fun, wasn't it?" Lucas returned the pillow to the bed, hoping Claus didn't see his expression. He hit the pillow, trying (and failing) to fluff it as he tried (and failed) to push away the anger that bubbled up whenever Claus got like this, so far away even though he was close enough to touch. Lucas hit the pillow one last time, then turned to find Claus staring at the floor.

Claus was already ready, mostly. He had on the shirt and the pants, but he also had a serious case of bed head. Lucas supposed it wouldn't really matter, because he was going to put on the helmet anyway and no one would see his face, let alone his hair. Still, Lucas couldn't leave it like that.

Lost in thought- in memories- Lucas dressed in silence, before taking out the comb and beckoning to Claus.

"What?"

"Come here."

Claus did so, and Lucas got behind him and began combing out his hair.

"…what are you doing?" Claus asked, watching him in the mirror.

"Fixing your hair."

"Why? No one's going to see it anyway."

"I know," Lucas said softly, moving the comb over his brother's hair, being sure to use the right mixture of gentleness and strength. "I know. But… I want to do this for you."

Silence briefly, then-

"Okay," Claus said softly. And when Lucas finished, Claus took the comb and gently maneuvered Lucas so they switched places. And then he began to comb Lucas's hair. Lucas winced, a couple times- had to remind Claus to be gentle- but it was nice. No one had bothered to brush his hair or take care of him in any way since Mom had died. Of course, he was thirteen now, and he was getting more and more grown up all the time, so he could take care of himself. But it still was nice.

Claus finished and laid the comb down.

"Now we're both lookin' handsome," Lucas said softly, not taking his eyes off the mirror.

Claus nodded, somewhat jerkily, then asked "Mom… she used to say that to us… after she combed our hair, didn't she?"

"Uh huh. And then she'd give us a kiss on our foreheads."

"Sometimes… sometimes I didn't want to stay still, did I? I'd- I'd run off before she was done. Before she could kiss me."

"Sometimes," Lucas agreed softly. "I didn't always stay still either, Claus."

Claus gave him a look- no words were needed- Lucas answered before he could come up with the words to ask the question.

"Mom knows you love her. She would've liked it if you would've stayed and waited for her more, but she understood. She knew it was hard for you to stay still sometimes. She knew and she loved you anyway. She always loved you Claus. And she knew you loved her. You showed her that when you brought her flowers, when you tried to do her chores for her-"

"Even though I ripped up our shirts by accident?"

Lucas giggled quietly. "Yes, even then. And I spilled all the soap, remember?"

A grin twitched Claus's lips up. It didn't last long, but even as it was disappearing, he relaxed.

Lucas turned away from the mirror and hugged his brother.

Claus touched his hands to his brother's back, and then slowly rested his head on Lucas's shoulder. He breathed deep and then, after a minute, he moved away. "Come on, time to go."

"Okay," Lucas agreed, a little reluctantly. While he didn't like the room, he wasn't fond of the rest of the base either.

At least the Pigmasks had stopped staring. They still looked at him curiously, but they didn't look at him as long or as intently. So that was good.

The fact that the hallways were crammed full of Pigmasks rushing back and forth seemed more likely to be bad though. The hallways were never empty for long in this place, but today it was so full that the Pigmasks (who always stayed a respectful distance from Claus) actually came close enough to be touched a couple times.

"It's busy today," Lucas commented quietly as yet another Pigmask scurried past them.

"Due to the new orders, we need to double the search parties." There was no inflection, in the voice or in the words. But for just a second, his head had started towards Lucas before stopping.

"…because you're searching for Duster and Kumatora too now, right?"

"…yes. I will- I will keep my promise, Lucas."

"I know you will. That's not what I'm worried about." The main thing that worried him was Porky, but now didn't seem to be the time or the place to say that.

"I'll keep my eyes open," Claus promised softly. "The soldiers aren't bad. They need more training, but they're not bad. They do their best to obey orders."

"I'm sure that most of them are, Claus, but all it takes is one who isn't." Lucas resisted the urge to talk about bad orders. It was kinda irrelevant to this conversation anyway, since Claus was talking about giving the orders that- while not good- were certainly trying to be good and were certainly an improvement.

"…even if there is that one, they won't get the chance."

Lucas wasn't really that sure about that, but Claus was promising to be careful of them and to look out for them and that was good. That was a step. Just thinking about the orders at all was a step. Speaking of steps- "Claus, what were you dreaming about last night?"

Claus gave him a puzzled look. "Dream? I didn't dream anything last night."

"Yes, you did. You had some sort of horrible nightmare-" Lucas looked around, making sure no Pigmasks could overhear, before moving closer and whispering. "It was really bad, Claus. You hid under the bed and pulled me under with you."

Claus shook his head.

"Yes, you did," Lucas insisted firmly. "How else do you explain waking up there?"

"…you had a bad dream and pulled me under?"

Lucas shut his eyes and tried not to groan. Even with his brother's face hidden, Lucas knew that Claus didn't believe it at all, but just the fact that he'd even tried it all...

"No, Claus." For a moment, Lucas almost said something about how long it had taken Claus to calm down and the different things Lucas had tried to reassure him, but decided that might be pushing it. "You don't remember your dream at all?"

Claus shook his head, looking thoughtful and slightly worried.

Lucas digested that, then opened his mouth to ask another question, but then more Pigmasks rushed past.

"They need to stop running in the hallways," Claus grumbled.

Somehow, Lucas didn't think that was what was bugging him. Once the Pigmasks were gone, he spoke up again. "Last night- that dream- I've never seen you react like that to any dream before. It was really bad, Claus."

"Shh- don't call me that here," Claus hissed, quickly looking around for anyone who could have heard.

Lucas sighed. How was he supposed to bring Claus's memories back when half the time he couldn't even call Claus by his name?

"Lucas?"

"Sorry Cl-" Lucas cut himself off before he could finish saying the name, but deliberately didn't replace it with 'Commander'. "I just don't feel so great today. Woke up twice, worried about Duster and Kumatora, worried about you-"

"About me?" Claus asked, confused. "I'm the strong one. You don't need to worry about me."

"You're strong," Lucas agreed quietly, "but you're not invincible. You're strong enough that you can beat almost anyone, but there's still people out there who are just as strong. And you got hurt bad while we were separated. I think that's what caused your nightmare last night. You told me to get away so that he didn't get me too. I don't know what happened- I don't know what they did to you while they were keeping us apart- but it must've been bad."

Claus opened his mouth- the little bit of expression that Lucas could see looked dismayed and helpless-

More Pigmasks thronged the hallway again. The brothers remained silent as they passed, despite Lucas's growing urge to scream at the top of his lungs. All he wanted was just him, Claus, their dad and everyone at home, safe and sound. That was all he wanted. Why did everything had to be so complicated?

Lucas couldn't stop his breath from escaping in a hiss. He noticed Claus's head whip towards him in a quick motion- then, seeing he was fine, quickly looked straight ahead again.

A smile poked at Lucas's lips but before it could fully form, they turned the corner and almost ran into a scientist also turning the corner, just from the opposite direction. He glared at them as if they were somehow supposed to know that he was coming and get out of his way.

Claus scowled in return at the scientist even as he grabbed Lucas's hand and started herding Lucas towards the mess hall, always keeping his body between Lucas and the scientist.

Lucas gave Claus a thankful smile then looked over his shoulder to to see the scientist staring after them, glasses glinting in the light and making it appear like he had no eyes.

They entered the mess hall, and Lucas's mood lifted just a little at the thought of seeing Junior and Senior again. It'd been nice that they had missed him yesterday and given Claus that message to give to him.

As soon as he and Claus walked in, Lucas waved.

Junior waved back, then jabbed Senior in the stomach with his elbow so he'd notice too. They both waved, then went back to serving the Pigmasks in line.

"Lucas."

"Yeah?"

"That's distracting."

"It's just a wave, Cl-" Lucas coughed, trying to cover up the fact that he'd started to call Claus by his name again. "It's not really a distraction. It's just another way to say hi."

Claus didn't say anything else, but he didn't look happy either. They moved into the line.

Lucas did understand the whole 'don't be a distraction thing' and he didn't want to get anyone in trouble. Not Junior or Senior, and not anybody else either, but especially not Claus. Still, it was just a wave. It wouldn't hurt anybody, right?

"Lucas, you're back!"

"Hi guys."

"We missed you yesterday, Lucas. Where were you?"

Lucas tried not to look at Claus. "Yesterday was… kinda a weird day. I- I was sick. Yeah. Um, how was your day?"

"Oh, you know. Same old same old," Senior responded as Junior returned with their trays. "We're glad you're feeling better, Lucas!"

"Thanks guys." Lucas took his tray with a smile and tried not to feel bad about the lie.

"No problem Lucas!" Junior chirped cheerfully as he handed Claus his tray. "See you later!"

"Yeah, see you later," Lucas said as he nodded to both of them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Claus give a short quick nod of his own, before he began herding Lucas again, this time to the table that Lucas was almost beginning to think of as their table.

They sat down and Claus immediately started eating, but even though Lucas picked up his spoon and nudged first the porridge, then the rubbery eggs, his throat closed itself in rejection even without tasting it.

Lucas decided not to fight with his stomach and forced out a sigh to be able to speak. "You're going to go out and search again, aren't you?"

Claus paused at the sudden question before swallowing. "Yes," he said, slightly hesitantly before filling up his spoon again.

Lucas really didn't mean to wait until the spoon was almost at his brother's lips but he was having problems getting the words out of his mouth."Are you going to hunt for Duster and Kumatora or for the Ultimate Chimera?"

Claus froze for a moment, his spoon half in, half out of his mouth before he hurriedly choked the food down and putting his spoon back in the bowl. "I haven't figured out all the details yet. The Ultimate Chimera is the biggest threat, because it will kill the soldiers if it gets the chance. However, we can't ignore the troublemakers either…"

"So you aren't really sure what you're going to do yet?"

Claus nodded reluctantly.

"You should go after the Ultimate Chimera first. Even if Duster and Kumatora break stuff, it can be repaired, but you can't bring the dead back to life." Lucas's hand gripped the spoon tightly enough that it hurt.

"You have a point…" Claus admitted quietly. "I think for now, since the last known location we have for the Ultimate Chimera is the last known location for the troublemakers, we'll stay in one group and look for them together. If we find signs of one, but not the other, we'll follow the one we can find signs of and keep our eyes open for the other. If we find signs of both of them, going in different directions… I'll send some soldiers to track the troublemakers, and I'll lead the main force after the Ultimate Chimera. If we have the chance to capture the troublemakers before we track down the Ultimate Chimera, we will take the opportunity, but until the Ultimate Chimera is taken care of, it will be our primary objective."

Lucas turned to look at his cereal unhappily.

"Lucas." A quick, not painful jab in the ribs, and Lucas reluctantly turned back. Claus was staring at the space between them, then lifted his eyes to meet his brother's. "I – I will keep my promise."

"… I can't stop worrying, Claus. There's too many things that could wrong, too many people I don't trust..." Lucas trailed off as he fought with the words. He sighed as his gaze returned to his food- the eggs were beginning to look like they were staring back at him so he looked up- only to pause as he realized that the scientist was sitting at the table next to theirs, his glasses glinting still in the artificial light.

"Lucas?"

Lucas turned back to his brother and tried to smile reassuringly. "I know you mean your promise Claus, and it does make me feel better. But I can't stop worrying, because things go wrong sometimes and some of the Pigmasks… aren't that nice." Lucas really wanted to say something else, but figured now wasn't the time.

"But you're not worried that I'll hurt them?"

"Not really," Lucas said quickly. "I'm worried about a lot of things but I know you won't lie to me." He kind of wanted to say more, but more Pigmasks started to sit down at some of the nearby tables, so Lucas decided now wasn't the time.

Besides, the last part had seemed to reassure Claus a bit. He relaxed, ever so slightly, no longer quite as stiff and straight. A slight twitch that- for only a second- was a smile, before he turned back to his food.

Lucas watched him for a little bit, glad that he was feeling better at least, before turning back to his own food. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the scientist was still sitting there and watching them. Actually, he looked kinda familiar. Still, Lucas was careful not to look up. Mom had always taught them that staring was rude, and besides, that scientist seemed very impatient and the last thing Lucas wanted to do was cause trouble for Claus.

But the food didn't have a lot of appeal today either. Must be because they ate late last night, Lucas told himself as he slowly put away the eggs. He couldn't even bear to look at the porridge.

He began looking around the room. He was glad that the Pigmasks didn't find him as fascinating now. A couple of them glanced away when they saw him looking at them, but most of them were either busy with their food or their friends.

Lucas hadn't thought about it before, but while he'd seen a white coat or two in here before, it was mainly Pigmasks who crowded the mess hall. He'd seen more scientists in the halls than in here-

But even more than that, Lucas couldn't help noticing that this scientist was still staring at Lucas and Claus with an intensity that put all of the previous stares to shame and made the remaining fragment of Lucas's appetite flee.

Lucas pushed the tray with the still full bowl of porridge away and turned to his brother.

Claus had finished his eggs and was starting on his bowl of porridge, but he was going pretty slow himself.

Lucas hesitated a moment, before reaching over and taking Claus's hand- the one that had the spoon in it. "If you're not hungry, you shouldn't eat anymore. You'll make yourself sick if you do."

Claus looked at Lucas and then at the bowl, which was still depressingly full, then back again. "But I'm supposed to eat the porridge."

"Who cares? It's just a bowl of porridge. I mean, it's not good to waste food, but it's even worse to make yourself sick. And we ate really late last night anyway, remember? That's why we're so full today."

Claus looked back at the bowl of porridge, a slightly guilty look on his face. "I'm supposed to eat my porridge."

"Why do you keep saying that? It's just a bowl of porridge. It's not like it's going to make any difference either way, right?"

"… I guess," he said, but he still looked doubtful.

"And if we leave now, maybe we could have some time to talk before you have to go?" Lucas asked hopefully.

Claus shot him a startled look, then gathered everything on his tray and stood up. "I don't think so- I have a lot of work to do today. But maybe- well, let's try."

"Okay." Lucas grabbed his tray and they put them with others and left. They walked quickly through the hallways- only slightly less crowded than before- not talking, focused on getting to the room and privacy as Lucas hurriedly went over the so very many things going on and what to say next-

"Lucas!"

Huh? Who knew his name here other than Claus?

Lucas turned to face the approaching Pigmasks.

"Whew, I'm glad I'm caught up. Hi Lucas, I haven't seen you at all since the first day I got here- oh hi, Commander," the Pigmask added, sounding a bit nervous.

"Hi, Sheep," Lucas answered, finally recognizing the voice.

Claus nodded, his face going all stiff again.

"So Sheep- what's your job here?" Lucas asked, groping slightly for something to say. He liked Sheep, but he didn't feel like talking right now- wanted to talk just a little bit before making excuses.

Sheep sighed, sounding less nervous. "Even though they've demoted me, they're still mad at me. They've assigned me the most grunt work you can get- perimeter guard. Not fun. On the other hand, this is the most requested base when people ask to be reassigned for a good reason. A couple of good reasons, really."

"Really? What reasons?" Both brothers asked at the same time.

"Gee, where to start? One is that- well, working at Thunder Tower tended to cause guilt trips in people. Blowing up people's houses when they're not doing anything to you doesn't make for a good night's sleep. Another one is that one of the scientists working here… well, she's really cute."

"Cute?" both boys echoed again, and then traded looks, Lucas slightly curious and Claus almost confused.

"Yeah. Rumor has it that she's dating one of the colonels, but-"

"That's very interesting, private, but I'm afraid I must interrupt." The cold voice came from behind them and Lucas's hand instinctively twitched in the direction of the stick he wasn't carrying anymore.

"Dr. Betz," Claus said coldly as the scientist from before walked up.

"It seems you and your little captive are adjusting well. Having so much fun you're not even looking where you're going, even. I presume that my invention has been a great asset to you?"

Lucas's hands darted up in the direction of the collar as he suddenly recognized the scientist from when he'd first woken up here, but managed to stop them about halfway up the middle of his chest. Lucas returned his hands to his sides, but couldn't stop them from forming fists.

"I've barely needed to use it. Lucas may have been traveling with the troublemakers, but he's a good boy."

Before Lucas could even begin to figure out how to respond to that, there was a series of loud thuds. All of them turned to look-

The door at the end of the hall shuddered. Claus had just enough time to move in front of Lucas and Lucas had just enough time to grab his brother's arm to keep him from rushing into danger when someone cried out. Both twins tensed.

The door exploded open.

The first thing Lucas noticed was the teeth, sharp and huge. It reminded him of the Almost Mecha Lion- catlike but almost fully mechanical. But this creature was different too. Slimmer, more streamlined, and missing the mane.

It leaped free of the mess that had been the door- landed and roared.

Pigmasks and scientists both shrieked and scattered. Sheep retreated a couple steps, almost hiding in a nearby door, but he stopped and looked at Claus-

Lucas was vaguely aware of the scientist running all the way to the other end of the hallway, but as he did in battles, Lucas narrowed his focus to the monster in front of him and his brother and Sheep behind him.

The monster focused on them, the only ones not running away. It growled softly and started stalking closer.

Even as Claus began to slowly draw his sword, Lucas braced himself and reached for his PSI- first I'll cover us with shields and then- but his PSI remained cold and far away.

The collar!

"Commander?" Sheep asked nervously.

Claus snapped the blade on. "Stay back," he said, then lunged at the chimera.

Even as his brother was throwing himself at the creature, Lucas formed his hands into fists and tried to think of options, searched for something he could use- then he saw the cleaning bucket with the mop still sticking out of it. Better than nothing.

Lucas darted for it- even as his hands grasped it he heard Claus call out "PK Thunder!", then the sound of the beam saber slashing through the air and colliding with something solid.

The creature's roar only made Lucas spin faster- spin in time to see it take a swipe at Claus, but he dodged back a couple of steps, just out of reach.

"PK-"

The chimera swiped at him again and again Claus jumped back- but this time, while the chimera was adjusting itself, Lucas swung the mop at the non-mechanical part of its head.

It staggered back- Lucas drew the mop back-

"Lucas, duck!"

Lucas dropped- obeying his brother's voice and the sound of the wings as Claus shot over his head. "Stay back, Lucas!"

"No!" Lucas called, gripping the mop tighter, holding back just long enough to see his brother's patterns- watched as Claus sped forward, firing off volleys of PK Thunder, then a blast from the transformed cannon arm, then a slash with the energy saber- Lucas jumped in, timing his attacks with his brother's. His PSI was a cold missing ache between his shoulders, but he wouldn't let that stop him!

The thing was forced back- oil and blood dripped from its wounds- but it steadied itself then roared again.

Claus grabbed the back of Lucas's collar and yanked him back- shoved him away from the chimera. Sheep had been creeping closer, trying to find a way to help- the Pigmask kept Lucas from hitting from the floor-

Claus shifted his stance, preparing to attack- the thing charged again and Claus brought the cannon arm up and blasted-

"Claus, watch out!" Lucas rushed forward, Sheep right behind him.

Hit by the blast, the chimera's body had toppled and fallen on top of Claus and pinned him.

Claus was already trying to wiggle free as Lucas and Sheep reached him. Working together, they managed to roll it off him.

Claus stood up quickly and began brushing himself off. Judging by the way he moved and the way he kept his face turned away, Lucas thought he was probably embarrassed that the chimera fell on top of him. Claus always liked to look cool.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked anxiously.

"Fine." The answer was short, but he did stop brushing himself off and face Lucas, then looked at Sheep and then back at Lucas. He hesitated briefly, and then said, "Thank you."

"It's no problem, sir!" Sheep threw a salute and oinked happily.

Lucas managed to smile a little before his focus dropped away and he remembered what else was going on. "I just wish I could do more to help you," he said out loud and doubted- even as Claus gave him a tiny smile- that he knew all the ways he wished he could help him.

But now that the chimera was down, the scientists and other Pigmasks were coming back, gathering around them, not crowding them but surrounding them all the same. The Pigmasks cheered and even some of the scientists were looking relieved and were clapping politely.

Lucas was glad that at least these guys were appreciating Claus but it was because of things like this (and the Needles) that they didn't want to let him go.

"Mine."

The twins turned- stepping closer to each other even as they moved- to see that the scientist from before- Betz- was back. He wasn't even paying any attention to them as he walked up, examining the remains of the chimera with a scowl on his face. "One of my assistants must have forgotten to lock the cage properly. It won't happen again, I assure you."

"Why were you guys even working on something like that?" Lucas asked, looking at the creature one last time before turning back to the scientist- who was giving him a weird look. "…what?" Lucas asked, resisting the urge to move closer to Claus and shift back into his battle stance.

The scientist's eyes flickered briefly to the collar around Lucas's neck- for a moment, it seemed like everyone else was staring at it too- before smiling. It wasn't a nice smile.

"Why? Why not? This is science. It's the learning, the experimenting that's the thing. If we do this, what happens? If we do that, what happens? It's just an animal. I can always request more specimens."

"But- but it's a living creature! Animals may not be people, but they're still alive and have feelings! They're not toys!"

The scientist snorted. "It's only an animal. Get over it, boy."

Lucas clenched his fists. He wanted to argue more, wanted to do something, anything- why didn't they understand?- but Claus reached out and took Lucas by the shoulder, pulling him behind him.

"Ah, thank you, Commander. That was getting annoying."

Most likely no one else noticed it, but Lucas felt Claus twitch.

"I find it annoying to clean up your messes." The tone was cold enough to rival Snowcap Mountain, but it made Lucas stand just a little bit straighter.

"Commander!" A caped Pigmask stepped up and saluted. "What should we do with the chimera?"

"Carry it back to my lab of course-" the scientist started, very matter of fact-

"No," Claus said firmly.

"No?" echoed the Pigmasks.

"No?" asked Betz in almost a growl.

Claus tilted his head to the side. He studied the scientist before deliberately turning his back, facing the Pigmasks who were standing there, waiting for him to speak. "This creature has proven itself to be a danger to this base and everyone on it. We can't ignore that. We don't need another Ultimate Chimera running around." He paused for a moment, glancing once more at the creature, then looked back at the Pigmasks. "Take it outside and take care of it there."

The Pigmasks saluted and got started.

"You can't do that! You don't have any authority over us!" Dr. Betz hissed.

"Yes, I can. I have authority over the Army, and by your chimera escaping, you involved the soldiers, and by involving them, you involved me."

The scientist took a step back, watching as a group of Pigmasks picked up the chimera and began lugging it away. His fists shook once- twice- at his side before he carefully folded his arms. "Well then, I guess I'll go back to my lab and prepare a report for His Highness." Maybe it was Lucas's imagination, but he thought he heard a trace of sarcasm in the last two words.

"Go ahead, Doctor," Claus said quietly, "I'll be sending him one too." Then he turned to Lucas. "Go back to the room without me. I'll be busy today, so I might be late, but I'll come back as quick as I can, okay?"

Lucas nodded. He wasn't happy, but he understood-

"You can't have him wandering around freely!" Betz proclaimed, sounding smug that he finally had something on them. He strode closer as he spoke, unfolding his arms like he was planning to do something. "I'll take care of him for you- I'll even make sure to return him to you in one piece afterward!"

Even as Lucas shifted his stance to prepare, Claus yanked him back and behind him. "Your invention works, so your job here is done. I'm sure you have something else to work on. As for Lucas walking alone, he isn't the one causing trouble and putting people in danger," Claus retorted. "Lucas is a good boy. But if you're too scared of Lucas wandering around loose to do your job…" he beckoned Sheep over. "Private Sheep, escort him."

"Yes, sir!" Sheep saluted enthusiastically. "Come on Lucas!" He began tugging Lucas away.

Lucas let him, but he couldn't help glancing over his shoulder once or twice to make things were still going okay. Even when he stopped, he could still hear Claus and Betz arguing behind him. He made out Betz saying something like "Once my testing on the collar is complete, I can move onto other projects. After all, tests on the Nice People Hot Springs is progressing nicely-"

Then they turned the corner, and Lucas couldn't make out the words anymore. Nice Person Hot Springs? Lucas thought he'd heard them mentioned before- but before he could think about it, Sheep gave a relieved sigh, before glancing over his shoulder.

Once they were far enough away that they couldn't even hear the voices anymore, Sheep spoke up. "Remember when I said that this was the most requested base? That was a good example of the main reason why."

"Huh? What was?"

"The Commander. If an experiment gets loose, he takes care of it himself. The scientists- well, you saw how they were, high and mighty. They're not all like that, but a lot of them are. This is the only place where they're not allowed to run wild."

"So Cl- the Commander- protects everybody, huh?"

"Yup," Sheep said cheerfully.

Lucas couldn't help smiling a little in return. That was Claus all over. Both of them loved being able to help people, but Claus especially loved being a hero.

"We have the best Commander ever," Sheep added, "I don't even want to think about would be like without him. We'd probably be stuck with General Strang or one of his guys in charge. Yuck."

Lucas nodded, thinking that while he wanted Claus to stop being the Commander, he did do a good job. And then something occurred to him.

"Hey Sheep, what was the Commander before Cl- before this Commander like?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know, what was the Commander before this one like? The old one?" Lucas didn't understand why Sheep was so confused. It was a pretty logical question, wasn't it? "I mean- there did used to be another Commander, right?"

"…well, I guess the Commander is pretty young. But I don't… I don't remember any Commander other than the one we have now. Huh, that's odd… well, whatever." Sheep began whistling the Pigmask theme in an odd, off key way.

Lucas waited a moment, then asked "Do you remember anyone talking about them?"

"Nope." Oddly cheerfully tone still, straight back to whistling.

"How long have you been with these guys anyway, Sheep?"

"Oh, I've been here for a while now. Let's see… uh, Lucas? Which way is the Commander's room again?"

"It's this way." Lucas took the lead, but glanced back at Sheep. "So, why did you join up?"

"Heh. It wasn't the money, let me tell you that. Honestly, I don't know why I joined up. But I'm here now, so-" he shrugged.

"But how long have you worked for the Army?" Lucas broke in before he could start that whistling again.

"Well… gee, I can't really remember. Let's see, before I was here, I worked at Thunder Tower. I was there when they promoted me and before that, I was at the other base."

"Other base?"

"Yeah. It's closer to the village then this base here, but not as close as Thunder Tower was. I think that's where the main labs are. There's a lot of shipping going to and from that place. I was there for a while before being sent to Thunder Tower."

"And where you before that?"

"…I don't remember. Huh. I guess I must've been sent there as soon as I joined up." There was a little bit of disquiet in his voice, before a beat or two of that discordant humming, before breaking off in the middle of the tune to cheerfully ask "So Lucas, which is the Commander's room?"

"It's not in this hallway, it's in the next one over. I'll tell you when we're there, Sheep."

"Okay. So Lucas, where do you come from?" Sheep asked, sounding eager to change the topic.

"Oh, we come from Tazmily. We've always lived there, our whole family, except for Grandpa."

"That's right, you must have parents. Where are they at now, and what do they think about you being here?"

"My mom's dead," Lucas said and when Sheep almost stumbled in surprise he tried to smile at him reassuringly.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry-"

Lucas almost reached out and patted his shoulder. "It's okay Sheep, I know. It's been three years now, so while I still miss her, I've mostly gotten used to it. And it's not like I'll never see her again. There's always Heaven, right?"

Sheep stared at him, then nodded slowly. "… what about your dad? You got a dad too, right?"

"Yeah, and my brother and our dog and our grandpa. That's our family."

"So where are they?"

"My grandpa's still in Tazmily. Boney- he's our dog- he and I got separated so I don't know where he is right now. I don't know where Dad is either. He's been searching for my brother."

"So your brother's missing?"

"No. Well, sorta. He was missing for three years, but I finally found him again. But I can't get him to come home with me. He-" Lucas swallowed the rest of his words as he remembered who he was talking to. Sheep was still looking at him, head tilted curiously as he waited. Lucas struggled for the right words for a moment before giving up and just doing the best he could. "He's confused- he thinks that there's things he needs to do here first, but they're really not that important."

"So…" Sheep sounded really curious now, "your brother's here?"

"… he's … he's close by. But- um- I don't think the Commander would like it if we kept talking about this."

"Oh," Sheep said, sounding even more confused. "Well, whatever the Commander says, I guess… although… " his voice suddenly turned thoughtfully before trailing off.

"Oh, okay," Sheep said, as Lucas reached for the knob. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, Lucas."

Lucas opened the door before turning to give Sheep a small smile. "Uh huh. Nice talking to you Sheep. See you later."

The room was depressingly empty.

Lucas shook his head, trying to get rid of such thoughts. They wouldn't help him help anyone.

Lucas sat at the desk and his hand landed on the history, before moving it. He picked up a blank sheet of paper.

Claus forgot everything when they took him away. And now Sheep had weird gaps in his memory too.

Why?

Even though he'd gotten used to this place and how cold it was, Lucas shivered.

OoOoO

I've only one thing to say: (deep bow) I'm really sorry about the long delay.

Also much thanks and best wishes for ChocolateAntelope, who has been an awesome beta!