DarkFoxKit: Hello, Mother and Earthbound fans! It's been a while since I've been active in this community. Did anyone miss me at all? Oh, I brought a new co-writer to the table with me this time. This is… *Ahem* Introduce yourself to the nice people.
ZAFT: Call me ZAFT Convoy! I just watched Kit here do a playthrough of Mother 3 recently, and it was very fun to watch, so when she wanted to try some fanfics from the series, how could I say no? XD
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, it was my first recorded stream too! But anyways, after playing through Mother 3 again recently, we decided we wanted to do something about what happens after the end, and how Lucas had been doing. We're starting out small, but if people are interested, we might keep going with the story after the little arc has ended.
ZAFT: I hope you will enjoy this small arc, because I know I sure did! XD
DarkFoxKit: Warning, lots of fluff and emotions might be coming your way if you read this.
ZAFT: Being a twin myself, I hope I helped make this extra good. :3 So enjoy the fun fic we have planned!
A Brother's Love
Chapter 1: The Tragic Battle
It was dark. We were deep underground. Kumatora, Duster, and my dog, Boney, have traveled far to get to this point. But I couldn't help but wonder… was all of this worth it? Was pulling all of those Needles worth everything we went through? I… couldn't say I liked that Porky guy… not after what he had done to everyone on Nowhere Islands, to my family… to Cl-
I shook my head. It hurt to think about his name. But even so, I wasn't so sure Porky deserved the fate he got. Still, there wasn't much I could do about it now. All I could do was march on. Despite being deep underground, I felt like the wind was howling. With each step, we came closer to the dreaded finale of this game that Porky put us through. My dad confirmed my worst fears… that Masked Man, the heartless robot, the Commander of the Pigmask army, was…
I stopped as I saw a familiar glow of the magical Needle that was keeping the Dark Dragon asleep. There stood a figure in front of that glowing Needle. Despite being so close to the Needle, the figure made no move to pull it. It was as if he was waiting for us.
The form in front of the Needle had its back to us, but then the figure turned around, revealing the Masked Man facing us. I swallowed nervously. This was… Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew, just knew, it was him…
"We have to stop him!" Kumatora quickly said.
"He can't take all of us," Duster said. "I can probably sneak behind him and-"
Boney let out a whine.
The Masked Man drew out his sword. I stepped back a bit, fearing that sword. The sword had the power of lightning charged through it. I could feel static around us as the Masked Man pointed that sword in our direction. Without even saying a word, intense bolts of lightning struck at us. I shut my eyes because of how bright it was. I heard my friends cry out in pain, but I didn't feel any pain myself.
I opened my eyes to see the lightning bounced off of the Franklin Badge I was wearing, and was reflected back at the Masked Man. The Masked Man flinched back from his own lightning. But he was far from down. He got back up to his feet, clenching the handle of his sword, and transformed his other hand into… a cannon. I looked around, to my growing horror, Kumatora, Duster, and Boney were all knocked out cold. I was completely alone.
The Masked Man didn't hesitate to attack me. He charged at me with the intent to kill. I let out a yelp as I tried to move away, but the sword slashed down at me quickly, followed up by a powerful beam of light coming out of that arm cannon. I fell on my back. I shook my head. I looked over at Kumatora, who was nearest to me. I quickly focused on my healing PSI.
"Healing Gamma!" I sent out my healing to try to revive Kumatora.
Kumatora opened her eyes as her wounds were healing. But… the Masked Man didn't like that.
A scowl formed on the Masked Man's face as another lightning bolt was launched at me and Kumatora, knocking Kumatora out once more. Once again, the lightning was reflected at the Masked Man by my Franklin Badge. While the lightning hit the Masked Man, I wasn't focused on that. It was clear to me that I was the only one who was allowed to fight the Masked Man.
"How did you get so strong…?" I questioned, remembering how his lightning attacks didn't knock everyone out so quickly the last time we battled.
The Masked Man didn't give an answer. He just came in for another attack. I thought quickly and focused on my defensive PSI.
"SHIELD!" I shouted as I created a barrier around myself.
The Masked Man's sword slammed into the shield, and he gritted his teeth. I didn't know what to do. I gripped my Mystical Stick in my hand tightly. I tried to raise it to attack, to defend myself, to fight back… but for some reason… I couldn't attack.
The Masked Man held up a hand and the next thing I knew, my Shield was dissipated. It was a Shield Killer technique I realized. I had anxiety and fear racing through me. I couldn't shield myself at all, which wasn't a good position to be in.
Then I felt an immense power building up from the Masked Man. From the power alone, I knew what it was, since I had the same move and had used it many times before. It was PK Love. Massive blue and white hexagons flew out of the Masked Man's hands, nearly blinding me in the process. The attack hit me directly, sending me flying back into one of the pillars around the battlefield.
I was in a lot of pain. I dug out some King Burgers in my bag and quickly horked it down. The food had healing properties, which was keeping me alive and healing some of my wounds. I needed to save my PSI as much as I could.
I pushed myself back to my feet. The Masked Man continued to stare at me with his lifeless eyes, one green, and the other… an unnatural red. The red eye glowed, eyeing me, targeting me. There was nothing but the intent to kill behind that eye. I felt myself losing the will to fight the longer I stared into the Masked Man's red eye.
And then… I heard a soft… familiar voice, echoing into my head.
"... Lucas…"
I looked up, surprised, and relief hitting me at once. "... M-Mom…?"
The Masked Man charged at me in my moment of distraction. I let out a gasp as a beam of light shot out of the Masked Man's arm cannon and into my stomach. I let out a scream as I felt the burning pain from the beam of light, and hit another pillar. I fell on my face. But I knew I couldn't give up.
"L-Lifeup Gamma!" Green light surrounded my body, quickly healing the wounds that the Masked Man inflicted on me.
The Masked Man ran at me and swung his sword at me, inflicting more damage on me. I knew I had to do something, so I decided to try casting a Shield again.
But it was no good, the Masked Man saw I put up another Shield, and cast his Shield Killer technique once more. I held up my Mystical Stick, trying to parry with his sword. I couldn't attack the Masked Man directly, but at least I was able to defend myself.
Since I couldn't put up a Shield, I decided the next best thing.
"Defense Up!" I called out.
A blue aura surrounded my body, increasing my body's defense, to be able to take more of the Masked Man's relentless attacks.
The Masked Man was coming in for another attack. All I could do was try to survive. I chomped down on whatever food I had on me to heal.
Then I heard Mom's voice again, echoing through my head.
"Claus…"
I gasped, realizing that Mom was trying to call out to the Masked Man.
The Masked Man didn't even acknowledge Mom's voice, instead keeping his one green eye and mismatched mechanical red eye fixated on me instead. The red glow of the mechanical eye was so unnerving, but I felt like I couldn't attack him still. Something was preventing me.
This one sided battle went on for a little while longer. I was doing everything I could to stay alive, while the Masked Man was doing everything he could to kill me. Then Mom's voice spoke again.
"Claus… Stop this… You aren't Porky's robot… You're our son!"
"C-Clau-" I choked, unable to say my brother's name. "P-please… please listen to Mom! You… you have to remember!"
The Masked Man stopped his attack, looking around as if confused. The look of confusion on his face was visible, as if he was trying to find someone who wasn't even there. But the Masked Man soon stopped looking around and returned his oddly mechanical and organic gaze to me. I gulped, and got into a guarding position since it was all I could do to stay alive.
Despite the Masked Man showing a small sign that he may remember Mom, he was still attacking me relentlessly. Each attack hurts more than the last. But despite the Masked Man hitting me over and over, I stood my ground. Healing, eating, stalling, guarding, doing everything I could to stay alive.
The Masked Man held out his hand. My eyes went wide, I saw him charging up another PK Love. This one was the Omega Level again. I braced myself.
"Lucas! Look out!"
I heard my dad's voice calling out, before a large shadow jumped in front of me, taking the hit from the PK Love Omega head on.
"N-No!" I shouted in horror. "D-Dad! What are you doing!?"
"Claus… Please remember…" Dad gasped, the pain he was in evident in his voice. "I've… been looking for you for so long…"
I didn't know what to do. My dad refused to move from where he was. A part of me was hoping this would help the Masked Man snap out of it, but… The Masked Man's red eye glared at Dad, then he powered up another PK Love Omega.
"DAD! MOVE!" I screamed as I tried to grab Dad and get him out of the way.
Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough. I was never fast enough. I wasn't fast enough to run away from the Mecha Drago. I wasn't fast enough to save Mom. I wasn't fast enough to stop Cl-... And I wasn't… fast enough to save Dad.
The bright hexagon energy engulfed Dad's entire body. When I was able to see Dad again… he was lying on the floor, gravely injured. He was still breathing, but… he wasn't moving. My body was shaking as I looked at my dad on the ground. Dad had always been someone I looked up to. He was always such a strong and reliable man. He even defeated the Mecha Drago who took Mom and my brother away. But now… he laid there on the ground, nearly lifeless.
This… this thing wasn't my brother. My brother died 3 years ago. This… thing was nothing more than a killing machine. I squeezed my hands into fists as I drew out my PSI. I needed to end this once and for all.
I held out my hands at the Masked Man, no more holding back.
"PK Love Omega!" I shouted as I unleashed my strongest attack at the Masked Man, just as he did to Dad.
The Masked Man was hit directly by my PK Love Omega attack, the blue hexagons impacting the Masked Man directly. It was time this thing paid the price for hurting the ones I loved!
I charged forward, knowing that wasn't enough to take down this monster. I swung my Mystical Stick at him, slamming it into his body, giving it enough force to send him flying back into a pillar. The Masked Man managed to get back to his feet. I gripped my Mystical Stick tightly, and was ready to fight back.
Then… I heard that familiar voice… The voice of Mom…
"Lucas… Stop fighting…" Mom's gentle voice called out to me. It sounded like Mom was sad for some reason.
"Why should I!? This isn't my brother! He tried to kill Dad!" I shouted in anger. "I can't let him do that! He's… he's…"
The Masked Man started walking to me, drawing out his sword again. I could see his green eye and red eye looking back at me.
My rage began to drain from me as I watched the Masked Man approach me.
"He's… not in control…" I whispered.
Porky… must've really hurt him… far more than I could ever imagine… And here I was,hurting him even more. I dropped my Mystical Stick.
At that point, I realized, with dread, that I couldn't fight him. All I could do was guard, heal, eat, and repeat the same thing all over again.
"Claus…" I heard Mom's voice speak up again. "You and Lucas are brothers!"
I looked at the Masked Man's mismatched eyes for a moment. I wasn't sure if he heard Mom or not, but… I had to try to snap him out of it too.
"I… I'm sorry… When I attacked you… that was out of anger, because you hurt Dad. But… I know you're hurting more than any of us…" I said softly, hoping my voice was reaching through to him. "Please stop… I don't want to fight… I don't want to hurt you… So… I'm just going to take it, I'm going to take everything you can dish out."
True to my word, I didn't fight back anymore. I just kept taking all of the Masked Man's attacks. His sword, his arm cannon's beam attack, his PK Love, whatever he had. The Masked Man began to stare at me, like he was trying to analyze me, or maybe… he was trying to comprehend why I was just letting him hit me over and over again.
Then I heard Mom's voice again, calling out to the Masked Man again.
"Can you hear me? You're Claus. Your name is Claus! You're our son!" Mom's voice echoed.
The Masked Man stared at me, as if trying to figure out who I was to him. But even while he was staring at me, he continued to attack over and over again. All I could do was guard. But as he was attacking, I noticed the Masked Man's attacks were getting weaker and weaker, like he was slowly losing power. Or was it the will to fight that he was losing? I wasn't sure.
I coughed out blood. I was running out of food, and my PSI was starting to get low. But I continued to do what I could to stay alive.
"Please… Remember! Lucas… Claus…" Mom's voice spoke up once again.
I laid on the floor, injured and tired. But despite how hurt my body was, my heart was hurting the most. I hated this. I hated everything about this fight. "What has Porky… done to you? Please… I just… I just want… I want my brother back…"
I promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore… but tears started to fall from my eyes. I didn't know how much longer I could last against the Masked Man… But I noticed that he hadn't attacked me in a while. I dared to look up at him, and I was surprised to see him looking down at me. I… no longer sensed the killing intent from him anymore. He… he looked hesitant.
The Masked Man stared at me, as if trying to remember something, something… important… Slowly, as he stared at me, his green eye and red eye began to gain back some recognition. It was like he was slowly beginning to recognize me, or at least remember something important. I couldn't be sure which.
The Masked Man tried to attack me again with his sword. I braced myself for the hit, but… it didn't hurt. Well, it did hurt a little, but it was like he was poking me rather than trying to stab me. I blinked for a moment as I managed to get back on my feet. The Masked Man frowned at me. He fired his arm cannon at me, but the energy beam was much smaller than before. I barely felt the impact as it hit my shoulder.
I didn't know what to do anymore. I tried to slap the helmet off of the Masked Man's head, but I ended up hurting the Masked Man instead. I felt heartbroken when he hissed out in pain.
"I'm sorry…" I apologized, feeling my hands shake with guilt.
The Masked Man gazed at me.
I wanted to run away from this. I didn't want to be here anymore. But I found myself unable to move. All I could do was stand there in front of the Masked Man. The Masked Man covered his ears, or at least tried to since the helmet got in the way.
"Please… stop… it's over…" I whispered softly, feeling like this 'battle' was going nowhere for either of us. It was clear the Masked Man lost his drive to battle me.
I saw the Masked Man shutting his eyes for a moment. I wished I knew what he was thinking right now.
The Masked Man continued to gaze at me, making me wonder what he was truly thinking. Was he trying to remember me? Was he thinking about his past? I didn't know which one it was, but I wanted to cry. Both thoughts made me feel like crying.
"Claus… Claus… Claus…" I heard Mom say in her gentle voice. "Come to your mother. You must be so exhausted. Come here, Claus."
I paused when Mom said those words, or rather, the implications of those words. Mom wanted my brother to go to her, but… she was dead. If… if she meant that literally, then my brother would have to…
The Masked Man looked around, as if searching for something… or maybe, someone…
Suddenly, the Masked Man dropped his sword, then he reached up to his helmet. I watched, feeling stunned, and surreal. It was like I was in a dream when I saw my brother's face for the first time in years. He threw down the helmet, allowing me to see his entire face in full. It was…
"Claus…" I finally said his name as I felt emotions welling up inside my chest.
Suddenly, my relief turned into dread. My heart was pounding in my chest. I… I experienced this before… Fear began to crawl up my spine. I… I remember… what happens next. I wanted to scream, to shout, to move, to run, to do anything to stop what was about to happen. But my body refused to move. It was like something was holding me there.
"Claus… don't…" I begged as I saw him staring into my blue eyes with his mismatched eyes.
Claus gave me a sad smile before I saw electricity building up in his hands.
"Please… don't…" I begged again, still unable to move.
Claus then fired an intense bolt of lightning at me. The Franklin Badge kicked in, reflecting the bolt back at Claus. I found myself wishing that badge had malfunctioned or broke, or something, instead of reflecting the lightning back at Claus. Despite being shocked by his own, devastating attack, Claus only smiled as his body fell to the floor.
"CLAUS!" I screamed as my body finally allowed me to move again.
Claus staggered towards me. I quickly ran over to him as he fell, grabbing him. It was then… under his burnt body, and the chemicals he was doused in… I smelled his smell. I remembered… his smell.
Claus spoke to me, his voice weak. I hadn't heard his voice in three years. "I'm sorry… It turned out like this…"
Claus coughed, feeling exhausted and in pain. But at the same time, he looked… so much… happier… more like himself… like the brother I remembered.
"I'm… really happy you could be with me… just before the end…" Claus rasped out, his voice becoming weaker.
"C-Claus… don't… don't talk like that… You're not… you're not dying," I quickly said. "Lifeup!"
I tried to heal my brother's wounds. But it wasn't working. "H-Healing!"
I tried to heal whatever was wrong with him. But that did nothing. "No… please, it has to work!"
"Lucas! Lucas, that's enough… you'll make yourself pass out if you keep trying, His wounds are too severe for you to heal him." Kumatora spoke up softly.
It was only then I realized Kumatora, Duster, and Boney were awake again. They were watching us with sadness. Dad was awake too, though he was still on the floor.
Claus smiled weakly at me. "Thanks for trying… Lucas… But it's not meant to be…"
Claus then looked at Dad. "Dad… I… I'm sorry… I didn't listen to you… like I should have…" He rasped weakly.
Dad looked down for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm sorry for not rescuing you… and for not being there when you and your mother needed me the most."
I shook my head as I squeezed my brother's body close to my chest. I didn't want to lose him again.
Claus seemed to be losing focus when it came to keeping his eyes on me and Dad. "I'm… going to where Mom is now…"
"No… Claus, you can't!" I shouted. "I… I just got you back! You were gone for 3 years, Claus! You… you can't just leave me again!"
Claus's red and green eyes locked onto my face. "Lucas… I hope… we can meet again someday…" He then smiled sadly at me. "I'm sorry… Lucas…"
"No… this can't be happening…" I cried, unable to hold back the tears anymore. "Claus… please, don't go!"
"You… still cry…" Claus smiled at me. "Don't ever change, Lucas…" Claus coughed again. "I guess… This is it… Goodbye… And thanks… I'm sorry…"
Claus's breathing began to get weaker and weaker, causing more tears to run down my face. "I'm sure we'll meet again…"
"C-Claus… I…" I began, my body shaking. "I-I… I love you… Claus…"
Claus took his last breath in my arms, his eyes closing as he did so. But he had a sad smile on his face as he did so, like he was finally happy to be back with me.
I felt Claus's body going limp in my arms. I looked up for a moment, seeing Mom's spirit. She held out her arms in a welcoming, loving manner. But it wasn't for me… I saw Claus's spirit leaving his body, and happily floated up to Mom's arms. Mom gave Claus a loving embrace. My eyes began to blur with tears as I saw them both starting to ascend into the sky… heading for the afterlife together.
I looked down at Claus's body. I saw his arm cannon was a mechanical hand. And I knew one of his eyes was replaced with a mechanical eye. I wondered… just how much of him was machine, and what was left of his humanity. Maybe… this outcome was… for the better for Claus…
I slowly put my brother's body down. I stood up and stepped back for a moment, overwhelmed with emotion. It was hard to think.
I didn't want to accept this. It was… it was like I was missing a part of myself. I had just found Claus, but he died right in front of me. I didn't want to lose my brother. It was… too much for me… I was having a hard time processing what had just transpired. My brother… had been my enemy… I had fought him… found him in the end, only to… to…
I shook my head. I didn't want to acknowledge that he was gone. But his body was right there in front of me, forcing me to confront the cold, hard truth before me. I felt my emotions going cold. Claus was dead, just like Mom was, and there was nothing I could do.
Dad was saying something, but his words were a blur to me. The Needle glowed in front of me. But it didn't matter… nothing really mattered anymore. My family was broken… my other half was gone. That was… the cold, hard truth… That was the cold, hard reality I was living in. I was… alone…