Chapter 1: Resurrection
Notes:
Some clarifications before we start: I owe a lot to this franchise: Mother 1 taught me how to be happy. Earthbound taught me how to laugh. And Mother 3 taught me how to cry.
The last of those is my favourite in the Mother Trilogy (although I do think Earthbound does some things better than Mother 3) and upon beating it for the very first time last year, I was inspired to make my very first fanfic focussing on one of my favourite video game villains of all time - the Masked Man. His design (dude has a thunder sword!), his boss fights (both of them, although for different reasons), music (again all of them, Strong One (Masked Man), Battle Against The Masked Man and It Is Finished are all excellent, with the last of those being my favourite song in Mother 3 and the first time a video game genuinely caused me to cry) and of course, his story. I don't know why, but I just click with this guy and it's great.
Seriously, words can not describe how much I love this guy and if he gets in Smash , I will legit die a happy person. But this is just turning into a giant rant on why I love this trilogy (is that really a bad thing though?) so back to the point.
Firstly, spoilers for Mother 3 and Earthbound, so if you haven't finished/played those games yet, I highly urge you to do so because I will be spoiling almost everything about the Masked Man pretty much in the first chapter and there are going to be a fair few Earthbound references that serve as spoilers.
This fic is centred on said character and will detail how he became the Commander, as well as his own thoughts and feelings during the game. So please read, comment, critique (not too harsh, if you don't mind) and most of all, enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Where am I?
Looking around, I see many papers with intricate diagrams on them. Chemicals in test tubes with carefully measured quantities decorate the tables. Machines fill the room from one end to another. Most of these machines are around me. I conclude that this room here is a laboratory of some kind.
Having had enough of merely observing, I attempt to move. Only to find some wires keeping me in place, in a strange solution. Now that I properly look, my entire body seems suspended in this solution. It’s as if I were weightless, almost as if I were… swimming? What is swimming? My thoughts instinctively jumped to this, yet I have no idea what it is. I attempt to move through the solution but it’s a futile effort – the wires hold me in place and upon closer observation, glass surrounds me.
Why am I here?
Is this a prison? Am I being punished? What have I done? None of this makes sense. The more I think, the more I… the more I feel pain. It’s as if… I shouldn’t think. I should just… follow. I need to get attention. Draw someone here. The only way is to bang on this glass. I do so. For 5 minutes. And no one comes. I suppose I’ll have to wait.
Although I would prefer to explore this laboratory in circumstances that don’t involve me beingw trapped in a giant fish tank, I don’t have that luxury. So I make do and see what I can focus on this lab. The machines all seem incredibly advanced. Yet… that shouldn’t be. Machines like this shouldn’t exist. They can’t. They all seem out of place… but why? Why do I think they’re out of place? This is all perfectly normal.
Isn’t it?
There’s that pain again. Blistering away as if to guide me backwards. Instead of dwelling on the machines, I instead look at the papers. The diagrams are all very detailed and detail processes that I can’t quite see. I pick out a few choice words.
“Subject A” I read out aloud. There are some other words after but they are illegible from here.
Is that me? Am I a subject in some experiment? I want to feel angry, I want to feel sorrow but most of all… I just want to cry. Yet I can’t. Like with my curiosity, anger, sadness, fear – all of these just fade away. As if I don’t need to feel them. Because… Because they are useless. No! Emotions are what make us human! Unless… I’m not a human. Once again, these thoughts are pushed down by that searing pain.
“Code name – Masked Man.”
Masked Man. Certainly quite the ominous name. Whoever came up with this project certainly had a rather sick sense of humour. But ‘Masked Man’ is only a code name. Which begs the question – Who am I?
“Subject will… several enhancements… the first human chimera.”
Enhancements? So I’m going to modified, like some sort of robot? I am a human, not some action figure to be given accessories! But what if… I’m not? No, I must be human. Assuming that I am this subject they speak of, than I must be human, because these papers call me ‘the first human chimera’. I have no idea what a chimera is though. The word itself seems foreign. No, almost alien to me. Saying it feels me with unease.
Unless, a chimera is a robot. Yes, this makes sense. What if I am just a robot that looks like a human? For once, my curiosity isn’t punished, in fact my ‘brain’, if that is the correct term, seems to be guiding me towards this conclusion. But then, why was I created? Why do I need to look like a human? The first human chimera… will I be successful? Will I achieve my purpose?
My continuous thoughts cause much grief however, so I stop, for my health and due to the anti think program, as I have called it, kicking in. Despite this epiphany, my predicament remains the same – stuck inside this container. I furiously bash the glass in more and more. Not even a dent. I wait to see if anyone heard.
But no one came.
I suppose the glass, solution and walls all muffle the sounds I make. Maybe this is all a test, to see if I can get out. Another experiment. I may be a robot, but I’m still angry. I just want to break free of this. I see the machines around me. Some are connected to this glass tube. If I were to destroy them, I might be able to get out. But how?
And that’s when it comes to me. A ‘memory’, you could call it. I remember something large and imposing with many teeth. Metal armour and a cybernetic eye. A chimera. I went up against it. I was scared and angry. I wanted to make it feel pain, pain like it made me feel. But what pain did it cause me? My ‘memory’ is incomplete on this, I guess. I wanted to make it feel pain. So I called down justice from above. Justice? Is killing justice? It hurt me… but does that mean I should hurt it?
Lightning. Lightning from the sky. It responded to my fear and anger. Maybe… maybe it will do so now. I concentrate all my emotions, my fear, my anger, my curiosity, my sadness, all of it onto the machines and glass around me. Everything became clear, as if I have achieved perfection. I maintained my focus and saw the lightning, lightning rushing through my mind. And then..
“PK Thunder!” I shout.
I shouldn’t have done that.
It was almost as if a bomb had exploded right then and there. Glass lay around me in numerous shards, the solution spilling everywhere and the machines were unidentifiable. What power was this? How do I have it? It’s frightening in a way, I only meant to break one of the machines and I ended up blowing up the entire room.
Unfortunately, I have little time to dwell on this power as I now realise why I was in that solution - I’m incredibly weak otherwise. I was recovering, I assume and was probably at low power. Combined with that attack… I start to lose consciousness.
Thankfully for me, someone definitely did hear me trying to get out now. In fact, everyone in this laboratory did.
“He’s broken free!”
“How? That glass is reinforced!”
“I don’t know! It looks like he blasted the place! Get the doctor here now!”
As I look up, I swear I can see pigs. I must be hallucinating. I can feel myself being pulled up and although I try to resist, I’m far too weak to do so.
Before I completely lose consciousness, I remember one last thing. That chimera I saw? I fought against it.
And I lost.
Notes:
And thus, the first chapter ends. To be honest, it might not have been the best idea to write about the Masked Man for my first fanfic but... whatever. Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Chapter 2: Reconstruction
Summary:
Awakenings, doctors, machinery, and the Masked Man's inability to accept his new self.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It felt like a repeat of what I was going through before. Trapped and confused in an unfamiliar place. And I had just gotten used to my old prison. Only this time, I couldn’t see. It wasn’t that I couldn’t open my eyes, nor was it that I was too tired. Rather, it felt as if I didn’t have any at all. So all I could do was hear.
Some drills sounded uncomfortably close to me. What was happening? Some sort of surgery, I guess. Maybe this is part of their experiment, making me a chimera as they called it.
Suddenly, pain shot through my right arm. It felt as if it was being hacked off. Then the pain abruptly stopped. I didn’t have an arm anymore. I wanted to yell out in pain. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t just the anaesthetics I had been given that stopped me from screaming in agony, it felt like I couldn’t open my mouth at all.
Was all of this really necessary? Next, I could feel my back being sliced open, and something was inserted in there. It felt cold, yet oddly light. Not uncomfortable at all.
Finally, my eye. I felt something being placed over it and the strangest thing – whatever it was attached itself to my eye.
So much pain. I just wanted to end. I just wanted to sleep. And my wish was granted.
It felt like I was falling in a void of darkness. Strange… it felt as peaceful as it was scary.
And then, I woke up.
The first thing I noticed was something I haven’t felt for some time. No pain. I felt perfectly fine. Well, I felt fine physically but of course I still had many questions. For once, it seemed as if I might get them. There was a man standing there, old yet clearly wise beyond his years. I don’t know how but suddenly I knew so much about him. I could see information.
‘Name: Dr Andonuts’
‘Age: 57’
‘Family: 1 son, Name: Jeff Andonuts’
‘Director of Chimera Laboratory. Currently working on Human Chimera Project.’
So this man is responsible for the project I have heard so much about. The one who is responsible for experimenting on me.
“Well, you’ve finally awoken! I must admit, you had us all worried there!”
This man’s voice… for some reason, it soothes me. It sounds familiar in a way. Like… like the voice of a father. I was furious at him for experimenting on me, murderous intents filled my mind, yet his voice seemed to extinguish that fire within me. I decide to hear what he has to say.
“Dr Andonuts?” I ask.
“Good, it seems like that new eye is working. I had my reservations about it but I suppose…”
My eye? I put my left hand up to my left eye. It doesn’t feel like an eye at all. It feels like… metal?
“Careful! You don’t want to break it!” he says
“Why is my eye like this? How do I know who you are? Why am I here? Who are those pigs?”
“One thing at a time now. Your eye was damaged, so we had to use cybernetics to repair it. The eye has some special features – infrared radiation, a temperature sensor, map data, zooming abilities and the ability to analyse a target and give you information on them from our databanks.”
Wow. That’s a lot of things – and he says it has some special features.
“You said my eye was damaged. How?”
“You were found at the bottom of a cliff… Drago Plateau. You were heavily injured. We kept you in that solution to heal you. Your right arm, your left eye and your back suffered the most. So we had to replace them.”
Looking down, I see my right arm is encased in metal. It moves just like a hand, yet it feels so much stronger. As if I could crush anything with it. I suppose in a way, it’s even better than my old hand.
“Your hand also has a special feature – try pressing that button on top of your wrist.”
He points to this small button - I wouldn’t have recognised it if he didn’t show me. I press it and suddenly feel this small tingling in my arm. My hand begins to transform, the fingers curl into a fist which seem to pull itself back into my metallic arm. Something else sprouts in place of my hand… a arm cannon? What have they done to me?
“What did you do to my hand?” I say, anger seeping into my voice.
“Now don’t be angry, this isn’t permanent. Simply press that button and your hand will be back.”
I follow his advice and he’s right – the arm cannon retracts and my hand comes back. This doesn’t make sense. I’m relieved that I have a hand, thankful to the doctor even that it could be made stronger , despite the artificial nature of it. But why would I need an arm cannon? Why would I need an eye that can analyse a target and give infrared radiation? I voice this to the doctor. For once, he doesn’t immediately have an answer. In fact, he looks just as confused as I am.
“I’m not sure why you needed an arm cannon or such an advanced eye. Now that you mention it, these do seem like odd things to give.”
“You don’t know? How can you not know when you are responsible for this?”
“I was responsible for this, you’re certainly right about that. But I was told to give you those modifications by my... superiors. For what purpose, I don’t know.’
I’m hesitant to believe him. Why wouldn’t his superiors tell him what these modifications are for? Actually, who are his superiors? I wouldn’t imagine he has any, given that he is the director of this laboratory. For now, I suppose I shall have to trust him.
“Are there any other modifications I am not aware?” I ask.
“One more but I think you’ll like this one. Press those two buttons on your shoulders simultaneously.”
I do so and a pair of bat-like wings appear at my sides, unfolding like origami. I turn around expecting to see huge scars in my back, but find none at all. Part of my back seems to protected with a layer of metal – I suppose it was for the injuries I suffered there, which the wings came out of. It’s strange, the wings don’t feel like an accessory, rather like an extension of myself. They don’t just look cool either – they actually work! I can flap them to lift myself and hover, but actually gaining altitude is harder.
“How do I go up with these? Unless…”
I’ve just noticed that like a jetpack, there are two levers I can use, presumably to control thrusters. I try using them and sure enough, I’m actually flying! Controlling it is a bit harder but with some practice I’m getting better.
“I see you’ve found it out! Just be careful not to fly too much – your fuel supply is limited!” Dr Andonuts shouts over the noise.
Hearing that, I decide to stop and land. Pressing the same two buttons simultaneously causes my wings to fold back in. I can’t help but marvel at the Doctor’s work.
“You’ll report to me occasionally for check ups. Just to make sure that certain parts are working as they should and that you haven’t run out of fuel for your wings. Do you have any more questions?”
“A couple. Firstly, why can’t I remember anything?”
“You may have lost your memory from the fall you took. However, we also erased your memories.”
“What? Why? Those are my memories! You’ve no right to take them away!” I yell.
“That is true and I was highly opposed to doing so… but alas my ‘superiors’ forced me to. Whatever their reasoning is, I don’t know. The more I think about it, the more I realise that I actually know very little.” he says darkly.
“You failed.” I retort.
“What?”
“You failed to erase all my memories. I can remember some things. A large green chimera with teeth – your work, I suppose, attacked me once.
“A drago? Oh!”
Dr Andonuts quickly puts his hands to his mouth. I suspect he wasn’t supposed to say that.
“So it’s called a drago? And I was found at Drago Plateau? Coincidence? I don’t think so!”
“I… I really don’t know.”
I sense the doctor is as clueless as I am. I decide to back off a little.
“About some of these parts, will they work in water?”
“We’ve built them to be very durable. They won’t damage or rust in water. Obviously if you open them, then they will be damaged, but apart from that, you should be fine.
“That’s good. But what now? Thanks to you, I don’t know anything. Where I live.”
“Our king has requested that you see him once you were repaired. He was actually the one who gave me all these orders – the arm cannon, the wings, the eye and erasing your memories – all that was him.”
Their king? Why would their king want to see me? Why would he order all of these enhancements to be made and my memory to be erased?
“I suppose I may as well see this king of yours.”
“I shall arrange some transport then.”
Dr Andonuts goes over to a control panel and calls for two soldiers (so there’s an army then), to take me outside on an airship to… New Pork City? Brilliant name.
“They’ll be outside, so just take the elevators to get down to the ground floor. If you get lost, I’ve installed a map into your eye so use that.”
I proceed to leave. But before I open the door, I remember one last question.
“How’s Jeff?”
The expression on the doctor’s expression was one of pure shock. I suppose he wasn’t expecting me to find out that. Yet, there was some sadness mixed in. Had his son died? It must be sad, to outlive your own child. I instantly regretted asking the question. But more than that, I regretted being angry at Dr Andonuts. He was a victim, just like me.
“I’m sorry for asking. And… thank you.”
With that, I left the room, leaving the still stunned doctor.
Notes:
Bit of a long one ( darn exposition) but I hope you all like this one as well. Next time, we get to see some pigmasks!
I’m aware that Claus is a bit OOC but I think I give a good representation of his personality.
Also, I don’t know if Dr Andonuts has an actual age but I picked 57. Guess why? It seems plausible though.As always, please read and review!
Chapter 3: When Pigs Fly
Summary:
Pigmasks, cities, statues, and the Masked Man's inability to understand the Pigmask Army.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The Chimera Laboratory certainly was a large place from what my map showed. I wonder what other chimeras they make here. Why would they need other kinds of chimeras? I was made into one because of my injuries. But what about the other chimeras. What about that drago? Maybe this king of theirs will give me some answers. Following Dr Andonuts’s advice by taking the elevators quickly gets me to the ground floor and my map easily gets me to the entrance. The first thing I notice is a pig sitting at the desk, like the pigs I saw before I first lost consciousness. Are these pigs chimeras as well?
“Commander! It’s good to see you all right!”
Commander? I’m their commander? How can that be? I don’t work for them! I’m not part of their army! Is that something I’ve forgotten?
“I’m sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else.” I say politely.
“The hand, the eye and the orange hair - you’re definitely him!” he replies.
I’m very confused but I decide not to pursue further.
“Right, well I was told to come here by Dr Andonuts…”
“To see our king! Yes, we’ve got that sorted!” he says enthusiastically.
I follow him outside and see two more pigs refuelling a metallic pig shaped pod. Both of them also address me as ‘Commander’.
“Right then, make sure you get him safely to New Pork.” the first says.
I get inside the pig shaped pod, finding it to be much larger on the inside than the exterior would suggest. I take a seat and the two pigs join me. The seats are actually comfortable - although I might just think that because it’s been so long since I have sat down. Before long, the metallic pod takes flight.
“Are you chimeras?” I ask.
“No, Commander we’re humans, like you. Well, not exactly but you get the point.” One replies
“Then why do you look like pigs?”
One of them chuckles. “These are just suits. They actually provide some protection for us.”
“Are you soldiers then? Soldiers in an army?”
“Indeed! The finest army in the world – the Pigmask Army!”
Pigmask Army. Well, I can’t say the name isn’t fitting, although I hope their army is better than their name. And I’m their commander…
“Who made me the commander?”
“Our king. Well, technically you aren’t the commander yet, but you will be soon. We’ve been told to call you Commander though. After all, we don’t know what your name is.”
Yeah, because you lot erased my memories. This king of theirs is going to make me commander of an army. Why? What do I have that’s so special? I mean, I suppose not many people could survive a fall like I did. And there was that lightning - dang it , why didn’t I ask Dr Andonuts about that? I’m flattered and disgusted at the same time. Although, I suppose that explains why I got some of these modifications – like the arm cannon.
The journey to New Pork City only takes us 30 minutes. These pods may not look elegant, but I can’t deny that they’re fast. I wonder if Dr Andonuts helped with these. When we land, the first thing I notice is the sheer size of the city. A theatre, a theme park, a giant restaurant – and those are only some of the things I can see.
There are two things that catch my attention in particular though. The first is a large statue of a ...kid? The other is an incredibly large building, which seems to go into the sky. And are those spikes on its sides?
“Ah, I see you’re interested in our most important building, Commander.” says one of the Pigmasks.
“Yes. What is it?” I ask
“That is the Empire Porky Building. It’s where our king lives.”
Empire Porky Building. Frankly, I want to know who came up with this names, because thanks to them, I have a real craving for bacon. And maybe some sausages.
“Is that where I’m going then?”
“Actually no. The king wants you to meet him for lunch, so we’re heading to a restaurant. You must be hungry anyway Commander - it’s been a week since we found you at Drago Plateau!”
A week? I was out for that long? Now that I think about it, although I want food, I also don’t feel hungry at all. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t want to disappoint their king and I need him because he can answer my questions.
I follow the Pigmasks through New Pork City and it seems as if the restaurant we’re going to is near the Empire Porky Building, just to the left of the theme park. I see some of the citizens look at me – some are scared, some salute me (I assume these are off duty Pigmasks) and others just try to ignore me. We reach the restaurant which as it happens is named Beauty and Tasty – lacking the pig theme for once. How strange.
“Well, here we are Commander.”
“Thank you. Is the king inside here then?”
“Indeed. Believe or not, he’s about your age!”
My age? But I’m only… actually I don’t know how old I am. I guess I’m about 12 or so though. I’m only 12 years old and I’m going to lead an army? But their king is a child? Strangely, hearing their king is only a child makes me feel somewhat more comfortable about the prospect of being the Commander. Still though...
“Your king is my age? How can that be?”
“He’s just that good of a ruler. See the statue over there? That’s our monument of him!”
The Pigmasks point to a statue – the statue of a child, the one I was interested in when I first entered the city. Closer to it, I can properly see it in detail. The child depicted seems chubby, with a crown on his head, a comic book in his left hand and a slingshot in his right hand. I would mock it, but for some reason, it actually scares me. It feels hostile in some way, despite the goofy nature of it. To become king at such an age... he’s certainly no ordinary child. Just like me...
“What’s your king like?”
“You may be surprised at what he looks like. He’s… changed a lot from what the statue depicts. His kindness is still intact though. Well then, this is where we part.”
Surprised at what he looks like? I’m not sure what to make of that. Is he actually a man? A women? A chimera? I suppose I’ll find out. But actually, there is one more thing…
“Thank you. But what is the king’s name?” I ask.
“Master Porky.”
The two salute me and leave. Still wondering what to make of all of this, I enter the restaurant, readying myself. This is it. it’s time for me to get the answers to all my questions. It’s time for me to sort things out once and for all. Time to meet the king of the pigs.
Porky.
Master Porky.
Notes:
A short one this time - I wanted to save the meeting with Porky for the next chapter and focus more on Claus’s initial impressions on Porky. Next time, the meeting with the Pig King!
Chapter 4: His Highness
Summary:
Burgers, stories, abandonment, and the Masked Man's inability to remember his past.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
There are three things which strike me as odd when I enter.
The first is the pink décor in this restaurant. Pink tables, pink walls and pink clothes. It’s by no means ugly, merely… jarring. The second are the 7 waitresses. They’re all identical . A chubby women with blonde hair. I must say, if they’re all related, genetics really screwed them over. They wear a (say it with me) pink apron and have an obscene amount of lipstick.
Huh. Since when did I become such an expert on fashion? Maybe I was a kid model before I lost my memories. If I had identical siblings like these waitresses, it would mean we could cut down on the number of clothes we each have to wear for fashion shows. Doesn’t seem very interesting though. It be cool if we were all performers though. But multiple identical siblings would be hard to handle. Maybe it would be best to have one. A twin to do a double act with. We could perform all sorts of mischief – I bet we’d give our parents a hard time!
A mother, a father and a brother… people to love and be loved by…
But all that, if it ever existed, is all in the past.
Shaking the melancholy thoughts out, I focus on the third thing that strikes me as odd. Apart from the waitresses, there’s only one person here. I suppose it’s the king, who asked the restaurant to be cleared out for this meeting.
As I get closer, I realise exactly what the Pigmasks meant when they that the king has changed a lot from what the statue depicts. The statue showed a child.
This was not a child.
You could take every single known definition of ‘child’ or ‘kid’ or any synonyms of these two words and none of them – none of them, would be appropriate for this… thing. Put it this way, I remember wondering whether Porky was actually A: a man, B: a women or C: a chimera.
I was not expecting option C to be closest.
What stood before me was a being with the shape and appearance of the boy depicted by the statue but he looked incredibly old. He looked ghostly white – his hair, his body, even his clothes, looked as if they would fade away at any moment. I can’t say I’d be sad if he did. This abomination was inside of a weird capsule – if he was as old as he looks, I suppose it was some sort of life support.
Then, with an ominous hissing, he got out of the capsule.
Oh no.
He slowly lumbered towards me, with his hands out. Like a zombie.
I’m going to die. Die at the hands of this child zombie thing in a pink restaurant manned by 7 waitresses who all look the same.
He lumbers even closer until he’s right up to my face. I… I… I can’t move. My feet refuse to. He’s so close I could smell him. Only I can’t. His scent…I’ll always remember it because…
Because he doesn’t have one.
He smells of nothing. It’s so strange. I could smell food before and now, I smell nothing. Nothing at all. For a minute, I wonder if I’ve died and lost my sense of smell. But I can still see him. He’s so close that our noses are touching. He leans in and…
“Boo.”
If backwards long jumping was a sport, I think I’d do rather well in it. I leap what feels like 3 feet backward in surprise. And then, the oddest thing…
“Ha. Hahahaha. Heeheehee!”
He breaks down laughing right then and there. I’m still in shock. He keeps laughing for quite some time. Eventually, he stops laughing and transitions into... coughing? A rather violent coughing fit at that. I almost feel sorry for him. Finally though, he stops and takes a seat at a table, regaining his composure. By then, I’ve regained mine.
“I’m sorry. Well I’m not, the look on your face was priceless!” chuckles Porky. “I hope we can still be friends.”
Friends? Friends!? You scare the bejesus out me and you expect me to your friend? The fight or flight response is something that I find interesting because of what people will do. I can remember that when I encountered that drago, I chose to fight. Here would have been a great opportunity to choose flight. But my dumb legs decided to choose option 3: freeze.
“Are you just gonna stand there?”
My legs finally realise , ‘oh wait we’re the thing that lets the body move’, but instead of doing the smart thing and moving backwards, they decide to move forwards and take a seat. I want to just run away and never look back. I want to just use my wings and fly away from New Pork City. Find my home, find my family. But it’s like I’m not in control of my body anymore. Regardless, I want answers and this is who I’m going to get them from.
“You’re a slow one, aren’t you?”
“Porky. I’m sorry, I mean Your Majesty. Nononono wait, Master Porky.” I stammer out.
“Hahaha! When we’re alone, just Porky is fine. Though it’s nice to see that someone has manners.”
I suppose he’s rather causal. Fitting considering he’s a child.
“I have so many questions.”
“And I’m here to answer them. But first things first: what would you like to eat?”
What? What do I want to eat? Come to think of it, nothing. I’ve lost my appetite now. Gee, I wonder why...
“I’m not hungry.”
“Ah, well it’s a good thing I’m not asking you to eat. I’m ordering you!” he says gleefully.
“I’m not sure what to get.”
“Anything’s good here! This place is called ‘Beauty and Tasty’ after all! You’ve seen the beauty in our wonderful waitresses, now it’s time for the taste!” Porky says while smacking his lips together.
I’ll be honest – I have to try really hard not to laugh at that wonderful waitresses comment.
“Tell you what – we’re both kids. And what’s the most kid food in the world? Burgers!”
He shouts to one of the waitresses “Hey, get me and my friend here a King burger each and some fries!”
The waitresses immediately all dart off to prepare the meal – accompanied with a “Of course, Master Porky.” Even though their voices sound ugly. Still, burgers do sound nice.
It’s only 5 minutes before they return. They come in with burgers on a plate adorned with fries. The burgers are mouthwatering – large with beef, lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese and topped off with a crown on top. The fries are golden brown and cooked to perfection. I take a bite and it’s as good as it looks. Porky digs in to his food as well. Before long, the two of us have finished our food. All my energy seems to have recovered as well.
“Ahhhhh! Nothing like a good burger to fix you up!”
For once, I’m inclined to agree with him.
“So then. You’ve got questions and I’ve got answers.”
“Who am I?”
“Awww. I was hoping you’d ask an easy one first.” He pouts.
“What’d be the fun in that?”
“I suppose you’re right. Get ready because it’s a long tale. I don’t know your name, so don’t bother asking.”
“Yeah, because you erased my memories!”
“I had a reason to!”
“What reason could you have for taking away all my happy memories!” I counter.
Porky looks at me carefully and says slowly “You made an assumption there. You assumed that your memories are happy.”
What? I assumed my memories are happy? So does that mean…
“I erased your memories to free you. I erased them to save you. From the things I was told about you, I saw a boy who had been abused and mistreated by the people who he thought cared about him. I wanted to give you the ability to make your life better and in order to do so, parts of you had to be changed.”
Mistreated? He erased my memories to… to help me?
“Explain. What do you mean?”
“Your memories are horrifying. Some of those idiotic people in that village told me so many horrible things about you. Called you a cursed child. A freak. When you were healed and enhanced at the Chimera Laboratory, I knew I couldn’t send you back. I’d be a horrible king if I did so.”
He sounds genuinely sad. These villagers called me cursed, a freak. But why?
“Why am I a freak?”
“You’re not. They just want you to think that.”
“Still, they must have had some reason to.”
“It’s because you have powers.”
Powers? Like that thunder thing I did?
“The easiest way to explain it all to you would be to tell you. But you may not be happy with what you hear.”
As much I don’t want to hear it, I have to. I must.
“I want to know.”
“Then get ready.” Porky takes a deep breath.
“You grew up in a place called Tazmily. A simple town, very different from New Pork. While we are advanced, the people of Tazmily are rather stubborn and refuse to accept technology. I sent ambassadors from New Pork to try and spread our technology but they refused it. That hurt, but the worst part was what they did.”
“What did they do?”
“They hurt us. They came and beat up several of my soldiers, even though we came in peace. I’m not pleased with it, but one of my generals was forced to order the soldiers to defend themselves. Thankfully, we didn’t kill or seriously hurt any of the villagers. I wish I could say the same for us.”
“Some of the soldiers died?”
“No, but several had many injuries. Some will have to have surgery done like you had, although not to the same extent as you. My general, Fassad, says about 50% of the soldiers he took with him were injured by the villagers. Fassad himself, thankfully wasn’t too badly injured but he was hurt on the inside. He wanted to be friends with the villagers and work in harmony with them. As did I. But for all our efforts, we got paid in suffering.”
“Those villagers are really that cruel?”
“Yep. In fact, one of them, a boy, attacked some of my soldiers with a Drago!”
Now I’m really interested. I remember a Drago myself. But wait, a boy attacked some villagers with a Drago? No! Was that me?
“Here, I’ll show you.”
Porky pushes a button on his capsule and a screen pops out of the top. A video starts playing.
“Our soldiers had to retreat. Some decided to go through the forest. A big mistake.”
The video shows a monkey and a girl. They beat up the Pigmasks around them with no mercy. The girl even attacks them with fire, ice and… lightning. I’m horrified at the massacre.
“Please stop!” shouts one of them in vain.
This particular soldier isn’t wearing the usual Pigmask attire. I suppose he must be Fassad.
The girl and the monkey don’t stop. I can’t look. But then I hear a roar. A familiar one. A Drago. In comes a Drago, with a boy on top of it. The boy… he looks like me. Only he has blonde hair. Is he…?
Before I can continue that thought, I hear some screams. The Drago is attacking the Pigmasks. Some are chomped, others are flung into the air. The girl and the monkey are cheering. Laughing. Laughing at the suffering of these innocents. I… I can’t take this! Let it end!
“Stop it! Stop it now!” I scream, not at Porky but the people in the video.
Porky decides to turn the video off though. We sit there in silence. How can a child do something so cruel? That boy… he may look innocent on the outside, but inside lies a monster.
“When… when did this all happen?”
“5 days ago.”
5 days. Some of those Pigmasks are still recovering then. It was soon after I was found then. So recent…
“Where do I fit into all of this?”
“We found you a week ago. Fassad asked the villagers if they knew about a boy with orange hair. They said they did. But what they said next… they asked if you had died. Fassad told them that you might be dead. They cheered. They celebrated. The only thing that they were sad about, was that you weren’t certainly dead.”
“They were happy? Do they not care about their own people?”
“Only those that conform to their standards. You were different – and to them different is bad.”
“How am I different?”
“What happened when you fought the Drago and when you were in that capsule at Chimera Laboratory?”
What happened? I was angry and scared in both cases. But what else? Lightning. In both cases, I used some sort of lightning.
“I used lightning.”
“Exactly. There are these people called psychics. They can do stuff with their minds. They can read minds, teleport, heal…”
“And use the elements? I’m a psychic then?
“Yep! And with some training, I bet you’ll be a pretty good one at that!”
“That girl in the video… is she a psychic as well?”
“You’re a quick one. She is. Only certain people are psychics though – they’re chosen ones, if you know what I mean. To the villagers though, you’re freaks.”
“But these powers, aren’t they special? Why would we be freaks?”
“You destroyed a room in Chimera Laboratory with those powers. You can understand why someone would be scared. It’s hard to control these powers at first. It doesn’t help that the first time you used your powers resulted in a… less than desirable situation.”
“I don’t understand.”
Porky shows me a different video, an aerial shot of a forest near Tazmily. On fire. Burning away madly. The video transitions to what the forest was like afterwards. Decimated by the fire. Trees have fallen and everything is partially black.
“What happened here?”
“You. The first time you used your thunder powers you accidentally…”
Porky doesn’t finish the sentence but I can figure out the rest. I set this forest on fire? And the villagers called me a freak because of it. I guess I can understand but, it was an accident!
“The villagers were angry at you and scared. You may be responsible but they weren’t willing to forgive you or even give you any sort of chance. Your mother and father, along with the rest of the villagers decided that it was best if you left Tazmily. So when you were asleep, they abandoned you. On a mountain.”
Drago Plateau. How could my own mother and father agree to this? I though family was supposed to love you! But I suppose, this proves they never loved me at all.
“So that’s when I encountered that Drago.”
“And sadly, it attacked you, brutally injured you and threw you of the cliff.”
“But why was it a chimera? It had a strange eye and metal armour.”
For a second, I thought I saw Porky surprised. It must have just been his appearance.
“The villagers are brutal. They kill animals for materials. Dragos in particular for their fangs. You see, a Drago fang is strong enough to pierce through anything. They use them as weapons. A group of soldiers found an injured Drago and we decided to make it a chimera so it could live. It was angry at the villagers for what it did. When it saw you…”
“It assumed I was a villager as well and attacked me.”
I wasn’t angry at the Drago at all then. I was angry of the situation I was in. Abandoned.
“That’s one of the reason I wanted to save you. Because I felt responsible for what had happened to you.”
“You’re not. You saved my life and that Drago’s. It was mere misfortune that we happened to meet. You are not to blame. Those villagers are. They shunned me without giving me a chance at all. They never cared about me. They are ignorant and refuse to see the error of their ways.”
“Thank you. I’m just sorry you had to hear all of this. Live through it again. I’m not sure if it was the right choice. You were angry at me before but at least you were happier…”
“It was the right choice and I thank you for telling me. I may be less happy but I’ve only myself to blame for asking. At least now, I’m wiser. But why did you save me? I’m grateful, but to you , surely I must have been another villager. Wouldn’t you have left me to die?”
“I hope you’ll forgive me but my reasons for saving you weren’t completely selfless. I hoped that if I saved you, I could show the villagers what technology could do. What benefits it could have. You were recovering while Fassad went as an ambassador. When he told me that the villagers refused to accept technology, you were my secret ‘weapon’. With you, we could show them that technology can save lives.”
“Of course I forgive you. But I’m guessing you didn’t follow through with that plan.”
“When Fassad told me how the villagers reacted to you disappearing, I realised that these people would never learn. They were a group of cold hearted people. The only good thing was that they weren’t as advanced. The last thing I would want to do is give them that advantage by giving them a way of extending their cold hearted lives.”
I don’t know what to say. I’ve learned so much in the past hour. I wanted answers and I got them. But did I need them? I did. But what now?
“I can’t go back! Please don’t make me!” I beg to Porky.
“Are you crazy? I can’t send you back to those people! You’re a citizen of New Pork now!”
I’m so happy. I can stay here. Here, where people are kind to me. Here, where there’s so much to do. Here, where I’m happy. Where I have… a friend.
“Thank you. I don’t what to say to your generosity.”
“Then don’t say anything. Come on, if you’re gonna live here, you better see the place! I’ll give you the personal tour!”
Porky leaves the table and I follow him. As I do so, I realise I’m as happy as can be. Because I’m loved here. I walk out of the restaurant with Porky.
I walk with… with my friend.
Notes:
Well, this chapter is the longest one yet. Got to say, I had fun thinking about all the ways I could have Porky manipulate Claus. Next time, some bonding between Claus and Porky!
Chapter 5: Isn’t This Such A Utopia?
Summary:
Claus and Porky decide to explore the utopia of New Pork City - and the past of Porky, as well as four special children...
Notes:
Small thing: try listening to this chapter’s namesake while reading this.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The streets of New Pork City seemed so much more friendly now. Before , I looked at it with fear. Now, I look at it with admiration. The streets are so shiny and clean, with so many advanced buildings. I’ll admit - I’ve been somewhat apprehensive towards technology beforehand. Scared that it could run rampant and take over, decimate a place and rip nature apart. But Porky has shown me that technology can be used to preserve nature, as he did with both myself and that Drago. Technology has been used to enhance buildings, protecting those within it. Buildings stronger than the ones at Tazmily. Those buildings look so flimsy, a mere lightning bolt from me could take them down to rubble.
And they’d deserve it.
Although now I must wonder, nature does seem a bit lacking here. Surely this place must have been luscious before? And now it’s all gone…
“Soooooo? What do you want to do first?” shouts the overly excited king.
“What to do first? I’m not sure?”
“Ah, well how about the grand tour? It’ll be great!”
“All right.”
“Well, first off is the place where any kid must go to. The arcade!”
Porky and I walk off – or rather he skips out in front and I hesitantly follow. I may trust him more than I did before, but he still… not right? It’s hard to describe, but I always feel uneasy around him. Even though he’s a good guy. I suppose it’s his appearance more than anything else. Still, he has the youth of a child in his mind. It’s strange. Still, I suppose with time, I’ll get more comfortable around him. At least I hope.
The arcade’s a bit of a walk but I don’t mind. In fact, it’s the strangest thing, I don’t feel tired at all. I suppose it’s the modifications. Or maybe it’s just because I’m a kid and have lots of energy. Or both.
Either way, the whole being a kid and having lots of energy doesn’t seem to apply to Porky – frequently he’ll stop and just pant or cough. He doesn’t look like the most athletic kid in the world – not by a long shot, but even still, his lack of stamina is astounding. After the seventh time (I decide to count for fun), I decide to ask him.
“Why are you so...” I try and think of a polite way of saying it.
“So slow? It’s okay, I know you were thinking it.” Porky doesn’t look as offended as I thought he’d be. Still, I can see some sorrow and I immediately regret what little I said. “Look at me. Ghostly white. Need a capsule to help me. And I’m just a kid. You’ve gone through some bad things. I have too. And just like you, my life has been changed.”
What happened to him? Sure, I’ve gone through some horrible things, but losing an arm and an eye, and having to undergo this surgery pales in comparison to what he must have.
“What happened? Why are you…”
“There’s a time and place. And this is neither. Please, don’t think about it.”
I continue to follow him. Now I’m just angry at myself. You idiot! You brought back so many unpleasant memories! And now, just look at him! Porky keeps going, but he’s just sliding his feet, head down. We continue to walk in silence. Thankfully, we reach the arcade soon and go in.
The first thing I notice, is all the noise. All sorts of zaps, cars and chatter fills the air. There’s so many games here. And if I’m not mistaken, Porky seems a little brighter.
“Lots of games here! But my favourite is this one right here!”
He points to a small booth with 2 controllers and a screen. We take a seat here. I take a controller and start pressing buttons, only to see that the screen doesn’t change at all.
“Why isn’t it working?”
Porky rolls over in laughter for a minute before answering. “You have to pay money to play! Look up there.” he says while pointing at the screen.
Indeed, the screen says ‘Please enter 30 DP for 1 player, 50 DP for two.’ DP? What is that? Actually, Porky used a word called ‘money’. Is DP ‘money’? I’m wondering whether this is just my memory loss, and while it very well could be, I simply can’t think of anything.
It’s weird – I can remember concepts. Well, I couldn’t remember quite what swimming was when I first awoke but I can now. I know what buildings, food, cities, instruments and all the rest are. But I can’t remember specific things like people. Personal things. Maybe Porky only erased those memories, because he knew those would hurt the most?
But even if that were the case, money should fit into the first category of memories – something which is a concept, yet I have no clue what it is or what it means. So is it that I’ve simply never heard of it? But money is evidently an important thing in New Pork, if all these arcade machines require it. Sensing I’m about to add another foolish question to the list, I ask Porky what money is. For once, he doesn’t laugh.
“You’re from Tazmily so I suppose it makes sense you don’t know. The people of Tazmily operate under the barbaric logic of take what you need no matter the cost. Here, at New Pork, we have people that provide all sorts of services without disrupting nature. But they need to repaid somehow right? So we have money. Basically, someone does something for you, and you give them money. They can use that money to have other people do stuff for them. For example, you want an orange, so you give someone money and they give you one. But of course, some things are harder than others. A pineapple is harder to grow and find than an orange so you’ll have to pay more money for a pineapple.”
“So the more money you have, the better?”
“There you go! You really are a quick learner!”
“So what is DP?”
“DP is short for Dragon Power. It’s how we quantify money. If you want an orange, you pay 10 DP. If you want a pineapple, you pay 50 DP. This is what money looks like.”
Porky takes out a bunch of things from his pocket. Some metal pieces and slips of paper.
“These are coins. These are notes.” he says, pointing to the metal and paper respectively. “The coins are worth 1 DP. The notes can vary, but you can tell by looking at the number on them.”
Some of the notes have a 5 on them, others have a 10 or a 20, and I think I see one with a 50.
“So these are worth 5 DP.” I say pointing to a 5 note.
“Good! Now then, put in the right amount of money for 1 player. I’ll let you have a go on your own first – it wouldn’t be fun to beat you straight away!”
I take a 20 and a 10, placing them in a slot on the machine. The machine eats it and the screen changes. ‘Select your character.’ it reads. There’s 6 characters to choose from. First is a chubby boy, not to the same extent as Porky, but still rounder the most, with a blue and yellow striped shirt and a red baseball cap. He’s holding a peace sign. The next up is a girl, the only girl on the list, with a pink dress and blonde hair, a ribbon tied into it. After is a boy, dressed with a green uniform and tie. He looks smart with those glasses. Actually, he looks like a younger version of Doctor Andonuts. Could it be?
Next is another boy, with a white karate uniform and a black belt. He’s almost bald, save for a few strands. He’s the tallest character and seems older than everyone else. Next up is another chubby boy, with blue shorts and a black shirt with a white M on it. His blonde hair almost covers his eyes. He looks similar to Porky. Last up is another chubby kid with blue overalls who also has blonde hair, although it isn’t as long as the previous character’s.
These two seem related. Is one of them Porky and the other a relative? A brother perhaps? Remembering the statue, I take a good look at them both and I think the second is Porky? He looks normal here. How did he change so much? Does his family know? I decide these are questions for later and pick the boy with the red baseball cap, since he’s the first one in the list and the one my cursor defaults too.
“Good choice! He’s my second favourite character. After me of course!”
So that boy was him?
Next, I get to choose a stage. There’s all sorts of places with names I don’t recognise – Onett, Twoson, Threed, Fourside, Deep Darkness, Scaraba, Daleem, Summers, Winters, and a strange white cave that’s just called ‘???’. Once again, I decide to go to go with the default – Onett.
The screen changes to a city, with the boy I chose in it, wielding a baseball bat. The city seems to be a strange hybrid between Tazmily and New Pork. Not as advanced as New Pork but more advanced than Tazmily. I explore the place and find a number of buildings – a town hall, a burger joint, a bakery and a hospital. Like in New Pork, there’s an arcade. But as soon as I approach, these weird people approach me. A purple man with a hula hoop, a green guy on a pogo stick and a grey guy on a skateboard.
“It’s the Sharks! Quick, whack them with your bat!”
I do what any good person does- start randomly pressing buttons. My character starts all sorts of things – swinging his bat, jumping, shooting fire, thunder, and finally, a flash engulfs part of the screen, causing some of them to start crying, other to start attacking each other and some just lay on the ground.
“Well, I suppose that works as well. Maybe a lesson in how to control the characters is in order. You press the A button for your normal attacks and the B button for your psychic powers. But the direction you hold can change your powers. Like, if you press B on its own, you’ll do that flash attack but if you hold left and B, you’ll use fire.”
A strange control scheme to say the least, but I suppose I can get used to it. I do a bit more walking and see another group of foes – Sharks according to Porky. I thought sharks live in the water. I run up to one and bash him with my bat. A group of three comes from the left. Following Porky’s advice, I shoot fire at them, sending them into the sky. There’s some on the platform above me. I try holding upwards and using my psychic powers, the boy shoots… lightning. PK Thunder? I can manipulate the lightning at them but I wonder what would happen if I had the lightning hit myself. I go skyrocketing into the air, hitting one of them.
“That’s it! You’re a natural!”
I play some more but eventually I take mortal damage and fall. Still, it was fun while it lasted.
“All right then. Let’s see how you do against me!”
Porky enters a 50 DP note into the machine and picks up his controller. I decide to go for the same character again and Porky naturally picks himself. Porky decides to pick the white cave. The two of us emerge. The strangest thing is that Porky is in a machine of sorts. It’s not like the bed machine I saw either – rather it looks like a spider of sorts. The two of us start to fight, but I realise just how good Porky is. He easily stomps on me – both figuratively and literally. My fire attacks barely do anything. Glass is a terrible conductor of electricity so PK Thunder won’t work. Porky sprays some weird gas at me and now my controls are inverted. Porky decimates me. All with a smile on his face.
“Haha! I win!”
Still, at least he’s happy. We leave the arcade soon after.
“Okay, so next up is the theatre. There’s one movie in particular I’d like you to see.”
The theatre’s only a short walk from here. When we get there, Porky decides to get 2 tickets for a movie called ‘Earthbound’, as well as some popcorn. We take a seat and the first thing I notice are the four people on the title screen. They’re exactly the same as the ones on that game. The boy with the baseball cap, the girl with the pink dress, the young Dr Andonuts and the karate kid. The only two who are missing are Porky and the person who looks like his brother.
The movie starts and while it’s certainly entertaining, for some reason, I can’t make sense of most of it. Apparently, these boys and this girl are on a quest to defeat the evil known as Giygas. Or is it Giegue? I swear, the actors say it both ways throughout the movie.
Lots of strange things happen – including, but not limited to, giant ants and sentient piles of barf attacking the kids, a group of strange, yet adorable, creatures known as the Mr Saturns (which like the word ‘Boing’), a police force that assaults the boy in the cap (for trespassing), a cult that really like the colour blue, a band that somehow gets conned into a rubbish deal, and has to be saved by kids, twice, a group of moles that all think they’re the third strongest, a piece of magic cake that the heroes really shouldn’t have eaten, the nightmare that is Moonside, Mu, a kraken and a badge that can somehow reflect lightning back at the user.
All the locations on that arcade game appear in this movie as well. I suppose this movie must be really popular if it has its own arcade game based of it. But here’s the thing – I haven’t seen Porky once this movie, or his brother (an assumption, albeit a somewhat justified one), yet both appear in the arcade game. If the arcade game is based off the movie, why are neither of them in it?
There are some exciting parts as well – I remember the boy in the cap smashing a spout in the stomach. The Dr Andonuts lookalike breaking into a lab and steals a flying device, to help reach his friends. Seeing the girl defeat a mole by bashing its head in with a frying pan is also one of the more interesting parts, if a little humorous given the weapon she’s chosen. And the karate boy suplexing a taxi, just because he can, was certainly quite the show of power. The kids don’t have an easy road to stopping evil, and many foes block their path. Which of course gives them a chance to show off their powers.
You’d think the strangest thing would be the psychic powers these children but I suppose after all I’ve seen, it comes as very normal. Still, the movie serves as a nice guide to all the different psychic powers and I get to learn the names. Some of these are really powerful as well - the baseball boy… actually, I should probably stop calling him that. What was his name… Ness? Right, Ness has PK Flash which can confuse people, cause them to cry or just faint and this unique attack called PK Rockin which just decimates everything. It is, quite literally, mind blowing. I thought shooting 1 thunderbolt was cool, but this girl Paula can shoot up to 3 thunderbolts, as well as being able to use PK Fire and PK Freeze. The karate prince, Poo… how many times did the actors have to redo lines because they couldn’t keep straight faces while saying his name? Seriously, did his parents hate him?
Then again, mine did leave me to die so…
Poo can use this PSI called PK Starstorm. The name tells me everything I need to know. What the PSI actually looks like is just a bonus. I’ll admit, seeing these psychic powers is easily the best part. Someday, I want to be able to do all that as well. The only person who can’t use PSI is the Dr Andonuts lookalike, Jeff. Jeff? Wasn’t that the name of Dr Andonuts’ sun? Is this coincidence? No, it must be, Dr Andonuts hasn’t appeared at all in the movie, and surely he would if they were related.
Porky’s expression is by far the strangest thing. He looks enraptured with the movie, as if he’s never seen it before and yet he looks like he’s seen the movie numerous times. I wonder why Porky wanted to show me this in particular.
Right now, Ness is at another ‘sanctuary’ – according to the movie, it’s a place where Ness will gain the power to defeat the ultimate evil because this child is ‘the chosen one’. A tad cliché, although I suppose having kids fill the role puts an interesting spin on it. And he gets to complete a song with it.
The boy goes to a place called Magicant - another thing to add to the list of strange things, in order to conquers the evil within himself – another overused cliché. How about a movie where someone has to overcome the good in themselves? I mean, they’d be the villain but… actually, that wouldn’t work at all.
The boy learns advanced teleportation (another cool PSI ability) and they go to a cave where Giygas supposedly is. They reach him and… it’s something that needs to be seen to be believed. It’s a long and hard battle, but eventually they win.
Which was a mistake. Everything starts to collapse. The four try and make it out… but they fail.
They die.
And that’s where the movie ends.
“So then, how did you find the movie?”
“It was… interesting.”
Yes, interesting seems like a very good way of putting it. The movie itself was by no means a masterpiece, nor was it a complete failure. There are some inconsistencies – Jeff steals a flying device, but acts incredibly scared throughout the rest of the movie. Why would someone who can steal with no fear be scared of a Mr Saturn? The movie leaves so many questions unanswered. Why did the cave start to collapse? What is Giygas?
Many humorous things happened, but with a level of oddity that can’t be described. For a movie called ‘Earthbound’, it isn’t very down to Earth. And the fate of the children was incredibly sad.
I suppose an accurate summation would be strange, funny and heartrending.
“An interesting answer. So to answer your questions…”
“Are you a psychic?!” I ask. How else would he know that?
“I wish. But no. I had you watch that movie as a lesson. A lesson to not assume. It seemed like Ness and his friends were the good guys and Giygas was the bad guy.”
“Is this movie real?”
“No. But it is based of some actual things that happened. You see, in the movie, Giygas was actually the protector of this planet, and the bee lied. By killing Giygas, the planet was weakened. Severely so. And the four who killed him were the first victims.”
So Giygas was the good guy? I suppose it makes sense – like how I once thought that the Pigmask Army were the bad guys as well.
“What about this movie is real?”
“Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo...” Porky takes a second. “They are all real people. They are also dead.”
“How did they die?”
“Age. They grew old and died.”
“And Giygas?”
“Doesn’t exist.” I think I hear Porky mutter “anymore” but I could be mistaken. “But they were still the bad guys.”
“How?
“Bullies. I grew up with them.”
“Did they bully you then?”
“Everyone. But me in particular. I was chubby and weak. I just wanted to be their friend. But everyday, they would insult me. Call me a pig. Call me Porky. Deny their friendship. Use their bad powers. They were all really bad. But I always felt sorry for Ness. He was actually a good kid. We were actually friends once. Then he met the others. He became bad like them. But I always thought he could be good again. I was wrong. And I learned the hard way.”
Now I’m scared. I was feeling empathetic for Porky, since I had went through the same kinds of betrayal but I can tell he’s leading to something big. Then…
“Have you ever wondered why I look like this?”
Of course I have. But I didn’t think I’d be getting an answer.
“They did this to me. Psychic powers look cool. But they are capable of doing so much damage. You know this better than anyone else. The fire scorching my body. The stars raining down on me. And Ness with his devastating powers.”
They… they look so innocent, they’re only kids! But so was Porky.
‘I had you watch that movie as a lesson. A lesson not to assume.’
Porky’s words echo through my mind. I realise, there’s more meaning to them than I originally thought.
“Over and over. I couldn’t get help. We didn’t have money for hospital. Ness’s family ‘borrowed’ a few hundred thousand pounds from us. We never saw it again. My body was never the same.”
“How are you still alive?”
I can understand how Porky became like this. But how is he still alive? PSI is incredibly powerful and continuous use of it would kill a child.
I had a little help from Dr Andonuts. He had something called the Instant Revitalising Device. Supposedly, it can heal any wound and fully refreshed you, as if you’ve had a good night’s sleep. As it turns out, this was wrong. My body had suffered so much, that not even the Instant Revitalising Device could fully heal me. I had to have surgery done to restore my face and body.
How serious were those injuries then? How powerful were those children? Am I just as powerful?
“Like you, I needed support – which Dr Andonuts provided with my bed mecha. I need to be in it almost all the time. Being outside of it, even for an hour or two like now, takes a toll on my body. But the doctor’s work was too good. The machine kept me alive for a long time. Longer than any of my family. Longer than Ness and his friends. They all died while I lived on. I dare say, I’m immortal, so long as I use that mecha.
Immortal? Nothing can live forever. Yet, despite Porky’s childish appearance, he bears the marks of someone who is as old as time itself.
“Mind you, I’ve been trying to think of something more durable. Something that’s absolutely safe. I’ve lived for so long that I can’t remember my age. I can’t even remember my own name. But I never forgot Ness or any of those others. It’s strange. Even though I forgot my own name, I remember clearly what they used to call me. Porky. Over and over.”
So he doesn’t know his own name either. Just like me…
“Dr Andonuts can’t be that old though. Unless he’s not a…”
“He’s human. Technology advances rather quickly. Time travel.” He adds seeing my confusion. “I knew that in order to make the utopia you see before you, I would need help. Dr Andonuts was willing once I explained the situation to his younger self. The promise of technology beyond his wildest dreams certainly helped in motivating.”
“What about his family?”
“He only ever had a son – a son who was partly responsible for my condition. Jeff. He could not love such a person. There was nothing left for him in his time. So I gave him the opportunity to help in a different one.”
“And so with his help, you built this. You built New Pork City.”
“It took a great deal of work. Two people alone can’t make a city. We recruited others – Fassad, I remember was one of the first.But we eventually finished. It’s a place of prosperity. But I decided that the past must be remembered as well. Retelling my story to the average person would induce many nightmares. And I don’t want people to pity my either. So I made a few tweaks and created Giygas. But the core message remains the same. No one is what they seem. Behind the kindest face may lie a monster.”
The people of Tazmily… simple as they look, a monster lies underneath. Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo… simple children, with hearts more terrifying than Giygas. But the opposite applies as well. Porky… ghostly as he may look, he’s a broken child, made to suffer more than anyone should. Denied a childhood, friends, family and his own identity. His own name.
We’re not so different. Not so different at all. We’ve both lost things. The same things. Yet, the two of us still managed to make something of our lives. No… that’s only partially true. Porky was able to make something of his life. I have not. Not yet. But I will. I owe it to him. To Porky, I owe the life he has given me and the life he has saved me from.
“Porky. I can’t pretend to know the same pain you felt. Because your pain runs deeper than mine and it is a pain which can’t be described. I want to help you. I will help you in whatever way you deem best.
“Why? Many have wanted to join me. Some for money. Others for power. What motivates you?”
“Because you are… a friend. And friends help each other.”
A piggish snort opens the gate to tears.
I embrace Porky. For that moment, everything was fine. The words he spoke will forever be my guide.
‘No one is what they seem. Behind the kindest face may lie a monster.’
Notes:
It’s been a while. Sorry about the delay - being ill coupled with some writer’s block made it hard to write this one. Even then, I’m still not completely happy as to how this chapter turned out - seemed like it was too much exposition, which I had hoped to cover in the last chapter.
Some more ‘exposition’ - for those wondering, I personally believe this is how Porky gained his immortality and his name change (save for the fact that he forces Dr Andonuts to work for him, and the fact that he probably adopted Porky as a form of irony).
Him blaming Ness and co for his state isn’t a complete lie either - while his excess time travelling could have caused it, they did fight him at the end of Earthbound (and personally I always used my most powerful PSI on Pokey as revenge, since it’s useless on Giygas).
Next time, Claus begins his training in the Pigmask Army.
Chapter 6: Strong One
Summary:
Exercise, radios, firing ranges, and the Masked Man's inability to control his powers.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
One week ago, I remember promising Porky that I would help in whatever way he saw fit. As it turns out, he had already prepared me for my new role with the enhancements he had given me. I would enlist in the Pigmask Army and be their commander. A role I once would have rejected, but now, I can see no role that I’m better suited for.
“But while I believe you have the potential to be Commander, *cough*, you lack the skill. My soldiers need a leader that is strong – and you will be that person, in time. The grind will not be easy, but the strength you gain will be worth it.*cough*”
Even now, I still find myself asking the same question: Why would I need training? With these enhancements and my psychic powers, surely I’m more powerful than any of the Pigmasks here. Nevertheless, if Porky says I need training, I suppose I should follow.
So I’m on one of those flying metallic pig pods, going to the training facility, which seems to be about halfway between New Pork City and the Chimera Laboratory. I hope I’ll get some time off. If so, I’d like to test my wings out and visit Dr Andonuts.
“All right Commander, the training facility!”
We land and a few more Pigmasks await us. But more importantly, a man. At least, I think he’s one. I recognise him – from the video Porky showed me. If memory serves me correctly, this must be Fassad. His position shows - he’s the only person here who doesn’t wear a mask, a sign of his high ranking. Like in the video, he has a white uniform on. His moustache looks like it’s been groomed, although I personally think it looks ridiculous.
The reason I question his masculinity is because while he has the physique and posture of a man, his face has some… oddities. He has what seems to be make up on his cheeks. There seems to be a hint of eye shadow as well. And finally, beneath his cap, I can see a few bits of hair, most of which are brown, but a few are pink. In all fairness though, the hair is probably the least strange thing considering that I have orange hair, which I don’t believe is natural. Actually, what if my hair and Fassad’s hair were both dyed?
“Nwehehehe! So you are the one the magnificent Master Porky has told us about! Our saviour. Yes, I can see it. You are exactly who we are looking for! The person who will let us crush the people of Tazmily and all who are allied with them!”
I suppose it’s fitting that his voice sounds like a man’s voice with feminine touches sprinkled within. Like with his body, it seems to be predominantly male, so I’ll go with that.
“It’s quite interesting – my reputation precedes me, and I haven’t even done anything yet.” I reply.
“Nwehehehehe! Your reputation is much more impressive than you think. Surviving the might of a Drago, destroying a reinforced capsule and befriending Master Porky. And to top it all off, the secret power within you. Nwehehehehe!”
Two things: this guy really likes his ‘Nwehehehehe’ laugh. It’s a little strange, and I won’t lie – with Fassad’s already strange voice, it really does sounds like a pig squealing. Impressive…? Secondly, befriending Porky is something impressive? He’s a excellent king and seems friendly with everyone. Then again, he allowed me to call him Porky, and everyone else I’ve seen adds ‘Master’ or refers to him as the king. In all the years that Porky has lived, has he never had a friend? No, he didn’t, because everyone always saw him as this fat chubby kid. Then, Ness destroyed any chance of him gaining a friend by destroying Porky. As if smashing a balloon with an axe. But he failed. I am Porky’s friend.
“Secret powers, I used them to destroy the capsule you speak off. Not very secret, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Not very secret at all. So it’s a good thing I wasn’t talking about your lightning. It’s a power that few have. A power that will let you reshape the world as we know it.”
I honestly don’t know what to say to that. Is this a PSI technique, or is it something more? For now, I don’t reply.
“Enough of that, I suppose. The present is far more important than the future, or the past. Into the training facility!”
And we do just that. There are quite a number of Pigmasks here, all doing various things in different rooms. Some are running on these weird machines which seem to have this platform that pushes them back, while they try not to get flung off. Others seem to be testing their strength by lifting as much as they can. A few seem to be practicing their aim by firing at various targets. Strangely, Fassad is taking me past all these rooms to some stairs. Hm… I wonder if… do I have to press something or… no, it appears I simply need to will it and it happens.
‘Name: Fassad’
‘Age: Undisclosed’
‘Gender: Unknown’
‘Family: 6 brothers/sisters. Names: Undisclosed’
‘Leading officer of Pigmask Army. Other roles undisclosed.’
In order to view all information, Omega Level Access is required. Current access level is Alpha.
This tells me… pretty much nothing. The only thing I know now that I didn’t before is that he has 6 siblings. His gender is unknown as well – I thought he was strange but I didn’t think I would be right. I suppose I need higher access to find out, maybe I’ll get that if I become Commander. Now that I think about it, in that movie, with all the PSI the ‘heroes’ used, Alpha was the lowest level and Omega was the highest. It’ll be hard to gain that kind of access. Why is Fassad shrouded in so much mystery?
With heavy amounts of hesitation, I continue to follow the Pigmask leader up the stairs. When we reach the top, Fassad leads me to a room with some Pigmasks jogging around the room. One Pigmask in the centre of the room is barking (or would that be squealing) various orders at the others. He looks different – more muscular and his mask has horns on his head. I’ll admit – he looks rather fierce.
“All right maggots! Give me 50 push-ups or no DCMC for you!” shouts the Scary Looking Pigmask.
“Aww… why do we have to do this?” is the collective reply.
“Because if you want to be like me, you have to push through the pain! And if you don’t…”
The Scary Looking Pigmask holds up a metallic box with a metal rod on it and leans back, as if meaning to throw it. The Pigmasks all stop and freeze – I imagine I would see looks of horror on their faces if it weren’t for masks. Actually, why do they wear their masks inside the training facility? I suppose it’s a uniform as well. Either way, the Pigmasks immediately start the push ups requested. The box must be very important to them.
“Nwehehehehehe! Good to see you taking the phrase ‘sweat like a pig’ to its limits, Trooper!
“What? Ah, Mr Fassad! Yes, these little piglets are still far too tender for my liking. Still, they’re all getting tougher.”
“Reckon you handle another? This one is very special.”
It’s at this point that the Scary Looking Pigmask turns his attention to me, examining me carefully.
“He’s younger than most. I normally wouldn’t take a kid like you. But you’re no ordinary kid, are you? Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Taking this as an indication to join them, I enter the room. All the Pigmasks have stopped doing their push ups, their eyes on me. The Scary Looking Pigmask notices this as well.
“Did I say you could stop? No! Get back to your push ups if you value your music! As punishment, you all go back to 0 push-ups!”
The Pigmasks restart their push-ups and the Scary Looking Pigmask gestures at me to join them. I take a second to observe the Pigmasks and then start doing the push-ups. It’s surprisingly not that bad – while the Pigmasks seem to be struggling, I find it relatively simple. While I’m doing so, I decide to gain a little insight on this trainer.
‘Name: Gorgeous’
‘Age: 34’
‘Gender: Male’
‘Family: None registered’
‘Fiercest of all the Pork Troopers, only the very best soldiers train under him. He also leads New Pork City’s biggest DCMC fan club.’
His name isn’t very indicative of what he’s actually like. That’s my 30th push up – and my arms are starting to ache a bit. But I have to keep going… push past the pain. I will prove that I… can do it. For Master… Porky. 10 more. Don’t… give up… now… I am… strong. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Finished.
I collapse from sheer exhaustion. When I look up, I see the Fierce Pork Trooper. He looks at me and it’s hard to see, given the mask, but I think he’s momentarily surprised. He offers me a hand up… and a thumbs ups. I notice that the Pigmasks have already finished and are watching me. I was last? I suppose I’m not as strong as I think…
“Bah! It took you lot 5 minutes to finish those 50 push ups and this kid here finishes them in 8 minutes! You should be much faster than that!
“Yeah, but he’s got those enhancements!” retorts one of the Pigmasks.
The others start to back him up with various statements of agreement. The Fierce Pork Trooper just puts a hand to his face in annoyance, as if he’s heard this a million times. And then…
“SHUT UP! You all come up with some new argument every single day! If only you could devote some of that excuse making to your push-ups! I don’t care if he has enhancements, because that alone wasn’t what gave him his strength! It was his will power. His drive. And none of you have that. Well done kid. Right! A ten minute break, and then it’s off to the battle sector!”
The Pigmasks all take a sigh of relief and take a seat on the benches. I notice some of them eyeing me. Meanwhile, the Fierce Pork Trooper walks over to Fassad.
“Mr Fassad. I have to admit I wasn’t sure if the king made the right decision. I stand corrected.”
“I leave him with you then. Nwehehehe!”
And with that, Fassad took his leave, eating a banana along the way. The Fierce Pork Trooper notices me watching.
“So. How much did you hear?”
“All of it. I finished last though. Why do you think the king made the right choice? I can’t even compare to the best Pigmasks! I’m not strong enough to be Commander.”
“Not with that attitude. I like you kid. You have high standards. And that is exactly why you should be Commander. You just did 50 push ups in 7 minutes. That’s quite the feat for a child. And with some time and practice, you’ll be better than all these chumps.”
“Why… why are you so harsh?”
The Fierce Pork Trooper chuckles.
“Because these chumps have the potential. I saw you looking at me and I’m not the smartest person, but that eye of yours has some special properties. As you know, I only train the best. These chumps are the best, so in order to get better, they have to be pushed. And yes…” He lowers his voice. “Gorgeous really is my name. But don’t tell anyone.”
The Fierce Pork Trooper glances at his watch.
“Right then! Off to the battle sector!”
“But sir, it’s only been five minutes!”
“And it’ll take five minutes to get there.”
The Fierce Pork Trooper simply laughs while the Pigmasks collectively groan. I’m guessing he does this a lot. I follow them to a firing range.
“All right then, you know what to do.”
Some of the Pigmasks draws a laser gun and starts firing at the various targets. Others throw these spheres that explode. Strangely, one or two start saying terrible things for some reason. I notice a stand with some laser guns on it and make my towards it.
“Not so fast. You don’t need one of those.”
He points to my arm. I remember, I was given an arm cannon. I turn my hand into the cannon and take aim. The target’s exactly 10m away, according to my eye. I can do this. Concentrating on the target, I focus all my energy.
‘Charging cannon, power: 10%’
It feels rather natural – I can feel the energy building up in my arm.
‘Power: 15%, 20%, 30%’
It’s so much power though. Enough to obliterate the target.
‘Power: 40%, 60%, 90%’
My arm feels like it’s about to drop off. Focus… and… release!
The explosion I hear tells me two things: Firstly, this arm cannon is incredibly powerful and secondly, I missed. Badly. It looks like I destroyed a section of the wall, but it was many inches of the target. All the Pigmasks take a moment to observe the damage before returning to what they were doing.
“Power: yes, accuracy: noooooo. You need to try and stabilise your arm – if it’s wobbling like that, you have a hard time hitting anything. Power is important, but it’s of no use if it isn’t controlled and focused. Course, if you’re like me, you’ll just beat someone to a pulp with your muscles! Arrrggh! Those two are annoying me. They can’t do anything properly!”
Oddly enough, he’s looking at the two Pigmasks saying terrible things.
“You two! I’ve heard kids insult better than that! How do you hope to demoralise an enemy with wimpy things like that? Let me show you.”
He starts listing off so many nasty things. I feel like I could cry on the spot. By the end of it, everyone is in shock at what he just said.
Trying to forget everything I just heard, I return to the targets again. I prepare myself and fire at the targets once more. Shot after shot. The good news is, I’m destroying less of the wall. The bad news is, well, I’m still destroying the wall. Nevertheless, practice is key. I decide to try and use less power – hopefully that’ll make aiming easier. My next shot misses, although it’s closer than any of my shots and at least it didn’t destroy as much of the wall due to me using less power. That was 10% of max power. I feel comfortable with this amount of power, so I try again with the same amount.
Again, I miss, but still I’m getting closer. I take a few more shots and on my 6th shot, I hit the target for the first time! Nice! I take some more shots, until I’m able to consistently hit the target.
So now, I suppose I’ll try with higher power. I go for 15% this time, and even though it’s only a 5% difference, it feels so much harder. I have to take a moment to stabilise my arm and when I fire, unsurprisingly, I miss. Just got to keep going at it…
The next hour or so is filled with me constantly trying to adjust to the power in small increments. It’s the same thing – I struggle at first, get used to it and then I start hitting the target with consistency. It’s a little tedious, I won’t deny but I must get stronger. For Porky’s sake. The commander of the Pigmasks will need to be stronger than this. I am weak now, but if I put in the effort, I will be strong enough to overcome any foe.
I’m gonna get stronger! I’m gonna get so strong even Dragos won’t stand a chance against me!
But… do I need this? Wasn’t this violence, this quest for power, what caused me to be like this in the first place?
No. No, no, no, it was the people of Tazmily. Their cruelty led to your situation.
The Dragos had nothing to with this – they were merely an unfortunate pawn in this mess. I suppose I shouldn’t say I’ll be strong enough so Dragos won’t stand against me. Rather…
I’m gonna get so strong that no one in Tazmily will stand a chance against me.
Much better.
And at least some of my effort has paid off – by the end of the hour, I can use about 25% of my power and hit the target somewhat consistently.
“Okay chumps, lunch break!”
The Pigmasks all cheer and head to an area where I presume they have lunch. Indeed, they go to a room with tables and food being served. The Pigmasks rush to get some stuff. For once, they actually take off their masks! After all, they can’t eat with them on. They’re all humans, just like me! I’ll admit, I thought they were just robots. I suppose that shows what a mask can make you look like…
There’s all sorts of things to eat, but I personally just go for a sandwich. I would go for a ham one, but that seems offensive and I spot an egg sandwich. For some reason, I feel compelled to have that.
“Alright then. I suppose, you maggots have done a somewhat good job. So, as a small reward…” he picks up the metallic box. “It’s time for some DCMC!”
“Yeah! Tonda Gossa!” they all shout.
What does Tonda Gossa even mean? Why are they all excited? Oh, and most importantly…
“What’s DCMC?”
All the soldiers look at me with horror on their face, as if I’d just slaughtered a bunch of animals and said I liked it. The Fierce Pork Trooper almost drops the box. Evidently, this DCMC is something important.
“Oh wait, you’ve got amnesia. The Desperado Crush Mambo Combo – or DCMC for short, are the best band in the entire world! Their music is legendary!”
Yes, my analysis showed that he is the leader of a DCMC fan club. I assume all these soldiers are a part of this fan club as well, given how the Fierce Pork Trooper threatened them by restricting their music. The soldiers are all listening intently and I must admit – I can see the appeal in the music. I’ve never heard something as catchy as this! Each band member plays their parts with beautifully and all of them are in sync. If I had to pick a favourite, I’d say I rather like the bassist, Lucky. We all listen to the band play for the next hour or so before the DCMC bid us Nantekodda.
“Nothing like a bit of DCMC to lift your spirits! Chumps, it’s time for some physical training! Back to the training room!”
The soldiers all put their pigmasks back on before returning to the room where Fassad left me. Instead of doing push-ups, they start to battle in pairs. I would join in, but all the Pigmasks are in pairs and it wouldn’t be fair – I would easily decimate them. I was given these enhancements after all, no ordinary soldier would stand a chance. Luckily, the Fierce Pork Trooper has a solution.
“Kid, you’ll be training with me.”
“Very well, but I won’t hold back.”
“Oh hoh, a feisty one! You may be stronger than the average person – but I’m far from average. You make the first move.”
I take a good look at him. He’s assumed a defensive stance. I see an opening so I charge at him and throw a punch with my metallic arm. He merely blocks. I try a kick and he doesn’t even bother to block this time. Arrrrggh! Why is nothing working against him! Once again, I punch him, going for his face, which should definitely hurt him. The next thing I feel is the pain running through my hand. It feels like I just punched a brick wall… no rather metal?
“Hahaha! These masks do a lot more than just look intimidating!”
That’s right, one of the Pigmasks that took me to New Pork City said that their suits give them protection. I suppose it’s only logical that their masks do as well.
The Fierce Pork Trooper decides to make a move. He quickly rushes towards me – and I have no interest in trying to block against him! I sidestep equally as fast and kick his leg, which is the first thing that I’ve done to hurt him – but it works as well as a homemade knife against a Drago. For now, I suppose I’ll just keep moving.
All right, physical attacks clearly aren’t going to work against this guy. He’s far too bulky and he’s got some thick armour. But given his size, as well the fact that he’s trying to beat me into submission, he probably relies on physical attacks as well. If I can get some distance on this guy, I’ll have the advantage, as I can attack him with my arm cannon but he’ll have no way of attacking back.
After dodging him another time, I decide to try the strategy I’ve devised. I put some distance in between the two of us, while switching to the arm cannon. I can’t reliably hit something if I use over 25% power so I charge up until I’ve reached 20% and then fire. By the time the Fierce Pork Trooper realises what I’ve done, it’s too late for him to dodge and it’s a direct hit. All the Pigmasks stop their battles upon hearing the explosion. Some are shocked, while others are wondering if the Fierce Pork Trooper is all right. Some are whispering about how strong I must be to beat their trainer and who’s tougher.
He’s strong – but I’m stronger!
‘I had you watch that movie as a lesson. A lesson not to assume.’
For some reason, I’m reminded of Porky’s lesson to me and once the smoke clears, I realise I’ve failed to properly understand his lesson.
The Fierce Pork Trooper emerges, his hands over his chest. I guess he still had time to block. But how? Did he know that was what I was going to do?
“Nice shot kid. Yeah, you’re certainly better than all these chumps… all these chumps who need to GET BACK TO SPARRING!”
The Pigmasks all hurry back into their groups and continue sparring, but I can see them occasionally taking glances at us.
“Trying to go for me at a distance to get an advantage. You’re smart, I’ll give you that. But will brains triumph over brawn? No!”
He takes another charge at me and I decide to go for the same trick again, taking a graceful leap over the Fierce Pork Trooper. When I land, I notice something behind me and before I know it, I’m being launched across the room. Evidentially, he anticipated that idea and performed a roundhouse kick in response.
Still, being launched across the room gave me the distance I need, and I once again charge my cannon and fire. The Fierce Pork Trooper jumps over the shot and with all the smoke, I can’t see him. I hear something fall near me so I try and get out of the way as quick as I can, but when he lands, his does so with such a large force that I fall over. He lumbers towards me and although I try to scram, he’s quicker and picks me up.
Fear. That’s all I can feel.
I’m completely at his mercy. I can’t do anything. His grip is far too strong.
What will he do to me? It can’t end like this, I should be stronger them him!
“An admirable effort on your part, but I think you’ll have to concede defeat. Don’t worry, you had no chance of beating me. As it is, you’re far too weak to do anything lasting.”
I… I can’t… no, I’m… I just… I just want… I just…
I want to cry. But I can’t. I’m not… I’m not a crybaby!
I’m not weak! I survived what should have killed me!
I was enhanced to be stronger than anyone else could hope to become! I have mastered the power of thunder – it bows down to me!
I am the Commander! And you dare call me weak?
“I’ll show you…how weak I am!”
‘Warning. High fluctuations in blood pressure.’
This feeling… it’s so familiar. I know exactly what to do this time. Envision it, the lightning breaking down on to your foe.
“Hey kid, you aren’t responding to anything I’m saying.”
Guide it onto them, draw from your anger and let it fuel your desire to destroy.
‘Continuing current activities is ill advised.’
Now focus. Control the power, don’t let it get out of hand.
“Kid? You’re freaking me out here.”
Remember, power is of no use if uncontrolled.
‘PSI detected. Specimen advised to stop.’
It’s a strange sensation – lightning coercing through my veins.
“Kid, what’s with that sparking around you?”
I look into the Trooper’s eyes.
‘High voltage levels detected within.’
“PK Thunder!”
My lightning strikes the Fierce Pork Trooper and he yells… no, rather, he shrieks in horror.
In a strange way, it’s so… satisfying? Yes, satisfying.
To see that which hurt you, feel the same pain.
All the Pigmasks look at me with pure, abject horror.
“You’ve killed him!” I hear one shout.
For a minute, I think I have. He doesn’t move. Suddenly, I’m regretting everything. While it felt good in the short term, in the long term… he didn’t deserve it, I was just angry.
‘No one is what they seem. Behind the kindest face may lie a monster.’
I’m not… I am different. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I don’t believe I’m superior, like those children did!
But… I do. I said I was more powerful than all of the Pigmasks. I said these enhancements made me stronger. I thought I was the strongest. But I’m the weakest one here.
It’s a small mercy that the Fierce Pork Trooper gets up.
“I’m fine, I’m fine!” He insists. All the other Pigmasks rush to help him, but he simply pushes them away. “I think that’s enough training for today. You’re all free to go. Go on, get out.”
All the Pigmasks leave in a horrified hurry.
“He’s made us train overtime before, but this is the first time I’ve seen him let us go early!”
The first time? What have I done?
For the first time, I feel… regret.
I find one of the Pigmasks that I was training with and despite their initial shock, they told me I could stay at the barracks with them. The beds aren’t very comfortable but with all this metal and guilt on my back, I hardly notice. Somehow, I manage to get to sleep.
As strange as it sounds, I wish I would have a nightmare. Just so I could feel the pain as well. But I know that won’t happen – I haven’t had any dreams at all since I was made into a chimera, so I’m guessing it has something to do with the process as a side effect.
I suppose, in an ironic way, this dreamless sleep is its own nightmare.
Upon waking up, my systems tell me it’s 5:07. Wait, 5:07? That’s earlier than I’ve ever woken up. I suppose I don’t need to sleep as much thanks to my parts. I may as well go and start training. Making my way through the dark isn’t as hard as one might assume, thanks to my new eye. The training facility has a few Pigmasks already, but I ignore them and go to the firing range.
Charge, aim and fire. Over and over again. How long have I been doing this for? It doesn’t matter. But eventually…
“For a kid, you sure don’t sleep a lot, do you?”
It’s the Fierce Pork Trooper.
“Still, good to see that you’re keen to be stronger. I wonder, why do you want to be stronger? To prove yourself? Or is it something more?”
I… don’t know. That’s something to think about later. There’s something else more prevalent now.
“About yesterday…” I start.
“Yeah, I thought these psychic powers were a myth, even after seeing Mr Fassad, but you’ve convinced me otherwise.”
“I’m sorry about… hurting you.”
“Sorry? Sorry? Why? That’s the entire point of fighting! To hurt the other person!”
“Hurting is a little different than seriously injuring.”
“Fair enough. You would know about serious injuries, wouldn’t you? I can tell that despite your memory loss, your morals are still intact. But listen kid: some people are too dangerous to be left with just some scrapes. Some people are too dangerous to be left alive.”
“So how do I decide?”
“How do you think? It’s important that you don’t kill everyone you see, but you got to be prepared for when you’re facing a tough opponent. It’s a judgment call.”
“A tricky one at that.”
“Life is tricky. If there’s one piece of advice I can give, it’s to trust the king. He never led us wrong.”
“He’s never led me wrong either.”
“Exactly. Now, as good as it to see you here early… scratch that, very early.” He says after glancing at his watch. “It doesn’t make sense for you to be here without everyone else.”
“So do I have to go back to sleep?”
“Do you want to?”
The look in my eyes must say it all, because he chuckles and runs his hands together.
“Right, it’s not fair for you to be hear without the rest of the chumps. Get a bucket from the janitor’s room, fill it with water and meet me at the entrance.”
Despite being confused as to what he means, I follow his instructions regardless. My map easily gets me to the room and I get the largest bucket. I fill it with water from the cafeteria and go to the entrance.
“Quick, aren’t we? And good, a big bucket. Now follow me.”
The two of us go back to the barracks – the Fierce Pork Trooper uses a flashlight to guide the way, and go to the area where I was sleeping. I have a good idea as to what the Fierce Pork Trooper is planning but I remain silent. When we reach the room, he motions for me to give the bucket, which I do, and also to remain silent. He quietly walks to each soldier (an impressive feat considering his size and armour) and as I thought, dunks some water onto them. Soon, all of them are spluttering, among some swears and death threats. Neither of us can contain our laughter.
“Hello boys.”
“Sir! Commander!”
“Now that, you’re all awake, it’s time for training! Training facility in 20 minutes!
The soldiers don’t even groan - they’ve definitely come to expect this by now.
20 minutes later, all of us are at the training facility, doing various exercises. It’s hard and extremely exhausting, but it feels worthwhile. I think the Pigmasks have warmed up to me a bit more as well – they no longer look at me as if I’m a complete stranger.
At lunch, I get an egg sandwich again and we all rock out to some DCMC. Tonda Gossa! Of course, out of everyone here, the Fierce Pork Trooper is by far enjoying himself the most.
And afterwards, it’s off to the firing range to break the targets! I decide to try using 40% power this time. Charge, aim and release!
And I miss completely. Again.
Oh well. All I need is practice and then I’ll be stronger. One day, I’ll be the strongest one in this facility!
The Fierce Pork Trooper asked me why I wanted to become stronger.
I want to become stronger, to prove myself. To prove I’m worthy of being the Commander. To prove I’m worthy of being Porky’s friend.
Never stop becoming stronger.
Notes:
So if it weren't obvious from the title, Strong One - the Masked Man's variation of it, is my favourite battle song in the game (It Is Finished is technically a battle song as well but I'm not counting it). Also, is it just me or does anyone else notice the irony in Strong One, specifically regarding the fact that none of the enemies it plays for constituent as a Strong One?
The Barrier Trio is not one foe, but three. The Negative Man is just weak. The Heftyheads and Hippo Launchers are just normal foes. And of course, the Masked Man is a strong one on the outside but rather weak on the inside - although this makes the two distinct parts of Strong One as well as the random skipping of the Masked Man's rendition make all the more sense.
Musical analysis over, it was fun writing the Fierce Pork Trooper. He has a lot of admiration for the Masked Man in Mother 3 - which has gotta come from somewhere. And that was my inspiration for this chapter.
Two things to discuss: I believe the Magyspies naturally have pink hair (and dyed Kumatora's hair pink as well), but when Fassad betrayed them, he became the antithesis of what the Magyspies represented.
Next, for those unaware, Nantekodda is some form of slang for goodbye for the DCMC (much like how Tonda Gossa is a greeting). The Fierce Pork Trooper's name, Gorgeous, is named after a member of the Runaway Five, which also doubles as Duster's DCMC name if you decide to name Duster Lucky. (Incidentally, naming Kumatora Violet has her alternate identity become Kumatora). I found it really cool that the game avoids an Edgar - Gerad situation from FF6 if you will.
I did want to have Claus visit Dr Andonuts but I figured that was best left for another time. Speaking of which, this is the last chapter with any sort of major plot (well, debatably major since none of this is technically new) for a while. The next couple of chapters will be shorter (and thank god because writing these long chapters is hard, especially trying to keep them interesting) and they’ll be about various things that I imagine happening to Claus over the 3 year time jump. They’ll all still be related to the main story, but simply put, the Thunder Tower is some time off.
Next time, the reunion between the chimera and the doctor! Thank you to everyone whose been reading this!
Chapter 7: The Reunion
Summary:
Chimeras, reading, PSI and the Masked Man's inability to understand Dr Andonuts.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Another day of training done. Phew.
I’ve been training for 15 days at this training facility and I can tell I’m getting stronger – I can do the 50 push ups in 7 minutes now! My aim with my arm cannon is getting better as well. Most importantly, I’m learning how to control my psychic powers. Every day, I practise hitting the Fierce Pork Trooper (in a rubber suit) with PK Thunder. It’s really hard to aim though – as I’ve found out, focus is key but in a real fight, maintaining that focus will be hard.
One day, I remember Fassad walking in while I was practising using my powers.
“Nwehehehe! So you’ve got the handle of your thunder powers. But that’s child’s play compared to this! PK Thunder Omega!”
Four powerful lightning bolts crash down onto the Fierce Pork Trooper and even with the rubber suit on, he gets flung back and singed.
Incredible… I remember seeing the ‘heroes’ perform this very attack, but to see it in real life is something else. Fassad is a really powerful psychic… I shudder to think what else he’s capable of. He explains to me the four levels of PSI: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. Once a psychic masters one level of PSI, they learn the next level.
Additionally, the Fierce Pork Trooper says that now that my arms are getting stronger, I can consider using a weapon. I don’t fancy kicking people like the Pigmasks do and although I’m strong for a kid, pummelling people doesn’t seem like the best use of that strength.
Of all the weapons I’ve seen, swords seem the coolest. Unfortunately, I can’t just start using one straight away – swords aren’t very safe after all, so I’m to start by using a stick. I wouldn’t think that there’s much of an art to hitting someone with a stick, but there is. Swinging to hit multiple targets, jabs, thrusts and my favourite, the power smash. The Fierce Pork Trooper also teaches me how to gather my strength to pummel foes and stiffen my body to withstand heavy blows. I can’t say I’m a big fan of brute force, but it might come in handy.
But that’s not what’s important. Today’s rather special, because this is the first day in which I don’t have any training in the afternoon, owing to the Fierce Pork Trooper needing to attend a meeting. With permission, I decide to finally pay Dr Andonuts a visit. Dr Andonuts said I need to visit him occasionally for a check up on my parts. Kill two birds with one stone, I suppose. It’s almost lunch though, so I hope it’ll be quick. See, to compensate for the afternoon of training we miss, the Fierce Pork Trooper made us work twice as hard, and so I feel twice as hungry.
Although I would like to simply soar through the sky, this is the first actual flight I’ve made, so it’s probably for the best if I stay towards the ground. Still, the feeling is awesome! The wind rushing past my face, zipping past everything, everything flashing by… it’s incredible.
The view’s nice as well – the purple forest makes me feel at piece. The wildlife however isn’t what I would expect – I see strange creatures that are mixtures between kangaroos and sharks as well as pig shaped flowers. By far the strangest thing I see, is a large door of sorts that has a series of strange poses on it. It looks like poses for a… dance? How peculiar.
Soon enough, I reach the laboratory and for the first time, I notice the building itself seems to be a chimera, given the animal head that’s fused onto the front of the building. Inside the reception, I walk over to the Pigmask there. I wonder if it’s the same one that greeted me when I left here.
“Ah, Commander. What brings you to Chimera Laboratory?”
“I was asked to come here for a check- up.”
“You’ll be looking for Dr Andonuts then. He’s working on a chimera on the… let’s see… ah, the second floor. Room 23. Be careful you don’t wonder into the other rooms – some of these chimeras are quite dangerous and hard to control!
Making my way to the room isn’t very hard, but all throughout the laboratory, I can hear all sorts of machines – drills mostly, coupled with the various noises of animals. The screams are jarring to say the least, but they don’t compare to the roars. The roars of some of the chimeras will haunt me for some time…
Room 23. I suppose I’ll be polite and knock.
“Yes, who is it?”
“Dr Andonuts?” I have to think about his question since I just realised, I don’t have a name. Well…
“It’s the Commander.”
“Oh, do come on in.”
The lab the doctor’s in is a strange one to say the least – if only because of the red and yellow striped chimera with a ridiculous nose behind the glass. That, and the fact that Dr Andonuts is sitting in a chair, eating… donuts. Why does that bother me so much?
“You know, you’re the first person whose actually knocked on the door and not just come in.”
“What? Isn’t the work you do here really dangerous and something that requires a lot of concentration and focus? You could working on something delicate, someone comes in and you accidentally slice the chimera or yourself!”
“Exactly. But no one ever listens. You’ve heard of Fassad, haven’t you?” I nod. “Yes, well in addition to him leaving banana peels everywhere, he seems to love bursting in on me at the most inopportune moments. He did so frequently during the time I spent working on you. Although, I suppose that was to make sure everything was going all right.”
“What do you mean? I thought this was safe?”
“Safe is a not an accurate way of putting it at all. The process for making these chimeras is simple, in the sense that if everything was the same , the results would be reproducible. Technology is often not the limiting factor – in fact, in my own time period, I was able to make chimeras.”
“With technology that was less advanced?”
“Amazing how far things advance. The king might call that chimera primitive in comparison, it was a fusion between a man and a building, a dungeon in fact.”
“So would that make me the second human chimera, after this dungeon man?”
“Yes. But also no. Words change over time. What was considered a chimera is now something much less. What I created back then was more of a building piloted by a man. A robot that could be controlled on the inside. You are much different – a fusion between man and machine. Someone who can make the decisions of a human with the power, speed and accuracy of a machine. And believe me, it was by no means, safe.”
“So it was likely I would die. I suppose it makes sense. The injuries I had taken would have made my chances of survival low… if looking at this optimistically.”
“Precisely. But human spirit is stronger than we give it credit for. It’s something I learned from people just like you. No one is the same. In the same situation, two people will always have different opinions, different thoughts and different reactions. With these chimeras, the process is always the same, but every organism is different, so the outcome is similar, yet different. Identical people are impossible. Even twins, will always have differences. Of all creatures out there, humans have the most differences in thoughts. The Human Chimera Project wanted to combine that difference, the diversity in each person, and enhance it with machine. Evidentially, that spirit came through for you.”
Human spirit. It’s a strange concept, combining the very thing that cannot be artificially created, with machines. It worked as well. It feels like I have this enhanced amount of awareness with all my decisions. But I can commit to them more, because the machines make me more focused. Unwavering. Every decision I make is my own, and yet, not.
“How come there are no more plans for other human chimeras?”
“I said that if everything was the same, the outcome for making these chimeras would be the same. But they aren’t, because every organism is different. Simulations showed how strenuous this process would be – potentially lethal for those who weren’t strong enough. We had to discontinue the project because the risk would be far too great. I’ll be quite frank – when you were brought in, this operation was a last resort. And somehow it worked. Amazing, isn’t it? I disagree with the king on more matters than I’d care to admit, including chimeras on a whole – but the one point of interest that he and I share, is regarding strength of will. What people can do in the most desperate of times, when all seems bleak. And the king’s strength of will, is certainly very strong… perhaps too strong in many ways.”
“He certainly was determined to make something of himself, even when all seemed lost for him. When he lost his form entirely, because of…” I decide not to go further. “He enlisted you, didn’t he?”
Dr Andonuts gives a look as if he’s been forced to drink poison.
“Yes, enlisted is one way of putting it. Forced to leave everything you knew behind… I suppose in that regards, we’re very much alike. Forgive me, but you remind me of a child… long gone….”
He’s struggling so much not to cry. As much as I would like to pursue this topic, I think I know the answer and I wouldn’t be so cruel as to continue this topic. Human spirit can be strong, but Dr Andonuts’s is all but crushed.
“Still, I can’t help but wonder if it was mere chance that I survived. Much like how it was chance that you haven’t had any accidents from interruptions.”
“Indeed. I’m surprised though - I’d have thought my luck would be long gone by now, but it’s only a matter of time. Still, at least I haven’t had any interruptions while working on this chimera.”
“What is that?”
“That is a chimera I’ve been working on, a Pump Chimera, or as I like to call it, Mr Pump.” He says with a chuckle. “It’s designed for moving large amounts of water from one area to another.”
“When would you ever need something like that?”
“Good question. But orders are orders. Either way, I’m not particularly fond of it. The sooner I move onto something else, the better. Ah, you didn’t come to hear me babble on about chimeras. I take it you’re here for a check up?
“Indeed. It won’t be painful, will it?
“No, no, assuming you haven’t broken anything. Right then, I’ll need to get a book with all my notes on you. Actually, why don’t you come with me? After all, safety in numbers which goes doubly so in this lab.”
The library the doctor goes to is rather small, yet all the shelves seemed packed with books. It’s a rather strange and disorganised way of keeping everything - wouldn’t it be smarter to have a bigger room with more shelves and less books on each shelf, so it would be easier to find things? Either way, while Dr Andonuts is looking for his notes, I decide to have a look around the library myself.
There’s a book called ‘Overcoming Shyness’. I think I might have once known someone who would have found this book useful… someone I knew very well. But the books next to it are what really interest me. They’re all books on PSI. ‘PSI and I’, ‘Psychic Powers Through The Ages’, ‘Psychic Science’, ‘Psionics or Psychokinesis?’ and perhaps the most interesting and ominous sounding, ‘Psycho Psychic Gods’.
That ‘Psycho Psychic Gods’ one certainly sounds like a good read. Maybe I’ll have a look at it while Dr Andonuts looks for his notes. On the front cover are 6 strange looking people who all have female features on their faces, yet look distinctly male…
“Ah, here they are! Human Chimera Project.”
To my surprise, Dr Andonuts is not holding a book, or anything, for that matter. Instead, he’s looking at the wall, which has a bunch of compartments with locks, one of which is marked ‘Human Chimera Project’. He opens it up with a key and takes some files out.
“These are very important, hence we keep them in safes to make sure no one can take them.”
“Why not just store them on a database?”
“It would be somewhat detrimental for me, seeing as this information would be highly classified, and my access level is limited to Beta.”
What? Why would the director of the Chimera Laboratory only be limited to Beta classified stuff? That’s seems very counterproductive. I suppose it’s not up to me to question these things though. As the Commander, my job is just that – to command.
The two of us go to the room in which I awoke, a room I had hoped I wouldn’t have to return to, but it seems I have little choice.
“Right, step into the Instant Revitalising Device there and I’ll do the rest.”
He points to a tall metal capsule, with the Pigmask insignia on it. If I recall, Porky tried to use one of these, to little avail. However, it works fine for me. Feels exactly like I’ve had a good night’s sleep. I feel perfectly fine – except for my hunger.
“Well then, you seem to be fine. Your body shows signs of being pushed and stressed, but I suppose that’s because of your training. I swear, that Trooper needs to learn the definition of a break.”
“Ironic you should say that, because the rest of today is my break.”
“And despite that, you looked rather exhausted before. I notice you’re missing some fuel – did you fly here?”
“Yes, and I intend to fly back.”
“Hm, well that explains it. You seem to still have plenty of fuel, so I won’t bother with a refill. One more thing, the systems report use of PSI. I suppose you’ve learned how to use it?”
“Indeed, although I’m only capable of using the weakest form of PK Thunder.”
“Weakest form, yet rather strong, if the system alerts of high voltage levels are anything to by. I can’t say I’m all that curious to see what the strongest form would be. Struggling to aim it?”
“Most certainly. I’m only able to hit the Fierce Pork Trooper, who could be considered a relatively large target, 74.3% of the time.”
“What? My goodness, psychics must have gotten a lot better over time. In my age, it was far more inaccurate. I suppose you must have a real talent for it then. Either way, everything else seems perfectly fine. You’re free to go, unless you need anything.”
“Thank you. I do not need anything from you, although I was wondering if I might borrow a book or two from the library.”
“Yes, yes, provided you return them and let the receptionist know which books you are taking. By the way, I recommend ‘PSI and I’ for you.”
How did he know I wanted that? I leave the doctor and return to the library, finding the book in question. The back calls it ‘the complete encyclopaedia for all PSI’. Perfect. I make to leave, but before I do, my mind wavers to another book… ‘Psycho Psychic Gods’. I might as well take it and see what I can find. Yet, it sounds foreboding and I get the impression I shouldn’t take it. So of course, I take it and quickly make my exit. I take the books and notify the receptionist.
“Seems like you have a bit of interest in PSI, Commander. It is quite a fascinating area of research. ‘PSI and I’ , yep that’s fine. And, oh… ‘Psycho Psychic Gods’. I’ve never heard of this one. Let’s see… looks like you need Gamma Level Access to take this book out. Do you have that?”
“I am the Commander. What do you think?”
“Yeah, that should be fine then. Here you go.”
Thankfully, the Pigmask does not pursue the specifics of my access level any further – for which I’m very thankful of. This book clearly has some important details in it, but what exactly does it contain that would make it so limited in terms of who can read it?
Clutching the two books tightly, I take flight once more, returning to the training facility.
And there had better be something to eat.
Notes:
I try and make a short chapter, and it ends up being longer than I thought! I doubt anyone’s complaining though. Either way, there’s not much to say about this chapter, but I wanted a reunion (which I think is one of the better written endings in Chrono Trigger) and I needed a way to introduce ‘Psycho Psychic Gods’.
Some references I put in: the Fierce Pork Trooper's brute force techniques are the same as Flint's, Dr Andonuts comment about the accuracy of PK Thunder is one to how in Earthbound, PK Thunder has crap accuracy (to the point where Fire, Freeze, Rockin and once you get it, Starstorm, are always better choices - and neutralisers exist for getting rid of shields.). The nerf to PK Freeze and the accuracy buff to PK Thunder make it far more viable in Mother 3 thankfully.
The first chimera Dr Andonuts mentioned is Dungeon Man (love his song), Overcoming Shyness is the book given to the Tenda to do just that and the book Psionics or Psychokinesis is one to the inconsistent terminology of PSI in the Mother triology - I use PK, with a few exceptions. Oh, and of course, you're still hungry.
Next time, Claus helps the Pigmasks with constructing two special robots - one that’s a real shocker and the other that’s as sweet as can be.
Chapter 8: Shockingly Sweet
Summary:
Construction, electricity, marshmallows, and the Masked Man's inability to build two robots.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Master Porky gave a rather strange order yesterday. He’s ordered the construction of a large tower to the right of the training facility – a tower which is supposed to be used to generate large amounts of electricity to power New Pork City. Apparently, the city is expanding at such a rate that the current methods we have of generating electricity will be insufficient in the near future. Personally, I never noticed this expansion but I suppose I’ve been busy recently.
All the Pigmasks are to stop with their normal jobs and instead assist with the construction of the tower. However, Porky has specifically given orders to me that I’m not to assist with construction and that he has a special job instead. He’s requested that I meet him at Beauty and Tasty so that’s where I’m going now.
The restaurant is completely empty, as it was when I first met Porky. The waitresses are still here, all identical and equally ugly.
“Took you long enough to arrive.” The Pig King wheezes with considerable contempt. I have the impression that this hasn’t been a pleasant day for Porky so I decide to simply take a seat, rather than dispute the fact that I came as soon as I received his message.
“It took you so long to arrive that I ordered for both of us. If you don’t like what I got, then that’s your punishment for your tardiness.”
Definitely hasn’t been a pleasant day for him.
“Bah! Anyway, I have a special task for you, so I hope you feel honoured.”
“Very much, my liege.”
He continues with glee on his face. “Good. Now, I have two robots that need to be constructed. One that will be stationed at the Thunder to guard and protect the generator there. The other will be a robot designed specially to help maintain a certain room in the Thunder Tower that is very important – the room in which I’ll be staying whenever I need to visit. And being the kind person I am, I’ve decided to give you, and a few other lucky Pigmasks, the honour of building both of these robots.”
“Very well, although I have no experience in creating machinery like this and my abilities would be best applied to the construction instead. Would it not be better to ask someone more experienced, like Dr Andonuts?”
“Dr Andonuts is… occupied, shall we say, with another important project. One that cannot afford to be interrupted so, regrettably, he will not assisting you. Besides, you’ll be mostly giving orders and making sure none of the Pigmasks mess anything up or try some sort of sabotage. You are after all, the Commander.”
I may be the Commander, but how do I command people on a subject I have no expertise with? If I didn’t know any better, Porky seems to doing this to hide the construction of the Thunder Tower from me, rather than because my help is required here. Regardless, arguing isn’t going to yield any different results so I might as well accept.
“Very well then. Who knows, I might even learn something.”
“Exactly. Ah, the food. I hope you enjoy steak.”
The waitresses deliver our meals – steak, just as Porky said. Oh yeah, time for a question that I’ve had for a long time…
“Why do all the waitresses look the same?”
“They look the same because they all represent a person. My mother.”
Oh. Oh. I’m very glad I resisted all those urges to laugh and didn’t say anything rude about them because, that would not have ended well…
“It’s stupid. I don’t have any good memories of her at all. Well, unless you count the time she banned from leaving the house for a month, the time she forbade me from going into my own room, even to sleep, the time when she abolished my birthday or the time when she said I couldn’t have dessert for the rest of the decade.”
I almost choke at that last one. No dessert! For an entire decade! That’s no sweet stuff like, nut cookies or ice cream or cake. How do you celebrate a birthday, without cake? Oh wait, his mother banned him from celebrating that at all as well. Which of course is begging for this question: what in the world would persuade Porky to make all the waitresses look like his mother?
Mothers are supposed to protect you. To comfort you. To be there when something’s gone wrong and coddle you, saying ‘everything will be okay.’ They’re supposed to be there by your bed to give you a good night kiss, despite you saying you don’t want one… even though you really do. They’re supposed to be there to… to…
‘Run! Take your brother and go! Now!’
To…protect… why do I…
‘Mum! You can’t stay behind! That thing will kill you! Don’t leave us!’
To… sacrifice themselves… no, that can’t be…
‘GO! Don’t stop running! Find your father!’
Because of something strong… he’s so devastated, so hurt.
The only dream to be had was a single scream.
Because they love you.
What was that? I felt… pulled apart… shattered and scattered throughout time. Maybe that was just me getting angry at hearing such a bad mother. Just my sorrow and pity for Porky for having yet another abuser in his life. Only it was about someone who should be kind to you, so it made me feel more emotional. Yes, that seems logical.
“Your mother… why would you want to remember her?”
“I couldn’t tell you if I tried. It’s a peculiar feeling…I feel like, I just can’t forget her. If I do, a piece of me is missing. After all, she was my mother. And that’s got to mean something.”
But would you want someone so horrible to be associated with you?
“Let’s eat.”
The steak looks as delicious as the burgers did. While the burgers tasted nice, compared to the steak, it might as well be garbage. The flavours of the steak blend wonderfully together, and the texture is just right. It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted!
“Enjoying yourself?”
“This is wonderful. I’d say it’s probably my favourite food.”
“Your favourite food… I’m glad to hear that. Any questions?”
“Where will I need to go? The Chimera Laboratory?”
“No. The Empire Porky Building has a laboratory on the 57th floor, where non – chimera based projects are handled. I remember designing the Pork Tanks in there… such good memories.” He remarks wistfully. “I hope you too can contribute something as worthwhile. Now off you go! You’ll report to that laboratory every day. You’ve got 2 months to finish both machines. And I demand nothing but perfection…”
The… claws of Porky’s bed machine extend and click menacingly, which I take as my sign to get the heck out. It doesn’t make sense – why is Porky so… moody? I suppose that’s what happens when you live for 10,000 years, or however long Master Porky’s lived for, you have your good days and your bad days. Still, the rapid mood changes are jarring… is this what will happen to me when I grow up?
The Empire Porky Building is easy enough to find – after all, it is the giant building with the giant spikes on the sides. What practical purpose could they possibly serve?
The elevator in the lobby takes me to the 57th floor rather quickly – I feel like I’ll be flung into the ceiling when it stops. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen, and I exit to the laboratory Porky spoke of.
There’s about 30 Pigmasks here, and I notice the different colours they’re wearing. Most are the ordinary pink, but some are blue or green, and one is white, wearing an awesome cloak. Still, what’s with all the different colours?
“It’s the Commander!”
“What brings you here, Commander?” says the white.
“I have been ordered by Master Porky to help and supervise the construction of the two robots you are working on.”
“Oh, I wasn’t aware you had such mechanical prowess!”
“Actually… I don’t have any. However, Master Porky still insists that I help you.”
“Strange, but if the king orders it, we must follow. Come over here so you can see the blueprints.”
One of the blue prints is headed GENE163-1425. It has a diagram of a large robot with a creepy face and two hands. It’s connected to a generator behind it, which powers it and seems to let it utilise electricity. I assume that this is some sort of combat robot or guardian. Given its electrical abilities, it’s likely to be placed in the Thunder Tower. The wires extending from the robot seem to extend to some sort of generator.
The other is headed MROB-6720M. Yeah, that’s just as annoying to say as GENE-whatever. I’ve got to come up with better names for both of these things. Either way, this robot looks more human – save for its metal face. Oh, and the massive claw and drill protruding out of its back. What the Pork were they thinking?! It looks like a maid, given that it has a blue apron.
“Right then, if I’m correct, one of these is some sort of battle robot that utilises electricity – a guardian for the Thunder Tower perhaps? The other is a robotic maid… that also has combat functions. Why would the maid need that?”
“The king thought it would catch people intruding off guard. They see this harmful maid, and then it surprises them! And you are correct, the other is designed to guard the tower.”
“Well, how might I assist you?”
One of the green answers. “Commander, I’ve seen you use lightning powers. I’ve heard rumours it’s PSI. We could use them to measure to test the electrical powers of GENE163-1425.”
The others make sounds of agreement. I suppose that would work. And it’d give me a chance to further improve my PSI.
“It’s agreed then.” Says the white. “To work then!”
The next few weeks are spent building the guardian robot. I don’t actually do all that much – although I am technically in charge of this entire project, being the Commander and all, seeing as I’m not good technically, I mostly assist the others with what I can – they request for me to some tests with PK Thunder as they’ll be basing the thunder abilities of the robot of that. I do make one order though, at the very beginning of the project – to give this robot a name. They’re quite a few names that fly around including: ‘Shock-o-matic 3000’, ‘Large and Charged’ and of course, ‘Thunder Thrasher’.
The vote is for the least dumb name: Mr Genator.
We split into two groups. The first, including myself, spend a large proportion of our time building Mr Genator, assisted by Clayman, these weird clay sculptures brought to life by electricity, but they’re strong nonetheless. The other group works on the wiring as well as making a model generator– Mr Genator is to be connected to the generator of Thunder Tower, so this model will give us a good idea of how this thing works, even if it won’t be as powerful as when it’s actually hooked up to the main generator.
I also get to learn about the different coloured Pigmasks – the colour dictates their rank. Pink is normal but blue is for captains, green is for majors and white is for the colonels. The weaponry they use seems to get better with rank – captains and majors have bombs, for instance. The colonel even shows me her PSI shield device – which does exactly what it sounds like. Apparently, her cloak isn’t just for looks either – it actually grants a great deal of protection against various elements!
Eventually though, we finish and so, it’s time to test it. I’m a bit nervous. See, the success rate of the Pigmasks isn’t exactly very high, so obviously, my expectations aren’t exactly very high. In fact, I think it’ll malfunction. The reason I’m nervous is because Porky demanded perfection.
“Right then. Let’s activate this thing!”
The colonel switches the generator and Mr Genator… I just understand that name now. Clever. Mr Genator springs to life.
“Hello there, we’re the…”. But the colonel doesn’t get much more out than that before Mr Genator responds.
“INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS! ACTIVATING DEFENCE SYSTEM! REPEAT! ACTIVATING DEFENCE SYSTEM! ALL PERSONNEL, IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU’D EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!”
I’ll say this now – I take no pleasure in being right on this occasion!
Mr Genator immediately starts swinging both arms around madly, knocking the Pigmasks nearest it back. The ordinary Pigmasks immediately start opening fire on it. The majors and captains throw sticky time bombs on it, which detonate with extreme force. The colonel activates her PSI Shield Device, which envelops us all in a PSI Shield. Despite us all being out of range, Mr Genator stores and then discharges the electricity within it, forcing us all to keep on our toes.
As for myself, I draw my stick and start bashing the heck out of Mr Genator, targeting its wires – after all, that’ll take out its power supply. They’re behind metal though so that plan doesn’t get very far. Either way, Mr Genator evidentially doesn’t like that and uses a powerful paralysing chop attack, as if to say ‘Take that!’. It comes out too quickly for me to dodge and hurts me immensely, especially with my metallic parts. I’m tempered to counter with my own lightning attacks, but it might very well just absorb it and discharge it with deadly power.
‘System repairs to lower abdomen and back initiated.’
My back? Wait a minute – I have wings! All right then, I’ll give myself the aerial advantage and attack from there.
I activate my wings and carefully manoeuvre myself so that Mr Genator won’t go for a thunder chop. Grabbing my stick, I dive at him and go for a huge swing, like the Fierce Pork Trooper taught me.
SMAAAASH!
It sounds rather painful, if robots can feel pain that is. Mr Genator grumbles and immediately counters by sending two thunder bolts at me. The first hits me dead centre and it’s only luck that the second misses. I go for a improvised crash landing. It hurts badly – didn’t I have that shield? Let’s see…
‘Shield status – PSI type, strength: 1. Damage to shield: 0%’
No damage?! How? I just got hit by a thunder attack – surely the shield should have taken some damage? I’ll have to solve this mystery later. I notice a few Pigmasks rushing to me.
“Are you all right Commander?”
“I’ll be fine.” System alert! Repairs have stopped due to high voltage disruptions. Commencing in 290 seconds, 289…’
I hate being wrong.
“Here, eat this.” One of them hands a bag of Pork Chips. I thank him and eat them, they’re a bit too greasy and salty, but they restore some energy at least.
Right, time to take this thing apart. Being in the air means his thunder attacks are more likely to hit, so the ground it is. Switch to the arm cannon… and fire! It’s a solid hit as well… but he doesn’t look any worse for the wear. Let’s try that again, with more power. Another solid hit… and it doesn’t do anything again! Something’s wrong – and it’s here I remember that a large majority of the Pigmasks are also firing at Mr Genator, and have been doing so for some time, except they’re not doing any damage either. In fact, Mr Genator just takes the shots and fires an onslaught of thunderbolts back!
Wait. What if the laser shots are what is giving him his power? We keep feeding him energy, and he keeps retaliating with it! Yes, that makes sense – I don’t understand the details exactly, but the colonel mentioned that the generator was needed because Mr Genator will have to recharge after discharging large amounts of electricity. But he hasn’t recharged once – because we keep recharging him!
“Everyone, stop!” All the Pigmasks do so and look at me, while still dodging the occasional attacks Mr Genator throws out.
“That thing is absorbing all of our shots and using them to power itself! Colonel, that shield was a good idea, but it’s not standing against the electricity for whatever reason.”
“Why isn’t the shield working?” asks the colonel to the captains.
It’s a regular Pigmask who responds: “Oh! We based the electricity off our studies of fulgurkinesis from the Commander!”
“Which ignores any kind of protection or counters one puts in place.” Finishes a major.
“How very annoying.” The Pigmasks turn their attention to the colonel.
“What are your orders, ma’am?”
“What are your orders? What do you think, you morons? Think of a different way to hurt it!”
“Enough! We’re trying to destroy the giant robot that can kill us all, not each other.”
“You are the Commander. What are your orders, sir?” replies the colonel.
What are my orders? For all the high ranking this position has, I’ve done very little of what the title actually says – commanding. Let’s think. Any sort of energy based attack is a bad idea, for obvious reasons. Touching this thing when electrified is also a bad idea, for equally obvious reasons. So what if we cut the power?
“Majors, captains and colonel, bombs seem to be hurting it, so keep going with that. Everyone else, you’ve all had combat training, so attack it head on!”
“Sir! That thing’ll shock us if we so much as touch it!”
“So we wait. It’ll run out of electricity eventually and when it does, it’ll have to recharge. Then we strike.”
The next few minutes are spent playing a very dangerous game – baiting Mr Genator into discharging as much electricity as possible. He gets us a few times, but eventually he’s forced to take a break.
The 20 or so ordinary Pigmasks and I quickly seize the opportunity and start hacking away at whatever we can – until my scanners report something.
‘Target recharging batteries and systems.’
He’s repairing his systems with the generator as well! We’ll have to destroy the generator then.
“Bombers! He’s using the electricity to recharge his systems!”
“Oh yeah, I forgot we put that feature in! We really thought of everything!”
Yeah, except for a self destruct in case it backfired! Never mind…
“Destroy the generator then!”
“It’s no use Commander! This thing’s even tougher than Mr Genator!”
They really did think of everything. Okay, we need to expose the wires then.
“Bombers, destroy the metal pieces shielding the wires and then we’ll slash them to pieces!”
And for once, my plan actually works! The bombs do enough damage to the metal pieces that we’re able to force them out of the way and expose the wires, and finally destroy them. I take a lot of joy in slicing one of the larger wires. The other Pigmasks clean up any of the other wires I missed, and finally, Mr Genator falls.
Everyone takes a sigh of relief. Well, until...
“Yeah, so, I don’t think Mr Genator was working properly.”
There’s a lot of ‘Noooo, reaaaaally?’ flying around and the colonel bashes the offender with her gun. I somehow resist the urge to follow through with a bad idea by grabbing a piece of scrap metal, and start bashing him over the head with that.
Actually, that’s not such a bad idea. I look around the remains of Mr Genator and notice one particular piece of metal that’s straight and narrow. Not too big or heavy either. I take a few swings, and it feels comfortable. I think I’ve got myself a new weapon.
The maintenance and rebuilding of Mr Genator takes another week – and this time we include a remotely controlled shut down in case it malfunctions! If only they put that in before…
And to my shock and surprise, we don’t have a repeat of what happened before. Mr Genator greets us all politely, or to be more precise, by not immediately cascading thunderbolts down on us. How nice. The thing that scares me is that Mr Genator will be even more powerful in the Thunder Tower, as it’s connected to a more powerful generator. We’re thinking about giving it some weaknesses – in case something like this happens again. What we ended up doing was putting a limitation on how much electricity it can use – both to limit its power, and because an overuse of electricity could negatively effect the tower or overload Mr Genator.
We take a break for the next 2 days and I want to explore the Empre Porky Building – but unfortunately I can’t as some floors haven’t been constructed yet, which surprises me, as I thought this city had been here for a long time. Then again, I don’t think I ever heard about this city before that incident, so maybe it is newer than I think.
Instead, I head to Murasaki Forest to train a little and practice using this aluminium rod. The first subject, is a pig shaped flower.
‘Name: Pigtunia’
‘A genetically modified flower that can reproduce very quickly. Their pollen is known to make people cry and their mouths allow them to drain psychic energy from a target. Danger level: low.’
‘Weakness: Being a flower, they are incapable of moving and are easily burnt or frozen.’
The one element I have is the only one it isn’t weak too… still, being still makes it an easy target. I swing once with my new rod and I send it flying. Woah. That’s a bit too powerful, I should probably tone it down. The rest of the day is spent doing the same thing to other chimeras I can find, although I make sure not to seriously injure them.
The next day, I decide to focus more on the mental side of things and start reading PSI and I. It’s a good read so far, because they cover things in a lot of detail. The chapters on recovery PSI were interesting, and our mishap with Mr Genator definitely makes me hope I learn some.
Returning to the lab, we start building the maid, but not before I give the order for a name – who we decide to call, Li’l Miss Marshmallow. Somehow, somehow, that’s even worse than Mr Genator – because at least his name was a clever word play. This is just… I’d rather call it whatever its serial number was, if I could remember it.
Either way, the construction of Miss Marsh - that’s my nickname for her, goes rather smoothly, although saying that, the construction of Mr Genator also went smoothly and the results weren’t the best by any means. It only takes 2 weeks to finish constructing her – which leads us to activating her.
We’ve learned from Mr Genator and all the Pigmasks draw their guns preemptively. We’ve also got a crew of Claymen ready to help us if things don’t go our way.
“HELLO.”
The colonel replies, “Hello, who are you?”
“THE NAME WHICH I WAS GIVEN IS LI’L MISS MARSHMALLOW, SERIAL NUMBER: MROB-6720M.”
“What do you do?”
“I SERVE HIS HIGHNESS IN WHATEVER WAY HE REQUIRES. HOWEVER, I DO NOT SEE HIM, AND I HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN ANY ORDERS BY HIM.”
“We’ll take you to him.”
“I CANNOT. MY PROGRAMMING FORBIDS ME FROM LISTENING TO ANY ORDERS THAT DO NOT COME FROM HIS HIGHNESS.”
The colonel takes a look at all the Pigmasks behind her. “Why do they always have to have such stubborn programming?!”
“Well, it is the king’s orders.”
The colonel sighs before continuing. “Can’t you trust us, we can take you to him.”
“THAT IS IRRELEVANT. MY PROGRAMMING FORBIDS ME FROM LISTENING TO ANY ORDERS THAT DO NOT COME FROM HIS HIGHNESS.”
The colonel and robot spend a good few minutes going back and forth like this, until eventually she snaps. Both of them snap.
“Right! I’ve had enough of this! Where is that shut down switch?”
“DANGER! DANGER!”
Miss Marsh sounds rather ticked off now and out pops the claw and scissors. She chases the Colonel for a few minutes while everyone tries their best not to laugh.
They fail.
After some time, I decide to put the colonel out of her misery and hit the shut down switch, stopping Miss Marsh. The colonel gives us all a look of contempt before dismissing us all. Despite its reluctance to listen to anyone but Porky, I suppose that’s what we programmed it to do, so at least in that respect, it’s working.
There’s only one more week before the deadline so we spend it doing some more tests on Miss Marsh and Mr Genator. They go smoothly and with one day left, we decide to clean them – until one of the majors comes up with a ‘better’ idea.
We drag the two robots in the same room and activate both of them.
Miss Marsh speaks first: “LOOK AT ALL OF THIS FILTH ON YOU! I MUST CLEAN IT AT ONCE!”
Mr Genator isn’t exactly comfortable with that though: “GET OFF ME! CLEAR THE AREA!”
“BE QUIET! WITH ALL THIS FILTH, YOU WILL BE OF NO USE TO HIS HIGHNESS.”
That finally shuts him up – but it all it does to the Pigmasks is make them laugh even loader. Even the colonel joins in – I suppose it’s the relief of being finished with such a difficult project.
“…they’re acting like a married couple already!”
Do married couples really argue like that?
‘This is the 21st time you’ve done this. 3 weeks and I’m keeping count. It’s only luck that I woke up this early to catch you.’
‘Hinawa, you shouldn’t be up so early. Go back to sleep.’
‘I could say the same to you. You’ve run yourself ragged these past few weeks with those sheep and chickens.’
I suppose they might on occasion – after all, no one is perfect.
‘I can’t. Someone’s gotta look after them. Besides, I don’t mind.’
It can get heated at times.
‘But I do. You’ve been getting up at the crack of dawn and you don’t return until late in the night! How much sleep are you getting? This can’t be healthy!.’
And sometimes both sides have a point.
‘I’m not getting enough sleep, I’ll admit. But if I don’t look after them, who will? How will we get wool for you to knit with? How will we get food? I have to do this for you and the kids.’
‘But you’re still working too hard! And speaking of the kids, they haven’t seen you for five days!’
But they start to see reason.
‘What? How can that be? I’ve always come back home.’
She’s on the verge of tears. ‘You leave so early. And then you come back so late. Even more so recently. Not even Claus could match your bad sleeping habits. And Lucas… he is our resident sleepyhead. You can’t even come with us to see my father next week because of the animals. I’m not saying you should stop work, but don’t overwork yourself like this. At least… spend some time with the kids before we go.’
‘Five days… I’m… sorry. I’ll wait for the kids to get up before I leave.’
‘Have something to eat as well – I know you’ve been skipping out on breakfast!’ Although she says it playfully, there’s a serious undertone to it.
‘I never could hide anything from you.’
And eventually, that bond is renewed stronger than ever.
‘Nope. But it’s one of the reasons, many reasons, that I love you. You raised the kids to be honest after all. I think a bit of everyone’s favourite food ought to help. Remind me, what do you like on your omelet?’
‘You know exactly what I’ll say.’
‘I know, but I like hearing you say it.’
‘Lots of cheese.’ He says, with a roll of his eyes, and a smile plastered on his face.
‘As always.’
She spends some time making the omelets, humming along. Meanwhile, he’s deep in thought. Until…
‘Hinawa?’
‘Hm?’
‘I love you.’
‘I love you too.’
Notes:
Merry Christmas! Hope everyone's having a good time this holiday, even if you don't celebrate the festival in question. Thank you to all the people who have read this story and my present to you is this chapter! I'm really bad at this whole making a short chapter thing, and it's Christmas so... *sigh*.
I'll admit - I'm not happy with how this chapter turned out. I don't know why either - it just feels a bit off.
So yeah, not much to say about this chapter, other than the memories Claus starts to have. I imagine that certain words, like 'mother', bring back these important memories (like battling random hippies, or universal cosmic destroyers... oh wait, wrong kind of mother), but they don't make much sense to Claus, because he doesn't fully remember or understand these memories. I actually quite enjoyed writing them - and once we get to the Seven Needles... well, I won't much more than that.
Also, not gonna lie, writing Flint and Hinawa gives me a real warm fuzzy. I might just do a bunch of random Flint and Hinawa one shots after this, because why not? And Flint/Hinawa is indisputably canon so I can’t get any flak for misrepresentation.
I'm aware that Flint is never stated to look after chickens - but come on, think about the omelets. How does the family have omelets with no eggs? Rhetorical question - they can't! But now they can!
Next time, Claus gets a little reward for his efforts.
Chapter 9: Nowhere Islands
Summary:
Vacations, exploration, dreams, and the Masked Man's inability to understand the Nowhere Islands.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
So after the robotic debacle, I was left a little bit confused as to what I’d be doing next. As it turns out, the answer was a vacation. Master Porky was kind enough to give me a week to do whatever I wanted! He said I could go anywhere I wanted, provided it wasn’t anywhere near Tazmily or off the Nowhere Islands. Mind you, that second stipulation doesn’t really mean much, because the only other piece of land nearby is Tanetane Island, which is rather dangerous – there are a number of strange mushrooms which cause all sorts of odd effects.
Still, I’m curious about are the places that Porky used to live in. Onett was his hometown apparently, yet there’s no land in sight. He is incredibly old though, so it’s probably gone. But the land it was built on should remain though – but again, there’s no land at all. I’ve heard some of the Pigmasks say that a great calamity hit the planet – destroying everything. Except the Nowhere Islands – hence their name.
I’ll need to do some research into this at a different point in time. I would get a book from the Chimera Laboratory, but I don’t feel comfortable getting more books when I’ve already taken two. Speaking of research, I should get back to reading PSI and I.
I spend the first three days exploring the island, going to three different mountains. First up, a snowy peak to the west of New Pork City. It’s an eternal winter here, but the wildlife don’t let up. Snowboarding yetis occasionally attack me as well as frozen dogs which use PK Freeze on me to great effect. Getting by isn’t all that easy. Eventually, I’m forced to give up – the winds just keep blowing me back and I didn’t bring any warm clothing. I really wanted to make it to the top, but it’s not worth my life.
Next is the exact opposite – further west is a strange valley near an volcano. I decide to explore the valley and what I find makes me my description of ‘strange’ into ‘nonsensical’. The reason why? I find a group of strange creatures, which have huge noses, a single hair with a red bow and really like the words ‘boing’ and ‘zoom’. If I’m not mistaken, these are Mr Saturn! They have to be – the resemblance to the ones in ‘Earthbound’ is too uncanny for it to be mere coincidence!
So how are they alive? Assuming this great calamity actually did happen, the place where all the Mr Saturn lived should be destroyed – and they should be dead. Unless, some lived here naturally – but that seems like quite the coincidence. The valley is familiar to the other Saturn Valley, but not exactly the same – the volcano is the biggest difference, along with a lack of a Sanctuary.
I ask for their names and they say they don’t have any… except for Mr Saturn. So they’re definitely the same creatures then.
These creatures are oddly nice (literally, as they’re kind in their odd way). Porky said that Mr Saturn in his time were odd creatures which were good natured but easily manipulated… I wonder what he meant by that. Actually, now that I think about, Dr Andonuts would know about the Mr Saturn as he came from the same time period. Mental note: ask him about this when I get back.
The third day, I decide to go somewhere special – Drago Plateau. The place where it all began. There’s two things to note. Firstly, I officially hate trees! It’s not that I don’t care about the environment or nature, but these god forsaken trees tried to kill me! And here’s the kicker – when I think I’ve got them on the ropes, they spontaneously combust into flames, and that obviously really hurts! How does a tree just explode?!
On a more serious note, it’s here I see the remains of the Drago that I think attacked me. I see some blood on the ground as well as a piece of its hide. I’m not sure what to make of all this. Should I be angry for this attacking me? Or should I be happy that it unwittingly saved me?
Wait. I hear footsteps – footsteps of a human. Oh no, is this someone from the village? Okay, no time to think about that – hide! I hide behind the nearest rocks. My suspicions are correct – it is a human, and I imagine someone from the village. He’s wearing clothes that makes him seem like a cowboy. He looks familiar somehow.
“… god forsaken trees…how do trees of all things explode…”
Well, it’s nice to know that someone agrees with me. But more importantly, how did he get past said god forsaken trees? This guy must be really strong - I’ve got these enhancements after all, and I struggled to get past them. Best to stay out of his way then – besides, it wouldn’t do well for someone of Tazmily to see me.
“… come back to me! Claus!”
Claus? Why… is that so… familiar? Maybe it’s a kid I knew when I lived in Tazmily? Yeah, that must be it. Evidently, this Claus is missing, and this guy here is looking for him. But this place is rather dangerous – why would this man be searching here for Claus? Assuming Claus is a child, and although I don’t know why, something tells me he is a child, he would have an awful lot of trouble making his way up here.
Claus… it’s familiar. I feel incredibly sorry for him. Did his child run away? If so, this seems like the last place that any child would want to go.
Claus…. Claus…. Claus… why can’t I… he’s someone special… not to just to this man… but to me. I know it… but I can’t remember.
He continues this for two hours. Two hours of searching for Claus. He certainly is determined, I’ll give him that. It’s heartwarming actually, to see someone from Tazmily genuinely care about another.
“…I’m an idiot, they say, you have to be dead, they say. But you’re not gone. I know it. You did this all for your mother. You’re out there, I’m sure, scared of returning. Please, Claus. I can’t lose you! Lucas can’t… Hinawa… I’m a terrible father.”
He breaks down crying… he sits there weeping silently. I don’t know him… not at all.
But… I feel connected to him. A bond deeper than anything I felt before.
Hinawa… Lucas… more names I don’t know. But names I’m connected to nonetheless.
Family… family… he knows my pain. But his is… worse. I had the luxury of forgetting the pain my own family caused. Betrayal. But he had it worse… he had people to cherish… people who cherished him…
And it’s all gone. A void of nothingness within… while everyone else lives ignorantly by, not a care in the world.
I’ve never realised it but for how kind everyone’s been to me, there’s always been something missing.
Love.
I understand why it was done, but I never got a family. I’m a child, all alone. Like Master Porky, just like Porky, I’m lost. We’re both children who’ll never get the guidance we need. We never received love.
“Another day gone. But I’ll be back tomorrow, and the day after, searching for you, like I’ve always been doing. After all, there’s nothing more important than family.”
And the love that they give you.
I can’t cry… but I want to… I want to cry… let me… let me cry!
But like before, I can’t. I’ve got to stay strong.
Claus… whoever you are… you’re a lucky child. Please, return to those who love you.
Once the man leaves, I decide to finally come out of hiding and go back home.
Despite all I’ve heard, I suppose there is some good in Tazmily after all.
While I do so, I decide to go higher than I usually do, so I can see all the Nowhere Islands. It’s beautiful. I can see the snowy mountain I tried to climb, the strange valley where the Mr Saturn live and the construction of the Thunder Tower. I can even see a sunflower field that looks really peaceful. But most interestingly of all, when this high, the island looks like a creature… a dragon?
It can’t be coincidence that this island is shaped like a dragon, can it? It’s the only island left on the world and it forms a dragon? The mystery grows deeper…
I head to Chimera Laboratory again and go to see Dr Andonuts, apparently working on some sort of construction chimera, based off a gorilla.
I head to his room and enter, after knocking of course.
Sure enough, the room he’s in has a gorilla with armour and a large steel ball that I imagine would be very effective at pummelling things. If you ask me, this construction chimera looks more like a destruction chimera!
“Dr Andonuts, it’s good to see you again. Is this the construction chimera I’ve heard about?”
“Quite the opposite. Part of this Laboratory isn’t quite up to scratch, so we need to replace it. This chimera here will be responsible for ‘clearing the area, shall we say.”
“Which is a fancy way of saying turning it into rubble.”
“Indeed. I suppose you’re here for a check up?”
The check up goes smoothly. Everything is working perfectly fine and I get some more fuel, but that’s not what I came in for. Afterwards, I begin my interrogation.
“Dr Andonuts, you’ve worked on many creatures, haven’t you?”
“I have, although I can’t say I’ve enjoyed it all.”
“Have you ever heard of, or come across a group of creatures known as the Mr Saturn?”
His eyes immediately widen to the size of a… I’m not good at analogies at all actually, but point is, he knows exactly who they are, and very well by the look of things.
“How… how do you know them?”
“You first.”
“Very well. In my time, the Mr Saturn lived in a very remote area, known as the Saturn Valley. Peculiar creatures to say the least, but their technological prowess cannot be understated. It was thanks to them that I was able to realise time travel. With further help from them, I might have even perfected it. Frankly, I must wonder if they even come from this planet. But this island is the only thing left so I suppose they must all be extinct. Which brings me to my question, how do you know about them? How do you know that I know about them?”
Yes, his description of the Mr Saturn lines up with mine – although I wasn’t aware that they were so smart. Now I think about, their ‘houses’ were like the pig shaped pods the Pigmasks use for transport. I wonder if their houses serve as transportation then. Dr Andonuts isn’t lying, at least I don’t think, so I suppose I’ll give the same honesty.
“My answer to both questions is actually rather simple: Earthbound.”
“Ah. That wretched movie. I sincerely wish the king would stop playing but I suppose… never mind.”
“Do you not like it because it isn’t true?”
“You might say that.”
Once again, he’s become defensive. Time for a different angle.
“Actually, the reason I ask you all of this is because I’m confused.”
“Hm? Confused about what?”
“How far into the future have you gone?”
“I can’t be sure, but this is the only piece of land I hear, so it must have been thousands of years from where I have come.”
“Exactly. So considering this is the last piece of land left, considering many creatures undoubtedly being killed when the supposed cataclysm happened, despite all of that, I think you’ll understand my confusion that even though the Mr Saturn were located in only one area, they are still alive.”
“How can that be?!”
“Your guess is as good as mine. The Mr Saturn are alive, in a valley rather similar to their old one near a volcano.Quite the coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
“A volcano you say… there’s only one on the island, Fire Mountain. So that’s where they are. Still, it’s hard to believe. They surely would have been killed.”
“They should have. Is it possible they migrated?”
“Their houses. It’s possible they may actually be spaceships and so they could use those. This is assuming a lot though. This calamity that is spoke of is rather unclear. No one on the island knows what it is, or how it happened. We don’t even know if it actually happened.”
“It must have. You and Master Porky both come from a time where places that once existed no longer do now. Onett, Twoson, Threed, Fourside, Summers, Winters. Scaraba, Daleem. Are any of these familiar?”
“All of them, and I don’t think I need to ask how you found out. Yes, you make a very convincing point. Something happened, yet no one can remember. No one knows.”
“You couldn’t forget something like the end of the world though. Not by simply forgetting it anyway.”
“We don’t know how far into the future I am though. For instance, we could be 10,000 years into the future, and the cataclysm happened 9,000 years ago. The records and memories of such an event could be forever lost to time.”
“If we were that far into the future, wouldn’t things be more advanced?”
“It’s possible to go backwards. This calamity caused only a minuscule percentage of people to be left, and after something like that, wouldn’t you want to revert to something simpler? Even if that weren’t the case, resources would be limited on an island, even though it is a rather large one. Developing anything would be rather difficult. Still, we have no way of knowing when the calamity happened so none of this really matters. Time is, as always, our enemy.”
“So why not manipulate it?”
“What?”
“You can time travel. Find the cataclysm.”
“It’s not that simple though. Again, we don’t know how long ago this cataclysm happened. Trying to find the date, is like trying to look for one specific flower in a sunflower field. Secondly, my time travel is not perfect. I called my device the Phase Distorter, because it can distort you rather severely. Only inorganic things can survive the time travel. Anything living…let’s not go down that road.”
“What if I were to do it. I have this machinery, I could survive!”
“Oh no, you most certainly wouldn’t. Your machinery would – you are very much living though. Only a robot could survive it.”
“Why not use one of those then?”
“In all honestly, I’d never considered the idea of using time travel to pinpoint the calamity. But firstly, I don’t have access to a Phase Distorter. And even if I did, there’s still the issue with finding the exact date. I’m sorry to say it, but it’s a lost cause.”
Just when I thought I could get some answers, reality has to get in the way. Maybe not knowing is for the best though.
“I suppose you’re right. Thank you for your time either way.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you.”
“For what?”
“For the memories.”
“I never showed you any proof that I was telling the truth.”
“No, and perhaps this is illogical, but I believe you. Life often has a strange way of linking things together.”
The next 3 days are spent digesting the contents of my psychic guide, also known as my book. I wouldn’t mind a psychic guide now though given all the strange things I’ve found out.
Either way, it’s a rather interesting experience, reading in solitude. There’s a hot spring near the Chimera Laboratory, which always makes me feel relaxed and refreshed. Reading there alone always fills me with a certain sense of calm.
I don’t know why exactly, but the peace of nature often makes me wonder about the people of Tazmily.
They must have this peace, every day, because they didn’t accept technology. This peace they feel… perhaps I’m thinking too much about it, but perhaps they knew. Technology has its advantages for us – after all, I wouldn’t be alive it weren’t for it.
Yet, it can’t replicate some things. I was given a life and deprived one at the same time. Did they know? Are they fearful that their lives would be changed by technology? Perhaps they may see reason… but should they?
It doesn’t matter. Whether they chose to accept technology or not, it can’t excuse their actions. To hurt people like that… one day, they’ll pay. The only question is when.
My studies on PSI have yielded some interesting discoveries. For instance, PK Thunder ignores any sort of shields or counters one may put in place, which explains why the colonel’s shielding device failed to protect us against Mr Genator. I’ll have to remember that for future battles.
In general, the subject that interests me most is regarding the more powerful pieces of PSI. PK Starstorm is described as being incredibly powerful and the movie gave me a good indication of its destructive capabilities, which only makes me curious – how does someone manifest such a power with just their mind? Every time I use my powers, there’s a strain of sorts. Something pulling on my mind almost. It’s gentle now, but I imagine it would be more severe with more powerful PSI. Wouldn’t something as powerful as calling down fragments of stars destroy your mind?
The other point of interest is the elusive and potentially mythical PK Love, a psychic attack fuelled by the namesake of the attack. The reason it interests me, is because there’s absolutely no information on it. The book states that no one has been recorded to use it and that only ‘the chosen ones’ can use it – and psychics themselves are already chosen ones.
Love… love… it all comes back to that. The emotion that governs us all and dictates our every move. That man searching for his child… love. But can I love? I have no one to love. Although I’d like to consider Master Porky a brother of sorts, I’m sure he doesn’t see me as the same. He’s been kind and generous, but he has no reason to see me as more than another subject.
He wanted me to become the Commander though. Me, the child who was found a few months ago, rather than any of the members of his army. I don’t think the Pigmasks even had a Commander though, although I suppose Fassad would come close. Still, I get the implication that Master Porky doesn’t trust Fassad – in fact, none of the Pigmasks like him. They mostly just tolerate him, because of… actually, why do they tolerate him?
See, Fassad’s always been rather creepy and boastful about his power, although to be fair, he is a powerful psychic. I suppose he’s useful enough to justify him having a role of power but Porky’s been looking for an opportunity to have him replaced.
Still, surely there are better choices than an child who was recently found. The Fierce Pork Trooper comes to mind - he’s strong, respected by many, and he’s been in the Pigmask Army for approximately 5 years, according to some of the Pigmasks.
I am none of those of things. Yet I am to be the Commander. Master Porky said I have a power unlike anyone else – but what is that power? What could I have that no one else could?
He’s putting so much faith in me.
So perhaps he does care about me… right?
Another day of reading and musing goes by and once again I go to the barracks to retire for the day. Tomorrow, I return to my training.
Everything goes black, as it usually does when I shut my systems down to rest. However, unlike all the other times I’ve done this, I maintain consciousness. I think. It’s like I’m floating in space. I feel alive, and yet very much dead at the same time.
Until it hits me – this is a dream. My first dream. I’ll admit, floating in space isn’t the most exciting thing my brain could come up with, but I’ll take what I can get. It’s strange though… I can hear voices. They’re all jumbled together so it’s hard to make sense of any of it. All sorts of different words, ‘you’, ‘find’, ‘alone’, ‘lost’, float around in a haze. But the one word that persists throughout is ‘waiting’.
In the darkness, all that I can do is focus on the voices one by one… slowly, they start combine together, into one coordinated voice, the voice of a young boy. A voice that feels so… familiar.
‘I’m waiting for you. One day, I’ll find you. You’ll find me. We’ll find each other. Wherever you are, I’ll be waiting for you.’
‘After all, haven’t I waited for you before? When we got caught up in an argument over who was better at climbing, you left into the forest. I waited for you then. When you couldn’t swim as well as me, so I never swam in the ocean until you learned, because I wanted to share the experience with you! I waited for you then. When you left to avenge Mom, and told me to stay behind. I waited for you then.’
‘But that time you never came back. Why didn’t you let me come with you? You’ve always tried to protect me. But you couldn’t protect yourself.’
‘I should have come with you! I could have done something! Maybe I could have taken a hit or distracted it or… I was too scared. I should have come with you. You gave me a chance to run, and I took it. Dad says it was the right thing, but I know I was too hasty in my decision.’
‘You’ll…You’ll forgive your hasty brother, won’t you?’
‘Of course not. I wouldn’t blame you at all. I’m useless compared to you. Just a coddled crybaby. But I’m gonna change. I want to be strong, like you. When I find you, I’ll be different.’
‘I know I’ll find you. It doesn’t matter what everyone says to me. They say you’ll never come back just like Mom. But that isn’t true… is it? Are you truly gone?’
‘No. We never found you. Dad keeps looking for you each and everyday. I wish I could join him. Most of the time, I’m all alone.’
‘Please come back. Return to those who love you. I’m all alone… I’ve lost my mother… I may as well not have a father… and if you go, I’ve lost my brother... I’ll have lost my family.’
‘I always wait for you. I’ve always waited for you. And I’ll always keep waiting for you.’
‘I’ll never stop waiting for you.’
Notes:
First update for the New Year! Yay! Man, I started this in 2019 and now it’s 2020 - so does that mean I’ve writing this for over a year?
All time jokes aside, I’ve always been interested in the idea of the Nowhere Islands being the only place left - it’s a shame that the game didn’t really do much more with it.
Also, also, having watched the new Star Wars movie, I just realised the number of similarities between Darth Vader and Claus. Let’s list them off:
1. They’re both characters who are related to the main protagonist and are considered dead.
2. Both of them end up becoming evil due to the death of a loved one (okay, Padme wasn’t dead at the time, but she was going to die, and we all know she was doomed by canon).
3. They both are cyborgs and wield a sword - like weapon (Vader has a lightsaber, Claus has his thunder sword).
4. They both have powers related to the mind (the Force and Psychokinesis).
5. Both of them are redeemed due to their love and are killed by lightning, and at the very end of the third instalment of a series.So yeah. Next time, Claus returns to his training and gets to hang out with the Pigmasks at a certain event. Tonda Gossa!
Chapter 10: Concerting Issues
Summary:
Birthdays, concerts, parties, and the Masked Man's inability to take a break.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
So after my brief vacation, I return to, who'd have guessed it, more training! I can't say I'm enjoying myself though, since I've been leaving the facility either incredibly exhausted or unconscious. See, one 'interesting' thing the Fierce Pork Trooper has been making us do is pitting all fifteen Pigmasks who I train with against me. It's not easy – while I'm much stronger than one Pigmask, strength in numbers is something the Pigmasks have definitely learned to capitalise on.
During this first month, I'm not able too put up much of a fight against the Pigmasks. The Pigmasks have their guns to shoot me down no matter where I am. They also like to gang up on me and beat me down, until I can either roll away or force them off. Trying to pick them off one by one helps, but the Pigmasks are incredibly scared of me, and so they never attack me in groups less than 3. Somewhat ironically, that fear and the behaviour it provokes ends up being rather useful for them.
Over time though, I'm starting to gain more experience in battle and start to formulate better strategies. An important lesson I've learned, is when to take an offensive approach and when to switch to a more defensive approach. PK Thunder helps me a lot by giving me a long range attack, and because of the sheer numbers of Pigmasks I'm fighting, the accuracy of the attack isn't as much of a problem. My systems have also gotten used to my use of it and stop reporting danger messages.
Next month, I'm starting to gain some ground against the Pigmasks. I remember and utilise some of the Fierce Pork Trooper's brute force techniques – stiffening myself and blocking when I'm being attacked and swinging whenever the Pigmasks start to surround me.
By the third month, I seem to finally be getting somewhere. My losses are getting narrower and narrower, so success has to be close. During the last week of this month though, I seem to getting weaker. I feel feverish for some reason, and because of it, I can't cope with the Pigmasks at all. No medicine seems to work at all, so the Fierce Pork Trooper suggests that I take some time off training. But I've never been one to make rational decisions, so well...
I don't.
In hindsight, not the smartest idea. The Fierce Pork Trooper changes from suggesting me to take time off training to outright forcing me. And so I'm stuck in a bed, chained to it.
I mean that literally. The Pigmasks don't trust me to not try and get out of this bed and go back to training before recovering, which to be fair is justified. Doing dumb, dangerous and spontaneous things seems to be a common theme with me.
I feel like a flightless bird, being rooted to my bed like this. My systems also keep showing a bunch of messages – I ignore them because I can't be bothered to see what they'll say, it's probably just reports about a fever.
And then, one day, it goes away. It's so sudden that I wonder if something's still wrong with me. I was yesterday and now I'm suddenly better? That doesn't seem right. But no, the doctors (medical ones) say I'm fine, and Dr Andonuts says nothing's wrong with my systems.
I decide to check my systems myself, and that's when I see the large amount of messages that I've missed. Most of them are indeed a generic fever message but the last one in particular stands out.
'New PSI energy detected. User advised to test with caution.'
New PSI? When did that happen? This message appeared today, it appears... when my fever went away. Are the two connected? Let's see if PSI and I has an answer. Ah, here we are!
'Chapter 10: Learning New PSI.'
Most of this seems to relate to teaching PSI, but that doesn't apply to me because I haven't had any lessons on learning new PSI. But, there is a subsection related to alternative methods of learning.
'While PSI can be taught, a psychic who gains enough power or experience with a psychic technique they already have can manifest a new PSI ability without needing to be taught. They will often experience a fever and feel weaker during the time those new powers start to manifest due to the adjustments the body needs to make to cope with this new power.
The severity of the fever is linked with the type and power of the PSI leaned – Lifeup Beta will cause a fever worse than Lifeup Alpha, but as an offensive PSI ability, PK Fire Alpha is likely to cause a worse fever than Lifeup Alpha. Generally, restorative PSI will yield the mildest fevers, while offensive PSI is likely to result in more severe fevers, with assist PSI falling in between, assuming the tier being compared remains the same.
This fever cannot be cured by any means, even by using PK Healing, hence it is dubbed a psychic fever. Once the fever disappears, they will have gained the new ability. Some techniques are hard to learn this way, such as PK Starstorm, which generally must be taught, and the elusive PK Love, which only certain psychics can learn (assuming it exists), with the process as to how they learn it being unclear, due to the lack of a recorded use of this ability.'
Somewhat lengthy, but I think I get the main gist – these psychic fevers give me new PSI techniques when I become more powerful. But the question is, what did I learn? It's quite peculiar, but I feel like I'm being told by myself. And it's something very useful.
The next battle with the Pigmasks goes better – because I use my new ability, Defense Down Alpha. It does exactly what it sounds, and by using it against each Pigmask, one by one, it gives helps me stand a better chance.
The Pigmasks panic when I use it, realising that they're in for more pain, which they're obviously not fans of. Their extra panic makes it easier to separate one from another, which is good because Defense Down Alpha only works on one person at a time, and using it multiple times quickly would exhaust me equally quickly.
Using my wings, I lift the Pigmasks up, one by one, before throwing them at the ground or walls as hard as I can. It's a tad brutal, I'll admit, but certainly effective, as the Pigmasks I throw sometimes hit their allies by rebounding off the walls, further increasing the pain output.
Actually, this gives me an idea. I'm remember one day, Master Porky and I decided to go to a place in New Pork City where there's a game called bowling. You roll a ball and try to hit as many of the 10 white skittles as you can. I remember it was quite fun actually, although Porky has to use a ramp of sorts to give his balls the energy needed to make it to the skittles. I would call it cheating, but owing to his the state of his physical health, I'd say it's justified.
Mind you, Porky still won so... nevertheless, this bowling game could be replicated right here. I find a Pigmask and take hold of him. They're squealing in sheer terror. I see a group of Pigmasks charging at me to free their comrade. Ready, aim, and throw!
"Strike!"
The Pigmasks fly in different directions from the improvised bowling ball. I notice the Fierce Pork Trooper looking at me, barely stifling a laugh.
The surrounding Pigmasks all rush towards me, trying to kick me, but a simple swing knocks them away. Unfortunately, I don't notice one of them sneaking behind me until it's too late – suddenly, I'm in the air, and he decides to replicate my stunt, only with the roles reversed. He throws me with considerable force at the wall and I can feel the metal crashing against it.
'Large impact to back! Damage to wings has been sustained! Beginning repairs.'
Great. I think I could still use my wings, but with the damage they just received, it wouldn't be particularly wise. The Pigmask that throw me gives a squeal of joy.
"Spare!"
One of the other Pigmasks are quick to correct him. "You idiot! There were no pins! And you only rolled one ball!"
"It's a joke!"
"It's a bad one then!" Another interjects.
While they're all arguing about the semantics of bowling, I decide now's a good time to let loose. I've been getting much better at using my arm cannon now, so I simply charge and fire at the crowd that has formed.
The impact is glorious accompanied with their squeals. When the dust clears, nine of them are knocked out, while the other six are rushing towards me. They're very quick as well – by the time I notice them, they've pinned me down in such a way that I can't swing at them to get them off.
Four of the Pigmasks have pinned each of my appendages down while the other two proceed to simply kick my face in – and they don't exactly give me a tap to the head.
Despite all the things I have, a helmet is the one thing that would actually be of use right now. Let's think, I'm incapable of moving, so I can't use my stick or my arm cannon. My wings are damaged so flying out of here isn't an option. But I can still use my mind. Reducing their defences isn't going to do much when I can't hurt them.
As for PK Thunder... that only hurts one person at a time, and even if I knock one of me, they'll just get back up. I need a way to strike all six at once. A way to conduct the electricity through all of them.
Oh.
It's crazy and risky, yet it might work.
I try PK Thunder Alpha, aiming it onto the most unexpected target – myself.
'Danger! High electrical charge flowing through! Arm cannon temporarily disabled from overload!'
These messages can be both a blessing and a curse. They can be legitimately useful at times, like when they told me I had new PSI, which I doubt I would have discovered otherwise.
On the other hand, they can be pretty redundant at times, such as when they're telling me that I'm being hit by electricity, while I can feel the electricity myself.
Numb... so numb...
My lightning is really powerful – I never noticed how powerful until, well, I ended up using it on myself. I can only wonder how powerful the higher tiers will be.
Thankfully, my plan goes as expected – as all the Pigmasks are touching some part of me, they too get dealt a shocking ultimatum - let me go or be electrocuted.
I'm still feeling somewhat numb, but I can't let that stop me. I quickly start swinging at the Pigmasks before they can get up and pin me down, with as much energy as I can muster.
"Ah... kid?"
I notice one of them start to get up. Not so fast. I give him a good smash with my stick and he goes back down.
"Kid, you've done enough."
I keep beating on them all until they're all bloody...bloody – and that's when I finally hear the Fierce Pork Trooper.
"KID!"
I stop.
"I don't think they're getting up anytime soon. You can stop."
Have I done it? I have! I've finally defeated all fifteen Pigmasks!
And once the euphoria goes, that's when I realise that I might have overdone it with those last few Pigmasks.
"Will they be alright?"
"With time. You gave them all quite the beating so they'll need some time to recover. Still, congratulations on beating them all. I thought it take you another month or so!"
"I probably would have if it weren't for the new PSI I learned.”
"So that's what that weird blue aura was around some of them. I'd call it cheating but, win by any means, I suppose."
"What now then?"
"Owing to the fact that you've knocked out all fifteen of my soldiers, there's not really much more to do. You're free to go for the rest of the day."
Nice! I leave as quickly as I can – but evidently not quickly as I can, because who should I run into but a man with a recently groomed moustache?
Fassad. Pork, I hate this guy.
"Nwehehehe! Hello there, my little chimera. How are we today?"
"Fine." I try to keep my answers as short as possible so I can get away as soon as possible. Fassad isn't so keen to let me go though.
"Not feeling chatty today, are we? It's a special occasion though."
Special occasion? What does he mean? Unless he means me beating all the Pigmasks?
"Exactly. You've left here in a rather bloody fashion every single day up until now. It's good to see you're getting stronger."
How did he know that's what I was thinking?! Can he read minds? That fills me with more unease than I'm willing to admit, especially to Fassad.
He puts one of his hands on my head. I try to move away but I feel rooted to the ground.
"Nwehehehe! And it looks like you've gained a new piece of PSI as well! How interesting."
I want nothing more than for him to get off me. Unfortunately, he seems content to just stay there with what feels like an eternity.
"Well, I've wasted enough time here."
He leaves down the corridor, eating a banana as he goes. Every time I see Fassad, I always leave feeling thoroughly scared. I try to shake of the feeling and leave.
By the next day, all the Pigmasks have recovered – thanks to Instant Revitalising Devices! I also decide to spend some time in one to heal my own injuries, which weren't as severe as the Pigmasks, although still noticeable.
We're back to the standard training now. I attempt to make amends with the Pigmasks, only to find them rejecting my attempts. To my surprise, they don't want an apology because I was supposed to beat them, and they don't resent me at all for doing so. I'll admit that I'm quite surprised - it's rare to seem someone pleased that you beat them into bloody submission!
But that's not the only surprising thing to happen this week - the Fierce Pork Trooper has an announcement at lunch.
"All right everybody, I've got special news! We've been training for a very long time. But this week marks a very special week."
He pauses for a split second, looking at me, before continuing.
"As of this week, you've been training with us for a year."
"A year? It's been that long already? It felt like nothing at all!"
"Yep, you've been in this army for a year. And so to celebrate, we're all going to Club Titiboo to see the DCMC!"
There's an eruption of cheers among the Pigmasks – but as always, I'm out of the loop. What is Club Titiboo?
"We leave at 4pm sharp!"
We return to the training areas and I take the time to make my inquiry to the Fierce Pork Trooper.
"Ha. Club Titiboo is where the DCMC play their concerts. To get there, you need to take the Ropeway. It's near the Chimera Laboratory, you must've seen it."
"Yes, I have – on my trips to the Chimera Laboratory, I noticed a gondola of sorts. I attempted to ride it, but to little avail. Apparently, you require a ticket, which I don't have."
"Hm. That's a bit of a problem. Ah! If you go to the Clayman Factory – it's just south of the Ropeway, they'll give you a ticket. Go now and be back before 4!"
It's 12:30 now. And it'll likely take 15 minutes both ways - which gives me plenty of time. I take my leave, heading to the factory. When I enter, I notice a captain there.
"Commander! What brings you here to this factory?"
"I wish to obtain a ticket to the Ropeway. I've heard I can get one here."
"Oh! We normally only give them to the employees here but I'm sure I can make an exception for you!"
Nice! I can get that ticket and head back to my training! Though... they're only giving it to me because I'm the Commander... why... why does this bother me?
"Hey, Dad! Dad!"
"Calm down, calm down! What is it?"
"Can I have that?"
It's because nothing in life comes so easily.
"A shirt? I suppose it suits you. Yellow and blue."
"Yeah! So can I have it?"
"How much do you want that shirt?"
No matter how much you may want it.
"More than anything in the whole entire world!"
"Well then, would it really be special if I just gave it to you?"
"Huh?"
"If you want to get something in life..."
"...you have to work for it."
"Huh? Commander?"
"Apologies, I was momentarily distracted. I will not take a ticket merely because I am the Commander. I wish to earn it like everyone else. What job may I do?"
"Um... well then... um... we have some Clayman down below which have run out of power. If you can get them to a recharge point, that'll be a great help!"
The room north has a few Pigmasks working on inactive Clayman. They're using electricity to reactivate them. Apparently, Clayman are made by giving an electric shock to clay, which causes it come to life. A strange process to say the least, but it allows for the creation of a potentially infinite army.
The room further north has some creatures working to power the factory and an elevator leading to a mine, where a number of Claymen are working, along with some Pigmasks.
"Commander! Why are you here?"
"I am here to help retrieve inactive Claymen."
"In that case, all you need to do is get them to me and I can take them up this elevator. Then get them to the recharge up above."
The afternoon is spent doing the same thing: finding inactive Claymen, moving them to the elevator, having the Pigmask situated at the lift take them up, moving them to the recharge point and having the workers there recharge the lump of clay. It's a monotonous task, to be frank.
Still, I find it awfully hard to concentrate, because of all the anticipation for the concert. I've never been to one before, and I wonder if I'll like it. I think I will – after all, I do like the DCMC's music.
The other reason why I'm in anticipation is because I'm interested to meet the members. See, all the members of the DCMC are people who lost their memory. Just like me. But even then, they managed to find a purpose in life.
Which is where the similarities between them and me end. I honestly don't know what I want to do in life. The path I'm going down now will lead me to becoming the Commander, but it's not the same - it's not like I chose this path, rather I was chosen to go down it.
And parts of me wonder – should I become the Commander? There's the issue with whether I'm really suitable enough for it, but after all the progress I've made with my training, I actually feel confident that with time, say one or two years, I'll certainly be strong enough.
No, what I'm more worried about is whether I have the personality needed. A Commander needs to be able to order his troops as needed. A Commander needs to be able to fight with no mercy. A Commander needs to make cold and carefully calculated decisions, with no hesitation.
Am I that person? No.
Do I want to be that person? I... don't know.
Like many things in life, I don't know. I suppose for now all I can do is keep going.
At 3:00, I finish moving the 36th Clayman up. The workers there seemed swamped with all the Claymen I've brought.
"Here, allow me. PK Thunder!"
Lightning strikes the nearest Clayman, recharging it. It springs to life and rushes off. I lend a hand with the rest of them before leaving.
"I'm afraid I can't assist you any longer. Have I done enough work to warrant a ticket?"
"I'm sure you have. Out of curiosity, how many Claymen did you move, Commander?"
"If I've counted correctly, 36."
"36?! That's gotta be a record or something! Here's your ticket."
Taking my well earned ticket, I return to the training facility, taking a quick shower. My parts are impeccably water tight - it's only a risk for me to be fully submerged in water. I proceeding to the entrance, where some of the Pigmasks are who have shedded their usual attire in favour of more causal clothes- others have chosen to keep it on. The Fierce Pork Trooper is with them as well. He looks at me with pity.
"Yeah, so kid, I've got good news and bad news. Fassad pulled me out to tell me I can't take you to the concert. I tried to argue back but... that didn't exactly work out. But I said to him if we could ask the king, to which he reluctantly agreed. The king says you can go, which is the good news."
Thank goodness! I was worried there for a second, but Master Porky's kindness shines through again. But wait...
"What's the bad news then?"
He sighs. "It's a security risk you being out in the open like that. We can't risk you being recognised and so, you'll have to wear a disguise. Specifically, this."
He holds a white helmet – the one that the colonels wear. Ah.
"The rest of the set's on your bed. I'm sorry about it..."
"It's the best you could do. Thank you."
I change into the uniform, which is somewhat tight, but it still fits. To be honest, it feels kind of cool being disguised like this – I even have their signature cloak to complete the look!
We leave in two of those metallic pig – shaped pods, which gets us to the Ropeway rather quickly. Cramming into three seperate gondolas, we ride to the top, with us somehow not falling to our deaths.
The air feels thinner here, not so to the point where I can't breathe, but it shows how far up we are. A fall would... not be ideal. Still, the view is nice from up here. I can see the forest, Chimera Laboratory and the Thunder Tower, which is still being constructed. They've made remarkable progress with it though – all that's left is the roof.
To the left is the main attraction – Club Titiboo. I wonder who came up with that name. Disco lights illuminate the area, with music blaring into the air. There are two guards on the outside – upon seeing them, the Fierce Pork Trooper pauses briefly.
"No way... it can't be..."
He has a look of disbelief on his face. For a moment, I'm worried that we may not be let in – now that I think about it, it would make sense for there to be some sort of age restriction on who can enter. This disguise may conceals me, but it doesn't do a thing for height, and I'm visibly shorter than everyone else here. I'm probably too young, being only... yeah, of course I don't remember my age. I'd say 13 then.
However, upon seeing us, they greet us, or more specifically, they greet the Fierce Pork Trooper warmly. The one to the left approaches first.
"Hey, it's the president himself!"
"Groovy, Keyboar! I can't believe it! When did you guys start?"
"A few months ago, when the construction of the Thunder Tower started. Some of the old guards took off to help with the construction and join the army..." replies Keyboar.
Groovy interrupts him with excitement. "So we scored some jobs here, where our favourite band plays all day and night! Sweet deal, right?"
"Yeah! It's great to see you both again, here of all places!"
"Never mind us. How are you doing? You're looking rather... gorgeous."
Keyboar barely holds a snicker at this. So do I. I notice none of the other Pigmasks reacted at all to this. I assume they're aren't aware of the Fierce Pork Trooper's name.
The Fierce Pork Trooper himself though currently shows why exactly he's called that – because the look he has on his face right now practically screams bloody murder.
"Why are you my friends again?"
"Because we all love DCMC."
"And why am I not throwing you into a wall?"
"Because... you... love us very much?"
"...Fair enough. So, I'll see you guys after the concert then!"
"See ya!"
So after that 'emotional' reunion, we finally enter... to see the place completely packed. Loads of Pigmasks fill the area, although I notice a few humans, who I presume are from Tazmily. How did they get a ticket for the Ropeway? Although, some may also be off duty Pigmasks as well.
I'm not claustrophobic, but with so many people in the area, it's hard to move or do anything really.
That's not why I feel uncomfortable though – no, my mind is... tensing up? It feels like there's a pull on it, like when I'm using PSI. The thing is, I'm not, so why is this happening? Maybe it's just the heat. Or the masses of people in here.
Thankfully, being the president of the largest DCMC fan club evidently has its benefits, as one of the employees notices us and motions for us to follow her into the concert hall. We seat ourselves at the front, on some rather nice couches. The Pigmasks are chatting amongst themselves about the best band member (even though it's obviously Lucky). There's some discussion about his fashion.
"I think, that's he's actually got a wig."
Now, at first glance, that seems to be an astute observation. However, take one glance at Lucky and even the densest of people could tell you it's a wig. Case in point? The Pigmasks figured it out.
"No way! Have you seen that afro? There's no way it's a wig!"
Or maybe they're even denser than I thought. My bad.
The Fierce Pork Trooper has is meanwhile engrossed in a DCMC pamphlet – so engrossed that he doesn't notice the Pigmasks who have decided to play a game in front of his face involving a strange gesture with their hands. They clamp their hands into a fist, open it out flat, make a v shape with their second and third fingers before finally making one of the previous three gestures. And one of them randomly wins.
How strange.
It's not too long before the droves of people start to pour in behind us – but despite all that, there's only one person I'm focused on. The one heading towards us.
It's a girl, taller than me, but fairly small in comparison to the Fierce Pork Trooper. To be fair, everyone looks small in comparison to the Fierce Pork Trooper.
It's then that I start to notice my headache again. Only this time it's stronger, stronger when I look at the girl in particular. Do I recognise her? From the village?
No... for some reason I don't recognise her in the same way that I did for that man I saw on the mountain... or that boy... Claus, wasn't it?
"Sir. Sir!"
I realise that the girl is calling for me. This is what happens when you get lost in thoughts like this.
"What would you like to drink?"
Drink? I'm not sure if I should stick to something simple or go more exotic. Then again, which these parts... best to stay simple.
"I'll just take some water. Please."
"You want... water?"
The Fierce Pork Trooper starts laughing at this point.
"What? Who gets water in a place like this?! On your anniversary as well? Haha, Violet, get this man a Big City Cola!"
The girl, Violet, runs off this point to get the drinks.
"Come on kid, learn to live a little! It is your special day!"
In my defense, I don't know how my body would deal with cola, what with all my enhancements. And, it's a little hard to live when you've only spent a year back from the dead. I suppose he has a point though - I can afford to let loose a little on my anniversary.
Violet returns with our drinks, and I try my cola. It's not bad. A little bit too sweet but good nonetheless. She stays for a bit to talk with some of the Pigmasks.
Now that I think about it, she bears some similarities to that girl I saw in one of Po... Master Porky's videos. The one with a pink haired girl and a monkey being aided by a young boy on a Drago. Although, the resemblance is only because of her hair, which is also pink. The girl in the video was far more masculine in appearance, while Violet is decidedly not.
Besides, the pink hair could just be dyed. Then again, pink hair could be natural.
But then again... there is Fassad. He had some pink hair. Mostly brown, but some pink as well. Considering that, it seems illogical that he's dye his hair pink, and instead dyed it brown. It seems more likely that since a relatively small proportion of hair is pink, his hair is naturally pink and he dyed it brown, and he missed a bit off it. So is pink hair natural then?
I'm thinking about this far too much... and there's a far better way to see if Violet is a familiar face.
I focus my mechanical eye on her. It's a bit difficult with this mask on, but I manage. Scan and...
No matches found.
What? No matches? Well... that's somewhat disconcerting. And it throws a wrench in that plan.
Who are you? Really, the smart thing to do would be to drop the matter all together and I imagine most people that get to this stage probably would.
But I'm stubborn and common sense isn't exactly something I have, given the fact that I attempted to fight a Mecha-Drago instead of doing the smart thing – running away.
That headache is only getting worse and worse the more I focus more on that girl. Okay, let's take a few steps back and actually try and use some common sense here.
The pull I feel on my mind now is similar to when I use PSI. The logical conclusion to be made therefore, is that I'm using PSI. But I'm obviously not. So what is it then...
PSI. But... not mine. Similar... yet different.
I wonder... my systems can detect for PSI, given that I kept getting notifications about my own. So would this work?
Scanning surrounding areas for PSI.
Scan complete.
I can see something similar to the thermal vision setting. Hues of blue fill my eyes. There's two places where I start to see warmer colours though. The first is on me.
The second is on Violet. Orange surrounds her. She's a psychic then, just like me. Only her powers are far greater. There's only green on me, with a few patches of yellow. With her, it's mostly yellow.
How powerful is she? More importantly, a psychic like this could be... dangerous to the Pigmasks. Some kinds of PSI are just devastating and a psychic with this level of power... I can't say it's a pleasant thought. It's not blood red, so I imagine she has not reached her full potential - but that's the issue. What threat would she pose at her full potential?
However... she hasn't done anything yet. Heck, she might not even know about those powers. I didn't, until I was told about them myself. I suppose I'll keep a note of this... in case. It's my anniversary, I shouldn't be working like this anyway.
Either way, there's not much time to dwell on the matter because a dimming of the lights indicates that the concert is about to start.
"Tonda Gossa! We're packed to the walls this evening, but we've still yet to raise the roof!"
There's an eruption of cheers at this.
The DCMC play a number of songs. They're all nice, although a bit loud, as obvious as that sounds. Still, it's enjoyable. One song is titled 'His Highness's Theme', and is apparently a tribute to Master Porky himself. It's an rendition of the Pigmask Army's anthem. I've gotta say, it sounds a lot different being played on actual instruments as opposed to the speakers on the pig shaped pods... which I must learn the name of because that's awkward to say.
There's a few encores of some of the songs, but after one and a half hours the concert ends. I suppose the fun ends and now we've gotta go.
Or so I think anyway. The Fierce Pork Trooper talks to some of the band members and before I know it, I'm in their band room!
Thankfully, there's a lot of space in this room – enough to fit all the Pigmasks and myself, although the Fierce Pork Trooper has left to talk to his friends.
It's... quite an experience to meet these stars. They're all very down to earth, and seem rather relaxed with life. Not a care in the world. I ask about they're memories, and like I've heard, all of them have lost their memories at this point, with Lucky being their newest member.
Lucky's quite a strange man. Up close, you can tell that afro's definitely fake, although he isn't bald under it like I thought. He has a gloomy feel, slightly bad breath and looks kind of like a bum. Most noticeably, he walks with a bit of a limp. It looks like his lower leg is paralysed.
"You've lost your memory too? Hey, you should join us!"
I politely decline, as I have never played an instrument. Maybe I should try and learn one, as difficult as it may be. Something like a sitar perhaps?
"Why did you join the DCMC?"
"Heh. Safety in numbers. But it felt like something was calling me. It feels like this is my purpose. I wasn't sure at first, but I went with it, and look where I am now. Is this the best thing I could have done with my life? Probably not. But I'm happy nonetheless. And that's all that matters."
Do what makes you happy... wise words to live by.
We spend a few more minutes discussing music with the DCMC, before leaving, as it is getting late.
The Fierce Pork Trooper is outside, still conversing with his friends. Sadly, we have to pull him away from them. They wish us all a safe travel back before we all cram ourselves into the Ropeway, followed by using the pig shaped pods to get back to the training facility.
When we get back to the training facility, it's still quite early - 6:27, but it has been a busy day. I make to go the barracks... but the Fierce Pork Trooper stops me.
"You're forgetting something."
What? Oh. I'm still wearing the uniform.
"Just put it in the locker rooms downstairs."
I go to the training facility and head downstairs - there's a few areas here, like the kitchen, some locker rooms, showers and even some areas to do laundry. I put the uniform in one of the locker rooms, intending to head back to the barracks and get some rest.
Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. Guess who I meet? Fassad.
"Hello, my little chimera. Had a fun day, gallivanting with all your friends? I hate being overruled!"
You know, I've never tried just ignoring him. I walk on by as if I never saw him at all. Unfortunately, Fassad doesn't take too kindly to me doing so and outright blocks my passage.
"You will listen to me, chimera, when I'm speaking to you! Do not delude yourself into thinking you have any importance. That face of yours... I will crush it! All I need is the chance...
With that, Fassad takes his leave.
I hate Fassad. No, as in, genuinely hate him. The guy just plain freaks me out. Every single time I see him, he always refers to me as 'my little chimera'. It just makes... uncomfortable. As if I'm some... pet for him. I don't know. I just don't want to see the guy. Ever.
I return finally, intending to get some sleep, but when I enter the area I usually sleep in...
"SURPRISE!"
...I'm greeted with the Pigmasks and the Fierce Pork Trooper who have set up a party of sorts! It takes a few moments to adjust to all of this. When did they get the time to do all of this?!
Before I know it, everyone's partying here's lots of food, some music and best of all, no Fassad. Okay, let's not think about the creepy psychic. I decide to try some of the food - I don't need much, thanks to my systems. However, it is a special day so I decide to try some things out. There's nut bread, which has an interesting contrast of hard and soft. There are cookies, which are certainly tasty - although, perhaps too sweet. I can't exactly see them being very healthy, and it is important to maintain a healthy diet.
Most of the time, I just have this thick paste - it apparently has all the nutrients a person needs for the army, although its taste certainly leaves something to be desired. I don't think it's as bad as the rest of the Pigmasks insist but I'll certainly take this opportunity to have something with an actual flavour.
There's some of that Big City Cola as well as this pink liquid that seems similar to the stuff in the hot springs. I make to drink it, only for the Fierce Pork Trooper to stop me.
"Woah, kid! How old are you?"
Ah, again with the ages. "13,14, who knows?"
"Well, either way, I wouldn't have that if I were you."
"Why not? It looks fine."
"Oh it is. It is normally anyway, but I don't trust these guys to have... ah... spiked it, shall we say?"
Ah. Alcohol. The drink of death. I have no interest in having something which inhibits my abilities so I'll stay away from that...
Ah, but at least there's my favourite food here! Steak! The flavours are wonderful, the texture is great... like always... but... there's something strange. I usually like steak - and it still tastes nice, but despite all that... it just...
It doesn't feel right. It's... nice... but why... why don't I like it?
I think I've lost my appetite. After all, I did have those cookies, nut bread and cola. Combined with my already low energy requirements, it seems likely that I would simply not want any steak. That must be it. It's the most simple and logical explanation, therefore, it is likely to be the most accurate one. I'm taken out of my thoughts by the Fierce Pork Trooper, whose tapping a glass.
"Okay, everyone! It's a special day today! Ah kid, it's amazing. I know you're technically at an advantage compared to us all, with all your enhancements... so does that make you literally at an advantage technically? Either way, despite your advantages, I can't help but say that you've made remarkable progress. With another two years of work, give or take, I'd say you'd have all the training you need. So everyone, to the Commander!"
"TO THE COMMANDER!" They all start cheering so loud that one would be forgiven for assuming that the whole of New Pork City was cheering for me.
I just... I can't believe that they did all this just for me. I'm so... so grateful... no, don't... I can't cry... I can't cry...
Because there's no crying until the end.
With a great deal of effort, I manage to suppress my tears - it wouldn't do well for the Commander to show such an emotion. I must be... strong. I can't show weakness.
I decide to say some words of my own.
"I thank you all for the training you have provided me. While there was a great deal of my effort on my own part, you have all shown an equal amount of effort as well. I am honoured to have trained with you for this long. Thank you."
Not the greatest speech of all time, but the Pigmasks and the Fierce Pork Trooper all give me quite the cheer as well. Soon though, it is getting late and everyone retires for the day.
It's been a strange week. One day I'm getting demolished by fifteen Pigmasks and the next day, I'm demolishing them.
And then we all celebrate me being in their army for a year by going to a concert with a band consisting of five amnesiacs as if we're all friends, followed by them hosting a surprise party for me.
No... we are friends. It's nice. Really nice.
I feel more... confident now. I was worried about my skills, but talking to Lucky makes me feel much better.
And today... it's helped me see that, I have the support I need. I think I can do it. I know I can do it.
It's... it's nice to spend time with friends, isn't it?
Notes:
I’m back! It’s been half a year since I last updated this and 3 months since I’ve done anything. Oh boy. So as an apology, here’s the longest chapter by far. You remember when I said Chapter 2 was a long one? Ah, how naive I was back then. I’ve also posted another fanfic here for FF4 which I think is almost as long (SHAMELESS PROMOTION).
For anyone wondering, the reason this took so long, was because I really did want to make this special - it is Claus’s anniversary. There were lots of things I wanted to put but had to scrap - most notably a flashback about Claus’s last meeting with Lucas. I liked the idea a lot and wondered what if it came from Lucas’s perspective... and so Sunflower Crowns was born! (MORE SHAMELESS PROMOTION).
Things to address then - starting with, the Pigmask Army's kindness. I like to think the Pigmasks aren't really evil, being either manipulated into being evil or outright mind controlled (I think it's implied to happen in the Chimera Laboratory in Chapter 7). They're just... misguided. I think the only real evil characters are Porky and Fassad.
Groovy and Keyboar are a reference to two members of the Runaway Five, keeping the theme with Gorgeous, while Claus’s comment about sitars refers to the fact that sitars (I think it’s a sitar) are Claus’s instrument played when he does a combo in battle. You’d be forgiven for forgetting this since you only control him for the very first battle.
For the ultimate example of incredibly subtle foreshadowing in video games, listen very closely to the sound effect Claus’s sitar makes and the sound effect played when the Masked Man ‘swings a sword’ in his first battle. That is genius.
The other thing to mention is Kumatora/Violet - her disguise is a fairly easy one to see through so one must question how Claus who has a scanning mechanical eye would not get any matches since Kumatora would probably be on a wanted list or something (for you know, blowing up a tank). Seeing as no one sees through her disguise, I have to assume in universe, Kumatora is a really good with disguise since no one else recognises her, even though Club Titiboo is a place which Pigmasks frequently go to.Finally, Claus’s PSI. Canonically, the only PSI that Claus/Masked Man can use is PK Love (or if you're an edge lord like me, PK Doomsday) - his intense bolt of lightning is never stated to be PK Thunder, and could be from the thunder sword - however since Claus uses it to tragic effect at the end of the game when he clearly is not holding his sword, I feel justified in assuming it's PK Thunder.
However, if Claus was a playable character (for more than a battle), I think he would have some buffing PSI (hence Defence Down), maybe Lifeup and Healing (the low levels though, like Kumatora) and for offensive PSI, he has PK Thunder and PK Love.
This has been incredibly long so with that, congrats for making it down here! I’m working on the next chapter now so hopefully it won’t talk nearly as long.
Next time, Claus gets a bit of a change in his living space.
Chapter 11: Play Dates
Summary:
Relocation, maids, friendship, and the Masked Man's inability to cook.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It's been a few months since my anniversary and the concert at Club Titiboo - I don't have the best grasp of time but I think it's been a year and 4 months since I was resurrected and given my enhancements. My training is pretty much the same as usual - beat up Pigmasks, shoot things with my arm cannon and practice using PK Thunder - recently I've been trying to develop a different variation of PK Thunder.
Normally, I strike with lightning from the sky, and while it's certainly effective, the accuracy is a bit of an issue. I've been getting better, but I would prefer something more consistent. Hence, I have developed a variant which has me discharge the electricity in one quick beam. There's a trade off - it doesn't seem to be as powerful as the regular variation of PK Thunder. There's always a downside to every alternative, isn't there? Power over accuracy, speed over defence and being brought back as a cyborg or dying.
That last one may be too specific though.
Some interesting things have happened though: the most noticeable being my new living space. Pork...Master Porky, has kindly given me an area in the Empire Porky Building to make my own, so I'm going there now. It's a bittersweet moment in a way: I'm moving to an area to make new memories, but at the same time, I'm leaving the place I lived over a year. The place I have so many memories of. The place with my... friends.
But I'm still going to train with them thankfully. So, it's not farewell. It's just... moving on.
This afternoon, I'm taking one of those pig-shaped pods - apparently they do have a name, Porkships, named so to stick with the pig theme. Soon enough, I'm at New Pork City, and I get to enter the Empire Porky Building. I make my way to the 98th floor - where I'm supposed to have my own living quarters apparently. The idea is I'll be close to Master Porky, so I'll be able to reach him at a moment's notice, a reasonable enough suggestion.
It's a fairly simple trip, although I get some nostalgia when I pass the 57th floor - it's the one where I assisted with the construction of Mr Genator and Lil' Miss
Marshmallow.
With that, I quickly reach the 98th floor... which consists of a corridor with three doors - one on the left and right wall and a larger one on the wall opposite the elevator. And literally nothing else. It's spacious at least...
I head to the central door, since its size seems to indicate that someone important resides there - like Master Porky. I give a perfunctory knock and wait. No one answers. I try knocking again, but there's still no answer. The door is locked so I can't just simply enter. I can't just break down the door either, as I can tell it's made of an incredibly durable material. Not to mention, it would be rude. Now what?
"HIS HIGHNESS IS NOT HERE AT THE MOMENT, COMMANDER."
That voice... I pivot around, and as I thought, there is Lil' Miss Marshmallow. Or to me, Miss Marsh.
"Lil' Miss Marshmallow, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you were supposed to be at the Thunder Tower. To guard Master Porky's room?"
"THAT IS CORRECT. HOWEVER, THE ROOM YOU SPEAK OF HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED YET. THEREFORE, HIS HIGHNESS HAS GIVEN ME ORDERS TO BE HERE, SO I MAY ASSIST HIM IN HIS VARIOUS NEEDS. HIS HIGHNESS SENDS HIS REGRETS THAT HE COULD NOT BE HERE TO WELCOME YOU TO YOUR NEW RESIDENCE, HOWEVER HE IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN A MEETING WITH FASSAD."
A meeting with Fassad? What could it be about?
"What is this meeting about then?"
"I DO NOT KNOW. EVEN IF I DID SUCH INFORMATION WOULD BE CONFIDENTIAL, AND I WOULD LIKELY BE GIVEN ORDERS TO KEEP THAT INFORMATION SECRET."
"Even from me?"
"YES, EVEN FROM YOU, COMMANDER."
Interesting. In truth, I'm not really offended at the fact that Master Porky doesn't trust me with the contents of the meeting - the fact that I was told about the meeting shows he has a great deal of trust in me. Nevertheless, I can't help but be curious as to what this meeting is about. Maybe Fassad is being fired? That'd be nice.
"IN HIS ABSENCE, I AM HERE TO GIVE YOU A TOUR OF THE AREA. THIS ROOM AS YOU HAVE MOST LIKELY FIGURED OUT, IS HIS HIGHNESS'S THRONE ROOM. NO ONE IS ALLOWED IN HERE WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION. THE DOOR IS LOCKED, WITH THE ONLY KEY BELONGING TO HIS HIGHNESS."
"What exactly is inside the throne room?"
"MACHINERY REQUIRED TO SUSTAIN HIMSELF, AS WELL AS A VIDEO SCREEN HE USES TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE."
"So is he in there right now? Speaking to Fassad?"
"NO. WHILE HIS HIGHNESS DOES COMMUNICATE TO PEOPLE BY VIDEO, HE LIKES TO, IN HIS WORDS, 'SHAKE THINGS UP'. I ASSUME BY THIS HE MEANS THAT HE PREFERS SOME VARIETY IN HOW HE COMMUNICATES TO PEOPLE, BY SPEAKING TO THEM IN PERSON. ALTERNATIVELY, HIS HIGHNESS MAY WISH TO MEET FASSAD IN PERSON, OUT OF FEAR OF THE MEETING BEING INTERCEPTED BY THE ENEMY, IF IT WERE DONE BY VIDEO."
"But the people of Tazmily have limited technical prowess in comparison to us? Surely the chances of a meeting being intercepted are minimal, seeing as they would need to know the time of the meeting and have some way of intercepting this message?"
"INDEED. HOWEVER, HIS HIGHNESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY PARANOID FOR REASONS THAT NO ONE MAY EVER KNOW. LET US MOVE ON. FOLLOW ME."
She moves to the door on the right wall before stopping and opening it, before the two of us move in.
"THIS, COMMANDER, IS YOUR ROOM. THE DOOR AT THE BACK LEADS TO A BATHROOM."
The room is a fairly modest one and there isn't very much in there. There's a bed for me to rest on, I assume, as well as an Instant Revitalising Device for me to recharge myself. There's a video screen as well, for communication I assume as well as a table and some shelves. Finally, the door Miss Marsh referred to which leads to the bathroom. Not much - but it is a place to call my own. I place the few things I have on the table – the books I've borrowed, my stick and some food.
It's here I notice that there's some machinery near the corner that looks as if it's meant to recharge something – but I don't really see the point of it, since the Instant Revitalising Device is more than sufficient to recharge me.
"The machines in the corner... what exactly is their purpose?"
"THEY ARE FOR ME. I AM REQUIRED TO USE THESE TO RECHARGE EVERY NIGHT."
"So, you would be here, with me, every night?"
"YES."
Oh. Okay. Wait, what? The two of us alone... every night... here. Alone. In my room. Alone. Why... why does this bother me?
"COMMANDER. YOUR HEART RATE HAS ELEVATED FROM 50 BEATS PER MINUTE TO 100 AND IS STILL RISING. I SUGGEST TAKING IN DEEP BREATHS."
Oh Pork, what is this? Wait. Okay. No, wait. Oh. Why... why do we share a room? And... and... why does she have a heart monitor installed in her? Okay, deep breathes. Deep breaths. Deeeep breeaaaths. Okay. Yeah. I'm okay.
"Why do you have a heart monitor?"
"AN ELEVATED HEART RATE MAY SIGNIFIES DISTRESSED EMOTIONS. HOWEVER, IT IS ALSO A SYMPTOM ASSOCIATED WITH THE EARLY STAGES OF HEART FAILURE. I AM REQUIRED TO MONITOR YOUR HEALTH AND CARE FOR YOU UNDER THE ORDERS I HAVE BEEN GIVEN, BY MONITORING YOUR CONDITION. AH. YOUR HEART RATE IS RETURNING BACK TO ITS NORMAL RANGE. GOOD."
Okay. Okay, good. Good. What was that? Never mind, let's just continue.
"THERE IS ONE MORE THING. HIS HIGHNESS HAS GIVEN YOU A... HOUSEWARMING GIFT, SO TO SPEAK. IT IS ON YOUR BED."
A gift? She's right, there's a present on my bed. When I open it, there's a stick inside that looks golden. There's also a note - it's a bit hard to read but I manage.
Hey, friend! I'm sure Marshmallow's already told you by the time you've read this, but I won't be able to see you today. It's a shame, I wanted to go to the arcade with you to celebrate. Unfortunately, I've gotta be a king.
You've been doing well so far, I hear, so here's a little present to help you forward. This is the best stick we could get you - I call it a Master Stick, cause I'm Master Porky! Good luck in all your training.
Master Porky
The stick feels like the perfect weight in my hand. It invokes some tense emotions in me... This was so kind of Master Porky! I really must thank him properly for this when I see him next!
"IS THE STICK TO YOUR SATISFACTION, COMMANDER?"
"Yes, it's very well made and a very nice gift for Master Porky to give me."
"HIS HIGHNESS DOES HAVE A KIND SIDE. ARE YOU READY TO MOVE ON?
"Yes."
"VERY WELL.THE LAST ROOM TO SHOW YOU IS THIS ONE."
She moves to the one opposite my room... or would it be our room? No, you know what, just my room. My room.
When we enter, it's pitch black and I can't see a thing.
"AH, YES. LET ME ACTIVATE MY LIGHTS."
I don't know what she means by that, but I find out very quickly – her eyes start glowing brightly, allowing me to see a little."
"FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, THE SWITCH IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM. HERE, I SHALL SHOW YOU."
Before I have a say in the matter, she takes my hand and leads me across the room. Despite being made of metal, her hand feels somewhat soft. It's warm as well. It's... pleasant, in a way. Not at all uncomfortable. It's actually... rather nice. When we reach the other side, she flicks the switch and the room lights up. I can see pots, pans, cupboards, a stove, an oven and a fridge.
"So this is the kitchen then?"
"INDEED. AND THE ROOM BACK THERE." She points to a door near the lights, "LEADS TO THE STORAGE ROOM. THIS CONCLUDES THE TOUR OF YOUR LIVING AREA, WHICH MEANS WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT THING. YOUR LESSON."
My what?! My lesson?! Where did this come from?!
"My lesson? I don't quite follow."
"I SHALL EXPLAIN THEN. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING FOOD FOR HIS HIGHNESS. HE DOES NOT TRUST ANYONE ELSE TO MAKE FOOD FOR HIM, OUT OF FEAR THAT THEY MAY ATTEMPT TO POISON HIS FOOD, HENCE WHY HE ONLY TRUSTS SOMETHING HE HAS PROGRAMMED TO NOT DISOBEY HIM."
"I see, but what does this have to do with me having a lesson?"
"AS YOU KNOW, I AM TO BE STATIONED AT THUNDER TOWER, WHERE I WILL GUARD HIS HIGHNESS'S ROOM. BUT THEN THERE WILL BE NO ONE TO MAKE FOOD FOR HIM AND HE NEEDS A REPLACEMENT HE CAN TRUST. HE BELIEVES YOU ARE THE MOST TRUSTWORTHY PERSON HERE."
Really? That's really nice to hear! Master Porky trusts me that much... I can't let him down then!
"HOWEVER, IT IS LIKELY THAT YOUR COOKING SKILLS ARE NOT COMPARABLE TO YOUR COMBAT SKILLS AT ALL. HENCE, I WILL BE TEACHING YOU HOW TO COOK THE DISHES HIS HIGHNESS IS MOST FOND OF."
Ouch. That hurts. She's right though – I wouldn't know the first thing about how to cook anything. I'd probably do something stupid like disintegrate the ingredients or burn some water!
"SO SHALL WE START THEN?"
"No time like the present. What are we starting with?"
"WE WILL START WITH TROUT YOGURT. IT IS A FAIRLY SIMPLE SNACK THAT HIS HIGHNESS LIKES TO HAVE ON OCCASION. TODAY, HE WISHES TO HAVE IT AS A STARTER FOR HIS DINNER."
Trout yogurt? Isn't trout a kind of fish? I can't imagine that would taste very nice, but, each to their own.
"So then, how exactly would we go about doing this?"
"THERE IS A COOKBOOK ON THAT SHELF, WITH ALL OF HIS HIGHNESS'S FAVOURITE RECIPES."
She points to one particular book – it has a rather stylish cover on it. It's rather high though so I initially decide to use a stepladder, but halfway through, I feel an odd... desire, to be stylish, if you will, so I use my wings to fly up and grab it.
On the cover are a number of pictures of different kinds of food – noodles, dumplings, cakes, pizza. They all look really nice – it's starting to whet my appetite!
"So, 'Mother's Cookbook'. This is the one then?"
"INDEED. PAGE 63 HAS THE RECIPE FOR THE TROUT YOGURT."
I flick over to that page, and sure enough, there it is. There's a picture of the yogurt and it doesn't look too bad actually. It says the recipe came from... Fourside? I suppose it makes sense that Master Porky would prefer food from his own time. But how old must this book be then? To survive for all this time? According to this, it should only take 5 minutes and is apparently fairly easy to make. Still, I'm not confident that I'll still be able to make this without screwing something up though.
"The recipe says it produces 3 glasses of yogurt which I assume serves 3 people. We would need to reduce the quantity of ingredients by a factor of three then."
"NOT QUITE. HIS HIGHNESS HAS ALWAYS REQUIRED A... CONSIDERABLY LARGE AMOUNT OF ENERGY IN RELATION TO EVERYONE ELSE. FROM EXPERIENCE, I HAVE FOUND THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS GIVE HIM TRIPLE THE AMOUNT THAT ONE PERSON WOULD REQUIRE, SO THE QUANTITY OF INGREDIENTS GIVEN HERE IS ADEQUATE. AS THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME, I DO NOT MIND ASSISTING YOU, ALTHOUGH YOU WILL NEED TO... COMMAND ME, AS IT WERE."
I can't help but laugh at that one. I never knew she had a sense of humour.
"In which case, I will get and weigh every odd numbered ingredient on the list, if you will get and weigh every even numbered one."
The two of us starting running – well, I start running, Miss Marsh kinda just skates around, I suppose. It's a fairly simple ordeal – I simply remember an ingredient and its quantity required, deduce where the most likely location for it is, and then retrieve it. Some of the ingredients are in the storage room, but it doesn't hinder me much – my eye and my wings make quick work of finding and obtaining the required ingredients.
It's a very simple task, and yet it's oddly soothing – I quite enjoy these kinds of tasks, if only because it gives me time where I can just get lost in my own thoughts. However, doing so has its own risks – as I find out the hard way.
I start to lose focus of everything else around me, focusing only the things that will let me achieve my goal – to make the best trout yogurt for Master Porky. When I retrieve the last of my ingredients, some salt and pepper, I get a bit too lost in my goals... and end up right into a cracker - wielding Miss Marsh. The two of us go tumbling to the ground. It's a bit painful, but I'll live. There's something on top of me.
When I look up, I see a dazed Miss Marsh on top of me. Oh Pork. I try to get her off me but she's firmly on one of my arms and the other one is currently an arm cannon, so I can't quite get her off, so I just give up. And... even then... it feels somewhat... no, very nice, in a way. She feels rather soft and, and warm... a strange quality owing to what she's made off... but it... it feels comforting. Maybe... maybe it's a good thing that I can't get up. I start to put my other arm around her.
"AH. WHAT HAPPENED? AH, AH, AH, COMMANDER! ARE YOU, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? HERE, LET ME GET OFF YOU."
With that, she lifts herself up as well the ingredients we dropped. I find myself immediately missing her. I lift myself up as well.
"I apologise, Lil' Miss Marshmallow. I should have paid more attention. Are you okay?"
"I AM FINE. PLEASE DO BE MORE CAREFUL IN THE FUTURE. IN ANY CASE. LET'S START MAKING THE YOGURT. YOU'LL NEED TO SLICE THE TROUT FIRST, FOLLOWED BY DICING THE CUCUMBER, DILL AND GARLIC."
"Well, that doesn't seem too hard."
"NO. IT DOES NOT. HOWEVER, I IMAGINE THAT THIS TASK WOULD BE AN IMPOSSIBILITY FOR YOU CURRENTLY, AS CUTTING SOMETHING IS A TASK WHICH GENERALLY REQUIRES THE USE OF 2 HANDS."
My, she's gotten very snarky all of a sudden. I kinda like it. Still, she's right, so I convert my arm cannon back into a hand and start to chop away, slicing the trout into thin slices, and then dicing the other ingredients. Next then... mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Okay, this still doesn't seem too bad.
"VERY GOOD. I HAVE FOUND THAT HIS HIGHNESS LIKES THE YOGURT TO BE AS THICK AND RICH AS POSSIBLE, SO YOU NEED TO STIR THE MIXTURE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE."
As quickly as possible? Okay, no problem. I start stirring as fast as can, putting all my effort into it. Faster, faster, faster! It's getting quite thick though so it's hard to get through it. Ah, here's an idea!
Diverting power to both hands.
Woah, that's a lot! I can feel the extra energy surging though my hands. I start stirring even faster. I will make this the best snack in the world!
"COMMANDER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! SLOW DOWN!"
What? Slow down? But she said to stir as fast as I can. Why would I slow down?
In hindsight, the answer to that was a fairly obvious one when I see trout yogurt go flying out onto the bowl onto the table, the walls and even the ceiling. Huh. I'm kinda impressed I managed to get it all the way up there.
"AH! I CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO GET INTO MY PARTS! COMMANDER! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT BEING CAREFUL?!"
And I got some of the yogurt on Miss Marsh too, it would seem.
"My apologies. Although in my defence, you did say to stir it as quickly as I can. And I did."
"HMM. THAT IS TRUE. I WILL RECORD THIS IN MY MEMORY FOR THE FUTURE, SO I KNOW THAT I MUST GIVE YOU MORE PRECISE INSTRUCTION WITH A REDUCED MARGIN FOR MISINTERPRETATION. I APOLOGISE FOR MAKING THIS MISTAKE. I HOPE THIS HAS NOT NEGATIVELY IMPACTED YOUR OPINION OF MY ABILITIES."
"You are... you're far too... kind. I... I must apologise as well. I've... I've never cooked anything before, ever, and if you weren't there, if I didn't have your help and guidance, I probably would have done something like set some water on fire."
"I DON'T THINK SUCH A THING IS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE, COMMANDER."
"Trust me, I'd have found a way. Here, let me help you."
I get some tissues and gently start scraping the yogurt off of her. It's sticky, thick, and a pale white, so I think I got the consistency of the yogurt right, even if I over did it.
"THANK YOU... COMMANDER. I... I BELIEVE YOU ARE BEING TOO... HARSH ON YOURSELF. AND PERHAPS... I WAS BEING TOO HARSH AS WELL. I WOULD SAY YOUR COOKING SKILLS ARE MORE THAN ADEQUATE FOR HIS HIGHNESS'S STANDARDS. PERHAPS, A LITTLE LESS... ENTHUSIASM IS NEEDED THOUGH. I SHALL CLEAN THE ROOM FIRST."
She takes the tissues from me and zips around the room cleaning everything. She's very quick – she even manages to clean the ceiling, using her claw. Soon, she's cleaned the entire room.
"AH! HOW DID I MISS THIS? YOU HAVE SOME YOGURT ON YOUR SHIRT! LET ME CLEAN IT."
What? Oh yes, she's right.
"It's fine, I can clean it myself."
"I INSIST, COMMANDER."
She starts scrubbing my shirt vigorously. Hey, that tickles!
"Ah! Stop it! That tickles!"
"I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU ARE CLEAN, COMMANDER."
I try to get away from her and while I'm initially successful, she simply uses her claw to prevent me from escaping.
"No, really, please stop! Stop it, Miss Marsh!" I laugh.
"MISS MARSH? WHO ARE YOU REFERRING TO?"
Oh Pork. I just said that out loud, didn't I?
"It's... it's my nickname. For you. Your name is a bit long to say so... I came up with something shorter to say."
"MISS... MARSH... AN INTERESTING NAME... I HAVE BEEN GIVEN ORDERS BY HIS HIGHNESS TO OBEY YOUR COMMANDS UNLESS THEY WOULD NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE PIGMASK ARMY."
She seems deep in thought.
"IF YOU WOULD LIKE... I CAN STORE THIS NAME IN MY MEMORY BANKS AND... IN FUTURE, I WILL RESPOND TO YOU... WHEN YOU USE THIS NAME."
"Really? I would, I'd like that... a lot."
"UNDERSTOOD. I WILL STORE THIS THEN. I WILL RESPOND TO THE NAME 'MISS MARSH' WHEN USED BY YOU. SO... LET'S TRY MAKING THIS AGAIN."
"Let's... Miss Marsh."
Once again, we gather the ingredients, and I chop up all the ingredients before mixing them up, this time with less power and better results – which in this case means a greater proportion of the yogurt made actually stays in the bowl rather than being out of it. Soon it's done and we pour the yogurt into a large glass.
"THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH. AS IT HAPPENS, THERE'S A BIT OF EXCESS YOGURT. WHY DON'T YOU HAVE SOME?"
Why not? I worked hard to make this. I take a spoonful of yogurt and a cracker before eating it. It's... interesting. It's not bad, but it tastes like something only fancy people would enjoy. It's... an acquired taste.
"I'm not the biggest fan of it personally, but I hope Master Porky likes it."
Actually, Master Porky, being a king would appear to fit into the category of a person who would enjoy this, but he's also a child, so you could also make a case for the other side as well.
"I'M SURE HE WILL. I THINK YOU'VE DONE VERY WELL, COMMANDER."
"Thank you... Miss Marsh."
"IT IS GETTING LATE. I WILL NEED TO MAKE A MAIN COURSE FOR HIS HIGHNESS – HE HAS REQUESTED SOME STEAK FOR HIS MAIN DISH AND SOME PINK CLOUD COTTON CANDY FOR DESSERT. HOWEVER, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WOULD ALSO REQUIRE SOMETHING TO EAT. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN MIND?"
Firstly, Pink Cloud Cotton Candy? As in the Sanctuary? But I thought the Sanctuaries didn't exist? Or maybe it's just the name - cotton candy does bear a striking resemblance to Pink Cloud.
Secondly, something for dinner. Well, I like steak, maybe I'll just have some as well. But then again... I didn't quite like it the last time... maybe I should have something different. But what...
"What is this? I've never seen this before."
"Don't be like that. Your mother put a lot of effort to make this."
"What is it though?"
"It's my favourite food. I made it for your dad once and he loved it as well!"
"Miss Marsh... have you ever heard of... an... an omelet?"
"I HAVE. IT IS GENERALLY A MEAL MOST PEOPLE PREFER TO HAVE FOR BREAKFAST, HOWEVER, IF IT WHAT YOU WANT... I WILL GLADLY MAKE IT FOR YOU."
"Do you require any assistance?"
"I BELIEVE YOU HAVE DONE ENOUGH FOR TODAY, COMMANDER. BESIDES, I THINK IT WOULD BE BEST IF WE DO NOT FIND OUT WHETHER IT IS POSSIBLE TO SET AN EGG ON FIRE – IF ONLY BECAUSE I'M FAIRLY SURE THAT IF YOU SUCCEED IN THIS TASK, YOU WOULD HAVE ALSO LIKELY SUCCEEDED IN SETTING EVERYTHING ON FIRE. ALTHOUGH, I COULD USE A FRYING PAN."
Okay, yeah, I really do like her snarky side. She's snarky, fun, interesting, a good teacher and most of all, nice. Really nice...
I get her a frying pan - a Chef's Fry Pan seems like it makes the most sense here. It's quite heavy as well - despite the seemingly impractical nature of one as a weapon, it would certainly hurt if you whacked someone with it. Perhaps Miss Polestar really did have a good idea with these...
Miss Marsh starts off by getting two eggs, whisking them, adding some butter to the frying pan and then heating it up. She adds the eggs and starts mixing them slowly.
"COMMANDER, WOULD YOU LIKE ANYTHING ON YOUR OMELET?"
Anything on my omelet? I can't really think of anything in particular...
"Are those...?"
"Yep. I thought you'd like them. And I put some cheese in yours, Lucas."
"May I have some... mushrooms then?"
"OF COURSE."
She adds some mushrooms and continues stirring. Soon, the eggs take a more solid form and the mushrooms become embedded into them. It looks and smells really nice!
"HERE YOU ARE, COMMANDER. I... HOPE YOU ENJOY IT."
"Thank you."
I get myself a fork. I can't wait so eat and yet... I can't help but feel apprehensive about this. I really want to like it... because Miss Marsh made it... for me.
I take a bite and... it's quite hot, it almost burns my tongue. It's a little too spicy as well from the pepper...
"I'm not sure... how do I know if it'll taste good?"
"You have to try it."
Overall, it doesn't leave the best taste initially.
"Can't I just have some cereal?"
"Try it once. If you don't like it, you don't have to finish it. Your brother's trying it."
"No. I don't want it!"
"Wait. Does that mean that I can do something that you can't then?"
But I must finish it – if only for Miss Marsh. I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings... assuming robots have feelings. Okay, well, ignoring that, I still can't waste food, so I take some more bites.
"What?"
"I can eat these omelets and you can't!"
"Hey! Fine, I'll show you! I bet I can eat my omelet faster than you can!"
"You're on!"
But this time, it tastes different... at first it doesn't seem to have a taste. But then the flavours hit me.
"So, how does it taste?"
"It's...
The spice of the pepper, the fluffiness of the eggs and the tenderness of the mushrooms... they're... they're...
"It's... it's wonderful! I suppose... I was wrong."
"You, admitting that you were wrong?"
"Oh, shut up, Lucas!"
"Hey, be nice to your brother! But it's good to see another two join my side! 'Nut cookies are better', my foot...'
It's nice... no... it's like Miss Marsh... it's really nice. I really like steak... but this... it's so much better. Because it tastes like...
"I think... this may be my favourite food."
"Mine too!"
Love.
With a great deal of effort, I reluctantly finish eating my last bite of the omelet and wash my plate.
"Thank you, Miss Marsh. It was really good. I need to learn how to how make this."
"I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO TEACH YOU ONE DAY, COMMANDER."
"I... I'd like that. I think... I should be going to bed. I hope Master Porky enjoys his meal. Don't stay up too late, okay?"
"IT IS MY PURPOSE, COMMANDER. BUT... I SHALL TRY NOT TO."
I start leaving but... I turn back and... I give Miss Marsh a hug.
"Thank you... for everything today. Good night, Miss Marsh."
"... GOOD NIGHT, COMMANDER."
With that, I take my leave and head to my... well no... it is... it's also her room, isn't it?
I enter our room and after this long day, lie down and feel the sweet embrace of sleep.
For the first time I can remember, I have nothing but sweet dreams.
(Where... am I?)
(And... what happened?)
Notes:
So to start things off, I need to apologise for the last chapter - specifically its length, which may have deterred some people from reading this. If that was the case then, I apologise and thank you for continuing to read this. The chapters were already getting pretty long but Chapter 10 took it to the extreme. So I'm going to try and keep the chapters about this length. I'll say this though: don't expect these notes to get shorter because I love to ramble. Probably don't qualify as notes then any more...
So then, this chapter almost wasn't going to be a thing - what will be Chapter 12 would have been here instead. The reason I ended up shifting things was because of the pairing in this chapter: Claus/Masked Man and Lil' Miss Marshmallow - something which I only found out was a thing about a week ago, from TerraChaos83's Earthbound: React To Ships over on Wattpad (definitely worth reading).
When I first read about Claus/Marshmallow, I was tempted to put it my extensive list of Earthbound ships that fall under 'why is this a thing?' (Eg. Lucas/Porky. WHY IS THIS A THING?).
But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made and so yeah, I thought a cooking lesson with Marshmallow combined with some awkward cyborg/robot romance was sure to work. So, did it?
Still, it gave me practice writing romance for the Mother Series which I'll need for the inevitable Naula fic I'll do... someday. It also gave me a convenient way to introduce omelets to Claus.
For those of you who don't like this ship for whatever reason, it's not gonna be hardcore or anything like that (it's kinda of just an implied thing here), nor will this be the focus of the fic as Marshmallow will still be meeting her end at the same point she does in Mother 3 - I just really wanted this ship to get some PK Love (yeah, that was lame).
By the way, 'Mother's Cookbook' and the recipe for trout yogurt - yeah, that's actually a thing. Some dedicated fans actually went out of their way to make a cookbook with recipes for food from the Mother Trilogy, called Mother's Cookbook (Pink Cloud Cotton Candy I've heard is another recipe). It's done beautifully and I'm getting a copy of it along with a fan made handbook of Earthbound and Mother 3 for my birthday! If you're a fan of the trilogy, I seriously recommend you get these, they have all been done with so much passion and have lots of detail!
Next time, Claus gets a taste of the battlefield.
Chapter 12: Battlefield
Summary:
Paintball, strategies, tests, and the Masked Man's inability to lead an army.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
One thing I learn about living in the Empire Pork Building is that things are never really boring. One day, the machines on the 96th floor are malfunctioning and I have to go and stop them, the next day, I'm making some dumplings with a robot and making a mess of the room.
It takes me a few attempts to get the dumplings right – I'm not exactly the most gentle person, a trait which is required when making the dough. Miss Marsh has been teaching me recipes every day, although it takes some time to master some of the harder ones (who knew making cotton candy was this hard?).
Still, over the course of 2 months, I've learned a number of recipes including the aforementioned dumplings as well as: steak, hummus, pizza (only just though), hamburgers, soup, sausages (Master Porky surprisingly likes to have these on occasion) cookies, lifenoodles, cake, PSI Caramels (which actually do help with my PSI) and of course, omelets.
I would have thought that I'd get tired of having the omelets, and yes, I do prefer some variety but if I ever don't know what to have, some omelets always make things better.
It's been a rather fun experience overall, learning how to cook all these things, especially with the help of Miss Marsh – she's very patient with me, and considering how some of my attempts to cook turn out... well... it's very much appreciated.
Still, even she has her limits as I found out during one memorable occasion, when I put too much water in my first Mach Pizza – it completely fell apart in the oven, and the only part of the pizza that fulfilled the 'mach' part of the name would be the 'machery' I made out of myself.
Miss Marsh had quite the meltdown after that incident and wouldn't let me try to make pizza again for 2 weeks. Still, with her assistance, I'm making lots of progress – with any luck, I should master all these recipes by the end of the month.
Despite all my cooking, I haven't neglected my combat training – the Fierce Pork Trooper has started timing how long it takes for me to take out the fifteen Pigmasks I train with.
My best time is 14 minutes and 32 seconds – less than a minute per Pigmask. The Fierce Pork Trooper has even suggested that I start training with other things, such as some of the robots that have been constructed.
I choose to go against sets of Octobots first – I wonder if the Pigmask Army worked these into Earthbound. The movie has given me a lot of information into how these things work, which gives me a bit of an advantage.
They're not exactly stronger than a Pigmask – but being a robot, they don't get tired, which provides a different sort of challenge. That, and the fact that they like to try and steal my stick.
However, it has indeed been pointed out that despite my abilities, I do lack leadership skills, which is fair enough — the only instance I can think of where I assumed any sort of leadership was during the time where Mr Geneator backfired and attacked the group of Pigmasks I was working with at the time.
In order to remedy this, over the past two months, I've also been learning about how to lead a unit effectively, specifically the Pigmasks I train with, as they are the ones that will be assigned to me if... no, when I become Commander.
Today, though, the Fierce Pork Trooper has prepared a... test of sorts, to see how good of a commander I actually am. I must admit... I'm more than a bit apprehensive.
See, when I asked the Fierce Pork Trooper what this test would be, his only response was "Prepare as if you were preparing for a war."
Yeah... that seems rather foreboding so I've made all the preparations for today and I'm going through them now with Miss Marsh.
"SO, COMMANDER, HERE IS EVERYTHING YOU HAVE REQUESTED FOR TODAY. FIRST, YOUR MASTER STICK, WHICH I HAVE POLISHED AND SMOOTHED OVER FOR YOU. I HOPE IT IS TO YOUR SATISFACTION."
She passes me the stick. True to her word, it looks as good as new.
"NEXT, 10 CALORIE STICKS, 10 PIECES OF SPICY JERKY AND 3 BOTTLES OF WATER IN CASE YOU GET DEHYDRATED."
She passes me a bag with all the consumables in them - they'll be useful in case I need a quick energy boost.
"Thank you, Miss Marsh. The stick is in perfect shape and these snacks will be useful in this test. You have my gratitude for doing this all on short notice."
"IT IS OF NO TROUBLE. ONE MORE THING THOUGH... WHILE I WAS MAKING DINNER FOR HIS HIGHNESS YESTERDAY, I HAD SOME INGREDIENTS LEFT OVER... SO I MADE THIS FOR YOU."
She holds out something wrapped in foil.
"Miss Marsh... you didn't have to. What... what is this?"
"IT IS A LUCKY SANDWICH. EATING IT IS SUPPOSED TO BRING YOU GOOD LUCK. I DO NOT KNOW IF SUCH A THING IS TRUE... BUT I WISH YOU IT ALL THE SAME FOR TODAY, COMMANDER."
"... thank you... Miss Marsh."
With that, I leave for the training facility, but I'm told that I won't be going there for this test. Instead, I'll be going to an area in Murasaki Forest. Interesting.
The area is large and open, with a few sheds scattered around — they don't look very durable though. I'd say that they're meant for hiding, rather than for protection. But why put them in a forest?
I head over the Fierce Pork Trooper and the Pigmasks. On the ground by them is a hat.
"Ah, you're here! Good, we can begin the test. Today, we will see if you have the leadership needed to be the Commander — if you rely purely on your own strength, you won't get very far. If you fail... well, I have orders from His Highness that we imprison you... for an indefinite amount of time."
What?! Imprisonment?! Forever?!
I... I'll never be Commander... I won't be able to play with Master Porky again... or make recipes with Miss Marsh... then, I... I can't fail. I won't fail.
"But, let's hope that doesn't happen. There's sixteen of us — Jenson's on sick leave, but that actually works out perfectly today. We're gonna split into two teams — eight on each. You will be leader of one team and I will be leader of another. We'll draw names from the hat to decide."
So, we take turns picking names from the hat, and we quickly get our teams of eight.
"Okay, so here's how things are gonna work. This is a battlefield, and so we battle. The aim is defeat the opposing team's leader — do that, and you win. I think it's fairly obvious, but I'll say it nonetheless: if your team wins, you pass, if not..."
I get a one way ticket to the New Pork Dungeons.
However, while I shouldn't get overconfident, I think my chances of winning this are reasonably high. I've beaten all of these Pigmasks before, so taking on just seven should be fairly easy. And I have support from seven other Pigmasks.
The only threat therefore, would be the main target — the Fierce Pork Trooper. I've only ever fought him once, during my first day here, but it left enough of an impression on me to know not to underestimate him. But, I've gotten far more powerful, and again, I have the other Pigmasks, so if I can isolate him, this shouldn't be very hard.
"However, I think we're all well aware that a straight up brawl would be rather one sided, because you can fly, we can't, so you can simply use your psychic powers to rain lightning down on us all."
Oh. Yeah... you know, that also works. Why didn't I think of that?
"Luckily, I accounted for that, and I've got a way to take away that advantage and put us all on equal footing. But first, you all need equipment. Let's move!"
He goes to the building behind him and the rest of us follow. Inside... it's an armoury of sorts. There are many suits of body armour, in addition to a number of large guns — however, they seem too long to be the laser guns that are traditionally used by the Pigmasks, nor do they seem to resemble other weapons like my own arm cannon.
There are also some crates scattered around which are locked up. What could be in there?
Either way, I take it we're supposed to use these, so we all change into the suits here and take one of these guns.
"So then, these guns, they don't fire lasers, these fire something a lot more fun."
He aims at a wall be firing pressing the trigger... and, I think I'm seeing things... but a sphere flies out of the barrel, and when it hits the wall, it splatters, covering the wall in green paint... that's quite the interesting choice of ammunition.
"Paintballs. Now, these things may not look like it, but they hurt. Especially if you fire them at close range, since these things rely on compressed air or something like that to fire these paintballs are high speeds.
"Those crates have more paintballs in them, and you'll need to reload occasionally for obvious reasons. There's a bunch of these crates around the fields outside, so you'll never be too far away from ammunition, but that doesn't mean you'll be safe, cause anyone can still fire at you."
"Now, this suits and helmets have sensors on them and if a paintball hits them, they'll record where you got hit. If they've racked up enough damage, you 'die', which means you're out of the game."
"Of course, different areas of your body will have varying impacts — get shot in head or the heart, and there's a good chance that you'll be instantly out. Your arms and legs though, you could probably take a few shots there. And yes, friendly fire is possible, so be careful who you're firing at."
"Brute force won't help you at all here. You've gotta rely on your own skills and instincts or you'll end up dead on the ground — much like on a real battlefield. Any questions?"
No one raises any.
"Okay, there's a red base and a blue base on opposite ends of the field. If you're with me, red base, if you're with the kid, blue base. Get going and wait in there until I contact you."
While walking to the blue base, I make notes regarding the surroundings. The area is densely populated with trees which could be used to hide or used to take cover from.
The various huts around the area also seem to serve a similar purpose, being larger and therefore offering more protection, though they are much fewer in number.
The grass and hills could also be useful as our suits are of a similar colour, so we may be able to blend in if we position ourselves correctly.
Inside of the blue base is a video screen, and some more crates and guns. The video screen shows an incoming call, so I accept. The Fierce Pork Trooper appears.
"Good, you made it. So, the bases, are a safe zone, we can't go inside of them at all, but you can't fire at us either — if anyone breaks that rule, it's an instant disqualification."
"There's ammunition in here as well but inside, and only inside the bases, are paint grenades and paint mines. The grenades are fairly self explanatory — they're good for a large area, but you're unlikely to 'kill' someone with these, unless they're in the centre of the blast zone."
"The mines are the opposite, you'll need to place these well for them to be effective, but if someone steps on them... well, they'll be blown sky high."
"Everyone can spend some time practicing with the guns, grenades and mines, say, half an hour, and then we start the test proper."
As it happens, I have had a little practice with guns but not all that much, I'm more used to my own arm cannon. It takes me a bit of time to adjust, but it doesn't feel significantly different. I, and the rest of the Pigmasks, also try out some of the grenades and mines, as they could be useful.
With ten minutes left, we decide to try and figure out a strategy.
"Okay. There's eight of us, and eight of them. Chances are, we'll be quickly taken out if we split up individually, but staying together also has its own risks, that being that we risk being easily taken out by a single grenade. So we travel in pairs."
"How exactly do we go about approaching the enemy, Commander?"
"One good shot, and that could be it. Stay out of sight at all costs. If you decide to approach a target, be sure that you have support nearby. Oh, and if you place a mine, make sure to mark it on your map."
"The enemy is all the way on the other side." I point to the corresponding area on the map.
"So if we advance as quickly as possible over there, we can take them all out at once if they haven't gone very far."
The Fierce Pork Trooper calls us again soon after.
"Final clarifications then: if you're killed, you cannot fire at anyone at all. However, you're free to leave and go back home after, or stay in the armoury to watch the battle play out. The last team standing wins, and if both captains are still left standing after six hours, the team with the most people left wins!"
But, wait...
"Wait, what if both teams have equal numbers of people?"
"Well... I dunno, we flip a coin? Yeah, that'll works. Okay, we start in 3... 2... 1... GO!"
With that, the eight of us scramble out of the base, split into pairs and start advancing towards the red base as fast as we can. Two of the pairs stick on the outer part of the arena while the rest of us move on the inside.
We're able to see everyone else at first, but the more we advance, the harder it is, and eventually I can only see the Pigmasks I'm with. Still, I have a relatively good idea where they all are, so that shouldn't be an issue.
What is an issue, is the size of this field. I underestimated how big it really is — it's been close to 45 minutes and we're not even halfway there. It's a good thing we all brought rations because the terrain can be harsh at times, and these suits are quite heavy.
The suits have a radar on them which lets us monitor each other — we appear as blue dots on the map. However, we can't see the enemies on the map, so we still have to find them the old fashioned way.
It's not until an hour or so of walking until I think I hear some sort of noise.
"Did you hear that as well, Commander?"
"Yes... it came from near those trees... let's take a look... carefully."
Slowly, the two of us make an approach towards some trees to the west. Now, there are some squirrels in this forest, I've seen them during some of my visits to the Chimera Laboratory, so it could merely be one of them.
Nevertheless... I must also entertain the possibility of it being one of the enemy.
There's no one hiding behind most of these trees, so we're tempted to assume it was nothing significant.
But I take a closer look at our surroundings, and I notice something— there's one of those huts nearby, which doesn't have any inside currently. However, nearby said hut is a particularly large tree that we haven't yet checked behind...
"We've probably just heard a squirrel or the wind through the trees. Let's just keep moving."
However, while I'm saying this, I make a motion with my fingers towards the tree in question and thankfully, the Pigmask understands what I mean. The two of us raise our guns slowly and approach that tree. When we're near it, I use my fingers and count to 3 with them.
On 3, the two of us charge behind the tree and fire away... at air. There was no behind here at all. Damn it.
"There's no one here, Commander. Maybe it really was just the wind."
I suppose... I will have to admit I was wrong. The two of us turn around and continue along our original path.
Splat!
What the...! A tree next to us was suddenly covered in paint. There's... there's someone here... haha... I can't move... my feet... I... feel scared... it could all be over here...
"Commander!"
What? What is it? I turn to lo — OH MY PORK!
I immediately roll away, barely dodging the next paintball — it hits the ground and coats it in red paint."
"Let's get moving!"
The two of us immediately break into a sprint, heading towards where the paintball was shot. We hide behind trees as we go, firing occasionally. The more we do so, the more the enemy fires back, which gives us a better indication of where they are. The two of us eventually make it to where they are, and surround him, before firing away.
It's two on one, and he has nowhere to run, leaving him at our mercy, so it's not very long before we manage to kill him, signified by —
"YOU'RRRRRE OUT!" Okay, that's kinda funny.
"Aw man, I'm the first person out! Well, nice job, you two... but you'll never beat us! We are the superior team! The reds will win!"
"Well, sorry, but I aim to make you all feel blue blue, after this is over."
The other Pigmask I'm with raises a question of his own.
"Yeah, so, what are you gonna do, now that you're dead and all?"
"Meh. The boss says we can go home if you get out, but I wanna see how things play out, so I'm going to the armoury. So, bad luck to you two!"
Well... that happened.
"We need to get moving, Commander. The radar shows when one of your teammates has been eliminated, so the enemy will know we've been here, and having them all swarm us won't end well."
"Right. However... let's take a moment to lay a trap of sorts."
I place down one of the paint mines, and cover it with some leaves and dirt.
"They may come here, knowing that this was their teammate was defeated. If they do, then this may very well get them."
We continue our advance across the forest for the next hour or so. It's fairly uneventful, that is, until we run into another Pigmask — one of our own.
And he's been hit!
He has paint on his legs and he's panting heavily... as if he was running away?
"Commander! Good to see... you're still alive!"
"Same to you. You seem awfully exhausted though... and where is your teammate?"
"He's... he's dead. We got caught in a fight with two of the enemy... and, he didn't make it. We managed to take out one of them, but the other fled, though not before we each managed to get some good shots on the other."
"I see... we have also taken out another of the enemy, so that puts us at an advantage in terms of sheer numbers."
It's here I notice his exhaustion — he could use some help.
"Here. Take some water, and some Beef Jerky. It's not much... but it should help."
"What? Oh no, Commander, I couldn't!"
"Then... it's an order."
The Pigmask opens his mouth to respond but closes it, before nodding and taking the items.
"Thank you... I feel much better."
The other Pigmask I'm with interjects.
"You should come with us. It's not safe to be alone, and it's unlikely you've been followed."
"If that's alright with you two."
Admittedly, three isn't ideal, but it is certainly better than that Pigmask wandering the forest alone.
"I see no reason why not."
The three of us keep moving onwards, while keeping a lookout for any of the enemy. We also monitor the remaining four Pigmasks on our team. They seem to be fine and overall, though some of them start flashing — indicating that they're being attacked. Still, they don't disappear so they are either took out the attackers or made their escape.
Eventually, we reach their base.
"Right... we can stay here, and wait for the rest of our team to arrive... the enemy will have to eventually come back here, and when they do, we annihilate them all."
"So...we camp here then?"
"Yes."
We hide behind some of those huts nearby, watching for other teammates to arrive, or for an enemy. We don't see any enemies, but one of our teammates disappears off the radar, so now each team has 6 people.
Over time, the three remaining Pigmasks join. While two of them are completely clean, one of them has been shot in the chest — it's a miracle he isn't out!
He tells us that they got caught in a fight with 3 others with his partner being killed and himself being heavily injured. So that explains why one disappeared of the radar.
I reiterate my plan, and we all take positions around. About an hour passes, with us just waiting there, leaving us halfway into the time limit.
And no one comes.
Patience is certainly a virtue, but after an hour of no results, I think we may need a different idea.
I walk out and signal for the rest of the Pigmasks to join.
"This isn't working. It'll take them ages to come back here if they went to our base as well. And by then, we'll be out of time... and it's currently tied, isn't it?"
"So we should go and search for them?"
"Perhaps... that may very well be the only way we can win..."
However, as I'm saying this, I think I see something rolling in the corner of —
WAIT IT'S A —
"DIVE!"
We all dive in different directions just as the paint grenade explodes, showering the area in paint... that was far too close.
"GET THEM!"
Suddenly, from nowhere, a bunch of Pigmasks appear! There's, one, two, three, FOUR of them — and the Fierce Pork Trooper!
They all throw a grenade at us, and I don't need to give an order — we all run!
OH PORK! I can't lose now, not this far in!
"After them! Don't let them get away!"
Unfortunately, they're all after us. We need to get away. We keep running, and I think we may be a little bit faster than they are, so we are able to gain a bit of ground on them, but it's not enough to necessarily lose them. We need to scare them off.
And I think I know how.
"Everyone! Use your grenades!"
We all turn and throw a grenade, which together, all send an explosion of paint up into the air, forcing the enemy to stop chasing us. We still keep running though.
Eventually, we make our way to a junction. Which way then...? Wait... what if we throw them off?
"Let's try to divert them... fire at those trees over there."
"What for?"
"They'll think we went that way, which will buy us time."
They splatter the trees as I requested, and one of the Pigmasks and myself also place a mine on both pathways, which will hopefully get some of them.
We keep moving, keeping a look out for any other Pigmasks... if we can make it to the armoury, we can restock, make a plan, and hopefully get a victory. Yeah, sounds like a...
"STOP!"
Suddenly, there's an explosion of paint which engulfs the Pigmask in the lead! A mine... we all immediately stop in our tracks, but it's too late for him.
He's... gone.
A Pigmask jumps from behind a tree nearby.
"Surprise, mother —"
"OPEN FIRE!"
We all unleash a salvo of paintballs to avenge our fallen comrade, but the Pigmask quickly goes back to his hiding spot. Still, if he's the only one here, then this will be quick. We march up the hill and surround him, before pummelling him with as many paintballs as we can, before we hear —
'YOU'RRRRE OUT!'
Great, with that Pigmask down, things are more even, 5 on each team.
Unfortunately, while doing so, the Pigmask had enough time to throw one last grenade which explodes spectacularly. Thankfully, we all manage to avoid the blas—
'YOU'RRRRE OUT!'
...I hate being wrong.
"I'm out. Sorry, Commander, it's up to you four now."
"Same here, if I had been a bit more careful, I could have avoided that mine."
"It is fine. You both fought admirably, and you both deserve rest. Good luck making it back."
The two make their leave, leaving the rest of us. However, after all of the running none of the Pigmasks can keep going on without a break, and neither can I...
Wait! I still have some more food! I share the calorie sticks and beef jerky between everyone as well as some water.
I don't take anything myself, even though the Pigmasks insist I do... I don't want it, nor do I really need it...
Besides, I can't help but feel sick... because of the situation... I'm more nervous than ever. Now, we're at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. Not only that, the rest of the enemy are still on our tail, and they may very well be close to us... and we're all exhausted...
We're... we're gonna lose, aren't we?
I... you know... I've been doing all this training to be the Commander... for Master Porky. But... I don't think I ever really considered how seriously this position is... the abilities needed, the mental aptitude that is required. I remember wondering whether... I was a suitable candidate for being the Commander, and...
I'm not, am I? I've led my team into an ambush and now half of them are 'dead'. Sure, this is just a game... but what if it was real?
What if... what if I was up against the people of Tazmily, who willingly attack those that oppose them, and brutally maim those before them? I'd have led the people under my command into... death. All those lives... they're all on me. I would be responsible.
And now I'm here... on a battlefield, outnumbered... the enemy approaching, our team divided... and if I lose, no, when I lose... that's it.
I don't become the Commander.
I go to prison forever.
And... the story ends there for me, doesn't it?
But that's not the worst part. I... I'll never get to train with these Pigmasks and the Fierce Pork Trooper again, who I've spent so much time with... I've come to see them as friends. Friends... it's nice...
And Master Porky... he gave me a life, both figuratively and literally... he helped me become stronger. I'm... I'm nothing but immensely grateful that I could get to know him... but now... I've squandered all the trust he put in me.
And... I'll never see Miss Marsh again. The two months that we've spent together... I've really grown rather fond of her. She's helped me adjust to my new living space... when I came to New Pork City to live here, I felt alone... because I was leaving my friends behind, and I haven't been able to see Master Porky at all since I moved.
But I found a new friend in her... she's been very kind to me... and living with her, it's been really nice. She's funny — it may not be very often, but on those occasions... she never fails to make me laugh.
And I can't forget her patience with me (most of the time) when she teaches me to cook, even when I keep messing things up. I... I really enjoy cooking with her... spending time with her... she's so much... more than a friend for me...
It feels... it's like... I just want to hug her... and I don't ever want to let go.
But... that's over too, isn't it?
I absentmindedly rummage around in my bag... I'm not sure why though, I know there's nothing in there... wait, there is!
I pull out the last remaining thing in it... something in foil? I unwrap it... it's...
"IT IS A LUCKY SANDWICH. EATING IT IS SUPPOSED TO BRING YOU GOOD LUCK.... I DO NOT KNOW IF SUCH A THING IS TRUE... BUT I WISH YOU IT ALL THE SAME FOR TODAY, COMMANDER."
That's right. Miss Marsh... she made this...
For me.
It's supposed to be for luck... but would luck help me out now? Probably not. It's likely... just a myth. Much like my chances of winning this.
But... do I need luck to win... I don't... do I?
Why don't I just surrender... if I know I can't win? Because I want to be the Commander.
Then... why do I want to become the Commander? To be stronger? No... there are so many different kinds of strength... and being the Commander requires more than one.
To serve Master Porky then? That drive... it feels stronger than pursuing strength, yes... and yet... it still doesn't feel right. For a time, it was enough. And though I still want to serve Master Porky and assist him... the thought alone no longer instils the same drive in me.
Then what?
It's something... different. I want things to stay the same. I don't want to lose, any of the people, that I've come to know, whether it be because I won't see them... or because they'll be... taken.
I... I won't lose them! I CAN'T!
I... I don't need luck to win... and I don't need it to keep going either! I just need... that feeling...
The feeling when I'm training with these people I've developed this bond with, when I'm being friends with Master Porky, when I'm spending time with Miss Marsh...
That feeling... I won't waste any of it!
I eat the sandwich... it tastes very nice, but it's what it represents... that's what makes it taste so good...
Let's win this.
"We may be at a disadvantage... but I refuse to give up yet. The enemy hasn't backed us into a corner, and so we can still turn the tables back on them! Even if the chances are small! The enemy will be coming this way for us soon, so we need to prepare this area and ambushes them."
"But last time we tried an ambush on the ground, it didn't work, Commander."
"Exactly. This time... we take the high ground."
We all scale the trees as fast as we can, and as high as we can. From this high up, I can almost see above all the trees, the sun setting over the sky. This time though, we can see everything... and this time, things will go much differently...
We stay here, for about two minutes, until we see the enemy approaching... all five of them... perfect.
They draw their guns and start searching the area below. The Fierce Pork Trooper seems confused and starts talking with the rest of the Pigmasks.
"Where are they? We saw the radar go off here and the only direction they could have gone is back, and we would have seen them!"
The rest of my team looks at me, fire in their eyes and I nod, holding my fingers in the air...
3... 2... 1...
"AIR RAID!"
We dive off the trees with our guns, firing as fast as we can, managing to take out two of the enemy Pigmasks, before the remaining ones run.
"After them!"
It's somewhat ironic now I think about it — now they're the ones running from us and we're the ones outnumbering them. They try firing back and throwing grenades, but their aim isn't very good as they also have to run in the opposite direction.
The two Pigmasks and the Fierce Pork Trooper split up in different directions... alright, two can play at that game.
I tell one of the Pigmasks to follow to the Pigmask on the left, and the remaining two to chase after the Fierce Pork Trooper, while I follow the Pigmask on the right.
It's not long before I'm able to get close to the Pigmask in question so I can land a finishing shot.
Ready, aim, and...
*click*
Oh... come on... why now?!
"Ha! You're out of ammo! Now stand down, or prepare to be wiped."
Damn it! Of course, I'd had to run out of ammo at the what would have to be, without a doubt, the most inopportune time, in the history of inopportune times!
...actually, no, scratch that — the time when Jeff ran out of ammo for his bazooka just before he was going to kill the Starman Deluxe might just beat this... yeah, I've watched that movie far too many times, haven't I?
"Surrender, Commander, or else!"
No, it can't just end like this! In frustration, I accidentally push the trigger on my gun.
Splat!
Oh.
It was just jammed. My bad.
"Or else what?"
He raises his gun into the air.
"Wrong answer."
I'm quicker to the punch... or shot, in this case, and fire at his chest three times in quick succession, before being graced with the sweet sound of defeat.
Now to find the other two and finish them off.
I haven't deviated much from the others so I simply retrace my steps and... hm... which way now? I did send two Pigmasks after the Fierce Pork Trooper, so they should be able to deal with him. However, the remaining Pigmask is in a one on one, so he may need some support.
I head along the left path as quickly as I can until I get near the two Pigmasks currently in a fight. The one on the enemy team currently is on the offensive which puts the one on my team at a disadvantage.
Thankfully, I think I may have a very easy way of regaining the advantage.
"Hey!"
Predictably, the enemy Pigmask turns around — only to get shot in the chest by me, and in the back by the other Pigmask, immediately killing him.
Was that a cheap strategy? Yes.
Do I care? Oh, well, no, not at all.
The Pigmask and I make our way along the path where the Fierce Pork Trooper and the other two Pigmasks went — if we take him out, we win.
We head along and... hey, I recognise this area... it's the same place where we took out that first Pigmask.
But, anyway, it's a good thing we got there quickly though since the Fierce Pork Trooper isn't going down without a fight.
He's on top of a hill and he's using the high ground very effectively, by using what may be an equally cheap strategy as the one I just used — that being to simply toss grenades down and fire through the explosions.
The paint thrown up from the grenades blocks our vision, which makes it harder to see the paintballs he shoots, and trying to dodge both the explosions and his shots makes it impossible for us to fire back.
Simple, but very effective.
Despite being outnumbered, 4 to 1, he still keeps the pressure up on us.
"Ah! I'm down!"
Okay, he's still outnumbered, but now it's only 3 to 1. But still, with him up there, if we don't figure out something soon, it won't matter that we outnumber him — he'll take us all out anyway!
Wait.
Wait a minute. We're idiots... we're all just clumped around here, which makes it easy to hit us with one grenade. But if we split up...
"Split up, surround the hill and then advance up it!"
We form a triangle of sorts around the hill and start moving up it. The Fierce Pork Trooper momentarily stops — he's realised exactly what we're doing.
We're spaced out far enough that the explosion from a grenade will only harm the person he threw it at, so he'll need to throw at least three grenades to take us all out.
The Fierce Pork Trooper looks at each of us individually, as if trying to decide which one of us he should go for first, but he stops again, realising the second trap in our plan.
See, he could take us all out by throwing three grenades but in the time it would take to do so, at least one of us would be able to make it up the hill and take the opportunity to kill him.
Quite simply, he's cornered. There's absolutely no way for him to escape.
"Clever, very clever. But did you account for the fact that I can do... THIS!"
I wonder what exactly he means by that, but I soon find out — he takes a few steps back and runs before jumping high off the hill, over us all before landing and running essentially finding... a way to escape.
...I have got to stop make these certain statements.
"After him!"
However, while in the air, the Fierce Pork Trooper fires four shots which barely miss me, but the two Pigmasks aren't so lucky — they both get hit and die... so now...
"You're all alone now, kid. Just you and me!"
He fires a few shots at me, but I was expecting that and already leapt to one side, returning his 'present', with a grenade.
He doesn't quite appreciate my present though and he quickly moves out of the way.
For the next few minutes, the two of us keep repeating the same cycle: someone fires, the other ones dodges, fires back, they dodge, rinse and repeat.
It's just a war of attrition, with the loser being the one that runs out of ammo first.
If I can outlast him or I had some way of just... instantly killing him, then I'd win.
The issue is I can't outlast him — I have less ammo and grenades, so, if I simply keep going on like this, it's a war I'll lose.
I'm not confident enough in my accuracy to get a good shot at his heart either, so that's out, and I'll be lucky to get a shot on him with all the paint being thrown around in the air...
Wait... paint thrown in the air... and this area... there is a way, isn't there?
Let's check the map... it's still here!
Oh... this is risky... but it may be my only option.
Okay. Deep breath.
I take out one of my few remaining grenades. What I've been doing is throwing them up and then trying to get a few shots in.
This time, when I throw it, I wait for it to explode... and RUN!
"Hey! You can't run forever!"
You know, it's amazing how much energy your body seems to have when someone stronger is chasing you, but it's serving me well right now!
I head to a specific area on my map as fast as I can, because I know the Fierce Pork Trooper is very hot on my tail. It's... no, a bit to the left, ah, here!
I head in a straight line from this area, which has me going down a bump of sorts, and then... I stop. Yeah, sounds crazy... but here's to hoping.
The Fierce Pork Trooper catches up to me. He's situated above me, but he's in front of me. Let's hope this works.
"Finally, I've caught up to you. No more running away, kid. You gonna have to fight."
"Or do I?"
"What? I mean, yes? Cause, you have to defeat me in order to win! Plus, you're too far away to shoot me and the elevation here means that even if you could, your shots would still miss."
"You're right. You see, I know I can't beat you. I have less ammo then you and you're better at this than me. But the thing is, you can't shoot me either, because having the high ground means your shots will just fly over me, and you can't throw a grenade that far.
So if I just stay here, we'll draw, because of the time limit. And then, it's a coin toss to decide the winner, which gives me a 50% chance of winning, which are much better then the odds I have of winning this right now. It's foolproof."
"Except it isn't, kid. What if, I just come closer to you?"
Perfect.
"Oh... well... I... didn't think about that."
"Haha! A good plan, but alas, that fatal flaw is your undoing."
The Fierce Pork Trooper charges straight at me, his footsteps punctuated by the crunching of leaves beneath his feet, the wind in the trees, the chirping of birds...
And then, a mechanical click.
Upon hearing it, the Fierce Pork Trooper immediately stops moving, before putting his left food down away from the one his right one, which is on the ground.
He uses his left foot to sweep away the leaves and dirt around his right foot, before seeing...
"Oh, you clever devil..."
He lifts his right foot up, and the mine explodes in a beautiful glory of blue, blue paint before I'm graced one last time with,
"YOU'RRRRRE OUT!"
And that means... I win?
"Man, I did not see that one coming, that was very good. Congrats, kid."
"Soo... I win, right? Right?"
"Well... actually, you see... nah, I'm just messing with you, you win."
I do? I do! I win! Yes!
"Let's get back to the armory."
After much walking, we arrive, to the 14 Pigmasks who had been eliminated. They open their mouths, I imagine to ask who won, but they quickly shut them when the answer becomes obvious, due to the Fierce Pork Trooper being, well, covered in blue paint.
"Everyone! The kid's one step closer to being our new Commander!"
There's a great amount of cheering and applause for me... it feels great...
"Thank you. It was... difficult... and I was worried about the consequences for failure... but nevertheless, I have succeeded!"
Some of the Pigmasks shift around and take a few glances away... strange. One of them turns to the Fierce Pork Trooper.
"Ah... yeah, should we tell him, sir?"
"Well... ah, you know what, fine. He deserves to know, I suppose."
"Know what?"
"Well, kid, you know how we said if you failed, the King had given orders for you to be imprisoned forever?"
"Yes..."
"Yeah, you see... that was all a lie."
"What?!"
"It was Fassad's orders to tell you that to make you... extra motivated, if you get me."
Of course, it was Fassad. Why would it be anyone else?
"And you all knew about this?!"
There's a chorus of replies in the affirmative from the rest of the Pigmasks.
"So, you mean to tell me, that I was this worried about never seeing anyone again, never seeing you all again... and it was all a lie?!"
"I never knew you cared so much, kid!"
I'm just lost for words... oh wait, no — I have the perfect words!
"I... I hate you all."
But, of course... that couldn't be further from the truth. It was a cruel trick, perhaps, but a necessary one.
And from it, I've learned a lesson of sorts... it does not matter how strong you are as an individual... because if you rely on your own strength, you won't get very far at all.
It's those around you, those who stand beside you... that's what counts... isn't it?
And one day, the dream will come true. I'll be...
The Commander.
Notes:
So you know how I said I was going to try and make these chapters shorter? Yeah, that did not last very long, did it? I'll spare you the incessant ramblings, because I don't actually have much to say.
For how much Claus is supposed to be the Commander of the Pigmask Army, you never really see him do much, well, commanding. Well, here's my efforts at remedying that.
This one was really hard to write — you would not believe how much research I had to do into paintball for this (plus a little into Splatoon), and in the end... yeah, I'd say I'm more pleased with Chapter 11 then this. I hope this was alright though.
Next time, Claus visits the Thunder Tower.
Chapter 13: Deserted Marshmallows
Summary:
Deserts, heartbeats, graveyards, and the Masked Man's inability to be sensitive.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
You know that saying, 'time flies when you're having fun'? Well, I understand what it means now — it's been 2 months since I had that test, but it's only felt like 2 weeks!
What fun have I been having then? Well, just the usual — like beating Octobots into submission.
It makes for a good chance to think about things at least... like the future, the things I'll do when I become Commander and some other things, such as the Octobots themselves.
You see, they really confuse me. Did Octobots exists in Master Porky's time?
See, in the movie, Octobots were not being influenced by Giygas like most things were in the movie — like Starman, Octobots willingly (as willingly as a robot can, anyway) serve Giygas and thus must have not existed before Giygas invaded in the movie. So what's the issue?
Giygas does not actually exist.
So... then did someone else make them in real life? If Octobots really did exist in Master Porky's time, then why would they be agents of Giygas? But, if they were made in the present (as in, my present), then why would they be retroactively made one of Giygas's minions?
Huh. You know, considering I've watched the movie so many times that I can practically recite almost every line by memory (I'm still working on memorising Paula's lines and imitating a girl's voice isn't exactly easy), I'm surprised I never really considered this before.
In fact, while I'm at it, the ending also confuses me. You see, Giygas was supposed to be the saviour for the world.
Why did he cause so much chaos around the world then?
One could argue that this was his attempt to stop Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo from getting to the Sanctuaries — but the Sanctuaries do nothing!
The Sanctuaries let Ness go to Magicant, in which he gains an enormous boost in power — but in the end, that power boost means nothing, when they're facing Giygas and his inexplicable PSI attacks.
Giygas would have won, if it weren't for Paula's intervention by praying, so why did he need to stop the four from ever going to the Sanctuaries? Was he worried that they could have been powerful enough to kill him if they got to them?
In which case, fair enough, better safe then sorry, but again, why make other people suffer? I point this out because of Stonehenge Base, where innocent people were taken hostage.
There's also the Mani Mani Statue.
If anything... Giygas being the villain, as was the case for 99% of the movie, makes a lot more sense. You know, he's gone completely insane, doesn't really know what he's doing. It may not be the most complicated thing but... I don't know, I think it makes sense.
Wait. What am I doing? Giygas isn't real. None of this matters... does it? No. Giygas isn't real, the Sanctuaries aren't real, the whole thing never happened.
The only thing that did happen, is that Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo actually did exist, they almost killed Master Porky, and they're despicable human beings that should be suffering for all eternity.
Yeah.
Anyway, that's how I spend my mornings, the afternoons are spent cooking with a killer robot — well, a killer robot to her enemies, anyway.
I recall on one occasion, I asked Miss Marsh, as a joke, if she would spar with me. As I probably should have guessed, she took the suggestion seriously, and I, for... some reason, accepted it.
I thought that I would beat her easily.
So, did I beat her? Yes.
Was it easy?
Yeah... no.
I mean, half of that was probably because I didn't want to actually hurt her, but even considering that, she's very tough, despite her pretty exterior.
Pretty? Well... I suppose she is pretty, considering she is a robot. Pretty doesn't seem to fit though to describe her though... perhaps... cute? Yes... cute, that's the word I'd use...
Wait, why am I thinking about this?
Back to the point... which was... um... ah, yes, battle!
So, despite her cute exterior, she's very tough — that claw of hers really hurts, especially when you're being grabbed by it and slammed into the ground over and over again.
However, being a robot and therefore being made of metal does have a number of disadvantages when facing someone who is capable of using an electrical attack.
Like me.
Even then, it took a fair few uses of PK Thunder before she conceded — again, she's very tough.
Overall, it's been very fun living with her over the last four months. However, today is a very special day — one I've been waiting for a very long time.
I get to visit the Thunder Tower.
It's actually been finished for a few months, but Master Porky hasn't been able to visit it since he's apparently been very busy recently... for some reason — no one knows exactly what... except for Fassad.
But he went there last week and today, he's asked me to visit as well. I'm quite looking forward to seeing the tower personally.
I even have my first... mission, of sorts. It's... not one I'd like to complete though...
See, Miss Marsh was constructed for the purpose of guarding Master Porky's room in the Thunder Tower, and since that room has actually been finished, she's coming with me today, and I am to safely escort her there.
But... that means she'll be leaving me... and I'll be alone.
I know it is selfish of me... but I do wish she didn't have to leave... I will miss her greatly. But... I must follow Master Porky's orders. He has given them to me, and I will not fail him...
However, while it would make sense for the two of us to take a Porkship all the way to the Thunder Tower, apparently this is not an option as there are some issues with the tower.
I don't quite understand it myself, but there seems to be some issue with the tower that cause dangerous storms or something and as I know from experience, lightning tends to hit aerial objects very well, so flying in isn't an option.
Hence, we're going on foot, and the quickest way is through the desert, where there is a facility made by the Pigmasks that has some sort of alternative transportation to allow us to get to the tower.
So, the two of us take a Porkship all from New Pork City to the desert... I must admit though... I am somewhat concerned about going through this desert.
Why?
It's called the Death Desert, and for good reason — supposedly, many have gone into this desert and have never been seen again.
That... is very scary.
The creatures here are also supposedly very violent, which further contributes to its name. I think if I am careful, I should be able to get through here relatively safely.
It could even be a good way to see how strong I've developed... it sounds fun, in a way.
However... I fear for Miss Marsh... she is capable of defending herself very well but nevertheless... I'll keep my eyes (both regular and mechanical) open. I... I wouldn't want her to come to any harm.
The two of us land with one of the Pigmasks in my group seeing us off.
"Are you sure the two of you will be alright?"
"We will. Thank you for getting us here."
"INDEED. YOU HAVE MY GRATITUDE AS WELL."
"Well... if you're sure. Good luck with your test, Commander!"
Ah, yes. Master Porky has informally told me that this is a test of sorts... if I can safely escort Miss Marsh all the way through Death Desert to the Thunder Tower.
I won't fail either of them.
"SO THEN, COMMANDER, I ASSUME YOU'LL TAKE THE LEAD."
"Yes... give me a moment though..."
I'm looking for a map of the desert, I think I have one... ah, here it is!
A holographic display fills my eyes, splitting the area into various subsections with important landmarks in green. Ah, I can see the facility in the northeast! Let's get moving then!
The two of us make our way through the desert as fast we can, staying away from as many creatures as we can — some of them do chase us down though, seeking a fight, so we are forced to give them one.
Still, our combined strength is enough to take down most things that get in our way easily. The sand lizards go down very easily with a few swings and Miss Marsh comes up with her own effective way of dealing with the dung beetles — simply pick them up and throw them away.
It's kinda funny — whenever she sees one, her eyes narrow and she gives this cute, robotic tut before she tosses them.
"You don't seem to like the beetles very much. How come?"
"THEY ARE FILTH AND WASTE, COMMANDER! AND I DESPISE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS! AND SO THEY MUST BE DISPOSED OF IN THE MOST BRUTAL WAY, LIKE EVERY PIECE OF FILTH, SO THAT EVERYTHING REMAINS CLEAN! THOUGH THIS DESERT IS NOT THE CLEANEST AREA IN GENERAL... PERHAPS I SHOULD TRY TO CLEAN IT..."
"Miss Marsh, you are in a desert, I wouldn't say call these clean to begin with — and surely, you'd have a hard time trying to clean up the entire place!"
"IS THAT A CHALLENGE, COMMANDER? DO YOU QUESTION MY CLEANING ABILITIES? DO YOU DOUBT THAT I COULD CLEAN THIS DESERT ON MY OWN?"
She says that last part with a sense of grandiose that makes me laugh — if only because of the silliness.
"No, not at all! I just think it would perhaps take too much time for you to do so alone."
"AH, YOU ARE RIGHT. IT WOULD TAKE FAR TOO MUCH TIME... AND IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO DO IT ALONE — I WOULD NEED YOU WITH ME, COMMANDER."
"Me?! I'm... not exactly the neatest person, Miss Marsh."
"I KNOW."
Yep, it's the sassy side... this'll be fun...
"HOWEVER... I WOULD NOT HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR IF YOU WEREN'T HERE, COMMANDER. YOUR ABILITIES IN COMBAT ARE IMPECCABLE..."
"I... I'm not that good..."
"THIS IS INCORR —"
Suddenly, I hear this strange rumbling through the desert... I can feel it, moving through the ground... moving towards...
"Miss Marsh, look out!"
I quickly pull her to one side just before the ground splits open and a sink hole appears. From it, a creature with two large horns emerges... a Great Antlion.
I've heard of these — they dig under the ground and rise up, snatching whatever is unfortunate to be underneath, while simultaneously creating a sink hole to hide in.
They stay in these sink holes, waiting more of their prey to fall in, and once they have had their meal, they bury themselves and repeat the process.
Okay... I need to be a bit more careful.
The antlion, a little ticked off from having just missed its prey (though I can't imagine a metal robot would taste very nice), leaps out of the hole at me with its two horns.
I simply block the dive with my stick and bash it back into the hole. It prepares to do the same again, but I'm ready this time.
As soon as it leaps, I fire off a bolt of lightning with PK Thunder, frying it and sending it crawling back it it's hole, before it buries itself once more. Phew.
"... AS I WAS SAYING, YOUR EARLIER STATEMENT WAS INCORRECT AND I BELIEVE YOU JUST PROVED WHY NOW."
"Thank you... it's nice to hear that all my work is paying off."
"HM... IF ONLY YOUR COOKING WAS HALF AS GOOD AS YOUR FIGHTING WAS..."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"WELL, COMMANDER, IT WAS A THINLY VEILED INSULT AT YOUR COOKING SKILLS THAT CONSISTED OF ME REMARKING ON HOW YOUR COOKING SKILLS ARE MUCH LESS THAN HALF OF WHAT YOUR COMBAT SKILLS ARE, WITH THE SUBTLE HINT THAT YOU PERHAPS NEED TO PUT IN SOME MORE EFFORT."
Somehow, her ignoring the sarcasm and properly answering my question just made it all the worse.
"Am I really that bad of a cook?"
"NO... NO, NO... NOT AT ALL... I... THAT WAS INSENSITIVE OF ME... I... I APOLOGISE, IT WAS NOT RIGHT FOR ME TO SAY THAT. I... I THINK... THAT WHILE COOKING MAY NEVER BE SOMETHING YOU CAN DO AS WELL AS FIGHTING, YOU ARE... YOU ARE A EXCELLENT COOK, COMMANDER.
She pauses here, as if to take a breath.
"I... I FEEL THAT I HAVE PERHAPS BEEN TOO HARSH ON YOU THROUGHOUT THESE PASS FEW MONTHS... IN PARTICULAR, DURING THAT PIZZA INCIDENT."
"Oh... I won't forget that anytime soon."
"NEITHER WILL I. I WAS VERY MAD AT YOU AT THE TIME — IT TOOK ME A VERY LONG TIME TO SCRUB THE OVEN AFTER THAT! BUT... THAT DID NOT JUSTIFY MY ANGER AT YOU... AND I APOLOGISE... I HOPE YOU ACCEPT."
"Of, of course I do! You don't need to apologise, you were just trying to help! And, perhaps a little frustration is warranted when you're working with someone as unskilled as me..."
She shakes her head at this.
"I DISAGREE WITH THAT ASSESSMENT OF YOUR SKILLS. YOU HAVE PREPARED MANY DISHES FLAWLESSLY. YOU HAVE MASTERED MANY RECIPES, SOME OF WHICH ARE EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT. AND, DESPITE YOUR CONCERNS, YOU HAVE NEVER SET A DROP OF WATER ON FIRE."
"Miss Marsh..."
"YOU ARE A PERSON OF MANY TALENTS, COMMANDER... I THINK YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF THAT."
"Miss Marsh... I... you know... if Master Porky ever asked how I became such a good cook, do you know what I'll say?"
She looks at me with curious eyes.
"I'll say, 'it's all because I had an excellent teacher!' Let's keep going then — this desert won't clean itself!"
"BY... BY YOUR LEAD, COMMANDER."
It takes about half an hour or so, but soon enough we reach the end of the desert, and the facility in question. Alright... woah... what is that?!
There's a strange creature here... it seems like a dog of sorts... no, not a dog, a wolf, I think. But the strange thing about it, is that it has a cactus on its head. In fact...
"Nwehehehe! I am truly the strongest! I've mastered powers you could never hope to! I even fought a Cactus Wolf alone and won!"
I remember Fassad one day boasted about beating a Cactus Wolf, which this creature seems to be. Well, the name certainly fits.
When we try to get into the facility, it growls at us.... evidently, we're not getting by it without a fight.
"Stay back, Miss Marsh... I will handle this."
I've never come across this creature before... let's see what we have exactly.
"Name: Cactus Wolf"
'These ferocious creatures were wolves that evolved to grow a cactus on their heads — it is believed that they help the wolf retain water, which is supported by the fact that they are most commonly found in the Death Desert.'
Cactus Wolves are known as the kings of the desert, because of how strong they are. Approach with caution.
Weakness: None recorded.
Oh well, that's just great, isn't it — they have no weakness!
All right then... if it doesn't have a weakness, I'll give it one.
"Defense Down Alpha."
A field of blue particles encircles the wolf before plunging downwards on it... that should makes things easier.
However, doing so has startled it... it starts growling very loudly and as I approach the wolf, it growls more and more. When I'm near it, it lunges, but I'm able to quickly move out the way and slam my stick into it as hard as I can.
It growls in pain before spinning and trying to headbutt me with its cactus head. I use my stick to block it — ow! There's something sticking into me...
Ow... the spines of the cactus... they got stuck into my arm. I don't really have a way of dealing with these so I hope they aren't poisonous.
I back away, and get rid of a few of the spines... the wolf growls and charges again but this time I step to one side and it slams into the metal doors behind me, so I take the opportunity to bash it some more with my stick. Soon, it falls to the ground in defeat.
"Okay, now we can go ins — AHH!"
Suddenly, I'm on the ground... the wolf still has fight in him and he's got me pinned down. He opens his mouth... is he going to take a bite out of me?!
I brace myself...
Clang!
What the...
The wolf gives a terrible cry of pain... when I look, I see he's chomped down on Miss Marsh's claw!
The wolf lets go of it, but Miss Marsh takes the opportunity to bash it some more. Still, the wolf is persistent and refuses to get off... but I have the perfect solution.
I quickly change my other hand into an arm cannon and fire directly at the wolf's face — it sends him flying away into a cliff.
Okay, enough messing around. Let's finish this.
I focus my mind and feel that familiar sensation, the hairs on my skin standing on their ends, the air around me becoming charged, the energy coursing through me, stronger than ever.
"PK Thunder Beta!"
Two lightning bolts crash down the wolf's cactus head in quick succession, singing parts of it and shocking the wolf. With one last groan, it finally falls to the ground, slumping over in pain and exhaustion.
Finally.
"Phew, I see they are called the kings of the desert... they certainly are vicious."
"INDEED. COMMANDER, YOU HAVE SUSTAINED SOME INJURIES... HERE, LET ME HELP YOU."
She takes my arm and gently pulls the rest of the spines out and then... her hands, no, her fingers seem to open up, into these nozzles, which release this spray on my wounds and they start to heal... that's amazing!
"Thank you... not just for this, but for your help back there."
"YOU HAVE PROTECTED ME DURING OUR JOURNEY HERE, COMMANDER... IT WAS MY TURN TO DO THE SAME."
I walk over to the unconscious wolf... is it... alive? Did I kill it?!
"Miss Marsh... does the wolf... is it still alive?"
"HM... YES... I AM STILL RECORDING A HEARTBEAT FROM IT... IT IS A BIT SLOWER THAN WHAT IS NORMAL, BUT THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED CONSIDERING ITS CONDITION."
Phew... it may have attacked us first, but even still... there's still no sense in killing it — we'd be no better then... them.
"Miss Marsh, how does your heart monitor work?"
"IT IS A RATHER ADVANCED PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY, IT MEASURES THE RATE AT WHICH THE VALVES IN A HEART OPEN AND CLOSE AT, BEFORE ANALYSING HOW FAST THEIR HEART MUST BE BEATING. IT IS MORE ACCURATE THAN THE TRADITIONAL WAY USED TO MEASURE A HEARTBEAT."
"So... what's the traditional way then?"
"YOU CAN HEAR THE VALVES CLOSING WITH YOUR EARS. I COULD SHOW YOU, IF YOU WANT ME TO."
"Sure! That sounds really cool!"
"TRY PUTTING YOUR EARS TO THE WOLF'S CHEST... DO YOU HEAR ANYTHING?"
I do... it's a bit hard to hear but I manage...
Lub... dub... lub... dub... lub... dub... it's a strange noise.... yet very soothing in a way.
"I can hear it... it's a nice sound."
"IT IS..."
"Hey, let me see if I can hear your heartbeat, Miss Marsh."
Before she can object, I sit down by her and put my ears to her chest.
"Hm... strange, I don't hear a heartbeat... but I can hear this faint buzzing..."
"I WOULD BE VERY WORRIED IF YOU COULD HEAR A HEARTBEAT IN ME, COMMANDER, GIVEN THE FACT THAT I AM A ROBOT."
Oh. I start to blush in embarrassment at the realisation.
So, you might be wondering why exactly I thought I'd hear a heartbeat in Miss Marsh... which, is a very good question.
The answer? I... forgot she was a robot... yes... I'm an idiot.
"Oh... but... why can I hear this faint buzzing noise inside of you?"
"IT IS MOST LIKELY MY SYSTEMS THAT YOU ARE HEARING."
"Ah... that explains it. Is it possible for me to hear my own heartbeat?"
"UNLESS YOU HAVE A STETHOSCOPE..."
She stops upon seeing my confused face.
"IT IS A DEVICE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO HEAR THE HEART MORE CLEARLY, COMMANDER. UNLESS YOU HAVE ONE, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO HEAR YOUR OWN HEART, BUT YOU CAN FEEL IT BEATING. TRY PUTTING YOUR HAND TO YOUR HEART."
I do so... and... hm, I can't feel anything... that's strange...
"I don't think it works, Miss Marsh. I can't feel anything...."
"HOW PECULIAR... MAY I TRY, COMMANDER?"
"Sure."
She sits down and nestles up besides me... she's very warm... I wonder if that's because of the heat of the desert... metal conducts heat, after all.
She places one of her hands on my heart and waits for a few moments. After that, she presses her head to my heart, trying to hear it.
"STRANGE... I CANNOT FEEL ANYTHING, AND MY AUDIAL RECEPTORS ARE NOT PICKING UP ANY SOUNDS EITHER... IT IS AS ALMOST AS IF..."
"As if what...?"
"NO... THAT CANNOT BE IT... MY HEART MONITOR IS STILL PICKING UP A HEARTBEAT."
"Can you play it?"
She nods and soon, I start to hear a noise being emitted from her mouth... it's an eerie sound... something groaning, deep within me...
It's this frantic pulsing of machinery, going... tick... tock... tick... tock... tick... tock...
Over and over again... I don't know what it is... but I know...
It's not a heart at all.
"What's wrong with me... why, what is that? It... it's not a heart, it can't be... why... why don't I have a heart?!"
"I... COMMANDER... YOU WERE FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF DRAGO PLATEAU, WERE YOU NOT?"
"Yes..."
"AND YOU WERE HEAVILY INJURED, TO THE POINT OF NEEDING SURGERY TO SAVE YOURSELF WITH SEVERAL PARTS OF YOUR BODY BEING REPLACED WITH MECHANICAL EQUIVALENTS."
"Yes..."
"WHAT IF... YOUR HEART WAS REPLACED... YOUR INJURIES WERE VERY SEVERE. IS IT POSSIBLE... THAT YOUR HEART MAY BE PARTLY... OR FULLY... MECHANICAL?"
No! NO! It... IT CAN'T BE!
But... I know she's right... with all those injuries, my heart... it couldn't possibly be the same anymore.
My heart... it's not even... mine anymore... it's another piece of machinery.
How much of me is just metal? My arm... my back... my heart... and that's just what I know.
It's never really crossed my mind before, but now... I can only think of one question...
What am I?
I'm a child... and yet, so much of me... is just cold, heartless metal...
I don't have a heart... so, am I still alive? Or did I die... and this is just a shell, a shell of what remains?
"COMMANDER... ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOUR HEA... YOUR RATE IS ELEVATING TO INCREDIBLY HIGH LEVELS, I ADVISE YOU STOP AND TAKE SOME DEEP BREATHS, TO CALM DO—"
"SHUT UP! Don't tell me to calm down! I'm... I'm... am I just another machine?! I... I'm just another heartless robot... with no emotion at all!"
And as soon as I say that, I instantly regret it.
There's a tense silence between the two of us for what feels like... an eternity.
And then, she breaks it.
"I SEE... WELL... IF THAT IS HOW YOU SEE ME... THEN, I SUPPOSE... I CANNOT BLAME YOU... BY... BY YOUR LEAD... COMMANDER."
You idiot.
You just had to say that, didn't you? You couldn't have just done the smart thing and listened to her, no, you just had to keep going and say... that.
And now, you've just offended one of your friends, one of your best friends, who cared for you, who made you feel at home and gave you so many good memories.
I'm a terrible person, aren't I?
I want to just... crawl into a hole, and die. I didn't mean... but...
But I still said it.
I said it... and now... I've gone and alienated one of my friends... forever.
"Commander? Commander!"
What? What is it? I look around and I see myself inside a building of sorts... there's a long corridor that stretches out in the distance, with a large sphere with a large fin on the back and two jet boosters.
There's also a Pigmask Major here, who is calling for me.
I assume that I must have entered the building while I was thinking.
"Oh, my apologies... I was momentarily distracted."
"Ah, I get that sometimes. So, you and Lil' Miss Marshmallow are heading to Thunder Tower, yeah?"
"We are. I was told that there would be some form of transportation here."
"Ah, well, you've come to the right place! You can take a Pork Bean — it'll get you to the tower in no time!"
Pork Bean? I'm guessing that the machine before us is one of these Pork Beans.
"So, we are free to take one then?"
"Yeah... actually, wait, no... this is the only one left, but it needs to be refuelled and there are a few parts which need to be changed. It'll take... maybe, half an hour, so you'll need to wait. But hey, if you want, you're welcome to check out the rest of the area to kill some time."
"Very well."
I step down and walk along the corridor, taking the left exit.
In a way, I'm thankful for the extra time spent... it gives me more time to think about what I said back in the desert...
It was... insensitive. I didn't consider her feelings at all, did I? I may have many talents... but evidently... empathy isn't one of them.
I keep walking down the corridor — there's a few bugs in my way, but I just ignore them, and thankfully, they do the same in return. I'm not really in the mood to fight... anything...
Because I hurt the one person who never deserved it.
Eventually, after a bit of walking, I find a dead end with a ladder... I wonder where this leads to?
I climb up, but there's something blocking the path at the top... ah, there's a handle. I grab it and pull the tiles apart, before climbing out.
I emerge out of... a grave.
Yeah, that's... not a bad omen or anything.
But, more importantly, where am I?
There's a bunch of graves around me... I assume this is a graveyard. I can see a castle to the north, as well as a number of houses to the south and finally, to the west, there's a...
A forest...
This is...
(Home...)
It's familiar... I know this place.
(Mom ... she's still... sleeping...)
And then... it hits me... this is Tazmily... isn't it?
This is... home. Where I grew up. Where... my family is...
It's... a strange feeling. There's anger... yet also, a desire to find out about my past... and... something else... something I... I can't quite describe.
I... I want to explore... but I know I can't. Master Porky said I couldn't go here... and so I shouldn't be here...
So, with a heavy heart, I turn back and crawl back into the grave and when I reach the bottom... I see her.
Miss Marsh.
"COMMANDER... SO THAT'S WHERE YOU WERE. I WAS CONCERNED THAT YOU HAD DISAPPEARED."
She's still worried for me... even after what I said...
"SO... DID YOU FIND ANYTHING INTERESTING UP THERE?"
"I did. I found... Tazmily Village."
"TAZMILY... THAT IS YOUR HOME, IS IT NOT? WHERE YOU WERE BORN AND RAISED?"
"Yeah... it was."
"COMMANDER. YOU'RE SAD."
I start laughing at that — it's the bluntness and simplicity of the statement... and yet, she's completely right.
"I am."
"WHAT IS THE ISSUE?"
"It's... three things, I suppose... finding out that I may be mostly a robot... seeing my home... and... well... I, just don't know."
"...COMMANDER... I... I CANNOT SAY I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, BECAUSE WE ARE DIFFERENT... HOWEVER, I BELIEVE YOU ARE PERHAPS PLACING TOO MUCH IMPORTANCE INTO HOW ALIVE YOU ARE."
"I CAN IMAGINE IT WOULD BE SHOCKING TO REALISE HOW MUCH OF YOU IS MACHINERY, SINCE YOU WERE ONCE VERY MUCH HUMAN. BUT... DOES THAT MATTER? YOU CAN STILL MOVE. YOU CAN STILL TALK. YOU ARE STILL ALIVE. ISN'T THAT WHAT PERHAPS MATTERS THE MOST?"
"IN TRUTH... I DO NOT KNOW... I WILL NEVER KNOW BECAUSE I AM, FOR BETTER AND WORSE, A ROBOT. BUT... I LEARNED ALL OF WHAT I SAID FROM SOMEONE WHO I BELIEVE IS VERY CLEVER AND... I TRUST THEM."
"That... really does make a lot of sense. Who did you learn that from?"
She gives a robotic laugh at that.
"YOU, COMMANDER."
"Me?!"
"YES. IRONICALLY ENOUGH, IT APPEARS YOU YOURSELF HAVE NOT REALISED THE THINGS YOU TAUGHT. HAS THE PAST EVER STOPPED YOU, COMMANDER?"
"No... I've always kept moving forwards."
"THEN, WHY SHOULD THIS STOP YOU?"
"You're right... it shouldn't."
"EXACTLY. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR LIFE AND YOUR PAST... THEY DO NOT RULE IT... UNLESS YOU CHOOSE TO LET IT DO SO."
"Miss Marsh... you are truly amazing."
"THANK... THANK YOU... COMMANDER."
There's a silence between the two of us for about a minute before she once again breaks it.
"IF I MAY ASK... DO YOU MISS TAZMILY... YOUR HOME?"
"I've been thinking about that... and my answer is... no. I don't. And I think I know why... it's because... it isn't my home. My home... my home is with you, Miss Marsh... at New Pork City. So I don't miss Tazmily... because it never was my home."
"THAT'S... IT IS NICE TO HEAR THAT. I HOPE I WAS ABLE TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR DOUBTS THEN."
"You've been nothing but helpful to me... but there is still one more thing I'd like to talk to you about."
"OH? WHAT IS IT?"
"I... I want to apologise to you... for what I said earlier in the desert... about robots being heartless. It was... it was incredibly insensitive of me to say that. You are... you are one of my friends, Miss Marsh... one of my best... and... I would hate to lose you."
"I... to be honest... I'm doing this 'mission' with a great deal of reluctance, because when I complete it... you'll be gone. These past four months... I have no difficulties in saying that they have been some of the best months in my life. Still, despite all of this, I understand if you thought my comment was very offensive... and I think you would be happy to part ways..."
"COMMANDER... THAT COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WERE PERHAPS NOT THINKING AS RATIONALLY AS YOU USUALLY DO... AND I ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY."
"Thank you... I feel much better now."
"I'M GLAD I COULD HELP. HM... PERHAPS WE SHOULD RETURN TO THE PORK BEAN... IT HAS BEEN ALMOST HALF AN HOUR."
"Yes, let's go back then."
As we make our way back, I notice that Miss Marsh starts to fall behind a little.
"Miss Marsh... are you alright?"
"I AM FINE, COMMANDER."
"Are you sure? You're lagging behind a bit."
"IT IS AN EFFORT TO CONSERVE POWER... GOING THROUGH THAT DESERT REQUIRED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF ENERGY, SO I AM TRYING TO SAVE SOME BY GOING SLOWER."
Hm... I think I have an idea — a rather fun one as well.
"Well, why don't I help you?"
"IN WHAT WAY?"
I pick her up — she's actually very light, or perhaps I'm just really strong... she feels rather nice and comfortable in my arms...
"AH! COMMANDER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I DEMAND YOU PUT ME DOWN!"
"Hm... well... nope!"
I take out my wings and fly off — it's been some time since I've done flown, and it feels great to stretch my wings!
By flying, the two of us quickly make our way back to the first corridor, where I grant Miss Marsh her wish and put her down.
"WELL... I SUPPOSE THAT IS ONE WAY TO GET BACK QUICKLY. IF YOU COULD, PLEASE WARN ME NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT... THOUGH I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHT."
"My apologies... I will. It was fun though to see you scared there."
"I AM A ROBOT, COMMANDER. I AM INCAPABLE OF FEELING FEAR."
"Oh? So what do you call the past minute then?"
"...A CONCERN FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF AN OUTCOME WHICH WOULD RESULT IN THE HARM OF MYSELF, YOU OR BOTH OF US."
"I believe that's called fear."
"HM... INTERESTING... I SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FEEL FEAR IN THIS WAY..."
"Why not? After all, if you couldn't... wouldn't you just be a heartless machine? And to quote someone I trust very much... 'THAT COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.'"
"COMMANDER... YOUR... YOUR IMPRESSIONS REQUIRE SOME WORK."
"Hey, I'm getting there! It's hard for me to imitate a girl's voice, I'm still struggling with Paula's! And, I bet you can't imitate my voice!"
She opened her mouth before...
"And, I bet you can't imitate my voice!"
"AS YOU WERE SAYING, COMMANDER?"
"...cheater."
While talking, we've reached the point where the Major was — he seems to have finished.
"Ah, Commander, we have finished! We can take you to Thunder Tower now — just get in from the side, and we'll take you there!"
I don't know what exactly he means — the Pork Beans are just spheres with no viable door. But I look at the side and notice a button on the side, which I press.
The side suddenly opens up... that's pretty cool. The two of us get in, along with two Pigmasks and a Major.
There's not much inside, just a few controls, and some seats so Miss Marsh and I take one.
One of the Pigmasks starts the Pork Bean and woah! This thing is fast! We speed across to the right before emerging in what looks to be a highway... it appears to be about mid afternoon.
It feels rather thrilling to be moving at these high speeds... though I don't think Miss Marsh would agree.
She's doing her best to seem fine, but I can tell the high speeds don't quite agree with her — if she weren't a robot, she'd probably be throwing up.
I gently take her by the waist and try to stabilise her as much as possible. She takes my hand and gives a look... as if to ask if it's alright.
I reply by smiling and gently squeezing her hand, sending that familiar feeling through her... and myself.
As we speed off to the Thunder Tower, I can't help but feel... sad. Because...
I know that feeling is going to end.
Notes:
Ah, 13, quite the unlucky number and indeed, Claus is rather unlucky here as he must bid goodbye to his friend/love interest. I may have gone a bit too far with Claus and Marshmallow in this chapter but as Marshmallow will be going out of focus soon, I wanted to get as much out of this as I could before that happens.
So anyone's who familiar with Mother 3 will know that it is suggested that the Masked Man doesn't have a heart — the Magyspies suggest it metaphorically, but interestingly, the Masked Man is the only enemy in the game who does not have a heartbeat in the code of the game, suggesting that he literally, does not have a heart.
It made for a very good piece of introspection for Claus though.
Also, I was looking over the earlier chapters of this fic and I realised that Chapters 1 to 5 were all continuous — as in, each chapter followed directly off the previous one, while Chapters 6 to 12 were all disjointed, but with an overarching narrative. I kinda wanted to bring that continuous chapter style back, so the next chapter is following on from this one.
Next time, Claus scales the Thunder Tower.
Chapter 14: PSI Farewell
Summary:
Towers, batteries, robots, and the Masked Man's inability to say goodbye.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As we speed along the highway, I notice a number of interesting things. Every so often, there are these station with yellow pads — I believe they are recharging stations for the Pork Beans. I wonder if I could use PK Thunder to achieve the same effect.
There are also some excavators across the lands — perhaps in order to build more roads? I must wonder, why exactly do you need roads — the Pork Beans levitate above the ground, so surely roads wouldn't be needed? Although, I suppose it would be useful to demarcate where the Pork Beans would go, so someone doesn't accidentally get hit by them.
Considering how fast these things move at, being hit by one of these things would certainly kill you.
Speaking of high speeds, the Pigmasks seem to be in an hurry, seeing as they are going at... decidedly dangerous speeds. There aren't any speed limits or anything though, so I suppose it doesn't... wait a minute... there aren't any speed limits?!
Oh Pork... this cannot end well...
Miss Marsh isn't faring too well either... I'm guessing the high speeds rattle her circuits a lot. She's taken to wrapping her arms around me and clinging on to me for dear life, with her eyes closed.
As we keep going, we cross over a rather large bridge above the sea. It's really beautiful, the sun setting, the sea shining... I'd love to just sit here one of these days, perhaps with a book to read...
You know, seeing the sea has just reminded me that everything here, is all on a island. I must say, it's strange that the Nowhere Islands are this large considering it's supposed to be, well, an island. I'm tempeted to say it's almost as large as Foggyland was...
On the right side, is something equally as interesting — the Thunder Tower.
It's very tall — over 200 meters, if I recall. Most of the building is a vertical column, reinforced by metal bars. The top is the most interesting part though — it's a large yellow sphere...
With a giant laser on top of it!
What in the name of... things, is that?! Why is there a giant laser on top of the tower?! This... has gotten very interesting.
"Miss..." Actually... hm... I'm not sure why but... I don't think I should refer to Miss Marsh as such in front of the other Pigmasks. Granted, most of them preoccupied with other things but... best to be safe, I suppose.
"Lil' Miss Marshmallow?"
She doesn't seem to notice that I've said anything... strange, every other time I've asked her anything, she's immediately responded to my question. Although, she isn't exactly in the best of shape right now.
"OH, CO, COMMANDER... MY, MY APOLOGIES, I, I DID NOT REALISE YOU WERE REFERRING TO ME... WHAT WAS YOUR QUESTION?"
"I was wondering... do you know why there is a giant laser on top of the tower?"
"HM... AN INTRI, INTRIGUING QUESTION... MY DA, DA, DATA BANKS INDICATE THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE THUNDER TOWER WAS FOR THE INCREASED PRO, PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY... I, I THEREFORE SEE NO USE FOR SUCH A DEVICE. I APOLOGISE FOR, FOR BEING UNABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH MORE INFORMATION, COMMANDER."
I'm tempted to push a little further, but one look at her and I immediately decide not to. She doesn't seem to be coping well at all. Poor thing.
As we go through several dark caves, we also pass what looks to be a cafe — though it doesn't look like the cleanest of areas. There's also these strange machines that have 4 wheels on them, and this metal shell on top of them. They appear to be land based... so I suppose that would justify the roads.
But then again, why exactly do you need something land based? Aren't the Pork Beans superior in every way, seeing as they levitate and all?
Still, the cafe isn't the filthiest part of the area — soon after, we pass what looks to be a rubbish heap which is rife with all sorts of junk and rubbish. Among the trash, I can see what looks to be a broken Instant Revitalising Device, a Pork Bean (I wonder if it crashed because it was going too fast) and... that's strange...
There's a broken machine here — yeah, that doesn't sound interesting, seeing as this is a trash heap and all, but it's the type of broken machine that's interesting. It's a device that has a number of buttons on it, and a small card shaped slot on it. It's a device that I've never seen before in real life.
Key word being, in real life.
Because I have seen this machine before, and I know what it is — it's an ATM.
But I've only seen it... in Earthbound.
I've never seen an ATM in real life and the currency they used in Earthbound is much different... 'dollars', was it? I had therefore assumed that ATMs were a invention of the past, and therefore shouldn't exist now, because of, oh, I don't know, THE APOCALYPSE!
Now I'm even more confused... things aren't making sense at all...
I don't have much time to dwell on the fact though, since, we make a turn, and soon enough... we reach the Thunder Tower. Up close it's perhaps even more imposing and threatening then from a distance.
The Pork Bean slows down, soon coming completely to a halt before the Major addresses the two of us.
"Right, we're here, Commander! The glorious Tower of Peace and Love! The Thunder Tower!"
Tower of Peace and Love? Interesting name...
"Thank you for taking us here."
"Nah, it's no problem. It's nice to get out of the underground and drive around in the Pork Beans. Word of advice, Commander, if this whole Commander thing doesn't work out for you for some reason, then I advice you not to take a job at the Candaum Underpass. You may very well die of boredom."
"What exactly is the Candaum Underpass for anyway?"
"Oh well, it's just a way of connecting the Death Desert and the Highway together, as well as Tazmily Village."
Yes, I've been meaning to ask about that last one.
"Why exactly do you have a passage to Tazmily Village?"
"Between you and me, Commander, it was installed for quick travel but also as a secret passage, one that the people in Tazmily are unaware of, and would never think of looking at, since it's under a grave, and few would risk disrespecting the dead."
"So this lets you sneak into Tazmily without anyone being able to detect you... but what for?"
"I'm not actually sure... but I heard all sorts of rumours. Some say we're gonna use it to sneak into the place and then kill everyone in there, as revenge. Then, we'll build a new city there, a new utopia for us to live."
Kill everyone there?! That's... well... I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, I feel a sense of... joy and justice, at the idea, for there are many in Tazmily who deserve swift death.
On the other hand, I cannot help but feel that this is... unfair, to those who are young... they don't deserve to die, do they? No, their lives could be changed, as mine was. But if they are killed... then... that gives them no chance of changing, doesn't it?
"But that's not the only rumour I've heard — I've also heard that Fassad's already in Tazmily and is attempting some sort of negotiations with the people there."
Now that's very interesting. Negotiations? If I recall, the negotiations failed last time Fassad tried. But he's still trying again? Hm... Fassad seems very interested in Tazmily. I'm not sure what exactly to make of that.
"Interesting... I suppose the only person who truly knows is the King then."
"Yeah. But there's no point talking about rumours and uncertainties like this. We'd love to stick around but unfortunately we've gotta go, so see ya, Commander!"
The Major opens the door, letting Miss Marsh and myself leave. Miss Marsh still seems a little rattled from the journey so I (literally) give her a hand, and help her get out of the Pork Bean.
On the walls next to the building are a few signs which point to some areas near the tower — the most interesting one being the one pointing east... to Saturn Valley?
I'm honestly really tempted to keep going east just out of curiosity, but, alas, I can't — I have a duty and all.
Either way, the two of us enter through the metal doors and finally enter the tower.
Inside is... wow! The place is rather interesting — there's all sorts of wires and pipes extending of the walls, as well as these barrels in the ground. There are also some screens and windows on the walls, which are a rather pretty light blue.
However, the light blue maid with me still isn't feeling too all that well — she's wobbling quite a bit.
"I... I... AH, COMMANDER... IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, MAY I HAVE A MOMENT TO GATHER MY BEARINGS... I AM RATHER DIZZY FROM THAT JOURNEY..."
"Of course. Why don't you sit down?"
"YES... I THINK I WILL... THANK YOU, COMMANDER..."
There's a bench nearby, so she makes her way over to it before sitting down, and I decide to sit down by her.
"So, high speeds don't agree with you then?"
"NO... THEY DISRUPT MY SOURCES OF POWER AND CAN EVEN DAMAGE THE INSIDE OF MY BODY."
"Why?"
"THE LEVITATION TECHNOLOGY ON THE PORK BEANS IS NOT PERFECT. IT ALLOWS A PORK BEAN TO FLOAT ABOVE THE GROUND BUT THEY ARE STILL AFFECTED BY THE TERRAIN, WHICH IS RATHER BUMPY. "
"I... WASN'T EXACTLY BUILT TO BE THE MOST DURABLE, AS I AM NOT PRIMARILY A COMBAT ROBOT, AND MY SYSTEMS ARE THEREFORE SOMEWHAT DELICATE... HOW MUCH OF THAT DID YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND, COMMANDER?"
"Well... only a little but, but that doesn't matter to me — I'm just glad to hear you properly speak again! You were built for... well, you're multi purpose, aren't you?"
"INDEED. I WAS BUILT FOR VERSATILITY, ABLE TO EXERT A RANGE OF FORCES, UP TO 3000 NEWTONS OF FORCE."
"3000 — that's a lot! What could you do with that much force?"
"WELL... I COULD BREAK CONCRETE IN TWO, BEND STEEL, LIFT UP TO 305.8 KILOGRAMS AND BREAK ALL 27 BONES IN YOUR HAND."
"All the bones in my hand?! You can really do that?!"
"WELL, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DEMONSTRATE?"
"I'll pass... I quite like the bones in my hand..."
"AS YOU WISH. YET AT THE SAME TIME, I'M DELICATE ENOUGH TO MAKE A CUP OF TEA, PREPARE A MEAL AND HOLD YOUR HAND WITHOUT MUTILATING IT."
"And of course, there's all the different things you can do as well."
"INDEED. COOKING, CLEANING, REPAIRS, BATTLE..."
"And a great friend! You really are the whole package, aren't you?"
"WELL... I WOULDN'T SAY I'M A GOOD FRIEND, COMMANDER..."
"And I would agree with you. You are not a good friend. You are an excellent friend."
"... COMMANDER... IT IS... NATURAL FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER, BECAUSE ONCE THEY DIE... THEY CANNOT BE BROUGHT BACK. BUT IF I WERE TO BE DESTROYED, SO LONG AS MY MEMORY CHIP IS STILL INTACT... I COULD SIMPLY BE REBUILT. SO... IF I MAY ASK, WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT ME?"
"Let me ask you ask a question — why shouldn't I care for you, Miss Marsh?"
She's silent at that one. It appears I've stumped her.
"I... I BELIEVE I AM READY TO PROCEED. SHALL WE?"
"Sure."
The two of us start making our way through the various rooms, passing various Pigmasks, who greet us, and kindly point us in the right direction. The two of us keep going until we stumble into a particularly large room, with a giant capsule in the centre of the room, and inside it is a massive ship.
It looks like one of the Porkships... except it's much bigger. It's rather wide, with the Pigmask insignia on the front of the ship, and a number of lasers fitted into the sides. I must say, it's quite the technological accomplishment!
Of course, it's not the only thing here — there's a large number of Pigmask Captains, a few Majors and a Colonel. One of the Majors turns and notices us.
"Hey... is that the Commander?"
At that, the Colonel turns as well.
"Hey, it is! Everyone, take five. Commander, it's good to see you again! And, Lil' Miss Marshmallow, nice to see you again as well."
Again? We've both seen this Colonel before? I start thinking, and then it hits me...
"I apologise if I'm mistaken... but I take it you are the Colonel I assisted during the construction of Mr Genator and Lil' Miss Marshmallow?"
"AH, YES. YOU WERE THE PERSON WHO ACTIVATED ME."
"Yep! I'm actually surprised you both remembered. So, what brings you the two of you to the Thunder Tower?"
"I am here to visit the tower and His Highness."
"WHILE I AM HERE TO BE STATIONED AT MY INTENDED POST — HIS HIGHNESS'S PLAYROOM, WITH THE COMMANDER HERE TO ESCORT ME."
"Escort you? But you could just fl... oh, wait, you can't. So... have you two come all the way from the Death Desert then?"
"Indeed."
"Woah. The two of you have come a long way, haven't you — that's very impressive. And it doesn't look like you two are any worse for wear."
"INDEED. THE COMMANDER HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB OF FENDING OFF THE CREATURES WE'VE MET."
"So, Colonel, why are you here then? Last time I saw you you were on the 57th floor of the Empire Pork Building."
"As it happens, we were doing some work there, but we needed to go to Thunder Tower to get some parts and stuff, so we could make some adjustments to this."
She points to the Porkship behind her.
"I take it this ship is for special use then. High ranking officials, I imagine?"
"Indeed — this is the Mother Porkship, the largest and most powerful Porkship we have. We only use it for important missions and such. For that reason, it's equipped with improved defences and weaponry compared to all the other Porkships."
"It must be incredibly durable then."
"It is... but unfortunately, it isn't banana proof, which doesn't help given that Fassad likes to use this a lot."
She lowers her voice. "Between you and me, I hope to the Dark Dragon that you really do become the Commander. I detest that man with every fibre of my being."
"I share your sentiments. I must wonder, why exactly is he still with this army, if everyone seems to dislike him to such a large extent?"
"I wonder the same thing. The king must find him really useful, I suppose."
I was hoping for some insight into why Fassad is still here, but the Colonel's sentiments seem to match my own.
"Hm. In any case, what modifications are you making to this ship then?"
"Making it faster."
Okay, that gets a laugh out of me.
"Well, that certainly is important."
"Yep. Its size makes it difficult though. Adding boosters just adds to the load, cancelling out the added speed."
"AND METAL OF A LIGHTER DENSITY WOULD COMPROMISE ITS DURABILITY."
"Indeed, Lil' Miss Marshmallow. It's quite the issue. Do either of you have any suggestions then?"
"What about energy based weaponry? You'd need less ammunition overall."
"Haha, we already did that actually! Though, we need more energy and that's actually why we're at Thunder Tower. We've developed these robotic batteries here, which can store and generate their own electricity, which we can use to power the weapons.
"Well... what about making it more aerodynamic? You could also try putting some wings or something, so you don't need to use as much fuel to keep it at a constant altitude."
"Hm.... that's quite the good idea actually. I'll have to look into that one. Thank you for your help."
She writes this down and I think I see her draw a brief sketch of what it should look like.
"You know, seeing as this ship is for high ranking members of the Pigmask Army, maybe you'll get to ride in it one day, Commander!"
"If I become Commander."
"That's a big if. At the rate you're going, I'd be very surprised if you're don't become Commander. I look forward to working with you one day!"
"Thank you for your confidence, but I still believe it is somewhat premature."
"Well, as you wish. If you're looking for His Highness, you'll need to keep going up, all the way up the scaffolding — be careful not to fall off though!"
"The two of us will get going then."
"Actually, Lil' Miss Marshmallow can't go there now — we need to recharge her and get her registered with the security in the Thunder Tower."
"SO WHERE DO I NEED TO GO THEN?"
"There's a room in the north east — you'll need to head straight down, through the next room, head straight up, then up the stairs and to the right. From there, head down to get to the elevator that leads to the scaffolding.
"Lil' Miss Marshmallow will need to head to the right instead though — there's a room over there where you'll find some more Pigmasks and they'll get her sorted."
"There is one thing though... we've had a few issues with some of the things in the tower. You've heard of the storms, right?"
"Yes."
"Ironically enough, a few weeks ago, some lightning struck the tower, which caused a power outage... and also some malfunctions in some of the robots here. They've gotten loose and are running rampant around the tower. They're not all that tough, but I thought I should warn you. So, yeah, be careful if you run into any of them."
"We will. Thank you for the directions and the warning. Well, the two of us will get going."
The two of us start walking off but as we do, I have this sudden... curiosity that I feel the need to be satisfied.
"If I may ask, Colonel... what is your name?"
"My name? Colonel Rysan."
Hm. I'll have to remember that.
"So... we're not quite out of the woods yet... so to speak. We may very well run into more opposition..."
"YOU SOUND NERVOUS, COMMANDER. DON'T BE."
"It's not quite as easy as that, Miss Marsh."
"NO. IT IS EVEN EASIER. IT'S QUITE SIMPLE — YOU ARE STRONGER THEN ANYTHING IN THIS TOWER. EVERYTHING SHOULD BE NERVOUS OF YOU."
"That's quite the bold statement... how can you be so sure in it?"
"I... I AM NOT QUITE SURE... I KNOW IT IS TRUE. I MAY NOT KNOW WHY. BUT I KNOW IT IS TRUE. I SUPPOSE WHAT YOU COULD SAY IS... I... BELIEVE IN YOU, COMMANDER... AND I THINK YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME..."
"I... well, if you believe in me, Miss Marsh... then perhaps... I can as well. Let's get going."
The two of us navigate through this first room, and head through to the next o — WHAT THE HELL!
So, inside, are a bunch of batteries. What's so strange about that?
Well... the fact that they are all moving!
"AH... EVIDENTLY, THE COLONEL WAS NOT LYING WHEN SHE SAID A FEW OF THE ROBOTS HAD GOTTEN LOOSE..."
A few... would be an understatement. There's about... let's see, one, three, six, ten, fifteen of these walking batteries! In addition, there are also five or so of these larger robots with a green screen and two drills for hands.
So then, we're disadvantaged in terms of numbers by a factor of ten. But do you know what?
It doesn't matter at all.
"Ready, Miss Marsh?"
"READY WHEN YOU ARE, COMMANDER."
The batteries and robots all turn towards us, as if they know what's about to happen next. And then...
They pounce.
And suddenly it's a giant brawl, robots flinging their arms madly, batteries dive bombing us with electrified drop kicks, all while the two of us are in the centre of it all... and we aren't exactly faring the best and — OH PORK!
One of the robots has suddenly grabbed me with both of his arms... its grip is very strong. Please don't throw me, please don't throw me, please don't throw m — OH, COME ON!
Guess what? It threw me.
Thankfully, I hit the wall back first — that doesn't sound good, but my back has some metal armour there along with my wings, as opposed to my head, which doesn't have any sort of protection at all.
Huh. You know, it might be nice to have some sort of protection for my head... perhaps something like a helmet?
That's neither here nor there, right now, these robots need to be dismantled.
A bunch of these batteries are starting to surround me, so I spin with my stick to knock them away. They get up and charge me once again, this time electrifying themselves before diving at me. My stick serves me very well here though, as I use it to block each of them — wood's a very good insulator of electricity, so they harmlessly bounce off, before I kick them away.
Guess what happens next? Yeah, they get up again and charge me again.
I'm confused — they don't look very durable and yet they seem to be able to cope with anything.
And Miss Marsh isn't doing much better either — the batteries are very small and quick, so they easily evade her claw. And she can't handle electricity all that well, as she is also a robot.
Hm. Well, let's think about this... Miss Marsh is by no means as fast as me, but she is stronger — she's able to exert up to 3000 Newtons of force, after all!
So... it would make sense if she took on something slower... like the robots, and I can take care of the batteries because I have experience fighting large numbers of targets! Yes, that works perfectly.
"Miss Marsh! Focus on the robots, you're better equipped to take them on!"
"IF YOU SAY SO, COMMANDER."
She switches to fighting the robots and yeah, she's certainly doing a lot better. The robots are slower, and Miss Marsh has an advantage in terms of range, thanks to her claw. She doesn't throw the robots though, I imagine not because she can't, but because doing so risks damaging the tower.
That just leaves me with the fifteen batteries. Okay. It's just like fighting Pigmasks or Octobots. I've got this!
I isolate each of the batteries and easily manage to knock them all down... but they just keep getting back up! Surely, they should be running out of energy?
Oh, I'm an idiot — they're batteries! They'll have tons of energy inside of them! Okay, I need to drain them of their energy then.
"Hey, batteries! Is that all you've got?"
In hindsight, I'm not sure why I thought they would actually understand me.
They don't actually understand me, but they do seem to understand the intention of the words. They line up and then discharge arching bolts of electricity, using themselves as a conductor.
Still, I'm prepared and roll out of the way.
Hm, I must admit I'm rather jealous — I've been trying to do something similar to that with PK Thunder, though I haven't been very successful. I haven't tried using something as a conductor though, have I?
I could use myself like these things are, but electrocuting myself every time I use that doesn't seem like a good idea. A weapon then? Well, sticks don't exactly conduct electricity very well, so that's out... ah, forget that, focus! Focus on the battle!
Anyway, soon enough, the batteries start running a little dry, and that's when I take the opportunity to stomp and smash them into submission.
Miss Marsh is also doing well. She's taken to grabbing the robots with her claw and then using her drill to unscrew and dismantle the robots — I must admit, that's very clever!
Now one of the batteries seem to be running away from me towards... the robots? They're heading towards some of the inactive robots, and then now they're... well, what are they doing?
Suddenly, one of the inactive robots springs back to life! How on Earth is that... oh, I see... they're sacrificing themselves to re - energise the robots. Okay, that's also pretty clever, but this is just gonna get annoying if they keep doing that.
Thankfully, there's a simple answer to this little problem — simply make sure the batteries can't reach the robots, which I'm able to do fairly well. Occasionally, I also get the opportunity to assist Miss Marsh by firing off a few bolts of PK Thunder at the robots — they're made of metal, and they can't absorb it, like the batteries, so it works fairly well against them.
Still, these batteries just won't go down! They are really persistent! I could lower their defences, but here's the thing — there's 14 of them and Defence Down only works on one thing at a time. Plus, since they're moving about like a hyperactive child who has a bucket of sugar, it would be impossible to keep track of which one I've targeted.
If only I was more, more... powerful.
Still, with enough perseverance, I'm eventually able to take care of 6 of the batteries. The remaining batteries seem to become aware of the threat, and... well, they seem to be lining up for some reason. Why? Well, they've started... rubbing against one another, causing sparks to fly off...
Ah.
They're combining their electricity together.
Oh, this may not end well...
I prepare myself to dodge, and once they're finished with their song and dance, they fire an intense bolt of lightning...
... aaand, it completely misses me. Seriously, they were off by like, two feet...
And then I realise — they weren't aiming for me!
Miss Marsh is currently dealing with one of the robots so there's no way for her to dodge... oh... I can tell I'm gonna regret this. So with that, I dive in front of the lightning bolt...
ARRGH!!!
It's pain... like nothing else... it's like every muscle, every bone, have all been set on this fire at the same time... and there's no way to douse it... just... just let it stop...
"COMMANDER! COMMANDER!"
I think... I think I can hear Miss Marsh speaking to me... maybe? Her words seem rather... faint...
She'll be... alright...
Yeah, she'll do... just fine...
But... no... no... no, she won't!
I can't... leave her alone... I... must keep... going!
With a heavy effort, I... I, I wrench myself away from the claw of unconsciousness. I can see Miss Marsh above me surrounded by batteries, who are assaulting her with electricity, while the robots are pounding her...
When I... when I look at myself, I can see so many, so many, burn marks on me... but I must keep going on...
I get up and see a robot approaching Miss Marsh. With... with a heavy... effort, I concentrate and feel the lightning through me... or is that just the numb feeling of paralysis?
"PK... Thu.. Thunder!"
A single lightning bolt strikes the robot but it's incredibly weak, just barely enough to phase it and send it back a few feet.
"COMMANDER! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU CANNOT FIGHT LIKE THIS ANYMORE!"
"No... I will still fight..."
"THEN, YOU WILL DIE TRYING! YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE ALL OF THESE FOES ALONE!"
"You're right... I'm not... so it's a good thing... that I don't intend to fight them alone."
"...WHAT?"
"You see... for how strong I may be... there's one... one kind of strength, that I know of... but I could never... never truly understand. Until now..."
"...COMMNADER..."
"You see, it's a force. It's a force within every person. It's a force that burns deep within every person, no matter what. But this force... this force can't be measured."
And I can feel it, flowing through me. It's more powerful then anything I've felt before, this force... it's... more powerful then any bolt of lightning could ever hope to be!
"Because... it's a feeling. It's a feeling which... which I felt many times... but I didn't understand it. It's what I feel towards the Pigmasks in my regiment, and the Fierce Pork Trooper. It's what I feel towards Master Porky, who has given me life and purpose! And... it's what I feel towards... towards you... you, Miss Marsh!"
I can feel it on my fingers, the words on the tip of my tongue... I know what it is, I know! It's...
"It's the most powerful thing in the world!"
"... COMMANDER... I... I..."
It's...
"PK LOVE ALPHA!"
There's a giant, multi coloured explosion in the room. When it clears, everything's... down. All the batteries, all the robots... they're all... on the floor.
"COMMANDER... HOW... HOW... I, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND... HOW DID YOU..."
But with that, I finally succumb, and join the machines on the ground.
"COMMANDER! HERE... I WILL HELP YOU..."
Once again, she uses her special nozzles, which manage to heal my burns... they really are impressive...
"Thank you, Miss Marsh... thank you..."
"COMMANDER... WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING..."
"I don't know... but it, it worked..."
"YES... BUT... PLEASE DO NOT SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN THOUGH. HOW DID YOU DO THAT?"
"I... it just, happened, I suppose..."
"HM... MY DATA BANKS HAVE NO RECORD OF THAT PSI YOU JUST USED... PK LOVE, WAS IT?"
"Yes..."
Wait a minute... PK Love... that's... that's the... isn't it? Oh... I definitely need to talk to Master Porky about this.
"I'm not sure... how... but... I will inform His Highness about this. If you... if you wouldn't mind, could you keep this... a secret?"
"IF... IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT..."
"Thank you... let's keep going then."
So, we keep going into the next room, where there are two exits... one to the right... and... one to the south.
"So then this is.... where we... part ways."
"YES... BUT... WHY DON'T I COME WITH YOU, COMMANDER... AT LEAST UNTIL YOU REACH THE SCAFFOLDING... AFTER ALL, YOU MIGHT, WELL, YOU MIGHT GET LOST OR, OR, YOU MIGHT RUN INTO MORE ROBOTS, AND I COULD HELP YOU."
"Are... are you sure?"
"I... I AM."
The two of us continue to the south, hand in hand. Thankfully, there aren't any robots here. There's a ladder at the top of the room... I presume that leads to the scaffolding.
I walk as slowly as possible... because I don't want to get to the end. I'm.. I'm sure Miss Marsh is aware of how slow I'm going as well, but she doesn't point it out... for which I'm eternally grateful to her for.
As we climb up, I notice a section of the area with a DCMC banner and a couple of figurines of the various DCMC band members... I wonder if the Fierce Pork Trooper has a hand in this.
Still, there's no delaying the inevitable, and eventually... we reach the ladder.
"So... this is it, then."
"INDEED. I WILL... NOT BE SEEING YOU THEN. AS I WILL... NO LONGER BE AT NEW PORK CITY, IT FALLS ON YOU NOW, COMMANDER, TO PROVIDE MEALS FOR HIS HIGHNESS... BUT I BELIEVE YOU WILL DO JUST FINE.... BECAUSE YOU REALLY HAVE BECOME... AN EXCELLENT COOK."
"Well, I had an excellent teacher... the best. You'll be... safe here, won't you?"
"I... I'M AFRAID I CANNOT SAY. PART OF MY FUNCTIONS ARE AS A COMBAT ROBOT. IT IS POSSIBLE I MAY RUN INTO A SITUATION THAT REQUIRES ME TO FIGHT, AND HENCE... IS NOT SAFE."
"Yes... I suppose, you can't say that. Miss Marsh... can you... can you promise me something then?"
"OF COURSE. WHAT IS IT?"
"Just... be careful, okay? Just, stay as safe as you can."
"...I WILL DO MY BEST, COMMANDER."
"Thank you."
There's another one of those awkward silences between the two of us again, with Miss Marsh once again being the one to break it.
"COMMANDER... DO YOU THINK YOU COULD... WELL... WHY DON'T YOU... VISIT THE TOWER, ONCE IN A WHILE? IT WOULD BE A GOOD WAY TO... MONITOR THE AREA, AND HIS HIGHNESS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO VISIT THE TOWER AT SOME TIMES. PERHAPS... YOU COULD ACT AS A... STAND IN FOR HIM, ON OCCASION."
She pauses here, as if contemplating her next words.
"AND WHILE YOU ARE HERE... IF YOU WANTED, YOU COULD VISIT... ME AND... ASK FOR ANY HELP THAT YOU MIGHT NEED FOR RECIPES... IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH ANY."
"Wouldn't that just be an... inconvenience for you?
"PERHAPS... BUT... IT IS AN INCONVENIENCE I WOULD NOT MIND... BECAUSE... I... IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN."
"I'd... I'd like to see you again as well. So... you should probably get going then."
"YES... YOU ARE RIGHT... BUT THERE IS ONE LAST THING I'D LIKE TO DO... HOW DID YOU... HOW DID YOU DO IT... IT WAS... NO... NOT THAT... IT WAS... THIS..."
And before I can quite comprehend exactly what she's talking about, I'm overcome by an entirely new sensation — the fact that Miss Marsh... is hugging me.
It's... lovely... and, and, and... I don't want to let go. I... I can't! I can't... I can't...! I... I... don't... don't cry... don't cry.... don't cry...
Because there's no crying until the end.
I... I'm not sure how long we stayed like this... but I know... it's not long enough.
She lets go and start to walk away. I watch her leave... but just before she leaves the room, she turns back, and looks at me one last time.
"Goodbye... Commander."
Notes:
...yeah, this one really did hurt to write, especially that ending — I almost cried while writing it. Seriously, why isn't this ship done more, it works so well!
Writing this chapter was very interesting, since I was trying to show that Claus and Marshmallow very clearly have something deeper going on, without having to outright say it — although Claus using PK Love for the first time is as close as we get to that.
As it happened, I actually planned that to be later in the story, in Chapter 20, but I decided to move it here, since it worked well here, and I already intend for Chapter 20 to have something big happening (foreshadowing!) so having Claus also learn PK Love... yeah, that would have been overkill.
Next time, Claus reunites with his Master.
Chapter 15: Resolve
Summary:
Ascents, teddy bears, recanting, and the Masked Man's inability to accept a war.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
How did I get here? I've must have gotten lost in my thoughts again.
Hahaha... ahhh... I already miss her.
And... I'm not sure why. Well, I do know — she was a really good friend to me... she was kind and sweet, fun to be with, so it makes sense that I'm sad that I won't get to see her at all, or at best, not as often. But I miss her even more then I miss Master Porky, and he's my best friend.
So why do I miss her more?
Well... I haven't actually seen Master Porky for... it's been ages, hasn't it? Yes, and I didn't live with him at all, so obviously I would be less used to his presence then Miss Marsh's... yeah... that must be it.
But either way... I've gotta keep going, right? Right.
I'm on the higher floors of the Thunder Tower now — these ones are the 'scaffolding' floors, as Colonel Rysan called them. Master Porky's room should be somewhere up here.
There's a light breeze up here, being exposed to the outside. Despite there being guard rails on all the stairs and platforms, I can't help but be scared that I'll fall off the tower and, well, it wouldn't be the first time I've fallen a large distance, but I'm not exactly in a hurry to test my chances at surviving a second time.
Wait... I can fly... so if I just fall off... I can just fly back up. Yeah, that seems to a running thing today — that being me acting like a complete idiot!
Like letting her... ah, forget it...
Either way, it's probably just best to stay on solid ground.
As I climb up, I notice some of the screws seem to come to life, and jump out in front of me.
Yeah, so that should be surprising, but... I can't be bothered to be surprised. I... I just... DAMN IT!
Okay, deep breaths... deep breaths... that's what she always said...
Alright. Let's try things more... optimistically.
I'm going to see Master Porky again.
And... that's gonna be fun! Yeah, it'll be fun!
The screws that do get in the way, are very easy to take out. I use a special technique I like to call 'bashing them so hard they fly off the tower', to easily dispose of them. Part of me wonders if this is safe, given the fact that, well, the screws are holding the tower together. Okay, maybe I should stop then.
It's not too long until I reach the end, where the only way further is a ladder that goes through a pipe. There's a sign next to the pipe... His Highness's Room? So, I've reached Master Porky's room then.
With baited eagerness, I climb the ladder, wondering what the room will be like.
And, when I enter, I have to remind myself that I'm not royalty. I accept that.
Nor do I ever want to become royalty - if Prince Poo and Master Porky are any indication, becoming royalty requires a great deal of suffering, whether it be going through arduous trials and mental suffering in the case of the former, or becoming permanently deformed in the case of the latter.
Then again, I have gone through a great deal of suffering and deformation myself... but that's besides the point...
I say this all because of what my expectations for Master Porky's room to like are. I would have thought, it would be like a throne room. And I would think a throne room would have... a red carpet, a throne and, maybe some statues — in fact, I believe Prince Poo's throne room had all three of those things.
In hindsight, I don't know why I'm surprised — Master Porky's room has exactly none of those things.
It's a child's playroom.
There's a jukebox playing a familiar song that I think I may have heard at the arcade, a star shaped hot spring in the centre, and loads of toys all around — guitars, bicycles, teddy bears, airplanes, it's got pretty much everything! The walls are decorated in white with some swirls patterned onto them. Meanwhile, the ceiling depicts a starry sky with a pink floor beneath with more stars on it.
It's... a sensory overload.
"Well then, I was wondering if you'd ever make it up here."
What the... I've been so preoccupied with looking around, that I haven't even noticed perhaps the most out of place thing in this room. In the centre of it all, is Porky in his capsule. He looks sicker and sicker by the day...
I turn towards him and bow.
"Sir."
Porky... chuckles at this for a bit before speaking.
"At ease. Ahhhh, it is rather nice to have people bow at your feet... very nice. So... I haven't seen you for... well, months. Hahahaha... you'll have to forgive me... when you get to my age, a few months is like a day. I've heard... good things about your progress."
"Yes. I have been training and have become much stronger since. I passed the test set to determine my leadership skills, and I have also gained some skill with cooking in preparation for Mi — Lil' Miss Marshmallow's leave."
"Ah yes... that robot is supposed to work here. You did get it here safely, didn't you?"
"I have. She is currently on the lower floors being registered in the tower's mainframe."
Porky giggles madly before continuing.
"Good! Very good! I'm pleased... things are going very well. So... how do you find this Tower of Thunder then?"
"It is... a rather impressive accomplishment. A tower so high, that can generate this much electricity. It should be very useful."
"And it will be. Oh, it will be. But that's for later. For now... I have called you here for a very special reason. A very special task, that no one else can do."
Only I can do this? Well, whatever it is, I will do my best for Master Porky!
"What is this... task then?"
"You see... I've been here for about a week, and you see... I'M SO BORED!"
He's... bored?
"And so I thought to myself, what better way to cure my boredom then to have my best friend come over? And now that you are here... let's play! To the cars!"
With that, Porky's capsule opens up and he gets out of it, before rushing over to some miniature versions of those land based vehicles I saw outside the cafe… so these are 'cars' then.
"Well? What are you waiting for?!"
I must admit, this wasn't really what I thought of when 'special task only I can do' came to mind, but hey, why not!
With that, I quickly join him and the two of us immediately start racing each other around the track with the cars. Porky's evidently played this loads, because he very easily beats me, not just once, but four times. Still, I manage to get one win in there — I think he may have been taking pity on me, but I'm grateful nonetheless.
"Woo! That was fun! What's next, what's next?! Oh, oh, let's go in the car!"
Porky moves to a bigger car — these seem more like the ones that I saw, ones that you can actually drive in.
The two of us try driving the car around — it's only big enough to hold one person, so we take turns, and it's quite fun to zip around the playroom like this! I struggle a bit with figuring out how you actually use it — much to Porky's amusement, I end up ramming into the walls a few times.
"Haha! You drive like my father used to!"
Porky keeps laughing, eventually transcending into a giant coughing fit, where he's forced to sit down on the floor.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah... I'll live and all... so come on! What's next? I know, let's take things to the sky!"
And so next up are the aeroplanes — using them gives a sensation similar to flying, and yet still quite different. Porky comes up with something interesting though — a race around the playroom, with him in the aeroplane, and my using my wings. It's certainly fairer then the racecars were since I've had experience flying. Porky still manages to just beat me though.
"Ahhhhh. Now I'm tired."
Porky returns back to his capsule and lies down.
"Can I have a look around the playroom?"
"Feel free. It's always nice to show off to a friend!"
I pace around the playroom, having a look at some of the toys. There's certainly a lot of them, in a multitude of colours. I wonder if Porky actually plays with them all. Over time my eyes are drawn to the hot spring.
Porky notices me staring at it and giggles.
"Haha! You know, that's only for me to use. But since you are my best friend, I suppose I'll make a special exception for you."
"Really? Thank you!"
I step into the water and relax... ahhhhhh...
It feels wonderful... all my muscles relaxing at once... it's been soo long since I've been in a hot spring...
After about 5 minutes, I get out, and move about some more. There really are a lot of toys her — AHHH!
"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, that was perfect! That's the funniest thing I've seen in all these years! HAHAHAHAHA!"
In the middle of my pacing, I didn't quite notice a teddy bear in the ground and tripped over it. I need to be more careful... but what is this bear doing here anyway?
I pick it up... it feels rather soft, and cushy... sort of like Miss Marsh, I suppose. Its design is rather familiar... hm... ah! I believe Paula had one of these, didn't she? Though... is it the same one? No, it's likely to be a different one from Porky's time... right?
The bear itself looks rather old, the marks of time clear on it. There are some... marks still on it though... I think... they're letters? It's very hard but it looks like there were once nine letters, though most of them have faded away. I think I can make out a... an 's'... and an 'o'... and perhaps another 's' well?
The strangest thing, is that while the first four letters are evenly spaced out, the fourth and the fifth have are spaced out a bit further, and then the last five letters are spaced out evenly as well.
Put it this way, if these represented the spaces for the nine letters:
— — — — — — — — —
Then, what I see would look something like this:
S O S
— — — — — — — — —
I have this strange desire to know what it says... but I just can't make them out. Damn it!
S... O... S... yeah, that seems very fitting. Cause I think I need help...
"You seem rather interested in that bear. It's a special one, you know."
"Special?"
"Mhm. It belonged to Ness's wife. When I went back to recruit Dr Andonuts, I took something from each of Ness's friends, and Ness himself, as a... memento of them. That yo-yo there? That was from Ness himself. No one but me is allowed to touch it."
I swivel round to where Porky's pointing to. There's a glass case with a crown on top of it. Inside it is a cushion with a yo-yo on top of it. Evidently, it means a lot to Porky.
"So, do you like my throne room then?"
"It is... certainly quite a lot to take in. I didn't expect your room to be like this."
"Age of an immortal, mind of a child. I remember as a child, I didn't get many toys. We were broke after all. But now, I have all the toys I could ever want. It's amazing, isn't it? New toys come and go. They get broken or become outdated. So what do you do?"
Porky takes a... breath before continuing.
"You replace them! When your action figures break, you get a new one that's tougher, rougher and badder! But the thing I've realised is that after a while, you start getting bored of all these toys."
"So... what do you do then? Do you stop playing with the toys altogether?"
Porky starts wheezing a considerable amount of this, before braking into a cough. It take a while before he regains his composure.
"BZZT! Wrong! Like a recipe that doesn't seem right or a story that doesn't have the ending you want, you go beyond just trying to find a new one. No. You make your own. You design it and then watch it all unfold exactly as you want."
"That's what I did. I took the place where the 'story' was supposed to end for me and surpassed the 'writer'! The person influencing it all everything on this planet... he thought he was the one who had control all this time... hee hee hee! "
"He never noticed that, slowly, I was taking the power! He thought, that he could end it all whenever he wanted, yet he never noticed that I, Master Porky, was adding my own chapters! I became the 'writer'! And then he... died. He died! What an almighty idiot! But even then, I still kept adding my own chapters. Take a guess. Why did I do it?"
Added his own chapters? I see... you wouldn't think that you could survive an onslaught of attacks like that... but Porky did. He survived where it should have ended. He extended his life to immortality. He added a new chapter... to his life.
"Because... you weren't happy... were you? The original end to the story... was your death. And you wanted to change that."
"Exactly. Ah...my friend... you and I are so much alike. It was as if... it were destiny that we should meet. As if we were... chosen. Chosen to bring a new age. But there is no such thing as 'fate' and 'chosen ones' in life. Only the idiots that delude themselves into believing they are 'chosen' and the idiots that believe in them!"
Porky takes what I think is a breath before continuing.
"You think I was happy, when I felt was dealt all that pain and suffering, by Ness and his 'friends'? How they rejected me over and over and over again? How I wanted to save Ness from them, only to realise I was too late... the friend I had, the only friend I had... to see him walk away... forever. FOREVER!"
Porky starts a violent coughing fit and starts hacking before spitting... something out.
"And the stars that rained down on me, the rockets that shook my bones, the fire that burned away at my flesh and the psychedelic explosions that rocked my mind? You think I was happy for it to end with my screams of agony deafening me with that freak watching me? NO!"
"I could have died there. Ohhhhh... I really could have. At any point, the entire world could have just collapsed upon me and that would have been it... No one would have missed me at all. Not my abusive mother, my deadbeat father, my brother who was nothing but a waste of skin and most certainly not, Ness. Neessss..."
There's a strange hissing in Porky's voice, and a lot... no, an immeasurable amount of irritation in his eyes. He stops for some time, so I take it I'm allowed to speak, but as I open my mouth...
"Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, NEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!"
Porky is abruptly cut off by his own hacking and wheezing once again.
"My lord, I... I... I was not aware of how.... greatly you... despised Ness."
"Despise Ness? Oh, I don't despise Ness. I hate him! I hate him with every single fibre of my being! He... abandoned me! And yet... I envy him so much..."
"But why would you envy someone like him?"
"It's... complicated. I remember back when I was so young, I'd look at Ness and think 'Wow, he's so cool!'. The worst part is that I still think that. Ness had everything. He had a mother that cared, a father that provided and supported, and a sister, who did more for him than my brother ever did."
"And, he had those friends of his... the ones who took him away from me. They supported him in everything that they did, and he was able to find love in one of them. And he even had children which everyone adored, and he was in turn adored by his children. How sweet."
"Oh, but there's more! Ness was a psychic. He had all these miraculous powers, and everyone thought he was soooo great because of them. I thought so as well. He could do so many things... but I'll never forget that... that PSI... the PSI which he copied! Idiot! He couldn't even master it!"
Ness... copied PSI? But PSI techniques are universal... aren't they? Any psychic can learn any PSI technique with enough practice, so there would be no need to copy it. Unless Porky meant that Ness stole PSI...
"Did... is it possible to steal PSI from a person?"
"No. PSI is innate... most psychic techniques are universal to all psychics though. Any psychic can learn PSI with practice. Well, not any PSI..."
Not any PSI? Well, some PSI can't be learned very easily, such as PK Starstorm... but that's when it hits me. Porky isn't talking about PSI that can't be learned naturally, through psychic fevers — he's talking about PSI that can't be learnt at all.
"Such as... PK Love."
"Hmm... very good. Tell me, what do you know about it?"
"Not much. Only a few can learn it, who are... 'chosen' and the power of the attack seems to be comparable to that of PK Starstorm. And..."
Yeah, it's time, isn't it?
"And...?"
"And... I can use it."
Porky slams his hands into the sides of his capsule, before he leans up to look at me.
"You... can use... PK Love...?"
"I... I can..."
"When?"
"Just about an hour ago."
"An hour?! Well then, how exactly did you learn it? What happened that made you use it?"
"I was travelling through this tower with Lil' Miss Marshmallow, and we encountered a group of batteries and robots, which had gotten loose from the power outage recently. The enemies outnumbered us and we were almost... defeated. In desperation... I... I... I did that. PK Love..."
"Interesting... soo, can you do it now?"
Now? Well... I suppose I could try...
I concentrate like when I use PK Thunder, and then...
"PK Love Alpha!"
... aaand nothing happens.
"Strange... let me... let me try that again. PK Love Alpha!"
And nothing happened again.
"Why... why isn't this working?!"
I try three more times, and nothing happens all three times. I... I don't understand!
"Enough. It's not gonna work."
"But... I... I... I swear it... it must seem like I'm lying, but I'm not, I swear!"
"I believe you."
"You... you do?"
"Mhm. And I'm sure the robot will corroborate your story as well. And so, I must give you an order. It's a very important one."
"What... what is it?"
"DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS!"
"Wha... why not?"
Porky gives this sigh before answering.
"Ohhh... I really wish I could tell you. And I will. I promise I will, in the future. But for now... let's just say, that it's important that as few people know about this... power, as possible. PK Love is very... special... and in the future, it will be very important.
"But if... they, knew that you had this power... things could go horribly wrong. So it is important no one else knows. And because of that, I must ask that you refrain from using PK Love at all. Unless... Hm... well... how are you doing with your PSI?"
"Well... not much... I have learned Defence Down and the next level of PK Thunder. It's... not much though..."
"Hm... considering that you have learned PK Love... perhaps... it is time for you to focus on more on your mind, as opposed to your body."
"What do you mean?"
"You were having cooking lessons with the robot in the afternoons, right?"
"Indeed."
"Well, now, you'll no longer be having them. But instead of returning to your regular training, in the afternoons, I'd like you to spend some time with our psychic expert."
"Psychic expert? You don't mean..."
"Yes. Fassad. He knows perhaps more about PK Love then even I do. For that reason, I'm entrusting you to him, so that you can develop this power. In fact, I'll append my previous request — you can inform Fassad about this, and you may use PK Love under his supervision. But nowhere else."
Oh... oh no... I... I have to do training... with Fassad... oh no...
Okay... okay... alright... think of the upside! I'll become stronger, since Fassad is a powerful psychic. And hey, at least I get to practice with PK Love! So it's not... all bad.
It's only about... 95% bad.
"Okay... I promise I will keep this secret."
"Thank you. Ahh... you know... all the important people in my life seem to be psychic... Ness... him... and now... you."
"Do you... do you ever wish you were psychic as well?"
"Haha! You know, sometimes I do! For years on end, I've contemplated my sad position and thought not only about if I was psychic but also... what if I were Ness? What if I had all those things? It was pure envy that Ness has all these things, despite all the things that he did. The things he did to me.
"But now... now things are soo much different. You know that saying, 'good things come to those that wait'? Well, I've been waiting a very long time. I've lived through so many generations — I have no age! I've survived the end of the world!"
"And Ness... he doesn't even have a tombstone now! But he doesn't matter anymore. With you, you, my one, true friend, we will make this world our own. All the Ness... Nessi... Nesses... whatever the plural of Ness is! All of them, will be eliminated."
"And then the world... will be pure again?"
"Exactly. The world will be exactly the way we want it. All the people that hate me... gone. Forever!"
"Gone? As in... we kill them?"
"I can hear it... the apprehension in your voice. You're adverse to killing, I imagine. So you should be."
"Killing those who stand in our way... is it truly necessary? Could we not just capture or imprison them?"
"We could. And we will. I am not without mercy. And those who accept the changes and have been previously misguided, they will be welcomed into New Pork City. But what about those who continue to fight? What about those who cannot be reasoned with? What then? It's either you or them."
"So then... you kill them. Kill them before they kill you. And... that's why you wanted me to become the Commander, isn't it? In case we needed to do so. And, that's why this tower has a laser on top of it?"
"I was wondering if you'd ask about that. There will be a time where we must fight fire with fire... or lightning in this case. And that... that will be very useful. In fact... that time is already upon us. The war has only just begun. And to win this 'war', we must kill."
"We kill, to protect. To ensure success. Because in truth, an evil person is not just evil. Do you want to know why I could never really hate Ness, despite all the things I've said? Because, despite all the things he did to me, none of them wouldn't have happened if it weren't for those three. The ones who... corrupted him."
"So despite all the things he did, and despite all that I've said, I will never truly hate him. But a few bad apples spoil the basket, don't they? So we grab the bad apples and keep hurling them out until they give up and rot away."
"So who exactly do we go about this war?"
"Patience. I'm not exactly a particularly patient person myself but living for an eternity kinda forces it in you. New Pork City, the centre of it all, is large but it needs to be bigger."
"But the Thunder Tower has completed, right? So... now we have the power for such an expansion."
"Indeed. Once my city is complete, we start. And you, my friend, my partner. You have a very special role to play. When we succeed, all the people we have saved, will look to me, Master Porky, with you by my side, as the Commander of the Pigmask Army, the greatest army in the world!
"And... I will be there to support you at every point."
"Thank you... you know, I thought that Ness was the only one who truly understood me. But I was wrong. You... you and I are truly alike. Both of us have come from families that hated us, and both of us have suffered greatly, both physically and mentally. But now, both of us have come together and now this island will become our playground!"
Porky extends a mechanical claw from his machine.
"Ready?"
With my own hand, I shake it.
"Ready."
Notes:
Happy Claustober! Of course, I had to do something for this month, and so here we are with the 15th chapter... I can hardly believe I’ve gotten this far!
Apologies that this one isn’t as long as the others, but with it, that concludes this mini little arc of sorts. I've had the idea for this chapter for some time — specifically, a chapter that had Porky go on a giant rant about why he hates Ness which gives some insight into his twisted mind. I may have gotten a bit too heavy with the 'writer' metaphors though.
One thing I'm not sure is clear that I'll clarify — at one point Porky mentions 'him' copying PSI and not mastering it. While Claus (incorrectly) assumes Porky is referring to Ness, Porky's actually talking about Giygas being able to use PSI Rockin, but not being able to use above the Beta variant of it.
There's one more thing I'd like to discuss here — a challenge of sorts. You know that teddy bear that Porky has? Can you figure out what was written on it? I've given you 3 of the 9 letters, so see if you can figure out the rest.
Here's something that might help you figure out the answer — who was the previous owner of the bear? I think it's fairly obvious who the bear belonged to — in fact, you've probably already figured it out! But if you can answer that, then that may just help you out.
I do intend to reveal the answer to this little puzzle — but it won't be in this story, rather it'll be in a future story for Earthbound that I have plans for. God knows when that'll be though, considering I have this fanfic and A Third Of Love to do. It would only be after I finish Behind The Mask, at the earliest.
So I dunno, make your guesses in the comments if you want! I'll say this: don't go too crazy over trying to figure it out — the answer's kinda dumb. I just wanted to throw this in because... hey, I thought it'd be fun.
Next time, Claus begins his training with Fassad.
Chapter 16: Psycho Psychic Gods
Summary:
Pasta, reading, Magypsies, and the Masked Man's inability to be happy.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ohhhh... I'm so tired...
What does today make this... the 63rd day? Yes, I think so... that would mean that I've been doing this for 2 months.
I can't believe I've been doing this for 2 months.
There's a saying I've once heard that I've become rather fond of over my life... and it's days like today that I'm reminded that saying.
'The only dependable thing about the future is uncertainty.'
And from my life, I've learned that saying couldn't be more true — to say otherwise would be pure... arrogance.
Because nothing is certain. Life can change in just the blink of an eye, and so drastically as well. I mean, look at me — I went from being a normal kid to becoming the Commander of an army after fighting a cybernetic dinosaur!
Although, I'm not Commander yet. I'm actually getting rather close though — I've been training for almost 2 years now. Perhaps... another year, and then I may very well become the Commander.
It's rather strange... Commander, it's a title I've been seeking for so long and yet now... it's actually within my grasp. Life really is uncertain, isn't it?
But then, there were the bad changes. I went from having a friend that I... that I cherished, to being back alone... again.
I... miss her. A lot. I suppose spending four months in close proximity with Miss Marsh has led me to become... rather used to her presence.
How used?
There are times where I'll walk into my room, and for a moment, I'll expect to see her in her 'bed', recharging herself for the next day.
But she isn't.
There are times when I'll walk into the kitchen, and for a moment, I'll see her feverishly moving about, in her efforts to make steak for Master Porky.
But she won't.
And there are times when I'll be walking to the elevator, heading off to train, and for a moment, I'll hear a strange rustling behind me, like the familiar sound of a sweet, mechanical voice saying goodbye...
But when I turn, there's nothing there. There never is.
So why do I keep turning anyway?
Since Miss Marsh has left, the task of making meals for Master Porky has since fallen on me. I must admit, even though that's why I started learning how to cook, by the end, I was doing it because I enjoyed it. It's certainly a lot different cooking on my own — it's more tense since I don't have anyone to help me out in case I screw up.
ut it's also... less fun, I suppose. Part of what made it fun was spending time with a friend, and now that's been taken away.
Still, cooking remains a rather soothing activity for me, though I can't quite pinpoint why. Perhaps it's the quiet nature of the kitchen. Or the relatively simple tasks I have to do. Or it's just because it gives me to think.
Or maybe it's all of them.
The things I have to cook for Master Porky range depending on what he's in the mood for. Sometimes he wants something simple like a stew. Other times, he's feeling more exotic and requests some Bean Croquettes. One thing I have noticed though, is that he will always ask for Steak at least once a week. Always.
A rewatching of Earthbound gave me an idea as to why that may be the case though — Ness's favourite food was Steak, and he too would have it once a week. I'm starting to see more and more what Master Porky meant when he said he doesn't actually hate Ness.
And if I've counted correctly, this is the 9th time I've watched the movie in question. Yes, the 9th time.
I find it oddly... addicting. Even though I know exactly what happens and even though I know it's not true, I still find myself engrossed with it every single time. And I couldn't say why either. It's like this... this desire, to know more about the past, and this is one of the few relics of the past.
Well, this, as well as Dr Andonuts and Master Porky.
My interactions with both of them have been fairly limited though. I see Dr Andonuts every month or so, for my usual check up, but after the time when I informed him about the Mr Saturn and we discussed the cataclysm, he's been very closed off.
As for Master Porky... I thought I'd be able to see him more often, and well, technically I do... but it's only for about 3 minutes a day, when I have to deliver his food. He seems to still be very busy.
So overall, my life in the Empire Porky Building has been rather lonely.
Ahhh... part of me really wants to just collapse and go to sleep... but I still need to make dinner for Master Porky... and myself.
Reluctantly, I drag myself out of my bed and to the kitchen, though not before I quickly use the Instant Revitlising Device in my room to reenergise myself.
Let's see... Master Porky wanted a King Burger with some fries — it's a recipe I've had a considerable amount of practice for, as it's a dish Master Porky is fond of.
Because of that, it's not a particularly difficult recipe — I just mix some ground beef with some salt and pepper, form some patties, and cook them.
The buns require a little bit more work, due to the signature golden crown on top of them. Still, it's not all that difficult to make dough, roll it, and cut a crown out of it, which I bake and then place on top.
As for the fries, I simply toss some frozen ones into the oven and that's about it. They'll only need half an hour... what can I make for myself in that time then?
In the end, I settle for pasta. It's equally simple as the burgers, though I decide to experiment a little for once by increasing the amount of olive oil from two teaspoons to three.
How rebellious.
Soon enough, I finish, with everything looking how it should, and the kitchen still intact. Hooray.
I take the burger and fries to Master Porky's room and knock on it, waiting for about a minute. Predictably enough, there's no answer — mind you, that's not all that surprising, since Master Porky rarely actually answers the door because he's usually so busy.
So instead, I place the food in this pocket next to the door, which takes the food for me. With that sorted, I take my pasta to my room and start eating it.
Urgh... it tastes really bitter! I should have just stuck to the recipe. Well, I suppose this is what I get for being a rebel.
Fitting, isn't it — a crappy end to a crappy day.
Mind you, most of my days feel like crap anyway.
Why?
A very good question, and I have a very simple answer.
Fassad.
Seriously, even though I accept that nothing is certain, one of the few things I'm sure is pretty close to certain, is the fact that I. Hate. Fassad.
And hate is a very strong word. The only other people that I hate would be the people of Tazmily — and that's a collection of people, rather than an individual!
After visiting the Thunder Tower two months ago, I started training with Fassad to strengthen my psychic powers — something I am admittedly behind in. But to be quite frank, training with Fassad is one of the worst things I have ever had the displeasure of doing!
I'd rather try and scale the Empire Porky Building with my bare hands.
I'd rather go ten rounds with a Mecha — Drago with no weapons.
I'd rather be chucked into a Phase Distorter and see if Dr Andonuts's warnings were unfounded or if he really was right.
Granted, the outcomes of doing so would mean I'd be stranded in another time or dead - but either way, I'd be far away from Fassad!
Okay, okay, maybe I'm being a little hyperbolic. Death isn't preferable to life... well, not yet.
But I still stand by the fact that training with Fassad is the worst thing I've done in my life. Why? He's just... intolerable. His standards are so impossibly high that it's not even funny.
For instance, there was the time that he wanted me to use PK Thunder to shock something... with three hundred volts!
The Thunder Tower is designed to produce electricity, and from what I've heard, the electricity that reaches all the appliances at 230 volts — yes, Fassad wanted me to generate electricity more powerful than a tower specifically designed to generate it!
Oh, and I was bored one day, so I decided to do some research into electricity and see how dangerous it is.
Here's a 'fun' fact — the minimum voltage needed to kill a human is fifty volts.
So, to add more unreasonableness upon the already existing unreasonableness, Fassad wants me to generate electricity powerful enough to kill a person, six times over!
Guess what? I can't.
But, somehow, somehow, that's not even the worst part — oh no, not by a long shot!
I've always thought this, and it hasn't changed... but I think it bears repeating. Fassad... is really creepy. As in, really strange and really creepy.
I don't think I'll ever forget my first day with him.
My lessons with Fassad take place in the morning thankfully — because if they were in the afternoon, I'm sure I'd do horribly in them due to how exhausted I would be.
On that morning, I went to the training faculty as usual, but this time I went to a specific area that I've never been to before — it's on the west side, which I've never had any reason to go to... until then.
It's there that Fassad was waiting for me, for the session.
He very quickly laid down the ground rules for me.
"You don't move unless I say so, chimera. You don't touch anything, you don't say anything, you don't do anything, unless I say you can. Got it?"
So basically, I have no freedom whatsoever. Things... didn't exactly seem like they were starting well, and yeah, they didn't continue well either.
After I told Fassad that I understood his rules, he asked me to demonstrate my power. I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, but I assumed he meant my power with my PSI.
The only piece of offensive PSI I'm capable of using is PK Thunder and PK Love, the latter of which at the time, I had no idea how to use again, and even now, I still can't use it.
So, PK Thunder it was, and so I blasted Fassad using the Beta variant of it.
He... took it rather well...
In fact, he took it so well, that he was actually disappointed in me.
"Pathetic! Is that really all you can do?! Are you holding back? Are you disrespecting me, chimera?! No, even you know better than do that!"
So, I granted his wish, and shocked him again, and once again, he took it equally as well.
"There is so much work to be done... why did I have to get stuck with this job? Chimera, I have been informed that you can use PK Love. Is this correct?"
"It is... but I have only used it once, and I have yet to replicate its effects."
"Of course you couldn't... those idiots had to make it so I couldn't use it!"
I remember that quite well — from what it seems, Fassad is incapable of using PK Love. I passed it off at the time, but later I remembered something I read about PK Love — it can only be used by certain people.
And for how much I may detest Fassad, I cannot dent that he is a powerful psychic. So, it would make sense that he should have little issue mastering PK Love — but he can't, which proves that learning the PSI in question isn't based on power, but rather... well, actually, what is it based on? I've... never really considered it.
What makes me able to use PK Love, when Fassad can't? The obvious answer would be the PSI's namesake — love. I have more love than Fassad, therefore I can use PK Love and he can't.
However, it is quite presumptuous to assume that Fassad does not love anyone whatsoever. Granted, I wouldn't be surprised if that were true, given the way that he acts, but I can't make baseless assumptions.
And even if that were true, that wouldn't explain why other psychics can't use it either. For example, Ness, Paula and Poo, for how despicable they may be, were still capable of feeling affection for each other... right? Love is not an emotion that is either good or evil, even if is more commonly attributed to the first. The mystery only grows deeper...
But after the... very negative first impression I gave to Fassad of my ability with PSI, he started the training.
I'll admit, at the time, I was very curious to see what training PSI entailed, since it's not like training your body where you can exercise and whatnot.
Well, I should say this then — I was curious at the time.
Fassad first asked me to mediate. I... had no idea what he meant by meditate — I'd never heard of the word at the time. After some ridiculing, Fassad told me it was involves trying to clear your mind, to not be distracted by anything.
So, I sat down, and closed my eyes. I... I didn't know exactly how to clear my mind, so I just led my mind wander to wherever it took me.
I remember... there were many things. It was strange... it was like dreaming, and yet... I felt everything more... everything was more... more clear. It was... it was a place I've never seen... a place I don't think exists... except for in my mind...
It was... sunflowers. A field of sunflowers that stretched beyond my vision. And... they all felt so... delicate. Soft, like the hair of a maid... and yet, as fragile as the butterflies that feed from them.
I... I could have so easily grabbed one, and then... destroyed it. A simple twist of the stem, a swipe of my stick and a blast of electricity... it would have been mangled beyond all recognition. Just... a smouldering pile of petals, their scent one of acrid smoke that burned the lungs of those who smelled them, instead of the sweet scent of...
(Home...)
...peace? The sweet scent of... peace...
The field was endless. The further I walked, the more I could sunflowers I saw. They stood high, magnifying the rays of the star above, shining like beacons of hope.
The last thing I remember... was... it was a, a patch... a barren patch. An area which had been razed, the sunflowers torn to shreds, where life had once been... but it had been completely erased.
And in its place, was a grave.
It stood there, in stark contrast to the rest of the area. While the rest of the area shone with peace and joy, this part was nothing but darkness and misery.
It... it shouldn't have been there... it's... it's not right!
Around the grave was blood, dark red and clear... it pooled around the grave, staining the flowers red.
And on that grave, a single set of sunflowers adorned it. A single set of sunflower crowns.
"BOO!"
So, imagine my situation then. I was mediating, feeling calm and peaceful, not a care in the world, just admiring the view of these sunflower fields.
And then, suddenly, I felt something grab my face and heard something shouted in my ear.
Therefore, I think you'll find it quite understandable if I told you that my immediate reaction, was to instinctively turn around and to try and beat the thing that touched me to a bloody pulp.
Unfortunately for me, said thing was Fassad.
I got a few strikes in, before he simply blasted me away with one use of PK Freeze.
"Nwehehehe! You need to be a lot more focused than that, chimera!"
Oh yeah, that's another thing — Fassad always refers to me as 'chimera', which I'm not exactly fond of. Although, I don't actually have a name, and I suppose it wouldn't make sense for the Fassad to call me Commander since we are on equal ranking... actually, I'm not even the Commander yet, so Fassad is actually higher up the chain of command than me.
Still, I would prefer to not be called 'chimera'.
So, the rest of the morning consisted of me mediating while Fassad kept trying to break my concentration — and he was definitely enjoying himself way too much, because he's a creature that feasts in other people's misery.
After that fiasco though, he dismissed me, and I went to the other side to resume my physical training.
But meditation isn't the only thing Fassad has me do.
Sometimes, Fassad will ask me to do ridiculous feats with my PSI, like blowing up a mountain, burning a forest or the aforementioned 'shock something with 300 volts.'
Fassad knows, he knows I can't do any of these things, nor am I anywhere close to being able to do any of those things, but he still makes me do it, knowing I'm going to fail. And his response is always a 'Nwehehehehe!'.
And yet, despite the fact that he's just intolerable, despite the fact that he is the part of the day I dread, and despite the fact that I really don't want to say what I'm about to say next, I can't deny that Fassad... isn't that bad of a teacher?
Well, actually, no, that's a horrible choice of words and it's also completely wrong — he's a terrible teacher. That is indisputable.
But I can't deny that Fassad, despite how much I hate him, is an effective teacher.
Not a good teacher, mind you, but he is an effective one.
Mediating has actually been rather useful for me — it's helped during some days where I'm feeling particular lonely. It's always nice to revisit the Sunflower Fields.
On a practical point of view, my PSI has actually improved. Fassad gave me some advice regarding PK Thunder — he said that the key to using it, is not to imagine electricity but rather the sensation of electricity.
To imagine the feeling of paralysis taking hold of a person, to imagine their nerves seizing up on them, to imagine their skin bursting into flames... it's... it really has helped.
He's also said I need to use PSI more often, which, fair enough. The more I use it, the better I will become.
And indeed, he was right — I started using Defence Down a lot more often against the Octobots I fight, and tried to apply Fassad's advice.
Whenever I use Defence Down, I... I see, no... I envision pain. I envision their bodies weakening, their armour shattering, their pain increasing.
Because that's what it is, isn't it? It's a way to increase the pain a person feels. It's a way to make them suffer more, and suffer quickly.
I became rather familiar with the aura of that PSI. If I had to describe it... it feels like... a difference. I can feel the difference between them, and myself. And once I use it... the gap widens. The difference becomes more pronounced.
The outcome becomes more certain.
And one month and a psychic fever later, I learned Defence Down Omega.
When I first used it, it was... it felt similar... and yet, it was so much more powerful. It was... overwhelming...
I spent a lot of time experimenting with it, and it's been very useful — you see, the intended use of Defence Down Omega, is for it to be used on multiple opponents at once, thereby eliminating the greatest flaw of the Alpha variant.
In fact, this turned the Octobots from moderately challenging, to a complete joke — being able to reduce the defence of multiple Octobots at once and then blast them with PK Thunder makes things very one sided.
Yet, I've still been having trouble with a certain piece of PSI — PK Love.
Since Day 1 with Fassad, I've been continuously practicing PK Love, trying to get myself to use it again.
But, I've always been unsuccessful. I... I keep trying, and yet... I just keep failing. It's so frustrating! What... what am I doing wrong? I've never had trouble with any of my other PSI — once I learned PK Thunder and Defence Down, I could used them whenever I wanted.
But that isn't the case here.
Even Fassad doesn't have much advice for me. He just says to keep using it... but I don't think practice will be of any help here. Still, I suppose I'll keep trying.
If I don't, then Fassad will only get more annoyed then me — he generally gets pissed off over the fact that I'm too 'weak' to use it, but again, I don't think it's a matter of strength.
So, in conclusion, I hate Fassad, but he is good at what he does — teaching PSI and being a pain in the ass.
With some effort, I finish off my pasta. Note to self: in the future, stick to the recipe!
It's still a little early and after cooking, I don't really feel tired any more... what to do then?
Well, I suppose I could do some reading — there's a library in the Empire Porky Building that I like to go to.
You know, why not? I'll go there for an hour, and then I'll get some rest.
So, with that, I look around for my stick — just in case I happen to get into a fight.
I quickly find it among my meagre possessions, but it slips, and I drop it onto the floor. For Pork's sake... where is it... what... what's this?
There's a book on the floor among my stick. How, and when did it get there?
I pick it up along with my stuck, examining the front of it... 'Psycho Psychic Gods'... when on earth did this come from?
Psycho Psychic Gods... why is that familiar?
And then, I remember. I took this... it was over a year ago, wasn't it? Yes... I took this from the Chimera Laboratory, intending to read it... but I never did get round to it, did I? Somehow, I forget all about it. I hope they didn't need this... because I think at this point it's practically mine.
That name... it's quite an ominous one... I wonder if that's why I took it in the first place. Well... I did want to read something. I suppose this is as suitable a candidate as any.
It's not that long either — only about 100 pages. To the ordinary person, that might seem rather lengthy. But my systems allow me to take in large amounts of information at once, so I may very well finish this today.
On the book's cover, there are seven... people? They look human... and yet, not at the same time. I can't quite ascertain their genders either... hmm... who are they?
I open the book, and start to read. From the very first page, the book has me interested. The things it describes... it's incredibly interesting. The more I read, the more I ask, and the more the book refuses to answer me. I suppose that's a mark of how well it's written.
It's a factual book, it would seem, and it... it tells of a group of creatures, that guard the Nowhere Islands, the so called 'psycho psychic gods'... known as the Magypsies.
A group of beings that exist for one purpose — to guard their island. Physically, they seem quite strange. Their appearance is not like that of any human, yet they seem to bear more than just a passing resemblance to them. Their hair is perhaps what stands out the most, and it's also the only physical trait that is consistent between them all — each of them have hair that's a bright, bubblegum pink.
But while their appearance is similar to humans, their power is most certainty not. The Magyspies are supposedly incredibly powerful psychics, capable of using virtually any PSI in existence... would that include PK Love then?
And they're immortal. They won't die. Ever. Just like... Master Porky.
I wonder... with that much power... and the ability to live forever... would that make them more powerful than Giygas? Hm... I suppose that's one question that simply cannot be answered though.
But in that respect, the Magypsies are quite terrifying. They are beings that are essentially have the power of Giygas... but they actually exist!
I suppose, it's a good thing that are supposedly good natured... but that doesn't really mean anything, does it? After all, even the purest of things can be twisted into something sinister and... corrupted.
I can only hope that the same doesn't apply here as well. These pink haired psychics could very well end this world, as easily as they could save it... wait... pink haired psychics...
That girl. The one at Club Titiboo. She had pink hair... and she was a psychic. Was she... a... a Magyspy?
No... she can't be. She was more powerful then me, yes, but still far too weak than I would have thought one of them would be.
I flick back to the cover and have a look at the illustration of the Magyspies. Hm... that girl... none of them look like her. In addition, I could identify her by eye as female, but I can't identify the gender of the Magypsies, if they have one anyway.
But still, the similarities between the two are too significant to be mere chance, yet, right now, I'm left with no course of action to take, except to simply remember this for the future.
As I keep reading, I only start to wonder more about these mysterious creatures... until I get to one particular section.
'Needles.'
That word... it's popped up a couple of times throughout so far... and yet I've been unable to obtain any sort of significant meaning from it. The book talks about the Magypsies being responsible for these... needles. But what's so special about them?
The answer? Everything.
These Needles... they seem to be of great importance. The book states that guarding these Needles are 'the life's work of a Magyspsy.'
The nature and purpose of the Magypsies is one which no one can say. Although they are supposed to be the guardians of the island, they do not like to interfere in affairs on the island, unless not doing so would pose a risk to it.
However... what they do take particular interest in, are the Needles. The Seven Needles. Magical artefacts, and there is one for each Magyspy, and are of great importance to them.
Why?
No one can be sure. All we know, is that they will guard their location, and their very existence with their lives.
It is theorised that the Needles are the source of the Magypsies' power, being a conduit to the Earth itself. If pulled, this may cause their power to disappear.
Interesting... these Needles may be the reason they are so powerful. If we had cause to eliminate the Magypsies for some reason, we could pull these Needles. They would then be much weaker... and so, we could more easily kill them.
But I must question — if the Needles are the reason the Magypsies are so strong... then who made the Needles? It can't be the Magypsies themselves, because that's just idiocy — why would anyone tie their power to something else by choice?
So, someone else must have made the Needles, which means someone even more powerful than the Magypsies... and so, someone who could potentially pose even more of a threat.
Now, that is very concerning.
Does this book have an answer for this, I wonder... ah, there does seem to be something...
The existence of the Needles is one that few are aware of, and their true purpose is unknown. Although believed to have existed since the beginning of time, it is believed that the Needles are the conduits to the Earth's power — in similar fashion to the Sanctuaries.
... what... WHAT?!
The... the Sanctuaries are real?! This... that, that, that... that makes no sense! The Sanctuaries... they, they... they don't exist! Right? No, according to this, they do!
The Sanctuaries... the conduits to the Earth's power. When all 8 of them are activated... that power unites into one force....
So, these Needles... do they do the same thing as well? Are they also a source for the Earth's power?
But wait... there were 8 Sanctuaries... but only 7 Needles! So, where did one of them go? And... what happens, if these Needles are pulled? In Earthbound, Ness went to Magicant after visiting the Sanctuaries... so would the same happen here?
The person who pulls these Needles... goes to Magicant?
And... when Ness overcame Magicant, he was able to gain the Earth's power so... the Needles do the same! They... they bestow the power of the planet onto the person who pulls them! In fact, wait a minute... yes... that would explain why the Magypsies guard the Needles — because they don't want an evil person getting access to that power!
Imagine... having all that power! The power to blow up mountains, with little more than a single thought... it's... it's incomprehensible... and likely not safe as well.
But, here's the thing — the Magyspies' power is tied to the Needle, so when it's pulled, they lose it. However... the Sanctuaries don't work like that... they're... they're not a reusable thing, I imagine. I mean, this seems like a one and done thing — once you pull the Needle, you can't exactly just put it back in... although for that matter, you'd think these Needles wouldn't be able to be pulled at all, unless the being above the Magypsies wanted them to be pulled... but why?
I look through the rest of the book, trying to see if there's anything else that could be useful, or an answer to any of my questions... but there isn't. The rest of the book seems to be more debate on where the Magyspies could have possibly come from... maybe they're also aliens, like Giygas was.
But still... from what I have read... this is information to be considered. I... I'm not sure what to make of all this.
The Magyspies... guardians with so much power...
The Needles... equivalents to the Sanctuaries...
And the mystery of what happens when they are pulled looming above us all.
Perhaps, there's not much I can do with it now...
But... I should remember it. Because... there may very well be a day where I'll have to meet these creatures.
For now... I suppose all I can do is wait... keep going... and remember this creatures, these people.
Because from what it sounds like, there's a lot to fear from these psycho psychic gods.
Notes:
Well... this one's very filler-ey, to the point where I'm not exactly sure why I made it, since only two important things happen here — Claus learns about the Magyspies and learns Defence Down Omega. I guess I made it to bridge the gap, after Chapter 15.
Again, this chapter's mostly here to build on the Masked Man, and his relationships with several people, like Fassad, Marshmallow and Porky.
But of course, there's also this chapter's namesake, the book Claus borrowed all the way back in Chapter 7. Yeah, I bet you completely forgot about it until now — and to be fair, I almost did as well.
I've had the idea for some time — a chapter where Claus finds out about the Magypsies and starts debating with himself about all the things he learns, and also to explore the characters a bit more...
Yeah... that's about all I have to say about this chapter. I'm sorry for this one — I guess I just struggled to write this and... perhaps not the best. My apologies for that.
However, there is another matter I’d like to discuss. As of when I’m posting this, Behind The Mask has been here... for an entire year, and I've been a fanfiction writer for one year. Yeah.. I can’t believe it either. I’ve actually been doing this for an entire year.
It’s strange... one year ago, I was little more than a fanfiction writer that had ambition, but no vision, and that was a deadly combination. It didn’t get me anywhere. But... after some time off, and with the help of a number of people that I’m all too grateful for, I think... I think I’ve managed to get somewhere.
In particular, on this site, I’d like to give my dearest thanks to three writers — singing_to_empty_caves, TokoBushyBird and RainyTazmily, three writers who have... they’ve been a great inspiration for me, and as I’d say they’re all better writers than me, do go and check their stuff out — particularly if you like the Mother Series (which, again, I’m guessing you do, seeing as you’re reading this).
Either way... I hope to keep doing this. After all, it’s been a pleasure.
Next time, Claus assists with the creation of an object that's rather... safe.
Chapter 17: Absolutely Safe
Summary:
Building, brainstorming, motion machines, and the Masked Man's inability to understand absolutely safe.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Time is like the finest string... something delicate, something precious and something that can easily slip through your fingers without you even knowing it.
With a sigh, I put down the book I have in my hands.
I've been reading far too much, haven't I? I'm coming up with all these philosophical ideas... even though that's not my purpose.
My purpose is the same as it has always been — to lead the greatest army in the world. It's simple. To take every fact, eliminate all uncertainties and reach the logical conclusion. To make the choice that is best for my troops, and for the army as a whole. To serve Master Porky, and do whatever he wishes.
It's a simple job, isn't it?
But... well, sometimes I find myself thinking about more... something beyond the army. If I am to become the Commander, then one day, I'd obviously retire, if not because I'd simply want to, then because of my age which would prevent me from being an effective fighter.
So what then? What would I do when I leave? To be quite honest, I'm... not sure.
I have given it some thought... I'd like to go somewhere... peaceful? New Pork City is certainly nice, but... but what?
Hm... what's wrong with New Pork City? It... it has everything I need... it's home, isn't it? It's home, and it has everything I'd ever want. And yet... I think I'd prefer somewhere different.
Actually, the Thunder Tower does sound rather nice. It might not seem like a sensible choice for most, but for someone like me, it's perfect.
I've only visited the tower three times, but the building astounds me every time. I've grown rather fond of lightning — my extensive use of PK Thunder might have something to do with that.
So, a tower that makes the stuff by the gallon for all of New Pork City? I'll admit — it's quite interesting for me!
I've even been able to sit in on some of the Pigmasks' experiments with lightning — like seeing the production of a Clayman, scary and yet amazing.
And of course, the Thunder Tower is where Miss Marsh currently resides... hm... all in all, it does sound like a lovely place for retirement.
But that's in the far future, and this is now. I've been at this for quite some time... in fact, I've even hit another milestone — my second year of being with the Pigmasks.
The occasion passed without much incidence — I celebrated the occasion with my regiment and the Fierce Pork Trooper, as I did last year and saw another of the DCMC's concerts. The Fierce Pork Trooper says I'm doing rather well — he reckons I might have actually surpassed him!
It's a strange thought — I am going to be the Commander of the army, which means I should be the strongest, but actually being the strongest is something that I hadn't ever considered I would reach. Hm... I wonder if I might even surpass Fassad.
Speaking of Fassad, he's less pleased with my progress, to put it mildly. PSI is something I'm struggling to grasp and that hasn't exactly been the best of news to Fassad. My efforts to learn PK Love are just fruitless as they were before... I simply can't understand it... I've used it once before, so why am I struggling to replicate it?
I've taken to trying my hand at other kinds of PSI instead — though it was hard, I have managed to learn the very basics of Lifeup. And I mean basics here — Fassad doesn't reckon I'll go any higher than Alpha, and for once, I'm inclined to agree with him.
But, the months have passed by, relatively uneventfully anyway.
Until today.
You see, starting this week, I've been given special permission by Master Porky to take two months off my training — but not for relaxation.
It's actually something much more... interesting.
It happened precisely one week ago, at Beauty and Tasty during one of our meetings.
"So, my friend... I have a very special task for you. Something... top secret."
Naturally, I was rather intrigued — after all, a top secret assignment is intriguing by nature.
"What is it, my lord?"
"Haha... well first, I have a question for you. How old do you think I am?"
Now... this was a question I've wondered ever since I met Master Porky, but I've never received an answer. I started trying to analyze his body to make a guess, but to no avail — according to my sensors, he should have died long ago.
"5000 years?"
"Hahaha! You're not even close! And that... that is my point. I am very old... so old, that I can't even move, or walk, or do anything. So frail, that if it weren't for this capsule, I would be defenceless. And that... that is a problem. This empire needs its king. And this king will not fall, nor will he die. And this... this is where you come in."
"In what way?"
"Well... this capsule is certainly durable... but it's not durable enough. What if someone strong were to come, and destroy it? What would I do then? I would die."
And in similar fashion to Miss Marsh, his bed capsule doesn't seem to be built primarily for combat, rather for maintaining himself, so that is a very real possibility.
"So... you want me to help you prevent that? Well, in that case, anyone who threatens you, I shall eliminate. Terminate with extreme prejudice."
"Hahaha! Very good, very good! But you forget one thing. As Commander of the Pigmask Army, you may not always be at my side. And then what would I do? I require... a backup. A contingency. Something to reassure me, that even in that situation, I, Master Porky, will be the one who comes out on top!"
"What do you need then?"
"I want you, with the help of some others that I have specially chosen, to build something, something that provides me a way of keeping myself safe from all others, if I use it."
"So... something like a safe then?"
"A safe, a vault, a capsule — I care not. All I request, is something to protect me, from all those in the world that would wish harm upon me."
"I see... is there anything specific you'd want?"
"Hm... let's see... I have two requests. Firstly, it's gotta have a window — it's no fun if I can't see someone's stupid face as they hopelessly try and break through my barrier! And the other... it must be absolutely safe. You understand me? Absolutely safe. Nothing can ever touch me. Absolutely... safe."
Absolutely safe... it's a concept that sounds oxymoronic to me. How can something be absolutely safe? Nothing is absolutely safe.
No matter how hard you make a brick wall, you can always knock it down with enough strength.
No matter how bright and powerful the fire, you can always put it out with enough water.
No matter how strong the force, you can always overcome it with a stronger one.
So how can something be so safe, that it is exempt from that? It's... impossible.
And yet, that's exactly the thing Master Porky has tasked me with trying to make possible. In two months. Well... I won't deny that this will certainly be a challenge.
Thankfully, I won't be alone in this. Dr Andonuts is going to be involved, and it's a good thing he is — figuring out how to create something like this would be impossible for me alone.
And so, for the next two weeks, I'll be at the Chimera Laboratory, assisting with this task.
I'm taken to the Laboratory on a Porkship, and when I enter, there are only 3 people — a Pigmask Captain at a desk and two Pigmask Majors standing guard at a door.
The captain looks at one of the majors, who gives a gesture to leave, and they do so — I presume for the sake of privacy, given the nature of my visit.
"Commander!"
"Sir!" The two majors both approach me, giving a salute of respect. I give a nod of approval, before telling them to stand at ease.
"I presume the two of you are aware of why I am here?"
"Indeed, Commander. In fact, that's why we have vacated this area. We're here to escort you."
"Commander, you should know this — because of what you're doing, you'll require an escort to go anywhere within the Laboratory during this time, which will likely be us."
I give a wordless nod of understanding. It does make sense — such matters require utmost secrecy, and spies from Tazmily are always a possibility. Should they get wind of such an event, they may very well attempt to sabotage our project.
The majors give me another salute, before turning on the spot and heading into the next room.
As I follow them, I can faintly hear the sounds of chimeras being constructed — drills and the like.
But I can also hear their cries, distorted and mechanical in nature, which echo throughout the building.
And yet... there's one sound that stands out above all the sounds. This... this strange clink followed by a monstrous roar, the sound reverberating throughout the entire building. When I first hear it, I almost jumped out of sheer shock... what is this?
It's... it's fear, isn't it?
Fear... I... no, I cannot. I cannot feel this. I shouldn't feel this. The Commander must stand in front of fear, and ignore it. Laugh at it.
But those roars... I don't know what they are, but whatever it is... it's certainly something ferocious.
What kind of chimera is that? I can only say that it's the kind that no person would ever want to face... not even me.
As we head through the laboratory, I wonder where exactly we're going — we've headed up to the second floor, but according to my map, we're not heading in the direction of any of the rooms containing equipment you'd need for this kind of task.
I have a look at my map once more, and that's when it hits me — we're heading to the third floor.
I've never actually been there before — I've never had any reason to.
In fact, now that I think about it, there were always some Pigmasks guarding the only elevator to that floor, and sure enough, when we get there, two Pigmask Colonels are standing guard.
When we approach, they both raise their guns in warning, before the two Pigmask Majors both show an ID card, and the Colonels both lower their weapons, moving to the side to let us into the elevator.
The third floor itself simply consist a single corridor with a door at the end. How ominous.
When we reach the end, the majors turn towards me, before one speaks.
"Well, Commander... this is it. Dr Andonuts is inside of here."
"Thank you. You may leave."
One final salute and the two of them walk back, leaving me alone. With some trepidation, I carefully open the door, seeing what's inside.
It's... it's enormous. Of all the rooms meant for constructing things, this is the largest one I've seen in the Chimera Laboratory — much larger than the one I was reconstructed in, and much larger than the area where Miss Marsh and Mr Geneator were created.
There's quite the assortment of high tech equipment as well, though it's all been put to the side, and the centre of the room is entirely empty.
On the edges of the room, is Dr Andonuts, who's currently looking through a number of his notes in intense concentration.
I rap on the door, and Dr Andonuts turns to face me, his eyes briefly widening, but returning back to normal — I don't think my appearance here is a surprise to him at all.
"Ah... good to see you made it. You didn't have any issues, did you?"
"None, Doctor."
"Good... good to hear."
"How... how are you?"
"Perfectly fine... just doing my business, you know. Chimeras and all... not my preferred science, but one that I'm good at..."
He looks up at me and chuckles. "Maybe even a little too good at. You are fine, aren't you?"
"Indeed."
There's an awkward pause — I hate these, and they're rather frequent with Dr Andonuts, ever since... well, honestly, ever since over a year ago, when I found out about the Nowhere Islands and the cataclysm that forced it to be the last area on Earth.
Since then, there's always been an air of discomfort about, one that's been here for a rather long time, one that both of us are aware of, but one that neither of us have actually addressed.
"I'll get straight to the point then — you know exactly why I'm here."
Dr Andonuts sighs, placing his pencil down. "Yes... his Highness's top secret assignment. To build something that grants him protection unlike anything the world has ever seen. To create him something that could survive the end of the world without a scratch. To build something completely safe."
"Absolutely safe. And we have two months to do so."
Dr Andonuts gives a rather grim chuckle at this. "Certainly quite the undertaking... well, I've already started trying to brainstorm ideas, but two brains might be more conducive to this. Have a look."
He points to a whiteboard on the side, which has some things written on it — possible shapes, sizes and materials that could be used.
"Hmm... if I might make a suggestion, Doctor? Perhaps we should isolate the qualities needed for this capsule, before we attempt to figure out what we will need."
Dr Andonuts laughs heartily at that. "You've got the makings of a scientist within you. Let's get to it!"
And so it begins. Over the course of that first week, we attempt to figure out the various qualities needed.
"Obviously, there would need to be some sort of life support for Master Porky — so, a form of nourishment, hydration and air to breath."
"The air would need some sort of filter then, to ensure that the carbon dioxide would be released, yet it would need to be incapable of being tampered with, and poisoned." Dr Andonuts says while writing it down.
"Some form of temperature control, to make sure it doesn't get too hot or cold inside... and Master Porky would ideally like it to be comfortable, so we would have to keep that in mind."
"And then there's the matter of the outside... if it were to be absolutely safe, then you could throw it into the Sun and it wouldn't do a thing."
"No such material like that exists, does it?"
"None even close. We'd have to make something like that... something that strong."
"Is that even possible?"
"To be quite frank, I have no idea. Then again, they said time travel was impossible, and look at us now."
"So it could be possible."
"It could, but even with the technology in this time, creating something absolutely safe may very well be beyond us. It could be another 10,000 years before such technology emerges. But still, we must try. It wouldn't just need durability, but longevity."
"Everything wears away over time... metal rusts, for instance."
"Exactly. So I believe a heavy dose of protective coatings would be needed, but even those aren't permanent..."
And so forth. We quickly realised all the qualities that this thing would need, in order to be absolutely safe... the only hard part of this process was trying to figure out a shape.
I would have thought that the shape of it would be the least of our concerns, but as Dr Andonuts pointed out, the shape would effect the amount of material we would require, and with the already impossible task of trying to make something absolutely safe, it would be best if it were as small as possible.
Now, of course, the volume inside of it would remain the same — we decided on three times the size of Master Porky's bed machine.
However, surface area would vary with shape, and in the end, we went with a sphere... I suppose that would make this a capsule then? An absolutely safe capsule.
The brainstorming was fairly easy, and after one week, we had isolated each quality we needed to account for.
The challenge... was actually incorporating all that.
We started with the most simple things — temperature regulation and environmental control. With this, we'd ensure that the capsule wouldn't get too hot, or too cold and that a supply of oxygen would always be there.
That last one took some figuring out — oxygen is quite simply, finite. But of course, running out of oxygen wouldn't make this absolutely safe, so we had to figure out a way of replenishing it.
Simply taking more from the surroundings is too risky — it introduces the possibility of the supply being contaminated, so we had to find a way of using what we had.
"What about... photosynthesis? Master Porky would exhale carbon dioxide and plants can be used to produce oxygen."
"But then, we run the risk of introducing plants... I like the idea of recycling the waste though. In fact... I think I might have a better way. Take a look at this."
Dr Andonuts directs my attention to a monitor of his, where he starts a simulation. It shows a laser pointing to a molecule of carbon dioxide, before firing a beam at it, causing it to split into its constituent elements.
"Wow! You can use a laser to split that up?!" The surprise is evident in my voice, though I should do better to hide it.
"Indeed! By firing a high energy ultraviolet laser, we can force a molecule of carbon dioxide to break down into carbon and oxygen." There's a lot of joy in Dr Andonuts's voice — I imagine he's happy to have someone interested in all this and someone to explain this all to.
"So... we can use this laser to recycle the carbon dioxide then?"
"Exactly!"
"But... wouldn't we need a way to power the laser? And that means a source of fuel, which would be limited."
"Not if we use renewable energy. Solar power would be the most effective. In fact, we could make the capsule itself a giant solar panel."
It took some time, but we were able to figure out all of the side details for this capsule — the only thing left was the hardest part.
What it would be made off.
We tried our best, but no matter how you look at it, nothing is completely indestructible.
Anything can be cracked, broken or destroyed with enough force. How much force may vary on the object — for some, it's a simple tap of the hand. For others, a hard punch. Or perhaps you'd need a supernova.
But even then, nothing is completely indestructible.
There's no material like that which exists. So... we had to create one. But our minds? Our minds alone couldn't hope to do something like that...
So it's a good thing we got some help.
Though unwilling, Master Porky yielded to our request for some assistance, telling us that he would assign some 'special servants' of his, to help.
And as it turns out, special was the right word.
"BoInG! zOOm!"
For those special servants were none other than Mr Saturn.
"Mr... Saturn?"
"Where on earth did the king find them?"
And then it hits me... "The Thunder Tower... there's a Saturn Valley nearby!"
Dr Andonuts clenches in his fists, in... what seems to be anger? He seems to want to say something, but eventually he just sits down.
"I suppose the king enlisted them to help us... well, I can't say we'll find much better help than them."
"What? The Mr Saturn? They're our best help for this?"
"Indeed. Don't forget that the Saturns have the most intelligent minds when it comes to this kind of thing..."
"wE Mr sATuRN!"
"... even if they do not appear like it."
Well... this is certainly an odd form of help, but... let's see what happens. It could be a good way of finding out more about them.
We inform the Saturns of what we aim to do, which they understand — or at least, I think they do... it's hard to tell.
From there on, it's up to us to create a completely indestructible material. I wrack my brain and databanks to try and come up with something as a starting point... and I managed to find one.
"Dr Andonuts?"
"Hm?"
"I have an idea... but it involves one of your creations."
"Go ahead."
"Your Phase Distorter."
Dr Andonuts's eyes widen, but he doesn't say anything, so I go on.
"To withstand being able to pass through the fabric of time, it must have been rather durable itself. Perhaps we could use it as a base? It isn't indestructible, but it would serve as a good starting point."
He ponders it over for a while, before sighing. "Certainly a good idea... however, we do not have one."
"Well, why don't we make one then?"
"Hm... it is possible and with the technological expertise of the Saturns, it shouldn't be too hard."
"Do we have all the materials we need?"
"All but one, I believe — a very rare material known as Zexonyte."
Zexonyte... where on Earth are we gonna get that? Let's see if my databanks have anything...
'Zexonyte. Foreign material, generally only found in meteorites. Though harmless in nature, it can be used in large amounts to break the fourth dimension.'
"Meteorites? Where are we going to find any of those?"
"Hahaha, you've gone a little bit too far, haven't you? If you think about it, we won't actually need any."
"Why not?"
"You see, Zexonyte is only needed for the Phase Distorter to be able to travel through time and space."
"Ah, and we have no need for the time travelling elements of the machine!"
"Yep. So we should be able to make this with what we have."
And so we got to work — building a Phase Distorter.
Without the components for movement through space - time though, we had more space inside of it, enough to put the things we need for life support, including the ultraviolet laser.
Still, even if it were to move through space - time, we know it would be to withstand it, as it is made from the same materials as the Phase Distorter.
Something peculiar I notice during this all however is regarding the Saturns — they're able to build it rather quickly for us. I was aware of their technological expertise, but even then, I would have thought it would have taken more than a week for them to do so. They seem to be familiar with this kind of work.
"Doctor, you said the Saturns helped you realise time travel... but how exactly did they do that?"
"Why, they helped me build this the first time."
"... they helped you build the Phase Distorter?"
"Yes. The very first one I made... I wouldn't have been able to have done it without them. Ah, it brings back old memories... if only that red gentleman was here..."
"Hm?"
"Oh, don't mind me. Just the ramblings of an old man."
The Saturns finish the Phase Distorter quickly enough — they've even made it on their own likeness, making it look like a metallic Saturn... just like in Earthbound.
In fact... the Saturns made the Phase Distorter in the movie as well, didn't they? Hm... interesting...
When we finish, we make sure the life support systems could feasibly run on renewable energy, and it's a good thing we did, because we find a problem.
See, they wouldn't be able to safely run on renewable energy — while they would have enough energy, that's only assuming at least one source of renewable energy is present, so if there isn't... well, it wouldn't be absolutely safe, would it?
But the Saturns prove themselves to a valuable asset once again — with their help, we create a perpetual motion machine, something which, according to Dr Andonuts, shouldn't exist.
From what I understand, a perpetual motion machine is essentially a source of... infinite energy. It creates energy from nothing, which I'm fairly sure violates a number of laws in physics... like the conservation of energy?
And yet, somehow... it exists!
We use it to power the machine — it'll be particularly useful for the ultraviolet laser. This leaves... the actual capsule itself.
"How do we create something durable to everything?"
"Well, we have many durable materials now. It's possible that we could create something durable by combining them together."
Dr Andonuts pulls up a simulation, showing many different materials, first being what looks like diamond.
"Diamond. The hardest natural, organic substance known to man."
He switches it to show an image of molecules arranged in a disordered lattice.
"Metallic glass. One of the hardest man made substances that we've created."
"Metallic glass? That doesn't sound like it would be durable at all."
"It's a bit of a misnomer — they're metal alloys which have a crystalline structure similar to glass. Incredibly durable stuff too because of that."
"Amazing..."
"And next... ah..."
Dr Andonuts pauses when he reaches the next thing.
It's something I've seen before, something... something I know all too well. A material that's long, sharp and pearl white...
A Drago Fang.
At the end, there appears to be blood... is that blood... mine? No, no, it's not there, it's just an image, a hologram. It's not real... right?
At first, I wonder why Dr Andonuts would consider using one of these.
But then, I remember something which Master Porky told me a long time ago... when I first met him.
"You see, a Drago Fang is strong enough to pierce through anything."
And while I imagine he was exaggerating a little, there's still has to be some truth in that... Drago Fangs are incredibly durable, and their hides are said to be almost equally so as well...
"... it makes sense to include these. They are very durable, and so would be useful."
Dr Andonuts pauses for a second, perhaps a silent acknowledgement of the significance of this particular material to me, before he moves on.
"And finally, I thought we might consider using the materials we used for some of the chimeras. Some of the mechanical ones have impressive qualities, such as invulnerability to PSI, as well as considerable durability to begin with."
"They'd make for a good starting point in all this then."
"Indeed. I think that's all the useful materials then... now all we need to do is combine them."
And somehow, with considerable help from the Saturns, and nearly two weeks of solid work, we finally manage to synthesize a... a material none of us have ever seen before. Is... is this it? An indestructible material?
All of us are in disbelief that we could have actually accomplished this, so we test it. Against everything.
Industrial lasers, rockets, PSI... nothing even scratches it!
It's... it's impossible! But the more we try, the more it seems like we've actually done it. We've actually created something completely indestructible! And this was just a small sample of it!
We spend a day celebrating the event, before we realise a harsh truth — we'll need a lot more for the capsule.
So, we get straight back to it, making more as quickly as we can. We know how to make it know, but the sheer quantity of material means it'll take more time.
Finally, after a month, we finish producing more of the material, casting it into a spherical shape and fixing it onto the Phase Distorter.
"Pass me that spanner, would you?"
"Here. Do you think we'll finish in time?"
"I hope so! The king doesn't react well when things aren't done on time..."
Hmm... I'd always seen Master Porky as a rather reasonable figure of authority — surely he would understand if extensions are needed?
"Still, with the help of the Mr Saturns, we should be able to, right?"
"I think so, yes. Ahh... it's just like old times..."
"What do you mean?"
"Pushing the boundaries of science, with the help of the Saturns... mind you, I don't think these are the same ones I knew, but... I can't help but see the similarity between it all."
"What's it like to do this kind of work then?"
"Funny you should ask. It's a lot different from what it was like back in my time."
"Different conditions?"
"Hm, that's one part of it. I can't say that the king isn't a generous employer — everything here's ten times as advanced as what I had back in my laboratory in Winters. But, this kind of work... I do like it. Pushing the boundaries of science to see what can be done... that's why I became a scientist. Sadly, I rarely have an opportunity to do things like this anymore."
"Because of the chimeras?"
"Yes. I've never been too fond of working with on them, but the king feels my talents are best suited with them."
"But it is a progression of science, isn't it?"
"Yes... but it's also a subversion of nature. To combine two creatures into one, or augment another with machinery... it goes against nature. To twist and turn something so much until it isn't recognisable anymore... I've never exactly felt comfortable with it."
"... neither have I."
Dr Andonuts stops his work, looking at me apologetically. "My apologies... I must have offended you."
"It's fine... I can't say I don't agree with your sentiment."
Because I do see where the doctor is coming from. It's something I've always had trouble grasping, since the day I was created — the fact that I am as equal part machinery, as I am living, organic tissue.
Actually... there's a good chance I'm more machine than human at this point, isn't there?
I wonder... what part of me isn't machine? Because on an external level, it might seem like it's not all that much at all — just my left eye, an arm, and my back.
But internally? It's likely so much more than I'm even imagining. My lungs, my bones... heck, as Miss Marsh proved during our trek through the Death Desert, possibly even my heart.
What isn't replaceable then? What makes me... me? Well... the mind. That's the only thing that's truly mine, isn't it? Everything I am, everything I have... all of it can be replaced.
But not my mind. That's... all I have. Right?
So... what happens if I lose that as well? What happens if I lose the central part of myself, the part that can never be replaced? I... I don't know.
"My sincerest apologies... I understand it's a... perplexing issue to say the least."
That's one way of putting it. "Do not worry about me, Doctor. Though I would prefer to live without my parts, I do not resent them or you, merely the people and the situation that forced me to live with them. After all, these parts and you both saved my life. I'm grateful for that if nothing else."
"You're most certainly welcome."
"Have you been working on any other chimeras then, Doctor?"
"Yes... just a few things here and there, I suppose..."
"You wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with those roars I keep hearing all over the place?”
He chuckles lightly before responding. "I'm not surprised you asked about that. We're attempting to make a new kind of chimera, one unique from all others."
"Like me?"
"In a way. But while you are mechanical, this one is a biological chimera.
"What makes it unique then?"
"We only use two animals for chimeras... but this one's different — because we're using more than just two."
More than two? What kind of creature would this chimera end up looking like then?
"How many animals are you using?"
Dr Andonuts sighs in what seems like disappointment. "Do you know, at this point, I have no idea how many. We've picked parts from so many different creatures that I couldn't even tell you. All the best parts of every animal, combined into one being."
"So, you're creating some sort of... ultimate chimera then?"
"Hm... we've been calling it 'The Super Duper Big, Bad, Rough Chimera' as per the king's request for what we were to make, but ultimate is a lot shorter... yes, that's essentially what we're trying to do. But we'll talk of chimeras another time... we still have to finish this."
"Yes, let's focus on the task at hand."
Soon enough, we're able to finally finish molding it into the necessary shape. And when we do... it...
It's... it's a capsule, yes, but not what we imagined it to be...
It's a grotesque sphere with marks and parts ladened across it... but that's not even the scariest part.
Every second, it seems to pulse, as if it had a heart that was beating...
It almost seems to be... alive? It's... like a chimera, unnatural in its very state and misshapen beyond recognition. In fact... I can't help but think of the machine Giygas himself used... the Devil's Machine, was it?
It's... it's unnerving for me, but Dr Andonuts seems terrified by it, as if it's the kind of noise he's heard in his nightmares or something, the kind of sound that you hear once, and never want to hear again. Even the Saturns break their carefree nature and are silent during this entire thing.
"I think... it could use a coat of paint."
"Agreed. I don't think the king would be too fond of how it looks right now..."
So, with as much haste as we can, we make the finishing touches and paint it a shiny grey — we let the Saturns do it, and they certainly have a lot of fun doing so. The Pigmask insignia is the final touch, and then it's almost done... when I remember something, something we may have forgotten.
"Doctor?"
"Yes?"
"This capsule... how would you open it?"
"There's a button on the side here."
"Yes... but there's an issue with that. Once his Highness is inside of there, if you could open the capsule... then you could hurt him. And so... it wouldn't be absolutely safe."
"... indeed. That's why you can't."
What? You can't open it up once you're inside of... inside of it. Oh God... once you're inside... you can't go back out. Because it wouldn't be absolutely safe, would it? If you could go out, it's not absolutely safe.
Which means... if you can't die inside, then...
"... you'd be stuck inside for all eternity, wouldn't you?"
"Exactly. The end of the world could come, and... you'd be still be alive. The entire universe could implode, and you'd still be just fine. But there would be no one else. No one to talk to, no one to interact. You'd be just... all alone. Stuck inside this capsule, this prison, for all eternity."
"That's... that's horrifying."
"It is. But that's what the king will do to evade death."
"Would he really choose that?"
"I... don't know. For his sake... I would hope not. But... one thing I have learned about the king is this — he never asks for anything to be made, unless he intends to use it."
"Do warn him of that then... to be quite honest, I'm scared of what we've made here."
"As am I. But... there's nothing we can do now. After all, we can't get rid of it, because it is absolutely safe."
"Doctor... what would you choose? Would you chose death... or this?"
"Death, in a heartbeat. After all, there's no point in living, if there's no one left to live with you. What about you?"
"I think... I think I would choose the same."
Dr Andonuts nods his head in understanding. "A wise choice... I believe we're done here then. Thank you so much for your help — I must say, you've got a rather innovative mind. If you weren't becoming Commander, I'd be half tempted to ask you to stay on at this laboratory... it'd be nice to have some company and a helper with my work."
"I appreciate the compliment, but I think my talents are better served as the Commander. Still, if we do end this war, and my services are no longer needed... perhaps I might consider taking you up on that offer."
"You're always welcome to... but do be sure to take care of yourself. It's no good working hard if you work yourself to the grave."
"I will."
And with that, I leave the room, meeting back with the two majors that have been escorting me all this time.
It's strange... we may have succeeded in our task despite all the odds... and yet, I don't feel accomplished at all. It feels like we've failed... even though we've succeeded.
Because we haven't just created the world's greatest protection.
We've created world's greatest prison as well. Impenetrable to anything, sustaining the inhabitant for eternity... anything inside may be absolutely safe... but the reverse is true as well, isn't it? Anything outside, is absolutely safe from anything inside.
Absolutely Safe Capsule.. it doesn't do a thing. It does no harm to anyone inside or outside of it, and yet... it may very well be the most powerful weapon in existence.
What have we created?
Notes:
Pure terror, Claus. Pure terror.
First thing I've put out for the New Year then, and for Behind The Mask no less. It's been a while since I've done anything for this story — I've been very focused on A Third Of Love.
So... Absolutely Safe Capsule. First things first, yes, the Masked Man is never stated to have a part in making the ASC, but you know what, I don't care — though at this point, I think this story is more or less a reimagining of the Masked Man's role in Mother 3.
This one was... hard to write. Interesting, yes, but hard to write. I tried to be as scientific as possible when figuring out how the ASC could feasibly be built, but it's a literal paradox, so I kinda had to throw in the towel at a certain point — I think it was somewhere around perpetual motion machines...
The creation of it is something that fascinates me — something I couldn't necessarily say in this story itself, is that I think the ASC is basically a buffed up Devil's Machine. They both seem to be impenetrable prisons — but of course, the ASC can't be opened.
Other than that, a little bit of expanding on Dr Andonuts's relationship with the Masked Man — it's a very odd one, I must admit, but... hey, I think it works.
Next time, Claus takes a trip and gets to visit... home.
Chapter 18: Mom’s Hometown
Summary:
Hometowns, exploration, missions, and the Masked Man's inability to break free of his programming.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Let's see... a little ketchup on the bacon, and... done!
Nine minutes and fifty-two seconds... that's the fastest I've made breakfast for Master Porky yet!
It looks quite nice as well — I think Miss Marsh would be proud of how far I've come.
I gather everything onto one plate and knock on Master Porky's door, placing the food in its usual spot. Though he doesn't respond today, he's actually been responding a lot more often recently, ever since we finished work on the Absolutely Safe Capsule.
He was very pleased with it — it seemed to meet all of his expectations and more, which I'm glad of. It's always a pleasure to be able to do something for him.
A few weeks have passed since then and life has returned mostly back to normal. However, I've stopped my training with Fassad for the moment — see, apparently he's been going back to Tazmily, scoping out the area for us.
Though I may not necessarily like him, I must respect him for having the courage to go to such a vile place.
But because of this, I'm not having any training with him, at least until he gets back, so I've mostly been working with my regiment.
Speaking of which, I really should get going there. With a final bite, I finish my omelet before heading down the elevator of the Empire Porky Building, and flying off to the training facility, remembering what we're doing today on the way there.
Apparently, the Fierce Pork Trooper wants to go on a 'field trip', whatever that means. He says he wants to assess my ability to command the troops outside the confines of where the Pigmasks have control, and on the field. I wonder where exactly he intends to take us then...
When I arrive, I head to the usual area, where my regiment is. Fourteen of them are all surrounding the fifteenth, all praising her. I'm confused as to why, until I see it — the green uniform she's wearing.
Over the course of the years, all the Pigmasks in my regiment have been gradually promoted to Captains. However, this is the first one to be promoted to a Major. Though happy for her, we do have business to attend to.
I lightly clear my throat, the regiment turning towards me and assembling into a line.
"Sir!" I'm greeted with fifteen salutes and look around, nodding approvingly. While doing so, I notice the Fierce Pork Trooper isn't here yet.
This wouldn't normally be a surprise — since I've come back from working on the ASC, the Fierce Pork Trooper has given me control over what the regiment does for training, giving me more responsibility over my squad of Pigmasks.
He occasionally comes in to see how we're all doing, but for the most part, I'm the one in charge... it's a strange place to be in to say the least.
However, he should be here today... I suppose he's running late. We may as well make the most of the time we have.
"Very good. Firstly, I believe congratulations are in order, Major. You deserve your position."
"Thank you, sir."
"In any case then, you are all aware of our schedule, so you should know what we will be doing — today, we shall be at the firing range. Though you have all made substantial improvements in your aim, I believe your skill with explosives could use some work. Any questions?"
A few of the Pigmasks raise their hands, and I suspect they all have the same question, so I address one of them.
"Yes?"
"Sir, I thought we were going on a field trip with the Fierce Pork Trooper?"
"Indeed. However, he has not arrived yet, and I see no reason to waste this valuable time, so hence we will be training until then."
The rest of the Pigmasks lower their hands, satisfied with the answer, though not so much at what it means for them. We all head to the other side of the facility, passing along the entrance, where I ask a Pigmask there to inform me when the Fierce Pork Trooper arrives.
When we reach the firing range, each of the Pigmasks collect a supply of bombs and practice their aim with them. Of course, it's quite dangerous, so I make sure they only practice in groups of three.
As for myself, I decide to also practice my aim with bombs — I prefer to use my arm cannon for long range, but the utility of bombs and the area they cover is something I cannot overlook.
Either way, after about half an hour, a monitor on the wall starts to sound, so I answer it.
"Commander?"
"Yes?"
"The Trooper has arrived. He's waiting outside the building for your unit."
"Thank you. Please inform him that we will be there shortly."
"Yes, one more thing though, Commander."
"What is it?"
"The Trooper has requested that you wear the uniform of a colonel for your trip. Is that suitable?"
Hm... that's interesting. This isn't the first time I've done this — in fact, I've worn one to every DCMC concert I've been to. But that was for the sake of hiding my identity from the people of Tazmily who could have recognised me... so does that mean the area we're going to will have those people?
"That will be fine. Thank you." I reply, shutting the device off.
I turn to the Pigmasks and signal them all to stop.
"Good work. Collect all your supplies and report to the entrance in ten minutes."
"Yes, sir!"
I myself head to obtain the white mask, armor and cloak of the colonels, putting it on — interestingly enough, they've fitted in a voice modulator into the mask.
I head outside the training facility, joining the rest of the Pigmasks. Each of us saluting the Fierce Pork Trooper, including myself. I'm not sure if I need to, given that Commander is a higher title than what the Fierce Pork Trooper has, but I don't have it yet, and even if I did... well, he deserves the respect.
The Fierce Pork Trooper walks around us all, looking at us each individually. Each person tenses a little bit when he gets closer, relaxing when he leaves.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, he starts tickling one of the Pigmasks, causing them to break their salute and fall to the ground in the surprise.
The Fierce Pork Trooper bursts into laughter, and the rest of the Pigmasks do so as well, while still maintaining their salute.
"There's a free lesson for you maggots — tickling your opponent is a great way to lower the defences. Especially if they're not expecting it!"
The Fierce Pork Trooper offers a hand to his fallen comrade, helping him back up.
"Alright, loosen up a little. It's not like it's a funeral!"
He turns and looks to me. "That goes for you as well, kid. I swear you don't need to salute me... I mean, you arehigher up than me."
At his request, I drop the stance, and face him.
"Not yet. And even if I did, it is my respect for you, sir."
The Fierce Pork Trooper looks a little bit taken aback by that, almost flattered.
"Hm. Well, I'm sure you're all eager to find out what we're up to. So get in, and let's get outta here!"
There's two Porkships behind the Fierce Pork Trooper, so half of us scramble into one, and the other scrambles into another.
The Porkships take off and after about five minutes in the air, there's an incoming video from the other Porkships. When it opens, we see the interior of the other ship, identical to ours, except the Fierce Pork Trooper is front and center.
"Alright, enough fun and games! We're actually going on some real business here, so I want your heads on straight."
The Pigmasks in both Porkships immediately go silent at that, and I myself start to become more attentive.
"So, I bet you're all wondering where we're going. Well, for now, that's a surprise. But I will tell you what we're up to. You see... we're heading on a reconnaissance mission."
"We're collecting information?"
"That's right... and potentially more as well."
"On who?"
"Who do you think, kid? The enemy."
The enemy? But that would be...
"... the people of Tazmily?"
"Correct. We're heading into territory that they have occupied. And so, let me make one thing clear — this is not a combat mission. Do you understand that? We're not here to harm them — not unless they attack us, or we're given orders to do so."
"Why? Why don't we simply run them all into the ground?!"
"Let me explain then. You know what Fassad's been doing for the past few weeks?"
"Yes, he's been going to Tazmily Village, and scouting the place out, hasn't he?"
"More than that. He's been establishing some... ah, what are they... ah, diplomatic ties."
"Diplomatic ties? We've been at war with them for the past two years, haven't we? We built the Thunder Tower solely to give ourselves the advantages we needed! Why on Earth would we make friends with them, when we have the advantage?"
"What can I say? The king works in mysterious ways. I think he's considering whether or not it'd be worth more lost lives."
"I am not without mercy. And those who accept the changes and have been previously misguided, they will be welcomed into New Pork City."
Yes, he was entertaining that notion when I saw him at the Thunder Tower... not just for the sake of our lives, but theirs as well.
"Anyway, they've agreed that they won't attack us, so long as we don't attack them."
"And do we intend to stick to that agreement?"
"For now? Yes. But ask me that question in a few months time... and maybe I'll have a different answer for you. But right now, this is purely a recon mission."
"Isn't that what Fassad's supposed to be doing though?"
"It is, but one man can't do everything. He says there's something we need to investigate and obtain, but the villagers are a little wary of him already, so we've gotta help him out. Either way, do not fire on any of the civilians there. We're not here to start a fight. Signing out."
He disappears, leaving us all in silence as we head to our destination. Soon enough, the two Porkships land. It's only now that I realise that though the Fierce Pork Trooper informed us we'd be heading into enemy territory, he never said exactly where that would be.
And he most certainly didn't say that it would be at the heart of it.
When the Porkship opens, my eyes are greeted with a number of sights. Blue skies that stretch as far as you can see, the sun shining all around. Grass sprawls across the land, looking as fresh as can be. Rivers flowed throughout the place, wild and free.
When I take a step off the Porkship onto land, I know exactly where I am. This is...
"I'm gonna get so strong..."
... my past. This was...
"... that even Dragos won't stand a chance against me!"
... my home. This is...
Memory units engaged. Query?
Tazmily Village.
The rest of the Pigmasks disembark, including the Fierce Pork Trooper. Without looking at me, he starts to talk.
"Were you expecting this then, kid?"
"... not exactly. I wasn't expecting to be here, of all places."
"Well... it's about time you came here."
But before we can progress any further in our conversation, a Pigmask Major approaches our group, huffing and puffing all the whole. They look at the Fierce Pork Trooper and salute him.
"Sir! And..." They turn towards me, looking a bit confused, before it seems to click for them. "And you must be the Commander, yes?"
"Indeed."
"You've all arrived on time. We've set up some spots for you all in the barracks, so if you'd like to follow me."
And so we do — they're fairly similar to the ones on the training facility. I suppose that makes sense though, since this is a training ground as well.
It's actually been a long time since I've shared a place with another person, but I actually welcome it — it's been very lonely in New Pork City, so it's nice to be with my regiment again.
Once we're all settled in, the Major comes back for a briefing.
"Where's Fassad?" asks the Fierce Pork Trooper.
"Fassad's in town, talking with the people. Trying to make friends and all. He's usually back here at five in the evening." the Major replies.
"I see... alright, you're all dismissed for now. Report back here at 17 hundred hours. And don't leave the town."
"Yes, sir!"
The Pigmasks all disperse and I...
This town... it... it was my home, wasn't it? I've never been here, since I've forgotten it all...
What... what is it like? What are the people like? I've... I've heard only stories and takes about this village, the cruelty of the people, but... I've never seen it for myself. And this is my first chance to do so.
When I step out, I look around, wondering where to go. It's not like New Pork City, confined and organised. Buildings sprawl amongst these grassy fields, though there seem to be a bunch to the west... some sort of town centre.
Yet, there's also a solitary building to the north, which looks rather derelict... it doesn't appear all that inhabitable.
I walk up there, setting an alarm to make sure I'm back on time. When I get there, there's a sign... 'Old Man's Home'.
So... this is how the people of Tazmily treat their elders then. With such contemptuous disrespect. Pitiful...
I decide to go to the west after and... it's more urbanised than I thought it would be. I was told that the village was fairly rural and uncivilised, and yet, there are shops, restaurants and even a hotel.
Mind you, it still doesn't compare to the monumental glory of New Pork City, but... it's more than I was expecting.
They were so stuck in the past, weren't they? Unless... I remember. They stole some of this technology, didn't they? After rejecting it initially... they took it. That's what Master Porky said... despicable.
As I walk through the town, I get a few looks from the civilians — according to Fassad, the Pigmasks have been here for some time, so I thought they would have gotten used to them. I suppose not... or perhaps they have never seen a Colonel before.
To the north, the first thing that strikes me is the railway in the village. Hm... they've advanced much more than I thought they would have.
There's a few people boarding a train right now, and after they do, the train starts to leave, heading through a tunnel on the east.
"Excuse me? Sir, are you waiting for a train? There won't be another one for some time."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was a little lost in thought."
He laughs, as if he understands that. "Happens to the best of us. Are you waiting for a train then?"
"No... but could you tell me where this train goes to?"
"It only has one stop — the East End Station near the Clayman Factory Grounds."
The Clayman Factory Grounds? I've been there before myself, but why would these people be going there?
"Why do people want to go there?"
He looks at me, partially confused. "Why, to work! Ever since you've all come here, people have been going there every day for some hard earned DP!"
They adopted Dragon Power as well then... so money has been introduced.
"I see. Well, it's good that we're able to be more friendly with each other."
"Oh yes, it is. This place was a lot more different in the past, but you know? I think I like it a bit more now."
Wow! I... wasn't expecting that. "Really?"
"Yeah... technology's pretty cool, isn't it?"
"Perhaps you should consider moving to New Pork then. It's much bigger than this place."
"You know, I might! Maybe if I save up enough DP, I can move there... yeah, wouldn't that be great? Anyway, sorry to bother you."
He goes back to his position on the platform.
He... he seemed really nice, actually. Not at all like the barbaric people I saw in Master Porky's video or the people I've heard about. I actually... enjoyed talking to him. Interesting.
Feeling a little bit happier, I decide to go to the west, seeing a giant bell tower... how tall would you need to be to ring that?! Either that, or you'd need a really big ladder.
The bell itself is pretty big as well, and judging by the amount of rust on it, it seems to be fairly old. I imagine the sound of it would echo across the entire island...
Further to the west is a pathway that leads to a forest — the Sunshine Forest, I believe, which I... oh...
It... it wasn't my fault. It... it was an accident. I... I didn't have control over my powers... I didn't mean to do it!
But... they thought I did.
Maybe... maybe it would be for the best if I didn't go there then.
But there is a building here... a grey one, that looks very old fashioned — I'm guessing it was built before the industrial revolution that Tazmily has undergone.
When I step inside, it's eerily quiet. The sound of my footsteps echo throughout the room, softer each time.
At the center of this building is a mural, which depicts a dragon.
There's some writing, but it's indecipherable to me... perhaps my scanners would have better luck.
Scanning text... scan complete.
'Of beauties, of wonders, of great power, no man has seen more than in the Dark Dragon.'
Dark Dragon? What on Earth is that? In fact... haven't I heard that name somewhere before? It's slipping my mind... I hate when that happens.
Dragons... this island. I... I remember during a vacation I had, I flew rather high and... it looked like a dragon.
Is that what this Dark Dragon is? The island itself?
I head back to the town square, walking to the west of Tazmily, where I can see a beach to the south, the sea coming in and out. Though the tide is low, I do my best to stay away from it — a sudden wave wouldn't do well for me, given all my metal parts. Even if I'm wearing this suit, it's not worth the risk.
I take a look out to the sea, and I can just see a faint speck of land in the distance... I think that's Tanetane Island?
"Ohh, that's horrible!"
"Yes, truly a misfortune."
I turn to the north, seeing a group of people surrounding a building, but they're obscuring my vision. When I approach, I see what they're staring at — it's a building... or at least, it was.
The remains of it look scorched, as it was burned to the ground... actually, there's about six scorched holes around the building as well. What happened?
"Excuse me, but... what happened to this building?"
"Oh, well, it was unfortunately destroyed a few months ago by lightning."
"By lightning?"
"Yes — it got struck right on the top by a massive bolt of it! In fact, as you can see, the lightning got some places around as well."
But none of the other buildings around here seem to be destroyed, and seven bolts hitting around this specific area? That's way too precise for lightning...
The Thunder Tower. So that's what they're using the laser for... it's certainly effective. Clever as well — to these people, it just seems like lightning. But for us, it's a brilliant advantage in our war...
A part of me does feel the slightest twinge of guilt... I hope no one was hurt.
No, wait... I do. I should hope someone was hurt, that one of these people died in it...
But... I don't know. They don't... seem all that bad. They seem... nice enough.
Shaking the thoughts in my head, I decide to keep walking along the beach, seeing another building... a Sheriff's Office.
So, this is where the scum of Tazmily are kept then, the criminals. Hm... I'm surprised it's not bigger — I'd have thought there'd be plenty of people to fill these cells.
Plenty of worthless, disgusting...
"I'm gonna leave this apple here."
Barbaric, inhumane...
"The core might be hard, but..."
Filthy, hypocritical...
"The core... the core might be too hard to eat, but be sure you eat it!"
(Dad...)
System error. First failsafe online.
I... but surely they can't all be that bad... maybe...
Maybe they just acted wrong... lashed out at the time, a moment of weakness.
I... I... I think I'll pass entering. Besides... it's probably not wise to enter a place like this without good reason to.
I head further to the west, where there are a few houses by the beach, but also an area of the beach with some lawn chairs and parasols. In fact, I can even see some children playing around on the beach, some of them paddling in the sea, while others on the sand pass a ball between each other.
Right now, a girl with brown hair is passing the ball to a glasses wearing boy. There's somewhat of a resemblance between the two... perhaps they're related?
The boy then passes it to another brown haired boy, who tries to throw back to the first girl, but he's a little too enthusiastic about it and overshoots, the ball landing in the sea and sending a bunch of water in the air, splashing one girl swimming in it.
The three land bound children all laugh at this, while the girl in the sea shakes her head, frowning at the boy who threw the ball.
"Fuel! Watch where you're throwing this thing!"
"Sorry, Alle..."
With a huff, she threw the ball back at the boy, hitting him square in the face, much to her amusement.
They continued playing, until one of the boys looked at a blonde girl, who was sitting on one of the chairs watching them.
"Hey, Nana, why don't ya join us?"
The girl... Nana, looked down at the sand and quietly responded. Oh... I'm alright... I'll probably just get in your way."
"Aw, come on! It'll be fun!"
At her continued reluctance, the other children try to persuade her to join, before she eventually gives in... she joins them and seems to be having fun. That... that was rather kind of them, to include her...
These children... I don't know how old they are, but... they look around my age. I wonder... did I know them once?
"Woah!"
The same boy who hit the girl in the sea throws that ball a little bit too enthusiastically once more. The ball goes soaring through the air, heading towards... me! I instinctively reach for my stick, preparing to smack it out of the sky... wait... it's not there!
Ow! It hits me straight in the face, knocking my mask loose. Ohh... now I remember... I left my stick at the barracks, because this was supposed to be a peaceful mission...
The kid who threw the ball runs up to me, apologising profusely.
"Sorry, mister! Are you alright?"
I rub my mask a bit, straightening it, and making sure it doesn't fall off... that was close.
"I'm alright. You've a pretty strong throwing arm, don't you?"
"Yeah... my dad's always said I'd grow up to be pretty strong. Hope you didn't get hurt."
"Well, these masks are meant to protect us."
By now, the other children had come out of the sea and approached us, one of the girls pointing at me and gasping.
"Hey... isn't that one of those soldiers around town?" she whispered to her friend.
"It is... but they look different from all the other ones..." she whispered back.
The boy turns around hearing his friends, before turning back to me. "So... why do you look different from the others then?"
"Oh? Well, that's because I'm a higher rank then all the others. The highest rank, in fact."
"Woah! That's impressive!"
I smile a little on the inside. "Why, thank you."
"And that cloak's really cool! I haven't seen any other soldiers wear them."
"Only we colonels get to wear this."
"Woah... I'd love to wear one of those."
"Well, you're a little young right now, but maybe in the future, you could join us."
There's an obvious hypocrisy in that statement, given the fact that it's coming from me, but to be fair, most children haven't been augmented with machinery in the same way I have.
"Really?"
"Indeed! You might even be wearing one of these in the future."
I pick up their ball on the sand and hand it back to them. "But for now, you're still young. Here. Have fun."
"Thanks!"
With that, I walk back up the steps onto grassy land. The cliffs look out to the sea, but it's otherwise a dead end, so I head back to the town square.
On my way, I can't help but think more about those children... for a town that has spawned much evil, these children seem perfectly nice.
Their lives... they're so simple. So much simpler than mine. Surely, they cannot be too from my age... and yet, we're so different. While they worry about school, I worry about battle. While they play games, I play tactics. And while they have families, I... I don't.
I don't have a family. Apart from the one that abandoned me. But... does that have to be family? No... family are the people you care about, and the people who care for you.
My regiment, the Fierce Pork Trooper, Dr Andonuts, Miss Marsh and Master Porky. They... they're the people I care about. Does that make them family then? I... I don't know.
I've always wondered what my life could have been... what my life could have been if things were different. If I was one of those children... it would be so much simpler, wouldn't it? I wouldn't be the Commander... I'd just be... normal. A normal person.
But would I want that? After all, if fate had not lead me down the path it did... I wouldn't have met all the people in my life I have. I'd be blind and ignorant to all the struggles of the world.
But ignorance is bliss, isn't it?
It's a shame for these children... their innocent hearts must be twisted by their parents, until they become like them. And then it repeats onto their children, a continuous cycle.
But maybe... maybe they can be helped. They're still young, and still impressionable. With the right guidance, their hearts could be turned.
Back in the town centre, I notice a lot of people are gathered around in the very centre of the area, and there's someone at the front, talking... oh no...
"People of Tazmily! We have done much on this town, yet there is still more work to be done! Bolts of lightning strike down here, and we have the solution! The Happy Boxes! Haven't you seen that those with them seem to be perfectly safe? That's because these boxes ward away all forms of lightning, and they entertain you!"
I was wondering when I'd see Fassad today. I was hoping never, but I never do seem to be that lucky. Even in this disguise, Fassad's sure to have been told what I'd look like. Thankfully, he's so engrossed and focused on his speech to the people right now that he doesn't notice me at all, so I slip away and head to the south.
The south is another dead end, another cliff that overlooks the sea, though this one lacks a beach nearby. It's a very quiet area compared to the rest of Tazmily — while the rest of the village has gone through some urbanisation, this part still remains relatively naturalistic. I wonder if this is what the vast majority of Tazmily was like two years ago...
Though I'm familiar with the atmosphere of New Pork and enjoy it, I... I don't... dislike this one either. There's a certain charm to nature that can only be captured when in its purest form — when it's completely untouched by us.
I hide amongst some trees, before lying down on the ground. Hm... I'm taking a large risk here, but...
Making sure there's no one anywhere nearby, I take my mask off... that feels so much better! These things really do get really musty after a while.
Closing my eyes, I take in all my surroundings.
It's... it's calming. There's no one else here... it's just the trees on the plains, the sun in the sky, the wind in my hair, the smell of the sea...
I... it feels so familiar... it feels like... it's so beautiful...
I... I put my mask back on — it was pretty risky to do that... I really shouldn't have.
As I keep walking, I notice that there's a house — just the one, but it's a surprise to see one so far from all the others.
Curious, I keep walking towards it, the back of the house coming more and more into focus as I get closer. After turning a bend, I get a frontal view of it.
It... it's not just a house, or at least, it wasn't just a house.
There's a crater next to the house, and smoldering wooden debris scattered nearby... the remains of a lightning strike from the Thunder Tower. Next to the wreckage are a number of sheep, doing their normal business.
Did... did they live in what that was before? The wreckage... whatever it was before, was that what they lived in?
It... it's just dawned on me that we're... we're destroying homes. The homes that these people have worked hard to build... and we're sending them straight to the ground.
But... but they deserved this, right? The cruelty, the injustice, the pain they showed to the Pigmask Army, to Master Porky, to me... this was simply revenge. Every action... has a consequence. And this was theirs... right?
But now... now, we're no longer at war with them. We've entered a truce... but will they honour it? Should we? Should we honour it, or break it... because they might do the same.
And yet... I can't help but feel that they won't. Because after everything I've seen... there are good people here, aren't they? It's not just pure evil, like I once thought... and do they deserve to suffer? Do many innocents deserve to suffer for the sake of a few guilty?
I... I don't know.
With a sigh, I turn to the house itself. Compared to the rest of the houses I've seen, this one seems very old fashioned. It's made almost entirely of wood... it doesn't seem to have changed at all.
There's a kennel enclosed by it, and inside a... a brown dog... it... have I seen it before?
Right now, it's sleeping peacefully... I walk past it as quietly as I can, trying not to walk it up.
And this house... it...
"Alright boys, be on your best behavior for your mother and grandfather."
What... is it about it, that's so...
"Of course! I'm looking forward to seeing him again."
So... special?
"But it's a shame you can't go with us, Dad..."
Who... who lives here?
System error. Second failsafe online.
I...
(Lucas...)
With a start, I snap back to reality, frozen in place. I was about to... knock on this door. I... no, I shouldn't... I'm not supposed to engage with the people here.
But... but there's something about all of this...
Suddenly, my sensors start beeping at me... the alarm I set. I... I should get back.
As I walk away, I look back at the house once more, hearing a sound... a whine of sorts.
I look around, trying to find the noise... was it this dog? Do I...
(Boney...)
Enough. It doesn't matter. I need to get back on time.
Luckily, it's not too far from here — I sprint towards it quickly. I'd normally use my wings, and fly over, but that isn't exactly possible in this outfit... and it wouldn't be very wise either.
Thankfully, I'm able to make it on time, and I'm not the last one here either.
"Ah, kid, you're here. We're just waiting for two more idiots, and Fassad himself."
"Good."
"Done anything then?"
"Not much... I've just explored this town. It's more advanced than I thought it would be, given the things I've been told about it."
"Yeah, since the truce, we have been helping them a bit more... only question is, was it a good idea?"
"We can only hope."
Soon enough, the rest of the regiment arrives, and then about ten minutes later... Fassad.
"Good, you're all here. I didn't want to explain myself twice."
Oh boy... this'll be fun.
"What did you call us here for then, Mr Fassad? You said there was something in the village you needed us to get."
"Yes. In Osohe Castle."
Ah, I've heard of this castle — I haven't been there yet, but according to my map, it's north of the train station. I've heard stories of it being overrun with by ghosts — actual, real ghosts.
"The egg? But... we already tried getting it, and you know how that went."
The egg? Oh, they're referring to the Egg of Light. Apparently, some Pigmasks invaded the castle in an attempt to steal it — it supposedly has a great secret locked in it that could help us. I would feel bad about stealing, but they started this conflict first — this was coming to them one way or another.
But unfortunately, the villagers took the egg, and now we have no idea where it is at all... but that doesn't seem to be the only thing in there.
"Don't remind me." Fassad responds, snarling at the Fierce Pork Trooper. "But that's not what I'm on about. There is another object inside the castle... an object of great power."
"What is it?"
"Under orders of the king, I can't tell you that."
"Then how on Earth are we supposed to find it exactly?"
"Bah! If you're half the soldiers you say you are, you'll know when you see it!"
"That... still doesn't help us very much. And why couldn't you get it?"
"Why do you think? After that mess, they won't let me near the place."
"Alright, but we still don't have much to work on."
"Take the chimera with you." he says, pointing to me. "It'll be able to sense it."
Everyone else's eyes turn to face me. What? Me?! How would I help?!
The Fierce Pork Trooper sighs, not sure what to make of Fassad's demands. "Alright... we'll check the castle out. Everyone, we move out in half an hour. Prepare yourselves."
And so we do, taking weapons, and some other utilities, like flashlights and rope. As I'm unable to use my arm cannon like this, I take one of the guns that the rest of the Pigmasks use — I have some experience using these, but not too much. Hopefully, I won't need it.
"So, once more, go to that castle, and find that object." spits Fassad.
"Right, but... one question." I ask.
"What is it?" he snarls.
"If we encounter any civilians inside the castle... what do we do?"
"That is a good point, actually." says the Fierce Pork Trooper."
Fassad snarls some more, muttering to himself. "Grr... as much it pains me to say this, don't attack any of the civilians. Or the ghosts — we don't need any more of them getting on us."
"Right. Let's move out!"
And so our squad of seventeen — the fifteen Pigmasks, the Fierce Pork Trooper and myself, all move out. It's gotten dark now — perfect for this kind of activity. We walk towards Osohe Castle, passing a graveyard along the way... ah, this is where that tunnel in the Candaum Underpass emerged at, isn't it?
Being a graveyard, it's certainly a little grim, but we move on. As we do so, I notice that to the right, there's a path of sorts that's completely grassy. Where does that lead to...
Focus. Focus on the mission. It's not long before we reach the castle... it looks a bit gothic if you ask me.
The drawbridge is up, so we walk across, right outside the double doors before we stop and I point something out.
"Wouldn't it be risky for all of us to go in at once?"
"You're right, it would. Let's split up into two groups. Half of you are with me, and we're gonna stay out here, and make sure no one else can get near this place. The other half, you're with the kid — find whatever it is Fassad wants us to find."
"And if we encounter any civilians?"
"If they won't less you past, retreat immediately. Don't attack them, unless they attack first. We can't risk anything happening."
"Very well."
"You sure you'll be alright, kid?"
"I have a mission to do. And I won't let the situation impede me in my goals."
The Fierce Pork Trooper looks at me for a moment, before nodding.
We split into two, and I enter the gothic castle, seven Pigmasks with me.
The inside of the castle has a rather different atmosphere than, say... Prince Poo's palace. The stone walls, the red carpets, and a faint laughter in the distance... it really is haunted.
"God, I hope there aren't ghosts here... I hate ghosts." says one Pigmask.
"Oh, there are. I've seen them myself. Some of them pack a mean punch as well." replies another.
"Wait, you've been to this castle before?" I ask.
"Oh yeah, Commander — I was part of the squad that came here two years ago."
Interesting... that could be useful.
"So what do you know about this castle then?"
"It's about... about nine floors or so, plus a basement. Pretty big, so it'll probably take us a long time to find whatever we're looking for."
"Great... that's all we need now."
"Wait, Commander... Fassad said you'd be able to sense it. Can you?" asks another.
That's a good question — I have no idea what Fassad was on about, though that seems par for the course. Sense it? I mean... I can sense PSI, but... that's about it. It's worth a shot, I suppose.
I close my eyes, concentrating as much as I can. This entire castle... I can sense PSI all over it, but it's faint... it's residue, I think. From PSI used a long time ago.
It's hard to find any one object, because of all the residue, but I keep focusing and — woah! What is that?
There's something very strange here — it's faint, yes, but stronger than everything else. But that's not the interesting part — no, whatever this object is... it's being suppressed? As if there's more to it, a power waiting to be awakened...
"There is something here... an object of great power — great psychic power, in fact. I'm not sure what it is, or where it is, but Fassad wasn't lying — there is something here."
"What are your orders then, Commander?"
"I'd say split up, but if I'm the only one that can sense this thing, that won't be of much use..."
"Sir, can't you like... scan for PSI? Can't you use that?"
Well... I... didn't think of that one...
"... a very good suggestion, thank you."
Scanning surrounding area for PSI.
Scan complete.
It's been some time since I've used this, and it's just as freaky as before. Many shades of blue fill my eyes, a little green here and there. While I can't see through the walls, I can see the psychic signatures past them, which lets me examine almost the entirety of the first floor... but it doesn't seem to be here.
"It's not here, not on this floor. Let's press on then."
There's not much in the castle... safe for a few spiders on the carpets. We first head to the basement — it's unlikely to be there, but it's worth looking there.
There are these strange purple creatures that try and attack us — emphasis on try. At first, I think they may be able to use PSI — they make movements similar to how Paula and Fassad both do when they're about to use PK Freeze, but... nothing.
More scary are these weird barrels which seem to be normal at first, but spring to life when I get near one and spray this strange fragrance on me which smells oddly sweet, and makes me feel... awfully... drowsy...
"Commander? Are you alright?"
With a start, I wake up. "Huh? Yes, I'm fine... must be those barrels."
"Yeah, I remember those things putting a few of us to sleep..." they respond.
"Is it poisonous in any way though?"
"No, it isn't. It's short lived, just annoying. It's like a defence of theirs. The spiders are poisonous though."
"You heard him." I say. "Look out for the spiders... what about those strange pink creatures?"
"We're not sure what's up with them — we think they're trying to use PSI, but don't have the mental strength to do so."
"Hm... I thought as much. Either way, we must press on."
And so we do. The basement doesn't have what we're looking for, so we return to the first floor and climb up the castle.
As we trek upwards, we are attacked by a few spiders and these strange barrels that come to life. They're not too much trouble though — a simple warning shot of our lasers deters most of them.
The second floor yields nothing either, until we get to one particularly open room with a bunch of ghosts in it.
We all raise our guns immediately, but they don't attack us. In fact... it appears we've run into a party of sorts.
There's a piano in the room, which one of the ghosts is able to play... despite being incorporeal. It's a rather nice tune...
The other ghosts seem to be eating food that looks rotten and drinking wine — both of which go through them, because they're, well, ghosts.
Wait, wait, wait — if food and drink go through the ghosts, then why don't their hands go through the keys on a piano? You know what, forget it — we have a mission.
One of the ghosts noticed us and approaches, cackling a little.
"Back for more? What brings you to our haunt? Care for some food?"
"No, thank you... we're looking for a really special object."
"Really special object? Hey, you guys came and took it already, didn't you?"
"No, not that one... a different one."
"Can't say I know what you're on about. Good luck finding whatever it is. But hey, if you fail, you can always join the party!"
"Thanks for the offer."
But I have no intention of doing so, and neither do my troops. At one of the walls, there's a bunch of... staples, pressed in such a way that they form a ladder. How strange... but convenient.
We climb up, reaching a chasm, too wide to jump.
"How did you guys get across here?" one Pigmask asks to the one that came here before.
"I... don't actually know." he responds, scratching his head sheepishly. "I was stationed on the lower floors, so I never made it up here."
Hm... how are we going to get across this? While I could fly across there, that's not possible in this suit, and even if I were to take it off, that wouldn't help the others... wait a minute...
"Alright, everyone, get your ropes."
Slightly confused, they all get them out. "What are we gonna do, sir?"
"Watch." With a few throws, I managed to loop it around the chandelier, and then, with a bit of courage, swing across the gap, landing on the other side.
The other Pigmasks cheer for me a little, before doing the same. A few of their landings are less than elegant, but that's not important now.
We dash across, heading to the fourth floor — and I can feel it much more here... yes, it is here. Somewhere nearby, that's where this object is... let's find it. It must be somewhere around he —
"Hey! What are you lot doing here?"
Suddenly, we all stop in the middle of our tracks, seeing an old man emerge from a door.
We all instinctively raise our weapons, but that was the wrong move — as soon as we do so, this man enters a fighting stance.
It's a fairly good one at that as well — despite his age, he's evidently familiar with some forms of combat. I must admit — I am somewhat impressed.
"What are you lot doing back here?! Haven't you taken enough from our town?! Destroyed it enough?! And now you're back!"
What on Earth is this man going on about?
I raise my hands in surrender, speaking as calmly as I can. "Sir, we mean no harm."
"No harm, my ass! You mean as much harm as that moron of a son I have does!"
This man... he looks familiar — I swear I've seen him before... wait... the tanks. When the Pigmasks came to this town... he destroyed one of our tanks.
"Sir... what should we do?" one of them whispers to me.
Now I'm somewhat scared — although he had some help doing so, he's destroyed something rather powerful, and that means he's likely to do the same to us... in fact, let's confirm that.
'Name: Wess.
Age: 62.
Family: One son, Duster.
A master thief, he and his son have both interfered with the Pigmask Army's plans multiple times, preventing recovery of the Egg of Light. He has also destroyed a Pork Tank — if he intrudes on a mission, approach him with extreme caution, and it is advised to kill him if feasible.'
"Did what I do to you fools ages ago not teach you anything? You want a second round?"
Grr... it's so close, I can feel it. To be this close to our goal, only to be stopped by one old man? I'm half tempted to just have everyone blast him to one side — no one will ever know, right? It would be simple, quick, and it would eliminate one of our greatest enemies.
But no... that's how he thinks. That's how they think, isn't it? And we can't allow ourselves to stoop to their level. It's a hard decision to make, but eventually... I have my answer.
Keeping my eyes on him, I lower my gun.
"Fall back."
The Pigmasks and the old man all seem surprised upon hearing that.
"But, sir —"
"Fall back."
There's no argument after that, so I turn and start walking back, the rest of my regiment following soon after, leaving just the old man up there.
"Sir, why did we retreat?"
"We have our orders. We will not hurt civilians. Still, I'm in no mood to deal with him again, so I think it's best if we leave at once."
With considerable haste, we make our way out, the Fierce Pork Trooper and the rest of the Pigmasks emerging from some bushes across the courtyard, looking surprised while they do.
"Only two hours? You're certainly quick, aren't you, kid?"
The Pigmasks who joined me all look at me, in anticipation... it's my job to do this then.
"Fast, but unfortunately... not successful."
"You couldn't find it?"
"Yes... and no. There's definitely something in this castle — Fassad was right about that. But we weren't able to confirm its identity, because we never reached it — we were stopped on the way."
"By who?"
"A man, old, about in his 60's. I believe he's the same one who blew up one of our tanks and hindered the retrieval of the Egg of Light some time ago."
"Oh, that dude... yeah, Fassad's not too keen on him. Says he's been making trouble for him all the time."
"He wouldn't let us through without a fight, so we had no choice but to fall back."
"Hm... well, there's nothing more that can be done then. Let's get back to base."
And so we do, all of us sitting down after a hard mission. Fassad's already gone to sleep thankfully, so that's one piece of bad news that can wait...
"Alright, all of you get to sleep. We're leaving tomorrow."
"Please tell me we get tomorrow off..." groans one Pigmask.
"I suppose you maggots deserve a break after today, so fine, no training tomorrow."
There's a weak cheer among the Pigmasks, before all of us start heading to beds, claimed by sleep...
But... halfway into the night, I wake up. What.... what time is it... 1:00. I try to get back to sleep for the next half an hour, but I'm unable to... that's strange. While I have sometimes woken up in the middle of the night, I usually don't have issues getting back to sleep...
But... it's just not working. Eventually, I decide that I should do something different... maybe getting out and clearing my head will help.
I put my mask and suit back on, before heading outside. It's very dark now... even more so than before. I hadn't noticed it earlier because I was with the Pigmasks, but I can hear crickets and owls in the distance. There's a faint breeze in the night, one that's refreshing.
I start walking aimlessly... I don't know where I'm going at all. I'm just walking and... seeing where it takes. Through fields... streets... the town square...
And that's when I stop. I'm facing the path to the beach, but I stop and turn to the right. The graveyard... there was that one path I saw.
I don't know why, but... I start walking in that direction. It's... it's more than just curiosity, it's this... overwhelming yearning to see what... just what it is.
So I keep walking... past the railway... past the bell tower... past these graves...
Until... it's there. To my right. While the rest of the graveyard is on stone, this part... isn't.
It... this place... there's just one grave here. One lone solitary grave, with a set of... sunflowers beside it.
"Mom, I..."
This grave... have I seen it before? No, I couldn't have, I... I've never been here before... that was in a previous life, an inferior life.
"I... why did you have to leave?"
But... I... was it?
"I'm gonna get revenge. I'm gonna get revenge... for you, Mom."
And... on the grave... on the grave, there's... there's an inscription.
'Wife of Flint. Daughter of Alec. Mother of the twins Lucas and —'
System error. Final failsafe activated. Initiating Protocol 31212119.
Before I can... my mind is... stricken, by... no... no... what is this... no... but, I... I can't! I'm... I'm...
Reinitialising... 10%... 20%...
I... what's happening... I... I must... I have to...
40%... 50%...
Forget... I have to... let go... let go of...
80%... 90%...
Memory units reengaged. System functions... nominal.
What... what happened? How did I... what's going on? I... what was I doing? I was walking and... now I'm here? Next to this grave... I... what was here for? I...
I should get back. I... I need sleep, and... whatever this is, I, I shouldn't be here.
I... I start to walk away. But as I do... I can't help but hear something... familiar. A voice that I've heard before... a voice that's as silent as the wind...
"You must be so tired..."
(... Mother?)
Notes:
Well then, folks, behold the new longest chapter of BTM! I have a feeling that won't be the last time I'll be saying that either...
Funny thing was, I was actually really stumped for ideas with this chapter for the longest time. And then, well... this. The idea of the Masked Man visiting Tazmily is something I've had for a long time, and I've been waiting for the time to use it.
Anyway, there's an onslaught of memories for Claus, and quite a bit of conflict for him now. Will this play a part in the story, you ask? Well, if I was a good writer, it would, but I'm not, so it probably won't...
There is one thing I will clarify though — in Mother 3, the Pigmasks settle into Tazmily and urbanise it after Chapter 3. I've... never seen why the Pigmasks would have so much ease doing so, since the people of Tazmily should have reason to be suspicious.
In this story, the battles alluded to by Fassad and the Fierce Pork Trooper did actually happen — it was only after a truce was established that they begun to modernize the place (the people of Tazmily did not steal any tech as Claus believes though). Nevertheless, the Pigmasks started the conflict, as we know.
I should also mention this — Claus believes that the Pigmasks coming to Tazmily for the first time, and the raid on Osohe, are separate events. Like in Mother 3, both happen at the same time — this is just an extension of Pokey's lies and manipulation. Hope that clears it up.
Next time, Claus takes a vacation at the Thunder Tower.
Chapter 19: Maid of Memories
Summary:
Reunions, tea, discussion, and the Masked Man's inability to use PK Love.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"We'll be reaching the Thunder Tower in about 10 minutes, Commander."
"Thank you."
I take a look out of the window... yes, there it is, as tall as ever. I can't help but crack a smile. After all, I've been looking forward to this for quite some time.
A month has passed since I went to Tazmily, on that mission. But unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our task — and Fassad certainly wasn't happy about that. In fact, the only person he was more angry at than us, was the old man that we encountered.
In my spare time, I've found myself... wondering about that place. You know, Master Porky told me that it was a barbaric, uncivilised society... but it didn't seem to be entirely like that. I mean, there were plenty of nice people, and it couldn't have all been a facade.
But then again, maybe that's not what he meant. There are good people, but it's the bad ones... few as they may be. A few bad apples spoil the lot, don't they?
Relations with Tazmily have remained peaceful since then, although according to Fassad, the old man we saw has been stirring up a lot of trouble recently... I hope the Pigmasks there will be safe.
I softly chuckle to myself... I'm thinking about my duties and all, when this is supposed to be a vacation! Well, it hasn't started yet, I suppose... but still, that can all wait until I get back.
Yes, Master Porky was kind enough to grant me this vacation — he stated that he wanted me out of New Pork City for some time. I'm not quite sure why, but it's not my duty to question what he says. Besides, who am I to deny a break from my work?
I very rarely am allowed a day off my duties, but when I do, I go to the same place I'm going to now — the Thunder Tower. As I've said, the place fascinates me to no end, what with all the experiments with lightning and all.
And of course, I can't forget a certain robotic maid that's stationed there... I wonder what she'll make of this.
But unlike my past ventures there, it's not just a day off I've gotten — no, in fact, I've gotten two weeks. I'm definitely looking forward to this.
There's a sudden lurch of the ship, and the package in my hands shifts a little. Stabilising myself first, I make sure that the package doesn't fall — I would hate for it to break.
"Sorry about that, Commander! Seems like there's some turbulence up here."
"It's alright. No harm done."
Thankfully, there's no further flying issues, and we land safely at the tower.
"Well, we're here. Enjoy your vacation, sir."
"Thank you. Have a nice day."
My trek through the tower is fairly simple — not at all like my first venture through it, where I had to deal with hoards of robots and batteries.
I turn a corner, entering the main control room, seeing many of the Pigmasks sitting there, doing pretty much... well, nothing. And in the centre of the room, also doing nothing, is none other than Colonel Rysan — the same colonel I met during my first visit here.
In fact, I've met her when I've come to the tower before — apparently she was reassigned here when they started using the Thunder Tower to launch lightning at Tazmily Village.
"Busy day, Colonel?" I ask with some sarcasm.
She turns and faces me. "Ah, Commander, I heard you were coming here. On another break?"
"Indeed — for two weeks."
"Two weeks? That's longer than usual for you. Usually you're only here for a day."
"I suppose the king must have been feeling generous."
"Well, I imagine you've deserve it for all your hard work... well, unlike us."
"Yes... why is no one doing anything here?"
"Well, there's pretty much nothing to do! We've ceased fire on Tazmily, so we're not using the laser. All we're doing now is just the usual maintenance to make sure we're supplying enough electricity to New Pork."
"But I thought you were only here because they needed experienced soldiers to oversee the use of the laser? How come you haven't been reassigned elsewhere?"
"Good question." she says dryly. "It's a waste of all of our talents, if you ask me."
"Remind me, who assigned you here in the first place?"
"Fassad."
Ahhh... see, that makes so much sense now.
"Speaking of Fassad, I heard you went on a mission to Tazmily Village. How did that go?"
"Poorly... Fassad was not pleased, which I'd usually be fine with, but it didn't exactly pan out well for the rest of us. Anyway, I shall be off — if you need me, I will be in the king's playroom."
"Alright... oh wait! I just remembered, when you get to the playroom, you won't find Lil' Miss Marshmallow there."
What? Is she alright?! My heart plummets, immediately fearing the worst.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing's wrong! She's just having her routine check up. It should only last for another hour or so."
I take a sigh of relief, glad it's nothing serious.
"Thank you then. I shall be off."
The rest of my climb is fairly uneventful, and I'm able to reach the playroom. Master Porky was kind enough to allow me to use his playroom for my visit here... he truly is a generous king.
I haven't brought much with me, just a few supplies, as well as this package... hm, I should probably put somewhere now. There's a fridge in the kitchen, full of snacks for Master Porky, so I place the package in there... I hope Miss Marsh will like it.
But either way, she isn't here now... I suppose I could entertain myself.
It's only then I notice the ladder in this room which leads to a hole and a room higher up... you know, I've never been up there.
Curiosity gets the better of me and I scale the ladder, heading into the next room.
Woah... it's massive! There's lots of platforms above me, connected through a series of ladders. In the centre of each platform, is a giant electrical pillar that stretches out of sight.
The room is so big that I can hear my voice echo. I start to climb up, but it becomes quickly apparent that this place is even taller than I thought... where does it end? You know what, I have wings... I could just fly. But that might not be safe here — if there was a burst of lightning, that could potentially harm me.
In fact, I'm not entirely sure I'm supposed to be here but... well, I'm already here, so I may as well keep going.
Eventually, I reach the top, seeing the top of the generator. There's a door at the end... I can see the sky through the window.
"Am I at the top of the tower..." I say out loud.
"INDEED, YOU ARE."
What the...
Immediately, I grab my stick, turning on the spot towards the direction of the voice, my eyes widening when I see where it came from.
Built in the side of the generator, is a robot with blue and red wires, a metallic face, and a claw. Is that...
"Mr Genator?" I ask.
"THAT IS MY CODE NAME, SERIAL NUMBER: GENE163-1425."
Yes, I'm starting to remember why we renamed him and Miss Marsh.
"AND YOU ARE THE COMMANDER OF THE PIGMASK ARMY, CORRECT?"
"Soon to be, yes." Though less tense now, I still don't lower my stick — my first experience with Mr Genator is still fresh in my mind, a concern I decide to vocalise.
"Please don't tell me you're going to attack me..."
"I WILL NOT. MY JOB IS TO GUARD THIS GENERATOR FROM INTRUDERS AND PEOPLE WHO TAMPER WITH THIS GENERATOR. AS YOU ARE NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS, I WILL NOT ATTACK YOU."
A blunt way of putting it, but I'm not complaining. "Well, that's good to hear... so, have you had any intruders?"
"NONE SINCE I WAS INSTALLED HERE."
Well, that's also good to hear, though I suspect he may have some if the enemy ever finds out about this tower and tries to disable it.
"Does anyone else visit you?"
"NONE. YOU ARE THE FIRST."
"That's a bit sad..."
"FOR THAT MATTER, WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
"Oh, well... I was just exploring the place. Actually, where does that door lead to?" I ask, pointing to it.
"THE TOP OF THE TOWER. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS THERE, NOT IN THE LEAST BECAUSE OF THE HEIGHT. I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO TURN BACK."
The very top? The view would certainly be quite nice... but I'm not in the mood to potentially take a 200 metre drop, so I think I'll take that advice.
"Thank you — I'll be going. Goodbye then."
"GOODBYE."
I head back to the playroom, having a look at the time... hm, it's been more than an hour. Miss Marsh should be back by now... wait, I can hear something below. Someone's climbing the ladder... that must be her.
My first thought is to simply wait for her to climb up and then greet her, but then... I have a different idea.
I kneel behind one of the car, making sure I can't be seen... her metallic climbing becomes louder and louder, until she finally emerges.
She straightens her skirt out, looking across the room in what seems to be confusion.
"... HOW STRANGE. THE COMMANDER SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW... PERHAPS HE IS RUNNING LATE. IN WHICH CASE, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME LUNCH FOR HIM IN TIME FOR HIS ARRIVAL... I'M SURE HE WILL BE HUNGRY."
I smile behind my hiding spot... it's kind of her to do that, especially after she's just had that check up. And she's absolutely right, actually — I am hungry.
She heads into the kitchen on the side, and I follow behind, making sure she doesn't see me, crouching behind the door.
She starts to gather some ingredients — I think she's making some steak. I do have a bit of a hankering for it...
And after getting the steak, she places it on a board, before nonchalantly calling out. "COMMANDER, IT CANNOT BE COMFORTABLE CROUCHING BEHIND THERE."
My eyes widen as I slowly stand up, seeing Miss Marsh holding a spatula in one hand, and looking at me with what seems to be amusement.
"... how long did you know I was here?"
"I DID NOT. HOWEVER, I CONCLUDED THAT YOU MUST HAVE BEEN HERE."
"...how?"
"IT WAS THE ONLY LOGICAL CONCLUSION TO MAKE WHEN I PICKED UP A HEART RATE AT 100 BEATS PER MINUTE IN THIS ROOM WITH NO ONE IN SIGHT."
I... damn it, I completely forgot about that...
"Well... I feel like a fool..."
"WHAT WERE YOU DOING?"
"I was trying to surprise you."
"OH... MY APOLOGIES, COMMANDER." She drops her head a little.
I crack a smile and laugh at that. "It's alright. Besides, I'm just glad to see you again! It's been... well, I don't even know! A very long time."
"IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU AS WELL, COMMANDER. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?" she says, sitting down with me at a table in the playroom.
"I've been fine, just training and all, though I did go on a mission to Tazmily Village."
"TAZMILY VILLAGE? YOUR PLACE OF BIRTH, CORRECT? HOW WAS THAT?"
"It was... an experience, to say the least. I've learned more about the place on that mission than I ever have before."
She nods in understanding. "I SEE... IT APPEARS YOU'VE BEEN BUSY."
"How have you been then?"
"I HAVE BEEN PERFECTLY FINE. I MONITOR THIS PLAYROOM, AND PERFORM HIS HIGHNESS'S DUTIES WHENEVER HE COMES HERE."
"I imagine that's your biggest priority then."
"ACTUALLY... IT IS NOT."
"Oh? What is then?"
"THAT IS." She says, pointing to the yo-yo in the glass case. Ah, I remember seeing this — this was Master Porky's prized yo-yo, which he took from Ness...
"This yo-yo... it's a very special one."
"INDEED. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN ORDERS TO GUARD IT WITH MY LIFE. IF ANYONE TRIES TO TAKE IT, I AM TO WARN THEM FIRST, AND SHOULD THEY MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT, I AM TO ELIMINATE THEM."
"Eliminate them? That seems a little harsh, doesn't it?"
"PERHAPS. BUT THOSE ARE MY ORDERS. HIS HIGHNESS OBVIOUSLY PRIZES THIS YO-YO A GREAT DEAL."
"So what would you do if I tried to take it?"
"I WOULD SAY MY CLAW WOULD BE SOMEWHERE AROUND YOUR NECK, COMMANDER."
"Okay... that's a little scary..." And not in the least because I know she's being serious about that as well.
"THAT WAS THE INTENTION... THOUGH I HOPE IT DOES NOT COME TO THAT. AFTER ALL, I AM SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THE OPPOSITE, AND I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN."
"I've been looking forward to seeing you again as well... if only so I can do this."
She gives me a puzzled look "DO WHAT, COM —"
But she doesn't need an answer to that question, when I seize her by the waist and hug her for all she's worth — so that's a lot then. Although taken aback at first, her body relaxes after, and she returns it.
"I've missed you quite a lot, you know..." I murmur.
"... REALLY?"
"Yep... it's pretty lonely at New Pork... but I'm glad I could see you again, even if it's just for two weeks."
"... as am I, Commander."
The two of us stay like that for a while... neither one of us really wanting to move, but Miss Marsh eventually starts speaking, recognising that we can't stay here forever.
"AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO STAY HERE, COMMANDER, WOULDN'T YOU LIKE SOMETHING TO EAT?"
"Well, I suppose you're right."
"I WAS PREPARING SOME STEAK FOR YOU. WOULD THAT BE ALRIGHT?"
"That would be just fine, thank you."
"I SHALL CONTINUE MAKING IT THEN."
"Here, let me help out!"
"NONSENSE, COMMANDER. YOU MUST BE TIRED AFTER YOUR JOURNEY HERE AND THE CLIMB UP THE TOWER."
"I insist — besides, it's fun to cook with you!"
"... WELL, IF YOU INSIST."
So the two of us go into the kitchen, preparing some food... just like old times.
I start seasoning the steak with salt and pepper, while she goes to the fridge, looking for some butter.
"COMMANDER? IS THIS YOURS?"
I stop the seasoning, and turn to see what's she's talking about. She has the package I put in the fridge in her hands.
"Oh, yeah, that's mine — I made something at New Pork City yesterday, and I wanted to bring it for you to see how well I've done with it." I say while continuing to season the food, reaching for a lemon.
"I DON'T THINK THAT'S NECESSARY, COMMANDER. I CAN CONCLUDE THAT YOU'LL HAVE DONE JUST FINE, BASED ON YOUR SKILL.'
While she says that, I squeeze the lemon a bit too hard, sending the juice flying all over my face. Miss Marsh approaches me, holding a cloth.
"THEN AGAIN, YOU DO SEEM TO HAVE A KNACK FOR PROVING ME WRONG." She says with what seems to be amusement on her face.
Taking it, I wipe my face while laughing in embarrassment at that, taking another lemon. "My bad..."
"BUT I THINK WHATEVER IT IS YOU HAVE MADE, IT WILL BE EXCELLENT. THAT BEING SAID, YOU DID WISH FOR ME TO LOOK AT THIS."
"Oh yeah, but not yet actually."
"HM?"
"It's something special... if you don't mind, I'd like to leave it for another day."
She looks very puzzled at that, but nods and places it back. "AS YOU WISH, COMMANDER."
And so begins my holiday. The days go by, and I spend some time on the lower floors with the Pigmasks, but most of my time is spent in Master Porky's playroom.
There's lots of toys here, so I make use of them... it's strange, now that I think about it. Playing with toys, relaxing, having a vacation... I'm acting as if I were... well, a child.
And that's what makes it so strange — for what may be the first time in my life, I'm actually acting my age. Like those children at Tazmily...
I keep myself adequately amused, but I also spend some time practicing my PSI as well, particularly PK Love. I know Master Porky said I should only use it with him and Fassad present, but Miss Marsh knows I can use it as well — she was there the first time, so it should be alright.
Predictably though, my attempts don't get me anywhere.
"PK Love Alpha... PK Love Alpha... PK Love Alpha... why am I not surprised?" I sigh, kicking the wall in frustration before sitting down on a chair.
With slight dejection, I sit down on a chair. I've lost count how many failed attempts of PK Love that makes. I kick the toy aeroplane near my foot, but evidently, that was the wrong move, for Miss Marsh immediately ceases her meticulous sweeping and frowns at me.
"COMMANDER, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE FRUSTRATED, BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU DID NOT DESTROY THIS PLAYROOM BECAUSE OF THAT."
She really does take this seriously, doesn't she? "My apologies, Miss Marsh. I'm simply... frustrated, as you say."
"IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING ANYWAY?"
"I'm trying to use PK Love. Emphasis on trying."
"HM... IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, YOU USED THAT PSI THE FIRST TIME WE BOTH CAME HERE, CORRECT?"
"Yes, I did."
"SO WHY ARE YOU STRUGGLING TO USE IT NOW?"
"I... I don't know. Ever since that first time, I've never been able to use it again. And I've been trying for months now."
"HM... HOW ODD. YOU PICK UP ON THINGS REMARKABLY QUICKLY... I'VE NEVER SEEN OR HEARD OF YOU FAILING LEARN SOMETHING YOU'VE PUT YOUR MIND TO — AND YES, COMMANDER, BEFORE YOU SAY OTHERWISE, I AM INCLUDING COOKING IN THAT. YOU MADE MANY STRIDES IN JUST FOUR MONTHS."
"Well, thanks, but evidently, I've hit a break wall, so to say."
She puts the broom to the side, glancing at me. "YOUR FRUSTRATION IS UNDERSTANDABLE, BUT... I think there are more productive ways of dealing with your issues."
"Such as?"
"SUCH AS TAKING A BREAK. WHICH, IF I'VE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM YOU, IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO."
"A break won't help me. I'll never master this PSI this way. Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?"
She stares at me for a moment, a question clearly on her lips. "Then why did you come to this tower?" she says softly.
I... I did come to this tower for a break. That is true. But that doesn't mean I can squander my time.
"YOU RUN YOURSELF RAGGED, COMMANDER. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN TO QUIT. I SUPPOSE IT'S A GOOD THING YOU HAVE ME, ISN'T IT?"
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
"AS I MANAGE HIS HIGHNESS'S PLAYROOM AND DEAL WITH ANYONE ENTERING THIS PLACE, I GET TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH ANYONE IN HERE."
"And what are you deciding to do with me?" I say, slightly amused.
"SIMPLE. I'M ORDERING YOU TO TAKE A BREAK. ALLOW ME A MINUTE."
She heads into the kitchen of the playroom, where I hear a kettle boiling. I'm not entirely sure what she's doing, but I could probably get a few more attempts of PK Love before she's done. Strictly speaking, she hasn't forced me to take a break yet.
I stand up, stretching my arms and thinking about the att —
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, COMMANDER." she calls, not even looking at me, but with amusement colouring her voice as she anticipated what I intended to do.
So I sit back down, and after a minute, she comes out with a cup filled with some sort of liquid, resting on a saucer. The confusion on my face must be evident, for she clarifies immediately.
"IT'S CALLED TEA, COMMANDER. IT'S A BEVERAGE THAT IS SAID TO CALM ONE'S NERVES. IT IS SOMETHING MORE FOR ADULTS, BUT YOU'VE ALWAYS ACTED A LITTLE OLDER THEN YOU ARE."
Tea? Huh... I've never heard of that. "What is it made from?"
She pauses for a second, trying to think of how to answer that.
"WELL... IT IS MADE FROM ADDING BOILING WATER TO LEAVES, OFTEN WITH MILK AND SUGAR ADDED."
"That... doesn't sound too nice." I say with a grimace on my face.
"IT IS SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE, BUT I ASSURE YOU THAT IT WILL LIKELY TASTE NICER THAN I'M MAKING IT SOUND."
"I'll try it then."
She places the saucer down, and I gently take the cup, inspecting the contents. I've never tried something like this, but... I take a gentle sip, and the flavour... it's something truly unique. There's an edge to it, and yet an underlining sweetness... it closely resembles the maid who made it.
I smile, and she notices.
"What are you... THINKING ABOUT?"
"I'm thinking... that this tea is wonderful. And... that I wish you could be drinking it with me."
"THAT WOULD BE INADVISABLE. MY SYSTEMS DEFINITELY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT."
"Oh? Have you tried?"
"I HAVE NOT. STRANGELY ENOUGH, I don't think I should try either." She laughs.
"It honestly wouldn't surprise me if you were fine. You are... very human."
"AH, YES. WITH MY CLEARLY METALLIC FACE AND HANDS." she replies with some snark, and yet there's a hint of bitterness in it.
I put the cup down, shaking my head at her. "That's not what I meant. You passed all your Turing tests, didn't you? You could fool anyone into thinking you were human."
"I could... BUT I DON'T THINK SO."
"Why not? That is what the test defines."
"PERHAPS. BUT... CAN A SIMPLE TEST REALLY DETERMINE SOMETHING AS BEING HUMAN? THAT SEEMS RATHER NARROW MINDED. IT IS MY PURPOSE TO REPLICATE THE ACTIONS OF A HUMAN MAID, AND YET... I don't think I've been all that capable in that task. BUT THAT WHAT IS YOU GET WHEN YOUR VOICE IS A SYNTHESISED ONE."
I take another sip, carefully thinking about my wording. "I disagree. If one's voice determined how human they were, then Fassad would be immediately out. On the contrary, I believe your voice to be a lovely one. But moreover, it is... the way you act, the things you do that determine how... human one is.
And... I don't claim to be knowledgeable about these matters, but a person who sees another's frustration and seeks to aid them, regardless of their own wishes and desires, seems human to me. You're right. You can't dictate someone's ability with a mere test alone. But you're better than it."
"YOUR OPTIMISM IS KIND, AND REFRESHING TO SEE FROM YOU, COMMANDER. BUT I CANNOT BE ASSURED OF THE FACT."
"Perhaps... you never will. But there's one person you'll always seem human to, for what little that's worth. You asked me why I came to this tower earlier on."
"SO THAT YOU COULD TAKE A BREAK."
I shake my head. "That is not false, but I could have taken a break anywhere, and I would have had more opportunities elsewhere as well. I chose here for one simple reason — because of the maid who resided in this tower. The one who I lived with for many months. The one that was just as human as I hopefully am."
"I'M... I'm honoured you'd think of me so highly, Commander."
I take another sip. It really is good. "Still, I'd like to try more of this. Are there any other kinds of flavours?"
She laughs again at that. "FAR TOO MANY TO COUNT."
And from then on, every day at 4:00, I have some tea — there's a bunch of different kinds according to Miss Marsh, and I'm eager to try them all. Some of them aren't too good like green tea, but then others are amazing!
In fact, on one particular day, I discover one of my favourite kinds.
"So what's this particular kind of tea then, Miss Marsh?"
"IT IS CALLED EARL GREY, COMMANDER."
"Earl grey... I think it might be the best one yet!"
"I AM GLAD TO HEAR IT, COMMANDER. WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME MORE?"
But before I can answer, I hear the sounds of some footsteps underneath.
"Someone's coming up here..."
I stand up in front of Miss Marsh and raise my arm cannon, pointing it at the top of the ladder, ready to blast whoever emerges, and Miss Marsh raises her claw as well.
A Pigmask emerges from the ladder, huffing and puffing a little.
"Oh, sir, there you — OH MY PORK!" He raises his arms in surrender, clearly scared out of his wits.
Upon realising it's not a threat, I lower my arm cannon, and Miss Marsh drops her claw.
"Sorry about that. What's the issue?"
"Well, sir, we've got a situation. One of the Clayman have broken loose and we need some help containing it."
I'm about to say that I'll be right there, but before I can, Miss Marsh interjects.
"I'M AFRAID THAT WON'T BE POSSIBLE RIGHT NOW. IT IS THE COMMANDER'S TEA TIME AND SO HE WILL BE UNABLE TO."
"His... tea time?"
"YES. IN FUTURE, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DISTURBING THE COMMANDER DURING THIS TIME."
"But it's an emergency! We must go right now!" they say, taking a step forward.
"PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE COMMANDER. AS I HAVE SAID, IT IS THE COMMANDER'S TEA TIME NOW AND SO HE WILL BE UNABLE TO ATTEND UNTIL HE IS FINISHED." She replies, raising her voice a little.
"Forget the tea! This is an emergency! We need to go now!" they shout in exasperation, moving towards me...
"What... hurgh..."
... only to be stopped by Miss Marsh's claw.
"NO ONE DISTURBS THE COMMANDER'S TEA TIME." she says in a eerily soft voice.
"But..."
"I SAID. NO ONE. DISTURBS. THE COMMANDER'S TEA TIME."
"O... okay..."
They slowly back away from Miss Marsh, then run away as fast as they can, climbing down the ladder at ludicrous speed.
What... just happened?
I eye Miss Marsh with a look of amusement, which she notices, sitting down on the other side of the table.
"IS THE TEA TO YOUR SATISFACTION, COMMANDER?"
"Very, but... was that necessary?"
"OF COURSE. THE PRIVACY OF YOUR TEA TIME IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO ME AND I WILL NOT LET A SINGLE PERSON DISRUPT IT UNTIL IT HAS FINISHED."
I laugh at that. "You're very dedicated, aren't you?"
"I MUST BE, COMMANDER, OTHERWISE I WOULD NOT DO MY JOB EFFECTIVELY."
I laugh once more and drink the rest of my tea, swallowing it with a gulp. "In all seriousness though, I really should get down there and help them out."
"TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, COMMANDER."
The Clayman is fairly easily taken care off, and we all have a laugh over Miss Marsh's antics — the Colonel has some exasperation upon realising that this is the second time Miss Marsh's obedience to her programming has caused issues.
Either way, I have the feeling none of the Pigmasks will be going up to the playroom around four anytime soon...
Life goes on, even if it is fairly uneventfully. But I don't mind. After the mission to Tazmily, and building the Absolutely Safe Capsule, I could use some time to unwind.
And honestly, I'm content to just spend the days here with Miss Marsh. I even start to develop a routine of sorts.
When I wake up, it's usually to the sound of her making breakfast — she's always up earlier than me. So every morning, I go into the kitchen and greet her with a hug before having breakfast.
I spend my mornings either in the playroom, playing with the various toys, or on the lower floors with the Pigmasks, and then Miss Marsh and I will both make lunch.
In the afternoons, that's when I like to practice using PSI, and I do so until I inevitably get to PK Love, try using it, fail, and repeat until I get so frustrated that I'm forced to stop.
Thankfully, that usually happens around 4, so Miss Marsh is always there with some tea to calm me down, and the two of us sit there, talking about various things — it's here where Miss Marsh's snarky side comes out, and I've forgotten just how much I adore her wit.
Then, the evenings come, and the two of us make dinner, before night falls.
It reminds me so much of the time I spent in New Pork City with her... cooking with her, talking — heck, we're both sleeping in the same room again, or in her case, recharging.
I'll miss all of this when I go back...
But the days go on, without much happening.
Until one particular day. It's a special day for sure, and all day I wait for Miss Marsh to mention it... but she doesn't. She goes on as if it were just a regular day.
So... I finally bring it up after tea.
"Miss Marsh... I'm surprised."
"ABOUT WHAT?"
"All day, and you haven't even mentioned it once. You haven't mentioned what day this is. Did you think I wouldn't know?"
"..."
"Well?"
"... I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE ON ABOUT, COMMANDER."
"Oh, come on, Miss Marsh! You didn't think I'd forget what today was, did you?"
"..."
"I even prepared for this and everything!"
"..."
"Well, if you're going to feign ignorance, than I'll just say it — happy birthday, Miss Marsh."
"... COMMANDER?"
"It is your birthday today, isn't it? Two years ago, that's when we first switched you on, right?"
"IT IS..."
"How come you haven't mentioned it all, all day?"
"WELL... I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS NECESSARY. THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THIS DAY... AND I DID NOT WANT TO MAKE YOU FEEL OBLIGATED TO DO ANYTHING. AFTER ALL, YOU ARE HERE TO RELAX AND ENJOY YOURSELF."
"Miss Marsh, of course there's something special about this day! You've been alive for two years! And by celebrating your birthday, I would be enjoying myself!"
"Commander, I... YOU SAID YOU HAD PREPARED FOR THIS?"
"Oh yeah — let me show you!"
I dash into the kitchen and open the fridge, taking it back into the main room, sitting back with her.
"THIS... THIS IS WHAT YOU HAD IN THE FRIDGE, ISN'T IT?"
"Yep. I think it's time for you to have a look at it." I say, passing it to her.
"COMMANDER... you didn't have to do this."
"I'd be a horrible friend if I didn't. Go on, open it."
She carefully unwraps it, revealing a cake underneath.
It's no ordinary cake as well — I made it to look like Miss Marsh's face, with some grey food colouring, to make it look metallic. There's some white icing drawn in circles to look like her eyes, and for her hair, some yellow icing.
She looks at in silence for a few minutes, taken aback by it. "I... HOW... HOW LONG DID THIS TAKE FOR YOU TO MAKE, COMMANDER?"
"Does it matter?"
"I..."
"How... how does it look?"
"IT... IT'S BEAUTIFUL, COMMANDER... I'M... I'M FLATTERED THAT YOU WOULD HAVE SPENT ALL THAT TIME FOR ME."
"Well, you're worth every second of it."
"THANK YOU, BUT... YOU KNOW I CAN'T EAT, DON'T YOU?"
My face drops a little. "I... I know you can't... I wasn't sure what to give you, because I know you don't really need anything... so I thought you being able to see how far I've gotten with my cooking thanks to you would be a good present instead. I'm sorry that I couldn't get you something more meaningful."
I'm about to say more, but I don't get the chance to before Miss Marsh tightly wraps her arms around me. "COMMANDER... it's a great present."
"I'm glad you like it..."
"SHALL WE CUT IT THEN?"
"Sure! Oh, but first..."
I reach for two candles I brought, placing them on top of the cake.
"REALLY, COMMANDER? AREN'T YOU A BIT TOO OLD FOR THIS?" She says, rolling her eyes, a hand on her hip.
"Are you? You are only two years old."
"... A FAIR POINT."
I light the two candles, both of them sparkling before I sing.
"Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday dear Miss Marsh...
Happy birthday to you!"
She blows out both of the candles, a little smoke flying in the air.
"Did you make a wish then?"
"A WISH?"
"Yeah! When you blow out your candles, you're supposed to make a wish."
"THIS SEEMS VERY SILLY, COMMANDER. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT SUCH A WISH WOULD ACTUALLY COME TRUE."
"Maybe not, but it's part of the fun. Please?"
"... for you then... HM... I BELIEVE I HAVE ONE. IT IS —"
"Wait, you can't tell me! If you tell anyone what it is, it won't come true."
"VERY WELL. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT IT DOES HAPPENS. LET'S CUT THIS CAKE THEN."
She takes a knife and cuts through the cake, placing a slice sideways onto a plate. The filling's vanilla with pink and white bits embedded in it. Upon examining it closer, she realises what it is.
"MARSHMALLOWS? REALLY, COMMANDER?" She says with a smirk.
"I... thought it was clever."
She picks up a piece of the cake, holding it up to me.
"WHY DON'T YOU TRY IT, COMMANDER?"
I take a bite out of it. "It's really good!"
"I'M NOT SURPRISED. AFTER ALL, YOU MADE THIS."
We spend a bit more time talking, before she goes quiet and makes a request.
"COMMANDER... IF YOU DO NOT MIND... might we sit outside?"
"Outside? Sure."
There's a balcony situated on the south wall of the playroom, which we both head to. From all the way up here, I can see so many things... Club Titiboo... the highways... and of course, the Chimera Laboratory.
Night has fallen and the stars are even out, many of them up in the sky.
"The stars... they seem pretty bright tonight, don't they?"
"INDEED... TODAY HAS BEEN... VERY DIFFERENT."
It's only then that I remember something — this is her second birthday... but what did she do on her first?
"Miss Marsh, how... how did you spend your last birthday?"
She looks at me in confusion. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
"What did you do on your last birthday?"
"WELL... NOTHING."
"Nothing? How?!"
"IT... IT WAS BEFORE I WAS ASSIGNED TO BE WITH YOU AT NEW PORK CITY. I WAS THEREFORE NOT ACTIVE AT THE TIME, AS I HAD NO PURPOSE... I THEREFORE SPENT IT IN A STORAGE UNIT."
"That's horrible! That's no way to spend a birthday!"
"WELL, HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR LAST TWO BIRTHDAYS, COMMANDER?"
"I spent them both with my friends, with the people I cared about..."
"THAT SOUNDS... NICE." she muses.
"And you should have been able to do the same as well."
"IT IS NO ISSUE FOR ME, COMMANDER. AFTER ALL, I AM A ROBOT. MY PURPOSE IS TO SERVE WHOEVER I'M PROGRAMMED TO. AND... I AM CONTENT WITH THAT."
"But don't you ever think you're more than that? Don't you ever wonder if there's more than just... serve whoever you're programmed to?"
"I COULD ASK THE SAME TO YOU, COMMANDER. YOU SERVE HIS HIGHNESS, AS HIS FRIEND AND A LEADER. THAT WAS WHY YOU WERE BROUGHT BACK, WASN'T IT? ISN'T YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE THE SAME AS MINE? TO SERVE YOUR MASTER?"
I'm about to open my mouth to respond, until I realise... she's absolutely right. She's right. I serve a master. I do what I'm told to. I don't hesitate. And combined with all the machinery in me... but no, I'm... I'm not a robot. I'm not.
But... am I? In the most literal definition of the word, no, I'm not a robot. But functionally? I've been told to become the Commander, and so I will. But... do I have a life outside that? No... I really don't, do I? I've had occasional outings with my regiment, yes, but I don't think that constitutes a life outside the army.
In fact... the most I ever had was... well, Miss Marsh. The four months we spent together, and the cooking lessons she gave me... that was something outside just training to be the Commander. Something I enjoyed. But that was in the past and now...
What makes me different? The future. A robot... doesn't have any goals. A robot... serves for eternity. And I have reasons for the things I want to do, don't I?
"You are right... in that respect, I am very much like you. But I serve... because I want to. I want to serve Master Porky, because he is a wise and gracious ruler. I want to become Commander to end this war, and bring peace to all those who deserve it. And I have an vision for the future."
"WHAT IS IT?"
"One day... I want to leave the army."
"YOU INTEND TO LEAVE?"
"Yeah... I mean, I can't be in there forever, can I? I'll get old, and I won't be able to fight as well as I can now. Plus... there's not much point in having a Commander, if there isn't a war to be fought."
"SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO THEN?
"Well... I've been thinking of places to retire. Maybe I'm a little young to be thinking that far, but... I've had a few places in mind. And I think I know exactly where I'd want to go."
"WHERE WOULD THAT BE?"
"Right here."
"HERE? BUT... why?"
"Because it's where you are, Miss Marsh."
She goes completely silent.
"WHY... WOULD THAT BE A FACTOR FOR YOU? I... I AM A ROBOT. MY SAFETY, MY PRESENCE, MY WELLBEING... you don't need to worry about those."
"Miss Marsh... you say you're just a robot. But you're more than that to me. Don't you have goals? Don't you have something you'd like to do, and a reason to do it?"
"I... I DO NOT... BUT... I HAVE BEEN THINKING THESE PAST WEEKS."
"Oh? What about?"
"COMMANDER, YOU... YOU WERE SAYING THAT IT WAS LONELY AT NEW PORK CITY BY YOURSELF, WEREN'T YOU?"
"Yeah..."
"I..." She pauses for a second, as if not knowing what to say next. "I SUPPOSE... I HAVE FELT THE SAME HERE AS WELL."
"What do you mean?"
"IT IS... LONELY HERE AS WELL. I... I DON'T GET MANY VISITORS HERE EITHER, SO I... I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE... ALONE."
"But doesn't Master Porky come here occasionally?"
"NOT VERY OFTEN... AND EVEN WHEN HE DOES, I DON'T TALK TO HIM VERY MUCH, IF AT ALL. NOT IN THE SAME WAY WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW. IN FACT..." She chuckles somewhat sadly. "I BELIEVE I HAVE EXCHANGED MORE WORDS WITH YOU IN THE PAST MINUTE THAN WITH HIS HIGHNESS ACROSS ALL HIS VISITS."
That's... she's been even more alone than me. At least I had my regiment to interact with, but she... she's had virtually no one.
"Miss Marsh... I'm so sorry to hear that."
"YOU DON'T NEED TO BE, BECAUSE... I'M HAPPY YOU COULD BE HERE, COMMANDER. I.. I enjoy your company..."
I'm taken aback by that. "Miss Marsh... I enjoy your company as well."
"I'M... GLAD TO HEAR THAT. THIS PAST WEEK... IT HAS REMINDED ME OF... old times."
"Me too."
"AND... IT HAS BEEN NICE TO SEE HOW YOU HAVE GROWN IN ALL YOUR FIELDS."
"Except for PSI... I've been trying for so long, and yet... I'm still nowhere closer than I was before."
She puts a finger to her chin, as if in deep thought. "COMMANDER... I BELIEVE YOUR ISSUE IS THAT YOU ARE TRYING TOO HARD. PERHAPS, YOU NEED TO TRY LESS. YOU'RE TREATING THIS LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE, WHERE CONTINUED PRACTICE WILL GIVE YOU MASTERY. BUT PERHAPS... A DIFFERENT OUTLOOK IS NEEDED."
"What do you mean?"
"THIS PSI IS CALLED PK LOVE, IS IT NOT? WOULD IT NOT MAKE MORE SENSE FOR YOU TO CONCENTRATE ON THE THINGS YOU ENJOY IN THIS WORLD? THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY?"
I concentrate, but rather than just trying to use it, I take her advice. I think about all the things I have, the things that make me happy... the things I hold dear to my heart.
The time I have spent with my regiment and the Fierce Pork Trooper and how we've all grown stronger together...
The time I have spent with Dr Andonuts, assisting him with all his creations, and learning so much about science...
The time I've spent with Master Porky, my best friend, who I owe my very existence to...
And... the time I've spent with Miss Marsh, who I...
All of those things... they all swirl around in my mind... and then...
I feel... a spark. A spark of... something. Something familiar. Something warm. Something powerful.
Just like that first time... that feeling burns deep within my heart, ready for release.
"PK Love Alpha."
A swivel of multicoloured hexagons appear from my hands, shooting off into the night sky, before bursting into colourful light... I...
Miss Marsh looks at them, before speaking up. "THERE, YOU SEE? PERHAPS ALL YOU NEEDED WAS A DIFFERENT APPROACH."
"I can't believe it! I... I actually did it! For the first time since I've been here... I've actually used done it! Let me try it again... PK Love Alpha!"
This time, those thoughts are stronger within me, and I pour them into my mind, letting them fuel myself. Once again, the hexagons appears, brighter and stronger, exploding in a spectacularly light show which seems to enthral Miss Marsh.
I try it a few more times, and it... every time, it works! I've... I've never been able to do it at will for months, and now... now I can!
"I... I still can't believe it..."
"A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE CAN OFTEN HELP, DON'T YOU THINK?"
"Miss Marsh... have I ever told you that you're amazing?"
She gives a soft laugh. "ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, COMMANDER, SOMETIMES MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE SAME SENTENCE." she replies, with some humour in her voice.
"Really?" I rub my head sheepishly.
"INDEED. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO TELL YOU HOW MANY?" she laughs.
"I'll pass... but I'll say it again because it bears repeating — you are amazing."
"THANK YOU..."
"You're welcome."
There's a moment of silence between the two of us before she speaks up.
"THIS BIRTHDAY, SO TO SPEAK... I DO NOT HAVE MANY REFERENCE POINTS... but I would say it's the best one I've had."
"Really? I'm glad I could make it enjoyable for you."
"YOU MAKE... EVERYTHING ENJOYABLE FOR ME, COMMANDER. WHEN I AM WITH YOU... I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL THAT EACH DAY IS... DIFFERENT. A BREAK IN THE MONOTONY OF MY LIFE."
"You know... I'd say the exact same thing about you."
She leans in and hugs me. "THANK YOU..."
"You're welcome... it really wasn't much to do."
She shakes her head a little. "NOT FOR THIS... NOT JUST FOR THIS. THANK YOU... for everything."
It was... there. Right there and then, that I knew that this feeling... I would never forget it. I would never forget what it was like, what it meant, and who was responsible for it.
It was there... that I made a vow to myself. That no matter where I am, no matter what I'm doing... I would protect her with my life.
Because she's more than just a robot to me. She's so much more than that.
She's all the happiness in the world.
Notes:
Best. Ship. Ever. Except Ness/Paula, of course — I mean, that's just unbeatable.
Yes, this chapter was essentially a giant excuse for me to write a bunch of Masked Man/Marshmallow fluff, and well, I have no regrets.
Also, isn't it funny that Chapter 9 was all about the Masked Man having a vacation and Chapter 10 was about his birthday, and here we are on Chapter 19 (9+10), which is about a vacation anda birthday? I'd say I planned that, but that would be giving myself far too much credit.
I honestly don't have much to say, apart from one more thing — that joke about the tea? I have had that in mind for five months. And I have been waiting oh so long to use it.
Next time... well, you know what? Let's keep that one a secret.
Chapter 20: Becoming The Mask
Summary:
Parades, announcements, coronations, and the Masked Man's ability to accept his new role.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"COMMANDER? IS SOMETHING WRONG?"
I turn around to see Miss Marsh standing behind me. Putting on a brave face, I reply. "No, nothing at all, Miss Marsh."
She frowns before replying. "I BELIEVE YOU ARE BEING UNTRUTHFUL."
"What makes you say that?"
"YOU'VE BEEN PACING AROUND THIS ROOM FOR THE PAST TEN MINUTES, AND YOUR... HEART... RATE SEEMS AS HIGH AS IT WAS WHEN WE FIRST MET."
I sit down on a chair, and internally calm myself, looking back up at her. "See, nothing wrong at all."
"I'D BE MORE INCLINED TO BELIEVE YOU IF IT WEREN'T FOR HOW MUCH YOUR KNEES ARE SHAKING."
Sure enough, they are, and I hadn't even noticed. I place a hand on each to quell them, taking a deep sigh.
"AND, IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU ALSO REFUSED TO HAVE ANY LUNCH."
Yes, I didn't... I didn't have any appetite for it.
"BASED ON ALL OF THIS, I CAN ONLY CONCLUDE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG, AND THAT WOULD BE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE NERVOUS."
Ah, she's as analytical as ever — there's always something I've admired about her, even though it's working to my disadvantage right now.
"You're right... I am nervous."
"I UNDERSTAND. IT'S... A BIG DAY FOR YOU."
"That's one way of putting it."
"HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"
"Honestly... scared. I mean, I shouldn't be. Logically, it doesn't make any sense. And... well, I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised. After all, I have been preparing for this all my life... it was the reason why I was brought back."
"BUT TO ACTUALLY BE FACED WITH IT... THAT'S SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, ISN'T IT?"
"Yeah. It's strange, you know? No matter how much I've prepared for this, no matter how long I've been doing this, and no matter how many people, including you, refer to me by the title... there was always a small part of my mind that thought it was all just one giant set up. A part that didn't think this day would ever arrive. The day where I would become the Commander of the Pigmask Army."
"AND YET... HERE WE ARE."
A device on the centre of the table starts blinking, indicating that Miss Marsh is needed.
"I MUST GO THEN. I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE NEEDED."
She goes off, leaving me alone. Without her, I feel even more nervous than I did before.
I can feel the adrenaline in my blood, my hands starting to shake. If I had a heart, I might even be able to feel it beating in my chest... but I don't, do I? Somehow, that just distracts me more, and makes me even more nervous.
I can't help but think of how on Earth I got here.
My vacation at the Thunder Tower came to an end sadly, and I was due to return home. But on the day I was due to go back, I found out something interesting — quite a few of the Pigmasks, including the Colonel, were coming back with me.
It was very strange, and naturally I was interested — especially since none of them knew that they'd be coming back as well, until that day.
But that wasn't the most interesting part — no, that would go to the fact that Miss Marsh was also coming back with us, and again, she had no idea this was going to happen either.
Naturally, all of us were rather confused, except for the pilot, who clearly seemed to know something that we didn't, but refused to say anything until we got back.
And when we did, well...
It became very clear to me why Master Porky wanted me out of New Pork City for two weeks — because the first thing we saw was New Pork City completely covered in all sorts of decorations, with lots of people down below.
Before I knew it, we were taken to the Empire Porky Building, entering through a helipad on the side, where we were told by Fassad why we were here — because today, I was to ascend and assume the rank... of Commander.
The Pigmasks were all informed to report to the streets help with the preparations for the parade — yes, there's going to be a parade.
I... can't believe it either.
And as for Miss Marsh and me? I've been waiting in the lobby of the Empire Porky Building for the last two hours, with Miss Marsh attending to my needs and occasionally going outside to do whatever task the Pigmasks need her for.
So here I am. Sitting here in this room alone, with my life's goal right in front of me.
I... it's just so strange. Like I said to Miss Marsh, the title of Commander was something I was groomed into pursuing from the day I came back from near death.
From the day I was created, I was told, my purpose in life was to become the Commander. I was told, that I would devote all my time to become the Commander. I was told, that it was the only path for me to choose in life.
I was told all of that. And though it all surprised me at first, I listened to it all. I accepted it.
Because it was the only way I could repay the person who brought me back.
And I was referred to as Commander, by all the Pigmasks, and by Miss Marsh. But it never... bothered me. Well, at first, it did. I wasn't used to it at all. But I adjusted to it, and... it become a part of my identity. It... was what I am. I don't have a name, and I've never been given one, so... well, that was my substitute, I suppose.
But... part of me has always wanted a name. I don't mind being called Commander, not now at least.
But there was always some part of me that wanted... something unique to me. Well, I suppose Commander is unique seeing as no one else can have the title at the same time I do, but... I've always wanted something more than just a title. A name to call my own.
I wonder... whoever my parents were, they must have given me a name, right? What was it then? Obviously, I don't remember. Nor would I care because... well, they proved themselves unfit to be called parents. Still... it does make me wonder.
But that was all in the past, in a past life, an inferior life. And in this one... well, it wasn't my place to ask for a name, and so I never did.
I can't help but be reminded of Master Porky — like me, he was given a name at birth, but forgot it like I did.... and he chose to adopt a different name in place. That's the same thing I've done, isn't it, though Commander is more of a title than a name. Still, it was what everybody called me so Commander just stuck, I suppose.
Yet, every time someone referred to me by that, I would always feel some minute part of me, that would feel this... repulsion. At the person? No, not at all — I care for Miss Marsh a great deal, but even when she uses it, I still feel somewhat uneasy.
And only now have I realised why. It's because I've never felt like I deserved to be called that. Because I wasn't Commander. And so... I never felt like I should have been called that. It was being respected for something I didn't have.
But now... I've earned that title, haven't I? I've earned the right to be called Commander, because of all the work I've put in.
Here I am, and despite all that I've done to obtain this title... I'm not sure if I even want it anymore.
Before long, I hear the sound of a door opening, looking up to see Miss Marsh approach me.
"COMMANDER? THEY'RE READY FOR YOU."
"I'm glad to hear that..."
"YOUR VOICE SAYS OTHERWISE, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU DIDN'T LIE TO ME." she replies, looking genuinely hurt.
"Hm... I didn't know you had a lie detector built in there."
"NOT A LIE DETECTOR, BUT MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS THAT ALLOW ME TO MAKE AN EDUCATED GUESS... IT'S STRANGE WITH YOU, COMMANDER. THERE ARE TIMES WHERE YOU'RE UNFATHOMABLE, AND TIMES WHERE YOU'RE AN OPEN BOOK."
"I'm guessing this case falls into the latter category then."
"INDEED."
I don't say anything in response, so she sits down next to me, her voice softening a little. "What's wrong?"
"I guess... I'm nervous. I don't know why... surely I should be excited for this? But instead, I'm the exact opposite. I suppose it doesn't make much sense."
She shakes her head slightly before replying. "I THINK IT MAKES SENSE. IT IS CERTAINLY A BIG OCCASION, AND HIS HIGHNESS HAS GONE OUT OF HIS WAY TO GIVE THE EVENT A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF GRANDIOSE. I IMAGINE YOU WOULD FEEL NERVOUS IN FRONT OF SUCH A LARGE CROWD."
"That is part of it, yes, but... I don't know, it's also what the event is about. Becoming the Commander and all..."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
"Miss Marsh... I have a question for you. Do you think I deserve to be the Commander?"
"IS THE SUN HOT?" she replies, with a great deal of sarcasm in her voice — I think she's almost... smiling? "WHAT MAKES YOU ASK THAT?"
"It's just... am I really suited for the job?"
"IT'S FUNNY THAT YOU SHOULD SAY THAT. I DON'T THINK ANYONE ELSE WOULD BE MORE SUITED TO THE JOB."
"Why do you think that?"
"IT IS THE ONLY LOGICAL WAY TO THINK. AFTER ALL, WHO ELSE HAS DEDICATED SO MUCH TIME AND ATTENTION LIKE YOU HAVE? WHO ELSE HAS SHOWN THAT THEY ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH? WHO ELSE HAS PROVEN THEMSELVES TO BE MORE LOYAL TO HIS HIGHNESS? NO ONE."
"But am I? I mean... I despise Fassad. I really do. But... isn't he all of those things, and more?"
"COMMANDER... I DO NOT KNOW FASSAD VERY WELL. WHAT LITTLE INFORMATION I HAVE ABOUT HIM COMES MOSTLY FROM YOU, AND THE KNOWLEDGE I HAVE FROM MY DATABANKS. HOWEVER, BASED PURELY ON THAT... I WOULD STILL SAY YOU ARE BETTER SUITED."
"But why?"
"BECAUSE FASSAD, THOUGH CERTAINLY CAPABLE, SEEMS TO LACK ONE THING THAT YOU HAVE. A SENSE OF... RESPECT. YOU... RESPECT OTHERS. YOU... ARE KIND TO YOUR TROOPS... and to me. YOU VALUE THEM. FASSAD DOES NOT. COMMANDER, YOU... you're much more suited than you think you are."
For a moment, neither of us say anything, before she rises and faces towards the door. "THEY'RE WAITING FOR YOU, COMMANDER. ARE YOU READY?"
I get up and smile. "As ready as I'll ever be, Miss Marsh."
She takes my hand in her own and gently squeezes it. "Good luck... Commander."
I walk towards the door talking a deep breath. Collecting myself as much as I can... I open it.
"OH MY PORK!"
"IT'S HIM!"
My ears are immediately assaulted with a number of noises — the sound of cars, the sound of the Pigmask Anthem playing, and most of all, the sound of all the people here, all cheering loudly for me... it's hard to take it all in. But one noise sticks out among the rest... because it's a very familiar one.
"Nwehehehe! And there he is, folks! Standing outside the Empire Porky Building, is none other than our soon to be Commander!"
That voice... up in the sky is a massive Porkship, with many cannons and speakers — the Mother Porkship. Someone inside of it is riling the crowd, using the speakers to transmit their voice all around.
And who is that person? Fassad.
I'm immediacy stricken with another bout of nervousness, but I straighten myself, gather my courage and march forward.
On my way forward, I see many people whispering to each other about as I walk past, talking about me.
"He's really young, isn't he?"
"He's just a kid!"
"How did he got this job?"
Conveniently, Fassad's next words seem to almost be an answer to their unimpressed attitude towards me. "Don't be fooled! He may be young, and he may not look like much, but he is special! He is the pride of chimeras all around — the first human chimera in existence!"
There's a lot of oohs from the people below, and I'm acutely aware of many of them trying to get a closer look at me. It's... a little uncomfortable, to be watched like some sort of animal in a zoo, but I keep walking.
"Outfitted with only the highest quality tech straight from New Pork City, he is much stronger than any normal person! And that's not all! He is a psychic, trained personally by me, and has extraordinary powers! How extraordinary, you ask? Well... if you so much as look at him the wrong way... say goodbye to your head."
There's a lot of gasps now, many of the people likely terrified at the thought of having their heads blown up.
Really, Fassad? Really? Though, I can imagine Fassad of all people would want a PSI that let you blow people's heads off.
But for fun, I decide to humour him by immediately turning to the right after he says that, giving the people there my best death stare, causing some of them to scream and jump back.
"Yes, so don't underestimate him. To our enemies, he is their greatest fear."
Many of the citizens have quietened down now, likely scared by the picture Fassad's painting of me... well, I guess I am like that... but that's not all I am... right? I'm more than just some... some stone cold killer. Right?
But my thoughts are cut off by Fassad's next words.
"But, don't worry! He may be a nightmare to enemies, but to us, he is a hero! He is our saviour! And he will lead us to... VICTORY!"
"YEAH!"
There's an eruption of cheers from everyone as they start raising their hands in the air, all of them cheering for... me.
I... I must admit, I'm... I'm flattered.
As I continue down the streets, towards the centre, the cheers get louder and louder. While walking, it's here I notice many areas have been closed in preparation for today — such as the arcade, and Beauty and Tasty. It seems like practically every place has been closed for this... and so I imagine almost all of New Pork City are here for this.
The closer I get to the centre, the less civilians there are... in fact, I pass an area with some Pigmasks standing guard — I'm guessing that this place is off limits to regular citizens, as there are only Pigmasks of a multitude of different colours with soldiers, captains, majors and colonels all cheering for me as I pass through.
But although it's impossible to pick out individual Pigmasks as they all look the same, there is one soldier who stands out amongst the rest.
"Well, look who's made it to the big leagues!"
There's another familiar voice, and sure enough, it's exactly who I think it is — the Fierce Pork Trooper, with fifteen Pigmasks near him. I can't be certain, but I'm fairly sure they're from my regiment.
"Sir!" I salute him as always, getting a laugh.
"Always serious, even on your own day!"
"Well... it is a special occasion."
He roars with laughter. "Ah, kid, you certainly don't act like one sometimes! But even despite that, you've made it all the way to the top... you know, when you first came in — what was it, two or so years ago? Something like that. Anyway, I was... skeptical. I didn't know what the hell you were doing here. I mean, a kid? Supposed to lead us?"
"I will admit... I was also confused over the prospect."
"Yeah, and I thought this was some sort of joke. I thought when you were doing those push ups, you were just gonna collapse. But you know what? I was wrong. Honestly, kid... I don't understand how you do it. How you've made it all the way here."
"To be quite honest, I'm not entirely sure how I've done it either. Sometimes I wonder if it was just luck and my enhancements."
"You know, maybe if I wasn't there, I'd say that as well. But I was there. I saw you, at your highs and lows. And that wasn't luck. That was hard work. Even with the enhancements, you put in some serious work. Heh... I still remember your first day... from then, you were always the first in, and the last out. That's dedication right there."
"Yes, those days could certainly be long but to get to where I am now... it was worth it. But I never would have made it this far were it not for your guidance. It... it was an honour training under you, sir."
His mask budges a little, giving me the impression that he's grinning underneath it, as he salutes me back. "Well, it was an honour training you... Commander."
My eyes widen at that... that... that's the first time he's called me Commander...
Trying not to get too sentimental, I gave him one last nod and turn back to the path, walking along it... there's not much left to go until I reach the centre.
I get cheers from all the Pigmasks around as I keep walking... it's nice to know that they have so much confidence in me.
Eventually... I reach the very centre of the city, where there is a small podium, with a pedestal on the left and the right. Each one has an object on them — the left one has a helmet of sorts, while the second has what appears to be... a yellow sword?
And in the centre of the podium, between the two pedestals, is a throne and on it, I see none other than Master Porky sitting there — but it's not him at the same time.
What sits there is someone who looks like him, only much younger, and far less weak and frail than he does now. He's wearing a red suit, making him look very business like, like an entrepreneur.
I surmise that this is what he must have looked like when he was younger, but I'm not sure how he's managed to return to that age — his body was many, many years older than this.
The confusion in my eyes must be noticeable, because he laughs and whispers to me.
"It's a robot, you see. I'm controlling it up from my room... in fact, I'm waving at you right now from up there."
I turn and look up in the general direction of the Empire Porky Building, expecting to see Master Porky in his machine, but naturally I'm not able to, and I hear a snicker behind me.
Master Porky's robot snickers and doubles over in laughter. "Ahahaha! You really feel for it! So... what do ya think of this? Pretty good likeness, if I do say so myself."
He certainly seems in better shape here — much less feeble. His voice also seems much less raspy and stilted, like a normal person's voice, though for some reason, it doesn't sound as natural as Miss Marsh's voice.
Part of me wonders why he bothered with this, but it becomes obvious — a day like this would hold itself very well for things like assassination attempts, and considering Master Porky's frail state normally, the likelihood of harm to him would be much greater.
It also occurs to me that the general public likely wouldn't know Master Porky looks like — I've seen him personally, and I know Miss Marsh and Fassad both have, but I don't imagine Master Porky's true appearance is common knowledge, especially since most seem to believe he looks like the giant statue in New Pork depicting him.
It makes sense — having a stronger face as the king would raise the morale in the city, though now that I think about it, having a child be the face of the Pigmask Army seems somewhat counterproductive to portraying a strong face... perhaps that could do with some work, maybe with something to make me more... threatening.
"You certainly look in better health, my Lord." A thought comes to mind — Master Porky must have had something to base this appearance off of, right? So... "Is this what you looked like before... before those kids?"
"Yep... but let's not look at the past. It's time to look at the future — mine and yours!"
He stands up and walks to the front of the podium, taking hold of a microphone set up there.
"And now, we will see the chimera ascend, but first... a speech from the king." says Fassad.
The entire crowd goes almost completely silent at that, waiting eagerly for what will come next.
"Citizens of New Pork. We are here today to celebrate a very special occasion. Almost as special as my own birthday. You see, for a long time, we have had a mighty army, one that surpasses the likes of any seen before. A powerful army, that makes everything else like toys." he begins, his voice amplified by the microphone.
"But... this army was always missing something. A thing that would drive our forces forward to crush all our foes. A thing to stand in front of the enemy, and make them feel fear. Somebody to destroy them."
The crowd is silent, taking his words in.
"And you know what? I've known that for a long time. But I never cared about it. Do you wanna know why? It's because we never needed that thing! Because we had no enemy!"
There's an eruption of cheers from the crowd, which nearly drowns Master Porky's voice.
"Everything was peaceful!"
"Yeah!"
"Everything was great!"
"YEAH!"
"And no one could ever hurt us!"
"YEAH!"
The cheers are borderline deafening at this point, and Master Porky waits until they've finished before he continues.
"But now, things are different, and we had an enemy. Things were resolved... but they weren't. I have some bad news for you all. Remember the filthy town of Tazmily? You all thought we had managed to achieve peace with them. Did you think that?"
"Yes! We did!" says the crowd in chorus.
"Well, guess what? You're all idiots! Because you were all wrong! They have turned on us!" he laughs.
Wait, what? What?! They've... betrayed us?! But, but I thought... I thought we were getting somewhere with them! I thought they'd learned!
I'm not the only surprised at the news either, as there's a gasp from all of the audience, including most of the Pigmasks.
Master Porky laughs before continuing. "Yes! They lied! I have sent people there, and they were mocked! I have extended my friendship, and it was rejected! I even sent some of my minions there, just to explore some little old castle. And guess what?"
"What?" many of the crowd replies.
"They were forced to turn back! And now, they have decided to challenge us!"
The crowd starts to get riled up, the anger spreading through the air.
"Yes! Fassad was brutally attacked by an old man just one week ago! He had to call in two Pigmasks just to help subdue him!"
An old man... no... it couldn't be the same one, could it? But I remember that Fassad was apparently having trouble the same old man we met during our visit... and now he's decided to take it out.
Even if I don't like Fassad myself, I still sympathise with him for this injustice... and I only feel that anger within me start to boil.
"People of New Pork! We have tried, over and over to find a way to communicate with these bullies! And each and every time, we have ended up all the worse! They think they can win this game, and we must prove them wrong!"
"YEAH!"
"We will strike across with nothing but sheer terror, and make them sorry they ever messed with us! We will strike around by expanding this city, until it dominates this entire island! We will strike them from the skies with the Thunder Tower!"
"YEAH!"
"And we will strike with an army! With the Pigmask Army, the greatest army in the world! But now, more than ever, we need something to lead it. We need something to make all those idiots wet their pants in terror. We need something that will stomp on their bodies. Don't you think we need that?!"
"Yes! We do!"
"And now... we have it! I present to you... your Commander!"
The crowd starts to cheer once again, as Master Porky grins and continues.
"But he is more than just your Commander. No, he is more than just that. In fact... let me tell you a story. When I was young, not much older than he is now, I was rejected by my pitiful family, and betrayed by my friend. I was deformed beyond belief and twisted through time. And I didn't think that anyone would be able to understand me."
There's nothing but silence as everyone, including myself, waits for him to continue his story.
"But I was wrong. Because I found him. And he was just like I was. He knew what it was like to be thrown away. He knew what it was like to be betrayed. He knew what it was like to be changed. In this pathetic world, he is the only friend I have."
He walks around the podium for a bit before continuing.
"I bet you're all thinking why I chose him to be your Commander, aren't you? Well, the answer is simple — because he is like me. He knows the meaning of power. He knows the meaning of success. And he was a discarded soul, alone and unloved, until I found him, and gave him a new life. He will take control of the Pigmask Army, and with their help... he will enact his bloody vengeance upon them those that shunned him, and victory will be ours!"
Yes... I will. Because Master Porky and me... we're two of a kind. We're two lost souls betrayed by friends and family, but fate has lead us to find the other, and given us a second chance. Yet Master Porky never had the chance to get revenge on those who wronged him... but I do. The people of Tazmily have had their way long enough... and I intend to repay them in equal measure.
"And so today, we're not just celebrating his accession, but something else... because today, I'm giving him something very special. I'm giving him... a name."
There's a gasp from everyone in the crowd, and even I fail to prevent one from slipping out.
A... name? A... a name? All my life, I've never had a name, and now... Master Porky's giving me one?
"All these years, you see, he has never had so much as a name. He may have had one in his past life... but the past is the past, and now, this is his new life, his better life. He has abandoned everything he ever cared about, and begun his new life, and so with a new life comes... a new name."
Master Porky grabs the sword, and points it towards me, his intention very clear to me. I lower to one knee, as Master Porky raises his arms into the air to the crowd.
"To my partner in arms! To my eternal comrade! To my friend, no, to my double! I am Master Porky, and so you shall be..."
The only sound that cuts through the silence is the sword he raises and lowers until it's just above my head, before a sinister smile unfolds on his face.
"Pokey."
Master Porky raises the sword, as I rise with it. He takes the helmet from the pedestal and places it on my head, the helmet locking with a soft hiss.
Recalibrating... Initiate Protocol 131144-3151420181511.
Yes... it feels right. He places the sword in front of me and I take it in my right hand... slowly, I turn it a few times a few times before swinging it in the air... it... it's so strange, but it feels... it feels right. As if it were an extension of my hand... as if it was made for me.
I... I can feel the electricity in it crackling, flowing through my hand ready to be released. With one swift movement, I raise the sword into the air, as bolt of lightning coming down from the sky and crashing onto the sword. The crowd cheers louder than they ever.
All my life... all of it, I've always been searching. Searched for a purpose, a meaning... an identity.
And now... I've found it. I know what to do. I know what my life is about. I know what I am now.
I am the person who was discarded by the enemy, the soldier enlisted from death and given a new life.
I am the Commander of the Pigmask Army, the face of all hope in New Pork City that will lead this army to crush all those who would dare to oppose us.
I am Master Porky's most trusted servant and friend, sworn to protect and serve him until the end of time.
I am... Pokey.
Notes:
Oh boy... well, we're all screwed.
20 chapters in... man, I can't believe I've gotten this far. It's been a long road getting here, and we're still not done yet.
So, Claus, or Pokey if you prefer, is finally the Commander, and with that, I'm actually done filling in the gap between the three years — so yeah, we're finally going to be reuniting with the Mother 3 chapters, as we'll be starting Chapter 5.
Anyway, two things to mention — first off, as I said in Chapter 14, I intended for Claus to learn PK Love in this chapter, specifically at the end of it.
However, the events in Chapter 14 I think made him learning it then much more interesting and added some depth to him I wouldn't have been able to bring about otherwise.
Besides, I think Claus's acceptance of his new identity is already a big one, so no need to double up on the shock factor, which leads me nicely into the other point I have to mention — the identity.
I actually had two other ideas for endings to this chapter. The first was going to have Claus declare himself the Masked Man and accept that, however, I scraped that because while Masked Man is a badass name, it makes admittedly little sense for Claus to call himself that.
The other idea was that Porky would name him Ness — yes, Ness, because he's moulded Claus to essentially be his best friend, like how he wanted Ness to be. I liked this idea a lot, and had I not made Ness out to be a complete monster in the eyes of Claus, I would have probably gone with this.
In the end, I went with Pokey, mostly because of a line Porky has near the end of the game, where he calls the Masked Man his double... so I decided to take that a little literally. That being said, I'm still going to refer to him as Claus.
Next time, Claus begins his first mission.
Chapter 21: First Mission
Summary:
Searching, deductions, impossibilities, and the Masked Man's inability to find the Egg of Light.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Since my accession to Commander, a few months have passed, and now, I've been here for just over three years. Very little has happened over that time — I've continued my training, though it's been a little different.
I've finally obtained my dream weapon — a sword. But a sword requires a lot of practice to use safely, so I've had to adjust to using one instead of a stick. The power... it feels so much greater than anything I've ever had. I can slice through things with little effort.
The sword has another interesting property which Dr Andonuts informed me about. There's a generator in it which can discharge electricity, making it a sort of taser. But the interesting thing is... I've noticed that it can amplify my own electricity — the kind I use with PK Thunder.
It's been very difficult, but over this time, I've learned to channel the electricity in the sword to enhance my PSI.
But even more interesting is using that in reverse — using my own electric powers to enhance the sword. By combining the power of PK Thunder with the generator, I can increase the discharge of electricity, and control it to some extent.
It reminded of those batteries I encountered during my first visit of the Thunder Tower with Miss Marsh — they had this way of discharging electricity in arching bolts as well.
I was inspired by that, and I've tried to do the same, using my sword, but it still needs some work. Nevertheless, all my repeated experiments with lightning have led to one nice thing — the realisation of the next level of PK Thunder.
Still, something more interesting is happening today. My first mission.
I've had some unofficial ones, such as escorting Miss Marsh through the Death Desert and that mission to Tazmily, but this? This will be my first proper mission.
Heading into the elevator, I click the button for the 48th floor — that's where debriefings are done for important missions apparently. The ride is a quick one, and when I reach there, I step out. It's just a corridor with a door... I suppose it only makes sense to go inside.
"Sir!"
When I enter, everyone's heads turn to see who just entered, and upon seeing me, they all stand up and salute me.
There's quite a large number of them — and not a single one below the rank of Captain either.
"At ease."
I was expecting to see my regiment here, and I believe they are — mind you, I can't exactly tell them each apart, because I can't see their faces, but I'm sure they're here. I've learned to recognise them by voice.
However, there's more than just 15 Pigmasks, so some of these must be ones outside of my regiment.
In fact, I notice there's a colonel here... could that be?
"Well, fancy meeting you here, Commander." she says. Oh wow, it is her!
"Colonel, a pleasant surprise to see you again. I take it you've been put on this mission then?"
"Yep, I'm here as your second in command. Looks like I was right about working with you after all."
"Well, I'm glad to have you onboard." I actually am as well — though I try not to show it, I am nervous about this first mission, and though I might not know her as well as I do the members of my own regiment, I have had a number of conversations with her over the course of all my visits to the Thunder Tower, so I feel relatively assured about her skill as a colonel.
"So, is everyone on this mission here yet?"
"Not yet. We're still waiting for a few stragglers from my regiment and some from yours. They're not late yet though..."
From her regiment? Oh, that explains why there's more than 15 here, because some of them are hers.
"You have a regiment as well?"
"Yeah, just 10, so not as many as yours. Mind you, it's quality, not quantity. I hand picked them myself, and trust them all."
"I trust your judgement then."
It's not too long before the last remaining Pigmasks come, and everyone is seated.
"Alright, let's begin the debriefing. Rogers, Fender, pull the video screen up." she says.
"Yes, ma'am." They say with a salute. After fiddling with the controls, a video screen opens up on the side of the wall.
In the brief information I was given for this mission, I remember reading that Fassad would give out our debriefing... why did it have to be him?
"Send the transmission."
The screen lights up, and we're all graced with Fassad's visage.
"You're late." he snarls at us. Oh, this is going to be fun... I can already tell.
"It's 09:21, sir. We're nearly 19 minutes ahead of schedule." I say.
"I don't care. I had to wait so long I thought you were late, so that's late enough." he says, shaking his head.
I open my mouth, about to respond how plainly ludicrous that is, but then I immediately shut it, because at this point, I know better than to argue with Fassad — it would just be a meaningless endeavour, and a waste of everyone's time.
"In any case," Fassad begins, chomping on a banana, "You're all here because we have located something special that we need retrieving."
"And that is?" I ask.
"The Egg of Light."
The Egg of Light? That's the egg the Pigmasks tried to retrieve from Osohe Castle, but failed to...
"That egg?" said the Colonel. "But I thought we were done with that."
"Hardly. We need that egg, and now."
"Fine. Where is the egg then?"
"No idea," says Fassad, flippantly waving his hand. "Somewhere near that club all those factory workers go to, maybe."
"Club Titiboo... how in the world did the egg get all the way there from that castle?" says the Colonel.
Fassad scowls, and stops eating the banana for a second.
"As you should know, one of those villagers took the egg and got washed away by a stream or something. Must have turned up there and stashed the egg or something and then went into hiding, because nobody has seen him."
"And how do we know where the egg is?"
"A scout spotted the man who was washed away with the egg for the first in three years, and overheard them saying that something important was nearby 'in a clay thing.'"
"So, we don't even know for sure if this object in question is the Egg of Light?" I ask.
Fassad's beady eyes narrow before he starts shouting. "If I say it's the egg, then it's the egg! And if they want it, then we don't want them to get it!"
"Very well... we shall find it then."
"Good. And if you find that man, capture him, cause he'll know where it is as well."
"For the sake of everyone here who was not on that raid, including myself, what does the man in question look like?" I ask, expecting a reply from Fassad.
But my question is answered by someone else — the Colonel. "He's kind of a bum looking man, has a limp, mid 20's with brown hair."
That seems oddly familiar somehow... I can't help but get the impression I've seen that person before... at Club Titiboo, no less.
"Very well. This meeting is over. Signing off." I say, pressing a button to end the transmission before Fassad can get another word in.
Immediately, there's a heavy sigh of relief from most of the Pigmasks — I get the feeling all these meetings with Fassad end in the same way.
"Hm, I'm impressed, Commander — that's the fastest meeting we've ever had with Fassad."
That was the fastest? "Believe me when I say, it felt like an eternity. Everyone, report to the 78th floor in one hour for departure. Dismissed."
Everyone disperses, and I return back to my floor to gather a few things — my sword for one, and then wait for about an hour before heading to the floor where the Mother Porkship is.
Thankfully, everyone's there, and I see two Pigmasks working on the ship. "Fuelling's complete, Commander. You're ready for departure."
"Thank you." The two salute me before they take their leave, as we do another roll call. Everyone's here and accounted for, so... it's time to leave.
As I walk up the platform onto the Mother Porkship, I feel a certain sense of... anxiety. This is my first real mission, and a very important one at that... failure is not an option.
Miss Marsh would say that anxiety is natural, but I must not let it impair my mission. People are counting on me — Master Porky is counting on me. I will not let him down.
Finally, I see the interior of the Mother Porkship.... my goodness... it's amazing! I've seen this ship many times in the outside, but this is my first time actually inside of it. The interior is similar to the Porkships — there's many control decks for flight, and for using the weapons outfitted, only the area is much more spacious.
While it would be difficult to fit more then 10 people into a single Porkship, here, over 20 of us have more than enough space in this ship — you could probably fit over 200 Pigmasks in here, and it wouldn't be uncomfortable at all.
The most interesting thing is the centre of the ship — there's a circular screen with a map and about fifty seats around it, which are colour coded with the four ranks of the Pigmasks, presumably indicating positions in which are they generally expected to sit at.
Some of the Pigmasks prepare the ship for takeoff, bumbling a little in doing so, with other taking seats in the central ring. There's a grey chair at one end, which looks noticeably more fancy then the others. I presume that must be mine.
"We have liftoff!" one of the pilots says, as the ship takes off into the sky above New Pork. Soon, it takes off to the east, flying rather quickly.
"Sir, the ship is currently at 27000 feet, on course for Club Titiboo. The estimated time of flight is approximately 3 hours."
"Good. Set the ship on autopilot and sit. Oh, and seeing as this flight will take some time, you can all remove your masks."
There's some surprise amongst the Pigmasks, but they do so — I imagine that since Fassad used this ship the most and he doesn't like to look at people's faces, that's not a luxury he gives them.
"This should be a fairly simple mission." I say. "Club Titiboo is occupied by us, though as you'll be aware, the people of Tazmily do frequent the place on occasion. Now, it would appear we're looking for a Clayman, so it seems like a simple case of a mass search, and with this many people, it shouldn't be too hard. Are there any questions so far?"
One of the majors — one of mine in fact, raises a hand so I signal for them to answer.
"Commander, what do we do if we encounter any people from Tazmily?"
Yes... that's a hard one. Technically speaking, we are their enemies, so we should be attacking on sight, however...
"Do not attack them unless they attack first. I am aware of the situation, but I see no reason to initiate any fights. Our mission is the egg — that is all." I say, hearing a few murmurs.
"Actually, there's one exception to that — the man that Fassad described as having taken the egg three years ago. In fact, Major Barrows," I say, looking at the major in question. "Check the database for any man who matches the description Fassad gave us — look for any connections with the Osohe Raid, since he was involved in that."
"Yes, sir."
"Either way, that man is dangerous — he struck first on that raid, and only he knows for certain where that egg is. If you see him, I want him captured alive."
"Sir, I think I've found it. Brown hair, looks like a drunk... wait, he's some sort of thief?"
A thief? "Project it."
The central pad emits a holographic display of the man and some information about him... he looks exactly like Fassad described.
"Woah... he looks like Lucky." I hear one of the Pigmasks say.
Yes... he really does. Except for his hair, he looks pretty similar to Lucky.
"All those who went on the Osohe Raid three years ago, that's the man, right?"
There's a response in the affirmative from half the Pigmasks, as well as some muttering.
"Still remember those bombs..."
Bombs? He's carrying bombs? Then he's equally as dangerous as us...
"In any case, he's clearly dangerous, and he's likely to have others accompanying him. They will be our secondary target, should finding the egg prove to be difficult." I finish.
"Of course it's going to be difficult! We're looking for one Clayman in a place near the factory grounds!" says one Pigmask. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
"This is ridiculous! Screw Fassad! Why do we have to do this all from some dumb egg?" says another.
"Yeah, he's an idiot! Why do we all have to listen to him?!" says a third.
Before I know it, everyone's caught in the commotion and cursing Fassad, volleying insults left and right about him. Only now am I realising the vitriolic hatred everyone has towards him, though in hindsight, that seems obvious — my PSI training with him holds some of my most unpleasant memories.
Nevertheless, while I may share the sentiments, we have a mission to get on with. I slam my hand down on the table firmly enough to get everyone's attention, but not so hard as to startle them all, and everyone silences upon hearing it, looking somewhat scared at the prospect of some form of punishment.
"Enough. Fassad is an idiot, a moron, a fool and incredibly inept in general." I say, much to the surprise of everyone, who I'm guessing expected a lashing out about talking negatively of a superior. And perhaps I would... if I considered Fassad a superior anyway.
I take a deep breath before continuing. "However, if there is one thing I've learned about him, it's that he's got a habit about being annoyingly right about these kinds of things, and if we were to bail out of it and it turns out he was right, the personal satisfaction he'd gain would be so immense that none of us would be able to work again. And I refuse to give him that. Do you?"
There's a reluctant acceptance of the facts, as they can clearly see my point.
"I mean, with that being said, as long as he's not here, and you don't have any particularly important task to attend to, you have my permission to speak freely about him in any way you wish in front of me. I won't tell if you don't." I add.
There's some laughs from everyone, as well as some looks of glee — the Colonel in particular looks like she's just won the lottery.
"Back to the point though — yes, finding the Clayman in question will be hard, and it will be even harder if we can't locate any stray ones. Colonel, correct me if I'm wrong, but all the Clayman are supposed to have a chip in them, aren't they?"
"Yep, it's a microchip that lets us remotely activate and track them."
"In which case, we should be able to track them, shouldn't we?"
"Actually... I'm not sure if we have that info on the ship here. Someone check that."
One of her majors gets to that, and quickly finds the answer. "Yeah... that's a no. But... the people at one of the Clayman Factory Grounds should have a database with all that stuff."
"Contact them immediately, and tell them to send that information to us. I want the movements of every Clayman near Club Titiboo, and on the highway for good measure. Maintenance, I want two Porkships prepared for landing. Everyone else, your assigned positions. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the Pigmasks chorus.
Everyone stands and takes their positions.... that's the first time I've ever really given proper orders like this. Three years ago, and I'd have never seen myself here... and yet, here I am. On the Mother Porkship, on my first mission.
Half an hour's passed during that meeting, which still leaves a good chunk of time before we actually reach Club Titiboo. Well, I should pull my own weight on this ship. I inform the bridge that I'll be lower down and to call if I'm needed. I suppose I'll go and help with the preparation of the Porkships — I do like manual labour, and I'm good at it.
This ship's a lot bigger than I thought it would be... there's quite a few floors, but the one I'm interested in is the lowest floor. There's two areas of note here — the engine room being one of them, and the other is the docking bay where Porkships are kept on the ship, and that's where I'm heading.
When I reach there, the Pigmasks there are more than happy to let me help out, and it's enough to occupy my time. Soon enough, I hear something the Colonel's voice over the intercom.
"Commander? We need you at the bridge."
We must be there then. I quickly run back up the stairs to the bridge, where I see some of the Pigmasks staring out windows and the ship appears to have stopped.
"I take it we've arrived?" I ask her.
"Yeah, we have. Thing is, we can't land anywhere nearby."
"How come?"
"There's not enough space. Plus, the terrain's pretty rough."
Good thing I planned for this then. "The ship can be held at constant altitude, right?"
"Yep."
"Then I think I have a plan." I say, taking the intercom off her, and speaking into it. "Everyone, report to the bridge immediately."
It's only five minutes before everyone's gathered around again as I discuss the mission.
"Now, firstly, how did our request for information on the Clayman go?"
"The factory near Club Titiboo didn't have anything, but the one near Thunder Tower gave us pretty much everything we needed. We've put the information into these radars."
Wow, I was going to ask them to do something like this, but it looks like they beat me to the punch! I'm impressed.
"Excellent work, all of you."
Based on their reactions, I get the impressions that praise for good work is not something Fassad ever gives them... I guess I'll be changing that then.
"Right. There are 27 of us, but at least five people will be needed to stay and monitor the ship, though I would ideally like seven. Any volunteers?"
Around 9 or so raise their hands, so I pick the first 7 that I see.
"The rest of us will head down to the surface in two Porkships, and search the place for that Clayman."
"There'll be dozens of Clayman though." the Colonel points out.
"True, so we're looking for stationary ones, since the man clearly intended to retrieve the Egg at some point, so it can't be an active Clayman. It's likely going to be one that's isolated as well so it sticks out, though if they have a very good memory, we can't discount the Clayman in question being amongst a bunch of inactive ones."
"Still, that could take some time."
"Yes... keep an eye out for that man, or anyone who looks like they're from Tazmily. They'll be searching for the Egg as well. If you spot them, inform either myself or Colonel Rysan. Any questions?"
No one raises any objections, so I nod and stand up.
"Move out then, and masks on. Those staying behind, radio the Chimera Laboratory and inform them two Porkships will be landing there."
Twenty of us march down the stairs back to where the Porkships are kept, and in two groups, we each enter one.
The flight down is very short, as we're directly below our landing site. We quickly disembark, with some of the Pigmasks at the Chimera Laboratory coming out the door.
"Commander! What brings you here?"
"I'm afraid that information is classified. We haven't come here specifically for the lab."
"Okay...?"
"Would you mind guarding our ships?"
"Oh, em... of course, sir!"
"Thank you."
I turn to everyone else addressing them. "Okay, each of you has a radar, with the locations of all the Clayman in the general area. Again, look for isolated immobile ones."
"Sir, there's a lot of Clayman in the lab here. Should we bother searching here?" asks one Pigmask.
"Nah, there's no way that man could have gotten inside here." says the Colonel. "I'm sure they told the people working here to look out for him."
She makes a good point... and yes, while some of the Pigmasks can be incompetent, I don't think they're that incompetent... at least, I hope they're not. Still, it is possible, even if it is unlikely.
"Hm... that's true, but I can't discount the possibility. I'd like three of you to search there."
Three of them run off inside, as the rest of us take off into the forest, searching for Clayman. There's a few around here, but none of them have what we're looking for. But there is a Clayman Factory to the south here, and of course, inactive Clayman will be rather common there.
So, we head south, and after informing the Pigmasks there of our situation, we continue looking through all the Clayman, spending about half an hour doing so.
But suddenly, in the midst of going through one Clayman, I hear a loud crackling and look up quickly enough to just see a bolt of lightning strike down far off in the distance, crashing into the ground.
"What in the...?" the Colonel. says. "Why are they firing lightning bolts here?!"
"A malfunction, perhaps?"
"I thought we fixed all those problems while I was there! Must be Fassad screwing with things again.
"Wait, Fassad's at the Thunder Tower now?" I say in surprise.
"Huh? Oh yeah, he should be there anyway."
Hm... why is he there? It doesn't seem like his kind of place, nor is it where he lives... actually, where does Fassad live? I've never seen anywhere he could live in New Pork City, and I can't imagine him living anywhere near the normal Pigmasks... he'd say he's too good for that.
Then again, I do recall some floors at the Empire Porky Building that I can't access... perhaps Fassad lives on one of those?
"We'll just have be careful moving forward." I say, looking back down at the radar — wait a minute! There's a dot that just started to begin flashing brightly, but I swear it wasn't like that before...
"Colonel, have a look at this. This dot here... it wasn't this bright before, was it?"
"No... it wasn't."
"How come it's only begin flashing now then?"
"Huh... I'm not sure. I mean, that's gotta mean that Clayman's been recharged... but that's impossible in the forest!"
Yes, it should be... or is it? No... I remember a long time ago, I went to the Clayman Factory here, and helped with gathering the Clayman to be recharged. Didn't I help power one with PK Thunder? Never mind, this line of thought will get us nowhere.
"Must be some sort of anomaly. Let's continue our search... though, I do notice now that there are some Clayman to the east of Club Titiboo."
"How about I take my regiment ahead into the forest, and you continue the search here, sir?"
"Sounds as good as any plan. Good luck on your search."
As they leave, we continue our search, which is fairly fruitless... where is that Egg? I'm losing more and more hope that it's here... but where is it then, and — wait, what's this?
My transceiver begins to ring, the familiar Pigmask theme playing... what could that be for? I take it out of my pocket, holding it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Commander..." I hear the Colonel's voice on the other end, more faint than usual. It sounds like she's moving? "We have a situation here."
"That was quick. What kind of situation?"
"We split up as part of our search, and two of my group just came back. They said they spotted the man."
"That man? They're absolutely sure of it?"
"Yeah, they say he's exactly like in that hologram. Brown hair, limp, gloomy kind of feel — it's all there. They didn't engage though, because they thought it would be too risky with only two of them."
"A wise decision."
"But that's not all — they've reported seeing two, possibly three others along with the man."
Others? Somehow, I didn't expect that, even though it makes sense.
"Did they see them?"
"Yeah, but they didn't pay as much attention, cause they were looking mostly at the man. There was also a dog, brown, pretty ordinary and a girl with pink hair."
A girl with pink hair? That... that girl at the Club... that waitress...
Wait... there's something else... didn't I... yes, I remember. The very first day, I woke up, when I met Master Porky, he showed me... a video. And... there was a pink girl in that video as well... is it possible...
"Colonel, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't a pink haired girl destroy one of our tanks once?"
"Yep... along with an old man and a monkey."
Yes... and that girl was psychic, wasn't she? And so was that waitress... we've been holding one of our enemies within Club Titiboo for three years, and no one realised.
"I think I know exactly what's going on. There's a pink haired waitress at Club Titiboo who is also psychic — I believe the meeting between the man and girl was planned."
"That does make sense... the man probably told her to come here and bide her time. But why wouldn't they make a move instantly for the Egg?"
"It would be risky, wouldn't it? The man was washed away, and we were all looking for him. He needed to hide the Egg so we wouldn't get to it, in the hopes that one day he might be able to retrieve it, so he hides in a Clayman, because... who'd ever think to look there?"
"We certainly didn't."
"Exactly. So he tells this girl to come to Club Titiboo, and asks her to search for it undercover, while he goes into hiding."
"I see... to let the commotion die down. For whatever reason, the girl couldn't find it, so the man comes back and they rejoin."
"Have this man and this girl ever worked together before?"
"Yeah... I saw them working together at Osohe myself. That explains everything... except for the dog."
Hah... I'd forgotten about that. Where did the dog come from? It couldn't be from the girl... the man? No, that doesn't seem likely.
"Oh, wait a minute, that other person!"
"Hm?"
"One of them thought they saw another person, but they couldn't be sure. Whoever it was apparently seemed a bit shorter, but they didn't more than a glimpse, so can't be sure on that."
A child then? But why would a child... no, age is no factor in this. I'm the Commander, and yet I'm the youngest person in this entire army. Age doesn't mean a thing.
"That explains where the dog came from. And they say they saw them go down some holes?"
"Yeah, in fact I'm here now. There's a bunch of holes in the ground, and it looks like they lead to this underground network or something. Probably leads out on the other side of this mountain here."
Mountains... I take a quick look at my map, and I see what she's on about. So these people, they're trying to get to the opposite side? Let's see... are there any Clayman over there?
"That's strange... there aren't any Clayman there! Apart from in the factory on that side, but there would be no one this man could get inside there to hide the Egg three years ago with his notoriety."
"Actually, that's not completely true, Commander. There is one Clayman there."
"What?" I look down and she's right — there is one, but...
"That one that's moving really fast? But it can't possibly be the one they're searching for — it would have to be a still one."
"But that's the only other thing they could be going over there for! This doesn't make any sense, not unless it just happened to reactivate."
Yeah... none of this makes sense... I mean, Clayman can't just spontaneously reactivate in the middle of a forest, not unless they just happened to be hit by...
No. No, it can't be. What are the odds? This can't be possible... but it's not impossible.
"Colonel... I have a theory, as far fetched as it will sound. If a lightning bolt was to hit an inactive Clayman, would it be recharged?"
"Well yeah, Clayman absorb electricity and a lightning bolt would definitely have enough energy to kick start it — scratch that, it'd probably overclock it, but... the chances of that happening are ludicrous! I mean, that's like a one in a million... wait, you're not seriously saying..."
"I am. We saw a lightning bolt, didn't we, and then one of the dots became much brighter, indicating a Clayman had been recharged. What if that lightning bolt just happened to hit a Clayman, recharge it, and then it immediately bolted off? And what if that Clayman just happened to be the one with the Egg of Light, and it took off just before that man and his cohorts could retrieve the Egg?"
"That's... that's insane!"
"But that's exactly what must have happened. That's why they went through those tunnels, and why they did so incredibly quickly — because that Clayman has the Egg, and now they're chasing it down. Incredible, isn't it — we got very lucky."
"I... well, what do we do now? I guess we'll have to follow them through these holes."
"No, that could take far too long, and you could all get lost. If we knew where the Clayman would end up, we might be able to cut it off."
"Well, that's simple. All broken Clayman head to the junk heap on the Highway."
Oh... that simplifies things. "In which case, forget the holes, we'll just fly straight there."
"Not gonna work, sir. Not when the Thunder Tower's in operation and shooting lightning. That Clayman being hit was a one in a million chance, but if we're up there, our chances of getting hit are much higher. We'll get struck down for sure, and telling them to stop firing is gonna take far too long."
That's true, and being shot down isn't going to accomplish much.
"We need transport. Land transport." I say. Let's see... the Clayman Factory is on the other side of the mountain. That seems like a good bet. "Inform the bridge of our movement, then head to the Clayman Factory — they'll have some Pork Beans, and we can go straight across the highway to the junk heap. We'll either find that Clayman, or we'll find those people. Either way, we'll be much closer to finding the Egg."
"Sounds like a plan, sir. We'll be there as soon as we can. Don't bother waiting." I hang up, and turn to everyone else here.
"You heard that." I say to my group. "Let's go!"
We take off as quickly as we can back to the Chimera Laboratory and take off in our Porkship. Soon enough, it's not too long before I see the second one take off as well.
"Patch a line directly to the Clayman Factory, if you wouldn't mind." I ask the pilot.
"Yes, sir. Give me a second..."
I hear a bunch of noises at the other end — a lot of bumbling and some people muttering.
"Oh, I, yeah, Commander! What, what do you need? Sir! We gave you the information you needed! Was it helpful?"
"Very, thank you. However, we need your help again. We need to get across the Highway quickly, and Porkships aren't an option. Do you have any Pork Beans we may use?"
"Er... give me a second..."
He seems to leave and I hear a bunch of commotion in the background... I won't lie — it sounds pretty disorganised.
"So, yeah, we only have one left."
Hm... I was hoping there would be at least two, but I suppose we'll have to make do.
"In that case, do you mind preparing it for our arrival? We'll be there shortly."
"Sure, sir! Over and, er... out!"
That's sorted, and the flight shouldn't take much long — it's only about ten minutes away. But even a few minutes could cost us everything. Those people already have a good lead on us, and it's only growing. We need to get to that junk heap before they do. My only hope is that perhaps they would have gotten lost underground.
The Porkship lands, and we immediately disembark, waiting there for the other one — I can see it in the sky, faintly in the distance. It's only another minute before it lands, and the second batch of Pigmasks all come out. Once they do, the Colonel approaches me.
"Did they receive our message, sir?"
"They did. There is one Pork Bean here we can use."
"Only one? Only... four, maybe five of us could fit into one though."
"Yes, they seem to be running short for whatever reason. Did the bridge receive your message?"
"Yep, they've got it. They're ready to move whenever we need."
"Good. Let's not waste any time."
The twenty of us enter the factory, which gets some heads turning — two Pigmask Captains immediately run towards us in shock.
"Ah! Commander?! What... what are you doing here?!"
What am I doing here? What? I... they did get my message, didn't they? I said I'd be coming here...
"I'm sorry? I... I informed one of you all that I'd be coming. Did they not pass the message?"
"No, I told them all, but..." says one Pigmask — I recognise his voice. He must be the one I spoke to earlier.
"Erm... hold on, sir, do you mind waiting while we get the boss?" he says.
There seems to be some sort of confusion... I have no idea why, but I guess that would probably be best.
"Please do." I say.
The two Pigmasks bolt off inside the factory, leaving the twenty of us alone.
"Commander, what's going on?" the Colonel asks.
"I... have absolutely no idea. I'm not going insane, am I? I definitely rang up and told these guys we'd be coming here, didn't I?" I ask my group.
"Yeah!" says one.
"You definitely did, sir!" says another.
"I remember that guy's voice." says a third.
"Okay, good. Good. I'm not going crazy... not yet..." I mutter.
"There's been some kind of misunderstanding then."
But in the distance, I can hear some footsteps, and the two Pigmask Captains along with a Pigmask Colonel round the corner, the latter of whom almost jumps back in fright as well.
"Commander?! So... you guys weren't kidding!"
"Why would we lie about this?" one asks.
"Well... so, Commander... why are you back? And you seem to have a lot of more people with you."
Wait, wait, wait, back?! I'm sorry, why am I back? I never came here!
I... I'm so dumbfounded that I can't even voice anything, and it's the Colonel who does so instead.
"Back?! But... we never got here!" she says.
"But... half an hour ago, you just left! You came, like you said you would, asked if we'd seen a runaway Clayman, and then you took... oh no..." he says, sounding horrified, as if he's come to some kind of dreadful realisation.
What... I...
There's only a single thing that can accurately describe what's going through my mind at the point. And that's what I decide to voice.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Notes:
It's been a while, hasn't it? I apologise for my absence, since I've been busy with exams, and they only just ended today. Either way, finally got this out.
So yeah, now we're actually in familiar territory, since the rest of this fic will be what the Masked Man was doing through Chapters 5-8. I must admit, I had always been confused regarding what the Masked Man was doing in Chapter 5, but then I remembered the Egg of Light existed. So I thought, what if the Masked Man was trying to find it as well?
Apart from the Masked Man himself though, the main character of interest would be his second in command. And you might be wondering what's up with her. Well, I generally don't like using OCs (laughs in A Third Of Love's Narrator), but Colonel Rysan is... technically not an OC?
I say technically, because I have based her off an actual Pigmask in Mother 3 — she is supposed to be the Pigmask Colonel seen with the Masked Man at the beginning of Chapter 7, and at the 6th Needle. Mind you, the Pigmask Colonel in question didn't have a name or a personality, so... I dunno, it's up to you whether she's an OC of not.
Her name incidentally is something completely random, like the Visaras in A Third Of Love. You see, at the time that I made Chapter 14, I had intended to give her a name, but was struggling for one.
As it happens, I was playing a ROM Hack for Pokemon (Pokemon Gaia, for those curious), and had named my rival Rysan. It just came to me. So, I was like... I'm lazy, I'm just gonna reuse that. So here we are.
The other thing of note is that this chapter marks the 100,000 word point. Yes, this book is officially over 100,000 words — my first fanfic to ever do that! I wonder how long it'll be by the end...
Next time, Claus pursues the imposters and the Clayman across the Highway.
Chapter 22: Pursuit
Summary:
Imposters, chases, plans, and the Masked Man's inability to pursue his double.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
I open my mouth, about to say something, but... what the hell do I say?!
There's another me on the loose? That's impossible! Okay... alright, I need to find out what happened here.
"What you've just said is impossible — I hope you realise that. I think an explanation is in order."
"Urk... yes, sir."
"What happened after I rang here?"
"Well... so, this guy here told me everything you said to him. That you'd be coming here very shortly and that you needed a Pork Bean to get across the Highway. Of course, we only had one left, but apparently that was fine with you."
Well... I wouldn't say fine, but there wasn't really any other options.
"Alright, nothing seems out of the ordinary yet." muses the Colonel.
"We check up on the Pork Bean left, make sure it's fuelled and all, and it was. But then... some people come into the factory, and someone goes up to check."
"How many people?"
"Four. Well, no, more like three. Three and a dog."
Three and a... no. No. There's that dreadful sinking feeling in my stomach, the kind I felt when I woke up, or when I have to deal with Fassad, or whenever I have to say goodbye to Miss Marsh...
I'm scared to ask the next question, because I already know the answer. And it's not a good one.
"Three people and a dog?!" shouts the Colonel. "You can't be serious! They didn't just... oh, they actually did. They actually came here."
"What is she on about, sir?" asks the other colonel.
Gritting my teeth, I decide to finally ask it.
"Describe the people who came here."
"Oh, well... a girl, a man and a boy."
And... just as I thought. They came here.
"Please tell me that when they entered, you immediately tried to capture them, or at the very least chased them out..." I sigh.
"Yeah... see, they told us they were looking for a Clayman, so we gave the Pork Bean and let them go." he says very quickly.
"You did WHAT?! You gave them the Pork Bean?! They were the enemy! Why?!" shouts my colonel.
"Because we thought they were part of your group! They said they were looking for a Clayman, like you did, Commander, and they came very soon after you rang, like you said you would!" he shouts back.
"So, were they wearing Pigmask uniforms? They must have stolen them." I say.
"Actually... no, they weren't. Not when they entered. That's how I knew what they all looked like."
"... I beg your pardon? If I understand this correctly, you let four highly suspicious individuals with no uniform, into this facility, with no questions asked, and gave them a means of transportation?"
"Well, when you put it like that..."
That's just... idiocy. "I want you to give me one good reason why I shouldn't relieve of your duties right here and now."
"Er... boss, aren't you forgetting something?" whispers one Pigmask to their superior.
"Huh? Oh yeah! How could I forget?!"
"I sincerely hope for your sake this is something good." I sigh.
"Commander... the reason we let them have the Pork Bean... was because you were with them. One of those people was you. Well, no, they obviously weren't you now, but they sure looked like it."
... what?
There's a moment of silence as everyone takes the information, everyone spellbound. The Colonel takes a step forward, a head to her face.
"... are you braindead?! The Commander," she begins, gesturing towards me, "Looks like this. That's a pretty distinct appearance! And it's not like you can fake being the Commander — that helmet and sword are one of a kind!"
"Yeah, and they didn't have any of that. But... they looked almost exactly like you without that stuff, sir."
... I... I'm... I... I...
I have so many questions. Okay. Okay. Let's start with the most obvious one.
"You say they looked almost exactly like me? Explain. Now."
"Yeah, they didn't have the helmet, or the sword. But physically? His face was exactly like yours, his body had the same proportions, he was exactly as tall as you were — sir, if you'd seen that boy, it'd been like you were looking into a mirror!"
"That's... that's impossible! There's no way that could have happened!" she says.
"I have to admit, that seems... far fetched at best." And that's putting it mildly.
"Sir, I'm serious. I swear on my life. Everyone here saw him. Right?"
"Yeah!" says one of the Captains.
"Looked almost just like you, sir!" says the other.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, thinking about all of this... I need more information.
"Keep going..."
"So, yeah, fine. He didn't have the sword, or the helmet, and sure, those are the two most identifying parts of you. But what's even more identifying is your body! Nobody can copy that! But somehow... this boy looked exactly like you! Like a twin. Cept' for his hair..."
"His hair?" I say sharply. "What was different about it?"
"It was blonde. Not your orange hair."
"And that didn't tip you off that he was an imposter?" my Colonel says incredulously.
"Hey, people can dye their hair!" he says back with an equal amount of incredulity.
"And you think the Commander would just randomly decide to dye his hair blonde?" she retorts.
"It's possible!" he says, clearly grasping for straws.
I mean... it is possible, but I've never had any inclination to dye my hair. Mind you, now that the question has been raised... if I had to pick a colour, I suppose I would go with blonde.
"Then what about the fact that there were only three other people — correction, only two people and a dog with him? Didn't you think the Commander of the Pigmask Army would have more soldiers with him?!" she continues.
"No, because we told the Commander we only had one Pork Bean. And four is about the maximum number of people that can fit in a Pork Bean, so the Commander showing up with only three people makes sense. I just thought he picked three others to go with him, cause he couldn't take anymore."
That... actually does makes sense. That's a logical enough conclusion to draw from those circumstances. But we're not getting anywhere like this.
"Enough. Both of you. Arguing won't get us anywhere, especially since the longer we wait here, the more time we give those people, and this alleged imposter of mine to get away. I can't believe this myself, but through a rather outlandish set of circumstances, his actions hold up remarkably well." I say, turning towards my colonel.
"I... I think this is all a set up." she replies.
"I haven't discounted that one either, Colonel, but... I think I believe this."
"But think about this, sir! What are the odds of those people coming here just after you finished ringing them up, in a group size that was exactly enough to not be suspicious, and with one of them just happening to look exactly like you?!"
"About the same as a lightning bolt happening to hit the exact Clayman with the Egg of Light when those same people approached it, causing it to go a mad dash here, I'd say."
"Well... you got me there." she sighs.
"Look, sir... you're gonna probably punish me, and if that's the case, I accept full responsibility." says the other Colonel.
I sigh to myself... in truth, I don't really want to punish him at all. It doesn't seem like it will get us anywhere, and honestly, I'm more concerned about these people gaining more and more time the longer we stand here.
But I suppose it's more about setting an example — this is a security breach, and a very large one at that, one that could be detrimental to our mission, even despite these truly uncanny circumstances. Still, as long as he's willing to take all the heat himself... it won't hurt to exercise some leniency.
"Yes... you're right in that some disciplinary action will be taken. The circumstances may have been absurdly outlandish, but you still let four suspicious people into this place, though the fact that one of them looked exactly like me does mitigate that somewhat.
Nevertheless, the fact still remains that you gave them a Pork Bean, and uniforms. In light of all that... I'm reducing your rank down to Major. However... I don't see any reason to punish anyone else here, or do anything further, provided you help us in our pursuit of them."
"Thank you, sir." he says, somewhat relieved.
"In any case, moving on to the more pressing matter, which way did they go?"
"Just out the back, sir. They asked where the broken Clayman would end up, and that's at the junkyard."
Like I thought... "So they'll be heading there right now... and no one will stop them if what you say is true and one of them does look like me. They'll have a clear path to the junk heap."
"We need to get the word out then. Tell everyone there's an imposter on the loose." says my colonel.
"Yes... is there anyone on the Highway that's reliable?"
"The Fierce Pork Trooper should be patrolling that area. Maybe him?" she says.
Well, I've been working with him for three years — he's definitely trustworthy and reliable in my book. I know he'll help us out.
Picking up my transceiver, I ring him — he's one of few people I have recorded on this thing.
"Urgh... Commander... I'm sorry, sir. I've... failed you... argh!"
What the... he sounds like he's been badly injured! What happened?
"Sir... what's going on?" I say. "You sound like you've been severely injured!"
"Commander... I'm sorry... you gotta be careful. There's an... an imposter on the Highway. He looks exactly like you..."
I pound my fist on the table... so, this story does check out.
"We know. We've just found out. What happened?"
"So, some maniacs are speeding along on a Pork Bean... and then they slip out on some banana peels and crash!"
Banana peels? Fassad... is there no place that man won't litter?
"And you were nearby when this happened?"
"Yeah, I heard the crash... pretty loud, after all. I find three people and a dog all lying next to a wrecked Pork Bean — and Commander, one of them... he looked exactly like you! So, I helped them up, and thinking it was you, I was about to give you my Pork Bean."
Oh no... for a minute, I thought we'd gotten lucky with them crashing, but it seems not after all.
"But... something came to me. I've seen two of those people before!"
"You have? Which ones?!"
"The dog and the kid who looks just like you. I've seen them... at Club Titiboo..."
Club Titiboo... where the waitress was. I'm convinced now — this was all planned.
"Anyway, I realised that they had to be fakers. So I fought them, trying to knock them all out. I mean, if they were trying to disguise themselves as members of our army, then they had to be up to no good."
"So wait... did you incapacitate them?" I say, some hope fleeting back into me."
"Ahh... see, it was more the other way round."
"What?!"
"Yeah... they beat me pretty badly. Stole my Pork Bean as well. Managed to... stumble my way towards the Underpass and found some people coming from there. They're giving me a lift there now."
They did what... these people... they fought and won against the Fierce Pork Trooper? That's... that's...
That's scary. The Fierce Pork Trooper is one of our best. One of the elite! For these people to fight and win against him... they're even more vicious then I thought they'd be. No. They're more than just a threat. They're an active danger to all of us, if four of them can do that.
"... how long ago was this?"
"It's been... just under 10 minutes? Commander... I'm sorry for failing you... I should have done better... if only I had my armour... maybe, maybe... I could have won."
I slam my fist into the table again, much harder, startling everyone around me.
"... it's fine. You did your best, and that's all I can ask for. Thank you. I know you're not in the best shape right now, but I need one more thing from you — we need to send out an alert as quickly as we can to all units on the Highway that there is an imposter. Can you do that?"
"As soon as we reach there... I'll get right on it. It might take some time the word to spread though."
"Thank you... and take all the rest you need. I wish you a speedy recovery." I finish, clicking the transceiver off.
There's a moment of silence after that, as I grit my teeth, a number of emotions threatening to spill it.
Without even realising it, I find my sword in my hand, and slam it into the floor, sparks emerging from it which causes everyone to jump back in fear.
"What... happened, sir?"
"Long story short... the Fierce Pork Trooper has already been acquainted with my doppelgänger and the people with him."
"Wait, there's actually another you running around?!"
"It would appear so. And not only that, they fought and incapacitated him."
"They... they beat the Trooper?"
"Yes. And now, they're on their way to the Egg. But... that altercation would have cost them time. They're not as close to the Egg as we thought they were — they only have a 5 to 10 minute lead, according to the Trooper. And that means we still have time to catch up! You." I say, pointing to the factory's Colonel. "Get us a Pork Bean."
"Er... sir... the Pork Bean those guys took was the last one, remember?"
I slam my sword into the ground again, looking down directly at the sparks.
How could I forget? What now then? We can't fly, we can't drive, we've got nothing! Wait... no... we do have something.
"Very well. In that case, if we can't fly, and we can't drive, then we'll run!"
"Run? Sir, you can't seriously expect to outmatch a Pork Bean on foot!"
"No, I don't. We'll run to the Candaum Underpass, acquire some Pork Beans there, and then make off to the Egg."
"That's still gonna take some time though."
"Yes... but it is the only option left to us. That Egg is off the utmost importance, because His Highness wants it. I lead this army, for him. To give up now would be a discredit to him. We may not be able to catch up to them as is, but combined with the message of this imposter, and the attempts to slow them down, we may be able to get there before them. It's all we have left. Let's move!"
Quickly, we all sprint forward, blitzing out of the factory's exit at the back, and onto the road ahead. If someone was to observe us right then and there, I imagine the sight would be rather amusing — twenty Pigmasks and myself, all sprinting madly in hot pursuit of a Pork Bean.
Of course, all of us have trained in long distance running, for occasions where a chase on foot is necessary. While it's a bit taxing on us, we manage to pace ourselves. Mind you, I have to remember that my mechanical parts give me a significantly greater amount of endurance and strength compared to everyone else here, so I must keep their limitations in mind.
However, we quickly run into some road blocks — literal ones at that. That's an interesting defence... either way, we'll have to get them to move.
"Fire away."
All the Pigmasks take their guns out and blast the road blocks, while I use my arm cannon. The ensuing explosion knocks a few away and scares away the rest, leaving the path clear, so we continue on our way.
But it's not long before we come across a second obstacle — rhino headed rockets.
One comes charging at me, so I quickly raise my sword, just as it rams into me. I'm pushed back a little, but I stand my ground, and soon it slows down and stops. Immediately, I counter with a series of kicks and sword slashes, launching it into another one rocket that some other Pigmasks are taking care of.
They're both still kicking, so I think it's time to finish things.
With quick thoughts about Master Porky flooding my mind, I hold one hand out, gazing directly at my foes.
"PK Love Alpha."
The familiar multicoloured hexagons burst from my palm and slam into the two rockets, exploding with colourful light and this time, they don't get back up.
After a short breather, we continue, but before we can, two bipedal robots approach us, both a solid yellow with three red lights on their torso. I pause when I see them though, noticing the odd way they seem to move. They seem to almost... wobble from side to side, as if they're unstable.
"Oh, I remember making these!" says the Colonel. "Hey, guys, remember these things?" she says to a few of her own Pigmasks.
There's a few ohs and ahs from them in recognition, but...
"What... exactly are these things?"
"They're Wobbly Robots, sir." she replies.
"Funnily enough, Colonel, I was able to deduce that one myself. Why do they... exist?"
"Oh, we got orders to make them some time ago, but when we finished... well, we just didn't have a use for them anymore. So... we decided to let them roam free on the Highway."
"I... see." That explanation honestly just perplexes me more, but... never mind, let's just get on with this — in fact, I've got just the thing. I hold one arm out and focus carefully...
"PK Thunder Beta."
Two lightning bolts strike down, each of them hitting the robots and sending them back. But that's just the set up. The Pigmasks now look at me, waiting for what's going to happen next.
I've been waiting for an opportunity to use this in actual combat... and it appears I've found just the opportunity I've been waiting for.
I hold my sword across my body, focusing carefully... I've messed this up quite a lot of times, and I've got to get this right.
Holding my sword tightly, I flick a button on the underside of the hilt, activating the generator within and the sword begins to spark, the energy threatening to spill out. I'm tempted to amplify this further with PK Thunder, but I don't think I'll need to.
I quickly move my arm, my sword snapping to my side, and with one quick flourish, I swing it down, pointing the tip directly at the robots, as an intense bolt of lightning bursts out and engulfs them all. Immediately, the robots explode, as parts start to fly off, some of them breaking down into scrap.
All the Pigmasks just look in awe, surveying the area.
"Little bit flashy there, don't you think, sir?" the Colonel says.
"Why do you think I did that?" I reply.
"Fair enough!" she laughs. "Let's move on."
We're close, very close now. Just a little bit more and... well, great. More robots. Four of them — but they're different ones, with a grey torso, and four legs with wheels on them. A pump stretches from the back of it, as their eyes begin to shine red.
Are these... these are Atomic Power Robots! From... Earthbound? First the Octobots, and now these... they must have been creations that existed in Master Porky's time as well.
But if I remember correctly... yes, they have explosive devices rigged to go off when destroyed.
"Wait! Hold your fire! These robots... they'll explode when we destroy them!" I shout.
Thankfully, they all do. "Aim to get the charges off their backs, disarm them, then scrap them."
It's a fairly easy job, since the robots weren't made to turn easily, allowing some of the Pigmasks to sneak up behind them, while the rest of us provide a distraction.
Quickly, they swipe the charges off, disarm them, and throw them to the side, leaving us free to destroy them. Together, we use bombs to destroy sections of their shells, exposing their cores, which are destroyed with a few well timed shots.
Suddenly, one of them outstretches its pump towards another one... ah, I remember — they can refuel each other. Well, let's see it try that after this.
With one decisive swing, I slice through the tube with my sword, fuel spilling out of it. The robot turns itself back to me, but with its fuel supply cut off and the charges removed, it has very little left.
It shoots a laser, but I'm ready for it, and jump to the side of it, followed by me plunging my sword through it, striking its core.
The eyes darken, as it deactivates and when I remove my sword, the robot falls backwards onto the ground.
There's only one left, which I see a few Pigmasks take care off, and soon enough, they're all down.
"Good work. The Underpass shouldn't be too much further now." And I'm right — it's a bit more running, but eventually, we reach there, where I see a few Pigmasks and the Fierce Pork Trooper.
"Commander! What are you doing here?" He sounds a lot better now — his voice is a lot less strained. I imagine he got to an Instant Revitalising Device.
"We're going to pursue the imposters — have you got any Pork Beans here?"
"Yeah, plenty, but didn't the factory have any?"
"They didn't, so we had to come here."
"Right, we'll get you some now. Hey, you heard him! Get five Pork Beans, on the double!"
Most of the Pigmasks here and the Fierce Pork Trooper himself go off into different rooms, preparing some Pork Beans, which leaves us here to wait.
"Alright, everybody... let's take five while they prepare the Pork Beans.
There's a sigh of relief from many of the Pigmasks as they sit on the platforms, drinking some water... they must be exhausted.
I feel a little tired myself, but less so then everyone else because of my mechanical parts. But even ignoring that, there's far too much on my mind for me to rest, so I start pacing along the side of the road, thinking about everything that's happened so far... including my imposter.
Another me? That's impossible, obviously. It's just someone who looks like me. And it's not entirely uncommon for two people to look similar.
But for two people to look almost identical? That's far rarer. Unless, they somehow have some sort of technology to change their appearances... but we're the more technologically advanced, and we haven't come up with anything like that at all.
So what then? How could this boy supposedly look almost exactly like me?
Well... there is one very obvious answer. There's one group of people in the world who naturally look like exactly each other.
Identical twins.
So by that logic, does that mean... I have a brother? A twin brother at that? I... I don't remember — I couldn't remember. I must have a mother and a father — that's a basic fact of life, and I accepted that a long time ago.
But... a brother? That's... that's entirely different. Isn't it? Is it?
I... I don't care about my mother or father... so why should I care about a brother? They... he is meaningless to me.
And besides, what's the chance of me having a brother anyway, a twin brother at that? Practically nothing.
(Lucas...)
And yet... something's telling me... it's telling me that I'm wrong. That logic, statistics and facts won't mean anything here... he exists.
NO! He doesn't exist! I... wait a minute... I haven't even seen this imposter! Sure, I know he exists, and I know that he looks similar to me, but that doesn't mean anything! No, no, no, of course it doesn't. I mean, kids look similar when they're young, don't they?
But I myself have yet to see this person myself, and with my mechanical eye, I have a far greater visual acuity than the average person would. I would be able to see through the facade where the Pigmasks could not.
It makes sense... suppose someone in Tazmily got word that I was here, not dead like they thought I'd be. They found out that I had started a better life, as Commander of the Pigmask Army.
All they would need to do is ask someone who knew me before — my parents, for instance, for more information on what I looked like. Then... they get a child of similar age, that looks similar, and alters their appearance to make them look more like me.
And why? All to fool the Pigmasks, with a fake Commander, and gain access to areas they couldn't before... yes, that makes sense! There's a pain in my chest... those people roped a child into their sick games.
But all of this makes sense. I mean, the Pigmasks aren't the most observant people, plus their masks slightly obstruct their vision, so with a good enough job... they could very well mistake this boy for me. And he wouldn't even need to be related to me! Yes, that's right, I don't have any relatives! I don't have a family, I don't have a brother... except of course, Master Porky.
It all makes sense...
(Lucas... stay safe...)
... doesn't it?
No, it's gotta mean something, it means...
Deviation detected. Course correction... complete.
... nothing. It doesn't mean anything, does it? My conclusion was right. I was right. There is no meaning to this at all, except for the fact that these imposters are the enemies.
And the enemies of Master Porky will be destroyed. The things he desires will be his. The person who will bring about those things... is me. That's what I need to focus on. Don't get distracted.
"Hey, Commander. Something wrong? You look pretty deep in thought."
I almost jump in surprise... so much for not getting distracted. "Hm? Oh... nothing much, Colonel. Just thinking about this mission so far. It's certainly turned out to be a lot more complicated than I was expecting."
"Yeah, this was supposed to be a simple search mission, and now we're chasing an imposter of you across the entire highway. I can tell missions with you are gonna be really fun..."
"Hopefully they aren't all as lively as this one."
"So what's on your mind, sir?"
"In truth... I feel somewhat nervous about this all. I've never been on anything quite like this, and failure... is not something that can be taken lightly. Sometimes I wonder if I've made all the right decisions."
"Well, on the field... there never really is a right decision. It's just some decisions are better than others."
"Yes... still, I must wonder if I could have done better."
"To be honest, sir... I think you've done pretty well."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I gotta say, it's a lot better working for you than for Fassad. The guy is a grade A... er... permission to speak candidly, sir?" she says, a little embarrassed.
"Granted." I say with a hint of amusement, already having some idea of what she's about to say.
"He's a grade A asshole. Doesn't respect any of us, doesn't respect what we do, can't even look at us..."
Yeah, all true — in fact, that last one's particularly interesting. I notice Fassad very rarely likes to look directly at my face — he's always looking down, or from an angle... it's almost like it creeps him out for some reason. As if he's scared of me?
It'd be nice if that were the case, but I don't think that's it — because ever since I've become Commander, I've started wearing this mask all the time, in accordance with Master Porky's orders, and Fassad's become much more comfortable looking at my face, because while I have it on, he can't see it.
So it's the face in particular... it's like my face reminds me of someone... my imposter? That could be the case, but I wonder what this imposter did to Fassad to make him so uncomfortable with my face...
"Yes... I remember the months in which he taught me PSI all too well."
"Then you'll know exactly what I'm on about. It's not fun working for him. But you, sir? I mean, you actually treat us like human beings. That guy at the factory? Fassad would dismissed him ten times over, but not you."
"It's only human to err. To punish someone so harshly in light of the circumstances is... well, plain wrong."
"Yeah, and that's what Fassad just doesn't get. Or just ignores. I don't know, maybe I'm being too presumptuous, but I gotta say — working for you for one day has better than working one minute with Fassad."
"... thank you." It's nice to have her confidence... I wouldn't be half a Commander if it weren't the people serving me.
But those thoughts are cut off by the Fierce Pork Trooper's voice. "Commander, we've got them all ready!"
"Hm? Ah, thank you. Everyone, four in one Pork Bean, and get to that junk heap as fast as you can! Speed, cut corners — do whatever you can to get to that place first without putting yourselves at too much risk."
"Yes, sir!" they all say.
We all cram into Pork Beans and take off — I have to steady myself, for fear that I'll go flying. Now I know how it must have felt for Miss Marsh all that time ago... we each split off into different directions, racing away.
The drive there doesn't take too long thankfully, and it looks like we're not the first ones here — when we arrive, there's two other Pork Beans here, and I see some Pigmasks searching through the junk. We disembark quickly, and they notice us.
"Commander, Colonel! We just got here a few minutes ago, but there's no one else here."
"That's strange..." says the Colonel. "Did we actually beat them here?"
"Looks like it. Everyone... search this area. There's a bunch of broken Clayman here, one of them must have the Egg on it."
As we all start to search, the other four Pork Beans arrive, and we explain the situation to them as they help us.
But despite all our searching, we find... nothing?
"There's... nothing? Nothing at all?" I say, really confused. "But... it has to be here! I don't see any other way it can be!"
"Maybe... we didn't beat them to the punch after all. They must have gotten here already, and taken the Egg." she sighs.
No! All of that work... for nothing?! Now what...
"Hey, sir... was this here before?" I hear a Pigmask speak up, pointing to... a Pork Bean? What's so strange about that?
"What's the issue exactly? We did use these to get here."
"Yeah, but... I swear we only took five in total."
Hm? Wait... one, two, three, four, five... six. He's right — I definitely remember we only took five here... so where did this one come from?
"That's odd... when did this extra one get here? It couldn't have gotten here while we were searching — we would have noticed anyone trying to drive past. Must have been here before and we just didn't notice it."
"Yeah, we got here first, and I think this Pork Bean was here even then, so... in that case, sir, couldn't this be the same Pork Bean that those people stole off the Trooper? Shall we check the model number?"
That... that could be it. "Hm... I think you're right. That's an excellent idea — go ahead."
They lean down and look underneath the Pork Bean, reading what it says underneath. "It says... R7038XX."
"Right, thank you. Let's see what the Trooper has to say." I reply, picking up my transceiver.
On the other end, the Trooper responds. "Commander! What do you need?"
"Hello, sir. Listen, we think we've found your Pork Bean."
"You have?!"
"Yeah, does this registration number ring a bell — R7038XX?"
"R7038XX... wait a minute, yeah, that's mine!"
"It is? Hm... in which case, we've found your Pork Bean at the junk heap, where those people were planning to go."
"Then why did they abandon it?"
"That's something I'm trying to figure out now. Do you mind holding for a few minutes?"
"Sure."
"So we're right then?" the Colonel asks.
"Yes, we are... but what does that mean? They got here, presumably found the Egg of Light... and then what?"
"Well... if I were them, I'd probably want to get the hell out of here once I got that Egg. But you'd think the best way to do that would be to use the Pork Bean..." she says.
"Unless they figured we were looking for someone in a Pork Bean, and decided to make the escape on foot?"
"Where would they go then? Let's look at all the directions — they can't go back the way we came, because we would have seen them. They can't go up these cliffs because... they're cliffs. And as for going this way, that leads to Thunder Tower, and that's a dead end."
"Are they hiding... no, we just searched this entire place. If they were hiding, we would have found them. And weren't some Pigmasks supposed to be monitoring this area? I'll ask the Trooper..." I say, speaking back into my transceiver.
"Sir? Are you still there?"
"Yep, Commander. What do ya need?"
"You sent a message out to all units on the Highway to look for any Pork Beans heading in this direction, as well as any lookalikes of me, right?"
"Yeah, we did. Course, there'd probably be a time delay and all."
"A delay? How come?"
"The tower. Electrical interference and all, it takes time for any transmissions in this area. Some may have gotten it, others might still be waiting on it."
In that case, that means some Pigmasks may not know about the imposter situation. And since the imposter is wearing my clothes, and the people with him have Pigmask uniforms, there's nothing inherently suspicious about them.
"Hm... was there anyone who was supposed to be patrolling this area? Maybe they didn't receive the message and mistakenly thought they were Pigmasks?"
"I'll check... give me a minute or two, sir."
And indeed, two minutes later, I hear back from him. "I got good news and bad news, Commander."
Well, that's always fun. "Let's have the good news first then."
"Your hunch was right, sir. Someone was patrolling that area, and they didn't get the message."
"And the bad news?"
"So... they picked up the enemy, and took them... to Thunder Tower."
Thunder Tower? Why would they go there? It's highly secure, dangerous and a dead end! There's nothing there for them at all, and it seems completely counter — Miss Marsh! She's there!
No, no... okay, okay... calm down... think, think about this.
"What could they possibly want in the Thunder Tower?! Destroying it? Destroying the generator would put the tower out of commission, wouldn't it?"
"Yep... sir, if those punks are at the tower, then I'm going go there!"
"What for?"
"Those people beat me up... not only that, they impersonated you! It's a disrespect to this army's honour, and to yours... so I'm gonna stop them!"
"... if that's what you want, then I won't stop you. Head there as soon as you can — you'll find your Pork Bean nearby as well. But be careful. You already know firsthand how tough they are."
"I will, sir. Thank you."
I click the transceiver off, addressing everyone else. "Back in the Pork Beans — we're going to Thunder Tower, because that's where the enemy went."
All of us hop into the Pork Beans, and it's a five minute drive to the tower. There's a captain outside, who looks pretty surprised to see this many Pork Beans here, and even more so when we leave them.
"Commander?! What are you doing here... again?!"
Looks like the imposter and his friends came this way then. "Based on what you just said, I'm guessing you saw 'me' here."
"Uh... yeah, at least I think I did? I'm not sure now..."
"Long story short, there's an imposter of me running amok, accompanied with three Pigmasks. Has anyone of the sort entered the tower?"
"Yeah, exactly that set of people! Just about... 10 minutes ago! But wait, you said they were imposters?"
"Yes. Not only do they have an important artefact that we need, I believe they have infiltrated this tower with the intent to destroy the generator."
"What?! Oh Pork, that's... crud, I mean... you better speak to Fassad then, sir!" he says, fiddling with a video panel next to him.
Fassad? Why him? But then I remember a second later — he's the one in charge of Thunder Tower now. Which means... I'm going to have to speak with him again today... oh no...
"Let's just get this over with..." I sigh. "Please put him on..."
The Pigmask fiddles around with the contraption for a bit, before it illuminates, and I'm once again greeted with Fassad's visage — and judging by the frown on his face, he doesn't look happy to be disturbed.
"How many times do I have to tell you idiots NOT to call me?!" he yells. "You better have a good reason for this, or else!" he says, drawling a line across his neck.
"Eek! S...sorry, sir! But, but, it's an em, emergency! It's the Co, Commander! He says there's an imposter is in the tower!"
"What the hell are you on about?"
"I'll take it from here," I say to the Pigmask. "Hello, Fassad." I say monotonously to him.
"Nwehehehe! Well, little chimera, why am I being graced with your presence?" he says with a creepy smile, while reaching for a banana.
"Fassad, we have a situation."
"Of course you do. Can't do anything by yourself, can you? Not even something as simple as get some little old egg."
Didn't you fail to do the exact same thing three years ago? There's a thought I'd love to voice, but don't have the ability to.
"Yes, well... we have bigger problems than that."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Somebody has disguised themselves as..."
But I cut myself off, because Fassad has just begun eating the banana, distracting me — not because of the eating itself, but the fact that he's doing so incredibly loudly.
"Well? Go on!" he shouts, continuing to eat the banana — except now, he's doing so with his mouth open, so I can actually see the pulp in his mouth... oh Pork...
Trying my level best not to look at him, I continue. "We... yes, someone has disguised themselves as me, and has infiltrated the Thunder Tower."
"What?!"
"It's the same people who are also in pursuit of the Egg of Light. And it seems like they have it as well."
"This... imposter. What does he look like?" says Fassad, going rather quiet. It'd be satisfying to see him this quiet, if it wasn't for how scary it is.
"Well, I've yet to see him myself, but apparently he looks virtually identical to me without my helmet, except for having blonde hair instead of orange. He is accompanied by a pink haired girl who may be a possible psychic, the man that the reports have said was in initial pursuit of the egg, and a dog."
"Blonde hair..." he says, actually growling now. "That kid! Oh, chimera, for the first time in your pitiful life, you've actually given me good news! Nwehehehe!" he finishes, laughing now, sounding like a kid who just got a great gift.
Part of me is scared — a happy Fassad generally isn't a good Fassad, even though he's supposed to be on our side.
"So... I take it you're willing to help us with capturing them?"
"Oh no, chimera, I'm not going to help you capture them. I'm going to take things from here now."
"What?"
"You just sit tight and wait for me to give you a call. I'm going to take care of these pests once and for all... revenge is delicious, especially when you've been waiting three years for it."
"Okay...? So, I guess we'll stand guard here, and make sure they don't escape by coming out here."
"No, I've got an even better job for you, chimera."
My heart suddenly starts to fill with dread. "And... what's that?"
"If I don't manage to get them myself, then I've got an even better way of taking those pests out once and for all in one go." he says with glee, rubbing his hands together.
"And that is?"
I hear a faint snicker from Fassad, and see the sneer on his face.
"We're going to blow the tower up."
Notes:
Well, the chase is on for the imposters and Fassad's busting the big guns. Mind you, Claus might not exactly feel comfortable with that because of a certain maid in the tower.
Anyway, the main thing I'd like to address in this chapter is the competency of the Pigmasks. In Mother 3, they're generally a bunch of bumbling idiots, who are easily outwitted by Lucas and his friends, a narrative which works well since the game is from their perspective.
The only members who seem to have a degree of competency are the Fierce Pork Trooper, one of few people to see through the gang's disguises, Fassad, who's a general pain for the game and of course, the Masked Man.
However, I have to imagine that the Pigmasks have to be at least somewhat competent, so I've decided to make them more competent to varying degrees — most Pigmasks, while still not the sharpest tools in the shed, aren't complete idiots.
Meanwhile, the Pigmasks led by the Masked Man are actually pretty competent, because they've been handpicked to assist the Commander himself.
The other thing to cover is the relationship that the Commander has with the Pigmasks — it's hard to see how well the Masked Man treats fellow Pigmasks from Mother 3, but everyone seems to generally admire him. So I personally imagine that he's a pretty good leader, and a fair one as well — at the very least, he's certainly a lot better than Fassad.
Next time, Chapter 5 comes to a close, as Claus destroys the Thunder Tower.
Chapter 23: Decommission
Summary:
Detonations, arguments, moles, and the Masked Man's inability to blow up Thunder Tower.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
...
He... he... he's not serious... is he? He's not serious. This... this is just some... this is just some giant joke of his... right?
But one look at those beady eyes of his tells me... he's being deadly serious.
"I'm sorry... I must not have heard you correctly, because I swear you just said you wanted to blow up the tower?"
"Oh no, chimera. Your ears never seemed to work well in our lessons, but they're working perfectly fine now."
I... I... I look behind me, and everyone's taken aback. I can't see their faces, but I know that beneath those masks is nothing but abject horror.
"What possible reason is there... to blow this entire tower, all for the sake of killing four people?! You wouldn't even get the Egg that way — it'd be completely destroyed!"
But as quick as my tone changed, so does Fassad's. "I don't like the way you're speaking to me, chimera! I'm in charge around here! This tower, I control it! I make the decisions! And if I want to blow it up, then you do it!"
"But... why? It doesn't make any sense!"
"Of course it doesn't make sense to you. Fine. Let me explain what it's like to be humiliated. You're on top of the world, nothing can touch you. You've made all the right decisions, and victory is right there. The enemy is cornered. Are you imagining it all yet?"
"I am." I'm not at all. I'm not indulging his sick demands now.
"Now. Imagine all that. And imagine that victory being snatched away from you, in the most embarrassing of ways. Because of some upstart kid on a Drago, who comes and destroys you, sends you flying into the beyond, and all your hard work goes down the drain."
He briefly pauses, throwing his banana away before continuing. " Now imagine, that same kid comes back, and he's cornered again. And better yet, he's with two other people who humiliated you for smaller slights. Imagine... revenge is right there, the chance to deal the ultimate humiliation for a person! Wouldn't you take that same chance?"
... no. Because... because that's just... that's just...
"I can't say I would."
"Bah! What do you know? It doesn't matter. When this tower blows up... everyone in it will be gone."
Everyone will be...
Miss Marsh. Miss Marsh. Miss Marsh.
"I wasn't exactly built to be the most durable, as I am not primarily a combat robot, and my systems are therefore somewhat delicate..."
Delicate... delicate... delicate.
"And you would go this far, and risk the lives of everyone in that tower... all for a petty slight that happened to you three years ago?" I say, gripping onto my sword tightly.
"Of course." he grins.
...
"... you're insane." I whisper.
"I'm sorry, chimera? My ears must have not working well — for a moment there, I thought I heard you call me insane?"
"Your ears never seemed to work well in our lessons either, Fassad, but they're working perfectly fine now. I said, you're insane."
"I'm a reasonable person, chimera. And this is your first mission. So I'm gonna give you five seconds to say something to please me after what you just said."
Not on your life.
"You're insane, for holding onto such a petty slight against you for so long, even if it is against the enemy, you're insane for wanting to blow an entire tower with people in it just to kill four people, and you're insane if you think I, or any of my troops, will help you in this equally insane plan."
Fassad goes silent for a minute — perhaps the longest he's been silent in years. But the longer the silence... the more devastating it is when it's broken.
And when Fassad speaks again... his voice is chilled with a tranquil fury. "Hm. Hm."
And then... the laughter. "Nwehehehe..."
It's so quiet, so unlike Fassad, that it chills me to the bone.
"You know, chimera... I thought you'd have learned after all this time. But you haven't learned a thing at all. You think that you matter. You think you actually have a say in all this? You're wrong. You're nothing, chimera, but that — a chimera."
But I can't. I can't... I can't even move. This...
"It's not a question of what you want to do. It's a question of what I want to do. When I give you an order... YOU OBEY IT!" he screeches in the most frightening way I've ever heard him yell.
I look behind me, and I see all the Pigmasks almost huddling together or sitting on the ground, looking to the sky for hope, and the Colonel, almost silently begging me for me to get out while I still can.
And maybe I should. But not when there are people's lives on the line here. Not when it's her life on the line.
"Fine... I'll do what you want. On two conditions." I say.
"You're not a position to bargain anything, chimera!"
"On the contrary — I'm in a position to bargain everything, as the lives of many people are at stake, and also because we're the only people in a position to rig charges up to blow up the tower, so I would say our cooperation is crucial here."
"Go on." he spits.
"Firstly, I want the tower to stop shooting lightning bolts. We need to get back to the Mother Porkship, but we can't do that if the tower keeps firing lightning."
"Fine. I guess that's a reasonable enough request." he says, though his tone of voice suggests he finds it anything but reasonable.
"And the second thing... I want every person, and every robot evacuated from the area before we blow the tower up."
"What?! Do you have any idea how much time that'll take?!"
"Last time I checked, the imposters don't exactly have anywhere else to go — this is a dead end. I don't think time is much of an issue at all, not unless they plan to climb and jump off the top of the tower, which isn't very conducive to them living."
"Fine! I'll get all these idiots out of here!"
"And the robots." I add.
"What... what the hell are you on about?! Robots? Who cares about them?!"
"I do. They're valuable assets which we put time and resources into making. If they can be saved, then I see no reason why they shouldn't be."
"Forget them! They're not real people!"
Not real to you... she's real enough to me.
What do I say to this man? There's nothing that'll convince him... how do you force someone to do what you want? By targeting the things they care about. But Fassad doesn't care about anything... except himself.
Well, if that's the level I'll have to stoop to... then I'm more than willing to do so.
"Very well. I acquiesce to your request."
"Good! You're learn —"
"However. I should warn you of one problem that I may have."
"What?"
"You see... I'm just a simple chimera. And you know, I'm not really good with technology. I just let everyone else deal with that stuff, cause I can't."
"What are you going on about..." he says, looking genuinely puzzled for the first time in his life.
"I look at this control panel here and I ask, why are there so many buttons? It just confuses me. And you know, the same thing goes for detonators as well. You've got a button to arm the bombs, one to disarm them, one to set them off — I mean, it's just far too much for a person like me, and I can hardly remember what each button does!"
Fassad doesn't say anything, so I continue. "Plus, I mistake colours. I think I might be colourblind sometimes — must be because of this eye. Sometimes, I look and everything, people, objects, buttons — they all just look red to me. So I might accidentally find myself doing things I might not have meant to do, like... pressing a button that detonates a bomb instead of disarming it."
"... are you trying to threaten me, chimera?"
"Oh no, not at all, sir." I reply, lacing sarcasm into that last word. "I'm just making sure you're aware that because of these factors, the possibility exists that I might... oh, I don't know, blow up the tower while you're still in it?"
The silence encompassing that moment seems to hold all the tension in the air. But unlike before, I don't feel the slightest bit nervous. I won't stand down.
Finally, he speaks. "I will send an alert to evacuate the tower of everyone, living or non living on it, and you will set the charges at the base of the tower."
Wait... is he...
"Then, you take the Mother Porkship to the sky, and pick me up at the top of the tower. When I give you the signal... you blow it up."
"Understood."
"Oh, and chimera? Don't think this is over yet." he spits.
He cuts the transmission, and the panel goes blank again. There's a complete silence at what just happened... all the Pigmasks in the vicinity are immobile, all staring towards me.
"I sincerely apologise for what I'm about to do." I say, turning to the Pigmask Captain who was stationed here.
And before he can even say a word, my hand reaches for my sword as I lift it high and smash it right into the control panel, bisecting it as I continue to hack away at every single bit of it, until it's nothing but complete scrap.
I turn around, breathing heavily for a few moments... I really just did that...
"WOO!"
The silence is immediately shattered by an applause and cheering that causes me to jump in shock and surprise. When I turn, I see many of them, including the Colonel, jumping in joy.
"Sir... that's the first time I've ever seen Fassad like that! You just threatened to kill him... and it worked!" she shouts with joy. "You have no idea how long I've waited to see him put in his place like that!"
I... "May I... I need a minute." I say.
And I really do... after... everything that just happened.
I sit down by the side of the road... Fassad's nuts. He's absolutely mental to blow up an entire tower just to kill four people, even if they are the enemy. Just think of the collateral damage.
"Sir... are we actually going to blow up the tower then?"
But Fassad could make our lives very difficult... honestly, I don't even know where that courage of mine came from... I'd never do something like that normally.
But... it's because of the lives that are at stake here... hers, and everyone else's. For Fassad to just... I don't know how to describe it. However, even despite that... disobeying him now could very well causes problems down the line. Fassad could make our lives hell if he wanted to...
While I want the enemy destroyed, I don't want any casualties, but if Fassad does keep his end of the deal, and completely evacuates the tower... then I suppose destroying the tower to kill those four would be a worthwhile trade.
"...I stand by everything I just said. That man... has completely lost the plot. However... disobeying Fassad could very well have consequences, even now. So... we will the charges, but I stand by not setting them off until Fassad has evacuated the tower."
"Right... are you sure about this?"
"To be honest, not anymore. While destroying the tower just to kill four people seems overkill, I would be willing to concede with that, if it was only those four people. We'll need to make preparations, in any case."
"We'll need to get the Mother Porkship here for one."
"Yes... call the bridge and tell them to fly to Thunder Tower. Shouldn't take them long to fly here, and it should be safe for them to, because the tower won't be shooting thunderbolts."
"Do you think Fassad will go back on his word and not tell them to stop?"
"No, because that ship is also his way out of here. If he destroys that, he'll have no way of getting out... and more importantly, the ship would crash into Thunder Tower and probably destroy it that way as well."
"At least Fassad would be going down with us..." she mutters darkly.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. We'll also need to take the Porkships we used to get down here... I suppose we'll have to go back to the factory once we've finished here."
"No, we can just remotely summon them here! Quick and easy."
Really? I wasn't aware that could be done... technology never seizes to amaze me.
"Excellent. In that case, I want your regiment to make the preparations for us to return back up, while mine works on setting the charges."
"Right."
As her group leaves, I turn back to mine, with one of my Pigmasks addressing me.
"So... sir? We're setting bombs around here then?"
"Yes... but... I have one small question."
"What's that?"
"How... how exactly do you set the charges up? I'm... not an exact in explosives."
"Pretty simple, really. We've got these delayed sticky bombs. We'll just stick em on, then the tower will blow up."
"The entire tower? Surely they're not that powerful?"
"Oh... yeah, they're not..."
"Sir, perhaps I can help out?" interjects the Captain who was here.
"Any assistance you can give us would be much appreciated." I say.
"You don't have enough bombs to blow the entire tower up but if you destroyed the foundation of the tower, it might collapse."
Hm... that could certainly work.
"That sounds like a good idea. Let's get to it. Everyone, set the bombs around the base here."
"Oh wait, sir! That won't work!" they interject.
"Why not?"
"The foundation of the tower is underground. It was built there to make the tower more stable."
Great... that throws a wrench into everything.
"Is there any way for us to get down there?"
"Uhh... I think there's an elevator that leads down there? Colonel Rysan would probably know more about it than me, since she was the director of this place before Fassad..."
Oh yeah, she was... I think I'll wait until she's done then. Probably safer for us all to go underground anyway. Now that I think about it though, I wonder what she was like as a director?
"Was she a good boss?"
"Yeah! Much better than Fassad... sir, seeing you stand up to him today like that might be the best thing I've seen since he replaced her. Sometimes, I kinda wish she was back, but she was asked to assist you, right?"
"Yep... I'm rather pleased to have her. She's been invaluable during this first mission of mine."
"Yeah, she was a pretty swell director too... hey, it looks like the rest of her squad's come back."
Sure enough, he's right — I see a group of Pigmasks lead by her approaching us.
"Sir! Did you already finish with the bombs?"
"No, we haven't started."
"How come?"
"We don't have enough explosives to actually blow up the entire tower, so we've decided to destroy the foundation of the tower..."
"But that's underground, isn't it?" she says, realising where I'm getting at. "Yeah, there's a passage that leads down there, but it's pretty well hidden... not really a place for people to go."
"Where is it then?"
"Let's see..." she muses. She walks up the steps leading to the entry elevator, but doesn't go in — instead, she starts to pace around the entry point on the dirt beside it.
"A bit to the right..." she says, stomping her foot down on the ground in a couple of spots.
Suddenly, there's a clinking sound, as if she's hitting... metal? "Ah, here it is!"
At this point, the rest of us start to head up to her, as she crouches down and gets rid of the dirt on the top, revealing a metal hatch.
"Yep, here it is. It hasn't changed a bit."
"And this leads underground?"
"It should, yeah. We'll find the base of the tower there."
"Let's go then."
She lifts the cover, revealing a hole that leads deeper, a ladder fixed on one of the sides. Taking the lead, she climbs down first, as I follow, along with the rest of the Pigmasks.
The climb down isn't long, though it's sorta hard to see the bottom of it because of the lack of light at first... but the further down I go, the brighter things seems get — everything seems to be illuminated in a light red glow. I place my hand up to my eyes, and notice it illuminates in red light as well... ah, it must by my eye. That's pretty useful.
At the bottom, the Colonel pulls out a torch and some of the other Pigmasks do the same as well, brightening things up. I can properly see things now — there's a cavern down here which extends further down, with walls lined with metal. This certainly isn't natural... this cavern must have been carved out.
"So this cavern... it was made to set the foundation of the tower?"
"Mhmm. Took us a long time to actually finish this, but... it was worth it. It's kinda sad that we've got to destroy it now..."
But she's interrupted by a different sound — the sound of my transceiver ringing.
"Who is this?" I say, answering it.
"Who'd do you think, chimera?" sneers the other end.
There's a quiet groan from all the Pigmasks as they realise exactly who it is, and I very nearly give one myself.
"What is it?"
"I'm so close. So close!" Strange... he seems to be whispering. In fact, I think I can hear some voices in the background... wait a minute, is that...
"You haven't got me yet!"
Is that the Fierce Pork Trooper? He did say he'd be heading to Thunder Tower...
"Fassad, what's going on there?" I ask.
"Stay quiet! This is the best part!"
"PK Fire Beta!" PK Fire? And that voice... it sounds masculine, and yet distinctly female as well.
"ARGH!" Wait, is he... is he fighting someone?
"Looks like they... him." What? His voice just cut out there. "Oh well... it... things... more fun for..."
"You're breaking up. What's happening?" But Fassad doesn't respond. Why is it... oh wait, we're underground. I don't imagine the signal would be very good here.
But I can still kind of hear the things going on in the distance, faint as they are.
"Nwehehe...! You may think you're... impersonator, but you can't... my eyes!" He must be talking to someone else... "You're the very definition of... 'like a moron flying into...'!"
He is talking to someone else... but who?
"The pain and... after that Drago sent... flying... I really... repay... full. Nwehehehehe!!"
Wait... a Drago? The people that he was talking to... are those the imposters?!
"What are... HEY! Where... DAMN IT!" he yells. "... Nwehehehe! It... matter! That's a... end!"
On the other end, I hear... he's eating another banana, isn't he?
"Do you... can escape! Nwehehehe...!"
What just happened? "Fassad! Fassad! What's going on there?"
"Oh, I forgot you... still there... imposters."
The imposters? They were there? "Just as... waiting for! Shame this idiot... care... them! Get up!"
I hear him yell at someone... it must be the Fierce Pork Trooper.
"You're lucky I want... personal... being the one to finish them... you'd... in for... dose... punishment."
"Even... even with... armour... I couldn't..." I hear him say in the background.
"The Trooper's down?" I ask.
"Yep. The imposters... to... scaffolding. Not that... them any good! Nwehehehe! It's a dead..."
A dead end... he's right, all that's up there is the generator room, and the... the playroom! Where —
"Fassad, did you evacuate everyone from the tower yet?" I say sharply.
"Hold your bolts... working on it. I've gotten everyone up out, including all your precious robots."
That's good... Miss Marsh should be safe then. But the way he says that... I can't help but feel uneasy...
"What are you going to do?"
"What do... think?! I'm going up... getting rid... pests once and for all. You just get... for when... need to leave, and get... detonator ready!"
"Wait!" But it's in vain as Fassad once again shuts off his transceiver... it's always at the worst times.
It seems like he's in hot pursuit of those people... we need to get to work down here as well.
"Fassad's close behind the imposters. Let's set these bombs up as quickly as we can.
Soon enough, we reach a large room, with an incredibly large pillar in the centre of it, stretching right through the top and presumably above ground, but the base of it, where it ends is actually right here.
"This pillar... we're directly beneath the tower, aren't we?"
"Yeah, that's the tower. But it's not just as simple as blowing this up if that's what you're thinking."
That's exactly what I was thinking, but there's always some complication.
"Why not?"
"See those tunnels?" she points, and it's only now I notice two tunnels in front of me, and two behind, excluding the one we just came through.
"At the end of each of those are a support pillar, just in case something ever happened to this."
"We'll need to set charges on each of those then?"
"Yep. Ideally, we blow them all up, supports and the base at the same time."
"In any case, let's set up at the base to —"
"SOLDIER! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!
What the hell was that?! Suddenly, out of nowhere, I hear this whirring of machinery, and behind the tower itself, this strange robot emerges!
It... it's a bipedal robot, looking something like a giant mole. It has what I think is fur, like a mole, and its eyes are of a similar shape, though they shine a bright yellow. It has five yellow lights on its chest as well, rather large ones as well...
In addition, it has what looks like a helmet — not a hard hat, but a... I think that's a campaign hat? I imagine it's been reinforced but... it strikes me as an odd thing for it to have.
But not quite as odd as the stripes and paint job it's been given, most of it green and resembling something of an ancient army uniform... what is this?
And of course, the most noticeable thing of it would be the massive drills it has on each of its hands, which it happens to be pointing right towards us... great...
"Aw, crap! I completely forgot about this thing!" says the Colonel, and a number of Pigmask groan as well.
She knows what this is? "Do share."
"This is the Drill Sergeant, a mining robot we built to help make all these tunnels. It was pretty good at it as well."
"Drill... Sergeant? I get the drill bit, but why sergeant?"
"SOLDIER! THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOUR IS UNACCEPTABLE! YOU WILL BE PUNISHED FOR THIS!"
"... do I still need to answer that question, Commander?"
"... in any case, why is it still here if it was just used for excavating?"
"When we finished, we didn't really wanna scrap it, so we pretty much decided, 'hey, let's make it a guard down here!' You know, in case someone tried to... well, do what we're trying to."
"I see... how do we disable it then?"
"Ah... slight problem there, the only way to do that is to type a code in, but the only person who has that is the current director of the tower. And I'm pretty sure that when Fassad took over, he changed the code."
Fantastic. "It'll take too long to contact Fassad again and have him tell us the code, and time is something we don't have. It's regrettable, but we'll just have to destroy it ourselves."
"That could also take time, sir. We need to set the bombs up as quick as we can."
That's true... we need to bomb the support pillars, in addition to the base itself. But while this thing's operating, setting bombs here is an impossibility.
"In that case... split into four groups of five, and each group go for one of the support pillars, while I distract and destroy this."
"If you're sure... everyone split up!"
All the Pigmasks leave, which just leaves me here with this guy.
"HA! IT WOULD APPEAR THAT YOUR BATTALION HAS LEFT YOU, SOLDIER!" he guffaws.
"Well, then the fight will be more fair now, won't it?"
"HM... I LIKE YOUR HONOUR. BUT LET'S SEE IF YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO BACK IT UP!" he shouts, holding his two drill arms up in an offensive stance. Immediately, he charges toward, and I only narrowly get out of the way in time.
Okay, I need to take a step back and analyse the situation. In fact, it's been quite some time since I've had a use for this. Let's give it a shot.
Name: Drill Sergeant.
A mining robot based an a certain set of moles from the king's time, as well as an certain type of officer from armies long ago.
The Drill Sergeant's purpose was to carve tunnels out beneath the Thunder Tower, but after doing so, it was repurposed to guard the underground. It is mounted with two drills, both easily capable of drilling through rock, as well as being able to deploy Reconstructed Moles, once used for mining, but now used as extra support.
Weaknesses: Due to... budget costs, certain areas of the Drill Sergeant weren't built particularly well. Of note, its head is only reinforced by a relatively weak hat. Its large stature and metallic nature also make it particularly susceptible to electricity.
As is the case with all robots in the Thunder Tower, the universal shut down code will instantly disable this robot.
Electricity? That's what I do best.
Putting some distance between the Sergeant and me, I quickly focus all my attention on him. The sensation of electricity tingles on the edges of my fingers as I cry out and swing my hand down.
"PK Thunder Beta!"
Two lightning bolts come down from the sky, the first hitting on him on the left shoulder. He flinches a bit, before the second goes for his head.
"HA! YOU THINK THAT WILL — ARGH!"
At the last second, he raised one of his drills to block the lightning... but obviously the electricity just conducted straight through it and electrocuted him anyway. Shame, it probably would have done more if it had directly hit his head... well, I've got an opportunity now.
While he's lost in shock and awe, I quickly run up to him, and slice away at his knees — there's less plating there. With each strike, I hit harder and harder, making more of a dent, so it will gi — duck!
"ARGH! PESKY LITTLE BUG!"
That was close... he thrust both his drills together, but thankfully I was able to duck quickly enough. My face was grazed a little though... I put a hand to it, and feel the blood.
I'm not good at healing, but... ah, that feels better. With Lifeup Alpha, the bleeding stops, though the scratches are still there.
Suddenly, he stretches his drills out, and starts spinning on the spot, like some deadly top, his arms flailing about — AH!
Keep... getting... STOP IT!
I got caught in the whirlwind... he stops spinning and looks smugly at me.
"NOW, DO YOU SEE MY POWER, SOLDIER? YOU COULDN'T HOPE TO MATCH ME!"
Hm... he certainly packs a punch. But given how gung ho he is, I get the impression that tactics isn't something he had programmed into him... and that's a very important thing for any soldier to have.
He seems very quick to anger... and anger only blinds you. If I can use that... in fact, I think I know how.
"I think you're full of it." I retort.
"WHAT?!"
"I mean, is that all you can do? Just thrust some drills and spin about? Not really much if you ask me."
"HOW DARE YOU?! I'LL SHOW YOU!"
Once again, he charges at me, thrusting his drills, but I've noticed his pattern now — he always thrusts twice with his left drill, then brings his right one down into the ground.
With that in mind, I use my smaller stature to easily evade all his swings.
"WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS?"
He gets all the more frustrated as he thrusts harder, but that just means he needs more time to wind up, and telegraphs his attacks even more.
When he raises his right drill up for a particular long time, I quickly swing my sword with all my might as he brings the drill down, parrying it.
I almost drop my sword because of the sheer force of his blow, but the force of mine combined with the shock factor results in him briefly stumbling back, and I immediately charge right for that leg, and slam the hilt of my sword right into it, breaking through the plating all together.
He stumbles back further, growling in pain, before he loses his balance and falls. Immediately, he rises back up, holding his drills up defensively again. Then... he starts laughing!
"HAHAHA! NOT BAD, SOLDIER! YOU MAY BE A WORTHY OPPONENT AFTER ALL! BUT NOW YOU WILL FALL, BECAUSE IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO MEET... MY ELITE BATTALION!"
"What happened to being fair?"
"HA! THERE IS NO HONOUR IN BATTLE! THERE IS VICTORY, OR DEFEAT! WIN BY ANY MEANS, SOLDIER — A LESSON FROM ME TO YOU!"
Hm... that's not a bad lesson... victory is the most important thing. But what is this 'elite battalion' of his?
"NOW... BEHOLD!"
The lights on his chest suddenly dim as... they're opening up! I can see these brown things inside of them, which are suddenly shot out onto the ground. These must be the Reconstructed Moles.
Each one uncurls, two drills protruding from their back — not nearly as big as the Drill Sergeant's, though they are much smaller. There's five moles in total, each with a mischievous look on their face.
"YOU HAVE NO CHANCE NOW, SOLDIER! YOU MAY AS WELL SURRENDER WHILE YOU CAN! EACH OF THESE MOLES HAS BEEN HANDPICKED BY ME, FOR THEIR STRENGTH AND COURAGE!"
"And what might those strengths be?"
"AHAHAHA! I'M GLAD YOU ASKED! THIS MOLE," he starts, pointing at the leftmost one with his drills. "IS THE THIRD STRONGEST OF THEM ALL." There's a strange pride in his voice — but I wouldn't have thought there'd be much pride in being the third strongest.
The Sergeant points to the next mole in line, beaming a bit. "THIS MOLE? HIS STRENGTH LIES IN BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THE FOURTH STRONGEST MOLE."
But... doesn't that mean...
"THIS MOLE IS AN INTERESTING MOLE... HIS STRENGTH IS THE MEDIAN OF THE NUMBER OF MOLES HERE."
And that's...
"BUT THIS MOLE IS SPECIAL!" he suddenly shouts. "HIS STRENGTH RELATIVE TO ALL THE OTHERS IS EQUAL TO THE FIRST NON EVEN PRIME NUMBER!"
But that's still...
"AND AS FOR THIS FINAL MOLE... HE SCARES ME MOST OF ALL. FOR HE IS NEITHER THE STRONGEST, NOR THE SECOND STRONGEST, NOR THE FOURTH STRONGEST, NOR THE WEAKEST MOLE!"
I... I think I'm going insane.
"YES! YOU SEE? NOT A SOUND OUT OF YOU! ONLY NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE POWER THESE MOLES POSSESS! YOU MUST BE QUAKING IN YOUR BOOTS NOW, SOLDIER! AHAHAHA!"
Well... he's right about me quaking, that's for sure.
"NOW... ATTACK!"
Suddenly, all the moles seem to spring to life and jump towards me! I reach for my sword, knocking two out of the air, but the other three smack right into my face, arms and chest.
And before I can even think about what to do, they're already bouncing back up and flying at me again! This time, I can't react fast enough, and they all smack into me again, and it just keeps going. They're pretty small, so it doesn't really hurt, but it does sting and really, they're just pests.
The sergeant seems content to simply watch his battalion do all the work — though at this rate, he might not even need to step in.
I feel my leg being pulled down... I can't move it! I look and I see two of the moles holding them down... how are they that strong?! Shaking them off doesn't work, and then the other three moles just repeatedly smack into me, until eventually I slip and fall down.
What's happ — AH! They've gotten hold of my arms as well — they've completely pinned me down! Even with my sword in my hand, I can't use it.
"EXCELLENT WORK, MEN! NOW SOLDIER... IT IS TIME FOR THE BATTLE TO END."
He slowly approaches, as I'm unable to do anything, his drills outstretched. They start to whir and spin rapidly as he comes closer... is he going to...
No, I've got to do something... it can't end like this. I can't move, and I can't use PSI like this... I still have my sword. But what good will that do?
Wait... the generator. One of the moles is holding onto my sword, so if I... it's so close... the hilt!
"THIS IS IT! PREPARE TO MEET YOUR END! IT WAS A GOOD FIGHT WHILE IT LASTED, SOLDIER..."
Not yet. With all my effort, I manage to just scrap the button on the underside of the hilt, and the generator in the sword activates, sparking everything around it.
The mole holding the sword down gets shocked and flies off, giving me back my hand. Not being able to do anything else, I pick my sword up and point the tip at the sergeant's knee where I broke the plating off before, sending a bolt of electricity straight there.
It's a direct hit, as he starts stumbling and shorting, some of his inner mechanisms now being exposed.
The other moles, distracted by that, all let go and I quickly get back up and take a few steps back.
My turn now. I press a button on my left arm, as it changes into an arm cannon and before the sergeant can even do a thing, I let loose and fire.
"OH NO!"
It's a direct impact, the explosion knocking away some of the moles as well, and when the dust clears, it's clearly put a few dents in him.
"SO... YOU'RE USING ARTILLERY? IN THAT CASE, PREPARE TO SEE MINE! MEN! TO ME!
The moles all scatter towards him, jumping up... back into the holes? But they don't go back in — they just stay there. The Drill Sergeant puffs his chest out as he grins at me... what's he doing?
"READY... AIM... FIRE!"
Suddenly, the moles are all propelled out the holes towards me — AHH!
They bounce off me, bounce off the walls, swinging their drills left and right, and I can't keep up! They're too quick!
Eventually, they stop bouncing, but the Sergeant's already preparing himself to do that again.
"AGAIN! TO ME!"
The moles all go rushing back to him, they're gonna do the same thing again... I need to take these moles out quickly. If I can soften them up, then maybe... I could destroy them all in one go.
This time, just as he fires, I duck, and the moles all narrowly miss, hitting the rock walls and getting stuck in them. They try and get themselves out, but this gives me the perfect opportunity.
"Defence Down Omega."
Blue particles encircle all the moles, including the sergeant himself. That should do the trick... all I need is a way to destroy them all in one go.
"NO! MY SOLDIERS HAVE LOST THEIR ARMOUR! MEN! IT DOESN'T MATTER! WE SHALL STRIKE BACK WITH DOUBLE STRENGTH! ONCE MORE NOW!"
But this trick's gotten old, and now it's time to put these soldiers to rest. As the moles scatter back to him, I close my eyes and think about all my memories of Miss Marsh... I hope you're safe!
"READY... AIM... FIRE!"
"PK Love Alpha!"
There's two explosions this time — once from his chest, and one from my hand, as my shots of PK Love fly up and explode mid air with the moles, their drills all breaking off as they land on the ground.
Four of them have been destroyed, and the remaining one? Well, that's easy enough. With a single kick, I knock it into the wall, where it instantly falls.
"MY... MY BATTALION! YOU DEFEATED THEM ALL! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! MY FALLEN COMRADES... I WILL AVENGE YOU! HURGH!"
He charges towards me, and I narrowly dodge it, preparing my counterattack.
"PK Thunder Alpha." A bolt of lightning hits him straight on the head and while he's dealing with that, I quickly shoot five well aimed shots out of my arm cannon, which hit and destroy each of his lights.
He yells out, but he's still going... the legs, his body, the lights — what else could I possibly target? Wait... my scan did say that his head might be a weak point... that's the only place left. I look up at the ceiling, noticing some stalactites there... hm...
My wings unfold from my back, as I take flight. He tries flailing aimlessly, but in the sky, I stay out of his reach. Quickly, I fly above him, and slice through some of the stalactites on the ceiling, which fall and crash onto his head.
"ARGH! ARGH! ARGHHH!" The rocks crack through his cap, leaving an open spot which I immediately start firing at, sending him stumbling back. I land back on the ground, in between him and the base of the tower.
"Urgh..." He puts his drills to his head, shaking it a bit. "I miss... my brain..." he says in a groggy voice.
May I help you? I... feel a little bad now...
But it's not too long before he regains his usual self.
"TAKE THIS!"
He puts both of his arms by his side, as he revs up charges forward like a tank, his drills spinning but by now, he's not got much left in him. He's much slower, so I simply roll to the side, slicing his right arm off with my sword.
"NO! MY DRILL!"
That's not the only one you'll be losing. While he's bemoaning his loss, I take hold of one of his left arm and press the still spinning drill right up against the tower's base.
"WHAT ARE — MY OTHER DRILL! NOOO!"
There's nothing he can do though, as the drill grinds against the tower, but because the tower's far tougher than the drill, it ends up being the one grinded instead, until it's completely blunt and useless.
Time to end this. Holding my sword to the side, I activate the generator, the sword starting to spark. But I'm not done yet... let's try adding a little more this time.
"PK Thunder Gamma."
Three lightning bolts all strike down onto my sword, all absorbed into it, which causes it to spark all the more.
Taking a deep breath, I swing my sword and fire an intense bolt of lightning directly at him, breaking through his circuits as bits of his plating start to heat up and break... he doesn't even flinch.
My sword... it's starting to heat up, but I can't let go now... I grit my teeth and push through, maintaining the bolt as his fur heats up more and more, starting to glow.
But then, there's a loud crack as his fur burns, and it breaks off! Is that... his core?
I quickly break the bolt of lightning, but... he doesn't even do anything. He doesn't make any attempt to try and defend it... it's almost like...
"HEH. FINISH IT, SOLDIER." he says in a quiet voice.
He's accepting defeat...
With a silent nod, I raise my left arm and fire one last shot at the power supply... and it's a clean hit, as he falls backward. He doesn't get up, as he starts to spark and sputter... and laugh.
"HEH... HEH, HEH... YOU'RE SOMETHING ELSE. IT LOOKS LIKE... IT'S THE END... FOR THIS SOLDIER."
"I'm... sorry things had to end this way." I say despondently.
"NO... THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THINGS CAN END FOR PEOPLE LIKE US... ON THE BATTLEFIELD! IT WAS A HONOUR... TO HAVE THIS LAST BATTLE..."
He weakly raises the stump of a drill he has left, saluting me. "REMEMBER! LOOK UP IN THE SKY, GIMME ALL YOU GOT, NEVER GIVE IT UP... sol... dier..."
His voice cuts out as the power supply finally goes critical... and explodes.
When the smoke clears, all that I can make out is his lifeless, and... dead body.
I walk over to him, placing my sword in the ground next to him and closing my eyes... even if he was much different than me, he really was a true soldier.
"Commander! Are you alright, sir?!"
My eyes snap open as I see some Pigmasks become visible from one of the tunnels, along with the Colonel.
"We heard an massive explosion here. What was... oh..." she says, noticing the Drill Sergeant's body.
"... I don't think he'll be much of an issue anymore." I say, placing my sword back on my waist.
There's a bunch of gasps amongst the Pigmasks, along with some whispers.
"Wow... I can't believe he actually destroyed it..."
"Man..."
"How strong is he..."
"Alright, alright, enough messing about!" the Colonel says to the others. "Sir, we pretty much finished setting up the bombs, and I've gotten calls from everyone else saying they're done as well. They should be here shortly... which just leaves this." she says, pointing to the base.
"Good. Set the bombs here, and then we're done. I'd like to leave as soon as we can."
The Pigmasks get to work, and quickly set them up, which just leaves one question on my mind for the Colonel.
"How do we set the bombs off?"
"With this." she says, giving me a remote, with a blue, green and red button on it. "I set this up and wired it to set off one bomb on each of the five piles. That'll set off a chain reaction, and blow all the others up. Press blue ten times quickly to arm, press green ten times quickly to disarm, and once they're armed, if you press red once... I think you can guess what that does."
Yes... Pork, this remote feels all the more heavy in my hands now.
"Let's go then."
Quickly, we all march our way out of the tunnel we came through, and up the ladder, back to the surface.
"Sir, ma'am!" I turn my head and see the same Captain standing here. "Were you successful down there?"
"Yes, we've set the bombs up. You should get out of here as soon as you can."
"I will, sir. A safe zone has been set up for everyone to evacuate to. Seeing as you're done here, I think I'll go there now."
"Good. Stay safe." He runs off quickly, presumably to this safe zone. "And on that note, we need to leave as well." I say to the Colonel.
"The Porkships are just outside this tunnel." she says.
So we enter them, and they both raise into the sky, heading directly up and as they do, I can see the Mother Porkship resting in the clouds. They must have moved here while we were underground.
The underside of the ship opens up, allowing us to enter to the docking bay where we land the ship, get out and head to the bridge.
Not even a minute after we get there, my transceiver rings, and I already know exactly who it is.
"Yes?"
"Chimera! Have you set those bombs up yet?!" He sounds out of breath.
"We have. They're... they're ready to blow up whenever... where are you?"
"Hah... near the top... why'd these fools have to go all the way up? Anyway, arm those bombs up, and bring the Mother Porkship to the top of the tower... I'll chase those fools up until they have nowhere to run! Nwehehehehe! Then you'll pick me up and blow up the tower! And then they'll —"
"Fassad," I cut in sharply. "Has everyone been evacuated?"
"Yes! All the people and robots! Now get those bombs... HEY!" he shouts, cutting himself off. "You! How dare you destroy this vital system of ours!" Now he's talking to someone else... the imposters? And... did they just destroy Mr Genator? That's another tough thing they've taken out...
"Hmm, I guess this is a case of 'Fools, like smoke, enjoy heights.' Nwehehehehe! Chimera!"
"Yes?"
"Set them up. It's about time."
"And you are absolutely sure that everyone in the tower has been evacuated?"
"For the last time, YES! All those fools, and all robots! Now, I'll say it again — GET THOSE BOMBS READY!"
I... I still don't know if he's telling the truth or not... but I guess I have no choice.
Tentatively, I reach for the detonator... and press the blue button ten times, almost too slowly for it to register. The light on the top flicks from green to... red. All the Pigmasks stare at it, waiting for when I have to press the button.
"Move the ship to the top of the tower. We need to pick up Fassad." I call to the pilots.
"Moving now, sir."
The ship begins to descend back underneath the clouds, as the yellow sphere and ray gun on the tower's apex become visible.
Suddenly, off in the distance, I see these figures emerge from a door. Are those... yes, those must be the imposters. But they're too far to make out... just like we thought, they have nowhere else to run.
They stop, evidently panicking about their lack of options, and another figure emerges from the door. Again, it's too far to see, but I'm certain it's Fassad, especially since I hear him talking through the transceiver.
"Nwehehehehe! You pathetic fools. There's nowhere to run now! Nwehehehehe! You've been a real thorn in our side, you know that?What's funniest of all is that happiness could've been yours, had you simply stayed in Tazmily and lived quietly, without a care in the world."
What... what is he going on about, and... and is he...
"Is he really eating a banana now?" the Colonel sighs.
Yes... and he throws the peel away on the roof, at least I think he does, then he holds something up to his ear.
"Alright. It's all set, then?" he asks.
"Yes..."
"I'll be done here soon, so leave the Mother Porkship on standby up above."
I turn my head to some Pigmasks near an exit hatch, calling out, "Open the hatch, and throw a rope ladder out. And descend a bit more."
Once again, I hear Fassad's voice as he talks to the imposters.
"Thunder Tower is no longer usable. But this is the perfect chance to eliminate the whole lot of you in one fell swoop. It's a bit much for three lousy rats, but our king just loved being flashy. So I've decided that you and Thunder Tower can disappear flashily together."
Suddenly, another noise gets my attention — the Pigmasks have opened an exit hatch, and thrown a ladder out. The wind is rushing... we need to get out of here.
"Well, looks like my ride is here. Later days, pals!" he says, walking a bit to the left, close to the banana peel.
"Okay, all set!" he says, speaking to me. "Destroy Thunder Tower!"
... it's now or never, isn't it? But I... I can't do this! Is everyone in that tower really safe? Is she really safe? I... I don't know. The only thing I can do now is... I have to trust Fassad. I have to trust him.
But... I've never trusted Fassad. I've never truly trusted him, have I? I trust my regiment, that they'll execute my orders exactly how I mean them to be done. I... I'd trust Master Porky with my life, and everyone else's.
But not Fassad. I can't. But now... my only option is to do just that. I have to trust him.
Miss Marsh, wherever you are... stay safe.
I push the red button as fast as I can, not even looking at it.
"It's done." I say, immediately hanging up.
I glance out the window... but nothing's happening. The tower looks just fine... did the bombs not work?
But then...
"Look! Down there!"
Immediately, I stand up, and look as far down as I can. This high up, I can't see the bottom, but there's an enormous earthquake, as I see a brief flash of light before the entire tower starts to shake — it's going to collapse!
We need to leave and... why isn't Fassad here?
"What is that idiot doing?!" shouts the Colonel. "Can't he gloat later?"
Sure enough, Fassad appears to gloating to the imposters, laughing, as the tower suddenly gives one particularly big lurch and...
"OH MY PORK!"
He... slips on the banana peel... and falls off the tower.
All the Pigmasks watching out a hand to their mouths, and I... there's no way he could survive that, which means... which means...
He's dead. Fassad... is dead.
I... I... I...
"OH NO!"
I turn my head and see the Pigmasks at the exit hatch panicking. The imposters!
"Shut that hatch and get in here now!" I shout to the Pigmasks by the hatch. "And get us out of here before we get hit by debris and join Fassad!" I shout to the pilots.
Quickly, they got back inside and shut the hatch as we take off.
The flight back is... completely silent. No one says a word because... what can be said? Fassad... just died. Plummeted off the tower and buried by it. He's dead. What more can be said? What can be said about everything that just... huh?
I pause for a second... I... that's strange. For a moment, I thought I heard something under the ship. Must be just the wind.
But then... I hear a sound again, and though I'm tempted to ignore it, there's no sound at all on the ship. Is that just wind?
Slowly, I stand and head to the hatch that was going to be used to pick up Fassad, reasoning that I'd rather waste my time and find nothing than overlook something.
"Commander, what are you going?"
"Just... a suspicion."
She looks at me curiously, but doesn't say anything else as I pull the hatch open... and there, I see a sight I never would have expected.
The imposters.
I almost jump back in surprise at the sight — they're hanging to a ladder with a snake!
I hear some gasps and one of them starts to speak.
"Is that...?"
But then I take a closer look and... it's exactly as everyone's said.
A man with brown hair, shabby looks, whose holding onto the snake... he looks like Lucky.
A girl, clearly in her late teens, perhaps a young adult, with pink hair... exactly like that waitress.
A dog, simple and brown and...
But my eyes narrow in pure shock as I see the last person.
It's a boy. A boy... who looks exactly like... like me.
(Lucas!)
I... all this time, I... I thought the Pigmasks were just lying. But this boy... he looks exactly like me! His face, his eyes, his body, everything — it's like looking into a mirror... except for his hair.
Blonde hair.
What... who... who are you? What... why do you...
"Commander! What's going on?" I hear the Colonel shout.
I... my orders as they stand now... I'm to kill them.
They're hanging on by a thread... shaking the ship a little would probably get rid of them. And... they certainly wouldn't survive the fall.
(No.)
That's... what I'm supposed to do.
But... I... this boy, why do I... I can't. I...
No. No. No. They're enemies. They're enemies of Master Porky. His will is absolute. He would want these people dead. It's my duty, it's my purpose in life to fulfil his wishes.
So... the correct course of action here is to...
(NO!)
But... does that need to be done? They're... they're only four people and... and that boy. What if... what if he's...
I know. He's...
Deviation detected. Course correction... complete.
... nothing. He's... nothing. Because... it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. What does matter is the presence of the enemy, attempting to stowaway on our ship.
And that's easily sorted.
I step back into the ship, and march towards the front.
"The imposters have stowed away."
"What?!"
"They're using some sort of snake to hang to a dangling ladder."
"Persistent, aren't they..."
"That comes to an end now. Shake them off, and let them join Fassad." I say to the pilots.
"Um... yes, sir."
The ship goes up and down, making a few lurches and as soon as I look down at the clouds, I see four figures falling beneath them, all helplessly plummeting down to their deaths.
But as they do... my mind can't help but think about them, about that boy... that boy, and a single question about him.
Who are you?
Notes:
And with that, Chapter 5 comes to an end. Kinda sad, since it's actually my favourite of Mother 3's chapters.
Many eventful things, but the main thing of interest would be the Drill Sergeant — I know, brilliant pun there. I thought it'd be interesting if the Masked Man had his own 'boss' fights so to speak, to make things a bit more interesting.
And so, the idea of a mining robot with drills that acted as a drill sergeant came to mind for this chapter. I got a lot of inspiration from the Guardian Diggers in Earthbound in terms of appearance and some of the jokes.
But strangely, I had a different inspiration for the Drill Sergeant's personality. Has anyone ever played... Um Jammer Lammy? Yes, the spin off to Parappa The Rapper, where you play as a lamb who uses fire hoses, babies, plane controls and chainsaws as guitars.
Anyway, I was inspired by Captain Fussenpepper (for those unaware, he is the teacher/singer of Fright Flight!! — yes, it has two exclamation marks) and his 'war veteran' mode. Perhaps the oddest thing I've drawn inspiration from in quite some time, but I'm pleased with the results.
By the way, if anyone knows which two lines of the Drill Sergeant come straight from Fright Flight, without looking up the lyrics to it, you have my eternal respect.
Next time, Claus explores the remains of Thunder Tower.
Chapter 24: Remains
Summary:
Retrieval, sadness, Needles, and the Masked Man's inability to accept death.
Notes:
There's a moderately graphic description of a body in this chapter. It's not too bad and I've written a lot worse (to be specific, it's no worse than anything I've written in Cycles, Polygones or A Third Of Love, if you've read those stories), but I thought it was enough to warrant a small warning if you're really adverse to that kind of thing.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"This has got to be the most pointless mission I've ever gone on. And that's saying a lot." sighs the Colonel.
And I'm in complete agreement with her. It definitely seems like a massive waste of time. Nevertheless... Master Porky has asked us to do this, and so we must.
I find it hard to believe that I'm already going on my next mission, less than a day after the first one ended, but... here I am.
The destruction of Thunder Tower was... eventful, to say the least. The loss of such a valuable property and those imposters... the boy, who have all presumably died. And not in the least because of what to happened to Fassad.
When we returned to New Pork yesterday, I dismissed everyone and then personally informed Master Porky of what happened during the mission... I was scared that he might be displeased with us.
But oddly enough... he seemed perfectly content. He didn't seem to mind the loss of Thunder Tower and seemed happier that we'd managed to kill four of our enemies.
"Good work, Pokey! You did pretty good."
"I did?"
"Yeah! Four brats dead! Nice! I'm just imagining their stupid little faces as they went plummeting through the clouds, flailing and screaming 'Help me, help me!' Ahhh... I wish I could have seen it.
"But... we did lose the Thunder Tower as well as the Egg. I apologise for this."
"Eh, I had enough fun with that tower. Those idiot villagers have gotten the message now. And who cares about some dinky old egg?"
"But... wasn't that the purpose of the entire mission?"
"Yeah, but it's no skin off my back not having it, you know? Really, I just wanted it so those idiots didn't have it. And they've taken that egg... right to their graves! HA! It's so funny I can't stop laughing! AHAHAHA!"
"I'm sorry, my Lord, but... I still don't understand. I thought the Egg was important."
"Yes and no. It had some important information in it, but Fassad already knew it, so I'm not really bothered."
"Ah... I have some... bad news about Fassad."
"Oh? What?"
"He's... dead."
I remember that was the first time Master Porky actually looked serious, concerned over something that happened, and his voice reflected that.
"What? What happened?"
"He... he fell off of Thunder Tower... while it was collapsing."
"Oh, is that all? HAHAHA! You almost had me worried there! He'll be just fine. He's probably just under all that rubble now. Do me a favour — tomorrow, I want you to go and pick him up."
"But... surely, he would be dead?"
"Trust me. He's still alive. Mind you, he probably won't be in too good a shape, but he's still alive, and I still need him."
I spend the rest of the evening trying to get into contact with those who had worked in Thunder Tower — as per my orders, everyone in Thunder Tower, living or otherwise, should have been evacuated to a safe zone. I've been attempting to reach that place to confirm their survival... and in particular, whether Miss Marsh made it out safely.
Ever since that came to mind, I've been... worried about her. But... I've been unable to reach them. There was a lot of chaos after the destruction of the tower, and from what little I know, it seemed like it was one giant mess down there.
Because of that... I've been unable to get any information on whether she got out or not.
I don't see any reason why she shouldn't have... but for some odd reason, I can't help but have this aching feeling, this... this strange instinct that... no, I can't think about that.
But the thought stayed with me for the rest of the day, and the night. I... I couldn't think about anything else apart from whether she was safe or not... it's strange... I very rarely ever have any difficulty with sleep. But that night, I didn't get much at all.
She's safe. She's safe! I know she is. She must be! There's no reason why she shouldn't be...
That's what I keep telling myself. And yet, there's that one part of my brain that needs that actual confirmation, that needs to her voice again before those thoughts can be put to rest. And so long as it isn't satisfied... those thoughts will continue to plague me.
"Commander, what do you think the chances are that Fassad actually survived?"
"Realistically... none at all. He fall of a 200 metre tower, which in of itself should have killed him, followed by having said tower collapse on top of him, which also should have killed him, and then being left there for over 12 hours... which should have also killed him. I mean, I've survived being mauled by a Drago and thrown of a cliff, but this takes it to a whole new level."
"Exactly! And yet the king really thinks we'll find him alive?!"
He doesn't just think that — he seems to know Fassad will be alive. Master Porky hasn't even entertained the slightest notion that Fassad might be dead, and that's what really confuses me.
"I'm as confused as you. But, if it's what the king has ordered, we must obey."
"Huh... do you hope we actually find him alive, sir? Personally, if we do, great, but if not... I can't say I'll lose much sleep."
That's... a tricky one. I... part of me wants to say I feel sorry for Fassad's death... but I really don't. He was a horrible person, perhaps even more so than the people of Tazmily, even though he was on our side.
I suppose I feel some measure of pity for his death — it's not a nice thing to happen, but at the same time... it's mixed with a strange sense of freedom. I feel... relieved that he's dead.
Yes... it feels like life is better now that Fassad isn't in it. And as horrible a truth as that is to admit, I think it just proves that in the end... I don't feel sad for his death at all.
"... I'm going to do my best to search the remains of Thunder Tower for him, and I expect all of you to do the same. However, if we don't find him... I don't think I'll be too cut up over it."
She nods, seeming to understand where I'm getting at.
"We're here! Woah... I didn't think it would be this bad." says one of the pilots.
Standing up, I look out of the windows, surveying the damage, and... oh my Pork. It's... it's complete carnage.
The ship lands nearby, allowing me to get a closer look at it all.
Bricks, boards, and stones all lay scattered and broken amongst the ground in massive heaps. I can see many machines that once operated, like panels or tanks, all destroyed with the paint scraped off of them. There's a few power lines as well — of course, Thunder Tower supplied electricity to different areas.
But when the tower collapsed, it dragged down some of those power lines and the towers they were connected to, which crashed down into the Highway, severely damaging the roads.
There are many small craters, and in the centre a particular large one has consumed much of the debris... when the bombs exploded and tower collapsed, that must have blown open parts of the surface which lead to the underground.
"Pork... it's completely ruined." says the Colonel as we exit the ship.
It really is... "Alright... we have to find Fassad. The king believes he's alive, and whether that's the case or not... that's for us to find out. Either way, his body should be here... alive, or dead. I know everyone here shares a mutual distaste for Fassad. However, I expect you all to put in the utmost effort in this search, regardless of that. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
The search begins with everyone splitting up. Rubble surrounds the entire area so finding anything among all it is going to be a challenge. I can't even imagine the difficulty the people that will have to clean this up would face.
I locate one particularly large pile and start digging through it over the course of an hour. Predictably, it's mostly stone and brick, though there are a few interesting things. I notice some lasers, one of the Fierce Pork Trooper's DCMC posters, though it's been torn pretty badly and even a blunted drill... must be from the Drill Sergeant.
After many hours of searching, everyone decides to take a brief break.
"We're not getting anywhere. I mean, not that I expected us to, but still, Fassad should be here..." says the Colonel.
"Yes... we must keep looking though. In fact, how about there?" I say, pointing to the giant yellow sphere that used to be the top of the tower.
"Hm... worth looking under. He did fall off the roof, so maybe that fell on top of him."
"That was what I was thinking as well. We'll need some assistance. Everyone, let's all work on moving the sphere."
"Yes, sir!"
All of us go to the sphere, which is deeply wedged into the ground and surrounded by rubble. We'll have to move that first then.
We each work on separate sections, trying to remove the surrounding ring of rubble. There's lots of glass here, so I have to be careful. As I dig further, I find more things belonging to the tower, such as metal bars of scaffolding and parts of the laser on the top.
I also manage to find a green board — I think from one of those Minor Robots that Miss Marsh and I fought a long time ago. So, some of them were destroyed as...
Wait... this part came from... a robot. A robot. A robot that was in Thunder Tower.
"Colonel?" I say, my voice slightly tinted with fear.
"Yeah?"
"This part here..." I say, raising the green board. "Am I correct in assuming that it's from a robot?"
"Looks like it."
Oh no... no, this can't be happening!
"Then... I have a second question — why exactly is there a broken part from a robot in the Thunder Tower, when I specifically ordered Fassad to evacuate all of them?"
"... he lied, didn't he?"
He lied. Which means... some of the Pigmasks here... they may have died. Some of the robots... they were destroyed. And... no, no...
My heart starts to race, as that nagging feeling in my brain grows even stronger. If... if Fassad didn't evacuate all the robots in the tower, then... then what's to say that...
Miss Marsh... please, please tell me you made it out safely!
I... I... let me think. She... she would be at the playroom, which is the furthest point up the tower... which means a message to evacuate may not have — NO! She's... she got it, didn't she? She must have! She must have...
"I... see. I believe we've gotten enough of this rubble out of the way. Everyone, push together."
So we all line up on one side on the sphere and push simultaneously... it's really heavy. Come on... slowly but surely, it starts to move, as we push it away. With one final shove, we force it out of the way, letting us continue digging through the rubble underneath.
Digging through it all takes even more effort and time, but after an hour of work, we finally manage to get through it.
And underneath it all is a sight that shocks everyone, including myself. A sight that all of us thought impossible. A sight that fills me with confusion and... fear.
Fassad.
Underneath all of that scrap... is Fassad.
But he certainly doesn't look it. His legs are broken, one of his arms twisted about his head. Scars dig deep into his flesh, having carved their way through to his bones.
And most horrifying is his face. I... I can hardly recognise him. It's burnt beyond all belief. Ash covers the entirety of it and the third degree marks are plastered all over it... his flesh is black and red where it hasn't been burnt off. And at other points, it seems to have melted off in pieces, disfiguring him beyond all belief... the only recognisable thing about him are those beady eyes of his.
Slowly, I take a step towards him... WHAT?!
"OH MY PORK!" scream all the Pigmasks.
He... his hand... it... it just moved!
"Is, is he, is he actually st-still..." the Colonel stutters.
Slowly, I bend down towards his... body, and tentatively extend a hand towards what remains of one of his... AH!
The rest of the Pigmasks scream as well, as Fassad... grabs my hand.
... no... he isn't! He isn't... he can't actually be alive! How... how in the world is he still alive?! It... it's impossible!
But then... then, I start to hear something... something... in my mind. It's a fractured, yet familiar voice, one that makes my hairs stand on end.
"Ch... ime... ra..."
... is... is that...
I pull my hand away, slowly standing back up.
"He's... alive."
"What?! Are you sure, sir?"
"I... I can't believe it myself... but somehow, somehow... he's alive."
"But... how?!"
"I... have no idea. But... he is alive. Just like the king thought he might be."
"Hrgh... this doesn't make any sense!"
"Not at all... but it is as it is. Fassad is alive. He... he needs medical attention fast. Can five of you take him back to the ship? Put him in an Instant Revitalising Device."
"That's not gonna be enough to heal him though."
"Yes, you're right. This is... well, I don't even have anything to describe it."
"I think... he's gonna need to go through what you did, Commander."
What are the chances... like me, Fassad has survived an event he should have died from, only this is on a far bigger scale. And she's absolutely right... like me, Fassad... will have to become a chimera.
"You're right... we'll have to go to the Chimera Laboratory then."
"Right. Shall we leave then?"
I open my mouth, about to say yes, but then I remember... Miss Marsh.
I... I have to be sure. We haven't explored everywhere here... I know I won't find her, but just so I can feel confident that she's safe...
"Let's hold on that."
"Why?"
"Fassad might not be the only survivor here."
"What? But... you asked him to evacuate everyone, didn't you?"
"I did. But, as we've just seen with that robot, Fassad may not have actually done so."
She looks at me briefly, perhaps because my reasoning isn't the best. "Alright. We're not gonna get much else done anyway if we have time left over."
I can tell she still finds it strange, but she doesn't seem to question things any further, for which I'm grateful of.
I wander around mindlessly until I find a pile of rubble that's fairly large and start digging through it. But in this heap of rubble, I see many things that seem familiar to me... cars, the paint being shredded off of them, planes, the wings snapped off and lots of fur, from what looks to be teddy bears.
Wait... this is the playroom! It... it was the playroom. All of that... now reduced to this.
I start digging my way through it all, trying to reach the bottom... for some reason, my heart starts to grow uneasy... like a dreadful premonition.
Near the bottom, I feel something... metallic? I don't remember much in the playroom that was metallic... it feels familiar as well. Very familiar, as if I've held this with my hands many times before, but for some reason I can't think of what it would be.
Curiosity gets the better of me, and I continue to remove rubble, some of it quite heavy, but I manage. Move that here, and move that... there, and — what is that? Is that a body? Was someone else other than Fassad in the tower when it collapsed? I move some stones to the side to get a better...
... no... no... no... no... NO!
I fall to the ground in despair... this, this can't be happening! It's not... it's NOT! It... it's something else! It has to be! IT'S NOT YOU!
I... I pull the rest of it out of the rubble and laying it on the ground... NO!
Underneath is... a body. A... a robot.
A robot wearing a maid dress torn to shreds... her hair undone and burnt to cinders... a body with many bruises, that's been twisted and compressed... and a face...
A face that's grey... and cold... and lifeless.
Miss... Marsh.
I... you're... you're not supposed to be here! You should be... safe! No, you are safe. You're... you're fine... you're fine. Where is it... I... I remember, there's... there's an emergency power switch on the back of your neck... here.
I press it... and... and nothing. I press it again... and nothing.
Nothing. Not even a slight whirring from within to indicate something's happening... nothing at all.
NO! IT CAN'T BE! I furiously start pushing the button, over and over... something's just jammed, it just needs to clear up! I... why isn't this working?!
I... NO! I... I... this, this, this... THIS CAN'T BE! NO! NO! I... I don't believe it! I... I WON'T BELIEVE IT!
It won't work. It won't ever work. Because... because she's... she's...
I hold her up in my arms, looking out into the distance.
"Hey, Commander. What's going on there?"
I don't even turn or say anything upon hearing the Colonel's voice, as I hear the sound of crunching rubble get louder.
"What's that... oh. What the... where did you find her?"
"... right... here. Amongst... this. It appears... she did not make it out of the tower."
"But, wait, I thought... oh, that slimy son of a bitch." she says, coming to a realisation.
Who is she on... wait... wait...
Fassad. It was his job... his job... to evacuate all the people and robots here. It was his job... to make sure this didn't happen. And now, because he didn't do it well... because he didn't do it well... because he didn't do it well....
My hands begin to tremble as I think of it all. It's always been his fault... everything, and now... he's the reason she's...
But it's not just him. It's those... imposters. If they had never come here, then... she would never have... it's both of them.
"Colonel... have you ever felt the urge to drive a sword through someone's neck?"
"I... wouldn't say I have... sir."
"Hm... it's a very interesting feeling." She doesn't respond at all.
"What... do you make of the damage done to her..." I ask.
"It's... I mean, the damage is really bad. She went through the entire tower collapsing on her... I'm, I'm surprised there's enough of her left to recognise. But it's strange... you see these bumps here? They're very narrow and specific... it doesn't seem consistent with what the tower did. It's almost like she was in a fight or something, and she was beaten up... badly."
But the last of her words simply go through one ear and out the other. It doesn't matter how it happened... all that matters is... it happened. And now...
Wait... wait, I... I remember something she told me!
"But if I were to be destroyed, so long as my memory chip is still intact... I could simply be rebuilt."
Yes... yes! She can still be saved! Her memory chip! Suddenly, my entire body seems to swell with hope.
"Colonel... Miss — Lil' Miss Marshmallow's memory chip... it is the core essence of her, isn't it? If that were still intact..."
"Yeah, we probably could rebuild her, but... there wouldn't be much point in it, seeing as Thunder Tower has been destroyed."
"She was... primarily to take care of the king, wasn't she? If we rebuilt her, she could... be stationed back at New Pork City."
"Huh... yeah, that's a good point! Check underneath her head."
Quickly, I reach under what remains of her hair, my heart racing as I try and find a panel underneath it... that's where her memory chip is. I find it, and flick it open, reaching for the chip and taking it out...
And when I see it... my heart falls.
It's... it's ruined. It's completely... broken... the circuits are torn apart!and parts of it have been... chipped away at.
On the surface of the chip, I can see a few letters.
MROB.
And the rest of them... they've faded away, completely illegible now.
But I know what they would have said.
6720M.
"Let's see it then... oh Pork."
"Could it be... repaired?" I say, my voice quiet and clinging on to what little hope there is left.
"It's... it's completely mangled, sir! It's broken beyond all possible repair! I, I've seen Porkships crash land into Death Desert and come out looking better than this!"
Ha. Then... that's it. That's it.
I won't... hear her voice again. I won't... see her again. I won't... be able to hug her again. I won't be able to do any of that ever.
Because she's gone. She's gone and she's not coming back. She's gone... and she's not... coming... back.
"I see." I say quietly, laying her body on the ground and placing her memory chip in my pocket.
"Commander... are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Colonel." I reply, turning on the spot and beginning to leave.
"Are you sure?"
I stop, holding the chip tightly for a second.
"Absolutely." I say, my voice perfectly emotionless.
I continue walking back to the Mother Porkship, acutely aware of the Colonel behind me.
"We're done here... there's nothing more to be gained." I say, not looking back.
I march onto the ship, seeing Fassad in an Instant Revitalising Device, his eye twitching.
Sitting down on my chair, I can't help but throw him a look of contempt... why couldn't it have been you instead of her?
Once everyone's on board, I decide it's time to leave.
"Set course to the Chimera Laboratory. Now."
The pilots look at me, perhaps slightly unnerved by my tone. "Em... yes, sir."
They plot some coordinates in, and the ship lifts off, heading to the Laboratory.
When we arrive, I see a number of Pigmasks waiting for our arrival, in addition to Dr Andonuts. Quickly, we disembark off the ship, taking Fassad with us on a stretcher.
"My goodness... what has he been through?!" says the doctor.
"An entire tower exploding and collapsing on him, Doctor." I say, incredibly deadpan.
"How in the world did he survive?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." I say with absolute apathy.
"Right... quickly, take him to the second floor!"
The Pigmasks in my ship hand over the stretcher to the Pigmasks waiting outside the laboratory, who rush Fassad inside.
"Do you think he will live?" I ask.
"If it's anything like you... well, no, it's even worse than it was with you. Fassad... if he lives, he'll be much different. We'll have to reconstruct his face, replace some of his body with artificial parts... and that's at the minimum. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it..."
I hope not. But inside of me, somehow, I know Fassad will live. He somehow survived the tower exploding and collapsing... I don't see why he would die now.
But isn't it ironic, after all his derision of me, after always calling me 'chimera'... Fassad is going to become exactly that.
"Best of luck with him." I say, though in reality I wish the opposite of it.
We take off back home and once the ship lands back in New Pork, I dismiss everyone and somehow make my way back to my floor... it all passes in a haze.
I have to... report to Master Porky. Tell him that we found Fassad.
I rap on the door of his throne room, and hear a raspy voice call out. "Enter." The doors swing open as I head in, seeing Master Porky.
"Ah, Pokey..." he starts, almost giggling. "Sit down, why don't ya?"
I do so, though I'm hoping I won't have to stay for long.
"So, you found Fassad, right?" he asks.
"Indeed, we did... I'm not sure how he survived, but as you said, he was alive."
"Ha! Told ya! So where is he?"
"He is currently at the Chimera Laboratory, undergoing extensive surgery. Dr Andonuts gives him a low chance of survival in regards to him becoming a chimera."
"Nah, he'll be fine."
He still remains confident about him living... "If I may ask... how were you so sure of his survival?"
"Fassad's made of strong stuff. To be honest, I was worried because of him until now."
"Worried?"
"Yeah. He's not like you. He does whatever he wants. He's his own agent, who I can't rely on. But this is perfect! With this happening to him, now he can't do as much as he could before. He's helpless... more easily tamed." he grins.
I see... for some reason, I can't help but feel uneasy at that. It sounds... it makes sense, but it sounds... cruel. It sounds rather manipulative to rely on someone's disabilities that to control them and keep them in line, even if that person is Fassad...
Wait, what am I thinking? This is Master Porky! He's just and fair, and he knows what's best for everyone. I'm sure I'm just misinterpreting this... really, I don't think I'm in the right mindset to be judging anything now.
"Anyway, this has been a good day for me!" he says, rubbing his hands gleefully. "Take the rest of the day off, and tomorrow, I want you down in that conference room for your next mission."
"Already?"
"Yep. And trust me — this one is going to be much more important. I know you'll do just fine though."
"Of course."
"Good! Now get out then and get my dinner ready. It's a special occasion, so I'm feeling like having some Steak!"
"Yes, sir."
Standing and bowing to him once more, I turn and leave, the doors shutting behind me.
I stumble past the kitchen, looking at it for a moment.
I remember... all the time I spend here. With her. But now... well, now I need to make dinner for Master Porky and myself.
Steak for Master Porky is easy as always, but once I finish that... I don't feel particularly hungry, yet I know I must eat. What is there...
I scrape around, looking for ingredients, until I come across some fish. Some trout.
It was the first thing I made with her, wasn't it? Trout Yogurt... it's quick to make, and not much to eat.
Quickly, I start dicing the trout and spices... this time without forgetting to use two hands. And once that's done, I mix it all with the yogurt... this time using hardly any energy at all. I put the spoon down, pouring it into a glass.
Ha... there's hardly any fun in this at all now. Not without...
I've... come to a realisation. Fassad... the imposters... they're all part of the reason, but there's one more person responsible.
Me.
Because I pushed that button. I... I blew up the tower. I'm the reason you're...
Why does this matter? She... she was just a robot, right? She wasn't a real person. Her thoughts, her feelings, all of those were just... circuits and wires. It was all... artificial.
Then why does it hurt at all? It feels... as if there's something missing in my life now. A hole that can't be replaced.
Because... because, she was more than just a robot. She was more than just circuits and wires, programs and directives. And now... she's lost forever.
I head to my room, lying down on my bed, but I know it'll be a fruitless effort.
And surely enough, that night... I don't get any sleep at all.
The next day, after my usual morning activities, I send a message for all my soldiers to head to the conference floor. In an hour, we're all there, but there's no one else here — I thought Master Porky would be giving the mission to us. Instead, there's a note.
"Call this number by video. You'll get your mission from them — Master Porky."
"Call this number on the video screen. It's... 20, 04, 20, 06." I say to the Pigmasks. "Let's see what this is all about.
"Inputting now, sir... we're putting it on screen."
Sure enough, the screen on the wall opens up, but it displays no image and... what is that noise?
"What the hell is going on there?" the Colonel asks.
I can hear a bunch of drills, as well as some faint voices in the background. It sounds like they're hacking away at something — it's a ghastly noise, one that almost makes me shiver.
"Is this thing broken?" I ask.
"No, sir, it's working just fine." says one of the Pigmasks.
"Then what are those noises?"
"They're coming from the other end... it doesn't seem like they've turned their video on either."
From the other end? What are they doing that would cause such a noise?
But from the other end, we suddenly hear a voice.
"Ah... the video's not on! Er... here we go."
Suddenly, the screen lights up and... what the... oh my Pork...
I'm... spellbound by what I'm seeing. It's... it's the Chimera Laboratory. And they're operating on somebody. Fassad.
I... I can see the drills sticking into him, screwing things into his back... it looks like rocket boosters. And... is that a horn coming out of his nose? What...
Around him are a number of Pigmasks, as well as Dr Andonuts, who's currently looking over Fassad's vitals. Close to us is a Pigmask, who's fiddling a little with the screen — I'm guessing it wasn't working before.
"Okay... should be fine now." they say.
"Ah... I'm... glad you could join us here on this day." Dr Andonuts says.
I... "I'm sorry, Doctor, it appears we have the wrong number here."
"No, no, no... you called the right one. We were told you'd be calling for a mission briefing."
"But... why here? Why couldn't you just come to New Pork City and give it to us?"
"I'm not the one giving you it. In fact, the reason you had to call us... is because the person giving you the briefing is the person who can't leave here."
What? But that would be...
"Fassad? How on Earth can he giving us a briefing in this state?! Is he even alive?"
"Barely, but yes. We think he'll be fine actually."
"How?!"
"It's very strange... unlike anything I've seen before, but looking at Fassad's vitals, while they do get worse at times, they never seem to fall to a fatal level. It's as if his body just won't die or something."
What... how is that even possible? How does someone's vitals just never fall to fatal levels?
"Mind you, the damage is still very severe. He's going to be changed for life. He's permanently crippled, so we've had to put rocket boosters for him to get anywhere. He can't even speak any more — we're having to fit in horns for him to communicate through and build an interpreter robot, but we haven't finished that yet."
"Barring the state he's in, if he can't talk, then how is he going to communicate with us now?"
"Well... with this." he says, holding a pair of wires, with one end already stuck into Fassad's brain... oh my goodness. He then connects the other end into a machine, with many other wires in it, which I notice... they're also stuck in his brain. The machine has a speaker on it and... I'm not even quite sure what's going on anymore.
"And... what does this device do?"
"Well, believe it or not, Fassad is conscious right now."
"What?! Even with his brain split open?!"
"It's truly remarkable, and horrifying. His body seems to be able to put with all manner of pain... I have no idea how myself, but somehow the king knew all of this. Anyway, once I switch this on, the machine will interpret Fassad's thoughts, and we can hear them. And... that is how you'll get your briefing."
He switches the machine and on, and it starts to light up...
"Nwehehehehe... NWEHEHEHEHE!" It's... it's a voice. It... sounds similar to when Fassad telepathically communicates with people. "Bah! It feels good for all you fools to finally be able to hear me again! It's been a day of listening to all of your incessant chatter without any way of shutting you up!"
"Wait... you were conscious all that time?"
"Of course I was! Those imposters! They threw me off the tower!"
But... they didn't. He just... fell off due to his own stupidity.
"When I see them again... I'm going to enjoy that. NWEHEHEHE! You! Doctor! Gimme some laser cannons and bombs, so I can properly enjoy exterminating that boy! I'm going to blast him to bits! And that princess, that bum and the dog!"
"We'll see what we can do, but we are limited on time here." he says.
"Do I look like I care? NO! Get it done!"
"While it's great to hear you again, Fassad, we are all short on time, and I believe you had a briefing to give us." I say.
"Fine! Get ready then, because I've got a little story to tell. One that nobody else but the king has heard until now. Of course, the king has better things to do, so I'm the one telling it to you. But let me ask you a question first — what's beyond the Nowhere Islands?"
"What's beyond it? Well, there's Tanetane Island... but after that, nothing? It's just... empty water."
"Hah! It looks you do know something after all. Now, everyone here knows that the king comes from a world in the last. A world much different to this one."
Indeed... so many places, all lost.
"But then the cataclysm happened..."
"But what happened exactly? Who knows? But all those places were completely destroyed. Eradicated. Except... here. These islands somehow managed to survive. So let me ask you a question... why did they survive?"
That... that's a very good question. Why did the Nowhere Islands survive this cataclysm? Surely they should have destroyed as well?
The entire room — both this one, and the one Fassad's in, is completely silent as we all ponder this question.
"No? No answers? Well, I'm going to tell you just why these islands survived. Because they're special. There lies a power beneath these islands, a power that has protected it for... well, a long time. How long? I don't know! I don't care!"
"And what is that power?"
"The powe r... of the Dark Dragon."
Dark Dragon? Dark... Dragon... where have I heard that name before?
"The Dark Dragon? I thought that was just a myth!" says the Colonel.
"You know about this?" I ask her.
"I mean... I've heard of it, but I thought it was just some crazy fairy tale."
"Nwehehehe! Surely you should know all myths come from some truth?"
"Yeah, but whoever heard of a dragon that eats people in the dark?"
"Oh, now that's just completely wrong. Nwehehehe! It would be funny if it were true though!"
"What are you going on about?" I ask.
"Alright, chimera, I know you're slow on the uptake so listen carefully. Beneath these islands is a giant dragon. The Dark Dragon. Now long ago, this dragon lived with humans. But humans are humans and they couldn't control its power, so it had to be sealed away beneath this island, waiting for it to be released. It is an immensely powerful being. Even now, when it is sealed, when it is using only a fraction of its power, it is powerful."
"How powerful?"
"Nwehehehehe! Powerful enough to protect all of the Nowhere Islands from anything!"
"Anything?"
"Anything at all. That's why these islands have survived, even when nothing else has."
"That's all well and good, but... the Dragon has been sealed away. So... it doesn't really affect anything, does it?"
"Ah, chimera... always looking at the short term. No. The Dragon was sealed away, but the people who sealed it away made a way of unleashing its power, if it was ever needed."
"And who were these people?"
"The Magyspies."
"The Magyspies?!"
"Oh? It looks like you know a thing or two about them. Why don't you enlighten us, chimera?"
The Magyspies... they're involved in this? "I... read about them once. They're these strange psychic beings, incredibly powerful... neither man nor women, neither beast nor human. They've lived on this island for a very long time, and apparently, they're immortal.
But that book said something about a power underneath the Nowhere Islands, and the Magypsies are the key to unlocking it. They guard these... Needles, and if they're pulled, that awakens this power. Wait... that power, is it..."
"Yes. That power is the Dragon."
"Explain this."
"The Magypsies each guard a Needle. There's seven in total, so seven Needles. When a Needle is pulled, power is restored to the Dark Dragon, and the Magypsy... well, they lose all of theirs."
"What do you mean?"
"The Magyspies are immortal... except for one thing. If their Needle is pulled, then they can't live anymore. They don't need to live after that, since guarding the Needle is literally all they do. Boring, isn't it?"
"So... they die?"
"The idiots like to romanticise it and say it's 'moving to a better life', or some crap, but really, they die. And good riddance. We don't care about them though — what's more important is that when all seven Needles are pulled... the Dark Dragon will awaken again."
"It awakens?! And what will it do?"
"A very good question. You see, what it does... could be anything."
"What do you mean?"
"When someone pulls a Needle, their heart is passed on to the Dragon. And once the Dragon awakens, it will use its power to remake the world in the way the person who pulled its Needles wants it to."
Wow... that's amazing! But if it's dependant on the heart of the person who pulled it...
"So... if a good person pulls these Needles... the world would be remade into a good place?"
"Yep. But the opposite is true as well. If a bad person, like those villagers pull them... well, take a wild guess. Anyway, the king wants you to pull those Needles."
"Me?! But... why?"
"It's simple. So we can win this war. You pull the Needles, and the Dragon will remake this world and eradicate all of those villagers! And then, all that will be left is us, and victory! It's quick, and easy!"
Eradicate all the villagers? I... I don't know if I'd go that far... but I can see where he's getting at. This Dragon... it could end all of this so quickly. No more pain, no more battles... it would all be over. Just like that.
But... why do I need to pull them? Wouldn't it make more sense for Master Porky to?
"I see your point... but wouldn't it be more logical for the king to pull these Needles? He is our ruler."
"Maybe. But he can't."
"Because of his physical condition?"
"No. He literally cannot pull the Needles. Neither can I. Nobody in this entire city can pull those Needles... except for you."
"What? Why only me?"
"Nwehehehe! That would be because of that special little PSI you know."
Special PSI...? Is he on about...
"PK Love?"
"Exactly. Only people who know PK Love can pull the Needles."
PK Love... I've always known it was special, but... I didn't know it was this important.
"Why PK Love though?"
"That's the way the Magypsies made it. Who knows why? But that's the way things are. And so because of that, chimera... you are the only person who can pull those Needles."
"Is that... is that why you wanted me to keep that a secret for so long?"
"Yep. We can't risk the enemy finding out about the Needles. Imagine what would happen if they pulled them..."
I understand... they could easily destroy all of us and we wouldn't have a chance.
"So... I have to pull these Needles then. But... eradicating all the villagers... that doesn't seem entirely fair."
"Fair?! Those villagers put me here! Do you think that's fair?!"
Well, I wouldn't say it's entirely unfair, in his case. But I suppose he's right. The people of Tazmily have caused far too many problems for us. They're the reason... they're the reason Thunder Tower's gone and that she's...
Wait... wait! The Dragon remakes the world in accordance to the heart of the one who pulls the Needles. They could destroy anything they wanted... but what about the opposite?
I clutch the side of my chair, staring directly into Fassad's eyes.
"The Dragon... what can't it do?"
"What can't it do? Nothing!"
"Nothing? So... it can do anything then, can't it?"
"Nwehehehe! Anything at all."
"It can do anything? Even... resurrect the dead?" I say, my hand clutching the memory chip in my pocket.
"As easy as it can destroy people."
Hm. Then it's settled. I'm going to do it. I'm going to pull these Needles.
"Where are they?"
"Eager, aren't you? Good. Well, we're working on finding them, but we know where one is. Somewhere you've been actually — Osohe Castle."
Osohe Castle... wait a minute, about a year ago, didn't I go there? Didn't Fassad say there was something else important in there, apart from the Egg of Light?
"So... this was the other thing you were talking about."
"Nwehehehe! Yes, it was the Needle. It should be in there. Get there as quickly as you can!"
"Then we leave right now." I say, standing up, clutching my sword.
This is my new mission. To pull the Seven Needles and awaken the Dark Dragon. And nothing will stop me in that. I'm going to pull those Needles, and awaken the Dragon myself.
I will bring peace and order to this island. I will end everything. I will turn this world exactly into the one Master Porky sees fit.
And as for those villagers, the ones that have given us so much grief, the ones responsible for Thunder Tower, the ones that led to you...
I'll find and destroy every single one of them. I promise you that...
Lil' Miss Marshmallow.
Notes:
Well... I've been waiting for this chapter for a very long time. Ever since Chapter 11 really, since this chapter is where Claus finds out about Marshmallow's death.
For reference, this chapter takes place in the timespan between Chapter 6, and however long Lucas and Boney are unconscious at the start of Chapter 7.
Of course, Claus finding out about Marshmallow's death is certainly the most important part of this chapter. I must admit, killing her off was undoubtedly a very hard decision to make, since writing her interactions with the Masked Man has been some of my favourite parts of writing this fic, and now... well, I can't do that anymore.
Next time, Claus returns to Osohe Castle for the first Needle.
Chapter 25: A Needle In A Haystack
Summary:
Spiders, barrels, passions, and the Masked Man's inability to understand his memories.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Fassad lived. How? I don't know. I would try and explain it with some form of logic, but Fassad living in the first place isn't very logical to begin with, so why bother?
Mind you, he's certainly a lot worse for wear — permanently crippled, and unable to speak. Just like Dr Andonuts predicted. They finished all the modifications to him just yesterday, so he's fit — well, in the loosest terms of the word, fit to be in action again.
What is that man made of? I'm still questioning it now — a 300 foot drop off an exploding tower which collapsed on him. Followed by being left there for nearly 24 hours. There's no possible way you could survive that, let alone come out as well as Fassad did.
I'm going around in circles. But I know I'm not the only one who thinks this makes no sense — my entire team thinks so as well, but apart from Fassad simply being beyond lucky, we don't have any possible explanation... and calling being lucky an explanation would be lacking.
There's more important things than that right now. Taking my sword, I start marching back up the steps to the bridge of the ship. We should've very close now.
Tazmily Village. I still remember the two times I've come here — the first rather briefly, and the second... funny that I'm coming back here for the same reason.
I remember being interested with it the first time I came here. I had a desire to learn more about the place, but it was a desire I couldn't fulfil then.
The second time around, I could though. And I remember being almost enamoured with the place. It was much different from New Pork, yes, but I could appreciate it for its own merits. And the people there didn't seem half as bad as what Master Porky depicted them to be.
But here I am, coming here for the third time, and now? I'm disgusted to be back here.
I haven't forgotten Thunder Tower. How could I? There was only one saving grace with all that happened — yesterday, I finally managed to contact the safe zone, and found out that all the Pigmasks inside at least made it to safety.
But I won't forget what was lost because of the actions of the imposters, and Fassad. An entire tower and... someone far more valuable inside.
And now, I'm forced to return the home of the imposters. It makes my insides curl... forget it. It'll be quick and simple. In and out.
As I reach the bridge, I look out of a window, seeing the land below... it looks as peaceful as before. But that's just part of the illusion, isn't it? I'm disappointed in myself for ever doubting Master Porky in that regard... but now's the chance to redeem myself.
"Sir! Ma'am! We have visual of the castle!" one of the pilots shouts.
Immediately, I stand up, looking out of the front window... coming into view is a stone castle, dilapidated and rustic, yet still standing. Osohe Castle.
"Ah, there it is." says the Colonel. "You know, you'd think someone would have bothered to fix this place up."
"Does anyone even live here? I recall seeing some bedrooms." I ask.
"Oh yeah, you've been there. Who knows?There's ghosts, but I wouldn't exactly call them living."
"Well, at the very least, we shouldn't have much interference. It's early, so very few of the villagers should be out at this time. If all we have to worry about are the ghosts, then I see little in the way of our path. Though, correct me if I'm wrong, you've been here as well, haven't you?"
"Yep! My first mission actually, for the raid on the Egg of Light."
Hm. Certainly an eventful mission for a first, but then again, my first mission was also a rather eventful one.
"Are there any noteworthy dangers to be aware of?"
"No, the only issue we had was... well, the man and the girl. But they shouldn't be here now..."
Yes... they should be dead. They won't be an issue anymore.
"In that case... I think ten should be enough."
"Ten? Seems a bit on the low side, sir."
"Too many of us, and we risk drawing attention to the people here."
"Good point."
"Then I think we are more than ready to go. Stop the ship." I say to the pilots.
"Stopping now, sir."
The ship slowly comes to a halt. Let's see... apart from the basics, there was also that chasm on that one floor. We'll need ropes to get past that.
"Oh yes, everyone will need to bring a rope."
"A rope?" one of the Pigmasks says confused. "Why a rope?"
"There is a chasm on one of the floors, and without a rope, there is no way past it."
"You can't jump across it?" says the Colonel.
"Not unless you have wings, or want to break your legs."
"Rope it is then."
We land straight in front on the castle doors, and quickly get out.
The Colonel looks up towards the castle, rubbing her neck. "Here it is... hasn't changed a bit."
"I would like two people to stay behind to guard this area, and our Porkship. Any volunteers?"
"I'll do it, sir." says one.
"I'll stay behind." says another.
I recognise the voice of one of these Pigmasks, but not the other... they must be from the Colonel's regiment. That works well, having one person here each of us can trust.
"Thank you. Keep a close eye on this area, and look out for any transmission from the bridge."
"And if any villagers come here?"
That's the question I've been waiting for — should I exercise mercy? Before, I would have certainly been inclined to. But now? What does it matter? When the Dark Dragon awakes, I will destroy all of them in the name of Master Porky. Especially those imposters.
But, at the same time... what does it matter if we kill them now? We might as well not bother with the effort if the Dragon will do that anyway. I suppose I'll compromise.
"Do your best to stop them entering this castle. If you can avoid a confrontation, that would be best, but if one is necessary... destroy them with extreme prejudice."
"Yes, sir." Both of them salute me and nod in understanding.
"Good. Let's move."
The remaining eight of us head towards the open double doors... back here again, and inside lies a seventh of the key to ending all of this. To bringing her back.
The interior of the castle is rather cold, a contrast to the warm sun outside. Indeed, the entire atmosphere is just as it was the last time — dark and gloomy to the absolute.
The Colonel speaks up once we enter, her voice echoing slightly. "So... anyone got any idea about how we actually find this Needle then? What does it even look like? And this castle is pretty big, so it's gonna take a lot of time to find it. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
It's times like this I wish I could get rid of the mask requirements on missions — I imagine her face is far too pleased with that joke.
I narrow my eyes at her in slight amusement. "I might just have to demote you for that one."
"You found it funny, sir."
I did, and I'm somewhat annoyed.
"But anyway, it's not like the Egg of Light where we had a tracking device to help out... we'll have to search this the old fashioned way." she continues.
It seems like... a tracking device? The first time I came to this castle, Fassad asked us to find something important, and he also said I'd be able to sense it. And indeed, when I came here, I was able to sense some object of great power.
Now, yesterday, I found out said object was the Needle. Given that... it stands to reason that I should be able to sense the location of these Needles if I'm in relative proximity to them. In fact, I remember clearly — the object I sensed was a great source of psychic power, but it also seemed to be suppressed, which seems consistent with the nature of the Dragon.
"Actually, I don't think we'll have that much difficulty. You see, a year ago, on Fassad's orders, my regiment and I attempted to find an object in this castle, which now we know was actually the Needle."
"Oh, I see where you getting at, sir!" says one of my Pigmasks. "Weren't you able to like... sense the object or something?"
"Precisely. If the object I was sensing was indeed the Needle, and it seems very likely that it was, it should be at the same place."
"Really? All this psychic stuff is beginning to blow my mind..." says the Colonel. "Where was it then?"
Where... oh yes, that's right — I couldn't detect an exact location. In fact, let me try sensing it again.
Hm... yes, it's faint down here, like it was before. But... it is in the same place.
"It's on the higher floors. I couldn't get an exact location then, and I can't now, but I'm sure it's up there."
"Wait, so how come you didn't pull it then?"
That's a good question. I knew PK Love at the time, even though I couldn't use it at will, so I would have been able to pull it... oh...
"There was an old man here — the same one you'll have run into on the raid for the Egg of Light, who blew up one of the tanks. He impeded our progress and we didn't think it was worth the fight."
"This early in the morning, he should still be in the old man's home. Shouldn't run into him now."
"Then let's go."
I remember the way there, so we head straight forward into the next room, and here we should go left...
But suddenly, I hear this faint giggling, and a cold chill through the air... one even colder than before. Out of nowhere, three ghosts materialise, pulling faces at us in a line.
Immediately, everyone pulls a gun out and I raise my arm cannon, staring them down.
"Kee hee hee! What are you looking at?"
The ghosts rush towards us, but as soon as we fire back and hit them, they quickly shriek and disperse. How... odd.
"We gotta deal with these ghosts again... this'll be annoying." the Colonel sighs.
"Again? They were there all those years ago?"
"Yep. Not really much of an issue, just annoying."
Hm. I remember ghosts haunting this castle, though the ones I encountered were friendly. Perhaps some spirits are more hostile than others.
As we continue to the left and ascend to the second floor, more of these ghosts appear, but each time, once we start attacking, they immediately run away laughing. Like the Colonel said, they're more of an annoyance than a threat which is an upside.
It doesn't seem like they really mean harm, only that they're looking for amusement. I imagine you'd be lacking in opportunities for that when you're dead.
We come across a few more ghosts, as well as some spiders and barrels — and this time I'm careful enough to make sure those barrels don't spray that fragrance on me. A few shots is enough to get rid of them, so we continue our passage virtually unimpeded.
Some of the Pigmasks in front of me abruptly stop for some reason, and it becomes clear why — I can hear the cackling of the ghosts but for once, they don't decide to show themselves...
I look carefully around this corridor, and fix my eyes on a lone piece of armour which starts to rattle... is the ghost in —
"KEE HEE HEE!"
Sure enough, the armour springs to life and charges towards us with a sword and shield. Its movement is somewhat sluggish though... as soon as it swings its sword, I parry it with mine and knock the shield out of its hand. It tries a second swing, but the Pigmasks all fire and slam it straight into the wall.
The armour crumbles to pieces before we see a ghost fly out and go through the walls. So they can possess other objects. That's a new one.
We turn another room and... oh, it's this room. I remember coming across this one — it's the room with the grand piano, where all the ghosts were having a party, but now it seems to have stopped.
We cautiously enter and the ghosts inside turn to face us, but they don't attack.
"Oh, it's you guys again. You just love coming here, don't ya? Looking for something important again?" one says.
"Yes, the same thing as before." I reply.
"Ha! Well, good luck getting it if it's up there!" another laughs. "You'll never get past!"
"What? Why not?" says the Colonel.
"There's a ghost up there playing his music again. He won't let anyone past unless you listen to his music. It sucks though, and he never shuts up! Just listen to it right now!"
I block out all other noises and try to listen out for some music, but I can't hear anything of the sort.
"I... don't hear anything." says the Colonel.
"Neither do I." I say.
"Ha! Just go up there and see." the ghost replies.
"Well, we're heading up there anyway, so we'll find out."
"In that case, do you mind shutting him up? It'd be nice if we don't have to listen to him."
"We'll see what we can do." I reply, not wanting to make any promises. "Let's go." I say to everyone else.
The stapled ladder in the wall is still there thankfully, so we climb up it and come across the chasm.
"So this is the chasm you were talking about? How did you get across?" says the Colonel.
"Like this." I say, while a few Pigmasks along with myself use our ropes to swing over with the chandelier like we did before.
"Ohh... that's clever." she replies, before the rest of the Pigmasks and her join us.
"Didn't you come across that chasm yourself?"
"No, some of us went in through the bottom, but the rest of us parachuted in from the top."
Parachuting? Sounds exciting, albeit risky. Actually, maybe we should have done that... but then again, the Needle would have been on a lower floor, so we'd have had to go down.
As we continue up the stairs, a few more spiders and ghosts try to assail us, but they are easily taken care off with similar strategies.
What's more interesting is the further we go up, the louder I start to hear this awful racket. It's this discordant cacophony which almost sounds like someone being strangled... I see, we must be getting close to that ghost the other ones were talking about.
"The only thing that sounds worse than a bad musician is one that refuses to shut up... actually, correction, Fassad's shrieking when he's mad can be pretty bad as well. I see what those ghosts were on about though."
"Sadly, I think we'll have to get past that ghost. Like before, I can feel that power very strongly around here... I'd wager we're very close to it."
"Let's get this over with then."
When we head into the next room, that noise gets louder and louder... we are close. However, this corridor has so many doors... do they all lead to different places? I check my map and... that's strange — there's only one door out of this corridor, which must mean not all these doors are real.
And sure enough, as soon as one of the Pigmasks approaches the first door, it springs to life and tries to bite them, causing them to drop their gun.
"Ahh!" Quickly, two others pull them away from the door as it snarls at us.
There's lots of doors... we could use trial and error to find all the fakes, but I think I might have an easier way.
I pick up the gun the Pigmask dropped and fire it at the door that just came to life, causing it to flinch. Like I thought, they do react to pain.
I fire at the rest of the doors and most of them come to life as soon as the blast hits them. All but one door that is, which remains completely unmoved.
"That door's the real one." I say, handing the gun back to the Pigmask.
As we walk to the door, the noise only seems to get louder and louder... and when we actually open it, my ears are assaulted by the worst sound I've ever heard.
Inside is a ghost, larger than the others with a red suit and fancy hair. He's waving a baton around and conducting his music... which consists of having almost everything in the room fly around and crash together to make the most awful sounds imaginable.
Almost everyone in the room clutches their ears, as the ghost spins his head around to face us.
"I am Lord Passion. The music I'm playing is 'Ode to Ancestors, 8th Movement.' Listen carefully."
8th? I dread to hear the other seven if they are of a similar quality.
"I'm afraid we're not staying. Please move."
"That's what they all say! No one ever listens!" he says, waving his baton madly, clearly miffed.
"I said, move aside."
"Ah! This is what artistic know it all nothings like you get!"
Suddenly, all the objects flying around him start to swirl and fly towards us. I block a few of the candles with my sword... why does everything have to be done the hard way?
Enough of this. I'm not wasting my time. Let's just exorcise this ghost.
Immediately, I dash straight towards him, the classic three steps for cattle drilled into me by the Fierce Pork Trooper clear in my mind.
First, I knock his baton out his hand with my sword, and crush it under my foot. Disarm.
While he's surprised and flustered, I stab at his head, piercing straight through him and pinning his head to the wall, my sword embedded in both. Immobilise.
"PK Thunder Gamma."
Three bolts of lightning all crash into his fancy hair, causing sparks to fly off. Suddenly, his hair bursts into flames, making him scream. He starts flailing about, swinging his baton around madly, but still pinned to the wall he's unable to move anywhere.
"Finish him."
All the Pigmasks pull their guns out, as they begin to pummel him with repeated lasers while I join in myself. His screams intensify before he slowly starts to become clearer, dissipating completely.
And neutralise.
With him finally gone, I pull my sword out of the wall, examining the room briefly. Nothing.
Finally, we emerge into a room beyond, a contrast to the previous one, being both spacious and quiet.
But... there doesn't seem to be a way forward. There's a large mouth on the wall as well as two murals on the side, depicting a total of 16 different poses, but no exit. We're closer than ever... the Needle has to be on the other side.
"A... a dead end? You're kidding me! We came all this way for this?!"
"No... there's definitely a way through here." I say. "My map shows one. Perhaps... we need to go through that mouth?"
"So how do we open it up?"
"That... I have no idea." I say, while the Pigmasks all spread out around the room,. "Maybe a switch? Search the walls for one."
I start checking the walls along with everyone else, trying to find anything under or on the sides of the bricks. Let's see... no switch... not one here.... or here — there's not going to be a switch, is there?
And indeed, despite all our searching, there's not a switch to be found on any of these bricks.
"Hey, sir... I think I might an idea." says one of the Pigmasks.
"Please, I'm open to anything at this point." I say, mildly annoyed now. I'm already irritated after having to deal with that ghost and search this room — that Needle should have been pulled by now.
"There's all of these poses on these murals. Maybe they're there for a reason?"
Apart from mere decoration? There is some merit to it...
"Hm... they look somewhat like positions one might assume during a dance." I muse out loud.
"So... what if we have to dance to open this door?"
That sounds absolutely nonsensical and crazy... and therefore it might actually work.
I have a look at the poses again, trying to see what this dance entails... from the looks of things, it seems to require one to stick out their rear end a considerable deal.
"Oh Pork..." I start, already feeling the headache form. "Very well. The first person to get this door open will... I don't know — just get the door open..." I sigh.
And so, a few of the Pigmasks stand in front of the door, striking each of the poses individually and trying to perfect their positions, while others watch on and try and point out any problems with their movements.
"I think we have to do them all quickly then. It's a dance, isn't it?" says one Pigmask. "Alright, faster then!"
They begin to dance at double speed, with increasingly cartoonish positions, and I... I... I can't even....
"... Colonel?"
"Y, yes, sir?"
"We're leaving this part out of the mission report."
"Ah... understood, sir."
After another 10 minutes of this, one of the Pigmasks suddenly shouts out something. "Okay, okay, I think I've got it! Watch this!"
Oh, please let this end... the Pigmask stands in front of the mouth, while everyone else stands on the sidelines. He takes a deep breath and starts shifting left to right quickly with his arms, and his rear out...
And from out of nowhere... I swear I hear this strange music begin to play. What is going on...
Suddenly, as the music swells and starts, he starts shifting back and forth double time, occasionally hopping left and right, moving his arms. He repeats this motion twice until the music changes key, and he turns once on the spot, still dancing.
Finally, as the music builds up to a crescendo, he spins rapidly on the spot, before striking one last pose with his left hand sticking into the sky.
And... and... and... nothing. Nothing.
"Uh... what did I do wrong? Guys, help me out here." he says.
"I think you spun too fast." says one Pigmask.
"Nah, it was your dancing, it was too uncoordinated!" says another.
"Eh, I kinda felt that final pose was a little lame. Could been more striking, you know?"
I am the Commander of the Pigmask Army! I will not be stopped by a door!
"Move!" I say to the Pigmasks, shoving a few of them out of my way as I approach the door, my eye starting to twitch. I blast the door a few times with my arm cannon during my approach and then slice straight through it with my sword.
And nothing. Not even a dent.
"PK Love Alpha!"
There's a blinding explosion of light from my palms... surely that did the trick?
And when the light clears... nothing.
What is this door made of? In my anger, I start feeling around my waist for anything I have, before my hand comes across a sphere... what is this?
A Super Bomb. Their destructive force is unparalleled amongst all our weaponry... well, I'd say I've reach my limit.
I crouch down and place it on the ground, which the Colonel sees.
"Woah, sir, are you sure that's a good idea?!" she says panicked.
"Anything is a good idea at this stage. Stand back."
I light the fuse and then run back, taking cover. A few seconds later, there's a massive explosion, and the sound of rock shattering into pieces.
And finally, finally, once all the dust settles... there's a hole in the mouth big enough for us to go through.
I slowly sheathe my sword, looking at the rubble in front among the Pigmasks. If I could see their mouths, I imagine they would be
gaping.
"We will never speak of this incident ever again. Understood?"
I take the silence behind me as a yes, before proceeding onward. The Needle... I can feel it so strongly now.
Once all of us have passed through, I take a look at where we are. There's a balcony here, overseeing the courtyard below, where... wait... is that...
In the middle of the courtyard, embedded in the ground is a pointed object which seems to glow with a strange energy. The base of it is narrow, but the top has what looks to be the head of a... a dragon.
"Wow... is that..."
"I believe it is. The Needle."
"Looks a lot fancier than I was expecting... so, now you've got to pull it out?"
Yes... I walk towards the edge of the balcony and unfold my wings before hovering down. All the Pigmasks line up above, watching me with intensely. Slowly, I march towards it.
So... this is the Needle. The key to awakening the Dark Dragon. As I head towards it, I... my heart, it... it almost seems to resonate with it. As if it's... calling me.
I stand behind the Needle, looking at the Pigmasks above. With a deep breath, I bring my arms up to the top of the Needle... and grab it.
Wha... AH!
What... what is this? It's a power surging through me... my arms, my legs, my body...
But most of all... my mind. My heart.
The whole world goes white, as the energy rushes through me... calling... calling...
I... I can see people... Pigmasks... the Fierce Pork Trooper... Dr Andounts? I can see... memories. A party, a battlefield, a capsule with no way out... I remember these things.
And I... I can feel those emotions, the... the same ones I felt at the time.
I... I can feel the rush of surprise, the amazement I had when people went out of their way for me.
The joy of a hard fought victory, won through dedication and teamwork.
The accomplishment from achieving the impossible, of defying the very laws of nature and creating that...
But I can feel the fear of failure, of never being able to make an impact.
The chain of commanding, how it's my decision who does what... and the slightest error could get someone killed.
And the horror of absolutely safe... the horror of being alone in this world, when everyone else is long gone.
The good and bad... I can see them both.
But then... it's calling me... something else is calling me... someone else.
A... man? But... I don't know you... so why do I remember you? Who... are you?
This is from the past, isn't it? A past life... but that doesn't matter.
But...
Deviation detected. Course correction...
I... I have to know... more. More.
... failure? ERROR.
I can see and smell... sheep. I can see... a man.
He's sat around a fire in a forest, with people surrounding him... he's about to learn that his wife has died.
What?! Where did that come from?! How... how do I know that?
But... it's true. I know it's true. I remember it.
And suddenly, the memory grows clearer... the cold wind, the wet ground... the silent tension in the air. There's good news and bad news... like everything in life. There's always two sides.
You've found a powerful weapon... but it was found in your wife's heart.
And his eyes shine in the fire, as he lifts the log above his head and smashes it into the fireplace.
An unbridled anger, which consumes him and kindles a barbaric rage... this is what Master Porky insisted these people were.
And yet... it's not just anger. It's impassioned by the pain of loss... loss... I know what that feels like.
But that's not barbaric. It's... human.
I... I remember this. I was scared. I was terrified this man might hurt me. That in the pain of his loss, he might have caused more people to join his beloved.
And as quickly as the memory seemed to clear, it grows all more foggy... the white engulfs my eyes again as I see images flash by. What... what is all this? My breath starts to run quick, and my heart seems to race, no, magnify. It feels like it's expanding, threatening to burst out of my chest... and then, there's a voice.
There's a voice which calls out through the light, stalwart, calm and yet, kind... a man's voice... his voice.
'Now. Pull the Needle.'
My eyes snap open as a pillar of light starts to glow beneath the Needle. With one swift movement, I pull it out of the ground.
But as soon as I do that... the Needle seems to fade away in my hands.
Did I do it? Did it work?
I look up at the rest of the Pigmasks, who seem equally as confused as me. What did that — woah! What's going on?!
Immediately, the ground begins to shake, as if there's an earthquake going on. It doesn't seem to affect any of the surroundings though, even though I can feel everything shake... and what's that?
There's a hole where the Needle was and the bottom of it starts to glow red. Instinctively, I take a few steps back, just as a massive stream of fire bursts from the surface... what...
Finally, the shaking seems to settle and stop...
"Sir? Are you... alright? Do you feel any different?"
No... I don't. I don't feel any different... but maybe that's a good thing. "I don't think I've been harmed in any way... I'd say that earthquake is indicative that something has happened though."
In fact, the Needles are supposed to awaken the Dragon, aren't they? I thought it would be a case of once all the Needles were pulled, it would wake up, but maybe it's a gradual thing... that might explain the earthquake.
"Alright, it... looks like we're done here then." she says, while all the Pigmasks climb down to the courtyard using their ropes. "Let's get the Porkship here and leave."
"... right."
She takes out her transceiver, and calls the Pigmasks we left behind on it. "Hey, we're done here. Yeah, we found the Needle. Just fly to the courtyard — you can't miss it."
Soon after, a Porkship takes off into the sky coming towards us, before it lands in the courtyard. We all get into it, and take off to the Mother Porkship. Once in there, the flight back to New Pork commences.
The first Needle has been pulled... six remain then. But what was all that when I touched the Needle? Why did all that happen? What does it mean?
That man... I know who he is now. He was a part of my past life. But the past is the past, isn't it? Does it matter? I... I don't know. But for some reason, I... I just want to know more.
What... is this? For some reason... I feel something warm inside of my heart. It's a familiar sensation, but it feels... stronger than ever before.
Something awoke inside Pokey!
Pokey realised the power of PK Love Beta!
Notes:
You know, I can’t believe this marks two years since I started writing this fic, and became a fanfiction writer. I honestly thought I would have finished it by now, but stuff happens. Whether you’ve been keeping up with this fic for that long, or just started reading it today, thank you for doing so.
Chapter 7 has begun, and I think it will be... 6 chapters long (yeah, that'll be confusing). One chapter for each Needle.
In truth, not much to say on this one. My favourite part of this chapter would have to be the aneurysm the Masked Man has when trying to get past the dancing door.
I suppose I'll also share a little headcanon of mine which is relevant to the end of this chapter. I believe when someone pulls the Needles, they see the things they care about, because this is the Dark Dragon's way of connecting to their heart.
However, in the case of the Masked Man, because he is both Claus and 'Pokey', the Dark Dragon detects and connects to both parts of him.
Next time, Claus gets to talk a little more with his master.
Chapter 26: The Master's Tale
Summary:
Bowling, mechs, PSI Counters, and the Masked Man's inability to progress his powers.
Notes:
Happy New Year! Let's hope 2022's a good year - hey, why are the Pigmasks in my bunker? Oh God, they're coming, the Pigmasks are coming! HELP I'M BEING KIDNAPPED -
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"PK Love Beta!"
A stream of hexagons fly out of my fingers and straight into the robots, destroying them all in one go.
And yet, it feels exactly the same.
When I arrived back in New Pork after pulling the first Needle, I decided to try this new power of mine. I knew I had it, even though I didn't know what it was.
In hindsight, it seems obvious — a stronger variant of PK Love. For some reason, it never came to mind that there would be higher levels of PK Love. Higher and stronger levels.
Now, I've used PK Thunder enough times to know the difference in strength between each variation of it, and I would expect PK Love to follow a similar pattern.
But it doesn't. Like everything else about this PSI, it deviates from the expected normal. It doesn't feel any different. It doesn't seem more powerful. It looks exactly the same.
I'm sure that shouldn't be the case either — all PSI shows differences at successive levels. It's like... it's as if I'm having difficulty taking it to the next stage. I've noticed it being marginally more effective, but it's like I'm only a slightly more powerful version of the Alpha variant, rather than the actual Beta variant.
Like always, it frustrates me. I'm supposed to be perfect, able to do anything. But once again, PK Love alludes me. It's like I'm back to when I couldn't use it at free will at all.
What's wrong with my mindset? Shouldn't it require the same mindset as before, only with more focus and more power? It's as if the rules have completely changed.
Either way, I must practice and obtain perfection with this. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. Really, it's all I have to do. I would have gone searching for the second Needle, but Fassad already found it. When his surgery finished, he left the Chimera Laboratory and apparently, he detected a large psychic power nearby — which means there's a Needle there.
But apparently, it's also behind some sort of force field surrounding an inner glade of the forest. And the only way to get past that field is through a locked door. And how does one open that door? Well, according to Fassad, it looks like you need to dance in front of it. Dance.
Needless to say, that's one annoyance I'm not keen to experience again, so I told him to blow it up.
Small problem — he couldn't. That door's apparently made of much stronger stuff than that wall was and it simply can't be blown up. We actually have to do the dance. The issue is... none of us can do it.
So here's the strange part — Fassad apparently knows a monkey which happens to know that exact same dance. Who also happens to live in that exact area. So, the Pigmasks at the Chimera Laboratory are working on capturing that monkey, so we can have him dance and open the door.
Because of that, Master Porky thought it would be best if I simply stayed here in New Pork and waited until they found the monkey. I found his suggestion strange, but apparently he wants to talk to me and thought this would be a good chance. I'm due to be at his meeting point shortly though.
I check I have everything before leaving... sword, helmet, transceiver — yes, that last one's important. Somehow, I lost my old transceiver during my visit to Osohe Castle. I must have dropped it accidentally... careless of me. I'm due to receive a call once the monkey has been found, but I hope they've been told to call this transceiver and not my old one.
Once I have everything, I head down the elevator and out to the city, where I find the bowling allay that Master Porky said to meet at, one we've been to before.
When I enter, the place is completely deserted — I imagine it was cleared out on Master Porky's orders.
There's only one person here, and that's my king himself.
"Pokey! What took you so long?" he says in his capsule, sipping a soda, with some Pork Chips beside him. "Never mind, I don't care! You're here, and now the fun begins. Ten frames." he says, holding up all his fingers. "Let's see who can bowl better. Of course, it'll be me!"
I'm surprised to be immediately thrust into activities, but I don't mind. Anything else would be a better idea before practicing the same attack hundreds of times over.
It's been a considerable amount of time since I've engaged in this activity with Master Porky. And unlike previous times, he stays in his capsule, using the claws on his machine to bowl instead, likely due to his further decreased condition.
With a smirk on his lips, he presses a few buttons, moves a joystick and bowls the ball perfectly towards the set of pins. It crashes into them, cleanly knocking them all down.
"Strike!" he coughs. "Beat... beat that!"
He's remarkably good, better than he was with his own body, though that's to be expected given his state. The accuracy and power is something to be admired, most likely because of the targeting systems he has.
I've got a similar benefit myself, but I decide to forgo the benefits of my eye to train my natural accuracy. A form of impromptu training.
Carefully focusing on the pins, I release the ball, also knocking them all down.
The game continues and at first, the two of us are very evenly matched, bowling strike after strike consecutively. Master Porky's systems essentially do most of the work for him and I've developed a good sense of accuracy and power with my own experience.
As the game goes on though, I start to fall behind. I'm able to secure at least a spare for every frame, which would be very good normally, but Master Porky continues to bowl strikes, doing a perfect game.
Internally, I get the impression that these are the kind of games Master Porky likes — one where he is challenged, yet his victory is assured. He obviously doesn't like losing, and while he does like winning, it seems far more fulfilling for him to win when there was some measure of oppression.
"I win!" he wheezes in glee. "Better luck next time, Pokey. Anyway, let's talk a little. How's my favourite robot doing?"
"Robot?" I say. "That's... a joke, right?"
"Of course! You didn't think I was being serious, right?" he laughs. "Besides, you're much better than any robot."
Of course... it was a joke. Good. I... take things too seriously, don't I?
"I've been fine." I say. "My training has gone fine, and my mission to pull the Needles has gone smoothly so far. Fassad is currently trying to obtain the means of getting the second Needle and as I haven't heard anything about it, I assume it's going well."
"Huh. Boring!" he yawns. "Let's do something else. In fact, you're the Commander of my army. I wanna make sure I made the right choice."
"When have you ever made the wrong one?"
"Never!" he laughs. "But you know what... let's see anyway, for fun."
"What do you suggest?" I ask.
The mech raises its legs and its arms stretch out, clacking them. I think I know exactly what this game is.
"Ready?" He starts laughing quietly. "I've got a new game. Let's see if your toys can match mine."
With a swipe of a claw, the mech knocks four or so tables.
I draw my sword. This is Master Porky, my greatest friend. But for now, I have to face him like an enemy.
Immediately, he sends another claw at me, my first instinct being to block with my sword. He grins, and the claws grab onto my sword.
"Ahahaha! How's my custom sword been?"
"Undoubtedly useful. I'm grateful for your generosity." I say. I mean every word of it, but I'm also hoping the flattery might get him to lower his guard.
Unfortunately, I'm not so lucky. "I wish everyone was grateful as you, Pokey. I'm such a generous king, aren't I? It's a pretty nice toy — I think you should share it."
He pulls on the sword and although I initially give some resistance, I quickly let go, not wanting to have my hands ripped off.
"Now, how about some darts? Only you're the dartboard!" he laughs, throwing my sword back at me. For what he has in strength though, he lacks in aim, ironic given the bowling that just happened. I sidestep and catch it, then using the momentum I already have, slash straight across the body of the mech. But as I do, there's a small, yet noticeable flash of blue and I can feel my sword exerting a force back on me.
Quickly, I slash two more times, accompanied by another flash and push, but the third hit causes shards of energy to fly off. Before I can muse on that, the mech jumps in the air, and I'm forced to retreat, or be crushed.
That was a force field, one very similar to the psychic ones created with PK Shield. The technology's been around for a long time, but I never thought it would work for objects as large as this. Given my inability to use PK Shield, perhaps I should also using one of those. It could prove to be useful... I'll have to ask Dr Andonuts about that.
"Heh. I was worried it wouldn't be any fun playing with you. Good to see I'm wrong. But no one beats me at my games. Have a look at this trick!"
Before I can blink.... something happens and tables are sent flying at the walls, bouncing off them. I... I can't even describe what just happened. What... what did Master Porky just do?
Whatever it was, he does it again and suddenly all the tables explode. I reanalyse the footage carefully, but whatever it is, it happened so suddenly, so randomly, so inexplicably, that I can't ascertain what this is at all. Is this some sort of incredibly advanced technology... or something else entirely?
What did Master Porky do?
"What... was that?"
"Keep your eye on the ball, Pokey. Maybe you'll be able to appreciate this toy more." he laughs. "This one might keep you on your toes."
Two pipes on the front of the mech open up... are they going to shoot?
No, instead, there's a strange sucking and hissing noise... and it feels like the air's getting thicker.
Warning. Unidentified airborne substance. Proceed with caution.
What? Did it just release some sort of poisonous gas? Whatever it is, it's invisible. But I can feel myself getting... weaker? Whatever this is... I need a way of bypassing it. Let's see...
Redirecting auxiliary power...
That should boost the power of my mechanical parts to compensate, but that won't keep up forever. I need to stop that gas... if I use PK Love, I could probably blow the pipes off.
But before I can do that, the mech's front two legs raise up as the devices attached to each side of it glows a dull pink. I assume the force field has been reestablished, and that's also something I need to deal with.
If it can regenerate, then there may not be much point in constantly breaking it down. Still, if it's similar to how PK Shield works, it's likely going to have the same flaw — it'll block the first 3 attacks and nothing more, regardless of their individual strength.
The mech leans back slowly on its hind legs before pouncing towards me. But with how telegraphed that was, I have more than ample time to roll, change my other arm to a cannon in the middle of it and fire a trio of shots directly at the glass, which hit and nothing else happens?
That's... have I miscalculated? The shots not having any effect was expected — the capsule is made from reinforced materials, and those shots were weak, as I intended. But there was no flash of light as they connect, so there isn't a shield. Then what happened when those devices activated?
The only logical answer is that it has some sort of positive effect on the capsule. And it's highly likely it is a force field, but as I've just proven, it's clearly not a physical one.
Which means... it's could be a psychic one. Let's test this.
"PK Love Alpha."
The hexagons I've grown accustomed to fly to Master Porky, but the machine makes no attempt to avoid it and when they strike, that's when I see a flash off that same pink. A psychic shield.
But Master Porky starts to grin inside his capsule, as if I've just handed him the victory. "I appreciate the love, Pokey. More than anyone else ever gave me. You know, we're best friends, right? And best friends always share everything."
What's going on... it's starting to flash —
I'm sent sprawling across the floor, as I feel my mind being invaded with the same thoughts I struck with before. Getting up, I take a moment to evaluate them. Each thought was carefully stitched together, each one lasting no longer than necessary to create a perfectly constructed blast of energy.
But there's something missing. It's perfect, and yet it feels... artificial. But what? It's like a perfectly carved piece of wood. No rough edges at all, done to machine precision, replicated at a moment's notice.
So, that's what being hit by PK Love feels like. It's... disturbing. Was that emptiness added from Master Porky's reflection, or was it always there? If what I felt just now were the same thoughts I sent the attack with, then... did it also have that trace of emptiness sewn within?
Deviation detected. Course correction... complete.
Focus. A PSI Counter? I've only ever seen one of those from Fassad. The technology to produce those is very new, unlike with the shields. It's purely experimental right now — even the Colonels are limited to PSI Shields, despite being given top of the line equipment. It appears Master Porky had the prototypes installed in his machine.
The issue is, dealing with a psychic counter will be much harder than a shield. And this gas... that only makes things harder. While it's in place, I'm deprived of the full effectiveness of PK Love, but that's also my only way of breaking it. The solution is the problem. Catch 22.
I recall that during my time at Thunder Tower, I learned that such problems were often the biggest obstacle for the Pigmasks when it came to programming robots, because the ability to think outside the box was a high order level of thinking.
I wonder... was she also limited by this? An inability to think outside the given dimensions of a problem. She must have been, because she was only a robot and if I can't think of a solution... then perhaps she was right about me as well.
No. I am the Commander. I see a problem, and there is always a solution.
Being a prototype, the Counter devices are likely flawed. Indeed, the devices are accessories on the side, proving it hasn't yet been fully integrated into the machine yet.
Considering that PK Thunder ignores all manner of psychic defence, it seems like the best method of attack. Rather than setting off the remaining two counters, I should simply remove the source of them.
"PK Thunder Beta."
A pair of lightning bolts fly from both of my palms, each striking one device.. with no attempt from Master Porky to avoid it? He just let the lightning hit it.
Each device crackles loudly, though the actual capsule looks unharmed. For the smallest moment, I can see what looks like... fear in Master Porky's eyes. He wasn't expecting that...
His eyes straighten, as the arms furiously start bashing on the ground. Then... they reach to the sides and rip the Counter devices out, pink particles flying off. They're going to throw them, aren't they? Predictable.
The first one is easily ducked under and the second batted out of the air by my sword. That deals with the PSI Counters. Considering how tedious an effort that was, I really should ask Dr Andonuts for a more convenient way to break shields as well.
There's still the gas to take care off though and Master Porky, seemingly less than pleased with this turn of events, starts unleashing more of these inexplicable attacks. But without being able to tell what the origin of these attacks are, I can only reach to what happens. I need a swift end to this. Destroy the pipes.
As I originally planned, I raise my palm to use PK Love...
...
...
... but now, I... I can't. That artificiality... now that I've felt it, I... I can't. It... it doesn't feel right. What's... what's wrong with me?
What... what else could I use instead? Cannon. Yes, that.
I start charging a shot while sidestepping explosions — with this much energy, it feels as though my arm might fall off. Carefully, I approach the machine, avoiding the claws and when I'm close enough, I release the shot.
The shockwave from the explosion almost sends me back and when the light clears, both pipes are dented. Taking careful breaths, I can feel the air being lighter than before but for good measure, I pick up one of the broken Counter devices and throw it directly at the pipes, denting them even further.
I've done it. The counters and the gas, both dealt with.
Master Porky takes heavy breaths, wheezing a few times while speaking. "Well... didn't expect you to cheat like that. I... hate when people do that. How did you do that?"
Because I'm not a robot. I'm not limited by what people expect me to do. And... neither was she.
And I'm not going to be kept down by this. Those Needles are mine, and I'll pry all seven of them from the ground, for her and for you. And I won't let my inability to use an attack stand in the way of those goals.
"PK Love Beta!"
A set of hexagons burst from both of my palms like always, but... there's, there's something different from when I've used it before, different from its Alpha form. Different.
It's clearer, more defined and sharp, more coherent, and for a moment, I think I've done it. I've taken away that emptiness. This is what it's supposed to be, I can feel the increased power — this is the power it's supposed to have!
But as soon as the blast leaves my hands, I feel those thoughts disappear and for the first time... I feel it. The artificiality.
Even though this is what it's supposed to be... it's still there.
... it's still not perfect... why?
What's wrong... with me?
Prior deviation repeated. First failsafe online.
... with... with a resounding crash, the hexagons explode upon hitting the capsule, giving off a swirl of blue light, which enclosed in on it. The pipes break off completely and a claw tears off with a horrendous screeching noise. The explosion even sends a slew of tables on Master Porky's side flying, some of them even hitting the ceiling, and I even have to duck some which had enough force to bounce off a wall on his side and rebound to mine.
Perfection or not... the power is incredible. It makes the Alpha variant looks a mere firecracker in comparison.
When everything finally comes to a stop, Master Porky briefly looks around, surveying the damage. Then, he bursts into laughter, clapping his hands together in excitement.
"Look at this place! Look at all the destruction and mayhem! It's so much fun! Ah, Pokey, this is why we're best friends. No one else can make any of these games anywhere near this fun! You know what, it was so much fun, I'm gonna call this is a draw, even though I was gonna win."
A draw? Personally, I feel like my victory had a better chance then he seems to be making it out to be, but... I am tired and further combat seems like a bad idea right now.
"Very well then."
It's then I survey the surroundings and realise exactly how much we've destroyed the place.
"... we've done a lot of damage to this place. Should we clean it up?" I ask.
"Nah, some idiot will do it. It's their job." he says dismissively.
I suppose that's true, but at the same time, I can't help but feel pitiful for the person who'll have to do this. I remember cleaning things being her job as well, but I never did feel comfortable leaving it all to her. Still, even she objected to my efforts on the grounds of it being her job... if Master Porky is saying it, it must be fine.
"Come on, grab a seat. Well, if you can find one that isn't completely destroyed."
I'm able to find a chair that hasn't been damaged by the battle, and the two of us sit by a table that's still relatively intact.
"So, two games we played. I won one and we drew the other. That's a win for me!" he wheezes. "Ah, Pokey, I don't know how you do it. How you're always calm even when you lose these games. Gotta say, I'd never be so calm if I ever lost. Good thing I never do!"
"Well... it is just a game, isn't it? Win or loss, it matters little in the bigger picture."
For a second, I think I see disgust on his face, as if I've insulted him with what I've just said, but he shrugs a second later.
"Eh, I guess."
I think I must be seeing things. Well, I am tired. My vision might have deteriorated slightly.
"Anyway, you did pretty good yourself. I was worried that things were gonna be too —"
But suddenly, I get a call on my transceiver, interrupting him.
"Go ahead, take it."
I open it and hold it to my ear, hearing a Pigmask speak.
"Sir! Is... is this you?" they say, in clear panic.
"Yes. What is it?" I say calmly.
"Ah.... ah... sir! I have bad news."
Why is it always bad news? "Go ahead."
"The Needle... it, it's been pulled!"
What? How? How is that possible? Who... if I'm all the way here, then... who pulled the Needle?
"... explain. How do you know this?"
"There was a, an earthquake nearby, and then we saw this fire pillar blast into the sky! Is-isn't that what happened when you pull a Needle? That's what Fassad said."
That's exactly what happened. Although, how does Fassad know that's what happened when I pulled the Needle? He wasn't there... forget it, that's not important now.
"Yes... it is."
"That happened about half an hour ago! So, so that means... that means someone else pulled the Needle, right!"
That... that's true... but how?
"So you're telling me that someone else is pulling the Needles? How did they get past the door?"
"The monkey, we captured him but then he escaped! And he released a bunch of other chimeras as well."
"So... someone else found this monkey?"
"That's what we think."
"Why didn't you try to recapture it then?"
"We were focusing on trying to recapture all the other chimeras and something else happened. The monkeys set the Ultimate Chimera free!"
The Ultimate Chimera? I've heard stories of this thing... people who get near it get instantly devoured, ripped to shreds.
"Did you recapture it?"
"It... it broke free of the lab! And protocol is... if the Ultimate Chimera escapes, we don't try and recapture it."
"So what you're telling me is that in addition to some mysterious person coming in and getting this monkey, and pulling this Needle, there is an incredibly dangerous chimera released into the wild?"
"... maybe?"
...
"We're done here." I say, slamming the transceiver shut.
There's a moment of silence, as Master Porky snacks on some Pork Chips. "So, someone got the Needle then?" he says, remarkably casually at that.
"Yes... I'm very sorry, my Lord, I have no idea how this happened." I say, profuse with apologies.
"Don't sweat it."
"But... this is a huge setback!" I say, not understanding how he can be so calm. "With someone else pulling the Needles..."
I pause, realising I don't know how to finish that sentence. What would happen?
"What will happen when the Dragon wakes up? If multiple people pull the Needles... then whose heart is passed on the Dragon?"
"Good question. You see, it's a case of whoever pulled the most. Whoever pulled the most Needles will have their heart passed on."
So whoever pulls the majority then? With seven Needles total, that means I need to pull at least four. That's three more.
"I understand... I apologise for this oversight. If you're angry, I understand."
"Nah, I was hoping something like this would happen! Now this game has become more fun... it's a race. A race to see who pull the most Needles first." he says, rubbing his hands together. "Will it be you, the proud leader of my army or the filthy villagers? Exciting, isn't it?"
"The villagers? How do you know it's them?"
"Who else could it be? Who else out there would be against us?"
He's right. My mind immediately wanders to that boy, the one who looked exactly like me... but he's dead. Someone else then? I'm sure those four weren't the only ones against us... but anyone pulling the Needles has to know PK Love. Psychics are already rare, but ones that know PK Love... I didn't think anyone else like that even existed on this island.
"Eh, don't worry about it." he says, breaking my thoughts.
"Why did you call me here then?"
"To talk." he says with a wheeze. "I've put a big task on you. Pull the Needles, wake up that dragon, then remake the world. How are you finding it?"
"It is... a lot to have on my shoulders. I mustn't fail. And now someone else is trying to pull the Needles."
"Fail? Ha! You won't. One Needle already, you're on fire."
"Yes... still, I can't help but worry about what if I fail to pull enough Needles before them. And even if I do... what will happen when the Dragon wakes up?"
"Who knows? Hey, maybe the Dragon will destroy the world! Wouldn't that be fun?!" he says, laughing and wheezing all the while.
Well... that doesn't seem very funny. "It... wouldn't be the best outcome. We'd all be dead."
"Well, you guys will. With my Absolutely Safe Capsule, I'll be fine. Even when you're all screaming cause the world's going to pieces, I'll just watch you flail around like headless chickens! Isn't that just so funny?!"
I don't get the humour in it. That just sounds cruel and in a world with nothing, what's there to be gained?
But the way Master Porky speaks of such a world... he's more excited by the thought than anything. Is this the world he wants? The world he wants me to create when the Dark Dragon awakes?
No, it can't be. Such a world is far too cruel for Master Porky to live in. I mean... I'd be dead in that world. And... we're friends, aren't we? We're more than friends, I'm... I'm his double. I'm... I'm like him. And... surely he wouldn't just throw that all away... right?
"Hey. What's wrong?" he says, sounding... concerned?
"I... I suppose I'm just worried that the world that arises will not be one that you want."
"Really? I'm not worried one bit."
"How... how come?"
"Because, Pokey... I believe in you. I believe that whatever you do, you're gonna do the right thing. You know why? Because you are Pokey. My best friend, my double. And it doesn't matter if those villagers are trying to pull the Needles, or even if they already have one. Because you have one as well and you're gonna get more than them, and you're gonna make things right. I believe in you. You are Pokey. And don't ever forget it."
"You trust me that much?"
"Of course. You wanna know something? I don't trust anyone else. I don't trust any of those idiots on the streets, I don't trust that doctor, and I certainly don't trust Fassad. But you? I trust you. You are the only person in the world who I trust."
I... I never knew that he had this much faith in me.
"But why?" I ask. "I am... a random person you found at the foot of a mountain. A person who was once part of the enemy. And yet it is I you trust, and not those who have been with you since the beginning of your plans."
"That's exactly why I trust you. Cause you... you could have been like the rest of those villagers. But you're not." he says fiercely. "You changed. You proved your loyalty to me. If I said bark like a dog, what would you do?"
"Bark like a dog." I reply. It's not even a question. It's his will.
"If I say fight, will you fight?"
"Of course." The answer couldn't be more plain. I've been doing that already.
"If I point you to your family and tell you to cut 'em down, would you do it?"
(Never!)
"... without question."
Master Porky looks at me curiously. There was only a fraction of a second difference between how quickly I answered this question and the other two, but it's a difference he seems to have picked up on.
"Let me tell you a story." he says slowly. "One about me."
I nod, already focused.
"My parents were horrible people. They'd get along pretty well with the villagers. They always used to punish me for things my brother did. And I remember one day, I screamed at my father. I said I hated him."
"What... did he do?" I ask, already having some idea of what happened in my mind, but not wanting to express it.
"He slapped me across the face, left a mark for a week." he replies casually.
Predictable. A barbaric way of control for a barbaric person.
"But that's not the important part." he continues. "It's what he said — he said blood is thicker than water. So because he's my dad, I have to love him." he says with a mocking tone. "Biggest lie I ever heard in my life. He used me for his goals, so I used him for mine."
"You used him?"
"Like a pawn. It's only fair. That's the thing, Pokey — sometimes, you gotta use people in order to get ahead. Like I do with Fassad."
"In what way?"
"Fassad has his goals, I have mine. I don't really care about him, he doesn't care about me. But our goals happen to align with each other, so we use the other as much as we can."
"So that's why you can depend on Fassad, but not trust him."
"You got it." he says, making finger guns. "I can't lie — he's good at what he does, and I know he'd never do anything against me, cause then he'd be giving up what he wants. But we both know that if he could get what he wanted without my help, he'd be outta here. And that's why I trust you. You chose to fight for my goals on your own."
Master Porky takes a few moments to cough before continuing.
"When you think about it, everyone in this city is a liar. How many of the people in this city do you think really support me, or are just using me cause I give them good stuff?"
Likely a good number of them, and it brings up a similar question in me — how many of my troops follow me because of respect and loyalty to me? And how many simply do so out of obligation because I'm the Commander?
Ultimately, I suppose it matters little. What matters most is if they follow me — so long as they do that, whether it is out of respect or obligation is secondary. Still, I would like to think it is for the former.
"But you know what? I don't really care. Cause that's how the world works — I scratch your back, you scratch mine. You use people, and they use you. And all the sheep in the city are happy to live like that. But people like you and me? We're meant for greater things."
"Like this. We're changing the entire world."
"Yep! We're changing everything!"
A moment passes before I speak up, having realised something. "Your father... that's not the saying."
"Huh?"
"Blood is thicker than water... that's not how the saying goes. 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.'... that's how it goes."
He wheezes heavily, scratching a bald patch on his head. "You're gonna have to translate that for me."
"Ironically... it means the exact opposite of what you heard. The family you choose is stronger than the family you're born with."
"Ha! So the idiot was always wrong then? That explains it all. You know, Pokey... I like that saying, cause it's true. Our 'families' were rubbish. But cause of this empire, you were able to find a new one. And because of you, I was as well. And they're both much better than our old ones could ever hope to be!"
He finished his ships, crumpling them before continuing. "So I'm gonna ask you something I haven't done in a loooong time. I want you to promise me something."
"Anything."
"I want you to destroy them all. All of the sheep. I want you to destroy them so utterly that they'll never raise their stupid hands up against me again. Let 'em burn."
"... is that all? I'd already been planning to."
He throws his head back, laughing and clapping his hands madly. "Even better than I thought! And you know why, don't you?"
"Because they can't be helped. And what you can't help and use, you destroy."
"Ding ding ding! They've taken so much away from me, Pokey, almost as much as Ness. So we're done helping and now it's time for hunting, with you as my loyal hunting dog."
Inside his capsule, he raises his soda. "To a new future. Where the Pigmask Army rules over all!"
"To a new future. Where all the things we hate will be gone."
System nominal. First failsafe... offline.
Notes:
(This authorial note is brought to you by the Pigmask Army.)
This chapter of our great Commander's tales was written to show how close he is to our king. Some people (probably those villagers) will tell you lies like that we mind controlled the kid. Pfft! See how much King P trusts him? That's trust mind control can't buy!
Seriously, our Commander is so great, he never makes any mistakes! Well, he may have dropped his transceiver, but come on! We all know that was just a plot convenien — I mean, part of a master plan to give those villagers a fighting chance! He's such a good guy, he even gives people a chance, even when he knows they'll lose.
So if you're one of those villagers, you're on the losing side. But you can be on the winning side — move to New Pork City and join the Pigmask Army today!
We've even got a new way of exchanging goods — money. With DP, you don't have to trade stuff to get what you need! 5 DP gets you an orange, 10 DP gets you pasta and for 1000 DP, you can even pay this fanfiction writer's kidnapping ransom — I mean, what ransom? We totally don't kidnap people. We're the good guys!
So what are you waiting for?! Move and join today! And stay tuned, readers, for the next exciting chapter in the Commander's Chronicles.
Next time, our awesome, glorious and epic Commander climbs up Snowcap Mountain and pulls the third Needle.
Chapter 27: Snowcap Mountain
Summary:
Blizzards, missing Pigmasks, Frost Devils, and the Masked Man's inability to climb a mountain.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Two days. Two days we've been on this accursed mountain. Two days of my life I'm not getting back.
Our situation is... troublesome. Six members of my unit are currently not here, having gone out on reconnaissance five hours ago. They were supposed to be back here after one. There was a blizzard not too long ago, so that's probably delayed their return... but by this much? Very troublesome.
Inwardly, I can't help but curse the situation that led us to this point.
The third Needle was located on the very top of Snowcap Mountain, spotted by a Porkship that happened to be flying over it. Naturally, this was an excellent discovery for us, particularly after the loss of the second Needle, presumably to the villagers.
The obvious thing to do would have therefore been for me to take the Mother Porkship, land directly on the top of the mountain and just pull the Needle... but like before, that's not an option.
It occurs to me that this is the same mountain I went to so long ago on my vacation, but it seems to have gotten more dangerous since. This mountain is hailed with blizzards on a daily basis, which makes traversing it only difficult.
But as for landing safely on top of it? The only thing less likely than that is Fassad being nice to someone.
Which means once again, I'm forced to do things the hard way, which entails climbing this mountain. The terrain is difficult to traverse and the wildlife here is dangerous, but that's not why we've spent two days climbing it — that would be because of the blizzards.
They're frequent, unpredictable and obscure vision to the point of making travelling while they're going on nothing but an excellent way to get hopelessly lost. But right now, there's little for me to do except pace around inside.
Suddenly, I hear a tapping on my tent. I draw my sword before carefully opening it. It's the Colonel.
"The recon team's just come back." she says simply. "I just sent them to their tent."
"Good. But something's happened, hasn't it?"
"It's easier if you just take a look for yourself." she sighs.
"Very well. In any case, I need to hear their information."
Inside are seven Pigmasks — five shivering in the centre and two attending to them. It's obvious the five shivering are the recon team, particularly with the scrapes and bruises they have. They're in no shape for continued travel.
I realise then exactly what the Colonel was alluding to. Five of them have returned... but six went.
All the Pigmasks attempt a salute, but before they can start, I interrupt them.
"No need. I'm very sorry to intrude after you've been in the cold this long, but I need some answers. Which way do we go?"
"S-south east, Commander. That's the only path w-w-we found that wasn't a d-dead end. It's sure to lead to th-the top of the m-mountain."
"South east? Good work. I assume the blizzards kept you out for so long?"
There's a collective nod amongst them all. As I thought. And now... the hard question.
"One of you is missing. What happened?" I ask as delicately as I can.
They all give a collective wince, and it's certainly not from the cold. I... wasn't delicate enough.
"Blizzard... bad one as well. We got separated and couldn't find him. Don't even know where he is now."
Separated by a blizzard... we'll never find him. On this mountain, he's good as dead.
"Commander, please... we've gotta go back and look for him."
"I can't allow that. You could have all froze to death if you were stuck out there for a few more hours and we have no idea where he is. I refuse to let anyone else get lost on this mountain."
"What if he can make his way back here? We have to stay at least!"
"We can't do that either. They will be more blizzards, and we can't afford to stay here much longer. It may sound cold, but... we have no choice but to leave him."
"But that means he'll —"
"Yes. There's nothing we can do. Let's not have his sacrifice be in vain."
All of them look down despondently. The truth may be painful, but it needs to be heard.
"Colonel, with me. I want some strategies." I say as I leave. Outside, I notice her fidgeting slightly before she speaks.
"Sir... do you think there's any chance he might make it back here if we stay?"
Why is she asking that? Surely she should understand the improbability of his survival?
"Highly unlikely. I consider it a near miracle that these five did make back after five hours of blizzards. If he's not dead yet, he will be soon."
"Yeah... you're right." she says despondently.
... ah. She knew that. She didn't want an answer. She wanted support. I'm... I'm really not good at this, am I?
"Let's... let's talk strategy. What's our status in terms of supplies?"
"Not good at all. You were right when you said we couldn't afford to spend much more time up here. We need to get off this mountain, and we've come too far to come back."
"I understand the sentiment, Colonel, but this isn't a suicide mission. We're not here to glorify anything. If we must retreat, then —"
"No, sir, I mean that literally. We're too far up the mountain — to come back down, we'd need more supplies than we have."
"In that case... we'll have to get a rescue from the top."
"There's no way the Mother Porkship is landing on this mountain. If it could, we wouldn't be here."
"What about the regular ones in it?"
She places a hand on her helmet and paces for a few seconds, deep in thought.
"... risky. At best, it's risky. And by best, I mean clear skies and no blizzards at all. At worst, it really would be a suicide mission. There's a reason we had to can that as Plan A."
"But now we must rely on it for plan B. We have a chance now — the blizzards have cleared up, we know our direction and we can't be too far from the Needle."
"You mean you're suggesting we make a mad dash up the mountain then?"
"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. We can't stall this out much longer. Either we slowly, but surely freeze to death or we go out in a blaze of glory with a... somewhat reasonable chance of success."
"Who's the one glorifying things now? Alright, I get the point."
"We have the benefit that everyone apart from the recon team hasn't done anything strenuous today, so they'll have plenty of energy. Admittedly, I'm not sure what we could do about the recon team themselves."
"What if we use the tent a shelter, and carry them all in it?"
"Take some of the other tent poles, stick them in that tent and use them to carry it?"
"That's what I was thinking."
"Good idea. Get everyone to pack their tents and we'll set this plan in motion."
As she relays the orders to the rest of the Pigmasks, I take my own tent down. It shouldn't be particularly hard to, but the cold makes everything here more difficult. Once all the Pigmasks have assembled, it's time to move.
"We've spent two days climbing this mountain. And thanks to the return of the recon team, we know now our course. The top of the mountain is not much further. Now, I want all of you to put in the utmost effort, because I intend to reach the top of this mountain today, or die trying." A lot of the Pigmasks look at each other, clearly unnerved.
"We cannot stay on this mountain much longer, but if we are quick, we may be able to get to the top in conditions that allow retrieval from th Porkships." I continue. "Captains in the front, Majors in the back, and those carrying the recon team in the middle. Onward."
As the squad of Pigmasks and myself march up the mountain, I imagine the set up would look rather strange to an onlooker, but there's a logic to it.
The Captains, being the least experienced get the front line to gain it, supported by the Colonel and myself. The Majors are at the back, being more skilled and thus being able to better handle any sneak attacks. As for the recon team, they and the supporting Pigmasks are in the centre, where they're the best guarded. A basic, but effective pincer formation.
The mountain trail is impeded with many snowboarding yetis and frozen dogs, as it has been lower down, but after two days of dealing with them and the sheer number of us, they are easily dispatched with. That being said, the occasional shots of PK Freeze the dogs get off start wearing us down.
But I'm pushed to keep going, because I know the Needle is up here. I can feel it, stronger and stronger. I can't give up now.
So like we have before, we push through exhaustion and climb higher and higher. And eventually, we're rewarded for it.
"Is that... a house?" says the Colonel, as we focus in on the peak, passing... a hot spring? At this height?
And it is indeed a house... but it's the oddest looking house I've ever seen. The building looks like a pink shell, which seems to sparkle with the snow. There's even a lake surrounding it, forming a moat... again, how does the water stay thawed at these temperatures? It's bizarre architecture... but incredibly fortunate for us.
"It is..." I mutter.
"Who would live on top of this mountain anyway?"
Who would... all the Needles are guarded by a Magypsy. If there is indeed a Needle here, then surely one would live nearby? Yes, that makes sense, especially since I can sense a Needle very close by.
"A Magypsy. Each guards a Needle."
"Then we've gotta be right at it then! Finally, we can get off this mountain!"
She sounds rather cheerful and the rest of the Pigmasks also cheer upon hearing that, but I foresee a problem.
"If the Magypsy is inside this house and is the only way forward, then we may have an issue — they may not allow us to pull their Needle."
"Then we'll take them on... except they're immortal or something, aren't they?"
"Unless we pull the Needle... we need a strategy."
"What if we take them by surprise? We can hold them off for a bit, while you go and pull the Needle."
"You would be able to hold them off for a few minutes? These Magypsies are reportedly very powerful, and I highly doubt they'll show any restraint when their lives are at stake."
"We should be able to manage that. Besides, what are these for?" she says, holding up her PSI Shield device. Yes, that'll be rather useful. Actually, it reminds me — I had Dr Andonuts install a Shield device in me before this mission, as well as something to destroy other ones. I haven't had a chance to use either yet, but it definitely provides a tactical advantage.
"Very well. Let's approach carefully for now."
Quietly, we march our way to the house, careful to not attract any attention, with exception to those carrying the recon team who remain at a distance. We surround the building, making sure to stay away from any of the windows.
The air is still, not even a light breeze blowing. Not a single sound. All the Pigmasks have their eyes on me, as they draw their guns.
With my hand raised, I give the count... 1... 2... 3.
Immediately, I burst through the door, hearing the rest of the Pigmasks charging behind and... what? It's... empty? There's no one here.
It's a small house, with one floor. There's only a few furnishings — a bed, a chair and a table with a vase. What's more striking is how yellow everything is — curtains, walls, even the floor. I wonder what the occupant's favourite colour is.
For a few seconds, we all point our guns in every direction, looking for anything.
"Check under the bed. And search around the house." I say, as a bunch of Pigmasks immediately get to that.
"Nothing underneath, Commander." says one of them. "Doesn't look like there's anywhere else anyone could hide in here."
They're right about that... there is nowhere else.
"So... if no one's here, should we start focusing on getting off?" says the Colonel. "I'll call the Mother Porkship."
I voice no objection, for I have none. But something still isn't right.
As the Colonel talks on her transceiver, I hear her side of the conversation.
"We've pretty much reached the top of the mountain but we don't have enough resources to get back down. We need a rescue. Yes, I know it's risky, but it's either that or freeze to death. Huh? Okay, good. Stay there."
"Well?"
"They think they can do it, but they want me to give you a message — you're crazy." she finishes, chuckling along with some others.
"But it can be done?"
"Probably. They've dropped altitude to within visual of the Needle. There is one problem though — instruments have detected another blizzard's on its way. And it's gonna be a bad one. If it hits, there's no chance of a rescue for at least another eight hours."
8 hours? And by then, night will have fallen so we'll be stuck here until morning. That's far too long.
"How long do we have?"
"One hour, maximum. Realistically though, conditions are only going to remain optimal as they are for another half hour. It's not gonna —"
"Commander!" I turn, seeing a Pigmask burst through the door, out of breath. "We surrounded the place and there's no one. But, we've found a passage further up the mountain behind the house!"
A passage? I look behind me and there's a door. That must lead to the passage behind... which I'm guessing leads to the Needle.
"Well... this was very anticlimactic." sighs the Colonel. "But at least we don't have to deal a Magypsy now."
It appears that way. Now assured there's no danger, the Pigmasks start sitting on the floor, taking in the warmth... it feels beyond invigorating to have actual shelter after being in the cold for so long. Still, something isn't right.
"Get the recon team in here." I say to the rest of the Pigmasks. "They need the warmth most out of everyone. Colonel, you and I are going to investigate this passage behind and pull that Needle."
"Let's go then."
"Everyone else, prepare for immediate departure."
The door at the other end of the house simply leads outside, so the two of us exiting. As we head along, the passage narrows, becoming essentially a straight corridor leading up the mountain.
"Getting any closer, sir?"
"Increasingly so. The Needle can't be much further."
"I wonder... do you think it's possible the Magypsy saw us coming and ran back here to guard the Needle?"
"We were careful approaching the house and we have it surrounded. It seems unlikely they saw us."
"Yeah, but you can sense PSI, right? If they're supposed to be these really powerful psychics, maybe they sensed you when we were coming up here."
She's right... maybe they did sense me. All that stealth was for nothing if that's the case.
"You may be right about that. Either the Magypsy left their home to guard their Needle, or..."
But I stop mid sentence, because the Needle finally comes into sight at the cliff top, shining brightly... along with something else.
In front of the Needle is a light blue and white devil like figure, slowly floating ominously around. It has two horns prominent on its head, and very sharp claws... I can feel an aura of menace radiating off of it, as it twirls something in its hand... a scythe, seemingly one made of ice.
"What — OH PORK!"
The Colonel jumps back and I almost fall at my feet, as the devil figure turns and looks at us directly, red eyes gleaming.
Taking a few breaths, the Colonel regains her composure.
"What is that? It... it... that doesn't look natural at all. It looks like some sort of mythical creature! Is... is that a Magypsy?!"
"No... it isn't. I've seen what they look like. They're much more humanoid."
"Okay, good to know." she says, breathing heavily. "Then here's the million DP question — what the hell is this?"
But I've got no idea either. This thing... it's unnerving just to look at it. It's like it's staring into my soul.
And... it's just floating there. It's not even doing anything. Somehow, that makes it all the more creepy.
"It's not attacking us... surprisingly, it doesn't seem hostile."
"You know, that should be a good thing, but the fact that everything else on this mountain has attacked us on sight and this thing isn't just makes me more scared of it."
Yes... it's more than just a basic animal. Slowly, I draw my sword and creep towards it.
"Be careful, sir."
As I approach, the figure stops moving around, staring directly at me. I won't be deterred.
But when I get close to it, it draws its scythe and bashes it as the ground, eying me intensely. I see...
"It's guarding the Needle. Whatever it is, it must have been created by the Magypsy as a guardian. Clever." I say, backing off. As I do, it seems to relax and returns to floating around the Needle. "It only seems to be aggressive to anyone trying to pull it."
"Let's take it out then. We'll get a few others and get rid of it."
"There's a problem with that idea."
"Which is...?" she asks, as a cold wind blows across her.
"That." I say. "The blizzard is coming soon and it appears like it'll be a long one. We've got less than an hour to get everyone off. If we don't, we could be stranded here for much longer."
"We need the Porkships to come in now then. But what about the Needle?"
"I'll take care of this thing and pull it. Everyone else needs to get off, including you."
"And you, sir? We can stay up there for some time above the blizzard, but once it starts, we're not going to able to send anything down to rescue you. How do you plan on getting off if you can't get rid of this thing quickly enough?"
"I have a way of getting off." I say, unfolding my wings. "Risky, but if it comes to that, it should work."
"Lot of ifs there. But I guess there's not much else we can do. So, how do we do this?"
"Let's return to the others and I'll explain."
Backing away from the devil figure completely, the two of us run back down the passage to the Magypsy's house in less than a minute, where all the Pigmasks are waiting. It's a tight fit having so many people in one space. They all salute upon seeing us, making it clear we have their attention.
"Listen carefully. This plan will require precision, speed and complete fluidity in its execution. The Needle has a guardian."
There's a few gaps of shock amongst the Pigmasks, so I take a moment to let them stop.
"Now, the original idea was that we simply destroy it all together. But I'm not willing to do that." And now some confusion. "The blizzard is coming soon, and I want you all off this mountain. This is the best chance we have to get off before we're stuck here for much longer. We'll have two Porkships come down and retrieve everyone. I will stay behind and dispose off this guardian, then pull the Needle."
"But, Commander! What about you? We won't leave you behind!"
"And you won't have to. I have my own way of getting to the ship. However, the landing site will be near this guardian and I suspect it will be displeased with our intrusion. For that reason, it is necessary we move very quickly and quietly once the Porkships land. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Let's move. Recon team takes priority leaving. Colonel, make the call."
Soon enough, we reach the Needle once more, the devil figure staring us down. All the Pigmasks, beside the Colonel and myself, shudder, wince or take a step back upon seeing it. Even faced with this many potential adversaries, it shows no sign of fear at all.
I wonder... does it care? No... its purpose is to guard the Needle. It doesn't care much for its own life. For it, the primary objective is the Needle. All else is... secondary to that. Including the preservation of its own life.
I suppose in that respect, it's similar to me... is it? If I had to throw away my life for my mission... would I do it? To complete a mission of Master Porky's by dying would be the greatest sacrifice I could make, but it isn't a sacrifice I'd want to make if I could avoid it.
Above me, I can hear a whirring, as two Porkships slowly make their decent down. The rest of the Pigmasks up, but more disturbingly, so does the devil figure. It just stares at them, menacingly.
As they land on each side of the Needle, the tension has reached its peak. Slowly, the doors of them upon up.
"Half in each. Go." I say quietly.
Quickly, but with as few exaggerated movements as possible, the Pigmasks all file into each Porkship. The left one fills first and immediately shuts, rising into the sky.
Suddenly, the devil figure lets out a low growl of sorts, eyeing the rising vessel intently... it's suspicious. It detects danger.
But instead, it turns its gaze on me. Good. Focus on me. I'm your threat.
The second one fills shortly after, taking off in similar fashion to the first. Everyone else is sa —
"SKREE!"
My focus turns back to the devil figure, who lets out an screech, tensing its arms. With a pointed look, it raises its free claw to the Porkship that just rose, as it starts to shine blue.
I won't let you.
As quickly as I can, I flourish my sword and strike it with a bolt of lightning, knocking it down into the snow. It bursts back up, perching itself on top of the Needle like a bird and growls once more.
I've taken its attention off of the Porkship... but now, it's focused on me. Exactly what I wanted. Now everyone is safe, so I can destroy this thing without needing to worry about anyone else. A customary analysis to begin with, and then I'll dispose of this devil thing with utmost haste.
I focus my eye on it, trying to retrieve data... what's going on?
Error. Entry for target not available. No information found.
Nothing? There's no information? But then, it becomes obvious. If this thing was created by the Magypsy who owns this Needle, then it's one of a kind. The Pigmasks never would have encountered anything like this before and unlike something along the lines of the Drill Sergeant or Mr Genator, the Pigmasks don't own it, so they never would have made an entry either.
No matter. The information would have been useful, but I can make my own judgements without it. This is nothing more than a minor setback.
The devil figure rises off the Needle, pointing its scythe at me. A challenge.
I swing my sword directly at it in acceptance, but it blocks it with the scythe, remaining completely intact. What is that made of? Not ice, or it would have shattered instantly.
I swing a few more times, but it blocks each attempt, giving off a manic laugh. The figure is certainly skilled... and it's also occurring to me I haven't a name to call it, apart from 'devil figure.' I think that might be the piece of information I'm missing the most from not being able to scan it. If only it had its name written on it or something..
Regardless, despite how manic it seems, it's remarkably guarded.
I take a step back, planning my next move. I may as well turn the tide in my favour slightly while I can.
"Defence Down Alpha."
Blue particles encircle it, plunging downward. But it only gives another laugh... like it's taunting me. As if it's mocking me for thinking that would help.
It raises both of its claws and swipes at the air, blue shapes focusing in on it. A shield.
But after my encounter with Master Porky, I've realised very well the kind of obstacles these shields impose. Dr Andonuts called this a Shield Killer... let's see if it lives up to the name.
I activate it with a press of a button on my helmet and immediately, I can hear this high pitched frequency ringing through the air. It's a mildly annoying sound, but it seems much more painful for the creature, who starts clutching its ears and screeching.
The sound of broken glass cuts through the noise as blue shapes shatter and fly off... it appears to have worked. The devil figure seems to have recognised that as well though, for it screeches in anger at me for nullifying its trick.
Once again, it perches upon the Needle, giving a grin of sorts that shows all of its teeth. Now what... it's raising its scy —
Immediately, I dodge to my right as it throws the scythe straight at my left arm, hitting the snow with a thud. Well, that was very smart. It's just thrown away its only weapon.
Carefully, I pick it up. Even if it's not made of ice, the scythe certainly feels like it, cold and smooth to the touch.
A screech turns my attention back to the devil figure though, who starts hopping up and down on the Needle like a child. What is this creature?
The scythe's — AH!
I chuck the scythe far away from me as it starts to glow, but — damn it... my leg!
It exploded into ice shards, and now one of them's embedded in my... leg...
The only thing more painful than something coming in... is something coming out. Gritting my teeth...
"ARGH!"
... I pull the shard out quickly with one hand and with the other, I use Lifeup to stop the blood. It's... incredibly painful, but at least Lifeup dulls it slightly.
The figure starts laughing maniacally once more, amused. That's just getting annoying now.
It looks at me, grinning. Now what is it planning? It's fast and certainly devious... whatever it has in mind can't be good.
Jumping off the Needle, it dives into the snow. It wraps its claws around it with a gust of wind starting to blow heavily around it, and soon it's whipped up a miniature whirlwind of snow and ice.
A chunk of ice is suddenly hurled from within at me, which I quickly block, but it's got lots more where that came from. It's like a dust devil, except made of frost and snow... a frost devil? Do those exist? Well, given its appearance, I suppose I have a name now.
The Frost Devil continues hurling more chunks of ice, but I can simply block them all. Still, this whirlwind it's made is going to be cumbersome unless I force it to stop. While still dodging, I focus on the centre of the tornado.
"PK Thunder Gamma!"
Three lightning bolts all crash down directly into the eye of the storm, each accompanied by a screech. Once the third hits, the gust dispels, a heap of snowing landing beside it as the Frost Devil becomes visible again.
Screeching madly, it flicks its hand and an ice scythe materialises instantly... interesting. It can create those at will then.
It rushes at me with its scythe, but unlike before, it's not nearly as guarded and I can easily see a clear opening. With one clean slice, my sword weaves easily between scythe and body and cuts off one of its horns. Reeling from pain, the opportunity to finish is clear.
One decisive thrust, and my sword is in its torso. Done.
But... it doesn't even react? The Frost Devil looks at me directly, but doesn't seem to react at all to the pain of a sword going through its chest... something's wrong.
Before I can make any guesses, I'm sent hurtling back into a cliff face by a powerful blast of ice... PK Freeze. It can use PSI... I suppose if it was made by the Magypsies, they would have bestowed it with that ability.
More importantly, why isn't it dead? Or close to it, or... I look down at my sword and there's no blood on it either. Did I even stab it? In fact... it doesn't even look I inflicted any sort of wound on the Frost Devil. The horn I sliced off... it's grown back! How did that happen?
There's clearly something magical in this creature's very nature, which all but confirms an origin from the Magypsies. How exactly do I go about neutralising it if physical wounds don't do anything? Perhaps... psychic ones might have better luck.
The Frost Devil flies back, summoning another ice scythe. As expected, it hurls the object straight at me. This time, I know better than try and use them against it. With my arm cannon, I shoot it out of the sky.
It retaliates by creating more scythes and throwing them rapidly, getting increasingly faster, but I can keep up. In fact, I'm lucky on some occasions to shoot the scythes almost immediately after it's thrown them, causing some of the ensuing ice shards to hit the Frost Devil itself.
Finally, it stops, seemingly taking a moment to recoup — an opening. Since I'm just gathering information, I'll restrict it to Alpha for now.
I focus on my troops, the ones who've been by my side through this all. I owe much to then all, and I can only hope that I've assured their safety.
But as my mind starts to fill with thoughts of them... I can feel something else. A pull on my memories, ones of children... my age. People of my age.
When I think about it... everyone I interact with is older than me. Master Porky, for how he may act... he's much older than me. Even she... her life was cut down before her third birthday.
I've... never really known anyone my age. And while I've always thought I didn't need to... what if I'm missing out on something? Because to be with people of your own age, who're at the same stage you are in life... it feels comforting.
"PK Love Alpha."
The relatively weak, but still overall potent hexagons come flying, each of then colliding straight into the Frost Devil. When I can closely observe it, I notice a few wounds on it... which start to disappear!
My first thought is Lifeup, but it's made no movements to indicate this. The healing seemed to be automatic, an natural regenerative ability. I assume the magical nature of this creature is responsible for this... so, how do I deal with it?
Matter and energy... the two are inextricably linked. It uses energy to regenerate matter — the same principle PSI Lifeup adheres to. But there has to be a limit — nothing can have infinite energy... well, I suppose that's not entirely true. After all, I've helped make something that does.
But I doubt the Magypsies could also do that... no, it's improbable at best. The Frost Devil's existence is dependent on energy... if it doesn't have any, it can't regenerate its form. I'll drain it of every ounce of energy it has, and finish it.
Standing back, I unfold my wings and fly, staying far from it. Firing numerous bursts from my arm cannon, I blast it repeatedly. Of course, being completely uncharged, they're little more than a nuisance to it, especially with the regeneration it possesses.
But being an annoyance is exactly what I'm counting on. It growls and screeches, flailing its claws wildly to deflect the shots. Easily enraged, and now it desires retribution.
However, despite its ability to float, it doesn't seem capable of actual flight, leaving me decisively out of its range. Unless, of course, it chooses to use its PSI.
It does exactly that, raising one claw up as a giant sphere of fire goes hurtling through the air. It's easily avoided, but... was that PK Fire? A creature of ice being able to use that? But then again, I suppose it's fitting for its temperamental nature.
It follows that up with a shot of PK Freeze, and then Fire again, and with those failing, it starts thrusting its claws upwards in alternating motions, launching alternating blasts of Fire and Freeze.
With such predictable patterns though and its inability to lead its shots, avoiding them all is as easy as breathing. Nevertheless, that's all the better for me — being a user of PSI myself, I can attest to how draining it is. It's no different for the Frost Devil either, because after a minute of this game, it stops. Its body starts to heave up and down, as if it were panting.
Clearly, it's starting to drain itself of its energy. If I can just goad it into using more of its PSI, the victory will be assured. No more regeneration and the killing blow will be mine.
Suddenly, it straightens back up, looking at me and laughing. Has... has it realised what I was doing? It brings its claws to the side and another gust of wind starts to howl around it. The bitter winds whip around it, even stronger than before... they're... they're pulling me in! I... I have to land!
Immediately, I dive below, grounding myself as soon as possible. On land, I'm not pulled in to the same extent as I was while airborne, but the winds still continue to pull... an anchor. My sword. I thrust it down into the ground and hold the hilt tight, stabilising myself... ah. It realised that while in the air, I wouldn't be able to resist its winds as much as I could on the ground. So it used that to force me down, taking away my advantage over it.
It's truly a strange creature. Instinctual, single minded... and yet at times, it displays remarkable intellect. Even for how impish it acts, it still has a measure of self discipline, enough to know what it needs to guard.
But these winds need to stop. It's harder to focus this time because of the stronger winds, but like before, I focus all my attention on the eye...
"PK Thunder Gamma!" I shout, barely hearing my own voice amongst the howls.
A trio of lightning bolts strike down into the centre ag — what?
At the last second, the Frost Devil breaks its 'frost devil', hurling the snow outward and zipping away to the side, dodging all the bolts. As I'm buried under it, I hack away with my sword to resurface as it gives another cackle. It's learned from that as well.
Raising both its claws, an orb of fire appears in both. I tense, ready to move when it throws them, but it doesn't... instead, it starts creating another whirlwind. I suspect it plans to use the cover of the snow to hide its throw.
I'm right, as it suddenly throws one orb out of its cover. I avoid the blast itself, but the ensuing explosion knocks me back. And now for the second... it starts cackling and — PORK!
Instead of throwing it, the tornado bursts into flames, blasting the arena with steam and light! What do I — it's moving, it's MOVING!
Quickly, I start running away from it... from frost devils to fire devils! I have to keep moving, I can't let that thing catch me — why is my transceiver ringing?!
I take it, put it on speakerphone and shove it back in my pocket, continuing to run.
"Not a good time!" I shout.
"Sorry, sir, but your time's running out! The blizzard will be here soon!" I hear the Colonel shout on the other end.
"That matters very little right now. If I can't stop this thing, I'm not going to have much time either way!"
"What's going on?"
"A fire tornado."
"A wha... magnify the visuals from the cameras on the keel!" I hear her shout to someone else. "Holy crap! Is that a fire tornado?!"
"Yes, I said that. Your timing is good — I need support, and now."
"Aerial support isn't an option — we'd blast you as well, even with just the turrets."
"Then give me something else." I say, racking my brain.
What else do we have up there... wait. When we left, Master Porky said I should take a chimera just in case, since we knew the villagers were after the Needles now.
I had no intention of using it, since we were climbing a mountain, so I didn't put much thought into my choice... but I still got the Steel Mechorilla from Dr Andonuts. It was powerful enough to bring down the Chimera Laboratory when it needed renovations, so in terms of brute force, it definitely has it.
Besides, it was either that or the Bucket Brothers and to call them ineffectual would be the understatement of an century. The point is... it should still be on the Mother Porkship.
"Deploy the Steel Mechorilla." I say.
"... how? It's all the way up here, it's too heavy to put in a Porkship and even if it could, we don't have time!"
"I don't care what you have to do, this devil needs to be destroyed and I'll bury it in snow if that's what it takes."
Hold on... bury it in snow? That... could work. Quickly, I glance at the cliffs surrounding us, seeing plenty of snow on them. A large enough impact could easily dislodge all of it and it would all come crashing down here... I know how to do it.
"Drop it." I say.
"... what?"
"The Steel Mechorilla is located with the Porkships, directly on the underside, is it not? Drop it."
"But—"
"Don't ask questions. I know what I'm doing. Drop it where the Needle is and take a good look."
There's a simple sigh from the other end. "You really are crazy, sir..."
The transmission cuts, as I focus my ears very carefully on any noises above. I know what I'm doing, yes, but that doesn't mean this can't go horribly wrong.
I unfold my wings, not taking off yet — I won't be able to stay airborne long enough. Still dodging the rampaging fire tornado, I listen carefully...
And then I hear it. Amongst the sounds of bitter winds, of crackling flames, of the devil's maniacal cackling... a roar. The roar of a gorilla, mutated by metal and machinery, getting louder and louder as it falls...
And as soon as I hear it? I launch. I launch and don't look back, firing my thrusters as hard as I can. Then... the impact.
When the Steel Mechorilla hits the ground, the sound of the impact is the most horrific thing I've ever heard. The entire mountain seems to lurch, as if it all felt the impact. The noise echoes for miles, and for the slightest moment, I think I've broken it in two.
Only when I'm higher than the cliffs around me do I look back, just in time to see heaps upon heaps of snow all simultaneously dislodge... it seems to fall in slow motion down into the grotto holding the Needle, where the Frost Devil spins its fiery storm, unaware of its impending doom...
The crash of the avalanche is almost as bad as the Steel Mechorilla's landing, accompanied with an ear bitting screech from the Frost Devil, as it's buried under crushing weights of the snow it calls home... it almost inspires a pang of sympathy from my heart.
Then... nothing. For a minute, there's nothing. Just a soft wind, nothing like the harsh ones it uses as a weapon. There's a rumbling of snow, as the Steel Mechorilla unearths itself. I feel a little sorry for subjecting it to that as well, but I knew with its mechanical parts, surviving that would be little issue.
Which just leaves the Frost Devil itself. I slowly lower myself, hovering just slightly above the snow beneath, which has buried even the Needle. Is it... dead? No... I can still sense it beneath... it's waiting for an ambush. Time for the finishing touch.
I hold both palms out, focusing once more on the power these very Needles give me. The thoughts of the people I owe much to — Dr Andonuts, for saving me, and the Fierce Pork Trooper, for honing my strengths... the thoughts of them both fill my mind.
Yet once again, as that happens... I feel a pull once more, of memories being dislodged like snow... the man.
Sheep, carefully looked after... children, carefully entrusted, apples... with secrets within. And jobs always done, people always saved.
I... I looked up to you. Because you were my hero.
Clutching my head, I look down at the snow, where the Needle would be... what's happening? Is... is the Needle responsible for this?
A roar from the Steel Mechorilla immediately shifts my attention, as I hear another rumbling from underneath. Quickly, I leap back just as most of the snow bursts in flames and the Frost Devil screeches, rising from the ashes. Now.
"PK Love Beta!"
I thrust both palms down, pelting the Frost Devil with exploding hexagons that pin it down to the ground, as it writhes on the floor.
Beside it, the Steel Mechorilla backs up and charges towards the creature, one metal arm raised. It swings, and just before it connects, I break the attack, the metal sphere that makes up its hands slamming the Frost Devil straight into the cliffs.
The chimera rushes straight towards it, bashing it over and over again. It crumples after the first strike, but the Steel Mechorilla just keeps going.
I could call it off... but no. Best to make sure it really is completely drained. There's something... cathartic about it. The Steel Mechorilla continues to pound it for a minute straight, and only when I start to think it a little excessive do I decide to intervene.
"Stop!" I shout.
Mid swing, it pauses, looking at me and then becoming completely docile. The Frost Devil's lays in a heap in the snow — a non-bloody one at that, despite the severe damage it just took. Indeed, while the wounds seem to stick, it still seems to be breathing... even that hasn't killed it. I suppose I'll put it out of its misery.
I impale it against the ground with my sword, causing it to lurch it as the blade goes straight through it... and it's still breathing? Even though I've forced it into a state where it simply can't regenerate, it still clings on to life. Clearly, it must be tied to something...
It matters not. Either way, I'm adequately pleased with the status of its neutralisation. As it is, it's very unlikely to disturb my pulling of the Needle, which is enough. The enemy has been defeated.
With careful pacing, I march towards the Needle, still covered with a little snow. Once again, I feel that familiar pounding of my heart, the same I feel every time I feel every time I use PK Love.
Standing behind, I take a deep breath... then grab it.
AH!
I'm... I'm more prepared this time, but the rush still takes me by surprise. Like before... I can see memories, and... I can feel everything I felt the first time.
I expect to see the same memories I saw before... but they're not. They're different... different things. Different memories.
I can see a plethora of dishes spanning over months — pizzas, noodles, pasta, salads, cotton candy, trout yogurt... and steak. I remember making each and every one of these... it took effort and time, sometimes multiple tries. But I mastered each and every one...
I remember fighting through a desert, travelling across a highway and climbing through a tower, all with a sense of looming dread... because I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't want to say goodbye to... I didn't want to.
And I remember sitting on the balcony of a tower, staring at the stars and celebrating a birthday... where I... I learned...
I... I remember all of those things... and who I did them all with.
Her eyes, her face, her voice... people would have said it was all robotic. At first, I would have said so as well. But... they became the most calming thing about her. Yes, she had the shell of a robot... but inside, to call her that would be a gross injustice.
I wouldn't be the person I am today, were it not for her. There were so many things she taught me... not just how to cook, but who I was. All the time I was with her, I was learning something new. I remember all those things... and...
And I remember your words, and your snark, and your hugs, and I miss them! I miss you! I miss you...
And now I want nothing more than to avenge you.
It hurt... when I saw you, when I saw you... it was like the whole world had gone cold. Then all I could think about was 'who? Who do I blame?'
Fassad and the villagers. All I could see was wanting to bring their bodies to the same state I found yours in. I've... I've never felt anything like it.
No... that's not right. Because it has happened before. I know it's happened before. It's calling me. It's happened before... and it hurt just as badly.
I can see omelets, made in pairs, one with a little cheese, the other with pepper. I can taste them, fluffy as clouds... they're so much better than anything I could ever make. It's completely new... but I know I've tasted it before.
There's a... a woman standing over them all, smiling as she serves plates and I... I don't understand it.
I don't remember you. But...
Deviation detected. Course correction...
I want to know more. I want to know... who you are.
... failure? ERROR.
I can feel this woman's love, a love radiating to everyone. Everyone knew her... knew her well. She brought light... and then it was snuffed out. It was all submerged under smoke, suffocating my breath, burning my vision...
This woman... died. She died that night. A fang... in her heart. This women, and that man... they were partners. Husband and wife. Parents...
And then I wanted nothing more than to avenge you.
I wanted nothing more than to breathe curses onto that beast, to rip apart that Drago's life piece by piece myself, to take a rusty hunting knife and stick it straight through its heart.
But most of all... I never wanted to feel that pain again. I wanted to become strong... so I could never be hurt that way again. I wanted to become so strong... so strong...
That even Dragos wouldn't stand a chance against me. So that anything that tried to make me feel that again... it'd be cut down without a second thought. Nothing would hurt me in that way again.
But... it did happen again. I failed. I felt that... that pain again. When Thunder Tower collapsed, when she...
When I saw your bleeding body, I see your broken circuits, I saw your torn red dress, I see a cindered maid's, I saw your life end before me, I held your bodies in my hands! That fang... that memory chip! It's all the same!
I... I...
I... I know what I want. I want what I wanted before, what I wanted in that past life.
The world where Master Porky reigns, and that pain... never exists. I won't let anything ever hurt me. Because with this power? It will never happen again.
And suddenly, it all comes rushing back in reverse, the power surging through body and mind, all focused into a single point, as a voice calls out through the fog... kind, wise and inspiring... but most of all, a voice of love.
A woman's voice... the woman's voice.
'Now. Pull the Needle.'
My eyes snap open as the pillar of light encircles the Needle like before. With my hands tingling, I know what I have to do. I pull it straight out of the ground.
Like before, the Needle disintegrates in my hands... but... what was all that? It happened when I pulled the first Needle as well... but it was even more intense this time.
The ground immediately starts to shake, bringing my attention back. I move away from the empty spot, just as the fire pillar bursts out of the ground. It startles me just as much as it did the first time...
As I'm still contemplating... everything that happened, I hear something thud on the ground... was that my sword? Then I hear a screech from behind... the Frost Devil! Anticipating the worst, I turn around... but it's not preparing to fight again. It's... it's disappearing!
Like the Needle I just pulled, the Frost Devil's form starts flickering as it slowly starts to fade away... its energy came from the Needle. And without it...
It pathetically raises one claw in the air, as its torso starts fading away into nothing, weakly giving out one last sound.
"Nee..dle."
And then, it's gone. Not even a trace of it left behind.
The chilling silence following makes me almost miss the Frost Devil's screeches and noises. Nothing happens, not even from the Steel Mechorilla, who remains perfectly stationary.
I look down at my hands... these Needles and everything else... why is it all so confusing? I just... I just want things to make sense. No... it doesn't matter. It doesn't need to make sense. Four more of them, and it's over. The pain, the battle — everything... it'll be done.
I pick up my sword from the ground, putting it right back where it belongs — at my side. Nothing will hurt me again. There won't be any more questions to ask. And Master Porky will have his place as uncontested ruler of this island, where he'll bring the age of prosperity that we've all fought for. Everything's going to... huh?
I raise my head carefully, focusing on the surroundings. I hadn't notified it before, because I was preoccupied, but... I can sense a psychic power nearby. It's powerful — really powerful... and it's disappearing. The Magypsy... like the Frost Devil, it's fading away without the Needle.
But that's not all... I can also sense two other psychic signatures, both weaker... and both strange. The first one feels familiar, as if it's one I've sensed before... but I can't tell when or where. It's a signature representing pure offence.
But the other? The other all but baffles me... because it feels like mine. It's like an exact copy with only a few subtle differences in it. And it's even more strange — it feels more powerful than the other one, but contradictory to my expectations, it's a signature of defence. What's going on... wait, they're getting stronger. They must be approaching here.
Not even a minute later, I can hear the quick crunching of snow behind me... I detected two psychic signatures, but it appears there's three individuals approaching.
Finally, they come to a stop behind. A bark. A gasp.
"The Needle! Hey!"
That voice...
Drawing my sword, I turn around, facing whoever just came. I don't know what I was expecting. But it most certainly wasn't the people standing before me.
The dog. The girl. The boy. All of them.
All three of them standing before me, perfectly fine. Only years of training and mental discipline stop me from being anything but perfectly still.
... how? How did they survive? They fell from hundreds of miles up in the sky. I saw it. I caused it! And here they are, standing on this mountain, completely unharmed.
So... they're the villagers who pulled the second Needle. And I know — not think, know, that it was the boy who pulled it. It has to be him.
The girl has her fists raised and the dog gives a growl, both clearly ready to fight. But the boy... doesn't. He looks impassive, almost timid... and yet there's no questioning who's the leader of their group.
He takes a step forward as the Steel Mechorilla roars... I... I can feel something.
(Lucas!)
Lucas... your name is Lucas. Lucas...
What?! What just... happened? How did that... how do I know that?! But... I know it's true. I know it is. Your name... is Lucas.
I stare directly into his face and the slightest bit of shock seems to stain it... if only for a moment. Does he recognise me? The way he stares... it's almost like he's asking the same question himself.
Deviation detected. Course correction... complete.
... irrelevant. They're alive somehow, but that only means I need to make sure they die this time. They were responsible for Thunder Tower and her... I'll destroy them here and now.
No... the blizzard is coming, and it would a waste of time. The Dark Dragon will destroy them with impunity. Better to distract them, waste their time... they've come all this way up for nothing and they'll have to climb all the way back down for nothing. Of course, if this ends in the termination of their lives, I'll consider that a bonus.
I unfold my wings, hovering slightly above the ground and point my sword towards the three. The Steel Mechorilla gives a roar, the meaning of my motion clear to it.
Get them.
As it lumbers towards them, I fly upwards to the Mother Porkship, having no need to stay... but I pause in the sky, turning back to take one final look.
I can see the dog, sniffing around to try and detect a weakness. The girl, who takes a swing straight for the Steel Mechorilla's side, before launching a blast of PK Fire.
And the boy? His hands shine with a familiar energy, before he launches it with full force.
PK Love.
And as I see that attack fly, so familiar and different... I can feel it again. That feeling I felt before, a surging of energy. That warmth in my heart.
Something awoke inside Pokey!
Pokey realised the power of PK Love Gamma!
Notes:
Oh God... my body is aching. Whoever paid my ransom, thank you very much. How much was I worth? Hm? 1000 DP? That's 1000 more than I was expecting!
Anyway, for those of you ready to skip the usual ramblings (and they are a bit long this time), I ask that you wait for a second, for something not related to this fic you might be interested in: https://discord.gg/RdJaGkjS4D
That is a link to a Discord server called Topolla Theatre, a Mother Series fanfiction server started by legendary Nesscas writer RainyTazmily. If you like Mother fanfiction (which, I'm guessing you do if you're reading this), then feel free to join.
Whether you're a writer or not, it's welcome to everyone. There's a bunch of other great fanfiction writers, including other legendary Nesscas writer ReddyForTeddy and singing_to_empty_caves, probably the best Mother 1 and Ninten/Lloyd writer I've met.
... oh, and there's also me — I forgot that part. So join if you'd like!
As for this chapter, it was really fun to write. A long one as well.
Of course, the most notable part of this chapter would be the Frost Devil itself, and there's actually a bit of a story behind it. When I was planning chapters for this fic, I had an idea for an enemy — a devil like creature that lived in the desert, which used the wind to create dust devils, thus making it... a literal dust devil.
Unfortunately, by the time I came up with this ingenious idea, I'd already written Chapter 13 of this fic, which would have been the only opportunity to include this creature.
But then this chapter came around and by changing dust to frost, and tweaking a few other things — Frost Devil. Admittedly, the pun doesn't really work now (incidentally, snow devils do exist and I was originally going to call it that — but I thought it didn't sound as cool as frost devil).
I took a lot of inspiration from the Barrier Trio, in that it serves as a guardian for the Needle and also in that it's defeated by exhaustion — much like they are. Apart from that, the idea of a wild and deranged Needle guardian that uses a mixture of cunning and brute force really intrigued me, to contrast the intelligent and stoic Barrier Trio.
Enough about that though. That'll be it for original bosses in this fic — I'd like to get in a third somewhere, but there really isn't a good place to put one. Which leaves me with an impressive roster of... two. Well, I hope someone enjoyed them — I enjoyed writing these boss fights at least.
And yes, the Needle scene was my favourite part of this chapter. Emotional Masked Man is not something I can do very often, but when I can, rest assured that I will milk the Pork out of it.
Next time, Claus heads from cold to hot, going down to Saturn Valley for the fourth Needle.
Chapter 28: bOInG? zOOm!
Summary:
Saturns, volcanoes, Interpreters, and the Masked Man's inability to control Fassad.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Final checks before departure."
The Colonel raises a hand, counting items off. "Fuel, yes. Ammo, yes. Equipment, yes. Crew..." She pauses for a moment. "Everyone's accounted for and on the ship."
"You're forgetting someone."
"Nope, I don't think I am, sir. That's everything!" She hastily straightens herself, eager to set out. "We best set off before anything happens."
"Colonel. We're not getting out of this."
"But do we have to bring him?"
"Yes."
"No, I mean, do we really need to bring him? We already had to take all the Frightbots cause he ordered it and he didn't even say why!"
"It was the king's orders. I don't like them either, but we have no choice."
"Fine..." she groans.
"Get everyone ready. I shall retrieve him."
I walk off to the elevator, heading to the laboratory floor of the Empire Porky Building. I understand her frustration though, because I'd rather not do this either.
Shortly after returning from our hypothermic adventure up Snowcap Mountain, we were informed of the location of the next Needle, in another place I went during my brief holiday long ago — Saturn Valley. It should thankfully be a much easier trek, though we have a complicating factor.
Master Porky has requested we again take extra assistance, but this time in the form of someone none of us wanted — Fassad. Since the events that happened at the Chimera Lab, Dr Andonuts has been relocated to the Empire Porky Building, and that's where Fassad will be right now.
I hear he's under close watch from Master Porky, understandably since the events happened under his watch.
The laboratory floor has always been rather secretive and apart from my time here where I assisted the construction of Mr Genator and... her, I haven't been up here much at all. But the difference is striking — rather than Pigmasks walking the halls, robots do instead.
Soon, I find the good doctor, who looks as if he's had years shaven off his life. The shadows under his eyes clearly demarcate a lack of sleep.
My eyes shift to something else though — a fluid filled glass chamber in which Fassad is being contained, with wires and sensors attached to him. It reminds me of when I first awakened.
It occurs to me that is the first time I've seen him since his modifications. Dr Andonuts did a very good job with him — he looks almost completely normal. That is, apart from the two horns protruding from each nostril of his, and the jet pack attached to his back, most likely to compensate for his inability to speak and walk now.
"Doctor." I call out.
"Ah. Hello." He awkwardly pauses. "You're here for him?" he says, turning to face Fassad.
"Indeed. Is he ready?"
"Yes, he's perfectly fine. Give it a minute to drain. You'll need to take this with you." he says, pointing to a robot that sits on a table next to him. The robot is small, perhaps a third of my size, and is seemingly feminine in appearance, given the colouring around its mouth to imitate lipstick.
It occurs to me that other robots made by the Pigmask Army have a similar application of lipstick to imply femininity... except for her. I wonder why.
"That is the interpreter, isn't it? How does it work?"
"The horns Fassad speaks through will make noises the robot can interpret. It's been... fairly accurate."
There's an pause in the conversation, as neither of us says a word before I think of something.
"Your chimera... it was of great assistance." I add. It really was.
"Was it?"
"Yes. Had it not been there, we may not have secured the third Needle."
"I'm... glad to hear that. You are heading to Saturn Valley, aren't you?"
I pause for a moment. I can see what looks like... pain in his eyes. The Saturns... he's worked very closely with them. That extends partially to me as well, during the project of the Absolutely Safe Capsule. But he's worked with them even more so than I have.
He deeply sighs. "I'm aware of what you have to do to get these Needles. And I can't stop you from doing anything... I certainly wouldn't be able to stop him." he finishes, glancing again at Fassad. "But... could you promise me something? If you can... just leave them be."
Leave them be? The Saturns could be dangerous. Their technological prowess vastly surpasses ours. But are they the kind to use it in the same ways we do? They are strange, but ultimately, they're kindhearted creatures.
But I can see it in the doctor's eyes. It's a plea, a request made with no expectation that it'll be answered. It's a cry from someone with no hope, only desperation... and I don't see the point in harming them.
"So long as circumstances allow it... I shall do my best to ensure the least harm befalls them. And... for what little it may be, I shall do my best to ensure Fassad doesn't either."
His eyes light up, partly in relief, partly in shock. He wasn't expecting a positive answer.
"I... I wish I could offer more than that." I continue. "But... that is all I can assure you."
"That's more than I was expecting. Thank you. Ah. It appears he's done."
I turn my attention to the tube Fassad's in, which has drained of all its fluid. The wires detach as the walls slowly lower. His head slowly raises upwards, before his eyes snap open and stare at me, making me flinch.
His jetpack switches on, as he floats to the centre. A beeping sound briefly takes my attention away, as the Interpeter's antenna flashes. She activates, hovering to join Fassad's side.
"GOOD MORNING. I AM FASSAD'S INTERPRETER. LET THE SESSION BEGIN."
But Fassad doesn't say anything, instead just hovering there as he looks at both of us. Then... his horns start blasting, playing a discordant melody vaguely sounding like a trumpet. The Interpreter speaks up, translating them.
"'Nwehehehehe!' IS WHAT FASSAD SAYS. FOLLOWING THIS, HE CONTINUES WITH, 'How do you find my glorious new self, Commander?'"
The first part sounds right, the second... does not. And Fassad immediately starts blasting his horns loudly at the Interpreter, evidently attempting to correct her.
"WHAT? HM? AH. HE MEANS 'Chimera.' MY APOLOGIES."
More accurate.
"HE THEN GOES ON TO SAY, 'Your valiant efforts to pull the Needles have proven your usefulness. Which is, as useful as a child. Which is to say, absolutely and utterly useless in a very amusing way. Once again, you find yourself needing my help, but luckily for you, I am a kind sir, and so shall grant the assistance you crave for.' HE FINISHES."
... I'm not sure if this is more or less annoying than how Fassad talks normally.
"A pleasure to see you as well. If you're done, we have a Needle to pull."
"'Very well. I must repay the suffering dealt by those other kind sirs with a fiendishly concocted nastiness. A nastiness of most troubling and foul proportions." IS WHAT FASSAD SAYS."
"Then let's go. Thank you for your time, Doctor."
The pair of us must make for a rather odd group. Thankfully, Fassad doesn't seem to speak at all, which is a surprise to me. Before, he would have filled such an occasion with incessant mockery, but I suppose it's become far harder for him to convey things due to the necessity of the Interpreter.
It occurs to me he has his PSI, but even that requires effort, and Fassad's never been one for that.
When we finally board the ship, I can see the Colonel's head drop over slightly in resignation and the rest of the Pigmasks glance among themselves. I imagine the Colonel already explained the situation, but I decide to explain myself.
"You may be wondering why Fassad has joined us. His Highness requested that he use some of his valuable time to aid us, so that we may be able to pull the Needles quicker."
The Pigmasks all nod, the hidden meaning of my statement being clear to them — Fassad's been foisted on us, so we're going to have to deal with him.
In response, he blares out a discordant sound from his horns, which the Interpreter... interprets.
"AH. HE SAYS, 'Thank you for your kind introduction, chimera. Listen verily! The fourth Needle will be obtained by us. We shall thusly dispose of anyone in our pathway in a destructive, yet ultimately painful manner. Nwehehehehe!' HE ENTHUSIASTICALLY ADDS. 'Commence ignition of engines. Levitate the vessel!'"
The Pigmasks briefly all look at me, but before I can even nod, Fassad blasts at a furious rhythm.
"HM? I DON'T... OH. HE VICIOUSLY STATES, 'No, you plebeians! Do not look at him! My commands are equal as valid as that good sir's is!'"
The Pigmasks all scramble to their positions, preparing for take off, while I simply take a seat. That's one thing he's right about — his commands are as equally valid as mine. This could get troublesome.
The flight to Saturn Valley is a simple two hour affair. Located on the very east of the island, it's one area that the Pigmasks haven't touched with their machinery yet.
"This... is the weirdest place I've ever seen." says the Colonel.
A very accurate statement, and it's a sentiment the rest of the Pigmasks seem to share, given their discussions. Again, I have been here before, but to see it again only reminds me of the absurdity of the place.
A lush green valley sits below, with spaceship like houses dotting the land. Further north, there's a volcano, the entrance of which stands on top a cliff.
"What do we know about that volcano?" I ask the Colonel.
"Should be dormant. You'd need an earthquake or something to set it off. So, where's the Needle then, good sir?"
"Don't say that again." I mutter. "I can't say. The valley's far too large. We need some information to narrow it down."
Some blaring immediately takes our attention to Fassad, who evidently heard that last part.
"FASSAD SUGGESTS, 'Good sir and madam, it seems clear to me that our only course of action is to go down there and extract the information ourselves.'"
Extract... that fills me with unease.
"Hey, wait a second!" she retorts. "You're supposed to be psychic too! Make yourself useful and sense that thing."
"HE ANGRILY PROCLAIMS, 'I am your superior! You will ordain me with the respect I am owed!'"
Ah. None at all then. Of course, I keep that to myself.
"IN ADDITION, HE STATES, 'Those Saturns will have valuable data on the precise area of the Needle. I shall obtain it myself, with carefully designed methods of pain and misery.'"
"And how do you plan to do that?" I carefully say.
The horns obscure his mouth, but I imagine he's smiling.
"WITH GREAT GLEE, FASSAD PROCLAIMS, 'I plan to horrify them with the most gruelling and terrifying stories imaginable. The Frightbots shall infest those creatures with gloriously wicked stories of badness that they shall never want to remove themselves from their sleeping crevices in the night! Nwehehehehehe!' HE SAYS."
The Colonel and I both exchange a look at one another. That's his plan? That's... that's very much in line with him, but that's not how you torture someone.
"And if that doesn't work?" the Colonel carefully asks.
"FASSAD MAKES SOUNDS OF MUSING, BEFORE STATING THE FOLLOWING: 'Nwehehehehe! I shall verily set out to find the nearest point of comparable height to...' HM?"
The Interpreter stops for a second. "BLUNDER TOWER? AH. THUNDER TOWER. 'I shall verily set out to find the nearest point of comparable height to Thunder Tower, then watch them suffer gravitational misery, with the severe flailing of limbs.'"
"No." I flatly respond.
"HE QUERIES, 'Let us hear your bold objection, chimera. Why not?'"
Because Dr Andonuts asked me to keep you in check, and this does not constitute as sufficient reason to hurt them in my eyes. I can't say that however. What would sound logical, yet adequately distanced?
"They have a use for the Pigmask Army. Not only that, it seems rather foolish to provoke a species capable of creating time machines, spaceships and... other advanced devices."
I was about to mention the Absolutely Safe Capsule, but that was a top secret project. While Fassad would likely know about it, none of the Pigmasks would.
"'Perhaps you're right.' HE SAYS, BUT IN A TONE THAT SUGGESTS CONSIDERABLE SUSPICION."
Fassad angrily glares at the Interpreter — it seems a little too good at interpreting his words. He's suspicious of me then...
"'Have it your way. But my time is far too valuable to be used. Good servants of this noble army! I order you all to depart to the surface henceforth with the Frightbots! Scare their minds straight and bring me the location of the Needle!' FASSAD SAYS THIS WITH MUCH EMPHASIS, AN ILLUSTRIOUS COMMAND."
This time, none of the Pigmasks hesitate and all of them scramble to attention.
"If you find any useful information, or if anything happens, call the ship with the Transceivers." I add.
A good majority of them rush down to the lower decks, clearly eager to get far away from Fassad as possible. I feel somewhat sympathetic to those who have to stay on the bridge.
Still, Fassad's own laziness might be the best part of this all. Him staying here on the Porkship puts the Saturns out of his grasp.
I turn away, ready to sit back down... but I feel a shiver run down my spine, as an uncomfortable feeling of my mind being invaded passes.
"Don't think I was fooled for a second there, chimera. You almost had me fooled — Nwehehehehe! I've seen monkeys tell better lies! I'll let you have this one, because I'm feeling generous. But don't think I don't know what you're up to. I know everything."
It's hard for me not to completely shiver on the spot right there. I'd almost become accustomed to the style of speech the Interpreter uses for Fassad... hearing how he actually speaks seems all the more unsettling now.
When I turn to face him, he's completely impassive.
The next few hours are thankfully uneventful. We get some calls from Pigmasks down below, stating that they've captured sets of Saturns and are using the Frightbots, but it doesn't seem to be proving of much use. The Saturns themselves don't seem to have any idea where the Needle is either.
But then, we get a rather interesting one.
"Incoming transmission."
"Transceiver call?" the Colonel asks.
"Yeah. We're gonna put it on speaker."
"Sir — I mean sirs, ma'am." We hear a Pigmask say. "We, er... we got a kinda weird situation here."
"What is it?" I ask.
"Yeah, so, you know that tramp we thought had the Egg? The one you tossed off the ship?"
"Yes. He's the only one of those four we haven't seen yet. I assumed he died."
"Well, you might wanna change that thought, cause he's right here."
What? Everyone turns to the front speaker, and even Fassad seems a little surprised.
"Explain."
"Found him in one of the houses, along with some Saturns. You wouldn't guess he fell at all looking at him... or by how he fought."
"You're all fine, aren't you?" asks the Colonel.
"Yeah, we're... mostly good. We knocked him out, tied him up and got a Frightbot up."
"The Saturns took him in? And nursed him back to health? Pretty nice of them..." she muses. It appears Dr Andonuts was right about them being kindhearted.
Somehow, the man surviving doesn't come as much of a shock, perhaps because I've seen the boy, girl and dog survive it as well. But still, it only reminds me of the absurdity. They fell from the sky and all survived, with no lasting injuries whatsoever.
Upon deeper thought, I realise that such events surprisingly common. Fassad survived a similar fall, and being buried under a tower. Master Porky survived a vicious assault from Ness and his cronies. And I survived being mauled by a Drago and throw off a cliff.
But the difference is, all three of us still have the marks of those events. These four all survived with none at all. What are these people made of?
"Does he have the Egg of Light on him?"
"Er... you know, we haven't searched him! We'll do that!"
Fassad interjects his usual manner. "'Desist! That Egg is no longer our concern. We do not require it, by order of the king himself.'"
The king? Somehow, I can't help but suspect Fassad's lying about that, but I don't want to risk challenging it in case he's right.
"Very well. Ignore the Egg." I say. "Our priority is the Needle. When he wakes up, let us know. He might have some valuable information on its location. Keep a very close eye on him."
My attention is drawn to Fassad once more, thanks to his horns.
"'A shame really, that he survived. I should have very much liked to hear the news of his death, as a recompense for the agony he was responsible for. And in addition, I would have preferred to hear the demise of the other three, rather than hearing that they pulled the Needle at the lab.'"
"Hold on!" the Colonel shouts. "You knew they pulled that Needle?"
"IN A JOYFUL MANNER, FASSAD LAUGHS. 'Nwehehehehe! Indeed!'"
"And you didn't think it would have been a good idea to tell us? That would have been nice to know before we climbed a freezing mountain and the Commander saw them alive like they were damn zombies!"
'"And deprive you of the delightful surprise of seeing it yourself? And by delightful, I mean to say, absolutely infuriating. For when I heard this news myself, a great well of angry hatred burst forth in me. Nwehehehehe! I couldn't take away the annoyance and irritation you'd feel when you witness it for yourself!'"
"So, you withheld that valuable piece of information, leading to an unexpected outcome." I say.
"FASSAD RETORTS WITH MUCH VENOM, 'So? You got the Needle. You have some use, chimera. Everything went fine.'"
"Not at all. I had the opportunity to set the Steel Mechorilla on them, but it wasn't built for battle, so they may still be alive. Had I known they were alive in the first place, I would have prepared to destroy them on the mountain."
"Whose side are you on anyway?!" says the Colonel frustratedly to him.
"I ask that you kindly repeat yourself. Not because I didn't hear your words, but because they were so terribly insignificant that I chose to ignore them.'"
"Yeah? Maybe you should start listening, cause that fall busted your mouth, not your ears."
I look at her in brief surprise. She's gotten much bolder. It's impressive in a way, but I can tell this situation is escalating dangerously.
"'Perhaps you might value one more chance to repeat that, kind madam?" HE USES MADAM IN AN ANGRY AND MOCKING MANNER, MEANING TO IMPLY THROUGH SARCASM THAT YOU ARE NEITHER KIND, OR A MADAM."
That Interpreter's not helping either. The Colonel immediately draws her laser gun, pointing it straight at Fassad's face.
"How's this for words — no one on this ship likes you and if you fell off another tower and died, you know what we'd do? We'd all have drinks and spit on your grave!"
A row of four lasers on Fassad's jetpack open up, pointing straight back at her. It appears he did get those installed after all.
Fassad smugly crosses his arms, which the Interpreter copies. But for once, he doesn't speak with horns — his voice invades all our minds.
"Nwehehehehe! I've survived the most humiliating and excruciating circumstances! You're as insignificant as a monkey! Nwehehehehehe! Not even that — at least monkeys have their uses!"
If I could see the Colonel's eyes, I imagine I would see nothing less than an unbridled desire to kill him right there. And if I was able to believe she could have done so, I don't think I would have stopped her.
This was a terrible idea.
But before either of them can make a move to attack the other, I make one of my own by flourishing my sword, sending lightning at both of them.
Both of them are startled, being knocked
to the side, but they are unharmed — it wasn't my intention to hurt either of them... well, it wasn't my intention to hurt the Colonel at least.
They stare at me — the Colonel in shock, Fassad in anger. Before either of them can say a word, I face the Colonel.
"You are his inferior. You cannot speak back to him like that." I say, greatly deflating her as she puts her gun away. But before Fassad can get too smug about what just happened, I direct my next words to him.
"And you are her superior. Start acting like it."
Predictably, Fassad doesn't take that nearly as well, furiously blasting notes from his horns.
"'Good sir, you have no right to volley such such words at me!' FASSAD SHOUTS, IN A TONE OF GREAT ANGER. 'You are my inferior. You cannot speak back to me like that.' HE STATES THIS WITH SMUGNESS. I BELIEVE IT IS TO EMPHASISE THE IRONY OF HIM RETURNING YOUR PRIOR WORDS."
I never would have guessed.
"I apologise — I must have forgotten, because both of our roles are so nebulously defined with respect to one another that neither are superior to the other."
This is why this was such a terrible idea. The chain of command is everything in an army, and if one link breaks, the entire thing falls apart.
"'Look upon my visage, chimera, and tell me if you think that I care for even a morsel of your words. No matter, I have full command over your — no, my subordinate's fate.' Fassad turns to the Colonel, honking at her. 'For your showing of insolence, insubordination and insults, I take your title and demote you to just a lowly Pigmask! Nwehehehehe!'"
The entire ship gasps as the Colonel nearly crumbles on the spot, holding both hands to her stomach. "Wait — but, but you can't do that! I've been a colonel for over 3 years!" she stutters.
"'Nwehehehehe! Hehehehe!' FASSAD SAYS THIS IN A VERY JOYFUL AND NWEHEHEHEFUL MANNER, BASKING IN THE MISERY EXHIBITED. 'I think you'll find I am very much able to. Now, you are currently violating the sacred rules of my army by wearing a uniform of a colonel, a rank you no longer possess. But, as I am such a kind sir, I shall overlook this transgression and give you the chance to change your appearance in a timely manner. Remove yourself from the bridge.'"
Everyone looks in shock, wanting to make an objection, but no one can. The Colonel dejectedly slinks away, her life's work taken in an instant.
Fassad... had every right to demote her. That was insubordination. And it is stated in the rules.
But... all the way down to a Pigmask? For just speaking out against him? No, it wasn't just speaking out — it was calling him out. Because he was wrong.
The way Fassad treats her and all the other Pigmasks is clearly an injustice. And speaking out against an injustice is the right thing to do, isn't it? She was just punished for doing the right thing. Perhaps the way she went about it could have been better but... no, it couldn't have.
Because this is Fassad. There isn't a right way to speak out against him — there's only a wrong way and a worse way. Because to speak out against Fassad is wrong in of itself in his eyes.
I glare at Fassad, and after a while he notices, spurting a few notes.
"'Do you have a problem with my decision, chimera?' IS WHAT FASSAD SAYS."
Many. Many problems. It is my duty as Commander to correct the injustices done in this army. And Fassad is the biggest injustice of all.
"I have no objections at all. You have every right to demote her. Just one small thing though." Everyone turns to face me now, waiting with baited breath, including the Colonel.
I walk over to her, pointing my sword at her. "As Commander of the Pigmask Army, I formally reinstate your status as a Pigmask Colonel, effective immediately."
Everyone starts cheering and clapping — perhaps a little too much to be professional, but I don't need to stop them... because Fassad does so himself.
The agonising noises immediately silence everyone, as Fassad plays string of notes — not even his usual discordant melody. It's just completely random notes strung together with no pattern or musical coherence.
The Interpreter breaks this, by saying, "I WILL NOT TRANSLATE THE CURRENT SOUNDS FASSAD IS MAKING, DUE TO THEM CONSISTING PRIMARILY OF UNINTELLIGIBLE NOISES."
Fassad glares at her, giving a shorter, but more coherent stream of notes.
"HM? 'How dare you undermine my authority?!' FASSAD SHOUTS."
All those noises translated to just one sentence? But then, the Interpreter clarifies. "I HAVE OMITTED ALL THE PROFANE LANGUAGE IN FASSAD'S LAST WORDS, DUE TO THAT BEING PART OF MY PROGRAMMING. HOWEVER, THE REMOVAL OF THOSE WORDS MAKES MANY OF THE SENTENCES INCOMPREHENSIBLE, THUS I HAVE OMITTED THEM ENTIRELY."
Ah.
"Undermine?" I reply. "You have every right to demote her down to the bottom, but I have every right to promote her back to the top as well."
"'So, that's the game you want to indulge in? You're re-demoted!' IS WHAT FASSAD RETORTS."
"And you're promoted again." I reply, facing the Colonel. "We can do this all day — but neither of us is going to get anywhere. And now, we're left in this predicament, where none of us can decide or agree on anything to do." I finish.
There's a moment of silence, with no one saying a word, not even Fassad.
Until it's broken by another call. Thank Pork.
"Put it on speaker." I say.
There's heavy breathing on the other side, and I can hear some background conversation about... medical attention?
"Commander... ma'am..." Out of the corner of my eye, I see a fleeting moment of irritation in Fassad's eyes at not being acknowledged. "They came... the villagers came."
What... how... I... how does this keep happening? Every single time we do anything, they're always there!
"And allow me to hazard a guess — it was the boy who looks like me, a dog and a pink haired girl." I irritably say.
"Er... maybe?" they nervously reply.
"What happened?" I sigh.
"They took us out, one by one. But... we're all still alive? And they freed the Saturns. Even though they destroyed all the Frightbots as well."
They... they didn't kill any of the Pigmasks? And they freed the Saturns from captivity? That's... that is a good thing to do, isn't it?
And I was expecting the Pigmasks to be much worse off, but all of them alive? They spared them all... why would they do that? We are their enemies. And they're barbarians.
This... is new information.
"Where did they go?" I finally reply.
"They saved their friend, and I think they went up to the volcano? No idea why..."
"Unless... the Needle is there?" the Colonel says very quietly. It seems her rapid demotions and promotions have startled her.
"Seems likely. Very well. Get back to the Mother Porkship immediately. We need to plan our next course of action." I say, hanging up.
There's some muttering among the Pigmasks, but that's overshadowed by a low squealing of Fassad's horns, before he bursts out with a ferocious melody.
"AH. HM, YES. I UNDERSTAND. 'How I intensely despise those good villagers. Especially him.' PU... I'M SORRY, PUKAS? NO. "Lucas! Like a thorn in my side, he strikes again! How I wish I could take him and destroy him! Rip his blonde hair out." HE SAYS THIS WITH INTENSE EMOTION. I BELIEVE IT IS OF THE ANGER RELATED VARIETY."
... Lucas?
Lucas? That boy's name... is Lucas? That... I was right? But... but how?! How did I know that?! I thought it was just some hallucination, but this, this... this proves that was right. I was right. Then... how did I know his name?
And how does Fassad know him? This... Lucas?
Wait... long ago, when Master Porky showed me that video, of a boy on a Drago, who flung Fassad into the horizon and humiliated him. And now I know who that boy was. That boy was this Lucas. That's why Fassad hates him so much.
I remember for the longest time thinking that was a cruel event, and thinking the villagers were inhumane for such an action.
But now, I must reconsider for one reason. Because the person that action was done against, was Fassad. And so I must wonder — given how badly Fassad treats members on his own side, how badly does he treat those on the opposite side?
And given that, what is the probability that Fassad actually did something that genuinely did deserve that form of retaliation? I can't say... but I'm willing to say it's more than nothing.
And... they did also save the Saturns. For... misguided reasons, but from their perspective, they did do what would have been right.
"Now what?" I mutter.
Fassad blurts out a few notes. "'Now what?' FASSAD SAYS MOCKINGLY. 'I shall tell you what. It is quite obvious that these people are heading for the Needle. And now, because of the incompetence of you imbeciles, I shall have to embark and destroy them myself! And those Saturns whilst I have the chance!' HE DECLARES THIS WITH BOTH EAGERNESS AND FRUSTRATION IN HIS VOICE."
"Why the Saturns?" I ask.
Fassad stares at me intensely, before clenching a fist and laughing — oh, Pork, that's disorientating.
His laugher invades my mind, unnerving because of how subdued it is...
"Nwehehehe. You know what's funny, chimera? I don't care at all about the Saturns. But the way you act has me curious. You don't think I don't know why you're doing this? It's pitiful how far you're willing to go for that quack of a doctor.
Do you know why the king has his eye on him now? You're thinking it's because he failed. Nwehehehe! If that was the case, none of these idiots would be here! No. It's because he helped those villagers pull the Needle."
He... he did what? He helped them obtain the Needle? But that's... that's treason! I... I can't believe it...
"You don't believe it, do you? Well, before you start asking whose side I'm on, maybe you should start asking whose side he's on. After all, you're either with the king or you're against him."
Fassad's horns blast out, taking me out of my thoughts. "'We've done things your way, good sir! Now we're doing things my way. I shall terminate those insects myself. Good day to you!"
Fassad hovers straight to one of the doors and presses a button, opening it. Immediately, a powerful gust of wind blasts through the ship, as everyone shields themselves, looking at Fassad in shock.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" cries the Colonel.
But completely unwaveringly, Fassad ignores her and then flies straight out of the airship, rocketing down to the surface.
Everyone gasps and I run over to the opposite side where I can barely see Fassad flying towards the volcano. He's really doing it...
"WELL, THAT CONCLUDES MY INTERPRETATION SESSION." The Interpreter bows before flying out the same hatch, following Fassad... just... what?
One of the Pigmasks shuts the hatch, stopping the gust and allowing us to recover.
"Damn it!" the Colonel says, snapping a finger. "Where does that idiot think he's going?! We've gotta stop him!"
"Do we?" I sigh.
"Of course we have to! If he gets there, then..."
"If Fassad confronts the villagers and kills them, then we can pull the Needle and the greatest threat we have is eliminated. That is of great benefit. I detest Fassad, but his combat abilities cannot be denied and his enhancements may actually have increased them."
"And if he doesn't manage to do that?"
"That would be the worst case scenario, but even then, Fassad would be dead. I fail to see how that wouldn't be a benefit either."
She pauses, considering the information over before realising I'm right. No matter what outcome, one group we want dead will be so.
"But are you really willing to sacrifice a Needle just for that?"
I look her straight in the face. "I'd be willing to sacrifice three."
She laughs a little, sitting back down. That seems to have raised her spirits a bit. Good.
Over the course of the next hour, the rest of the Pigmasks return and when they do, I have them all come up to the bridge to plan for if Fassad fails.
"In case Fassad fails in his mission, we should prepare. This is a good opportunity to finish the job if we capitalise on it properly. They will likely be weak."
"So... we ambush them?" a Pigmask asks.
"Yes. And I also want the entrance to Saturn Valley blocked if it comes to that." I say, pointing to it on a map. "They must have entered through there, so that blocks their only means of escape. Even if we fail to corner and eliminate them, they will be trapped here, thus neutralising them as a threat."
"We could probably blow up some of the rocks above the entrance. Make a landslide or something to trap them." suggests the Colonel.
"Sounds promising. In that —"
Everyone's heads turn to the front of the ship, where a noise indicates we're receiving another call from a transceiver. But... everyone's here. Is it Fassad?
"Another call? What else could be happening?"
"Put it up." I say.
"Roger, sir." says a Pigmask. "But er... you might wanna know that we've like, er... triangulated the signal and it's not coming from here? Seems to be from... Snowcap Mountain?"
That rules out it being Fassad, but why are we getting a call from someone up there? "You are sure this isn't a defect?"
"Nah, don't think so."
"But the mountain?" replies the Colonel. "Why the hell would someone be up there?! It's a death tra — holy crap. Sir! The missing recon unit!"
The missing... that's them? We did have to abandon them on the mountain, but... how did they survive?!
"Take the call." I say.
"... hello? Anyone getting this?" That voice. It's definitely them.
"Hello, soldier." I say.
"Commander! Yes, this got through! Man, I've been trying to call all day, but the signal's been so bad!"
"Firstly... it's very surprising to hear from you. And secondly... I would like to extend my apologies for what we had to do. We didn't want to leave you there, but circumstances forced us to."
After a moment of silence, he speaks. "It's... it's fine. I get it. I mean, it blows. But... I'm not mad." he sighs.
"I appreciate that. I hope you don't mind me asking, but... how did you live?" By now, everyone's attention is on his voice, waiting to hear his tale.
"It's a crazy story. So after you guys, er... ditched me, I think I conked out somewhere in blizzard. Next thing I knew, I was in some pink house and this weird person was looking over me."
"The Magypsy? We didn't see you in the house when we came there."
"Must have been after. You guys must have been spending a lot of time trying to get past something, right?"
"That would explain it."
"Yeah, it was strange. But they healed me up and stuff."
Just like the Saturns... it appears these Magypsies are also more kind hearted than I originally gave them credit for.
"So... no offence, but what took you so long to give us a call?" asks the Colonel.
"I was tryin' to figure out what I wanted to do. You guys pulled the Needle, and the Magypsy disappeared. And... here's the weird thing — you know those imposters? They're still alive."
"We've found that out ourselves."
"Really? Huh. Well, I don't know what happened, but I think they fought something you guys must have left behind."
The Steel Mechorilla... and them being here now means they must have defeated it. They're very strong...
"But then... they came back afterwards to check up on me."
"Check up on you?" I'm confused.
"Like, make sure I was alright and stuff. And I know we're supposed to blast 'em on sight, but... I couldn't do it. I mean, they gave me food and things! Even offered to take me down the mountain with them..."
Again, I'm... I'm finding more and more about these villagers and these unexpected showings of kindness. I had expected that weary and beaten, and having lost a Needle to us, they would have taken out their frustration on the nearest possible target — which would have been him.
But instead, they did the exact opposite.
"But you stayed behind instead?" I inquire.
"The Magypsy had some rabbits, and... I know this sounds weird, but that guy took care of me when he didn't have to, so I wanted to return the favour by looking after those rabbits. There wasn't anyone left to take care of em. So, I'm calling you to say that I'm... quitting."
"... why?"
"Two reasons. I joined the army cause I wanted to do something worthwhile. And don't get me wrong, it's been great. But... this seems more worthwhile. And... the other reason is, I don't think I can fight the villagers anymore. I know you think they're all bad, but... after what those ones did for me, I can't fight them and still think we're doing the right thing."
He sounds so weary, as if... as if he's had enough of fighting. He wants to do something more worthwhile? Shouldn't this be the most worthwhile thing? That's why I'm doing this — because this is the most worthwhile thing I could do with my life. Serving Master Porky. But to have something... more worthwhile than that?
It's... it's almost foreign to me. This isn't just my job. This is my life. What would I do when this war ends?
Well, I wanted to go to the Thunder Tower, to be with her, but... what if the Needles can't do that? What if the Needles... can't bring her back? What would I do then? I don't know. Yet, this Pigmask has found something greater than that.
"I cannot say I completely understand, however... I respect it. That being said, you couldn't possibly live on a mountain."
"Huh? Oh yeah, that's right. I... I guess I didn't think of that..." he says sheepishly. The Pigmasks were never exactly the cleverest... but they do mean well.
"We'll send a Porkship to retrieve you. It might be a little difficult to land on the mountain, but we'll manage. Feel free to take the rabbits with you."
"What?! But, Commander! I'm not part of the army anymore!"
"That doesn't matter. We abandoned you once. We — I will not do so again."
"Th-thank you, sir!" he stutters. "And... it's been an honour serving you, Commander."
"... it was an honour to be your Commander. Stay safe, soldier."
I cut the transmission and, after a moment of silence, turn to face the rest of the Pigmasks.
"I need five of you to go and retrieve him. Any volunteers?" I ask, turning my eyes to everyone on deck and I'm pleased to see virtually every Pigmasks raise a hand.
At random, I pick five, who go below deck to launch a Porkship, while everyone else gets back to their positions.
"Right..." the Colonel sighs, bringing up a monitor and tapping on it. "Well, I better file his discharge in the system. First time I've had to do one of these..."
It's the first time I've overseen one as well.
"You know I'm gonna have to put him down for a bad conduct." she says regrettably at me.
"For this?" I say incredulously. "He was missing in action."
"Yeah, but then he wasn't. He admitted himself that he could have called a week ago —"
"Which means he was technically AWOL for all that time, and any instance of that is grounds for bad conduct." I finish with a sigh. "Ridiculous. Who made these rules?"
She laughs for a moment. "Take a wild guess."
I doubt it would have been Master Porky, which means... Fassad.
"Let me see his record." I ask.
"Sure." She spins the monitor so I can see it. There's no records of any other kinds of misconduct and he's fulfilled the minimum requirement.
"Yes, you're right, however..."
"However?" she says, a bit of glee in her voice.
"However, according to those rules, a higher ranking officer does have the ability to overturn or alter such verdicts. The only people higher than a colonel would be Fassad and myself...
"But seeing as Fassad isn't here at the moment...?" she continues.
"Let's give him a more... honourable fate." I finish, my word choice deliberate.
"Alright then." She turns back to fill in the details, trying to seem impassive, but I can tell she's pleased to hear it.
Some time passes, with nothing happening and no word from Fassad. The more time passes, the more concerned I grow. Fassad should be able to destroy those villagers... shouldn't he? He should. I try to think nothing of it, simply waiting.
Then... it happens. I hear the gasps and shouts of many Pigmasks as they point out of windows, before I see what it is they're staring at. A pillar of light shines into the sky through the top of the volcano, before it spews ash weakly into the sky. An eruption.
The Colonel looks out in awe and confusion. "What was that?" she says plainly. "What the hell was that?"
"I want scans of the volcano, and information as to why it erupted immediately. I thought it was supposed to be dormant."
"It's supposed to be, sir!"
"Then explain that."
"Er... someone help me with this, I'm not sure what this means." one of the Pigmasks says. "Some kinda seismic stuff caused a small eruption?"
Seismic stuff? How very non-descriptive... the Needle!
I slam a hand on the table with annoyance. "The Needle's been pulled. The ensuing earthquake must have triggered an small eruption."
"But... Fassad can't pull the Needles, so..."
"The villagers got it. How is this possible? How did Fassad lose?"
"Maybe he didn't find the villagers?" the Colonel suggests hopefully.
"Sir, we've got another problem!" says another Pigmask.
Fantastic. As if we didn't have enough already. "Proceed."
"We're getting a distress signal from inside the volcano."
"... well, guess I was wrong then." the Colonel sighs.
The villagers beat Fassad? And so badly that his distress signal was triggered? First, they all fell from the sky and lived, then they beat the Steel Mechorilla, and now they beat Fassad? I know I keep going back to this, but how? How do they keep performing these superhuman feats, when they're just a group of normal humans and a dog?!
"Alright." I grit my teeth. "We'll have to retrieve him. However, taking a Porkship there is far from safe after it just erupted, so we'll have to do something else. Colonel, you're coming with me for the support."
"Woah, what are you planning, sir? How do you intend to get there?"
I unfold my wings, stepping closer to the door.
"By flying."
"Oh, Pork..." she groans.
"Everyone else, I want you to work on blocking the exit to Saturn Valley, like we planned."
"Yes, sir!" they collectively chorus.
"Good. Now, open the door."
One of the Pigmasks taps a few buttons, and the same door Fassad flew out of opens up. All the Pigmasks stand up and congregate near.
"Ready?" I ask her.
"Not at all."
"Good." I say, tightly gripping her hand. "Let's go."
I activate the thrusters, and we fly off, descending down before heading straight to the volcano. At a lower altitude, I can more properly see Saturn Valley and its bizarre architecture. It really is beautiful, in its own strange way.
I notice though that the Colonel keeps her head very high, as if trying her hardest not to look down.
"You're scared of heights." I observe as we fly. It's not a question. It's a statement.
"Not heights! Just... this!" she shouts.
"You parachuted into Osohe Castle, didn't you? The drop in height must have been comparable."
"Key word being 'parachuted'. I don't exactly have one right now if you let go!"
"And you think I'd do that?" I say dryly.
"Hey, I'm not saying you'd do it intentionally! It's just... you know..."
"I find your lack of faith... disturbing. Besides, you needn't worry. We're here."
Much to her relief, I start descending at the top of a cliff where the entrance to the volcano resides. The air's already warmer than usual. It's a stark contrast to Snowcap Mountain. As we land, a hot spring becomes visible... along with a house with a pink shell.
"Hey, that looks like the house of that Magypsy we saw on the mountain. Do they all have the same kind of houses? Gotta say, it does not fit in well here."
It appears so. That's useful information.
"Let's check the house." But there's no one inside. "No Magypsy. They must've already disappeared." I say. "To the volcano then."
Passing over rocky cliffs, and... moving rocks, we enter the volcano. As soon as we enter it properly, the ambient temperature seems to skyrocket to nearly intolerable levels, a feature which can be attributed to the... lava? Yes, lava — we're above ground.
Though, that raises a question — how exactly does the volcano have this much lava in it? Most of it should surely be magma, and therefore underground.
It does seem like this lava has cooled considerably, seeing as we're not spontaneously combusting, yet it's still warmer than I would expect it to be. I can only assume that the resident Magypsy had something to do with this, which is a trite explanation, but the existence of them is logic defying already.
Irrelevant matters. My concern is not on volcanology. We need to find Fassad, and hopefully those villagers. So we march forward, and — woah!
A burst of lava streams out from the sides and onto the path ahead, as we both leap back. But it starts to congeal into some sort of lava... creature? Solidified rock appears on its face, giving markings resembling glasses... and lipstick.
It appears it's not just the Pigmasks who use that to imply femininity.
"What... I... what is that?" the Colonel says, clearly bewildered.
"Blast it."
Both of us unleash a volley of shots at it, punching holes in its semi solid body, but it narrows its glasses before shooting a large wave of fire outwards from its body.
We dodge to separate sides, the wave harmlessly passing by. PK Fire. And a rather high level of it too. The energy of the attack seemed to take away all its remaining strength, and it dissipates into lava, creeping back into its pool.
"... you know, you think you've seen it all — Rhinocerockets, snowboarding yetis, a man with horns coming out his nose, whatever the hell that devil thing was, but somehow a lady made of lava still surprised me."
That's... pretty much my thought as well.
"You may want to prepare to be more surprised then."
"Pork, the things we do for Fassad... Fassad!" she groans. "Why are we doing this?! Those lava things probably already got to him!"
"Perhaps. However, you expressed your desire to spit on his grave. If you'd like to do that, it would be in your best interest to find his body so he has one to spit on."
She tilts her head to the side, mulling it over. "Fair point. But man, I hope those villagers finished the job."
Privately, I can't help but doubt it... they've shown a remarkably consistent non-lethal approach to dealing with their foes.
"I mean, he's just irritating. Don't you agree?"
That's a difficult question to answer — the answer is obviously yes, but to disparage someone like Fassad is dangerous business in the army.
"Yes. However, I meant what I said. He is your superior, and you can't talk back to him like that."
"But you can."
"Yes, because the two of us are in a strange equilibrium where we both have equal standing. Neither one of us is superior, no matter how Fassad would like to insist otherwise."
But then, I have to wonder — what would I have done if I was in her situation? The reason I'm not afraid to oppose Fassad in such ways is because there would be no repercussions for doing so.
Yet, Fassad had the right to want to demote her, according to the rules. But Fassad also wrote the rules, so the fairness of them has to be questioned to begin with...
"Nevertheless, I agree that Fassad was wrong in his actions, much more so than you. And to that extent, I apologise for my use of you in our brief power struggle."
"Are you kidding?! That was epic!"
"I'm glad. Oh, and congratulations on your promotion."
She chuckles at that. "Thanks. Just hope he doesn't try and pull that crap again."
"If he does, I'll reverse it. And if he has a problem with that, he can take it up with me at the business end of my sword."
She stops in place, staring at me for a few seconds.
"What?" I say.
"Sir, do you have like a book or something you get all these badass lines from, or do you just make 'em up on your own? Cause if it's the first, can I borrow it?"
I can't help but laugh at that. Regrettably, I inform her, "Sadly, they are all mine... I think. Never mind. Let's go."
As we progress, the volcano only gets hotter and hotter, but the creatures get more common as well. Mushrooms that have somehow adapted to live in this environment attack, along with miniature volcanos that have legs... this really is the land of strange things.
We take them out as we proceed, but eventually, a large number of them surround us. I'll destroy them all in one go then.
"Stand back." I say. Time to test this.
I place two fingers on my helmet, where my temple would be, concentrating hard. I didn't have time to practice this level... but in theory, it should be the same.
My mind fills with all manner of thoughts, all sorts of different memories, all intertwining together. But through the haze, the power draws upon one particular memory... a memory of you. A memory of her.
I remember... your birthday. It was just the two of us. And you didn't want to celebrate it, but... but I did. Why did I want to? Because you deserved it. It was your birthday... that was the only reason I needed.
I remember everything about those two weeks there. That's where I learned how to control this, how to control this power for the first time. All because of you. You are the one who gave this gift to me. And I couldn't repay it by saving you.
My arm starts to throttle and ebb, but I can't stop it.
Because it's all true. You gave me so much, and I couldn't do anything, I couldn't repay it, that emptiness is seeping in, that's not what's it's supposed to be like, that's not what it is!
It's not perfect... but I have to be! Because I'm the Commander, and I let you die! I saw you, and, and... that artificiality, it creeps in every single time. It's always there!
WARNING. Severe power fluctuation.
It's an imperfection, so I have to get rid of it, because I'm supposed to be perfect, but I can't because it's imperfect to begin with, because if I was perfect, I wouldn't have let this happen and you'd still be here, but you're not because I'm not perfect, but that can't be right because I'm supposed to be perfect, and —
"PK Love Gamma!"
I fling my arm forward, because it feels like my hand would be ripped off I didn't. All the energy bursts forward in a volatile manner, exploding in a blinding flash of confused emotions, like some sort of psychic grenade.
The explosion rips through the creatures, sending them hurtling them into walls and landing into the lava, where all the mushrooms immediately start searing, burning to ash. All the lava dwelling creatures survive the lava bath, but they look at me... they look at me with fear in their eyes, before scurrying away as far as they can.
"SIR! Pork, are you okay?!"
What is she looking at... my hands? I look down and... they're bleeding. They feel numb, but there's no pain at all. How did that happen? Was it... the attack? That's never happened before...
But that was so much more powerful than the previous level. So much that... I couldn't even control that much energy. Or was it... no. My thoughts are controlled. I am in perfect control of myself.
There's nothing wrong. There's nothing wrong. Everything's wrong.
PK Love... I can't help but feel scared by it. Not because of how potent it is... but because the more I use it, the more advanced it becomes, the more I realise how little I understand it. And I'm supposed to understand everything.
"I will be fine." I finally say.
"But... your hands! You can't keep going on li —"
"I said, I'll be fine. Perfectly fine." I use Lifeup, the blood clearing off my hands as they begin to heal.
"Alright..." she says, clearly wanting to say more. "Might not wanna use that again though."
"Agreed. What is at the end of these caverns?"
We carefully pace there, though there's no need with many of the creature now docile... or dead. Rounding a few corners, we finally find the end of the path in this volcano, a smoking crater straight ahead, and on a rocky outpost to the side —
"No." the Colonel says, stunned beyond belief... as am I.
Right there, is Fassad, blood streaming down his face, both of his horns twisted, as he lies on the ground in a heap. But still alive. It's Thunder Tower all over again.
He's heavily wounded... but alive and conscious. His horns weakly give off a few notes, as he occasionally bashes the ground he's lying on, with the Interpreter floating around.
"This is great." The Colonel puts her gun away, throwing both arms in the air. "Absolutely great! He's still alive and they got the Needle! That's even worse than the worst case scenario!"
I fly over to him, picking him up and dropping him back on the main path, where he continues to bash the ground.
"Fassad. Fassad. What happened?" But he doesn't answer, not even with his horns. Are they broken, or is he simply too mad to reply?
"I BELIEVE I MIGHT BE ABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AS IT APPEARS FASSAD IS... PREOCCUPIED." interjects the Interpreter.
"Yeah, so... why is Fassad currently a bloody mess here?"
"HE BATTLED AGAINST FOUR INDIVIDUALS. HE LOST. AFTER WHICH, HE RETREATED, BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO GET FAR BEFORE SUCCUMBING TO HIS INJURIES AND BEING FORCED TO REST DUE TO DAMAGE."
"How?"
"THEY WERE SIMPLY STRONGER, DESPITE FASSAD'S ASSAULT OF LASERS, BOMBS AND KICKS."
"... and PSI, right?" the Colonel adds.
"NO. HE DID NOT USE ANY."
I'm sorry? He didn't use any of his PSI? His most powerful tool, and he didn't use any of it?!
"Did he... did he handicap himself?! Whose side is he on?!" the Colonel says frustratedly. "Why the hell did he hold back? Was he trying to lose?!"
Those are my exact thoughts as well. Was he trying to lose... no, that's not like Fassad at all. And if he was trying to lose, why does he seem so frustrated that he won't even speak? He was clearly trying to kill them... yet he was holding back? When does Fassad ever do that? He delights in exerting his power and destroying his foes with impunity.
Why would he not take the chance to do that to a group of people he expressly hates and have caused him embarrassment before? That goes against everything I know about him. More practically, if he was trying to kill them, and his frustration indicates he was, why would he hold back his PSI? It's completely illogical!
And it seems like the villagers couldn't kill him either. But then again, I find it unlikely that they could do what Thunder Tower could not.
Regardless, the Interpreter gives no answer. I suppose she's not privy to Fassad's true motives either.
"What do you make of him?" I ask.
"I'd say he should be dead, but we've gone through that before. Horns seem busted though, so that's gonna need some fixing... I'm just pissed he's alive." the Colonel replies.
Out of the corner of the eye, a plume of purple smoke catches my attention. It's coming from that crater... that's where the Needle was. I walk over to it, stating at the hole in the ground.
You pulled it, didn't you? Lucas.
... what do you want? To destroy us all? That's what I've been told. You want to gain something — our elimination. Much like we seek yours.
... no. That's not why. I am pulling these Needles to bring about a future for Master Porky... but I'm also pulling them to bring back something I lost.
I'm not pulling the Needles for things I don't have but want to gain, because given time... we could achieve that naturally. This is simply the quickest way. I'm pulling them... to get back what I once had. That's the real reason I'm doing this.
So I wonder... does the same apply to you? Did you lose someone? Who were they to you, to make you scour the planet for a dragon that could do anything? A friend? A parent? Or perhaps...
Deviation detected. Course correction... complete.
"Commander? Did you find something?"
...
"No. Grab Fassad. We're leaving."
Notes:
This was another interesting and difficult chapter to write, since the Masked Man makes no appearance during the fourth Needle like with the second, and I didn't wanna do the whole 'he was with Porky' thing again.
Therefore, it took a while to think of a way to write him in without contradicting the events of Mother 3 by having any of the party see him. Even then, it does occur to me that this chapter still contradicts the events of Mother 3 — the Pigmasks mention having been there for days, but here, everything happens within the span of one day.
Anyway, this is less about the events of the game and more about developing the Pigmask Army, particularly in regards to Fassad and the Colonel, since they're both going to have a diminishing role in the story going forth.
The Interpreter's way of translating Fassad's language is markedly more formal than Fassad himself normally speaks, yet still has a very distinct tone to it. Trying to strike the balance was hard, but I hope I managed to do it.
As for the Colonel, it's very interesting writing her, since I made her not to be a character, but to fulfil a purpose — to give someone for the Masked Man to talk to during the events of Chapters 5 and 7 that wasn't a nameless Pigmask. Her character, limited as it is, was secondary, but this was a good chance to expand on it a little.
I also wanted to give a conclusion to the Pigmask that's left on Snowcap Mountain, since I've always wondered how he could possibly live up there for the rest of his life.
Next time, Claus heads to Tanetane Island for the fifth Needle.
Chapter 29: Barrierly There
Summary:
Crash landings, mushrooms, hallucinations, and the Masked Man's inability to accept his fears.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Alright, you know what? I think today's gonna be a good day! The sun is shining, everything's set and we're going to a tropical island. And for once, there's nothing stopping us from just flying straight, pulling the Needle and getting straight out of there." says the Colonel.
"Indeed, it would appear that way. Nevertheless, I expect everyone to stay attentive in case of any disturbances."
The ship flies above the sea, rapidly heading to our destination. With any luck, we should be there in ten minutes.
The fifth Needle was discovered by scouts to be on Tanetane Island, the Needle itself apparently being easily visible at the top. With that being the case, this should theoretically be a simple mission as the Colonel states. We land directly where the Needle is, I pull it, and then we leave with no hassle. Unlike Snowcap Mountain, there's no environmental restrictions preventing us from doing that.
So this should be simple. And with the villagers trapped in Saturn Valley, they shouldn't be able to stop us. Besides, how would they get here? They can't fly, and they certainly can't swim across the sea.
Though the mission shouldn't require us to interact much with the place, I've heard dangerous things about Tanetane Island. It's one of few places Master Porky wouldn't let me visit on my vacation years back.
Some preliminary research indicated why — the wildlife here are very dangerous and there's a number of swamps. But even then... that's not the primary danger. The primary threat is something far worse, and it's something I decide to remind everyone about.
"Do not forgot what the scouts reported. If what they said is true, and Fassad's information is accurate..."
There's no need for me to finish that sentence. They all know what it is.
When the scouts reported the presence of the fifth Needle, they also reported seeing three purple entities surrounding it. A guardian for the Needle, much like the Frost Devil.
However, according to Fassad, said guardian was far more powerful than the demon of snow. The Barrier Trio, a group of statues that could collectively pool their psychic power together, thus unleashing attacks at three times the strength.
They have a skill with PSI that is only surpassed by Fassad — coming from him, that's high praise. In fact, I've never seen the full extent of Fassad's PSI, so there's more to fear.
And most uniquely, they have the ability to use poses to affect the environment, neutralising certain elements. Truly, they sound like a formidable foe if Fassad has painted them correctly.
Come to think of it, Fassad's been very knowledgable about this sort of information. The Needles, the Magypsies and now the Barrier Trio... he's always been the one to inform us about these things.
Now, experience has taught me his information is usually valid, but how does he know these things in the first place? Another question to file in the back of my mind.
"So, how exactly do we do this then, sir?"
"The Barrier Trio will be a threat. They will not allow me to pull the Needle without a fight."
"And you can't just like, slip past them and pull the Needle?"
"I require a great deal of concentration to pull the Needles. I doubt the Barrier Trio will allow me that. So, we must neutralise them. 20 of us will descend in four Porkships, and with our combined effort, we should be able to defeat them."
With the plan understood, we continue the journey and soon, the island comes into view. Forests and swamps dot the land, with a cliff on the north of the island overseeing the ocean. At the highest point of the cliff, the Needle shines brightly and beside it... there they are. The Barrier Trio.
"Lower the ship down so we can get a better perspective." I order. It's carried out and we descend, allowing a better view. We can see the Needle and its guardians out of the front window.
"Is everyone aware of the plan?" I ask. There's a collective nod. "Good. Maintain the ship at this altitude. Let's go."
Those chosen to go march down, and I follow — until I hear a Pigmask on the bridge call back.
"Er, sir, ma'am!" a Pigmask shouts nervously. "We're getting some major energy spikes down there!"
"What the hell is causing that?" asks the Colonel.
"Them!" another Pigmask shouts, pointing at a window. We all rush back up to the bridge and look out of the window, noticing what they're pointing out.
The Barrier Trio have gotten up, and they've moved to the edge of the cliff, all three members staring directly at the Mother Porkship. They form a pose, as all three put their hands together, concentrating in a way that's very familiar, but I can't put my finger on why yet.
"They've noticed us." says the Colonel. A simple observation. "What... are they doing?"
A lot of the Pigmasks mutter amongst themselves, but no one knows.
"Shields up, immediately." I say. I'm not sure if they're going to attack.
"Shields up, Commander." A Pigmask responds.
But there's something strange... no, it's not their pose. It's the way they're concentrating. It feels familiar somehow, as if I've seen that exact same kind of concentrating before... NO!
I know where I've seen that before. I've seen it multiple times... from Earthbound.
Because it's the same concentration Prince Poo had whenever he'd use PK Starstorm.
"Brace for impact! NOW!" I shout.
All the Pigmasks do so in confusion — but they get their answer to why a second later, as the Barrier Trio breaks their pose. Raining down from the sky, a number of blue projectiles rain down on us.
A large meteor crashes straight into the top of the ship, sending alarms ringing throughout the deck amongst numerous screams.
"SHIELDS DOWN!" A Pigmask screams.
One shot destroyed the shields... they weren't meant to withstand PK Starstorm!
I gasp, seeing another meteor, one hurtling sideways... straight at the deck. Straight at us.
When it hits, I scream. Terror. Terror, as my body is tossed into the air from the explosion, as I feel pain behind pain surge through me. I'm launched straight through a window, as I see other Pigmasks being flung through them, as the ship hurtles down towards the forest beneath.
Quickly, I try to stabilise myself as I start to fall, activating my wings. Maybe, maybe I can save some of these Pigmasks! I face towards me, trying to catch them — AHHH!
Too late, I don't notice another meteor heading in that direction, as it hits me at full force, sending me hurting towards the ground...
I try recorrecting myself, but... I... I...
It all goes...
...
DAMAGE TO INTERNAL UNITS. LOCKDOWN TO FIRING SYSTEMS.
...
VISUAL SYSTEMS COMPROMISED. LOCKDOWN TO SCAN AND THERMAL IMAGING SYSTEMS.
...
VITALS CRITICAL. INITIATE EMERGENCY BACKUP. INITIATING... 10%... 20%... 30%... 40%... 50%... 60%... 70%...
Immediately, I start coughing, small blotches of water coming out of my mouth. My hands... I can feel sand? I look... down and... there's sand. There's blood.
Where... what...
I lift myself off the grou — no, no, NO! Every limb seizes up in... pain...
My sword... where is... it's here. Here. I can't move... I can't move. I... start to crawl, crawl on my knees up the beach and onto land. Degrading beyond words... but that's the only movement I can muster that doesn't set every nerve aflame.
It's... a struggle, my body is soaked with water but even then, it feels as if I've been drained of every... every ounce... energy.
What... happened? How... one moment, we were flying and then everything... the ship. The Barrier Trio... Barrier Trio... they shot us down.
Finally, I drag myself to grass, leaning on a tree for support. A surge of pain shoots through my right arm, and I can't help it. I scream. I scream as loud as I can. This is where I die. Bleeding out on an isolated island, crash landing after being shot down by three psychic demigods.
I... I'll be joining you soon... was it this painful when the tower collapsed on you?
NO! I'm the Commander! Pain... is temporary! Furious at myself, I clutch that arm with my free hand, squeezing it as tight as I can to reduce the pain to something... manageable.
My... my jacket... my clothes... there's so much blood. That's... that's PK Starstorm. The power to bring down... an entire ship. Everyone must have gotten flung out of the Porkship... scattered across the island.
That's... that's if they survived. What if... they could all be dead.
No. If I survived, then surely... surely everyone else could have? I need... need to find them. Find them. Regroup. Annihilate the Barrier Trio.
The sun beats down harshly... there's a swamp ahead. I remember everything... it's a death trap. That's what this island is. Now, I must traverse it... on foot. But... I can't even walk. Heal. Heal.
Weakly, I raise my hands, struggling to move my fingers. Lifeup... it's not working. It's not... working. I don't have any... energy. I can't even string together the weakest of all healing PSI. Energy. I need it... food. Food.
I have none on me. I... I'll have to find some. Kill something. PK Thunder. Roast it. But... if I have no strength to... move, how will I fight?
Some... forage? Leaves? Grass? A last resort. There must be something... else.
My eyes weakly focus on something... what is that? It's... a mushroom. A purple mushroom with white... spots on it. A pile of them. A source. A source of food.
Pathetically, I... I crawl over to it, my limbs giving out halfway. With all my effort, I can barely reach out for one... no. No. No. Wait. The most basic rule of wilderness survival — never eating anything you see without... without verifying it. Scan. Scan it.
ERROR. Severe system damage. Unable to access database. Scan function inoperable.
I... then, I... I don't know anything about this... mushroom. It could sustain me... or it could kill me.
I pitifully laugh out loud, transitioning into a violent cough at the burning of my lungs. For some reason, it's funny. I bleed out and die... or I eat this mushroom and possibly be poisoned to death.
But what choice do I have? Slowly, I raise the mushroom... and take a bite out of it.
As soon as I take that first bite, I feel... a strange sensation spread throughout my body. But... it seems fine? Suddenly, I feel swathes of energy surge through my limbs. I lift my right arm and... it's so much easier now!
It does still hurt, but it feels as if it's no longer drained of energy. At least now I have the energy to fight against the pain. Carefully, I raise my hands... a numbing sensation fills me as Lifeup runs through my body. Incredible...
My eyes snap back to the mushrooms and I seize another, ravenously scoffing it down — hardly dignified, but that matters little now. As I feel another surge of energy through me, I use it to fuel another Lifeup.
I keep doing this, eating mushrooms and using Lifeup, until eventually, I've cured all my injuries. These mushrooms... they're amazing! These energy surges are comparable to that of an Instant Revitalising Device... imagine if we grew these, and took these out onto the field. Combined with PSI, that essentially gives us portable healing.
Perhaps I should take some back to be studied. Yes, that's a good idea. I take another, pocketing... what? That's... WHAT?!
Why are the trees pink?
The entire forest of trees that surround me are... pink. Pink. Trees... are not pink. And I'm fairly sure that they were not pink when I landed here. Were they... no. I would have noticed that, even despite my pain...
I look down at the ground, and it's purple? The sand on the beach is blue. The sea is pink! I blink twice and bash my hands against my leg... it's still the same!
Everything's changed colour and the only thing that's stayed the same colour are... the mushrooms.
And then it becomes clear to me. A hallucinogen. That's the side effect of these mushrooms... power at a price. Of course. If something seems too good to be true, then it is.
Quickly, I dig into my pocket, grabbing the mushroom I pocketed and throw it as far as I can... I feel fine and this hallucination seems fairly harmless, but who's to say these mushrooms don't have any other side effects?
Now it's all the more imperative that I finish this mission as quickly as possible, in case of any side effects. The only silver lining is that these mushrooms have allowed me to recover my strength.
It makes the most sense to gain an aerial view, so I place my feet firmly on the ground, trying to make my wings come out... then I stop. Flying while hallucinating — that would end badly.
But that means I'll have to navigate this forest while hallucinating... so far, it seems to have just altered the colouring of he environment, which is... manageable.
I stare at the path leading deeper into the forest ahead. Taking my sword, and a deep breath, I walk down the path.
As luck would have it, it seems I landed as far away from the Needle as possible. There's a path leading through the forest thankfully, so I slowly trudge my way through, keeping an eye for any Pigmasks I see.
Ten minutes through this place, and there's nothing at all. Testing things out just to ensure nothing else has been affected, I also find out my arm cannon isn't working, although I assume that's due to the impact.
My mobility and senses seem unaffected, apart from my sight, which is one good thing at least. Perhaps things won't be entirely —
"Commander!"
I swivel on the spot, and see... the Colonel! She's here! And alive! A wave of relief crosses me, pleased to see her.
"You survived." I say.
"You could sound a little happier about it."
"I..." She has a point there. "I am very relieved to see you alive. Truly."
"Good to see you as well."
"Still, we can't celebrate yet. We must find the others."
"The... others?" She says, tilting her head in confusion.
"Survivors?"
"Huh?"
Am I not being clear enough? "As in, others that survived the crash? Was that not clear?"
"Oh! Yeah, I understand you. Actually, I know where the Mother Porkship crashed!"
"Really? Where is it?"
"If you keep following this path, you'll find it! I saw some others there, and I was coming back to see if anyone else landed here."
There are others there? That's good to hear... hold on. If that's the case, why didn't she understand what I meant by survivors? Perhaps it was just simple confusion — needing clarification is hardly a crime.
"Very well then. Lead the way." I nod.
"Er... er..." She starts fidgets a lot.
"Is something wrong?"
"See, well... er... ah! Yeah, my gun got flung off somewhere else. I... don't exactly have any weapons on me. So, it'd be unsafe if I lead, but you have your sword." she says, pointing to it.
She went into this forest without weapons? "You didn't take any from the ship? You are aware of how dangerous the wildlife on this island can be, aren't you?"
"Most of the weapons got blasted off as well."
I... suppose that's a reasonable explanation.
"Very well. Stay behind. However, there is one issue. I... had to resort to eating mushrooms to survive, and they seem to have altered my sight. I seem fine otherwise though."
"Huh... okay. I guess we'll get that checked out when we get back. Still, it's probably safer that you lead, even if you're hallucinating."
The two of us walk, and I must admit, I am relieved to have someone else by my side at this time.
"So, were there any survivors?"
"A few..."
A few? Which means... oh. "I... see."
"Yeah. I'm... trying not to think about it either. Sometimes I wonder if we should have some kinda therapy division..."
How many Pigmasks... died? All under my command...
"What of... the survivors?"
"We're trying to find others. But... well, who knows if how many lived? We might not even be able to get off this island."
"Why not?"
"The ship! You should see it! It's a wreck. I've seen Porkships crash land in Tazmily and come out looking better."
That's what I feared for most. If we can't fix the ship, we might not be able to...
Wait, Porkships crash landing in Tazmily? I wasn't aware of any doing so, and that seems rather unlikely... wait. No. Didn't she once say she saw Porkships crash land in the Death Desert and come out looking better than... she did? I'll never forget that, because that day was one of the worst days of my life. Something isn't right.
"And what about other places?" I ask. "Have you seen any other crash landings of Porkships?"
"Nope, just there."
"Nowhere else?" I press.
"No? Give me some credit, Commander, I know what I've done."
I spin on the spot, pointing my sword at her.
"WOAH! What the hell are yo —"
"Evidently, you don't." I say, cutting her off. "I happen to recall you telling me about crash landings in Death Desert, a far more likely place to find them. Why don't you remember that?"
"Er... oh yeah! Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I forgot."
Highly suspicious. "That doesn't cut it. I think you're an imposter."
"An imposter?! Listen, can you hear me? Do I sound like me?"
"That proves nothing when voice modulators exist."
"Alright, look. I trust your judgements and all, but that's when you aren't tripping out on mushrooms. Don't you think that might be messing with your mind?"
"And yet, you've still failed to provide an adequate answer to someone who is hallucinating. Give me one, or I'll see to it that Fassad's original demotion of you sticks."
"Demotion? Oh." She puts her hands to her mouth and curses her slip up. "Damn..."
"Hm. I could plausibly accept you not remembering crash landings, but you forgot what demotion happened to you a day ago. Remove your mask."
She takes hold of it, before raising it straight off and throwing it to the side... what?! It... it is her! Underneath that mask, it's her face! I... I thought it was an imposter...
She crosses her arms smugly. "Happy? But screw it, I'm getting tired of this. Might as well drop the act." She brandishes a gu — where did she get that from? She didn't have one before!
"I can't believe you fell for the no gun thing!" she says, laughing at the shock on my face. "What idiot goes out here without one?"
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Damn, you're dense. Call this a mutiny, Commander!"
She fires a few lasers, which I easily avoid, but that doesn't answer anything! Where did this come from?!
"Why are you fighting against me? Have you lost your mind?!"
"I'll tell you why — you think you can just show up with your fancy attachments and be our boss? Lead us all? You're just a kid! You can't do squat! And I have to be your second in command! Look at me! Bossed around by a child!"
"This... I can't believe this is happening."
"Hah! Start believing then."
"You really think you could kill me? And even if you did, do you think the rest of the Pigmasks would let you simply supersede me like that?"
She laughs. "That's the thing with you... always focused on yourself. You don't think the rest of the ship thinks it? You don't think they all feel ashamed that a child's leading us?!"
They... they do?
"That's it. You get it now, don't you? We've all been thinking about it."
"I... I trusted you. Why... why didn't you bring this up?! If you had a problem with my leadership, I would... I would have taken your criticism!"
"No. You're just like Fassad! You think just cause you're above us, you're better. And anyone who disagrees with you gets punished."
"I... no. I'm not like him."
I'm not... am I? I have always aimed to be his antithesis. Someone who respects those beneath him. But... what if... I... what if I was no better?
"Yeah, that's right. Remember Snowcap Mountain? Remember the Pigmask you abandoned? You left him there, to freeze to death. You picked the Needle over him."
"It... it was the mission!" I shout. "We... we all accepted that!"
"No, we didn't!" She shouts back, angrily stomping a twig into dust. "We didn't sign up to climb mountains and go into volcanoes! You made us do that. And it all worked out for you, until it didn't. The fact he survived wasn't because of your great leadership."
It was because of luck... and kindness.
"Exactly. Luck and kindness. But not your kindness — the Magypsy. You know, if you asked me to guess if a cyborg would be more kind than someone who wasn't even human, I'd have placed my bets on the cyborg. Guess I was wrong."
Wha — how, how did she know that?!
"How'd I know that?" she laughs. "A good leader knows what their subordinates are thinking."
Did I... did I ever really earn this title?
"No, you didn't."
It was given to me. But I trained for it! I... I spent years. I spent years, and observed countless people in positions of authority!
"And they're all better at it than you are."
I saw Fassad, and saw what not to be. What a good leader shouldn't be.
"But you somehow managed to be worse. Because freezing mountains and boiling volcanoes don't mean anything compared to this. You flew us into a death trap, and now... now we're all dead! THAT'S ON YOU!"
No... no, no, you're all — NO!
I... she's, she's pinned me... tree... I, I — move... I, I... can't...
"STOP IT!" She's... delirious. "Stop thinking we're alive. Stop being optimistic. We're all dead. All of us. It's all your fault."
"But, but... no... you're still... alive. There's... there's hope!"
She... she lets go of me. And... smiles? "I'm still alive? Heh. You're right. I am. I am! Here's a lesson for you then... a good Commander follows their troops."
She grins and twirls her gun, pointing it at her he — NO! NO!
...
Laser is silent. Scream... drowns it. My scream. Body... ground. Hole. Side... head.
Blood. Fluid. She... she... she's...
Healing... pointless. Pointless.
They're all dead. All of them. And it's all your fault. You killed your crew. And then... you killed your Colonel.
You're not fit to lead. You're not fit to win. A good Commander follows their troops.
You're not fit to live.
I'm... huh? Her body, it's... what?!
What was... that? As if a, a static clearing... she's...!
Her eyes become wider. Her body starts to melt. What is this?! WHAT?! The eyes... they peel off her body and stare at — a mouth. A mouth materialises out of nowhere. It smiles. It smiles. Stares. Grins.
How — what was that?! I hold the side of my face. Just a moment ago, it... it felt as if a claw battered it.
I clutch my stomach next, as if a horn just rammed into it. But... but this doesn't have any! How?! HOW?!
It's just... floating there. Staring.
Reaching to the side, I shakily raise my sword. Whatever you are... I'm going to kill you. I slice its eye, its mouth, its jaw — IT JUST STARES! What is it?! WHAT IS THIS?!
I keep slashing, over and over, despite feeling waves of drowsiness pass over me, and — a shriek!
And then... it's gone. No... instantly, a bloodied creature appears on the ground in front of me, with a dozen or so slices in it. A hard shelled creature with two pincers, a pointed tail and a horn. It limps over, before it croaks... and dies.
This... I recognise this! I've read about these, during my research of this island. A Titanian, a member of the wildlife here. It attacks by battering foes with its pincers, putting them to sleep, and...
I look down at my stomach.
And by headbutting enemies with its horn.
That smile... it fought just like a Titanian. No, it... it was a Titanian. It was... it was never the Colonel at all.
Immediately, relief passes through me, knowing that... that she could still be alive. That everyone could be alive.
But... how did it do that? I've read no accounts of Titanians being shapeshifters. Even then, how would it possess the knowledge of who the Colonel is to me? I could accept it copying appearance and being able to speak, but that knowledge is something it couldn't possibly have.
It was if... was I imagining it? My focus locks on to the trees beside me. Wait.
The mushroom was a hallucinogen. So far, I had only assumed that it altered my perception of the environment... but what if it did more than that? What if... it altered my perception of creatures. All that... was a hallucination.
In that case... I shouldn't trust my eyes. Who my friends and foes are... I can't be sure.
But for some reason, that's not even what frightens me most. I remember the conversation I had with the 'Colonel' and... I don't want to remember it. That... that...
No. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It didn't really happen... but it did. It happened in my mind. And that's real to me.
These mushrooms... just what did they do to me?
I shake the thoughts off. I have to keep moving. The longer I stay in this hallucinated state, the worse things could be. As I make me way through, my mind runs through everyone I could see. The Fierce Pork Trooper, Dr Andonuts... maybe Fassad? That would be truly horrible.
But the next person I see turns out to be none of those.
"Pokey! Glad you could make it."
It's Master Porky. But he appears much healthier, looking like that robot I saw of him. Instinctively, my heart gives off joy... but it quickly dissipates. Because I know that can't be him. He's safely sound in New Pork City.
"Seems like you got your head handed to you. Need a hand?"
Again, my heart swells at the thought of fighting side by side with Master Porky... why is that? I know this isn't him... but it's as if I can't control my instinctive reactions any more.
"I would —"
"Nah, you don't deserve it." he says, interrupting me with a sneer. "You don't deserve anything. I saved your life. I took you in. Trained you, gave you prestige in my army. Called you my equal. And all I asked for you in return was for you to pull some Needles and kill a few villagers."
He jabs at me. "Look at you." he sneers. "Can't even do that. Useless, like my family was. And I hate my family. You were supposed to be different, but you're just the same."
"But there's still a chance yet. I have pulled two Needles, and three remain. That's still enough to secure the majority!"
"I don't care! Who did you lose those two Needles to? The villagers! Some look-alike kid, a pink freak, a bum and a mutt. The 'great' leader of my army isn't any better than four misfits!"
I... I have failed him in that respect. Yet, his face becomes neutral for some reason.
"Eh." He shrugs. "I don't care. Because I don't care about you. You think you mean something to me? You're not even human. You don't think, you don't feel. You think someone could ever care for a robot? Well, I guess you did — cause you're a robot as well. You liked my maid robot, didn't you? Even gave her a nickname."
"I... very much."
"What was her name? I don't even remember."
"Her name... was Lil' Miss Marshmallow." A streak of anger briefly flashes through my mind, which he somehow notices, bursting into laughter.
"Looks like I hit a nerve. Whatever you're thinking, none of it's real! You're not angry, you just think you are — cause you're my toy, and toys can't feel! And the robot never really cared about you. That's just part of what it does. But I don't mind. That's exactly what I want you be."
"What? No! A robot can't lead an army! Emotions can be a detriment, yes, but ultimately they are what keeps us human. A person can never lead an army without them."
"A robot can't lead an army? Give yourself some credit — you've been doing that all this time, and you've been doing it so well that no one can tell. Except me. I know the truth. And you do to. You just don't want to admit it."
It... it's not true!
He shrugs. "Hey, if it makes you're feel better, you're like everyone else. A pawn in my game. The Pigmasks, the villagers, Fassad, you, and everyone else. All of you just players in my game. And I'm winning it."
"No... that can't be right."
"You think you know me?! You don't know anything! But you'll see. You'll all see. Everyone who hates me will be gone, and I'll be the only one left."
"That's not what you want."
"That's what you think. But you know it. You know I don't care about you. You know all I want is this world to burn down and to everyone flail around as it crumbles around you. Pigmasks and villagers all screaming in terror as the end of the world comes again. And you wanna know what the best part it? It'll all be your fault! Because you pulled the Needles! So don't fail me."
"You're wrong. I'm more than a robot, but even if I was, what does that matter? Who's to say a robot can't feel just as much as anyone else?! And.. it is true that I do not know you as well as I would like. But the Master Porky I know is a fair and benevolent ruler. One who seeks to improve this world, not destroy it. That is who he is. That's why I know you're not him!"
"Keep telling yourself that."
He cackles again, as his body melts away in similar style to the Colonel's, and out rises a pair of eyes with an eerie smile. Despite how creepy it is, it feels more comforting to look at it then Master Porky.
More easy to destroy.
Immediately, I charge my sword with electrical energy before swinging it. A bolt of lightning strikes the left eye of the floating face, yet it remains unfazed. Am I not doing anything... no. This is an illusion. The smile won't react to what I do, because it doesn't exist.
But the creature it's disguising does. With a few strikes, I slash across its face before it gets a chance to attack, and immediately after the fourth, it changes into a mushroom. That's the strange part — it didn't even morph like Master Porky did into a smile. It just suddenly changed.
The mushroom tries to flee, but I point my sword at it and release another bolt once again, frying it for good.
Slowly, I put my sword away and take deep breaths. That... that wasn't as bad as last time. At least that's one thing, but it still wasn't pleasant. Hearing Master Porky say all those things... I shudder. But they're all lies. The real Master Porky is everything I said — benevolent, with the best interests of his people at heart.
But he was right about one thing. I did fail him, twice. I cannot fail him again. I will not abuse his forgiveness.
The path splits, left and right. On a whim, I go left. I'm starting to feel tired. It would be nice to rest... perhaps in a nice warm hot spring. Just relax and feel everything melt away...
I'm definitely doing that once I get off this island. I continue along, and... huh. That's convenient.
This path seems like a dead end, but not without its rewards — a hot spring. And it's rather luxurious as well. Flowers and fruits ordain the sides of it, with a number of alcoholic drinks on the anterior. Of course, alcohol would be a terrible thing to have, with its reaction lowering nature, but the luxury is alluring.
I step forward, prepared to soak myself in the hot spring, but then I stop... what was that smell? I can smell various scents, pleasant ones from all the fruit and flowers, but hidden within... something noxious. There's something suspicious about this hot spring.
Hm... I found this hot spring only moments after desiring one. Convenient timing — too convenient.
I'm hallucinating. This hot spring... isn't actually there. I'm not sure what it really is, but I feel it's hardly something safe.
So still weary, I step back and leave as fast as I can. The longer I stay, the more traps my mind will create. I can't fall for them.
I double back, taking the path to the right. I... I think I'm getting used to these illusions. The one of Master Porky wasn't too bad, and I didn't fall for that hot spring. I just have to keep... oh no. What's this?
Another person. I get closer, getting a better luck. It's a woman, with brown hair and... a red dress. But she's facing away from me — I can see her back, but not her face.
Why do I... no, NO! You... you're her! You're that woman, from... from the third Needle! Wh, why are you here?!
The Colonel and Master Porky... they were both individuals I know. But I don't know you, so why are you here?
You're dead.
I raise my sword, pointing it at her back. "Who... are you? And what are you doing here?
"Don't you know?" she replies. She seems... disappointed.
"No. I don't. You're some... random person. I don't know who you are at all."
"Really? Or... are you just trying to hide it?"
"That's... you are dead. You're not real. Turn around, so I can show you back to your grave."
She laughs softly, a laugh that's seems to emanate a... an indescribable warmth and love. I... I want to drop it. Drop my sword. No. This is... this is not real.
But she seems to acquiesce to my request, as she slowly turns — WHAT THE HELL?!
My breathing runs ragged as I... I... what... her, her face...
There's nothing. On... her face. No eyes. No ears. No mouth. No nose. Nothing. It's... completely blank. Completely blank. Bald. Like an egg.
"What... what are you?"
She softly laughs again, and for some reason, I can't help but get the impression she'd be smiling, if she had a mouth. "You're right. I am dead. And it's all your fault. But... I didn't mind that. All I asked... was that you avenged me."
"Tell me who you are!" I shout frustratedly. "Who are you to me, if I would avenge you?!"
"It wasn't much to ask." she continues, ignoring my previous words and stepping towards me. I take one back. "Take a knife. Climb a mountain. Kill a Drago. That's not too much to ask, was it?"
"I've never done anything like that!" I say, repressing memories of fires and plateaus and screams and fangs and... and...
"You still remember it, don't you?" She says, and somehow... I get the feeling she's casting a sad smile at me.
"I... I was abandoned by my family. Left on that cliff. The Drago attacked, and I fought back! It wasn't revenge. It was self defence! What you say... is a lie. Like everything you villagers say."
"Abandon you? Why... why would we do that?!" Her voice... it's suddenly changed. She's heartbroken. She's crying without tears.
"Because I was psychic!"
She laughs. "It's... strange. You were always more hard headed. But look at you now! You've grown into an intelligent, strong leader."
"Don't mock me."
"I'm not." she says calmly. "I wouldn't say I was as logical as you can be, but... you know that can't make sense."
"It makes perfect sense. Humans... no, you villagers. You hate what's new to you. What you can't understand. And you hate those who are born different to you. Instead of trying to understand them, you'd rather destroy them."
"You are right about that..." she sighs. "It's sad. We're all so used to what we're familiar with. When something bad happens to change that... we'd rather forget it. Move on. Pretend it never happened. But you know someone who lives in that village. Someone just like you."
Lucas...
"Exactly. Why wasn't he cast out?"
I'm drawn to the patience in her voice, and then to the words. I... why wasn't he cast out? They should see him as a freak, like they saw me... why am I thinking about this? It doesn't matter!
"I... I don't know! That's not my concern! What is... is him interfering. And my only concern with him, is being able to sink this into his neck."
She's completely silent, and I wish she had facial expressions just so I could see what she's thinking. Finally, she quietly whispers one thing.
"Why?"
"Because... he's the enemy! He's the reason everything's going wrong! HE'S THE REASON SHE'S DEAD!"
"But killing him won't bring her back."
"No. It won't. But pulling the Needles will. And killing him makes that far easier. And this... this is about avenging her. She's who I want to avenge! Not you. And you... all of you! All of you hate us. Discriminatory barbarians... that's what I heard. That's what I've seen!"
"I'm... sorry to hear you think that. But I want you to know... no matter who you were, whether you were psychic or not, whether you liked to play outside or inside, whether you liked girls or boys, whether you were half man and half machine, I would always love you with all —"
Before I can even comprehend what I just did, I... I did it. Before I could even think, it was already past thinking.
Before she could finished her sentence, I... I stabbed her. In... in...
"... my... heart..."
Her body falls to... the ground, a single wound in her body. I... I look down at the Drago Fang in my hand, sharp and pointed, rough in my fingers as the tip of it gleams with blood, the power to piece anything— NO!
I blink, two times, three times, and it's a sword. It's a sword. A sword. Not a fang. A sword.
... leave. Leave now.
I run. I don't look back.
But I shiver. Because now I understand. I understand what these mushrooms do. It's power at a price... they create hallucinations, but not normal ones.
No... they clutch at your deepest fears and make them reality. They grasp at the weaknesses in your heart and tear them wide open.
But I'm not supposed to have any weaknesses. I shouldn't be affected by these mushrooms at all, yet... I've never seen anything more terrifying on my life. Weaknesses I didn't even know I had, being wrenched from my mind and forced to confront.
It's not real. It shouldn't be getting to me! The Needle... just think about the Needle! Once I pull the remaining Needles, everything will be fine. All this will just be... a bad dream. None of this will matter.
The Colonel will be fine. Master Porky will have his place as ruler of the island. This, this woman... she won't matter anymore. She... she'll be alive. Safe and sound.
And Lucas? He'll be dead.
With those thoughts in my mind, I'm able to slowly build my speed up. I just want this to end! I have to push through. That's the only way past this...
I keep going. I don't know how long. All I hear are my footsteps, but it comforts me. Something I can rely on. Then I hear something else. More footsteps.
A familiar sound... they're mechanical, yet soft. I listen, then head in their direction through some trees. After passing the third set of them, I find the source.
For a minute, I stare. I stare at the person I see. They stare back. A minute.
A... a robot. A maid. A maid... with a white apron and a blue dress.
She smiles.
"HELLO, COMMANDER."
...
...
...
"... Lil' Miss Marshmallow?!"
I... I... I...
All that goes through me is this, this immense joy, the kind that makes you want to cry. I...
"IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN."
What... before I know what I'm doing, I'm hugging her. I'm hugging her and it, it, it... I don't want to let go!
But then, she's... no! NO! She's... SHE'S NOT REAL! Anyone else! I... I would take anyone else but her! The Fierce Pork Trooper, Dr Andonuts — even Fassad! NOT HER!
No, this can't be happening... I can't... I can't! Of all the things for the mushrooms to pick, it had to be her...
As soon as I gain conscious control over myself, I immediately let go of her, opening my mouth and saying, "It's... good to see you as well."
What?! No! That's not what I wanted to say! I, I... I can't do this. If I do then... it'll just hurt me more! But...
But I want to do this. Because... because what if I don't pull the Needles? What if... I never see her again? Even if this isn't real, even if it's all a hallucination... what if this is the only chance I get to speak with her?
I know I shouldn't be entertaining this. I know! But, but...
"IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG, COMMANDER? YOU SEEM RATHER TIRED."
"I... am. A lot has happened."
"I CAN IMAGINE. AND YOU ALWAYS HAD A HABIT OF OVERWORKING YOURSELF." she says with her signature amusement.
"I... I do."
"AS USUAL THEN, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S MY DUTY TO ENSURE YOU GET THE REST YOU NEED." She walks over to one side, before turning back around. "WHY DON'T YOU SIT DOWN?"
I want to. "Lil' Miss Marshmallow, I appreciate the thought, but... I have to keep moving."
"I UNDERSTAND. BUT YOU WON'T GET ANYWHERE DOING SO. SO I ASK... please sit down."
I... I can't refuse it. So I do. I sit down with her. We stay there in silence, it's... we've done this before. Times where we'd sit together in silence, merely... enjoying the other's company. After a while, she looks up at the sky and speaks.
"THE SKY... NOT A NORMAL COLOUR. BUT CERTAINLY AN INTERESTING ONE." She muses. "IT APPEARS LIKE SOMETHING YOU COULD PAINT."
"There's something poetic about it, don't you think? A reflection of the... complexities of life." I finish awkwardly.
"PERHAPS." She seems bemused at my attempt at sounding artistic. "OR PERHAPS IT REPRESENTS HOW UTTERLY FRIED YOUR MIND IS RIGHT NOW. EATING RANDOM MUSHROOMS IN A FOREST, COMMANDER? I THOUGHT YOU KNEW BETTER THAN THAT."
She doesn't seem disappointed, just amused again.
"I... I did, but..." I don't finish it.
"YOU HAD NO CHOICE. A DIFFICULT SITUATION TO BE IN."
"Yes... I appreciate this, but... I should go. Lil' Miss Marshmallow, I... I hope you understand."
She stays quiet for a moment, and I wonder if something's wrong, before she finally responds.
"I... I thought at first it was just you not being used to seeing me again." Her voice... it's more dejected than I've ever heard it before. "BUT THEN YOU SAID IT AGAIN... and again... Lil Miss Marshmallow."
"That is your name though, isn't it?" I'm confused.
"IT IS... for everyone else. But not for you. TO YOU, AREN'T I... Miss Marsh? I WAS... Miss Marsh."
I... I can't say anything back, because... she's right. Miss Marsh. Miss Marsh. That... that's what I called her! And that was like second nature to me... so why was not using it also like second nature to me?
"I WONDER... WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU USED THAT NAME, WITH YOUR VOICE OR IN YOUR MIND?"
I rack my brain desperately, trying to think. This was just a one off. I've thought about her many times, and surely... I would have thought about her as Miss Marsh. I must have!
But when I think about it... I can't remember a single instance recently. When... when was the last time...
Then, I remember. The last time I used that name... was when she died. When she died... that name died with her.
She laughs, but it's one with no mirth at all. "I SEE... I... I didn't realise. I thought that perhaps I meant something to you, but I see that name was just... SOMETHING TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER, RATHER THAN BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO. IT WAS KIND OF YOU, COMMANDER, BUT YOU DIDN'T NEED TO. MY JOB... WAS TO SERVE. NOT TO IMPOSE BURDENS ON YOU.
"NO! It wasn't a burden! I called you that because I wanted to!"
She stares at me coldly. "THEN WHY DID YOU FORGET IT?"
Why... why did I forget it? You don't just forget things like that. I didn't forget it, but I didn't use it because, because...
"Because... it's too painful to remember you." I say quietly.
"TOO... painful?"
"I miss you. The day you heard that you died... that was the worst day of my life. And using your name..."
I can't finish the sentence. Using your name would have just reminded me of that.
"Look at me now." I continue. "I'm stranded on this island, with no idea if anyone else survived the crash, inebriated on mushrooms and speaking to a hallucination of you. It's... pitiful."
Briefly, I can't help but curse myself for throwing those mushrooms away. Yes, they're dangerous, but this... this feels real. It feels like I'm actually speaking to her, even though I know she's not real. If these mushrooms let me see her whenever I wanted...
"YOU KNOW THAT IS A UNWISE IDEA."
I stay silent. I know she's right. I don't want to admit it.
"IN ANY CASE... I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE NEEDLE?"
I nod. She stands up, dusting off her dress for effect and holding a hand out to me. "THEN... WHY DON'T WE SEARCH FOR IT TOGETHER? IT WOULD BE... like old times."
I know, I know I shouldn't. I know this is a horrible idea.
I take it anyway.
As we walk, it becomes clear what's going on. Whatever creature she really is, is a creature of intelligence. It knows that for some reason, I refuse to attack it. It does not understand why, but it has realised this fact and understood what it can do with that.
It plans to lure me to whatever it calls its home, where I will likely be ambushed and then consumed by itself, and possibly other members of its species.
I am aware of this. I know this. I understand it.
I don't care.
"WHICH WAY DO WE GO FROM HERE, COMMANDER?"
There's another intersection. Up or right.
...
I can't. I can't keep doing this any longer, no matter how much I want to. You can't be happy with an illusion. You're just... lying. To yourself.
I shake my head. "I'm sorry. I can't."
"WHY NOT?" she says, puzzled. "IT'S A SIMPLE CHOICE. PERHAPS WE SHOULD FLIP A COIN."
"No, I... I can't keep doing this! I... I WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'm... right here."
"No... you know what I mean. This... this isn't how it should be!"
She smiles, spreading her arms out like a target. "I SEE. THEN... you know what you have to do."
"But... I can't! Not to you!"
"WHY NOT? YOU UNDERESTIMATE YOUR ABILITY TO KILL, COMMANDER."
I won't do this... just please, please transform into one of those smiles! Or another creature! Anything else!
But she shakes her head. "I WON'T. BECAUSE MY JOB IS TO TEAR AT THE WEAKNESSES IN YOUR HEART. AND I'M FLATTERED, COMMANDER, BECAUSE THE WAY YOU SEE ME IS WHY I WON'T CHANGE. I WOULDN'T BE CLUTCHING AT YOUR FEARS IF I WAS ANYTHING ELSE. YOU'RE NOT SCARED TO KILL. You're scared to kill me."
"Of course I am! I... I don't WANT to do this!"
"I know. BUT YOU SHOULDN'T BE SCARED. BECAUSE... you've already done it before. You've already killed me once."
"No... it was the tower, wasn't it? And I blame Fassad for being the one who wanted to blow it up, and the villagers for necessitating that in the first place!"
She shakes her head again. "BUT YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE. BECAUSE THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE. YOU. YOU PUSHED THE BUTTON. YOU DESTROYED THE TOWER. YOU... killed me."
"NO! I.. I didn't! I DIDN'T! I thought you were safe! You should have been safe!"
"BUT I WASN'T. And that's why it hurts. BECAUSE THE MAID WHO YOU GREW SO ATTACHED TO... died because of you."
I... she's right. I... I killed her. Fassad... the villagers. It was me. I killed her. I'm the reason... she's not alive.
"DON'T CRY, COMMANDER. YOU'RE STRONGER THAN THAT. WHAT'S IT YOU SAY? THERE'S NO CRYING... until the end? AND IT WON'T BE HARD TO BRING ABOUT MINE. You've done it once."
She rushes at me with her claw and drill, which I deflect with my sword. It's easy. Simple. But I can't do anything more. I can't bring myself to... to attack her.
It goes on and on, for minutes. It's no harder, because her movements are sloppy, but...
"I won't kill you! I WON'T! Everything I felt... I CAN'T DO IT!"
"But you have to." she whispers. "Just end it all. One attack. Make it easy. Perhaps... that?"
That. I can't. I know how that will end.
She inspects herself, then me. "I SEE... you might destroy yourself in the process."
"I don't know why that happens..."
"IT IS ONLY A GUESS, BUT I SUSPECT IT IS BECAUSE YOU CANNOT CONTROL THAT POWER. IT'S TOO MUCH FOR YOU. I ADVISE THAT IN YOUR CURRENT STATE, YOU DON'T USE IT. YOU'RE TOO... EMOTIONALLY WOUNDED TO HANDLE IT."
"Just kill me." I sigh. "I don't know if the Needles will even bring you back. Fassad could have been just lying. This... this is the only way I'll be sure I'll see you again."
"I can't, because you're right. I'M HERE TO BRING YOU PAIN AND MISERY. And right now, killing you would only reduce it. I wish I could, Commander... but you're very close. I'm not like you. YOU'RE A PERFECT KILLING MACHINE, AND I... I'm not. I'm not made to fight like you are. One strong attack from you, and I'd —"
"That's why I can't do this!"
"YOU HAVE TO. You have to move on, in case you don't win, in case I don't come back. And what better way to move on than to destroy me yourself? I'LL MAKE YOU."
She come at me again. I... I have to do it at once. To make it easier. She's, she's a robot... they're weak to electricity. Maybe... maybe...
I concentrate again while dodging her strikes, but... the fear. The fear. It... it inspires something within me. A... a power. The electricity brims and surges stronger than ever, taking over. My fingers shake as my face burns. This... this is it. This is the most refined version of it.
"PK THUNDER OMEGA!"
Instinctively, I thrust both hands upwards as four lightning bolts blast into the air. I gave upon them as Miss Marsh does as well...
No.
Each lightning bolt slams directly onto her head, as I shout and scream with each and every one, waving my hands hopelessly, trying to call it off or something.
When it's done... she's, she's lying on the ground, sparking.
"NO! NO! NO!" I shout, running up to her. "I didn't mean to do that! NO! How, how can I fix you?!"
"You can't." Why... why are you smiling?! "You can't fix me, because I don't want you to. Because this is what makes you hurt the most, Commander."
"SHUT UP!"
"But... you can use this. You've always known how to use your resources to your advantage. This pain you feel... you can use it. To serve his Majesty."
"I don't care about that! I care about you!"
"That's why you have to do this. Because you're the Commander. You're the perfect, logical machine that serves his Highness. And this... you know this is your greatest weakness. If you don't want to feel like this again... then make sure no one can ever do this to you. Close off your heart completely, seal it off so tight that no one can tear it back open. Then no one will ever hurt you.
"But..."
"But you can't care for anyone, because anyone can be hurt... except his Highness, for he extends past everyone else and can't be hurt by anyone either. It starts with me. And given that I'm currently in a smouldering heap right now... I'd say you've done a rather good job at that."
I'd normally find her making light of the situation... amusing. I don't.
"You are the Commander, the person with no weakness. When people try to look past you, they'll see nothing. Because there isn't anything there, but someone who's empty. Someone devoted to one thing, who cannot be stopped."
"I... I don't want to be that person."
"Don't you see? You already are. GOODBYE... Commander."
She sparks and stutters, and I step back, expecting her to explode. But she doesn't. She just... lies there. Inactive... broken beyond repair.
Just like... when I found her.
Turn back. Turn back into whatever you are.
... it's not doing it. It's not... doing it.
...
... no.
I killed her. Again. I killed her. And brought her back, just so I could do it again. I killed her. The first with a tower, the second by my own hand. I killed her.
There is nothing left. Move on. I walk. I leave.
Why am I not... sad? Why do I feel fine? I don't care. I don't feel anything. This... is what she meant. This is what I need to be. I am the Commander. The perfect machine that serves Master Porky.
And if I close my heart off from everyone... I don't need to be scared. No one... will ever hurt me. Yes.
I walk. I march. There isn't... much else to look. I turn a corner, and there... another.
You.
I see a blonde boy. With a face identical to mine. Staring right at me. Him.
No. Not him.
It.
Lucas. Lucas. LUCAS.
And suddenly, like an delayed explosive, the emotions of Miss Marsh all come in full force. But it's not sadness. Because sadness... would be a weakness.
No. It is the one emotion that's never a weakness. Anger. It stares at me, its face perfectly blank. Emotionless. Devoid.
Lucas. Lucas. LUCAS!
I raise my sword, and for the first time since I've gotten here, my arm stays steady.
My voice does not.
"I hate you. I despise everything about you. I despise the fact that you keep eluding me. I despise the fact that you look exactly like me, and I don't know why. But do you know what I hate most of all? I HATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE!"
There's a part of me that recognises the insanity of screaming at an illusion. It is overridden.
"Everything... everything is all because of you. I have these parts because of you. I had to come to this island because of you. I LOST HER BECAUSE OF YOU! Do you know how it feels?! When, when... when someone you care for is taken away in an instant? And you can't do a thing to stop it.
I'm scared... powerless. And now I have to move on. I don't want to move on! But I have to, because others need me. THAT'S YOU!" I scream, flinging my sword about.
It is unfazed.
"I... I bet you've never lost anyone. Coddled... since the day you were born. Every single day, you were useless! Cry at every little thing and drag everyone down with you!"
(When Mom died...!)
"When Mom died, you did NOTHING! You were just gonna let the Drago get away with it! EVERYONE DID! I did something! And look what happened because of it. It should have been you instead of me. We should have swapped places."
It doesn't say anything.
"You just gonna sit there? Not doing anything like always? SAY SOMETHING!"
It doesn't. It's pointless. Words have no use on this monster. This will.
"PK LOVE GAMMA!"
It's so sudden that I don't even have the chance to think about the thoughts. And it's different than before.
A blast of heavy hexagons fly and explode as soon as they hit it. I don't even need to look down at my hands to see they aren't bleeding this time.
I know I've done it. That is PK Love Gamma. It worked. I've perfected it.
When it gets back up, it looks at me with... yes. For the first time, its expression has changed. Fear. Pain.
I run over to it, and before it can do anything, I stab it. Once. Twice. And again.
Liver. Spleen. Kidney. Lungs. Heart. Brain. Over and over.
Do I need to stab it this many times? No. Does it feel good? Yes.
I slash away at its chest, tearing apart its shirt and shorts in one slice. It was dead long ago, the same look of fear etched onto its face in death. But I keep going. I start to feel myself giving out again, but I continue.
Seconds become minutes, and the minutes become an hour. I'm so tired, but I...
Until finally, I... I... I can't do... who's there...
"... mmander?!"
...
...
My head... it aches. Everything... when I open my eyes, there's... I'm in the ship? What? Pigmasks surrounding me. What... I...
They're illusions.
Immediately, I get up, and everyone looks at me.
"Hey, the Commander's up —"
"So, which one of you would like to die first?" I say, pointing a hand at one.
"Sir, what are you doing?" the Colonel shouts.
"I'm not about to fall for that again. All of you are just illusions. The trees are purple and the sky is pink."
"Okay, I don't know what's going on, but we're all real! The sky is blue and the trees are green!"
...
"They... are?"
I gaze around and see a window, and the sky... is blue. The trees... are green.
Things... are normal? The mushrooms... their effect seems to have worn off!
Immediately, I bow my head. "I... apologise for that. I... had an unpleasant experience in the forest."
"Oh... glad to see you haven't completely lost your mind."
I'm back in the ship... on the bridge? There's a bunch of medical equipment here as well — I suppose they moved it here. I'm not the only person who was resting — lots of others are as well, in varying states of injury. How did that happen?
"I... I think I need to be caught up to speed. The last thing I remember was... being in the forest."
"Yeah, we found you lying on the forest floor, next to some creature that... well, you really did a number to it. Couldn't tell you what it was, but... definitely dead. How did you get there?"
"I landed somewhere on this island, however I was severely wounded. I needed energy, and the only source nearby was... some mushrooms. Said mushrooms were... hallucinogenic. It was unpleasant."
"Wait, hallucinogens? Did we find any of those?" she asks another Pigmask.
"Er... no, they seemed to have cleared out. There was only small amounts." they reply.
"That makes sense." I say. "I feel much better, and I can see straight, which is reliving."
"Yeah, I'll say..."
"In any case, that is my story. What happened here?"
"Where do I start?! Ship crashed, some of us got thrown out, others managed to stay near the ship. Now, luckily, we landed in the forest. Made the landing not as bad. Anyway, I got some here to look for anyone else, and then we got to work trying to fix the ship."
She puts a hand to her forehead and sighs. "We moved a bunch of the medical equipment here, since that place was wrecked. Thought we'd use the bridge as a temporary place for everyone hurt."
I quickly glance around at the room, counting every single Pigmask here. They're not all healthy, but... everyone's here!
"Everyone... survived?"
"Yeah! It's a miracle! You were one of the last we found."
"I am... impressed to say the least. What about the ship?"
She laughs. "Yeah, knew you'd ask that. It's busted up pretty bad, but we did fix it... mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Put it this way — it's good enough to fly. It's not good enough to pass any safety checks."
"That's still impressive nonetheless. All of you. In my absence, you have all performed... I don't have a word." Everyone laughs at that. "Perhaps admirably, but that does not convey a tenth of what you have all done. I'd promote you all, if I could do mass promotions on the spot like this.
I wish we could celebrate this, but we need to secure the Needle, and more importantly, leave this island. This time... I say we don't go near the Barrier Trio with the ship."
"We're going after them again?"
"We have to. That's why we came in the first place."
"How then?"
"Our mistake was being too close. We'll stay far away from their attack range, then send the Porkships in. Their size and speed should allow us to land before they can successfully get off an attack, if we are quick. From there, the plan is as before. Let's set off as soon as we can."
Getting the ship to fly takes more effort, given its state, but we do manage it. As we fly above, I finally have a moment to think about... everything. For some reason, my memories seem somewhat cloudy... I remember most of what happened, but I'm struggling to remember the last parts with... Lucas. That part seems missing.
It was... horrifying. To see all those things... I've never seen anything more scary in my life. I... I'm just going to do my best to forget it. That might be the best...
Luckily, I don't have time to dwell on it, for we reach the Barrier Trio once again, this time far beyond their range. Time for payback. The plan is simple — we send two Porkships down full of the healthiest Pigmasks, which will be too small for the Barrier Trio to attack, then I'll join. With a ground team assaulting them, and the Mother Porkship providing support, we should be able to win.
When we're above, we're out of their range this time. We have two Porkships prepared to launch.
"Launch the Porkships."
"Launching them now."
Two Porkships are released from the underside. I walk to the hatch, prepared to leap out myself, but I'm interrupted.
"Commander! You better take a look at this!"
Hm? I gaze over at the monitor showing what's under the ship, seeing the hill with the Needle on along with the Barrier Trio, and...
"You gotta be kidding me! Right, I think we need to take some drastic measures here, because these guys just keep coming back!" the Colonel says.
The villagers are there, wounded and beaten, but alive and at the Needle! How did they escape Saturn Valley?! Did they cling to a bunch of birds or something? Why do I have to keep asking the same questions?!
This is... unexpected, but we can make this work.
"This isn't ideal, but the Barrier Trio will destroy them." I rationalise. "Then, we swoop in and finish the job."
"Err... Commander? They may have beaten us to the punch with that as well."
I take a closer look, then I notice it. The Barrier Trio... aren't moving. They're inactive? And the villagers are heavily wounded...
They beat them. They beat the Barrier Trio. What the...
Be shocked later. Right now, there's a bigger problem — they're going to pull the Needle. Lucas is already approaching it... think. One needs a large amount of concentration to pull the Needle, so if I can prevent him from attaining that...
It's crude, but it's the only choice.
"Play the Pigmask Army's anthem as loud as you can." I say.
No one questions the order, asinine as it sounds, as one of them taps a few buttons and the familiar tune blasts out.
"Open the hatch. Tell Porkship 01 to stay in the sky, and Porkship 02 to land."
As soon as the door opens, I fly down, getting a closer view. It's working — the obnoxiously loud theme seems to have distracted them, and even if Lucas tried pulling the Needle, he wouldn't be able to focus long enough to do so.
I descend as one Porkship stays in flight, the other landing. As it does, all the Majors inside get out, rolling out my red carpet — ah, we did think that would be amusing to do that once. They point their guns, and none of the villagers make a move, outnumbered.
Slowly, I land on the carpet, as all the Pigmasks salute me. The villagers take a step back, looking at me.
Each of them reacts... differently. The dog barks, typical activity, yet... there's something familiar about it.
The man holds what looks to be a staple of sorts in his hand, but seems to restrain himself from throwing them, realising the futility of doing so.
The girl doesn't seem as smart though, raising her fists as if ready to take on all of us at once. For some reason, I notice her gloves — rather extravagant and shining mystically.
But then... there's him. Lucas. Once again, he seems quiet. Withdrawn.
I... I feel that... that same sensation again. This feeling of... familiarity. And once again, his eyes briefly flash with... something. A recollection? It... it must be.
Why... why is it that whenever I think about you, I want nothing more than to destroy you? But when I see you... it all goes away. And I'm left with... this confusion. Why is it... that...
I want... to hug you. I want to remove this mask, and open my arms. I want nothing more than your...
Deviation detected. Course correction... complete.
This is absurd. These sensations, whatever they are, are some mere mind game. And I won't fall for it. You are the enemy. And now, you'll see the power I have, that which makes me the Commander.
I hold my sword out, as it flickers with lightning. All their eyes snap to it, realising their helplessness.
This is the end.
With one swing, I launch an intense bolt of lightning, arching over and striking all of them.
Instantly, all four of them crumple and fall, being knocked in different directions. They're not dead, but incapacitated. Should I finish them... no, the Needle is more important right now.
As I walk up the red carpet, the Pigmasks all cheer. I head around their bodies, behind the Needle and take a deep breath. It's time.
I grab the Needle.
I'm prepared this time. Having gone through two of these already, the power surge is something I've come to expect, although I'm still not entirely accustomed to it.
This Needle... the power seems to drag into my mind, dragging the most deep rooted memories, ones of...
Master Porky.
I remember the first time we met. I was scared and angry at him, for what I thought he'd done. But I didn't have all the information at the time, and so I made a rash conclusion. I believed he was my enemy, when really... he was the first person in my life I could trust.
And still today, he is the person I trust the most. He was kind and generous, giving me a new life. He chose me to be the Commander of his army. At first, the idea seemed preposterous. But his faith in me paid off, for I have done it.
And though he expected perfection of me, which was only fair, he didn't punish me for when I failed to achieve it. Unlike Fassad, he looks at what people accomplished, rather than what they didn't.
I remember... all the things he confided in me. About his past. How his family failed to raise him. How Ness and his friends destroyed his life. His life should make him hate this world, and yet... and yet after an apocalypse, he still chooses to fight for what good remains. So do I.
And I remember... the day you made me Commander, and bestowed upon me this helmet and sword. But there was something else you blessed me with. Something far greater. A name.
Pokey. That is who I am.
We're two of a kind. Both people cast aside by society and tormented by it, yet we choose to fight for righteousness, because of the good in our hearts. I am your partner in arms. Your eternal comrade. A friend. The double.
Pokey.
And... it's happening again. It's... it's calling. I can see... someone. Someone... I remember running into Dragos. Fighting a mole cricket... eating omelets.
Days... at the beach. Stories at night. And all at the centre of all these things... there's someone I can't make out. A... a boy? I don't know who you are, but...
Deviation detected. Course correction...
I need to know more. I need to know... who you are.
... failure? ERROR.
I spent every day with you. There wasn't... anyone I was closer with. No one. We did everything...
The sunflowers. The necklaces and brackets you'd make from them. And then... crowns. The ones you made... for me.
I hated them. So why did I keep them?
But then things changed. In one night, everything burnt to pieces. No one was going to make things right... but I was never angry that you didn't. Because I didn't want you to get hurt.
I'd... I'd hurt anyone, anyone who tried to hurt you. Because I promised to protect you.
(I'm failing...)
I... why? I... I know I wanted all this. But I don't know why... I don't know who... who would I do this for?! I can't see through the fog of my mind. I can't see who you are! Who are you?! I have to know!
But I don't get an answer.
Like every time, it comes rushing backwards, the energy focused through me in one point, as a voice calls out through the fog... one of equal parts strength and kindness, joy and sorrow, recollection and longing, and most of all...
A voice of love.
A boy's voice... the boy's voice.
'Now. Pull the Needle.'
The pillar of light surrounds the Needle as my eyes snap open. I briefly register the Pigmasks all gasp and flinch at it, before I seize the Needle out of the dirt.
The Needle fades away, before an earthquake starts. The Pigmasks all shout as they feel themselves shake, but I simply take a step back from the spot, just as the purple smoke rises and the fire pillar blasts out.
That... went better than last time. I'm getting used to these, but still am just as confused. What was all that? I'll resolve to ignore those, like with the mushrooms.
"Woah!" a Pigmask shouts. "What's happening to them?"
Hm? I look at what they're pointing to — the Barrier Trio. They start to fade away into nothing... like the Frost Devil, their existence was dependent on the Needle.
"They are beings of energy." I say. "Their very existence is dependant on the Needle. Without it, they cannot sustain a form. In any case, the Needle has been pulled."
"Yeah! Three cheers for the Commander!"
There's applause and cheering once more from the Pigmasks, which I take in for a moment, before cutting them off.
"Thank you, but we have to leave now. The next Needle awaits us. Back in the Porkship."
"Er, sir... aren't you forgetting something?"
"What?"
"Them." the Pigmask says, pointing to... oh.
The villagers.
"What do we do with them? Capture them, or..." They don't finish the sentence, instead drawing their gun. The meaning is very clear.
Let's see... killing them has obvious advantages in that it prevents them pulling the other Needles. And I do long to do so, especially for Lucas here. However, capturing them could provide other benefits... no, that's too risky. They're proved to be a threat in ways I could never have guessed. The only logical choice is to silence them for good, here and now.
Killing them here and now is far safer. It does seem unfair to kill them without giving them a fighting chance, but they hardly gave Miss Marsh a fighting chance. This... is repaying that.
"I will execute them myself."
Starting... with you. Who knew I would be able to exert my desires on that illusion on the real person so soon?
"PK Thunder Omega." Four lightning bolts all strike my sword, being absorbed into it. With one bolt of lightning, this should destroy them... for good.
I swing...
(I WON'T!)
Stop. I... stop? Why am I stopping? Kill him. I swing... and stop. Why... why can't I do this?! It's as if some force is preventing me from doing so. There's something in me that... doesn't want to kill them. No! That makes no sense. I am not afraid to kill.
Why am I afraid to kill you then? There has to be a reason... think for a reason. What is my mind trying to tell me. I hate you. I want to destroy you. If I want to spare you, it would be for a logical reason. What logic is there to spare you? What has my mind realised that I have... not?
The sixth Needle... if I pull that Needle, I win. I will have the majority. We don't know where it is yet though... but these villagers somehow know where all the Needles have been. They have an informant.
Is it possible that they know where the sixth Needle is? If so... they could lead us straight to it! I'll pull the Needle, securing a majority and therefore victory, then eliminate them. Yes... that works. That's what my mind was trying to tell me. That's the reason to leave them alive. Use them... then destroy them.
I straighten up, dispelling the charge in my sword.
"Commander? What are you doing?"
"A change in plan. We don't know where the next Needle is. They might. It is unlikely they will give this information if we try to force it out of them, but... they could lead us straight to it if they believe we have let them go."
"So what are you saying, sir?" another asks.
"Attach a tracking device to each of them. Then... they will lead us to it."
Four Pigmasks shrug and come forward, each of them putting a tracking device on one. They are small, almost impossible to see, and impervious to many things. The dog gets one on his collar, the man gets one attached to his shoes, the girl gets one attached to her pendant, and... Lucas gets one attached under the collar of his shirt.
"Are they working?" I ask.
One of the Pigmasks dashes back into the Porkship, then calls out. "Yeah! We got them all on the radar!"
"Let's leave."
"Yes, Commander."
All six of the Pigmasks salute me and go back into the Porkship — taking the carpet with them, before taking off. I activate my wings, and take to the sky as well.
As I ascend to the Mother Porkship, I... I can't help but spare one last glance at the villagers, their pitiful forms all spread out on the ground.
And then... I can feel it again, the strongest it's ever been. That feeling I felt before, a surging of energy. That warmth in my heart.
Something awoke inside Pokey!
Pokey realised the power of PK Love Omega!
Notes:
Yeah, so this chapter is the first in this fic to crack 10,000 words, and by no small margin either... there was a lot to cram into this chapter, and I wanted to do it justice, so... 12,500 words long.
This is a chapter I've been planning for a very long time, and it all stemmed from a simple question — what if the Masked Man had some of Tanetane's mushrooms? The result is the chapter I've enjoyed writing in this fic most thus far, the sections with Hinawa and Marshmallow being my favourite parts.
For a timeline of events as to how this fits in with Mother 3, things happen like this: the Pigmasks fly to Tanetane island before Lucas and company get there, arriving sometime when they're at Cerulean Beach. The Barrier Trio then shoot them down, causing them to crash land.
The Masked Man then has his adventure on Tanetane while they're travelling through the sea, eventually knocking himself out in exhaustion, at which point Lucas reaches Tanetane himself.
During the period of time between the Masked Man being unconscious, waking on the ship, getting caught up, and flying to the Needle again, Lucas and company travel through Tanetane, and beat the Barrier Trio, with the Masked Man arriving just as they do so. From there, things go as shown in game.
I also wanted to fix two plot holes Mother 3 has, the first being why Lucas doesn't pull the Needle as soon as he hear the Pigmasks coming. My explanation is that the Needles require concentration to pull, which the Masked Man deliberately prevents him from getting... by playing the Pigmask Army Theme. Hey, that thing is annoying.
The other, and far more egregious one, is why the Pigmasks don't kill or capture the group since they're unconscious. My explanation is that the Masked Man chooses to leave them alive so they can guide him to the next Needle, because he doesn't know Fassad is a Magypsy yet (and so already knows where all the Needles are).
Incidentally, for anyone rereading the earlier chapters, I decided to add something to Chapter 19 (specifically the tea scene), which I originally had left out, since I thought it was getting long. Seems like a moot point now, given how long this one is.
On that note, I'd like to ask you a question. I'm considering rewriting the earlier chapters of this fic so they're... not completely bad? I'm somewhat on the fence about it though, since I think the old chapters have a sort of... rustic charm to them. Anyway, I'd appreciate your thoughts on doing so, if you're willing to share.
Next time, Claus heads to Chupichupyoi Temple for the sixth Needle.
Chapter 30: Stronger One
Summary:
Vines, frustrations, Franklin Badges, and the Masked Man's inability to beat three people and a dog.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Today, it ends. Everything ends. The battle, the fighting, the lives of the villagers. Today... all wars finally end.
That being said... I can't help but feel concerned that everyone's already celebrating as if we've already won. In the Mother Porkship, spirits seem to be rather high, as all my troops are discussing what they intent to do after this.
Though they certainly deserve a break, I worry this will affect their work. After hearing some of them talk about going to Club Titiboo, I decide to intervene.
"While I appreciate all of your hard work, I will remind you all that our work is not done yet. I still expect nothing but the best from you all. You will all have ample time to celebrate after the job is finished, I assure you that. Back to work." Everyone grumbles, but returns to their posts.
"How far are we to the Needle anyway? Sooner we pull it, the sooner we're done." The Colonel asks.
One of the Pigmasks at the front gives an answer. "Literally a few minutes. Conditions seem good. I'd say nothing can stop us, but you said that as well with the last Needle, ma'am, so I'm not gonna try our luck."
She laughs in good nature, before turning to me. "You sure this is where it is, Commander?"
"It has to be here. The presence of such an important looking and ancient temple, combined with a Magypsy house nearby? I feel completely confident in saying that this is where the Needle will be."
The tracking devices I had placed on the villagers proved to be very useful, for we saw where they went after Tanetane Island. First, they travelled back across the sea... somehow. You can't just swim across an ocean — it's an ocean! And again, they had no flying contraption on them, so that possibility is out as well. I imagine they found some ridiculous means, like... an octopus.
They then returned to their hometown — according to reports I've gotten, Tazmily Village has become barren and empty. Most of the villagers have relocated to New Pork City by now. A fact which is pleasing to hear — this is exactly what we wanted, and finally it's happening. There's only a few stragglers left, including those four.
However, where things get interesting is the path they took next — they traveled through the forest, and then up the mountains. Not Drago Plateau though, a different set of mountains — Argrilla Pass. Immediately, I requested for the Pigmasks in Tazmily to scout these mountains and inform us of anything they found, and they happened to find a temple, along with a Magypsy's house at the top.
Chupichupyoi Temple. A very strange and difficult to pronounce name for a place. That's where we're going and it's obvious that's where they're heading too. The plan is very simple: beat them to the Needle, pull it, then ambush and eliminate them when they arrive. With that, not only will we have secured victory, but they will be dead.
We've spent time preparing this ambush — unlike Fassad, I don't intend to hold back... though that's a matter which still confounds me.
Why didn't Fassad make use of the full extent of his abilities? Why didn't he use his PSI?
I've concluded he wasn't trying to hold back — his anger and rage proves his intent was to kill them. He went into that battle with every intention to walk away with those villagers dead.
Yet, he held back his PSI. It makes no sense.
Perhaps... perhaps I'm looking at it from the wrong angle. I'm trying to answer the question of why Fassad wouldn't try to kill them... but what if Fassad was holding back his PSI for a specific reason? Fassad held back his PSI because he didn't want them to see it... to hide the existence of PSI from them?
No, that makes no sense. The boy and the girl are both psychics, proficient ones at that. So Fassad couldn't have been trying to hide the idea of PSI in general, but his PSI specifically. Why? What knowledge would the villagers gain from learning Fassad is a psychic, apart from that very fact?
I can't be completely sure that the logic is correct, but it seem to make sense so far. The only missing piece is what Fassad is trying to hide. If I know Fassad is a psychic, I should know this information he's trying to hide."
But then again, maybe I don't know it. I know little about Fassad. So clearly, Fassad being psychic has far more significance to the villagers than it does to me.
What is that significance? Hm... I still don't know what Fassad's reasoning behind it was, but I have ascertained something new — it was not to hold back, but to hide a secret. And while such secrets are irrelevant normally, if they pose a risk to the mission, as they have here, then it is my objective to find out what it is.
Right now at least, I shall move on. Our destination is near, and when I look out of the window, I can see the temple approaching into view. Time to go down.
One Porkship is sent down to the surface, with 6 Majors and the Colonel accompanying me. We'll pull the Needle first, then have others join us for the ambush.
When we land and get out, the first thing I note is the air. It's somewhat thin at these heights, though not nearly to the extent as Snowcap Mountain, nor is at as suffocating as the air was in that volcano. Conditions seem... fine. In fact, everything has gone fine, a fact which the Colonel muses upon once we exit the Porkships.
"You know, this is the first time where we've actually had no problem getting to the place. Every other Needle, there was something preventing us from just dropping on in, but this time... huh. We just did it. It feels weird."
Very weird. Concerning even, since we've never had everything go according to plan. But the temple stands right before us, with no issue getting to it.
The temple itself is covered with clusters of vines, snaring and weaving into a complex web, a web so dense that it makes entering the temple impossible. I can only guess that this temple hasn't been entered in a long time, which would explain the overgrowth... but that creates a logical inconsistency — over that much time, some of these vines would have rotted.
Yet, all of them are perfectly green and healthy, with no signs of any rotting. Once they grew, it seems as if they just remained like that, never deteriorating in any manner.
My initial guess is that perhaps the resident Magyspy has been taking care of these vines, but why would one do that? Vines are parasitic, nor are they particularly pleasing. I suppose it does contribute to the aesthetic of an ancient temple, but somehow, that seems unlikely as the intention. If one went through all this effort to keep these vines healthy, why not just get rid of the vines instead?
"Wow. Someone hasn't been taken care of this place... you'd think such an important place would be cared more for. Guess not. Unless... it's a hoax?"
"No... we have come to the right place. I can sense the Needle inside."
"Well, that's good. Care to do the honours then, sir?"
"Stand back."
As I draw my sword, it briefly occurs to me that maybe the Magypsy kept these vines specifically to stop people entering, as a defence — it's impossible for me to enter with of them in the way. But that makes little sense as well, because vines aren't particularly durable. One slash of my sword would instantly cut them apart.
That's exactly what I do. I slice horizontally, intent on bisecting as many of these vines as possible. My sword strikes the first one... what?
It just... hit it? I swing again, and... it happens again. Instead of my sword cleaning cutting through the vines, it just bounced off, as if the vines were made of metal!
After a while, the Colonel interjects, clearly confused. "Commander, don't take this wrong way, but... have you gotten weaker or something?"
I would take that as an insult, but this is so baffling that I have to actually accept the possibility.
"... I have absolutely no idea what, or why this is happening. I am not holding back. I am trying my best to cut these. But for some reason, these vines seem more durable then anything I've encountered."
I take a few more swings with my sword, putting in as much effort as I can — to the point where my swordsmanship becomes very sloppy and impractical, but the Pigmasks can clearly see that I'm not holding anything back. And yet each time, my sword simply bounces off, doing absolutely nothing.
After a while, I stop because it's clear this isn't getting me anywhere. The Pigmasks all mutter amongst themselves in disbelief and confusion, not knowing what's going on, before one of them raises a possibility.
"Sir, maybe these are magic vines!"
"... magic vines?"
"Yeah! Maybe these vines just... can't be cut. You gotta destroy them some other way."
That's... not a bad idea. Some sort of magical vine which can't be cut? Certainly out there, but we've encountered stranger things, so this becomes plausible.
"In that case, everyone... draw your weapons. Line up and on my mark, fire. 3, 2, 1... fire!"
Lasers fly from everyone, but there's not even any dust or smoke being kicked off — the lasers are hitting the vines, and nothing is happening. After a minute of this, I raise my hand in the air, calling for ceasefire.
"Stop!" All the Pigmasks respond, just staring at the vines.
"That... did absolutely nothing." the Colonel says, confused. "Why did that do absolutely nothing?!" She raises her gun, visibly trying to not throw it down to the ground.
It was supposed to be simple... even when the journey goes well, getting to the Needle is still difficult. Horror fills my mind as I recall the last thing that was used to directly prevent access to a Needle — the door requiring that dance.
"I want a scan to be conducted on those vines." I say. "Identify what they are, what they're made of, everything. I want to know exactly what the circumstances surrounding these vines are."
Two of the Pigmasks rush back to the Porkships, getting scanning devices before carefully examining the vines. There better be a good explanation for this...
I can see them discussing their findings... they seem to have reached a consensus, but are currently voting on who will deliver it. If they're voting on it, it can't be good news. The unlucky Pigmask walks up to me, saluting.
"Commander. The, the findings."
"Proceed."
"We each scanned them a few times, and from everything we found... they're just ordinary vines. There's nothing special about them that we can tell. They're not made of anything but plant... stuff?"
... I'm not even surprised at this point. Ordinary veins which are stronger than steel? Somehow, it doesn't even seem impressive, just annoying. And effective.
"You know what this reminds me of?" the Colonel starts nervously.
"Don't say it."
"Do you think we should get everyone to try dancing? It might work..."
I sigh. Is that the answer? I hope it's not the answer. It can't be. "For once, logic prevails in this matter, because there's evidence to suggest it won't work. The other two doors requiring that dance had a distinctive pattern on the door, and a depiction of the dance nearby. Neither of those things apply here."
"So we actually have to break through these vines? Oh Pork..."
"Evidently, it seems that they won't break with a large enough force... or maybe they will. Or perhaps they'll only break with a specific force. Who knows?"
"So what you're saying is... we need to try literally anything and everything we have.
... I really hate this.
Addressing all the Pigmasks, I say, "These vines need to go. How do we get them down? I am clueless. So I want you to do everything and anything you can think of. Unleash everything."
And so over the course of the next hour, we try a variety of things to destroy the vines: blasting them, kicking them, chucking bombs, karate chopping — I even see one of them tickling the vines. And I would call it stupid, I really would, but when a sword fails to cut through vines, nothing can seem stupid.
At one point, I even blast it with PK Love, but to no avail. Though, that was only the Gamma level... I could try Omega, but I'm hesitant to do that since I haven't had the time to practice it.
When I got back to New Pork, I had to get some work done — the crash landing broke a few of my systems, including my jet pack. I had to get Dr Andonuts to repair them, which means I didn't get the time to practice this final level of PK Love.
Actually, I haven't even used it once, and considering that the previous and weaker stage lead to self injury before I was able to handle it... I suspect this wouldn't end well. I'll save it as a last resort.
Eventually, we even settle on going back up to the Mother Porkship, and getting a Clayman to come down.
"Release the Clayman!" The Colonel shouts.
The Clayman activates and immediately charged forward towards the vines pounding at them over and over again. It crashes, it bashes, it smashes, but nothing!
Why won't these vines go down?! They're vines! They're supposed to crumble and burn! Why is it that we're always stopped and opposed by the most inane of things?!
The villagers surviving a drop from the sky, doors requiring you to dance, a monkey letting the Ultimate Chimera run loose, a mountain that can't be landed on, Fassad and his arrogance, our ship being shot down by psychic statues, and now vines that can't be destroyed! Every conceivable thing that could go wrong has!
It's just like that door... have we tried Super Bombs yet? I don't remember. You know what? It worked then — I may as well try it here. Maybe it's complete and utter rage that breaks these vines.
So I step forward, clutching a Super Bomb attached to my waist.
"Stand aside." I say to the Colonel, who looks at my hand and scurries off as soon she sees what's in it. With as much force as I can, I chuck the Super Bomb at the vines, where it explodes, completely obliterating the Clayman... and doing nothing to the vines.
... I give up.
But immediately, I hear a few shouts from the Pigmasks, including one from the Colonel. "Commander! We got company!"
What now? I swivel on the spot and... fantastic. Exactly what we needed right now.
The villagers. All four of them are here. They were quicker than I thought they'd be, and they're all ready for a fight.
They weren't supposed to get here yet... but these vines have disrupted everything. Very well... we'll simply have to invert the plan — destroy them first, and then pull the Needle.
I stare over at them, pointing with my sword. The meaning is clear to all the Pigmasks — destroy them.
The Colonel nods at me, then turns around. "Alright! Remember our duty! We're the Pigmask Army and we fight for the Commander! Charge!"
And immediately, it's complete chaos. All six of the Majors and the Colonel charge forward, firing their weapons. Truthfully, I don't expect them to win. I am very proud of all my soldiers, but these villagers are stronger than any Pigmask could hope to be.
But winning is not why I'm having them fight. No, this provides me information. I've never seen any of these villagers actually fight for long, so this will provide a chance to observe each of their strengths and weaknesses.
The dog seems to be the weakest link of them all, though certainly very capable for a dog. It's faster than any human could hope to be, and certainly has a ferocious bite. A rabid creature. Fitting for rabid villagers. Yet, somehow, I get the impression I've seen it before...
The man seems to be the most intelligent of them all, with a variety of odd tools that have debilitating effects. I'll certainly admit he's putting them to good use, and he appears to like kicking his foes.
I remember hearing that he has a limp though, and when I observe carefully, I can see that his lower left leg is entirely paralysed. Perhaps due to an injury? Another showing of his intelligence is how he's adapted his movement around his injury — he's the fastest of the three humans. To kill him, I'll have to capitalise on that limp.
The girl seems to be the polar opposite of the man — she's very reckless. She appears to like a direct approach, given the Pigmask she's repeatedly punching right now, but I've seen her use a variety of offensive PSI over this fight.
She flings a blast a PK Fire at a few Pigmasks, proving my point. Evidently, she's their specialist with that.
Most concerning, she knows PK Thunder. While I've gained some manner of resistance to it, I can't get around my fundamental weakness completely due to my mechanical parts. Still, I do have one way of helping with that.
And then, there's Lucas.
No one confuses me more then him. The other three could be placed in distinct categories, but Lucas... is harder. I suppose the most definitive place to put him is support. He's shown a variety of healing and assist PSI, and he's skilled at it as well.
But, he also seems to be the strongest of them, even more so than the man. When he strikes someone with that sparkling stick of his, you can practically feel the impact.
In addition, there's PK Love... if he's also learned it in the same manner I have, he would currently know up to Gamma. That's nothing to mess around with, and I of all people know of how powerful it is.
Though the Pigmasks outnumber the villagers by 3 people, it's clear they're not as powerful. It also becomes clear to me what their greatest weakness is — they're not specialised enough. All of them are reliant on their weapons and tools, but outside of that, they don't have much else.
They're certainly stronger than the average person, and the Colonel in particular is definitely forcing them to put in some effort — her PSI Shields are helping a lot. But each of those villagers has a distinct strength that they're able to capitalise on, while all the Pigmasks have the same training, so they end up doing the same things.
I suppose a similar case could be made for myself, seeing as I'm also very reliant on my weapons and tools, but unlike the Pigmasks, I have the raw power to back it up.
... it's starting to become clear why these villagers have been such a consistent thorn in our plans.
Overall, it's a slaughtering for my Pigmasks and after seeing the Colonel get kicked to the ground by the man, I decide to put an end to this. This has gone on long enough.
Holding my sword to the side, I swing at the air, causing a lightning bolt to strike the ground in front of me. The resounding crack rings throughout the plateau, and everyone ceases fighting — including the villagers.
There's silence, as everyone focuses on me, on my movements.
I look around at all of my Pigmasks, each of them beaten and weary, pushed beyond anything they've done before, but none more so than the Colonel, who lies on the ground, struggling to get up from the sheer damage they've dealt her.
I point one hand at her, wordlessly filling her with the energy of Lifeup, allowing her to get up and move to the side. The rest of the Pigmasks follow suit, leaving no resistance between them and me.
...
I knew the Pigmasks wouldn't win. I sent them fighting with every expectation that they would lose. And they did.
That doesn't make it any less infuriating.
The first, and only one of them to approach me is Lucas. Of course it would be him. And yet, I can't help but feel moderately surprised. Of all the people there, he seems by far the meekest.
You've always been a coward.
Or perhaps, it's recklessness. But... he doesn't strike me as the reckless type. No, that seems like a quality better attributed to the girl standing back there.
What are you... doing? He's staring directly at me. It's disconcerting. It's confusing. It's... comforting.
It happens again. The recollection. The sensation. I try to resist, but that warmth in my heart... it's intoxicating. A warmth I've never felt, and I want more of it.
Why is it you? The person who looks like my mirror... it could have been anyone else, but it was you. The person I hate the most. Maybe it's irony.
It doesn't matter. This warmth I feel for you, is nothing more than a carefully woven illusion that is to be burnt with the warmth of my lightning. The desire I have to know more, is nothing compared to my desire to serve Master Porky. And this piercing confusion you've caused me, is nothing compared to the piercing pain you'll feel at the end of my sword.
There's little point trying to assign meaning to that which will soon be a corpse, but I've figured it out what made you step forward. Not bravery, not recklessness... but stupidity.
You remember exactly what happened the last time we met. I can see it. You haven't forgotten. And you know I'm going to do the exact same thing again.
Yet, you still stand here. Last time, my aim was simply incapacitation. But this time... my aim is to kill you. So be it.
Without giving him any time to dodge or try anything, I swing my sword forward, launching an intense bolt of lightning at him. Goodbye.
Clang!
What was tha —
...
...
DANGER! SEVERE ELECTRICAL OVERLOAD! RESETTING ALL SYSTEMS!
...
...
... you... what...
...
"COMMANDER!"
... how... I... you...
I... I... I don't... I don't understand. What... I... I hit you with my lightning...
And it hit me instead.
How... how is that possible?! I didn't miss! I hit you! The lightning... bounced off you?
How?! HOW?! That's impossible!
I rack my brain, quickly trying to think of any explanation, before coming up with one. A PSI Counter. A way of reflecting PSI back onto the attacker.
Yes... he must know it, and he prepared for my lightning by using it on himself. It seems plausible, likely even... until I remember that PK Thunder ignores Shields and Counters! That's its defining feature — an inability to negated or reflected in any way!
Yet, somehow, somehow... this boy managed it. Maybe... maybe he's learned some way to create a Counter that ignores that rule, a Counter that is able to reflect PK Thunder.
I focus my eye on him... nothing. No Shields or Counters. Nothing at all. He reflected that by himself.
... what are you? What are you to survive drops from the sky, fights against psychic demigods, and to reflect lightning with nothing but your own body?
You... you don't make sense. You defy logic. I... for the first time, I can feel a measure of fear creeping into my heart.
No. There is an explanation for this. You didn't have this mysterious lightning reflecting power the last time we met, which means you've acquired it somehow since then.
I don't care what you are. I'm not the Commander because I can kill the weakest foes with impunity. I am the Commander because I can fight the strongest foes and win. You'll be no different.
A few of the Pigmasks come rushing to my side, but I thrust a hand out, stopping them. I stand back up, clutching my sword tighter than ever as I examine all of my opponents.
All of them. Ready.
You've hurt my soldiers. You've terrorised our order. You've challenged Master Porky. And I am his servant, his sole confidant in life. Pokey.
For all of that...
I leap into the air with a downwards swing, intent on bisecting Lucas, so quickly that he doesn't have time to react. With blinding speed though, the man takes him by the collar and pulls him back, just before I can slice him. My sword hits the ground with a thud.
The girl immediately snarls at me, enwreathing both hands with fire as she charges at me. She throws a punch, but I very easily block the attack.
She tries a few more, but it's little issue blocking each and everyone. She's certainly strong, but she lacks any technique. Her strikes are far too telegraphed — there's raw talent, but little refining of it.
Eventually, I tire of this, so I catch one of her fists with my free game, startling her, but then she suddenly grins. I quell the instinct to return her previous favour and punch her straight back, instead activating an internal system of mine — she has something up her sleeve.
And sure enough, immediately after I see that grin, she shouts, "PK Freeze Gamma!"
An icy blast projects from her right hand, colliding straight with me. Its effects are minimal though, merely pushing me back slightly.
She looks shocked, as if expecting that to do more. You don't train with Fassad and not gain some resistance to PSI. Of course, having an internal PSI Shield generator also helps.
Lucas raises his hands and I quietly hear him call out, "Defence Up Omega."
Blue particles encircle all of his friends and himself, rising upwards. Hm. Here's my counter — Defence Down Omega.
The same type of blue particles encircle them, only this time seizing downwards, undoing what Lucas did before.
"That's annoying..." the man mutters.
Quite. Anything you do, I have a counter for. You have no hope.
I take some distance from them all, and turn my left hand into my cannon. There's no reason to waste good tactics in them. So rather simply, I just start firing shots, sniping them with great accuracy from afar. Laser fire isn't inherently lethal, but it's certainly not something they can keep taking.
The girl sends tries to knock me out of the sky with shots of PK Fire, but again, it's all too easy to dodge through them all. While she's doing that, I notice the man picking something out of his pouch... IS THAT A —
Immediately, I fly back down as he chucks a Super Bomb at me, barely missing the explosion... where did he get one of those?! Okay, that's — ARGH!
He sprays with some sort of liquid... saltwater? It seeps into my wings, and immediately, I retract them before they can be damaged, starting to feel them rust. What kind of saltwater is that? I've never seen any that causes rusting so quickly.
I suppose flying may not be the best option then. No matter. Land combat is my expertise.
Seemingly invigorated by that man's successful attack, Lucas and his dog both decide to strike next. The former swings his stick at me, which I block, but I'm taken by a bite to the stomach by the dog.
Recovering, I swing down at it, while punching Lucas with my arm cannon. Though its purpose is obviously long range attacks, my arm cannon is at the end of the day, a metallic glove, which makes it very useful for delivering powerful blows.
As soon as both are halted, I immediately slice at Lucas, neatly cutting across his arm, then following it up with more and more, until I literally floor him with one good strike. Now's my chance.
I raise my sword, then plunge it straight down, ready to pierce straight through him.
(LUCAS!)
...
... I... can't?
System error. First failsafe online.
What am I... AHHH!
I feel my muscles seizing up, as PK Thunder strikes me — that girl must have been preparing. Lucas rolls away while he has the chance, taking my opportunity with it... what's happening? Inwardly, I curse myself... why am I hesitating at crucial moments?!
Another bolt of PK Thunder flies my way, but I quickly leap sideways to avoid it. Instinctively, I concentrate, preparing to fire my own set back.
Lucas seems to notice this, and a number of psychic shields envelope all his allies. Ah... he's preparing for PK Love. Not my intention now, unfortunately... and they are pointless with my Shield Killer.
But then, I stop, almost forgetting that... that reflecting power. I would just be wasting my time.
Or... perhaps not. Do they all have this ability? For some reason, I have... a hunch. A hunch that this reflecting ability they have isn't shared by them all... only Lucas.
Carefully, I weigh it up. If I'm right, that information will help immensely. If I'm wrong, the worst case is I have three lightning bolts coming back, but if I'm quick, I can absorb those with my blade.
Raising my free hand, I fire three shots of PK Thunder at the girl, the man and the dog. The first two shots strike perfectly, doing full damage, but Lucas dives in front of the dog just before the third bolt can hit it. There's that clang again and as soon as I register the sound, I raise my sword as the lightning bolt gets reflected back, absorbing it with my blade.
Lucas looks at me, and I return it. I've figured it out. Only you have this mysterious lightning reflecting ability, and clearly it's something you can't give to other people, because you would have done so if it worked like that.
But how can you do that? I focus my mechanical eye carefully on Lucas, scanning his body for anything... what is that?
Pinned to his shirt is a badge of some kind. It would be unremarkable if I weren't specifically looking at it, but the appearance seems... familiar. No, it can't be... that can't be it.
But when I focus my eye and scan it, my worst suspicions are confirmed.
Name: Franklin Badge.
Description: A mysterious artefact which confers the ability to reflect lightning attacks to its bearer. For that, it is highly sought after, due to it being the only method of protection against the normally uncounterable PK Thunder.
The properties of this badge are noted to be rather complicated. Its properties once consisted of the ability to reflect highly concentrated beams of energy, but an exposure to extraterrestrial PSI was believed to transmute the qualities of the metal, giving it the ability to reflect lightning instead. It is unclear why this happened.
The history of this badge is also noted to be of importance. The last known owner of this badge was Ness, who received this badge from Paula Polestar Jones, in order to allow him to fell a captor of hers that was proficient with PK Thunder. On his attempt to return it to her, she insisted he keep it as a token of her gratitude for saving her from her captor.
The history of this badge past this point is unknown.
Notes: If found, it is to be returned to His Highness for a reward of 1 million DP.
... I have many questions. Many questions. I can't even begin to understand just how... what? How is that here?
It's... none of that matters right now. At least this explains my lightning reflecting. Good. Logic prevails.
So, that means Lucas is off limits when it comes to lightning attacks, but everyone else is still vulnerable. That's more than workable.
Activating my sword, I turn it towards the person furthest away from Lucas — the man, and launch a boot of lightning at him, frying him. The girl rushes off to help him as the dog growls at me, charging full force at me like a train — so fast that I fail to dodge it in time.
Still, it's only a dog and despite its speed, it's not nearly heavy enough to topple me. I stand my ground, sliding back a bit. Taking aim, I fire back, but with great agility, it manages to dodge and weave through them all. It leaps through the air — GET OFF!
This mutt bites down on my leg, refusing to let go. Rabid animal. I try shaking it off, but to no avail. So, I hold my sword to the side and up and plunge straight down, intent on piercing it.
(BONEY!)
...
... stop. Why am I... stopping? For some reason, I, I can't bring myself to...
...
...
... Boney?
System error. Second failsafe online.
What?! It... it... again?! I... how do I? You're... how do I know what you're called?! You're... it's a trick. It's a trick!
But... the same thing happened with Lucas... and I was right with that. Logic... logic dictates that I would be right here as well... but this isn't logical to begin with!
And yet... I know it to be true. I know it is. Boney. That's the name... of this do — what the?!
I feel a sharp pain in my other foot, and when I look down, I see a staple pinning it down to the ground as well. My eyes snap back up at the man, who grabs a smoke bomb from his pouch and throws it at me, engulfing... Boney and myself.
The acrid smile feels someone's cut onions in front of my face... ENOUGH! My mind and thoughts are my own worst enemy here. I wrench my right foot up, breaking through the staple. With it now free, I kick this dog off, sending it flying out of the smoke.
My turn. Time to — what was that? I heard something land on the ground nearby... it's hard to see with all this smoke. Ah, there it is... some sort of bo —
Before I can do anything other than raise my arms, the Super Bomb explodes, sending me high into the air and crashing back down. They're... they're very good...
Lying on the ground, it comes to mind that... I may not win this. No. I will win this. I will kill them all here and now, right where they stand.
I charge a shot as quietly as I can, while also healing the wounds I can with Lifeup. It doesn't take care of the worst of them, but it will have to suffice.
"What's that bastard doing in there?" I hear someone say — I think it's the girl. You're about to find out.
Once at maximum capacity, I jump up on my feet and out of the smoke, releasing it at the first person I see — which just so happens to be her. It collides marvellously with her abdomen, but she doesn't go down. Impressive.
But feeling a desire to return her earlier punches at me, I run forward as fast as I can, slicing the man on the way for good measure, then punch her directly in her face with my arm cannon. She cries out, clutching her face in her hands as blood streams down it.
Instinctively, I turn, expecting someone to retaliate and sure enough, Lucas comes rushing, using his stick like a lance. Very inelegant.
I wait, positioning my sword carefully. Just as he strikes, I swing diagonally upwards, catching his stick and sending it straight out of his hands. Immediately, I capitalise on this, by quite simply bashing straight down on Lucas's head with my cannon as hard as I can, the force of the blow sending him crumbling.
Luckily for him, I decide to catch him during his fall, by kneeing him in his stomach and when he falls backwards, I blast him away.
I've been wanting to do that for so long.
The man and... Boney both register this with shock, before coming at me next. I notice Boney has a stick in his mouth... ah, he must have caught Lucas's weapon when it went flying out his grasp.
The man does his usual thing with a flurry of kicks, but rather than biting, Boney swings his head repeatedly, trying to swing the stick. It's hard to block all of the strikes — a few of the man's kicks slip in here and there, and they do more than just sting. I'm getting backed up towards the temple... and that's not all.
While Lucas is healing both himself and that girl, I see her hands tingle with electricity. I see... once I'm backed up with little room to dodge, she plans to unleash PK Thunder. That's clever.
I won't allow it. As the two continue this assault, I watch carefully at the man. Boney attacks with the same strike each time, but the man changes his kicks, sometimes putting more or less power into each of them. There's a pattern to it... two weak kicks, one moderate, one weak kick, then one strong.
I count this pattern carefully and when he does a strong kick, I thrust the blocking side of my sword at his leg, the force of it catching him off guard and causing him to falter slightly. A fatal falter.
Simultaneously, I slice him while firing a shot at Boney. The man is quick enough to leap backwards, but Boney gets hit. With the assault haltered, I gain my distance, just as I hear a shout.
"PK Thunder Gamma!"
I raise my sword above my head, absorbing two bolts which strike straight down — the third one misses, hitting the vines instead. Turning my sword upon the man and Boney, I discharge the stored lightning, electrocuting them both, much to her... shock.
With a quick use of PK Love Alpha, both of them are sent flying in opposite directions. While Lucas tends to both of them, the girl seems intent on taking her shot next, still sporting some blood on her face. I suppose she's not too happy about that.
She reaches into her pockets as she runs forward and suddenly, I see an object dart from her hand, which hits my shoulder so fast I can't even recognise what it is. She does this over and over — they sting a bit, but it's nothing painful.
Finally, I'm able to block the object she keeps flinging with my sword, getting her to stop. Upon inspection of her right hand, I'm able to see the object she was hitting me with... a yo-yo? That's what she was using? What an absurdly impractical weapon.
Out of curiosity more than anything, I inspect the yo-yo more closely, intent on ensuring it's not some sort of... mystical yo-yo. But sure enough, it's nothing more than an ordinary yo-yo, red with a crown on the side...
Red with a crown. Red with a crown.
... no.
It's... impossible.
I've... I've seen that yo-yo before. I've seen it. That's the yo-yo... the yo-yo that was in Thunder Tower. The yo-yo kept under lock and key in Master Porky's playroom. That yo-yo... that, that... it...
That yo-yo.... that yo-yo was HERS! She... she wouldn't give that up on her life!
... on her life. On her life.
I... see. It was never the tower. It was never the tower at all. They came... and they killed her. They killed her for it.
It all makes sense. It all makes sense. It all... MAKES SENSE.
I walk towards the girl, charging a shot as she tries flinging the yo-yo at me. Each time, I deflect it, until I'm close and release the shot nearly point blank. The explosion knocks her straight to the ground, lying on her back. She attempts to get back up, but before she can, I raise my boot and slam it directly down on her pelvis.
The blood curdling scream she gives is the most satisfying thing I've heard today.
So as always the case with an effective attack, once you find it, you do it again. And again. And — AH!
Suddenly from my right, I'm body slammed by the man, clearly enraged, and unlike with Boney's earlier attempt, this one nearly takes me off my feet, just from the surprise... he's much stronger too. At the last moment, I'm able to plant both feet firmly on the ground, locking hands with him.
He seems intent on trying to topple me over. I match brute force with my own, but he won't give in. Neither one of us can gain the advantage over the other — my enhancements give me a lot of strength, but this man is clearly well built and at the end of the day, he's a grown adult. I'm not.
In that case, I'll have to find some other way of gaining the advantage. Let's see you handle the heat.
I start charging my cannon again, and the man starts to wince — the heat radiating off must feel like keeping your hand on a hot frying pan. What will it be? There's only so much pain you can tolerate, and if you still keep it up, you'll lose your hand.
Before he can make a decision though, I decide to make it for him, carefully aiming a kick at the paralysed part of his leg. He cries out and the brief stumble he gives is all I need to break the struggle, then fire the charged laser directly at his face.
He takes it remarkably well though... too well. I activate my wings, grabbing him by the waist and flying upwards. He tries kicking and struggling, getting one good elbow into my stomach, but a little pain won't deter me.
Once I'm sufficiently high, I simply drop him. Let gravity do its work... with a little help. As he falls, I point my sword at him, firing a bolt of lightning straight ahead. When it strikes him, he's sent flying to the ground even faster, landing with a resounding crash.
Still hovering, I stare down at them all. This is where it ends. Pressing one finger to the side of my helmet, the Shield Killer activates and a high frequency noise rings out, causing everyone else to clutch their ears.
I'm undeterred. The noise causes blue sparks to fly off the villagers — and some of the Pigmasks, as all the psychic shields applied start shattering. When it finally ends, everyone stares at me. Friend or foe, everyone knows what's next.
With one hand outstretched, there's only a single thought flowing through my mind.
PK Love Gamma.
The multicoloured hexagons fly furiously from my palm, striking and exploding when they hit each of them. By this point, I've gained perfect control of this stage of PK Love, and the damage is profound. All four of them instantly bleeding from the sheer power.
The Pigmasks all cheer at this, and I only feel more motivated to win. This fight isn't just for me. It's for every person that has suffered from their hands. Every person in New Pork City who relies on us.
For every Pigmask. For Master Porky. For Miss Marsh!
But... things won't be so easy. I see Lucas manage to pick himself up, and with green energy circling his comrades, most of their wounds are suddenly healed, and they're all back on their feet.
He healed them all at once? How did he... Lifeup Omega. The most advanced version of Lifeup, notable for its ability to heal multiple allies, unlike all its predecessors. I've never seen it used before, but I'm sure this is it. And he's able to use it. How utterly annoying.
No matter. That'll only let them keep fighting for so long. Eventually, they'll tire out. I land, carefully observing each of them. It's imperative that I take out Lucas first, for his healing abilities contribute the most to their group.
I fire a few shots, which he's able to avoid, then charge at him, swinging my sword as fast as I can. It lands a clean hit, so I follow it up with a few more, until he quickly thrusts his palms at.
"PK Flash!"
A blinding light burns through my eyes as I feel myself getting disorientated... I can't see! It's like looking into the sun! Carefully, I step back trying to — what was that?!
I choke as a force takes hold of me, slamming me directly into the temple's vines and pinning me against them. Even without being able to see, I know it's the man — he's the only one with the build to be able to do that.
I try to get loose, but he has a death grip and with my back pressed up like this, I can't unfold my wings and simply fly out.
"Now!" he shouts.
As my vision finally starts clearing up, I see the girl approach, her hands tingling with electricity.
He's pinning me here so I can't avoid it. What are you doing? Surely he realises that if he stays here, he'll be electrocuted too. You wouldn't... I try as much as I can to break free, but I simply can't. I can't move my sword, or my cannon. If you won't get off... I'll make you.
I let go of my sword, clawing both hands up. I concentrate all my energy into them, channeling raw electrical energy in them as they start to spark. He notices this, but still maintains his grip. So, I discharge all the electricity at once. Sparks fly everywhere, but most of them hit the closest thing to me — him.
He grits his teeth as he gets progressively electrocuted, but maintains his grip.
"PK Thunder Gamma!"
NO! NO! With a parting punch to my face, he finally lets go, but I have no time to dodge as all three lightning bolts hit directly, electricity surging through me.
Numb... I feel numb. And... tired. Shake it off. Time to counterattack. I pick myself up, ready to... no!
"PK Love Alpha!"
But it's too late to dodge this either. Lucas's fingers shine before he releases the energy in them. I can't even brace.
The attack flies out, identical to mine in appearance... and then it hits.
I... I've used this attack many times, but only once have I ever been hit with it before... and that was simply a reflection of my attack. But... this feels so much different than that.
When it hits, it's as if both body and mind are being attacked — my body with explosions, my mind with emotions. I... the feelings. The emotions you have, that you used... I can feel them all!
Even as my body bleeds and I can feel it ache, my mind tells me... feel it again. Take it head on once more. To feel that same sensation over and over, no matter how badly it hurts.
I... why is it so... different? Mine was cold... and empty. When I was hit by my reflection, I... I hated it. I never wanted to feel it again. But yours is... it's the complete opposite! It's warm, full of life and at the centre is a force that shines brighter than everything else.
Love.
How... how can someone so evil use something that feels that good? How could someone whose people have hunted innocents create something so pure? It doesn't make sense! The emptiness I have... there's none of it in yours. That's what... what I want mine to be like.
... why is it that despite the fact that I'm fighting for the right thing, you always seem to be better than me?
And why does everything hurt so much?! The frustration in me seems to boil to a breaking point... how have I been pushed this far by these people?! I'm supposed to be better than this! Why won't these people die?!
Furiously, I pick my sword off the ground and hover in the air. Right away, I charge it with electricity before swinging it, again and again with each swing sending lightning flying across. I hack at the air widely, just flinging lightning everywhere in front of me.
With no attempt to aim, many of them inevitably miss, but the sheer number of lightning bolts means dodging them all is impossible. It doesn't even matter that Lucas has his Franklin Badge, because my wild slashing means any reflected bolts simply hit and are absorbed by my sword.
Still, he isn't being harmed in this way, so I start firing my arm cannon rapidly as well, sending streams of lasers everywhere. STAY DOWN!
They seem to be conversing, trying to figure a strategy. It doesn't matter. No strategy will work against me. For some reason, Lucas jumps in the air, giving me pause... I'll just blast him with impunity.
"PK Thunder Alpha!"
As soon as I hear that, I stop and raise my sword upwards, instead preparing to absorb the incoming lightning. A thought briefly comes to mind — only Alpha? She knows higher levels, and they would be more effective — why isn't she using them?
But then, the lightning bolt comes down, and it doesn't hit me.
It hits Lucas. Suddenly, he takes off like a rocket, spinning through the air at incredible speed straight at...
... ah.
When Lucas strikes me mid air, he seems to pierce straight through my body, electricity conducting through my entire body as I go down. No, no, no! NO! NO! Stabilise!
I crash. How... how did that work?! Since when could you use PK Thunder to make yourself a ballistic missile?! Argh... the last time I felt this badly wounded was after crash landing. Not two days later, and I'm already feeling the same...
Why... why?! Why does everything ache?! Why can't I win?!
Agonisingly, I pick myself off the ground, just as Lucas does, as he still clutches that mystical stick in his hands.
...
...
...
JUST DIE!
I run towards him and swing my sword, not even aiming for anywhere specific. I just want to slice him in two. Somehow, he's able to block it with his stick... first vines, and now sticks?! What is with things that should be sliced to pieces not being sliced?!
Faster. I swing faster and faster, scoring a few cuts. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I can see Boney charge from behind again, intent on attacking.
Immediately, I pivot on the spot, slice him straight across his stomach, blast him and then electrocute him for good measure, with him giving off many whines and yelps. No interruptions.
Turning back to deal with Lucas, the first thing I see is him gripping his stick hard. I look at his face and see... anger. A burning anger filling his features.
For once, for once, we're feeling the same emotion. I raise my sword again, preparing to bring it down on — wha...
What... I... how did you... his... he slammed it... straight into my stomach.
Don't heave... don't heave... how did he move that, that fast... you... what are you...
His hand... my head, I can... what are you doing?! LET GO! NO!
"PK Love Beta!"
My entire vision is completely drowned in light, immeasurable pain tearing straight through as he fires PK Love point blank at my head.
And then... everything comes. That warmth, that sleepy warmth... the joy, the goodness... everything. It's... so... good. So... good...
With that sudden burst of anger, he seems to return back to normal... he goes over to his allies, healing them with Lifeup Omega again.
WARNING. Severe damage sustained. Further combat is inadvised.
I... I can't keep doing this. I've barely got anything left. If only I knew more powerful versions of Lifeup...
I have to kill them in one go. Kill them... without giving Lucas a chance to recover. He... he has to be at his limit as well, doesn't he? There's a limitation on how hard you can strain your mind with PSI, and with everything he's done... running ragged healing his allies... he's approaching his limit too.
Which gives him no recourse for this. Time to finish this fight. One final time, I rise from the ground, much to their disappointment.
"What the hell?! What does it take to make this asshole stay down?! Is he invincible?"
Funny you should... ask that. I was wondering the same about... you. Weakly, I curl both hands up, making claws out of them. They know what's coming. Lucas doesn't even bother putting up any PSI Shields, because he knows it'll be pointless.
I close my eyes and concentrate, thinking only of Miss Marsh. I failed to protect you. But now... I can at least avenge you. Soon, I'll see you again. And we'll laugh over stories of everything, stories of how your Commander fought for you. Soon. Soon.
But until that day comes, until I pull that last Needle... you'll have four new people to join you.
PK Love Gamma.
The effect is stronger, more potent, more powerful this time, blasting them all down to the ground in a burst of colourful light... they're still not dead?!
After all that, all of them clearly on death's door, yet still clinging to life... if only just. Boney is incapacitated. The girl is bleeding out. The man can only look up on his knees.
And Lucas? He stands, but barely. Weary and wounded. He can't heal them. He can't do anything...
But it feels like neither... can I. It feels as if every part of my body is telling me that it can't move a muscle to swing a sword, every fibre of my mind telling me there's not a single bit of PSI he can generate.
The mind... is just a plaything! There are no limitations. Not for me.
... another then. I hold both palms out, preparing another blast of PK Love.
A gasp rings out from the man, as he weakly says, "He's... he's doing it again?!"
The strain on my mind feels like my brain is being pulled apart, both hemispheres being split into two, and it briefly occurs to me... I could be permanently damaging myself by doing this.
But I don't care. Look at ME! I'm already permanently damaged! I have to kill them, here and now. Annihilate them so thoroughly that I can be assured they're dead.
It doesn't MATTER. None of it does. This will DESTROY you.
Lucas stands up fully. He doesn't move to heal his allies, nor does he prepare to dodge. Instead, he stands there, standing as he did before... letting a single word drop from his lips.
"No."
It shocks me, to hear a single word spoken so quietly yet so powerfully. There's kindness and strength entangled in equal measure in that one word. A desire to protect, a desire to WIN...
He steps forward... and starts doing the same thing I'm doing. He concentrates. He holds his hands out.
No. NO. You're not doing this. You should be dead! How can you keep going, over and over?! What does it take to make you to give up?! DROP DEAD!
I activate my Shield Killer, even though I know he has no shield. It's just for the noise, that annoying screech to break his focus.
But it doesn't. He stays stalwart, only seeming to concentrate harder. What... what are you thinking about that's so powerful as to ignore everything around you? How do you do it?!
I think about... Master Porky. You took me in. You gave me strength. You're why I'm here. And all you asked in return is that I kill these villagers. I won't fail you. NEVER!
Finally, both of us thrust our palms forward, uttering the same set of words in unison.
"PK Love Gamma."
For some reason, the first thing I notice is what seems to be a small measure of shock on Lucas's face at hearing my voice for what is... the first time for him.
And then... time seems to slow down. Hexagons fly outward towards each other and collide mid air... but they don't explode. They... they stay, battling each other, each set trying to overwhelm the other. That... that's never happened!
As energy flies off, so do the emotions that the attacks themselves were fuelled off of, flying through the battlefield, seeping into my mind. I can feel it all... I... your loss, your pain. Everything you fight for, the people at your side, the people you love... it's so good!
Family. The warmth of family. The one you've found... a man like an uncle, a girl like an older sister, a dog like a best friend. And the one you're born with... mother, father and...
Flint and Hinawa. The stalwart father that helped everyone and the kindly mother that was killed before her time.
And a brother. The rambunctious twin adored by everyone.
... Cla —
System error. Final failsafe activated. Initiating Protocol 31212119.
Wha... I... I... what's, what's happening?! I'm losing focus, I can't... I'm starting to forget. Forget... why. Why am I... here? What am I... what am I doing?
Reinitialising... 10%... 20%...
I can't, I feel... things slipping... I have to...
30%... 40%...
Just... forget about it. It doesn't... MATTER. There's no reason for it. Whatever it... was.
50%... 55%...
Everything I.... NO! NOT NOW! I am here to win! I am here for Master Porky! I can't lose focus now! I have to concentrate!
The body is a plaything of the mind... and the mind is a plaything itself. All to bent by my will.
55%...55%...55%... ERROR? ERROR. PROTOCOL DEACTIVATED.
I focus harder, not letting up on the stream of hexagons flying from my hands and Lucas does the same, closing his eyes. Because whoever lets up first dies.
I can't do it.
No, no, this can't be happening! I... I'm losing! I'm... I'm being overwhelmed! I... I can't LOSE! I HAVE to win! I'm... slipping.
It's not enough. He's... he's somehow stronger than me! Why... HOW?! I... I can't give up! I have to PULL through! I...
I have to use that. As a last resort... because if I don't use that, then...
I'll die. I'll die. I won't be able to pull the Needles. I won't be able to bring about Master Porky's dream.
I'll never see Miss Marsh again. No... I will. But not in the world I wanted to.
No. Not now. This isn't where it ends. I survived being mauled by a Mecha-Drago. I survived being thrown of a cliff. I survived being shot down by the Barrier Trio! I WON'T DIE HERE!
PK Love Omega.
And as soon as I use it, I can feel my entire body shaking, every atom in the air shifting before my eyes. I... it's like every emotion I've ever felt is seizing through me, and melding with my body.
This... this isn't PSI. PSI... is a concentrated thought turned into power. The mind creates a power for the body to channel, one that you can control. But this? It feels as though I'm not channeling it... no, expulsing it, rejecting it, as if I'm not meant to channel this power.
Because it's not my power. It's the power of the Dark Dragon itself.
This is PK Love.
The entire arena is engulfed in white light, as my aide becomes stronger, more powerful. It starts pushing back, overtaking even.
This is the end. You've only pulled two Needles — you don't know this power yet! The purest and most refined version of PK Love. You can't match it. You'll be consumed by it. All his allies look down at the ground, awaiting their deaths.
But Lucas is unfazed. He simply maintains his ground, even as he loses, looking... serene. Content with everything. A state of peace.
Then... his eyes snap open, and for a moment... I don't see eyes. I don't see blue pupils looking at me. A never ending void of white that stares through me.
And in that single moment, I realise... he was never trying at all!
Before I can do anything, his side of hexagons rip through all of mine, exploding straight through them, flying on course towards... me.
They pound at me, sending me flying straight towards the indestructible vines where I collide back first, sending a sharp pain through my spine. Warning systems bleep rapidly, and then... it all washes through me.
Love. Love. LOVE! So g... good...
DANGER! DANGER! LIFE SIGNS CRITICAL! IMMEDIATE TREATMENT REQUIRED.
I... I, I can't, you... you can't... I have to... NO! I... YOU... WON'T... I will, KEEP on... won't... move... ARGH!
... retreat. Fall... back...
I... fly. The Pigmasks flee. Mother... must get to it. Fly. FLY. Open. OPEN. Bang it. Open. It opens.
"Huh? What is th — Commander?! What happ —"
Move. Move. Get out... MY... way.
I... Instant Revitalising... it. Need it. I... can't... fail...
"HEY! Someone give me a hand! We need to move him!"
I... can't fail... I am... Commander. Pokey... I AM... confidant. His... trusted SLAVE. I serve... no flaws, NEVER, there's nothing... SERVE.
How... you... I, I... I hate YOU... I've failed. I CAN'T... perfect! There's no, you won't, I am... PERFECT. I CAN'T FAIL... help... me...
MASTER... Porky....
Notes:
30 chapters... goodness. If you'd have told me nearly 3 years ago I'd be writing a fanfic over 30 chapters and 175,000 words long about the Masked Man, I would not have believed you. And yet, here we are. If you've been reading all the way to here, than you have my gratitude.
At long last, Chapter 7 comes to a close and it has been a very enjoyable ride. As for this chapter itself, this is another chapter I've been waiting to write for a long time — I can't tell you how many times I've envisioned that scene where the Masked Man uses his Shield Killer/PK Love Gamma combo (hint: it's a lot).
Ironically though, there's not actually much to this chapter — the Masked Man's boss fight is definitely the main attraction, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.
I don't think it'll surprise anyone to know the Masked Man's boss fight is my favourite boss fight in the entire game, so portraying it here was fun... though difficult. Part of the reason why is because I really wanted to make this a very long fight, to try and capture how absolutely brutal of a fight it is, and considering it makes up... 6,175 words by my count here, I think I did a good job. Not to pat myself on the back or anything...
But the other reason why it was tricky was because this fight is different from most of the others I've written — it's a four on one fight, when most other extended fights have been one on one.
Part of the challenge in writing fights for this, and for RPGs in general, is translating mechanics into real time events, since obviously people don't take turns attacking, though I'll fully admit there is an element of that still here.
In a straight one on one, this isn't too bad, since usually characters will still be taking turns attacking and doing so is realistic — it's hard to dodge and attack at the same time.
But this is a four on one, and the Masked Man can't always be targeting everyone at the same time. The difficulty came in giving everyone enough involvement, but I think I managed. Lucas is definitely the MVP though for being the one to put the Masked Man down.
Anyway, I think that's why you don't often see lengthy fights in Mother Series fanfiction, unless it's in the context of Smash, where most fights are one on ones.
The last things I have to round off this very long note are about PK Love. First, an inconsistency — the Masked Man should logically know Omega by the time you first fight him, but never uses above Gamma. I went for the middle ground by limiting him to Gamma for most of the fight, only using Omega at the very end when it is clear he'll lose otherwise.
The other is about the idea that Lucas is a better user of PK Love than the Masked Man — you can actually see this in game with the damage ranges. At equal levels of PK Love, Lucas always hits for more damage (460 compared to 300 for Gamma, 800 compared to 600 for Omega). I really like the idea of Lucas outshining the Masked Man in this one category and it infuriating him to no end.
Next time, Claus heads back to New Pork City for the last Needle.
Chapter 31: Resignation
Summary:
Returns, farewells, retirement and the Masked Man's inability to understand architecture.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
...
...
I'm... I'm not the sentimental type, but... some part of me cannot help but reflect upon how familiar this all is.
This... this confusion. This imprisonment. It's just like when I first woke up... though many things have changed, some have stayed exactly the same.
I can hear a quiet beeping, followed by a soft hiss... the Instant Revitalising Device opens up, and slowly, I step out.
Even with all my injuries recovered, it still stings when I take that first step. It's not surprising to me... I must have been very close to death when I clambered inside that thing.
The first thing I notice looking around the ship is that everyone is back on it, and the ship itself seems to be flying somewhere... back to New Pork City, I assume?
"C-Commander! You're awake!" A Pigmask standing by a panel next to the machine immediately perks up, saluting me.
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"The Commander's up?!"
"Hey, everyone, come over here!"
Immediately, there's quite a commotion, as every Pigmask on the deck abandons their position to comes over. Before long, they've formed a circle around me.
"Get out of the way. Give the Commander some space, will you?!"
From behind, I hear the Colonel speak up, forcibly prying some of the Pigmasks apart so she can see me.
"What are you all standing around for?!" she says to them all. "We've got a ship to run!"
"Y... yes, ma'am!" The Pigmasks all salute her, before hesitantly returning to their normal positions, though not without looking back curiously at me.
Privately, I... I cannot help but feel thankful for her actions. I'd prefer not to make a big scene after what just happened...
"Commander. You... you had us pretty worried there. We weren't sure if you'd make it, but I guess we need to put more faith into these things, huh?" She taps on the Instant Revitalising Device.
I don't say anything back, because all around, the atmosphere has become grim. Immediately, I can sense the lack of morale among everyone... and it's obvious why.
Their Commander has failed. For the first time, he has been defeated. All this time, I've been this unstoppable unit who had no equal in battle. I am supposed to be the beacon of strength they look towards... and I have been crushed. More than just defeated, I came close to death. Perhaps it is fitting then, that the tone here seems close to a funeral.
"What... what happened after the battle?" I carefully ask.
The Colonel's mask scrunches up slightly, and beneath it, I get the impression she's grimacing. It's obviously not good news.
"Tell me." I demand. "That is an order."
"We all fell back afterwards, and left as soon as we could. A little later, we... we detected some seismic activity around that temple, so..."
She doesn't finish the sentence, but it doesn't need to be completed. Lucas pulled the Needle. That's the only logical conclusion that can be drawn from such an event.
And yet... I don't feel anything at that. No shock, no confusion, no anger... nothing. Maybe it's because I already knew about that subconsciously. After my defeat, that is the only thing that could have happened.
No, what weighs on my mind far more right now, is... failure. That feeling... I've failed them. I've betrayed the faith my army has put in me with this defeat. They look up to me with expectations, and I... I have failed to meet them.
Slowly, I step forward, looking around the ship. Though everyone is trying to work, many of them sneak glances at me when they believe I'm not looking. I wonder... are they disappointed in me?
I wouldn't blame them. I am as well.
But now... it's my job to recover from that. Our failure here is not the end of the world. It's my duty as Commander to remind them of that fact.
Without a word, I walk towards the front of the ship to the communications panel, feeling everyone's eyes on me. I clear my throat, before triggering the intercom, which buzzes slightly with static.
"Attention, everyone. For those of you not on the deck... I have awoken." I say, pausing slightly to let that sink in. "I'm sure you're all aware, but... the sixth Needle has been lost. I would like you to know that... I am proud of the effort you all put in. Indeed, the blame for this rests solely on me, and I accept full responsibility for this."
Because when all's said and done, none of the Pigmasks would have been capable of defeating those villagers. That duty was always going to be mine.
Lifting my finger off the button on the panel, I see the various Pigmasks looking at me... with their masks on, I can't tell what they're thinking. Is it shock... or disgust?
"Colonel. I presume we are heading back to New Pork?" I ask.
"Huh? Uh, yeah, that was the plan."
"I see. And what are our casualties?"
With a clear relief in her voice, she says, "Thankfully, none. You got the worst of it really, though there's a couple of people down getting some treatment."
That's good to hear... at least nothing was lost in this endeavour.
Suddenly, a quick beeping sounds from the centre of the ship, where the projector used for mission briefings is. A Pigmask there quickly taps a few buttons, before signalling for me.
"Commander! We're getting a message in from from Fassad!"
Fassad? What does he want?
"What does it say?" I ask.
"Let's see..." The Pigmask there quickly skims through the details. "It says to return to New Pork as soon as we've pulled the sixth Needle."
Well, we didn't manage to do that... though returning to New Pork City was a given either way, so why would he specify it?
"For what reason?"
They pause again, looking through more of the note. Suddenly, they gasp. "It says here that they've found the last Needle!"
"What?! The last one? Are you sure about that?!" The Colonel asks.
"Pretty sure. According to Fassad, it was found in a cave deep beneath New Pork!"
"So it was right under our noses the whole time..." she mutters. "What are the chances?"
The last Needle... so, it's within our sights then. Good. I may have failed with this Needle here, but I have a chance to redeem myself. I will not fail again.
"Increase the speed of the ship." I order. "I want us in New Pork as fast as reasonably possible, so I can get to that Needle before the villagers."
"Sir, why the rush?" The Colonel says. "New Pork's all the way on the other side of the island! There's no way they'll get there before us!"
"Never say never, Colonel. Those people have a habit of always getting to the most improbable places. I don't want to take any chances here."
"Increasing speed, sir!" At the front of the ship, a couple of Pigmasks work on adjusting the ship's output. "At this rate, we should arrive at New Pork City in about half an hour. Any faster would unsafe."
Nodding my head in acceptance, I sit down and prepare myself. The end is in sight, and with each of us having three Needles to our name, this one will decide everything. The world will either be reborn in Master Porky's name... or fall to those barbarians for good.
Predictably, New Pork City comes into view in short time, looking the same as ever. We land on the usual site and quickly disembark off, where we are greeted with a entourage of Pigmasks saluting us.
"Commander!" A Major steps forward, standing at attention. "It's good to see you. We've been instructed to direct you straight to the concert hall to assist with the party."
"Concert? What's all this about?" I ask.
"You haven't heard? The king is hosting a concert to celebrate the end of the war! After so long, we've finally achieved peace with Tazmily!"
What? Suddenly, it feels like I'm reliving a bad dream all over again. This can't be possible... why would they surrender to us?! We tried achieving peace with them before, and they spat back in our faces with it. Yet, now they accept?
It's almost insulting, but I perform my due diligence first by looking off the helipad to the city below. All in the streets, I can see hundreds of Pigmasks on normal patrols, along with many who would be outliers — people dressed in shabby clothing, with a rugged and wicked look to them. The villagers.
And yet, there is no pandemonium on the streets, like I expected. The villagers aren't pouncing on the members of my army, trying to beat them to death... instead, they're enraptured by the marvel of our city.
I can see many of them queuing outside Beauty and Tasty, clearly eager for a taste of the restaurant's magnificent dishes, and many of them are crowded around the theatre waiting for for the next show... I wonder if they'll show that movie to them?
"When the heck did this all happen..." the Colonel asks, clearly as amazed as I am.
"From what I hear, it was a pretty recent thing, ma'am." the Major replies. "I think the fine details only got solved around when you came back from that freaky island, but apparently the mayor of Tazmily surrendered to His Highness. And as a gesture of good will, His Highness let all the people migrate to our glorious city!"
Master Porky's kindness truly knows no bounds... to forgive such barbaric people like this? I wouldn't be able to do it myself. Perhaps it was all merely a case of a few bad apples spoiling the rest... people like Lucas then.
"What would you have us do then?" I say, finally speaking up after mulling over it.
"We just need some help setting up things. The DCMC's supposed to be here soon, but we still haven't finished!"
Turning to me, the Colonel says, "Sir... are you sure this is a good idea? You do need to get the last Needle."
"If the king has ordered it, it will be done." I reply. "I'm sure there is a greater reason for this."
"Great! There's... there's just one small issue though." the Major says nervously. "See, we're having some trouble with the elevators — maintenance is working on it, but they're still not done yet. So, you're gonna have to take the stairs to get there."
"Remind me which floor the concert hall is on again?" I ask wearily.
"The 24th."
"And we're on the 38th..."
"Well, at least we're going down." The Colonel points out. "Better than having to climb up fourteen floors."
"A fair point. Let's get to it then."
It turns out that the Empire Porky Building doesn't actually have proper stairs though — the only way to get to certain floors without the elevators is via the fire exit. That's... quite a flaw in the architecture.
This is also the first time I'm learning of a fire exit, which is moderately concerning considering how long I've lived here. The more I think about it, the more I realise how impractical the design is — why are there spikes on the side of the building for instance? Why are so many important facilities stuffed into one building? If something happened to this place, it would set us back immensely.
As I walk down the stairs, thoughts like this weigh on my mind with every step. But... it's not my place to critique things such as this.
Thankfully, as the Colonel predicted, getting down doesn't take much time at all. Soon, we emerge in a lavish lobby, fine carpets placed everywhere with shining doors lined with gold.
"Woah..."
"Look at how fancy everything is..."
The Pigmasks are all enamoured with the abundant wealth that shines through — even I can tell how expensive this must have all been.
And yet... it fails to inspire the same wonder in me. I've never been a materialistic person, but even then... I can't help but think it was all wasted. Wouldn't this money have been better invested elsewhere? Appearances are important though, and I admit this sort of thing isn't my speciality... so perhaps I should keep my mouth shut on this matter.
Walking through the grand double doors, the first thing that strikes me is how similar this place looks to the hall of Club Titiboo where the DCMC usually play at. It's practically a one to one copy — the patterning of the floor is exactly the same with slightly different colouring and the stage at the forefront seems to be the same size as well.
Whoever's in charge of preparing all this is clearly a big DCMC fan, so perhaps it isn't too much of a surprise when I see the Fierce Pork Trooper in the centre of the room, bellowing out orders to other Pigmasks in there.
"Alright, lads, let's get that banner up!" he shouts. A couple of Pigmasks grab a large banner with DCMC emblazoned on it, hoisting it up.
"Come on, higher! No one's gonna be able to see it all the way down there! Now, left a bit... no, I meant YOUR left!" He facepalms in frustration at his workers.
"Woah! LOOK OUT BELOW!" Suddenly, one Pigmask holding the banner on a ladder loses their grip, and the whole banner comes crashing down magnificently.
"What are you DOING?!" he roars, rushing towards the banner to check for damage. "This better not be scratched... I spent WEEKS stitching this together!"
Hm... I hadn't take him for the kind who'd be able to do that. This day is just full of surprises...
"It seems you're having some trouble here." I call out, amused by it all.
"Huh? Who's that?" The Fierce Pork Trooper turns on the spot, immediately seeing us all there. "Commander?! Didn't think I'd see you here and you even brought the cavalry here to save us! Yeah, we've been trying to set up things here... emphasis on TRYING. These dunderheads can't do a single thing right!"
On one of the ladders, a Pigmask mutters, "You know, it hurts more that he's right about that..."
"We've been asked to help you out here." I state. "What can we do to help?"
"Really? I was just joking about that, but if you're really here to help, we could use some hands setting this banner and these lights up." He points to both of those things in turn.
Menial work... my favourite kind of work. This might be fun yet.
"Five of you help with that banner and everyone else check the lights and the speakers." I order. It would be shameful if the equipment didn't work for the DCMC.
The Pigmasks get to work picking the banner off the ground, which I assist with since I would have nothing to contribute when it comes the equipment checks. Ironic, isn't it — for how closely linked I am to technology, my aptitude with it is lacking in parts.
While doing that, I carefully observe a Captain and a Major beneath me checking a speaker, who are testing its sound.
"Geez, look at this thing." the captain says, poking at it. "It's so big!"
Immediately, they get reprimanded by the Major. "Hey, don't do that! That thing probably costs more than you earn in a year!"
That seems to amuse the captain, who snorts in way of a reply. "Not like that's a high bar to clear. I mean, have you SEEN our pay checks lately?!"
That piques my interest for some reason, so I sharply say, "How much do you get paid, soldier?"
"H-huh?" Both of them look up, seeing me looking down at them. "Commander! Um, it's nothing!"
"You get paid nothing?" I say drily.
"No! I mean, it doesn't matter!"
"I'll be the judge of that. I'm curious now — how much does the average Pigmask Captain earn?"
Embarrassedly, they reply, "Erm... well, I get about 850 DP."
850 DP? That can't be right...
"Colonel, what are the average pay rates for Pigmask Captains?" I ask, calling out to her at the other end of the room.
"Pay rates? Dang, I'm supposed to know that... uh, last I checked it's about 900 for Captains, 1400 for Majors and 2000 once you get to my level. 'Course, the exact amounts vary depending on where you're stationed and who you're under — I got a nice pay rise once I started working with you, sir!" she adds brightly. "Above that, the special roles are out of my scope." She gestures to myself and the Fierce Pork Trooper.
"Eh, I don't really earn too much more than you lot." The Trooper rubs his chin, deep in thought. "I get 3000 DP myself."
"3000?!" A Pigmask shouts incredulously. "In what world is that not too much more?!"
"In the world where I spend most of it on merch. Yeah, I could stand to have better spending habits..." the Trooper admits.
That sparks everyone else to start discussing their own pays, and one thing is clear — there's a shared discontentment over how much they earn.
Quickly, I run a few calculations in my head. My economics isn't perfect, but one fact is as clear as day — their disappointment is justified. Living on those salaries would be nearly impossible. I know the Pigmasks get free accommodation at the barracks, but even then, only a Colonel would earn enough money to comfortably get by each month. How do the rest manage?!
"Pardon me for saying this, but... how exactly are most of you still alive?" I say bluntly. "You'd have to stretch yourself thin to manage, and then some."
"Not easily, that's for sure..." One of them mutters. "I'm so sick of eating noodles every day."
I only realise then that my grip on the banner has tightened. This is outrageous... these pays are ridiculously low. Who's responsible for them anyway?
"Speaking of pays, how much do you get, Commander?" the Colonel asks. "Surely you've gotta be loaded, right?"
Given how much I actually earn, that makes me laugh a little. "Good question. Here's something for you all to try then — I will personally double the pay of the first among you who can correctly guess how much I earn a month, within 100 DP of the actual amount."
That sparks interest immediately among them, as everyone starts shouting out random numbers.
"4000! It's gotta be higher than the Trooper's for sure!"
"4000?! You must be crazy! That's way too low for someone as important as the Commander! It has to be at least 5000!"
"Nah, I say it's 10,000! It's the Commander after all! He's more important than like twenty of us combined!"
"Well, if that's the case, shouldn't he earn way more than just 10,000?! The Commander could beat everyone in this room here without even breaking a sweat!"
"Alright, enough of this." the Colonel says, putting a stop to the guessing. "I get the feeling we're all way off the mark here."
"Huh? You mean we need to start guessing even higher?"
The Colonel stares at me for a few moments, before saying, "Nah... I think we should have been guessing lower. What do you think, Commander?"
"I'm glad to see you're still perceptive, Colonel." I reply, giving a faint smile. "Though, I suspect even you wouldn't have guessed correctly with that logic. Sadly, none of you got anywhere close, and the actual answer will surprise you — I don't earn a single DP at all."
As soon as I say that, there's an outcry from everyone else.
"What?! That's impossible!"
"You're the leader of this ARMY, sir! How could you earn nothing at all?!"
"That's crazy..." The Trooper shakes his head morosely. "I knew they paid us pittance, but I didn't think the same would go for you, Commander."
"It's not as bad as you think." I say reassuringly. "Do remember that all my expenses are paid for personally by the king — I do not get paid because I have no need for money."
"But still, I mean... don't you ever think about doing things outside of that?" the Colonel asks.
"Not really. I chose to work for nothing as a sign of commitment — I receive nothing for my work but the respect and gratitude of His Highness. That is all I need. I hope you all understand that being in this army is more than just a job. It is a commitment to the person who founded this city from the ground and gave us all better lives. If our loyalty to the king is based on nothing more than that which is monetary, we have nothing."
I pause for a moment, letting those words sink in. Of course, it's easy enough for me to say that when I am on a different level to them.
"That being said... I also understand that I am in a very privileged position where I do not need to worry about the same things you do." I continue. "And the fact remains that your pays could stand to be higher. I'll personally see to it that this changes in due time."
There's a cheering at that, and everyone becomes much more motivated to work afterwards. In no time at all, we're able to fix up the banner and make sure everything else is in working order. As we're very ahead of schedule, I allow the Pigmasks to rest — some of them play around with the equipment and before we know it, everyone's jamming out to the tunes of the DCMC.
That is, everyone except myself. I'm content to simply sit and watch it all from the back. And while most of the people just ignore me, there's one person who isn't so keen to do that, as I see the Fierce Pork Trooper walk up to me holding a glass of clear liquid.
"Here you go." He says, setting the glass down. "Got you some water — I know you're not a fan of much else."
"Thank you." I pick the glass up, slowly drinking the contents. "What are you doing here though?"
"I could ask the same to you, kid."
I can't argue against that. "I... do not intend to stay here for very long."
The Fierce Pork Trooper just chuckles over that, clearly not surprised in the least by my answer. "Yeah, figured as much. If I had to take a guess, you're probably waiting on some kind of order for the last Needle, right?"
I don't say anything, simply giving a nod.
"Jeez... the king really works you hard, huh? It's a shame... a kid as young as you shouldn't have to do so much."
"Life... is often not very fair." I reply.
"Yeah, I get that, but it still sucks."
I wouldn't go so far as to say it sucks, but... I shall admit that being Commander has not been a highlight of my life. I do not regret a single bit of it, for it was a chance to repay Master Porky and help our people, but the more I fight, the more I realise... it would be much nicer if I didn't have to do it all.
But it seems like we've finally found our way to the end of this war. The people of Tazmily have finally given up... and yet, one thing still weighs on my mind — those four.
Time and time again, they have fought against us, and for some reason... I cannot help but suspect they will not take Tazmily's surrender easily. They may very well be plotting one last stand against us, but I have no capacity to do anything about that until they make a move. And by then, who knows what they could — hm? What's this...
Suddenly, my systems start reporting a transmission coming in... no, a message. Opening it up, I can see the words projected as a hologram out of my mechanical eye.
"Huh? What's that?" The Trooper asks, noticing the image.
"A message. I just received it now..." Quickly, I read through the contents of it.
Pokey, if you're getting this, it's time for your last mission! Finally, we've dug a passage to where the last Needle is, so it's time for you to pull it! There's just one thing — to make sure none of those villagers could beat us to the punch, I took SPECIAL precautions for this one.
The passage to the Needle starts at my room, to make sure nobody could get to it without me knowing, so you'll have to come up there. And here's the kicker — you know how the elevators haven't been working? Yeah, that's actually MY doing — I messed with them to make it harder to get up here, 'cause I've just gotten word that those four pests are on their way to my city!
Because of that, you're gonna have to come up here the hard way. I've rigged the elevators to send those fools to the most dangerous floors if they try coming here, but sadly, I can't undo it now, so you're gonna have to go through them yourself too. Sorry about that, but you shouldn't have too much trouble, right? Just get up here as fast as you can!
- Master Porky
I close the message afterwards, and the Trooper looks at me knowingly.
"I'm guessing that's your cue to leave then?" he says.
"Yes. The last Needle has been found, so I must go to pull it."
"So... that means the next time I'll see you will be in the new world, huh? Dang... hard to think we've come this far."
"... thank you for all your support along the way." If it wasn't for him, I never would have become as strong as I am now.
"Heh, you don't need to thank me." He gets up and gives me a hearty thump on the back. "You're the one who put in all the hard work — I just gave you a few pointers. Don't sweat about things too much — just do what you've gotta do, and make us proud, Commander."
Before I can say anything back to him, he walks away, leaving me alone. So, this is it. The final bit of all this is upon me at last.
Part of me is tempted to just sneak away from this party — it would be easy enough to do, and it'd save me the troubles of having to say farewell. But at the same time... simply disappearing from my Pigmasks like that seems cowardly. And in any case... there's something important they need to hear from me.
As the current song comes to a close, I stand up and march towards the front of the room and as the Pigmasks see me coming up, they stop the music completely.
Carefully, I step onto the stage, clutching the microphone that's been set up and giving it a brief tap to ensure it works. Immediately, every head in the room turns to the front, their attention on me now.
"Greetings, everyone. I have some important news to announce, and I must request that what I say stays in this room, until such a time where it may be revealed freely. Firstly... the final Needle has been located."
There's some gasps around the room, as well as some mutters from a few people.
"Its location may surprise you as well — it is right under this very building."
"It is?!" the Colonel cries. "Alright, come on, everyone! We've gotta get underneath this place as quick as we can."
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that." I say, putting a hand up. "The only way to get there is through His Highness's room, which is naturally off limits to all of you. Additionally, it will require the passage of some dangerous areas and I cannot ask you to bear the risk of going through those places. Thus... I shall be going alone for this mission."
"WHAT?! Sir, you can't do that! It could be risky!" A Pigmask pipes up.
"Correction — it will be risky. That is certain. And that is also why I cannot allow anyone else to come with me in good conscience. Because of that, this means the next time I will see you next shall be in the new world. And so, I have a second thing to announce — when that new world comes to be, though I hope the Pigmask Army will prosper, I... I will no longer be a part of it."
If there was already a commotion beforehand, then it turns into an outcry now as the tension boils over and shock fills everyone else.
"You're LEAVING?! SIR! You... you CAN'T!"
"What are we gonna do without you?!"
Even the Fierce Pork Trooper is stunned into silence. Clearly, no one saw this coming, but I suppose that's to be expected... even I wasn't too sure about this. But... I think it's the right decision.
I raise a hand up, calling for silence. Once everyone has calmed down, I start to explain it all.
"It... it is not a decision I made lightly, and only recently did I come to it. But my reasoning is simple — though I may be skilled at what I do, I don't particularly enjoy it either."
The primary reason I went down this path is to repay a debt to Master Porky for saving my life, but... that's a debt I'll never be able to repay.
"So... that's why you wanna leave then." the Colonel says.
"Yes. Permit me to be selfish for once, but... there are many things I would like to do with my life while I still have the chance. And after I pull the last Needle, the world will hopefully have no need for this army, so I feel comfortable stepping down as Commander."
The thought of what I'll do after this is over is what pushed me through it all. I'm still not entirely sure what I'd do, but... I know I would like to find Miss Marsh for a start. I imagine she'd be employed again at Thunder Tower, so that's where I'd go as well.
"But... who's gonna be the Commander after you, sir?" someone asks.
That's a good question, but the answer's simple.
"I have no concerns about that. There are many who are capable of filling my shoes." I say, gesturing to the Colonel and the Fierce Pork Trooper. "The ultimate decision would naturally rest on His Highness, but... I'm sure his judgment will be perfect, as it always is. That is all I have to say, except for one last thing — it was a pleasure to serve as your Commander. I can only hope that I was a good one."
After a polite bow, I step down off the stage. Suddenly, the Colonel stands up from where she's sitting, saluting me.
"It was an honour to serve under you, sir." she says.
Smiling slightly, I salute her back. "And it was an honour to work with you, Colonel."
In an instant, every Pigmask in the room stands up, saluting me with a unified cry of "SIR!"
I can feel my heart weigh heavy immediately. I pause in my movements, forcing myself not to look back. If I do... it'll just be all the harder.
I'm able to restrain myself enough to do nothing else but give a curt nod, as I walk out of the double doors of the concert hall... and out of the life I've lived for over three years.
And I'm fine. I'm fine with it all. I have... no regrets. Yet... it doesn't stop me from clinging to a wall for a few moments, trying to regain my bearings.
Eventually, I'm able to wrench myself away from it, heading back to the foyer where the elevator is. I spot a Pigmask there, who salutes me when they spot me as well.
"Commander! Are you planning to take the elevator?"
"I was, yes."
"Ah... yeah, it's still sort of busted. We've got it working to send you to all the lower floors, but for some reason, the only one above that it's going to is... the 35th floor." For some reason, they sound very nervous. Which floor is that?
I quickly pull up my database to find out and... the Hippo Launcher habitat? Oh yes, that was a new type of chimera — taking the strength and bulk of a hippo and supplementing it with rocket launchers. They made an aquatic area here to host the specimens.
Of course... those chimeras are dangerous as well, which explains their reaction. Hippos are already strong creatures, and the added weaponry will only make them more of a threat. It seems this is Master Porky's doing — rerouting the elevators to send the villagers to the most dangerous areas should they come.
"I see. Thank you for the information." I say, pressing the button to call the elevator here.
"Huh?! You're really going anyway, sir?!"
"I have a mission I need to accomplish. And nothing will stand in my way."
There's a ding and the elevator opens up. Stepping inside, I try pressing the button for the top floor, just to see if I can get lucky, but it doesn't work. The button doesn't even give at all.
Well, it was worth a shot. So instead, I press the button for the 38th floor and let it send me straight up.
When I step out, I'm immediately greeted with a dense network of trees and bushes, stretching out as far as I can see. It feels far warmer here too — not boiling, but it's not comfortable either and it's very humid. Yes, it seems like the perfect environment for these chimeras to thrive in.
I don't see any people here, which makes sense — it's far from safe. Really, stepping here is a death wish... which almost makes me question I'm here myself. Still, if I simply proceed with caution, everything will be fine.
The majority of the areas is made up of artificial lakes, but they're actually rather shallow — it's easy enough to wade through them. As I progress through the habitat, I eventually find the hippos, which dwell on both land and water. I seem to recall there being some sort of difference in durability based on where they live, but I can't remember what it was...
Most of them ignore me as I stay clear of them, but I'm forced to get closer to others. They look at me warily, but I try not to make any threatening moves. It works perfectly, and I have no trouble at — what the?!
Suddenly, I hear a roar as a hippo behind me opens its mouth to reveal a rocket inside. Pure instinct leads me to leap into the air just as it fires its weapon at me. There's an explosion behind me from the rocket smashing into a wall, and two other hippos in the vicinity roar as well.
Spoke too soon... and now they're all agitated. No matter — I'm always ready for a fight.
As soon as I land, I point my cannon at the hippo that started it all and charge a shot up. Once it's ready, I fire straight into its mouth — the rocket inside blows up and sends it flying out of the lake with some twisted scream.
I turn on the spot, battering another hippo looking at me with consecutive shots, until it finally gives up and runs. As for the last, it stares at me strangely, then suddenly charges at full force.
Waiting until it gets close, I swing my cannon at it as hard as I can, staggering its movement. Before it can recover, I seize the opportunity and swipe at it with my sword, slicing it clean across the chin. It cries out in pain and tries to run, but I'm not done yet.
I rush towards it, blood rushing through my body as I prepare to sink the blade into it and destroy this abomination for good, to purge the world of its existence —
...
And then... I stop. What... what am I doing?
I... it's not a threat anymore. There's no need to go any further. Where did that disgust come from... there's no difference between these chimeras and me. But in that moment, it felt so consuming.
It's... it's the kind of philosophy Fassad would take. Am I really allowing myself to stoop to his level?
Taking a deep breath, I sheathe my sword and continue walking through the habitat. Thankfully, there are no more encounters with the hippos and at the other end, I find an elevator. This should take me to a higher floor...
Inside the elevator, I notice something very peculiar — almost all the buttons have been removed. There's just empty spaces. The only ones remaining are the ones corresponding the the floor beneath this one and... the 46th floor? I suppose I have no choice but to go there then.
When I reach the next floor, the décor immediately catches my eye, with the carpets and walls being various hues of pink and purple. Those are colours I didn't think Master Porky was a fan of, but... who am I to question?
Said resolution to not question lasts for all but a second though, for the moment I step into the next room, I'm assaulted by an intense aroma, overpowering and dizzying.
"Hey, look! It's the Commander!"
I hear a female voice and that's when I notice the large bed at the back of the room, with four girls standing around it. All of whom are... dressed in clothing that I would not personally consider practical. For some reason, I... I feel an intense unease build within me.
The girls all wave to me, with one winking in a very strange way. It... makes me feel very strange.
"Erm... what exactly is this room?" I ask.
"You don't know?" One of the girls gasps dramatically. "This is Master Porky's relaxation room! It's his private room to spend time with his fans."
"So... are you all fans of Master Porky?"
"Are you kidding?!" One particular girl is a holding a leaf fan, and places it over her mouth. "We're his biggest fans of all! We LOVE spending time with him. Are you here to spend time with him too?"
Every single instinct in me is telling me to get out of this room, and I have no idea why. I feel in greater danger here than when I was fighting those hippos... what... what is going on here?!
"I'm afraid I'll have to pass, as I'm currently on an important mission for him. How exactly do I get to the next floor?"
"Oh... well, there's an elevator in the next room." She points her fan to the door on the other side. "But feel free to come here when you have time!"
"I will." I won't.
As quickly as is polite, I briskly walk to the door and leave the room, being lucky to not get stopped by any of the girls as I leave... wait, why exactly would they stop me? I don't know, and frankly, I'm not interested in finding out.
The next elevator has its buttons removed as well, the only one left being the 63rd floor. As I'm eager to leave as soon as I can, I press it with no hesitation, trying to quell my nervousness as the elevator goes up. I can only hope this next floor will be less... strange.
Stepping out onto the next floor, I can detect the faint scent of disinfectant and bleach — much more comfortable than the scent below. It's a scent I find mostly at laboratories, since they need to be cleaned carefully, so I'm guessing this floor is one?
... it isn't.
Going into the very next room, I have to blink a few times to make sure I'm not dreaming here. But no... this is all real.
Before me are... a set of bathrooms stalls. Male and female, they all stand before me. Alright, I'll just ignore these and find an exit... except there isn't one. It's a dead end, and there was no other passage from the elevator.
Am I trapped here then? If the elevator doesn't go anywhere else and this doesn't go anywhere, then... what am I supposed to do? Unless...
Tentatively, I open one of the doors and... sure enough, there's a bathroom behind it. Who would guessed? What about the others...
For some reason, I decide to look behind the other doors, including the female ones and it turns out behind one of the doors is not a bathroom. Instead, there's a passage with a door at the end, and when I go through it... another set of doors. I see... it's a maze.
This'll be a massive waste of time, but I have no choice here. The things I do sometimes...
Still, though it's time consuming, it's at least not dangerous, which I suppose is an improvement. But still, none of this makes any sense at all, and as I try to work my through it, that's the only thing on my mind.
This whole building... the architecture of it truly nonsensical. A lack of appropriate measures for when the elevators fail, random spikes on the side of the building, and so many weird floors.
Who designed it? I can only assume it would be Master Porky, but the design is so ridiculous that I can't believe he would be responsible for this. No sane person would come up with this. Why is there an entire floor dedicated to bathrooms? In fact... I don't recall seeing bathrooms on most of the other floors. Is this where the majority of them are? What nonsensical design...
And this maze just keeps on going and going, with no end in sight. I must have gone through at least five sets of these... I'm sure I look incredibly stupid doing all this, but what else can I do?
Is there anything behind this bathroom? No.
What about this one? Still nothing.
How about the next? Nope.
And this? Well, to no one's surprise, it's — WHAT THE?! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!
Darting back outside and slamming the door shut, I quickly go into the last one I hadn't checked, and rush through the passage just as I hear an absolutely demonic roar behind me.
I... it... what... how... I... I... it...
Was... was that the... the Ultimate Chimera? In... in a bathroom stall? What... what the HELL is doing there?!
H... how did it get here? How... and why? And HOW?! The last I heard, it was wandering the forest around the Chimera Lab... how did it get all the way to New Pork City?! How did it get into this building?!
Maybe... maybe I am actually dreaming. But the very next moment, I hear another roar and I hightail it through the passage and don't stop. The next room thankfully marks the end of this passage with statues of Master Porky doing... something very inappropriate for public view.
And thank goodness, the elevator, the sacred elevator is there too.. I'm going to get the hell out of this floor... and I will never speak of this experience again.
Urgh... where to next? Let's see... 76 is the only one with a button, so that's where I'm going then. The elevator shoots up, and I step outside.
I didn't think anything could get more bizarre after the floor I was just on, but... this one manages to surpass that even still. Like the floor with Master Porky's... fans, there's only a single room to it.
The ground is all covered in sand — I lean down to touch it and sure enough, it's real. Obviously it must have been placed here, but why? As I trudge along this makeshift desert, eventually something comes into view.
No... is that a...
Standing in the middle of the sand is... a house shaped like a shell. A Magypsy's house.
That's right... there must be one more Magypsy left, since there's still one more Needle. But... why is their house here? Suddenly, a whole plethora of questions fills my mind.
Something isn't right... I look around the area, trying to find anything else, but there's just a bunch of boxes. Curious, I pry one open and find... bananas? I open another and it's the same thing.
Instantly, horror creeps into me. Bananas. There's only one person who would have this many.
The next moment, I hear the sound of a door opening, followed by the invasion of a very familiar voice in my mind.
"Nwehehehe! Well, this is a surprise! What are YOU doing here, chimera?
Notes:
So, uh... yeah, it's been a bit. Over a year to be exact... I'm truly sorry for how long this took. For those of you who don't know, the reason why this took so long is because over the course of the last year, I've been writing another fanfic and my aim was to complete all of it before uploading it.
Specifically, it's Topolla Party. Speaking of which, I'll just take the chance to shamelessly recommend that — I worked pretty hard on it. Oh, and I also got really interested in writing stuff for Touhou, so I also wanted to focus on that... basically, it was a lot of stuff. Anyway, I have finished writing all of that fic, but it meant this one had to be on the back burner until then. I imagine I've lost all my readers by now, but if anyone is still reading this, hopefully updates will come at a more reasonable pace? Hopefully.
Ironically enough, I ended up writing this chapter in about a week, so perhaps I should have just taken a break from Topolla Party to knock out a chapter of this instead of keeping everyone waiting, huh? Again, my apologies.
As for this chapter... it's kind of filler, but it was very useful for helping me get back into the swing of writing this since it's been a while. Still, I did think it was necessary, mostly because of the Pigmasks. This'll be the last time we see them in this fic given how serious everything will get, and obviously they don't really fit the tone well. So, I wanted to give them this one last send off.
The Pigmasks ended up being a rather integral part of this fic, and I suppose that should have been obvious, but it did surprise me. However, I underestimated just how few people the Masked Man would have as possible people to interact with, other than the Pigmasks.
I'm not sure if I've said this before, but this is the reason why Colonel Rysan exists despite my distaste for OCs — I needed a consistent character the Masked Man could interact with during these chapters, apart from just nameless Pigmasks.
Either way, it's been fun to write them, even if this is the last time I'll be doing it. Not much else to say, but um... if you are still reading this despite how long this took to come out, you're an incredibly dedicated reader, and I thank you for that.
Next time, Claus and Fassad have... a friendly chat.
Chapter 32: The Devil's Interval
Summary:
Grudges, set ups, ignorance, and the Masked Man's inability to sympathise with Fassad's truths.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It can't be... it's impossible. But... there's no other person that voice could belong to.
And when I swivel around on the spot, those suspicions are confirmed. Floating before me is Fassad, with the ever familiar Interpreter by his side.
I immediately take a sharp breath in, though not because of Fassad's presence — it is most certainly a shock, but another surprise I see takes precedence over that... that being his face.
It was already jarring to see his state when I'd gone to recruit him for the raid on Saturn Valley, but somehow... it's gotten even worse. Before, he had only two horns coming out of his nostrils, but now there are nine of them, all coming out of various orifices on his face and all so large that they obstruct most of his body below.
On one hand, it looks ridiculous, but on the other... it's so bizarre that there's an inherent terror in the ludicrousness.
Whatever manner of shock I have on my face must clearly be annoying Fassad himself though, for his horns start blaring out — the cacophony was already unpleasant on the ears before, but now with more of them, it sounds truly horrific.
As usual, the Interpreter keenly listens to the noises and nods her head once Fassad is done.
"AHEM. IN A MANNER OF MILD ANNOYANCE, FASSAD SAYS, 'Why are you looking at my face like that, good sir? Is it because of the new musical apparatus I have acquired? You must mean to belittle me for how it has changed my most splendiferous appearance!'" The Interpreter pauses, before thoughtfully adding, "HE FINISHES THIS OFF WITH A 'Nwehehehe!'"
"What... happened to you?" I ask carefully. Though, I have a decent idea what it might be...
Fassad blares out another set of notes, with far greater intensity than before.
"'You should be quite aware of the circumstances. After all, you were present. When those other good sirs handily trounced me at...' I'M SORRY, SATURN RALLY?"
Fassad just rolls his eyes, and the Interpreter seems to get the point.
"AH. VALLEY. 'When those good sirs handily trounced me at Saturn Valley, they bashed my face in with much gusto! The result of which was needing to go back to that senile doctor for repairs... and now, I find myself in this state.' FASSAD SAYS THIS WITH A VERY PASSIONATE DISGUST," The Interpreter adds. "I BELIEVE IT IS DUE TO HIS PERCEIVED LOSS IN BEAUTY."
That's what I'd suspected myself. I almost can't help but pity him...
"So, have you come to laugh then?" Now he's telepathically speaking to me. "Then laugh, chimera! Be happy! After all, I've been reduced to the same pathetic state as you, haven't I?!"
The irony is certainly cathartic... but I am not like you. I shan't find joy in someone's misery, even if it's yours.
When I don't say anything in return, Fassad seems a little put out, though he doesn't snap back like I'd expected.
Which leads to a far more pressing issue... that house. Fassad just came out of it... out of that house which looks very similar to a number of other houses I've seen.
"That building there," I say, pointing to the purple spiral shell behind him. "Would that happen to be your house?"
Without turning around, Fassad folds his arms. If I could see his mouth, I imagine he'd be smirking.
"It would. I don't think you've ever seen the place, have you? I'd show you around, but frankly, I don't want you anywhere inside my place. Nwehehehe!"
"Strange... I've seen this type of house many times before," I continue, now on guard. "Yes, near every Needle... a building just like this. And every time, it was the home of a Magypsy."
Again, with Fassad's face so heavily covered, it's hard to see any reaction from him, but I do notice his left eye twitch slightly. Rather than replying with his mind though, he replies with his horns.
"GLEEFULLY, FASSAD SAYS, 'Ah, it appears you have realised the truth, chimera. Your intelligence is not as abysmal as I had once thought! The truth is, this house DID belong to a Magypsy long ago! However, when New Pork City was created here, we captured the resident Magypsy here. Nwehehehe! It was fun to seen them squirm, but resistance was futile and we made them our hostage!'"
What? They captured the Magypsy?! That was not where I was expecting him to go with this...
"And this house?"
"'Was gifted to my magnificent self by the grand and wise Master Porky!' THERE IS HOWEVER A GREAT DEAL OF SARCASM IN FASSAD'S VOICE. I BELIEVE IN REALITY, HE DOES NOT THINK HIS HIGHNESS TO BE EITHER GRAND OR WISE."
Fassad glares at her, and once again, it seems the Interpreter is a little too good at interpreting his words.
So, they captured the Magypsy and Fassad made this house his home... but what of the Magypsy themselves? And more importantly, why is this the first I'm hearing that we've had the last Magypsy in custody?! This is crucial information!
"Fassad..." I growl lightly. "Explain to me why I haven't heard of this before?"
Fassad's horns blare out in a particularly discordant manner.
"FASSAD IS LAUGHING RIGHT NOW. HE FINDS YOUR WORDS AMUSING... OH, HE IS NOW SAYING SOMETHING. AHEM... 'You didn't need to know, hence why it wasn't disclosed.'"
I didn't need to know? I most certainly did...
"That doesn't cut it. I am the Commander of this Army, and this information directly plays into my mission!"
"And yet, here we are." Fassad shrugs nonchalantly. "Whatever you may think, it seems the king doesn't agree! He didn't think you needed to know, so you don't!"
Master Porky didn't think I'd need this information? That seems highly irregular for him... he has always insisted on me being prepared to the fullest extent for my mission, and information is a key part of that.
There is something suspect about this story, but... I cannot tell what it is yet. The best course of action for now is to keep Fassad talking... if I'm correct about this, he'll slip up eventually.
"This Magypsy... I presume they've been our informant then?" I ask.
"Nwehehehe! Of course! We learned of the Needles through them, as well as all their locations. Naturally, we had to give them some... motivation."
So, they tortured them then. A barbaric method Master Porky would never approve of... yet another strike against this story.
"And where is this Magypsy being held hostage? I would like to visit them at some point."
"It's a shame that'll never happen. After all, once you pull that Needle, they'll disappear for good."
There's a faintly wistful tone to Fassad's thoughts... it takes a moment to pin it down, but it sounds like he's happy at the thought? It's strange, because it's the happiest I've ever heard him, even more so the joy he derived from seeing others suffer.
"Besides, we have the finest members of the Pigmask Army on guard all day and night! Nwehehehehe! The only thing locked down tighter than that Magypsy are my Luxury Bananas!"
Ah. That's what I've been waiting for.
"... I wonder about that," I say slowly, carefully thinking every word. This is the critical moment. "You see, as Commander, I am granted the ability to see what any Pigmask has been assigned to. Every week, I go over the status of every Pigmask we have, to find potential recruits into my personal squadron."
I pause, letting the message sink in, but it seems Fassad has already figured it out given how both of his eyes are twitching. "And yet... I have never come across a Pigmask who had this specific duty you speak of. Why is that..."
Fassad simply lets out a single burst of notes of his horns... it's like he's sighing?
"THESE SOUNDS ARE NOT WORDS, BUT MERELY DISGRUNTLED NOISES FROM FASSAD," the Interpreter clarifies.
But Fassad starts blaring out more sounds, giving her something more substantial to translate.
"HM? 'Make of it what you will, my gentleman, except you are neither gentle, nor a man.'... IS WHAT FASSAD WANTS TO SAY. 'I believe you have outstayed your welcome in my fine abode. Now, I deem you to be a trespasser.' THIS LAST PART IS SAID WITH MUCH VENOM, VENOM OF THE POISONOUS KIND."
As... as opposed to the non-poisonous kind of venom?
"I have no interest in staying here any longer. I have a Needle to pull, so I'm quite happy to leave."
Straightening up, I march forward past Fassad and the Interpreter, looking ahead of me in this wasteland for an exit.
But as I do, those horns start blaring out again.
"'It is a shame then, that I am not so happy with that, esteemed colleague. You have stepped on my land, land that is not to be sullied with the presence of a disrespectful urchin like yourself.' HM. THERE IS SIGNIFICANT PASSION HERE. I BELIEVE IT IS THE MOST PASSIONATE HE'S EVER BEEN."
Fassad then rings his horns out at her, but her translation isn't needed for me to figure out that he's telling her to shut up.
He turns his attention back to me, speaking into my mind again.
"Nwehehehe... we've always had this bad blood between us, haven't we? Ever since the day we laid eyes on each other, we've been at each other's throats, chimera!"
"A situation you are approximately 95% responsible for," I reply bluntly.
A set of low noises emit from Fassad's horns, almost sounding like some sort of musical chuckle. Suddenly, some ports on his wings open up, revealing a set of lasers... and I don't need an Interpreter to understand this message.
"Whatever the cause, I ask you... don't you feel like settling it once and for all? Let's put it to rest for good and see which one of us is REALLY superior!"
I grit my teeth together, hand on my sword. I've never been tempted more to strike someone down on the spot. The thought of destroying his ego forever... there's very few things I desire more in life than to do that.
But... I have a mission. Pull the Needle. That takes priority over everything else, including my petty desires.
"This is hardly the time for such a thing. Besides, you're not even worth the effort."
"Really?" Fassad points a finger at... my arm? "I'd be more inclined to believe you if you didn't have that raised up at me."
I gaze up and without even realising it, I've transformed my arm into its cannon state and pointed it at Fassad. Curtly, I lower it, glaring at him... but the damage is already done.
"Perhaps I do desire this," I admit. "Nevertheless... there is a better time. I'll take your challenge after the Needle is pulled."
"Such confidence! Nwehehehehe... but is it misplaced? Who's to say we'll HAVE that opportunity?!"
I hesitate, not knowing what to say back. And immediately, Fassad seizes on the opening I've given.
"How do you know you'll be the one to pull this Needle?! You've already messed up three of the others!"
"I have a significant head start this time," I point out. "I will most certainly reach it before them."
"You've had a head start EVERY time! But that hasn't stopped Lucas and his merry band of idiots from snatching the prize sometimes! And how can we forget that they thoroughly thrashed you recently?"
"... I did not get thrashed," I retort, but it comes out as petulant as the words themselves are.
The worst part is... Fassad has a point. The villagers have consistently overcome odds against their favour numerous times, and so going into this... I can't say with complete certainty that I will be the one to pull the last Needle.
I can't even say it with moderate confidence, because the score is tied. And simple statistics would dictate my odds here are a 50-50.
To think... all my training, and my final odds are the same as a coin flip. It's disgraceful... and terrifying. A coin flip is what determines whether or not we all survive, or perish... and should Lucas reach the Needle first, there will be no new world for us. Everything I wanted to do... it'll all be for nothing.
And suddenly, the things I do want to do and still can seem much more important. Things... like destroying Fassad's ego. Is it even worth it though, if the amount of time he'll have to live with that shattered ego might only be a few hours?
Absolutely.
I take a step towards him, unsheathing my sword.
"Nwehehehehe! You've done it now, chimera... raising your weapon to a superior? That's an offence of the highest order!"
"Oh? I thought this was to decide who the superior was? So perhaps, you should save that for after this is concluded."
"I like the way you think. It'll be fun seeing you break at last. Oh, don't worry — I'm not going to KILL you. No, my dear chimera... luckily for you, you still have use to me. But I assure you that from now until that Needle is pulled, you'll remember my face as the person who triumphed over you!"
The Interpreter looks between the two of us, before retreating back into Fassad's house to avoid the upcoming battle it can likely sense. Now... it's just the two of us.
Three years... three years I and so many others have suffered at the hands of this man. Justice shall be obtained in all our names.
Pointing my sword up at him, I feel a surge of electricity run through it, which I immediately discharge at him in one intense stream.
He darts out of the way with surprising speed, but I'd expected as much. I've already started running towards him and once I reach an appropriate distance, I leap into the air and bring my sword down on his head.
Unfortunately, my attempt to end this fight by cleaving through his skull is instantly foiled when Fassad simply fires all his lasers at once, striking me easily and sending me back down. I make a smooth enough landing, but that's a pittance compared to what could have happened.
"Trying to end things so soon? Tricks like that won't work on me, chimera."
Fassad rears up and charges straight down at me, but I intercept it with a sharp swing of my sword — though it's forceful enough to knock Fassad back, it hits the horns and so does little else.
Another barrage of lasers comes out, so I quickly hit the deck and let them fly past me while quickly charging my cannon up. Once it's safe, I jump up and immediately release a shot into Fassad's face. Being as close as he is, he has no opportunity to dodge and the small explosion I hear is glorious.
Fassad distances himself, glaring at me and venting out his frustration through his horns. I care not for what he has to say though.
"PK Thunder Beta." I call two lightning bolts to strike him down, but he flies to the other end of the room as soon as he hears me call for the attack, and both of them miss him by a mile.
"Running away, Fassad?" I taunt, calling out to him. I don't usually do such a thing in a fight... but an exception can be made for him. "I suppose it fits a coward."
"Nwehehehehe! I'm the master of getting under people's nails, chimera! Do you really think something like that will work against me?!"
He's only amused by that... it was a nice thought, but words have never been my strong suit.
"Now, let me show me how it's really done. PK Thunder Omega!"
Fassad's hands glow with electricity, as four massive lightning bolts crash down on me... at least they would, if I couldn't just raise my sword above and absorb any bolt that might strike me. It's completely ineffective, and I send this discharged electricity back at him... which also ends up being ineffective, as he's so far away that he has even more time to dodge than before.
After that exchange, neither of us moves an inch, not wanting to give the other an opening.
We're both playing this cautiously... though he'll never admit it, Fassad knows what I'm capable of. He may think himself superior, but he's not a fool, and he knows better than to underestimate me.
And... loathe as I am to say it myself, I know Fassad is not one to be taken lightly as well. He is an extraordinary PSI specialist and despite his temperament, his position is in line with his power.
Indeed, I am at the disadvantage here, for Fassad's PSI outpaces mine, and my speciality is land based physical combat. Fassad's modifications make him specialise in aerial long range combat, the exact counter to what I do.
Suddenly, I hear more of Fassad's horns, followed by his hands glowing blue. That can only mean one thing... I jump into the air, barely avoiding a massive blue snowflake that comes hurtling towards me, but Fassad is already sending another out.
I carefully dodge the next one as well, rushing towards Fassad. As he continues to send more shots of PK Freeze out, the problem becomes clear — Fassad can safely chip away at me from a distance, and I can't fire back in kind effectively.
In normal circumstances, the solution would be simple — corner him and force him into close quarters combat, where I have the advantage. That's less applicable for aerial targets though... but still, I have no other alternative.
After leaping over one particularly close blast of ice, I unfold my wings and fly straight to Fassad. As I do though, his eyes suddenly light up... oh no.
My worst fears come to pass when more lightning rains down on me... alright, dodge the first, weave past the second... ARGH!
The third bolt strikes me dead on, knocking right into the fourth... the agony is immense as the lightning seizes straight through me. It's the most pain I've felt from electricity in my life — that girl's PK Thunder doesn't hold a candle to this. In fact, neither does mine.
"How do you like that? Are you shocked at my ability?! Nwehehehe! I'm so funny!"
Fassad stares at me, expecting a response I don't give.
"Well?! Say something back! This isn't any fun if you just sit there like a robot!" It's amusing how frustrated he is.
"You gloat enough for both of us," I respond while stabilising my position in the air. "Besides, you only hit 50% of your attack then. Hardly impressive."
"Is that so?" Fassad's eyes shine once more. " I'll be SURE to hit 100% this time!"
Right into the trap. As Fassad charges another volley of PK Thunder, I too charge myself straight at him like before. But since I'm closer to him now, his eyes immediately widen in panic as he realises what I've calculated — that he won't be able to blast me before I hit him.
He waves his hands frantically to cancel the attack, but it's too late as I crash straight into his horns, dragging him down to the ground with the full weight of my body. As we both go careening down, I continue to push him, but midway Fassad's boosters fire up and start pushing back.
Urgh... we're stuck in a stalemate, both of our thrusters pushing back with equal force. Still, there is one upside I have here, and it's that my left arm is free to do something I've been longing to do for a very long time.
With no hesitation at all, I smash my arm cannon right into Fassad's face over and over again, battering him towards the ground as musical shrieks and blood start coming out of his nostrils.
"You make no sense. You never have!" I yell, continuing to bash his face in. "We are on the same SIDE, and yet you INSIST on making life difficult at every turn?"
"Your side? YOUR side?! You don't get it, do you — I'm on NOBODY'S side!"
"What?" It takes me off guard enough that I momentarily stop my assault. "What does that even MEAN?!"
"Tazmily and Porky... Nwehehehehe! They're both idiots that have played right into my hands, for my goals! You think I care about this army?! HA! I play by my own rules!"
So, it finally comes out. I can't even say it's a surprise, because it fits in with his character perfectly. The only question that remains is...
"What goals are you on about?" That's what worries me more than anything, because Fassad's personal goals cannot be good.
"You'll all see soon enough! But by then, none of you will be able to do anything."
"You've played us all for fools..." I growl lightly at the treachery. "You are a traitor to this army, and to Master Porky's name. There is only one fate for you — your immediate retirement from life itself."
"Nwehehehe! You... AHAHAHA. Oh, you... you STILL don't get it! You actually think that means something? You're so naive... just like that fool Lucas!"
My lip twitches at that name, something Fassad notices.
"You know, I have no regrets at all... except that I could never figure you two out! What makes Lucas fight on when the world is against him, instead of crawling up and dying in a hole?! And you... you're FAR from perfect! You were supposed to be an emotionless robot, but I see the HATE in your eyes towards me!"
Which I immediately affirm with a punch right between his eyes. For some reason, it only draws more amusement from Fassad... what is wrong with him?
"Exactly like that! The funny thing is, I don't even know WHY you hate me so much!"
"You mean apart from your general nastiness?"
"That applies to everyone. But there's something special for you... it all started after we blew up the tower."
I don't say anything, scared of what I might spill if I open my mouth.
"It's that maid, isn't it? I only got bits and pieces, but... there was SOMETHING special about it, wasn't there?!"
"Her." I instinctively correct. Immediately after, I grimace, realising that was the very thing I had sought to avoid.
"I knew it! Oh, this is brilliant! Even our great king didn't see this! Grr... who'd have thought that bucket of bolts would be my undoing?!"
And now, you'll suffer for that.
"Do not insult her name with your tongue," I say, my voice burning with a quiet yet seething duty, as I shove my left hand into his face.
And suddenly, Fassad's thoughts go completely quiet, realising that he's touched a nerve he absolutely shouldn't have. He of all people knows exactly what consequence awaits for that.
This... this one's for you, Miss Marsh.
"PK Love Gamma!"
For a split second, my entire vision is consumed in white, before a bang resounds through the whole floor, and the resulting explosion from Fassad being blasted point blank from the white hexagons is so intense that it flings me back in the air.
Many of my other hexagons fire off uselessly elsewhere because of it, but the burnt of the attack strikes its target true, and Fassad's thrusters are futile in the wake of this power. He lands straight into the ground, sand flying up everywhere and obscuring my vision below.
I keep my guard up, in case he tries using the sand as cover for a counterattack, but nothing happens. When it clears up, I can see Fassad on one knee in a large crater, clutching his fist tightly.
Despite that... he looks almost no worse for wear. One of my strongest attacks, and he only seems mildly inconvenienced by it...
"Not bad, chimera." There's a begrudging respect in his voice... that might be the first compliment he's ever given me. "I suppose you DID learn something after all..."
Curtly, I reply, "No thanks to you."
Fassad laughs back at me. " But we had good times! You got lucky there — it won't happen again."
"You are despicable," I spit, landing on the ground nearby and approaching him. "The villagers are contemptuous and barbaric, but at least they are loyal to each other."
"Loyalty? Don't make me laugh! It was child's play for me to turn them against each other and look around you now — they're all in Porky's city! Some loyalty they had to their town!"
There's a nagging thought in the back of my mind about how right Fassad is — but it doesn't matter. He is the villain in all this. He is the perpetrator of all this suffering. I won't listen to these excuses.
"Enough. Your words have no meaning to me, Fassad!" Though even as I say that, I lack the confidence to truly mean it. "You are a coward, a liar, a sadist and every other thing under the sun."
The next thing I know, I'm being hit by a flurry of incoherent thoughts... there's nothing decipherable about it, it's just a spew of rage from him. And suddenly, I wonder if I've now touched a nerve I shouldn't have...
"You think you know me, chimera? You think you're BETTER?! You know NOTHING, and I'll knock you off that high horse as hard as I can!"
There's an orange flash from the crater, but I barely have any time to register it as being Offence Up before Fassad launches out of the crater straight at me.
Instinctively, I raise my hands up in defence, but... urgh... I... I can't...
"It's about time you CHOKED on your hubris! NWEHEHEHE!"
He throttles me continuously while his hands are compressing on my neck... I can't breathe! I pound his arms over and over with my own hands, but he doesn't even budge... that Offence Up has given him a freakish level of strength.
The lasers on his wings open again and start to fire — being immobilised like this, I'm helpless before them... and he won't let GO! Slowly, I can feel myself getting more and more disoriented... if this keeps going, then...
Fassad said he had no intentions of killing me, but I don't trust that, particularly as I have every intention of killing him should the opportunity arise. It might take a while to choke someone to death, but that will go quickly if I can't do anything.
Fine. Time for drastic measures.
I let my arms drop to my side loosely, starting to charge electricity in them.
"Nwehehe! Good try, but that's a stupid move! You'll try yourself with that too!"
"But maybe... maybe that's exactly what I'm counting on," I croak.
And before Fassad has the chance to contemplate what that means, I release it all by electrocuting myself.
My body spasms in agony from the charge, but as I scream, so does Fassad. The electricity conducts straight through me into him thanks to his metallic parts, causing him to go into spasms as well. Most importantly, his fingers start flickering madly, loosening his grip... NOW!
In one move, I stop the lightning and wrench Fassad's hands off, before pouncing on him directly. The added weight is too much for Fassad's thrusters, and the pair of us go down, but before he hits the ground, I leap off.
Fassad is slower to recover though, a mistake I punish immediately by stomping on his skull before he can get up and blasting him once more for good measure. He rises up, and now the advantage is mine.
Sword in hand, I launch a flurry of rapid swipes and stabs at his face — the horns mean nothing when hit, but Fassad's face is a perfectly viable and very appealing target for my blade.
Fassad backs up, avoiding the swipes as he does so, but my assault is relentless. Machine precision guides my every move, and Fassad WILL slip up sooner or later. We start getting closer to a corner, my strikes increasing in speed.
Suddenly, one lucky swipe nicks his left cheek, followed by another that gets his nose. This is it... the time is NOW!
While Fassad cries out in pain and shock, I land the finishing blow by piercing straight through his neck. There's a sickening sound as my sword tears through skin to the other side, blood spurting out copiously all over us and the ground.
But I'm not done yet. Fassad has a habit of surviving the impossible... so I'll take extra precautions this time.
I wrench my sword out, ignoring Fassad's shock and gasps of pain, and raise it above me. As hard as I can, I bring it straight down on his head, cleaving through part of his skull. His eyes glaze over and he slowly falls to his knees before finally slumping over.
... it's over. He's dead.
I've killed him. I've killed him and... it couldn't have felt better.
He's gone... he's finally GONE! Three years, and I've finally gotten rid of Fassad with myself!
I step towards him and give his body a good kick, just to make sure he's truly gone. No reaction. I really have done it...
"How disappointing," I say drolly. "After all your bluster... I had expected more. And yet, those villagers gave me more of a challenge than you. I was under the impression your power was the only thing respectable about you... but it seems I was mistaken even with that."
Still... it's a fitting death. A horrible one, for someone as horrible as Fassad.
And with that, it's time I finally moved on. I still have a long way to go before I reach the top and I've wasted too much time here...
"That's... YOU... that's what you THINK..."
... no. NO! This can't be happening... AGAIN?!
"For goodness sake..." I mutter, walking back and kicking him once more. Charging up my arm cannon, I unleash a barrage of continuous fire on his corpse.
This is INSANITY! I've sliced at least two major blood vessels in his neck and crushed part of his skull in, and he's STILL alive?! Why doesn't this man ever DIE?!
No matter. I'm personally issuing his death penalty, and I will continue to execute it until completion. If that means I must blast him until he's atomised, so be it. It matters NOT — AH!
Suddenly, there's an explosion of ice around him, which blasts me away on my back. Urgh... that took me off guard.
But what I see next... it takes me off guard even more. Like some freakish zombie, Fassad stands up, still with a hole in his neck leaking blood. Then, he clasps the space and... what? What the...
I... I don't have any explanation for this. Masses of green energy start pouring out of his hands in spades, energy I can recognise as Lifeup, but... this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's some enhanced version of it, something that transcends the normal scaling system of PSI.
In mere moments, the hole in his neck is completely stitched up, and he moves on to his head, clutching it in both hands. Similarly, the open wound to his skull as well as the slight dent in it vanishes in seconds.
Fassad stands there, now completely healed from two mortal wounds... what did I just witness?!
This man... he is no man. No man could survive such injuries, let alone recover so quickly. Not even his status as a chimera explains it... every fibre of me disgusts in the realisation, but Fassad truly is superior to me. He is no mere mortal, no mere hum...
... human.
No, it... it's crazy...
It is among the most outlandish thoughts I've had in a while, but... no human of any kind could survive the things Fassad has. This is a fact.
Then... have I been asking the wrong question all this time? Rather than trying to answer how a human survives all the things Fassad does, perhaps what I should have been asking instead is...
Is... is Fassad even human to begin with?
It sounds ludicrous, but all of a sudden, various bits of information filed away within my mind rush to the surface... all the inconsistencies I'd noticed, but never analysed.
How does Fassad have such exceptional proficiency with PSI, when PSI is so rare? Why was Fassad the only person with such intimate knowledge of the island's history, such that he was called to brief us on it during surgery? How has he known where every single Needle will be?
Not to mention his survival of increasingly outlandish events... even the smallest details, like the possibility his true hair colour is pink, or the vaguely effeminate qualities to his voice hidden deep down.
... it all points to one thing. And it answers the biggest question of all — why would Master Porky work with someone as thoroughly vile as Fassad?
"Your story... for all the lies in it, there was a scrap of truth within. The seventh Magypsy is indeed our informant for everything, but... they were not taken hostage by the king."
Fassad raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't think anything. I'm sure this is the right track though...
"Master Porky would never have done that, because there was no need. After all... they were willing to work with him."
It's all coming together... I finally have the missing piece to the puzzle that is Fassad.
"Of course, some adjustments needed to be made," I continue. "A change of appearance, hiding their immense talent with PSI... and a new name, all so they wouldn't be recognised. But that's no longer needed now, is it? All the other Magypsies are gone... and never once did they suspect Fassad."
I take a step towards Fassad, pointing my sword at him.
"You're the seventh Magypsy," I state. "There's no other possible conclusion."
And yet... Fassad remains silent. I know he's listened to everything I've said though, based on the new frown on his lips... so why won't he say anything?!
"You can't deny it," I say, trying to pressure him. "The evidence is all laid out, clear as day."
Suddenly, Fassad's frown twists into... what? Is... is he smiling?
"Nwehehehe... NWEHEHEHE! Well done, chimera."
He starts clapping his hands, giving me genuine applause... this isn't at all how I foresaw this going.
"So... you admit it?" I stumble a little on my words, surprised that Fassad outright confessed to it. "You are the last Magypsy?"
"Believe me, I'm just as disappointed as you are." Fassad clutches his moustache in one hand with a familiar anger.
He is? But then... I...
"What's wrong?" Fassad looks down at me, twirling his moustache with his usual arrogance now." You seem shocked, even though you figured it out yourself!"
That might be so... but that doesn't mean I expected it to be true. There's so many questions I have now!
"You... you disagreed with the rest of your kind?" I say it as a question, but it comes out more as a statement. He must have disagreed with them.
"You might say that," Fassad replies, giving me an answer that isn't really one at all.
"Why are you working with us?" I demand next, trying to get something out of him.
"Because, I am such a great and kind person! And when I learned of Porky's plight, I just couldn't help but offer my services to him. Of course... the others didn't agree with what Porky was doing."
"A likely story," I scoff. "You've made it clear you have no allegiance to anyone. You wouldn't help anyone... unless there was something in it for you."
"Hmph. You know me too well! Of course I'm doing it for my own benefit! And that benefit is power and prestige, along with my own survival!"
"Survival?"
"When Porky showed up here, it was clear to me that he would become the dominant force on the island," Fassad explains. " Just look at what he has compared to Tazmily! So naturally, I sided with him, as it made the most sense."
"And then, you told him of the Needles and the Dragon... in the mutual agreement that you would both persist in the new world?" I ask. "You threw the rest of your kind under the bus."
"Oh? You seem disgusted at that, but I chose the good side, didn't I? Porky is doing the right thing for the world! At least, that's what you believe."
It is... which means Fassad made the right decision. He defected in the name of good. But still... the betrayal sickens me.
"Answer the question," I say, not letting him deflect the topic anymore.
"Well, you catch on quick. Porky and I despise each other, but we both want the same thing — to survive! The Dragon is our way of doing that... but, we needed someone special."
"A user of PK Love."
"Exactly. You can imagine how happy we were when you fell into our lap!"
Survival... it's a motivation I can understand, and it's one that's perfectly fitting with Fassad's character.
... but then, there's a contradiction, isn't there? With the knowledge that Fassad is a Magypsy... there'a one critical problem with that entire plan.
"You're not a very good liar, are you?" I say reproachfully. "If you truly wanted to survive, then telling Master Porky about the Needles was a terrible idea. After all... once your Needle is pulled, what will happen to you? Simple... you die."
Fassad's eyes widen, and I can feel a bolus of panic in his mind. He starts to snarl once more, so I keep pressing him.
"You aren't so stupid that you'd forget such a simple detail about yourself," I continue. "Which means you accepted the certainty of death the moment Master Porky received your information."
This is where it gets tricky though... if that's all true, why would Fassad tell him anyway? Perhaps so Master Porky could ensure the world was reshaped as needed, and Fassad was willing to be a martyr to that?
No, that doesn't fit. Fassad doesn't act in the interest of others... but Fassad couldn't have acted in the interest of himself, because no matter what the new world became, Fassad would never be a part of it.
... unless... Fassad didn't want to be a part of it? But that would mean...
I suddenly gasp at the realisation, and though I haven't said anything, Fassad seems to have clued in to what it is.
He rises in the air once more, spreading his arms out.
"This conversation is OVER!" He snaps. "Do not speak another word of that!"
Before I can say anything, Fassad charges more electricity in his palms, letting it rain down on me. I deftly dance between them all, but now I'm at an impasse — I can't kill Fassad, so victory is impossible.
As Fassad sends more lightning bolts towards me, I retaliate in kind, the two of us taking turns trying to snipe each other with PK Thunder. Funnily enough... this feels like second nature now. After all, dodging PK Thunder was part of Fassad's training, but while I'm very used to it... Fassad seems to be getting more sluggish.
Hm... perhaps victory isn't impossible after all. It seems recovering from two mortal wounds was taxing on Fassad... immediately, the Frost Devil comes to mind and how it could still be exhausted despite its immortality. A similar principle could apply to Fassad, and if that's so... I know exactly how to win.
Once I dodge Fassad's next volley, I immediately spread my wings and fly at him, charging a shot up. I fire it off, but Fassad dodges underneath it... perfect, letting me get above him. Quickly, I pelt him with a storm of bullets, giving him little room to dodge.
"You really ARE like a pest, aren't you?!" Fassad growls, as he tries to swerve and smack away pellets.
"This fight is pointless," I say, firing off a lightning bolt with my sword. "I can't kill you, and you won't kill me. Give up."
The lightning bolt grazes Fassad's hair, causing a small part to burn away, and it also reveals more of the pink he's dyed away.
"Give up?! I could say the same to you! Concede to me, chimera!"
"I will not. Not only would it be admitting your superiority, you don't understand the position we're in. You need me."
"I need NOTHING!"
"Then how will you die?" I ask critically. "Hm. Of all people... I never suspected that you would be suicid —"
"SHUT UP!"
Suddenly, Fassad's thrusters flare up and he charges straight through the bullets at me. I hold a hand out, concentrating my thoughts into my PSI... urgh, what is that? That's disgusting...
This foul odour suddenly wafts into the from Fassad's exhaust pipes, breaking my concentration. Unfortunately, it gives Fassad enough time to reach me, where he blasts me with PK Freeze.
The cold winds send me tumbling through the air, so I decide to land back on the ground. I stare up at Fassad, who immediately starts firing lasers wildly in every direction with a wicked smile on his face.
Something's snapped within him... I've never seen him like this, so consumed with rage.
"I don't understand..." I mutter, ducking under a laser. "You ARE suicidal, are you not? Or at the very least, you are tired of your life... but what struggles could you have possibly gone through to warrant feeling that way?"
"What struggles? How about LIVING?! When the others and I made that deal to bind ourselves to that stupid dragon, they tricked me! I thought it'd only be a couple of centuries, but NO!"
A couple of centuries? How long has Fassad even lived for them?!
"How... how long has it been since the end of the world?" I ask. "I thought it was a couple hundred years."
"Nwehehehehe! If only! It's been over 10,000 YEARS!"
It's... it's really been that long? That's... that's an incomprehensible amount of time...
"Every day... it's all the same now. Honestly, the only thing I wanted to do was outlive all the others to stick it to them, and I've achieved that. I've got no regrets! But, you know what's funny? Porky thinks eternity in his capsule is going to be fun! Nwehehehehe! What a STUPID idea! I guess that's why he's a child!"
The disrespect towards Master Porky makes me frown, but... I can't say I disagree. Eternity sounds terrifying, and for Fassad to have lived that long...
"It's a win-win for you, isn't it? Whether I pull the last Needle, or Lucas does... you perish."
"So, you finally get it! And that's why you're WRONG! I don't need YOU — if I destroy you here, there's still a backup!"
Lucas... once again, your very existence is enough to threaten mine.
"You won't get away with it." Defiantly, I stand and endure the barrage. "Do you think Master Porky would stand for such an act?"
"Oh, this is... you're so stupid. You really think he CARES! For your benefit... understand you are nothing to him. We are ALL nothing but peons in his stupid game, but I alone will be a winner in my own right!"
"That's enough! I won't listen to the words of someone who's abandoned all their faith."
"Then in your last moments, chimera, promise me this — don't smile because it's over, cry because it happened! And as you join that maid in the darkest depths, know that I'll soon be there to torture you once again!"
Fassad divebombs me after that, which I block with the blunt end of my sword. Immediately, I switch to offence, slicing away at him. Most of my strikes hit the horns, but a few scrape his face — anything I can do to weaken him tilts this fight in my favour. I just need to outlast him as long as — AHHH!
There's a bright flash, and my entire field of vision is consumed by stinging white. It's so intense I nearly faint on the spot, but luckily I keep my bearings straight enough to stand.
Still, I can't see anything... I'm completely in the dark. As soon as I register that, I leap back, not keen on letting Fassad take advantage of my state. What's he planning on doi... what was that?
Did... did I just hear an explosion? He's using bombs... in fact, he's dropping them. Another one goes off, this one sounding louder... he's getting closer.
The next second, I hear something land on the sand to my right. Immediately, I leap in the opposite direction, hearing an explosion behind me that throws me to the ground. Urgh... my ears are ringing now, but at least my vision is returning to normal.
I look up, seeing Fassad heading towards me, another payload of bombs already on the underside of the wings, ready to be dropped. Quickly, I launch a lightning bolt from my sword, which hits one of the bombs — it explodes directly on Fassad along with all the others, sending him crashing below
I charge towards him, bending down and grabbing a handful of sand myself... time to give him a taste of his own medicine. Fassad stabilises himself and hovers above the ground, lasers at the ready, but before he can fire them, I chuck sand directly in his eyes.
Fassad musically screeches, shutting his eyes and rubbing them with his hands. He stumbles a little from the surprise, which only helps me when I slam directly into him, toppling him over.
Taking a Super Bomb from my waist, I quickly activate it and stuff it in one of his horns, before darting to the other side. The next moment, there's an explosion, along with a horrific screech.
When I turn back, I wince at the sight — Fassad's horns are covered in smoke, and they look very jagged now. With some more force, some of them might very well snap off...
And that's to say nothing of the man himself, who looks completely and utterly furious now. Time and time again, I've gotten the better of him, and he can see the writing on the wall. He has no more tricks, which means victory is mine.
"What a waste." I shake my head disdainfully. "You're more than welcome to die if you want, and I'll gladly assist you, but don't drag us into your misery. Master Porky was fully willing to help you, and yet you couldn't even commit yourself to the cause? Not only that, you act with deceit and stab him in the back."
"Turnabout is only fair play, and Porky's backstabbed me FIRST!" Fassad jabs a finger in my direction. " The fact you're here proves it!"
"In what sense?"
"How did you get here, chimera?! Answer me that!"
Bluntly, I reply, "The elevator?"
"Impossible! The elevator doesn't go to this floor!"
"... it doesn't?"
It's only just occurred to me that that... I've never actually been to this floor before. I never tried, but presumably others have... and if they were successful, I would have heard about this before.
"This floor's a secret to everyone! Why? Because the moment you look at this house, it tells you everything I am! Only I can get here normally, so how did you stumble upon this place?"
"The elevators aren't working normally," I explain. "They have been rerouted to send people to the most dangerous floors, as a trap for the villagers, who are in the city now."
"And who exactly did that?"
"... Master Porky."
"What a surprise! I told him specifically that nobody was to discover my identity, and he sets you all up to do EXACTLY that!"
I... no, this has got to be wrong! Master Porky would never perform such deceitful actions.
But... he admitted himself that he rerouted the elevators. He must have known Fassad's secret, and he surely would have known that this house would expose it. He... he betrayed Fassad's trust first.
... I... I can't believe it. Not only Fassad being in the right for once, but... Master Porky being in the wrong?
But... NO! It... it's impossible!
"You're finally seeing it, aren't you?" Fassad seems to have picked up on my shock. "You call me the backstabber, but Porky is the one burning bridges here!"
"You're wrong. You're wrong! You're wrong like you ALWAYS are, Fassad!"
But even I can't suppress the denial behind those words... and they only seem to incite Fassad's wrath too.
"How can someone be this BLIND?!" Fassad's voice booms through my mind. "I thought Lucas with his optimism was naive, but you... YOU put that to shame! You're next, chimera! Do you UNDERSTAND that?!"
"Why do you care?! You've never looked out for me even once before!"
"And I'm not about to start! Don't delude yourself into thinking that, I'm just correcting a mistake you've believed. And more importantly, I'm doing this to spite Porky and ruin his perfect plan — that he could control someone and turn them into nothing!"
"Control me? What are you on about?"
But annoyingly, Fassad doesn't answer, instead choosing to rise higher and higher.
"I bet you're thinking I've run out of tricks, aren't you? Nwehehehe! Prepare to be amazed then!"
Fassad claws both his hands up, glaring down at me with hate. He's got to be bluffing...
But the next moment, the sand on the ground starts to stir and there's suddenly a huge spike in energy. What in the name of... I've never felt Fassad's PSI be this strong! Even before, when he was recovering from the hole I made in his neck... no, this makes even that seem paltry.
In stark contrast to how he usually is, Fassad seems to be concentrating hard on this, almost like... no.
I can't believe I forgot this energy so quickly. I encountered it very recently after all... right on Tanetane.
"This is it, chimera! As the world comes to its end, let everyone witness the destruction that will come! Let all those who pray to the stars have their wishes blown out forever. Let NO person look at the sky with any semblance of HOPE! And let ALL hope be torn to shreds by my hatred, with the most magnificent PSI of all!"
I grit my teeth, bracing myself for what's to come. This... this might very well be the end.
Fassad thrusts both his hands up in the air, screeching to the heavens.
"PK... STARSTORM!"
And right then, the gates of Hell burst open. The energy filling the air overflows like boiling water in a pot, and the entire room flashes with green light. Immediately, a shower of green meteors hurtle down to the ground, leaving red streaks behind them.
As soon as I see them, I notice one's heading towards my position. Quickly, I dash to the side, narrowly avoiding the meteor that crashes into the dirt. But already, there's more coming for me.
Focus. The plan is simple — I'll just outlast this adult, and once the attack has finished, I'll use Fassad's weakness to finish him off. Leaping into action, I run as fast as I can, dodging past one meteor, but I'm smacked from the side by another.
Argh... just one hit, and I already feel like my whole body's on fire.
I scramble up from the ground and try to find a safe spot, but there's simply none to be found. Fassad is targeting the entire arena indiscriminately, so I'm not safe anywhere. All I can do is keep moving...
I keep moving about, never giving Fassad a clear shot at me, but it's to no avail. How long is he going to keep this on for?! The Barrier Trio could only manage a quick burst, but this... Fassad's somehow able to maintain this continuous flow of Starstorm.
If I keep going like this, I'll just tire out and once I do... I'll be easy pickings. In that case, there's only one thing I can do — force him to stop myself.
This'll be risky... but it's my only chance.
After leaping backwards to dodge another meteor, I fly up straight to Fassad. His eyes narrow in confusion at me, but he just shrugs and redirects the meteors towards me. This is the hard part... the closer I get, the less time I have to dodge them.
I swerve past a few, going above and below to dodge the meteors, but as I continue my ascent, Fassad sends them out faster, realising what I'm trying to do. But still, this is no challenge... dodge this one, curve right past another. Higher... higher... AH!
But I get shot down, one meteor slamming into me just before I was about to get to him. I tumble through the air, slammed by two meteors which send me off course into two more. Helplessly, I fall to the ground, with a trio of meteors heading straight for my landing site.
So much pain, but... but... I WON'T let it be the end!
I gather myself and fly straight ahead to dodge the incoming meteors, before facing Fassad once more. It's time.
Once more, I soar towards him, avoiding whatever barrages he sends my way. This time, there will be no disruptions.
As I fly, I focus my own PSI, concentrating as hard as I can. My mind fills with thoughts of Master Porky, and all he has done for me.
He is the light in the dark, and together we will lead everyone to the glorious new world! A saviour to the weak, and the bringer of justice for the strong... now that we've reached the end, everyone will finally see what that means!
And I, as his faithful friend, will execute anything he says perfectly. It is my duty. And those who do not share my duty will be crushed by it.
As I continue, Fassad seems to recognise what I'm doing — of course, he would be very familiar with this technique. He raises a hand in the air, enveloping himself with a PSI Shield. But of course, I simply activate my Shield Killer, obliterating it in an instant.
Yes... this time, I can feel myself controlling it all. Before at the temple, this power slipped away from me, and because of it, so did the victory that was rightfully mine.
But now, I've perfected it. The pinnacle of PSI is mine to control, so watch, Fassad, and see for yourself the power of the very emotion you could never feel!
"PK Love Omega!"
As I let the attack fly, I feel an odd sensation... unlike other times, I can actually feel the energy surge down my arm, before it's released into the atmosphere.
And when it does, it is glorious in every sense. The light and the hexagons engulf everything around me, tearing straight through the meteors as if they were wet paper. The ultimate manifestation of PK Love rips through Starstorm with ease, heading straight for Fassad.
The last thing I see before the giant explosion is Fassad's eyes widening in fear and in his panic, he fails to put another PSI Shield up in time. The shockwave is immense, dragging me down through the air from the recoil of it, but when it clears up, I see Fassad crash into the ground.
As soon as that happens, Starstorm ceases, the last vestiges of the attack soon clearing up. I descend down and land beside Fassad, who's lying face down in the dirt. He grabs a handful of it, trying to force himself up, but fails.
"You... YOU..." That's all he can muster, along with a glare to my face.
"Any last words?" I say, drawing my sword.
"I have no regrets. I lived life hating you all, and I'll die with you all hating me. Funny, isn't it?"
Sardonically, I reply, "You always had a unique sense of humour."
"How flattering. Well, do what you want. I've seen all I need to. And I can rest knowing that Porky's plans are already ruined."
"What are you babbling about?" I point my blade at him in frustration. "For once in your life, make some sense."
"Nwehehehe... you'll see. You'll all see! Ask yourself — what does Porky need an Absolutely Safe Capsule for? The only thing he'd need it for... is complete oblivion."
"And why would Master Porky seek such a thing?"
"Because everything you think you know about him is wrong. Not that you'll believe me... oh, I pity you, chi... Commander. He got you good, didn't he? Not quite in the way he hoped, but... he got you. You don't believe it, but... just wait. I'll say 'I'll told you so!' soon enough."
I still don't understand what he's saying... but I also can't dismiss them as an attempt to manipulate me."
"At least... that's what I THOUGHT I'd be saying," Fassad continues. "But you see, there's a wrench in Porky's plan, and it's YOU! There's happiness, sadness, excitement, grief, wonder, anger, and a whole load of other things stuffed deep inside your cold heart. With those things... the world will go ON! And the ultimate loser in this, will be Master Porky himself! NWEHEHEHEHE!"
I... I'm so confused. His words, they... they're nonsensical in every sense, yet there's a truth that my heart knows is there deep down... I don't get it! What is he saying?!
Why... why do I doubt Master Porky? It's...
... never mind. For now... there is a threat that I need to take care of for good.
I raise my sword in the air, charging it with every scrap of energy I have.
"Goodbye, Fassad."
Bringing my sword across my chest, I swiftly swing it through the air to discharge the —
BING BONG!
What the... is that the intercom?
"Did you hear that?" I ask Fassad sharply.
But he doesn't reply, and he doesn't need to either, for we both hear a voice the next second.
"Well, well, well! You two certainly had some fun, didn't you? Infighting in my army isn't allowed, but you both put on such a show that I think I'll ignore that!"
Is that... Master Porky?! It is...
"You did well, Pokey!" Master Porky compliments. "Fassad isn't exactly a pushover... though I am disappointed with his performance."
"You insufferable worm..."
"What's that? If you're trying to say something to me, I can't hear your thoughts from here."
Nevertheless, Fassad seems to ignore that.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?! You knew we both hated each other's guts, and that we'd go at each other's throats if we saw each other here!" Fassad bashes the dirt with his hand. "ARGH! I should have known I was just playing your game!"
I'm... I'm just lost personally. I'm still trying to comprehend everything that's going on...
"Are you DONE with your temper tantrum?" Master Porky sneers cruelly... too cruelly for my liking. "Well, I've got some news to make your day. It appears we have some rats in the sewers — Lucas and his friends have gotten into my city!"
"What? They have?!" I cry out in shock. They always find a way...
"Yes, it's truly a shame." Yet... there's something about his voice that lacks genuineness. "They're in the sewers now, heading to the exit. I want you down there, Fassad — ambush them at the entrance and take them out for good!
And before you say anything, let me remind you that you have failed me multiple times! I, out of the goodness of my heart, invest all this time into pulling those Needles, and you haven't delivered once!"
"Conveniently forgetting that I have been right about the location of every Needle and that you also benefit from this as well. Typical..."
"I'm sure you have some witty remark, but frankly, I don't care. You WILL fight Lucas now, and you won't run either. After all, his lot aren't very fond of you, and I'm sure they'll be eager to put you down for good! And of course, with the beating my sworn friend has just given you, it'll be much easier for them to do that. But if you are the great person you say, that shouldn't matter, should it?"
Fassad grits his teeth, looking like he's forcing bile down his throat. "Of course not... Master Porky."
He lifts himself off the ground and a green light envelops him — another Lifeup. It heals him a good bit, but it's not enough to fully rejuvenate him, and he's likely been drained from our fight. I've softened him up for Lucas essentially...
On his end, Master Porky seems to take this as a sign of agreement. "Good! I'm glad you see it my way. Now, get out there and do your best, alright?"
Fassad simply rolls his eyes, raising a hand above him... but he pauses to look at me. And in those eyes of his... I see something completely different than usual. Not smugness, arrogance, pride or anything like that... but defeat.
... he's done for. Fassad will lose against Lucas, of that I'm sure... and he knows it too. He knows this is it. It's such a stark contrast from what I'm used to...
But before I can contemplate it any longer, he snaps his fingers and disappears on the spot. Was that... PSI Teleport?
"Phew..." On the other end, Master Porky sighs in relief. "I can't tell you how pleased I am to be rid of him. But never mind that! You've done so well, Pokey!"
I can hear his applause on the other end, but it fails to fill me with any pride like it usually does. What's wrong with me...
"Alright, I'd say you're about halfway along this obstacle course," Master Porky continues. "Keep pushing on, my friend — my room isn't too far ahead. See you there!"
The intercom crackles again, before it shuts off.
I... I still don't fully understand everything that just happened. But, I suppose I have to keep going, don't I? If Lucas is already in the city, time is of the essence.
Still, after that fight, I'm quite worn out. At the very least, I need a moment of reprieve... perhaps I'll rest in Fassad's house.
The door's unlocked, so I open it up and the inside is similar to the Magypsy's house I saw on Snowcap Mountain, in addition to a healthy amount of bananas scattered about.
The Interpreter is also inside, and it's only then that I realise she was never informed about the conclusion of the fight. As soon as I enter, she throws me an impassive look.
"AH. I ASSUME YOU HAVE BEATEN FASSAD."
"I have not," I reply. "Circumstances required him to leave — he is heading towards the sewers."
"I SEE. WHEREVER HE GOES, I MUST FOLLOW TO INTERPRET, SO I WILL TAKE MY LEAVE. THANK YOU."
She flies out of the house, presumably to go there. Now that she's gone, I can truly have a look around the place... but there isn't actually much to see. I thought that Fassad, being the person he was, would have decorated his house with all sorts of things, yet it's just as sparse as my room.
Maybe... this is the real Fassad. Beneath the massive ego, he's nothing.
... perhaps I'll find somewhere else to rest.
I decide to leave and head to the elevator at the other side, pushing the button to call it down. Suddenly, I hear a squeak from the side... is that a mouse? I'm about to ignore it, before it starts squeaking at me.
"Hey, do you know where Locria is? I heard these massive explosions around there and I'm worried about him."
Locria? Was that Fassad's name before he betrayed the rest of his kind...
"Fassad — Locria is no longer here," I reply. "He's left."
"Oh, okay."
"If I may ask... what exactly are you?"
"I'm a mouse Locria is fond of. He gives me all sorts of treats."
The concept itself is just bizarre to me — Fassad actually having fondness for someone? But if this mouse is telling the truth, perhaps it could tell me more.
"What is Locria like?" I ask. "How did they act?"
"Huh? Well, people always say he's creepy, 'cause of his laugh. But he was always very kind to me. I wonder when he'll be back..."
I wince at that, knowing I have to break the news to them.
"I'm sorry to say this, but... I don't think he's coming back. Not now... and not ever."
"Oh... that's sad. Erm... thanks anyway."
The more I learn about him, the more questions I have. Everything I thought I knew about Fassad... all of it's being challenged in just a single day.
Everything I saw before now... was that all a lie? Because the person I saw today was nothing like the Fassad I'm used to. They were broken and empty... devoid of any pride at all.
And what do I make of all the things he said about Master Porky? So desperately, I want to dismiss them all as lies... yet there's a growing bit of me that sees a hidden truth to it.
I'll never find out what he meant either. Lucas will incapacitate him for good, and once I pull the Needle... he'll be gone. It almost makes me want to stop here, just so I can get the truth.
... but I have to keep going. No matter what, the last Needle is everything, and the only way to get it is to keep going.
The elevator's here. I step inside and push the only button — 79. That's only three floors higher than this one...
The doors shut and the elevator rises, the quiet hum being the only thing to accompany all my thoughts. Despite how unorganised they all are... there is one thought that stands out clearer than anything else.
For the first time in my life... I can't help but feel a measure of pity in my heart for the man that was Fassad.
Notes:
This chapter's another one that I was awaiting for a while - Chapter 8 is essentially a series of goodbyes for the Masked Man, and of course Fassad had to be included. I never really intended things to turn out this way, but as I wrote this fic, Fassad became increasingly more of an antagonist to the Masked Man, despite being on the same side.
That all led to this chapter, in which they have what's essentially a grudge match. Truthfully, part of why I wanted to write this way because I wanted the Masked Man to face Starstorm in a real fight at least once (and Kumatora isn't an option for that without breaking canon), and also to give him something interesting for his last 'real' fight, since... well, we all know how this story will end. You could say Fassad is the equivalent to Porky's fight in Mother 3, though we still have a fair bit left...
Fassad... is a very interesting character. It's never made clear exactly why he goes along with Porky's plan, and trying to figure out why has always been fun for me. In the end though, the only explanation that made sense to me is the very one in this chapter — that Fassad is suicidal.
Unlike the other Magypsies, I can't see him being a martyr for Porky's goals, and Fassad really isn't the kind to do anything for anyone other than himself. Given what pulling the Needles means for him though... well, there's not many conclusions you can draw from that.
Exploring that was an interesting part of this chapter, in addition to what it means to the Masked Man, and I suppose that's something important I should cover. I think it's very obvious at this point that the Masked Man is far from being emotionless, and I've very much defied canon in that sense.
However... this story is still going to end the same way as Mother 3. Of course, that presents something of a problem because the Masked Man's current standing on Lucas isn't just ignorance, it's actually negative.
Fassad was quite useful here, to plant the seeds of doubt in the Masked Man's head and justify that, and I also think it leads to an interesting dynamic where Fassad is being truthful, but he doesn't have the Masked Man's interests at heart. He's purely trying to screw over Porky, who screwed him over.
Next time, Claus continues his ascent up the Empire Porky Building.
Chapter 33: The Master's Deceit
Summary:
Construction, betrayal, boat rides, and the Masked Man's inability to trust his master.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The elevator rises.
... what more is there to say other than that? The solitude of being alone is something I am very familiar with, and usually comfortable with as well.
And yet, right now... that same solitude is most unwelcome, for it leaves me with nothing but my own poisonous thoughts. I shove them as far down beneath the surface of my mind as I can.
Luckily, I don't have to do so for long, as the elevator opens up shortly after. Thank goodness... at least I have something else to occupy my mind with. But... what is this?
This floor is incredibly drab so far, with plain steel walls surrounding me and little decoration about. That is, unless one counts the tools that are haphazardly scattered about, with saws, hammers and bags of sand all over the place.
As I walk through the first few rooms, I see more of these tools, along with logs stacked about in piles. There are diagrams along the walls too... no, they're blueprints. I carefully peruse through them and despite my limited knowledge in architecture, one thing is clear — it's a floor plan for this very floor.
Does that mean... this floor isn't finished then?
That question is immediately answered when I walk through the next room, where my ears are assaulted with the clanging of hammers against nails and the discordant yells of people working. Before me is a giant mesh of scaffolding, unfolding into the sky.
A construction site... so, this floor is incomplete. But, how is that possible? There are definitely floors above this one, but how do they stand?
"HEY! What do you think you're doing here?!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a large man stomping towards me, wearing a green uniform stained with dirt and a hard hat, nominally there to protect his head.
... I say nominally, because there are multiple small holes and dents in it, indicating its poor quality and likely ineffectiveness.
"No one except construction staff is allowed on this site!" he shouts. "Especially not a kid!"
It's then he stops his tirade and stares at my face. A moment later, his eyes widen as it presumably starts to set in for him.
"O-oh! OH! Oh, you're the Commander! Uh... I'm sorry, sir, Commander, sir!" He hastily gives me a salute — it's sloppy, though not too bad for someone who isn't military personnel. "I didn't recognise you at first! I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine," I reply quietly, trying to ease his anxiety. It doesn't. "May I ask what is going on here exactly?"
"Um, well... this is a construction site. We're building the 79th floor here."
"Really? Judging by the state of things, I assume you must have been doing this for a while."
"Not really," he responds, shrugging at me. "We've been here a month."
A month? So, this floor has gone unfinished for over three years? That's... disturbing.
"Sorry for asking, but... why are you here?" He asks. "I don't reckon the Commander has much business on a construction site."
"You are correct. However, the elevators have recently been... malfunctioning. Due to this, they will only send people to certain floors. I am actually trying to get to the top of the building right now."
"That's a weird malfunction..." He stops to rub his moustache thoughtfully. "These things go out of order all the time, but never like that."
"It is as I say. Which leads me to my next question — how exactly might I get through here?" I ask, hoping to redirect the conversation away from this point. It's better if people don't know Master Porky is responsible for this.
Thankfully, he doesn't push it any further, gesturing to the scaffolding, "I think there's an elevator a couple rooms down. Just be careful you don't fall. Not that I'm saying you would!" he quickly adds. "Oh, and stuff tends to fall a lot down here, so watch out for that too. I'd offer you a hard hat, but..."
His voice trails off and it's not hard to figure out what he's getting at — beyond my helmet being superior, these hard hats clearly have no protective value.
"I see." I'm about to thank him and am about to leave, but remembering what happened earlier with the Pigmasks, I find this sudden curiosity build from within.
"What is your work like here?" I ask.
"H... huh?"
"Your job," I clarify. "How do you find it?"
"Oh, um... y'know, it's not bad. Pays the bills and all." He laughs nervously, but even without that, I can recognise deflection from a mile away.
"And how much would that be?"
"Uh... about 100 DP per month? Which is LOADS!" He frantically nods his head. "The king is very generous to us!"
... I don't think it's physically possible to survive on 100 DP a month.
But as I had unfortunately suspected... it is not just my Pigmasks who are getting the short end of the stick. In fact, they're better off compared to others... and for some reason, I suspect this man is indicative of the average civilian.
"Thank you for your time," I say, leaving as quickly as is polite. Though at this point... why even bother with the courtesies?
As I make my way through the construction site, I pass by other workers, and the first thing I notice is... how absolutely unsafe everything is. To start, there's no safety railings at all, so I can only imagine how people haven't plummeted to their doom.
... maybe they have. After all... I wouldn't know, would I? And it was shown that I know a lot less about our society than I think I do.
The pollution is horrific as well — smoke seems to be churning out of every machine around here, which makes the air barely breathable.
But most of all, everyone is... exhausted. They are clearly running on fumes and with that pay, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the truth. And because of that, it often leads to —
"HEADS!"
Suddenly, I hear a yell from above. The next second, a large wrecking ball comes crashing down onto a platform nearby, only not crushing two people there by an inch.
And their reactions? They just flinch slightly, and continue to hammer away at some nails. They nearly died, and yet... they felt nothing. Somehow, that apathy is even more disturbing to me than what just happened.
I activate my jet boosters, deciding to simply fly the rest of the way. It's safer than trying to navigate this treacherous place. It's poisonous in every sense of the word.
Yet... I don't know why I suddenly care. I have never cared much for the ordinary person in New Pork. Yes, they are Master Porky's people, but that was his domain solely. My domain is the Pigmasks.
Hence, I was never exposed to what they would go through. Nor did I have any interest either. So, why are things different now... and why does it disturb me so dearly?
... it's obvious. No matter how I try to suppress those thoughts, it all goes back to one thing. Fassad. His last words still haunt me.
' Last words '... hm. I speak of him as if he's dead.
But in a sense, he is... at least to me. I won't see him ever again, because he will lose to Lucas. And once his Needle is pulled...
... I'm having second doubts now about it. After everything that happened... there are still so many things that I don't understand about Fassad. And after this, my chance of learning them is gone for good.
Fassad never said it, but I got his message — he was insisting that Master Porky was more sinister than I thought. And I would dismiss this as the slander Fassad would spew... except that the more I see, the less I can deny it.
Why is this building so incompetently designed? No, it goes beyond incompetence... it is malicious. Why does Master Porky allow these people to work in such dangerous conditions for so little?
It's not just them too... the Pigmasks are the same. With my privileged life, I am blinded to these hardships... but they've always been there. I was just too short sighted to see them. For that, I am to blame.
However... now that I see them, I have to ask why. Why do they exist? Why would a fair and benevolent ruler like Master Porky allow such injustices to perpetuate?
There's... there's an obvious answer. One so simple that it would answer everything neatly.
It terrifies me. There is no thought in the world that chills me to the bone more than that. If anyone expressed such thoughts to me a week ago, I would shoot them in the head.
Deviation detected. Course correction...
If I had been having these thoughts myself a week ago, I would have immediately submitted myself for a full psychiatric review. Because a week ago... such thoughts would have been the hallmark of insanity.
... failed? ERROR.
But... this is now, and there is one thing I can't deny — that there is the possibility that Master Porky, the kind and just dictator... is perhaps not as kind and just as I have always thought.
...
To... to express such ideas, even in just my mind...
I can feel my insides lurching at the thought. If I was even a little weaker, I'd be throwing up here and now.
And I would so dearly like to dismiss it as the poison of Fassad, the final bit of suffering he sought to inflict me, and... there is probably some truth to that. Fassad is biased, and he has always hated me. I don't doubt for even a second that hurting me was one of his goals. He was not out to expose some great injustice — he even admitted that himself.
But... the injustice is there, and a stopped clock is right twice in a day. And if these are the injustices Master Porky is committing against his own people... then what kind of injustices is he committing against those who are his enemies?
Somewhere down below... I finally see the elevator among this mess. I land and slam the button, eager to get out of here as soon as possible. The elevator comes down, and the only new button is... 84? I recognise that number...
When the elevator reaches the floor in question, my suspicions are proven true — it's the laboratory floor. How familiar... other than the 100th floor where I reside with Master Porky, this is the place I'm most familiar with in this building.
However, as I make my way through, I can tell something is wrong immediately. This place is normally pristine and carefully controlled — it has to be for the experiments that go on here. Every major thing that isn't a chimera was first built in these walls.
So, with that being said... why are there chimeras and Pigmasks running around as if it were a playground?
A metallic lion leaps across in front of me, swinging a claw at some beakers on a shelf which come crashing down. Two soldiers doggedly pursue it, but stop to catch their breath.
"GET THEM! Kill them if you have to!" Behind them, a Pigmask Colonel picks up the slack, frantically waving their gun in a marvellous display of firearm safety.
"It's too fast... we can't even CATCH it like this!" One of them objects. " And they breathe FIRE! Since when could lions do that?!"
"What do you think the point of chimeras is, you idiot?! To make cool stuff like that!"
"Yeah, it's really cool, except when it's trying to kill us with it."
"Which is why we need to catch it immediately!"
"Excuse me," I interject.
"What?! Who goes there... Commander?!" The Colonel immediately straightens up and salutes me, and their two subordinates do the same quickly after. "What are you doing here, sir?"
"To put it simply, I am trying to reach the 100th floor."
"But why do you just... oh yeah, the elevators are busted up," they reply. "Everything's out of order today..."
"Yes... what exactly is happening here? I don't believe I've ever seen so much chaos."
"You're not gonna believe this," one of the Pigmasks starts. "When the elevators went out earlier, all the experiments we had on this floor got set loose! The restraining mechanisms just went kaput."
"And now, they're infesting the place. We're trying to round them up, but it's not going well. The chimeras weren't exactly tame yet, and the power outage must have short circuited the robots or something..." The Colonel finishes.
"That is most unfortunate."
"Yeah. Uh... I don't suppose you could lend us a hand, Commander?"
"Unfortunately, I am most pressed for time. I shall eliminate anything I come across, but I cannot stay," I reply, with great regret. In any other situation, I would have gladly assisted, but I have to reach the top. "What are the most dangerous things on this floor?"
"Probably the lions," The Colonel says thoughtfully. "They've got poisonous stingers in their tails, they breathe fire, and they're vicious as all hell."
That is a nasty combination... I will have to be wary.
"Thank you. Best of luck."
Luckily, I know my way around this floor very well, so I know the quickest path to the exit. As I rush through the rooms, I see a number of yellow robots walking around with long fuel pipes for arms — Nuclear Reactor Robots.
It's clear why the Pigmasks were so scared... I recall my encounter with Atomic Power Robots on the highway a while back was tricky, and if I'm correct, these are even worse. All around, I see Pigmasks trying their best to get around to their backs — it would be simply enough to bombarde them with continuous fire, but... that would end very poorly for them.
It fills me with great sorrow to have to run by, and I feel like an awful Commander for doing so. But, the Needle is everything and in any case... I won't be Commander much longer, so perhaps that makes it more acceptable.
It... it doesn't. But I press on regardless.
Still, as I dodge past lasers and stretchy arms, I can't help but find something odd about what those Pigmasks said earlier... a power outage releasing everything captive here? This place has safeguards and backups for such things... it seems unlikely they'd have all failed at once.
It's far more likely that this was deliberate... but who would do such a thing?
Someone with control over everything that makes this building tick could do something like that, couldn't they? Surely, deactivating such rigid safeguards would be no more trickier than rerouting the elevators...
... I hate playing dumb. Moreover, I wish I was dumb. With ignorance... I would not be having these thoughts. Would that be better? It's hard to say, but —
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
A man comes screaming from the corridor below — not a Pigmask, as he's not wearing the uniform, just a lab coat. One of the normal scientists.
Before I can process that, I hear a mechanical roar in the distance, A Mecha Lion comes into view, clearly hot on his tail.
Unfortunately, he trips on a beaker lying on the ground, tumbling onto the floor. The Mecha Lion starts to corner him, and he has no hope of escaping now. He's doomed.
... I shouldn't. Time is of the essence, and one person's life is immaterial. Master Porky would agree too. It is a shame, but...
NO! I... I may not be Commander for much longer, but I am still that now! And I would be a worthless one if I just ignored this.
Not spending another moment hesitating, I unfold my arm cannon and blast the Mecha Lion right in its face with a good shot. It reels back and cries, turning its attention to me. Good.
Suddenly, it pounces and charges straight towards me, which I repel with a flick of my blade. It opens its mouth up, and I know exactly what it's about to do.
But before it can unleash its fire, I point my sword and force feed it all the electricity I can muster. It writhes about on the floor, its screams distorted through machinery, but there's nothing it can do.
As it lies on the ground paralysed, I walk up to it and drive my sword through its face, one of the few areas not covered by metal plating. It falls flat on the ground afterwards, completely motionless.
That takes care of that. I turn around to the man, expecting to see some sort of relief on his face... and instead, I still see horror in his face. In fact... he seems even more scared now.
"That chimera... it was one of our finest works! One of the toughest ones we've made! How... how did you beat it? And so easily too..."
He finally looks up at me, where his eyes widen. Immediately, he scurried away, pointing at me.
"The human chimera..." He shakily stands up. "You're... you're just a boy?"
He doesn't say anything else, but his face goes through shock, confusion and anger all in the span of a few seconds, before finally settling on... what do I call that? Is it... pity?
"I... I'm so sorry." He runs off without another word, back through the rooms I had come from.
What... what was that? What just happened?
Without realising it, I lift a hand to my face, gently touching it. The fear in his eyes... he was no less scared of me than he was of that chimera.
I've never really thought about it before, but... do people fear me? Well, it's a simple question — of course they do. And I want them to fear me... but I want to be feared by the right people — the enemy. Not by those here.
But when I think long and hard about it, there is reason for my own allies to fear me, isn't there? Perhaps it's my age — I wield great power for how old I am... but it's unsettling in a way, isn't it?
To think that a child could hold the position of Commander, and fight harder than any adult could... we think of children as innocent beings, who should be free from such atrocities. Though, with the way I can into being, being a normal child was never in the cards for me. And it's not as if children cannot be demonic beings by choice, as Lucas repeatedly proves.
... of course, I will neatly ignore the fact that Lucas is a far more capable user of PK Love than I am, and such a fact contradicts the idea that he is a hellspawn. Because in the end, there is no contradiction — being evil does not preclude one from having love.
However... it does reduce the odds. And the way he and his allies fight... it is an objective fact that they work well together. My defeat at the hands of them despite my strength is proof of that. Again, it doesn't change the point — evil can work together well, but it's such an opposing quality that few can pull it off. Good traits tend to inspire good people.
But equally, myself and Fassad do not work well together, despite sharing the same goal. Though to be fair, Fassad's motivation for that goal is selfish, while mine is not.
That... that's not completely true though, is it? I... I do want to change the world for the better, and that is what pushes me to pull the Needles. But even more than that... I have my own selfish desire to see someone again. Maybe I'm no different in that sense.
Deviation detected. Course correction...
But, if we are to take the assumption that good people work together while evil people cannot... what am I to make of Lucas and his lot? What do I make of Master Porky, Fassad and myself?
... failed? ERROR.
... I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that one.
Forget it. These thoughts keep blinding me from the goal.
I keep marching through the rooms, knocking away lions and robots as I go. It's really no issue at this point — after Fassad, it's mere child's play by comparison. And thankfully, I know the elevator isn't too far from here. It's just a little ways across.
But as I cross through one room, I notice an interesting sign on one of the doors... Dr Andonuts?
Yes, that's right... after the incident at the Chimera Lab, the whole place had to be shut down. Since Dr Andonuts used to work there, he was relocated here.
Perhaps it would be worth dropping in on the good doctor before I keep going. What lies in the passage to the last Needle is still a mystery, and I cannot exclude the possibility of there being a guardian. In fact, since it's Fassad's Needle, I'm doubly cautious that there's possibly some trickery involved down there. I need to be in my best shape for that.
Politely, I knock on the door, before hearing a voice on the other side.
"Come in."
I do so, and there is the doctor himself, sitting on a chair doing... nothing.
"Good afternoon, Doctor," I greet. "This is quite rare for you — I don't think I've ever seen you not at work with something."
He turns to me and gives a small smile. "What's there to do? The end is nigh at hand, so Porky in his vast generosity has decided I have nothing to do." He sighs, scratching his eyes. "Not that I could do anything what with this incident going on."
I frown slightly at the lack of title Dr Andonuts has used for Master Porky, but something else comes to notice — his tone of voice. It's so... bitter?
"Yes, the power outage was truly unfortunate," I respond.
He scoffs at that. "Power outage. Porky's work more like."
So... I was right. This was Master Porky's doing... somehow, I don't feel satisfied for having suspected this before.
"How are things going with the round up?"
"Just look outside," he says, lazily waving a hand to the door. "We've already lost two people. Not that it matters much anyway."
Not that it matters? What is going on with him?
"Since when did you become so callous towards life, Doctor?" I say critically.
Surprisingly, that gets him to pause, and he frowns at himself. His face becomes impassive the next moment, and he sighs once more.
"That depends on what you mean. My thoughts? They only became callous now, since nothing else matters. But my actions?" He laughs darkly. "They've been callous since the day I started working for Porky."
I purse my lips, not sure what to say back. Before I can say anything though, Dr Andonuts beats me to the punch.
"What are you here for then?" He asks. "You need to get to the top, don't you?"
He knows about that? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised — he would be important enough to know about this mission.
"Yes, but I just wanted to quickly get myself checked for any damages."
He glances at him, doing a quick once over. "You're perfectly fine. Though if you want, there's an Instant Revitalising Capsule there." He points to the corner, where there is indeed one. "That should be all you need."
"Thank you." I step into the capsule chambers, letting it restore me in mere seconds. That should be the final push I need. "In that case... I shall be seeing you, Doctor. I await you in the new world."
He frowns at me once again, looking down at the ground pensively. There's something serious wrong with him...
"I can't keep doing this anymore..." He mutters.
"I... beg your pardon?"
"This is likely the last you'll ever see of me, because I have no place in any world." He looks back up, staring at me decisively. "And if that's the case, I have nothing to lose by saying this. There's not much time, but you need to know one thing — Porky is not who you think he is."
I...
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" I say quietly.
"Everything we've said... they were lies." He grits his teeth before continuing, "I don't know why you were found on that cliff, but I'm positive it's not because you were kicked out of your village. And should you pull that Needle... what you think will happen won't. To put it simply... Porky is evil, and we have all been playing pawns in his game."
The exact same thing Fassad said... but he's also saying Master Porky is evil?! No...
"That is a serious accusation," I slowly draw my sword. "I sincerely hope you can back it up. Answer this — if he is so evil, why do you work for him?! What does that say about you?"
"The truth is... Porky has taken my son hostage." He spits the last word out as he balls his hand in a fist... this might be the first time I've ever seen him angry. "And if I didn't do this, he would have..."
He doesn't finish the sentence, instead choking briefly. I can guess what he's driving at.
He... he has to be faking it, right? Right? But this much emotion... he can't be faking this much.
"I... you're right," he admits. "I am no better than Porky for being complicit in everything he's done. I told myself that it didn't matter so long as he was safe, but now... the world will be lost. And that's not what my son would have wanted."
He shuts his eyes up tight, and I can only guess that... he's trying not to cry. He takes a deep breath before opening them up again.
"I did... unspeakable things to you for Porky," he continues. "Erased your memory, outfitted you to be a war machine and stripped any semblance of a childhood. I... I won't apologise for it. Not because I'm not sorry, but because I don't deserve to be forgiven for it."
"I... I don't resent you for any of that. I never did."
He smiles at me pitifully. "You should. But that's not what's important. Everything Porky's said about being your friend... they are ALL a lie. There are no friends in his eyes — they are only people he uses, and people who have no use."
"Don't pretend that you could understand the friendship Master Porky and I have," I hiss. "He has shown nothing but kindness to me!"
"So, you haven't noticed it then? Porky is clever, and very manipulative... but even he slips up." He presses on. "Every so often... don't you notice strange things about him? Things that don't fit what he's said?"
I... I have. All throughout, I've noticed small moments of excessive cruelty and twisted ambition that... they disagree with what I know.
But... but they're just that! Moments! Nothing more!
"You HAVE seen it, haven't you?" Dr Andonuts questions.
Urgh... of all the times to lose my normally impeccable control over my face.
"Those moments... that's the real Porky."
NO! This is a lie! This is nothing more than the conjecture of someone who seeks to discredit Master Porky by any means!
But... but it fits, doesn't it? I HAVE seen those inconsistencies. And Dr Andonuts isn't the first person to tell me about this either... he's actually the second. Fassad said the same as well...
I... I...
"You... you dare besmirch the good... NAME... of..." I point my sword at him, and he steps back. "You... you LIE, Doctor. You have ALWAYS been against Master Porky! What you say about him also applies to you, doesn't it?"
"W... what?"
"Thank you. Your treacherous ways went beneath my notice for so long, but finally I see them."
"I... I have never agreed with Porky's ways, but I have always done as he says. I have never disobeyed an order from him, even though I've wanted to!"
"Really?" I narrow my eyes at him, and suddenly I recall something Fassad said a long time ago, all the way back in Saturn Valley. "Doctor... would you remind me what happened to the Chimera Lab?"
He tenses up immediately. "It... there was an incident where a pair of monkeys released the Ultimate Chimera, and following that, we had to shut it down."
"Correct. However, there's more," I say, driving my sword into the floor. "You see, the second Needle was located very close by, but unfortunately, the villagers got to it before we did. I imagine you were quite pleased to hear that then, weren't you?"
"... I was, yes. The less Needles you pull... the better."
So forthcoming... I don't UNDERSTAND it.
"But there's more to it, isn't there? I got a tip off saying that the villagers were actually assisted by someone." My voice deathly quiet, I say, "Would you happen to know anything about that?"
He doesn't reply, instead just tensing up more. And now, I feel truly enraged — if he hadn't let them get to the Needles, that could have been MINE! And if I had gotten it, I would have the majority now!
I grab him by the collar and throw him to the ground with a yelp from him. As he lies sprawling on the ground, he looks up and laughs at me.
"What's so funny?! You have just admitted to the highest act of treason against Master Porky." I say, raising my sword above my head and charging it with electricity. "And for traitors... there is only one fate."
"It's... it's not funny. It really shouldn't be," He says amongst his own coughs. "It's just... I'm about to be killed by my own creation, aren't I? Ha... it's like something out of a movie."
"Why did you do it?! Why did you help the villagers out?!" I demand.
"Because they are the only ones who can stop Porky now." He tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling. "I see it now... there's nothing that can be done for you. I'm sorry. You're too far gone and... it's all my fault."
He stands back up weakly, spreading his arms out. "If this will truly satisfy you, then... by all means. I deserve it anyway. But before you do, ask yourself this... if you know about my treason, then shouldn't Porky now as well?"
I... I don't actually know. I only found this out through Fassad, and I'm not sure if he would have told Porky... there's a chance he didn't, since Fassad only cares about the Needles being pulled, not about who pulls them.
But at the same time, Master Porky knows all. Nothing goes beneath his notice. I'm sure he must have figured it out himself, but... where is Dr Andonuts going with this?
"If Porky knew, then... why hasn't he punished me for that act?" He asks.
I... that is a good question. Why didn't he punish Dr Andonuts for this treason? In fact, now that I think about it, I was the one who gave him the news of the second Needle being lost, but... he acted as if it was only a minor hiccup to him.
"What are you suggesting?" I ask, now very curious.
"What's more amusing to Porky — a decisive victory, or to give his enemies a fighting chance and snatch it all away at the end?" He explains. "This situation we're in now, with both sides having three Needles... I'm sure this was all according to his plan." He shakes his head morosely. "That's why I wasn't punished — betraying Porky was exactly what he wanted. I fell right for it..."
He... he really did that? Master Porky wanted this situation to happen?
"There's only one more thing I have to say." He turns behind him, pointing to the corridor behind. "This corridor will also take you to the way forward. You were probably planning to take the one outside to the left, but... take this one instead."
I narrow my eyes. "And why should I do that?"
"Because when you see what's there, with any luck... you might finally see what I do."
"That's enough. You've said your words... and I reject them."
He nods again. "Then do what you must."
In honour of the respect I had for him before, I'll at least make it quick and painless. Not that he deserves it, but... I am not cruel. I am better than that.
I raise my sword above my head, charging it with lightning. Never would I have thought this would be the first human life I'd take... but so be it.
...
S... shock him. Just electrocute him to death.
... why am I not... I...
DESTROY HIM! All traitors of Master Porky must be eliminated! It's as simple as... that.
I...
Dr Andonuts stares at me oddly. He's wondering the same thing I am... why has his doom not come for him yet?
... I can't. I cannot destroy the person who saved me.
NO! But HE... he stripped away my memories! He made me more machine than man!
But... what memories would I want to keep? The memories of the villagers? Of a family that turned me out? And my cybernetics aren't just for show in some cases — they're necessary for survival. Without them, I would be dead... and death is the worst thing in the world, isn't it?
... then, what of Dr Andonuts, who stands ready to die here? He's not putting up any fight, and not because he knows there's no point... but because he truly thinks death is better.
And if he's willing to put his life on the line so freely for the things he says... what does that say about the truth in them?
Deviation detected. Course correction...
... he...
... failed? ERROR.
Finally, I lower my blade, letting the electricity dissipate. The doctor looks even more confused at me now, but... I can't even look at him directly.
"There are more pressing things," I say, my voice completely monotone. "You are not worth the effort. But there is no place for dissenters of Master Porky's regime in the next world. You shall be consumed by the Dark Dragon and reduced to nothing. Dwell in your last moments remembering that fact."
I barge past him briskly, heading out of the hallway he directed me to. I... I don't know why exactly I'm following his instructions, but... I feel this odd compulsion to.
Something is... I DON'T...
I cannot understand what is going on anymore. Everywhere I go, every step I take... the world is screaming the same thing at me.
But, I can't accept it. To do so... that would invalidate everything I've worked for.
And what then? Have I truly wasted the last three years of my life? If that's true... already, my place in the new world is tenuous. All I know is battle, and I may be good at it... but that has no use in a time of peace. So, to find out that even that peace I fought for was born from a lie...
... Master Porky will make it all clear. He always does. I... I have been confused and questioned him before... but he has ALWAYS given me a satisfactory answer. Things will be no different this time... or so I hope. Otherwise, that —
What... what's that noise? In the distance, I can hear this strange groaning... it's different from the chimeras before. It's not nearly as loud for one.
In fact, it almost sounds... human? Has someone been injured up ahead?
Immediately, my brisk walk turns into a sprint. I push through the door at the end, rounding a corner.
What the... what is this?
Before me, I can... there are a number of capsules in this room, the kind that chimeras are often kept in before they're ready. It wouldn't be notable... except that they contain people in them instead.
Hundreds of them, all submerged in green liquid — it provides them with nutrients and oxygen, not unlike how a baby bathes in amniotic fluid. And just as a baby, they are nearly as inactive...
Yet, they are not completely so, for I can hear their groans. It reeks of disorientation, but it's clear they still have some level of awareness...
I... I don't recognise any of them. They range from every demographic possible — there's no pattern to their genders, age, ethnicity... nothing.
Who are they? Could they be from Tazmily... no, that's not possible. There must be at least a couple hundred here, which is more than that place's entire population.
Then, are they from New Pork? That would seem logical... but their clothes are all significantly different. Not that I am an expert, but the clothing available in New Pork seems to draw from Eagleland, which is only logical given that it was Master Porky's former home.
However, many of these people clearly bear garments from other cultures... how is this possible? If Tazmily and New Pork are the only human settlements on the island, and these people are likely from neither, then where are they from?
The answer hits me like a set of bricks. The only logical place they could be from is... the past.
... I see what Dr Andonuts meant. I may not see what he does... but I do see more of the same — questions with no reasonable answers. If they are from the past, these people could only be here under Master Porky's authority.
Amongst the static souls, I see some of them reach out and palm the glass with their hand, eerily moaning... it's creepy beyond all description.
Why... why are they here? For what purpose has Master Porky taken these people hostage?
It... I shouldn't stay here. I can't. I have to keep going
Keep going... it's a convenient excuse, isn't it? An easy way to justify ignoring everything I see and keep my fingers stuck in my ears. With every other thing I see though, even that starts to lose all meaning. At some point... it's more work to ignore these things.
But I push on, making my way out of the laboratory only to find... there's no elevator? I never knew there was only one elevator on this floor.
Instead, I can see a number of stairs extended upward into a black void. Well, I'm close enough to the point where walking up the stairs to the top is viable, so it shouldn't be much of an issue.
Curiously, the stairs end rather suddenly, connecting to a brightly lit room. Garish yellow and purple colours blare at me, and in the next room, I see a man wearing a black suit and hat on the green floor, cleaning some sort of hatch.
"Hm? Already? It wasn't that long I was driving you..." He stands up and turns towards me. "Oh, Commander! My apologies, sir! I was expecting someone else."
"Greetings. I apologise to interrupt your work, but —"
"You're trying to get to the 100th floor?" He interrupts. My lip twitches in surprise at that, to which he responds, "Master Porky has made me aware of your mission. Congratulations on making it this far — you're nearly at the end."
"Really?"
"Yes." He gestured to the rooms behind him. "It's a lot of walking, but it's also a straight shot to Master Porky. Just keep going and you'll make it." He walks to a table, picking up a pot. "Might I offer you a refreshment while you're here?"
"Your generosity is appreciated, but I will pass."
He chuckled at my response, setting the pot down. "Dedicated, aren't you? But that is a good trait to have. Servitude to the master is absolute, wouldn't you agree?"
"... quite," I reply, very unsure of myself there. "Forgive me for my insolence, but I must ask... who exactly are you, and what are you doing here?"
"I take no offence. It is a fair question. I am... let's say that I am Master Porky's public liaison. I deal with his would-be associates and assess them to see if they are worthy of the Master's good grace."
"I see. And this right here?" I gesture to the whole room. "It seems as if you're planning some sort of game."
To my surprise, he responds positively. "That's correct, sir. You'll undoubtedly know that there are some... vermin who have made their way into the city?"
"I am aware." I clench a fist instinctively. "The last I heard, Fassad was supposed to deal with them."
"Yes, unfortunately Fassad failed in that task." He shakes his head in disappointment. "That is his last failure in Master Porky's service."
I can't say I'm surprised to receive that news. I knew Fassad would fail from the moment he took off to fight them...
"That must mean... they have infiltrated the building." I say.
"Exactly. Now, Master Porky still hopes that there may be some chance of diplomacy. Truly, he is kind and forgiving, isn't he?"
He fixes me with a glare, silently demanding a response.
"O... of course." I quickly respond.
"But, for how much these villagers have been thorn in our plans, we actually know very little about them."
That... is true. I can't say I know much about Lucas and his lot at all. I obtained some information during my fight with them, but battle is only one side of a person.
I wonder... what are they like outside of it? How do they relax in times of peace? What kind of things might they talk about together? And... why am I so interested in this?
Still, I see what he's driving at. "You wish to see their temperament, so as to assess if peace is really an option. But... with a game?"
With a wry smile, the man says, "As they say, it's not about winning, but taking part. These simple games will show much about them. Much indeed." He claps his hands together, smiling at me. "Ah, but I didn't mean to bother you. On your way, sir! Master Porky awaits."
There's something about him that unnerves me, though I can't put my finger on what... either way, I'll follow his suggestion.
"Thank you. I'll take my leave."
"All the best, Commander. And may you be successful in your endeavours for our Master!"
Quickly, I walk through the curtains to another flight of stairs, and after hiking up them, I come into another room similar to the last, just with different colours.
Past that, the next room has a bizarre obstacle course, consisting of two purple planks extending across a large pool. I assume this would be some sort of race...
Balancing my way across this seems like the height of foolishness though, so I elect to just fly across it. And just as before, there's a set of curtains on the other side to pass through before another flight of stairs.
At the top of this one, the game here has a miniature model of New Pork City, along with two balloons attached to a pump... a balloon popping game? Whatever it is, it matters little to me, so I disappear behind the curtains once more.
Another set of stairs... I never knew walking up them could be this exhausting. There's even a couch halfway up them, enticing me to rest for a bit... but the goal is so close. There'll be time for everything later.
Finally, I reach the top, where I see a set of golden doors. But it might not be as simple as just walking through, for there's something in the way guarding it — a gigantic pig-like robot with metal claws and red eyes.
Immediately, I recognise what it is — Master Porky told me about this once. He had a dream about a robot just like this... a Natural Killer Cyborg. As soon as I step inside, its eyes focus on me... I'd rather not have to fight it if I can.
Out of nowhere though, I hear the ping of the intercom go off.
"Pokey! You made it!" Master Porky's voice rings exuberantly. "Good job climbing up all those stairs. Take a look at this thing though — I actually went through and had Andonuts make that robot I dreamed up! It should destroy those pests if they manage to make it up here — "
He suddenly starts hacking and coughing before he continues with his speech. "Anyway, NK Cyborg, stand down! That's a friend of mine there."
To my surprise, the robot responds by getting up and walking to one side, remaining perfectly docile.
"There's just one last thing for you to see before you reach me. It's time for you to take a step all back in time and see what the past was really like. Some of it should look familiar to you!"
A step back in time? Familiar to me?
I'm not sure what he means by that, but I walk past the robot, heading into yet another corridor. I'm sure I'll find out in good time, but... the more I go on, the deeper this apprehension within me grows. Though I'm trying to reach Master Porky as quickly as I can, part of me wants to just run back down the tower.
Dr Andonuts' words ring through my mind... what will happen when I pull that Needle? I was, and still am under the belief that when I do that, the world would be remade in the way I envision it.
He disagrees with this, but he's a traitor. At this point though... what does being a traitor to Master Porky really mean?
I feel as though this whole situation is a puzzle... one where I'm missing the critical centrepiece. Without it, even though I can create an image around it, it lacks any meaning. I can see that there are things about Master Porky that don't add up... but why?
That 'why'... that is the critical thing I'm missing, if it even exists. There is the possibility that Fassad and Dr Andonuts were merely trying to manipulate me for their own agendas, and the other inconsistencies I've seen have their own reasonable explanations.
Of course, that's what I hope the truth is... but I can't say that for certain right now.
Peculiarly, I can hear some running water in the next room. Is there another pool up ahead? It seems like it... no, it seems more like a river if anything.
There's a boat here as well. I suppose I might as well conserve some fuel and use this — I can't even see the end of the corridor here, so it might be a long journey.
I step inside and suddenly, a set of barriers come up to block the entrance.
"Please keep all body parts inside of the vehicle, and hold on to all personal belongings until the end of the ride." An automated voice rings out, somewhat female in nature... it reminds me of Miss Marsh. Though, her voice sounded softer to me...
The boat starts driving itself, slowly drifting down the corridor... come to think of it, I don't actually know how to drive a boat, so it's a good thing it works like that.
A strange tune starts playing in the background as well, vaguely nostalgic to me... I can't say why, but it feels like a song I would have heard a long time ago. Maybe before I... hm?
There's something coming into view in the distance... what is that? On a podium, there's a black machine with four wheels... it looks like those cars, but bigger. I believe this may be what's known as... a bus?
Right next to it, there's something else — a strange purple creature with a long neck in the water. After that, a yellow car and some strange devices with keypads on them.
These things... they're all from Master Porky's time, aren't they? So this is what he meant... but what's so special about them? Why did he choose to display these relics in particular?
The next relic I see gives me a good idea why, for it's quite distinctive — a metallic sphere capable of flight. A Sky Runner.
The movie... all these objects feature in it, don't they? And my suspicion is validated by the other things I see, such as Dr Andonuts' first chimera, or a submarine, or an ATM machine.
But the strangest thing I see is at the very end — a Phase Distorter. The machine capable of travelling through time and space... Master Porky has one of them still. So, he would be capable of doing what Dr Andonuts claims...
There's also a strange eight legged machine directly after it, which has a striking resemblance to the machine Master Porky uses now. It might have been a prototype, but this machine seems distinctly more built for combat than Master Porky's current version.
Eventually, the boat reaches the end and I disembark. There's one last flight of stairs and another room with a metallic pencil, but finally... I'm here.
This corridor... this is the first time I've ever approached it this way. Every other time, I've used the elevator — I can actually see it in its usual place, but it's likely defunct right now.
On one side is the kitchen, and on the other, my room. I decide to quickly check up on it, and... it's exactly as expected. Completely empty beyond the bare necessities.
... something about that strikes me as sad. After all this time... is there really nothing I thought was meaningful enough to put in here? I'm not a particularly materialistic person, but I... well, a room is supposed to say something about you, isn't it?
This room says nothing about me. Others of my age would surely have things they'd have put in their room... but that is the fallacy. I couldn't be more detached from them.
There was only one thing I ever kept in this room, and... to call her a ' thing' would be beyond disingenuous.
... soon. It won't be long before you're here again.
I step outside to the corridor and walk further up it, where I reach the large double doors. Master Porky's room. I've made it at long last.
Slowly, I knock on the door, just as I would in any other instance, though it feels distinctly different doing it this time.
On the other side, an ever familiar raspy voice says one simple thing.
"Enter."
Notes:
I must admit, this chapter feels very filler-like to me... which is probably because it is. After the climax with Fassad last time, the rest of the climb was always going to come off as a bit lame by contrast, and it was a bit of a slog to write this.
Still, there's one very relevant thing to note here, and that's the confrontation the Masked Man has with Andonuts. You might have noticed the running theme of this chapter — the doubt the Masked Man's having in Porky, and I feel the need to explain this.
You see, in Mother 3, the Masked Man has no emotional stakes in the conflict. He does not care about Porky beyond his orders, which is why he's able to turn to Lucas' side in the end.
However... the same can't be said here. While the Masked Man is certainly emotionally blunted here, he does have his own set of thoughts, which I gave him out of necessity to be able to actually write a full story with him as the lead.
But, this also means he's far more invested in Porky's side, and so, I needed to set up his betrayal more. I've been attempting to do this for a while actually, but here is where many of those elements finally come together.
Otherwise, the rest of the chapter pretty much speaks for itself. The only thing I'll mention is that at this point, I can actually confirm how much of the fic there is left — there'll be two more normal chapters for the main story, followed by an epilogue chapter to round things off (though if you're reading this in the future, you probably already knew that!).
For dramatic tension, there won't be any notes on the next two chapters, meaning you won't see me again until the epilogue. So, I do hope you enjoy yourselves, because this is finally coming to an end...
Next time, Claus descends down to the final Needle.
Chapter 34: The Seventh Needle's March
Chapter Text
At Master Porky's voice, I push open the doors to the throne room, where I see him in his capsule looking at some screens behind his throne. They're showing footage of the various floors in the building... specifically, all the ones he rerouted the elevators to send people too.
"My liege," I say, saluting him. "I have arrived."
"I can see that," he snorts, focusing his attention on me now. "Ah, this was a bit rude, wasn't it? Good job making it up here! I've been watching you along the way, and I know it wasn't an easy route — especially with Fassad. But, you pushed through anyway! I wouldn't expect anything less."
... strange. While his praise would, and normally does fill me with pride, on this occasion... it rings hollow.
"Thank you," I say awkwardly. "I... am not worthy of your praise."
He chuckles at me, devolving into a wheeze after a few seconds. "No need to be modest. I'm not an easy person to please, but never once was I disappointed in you. Seriously... I think you deserve a major reward after all this is over." His face suddenly becomes very grim though. "We don't have the time for things like that now though. Time isn't on our side here."
"It isn't? What's going on?" I ask.
"Have a look for yourself."
He gestures to one of the screens, specifically the one depicting the laboratory floor. And on the live feed... them. I see all four of them running around, knocking robots aside as they charge through.
"They made it up so quickly..." I mutter.
"Yep." Master Porky's face curls in disgust. "They even took the time to destroy my precious statue! How DARE they?"
They did? That's... an oddly petty thing to distract themselves with. It's no less diabolical though.
"They've also gotten up quicker than I thought, I'm not TOO worried," Master Porky continues. "I've still got way more things to distract them with, like my games!"
The games? Wait... didn't that man say otherwise?
"Incidentally, the man organising said that you were still trying diplomacy with them?" I ask.
"Diplomacy? HA! Don't make me laugh. That's just a ruse to get them to lower their guard. They've messed with me and my empire way too many times to get any mercy."
"... I see." Part of me is disappointed, but I suppose it makes sense. They've come too far to turn back now... and so have I.
"But, none of this will matter much more now," he muses. "Once we pull that Needle, it'll finally be done. So... let's go and find it!"
... I should. That is what I should do, but... this might be my last chance to ask these questions. Beyond the Needle, I don't know what will happen and... I need an answer now.
"Before that," I interrupt. "I have some questions."
"Questions? Now?! Urgh, this isn't really a good time."
I all but expect Master Porky to refuse, but he eventually sighs. "Fine. Make it quick though — we don't have much time to waste."
That much I can agree with. Truthfully, there's lots of things I want to ask, but time isn't on our side... what's the most important thing?
Hm... I still don't know what to make of what Dr Andonuts said, but... the other things I saw on that floor did shake me. I have no proof of the doctor's allegations, but those tanks can be easily proven to exist.
"I saw something in the laboratory. A number of fluid filled tanks with people inside," I say.
"You did?" For a split second, it almost seems like Master Porky's eyes widened in surprise... no, I must be imagining things.
"Yes. But even more strange than that... they seemed to people from the past, based on their clothing. What... exactly is going on there?"
Master Porky doesn't respond immediately. He's clearly thinking of what to say, though his face is impassive. It's perhaps the first time I've seen him like this... which makes it all the more concerning.
"Is it that... you do not trust me?" I finish.
"Not trust you?!" He replies, clearly outraged. "We've come all this way together! How could I NOT trust you?"
"There are other things I've noticed. But perhaps the most important one was... Fassad. You knew he was a Magypsy all along, but I did not."
He sighs at that, shaking his head. "Believe me, I would've liked to tell you, but Fassad swore me to secrecy. And I hate his guts, but I keep my promises."
That... I suppose that does check out. Fassad himself was very keen to keep his identity a secret, and I respect Master Porky's choice to abide by his wishes... even if they are coming from him.
"But, you know what? I see where you're coming from, 'cause the truth is... I HAVE been keeping stuff hidden from you."
"What?!"
What... what is this feeling? So poignant and bitter... betrayal. Fassad, I saw coming, but this? This is...
"Wait a second though!" Master Porky quickly adds. "Hear me out. The reason I've been doing that is because I wasn't sure if you needed to hear it. The more things you know, the more it distracts you from your mission."
"... yes. Yes, that's true."
"But... I realise I was wrong to do that. You're the one putting in all the hard work here, so... you deserve to know the truth."
The truth? About what? The way he speaks... it's like it's some massive secret. But what could it be...
"Tell me," I demand.
"First, let me ask a question — what do you know about the end of the world?"
The apocalypse? That's simple, it...
... hm. Actually... I can't say much? There's very little I do know, save for that the Dark Dragon is the reason why the island was spared.
"... not much," I confess. "It's not something people talk about in length."
"Well, I'll tell you. I've lived through it after all. Basically, humans got too greedy and burned through the resources the world had, and it all went to pieces. Back then, the world was a much bigger place and there were lots more people around?"
"More? As in thousands?"
"HA! More like billions!"
What the... is that even possible? That's an unfathomable amount... there's barely a few hundred people on the island.
"How can that be?"
"That's how big the world was back then. At its peak, there were ten billion of us knocking around. But when it went downhill, that changed. Nearly everyone was wiped out."
"But obviously not everyone. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here now."
"Smart as always, Pokey. So, here's the question — how did those lucky few survive?"
"Because they were on the island? The Dragon protected them from everything."
"See, I thought that too. But here's the thing — before the end, no one lived here except the Magypsies. Fassad told me as much himself."
... what? Fassad would have no reason to lie about that, so I can only take it as truth, but...
"Are you saying... our ancestors hailed from outside the island?"
"Exactly. When the world went down, people made all sorts of vehicles to try and find a safe spot. Thing is, everyone on board them died long before they ever found that... except for one. One group made a ship to sail the ocean until they found something."
"They found the Nowhere Islands," I say. "And... settled here?"
"Seems like it."
It does... except now, there's a very big contraindication in the facts as I know them. If that's all true, then something makes no sense at all.
"But... why has no one ever mentioned this? No one acts like they ever came from outside the island!"
In fact, now that I think more deeply about it... no one even seems to be aware of the fact that the world ended at one point. For such a monumental moment in all of history... surely, people would have remembered it?
Master Porky raises a finger, wagging it slightly. "Now you're asking the right questions. Why don't they remember? The answer is... they don't. Not anymore.
"You mean, they all got amnesia? Did they all fall off a cliff or something?" I say dryly.
For some reason, he laughs especially hard at that. "No, not quite. Actually, they were responsible for it — they all sealed their memories away. Fassad told me that apparently they stored them in an egg."
"An egg?" The connection flashes into my mind a second later. "The Egg of Light?"
"Yep! That's the reason I was trying to get in the first place. I thought those memories might have been useful for us, but in the end, Fassad could answer most of the questions I had and I lived through the cataclysm anyway."
"I see... but, why would they seal their own memories away in the first place?"
"Why? 'Cause their memories weren't doing them any favours. First off, they just went through the end of the world, and a lot of them wanted to forget about that. But second, who was responsible for the end in the first place?"
"You said it was humans?"
"Yes! Humans just like them! See, they had a second chance on the Nowhere Islands, but they were scared they'd screw it up. And to be honest? They were right to."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say... some of those people weren't exactly the best. They'd done some terrible things. They needed to get rid of that ruthlessness, so... they sealed their memories and started from scratch. Truth be told... I originally planned to get that egg, so I could give their memories back."
"Then... that's why we stopped? You feared giving them their memories back might make them ruthless again."
"Yeah... though, it's not like it mattered much. Their sick ways go deeper than just memories — it's burned within them. Even without knowing what happened, they're just as twisted as before!"
I've seen that myself... all of that is true. And for a moment, I'm almost tempted to drop the matter and move. Yet, there's one thing that becomes apparent — for all he's elucidated me on the matter, he hasn't answered the original question.
"And the tanks? The people inside?" I prompt. "What of them?"
"Ah. I knew the end was coming for a while, so I wanted to prepare for it. I wanted to preserve the past as much as I could — you saw my museum, didn't you?"
"Yes... those artefacts date back to your time. It's impossible they came from here."
"And they don't! I tried to collect as many things as I could, to make sure the past wasn't forgotten. But, I also wanted to save as many people as I could — what kind of person would I be if I didn't do that?!
Unfortunately... I only had so much time and resources. So, I could only save some, and even then, I didn't know how dangerous the world would be after it all. It could have been a long time since it became safe. Now, I can handle it, 'cause my body'll never die from just time alone, but regular people won't last that long."
"You put them in stasis," I say. That... that makes sense! There is a logical explanation for this!
"Yep. I tried to choose a wide variety, so that we had the best chance of recovering if the worst came to. The thing is... well, you saw it yourself. Stasis technology isn't the best — those people aren't in pain, but... they're not exactly asleep either."
Porky sighs, shaking his head. "Looking back on it, I see why it doesn't look good. But my plan is to release them all once you've remade the island. In fact... I was hoping you might be able to go further beyond that."
"In what sense?"
"The world's gone to pieces. Even if we fix the island, everyone else is ruined. But if you put that Needle... you could bring it all back! All those lives, the world that was lost... forget the island! You could change the WORLD!"
"Does... does the Dragon even have that sort of power?"
"Of course! The only limit it has is what your heart places on it. If you want it to happen, it will! Doesn't that sound great?!"
"It does, and yet... look at the villagers. They repeated their mistakes, even though they didn't have any memories. Won't the people of the past do the same?"
"You're right, and that's exactly where WE come in! You've got the power to kickstart it, and I've got the knowledge to guide people. Together, we can lead the whole world into the light!"
"But... is it truly right for us to do that? The island is one thing, but... the whole world? That's a much larger scale," I point out."
"I get it," Master Porky nods his head appreciably. "We don't wanna be tyrants."
"Exactly." I breathe an internal sigh of relief, pleased that he understands my point.
"But think of it this way — who better to do it than us? I know I've dropped a lot of knowledge on you, and I'm sorry for that. I should have been more honest with you, but I was worried you wouldn't be able to take the responsibility."
"It... is a lot to take in."
The pressure is immense... but surely I can do it? Everyone deserves a second chance, including the world itself. And I see now that all my fears were ultimately for nothing, because as always... Master Porky always does what's right.
Yes, he stumbles sometimes, and like he said... he should have been forthwith about this. But he has good intentions and he knows what's best, which is something I can't say about anyone else. I am convinced of that. Dr Andonuts's conspiracy has been revealed for the treachery it is.
If there is someone out there who can lead the world to a new glory... it is him. The world is safe in his hands.
My resolve is stronger than ever now. Countless times, multiple people have tried to make me doubt Master Porky, but every time... their words are shown to be nothing but blasphemy. The only logical conclusion from this all is... he really is the person he states he is.
"But I'm ready. It's time to end this."
Master Porky wheezes again, trying to laugh. "Couldn't have put it better myself. Let's not waste any more —"
We both flinch when a loud alarm goes off, startling us both.
"What now..." Master Porky grumbles, turning back to the screens. A quick scan of them shows exactly what the issue is — Lucas and his companions have already made it to the Natural Killer Cyborg.
A flicker of annoyance passes through me — I shouldn't have wasted my time trying to see if Dr Andonuts' lies held any weight. He'll be the first to go when the Dragon awakens...
"Persistent, aren't they?" Master Porky says through gnashed teeth. "Like an insect you just can't swat."
The hands on his machine reach out and tap a few buttons near the screens to activate the intercom, before he starts speaking... speaking to them.
"Lucas. Welcome to my room!" He calls out. "This is the REAL 100th floor that you wanted to come to oh-so-badly! Again, I welcome you, my beloved, detestable pests."
Down there, they all look up with varying expressions of disgust. Master Porky pauses for a moment, taking the chance to cackle at their ignorance.
"I was the one who invited you here. So you're free to come inside if you wish." He pauses again, trying to hold in his laughter, but he bursts into a fit of giggles anyway. "It's just, I've given orders to let no one enter my room to that little attack toy you see right there. Who knows, maybe this is where we'll say goodbye, even though I invited you here.
The cyborg's eyes suddenly light up, stirring to life.
"Alright, let's turn it on!" He shouts. "Say hello to the Natural Killer Cyborg!"
Immediately, it opens its mouth up, firing a barrage of missiles at them all, but they quickly get into position and start the struggle against it.
"Heh... that'll keep them busy! We've wasted enough time dealing with those idiots though." He turns back to face me with a smile. "What do you say we head down then?"
"Of course." I look around the room, only now realising something though. "But how exactly do we do that? You said there'd be a passage in your room, but I see nothing."
"Watch this." He presses another button on the wall before scuttling over to where I am. The next moment, part of the floor starts to shake beneath us. What... what's going on?
"It's time to take a ride!"
And with that, the section we're standing on retracts into the ground, tumbling down. A secret elevator...
We plummet down through the tower at high speeds, as the world around us gets darker and darker. Before long, the walls go from being metal to rock.
Then, it comes to a sudden halt, and I'm flung out to the ground, nearly falling flat on my face.
"HA! Sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but that was funny. Not the smoothest ride out there, but it gets the job down," Master Porky comments.
That's one way of putting it... but where are we?
Now that it's over, I take a moment to observe the surroundings. Everything around us is made of rock — the ground is hard stone, the walls are all rock, and there are stalactites everywhere.
We're in a cave... but how deep is this? This must have been buried under the whole of New Pork City... how did Fassad even put his Needle down here to begin with?
Wait... the Needle. Is it here... yes, it is. I can sense it... it's in the distance, but it's here.
"We are in the right place," I draw my sword, pointing it forward. "The Last Needle."
"Good. I've been down here a bit already, but I never went to the end," Master Porky explains. "So, once we get far enough, we'll both be in the dark."
"Then let us head towards the light," I say, marching forward.
"HAHA! That's a good one..."
Behind me, I hear the whirring and grinding of Master Porky's machine, as he follows behind me.
It's a very simple path — there's only one way to go. A straight shot to the Needle, as it were. Yet, despite the simplicity, this cave is no less fascinating.
It... it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the island. There's something grim and oddly foreboding about it... all across, purple rocks dot every surface. They're mostly inert, but they sometimes give this periodic glow, illuminating the surroundings in light.
However, sometimes they do more than just that — the crystals themselves come to life, charging at us. Not only that, but the sparks they give also come to life as well, taking on a weird sentience.
Still, it matters little. By this point, my skills have grown such that I don't even have to think. My body works automatically, blasting the rocks away and absorbing all the lightning that comes my way. They keep coming, but it doesn't even faze me.
After the fifth set of them, Master Porky speaks up and chuckles. "I don't get to see you fight that much actually, but... you're like a machine. Perfect in every way. Clean, precise, efficient... HA! I couldn't be more proud."
"Oh. I... I am honoured," I reply, somewhat put out by that. I know he means it as a compliment... but there's something almost repulsive about the implication to me.
Misunderstanding my doubt, Master Porky says, "Don't be modest. You are my ultimate creation, the greatest chimera in existence! And believe me, I've poured so much into getting you to where you are... but you know what? I'd do it all again, because you were worth every bit of it!"
And I am honoured by that, far more than he could imagine. The issue is... given what I want to do after this is over, it also instils a sense of guilt within me.
"You know, I had my doubts about this all," Master Porky continues, as we keep pushing on. "Who’d have thought that two kids like us could do something like this? But then... I remember Ness and his lot, and how much they did to me.
The truth stupid adults don't wanna admit is that age really IS just a number. It doesn't mean a thing! When I think about it though... you're the friend I always wished Ness was. I guess I haven't been the best friend though, keeping things hidden like this."
"I never would have refused to do this," I say. "It's a big idea, but... the world is worth saving."
... there isn't an easy way around this. I simply have to go straight into it.
"Yet, at the same time... I don't think I can help you in that new world," I finish, a slight bit of apprehension seeping out.
"Huh?" He throws me a quizzical look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I was hoping I might be able to merely allude to it... it seems I'll have to be blunt.
"After this is over, I..." I take a deep breath, mustering my courage. "I would like to quit from my position. I've fought a lot, and... I want to be free from it. I hope you can understand."
There's a tense silence, as Master Porky doesn't respond immediately. I steel myself, bracing myself for the outburst, before...
"Is that all?" He grins at me, spreading his arms open. "You had me scared for a moment! After everything, you deserve anything you want. In fact, I'll fire you myself if you don't quit. On my honour as your friend, you'll be free for the rest of your life!"
He... he's fine with that?
"You're... not upset?" I ask, still not accepting it yet.
"Why would I be? The whole reason I made you Commander was to pull those Needles. Once that's done, the entire world will be at peace — we won't need any armies at all! But besides that, you're my friend. And friends CARE about each other, don't they?" Suddenly, he looks at me with a frown. "Well, so long as we still CAN be friends even once you quit?"
"O-of course!" I say quickly. "I never had any intention of quitting from that."
"Then it's settled!" Master Porky claps his hands together decisively. "But, we'll figure that out later. There's still more to do."
"I agree. This cave is... certainly something."
"Yes." Master Porky wheezes with laughter. "Yes, it certainly is. I'm not even a little psychic, but even I can feel the power around here."
That alone is disturbing, but that's nothing compared to what's beneath. The path we follow seems to be above a giant chasm, but rather than pitch black, there's a muted white light that stares back. Occasionally, lightning strikes upwards, hitting stalactites on the ceiling.
"Spooky, isn't it?" Master Porky says. "That's part of why I haven't done much exploring myself here." He moves over to an edge, looking down at the abyss. Suddenly, he giggles out loud. "I've been waiting for this for so long! And it looks like our new friend is waiting for us too."
"Our new friend? You don't mean...?"
"I do." He points down at the light. " That's the Dragon. With the rest of the Needles gone, it must be already starting to wake up. All it needs is one last jolt."
Incredible. If this is what it's doing when it's half asleep, I can only imagine the might it'll have when awo... what's that sound?
"Stupid thing..." Master Porky mutters, messing with something beeping in his machine. "Bah! Already?! They're too quick for their own good..."
"What's going on?"
"Ignore me," he says dismissively. "Let's keep going on."
That's a little suspicious, but... if he says so.
The way forward is not different to before, and that power only gets stronger. But unlike any of the other Needles, this one feels... stronger?
Hm... it is, but that alone doesn't do it justice. The energy feels different altogether, almost like... PK Love. It's my theory that PK Love is actually a way of channelling the Dragon's power, with the stronger forms being more pure versions of that.
If that's the case, perhaps what I'm feeling now isn't the Needle at the end, but the Dragon itself. After all, this must be the deepest part of the island — if the Dragon lives under the surface, this must be the closest one could get to it, especially if Master Porky is right about that light.
All this time... the Dragon has been the end goal. A means to an end. But, is that all the Dragon is?
It reshapes the world in the image of whoever's heart is passed down to it... how cognisant must it be to do that? I'd think it to be sentient with that... so what makes it obey?
Is it motivated by good... no, if it were, it wouldn't be claimed to follow anyone's heart.
Then, is it a slave to its master's will, able to think, but not break free? That doesn't make sense either, because it is the one with the power. It could disobey, and its master wouldn't be able to do a thing. It...
... is it even the right term to use for the Dragon? I assume as much, but that's exactly it — I assume. Technically, it would make the most sense... but technically, a robot like Miss Marsh should also be referred to with ' it' as well, and I patently refuse to do that.
There's little more dehumanising than it... and though it may be accurate, that doesn't mean it's right. I wonder then... how do Lucas and his comrades refer to me? Not that I have insight into their journey, but I imagine they've discussed me on occasion.
Perhaps they dehumanise me as well, so it's easier for them to fight these battles. After all, if I'm just a chimera, then it's easy to justify the pain and suffering they have brought upon me, because they don't have to see me as human.
... I can accept that. After all, I don't see them as human either.
"Ah, we've made it!" Master Porky suddenly says. "Time for a little break. We've reached somewhere very special."
What? What's he going... what? Wha... what is THAT doing here? And... why?
The rocky path we're on briefly widens out to a more open space, with the path continuing on the other side.
However... there's already something in this space. A large metallic sphere stands, completely blank except for a glass window and the Pigmask insignia on the front.
"Is that..."
"Yep. I've never met a bigger quack than that doctor, but his work is good." Master Porky turns to me, suddenly beaming. "And you helped him as well! Haha... this might be the best thing to have come from my entire empire!"
The Absolutely Safe Capsule. But... how?
"How did it get here?" I ask. "And moreover... why is it here?"
"I had Andonuts place it here when the cave was excavated out, as part of a... a contingency plan, shall we say?" Master Porky grins deviously for a moment, before a frown replaces it. "And unfortunately, the first part of that plan has been necessitated."
"I... I still don't understand."
"You remember that beeping earlier on?" Not waiting for an answer, he continues, "It wasn't nothing. I was getting an alert — Lucas has destroyed my previous attack robot."
That robot was at least twenty times as big as them... I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but I still am.
"Of course. They must be taking the boat now then," I realise.
"They are," Master Porky confirms. "They're coming far quicker than I expected. Lucas... he clings on to life like a beetle clings to dung!"
That's... certainly an image.
There's a loud crash the next second, as Master slams the inside of his capsule with his elbow. "WHY? Why can't he just lie down and DIE?! It's what I'd have done by now! But no, he just has to keep on pushing through. Bah... it was interesting at first, but now he's like that itch you just can't scratch — not meaningful enough to worry about, but never able to be ignored."
"It doesn't matter. He's nothing more than some child that got lucky," I respond. That's what I've been telling myself at least... but the more I see him, the less I believe in it.
"Exactly! He really thinks he can fight fate? Fight us? HA! It's time for him to see just what he's up against, and there's only one person that can do that!" Master Porky rubs his hands together with a wheeze. "So, for his persistence, I'm going to give him the honour of meeting his end by the king himself!"
"You... aren't coming any further?" I say.
"I'm afraid not. Someone needs to hold Lucas off, and we've suffered long enough from him. As king, it's my duty to the people to destroy him! And more than that... it's my duty to tear him piece by piece and make sure that in the last waking moments of the old world, he spends his time as a crybaby! So, I'm going back up to take care of him."
"But... pardon me for saying this, but... what if you... fail?"
"Me? Fail?" Master Porky scoffs. "Come on, Pokey! But I appreciate the concern, and I'm not an idiot. My plan is this — I want you to keep going until you find the Needle. Once you're there, wait."
"Wait?" I repeat.
"Yes. I'm going to take care of them — once I do, I'll join you and we can see the Dragon rise together! But, if they really do have me on the ropes, then I'll retreat back into my Absolutely Safe Capsule. Inside there, they won't be able to do a thing to me!"
That's true... but by the same logic, neither can he. And more than that... it's forever.
"If that happens, they'll get past you, won't they?"
"They will. They'll probably reach you then."
"And your orders?"
Master Porky grins once more. "Destroy them. Burn them to ash and pull the Needle. And when we push the world into the light, they'll be pulled into the dark forever!
"... I understand."
"Good." Master Porky looks up at the ceiling, clearly musing on something. "Well... I suppose this is it, isn't it? Pokey... I want you to know something. My plans haven't always gone exactly how they should, and things have gone sideways. But you? You are my greatest success."
He opens the inside of his capsule, stretching out over the edge and holding a hand out. With a smile, I take it with my own and shake it.
"Farewell, dear friend."
"No... this is not farewell," I say. "We will see each other again."
"... of course." He retreats back inside and closes the machine up. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Of course there isn't. The situation couldn't possibly be clearer.
...
... yet, there is one thing. One... one thing that's always bugged me, something in the back of my mind. Just like... an itch you just can't scratch — not meaningful enough to worry about, but never able to be completely ignored.
And... if all goes well, this will be the very last time he will ever be an obstacle in my way. Which means afterwards... I'll never be able to get an answer.
"Wait," I call out.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"There is... one thing I have to ask."
Master Porky looks perplexed, and I don't blame him — what more is there that I could ask?
Nevertheless, he simply says, "Spit it out then."
... so be it.
"The boy named Lucas... what is he to me?"
Whatever question I could have asked, it's clearly not what Master Porky expected, for he looks as if I've just spat in his face.
I must know. I want to understand before I destroy him what this boy really is, so that I may be assured of his inferiority.
And then... Master Porky laughs. It echoes through the cave, feeble and chilling at the same time.
"You know... part of me's wondering if I should really tell you. It's not like you need to know." He rubs his hands together, seemingly weighing it up. "But on the other hand... it would make what's going to happen all the more fun. This game has already had enough twists and turns... but what would a good game be without a last minute plot twist?"
"I... don't follow?"
"I can't say for sure if this is true, but given what we know, there's only one possible answer, isn't there?" Master Porky grins. "He's your brother."
...
...
... hm. That...
It... doesn't surprise me. I thought I'd be more shocked to hear that, but... I'm not.
In fact... I can do one better than Master Porky — he's not just my brother.
He's my twin.
It doesn't shock me at all. But... why would it? Like Master Porky says, it's the only possible answer — why else would he look nearly identical to me?
But, even behind that... I think I've known for a while. The fact that we can both use the same PSI to call the Dragon... that strange sensation I feel every time I encounter him. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I've always known.
"I thought as much," I eventually say. "It... makes sense."
"It does?" Master Porky briefly narrows his eyes in confusion. "Huh. I didn't think you'd take it this well. You know what we'll have to do to him, right?"
"I will not let that cloud my judgement. Lucas must be eliminated. If you fail, I will finish the job. The fact that he is my brother means nothing... the blood of the covenant, remember?"
"Of course!" Master Porky wheezes. "Let's destroy him for good then. Good luck!"
His capsule swivels around before scurrying off back the way we came. I'm alone once more.
There's no more excuses I can make to delay this. I press on forward, the path twisting and turning past jagged cliffs. Curiously, the deeper I go, the stronger I feel the power beyond... yet, the number of obstacles is dwindling.
It's no less easier than it was before though. Every step I take seems to carry a monumental weight now that I'm this close... as is to be expected at a long journey's end.
Three years. That's how long it's been going on. Since the day I was born anew, every moment has been preparing me for this right here. I've seen the world change so much in that time, and myself change with it. What was once important to me no longer is, like...
... I remember long ago, there was a time where I yearned for a family. They... did not yearn for me. The only way I could make them happy was to rot and wither away... so they made me do just that.
It would be logical then, to simply hate them and move on. But... to have a father to guide me, a mother to love me and a brother to cherish... there was something enticing about it.
A foolish dream from a foolish child... but the foolish dreams are what drive us. Yet, that one never came true.
... but that's not true either, is it? It did come true, just not in the manner I expected.
A group of soldiers that put their utmost faith into me, as I put my own into them. A Colonel that followed me silently and had my back at every turn. A trooper that guided me on and taught me what it means to be a soldier.
The members of my army are not mere allies — they are the lives that supported me along this path. And... they're not the only ones, are they?
The doctor that brought me back to life... even despite his treachery, I am alive thanks to him. And even Fassad... I hate him dearly, but he made me strong. They both did more than my family ever did.
And of course, there are two people that went above all that. Miss Marsh and Master Porky... I wouldn't be the person I am without either of them.
It's not what I expected, and... it's certainly messy.
... but, isn't that family as well?
It is. At least, that's what I think, and... that's good enough for me.
So, what of the new piece to it all? Lucas.
Lucas... is my brother. This is fact. It is undeniable.
Yet, what is also undeniable is... I don't care at all. It doesn't change a thing. If Master Porky fails, I'll kill him all the same.
He is nothing. Just as before. Exactly as it should be.
...
...
... but... that's not true, is it? Because... it would be quite fallacious of me to say that it changes nothing.
All throughout, you have stood in our path at every turn. You fight for chaos and anarchy without a care in the world.
Before... I could just think of you as some random person. But now, I have the dishonour of bearing the same flesh and blood as you.
The world I have worked so hard to secure... you seek to take it away? You seek to tear apart the family I have struggled this much for?
No.
I reject that possibility. I reject YOU.
If you somehow make it past Master Porky, then you'll spend your last moments wishing you'd fallen against him. He would have destroyed you quickly with mercy.
I will not. I will disassemble you in body and mind. Once and for all, the ancient tenet will be proven — that the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.
The only question left is... how thick will your blood be on the end of my sword?
With every step, I can feel the tension rising. The Dragon's power awaits.
And then, all of a sudden... it's there. Without warning, I turn one corner and just beyond that... the last Needle.
Light radiates off it, shining brightly through the dark. This is it.
But... Master Porky said to wait until he comes. I'll wait then.
... truthfully, I'm not sure if Master Porky will succeed. They've overcome so many obstacles we thought impossible... what's one more? Nonetheless, I stand in front of it, waiting for what feels like hours.
And eventually... I hear someone approach.
... it doesn't sound like Master Porky.
When I turn around, I see those four standing before me once again. Exactly as I expected.
A sense of rage immediately fills me — them being here means they must have severely hurt Master Porky. It's followed by a sense of relief as I remember Master Porky's plan... but that would mean he's in the Absolutely Safe Capsule now.
... I don't know how to feel about that. But each of them stares at me with resolution, all except... Lucas.
Before... he stood ready. I'd found it foolish, but that was before he defeated me. One would think therefore that his resolve would have only strengthened since then.
And yet, the way his eyes look despondent, and how he seems to barely be restraining himself from something... how it seems like he'd rather be anywhere else than here right now.
...
...
You... you know, don't you? Somehow, you've figured out what I have as well. The truth about it all.
It makes no difference. We've done this long enough, and I've lost so much to you.
And... so have you, haven't you? Both of us have lost far too much to turn back here. That's why we're here — the Needle behind us is the solution to all our problems.
... but there's only two ways this can end. Either you perish... or I do.
I raise my sword up in the air, charging it with lightning. Instantly, the girl, the man and Boney all tense up — after all, they still have no means of protection against this.
But Lucas snaps out of his stupor, taking a step forward. Ready?
He nods at me.
With all my strength, I swing my sword forward, instantly striking his friends down.
But as always...
Lucas's Franklin Badge reflected the lightning back!
Chapter 35: Unmasked
Chapter Text
As soon as I hear the distinctive clang! of the Franklin Badge, I immediately try to duck under the reflected bolt. It comes back too quickly though, striking me in the chest.
But after all I've been through, a brief bolt of lightning is barely enough to phase me. At long last, I have overcome my weakness to the element.
I quickly raise my guard, deciding to remain on the defensive. As a perfect machine, it is my nature to seek the quickest path of destruction... though, I am wary. After all, the simple truth lingers in the back of my mind, no matter how I try to ignore it — I have lost to Lucas before.
I WILL NOT LOSE AGAIN.
Yet, Lucas makes no attempt to strike back, his gaze falling down onto his comrades, all of them unconscious. His hands start to glow with the familiar energy of PSI... how foolish.
I swing my sword down in the air, making a bolt of lightning crash beside his feet.
He looks back up, his eyes now marred with pain, but the message is clear — don't bother. I'll simply put them back in the dirt over and over again.
But do not dismay. Do not fall to sorrow. What awaits them shall be your fate.
Raising my cannon up, I land a clean shot at Lucas's face, following it up by dashing towards him and slashing across his chest with my sword. As Lucas winces, I fire another shot before bashing him over the head. With my speed and precision, he instantly crumples to the ground.
Of course, despite these mortal blows, it is not enough to dispose of him, for PSI flows around his body and instantly rejuvenates him. As before, I'll have to drain his mind completely.
... no matter. It will be simple, and not in the least bit dissatisfying. For every action you have taken... I will enjoy every strike in return.
As soon as he gets back up, I slice at him once again, before diving full force at him with the power of my wings. The sickening crunch as he slams into the wall is music to my ears, and I continue by pounding his face against rock over and over.
He continues his healing, but it's of little use — his cries and whimpers only intensify at my assault, before I hurl him to the ground. Firing once again, he goes sprawling against the ground.
My skills... I didn't think they'd have improved this much. Before, this boy and his company were giving me such trouble, but now? It is near effortless to dismantle Lucas.
… yes. Exactly as it should be.
There is no surprise in this outcome. I am perfect in every way. What happened at that temple was a mere glitch... my speed, power and weapons all surpass yours. I am SUPERIOR.
You were formidable. But now, I have rightfully taken my place above you. I will not even allow you the grace of a single attack.
Yet, as I continue to beat away at Lucas some more, there is something… odd about it all. I pay attention to his movements, expecting an attack to come out suddenly, but no such thing happens. Not that there would be any good opportunities to do so, but he wouldn't be smart enough to realise that.
He continues to simply heal every blow I deal to him, eventually incorporating shields and defensive PSI, but nothing else. As I bring him down to his knees for the fifth time, the nature of the repetition finally strikes me.
... you're not fighting. Why?
It's not as if you're adverse to it... you couldn't possibly have made it this far otherwise. And it's not as if you're adverse to hurting me in particular, because you had no issues with that before. What has changed?
I pause in my movements for a moment, contemplating this fact. Lucas seems to recognise this too, looking at me with what seems to be... hope? Why are you...
... ah.
When we first encountered each other... neither of us knew what we do now. Of course you had no issues — I was just a faceless entity to you back then.
Staring into Lucas's eyes, I see not the brave boy that stood against me before, but a coward who has found himself thrust into this situation. Yet, that hope shines bright, hope that things may be different...
I kick him in the face as hard as I can.
He tumbles down to the floor once more and as that hope shatters into a thousand pieces, and sorrow settles back in, I gaze down at his form.
Do you think that I would be burdened by such sentiments? No.
What relation we have is irrelevant. And though it may weigh on me... this is my redemption . You are the last tie to the wretched life I left behind, and once severed... I am free.
This fight... it is everything to me. And if you won't stand... that only makes it all the easier.
As Lucas gets back up, I continue my onslaught, firing more lasers and swinging for his head. In the back of my mind, there is a faint twinge of disappointment, because I cannot truly prove my superiority over Lucas if he doesn't fight back — but it's tempered by the sheer catharsis of being able to butcher him in every conceivable manner.
YOU... you've taken it ALL from me. You've trampled over my soldiers and desecrated our city. You've turned my Marshmallow and her tower into rubble. And now... you've locked away my master for good.
There will be no mercy for you.
And though I would so dearly enjoy hacking away at Lucas until he's bleeding from every orifice, if there is one lesson I've learnt from Fassad, it's to not play with your foe.
Once I deem him sufficiently weakened, I grab him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him so close that all I can see is his face.
... it... truly alike. I'd known it before, but... only now do I feel certain of the fact. How ironic is it that the last enemy to dispose of looks exactly like me?
I drag my sword up his leg, wanting to drag out the last vestiges of fear before ending it... nothing. There's still fear in his eyes, but I can tell... it's not at his impending doom.
You... you don't care, do you?
You know you're about to die... you resist every instinct to keep yourself alive. Is that... what this is worth to you?
I'm not sure if it's just a trick of the light, but... I think I see him nod . Even now, at the end of it all... why do you still seem better than me?
IRRELEVANT.
I DON'T CARE.
THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS.
I hold my sword against his neck. It'll be quick. It'll even be painless.
… it is the least I can afford.
Drawing it back, I swing as hard as I can and —
"Lucas..."
H... huh? W-what was that sound? Where did it...
My grip slackens for a moment and Lucas slips out my grasp, alerting me when he thuds against the ground. I snap my attention back to him, cursing my moment of weakness — this is hardly the time to be hallucinating.
But... he doesn't back away. He's just staring up at the ceiling. For some reason... he seems confused?
You... you heard it too? Someone calling... your name? Are we both hearing things... the same hallucination?
... it has to be the Needle. Yes, the Dark Dragon's power must be making us hear things. Either that, or being this deep down, we've started to become deprived of oxygen.
I grit my teeth in frustration, realising the futility of it all.
What is this MADNESS? It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters right now is him . FOCUS ON THAT.
Taking advantage of Lucas's surprise, I charge back at him and thrust my sword forth. At the last moment, I see his face full with panic, as he raises his arms up. My sword tears through part of his skin, barely missing the lethal blow I'd been aiming for.
Still, the wound makes him cry out in pain, to which I follow up by swiping at his face, creating a deep gash. Lucas scurries away, immediately tending to his injury as tears finally start to fall from his face.
He looks at me, his mouth wide open as if he wants to say something... but only silence comes out.
Do you see it now, Lucas? How strong I have truly become? My body is a weapon of war, my mind perfectly honed for battle, all weakness cast aside. The Drago that tore my body asunder... now, it's not even worth my time.
Yet, loathe as I am to admit it... you are. Cherish that fact before —
"Claus..."
… that...
The voice again. This time, it sounds clearer to me, and I can distinctly make out... a woman?
... I don't know why , but it sounds familiar... evidently, not as familiar as it is to Lucas though, for he lets out a choked gasp for some reason when he hears it as well.
Claus... that's what she just said. What... does that mean?
But then, I see Lucas stare at me with some strangled form of distress, and it all becomes clear... the final piece of the puzzle.
Claus ... that is my former self, isn't it? My inferior self, the one that was so weak and foolish. But through Master Porky's guidance, I have become stronger than that.
I raise my cannon up again, charging another shot to blast Lucas's head off. I'll PROVE that I am stronger! I cannot fail here... NOT...
"Claus... Stop this."
Who... who ARE you?! Who are you to call ME that?! HOW DARE YOU?! You CAN'T... why does your voice...
... Tanetane. The woman on Tanetane Island.
Your voice… that's the same voice. The same woman who haunted me through my time there.
"You're not Porky's robot. You're our son!"
... m-my mother? That's you? It has to be a lie, but... in my heart, I...
I know it's the truth. From long ago, that voice... somewhere deep within... I remember. You're... dead. You were ripped apart from limb to limb... s-so, how is this...
For a moment, I falter slightly, maintaining the charge in my cannon, but unable to release it.
... robot? Is that what you called me? I... I am no such thing? I am... the proud servant of Master Porky! His word... is absolute.
I may look as though there is nothing inside, nothing but metal and machinery that functions in perfect harmony... but I am MORE than that. To be swayed is...
NO! You WON'T stop me! Master Porky is always right... except...
The things I've noticed... the contradictions that I couldn't explain. And even when Master Porky offered his own explanations... I still had my doubts.
Dr Andonuts... he said that Master Porky was the real evil. That I had been fighting for the wrong cause all this time, and now... now you say the same? I have been used as a robot... a tool for all this time?
Even Fassad, despicable as he was... even he said something along those lines. But, I...
System error. First failsafe online.
ENOUGH. IT IS ALL DELUSION.
You... you think you can stand before me, claim to be my mother, and tell me that I am WRONG?!
I REJECT IT.
And you call me by that name... that NAME... it means nothing to me! I am... POKEY. REMEMBER THIS.
And watch your son perish.
I release all the pent up energy in my arm at once, firing a massive laser straight at Lucas. He raises his arms up, futilely trying to brace for impact, before it...
...
W... what?
I hear a loud explosion from the back of the cave, as the laser rips through rock and stone effortlessly. But right before me... Lucas is unscathed.
... I missed? But... that's impossible. I... I don't miss. I DON'T! My aim is PERFECT!
I take another shot, which does strike true — or at least, it would have if not for Lucas dodging in a timely manner. But… my aim was fine.
A... a minor miscalculation. That's all it was.
It doesn't matter how hard you try, or how much you try to resist. I'll fire again, and again, and AGAIN, and as many times as is needed to put you down.
I launch a volley of lasers at him, battering his body from every angle. Yet, each and every time, he continues to just heal, never raising a hand to attack.
I... I cannot understand it. Why won't you FIGHT?! Do you think there's anything left within me that you knew?! What's left is something you could never comprehend, something better in any way... that's why you want to ruin it.
I'll SHOW you then — every tether to my past, all cut to pieces.
My mind fills with the thoughts of everyone that I've come across on my journey, every single person that helped me get to this point — the Pigmasks, Dr Andonuts, Fassad, Miss Marsh, and most of all... MASTER PORKY.
And before the Needle, I feel a power unlike anything else build within, more grand than it's ever been.
At last... I am one with the Dragon. Its heart and mine beat in perfect synchronicity, a symbol of the new age to come. It is ME that it has chosen.
SEE IT, LUCAS.
See what I've gained by casting aside every moment of my past... and perish along with it.
My palms erupt in light, as the giant explosion nearly sends my flying back. I barely manage to keep my footing, directing every bit of energy forward. And Lucas, awestruck by the majesty of my attack, is HELPLESS as it consumes —
"Lucas! Look out!"
Out of nowhere, I hear pounding footsteps and frantic shouts getting closer and closer, before I see the silhouette of a man framed in the light, rushing forward as fast as he can. Before I can even comprehend that , another explosion rings out along with an anguished scream... but not from Lucas.
When the dust settles and the light fades away, I look down at the floor, seeing that same man in front of Lucas, barely standing.
He... he took PK Love? That should have obliterated whatever it hit... how did he withstand that?
More importantly... who exactly are you? And why do I recognise you as well...
But when I see Lucas look at the intruder as well, his eyes widen in surprise and his mouth begins to quiver.
... your father. Which would make him... m-mine?
This man stands before me, clutching his chest tightly. I can hear his every breath, deep and heavy, as weighted as mine are. And yet, despite the blow I just dealt to him, despite the fact that I just tried to murder his son... there is no anger.
There's only…
…
I... I remember you. I saw you on that plateau. You searched so long and hard... all for nothing. But if you only just looked down a little more, then...
He looks at me in desperation, weakly stretching a hand out.
"Claus, please remember... I've been looking for you for so long..."
Don't... DON'T use that... you don't DESERVE it.
If I really meant something, then when didn't you search harder? And you take HIS side... but... if I'm wrong...
- You're all the enemy. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU.
You'd have just stopped me. You'd have just held me back, but... I could have won! I could have destroyed that Drago, if I was just more... MORE...
The righteous person is the one with the most power. That's why Master Porky, with his supreme power, is always right.
But, you've bested him. So... what does that make you then?
System error. Second failsafe online.
I raise my hand again, drawing this man's attention, but just like Lucas... it inspires no fear from him. Cling on to that bravery, for it'll be all that's left of you.
This... is to let go of the past.
My next blast of PK Love erupts from my hands with even more intensity than the first, sending the man sprawling on the ground. Lucas silently screams out as he rushes to his side, shaking him frantically... but he doesn't respond at all. Completely motionless.
Is he... no, not yet . He's merely unconscious.
Still, to withstand two sets of PK Love though... it’s rather impressive. I suppose this is where I get my own durability from. The sole contribution from this waste of skin that I'm grateful for.
Not that it matters. He's not long for this world.
I'll finish him fully with the Dark Dragon's power... if internal haemorrhage doesn't claim him first. And if I manage to squander enough time for that to happen, then that means I'm truly slipping.
No more distractions. Now, it is just... h-huh?
Lucas's head whips back round to me, where I see that familiar void of white replace his eyes, searing straight into me. He clenches his teeth, before letting out an anguished yell and — NO! NO!
As my vision fills with light once more, I find myself in the same solution Lucas did before... completely helpless before what's to come.
Burning... it's ... this POWER... you... LOVE... so much... why do you HAVE...
I... I hear a sickening crunch as my body is compressed against the rock wall, the waves of energy pounding at me over and over again. And even though it's pain beyond anything else... it feels so GOOD.
And this power... it surpasses m-mi...
My body goes limp as the attack finally passes over, letting me fall down to the ground, and without the euphoria, it brings only...
…
…
PAIN.
My BODY... I can't MOVE. Everything... HURTS. Stand and... I...
I'll... FLY. Then, I can STILL...
WARNING! SEVERE DAMAGE SUSTAINED TO FUSELAGE. PROPULSION SYSTEMS INOPERABLE.
You... w-what? They're... inoperable? But... their durability is supposed to be... how did YOU?!
... my WINGS... you've BROKEN my...
Every FIBRE clutching and I still...
...
I... I hear cries from above. The sorrowful weeping of a mother... forced to see her sons do battle.
I see... the father that spent an eternity dreaming for this moment, now bleeding out to death.
And before me... the brother that has eluded me for so long, always getting in my way.
I finally thought... I AM BETTER. But with that one attack... now, I'm...
I... I worked so HARD! EVERY DAY! I spent it ALL working and YOU... YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE IT?!
You didn't MEAN to do that, did you?
BUT YOU DID.
You thought... you could TRICK me. Manipulate lingering sentiment for your own ends. But our impulses say more about us than anything, and when it came to THIS… you CHOOSE…
And no matter how much I do... I'll NEVER be even half of what you are, because you always ... ALWAYS —
I fall down to the ground once again, feeling this burning sensation within my chest. Slamming my palms down, it's all I can do to prevent myself from completely heaving.
My ribs... how many have you... but why do I feel something rising within?
Wait ... internal HAEM —
My throat alights as I heave up masses of blood, splashing and staining the ground. But as the bitterness of iron stains my tongue, it somehow gives me... clarity.
It grounds me in the most primal way, allowing me to wrench my gaze back up to Lucas, letting him see it all for himself.
If my mouth wasn't full of blood... I'd chuckle. Why?
... I don't know. But... isn't it FUNNY?
I pick up my sword lying on the ground, driving it into the rock below and pushing myself up with it.
And as red colours my mouth, I feel it consuming my vision.
You... you RUINED everything. The empire I fought so hard to maintain... all in PIECES. You've torn it down to the ground for your own needs, infested my mind with poison and lies, and I...
I can feel my insides revolving in emotion, tearing my mind apart with that burning resentment, all to reach that simple truth...
…
…
…
I HATE YOU.
This Needle... is MINE! YOU WILL NEVER TAKE IT FROM ME!
With each step I take, Lucas takes one backwards in response. Inevitably, he finds himself up against a wall, with nowhere to run. He shakes his head frantically, as if trying to deny what has happened.
I grab him by the neck and lift him in the air.
LOOK AT ME.
YOU DID THIS. YOU WANTED IT.
You fought and FOUGHT , knowing every moment of your life would lead here. And there is no one to blame but yourself, because... you COULD have avoided it. If you'd have just died earlier on... we'd all be better for it.
... it doesn't even matter now. Whether I'm right or wrong... I don't care.
The simple truth is... Dr Andonuts was right . Our lives were decided before we were even born, because all roads lead to Master Porky.
So, for your sake as much as mine... PERISH.
NECK IN HAND. BASH HEAD AGAINST WALL. REPEAT. REPEAT. REPEAT.
RAISE SWORD. SLICE ACROSS BODY. REPEAT. REPEAT. REPEAT.
"Claus... You and Lucas are brothers!"
I KNOW that... but what does that mean?! Because if that's true... then what have I been doing all this time? All that trust that I invested in Master Porky, was... all for nothing?
IGNORE VOICE. WATCH HIM HEAL. DO IT AGAIN.
CHARGE CANNON. FIRE AT WILL. REPEAT. REPEAT. REPEAT.
CURL UP HAND. THROW FIST FORWARD. REPEAT. REPEAT. RE —
... INEFFECTIVE?
I... Lucas stares at me when my next punch lands against his stomach. It... it doesn't faze him at all?
Wha... what's happening?! Why are my attacks getting weaker?! I... fatigue? No... I've gone through fights longer and more arduous than this. I shouldn't be faltering... not here. NOT NOW!
"Can you hear me? You're Claus. Your name is Claus!"
SHUT UP! I... I'm NOT! CLAUS, he... I was weak! That's WHY I eradicated every last bit of him, and now all that's left is me!
DO YOU SEE?! There's NOTHING at all! NOTHING... n-nothing?
If I really am that, then… what does that make me? If I just exist to serve Master Porky... am I really just a robot then?
Maybe Claus is real... and.... I'M just the copy?
But I... I can think! I can FEEL! I... I AM real! I AM POKEY!
Isn't... isn't that true? It... it is, right? So, if I'm both Claus and Pokey, then what's real and what…
…
WHAT AM I?!
IGNORE VOICE. WATCH HIM HEAL. DO IT AGAIN.
RAISE FIST. POUND AT BODY. INEFFECTIVE. REPEAT. INEFFECTIVE. REPEAT. INEFFECTIVE.
CHARGE PSI. MANIFEST LOVE. INEFFECTIVE. REPEAT. INEFFECTIVE. REPEAT. INEFFECTIVE.
Why... why isn't anything WORKING?! I... YOU...
I step away, taking deep breaths. And then... she catches me off guard.
"Please... Remember! Lucas... Claus..."
My head falls as it rings hard and loud. It... it feels like it'll split in two, but... I have to... ARGH!
System error. Final failsafe activated. Initiating Protocol 31212119.
No... NO! I don't WANT this! I'm happy with the way things are! I WON'T cease to be! I am the REAL being! I…
I DON’T WANT TO DIE!
Reinitialising... 10%... 20%...
There is no... Claus! There is only ME! And I was the one who struggled all those years... I will NOT be superimposed. You're nothing but a bad dream.
AND I AM WAKING UP.
30%... 40%...
I can feel it all disappearing into a fog, like it has so often before. This time though... I understand exactly what's going on. Why… it’s happened before.
A directive... it’s a failsafe, in case I strayed from the path. Master Porky must have had this installed in me all those years back. To erase my mind like this... it seems like a manipulative thing to do, but...
50%... 60%...
IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
He is always right. Thus... this action was right as well. I am straying, and I need his guidance to put me back on the right path.
So... I submit myself to it. Let the bad memories be consumed.
70%...80%...
MASTER PORKY.
SERVE HIS WILL. OBEY HIS INSTRUCTIONS.
IF AN ENEMY STANDS IN THE WAY? DESTROY.
IF HE IS IN DANGER? PROTECT.
IF I AM UNSURE? SUBMIT.
NEVER WAIVER. NEVER DOUBT. NEVER QUESTION.
IT IS THAT SIMPLE.
BUT... THIS DIRECTIVE THAT MAKES ME DO SO... WHY WAS IT PUT IN? IF IT WAS IN RESPONSE TO MY ERRORS, IT WOULD MAKE SENSE... HOWEVER...
90%... 95%...
...
... it's... been there ever since I woke up, hasn't it? Ever since I was born anew... it has always been there. Lingering in the background, waiting to act.
The fact that it has initiated multiple times proves that it was necessary ... but... that meant Master Porky expected this? He expected... a betrayal? Why?
95%... 95%...
Dr Andonuts... you... you said that this was always his plan, where this last Needle would be the tiebreaker. Does... does he really see this as just a game?
... he does. I've seen it... the times where he slips up. Where he acts a little too maliciously than what I'm comfortable with, or acts with glee at the events he's set in motion.
With New Pork City... on the surface, it seemed like a paradise, but the harder I looked... the more cracks I saw. How the whole thing is barely held together.
And Fassad... even you said the same. You, who had made my life misery for so long... you still saw it fit to warn me. Not because you cared, but just because you wanted to be right. You banked the pride you valued so much on this fact.
95%... 95%... ERROR? ERROR.
I... I finally stop clutching my head, no longer feeling like it’s crushing in of itself.
I look over at Lucas where I see the countless bruises and injuries I've inflicted on him. But despite that all... there's only concern on his face. Concern... for me.
You... despite everything I've done, you'd still...
For the first time in my life... I see something different when I look over at him. Not the demon that has accosted me for so long, but something much simpler.
A boy.
One that has struggled just as hard as I have to get here. One that's lost just as much as I have in the process. One that fights just as... no, better than I do.
... yes. Better.
You... you always were better than me. Everything you do, I could never hope to match... even in my own expertise of battle.
Yet, what strikes out most of all is... you're still scared. You... you have no reason to be.
... but... you HATE this, don't you? There is nothing more in life you despise than a fight. So, no matter how experienced you get... you'll still feel the same way.
And... and you're supposed to be the one that brings ruin to us all?
I... I don't understand! NOTHING MAKES SENSE!
Besides, it... it wasn't all so bad, was it? The Pigmasks were nice enough, and... I enjoyed my time with them. Was that... just all a lie too?
What... why is it all SO...
My eyelids flicker, with my vision starting to glaze over. Just before I can shut them completely though, I see something... someone behind Lucas.
Her.
After everything… I don’t have even the slightest grip on anything. But if I listen… if I listen…
... do you promise... that my trust won't be in vain?
She nods back.
Then... I submit to you.
"To think we would be blessed with two children at once... I bet they'll accompany things together that they couldn't alone."
"I'm sure they'll argue a lot, too. And I can see them helping each other out when they need it."
"Claus... and Lucas. I bet we'll mix them up a lot until they get bigger..."
"Claus... and Lucas, huh..."
"How do you want them to grow up to be?"
"To be kind, just like you."
"Oh. I was just going to say... to be kind, just like YOU."
"Great. Then it's decided."
"Claus."
"Lucas."
"Make us proud."
My heart pounds in my chest, tapping out a discordant rhythm over and over in sequence.
I gaze at Lucas, seeing him blink twice in surprise, before his lips start to quiver.
He saw it as well.
... so... that's... the truth to it all. It's... it's that simple.
I finally understand. All this time... it was just a lie. Everything I believed in...
We were the oppressors all along. I... I don't know exactly how, but... that's the truth. Your village and the people in it... they were never the issue.
It had always been us.
And if I was on the wrong side all this time... everything I invested was... for nothing?
... n-no. I can't... NO! My entire LIFE... it was ALL...
I raise my shaky cannon, firing a shot at Lucas. It misses.
I rush over and swing my sword as hard as I can... but at the last moment, I feel all the willpower disappear from me. It doesn't do a thing.
You... you're saying it was all for nothing?! That everything I did... it was just a waste?
I slip my hands under my helmet, covering my ears.
Master... Porky. All along, Porky was... but why?!
And... everything that's happened. All the people I hurt... the horrible things I did. I said it was all for the greater good... it's not even true.
It was all just a lie. And the biggest part of it... was me.
I... I don't exist, do I? I'm just... what Claus left behind. I was never a person to begin with, just... a bad memory. Something better off forgotten.
My thoughts... my feelings... none of it was ever real. It was just remnants of a previous life, or programming already installed in me.
I truly am... nothing.
I lash out again, but once more, it doesn't do a thing to Lucas. Why... why couldn't you just...
...
I shut my eyes tightly.
The last Needle... it still needs to be pulled, doesn't it? The world has gone too far. Only the Dark Dragon can save it now.
I... I don't know what to do now!
...
... maybe...
Maybe... it's simpler than I thought. The person with the righteous heart should be the one to pull it... and that person isn't me.
Maybe... maybe it never was. And... I'm SCARED ... because...
But in the next moment... it all becomes clear. I hear her voice.
"Claus... Claus... Claus... Come to your mother. You must be so exhausted. Come here, Claus."
Ha...
I... I am exhausted. All I want to do is close my eyes... and never open them again.
But... not yet. There's still one last thing to be done... isn't there?
The light of the Needle shines brighter than ever, filling the whole cave with white.
I look around, as if searching for something.
And in that moment.... I see her standing behind Lucas again, smiling with her arms wide open.
I understand everything.
My sword drops from my trembling hand, as I raise it underneath my helmet once more. Carefully, I press against the inside of it, hearing a soft hiss as it gives way.
I remove my mask.
And for the first time in my life... I can truly see the world around me. I see a woman standing in the distance, smiling through her tears and... I see a boy standing beside her.
His face looks just like mine.
Lucas.
...
... you know... what's really strange about this all? I am... just a lie, but... so many people made me that way. So many others have contributed to everything that’s happened, and yet... I don't hate any of them.
Despite everything they've done... I forgive them.
I'll forgive that Drago, for what it did to my mom that day.
I'll forgive that Magypsy, for sending me off to certain death without a second thought.
I'll forgive Dr Andonuts, for having no choice in turning me into a machine.
I'll forgive the Pigmasks, for blindly following their clueless Commander.
I'll forgive Fassad, for making me suffer because of the life he never wanted.
I'll... I'll even forgive Porky, for simply not knowing any better.
I forgive you all . But...
Basked in the light of the Needle, I can see every part of Lucas more clearly than ever. My eyes trail down past his hair, where I see... a badge.
A badge emblazoned with a lightning bolt. It's pinned to his shirt.
Lucas looks up at me, and he follows my gaze down until he sees what I'm looking at. He puts a hand over it.
But I won't forgive myself.
As I raise my hand for the last time... my fingers start to tremble. Electricity crackles around them.
I fire an intense bolt of lightning.
The room bursts into light once more, now fully blinding me as the whole world seems to slow down. I tilt my head back slightly, and the only thing I hear is not the resounding explosion, or the harsh crackle of electricity as it flies across... but the scream from Lucas, cutting everything else.
I feel my eyelids start to droop, weary and heavy from it all, but I hold on as long as I can, until I can hear... that glorious clang.
Lucas's Franklin Badge reflected the lightning back!
The world seems to stop in that moment, inching along bit by bit. And when I see it all comes towards me... I smile.
It... RIPS straight... through... coursing my... body... SEIZING, but... it...
...
...
It doesn't even hurt.
No matter how much my muscles convulse, I... I don't feel a single thing. And... it's not because I'm used to it.
SEVERE ELECTRICAL —
I ignore my systems. This is no error.
It's the right decision.
But... I know, I... I can't hold on MUCH... so, I want... to BE WITH...
My... my heart. I... it's BEATING. For the first time in my life... I can feel it. It's... discordant. Not right. But...
It's mine. MINE . It's... MINE... and even as... I feel it... FADE... it... I...
I stagger towards you. I embrace you.
I... I remember your smell. Sunflowers... just like... Mom.
...
...
My grip... begins to loosen. Slowly, I start to... and... I lean back, bracing myself to hit the ground.
But... it never happens? I feel something... hold...?
... Lucas?
I look up, and... you're holding me up. Ha... ha...
I... don't know why it's funny, but... l-look at how things have changed. I... I'm the older brother... the one who PROTECTS... but you're...
... you're the one protecting me now.
I... don't... I'm STRONG... so DON'T...
But I'm NOT strong. And I cry.
Even though you don't. You just look... and smile. Because in the end... I was never the strong one. I was never brave. I was always the real crybaby, wasn't I?
I'm... SORRY. I never meant for it... to...
He... simply holds on tighter. And even though you don't say anything, you... you forgive me?
But... this is it. I can feel myself slipping even more and more, and... even though Lucas... tries to help, I...
I don't let him. Because every person's story has to end... and this is how mine does.
I look up into Lucas's eyes.
...
"I'm sorry it turned out like this. I'm really happy you could be with me just before the end... Thanks."
...
"Dad. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm going to where Mom is now."
...
"Lucas. I hope we meet again someday. Bye."
...
...
"Thank you."
...
...
"I'm sorry."
...
...
"I'm sure we'll meet again."
...
...
...
I take my final breath.
Chapter 36: Epilogue
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
...
...
...
Where am I?
That's the first thing that comes to mind when I feel the sensation of something soft against my face. It's even more comfortable than a bed... I'm almost tempted to sleep on it.
But... I shouldn't be awake in the first place, should I?
I wrack my brain hard, trying to remember what happened... for some reason, my body feels completely exhausted. Even opening my eyes feels impossible.
Everything... it's all just a blur. Is this my amnesia again? No... bits and pieces of it are coming back to me. I remember standing before the last Needle, raising my sword against... Lucas.
Yes... yes, it's coming back now.
He was there. We fought... no, I fought. He refused to fight back. Then, a woman, a man, the memories... the lightning...
The lightning... the last thing I did was...
...
...
Which means... I'm dead?
I... that was my intention. I put everything I had into that lightning bolt, so... it should have completely overloaded my systems. Without those core systems, particularly the ones governing my brain and heart, I wouldn't live for very long... or at least, not long enough to be able to muse on this very fact.
And yet, here I am. I'm still here to ruminate about it.
So... did I fail then? Was I truly so inept that I couldn't even kill myself correctly? With all my prior failures... I wouldn't even rule it out.
... hm. That means only one thing then.
Time to finish the job.
Despite my exhaustion, that realisation fills me with sudden panic — that despite my best efforts, I might yet still live and breathe.
I reach for the side of my waist, where... what? My sword isn't there. I did drop it somewhere during that scuffle though... it should be here.
Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and start to look for... what?
What the... what IS this?
In the next few moments, I'm... stunned at the sight before me. Rather than being in a dark cave against the cold, rocky floor, I instead find myself resting on a soft, pink cloud in the middle of a green sky.
I blink a few times, trying to ascertain if I'm hallucinating or not — the aesthetic alone bears some similarities to what I witnessed on Tanetane. Yet, my head feels considerably clearer than it did then... this landscape seems to be real?
Cautiously, I rest a hand against the cloud I'm on. It feels light and fluffy, which... I can't say I know what a cloud should feel like, but I'd imagine it’d be something similar to this.
I stand up and stow away my sword, all previous thoughts now having vanished in the face of something far more important. Now that I've ascertained that this is real... where am I? Why does it seem like I've stumbled into some fantasy land?
I won't get my answers standing around here, so I pick a direction and start to walk in the hopes that I come across something. As I do, all sorts of questions begin to fill my mind.
How did I get here? The last thing I remember is being underground... how exactly am I now in the sky?
Why do I feel completely fine? Much of me was heavily damaged in the last battle, from the combination of Lucas's PK Love and my own lightning. Yet, I feel almost completely refreshed — as if I'd just stepped out of an Instant Revitalising Device.
And most of all... what happened to the Nowhere Islands? I'm positive Lucas would have pulled the last Needle, but no one knows what exactly happens when the Dragon awakes. Even Fassad was merely guessing based on what he'd intended.
But before I can think about any of those things more, a strange house comes into view — it's shaped like a pink shell... just like the Magypsies' were. At any rate, I don't have anywhere else to find information... with great curiosity, I rap on the door, and it opens almost immedi...
... you? Of... of course it's you...
I blink in surprise. It's... it's all I can muster.
I don't know exactly what I was expecting, other than one of the Magypsies. However, I don't get that at all.
Instead... I see a brown haired woman standing in the doorway, wearing a red dress and looking at me with an inscrutable expression on her face.
The woman on Tanetane. The voice that spoke to me before.
... my mother.
"Ah. I was wondering when you'd arrive here. Why don't you come in?"
She opens the door wider, inviting me inside. What... what do I do? This is absolutely...
... focus. I need answers. And if she can give them to me, then I'll endure this at least for some time.
I follow her inside, taking in what I assume is her house. It's a small building — there's one main room that serves as both a kitchen and living room, with a bathroom and two bedrooms conjoined to the sides.
Though it's not as sparse as my own living quarters, it's fairly minimalistic in nature — the most notable things to me are a fireplace and a spinning wheel, simply because of how primitive they are. Radiators and looms have long since superseded these tools...
My mo... the woman directs me to a small table, before saying, "Would you like a drink?"
"I... would be grateful for some tea," I say. I don't particularly need it, but in the interest of being polite...
She smiles lightly at that. "It's good for the nerves."
My nerves? Is that supposed to be a warning?
As she makes tea, I notice her carefully boiling some water over a stove — another primitive thing. A kettle would serve her much better. Once she finishes, she sits down opposite to me, passing a cup over.
"Thank you." I take a tentative sip of it... it's rather good actually. In fact, this flavour... I recognise it well.
"This is Earl Grey, isn't it?" I say.
"It is," she confirms. "One of your favourites."
I nearly choke on my tea at that. How... how does she know...?
Feeling a sudden repulsion to the tea, I set the cup aside. Let's get to the point.
I stare directly into her eyes, and say one simple thing.
"You're Hinawa."
"I am," she replies, sounding amicable enough... though, for a moment, I think I see a faint flicker of sadness pass through her eyes? How odd.
However, now that I've gotten that out of the way... what do I even say next? I mean, she's... she's...
"You're dead."
It comes out blunter than I mean it to, and I wonder if that was too rude, but... what else do I say here?
Luckily, Hinawa takes it in stride, laughing with slight mirth.
"An astute observation," she says. "But you're right."
"Then, does that mean I'm..."
I find I'm unable to finish that sentence, even though I really should be able to. After all... this outcome was my intention, wasn't it?
Hinawa's good cheer vanishes in an instant, as she looks at me sorrowfully.
"... I'm sorry."
She says nothing more.
Such a simple answer, yet... it tells me all I need to know. I... I'm dead.
"I see." I nod back at her, not knowing what else to say either.
It... should it be a surprise? I knew very well what the outcome would be with the lightning... this result is exactly what I expected.
... except, it isn't. I expected death and nothingness, but... not this.
"What is this place?" I say, trying to redirect the conversation. It seems to work, for Hinawa returns to a more positive disposition.
"This... it's known as Magicant," she answers, gesturing around her. "A land of dreams and illusions, both real and imaginary at once. But, I suppose more practically... it's where every mind goes after the end."
... Magicant? The same thing that Ness summoned?
"I've heard of that before," I say, my voice carefully measured. "It bore some similarities to this place, yet also many key differences."
"I can guess why. This isn't the result of one person's memories, but of many," Hinawa explains. "When all of that is put together... what you get is something beyond imagination."
She shakes her head ruefully, laughing a little.
"To be honest, I'm still not fully sure of the details myself, and I've lived here for nearly three years!" She admits, before taking on a more puzzled look. "Well... I'm not sure ' lived' is the correct word to use. I know someone who is very familiar with this, if you'd like more information."
"I'll take your word for it," I say dismissively. This is already confusing enough, but for my own convenience, I'll treat this as an afterlife. It seems to be the easiest way to process it.
Hinawa nods, looking at me pensively. "In that case... I think there are some things we're long overdue to talk about."
"I wouldn't call them long due, per se." With some dryness, I add, "After all... we have never had the chance."
Hinawa smiles feebly at my comment, but I can tell I won't deter her from bringing this subject up.
"What do you remember?" She asks.
And there it is. I knew it was coming all this time, but... I sincerely wish I didn't have to answer it.
"Everything," I reply truthfully. "Everything before... and after. I remember everything that happened over the last three years clearly, but... I can also remember things before it."
They've always been there in the background, but ever since she reached out... they've become more clear. My memories have started to return.
Things I had long since hidden away, like memories of playing idly on the beach, exploring the forest near Tazmily, or what it was like to taste omelets for the first time... yes, I finally understand them all.
"And... are they stronger or weaker than your more recent ones?" She asks.
"... weaker. The more recent memories are strongest. The strongest is what happened in that cave, where I..."
I'm not able to finish that sentence. Both for my own sake... and also for hers, for Hinawa's now shut her eyes tightly.
"What... what happened down there?" I ask. "I assume Lucas pulled the last Needle."
"He did," she confirms, smiling with deep pride. As is to be expected — it is a remarkable thing he did.
I find myself letting out a deep breath I didn't even know I was holding. It... it's a relief to hear that.
"If I may say... you don't seem unhappy about that," Hinawa says, noting my expression.
"Why would I be? My actions... they would have only doomed everyone, wouldn't they? I don't know what would have happened exactly, but I can only surmise that only one person would have liked it."
"... Porky."
There's the slightest bitterness in her voice at that — it's an odd thing to hear from her... at least, from what I remember of her? It's rather confusing. I suppose even she has her limits as to what she can tolerate.
... who could blame her?
I look down at my cup, letting the steam waft into my eyes.
"... was it all just a lie?" I say quietly. "It... it felt so real to me. The way Master... the way he treated me was so generous. All that time we spent... was any of it even..."
D... did I ever matter to you? Or... was I always just a means to an end? And... hm?
I... I feel something soft on one of my hands, and when I look over, I see Hinawa gently holding it.
"You... you see the best in people, don't you? That's... what I remember," I say. "So... was there anything good about him?"
She bites down on her lip, staying silent for a while.
"I want to tell you that... perhaps he did care about you in some way," she starts, looking down at the table. "But I don't know that. All I can say is that he was deeply troubled and likely didn't know any better."
"He wasn't lying about that?" That's a surprise — I would have thought that he made all that up to draw my sympathy.
"He twisted the truth," she corrects. "His life didn't play out exactly as he told you, and he's certainly more to blame than he'd like you to think. But... there's no denying that it wasn't happy."
"That doesn't excuse what he did though."
"No. It doesn't," she says simply. "It only explains it. And though I try to see the best in people... there is no going back for him. I mean that very literally too."
"In what sense?"
Hinawa doesn't answer, instead pointing to one of the windows. I look at it and... huh? Is that... Master Porky?
Instead of seeing the outside, I see the cave where the last Needle was, with Porky in the Absolutely Safe Capsule. He told me that if Lucas had him on the ropes, he'd put himself inside that... and it seems he made good on his word.
If I was in that thing, I would be horrified at it all. No matter what, you can't die inside... you're all alone. It's a fate worse than death.
Yet, he's tilting the capsule from side to side with glee, a smile plastered on his face. He's... he's happy. Happier than I've ever seen him in my life.
This... this is what he wanted, isn't it? A world where there was nothing but him for all eternity. Even though Lucas may have won in the end... he's still won in his own way.
"The Dragon couldn't do anything to it then?" I ask.
"No. It lives up to its name." Hinawa looks towards the image, frowning slightly. "Even the Dragon couldn't change that."
Exactly as he planned. But hold on... does that mean Lucas tried to do something to Porky? There's only one thing he could have wanted...
"... I didn't think he had it in him, but... it's admirable. I don't think I would be able to do the same."
Hinawa turns back to me, now very confused. "What do you mean?"
"Lucas tried to kill him, didn't he? Erase him with the Dragon's power. I understand why. After everything he did... it only makes sense that he'd want him gone."
But... Hinawa simply shakes her head at me.
"I'm afraid you're wrong. Lucas never had any intention of doing that. He wanted to set Porky free."
I blink twice, wondering if I've heard that right.
I... what?! That... that's absurd! After all the suffering, the pain and misery that he enacted upon Lucas? Mas — Porky's actions claimed the life of his beloved mother and Claus, not to mention all that happened to Tazmily.
... I could understand not wanting revenge. It's difficult, but... I can comprehend why Lucas wouldn't want to taint his life like that after everything his life has already been tainted by.
But setting him free? Releasing Porky from his own self imposed hell? It... it's inconceivable.
"Why? For what reason would he offer forgiveness?"
"Why do you think?"
... it's obvious, isn't it?
"Because his heart has always been bigger than his head," I say bitterly. "His biggest weakness..."
"And his biggest strength," Hinawa finishes.
Even beyond the grave... he still haunts me with that fact. It's fitting in a sense.
"I have another question, if I may. Regarding this place... why are you still here?" I ask. "Surely, you should be alive and well? At least... I assume that was something Lucas wanted when he pulled the Needles."
Hinawa looks at me oddly for some reason, and... I don't understand why? The question was simple.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I..." Hinawa sighs, before waving it off. "Never mind. That was something I'd wondered as well. Not to sound selfish, but even though I've grown used to being here, I did hope that I could come back. But... it seems that there's a lot that's out of the Dragon's power."
... ah. And bringing back the dead is one of them.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
To my surprise, Hinawa just shrugs her shoulders. "To be honest, it changes little for me. I've gotten used to it and I was old when I died."
I can't help but snort at that. "By my estimate, you couldn't have been past your 30's when you died. I'd hardly call that old."
"Perhaps you're right," Hinawa says, chuckling back at me. "But I'd lived a good life, and I had no regrets in my death. I am not the one who was hurt most by it. It's always the living that suffers more."
"Because they're the ones who have to deal with the consequences," I say, realising it myself.
"Exactly." She frowns slightly. "Strange as it sounds, I... I worry for my husband more than anyone else in that regard."
Suddenly, I can't help but feel rather awkward... if only for the fact I nearly killed him.
But now, everything is clear to me. Regardless of what happened, I'm dead and... this is what I'll have to deal with for the foreseeable future.
I stand up, bowing my head politely at her.
"Thank you for the tea. I should leave now. I fear I have already taken up far too much of your time."
"And where will you go?" Hinawa says, eyeing me carefully.
... oh. That's a good point — I don't know anything about this place.
"You are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like," she continues. "I'd already prepared for that, so you needn't worry about it being an imposition."
That's exactly what I was about to say. I'm very reluctant to accept, but at the end of the day... I don't really have any other option except wandering this place like some sort of nomad.
"... if you're sure."
"There's a room to the side there," she says, gesturing towards it. "Please feel free to use it."
I nod again and walk towards it, but pause just before I go through the doorway.
"Hinawa?"
She flinches again, but quickly smiles at me. "Yes?"
"... I'm sure you're realised this by now, but... I'm not Claus."
She gives me the most pained smile I've ever seen in response.
"I know."
I stare at her for a few moments, before ducking into the room beyond.
Accommodating to life... is life even the correct word? It would technically be more accurate to say accommodating to death, as bizarre as that sounds. I see what Hinawa meant now…
Whatever it is, accommodating to the situation here takes some time. To begin, there's the environment itself — Magicant couldn't be more different than what I'm used to. It's completely detached to any semblance of reality.
From what I've gathered, the possibilities are endless... yet, I don't find myself inclined to explore them. Hinawa makes an attempt to persuade me to explore at first, but... what's the point? The most I've gone out is enough to see a rather large castle that's close by — according to Hinawa, the person living there taught her much of how Magicant works.
Still, adjusting to the place is doable. What's more difficult is... well, what do I do? When I was alive, I always had something to do, but... not so much now.
The days pass by idly, or... at least, I think they do? Time is another thing that's hard to keep track of here, even though there is a day and night cycle.
As I awaken on what I think is my sixth day here, I head to the main room as usual, where I find I've actually woken up before Hinawa has for once. I'm an early riser myself, but Hinawa's even earlier than that... it's rather surprising.
Hm... I may as well make breakfast then. It's the least I can do in return for her letting me stay.
Of course, her favourite food is the same as mine, so I crack a few eggs and get to making omelets. Doing this always reminds me of the time I spent with Miss Marsh... yet another dream that's gone down the drain.
Just as I'm putting the omelets onto separate plates, I hear one of the doors opening before Hinawa steps out.
"Hm? What's that smell?" It's then she notices the plates of food, looking both pleasantly surprised and worried. "Oh, goodness! You didn't need to do that!"
"... it's the least I could do," I respond, shifting my feet awkwardly. "You... always did the cooking before. But I have some skills, so it is only right that I assist."
Hinawa sits down, smiling widely at me. "I'm very grateful for your efforts." She slices a piece of the omelet and eats it. "It's wonderful too."
"Likely not as good as yours though."
"I'd agree," she replies. "It's even better."
I... I don't know how to take that? I'm not used to being so openly complimented. Is... what's the catch behind it?
"... thank you," I say, quiet but earnest.
The rest of breakfast passes by in silence, but once we finish, Hinawa speaks up again.
"I'd like you to see something, if you're willing," she starts. "It... it might be difficult for you, and if it is, you're more than welcome to leave at any point. However... I think it's important for you to see it."
"I accept," I say, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Hinawa gestures to one of her windows, where the image starts morphing and changing, showing something different — Tazmily Village.
It looks very similar to how it was when I went there, though the population count is much bigger than it was before for some reason... are those...
With my memories restored, I can recognise the villagers, but I'm also able to recognise some people I didn't expect — it's difficult when they don't have their masks on, but some of them are Pigmasks. They're here now?
"The city Porky built no longer exists," Hinawa says, guessing what I'm thinking. "All the people needed somewhere to live though, so..."
They live in Tazmily now. Which means... Lucas spared all the Pigmasks? It shouldn't surprise me, given that he wanted to show mercy to the Mas... I HATE doing that.
Given that he wanted to show mercy to Porky, this is nothing in comparison... but still. It speaks volumes about his compassion.
For some reason, everyone seems to be going to one spot in town. Following their path, it becomes quickly apparent that they're going to... the graveyard. How pleasant.
More specifically, they're going to a certain hill in the graveyard... the one where Hinawa was buried. And there, I see many people standing, but none more notable than... my father and Lucas.
... it's then I notice another oddity — there are two graves on this hill. There was only ever one in my memories.
"That's... mine, isn't it?" I say. Hinawa nods wordlessly back.
So... I am well and truly dead. If I didn't believe it before, I certainly do now.
Various people come and go, offering their condolences, including the former Pigmasks — it's easy to spot them based on the way they salute at my grave. I even spot my Colonel and the Fierce Pork Trooper at one point... it's very strange seeing them without their outfits.
Not only that... they bring my sword with them, placing it beside my grave. I look down at my side, remembering that I no longer have it on me. It's strange — I can understand why I don't have my sword on me, because I discarded it before I died.
The issue is... I also discarded my helmet. But despite that, I still have it now... why did I get to keep that?
In a way, this whole thing is odd to me. Though the situation is sad, it... it also isn't as well?
"Your funeral... it wasn't like this," I say. "Though... I imagine you already knew that, since you likely watched it."
"I did, but don't let that stop you from sharing your thoughts," she replies.
"Well... it was much sadder," I continue. "A tragedy. A loss that would never be recovered. Yet, this... this isn't the same."
"I agree with that. Of course, death is sad, but... the fact that mine tore the village apart like you said was a greater tragedy. And I am glad that history isn't repeating itself here."
Yes. That... that is a good thing, isn't it?
I do feel some solace in that fact. At least people will recover from this. And hopefully, the world will go on.
... but I was never really bothered with that, was I? From the moment I cast that lightning bolt forth at Lucas, I left the world into his hands.
Yet... where does that leave me?
"... thank you for showing me this," I say, withdrawing back slightly. "It... has been enlightening."
Hinawa frowns slightly at me, clearly noting how stilted my voice has become.
"It is not your fault, but... this is merely a lot to take in," I continue, preempting her response.
... it's a lie, but... I don't think I could say the truth.
"Of course," she replied, hurriedly displaying the image. "I'm sorry to put you through that. I just..."
"It did help," I reassured her. "Thank you. I will leave now."
Over time, I become more used to things. It still doesn't feel right to be here, but... I can manage it.
Throughout the days, Hinawa teaches me how to use her windows to view things — apparently, she's used them to watch myself and Lucas over our journeys, which is why she's so familiar with what I've gone through.
It takes little time to figure out how to use them. Once I do, I quickly find myself checking to see how much the Nowhere Islands have changed since the Dragon awoke.
To my surprise, it's mostly the same. The only big difference is that New Pork City is just... gone. It's not a pile of rubble — no, the city has completely disappeared. There's nothing where it once was.
In a way, it's rather jarring... did the city even exist? Of course it must have — the Pigmasks are proof of that, but it's no less eerie.
Interestingly, despite the city being going, many of our other establishments remain the same. I'm not sure what exactly motivated Lucas to get rid of the city and only that... though, I suppose that's where Porky's influence was most concentrated.
Looking back on it, most of our facilities operated independently of our king's will. Porky would have authorised them all, but only New Pork fell directly under his purview... well, that and the Chimera Laboratory, given that Dr Andonuts was a puppet of his.
The laboratory is also gone. I'm even less surprised by that — from what Hinawa says, there's very little that horrified Lucas as much as chimeras do. It's understandable... though, I am saddened at the loss of my birthplace.
In any case, observing those things is a passing fancy, but no matter what, my focus always goes back to one place... the tower. After all this time, Thunder Tower still lays as a wreck of scrap and rubble. No one even bothered to clean it up.
But... I prefer it that way. Let it remain as the grave for her.
... I... I...
I wish you were here. It... it always would have been impossible, wouldn't it? Robots don't dream. They don't imagine.
... so, why am I here then?
I... what am I even doing here? The only thing I know how to do is kill, maim and destroy... but there's no use for that here.
I have no directive. And a robot without one is useless.
You... you were the only one who really understood. We served with absolute devotion, and we both died for it. To die in the name of servitude... isn't it an honour? Why doesn't it feel like that then...
Behind me, I hear Hinawa's footsteps. She gazes up at the image in front, before quietly sitting down in front of me.
I brace myself, knowing what questions she'll undoubtedly have. I... I don't think I could take it.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
She says it so gently, so remorsefully that... I almost want to divulge everything on the spot. But I can't.
"What are you talking about?" I say, playing ignorant.
I know it's a pointless endeavour — she knows very well that I'm perfectly aware of who she's referring to. To my surprise, Hinawa doesn't call me out on it.
"That maid that served under Porky... you spent a lot of time with her, didn't you?" She replies.
I feel equal parts rage and sorrow boil within me, forcing me to gulp both down at once.
"... Marshmallow. Please use her name if you wish to speak of her," I say, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible. "It is disrespectful to refer to an individual merely by their occupation."
Of course, it's equally disrespectful to lecture my own biological mother, isn't it? Yet, once again, Hinawa surprises me with her response.
"I apologise," she says, sounding completely sincere. "I couldn't recall her name just now. I didn't mean to offend you or her."
"... it's fine. Besides... it's not as if many cared to know it." I laugh bitterly at that. "Why bother to know the name of a machine?"
I look over to Hinawa, expecting a response from her. Instead, I get a poignant silence.
"She... she taught me a lot of basic skills actually," I continue, feeling the need to fill the silence with something. "Particularly how to cook."
"But she was more than just some maid to you," Hinawa says.
And once again, I'm reminded of all those memories, sweet in the moment... more bitter than anything else now.
"To be honest... I never really cared about pulling the Needles. Not for Porky's sake anyway."
"Oh?" I can hear the surprise in her voice... this isn't something she already knew. "Would you mind telling me more about that?"
"To summon a power like the Dragon just to eliminate the enemy... it always seemed excessive and unnecessary to me. What could the Dragon do that we couldn't achieve with military might? However... I had it on good authority that the Dragon could bring people back from the dead."
I clench my hand in frustration at that... why would I ever call Fassad a good authority? It's not as if he'd even known the truth, even if he was a Magyspy. But at the time... the thought was so alluring.
Realisation quickly dawns over Hinawa's face. "You just wanted her back."
"... yes. We... we found her memory chip, but... it was completely unsalvageable," I say, and I can't stop my voice from quivering. "So, for all intents and purposes... she was gone."
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Hinawa bite down on her lip, trying very hard not to look me in the eye for some reason.
"When the journey forward was rough, when I questioned the point of it all... it was the thought of seeing her again that kept me going. To hear her voice. To see her smile. To simply spend time idly with her."
I gesture at the surroundings, laughing bitterly.
"Not only did I fail... but I never even had a chance, because the Dragon never had the power to bring back the dead. Not that it even mattered, because... she was a robot. She was never alive to begin with."
"Did she seem alive to you?"
"... of course she did."
"Then, she was alive," Hinawa continues. "Just as much as you and I once were."
"... maybe. But... what does it matter now? She's gone, and..."
I scrunch my eyes up tightly, trying to ignore it all. I am better than this.
"It doesn't matter. She was a robot. She did not feel. Neither do I."
Hinawa stares at me for a few previous seconds, and I feel as though my entire soul — for what little of one I have — is completely open before her.
"How long are you going to pretend you don't have feelings?"
Her question hits me like a punch to the face.
"... as long as I need to. It's the only thing I can do."
"I think you know that's not the case at all," she said reproachfully.
... it isn't, even though I wish that was the case right now. Before, I never had the time to think of it, but... time isn't an issue now. I've got more than I could ever need.
"It's so difficult, and... I... I don't..."
Hinawa wraps her arms around me, making me flinch. But... I don't dislike it either.
"What is it?"
I laugh pitifully in response. "I don't know how to cry."
"There's no right way of doing so."
"But... how long does it last?"
"As long as you need it to."
Nearly a month has gone by now. Ever since that day with Hinawa, things have become... awkward with her. I suppose it shouldn't — one's mother is perhaps one of the few people you can cry in front of without shame... but it's distinctly different here.
On a biological level, she might be my mother, but outside of that... she's nothing to me. Which isn't to say I dislike her, or her company — she's been nothing but gracious to me through all my time here.
However... the simple fact is that even if I have the memories of my past, I don't have any of the feelings associated with them. Nothing at all.
It feels disingenuous to stay. After everything I've done, accepting her hospitality seems like the worst insult I can make. Especially towards Lucas.
But despite that... she's never once brought it up. She never talks about all the things I've done, unless I do so first. I... I don't know why.
... it is with that that I reach a decision. And when we're having breakfast that day, I ask her one simple question.
"Do you hate me?"
Hinawa pauses, looking at me for all of a second before answering.
"No. I don't."
W... what? She answered that so quickly... it didn't even slightly throw her off!
"... I'm surprised you don't," I mutter back.
"You are?" Hinawa pushes her food to one side, clearly more attentive now. "I think you'll agree with me when I say... that's hardly a normal question to ask."
"So, why did I ask it?" I say, finishing her train of thought. At Hinawa's prompting nod, I continue, "You... are illogical. You don't make sense."
"I'm sure I don't!" She smiles with an odd amount of pride. "Why do you think that?"
"Because you should hate me. I've attempted to kill Lucas numerous times. On at least one occasion, your husband too. And... I have superimposed Claus as well."
"That's all true," Hinawa concedes. "And I suppose it would be logical in that sense. But, there's one thing you haven't accounted for."
"What's that?"
"I'm not a logical person," she replies, smiling at me. "I don't blame you for any of that."
"But why? Because I was Porky's robot?"
"No."
"... no? "
That... that surprises me as well. It would be an easy answer, and even though I'd dislike it... I wouldn't be able to object to it either. Yet, she believes something else?
"I meant what I said," Hinawa says firmly. "You are not Porky's robot. You are a person, freely capable of making their own actions."
"In that case, wouldn't that make me more responsible for my actions?" I counter.
"It would... if you were in a position to be fully responsible for them. I know you may forget this, but... you're only a child," she says gently. There's still so much you've yet to learn."
From anyone else, I would find those words insulting to the core. For years, I've dedicated myself to proving capable of the same feats adults were — no, to be even better than them.
But... her words don't sting at all, because for all I did... it was only ever in the physical field. Mentally... I'm even less capable than the average child is, let alone adults. I thought emotions were a weakness, but if they were... I would never have failed against Lucas.
That's what she's talking about, isn't it? Her words don't sting at all. Not when they're the plain truth.
"I know you had good intentions," she continues. "You always did."
"That... that alone cannot absolve what I've done."
"To me, it does. And what would hating you accomplish? I think you know that stewing in hate doesn't accomplish anything."
... no, I can't disagree with that. It tends to have a more consuming effect on people, if Fassad was any indication.
"Then why did you offer me a space here?" I ask. "That is something you didn't have to do."
She pauses, and it seems like I've stumped her for once. But predictably, she has an answer soon enough.
"Because I was worried about you," she says, completely earnest. "I still am."
"Why?" I almost scoff at the notion. "I'm more than capable of surviving on my own, especially in this place."
"I'm well aware. I'm more concerned about your mental state. Pardon me for saying this, but... even though I worry for Lucas, I worry about you far more."
... there's something odd about the insinuation of being more fragile than Lucas. Once again, it's something that should draw my ire... and once again, it doesn't, because it's the truth.
But if anything... that's exactly what angers me. Everything I've done, all that pain and suffering... she doesn't even care a little?!
"Why... why do you CARE?!" I shout, slamming my hands on the table. "I've TORN your family to pieces! If you just HATED me then..."
"It would be so much easier, wouldn't it?" She says, smiling sadly at me.
I choke on my next words. How does she ALWAYS...
"So... is this your way of punishing me then? I didn't think you would be so sadistic, but it is fitting," I say dryly.
It's clear as day to her what I'm trying to do though, and she doesn't take the bait.
"Do you remember what I said about there being a lot to learn? This is something that some people never learn, but... punishment and hatred doesn't get you anywhere, even if it feels good. Only through forgiveness do people change."
"But, I, I..." I stammer and stutter, yet it gets me nowhere. "Isn't it just because... you're holding out on hope? Because... I'm not your son."
... that's the simple truth of it. That's the reason I've kept this mask, even in death... because this mask separates me from Claus. It is a part of who I am. Thus... I'm condemned to forever hide behind it.
For the first time today, I see something close to despondency come across Hinawa, as she stares down at the table.
"I know you're not." Slowly, she raises her head back up. "But... that doesn't mean I can't love you like one."
... but that's exactly it, isn't it? I... I don't want to be a replacement for him. Nor could I.
"What do you want from me then?" I ask.
"For you to be happy. For all Lucas has gone through, happiness wasn't something he never felt. But... I don't think you've ever been truly happy, not for more than fleeting feelings."
Though I hate to admit as much, she's probably right. There were times where I enjoyed what I was doing, but it was all in the name of Porky... there's very little I've got outside of him.
"Then... will you trust me in my decisions?"
She hesitates again. It evidently weighs on her mind.
"There's something specific you have in mind, isn't there?" She says.
"... yes. I am very grateful for your hospitality, but... I think I need time to figure out what exactly I am. I spent all my life chasing it down, and what I found in the end turned out to be a lie. All I know is... I'm not Claus."
"No, you're not," Hinawa says, frowning slightly.
"But..." I pause for a moment, building some confidence. "I'm not Pokey either."
"No, you're not," Hinawa repeats, a little more cheerful than before.
For some reason, that ticks me off a little.
"So, what the hell am I then?" I say, pounding the table in frustration.
"Language." Hinawa throws me a stern glare, though her eyes flash with something playful. Despite everything, I can't help but feel somewhat cowed by her.
Her face quickly returns to something more neutral, as she sighs gently.
"That's for you to decide, isn't it?" She says, tapping on the table. " I would say you're something in between, but that's not my decision to make. Only you can."
... yes. Only I can.
"Hence... I'd like to leave."
"I understand." Hinawa gets up from her chair and opens a cupboard, where she takes out a rucksack and places it on the table. "In that case... please take this with you then."
What... what is this? I carefully open some of the compartments... there's everything I could possibly need here. Food, clothes, water, supplies... how did she acquire this all so fast? Unless...
"... you knew this would happen, didn't you?" I say, still dumbfounded at it all. "Before even I did."
"It's my job to be prepared for things like this," she replies playfully. "But yes, I've noticed the way you've been acting for some time. I... I suppose it was only natural."
... somehow, that makes me feel even worse. All this time, she knew... how did she feel about it all?
Cautiously, I grab the sack and pull it to my side. "And... this doesn't bother you?" I ask.
"It does," she admits. She laughs lightly, before rubbing her now sparkling eyes. "I wish it could be different, but... I trust your decisions."
"... you don't have to," I point out. "I am, by all metrics, a child. And as you say, there is still a lot I have to learn."
To be honest, I'm not sure why I'm arguing against her... she's agreeing with me.
Perhaps... I wasn't as sure of this as I'd hoped. And part of me expected her to refuse, but she didn't.
But before I can think of that any further, Hinawa gently takes hold of both my hands.
"Go," she says, polite yet firm. "Go with all my blessing — not that you need it, of course! You may be a child, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have any control over anything... and I suspect that's something you might never have truly had."
... once again, she's right. All my life, what I have done has been directed by Porky in some way or another. How ironic... the only thing I ever had control over in my life was death.
"It will be hard," I say. "I know that. But if I can manage to do it... I will be all the better."
"And I agree. However... don't push yourself too hard during it," she warns. "Enjoy yourself as much as you can, and take breaks when you need to."
"That's... something I don't have much experience with either," I admit awkwardly. "Fun was... a novelty at best."
"I'm sure you'll learn. And if I can give you one other piece of advice..." She lets out a deep breath. "Please try not to compare yourself to Claus."
... not to? But... that's impossible. I... you can't speak of me without speaking of him.
"Why? Why do you say that?"
"Because everyone in this family, whether it be myself, my husband or Lucas... we all made the same mistake regarding him."
"What would that be?"
"We all thought he was perfect," she says regretfully. "Because of that, we ignored the faults he had, and the result..."
"The result was me," I finish, chuckling darkly. "Yes, I agree completely."
"Which is exactly my point. I imagine you'll be quick to compare yourself to him, but... remember that Claus was a flawed person. And his flaws hurt a lot of people around him."
I stare at Hinawa blankly, trying to take that in. I agree with her sentiment... but of all people, I don't understand how she is able to say it.
"You're his mother. How could you say that about him?" I ask.
"Because I love him," she answers, without a speck of hesitation. "To love someone is to love them despite their flaws, not by ignoring them. I will always remember Claus at his best and his worst, and... I think that's what he'd want as well. I regret not realising as much sooner."
She regrets it... so, does that mean...?
"In that case... would you call yourself a flawed person as well?" I say, scarcely able to believe it myself.
"Deeply so. And mine are far less forgivable, because I should know better," she says critically. "There's… there’s a lot to be criticised in the way I raised my children."
... if that's the case, then everyone else must be positively demonic in comparison to her. I can feel it deep in my heart... not a memory, but a thought. A feeling towards her, and one of the very few ones I feel myself — that no matter what, she can do no wrong.
However... I suppose that's the very flaw she spoke of regarding Claus, isn't it? Being ignorant of flaws themselves. But even still...
"I have a question for you — how many children did you have before your twins?" I say.
She gives me a puzzled look. It's the type of question that's so simple, you'd think there's a trick to it.
"None," she eventually replies. "I don't see how that's relevant though...?"
"It's very relevant, because how exactly would you know what to do differently?" I respond. It seems to stun Hinawa into silence. "What you said earlier... it's not about age at all. It's about experience. And even as an adult, you don't have all of it."
She continues to be silent for a few more moments, before offering a faint smile.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," she admits. "I still have a lot to learn in that respect."
I stand up, strapping the rucksack to my back. It feels right there.
"If I stay any longer, I don't think I'll go at all," I say apologetically. "So, I think I'll take my leave."
"I understand," she says, standing up as well. "My only request is... do visit sometimes, won't you? Just so that I know you're safe."
"Of course."
A very poignant silence passes between us, one which I feel obligated to fill. And, if I'm going away... I suppose I should...
I move towards her, opening my arms out slightly... but at the last moment, I step away, letting my arms flop to the sides.
I try not to wince at the slight bit of sorrow that crosses her face, because... I know what it feels like.
I want to as well. But... I can't do it now.
"I'm sorry," I say. "But when I return... perhaps things will be different."
"Then I'll wait eagerly for that day. And may you find what you're looking for on your journey," she says with finality.
"Thank you." I place a hand on the door, pushing it open. "Goodbye."
I step outside and don't look back, because if I do... I might never do so again. I'll push on, as I always have. And one day... I'll find the answer I'm looking for.
For the rest of the day, I find myself walking aimlessly throughout Magicant. I don't know where I'm going, I just... pick a direction and go. It's not long before night falls, which only makes me realise how little I planned this out.
It's not as though I'm incapable of living like this. I'm not really sure what to do with it though.
... I suppose I should have something to eat. I'm certainly capable of going without for a long time... yet, if I want to distance myself from the past, I should abandon qualities I had then.
Let's see... there really is a lot of food in here. When did she even get the time to do all this? I'm not even sure what to... hm? What's this?
From inside the sack, I find an envelope. Opening it up, I pull a small letter out... it's from her?
I'm not sure when you'll find this letter, but I hope you'll see it sooner rather than later. It's something I should have given you in person, but I wanted you to have the privacy you needed when you see it.
I found this some time ago, and for the longest time, I had wondered why I'd been the one to receive it. It belongs to you more than it does to me though, because while it means nothing to me... it's all the happiness in the world to you.
Please remain as safe as possible.
She keeps referring to something else... and indeed, there is something else in this envelope as well. I fish it out, only to find... a chip of sorts.
It's very small, which alone speaks volumes as to its advancement. Just by looking at it, I would assume it's some sort of memory chip? The kind we might have used for robots to store information.
I have to wonder... what exactly was someone like Hinawa doing with a piece of technology like this? She's not exactly the kind of person I'd associate with this sort of stuff. And moreover, why does it look so familiar to me? There's something about it that I just can't place my finger on...
I'm not sure why she'd give me this. Perhaps there's something important stored on it... if I can find a way to extract the relevant information, it might be useful.
If nothing else, it'll make for a good ch — wait. D-did I see that right?
I blink a few times in succession, doubting the very thing I see before me. While the front side of this chip is blank, the back... there's...
There's a serial number written on it. And despite all the wonders of Magicant... I can't believe I'm reading them here. I spend agonising minutes, wondering if I'm remembering this incorrectly... but it's not possible.
I've burnt this serial number into my brain.
...
MROB-6720M.
It... it's her number. This... this is HER. Her memory chip, her very essence and soul... and it's intact. But how?! It was nearly obliterated in the destruction of the tower!
I shut my eyes tightly, my head swimming at the flood of thoughts that break through.
... no. It doesn't matter. This world operates on its own logic — it can do what it likes. Of course it can. I stand up, all thoughts of hunger banished on the spot. With this in my hand, I feel as though I can tackle any obstacle in my way.
... but why stop there? Because with this specifically... the one thing I wanted above else from the Dragon might still come true.
I know the blueprints. I can still access them at any time. All I need... are the materials.
And with that, I feel the very thing I've been lacking for so long rush into me... a mission. A directive. A purpose.
I hold the chip tightly in my hand, feeling a familiar warmth radiating from it. I know exactly what I have to do now.
Even if it's difficult... I'll devote every fibre of myself to this task like I did before — but this time, I'll succeed. And in doing so... maybe I'll find the pieces of myself I'm looking for along the way.
I meant what I said to Hinawa — I'm not Claus. But I'm not Pokey either. I'm something else... something in between. And when I see her again... I'll finally understand what that is.
I step to the edge of the cloud I'm on, peering over the side. And for the last time... I take off my mask.
For so long, this mask has protected me... not just physically, but mentally too. I've hidden behind it day by day, never letting anyone see through it... and never letting anything out.
I chuck it over the side.
I don't need it anymore. I don't need to hide. I'll face every truth, no matter what it does to me.
I am not a being of no emotion, made only to serve a master. I have ideas, thoughts, feelings... things which make me a person.
There is more to me than I could ever imagine. After all I've been through, there must be. I cannot be condensed down into something simplistic, or categorised in a way others would like.
I have no one to dictate my actions but myself, guided by my own judgements and thoughts... it's liberating in a way I could never imagine. And though I've only done so for such a short time... I understand myself far better than ever before.
My life has reached its end. Yet, I think of it not as a tragedy at all, because my story has only just begun.
It's time to see what really lies behind this mask.
Notes:
... wow. I... I don't know what to say. It's done.
Five years ago, on this exact day... I began my tenure as a fanfiction writer with this very fanfic... and now, it's finally come to an end.
Regarding this epilogue... this is something I've had in mind for a long time, ever since the Masked Man started developing his own distinct personality.
Given how much this fic has followed Mother 3, this is where it diverges the most, but the reason why I wrote this is because... when I first started writing this all this time back, I didn't even know what I wanted this to become. Looking back at the earlier chapters, the difference is just night and day.
And by the far the biggest thing that changed was... the Masked Man. At first, I wrote him as Claus with no emotion. But as things went on, that all changed, and in the end... this fic is not Claus's story.
It's the Masked Man's.
I don't think it'll come as a surprise to anyone that my favourite character in this series is the Masked Man, and in the end... he is what I ended up writing. After everything I've written, I can't see him and Claus as the same person. And after all he went through... I wanted to give him a happy ending as well, while still preserving the core elements of Mother 3. And so, here's something that presents a little hope to his situation as a whole.
I... I honestly don't know what else to say now. My life has changed so much since I started writing this fic, and the way I write fanfiction has changed so much as well. It should have been done a long time ago, but various circumstances delayed it.
To get overly didactic here, to anyone who's even slightly entertained the thought of writing, I've got two pieces of advice. First... don't start out with a longfic! It takes a lot more planning and effort then you’d think. And second... just go for it. The decision to write the first chapter of this fic was one of the best decisions I ever made, even if it's not very good in hindsight.
We need more of the Masked Man. If you wanna go very niche, we need more of Marshmallow — I don't think it'll be a surprise to hear that she was the second best part of this entire fic to me.
Honestly? We just need more Mother stuff in general. My contributions to this fandom are coming to an end on that front, so if I inspired even a single person to start writing from this... well, I'd say it'd all have been worth it.
But whether you started reading this from the day the first chapter was released, or whether you're reading this years after it's finished... thank you for reading this fanfic. This fanfiction writer loves you.
I hope we meet again.
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Account Deleted on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jan 2023 03:58PM UTC
Last Edited Tue 24 Jan 2023 03:58PM UTC
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calvinster on Chapter 1 Fri 12 Jan 2024 09:45PM UTC
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calvinster on Chapter 1 Fri 12 Jan 2024 09:46PM UTC
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calvinster on Chapter 1 Fri 12 Jan 2024 09:48PM UTC
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xusu on Chapter 3 Fri 15 Nov 2019 08:36PM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 3 Fri 15 Nov 2019 09:07PM UTC
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TeenReject on Chapter 2 Sun 01 Jun 2025 12:50AM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 2 Tue 17 Jun 2025 04:57PM UTC
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hit_that_target on Chapter 4 Thu 26 Jan 2023 10:39AM UTC
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xusu on Chapter 9 Sun 05 Jan 2020 08:01PM UTC
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Panadopolis on Chapter 11 Sat 29 Aug 2020 03:30PM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 11 Sat 29 Aug 2020 03:51PM UTC
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hit_that_target on Chapter 16 Wed 08 Feb 2023 08:57AM UTC
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TheBushofNyar on Chapter 19 Sat 06 Feb 2021 01:44AM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 19 Wed 10 Feb 2021 08:23PM UTC
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singing_to_empty_caves on Chapter 19 Mon 08 Feb 2021 05:22PM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 19 Wed 10 Feb 2021 08:41PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 10 Feb 2021 08:41PM UTC
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singing_to_empty_caves on Chapter 19 Thu 11 Feb 2021 06:46AM UTC
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Guest001 (Guest) on Chapter 20 Wed 30 Nov 2022 02:21PM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 20 Wed 07 Dec 2022 08:58AM UTC
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hit_that_target on Chapter 20 Wed 08 Feb 2023 09:42AM UTC
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singing_to_empty_caves on Chapter 21 Fri 21 May 2021 06:54PM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 21 Sat 22 May 2021 09:14PM UTC
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TheBushofNyar on Chapter 21 Fri 21 May 2021 09:15PM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 21 Sat 22 May 2021 09:16PM UTC
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singing_to_empty_caves on Chapter 22 Mon 07 Jun 2021 01:36AM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 22 Fri 11 Jun 2021 01:53PM UTC
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hit_that_target on Chapter 22 Thu 09 Feb 2023 07:34AM UTC
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calvinster on Chapter 23 Fri 29 Dec 2023 12:11AM UTC
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hit_that_target on Chapter 24 Thu 09 Feb 2023 07:59AM UTC
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singing_to_empty_caves on Chapter 26 Wed 05 Jan 2022 08:50PM UTC
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Lottery57 on Chapter 28 Sun 27 Mar 2022 10:17PM UTC
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