XIX: The Third Needle, Part II

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"Feeling any better, Luc?"

Baby blue eyes stared deep into the murky liquid, unseeing.

"… Luc?"

He was startled by the hand on his shoulder, and looked up. Ness gave the blond a concerned look at the deer-in-headlights look he sported on his face. "Hey. You seem out of it. Still not feeling good?"

"Ah- no, I'm…" Lucas knocked the base of his palm a few times against his forehead gently as though trying to knock something loose in there before looking back up at Ness. "I'm... definitely feeling much better; thank you for asking." With a soft smile, Lucas patted his hand and leaned back against the mossy wall, his other hand holding a rather small cup of… well. None of the human beings in the room were actually sure as to what was in the cup, but if Poo's declaration that it was safe to drink was any indication it was at least some sort of edible. The mole crickets had claimed it to be good for the disposition.

Ness raised an eyebrow but didn't comment further as he sat down next to him. "That means you're up for battling the mole cricket guy, then?"

"… Well, I guess so? I mean. I did promise a rematch… I think?" Lucas awkwardly scratched his cheek. "To tell you the truth, I really don't remember doing anything of the sort – the 'promising a rematch' thing, anyway. I can confidently say I do remember fighting a mole cricket in my childhood, though."

Even though Ness's eyes were trained on Jeff, who was talking with one of the mole crickets animatedly in the corner about the mechanics behind his bottle rockets, his ears were only tuned in to Lucas. "Well, I guess I've heard of weirder stories. I used to fight crows and dogs and snakes and hippies on my way to the heart of my hometown, Onett."

"… What's a hippie?"

The gears in Ness's head screeched to a stop as he looked at Lucas. "You're joking."

"… N-no?" Lucas was getting even more confused at the look on Ness's face. It was a cross between trying not to lose his entire mind and trying not to look horrified. "Ness, you're kind of scaring me. I'm legitimately asking what a hippie is."

"You sweet summer child. You innocent wonder boy," Ness placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder before pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "You are so much better off not knowing what they are."

Lucas rolled his eyes before shooing his hand off his shoulder. "Alright, Ness, whatever you say. Now tell me more about your hometown."

"Onett?"

"Yeah," Lucas drew one of his knees up to his chest and draped his arm over it, leaning on it with his cheek pressed to his forearm as he turned his attention fully on Ness. "I remember you… mentioning it only once before, that you were from a place called Onett. I've never heard of it."

Violet eyes blinked as in the background, Poo bore witness to Jeff building a tiny bottle rocket for mole crickets. "Right… Eagleland isn't anywhere on the guy's maps. Neither are Chommo or Foggyland. Which is weird, mind you, but I'm not gonna get into that right now. You only asked about Onett."

"Maybe one day you can tell me about all those other places."

"Yeah, maybe," Ness agreed before beginning properly. "Onett's my hometown. It borders the town of Twoson, where Paula lives. It's a pretty small town, but it seems hella big comparing it to Tazmily. We're a cliffside town, mostly surrounded by trees, and technically I live on the outskirts. It's a short walk to the actual town itself."

Lucas took a sip from his cup before commenting, "So like my house, then."

"… Yeah, actually, now that I think about it…" Ness hummed in thought. "My dad told me that he used to live in a house on the outskirts of his original town too, and not in the heart of the town itself. I think the place was either called Podunk, or Mother's Day. Which is weird." Ness made a face trying to process it before shrugging. "Well, either way. Onett's a nice place to live in. Pretty peaceful, especially since I made a deal with the Sharks and the police force."

Lucas choked on his drink. "E-excuse me?"

"Oh! I haven't told you anything about the Sharks, huh? Well, then gear up, Luke, 'cause this is gonna be a -"

"Hey, hey, HEY! Looks like you're already up and feeling much better!"

The two boys looked down at the mole cricket from earlier, hopping up and down impatiently. Lucas laughed before holding out his free hand to him, allowing the mole cricket to crawl up on his palm so that they could both see and hear him better. "Yeah, I guess I am. Ness was just telling me about his hometown."

"About the gang in my hometown, specifically," Ness corrected. "Which was gonna be a nice story, until you interrupted."

The mole cricket hopped once. "We have mole cricket gangs here too, but we don't usually interact with them if they're being little punks. Which is most of the time. But ANYWAY! Are you ready for our match?!"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lucas let him back down on the ground before handing his cup off to Ness. Using the other hand to brace himself against the wall, Lucas pulled himself up as the mole cricket skittered off to the elder to let him know that the match was commencing soon. The blond then held out a hand to Ness, helping him up.

Kumatora looked down at the mole cricket hopping around her feet as it declared loudly to all the humans in the room, "Now, if you try to run away or do anything cheap, none of us 'round here'll sit by quietly... just so you know. We mole crickets have a sense for those who don't play fair."

"Lucky for you, Luke always plays fair," Kumatora confirmed, looking up at Lucas and winking. "The guy's more honest than a… well. I can't think of anything else at the moment. But you get what I'm saying."

Lucas turned a little pink at her words. "Just because I can't tell an outright lie doesn't mean I'm honest."

"Shh. Luke. I'm trying to make you look good."

The mole crickets all chittered with laughter at their words before the mole cricket combatant started talking again. "Anyways, I've got special rules for our match. If, by some chance, an outcome isn't reached after 10 minutes have passed, we'll go to overtime, which'll last five more minutes. And if a conclusion still isn't reached after that, our elder'll decide who the winner is." The mole cricket turned to the elder. "Is there anything you'd like to add, elder?"

The elder tilted his antennae slightly, examining Lucas. "You're truly, seriously going to fight him then?"

"… He seems like he really wants to," Lucas looked back down at the elder. "And… well. I don't want to let anyone down." Not again.

"Take my advice. Sometimes, the bravest thing to do is run away, especially in this case… but you insist on it?" He hummed softly. "In that case… I won't stop you. But please, do not destroy anything in your surroundings as you do so."

"Have some faith in me, elder!" The mole cricket chastised before turning to Lucas. "So, you ready to do this thing?!"

Lucas looked towards their audience – humans and mole crickets alike. The mole crickets, nestled in crevices lining the walls, were all thumping their legs rhythmically as though they were in a stadium chanting for their champion – in this case, the mole cricket contender. It was a little unnerving to see them so excited over something so mundane.

His eyes met Kumatora's as she nodded slightly. He let his gaze trail over to that of Jeff's, then Poo's, and then Ness's. They all said 'go get 'em'.

Lucas raised a hand and snapped his pointer and thumb fingers together, letting a spark of PK Love escape into the air. "Bring it on."

Paula… Paula, dear… wake up…

"Mmmngh…?"

When Paula's eyes opened once more, she was met with the familiar pink shades of Magicant's sky.

Magicant! Immediately, Paula sat up, looking around. She was back in her Magicant of roses again… which meant she was asleep again. Huh… I don't remember falling asleep.

"Had a good rest?"

At the voice, Paula looked to the left and then upward. Her eyes sparkled in recognition. "It's you again!"

"Hello, dear," greeted the older woman, smiling fondly at her. Extending her hand to Paula, she helped her back on her feet as she said, "It's been a while since I last saw you. You haven't figured out how to get to Magicant in your dreams, have you?"

Paula looked embarrassedly down at her feet. "No, not really… I've been trying to though! I really have been! It's just that nowadays I get so exhausted, and I just end up passing out on my bed and go into a dreamless sleep, and-"

"I know, dear, don't lose your breath," the woman laughed, raising a hand to stop her rambling. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. I understand you've been training with Claus?"

Paula beamed, and dropped down into an en garde position sans blade. "Fencing, yeah! He's been really patient with me, and I really think I've gotten a lot of training done with him. I always kind of considered fencing as a kid to be pretty cool in theory, but actually doing it myself… kinda debatable, you know?" Using her hand as the blade, she lunged playfully at the woman before drawing back. "Hyah! What do you think?"

"I think you're doing wonderfully," With a smile, the woman gestured for Paula to follow her. "Come. There's much work to be done."

"You mean those twin Magicants in the distance, right?"

"Indeed I do."

Paula straightened up, dusting her dress free of stray petals before traipsing after the brunette, the only sounds at first being them carving their way through the field of roses. "Say, ma'am-"

"Please, dear – call me Hinawa."

"Hinawa… miss Hinawa!" Paula beamed. "That's a pretty name."

Hinawa smiled softly. "Thank you for saying so. I've always thought it was rather unusual for a name, truth be told, but I'm glad you think it's alright."

"Well, it's your name, isn't it? It's up to you to make the name more than just a weird one, right?" Paula pushed through the clumps of roses before asking, "Say, miss Hinawa?"

"Yes?"

"I never got to ask, but…" She looked up at her sideways. "You mentioned you'd tell me more about the two brothers you told me about. But… how do you know so much about them in the first place, anyway?"

Silence.

Hinawa stopped walking, making Paula pause as well and turn to face her curiously. The look on her face could be described as sorrowful – something that confused Paula greatly. "… Miss Hinawa?"

"… My dear twins," Hinawa murmured, a hand cupping her cheek as she sighed. The wind picked up around them, scattering rose petals into the breeze and making their dresses and hair rustle gently. "They were the boys I left behind… the boys I love so dearly. My dear sons."

"Lost. Confused. The two twins and their mother were just about to escape the flaming forest when they met a beast part reptile and part machine. It was alive, and it also wasn't, but either way, it was terrifying. The two were scared out of their wits, and for the elder, it was the first time in his life to feel so afraid."

"What happened afterwards?"

"Their mother screamed for them to run as she protected them from the monster."

Sapphire blue eyes widened. "You… you're the mom. You're… THEIR mom."

"Yes," The wind played with their hair and dresses as Hinawa admitted, "I died with no regrets saving my sons. They mean the world to me, and if the compromise of my safety meant they could go home to their father unharmed, then so be it."

"… I'm sorry," Paula tried to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, but it blew out of place again. "For your death, I mean."

Hinawa gave her a gentle smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You did nothing wrong, my dear. You weren't responsible for my death, not in the slightest. As I said, I have no regrets. And yet… my spirit is restless."

"Restless?"

"Let us walk, little one. I will tell you more as we travel."

As the two walked, Paula began to recognize the road they'd traveled before, heading towards the edge of the field of roses and towards the creek of pink waters. Her fingers grazed across the tips of the rosebuds she passed by as she looked towards Hinawa, urging her to continue – which she did.

"I died saving my sons with no regrets, and yet I am restless. I cannot really leave my family for so long… not really," Hinawa admitted, each step she took seeming like a gliding motion, making her appear to be floating along. "I needed to know that my boys would be alright – so I watched over them, as a spirit does."

Paula let her eyes drift over to the path so as not to fall in the creek by accident, playing hopscotch with the bigger stones on the creek's edge as Hinawa continued to speak. "For a while, I could only see one of my sons. No matter how hard I tried… I could not find my other son. I was afraid for him after his act of reckless revenge – I never saw him again after that, even from the afterlife."

"How come?"

"I could not sense him. My sons have always held large amounts of love in their hearts, and I followed the power of their love to them… so to have suddenly been cut off from one of them, to not be able to sense their love, boded terrible, terrible things. I thought I'd lost him forever."

"Did you find him though?" Paula asked, landing on a rather large glassy stone before hopping off of it onto a smaller, flatter stone.

Hinawa nodded. "I did, and I'm relieved, to tell you the truth. Despite his current situation… I'm relieved to have found him again. I was… afraid."

"Of him being dead?"

"Of him being truly lost because of… the terrible, terrible things that… that monster had done to him…" Her voice turned tight. "My dear boy…"

Paula turned her head to look at Hinawa. For the first time since she'd met her, she was seeing something akin to a bubbling fury blooming across her face. "Monster…?"

THUNK.

She'd crashed right into something.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Hinawa's fury had disappeared in lieu of helping up the fallen Paula, who'd crashed into something tall and cold on their way to the edge of her Magicant. She held out a hand, which the younger girl took gratefully as she looked up at the offending object. "… I don't recall this being here. Have we encountered this before?"

Paula rubbed at her cheek before looking back at what exactly she'd crashed into – and it was… nothing she'd been expecting. "… No…? I don't think we've run into something like this before…" She glanced around the area, and then nodded decisively. "We veered off path a little. Maybe this has been here the whole time."

'This' happened to be a statue made of smooth white marble sitting atop one of the many congregations of crystalline stones sitting on the creek side, carved in the image of a human hunched over, hands cupping their cheeks as though a depiction of sorrow and grief. The most startling thing about the statue, however, was that it greatly resembled Paula herself – in a dress much like the one she wore in reality. All details etched and carved into the marble resembled Paula before her arrival – save for the clearly sorrowful look on her face.

Paula reached up to touch the statue, spooked at the eerie recreation of her very self. When she looked closer, she saw pinkish water endlessly streaming from the statue's eyes, falling into the creek like a small waterfall. The source of the water, maybe…? "This is… I thought you said Magicant was born of my own mind or something. Reflecting what I want, taking stuff from what I like."

"I did."

"Then… why is this here?" Paula ran her hand along the smooth marble that made up the folds of the statue's skirt. "I don't want a statue of me crying, of all things. This is so weird."

Hinawa quietly approached the statue herself, gently touching the statue's shoulder before looking at Paula herself. "Perhaps… something has changed, and you do not know this yet. It's already reflected itself here, even though you aren't aware of it yet yourself," Hinawa mused mostly to herself. "… I have a very bad feeling about this, my dear."

"Well-" Paula's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of soft sobbing, making her blink. She… recognized that sobbing. She would recognize it anywhere.

Despite Hinawa's gestures for her to step away, Paula stepped around the statue, her hand still on its crystalline base. What she found on the other side was just as equally startling as the statue itself – herself. Or rather, a much younger Paula, clutching a teddy bear closely to her chest whilst crying to herself. She looked barely older than thirteen in this iteration.

"… Paula?" Paula found herself asking out loud. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late – the younger Paula had already heard and seen her.

Young Paula looked up at her older self, sniffling. "I've been waiting for a really long time now… is Ness still coming to get me?"

"… Huh?"

"I know he doesn't know me yet, but… I dreamed he was my destiny," Young Paula confessed to her older self, sniffling as she clutched the teddy bear tighter. She wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "So I know he's supposed to be coming to get me… but is he still?"

Paula bit her lip. Ness had told her before of his encounter with various other younger selves of his in his own Magicant in passing, but he'd never told her if he'd had to deal with something like this. What would something like this even do for me? I know for a fact Ness rescues me, because he already did – but would answering her question be like breaking some sort of time rule or something? How would something like this even-

"I think… I will just sit here, and wait," Young Paula decided out loud, interrupting her older self's thoughts. "This place is prettier than the cage… I hope he comes soon. I hope he finds his way."

"… I hope so too, little me," Paula eventually said, after a few moments.

Young Paula looked up at her. "I hope you find your way to the Golden Garden too." She toyed with one of the limbs of her teddy as she spoke. "It's really close by. I think so. They told me so."

"'They'?" Paula asked incredulously, but just then, the earth seemed to shake below their feet, startling her into backing away. Young Paula only sniffled as the crystalline base of the statue shifted towards the creek, interrupting the water flow to reveal… "… Stairs?"

Stairs, going deep down into the ground. Paula looked up at Hinawa quizzically, but even the older woman seemed at a loss for words at the sudden revelation. She looked back down into the cave the stairs seemed to lead to.

"… Nothing lost, nothing gained," Paula sighed.

"Are you sure?" Hinawa asked carefully. "Even I do not know where this leads. I did not know this existed prior."

Paula held out a hand. "… Well. It's better than never knowing, Miss Hinawa. Shall we?"

"… Alright." Hinawa took her hand, and without much fuss, the two climbed down the stairs and plunged themselves into the darkness, the statue's crystal base moving back and sealing them both in.

"That was… anticlimactic."

Lucas flexed his wrist slightly, looking awkwardly back at Kumatora and the others. "… You think I took it too far?"

"Hardly! You whacked him with a stick like, once," Kumatora snorted. "If you ask me, that isn't enough."

"ENOUGH!" The mole cricket elder declared loudly, silencing the worried chittering of the other mole crickets. The mole cricket contender himself wobbled around in a daze as the elder announced, "To think that such a mighty mole cricket warrior could be so easily defeated... perhaps mole crickets aren't so powerful after all..."

"You guys have your own strengths, though," Jeff tried to reassure. "It… just so happens that maybe this isn't your niche…?"

The elder twitched its antennae at him thoughtfully. "Wise words, little Andonuts. I'll meditate on what else this means at a later time. But, for now, the match is over. I suppose the traditional thing to do now is be on good terms with you."

"I thought we were already friends with them?" Ness whispered to Poo, who only shrugged.

One of the mole crickets closest to Kumatora's ear by the wall she leaned against chimed in, "As a token of our friendship, we would like to extend to you our knowledge and help. May we help you with anything?"

"Actually, yeah. There is something you could help us with," Jeff stretched before asking, "Do you know where the Needles sealing away the Dark Dragon are? We're, uh, looking for them, and maybe you guys have heard of something or another…?"

"Rumor or hearsay, anything helps, in this case," Poo added. "We're looking for one nearby, if possible."

One of the mole crickets sitting by Ness's foot answered this time. "We mole crickets aren't very knowledgeable creatures. Call it a hunch though, but I think there could be a clue to these things you're talking about on the mountain on the far end of this mole cricket hole. I think that's where you'll find your answer."

"Yes. I agree." The mole cricket elder stretched before adding, "Perhaps at the end, you will find the answers you seek.

"… That means 'go to the end of the mole cricket hole'," Poo said after a moment. "So there is a way to Snowcap Mountain from here?"

The mole cricket elder twitched its antennae at him. "Indeed. This might be the only safe way to it, actually – the other routes have all been mysteriously ruined by strange creatures made of noisy metal, rolling across the grass and leaving tracks everywhere."

"Pork Tanks," Lucas muttered, crossing his arms and trying not to dig his nails into his arms. "So they've been blocking off the routes all this time… I should've known."

Kumatora frowned. "Luke. Focus. We now know there's a way out of this place. Say, uh," She looked towards the mole crickets, who all eagerly twitched their antennae at her as if tuning in to her words. "You guys wouldn't happen to… like, know anything about the Dark Dragon, do you?"

"The Dark Dragon…" The mole crickets all hummed to themselves before one piped up. "Sadly, we don't. We really are just mole crickets. Even though he's our elder, he's still just a mole cricket, too."

"I… I've read up on something about a Dark Dragon once!"

The mole crickets all looked to where a mole cricket was sitting, in a crevice right above Jeff's head. The boy turned around and held out a palm to let the mole cricket crawl onto it before bringing him back to his chest level. The mole cricket spoke up. "It was in passing only, and I was not sure if I read it right, but the Dark Dragon is something ancient, sleeping underneath this very earth we have dug, elder!"

"It must be an incredible creature… a dragon that sleeps underground… do you know more about this dragon, little one?" The elder asked curiously.

The mole cricket hopped once on Jeff's palm. "Sealed away by Needles, it is! When it awakens, it wakes up the Light Dragon as well!"

"There's a Light Dragon?!" Ness yelped. Jeff stomped on his foot in response.

"Incredible… needles that seal away great creatures, us being surprisingly weak..." The mole cricket elder seemed to shake its head. "I am learning much today - living a long life such as this… I can see now that it is worth it. Anything else?"

"Not really… I'm sorry…"

"That is alright. You have proven us mole crickets are more than just our strength, little one," The elder turned to Lucas. "Do you suppose you could tell us mole crickets about even more things instead? We could learn much from you."

Lucas smiled. "I don't see the harm in it."

"Thank you very much… Lucas, was it?" The elder rumbled cheerfully. "We'll try not to be too much of a bother whenever you see us around."

"It's nice to just talk to you guys," Lucas said softly. "You don't need to think you'll be bothering me."

"You are too kind," The elder praised. "But now, I believe it is time for you to go."

The mole cricket contender, having regained its bearings, perked up. "Oh yeah. If you're gonna go through this mole cricket hole you should take my little bro with you. He's little, but he's a tough one. You can treat him just like any other item." It turned to the right. "Hey! Little bro! C'mere!"

Silence.

"LITTLE BRO!"

"I'm coming!"

The humans watched with amusement as a mole cricket from the highest point of the room leaped down from a particularly hidden crevice, backflipping and landing on top of the mole cricket contender. "OW! Little bro, what're you doing?! I just got back from a very harrowing battle of wills, and you're out here jumping off high places! Are you trying to die?!"

"I am very acrobatic, big bro! Stop telling me not to jump off high places, you're not mom," The littler mole cricket argued, hopping off its older brother. "Now what did you need me for?"

The mole cricket contender swept a leg towards Lucas and company. "These guys… lead them back here if they ask you to, aight? This place gets confusing as hell, and I don't want the guy who beat me to lose to such a confusing hole!"

"Oh, is that all?" The little brother cricket looked up at the humans quizzically. "Alright, but I'm not going out into the sun. I hate it out there. It's nicer down here."

"You're not staying with them forever, dingus," The older brother reminded. "You just need to help them out if they get lost while trying to get out of here, duh."

The little brother cricket hopped once. "Don't call me a dingus!"

"I won't when you stop hopping off high places!"

"Argh…"

"Uh, excuse me?" The two mole crickets turned to look at Poo. "… Are we, erm, departing now?"

"… Right! Right, come on, little bro," The mole cricket contender nudged its younger brother to Ness, who pocketed it. "He's very reliable, mind you. He knows all the ins and outs of this cave with how often he burrows around looking for new jumping places. He'll help you guys out when you need it."

Lucas crouched down to the mole cricket's level, pulling out a finger to gently tap its head in gratitude. "Thank you so much, mole crickets. Really. Your assistance is appreciated."

"Just tell us mole crickets everything after your mighty adventure!" The mole cricket cheered. "We'd like to learn everything… if you'll have us."

Lucas laughed. "Of course."

Darkness.

More darkness.

And even more darkness.

With only a single tiny flame of PK Fire to light their way, Paula lead the way into the underground chamber, Hinawa still holding on to her other hand as they walked. The silence in the dark cave was eerie, without even the sounds of dripping water to diffuse the absence of noise. Under her feet, the ground continuously felt like cool, smooth stone – up to a certain point. Soon, she began hearing the sounds of grass under her feet.

"Grass underground…?" Paula wondered out loud, seeing what looked to be a cave opening a few meters ahead. Glancing back at Hinawa, who only nodded once in the dim light, she led the way to the opening – and was blown away by what she saw.

"I know these flowers…!" Paula let go of Hinawa's hand to run right into the field of flowers. Each flower had five white petals, so distinctly pure white that in the darkness of the cave they somehow still stood out – especially with the faint glow coming from their centers. When Paula's hands grazed over the flowers, she found out exactly what the lights were: "Fireflies!"

Hinawa marveled at their surroundings. "Incredible… you've seen these flowers before?"

"Once, when I was younger," Paula giggled and danced among the flowers, stirring up the other fireflies into a strange dance around her as well. The fireflies lit up her hair and dress like tiny bits of starlight as she frolicked – until she bumped into something. "Oof!"

"Ow!"

"Jeff?!" Paula turned around quickly as the fireflies all began to flit about aimlessly around them. Sure enough, she had bumped into Jeff in the middle of that flower field, looking rather worried and displeased about where he currently was. "Jeff, what're you doing here?"

Jeff, however, was clearly not the Jeff she knew, because he seemed preoccupied with something else, choosing instead to say, "Going after those pig people was such a bad idea… are you okay? Maybe I can fix a way for us out of this mess."

"I'm fine, Jeff, really-" Paula tried to reassure him, only to hear a very, very familiar chirp. One that could only belong to… "Colo? You're here too?"

She looked down at her feet. Colo chirped cheerfully up at her… just as another Colo, a few feet away, hidden among the flowers, chirped immediately after him. Another chirp came a little farther away, and another, and another… "Colo…?"

"Your little Walking Bushie friend?" Hinawa trailed after Paula curiously. "I thought you only knew of one."

"And yet there's a lot of them here, apparently," Paula muttered, walking past the first Colo. Much to her surprise, that Colo began following her, and as she passed by the other Colos, following the trail they seemed to make, they all followed after her as well, chirping cheerfully like a chorus. Paula looked back to see if Jeff was following them as well, but he had mysteriously disappeared, so she had no choice but to follow the Colos back into another darkness.

Paula let another tongue of fire bloom from her fingertip as she followed the sounds of Colos chirping upward. With her free hand, she felt a staircase leading upward in front of her, and slowly but surely, she clambered up, a hand raised up to feel for the ceiling. Eventually her hand slid into an indent that fit it perfectly, and suddenly the ground above her head shifted, opening up again as the first statue had done so before, beaming light upon her once more.

"Agh… it's so bright out…" Paula coughed before pulling herself out of the cave, Hinawa hot on her heels. The moment Hinawa was safely out of the cave, the thing that had been covering up the staircase – another statue – slowly moved back into place, locking itself in.

Paula rubbed at her eyes, trying to blink and adjust to the sunlight just as Hinawa gasped. With her eyes closed, she asked, "Something wrong?"

"You found a way to half of the Magicant," was all Hinawa said – and it was enough for Paula to open her eyes.

Devastation reigned in this half of the Magicant – Paula recognized this half as the blackened fields of flowers. The entire area was covered in dying, darkening sunflowers, wilting as they spoke and barely holding on. From where Paula stood, she could see a few bright yellow sunflower heads peeking out amidst the black fields, but they were vastly outnumbered by their dying brethren. The sight was heartbreaking.

"I… I didn't think this place would be so sad…" Paula said softly, a hand grazing one of the sunflowers' wilting petals. "… I can see why you wanted me to help, but… I don't know how I'm supposed to-"

Something tugged at her skirt, and she looked down, blinking in surprise at a young boy looking up at her. There was something about his face that rang familiar to her, but she couldn't place it as he asked, "Hey, have you seen my brother?"

"Your brother…?" Paula looked towards Hinawa helplessly, but it didn't seem like the little boy could see her too, because he asked, "Hey, what are you looking at? I asked you a question! Have you seen my brother?"

"Oh, um, I don't think so…?" Paula looked down at him curiously. "What does he look like?"

"Like me! We're twins, him and me!" The little boy said proudly before staring up critically at Paula. Self-consciously, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before the boy declared, "You look a lot like Nana. She's pretty, almost as pretty as you."

Paula turned bright pink as Hinawa laughed. "Oh, um… t-thank you?"

"Mom said to always tell the truth, and that's the truth." The little boy tapped his nose as he stuck out his tongue and smiled. "Anyway, thanks for trying to help me anyway. I'll look for him somewhere else. He's gotta be here somewhere!"

He hugged her leg in gratitude, and just then, Paula's eyes widened as she felt a familiar surge of energy – PK Lovin'. But… different, somehow.

Through her eyes, she saw herself, gazing upon a sleeping Claus. This was… this was after my first trip to Magicant… wasn't it…?

The other her laid a hand upon Claus's shoulder, trying to shake him awake, and when she failed, she pressed a kiss to his hair.

Something about that particular memory coupled with the little boy that had just run up to her and run away from her seemed to upset her mind, because suddenly, the world seemed like it was spinning very, very wildly. Paula barely had time to place a hand to her head before she teetered over backwards into Hinawa's arms, blacking out.

Paula learned PK Lovin' β!

By the time the little group had made it out of the mole cricket hole, they were all quite frankly exhausted and irritated at the twists and turns they had to take. Ness flopped over backwards into the snow as Lucas bid goodbye to the mole cricket, watching it skitter back down into the mole cricket hole.

"UUUUUGGGGHHHHHH." Ness groaned loudly. "That. Was the WORST thing we've ever done."

Poo raised an eyebrow. "Worse than that one incident with the soup?"

"YES."

Jeff sighed in relief, feeling the snow under his fingers. Kumatora, noticing his ease, nudged him good-naturedly. "You seem right at home in the snow, little Einstein."

"Reminds me of where I live – or at least, where I stay for school. Snow Wood Boarding School, Winters," Jeff turned to look at the mountain's peak with a smile, seeing the snow coating it with a generous helping of white. "This is almost as cold as home, so it makes me kind of miss it."

Kumatora picked at the embroidery on Jeff's jacket that said 'SW'. "Now it makes sense why you have 'SW' on your jacket. I always thought it meant southwest."

"Well, I guess it works? Snow Wood is southwest to the heart of Winters, Foggyland, and to its southwest is the Stonehenge Base – and my father's laboratory," At the thought, Jeff's gaze seemed to cloud, his smile thinning out into a taut line. "My father…"

Kumatora raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"… No, not really," Jeff muttered offhandedly, just as Lucas looked up from talking to a snowman that was resting on the edge of the mountain. "Though that begs the question of someone else having a problem. Something wrong, Luke?"

Lucas didn't answer, prompting Kumatora and Jeff – as well as Poo and Ness – to look to where he was staring. Following the direction of his gaze, they traced his focus to the steep road up the mountain – and the frighteningly large snowball sitting at its very top.

"… That does not look good," Poo said eventually, to everyone's agreement.

The snowball teetered over, and began rolling down – fast.

"Move, move, MOVE!" Kumatora hollered, hooking an arm around Jeff and practically chucking him to the side as Ness rolled over and quickly pushed himself up, scrambling to get to a safe spot. Lucas sidestepped to the left while Poo PSI Teleported to a higher, safer spot just as the snowball thundered past all of them, rolling over the entrance to the mole cricket hole and stuffing it full of snow, rendering them unable to return the way they came.

Once the snowball sailed off the mountainside, the party all gazed down carefully, following its trail down the mountain. Kumatora let out a low whistle. "There goes the cavalry."

"You think it'll survive 'til Tazmily and knock down all the buildings?" Ness asked Lucas, who looked ready to bolt at the idea. "I'm kidding, yeesh."

"Well, either way… we can't get back the same way we came," Poo nudged at the snowpile that had once been the mole cricket hole exit. "So we have to keep going. Perhaps whoever is at the top… Lydia, was it?" He looked to Kumatora for confirmation, who nodded. "Perhaps they will know of another way out before they…" He trailed off, not wanting to continue.

The reminder that with each Needle pulled, a Magypsy disappeared, suddenly made the mood a lot more somber. Kumatora in particular seemed sedate as they began the trek upwards, making quick work of any enemies they encountered on the way. Eventually, however, they made it to the top – and found a hot spring for their efforts.

Almost immediately, Ness stripped himself bare and jumped in, barely giving Kumatora any time to cover her eyes.

"You could have been a little more graceful about it," Jeff complained, having been the unfortunate recipient of Ness's flying clothes. Despite the complaining, however, he pulled off his socks and shoes and rolled up his pants before dipping his feet into the spring, relaxing.

As Poo went to join Ness in the water, Lucas looked at Kumatora, who seemed to be staring off into the distance. "… Kuma?"

"…" Kumatora didn't respond.

"Kuma."

"Huh- oh. Luke," Kumatora muttered distractedly, looking back at him. "Sorry, I… I started daydreaming there for a bit. What's up?" She glanced over at the other three boys before looking at him. "… You know, you don't need to ask my permission to join them."

"That's not- that's not what I was going to ask-"Lucas sputtered before shaking his head wildly. "Anyway. You alright?"

"… What do you think?" Kumatora asked, after a few moments.

Lucas frowned; whenever Kumatora avoided answering the question herself, it was never a good thing. "I… think that you're not alright, because I'm about to pull another Needle… and you're going to lose Lydia."

"Ding ding ding, give the man a prize," Kumatora said sarcastically before sighing, sitting down in the snow and hugging her knees to her chest. Lucas moved to sit next to her, letting her lean against him as they watched the strangers from another time mess around in the hot springs. "… I just…"

Lucas looked at her coaxingly. "…"

"I just… I think you know how it feels, Luke… to lose a mom?" Kumatora asked softly. The question pierced his being, but he nodded anyway, albeit a bit stiffly. "… It's kind of like that. The Magypsies… or the Magpies, as Ionia sometimes called themselves around others… they were like… parents to me, in a way." Kumatora drew her knees to her chest even more. "I know it's nothing like how you lost your mom an' all, but…" She scowled, mostly to herself. "God, I'm such a sap. They're not even my real parents or nothin'. They just raised me. Provided for me when I couldn't do shit for myself yet."

"Isn't that what a parent is though?" Lucas asked softly. "A parent is someone who provides and cares for you. Like… my mom. Like… my dad. Mister Lighter. Miss Caroline." A pause. "… Mr. Wess, in a way." At Kumatora's snort, he amended, "He's one of the less shining examples, but he still provided for Duster and we both know it. And if the Magypsies… can I call them Magpies too? It feels easier - were like that to you… then I understand why you're feeling like this."

Kumatora watched as Poo made a dragon from PK Fire and made it dance above the hot spring. "… I dunno, Luke. Still not my real parents or nothin'. I know that much."

"But they did love and raise you," Lucas amended. "And you love them too, right?"

"…" The pink haired girl mumbled into her arms. "Yeah…"

"Then that's that." Lucas smiled softly, patting her shoulder. "You love them. And you know you're gonna miss them when they're gone." As I do… Mom… Claus…

"I just…" Kumatora whispered. "… I just wish they didn't have to disappear, y'know?"

"Kumatora, darling."

Kumatora froze. Lucas looked up, and saw the Magpie of the hour standing behind them. The boys in the hot spring all froze in place as well as Lydia smiled down softly at their charge.

"It's inevitable, my dear," Lydia murmured, kneeling down to wrap their arms around Kumatora from behind. "Inevitable that I disappear from this world as all Magypsies do. Or Magpies, as little Lucas here has taken to calling us. Picked it up from Ionia?"

"Heard it from Kumatora," Lucas admitted shyly. "Thought it was good."

"It is. I'd like to be known after a bird," Lydia smiled before running a hand through Kumatora's hair. "Oh, our dear little princess. Everything happens as it should. I know why you're all here – all of you, and I've consequently learned to accept my fate. All Magpies do. We live without regrets, knowing that our time will eventually come when the world's time has come. But you all must be cold – come inside and warm up, won't you~?" The Magpie gave everyone a tender smile before slowly standing up, helping Kumatora up on her feet before leading the way to their pink shell house.

Lucas trailed after them, leaving Jeff, Ness and Poo to hurriedly put their clothes back on before following after them. Like Aeolia's house, Lydia's shell house was nestled in the middle of a body of water – though thankfully much smaller than the one Jeff had fallen into on the first day, and much more shallow. As they entered the shell house, they were treated to the sight of a much more yellow- orange interior – in contrast to the interiors of Aeolia's – red – and Doria's – violet – houses. And on Lydia's bed…

"That's a Pigmask!" Ness yelped.

Lydia turned around. "You know him~?"

"N… not really, no – um, we know what he is, but we don't know… who he is, if you get our drift?" Jeff tried to gesture as he spoke, but it didn't really do much of anything to help his explanation. "I probably don't make any sense."

Lydia giggled softly before waving it off. "No worries, cutie. I found him in the snow, surrounded by my bunnies. He must have gotten lost while scouting out the area."

"Scouting the area…?" Jeff didn't like the sound of that, looking over at the Pigmask. He didn't seem to be doing anything except resting, however, so he decided that leaving him alone was the better idea.

Lydia, on their end, was fiddling with something on the desk to the side. Once they were finished, however, they turned to Lucas and company, staring intently at Lucas. "Such a strong, sweet face… so you're the one who will pull the Needles… I trust the safety of this world in your hands, dear Lucas. Your kind heart will awaken the Dragons and save us all."

"Speaking of which… dragons? Plural?" Poo stepped forward, and Lydia focused their attention on him. "We were informed prior – and Doria and Ionia spoke of – only the singular. Why now is there being a Light Dragon mentioned?"

Lydia blinked in surprise. "Where did you hear about the Light Dragon?"

"One of the mole crickets," Jeff answered. "They'd read it somewhere, but they weren't very sure about it."

"Oh, the little darlings, reading things they shouldn't~! Oh well. I'll explain briefly: there are two dragons, to balance this world out as all things should be balanced," Lydia held out both hands – in one was a key that looked like it belonged to the door to the back of the shell house, in its cool black glory, and in the other was a padlock, pristine white like untouched snow. "The Dark and Light dragons made this world and its living creatures, and to their lifespans our lives are connected. Eventually they grew too powerful for immortals, and thus we had to seal them away – but mostly the Dark Dragon, for if one seals away a single dragon, the other loses itself and disappears into its element for millennia until its partner awakens again. Their powers are great, and needed in recreating this world of ours – but only if the heart of the one who pulls the Needles sealing them away is inherently good."

"And you, cutie, you're the inherently good person pulling the Needles?" Lydia giggled at Lucas's stiff nod despite the tint in his cheeks. "Oh, don't answer. I know you are. I already said so earlier. Once you pull the Needles, you will assist in the recreation of this world, and assist in its destruction. But we won't be there to see it, as Magpies with a fate worse than death: nonexistence~!"

Kumatora bit the inside of her cheek to keep from answering as Lucas said, "Do you really have to sound so enthusiastic about it?"

"My apologies, darling. We Magpies have just genuinely learned to accept that which comes around – otherwise, we wouldn't be able to move past anything we do out of guilt and sorrow! That's what makes us different from humans." Lydia pressed a single kiss to Kumatora's forehead. "We may be similar in some ways, but in some ways, remember, we are not human."

"…" Kumatora only turned away, arms crossed.

"Either way… the time has come," Lydia walked over to the door, and unlocked it for them. "I've unlocked the door. Go now and pull the Needle… and fulfill your desti-"

Suddenly, something began playing faintly in the distance. A familiar melody – one that filled both Lucas and Kumatora's stomachs with confused dread.

"Oh, no." Lucas muttered.

The Pigmask on the bed, having apparently heard the jingle, immediately sat up in alarm, saluting nervously. Lydia looked upon them curiously. "It seems this one has experienced something traumatic relating to that little jingle… has their time come as well?"

Lucas didn't answer; he'd already burst out the door, the others running after him.

But it was already too late.

The blinding light that came with the pulling of a Needle startled them into stopping, making them draw up their arms to their eyes to block out the brightness, to no avail. Once it died down, the tremors began, but that didn't stop Lucas from staggering forward regardless, trying to get to the person who had pulled the Needle.

"Luke- Luke wait-" Ness and the others stumbled after him, Jeff falling flat on his face during a particularly strong tremor, until finally the earth died down, leaving them to pick up the pieces – the pieces being Jeff. As Kumatora helped him up, Ness and Poo ran up to flank either side of Lucas as he stood statue still, staring directly at the back facing them.

The Commander.

On his end, Claus was just about ready to call it a day and head back home – back to where he knew Paula was still comatose. She was alive, but… was she really, if she couldn't even wake up from the damage that had been done to her?

From the reconstruction they had done to her?

Paula… He needed to be there for when she awakened. She'd need a familiar, soothing face once she awakened from reconstruction. It was always jarring to discover something new inside the self.

Not even just something new. She's become completely different! They've messed with her big time, and now she's paying the price!

Claus ignored the nagging voice in his head – but he could not block out the yell that had suddenly come from someone behind him.

"Hey! You!"

He vaguely recognized the voice – he'd interacted with the owner of said voice at some point. His databanks recognized it slightly, so he categorized it into his brain for further examination as he turned around to face Lucas-

- only to see a face much like his, and be hit by an influx of memories.

Omelet… nice with ketchup, right?

No way! Mom's omelets are best without any sauces! Only Mom's cooking makes me happy!

Wake up already! The Dragos are already up and about and ready to play!

I-I'm coming, hold on!

We'll be best friends forever, won't we? We'll be the best b*****rs anyone has ever seen, right? The best ***li**s anyone in town's ever seen!

Of course…!

I'm glad you believe in us!

I'm glad to have you with me…!

C***s!

Lucas!

Both Claus and Lucas took a step back, their gazes never leaving each other's. Something in both their chests ached at the sight of the other, but they couldn't put it into words exactly what it was, beyond the fact that just being in each other's presence like this made them feel like…

Like I'm… whole again…

Like I'm with… Claus again…

Something niggled at Lucas's brain and heart, but he refused to accept it. The hand gripping the front of his shirt tightened its hold to the point that the cloth could almost tear, and the other was clenched in a fist, shaking ever so slightly. On Claus's end, he felt something coursing within him – something electric, that seemed to crackle between him and this blond stranger he'd encountered at Club Titiboo once upon a time.

You've seen him before even Club Titiboo. Just look back.

That voice… it won't leave me alone… Claus bit back a snarky remark at the voice in his head before he backed away again, turning around and getting ready to unfurl his wings.

"Wait."

It was Poo who had spoken, holding out a hand to him. With a reluctant groan – one that made Lucas's heart scream again, though he didn't understand why (or perhaps he did, and he just refused to acknowledge it yet again) -, Claus turned around. He didn't say anything – just stared at Poo directly, waiting for his follow up.

"I… we've seen you before, in Club Titiboo," Poo began unsurely, glancing to the others before continuing. "You can pull the Needles as well?"

As well? Claus looked at the boy who bore his face – it was eerie how their faces were oh-so similar, save for the color of their hair and eyes, as well as the spattering of freckles across his cheeks. He lacked freckles himself. "…"

"Just a query. Where is your companion… Nana, wasn't it?" Poo tried. At the question, Lucas and Kumatora looked at him in alarm, but the future king of Dalaam looked unruffled. "You two were together at Club Titiboo. You seemed inseparable."

Claus raised an eyebrow, but they didn't see that thanks to the visor of his helmet. He did recognize the name – vaguely, since he recalled one of the Lapin Angelique employees being named as such. She was the one who offered the bear… I still have to bring Paula to meet her at some point. "I do not know who you speak of. I do not have a companion named Nana."

"… You don't?" Ness asked.

Claus didn't even dignify that with an answer, turning around again and getting ready to unfurl his wings once more – but not before noticing something he recognized on the end of Poo's braid. Immediately, he zoned in, eyes narrowing at the sight.

"You have something of mine." Claus stated, holding out a gloved hand.

Poo, startled, blinked up at him. "Excuse me?"

"That ribbon," Claus repeated, pointing to Paula's bow at the end of Poo's braid. "Belongs to me. Hand it over to me at once, and there will be no consequences."

"What the- that's not yours at all!" Ness sprung into action, pushing forward and jabbing a finger into Claus's chest threateningly. "This bow belongs to our friend and I'll be dead before you take it!"

"Ness, WAIT-" Lucas called out, just as Claus pulled out his sword.

"As you wish."

"PK FIRE BETA!"

Claus and Ness immediately sprang apart as Kumatora let loose a blast of PK Fire. The small wall of fire separated the two differing sides of the war as Lucas and Claus stared at each other from either side of the flames, the light illuminating the bottom parts of their faces in an eerie light. They were at a stalemate, and neither party quite liked it.

"..." Claus brandished his sword, and pointed it to the sky. Immediately, lightning coursed through its tip before he pointed the sword directly at Lucas, assuming he was the ringleader, unleashing PK Thunder on him, – at a price.

Gah-!

Grk-!

"LUKE!"

As the lightning struck Lucas, both he and Claus immediately felt their knees buckle in the shock and pain, both of them falling to the snow. While the others went to help Lucas, Claus gritted his teeth, feeling the phantom pains of PK Thunder crackling through his own chassis. What… the fuck was that…?! I didn't attack myself, so why…?!

That was… PK Thunder… Lucas winced in pain, but looked back up at the struggling Commander, seeing them struggle to stand up again and leave. Despite the anger in his heart, despite the righteous fury he felt at seeing one of the Needles be pulled by someone that he wasn't sure had an inherently good heart… all he could do was reach out plaintively to him.

"Wait, please."

P-please, C****… wait for me…! I can't run as fast as you…!

I know R***ie said that they wouldn't wait for us if we trailed behind too far… but N***ol wouldn't let her leave us behind…

Please wait… please…

Claus's wings unfolded from his back, eliciting a barely contained gasp of excitement at the technology from Jeff as he furrowed his brow, touching his forehead as the strange flashes started back up again. Ugh… who even is this boy… talking to… and about… I have to… I have to get out of here.

I have to… I…

"Luke, Luke, speak to me," Kumatora lightly slapped both sides of Lucas's face before barking at Ness, "Hey! You have healing PSI! Use it! He might be paralyzed or stunned or something!"

Blinking back into attention, both Ness and Poo set to work on getting Lucas to recover, but all the blond could focus on was the distinct flapping of large, batlike wings as the man – no, boy, he didn't look any older than him at all - took to the skies, a hand still clutching his head as though experiencing a migraine, and the other holding tightly onto his chest area, as though experiencing pains of the heart.

Like Lucas himself currently was.

Wait… Lucas reached out to the Commander weakly, but he had already long stumbled off in flight. With those thoughts in mind, he let his eyes close, and let his body give way to the day's exhaustion.

When Lucas woke up again, he found himself on the bed in Lydia's house.

Sitting up, he was treated to the sight of the Pigmask – now unmasked – playing with the bunnies Lydia had left behind alongside Ness, Jeff, and Poo. Kumatora had relegated herself to Lucas's bedside, watching for any signs of stirring, and now that he had, she was sitting upright herself.

"I remember you," The Pigmask muttered, not looking up from what he was doing. Gloved hands scratched at the back of one of the rabbits' ears as though it was a dog as he glanced up at the boy on the bed. He was rather soft-looking, yet at the same time possessed a rather stern face to him – or perhaps it was just his eyebrows that gave off that impression, or the fact that his eyes were a frighteningly familiar shade of gold. He seemed to be about Kumatora's age, judging from the look in his eyes, and his hair was a messy dark brown with a color comparable to Richie's. "The part-timer. Blossom wouldn't shut up about you the last time you showed up at Club Titiboo with your group. Lucas, right?"

"That's me," Lucas replied softly. Something about this Pigmask… they were very, very familiar. "Sorry. About… anything I might've done to upset you before during my part-time job. I wouldn't remember, but… I apologize regardless."

"You didn't do anything wrong," The Pigmask said, looking up at him. "You were just a kid back then. Prone to making mistakes and the like. No harm, no foul." He looked back down at the rabbits, and then outside the window, before correcting, "Except for now, I suppose."

"What do you mean?"

"I won't do anything now, but now you are the enemy of the Pigmask Army, Lucas," The Pigmask declared quietly, not meeting Lucas's eyes. "You've expressed a desire… no. You've said that you need to pull the Needles exactly like our Commander – that means you are against the Pigmask Army. Against us, the 'bad guys'." He scratched a rabbit's ear thoughtfully. "Even if you did part time for us as a child… you're going against the will of the King now. Therefore…"

"… I'm an enemy of the Pigmasks," Lucas whispered, almost unbelievingly. Me? As a child and up 'til his late teen years, he'd been a thorn in Fassad's side, but an actual classified enemy of the army that had taken over his world…?

The Pigmask nodded grimly. "I'm not going to fight or bother you, though. Don't worry. I'm staying right here for these guys." He gestured to the rabbits. "They need me. That… Magpie…? That Magpie had to go the moment the Commander pulled their Needle… and they saved my life out there." He closed his eyes. "… I owe it to them to take care of their rabbits. But I'm not going to help you out. Or bother you. Consider me neutral."

"…" Lucas looked away, hurt, just as Kumatora murmured, "Don't worry about him. He's kind of a prick, but he does want to take care of Lydia's rabbits. We found a message from Lydia before they disappeared, Luke. They left us a white box in the back that we can take to get back to Tazmily from here. All we'd have to do is pile in." She looked up at him. "You ready to go?"

Lucas looked back towards the unnamed Pigmask. "… Can I ask a question, before we go?"

"No guarantee I'll answer," was the Pigmask's reply.

Lucas swallowed. "What's your name?"

"…" The Pigmask looked up at him in surprise before giving him a wry smile. "Camillus. They all just call me Cam, though."

By the time Claus made it back to the base, the headache – and the voice in his head – had silenced themselves, leaving him alone to his thoughts as he descended onto the balcony of the room he shared with Paula. Pulling his wings back into his back, Claus took off his helmet and placed it down on the desk in between their beds before exiting the room, looking around.

…

Why does it feel… deserted?

Looking around, he saw neither hide nor hair of any Pigmask in the hallway – and when he walked down the stairs and looked around the other floors as well, he saw and noticed nobody.

Save for one little creature, waddling around wailing.

"Colo…" Claus knelt down as the Walking Bushie recognized him and immediately came skittering to him, wailing. He held out his hand for the Bushie to plant itself snugly in his palm before churring sadly to him. "You seem distressed."

Sad-friend… very-sad friend… Colo wailed. Cry, cry… many tears, many tears…

Can Bushies feel grief…? "Colo, I don't understand."

All scare… many scared, and hide away… Colo wept, waving his leaf around limply. Fear tears… fear grief… she's hurting, she's hurting…

"She's hurting…?"

Paula.

"Where is she, Colo?" Claus asked urgently. If Colo was wailing about her, that meant she was awake. "Can you- can you point me in her direction?"

There…

Colo's leaf pointed limply towards the Chimera Laboratory, and with a sinking heart, Claus recognized the way – it was the way that led directly to the Ultimate Chimera's holding place. Cautiously, he made his way towards the elevator, tucking Colo into the furs of his jacket collar, before pressing the button that belonged to the floor the Ultimate Chimera was on, and waiting. Once he hit the right floor, he emerged from the elevator, and opened the door to the holding area.

Inside, everything was a disaster.

Glass was shattered. Beakers and test tubes were scattered everywhere. Equipment was wrecked, and computers were destroyed. Strangely enough, however, the chimeras that should have been running loose were all cowering in a corner – next to the scientists and Pigmasks that were supposed to be watching the Ultimate Chimera.

"Commander-!" The Pigmasks oinked nervously. "You're here-!"

"What in the hell happened here?!" Claus practically demanded, turning to the gaggle of Pigmasks in the corner. "Explain!"

"S-she woke up, sir… C-Captain Paula…" A Pigmask stuttered. "A-and… well…"

So she was awake.

But wait… what does that have to do with this… destruction…?

It was then that Claus's hearing picked up on the faintest of sounds, coming from the other corner of the room: quiet, broken sobbing. He turned away from the Pigmasks, his entire demeanor changing in favor of seeking out the source of the sound. His boots crunched the broken glass as he slowly crossed the room, looking around. By the midpoint, he saw deep grooves in the floor and the walls, as though something had dragged itself through them… but he didn't recognize it as the handiwork of any of the chimeras he already knew.

And then he saw her.

Back to him and hunched over like the statue in her dreams, surrounding her like a cage were eight long, metallic, spiderlike appendages, growing directly from two slits in her jacket and curved around her protectively. Her helmet had been cast aside, the visor cracked, and her blonde hair fell in longer waves around her face. The hoop skirt she'd favored for so long had been traded for a new skirt that looked physically identical to it, but was more flexible. Her shoulders shuddered and shook with each sob that wracked her small body.

Claus felt his throat tighten. Was this…? "… Paula…?"

The response he got was lightning quick. The girl – who was indeed Paula – whipped her head around so fast that Claus was mildly afraid she'd get whiplash, but thanks to that he was able to get a good look at her face: tear-streaked, but unnaturally perfect. Her face had been repaired with synthetic skin. And her eyes…

One sapphire blue, one bright rose pink.

And yet, despite the changes… he knew it was her.

"Claus…" She choked out, and before he knew what he was doing, he found himself moving to her side despite Paula backing away into a wall in terror – something that, he realized, hurt him immensely. The last time she'd ever backed away from him in such a fashion was the first time they'd met… when she'd realized that the bracelet she wore was inhibiting her abilities.

"No, no… no, stay away from me…" Paula backed away, fresh tears blooming from her one sapphire eye. The other eye was dry – for what sort of mechanical eye shed tears of salt? The spiderlike limbs braced against the walls, scrabbling for purchase and digging grooves into it with sharp tips when they found none. "I- I'm not safe to- I'm a monster-"

"Paula," Claus tried, reaching out. Colo hopped out of his collar, afraid of demise.

"P-please-"Paula clawed at her own face, absolutely terrified. But whether or not she was terrified of herself, or of Claus, was the big question. "Never- never come near me- I could hurt you- I could- I could-"

"You could never hurt me," Claus promised, holding out his arms to her. "You could have hurt me before… but you haven't yet. After all… we're…" He paused. "… We're friends… aren't we? Friends don't… hurt each other. Won't hurt each other." Claus met her gaze. "And we… we're friends. You and I. You told me so yourself."

"I… I-I…"

"Paula…" Claus moved closer. When Paula didn't move even further into the corner, he took it as a good sign, and moved until he was directly in front of her. Even with the spiderlike appendages surrounding him like bayonets pointed directly at him… he strangely didn't feel any sort of fear. He… wasn't scared.

He held out his hands again, this time in Paula's reach. "We're friends… you and I. You are… my friend. And I know… you wouldn't hurt me… because I wouldn't hurt you, either," He said seriously. "Believe in that, at least, Paula… I'm not speaking as the Commander, but… as your friend."

Paula seemed to search his gaze, but he remained statue still, trying to convey through his eyes the authenticity of his words. He remained calm and still, hands still held out to her, his guard visibly down, and his helmet nowhere in sight. He bared himself open to her, and now patiently waited for her to strike or not.

I know you, Paula… and I know… you would never hurt me. Or anyone.

Paula's one biological eye welled up with tears, and with a wail, she pushed past his hands and buried her face into his shirt, her hands clutching at his jacket and her body shuddering with barely contained sobs. The spiderlike limbs retracted into her back, and the moment they did, Claus let his arms wrap around her almost instinctually, holding her close to him. He'd probably question himself later about it, but for now, he knew it'd make her feel better if he held on to her, at least for a little longer.

And so, he did.