A/N: Before I let you read, I want to tell you about this story.

I've actually wanted to write it for a while, since May actually. I finally got over my fear of depicting characters wrong (I guess) and did it.

This is a filler for Chapter 1 of Mother Three: the protagonist being Lucas. It's what I think happening in the scenes that Mother Three left up to interpretation. It's a pretty sad story, but considering how Mother Three went, that shouldn't be a surprise.

Since that's out of the way, here's the story.

'Lucas! How long are you gonna sleep for? The Drago's brought their babies over! And they're really cute!'

0o0o0o0

Lucas stood frozen, as if trapped between what was reality and what his wish for reality to be was. Every few seconds, the two merged, making him confused as to what was real and what wasn't. He wished to not know what the reality was, and live like he was earlier that same day, not knowing what this, new, raw pain was. He wished he could go back and change what just happened.

He didn't know if he could face reality.

He was abruptly pulled back by his arm. He watched as jaws snapped where he was just a second ago. He still had trouble processing what was going on around him: if he wasn't moved, he would've died. He was filled with horror as he realized how close to death he was, especially if he stayed here any longer... The realization made his legs weak and he fell on the ground.

"Lucas," Someone mumbled in a warning tone. His brother, Claus, was somewhat glaring at him. "Don't do that. Ever again."

Lucas couldn't say anything. His gaze went to the ground. He wanted to forget. He wanted to erase this moment. He wanted to change it. He wanted to do anything to make this moment go away. He would do anything, anything in the world to go back and make this moment never happen.

A roar made his head snap up, waves of terror flowing through him. The Drago- no, more like a machine- spread its jaws wide, as of showing off its new lack of a fang.

"W-What are we going to do, C-Claus?" Lucas whispered, his voice wavering more than noticeably. Claus didn't say anything: he only looked behind then, at the small drop on the cliff side that went down into the river. Lucas followed his brother's gaze and was instantly terrified.

"W-We can't do that, w-we'll..." Lucas slowly realized that was the only way. The "Mechanical Drago" blocked their path. The only way out was down. No matter how irrational the idea was.

Plus, she was there.

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it got, but he also realized it was survivable. Very survivable, without getting severely hurt. Even if he did get hurt, it was better then dying.

Swallowing his anxiety for a second, and making sure Claus would follow him, he dropped down into the river. The force hurt him, and the icy cold water made it feel like he was freezing, but he would take it over death any day.

The current picked up. Every moment was a fight to stay above water, to live. He felt his strength- the little of it he had- wither away quickly. But, as if by a miracle, he found a piece of driftwood and immediately latched onto it. He could relax for a second, the little bit of time he had before he was washed up on the shore, next to his mother.

She was still alive, he tried to convince himself as he desperately looked for a pulse, hoping there was one. He was dizzy, nauseous, and spots danced around in his vision, but he still looked, no matter how close to fainting he was. The Drago's fang in her heart was unmistakable; yet he still hoped by a miracle she was alive.

The desire to forget, erase, filled him again in the seconds before he passed out, hand on his Mother's un-beating heart.

0o0o0o0

The evening passed in a blur. Lucas could remember sitting by a fire and warming up, but nothing that happened there. Now, he was in his bed, back at his house, alone. The bed felt huge with only him in it, even though it was only twin sized. Twin sized... Of course. Fit for two twins. One that was now sitting on the living room floor, staring blankly at the wall, the other who was lying in the bed, wanting to forget everything that had happened that day.

He buried his face in his pillow. He closed his eyes, wishing for sleep to come so he could enjoy the minutes where he didn't remember why he was upset. But when it did come, he didn't have the oblivious bliss that he wanted. In fact, he was having nightmares about the Mechanical Drago, seeing it bite his Mom and watching her fall into the river below, neither of them being able to do anything...

"Lucas." Someone called his name and shook him awake. Frightened, Lucas bolted up and flew back into the wall across from the person who woke him up, heart racing, taking in short, sharp breaths and clutching the blanket in fear. Then his breathing slowed and grip loosened as he realized it was only Claus.

"Lucas, I'm leaving," Claus told him in a matter of fact tone.

"W-What? W-What do you m-mean?" Lucas asked, his hands still shaking.

"To get revenge. For Mother."

"W-What? How?"

"I'm going to kill it. The Drago."

"Wait, no! Y-You can't! Don't leave!" Lucas begged him. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Claus too. He already missed his mom; not his brother! He knew Claus wouldn't survive. If his mom couldn't, there was no way Claus could, no matter how strong he was.

Claus only turned away from Lucas. "I'm going to, and you can't stop me." Only now did Lucas see the fury in his twin's eyes.

"Claus!" Lucas ran up to him and grabbed his brother by the arm, forcing Claus to look at him. He hoped Claus could see his worry. "You can't win. Y-You can't. Don't leave, please stay. I don't want to lose you too..."

"You won't lose me. I promise I'll kill that evil creature and return. I won't go, too." Claus' gaze noticeably softened for a second as he looked at Lucas, as if confirming he wouldn't leave. He opened the door, looking at Lucas one last time. "I'll be back: I promise."

The door shut. Lucas was left standing alone, with his arm outstretched as if reaching for his brother. He immediately looked out the window, trying to see Claus, but it was too dark. He wanted to run after him, but the truth was he was too scared. He fell to his knees on the ground, keeping his arm out, trying to take in what happened. He has lost two of the most important people of his life in one day. He felt empty. He felt lonely. He felt abandoned.

His eyes teared up as it fell on him all at once. They were gone. He could never get them back. He would never get them back. He dragged himself over to his bed and collapsed on it, grief filling him.

His pillow was stained with tears that night.

0o0o0o0

Lucas had yet another nightmare, but this time, it's subject was his brother. He didn't want to think about it at all, but he couldn't avoid it in the dream world. All the possible outcomes of what could've happened to Claus infiltrated his mind, and...

He awoke, shaking, and clutching his pillow as if it was his brother and he could save him. The spot where his eyes were was wet. He felt over to the right of him, hoping Claus leaving had just been a bad dream, but all he found was air. He felt his eyes water up again. He wanted him back, or to live in an illusion where Claus wasn't gone. He wanted to run around outside with his brother and mom again. He wanted to waste days playing with his brother. He wanted to feel his mom's warm embrace again, to hug her again, maybe even just once more.

He tried to push the thoughts away but they kept nagging at the back of his mind. He tried to will them to go away, but they didn't, upsetting him even more. Nothing would work. He tried to accept it but he couldn't do that either. He would tell himself over and over again that they were coming back but deep down inside he knew they weren't, and the reason he kept telling himself that was because he didn't want to face the truth. He was stuck in a situation he couldn't get out of.

He sat up slowly, keeping his arms wrapped around the pillow, even if it was inanimate. It was like an anchor to what was happening in the real world, no matter how fuzzy it was. But getting through this seemed like an impossibility. He couldn't fathom how it could be possible to get over this, to move on. It seemed too difficult. It felt like he would stay like this forever.

He made himself get off the bed and put the pillow down. The world still seemed blurry. He made his way to the door and let the outside world know he was alive.

Even if it was a bright day out, he couldn't tell. He didn't notice anything of his surroundings: all he knew is he had to be somewhere. The funeral. He knew they would have one. He had to go, even if he didn't want to face the grief it would bring. People would be more worried about him if he suddenly didn't show up. There was no reason they should worry about him.

0o0o0o0

Before Lucas knew it, he was already running back to his house, filled with shame. He hoped no one bothered to run after him: he was the reason there was even more sadness in everyone's life. He was so useless. Unless you counted bringing grief to everyone useful. He hated himself so much for it.

All it took was one sentence to make him regret his decision even more then he thought was possible. One simple question put him into the emotional wreck he was now.

Where's Claus?

It had made him forget everyone was watching him. It made him blur out every word anyone spoke. It made him stand up and try to face them, but be overwhelmed by guilt and shame instead. It made him lower his head and run away to where he was now: the place where only a few days ago everything was fine.

He hid in the space in between the dog house and the home itself. He curled his knees up to his chest, already hyperventilating. The weight of the grief was starting to set in.

His dog, Boney, came over to him, lying down in front of him. It was as if Boney was affected by the sadness, too.

"I-It's okay," He whispered, voice shaking. "Y-You didn't do a-anything wrong. I-It was m-me..."

The tears overflowed. He buried his face in his arms, resting them on the top of his knees. He started to think what he could've done to change it, make this not happen, make the pain go away, because he had caused it and there was now nothing he could do about it. He felt lightheaded from his irregular breathing through his tears. He wished his brother was here to comfort him. He wished his mom was still here. He wished none of this had happened. He could've made one decision to make it better, one simple choice and the grief would've been lifted.

Boney put a paw on his knees, as if tying to comfort him. He looked up and pet his dog's head, which only made the tears stream down even faster. It was just like before. Before everything changed.

He still regretted everything. He should've stopped him, not have been so stupid to have just let him go. It was only day one and he already missed both of them more than he could ever imagine. And while he sat there, crying and hyperventilating, only one thought came through his mind.

'Maybe I should've gone with Claus...'