Earthbound It Is Finished

_Disclaimer: I do not own Mother 3; all credit goes to Nintendo for creating this wonderful game and series._

* * *

Lucas looked around him to see all his friends unconscious on the ground. His father was down on one knee, trying to look straight ahead. They were all in terrible condition right now. The blonde was barely conscious, seeing things blurry while not being able to realize that his clothes were ripped pretty badly. Still though, all he could do was focus on the boy wearing that costume...that robotic looking helmet. He was the only one that could stop the Masked Man now.

The room was almost completely engulfed in darkness, save for the dim light that the final needle was letting out while it was stuck in the ground. Lucas noticed that the light appeared to give the Masked Man an angelic aura. He had to try his hardest to not imagine the boy under the mask. He knew that he couldn't go through with this fight if he continued thinking that he would have to kill someone so young in order to save everyone else in the world.

Lucas grabbed his naked right arm, trying his hardest to focus on his PSI powers. "PSI Shield."

At that moment, Masked Man's eyes glowed red and lost their pupils. In a flash of light, he appeared with a laser sword hand and attempted to stab Lucas right in the eye. His attack would have killed the boy instantly if he hadn't used the strongest defensive spell in his arsenal. The magic still took its toll on him though and forced him to let out a loud scream from pain. Masked Man already caused great damage to Lucas and he had only used one move so far.

The mysterious figure didn't let up his attack as he now aimed and successfully pierced through the boy's left hand. His skin began to turn red as the laser sword was ripped put of the limb. It was quickly followed up by a kick into the air and a punch that sent Lucas across the long room. The PSI user's blond hair fell down from its usually pointy style and into his eyes. Blood was flowing from the back of his head now too. He probably would have lost consciousness in the next ten minutes if he was lucky. Still though, he knew he had to stand up again and try to fight.

_Stop the bloodshed!_

Both boys stood still as Lucas started looking around for something. He could have sworn he heard a voice in his head. It was a gentle voice as well, one that he knew comforted him in the past. He really wanted to find it because it seemed like it was a voice that would help him get through this fight. He also needed to know why it asked for them to stop the bloodshed that was happening.

_Lucas, please, don't fight him! He's still your precious brother...our precious child. There has to be some way to end this peacefully!_

The boy's heart was filled with a cluster of emotions at that moment. He was extremely happy that he recognized the voice now as well as the fact she still loved him even after all the years that passed by since they last met physically. He also felt great sadness since the voice reminded him who was under the mask. He would have shed tears by now if he wasn't so close to dying. It might have been a hallucination, but he saw a boy next to Masked Man that looked almost exactly like him. He recognized the orange hair combed to the side and the sea green and white shirt instantly.

"Claus..."

_Yes, that's still Claus, Lucas. Never forget that he's your only brother. You have to set him free!_

The boy stumbled on his way back to his feet. He started approaching Masked Man slowly. His left hand began to glow green as his breaths started to get slower. His eyes were focused solely on the boy wearing the helmet that covered his eyes. Small tears were falling down his face. Lucas was approaching his brother in a battle to the death and he had no intention of killing his brother.

The Masked Man stood there without moving an inch. He was trying to analyze his opponent's strategy and come up with a counter using the data his helmet was given right before being sent down the cave. His laser sword went into his arm and transformed into a hand cannon. One of his eyes began to glow red under his black visor, as if he was just reactivated. He was waiting for Lucas to make the first move.

At that moment, the blonde got into a position to get ready to run. He started recalling an old memory from three years ago before his mother was killed. His grandfather and twin brother were watching him as the boy tried to figure out how to dash. A drago was standing in between the two, waiting to get rammed into. The sun was shining brightly on Lucas. With one final reassurance from his grandfather and Claus, the boy ran towards it and knocked it over.

He suddenly realized that he wasn't facing down the reptile. No, he was looking down a hollow shell of his brother. His heart began to beat faster than it ever did. He only had one chance to use this technique. If he wanted his brother to live happily, he had to make sure this opportunity wasn't wasted. He dashed ahead and charged right at Masked Man.

A yellow beam was fired.

* * *

Lucas was hugging Masked Man...his brother tightly. There was a hole in his stomach. Blood was flowing out of his mouth like a storm. Tears were falling down his face at a fierce rate. He wasn't crying over the pain, or the fact that he was scared in the dark cave. He wasn't even crying tears of sadness or despair. He was just so happy to have been able to find his brother again after being missing for three years.

The green light that was on Lucas' arm was floating above both boys now. It began to expand and take a new defined form. The two weren't paying attention to its metamorphosis, but the family of the blonde was able to observe it once they regained consciousness. They were mesmerized by the beautiful light show and the many shapes it was turning into. Boney, the blonde's most loyal friend, as well as Flint, his father, were able to understand what each new form represented.

They saw a red hat that resembled the boy from Onett that Lucas looked up to as a child. They were able to make out an egg that symbolized the baby Dragos that both Lucas and Claus befriended when they were younger. The next form the light took was the shape of Duster's Rope Snake that helped the party throughout their adventures. It finally morphed into a pink heart, and started to slowly descend towards the two boys.

"Claus, I'm going to be with Mom soon...I'm leaving everything to you. PK Love!"

Once he whispered those words to Masked Man, the pink heart shaped light was sent crashing down and engulfed the brothers. The spectators were shocked to see the two possibly get killed by that attack. They didn't even see the fact that the light was ripping both of their clothes to pieces. Scratches were beginning to decorate both of their exposed skin as they began to turn crimson. The light finally ceased when Masked Man's helmet was knocked off his head. Claus' orange combed hair could finally be seen again.

* * *

When Claus awakened, he looked around to notice that he was in a sunflower field. He was wearing his old clothes again, not the orange pants or black shirt he donned when he was under his Masked Man persona. He started wandering, looking for anyone or anything he recognized. He couldn't remember anything that had happened to him in over three years. He had questions that needed to be answered.

"Claus, it's been so long."

The boy looked over to see a woman with long brown hair and a red dress standing in the middle of the yellow flowers. Standing next to her, holding her hand was a boy wearing a red shirt with yellow stripes and blue jean shorts. His blond hair was pointed up and he wasn't wearing any shoes. Claus was able to recognize him as his twin brother. This was the first time he was able to see Lucas' face in three years. He also came to realize that the person standing next to him could only be one person. Tears were flowing from Claus' face as he ran to hug the woman. It had been such a long time since he was able to hold his mother.

"Mom! I missed you so much! Are you really here right now?!" The boy was flustered right now. He didn't care that he had no idea where he was. He didn't care that he had forgotten the questions he wanted answered. He was just happy to be able to be with his mom again.

"Yes, Claus, this is actually happening. We don't have enough time to be together though."

"You just got here though! Come on, don't just leave me like this!"

"Claus...I want you to know, Lucas has entrusted everything to you. Your heart now carries his too. You two will always be connected, even though your brother is coming with me."

"Wait, you're leaving too, Lucas?! You can't just leave Dad, Boney, and me alone! What about your other friends?! They don't want to see you go!"

Lucas let out a smile before hugging his brother. "I'm sorry for doing this to you, but they're your friends now. My job is done...I just want to be with Mom now."

"I'll see you again though, right? It's not fair that you get Mom to yourself!"

He never received his answer though. Lucas and his mother both faded away into the sunflower field and left Claus alone in the happy yellow zone. He fell to his knees and started crying, not realizing that should have been impossible due to his conversion into a chimera. Two of the most important people in his life leaving him caused the boy to break through a barrier that should have been impenetrable. He just wanted to die and join those two on their journey to wherever they were heading.

That's when Claus noticed something was placed into the ground. He slowly inched his way towards the object that appeared to be round. As he got closer, he began to see the yellow and black colors that decorated the circle. Once he was standing over it, the boy realized that the object was a yo-yo. Things such as the word _Mother_and the letters _N_and _S_were engraved on one side of the toy. He picked up the item and flipped it over to see something that changed everything. It was a simple sentence from Lucas...his last words.

_You're my real hero, now look over everyone._

Claus broke down as the world faded away.

* * *

The boy's vision returned to him. He slowly rose from the ground and looked around to see that he was in a dark cavern with a glowing object in the middle. The dim light it was letting out showed him that he was wearing black shirt with torn sleeves and orange pants. His arms were decorated with many cuts and his face had a long red line running down his right cheek. His orange hair covered both of his eyes right now, which probably was for the best as he was still shedding tears because of the encounter in the flower field. He looked down to notice that he was holding the same yo-yo that he picked up from wherever the sunflowers were. The strangest thing though was the fact that he could feel this beating object inside his chest. He had no idea why it felt so unnatural, but he also seemed to really love it as well.

Claus started limping on his way to the thing rooted to the ground. His leg was probably broken but not even that would stop him from completing his promise to Lucas. He had to look over everyone now, and something told him that pulling whatever the thing letting out the light up would save them from some kind of travesty. He didn't know that he already pulled three of those objects known as Needles from their resting spot under his old alias. He couldn't come up with a reason why he needed to do this now for himself, only doing this for the same reason as he did it while known as Masked Man, for the person he showed absolute loyalty to. He wanted to make both of them happy, not even caring that they wouldn't be able to see the after effects of the event happening.

The orange head grabbed the Needle with his right hand and tried to lift it into the sky. However, the battle he had no idea occurred made him too weak to do it with one hand. He didn't have the strength to transform his weapon on his other arm into the form of a hand. He began to breathe slowly as the struggle to pull the pointy object became even harder to continue. He wouldn't be able to do this on his own.

_"Claus, let's do this together. One last time."_

The boy let out a small laugh when he heard the voice. Lucas really couldn't give up on his brother, could he? Nonetheless, he stood up again and grabbed the Needle with his normal arm. He felt his younger brother's warm hands holding his and giving him strength. A smile formed on the one formerly known as Masked Man's face. He slowly removed the Needle from the ground and fell over once the entire object was on the surface.

"We did it, Lucas. Come back soon, alright?"

_"See you soon."_


End file.
