pullsneedles | (no subject)

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Lucas is grateful when he opens his door to an empty hallway. He'll be happier once he finds Boney but just being alive is great for now.

It doesn't take long, however, for him to pick up his dog's thoughts in a nearby staircase.

"Coast is clear, boy," he calls, still adjusting to the sound once again coming through a Pigmask helmet.

Boney comes down the stairs, his yellow Pigmask helmet looking particularly ridiculous on him. But boy is he glad to see Lucas, especially since he has company.

"We're s'pposed to be looking for some monkeys, or at least that's our story if any Pigmasks ask. They're hidin' somewhere in this lab and prob'ly eager for a way out. And keep a lookout for..."

He winces under his mask as he thinks about the Ultimate Chimera.

"...well, you'll know it when y'see it."

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"Yeah."

Dinah's eyes are wide, and her mouth quirked into an amused little smile. Everyone on this world is a bit strange. But it puts Lucas into context.

"He seems very helpful."

"And he said he was gonna quit this, too. That's good."

The more he talks about the Pigmask Army in Milliways, the more people seem to think they're just no good.

In a short while, Dr. Andonuts returns with four chimeras.

"Gentlemen! Behold!" Dr. Andonuts says. "I've brought several of the chimeras I've been developing in secret. Take whichever one you think will be the most useful to you."

Lucas looks up and down the line, thinking.

"The first is a DryGuy," the doctor tells them, indicating the round, purple one with a nose like a hair dryer. "It's the latest model Dryer Chimera and it utilizes an air-intake system and a jet engine! It can dry anything in mere moments, even long hair, afros, panties, and Asian beauties!"

The boy pats the DryGuy on his big nose and says, "Wow, that's something."

He then steps to the next two, a pair of human-like brothers, one hiding behind the other.

"Those are the Bucket Brothers," Andonuts says. "They're the result of combining cutting-edge dough technology with Clayman technology! These fellows are exceptionally hard workers!"

"Oh, I remember the Claymen from my part-time job. They are really strong."

He then goes to the last one, the red and yellow striped one with a long neck and a long nose.

"That's a rather ho-hum Chimera known as a Pump Chimera. It's an extraordinarily ordinary creature that's really only useful when you need to transfer something from one place to another, such as-"

"Pond water?" Lucas finishes.

"Er, yes..." Dr. Andonuts says, adjusting his glasses.

This is how they're going to do it? Use a chimera?

Dinah gives them all a curious look.

To Lucas: "What do you think? I like all of them."

But it's to the Pump that she ends up drawn to, patting it's long nose. "This one's cute, though."

The Pump Chimera gives Dinah a gentle hug with its great nose.

"I like them all, too," Lucas admits. "But the Pump Chimera looks like he was made to do the job."

He, too, pats the long nose of the Pump Chimera and says, "Let's get going."

Dinah gives as near to a return hug as she can, and keeps her hand on the long trunk as they walk back.

"So what happens to these guys now?"

He shrugs.

"Most of the chimeras the Pigmask Army makes are released in the wild anyway. Maybe they'll get to be free, too. And since these guys are tame, they'll probably get by easier than the hostile ones."

They lead the Pump Chimera back to Doria's house.

"Ooh! Yes, here we are! ♥ " she coos. "This will solve our pond water dilemma! I just know it! ♥ "

And with that, the Pump Chimera gets to work. True to his name, he pumps the water from the filled pond with his nose, pouring the water into the empty pond through his tail. Doria gushes with delight as the Pump Chimera quickly gets the job done. Once finished, he simply walked away as Doria talked of his confident swagger and calm air.

"There it is! ♥ " she says after calming a bit. "That's the Needle! ♥ One of the Needles sealing the Dragon away!"

Lucas looks inside at the golden, glowing, giant needle in the ground. He walks around the edge and begins to climb down into the empty pond.

Dinah sits at the very edge of the pond, her legs hanging down where the water used to be.

"You want to release a dragon?"

"Someone else does first," Kumatora says, standing nearby. "Whoever it is already pulled Aeolia's Needle. And whoever it is, the Magypsies can't read that person's heart. Once all the needles are pulled, the Dark Dragon's gonna make the world like the heart of the person who pulled the needles. But Lucas, y'don't need to be a Magypsy to read his heart."

She sits down next to Dinah as Doria climbs down to join Lucas.

"Can you really pull this Needle like Ionia said...?" the Magypsy asks. "I'm not sure if I should be afraid or happy... A rush of emotions is overcoming me! I can't believe I'm here, witnessing this moment! Okay! Now pull it! ♥ With all your might! ♥ Right before my very eyes! ♥ "

"If this Needle gets pulled, will you disappear like Aeolia did?" Kumatora asks.

"Yes, that's right, ♥ " Doria answers. "Because the Needle won't need my protection anymore... The Needle can only be pulled when 'the time' comes. So when the Needle finally IS pulled, 'the time' has come."

Lucas hesitantly reaches out, touching the glowing Needle with one hand.

"That's right," Dinah says to Kumatora as she sits, her eyes not leaving Lucas with a fond gaze. "You don't."

She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and waits to see what will happen.

Boney gives a little bark, adding his own affirmation, and sits on Dinah's other side. Doria stands near them and pats Kumatora on her knee, continuing to reassure her.

"So don't worry. I'm not going to die. ♥ "

And then, Lucas grasps the Needle with both hands and pulls.

A bright light surges forth from the spot where the Needle was and the ground begins to shake. The spot in front of Lucas that held the Needle gushes forth with energy that looks like red steam. In the middle of it all the movement, the boy is still with his arms out and head tilted back.

Just as suddenly as it all began, things return to normal. Only now, there's a small trickle of energy from the Needle's spot and Doria is beginning to fade away.

"This really is...the beginning of the end," the fading Doria says. "'The time' has finally come... Eeee! ♥ I never once imagined that someone would show up at this tender girl's home to pull the Needle. ♥ Disappearing while still young and beautiful... In one sense... It's bliss. ♥ "

Dinah jumps down into the hole, sparing a confused look at the disappearing Magypsy, before she hurried over to Lucas.

"Are you OK?"

Lucas nods, though he is a bit warm to the touch. It's almost as if he's recovering from a fever.

"'m fine," he says. "Just somethin' new."

Kumatora hops down as well.

"He is realizing more of his PSI," the fading Doria explains. "Usually it's gradual but pulling Needles makes it a great big boost. ♥ He's going to rely on both of you to see things through to the end. Kumatora, I want you to go with little Lucas."

She nods to the Magypsy.

"I don't know you as well as I do Kumatora," Doria says to Dinah. "But you're here for little Lucas. So I'm counting on you, too! ♥ "

"Always," Dinah says cheerfully, tapping her fingers to her forehead in the smallest indication of a salute. "I'll be here for him."

She wraps her arms around the warm Lucas and hugs him tightly. "You were amazing."

Lucas hugs back, though he does turn his head to watch Doria in her final moments.

"I'm about to disappear youthfully and beautifully..." the Magypsy says. "Think about me sometimes, okay? ♥ "

"'course we will," Lucas says.

"I leave the rest in your hands now. ♥ "

And with a final flip of her hair, Doria fades completely.

"Bye now! ♥ La la la! ♥ "

Dinah turns to watch as well, a hand still on Lucas' shoulder.

"So now what?"

"Well, there're five more Needles t'find," Lucas says.

"And we gotta find Duster and the Egg of Light," Kumatora adds, picking up Doria's last worldly belongings: a lipstick and a razor.

Boney barks while Salsa and Samba look down in the pond.

"But I dunno where t'start," the boy says.

Boney barks again, thinking, "(I can try to find his scent.)"

"You could..." Dinah starts, then she glances over at the dog.

"Did he just say something to you?"

"Oh, yeah..." Lucas says sheepishly. "It's kinda part of the PSI. I can understand animals."

He then points to Kumatora.

"She knows PSI, too. She's the one that first helped Salsa and found out about Samba."

"Oh, is that Love Monkey's name?" Kumatora says. "I just knew she was Salsa's girlfriend. Stupid Pigmask Army had her caged up and was making Salsa do their work."

Dinah's face drops.

"That's horrible," she says.

Kumatora thumbs at her nose.

"Yeah, but that nasty ol' Fassad doing it got his comeuppance. Slipped on his own banana peel and fell off the Thunder Tower."

"That's how we all got split up," Lucas says. "He was trying to get us to stay on Thunder Tower while it was being destroyed. After he fell, we grabbed hold of his airship. But we all ended up falling off in different spots. Boney and I ended up in a sunflower field near Tazmily."

"And Doria found me," Kumatora says. "But we knew Lucas was gonna show up 'cause I had a dream where a pretty woman in a red dress told me you were all right."

"You had a dream, too?" the boy asks. "Grandpa told me he had a dream where Mom told him to pile up a bunch of hay. Once he finished, Boney and I fell in it."

"When you fell out of the airship?" Dinah asks.

"That's some Mom you've got there, Lucas."

Lucas nods, smiling a little.

"I wonder if she came to Duster, too," Kumatora says thoughtfully.

"Maybe..." Lucas wonders. "Or maybe his Mom would come to him."

Kumatora nods and then quirks her lips a little in thought.

"Y'know, I just realized none of us have our Moms with us anymore," she states.

"You don't, Kumatora?" the boy asks.

"Nah. The Magypsies have raised me since I was a little squirt."

There's a pause after that admission. Then Lucas goes to give Kumatora another hug.

Dinah says nothing, but she does make a mental note to hug her Mom as hard as possible when she gets home.

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