Lucia faces off against the Masked Man in the cavern beneath New Pork City. When the smoke clears, she’s confronted with the ghosts of her past – and the hope for a brighter future.

Inspired by Sunflower Blooming by Quantin_of_the_Lethe. It’s not required reading (although I do recommend it because it’s really cute!). All you need to know is that Lucas is a trans girl and her name is Lucia.

Content warning for the stuff you’d expect from the end of Mother 3 (including talking about suicide). No one dies, though. I promise.

Lucia’s palms felt clammy in the cold atmosphere of the cavern under New Pork City.

Behind her was the Absolutely Safe Capsule, and Porky, its eternal prisoner. To her sides were her friends Kumatora and Duster, each holding one of her hands tight, as well as her beloved dog Boney. And ahead of her was mostly darkness, but for a small speck of light in the distance, and the promise of unfinished business.

“That… that masked man… He’s Claus,” her father had said, kneeling on the ground, unable to even face his daughter. He looked utterly broken. “Lucia… He’s your brother… Claus.”

Gravel crunched beneath their feet as they walked, carefully navigating the dim, twisting pathway. Every step carried the possibility of missing its mark and sweeping them all into the void. Every minute the bile rose higher in Lucia’s throat as Porky’s words echoed in her brain.

“Its name was Claus? That almost sounds like a person’s name! But it’s my robot now. It’s my robot now. It’s it’s my my robot robot robot now now now now NOW NOW NOWNOW”

“Hey,” Kumatora said, breaking Lucia out of her thoughts. “Deep breaths. You can do this.”

Fire burned beneath Lucia’s skin. The sweat collecting on her arms evaporated into little wisps of steam.

Kumatora nodded in Duster’s direction. “We’re here for you. Through thick and thin.”

“Whatever- whoever’s out there,” Duster added. “You won’t have to face them alone.”

“Thanks guys,” Lucia said softly. “That’s reassuring.” She licked her lips and they tasted like lies.

Kumatora squeezed her hand. “Then you’ll pull the needle, and it’ll all be over.”

The needle. It shone like a beacon in the murky shadows of the cave, bright purple and pulsating with an ominous energy. Silhouetted in front of it was a lone figure facing away from them, standing perfectly still. He’d beaten them there and he’d waited.

He’d expected them.

One more step, and there was a loud click as the figure’s sword slid out. In the blink of an eye he swiveled around, and the Masked Man – the Commander of the Pigmask Army – slashed the air, sending a beam of lightning careening toward Lucia and her friends.

There was a ding as the beam bounced off the Franklin Badge, and Lucia was still standing when she opened her eyes. The same could not be said for Kumatora, Duster, and Boney, however, who were all passed out on the floor, their hair sizzling from the shock. She jolted at the sight of them – made to run over and revive them.

The Masked Man’s stare pressed on her neck as bright and harsh as the lightning.

Lucia froze in place. No. She knew she wouldn’t be able to revive her friends without him taking them out again immediately. So she paused. Turned back around to face Porky’s puppet.

The Masked Man retracted his sword and waited. In his presence, Lucia felt the same psychic connection she’d felt every other time they’d crossed paths, and now that she knew what it meant she hated the taste it left in her mouth. The Claus she knew three years ago would never do this – would never kill like she’d seen him kill, would never lead the world on the path to utter oblivion – and if this wasn’t that Claus then who was it?

“Not even a fragment of life remains inside it. It doesn’t know anything about who you are!”

Perhaps Dad was wrong. Perhaps her brother was dead after all.

Lucia gritted her teeth and squared her feet on the floor. She felt the heft of the baseball bat in her hands; lifted it in readiness for battle. She didn’t have the time to ponder these questions – she had to make sure she was the one to pull the needle, no matter the cost. It wasn’t about the Masked Man anymore.

Lucia tightened her grip on the bat. It was about the fate of the world.

She took a deep breath and launched herself at him, crying out in fury like she’d never done before.

Without hesitation, the Masked Man shouted “PK Love!” and hit her square in the chest.

The cavern was a symphony of violence. The shrill, resonating chime of PSI blasts; the thud as a sword sliced open the air like a wound; the thundering crash of artillery fire. The screams of a girl getting hit again and again, tendrils of agony shooting through her entire being, sending her deep into her PSI to patch herself up each time.

Her screams were matched with uncaring stoicism; a mouth that only opened to call out more spells and didn’t seem to know any words other than those designed to hurt. There was no indication that he was at all disturbed by the ease with which he was killing this girl – this child. Neither did he have any reaction when the girl’s father leaped out of nowhere and absorbed a blast before becoming another crumpled heap on the floor. If there was anything in the Commander’s heart, anything even the slightest bit human, it was buried so deep that it would take a miracle to recover it.

And of course, a miracle did happen, as they are wont to do in the most hopeless of settings.

“Please… Remember! Remember who you are…”

Heartbeat pounding in her ears, Lucia struggled to comprehend the voice in her head. The Masked Man’s attacks seemed to slow down in tempo, but the ground was still singing to her, raising its little fingers to pull her into the cold, lifeless dirt. She screamed again and swung wide, feeling her bat shudder on impact. She heard something crack.

“Lucia… Stop fighting…”

Lucia felt a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up and was just barely able to make out something ethereal glimmering in the air. It lingered, wearing a smile without a face to guide it, and something in it tugged at Lucia’s memory. She saw a field of sunflowers, she felt the way they tickled her legs as she ran. She heard her dog Boney barking in the distance. She remembered her mom.

Hinawa’s ghost passed between the brawling children, and her voice – gentle but stern – rang out even as the Masked Man continued to attack Lucia. Her voice, telling stories of when the twins were born. Her voice, singing lullabies to calm them down. Her voice, pleading with them through the hideous stench of bloodlust in the cave for them to stop fighting and remember.

Lucia did remember. And it seemed like the Masked Man was beginning to remember too.

His blows got weaker and fewer. There were gaps, now; gaps where he just stood there and looked around as if searching for something. Gaps where he’d opened his mouth and let the shape of a word dance on his lips. He’d hit Lucia with a cannon blast and then gasp when she started to cry. He knocked her to the ground, and when she stood up again he was just shivering.

“Claus… You two are twins! Stop fighting… Please…”

The air was full of residual magic from the Masked Man’s blasts. It crackled and popped and it was so deafening that Lucia was sure at any moment he’d hit her again. She wasn’t expecting a familiar voice to eventually slip through the discord.

“…Lucas?”

That wasn’t right, but Lucia nodded anyway, finding her lips too parched to speak.

“It’s you…” He didn’t sound like the commander of an army. He sounded small.

He muttered to himself, and Lucia stepped forward. “Claus?”

The Masked Man jumped back and braced himself for her attack. Getting the message, Lucia backed off and waited. Waited for him to do something, whether that thing was talking to her or drawing his weapon again. It was a while before he did either, before he even let his guard down. She wondered what was going on inside his head.

“Oh no… Oh noooooo, I’m sorry… I- I didn’t mean to…”

His murmurs were a bit louder now.

“I was dead… It was- it was the pig man… Porky got me but I should be dead… I should be dead… I should be dead…!”

The Masked Man raised his sword again. Lucia watched it in slow motion, and some primal sense told her that this strike wasn’t meant for her. The tip began to glow, its light glinting off the Franklin Badge she still wore. He aimed at her and her every muscle locked up in dread because this wasn’t what she wanted, she wanted him to live!

“I’m sorry, Claus,” the voice said, and Lucia looked up to see her mother’s ghost pressing a hand to the Masked Man’s fist. She hovered there, shaking her head slowly and brushing her other hand across the Man’s chin. ”You must be so exhausted. But it is not time for you to rest just yet. Your family needs you.”

His mouth contorted into a grimace, which he held for a prolonged second.

…

Then his fingers twitched, and suddenly he was snapping his sword in half. There was a roar as electricity dissipated from it and filtered out through the air. The world felt like it was on fire again, and Lucia had to clutch her head to stop herself from screaming.

He clutched his head too.

“Make us proud,” Hinawa whispered, her voice trailing away into nothingness. “I love you both so much.”

There was no sound in the world beside the thundering crackle of static, and then the Masked Man’s helmet clattered to the floor.

Lucia held her breath as red hair floofed out; matted and unkempt as if it hadn’t seen the light of day in years. The sound of coughing filled the cavern, bouncing off walls to give the impression that they were something much grander than the heaving gasps of a sick child. It was a child – a boy – not a man, not anywhere near a man, and as he looked up, Lucia saw all at once everything that had changed.

One robotic eye with a piercing red glare, to match the gentle green of his other.

Sharp, interlocking teeth locked in a crooked grin – a horrible, guilt-ridden grin.

Thick cables extending from his neck to attach to the cannon which replaced his right arm – cables encrusted with blood, whether from today or from the time they were installed, Lucia didn’t know.

But she did know his face. She knew his face so intimately, even beneath a deluge of alien plates and scars, because it looked just like her own.

It was Claus.

“It’s really you,” Lucia breathed. In an instant, all thoughts of the battle she’d just endured went out the window. There was no one else – nothing else – in the world besides her and the ghost in front of her. “C-can you understand me, Claus? Do you remember who I am?”

Only silence answered her.

“It’s me,” she said, and the words echoed back to her like she was alone. “You’re my brother, Claus. Porky is gone – you’re free from him. You’re alive.”

Claus coughed again, closed his eyes, and stumbled forward. Panicked, Lucia dropped her bat and rushed to catch him. Once, they’d been evenly matched, and she could recall knocking him over when they play-fought on the lawn just as much as he knocked her over. Now, encumbered by a body half-made of metal, his weight almost pulled her over.

“Claus, oh my stars, Claus,” she squeaked. Panting, she tried to lift him back up. “Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay…”

His eyes reopened with his head pressed into her chest, and Lucia heard the same wobbling, high-pitched voice from before.

“You… you look different.”

For a moment, Lucia couldn’t think of what he meant. She glanced down at Claus, at the weak smile on his face, and was about to ask him to explain – when a long strand of blond hair slid past her shoulder and fell in front of her face.

Confusion turned to horror in Lucia’s mind. Her arms trembled and she had to muster all her strength not to drop him. Claus only blinked at her, his expression unwavering. Just as she’d seen through him, she knew he was seeing through her.

Through the mix of blood and dirt on her cheeks to the rosy layer of blush she still put on every morning, even in the wake of the apocalypse, because it made her feel warm and happy in her skin. Through the band keeping most of her hair pulled back, hair that had grown long and wavy because she hadn’t cut it in three years. Through the familiar red-and-yellow stripes to see that she wasn’t wearing a shirt and pants but rather a dress and tights.

Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhh. To someone who hadn’t seen her in three years, she did look different, now.

And that set Lucia’s thoughts into a spiral. She was so focused on her joy that her brother was still alive that she forgot that Claus’s brother was long dead. Lucas became a ghost the day he put on that dress for the first time and decided there was no better feeling than seeing herself spin around in the mirror, her, her, her. And now here she was in his place, a poor substitute for the twin Claus had lost that day – or at least that’s what her mind was telling her, over and over and over again, adrenaline pumping like she was once again in battle, thoughts racing to throw together any semblance of an explanation that would make sense as to what had happened to Lucas.

All that came out was: “You look different too.”

There was a long pause, with the two of them just staring at each other with befuddled expressions on their faces, and then Claus started laughing.

It came out weak and off-tempo, almost like he’d forgotten how to do it, almost like he’d gone three years in the absence of any kind of happiness. But Lucia couldn’t tell what he was laughing at. All she could think was he doesn’t want me he wants Lucas he doesn’t know me he knows Lucas he

“I do, don’t I? I really really do!”

He laughed and he laughed and the cave got smaller and smaller to strangle the breath from Lucia’s throat.

“What’s so funny?” she whimpered. She set him down on the floor and took a step back. “Is it really that bad?”

“It’s so bad!” he said, like a bullet to her heart. “You’re right – you’re so, so right! I knew things would be too different now! Why couldn’t Mom just let me die?”

Lucia’s racing thoughts became a whirlwind, in which Claus’s laughs were the rocks buffeting her hope for the future – and it was because of this that it took a minute for her to recognize the snivels underneath.

She straightened up – when had she curled in on herself? She stared at him.

“Wait, are you crying?”

“No!” he snapped back, and apart from an undertone of electrical buzzing in his voice, it sounded exactly like that time when they were eight and one of the sheep stepped on Claus’s foot and he swore through streaming tears that it didn’t actually hurt at all and not to tell Mom that he’d been playing in the sheep enclosure.

“Okay,” Lucia replied, in both past and present. She sat on the floor, tucking her legs underneath, and watched him definitely not cry. It was almost better than him laughing at her, to be honest. It was an old fear from when she started transitioning, but a fear nonetheless, that she’d tell people who she really was and only receive mockery in return.

What an incredible day it was – back when Kumatora had walked in on her wearing that dress – to be proven wrong.

“It’s just hitting me,” Claus said abruptly, “that I finally got free from Porky’s control, and I finally get to see you again, a-and you probably don’t want anything to do with me.”

Lucia’s head snapped up so fast that it put a crick in her neck. “Wait, what?” she sputtered. “Me not want anything to do with you? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me!”

“Are you kidding me?” Claus tried to wipe his tears away, but only succeeded in smearing snot on his cheeks. “I never thought I’d ever ever ever see you or Dad ever again! The last time my memories came back, Porky got real mad and Dr. Buttnuts said he’d make sure my mind was gone forever this time. Seeing you again is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I don’t deserve it!”

It didn’t make sense. His words should’ve been reassuring, but they just… weren’t. “But I’ve changed since you went missing! I’m a girl now! Aren’t you upset that you can’t have your old family back?”

“A girl??” Claus gaped at her. “You think that’s bad? I’m a chimera now! And I tried to kill you!”

“What does that -” Lucia started, and then faltered. Wait a minute.

She paused and examined her brother again, reminding herself of all the changes she’d taken note of earlier. She looked around, at the black marks where lightning had scorched the ground; at the prone, motionless figures which were her friends and father; and the metal helmet lying near the needle.

The memory of the battle came back, and so did the aches in her muscles and the wheeze in her lungs. Suddenly, it was all around her – the spells, the screaming, her mother’s voice – and Lucia had to admit that Claus had a bit of a point. He’d changed too. The Claus she knew from three years ago became a ghost that fateful day on the Drago Plateau. He was gone forever.

And that was alright. Lucia didn’t need a memory. She needed her brother.

“Okay,” she said. “Yeah, you’re right. That stuff’s… pretty bad. Definitely worse than me transitioning. You win.”

He frowned at her, apparently not finding the humor in the situation. “I should’ve died when the Drago tossed me off that cliff.”

“Maybe, but I’m glad you didn’t.” Lucia approached him again and took his hand into her own. “Listen, Claus, you did… a lot of bad things as the Masked Man. Like a lot.” He cringed and tried to turn away from her, but her grip on his hand was too strong. “But you were also being mind controlled. You said it yourself. There was none of you doing that stuff. And I don’t care if you’re a chimera now. I’m just happy to have my brother back.”

He just mumbled in response, his head turned away.

Lucia cocked her head. “You what?”

“… I’m not your brother.”

She sniffed. “Uh, yeah you are! I can tell.”

“… How?”

“Because you look like him, and you talk like him.” She pulled on his chin until he was facing her and she could see the shame written all over him. “And you remember things now, right? Do you remember when I fell down a hill and you rolled down after me so I’d feel better? And when you collected all those nuts so that Mom could make nut bread for dessert? And when that sheep farted in your face and I laughed so hard that I passed out?”

Claus broke into giggles despite himself at that one. “That was… that was pretty good. And I got you back for it, yknow. I got some sheep farts in a bottle and opened it up in our bed.”

Lucia brightened and patted him on the shoulder. “I think you got yourself with that one too, bro.” She waited as Claus laughed a little more. “You see? The Masked Man didn’t know any of this stuff, but my brother Claus does! That’s how I know you’re him. And I’m so, so happy he’s back.”

He smiled, and it looked half real this time. “Th-thanks.”

Lucia wrapped her arms around him for a hug, which was harder than expected because of the wings attached to his back. But she made it work.

“Hey, um,” Claus said, when she let go. “About what you said with you, um, I can’t remember the word you said -”

“Transitioning?”

“Yeah, that.” He wiggled his nose, and it reminded Lucia of the face Claus made whenever he had to admit that he didn’t understand something. “I’m not mad at you for being different now… I just don’t want to lose you. Even if you’re not my brother, you’re still my sister – right?”

“Ri-right,” Lucia responded, tears welling up in her eyes. “You know, I- I-”

Her voice broke a couple of times before giving way to sobbing, and Claus startled. He tried unsuccessfully to lift his body up so he could pat her on the back, but the wobble in his spine nearly tipped him over. “Luca- um… sis? Are you okay?”

Lucia nodded, and a big, dorky smile spread across her face. “I didn’t know how nice it was gonna feel to hear you say that! And, I- I-” She hiccuped, and had to take a moment to avoid choking on her own spittle. When she resumed, the sounds coming from her throat sounded an awful lot more like giggles than sobs.

Claus stared at her. “Wait, are you laughing?”

“Yes!” she yelped, and she clearly was, now. “It’s just hitting me how funny this is! I get it now, I get it, you were right!”

Claus’s human eye went wide, and he backed away a bit. “What was I right about?”

“You were- you were right,” she struggled to get out between guffaws. “I can’t believe how absolutely hysterical it is that I finally got you back and then worried that you wouldn’t be happy to see me just because I’m trans!”

“Oh, yeah -” Claus started, but was cut off with an oof as Lucia surprised him with another hug. Her laughter was contagious and he found himself devolving into giggles too, and this time he genuinely felt the joy behind the action and wasn’t using it to cover up his sorrow.

There was a lot he had to be sad about, but right now he had his twin back.

“Check me out, Claus, I’m not so much a crybaby anymore!” Lucia cackled, and Claus snorted.

“Oh, yeah? I’m not convinced! That sounded like crying to me!”

The cave was filled with the wholehearted laughter of reunited twins; laughter born of a sort of happiness they’d both thought they’d lost forever. For the first time in a while, the future seemed bright, and neither of them wanted that moment to end.

Lucia felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Lucia,” came a low voice, and Lucia nearly jumped out of her skin.

“WHA- oh,” she started to yell, before turning around and seeing her father kneeling beside her. “Hi Dad.”

Flint didn’t smile – not that she expected him to – but there was a bit of warmth to his voice. “Lucia. Your friends.”

“My… friends?” She looked past Flint and her eyes settled on three ashy heaps on the cave floor – Duster, Kumatora, and Boney. “Oh, no!” she squeaked, hopping to her feet. “I’ll be right back, guys, I gotta heal them!” She dashed over to them, not before almost tripping on her shoelaces and pirouetting to avoid falling onto Flint.

Lucia pressed her hands to Kumatora’s chest and intoned “Lifeup”. Her hands glowed green, and Lucia let that healing energy flow from her to her friend.

Behind her, she could hear Flint talking to Claus, apologizing to him, telling him how hard he’d searched for him, and how happy he was to have him back. It set at ease a stress she hadn’t realized she’d been holding – she wasn’t sure if Dad would handle Claus’s change as well as she did.

Quietly, she heard Claus ask, “Is her name Lucia now? She didn’t tell me.”

Kumatora gasped loudly as she regained consciousness, and immediately wrapped her hand around Lucia’s wrist. “LUCIA!” she yelped, frantic. “What’s going on? Are we still in battle? What happened to everyone else? Where’s the Masked Man?”

Lucia just smiled, which seemed to frustrate Kumatora more than anything else.

“Seriously, girl, talk to me! All I remember is getting hit by lightning!”

“The Masked Man is dead,” Lucia said. Kumatora’s eyes grew wide, but Lucia didn’t let her interrupt. “He’s a ghost. Gone forever. And now Claus is here instead.”

She took her hand off Kumatora’s chest and moved aside, letting the other girl see the figures behind her. Flint was hugging Claus now, and the latter’s face was mysteriously wet again.

“That’s your brother?” Kumatora asked.

Lucia nodded, and patted her friend on the shoulder. She walked past her to Duster, and prepared to revive him as well. Now she could hear Kumatora’s footsteps as she ran over to Flint and Claus; could hear her join in with the chatter and the relieved weeping.

Lucia had thought that the best day of her life was when Kumatora caught her spinning around in her dress, but at that moment she couldn’t imagine feeling better than she did hearing her friends and family reunited.

“Alright. This is it. The time has come for you to pull the last Needle.”

Lucia and the others were gathered around Claus, who was still sitting on the floor looking slightly pained. Hinawa’s words had helped him escape from Porky’s mind control programming, but said programming had done its best to hold on, and it was taking a while for Claus to be able to recover from the aftershock. Lucia hadn’t even thought about the needle since the battle. She was too busy worrying about whether her brother was going to be okay.

Kumatora glared at Flint. “Come on, geezer, cool it with the dramatic instructions. Can’t you see she’s busy?”

“We don’t have to worry about anyone else pulling it anymore,” Duster said. “Right? Only Lucia can do it. So there’s no rush.”

“Woof woof! (She’s tired! She deserves a break!)” Boney piped in. Kumatora scratched his head and he barked happily.

“It’s not just about us anymore,” Flint said. He pressed his hat to his chest and looked up. “It’s about the fate of the world.”

Kumatora put her fists on her hips. “Dude. Seriously, cut it -”

“No,” Lucia interjected, not getting up. “No, he’s right.”

Deflating, Kumatora fell to the floor and hugged her knees. “Aw, come on, I was all ready to throw hands. I missed all the action before.”

Duster raised his eyebrow at her, then turned back to Lucia. “Are you sure, Lucia? You’ve been through a lot.”

Lucia nodded, and rose to her feet. “So has the whole world. Maybe we’re okay now, and maybe Porky’s gone forever, but everyone out there is still suffering from what he did to the world. Dad’s right. We need to pull the needle.”

She looked across the cave at the needle in question, and in her mind she felt it calling out to her. Calling out for her to wrap her hands around it – hands perfectly crafted for the task – and pull.

It gnawed at her. “The time” had finally come, but she couldn’t help but wonder why she had this grand ability to recreate the world and not anyone else. What did she do to deserve it? Why was it her burden… alone…?

Lucia looked down. She could see Claus’s chest rise and fall; could hear the rough way his lungs fought him with every breath. He noticed her staring and gave her a little smile.

“You can do it, sis,” he said. “It’s- it’s like Mom said. You’re gonna make her proud.”

Lucia felt something tickle at the inside of her throat at that. “Yeah. She did say that.”

She reached a hand down to her brother, whose face twisted in confusion at it. Lucia winked at him. “She said it to you, too.”

Claus blinked. “Me?”

“Him?” Kumatora and Duster yelped in unison.

“Yeah,” Lucia said. Claus hadn’t grabbed her hand so she took his instead and tugged. “I’m not sure I have it in me to end the world all by myself. That’s… a lot of pressure. But you can help me.”

“No I can’t,” Claus shot back. “No, no, I can’t.”

“You’re not the Masked Man anymore. You’re my brother. And I trust that my brother has the world’s best interests at heart.”

Claus’s eyes were watering again, and Lucia’s smile grew wider. She tugged a big harder, and this time he came clamoring to his feet. He wobbled a bit before stabilizing.

“Lucia, are you sure about this?” Kumatora asked, hopping to her feet as well. “We sort of went to a lot of effort to make sure he wouldn’t pull any more needles…”

“Let her do this,” Duster said. “I think she knows what she’s doing. I trust her.”

He flashed Lucia a thumbs up, and Kumatora rolled her eyes. “Alright, I guess I do too. Lucia’s really good at this kind of stuff.”

“Woof woof! (I trust her so much and also I love her and I love Claus and I love all of you -),” Boney barked.

Lucia giggled at that, and then turned back to her brother. On his feet now, Claus seemed to be doing a bit better. His breaths were labored but his balance was steady. He gave her an uneasy nod when she looked. “I guess… I guess we’re really doing this, right?”

“Yeah. Let’s make the Dark Dragon our new friend.”

They approached the needle – the final lock sealing away the Dark Dragon. The air thrummed with psychic energy as they got closer. Visions flashed before Lucia’s eyes of the Dragon awakening and the world beneath their feet crumbling to pieces. She knew by the tremble in Claus’s step that he was experiencing the same thing.

Lucia put her hand on one of the needle’s wings. She saw Claus reach out for the other – and then falter. The look on his face was not one she was used to seeing there. He looked scared.

“What- what if,” he muttered, “what if my heart isn’t pure -“

Shaking her head, Lucia took her brother’s hand and placed it on the needle. “You can do this,” she said. “We’re doing this together, or not at all.”

She squeezed his hand, and he gulped. “O-okay. On the count of three?”

Kumatora, Duster, Dad, and Boney gathered around the twins at a safe distance. They offered various signs of encouragement – Kumatora was grinning ear-to-ear, Duster was giving them a thumbs up, Boney was barking out happy, friendly thoughts. Even Dad was tipping his hat. They were all ready for this. They all knew what needed to be done.

Lucia drew on her PSI to ready herself for using PK Love. To ready herself to put her life, Claus’s life, and the lives of all who believed in them on the line. To risk everything, for the good of everyone.

“One,” she said.

She thought about her journeys, and the friends she’d made along the way. She thought about traumas sustained and enemies made. She thought about the family that was torn from her, and the new family that came in as support, both with her transition and with her quest to save the world.

She thought about Claus, and all that was taken from him. She thought about Mom, and all she’d done to protect them, even after she died.

“Two…” Claus said.

Lucia thought about the ghost of the world they were leaving behind, and the hope for the bright new future she and her brother would create together.

Claus met her eye, and in his face Lucia saw that hope reflected.

“Three.”

Together, they pulled.