~Ze Resort~Thread 1~(OFFICIAL ETF DEBUT WOO)~

(*The entire group has stopped moving*)

Pearl: *Also listens closely* O__o;
Richter: *Gasp* o_____O; W-what do you mean...?! What happened?? How could your world not exist...?? *Clearly alarmed and concerned*

Lucas: *Notices how everyone's attention is now locked on him expectantly* o-o;; ... *Turns back to Richter* It's-... It's a pretty long story, actually. ó_ò; *Clears his throat again, trying to keep a steady voice while explaining things* Someone came to our little corner of the world from another time, and he--and his followers, too--started to interfere with our lives in ways we never would've seen coming... Everything was fine up until one night, when-... When I was heading home through the forest with my brother and our Mom. *Briefly clenches his eyes shut, gaining a further pained expression* >n>;; The creatures weren't acting like their usual selves, because those people had already started messing with them... Splicing them together, giving them mechanical parts... ... We had an encounter with one of the creatures they'd gotten to, and our Mom, sh-she... pushed us to safety with all her strength, but... *Has to trail off for a moment* ,ú~ù;
Marina: *Is already sidling closer to Pearl as the story gets sadder* ÓnÒ;

Pearl: *Is just staring with huge eyes* O.O;
Richter: *Is deeply disturbed by what he's hearing, and briefly feels a flicker of wrath within himself upon hearing about the intruders* *Crouches down a bit, so that he's closer to Lucas' level* But... what? ó.ò; ... Was someone badly hurt, or... ...?? ... What have those miserable people done to you...?! è.é;

Lucas: ,é~è; ... *Blinks away some tears and meets Richter's gaze* Me and Claus--my brother, I mean--got out OK... B-but Mom... She was left open to the creature's attack. ... She saved our lives, but it... ended up costing her her own... ,ú.ù;; ... The entire village was devastated... Everyone knew her and loved her so much. *Sniff* It was the biggest tragedy we'd ever known... *Wipes away more tears before continuing* Claus headed out the next day... He wanted to hunt down the creature and avenge Mom. I-I... didn't go with him... I didn't even try to STOP him... I was so weak, I just hid away and did nothing... *Stares at the ground briefly with a deeply guilt-ridden expression* é_____è;; H-he vanished after that... Our Dad spent so much time searching tirelessly for him, but he couldn't find him anywhere... *Pauses with a sigh* For the next three years, everything just started changing even more... We were introduced to money, for example, which was something entirely new to us. It made things a lot more complicated... ... The village also got bigger, and more... distant. Oh, and the creatures... They became more and more modified, too. <.>; By that point, I was getting a little braver, at least... Me and the family dog, Boney, ended up going on a journey beyond the village; that's actually around the time I learned I had psychic powers. I gained some invaluable friendships, too, and we ultimately set out to try stopping the intruder and his army... As you'd expect, though, it wasn't exactly an easy time. ó__ò;
Mechanica: *Is totally silent as she continues to listen* O-O;
Marina: *Has grown teary-eyed* Ó-Ò;

Pearl: *Is also getting a bit teary* OAÒ;
Ness: *Had heard Lucas' story before, but is still feeling the pain* >~>;
Richter: *Has been listening intently this entire time, and obviously feels horrible for Lucas* I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that all must have been... My goodness; at your age, too... That would be a living nightmare for anyone, let alone a child! Dx; I know you're no ordinary child, but still... ... *Remembers something* ... W-wait, you told me earlier that you were unsure if your world still exists... This story isn't even over yet, is it? ŏ__ŏ;

Lucas: *Slowly shakes his head in response to Richter's question* ó___ò; Some time into our journey, we learned something... That a huge and incredibly powerful being, known as the Dark Dragon, slept under the islands we called home. We were also told about the Seven Needles scattered around the islands, which kept it in its deep slumber. And... It turned out one of the powers I'd just learned--PK Love--had a connection to all of that... They said only those who could use PK Love had the ability to pull the Needles, and that the Dragon, upon being awakened, would recreate the world... Or destroy it, depending on the wishes of whoever woke it. At that time, well... Everything was only getting worse, and we didn't really see another choice. ú_ù; Since I was the only person known to have the power--or so we thought--I was going to have to be the one to do it, too. ... Along the way, though, we encountered... someone else who could. But he... h-happened to be the commander of the intruders' army. He was a mystery to all of us; he wore a strange mask and didn't say anything at all, but in battle he was fierce... And cold... It was like he had no feeling whatsoever. *Deep shudder* <.>;; ... *Clears throat abruptly* A-anyway, it became a race against him to pull the Needles, right up until the last one; hidden away underground in the biggest city I'd ever seen... There, we finally found the person responsible for everything that had happened. He was completely insane... He was just using the commander to pull the Needles for his own, twisted wishes. We were able to get past him, but... we still had to face the commander one more time. >~>;; We found out his true identity, too... That blank, emotionless boy... All along, that was Claus. é___è;; They'd taken him and turned him into their reconstructed puppet... He wouldn't stop attacking me in his brainwashed state, but I just... I-I couldn't bear to hurt him. All I could do was keep enduring his attacks, over and over... The whole situation was petrifying. éAè;; ... Dad was there, too, and M-Mom... We could even hear Mom's voice, calling to us. Everyone was trying so hard to reach out to Claus, to get him to remember something; anything at all, even. And eventually... We did it. He was brought back to his senses... *Begins to tear up majorly* For just a moment, all of us... We were together again, in some form or another. ;-; ... But then Claus... H-he... He was just filled with so much regret... *Solemnly stares at the ground, clenching his tearful eyes tightly shut* ... He couldn't bear to live with what he'd done... What they'd forced him to do. ,é~è;;; Right... there... He s-struck himself down with a perfectly-aimed bolt of lightning... *Takes a deep, shaky breath* ... I h-held him in my arms in those last few moments, and we said our final goodbyes... There was nothing we could have done to save him at that point. ,ú_____ù;;; ... *Pauses for even longer this time, eventually forcing his gaze back up to meet Richter's* ... ... Once it was all over... I still needed to pull the final Needle. When I did, just as the legend said... Something started to happen. The ground began to shake, and something massive erupted from it. It was the Dark Dragon, no doubt... ... What happened after that is just a blur, though... Everything went completely black; I must have fallen unconscious, because the next thing I remember after that is just... waking up here. I... I have no idea what became of everyone else, or our world... ,Ó__Ò;;;

Pearl: *Is crying streams of tears by now* QAQ;;
Ness: *Is also unable to keep his eyes dry* ;~; *Pulls his cap down over his eyes*
Richter: *Is absolutely DUMBFOUNDED for several moments, with his mouth hanging slightly open and his jaw trembling slightly* Ó□Ò; ... ... *Finally manages to croak something out, speaking in a very deep and plaintive tone* *Looks Lucas directly in the eye, clearly displaying profound sorrow in his own eyes* I--... I-I'm so, so sorry... ... Some claim to have lost everything, but you... you really, truly have... ó__ò; *A visible teary layer actually begins to form on his eyes for just a moment, before he grits his teeth tightly and abruptly turns his head to the side* *Brings up a growl from deep within his chest, becoming somewhat furious thinking about the sheer injustice of what happened to Lucas* *Tenses up his muscles* Rrrrgh... It's just not fair!! How could a child like you have possibly deserved to endure such unthinkable horror?! DDDDD<;;

Marina: *Has wrapped her arms around Pearl in a tight hug, sobbing somewhat squeakily* ,<m>;;;
Mechanica: *Similarly has teary waterfalls pouring from her eyes* Q~Q;;
Lucas: *Tries to focus his eyes directly on Richter through a layer of tears* ,é__è;; I-I... honestly don't know why--... Why anyone could have such purely evil intentions... ... It was completely unimaginable to us, before. ,<.>;;

Richter: ... *Realizes that he should probably try to calm down, for Lucas' sake* *Takes a deep breath, then sighhhhhs, standing up straight* *Looks down at Lucas* ... A-again... I'm truly sorry. When I asked you about your world, I assumed it would be a happy, lighthearted conversation. I had no idea what you've been through... ŭ_ŭ; *Head droops a bit* I hope you can forgive me.

Lucas: *Sniffles, wipes his eyes with the back of his hand, then looks up at Richter* Of course. ó_ò;; There was no way you could've known about it...

Richter: *Gives a single, understanding nod in response* Mm, I suppose that is true... ŭ.ù ... In any case, you're safe here now. Not only that, but you've already managed to make some friends! ó‿ŏ
Pearl: *Suddenly chimes in through the tears* Yeah! *Sniff* Don't worry, man; we've got your back! Q~Q

Mechanica: *Also chimes in with a teary and somewhat squeaky/scratchy voice* Yep! W-w-we're all here for ya! Q^Q
Marina: *Would totally be joining in, as well, but can't get any words out* ;~;
Lucas: *Looks around at everyone, greatly touched by their kindness* óvò;; Th--... That really means a lot, you guys... Thanks.

Ness: No problem, buddy! >w>,
Richter: By the way, Lucas, if you find yourself being bullied by anyone at all... *Stands tall with an imposing, powerful stance* *Points to himself with his thumb* ... you just come to me. Got it? ò‿ó

Lucas: *Stares way up to meet Richter's gaze* *Is already feeling comforted by his heroic new friend's presence* évè OK... *Little nod* Got it. úwù
Marina: *Manages a tearful smile* ;w; *Suddenly gives Pearl another squeeze*

Pearl: *Is somewhat squashed by Marina's hug* *Lets out a strange squawking noise* GWAWK! @~@;!
Richter: *Hears this* o_O! ... What was that noise?

Lucas: *Hears it, as well* o~o;! *Looks around with a rather alarmed expression*
Marina: *Instantly lets go of Pearl* O-oops...! oAò; Uhmmm, are you OK, Pearlie...?!

Pearl: ;xD Yeah, but if I had bones, I'd be DESTROYED.
Ness: *Just has to laugh* xDDDD
Richter: Wait, was that Pearl...? ;xDD ... *Just randomly realizes all of a sudden that Pearl mentioned not having bones* *This is news to him* o_O?!

Marina: *Awkward, relieved laugh* ;xDDD Ahaaah, phew... You really remember the perks of being boneless at times like these. <w>;; *Turns to Richter, looking embarrassed* Yeeep, it was. ńwn; I kind of, um... hugged her a little too hard, there. Haah...

Ness: xD Aw, don't worry about that! Things got really emotional earlier. nwn;
Pearl: Yeah, don't sweat it. xD ... So, y'all ready to keep going to the arcade?

Marina: >w>; *Successfully shakes off her remaining awkwards* I am~ ^o^
Lucas: *Nods* Mhm...! owò
Mechanica: Me, too! oヮo This is gonna be a blast...! >ヮ<

(*Timeskippin to the arcade*)

Richter: *Goes ahead and holds the door open for everyone* After you. :J
Pearl: *Marches in* xDD What, you think we can't open a door or somethin'?!

Marina: *Strolls in* Pearlll, I'm sure he's just being polite...! xD *Turns to Richter briefly* Thanks. >w<
Mechanica: *Practically skips inside* *Dips her head in thanks to Richter* >ヮ>
Lucas: *Leisurely wanders in, also nodding in thanks to Richter* ^3^ ... *Looks around once inside, somewhat blown away by the size of the place* O3O

Ness: *Happily strolls in, flashing Richter a v-sign as he goes by* Thanks...! v,(oヮo ) xD
Richter: *Chuckles warmly, dipping his head in response to each "thank you"* You're very welcome. xJ *Gladly returns Ness' v-sign* ( >‿>).v
Pearl: SO. What are we gonna go for first? >8D

Mechanica: Mmmmmmmmmm--... Oooohh, how 'bout THAT? 0o0 *Points to a nonspecific space game machine*

Pearl: *Staaaares in that direction* o3o ... xDD Yeah, sure! It ain't a trip to the arcade until we BLAST STUFF IN SPACE. C'mon! *Scurries over*