The Thing of Whatever Saga ~ Chapter 0: Beginning

When the towering man landed just a few feet in front of him, Lucas' grateful and awestricken gaze slowly turned to meet his. Though he remained unsure of what to say for several moments longer, when the man asked him if he was alright, he was just about to give a response; however, the man's attention was then brought to a distressed cry in the distance.

Lucas watched as the man--after giving a few parting words, as well as a friendly v-sign--rushed back into action in the blink of an eye. "Ah! Th-thank you...!" he called out hastily, hoping the man would hear this before he was out of earshot.

Afterwards, as Lucas set off to rejoin the battle as well, a persistent thought popped back into the front of his mind. ... Huh... He sounded an awful lot like Robin... he noted internally, his expression growing quite baffled. Almost... exactly like him, actually...

(OK, Misty and I have decided to RP a little more battlestuff really fast because an instant timeskip feels cheap right now xD)

By now, Robin was just wrapping up a confrontation with a feather-winged crocodile shadow. With great skill, he blocked with his sword when it attempted to swoop at him. He then counterattacked by firing off three small lightning orbs in succession while the beast was vulnerable, cleanly finishing it off.

Meanwhile, Cookie was now focused on taking down a bizarre shadow that resembled a sheep, but with tentacles instead of legs. It was... awkward. Still, when Cookie happened to trip over a loose stone in the road, she somehow managed to take the monster by surprise with an accidental full-body tackle. This ironically lucky event actually won her the fight, and she was left looking perfectly perplexed.

Lucas was quickly snapped out of his thoughts upon coming face-to-face with a shadow creature resembling a horse, but with long, sharp fangs. With a startled little yelp, he abruptly jumped back as the creature snarled at him, pounding its hoof on the ground a few times in preparation to charge. Not wasting another moment, he rushed out of the creature's path with little time to spare, then gathered up as much focus as he could before launching a particularly strong wave of PSI at the creature, which was left open when it paused to turn around. The PSI attack struck it powerfully enough to knock it on its side, and while it viciously thrashed about in an attempt to rise back up, Lucas dealt the finishing blow from afar with another, smaller burst of PSI.

By this time, Mechanica had strayed farther away from Cookie in order to cover more ground, and was currently in the middle of a heated struggle against an emu-like monster. They were both dodging each others' attacks quite consistently as they moved forwards, but Mechanica was gradually beginning to tire. However, when a thick, heavily-damaged stone wall came into view, she got an idea and suddenly rushed in that direction, frequently glancing behind her as the monster rapidly continued its pursuit. When she was close enough, she leaped with all her might and managed to grab the wall's upper ledge, frantically pulling herself up the rest of the way and staring down at the monster. "Hah!" she puffed a triumphant, winded laugh, proceeding to strike the shadowy beast from above. Now at a much safer distance, she soon managed to reduce it to a wisp of darkness from her place atop the stone wall.

The battle continued on for a little while longer. Eventually, the only remaining threat seemed to be the fire, as no more shadow creatures were appearing.

Cookie continued to look alert until she knew the battle was over. "Did... Did we do it?" she wondered aloud. "I don't see any more baddies..."

Lucas took a careful glance around, noticing that there seemed to be no more traces of the shadowy monsters in sight. ... Phew... We might've done it... he noted to himself, taking a deep breath followed by a long, soft sigh.

Mechanica stopped in the middle of the path, still appearing similarly alert. "Nothin' left but the fire now, it looks like..." she commented to nobody in particular, glancing concernedly up at the flicker of some nearby flames.

"If only we had some way to help quench those flames," Robin sighed.

All of a sudden, a drop of water fell from the sky. Then another. More followed, then even more. The next moment, a downpour had started, and the fires were steadily drenched.

"Huh? It's... RAINING!" Cookie shouted in total surprise. "I can't believe it! It's raining, just when we need it! How cool is that?!"

"Hey, yeah! We sure are lucky right now, huh?!" Mechanica chimed in, equally surprised. "Look at that; there go all the fires! Tssssssss!" she added, imitating the sound of a fire being put out.

Robin appeared stunned for a moment. Then, in a somewhat awkward fashion, he gradually started chuckling. "... Huh! Well, how do you like that?" he remarked with a rather quirky smile that conveyed both joy and bafflement at once.

"Maybe we should, uh... try and get out of the rain, though?" Cookie laughed. "Where's the nearest building without fire damage?"

Meanwhile, the faint sound of rejoicing villagers could be heard coming from all directions.

Lucas, shielding his eyes from the droplets with one hand, just stared towards the sky for a few moments while looking similarly surprised. "... ? Oh, right... Yeah... Guess we should, huh?" he soon chimed in, responding to Cookie's suggestion and giving a bit of an awkward laugh, himself. "Let's see..." he murmured, scanning the group's surroundings thoughtfully.

Mechanica's head quickly darted around as she did the same. "Hmmmmmmm..." All of a sudden, one noticeably larger building in the distance caught her attention. "Oh, look! Over there; that one seems pretty OK!" she piped up, pointing in the direction of this particular building.

With very much enthusiasm, Cookie's head whipped around to look at the building Mechanica was talking about. "Ohh, yeah! That one's in pretty good shape!" she pointed out. "Welp, are we gonna go check it out?"

"I don't see why not," Robin chimed in, calmly putting up the hood of his robe to shield his head from the rain.

(Tiny timeskip to keep things smooth~)

It only took a short walk to reach the building-- which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a rather humble restaurant.

"Aw, perfect!" Mechanica cheered as she paused by the door, seeing what kind of building it was. "I was honestly gettin' kinda hungry!"

"Ooh... Same here," Lucas agreed with a relieved expression, realizing just how long it had been since his last meal.

"Yeah! Oh creampuff, I could so go for a..." Cookie trailed off for a moment. "... Well, ANYTHING! I can't decide!"

"I'm with you all; I was also beginning to get a little hungry, myself," Robin agreed with the others.

Suddenly, Cookie rushed to the door, opening and holding it for her friends. "C'mon, guys; after you!"

Mechanica eagerly rushed inside when the door was opened, though she still made a point to dip her head gratefully to Cookie along the way. "Heehee; thanks, Cookie!"

Lucas came soon after Mechanica at a fairly slower pace, glancing to his side at Cookie as he passed. "Thanks," he spoke, giving a gentle smile.

Robin was amused by Cookie's enthusiastic politeness. "Thank you kindly," he told her with a chuckle as he passed through the door. Honestly, it was very hard not to be in good spirits around someone so full of honest cheer.

The inside of the building was simply bursting with rustic character. Many oil lanterns hung from the rafters, providing a warm glow to the dark wood interior. The place had a hearty, rugged atmosphere; it was easy to imagine as a place where larger-than-life hero types joyfully swapped stories over food and drink. Due to existing in a world of eternal darkness, however, it also carried with it an air of mystery. It was the perfect little sanctuary for those who chose to fight against the shadows lurking outside its walls.

It was apparent that many of the villagers had been hiding here during the chaos before. As soon as the party of four entered, a cheer swelled from the crowd: all of their heroes were now present under this roof.

One person--presumably the owner of the establishment--quickly approached them. "Welcome! Oh, welcome! We really, truly cannot thank you enough for what you've all done," he told them with utmost sincerity. "Please, allow me to show you to your table. You may eat whatever you wish, free of charge."

"What? Really?!" Cookie was practically bouncing in place. "Ohhhhh, thank you! You're the best!" she practically squealed.

Though the undeniable darkness of this world was ever-present, the charmingly rustic atmosphere of the building they had just entered gave Lucas a warm and rather comforted feeling. When the crowd already gathered inside quickly erupted into cheering upon seeing the arrival of the group, it actually caught him a little off-guard, as evidenced by the momentary--somewhat comical, even--look of surprise that appeared on his face. He managed to shake it off when the four were approached--and thanked--by the establishment's likely owner, but it only came back stronger upon hearing what this person had to say. "Wha--... Yeah, thank you so much...!" he chimed in, seemingly a bit bashful, but also with a very noticeable tone of gratitude in his voice.

"Aaaaaahhh, thanks! That's so nice of you guys!" Mechanica excitedly squeaked out next, giving a great big dip of her head in response to the man. Her eyes glimmering with eagerness, she was clearly ready for the moment they arrived at their table. Before they started moving, however, she made a point to glance towards the rest of the crowd, giving them an enthusiastic wave and a bright grin.

"Thank you very much; that's incredibly kind of you," Robin commented gratefully to the owner. "We're just happy we could help." At this, he looked towards the crowd and bowed his head.

Noticing what Mechanica was doing, Cookie quickly joined in cheerily waving to the crowd as the group started being led to their table. Seeing how happy the villagers were about what she and her friends had done fueled her own happiness even more. Their rejoicing made her feel like a hero, but such a feeling was definitely a strange one. A funny one, even. Honestly, it was sort of hard to believe. In any case, though, it definitely made her feel good.

-----

The table the four had been led to was a rather large one, with room for at least six people. A lantern with a candle inside sat upon a square of red cloth at the center, further enhancing the rustic atmosphere.

Perhaps surprisingly, there also happened to be a man already sitting at the table. This wasn't just any man, however: it was, in fact, the very same heroic man that Cookie and Mechanica saw before, who had rushed to Lucas' aid during the battle. Before him sat a plate of chicken wings, which he was very happily devouring.

Upon reaching the table, Mechanica was just about to go right ahead and take a seat, but then she noticed the man already present at the table. Freezing momentarily, she glanced in Cookie's direction with somewhat widened eyes. "Whoa, hey...! That's the guy from earlier, isn't it...?!" she commented in a surprised, slightly hushed tone, quickly returning her gaze to the man ahead. He appeared quite focused on the plate of food in front of him, but even if he ended up being too busy eating to give a proper response, she figured there wasn't any harm in at least greeting him. "... Hiya!" she chirped.

Cookie, also with widened eyes, quickly glanced towards the man, then back at Mechanica, then back at the man again. "Oh my creampuff." She looked back towards Mechanica. "I think it iiiis...!" she gasped, then looked towards the stranger yet again. "He's even more heroic-looking up close, too!" she remarked in a hushed tone. "From where we were, I couldn't really get a sense of scale, yknow?"

The man had just taken another hearty bite of sauce-coated chicken when his ear suddenly caught the sound of a high-pitched greeting. "Mmh?" He lifted his head, looked to the side, and instantly noticed the two children staring at him with wide eyes. After quickly swallowing, he just had to laugh, letting out a deep chuckle. "Well, hello there!" he greeted with a friendly grin, still with a trace of laughter lingering in his tone.

When he heard the stranger speak, Robin was somewhat baffled. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Do my ears deceive me, or does he sound an awful lot like... me? he pondered to himself.

Mechanica couldn't help noticing the similarity between the voices of Robin and the other man as well. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two a few times in disbelief, but after a moment she once again settled her gaze on the latter, pushing this detail--as odd as it was--to the back of her mind for now. "We saw you gettin' stuff done out there! It was so cool...!" she beamed, subtly motioning to Cookie as she spoke the word "we".

Lucas glanced towards Cookie and Mechanica, rather surprised that all three of them had apparently had some sort of encounter with the very same person. Then, he turned his attention back to the man as well. "H-hi there," he began somewhat shyly, but his gratitude towards the man for saving him--combined with the warm friendliness he seemed to radiate--made it much easier to open up. "... Umm, I know I said this already, but you were kinda leaving by then, sooo... Thanks for helping me out of that situation earlier," he continued softly with a genuine smile, his eyes growing a bit larger as he spoke.

Cookie was also extremely surprised to hear how similar the man sounded to Robin. She had definitely never experienced anything quite like this before, and she was no stranger to the unusual. Like Mechanica, however, she decided to brush it aside for now. "Yeah, you were amazing! You were fighting two at a time and everything!" she chimed in.

"Ha! Thanks, but really, it was nothing," the man replied confidently. "I was born to fight creatures of darkness. It runs in my blood."

Just then, upon being greeted by Lucas, the great hero noticed him, as well. He instantly recognized the child as one of the people he had rescued during the battle. "Ah! Hello again; I remember you," he greeted in return, looking pleasantly surprised. As the boy thanked him again, a warm smile spread across his face. "Don't mention it," he responded in a deep, sincere, and somewhat gentle tone of voice. "It's my duty to protect those who need it from evil. I'm just glad you made it out of there unharmed."

Robin was glad to hear that the stranger had come to Lucas' aid when he needed it, but something else also became apparent to him at that moment. "... Er... I'm grateful for his apparent help, but... Am I the only one here who's never seen this man before?" he questioned somewhat awkwardly.

The man looked directly at Robin when he heard him finally speak up. His eyes were rather wide, and he appeared quite perplexed, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me... Why the sudden impersonation...?" he asked, sounding baffled. Noticing how similar the stranger's voice sounded to his own, he could only assume that his voice was being imitated. Why was beyond him.

"Welp... Sure seems like it, huh?" Mechanica looked up at Robin as she responded, unable to completely suppress a quirky, amused little giggle at the tactician's question.

Lucas listened to Robin and Mechanica for a moment, but when the other man asked a question of his own, his attention once again shifted. "Impersonation...?" he echoed with a bit of a tilted head. Really, though, he did understand the confusion here; the voices of this man and Robin honestly did sound remarkably alike. "Actually, that's--... That's just Robin's regular voice," he explained a bit awkwardly, clearly sounding baffled, himself.

"She's right; I-I'm not trying to mock you or anything, I promise," Robin awkwardly added, with a shake of his head and a slightly nervous chuckle. Having just met the stranger at the table, he wasn't sure about what sort of temper he could have. After hearing about how formidable he was in battle, he definitely didn't want to get on his bad side, just in case.

The man looked even more bewildered. He glanced at Lucas, then at Robin, and then back and forth between the two a few times after they had both finished speaking. "Wait... Y-you mean to tell me that"--he pointed at Robin--"he just... happens to sound exactly like me?"

"Well, I wouldn't say EXACTLY, but... subtle differences aside, yes," Robin answered, also looking quite confused. "Trust me, this is a lot for me to take in, too."

"Huh..." The man went silent for a moment, his brow wrinkled in utter puzzlement.

Cookie just couldn't help giggling. "Hehe! It's kind of awesome, really! When you guys are talking to each other, it sounds just like one guy talking to himself in different personalities!" she remarked delightedly. "Ahh... Anyway, try not to feel weird about it; I'm sure this stuff happens. It's probably just really rare or something," she told the two, trying to be reassuring. The last thing she wanted was for the two to feel uncomfortable about their voices' similarity: if they did, then how could they possibly join forces and go questing together?

"Yeah, don't look at it like it's a weird thing," Mechanica added as she tried to help with reassuring the two men, a hint of lighthearted laughter in her voice, as well. "... Just think; like Cookie said, it's probably just a super-rare occurrence! So you guys are actually really LUCKY...!" Just then, her eyes lit up with inspiration. "Oooohh! Maybe you could even use it to, like... throw off monsters in battle or somethin'!" she mused.

"You think so? ... Well, that's definitely an interesting thought," Robin remarked amusedly. "I'll have to think that one over."

Now the man was confused for a whole other reason. Nobody had said anything about teaming up, but these strangers were already talking as if it had been decided. "Huh? Wait, what?"

Suddenly, Cookie piped up again before the stranger could say anything else. "Welp, guess we'd better take a seat, huh?" She bounced over and quickly took a seat at the table, ending up sitting right beside the stranger. Even though he was a giant next to her, she wasn't at all intimidated.

Robin nodded. "Yes, of course." He calmly made his way over to a seat at the opposite side of the table and sat there.

Giving a bob of his head, Lucas lightly and quickly stepped over, slipping into the seat right beside Robin. Every so often he cast quiet glances towards the others, as well as the rest of their surroundings, simply taking the atmosphere in for a moment.

"Rightright!" Mechanica agreed, swiftly scurrying the rest of the way to the table and choosing a seat near to Cookie. "... Aaaaah, this is kinda COOL, isn't it??" she randomly remarked in a burst of enthusiasm to no one in particular. "I mean, aside from bein' lost and all that. ... Feels a bit like an epic quest from a fantasy story!"