Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is the seventh numbered chapter in Mother 3, out of the 8 chapters in the game. Unlike most chapters, Chapter 7 is nonlinear. After the first Needle at Osohe Castle is pulled, a majority of the remaining Needles can be pulled in any order. However, Ionia's Needle must be pulled last. The fifth Magypsy to have their Needle pulled will be the person who gives Lucas the Jar of Yummy Pickles.

A New Goal
Lucas is shown lying on a bed in Tazmily's retirement home, fast asleep. When he wakes up, Alec tells him about a strange dream he had of Hinawa urging him to pile up hay at that exact spot. Lucas gets up and takes Boney outside of the retirement home, when there's a commotion outside out by the bridge. Boney barks and goes to investigate, while Lucas follows him. Ionia is tied up, unable to get up from the ground. The townspeople are unsure of who he is, however, and are reluctant to help him out. Lucas stands him up, and Ionia explains that he was assaulted for an unknown reason. Ionia then recognizes Lucas from the time they met at the hot spring, and is convinced that they were connected a thread of destiny. He mentions something about "that time" drawing near, and wonders if it really is coming closer. Ionia then wonders about Aeolia's safety, and asks if Lucas will accompany him to Aeolia's house. The three of them then set off, either taking the long route around by going through Sunshine Forest, or taking a boat ride up the river with the assistance of two young men.

Ionia and Lucas rush inside the house, and Aeolia wonders what happened. Ionia explains that he got attacked and worried about Aeolia's safety. Aeolia then says that he's fine, and that Ionia should get that rope off of him now. He's shocked that he had forgotten to remove the rope, and asks Lucas to untie him. Ionia then walks over to the mirror to apply his makeup, and when he's finished, he gets an odd feeling. The house then starts to shake as if an earthquake is occurring, and Aeolia starts to disappear. Someone capable of pulling the Seven Needles has finally appeared, and they have successfully pulled the Needle at Osohe Castle, causing Aeolia to disappear. Before he disappears completely, Aeolia lifts the table in his house, revealing an underground passage. He requests for Lucas and Ionia to check on who pulled the Needle, and vanishes.

When Lucas and Ionia arrive at the garden in Osohe Castle, Ionia remarks that when someone pulls one of the Needles, one can usually sense if the person who pulled it was good or bad. However, he cannot sense anything, and wonders if it's even possible for someone without a soul to exist in the world. This could spell trouble if they managed to pull all of the Needles successfully, however, Ionia recalls that Lucas was able to learn PK Love. He then proceeds to explain the story behind the Seven Needles to Lucas. After the explanation, a phone lying on the ground starts ringing. Lucas walks over to the phone and answers it. A Pigmask is calling, intending to be speaking to the Commander, and tells him that they have apparently located the next Needle. He says that it's near by the Chimera Laboratory, and also tells him the directions to the lab. After the phone conversation, Ionia shows Lucas a way out of the castle, revealing a secret staircase, and leaves to go guard his Needle.

The staircase leads to inside Osohe Castle, and when Lucas and Boney exit it, Boney starts barking and leads Lucas to Hinawa's grave. Nippolyte is sitting there, and asks him if he's seen Flint lately. Nippolyte apparently just saw him near the grave, and speculates that he probably went off in the mountains to look for Claus again. He remarks about how all Flint does anymore is mourn Hinawa and search for Claus, and states that Lucas has grown so strong that Flint doesn't need to worry about him anymore. He also remembers that Flint gave him something to give to Lucas the next time he saw him. Nippolyte then hands Lucas the Courage Badge, a good luck charm that Flint had owned for a very long time, rusted with age. When Lucas leaves the graveyard, the Pigmask from earlier calls him again. He asks him about the directions to the Chimera Laboratory again, sounding very unsure, but then realizes that he was on the right path all along, and made it there without getting lost. Lucas then decides to head there as well, considering the lead that he received earlier on the next Needle's location.

Chimera Laboratory
Lucas and Boney follow the directions to the Chimera Laboratory, taking the train to the Clayman Factory, going north from there, and then heading west from the Ropeway station. A Pigmask is standing outside of the entrance, and mistakes Lucas for a part-timer working at the lab. He tells him to guard the entrance while he searches for some runaway monkeys inside of the laboratory. Lucas ignores his request to guard the door, however, and heads inside shortly after the Pigmask walks away. Inside, another Pigmask asks him if he's the new part-timer around the laboratory, and tells him to change uniforms behind the theater to the east of the lab entrance. Lucas and Boney put on some Pigmask helmets, and explore the laboratory.

A couple of Pigmasks ask him to assist in searching for the runaway monkeys, saying that the monkeys are probably hiding somewhere within the building. In one of the specimen rooms, Lucas finds Salsa and his girlfriend hiding behind one of the fossil displays. The two monkeys then run off, hiding elsewhere. When Lucas and Boney exit the room, however, they are attacked by an Almost Mecha-Lion. They try to fight it off, however, when it appears to be broken down and defeated, it gets up again. Four Pigmasks rush into the room with a Clayman, and the Clayman manages to knock it out and drag it away. The Pigmasks have apparently found and settled the various runaway Chimeras, however, only one remains: the Ultimate Chimera. After an awkward pause, they all rush off to go take care of it. The Ultimate Chimera now lurks the narrow hallways of the laboratory, and Lucas must take care not to run into it, lest he risk an instant KO.

After wandering around the laboratory for a while, a trash can with a scientist inside appears in one of the hallways. He introduces himself as Dr. Andonuts, however, he says that this is no time for chatting, and goes back to hiding in his trash can. Lucas eventually reaches the laboratory's basement, where the two monkeys have fled. They flee again, but don't run very far, only fleeing up the elevator and down the hallway a little. It isn't long until Lucas and Boney find them again, however, the Ultimate Chimera barges into the room. In a panic, Lucas and Boney's Pigmask helmets fly off and they are frozen in fear of the Ultimate Chimera. Dr. Andonuts gains the courage to enter the room, saying that he just remembered the Ultimate Chimera's one weakness. Because it's electronically controlled, he explains that there is a button on its back to turn it off. However, it is a two person job to turn it off, and he suggests that Lucas uses Boney to keep the Chimera distracted while he goes to push the button. Salsa recognizes Lucas from when he saved his life in Sunshine Forest three years ago, and feels the need to repay him somehow. The Ultimate Chimera then leaps to attack Lucas and Boney, however, before it can strike, Salsa runs up to it and presses the button on its back. Dr. Andonuts thanks everyone for helping stop the Ultimate Chimera, and decides to leave the laboratory, abandoning his military work to focus on a more peaceful path in life.

Salsa decides to accompany Lucas for a while, following him to the next Needle. The second Needle is located behind a special stone door with dance poses on it, similar to the ones in Osohe Castle. Salsa does the pictured dance, and the door opens. It leads to an enclosed clearing with a pond in it, a mysterious light shining from the center of it. A Magypsy house is ahead, and Lucas enters it. Kumatora is inside, staying with one of the Magypsies, and is relieved to see that Lucas is unharmed. She introduces the Magypsy as Doria, and says that he saved her from when they fell from the airship. They all go outside, and Doria says that the Needle is concealed under the water, and that they'll have to move the water from the pond. He suggests that there might be something at the nearby laboratory that can do the job, and Lucas heads for the Chimera Laboratory again. Dr. Andonuts is standing outside, and Lucas asks him about moving large amounts of water. Dr. Andonuts gathers a couple of Chimeras for him to choose from, with the Pump Chimera being the correct choice for the job. He then heads back to Doria's house with the Pump Chimera, and within a matter of minutes, it pumps the water from out of the pond to the nearby hole. Lucas is then able to walk down to the Needle, and Doria wonders if he can really pull it out. Kumatora asks Doria if he'll disappear, too, and he says if it's really "the time", then he will. However, he accepts his destiny, and that he's happily lived all of these years. Lucas then grasps the Needle, and is able to pull it out successfully. He learns PK Love β, and Doria disappears, leaving behind his Memento. Kumatora asks Lucas if she can come along too, to find Duster, and also to be there when the final Needle is pulled, seeing things to the end.

Snowcap Mountain
Shortly after the three of them exit Doria's house, they accidentally bump into a mouse. The mouse is enraged and attacks them, but they take it down rather easily. The mouse then apologizes for his behavior, and introduces himself as The Squeekz. He realizes his lack of strength, and decides to return to his family living on the highway. Soon afterwards, Lucas runs into the same mole cricket that he fought three years ago. The mole cricket offers to take them to the stadium for a match, and shows them the way down to the Mole Cricket Hole. Lucas and company follow him down the hole and over to where the mole cricket elder is standing, and the young mole cricket prepares himself for combat. He's taken down very easily, however, and the elder is rather shocked by even the strongest warrior in the hole is very weak, and starts to reconsider the path they have taken as warriors. He then offers a truce, and asks everyone if there's anything he can do for them. Kumatora asks about the needle locations, however, the young mole cricket explains that they don't know very much about the world outside of their hole. He does mention that he's got a gut feeling about the mountain outside of the hole, however, and the elder agrees. Lucas and Kumatora then travel through the maze-like hole, following a tip that some of the mole crickets let them in on about the hole; when there's a corner, always turn and never go straight. They eventually reach the exit of the hole, leading to a snow-covered mountain; Snowcap Mountain.

The three of them go up the mountain, fighting off Ten-Yetis and Chilly Dogs along the way. Near the summit, a mole cricket from the hole runs into them from behind, and says that the mole crickets have decided to start selling things, rather than fight. He then sets up shop near a hot spring, and from this point on, mole crickets will be in various locations selling a variety of goods to Lucas and his friends. A short walk from the hot spring leads to Lydia's house, and thus, the third of the Needles.

Lydia is outside of his house, taking care of some bunnies. However, as Lucas draws near, the bunnies are frightened and run off, and Lydia is surprised to see a visitor on the mountain. He tells them to come inside to warm up from the cold, and inside, there is an injured Pigmask Captain lying on Lydia's bed. He explains that the Pigmask was separated from 'his friends' and was toppled over outside of his house, so he decided to take him in and nurse him back to health. Lydia then recognizes Lucas as the boy that Ionia was talking about, and unlocks the door leading to the Needle, knowing that Lucas is there to pull it. Lydia expresses mild concern for his bunnies and the injured Pigmask, however, he accepts that he can't do anything about his fate and that something will work out in the end.

Lucas goes to open the door, however, airships blaring the Pigmask Army theme and loud crashes are heard. Lydia wonders if this is normal, and Lucas goes to investigate outside. Right as he walks out, the Masked Man pulls the Needle, and the airships take off. The Masked Man flies off on his jetpack, but not before sending out the Steel Mechorilla to attack Lucas and his party. After a long fight, they pull through and Lydia walks outside of his house, slowly disappearing. He urges Lucas to pull the rest of the Needles from this point onwards, and tells him that there's a "white box" they may ride to leave the mountain easily, and to check on the Pigmask before leaving. He disappears, leaving behind his Memento. Inside the house, the Pigmask is shown with his helmet off, and states that he's decided to stay on the mountain and take care of Lydia's bunnies, as a way to make Lydia's hospitality towards him even. Lucas and his party go further up the summit, and ride a refrigerator-like object down the mountain, being hurled through the sky and landing in Sunset Cemetery unharmed.

Saturn Valley and the Volcano
Upon landing in the cemetery, a bottle is shaking by itself. Lucas walks over to it and finds that there is a letter inside, written in odd writing. The gravestone near by the bottle then reveals a ladder beneath it, and Lucas goes down it to investigate. Another shaking bottle is down there, stating that the writer was attacked and instructs him to go near Thunder Tower. A Mr. Saturn-shaped coffee table is next to the bottle, and is able to be rode on. Lucas and his party get on the table, and ride it through the underground passageway, and navigate the highway. Near by Thunder Tower, a path is now accessible to the east, leading into a cave. Many construction materials are scattered about in the cave, and the path eventually narrows down to where they have to get off the coffee table and walk through the rest of the cave. The cave then leads to Saturn Valley, with many Pigmasks invading the Mr. Saturns's village. Inside of the houses, various Pigmask Majors are trying to frighten the Mr. Saturns into revealing important info, using Frightbots to tell scary stories and make horrifying noises. In the northeastern-most house, Duster and Rope Snake are tied up with a couple of Mr. Saturns, and Lucas and company manage to defeat the Pigmasks and their Frightbots, clearing them out of the village.

Duster is relieved to see that everyone is safe, and says that the Mr. Saturns saved him when he fell from the airship. He also assures everyone that the Egg of Light is perfectly safe. Lucas tells him about the Seven Needles, and Duster decides that he's coming along with him on his journey. He also asks the Mr. Saturns if they knew where the Needle's location was, in which they confirm that they do indeed know where the Needle is. The Mr. Saturns tell them to simply go north, and they will reach the Needle in no time. The path is obstructed by a large cliff, however, and Duster comments that the cliff is too hard to use Wall Staples on. A nearby Mr. Saturn tells him to wait a moment, and it comes back with 5 more Mr. Saturns. They then stack up on each other to form a ladder. It does not reach the very top of the cliff, but Duster manages to place some Wall Staples on the rest of the way up. Lucas, Kumatora and Boney then climb the makeshift ladder, and everyone may proceed to Fire Mountain to locate the next Needle.

Phrygia's house is up ahead, however, he's fast asleep when Lucas and his party reach his house. A letter from Phrygia is on a nearby signpost, and Lucas goes to read it. The letter says that he assumed that he would be asleep by the time Lucas had arrived, and prepared the letter in advance. It tells him of the Needle located deep in Fire Mountain, and of the rocks blocking the path to the volcano. Phrygia suggests to give the rocks some encouraging words, and Lucas heads back outside afterwards. He tells the rocks some supportive phrases, and the rocks move out of the way. Further up north, some Pigmask Captains are discussing Fassad, commenting that he apparently has a "whole new look". They then notice Lucas, however, and attack him. After defeating the two Pigmasks, Lucas and his friends venture further in the volcano, encountering various lava-based enemies and other hazards.

When they finally reach the fourth Needle, Fassad flies down, revealing that he had been reconstructed after falling off of Thunder Tower. He has been upgraded with a jetpack and can only speak using a saxophone, requiring a robot interpreter. Fassad threatens to pay back the pains of being thrown off the tower, and attacks Lucas and his party. They manage to defeat Fassad for now, and gain access to pull the fourth Needle. Lucas walks up to the needle, successfully pulls it and learns PK Love γ. Phrygia runs up to Lucas while he's disappearing, and gives him some advice before he fully disappears. He reveals two of the three last Needle locations to Lucas - one at Tanetane Island, and one hidden in Mt. Oriander, and some further information about the Seven Needles. He writes down what he just said in a notebook, and gives it to Lucas. Phrygia notes that the location of the final Needle is completely unknown, and that the Magypsy guarding it, Locria, has also gone missing. He laments about having to disappear without ever figuring out this mystery, and then vanishes, leaving behind his memento.

Lucas and his party head back to Saturn Valley, however, a Pigmask has just destroyed the tunnel with a bomb, leaving them trapped in the valley. Duster suggests that they ask around the village for another way out. A Mr. Saturn has an idea to gather lots of birds to fly them out of the valley, and ask Lucas to catch one more bird for their flying cage idea. After finding a red bird outside of the now-collapsed cave, Lucas gives them the bird, and the Mr. Saturn tells them to wait in the hot spring while the cage is completed. Inside of the hot spring, a Mr. Saturn offers them coffee, and a short cutscene summarizing Lucas's progress on his journey, from being a young crybaby to the strong boy he is today. Afterwards, another Mr. Saturn offers to take Lucas's Courage Badge and polish it, and also tells him that the flying cage is ready. When they go down to the bird cage, Rope Snake slithers over and tells them not to use the old ropes on the cage, but himself. He promises not to let them fall this time, and the bird cage starts flying up. Duster quickly latches on using Rope Snake, and everyone grabs on tight. After a short trip through the sky, Rope Snake accidentally lets go mid-flight, and everyone falls again. They all land together at Cerulean Beach, and Rope Snake is ashamed of his second failure, slithering off to a nearby hole.

The Ocean and Tanetane Island
After washing up on Cerulean Beach's shore, a nearby crab notices Lucas and tells him about Tanetane Island and how to get there. The only way to get to the island is to walk along the ocean floor themselves, as no boats sail to the island. Lucas and his party then dive into the ocean, and find two Pigmasks wearing underwater uniforms. The Pigmasks are using a merman-shaped machine to replenish their oxygen. One of them comments on how demoralizing the machines are, having to be kissed by the machine in order to transfer oxygen. The other admits that he likes it quite a lot, disturbing the first one and making him back away slightly. When Lucas reaches the oxygen machine, he finds that he can use them as well, and makes the underwater trip much easier. Throughout the ocean maze, there are various fish around, some of which are hostile, and others that are friendly and talk. Deeper in the maze, a Fish Roe Man guards one one of the pieces from Lucas's special set of armor - the Awesome Crown. Near the end of the path, the four of them encounter Master Eddy, who creates a whirlpool and forces them into a fight. During the battle, however, Master Eddy uses a massive whirlpool to wash away everyone's items and causes everyone to faint.

Several mermaids take them to Tanetane Island's shore, and when they wake up, a nearby frog alerts them of their low health. With the path to the rest of the island blocked by a dangerous Zombieshroom that can take them down without a problem, the four of them are forced to eat the nearby cluster of mushrooms. Everyone seems perfectly fine and fully recovered until the hallucinations start kicking in, with the island's colors being vastly changed and various objects replaced with random illusions. Flint appears to be near by, and Lucas approaches him. Flint turns out to be the Zombieshroom from earlier, but now that everyone has fully recovered, they are able to fight it. After defeating the Zombieshroom, it disappears, and everyone continues to explore the jungle. There are many illusions of people particularly close to the party members on the island, frequently berating or threatening them. If Lucas checks the various mailboxes in the jungle, they will contain odd messages, varying from postcards shunning him, or nonsensical illusions.

After making it through the mirage-filled island, everyone finally reaches Mixolydia's house. Mixolydia heals Lucas and his friends, ridding them of the volatile hallucinations. He explains that the taking even the smallest bite of the mushrooms creates illusions that expose their weaker side and bring out their deepest fears. Mixolydia also unlocks the gate leading to the fifth Needle, and notes that they still must defeat the barrier guarding the Needle as well. His octopus assistant, Ocho, has also retrieved all of their items that were lost at sea and returns the belongings to their respective owners. Lucas and company then go through the newly-unlocked gate, going up the hill and eventually reaching the Needle. A trio of enemies called the Barrier Trio is protecting the Needle, and everyone manages to defeat it in combat to gain access to the Needle. However, at the last second, the Masked Man flies down with a group of Pigmasks and hits Lucas's party with a powerful bolt of lightning, knocking everyone out. He then goes up to the Needle and successfully pulls it. After he departs, Mixolydia walks up to the unconscious group and wakes them up. He urges Lucas to pull the remaining Needles, and asks him to take a jar of pickles to Ionia when he reaches his house. Mixolydia then disappears, leaving behind his memento and a tip for Lucas, telling him to ask Ocho for a ride back to Tazmily Village. Everyone then heads down to the shore of Tanetane Island, where they washed up, and Ocho takes them back to Cerulean Beach.

Mt. Oriander
Lucas and his friends arrive at Tazmily Village, only to find that the town has been mostly abandoned while they were away. The townspeople had started moving to New Pork City, and left a small group of villagers behind to keep watch on the town. Lucas runs into Alec, and asks him where Ionia's house might be. He says to go west of his old cottage in the mountains, and past Argilla Pass. Alec suggests to take a map along with him, and ask Mapson to mark Argilla Pass for him. Lucas does so and heads north, going through Sunshine Forest and into the mountains. Along the way, Kumatora recognizes the area from her childhood, and says to take the west path in the mountains and keep going north. They reach Argilla Pass, however, everyone ends up tripping and drops the jar of pickles Mixolydia gave them. The four of them then split up to find the pickles, and Boney manages to find it behind a large rock, and gives it to Lucas for safekeeping. Further down the path, there is a fork in the road, with a hot spring to the west and an unnamed cave to the east. The cave eventually leads to Ionia's house, and the location of the sixth Needle, Chupichupyoi Temple.

Outside of Ionia's house, a Mr. Saturn wearing a red kerchief walks up to Lucas, and gives him back his newly-polished Courage Badge. As it turns out, the Courage Badge was a very rusted and old Franklin Badge, and is now fully functional. Everyone then enters Ionia's house, and briefly chat with him. He comments on everyone's strength, and gleefully accepts the jar of pickles. Ionia also explains that in order to enter the temple, one must pour the Waters of Time on the vines blocking the temple entrance. The vines are frozen in time, and only the Waters of Time can resurrect them. However, when Lucas and his party go up to the temple, the Masked Man and several Pigmask Majors are already there. They are attempting to break into the temple by having a Clayman ram into it, and eventually the Masked Man throws a bomb at the entrance. Nothing is working, and one of the Pigmasks notices Lucas behind him. Two of the Pigmask Majors attack him, along with a Pigmask Captain. When Lucas and his party defeat the three Pigmasks, the Masked Man attacks him as well, firing off a bolt of lightning. However, his Franklin Badge deflects the lightning back at him, and the Masked Man resorts to different attacking measures to take down Lucas. Lucas manages to defeat the Masked Man, and the Masked Man stops moving momentarily, short-circuiting slightly. He manages to get back up and flies off on his jetpack, allowing Lucas to proceed and pull the sixth Needle. Lucas then pours the Waters of Time on the vines, and the vines bloom and die in a time-lapse-like fashion.

Inside of Chupichupyoi Temple, the Needle stands upon a pedestal, and Ionia follows them into the temple. He reflects on the powers of the Seven Needles, and urges Lucas to keep going and be the one to pull the rest of the needles and wake the Dark Dragon. He asks Duster, Kumatora and Boney to support him on the rest of his journey, and see everything to the end. Ionia also teaches Kumatora PK Starstorm, a dangerous and secret PSI attack, for her to use on assisting Lucas on his quest. Lucas then goes up to the Needle, pulling it from the pedestal, and learns PK Love Ω. Ionia begins to fade away, and suddenly realizes that Locria is nearing the seventh and final Needle, located in a "lively, dirty place". He laments about how unclear the message is, and how he has to disappear now and not see things to the end. Ionia then fully disappears, leaving behind his memento, and Kumatora looks down and sighs, with her closest guardian now gone. Suddenly, loud music starts playing outside, and a mysterious limousine pulls up outside of the temple. The chauffeur walks out and states to Lucas that he has been invited to move to New Pork City, and that they must come along on the limousine ride.

Major characters

 * Lucas
 * Kumatora
 * Duster
 * Boney
 * Magypsies
 * Aeolia
 * Ionia
 * Doria
 * Lydia
 * Phrygia
 * Mixolydia
 * Pigmasks
 * Dr. Andonuts
 * The Masked Man
 * Mr. Saturns

Areas visited

 * Tazmily Village
 * Sunset Cemetery
 * Osohe Castle
 * Murasaki Forest
 * Chimera Laboratory
 * Mole Cricket Hole
 * Snowcap Mountain
 * Highway
 * Saturn Valley
 * Fire Mountain
 * Sea Floor Dungeon
 * Tanetane Island
 * Mt. Oriander
 * Argilla Pass