Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is the seventh numbered chapter in Mother 3, out of the 8 chapters in the game.

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 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.

Major characters

 * Lucas
 * Kumatora
 * Duster
 * Boney
 * Magypsies
 * Aeolia
 * Ionia
 * Doria
 * Lydia
 * Phyrgia
 * 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
 * Ocean
 * Tanetane Island
 * Mt. Oriander
 * Argilla Pass