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Vast darkness was all Porky could see out of his Absolutely Safe Capsule. Vast darkness was all he has seen for what feels like forever. Maybe it was just an hour, a day, a week, a decade, really, Porky wasn't good at telling time, he never was.
The capsule was cramped. He stopped feeling his legs a long while ago. There was nothing to do, nothing to see, nothing to smell, nothing to taste.
He had taken into the habit of picking at his skin to pass the time, the injuries he caused himself were horrid, but they'd never kill him anyways, so why stop?
He scratched his left arm repeatedly, his eyes hanging like a corpse, ogling his bleeding wound. This was all he could really feel now.
This capsule sucks. Why was he in there anyways?
Oh right, he fucked over the only remaining human civilization. And he was scared of getting beat up by that kid, so he just went in here not knowing he'd stay locked inside forever.
That kid- the blond one. He hated him so much. But, why? Porky couldn't remember what really caused him to hate him so much. Perhaps it was because he was opposing him in a way that reminded him of.
Of…
N. Ne…
Ness?
Ness…
Ness, that's right. He reminded him of. Ness.
His only friend. Porky loved him very much, but he also hated him.
Ness was the only person in his life to show him kindness and support selflessly, he was all Porky really had, but ever since he left for some sort of big adventure, he never paid attention to him anymore.
At first it was just a small mischief, helping out the nearest cult causing trouble to just get his attention. It was fun, opposing Ness like that, it was as if he was telling him "Surprise! Forgot about me huh?"
But after Ness had won that round, Porky felt compelled to stop and apologize. Maybe this way he'd stay in his mind again, maybe even be able to tag along too. Home was hell, and Ness was all he had, coming along was all he wanted.
But Ness… the way he stayed silent, and stared at him, it was like he hated him so deeply, thought he was disgusting, not worth his time. So Porky acted on a whim, took back his words and ran away, just so he could escape his lethal, judging glare.
He planned on keeping up this game he had created, he'd oppose Ness just to be able to see him again or get a reaction out of him, he'd make his journey harder so he could stay in his mind longer, it was all so he could stay as close to him as he could in a way.
He never got a substantial reaction out of Ness. Which was frustrating. He'd always just… glare. That was, until the last time he saw him.
The last battle, where Porky had control over the Devil's Machine, and fought against Ness and his little companions. Finally, he could fight Ness directly.
His body was different, it was made of metal and glass, but it still retained his soul and appearance in a way. The robot could move its eyes and smile or frown, it didn't truly make much of a difference to Porky.
Which is why it shocked him to see it smile, so widely, as it eyed him down and prepared to fight back. It was like Ness had been waiting for this moment just as much as Porky had.
And so, they battled. It was like a dance in a way, they were both so engaged in fighting one another that they had completely forgotten about Gyigas. This was what their game built up to, maybe if Porky won, Ness would finally see him as someone worth his love.
But that isn't what happened. Ness was very strong, even with a rebuilt robot body with no muscles. His bat swings almost completely destroyed Porky's mech, and he kept healing himself, something Porky couldn't really do. It felt so very unfair. Porky almost threw a temper tantrum, but instead he just let the monster out of its cage.
It could let him win, but they had forgotten about him now. They were all horrified by what was inside the Devil's Machine this whole time, and despite Ness being so engaged in his fight with Porky prior, even he wasn't paying a bit of attention to him after he turned that machine off. But, this could still let him win, so it was fine.
Except it didn't. And just like how he entered the capsule hundreds of thousands years later, back then he escaped the scene because he was terrified of confronting his failure, not thinking about how he was never going to see what mattered to him the most ever again.
He missed him so much. He could never get the chance to beat him despite all his effort, so he had no right to even show his face to him at all, but Porky still craved his presence regardless. It filled him with rage thinking about all his rejections, all his condescending glares, but when he remembers his last fight with him, it all becomes confusing.
Did he find pleasure in being able to hurt Porky now? But if he wanted to hurt him, he could've done so multiple times before, so what gives?
A part of Porky always thought Ness' apparent joy was because of being able to play along with him more directly now. A face to face fight, but it felt no different to their several play fights in the past.
But Ness hated him, didn't he?
He did.
There's no point in bringing his hopes up anyways, Ness is long gone. It doesn't matter anymore, even if he was all that mattered to Porky.
A deep void settled inside Porky's chest as he settled in reality once again. Nothing but vast darkness outside this damned thing. Nothing, nothing, northing, nothing, nothing, and more nothing. If Porky remembered how to cry, he would. There was nothing.
Light taps snapped him out of his existential dread. Taps, from what? Is something touching the capsule?
Suddenly, he felt the sphere being pushed, and a bright light invaded the tiny window into the inside of the capsule, making him squint his eyes and wince.
So was the sphere's window facing towards the floor this entire time?!
Before Porky could get mad at this, his heart skipped a beat when he saw who was the one who had pushed him.
He hadn't seen that genuine red cap in ages.
He heard a chuckle. The boy seemed to find his appearance funny.
"Hahaha. Oh, wow Pokey, what happened to you? Ah nevermind, it might just be this weird window."
Was this really him?
Pokey leaned forward trying to take in what was in front of him. It was Ness. He looked older, but it was him.
"This can't be…" Porky mumbled to himself as he stared wide eyed at the fake Ness.
"What? How long have you been locked inside this thing, huh?" The impostor asked, as he analyzed the capsule in front of him.
"I don't know." Porky answered plainly, "Where… Where am I?"
"At the Cliff. You know, the Cave of The Past, but, like, in the present?" The boy shrugged as he scratched the back of his head. "I decided to come back here just to remember a few things, but lo and behold, I find your fatass here." He laughed at himself once again and smiled as he looked in.
"What? What are you…? What year is it?" Porky was almost convinced this was all a fucked up dream or hallucination, but everything felt so, so real.
"It's the year 2000, you missed the start of the 21st century." Ness arched his eyebrow at him, "If I had known you were here I would've come sooner. It looks like you've been here for ages."
"... I don't understand…" Porky mustered out. After that blond boy pulled the needle, all he had seen was darkness… but the boy probably wished for things to go back to normal or start over, didn't he? So, for him to be here now… it means that the timeline he attacked seems to have been reset into the one he was originally from… For how long has he been inside this thing?
"Well, I don't either, I don't know what this thing is, I don't know why you look like utter shit, and I don't know why you're even here when you pretended to escape all those years ago." Ness frowned at him, "But you're here now, so I'm getting you out of there."
"Why? Didn't you hate me?" Porky asked in disbelief.
Ness looked at him funny and then smiled and shook his head, "No, I never hated you Pokey. You just worried the hell out of me".
Pokey… Ness is calling him Pokey. His real name. Something about that just left Porky out of breath.
Ness prepared a huge attack of his signature PSI, and directed it all towards the sphere. Flashing lights of the primary colors blinded Porky, and he braced himself as he felt the strong impact of the energy. Surprisingly, the capsule had bent a little, something he believed to be impossible.
Then, Ness did it again. And again. And again. Until the capsule gave out and snapped open, letting fresh air in after ages.
Just as Porky took a deep breath of the fresh air and felt it touch his skin, he began to feel his body changing. It was becoming younger, healthy, the way he was supposed to look this year had he not time travelled so much. Was time finally taking a hold of him and placing him where he belonged this way?
Either way, it hardly mattered, in fact, he was happy this was happening, at least Ness wouldn't make fun of his decrepit appearance anymore.
Ness reached out to him, offering his hand to help him out of there, and Pokey took it without questioning it. Ness' hand was warm. It held his own hand tightly, like not wanting to let go ever again.
He stepped into grass, surrounded by a dark void. Only him and Ness were here, no other living being was inside this peculiar area. He stared at Ness' purple eyes as he settled, finding them haunting. Ness' eyes were supposed to be blue… But maybe he was only wearing contact lenses.
Ness smiled warmly at him, then slowly leaned in and hugged him tightly.
"I missed you so much, Pokey. Don't ever scare me like that again."
"Scare you how?" Pokey asked as he gave the hug back just as tightly.
"I thought I had lost you." Ness admitted, "I thought I'd never see you again. I'm so glad you're here."
Pokey just stared into nothing as he remembered Ness' smell, "I missed you too Ness. I hope you don't think I'm a waste of time."
"Of course not, Pokey." Ness pulled back and looked at him in his eyes, "I love you, you'll always be worth every second I spend with you."
Pokey remained still for a bit, before realizing what Ness had just said. "You… you love me?"
"Duh, I mean, one of my main motivations in my adventure all those years ago was to get you back safely…" Ness looked down, "And it seems I finally succeeded!" Ness smiled brightly at him as he hugged him again.
Pokey was shocked, he was convinced for ages that Ness hated him, but here he is saying he LOVES him and hugging him with so much might. Pokey almost melted at his touch.
They remained in that hug for a while. They didn't let go until it felt right to do so.
Ness grabbed his hand and pulled him along, "Let's get outta here, okay?"
Pokey smiled and nodded, happiness swelling from deep within, "Okay."