Disclaimer: I do not own EarthBound, the characters in this 'fic and I make no money from this thing, no matter how hungry I am. All characters belong to Nintendo, APE, and HAL Labs. But one can dream.

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It had been years since this cave had seen life in it. A musty air had grown thick within, disturbed only once since that time, and even then it was brief, a flicker of life before it gaily announced "Wrong turning!" and left again. Before then, it had been centuries since anything stirred within its bowels. Several millennia had gone by, and while life continued to thrive on the outside, unchanged by time in that which had passed, inside it remained desolate and empty, a shadow of what fate had taken place deep within.
And now, two figures challenged the darkness, walking in fully prepared for the journey, aware that since its first visit that many of the walkways were now completely destroyed, making their visit hazardous.
"I still don't know what you expect to find." the taller of the two figures, a blonde with thick glasses declared, adjusting said glasses as he scanned the cave's structure. A young man of late teens.
The other boy, a short and pudgy redhead shrugged and fidgeted under the weight of his rather large backpack, before responding "Well, that's the point of exploring. We know what was here, now to find what was left."
The blonde dropped his own weighty pack without thinking about the heaviness, nor the contents that may or may not have been broken. "Yeah, but what was here was well over a millennia ago. What you assume may be left would probably have gone by now. Destroyed by some cruel effect of nature. The earthquakes, for instance."
"Ah," the redhead smirked knowlingly, kneeling down to sort through his pack, "But we don't KNOW that, do we? Think about it, many many things are preserved over time, some of which we didn't think would ever be saved!" He found what h was looking for and began setting it up, "There is a chance that what remnants of the timeless battle were left after, may still be here!"
The blonde shuddered, rubbing his arms, "Yeah, like the enemy that nearly wiped out our World. Boy, I'd LOVE to see that." he grumbled sarcastically.
Frowning, the redhead snorted "Stop whining." Then stood up. The device he'd been working with was set up -- a platform extended from the ground they were on to the next stable land. He quickly made his way across, fearing his weight might be too much for the platform (despite how many times the creator assured him it would be okay). Then the blonde grabbed the stuff and strolled across casually, setting the stuff back down next to one of the first remnants of the past.
Sifting through the rusted and eroded parts of the metal wreck, the bespectacled one mused "I wonder if I could come up with a hovering vehicle made with this." Then another part of the scrap-heap collapsed, prompting him to pull away from it pretty quick. "On second thought, walking is good."
The redhead looked at his friend, deadpan, "Jeff, when you were off saving the World it couldn't be used as a vehicle, remember? Its condition isn't going to enhance while we're going this way in time."
Shooting his apple-shaped associate a glare, Jeff countered "I've heard of stranger things, believe it or not."
Setting up another platform, Apple pointed out "There's strange, and then there's ridiculous. A fine line, I know but you should really be aware of it."
"Says you who randomly invented 'Zombie paper'."
"Hey," Apple looked up, "That saved your hide, and don't you forget it!"
Shaking his head, Jeff stated "Fine," then grabbed the things again, dumping some by Apple, "Lets just get this over with, shall we?"

...
After some work, the two genius' came across something which was most certainly linked to the past. A strange metal lump was sat right on the edge of one of the ground formations. At firstneither of them saw the significance and questioned the likelihood of other Phase Distorters (a subject that sparked concern in the two teens), before finally Jeff recognisedwhat it truly was. Suprised at how well the object had kept after all this time,Jeff reacked forward and touched it. The thing nearly toppled into the abyss below, so Apple quickly took a picture.
Once the ground stabilised out again, the bespectacled onekneeled next to it in mild shock. "I can't believe any of these are still in existence. The material substance must be quite resilient to still stand like this after so long..."
The redhead cocked his head to the side, "What is it?"
standing back up, Jeff explained "Its alien technology. I remember we used it to warp across to another platform. The ground wasn't exactly whole then, either. This was the only way to travel but," he looked back at the other platforms they'd crossed, "I remember more than this. There were several of these. I guess they're way down there now," he finished off looking down one of the shadowed crevices where he suspected this former sphere would end up after too long, given the precariousness if is situation at the moment. Then he shook his head.
"Should we take a sample?" Apple asked innocently.
Jeff mulled over that a moment. It was extremely reistant material, which would probably prove handy over time. There were, of course, risks, most common being 'falling into the wrong hands', but that could be said of anything. In fact, hesaw more benefits than he did risks the more he thought about it. After all, it was somethingmost people weren't likely to come across, and so would get less abused than most items people came across these days."Oh, what the hell. Sure." he answered, letting his partner take a sample before they moved on.
Gleefully Apple moved forward, whipping out a device made for taking metal scraps without causing too much of a disturbance. It was one of Dr.Andonuts' creations, and the name was somewhat more complex than the description. He reached forward, attaching it to the lump and waiting a few seconds. A telltale ding! noise alerted him that the sample was ready. The redhead removed the device and stood back.
He was glad he did. In only a few seconds the ground on which the metal scrap had been sat on suddenly crumbled underneath it, sending it tumbling into the darkness below. Apple went white, realising what a close call he'd just had.
He blinked out of it as Jeff patted his shoulder "Don't worry, I wouldn't have let you fall."
Relieved, Apple turned to his friend, "Thanks, buddy."
Ignoring him Jeff continued with a smirk "You still owe me one large Mach Pizza!"
Quickly the shorter of the two took chase, while Jeff ducked away, laughing. "Hey!" Apple complained, "I won that pizza fair and square!"
Having successfully gotten a sample of the alien technology, and successfully removed Apple's fear of falling once again, Jeff slowly ushered Apple into calming down a little, so they could carry on throughout the cave.

...
It took several hours, but they finally ended up deep in the caverns of this mysterious cave. They hadn't known what to expect exactly, and Jeff had this uneasy notion that perhaps enemies would still lurk these caves, ready to avenge their fallen master, though that had proven untrue to their fortune. Now they were so far in, and something grimly familiar now presented itself to their vision. Both felt a slight tug inside as they saw what they never thought they'd see again -- for Jeff more than Apple. An opening still reached up to the cave roof, worn and cracked over time, but still there, with strange but thankfully non-working wires poking out. But that wasn't what caught the two.
On the floor outside of this crack, laying amidst the rocks, were four metal forms, rusted shells of their former selves, one of which was looking back at them now. Four robots, still in rather good shape, considering how long they'd been there, and distinctly recognisable. Only one thing was missing from this scene which would have really broken it home for Jeff, but he wasn't expecting it to be there -- Ness's cap. No doubt time had merged it with the cave itself.
It would explain why the cave looked so much brighter, now.
"I never thought," Jeff breathed, unsure of whether he wanted to get closer to the robots, "I would ever look back on a piece of myself like this. Not in all my life."
Apple set down his pack and gave Jeff an odd look. "You're only seventeen."
Awkwardly Jeff nodded, "Well, yeah, but I think more than most people."
They dropped the issue after that. Before they went back to the robots, Jeff had made a point of checking out what he called 'The Devils Machine', after Pokey's term of phrasing. He had a feeling the real name was probably much better than that, but the person who would have given the real name -- and this was confirmed after he checked the place out -- was dead. Only when this was confirmed did Jeff go back to the robot bodies, which he hesitated to go near.
"Oh, come on," Apple complained at his somewhat distant companion, "They don't bite, they're not even functional!"
Scowling, Jeff stated "I KNOW that, but... This feels so wrong! Its really creepy looking at yourself, even if its not you anymore, like this!"
Rolling his eyes, Apple pointed out "They're just robots!"
Levelling a glare at the other boy, the blonde growled "When you've been a robot, you feel very differently about them. It gives you a stronger empathy toward AI than you could ever imagine. And it feels weird."
Accepting this answer, Apple went back to what he was doing -- checking the status of the robots, and seeing just what the condition was on the inside.
The two remained silent for a while. Jeff still refused to go near the robots, and Apple was fine working on his own for a while. When conversation did start up again, it was less about business and more social. Apple explained about what was going on in Twoson with his small-time repair shop and Orange's computer store, while Jeff went on about how his father's condition was improving and what was going on in Saturn Valley at the moment. The conversation continued until the sound of static made itself known.
"... What was that?" Jeff asked carefully, standing up slowly.
Leaning back, Apple responded "... I... I'm not sure."
More static followed, like little twitches in a system, before it became a light hum that was barely noticeable, had the males not been so silent. There was a few minutes, and nothing else seemed to be happening. The blonde had finally taken the initiative and come forward, kneeling next to the robot Apple had been working with. His eyes widened when he eyed up a large gash that went up the left of the robot. "... This is me..." he realised, looking as though he would run off again at any given moment. Apple's eyes just widened as he watched the empathy in action.
A hand twitched.
Jeff stood up and moved back very quickly, shaking his head as the colour drained from him, "Okay, this is very very weird. Apple, what is going on?"
The redhead shrugged and looked back at the robot, somewhat freaked out himself at what was going on. "I don't know. I really don't know how this is possible."
"[S... System...]"
Both males fell deathly silent. That was the robot speaking. It was still operational. The robot that Jeff had occupied was still functioning, AND JEFF WASN'T IN IT.
"[S... System... Shut-down]" The robot sounded weak and in pain. Given the current condition, it wasn't exactly hard to tell why.
Apple found his voice before Jeff did, and asked "What about the system? What about its shut-down?"
The robot's eyes finally lit up... or at least, one did. The other was still black, and probably well beyond repair. "[shut-down was... initiated to try... *gak!* to try to... try to free the... the souls.]"
The pudgy inventor looked over at Jeff, who seemed to be trying to keep his mind intact as he listened to himself speak, "Uh... yeah, we found out how we could shut-down the systems so that the souls could go free... so we could go back to our bodies."
The robot had apparently not heard it all, "[Why... why did it fail?...]"
Finally the blonde regathered his courage and made his way back over, "... It didn't fail. I'm here, now, after the souls were free."
The robot's one functioning eye focused in on Jeff, but it took a few moments to respond, "[What... on Earth is going... going on? How did... But how am I...]"
Apple had apparently gone into deep thought on this, and under his breath he whispered "The backup system..." However, he hadn't been quiet enough. Jeff had managed to catch that wind and suddenly repeated loudly "Back-up system?!"
"[I... wanted to say... say that...]"
Immediately Apple went on the defensive, "It wasn't me who programmed it! We wanted to be sure so we arranged a copy-system in case one of you... didn't make it during the battle! It would save a copy should the robot be shut down!"
It wasn't hard to see how livid Jeff was right then, "A COPY?! You COPIED us?! You DO realise that thing didn't come into PLAY during the battle, right? We didn't just shut-down, we CEASED to FUNCTION!"
"[Don't remind me.]" the robot Jeff muttered.
Backing away from the human blonde Apple began, "Look, I know you're upset right now--"
"Try outraged." Jeff corrected coldly.
Struggling to keep his ground Apple agreed, "Okay, I know you're angry, but tell me, what would you have done in that situation? The fate of the World is at stake, and if something went wrong and we hadn't prepared for it... we would have been in a worse situation than we are now. This is nothing compared to where we could be right now."
Despite how Jeff was feeling about his entire personality being copied, he had to admit Apple was right. He had no idea what he would have done in his father's situation, but if he really thought about it, it was probably something similar to this. Just... slightly less invasive.
The robot had been listening quietly, and seemed to realise what had happened, to his great horror, "[I'm just a... copy? I'm not... the real... real Jeff?]"
Apple looked down, letting this new situation dawn on him. "Sorry, no."
There was a few minutes of silence. The robot was thinking about what was going on -- the whirring of his system gave it away. "[Then we must... we must be destroyed.]"
Jeff shook his head, "I'm not doing it. Real or not, I don't want the death of myself and my friends to rest on my conscience."
"[Well what other... other choice is there?]" the robot protested, "[The risk of us... falling into the... wrong hands is... damn this is annoying... the wrong hands is high... and would prove a fatal problem to you!]"
Both Jeffs looked at Apple. The inventor seemed to be back in thought, given away by the nasal sound he was making. They let the pudgy one think of the alternative way out, since both were feeling a little freaked out at meeting themselves still, and weren't quite in the right state of mind for logical thought.
Finally coming to an answer, Apple announced "There is a way out. A way that means you don't die. But before we go ahead with it, I'd like to get the other three operational to hear me out first. Can we do that?"
The two Jeffs seemed to share the same grim thought for a moment, but instead of voicing it, they agreed with Apple, who set about working. Jeff still refused to touch the robots, but now for different reason. Empathy was one thing, but upon waking up, the three would assume it didn't work. Seeing Jeff stood there after it not working... probably wouldn't end all too well.
Sitting down a few meters from the robots, Jeff began routing through his pack for his packed lunch. coming first across the Skip Sandwich, he pulled it out and began eating, thinking grimly, 'I think this is going to be one of my off-days...'

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After a few years and some maturing, Ness still hadn't grown all that tired of the bicycle bell. With his added ability to teleport, the World was Ness's bike-arena, as he took it from his hometown in Onett, right through to the Lost UnderWorld, where he teased dinosaurs. Of course today (of all the days) he wasn't doing that. No, he had just ridden up and down Summers, weaving around traffic, and now he was in Scaraba, about to test the desert heat against his new and very heavy duty wheels. Still wearing the red cap from his childhood, Ness prepared to test some Bookas.
Then his phone rang.
Whipping out his cellphone, Ness leaned against the bike and decided the call better be important else he was hanging up. "Y'ello?" he greeted, glad he wasn't by the bustling marketplace.
"Uh, Hi, Ness. It's me, Jeff." came the caller's voice, sounding pretty distracted, even for the genius.
Standing up straight, Ness began again, "Oh, hi, Jeff! You sound... freaked out. What's up?"
He could almost see the blonde rubbing his temple as he tried to come up with a simple answer, "Uh, well, it's a long story." Apparently he failed, "Do you think you could come to the Lost UnderWorld? As soon as possible?"
Now slightly worried, Ness pushed on "Is everything okay? Has anything happened with Dr.Andonuts?"
"No, no," Jeff quickly reassured, "Its nothing like that. It's just... well, I don't know how to explain it."
Curious, Ness asked "Who's with you? Tony?"
Jeff's answer was simple, "Apple."
Already Ness felt a headache coming on, "Tell you what, you think you can come up with the layman term before I get there?"
The tone in Jeff's voice was serious, "Trust me, Ness, trying to sort through complex theorems of ours is not what you'll be worrying about over here." Then he seemed to think of something else, "Do you think you can get Paula, too? I'm about to call Poo to bring him over. It'll save time if you can collect her."
Pouting inwardly about losing his rights over his new bycicle, Ness nodded, "Okay, sure, I'll do that."
It sounded as though a weight had been lifted from the blonde, "Great. I'll see you later." Then he hung up.
Blinking at the cellphone, Ness mumbled "Bye," before tucking it away, sighing, and using his Tornado Teleport.

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To Be Continued...