Faithful readers who have been waiting for so long for the next chapter of this story, I thank you for your patronage. Sadly however, I'm going to have to discontinue Of Chimeras and Ghosts.

I'm aware that I promised I would continue this story after the first arc of Snapped, and I had full plans to do so… don't worry, it has nothing to do we me holding off on it for so long. The problem lies in something I've learned about the MOTHER/Earthbound series storyline that has thrown everything awry. It won't be possible to explain without going in-depth into the plot of Of Chimeras and Ghosts, which I would never do unless I was certain it would be discontinued. And since I have decided to scrap this story, I guess I'll have to explain everything. If you don't want everything in the MOTHER/Earthbound series spoiled for you, avert your gaze now and forever be left in mystery… otherwise, read on.

The main plot point in Of Chimeras and Ghosts revolved around the return of the Devil's Machine on the Nowhere Islands. The story left off with Lucas and company going to explore the Dragon of Darkness' old resting place, where the pieces of those killer robots are resting. You might have theorized already that those robots were the spawn of the Devil's Machine, and you'd be right. But there's more to it than that. Why would the Dragon of Darkness be sleeping with a whole bunch of killer machines? Because the Dragon wasn't a Dragon at all, but was in fact the main body of the Devil's Machine. That's why legends become legends in the first place; details get messed up over so much time… especially if you go to some random island on a boat with your memories erased (a main plot point in MOTHER 3 that is explained near the end.) And as you might guess, the main body still houses Giygas. Still alive and kicking, planning to exact revenge on whatever is left of the human race.

But that's not the worst part. Think back to the story behind MOTHER/Earthbound Zero, in which Ninten, Ana, Loid and Teddy fight off Giegue's/Giygas's alien invasion for the first time. At the start of that game, it speaks of Ninten's great grandparents, George and Maria. Most people know Maria was discovered by Ninten and co. as the Queen of Magicant, a fact revealed near the end of the game. But outside of the start and end, there is very little explained about George… as far as I knew, he was never found and Ninten never spoke with him. I didn't believe he was even physically in the game at all. Thus… the main plot twist for Of Chimeras and Ghosts, was to have George as the villain, a nihilistic, crazed man having set events into motion since the start of Ninten's journey to attain ultimate power by way of Giygas and the Devil's Machine. It seemed sound at first since no one saw him…

And then I saw a full playthrough of MOTHER/Earthbound Zero and realized I was a complete idiot.

George is present in the game; very briefly, but still there. He appears at the top of Mount Itoi at the end of the game when you inspect his grave, and he actually speaks to you from beyond the grave, most definitely there and, most importantly, benevolent. The main, obscure villain I planned to use for Of Chimeras and Ghosts turned out to be not so obscure or villainous after all.

That single event in the game had made everything I planned out for Of Chimeras and Ghosts fall apart at my feet. I brainstormed for hours upon hours trying to think of a way to salvage it, but I just couldn't. The villain for my story needed to be a heartless, power-obsessed madman that uses everyone to meet his goals and doesn't care about revenge, and George just wasn't that. No one in the MOTHER/Earthbound universe is like that… well, except for Porky, but he has nowhere near the brainpower to pull off such a plan, not to mention he didn't even exist in MOTHER/Earthbound Zero. Not even Giygas would work since he's motivated by revenge. There was no one for me to use out of the MOTHER/Earthbound universe that would fill the role of the ultimate antagonist in Of Chimeras and Ghosts, and no way to change the storyline to fit any changes resulting from the lack of that ultimate antagonist… so reluctantly, I had to admit defeat.

And that's the reason why I have to discontinue the story. I know a great many of you have been waiting for this to move along, and I sincerely apologize. I'm severely saddened by this too, but there's nothing more I can do.

So in the meantime, I guess I'll be continuing my other stories, Orphans and the second arc of Snapped… which is about the only bright side to this: those who enjoyed Snapped get their second arc way sooner than anticipated. And as for those of you who were hoping for a fanfiction about the aftermath of MOTHER 3, don't get too disheartened; I still plan to do something about that. New story ideas are already being juggled in my head. Rest assured, I haven't given up. It won't be started for a long time to come though.

And that's all I have to say. Read and write on, fellow authors and readers!

~SL the Pyro