Section 1 : MatildaCaboose
Like most things that are mysterious, it happened in total darkness. Even though we were all so oblivious to it, it was something that would shape and distort our lives in every way possible. At the time, I had been dreaming. When I'm at home, I dream of being out in the world, exploring someplace new. I'm always excited, even when I know it's just an illusion. It's not like when I'm away from Onett; when all I can think of is how soft my bed feels and how soothing the sound of Mom humming is. Still, tonight I felt a pain in my chest I had never experienced at home. It was the anxious nagging feeling that would pester me whenever I was uneasy about something. I didn't feel uneasy about anything, though. I was content that night. I was perfectly fine…
Until the sound of a crash came blaring through my bedroom window.
Without even looking out onto the scenery, I instinctively knew what had fallen had fallen from space, and that it was something new. Something Eagleland had not known before now. My mind swam with possibilities, both good and bad. Peering out from my window, I could see the normally docile hillside was aflame with a bright light, almost blinding to me. I noticed that the rest of the neighbors had been roused from their own beds and were drawn towards the light, eager with curiosity, despite their fatigue. From outside my bedroom, I heard a muffled wail and the frantic shuffling of footsteps. Though I was curious about the landing, I felt it would be best to make sure the rest of my family was still okay. Opening the door cautiously as to not alarm anyone, I crept down the vacant hallway, not feeling the need to disturb my sister, who had likely worked herself into a panic. Even the inside of the house felt warmer. Downstairs I could see my mother pacing around the kitchen in her typical red nightgown, which was lightly drenched in nervous sweat. She seemed to be in too much of a shock to take much notice of me at first, but once she did, she seemed to regain her confident posture, as if ashamed that she had been so frantic. "Ness!" she exclaimed, somewhat relieved. "Did you hear the noise as well?" She had been standing, but now was calm enough to seat herself at the dinner table. "I heard it, Mom." I said. "Do you know what it is?" She shook her head. "The news report hasn't been updated on it yet. They're still re-reporting the Shark invasion from last weekend. What a waste of time. Here we all are, scared silly, and they won't even clue us in!" she seemed angry and frightened at the same time.
I remembered the invasion she talked about. It was a robbery in downtown last Saturday. The Sharks were a group of local troublemakers that infested the lower half of the city, the Extra Life Arcade being their base of operations. Now that it was summertime, they had even more opportunity to wreck havoc on the population. They've been around for as long as I can remember. I used to know a boy who later became a member of The Sharks. Their sort of mentality is frighteningly effective. The Mayor feels that such individuals are lost causes, and won't support any groups trying to reform them. It's a really big debate right now.
"The Sharks are the least of our problems." Mom reiterated. "You can't leave your own town in suspense like this. The mayor is an idiot." She had been looking at the floor until this point, but now I realized she was looking straight at me. Her face became stern. "Ness…I know what you're thinking, and I'm not going to stop you." The words she spoke did not match up with the vibe she was giving off, but she seemed adamant in her decision. "Just…don't get yourself hurt, sweetheart. You know that I worry about you and Tracy these days." Her face was becoming softer, more like how I remember it. "You can look after yourself though, can't you?" she realized. "Just…change out of your pajamas. I washed those ones yesterday."
The clothes I had put on made me feel more confident somehow. I guess I would have looked pretty stupid wandering around in my sleepwear, now that I think about it. After I said goodbye to Mom one more time, I stepped further into what I found to be a bedlam. The heat was even more intense outside. The lawn looked like a lake of fire. All around me I saw neighbors and policemen alike. It was funny, because normally the policemen of Onett don't do much, but tonight they all seemed deadly serious. The pathway to downtown had been closed off by a barricade of old roadblocks. There were people of every kind loitering around the site. Men, women, children, grandparents, some people had even brought their pets outside. Perhaps some had mistaken the landing as some sort of real fire. It was certainly a possibility. Still, the landing site was perched high atop the Old Hill, away from most of the houses. I seem to remember someone living near the peak, but his name escapes me right now. I started my ascent up the grassy pyramid, being careful not to be caught in any officers line of sight. The moonlight paled in comparison to the blaze emitted by the crash site, making my journey up easier to navigate. The stars clustered around the hill's top point were blurred into the dark sky by thick, dark smoke. Around the hill's summit, there were several police officers, each giving me a different lecture on curfew. Sticking out among the numerous black suits was a grubby pair of overalls and a tuft of mop-like blond hair. "It's Pokey." I thought to myself. "Why would he be here?" Pokey had been my next door neighbor for as long as I can remember. We were never really "friends", but I guess we weren't enemies either. We were on different levels, I suppose. Pokey is the sort of person who I doubt will ever grow up.
I turned to leave, but something caught the back of my shirt. I swung around to find that it was one of the police officers, his face flushed with frustration. He grunted a few times before speaking. "You. You're Pokeys next door neighbor, aren't you?" I figured lying wouldn't have done much good in this situation. "Yeah. He lives by me." The officer bent over, putting his hands on his kneecaps in exhaustion. He told me that Pokey had been at the crash site when the police force arrived, and refused to leave. "He's bugging the hell out of all the officers, kid. Please…be a good boy and do something about him?" I frowned at the comment, but figured I would help if it meant being able to see the landing site. I approached Pokey like a wild animal, making sure not to startle him. The rest of the officers stepped back. Slowly, Pokey noticed my presence and turned to faced me.
He looked very energetic. He was shaking excitedly and smiling like a mad man. "Ness, buddy! Pal! What's going on, dude?" He had on his typical faded overalls, which must have been at least two sizes to small for him, and had his dirty blonde hair hanging down in front of his face, masking his beady eyes. I just shrugged and mouthed "nothing." By this time the police officers had retreated to lower posts, leaving only a few cops on the summit. "Pokey…" I started. He looked at me lazily. "Do you know what's going on? What landed?" He scratched his head fiercely before answering. " I guess I could tell you, boss. From what I hear, it was a meteoright." I knew that he meant "meteorite". I wasn't too surprised. The only things it could feasibly be are some sort of asteroid or a UFO. "How do you know?" I asked. He smiled his crazy smile. "I'm just an insider kind of guy, man. I know lots of things." This I doubted, but he went on. " I'm getting kinda drowsy though, Ness, buddy. I'm thinking of hitting the hay soon." I felt the same way. If we couldn't check out the meteorite tonight anyway, we shouldn't waste our energy trying to stay up. "Good idea." I responded. Pokey put his arm on my shoulder, making me cough uncomfortably. "We're on the same wavelength, you know that? That's why we're best friends! I don't know why more people don't get that." We started hobbling down the hill, the path even darker than when I had arrived. Thankfully, our trip was a short one. By the time we got back to our respective houses, my arm was aching from Pokey putting so much weight on it. The sky was still pitch black now that the embers had died down a bit, but the stars were still hidden behind smoke. Standing in front of my house, with her arms crossed in a patient fashion, was Mom. I opened my mouth to say something but she quietly said "There will be time to talk tomorrow. Scoot off to bed." I proceeded back up to my room, the sounds of whimpering having faded from the hallway, and settled back into my bed, wondering what time it was.
I was roused from sleep once more that night, this time by the sound of violent knocking. It sounded like someone trying to beat down the door with all their might. I reluctantly emerged once more from my blankets and wandered sleepily to the stairwell. On my way, I nearly tripped over what looked like a bright pink stretch limousine. Beside it was a mountain of dolls and a collection of gaudy clothing for them. In the middle of this chaos was my little sister, Tracy. Even though it had to be at least 11:30, she looked wide awake. In fact, she seemed a bit petrified by the unknown sound coming from the first floor. "Big bro." she called to me. " I couldn't sleep at all. What's going on downstairs? Is mom moving furniture? It's too loud. The Minches are going to yell at her again." Just thinking of the Minches made me cringe. The Minches, also known as Pokey's family, were the most cruel, unfriendly people to ever emerge from the same gene pool. Mr. Minch, a portly man about the same age as mom, has always been on our family's case. He and dad use to work together after they graduated from college. Apparently, dad had Mr. Minch float him a loan a long, long time ago, which was never repaid. Dad says that he and "Al" used to be pretty close, but the money issues quickly drove them apart. "He looked at me and all he saw was a lazy slob. I would rather he not see me at all than see that." So they don't talk anymore. I think my mom used to talk with Lardna Minch, ( who was just as portly as Mr.Minch ), before I was born. But after me and Pokey came into the world, their priorities had to shift. Mom looks sad whenever she sees Mrs. Minch through the kitchen window, since Mrs. Mince never looks back. The only member of the Minch family who is a good person was the youngest, Picky. He and Tracy grew up together, but unlike me and Pokey, they actually liked each other.
"Tracy, that's why we have a deadbolt." I answered. She giggled lightly, but returned to her stiff position when the knocking began again. She clutched her doll tightly. " Just cover your ears for a sec, Trace. I'll go see if mom's okay." I assured her. She happily obeyed. I started down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. I silently took hold of the fireplace shovel, gripping it tightly with both hands. Walking into the living room, I could see that Mom was a step ahead of me. She had a thick frying pan ready to strike at whoever was creating such a racket. She was, surprisingly, not startled by my presence. She merely motioned for me to open the door. Keeping the shovel close, I cautiously unlocked the doorknob and turned it to the left quickly before backing away to see what would come through.
Pokey fell from the doorway onto our carpet like a piece of lumber, giving me and mom just enough time to evade the fall. We both looked at him silently, somewhat relied, but also wishing it had been a burglar so we didn't have to show social restraint. Mom had never liked Pokey, which is another reason Lardna never speaks to her. Still, Mom smiled a warming smile and tried to act concerned. "Oh, good heavens!" she squealed. She dropped the frying pan on the floor and kneeled down to see if pokey was actually hurt. "I'm so sorry, dear. You startled us! You should really call before trying to break into someone's house." Somehow, she made that last line sound innocent and even believable. Pokey scratched his head vigorously again, a look of panic spilling out of his shrunken eyes. He scrambled to get back on his feet, barely paying mom any attention. He looked straight at me, with a pleading tone in his voice. "Chief…" he started. "Look, you gotta…help me with something." Mom, though a little annoyed that she was being ignored, tried her best to help. " Pokey, is everything okay?" Pokey finally took notice of mom, straightening up and putting on a false smile. "Oh! Hello, ma'am! I didn't see you there. You look lovely today…like always." He let out a faint snicker. Mom looked even more angry, but Pokey once again turned his attention to me. "But…wow, what was I saying? I need you help…right! Yes! Your help! You gotta help me find Picky!" I raised my eyebrow in confusion. "…Why? What happened to Picky?" Pokey let out a heavy sigh. "He disappeared when I took him to go see the meteor. The popo all went off and started patrolling downtown, since there's been an increase of Shark members lately. Midnight is the perfect time for them to strike, so…I told Picky I would take him to see the landing site. Sounded like a good idea at the time…" He trailed off, as if trying hard to remember what his point was. "Anyway", he shouted, "if my parents come home and see us gone, we'll both be in it deep…we're talking horrible, man. Real tough stuff." I felt a certain amount of pity for poor Pokey. He wasn't irresponsible on purpose. At least not completely. Something told me that helping him was what I should do. It wasn't a voice in my head of anything…I guess just more of a vibe.
" Fine, Pokey. Let's get going. It's dangero-" Pokey was already halfway out the door by the time I finished that last word. "Let's get going, Ness! We ain't got all night!" He looked a little too eager to go on this little adventure. "Pokey," I said, more than a little annoyed, " my mom cares about where I am too. Let me clue her in first." Pokey plopped his thick body onto the couch, and gave an exasperated grunt. "Fine, Mama's boy. Go tell mother dearest where you're going. Just make it snappy." It hadn't taken Pokey long to regress back to his normal self after I had agreed to help him out. Frustrated, I turned to mom, who I had half-forgotten was standing next to us the whole time. She had a knowing look on her face. She nodded. " Ness…you're going to go no matter what I say. It's because I love you that I'm not interfering. You go ahead and help Pokey out. We'll be fine here." She pointed her thumb towards the stairway. "But you know, it's dangerous at night. Remember that old bat in your sisters room? I bet she'd let you borrow it if you ask nicely." I had forgotten that I currently had no way to defend myself. I nodded in agreement, and returned to the second floor, moving as fast as I could so as not to leave Mom alone with Pokey for too long. I noticed that the myriad of Barbie dolls had vanished from the hallway, leading me to enter my sisters bedroom. Sure enough, she was sleeping peacefully on her bed, the smiling doll still clutched in her hand. Carefully, I tip-toed past the piles of plastic shoes and effigies, towards her old toy chest. It was hard to dig around inside the box without making much noise, but I eventually spotted the bat. Pulling it out lightly, I realized that it felt a lot more reliable than a fireplace shovel. It was a heavy, wooden bat that my sister had been given by one of her older friends. She kept it on the bottom of the toy box because she was embarrassed to have such a filthy thing in her otherwise clean surroundings. The crack in it came from when one of her friends was hitting a large tree in the yard, trying to shake pinecones loose. Yep, that bat has a lot of memories attached to it, despite it's appearance. I took the bat and returned to my room one last time before leaving. I grabbed a t-shirt, some old magazines and a toothbrush; the first three things I saw. I crammed them all into my old yellow backpack and quietly switching off the light, feeling like I might not see my room for a while.
Downstairs, mom was holding her head with her eyes closed as Pokey picked at bits of lint on the loveseat. I coughed to get both their attention, Mom looking very tired, Pokey looking unnaturally eager. "You finally ready to go, bud?" he asked. I said yes. Mom looked like she wanted to say something, but just kept rubbing her temples. Before either of us got halfway out the door, the telephone rang loudly, causing my mother to groan, and then leave the room. I picked up the receiver, despite Pokey's disapproving glance. "Hello?" I asked into the mouthpiece. I heard the sound of computers and other electronics in the background, which lead me to believe I was conversing with my father. Dad works in a big city across the water. He has ever since I was little, so I don't see him much, Sure enough an aged voice came through the speaker: " Ness? Is that you? I'm surprised you're still up this late." He sounded pretty tired as well. Where he is, it might even be early morning. "Yeah, dad. It's a long story. What's up?" I was curious as to why he was calling at this time of night. It wasn't like him. " I was… just thinking about you all. There's really not much happening over here. Without any work to do, I took a moment to look around my office. I still have all those old drawings you made in first grade on the wall. It just kinda made me feel nostalgic." I smiled at the thought. It was always good to know that dad was thinking of me, even when I couldn't see him. " It reminded me of home. I guess I forgot it was still nighttime where you are." Pokey tapped his foot impatiently and shook his head. "I've put some money into your account, champ. I know things are a little tight over there. Is your mother okay?" I said she was, despite the recent trauma she experienced from being alone with our neighbor. "I'm glad. I feel bad about leaving so soon, but I should really be working on a few things due tomorrow. Always busy, you know?" I nodded, a little sad. "I'll see you later, son. Look after your mom and sister for me." He hung up. Despite my saddened mood, Pokey seemed completely unaffected. "Are you done yet, Ness?" I was getting tired of this. I gave King a rub on the head before starting out the door, into pitch black darkness.
The entire town looked empty. The night sky had revealed itself now, most of the smoke having dissipated into the air. The stars were our only means of light, meaning most of our vision was impaired. I could make out the dirt path leading up to the hill. Using it as a guide, I lead Pokey through the vacant neighborhood. I could hear him breathing heavily the entire time, even though he hadn't used any energy whatsoever. The bushes that dotted the path towards the meteor were slightly intimidating without any light to reassure you that they weren't ghouls waiting to attack you. Even the path somehow started to look menacing. Down below, I could see a very faint flash of red and blue neon, which I assumed to be the police force trying to deal with the Sharks. It made sense that they wanted the gang to stop terrorizing the town, but it seemed irresponsible to just ditch a police site. The yellow tape was still up and everything.
Suddenly, I stopped. Looking around in a daze, Pokey ran into me oafishly, causing him to stumble backwards a bit. He looked up at me with anger in his eyes. "What are you doing, dude?!" he demanded. I stayed silent. From the corner of my eye, I could see that the monster of my thoughts had become a reality. From the bush sprang a blurred creature shrouded in darkness. I could only see the faintest glint of light in it's large eyes. It let out a quiet but intimidating growl that froze Pokey in total shock. I grasped the cracked bat I had brought with me and tried my best to make out the silhouette of what I was up against. My eyes had only had a minute or two since leaving the house to adjust to the darkness. Squinting, I could make out a tiny body with four legs. I assumed from this that my opponent was probably a regular animal. What confused me is why such an animal would attack a human? The creature let out another growl, this one starting low and gradually building up, louder and louder, until I heard it dash towards me at a rapid pace. I readied my bat above my head, expecting it to pass right through my legs. As my bat came down upon the creatures head, I heard a very faint whimper, this one innocent. My eyes, though still not at full power, could now make out light brown fur and a limp tail. It was a dog. The dog's eyes were shut lazily, it's limbs like butter. Putting my hand on it's small midsection, I could feel that it was still breathing. In fact, the dog opened it's oversized eyes, completely unlike the eyes of it's former self, and ran off. Still in a daze, I didn't give myself much time to think about what had happened. I grabbed Pokey's puffy wrist and led him through the rest of the maze.
Arriving at the top once again, Pokey let out a breath of relief, as if he had just run a marathon. He clenched his hands and looked at me. " Okay Ness, this is where I last saw Picky. He was over here, by the meteor…" Pokey gestured to the glowing rock, which was still giving off small tufts of ash. " He must have gone…uh…" He scratched his head. "Okay, if I were Picky, where would I go?" Pokey's face went completely blank. I rolled my eyes before noticing a rogue bush on the side of the hilltop. A tiny shock of blond hair was sticking out from behind it, which made it obvious who was concealed by it. "Picky?" I called out, walking towards the lonely shrub. Picky crawled out from behind the foliage, looking worn and lifeless. His eyes were drooping and his skin had turned a ghastly pale color. He quickly recognized me. "It's you, Ness." He said, a small smile forming on his sickly face. " Oh…and Pokey's here too. " His smile was replaced with a large frown. I could see that Picky was covered in filthy debris and all sorts of gnarly bits of nature. He looked like he had been living in that bush for a few weeks. "Picky," I asked, "why are you covered in junk?" he looked a little helpless. "Uh…well, you see…there was this…I guess it was a snake. It was green and made a hissing sound. It looked to me like a normal coil snake, but when I went to check it out, it attacked me. I ran from it for a long time…this bush was the only place I could hide." Picky's voice quickly changed from despair to anger. "It's all because Pokey ran off once he saw the snake! One glance and he was off, running away like a little girl!" This is what finally caught Pokey's attention. He stormed over to me and Picky in a huff. "It was a snake for crying out loud, Picky! It's your fault for not running away too!" The two boys were both red in the face at this point. Laughing nervously, I tried to calm them down, but to no avail. "Aren't your parents going to be mad if you don't get back home, guys?" I mused. The two stopped growling at each other. Instead, they started sweating. "Oh crap…they ARE going to be mad at us!" Pokey started to pace anxiously while Picky rubbed his hands together, both of them on the verge of tears. "We can still make it back before midnight," I offered. Before either of them could respond, we heard something else.
There was no doubt about it. We all heard it. It was the sound of buzzing.
Picky looked around the summit, confused as to where the sound was coming from. "…bees shouldn't be around here. It's the middle of the night." I too did not understand why there would be anything making a buzzing sound at this time of night. The meteor, being in the center of the hilltop, eventually gathered all of our attention. It was glowing much more fiercely than it had been when we arrived. As the three of us stood there in complete silence, we saw a nearly invisible ray of light emerge from the meteor, the same color as gold. As the beam of light shot straight upwards, lighting the dark night sky, the buzzing sound grew stronger and stronger. The light coming from the red rock was giving off a warm sensation, heating the air around the hills peak. As the buzz began to wane, from inside the meteor emerged a mysterious being, no bigger than a quarter. It had glorious see through wings that flowed elegantly behind it, as if traveling with the wind and not against it. Despite it's size, it gave off a powerful aura. I had never felt such a strong conscious; just the thought of something so powerful gave me a headache. The other two seemed completely petrified, their hands almost covering their eyes. The shower of rays started to retreat back into the meteor, while the flying entity remained stationary above it. We spent a good minute just taking in each others existence. Finally, after many moments of anticipation, it spoke. It's voice was unlike a human; I could tell that what it was saying was not English. I wasn't even sure it was a sound. I could hear it in my head. The being spoke out in a clear tone…
"A bee I am…not…"
"What are you then?" I asked, being the only one of us who had the guts to address the strange creature. It spoke again, this time louder and more stern. "You can call me Buzz Buzz. I…am from ten years in the future. And in the future, all is devastation." As I listened to the words the alien spoke, I began piecing together the images it conjured up. I saw thousands of men and women lying dead in the remains of what might have been a town. I can see that the sky is stained a dirty grey color, and rain is starting to fall on the corpses. The creature continued. "Not far from now, the world will undergo a revolution…just like the many revolutions it's gone through in the past. But this one will be different." The image of dead bodies was quickly replaced by a world that looked almost identical to mine. The grass was green, the people all looking happy and healthy. "I don't get it." I finally confessed. "…how is this a revolution?" Buzz Buzz remained silent. The picture of the new world began to erode. The grass grew more and more brown. The plants started to wither. Everything began to die before us; people, plants, animals, the Earth itself was collapsing. The air grew heavy and dull, and the sky flared a bright red color. " This is the future of the world." Buzz Buzz told us. "Humans still live in the future, but under a different jurisdiction than now. This is due to one entity…Giygas, the Universal Cosmic Destroyer." Buzz Buzz's normally peaceful voice was starting to become sad and somber. "Giygas tried to destroy the Earth once before, but he was finally destroyed by a young boy and his friends over 80 years ago." I had never heard of such a story, but figured it was not wise to second guess him. After all, Buzz Buzz emerged from a fallen meteor and looks like a highly developed bee. I felt we owed him to listen.
"There is a legend in the future. The Apple of Enlightenment tells a prophecy that speaks of two timelines. An interior timeline and an exterior timeline. Ness…you and your world are in the interior timeline, which cannot be altered by anything but the exterior timeline. I, however, exist in the exterior timeline. My interior timeline is still marching on ten years in the future. It is not vital that you understand right now. You must only know that I am your ally. I've come back here from the future to try and fulfill the prophecy that never came to fruition. Giygas will make a second coming, and this time he will succeed in enslaving the world. The Nightmare rock will succeed in germinating, and all will finally be at Giygas' control. Even now, Giygas' influence can be seen all around us. Animals have begun to lose control of their minds, people are starting to feel a new, sinister sensation that has never existed in Eagleland. They are starting to sense Giygas' hatred, and that in turn is affecting their own emotions…" Buzz Buzz looked straight at me, his tiny face full of determination. "…but all is not lost, Ness. The prophecy speaks of another force that will fight and destroy Giygas once and for all. It refers to the group as "The Chosen Four". It talks of three boys and a girl who slay Giygas. ' When the chosen boy reaches the point, he will find the light.'"
Pokey and Picky, realizing they had no place in this conversation, were cowering behind me. I must have still been in shock that a bee was speaking to me, but I had heard every word Buzz Buzz said. So many things didn't make sense. " Buzz Buzz…what's the Apple of Enlightenment? And the Nightmare Rock?" Neither of those things were familiar to me. They sounded like props out of a fairy tale. Buzz Buzz made a soft clicking noise. "Ness…all you need to know is that I believe YOU are that boy. I can see in your face that the Apple of Enlightenment sent me to this point for a reason. You must not worry about the future now. Ness…always remember. There are three things of utmost importance to your success. Wisdom, Courage, and Friendship. Your journey will be a long one, filled with smiles and tears…but don't give up."
Buzz Buzz was hovering in the air casually, but both of us jumped a little when Pokey rose to his feet, causing the ground to shake slightly. Picky still lay on the ground, nearly asleep. "Uh…" Pokey started, "three boys, right? I hope I'm not one of those boys. Because…uh…I'm not into this kind of thing. But you Ness, you're totally stuck. That's a bummer." I grimaced at Pokey, then turned back towards Buzz Buzz. He had a look of curiosity on, and was staring at Pokey. "You…your name is Pokey?" he asked. Pokey nodded after a few seconds. "…I suppose it can't be helped. Let's return to your home, Ness. I will converse with you more once we get there. It is not safe here." Buzz Buzz came over to me, starting to circle my head. I somehow got the two Minch brothers moving, and started back down the hillside for the fourth time that night.
We were all beat by the time we finally got to the dirt road that connected our two houses, all three of us dripping with sweat. The nighttime air made it even worse. Buzz Buzz had been silent for the entire time, every once in a while glancing over at Pokey, who was trudging along the slowest of all. From the looks of things, I guessed that it must have been early morning. The sky was growing pink and blue across town, near the forest that connects Onett to Twoson. By this time, I had realized how tired I really was. I wanted to know more about the prophecy Buzz Buzz had talked about. Now that my mind had had some time to think about what he said to me, I had even more things I wanted to know. There was a feeling of excitement and dread in the pit of my stomach. Next to me, I could hear Buzz Buzz's light flutter as he drifted alongside me. Then I heard something else. It was the same sort of sound, but this one was coming from even farther away than Buzz Buzz had. In a flash, our path was obstructed with a beam of light similar to the one the meteor emitted, but from the ray came not a friendly insect.
A set of amazingly shiny tentacles came crawling through the portal, soon joined by a set of blocky feet and an abnormally large body. It's head was masked by a black visor, which was equally shiny. It's movement was fluid; almost like a stream of water had come oozing out of the light pillar. It staggered for a second before straightening up and putting it's stiff "arms" on it's sides. It was no bigger than Picky, but something told me it was much, much more dangerous. The way it spoke was also like Buzz Buzz – but this voice was deep and void of emotion. "Buzz Buzz…" it crackled, edging closer.
" You…are…a good hider...but it's time to give up now. Your….vessel is…nothing…but a useless…insect. You'll die…here and…now!" No more than a second later, my vision was clouded with a pink tint. Outside I could see that the monster could not penetrate whatever was protecting me. Pokey and Picky both appeared to be encased in similar shells. I looked around for Buzz Buzz, but he was gone, but his voice still resounded in my head. "Starman Jr…you've come all this way for me? All the federation could spare is a low rank officer to take me out? Pathetic." His voice wasn't cruel, but sounded amused. He was clearly affecting the Starman Jr., who had begun to shake. From the tips of his arms came a blazing flame that hung in the air lazily before flaring up and out, becoming a stream of fire directed somewhere in the air. From the sky I heard that familiar buzzing noise, becoming faster and harsher. Starman Jr.'s visor suddenly fell into itself, leaving a huge dent and sending the alien reeling. For a split second, I saw Buzz Buzz, his body radiating a trail of energy. Starman Jr, clearly blinded by rage, started blasting at the air rapidly. Each flame wisp flew into the air at a frightening speed before detonating and sending a wave of heat that was powerful enough to cause the grass around us to ignite. Through his visor, I saw a set of eyes aflame with determination and a mouth curved downwards. The features were definitely not human, that much was clear. Buzz Buzz, still nearly invisible, could be heard attacking the Starman violently, while me and the boys looked on, helpless. With a loud screech, the figure of Starman Jr. grew faint, until what was left of him collapsed and sunk back into the earth. His cracked visor lay at my feet.
Buzz Buzz came back into view, looking a little spent. I had a feeling forcing him to explain who that was would be a futile effort, so I didn't even bother. "I can't believe it. He must have followed me from the future. There are a lot of people in the future who believe that the timeline should remain unaltered. Those people are commonly called "Starmen", people who gave up the will to live on their own and became a part of Giygas' scheme. The suit you saw was like a containment chamber for the starman – inside is a fragile soul stripped of it's senses. They are truly machines…" He began flying slower. "…It's not important to know anything else about the future. You'll know the truth soon enough, Ness."
The first thing we were greeted with when we came into the Miches trashy residence was Mrs. Minches oversized mouth and Mr. Miches unreasonable temper. Remembering that technically I was a guest, I tried my best to stay civil. Mr. Minch, rubbing his head the same way mom had earlier, felt that I was a bad influence on the boys. The relationship between Aloysius and my father had crossed the generation gap, and was now directly affecting me. I was used to feeling inferior in their house, but that night, I had also been through quite a bit, and my patience was running low.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Minch. I was not trying to lead your sons down a path of failure. I will not do it again, I promise." I sealed the deal with a faux smile and a twitchy handshake. Mr. Minch looked annoyed, but also at a loss for words. "…you're a lot like your father, Ness. You want to be everyone's friend. Make sure that doesn't get you into a bad situation." He ignored my outstretched house and retreated to the bedroom, where Pokey and Picky were no doubt dreading some sort of punishment for ignoring curfew. Mrs. Minch came over to me with an obviously fake look of pity on her deformed face. "I'm sorry dear, but he's right. You know what they say. Nice guys finish—" Slam. The words hadn't even finished leaving her mouth before I heard a painful crack coming from beside me. I looked helplessly at Buzz Buzz as he fell to the floor, knowing he was already gone. Mrs. Minch, oblivious to the sin she had committed, mumbled strangely to herself about young people before joining her husband. I knelt down softly next to the crushed bug, somehow hoping what I had seen was some elaborate trick. His eyes were shut, and one of his appendages had been severed. He didn't look like he was in pain, though. His wings, which were once glowing and iridescent, were now like pieces of wax paper. Dead, uninspiring. As I knelt a little closer, he let out a weak cough. His eyes still closed, he started to speak to me.
"…I knew I wouldn't make it till morning. This form is weak, as I figured it would be…but there was no choice. I had to do something. I had to let you know, Ness. I know what I've said is confusing. I know this may feel like a dream, but you must listen to me and remember what I say to you.
You asked earlier about the Apple of Enlightenment. The apple is the epitome of wisdom. No one truly knows where the Apple is, or if it even has a physical form. But it is the key to your success. You have a gift, Ness. A power that was erased from the population not long after this year. The ability to utilize PSI. You might not have known the name of it until now, but I'm sure you know you've always had a special power no one else does. What you have is what is needed to complete this mission. Everyone had PSI. PSI is what fuels emotion, imagination, feelings, even thought. But it cannot exist on the physical plain. Not normally. Ugh…" he let out another cough, this one heavier. " I don't have long…Ness…you can do something that no one should be able to do. You can use PSI as a sense. With this power at your disposal, you just might be able to stop Giygas." Buzz Buzz planted his arm in the air, where a small, round pebble began to appear. The stone glowed with an ominous color. Inside the orb was a clear mist that made a beautiful sound while it sloshed inside of the rock. Buzz Buzz closed his eyes once more. "The Sound Stone. The legend also spoke of this artifact. The Sound Stone has always been connected to the Apple of Enlightenment. Some say it came from the soil near the Tree of Life, where the Apple came to fruition. Some say it was a part of the world when it was first created. Whatever the explanation is, the Sound Stone is the only thing that can unlock the Earth's power. There exist eight epicenters on this planet that lead directly into the Earth's mana flow. A mark left by an ancient deity…the trail of nimble pixies…A stream of pearl elixir…the concentrated spirit of metal…a tuft of clouds from heaven itself…a wall filled with someone's memories…and the spring of youth. These are called the Eight Earth Points in the future, but you can call them "Your Sanctuaries". Seek them out…seek out the other three warriors, Ness. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help to you." …and he was gone. His body disappeared just like Starman Juniors, but I could tell that Buzz Buzz would rest in peace.
I opened the door to the Minches house, feeling a splash of sunlight on my skin. It was daybreak. Although what I knew now was overwhelming, I wasn't scared. Because I know what I have to do. This started in the darkness, but I will choose where it ends.