Chapter One

Enter Jaron

Sweat.

That was it. Pretty much everything was covered in sweat.

It was the hottest day in the history of hot days. Everyone in Toad Town had either stayed inside, fled, or dumped themselves in the harbor. Yes, it was hot, so hot that it made Dry Dry Desert pale in comparison. And if it was that hot here, then that desert must've been the equivalent of a molten pit.

One person, however, did not seem to care about the heat. People looked out their windows at him, wondering who in the universe would want to wear red jackets in this weather.

Jaron Roxai wouldn't care less about this. Sure, it was hot, but he had gone through hotter temperatures, if that was possible. As he was busy looking for someone, however, he didn't have time to whine about the heat.

Stopping, he found the place he was looking for. It wasn't hard to miss, seeing that it was the only house with a spinning roof. As he walked toward the door, he saw that someone had put a sign on it that said:

Merlon's Fortune House

Closed due to the heat.

Jaron snorted. He was sure that Merlon was in the house, and he was not going to wait another second to see him. He had already endured enough just getting here. Reaching up, he knocked on the door a few times. Almost instantly, a voice on the other side said loudly, "MERLON IS OUT!" The sixteen-year-old rolled his eyes. He had encountered this kind of attitude before, but he knew the best way to proceed. He knocked again.

"I SAID, MERLON IS OUT!"

Jaron, now getting impatient, rapped on the door a third time.

"WHY DO YOU KEEP KNOCKING!? I'M TELLING YOU, HE'S OUT!!"

This was the point that Jaron decided to respond. "If Merlon is out, then who's talking in there?!" he asked.

Loaded silence. Jaron decided that if Merlon wasn't going to come out, then he would not leave him alone until he did. He started punching the door repeatedly until he heard the man yell, "FOR THE LAST TIME, MERLON IS OUT!!" And with that, the door flew open, hitting Jaron as it did so.

A mysterious-looking wizard looked out to see Jaron lying on the ground, dazed after the impact. "Hmm? Why is there a boy sleeping in front of my house?"

"First of all," Jaron said as he got up, sounding seriously annoyed, "I was not asleep. Second, are you Merlon?"

The wizard blinked. "Why, yes, but I'm afraid that I am not taking visitors at present. Didn't you read the sign?"

Jaron said, "Yeah, but I wouldn't care less about the heat, sir. Can't you make one exception today?"

"I am sorry, but I rarely, if ever, see visitors. Now, if you don't mind, I am very busy and must go back inside. Good day to you."

And with that, he walked back inside and closed the door.

Unfortunately for the wizard, Jaron is not the kind of person to give up easily. Said teen walked back up to the door and started hammering on it.

When Merlon did not respond, he figured that the wizard had decided to ignore the boy in hope that he would go away. Jaron, however, can be very persistant.

After thirty whole minutes of knocking, Merlon evidently decided to give in, and opened the door. "Could you please stop? I am very busy at the moment."

"Busy doing what?" Jaron demanded.

"Things that are probably no concern of yours. Now, if you don't mind--" Merlon made to close the door, but Jaron stuck his sneaker-clad foot in the door to prevent him from closing it.

"I'm sorry if I'm getting on your nerves," he said, "but I've been traveling to see you for weeks, and I really don't want to wait another second. Can't you please take at least one visitor today?"

Merlon stared at Jaron for a moment, then sighed. "Oh, very well. Come in, come in..."

The inside of the house wasn't that large. Merlon took his place behind the counter as Jaron stood in front of it. "Now, then," Merlon said, "Why have you come here, Mr. Roxai?"

Jaron seemed to think for a moment, then said, "Well, I've been having these dreams lately..I was hoping you would tell me what they mean."

Merlon nodded. "Say no more. I shall point you in the right direction." With that, the crystal ball on the table began to glow, as did Merlon's eyes. Of course, the mood was ruined slightly by the disco ball decsending from the ceiling.

"Yes...yes..." he muttered. "I see it...the mists are clearing...I see it! There is a boy..."

"A boy?" Jaron asked, sounding tense.

"Yes! There is a boy...a boy with blonde hair...he is afraid...he is afraid of something..." Then the disco ball exploded.

"AAAAGH!!"

--Outside--

Two Bandits were running from Merlon's open window, one of them holding a slingshot. Both of them were laughing at the top of their lungs.

--Inside--

As Jaron picked out pieces of glass from his hair, Merlon brushed himself off and said, "Er, sorry about that...that's never happened before...didn't see it coming..."

"I thought you could see into the future," Jaron said, sounding perturbed.

"That doesn't mean I can see everything in the future at once!" Merlon snapped. "Whether it be in the near future or far."

Jaron took a minute to brush off some glass off his sleeve. "Well, the crystal ball isn't damaged, so I don't suppose you--"

"No. I am sorry, but I cannot use my powers unless the disco ball is working, otherwise it wouldn't look cool."

"What'd you mean it wouldn't look cool?! Who cares if it looks cool or not?!"

"I do. And so do the customers."

Jaron sighed. "All right, all right, thanks anyway..." And with that, he dumped a pile of coins on the counter and turned to leave, ignoring the fact that Merlon didn't charge him anything. As he left, he muttered, "Cheapskate..."

"I heard that!"

--Later--

Jaron was deep in thought as he sat on a bench. A frightened boy with blonde hair...I don't know anyone like that. Did that wizard guy really see what he said he saw, or was he pretending? He shrugged. Ah, well, I suppose it doesn't really matter. Still, I expected something better than that...

He sighed deeply. I wonder how Max, Kaitlin and James are doing...

Excerpt from Dr. Zako's Report:

Today I found something interesting as I was rummaging through the warehouse. I came upon several documents that were indecently old. They seemed to explain an old process of some sort that seemed to regard the heart and the body, and how they could come together. Unfortunately, most of the document seemed to be lost, or the writing disfigured. It will take some time for me to recover the rest.

This has certainly caught my curiosity. What process do these documents explain?

That's Chapter One done. What do you guys think?