Hey, everyone! :) As you guys may expect, this story kicks off on more of a somber note. Soon, though, there are going to be some scenes that are actually marginally close to canon. Can you imagine it? A scene in Ceres with connection to the actual games? I can hardly believe it either! :D

Also, the new Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is pretty good. It might be good enough to distract me from my writing some more. :P

Review Responses:

PKTofuMaster: Yeah, I'm doing fine... if being frustrated at not writing much counts as fine. D: Yep, I was trying to find some place to fit Lloyd into the story with everything else happening (still am, actually). There are going to be some twists in this Ceres as well, so hopefully those go over just as well. :) And yeah, Ness is working on keeping his spirits up. Yep, cue the sound stone race. But you know me, I couldn't make the story about just an adventure quest. The situation in Scaraba's about to get sticky... But yeah, that's a pretty good checklist to sum up what's happened. Yeah, the deaths of Minerva and Ana's parents were one of the few details that I kept from my original thoughts of how the story was going to turn out, and then I had to kill off some others to thin my cast down since I need to introduce new characters with ties to Scaraba (cue Darius and Zanine). Yeah, see you! :)

crabbyTomato: Yeah, it makes sense. City of Progress took about 3 months to complete, and that's about half as long as a Ceres installment. Hopefully I can complete this story in the next 5 months. :) Yeah, those are all the characters that died at the end of the second book. Yeah, I figured that a lot of them would be kind of redundant, but with so much info in this story... well, maybe it will help even people who did read the first couple of installments and forgot the stuff that I didn't explain super well. :) Heh, I've learned to make Jeff a bit more proactive, so you won't see him calling quits anytime soon. Well... not calling quits at everything, at least. He will continue to do things. ;) And yeah, you totally called it. :) I wouldn't count on Fassad and Hinawa still having their bodies lying around considering what happened to Aphrodite. Yep, Zanine is basically the new Morgan (but a little different...) and she'll play a more intricate role in the plot. Uh... no, they do not call Eagleland the "Great Satan." I didn't know that was an actual thing. Thanks for the vote of confidence and see you later! :)

A Fan: Well, we have a couple new OCs! :D But yeah, Darius and Zanine along with Diana returning are basically all of the OCs that you really have to worry about for a while. And apparently "Gigyas" is a thing of mine because I made the mistake several times. Whoops. ._. It's hard when spell check tags the word whether or not its spelled correctly haha. And yep, no typoes heree. Yeah, not only is a durian a fruit, it's supposedly a really smelly fruit (I've never come into contact with one, so I guess I wouldn't know). Yeah, the steep price thing is a quick and dirty way to make a character not seem like a Mary-Sue. Not my most creative moment, I admit, but I wanted to remind people that Diana does have her own struggles that no amount of raw power can solve. And actually, Jenny PoVs won't be as common as you might expect. Not for a while, at least... And you're welcome. :) I still don't see combat as his main role in the story, but I did want to give him something. Pew pew. All right; see you later! :)

Somewhat important info (this stuff's more urgent so I put it before the chapter):

Paula Polestar: An unfortunate victim in the Dalaamian uprising. Slain by General Kim.

Dr. Andonuts: A mad scientist who ended up killing himself right after telling Ninten to track down the Sound Stone.

George's letter: While under the guise of a child named Lloyd, former Emperor George left Ness a letter filled with several secrets, including the existence of a mythical "Sound Stone" and a dark future for Ninten, among other things.

Part 5: Planet of Discontent

Fragmented Memories: Darius, 80 A. F.

I can sense the beginning of the end. Grey-skinned aliens known as starmen walk the surface of the Earth. Dalaam has gone up in flames. For better or for worse, President Minerva Carpainter is dead. She kept the universe in purgatory. She kept the universe safe.

Without her, the universe will dissolve into chaos.

Should I try to stop it?

Ninten walked off the funeral grounds in Twoson, his heart stuck in his throat. After the sounds of talking became soft chatters carried by the breeze, Ninten let his shoulders relax.

I'm not cut out for this, he thought. Going to a funeral requires patience and social literacy. I can't do either of those for shit.

"Thanks for leading me through that, Ann," Ninten said. "I would have been completely lost without you."

Ana smiled. For most of his life, Ninten had seen her as a mother figure, despite the fact that he was four months older than her. Perhaps he felt that way because his actual mother had never really been there for him. Regardless, Ninten still wasn't comfortable with the recent revelation that Ana practiced self-harm, stabbing herself with a knife and using psionics to heal the wounds.

The two had come to a nonverbal agreement not to talk about that nasty habit of Ana's, at least until they had resolved the issues right in front of them.

"You mean all of the Catholic practices?" Ana asked. "You just do what everyone else does. I only knew what to do because my parents were both Catholic."

Her parents were Catholic. Those words hit Ninten in the gut, and they weren't even his parents.

"I'm sorry, Ann," Ninten said. "It must have been really hard to lose a friend and your parents in the same day."

"I'm holding up," Ana said.

Holding up by stabbing yourself in the arm? Ninten thought. Holding up by screaming behind closed doors?

"Ah, psych," Ana said. "We never should have gone to Dalaam. All we left behind was a trail of blood."

"From what you said, it sounds like your parents and President Carpainter would have died even if you weren't there," Ninten said. "At least you tried to help."

"But our helping still got Paula killed," Ana said, looking back at the funeral. "It's still so much to take in. I can't believe that she's in a coffin under the ground and that we'll never see her smile or laugh ever again."

Ninten grunted, trying to hold back tears. Ana turned back to him and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I probably shouldn't have reminded you. It's probably harder for you than it is for me. A lot of people say that there's no greater source of grief than losing a lover."

For lovers, Paula and I weren't super close, Ninten thought. I should probably be more devastated than I am.

"It was hard for me to see who Paula really was," Ninten said. "Since we started courting so recently and all. So while I do feel crushed… it's number than I expected."

"Numbness still isn't a good feeling," Ana pointed out.

"I suppose that it isn't."

The two stood in silence.

"Do you blame yourself for Paula's death?" Ana asked after the pause.

"Not really," Ninten said. "She chose to go to Dalaam. I chose to go to Winters. We both accepted the possibility that one of us might not come back." Ninten balled his hands into fists. "I guess that was just the way that it played out. Is that a bad thing to say?"

"Some might say that you're refusing to take responsibility," Ana said, "But I think it's fine. You let her do her own thing and take responsibility for her actions. In fact, that's probably why Paula was so attracted to you. I wasn't there when General Kim held a knife up to her throat, but I think that she would have gladly died to save the rest of us."

Before Ninten could respond, he heard someone stomping towards him from behind. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting Paula's father.

Ah, psych, Ninten thought. He didn't have time for this.

"You," Paula's father said, thrusting a finger towards Ninten. "I never trusted you. We always told Paula to find a godly man, not some lawless peasant! And what do I find out? You roped her into some sort of adventure and let her die!"

"Careful, Mr. Polestar," Ninten said. "If you keep it up, you might drown in your own stupidity."

Paula's father growled. Ninten knew that his insults were doing more harm than good, but at this point he couldn't care less.

"We're not at the funeral anymore, so I can do anything to you that I want!" Mr. Polestar shouted.

"And I'm the one with psychic powers here," Ninten said. "I could squeeze your brain until it becomes a pile of mush. Oh wait, I'm a little late on that one."

"Did you call me stupid again?" Paula's dad asked, his face flushing red.

"Listen, both of you," Ana said, steeling her voice. "We know that both of you hate each other. We know that Paula cared about both of you and wouldn't want either of you to get hurt. Why don't we all just walk away from this one?"

"And who do you think you are?" Paula's dad said, turning on Ana. "If you think that I'm going to listen to some little girl, you're sorely mistaken."

"I'm not asking you to listen to me," Ana said. "I'm asking you to listen to God. Would he approve of this hatred and violence? Isn't wrath one of the seven deadly sins?"

"The boy is godless!" Paula's dad screamed. "He's an atheist! Why don't you try talking to him about how dead he is on the inside?"

A snort came out of Ninten's nose before he could think about it. Ana shot him a disapproving look.

"Doesn't Jesus love everyone, even sinners?" Ana asked. "He may not approve of their actions, but he can still wish them the best. All we're asking you to do is to ignore someone."

Ninten could see the gears turning in Mr. Polestar's head. With a huff and a glare directed towards Ninten, Paula's father turned around and walked away.

"Did you convert to Christianity while I was gone?" Ninten asked.

"No," Ana said, "But it's tempting. After people that I care about die around me, it's hard to believe that they're completely gone."

"Well, you're agnostic, right?" Ninten said. "So you believe that there might be a god…"

"But I'm not counting on it," Ana said. "Which makes it hard. Still, I don't think that I'll gain faith in any god or gods anytime soon. Religion is too external with all of its congregations and focus on community. I prefer to deal with my problems on my own."

And that might be why you're resorting to self-harm, Ninten thought. You try to take on the entire universe by yourself.

"However, there's something that I could use your advice on," Ana said. "But I don't know how you'll react."

"Well, I've been known to lack empathy," Ninten said. "So I totally understand if you want to ask someone else."

"That's quite an empathetic statement coming from someone who supposedly lacks it," Ana said, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Honestly, though," Ninten said. "You should probably talk to Ness. He's a lot nicer than I am and he is your boyfriend."

"Well, it's about Ness."

Ninten paused, looking at Ana as she averted her eyes.

"Are you two having relationship problems?" Ninten asked. "First, what could possibly be going wrong? Second, I'm probably the worst person in the entire universe to talk about romantic relationships with."

"Well, you and Paula did pretty well together," Ana said. "You clearly know something about relationships."

"That's because you were the matchmaker! You even coached me on how to show my feelings and discuss difficult topics with her while not seeming like a jerk."

"Oh yeah, I guess I was behind a lot of that," Ana said. "But my issue is a relationship problem in a different way."

"How so?" Ninten asked.

Ana took a deep breath.

"Promise that you'll never tell Ness, all right?" she said.

"Sure," Ninten said.

But if Ness really needs to know, I'll break that promise in an instant, Ninten thought. Hanging onto promises is usually what makes good people do bad things, and I'm not even that great of a person to begin with.

Ana took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. She looked around in all directions.

"Nobody else is nearby," Ninten said. "You can tell me anything.

"All right. I'm…" Ana grimaced. "I'm gay."

Ninten blinked.

"All right," he said slowly. "When did you find this out?"

"I knew before I asked Ness out to the dance back on Ceres," Ana said.

"And you still decided to court him?" Ninten asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He was depressed and I wanted to help," Ana said. "I didn't think that it would actually last."

"Of course it lasted. He adores you, Ann. You're strong yet caring. You protect him without making him feel inferior. That's a rare combination to find."

"Okay, whatever," Ana said. "So what do I do about it? I feel like the longer I drag it out, the worse it will be. I really want to resolve this soon, but I have no idea how."

And you're asking me? Ninten thought. Homosexuality is so taboo in rural America that I don't even know how to think about you anymore.

"Well, I don't really see a problem," Ninten said.

"What do you mean?" Ana asked. "Of course there's a problem. I can't love my boyfriend!"

"You two always acted more like friends then lovers," Ninten said. "If you break up romantically but still support each other, not much will change."

"But I'm scared to tell him," Ana said. "What if he pushes me away?"

"Ness couldn't even push Pokey Minch away," Ninten said. "He needs you way more than you need him. Besides, he'll do basically anything that you tell him to if you ask nicely. Just say that you want to be friends rather than lovers. You don't even have to tell him why."

"It just doesn't feel fair to him…"

"News flash: you matter too!" Ninten said. In a softer tone, "I think that you need to do a little bit more for yourself, Ann."

"I don't think you understand," Ana said. "Most of the activities that I enjoy involve violence. I'm just a sword, Ninten. My desire is to destroy, not to build. I try to dull my edges when I can. The reason that I don't think about myself more often is that my desires are dangerous. It's best to avoid them altogether."

That's a sad way to live, Ninten thought.

"And do you ever want to change that?" Ninten asked. "Do you ever wish that you did enjoy activities that benefited society?"

"All my life," Ana said, looking at Ninten with a sad smile.

Ana teleported herself and Ninten back to Onett, where Ness' family was staying. They had all come to Paula's funeral as well, but they hadn't stuck around as long after the formal burial.

As Ninten walked up to Ness' house, he spotted a familiar face. How could he ever fail to recognize Claus with his bright red hair, pirate-style eye patch, and breastplate?

"Did anything important happen after we left the funeral?" Claus asked, leaning on the side of Ness' house.

"Paula's dad blew up at me," Ninten said. "So no."

Claus snorted. Ana cracked a slight smile.

"I'm going to talk to Ness," Ana said. "See you two later."

Claus' eyes followed Ana as she walked into Ness' house. If it had been anyone else, Ninten would have thought that they were enamored by Ana's attractive figure, but he knew Claus to observe every person he saw like a predator stalking prey.

"So," Claus said, turning back to Ninten. "You look like you want to say something."

Was Ninten that easy to read? At times, Claus could be sharp despite his usual adherence to the standard of a "dumb fighter."

"It's about what Dr. Andonuts told us right before he killed himself," Ninten said. "You know, how he wanted us to head over and find the 'Sound Stone' in Scaraba?"

"Are you taking him seriously?" Claus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… yes."

"He was a self-professed schizophrenic, Ninten. I don't trust anything that comes out of his mouth."

How could Ninten explain? There were times when Dr. Andonuts was delusional, surely, but he could tell that this wasn't one of them. Despite his mental illness, Dr. Andonuts had been one of history's greatest inventors and scientists. If he thought that this Sound Stone in Scaraba was important, who was Ninten to challenge that claim?

"But think about it, Claus," Ninten said. "We've both fought starmen before. If Giygas is coming to invade our planets, we'll want to have some weapon that allows us to stand against him."

"That's a pretty big 'if'," Claus said. "And what makes you think that the Sound Stone will help us defeat Giygas even if he does show up?"

"I trust Dr. Andonuts," Ninten said. "You were knocked out when he killed himself, so you couldn't have seen it, but I know that he wasn't delusional during that moment. It seemed like he needed to break through his schizophrenia to tell me that last piece of information. I don't completely trust him either, but we don't have much to lose and Giygas could attack at any moment."

"How do we know that Giygas even real?" Claus asked. "After all, nobody's ever seen him."

"That's not entirely true," came a voice that Ninten recognized.

Jeff Andonuts walked up to Ninten and Claus, carrying what appeared to be a laser gun in his hand. He wore a small, flip up screen in front of his left eye. Those changes made him look like some warrior from a science fiction universe.

"I've seen Giygas before," Jeff said. "I stumbled in on a meeting between him and Diana Carpainter. Apparently, she finds it wise to keep tabs on such a powerful entity."

"Long time no see, Jeff," Ninten said. "And I wish that I could bring good news to you, but…"

"I saw everything from inside the Shard of Ceres," Jeff said. "My father, Dr. Andonuts, killed himself. Paula, Minerva Carpainter, Morgan Lorune, and Ana's parents are dead. I could hardly believe what I was seeing on the screens inside of the Shard; I can only imagine how it felt to actually be there."

Claus' face tightened when Jeff mentioned Morgan. Did Claus still feel guilty about killing her?

"Still," Jeff said. "I would be inclined to trust my father's judgment about Giygas. Were you discussing how he told you to find the Sound Stone in Scaraba?"

Claus and Ninten exchanged a glance. Jeff had gotten a lot better at reading social situations since they last parted ways.

"Yeah," Claus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "A mythical artifact saving us sounds like utter bullshit to me."

"Remember, the Osohe created the Sound Stone," Jeff said. "They possessed far more advanced technology than anything we have."

"Still, I don't want to count on a pack of long-dead aliens to save us with their creations," Claus said. "It just sounds stupid."

"There are other reasons to head to Scaraba," Jeff said. "Like Dalaam, there's political unrest that led to tension between the occupying Eagleish government and the residents. This could be your chance to make a mark on the universe."

Claus grumbled and rolled his eyes, which Ninten interpreted as him not being clever enough to refute Jeff's logic.

"Besides, what are you going to do in Eagleland anyway?" Jeff asked.

"This is supposed to be our psyching vacation!" Claus said. "Maybe I want to go to Summers and spend a couple weeks at the beach."

"That's your choice," Jeff said. "Just make the decision in full knowledge that Giygas could strike at any time and that Scaraba might fall into chaos like Dalaam."

Claus took turns between glaring at Jeff and glaring at Ninten. To his credit, Jeff no longer seemed intimidated by Claus' gaze.

"Psych you both," Claus said. "I'm in. I can't believe that I got roped into going to psyching Scaraba."

"I would like to come as well, if that is possible," Jeff said.

"Of course," Ninten said. "We would be glad to have you."

"Ah, glad to see you unusually agreeable," Jeff said, cracking a smile.

"Glad to see that you're not trying to show off your new gadgets like you always do," Ninten retorted.

"Is that why you never liked me?" Jeff said. "You could have just said so."

"It just seemed a little self-important," Ninten said. "That we should all care about all of your fancy new toys."

"Again, you could have told me," Jeff said. "That might have saved us many an awkward glance."

"Hmm?" Claus said. "I wasn't even aware that you two used to not like each other."

"It doesn't really matter," Ninten said. "We should leave for Scaraba soon. I don't know what Giygas and the starmen are planning, but if Scaraba's political uprising is anything like Dalaam's, we'll probably find aliens trying to throw their weight around amidst the chaos. Every hour sooner that we get there is an hour more that we have to gather information and prepare."

"I still think that it's a little silly how three teenagers are trying to save the world by influencing politics and hunting down ancient artifacts," Claus said. "Tell me when that has ever worked. We should leave this one to the adults."

"That's where we come in," Ness said, walking out of his house carrying a paper scroll.

Ness and Ninten were described as looking nearly identical. Indeed, they both possessed the same black hair and eyes, the same bowling ball-shaped face, and the same robust body. However, while Ninten stood confidently and showed his every flaw to the world, Ness always seemed to be shrinking back and hiding from something.

"Ana and I decided to head over to Fourside and talk about the Scaraba issue with Eagleland's governor," Ness said. "We're not ignoring the adults. We want to get the universe leaders involved with this issue. Because Ana's parents were pretty powerful figures, she can hopefully get Earth's leaders to take her seriously."

"And why aren't we involving Ceres with this?" Claus asked. "They have several times more power than Earth, both in terms of politics and combat."

"Remember when Ceres got involved with the cults on Vulcan?" Ness asked. "That didn't end well. Besides, Ceres is going through quite a few struggles of its own. Geldegarde Monotoli has become the new president, replacing Minerva Carpainter."

Ninten nodded along with the rest of the group. Monotoli's political power was only rivaled by Minerva Carpainter and Ana's parents, all of whom got killed in Dalaam. Putting him as president would be the logical choice.

"He doesn't seem like a good leader," Ninten said. "From what I've seen and heard, he's paranoid enough to see basically anyone as a potential political rival. I don't think that we can trust him to trust us."

"And he's not afraid to pull strings to get what he wants," Jeff said. "Slice a few throats, blackmail a few poor fools… at this rate, he might be a worse president than Minerva Carpaitner, and she wiped out an entire planet!"

Ninten once again shot a glance at Claus. Surprisingly, Jeff mentioning the destruction of his home planet didn't send him into a foul mood. Instead of the dark scowls and crossed arms that Ninten expected, Claus simply nodded along.

"Ceresian ex-nobles aren't trustworthy," Claus said. "People like Monotoli are still bitter that the empire fell and they're supposed to be the same as anyone else."

"That's part of the reason why Ana doesn't want to enlist his help," Ness said. "But not everyone supports Monotoli. He's probably dealing with uprisings we don't know about. Scaraba's probably the last thing on his mind."

"Psych, it will be nasty when we go back to school on Ceres with all of that political tension," Claus said, shaking his head. "Maybe Vulcan wasn't so bad after all."

Ninten hadn't thought about school in quite some time. Even before this vacation, he had missed a month of school to fight a war against the empirists over on the planet of Vulcan along with Claus and others. Ninten supposed that he would have to go back to the school on Ceres to learn more about his psionics eventually, but he had been so preoccupied with his present struggles that he hadn't looked towards the future.

"You can say that again," Jeff said. "But at least we have a plan for now. Ninten, Claus and I will go to Scaraba to find the Sound Stone while Ness and Ana go to the authorities to discuss politics."

"You guys know about the Sound Stone too?" Ness asked.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "My father told Ninten to find it right before he killed himself."

The flippant way that Jeff talked about his own father's death sent a shiver down Ninten's spine. This was no longer the starry-eyed kid who broke a smile whenever he saw a psionic circuit. Jeff was the new model of calculated efficiency, and Ninten couldn't help but think that something had died inside of him.

"The question is," Claus said. "How did you know about the Sound Stone, Ness?"

Ness blushed, stuttering and fumbling for a response.

"Oh…" he said. "You know. I, um…"

"It doesn't really matter," Jeff said. "Let us head to Scaraba as soon as we can manage. The Sound Stone isn't going to find itself."

"Actually," Claus muttered. "I think by definition it's already found itself, unless you mean spiritually."

"Again, that is beside the point." Jeff whirled around and faced Ness' house. "How soon do you think that you two can be ready?"

"I think that we're both ready now," Claus said. "We still have supplies packed from our trip to Winters."

Yeah, Ninten thought. Like all of our fur coats are going to be useful in a psyching desert.

"Excellent," Jeff said. "Let us recruit Ana to teleport us over there."

Jeff walked into Ness' house after Ness directed him there, leaving the three remaining teenagers to stand in awkward silence.

"He's changed a lot," Ness whispered.

"Speaking of changing," Claus said. "Try to keep an eye out for my brother, all right?"

"I'm sorry," Ness muttered, staring at his feet.

"You know that it isn't your fault."

"Wait, what about Claus' brother?" Ninten asked. "Am I missing something here?"

"The mass murderer that you were tracking down on Vulcan was my brother Lucas," Claus said. "He had been brainwashed by President Carpainter to be used as a mindless soldier, but he escaped from the lab and started killing random people."

Wow, Ninten thought. As if blowing up his home planet Aphrodite wasn't reason enough for Claus to hate her.

"Claus and Diana subdued him," Ness said, his voice soft with regret, "And I tried to help him become a regular human again. I was making progress, but Giygas came along and snatched him up. I can only assume that he's brainwashed again."

What would that be like? Such stories continued to remind Ninten that while his life was basically a steaming pile of garbage headed for a dumpster, it could always be worse.

"Just… keep an eye out for him, all right?" Claus asked. "Maybe he'll listen to you."

Claus turned around and walked into Ness' house, closing the door behind him with a click.

"He made it sound like Lucas won't listen to him," Ninten said. "But they're brothers, right? Shouldn't they be close? Although, I hate my sister Minnie, so I suppose that I can't judge."

"Yeah, Claus was under a lot of stress back on Aphrodite and took it out on Lucas," Ness said. "I don't know the exact details, but I think it had something to do with the pigmasks."

Oh, psych, Ninten thought. That kid can never catch a break, can he?

"Considering how those fascist pigsqueaks tended to treat outsiders, saying that he was 'under a lot of stress' is probably a gross understatement."

"Yeah, I think Lucas mentioned that the pigmasks ended up razing their village," Ness said softly. "But I could be making that up. The point is that Claus got angry and jaded."

"Tell me about it."

"Like… way worse than he was when we first met him."

"Oh, geez. Now I'm actually terrified."

"He took that anger out on Lucas," Ness said. "And since Lucas is weak like me, he couldn't deal with Claus' aggression. So now Lucas is the one that hates Claus."

"Divine Rulers," Ninten muttered. "Those two had to go through so much. I know that the universe isn't fair, but why does it have to shove it in my face all the time?"

"Ninten?" Ness asked, his voice growing even meeker. "There's something else that I need to tell you."

"Yeah?" Ninten asked.

"I…" Ness took a deep breath. "You're a mystic, right?"

"Yup. But I haven't gotten any visions of the future recently. I did predict President Carpaitner's death, I suppose."

"That's a pretty safe prediction considering that everyone dies eventually," Ness said, cracking a smile. "But…"

"But what?"

"I read somewhere that mystics tend to develop schizophrenia," Ness said, flinching in anticipation.

A chill gripped Ninten, freezing him with place. He harkened back to his meeting with Dr. Andonuts in Winters. Dr. Andonuts had been a mystic with schizophrenia, and he said that Ninten was in for some sort of nasty surprise. As much as he wanted to laugh off the notion of going insane, he couldn't logically do so.

"And this is a reputable source?" Ninten asked.

"Not exactly," Ness said. "But I trust him."

Him? Ninten thought. Who is this person?

"I guess it fits," Ninten said with a shrug. "I tend to be paranoid and antisocial. Maybe those are warning signs."

Ness started crying.

"Huh?" Ninten said. "Is everything all right?"

"It's just so sad," Ness said, wiping his tears away. "You're just… accepting it. You know that you might go insane and you don't even try to fight back. But I'm sorry; I know that I shouldn't be the one crying here."

"Nah, tears are healthy," Ninten said. "I wish that I cried more, honestly. Too bad that my father trained me to bottle up my emotions so that I 'wouldn't show weakness.'"

"See?" Ness asked, his voice shaking. "You're always so nice. I don't know what we would do if you… if you…" more tears streamed from Ness' eyes.

"Listen, I'm not going down without a fight," Ninten said. "After all, Dr. Andonuts ended up doing amazing things despite his schizophrenia."

"Didn't you say that he killed himself?" Ness asked.

"Yeah, but that was just because he had nobody left to care about," Ninten said. "You know me, Ness. Even if I go insane, I'll battle that psyching insanity until I draw my last breath. I'll make it so that you won't even be able to tell the difference."

"Heh," Ness said. "Why do I always have to be the one who needs comforting? It's not me who got the bad news."

"It's all right," Ninten said. "Your concern is touching, honestly. I think that I need to head off to Scaraba now, but I promise that I'll be the same old Ninten when I see you again, all right?"

"Yeah," Ness said with a sniffle. "Thanks."

As Ninten turned around and walked into Ness' house, he couldn't help but wonder what schizophrenia would really mean for him. Yes, Dr. Andonuts had managed it for a time, but Ninten had seen the price that he had to pay. He had lived out in the woods for years with little to no human interaction, probably to avoid hurting anyone else around him. Ninten could see himself doing that, and it would make for a depressing life.

Ninten sighed, bringing himself back to the problem at hand. None of that would even matter if Giygas took over the world and decided to end humanity. He needed to focus on finding the Sound Stone before it was too late.