Chapter Four: Cops and Kidnappers

Sapphire walked back through the cave, bat at the ready. He saw several rats but instead of running at and attacking him, they instead ran away. The rest of the creatures in Giant's Step did as well, The slugs trying to crawl away and the bugs hiding behind stalagmites.

Sapphire thought about going after them since it was pretty obvious by now that killing or defeating anything corrupted by Giygas somehow gave him a boost in strength, but decided against it. Killing things to get stronger was cruel, and if they weren't attacking him, then he wouldn't go after them. That would be horrible and he wouldn't stoop to that level. Of course, the few slugs and creatures that were poisoned enough by Giygas' influence to still attack him were quickly dispatched of.

When he finally reached the exit, he wandered back through the entertainer's shack, only to stop when he saw a police officer waiting for him, whacking a baton against his hand, teeth gritted and veins in his forehead bulging. Sapphire gulped, not sure if he was in trouble or not. Sure, he'd just killed an evil minion of Giygas, but if he was in trouble with the police then he might not be able to continue his journey, or at least he could, but as a fugitive.

"Can I help you, officer?"

His baton immediately shot out, and Sapphire took a step back, only to see that the officer was pointing towards the sign by the shack. "The sign. It says 'Do not enter.' Can you just not read, or do you blatantly disregard the rules wherever you go?!"

"H-hey, I have permission to be here! From the mayor himself!"

The officer's nostrils flared, and he slapped his baton back against his hand. "Come down to the station later!" Sapphire watched as he stalked off, before sighing and adjusting his hat. Looked like he had to head to the police station later. For now, he would… what would he do? He didn't have any idea of where the next Sanctuary was, Buzz Buzz only told him about the first.

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over him, and he shook his head. His Sanctuary may have healed him, but he still needed to rest. After all, he was still running low on energy. As Sapphire walked back into Onett, he decided to stay at Hotel Onett. That way, he could take a short nap then head to the police station without wasting time going back to his house, then all the way back into Onett.

Hotel Onett was only a few blocks into town, so Sapphire entered, looking towards a bored looking man behind the counter. He looked up as Sapphire approached, plastering on a fake looking smile. "Hello, Sir, and welcome to Hotel Onett. A one night stay will cost you thirty-five dollars." Sapphire handed over two forty dollar bills and grabbed his change. "Your room is the second on the right."

Sapphire tiredly thanked the man and walked up the stairs in the back of the building towards the second floor, where he quickly entered his room. It was pretty plain, but Sapphire couldn't care less, dropping his bag on the ground while kicking off his shoes, and flopping onto the bed. He groaned face-down into the pillow, before rolling over. After a moment he dug into his pocket and pulled out the Sound Stone. In one of the eight indents, there was a red footprint marking.

Sapphire pressed the cool stone against his head and realized he could hear the quiet melody of the Sanctuary resonating through his mind. Not even through his ears, but directly into his mind. He relaxed, and soon enough he was in a deep sleep.

"...Sa…"

...?

"Sapphire…"

Was someone calling to him?

"I am a friend you haven't met yet…"

He was surrounded by darkness… But in the distance there was color. ...Pink?

"Can you hear me calling…?"

Sapphire tried to answer the female voice, but could not, no sound escaping him.

"My name is…"

Sapphire awoke and slowly rose. What just…? Sapphire felt like something had happened while he slept, but couldn't remember clearly what happened. He snorted as he got up. It had been like that a long time, He would always get the feeling that something happened, or that he had to do something, but he never could recall how he knew. Right now, the only thing he could recall was… Pink?

Sapphire shook his head. What to do next… Going to the police station was probably necessary to clear up the whole Giant's Step mishap, but he could be in a lot of trouble, and be prevented from saving the world. No, he had to go… where? Obviously, the next sanctuary wasn't in Onett, but the closest town was Twoson, so maybe he could find some info on where to go next there?

Sapphire sighed and put on his shoes. It was really the only idea he had, but it was also, probably, the most profitable. After all, not much else was in Onett. Time to move on. He slung his bag over his shoulder and exited his room, almost bumping into the bellhop. "Oh, excuse me, sir, I was just about to deliver your morning paper."

"Thanks." Sapphire took the paper and looked it over, smiling when he read the headline. 'Tamer of the Sharks actually a boy in a red cap!' He was recognized as a hero! Then again, he was also technically a vigilante… Well, all the more reason to get out of Onett. He could deal with being arrested or whatever after his journey.

Before he left the building, he saw a phone on the main desk with a card that said 'free phone calls.' Sapphire walked over and picked it up, dialing the number for his house. The phone rang twice before there was a click and he heard his mother's voice. "Hello?"

He grinned. "Hey, Mom."

"Oh, Sapphire! You called much sooner than I thought."

"I wanted to let you know I'm all right. I'm going to head to Twoson soon, and I wanted to know how you and Tracey are."

"We're doing just fine back at the house. And King scares off any rabid dogs, crows, or snakes, so we're perfectly safe!"

"That's good to know. I'm glad you're alright."

"But what about you? I got the paper this morning and it was talking about how you put a stop to those nasty Sharks! I'm so proud of my little boy!"

Sapphire's grin widened, even as his voice wavered. "T-thanks, mom!"

In the background, Sapphire could hear running and Tracey's voice. "…that Sapphire?"

"Oh that's right, Tracey has started working for the Escargo Express!"

"Seriously? That's awesome!"

"Here, I'll let you talk to her. And make sure to call whenever you have time, but if you're too busy I'll understand!"

"I can make time, don't worry." Sapphire smiled.

There was a sound on the other end before he heard his beloved little sister's voice. "Big bro! You're all right!"

"You know it, Trace. Don't worry, Big brother is gonna go out and save the world to make sure it's safe for you and mom."

There was a giggle on the other end. "Well don't knock yourself out in the process all right? Make sure to take breaks every now and then!"

"I'll remember sis, don't worry."

"Oh, so did mom tell you about how I'm working for the Escargo Express now?"

"Yeah, and so young, too!"

"Well, I wanted to help you out on your adventure. So I figured this would be a great way to do so! Speaking of, do you need and deliveries or pick-ups?"

Sapphire almost said no, before remembering the Cracked bat he no longer had a use for. "Actually, yeah, I've got something for pickup. It's the old cracked bat. It's been a bit damaged, well, more so than it already was, but I can't really use it. I want you to keep it, and whenever you head to school make sure to take it and King for protection. If your teachers have a problem with that, they can talk to me, the savior of the world!"

There was a laugh, "Alright Big Bro, I'll make sure to do that. We'll send someone over for pickup immediately! Bye Bro!"

"See ya, Trace!" There was a click, and Sapphire put the phone down. He then picked it up again, before dialing the number for his father. The phone rang before his dad picked up. "Hey, dad?"

"Ah, there's my little hero! How are you, Son?"

Sapphire grinned. "I'm doing just fine, dad. About to head out from Onett for… oh, I guess you don't even know what's going on, do you?"

"Well, your mother actually filled me in! Going on an adventure to save the world? That's my boy!"

"Heh, thanks, dad."

"I want to help as much as I can, so besides just recording your adventure, I'm going to be sending money to your account whenever I can!"

Sapphire was shocked, but touched."D-dad, you don't have to do that!"

"Of course I do." His father sounded uncharacteristically serious. "You're going to need money for food, supplies, bus tickets, all sorts of things. If I can't be there to protect you in person, then I'll do it however I can."

"I… Thanks."

"It's no problem. Now! How about you tell me all about your adventure so far!" Sapphire did so, taking a few minutes to explain how he'd gotten rid of the Sharks, and then battled his way through Giant's Step before fighting a Titanic Ant. "Wow! Now that sounds exciting! All right, I've written down your adventure so far. Good luck out there, son, I know you'll make me proud!"

"You've got it, dad." There was a click on the other end, signaling the end of the conversation before Sapphire put down his phone. He smiled, before turning and moving to leave.

He exited the hotel and began walking south, where the pavement transferred to dirt. Sapphire snorted, noting how his town was so out of the way that they didn't even have paved roads that connected to the next town over. However, his heart dropped when he saw that there was a police blockade ahead. And not one that he could sneak by, there were several officers, along with multiple cars.

He walked up to one of the officers, trying to use his thirteen-year-old charm. "Excuse me mister, but why-"

"If you want to get past, ya can't. The only way to lift the roadblock is to talk with Chief Strong." Sapphire flapped his mouth a second at the cop's quick dismissal, before sighing and walking away. Just perfect. Now, he had to go to the police station. No choice in the matter.

The station was actually rather close to the edge of town, being on one of the last few streets on the south end of town. He entered the building, looking around until his eyes fell on the police officer that had approached him at Giant's Step. The officer spotted him at the same time and stormed over, "So there you are!"

Sapphire leaned back as the officer leaned in, spittle flying. "You're the little delinquent that came back from Giant's Step!"

"Sir, as I tried to say earlier-"

He was cut off. "Now you listen here, Don't enter means just that! DO NOT ENTER! You got that?!"

"Sir-"

"And furthermore…" Sapphire began drifting off, the officer's words drifting in and out as he began talking about tax evaders, and blocking off the roads, then whiners complaining about meteorites and emergencies. Sapphire began rubbing his temples, annoyed.

Eventually, he just cut the cop off. "Sir, I need to talk with Chief Strong about lifting the roadblock."

The officer's veins visibly grew in agitation, before another officer grabbed their shoulder and pulled them back calmly. Sapphire looked the guy over and deduced that he was either Chief Strong or another high-ranking officer. "Why is the road to Twoson closed? Why an emergency of course!"

"What emergency?"

The man just ignored him. "Why, at times like these, kids like you should just be playing Nintendo games."

"Listen…" Sapphire thought for a moment, "I have a cousin in Twoson who is super sick, I need to go see them."

The Chief leaned over him, rubbing his chin. "Are you sure you want to travel to Twoson?"

"Absolutely."

He leaned back, before chortling. "Very well. Follow me." Sapphire nodded and began following the officer past several jail cells, and an officer standing outside them. Soon, they entered a dull grey room, with only five other officers. The Chief turned to him, as one of the officers locked the door.

Sapphire narrowed his eyes and slowly reached back for his bat. "What's going on?"

The chief just spread his arms to indicate the officers. "Show me what you've got."

"I don't want any trouble, sir." Nevertheless, he moved his bat into a ready position and wrapped his fingers around the leather hilt, licking his lips nervously.

"See if you can get past five of my best men." At that, he walked away and stood next to the door. Oh damn it, were they corrupted by Giygas too?! Sapphire immediately observed the room. As he'd saw before, the room was pretty empty, but there were two tall windows that he could crawl out of…

Before he could decide on a course of action, one of the officers jumped at him and swung their fist like a karate chop. Sapphire ducked away and brought his bat forward. "Hey, small fry, you must be shaking in your boots!" Sapphire glared at him in response and dodged his next karate chop.

"I've fought scarier," Sapphire yelled back, slamming his bat into the officer's stomach. As he bent over winded, Sapphire slammed his bat upwards, throwing them backward. The officer fell onto his back, before getting up. Sapphire readied himself for another attack, but instead, they walked towards the door, rubbing their face. "Damn, you're good. You should join the police force!"

"The average policeman is stronger than any superhero!" Sapphire spun as a second officer sprang forward, slamming a fist into his stomach. Sapphire coughed and fell back, before winding up and swinging hard. The officer surprised him with his speed and ducked, rolling under his attack before chopping him in the back.

Sapphire stumbled forward and growled, before turning quickly and catching the cop's next attack. The officer looked surprised that the thirteen-year-old boy could catch his attack, before Sapphire slammed the hilt of his bat into their nose, before whacking them away with it. They fell back, but when they got up they walked away, holding their nose and talking with a nasal tone of voice. "Oh… You won…"

Sapphire grinned to himself. These guys weren't so tough after all! Of course, there were five of them, but as long as they kept it to one-on-one battles he'd be fine. The next cop jumped forward, assuming some weird stance. "Don't let the mayor's compliments go to your head! Bring it on, fat boy!"

"Hey!" Sapphire growled and charged the officer, swinging hard for his ribs. The officer dodged back before leaping forward and smashing a chop into his face. Sapphire stumbled back as he felt warm blood leak from his nose, and fell to one knee. As the cop above him ranted about how he'd won, Sapphire clenched his fists. "PSI Lifeup α."

After he whispered to himself and his body glowed slightly, he jumped up, slamming the top of his head into the officer's chin, before reeling back and slamming his bat into the officer's stomach. The officer fell back into another officer's arms, before grumbling and leaving the room. "Heh, let's do this again sometime… Next time, I'll take you out with my nuclear suplex attack!"

Sapphire watched as he left, before turning to the next officer, who started by charging at him. "C'mon! I'm gonna take you apart right here, right now!" Sapphire just held his bat forward like he was bunting and the officer ran straight into it. He coughed out a breath, and Sapphire wound back and slammed them to the side. "Gah… I lost…"

The officer quickly left the room, and the last cop approached. Sapphire readied himself, but the cop just held up his hands and shook his head. "Hey, no need to worry about me, I'm going to call for my boss!"

Sapphire watched him go, before laughing to himself. He'd just beat up four bigger and… maybe not stronger adults, but still! One had even run away! Chief Strong nodded before stepping forward, twirling the edge of his mustache. "There is no way that I can best you in a straight competition… So, get ready for my 'Super Ultra Mambo-Tango-Foxtrot martial arts!"

"But… wouldn't it still be a one-on-one?"

Chief Strong paused for a moment, before shrugging. He then began jumping back and forth, waving his fists around weirdly. Sapphire raised an eyebrow as he watched before Strong leaped at him suddenly. Sapphire ducked under the attack and slammed his bat into the chief's side, causing him to stumble back.

He began dancing around again and when Sapphire charged him and swung, he defended quickly and his arms and Sapphire's bat shook as they impacted before Sapphire leaped back as Strong tried a submission hold.

Sapphire narrowed his eyes and threw his hand forward. "PSI Hypnosis α!" A flash of blue and pink light and Strong slumped forward dazed. Sapphire took the opening and slammed his bat against the chief's face, throwing them backward. This woke Strong, who recovered quicker than Sapphire expected and lost his temper, before grappling him.

Sapphire was thrown down and began choking when he realized he was now in a submission hold. He felt himself begin to black out, before he placed his hands against the floor and pulsed energy through them. He couldn't talk, but he could think the words and quickly launched a PSI Hope.

The ground below them erupted, the room getting lit up by the bright colors as they were thrown apart. Sapphire rolled to his feet, but Strong just lay there, before nodding. "I didn't think you would do so well against the Onett police force…" He got up, rubbing his face.

"Well, I did. Now open up the road." Sapphire narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Of course, you've proved you're strong enough to take care of yourself in the wild, and I gave my word. I'll radio my men and have them open the road." Sapphire nodded. He began exiting the room as the Chief talked on the radio, telling the officers about him. "Yeah, it'll be a kid in a red cap named Sapphire,"

Sapphire paused for a moment. "I didn't tell him my name…" shaking his head, he just continued along, until he reached the front door of the building with the officer that he'd encountered at Giant's Step waiting for him.

The officer looked at him for a moment, before smiling and nodding at him. "Good luck, kid." Sapphire nodded back and exited. He immediately headed south towards the roadblock, and the officers guarding it. Before he reached it, a delivery guy ran up.

"Hello, I'm from Escargo Express, here to pick up something?"

Sapphire nodded and pulled his cracked bat out from his bag, handing it to the man. "How much?"

"Your fee is eighteen dollars, please!" Sapphire nodded and gave him his money. Sapphire watched the guy run away before he stepped towards the police roadblock. The officers quickly noticed him and one stepped forward.

"You Sapphire?"

"Uh, yeah, that's me."

He nodded. "Well, I got the okay from the chief to let you through, good luck out there."

"Thanks." Sapphire smiled toothily back as the officer moved a barricade to the side. He quickly walked through, following the dirt road south. He was out of Onett, and on his way to save the world. But not just him of course, there were three others, a boy and two girls. Aside from the next Sanctuaries, maybe he could start looking for his companions in Twoson…

Sapphire stumbled as a lance of pain shot through his head, and he suddenly remembered his dream. what was that…? Something had spoken to him in his dreams? Or, someone? A friend he hadn't met yet?

That was probably one of them! It was a female voice too, so it was the girl of the group! He didn't know her name though… but, he at least had a slight lead, maybe his next companion was close by! Maybe even in Twoson!

The trees grew taller as Sapphire walked down the path, a couple of small houses nestled between the trees until the sun above him was almost completely blocked out. Luckily some sunlight still drifted through to light the way, but it was creepy enough as is. He couldn't imagine how spooky it could be at night. Every once in a while he could see something moving through the underbrush, and what looked like Antoids crawling across the path or up trees.

Of course, most didn't attack except for the more stupid ones, which he easily crushed. Eventually, he took a turn and began walking through an area with several red mushrooms swaying in the wind. Something tickled at the back of his mind, but he wasn't sure what, since everything looked normal.

Sapphire stopped, however, when he realized there was no wind. He slowly brought his bat out, expecting something to pop out, but was instead startled when the mushrooms themselves popped out of the ground on tiny legs and ran at him.

"You've got to be kidding me. Really?" Sapphire wound back and slammed his bat into a mushroom, throwing it aside until it slapped into a tree and stopped moving. "C'mon Giygas, mushrooms? MUSHROOMS?!" He slapped his bat downwards and squished another mushroom.

A third tried running at him and kicking him, but it was even more pathetic than the Antoids in that it didn't even hurt him. He almost felt bad for the little guys. At least, until it shook itself, and a cloud of spores enveloped him. He immediately sneezed and felt his eyes water, before he growled and kicked it away where it tumbled across the ground and went still.

Two were left, but when Sapphire tried slapping them aside with his bat, he almost vomited as the entire world went sideways. And not in the way that meant he had fallen on his side, no, his feet were planted in the ground but the world was on its side.

He growled and stumbled around, almost slamming into a tree before he wound up again and slammed his bat into the first mushroom, slamming it into the second and throwing them both into the underbrush. Sapphire then began stumbling forward, holding his head.

He was poisoned, probably. He needed to get to a hospital or something! Should he backtrack to Onett? The world lurched again as he tried turning. No, he couldn't go back, or else he'd collapse. He had to keep moving forward. Hopefully, there'd be a place in Twoson…

He fell to his knees, before crawling forward and grabbing a tree, pulling himself back up. His world was upside down now, literally, but he had to keep moving or else he'd succumb to the poison. Eventually, he spotted an opening in the trees and shot out into the sunlight. "Hi!" Sapphire turned to see a blonde lady smiling at him. "Would you like me to tell you about Twoson?"

"H-hospital…"

"Oh, the hospital is just east of here." Sapphire nodded only to gag when that made him more nauseous. He walked towards the hospital, not paying attention to the woman's passing remark. Something about a mushroom growing out of his head. Eventually, he reached the hospital and stumbled inside, before blacking out.

Several hours later Sapphire awoke, groaning. He looked to the side and jumped, the face of an unknown man inches from his own. "Hello," the man had grey hair and a beard, with wide eyes that seemed to stare through him. Sapphire remembered stumbling into the hospital before he had blacked out, so he almost assumed the man was a doctor if it wasn't for the priest like robes and vacant stare. "Though you may not believe it, I'm a healer."

Sapphire groaned in response.

"If people have illness' that cannot be treated at hospitals, they come to me." Sapphire nudged away, recognizing that the guy was probably crazy. "I noticed," the man licked his lips like he was nervous. "That you have a mushroom growing out of your head. Would you mind selling it to me? I'll pay you fifty dollars."

Sapphire gurgled something, but before he could say anything, blacked out again. What seemed like seconds later for him Sapphire awoke, shooting up and looking around. When he didn't see the weird healer guy, he relaxed, until he saw fifty dollars sitting on the nightstand. Sapphire stared for a moment, before picking it up and putting it in his pocket, vowing to never think on it again.

He grabbed his backpack from a chair near the bed and quickly exited the room, making his way out of the hospital. When the doors closed behind him, Sapphire breathed in and looked over the town of Twoson. It was a bit bigger than Onett, but still not an actual city. A few blocks away Sapphire could see a department store, while further in the distance he could see what looked like a park.

Sapphire paused and thought. Well, he was in Twoson… so now what? He began walking down the street, wondering what to do next. When he passed by a bicycle shop, he was tapped on the shoulder, and as he turned around he found the blond camera guy standing behind him. "Hey, it's you!"

"Get ready for an instant memory!"

"Hey wait, I-"

"Ready? Say Fuzzy Pickles!" A flash of light later and Sapphire had to blink the spots out of his eyes. When he looked around again, he sighed, seeing that the cameraman was nowhere to be found. He continued walking, eventually passing by a place named the Chaos Theatre.

He paused, seeing a line in front of the theatre. He turned the corner and saw what looked like two performers hanging out by their bus. He decided to talk with one of them, after all, performers traveled a lot, and if they traveled a lot, then they might know of some Sanctuaries! Or at least, weird magical spots like Giant's Step. "Hi, are you two traveling performers?"

One, the slightly chubbier one nodded. "Yep. We're called the Runaway Five! Although, we have a few money problems, so we're stuck in debt to the theatre. We aren't going to be traveling anytime soon…"

"Oh…" Sapphire sighed, dejected. It was a long shot, but still.

"You aren't from around here then? We've been stuck in Twoson for a while now," the skinner member said.

"Nope, I'm from Onett."

"Ah, so have you come here to try and see that famous girl who loves a bit to the south of here?"

Sapphire perked up slightly. A famous girl? Could that be…? "No, tell me about her!"

"I may be part of the Runaway Five, but that girl that lives at the house with the preschool is certainly the talk of the town. Word is, she has some weird powers! What was it… magic? No, no, PSI!"

Sapphire grinned. That must be her then! "Where does she live?"

"It's a place called the Polestar Preschool, just south of here, as I said." Sapphire grinned and thanked the man, before heading south. He ran down the street, grabbing a stop light to make a quick turn to run across the crosswalk, having to dodge around a car, shouting a quick sorry to the driver.

Eventually, he slowed down, looking at a house with the sign next to it reading Polestar Daycare. As he walked up to the door, a little boy playing outside looked over at him. "Are you here to see Willow?"

A park

A blue village

A cage

Ice fire and lightning

A bow atop blonde hair

A… frying pan for some reason

Prayers, in a dark and lonely void

"Thank you for escorting me home, Sapphire."

Sapphire stumbled as a wave of memories that had not happened, and knowledge of will-be's slammed into him. A moment later the knowledge of them was gone except for faint impressions, but Sapphire stood up, confident. Willow. The second Chosen. "Yes."

"She's not here."

Sapphire face-faulted before looking at the kid. "Well, where is she?"

The child shrugged as they bounced their ball. "I don't know. Some people think she was kidnapped though."

"Damn it," Sapphire hissed at himself, before walking away from the building. What was he going to do now? He- Sapphire slowed as another lance of pain shot through his head, before the image of the park appeared in his mind. Why? What was in the park?

Sapphire clenched his fists and shook his head. Well, it was the only lead he had, even if it wasn't a lead at all, and came from inside his own head. As he walked towards the park, he passed by two houses, one with a sign that said 'Apple Kid,' another with a sign that said 'Orange kid.' As he passed by the orange one, several girls were swooning about how the guy inside was a famous inventor, and incredibly smart while the apple one was much more useless.

Sapphire glared at them as he passed. Talking dirty about someone like that was just downright rude. Eventually, he reached the park, and some guy outside the park turned to him. "Y'know, Burglin park is pretty dangerous, but they've got some great stuff there."

Sapphire paused, confused on why someone would just randomly go up and talk to a stranger. Really, who does that? "Uh, why is it dangerous?"

"See that house, near the middle of the park? Yeah, some guy named Everdred lives there. People say he's involved with stuff like robberies and kidnappings."

Sapphire's eyes widened, and he turned towards the house in the distance. Kidnappings? He could be one of the people responsible for kidnapping Willow! "Thanks for the info!" Sapphire jogged into the park, eyes glued to the house. All around him were stalls selling different items, mostly food, but a couple sold regular items, and Sapphire felt his eyes drift to a few cool bracelets.

There was an ATM nearby and Sapphire but his lip, before deciding to take some money out just in case. He was beginning to run low on money anyway. When he inserted his card he saw his father had put more money on like he said he would, meaning he now had five-hundred dollars in his account. He grinned and withdrew three-hundred since most of the items in the market were ridiculously expensive. Seriously, ninety-eight dollars for a bracelet? "What a great economy we have," Sapphire chuckled to himself.

Eventually, he reached the house, well, it was actually more of a shack, and he raised his hand to knock on the door, before

Danger.

Sapphire quickly backed up, readying his bat. Somebody landed in front of him, and Sapphire raised an eyebrow as the guy held his ankle in pain, before jumping up again. The guy had a bizarre outfit on, a bright orange floral shirt and polka-dotted grey pants, along with a bowler hat over some dreadlocks. He grinned at him from below his handlebar mustache, his eyes twinkling behind his tiny sunglasses.

Sapphire narrowed his eyes at the man. "You Everdred? I'd like a chat with you."

"Wahaha!" The man cackled as he hopped back and forth, "why don't we chat later after we've locked horns!"

Sapphire dodged to the side as Everdred threw a punch, knitting his brow. "I don't want to fight, but I will if you force me!" Everdred's only reaction was to wear a large grin, making Sapphire shake his head before rushing him. Everdred dodged his attack by jumping backward, and as Sapphire raised his hands to fire off a PSI Hope, he realized it could hit people in the market.

Instead, he lowered his hand, readying his bat for another attack. Everdred saw him give up on his attack and rushed him, baring his… fangs? He was going to bite him! Sapphire ducked to the side before bringing his bat up and slamming him aside. "Brat!" Before he could get up, Sapphire fired a PSI Hope α, seeing that he wouldn't be endangering bystanders.

The explosion of colors threw up a cloud of dust and Sapphire approached the cloud expecting Everdred to be knocked out, but he was surprised when Everdred jumped out of it. Sapphire wound up, just as Everdred landed a hard punch on his face, smashing his bat into Everdred's face.

While Sapphire stumbled back, Everdred flew back, slamming into the wall of his shack. Sapphire felt his cheek, wincing at the pain and thinking about using Lifeup, before deciding not to. It was just a bruise, nothing serious. He watched Dverdred struggle to get up, chuckling. "Hey! Are you going to attack me again, Everdred?! Er, if you are Everdred…"

"Yes, I'm Everdred, the boss of Burglin park." He took a step forward and yelped, grasping his foot. Sapphire raised an eyebrow, and Everdred grinned sheepishly. "Heh, I twisted my ankle when I jumped from the roof."

"Didn't seem to affect you during the battle," he muttered. He then held his hand forward and lit it up with PSI Hope. "Now, apparently you know some stuff about burglaries and kidnappings, so how about you tell me if you know where Willow is!"

"I know where Willow is, but I wasn't the one who kidnapped her." Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "She was taken to a hideout in Peaceful Rest Valley

A feeling of… blue washed over him

by some chubby boy and a weird guy in a blue outfit." Sapphire lowered his hand, letting the psychic attack fizzle out. "They said they were going to make her some kind of human sacrifice, they were definitely hard-core strange. I think some wacko religious cult lives where they were taking her."

"What?! I've got to stop them!"

"Good luck kid, Peaceful Rest Valley is to the east of Twoson. If you save her, remember to come back here and see me, yeah? And pack some food, it's a bit of a trip." Sapphire nodded his thanks and ran out of the park. Human Sacrifice? God, what kind of freaks lived there? Well, Everdred did tell him some religious cult lived there…

On his way out of the park, he saw the guy who told him about Everdred hiding behind a sign. When he saw him coming, he motioned for him to get down. Before he could, loud barking drew his attention and he looked towards the source to see a police officer and two police dogs.

Something was off, however. The dogs looked more feral than other police dogs, and the officer himself had some blue aura around him that made his skin look slightly blue. Sapphire lowered his stance slightly, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was confirmed when one of the dogs noticed him and began sprinting towards him, the other following and the officer in the back, getting out a baton.

Sapphire threw his hand forward, focusing his power. "PSI Hope α!" The bright Attack flew forward and detonated right below the dogs, throwing them back and kicking up dust. Knowing better from his fight with Everdred, he didn't close in, instead backing up so he'd have more time to react if anything shot out of the cloud.

This was confirmed to be the smart thing to do when one of the dogs flew out, looking slightly worse-for-wear. He brought his bat down on the dog's head, making it whine before the other dog shot out and tackled him. He wrestled with it as its jaws snapped for his neck, before throwing a hand against its chest. "PSI Hypnosis α!"

Zap! The dog slumped forward and he threw it off, scrambling to his feet. The first dog was holding its head, the second now asleep, the cop was still recovering from the Hope… and now more dogs were running in. Great. He could launch a Hope to knock them out, but that would waste his energy… and Willow needed his help now!

He couldn't waste any more psychic energy on this battle! Sapphire turned and ran, looking for a place to hide, while mentally checking his reserves. He focused on his energy and guessed he had about half. He wouldn't be getting nauseous or anything like back in Onett anytime soon, but he needed all that he had to beat up that cult.

Eventually, he reached a house and without knocking slammed in through the front door. There was a startled yell from someone inside but he ignored it as he slammed the door closed. There were several thumps as the dogs slammed into the door, and he braced himself to keep it closed. He reached for the locks on the door and closed them, stepping away.

He turned around and saw a chubby kid standing amidst a pile of technological garbage. "Uh… hi. Sorry for barging in like that." He looked around at the house, noting the garbage. "Ah, nice house…"

"Well, it's not like I was expecting a visitor," the kid pointed out, making Sapphire shrug in acknowledgment. "Anyway, I'm Apple Kid, if you didn't see the sign outside." Sapphire nodded, remembering the two houses he'd walked by earlier, and the girls talking about the inventors.

Apple Kid's stomach growled, and Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Haven't eaten in a while?"

"No," he said sheepishly. Sapphire dug around in his bag and pulled out the extra burger he never got around to eating. "Wow, thanks!"

"No problem. Think of it as payment for your front door protecting me from some evil dogs."

"Ah, speaking of payment," Apple kid looked up from the burger he was biting into, "I'm sure you know that I'm an inventor, but I'm running low on funds. If you loan me some money, I can make some inventions, and design some specifically for you."

Sapphire thought about it. If he was going to be out saving the world, there were definitely going to be some problems he'd have to solve with his mind instead of his muscles. And powers. It could be useful to have an inventor helping him out. "Alright, sure. What do you need?"

"Well, two-hundred dollars would be fine…" he smiled sheepishly as Sapphire sputtered. "I know it's a lot, but I promise the first machine I invent I'll give to you."

Sapphire sighed, before reaching for his wallet and grabbing two-hundred dollars. "Here."

"Oh, thanks so much! I won't let you down!" He dove into the pile of garbage, grabbing various prices of metal and began measuring them against each other.

As Sapphire shook his head and turned to leave, he jumped back and brought his bat up when a rat scurried in front of the door. "Gah!" He jumped forward and brought his bat down, but the rat scurried away. Before he could swing again, the rat seemed to hold up its tiny paws in surrender.

(Wait, wait!)

Sapphire lowered his bat, eyeing the rat. While to his ears he had heard squeaks, in his mind he had heard english words. Could he read animal minds now? Maybe he should test on King next time he got home… "What do you want, rat?"

The rat's nose twitched almost looking irritated, and it stood on its hind legs. (I'll have you know I'm a mouse, but I don't have a name yet.)

"Whatever. What do you want?"

(You helped my master and gave him food, so I want to help you. In return for taking care of my master, take this.) he scurried into a pile of machines, before dragging out a cell phone.

"You're… giving me a cell phone?"

(It'll come in handy, I'm sure. But I must be in your way.) the rat scurried away, and Sapphire sighed, exiting the house after checking if the cop and his dogs were gone. Seeing nothing, he exited. As he walked up the road, he reached into his bag absentmindedly, grabbing the cookie that Tracey had given him. Seeing Apple Kid eat his burger made him hungry.

As he bit into the cookie, he paused and lifted a hand to his bruised cheek from the Everdred fight. "You've got to be kidding me." He definitely felt it, the pain in his cheek was vanishing. He checked to make sure he wasn't using Lifeup, and sure enough, his hand wasn't glowing. So there was only one conclusion. "I can heal myself. By eating food."

His eyes turned towards the department store in the distance that most definitely would have multiple food stores, and grinned. First, stock up on food to heal with. Then, Peaceful Rest Valley. "Don't worry Willow," he said as he began jogging, "I'll be on my way soon, just hold out a bit longer!"

You know, in Magicant there's a part that implies that Ness has telekinetic powers. So I thought, what if he also had Clairvoyance? After all, Earthbound is a notoriously hard game to find your way through if you're playing it for the first time and aren't using the player's guide or Hint Man. It gives me a good way to move the story along without the character doing something completely random that only a video game player would do, and not someone in real life.

For example, There's no point in the game, at least I don't remember if there is, where someone says "Go to Burglin park and fight Everdred." As a player, you'd be exploring and eventually find it on your own, but in real life, when you're hurrying along and trying to save the world plus this new girl that talked to you in your dreams? Why would you randomly explore a park? Plus, I get to do those cool line breaks and type all weirdly without punctuation. That's always fun.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If you have a suggestion or question or even a comment leave a review, even if that comment is just "nice chapter." Those always make me happy to read. :)