VII
LILLIPUT STEPS

Dinner that evening at Carpainter's villa had to be the second-most awkward dinner Ness had ever attended: the first being the dinner when he first met Tori's parents, where the bananas foster incident is still a topic of conversation at Café Diem.

Paula wouldn't take her eyes off Carpainter, and she made Ness taste everything on her plate before she would eat anything. Ness apologized to their host for her behavior, but Carpainter just waved it off, stating he deserved it.

Paula's trust issues did not end there that evening. When Carpainter escorted them to the room Paula would be sleeping he she made Ness turn it over to check for any traps or anything else that could hurt her. Carpainter watched silently as Ness worked, knowing he did not deserve the trust Ness showed him, but silently thanked him for the opportunity to redeem himself. Once Paula was satisfied that the room was, in fact, safe, he help Ness put the room back in order without complaint.

Once the room was back in order, he turned to Ness. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room."

"No," Paula told them as she sat on the bed.

Ness turned to Paula. "What?"

Paula hugged her knees. "Don't, don't leave me alone tonight."

Ness stared at her for a moment, and he could see the fear in her eyes. He nodded. "Alright."

Carpainter gave an understanding nod. "Very well. I'll get a pillow and some blankets out of the next room." He walked out and returned a few moments later with the pillow and blankets.

Handing his load to Ness he said in a hushed tone, "I've been thinking about what you asked about at dinner. I've never heard of these Sanctuaries you asked about, but there is a strange place near here in that cave on the east side of the village. There is a strange power there, and no one can enter without being haunted by a disembodied voice claiming only the Chosen One is welcome there."

Ness' brow furrowed in thought. "Sounds like Giant Step back in Onett."

"Might be worth a look?"

"Definitely." Ness looked back at Paula, who was still hugging her knees and staring off into space. Turning back Carpainter he said, "She'll probably need some more rest anyway, so I can check it out tomorrow. Has there been any word on the search for Porky?"

Carpainter shook his head. "He's gone. Stole some food from the store and took off."

Ness scowled. "Damn chicken-wuss. As long as he's out there she could still be in danger."

"Don't worry. As long as she's here I'll protect her with my life."

Ness smiled at him as he gave an affirming nod. "I believe you," he looked back at Paula, "and she will, too, given time."

Carpainter gave a disheartened sigh, but said, "Thank you. Good night." He looked to Paula. "I know you don't believe me yet, but I truly am sorry for what I've done, and I will protect you while you're here. Good night."

When Paula didn't respond Carpainter left with another disheartened sigh. Ness dropped his load by the bed and sat down next to Paula. "He really isn't the same man that ordered your kidnapping." Paula still didn't respond. "Look, I think that the Mani Mani statue is tool of Giygas th—"

"The Cosmic Destroyer," Paula interrupted. "I know."

"Then you know that Carpainter wasn't acting of his own accord. In fact, I think he was fighting it."

Paula looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? He kidnapped me to make me his high priestess."

"Exactly. Giygas doesn't want us detained or distracted. He wants us dead. As long as we're alive we have a chance of shattering the Nightmare Rock, whatever the hell that is. He sent an assassin after me. He must've seen the statue's arrival here as an opportunity to have you destroyed, but Carpainter's subconscious fought, and I think his conscious mind got the signals crossed and came up with the priestess thing. I could sense the maelstrom in his head, but it was clear after I broke the statue's control over him."

Paula thought for a moment as she let go of her legs and crossed them, placing her hands in her lap. "I… guess that makes sense."

Ness got up and started to make his bed up on the floor. "Look, I'm going to check out a place where I think another Sanctuary is tomorrow while you finish recovering. You're gonna be left here with Carpainter, and he will be protecting you." He knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. "I trust him. Do you trust me?"

Paula hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

"Then trust him." Paula nodded. "Good." He let go of her hands and walked over his makeshift bed, taking off his hat, jacket, and shirt. "Now, let's get some sleep. If this is a Sanctuary I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow, and you still need to recover." He took his bats out of their sheath and laid one on each side of his bed, then slipped off his boots and socks. He walked over to the light switch and waited for Paula to take off her shoes and slip under her covers. "G'night, Paula," he said before turning out the lights.

{[()]}

Ness approached the cave on the east side of the village early the next morning. Fortunately, he had the presence of mind to bring the hardhat and rope with him when he came after Paula. There was a middle-aged man sitting outside the cave with a crazed look on his face. When he saw Ness start to go into the cave he cried out, "Stop!"

Ness did as commanded. "What?"

"The cave is haunted, man. It'll eat you alive."

The voices must've driven him mad, he thought to himself, feeling sorry for the poor soul. He put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm the Chosen One." He disregarded the man's continued protests as he turned the lamp on his hardhat on and delved into the cave.

After about an hour of climbing through the cave he stopped, sensing someone was behind him. In a flash, both bats were drawn and he spun around to face this unknown shadow of his, but he saw nothing. As he sheathed his bats and continued on his way, a cloud of startled bats dove at him from above. He dove for the ground and covered his head, waiting for the cloud to pass. As he waited, he could have sworn he heard a scream, but once the bats went on their way and he got up he still found no one around.

"I must be working too hard," he said to himself. With a shrug, he continued his trek.

After another half hour of spelunking, Ness came across a sleeping bear in an alcove along the path. He stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned off his lamp. He waited a minute to see if he had disturbed the bear. Hearing no signs of danger he slowly and as quietly as possible crept away from the slumbering titan. Once he felt he was far enough away he turned on his lamp and continued. His trek was immediately interrupted when he heard a woman scream, which was immediately followed by monstrous bellow from the bear. "NESS!" the woman screamed again.

"Paula!" Ness shouted as he spun around. Sure enough, he found Paula being backed into a corner by the bear he passed earlier. Without a second thought, he charged for the bear, drawing both bats. "Hey! Ugly!" he shouted be leaping for the bear. He landed on its back, and dropping the bats, he wrapped his arms around the mighty bear's thick neck. The bear reared on its hind legs with another bellow and tried desperately to twist and claw at Ness to get him off its back. The bear made a lucky twist, and Ness lost his grip and went flying into the wall. His hardhat fell off and landed with the light shining on Paula.

The bear returned its attention to Paula, who was crawling backwards away from the bear. "Ness! Ness, get up!" she screamed as the bear crawled toward her. Her back was now against the wall, and she had nowhere to go. Her hands were frantically searching for something, anything, she could use to defend herself. She looked back to Ness to see if he had gotten up. "Ness!" Still no response. She turned back to the bear and found it was right in her face. It let out a terrible roar as Paula's right hand fell on cold metal handle. Gripping it as hard as she could, she swung it with all her might, and smashed the bear in the face with the cast-iron skillet.

The bear stumbled back a few steps, regained its bearings, then let out another bellow as it prepared to charge. At that time, Ness awoke with a start. Recalling his bats telekinetically, he charged the bear bashed its head with one bat, then the other, then first again. Over and over, he hit the bear until he heard the skull crack and it stopped moving. He stepped back and dropped his arms to his sides, breathing heavily.

Paula got up and approached him. She started to thank him, but he turned on her. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Paula was taken back. "I—I—"

"You could've been killed!" He sheathed his bats and recalled the hardhat. Putting it back on, he continued, "You're in no condition to fight yet. What would you have done had I been further ahead and not able to get back here in time? Huh?"

"I—I…," she looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Damn right, you're sorry." Ness let out a heavy sigh. The adrenaline was starting to dissipate and he was calming down. "Look, I need you. I can't do this without you or the other two in the prophecy, whoever they are. That means you can't keep doing stupid shit like this. I don't know how much battle experience you have, but I've been fighting gang wars since I was fifteen. I knew you weren't ready, so I left you behind to get the rest you needed." He put his hand on her shoulder. "You said you trusted me, right?"

"Yeah…."

"And I trust you. I really do, but this time you should've trusted my experience. I don't claim to know everything, but I've got a pretty good beat on things." He let out another sigh. "Look, since you're already here we might as well go the rest of the way together. I saw the glow from the Sanctuary up ahead, so we're almost there."

"Okay. You're still an arrogant jock."

Ness chuckled with a shake of his head, then took her hand in his and led the way. Just as he said, the cave's exit was around. This exit was blocked by a glowing mass of energy just as Giant's Step was. As they approached, the energy spoke, "Who has entered the Sanctuary of the Lilliput Steps?"

They stopped. "Ness Gamage and Paula Polestar," Ness answered. "We are chosen by the Apple of Enlightenment."

"So the Chosen One and his companion are here at last. What is your purpose, Chosen One?"

"I've come to claim the power of the Lilliput Steps as my own to stop the evil that is coming."

"The Chosen One's path is noble, but the power of this Sanctuary is mine. Take it from me, if you dare!"

Just as with Giant's Step, the energy took the form of the Sanctuary's guardian, this time it was a giant mole. It stood almost eight feet tall on its hind legs. Razor sharp claw extended from its forefeet. Its mouth was foaming and filled with jagged fangs. It let out a shriek and charged at the duo.

Ness pushed Paula out of the way as he rolled to the other side; the mondo mole charging right between him. He drew his bats as he rolled back onto his feet. He shouted to get the mole's attention, and it worked. The mole charged at him. Ness defended against its sharp claws with his bats, getting a few lucky hits in on its torso.

Paula, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to do. She had no weapon, and even if she did, she knew she would only get in Ness' way. She looked around for something to help, the cave exit giving her enough light to see her surroundings. She found several large chunks of rocks lying around. Concentrating, she extended her arms out to her sides and started to levitate, as did the rocks around her. She then focused her thought on the monster attacking her savior. Throwing her hands forward, the large rocks flew at the mondo mole, pummeling it in the back of the head.

The distraction allowed Ness to get in some serious hits on the mole's abdomen and face. He used a psionic wave to push it away to give him room to perform his Grand Slam to end the battle quickly, but the mole used that opportunity to turn its attention to Paula. It charged at her, but Paula was already prepared. The temperature in the cave dropped rapidly and ice started form on the cave walls and floor. Several spears of ice formed in front of Paula and shoot straight into the giant mole's torso and head.

Ness saw the mole was slowed, but not dead. He dropped one bat and got into position. The trademark ball of energy formed before him. "Grand Slam!" he shouted before he hit the energy right into the mole's head. The mole's head exploded, and its body fell limp on the floor.

Paula gently touched back down as the floor and walls thawed. She ran over to Ness. "Are you okay?" she asked as she saw him nursing some cuts from mole's attacks.

"I'll be fine. I know a great doctor," he looked at the tears in his varsity jacket, "and tailor."

She turned back to the mole and gave a yelp as it turned back into energy and rushed out of the exit. Ness just smiled and led her out of the cave. When they got outside they saw a multitude of tiny footprints all over the ground. Taking the Sound Stone out of his pocket, he proclaimed, "I, Ness Gamage, chosen by the Apple of Enlightenment, claim the power of Lilliput Steps as my own."

A wave of bright energy erupted from the footprints and washed over Ness and Paula. He could hear the music, but it was still incomplete. As he heard the music, he could see baby with Onett Eagles ball cap on his head. Paula saw a little girl with blonde curls and pink ribbons.

The energy subsided and the Sound Stone recorded the melody. Paula looked over to Ness. Paula looked at Ness and saw his injuries were healed and his jacket repaired. "How…?"

"I dunno, really. The Sanctuaries completely restores the ones that conquer their guardians, I guess. C'mon. Let's get back to the village. Carpainter's probably shitting bricks since you've gone missing."

[A/N: I don't like to do author's notes, so you know this is important. I need your help. I'm calling on a poet or lyricist to help me write two songs for this fic since I suck at song writing. Both are to be sung by Paula during the Runaway Five concerts, one as a solo and the other as a duet with Venus. If you're interested in helping, PM me for more details. Since I'm doing an a/n, I might as well ask that if you haven't been, please review. Tell me you love this. Tell me you hate it. Also, I've been looking for someone to beta for me. Since no one wants to return my PMs, might as well ask here. Thank you.]