In flash of light, they were back in the janitor's closet. Karl accompanied them to ensure their passage went smoothly.
He saluted the three. "I admire your bravery for not many would be willing to face a possessed with nothing but the clothing on their back."
With a flash, Karl disappeared.
"Clothing's overrated," snorted Yoshi.
"I guess you'll die faster," said Ness.
Yoshi glowered at him before they left the closet. They walked into a hallway that was filled with the citizens of Springfield. They saw several fights in progress as well as people shouting at inanimate objects. Several individuals were thrown through windows. Once they landed they begun fighting each other.
"Looks like nothings changed," noted Pikachu.
Ness waved a hand. "Let's get going. We have a lot of ground to cover."
The trio began searching the dormitory with Ness walking as close as he could to other people. Occasionally they would take offense to which Pikachu would shock them into unconsciousness. Their progress was excellent. Ness only needed a few seconds to clear a person. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything other the usual mix of loathing, contempt, and murderous rage that characterized the typical Springfieldian.
They moved onward to the rest of the floors. It would be another 50 people shocked into unconsciousness before they cleared the patients' dormitory. It would take them an hour to cover the rest of the institution, excluding the prison, before moving on to the dormitories of the medical staff. To their dismay, Ness did not detect anything that would remotely indicated a possessed. They decided to take a break at the cafeteria.
"Maybe we missed someone," said Pikachu.
Ness shook his head. "No, we're not. I kept count."
Yoshi craned his neck back from the giant melon he was eviscerating. "Did you double count?"
"Everyone's psychic signature is distinctly different," explained Ness. "I know the difference."
He ran his hands over his face before removing his hat and scratched his hair roughly.
"What are we missing? What permutation are we overlooking?'
"What about Dr. Nick?" said Yoshi between bites of a turkey sandwich. "He likes to inflict pain."
Ness shuddered. "I forgot about him."
"Did you really?" inquired Pikachu.
"Alright, fine," confessed Ness, "I was hoping some unfortunate accident would happen to him before we got to this point. Wouldn't you have done the same?"
"I would, but I'm not the psychic here."
"How do we arrange a meeting with him," ask Yoshi.
"I think we all know what is the fastest way to him," said Ness.
They all looked at each other somberly. One of them had to be the sacrificial goat.
"Gentlemen," declared Ness, "the time-honored tradition."
And then they played rounds of Rock-Papers-Scissors. Within moments, it was all over.
The green dinosaur slammed his fist against the table. "Damn it!' screamed Yoshi. "Why did I pick rock?"
"Rules are rules, Yoshi," said Pikachu.
And so they headed to the recreational grounds to smash Yoshi's foot into fine paste.
"It doesn't have to fine paste," pleaded Yoshi.
"Probably not," grunted Ness as he hefted a large cinder block, "but the pain has to be genuine."
Yoshi took a deep breath. "Okay, on the count of three: one, two-"
Ness tossed the block onto Yoshi's foot. Yoshi fell to the ground, clutching his injured foot.
"What happened to three!" he screamed.
"It was going to happen whether we reached three or not," explained Ness.
The next few minutes would be of Yoshi rolling on the ground screaming death threats at Ness who was trying his best to look nonchalant. An orderly soon arrived to care for the injured dinosaur.
"No!' begged Yoshi. "Anyone but Dr. Nick! Just shoot me like you would for a lame horse or a dog with rabies!"
"I'm sorry," said the orderly calmly, "but I'm not qualified to make that judgment."
"He's panicking," hissed Pikachu to Ness.
"No he's not. He's just hamming it up," replied Ness.
They watched as Yoshi kicked out with his uninjured foot while trying to claw away.
"Alright, fine," conceded Ness. "He's losing it."
Pikachu and Ness helped the orderly strap Yoshi into a wheelchair.
"Can we accompany him?" asked Ness. "He happens to be a friend of ours."
"Sure," said the orderly.
The four made their made of the building and towards Dr. Nick's office. All the way, Yoshi was cringing in the wheelchair, imagining a threshold of pain that would surpass definition by any written language. Half way to their destination, Ness started to drop back a bit, grabbing Pikachu on the way. He compelled him to kneel onto the grass.
"Hey," called out the orderly, "is something wrong?"
"Not really," replied Ness. "We're just watching some ants carry a potato chip. You can go on ahead without us."
The orderly shrugged while Yoshi wailed. As soon as they moved off, Ness quietly removed the cell phone given to him and pressed auto-dial.
"What are you doing?" whispered Pikachu. "We're not there, yet."
"It's him," whispered Ness. "The orderly."
Pikachu stole a quick glace. "How? You cleared all the orderlies and their quarters are suppose to be shielded."
"That was our assumption. If you think about it, the orderlies were never constantly in a position to incur grievous harm unlike the patients. The demon must remain dormant until the moment it senses immense pain. He lays out the insanity magic-"
"Maybe he really did make them bored," said Pikachu.
Ness frowned in thought and than shook his head. "- and waits for the moment some poor sap is under Dr. Nick's care to start feeding. This orderly must unconsciously be driven to arrive first ."
"It figures," muttered Pikachu. "No medical personnel responds that fast."
Ness rolled his eyes.
"Hello?" said Natasha through the phone.
"He's on his way to Dr. Nick's examination room through the southern pathway."
There was a dial tone immediately afterward and Ness quickly deposited the cell phone into his pocket.
Almost immediately, a bright aura of azure energy enclosed each of the buildings of the institution. A circle of light was inscribed around the orderly followed by sigils and crosses of divine light that surrounded him. The orderly began screaming an unearthly wail. Yoshi was screaming his head off as his wheelchair rolled into a thorny rose bush. The orderly attempted to breach the circle, but drew his hand back as the divine barrier seared his hand. He collapsed onto his knees and suddenly threw his head back. Plumes of darkness emerged from his eyes and mouth. The barrier held the noxious entity for a moment, but eventually failed. The plume flew through the air before aiming itself at Ness and Pikachu. Ness threw his arms in front of himself even though knowing the futility of the action.
The plume crashed against an invisible barrier and flowed past. It tried to attack Yoshi but met the same resistance. It flew through the air aimlessly.
"Are you well, Ness?"
Ness turned to his right and saw Natasha in her armor along with what must have been the entire garrison along with the two giant wolves that guarded Natasha's chambers. She offered her hands to both Pikachu and Ness. They both accepted and got back onto their feet. A pair managed to get Yoshi from the Rose bushes. With disturbing accuracy, he picked off and ate every thorn that perforated him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. We're fine. Thanks for the save."
Natasha smiled broadly. "It is only a small repayment for what you did."
They watched as the plume moved erratically through the sky.
"Aren't you going to catch it?" asked Pikachu.
"Not at this moment," replied Natasha. "The longer it remains outside the host, the weaker it becomes. All the facilities and my people are protected. There is no one for several dozen kilometers in every direction. Once its strength is depleted, we can teleport to its location and cast a banishment spell without fear of attempted reprisals."
Suddenly the plume stopped in mid-air. The garrison murmured in confusion.
"Why is it doing that?" asked Ness.
"I have no idea," replied Natasha.
The plume dived past the walls of the grounds and then all was silent. The momentary quiet was shattered by a monstrous roar that quaked the ground. A claw larger than a Humvee grasped the outer wall and used it as an anchor to haul its massive body upwards. Ness gaped at the sight. Other than larger horns and orbs of fire for eyes, it was unmistakable who it was.
Bowser.
The demon had found a new host.
