Chapter 10: Ness (Gifted Child)
Onett
The sky was clear and the sun shined down on the quiet town. People were walking up and down the streets; kids were playing near a treehouse, and the mayor was at a ribbon cutting ceremony of a statue; honoring the four heroes that saved the world from a galactic threat. Meanwhile as it happened, right on a cliff was a broken spaceship; shielded by PSI energy. Scientists, police, and the military were surrounding it, wanting to know what was inside it. "Those voices… voices of man… why are they here..?" said a voice within the meteor. "Come on, men! We need to get close to that ship and see if there is a powerful alien inside!" said one scientist. "Powerful… alien..? Is that what they only think when they see a spaceship fall from the sky? True, my PSI energy is powerful… but, do they really stand a chance against me? After everything George had told them… they haven't seen my full power just yet. Those insects are going to pay for his betrayal" said the voice again.
The creature's eyes glew red brightly and broke free from its container and the ship. It flew up and stayed in mid air with its PSI; staring down at the humans looking up at it. "Stand down, everyone. No one motion it. Who knows what this creature can do?" said the general. The creature blinked its eyes and then gently floated down to the ground; crossing its arms, looking concerned. "As I live and breath... an alien with psychic abilities... powers that could help cure the diseases of the world!" said a scientist. "Cure this worlds diseases?" the creature asked. "Why, yes! With your amazing powers and intelligence... we can help everyone on this planet live longer!" the scientist replied happily. The scientist smiled and then snapped his fingers as if he commanded something. The alien looked around and then saw itself caught in a trap! Its arms, legs, tail, waist, and neck were hooked to PSI restraining devices. "What the hell are you doing!?" the alien said angrily. "Don't you see, Giygas? We've been waiting for your physical presence for 10 years... ever since that day you fought those three children before Ness, we've heard all about you from that Father of yours, we've been wanting you to become a powerful weapon... for us. Your powers, your strength, your intelligence... are the things that we need to show this world that we can be the most powerful beings in the entire galaxy!" said the general as he walked upto Giygas.
The group of humans laughed; celebrating their successful capture. Giygas stared them down angrily, knowing his rage was fuming inside his mind. "Just as I remembered years ago... these humans are nothing but greedy insects." said Giygas angrily. His eyes glew again and he broke free from his restraints. The group of people looked at him and saw the pure anger in his eyes. He put out his hand towards them and unleashed his powers on them; injuring some and making some run away from him. As he attacked, he saw a kid; made of shadow, join his side and helped him. They fought for a little bit and then watched the entire city block off the area. "You... what are you?" he asked his new ally. He stared down the kid and then began to realize the resemblance. "Ness? Is it really you? When did you become filled with darkness?" he asked. As he examined him; he noticed the kind of darkness that "Ness" was made of. "I see... tiny creatures made of the shadows... but yet, they copied your body and powers? But, how..?" he asked himself. Before he thought of anything, he looked upto the sky and saw a portal form and a ship fly out of it. As he looked at the ship, he began sensing a incredible power. A power that could possibly match his own. He blinked his eyes and then saw "Ness" begin to run after the ship. "What is this power that I'm sensing? Could it be the thing that I was searching for..? The power... to help me find my inner peace." he asked himself. He walked upto his broken ship and container; searching for something.
He dug through the rubble and found a photo in his container. He picked it up and recognized a human woman that raised him when he was a infant. "Maria... I will see you again with that new power, and we will be a family again... Mother..." he said. He put the photo away and then looked upto the sky; staring at the clouds passing by. Little did the world know as he looked up at the sky, his red eyes were filled with sorrow and sadness; not anger and pain.
Near Giygas's Ship- In the Woods
The Great Fox landed down peacefully near a lake; hiding behind some of the trees. We all walked out of the ship and felt a chill down our spines. "Uh... guys? Do you-a sense something wrong?" Luigi asked us nervously. "I can feel some kind of power around here... but I don't know what it is." Samus replied. I looked around and then walked upto the lake. "Hm? Maybe if I can sense that power through the area... I can find the source of where its coming from." I said in my thoughts. I knelt down and gently touched the ground. I put my hood down, closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and began tracking the power. Pikachu, Link, and Mario looked over and walked upto me; wondering what I was doing. "Pika-pi?" said Pikachu curiously while tilting his head. "She's reminding you of Lucario, little guy?" Link asked Pikachu. Pikachu nodded his head yes to his question. After a couple minutes, I found out what the power was and where it was coming from. I opened my eyes and stood up. "Taylor? Do you-a know what it is?" Mario asked me. "PSI energy. Just like what Ness and Lucas have." I said. "But, do you know where it's coming from?" Link asked. "Yeah, it's coming from the-" I said. "Guys, look out!" Fox yelled.
We turned around and saw a giant spider mech jump out of nowhere, making us prepared to attack it. "Hahaha... so, you're all friends with Ness right?" said a voice inside the machine. "Yeah, but who are you?" Fox replied. "Me? Well, I am Ness's best friend in the whole wide world! Pokey Minch!" Pokey proclaimed. "Oh really? If you are his "best friend"? Then... what day is his birthday?" I said. "Oh that's easy! His birthday is... uh, his birthday is?" he replied curiously. I noticed that I got him a little shook by my question; noticing that he was lying very quickly. Lucas would know Ness's birthday in a millisecond before anyone else would at the Mansion. "Ugh... this question's too hard!" said Pokey in disgust. "That's because you never really cared about him!" yelled a voice. "Huh?" he replied. "Who was that?" I said. We all looked out to the path to the city and saw three kids around Ness's age there; staring down Pokey angrily.
Pokey looked at them in shock for a moment and grew a dark smirk on his face. "Well, well, well... if it isn't you, Paula. Tell me, cutie... how's your boyfriend doing?" he said to her. Paula looked at him angrily and shed a couple tears; knowing how much Ness means to her. I' don't think you should've done that..." said Samus. "Paula, relax... he's trying to play you into his tricks." said one of her friends. "Jeff, Poo... thank you. I know what he is trying to do; but I need to know what he did to Ness!" she said to them. I turned back to Pokey and heard my Trophy Slate beep. I looked down at the screen and saw Ness's Trophy symbol inside Pokey's machine! "Of for the love of-" I said. Before we tried to reach him, we all were held by a psychic power. Pokey's machine struggled to move; realized that he can escape this fight. I struggled for a moment and then turned to the Master Sword on Link's back. I reached my hand out to it and lent some of my power to it in case something goes wrong. "What is going on!? Why are we trapped in mid air!?" Samus yelled. "Silence!" said a voice. We all looked to a cliff and saw a alien standing there with his hand reached out to us; covered in PSI energy. "Who is that?" said Luigi nervously. "Giygas! It's good to see you again, Master!" said Pokey happily.
Giygas jumped off the cliff and looked at all of us for a moment; holding us down with his power. "I don't understand? I thought we defeated you!" said Jeff. "True, but after you defeated me... you all set me free from my uncontrollable rage, turning me back to the creature I was once before our encounter." Giygas replied. He blinked his red eyes and then turned to me; sensing my energy. "You..." he said to me. My team turned to me as he walked upto me; fearing what he would to me. "Hey! You put one finger on her head..!" said Link. Giygas ignored him and then snapped his fingers. Everyone else turned and saw False Ness appear for the first time. "Ness? Is that really you?" said Paula worriedly. "Keep them in check, my friend... I need to take this human with me." Giygas commanded. False Ness nodded his head yes to the command and then looked back to everyone. "What about me, Master Giygas!?" said Pokey worriedly.
Giygas turned to him and stared at him in annoyance. "I've done everything to help you take down Ness and his friends! I followed every command you've asked! You can't just leave me here with them!" Pokey yelled. Giygas blinked his eyes and turned away from him. "You are no longer needed, foolish boy. You were a good servant; but you no longer serve a purpose for me. I'm no longer the Giygas that you've known." Giygas replied. He dropped everyone else from his power and made a unbreakable PSI Shield around them; keeping me and him out of it. Pikachu and Link ran upto where me and Giygas were and began punching the Shield. "You... you are coming with me." said Giygas. "To where?" I asked. "You'll see." he replied. We left the area silently and my team and Ness's friends stared down Pokey and False Ness angrily; ready to deal with them on their own.
At the Ship- Sunset
We walked upto his Ship and Giygas released me from his power; gently landing me on my feet. "Okay..? What do you want with me? Is my power something interesting to you? Like world domination kind or something?" I asked him. He stared at me silently and then began slowly walking to the edge of the cliff. I slowly walked upto him and watched him sit down; watching the sunset. "Human... there's something I should tell you. I... I did not take you to steal your power. I'm not here for world domination... that is no longer part of me anymore." he said in a sad tone. "Are you telling me the truth?" I asked him. He turned to me, nodded his head yes to my question, and patted his hand on the grass beside him. I walked over and sat beside him; seeing in his eyes that he was truly sad as if something was hurting him. "The truth is... I'm... I'm going to pass soon." he said. I looked at him in shock to hear what he had said. A cool evening breeze slowly passed by and I watched him lift up his head and looked to the sky. "My heart is very weak... my power is depleting... my spirit, is broken." he said. "How do you know?" I asked. "I have a incurable disease in my body that has made me very sick for quite sometime. It advances very quickly everytime I use my powers. It flows through my veins and makes my body weaker by the minute my powers are used." he replied.
I blinked my eyes and then put my hand on his shoulder. "But, what does this have to do with me?" I asked again. "With you?" he asked curiously. I nodded my head yes to his question. "Your power... can help me find my inner peace. The inner peace that I've lost many years ago." he replied. "And what would that be?" I asked. He sighed a little bit, blinked his eyes, and then looked upto the sky; seeing the stars beginning to appear. "Perhaps its easier that I tell you my life story, so you can truly understand who I really am." he replied. He turned to me and saw me nod my head in understanding. "It all began 90 years ago... others of my kind kidnapped two humans from this world. Their names were George and Maria. My kind wanted to experiment on them, but once they saw a infant... they both exchanged their lives to raise the infant as their son. The infant they raised... was me. They loved me unconditionally, especially Maria. She was the only human that actually cared about me as something more to her... she cared about me as her "son". Unfortunately, without even my kinds knowing... George was studying my PSI powers without consent. He was secretly culminating a way for him and Maria to escape... he betrayed us, but mostly he betrayed me. When they nearly escaped, I could see Maria crying out to me; begging George to not leave me alone... but he refused to listen to her. Once they were gone, my life was shattered... my heart was torn, and I was in emotional distress. My kind knew how much I've loved and cared about Maria. She was my whole world, the only one who made me truly happy, and loved and raised me as her own child... but after what George did to us, I had a grown a hatred towards humans." he said.
He put his hand to his heart and shed a couple tears; remembering how much he loved Maria with all of his heart. I looked at him and sadly blinked my eyes; truly understanding how he felt about her. I couldn't even think of being in his position when he was young. He just wanted to be loved by the two people he called his parents, but left him all alone because of George's secret studies and ambitions. "So... what happened next? Did you try to do something to find and see her again?" I asked. "I did... I traveled to this world 80 years later with a goal, to stop the spreading of PSI and take it back from mankind. In order to do that, I had to detach myself from Maria... after learning from my kind that George spread the use of PSI on Earth, against the wishes of my kind. Once I was matured, they tasked me to remove PSI from Earth." he replied. "But, you couldn't... you were defeated by a kid similar to Ness, right?" I said. He nodded his head yes to my question. "His name was: Ninten. He was the great-grandson of George and Maria, and also a PSI user. He and his friends defeated me by singing a song Maria always sang to me when I a baby. It triggered happy memories that I used to have with her back then. I then left Earth after that, and then a few years later... I gained incredible dark powers. They were so strong that they destroyed my body and mind; turning me into a powerful being of darkness and evil. I returned to Earth years later and became a monster of pure evil. A monster that could never be tamed by anyone... until I met Ness and his friends. They fought me through thick and thin and finally defeated me; setting me free from the monster I became. Once I was free, the form I was then gave me my incurable disease as a price of all the damage I've done to this world. After all of the pain that I've suffered... I never got to find and see Maria again. Even after all I've done, it made me realize that my darkness had taken me away from the one I cared about the most. I could've betrayed my people, just to protect her. I've realized that I could've made a choice that would change everything, but I was held captive by my anger and rage that made this world fall apart. All I've ever wanted was to have someone to be with me." he said. He put his head down and began to cry. I hugged him and let him cry on my shoulder; watching him wipe his tears away.
"But, do you think she's truly gone?" I asked him. He looked at me curiously; wondering what I had to say. "When you said that you were once defeated by a song that she once sang to you... did you truly hear her in your mind?" I asked. He blinked his eyes and then thought of my question for a moment. Once he thought of it, he heard her voice in his mind! He remembered how she always smiled at him, gave him little hugs and kisses, and sang to him everyday and night. He began to smile at those memories and then cried tears of love and joy. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and hugged him; comforting him like a good friend would do. "When you regained your memories of Maria, it warmed your heart right?" I said. He nodded his head yes to my question. "You could've betrayed your own kind... just to keep her safe. Do you have every right to blame George for everything that has been done? Sure. We all do things that we all think that can be good for others, but sometimes... they can be big mistakes that come back to bite us in the following years. Good people sometimes make bad decisions. They mess up, and let others down. But that doesn't make them bad people. We all make mistakes." I said. "Have you made mistakes in your life? Are there things you did in the past that you regret?" he asked.
I nodded my head yes to his question. "Of course. I've made plenty of mistakes... but, there is one thing that I truly regret." I replied. "And what would that be?" he asked. "When I was kid, I befriended someone. Someone I thought I could trust things with... but little did that I know, was that "friend" was using me. She tried stealing things from my house, take all my friends away from me; wanting to make herself more popular than me, and tried stealing my entire life. I didn't know about for months until I saw everyone from my grade standing up for me against her, telling her to never see and talk to me ever again. That was when I realized that I had people care about me and that I made a terrible mistake of befriending "her". So after all that, I ended my friendship with her. As I thought about now, it taught me a very important lesson about trust: Trust is a fragile thing. Easy to break, easy to lose and one of the hardest things to ever get back." I replied. He blinked his eyes and then put his hand on my shoulder. "Human... I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hope now that you have befriended someone that you can trust completely. A human like should never deserve to be used by someone ever again." he said. "Thanks, Giygas. That means alot." I replied.
He nodded his head in thanks and then began to cough. He coughed for a moment and then clutched his hand to his chest; knowing that something was very wrong. I looked at him in shock and then watched him collapse, realizing that his disease was getting stronger. "Giygas! Hang in there... I'm going to help you." I said in a worried tone. "No... there's nothing you can do. It's too late." he said in a sick tone. I stared at him with shock and sorrow; realizing that I couldn't save him. I began to cry and then saw him look up at me; putting his right hand into mine; holding it to his heart. "But, there is... one thing you could do for me." he said. "What do you need?" I replied. "Can you... sing that song... to me..? And... will you stay... as I take my last breath..?" he asked. I looked into his eyes sadly for a moment and then nodded my head yes to his request. "Take a melody. Simple as can be. Give it some words and, sweet harmony. Raise your voices, all day long now, love grows strong now. Sing a melody of love, oh love. Love is the power. Love is the glory. Love is the beauty and the joy of spring. Love is the magic. Love is the story. Love is the melody we all can sing." I sang to him. After singing the song, I looked down at him and saw that his eyes were closed and I knew that he was gone. I cried silently for a moment and then prayed to Maria; hoping that she finds him and reunites with him. I picked him up in my arms and began walking back to where everyone else was; hoping that my team was okay.
Back with the team
"PK Fire!" said Paula as she aimed her attack at Pokey and watched him dodge it. She turned and saw Link fighting False Ness alone; making her worried about him. "Link!" she yelled to him. "Paula, stay back! I can handle him! You need to keep your eyes on Pokey!" he replied. She understood him and went back to fighting Pokey. DK did a Giant Punch to his mech's leg; making him a bit distressed. "Why you no good- you deserve to be beaten by me!" Pokey yelled. DK stood alongside Mario and Yoshi; ready to fight, and used their signature attacks on Pokey, cracking the top of the mech by the impact. "No!" Pokey yelled. As his mech broke, everyone saw Ness's Trophy fall out of the mech. "Is that?" Paula, Jeff, and Poo asked. Mario ran over to the Trophy, picked it up, and ran back to the team. "Do it." said Samus. Mario nodded his head and revived Ness; seeing his purple-blueish eyes open. "Ness!" Paula, Jeff, and Poo cheered happily. "What in the world? How did you guys get here?" Ness asked them. "It's a long story, but right now... we've got Pokey to deal with." Poo replied. Ness turned around and saw Pokey looking down at him for the first time in a while.
Ness looked up at him angrily; wondering what did he do this time. Pokey smirked at him confidently and then laughed at him. "Well, well, well... if it isn't good ol' Ness. The hero of our world, destroyer of Giygas." he said. "What the hell did you do, Pokey!?" Ness replied angrily. "Me..? I'm not the one who caused this. You can thank Master Giygas after he has returned." Pokey replied. "Giygas... he's alive..." Ness replied in shock. "Yes, he is. And I will defeat you for him! Say your prayers, Ness! You might as well give Paula one last kiss before I win this duel!" Pokey proclaimed. Ness stood by his friends and then looked at Paula and Poo. "You know what to do, Ness. We believe in you." Poo told him. He nodded his head and began to float in mid air; staring down his former neighbor. "Alright, Pokey... you asked for it! PK Starstorm!" he yelled. He successfully used his attack on him; damaging Pokey and his mech. The attack also hit False Ness as he tried to dodge Link's arrow; knocking him down to the ground. Link grabbed the Master Sword and saw it begin to glow in multiple colors. "What the? Was is this power?" he asked himself. He stared at it for a second and then realized that it was the same colors of my powers! "So, she lent her power to the Master Sword. That means... I can stop him!" he said in his thoughts.
He stared down the enemy and then charged at him as he tried to stand up. "Hyah!" he yelled as he used his sword; striking down the enemy. False Ness fell to the ground and the Shadow Bugs of him disintegrated into thin air. He turned back and joined up with the team; seeing Pokey defeated. "It's over, Pokey. Give up now and we can help fix you." said Ness. Pokey stared at him for a moment and then laughed. "Ah, Ness... you really don't understand me, do you? I don't want to be saved." Pokey replied. After he said that, a portal appeared behind him and began taking him. "See you later, loser!" he smirked as he went through the portal. He disappeared and the portal closed. After the battle, the PSI Shield disappeared and the world began turning back to normal. "Ness!" Paula cried. She ran upto him and jumped into his arms; crying happily to see him again. He hugged her back and began to comfort her. "I've missed you so much." she cried. "I've missed you too, Paula." he replied. They stopped their hug and Ness gave Paula a kiss on the lips; surprising everyone around them. After the kiss, he held her hands and rested his forehead onto hers; looking into her blue eyes. "I love you, Paula." he said. "I love you too, Ness." she replied. They kissed again and then turned to everyone else; seeing most of them smiling at them.
"So, now with that Shield gone... where is your friend?" Jeff asked Mario and Link. "Wait, someone else came here with you guys?" Ness asked the two heroes. "Yeah, Taylor came here with us." Link replied. "What!? Taylor's here too!?" Ness replied in shock. "But Giygas took her somewhere... I don't know where they went." Link replied. "Come on! We'll go find her!" Ness told him. "You guys don't have too." said a voice. Everyone turned to the trees and saw me walk upto them. "Taylor! You're okay!" said Mario happily. I walked upto them and they all saw Giygas in my arms for the first time. I stopped right in front of them and then layed Giygas down onto the grass. Pikachu jumped up on my shoulder and saw tears falling on my face; wondering what's wrong. "Pikachu?" he asked me in a sad tone. I looked at the team and saw they saw a couple tears fall on my face again. "Tay? What happened?" Link asked me. I took a deep breath and told everyone what happened when I was with Giygas. After a few moments... they all began to understand him and felt bad for him. After that, we found him a resting place near the lake and put him there; saying our final goodbyes to him.
Moments had passed and it was time to say goodbye the city. We told Ness what we were doing and asked for his help, and he accepted our request. He said his goodbyes to his friends and then left to the Great Fox with us. As we walked, Pikachu and Link kept on comforting me; telling me that things are going to be okay. I understood what they were feeling and then looked upto the sky with them; seeing the stars begin to shine brightly. "I hope you are happy with Maria again, Giygas. Whenever I feel lost, I will sing Maria's song for you... to guide me through the battles ahead." I said in my thoughts. After that, we went to the Great Fox and went inside; meeting up with everyone.
Inside the Great Fox
"Wow... so General Pepper lent the Great Fox to you guys?" Ness asked Fox. "He sure did. He thought it would help us get to all of our friends faster and provide the a place to feel comfortable." Fox replied happily. "That's amazing... how come we haven't thought of that?" Ness asked him. "Hm..? I'm not sure. Maybe your world doesn't want to deal with a heavily guarded ship to feel safe in?" Fox replied curiously. "You're probably right." Ness replied as Kirby gently landed on his head; making him smile. "Hi!" said Kirby happily. "Hi, Kirby." Ness replied happily. "Paula sure would love having him around with you two, Ness." I said as I walked upto them. "Yeah, she would. Having a friend as small and huggable as Kirby... he would be perfect with us." he replied happily; making Kirby's eyes light up with joy. "And he's also her favorite color." I replied. "Oh yeah! She loves anything pink! She would love him alot." he replied. "Poyo!" Kirby replied happily. I lightly smiled at them and then turned to Samus and Fox. I walked over to them and handed over the Trophy Slate to them. "Didn't even need to ask us, huh?" said Samus. "I could've... but I knew that you two want all of this done very quickly before something goes wrong." I replied. "Heh, you've read my mind." Fox replied.
I lightly laughed for a moment and then we all heard the Slate begin to beep. "About time that thing started picking something up." said Samus. "Yeah, but where is leading us to this time?" Fox asked. "It looks like we're heading to Mute City." I replied. "Mute City? Does that mean... Captain Falcon is there?" Ness asked us. I nodded my head yes to his question. "But exactly where is he in Mute City?" said Link. "Hm..? Maybe on the racetrack? Or in the Blue Falcon?" I replied curiously. "I guess we'll have to find out ourselves. Get in your seats, everyone. We're heading off to Mute City!" said Fox. After that, he started the Great Fox and we began our journey to Mute City.
Thank you for reading Chapter 10 of the story! Well, this chapter was a rollercoaster of emotions for me personally. This chapter has to be one of the most emotional chapters that I've ever written. I've always wanted to find a way of Giygas having a change of heart because to me, he was a character who was completely misunderstood. All he ever wanted was companionship and someone to truly understand him and his feelings, so I tried to interpret that feeling in the story; especially during when Taylor and Giygas had their private talk. I hope I made the Mother/Earthbound fans happy of how I tried to establish Giygas's character and letting him tell his origin story from his words.
Also, what did you guys think of the little surprise appearance of Pokey? I mostly wanted him to really be involved in Lucas's chapter... but I decided to bring him in this chapter first, so that he could show off who he really is. The next time we'll see him will be in Lucas's chapter and lets just say, there will be another character that wants revenge on Pokey. Anyways, thank you so much for reading Chapter 10 and have a awesome day!
Next time, Chapter 11: Captain Falcon (F-Zero Racer). The team arrives at Mute City and sees a race near its end. Taylor is challenged by False Captain Falcon and Black Shadow to race, and whoever wins gets Captain Falcon's Trophy! Will our hero win the race? Find out in Chapter 11!