Chapter 7: Light
Ness awoke with a jolt. Wow, was that a nightmare, he thought to himself. But it had felt so real, so alive. Ness shook off his confusion and became quite happy that it was only a nightmare. This feeling ended shortly when he realized the task still at hand.
Everyone was already downstairs and ready to go when Ness, still in his jammies bounded down the steps.
"Well look who decided to wake up," Paula said. "Weren't you the one who wanted to leave early?"
"Sorry, guys," Ness responded. "The nightmare I had was pretty intense. I'll tell you all about it later, okay?"
Ness proceeded by rushing back upstairs and returning a few minutes later dressed in his normal save-the-world outfit.
"Don't you ever wear anything else?" Paula asked.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Ness replied sarcastically. "Let's go kick some pig."
The team left the lab and started south, trudging through the knee-deep snow. Ten minutes later they arrived in front of the tallest pillar of Stonehenge. Like the time before, Jeff opened the lid to the base, and the four climbed down the ladder leading inside.
It was nothing like before, since everything was different. There were no longer any short, purple, maze-like paths surrounded by darkness. The base only had one hallway, which was brightly lit by rows of fluorescent tube lights all along the walls and ceilings. Ness led the way down the hall, which was so long and never ended. Finally, the team came to a turn, and continued, with all of them nearly slamming into the door which prevented any further progression. When Ness went to open the door, he realized that there was no handle or any other way of opening it. He took out his bat and took a hard swing. SMAAAAASH! The door fell, shattered into thousands of pieces.
"Whoa there, killer," Jeff said, astonished by Ness's apparently new-found strength.
The group walked through the doorway to find another brightly lit room, this time large and empty. When everyone was completely inside the room, a large metal plate slammed shut in front of the doorway, blocking any escape.
"WELCOME TO YOUR NEW NIGHTMARE, PIG'S BUTTS!" a voice boomed. It obviously belonged to Pokey, but Ness or the others could not see anyone else in the room other than themselves.
"Show yourself, Pokey," Poo shouted. "We want to kick your ass!"
"NOW, NOW, IS THAT ANY WAY TO TALK TO YOUR FRIEND?" Pokey boomed. "YOU CAN DEAL WITH ME AFTER I, OR SHALL I SAY THEY, DEAL WITH YOU."
"Who..." But before Ness could even begin his sentence, the lights suddenly went out.