Hey Folks, it's your old pal Stewie again...Yeah, sorry about the whole
updating thing, but 15 hours of school and work is MURDER on the system,
and I forgot COMPLETELY about this!! But I'm back to update, and Will be
sure to update more often, since I got more feedback then I figured.
For those that posted, thanks for the Feedback! Mr. Manguy – I just like to keep my typing a little close to the game, but I'll put my own stuff in as I go along. So No worries. Michael DePalma – ooo, Big Words = Scary j/k :p, actually, this is my first time writing something ASIDE from a book report, so you got to learn somewhere, I hope to get better myself. Ecron – Ness is actually 13 in the game, it says so I think in the Instruction Booklet or in the game, but I changed his age because it's also weird a 13 year old would have a Personal ATM card. Vivi239 – Thank you the most, I saw the comment and realized 'OH $#%*! I knew I forgot something!
But on with the writing, and I quote Adam West here, 'I love this job more than I love Taffy. And I'm a man who enjoys his taffy.'
Disclaimer: Oh God how I WISH I owned Earthbound and its series, but sadly I don't. *sniff* so please don't sue.
Chapter 2: School of Annoying Knocks and a Destiny from the University of Insects.
1 hour later....
'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!' came the sudden sound blaring through Ness's room. "Hmm yeah yeah, Klaatu Barada Nikto Gort." Mumbled Ness, his eyes shot open as Ness realized what the hell was going on and once again came another knocking, this time in a song like fashion. Ness got up, looked at his Alarm Clock. 3:00 am. Ness growled looking towards his door, intending to make sure this 'Visitor' of his learned what happens to people who knock on Baseball players doors at ungodly hours in the morning. As he walked into the hallway, there stood Tracy as well, equal look of annoyance on her face.
"Ah, you as well Ness? I see you have the bat as well. I call the Knees." Said Tracy, accompanying Ness as he walked down the stairs.
"Land Sakes, who's up at THIS hour?" Said Ness's Mom, who was walking towards the door.
"And also who won't stop that damn annoying KNOCKING?!" said Tracy.
As Ness's Mom was about to answer the door when the 'Mystery Knocker' opened the door himself, and in strolled, well more like WADDLED, Pokey, breathing harder than normal. Which that in itself is no hard feat to accomplish. "Ness! Listen please! After the police left the meteorite site to handle the Sharks, I took Picky to go see what it looked like." Pokey continued talking, Ness only listening partially, angry at Pokey for multiple reasons, for One, He woke up Ness at 3 in the morning because of something he personally screwed up on, and he wanted Ness's help to pull him out of his own mess. 'Typical Pokey,' thought Ness, 'although I am worried about Picky.' Unlike his brother, Picky was a pretty good kid, bit of a punk rocker, but good all around and treated people nicely. Of all of Pokey's family, Ness could say Picky was the only one there that he liked. His mind made up, Ness interrupted Pokey's rant with, "Alright Pokey, I'll help you find Picky."
Pokey looked ecstatic after hearing Ness, whereas Ness's mother groaned. "Two Times in One Night NESS?!" She sighed, "Fine! Just worry your poor mother to death, but since your heading out, change for your 'Adventure' as you so lovingly put it." Ness rushed upstairs and changed. As he came back down, there stood his mom, with King at her side, "I know that he's practically ALWAYS sleeping, but King here should be able to provide you some help sniffing where Picky is. Plus those current reports of Wild Dogs out there has me worried, so take him with you. Although I'm worried Ness, I'm sure you'll be alright. You've always had something special about you, something I can't quite put my finger on, but its there. You're my own natural born fighter, and you'll be alright son. I know it." Ness smiled as he hugged his mother, she always did know how to make him feel good before a journey, and it also made him realize he'd make it back home ok. Ness leaned down and patted King on the head, as the dog barked back, his tail wagging happily, ready to go check out what was preventing him and his master sleep.
"Alright, let's go Pokey." said Ness, and he reached for the doorknob, the telephone rang. "I'll get it." cried Ness, walking back over to the telephone, and picking up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Ness? Is that you my boy?" said a voice on the other end.
It was Ness's father, a man of hard work habits to say the least. Ness loved his father with all his heart, but good lord, Ness wished the man spent some more time with his family. Here it was, 3 am, and his father was still at the office, working on problems there. Although it saddened the family he was never home, Ness understood. He went with his dad to his office one day, and his desk was...well not there. It was so covered in paperwork, Ness wondered how many Redwoods gave their lives for this paperwork, and 2 dozen at least, he was roughly guessing. On the bright side though, His family MUST have been millionaires by the amount of overtime and backup pay his Dad's company owed him.
"Sorry about the late call, son, but I was just taking a small 10 minute break from the Johnson file I'm working on right now. It's been murder on the head, but hey, as I always say, 'Work to exhaustion while your young.' You've heard that weird phrase right? Anyway, just wanted to call to say hi, oh and I deposited 30 dollars in your account, I know it's a little more than you usual allowance, but your mother has been telling me about your 'excursions'. You have your adventures, and I hope you find something BIG in terms of adventure. I feel like some sort of hero."
"Dad, if I'm going on the adventure, aren't I the hero?" replied Ness, smiling at his dad's joke. His dad always loved what Ness did, even though it scared his mother to death.
"What? Well you have a point there son. Alright, the FATHER of a Hero at least! Anyway, put your mom on for me. Talk to you later son!" he replied.
"Bye Dad. Mom, it's dad, he wants to talk to you, I'm going now by the way." said Ness.
As they stepped outside, Pokey talked about taking the rear, in case they get back attacked. 'Or to allow you a quick getaway you wimp.' Thought Ness, 'No, I can't think this way right now, I got to find Picky, and he could be hurt.' Ness decided the best place to start was the Crash Site; hopefully Picky was still there, looking for his cowardly brother as well.
As Ness walked the same path he took last time, a rustling sound came up from the bush ahead of him, King took a few steps forward, slowly growling, catching wind of something he obviously did not like. Ness caught wind of this too, and proceeded to take his bat out. As he walked cautiously towards the bush, King starting barking loudly as a Large Brown Dog came out barking, and charging towards Ness, and grabbed a hold of his ankle, biting it as hard as it could. The animals attack was short lived though, as King proceeded to attack the dog as well, biting its leg which in turned caused its anger to turn over to King. Ness then took his turn to swing his Bat as hard as he could, hitting the dog hard in the ribs, causing the dog to yelp in pain. Whimpering in pain, the animal ran off quickly, in fear of the boy.
"Whew! That was a close one Ness!" said Pokey, "Good job, I was gonna attack that dog as well, but you beat me to the punch line as I was inching closer to it. And...Ness? You alright?"
Ness was breathing heavily for a few moments, still looking over in his mind what just happened there. How the pain in his ankle hurt so much, what was causing the pain, until he couldn't think straight for a moment, but suddenly recalled the way his ankle felt before the attack, and looked down at the bleeding ankle. What happened next was something odd, but suddenly he could see what injuries his ankle was suffering from It was something he couldn't explain, but he knew how to heal the torn muscle, small bleeding, and wounded skin, It was something within him, a force that seemed to tell him, 'You can stop this pain.' And as he concentrated on the concept of the wound closing up and being healed, Ness was amazed to see the wound immediately start to close up, and the pain vanished.
"Ness? Are we going or not?" said Pokey, as he walked up towards the boy, and noticed the look of astonishment on his face. Pokey looked down at the holes in Ness's socks, replying, "Man, that was close, looks like that dog needs to get a new set of teeth eh?"
Ness, still astonished by what he did, looked up at Pokey in disbelief. As he got up to see how his ankle was, he was still surprised to find there was no pain there at all. He looked at his ankle, then at Pokey who had a bewildered look on his face, then back at the ankle. 'How did I? But....Oh I'll try and solve this later, I got to get Picky back before his folks get home and start to really worry.
It took a little while, the occasional Snake or hungry Bird attacking the small group, but Ness fended most of them off, while King provided good back up from time to time. As they climbed up the final curve of the hill, Ness noticed the Road Blocks were still there, but no police.
'Wow, for once Pokey wasn't lying nor exaggerating. Wonder what the Sharks did that was so bad.' thought Ness.
The Sharks were the local Street Gang, a bunch of Ruffians that liked to push people around, and aside from the occasional scaring of little old ladies or purse snatching, the Sharks used to be nothing more than a group of School Bullies. The Police were able to handle most of the major things they did for awhile. That is, until Frank showed up. 'Fearless' Frank was the Leader of the group, and was rumored to have pulled off multiple crimes that the police could never track down to him, but these were mostly unfounded rumors. However one thing he did do was increase the amount of members they had, and take over the local Arcade as his turf. But the scariest thing of all was he brought Organization to the local group, making them into a real gang, which was the main reason why no one went to the Arcade anymore. That is, unless they wanted to be a Member. The Police didn't enter, in fear of a riot breaking out, for who knows how many people Frank DID recruit. Plus Chief Strong had a quota to keep up in terms of Roadblocks and with the Mayor constantly breathing down his neck, it was a miracle in on itself Strong was able to do THAT.
As Ness walked past the Roadblocks, he heard a whimper, then a howl. Turning around, King's tail was between his legs, a look of worry on the dog's face, like something here wasn't right, and it scared the animal, he then ran off back the way they came. Ness hoped that King was heading home, and not in blind fear of what was up here.
"Come on Pokey, let's look around," said Ness, "Your brother must be around here somewhere."
The Meteorite was bathed in an unearthly Orange and yellow, like the color of neon fire, steam still rising from the recently crashed chunk of Rock. 'Best keep away from this thing, it's still quite hot.' thought Ness. As he continued his search, Ness heard a light snoring from nearby, looking to his right; he saw a familiar blond hair covered head. There sat Picky, his light snoring showing him in a peaceful sleep, as if waiting for Pokey to show his fat face here to wake him up when it was time to go.
"Pokey! Get over here, I found him." said Ness as he leaned down. "Come on Picky, wake up buddy, andlet's get you home."
"No Pokey, get your own pudding ya fat lump!" grumbled Picky, Ness rolled his eyes in response, and shook Picky awake. Picky turned for a moment, and opened his eyes. "Ness! What the heck are you doin" Picky looked over at Pokey walking over, "....oh I see. So he got scared and enlisted you eh?"
"More like conscripted. Come on let's get out of here." said Ness as he helped Picky up onto his feet.
As they started to walk away, Ness heard a slight humming in his ears, which turned into a faint buzzing, like a fly was buzzing past his ear. "What the heck is that?" said Ness.
"You hear it too? I was just about to ask you both that." said Pokey. "It sounds like some type of bee."
Ness listened more intently, and Pokey was right, that did sound like a bee, and as he looked around, he heard Picky gasp and suddenly Pokey was tugging at his sleeve. "What is.....it?" said Ness as he turned around, his look of annoyance changing into a look of amazement. They were in front of the Meteorite, however this time a single white shaft of light was pouring out of it. As they looked upon the light shaft, the faint buzzing grew louder and louder, as the single ray of light, expanded wider and wider until covering the entire meteorite, and from the near blinding ray of light came a single small Beetle. Or at least Ness THOUGHT it looked like a beetle to some degree, yet it looked like no type he'd ever seen before.
"A Bee I am not." Said the Insect, causing the 3 boys to jump back in surprise, after all, it wasn't everyday you heard an insect TALK. The Beetle then flew over to Ness and sat itself down on the brim of his cap, as Pokey and Picky took a step back. "Whoa....sorry about the whole 'Talking like Yoda I am' speech. But time travel can do that to you ya know?" said the insect, as if he were talking about what a nice cold night it was, never you mind he was possibly the ONLY insect in the world that could talk.
Ness removed his cap slowly, and turned it around to see the creature, all the while contemplating this in his head. "Time Travel? You mean to tell me your from another Time?" said the boy calmly, praying to get some answers from this currently freaky event.
The insect turned its head towards Ness, "Yes, I am indeed. The Future to be exact, however it's...." he looked down, as if in grief, "much worse than what it is now. A terrible evil has appeared. And it has brought this world to a hellish nightmare. Hope is but a distant dream there, and survival is a constant struggle. However, it is written that a group of saviors will appear. They will be from the past, lead by a boy and his companions, 2 boys and 1 girl, and shatter the Nightmare Rock that holds us in fear. I came back in time, because I believe that you are that Boy Ness who will deliver us from Giygas, the overlord and conductor of the evil. I may not look like much right now, but I am one of the best fighters from my time, though I am a bit weak right now because of the Time Travel, but let us go and rest and I will tell you more, if you will let me accompany you?"
Stunned, Ness stood there, waiting for the meaning of the story to sink in. Pokey's mouth hung open, a look of horror on his face. A moment later, Ness smiled. "Alright, let's go then," he said, and as he put his cap back on, he then replied, "by the way, what is your name?"
Then insect flew off of Ness's cap, and replied, "My name is Buzz Buzz Ness. And I thank you for believing me and agreeing to help."
Pokey then took this chance to voice his opinion, "Whoa whoa, who said WE agreed to help you?!" he whined, Ness looked back at the boy, "Ness, you can't be serious wanting to do this can you?! I mean this bug talks of fighting an Ultimate Evil that enslaved Humanity and how he THINKS that we're the chosen ones and you just say 'Fine, let's go.'?! I don't think I'm cut out for this sort of thing!"
"Oh calm down Pokey, Buzz Buzz said that it was 3 boys and a girl, for all you know, neither you nor Picky here could be them. It could be some kid from WINTERS for all we know! So calm down, and let's go" scolded Ness. Pokey, still in fear of the potential future he might have, could only nod in silent defeat.
They then set off, Buzz Buzz hovering over Ness's head, intent on heading back to Pokey's house to drop the two brothers off. As they headed back down, Ness noticed on their way up to the Meteorite, they were waylaid every step by something or other, willing to attack them, but now it was as quiet as a church mouse on their way down. 'They must be scared of Buzz Buzz, no wonder King ran off.' he thought.
Ness looked ahead to see they finally made it to their homes, as they walked the last few steps of the trail, a loud thunder clap sounded, and then a single brilliant beam of light appeared in front of them, and something...humanoid was all Ness could think of on how to describe this thing that stood there in front of him. It was about his height, it was White all over, with a stub like head, a single black bar across the front of where its eyes should have been. It had thin, arms; ending in spike shaped tentacles, on its front chest was a series of shapes, probably indicating its rank.
"So Buzz Buzz, at last I've found you," said the Alien, "You have eluded me for the last time, and I will make sure you do not ever interfere with that Master's plans ever again."
"So you found me Starman. I knew that wherever I went, you wouldn't be that far off. But now both you and your master's times are up. I have found the Chosen One, and with his help, I'll avenge what your kind has done to us." said Buzz Buzz in anger.
The being known as Starman turned the black bar on his 'face' from Buzz Buzz to Ness. "This boy? You truly have become desperate you useless insect. Relying on children to fight your battles for you. There might have been a time where you were a true challenge to the Master, but those days have long gone from you. And I shall make sure you won't live to see another one."
Ness had heard enough, this Alien wasn't gonna hurt his new friend, nor anyone else for that matter, and he reached for his bat. Buzz Buzz flew above the boys' heads, and suddenly Ness temporarily saw the world bathed in a Pink Light, and it vanished. Ness and Picky attacked the Alien, Picky throwing a punch at the alien while Ness attacked its head. The Starman's face took the full force of the bat, yet it seemed like that attack didn't even phase the creature. The Starman stretched its arms forward, and from the ends of his tentacles a great stream of fire emerged, moving towards Ness and the others. The boys all ducked and covered their heads in fear, but to their great surprise nothing happened. Ness looked up to see Buzz Buzz attacking the Starman with his body, the Alien took a step back from the force of the blow Buzz Buzz used on him. Starman once again threw another stream of fire at them, and Ness noticed this time, that when the fire reached him, the world turned pink again, yet this time, when the fire dissipated, the pink haze melted away. Buzz Buzz flew closer to Ness, and this time Ness noticed Buzz Buzz stay still for a moment, and suddenly the world went pink once again. 'A Shield!' thought Ness, 'Of course! Buzz Buzz did say he was an accomplished fighter, so that's what he's been doing.' Ness then redoubled his efforts, and attacked the Starman again, yet no matter what, all of his attacks barely phased the creature. Buzz Buzz also attacked, and after his second charge, the Starman fell to the ground.
"You may have won here, but I will return you insignificant bug. And when I do, pray for a quick death." said the Starman, and he slumped to the ground. And in a brilliant flash of light, he disappeared.
Buzz Buzz landed on Ness's shoulder, his wings fluttering, and the looks of a bug trying to catch its breath. "Wow. That was a close one, that being was a Starman Jr., one of weaker versions of Giygas's soldiers. He must have followed me from the Future in order to prevent me from finding you. We must be cautious Ness, Giygas must have wind of our plans now, and will send more than his soldiers, he has the power to control the minds and bodies of People and Animals, my guess he will do whatever he can to stop us."
Ness shuddered in fear of the ideas of having to fight something far tougher than that Starman Jr., and if that was the weakest of Giygas's Soldiers, heaven knows what he would fight next.
"Come on Ness, let's hurry! I think my folks are home by now!" whined Pokey, trying to recover over what just happened, and the quivering in fear of what his parents were going to do to him and his brother. With that summation, the 3 of them ran as fast as they could to Pokey's house, hoping that they weren't gonna be in trouble.
As they entered the house, they were sadly proven wrong, as their stood Pokey's Mom and Dad, both with looks of anger on their face, ready to strangle their 2 children. "There you are! Do you know how WORRIED SICK your mother has been this night, thinking where you two have been, if you'd been attacked, kidnapped or WORSE? You two are in such big trouble right now!!" screamed Pokey's Dad, a man of large girth who had blond hair, and wore glasses. Pokey and Picky ran upstairs in fear, for a mad father could turn into a dangerous father. And Picky had told Ness of countless times where his father had spanked the both of them for constant harassment of people, and various other things. Their father ran upstairs after the two of them. After a few minutes of what sounded like yelling, he came back downstairs.
"By the way boy, Tell that father of yours I wish you people would leave. Because of his requests, my family and I are living in poverty, and all of you have been nothing but a burden on my family." said the fat man. Ness held back the urge to just roll his eyes. The money Pokey's Dad talked about was a mere 100 dollars Ness's father needed for a wedding present. Ness had paid his father back, and much more in gratitude. But of course, Pokey's father had to be one of the biggest penny pinchers Ness had ever heard of. So Ness just let this talk roll off his back like it was nothing. He had bigger fish to fry, namely this whole 'destiny thing' Buzz Buzz talked of. Just then, Ness heard a scream, Ness and Pokey's father looked over to see Pokey's Mother with a Flyswatter, yelling, "A Dung Beetle! I'll smash your guts out!!!"
'OH NO!!!' thought Ness, 'I've got to stop her!!' as he ran over to prevent the mad woman from smashing his friend, WHAM! And it was too late. Looking underneath the swatter, she sneered in disgust of the sight underneath, and walked upstairs to wash her hands of the mess. Resisting the urge right then and there to make her feel what she just did to Buzz Buzz, Ness ran over to his fallen friend, hoping and praying he wasn't dead. Ness looked on in horror, Buzz Buzz was in horrid shape, his wings were broken, and he had trouble moving.
Buzz Buzz panted, "I guess...Time Travel....weakened me more than...I thought."
"Oh god Buzz Buzz, what do I do? What am I supposed to do?"
"You must....you must begin your journey now. I was right to believe you were the one." Buzz Buzz then stopped moving.
"Buzz Buzz? BUZZ BUZZ?! WAKE UP!!" yelled the boy.
Buzz Buzz stirred. "I'm not dead yet Ness. But it's going to happen soon, so I must be quick to say this. In order to destroy Giygas, you must discover the powers within you, you already discovered some of it when you learned the ability to heal yourself. It is an ability called Psychic Power. It was the same ability I had that stopped that attack the Starman used," said Buzz Buzz, "You will discover more as you adventure, But you must unite these abilities with the Earth's power itself. The Earth will then multiply your power many times, and with that, you will know what you must do to destroy Giygas. You must visit 8 areas in the world, these places are sacred to you, and once you have discovered these places, they will allow you to unite with the Earth. These places are part of 'Your Sanctuary'. Here, let me give this to you." Buzz Buzz then moved slightly and concentrated. In front of Ness out of thin air, a small sky blue stone the size of a tennis ball appeared out of thin air. "This is called the Sound Stone. This item will record what has happened at each of the locations of 'Your Sanctuary'. You will need it with you." Said Buzz Buzz, he then shook, coughed, and gasped for more air. "Ness, you are stronger than you look and think you are. The Sun is beginning to rise outside, as is your adventure. I believe in you, you must free us....do not let...me down." Murmured Buzz Buzz, and he breathed no more.
Ness looked down at the small hero. He had given his life to make sure that the future would be saved, and Ness was going to make sure that his death was not in vain. As he stepped outside, Buzz Buzz was right, the Sun was rising, and Ness was going to start his adventure to save the world.
For those that posted, thanks for the Feedback! Mr. Manguy – I just like to keep my typing a little close to the game, but I'll put my own stuff in as I go along. So No worries. Michael DePalma – ooo, Big Words = Scary j/k :p, actually, this is my first time writing something ASIDE from a book report, so you got to learn somewhere, I hope to get better myself. Ecron – Ness is actually 13 in the game, it says so I think in the Instruction Booklet or in the game, but I changed his age because it's also weird a 13 year old would have a Personal ATM card. Vivi239 – Thank you the most, I saw the comment and realized 'OH $#%*! I knew I forgot something!
But on with the writing, and I quote Adam West here, 'I love this job more than I love Taffy. And I'm a man who enjoys his taffy.'
Disclaimer: Oh God how I WISH I owned Earthbound and its series, but sadly I don't. *sniff* so please don't sue.
Chapter 2: School of Annoying Knocks and a Destiny from the University of Insects.
1 hour later....
'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!' came the sudden sound blaring through Ness's room. "Hmm yeah yeah, Klaatu Barada Nikto Gort." Mumbled Ness, his eyes shot open as Ness realized what the hell was going on and once again came another knocking, this time in a song like fashion. Ness got up, looked at his Alarm Clock. 3:00 am. Ness growled looking towards his door, intending to make sure this 'Visitor' of his learned what happens to people who knock on Baseball players doors at ungodly hours in the morning. As he walked into the hallway, there stood Tracy as well, equal look of annoyance on her face.
"Ah, you as well Ness? I see you have the bat as well. I call the Knees." Said Tracy, accompanying Ness as he walked down the stairs.
"Land Sakes, who's up at THIS hour?" Said Ness's Mom, who was walking towards the door.
"And also who won't stop that damn annoying KNOCKING?!" said Tracy.
As Ness's Mom was about to answer the door when the 'Mystery Knocker' opened the door himself, and in strolled, well more like WADDLED, Pokey, breathing harder than normal. Which that in itself is no hard feat to accomplish. "Ness! Listen please! After the police left the meteorite site to handle the Sharks, I took Picky to go see what it looked like." Pokey continued talking, Ness only listening partially, angry at Pokey for multiple reasons, for One, He woke up Ness at 3 in the morning because of something he personally screwed up on, and he wanted Ness's help to pull him out of his own mess. 'Typical Pokey,' thought Ness, 'although I am worried about Picky.' Unlike his brother, Picky was a pretty good kid, bit of a punk rocker, but good all around and treated people nicely. Of all of Pokey's family, Ness could say Picky was the only one there that he liked. His mind made up, Ness interrupted Pokey's rant with, "Alright Pokey, I'll help you find Picky."
Pokey looked ecstatic after hearing Ness, whereas Ness's mother groaned. "Two Times in One Night NESS?!" She sighed, "Fine! Just worry your poor mother to death, but since your heading out, change for your 'Adventure' as you so lovingly put it." Ness rushed upstairs and changed. As he came back down, there stood his mom, with King at her side, "I know that he's practically ALWAYS sleeping, but King here should be able to provide you some help sniffing where Picky is. Plus those current reports of Wild Dogs out there has me worried, so take him with you. Although I'm worried Ness, I'm sure you'll be alright. You've always had something special about you, something I can't quite put my finger on, but its there. You're my own natural born fighter, and you'll be alright son. I know it." Ness smiled as he hugged his mother, she always did know how to make him feel good before a journey, and it also made him realize he'd make it back home ok. Ness leaned down and patted King on the head, as the dog barked back, his tail wagging happily, ready to go check out what was preventing him and his master sleep.
"Alright, let's go Pokey." said Ness, and he reached for the doorknob, the telephone rang. "I'll get it." cried Ness, walking back over to the telephone, and picking up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Ness? Is that you my boy?" said a voice on the other end.
It was Ness's father, a man of hard work habits to say the least. Ness loved his father with all his heart, but good lord, Ness wished the man spent some more time with his family. Here it was, 3 am, and his father was still at the office, working on problems there. Although it saddened the family he was never home, Ness understood. He went with his dad to his office one day, and his desk was...well not there. It was so covered in paperwork, Ness wondered how many Redwoods gave their lives for this paperwork, and 2 dozen at least, he was roughly guessing. On the bright side though, His family MUST have been millionaires by the amount of overtime and backup pay his Dad's company owed him.
"Sorry about the late call, son, but I was just taking a small 10 minute break from the Johnson file I'm working on right now. It's been murder on the head, but hey, as I always say, 'Work to exhaustion while your young.' You've heard that weird phrase right? Anyway, just wanted to call to say hi, oh and I deposited 30 dollars in your account, I know it's a little more than you usual allowance, but your mother has been telling me about your 'excursions'. You have your adventures, and I hope you find something BIG in terms of adventure. I feel like some sort of hero."
"Dad, if I'm going on the adventure, aren't I the hero?" replied Ness, smiling at his dad's joke. His dad always loved what Ness did, even though it scared his mother to death.
"What? Well you have a point there son. Alright, the FATHER of a Hero at least! Anyway, put your mom on for me. Talk to you later son!" he replied.
"Bye Dad. Mom, it's dad, he wants to talk to you, I'm going now by the way." said Ness.
As they stepped outside, Pokey talked about taking the rear, in case they get back attacked. 'Or to allow you a quick getaway you wimp.' Thought Ness, 'No, I can't think this way right now, I got to find Picky, and he could be hurt.' Ness decided the best place to start was the Crash Site; hopefully Picky was still there, looking for his cowardly brother as well.
As Ness walked the same path he took last time, a rustling sound came up from the bush ahead of him, King took a few steps forward, slowly growling, catching wind of something he obviously did not like. Ness caught wind of this too, and proceeded to take his bat out. As he walked cautiously towards the bush, King starting barking loudly as a Large Brown Dog came out barking, and charging towards Ness, and grabbed a hold of his ankle, biting it as hard as it could. The animals attack was short lived though, as King proceeded to attack the dog as well, biting its leg which in turned caused its anger to turn over to King. Ness then took his turn to swing his Bat as hard as he could, hitting the dog hard in the ribs, causing the dog to yelp in pain. Whimpering in pain, the animal ran off quickly, in fear of the boy.
"Whew! That was a close one Ness!" said Pokey, "Good job, I was gonna attack that dog as well, but you beat me to the punch line as I was inching closer to it. And...Ness? You alright?"
Ness was breathing heavily for a few moments, still looking over in his mind what just happened there. How the pain in his ankle hurt so much, what was causing the pain, until he couldn't think straight for a moment, but suddenly recalled the way his ankle felt before the attack, and looked down at the bleeding ankle. What happened next was something odd, but suddenly he could see what injuries his ankle was suffering from It was something he couldn't explain, but he knew how to heal the torn muscle, small bleeding, and wounded skin, It was something within him, a force that seemed to tell him, 'You can stop this pain.' And as he concentrated on the concept of the wound closing up and being healed, Ness was amazed to see the wound immediately start to close up, and the pain vanished.
"Ness? Are we going or not?" said Pokey, as he walked up towards the boy, and noticed the look of astonishment on his face. Pokey looked down at the holes in Ness's socks, replying, "Man, that was close, looks like that dog needs to get a new set of teeth eh?"
Ness, still astonished by what he did, looked up at Pokey in disbelief. As he got up to see how his ankle was, he was still surprised to find there was no pain there at all. He looked at his ankle, then at Pokey who had a bewildered look on his face, then back at the ankle. 'How did I? But....Oh I'll try and solve this later, I got to get Picky back before his folks get home and start to really worry.
It took a little while, the occasional Snake or hungry Bird attacking the small group, but Ness fended most of them off, while King provided good back up from time to time. As they climbed up the final curve of the hill, Ness noticed the Road Blocks were still there, but no police.
'Wow, for once Pokey wasn't lying nor exaggerating. Wonder what the Sharks did that was so bad.' thought Ness.
The Sharks were the local Street Gang, a bunch of Ruffians that liked to push people around, and aside from the occasional scaring of little old ladies or purse snatching, the Sharks used to be nothing more than a group of School Bullies. The Police were able to handle most of the major things they did for awhile. That is, until Frank showed up. 'Fearless' Frank was the Leader of the group, and was rumored to have pulled off multiple crimes that the police could never track down to him, but these were mostly unfounded rumors. However one thing he did do was increase the amount of members they had, and take over the local Arcade as his turf. But the scariest thing of all was he brought Organization to the local group, making them into a real gang, which was the main reason why no one went to the Arcade anymore. That is, unless they wanted to be a Member. The Police didn't enter, in fear of a riot breaking out, for who knows how many people Frank DID recruit. Plus Chief Strong had a quota to keep up in terms of Roadblocks and with the Mayor constantly breathing down his neck, it was a miracle in on itself Strong was able to do THAT.
As Ness walked past the Roadblocks, he heard a whimper, then a howl. Turning around, King's tail was between his legs, a look of worry on the dog's face, like something here wasn't right, and it scared the animal, he then ran off back the way they came. Ness hoped that King was heading home, and not in blind fear of what was up here.
"Come on Pokey, let's look around," said Ness, "Your brother must be around here somewhere."
The Meteorite was bathed in an unearthly Orange and yellow, like the color of neon fire, steam still rising from the recently crashed chunk of Rock. 'Best keep away from this thing, it's still quite hot.' thought Ness. As he continued his search, Ness heard a light snoring from nearby, looking to his right; he saw a familiar blond hair covered head. There sat Picky, his light snoring showing him in a peaceful sleep, as if waiting for Pokey to show his fat face here to wake him up when it was time to go.
"Pokey! Get over here, I found him." said Ness as he leaned down. "Come on Picky, wake up buddy, andlet's get you home."
"No Pokey, get your own pudding ya fat lump!" grumbled Picky, Ness rolled his eyes in response, and shook Picky awake. Picky turned for a moment, and opened his eyes. "Ness! What the heck are you doin" Picky looked over at Pokey walking over, "....oh I see. So he got scared and enlisted you eh?"
"More like conscripted. Come on let's get out of here." said Ness as he helped Picky up onto his feet.
As they started to walk away, Ness heard a slight humming in his ears, which turned into a faint buzzing, like a fly was buzzing past his ear. "What the heck is that?" said Ness.
"You hear it too? I was just about to ask you both that." said Pokey. "It sounds like some type of bee."
Ness listened more intently, and Pokey was right, that did sound like a bee, and as he looked around, he heard Picky gasp and suddenly Pokey was tugging at his sleeve. "What is.....it?" said Ness as he turned around, his look of annoyance changing into a look of amazement. They were in front of the Meteorite, however this time a single white shaft of light was pouring out of it. As they looked upon the light shaft, the faint buzzing grew louder and louder, as the single ray of light, expanded wider and wider until covering the entire meteorite, and from the near blinding ray of light came a single small Beetle. Or at least Ness THOUGHT it looked like a beetle to some degree, yet it looked like no type he'd ever seen before.
"A Bee I am not." Said the Insect, causing the 3 boys to jump back in surprise, after all, it wasn't everyday you heard an insect TALK. The Beetle then flew over to Ness and sat itself down on the brim of his cap, as Pokey and Picky took a step back. "Whoa....sorry about the whole 'Talking like Yoda I am' speech. But time travel can do that to you ya know?" said the insect, as if he were talking about what a nice cold night it was, never you mind he was possibly the ONLY insect in the world that could talk.
Ness removed his cap slowly, and turned it around to see the creature, all the while contemplating this in his head. "Time Travel? You mean to tell me your from another Time?" said the boy calmly, praying to get some answers from this currently freaky event.
The insect turned its head towards Ness, "Yes, I am indeed. The Future to be exact, however it's...." he looked down, as if in grief, "much worse than what it is now. A terrible evil has appeared. And it has brought this world to a hellish nightmare. Hope is but a distant dream there, and survival is a constant struggle. However, it is written that a group of saviors will appear. They will be from the past, lead by a boy and his companions, 2 boys and 1 girl, and shatter the Nightmare Rock that holds us in fear. I came back in time, because I believe that you are that Boy Ness who will deliver us from Giygas, the overlord and conductor of the evil. I may not look like much right now, but I am one of the best fighters from my time, though I am a bit weak right now because of the Time Travel, but let us go and rest and I will tell you more, if you will let me accompany you?"
Stunned, Ness stood there, waiting for the meaning of the story to sink in. Pokey's mouth hung open, a look of horror on his face. A moment later, Ness smiled. "Alright, let's go then," he said, and as he put his cap back on, he then replied, "by the way, what is your name?"
Then insect flew off of Ness's cap, and replied, "My name is Buzz Buzz Ness. And I thank you for believing me and agreeing to help."
Pokey then took this chance to voice his opinion, "Whoa whoa, who said WE agreed to help you?!" he whined, Ness looked back at the boy, "Ness, you can't be serious wanting to do this can you?! I mean this bug talks of fighting an Ultimate Evil that enslaved Humanity and how he THINKS that we're the chosen ones and you just say 'Fine, let's go.'?! I don't think I'm cut out for this sort of thing!"
"Oh calm down Pokey, Buzz Buzz said that it was 3 boys and a girl, for all you know, neither you nor Picky here could be them. It could be some kid from WINTERS for all we know! So calm down, and let's go" scolded Ness. Pokey, still in fear of the potential future he might have, could only nod in silent defeat.
They then set off, Buzz Buzz hovering over Ness's head, intent on heading back to Pokey's house to drop the two brothers off. As they headed back down, Ness noticed on their way up to the Meteorite, they were waylaid every step by something or other, willing to attack them, but now it was as quiet as a church mouse on their way down. 'They must be scared of Buzz Buzz, no wonder King ran off.' he thought.
Ness looked ahead to see they finally made it to their homes, as they walked the last few steps of the trail, a loud thunder clap sounded, and then a single brilliant beam of light appeared in front of them, and something...humanoid was all Ness could think of on how to describe this thing that stood there in front of him. It was about his height, it was White all over, with a stub like head, a single black bar across the front of where its eyes should have been. It had thin, arms; ending in spike shaped tentacles, on its front chest was a series of shapes, probably indicating its rank.
"So Buzz Buzz, at last I've found you," said the Alien, "You have eluded me for the last time, and I will make sure you do not ever interfere with that Master's plans ever again."
"So you found me Starman. I knew that wherever I went, you wouldn't be that far off. But now both you and your master's times are up. I have found the Chosen One, and with his help, I'll avenge what your kind has done to us." said Buzz Buzz in anger.
The being known as Starman turned the black bar on his 'face' from Buzz Buzz to Ness. "This boy? You truly have become desperate you useless insect. Relying on children to fight your battles for you. There might have been a time where you were a true challenge to the Master, but those days have long gone from you. And I shall make sure you won't live to see another one."
Ness had heard enough, this Alien wasn't gonna hurt his new friend, nor anyone else for that matter, and he reached for his bat. Buzz Buzz flew above the boys' heads, and suddenly Ness temporarily saw the world bathed in a Pink Light, and it vanished. Ness and Picky attacked the Alien, Picky throwing a punch at the alien while Ness attacked its head. The Starman's face took the full force of the bat, yet it seemed like that attack didn't even phase the creature. The Starman stretched its arms forward, and from the ends of his tentacles a great stream of fire emerged, moving towards Ness and the others. The boys all ducked and covered their heads in fear, but to their great surprise nothing happened. Ness looked up to see Buzz Buzz attacking the Starman with his body, the Alien took a step back from the force of the blow Buzz Buzz used on him. Starman once again threw another stream of fire at them, and Ness noticed this time, that when the fire reached him, the world turned pink again, yet this time, when the fire dissipated, the pink haze melted away. Buzz Buzz flew closer to Ness, and this time Ness noticed Buzz Buzz stay still for a moment, and suddenly the world went pink once again. 'A Shield!' thought Ness, 'Of course! Buzz Buzz did say he was an accomplished fighter, so that's what he's been doing.' Ness then redoubled his efforts, and attacked the Starman again, yet no matter what, all of his attacks barely phased the creature. Buzz Buzz also attacked, and after his second charge, the Starman fell to the ground.
"You may have won here, but I will return you insignificant bug. And when I do, pray for a quick death." said the Starman, and he slumped to the ground. And in a brilliant flash of light, he disappeared.
Buzz Buzz landed on Ness's shoulder, his wings fluttering, and the looks of a bug trying to catch its breath. "Wow. That was a close one, that being was a Starman Jr., one of weaker versions of Giygas's soldiers. He must have followed me from the Future in order to prevent me from finding you. We must be cautious Ness, Giygas must have wind of our plans now, and will send more than his soldiers, he has the power to control the minds and bodies of People and Animals, my guess he will do whatever he can to stop us."
Ness shuddered in fear of the ideas of having to fight something far tougher than that Starman Jr., and if that was the weakest of Giygas's Soldiers, heaven knows what he would fight next.
"Come on Ness, let's hurry! I think my folks are home by now!" whined Pokey, trying to recover over what just happened, and the quivering in fear of what his parents were going to do to him and his brother. With that summation, the 3 of them ran as fast as they could to Pokey's house, hoping that they weren't gonna be in trouble.
As they entered the house, they were sadly proven wrong, as their stood Pokey's Mom and Dad, both with looks of anger on their face, ready to strangle their 2 children. "There you are! Do you know how WORRIED SICK your mother has been this night, thinking where you two have been, if you'd been attacked, kidnapped or WORSE? You two are in such big trouble right now!!" screamed Pokey's Dad, a man of large girth who had blond hair, and wore glasses. Pokey and Picky ran upstairs in fear, for a mad father could turn into a dangerous father. And Picky had told Ness of countless times where his father had spanked the both of them for constant harassment of people, and various other things. Their father ran upstairs after the two of them. After a few minutes of what sounded like yelling, he came back downstairs.
"By the way boy, Tell that father of yours I wish you people would leave. Because of his requests, my family and I are living in poverty, and all of you have been nothing but a burden on my family." said the fat man. Ness held back the urge to just roll his eyes. The money Pokey's Dad talked about was a mere 100 dollars Ness's father needed for a wedding present. Ness had paid his father back, and much more in gratitude. But of course, Pokey's father had to be one of the biggest penny pinchers Ness had ever heard of. So Ness just let this talk roll off his back like it was nothing. He had bigger fish to fry, namely this whole 'destiny thing' Buzz Buzz talked of. Just then, Ness heard a scream, Ness and Pokey's father looked over to see Pokey's Mother with a Flyswatter, yelling, "A Dung Beetle! I'll smash your guts out!!!"
'OH NO!!!' thought Ness, 'I've got to stop her!!' as he ran over to prevent the mad woman from smashing his friend, WHAM! And it was too late. Looking underneath the swatter, she sneered in disgust of the sight underneath, and walked upstairs to wash her hands of the mess. Resisting the urge right then and there to make her feel what she just did to Buzz Buzz, Ness ran over to his fallen friend, hoping and praying he wasn't dead. Ness looked on in horror, Buzz Buzz was in horrid shape, his wings were broken, and he had trouble moving.
Buzz Buzz panted, "I guess...Time Travel....weakened me more than...I thought."
"Oh god Buzz Buzz, what do I do? What am I supposed to do?"
"You must....you must begin your journey now. I was right to believe you were the one." Buzz Buzz then stopped moving.
"Buzz Buzz? BUZZ BUZZ?! WAKE UP!!" yelled the boy.
Buzz Buzz stirred. "I'm not dead yet Ness. But it's going to happen soon, so I must be quick to say this. In order to destroy Giygas, you must discover the powers within you, you already discovered some of it when you learned the ability to heal yourself. It is an ability called Psychic Power. It was the same ability I had that stopped that attack the Starman used," said Buzz Buzz, "You will discover more as you adventure, But you must unite these abilities with the Earth's power itself. The Earth will then multiply your power many times, and with that, you will know what you must do to destroy Giygas. You must visit 8 areas in the world, these places are sacred to you, and once you have discovered these places, they will allow you to unite with the Earth. These places are part of 'Your Sanctuary'. Here, let me give this to you." Buzz Buzz then moved slightly and concentrated. In front of Ness out of thin air, a small sky blue stone the size of a tennis ball appeared out of thin air. "This is called the Sound Stone. This item will record what has happened at each of the locations of 'Your Sanctuary'. You will need it with you." Said Buzz Buzz, he then shook, coughed, and gasped for more air. "Ness, you are stronger than you look and think you are. The Sun is beginning to rise outside, as is your adventure. I believe in you, you must free us....do not let...me down." Murmured Buzz Buzz, and he breathed no more.
Ness looked down at the small hero. He had given his life to make sure that the future would be saved, and Ness was going to make sure that his death was not in vain. As he stepped outside, Buzz Buzz was right, the Sun was rising, and Ness was going to start his adventure to save the world.