Chapter 4 – Jumping the Shark.
Ness was never one to rest on his laurels, not that he really ever knew what laurels where, but he liked that phrase and stuck to it many a time, his first stop was Onett City Hall. Located in the center of town, City Hall was the most majestic building in Onett, using the old Greek ways of construction. White Marble, Doric Order Columns, and even a carving of Justice on the top helped make it look all the better. Of course, the glaring letters 'CITY HALL' helped shoot that down, but in a town of quaint homes and normal brick and mortar buildings, it stuck out like a sore thumb anyway. Ness walked eagerly up the steps, determined to bust into the mayor's office, ask what was the holdup on the shack and planned on getting the key right then and there...
"No."
That was all he got from the secretary who proceeded to slam the door in his face and give Ness a lovely black eye and an equally black temper. Opening the door he approached her with a menacing look. "Why can't I talk to the mayor nor get the key from him right here and now?"
"Well for one, it would be a disastrous political nightmare for the mayor if he sent a kid like you into the Mines alone and you were injured. Second, I have an alarm button right next to my foot and in ten seconds I can have the entire Onett Police Force here, and third, I am a Secretary to an incompetent Mayor and I'm in a Bad mood today. That alone should mean even GOD shouldn't mess with me. GOT IT!?!" she yelled at him. Ness couldn't argue that logic.
Stepping outside, Ness sat down on the Steps of City Hall and decided to think of the next step in his plan. 'The Mayor is not looking at his financial Situation in this town, he has a Political Problem with the Sharks, so instead of fixing his money problems, I should win the crowd and he'll give me the key. But how can I win the hearts and minds of Onett?'
Ness got up and decided the best thinking was never done on an empty stomach and decided to check to see if the local Pizza Place was finally opening or would he have to wait ANOTHER 6 months. Heaven knows the Pizza Express had been built 10 months ago, but they still had the sign 'Open Soon.' And it was driving Ness nuts, 'Ten months and a Major Fast Food Chain STILL isn't open? That's just bad time Management.'
As he turned the corner, Ness was met with the sounds of riotous laughter and 3 guys in different outfits, all wearing the same tell tale Shark Fin design on their hats. One was in Brown pants, a Brown and White Striped Shirt and had a Skateboard underneath his right foot, another had Hula Hoop twirling around his arm, and was dressed in purple. The third was dressed in Green and had what looked like a Pogo Stick strapped to his back, all of them wearing sunglasses. The source of laughter was Ness himself.
"Look at that RIDICULOUS Getup! What kind of idiot dresses like that?" said the Punk with the Pogo Stick. "What, is the circus in town or something? You look like a Clown at best, but I'm guessing you're just a moron!"
"Yeah, a Moron!" Said the Hula Hoop Shark.
"And that Backpack and those shoes, this guy has no style," Said the Skateboard Punk, as he rode circles around Ness, he slightly pushed Ness towards them. "This nerd is just ASKING for us to kick his ass!"
"Yeah, Ass!" said Hula Hoop again. Ness could see he wasn't the sharpest Knife in the drawer.
This was another normal routine in the Sharks lengthy list of personal Grievances they gave the townsfolk of Onett, the Sharks originally started out as a Fan Club to Frank, calling themselves that cause of the way the center of Frank's Hair naturally spiked up, looking like a Shark Fin, notorious for constantly updating their 'Fashion' Sense, they picked on anyone they wanted, and as of recent it escalated to Muggings and even a Break In or two. The Police were called in one time or another, but the Sharks had gained quite a few gang members since they had been in a previous gang war with a smaller group, the Planes or Hang gliders or whatever they called themselves, Ness never really listened much to that anyway. Either way, the Sharks proved mostly too large and rambunctious for the Police. The Town was getting tired of the Sharks, and was in dire need of someone to clean up their act.
"And that Hat! PLEASE, what Idiot wears a cap like th-" Was all the Skateboarder got out before Ness's fist went flying into the boy's face, causing his skateboard to fly off and for him to hit the pavement hard and bounce from it.
"Nobody makes fun of the hat." Was all he said as Ness unhooked his Bat from his pack and stood there, as the other two looked startled at someone who actually was standing UP to them, the look quickly faded to anger.
"You DARE attack one of the Great Sharks? Oh your asking for it jerk, I'm gonna break your face!!" yelled the Pogo Punk as he proceeded to grab his pogo stick. Hula Hoop was already running towards Ness, swinging his hoop in the air like a lasso, preparing to bash it over Ness's head. Ness stepped quickly to the side and tripped the boy, delivering a single shot straight to the head of the punk, causing him to yelp in pain as he hit the ground hard.
The Pogo punk charged Ness as his guard was down and tackled Ness to the ground, knocking his bat away and then threw punch after punch at him. Doing his best to cover his face, Ness reached out for something, anything. If he didn't get this guy off, the other one would only help. His fingers touched something, grabbed hold and swung at the Shark's face, Ness looked in surprise to see it was his bat in hand, however he quickly stopped wondering how it got back into his hand and swung quickly to stop the Pogo Punk's second charge at him by swinging at his ribs, knocking the wind out of the Shark.
"You hurt my friends! Now I hurt you!!" screamed Hula Hoop from behind Ness and swung his hula hoop hitting Ness on the head, dazing him for a moment. The boy showed surprising strength as he proceeded to repeatedly kick Ness and hit with his hoop multiple times. Ness blindly swung as hard as he could to back the boy off and felt something connect and a loud 'THUMP!' Opening his eyes, he saw that Hula hoop was on the ground, unconscious and a nice big lump on his leg. 'Must have hit the curb pretty hard.' Thought Ness.
"Gonna be hard to break my face when your flat on yours." Said Ness as he got up, looking at the Pogo Punk.
"Trust us, your gonna be joining him pretty soon." Said a voice. Whirling around, Ness looked on in surprise and worry at seeing another 3 Sharks. All three wore brown and had the look of the First Skater, however one had a Bloody nose.
"That's the guy that broke my nose guys! Let's get him!" yelled the nose bleeder. The Three charged Ness on their skateboards, intent on making him road kill. Smiling and taking a Batter's stance, Ness waited and swung as hard as he could at the first Shark, who ducked the attack, but his second friend didn't, and took the bat full force to the side of his ribs, causing him to fall from his skateboard and hit the ground, clutching his side. The third however succeeded in slugging Ness in the face, causing him to see stars for a moment.
Shaking off the daze, Ness turned to face the two skaters as they turned around on their boards and made another run, as they drew close Ness got ready, and was attacked from behind by the one on the ground with his board. Gripping his bat tightly, Ness swung in any direction he could find causing the three to back off, but laugh at his futility. Ness found himself being quickly outnumbered and getting tired.
'Not good….what do I do…' he thought, knowing he couldn't outrun the three who had modes of transportation unlike Ness.
'Concentrate on each of them. Stare them down and make them lose focus on this reality! Their minds are weak and you can stop them dead in their tracks by putting them to sleep!' said that mysterious voice from last night.
'Who keeps following me?' he quickly thought.
'I am not following you Ness, I am in your head! But there is no time for that, they are coming back!' yelled the voice, and sure enough, the 3 punks were closing the distance, keeping space from one another so Ness couldn't get a lucky hit. Not having any choice in the matter, Ness concentrated on looking as hard as he could at the lead Shark, the one who still hadn't taken a single hit from Ness. As he stared at the boy, an odd serenity seemed to fill Ness's Mind, the quiet calm before a storm, or the peace before slumber and Ness pushed this towards the boy charging at him with fury. To Ness's Surprise, the boy indeed dropped dead asleep while moving, and to his friend's surprise as well as he collided with one of the other Sharks as well, causing them to get tangled up, the third member looked on in surprise at the sudden change of events and was too late to notice Ness's bat streaking towards his face. As the boy plummeted toward the ground, Ness didn't need to even look to know he wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon. Walking over to the other Shark caught beside his unconscious friend, Ness prepared to strike him as well across the face.
"Please! Don't hurt me! I swear I'll quit the Sharks! I'll change my ways, I'll help old ladies across the street and all that other stuff boy scouts or whatever does!!" cried the boy, scared for his life and wellbeing.
Looking on with no sense of remorse, Ness had a clever idea run through his head and brought the bat down hard to the boy's yelping terror, stopping 1 inch above him. "Run along with your sleeping pal here and tell your friends and Frank that their days of terrorizing are over. And if I see you again hanging around with them Punk, I won't stop swinging next time."
Grabbing his friend and running into the Arcade as fast as possible, Ness knew he had to make tracks and fast, he got lucky this time, but he probably couldn't handle 7 Sharks at once and ran northbound. Noticing the Sun was setting, he decided to head back home and ponders about how to handle the Sharks.
Four Days had passed since Ness had his run in with the Sharks and each day had been the same for him. He went down to where their hideout was and stopped them at every turn, whether they were bullying someone, stopping traffic just for laughs or merely hanging around, Ness beat the tar out of any that crossed his path, using either Bat or the odd Hypnosis he discovered he had. He cut it too close the second day and found using his hypnosis too much gave him a colossal headache, however by the third day he stayed and waited for more to show up and was knocking punks out left and right, by the end they were almost running in terror by him walking towards them. As he walked past the Hotel on day four he noticed the Local Newspaper had taken view of it, 'Local Vigilante takes justice to the Sharks! Police peeved as Crowd Cheers!'
'Good to see I'm making news in the headlines, I guess it's time to face Frank himself. Hope I'm ready.' Thought Ness. His worries were well founded, Frank 'The Man' Fallenstein was not well known except by reputation, it was rumored he was ex Eagleland Intelligence Agency, or EIA, and was a master of weapons, science and could even program a VCR and fix its clock in a time of need. The Sharks loved him for his supposed Keen Fashion Sense and masterful skills in all things 'Cool'. No one had seen the man since the Arcade opened up, it was said he was in the back, living it up like a King amongst his gang.
"Time to let Frank know it's NOT always 'Good to be the King'" muttered Ness as he walked around the corner to the Arcade, pulling his Tee Ball Bat out and looking at the 4 sharks standing at the entrance.
"It- It's him!! That's the guy that's been attacking us! GET HIM!" yelled the first one.
"No way man, I heard he can knock people unconscious with just one swing!" said the shark standing next to him.
"Are you kidding me!? I heard he took on five of us at once and beat em all without getting hit once!" said the third guy.
"Not a chance I'm facing him, I heard he beat eight sharks just by staring at them!! He's some kind of demon!" said the fourth one.
Ness started to laugh as he walked towards them from the tall tales that so quickly spread about this 'half crazed Vigilante'. The laughter was all it took causing all four of them to go running in terror from him and leaving the Arcade doors wide open.
"Hmmm, perhaps fame and wild rumor do have their excuses after all." Said Ness as he entered the Arcade, the lights going dimmer as the sounds of explosions, game music and the rustle of quarters flooded his ears. The smell of sweat and old pizza permeating the air. 'No wonder the Pizza place has been closed so long, these guys have been breaking in and stealing the supplies!' thought Ness, annoyed that a group of punks like them would do something to the rest of the town. Walking through the Arcade, most of the Sharks were too busy playing their games, that or ignoring the guy most of them knew had beaten the crap out of them only days before. As he approached a set of double doors, he noticed a sign above it, 'No entry unless Frank himself says so!' with a single guy there holding a hula hoop guarding the entrance, he looked at Ness up and down, sizing him up and stating, "You want to see our boss Frank?"
"Yes I do. Let me pass."
"No chance kid, you want to meet our esteemed Boss, you got to get through me."
Looking at the Punk square in the eye, Ness began to stare him down, right into slumber. As the guy dropped to the ground snoring softly, Ness stepped over him. "I think I can do that.
Stepping outside in the sunlight, Ness's eyes adjusted quickly to see a man in a Red Zoot Suit, hunched over a large wooden box with what looked like a bucket on top. The shade covering his Combed back Blonde Hair and Shades, his smile giving the note of, 'I'm too cool for anything you have to say.' Staring at the box behind the man, Ness merely walked up to him, the man turned and stepped out of the shade.
"I'm Frank. You are?" was all he said, Ness looked at Frank with a look of caution, wondering just what the heck was it behind Frank that he was working on. "Well are you going to answer me or just stand there?" yelled Frank as he walked up to Ness, a look of anger on his face. "So you think you can stand up to me?! I'll show you why they call me Failproof Frank!"
Jumping a step back, Ness withdrew his Bat and swung at Frank, catching the large man in the Side. Frank took the blow, wincing in pain, but returned the attack in kind with his fist in Ness's face, knocking the boy to the ground.
"So this is the 'Vigilante' my boys are scared to death about? That all you got Kid? Your NOTHING! I've faced wild snakes tougher than you!" insulted Frank, kicking Ness in the stomach to add injury to insult. Frank hoped it would take the fight out of the boy and make him run in terror like most Sharks did who got to big for themselves...it didn't work.
Ness fumed in anger at let it run loose. Getting up from one knee Ness swung upward with his kneeling position and smashed Frank right in the Jaw, knocking the man clean off his feet, 5 feet away, slamming the back of his head into the fence at the back of the lot.
"And I've had tougher times getting my Neighbor to leave me alone, let alone take a bath, than dealing with an old fart like you." retorted Ness as he walked slowly to the older man.
"Deal with THIS you punk!" screamed Frank as he pulled a Knife at least 6 inches long. He ran towards Ness in a rage and then thrusted at him. Ness sidestepped quickly, but not enough at Frank slashed at his side. Wincing in Pain Ness wildly struck with his Bat, and connected Frank right in the Back, knocking the man to the ground. Frank did not stand back up, only groaned in pain at the various bruises he would recieve in the not too distant future.
Ness himself was looking no better, catching his breath, he took out a Hamburger to fix his massive growing appetite. As he ate, he concentrated on the wounds he recieved and noticed that they already began to close up at an odd rate. And yet he didn't feel as exhausted nor hungry as he usually did when he tried to heal himself. 'Hmmm, perhaps the food helps me not have to concentrate and push myself as much.' he thought.
"I'll teach you kid..." said Frank, breaking Ness out of his thoughts. "Fail-Proof Frank can't be beaten." said Frank in between breaths, "Now you see what would have made me more than a gang leader, but King of this whole stinkin town!! Meet 'Frankystein Mark II!" Pulling out a remote from his coat pocket, Frank pressed the button, and the Box next to the tree started to rumble, and a fist then made a hole in the box, then a second hole by another fist, the sounds a motor eminating from the Box, and the front burst open, a shower of packing confetti and shreds of cardboard flying away, revealing a brown wooden and rusty metal tank like robot inside, treads supported it's feet, a grin painted on it's face, and the eyes painted to look like the Shark's tell tale shades.
Walking towards the contraption, Ness swung his bat at the machine's head, causing it to spin around, locking back into it's old position, a mean looking dent though looking at it's side. The machine merely made the sounds of a motor hissing, and steam vented from the sides and exhaust pipe in the back as it stood it's ground unphased, the silent grin on it's face making it seem all the more menacing. Ness swung a second time, hitting the side of it, leaving a dent once again in the machine, but it seemed no worse for wear. In retaliation, the machine outstreched one of it's gloved fists and struck Ness hard across the face, nearly knocking him to the ground from the force of the blow.
Frank let out a large bellowing laughter, "Don't you see kid? You had no chance against my plans!!! I'm the most powerful man in this town. I OWN this town!" Frank then pressed another button on the remote, and Frankystein's treads stopped, and elevated the machine.
"Combat Sequence Engaged" was all the machine said at one fist leveled itself to Ness and pointed at him, almost a way of saying he was targeted. Ness looked back at the machine and struck again, this time at the body again, in the hope of increasing the damage and causing the motor to give out. Although with the blow he busted out the wood revealing the inner machinery, it did little to stop the monster as it barreled down at top speed at Ness, tearing into the boy and breaking his arm in the process, and tossed Ness across the room like a rag doll. Ness screamed out in pain from the busted arm and the bruises he was feeling all along his back.
"You shouldn't have messed with me Ness. That's right, I know who you are. You didn't think I'd just idly stand by and let you beat my men up and make me lose all control? Oh no, I've been working on this fine beauty for awhile. And he is going to be the sign of demise on both you, and anyone else!" said Frank, laughing at his triumph as he then looked at the boy, and he immediatly felt suprise. Ness had stood up, the look of pain gone from his face, his arm even looking perfectly fine. All that was left was the look of anger on his face as Ness yelled, charged at the machine and proceeded to attack the thing violently. The first blow completly taking off the robot's right arm, the second crushing half the head of the machine, the third and fourth denting the treads causing it unable to move and the fifth one made his Bat snap in two, but caused the chest of the machine to cave in, giving it the look of slumping over, with the motor giving one last spurt or two, it died, the sounds of the entire thing failing, and Frankystein Mark II was completly destroyed.
Frank looked upon the situation with a mix of depression and utter terror. Ness approached the man as Frank fell backwards and looked upon the smashed rubble that was his greatest creation, yet also was the sign of his first failure. He spoke with the voice of a man who seemed to have lost everything, and who knows? Maybe at that moment he had.
"This...is a first for me. Fail-proof Frank is now just..Failure Frank." He looked up at Ness, a look of awe and respect upon his face. "As I said, I have heard who you are and that your getting into Giant Step. I was there before they closed it out to people, it seems...pretty intense, but if anyone can handle it, it's you boy. You have...something I can't explain, but it is the thing needed to find the anwsers there. Ness, you've become far stronger than I, and if there are other places like Giant Step...then this is the beginning for you."
"You haven't even begun to grasp the tip of the iceberg Frank. But I am more concerned at the moment what I should do with you." Said Ness, Frank only looked upon him and smiled a very calm serene smile.
"I merely looked upon Onett as a place to call my own. At first I saw it as a land to conquer, since none challenged me like people did in the Military, but I see now the strength you possess, this town has more to it than I knew. Perhaps the people are Good, and stronger than I gave them credit. You've earned my respect this day Ness, and I will turn over a new leaf, if I must turn myself in to the police, I will do so, and I will have the sharks start to help the town as opposed to tear it down into my image."
Ness looked upon the grown man, and saw the look on his face. Ness couldn't help it, he believed the man. "Alright Frank, I want you to tell the Sharks the changes, and go to the Police and tell them everything. If the town likes me as much as I think they do, I'll help you."
Over the next 2 days, the newspaper sales skyrocketed around Onett. The disbanded Sharks, Frank turning over a new leaf, and the young boy named Ness who did the whole thing, The Police had come to state on the paper they wished to put the boy behind bars for being a vigilante, but the town practically would have rioted if Ness was so much as given a parking ticket at this moment. It wasn't long before Ness recieved a certain letter in the mail...