In the distance, a waterfall was forcing its awesome wrath into the river below. The sound had been aggravating at first, but after three days of hearing it, Paula Polestar had learned to block it out.

The opposite side of the cabin in which she had been imprisoned had an open window. It had been awhile since she had seen the morning sun rise above it. "Almost noon," she muttered aloud. "Should be about feeding time."

As if on cue, the door creaked open and two figures walked inside. "Alright, girlie, lunch time. Blue blue," came the rough voice of one of her captors. Paula thought it was the one on the left, but with them wearing the same clothing, it was hard to tell.

The Happy Happiests. Insane cultists who believed that peace on earth could be achieved by painting the world blue. The followers dressed uniformly with blue suits and hoods.

"You've got a choice, you know," said the first Happy Happiest. "You don't have to be a sacrifice. Our leader, Carpainter, would gladly accept you as his priestess. Blue blue."

"That's alright," replied Paula, a calm smile adorning her face. "I'll just wait here to be rescued. It should happen anytime now."

"You really believe that, don' you? Blue blue." The cultist shook his head. "No one's coming. Even if they did, do you really think they could make it through Peaceful Rest Valley? That place is filled with all sorts of nasty stuff lately. Blue blue." He looked at Paula. "You sure? Blue blue."

Paula nodded, slowly but with conviction.

"Suit yourself. Blue blue," the cultist replied with a shrug. "He's your food. Blue blue." He tossed down two pieces of bread and a slice of cheese. "See you in the evening. Blue blue."

"Yeah," added the other cultist, speaking for the first time. "And you'll change your mind if you know what's good for you. Green green."

Paula winced as the second cultist was promptly smacked by the first. "Idiot! For the last time, it's Blue blue!"

"Sorry. Gr…blue blue," he hastily amended, rubbing his head.

And with that, the two cultists left Paula to her solitude. Paula sat there for several minutes, ensuring that the cultists were really gone. She picked up her food and made a basic sandwich. She then closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, she felt heat overtake her hand; slight but noticeable. She opened her eyes and took a bite out of her now toasted sandwich.

"It's lucky for you guys that I happen to like grilled cheese sandwiches," Paula said to no one in particular. "Or else I might not have the patience to wait for Ness." She stopped eating and looked at the bit of sky she could see out the window. "Lucky for me, too, I suppose. I'm not sure my powers could get me past these bars. Carpainter seems to have done something that repels PSI. And setting fire to the cabin is definitely out of the question." She allowed a small sigh to escape her lips. "Even if I could get out of here, there's no way I could fight my way past all the cultists."

Shrugging off these unpleasant thoughts, she returned to her meal in silence. But to her surprise, daylight flashed over her as the door to the cabin was thrust open. She hastily hid her sandwich behind her, but the person at the entrance was not a cultist. It was a teenage boy with a red baseball cap.

"Paula?" he asked.

"Ness!" she cried as she leapt to the bars. "You finally came!"

Ness smiled and flashed a peace sign. "Sorry I took so long. UFOs held me up."

"I knew you would come to save me," said Paula softly. "I had a dream that a boy named Ness would be my destiny."

Ness flinched as his smile faded. "You wanna rephrase that?" he asked tentatively. "It kinda sounded like you were hitting on me."

This time it was Paula's smile that faded as her cheeks turned a faint red. "What? No!" Her surprise swiftly turned to irritation. "I swear, is that all you boys have on your mind"

"Come on," pleaded Ness. "You have to admit that's what it sounded like."

"Oh, just take this." Paula looked to the side and thrust her hand forward. Resting on her palm was a small badge with a lightening bolt on it. "It will repel Carpainter's lightening."

"Yeah, right," Ness replied clumsily. "I'll see you in just a bit."

Paula remained silent as Ness walked out the door. She thought about the encounter for a moment. Then, without warning, she buried her face in her hands. "Oh my gosh," she muttered. "It really did sound like I was hitting on him. Now I have to apologize or else he'll think I'm a bi…a bi…" Paula struggled to say a word that she was conditioned never to say. After an agonizing moment, she yielded. "Ooooh…a not nice lady."

Paula crossed her arms and fumed, frustrated over her inability to say a simple word, as well as her not-so-smooth meeting with Ness.