Chapter 4
Ness left his home with regret. The sun had barely nudged the landscape that had been placed in front of him. The city of Onett was in his line of sight. Cars that zoomed across the streets, bustling citizens on the sidewalk, and buildings and houses that looked fresh and alive. This was his kind of town.
But he still was recovering from the goodbye at home. He knew that his family was looking at him still, through the window, but he knew that he could not look back. It would drive him back to tears, and he would come running back. That's what his mom wanted him to do. She wanted to see her little baby son again, in the flesh, but it would be a little while before that wish would come true. There was a world to save.
A bicycle came up the road. The rider wore a blue suit, with a same colored hat the same shape as Ness's. A paper boy. The child zipped past him, while leaving an item. It skidded to his side, and he picked it up to find that it was a newspaper.
"Paula Polestar Missing From Twoson! Roads Blocked To Contain Culprit!"
"Hmm…." Ness thought to himself. Buzz Buzz said that there was supposed to be two boys and a girl….Besides, it would be nice to help the town anyway.
He then looks down at the road to Twoson. It was blocked by cops, and road blocks.
"Great. How am I going to get through there?"
He then spotted the town hall located in the middle of town.
Guess I should speak to the Mayor himself…If he will let me. All that the police would do is shove me to the side. Hopefully he won't do the same.
Ness pushed himself down the hill to the road. People looked at him with smirks on their faces. He wondered why, and got laughed at by many.
"Better watch yourself, kid!" One teenager said.
"The Sharks will get you! You better go back home, little one!" A lady said without even looking at him.
The Sharks…Aren't those the local gang members that I keep hearing about? They don't sound that tough.
He kept walking, ignoring the naysayers that looked him down. He soon reached the town hall, with its pillars of white stone, and the shape of a D.C. building. Ness had second thoughts about going in. What if the mayor, or anyone else working there, would listen to him? He had to figure it out for himself.
He walked in to see several business women working behind the counter, typing on their keyboards, trying to stay awake for at least five more minutes by drinking thirty-two ounces of coffee with bags under their eyes. They barely gave the boy a half-second look as he walked by to go up the stairs to see the owner of Onett himself.
Unfortunately, he was halted by a pale white man with a pitch black suit on.
"Hey!" He yelled as if he was trying to rob a bank. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm, going to see the mayor, sir." Ness tried saying in the most polite way possible.
"Well, I can't let you in, unless you are to discuss the problem going on around here."
"The Sharks?"
"Yepo. Got enough problems going on, Twoson's lost girl, people stealing from the local market, and the boss of the whole Sharks operation going on in Giant Step."
That's right! Giant Step! Maybe I can-
"So, unless you're willing to help us out with the Sharks, then you'd better kick yourself out before I do it for-"
"I'll help!" Yelled Ness. "Just, let me talk to the mayor."
The guard began to laugh as if he had heard the funniest joke ever.
"Well, I guess he needs all the help he can get," the guard said in the middle of chuckling, "so I guess you should go bother him instead. See how much trouble you can get into."
The guard then moved aside, while Ness replied with a thank you. As he walked up, he saw two guards blocking the sides, and two more on the left and right of the one and only mayor.
"I don't know what I should do!" The mayor yelled. "I just don't have the money to ship twenty son of a guns down to Giant Step!"
He then spotted Ness as he walked straight in front of him. The mayor wore formal attire, but his suit was half buttoned, and his forehead was coated in sweat. He slammed the phone down on the table, and rolled his eyes to see him.
"Yes, yes, what do you want?" The mayor said with a slight irritation in his voice. "I really don't have time to deal with your problems. What happened? Bully took your bike? You tripped on the sidewalk?"
"I, actually, wanted to help with the Shark problem you have." Ness said also irritated.
The mayor was surprised, and tried to hold back a crack of laughter.
"You mean THE, Shark problem?" He questioned with surprise. Ness replied with a nodding of the head.
"Well….I can't let a little kid risk his life to save me millions….of dollars."
The mayor felt between a rock and a hard place. It would be morally wrong to let a kid go out and beat up twenty or so men with guns and knives, but his money was running tight, due to the containment of the problem down in Twoson. He had agreed to help with the neighboring city's potential risk, and was also agreed to have a share for the capture, but there was no luck. He felt like he was in a paradox, and the only way out was to trust his gut.
"Look, kid, if you want, you can go mess around in Giant Step," the mayor finally replied, "because there was said to be a camp inside the caves, where their leader was. They-they were trying to fish something out, and hell if we know what it is. We tried blocking it off; to keep them inside, but no cop has ever set foot inside.
Who knows what they have in there? I don't have that kind of money to ship forty, pardon my French, forty f*cking police guards inside to shoot up any remaining Sharks. They probably won't touch you, though. You're just a kid! They know what's morally wrong, and right….I think. Anyway, will you do it for me?"
Ness nodded his head again, which only left a sinking feeling in the mayor's stomach.
"Good. Now, I will let the guards there to unlock the gate. Giant Step WAS a public place, until they had to place their damn camp inside. Get going, now!"
Ness felt terrified to enter, but he knew that his first location that he needed to enter was Giant Step, and time was running out. He left the building tense and uneasy, and then looked up to hill where his house lies, and looked to the left to find the entrance to Giant Step himself.
He had never seen the place himself, so he had no idea what he was in for. Once he had reached the gate, two cops smirked as they turned their keys to open the wooden gate. The top had read the name, and the cave was completely dark on the inside. He went step by step inside, checking his surroundings. Then, he heard chatter.
The walls made of rock made Ness feel claustrophobic, but as he turned the corner, a big open area spawned a bright light to his eyes. It was a camp fire. There were at least ten tents lying on the ground circling the flame, and one for every tent was the Sharks. They wore black costumes that covered their entire bodies, and the holes for eyes had red paint that surrounded their eyeballs.
They were laughing and swearing at each other, and the sounds echoed throughout the caves. But, when Ness turned the corner to unconceal his body, the room went silent. They stared at him with eyes of real sharks, as if they were going to attack, and rip him limb from limb.
"Um," one of the members said, "who the hell are you supposed to be?"
They all laughed, as they stood up from the logs that they were sitting on, and walked up to him. The loud sounds of feet slapping against the wall made Ness take a few steps back and they were ready with knifes and brass knuckles.
"This place is for us only, punk!" One yelled in anger.
"Who sent you? The whiny old mayor?" One asked with sarcasm.
"What are you gonna do? Beat us up with that crappy old bat?"
"I don't think so…"
"Let's teach this kid a good old fashioned lesson on how you should not piss us off!"
They all were three feet away, and making Ness only hit the side of the entrance. He hadn't even make two inches before being bombarded by men with weapons. Maybe he wasn't ready for this kind of challenge. Maybe he should just stay home with his mommy.
"You can't hurt me!" Ness yelled with the sliver of courage he had at the moment. "I'm just a little kid! You guys are just hiding in here because the cops are outside waiting for you! How long would you last in here? Five days? Tops?"
They all replied with a long ooo, as one moved up right in Ness's face in anger.
"Listen here, tough guy. This place now has things that you would never think of. There is something powerful up at Giant Step itself. Our boss and we are planning on taking that power from the stupid guardian blocking the path. He killed three of us, and he ain't getting anymore. So I will give you one chance to get the hell out of here while you still can!"
Ness then regretfully said, "I'm not leaving without that power at Giant Step. I know that I can stop whatever guardian you say is up there. Watch me."
They then blocked the passageway with all ten of their members.
"Fine," the member said, "then you ain't coming out of here. Ever."
They all ran toward him with their weapons raised high. Ness slid right under one of them, and proceeded to reach the top. He ran past the tents, to find a rope dangling from a cliff. He tried climbing it, but it topped down, making Ness hit his head hard on the rocky floor with a bang. He barely got himself up, as he tried to contain the blood that poured from his head. It soaked his hair, and he began to see doubles as they chased after him.
"What? You hit your head?" One yelped while panting. "You want me to kiss your boo-boo? Let me help you!"
The man then held up his pocket knife like a maniac, and sprinted toward him, aiming down at the boy. Ness dodged, and saw that he slammed straight into the wall. He turned as blood gushed from his nose. It stained the inside of his suit, but he raced toward Ness again. Ness used as much strength as he could, and smacked the Shark straight across the face, knocking him to the floor.
Everyone was in disbelief, even the hitter himself. The guy was unconscious and not coming back up for a couple of hours. The nine others the jogged toward Ness in rage. Ness did the same, and leaped to uppercut one of them in the chin with his cracked bat. It ripped part of the suit's face, and left him out cold. Eight to go.
The then turned their heads to the boy who had leaped over the member's head, and circled him, but just before Ness swung his bat left and right as he sprung in the air to hit both of them across their faces. They both went down. Six more to go. Ness, filled with confidence, hit another in the gut, in the crotch, and then jumped to hit the top of the head to see him topple over another of his buddies.
Five more to go.
Ness turned, and swiftly smacked his bat across one of their hips, tripping them, and leaving the now sleeping figure with a broken rib.
Four more to go.
With a little energy left, he smite one of the Sharks, but caught one of the knives that one was holding, which was then lodged deep in the bat. He then returned it while hitting the handle of the blade across the neck of the costumed man, giving a cracking noise, breaking his skull with the side of the bat.
Three more to go.
Dodging other attacks with their protection, he was then caught with one of them grabbing both of his arms, and then grabbing his neck, strangling him high in the air. The lack of oxygen made him drop his bat, but Ness then fought back by kicking his stomach, releasing Ness, and allowing him to use his sneakers to stomp on his head while he kneeled down on the floor.
Two more to go.
Last but not least, he then grabbed his sporting tool, and gave a big swing to the remaining enemies, knocking them both to the ground, and Ness then, one after another, knocked them both to slumber with the eight others.
Zero more to go.
He had done it. He looked down at his hands, and saw the bloodied fingers that were caked in the liquids of his opponents. What has he done? He had successfully defeated ten trained gang members. One to ten. Little boy to young adults. Was this really his destiny?
Why not make me kill them, why don't you?
He then heard clapping from behind him. He turned to find a mysterious figure in the dark. His slick blonde hair, his red jacket, and his sunglasses made him look like a beach dweller than anything else. He held two knives on his sides of his matching pants, and he looked at Ness with a furious smile.
"Wow." He said in awe. "You almost killed my remaining men. You. You! You little piece of shit almost committed a felony. You seem to be stronger than all of them. What do you want? Money? Pride? Forgiveness?"
"Who are you?" Ness asked.
"I, am Frank Fly." He said reassuringly. "The leader of the Sharks. And I have just witnessed the greatest feat that I have seen in twenty years. I guess that the only thing to do is kill you, now."
"I just want to get to Giant Step." Ness said with a nervous tone.
"Really? You really think that you can actually get that power that is up at Giant Step? Good luck with that! You wouldn't stand a chance up there! I won't stop you, though! I'd like to see some action! Even if it involves a kid getting murdered by a giant man-eating creature!"
As Frank continued to laugh, Ness swung the rope back up on the cliff, and it caught up above. He pressed his legs toward the wall, and climbed up. Once he reached the top, he found a narrow tunnel with a glowing figure at the end. He slowly walked along the path as it became slimmer and slimmer, close enough that Ness needed to squeeze himself through. The light grew bigger and bigger, and Ness looked away to shield his eyes.
"So, you've finally come, Ness, to defeat me, and claim this sanctuary. It's mine now, and you will have to kill me if you will ever reach Giant Step. So just try to kill me…if you dare."
Then, the light quickly vanished as the tunnel opened up to a large cave with stalagmites with dripping water, bugs that swarmed the floor, and most importantly, a robotic, giant ant, that guarded the Giant Step itself. It had six legs made of metal and wire that held up an iron thorax, and a head that held two beastly eyes that stared into the soul of Ness. Its grimacing smile made the little hero question his strength. Two antennas that shot out began to glow, and the titanic ant itself laughed in a robotic voice as if a metal can was its vocal cords.
The robot two, three times the size of Ness buzzed and crackled. It was about to attack. It stuck its first two legs into the ground, cutting into the rock. Ness took this opportunity to swing his bat at the face of the ant. Electricity flowed through the face then, and a chunk of the mouth was torn off to reveal red and blue wires, with a copper finish.
It growled, as its smile turned to a frown, and it shot one of its legs out of the ground, and smacked Ness across the chest, and sent him flying to the left side of the monster, hitting the wall with a thump. Pain shot through the little boy, but he got up again, and jumped up onto the ant's body, and continued to bash it, hitting every possible area, breaking it apart, even going so far as to using his bare hands to rip it apart, leaving his calices cut and scraped.
"I….WILL KILL YOU!" The ant screamed. It then shot a sonic attack that rattled Ness's eardrums, making him slip off, and land his bottom almost under the ant. Ness then went under, and repeatedly shot the body over him with the tip of his bat like trying to get a noisy teenager to shut up on the floor up above with a broom, but this time, breaking the ceiling.
Panels from the belly fell, and only electric parts were shown. The ant had had enough, and grabbed underneath him to retrieve his mortal enemy. As Ness could barely move as he had been in the grasp of the ant, the other leg had grabbed the top of his head, and attempted to pull on both ends to rip him in two.
As the titanic ant slowly pulled farther apart, he chuckled at the pain Ness was going through. Ness yelled in pain, and grunted as he tried using all of his strength to pull through. Nothing worked. He felt like giving up, but it was not time for his life to end. He then built up as much energy as he could to bust out, struggling to wiggle himself free. It wasn't working at the slightest bit….
…but something else happened.
There came a light that slowly built up in Ness's hands, a single small light that wasn't any brighter than a match, but it soon became brighter and brighter, until light had absorbed the room. The ant was in confusion. So was Ness, but he kept doing the same thing he was doing, and the power kept growing.
A ringing then shot through the room, and blue electricity had zapped the ant into paralyzing him. Ness broke free, but still keeping his strength from before. He cupped his hands to contain the light that had begun to turn blue, and he backed away as it continued to get even more powerful. The ant then looked at him in anger as he regained from his paralysis.
Ness then thought that it was time, so he slowly backed away, and looked away from the light as it began to grow out of the palms. His hands felt like his blood circulation had been cut off, and felt numb. His body tensed up as he felt a feeling of hope run through his veins. He had never felt anything of this before.
The light got brighter. And brighter. Faster and faster it grew. Bigger and bigger. Ness then stopped his hesitance to release it, and then finally decided to shoot it out. He didn't know what would happen, but-
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Ness woke up from the blast. The room had been ridden of light, and was mere darkness. The ant was gone. All that was left were parts of wires and exoskeleton. It was dead. Ness had won the battle. He had no idea what had just happened. He felt a sensation on joy and relief, and found that the entrance to the monument had been opened up to him. He went out the entrance.
The time was still day. The path had leaded him to the top of the hill of Onett. The sight was beautiful. He could not contain his absolute awe for the view, and all he could say was, "Whoa."
Then he looked down.
It was Giant Step. It was an imprint of a foot that had dug itself in the ground. It was, however, not man-made. Who knows who had made it, but it felt powerful. It made Ness feel much more alert and powerful. He felt as if he had slept for nineteen hours after pulling an all-nighter. He felt wonderful.
Then, he saw a glimpse of something. It was a small, cute puppy, the same breed as King. It looked up at him, with his tail wagging as if Ness was holding a treat in his hands. Then, it went away. As it went away, he then heard a soft voice that gently played in his ears as if someone was whispering in them. It sounded like a young woman, who had the voice of angels, with the gift of delightful singing.
Let out the strength, that erupts, from your…
Then, the voice had stopped. It left Ness with many questions, but he disregarded them, and headed back to where Frank was.
"I can't believe it." Frank said with complete and utter shock. "You just killed the monster. Not even me, or any of my men have ever even gotten close to defeating that thing. You, are stronger than any of my men, nor me. I…I would just like to say that I am sorry for what my men have done to you. I…don't know why, but I feel as if I need to thank you.
You just made me feel as if you had given me a million dollars somehow! It feels great, and I must thank you, for what you have done. Thank you. I…know that you will go far in life, kid. I wish you luck to wherever you will go."
Ness then left the cave, while looking back at the new Frank Fly, and smiled. I was quite awkward to say anything more with all of his men lying on the floor unconscious, but Frank still looked at him with a smile as if they were mere hallucinations to Ness. Ness then turned around, and exited back to tell the mayor the good news.