Chapter 5

Ness walked into the Mayor's office with ease. He suggested that his arrival last time sparked a gleam of hope in the mayor that he tried everything and anything to dispose of them. And he sure did. So when Ness reached the top of the steps to find him staring out of the window that gave a direct view of Giant Hill himself, he already knew what he was in for.

"I can't believe it." The mayor said in disbelief. "I can't believe that you singlehandedly beaten the Sharks that fast. It's almost too fast…what did you talk them into?"

"Nothing, sir." Ness said proudly. "I just…gave them a piece of their mind. Told them to leave Onett. You know."

"Oh, yes I do know boy!" The mayor replied with his cheeks covered in tears. "And now they are off of my hands! My slate is now clean!"

Ness then gave a confused look at the cheerful mayor as he danced around the room, and walked straight toward Ness himself. It didn't feel right to him though. His slate was clean? What on earth does that mean?

"Excuse me sir," Ness hoped for an answer, "what do you mean about your debt?"

Then, he looked down at him with the same gleeful smile, and said, "Well, for months, we've been getting strange reports of animals going insane and bloodthirsty on our citizens. Millions of dollars spent on insurance payments on broken bones, infections, and a hell of a lot more cuts and scrapes. I had no clue on what to do. So, I was forced to have my men talk to the local ruffians about helping me with the problem. They did, and they did it so well that….they required a service fee from me."

Ness was even more baffled by what he had said. He couldn't comprehend the willingness of the mayor of the very place he had lived all his life going to such extreme measures like that. It wasn't real. Yet, he could understand it perfectly.

"So they didn't want anything before?" Ness replied. It seemed that the mayor did not compute with the question, and gave a straight face to him in the blink of an eye.

"Well, no." He said shamefully. "They did. They charged me quite a lot. But it felt silly of me to do anything otherwise than putting the deal off. Where was I to go? And now, I was in real shit when they came to my office wanting my end of the deal. I couldn't pay it, though. They raised the bar to ten grand or more! Like bloody hell I was going to get them what they wanted. And when I didn't, they turned on me. They only made it worse, beating up on my people like they did to the animals, and my money. When I ordered the cops to go after them, they grouped up inside the caves. Even without them, I couldn't send them inside. Have you heard of the news with Giant Step, lad?"

Ness could only shake his head, which was scrambled to begin with.

"Well, like you know, it used to be public property. We charged them to see the monument at the top, but now, we closed it off. Something happened in there. Something bad. Cops when in, they never came back out. Same for the customers. I had complaints coming out of my ass. But then, the Sharks somehow found a way to not bother whatever was in there. Due to the commotion coming from inside, you seem to have destroyed it. Thanks for that by the way. Unfortunately though, they did their damage. They used that place like a fortress, and no one but them could go in. No one but you, I mean. I thought that they would leave me alone then, but they continued to send people out to send a message. Evil was upon us. And it was coming fast. They scared everyone in town! I couldn't put up with it. So, I had you go in and clean up their mess."

Ness was infuriated. He was the mayor's guinea pig. The mayor was the crazy scientist going to extreme lengths to get results. He fell for it.

"So all that I did," Ness replied, "was so you didn't have to pay a bill?! You made me hurt them because you were here sitting on your ass waiting for your funds to come pouring in! You're a disgrace to me, mayor. I hope you know that."

"My name is B. H. Pirkle, by the way." He added. "I didn't want to release that information until I knew that it was safe. Going by the name "Mayor" wasn't that hard to pull off. Same as our deal."

"I'm leaving Onett today, Pirkle. Let me go through to Twoson, and I won't tell everyone on the criminal things you have done."

As Ness had said that, Pirkle simply smiled, and gave a weak chuckle. He took a cigar and a lighter out of his pocket, and lit one up in front of the child. He sucked every puff of it, and released the smoke mere inches from him. He attempted to be frightening, but it was the only thing that didn't fool Ness the slightest.

"Well, unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline that offer as well. We can't have you secretly blabbing about this. It could ruin my elections! Guards, will you take care of him please?"

As he said that last sentence, two pale white men walked up to them like robots following commands, and were at least two times higher than Ness and Pirkle. One of them grabbed Ness by the neck, and look at the other with a grimacing smile.

"Send him to the interrogational room, would you? We seem to have a pesky rat on our hands." Pirkle exclaimed feeling innocent about it all. As Ness struggled to breath, Pirkle chuckled a bit louder, and waved goodbye as they moved their giant feet to carry the boy to the room, leaving the door slam behind them.

They didn't even give a response to Ness attempting to escape the giant clutches of the two security guards, but once they had went through the dim hallways to throw him into the room, they smirked, then nodded to figures standing behind him like tin men. The lights were all turned off. He couldn't spot anything but walls surrounding him, and six figures in the dark. Then, the lights came on.

Six police cops dressed in their usual blue and black uniforms. They all had shades rested on their noses, and the one that stood out most was the general. He wore the same clothes, yet carrying a baton, and a thick black moustache. He looked much older than the rest of them, and he knew it perfectly well as why he was the general. He looked like a professional wrestler.

The room was nothing but tiled floors, white wallpaper that had flakes all over the floor, and all that kept the room lit was a small bulb that hung from the ceiling. The windows to his left were boarded up, probably so pedestrians walking by could not witness the horror that was about to unfold. Ness quickly sprinted to the door, but it was locked shut. Three locks that ceiled him on the inside, which meant that there was no way out.

"So this is the little rat that caused the Pirkle trouble." The general spoke in a deep raspy voice. "We might have sent you to the police office, but they would probably go easy on you. I'm not one to do so. So are my boys."

The group laughed like the Sharks did in Giant Step. Maybe he could beat them down like he did to them. But the problem is, these cops had training, and lots of it. He could tell right off the spot from their muscles and bone structure. They looked like two ton monsters, which had their eyes set on the small boy down the road. The small boy that was about to save the world.

They all charged at him like rhinos, except for the general, and one who stood in the corner observing everything with a close eye. Ness quickly reacted by slipping between two, and slammed against the wall right when the cops smacked into each other in a big circle. They faces were filled with rage. They needed to get this done, and fast. It wasn't helping much that the boy they were fighting had supernatural powers.

One couldn't take the heat, and jogged toward him with his metal baton swinging in the air. Ness then leaped back, slapping his feet on the wall, and pushed himself into the upcoming enemy. He hit the cop with a big swing, blood splattering from his nose and mouth, leaving them speechless. Ness then skidded across the ground, almost about the hit the group like a bowling ball, but the pins glued to the ground. They all anticipated him like a baseball shooting at them, ready to strike, but their opponent had other plans, and rolled to the left to dodge upcoming fire.

They all focused half of their attention on him, and also the unconscious soldier lying on the floor. But it was too late, and Ness already tripped one of the cops, struck one in the head, and stuck one in the gut in three seconds. The impact was startling to all of them, especially the one observing in the corner. His rage then replaced itself with pure fear. He was terrified of a young boy with a baseball bat. Even the general felt uneasy.

But unfortunately, when Ness leaped back, and returned for another attack, the hit that shot one out cold had left his bat screaming a loud crack. The wielder had thought that it was of the target's head being broken, but instead, it was his weapon of choice. It had split in two. All that was left was splinters, and two pieces of bloodied wood. Ness had no idea what to do. He couldn't attack them with his bare hands. He had to use something.

Then he recalled of what he did at the battle with the Titanic Ant. He somehow released a great power, something that he had never seen in his life. Maybe he could recreate that scene. All he needed was some power, and he believed that he already had that. So, he threw the dead bat into the corner, took a deep breath, and focused his energy on his palms.

In his head, he crossed his fingers, but they were already occupied by the bright light that immediately absorbed his view. It left the room in a full blast of light. The bulb above blew out with a loud burst. The windows cracked. All of their glasses gave them a view of broken glass. They all stared in awe. They didn't think twice to try to unlock the door to hurry out of there. The observer, the general, and the remaining police all rushed to the door like birds being scared by a rabid dog.

Ness then felt his hands shake from enough power, and felt that it was time to release. It made him think of what made him feel this true power. Like the time he rocked his guitar. It shook the whole house, leaving broken photos and an angry mother and sister. But now, Ness had enough, and let go of it. It released toward the door, and they space occupying it. It blew them over like a tornado, spreading them out, and leaving them in all corners of the room.

The room was left in ash, but no flame to cause it. Ness quickly checked the members to see if they were dead or not. Luckily, they were breathing. They moaned and groaned, and it looked as if it was hard to move a muscle, and it was. The door was left with holes, and a broken knob. It only needed a tap to send it falling. Every staff member in the building had their mouths gaping open.

They were perpetuated. They were all baffled. They were all….scared of him, and Ness didn't like that. The men and woman working at their desks typing on their computers all stopped to look at him, and then to the furious stubby man that blasted out of the room on the other side. It was Pirkle again.

"WHO IN THE BLOOD HELL DID THIS?!" Screamed Pirkle. "IF I HAVE TO REPORT THE POLICE THAT THERE HAS BEEN ANOTHER ACCIDENT IN OUR OFFICE, I'M GONNA HAVE TO FIRE THE NEXT SON OF A-"

Then he looked at the filthy Ness covered in blood and ash. His mouth twitched, and his gaze was stuck in an endless trance. He was gone too, and Ness knew it perfectly well. So, he took the opportunity, and walked to the exit. He then stopped, and turned back to him and said, "I'll be heading to Twoson now. I'll be sure to tell them that you sent me."

He then left town hall to find people grouping around the marble steps. It seems that they have witness some of what has happened. Luckily, no one suspected that he was to blame, and ignored his presence as he left the scene.

Alright, now I just need to get to Twoson. It shouldn't be too hard now. He thought to himself.

He then spotted the exit of Onett, and into Twoson. It was only a dirt road that was covered in autumn looking trees. Two police guards stood at the entrance with their cars, and road blocks. One was talking on his radio, and the other holding a pistol. They all quickly noticed Ness stepping into view. They waited for him to come up close so they could speak.

"Are you the boy that was with the mayor?" Asked the one with the radio, which Ness replied with a nod. "Well, I just got an order to let you through here. Be careful out there."

Ness then maneuvered through them, and walked down the dirt pathway. The two guards didn't even look at him passing by, but continued to keep a look out for others that attempted the same thing. Ness's footsteps were overpowered in sound by the noise of birds chirping in the morning sky. IT was beautiful, and as the sun rose higher in the distance, he then turned back to find another perfect view of the city where he once lived.

Then he spotted the Cliffside, and his house. All of the lights were out, and so were their neighbors. He felt as if he wanted to run back home and say goodbye one last time, but he knew that it was silly of him to do so. He needed to be brave. For him, his mother, and the world. He had a job to do, and he needed someone else to help him finish it. And that very someone was a girl named Paula Polestar.