Chapter 6

The trail to Twoson was quite short. It took only moments until he was standing face to face with the sign that read, "Twoson. Population 150." It stunned Ness when he realized how little he knew about the place. His mom never drove through the area, so everything seemed quite alien to him. All that he knew was that he had a girl to rescue. Nothing more, nothing less.

Unfortunately, he had no plan whatsoever. Because of his ignorance of the town, his strategy was a mere zero. In the paper, he knew what she looked like. Cute pink dress, blonde hair with a nice bow to it, polished shoes. She was the daughter of the Polestar family, which ran a preschool not far from the entrance. That was his first stop.

When he first stepped onto the road, he saw that the town was in its development stage. Most of the buildings were under construction; they were made of cheap wood and rusting metal, and had a surprisingly nostalgic early 1900's look to it. He felt as if he was walking through a time portal to the early days. He quickly noticed the old houses that seemed right for the tone, with about 75% being trailers or one story houses. The people wandering through the streets look about the same, but a bit less modern. To him, he felt out of place, and they did to.

Many gave him questionable looks, but most didn't care. The expressions were blank and lifeless, due to the disappearance of one of their own. It made him feel a bit of empathy towards them, and it only impacted him more to carry on his task. He saw many of the things that he had seen back home. There were drug stores, libraries, even a hospital to keep him happy. What was on his mind the most though, was food.

He would kill for any processed food, and he knew just where to get it. His stomach growled through his shirt, and his excitement for anything that was edible kept him on his toes. He ran toward a burger shop that was down the road. It had a glossy 50's look to it, and kept its name of "Burger's Incorporated." When he planted his feet on the black and white tiles, he felt a strong gust of smell of fatty foods go through his nostrils. The sweet smell of fries and corn dogs made him even more anxious to eat.

He spotted a waitress who sat him down in a leather booth near a tinted window. She wore the obvious diner gown, and talked while gum was being chewed in her mouth. She wrote down his order of a double bacon cheeseburger with a side of lard fries and Diet Coke. He was starving after the last battle, and it was just what the doctor ordered. He then realized the piece of baseball bat that he was holding, and frowned.

He could see the whole end in which it had snapped in two, and how he had left the other back in the room he had broken it in. Then, with sorrowed eyes, he found where he made the blow. He saw the blood. There was lots of it. It sunk deeply in the wood, like his heart. He thought to himself as a monster. A young kid beat up too many people in one day, and he knew that he was going to get caught.

What have I done? I hurt those people. Nothing that I can do to change that…

Then, he came to a realization. He knew that this was all part of the deal. He needed to do this. It was for the greater good. To save the world, he had to gang up on a few baddies. One person at a time. But what else was he to face? What horrifying things would unfold? It was noon, and he had already brutally kicked and punched over ten people!

He then questioned another thing that had been boggling his mind: Who was this all-mighty being known as Giygas. All that he had known was of a story he heard long ago. About 9 years ago, he had heard a story from his two grandparents, Ninten and Ana. They told him a story of how three kids were tasked to destroy an alien known as Giygas. He tried remembering the exact words that he was given, but all that he could remember was one thing: They played him a song. A song that somehow drove him insane, and weak to fight, and forced him to flee.

Maybe the story wasn't just a story. Maybe it was history. Both Ninten and Ana both died years ago, so asking them was out of the question. What did Giygas even look like? He then pictured him more like E.T., but the silly idea quickly changed to something much darker. A terrifying creature that wanted nothing more than to kill innocent people. And Ness wasn't going to let that happen.

He had seen many strange things last night, and today. He was still in shock that he had seen an actual alien. Buzz Buzz seemed very strange to him, and so did the guardian of Giant Step. They all looked so strange. So amazing, though. Not once has he heard of such a thing. Sure, there have been reports of "flying saucers in Portland Oregon", but nothing like this. This was real.

He then finally got his meal handed to him. It consisted of greasy buns over greasy meat, and the fries didn't help much, but he found it delicious. No matter how many calories he would take in, he deserved it. He risked his live a couple of times today, and all heroes need a break every once in a while. No matter how big, or small.

He savored every bite that entered his mouth. The warm food and ice cold drink satisfied him to the core. He was happy. Very happy in fact, that he felt as if he was rejuvenated. The cuts and bruises felt nothing more than minor irritations. Ness finally felt at peace.

"Pssst!"

Ness looks up with his mouth full, looking from side to side and the booths in front and in back of him. Nothing but silence.

"Pssst! Hey kid!"

He then spotted the noise. A teen raised himself from the booth in front of Ness, with his chipped glasses, filthy T-shirt with Galaga on it, and ripped jeans.

"Hey, short dude! I wanna talk to you!" He yelled through his braces. "I heard that you did some nasty things with the police in Onett. Are you him?"

Ness nodded his head insecurely.

"So wicked!" He yelled in a whispering tone. "I heard about you, and how you were close to the meteorite! I bet it looked pretty cool. Did you go see it?"

Ness again nodded nervously.

"I bet it was pretty awesome. What did it look like? Was it bright? Did it shoot off sparks? OH! OH! Did the police catch you? I bet they weren't too happy about what you did!"

Ness then attempted to ask him a few essential questions.

"Hey, do you know where the Polestar Preschool is?" Ness asked considerably.

"Uh, yeah. Everyone is talking about the little girl being missing." He said with his eyes looking down. "Her parents are REALLY pissed, and wants to find out what happened to her. What I've heard is that she has some PSYCHIC POWERS!"

That was alerted Ness. There were more like him? There were more with his…talent?

"Really?" Ness asked.

"I know! Turns out that whoever captured her is not in Threed, or Onett. Right here in Twoson, er, somewhere."

Ness recollected his thoughts on where to find her. At least he was closer.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

Ness then shrugged, and took another bite out of his food.

"Oh, I see, you wanna be alone. Well, enjoy your food. If you ever find the girl, tell her I said hi!"

Then, he hid his face behind the seat, and left Ness alone again.

It didn't take long for Ness to find the school. It had a bright green roof with a white coating over the rotting wood. The fence that surrounded the building was covered in "missing" posters. It was heart-wrenching to see them so desperate to have their daughter back. He then cautiously went to the front door, and knocked. It took a few seconds, but it was startling to find a tall man with blonde hair and black, thick moustache, a striped white shirt, and jeans open the door for him. He was in tears.

His moist face was a pure red, and his depressed face only made Ness feel worse about opening the door.

"Yes, what do you want?" the man said with a mucus filled cough. It was most certainly the father of Paula. Ness could tell by the drooping eyes and envious frown.

"Hi, I'm Ness." Ness answered politely. "I-I'm here about…Paula Polest-"

"F*ck off!" He interrupted. "I've got enough asshats begging me for money to find my daughter."

Ness tried to give in some comfort by saying, "I'm not doing this for money, and I just wanna help you find your daughter. I heard by a person who said that she was still in-"

"Hang on a second. Tell me what you said earlier!" He said with a surprised expression. Confused, Ness replied with, "My name is Ness?"

This sent the father into a grateful smile, as if he had seen the Lord himself. He managed to crack a smile, and look back at the kids behind him, and his wife playing with them.

"You're…you're…Ness?" He said exasperatedly. "THE Ness? The one she was talking about? All this time?!"

Ness was in utter confusion, until the man already answered his question.

"Look. Before she…was gone….she was always talking about a boy who would go with her on some adventure or something, and how he would save her when the time comes. That boy was named Ness. Are YOU that boy, Ness?"

Ness nodded his head in agreement, and said, "I-I think so, sir."

The dad could hardly believe what he was hearing. He started crying again, but instead, tears of joy. He jumped in the air, and tried going for a hug, but tried to keep his cool.

"Janet!" He yelled behind him. "Ness is here! He's actually here!"

Ness then heard fast footsteps coming towards him. A woman arrived with matching hair, but with a green suit on, and black pants. She too was in tears.

"Oh my God!" She said, chocking up. "He's here! Our precious girl may come home!"

Ness couldn't help but blush, and smile sincerely at the couple with their generous faces. The man looks back at Ness after he was kissed on the cheek by his wife.

"Boy, I would like to thank you." He said thankfully. "How much would you like? A couple hundred? A thousand? Trust me, we have enough money to-"

"I, don't need money sir" Ness said feeling a bit hesitant. "I just want to find her for you. It feels as if….I have to."

Still in shock, the father said, "Well, anyway, my name is Michael. Michael Polestar. Please come in. We have a bit of company."

Ness obediently entered the room which was filled with young children. The room was filled with toys and book for them to play with, and they all look startled to see him. Janet then went to them to teach them a few rules about guests, and then looked back at Ness cheerfully.

"This is our Preschool. We have over twenty children already." Michael said proudly. "We were just talking about….the acceptance of a lost one. Isn't that right, honey?"

"Yes. But now, we may finally have some hope. You gave us that hope, Ness." Janet said with tears running down her face. She couldn't help but say, "Oh! We'll have our baby back, Mikey! She's coming home!"

Sadly, her husband replied with, "Well, dear, let's not get carried away. But, if you actually bring her back, you will be doing this school a great deed. We are so very grateful, Ness. Thank you."

Ness then smiled back at the bigger one the old man way producing. His cheeks glowed like Santa Claus's, and his moustache was drenched in salty tears. To his surprise, all of the children, with their cute outfits and thankful smiles grouped around Ness, and gave him a big hug. Even he felt like he was going to cry, but he had to be brave for the family.

As they backed away from their warm hugs, Ness said, "I'm going to find your daughter, Mr. Polestar. I promise you that."

"I hope you will m'boy." Mike replied. "Thank you again, and good luck."

As he left the building, Ness soon felt a sudden guilt as he saw them all wave him goodbye. What if he didn't find her? What if it was all a bust and she turned out to be dead? There was only one way to find out, and that was to find answers. Three boys and a girl to defeat the evil destruction that was to be coming to Earth? This was just the beginning.