Chapter 10

As Ness and Paula sat in the burger diner that Ness had been in earlier, they shoo'd away photographers who wanted to get the first paper out about the girl finally found in Twoson like flies and a flyswatter. She thoroughly enjoyed her meal as they discussed what they were going to do next. As to saviors of the planet were stumped on what their next objective was, Giygas was out there, thinking of his plans that would devastate the earth.

"Can't these bozos get off my back?" Paula asked fizzled as the tall men with giant cameras were peeking through the window. Even the manager of the restaurant gave them a whack of the broom. It was, however, big news that a 13 year old boy had just saved the missing girl, but to them, it was nothing to brag about. There were more important things to boast about. Some news channel groups from other cities were yelling random questions to the two, pointing their microphones through the windows. They were like Black Friday shoppers who were waiting for the store to open, and Ness and Paula had enough of it.

"Can we get out of here?" Asked Paula. Ness nodded his head, and slid out of their seats, looking back at the mob of people about to break the glass barrier holding them back. The doors were locked, and it was too risky to go out the front door, and one of the cooks pointed to another exit behind the kitchen. They snuck through the stoves and ovens, and then pushed the door open, which lead them behind the building. They wiped their foreheads, and tried to get away from the paparazzi. They finally found a park to hide in, where no one was playing at. It was abandoned, but all they wanted to do was get away from everyone for a while. It was good to have no one trying to stalk you, kill you, or hurt you in any way.

"Thank God we lost them," said Ness jokingly, "because I don't think I could stand another crowd of idiots like those."

"I see what you mean." Paula said with a smirk. "When I was back at…home, everyone was surrounding me like they were now."

"Why's that?" Ness asked.

"Well, for starters, they noticed my strange "powers," she said with the two fingers emphasizing "powers", "and they wouldn't leave me alone. Once they found out, once my parents did, they tried to keep it a secret, but that didn't last long. All I could do though is lift a toy from the kids, and shoot it at a wall. Obviously, they thought it was awesome, but the hype soon died down. I then decided to practice in my room, when no one was watching. I could do so many things with these so called "powers", and I kept learning new tricks. I…don't know where they came from, but I know it has something to do with me saving the world, and stuff. I guess that goes for you too, huh?"

Ness nodded his head again. "I really don't know where I got mine, either." He said. "I never really knew I had them until yesterday, really. My mom and dad saw me moving my baby bottle when I was younger, but that was nothing special. Now, I seem to be able to control it a lot more than I could a long time ago. I was able to….blast my opponents away. But…every time I do it, it feels wrong. I hurt people. Bad. I landed dozens of people in the hospital, probably, and it doesn't feel right to me."

Paula then hugged Ness like any friend would, and said, "That's because you have to. Those people aren't right in the head. They need a good beating, in my opinion. Especially that one fat kid that captured me. I was so close to breaking his hand, and-"

"He was my friend, Paula!" Ness half-screamed. "We were best friends, until now. I don't know what happened to him. He's why I feel this way. I hurt him too. You heard me slamming him into the wall. That was me, about to break his spine! I'm a monster!"

As Ness gritted his teeth, Paula yelled back in the state of crying. "You are not a monster, Ness! You save my life, for God's sake! You did something no one else could do. And…I'm grateful."

Paula then hugged him again, and tried changing the subject as she felt a slightly stronger bond with Ness, that she felt uncomfortable with.

"We need to go. Got any suggestions?" Paula asked. Ness sighed, and shook his head slowly. Paula then checked to see if anyone was following him, and sat on a see-saw.

"Well…we need to find the other two. You know, the ones that are supposed to come with us?" Paula replied. "And you told me about these melodies of yours. You said we needed eight of them?"

Ness agreed, and said, "We have two already. If you have a map where all of these are, that would be great."

"Well, I don't, and neither do you. I'm guessing that the next one would be in the next town, Threed. I mean, you found one in Onett, and here, so the next one would have to be there. I might even know where our next friend is. Not for sure, but he's probably on the way. Sounds like a plan?"

"Let's do it." Ness said with a smile. She then looked down at Ness's blood stained bat, which the holder frowned upon. "Here, let's clean that up." Paula said.

They walked over through the soggy grass, and to a drinking fountain that they hoped were still working. The rain had cleared up not too long ago, but their clothes were still a mess of mud and rain. As they pressed the cold metal button, the water actually came out, with a tint of rusty brown. She ran the plastic weapon under it, cleaning off the remains. As they looked down, they looked back up to each other, and smiled. Ness felt a warm feeling in his chest at the sight of her, and then looked down to break the bond. Then, as the bat was clean as a whistle, they heard running down the street, towards them. They rolled their eyes, as they figured that it was another news host, but instead of a microphone, he was carrying a suitcase. The man clearly has been through a lot, but his clothes remained normal.

He panted, as he handed the case to Ness. He bent down to catch his breath, then said, "This*pant*, is for,*pant*, you."

As Ness unlocked the briefcase, he saw something that made his eyes glow. It was a boatload of cash, all in $50 cash wads. Ness was startled, and wondered what it was for, but the man replied with, "Its…for you. From the…*pant*, Happy Happiests. This was*pant*from our donation box. For helping us*pant* we wanted to*pant* give something in return."

The man gave a weak salute, and ran off again. To keep it safe, they closed the package, and gave each other gazing looks. What were they going to do with it? They then read a sticky note on the front that read, "Ten Grand. All Fifties. Thanks!"

To play it cool, they walked back to the sidewalk were the least amount of action was held, itching to open the case again, just to admire it. But as they passed through the two story buildings on the other side of the road, they head a heavy bass sound coming from one of them. It was made of bricks and metal, holding a giant bright sign that read, "Runaway Five Performance Today! Don't Miss it!" Curious, they went inside to find a man at a counter with eyes fixed on the two children.

"Tickets are twenty each." He said. Paula looked at Ness, who opened the briefcase to make the employee jump out of his seat. His eyes grew wide as he pulled out one fifty dollar bill, asked for change, and put the change in his pocket. He securely closed the briefcase, and walked in as the man pointed towards two wooden doors that shook from the sound of music. And once they had entered the concert, their ears were pushed to the limits as they heard the sound of six musical instruments cranked up high. People were cheering at their tables as they witnessed a group matching up with the instruments. They were all wearing different colored suits, one with a bald head with a microphone, matching in harmony with the wing-man next to him.

It was an amazing jazz group with a drum, electric bass, and all of the necessities of a band. The two voices matched perfectly smoothly, winding around each other beautifully. The singers gave in their emotions to display an amazing feat:

….Ooooh baby! Oooh baby!

Oooooh! Don't let me down now!

Ooooh baby! OH! BABY!

OH! Don't give me a frown, now!

I loved from the start, now don't break my heart, girl!

I know it's not easy, but babe, won't you please!

Oooooh baby! Don't let me down, girl!

Ooooooh baby! Don't let me down, now!

Ooooooooh! I wrap you in my arms now!

Ooooooh! Don't let me down! Yeah!

The crowd gave a loud applause as hundreds clapped and whistled loudly. People became pumped up, wanting more, but they were disappointed when they took a bow too early.

"Now, I know that all of you want to see as perform some more." The bald singer said sadly. "But unfortunately, we have some…problems right now, that we need to fix. Thank you so much for coming! I hope that you see us soon!"

It slightly shocked Ness and Paula, amazed at their musical performance, and didn't want to see them go. But, they exited the stage, bringing their instruments with them. Then, they followed them backstage as they climbed up on the staged, and followed them behind the curtains. People were angry to see them breaking the rules like that, but Ness and Paula knew what they were doing. They had never seen such a good band as that, and they needed to be rewarded.

As they went down a thin carpeted hallway, they saw the members sitting in leather chairs arguing with one another, as stressed as they could be.

"I just can't stand Chaos Theater running us to the ground like this! This is bullshit!" One of them yelled.

"I know! It's like they don't give a crap about our money! About how much income we get!"

"We're screwed, boys! We got nothin', and he ain't gonna like that!"

They all became silent as they all turned their eyes toward the two law-breakers.

"Who the hell are you two? How did you get up here?" One yelled.

"You're gonna be kicked out if staff find's the both of yeah!" Another warned.

"We actually want to help you two." Paula said. "It seems that you two are in debt? We can help out."

Then, they all laugh hysterically, almost losing breath, and settled down when one said, "Look, kid. Unless you got six thousand in your pocket, we ain't gonna get any good help from you."

"I have that, and more." Ness said proudly. They all chuckled, while he continued, "Right. And I suppose you two have a diamond pony outside too?"

Fed up with them mocking him, he opened the briefcase, showing them the dough that he really had. They all stood back like it was about to explode, and put their hands on their heads, and the ones with bowler hats were taken off their heads in a salute. It was like they have just risked their lives for the band.

"That's….that's…" One of the band members replied as his bottom lip twitched.

"Ten thousand dollars." Ness replied with a smile. "I'm guessing that this will clean you guys up."

"No kidding!" He replied. "That's…that's gonna get us to…to Fourside!"

"Fourside? Isn't that a city?" Ness thought to himself.

The man then walked over to Ness, and gave him a two-hand handshake, putting his head down low to show his shiny scalp.

"We couldn't be happier." He said. "Thanks, kid. It…really means a lot to us."

They then looked at one another, and then nodded. "Look, he said, "we're going to be headed to Fourside then…if you will help us. If…you need us to drop you off somewhere, we would be glad to. Free of charge, or course."

Ness then said, "We would like that, yes. Thanks, by the way."

"No. Thank you, kid!" said the man. They then went into two wooden doors that read, "Manager's Office". Ness and Paula soon followed, and they all waited as a man typing on his keyboard with a black moustache and black ignored the band that was standing in front of his desk. He then sighed, and looked to the Runaway Five.

"Yes, yes. What do you want?" he said frustrated. "I don't have all damn day to listen to you guys. Unless you guys are gonna pay your bills, then get the hell out of my office!"

They then grinned as they looked at the holder of the money. "Oh, I think we have just what you need sir." One of them said gratefully. "In fact, something that could even get us hooked up with the theater in Fourside!"

The manager giggled as he looked at the briefcase, and his smile disappeared as Ness once again opened the case to show the big cheese that was sitting inside. His face was flushed of color. His fingers shook as he moved his had to call Ness up to his desk. Ness then followed the orders, and gave the man a closer look. The manager then pulled out his glasses, shivering, and put them between his eyes.

"H-h-how much is in…there?" He asked. Ness gave the honest answer, and swiped the money from him. He then proceeded to laugh like he had won the lottery, and look at his employees.

"Get out of my office! Go! You're free to go!" He yelled. The Runaway Five then jumped for joy, throwing their hats in the air, and some even getting teary eyed. They then ran off like a bunch of first graders for lunch, and instructed Ness and Paula to follow them. As they gathered their equipment, they were joking and talking to one another, giving the happiest of faces. They then exited the theater, and went to the left of the building, and found a long black van with drums strapped to the top, and many string instruments.

"Come on, kids! We're hitting the road!" They yelled as they slammed the side of the van. They piled in like circus clowns in a small car, and slid the door open to take their seats. The two children did the same, and buckled in. Even though the car was filled with fast food wrappers, cigarette butts, and papers, the air freshener hanging on the mirror kept it smelling decent. The doors then closed, and they pulled out off of the grass, as the instruments slid in the trunk. Once they had gotten onto the street, the items felt as if they were going to crush the passengers if the car were to run on a speed bump, and Ness and Paula gripped the seats to keep themselves down.

"We're finally out of there, boys!" The driver said looking back at them. "It's gonna be a long ride to Fourside, but we can make it! Where do you guys wanna be dropped off?"

Ness then asked if they could stop at Threed, and he replied with, "Alrighty then! It may take a while, though. Traffic may be off and on, and the freeways are scarce around here."

Understanding, he then looked out the window to see the "leaving Twoson" sign, and looked back at Paula, who seemed upset.

"I've never been gone from home this far." Paula said. "My parents never let me leave the house. Until now. I was surprise that they even let me leave.

"I'm guessing that they trusted you enough to know that you were being serious about the whole 'end of the world' thing." Ness said in comfort. "You've got good parents, Paula. That's something not many people have."

"What about you, Ness?" Asked Paula. "How did your mom take it?"

"Alright. I guess." Ness said. "Her and my sister was both crying too. You know how it is."

"Yeah. I didn't know you have a sister."

"Oh, yeah. She's not too old, but she can take care of herself just fine. She said that someday, she wanted to own a storage business of some kind. She already has he life planned out ahead of her. Her college, work, even who she's gonna marry."

It made Paula giggle, then release a sigh. "It's just that, though. I don't really have any friends. I got the small preschoolers, but they're no fun. I just work at the preschool because my parents do. At least you have a friend. Who the hell is this Pokey guy you were talking about?"

Unable to keep him from going into a pit of depression, he just said, "He was…a friend of mine, who just didn't want to be around me anymore."

"Well, I think that he may be trouble." Paula said.

"Why do you say that?" Asked Ness. "I left him in the village. He shouldn't go very far."

"I know, it's just that…I feel something strong with him. Besides his B.O., it feels like he going to do something that will be important. I don't know what, but something."

"Come on! He's fourteen! What's he going to do?"

"I don't know. Just…something. I suggest that you watch out for me, okay? The Happy Happiest group even said that he was going to go alongside Giygas."

"What did they know? They became insane. Nothing but that."

"But Ness-"

"I said, he's fine."

"Ness…"

"Will you shut up about him? It's nothing! Stop worrying about him!"

All of the band members looked at the arguing two. Paula put her head down, looking at the crumb infested seat. She looked at Ness with empathetic eyes, and said, "I know how you feel, Ness. You don't want it to be true. Your best friend, now a…monster. And you know it."

Ness realized too, and came to his senses. "We…were friends since kindergarten." Ness said sorrowfully. "Even though he was a…pain in the ass, we still did things together. Even though he struck me on the face, we were still friends. And all of those times he hit me, and cussed at me….I forgave him. It's just that…now, I have a hard time doing that. He pulled a gun on me, just like that. I didn't know whether to believe it or not."

It was then when Paula was stumped on what to say. She knew that it was for the best that she shouldn't speak to him for a while. Even heroes need a break every once in a while. Especially those who are under the age of eighteen. As they soon found themselves on a rare freeway, the smoothness of the asphalt made the van feel as if it was gliding though the air, with the other cars zooming past the vehicle. This continued for a couple of hours, until the sun had begun to lower across the sky. The sun was peeking red through the clouds, making the band members in the back nod their head as their eyelids sunk. Paula too then began to lose her consciousness, but Ness still felt as alive as ever.

As the sun was setting, the clouds began to cover up the sky, keeping the sky dark and ominous. Rain then followed, only worsening Ness and his drowsiness. The rain pitter-pattered across the cracked and sticker covered windows, and the boy then began to close his eyes for a short nap. But it was too getting late, and Ness then decided to accept the fact that he was tired. It was a long day, and the road trip away from home was hopefully going to be over with soon enough. Then, he wouldn't have to worry about the thought of him leaving home, miles away from home.

Before he went into a deep sleep, and his mind began playing tricks on him as his body jolted at every bump in the road. He felt a small feeling of homesickness, and a yearning to see his family. Even his father. The father that he had never seen, well, that he had never remembered seeing. As Ness could not agree with himself, he wondered if it was just an effect of the sleepiness. Did he really miss his dad, or was it just his mind wandering to sleep? It didn't matter to him, because all he wanted was to be home, back with his family, and to see Pokey and his normal self again. If only….

…

Ness had awoken to the sight of Paula beside him, and four sleeping band members. He turned his head, and found that it was still nighttime, and he decided to go back to sleep again. Hopefully, he would find himself dreaming a pleasant dream until he had arrived in Threed. Maybe.

"HOLY SHI-"The driver yelled as he suddenly slammed his foot on the brakes. The van attempted to halt, as guitars, clarinets, and drum pieces flew over his head, and everyone including Ness had their heads flung to the front of the car. Their seatbelts helped, but not enough for them when they had a head on collision with a semi-truck. It honked so loud that it ringed in Ness's eardrums, and the impact sent the driver flying through the window. He could hear the sound of some with their necks broken without airbags, and it became a blur as the van spun off of the road, with glass shooting into the car.

The van then proceeded to drive through the metal rails, then down a dirt hill that ended in trees. Blood from passengers seemed to be floating in midair as Ness's adrenaline had begun to pump through him. The van squished itself together like a smashed soda can, and the lasting hit to a douglas fir had seemed to finish off most of the crew. Even Paula. Her eyes were open wide as her pulse had hit zero. The truck seemed to be nowhere in sight, and Ness knew that he needed to get out of there. Without thinking, he used his PSI to smash the van door open, and crawl himself out. His leg seemed to be unnoticeably broken, and his skull seemed to have been impacted as well.

The red liquid was dripping from hands that were out of the shattered windows, but Ness didn't want to think about it so he could survive the crash. But as he had gotten to the top of the hill, he was then cross-eyed to find the same pistol that was pointed at him earlier. And, it was the same holder, Pokey. He grinned enough so Ness could witness before his certain death, and Pokey began to chuckle like he was a demon itself.

"You think that you can run away from me, Ness?" Pokey yelled. "I know where you are. All the time. I will find you. I will shoot a bullet through your skull Ness. How do you like that? Huh? HUH!"

The blood covered dirt then began to spin around him, forming a red and brown swirl which turned a black and red, leaving only Ness and his rival in an endless state of darkness. Red and black. Black and red.

"You hurt so many people Ness. They probably died by now." Pokey said. "And you killed them, Ness. It's your entire fault, Ness. I'm not the monster, Ness. You are."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Ness yelled which seemed to be muffled like talking through a garbage bag.

"Yes it is, Ness! You will pay for what you did! You're a monster! You're a killer! You deserve to die!"

The swirls then moved faster as Pokey began to talk in a high and low voice simultaneously, like he was possessed.

"I want you to burn, Ness! Like the other garbage of this world! I want you to die! Die for me Ness! Kneel to the ground, and FUCKING DIE!"

The pattern of colors moved faster and faster, and began to represent something. It only seemed like a slight face that he could barely picture out. He didn't know what it was. Then, it spoke.

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuurtsssssss…Nessssssssssssssssss

Then, a fire was shot.

Ness awoke to the van again. The night was still young, and his heart was pounding. It was only a dream.

"Hey, kid!" The driver yelled. "You okay back there? You were mumbling in your sleep, and I felt worried. Just take care, and go back to bed."

Ness was pleased to know that it wasn't real, and he dozed back off to sleep, wishing for a better dream. But was it not real. It couldn't be….could it? Either a nightmare or a message about something far worse that was yet to come.