Chapter 3

Tucked behind the dense woods of Winters rested an old laboratory. Though covered with some moss and rust, sounds of computers and instruments could still be heard inside.
"Raise the molecular flux to 100 atoms per second, Apple Man," Jeff Andonuts commanded.
Apple Man adjusted the dials on the complex machine. Jeff continued to stare intently on a small piece of metal inside a container. Slowly, he could see the metal expand, and then it stopped.
"Excellent!" he beamed.
"It worked!" Apple Man gasped.
"Not completely," Jeff said, "But this is the first positive sign we've seen in months."
"If we can make this invention work, the whole industry of building things will be revolutionized," Apple Man declared, "Imagine being able to take any inanimate object and making its molecular structure expand. Creating metal, rock, or any element. It will be a gold mine."
"I never really was interested in making money," Jeff said.
"It's still a nice side effect," Apple Man said with a smile.
Jeff grinned. A ringing sound came from a pile of junk.
"Oh, we let the phone get buried again," Apple Man noticed.
Jeff dug through the various pieces of machinery until he finally found the receiver on the tenth ring.
"Hello?" he said.
"Took you long enough, Jeff," Ness replied.
"Ness!" Jeff greeted, "How has it been, old friend?"
"It's been good," Ness said, "It sure has been awhile since we've seen each other."
"Yeah," Jeff agreed, "It's been… well, to tell you the truth, I guess I've sort of lost track of the years up here."
"You're too smart for your own good sometimes, Jeff," Ness said with a laugh, "It's been three years. We haven't seen you since you came up with that new theory of yours about the phase distorter."
"Which was proven right may I say," Jeff said.
"Really?" Ness said, "So that means…"
"The Phase Distorter 4," Jeff announced, "No more turning into robots before getting in. We're hoping to get a patent to get them mass produced and placed in cities around the world."
"That's cool," Ness said.
"Ness," Jeff said, "I know I can be pretty dense with the simplest things, but I can still tell when you aren't yourself. You sound worried."
"I can't hide anything from you," Ness said, "It's Paula. She's had some sort of a bad dream or something."
"Uh oh," Jeff said.
"I know," Ness replied, "We're not exactly sure what it means, but a little while ago Paula sensed a sudden outburst of PSI power coming from Fourside. I was going to teleport there and find out what it was, but Paula had a feeling that I need to stay here in Onett."
"I see," Jeff said.
"Look, the bottom line is I want to get everyone gathered together," Ness went on, "I'm not sure what's up, but if something is going on, we all need to regroup and prepare."
"I agree," Jeff said, "Have you called Poo?"
"I did," Ness said, "But they said he was off training his student and they couldn't disturb them."
"Well, I suppose if something is up Poo will sense it anyway and come," Jeff said.
"You're probably right," Ness said, "So will you be able to get over here?"
"Sure," Jeff said, "I just need to finalize this experiment we got running and record the data and I'll head right over."
"Thanks, Jeff," Ness said, "See you soon."
"Bye," Jeff said and hung up his phone.
"I overheard," Apple Man said, "Do you think something like Giygas could be back?"
"I don't know," Jeff said, "But I don't think we need to unnecessarily concern ourselves with that idea just yet. All they know is someone was using PSI power in Fourside. That could mean anything. I'm sure there are more PSI users out there besides Ness, Paula, and Poo."
"Sure," Apple Man agreed.
"Let's just finalize this test," Jeff said, "I want to get over there as soon as…"
Suddenly, a machine in the corner started beeping loudly.
"What's that?" Apple Man said.
Jeff went over to it.
"That's weird," he said, "It's picking up a heavy surge of seismatic activity."
"Where is it coming from?" Apple Man asked.
Jeff turned to him. "A distant village. Berk."

"What are you doing?" Robert demanded after the strange man uttered the words "Quake Pforce."
Suddenly, he heard a distant rumble like thunder, but it quickly became louder. Suddenly, the ground around him shook violently. Nearby people screamed as objects fell from shelves or rooves caved in.
"Stop it!" Robert yelled.
He struggled to maintain his balance and ran towards the man. He continued to smile and didn't move. Robert lunged forward with his fist and struck the man in the cheek.
He jerked backwards and fell down. The rumbling stopped. The man brought his hand to his cheek and rubbed it. He looked back at Robert with a look of surprise.
"No mere human has been able to ever hurt me before," he said, "I commend you."
"Yeah, well, you can thank me by getting out of here," Robert said, "Before I show you what it's like when I actually hit you hard."
"Ohhh," the man mused, "So now you're threatening me."
"However you like it," Robert said.
The man stood up.
"I am Shendi," he said, "And I am honored to meet a worthy foe such as yourself."
"Montague!" a voice yelled.
"Burns," Robert greeted.
Burns and about twenty other soldiers came running up and lined up behind Robert.
"So, you intend to gang up on me to get me to leave you alone?" Shendi said, "Well, that's really not fair is it? I'm just one person. Where's the honor in that?"
"I'll show you where you can put your honor!" Burns yelled.
"Wait," Robert said, "Let me fight him."
"What?" Burns said, "Now, look Montague, I know you would like to be the great hero and all, but really now…"
"It's not about that," Robert said, "There's something different about him, and I want to see how I would do against a person like him."
"Suit yourself," Burns said.
"Now that's much better," Shendi said, "And don't worry, I'll refrain from using any more of my special tricks. I recognize the challenge before me and I'm excited to see where it will lead."
Robert slowly moved his feet to get in a better stance.
"Ready?" Shendi said, and with that he leapt at Robert and swung his fist.
Robert quickly brought his arm up to block. Shendi's fist hit Robert's forearm and the force of the blow caused a few of the other soldiers to stumble backwards, but Robert held his stance firm.
He quickly brought his fist up and punched.
Shendi brought his hand up and caught Robert's fist.
Robert punched with his other hand and Shendi caught that fist too. Robert unclenched his fists and his fingers intertwined with Shendi's as both of them tried to push on each other.
Robert slid his left leg back to provide more strength in pushing forward. Shendi gritted his teeth as his back foot dug into the ground as he tried to push forward. Robert yelled with frustration and pushed even harder.
Shendi stumbled backwards a bit, but managed to bring his foot up to kick. Robert quickly leaned back and avoided the kick and then he swung his fist hard. He connected with Shendi's cheek and Shendi flew back about ten feet.
"Good show!" Burns complimented.
Shendi quickly got back up to his feet. He extended his arms outward and twin swords shot out from his sleeves.
"Spear!" Burns called.
Robert turned around and caught the spear Burns tossed to him.
"Hahhhhhh!" Shendi yelled as he ran towards Robert. Robert raised his spear and the two went at it.
Shendi quickly spun through the air while swiping with his swords as Robert struggled to block his attacks. Shendi leaped over Robert and swung the sword backwards at him. Robert leapt backwards. The sword caught the fabric of his shirt and created a slit across his chest. Shendi landed and came at Robert again. Finally, Robert saw Shendi pause and he quickly struck.
He knocked one of Shendi's swords away, then reversed his swing and caught the other sword. Shendi gasped in surprise, giving Robert another second to strike Shendi with the blunt end of his spear and knock him back. Robert then gripped the spear and heaved it towards Shendi.
Shendi stood up and his eyes widened at seeing the spear coming at him. He moved backwards and ducked down to avoid, but the spear caught his shoulder and cut him.
Shendi cried out in shock. He slowly stood up and looked at his shoulder.
"My blood…" he murmured in fascination.
He looked back at Robert and gasped to see him right in front of him with his foot sailing towards his head.
Robert's kick struck Shendi on the device on his head. Shendi flew backwards and the device flew off and landed on the ground, broken.
Shendi slowly stood up again and looked at Robert. Robert gasped. Shendi's eyes were of a menacing yellow color and a scar went across his left eye.
"Fool," Shendi cursed, "How dare you presume that you can defeat me with your fancy footwork."
"Well, it seems like it's working so far," Robert said, and with that, he lunged at Shendi and swung his fist.
His punch connected with empty air.
"What?" Robert gasped.
"Looking for me?" Shendi asked.
Robert spun around to see Shendi standing behind him. "But how were you able…" Robert murmured.
"Did you actually think you were going to win?" Shendi asked, "How ignorant of you, but I still must give you credit. It seems that I have to use my powers on you after all."
"What…" Robert said lowly.
Shendi quickly extended his hand and touched Robert's head. Robert let out a horrifying shriek. He felt like his head was exploding over and over again.
"Robert!" Burns cried.
Everyone rushed at Shendi. Shendi extended his other hand towards them.
"Entrapment Pforce," he hissed.
Suddenly, all the soldiers could no longer run towards him.
"What is this!" Burns gasped.
Shendi smiled in return. He took his hand off of Robert's head and Robert fell to his knees, gasping for air. Shendi grabbed Robert's hair and raised his head. Blood was dripping from Robert's nose.
"Know this," Shendi said, "Never again think that you could be a match for me, because if you do, you can be sure that I will kill you."
Robert clenched his fist and began to punch, but Shendi quickly punched him instead. Robert's face burrowed into the dirt as he slid across the ground.
"Noooo!" came a cry from a distance.
Sarah ran towards Robert.
"Robert!" she cried.
Before she could reach him though, Shendi appeared between them. She screamed in surprise.
"I'm sorry, miss," Shendi said, "But Robert here has an appointment with someone that he cannot afford to miss."
Shendi picked up Robert and then began to ascend into the air. "I wasn't expecting to find anyone to bring back," Shendi admitted, "But the master will be pleased nonetheless. Now that I have this special bonus it's time for me to finish what I started."
He stopped in the air and turned back towards Berk.
"You cannot be allowed to pose a threat against our plans," he said.
As he held his hand out, the ground again shook violently. Everyone ran for cover. The ground opened up beneath the building and began to swallow them up.
As Shendi flew away laughing with Robert in his tow, all of Berk collapsed into the earth and was buried.

Brian pushed through the dense brush as he followed Trevor through the forest. As he walked, he thought back on his last talk with his mom.
She was, as any mom would be, against him leaving with Trevor to go after the weird cyborgs that attacked Pikor, but ultimately she recognized the special gift that Brian has and accepted that he has to go and protect whoever else the cyborgs may try to hurt. Chase had insisted on going with him but Brian told him to stay and keep an eye on his mom.
After packing his backpack with some fruit and money and grabbing his baseball bat for added protection he set off with Trevor.
"So where are we heading anyway?" Brian asked Trevor, breaking the silence.
"To a nearby town called Popo. It's a port town bordering the sea. Hopefully we'll find someone willing to take us to Eagleland."
"How can you be sure that's where the cyborgs are heading?" Brian asked.
"It's my best guess," Trevor said, "I had a strange feeling a little while ago while you were fighting the cyborgs. I believe a heavy surge of PSI power was being unleashed somewhere in Eagleland. The cyborgs may have sensed the same thing and so their first goal would be to eliminate whoever is using such power before going on to whatever else they may have planned."
"This is all just so bizarre," Brian said, "This morning everything was perfectly normal, and now look at us. Wandering off into the forest chasing some cyborgs with nothing more than a hunch."
"It's the best we can do," Trevor said.
"You still haven't fully explained why you were looking for people like me," Brian said, "Who sent you?"
"I'm afraid I am not at liberty to say," Trevor said, "What I can tell you is danger is on its way. I suspect these cyborgs are a good enough sign for that."
"But why me?" Brian insisted, "If these cyborgs are heading out there to do harm, why not just seek out those four heroes from twenty years ago?"
"I am only doing what I was instructed to do," Trevor said simply.
"Well, it still doesn't make sense," Brian answered with disgust.
They remained silent after that and continued to walk through the woods towards Popo.
"We should be arriving shortly," Trevor said.
Brian looked up at the trees. His eye caught some rapid movement.
"Trevor, look out!" he gasped as something dropped down from the tree and went straight for Trevor.
Trevor jumped out of the way and the object hit the ground. It quickly spun around and landed on its feet.
"A… squirrel?" Brian said in bewilderment.
Without warning, the squirrel leapt at Brian and bit him on the arm.
"Ow!" Brian gasped.
He shook his arm furiously until the squirrel fell off. That didn't phase the squirrel though, as it quickly spun around and attacked again.
"Knock it out!" Trevor yelled.
"A squirrel?" Brian said again.
"Yes!" Trevor snapped, "Now!"
Brian quickly took out his bat and swung.
His aim was true and the squirrel went flying and crashed into a tree. It fell to the ground unconscious.
"Okay, what was that?" Brian asked.
When he looked at Trevor, he was surprised to see Trevor in shock.
"What's wrong?" Brian asked.
"This is bad," Trevor said.
"Rabid squirrels are bad?" Brian asked.
"Not rabid," Trevor said, "Just driven insane. Driven insane by evil. Oh dear…"
Brian still didn't understand.
"What evil!" he demanded.
"No more delays," Trevor said firmly, "We have to get to Eagleland as soon as possible. Whether or not the cyborgs have gone there, it has to be our immediate destination."

"So Jeff will be on his way soon?" Paula asked Ness.
"Yes," Ness replied, "He just has to finish up one of his experiments and then he'll head over."
"I wish we were able to get a hold of Poo," Paula lamented.
"I know," Ness said, "But I trust he will come when he is needed."
Paula nodded.
They went downstairs where Christian was playing video games.
"Such a good boy," Paula said, "We can't let anything happen to him."
"We won't," Ness assured her.
He gripped her hand and squeezed it.
"I'd die before any harm came to our son."
Just then, the light outside went very dark.
"What's going on?" Christian asked.
"I'm not sure," Ness said, "Paula, take Christian to his room now. I'm going to go see what's going on."
"Right," Paula said, "Come on, son," she said and guided Christian up the stairs.
"But I want to see it too!" he protested.
Ness quickly stepped outside.
"Greetings, Ness the legend."
Ness stepped off his porch and looked at the intruder.
"A Starman," he said coldly.
"You will address me as Supreme Starman," Supreme Starman said, "And you would do well to remember that name, for it is that name which will bring you down."
"You think so," Ness said, "When even your fool of a leader Giygas was no match for me?"
"Giygas was not my leader," Supreme Starman stated, "I am far above his level."
"Guess we'll find out then, won't we?" Ness said.
He cleared his mind and began to focus his power.
"Let's dance."