A/N: Thanks Orkidee, KuroTenshiYuki, sightswiftlifter, babyangel22, and the Leander for reviewing and enjoying this fic! X3 Seriously, I was not expecting this fic to be doing as good as it is, you people are making me blush! X/3
To Orkidee: Its cool, I'm been busier myself sadly, I'm happy that you still are enjoying this! :D
To KuroTenshiYuku: Hi, YukuTiszuki! You received my reply on DA x3
To sightswiftlifter: Your comment made part of my day, seriously! x3 You're so sweet; it's always nice to know other people are enjoying this as well. And yes, Dark Ness is awesome! :D
To babyangel22: Thank you for another sweet review. I made you laugh? Yay! :D
To the Leander: Yet again, thanks for the awesome review, and everything you said about the chapter (same with everyone else). I'm glad you guys enjoyed the ssbb dream, I thought people would. ;3 Oh and yes, the Leander, if you are interested to beta read sometime, it's more than welcome. Just email me at:
Or you could just review again, and show me your email, it's up to you. :3 Right now though, I kinda wanna see how I do for maybe the next chapter or two. But this way, I'll definitely let you know if I need a beta reader or not. It was so nice of you to offer, thank you so much! x/3 I wasn't sure how else to contact you beside posting my reply in the chapter itself.
Another quick note though if anyone really cares; the hostel in this chapter is based off of a real place I stayed at in San Francisco a couple of times. Oh, and beware: I've added an original character in this chapter so far. I think he will be based off of a real character though, I added a description hint. For right now, his name is Demetri. And he's a creepy jerk. And there also is a legitimate character that will be introduced in here. Can you guess who he is? :o Oh, and of course The Runaway Five appear in here as well.
My story is starting to develop its little plot now I guess, so yes there's a decent sized section in this chapter that doesn't happen at all in the game, just to let you guys know.
And holly crap, my chapters are getting longer! Chapter lengths like these are normal to me though… oh well.
Sorry for another long authors note. Other than that, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
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School Assemblies.
Why the hell did these exist in the first place? It took time away from school, yet we were required to attend every single one of them, especially when we were still in the elementary level. There wasn't as many as we got older, and they became optional over time, but still, the craziness, and all the loudness; I couldn't handle one minute of them. There was only one to this day however, that sticks its face out more than any other.
The one I remember the most was hosted by a magician, the tricksters, and illusionists of mankind. They were an endangered race, it was a pity, and their illusions could put good use into the world, if they knew what to do with it. Everyone was amazed at what they could do. They even demonstrated, and taught us some easy ones too that everyone had attempted. Everyone did except me of course.
Nathan especially was into the art. This was a time when I didn't believe that he was overly obsessed with my best friend Tony. It was lunch time, and I had been working hard on an extra credit project for Maxwell's class. I was repairing his electric pencil sharpener; he believed I of all the kids could pull it off.
"Are you sure it'll work now?" Tony asked me munching on his PB and J sandwich.
"Yeah yeah, I'm positive, let me borrow your pencil real fast," I said taking Tonys only pencil for the day. I was so sure that it would work, that I flinched when I inserted his pencil. It rumbled violently, as it practically ate it, and snapped it in half. Part of his pencil flung to the other side of the cafeteria. Tony gasped.
"Jeff, how am I going to take my test today without my pencil?!" He started to panic. I tried calming him down.
"I'm sure your teacher will lend you another pencil, don't worry! Let me see if I have a spare," I told him. It was then that the rotten fruit walked up to us, Tonys garbled pencil piece in hand.
"I heard you needed to take an important test next class," He told Tony. Tony frowned.
"Well yeah, but I need a pencil that will write in order to take it-" It was then that Nathan did some weird gesture with his hands, and in an instant, his broken pencil disappeared, and was replaced with a brand new one, perfectly sharpened, and ready to be used. Tonys eyes lit up.
"Oh wow, wow, that's so cool!" He cheered. I was so infuriated that moment; he forgot that I was even there. Nathan showed off more of his dim little tricks, including some with coins. Tony was so absorbed into his trickery; his so called 'magic.' I left the table.
I felt like a failure that day.
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The Universe Will Die Without You
Chapter 8 The Malicious glint in his eyes
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I felt as if we weren't moving anymore when I opened my eyes again. It looked like sunrise to me judging by the soft creeping light that shown through the bus window. I looked over to Ness and Paula; Ness's head was rested on top of Paula's. I had to admit, it was a sweet looking picture that I smiled at; both of them hadn't woken up yet. Judging from the view, we were in the middle of the desert, the middle of nowhere. Trying not to wake anyone up, I opened the side window to take a peek ahead. The traffic seemed endless beyond the bus.
I looked over to Paula and Ness again as more thoughts bounced around. I eyed the Mr. Saturn; Mr. Ziggy that was present in her lap. He had a good knack of keeping completely still. If I didn't know better, I would have mistaken him for a stuffed toy.
Paula wasn't any ordinary girl after all it turned out. Sure she had a smart mouth time to time, but she seemed to have a strong will, something that was foreign to Ness, apparently, and possibly me as well. I don't want to think this, but I started to believe that Paula was the one to take more care of Ness instead of the other way around, though it was obvious that Ness had taken well care of her as well. Her hair was dirty now, but what could I say? None of us were better off…
Ness on the other had turned out to be a different person that I had expected him to be. When he confessed to me that he was afraid, I wasn't sure exactly in what way. He was afraid of me, yet he wanted me to stay with them no matter what. I wondered why? I mean, it was normal for him not to fully trust me yet, that was completely understandable, but if Paula knew, before they met me, that I; an ordinary guy with just a high GPA, was going to come eventually to help them on such an odd, dangerous mission, then why was he afraid of me?
I was positive it had to be a personal manner. But even so, if he was so afraid of me, then why was he slowly flipping to the next page about himself? If he really was so afraid, then he wouldn't reveal anything about himself. Even Paula had a harder cover than him, why was he so open about his feelings so much? It started to weird me out in a way I couldn't explain…
Even so… he looked so peaceful when he slept otherwise…
"May I have your attention all bus riders" The bus driver said over the intercom loud enough to wake both Ness and Paula up.
"It looks like traffic isn't going to move in quite a while. In the meantime, a person that walked by foot would already make it to Fourside before the traffic would start moving again. Whoever needs or wants to get to Fourside without question may depart the bus. Otherwise, I'm going to drive back to Threed. So I'll repeat: if anyone wants to get to Fourside that badly, they may get off the bus and walk there. Otherwise I'll be taking you back to Threed, and you'll have to try the bus a different day." Ness groaned in both tiredness and response.
"Are you serious?" Ness muttered. "Ok, group decision. (yawn) Walk or wait?" Neither of us really replied as Paula rubbed her eyes.
"We might as well make it by foot. Let's get off here I guess" I replied. Ness sighed.
"Alright, let's get off the bus."
We were the only ones to get off ironically. Before he left, the bus driver told us "Don't regret your decision once you get out there. Remember this is a desert." We all nodded, understanding his warning, but not fully understanding the consequences that would go along with it. We watched as the bus immediately took off leaving us in the middle of nowhere on the tail of the traffic jam. The sun was just beginning to rise. There wasn't even a breeze. The desert looked almost endless, depending what direction you looked at. Judging the road, it looked like it would at least be a three hour walk. Ness had spotted a nearby gas station.
"Here, let's go to this shop first." Ness said as we tagged along.
--
"I'll take the coin of slumber, please" Ness asked handing over a load of hard cash. Paula eyed the lemonade in the cooler.
"Can I have some lemonade?" Paula asked nicely. Ness nodded.
"And one lemonade, please; Jeff, did you want me to buy you something?" Ness asked me handing the cold lemonade to Paula. It reminded me of the last day when I was forced into getting something by Paula. Otherwise, I really didn't like the idea of someone else buying something for me. It made me feel so juvenile.
"No, but thanks Ness," I replied nicely. Ness shrugged.
"Like the bus driver said, don't regret your decision." He said. I nodded raising my eyebrow.
"I'm positive about my decision, thank you very much." I told him.
"Alright then, let's get going then, I guess." He said with slight disappointment.
--
Early morning felt like a regular summer afternoon. Mid morning was hot enough to fry eggs. I shuddered at the thought of mid day. The distance was a mirage; wavy and misleading. The sun practically smothered us. I felt as if I was going to collapse. Paula was just ok, still enjoying the last of her not so cold lemonade. I knew wearing a jacket in the desert was a stupid idea. I was starting to regret my decision.
"Wait...what's that?" Ness said pointing in the distance. "It looks...oh no...shit," Ness swore as if he understood what he saw. Wiping the sweat off my brow, I looked myself. I could see something hovering swiftly over the desert sand in the distance. It looked like a fast fly at first… but then there was something unpleasing about its structure.
"Couldn't that just be a mirage?" I asked. But no… the UFO grew as it drew closer to us. I underestimated as it approached us in a matter of seconds, and fired a beam towards Ness. All of us dodged out of the way, Ness getting partially hit. Ness almost instantly cast his PSI power against the surprising, and strange UFO, Paula doing so in her own fashion. I just fired my crappy little laser gun... The UFO charged at me this time, hot metal burning my arm. I winced, keeping my yelp in as much as I could manage. I held that part firmly as Ness and Paula destroyed it in no time at all. Jeez I felt so useless... I was boiling, and in pain. I groaned as I fell on my knees.
"Jeff!" Paula exclaimed as they rushed to me.
"You alright, Jeff? You look really flushed," Ness said. I nodded, lying to him, and myself.
"Just... let me catch my breath" I uttered. I didn't look up at him, but I had an itching feeling that he wasn't going to buy the act. Instead, he knelt down to my level, startling me in the process as he put his hands on my shoulders. It seemed in moments that I felt at least twelve degrees cooler than I was. It wasn't much, but it definitely helped. My eyes widened as I looked at him. His face was somewhat incredulous, smiling crookedly at me.
"Do you feel any better?" He asked me. I nodded blankly at him again. How the hell does he do that? I didn't realize again, that I had been staring at him as long as I was. Ness seemed to shy from the awkward gesture.
"Are you sure you're alright? Let me try again," He said moving his hands to reach for my shoulders. In a quick reaction, I waved my own in front of my face, just to emphasize my point.
"No no really, I'm fine!" I told him feeling flustered. Paula gave me an odd look. Ness sighed, and stood up, dragging me along with him.
"Then why didn't you say so? Anyways, it should last you at least until we make it to that small cabin in the distance, see?" Ness said pointing to the small waving brown cabin.
"Are you sure it's not a mirage?" I asked.
"Do you want me to use healing alpha on you again to prove that it's not?" Ness replied smartly. I snorted at his suggestion.
"Alright alright, so you were right back there," I said. Ness's eyebrow perked up as a cocky grin spread across his face.
"Told yah!" He said sticking out his tongue, before he was off again. Paula giggled at my stubborn posture, as I straightened my glasses for the millionth time.
"Hey..." I complained until Ness stopped us both.
"Do I see dead bodies?!" Ness's tone was cold as ice, even in the intense heat. We made our way there to indeed, find a couple of bodies lying in the desert sand. In bathing suits.
"Hey! Don't mistake us for corpses! This is just the best place to sun bathe ...hey! Stop looking at our tan lines!" The man told us. All three of us looked at each other before heading off again. What weirdoes…
Along the way we ran into more enemies such as weird creatures that resembled scorpions, buffalo, coyotes and weird… dinosaur looking things. As we neared the cabin, Mr. Ziggy jumped out of Paula's bag, and scurried to a certain spot.
"Mr. Ziggy, what are you doing, your bald head can't take this monstrous heat!" They way she said that made me chuckle.
"Wait... I hear a small voice!" Paula spoke again. When Ness and I approached Paula, so could we. It was like a mouse, feminine, and shrill.
"I'm the white sesame seed! If you see my boyfriend the black sesame, please tell him that I still love him! We got in a fight you see, and I haven't seen him since!"
"Paula, step away from it, you'll get possessed!" Ness said with both caution and humor.
"No no, it's true! I really do love him! I'm just saying if you find him please tell him I still love him!" She said. Ness snickered as Mr. Ziggy sneezed all over the small sesame.
"Sure, we'll tell him! And if we see you afterwards, we'll tell you his reaction!" Paula smiled picking Mr. Ziggy up.
"Oh thank you, thank you!" She thanked us as we were off again. It didn't take too long until we made it to the cabin.
--
"Fourside isn't too far from here now; I think you'll make it in an hour by foot." The man in the cabin told us. We cooled off a little in the cabin before deciding to head off again. Outside, we noticed along the road, near the cabin was a small construction site. A man was next to his machine drinking a soda. He must have been on his break.
"Yeah, just keep following the road; you'll make your way to Fourside. Oh me? I'm a miner. I mine for gold. Keep it a secret, but if you return, I'll give you a piece of gold if I find any; my treat," He told us. We all laughed off at his nice offer. There was no way he would give us any gold.
I had forgotten that dark concrete seemed to absorb the heat. We all practically flipped once we saw the traffic tunnel.
"Finally!" Ness said, picking his pace up to a sprint.
"Wait, why are you running?" I said grabbing Paula's hand, and picking up speed.
"The faster we get out of this sun, the better!"
--
When we were through the amazingly cool tunnel we could finally see the magnificent city of Fourside; brilliantly shining in the sunlight across the long set of bridges. The water below made the place felt cooler period, though the temperature would probably rise again once we were through its gates. We had arrived at around 4:30 pm according to my watch.
I couldn't see the tops of most of the sky scrapers when we were in its limits. People were on busy schedules, walking up and down the streets shoved passed us with no second thought. One person seemed to rush by, bumping into Paula in the process.
"Hey!" Paula protested. But the man didn't pay any mind.
"Hey, you got a problem buddy?" Ness yelled at the man while holding Paula's hand. However the man was already lost into the crowd. Ness frowned angrily, dragging Paula along, and keeping her close to him. We found a sign along the way, mapping the layout of the entire city.
"So if the Mani Mani statue lies somewhere in this city, then maybe we should start with the mayor's residence…" Ness thought out loud. As we waited for the signal in the crosswalk, I couldn't help but feel claustrophobic with all the people squeezed around us. It didn't even seem to faze Ness and Paula; who instead were just gawking at the scenery itself. Crossing the street, we ended up walking into a small souvenir store.
"Hey," Ness said as he rang the bell for service in the store. Just what was he up to?
"Welcome to Fourside souvenir store, how may I help you?"
"Yes, I was wondering if you could direct me to the mayor's residence."
"You mean the Monotoli building? Mayor Monotoli, right? Yes, keep going up a couple of blocks, and it should be up ahead in the next light." She replied.
"That close? Alright... thanks" Grabbing a brochure on our way out of the shop, one of us almost got trampled by a group of people dressed up as if they were heading to a concert. Navigating in the direction she provided, the building entitled 'Monotoli' stood at the corner of a four-way crosswalk. When we crossed, instead of entering, Ness looked up at the building.
"What is it?" Paula asked. I wasn't sure, but I could have sworn that Ness flinched. He balled up his fists.
"Something isn't right..." Ness said nervously. Paula flashed me a concerned look. Something terrible was troubling him, but what was it?
"Is it in here, Ness?" Paula asked him. Ness was quiet at first. I tried looking up at what he was gazing at. I wasn't sure, but high up in one of the windows, there was what seemed like a person; looking down out the window. I know it was bad judgment from so far away, but he looked rather chunky. I was caught out of my reverie when someone bumped into me on purpose.
"Hey, why don't you watch were your standing, four eyes?" A white trash looking dude spoke smugly at me turning the corner. I gritted my teeth, and snarled.
"Four eyes?!" I snapped. However, the bastard was already gone. Ness sigh was staggered.
"Don't worry Jeff; you probably won't see him again," He said in a monotone voice. He was right. These things happened all the time. Ness marched inside the building, muttering something illegible. I took one last glance up to the window, but the chunky man was gone.
--
"I'm so sorry baby face, but we haven't seen Mr. Monotoli in quite some time. Right now, his right handed mate, Mr. Minch is substituting for him at the moment. If you really want to talk to him, just take the elevator to the 47th floor, and he'll be through the main door to the left and the first door to your right once you enter the hall." I could see Ness's entire being shutter in mere horror, eyes wide and lips apart. I didn't understand, what was going on? He wasn't telling me or Paula anything…
"Are you okay? Did you want to see him-" All three were caught by surprise as Ness practically sprinted to the elevator. I grabbed Paula's hand.
"Thank you," I told the lady at the counter before we barely caught up to Ness.
"Would you kids stop staring at my hips?" The lady running the elevator muttered. None of us responded. Ness crossed his arms, and leaned against the elevator wall.
"… Ness?" I asked quietly. Ness was unresponsive, keeping his eyes pointed into the distance. I looked down to Paula, who now had this huge worried frown on her face. She must have caught on before me. I was still clueless, was the Mani Mani statue here?
Once we made it to the right floor, two guard men seemed to eye us. Walking through the door, Ness broke out into a sprint, and dashed into the room, leaving me and Paula to catch up behind him. When I entered the sophisticated room with Paula quietly, I couldn't shed the feeling of an eerie dominance looming in the air. It was an odd feeling indeed, and the fact that Ness seemed more enraged than ever didn't help in the slightest way. His breath was harsh, gritting his teeth angrily at the chubby young man that looked only a couple of years older than me and Ness. He sat in a luxurious red chair, surrounded by two body guards. His blond hair covered part of his haughty; yet empty looking eyes. If he wasn't wearing the vertically stripped red and black business man suit, I could have mistaken him as a pig. His eerie and cocky smirk decorated his face. It almost looked unnatural to say the least. It surprised me how soft his voice really was.
"Ooo la la… what do we have here?" He spoke smugly scanning Ness up and down with his light blue irises. The way he did so sent shivers up my spine. I think Paula held my hand tighter during the tense moment. Ness's voice was filled with so much venom, that he sounded more pissed than he was with me back in Saturn Valley.
"Pokey Minch!" Ness snarled. Paula hid herself behind me, not letting go of my hand. One of Pokey's guards whispered something in his ear.
"This? Oh no, I know him... Let me just remember. Aaahhh...what was your name? Pig's Ass? Nah… that was just a better name I gave you a little while ago…" I glanced at Ness's stone hard eyes glaring back at the cocky young man known as Pokey, who snickered.
"Anyhow, who would have thought that you would come visit me in times when I've hit the top? You're not here to beg for some money, are you?" Yet again, Ness was silent. Pokey sighed contently.
"What would you like on this fine day? Would you like my autograph? Or did you come to negotiate about before, and the future?" Pokey rested his chin on his fist, and leaned his elbow on his right knee.
"You kidnap Paula, and now this? What the fuck are you up to, Pokey, why don't you tell me that? And where's Monotoli?" I gave Pokey an appalling look when he revealed the fact about Paula's kidnapping. But Pokey could only laugh.
"You're always so angry now, Ness. Didn't we used to be best friends?" Pokey asked.
"Yes, but we both know well enough what ruined it," Ness growled. Pokey sighed.
"Well you see... I'm now Geldegarde Monotoli's partner now, yes, you heard me. And as you can see I give him political and economical advice."
"You don't know anything about politics Pokey, don't bull shit me! Now where is he?" Ness roared. The guard men braced themselves, but Pokey stopped them.
"Hmm... you know, now that I think of it, I heard there were a few ratty-looking kids asking for Mr. Monotoli downstairs, and even the souvenir store down the street. Was that you Ness?" Ness was silent once more.
"Huh, I thought so. You don't say much anymore do you? Oh well… so, how's that beautiful little angel Paula?" He said finally drifting his eyes over to Paula and I. I did my best, keeping her out of sight as she tightened her grip around my waist. I could feel her burying her face in my back. Ness snarled.
"You get your disgusting eyes off of them, you hear me? They don't need to get involved in this as much as I have, so don't invite them in!" I wasn't sure what my face looked like when Pokey finally rested his eyes on mine. I couldn't read his expression; it was this foreign look that seemed like an iron wall. I thought, for a split second, that his peaceful smile twisted into something inhumane. He seemed so calm… it was as if he enjoyed making other lives miserable, just for the fun of it. It was this kind of person I wished I would never have to come across. Apparently, that wish could never come true. Pokey shrugged, and faced Ness once more.
"Alright, but I'm afraid if you're going to act like such an ill-mannered child, I'll have to kick you out," He frowned, hand gesturing his body guards to throw us all out. Ness eyes still didn't fray from him however, though once his guards took us out, it was already too late.
"It's too bad… you used to be the loveliest apple of Onett… but I guess all fruit have to fall off the tree someday. Maybe I should've picked out a peach back then instead…" That was the last thing I heard him barely say before we were outside his door. The quote locked into my memory for quite some time afterwards. Ness was stone cold, and he seemed to remain that way, even when the grown guard spoke to him.
"You must never show your face around Master Pokey, you got that?" One of the guards ordered Ness before walking back into the hall. Ness growled and flipped him off, then stormed towards the elevator, muttering something angrily under his breath as we stepped inside.
"Bottom floor? Alright...stop looking at my hips!" The elevator lady said. Ness growled.
"No one is staring at your hips," Ness told her off. The lady's jaw dropped, and remained that way as we exited the elevator. Instead of Ness heading towards the door, he went to sit down in the waiting center, burying his forehead in his hands as he did so. I sat in the chair across from him. Paula just stood, her head was low.
"Jeff... that guy... he was my neighbor," I gapped at him.
"That Pokey guy? And he kidnapped Paula before? You-" Ness put a hand up to pause my speech.
"And before you go into anything, he kidnapped her before me and Paula started traveling with each other." I decided to hold my comment back. Looking at Paula I furrowed my eyebrows. Ness, who was still hiding his enraged face, let off a staggered sigh. Paula pointed to something in the meantime.
"Wait… Ness, isn't that poster advertising The Runaway Five?" Paula asked. This got both of our attention. Paula got off my lap, and checked a nearby poster on the wall. When Ness and I went to examine it ourselves, it was an advertisement for their show.
"Come and see The Runaway Five perform live at the Topolla Theater all this week starting at seven o clock pm," Paula read out loud. "So The Runaway Five are here now? We need to see their show! Maybe they know a little bit about what's going on," Paula spoke with more confidence now. Just who were The Runaway Five anyways? Ness nodded slowly, eyes looking lost in the process. Paula turned to me.
"We helped them go on tour back at Twoson, and they gave us a ride to Threed. So they know us pretty well, and they even said that they owed us for everything we did for them," Paula explained to me. I nodded in response.
"I see, so these guys are your friends? That's nice to hear," I replied checking my watch. "Its six o clock right now," I said. Paula 'hmmed.' Ness sighed, flashing Paula a calm smile.
"If we hurry, I'm sure we can watch their show, and ask them about it. Let's go," Ness said, holding Paula's hand. This dilemma was going to boggle his mind for the rest of the day.
--
After we purchased our tickets, we reserved our seats in the rather large theater. Ness nudged me to follow them as we walked to the back door where a man was guarding the door.
"Hey, my name is Ness, and this is-"
"Oh, so you're Ness? The Runaway Five told me to only let Ness and his friends back stage. Hurry, and let no one see you!" He said quietly opening the door for us. That was quick I thouoght. Apparently they have been expecting us all this time. Backstage was smaller than I would have thought, at least the room where the band hung out in. All I could say was that their room was small and clustered; music papers were scattered on the floor everywhere. The five men themselves wore spiffy top hats, and semi formal suits. Needless to say, all of their eyes slightly widened when they saw us intrude into their space.
"Hey guys, its Ness and Paula!" One of The Runaway Five said. All of them stopped what they were doing to come over to talk to us. The Runaway Five was a laid back group of five. The leader of the group came up to pat Ness hard on the back.
"You two look better than ever!" One of the lead singers knelt down to Paula's level.
"And Paula, you're lookin' more lovely than ever," He smiled kissing her hand. Paula shied from the kiss. He ruffled her hair.
"So what brings you fellers here in Fourside? You gonna watch us perform? Who's your new friend back there?" He said pointing to me. Ness grabbed my arm and yanked me up with him.
"This is Jeff. He's ...uhhh…" Ness stammered. I sighed.
"Gonna help them save the world too, I see!" Another member laughed behind me slapping my back as I cringed. Another one came right up into my face. I felt so violated…
"Don't look so nervous, young man, we won't bite! Tell us something about yourself!" I said nothing until Ness nudged me to continue on.
"Well you see... I…" I was cut off by a comment that I almost choked on.
"Wait just a second. You wouldn't happen to be... are you the Jeff Andonuts? You're not Dr. Andonuts son, are you?" One of them asked. I was stock still. Fuck. They all 'ooed' among each other. I didn't miss how Ness and Paula looked at me.
Great now they knew who my jerk dad was.
"We got a genius on our hands! Maybe you could help us out, sonny!" One of them said putting an arm around my shoulders. I didn't like such close contact with someone I barely knew. The man whispered into my ear. "We need to break this joint." I scoffed.
"No no, you've got it all wrong! He's not my father, alright? Enough of this genius stuff," I spoke in hostility crossing my arms. However, another member kept throwing fuel in the fire.
"Nonsense, Jeff! I'm sure you and your friends can still help us out. I'm positive you're a genius in your own way," He said. The nerve of it all…
"Please...don't call me a genius," I muttered. One of the members noticed my surly state, and instead turned to Ness and Paula.
"You see...erm... we kinda tangled ourselves into another knot again, Ness," He said. "Hit it!" One of the singers tilted his hat down, and started to snap. The others 'oooed' in tune.
"All we wanted was fame...all we wanted was fortune! But what we desired the most was what we had all along. Now it's gone! Gone! Gone! Oooooo Yeah baby! Got fooled again! Got tricked twice! But the show has to go on...tonight! So maybe...maybe from the help of a genius... maybe from a friend...or maybe from our love of music, we can be free tonight! Whooohoooo!" Ness and Paula clapped their hands while mine were still crossed in a grumpy fashion.
"We have to admit, we owe you kids so much! All we could possibly ask of you is to enjoy tonight's show, baby!" Moments later, a man poked his head through the door.
"Show starts in five!" All of them sighed. Ness sighed.
"What happened now?" Ness asked curiously.
"Well you see... remember what happened to us back in Twoson?" One of them said.
"And?"
"Well, we ran into the same bit of trouble... 'cept now we owe even more money in order to get out of the contract."
"Show starts in three!" They all sighed.
"Well... let's go bring down the same house...again." All of them moped about. We followed them out of the room. I was sure that Ness glanced at me on the way out, but I kept my eyes straight forward.
Back in the theater instead of finding seats, we all stood. Paula clapped once one of The Runaway Five appeared on stage. I crossed my arms again and blew steam out of my nostrils.
"Boys and girls, do we have a bombshell to throw at you tonight! aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHH! Hit it! Three! Two! ONE!" The curtains gave way, revealing the two singers and band players in the back ground. I must admit, I had never been to a live concert that's been given outside my school before. Their music wasn't bad either. Maybe it was just the mood I was in when I noticed Ness giving me apologetic glances to me once and a while. And everyone else was having a ball as well, their applause was huge. I was miserable. And Ness knew it.
After the concert, before we left, we went to go talk to the manager at the joint.
"I'm sorry, but in order for them to break their contract with us, they'd have to owe us around a million dollars or so." The lady at the desk shrugged. All of our jaws dropped to the ground.
--
It was around 9:00 when we were out in the streets again. Ness bought Paula a strawberry ice cream cone, while Ness bought himself rocky road. I decline his offer again.
"Come on, Jeff, you'll like it, this ice cream is good," Paula assured me. I shook my head.
"I'm pretty sure it tastes good, Paula, but I already said, I don't like it when people buy me things, it's just something I'm not used to. Ness frowned. I didn't miss the glint in his eye, he knew something was up.
"Fine, Jeff." Ness replied walking out of the ice cream parlor with Paula. I trailed right behind them.
The streets that night were busy, loud, and clustered. We all stayed as close to each other as possible, at least until we got to the hotel.
"Seriously, they owe them around a million dollars? How dense are they?" Ness half heartedly ranted.
"They must have tricked them into the deal, just like last time," Paula commented. Ness snorted.
"Well obviously. But The Runaway Five are supposed to be The Runaway Five, not We Got Stuck Into This Really Shitty Contract Five!"
"How'd you two get them out of their debt last time?" I asked.
"Oh, well you see, once Ness and I returned to Twoson, this guy-" Ness cut her off.
"We tricked the dealer, and swindled them a bit, let's just put it at that." Ness cast Paula a warning look. Did she say something wrong? Paula smiled shrugging her shoulders.
"I'm sure we could swindle, or pay this place as well somehow," Paula commented taking another lick of her ice cream. We thought for a moment. Then something clicked in my mind.
"Hey, didn't that construction guy in the desert say that he would give us any gold if he found any?" I mentioned. Ness's expression lit up, melted chocolate painted the corners of his mouth.
"That's it, Jeff! We'll go visit him in the morning! Maybe he'll have some gold then!" He exclaimed. Paula giggled.
"Do you really think that he would follow through in his offer?" She asked us eating the last bit of her dripping ice cream cone. Ness shrugged.
"It's worth a try at least. He said he'd give us something. Hey Paula, let me wipe your face, you got melted ice cream all over yourself!" He laughed using his shirt and a nearby water fountain to wipe it away. It was then that someone else had bumped into me. I scoffed at them, nearly flipping them off until Ness and Paula returned. I snorted, crossing my arms. Paula gave me an odd look, but I pushed the thought away. When we were about two blocks away from the hotel, Ness had finished his ice cream while asking "Even if he did give us some gold, do you think it would be enough?" Ness asked.
"Its gold, isn't it? I mean, you can't come across gold that much these days," Paula replied.
"What do you think, Jeff?" Ness asked looking up at me. I shrugged.
"Depends how much he gives us, and as long as it's not fool's gold either." I replied eyeing the bit of ice cream left on the corner of his mouth. I wasn't sure what motivated me to do what I was about to do, I guess it was the fact that it looked out of place, therefore irritating me.
"Hey... you got some around your mouth," I spoke softly, thumbing the bit of melted chocolate off the corner of his mouth. I must have caught Ness off guard, because he seemed to flush at the sudden contact that I chuckled inwardly at. He looked dumbstruck; his cheeks were still tinged pink. "I...there's nothing else on my face, is there?' Ness asked awkwardly. I resisted saying anything about his blush, for some reason I didn't fully understand, I wanted it to stay on his face, just a bit longer. Maybe it was my way of payback for him putting me in that embarrassing moment with The Runaway Five. So I shook my head.
"Don't worry, you're clean," I replied feeling my mouth curve up slightly. Ness quickly averted his eyes to Paula, who was trying to decipher our little strange moment.
"Ok good..." I almost couldn't hear Ness mumble. I could only chuckle to myself. He didn't seem to say much since until we got to the hotel.
I wondered why?
--
"Name please?" The hotel manager asked.
"Ness..." The manager's eyes seemed to light up, as he seemed to scan through a packet of papers.
"Ness, Paula and Jeff?" He spoke out loud. We all looked at each other skeptically. We hadn't even placed our reservation, how did he know everyone's name?
"Yeeeah?"
"I'm sorry, but you trio are already on the ban list. And since it's strictly under Monotoli's rules, we can't allow you three to stay at out hotel.
"What?!" Our jaws dropped. The man coughed, and showed us the list.
"See for yourself. I'm sorry, but as long as your names are on this list, it is strictly forbidden and illegal to let you spend the night in our hotel." Ness gritted his teeth, and grabbed Paula's hand and stomped outside.
"I fucking hate Pokey! That arrogant jerk! Where the hell are we supposed to stay overnight?!" Ness ranted kicking an empty trash can. I frowned.
"Let me see that brochure..." I said. Ness tossed it to me as I looked at the list for places to stay.
"Hey... here's an address for a hostel. And it's a national chain as well..."
"What the hell does that mean?" Ness asked.
"What's a hostel?" Paula asked.
"Basically a hostel is just a lower quality hotel. It's mostly used for clubs and long stays. We can get our own room, but we may have to share a bathroom in the hall. And since it's a chain company, I don't think Pokey has any power over who stays there." I saw Ness's face light up instantly.
"Really? That means we don't need to sleep in the alley?! What are we waiting for then, let's go!" Ness spoke with dignity.
--
When we made it to the hostel, it looked lower middle class, but it was good enough for us to stay in. Inside it looked like there was already a meeting of some sort. To me, it looked like a group of magicians.
"Names please?"
"Ness, Paula and Jeff. We would like to make a reservation please." The man 'hmmed' and looked through the computer.
"I... I'm so sorry you guys, apparently were all out of rooms. How old are you kids? Why are you three out so late?" He asked concerned. Maybe we could make a deal with this guy.
"Well she's eight or nine. I'm fourteen, and he's...fifteen?" Ness said. The man at the counter sighed.
"I know this sounds a little unfair, but we could make room for the little girl if we have to." It was really nice of him to offer, but I knew by both Paula and Ness that they would refuse the offer. We were all the sudden interrupted by someone's high spirited voice.
"Nonsense, we happen to have an extra room booked for two nights, for some of our more important members are staying somewhere that's classier than here!" One of the magicians from the club spoke to us fruitfully rushing up to the counter. All of our eyes went wide, almost as if we had met our first savior.
"Excuse me?" The man behind the counter said in offense for the hostel. I studied our savior closely, as he took off his magician hat off his head that was covered in long curly dark hair. His eyebrows for some reason looked connected, as if he needed to pluck them really badly. When he opened his mouth, his teeth were yellow. One of his teeth happened to be golden.
"Please excuse my manners I just overheard these two lovely gentlemen and the beautiful young lady over here needing a room to spend the night in. Frankly, we're staying here for the next week or so, and our extra room we booked is vacant. My treat." He said holding out a hand of cards to Ness. Ness looked at me and Paula sheepishly.
"Do I... pick one?" Ness asked pointing to himself.
"I insist." Ness pulled out an ace of spades, as the magician took the card from his hand, and made the card disappear behind his hand.
"Where did it go?" Ness asked amazed. The magician reached his hand behind his ear, and out came the card. Paula and Ness clapped; amazed of the trick without me. I gave the man a skeptical look. I wasn't much of a believer in magic.
"You are a very lucky young boy. Allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Demetri." He said bowing to Ness. I didn't miss how his deep brown eyes twinkled. The man at the counter coughed.
"Aren't you going to show them to their room already? I was supposed to get off work around five minutes ago!" Demetri frowned at the man.
"Alright, alright, follow me! Everyone! This lovely trio will be joining us in the hostel! So everyone treat them with respect, you got that?" Everyone in the lobby nodded, and grabbed their stuff.
We walked up four flights of stairs to reach our room in which Demetri unlocked for us. It was a fairly small room, consisting of two bunk beds for four people. The closet consisted of four lockers to keep our stuff in if we needed to. I realized though that Ness was pretty lucky, discovering that we were staying in one of the dorms with its own bathroom and shower.
"I want the top bunk!" Paula cheered climbing up the top by the window. Ness was going to claim another bed only to be stopped by Demetri.
"Feel free to eat any of our food. And please tell me if something is wrong. Here's a bar of soap by the way." Ness took the bar of soap by surprise. Demetri winked at him.
"The hostel doesn't provide too much, so you may need that if you're planning to bathe," I didn't miss how he seemed to squeeze Ness's shoulder, almost as if he was probing him. It sent a small shiver up my spine when it seemed as if he gave me a cold glance. I couldn't tell since he was so quick about it, shutting the door behind him.
"It's hot in here!" Ness complained opening the old window. This hostel period was old, but if it worked, it worked. And like Ness said, it was better than sleeping out in the streets.
"Guys... I'm stinky!" Paula complained taking Mr. Ziggy out of her small purse.
"So am I..." Ness said smelling his arm pits.
"I need to use the bathroom..." I spoke desperately rushing in first. I lifted the seat up, and unzipped my pants. I couldn't shed off my suspicion. Was there more to the fact that he just happened to have a vacant room? My eyes wandered to a sign next to the mirror that said "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie, and wipe the seaty!" I snickered to myself as I flushed the toilet, forgetting to put down the seat. After rinsing my hands, and exiting the bathroom, Paula, and Ness were making their beds.
"Good, you're done! Now I can go take a bath!" She cheered, bringing her pajamas and Mr. Ziggy with her. She was taking a bath with Mr. Ziggy? Ness snapped the bar of soap in half.
"I'm gonna head to the showers myself. I'll just use one of the showers in the hall." He said grabbing his PJ's.
"See you in a little," I told Ness as he went out of our room. Moments later, Paula poked her head out of the door. Apparently she must have already undressed as I heard the water running inside.
"Jeff, can you hand me a towel from the closet, please?" She asked innocently. I silently complied, handing her a towel, and turning back to my business. However, she didn't leave.
"Umm... Jeff?" Paula asked. I sighed.
"What is it?" I asked. I didn't miss how her cheeks seemed to redden. Why? I could have sworn my nose was gonna start gushing out blood after she asked her next question.
"Did you forget to put the toilet seat back down?" I punched myself mentally. Feeling my cheeks burn up in embarrassment, I straightened my square glasses and muttered "I... kinda... forgot, yeah," I was surprised to see that something dawned on her face.
"Oh, ok, so that was you! Thanks, Jeff I thought maybe someone snuck in, considering there's no way that Mr. Ziggy could have done it! I don't know why I didn't notice it lifted before I entered." She smiled closing the door. I fell to the floor, feeling my anxiety wash right out of me. Why didn't I put the seat back down? My sigh was staggered. Bringing myself back up to my feet, I dug through my bag to find my PJ bottoms and my white t shirt. I kicked off my shoes, and changed into my bottoms first. But after I took off my uniform jacket, untied my tie, and started unbuttoning my shirt, I heard the door burst open.
"Jeff, I need a..." I turned around as I had my arms outstretched above my head with my white button down shirt. My eyes met a very frozen Ness.
"Towel…" Ness looked bewildered; speechless as he stared at my shirtless form. I raised an eyebrow, tossing my shirt aside.
"Yes?" I asked in an awkward manner. Ness's cheeks turned magenta.
"I… Ididn'tmean...didn't know you were changing, sorry!" He stammered shutting the door quickly. I sighed.
"Ness... we're both guys, you can grab your towel."
"No, I can wait, finish getting dressed!" Ness replied with a squeaky voice behind the door. Grabbing another towel from the closet, I opened the door, in which Ness was standing right in front of. I inwardly smiled at my success at surprising him.
"Here, go take your shower. Next time, if you really don't want to catch me changing, I suggest you to knock first," I smirked at him. Ness kept his eyes from mine nodding sheepishly before rushing back to the showers. It was a good thing I was used to changing in front of guys my own age, or else I would have been embarrassed as well.
By the time Paula was done taking her bath, and brushing her teeth, I heard a knock at the door. I chuckled to myself.
"Come in," Ness slowly opened the door; his cheeks tinged a soft pink when he spotted me lying down and reading a small text book of mine.
"Sorry 'bout before..." Ness plopped down on his bunk. I shrugged.
"It's alright, we all make mistakes sometimes," I told him. Ness nodded silently.
"Umm… Jeff?" Ness asked. I cast him a sideways glance. It was then that Paula walked in with Mr. Ziggy.
"Never mind…" Paula climbed up to her bunk. Apparently he didn't want Paula hearing what he wanted to say. I wondered why…
"Don't you guys think Demetri was so nice to lend us one of his rooms for the night? Just think of what could have happened if we didn't get this room," Paula smiled snuggling under the covers with Mr. Ziggy. Ness laughed.
"Yeah, it was real nice of him. Can you believe that before and after my shower, that he was still bugging me? He was showing me more of his magic tricks. He's a good magician, friendly too, but for some reason, I felt a little claustrophobic around him. These hallways are very narrow after all, I even felt squished in the shower." Ness chuckled to himself. But I furrowed my eyebrows at him. Even so… if he felt claustrophobic around him…
"What did he do?" I asked Ness sternly. Ness looked at me.
"What... what do you mean?" Ness asked me innocently. I put my book down.
"Why did he do to make you feel uncomfortable? Because even in such a cramped place like this, he shouldn't make you feel uncomfortable." Ness averted his eyes from mine, taking one glance at Paula, who I was sure was eavesdropping very easily. I sighed.
"Ness, look at me. I know I'm probably making you feel uncomfortable at the moment, but I won't stand by and let some random person take advantage of you, or Paula, and you shouldn't either." Ness's blue-gray doe eyes were daunt and weary once they met mine.
"I know... he wasn't by himself, and they were just showing me my magic tricks, that's all, so I guess it's..."
"There were others like him around you as well?" I asked. Ness looked guilty from the sudden revelation. God I hated magicians…
"Ness, I don't want to start another argument, but you just shouldn't let these things happen. What if he works for that Giygas alien thing we've been going up against for all this time?" Ness frowned, and plopped his head on his pillow.
"Why are you so uptight about him? He offered us a place to stay the night."
"But he shouldn't be harassing you." Ness sighed and turned to face me while he lay down. His eyes seemed watery, as if he was guilty of an offensive crime.
"He wasn't harassing me… I dunno...I was only trying to be nice..." Ness said quieter. I got up to my feet and walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" Paula asked.
"Stay here," I told them.
Checking my watch it was already nearing 12:00. But making my way to the kitchen, I heard his voice talking to some of his so called friends.
"Did you see how surprised he looked at first when you showed him that magic trick, Demetri?" I froze in place, and hid behind a nearby wall eavesdropping.
"Ah, yes. Kids are too easy. He reminds me of my youth when I first saw a magic trick. Tis too bad he seemed to shy away later on. Then he would have been easier to catch into our grasp." I heard everyone chuckling to themselves.
"Maybe then, we all could have shown him our magic tricks." My eyes widened in horror. Just what exactly where they trying to do to him?
"I just wonder how we'll convince the little girl, and that other kid to join our club," One of them said. Hearing that was somewhat of a relief, but still it all seemed a little strange…
"It's too bad he'll have to go eventually..." I heard Demetri say. "He's just the right object of my desire. He definitely has an eye for magic, and I think that girl is the same way, thought I couldn't tell all that well. Nevertheless, that boy is perfect..."
That was it.
I disguised my despise for him as I strolled into the kitchen to reach into the fridge to grab a bottle of water. I could feel everyone's eyes on me.
I didn't give a damn this time.
"Why... hello there. You were so quiet that I almost didn't notice you there." Demitri spoke innocently. I cast him a cold look leaning my back against the fridge. One of his little buddies whispered something in his ear.
"You are their friend, right? Ness and the young little girl?" One of them asked. I was unresponsive, drinking out of my now claimed water bottle.
"Hey, you better say something, punk, because you can't-" Demetri cut him off.
"No no, Ness referred this boy to being called Jeff it seems. So they must know each other..." Careless Ness, how could he just give our names out like that? Demetri stood in front of me, curly hair framing his old after-shaved pale face. He leered down at me.
"Is there something you'd like?" Demetri asked kindly handing me out a hand of cards. "Pick one." I looked up at his smile.
"No thanks. I've seen it all before." I spoke politely to him. Demetri gasped.
"Do... do we have a non believer on our hands?" Everyone 'oooed' in the room. I snorted.
"Sorry, but it's true. I don't like tricks, they lie. I'd rather go seek the truth any day," I replied to him smirking. Demetri frowned.
"I see, a scientist, eh? So tell me, scientist." He said showing me the back of his red cards.
"Why can we see that these cards in my hand are red? Why don't they appear yellow, or cyan, even if I used magic with the same deck?" I sighed. I tried to explain this as well as I could, my studies in color theory had been going stale lately.
"Well first off, different people can see different things. Not all people can see red. Secondly, color is basically a break up of light. For example, take a crystal ball to the light, and you'll see rainbows everywhere. This is so because the light is being re directed into multiple places at once, and is also breaking up the different colors. The reason why the surfaces of those cards appear red is simply because all the other colors in the light are being absorbed while the particular color red is being reflected back. In actuality, those cards, and everything around us are probably shades of grey, but it's the light, and our eyes that make them appear red. Though seriously, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, magician." I replied. Demetri snorted.
"Discrimination. What a petty." He said shuffling the red cards. I cut to the chase.
"Why were you harassing Ness?" I asked instantly. Demetri's eyes went wide.
"Oh no, no, no, we never harassed the boy! He was the one that wanted to see another trick. That Ness is such as sweet boy," He told me. I frowned.
"Then why did he tell me that he felt claustrophobic around you? I don't care how small these damn hallways are, he shouldn't feel threatened." I told him. I growled inwardly when I saw a smirk spread across his face.
"Am I making you uncomfortable? If I am, I can back away. By all means, you don't have to be here, talking to me." His friends started snickering. "Just remember this. I'm letting you stay here for free." I was silent. Demetri paced in the room, looking down at the white and black checkered floor. "Before you leave, I would love to show you a trick, even if you decline." He sneered at me. "Have you heard in the news? Monotoli has been reported missing for about a month now. A boy and his father, The Minch's have taken his place until he reappears. It's funny, isn't it? It's almost as if he just- disappeared" I glared at him.
"And you wouldn't have anything to do with his disappearance, would you?" I asked suspiciously. He snickered.
"It would take one genius to pull off that trick." He smiled. I eyed him.
"Why are you... telling me this anyways?" I asked. His eyes traveled to mine.
"I'm just trying to give an example. Not everything is caused by science, or by reason. Sometimes things happen, or are, simply because. There is no scientific explanation why we love, we hate, we cry, or we laugh... It is these emotions that exist just because that creates magic. It's a magician's duty to bestow those hidden emotions. Now maybe this doesn't have to do with Monotoli's disappearance. But I must tell you...there is something magical about that boy, and the girl as well. He understood, possibly what my magical tricks meant deep inside. He knows something, something that you or I could never know, love, hate, or feel..." Anger rose in my veins.
"Stay away from us," I stated feeling my voice shake. His smile was content, and innocent. It was this kind of behavior that had always sent shivers down my spine. It reminded me of that Pokey Minch…
"As you wish," He said politely brushing out of my way. I tried brushing past him as quickly as possible, but I quickly came to a halt.
"What is it?" He asked. I didn't turn around.
"Weren't you going to... show me a magic trick?" I asked. There was a small pause.
"I already have."
I felt myself dart out of that room.
--
I panted once I returned to our room. The lights were already out it seemed. Paula was sleeping soundly in bed. When I shut the door, I realized how loud it actually was outside the hostel. It seemed like more people were out during the night rather than day time. I brought my hand to my forehead as I let my eyes float down to Ness, who was looking up at me.
"Jeff?" Ness whispered. His wide sympathetic eyes shimmered from the street lights. My breath was staggered, sitting down on my bunk under Paula's. I rested my forehead in my hands.
"Jeff- what happened?" Ness spoke softly, sitting up. "Why do you look so aggravated? Did he do something-?"
"Just go to sleep, Ness," I spoke in irritation. "We have a long day tomorrow." However when Ness refused to lay back down I lied down myself. I studied all the writing left over under the top bunk that had been engraved there for many years. I sighed when I knew Ness somewhat gave in and lay back down as well. But neither of us could sleep.
"I... wish you tell me what was wrong..." Did he really not suspect me to go talk to Demetri?
"I appreciate the fact that you wish not to argue with me." I told him. I heard Ness grunt something illegible.
"There's no point in arguing with a friend- especially if they're going to help me save more people than I'll ever meet." I was perplexed, but touched. He thought of me as a friend already? There was a pause.
"I didn't know you thought of me as a friend..." I spoke softly.
'Well, yeah. You're the first guy friend I've had in a really long time that's lasted for at least a week." I gave him a sympathetic glance, though I couldn't see him clearly in the dark room.
"In a way...I'm really happy. I mean...I miss my mom, my dog my sister...even dad. I was closest to my mother; she was always there for me. But...I dunno, every time I made a friend from school, from the park, whatever. They never lasted... I don't know how my sister did it, she always had friends. They were all great. (Chuckle) One of them even asked me out. But that was crushed too." I furrowed my eyebrows.
"May I ask why they never lasted? I remember you saying something about your neighbors..." He sighed.
"My neighbors were rich when they moved next to us. I guess dad swindled them with their money, and they never got it back. So maybe they just wanted revenge..." I could tell by the tone of his voice that this wasn't his field of comfort. But before I could steer the conversation in different way, Ness said, "So I guess what I was saying is... now that I'm away from home, I can start making new friends...to feel like a normal kid. Maybe we'll meet someone new. But for now, you and Paula are more than enough." We were both silent for a while. I almost thought he had fallen asleep. He startled me when he asked his last question.
"Is… Dr. Andonuts really your father?" I winced.
"I never knew... he had a son…" He said with a hint of sadness. I didn't know what to do next. Should I or shouldn't I tell him more about me? It didn't matter in the end I guess…
"It's ok... I understand. You don't have to tell me a thing."