A/N: Thanks again to NetusVersatus, Pure-White-Angel22, DanMat6288, and the Leander for the reviews XD And thank you Red and Margariita for your reviews as well! X3
To answer your question, Red, Yes I have plans for all that, but it's a secret to how I'm going to plan things along. ;3
And of course: Thank you; all of you that commented on my journal and gave me the feedback I needed to get out of my god awful writer's block. I wasn't sure if I'd pull this off as well if it wasn't for you guys! x3 So this is dedicated to you.
So I apologize BIG TIME, I really do. This has been the longest it's been delayed, and I don't have too much of an excuse except the fact I've been very tired, and cold, and my motivation level for everything has been extremely low. I've also been very busy this past week, so everything just kept piling onto each other. I physically feel like crap, and I have no idea why, maybe it's because of the weather, and the fact I haven't had a good workout in a while! X3 I'm not even sick either. Nonetheless, I had my first true writer's block for this fiction!
As for this chapter... most of it takes place in Moonside. I have to admit, writing this chapter was a bit of a grim, and it was pretty difficult to describe everything. My only warning is that this chapter will have indications towards sexual themes such as harassment. But nothing too graphic happens, so it should still fit somewhat comfortably under a T rating. ;3 Maybe later on I should raise the rating on this fic? I dunno...
Anyways, I hope this chapter turned out alright, and I hope you guys enjoy nonetheless! xP
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I somehow ended up on a deserted beach. The sky was grey and gloomy while the wind blew chills passed my shivering shoulders. For some odd reason, I was barefoot, and I could feel the cold sand between my toes. I looked around me.
Where was I? Why was I here? Such a cliché moment, but still... was I really here? Or was all this apart of Moonside's mirage? Come to think of it... I looked around me again as I scanned the beach. I couldn't find Ness anywhere and the more I searched the more I worried and the wind only picked up more, while the sky gradually darkened. So I finally set my sights into the ocean itself. In moments, I widened my eyes when I saw her, gazing into the horizon as silk blond hair locks waved around her shoulders and the water nipped at her ankles.
"... Mom..." I muttered to myself. Was it even possible? No... None of this was real, there was no possible way. However, the childishness in me couldn't ignore her, and I started to merge closer to the shore.
"... Mom?" My voice choked out, though I could barely hear it over the now howling winds. It seemed as if the closer I got, the darker it became. The waves started to flap violently. But mom still stood, gazing into that distance, as if she was trying to figure something out. It was then that something under those waters started to glow, and illuminated the ocean. I felt my chest swell as I broke into a sprint.
"Mom!!" I shouted as I fought the wind to get to her. However, I halted sharply when an ear shattering howl broke through the atmosphere. My heart hammered as we both of us watched something huge emerging from under the surface. Monstrous was the only way I could describe it at the time, and I just could feel the doom to come. The glowing orb, that seemed like the rising sun started to slowly form the image of my mother's face; passive and emotionless. Her green eyes met mine. When I looked away nervously to see mom standing on the beach however, her back was still faced towards me. She didn't even flinch when the second roar broke out, and I immediately clenched my ears. The earth started to rumble, and I could see what looked like a massive wave approaching our way.
"MOM!!! I shouted, shocked out of my reverie as she became buried underneath the waves that were out to get me next in a violent rush. I looked up to that monstrous object; at her emotionless face before I drowned underneath the ocean's grip, hearing a maniacal, yet familiar laughter, as my world became black again...
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The Universe Will Die Without You
Chapter 14 The Invisible Man
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When I finally realized I was conscious, I was practically bitch-slapped with ice cold water across the face while I heard that same laughter. I shook my head as I opened my eyes; everything was still dark. I tried moving my arms, but they felt tied behind my back and for some reason I didn't want to know, I was laying on my side, weak and helpless. It had come to the conclusion that I must have still been in this dark and hazy realm known as Moonside.
"Are you awake yet?" I heard that familiar voice asked. I choked on more water that was splashed on my face.
"Yes," I spoke irately. The voice 'hmmed.'
"Do you want me to kick you to wake you up a bit more?" He asked. I stumbled at his suggestion.
"What? Are you insane? Of course not-" I felt a sharp, jabbing pain roar out in my ribs as he must have kicked me, laughing while doing so. As I squinted from the pain, I realized from my fuzzy vision that my glasses must have been off. Great...
"From the sounds of your choking, I can only assume that you really are awake now," He said gleefully, as I felt a grip on my chin. As he propped my face over towards his, I wasn't sure whether to be scared of pissed. He snickered mockingly.
"You can't see very well without your glasses, can you? Makes it a whole deal easier for me then. Though I'll still ask anyways; would you like your glasses back?" He asked me.
"Please?" I asked growling. He paused.
"Please?"
"Yes..." I muttered. He sighed, as I heard something scatter farther away across the room.
"Suit yourself," He told me. What the hell?!
"What was that?! I said yes!" I raised my voice.
"Exactly. Anyhow, moving on… did you receive my letter?" He asked me. My eyes widened in realization. Could he have been... there was no other way... He snickered.
"Judging by your sudden expression, I can only assume no. That's good," He said as I felt a grip on Ness's black shirt I was currently wearing, as he dragged me up so we met eye to eye. My eyes widened when we were nose to nose. His eyes were red... I thought to myself. Red and glowing...
"Since you travel around with that special boy... surely there's something special about you, now isn't there?" He sneered as I felt his hot steamy breath against my face. The closeness left me fumbled, but it didn't stop me from asking my next question.
"Where is he... where is Ness..." I sounded pleading, as if I feared the answer. He snickered.
"Do you really want to know?" He finally asked. I paused. Was this a mind trick he was pulling off or something...
Mind trick... He had to be Demetri, though I couldn't tell just by looking at him in this dark hell hole... nonetheless without my glasses. Then it hit me, as I started to remember things when we entered in the first place.
"Yes means No and No means Yes," The lady repeated in my head. I gulped, feeling unsure about saying the opposite of what I wanted.
"No..."
"Well... even so, I can't answer your question, for I'm not even sure myself," He replied. I gritted my teeth.
"What the hell do you mean when you say you don't know? You were there when I got knocked out, I'm sure of it!!" I noted angrily. Though his face was still blurry, I could see a grin spread across his face; I was sure that a golden tooth, similar to Demetri's; glittered in the darkness. I took in a breath.
"Tell me. Why are you freaks so anxious to get your hands on him nonetheless on us anyways? As well as why the hell you have I tied up here?!" Yet again, he didn't really respond, and instead he slowly chuckled until he started roaring.
"That's the funny thing; you have no idea what's really going on do you?" Another yes and no question; I wasn't sure which to pick either way. I heard him walk across the room.
"Let us talk about that, what do you know so far?" He asked me.
"Untie me, and give me my glasses, and maybe we'll talk," I stated. He paused.
"As you wish. But I won't let you run away," He spoke; voice hitching up another octave. He started with my glasses, and once I could see again, he dragged me up to my feet, and he reached into my pants pocket. Now that I could see clearer, I could tell that this man indeed, closely resembled Demetri. But this time, the darkness seemed to swallow his image up, so I wouldn't be able to see him from afar, even with the aid of my glasses. Though every time his mouth would open, that golden tooth of his would shimmer as brightly as some of the lights in Moonside. Nonetheless, he grabbed out my knife.
"How's Moonside so far?" He said, twirling the knife, and flashing me a toothy grin. I thought of the letter.
"Well... shitty so far, considering you didn't give me any time to explore it. Is this that parallel world you were talking about before? What does this all mean?" I asked. I noticed that Demetri decided not to cut me loose and instead paced back and forth in the storage room we were in. Looking around me, there was only one window, which let the neon lights flash and light up the room, just slightly.
"It can mean whatever you want it to mean." He smiled childishly. I growled. Was he taunting me or something?
"Stop playing games with us, for this is getting nowhere. What's happening, where's Ness, and what do you want from me?" I said glaring at him. "Demetri..." He frowned for a split second.
"Don't call me that wrenched name... that was only a decoy name, though I guess it really doesn't matter now." We were silent.
"Whatever you see in this dimension... feeling wise, it was exactly how I felt when I entered your world. Of course, I had to go there, for someone disturbed this realm's life source... I guess you people call it the Mani Mani statue," He said. "I couldn't risk anything horrible to happen to it..."
"Wait... Deme- I mean..." I was speechless, for I wasn't sure how to put what I was thinking into words. He started to act fidgety now, as if he was starting to somewhat go insane, his voice hitched.
"So you can only guess why I tied you up here... as well as separated you from that boy you call Ness," He said.
"Because... you don't want us anywhere near that statue, do you?" I asked. I decided after mentally arguing to myself, that I'd just call him the Invisible Man. He ran my blade against his neck, like an emo cutting for enjoyment.
"You two die... or the rest of us die... that's the bet right now. Though I'll die shortly either way, I can't let you two hurt the people here," He said. The way he said this shocked me, just slightly. We didn't intend to hurt anyone innocent...
"I know, but... what's the whole point if your life source is just making our world go crazy?!" I asked in a clearer voice. The Invisible Man roared in laughter again, grabbing his forehead and bobbing it up and down like crazy. It was then that he skipped swiftly over to me, and grabbed me forcefully. I gasped as he turned me around towards the window, and placed my back against him, his chin and face snaking around my shoulder. I froze at this awkward, and frightening intimate contact we were in now. He whispered into my ear, shivering from his hot breath making contact with my skin.
"Listen... just listen to these words... There is more going on that you can comprehend at the moment. Mani Mani... me... Monotolli... that scarred young man... none of us are the evil you seek. The evil that has been haunting your adventures is the works of just one. It has the power to influence... to torture, and to ruin lives. You and three others are the only ones that can stop it..." He finished as he brought my blade to the side of my neck. I gulped as his voice squealed in excitement.
"It's all so beautiful, isn't it? It's been plaguing mother earth for years and it's only been recently that someone has noticed. Yet... you're still not sure yourself," He smiled, as he ran the blade against my skin; the stinging sensation was enough to make me hiss, as my heart started to race from fear. His voice got deeper.
"What did you think he saw when he looked at you?" He finally asked. My eyebrows perked up.
"...Ness?" I asked. "... I don't know..."
"Such a tentative boy… it seems like its very hard for him to get along with anyone, as long as he wields those eyes..." He said moving away from me finally. I didn't realize until he was away from me that my knees were becoming weak, as if a whole new weight was being loaded on them.
"Why do you keep talking about Ness like he's so special..." I finally asked. "You're starting to sound just like that Pokey Minch..." I said, cringing at my memories of our conversation.
"Who knows? That's what's so special about him, he's such a mystery... but of course the other reason being that he's the one; the leader, that can stop it... as long as he can conquer himself of course. That's why he has you and that young wrench; you two will aid him to become something great... something that the Apple of Enlightenment has predicted for years and years..." He said.
"Apple... of Enlightenment?" I asked. He ignored me. Instead, he gave me a wide, freaky grin, as his uni-brow furrowed and his tooth shimmered in the darkness.
"Of course, I'll just have to keep you from him, so you two will be lost in this realm forever. Besides... there's something I must do," He said with interest, pacing towards me again. I backed away, but he lunged at my shirt, and yanked me towards him again. He took my knife and placed it behind my ear. I winced when it made contact. By this time, I could feel blood trickling down my neck from the other cut he gave me.
"Please... stop..." I shivered in horror as he brought his nose to my neck, and I could feel something wet and warm running against my cut. I yelped, wincing weakly. He was licking me?! He breathed against my neck.
"Stop..." I could feel tears collecting in the corners of my eyes. "Why are you doing this to us...?" I asked timidly. What was he doing to me?!
"I've been waiting for this moment... for sooo long..." He murmured against my neck. My breath hitched and my heart constricted in fear, as my lip started to tremble. The Invisible Man's scent reeked of soot, sweat, and something inhumane and the more I tried struggling from the rope that bind my wrists together, the tighter he squeezed me; it was all too much.
"Let go of me!" I ordered. However, he let go, and instead, forcefully grabbed my chin.
"Let's play a little game. If we play this game, I'll let you go. Just one question I need to ask the scientist..." I was baffled by his terminology of 'little game.'
"What... little game?" I asked. "I'm barely a scientist..." The Invisible Man raised an eyebrow.
"That's odd... considering you're such a misbeliever of magic... but I guess now since your scientific noggin can't interpret this little realm, it'll make things very simple..." He said, backing me up into the wall. Oh god... His nose inched closer to me. This must have been how Ness felt...
"Tell me... what do you see in my eyes?" What? Why was he asking me this?
"Wha-"
"Just tell me so we can be on our golly way," He ordered angrily. I winced as he squeezed my chin tighter. It took me a little bit to get used to this vulnerable feeling. I fought myself to actually cast my green eyes to him, and stared.
So what did he want me to see in his eyes? I didn't know what to look for. His eyes were angry and red... bloodshot nonetheless. It scared me... how mentally lost this one character alone has gotten; the once cocky and egotistical Demetri was gone and replaced with this needing and searching maniac that was the Invisible Man. Did he even remember most of the things that even happened at the hostel in Fourside over the past week? Though from what I could tell, all of his searching has left him nil and...
"You... fear something..." I uttered.
"What do I fear Jeff?" He sneered.
"A lot of things... you even mentioned yourself that our side was hazy... just like it is for me here, and it's been freaking me out lately. But I'm more afraid of what's happening... what will happen if nothing is done. Is there a certain possibility that you fear what's going on? This evil force... Giygas..." The Invisible Man flinched when I mentioned his name.
"Not very many know the knowledge to form that name on their lips... so you must know something about what's going on."
"Barely." I said again, feeling more determined which was sort of awkward as well. "I'm very vague on knowledge when it comes to Giygas. But still, I don't understand you, you're confusing me... magicians don't seek knowledge... at least that's what Demetri hinted me on about..." The Invisible Man flinched.
"Demetri was not a magician, I am." I had to think in reverse for this phrase, for its meaning was the other way around.
"Well then... your ultimate fear is truth... am I right? You're fearful enough to hide away from it with magic as well as this realm and that statue of Mani Mani. Though when you entered our side, and you discovered what Giygas was doing, your mind started to shatter and that's how you ended up thinking this way. I don't know what Ness saw when he looked into your eyes, but I can only assume the same..." I wasn't even sure exactly what I was talking about, but it didn't stop the Invisible Man from stuttering.
"No... he saw something completely different. No one can see what he sees..." He said. The Invisible Man seemed weak now, as if I really made some sort of point. It was still a very confusing situation to me.
"Well then what did he see?" I asked. He ran his fingers through his curly hair in the dark. I was no longer pried against the wall, thankfully.
"The Apple of Enlightenment pictured this too... four individuals that have the eyes to recognize this pure evil... while you could spot my weakness... Ness could see my sins," He finally said. My eyes widened. The Invisible Man turned me around and brought the knife to my wrists to cut me free. I massaged them.
"... sins?" I asked him.
"That's right." I fumbled with this for a little bit. Could this possibly explain why Ness is so frightened of his PSI? I thought.
"Well yeah... it's just amazing..." I said. Ness raised an eyebrow.
"Amazing? No; it isn't that amazing..."
"Yes it is!" I emphasized. "Since when did you see someone else pull off something like that?" I asked smiling, trying to sound grateful. Ness shook his head.
"Please Jeff... it's not amazing to me. It's frightening..." Ness spoke in the memory pool.
By this time, The Invisible Man was on his knees. I picked up my knife that he deliberately dropped on the floor. I furrowed my eyebrows. He looked like he was about to break down.
"Well now what?" I asked him.
"Go... just go... we're all going to perish eventually... just grab your friend and go..." He told me. It took me a moment before I started to head to the door, still getting used to the dark haziness of Moonside.
"Will I ever see you again?" I asked feeling myself shiver. There was no reply. And with that, I exited that room, and entered the freakish streets.
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By the time I was out in this strange public, the conversation we had just had kept repeating over and over again, shivering from my memories of his closeness. There were so many things I already needed to ask, and now more questions were piling up.
What was the Apple of Enlightenment? Could Ness really see one's deadly sins just by looking at them? If so... what did he see every time he looked at me? I shook my head.
No, focus, Jeff, stay focused, I told myself. But still, the memories still piled up onto each other. I didn't realize until now, that I did notice a lot of the people's fears whenever I looked at them, if they were ordinary that was, or at least I got a decent idea. But did this in the slightest make me any more special than most of the other people in the world? If so, how come I can't use PSI?
And even so, every time I looked at Ness... and even Paula, I couldn't pin point their fears, while knowing they had some sort of weaknesses, I couldn't tell. Maybe it was because of their PSI, or just the fact that I lacked their abilities?
"Please Jeff... it's not amazing to me. It's frightening..." What was so frightening about PSI? It was a part of them, wasn't it? A part of him... yet every time I looked at him, I couldn't pin point as to how and why he would be so scared of it... By this time, multiple things were flying through my head, as well as the mental laughter that plagued my thoughts. I started to feel dizzy from it all along with the haziness that was Moonside.
I was about halfway across the street when I realized that my bag was missing with all of my supplies.
"Shit..." I swore as dared to look around me. The only thing I had to protect myself with now was my knife, for not only my gun was in my bag, but I wasn't able to finish fixing it the previous night. How the hell was I going to find it in this place? But I guess that wasn't important now. Ness... need to find Ness, I thought. What if the Invisible Man hid him somewhere? Or what if he was hurt? Or even worse, what if he was...
"No that would be preposterous, Ness knows better not to get himself killed," I thought out loud. This time when I looked at the city, I looked at the buildings themselves.
Lined by bright neon like colors; the buildings themselves somewhat resembled Fourside... of course from a very odd perspective. I tried speaking to as many people I could find, but everything that resembled as some sort of enemy; I tried my best to avoid. So far, it seemed to be coming along well...
"Have I seen a boy in a red cap? No..." The man told me. I cringed inside, as I thanked him and was on my way. I could only hope that Ness was somewhere... safe enough until I could find him.
"Have I seen a boy in a red cap recently? Yes..." The lady said. My eyes lit up.
"Please, you have to tell me which direction he went!" I said. The lady raised an eyebrow.
"What in Moonside are you talking about?" She asked. I looked at her dumbstruck.
"You said that you saw him! So where did he go?!" I asked raising my voice. I felt hopeless when she spoke again, as well as the biggest idiot that ever walked among Moonside.
"Yes..." She finally said when it clicked in my head.
"God damn it!" I swore out loud before I paced back to the other man that said no.
It took me a little bit, but eventually I found the same man, standing in front of what looked like a hospital. I panted as I supported myself on my knees.
"You said... you saw him...?" I asked. There was a small pause.
"No..."
"Where?" I asked looking up at the man in shades. He looked somewhat annoyed, and it confused me when he spoke again.
"Hello... and... goodbye." My heart literally stopped as everything around me came rushing at my face, as if I was being teleported somewhere. Neon lights danced in my eyesight, and when everything suddenly went back to normal, I literally fell on the pitch black grass. My heart couldn't take the sudden surprises anymore, for it started to hurt. I groaned, shaking my head as I tried collecting myself. For some reason, it hurt to even stand, so I lay there for a moment, while mentally arguing with myself that I had to get my lazy ass up and find Ness as soon as possible.
My head spun as I spotted a man hazily though a fence that looked too tall to scale all by myself. My eyes squinted as I tried to decipher the old man, as my eyes came into focus, he seemed to be in the middle of some sort of prayer. I couldn't tell who or what he was praying or chanting to, but my heart constricted when I came to a conclusion.
"Mon...otolli?" I muttered out loud.
"Hey kid, you alright?" A voice nearby, rang me out of my reverie. I decided at that time to at least attempt to get up. Propping myself up with my arms, I sat on my knees while I turned my face towards the voice.
There, standing by a tall gate was a grubby, old sailor, smoking his pipe; the smoke that puffed out took on multiple shapes and sizes.
"Yeah... I'm fine..." I said until I collected my senses and stood up.
"Umm... may I see what's passed this gate?" I asked thinking about that cursed man behind it. However, the man looked at me disapprovingly, taking another puff of his pipe. I must have looked like a hobo to this man, though he didn't look much neater I thought.
"Sorry kid, I can't let you though here until you bring back the man with the connected eyebrows and the golden tooth; you know the guy right?" He asked me. I froze at his suggestion. He knew the Invisible Man?
"What can you tell me about him?" I asked suddenly.
"Calm down kid, you look like you're about to break down in emotional exhaustion. Alright, you see, he's been causing all sorts of trouble lately, playing pranks and tricking some of us Moonside residents. However, you see he's the only one of us Moonside people that can even get close to the Mani Mani statue; it's his after all, as well as this city's, and I need to speak with him. We've known him for a while. So if you see him, please tell him to get his ass over here for meh," He explained. I tried absorbing this new information into my skull.
"I have another question... have you seen a boy in a red and blue cap lately? If you... haven't, point in the direction..." I said the best I could.
"Hmmm... no..." He said, pointing down the street. "Heading towards the hospital, I believe," He said. I frowned.
"Thanks," I waved as I started to run. I was slowly and steadily getting used to the reversed responses.
---
It took a little bit to find the hospital again, all the lights dancing around me. I passed by the hotel, feeling somewhat sleepy. I shook my head.
"No, Ness... gotta find Ness..." I told myself. I took a moment to stand, and examine the area again; everything was so dark, and confusing... even if I did find Ness and destroy that god damn statue, what would happen then? I started to walk again, but I almost immediately halted.
"He's not that way now is he?" I heard that cringing voice giggle around me. I spun around, but no one was there.
"Surely a smart man such as yourself isn't lost, is he?" He spoke again.
"Show yourself..." I said realizing it had to be the Invisible Man.
"Why should I show myself? This is so much fun!" He replied. "It'll be a better game than we played the last time," He started to laugh. I gritted my teeth.
"Leave me alone, maybe another time. I have business to take care of right now," I stated angrily. It was then that I saw his grin, the bright golden tooth glittering brighter than everything else.
"But that is part of the game. You go by your business while I play," He said lovingly. It was then that three somewhat living objects appeared, one painting, one clock and the other a fire hydrant, all looking like they were itching to kill. I froze when I felt something graze my ear.
"You don't have anything to defend yourself with, do you? You should run while I try and tag you," He whispered. I shivered as I looked at all three of the enemies, seemingly looking down at me. I broke into another sprint, somehow dodging their attacks clumsily as I made my way by. They seemed too slow to catch up to me, which was a bit of relief. But still...
Was the Invisible Man trying to kill me? Was he trying to kill Ness to? Where was that boy?
That's when I saw Ness. He looked worn down, and he spoke to the same man that transported me. My eyes widened.
"Ness, don't talk to him!!" I yelled as I sprinted towards them. The closer I got, the farther I felt, and I saw Ness turn to me, mystical eyes wide in surprise when he spotted me. But before I could reach him, he suddenly disappeared.
I halted suddenly when I was only a few feet away; the man in shades was looking down at me, I was sure of it. I balled up my fists, and gritted my teeth. Boy was I mad... I didn't stop myself from walking up to the man; I grabbed his shirt violently.
"That was him you idiot! Why the fuck did you do that?!" I asked enraged, feeling my blood turning into a boil. However, the man didn't speak, and his mouth formed a small smile. My eyes widened, especially when I heard the Invisible Man laugh again. He showed himself more visibly this time, as he leaned his arm on the man's shoulder.
"Awww, you were so close too. Looks like you'll have to start from scratch again," He taunted me. I gritted my teeth, I was so enraged that I-!
I grabbed my knife from my pocket and actually attempted to give the Invisible Man a nice slash, like he did to me in that dreaded room. However, my attempt went in vain, as he laughed harder, and literally jumped his way up above the hospital sign. Once he was up there, he skipped along the letters like a child in the rain.
"Stop fucking around with me and let us out of this mess!!!" I roared. However the more enraged I sounded, the more he giggled, like the child he was. He really was starting to sound insane.
"Not until I catch you dead my dear boy. But that wouldn't be fun would it? Let's make this game last for a long-"
"There is nothing fun about this game of yours for it is only pissing me off!" The Invisible Man squatted to look down at me. I was pretty sure I said the phrase wrong, Moonside wise, but he still seemed to understand my pain.
"Cummon... have a more friendly spirit; I only want to play before we all perish," He smiled flashing his god forsaken tooth that was starting to tick me off even more. I somehow had to lead this man to that sailor, but god he was only pissing me off the more we played.
"I don't feel like playing games, especially not with you." He frowned, as if I hurt his feelings. When he spoke again, his voice was coated with the voice of the man in the shades.
"Well... then hello... and goodbye," He said before flashing me a wicked evil grin. Not this again... My sight was brought to a rush, as everything was moving at a blinding pace.
---
"Jeff... Jeff... come on, please wake up!" I felt someone shaking my shoulder as I slowly blinked my eyes awake to see a worry-some Ness hovering above me. When I looked at his eyes, I immediately looked away, feeling my sight go even more blurry from the side of my glasses.
"... Are you coming to?" He asked. I groaned grumpily, slowly brining one of my hands to graze my forehead.
"God, I've been looking everywhere for you in this freak place... "
"Same here... what happened to you?" He asked me. I sighed, as I finally decided to sit up.
"I don't know... but apparently that Invisible freak captured me... but enough explaining about me, we should be careful, especially you, the people here are becoming suspicious of our actions, I'm sure of it," I told him. Ness was silent for a moment. My eyes widened a bit when he spoke again.
"I found the Mani Mani statue... but there's a man blocking the way, and he said I needed someone else to pass though-"
"He wants Demetri... or as he likes to call himself now, the Invisible Man," I grumbled, thinking back at our creepy encounter.
"Well then we need to find him," Ness said. I gawked at him for a second.
"How can we, even bring that freak along with us in the first place?!" I asked feeling more frustrated. Ness bit his lip.
"We'll just have to find a way... and hope it works out somehow," Ness replied. I sighed as I sat up, feeling dizzy as I did so. But I was starting to get used to this place.
"He'll show up again... he either wants us to be one of them, or he'll kill us... that's the bet right now... at least that's what he said," I looked at Ness; the neon lights reflecting off his own silhouetted form. For some reason, I didn't feel like arguing with him. We were both mentally lost, as well as physically exhausted already, and the surroundings just didn't help us one bit.
"Ness... nah, I'll save it for when we get out of this mess. Where exactly are we right now anyways?" I asked rubbing my head thinking about the mind boggling things that the Invisible Man revealed.
"I'm not sure myself... but I feel so worn down, it's ridiculous..." He said as he rummaged though his backpack for what looked like a bottle of soda. I sighed.
"I feel like a klutz; my bag has gone missing, nonetheless my bottle rockets are packed away in it too," I told him. Ness paused for a second, until he pointed his finger up, as if he knew the solution, as he detached his baseball bat from his bag.
"You can use this for the time being," He smiled handing me his prized possession. I was skeptical.
"But Ness... don't you need this? It's your bat after all..." I said. Ness snorted.
"What? You don't think I could fend for myself? You don't have any PSI abilities of your own, it's the least I can do until we do find your bag again," He flashed me his usual crooked smile. I sighed out of my nose, looking down at the bat.
"Positive?" I asked.
"Positive," Ness replied. I smiled, taking the bat out of his hand. Now I'm going to look like an enraged baseball fan swinging this around... I thought. "At least I don't have to put my thinking logic in reverse when I talk to you," I told him. Ness looked as if something else dawned on him as he reached into his bag again. Eventually, he dug out something round; it was slightly bigger than a softball.
"I was meaning to give this to you a while back, this was an unused bomb me and Paula found a while back..." My eyes widened.
"You were carrying a bomb with you this entire time?! What if you were caught with one of those, they would have sent you to jail!" I said. Ness's chuckle was nervous as he handed me the bomb, as I examined it.
"Well it's a good thing I didn't get caught, right?" He snickered. I sighed. Ness you dope... I sighed hopelessly.
"Yeah, it's a good thing that you didn't," I told him, shoving the now claimed bomb in one of my pockets, which made the side of my pants budge out slightly. "Now, how are we going to track him down in this place?" I said looking around, until I spotted a box with a ribbon. My eyebrow perked up as Ness walked over to the box.
"Hmm..." Ness noised as he opened the box. We both looked next to each other. Inside was a pendant of some sort; the long gem attached to it looked to be a glossy black. Ness carefully picked it up.
"Why is this box here with a pendant like this?" I asked.
"Someone must have left it here by accident... or by purpose. Do you want it?" Ness asked me. I slipped out the fiery red pendant I hid underneath my white blouse.
"Nah, I still have this that Paula gave me. Why don't you keep it, Ness?" I asked. Ness quickly nodded, forming 'Okay' on his mouth. It was around this time, that we both heard that same laughter again. I frowned.
"We should get going, I said, quickly grabbing Ness's wrist, and walking into an invisible wall with a bang.
"Ouch! What the hell?" I cursed grabbing my forehead, as that same laughter occurred again.
"Jeff, turn around, we have company," Ness told me. When I did, there happened to be another weird abstract painting, waiting for us. Another thing about this journey period... what was with all of these living objects?! Ness started with one of his PSI abilities, while I braced myself with his bat. The strange floating picture started to charge at Ness, while he simply countered. The living painting backed off in a blaze of colors for a slight moment, until it boomeranged back towards me. On that cue, I hit it with the bat, as if it was an incoming ball in a game. The painting went flying, but at the same time, my arms roared in pain. I hissed, for I must have stretched some sort of muscle. Damn it, did I really need to get into shape. At least by this time, the painting was gone, which was sort of odd. We heard him giggle again, and I saw the Invisible Man for a spit second, until he took off again. I growled, grabbing my arm, while Ness sighed.
"Over there... another man in shades. Do you think he'll transport us somewhere else?" Ness asked. I ruffled my hair.
"It's worth a try at least..." And with that, we walked up to the man, until Ness halted me to a stop.
"Look..." Ness spoke in awe pointing to the distance. When I noticed what he was talking about, my eyes widened.
In front of the Moonside version of what had to be the Monotolli building was none other than Monotoli himself and now we could finally see what exactly he was chanting to.
"... The Mani Mani statue..." Ness said as he tried making his way there, only to be caught by an invisible boundary. Ness cursed under his breath, gazing in the distance.
"...You remember why the Mani Mani statue must be destroyed, right?" Ness asked me. I was sure as to why, but I still shook my head no.
"It's what Giygas uses... to contact and brainwash our world..." I took note at his suggestion.
"I still have no idea who or what this Giygas is though..." I replied. Ness nodded slowly.
"Come on, let's go talk to this guy," Ness said as we made our way towards the man in shades again. Ness was the first to ask.
"Hello?" Ness asked. The man lowered his glasses and cast his eyes to both of us.
"Hello... and... goodbye," He spoke before I grasped Ness's hand and we were off through another blaze of speed and light.
---
We suddenly ended up somewhere else on the outskirts of Moonside. We both stumbled at first. Getting back to our senses, I didn't realize I was still holding Ness's wrist until he struggled out of my grip. I let go immediately.
"I'm sorry... I just didn't want us to get separated again," I said sheepishly. Ness snorted.
"Haha... are you scared of this place?" Ness teased. I was baffled at his suggestion.
"Scared? Why would I be scared?" I asked. Ness giggled.
"You seemed scared when you saw that alien in the department store, your face was white and your jaw was dropped to the floor. You looked like the masked killer from that 'scream' movie... cept more scared looking," The more Ness spoke the more he laughed as he looked at my changing expressions. He just knew the perfect times to poke fun at me, didn't he?
"Ha... you should have seen your face when we found Monotoli in Jackie's Cafe, you looked more than pale, you were purple," I replied back smirking evilly as Ness frowned slightly.
"Nuhu-" Ness started.
"Yahuh." I replied.
"Nuhuh..."
"Yahuh..."
"...Yahuh..."
"Exactly-?"
"JEFF, WATCH OUT!!!" Ness screamed on the top of his lungs, pointing out in the distance. He seemed so serious as my heart skipped a beat, quickly facing the direction he pointed in, as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. However, when I collected myself again, bluntly seeing nothing but pitch blackness ahead of us, Ness started to laugh again, as I started to feel my blood rise up to a boil. Keeping Paula in mind however, I kept my temper down around him as much as possible.
"That was not funny at all," I stated, but Ness only laughed harder. I growled to myself.
"Ness, this isn't a time for fun and games, we could be targeted right now, and we need to get to that Mani Mani statue, whether we need the Invisible Man or not." Ness whipped his eyes; he must have had a good laugh. I was sure my cheeks were a flame out of embarrassment and the more I realized it, the more I frowned and eventually closed my eyes. Thankfully, the darkness that was Moonside made it less noticeable.
"Let's just go," I spoke stubbornly walking towards another man in shades.
"Hey, wait for me!" Ness giggled as he caught up to me. I temporarily ignored him, walking by as my eyes spotted what looked like a belt that could be used for something. With that I picked it up without a second thought and was off towards the man in shades.
"Should I hold your hand?" Ness asked more innocently with a hint of laughter, but I was sure that he didn't mean it. Yet again, I didn't respond, as I said hello to the man. Ness was silent for a moment, until I caught him by surprise by grabbing his wrist again.
"Hello... and... goodbye..." He said as we were off again in oblivion.
---
This time when we stumbled again, a strange lady watched us bewildered at our goofy fashion. Ness let go, as he brought up a hand to tentatively say hi to the lady. We were somewhat confused when she spoke to us.
"Before the soup get's cold, we must care for Mani Mani. Before the knife gets rusty, we must care for Mani Mani," She told us, which was somewhat odd to us. Ness and I looked at each other. Was Mani Mani some sort of god to these people as well?
Ness and I ventured further though this little section again, finding what spaces was real and what others were walls. Both of us were quiet now, which I was personally thankful for, as for I was still ticked off at the situation before hand. Eventually, we ran into, oddly enough a secret herb lying in a spare shopping bag that someone must have forgotten to pick up. Ness placed the herb in his back pack. We spotted a different looking man, but we decided to speak with him anyways.
"Hello and goodbye... should I?" He asked lowering his hat to greet us both. Ness and I flashed glances until I nodded as we both held hands.
"No," I responded.
"Well then... goodbye!" He smiled as we were off again. I could have sworn that more of this teleportation was going to blow parts of my brain out of my skull. While we teleported, I heard the Invisible Man's laughter again in the back of my mind.
---
I felt like we managed to progress in one big circle once we ended up in that door-less room. It looked exactly like the room I woke up in with the Invisible Man, excluding the fact that this time, we were literally trapped in here. There was a strange man with a mohock, who grumbled when he saw us.
"Now how'd you two kids get in here? Can't you see I'm doing nothing? So please don't bother me right now," He said as he walked into a corner and crouched down. Ness looked at me in question, but I could only respond by shrugging. Ness walked up to the man, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"I told you that I was busy doing nothing right now!" He said. Was this an insane institute or something?
"Excuse me... how do we get out of here?" Ness asked. The man paused.
"Mmmm, too busy right now, why don't you ask the gentleman on the other side of this room." Ness looked over to me.
"You can see him, right?" He said before turning back to his... nothingness. Ness scanned his eyes across the room around me. His eyes widened slightly. It was then that I started to hear him laughing again, this time sounding more insane than ever. I turned around, and saw his shady figure, curled on the floor as he rocked back and forth; his knees were withdrawn and his toothy grin shimmered in the darkness.
"Alright, enough of this. We found you; Ness and I are back together, there's not much you can do now," I told him. However he kept snickering to himself, as he shivered. The way he did so was starting to scare is in a way..."
"Hey... Invisible Man... or whatever you go by... if we do something for you, would you help us get pass the sailor?" Ness asked politely. When I glanced over to him, he winced once we both heard his voice. It sounded like he was chanting...
"Yes... that's right... Giygas... Giygas..." My eyes widened, I was sure Ness's did the same.
"G... Giygas you said?" Ness asked in a shaken tone. However, the Invisible Man kept chanting to himself, as if he really had gone mentally insane from everything.
"Stop them... stop them you say?" We were frozen stiff, especially when he finally had the guts to stand up. His unfocused red eyes went from mine, then to Ness. I braced myself.
"What about... Giygas?" Ness questioned the man. The Invisible Man then cocked his head to the side, and he reached his arm out, and started to take a step forward.
"Ness you say? Yes... we must stop Ness... kill Ness... stop Ness..." He said, reaching out for Ness's shoulder. I grabbed out my knife and pointed it at him, as I swiftly blocked Ness from this strange man's actions.. For some odd reason, I possibly felt overprotective, but I didn't want to take any chances in any way. This had really gotten out of hand, and at this time, he had really lost it.
"Don't you dare touch him..." I ordered. Both of them looked at me, as the Invisible Man withdrew his hand slowly. All three of us stood there, with no words, just staring that the lost man, as he looked down; his long dark curly hair now covered most of his face. Eventually, he faded away into the darkness, murmuring to himself. It was so low that it was indecipherable.
"...Jeff... he..." I was unresponsive, looking at the spot where the Invisible Man stood.
"... Let's go... we don't need him to get into that place we can find our own way in, "Ness said as he started to walk away. After another moment, I slowly complied, as we talked to the other man in the corner so we could get out.
Something terribly wrong was happening... and I still wasn't even clear as to what awaited us later on...
---
We ended up in a hotel room when we were teleported out. Ness and I looked around us suspiciously.
"I don't like this..." I said.
"Me neither..." Being as careful as possible we turned the door knob, and made our way down the incandescently lit hallway. Ness looked behind us. Both of us felt as if we were being followed. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Just keep moving forward... don't look back," I told him, feeling a lump in my throat. Ness silently complied.
---
When we were both out on the street's making our way towards the area where I spoke to that man, I finally muttered something.
"I wonder who else in this city happens to have a golden tooth we could flash the sailor and blind him so we can get passed him," I said sounding sarcastic. Ness was about to speak, until we were interrupted.
"Haha, you two shouldn't even try... he doesn't want to see just any gold tooth," We heard that familiar voice speak out loud. Both of us started to pick up the pace even faster now; the people around us looking at us with odd expressions as we passed by.
"And my uni-brow is one of a kind. Face it, you two are through."
Oh god... I thought to myself, as we kept walking, closely sholder to shoulder.
---
Eventually, when we got to the point with the sailor man, he was already gone from that spot.
"What's..." Ness started until he picked his pace up to a jog passed me.
"Ness, wait!" I hollered at him as I chased after him.
When I was finally able to catch up to him, he stood silently, gazing at what was now in front of us.
Apparently, Monotolli hadn't left after all, and he was facing us; his horrified face shining on his facial features, as he scanned his nervous doe eyes back and forth between us. This time however, I got to get a good look at the Mani Mani statue itself; I didn't realize how much I was actually shivering from the sight of it.
It was definitely a golden statue alright, but something scary and evil rafted from it and Ness was way more aware of it than me, I was sure. The way the statue looked... I could have sworn it was looking straight at us with its glittering pupil less eyes.
It looked like a bright and shining demon; its long horns on its head extended another good four feet above its head, though the statue was just tall anyways. It stood on a stand and its arms were crossed, as it held what looked like some sort of staff. The more I looked at it the more my mind became hazy, strange, and it didn't help the fact that it looked like...
"No... no... not you... not you two, stay away from me!" Monotolli yelled as Ness took a step forward. It sounded like Monotolli wasn't trying to speak like a resident from Moonside just by judging by his expression. The more Ness tried to emerge to him.
"Just tell me... where is Paula Polestar?" Ness asked as calmly as possible though his voice sounded rather strange. Monotolli took three more big steps back.
"No... you're mistaken... I'm not Monotolli... I'm not Monotolli!!" He shouted as he started to run. All the sudden though, he vanished, as I heard Ness gasp. When I looked back at the glittering statue, the Invisible Man was standing on the infamous Mani Mani's head. His laughter was wild, and daunting.
"See? This was fun, wasn't it? I was nice to you two by getting rid of that man that blocked the path to get here. Cept, were nearing the end..." He grinned evilly. Ness frowned at this, I could tell.
"What has your purpose been this entire time?!" Ness asked squeezing his fists.
"Tsk tsk tsk... Ness... I'm only doing something that everyone else against you has always been doing... Giygas gave me, as well as many others the role to stop you in your journeys. I'm only pursuing that order." He grinned, as his tooth sparkled. "So let's see… with this be a farewell… or a farewell? We'll see how you two rats play this game," He snickered as he touched the Mani Mani statue. Ness and I flinched.
Somehow, the statue repelled him, and the Invisible Man flew off into the distance and tumbled across the ground, right passed Ness and I. Ness exhaled nervously as we both turned to him. At first, we thought that he was dead, until he managed to utter a laugh.
"Gah… gahahaha… gahahahahahahahahahaha!!!" He started to laugh, as he held his forehead on his knees. Ness frowned, and paced his way up to him, only to be stopped when the Invisible Man disappeared again. It was then that we both clenched our ears from a random screech. Both of us spun around quickly, where I found myself to be momentarily paralyzed.
All the sudden, the Evil Mani Mani's eyes started to glow a brilliant cyan. Trying to keep a certain thought from entering my mind, I watched as the Mani Mani's head twitched to the side with a crack to the neck. Ness backed up passed me, but my feet were glued stuck, and my breath was caught. Mani Mani stood tall, taller than the both of us and most of the street signs. Its arms slowly parted from its chest, and it held its staff out. Its eyes looked straight at my own. I was petrified, frozen in fear.
"Kill… Ness and Jeff…" I heard the inhumane voice in my head speak. My mind felt like shattering.
It was only all because of the memories I had of the astronaut in the park, flashing back to me. So the more that similar fear kept rising inside of me, the more I stood silently, gawking up at Mani Mani. Eyes wide and chest caught, I watched as the statue rose out its stalf; a bright and shining light started to form. The situation was just all too familiar.
"Jeff!!" Ness must have tackled me to the ground out of the way, as I tumbled to the ground with a thud. I felt momentarily blind and I could feel tears welling on the corners of my eyes.
"Get up you idiot!!" Ness ordered as he tried dragging me up to my feet. My legs felt like spaghetti and my eye sight was hazier than it had to be. I felt dizzy as I felt Ness dragging me as we ran. Shaking my head, I tried looking up at the now living statue that reminded me of the astronaut; maybe they didn't look exactly alike, but they were similar enough. There was another flash, though this time it came from a beam that I assumed shot from the tip of its staff.
"Jeff, please stop stalling!!" Ness half ranted, half begged from me shaking my shoulders. I shook my head again; I was at loss of thoughts and words. I could tell, by finally looking at him, Ness's eyes were filled with worry, anger and something else. It was then that there was another flash of light, as both of us separated with a loud and strong force.
I tumbled with a painful thud on the same arm that I slightly injured earlier. I tried getting up as fast I could, until I felt someone's foot step on the side of my ribs, trailing towards my hand that was flat on the ground. Looking up, it was the Invisible Man again. As he twisted his foot, grinding my hand into the ground, I yelped in pain.
"You're useless..." He told me in a monotone voice. I growled.
"You're pissing me off," I replied, hearing Ness yelp while I cringed. I heard him chuckled, as I finally had it. Swinging my left leg up as far as it could go; I managed to kick the now visible Demetri like man in the back of the knee, forcing him onto the ground. I took this opportunity to shoot back up on my feet, and point my knife at him. Looking around me, I tried spotting the bat I must have accidentally dropped when we were blown apart. Looking back down at the Invisible Man, he chuckled nervously.
"Seriously scientist, what can you do? You're useless without your tools and your thinking logic won't be enough to save you," He told me flashing his golden tooth.
"Well then I want answers, you cheapskate!" I roared at him.
"What can I ever offer? I thought we already played this game-"
"Yes, you got your answers, now I want mine. If you really are Demetri, if you wrote that letter to us in the hostel and IF you did work for Pokey and Monotolli, then you must know where they are hiding Paula Polestar!!!" I stated more than questioned as he snickered under his breath. The light that shown from Mani Mani created dancing shadows on his features. I heard Ness run up to me.
"What the-"
"Were you part of the reason why she's missing? Was that you little magic trick? Or is this freak house of a fucking city your magic trick? Remember? Way back in hostel? Was this the magic trick you were so eager to show me?!" I started to walk around him. Ness seemed to gawk at us in horror. It was a matter of moments when the Invisible Man started to howl in laughter.
"You... tell me..." Ness asked, as his voice sounded weak.
"Ness, stay back," I tried ordering, but Ness got on his knees to grab the Invisible Man's shirt.
"Where is she?! Is Pokey hiding her? Or is she with Monotolli?!" Ness asked trying to conceal a snarl. I winced at his spurt of anger and sadness. The way the Invisible Man sneered in Ness's face made me shiver slightly.
"Well prodigy... you should worry about your own lives before worrying about the safety of one of your pitiful friends, now shouldn't you?" He said before disappearing for the very last time. Ness searched around him frantically.
"Where is he?!" Ness questioned before we turned back to Mani Mani, who had just gotten back slowly to its feet.
"What do we do..." I mumbled feeling that similar fear welling up in my chest again. Mani Mani took a moment to stare at us intentionally, until it aimed its stalf at us, glossy eyes glowing blue again. As I was about to jump out of the way, Ness jumped in front of me and countered his attack with his own special PSI abilities.
"Ness!" I exclaimed.
"Go find my bat!" Ness told me, as he pushed me out of the way, jumping the opposite way as another beam of light shot at us. As quickly as I could, I got back up, feeling my wobbly legs barely giving way.
"But Ness!"
"I can take care of him in the mean time!" Ness said. I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at him and nodded. I was sick and tired, just watching from the sidelines as he'd put himself in danger. I felt more useless than ever... just like the Invisible Man said. And the fact that my childhood fears kept crawling in the back of my mind made me feel more pathetic than I should.
I shook my head before scanning the practically black ground for any sign of Ness's bat as the brutal fight between Mani Mani and Ness prevailed. I kept glancing back; anxious and worried if Mani Mani would get the upper hand. Another flash occurred, and I quickly covered my eyes, feeling more tears well up. It was just all too much.
Every time though, for some reason as Mani Mani kept lighting up the atmosphere, the ground looked more like a floor and I could have sworn that I saw boxes around us. But I ignored that and focused on what was important; his bat I thought.
Finally, after the third blinding flash, the bat was revealed, closer to Mani Mani than I intentionally planned. Feeling chicken, but brave at the same time, I stepped closer to Mani Mani and the bat. I quickly reached down to grab it. It was then that Mani Mani faced me again; its eyes felt paralyzing as I momentarily froze. It pointed its staff just then.
"Jeff!!" Ness's cry was enough to shake me out of my reverie as I managed to dash out of the way as another beam blasted away like a bullet. Using more of his PSI abilities, Mani Mani was shaken up as Ness attacked it. Mani Mani however managed to take a step closer to Ness. Ness extended his arms out in attempt to attack again, but nothing happened. By this time, Mani Mani stomped closer to Ness and he backed up, looking up at the Mani Mani, eyes wide in horror. I wasn't sure what happened to me then or why, but something energizing rose in my veins and I felt enraged. Thinking back at the situation, it might have been just because of what Mani Mani ultimately reminded me of.
Looking at Ness's bat, I thought of how Ness used to swing at random encounters we had randomly run across in our journey so far. He was gifted at it and while he seemed graceful at the sport of baseball, I barely appreciated it until now. I tightened my grip on the bat as I let my other hand sneak into my pocket as I pulled out the bomb.
"Hey!" I yelled at Mani Mani. It froze momentarily; slowly turning its cromatic head towards me. It felt like time had stopped then and it gave me a moment to think about what I was about to do. I raised the bomb up to my mouth and with my teeth, pulled out the small stick that kept the bomb from ticking. I prayed then that I was able to pull something risky like this off. But what could I say, I was reckless period and I was known for it back at school.
"You leave him alone," I told it, as I tossed the bomb up; quickly grasping the bat; when the bomb came falling back down, I bit my lip as I tried to make this swing my strongest one, ignoring my stretched muscle as I set the bomb flying towards Mani Mani.
The collision between the flying bomb and Mani Mani set off fireworks, as the statue fell to the ground; it's glossy complexion cracking on the spot once the smoke cleared. Mani Mani struggled on its knees, as it tried to collect the little strength it had left to get back up. Around this time, the atmosphere around us spun slowly and faded inside out. I managed to walk up to the statue, as so did Ness slowly. I glanced at Ness's trembling fists that he held to his sides.
"Woudl you like to do the honors?" I asked him, handing him his rightful bat. Ness was wordless as he practically snatched the bat angrily out of my grasp and held it high above his head, taking one last look at the evil Mani Mani that he had faced though his journey, even before I joined the party. Ness roared angrily as he started to aggressively whack Mani Mani senseless, feeling myself slightly flinch as shards went flying and the atmosphere shifting around us. Ness took one last cry and managed to hit a smashing swing, which made the Evil Mani Mani's body break in half. Everything around us twisted at blinding speed, as it faded away, hearing Ness's angry pants to go along with it...
---
Everything that was once Moonside was now gone and it seemed like hours as we stood in the back storage room in Jackie's Cafe where we last were. I could hear the faint jazz music from the Jukebox playing in the back ground, behind the sound of Ness's heavy breathing as he dropped the baseball bat, making a loud set of metallic clanks. I felt more dizzy and lost than ever and I was sure that Ness felt the exact same way.
All we could do then in that dimly lit room was stare blankly at the broken statue that lay in front of us. I raised a hand to grasp my head while I could see Ness fall to his knees on the corner of my eye.
"That... that was it? It was all just a mirage...?" Ness managed to utter. I was silent, sighing out my nose and closing my eyes. Another moment of silence.
"I was... so close... so close to finding out where... where Paula..." Ness's words sounded muffled, as if he was about to cry. It was then that I couldn't help but feel sympathy. He needed her more than ever. And because of that, I felt barely significant.
"Ness..." I spoke softly, feeling my sight spin as I tilted my head down towards him. He still stared at the shattered statue with his blank teary eyes. He was out of words as he tried to fight off tears. I inwardly cringed, I hated to be the one to try and cheer one up; I wasn't sure exactly what the right thing was to do. I sighed.
"We won't make any progress finding her if we stay here and mope," I told him in a strange tone. Ness turned his head slightly away from me. I frowned at this.
"Hey... look at it this way at least we destroyed the Mani Mani statue... right?" I said feeling my voice falter. Ness rubbed his eyes as he slowly nodded his head. It didn't mean that I made any progress at cheering him up. This was going to be tough, I thought.
"Do... do you need help getting up?" I asked somewhat shyly. Ness nodded slightly as he tried to get up on his knees, somewhat struggling in the process. The best I could do then was to offer my hand to his. He sloppily accepted it as I gripped him more firmly to drag him up to his feet. And unlike back in Moonside when he did so for me successfully, I wasn't too good at the art.
When Ness finally did get on his feet, he stumbled a bit backwards. Our eyes widened as I tried keeping him up by pulling him back towards me. When I did, I must have done it enough to where he stumbled a bit towards me, colliding into me as his forehead lightly rammed into my collar bone. I felt my cheeks heat up once we were this intimately close and my heart rate sped up, faster than when I was with the Invisible Man.
Ness used my body as a propping tool as he grabbed my arms to try and stand up straight. His cheeks looked flushed as well and it was as I looked at him when I felt one of my knee's give way again. This time I grabbed Ness's shoulder to keep me up, but in the end, we both tumbled back onto the floor, as it felt like the same scenario from the hostel was repeating itself again.
I fell on my back while Ness tumbled on top of my side. I felt my glasses fall out of line as I let off a strangled sigh. Ness stirred on top of me, as I hoped to god that we weren't as close as we were the last time. Feeling my lips curve into my mouth, I squinted once I saw Ness's face hovering a good few inches above me. I looked up at him, not sure what my facial expression looked like, but Ness's looked rather odd. And when he let off a snort, I think I knew why.
"Wha-?" I slightly questioned as Ness snorted again, looking away as he started to snicker to himself. It took me a second until I let off a small chuckle. It was a silent kind of humor between us, but our dizzy drunk behavior was enough to make our snickers turn into full, real laughter as Ness plopped next to me on his back. We both sighed as we looked at the ceiling. Just the fact that we ironically sighed was enough to make me fall into another period of laughter, and Ness followed it.
It felt like an hour went by, though it was probably only ten minutes or so. I turned my head to the side, as I saw a mouse scurry by, taking one glance at our humorously pathetic appearance. I chuckled.
"I bet that mouse thinks we're crazy," I commented. Ness replied with a snort.
"It's probably been thinking that for a while now." Feeling more strength in my system, I sat up. Looking across the room, I spotted something I had worried about looking for in Moonside.
"There's my bag," I spoke out loud, getting up onto my feet with a lot more ease now as I dusted my pants off.
"Well that kinda sucks, how it shows up now that you don't need it at the moment," Ness told me as he still lay on the floor. I picked up my bag and wrapped the strap around my shoulder.
"Jeff...?" Ness asked.
"Yeah?"
"... Do you think we'll find Paula soon?" He asked me. I felt the corner of my mouth curve down slightly.
"Well... we'll never find out if we keep stalling inside this room. Need real help this time getting on your feet?" I asked him. Ness's lazy eyes met mine.
"Only if you mean it," He replied, as if I had broken a forgiven promise before.
"I do..." I replied sheepishly strolling over to his side to offer my hand. This time, he grabbed it with strength and determination. Ness got up successfully on his feet this time. We looked at each other for a second, eye to eye. His tears were dried up and he flashed me a cocky grin.
"Let's get out of here," Ness said as he got his bat and walking passed me. I looked at his back; he still wore my white button down shirt. Shaking my head, I followed him not long after.
---
"Do you sell any sort of yogurt here? Specifically trout flavored yogurt?" We saw a lady in her early twenties asking the bar tender.
"Umm... sorry?" He replied with an upset; confused expression. The blond lady sulked a bit as she made her way towards the door. When the bar tender spotted us, he looked a bit baffled, but he said nothing. Ness and I exchanged glances as we shrugged. As we ventured through the cafe; jazz music filling the air, another ring filled our ears.
"Oh!" Ness exclaimed as he took his backpack and rummaged through it, taking out the receiver phone.
"Hello? Hi, Apple Kid..." Apple Kid again, eh? I scoffed to myself, remembering him praising my so called father.
"Wait what... seriously? But why would I even... care? ... You're sending it to us... by neglected class? ...O...kay..." Ness said before hanging up the phone.
"It sounds like he's having some technical difficulties. But he said he was sending us a gourmet yogurt machine..." Ness said. I raised my eyebrow.
"Hey young lad, did you just say something about a yogurt machine?" A man sitting at a nearby table asked. Ness glanced at me nervously.
"Yeah...?
"Well, did you just see that young lady that was just here? Her name is Electra I believe... I think she's looking for a machine that makes yogurt, though I'm not sure why. She's especially looking for one that can produce trout flavored yogurt." He explained. Ness's eyes widened slightly.
"Do you know where she's heading, or where she lives?" He asked. However, the man shook his head.
"All I know is that she works over in the Monotolli building... I think she works for that Pokey Minch guy everyone's been talking about." Both of us momentarily froze. Ness nodded.
"Thank you for telling me all you know," He told him before we made our way out of Jackie's Cafe for the final time.
---
Once we stepped out into the setting sunlight, I squinted. But Ness seemed to flinch as something rushed passed us and crashed into the wall. My eyebrows perked up.
"What was that?" I asked out loud. Looking passed Ness, we saw what I believed looked like a monkey, covered in black burnt soot. The wall it crashed in was covered in a ring of burnt black. Ness walked up to the monkey without a second thought, me however being a bit tentative. The monkey shook its fur and looked at both of us. It then started to make hand gestures and making noises. I had no idea what it was trying to tell us, but Ness studied the creature carefully.
"Someone's... waiting for us?" Ness spoke out loud. The monkey nodded, pointing out in the distance.
"... An oasis in the middle of the desert? Uhhh... we could swing by over there sometime..." Ness sounded a little unsure. My jaw could have dropped from the fact that he was communicating with a monkey, but with his other special abilities, it was to be expected. I suddenly remembered that strange monkey up in Winters, the one that loved to blow bubble gum and used it practically as a helium balloon.
"A cave? ... Okay..." Ness spoke as the monkey looked like it was bracing itself for something big. In a matter of moments, the monkey took off at lightning speed; wincing as it crashed into a nearby tree. But it only picked itself up and took off again.
"What the hell?" I spoke out loud as we heard someone panting behind us. Ness and I spun around quickly to see a tuckered out chubby man holding an empty bag.
"Hello... I'm Escargo Express's neglected class... umm... about your package... I kinda forgot it in the desert when I spoke to a sunbathing guy," He chuckled nervously.
"What?" Ness didn't sound too happy.
"Well... what could I do? It doesn't matter now... if you really want that gourmet yogurt machine, I suggest you go find it yourself... -gasp- ..." He gasped on air as he tumbled into the bar. Ness growled.
"Great, I guess it looks like we'll be walking to the desert now," Ness grunted looking around us.
"Isn't it possible that we could just take the bus there? I remember a bus stop there anyways... we're tired... and if we keep ourselves in each others clothes, we shouldn't be as noticeable, right?" I mentioned. Ness took a moment to soak my words in.
"Yeah... I guess you could say that," Ness smiled ruffling his black hair with his hand. "Let's go find a bus stop then-"
"Wait!" We heard a lady holler behind us. We both sighed and turned around; I hoped it wasn't someone that was suspicious of our appearance. When we saw her, it looked like the same lady from Jackie's Cafe. She panted, resting her hands on her knees once she caught up to us.
"Let me guess... is your name Electra or something like that?" I asked her. Something clicked in her expression.
"Yes in fact... wow you must be pretty good with names; I've never met you before..." She looked at us suspiciously. Shaking her head, she continued without a second thought.
"Anyways, I was hoping you two could help me out. You see... I overhead you thee talking about a yogurt machine... does it happen to make trout flavored yogurt by any chance?" She asked making a prayer gesture. Ness and I looked at each other.
"Yeah... it does, but we don't have it now..." Ness explained. She sighed.
"I see... I was hoping to serve some trout flavored yogurt to a special guest that's supposed to appear at the Monotolli building... I happen to be one of the maids there." Ness's eyes widened.
"Wait a second... what would you pay us if we got you that gourmet yogurt machine?" Ness asked.
"Well... I'm not quite sure... I could make you some yogurt at least," She smiled sheepishly. Ness's mouth curved up.
"I know... if you want that yogurt machine... could you let us up on the higher floors of the Monotolli tower?" Ness asked. Electra looked a bit confused at first.
"Well... I was actually hoping you'd deliver it to me there... this is one of my very few days off after all," She explained. Ness looked interested; it was easy to know why. It was as if everything was suddenly falling into our laps, like the sign of golden hope we've been searching for.
"What floor do you reside on?" Ness asked.
"The 48th floor. You'll have to take the private elevator to get up there. So just show them this note with my signature as well as Monotolli's and you'll be golden when you get up there," She winked before walking away.
"Thank you; I hope to see you there, I've been searching and searching everywhere..." She said before walking off.
"Jeff..."
"Yeah?"
"... Let's catch the closest and soonest bus... we're going back to the desert," He told me confidently with a grin. I couldn't help but smile; this was the most enthusiasm he's shown in quite a while, I thought.
"Of course... let's get going," I smiled back as we were finally off again.
---
We waited and waited at the bus stop; silence rising between us. I was sure that both of us were itching to break that silence; there was so much to be said and asked! But as much as I wouldn't have loved to asked, I was quiet, for I wasn't sure how to form any words at the moment.
"Hey..."
"Hmmm?"
"... Remember our first night here?" Ness asked me.
"Yeah?"
"Well... what did you and Demetri talk about when you went to go and find him?" Ness asked. One of the things I wished he wouldn't have asked, but I should have known it was going to be brought up one of these days. I sighed.
"Well... I went to find him, because I didn't like how he treated you. You know how he treated you, he just... my suspicions were correct though." Ness knew exactly what I meant and at a certain degree, he probably knew more.
"... Do you really think he was the Invisible Man?" Ness asked as we both saw the bus approaching us. It took a moment for me to reply as the bus slowed in front of us.
"Even so... I guess it really doesn't matter now... he's out of the picture now. Let's just hope it stays like that," I told him, offering him to go in before me. Ness nodded and complied.
As we made our way towards the near back of the bus, Ness sat by the window while I sat next to him. We didn't say much more after that; we were both seemingly exhausted. I watched the scenery that was Fourside... happily knowing we were free from Moonside as I felt the bus rock me to sleep.