A/N: I want to thank of course, Pure-White-Angel22, the Leander, Orkidee, Margariita, DanMat6288, and Netus Versatus for the reviews on my last chapter! As well as thanks to all of those that have read this series and enjoyed it so far! You guys are awesome in my book! I'm also going to go ahead and try to edit the things that Netus pointed out in the last chapter, though I should do that with most of my past chapters. xc As for Margariita's question about if Jeff was jealous or not. He actually isn't and if it seemed like he was jealous of Paula, I apologize for making it look like that! xD He just feels bad for Ness missing his only other friend with PSI powers. xP
I also want to specifically thank Sashie and Yuku on this chapter especially for helping me out with my momentary writer's block. So this chapter will be dedicated to you two especially! So I hope this chapter came out alright! Cx
I'm not going to have too long of an author's note right now, but to say ahead of time, this chapter while it doesn't have much to any action in it at all, some of the things in here are pretty important in the long run. I also wanted to get this up before a whole month passed by. I'll try to see if I can get the next chapter up anytime soon.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!
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I was seven at the time when I built my first bottle rocket from scratch. It was a science project made for eighth graders, but Maxwell insisted, he told me he needed to know what he was going to teach when the time came along, and I would have to know someday as well. Of course, I needed Maxwell's help then, but it was all worth the while. I stayed over my half an hour trial that I had to waste, for me and Maxwell decided to test the rocket out on the roof. It was after school on Friday, which meant that I still needed to spend a half an hour with Maxwell after class, not for detention they said, but I think it was their way of putting me into some kind of 'rehab.'
There was a door on the ceiling with a string in Maxwell's room. When you pulled it, a ladder leading outside on the roof would come down; of course along with it, some piles of snow as well.
"Let's see what this sucker can do, shall we?" Maxwell snickered to me. When I climbed up the snow covered ladder, I smiled as I could see and feel the sun setting. It was bright, and filled with a glow that reflected off of the shimmering snow from the roof, the frost covered trees and the snow down below on the boarding school grounds. I hadn't seen a sunset this pink and orange in a long time. Though the soft, cold breeze was refreshing, it still reminded me that I wasn't back where I used to live. I looked down, leaning against the brick railing as I saw kids my age playing, doing homework, or just hanging out.
"Wanna help me set up the rocket, Jeff?" Maxwell asked sincerely. I nodded silently, my smile shown just slightly. I was still a rather quiet kid at the time.
It was just a matter of setting the rocket on the stand, and aiming it up towards the nearby lake, just in case if it malfunctioned in any way. Maxwell took out a packet of matches.
"Wanna do the honors?" Maxwell asked handing me the packet of matches. I gave him the most bewildered look I have ever expressed. I think it was also the most I had spoken all day.
"You're going to let a young kid like me light a match, and risk the school burning up? I've never lit a match before..." I asked. Maxwell shrugged casually, moving his short chestnut brown hair out of his ear.
"Yeah, why not? Here, I'll show you," Maxwell said kneeling besides me to hold my hands into his. I shivered from the contact for it was something I still wasn't used to. With his own hands, he guided mine as I was able to light my very first match.
"Light that sucker, bad boy!" Maxwell told me as I quickly brought the flame to the tip of the string. Once it sparked, I blew my match out instantly, and dropped it in a nearby pile of snow. We watched in both excitement, and fear as it flew off, successfully to the lake, making a crash landing into the water from afar. Maxwell literally stood on the very edge of the building to put his hand over his eyes to see the rocket's last moments in the pond. The trail of smoke steadily broke apart from the slight breeze. He whistled.
"Looks like we did it fairly well, Jeff; that was some crash landing!" Maxwell grinned down to me. I grinned myself as he ruffled my blond hair. His bright teeth reflected the soft pink glowing sky.
"Job well done, bad boy, you're the only kid in this entire school that has lit their first bottle rocket at the age of seven, let alone built one!" I didn't really say anything, but he knew by my cheesy grin that I was proud in some way, shape or form. Maxwell chuckled at my silly appearance.
"Hey… can you keep the fact that I let a seven year old light a match a secret?" He asked sheepishly, as he rubbed the back of his neck. I nodded cheekily. Maxwell and I looked up to the pink sky.
"You know… at this rate, you'll become more brilliant than your father, I just know it."
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The Universe Will Die Without You
Chapter 15 The Flying Boy
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It took me a little bit to register that I was on a bus when I became conscious from slumber. It seemed dark enough to where some of the bus lights would be on. My half lidded eyes wandered the back of the seat in front of me while I rested my head on the side of something. Yawning and stretching my arms out, whatever my head leaned on started to stir. My eyes snapped open in surprise as I sat up somewhat swiftly. Looking to the right of me, leaning next to the bus window was Ness; eyes closed as he let off a sigh out of his nose. It took me a little bit to register this into my head as well.
Was I really leaning my head on his shoulder this entire time? I thought embarrassingly to myself. Trying to ignore what I probably did, I let my eyes wander silently around the bus. Looking outside, it was still dark and by checking my watch, it was around five o clock in the morning. There were only a few people on the bus still. I sighed, as I let the back of my head rest against the seat, when I finally traveled my sight over to Ness.
It was easy to say now that my life has been everything but normal. What was even worse was that while it was far from normal, it still hardly made any sense to me. It had been in the back of my mind for my entire life, but it was only now that I was starting to accept any of this change. It was as if the scenario with me starting boarding school was repeating itself over again, except in a contrasting fashion of course. I looked down at my hands now.
It was hard for me to imagine… that I was someone extraordinary. However, I always denied myself for being normal either, just because of who I was and what I've gone through. In that sense, this journey made me feel as if I had found; or am finding a part of me that I have lost. Maybe it was this out of the box feeling that has left me dumbfounded for weeks.
"I haven't built or repaired anything useful in a long while…" I mutely mumbled on my lips. I wasn't sure how long; probably a few minutes, that I studied my now pulsing, stronger hands.
"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." The Invisible man repeated in my mind.
If this was true… it could explain a bit; how I was able to figure things out better than most of my classmates. It also explained how I could also tell what was wrong with Tony… if he was ever feeling down. It also would explain why I was traveling with Ness… and Paula if we ever got her back. But it still boggled me to why. Why do I wield these eyes? What is the evil; Giygas that I am supposed to seek? What will this Giygas do if I don't help them stop it? Maybe I needed to look at the situation in a different pair of lenses… My eyes drifted over to Ness again.
Yet again, he looked as peaceful as always when he slept. The more I looked at him, the more I wondered about what the Invisible Man… no, what Demetri told me and why he was so eager to figure out Ness in the first place. He must have figured that Ness would be able to seek the Mani Mani statue with ease, so in return; I guessed he would have used him either way…
But then yet... if he didn't use Ness, then how did he end up in Moonside? My mind focused on this question for a while. I figured it had to be Monotoli, Pokey, or maybe even Giygas that led him to his precious statue. I wondered, in the end, did he get what he wanted? And whether or not, was he just his own shady character, or did he affiliate with us or them? My eyes focused on Ness's passive sleeping face.
… I was always curious, even when I first met Ness. What was everything like through his eyes? What did he see when looking into Demetri… to Paula… at me? What did he see when he looked in my eyes? Maybe it was the same thing with me… I couldn't see his weakness clearly; was it possible that he couldn't see my sins for the same unknown reasons? My mind started to wander again.
"So Jeff… isn't he gorgeous?" Pokey spoke in my mind.
… Ultimately… what did he see when he looked at Pokey Minch? Come to think of it… what did I see? He was another one that was seemingly unreadable. Maybe it was because he knew our abilities? No… maybe there was something else. All I could remember from looking into his eyes was pure chaos… so much that it was frightening and infuriating. Studying Ness again, I came to another conclusion. It was obvious… he spoke about Ness a lot and how he did so was just merely… Maybe… possibly… was Ness Pokey's ultimate weakness? If so… why?
That was when my eyes finally trailed down to Ness's lap, noticing a notebook that he must have been carrying. My eye brow perked up the more I studied the lined paper, doodled over in what looked like crayons. Did Ness like to color once and a while? Carefully, I took the notebook into my hands without waking him up, and flipped through the pages. The first page read in big red and yellow letters, The Flying Man. The Flying Man? I turned the page to find them doodled over by multiple drawn pictures of what looked like a humanoid yellow bird with red and golden feathers flying though the sky, and saving a crashing plane. The next page showed the Flying Man perched on top of a tall mountain. My mouth curved slightly. This was probably a fictional character he made up, I thought. However, when I flipped the page, things started to get interesting.
Someone else must have drawn on the pages along with him, for some images of the Flying Man were better illustrated than others. They were somewhat phenomenal, I thought. Whoever drew them must have been a gifted artist. Then when I flipped the page again, my breath caught and my eyes went wide as I studied the picture.
It took up two pages of the book. In the background, there was a small house on a hilltop with multiple Flying Men in the distance living their daily lives. But it was what was in the foreground that boggled my mind. It was a picture of what looked like Ness, holding up a peace sign, while his other hand held someone else's hand. The other figure had a semi smile on his face; eyes hidden in messy blond hair. He wore a white shirt, and blue overalls; one strap loose and off his shoulder. Nonetheless, both of them looked very happy.
"…Pokey…?" I mumbled. It was almost unbelievable. "I thought they…" But then I thought again. This drawing must have been older; they were once friends… right? The more I studied the picture, the more I thought back at our conversation in the Monotolli building. I still couldn't believe that the conversation still lingered in my mind. I could still picture perfectly how twisted, yet fashionable he really appeared. Trying to push these thoughts aside, I flipped the page, until I felt Ness next to me stir. I immediately closed the notebook, and placed it on his lap again and tried looking like I was digging into nobody's business.
"Oh… I must have forgotten to put that away before I dozed off… you didn't look through it… did you?" Ness asked me, assuming I was awake. When I turned my head to him, he was looking right at me; there were little bags hanging below his eyes; he looked tired. I felt pretty guilty right then.
"I… didn't mean to… I'm sorry," I told him. Ness's mouth curved down, while taking the notebook into his hands and rested it against his abdominal area.
"… Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to fly. That was one of my biggest dreams. Back then, I really believed anything was possible, and at a certain degree I still do. So if you were wondering about why there are so many bird like people in my notebook… that's why," He explained to me all the sudden.
"The Flying Man? I see…" I replied. There was a pause. Ness started to sound a tad nervous when he started to talk again. Apparently there's something in there he really doesn't want me to see... I thought, though I probably already knew what it was in the back of my mind.
"Yeah… he was a superhero that my childhood friends and I made up together… that's all…" Ness said. I nodded silently; I wasn't sure what to say back. This awkward silence was starting to make us nervous, especially Ness. His hands started to shake.
"Umm…"
"Hmm?"
"… I mean… was there any silly dream you wanted to chase when you were little?" Ness asked me shyly. I felt bad for making him react like this, but at the same time it was kind of... I smiled at him to let him know that things would be alright.
"Probably… I know for a fact that I had always dreamed for the day to get out of my boarding school life, though that dream already came true," I replied. Ness nodded.
"Really? Was that all you wanted?" He asked. I fumbled a bit with this one; it probably wasn't, but I didn't have any out of the ordinary dreams like he did… at least I hoped I didn't.
"Well… I know it's not a childhood dream anymore… but I've always wanted to prove something to the world… if I could. I still do…"
"Like what?" Ness asked. I sighed out of my nose, and leaned forward in my seat a bit.
"Gah… I dunno. Something useful, I guess…" On the corner of my eye, I could tell that Ness was somewhat disappointed with my reply. This reminded me of what Venus had told me a while back… to give him the slightest of chance to let him into my wings a bit.
"I understand… if it's something personal," Ness said.
"Oh no… it's okay Ness, really. I'm just not too sure myself is all…"
"Oh…"
"Cummon Ness… do you really think I'd hide something from you now? Especially now, that you're one of the only people in the entire world who knows my childhood secret?" I asked, referring back to my mother's death. Ness shook his head sheepishly.
"I guess not…" The real answer might have been yes, but we both wished, and possibly pretended that it was no.
"Remember… or did you notice back in Moonside how yes was no and no was yes?" I asked. Ness grunted in approval.
"Oh yeah… I remember that. I wonder why… probably just our minds tricking us," Ness guessed. "But even so…" Ness pulled out the black pendant we found there. "I still have this though…" We were a little skeptical at first.
"It was probably hiding in the backroom and we probably picked it up while our consciousness was in Moonside," I replied. Ness sighed.
"Probably…" Ness sighed. By this time, Ness became more withdrawn than ever.
"Care to talk? Something's bothering you…" I said looking at him. Ness froze for the slightest when he looked back at me; eye to eye. I wasn't sure how long we stayed like this, because once we awkwardly looked away, something flopped in my stomach.
"It's just… Paula… mom… us. I just worry too much, that's all," He explained. I nodded.
"I can understand that."
"I just haven't heard of Paula in my dreams so far, so I get a little worried time to time… I hope she's alright." I sighed.
"Me too Ness... me too..." I replied, thinking of Paula's fair smiling innocent face.
"... I want to call mom... but I'm too scared to at the moment. Partly because I don't want anyone hacking into our line... but mostly because I don't want her to hear me like this..." He spoke weakly leaning against the bus window. I frowned sentimentally and sighed.
"Same... even though I barely know my own father... nonetheless barely care for him, I couldn't let him hear me like this either," I replied. It seemed a bit quiet between us for the time being. I drifted off a bit in the long pause.
Brining my eyes towards the front of the bus, I could tell that we were now finally approaching the flatter area of the desert and the morning sunlight started to glow through the window and reflect off of Ness's seemingly flawless skin...
Flawless? When did I start thinking that his skin was flawless? Ness's eyes were closed again, cept this time he looked more tense than usual. I assumed that he wasn't sleeping yet.
"...Ness? Are you still asleep?" I asked. Ness sighed through his nose but kept his eyes closed.
"No... not really..." He replied. I exhaled a small grunt and nodded.
"Why did you want to know?" Ness asked opening his eyes and stretching his arms out.
"I dunno... just wondering I guess." Ness yawned while adjusting himself to properly sit in his chair. Though while he did, the entire bus jolted us forward; both of us grunting in surprise. My face hit the back of the seat in front of us; making my glasses partly fell out of line.
"Go on, get out of the road!" We heard the bus driver say as he honked the bus horn. Ness and I sat back up in our seats as the bus made way again. My hands reached for my glasses until I felt them slip away from me. My eyes snapped open.
"Ness?" I asked dumbfounded temporarily as he must have taken my glasses away from me. Ness responded by humming to himself as I could see a blob on the corner of my eye put something on around his head.
"Are you...?"
"Woah... Jeff, your vision sucks..." I blushed slightly as he chuckled to himself.
"I... I know..." I mumbled unhappily. I could barely see Ness at where I was sitting, so I decided to scoot a little closer to him until he was more clear and defined. The way he had my glasses on was both wrong and silly at the same time. But for some reason, they suited him, especially when he smiled.
"You look nice in them actually," I replied smiling slightly. Ness sounded confused.
"How can you tell? You can't really see me clearly, can you?" Ness asked.
"Barely..." But how the sun reflected off of him, and my glasses; it was enough to stir butterflies, just slightly.
"...You know they're crooked on you, right?" I spoke softer than I intended at the time.
"Really?" Ness asked me as he reached his hands to his face. However, I halted them with my own, as I tried straightening them on his face to the best of my ability at the time. Bewildered, Ness hesitantly dropped his hands as I practically hovered around his face and my glasses, so I could get a good look. When my eyes met his, they were averted and he looked as if he was biting his lip. It was just the matter of aligning one of the bolts in the nose piece to make it sit comfortably on Ness's nose.
'You... you can have them back..." Ness barely mumbled. I 'hmmed' in response.
"You sure?" I asked stupidly. Then I chuckled shamefacedly. "You look good in them." Ness entire facial expression withdrew, as he wiggled his nose.
"Well... they're your glasses... I can only assume you want to see again... nonetheless I want to see again too," Ness responded looking to his side, avoiding my gaze. It finally clicked as to how close I really was to him, which furthermore made me back off a bit.
"Yeah... thank you," I told him, as I claimed my glasses from his face, and slipped them on passed my ears. I blinked a couple of times with the transaction.
"Jeff?" Ness asked somewhat quietly.
"Yeah?"
"... Never mind..." He replied. I sighed.
"Just say it..."
"No... it's just something small and stupid..."
"Just say it, Ness."
"Uhhh..."
"..." I looked at him now, because maybe just by looking at him I could find out. His fists were balled up slightly, eyes looking down but unfocused at the same time. He seemed to avoid my gaze even more now. Was this the same question he was meaning to ask me back in the hostel?
"What... what do you think of me?" Ness asked under a mutter. My mouth slightly opened, but nothing came out until I found my words. What exactly did he mean by that?
"What do you mean...?"
"... Just what do you think of me? That's all..." He said. This was probably why he tried avoiding the question, because he probably predicted that I'd react the way I was then.
"I... I don't hate you," I replied. "It's nothing like that, if that's what you feared," I told him. By this time, Ness's shoulders seemed to relax a bit more.
"Well that's good..." Ness sighed. It was around this time that my incident with Demetri started to click again. But for some strange reason, I couldn't bring myself to talk about it. Instead, I decided to keep things simple.
"Nah Ness... you're my friend, remember? You and Paula are both my friends, and not much will change that... I hope. Besides, if I could tell you anything about my past, then that should mean something to you... though it probably doesn't..." I sighed as I felt my mind wander again; leaning forward as I rest my chin in my hands.
"It does mean something to me..." My eyebrows perked up, as I sat up again to get a good look at him. This time, he did dare to look at me in the eye, but like always it was sort of hard to read what he was thinking. And for some reason, his eyes seemed darker; deeper then yet they were empty. I sighed, breaking our sight from each other.
"Well then... I guess I should ask the same thing then... what's your opinion on me now that we know each other more?" I asked him. Ness was silent for a bit.
"Do you want me to be honest?" He asked. I didn't like how he asked the question.
"Yes... please," I replied, bracing myself for some bad news.
"Well to be honest... I'm not really sure... I'm your friend of course, but other than that..." Ness said. My eyebrows furrowed. What did that mean? But I guessed if he wasn't sure than I'd never be sure.
"It's okay to fee lost at times... we all are," I said. Ness turned his head towards the window again, where the morning sun lit up the horizon in a golden hue.
"If I ever find out more... I'll tell you as soon as possible... how does that sound?" Ness asked me. I nodded in agreement.
"That's fine," I replied. And there was that expected period of silence between us. It was always like this ever since Paula disappeared from us. It was almost impossible to carry on a conversation with just the two of us... not like this at least.
"... How much of my notebook did you look through?" Ness asked. My eyes widened slightly, as if he had caught me doing something sneaky and wrong. I felt wordless.
"I..." Ness sighed and looked at me. The way he did so this time was different, and he didn't fray, like I was.
"I'm sorry... I got up to the page where... there was a house... and you and someone were holding hands..." I replied, almost mutely. On the corner of my eye, I could tell that Ness's wide eyed expression was a mixture of surprise and disappointment.
"Why did you want to know?" This was a stupid question I admitted to myself, but I thought, maybe if I could reason with him without getting into an argument; we'd be better off.
"Well... why did you snoop through my stuff anyways?" He said.
"Look, it was on your lap and I..." I stopped in mid sentence, realizing how dense I really was acting. Ness frowned.
"Look... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have looked through it without your permission," I said. Ness bit the bottom of his lip again; I knew I shouldn't have done so judging by his expression.
"You're probably wondering about that page... and the answer is yes," He said, turning his head back towards the window. Was he talking about...?
"... I see," I said. There was a small pause.
"He's right though... Pokey... we were once friends... really good ones to put it at that," He told me. There was a strange hitch in his voice as he spoke which made me the ever more curious. And remembering my conversation only fueled my curiosity even more.
"May I ask what happened between the two of you?" I asked. I should have known, but I was still surprised with what he replied with.
"To be honest... no, it's not alright to me, not right now at least," He said. I sighed.
"I'm sorry then."
"No... don't be; you had the right to ask me. You saw him, so I can only assume that you'd like to know more." I nodded in response, but I kept silent.
"Pokey?" I said in a questionable tone.
"... Some of my best memories were with him. Some that even now... I wouldn't trade for the world. It's this kind of feeling... that makes me cringe whenever I see him now..." The way he said the word cringe made my heart constrict for some reason. Just what exactly did he do to him?
"I don't remember a single time I cried... while we were friends..." He said.
"Yeah... I remember him telling me that you weren't the type to cry..." Right when I finished my sentence, I realized; that I had made a huge; almost fatal mistake. My eyes widened slightly as I looked at him. His eyebrows were perked up and eyes open; I knew what I just said would linger in his mind for a while.
"Wha... and when did he tell you this?" Ness suddenly questioned me. Now I really was at loss with words. What was I to say now that I revealed my secret of going out to talk to Pokey on my own time? A huge; almost humiliating guilt washed over me right then.
"Jeff... please say you didn't..." Ness almost begged me. However, I couldn't hide any longer... I just couldn't.
"... I did... while you were in the hospital..." I lowered my head in shame. Ness exhaled a small gasp. I gulped.
"Well... He even said; he wanted to talk to us. And after finding out a few things, I suspected him... when I got kicked out of your room, that's when I decided to go see him. Though sometimes, I wish I didn't..." When my eyes drifted back to Ness, he looked as if he wanted to cry. I didn't blame him.
"And that's why you didn't come back in a while, right... that's the reason you left me all alone in that god damn hospital bed? Just so you could negotiate with my old friend... Jeff why... or at least, why didn't you tell me?" His voice started to rise.
"Don't worry... he didn't tell me anything about your childhood-"
"My childhood? Then what did he tell you?! Did he say anything about where Paula might have gone to?! We both know that he has her, so why didn't you go search for her instead?! I flinched from his spurt of anger.
"I... I figured that I'd need you to tag along too..." My guilt hit me full blast when I saw a tear trickle down his cheek.
"Jeff..." He feared what I was to know between the two of them.
"I did get some lead way though Ness... Paula is definitely in that building..."
"Then we have to go back! We have to go back now, and find her!!" He shouted. This was when I furrowed my eyebrows.
"And what good is that going to do? We don't have access up there, but if we find this item, we can get back up there and help-"
"Jeff, are you that dense in the fucking head?!" He practically spat. The fact that he called me dense ticked me off to no end. I'm dense?
"What the hell do-"
"Because of the fact that you actually confronted Pokey in person, makes Paula's state in more critical condition! He knows now that we're on to him! And if he told Monotoli... what... what if Monotoli got to her first... she might be..." He yelled, voice quieting towards the end of his phrase. My eyes widened in horror, remembering a part of our conversation about death. It was around this time that we were interrupted.
"I'm sorry back there... if you two are going to fight the way you two are, I'm going to have to ask you to abort the bus," The bus driver told us over the mike as he opened the bus door.
"No, please, don't kick us off, please..." Ness begged. However, the bus driver's expression was passive as he awaited us to leave. Ness growled in anger; it was the first time I actually feared Ness in a sense. We silently gathered our things, and departed the bus; the people along the way gave us weird glances as we made our way to the front.
"Keep walking along the road, and there will be another bus stop along the way. You can wait for another bus there when you feel ready to take on some of the bus rules," he told us before closing the doors on us and driving back. My heart started to pound slightly. Ness held his forehead.
"I... I'm so sorry..." However, Ness ignored it and walked passed me.
"Let's just go..." he said.
---
I didn't think I had ever seen Ness this furious before and I didn't blame him one bit. The fact that he dropped the topic all together was both unexpected and understandable. He didn't trust me enough to let me into his personal life, like I apparently did. And for that, I felt like a cheated fool that had spilled out his own secret while gaining nothing back. Instead of ruining it even further, I thought of different ways and different things to talk about to him. But most of my efforts had been for the nil.
The more the sun steadily rose, the hotter it got which made the situation worse; nonetheless, it exhausted us both. I started to see mirages; for instance, I saw three men in ponchos and sombreros...
... Then when we progressed closer, I realized, it really wasn't a mirage. Ness and I stood by what looked like a broken slot machine; practically in the middle of nowhere by the road. The three men were sitting on rocks, drinking what looked like lemonade.
"What... is this?" Ness said out loud as he took a look at the sign that was there that read, "The Friendly Sanchez brothers: Here to serve you in place for this broken slot machine. Insert a buck to play." Ness took a buck out while sighing, stuck it into the machine and walked away without a second thought. I frowned, glancing back at the Sanchez brothers, who looked disappointed that we were leaving them alone in this heat.
---
It took about forty five minutes to finally get to the hut on the other side of the desert. I felt a sense of relief when Ness purchased two wet towels.
"An oasis?" The lady at the counter said.
"Yeah... we're trying to find an oasis; have you heard of it?" Ness asked. The lady 'hmmed' to herself.
"There is, but it's further east to tell you the truth..." Ness slouched his head and growled.
"You can't be serious..." Ness muttered under his breath.
"Excuse me sir, why exactly are you trying to find this oasis in the first place?" Ness's mouth curved down slightly. I decided to butt into the conversation.
"Or a cave... we're trying to find a certain cave..." I asked. The lady 'hmmed' to herself as she thought. My eyes trailed off throughout the store for any sort of lead way.
"Well there is this one cave that's not too far from here, but you'll have to go a little ways out in the desert to get to it," She said pointing behind her towards the window behind her and the counter. Ness let off a hefty sigh.
"Alright... thank-" It was then that we both heard and felt something crash into the hut with a thud.
"What was that?" The lady exclaimed. "Something must have crashed into the side of the shop..." Ness and I took a moment before walking outside to check what had happened.
---
On the side of the small building was a black spot on the wall and a monkey laying down on the ground; a bump started to form on its head. Both of us winced.
"Is that the same monkey we saw back in Fourside before?" Ness asked as I examined the scene.
"It... it has to be, since what other monkey could do... that?" I said kneeling down by the monkey as it tried opening its eyes. The lady from the counter had walked outside.
"Gah another one? Where are all these monkeys coming from anyways?" She sighed. "Is the poor darling alright at least?" She asked us. I glanced from the lady to Ness who was now studying the monkey's face. Ness knelt down to press a hand to the monkey's forehead until the monkey was able to open its eyes and squeak slightly. When Ness took his hand away, the monkey started to shake its head and stir. In moments the monkey was well enough to stand up and pick and lick at its fur. The lady 'oooed'
"Magic fingers you got there, eh?" She laughed, lightly slapping Ness on the shoulder. I could tell by the look in his expression that his smile was fake while at first I could have sworn that he winced.
"Yeah... I guess so," Ness said rubbing the back of his sweaty neck. I lightly frowned.
"Well you kids take care and be careful in a big hot place such as this... whew, it is hot out here!" She said waving her forehead with her hand.
"Thank you..." Ness said more to himself. Both of our faces cringed slightly when we looked at the monkey when it decided to pick up a random beetle and eat it, then in return spit it right out. Though in closer examination at the contents, it didn't even look like a bug, but instead a small black...
"Hey... if you see my girlfriend, the white sesame seed, please tell her that I still love her..." It was this odd ball out of the box moment that made the monkey pick up the black seed and tossed it somewhere near by randomly. Ness shook his head while my mind was still questioning the moment. Then the monkey waved and pointed randomly; I didn't really understand it.
"You want us to follow you?" Ness asked the monkey. Surprisingly, it nodded and frolicked along the hot desert dirt. Ness walked passed me as I followed next to him. We followed the monkey for about ten minutes it seemed. Eventually, the monkey danced around what looked like a grotto, or a worn down well that hadn't been used in years that was in the ground before climbing down the ladder. Ness and I looked down the dark tunnel.
"This is it?" I asked. Ness sighed.
"Let's just go..." Ness said, almost irritatingly. I frowned as he climbed down first as I rolled my eyes and followed. I just hoped that there were no stinky puke blobs.
---
The cave smelt of must and it was a whole twenty degrees cooler than on the surface. There was what looked like oriental lamps that were elegantly hung at the top corners of the ceiling to dimly light up our way. When we walked into the next section there were a few monkeys running around. My jaw dropped; I had never seen this many monkeys before in my life. I wondered if any one of them could blow helium bubbles to make them float in mid air...
"Crud, I lost that teleporting monkey..." Ness said scanning the tunnel that branched off into two different directions.
"I guess we'll have to scout this place... what did we come here for anyways?" I asked. Ness sighed with slight annoyance. I started to get sick of his snappy behavior.
"Well one, we're supposed to find their quote 'leader' because he apparently wants to speak to me, then we gotta find that damn yogurt machine on the way back to Fourside if we can..." We were both interrupted by a monkey that was rubbing its tummy.
"You're hungry? I think I have a sandwich somewhere in here..." Ness said digging through his bag to pull out a PB and J sandwich. The monkey practically snatched the food from his hands and ran off with it. Ness sighed and started walking down the path he chose.
"Come on Jeff... let's get this over with... the sooner we can get out of here, the better. I rolled my eyes. This is going to be a pain... I thought to myself.
---
So far, the tunnel was winding, confusing and bothersome all at once. Communicating was one thing with the monkeys but the communication between the two of us was almost always muted, if not somewhat bitter. The multiple oriental decorated boxes throughout the caves were either open, or filled with random food that was surprisingly fresh. but every time we picked them up, there were always monkeys around us snatching them right out of our hands. One time, I found a pretty decent ruler that I planned to use for my future projects, but it was soon taken away by a monkey with a pink bow. I growled to myself.
"You snooze, you lose..." Ness sighed packing what looked like a hamburger away in his bag before any monkeys could claim it. I finally snapped back.
"Dude, lighten up, will you? I'm not the only one that's been losing in this hell hole," I replied. Ness's jaw dropped just slightly. He huffed and crossed his arms.
"Yeah... well... says you!" He replied sticking his nose in the air and walking off to another nearby box. I clenched my jaw slightly.
"Look, I'm sorry about before alright? I won't do anything reckless such as that again if you don't want me to, so can we just drop it and make up again?" I asked. Ness reached into the box to pull out what looked like a bottle of beer.
"Oh? So you won't do anything reckless if I tell you not to be reckless?" Ness asked me.
"Yeah, exactly," I replied. Ness snorted.
"You can start by shutting up; this argument could start to become reckless after all," He replied. My jaw dropped as I narrowed my eyes.
"Damn it Ness, we both promised not to fight for Paula, remember?" I said. Ness took a moment to examine me.
"Paula isn't here. In fact, she may be even farther than we expect because of you going behind my back to talk to my old childhood friend, who I might quote, isn't very 'friendly' anymore if I might add. So you can just kiss that little fucking rule on the ass goodbye," He replied raising his voice.
"Is that some sort of threat? You know what? At least I actually found some things out by talking to him; unlike you before so, when all you did was throw hot air at him!" I said.
"And what did he tell you? What did the so called Master Pokey tell you? Did he really have the means to tell you about Paula, or the spook? Did you find out more about his younger brother? Father? Demetri? Monotoli? Or... did he tell you all about those damn times when we used to scribble retarded pictures and comics of bird men in a notebook and call it a dandy day? Did he ever tell you-"
"I know that he did something horrible to you, alright?!" It was about time when I just couldn't hold it in any longer. Though judging his horrific expression, I knew how reckless I could really be. It felt just like our moment back in Master Belch's lair, me silently glaring while Ness looked as if he wanted to cry. Ness balled up his fists, but held them back, I assumed for Paula's sake after all. His bottom lip started to tremble, and he dropped his head in shame. He started to silently cry. I couldn't believe this... I thought. My expression changed from anger to worry and sympathy, as my jaw weakened enough to make my words sound like gibberish.
"Ness... I..." Ness rubbed his eyes again. I hated seeing people cry... Ness didn't utter another word as he started to walk away. So what was I to do, but follow behind him? We barely spoke to each other throughout the entire cave...
---
It took about another miserable hour, searching, getting lost and running into more needy monkeys. The most communication between Ness and I was when we walked into a dead end that had another decorative box. When we opened it, there was a small, red silk bag with golden thread embroidery that formed the picture of an Asian dragon, wrapped around the bag. The draw string that kept the pouch closed had a tag on it that read 'Dragonite.' Ness examined it for a second until he tried handing it to me.
"But... are you sure?" Ness made no sound however and kept holding the bag out to me. I eventually claimed it into my hand while Ness brushed passed me. I sighed while slipping the bag into my strap bag and followed.
It took a few more items, monkeys and caves until we reached a bigger, more in depth section of the cave, one that had what looked like the iron pencil statue I had seen up in Winters when I was on my way down to the lab. I was surprised, when Ness finally spoke, in a low rugged voice.
"Is this it?" Ness asked almost silently out of the blue as we approached the pencil shaped statue.
"It has to be…we've searched this place for what seemed like hours," I replied. Ness took a moment at examining my exhausted appearance then the statue.
"And if that yogurt machine is here… it makes me wonder how that idiot lost it in the first place… Lemme see the pencil eraser, Jeff," Ness said holding out his hand. Digging through my bag to find it, handing it over, Ness started working the strange eraser over the pencil until it started to crack. Then with a crumble, the once iron pencil statue fell to the ground in pieces.
"How the hell did that Apple Kid make such an oddball, yet helpful invention anyways?" I asked. Ness shrugged off the question as he started to walk deeper into the cave. I shook my head slightly. I didn't think he would ever forgive me, at least not anytime soon to say the least.
The tunnel we went down seemed longer than all the rest, but we knew why when we finally got to its end. Running water springs and multiple holes in the ceiling made the room a glow. A monkey; I assumed, the same one that was able to teleport, spotted us as it motioned us to emerge closer. Around a few boulders, there were two more presentable boxes. As the monkey allowed us to open them, there was what looked like a sealed 'Brain Food Lunch' in one box while the other had a cup of lifenoodles. Ness took the brain food lunch while I took the cup of life noodles.
When we made it to what looked like a clear pond, Ness and I gawked at the man in robes, practically meditating in the air over head. His hat and robe was elegantly woven in colors of greens, lavenders and gold. The multiple beads that hung from his hat, robe and some of his facial hair twinkled in the afternoon sun that shown through the ceiling. His legs were crossed while his hands were pressed together in chant and prayer. While his narrow eyes were closed, I wasn't sure how long we were there just staring at him. However, both of us nearly jumped as we heard an anonymous voice speak out, while the man floating had no moving lips.
"I've been waiting for you two, especially you, Ness…" The voice spoke to us. Ness looked baffled, but I must have as well.
"Wha... who's speaking to us?" Ness asked.
"... My name is Talah Rama, but that is not important. I have been waiting for you to arrive, ever since the existence of a boy names Ness." The voice replied. Ness pointed at himself dimly.
"The existence... of me? I... I'm not that great of a person... tell the truth..." Ness replied. There was a pause.
"The truth of space and time moves though the universe like a wave... Truth speaks through space and matter and makes itself known to human beings and creatures alike. This is definite truth... that I'd be waiting for you ever since your existence..." Talah Rama explained like a poet. "Because this was pre-determined... it was destined from the start..." We were both fumbled by his words. I for one was not a person that believed in destiny... but for Ness's sake, my belief was starting to bite me in the back.
"But..."
"Ness... Paula... Jeff... and Poo... when the four pair of eyes gather to see evil, twisted space will bring back peace to the world. Do you understand?" Ness for once looked at me, his eyes; one of the pair of eyes of this so called destiny was dull, tired... and weak from what I could tell..."
"It doesn't matter now... you'll know what to do in due time… just push forward with all of the strength and determination that you wield and I'm sure your friends will be there to give you the extra boost you'll need as well. Now… I have a special skill to teach you that I'm sure will be useful to you. Though technically, you'll be learning it from the monkey over there. And before you go, take that yogurt machine over there… I believe you'll be needing that." I looked over to the machine which must have still been in its box. Ness picked it up in his hands, stuffed it in his bag and slipped it on.
"It's so heavy… how will we get it across the desert?" Ness thought out loud with a huff.
"Will you be learning PSI Teleportation or not?" The voice asked.
"PSI… Teleport?" Ness asked back.
"Indeed. Conquer it and you'll travel anywhere you'd like that you have been to in almost no time at all. So… will a young, determined boy like yourself be learning this ability?" It took a moment, but Ness replied with a grin.
"Let's do this," Ness said. "Come on Jeff, let's get out of here so we can get back to Fourside as fast as we can," Ness smiled for the first time all day. I nodded, almost un-opinionated as I tagged along mutely. And with that, we followed the same monkey outside of the cave. I just wondered how this was going to work, but I guessed from what I had seen at the time from their abilities, it was to be expected.
… I still hoped that this would work…
---
When we stepped outside in the late afternoon sun, I shielded my eyes as we walked along the hot desert sand and shrubs. Ness fell back to being quiet about the whole thing. We eventually made it out to the main road that split the desert in half. The monkey did motions in attempt to communicate with us. I was starting to get sick of all these monkeys, and me not being able to understand any of them clearly. I watched as Ness's somewhat skeptical face studied the monkey in attempt to understand him.
"O… kay… Could you demonstrate please?" Ness asked almost nervously. The Monkey nodded in agreement and walked out in the street, stood and focused. It took about thirty seconds as we waited and watched. Soon enough however, the monkey started to pace, faster and faster with each step until he was off like a lightning bolt and he disappeared from our sight. Ness and I were mesmerized as we tried looking in the distance for him. Ness's fingers started fidgeting.
"Jeff… I'm not sure if I'm ready to learn this or not…" Ness told me with an undetermined voice. My mouth curved down slightly.
"If it means that we'll get to Paula faster then I can't back down from it." Ness paused for a little bit.
"...Besides... maybe a part of my childhood dream will come true to me after all... just in a way I didn't imagine." I wanted to smile to him, but the dilemma before wouldn't let me. It was then that we were interrupted by the monkey that happened to be behind us by surprise. Ness and I exchanged glances.
"O...kay, I guess it's my turn now..." Ness looked jittery and shaken to learn this new technique, and when he walked out into the street and stood there, he balled up his fists and bit his now swollen looking lip. Nonetheless, he looked unfocused and nervous.
"I... I don't know..." Ness said shaking his head. The monkey walked out to do another demo, but even that didn't seem to help. In fact, it looked as if it had made Ness even more timid to get started. So we waited a couple more minutes. When Ness took his first step, he was tentative as he slowed to a halt again. It made me remember how he told me that he was afraid to us his PSI... that he was frightened of it. It was still a bit of a mystery to me why though... Nonetheless, he was having a tough time overcoming this unknown fear. Wasn't the ability to fly one of his dreams? It was ultimately confusing. So I finally sighed.
"Ness... " I finally said, trying to not make my voice sound impatient. However, Ness didn't seem to take note. So I went with another tactic and walked out into the street with him. Ness looked bewildered and ultimately stressed as he saw me approaching him.
"Why are you coming out here?!" Ness asked me suddenly. I tried staying calm myself.
"Ness... I know from what you said that some of this power frightens you... and if you want to think about it, it's fine, just... let's not think about it for too long in the middle of the street," I told him.
"We need to get to Fourside though... I need to learn this... it's just..."
"Well... the more you delay, the longer it'll take for us to get there," I replied. Ness nodded, averting his eyes to the ground. The afternoon sun beat down on us both as we stood there.
"You have to come with me you know..." Ness looked at me with what looked to be guilt mixed with timidness. I didn't like admitting to myself that this helplessness that he was feeling made his eyes look nice as they glistened in the sun. I nodded slowly. Ness looked like he was attempting to hold out his hand but at the same time held it back.
"Can you... I..." I sighed and took my own hand out to grasp his. He seemed to shiver when we made contact and I could feel a sudden rush flow past my fingertips, which made my own eyes widen slightly.
"Jeff..."
"...I won't let go of you... don't worry..." It was awkward for me to hold anyone's hand except for Tony's, but this time, I could definitely feel the butterflies for some reason, rushing to my chest. It was especially strange, considering what had just happened between us back down in the caves. Ness looked up to me for a second until he nodded. Did our contact make him nervous as well, or did it comfort him that I was still on his side?
"You can do this... I know you can," I told Ness softly. Ness's exhale was heavy and shaken while he gripped my hand tightly.
"Please keep your promise to me... please," Ness mumbled. In a few moments, we started to walk together hand in hand. It was a strange sensation as we started moving faster than our feet and I ended up literally clinging to his hand for dear life as the road and the atmosphere around us came rushing at our faces until it was all a blur.
... And for a split moment, I really felt as if I was soaring in the sky; the boy next to me looking graceful as we flew...
---
All of the sudden, we were surrounded by the tall sky scrapers and tall lush green trees of Fourside. Our landing was a bit rushed as we started to slow to a jog in the park. When we stopped, we stood there softly, examining the sun lit city.
"You... Fourside... you did it..." I told him as I was still dim in the head. We were too slow for anything to fully register in our brains right then.
"I... don't know how you did it... but you did..." I said. Ness exhaled again and grunted slightly. Though we didn't notice it at the time, our hands were still clasped together.
"Do you still have the gourmet yogurt machine with you?" I asked Ness. Ness nodded.
"Yeah, I do..." Ness said blankly.
"Okay good, maybe if we hurry, we can get Paula and get the heck out of here once and for all," I told him as I started walking. However, Ness's hand and body weight jolted me backwards. I turned swiftly back to him.
"Ness come on... Ness?" I felt as if I should have been sympathetic because he looked more lost than ever.
"Jeff... I'm... scared..." Ness managed to utter. My eyes widened a bit. I tried loosening our grip but he still clung.
"I'm scared of what might happen... What if she's not okay? What if Monotoli is willing to hurt us... and... what if...." I sighed.
"Ness..." Ness rubbed at his eyes; a definite sign I did not want to see again. It didn't hit me until then, how serious things really were starting to become. What if someone wound up badly hurt... possibly killed? I wanted to avoid similar results from the department store as much as possible. And what if my encounter with Pokey the other day really did make things worse on our side?
"Ness, please listen to me, please. I'm... I'm so sorry that this had to happen. I'm sorry that I went and spoke to him on my own time; I'm sorry you miss your mother and your family... I feel as if part of this whole ordeal is my fault alone. But now... we're all that we have and we both need to face this task together to our best ability. I know I'm not as encouraging as your mother I assume... but let's get Paula back together... okay?" I told him. Ness stared off into the distance mindlessly and nodded again.
"You're right... let's get her back... safe and sound" Ness said. I couldn't help but smile just slightly.
"Let's get going then..." I said as we were off.
"Umm... Jeff?" He asked.
"Hmmm?"
"... You can let go of my hand now..." He said almost mutely. My eyes snapped open in realization as I immediately broke contact; noticing a mother with a toddler passing us by.
"Sorry..." I told him. Finally, Ness shook his head no.
"Please, don't say sorry ever again today..." I looked back at Ness, who was now finally smiling hesitantly. I felt myself blush, ever so slightly. I rubbed the back of my neck drifting my eyes from his smile.
"Right... yeah..."
---
On our way to the Monotoli building, we silently admired the scenery a bit, though we knew how unwelcoming it was to us. But we couldn't help it, even now. When we passed Jackie's Cafe, I felt a small chill down my spine as I remembered some of the things from Moonside.
"What do you think happened to Everdread?" Ness asked me. I shrugged.
"Not sure myself to be honest. I barely knew the man..." I replied until Ness seemed to halt as we pass the central park.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"Jeff... isn't that the Runaway Five over there?" Ness pointed them out as they were all gathered around a tree, messing with some of their instruments. It seemed as if one of them has noticed us and waved at us. Ness waved with both of his hands overhead.
"Hey!" Ness said with a raised voice. It was at the is precise moment that Ness seemed to glance to his right until he; out of nowhere, collapsed to the ground; but was caught by someone's strong arm. I turned swiftly, eyes wide and angry and nostrils a flare as I saw what looked like a police officer with a needle. He must have given him a dose of something strong enough to knock him out. I couldn't stop my rage.
"What the hell are you doing to hi-" Someone behind me grasped me tightly while he pricked my skin.
"What... no..." My mind went hazy along with my sight until I was once more blacked out in unconsciousness...