Important A/N: Thank you, Revu, PK, RaixOfxSunshine, Red, Treehugger19, TomBoy247, Ilana, Redtheyoshi, Sirius-Black-is-not-dead, anonymous, YaoiGirly, and Obsessed for reviewing my story! : ]
Thank you Red, for the huge critique on my last chapter! I'm sorry about my abuse of ellipses, it was something I've always kind of been a victim too, but thanks to you, I've been trying to keep a better watch on those things. Thank you so much!
Well, surprise surprise, look who's back with a new chapter? After the past couple of days, checking my messages, I've noticed my review number kept creeping up on this story. In less than 24 hours, I got 4 new ones, which made me feel kind of guilty. The sad thing is that, I actually, I do have something I need to confess to the readers here on this website that don't follow me on deviantart.
Yes, I had plans on not writing this story anymore. If not that, at least put this on a huge hiatus.
But why did I just leave this story in the air like I did? Because I hate the dreaded "note," and I'm sure everyone hates it as well, and I didn't want anyone that's following this story to go through that. However, at the same time, I can't promise that I'll update again very soon. I'm on to different things now, and I'm having a harder time coming back to this story. It might be partly because, imo, I'm approaching the 'boring' part of the game. I kind of find the scaraba- deep darkness parts slightly boring, and honestly, I don't have many plans for those parts, unless if I want to drag this story out longer. I really don't want that. What I'd really like, is to just almost skim those parts, and get to the part I've been dying to write in this story period, the stone henge part, and on. If I can just get to that part, then this story will start to finally wrap up, and that's where I have a lot of things planned. What I'd like to ask you readers, is kind of permission. No, I will not skip those parts completely, but may I kind of… if I keep writing, just sorta fly through those sections, and get it over with? Maybe within 2 chapters? ;v;
I'm really sorry about how delayed this really is. I had plans to put this up in last October, but of course never got around to doing it. Forgiveness? ;v; And I'm sorry that this chapter might not be… the most exciting thing ever either…
Anyways, I'd actually am kind of interested on what people think of this, so let me know! You may determine this story's fate.
Sad subjects aside, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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Oh no. Not this again…
Sure enough, here I was for the third time. In glass casing. Smaller than most of the world around me. I could feel my heart beat catch up to me. Oh no, I didn't forget what happened the last time I was in this glass dome. I was like a delicacy to the strange creatures and figures that inhabited outside of the glass, fighting to the death over who could get their greedy hands on me first. As long as none of them touched me, I was safe from their orders. I felt my chest swell.
Even though I was previously told, or thought I was told that I couldn't be harmed by anyone, it definitely wasn't the case for the one familiar boy in the red cap. Well… purple cap in this case.
But from what I could see, the boy was nowhere to be found. And it was this sign that made me sigh over great relief. But where was I?
The arena looked very colorful, simple, but colorful. The distance looked as if it was drawn in crayon, almost like an afterthought. Sometimes the background would change on its own, as if the skies drew themselves. It was interesting at first, but it grew boring very fast. I stuck my hands in my pockets and leaned against the glass. Pretty soon, I thought, I was sure someone would find me. And when something did, my eyes went wide.
A gigantic green dinosaur with a big round cartoonish snout and big eyes and a long tongue. The dinosaur was very slow at finding me, even though I was right underneath his nose. Although when he did realize that I was here, a look of mischief appeared on his face. He took a moment to sniff the glass, and I got a very good view of his nostrils touching and smearing the glass. I winced slightly, sticking out my tongue, it looked kinda gross.
My feeling of disgust was replaced with shock, as the dinosaur soon blasted off into the distance by a familiar looking attack. I panicked slightly, knowing what this was going to mean. I felt myself lift off of the ground, turning around towards the familiar face that I knew I wanted to see, and not see at the same time. Just not that dark Ness… not here… not now…
When I opened my eyes however, I was staring back at a pair of calm, innocent but curious blue eyes that belonged to an anonymous blond boy. Come to think of it, I've seen this boy once before…
This time, he managed to let me free, as I felt myself awkwardly grow up instantly to his size. And when I was fully grown, I stumbled slightly, but the boy quickly grabbed my sleeve to keep me on my feet. I looked down to him. I was slightly taller than him, I thought, but the hair that stuck up awkwardly on top of his head may have taken away from the height difference. He looked slightly fearful, as if he wasn't sure what to do. I bit my lip slightly, deciding to take over the role.
"Hi…" I held out my hand to him. "You need my help?" The boy was still silent, looking down at the hand I had offered him. I was starting to wonder if maybe this boy was a mute… the realization made me feel weak slightly. But soon enough, he looked up to me, smiling softly as he took my hand in return. All I could do really, was smile back, flushing slightly. He was cute, I admitted. The boy was cute.
"My name is Lucas…" He spoke to me telepathically. Ahhh…
"Jeff," I replied out loud.
It was in a matter of moments however, that the entire atmosphere around us felt chilled. Both of us shivered in response, letting go of our hands. The blond boy, Lucas, plastered his hands to his mouth in awe, taking a few big steps backwards. Louder and louder… the sound of a bat, hitting something against the ground. With little surprise, I turned around.
Sure enough… there he was. Hammering down the already torn apart and brutally disfigured remains of that green dinosaur that, moments ago, seemed to be full of life and energy. I winced at the sight, as Ness took one last whack down to the ground with his wooden bat, blood splattering everywhere around him. I glanced back.
Lucas was still behind me, thankfully. I looked back. Ness chuckled darkly, standing upright, head hung low as he looked over what he had just done, disappearing, vanishing in front of us in thin air. I was surprised at myself, when I was the first one to speak up.
"I had a feeling you'd show up one way or the other," I told him, walking forward. The darker Ness slowly locked his cold icy eyes onto mine. He tilted his head slightly backwards, letting his eyes get a better view of me without having to move his hair out of his face. I glared at him.
"I see I didn't kill you off," He replied. I stopped, keeping my ground.
"No. You didn't." I studied him as his mouth curved into a small but wicked smile.
"You got Lucas to release you this time. What a coincidence…" I didn't know exactly what he meant by that, but I decided to ignore the remark.
"If you even dare decide to get too close to Lucas…well then I might have to kill you for good." Ness started to walk up to me. I gritted my teeth.
"What are you? You're definitely not real… but your intentions seem to be real enough. Just what are you, why are you set on stone to kill me? And why do you resemble him? Ness…" The dark Ness lightly laughed at this.
"I am Ness. Only a fool would consider otherwise," He replied. I frowned.
"No… you're not. That claim is invalid. Ness wouldn't do this, not by will at least." The darker Ness finally crossed his arms, standing up in a way that made himself feel confident and superior from me and Lucas. He grinned.
"Well then… you don't know Ness very well, do you?" He spoke. What…?
"What do you mean? Aren't you just a figment of my imagination coming back to taunt me?" I asked. Ness took a moment to soak in what I had just told him, all until he busted up in roaring laughter, as he slapped his knee. I squeezed my knuckles at him. Don't be ridiculous, I thought.
"Hah… hah… ha… I am very real. You and I, we're the only ones here that are real," He spoke. Real?
"And Lucas?" I asked. Ness snickered.
"Lucas isn't of your time, neither is he part of mine. But yes, I suppose you could say he's real as well," He spoke. I still didn't really understand where he was getting at.
"So if we're real, then why are you after me? You're a completely different Ness from what I can see."
"As long as Ness, or I is without all eight melodies, Ness, or I, will always be split up like this." I tilted my head. Really…
"So… you're his alternate ego?" I asked. Ness pondered the question for a bit, tilting his head from side to side, as if to try to find the right words to reply with.
"You could say that. You could not say that. It really depends. We're linked. I'm him. He's me. We can't exist without the other, not as long as he has PSI. As long as he wields it, I will always exist until either of us overcome the other," He spoke. I frowned.
"So, you came to be once Ness was aware of his PSI?" I asked him. Ness smiled.
"Now we're getting somewhere," He spoke. I frowned darkly. Something came to light in my mind.
"So you're what made him go berserk the other day," I said. Ness flipped his hair, his black eyes focusing on mine.
"Bingo." I wasn't sure whether the realization should have made me nervous, or just downright pissed, but for some odd reason, I didn't boil up.
"So as long as Ness can't overcome his fear of PSI… or you, and harness the power of the earth as his own, you will always exist, am I right?" I asked, pacing around in small line.
"Precisely. Until he can manage to claim and overpower me, I will always exist," He spoke. "Either way… I can't allow you to be a part of his life much longer…" Ness pulled out his bat to his side, still plastered in blood from what I could tell. I snorted.
"You know the moment when you try to kill me here, I'll just wake up, and all of this will be a dream," I told him. Dark Ness smiled.
"Dreams are real as well. It doesn't matter when you wake up, I'll be watching your every move." Hah, so that was it.
"I'm pretty sure you tried to kill me as well that day too hmmm? It's funny, there was another bastard that tried doing the exact same thing. I can't keep count of all the enemies I have now that wants to kill me. I have a feeling I might be making another one soon to top it all off," I replied.
"I pity you then. You're such a valuable member to his team, it would be a shame to see you fall. But it'll be much easier for me to take him as my own in the long run," He spoke. I paused, rubbing my chin, before smiling. This conversation was getting pretty interesting.
"You know, I hope you know what you're doing, since you know, you're telling me all of this. I always find it pathetically ridiculous when antagonists spill out their evil intentions to their 'heroic' counterparts before they even finish their plan." Ness's smile darkened.
"That's the fun part. Because you, yourself cannot defeat me. My other half is the only one that can silence me." "One of us will shine through the real world someday, even if I'm not the one yet." I snorted.
"Aight, that sounds like a fair enough deal." I told him. "In the end, it doesn't really matter. I can't accept you for being the real thing. You aren't Ness," I told him. He could only laugh.
"Keep telling yourself that. You'll be sorely disappointed in the future." I crossed my arms, looking behind me, to Lucas again, which was watching our conversation from afar.
"I'm not telling myself this. I'm telling you this. You aren't the real Ness," I stated again. The dark haired boy finally forgot his smile and glared at me. I pointed at him, smiling to myself.
"Last night, Ness and I were the only ones left in the world. We were the only beings that existed in our moment of time. Not even once, did I ever sense a trace of your existence. If you really do exist, and if you really are a part of him, then you're a part of him he'd much rather forget and leave behind." I smiled, victoriously, as I could see the rage fill the boy's veins in front of us.
"You…"
"I love Ness. I love Paula. I love Lucas. I've barely known him for a few minutes, but I already love him. But I don't love you. Therefore, you aren't Ness. You aren't the one I held hands and kept safe from the world. If anything, I kept him from you."
The look on his face was ultimately traumatizing. I could only smile at him. For once, I won. In a matter of moments however, he was back to his wicked little grin.
"So… that's it then," He spoke.
"That's it," I replied. The dark Ness was silent, staring at me.
"I won't let you go so easily," He spoke. "We'll meet again," He spoke, as everything around us faded to black.
"I'm sure we will. I'll be ready for you," I told him.
XxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxX
The Universe Will Die Without You
Chapter 26 Three More to Go
XxxxXxxxxXxxxXxxxX
Morning didn't seem to stumble upon me right away, as I wrinkled my nose. But when the consciousness did start to settle in, there was a sense of dread. I had no idea what that dread could have been about.
But hearing the birds outside made me think that, oh. Another day. How dandy. Groaning, I flipped on my side in bed, trying to burry my head under the covers. I hoped we weren't going anywhere anytime soon; I could have used a damn break from life. Life, I thought. Ugh.
I tried falling asleep again, I really did. But… nope, wasn't happening. Of course not. And what was worse was that, I was strangely feeling a sense of loneliness in that room. Who was I in bed with again… oh. Oh.
I flipped over to face the fact that, I really was alone in our twin sized bed. I let my hands roam in front of me just to double check. Nope, no Ness to be found. I patted myself. No clingy Ness either. I frowned, closing my eyes. He wouldn't have just walked off, would he? And the sound of running water was starting to bug me. Hmmm… running water.
Was he taking a shower? Hmmm… It was then that I put the two words together to form the image. Shower. Ness. I slapped myself in the face, feeling my cheeks burn slightly. Fucking pervert… But… maybe to make sure? I sat up, holding my head slightly to wipe the sand out of my eyes as my hand roamed the night stand next to me for my glasses. I put them on, blinking. Right in the nick of time.
The bathroom door had opened as a pair of quick feet paced out, only to crash to a halt as he spotted my form sitting up in bed. I tried not to crack a surprised expression, but I couldn't really help it when all Ness was dressed in was a towel wrapped around his hips. Ness's voice shook.
"Oh, haha, you're awake…" Ness mentioned. Yes Ness, thank you for bringing that to the light, I am very well indeed awake.
"So are you," I replied in a light monotone voice. Ness seemed to flush slightly, keeping a firm grip on the towel around his hips. I couldn't help but flush myself.
"Like you said… we're both guys," Ness noted, walking towards his stuff to claim some fresher clothes. I bit my lip. Not only was he up and walking on his own, but his voice sounded much clearer. This was good, I thought.
"You're up and energetic. You were just sick yesterday, are you doing ok?" I asked, trying not to let my eyes scan him over. Ness grunted.
"Never felt better actually. That meditating we did last night seemed to do the trick," Ness spoke confidently as he stood up with some clothes in his arms. I chuckled.
"You mean before we fell asleep or…?" Ness took a moment to soak in what I had just meant.
"Oh oh yes, I mean no I mean… I-I don't know," Ness responded, flustering in his speech. I flashed him a lazy smile. Awww.
"You know, if that helped you out physically, we could always meditate again sometime," I spoke. Oh god Jeff you trash-whore, did you just seriously suggest that? Maxwell would probably high-five me for that actually. Ness seemed stiff for a moment.
"That would be gr- I mean ok," He replied, before walking off again, shutting the door behind him. Crap, did I make a bad move? I probably did. But then the door opened again, Ness's head poking out, gazing back at me for a moment before he walked out to me at the bedside. I blinked because what he did completely took me off guard.
Leaning down to touch my shoulder while the other hand rested at the side of my face, Ness, with ease, broke the space between us by pressing his lips against mine softly, keeping them there before separating from me again. My cheeks were a flare again, damn it! Ness looked into my eyes with a soft pair of blue-violets.
"No, of course I would. You don't realize how much everything you've done for me in the past couple of days has meant to me." Ness smirked as he ran a couple fingers through my hair before walking off happily into the bathroom. I sat there, purely dumbfounded.
I wasn't sure whether to be turned on by that or if I should feel some sort of happy giddy mushy, I don't know. But in the end, I smiled to myself, touching my lips with my fingertips. There was something about that boy, I thought. Always finding ways to surprise me. I lied back down on the bed to stare at the ceiling, letting my thoughts wander to the events of the past few days. I'm sorry Tony. I'm sorry that my life had to take such a sharp turn and that I was starting to fall in love with someone else.
xxxxx
We had gotten the word from Paula and Kato, we were finally going to do something productive today and we were going to start our day by eating breakfast at Jackie's Café. But as I showered up, something gross was settling down in the bottom of my stomach as I thought back to the incident with Kato and I. He was really starting to become a little shady…
Why and how did he know that I had that diary in the first place? And why was he so keen on holding onto it for me? I wasn't sure but…
…Maybe he had the same suspicions about me? It was hard to believe but, I don't know, possibly. He's only treated me drastically different from Ness and Paula. Why me? Why always me? It was not going to be fun to see that Asian face this morning, I'd have to strap my own fists to my belt in order for them to not become attracted forcefully to his face. That was another thing. I…
I chuckled nervously to myself as I turned off the faucet. I really didn't want to fight Kato anytime soon, remembering how he could, I don't know; stop a violent taxi car in its tracks with only his bare hands! Either way, what was up with Kato? Seriously…
"Jeff? I'm going to pack your stuff for you if you don't mind," Ness knocked on the bathroom door. I sighed. Well it didn't really matter now, did it?
"Sure, go on ahead," I responded, putting my now clean clothes on. Paula must have gotten our clothes washed while Kato and I were gone yesterday, for they were clean when I returned, even though I never gave it much thought. I'd have to thank her later.
Walking out of the door, Ness had already greeted me in the door frame, already holding his back pack and handing my own bag over, a cheeky grin spread across his face.
"Here, you'll have to get your bazooka thing yourself, it's kinda heavy," He told me. I grunted, taking the bag before scanning the room for anything else important. I grabbed my bazooka before turning back to Ness who was happily playing with his red yo-yo. Haha.
"You're such a little kid," I joked, as we walked out of the bedroom finally.
"Well… I like nostalgia," Ness responded happily. I could only smile in return, nudging his shoulder lightly.
"Well, I'm glad. As long as it isn't chugged around violently, it shouldn't break again anytime soon," I assured him, studying is face as he looked at the ground, or rather in his hand, his bottom lip tucked underneath is front teeth as he tried holding in another giddy smile.
"Good then… because I don't think I could bear it breaking on me again," He responded pausing in his tracks. It took me a moment to soak in the meaning of that sentence. I felt both happy and sad, but when I turned to Ness again, Ness had that same kind of expression that he had way back in the hospital for the first time. The one that made me realize that I may have admired him a bit more than just a friend. I slung my arm around his shoulders before kissing him lightly on the head.
"Aight. I'll promise to keep it maintained if something does happen to go wrong."
xxxxx
Ness and I were pleasantly happy that morning, for reasons we couldn't really put in words. And when we finally confronted Paula and Kato in the lobby, they looked slightly puzzled at first, but they accepted it. Paula of course, had given Ness a big fat tackling bear hug.
"Feeling better now?" Paula asked. Ness's smile was bold, as he slung a casual arm around my shoulders, catching me slightly off guard.
"I feel great now! I don't know exactly how it happened, but I feel better than I have in a long while," Ness said. When I looked at Kato, his eyes seemed to stray from the conversation. He looked uneasy for some reason, his eyes fixed on the distance away from us.
"That's great news, Ness! Maybe this has to do with all this sanctuary hunting, I think you're starting to get a better grasp on all of this," Paula commented.
"Do you think? I really hope so…" Ness trailed off, glancing at me, then back down to Paula. Paula shrugged happily.
"Well then, let's just forget about what happened the previous days and just keep pushing forward, hmm?" Paula asked, glancing at the three of us. Both of us grunted; my eyes locked onto Kato again. Pretty soon, Ness and Paula caught on.
"Kato, you doing ok?" Ness asked, cocking his head. Kato snapped out of whatever little trance he was in and looked at Ness with open eyes.
"Ahh yes, I'm fine, just lost in a couple thoughts. Are you positive you're up to today?" Kato asked. Ness nodded.
"That's what we just went over Kato," Ness smiled. Kato looked slightly embarrassed. I narrowed my eyes at him like the prick I am.
"Ahh yes, sorry. That's great news, Ness," He smiled lightly. Ness took a moment observing him like I was, cept not rudely of course. Ness smiled.
"Well ok. Let's go eat, I'm starving." It was at this moment that Kato finally caught my eyes staring at him. Kato could only look back, expression changing slightly into something that looked uneasy. Contrary to Ness and Paula's beliefs, we weren't yet a fully functional team yet. There was still something to be settled, and I was going to find out what that was. Hopefully, one way or the other. Kato broke the eye contact as Paula dragged his hand away towards the front door, Ness doing the same, but let go of my hand soon after. I guessed out of shyness?
"Don't worry about him, Jeff. I promise, he has good intentions," Ness spoke quietly, flashing me a light smile. Did he mean Kato? My mouth curved down slightly.
"Aight, I'll take your word for it," I responded. But Ness knew better that I was going to keep my guard up, just in case, but even so, I couldn't say no to his comfort.
For Ness couldn't know what the tense air between Kato and I was really about.
xxxxx
Breakfast at Jackie's Café was both giving me similar and previous bad feelings about the place, mainly because of the last time Ness and I had been here. From my knowledge, neither Paula nor Kato were ever here, so deciding to come here for breakfast was a slight surprise. My eyes kept roaming around the restaurant, and all the different items displayed on the walls. But in reality, I was distracting myself, distracting myself from the angry set of eyes across the table. Or so, I thought. Ness was enjoying his breakfast, thankfully, enough not to really notice. Paula of course would notice sooner or later, if not now. I stuck another stick of French toast between my teeth as my eyes glanced across the table.
Ironically, Kato looked just as uneasy as I was. He ordered a platter of… fruit and water. Where did he get his protein? But he did the exact same thing, glancing back across the table. It was about the billionth time, but when our eyes met, that exact instance, we looked away. This was the downside; I couldn't read him while there were others present, at least silently. If I were to study him through eyesight... I wasn't exactly sure. But it was something I struggled with, and I didn't really know why. Part of me was starting to think that Kato was thinking the same thing. I wondered if he was even aware of the four pairs of eyes that sought evil? Paula kept looking between the three of us. Ness was starting to get an idea.
"So this is a neat little place, too bad we won't be here possibly ever again," Paula noted. Everyone was basically silent, cept Kato grunted. Slightly.
"All of the rest of my sanctuaries are far away. I wonder how we'll get to most of them," Ness mentioned. "I guess we could teleport to a bunch of them if we have to…"
"Well, we're going to get you to another one today, right?" Kato asked. Ness hummed, eventually slouching in his chair, as he took out the sound stone. For a moment, he let the rock rest against his forehead, closing his eyes in deep thought.
"Three more to go," Ness spoke.
"Three more? That's great!" Paula mentioned. "And just think if today is successful, you'll only have two more to go! We're making great progress if we can get the rest of them in a short time."
"It might take a little bit longer to get to the other two though. I have a feeling they're really far away," Ness spoke doubtfully.
"Hey, either way, we'll get to them, right?" I told him. Ness took a moment and looked at me, eventually smiling like how he used to casually. I smiled back.
"Yeah, that's right," He spoke, wiping his bottom lip with his wrist. "Well, I'm done, let's say we get going?" Ness spoke enthusiastically, standing up.
"Are you sure you can handle today's mission then?" Kato asked, frowning. Ness paused for a moment, frowning slightly.
"Why couldn't I?" He asked. "I'm doing much better now." Kato however sighed.
"You weren't yesterday… you were pretty much the opposite actually," He replied. Ness could only stand there silently looking at Kato. I couldn't help but look at him myself, until all of us were fixed on him.
He looked pretty dang uneasy to say the least…
"Look, all I'm saying is that I think while you seem much better today don't push yourself too hard again, just in case." He had a point. But even so, it looked like something else was bothering him. He finally stood up.
"Aight, I guess we should get going now then. I'll have to be the leading teleporter." Kato rubbed his nose, looking down to Ness, giving him a grin. Ness could only grin in return.
"Let's go!"
xxxxx
Kato stopped us as we looked down the long stretch of road in Fourside. Plenty of people were outside, minding their own business. It looked exactly like it did the first time we came here, like a normal city.
"We shouldn't be seen here," Kato spoke. Ness frowned.
"Does it really matter that much anymore?" Ness asked. "I don't think they can really see us when we teleport." Kato looked down to the three of us.
"It's up to you then Ness… how do you want us to teleport there?" He asked. Ness paused for a moment, frowning slightly.
"Whatever works the best for you," He spoke. Kato nodded.
"Ok… well if you insist, we can teleport here and now. We may not ever come to this city in a while," He spoke. Good riddance, most of the time we were running around Fourside anyways, I thought.
"I'm ready whenever you and everyone else is Kato," He smiled. I straightened the bazooka on my back, and its added weight. I would have to get used to it, I thought to myself. Kato sighed.
"Alright then. Let's get going," He spoke, as he held Paula's hand. Paula held Ness' hand as I held his hand towards the back of the line.
"And before we knew it, the four of use ran down the street, not caring if other passerby's saw us or not. But it soon didn't matter, as all of their faces quickly rushed past us as we were now jumping high up above the clouds.
xxxxx
When we finally slowed down, all three of us had our jaws dropped down to the ground in awe.
We were so high in the sky; I could feel my ears pop uncomfortably. But it didn't matter, because I was too absorbed in our atmosphere to even care.
We were high up on a very steep, narrow landmass, on the top of a mountain high up in the sky, or that's what it seemed like at least. But I had never even thought of, or heard of a place such as this being in existence. The clouds around us swirled in the sun, even though the sun didn't really show itself to us. Everything was seemingly oriental, of course. It looked as if it had some sort of Indian influence. The gigantic marble elephant statues greeted us at what looked like a royal castle of a powerful ancient empire, the walls golden. Kato waited for us to get over our states of awe.
"Kato…"
"This… this is where you come from?" Ness spoke out loud.
"It's…" Kato looked annoyed, to be honest. As if he didn't have any pride whatsoever.
"Yes, this is where I come from. Now please, come with me," He spoke. All three of us silently complied as we followed Kato into the castle.
It was quite amazing, as we passed through. Every single person we came across, bowed down to us. Wherever this was, Kato had power. And I wasn't sure if it was power he, was proud of or not. But still… I'd give a lot to be bowed down to for the rest of my life. Who wouldn't? I examined the walls, beautiful colors and imprints on the walls, the ceilings, they were mystical and enchanting, and I was sure each image had a story to tell. There was so much in here I could discover. But now wasn't the time. Maybe sometime in the future?
We eventually walked into the throne room, from what I could tell. Paula pointed up at the ceiling, and it was soon that the three of us looked up, to meet a beautiful mural, and painting, of what looked like the universe and all of its stars, comets and planets. The lantern in the middle of the ceiling seemed to serve as the sun itself. Ness almost bumped into Kato, who was now facing the thrown. He knelt down. The rest of us looked at each other, until copying Kato's exact movements to whoever was in the thrown.
"So you've returned…" The man in the throne spoke. Kato was silent at first.
"I hope you know that you can't change your mind. What lies ahead of you is the only path you can choose, so if you've come here in defeat, I cannot change your destiny for you," He spoke to him. "You will be thrown out of the kingdom if you otherwise, resist this path given to you. You must accept it," He spoke. I looked over to Kato, whom seemed to look uncomfortable by his words.
"Spare the speech majesty, I've come here for a different kind of request," He spoke. I saw the older man's eyes travel across the three of us, until he met my eyes. For some reason, I quickly looked away.
"These are the chosen ones, are they not?" He spoke.
"Yes, your majesty," He replied. I was sure he took a moment to examine the four of us.
"The boy named Ness… may you step forward for a moment?" He spoke. The three of us glanced to Ness, almost nervously before Ness stood up and walked forward. Ness looked nervous, as he put his knee down again. However, the man held up a hand, chuckling.
"You don't have to kneel," he spoke. "Now, what brings you here?" He asked.
"Uhh… ok, so… one of my sanctuaries is here somewhere. We need to access wherever that may be… if that's ok with you that is," He spoke nervously. The man laughed.
"Now now, don't be nervous, my boy. This sanctuary of yours, if I say no to your request, you'll never save the universe, hmm?" He spoke. Ness took a moment.
"P-Precisely," He replied. The old man hummed.
"Your request is a must. Our prince is helping your journey after all, aren't you, Prince Poo?" He smiled. Kato nodded once, frown deepening. So his name was Poo… I thought to myself, almost in amusement. Did he hide his name because of shame? I wasn't sure…
"Go Ness. You mustn't waste anymore time. You must go and claim this sanctuary of yours. Make your journey a successful one, with as much little effort as possible," he told him. Ness bowed slightly.
"Thank you," Ness replied.
"You do not need to thank me, just get what you need to be done. I'm sure Prince Poo will lead you there safely," He spoke. "Now go." With that, the three of us left silently, Kato leading us out quickly than he did when we entered.
xxx
One thing was for sure, Kato had tons of fangirls, all of them cheering for him and calling his name. Kato paid no mind to any of them however, as we brushed past all of them. When I looked behind us however there was a small crowd of girls following us, all of them chattering to themselves. When one of the girls giggled as she waved at me, I flushed slightly turning around. Ness sunk back next to me.
"This place is really bizarre," Ness whispered to me.
"You can say that again," I replied, keeping my voice low. "I wonder how he was able to live with crowds of women following him around all day."
"It's really pretty here though, even if it is really high up in the sky."
Sooner than later, we ended up standing in front of a black iron gate, decorated in what seemed to be bunny rabbit statues. Behind the gate, led to what looked to be a temple of some sorts.
"Your sanctuary is in here, isn't it, Ness?" Kato asked. Ness nodded.
"Sure thing it is," He replied. Kato held out his hand.
"I'll need the key then," He spoke. Ness's lips formed an 'oh' as he dug through his backpack. Ness pulled out the small orange carrot shaped key and handed it to Kato.
"I still wonder how this thing ended up back down on earth where you three reside," Kato said, as he put the key in the key hole. For a moment, the gate didn't budge, but right after, Kato quickly put two of his fingers and placed them over his left, scarred closed eye and touched the key hole. There was a sudden loud snap as the gates swung open slightly.
"Let's get your next sanctuary Ness, and once we gain that, we'll head straight to the next one, no matter how long it takes," Kato spoke. Ness looked at all of us, before each of us nodded to him in encouragement. All of us entered the temple.
xxx
All and all, the temple was very simplistic, which was surprising. It was just caves. Very old caverns, with remains, possibly soldiers, but only some spears and clothing remained. The rest of the area was bare and blank. There were enemies, plenty of enemies, some tried to ambush us while others stood their distance. These enemies however…
"These are spirits from those who's served our kingdom with honor, even if it was good honor or bad. Either way, it seems as if we aren't welcome here," Kato explained. Ness put a hand to his chest while holding up his bat with the other.
"Even if we aren't we can't stop now…" Ness replied. Kato nodded, turning around and smiling.
"Indeed Ness. It's best that we try to stay our distance from as many spirits as we can. They're known to wield wicked spells. It's a good thing we can see them," he replied. I shivered slightly. Ghosts, I thought. Okay, maybe not ghosts, spirits in literal case. That was a philosophy that I was never into at all.
"How do you know this?" I asked Kato. Kato chuckled.
"It's easy. My role in the kingdom is haunted by one," He replied. I kept my mouth shut. His role in the kingdom of being a prince? Haunted?
"That's kind of odd…" I replied, trying not to sound offensive. Kato shrugged.
"You don't have to believe me, Jeff," He replied in a dark monotone voice. I frowned. He took it by offense. Of course he did. Pretty soon, we all ended up at a dead end. Kato sighed.
"Sorry… I'm not quite sure how to get through this place myself…" He spoke embarrassed, as he faced us. I was the first one to catch up, followed by Ness and Paula.
"It's ok, Kato, don't worry about it," Ness replied. "We'll get there soon, it's really close." Kato smiled.
"Aight, let's turn back," Kato spoke as he started walking in the opposite direction. It was in this moment, when I felt the ground below my feet shift. It was slow at first, but soon very noticeable. And when I moved one foot, the ground below me seemingly crumbled.
! My eyes shot open, as I yelped, mid fall. And in what felt like slow motion, Kato's shocked expression followed my eyes as he reached out to catch my hand, but with little luck.
"Jeff! Kato!" Paula screamed from above before their voices were too far off.
xxxxx
My back felt like spaghetti back then. Either that, or it felt like it snapped, my back lying on top of my bazooka, and even if that broke the fall, it felt as if it destroyed my back. As I tried getting up, I hissed violently, groaning as I lied myself back down. Oh god, did my back hurt. Was it broken…? I panted, this was bad, I thought. What if I was stuck here? What if no one could find me? What if-
A hand rest itself against my forehead, as I felt a healing sensation throughout my body. I closed my eyes. PSI? Ness?
"Ness, are you…?" I looked up, only to flinch slightly.
Above my body was none other than Kato, as he seemingly studied me slightly. I could smell his scentless breath with possibly a hint of grape underneath. I flushed, sitting up quickly, yelping.
"Ah, don't do that!" I exclaimed at him. Kato stared blankly at me as I stood up, dusting myself off, as I felt the heavy weight of the bazooka on my back.
"You were hurt, Jeff," Kato replied semi coldly. I bit my lip.
"It doesn't mean you have to get that close to me," I responded, snorting. "Where are we anyways?" I asked. Kato stood up next, dusting his pants off before crossing his arms.
"How would I know?" He asked. I frowned.
"Sorry," I replied. "Let's just find the others." And that was that, I thought. And I was pleasantly surprised that Kato said nothing to me. And I said nothing back. As long as we stayed like this, I thought, nothing would go bad, right?
Our path led down to another cavern, one which seemed to lead…
"Here, already?" Kato asked out loud. I bit my lip as I looked up to him, and looked ahead.
Sure enough, there was that certain glowing light that signified the end of the tunnel.
"They should have followed us haha, that was really fast," I said. Kato could only grunt. There was only one problem however. Ness was the only one, or should I say, the key to triggering the fight in the first place. So what were we to do, except just stand there, and wait for Ness and Paula to catch up? My stomach turned slightly. That meant we had to wait. Alone. By ourselves.
"I want answers," I immediately spoke. Kato looked down at me, raising an eyebrow.
"Whaaat kind of answers?" He asked. I shot him a cold glare.
"First off, why did you take the diary away from me? Do you not trust me?" I asked. Kato smirked slightly.
"Yup," He responded simply. My jaw dropped slightly, I replied haughtily.
"Well then… I don't trust you either," I replied, looking away crossing my arms grumpily. Kato chuckled.
"I'm kidding," He replied tauntingly.
"Yeah, well I'm not," I replied.
"Yes you are." I glared up at him again, my glare faltering when he looked back down at me, a small smirk plastered across his face.
"Do you think this is funny? That journal is… it's important! And you're keeping it from me like a dog treat; do I have to beg for it on my knees and bark for it?" I ranted. Kato took a moment to observe me, cupping his chin as his smirk grew.
"I maaay be able to make an acceptation if you did that," He replied. My face grew hot in embarrassment. No, I thought. I'm not begging like a dog.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked again.
"What? Why am I keeping that book from you? Because you're hiding it from everyone else," he replied. I gritted my teeth.
"Well guess what, you're doing the exact same thing aren't you?" I replied. Kato shrugged.
"S'not like I'll read it behind my allies' backs when it contains pretty valuable information about what we could be facing," He replied. I frowned.
"So you think I'm turning my back against everyone? Why would I do that?" I asked.
"I wouldn't know," he replied. I growled with frustration.
"This is getting us nowhere…" I slapped my forehead.
"You're right, it isn't. So what will?" He asked.
"What will what?"
"Get us somewhere."
"I… like I said, I can't show Ness yet. I think…"
"He'd hate you for it?" The realization of the word hate… I surrendered slightly.
"So, it will never see the light of day. Not until you're ready to show this to everyone." He replied.
"How can I trust that you'll keep your word though? I barely know you…" Kato finally took me by surprise by putting a hand on my shoulder and looking at me straight in the eye. Our eyes clashed slightly.
"You have my word. This book will never see the light of day. Ever. Not until you're ready," He spoke in a softer tone. I bit my lip. Even though our distance wasn't very close, it still felt as if he was invading my privacy. But the way he said it… I winced.
"If you don't keep your word, I'll tear you to shreds," I replied. "That's an order." Kato smirked.
"Yes, your majesty," He replied. I grumbled illegibly to myself; I kept myself from looking at him now. Obviously, I was uncomfortable around him on a high level already. I tried thinking… something…
"Why the hell did you beat the crap out of me when we first met?" I demanded loudly. Kato picked at his ear with his pinky in response.
"Ah, it's normal in my country to have a small quarrel when you greet another warrior. Or male," He replied. "Eh, besides you look like the type of person that needs to be beat up." My jaw dropped.
"What?" I asked, or moreso demanded. Kato snickered.
"You're just fun to tease," He replied. "I like your spunk and spurts of loud anger, it's different." I cocked my head.
"So, you like my spunk and spurts of anger, and I look like the kind of person that needs to be beaten?" I asked. Kato sighed.
"Mmm." I paused.
"I guess you aren't the only one that's done that before," I replied honestly. Wait, what was I saying, I was admitting to myself that I looked like a complete douche bag? Ok, maybe I am one in a sense but…
"But to be honest," He continued. I looked up at him.
"Your eyes really compliment mine," He replied. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. I was totally lost now.
"…Since when did I ever compliment you, in any way, shape, or form?" I asked. Kato smiled.
"Compliment as in friendly or compliment as in opposite?" He asked. Oh yeah… complimentary stuff… right.
"So you're red, and I'm green kind of a deal?" I asked. Kato laughed.
"Mmmm drop the color concept. I just feel repulsed from looking at you in the eye," He said. Really now?
"The same can apply to me too," I said. "You're kinda repulsing period." Kato raised an eyebrow at me while narrowing his eyes.
"Well you are." I stood my ground. "Kinda." Kato snorted.
"Whatever. Wise-ass." I flashed him a grin.
"Yes, indeed."
"So you admit it?"
"Of course I do." A swift hand lightly blurred my vision. Slap. I recoiled.
"Wh- what the hell?" I pouted, straightening my glasses.
"Hmmm?"
"Why'd you slap me?" I demanded. Kato shrugged.
"I just felt the need to state my agreement to your stance of being a wise-ass. So I high-fived your face." I growled.
"Well, we don't high five each other's faces where I come from," I told him.
"They should. Because your reaction was priceless." As I felt my anger slightly rise, I tried to raise a hand, to return the favor somehow. Then the memory of him stopping the taxi occurred in my mind, which made me withdraw my hand to my face.
"Whatever. You win." I responded. Kato was silent. I sighed.
"Just. Please keep your promise, ok?" I asked seriously. And for the moment, all we could hear was the small air drafts that filled the caves. Then the sound of someone kneeling down to the ground. Whatever that sounded like.
"I promise." I opened my eyes, and surely, Kato looked back at me, eyes serious and intense as ever. My eye trailed slightly between his black and white eyes before the both of us were distracted by the sound of a girls voice from far off.
"Yoooo!" Paula shouted. Ness waved his arms like a dork, I thought. The both of them seemed perfectly fine, I thought.
"Hey. Did you two fair alright?" Kato asked.
"Yeah. We didn't really run into much," Ness responded. "Maybe they understand why we're here."
"How about you two?" Paula asked. I didn't know what to say, but Kato took on the talking roll, as he lightly punched my shoulder.
"We were just hanging out here. You two should have followed us down the hole we fell down, it happened to be a short cut," He replied.
"That's great!" Paula responded as Ness looked at me.
"You ready?" He asked. Mind half there, but half in the past, I nodded in response. Ness cocked his head slightly, knowing that something was on my mind. Soon, everything was disregarded however as Ness approached the soft light that glowed in front of us.
"Hello, Ness. I have been waiting for you for some time now. Are you ready to try to claim this sanctuary as your own?" The voice spoke. There was something different about this sanctuary, I instantly thought. It was as if the being guarding the place was accepting the fact that we were about to cease their existence, and in a sense it sent shivers down my spine. We were getting so close to achieving our goals, would it be this easy for these last few legs?
"I am," Ness replied. "I need to save the world." Ness's voice was confident today. Unlike only a few days ago. I smiled at that.
"Very well. We shall determine who will pass and who will not." And with that, the light transformed, transformed into what looked to be a couple of clouds. I was perplexed at first, but not as much as when the two clouds intertwined and resembled spirits. The golden cloud had an angular face and a sinister grin. The other face was more plump and round, their expression was slightly mute.
When the two worked together, they created a storm of lightning and wind. We all covered our faces, but Ness replied quickly by launching a PSI attack that gave off a bright flash. The clouds groaned slightly.
"Jeff! Now's your chance to examine them!" Ness told me. Examine them? I guess it's worked in the past… As the flash died down, I took the chance to let my eyes scan the two clouds over. I stepped closer to them, trying to be quick about it. The air for some reason became thick and hot, and I couldn't take a step further. These two needed to be cooled off, I instantly thought.
"Try freezing them!" I replied, stepping back, while taking out my zap gun and aiming at them. I wasn't sure if it would do anything or not, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to do so.
Paula responded by launching a PSI Freeze, Kato doing the same thing in unison.
A loud groan came from the clouds, as they tried to counter with another thunder attack, in hopes to heat themselves back up again. The thunder was severe, as it tore through the entire cavern. I flinched, as a wave of lightning just barely grazed my shoulder. Lightning however, hit Paula right on, as she screamed slightly.
"Paula!" We exclaimed. Kato ran to her side to heal her, but Ness stopped him.
"I'll heal, use your freeze!" He ordered.
"Alright!" He replied, launching another devastating attack, while I shot again with my puny laser gun. Sooner than later, Paula was back on her feet as she joined the attacking spree once more.
And before we knew it, after Ness unleashed another blinding attack, the being let off a groaning wail as it started to evaporate into the air.
All of us stood still as we watched the being disappear in surprise.
"Well done, Ness. You may pass," Were the last words it spoke before it disappeared completely.
All of us were completely dumbfounded. Was that really it?
"That was…"
"… Kinda pathetic," Kato added. Glancing at Ness, he didn't seem to mind, as a wide grin spread across his cheeky face.
"Well. One down, two more to go!" He spoke. And to be honest, that was all we really needed to care about.
xxxx
As we walked out to the sanctuary, we were outside again, high in the sky as the sun shown down on us, and made what looked to be a pink cloud hovering above us glow and shimmer like cotton candy. It was really strange, I thought to myself. Now I was craving cotton candy, dang it.
There wasn't too much of a sensation this time, I thought, except slight refreshment. For Ness however, he looked absorbed in the moment, like he always did. When the moment finally died, Ness took a moment to look out into the distance. The wind blew past our ears, as Ness looked back at us.
"How are you feeling?" Kato asked. Ness for a moment frowned slightly, until replacing it with something upside down. Was he contemplating?
"For a moment, something strange happened, but it's gone now," He said.
"What kind of feeling?" I asked. Ness paused; as he let his eyes gaze out into the sky again.
"I'm not sure. I guess it has to do with the fact that I'm not sure what will happen when I retrieve all of my sanctuaries." My thoughts trailed to last night's dream.
"Until he can manage to claim and overpower me, I will always exist," The Dark Ness from my dreams told me.
"We'll also never know if we don't make it either," Kato pointed out. "Whatever happens, we'll be there by your side." Kato seemed pretty good then, talking like a noble warrior. There were still so many questions I needed to ask him…
"Well… I guess we're done here," Ness spoke. So… does this mean we need to get to Scaraba now?" He asked.
"I believe so," Kato replied.
"Yes, that's what we need to do next, I'm sure of it," Paula commented. Ness paused, only to grin boldly sooner than later.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" We all nodded, as Ness quickly grabbed Paula's and soon my hand as well. When Kato joined in the group, I hesitated before Kato took a firm grip on my other hand, looking me in the eye a little calmer before.
Then we dashed out of there.
xxxx
I rubbed my head as we walked back towards the docking area of Summers. The sun was already setting, but it looked stormy when I looked beyond the horizon of the sea ahead of us. I frowned. But Paula insisted, right?
"Somewhere here," Paula paused. "Somewhere here, we need to go. To Scaraba." Everything seemed to fall into plan after she stated that.
A familiar face greeted us from afar, as he stood by his boat.
"Isn't that the husband of the woman who made the magic cake?" Paula asked.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Ness replied, as we made our way towards him.
"Hey, were you the bunch of kids that found my wife for me last week?" He asked.
"Depends on who you mean," Paula replied. "Was she the woman who was at the Stoic club?" The man's whiskers spread as he smiled boldly.
"That's my wife! Thank you kids so much, she's settled back to her normal self and I can talk to her normally again! I don't know how to repay the favor!" He said. Ness looked along the docks, looking at the boats as they shimmered in the sunset.
"Hey, I know! Do you kids need a ride somewhere across the sea?" He asked. Ness looked slightly dumbfounded.
"Well, er…" Paula giggled.
"We would like to get to Scaraba so far, but we realize how far that probably is, so we're trying to find a boat or ship that might travel there," She replied. To our surprises, the man laughed boldly.
"I was gonna say, I was about to make my way there!"
The four of us glanced at each other. Well that was easy. Well… until I looked out at the sea again. I could feel an uncomfortable lump sink down into my stomach. I had a bad feeling about this.
"Would it… really be ok?" Ness asked. Kato cut in.
"You sail alright, don't you? I mean… you're a safe driver, right?" He asked.
"O' course I am! I've been doing this trip for 15 years, we can handle it! I just hope you four don't get seasick…"
Sadly however, I was a likely candidate for that. I gulped, but then Ness nudged me, as if letting me know that everything would be alright. I sighed.
"You don't look too excited boy," He added. I shivered slightly, glancing at the water.
"Just a slight fear of deep water. I'll get over it soon," I replied. The man chuckled.
"I'll go easy on her then," He replied. "O course, if we don't run into any complications along the way…"
"C-complications?" Ness asked. I sighed. Oh goodie.
"There be rumors that the Kraken 'be appearing again. O' course, it's just a rumor, and I've never ran into the creature myself," He spoke.
As much as I would have protested, Ness slapped his chest in spirit.
"We can handle such a thing if we run into it," He replied. The man studied him for a moment.
"You seem really confident. Alright! I guess I can't say no to you young faces. You kids get on the boat, and I'll be right back; gotta make a few preparations before we take off!"
I could feel my knees buckle under me slightly. This was not going to be fun. But then, the feeling of a hand resting on my shoulder, and then another one slapping the other and a small hand holding mine assured me otherwise. I sighed, chuckling slightly.
"At least you guys know how I feel about water…" I told them.
"It'll be fine, we promise," Ness told me. Paula was the first to climb up on the boat, followed by a slow Kato, as he glanced at the sunset across the sea. Ness was third, making sure to drag me along with him. He flashed me a cheerful smile. I could only smile back, even if it was slightly tentative.
One thing was for sure, we were finally getting somewhere with this journey.
Even if it were to take us the next few months, we would get there. As long as we had each other, I thought.
That was all I really needed to get across the ocean, I thought to myself, smiling at the setting sun.