M OO O N B U N D various authors

[IF]

2

Table of Contents Chapter 1: One Fateful Night 3 Chapter 2 4 Chapter 3 5 Chapter 4 6 Chapter 5: Arrival 7 Chapter 6 8 Chapter 7: edisnooM 9 Chapter 8 10 Chapter 9 11 Chapter 10: Power 13 Chapter 11 14 Chapter 12 15 Chapter 13: Death To All But Flavor 16 Chapter 14 17 Chapter 15 18 Chapter 16 19 Chapter 17 21 Chapter 18 22 Chapter 19: Great Flavor, Our Leader 24 Chapter 20: Worried Poo 25 Chapter 21: Enter Paula 26 Chapter 22: Showdown in the Dusty Dunes Desert 28 Chapter 23 31 Chapter 24: X. Position Tells All 34 Chapter 25 39 Chapter 26 40 Chapter 27 41 Chapter 28 42 Chapter 29 43 Chapter 30: Tonight Will Be Our Last 45 Chapter 31 46 Chapter 32 47 Chapter 33 49 Chapter 34 50 Chapter 35: The Battle at Twoson 51 Chapter 36: The Commanding Officer 53 Chapter 37 54 Chapter 38 56 Chapter 39 57 Chapter 40: Antagonist Revealed 58 Chapter 41 59 Chapter 42 62 Chapter 43 63 Chapter 44: Awake 64 Chapter 45: Riding With the Sharks 65 Chapter 46: Strange Place 69 Chapter 47: The Axis of Good and Evil 70 Chapter 48: Magicide 74 Chapter 49: Stand-Off 76 Chapter 50 : Monotoli’s Proposition 78 Chapter 80: Amacitia 80 Chapter 52: Meeting 82 Chapter 53: Electra’s Reservations 83 Chapter 54 84 Chapter 55 87 Extras 90 Participating Writers 90 Characters 91

The Vanquish Prophecy 92 Flavor’s Secretary 93

Summary 1 94 Summary 2 95 Summary 3 97 Summary 4 98 Penguinbound’s Latin Lessons 100 PSI and Special Abilities 101 Visit Us 102

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SonicBlast190 Prod.

CHAPTER 1

ONE FATEFUL NIGHT

“All right, guys, it‟s been fun but it‟s closing time.”

“Okay. Thanks for serving us, I‟ll see you tomorrow!”

“Good night, Lardna.”

The lights go off. In the pitch black of Jackie‟s Cafe there is not one sound. Then, out of

nowhere a quick strike shatters the silence. Someone has broken into the window of Jackie‟s

Cafe. The alarms cry out.

“Whoa, I‟ve never seen anything like it!”

All of Fourside exploded with neon lighting that very second.

“Put your hands up, put the statue down!”

At that moment he bolts out of the cafe and keeps running with the strange statue in hand,

keeping his distance from gunfire.

He uses the dimly lit alley to his advantage and jumps into the dumpster. Justice avoided.

There is a spot of blinding light in front of the former Monotoli Building. The Statue leaps out

of his hands and floats towards the light. The neon grows brighter. The thief tries pulling the

statue out of the ground. A single bolt of lighting from the endless black night skies comes

down and leaves him without breath, his heartbeat comes to a grinding halt.

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ohboy

CHAPTER 2 Mayor Enrich Flavor thought it was rather odd that there were so many people milling

around in front of the City Hall. A closer inspection revealed that most of the people were

actually police officers and detectives sealing off a crime scene, with a few nosy citizens

poking around to see what was going on. Of course, Flavor himself was curious as to what

happened, so he approached a man wearing a cheap, off-the-rack suit, assuming the man

was a detective.

“What happened here?” Flavor asked.

The detective pointed to the body. “Good morning, Mr. Mayor, I‟m Detective Paul Dean. We

received a report this morning from a passerby that a man was lying facedown on the

pavement in front of City Hall. She happened to be a nurse, and checked his pulse, determining that he was dead.”

Flavor turned his head to the body of a man who indeed was lying facedown on the

pavement. Two people were picking the body up, and putting it into a body bag. Flavor turned back to Dean. The last thing he wanted to do was continue to stare at a dead body.

“Well, I‟m sure you‟ll find the murderer,” Flavor said, giving him an encouraging smile.

“That‟s the funny thing. We‟ll need to investiage further, but he seemed to die after being struck by lightning.”

“Struck by lightning,” Flavor repeated, surprised. “But it was a clear day out last night!”

“That‟s what odd about it,” Dean said, sighing. At that moment, a police officer called his name. “I‟m sorry, will you excuse me…”

Flavor watched him go back to the crime scene, swearing that he could hear Dean

muttering something about neon lights and a robbery at Jackie‟s Cafe. Wanting to shake off

the incident, Flavor told himself that the good police of Fourside would take care of the situation. He then turned around, and entered the hulking City Hall.

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 3 Mr.Monotoli sighed, he knew what happened to that murdered man. At least, he had a

general idea. It must have been that statue. The thing he feared most. He looked out the

window of his home, and sat in his bed, he wanted to tell someone…who could understand

the horror. He then remembered, the boy. His…ah yes, Ness, he had to contact Ness. But

how? He looked at the phone, he couldn‟t call Ness…Monotoli got up. He did happen to know

where Ness lived, or at least, the city. Onett, he would travel to Onett, he learned Ness lived there because of the newspaper telling how Ness and his friends saved the world.

Monotoli grabbed a metal pole. After the man was killed, reports of birds attacking civillians

had broken out, and he might have to fight. He walked out of his house, locked the door, and started walking to the bus station. It‟s time this…statue, was put to rest once and for all.

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Psychomax

CHAPTER 4 Mayor Flavor mopped his forehead with his sleeve; he was never good with dead bodies. It

wasn‟t just the way they looked or smelled, but the fallout Enrich was required to handle.

Even though the man had obviously been killed by a lightning strike, the fact that it

happened on the steps of city hall would mean about a week of press conferences and

interviews, questions about the crime problem and public safety and animal attacks, and a

thousand other things he didn‟t need to deal with at the moment.

“Did you see the man?” Enrich‟s secretary, Adrian Guarde, asked over her gaudy sunglasses.

“The man in front? Yes, yes, they were just carting him away.”

“Oh my, did they tell you what happened to him? They wouldn‟t tell me, they just made me

go right inside. Do you think it has anything to do with the robbery last night?”

Enrich dropped his coat next to the rack and opened his door. “I‟m going to take a quick

nap, so don‟t forward any calls.”

“And that‟s not the only strange thing that happened last night, Margaret said she and her

husband were driving in from Threed and saw bright neon lights flashing in the sky, all the

way from Dusty Dunes! I haven‟t talked with Betty yet but she has an astronomer friend so

she‟ll probably have a better idea—”

“You heard me, right?”

“Right, don‟t forward any calls, Mr. Flavor.”

“Good.” Enrich closed his office door behind him.

“I‟ll tell you what Betty says!” Adrian called through the thick oak doors.

An ergonomic chair, a marble desk, an unused closet, a display case and coffee table;

Enrich prided himself on being a minimalist. He closed the undusted curtains and pulled out

bottle of hard rum: muscle memory. He poured himself a tumbler and pushed it around his

desk. He felt… odd today. As soon as he entered his office, in fact. The day had already

started off miserably, so why wasn‟t he more miserable than usual? That should be simple

arithmetic. But as soon as he walked in the door he felt… it was hard to explain. The stack

of meaningless paperwork on his desk, the press schedule, irritating secretary, divorced

wife, estranged son, dead men on front steps, nagging constituents, they were ineffectual

now. He was more important then them, bigger than they could ever imagine. He felt…

Powerful.

The feeling was emanating from the closet door.

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CHAPTER 5

ARRIVAL “Geldegarde? You called?”

“I did. Thanks for coming. Ness…”

“…did you happen to see what happened outside of the Flavor Building?

Ness began to feel strange.

“No…what‟s going on there?”

“I‟ll drive you.”

Ness looked around aimlessly in Geldegarde‟s car while he was waiting for his answer.

“That, Ness.”

Ness wished he hadn‟t seen it.

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ohboy

CHAPTER 6 Flavor took a step towards his closet. The feelings of despair became stronger. It was as

though he was in a dark haze, an abyss of hopelessness. The only salvation was beyond the

closet door. Another step. He suddenly began to feel healthier. It was as though he was

back in high school. playing running back, having to train two hours everyday. Before he let

himself get out of shape, before his opponents began to taunt him for being overweight,

saying that “Mayor Flavor likes the flavor of anything.” He felt another rush of power,

another wave of resentment from that recollection. He didn‟t need all those press interviews,

all those annoying… fools that bothered him day in and day out. They were lucky to have

such a wise and kind mayor. They should defer to him.

Flavor was surprised as he finally reached the closet door. He couldn‟t remember even

walking from his desk. It was as though he had lost control of his legs. His arms slowly

moved up, reaching the handle of the closet. Flavor felt that he no longer had any control

over his arms, as though a strange force was manipulating him like a puppeteer. Oddly, it

felt good to submit to such power. He didn‟t try to fight the unseen force flowing through his

body. Rather, he embraced it. For the less he resisted, the more strength he felt, the more self-worth he attained.

The mayor opened the closet door. What he saw amazed him.

The scientists and those who functioned on pure logic would say that the glowing, golden

statue in front of him resembled some type of primitive man. The fearful would say that the

statue was an embodiment of evil, the way the ears pointed up to resemble horns, and the

way that the slightest indent sprawled across his face, resembling a frown. The religious

would call the statue sacrilegious, the way that such an evil statue could cross his hands in a position of prayer.

But to Enrich Flavor, the statue represented something else. Pure, unbridled power.

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SonicBlast190 Prod.

CHAPTER 7

EDISNOOM

Flavor felt as if he owned the world. He moved towards the statue. He held it in his hands.

He had felt power. All of Fourside became neon-lit like the night before.

Ness dropped to his knees.

“How…” "Jeff, I need you to get Mayor Flavor, as soon as possible.

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 8 Paula picked up the phone and dialed Ness‟ number, it had been a few weeks since they had

talked. Ness‟ mother answered. “Oh, hello Paula! Ness isn‟t here right now actually.”

Paula was confused, Ness didn‟t have baseball practice tonight, or a game. He didn‟t go on

adventures any more either. “Well…thanks, tell Ness to call me when he gets back.” Paula

put the phone back on the hook, and sat down on the couch. She remembered when they

had given up adventuring. Back on Jeff‟s 14th birthday. Ness was worried that since they

hadn‟t used their powers in a while, they were probably weak, he did have one exception to

that rule, though she doubted it would happen. She sighed, and got up, she had some diapers to change.

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ohboy

CHAPTER 9 Enrich Flavor looked around himself. He was in an office that looked strangely like his own,

but horribly different at the same time. Instead of fresh white walls and finely polished oak

desks, there were neon green walls and bright red desks. His office, usually well-lit from a combination of strategically placed windows and overhead lights, seemed dark and gloomy.

But the biggest change was not the look of the atmosphere, but the feel of it. It was as

though the strange force gripped Flavor had leaked throughout his office. but despite that,

Flavor didn‟t feel scared. This place, his feel, this incredible aura flowing through him, it felt… right!

His first instinct was to call Adrain, to see if anything changed outside his office. but he quickly thought better of the idea. Let Betty tell her what‟s going on.

“_You are wise not to call her in. She couldn‟t hear you, anyways._”

“Who said that?” Flavor asked. The strange, almost alluring voice seemed to speak as

though it came from every individual particle of air. Yet he couldn‟t see anything except that

golden statue.

“_The Mani-Mani Statue has chose you._”

“Chosen me?”

“_You have strong ambitions. Unlike that fool, Geldegarde Monotoli._”

“You know Monotoli?” Flavor asked, trying to make sense of what was happening, and who

he was talking to.

“_I granted him power… He ascended to the position you hold. But he was weak! I sense strength from you. You will serve me well._”

“Serve you?” Flavor asked. He tried to argue back, tried to tell the Mani-Mani Statue or whoever was talking to him that he was nobody‟s tool, but words failed him.

“_I sense doubt. Do you not want relief from all those fools, those reporters that mock you,

that secretary that hinders you. You want to go down as one of the best leaders of Fourside,

no… Eagleland, do you not?_”

Flavor nodded. He did want what the statue had to offer. It was as though somebody finally understood him.

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“_I can grant you all those things. All you must do is serve me. Join me, and you will rule

great nation, and bask in eternal happiness. All men will be yours to command, all resources

of the world at your disposal. All you must do is pledge yoru oath of alliegance to me._”

Flavor nodded. He wanted power, wanted fame and glory so bad. He would do anything to

get it. “I promise… to serve only you.”

“_My powers are weak… The darkness I eclipsed Fourside in will soon pass. But soon, I will grow. Tell no one of what transpired here._”

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Flavor‟s office had returned to normal. The sky was blue,

and his walls were pure white. The gold statue glowed in the closet. Flavor was confused,

wondering if he really was talking to that statue. He slowly returned to his desk, and sat

down in his chair.

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SonicBlast190 Prod.

CHAPTER 10 POWER

“Listen to me, Flavor.”

“…if you want to be the greatest ruler Eagleland has ever seen, you will need to OWN

Eagleland itself.”

Flavor was shocked. How could he force all those people out of their position and dictate all

of Eagleland?

“Enrich, I know what you are thinking. We can do this together.”

Enrich felt confident, he could do this. He was going to be Eagleland‟s dictator.

The door opened.

A little boy wearing a teal coat and glasses came in.

“Hello, Mayor Flavor!”

“Enrich, he is going to stop our plans! Kill him, be merciless!”

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 11

Jeff saw the statue, and knew that there was going to be a fight. He pulled out a leftover

bottle Rocket, and lit the fuse, set it on the ground, and slipped outside of the room. He

heard the explosion, then a scream. The genius peeked his head in, to see nothing! Jeff

straightened his glasses and walked in. Thunk! Jeff fell to the floor. Enrich had pushed the

statue on Jeff.

“Excellent job, Flavor, but there is still Monotoli and another boy! But for now, my powers

are low, we must escape!” The voice sounded through Enrich‟s mind, he had a twang of

guilt, but he then remembered that if he was going to rule Eagleand, he would have to be

ruthless.

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Psychomax

CHAPTER 12

Escape, escape, how could Enrich get out of his office with a giant metal statue in tow? And

with two others looking for him? Smoke still filled the office from a lump of burnt cardboard

and plastic and it smelt of sulfur. He lifted Mani Mani back onto its pedestal; it weighed

several hundred pounds. Its head and arms were unscratched from the fall.

“Calm down, Flavor. You are not alone. You must simply find a place for me to retreat to,

and I will appear there.”

“Just find a place?” His city was immense, a labyrinth in every direction. This would be easy.

“And what about the boy?” The strangely familiar assassin‟s glasses were smashed, and

there was blood caked in his hair.

“I will tend to him. Just go. Find a place for me to stay.”

Enrich wiggled the statue back into the closet, and stuffed the boy in at his feet. Staring at

the boy, trying to remember where he knew him from, Enrich noticed a dull spot on the

otherwise flawless body. “Er, there‟s a piece missing.”

“A what?”

He knelt down to get a closer look. “The tip of your sword, it‟s gone.”

For an instant, Enrich returned to the neon world. He felt like he was going to vomit, like

every terrible feeling in the world was bombarding him and only him. The feeling was gone

so quickly he was not even sure if it had actually happened, but he looked into the face of

the statue and saw malice in its unmoving eyes. “First you must find a place to hide me.

Then you must find the rest of me as quickly as possible.”

The flash of rage still lingered in Enrich‟s mind, like a bad taste. “So after I run all these

errands for you, when will I start getting a return?”

“You think like a truly influential politician, we should get along well. But before I can do

anything for you, you must do these two things.”

Enrich nodded, and slammed the closet door. He slid the rattling display case in front of the

door. Adrian was absent from her desk, but he heard a flush from the bathroom. Before she

returned to her desk, Enrich was out the back door and headed into the city.

Ness and Monotoli waited in the stretch limousine outside city hall, they could see smoke

pouring through the drawn curtains in Flavor‟s office, and they heard the scream of a grown

man. They waited several minutes in absolute silence, but nothing else happened.

“Your friend wouldn‟t attack unless he was in immediate and unavoidable danger, right?”

Monotoli was wringing his hands nervously.

“No, that‟s not like Jeff. He wouldn‟t attack unless he absolutely had to.” Ness frowned.

“Should I go in and check on him?”

Monotoli nodded. “Go. Tug on the curtains if something is wrong.”

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SonicBlast190 Prod.

CHAPTER 13 DEATH TO ALL BUT FLAVOR

“Turn back, little worm.”

Jeff was in excruciating pain. For the first time since he fought Giygas, he truly believed this

was going to be his last day. He‟d run out of Bottle rockets. Jeff took a long hard breath and

fired his laser at the Statue again.

Not even a scratch.

The door came tumbling down.

Out from it came a boy in a red cap and striped shirt.

“Ness…you‟re a riot. I‟m not that coward you once knew, I have power. You wouldn‟t dare

try and take that all away from me, would you?”

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ohboy

CHAPTER 14 Monotoli was getting worried. He remembered the horrors of the Mani-Mani Statue, and how

dangerous it could was. The alien that controlled it, Giygas, played off the insecurities of

others. Monotoli knew without being told that the statue would end up with the most powerful host that it could find: Enrich Flavor.

Monotoli himself was an easy target for the Mani-Mani Statue; he had been corrupt long

before being mayor. He was a crooked real estate agent, whose shady business dealings

bankrupted the company that he worked for. When his wife was ill, instead of being there to

comfort and nurse her, he was out with various mistresses until the day she died. He had

his parents put in a home, never once visiting them. Even before that statue found its way

to his office, he had taken numerous bribes as mayor, promising to overlook several

injustices. Giygas merely took his greed, his corruption, and used it to serve his own purposes.

Monotoli knew that he could never atone for his past sins, but he would try. He would stop

that statue from hurting anymore people, even if he had to return to the statue‟s lair, Moonside, and destroy it himself.

With that in mind, when he saw that man die, he decided to turn to the one person that he

knew had experience with the accursed device: Ness. He drove as quickly as he could,

getting to Onett in just under four hours. He felt bad asking the boy to wake up in the

middle of the night, but Ness was quick to get ready. As they were driving back to Fourside,

Ness told him that Dr. Andonuts was doing some work for the Fourside Dinosaur Museum

and brought Jeff along with him. The two of them reached Fourside again by the early morning, and caught Jeff and Dr. Andonuts just as they were entering the museum.

The former mayor leaned closer to the door that connected to Flavor‟s office. He was alone,

because getting rid of Adrian was easier than he thought. He met her a few times, and

Electra complained about her when during their weekly lunch at a nearby cafe. Monotoli

simply began to strike up conversation, subtly adding that while he was on the elevator,

Jolene and Mabel, two accountants on the twenty-seventh floor, were talking about Betty‟s

boyfriend having an affair. Adrian suddenly said that she had to run some errands for Flavor,

which ironically happened to take place on the twenty-seventh floor. When Jeff went in the

office, and Monotoli and Ness heard Flavor running towards the door, the two of them ran to

the nearest place they could hide, which happened to be the bathroom. The less people he thought were involved, the better.

He was now waiting for Ness to tug on those curtains. He could have sworn that he heard

arguing inside the office, but he still wanted to wait for the signal. The voices sounded like Ness‟s and Jeff‟s which seemed odd. Weren‟t they good friends?

But before he had time to think anymore, he saw the tug on the curtain, and ran inside.

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 15

Paula grabbed her frying pan, a teddy bear, and some rolls. Ness‟ mother had told her

about Monotoli coming to Ness‟ house, terrified about a statue, which she had

neglected to tell her the last time she called. She then knew she had to go help. The

problem was, she had a fever. She didn‟t know if she was sick or, maybe learning a

new PSI move. Which would be odd. She said goodbye to the many children of the

preschool, hugged her parents, and stepped out side. And waited, and waited, and

waited, and waited. That is until a black van pulled up. She had called the Runaway 5

for help. At least to drive her to Fourside. The psychic youth climbed into the back of

the van. She wished she could contact Poo, but, she had no way to contact him. She

looked out the window. They were almost to Threed.

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Psychomax

CHAPTER 16

The buildings in Fourside, it seemed to Enrich, looked smaller from the street than they

did from the rooftops. Maybe it was something about the architecture, designed to look

small and inviting to the citizens but huge and metropolic to the CEOs on top. Enrich

wasn‟t used to looking at it from the bottom. What he thought was a labyrinth looked

now like a grid, every corner easily reachable, every door flimsy and searchable. There

was nowhere he could run to. “Flavor!” A voice bubbled from behind him and Enrich

screamed. He spun around, and at first saw no one, but then looked down. It was an

old acquaintance, the wrinkled and round-faced Dr. Andonuts.

“Oh! Doctor, what a surprise seeing you here!”

“And where are you off to in such a hurry?” Andonuts leaned in as closely as he could,

his soft chin level with Enrich‟s sternum.

Enrich stumbled over his words. He could tell very easily that the old man was

suspicious of him for something. “Oh, you know, just around. What brings you to

Eagleland?”

If Andonuts was suspicious at all, he forgot entirely once the conversation was directed

towards him. “I was invited to do some research at the Museum of Natural History, you

know, just take some fossil samples, the usual. I brought my son along with me, but

he ran off to see old friends. And I‟m on my way to the police station to look at a

strange artifact, something left behind at a robbery. They have no idea what it is, but it

knocks out anyone who touches it with their bare hands! They told me about it over the

phone, and how could I resist such an interesting opportunity! You know me—”

“Yes, yes, I know you, always doing… science. Of one sort or another, listen. I actually

have to be heading off now, but it was wonderful seeing you again. Tell your son I say

hello.”

“Oh, I‟ll be sure to. I thought you said you were just wandering about?”

But Enrich was already around the corner. This was ridiculous. First he had to find a

place to hide that damn statue, and then he had to find a tiny piece of it that could be

anywhere in the city, all while Monotoli and his brats were chasing after him. He didn‟t

have time to be held up by rambling old men.

What place was hard to get into, had lots of spaces for hiding things, but wasn‟t

obvious? As Enrich was crushing his brain trying to squeeze out an answer, he ran past

the Topolla Theater. He did a double take, and a wide grin covered his face. It was

perfect.

Monotoli burst through the door with his cane above his head, but Flavor wasn‟t there.

Only Ness, Jeff, and the cold metal idol. He shuddered. “What‟s going on? Where is

Mayor Flavor?”

“I don‟t know, but Jeff is acting crazy. I think it‟s the statue.”

Jeff‟s face was covered in blood and saliva, his glasses gone but there was a mark on

the bridge of his nose where they had pressed into his face. “Don‟t you try to blame

this on Mani Mani! You‟re just afraid because you know it‟s true! You always looked at

me like I was useless, I was the only one who didn‟t have PSI, I was just the useless

nerd. But you should know that power doesn‟t just come in the form of fire and

baseball bats. The power of intelligence, I have more of it than you can ever have!”

Monotoli looked at Ness, both at a loss. “Jeff, listen to me, no one thinks you‟re useless,

we all know you‟re smarter than Ness can ever hope to be—”

“Hey…”

“—but you‟re not thinking clearly! I‟ve been under its influence before, these aren‟t

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your thoughts!”

Jeff stared at Monotoli incredulously, then punched him in the jaw. The old man

stumbled backwards.

“Don‟t you dare say these aren‟t my thoughts! I‟ve been thinking this for a long, long

time, and I‟m thinking more clearly than I ever have in my life! And do you know what

I realize now?”

Ness was staring over Jeff‟s shoulder; Mani Mani was covered in a thin film of wild

energy.

“You never thought I was useless, you knew I was better than you all. And you were

jealous! You tried to keep me down!”

“Jeff, the statue!”

“Would you stop talking about the damn statue!"

Jeff was in an empty room. Ness and Monotoli were gone. The room was pitch black.

“Thank you for stalling them for me, Jeff.”

He spun around, and Mani Mani was directly behind him, emitting a subtle light.

“Where are we?”

“I can’t tell you that, but I will tell you that neither sound nor matter can exit this room.

So don’t bother.”

Jeff‟s hand flew to his belt, but his pistol was gone. So were all his belongings, besides

a crushed bear claw pastry in his back pocket.

“You have done well, Flavor.”

“Thank you.”

Jeff peered into the darkness, but he could not see the source of the other voice.

“Now you must complete the second task, and then we can begin your rise to incredible

power.”

“Right away.”

Measuring the direction of the voice, Jeff ran at the mayor with his arms outstretched

and his head down. He ran squarely into a stone wall. There was no one else in the

room.

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CHAPTER 17

“Let us proceed with our conquest of Eagleland. I will keep you safe, no human

resistance can ever stop us.”

A buzzing noise surrounded the two, Enrich was swept off his feet and somehow ended

up in the desert.

It looked as boring and dead as ever, so weak, so defenseless. So much could be done

with it.

“We will transform this hellhole into a grand city, Enrich. You will do a good deed for

Eagleland.”

We carry on to the only sign of life around here, the drug store.

“I‟m not doing it.”

The Statue glowed bright red and it‟s eyes turned white.

“You will.”

Flavor felt invigorated. He suddenly felt like it was his duty to rule Eagleland.

He was on top of the world.

“Get out! This place is mine now!”

The people looked in awe and horror as the Statue used a blinding light and murdered

a dog and the clerk.

As fast as lightning, everyone left the store.

“Threed will be ours, Enrich.”

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CHAPTER 18

“What… what did Mani-Mani do to Jeff?”

In the blink of an eye, both Jeff and the statue vanished, leaving a confused Ness and a

remorseful Monotoli. He knew what this meant, that the statue had found its proper home,

a place that it could be stored without much notice. Of course, with that task complete,

Flavor was bound to be on his way back to his office, planning his next move. Monotoli knew that they had to leave the building as soon as possible.

“Ness, you‟ve fought Mani-Mani before, but do you know its true power?”

“Not exactly,” Ness admitted.

“Why don‟t I explain it while we leave? Flavor‟s going to return soon, and even I don‟t know how powerful he‟s become.”

The two of them began to head for the door. Monotoli hoped that Flavor‟s secretary was still out gossiping, because he didn‟t really want her to see him leave.

“Well…” Monotoli began, but was quickly interrupted by a high-pitched scream coming from

outside the office.

“I QUIT!” Monotoli could instantly recognize the voice, and could feel a heavy set of

footsteps getting closer and closer. “IF THE JANITOR DOESN‟T COME INTO WORK, THAT‟S

HIS PROBLEM, NOT MINE! I TOLD YOU IF I GOT ONE MORE MEMO TELLING ME TO CLEAN

THE TOILETS, I‟D QUIT. NOWHERE IN MY CONTRACT DOES IT SAY I HAVE TO CLEAN

TOILETS!”

The door to the mayor‟s office flew open, and an enraged Electra, eyes bulging and fists clenched, stomped in.

“I QUI…” She suddenly stopped, looking around the office to find that Flavor wasn‟t there.

“Hello, Electra,” Monotoli said as calmly as he could, hoping to diffuse her anger.

“What are you doing here, and who‟s the kid? And where‟s the mayor?”

Monotoli was now torn between Electra what was going on, or lying and trying to escape as

quickly as possible. He didn‟t want to tell her; that would mean going over parts of his

adminis-tration that he would rather keep hidden. However, he knew when Flavor did get

back, if she started screaming at him, she would probably end up dead. But maybe he could

get her to leave subtly…

“Electra, I agree, you should quit. I‟ll be sure to tell him when he gets back.”

23

“Oh, no! I‟m telling him off to his face. He‟s going to learn not to treat his maids like this.”

“But I‟m sure that he‟s pretty stressed out, crime wave and all…” Monotoli said quickly.

“What‟s he going to do, beat me to an inch of my life?”

Monotoli and Ness exchanged nervous glances, before Monotoli returned his focus to Electra. He was about to speak, but the maid was too quick for him.

“You‟re hiding something, aren‟t you?”

“No, of course not. I just think that you should leave as quickly as possible, that‟s all.” Only after saying that did Monotoli realize how stupid that was.

“You are hiding something. I know when you‟re worried, and I know that something‟s wrong. Now, what is it?”

Monotoli rubbed his forehead, partly due to the stress he was under, partly to massage

where Jeff had hit him. He knew Electra could be stubborn, and she wouldn‟t let this go. She

wasn‟t a gossip; Monotoli knew that she had good intentions in being concerned about Monotoli‟s health. He had no choice, he would have to tell her.

“Mr. Monotoli, shouldn‟t we get out of here?” Ness asked, breaking through his thoughts.

“Ah yes, of course. Electra, come with us, and I‟ll tell you what happened. Ness, do you have any suggestions as to a place we can stay while we plan what to do next?”

+++++++++++

“Thanks again, Lucky!” Paula said, an appreciative smile spread across her face.

“Don‟t mention it, kid,” Lucky replied, leaning against the large, black van that was the

Runaway Five Tour Bus. “I don‟t know why you wanted to be dropped off in front of City Hall, but you take care now.”

“Thanks, you too.”

“If you ever need anything else, don‟t hesitate to ask. We owe you kids for what you did for us,” Gorgeous yelled out the driver‟s window of the bus.

“I will, thank you,” Paula replied, before turning around and entering the former Monotoli Building.

24

SonicBlast190 Prod.

CHAPTER 19 GREAT FLAVOR, OUR LEADER

Enrich walked out of the store with the Mani Mani behind him. The desert was dead and

barren, soon this would change. They would make Dusty Dunes a great city under

Flavor‟s control.

“We are at Threed.”

“Perfect, Enrich. Now, make Threed fear your name and let your power be known.”

Flavor rolled in clouds from the sunny skies.

Mani Mani and Flavor walked towards a hospital.

With a flick of a wrist, a lightning bolt came out of the clouds faster than light and

made the building shatter.

He looked around him. All he could see was bricks, cement, metal, and corpses. It was

all so hilarious to him.

Flavor floated up into the sky, and clapped his hands.

All of Threed became trapped in a blinding light. No building stood left. Every survivor

in Threed looked at their homes with tears in their eyes. There would be no objections

as to who is in charge of Threed. And by the looks of things, there would be none to

who rules Eagleland.

25

penguinbound

CHAPTER 20 WORRIED POO

The prince of Dalaam streched, having just finished meditating, and got up. He looked

around the landscape of the floating palace. He picked up his Sword of Kings, and started

the trek down the mountain path. He was supposed to prepare for his birthday, his 15th to

be exact. He then felt a piercing pain in the back of his head. He then felt the thoughts

of…Jeff. His friend was in trouble. He then felt anger, and Ness‟ presence. Something was happening to his friends, and he had to help.

He reached the bottom of the mountain side, and told his advisor he was going. He then

stepped outside the palace, and thought really hard about Fourside. And then he teleported. It would be a while efore he reached, but it wouldn‟t matter, he was going to help.

26

ohboy

CHAPTER 21 ENTER PAULA

The elevator door opened, letting Ness, Monotoli, and Electra step off on the bottom floor.

There were surprisingly few people in the lobby, much less crowded than usual. Probably the police carrying off a dead body had a role in that.

“So that‟s the true power of Mani-Mani,” Monotoli said gravely.

“So to cure Jeff, we either have to destroy the Mani-Mani Statue, or break its hold over

him?” Ness asked. While he had fought the statue twice, he didn‟t know the inner workings of it.

“That‟s right. We‟ll probably have to find wherever Flavor hid that statue, and use it to return to Moonside.”

“But what if…” Ness began, but was interrupted.

“Ness!” a young, female voice called out.

“Paula?” Ness asked.

Paula ran over to her friend, putting her arms around him in a big, but terribly tight, hug.

“When I called and your mother told me about Mr. Monotoli and the Mani-Mani Statue, I

thought you‟d tried to beat that thing by yourself. Why didn‟t you tell me? I would have come to help you in a heartbeat!”

“You can blame me for that oversight,” Monotoli said. “I wanted to get back here as fast as

I could, and we had to travel in the middle of the night. I didn‟t want to wake you up, and I

didn‟t think that things would have gotten as complicated as they did.”

“Paula… can‟t breathe…” Ness choked.

Paula let go, and turned to Monotoli. “Is it true that the statue has returned?”

“I‟m afraid so. It‟s already corrupted somebody else, and I‟m afraid that its also gotten stronger than last time.”

“You didn‟t mention that in your little explanation!” Electra interjected.

“But Mr. Monotoli, didn‟t you tell me that Giygas was the one controlling Mani-Mani?” Paula asked. “With him gone…”

27

Monotoli sighed. “I‟ve asked myself the very same question. I don‟t know what‟s controlling it now. Unless Giygas didn‟t really die.”

“But we did kill him!” Ness exclaimed. “I don‟t think he survived what he went through. Do you, Paula?”

“I doubt it,” Paula agreed. “I guess the only to find out is to destroy that statue again.

Which means we‟ll probably need Jeff and Poo‟s help.”

Electra bristled at the mention of the second name, while Ness and Monotoli exchanged glances.

“Uh, Paula, about Jeff…”

“Why don‟t we wait until we‟ve found a place to rest and think about our next move,” Monotoli quickly interrupted.

“How about your house?” Paula asked, looking at Ness. “You can still use PSI Teleport, can‟t you?”

“I think so. I haven‟t used PSI in a while, though.”

“Well, that sounds like a plan. Your mother won‟t mind, will she?” Monotoli asked.

“I don‟t think so,” Ness said. “You, me, and Paula can regroup there.”

At that point, Electra cleared her throat rather loudly, causing the three to turn to her.

28

PK Coffee

CHAPTER 22 SHOWDOWN IN THE DUSTY DUNES DESERT

“Uh, sorry, Electra…” Ness said. Electra smirked.

“Don‟t worry about it, sweetie,” Electra said. “Actually, I think I might just stay here. Teleporting? It sounds a little… dangerous. Not exactly my cup of tea.”

“Oh, no, it‟s not dangerous at all,” Ness said. “Well, unless we hit something. But that isn‟t that bad. It just hurts a little. And you get covered in ash. Kinda smell like sulfur for a-”

“Ness, please,” Paula said. “As long as we have an open space in front of us, and look both

ways before crossing the street… we‟ll be okay. And like Ness said, it isn‟t dangerous. It‟s

fun, actually. It just feels like running down a hill. I‟ve done it dozens of times.”

“Well, if you say so…” Electra said. The four of them fount a long straight road. Monotoli had

some police friends block off the road from traffic, just to be safe. Ness went in the front,

and the other three formed a line behind him. Ness looked back; Paula smiled back at him,

Monotoli tipped his bowler hat, and Electra took in a deep breath. Laughing from

exhilaration, Ness ran down the street, the others following behind him. Ness felt his body

zoom forward through the empty space, the city of Fourside getting blurry… and then a gut wrenching pain.

Ness felt an immense weight surrounding him from all sides. He couldn‟t breathe. He could

barely move his fingers through… what was this? Then, to his horror, he quickly ascertained where he was: completely buried in sand.

Monotoli felt himself fly through the air and crash through wood. After managing to get

himself on his feet, he found himself in an empty drug store. His stomach twisted inside him;

he could feel a very familiar presence. Investigating the store, he found the dead bodies of

a man and a dog. He knelt down to see what had happened to him. As he neared the dog, it

flung its head up at him quickly. Monotoli fell back, shocked. The dog was alive. Or, at least, barely.

Paula rolled across a pothole-ridden street. The road was hot, burning her skin. She wanted

to get up, but she was too exhausted. She felt like she had been hit by a truck. Then, she

felt a hand on her back.

“Are you okay, Paula?” The voice was familiar: it was Jeff. He helped her up. “What happened to you? How did you get here?”

“Thank you, Jeff,” Paula said. “Me, Ness, Mr. Monotoli, and his maid, Electra, were PSI

Teleporting, but… something went wrong, we were trying to get to Onett, but now we‟re

here. I don‟t know what happened. But, why are you going to Threed? And what happened

to you? Ness said…” Then, Jeff took out a neon-colored pistol, and shot Paula. He picked up her body and carried her to the drug store.

29

“Woooo… woooo… (They went to Threed. Mayor. Mani-Mani. Don‟t go there. Don‟t go here,

either. They‟ll be back. Soon,)” the dog whined. Monotoli couldn‟t understand the dog. It

was, after all, a dog. But he felt like he wasn‟t safe where he was, that Flavor and the Mani-

Mani were close by, and that they‟d be back soon. Just then, he heard footsteps. He dived behind the counter.

“Who‟s there?” Jeff shouted, standing in the doorway. He was carrying Paula over his

shoulder. He dropped her onto the floor and pulled out his neon-colored pistol. He slowly

walked over to the counter, where he saw Monotoli. “You.”

“Please, let the girl go, Jeff,” Monotoli said.

“You‟re not in a good position to make requests, Monotoli,” Jeff said. "I‟m supposed to take

Paula to the Mani-Mani. It wants her. It knows the power she holds. You, on the other

hand… I think I can just get rid of you. " He pointed his neon pistol at Monotoli. Then, a

blast of fire through him against the wall. He pointed his pistol at Paula, who had recovered,

but then found himself frozen by PK Freeze. The drug store had caught on fire.

“Mr. Monotoli, get out of there!” Paula shouted. Paula grabbed him and they jumped

through the doorway before the building collapsed. Then, Jeff jumped out of the flames,

badly scarred. He fired a shot from his pistol, and streams of neon light circled around the

two of them. Paula used PK Thunder, knocking Jeff farther away. But the neon lights

seemed to drain the energy from Paula and Monotoli. Paula could‟ve fought more, if it

hadn‟t been for the immense pain she had after Ness tried teleporting. They were barely conscious when Jeff made his way back to them.

“Now it‟s just a matter of time,” he said. Flavor would be back soon.

“Well,” said a familiar voice, “I‟m afraid your time has run out.” It was Poo. Jeff turned around.

“Poo? What are you doing here?”

“I sensed you and Ness were in trouble. I was headed to Fourside, to protect who I believed

to be my friends. Right as I was teleporting, I felt an immense pain, and landed here, in this desert. Now, why are you trying to harm Paula?”

“Call it retribution. Ness and Paula always left me out of the loop. I was the only one who

wasn‟t a psychic… talk about a third wheel… and then you came along. What, was I just

along for the ride? Was I getting in the way of you guys? Because it seemed to me like you

guys would‟ve been nowhere without me! I was smarter than the three of you combined, even if I couldn‟t move stuff with my mind, I could actually use it.”

“Jeff, I know it isn‟t you who is speaking now.”

“Wouldn‟t you like it that way? I have no time to argue with your denial… even your Mu

martial arts skills aren‟t fast enough for my Mani-Mani Ray.” Jeff pointed his pistol at Poo.

Under normal circumstances, Poo would disagree with Jeff, but whatever had happened

while he was teleporting had seriously injured him. Poo needed to find his confidence.

“Well, my friend… try me.”

30

Jeff fired his Mani-Mani Ray. Poo leaped into the air, unsheathing his Sword of Kings. The

streams of neon light curved upwards, tracking Poo into the air. Poo landed onto Jeff‟s

shoulders, striking the Sword of Kings into Jeff‟s back. The Mani-Mani Ray‟s blast caught up

with Poo, knocking him off of Jeff. Poo was done. Jeff turned around, ready to fire another

shot. But before he could pull the trigger, he fell to the ground, the hilt of the Sword of Kings sticking out of his back.

Ness tried PK Rockin‟ for the last time. Not even that could blast himself out of the sand. He

was almost out of energy for performing PSI abilities. He wasn‟t sure what to do. He

couldn‟t teleport out of the sand, because he was stuck. And he was almost out of breath. He panicked; he was completely powerless. Then, his mind went fuzzy.

Later, he woke up with a wet towel over his head. Electra was standing over him.

“You owe me one, kid,” she said.

“You sure do, Ness,” Paula said. “Not only did Electra dig you out of the sand all by herself.

She even performed CPR on you when you weren‟t breathing.” Ness could tell she was a

little miffed. She told him of Jeff‟s attempt to kidnap her. Also, Ness reunited with Poo, and

thanked him for saving Paula. But after everyone had regrouped, many figures were emerging from the horizon. It was a bunch of monkeys.

And along with the monkeys came Talah Rama. He explained that Poo had teleported to

Fourside at the exact moment Ness was teleporting from Fourside, and than they landed

here. He warned them that Enrich Flavor and the Mani-Mani had taken control of Threed,

and now were returning to the Dusty Dunes Desert to create a new capital of Eagleland. He

said that he would do everything in his power to stop Enrich; with his help, the monkeys

would make their stand against the Mani-Mani. But Ness and his friends had to return to

Onett. He said there was someone who could help them there.

“What about Jeff? Can you help him?” Paula asked.

“Not even I can do that,” Talah Rama replied. “I can try to protect him from being found by the Mani-Mani again, but I can‟t cure him of his evil. He must do that himself.”

And so, Ness, Paula, Monotoli, Electra, and Poo teleported to Onett, moments before Flavor

and the Mani-Mani returned to the Dusty Dunes Desert. They made their way to Ness‟ house,

but looking up at the hills behind his house, where his first adventure begun, Ness had an

idea.

“Lier X. Agerate!” Ness shouted.

“Who?” Poo asked.

“He found the Mani-Mani! It had been buried deep underneath those hills for… who knows

how long… Maybe he can tell us something new about it. Maybe he‟s done some research on it or something.”

“That sounds like a million-dollar idea, Ness,” Monotoli said, “but first, I‟d like to meet your family.”

31

ohboy

CHAPTER 23 “Mom, I‟m home!” Ness yelled as he opened the front door. He hoped that his mom

wouldn‟t mind bringing over so many people.

“In the other room, dear!” his mom yelled back.

Ness took that as his usual invitation. He walked in, followed by Paula, Monotoli, Poo, and

Electra. Ness led them to the living room, where he waved an arm at the furniture, which

consisted of a clean, white couch large enough to seat three people, and a large sofa-chair that looked rather inviting.

“Make yourselves at home. I‟m gonna get my mom,” Ness said, walking into the other room.

Paula sat down in the center of the couch with a forlorn expression on her face, while

Electra sat down next to her. Poo stood next to the couch (“It would be rude for me to sit”),

while Monotoli decided to take advantage of that inviting-looking sofa-chair.

The former mayor thought that something was odd about Paula. She seemed upset ever

since Jeff assailed her at Dusty Dunes, not talking much, and having a haunted expression

on her face. He hoped that Jeff‟s strange gun didn‟t do something to her. Monotoli owed

that girl his life; it was her friendship, even after he kidnapped her, that broke the Mani-Mani‟s hold over him. If something happened to her, he didn‟t know what he would do…

“Is something wrong, Paula?” Monotoli asked.

Paula looked up, not quite meeting his gaze. “Mr. Monotoli, why did you kidnap me?”

A pang of guilt hit his gut like a wrecking ball. He tried to tell himself that it wasn‟t this fault,

that Mani-Mani was manipulating him. But he knew deep down that he had acted of his own will, that the statue had only helped him do it.

“Because Giygas ordered me to,” Monotoli replied.

“No, I mean why did you kidnap me? What were you going to do with me?”

Monotoli sighed. He knew the moment that Jeff said Mani-Mani wanted her, as he wanted

her before, she would ask that question. He still remembered the statue‟s voice clearly,

ordering him of what he wanted done with Paula. What made Monotoli even more ashamed

was that he would have done it to that sweet, little girl. He never told her, or anyone else,

what Mani-Mani wanted, hoping in vain that if he repressed it long enough, he would forget

it. However, he knew that was not the case, and that he would probably never be able to rid

himself of this guilt until Paula forgave him for the crime he came close to committing. He dreaded telling her what that crime was, but knew that he had no choice.

32

“Electra?”

Electra smoothed the skirt of her uniform. “Yes, Mr. Monotoli?”

“Tell Ness and his mother that Paula and I are outside on the deck.”

“Yes sir. I don‟t know what happened that you need to tell her in private, but it doesn‟t sound good.”

Monotoli gave a weak smile as he stood up, trying in vain to lighten the mood of what was to be a very difficult conversation. “Shall we?”

“Oh, okay,” Paula replied, a confused look on her face. She followed Monotoli outside.

On the front porch, Monotoli noticed a table with some chairs. Taking one of the chairs, he

pulled out a seat for Paula, and then promptly sat down across from her. “Are you sure that

you want to know?”

Paula nodded. “Yes.”

“It‟s just as well, you have a right to know…” Monotoli paused, deep in thought.

“Mr. Monotoli, what did Giygas want with me?”

“Paula… You‟re aware that the statue, that Giygas, was forced to communicate through Mani-Mani. He was stuck in another time zone.”

“I do. Me and the others went back in time to beat him.”

“I see. Well, Giygas has no physical body, as you know. Well…” Monotoli stopped to find the right words, and then took a deep breath and proceeded to tell what happened.

++++++++++

“Mom, this is Miss Electra, Mr. Monotoli‟s maid. And this is Poo, one of my friends that

traveled with us.” Ness said.

“I am honored to meet you,” Poo said, bowing his head.

“Me too,” Electra added.

“Ness certainly made a lot of friends, didn‟t he? Well, it‟s nice to meet the both of you. Ness tells me that something else is wrong. Something to do with Googy, right?”

Ness rolled his eyes. “Giygas, mom, and we don‟t know if has to do with him. It could be him.”

Electra took a look at her watch, and then shook her head. “I wonder how long that those

two are going to be out there…”

33

“It is good to be tactful, to take one‟s time to clearly convey the whole message, when discussing such delicate matters,” Poo answered.

Ness turned to his mother. “Mom, do you know if Mr. Agerate is around?”

34

PK Coffee

CHAPTER 24 X. POSITION TELLS ALL

“Mr. Agerate? Ha, Ness, make sure you don‟t call him that. He had a name change. Now he

goes by Trew X. Position.”

“…Trew X. Position?” Ness said. “What kind of name is that?”

“What kind of name is Agerate?” Electra asked.

“Well,” Ness‟ mother continued, “lately Mr. Agerate has been discussing ancient civilization

in some scholarly circles. Going to debates, publishing papers, the whole deal. And, you can imagine, with a name like Lier X. Agerate, he had some credibility issues.”

“Oh… well, mom,” Ness said, “we‟ve gotta visit him. It‟s kinda urgent, actually. See you on

the way down.”

“Leaving already, honey?” she replied. “You should at least have some steak.”

Monotoli had just told Paula everything when Ness‟ mother came out, asking if they wanted steak. They both said they weren‟t hungry. Clouds were gathering over Onett.

“Ancient civilizations?” Poo said. “Sounds like what we‟re interested in, right, Ness?” Ness shook his head yes with his mouth stuffed. Electra smacked her forehead.

“Shouldn‟t we get going, kids?” she said. “I don‟t know if you guys have been watching the

news, but Threed has been turned into a nightmarish underworld ruled by Flavor, and a

giant fortress has just risen out of the sands of the Dusty Dunes Desert.” She pointed towards the TV in the living room, where Ness and Poo saw the story for themselves.

“Curses…” Poo whispered. “It seems Talah Rama has failed.”

Meanwhile, atop Mani-Mani‟s fortress in the Dusty Dunes Desert, Talah Rama was hurling

inexplicable PSI attacks at the Mani-Mani and Flavor. Around the fortress, the last remaining

monkeys were fighting a losing battle against Moonside monsters. Finally, neon-colored

lights swirled around Flavor and Mani-Mani, hurling themselves at Talah Rama. He was

caught inside a neon-colored sphere. Just then, a monkey had made its way to the top of

the fortress, jumping on Flavor, biting his ear, and tearing off tufts of his hair. Distracted, the neon sphere weakened, and Talah Rama was able to escape.

Nooooo! The Mani-Mani fired one last attack at Talah Rama. Talah Rama fell to the ground,

dead. Mani-Mani looked at Flavor.

“What?” Flavor asked, frightened. “The desert is ours. We made out new capital. We succeeded!” The monkey limped over to Talah Rama.

35

“Oookee oookee… (Thank you for everything, friend…)” it said. Flavor killed it.

Now that Talah Rama is dead, he is beyond my power. I wanted him imprisoned, where he can do no harm.

“Oh, what‟s a ghost going to do?” Flavor asked.

Find Jeff, now. If you fail me this time, I will find a new servant, as I have many times

before. First Agerate, then Carpainter, then Monotoli, then Flavor… who shall I choose next?

Flavor was worried the Mani-Mani already had someone in mind. Maybe he shouldn‟t rescue

Jeff. But then he‟d get killed. Not to mention the Mani-Mani could probably read his mind. Right now. Flavor stopped thinking, and ran away to look for Jeff.

Miles from the Mani-Mani Fortress, three monkeys saw that the battle was over. They went back into Talah Rama‟s cave, to the lowest chamber, where Jeff was.

“What do we do with him?” one monkey asked.

“We should kill him. That way he‟s no good to the Mani-Mani.”

“No! If he turns good again, then he can fight against Mani-Mani! Like Talah Rama said!”

“We should just wait, guys. Leave it to fate.” But fate wouldn‟t be kind on the monkeys. Jeff

had awoken soon before, and decided to return to the Mani-Mani. The moment the monkey

said fate, all three of them were gone. Jeff stood tall, his chest wound glowing the neon

colors of Moonside. He had to return to his master. Only then could he get revenge on Poo, only then could he prove himself.

“But they were already horribly beaten, after teleporting right into each other! And you still

couldn‟t defeat them!” Flavor said as they walked together back to the Fortress. “And, I know you found me, but could we tell the Mani-Mani that I found you? Otherwise…”

“Yes, Enrich, that‟s what we‟ll say,” Jeff replied. “After all, I have no motivation to replace

you. Once we finish our mission… once Paula belongs to Mani-Mani… both of us will be

replaced by her. In fact, even the Mani-Mani itself won‟t need to exist. It will just be Paula.

Nothing else.” He turned to face Flavor. “Our time is as finite as ever. All that matters is what we do with the little time we have left.”

It was raining heavily by the time Ness, Paula, Monotoli, Poo, and Electra reached X. Position‟s house.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“It‟s Ness. We need to talk about the Mani-Mani.” X. Position opened the door. When he saw Paula, he closed it.

“I‟m sorry! I had no idea what it would do! I was only a tool!”

“We‟re not here for that, Mr. Agerate,” Ness said, “uh, Position… I mean, it‟s just… the Mani-

Mani is back! And we heard you might have been doing some research on it. Maybe you

36

could help us? Tell us anything you know? You could help us defeat it, this time.” He opened the door.

“Come in.” Minutes later, they were sitting on a couch not made for five people, while X.

Position took a book out of his enormous bookshelf and sat down on his rocking chair. He

took a puff of his pipe, and then stroked his well-kept hair for many minutes afterwards, silent, occasionally twirling his mustache.

“Uh… what is that?” Electra asked.

“There is hardly any information on the Evil Mani Mani statue out there. It‟s as if the thing

doesn‟t even exist. That is, if it weren‟t for this,” he pointed to the book, “the book which told me everything I know about Mani-Mani. It is… the Manimanicon.”

“Whatawhatacon?” Electra asked.

“Ma-ni-ma-ni-con,” X. Position continued. “I found it a month ago, in the Grand Library of

the University of Winters. It was written in 100X by a Scaraban poet, Abdul al-Applelah.

Also known as the Mad Scaraban. In it are tales of things, secrets within this world, so horrifying that those who read it are said to lose their minds.”

“And you read it?” Ness asked.

“No, I‟d go crazy,” he went on. “I only read the prologue. It only gives you nightmares,

occasionally. But still, it has taught me much about the dark underworld of our planet.

Stonehenge, the Mani Mani Statue, and the great demon-god, Giygas.”

“But how did they know of Giygas in 100X?” Monotoli asked.

“Whenever the demon-god came to our planet, he time traveled to its farthest past, and has invaded our planet every millennium.”

“It‟s true,” Poo said, “we discovered so in the museum in Summers.”

“But the demon-god knows that humanity cannot be destroyed by an invasion of warriors.

He knew he had to invade our hearts. And so, he created the Mani-Mani. It is a… transmitter, of sorts. Or more like a walkie-talkie. A walkie-talkie to the devil.”

“But, could Giygas use the Mani-Mani to possess another person‟s body, thereby existing in

the present rather than the distant past?” Paula asked. The other four looked at her,

shocked.

“Do you mean… can it do what the Happy Happyists tried to do to you?”

“…Yes.”

“Well, actually, the Manimanicon contains an old Native Eaglelandian legend. Long ago, the

Mani Mani Demon, worshipped through the Mani Mani statue, asked for a Native

Eaglelandian princess as a sacrifice. The tribe which worshipped the Mani-Mani, situated in

modern-day Dusty Dunes Desert, kidnapped another tribe‟s princess. This tribe was

situated… right here, in what is now Onett. A lover of the princess traveled to the Dusty

37

Dunes Desert to rescue her. But by the time he got there, the princess was a vessel for the Mani Mani Demon. She began to rule over all of Eagleland, turning it into a literal hell.”

“And what happened?” Ness asked. “Did the hero save her?”

“Well, to make a long story short… everyone died. Except the princess and eight random

people. Then the princess managed to kill herself, and the Mani Mani Demon disappeared

for another millennium. Eagleland went back to the beautiful country it once was and is

today. And the eight survivors repopulated Eagleland. The Eaglelandian tribes each claim

their own tribe came from one of these eight. And they buried the Mani Mani statue with the

hero and the princess, right under here.” The five looked down in silence.

“Well,” Electra said, “that‟s… not good.”

“Carpainter tried to make me the high priestess of Happy Happyism. I would‟ve been Giygas‟

human form,” Paula said. “And then Mr. Monotoli tried to do the same thing. And now it‟s happening, again.”

“But it‟s impossible,” Poo shouted, “we destroyed Giygas! Completely!”

“Can anyone else control the Mani-Mani?” Ness asked. Porky? he thought.

“Theoretically, yes,” X. Position said. “It‟s a transmitter created by Giygas. Not one only

Giygas can use.” Just then, a bright white light appeared in the center of the room. It transformed into Talah Rama.

“Ness… Paula… Poo… Threed needs your help… Monotoli… Electra… Fourside needs your help.

Jeff controls Threed. Flavor is attacking Fourside.”

“But what are we supposed to do?” Monotoli asked. “Me and Electra don‟t have superpowers!”

“Ahh, but you have power,” Talah Rama replied.

“What kind of power?” Electra asked.

“The kind of power you once had, and you still wish for.”

“You mean…” Monotoli said. “But, I don‟t wish to be mayor anymore. That was the worst time of my life. I can‟t do it again.”

“But, Geldegarde…” Electra said. “Flavor‟s gone. Fourside doesn‟t have a mayor anymore. And any mayor is better than no mayor. Even you. I mean, no offense…”

“No offense taken, Electra. I do suppose I have the proper leadership qualities… I could rally

our police together, I know how to protect the city. But they won‟t except me! They know

what I was doing. They won‟t trust me.”

“But you have to lead, Mr. Monotoli,” Electra said. “Even if they don‟t know it‟s you who‟s leading.”

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“What are you…?”

“I could run for mayor,” Electra said. “And you can tell me what to do. With your intelligence, and my charisma… we‟ll keep Fourside safe!” Monotoli rubbed his forehead.

“As for you three, Ness, Paula, Poo,” Talah Rama said, “you have close friends who need help, and who can help you.” Talah Rama disappeared.

“Well,” Ness said, “there‟s no time to lose. Let‟s teleport to Saturn Valley!” Ness, Paula, and

Poo ran out the door.

“Wait!” Electra shouted. She and Monotoli ran outside, but they were gone.

“Must‟ve used Poo‟s advanced PSI Teleport,” Monotoli said. “They don‟t need a wide-open space to do it.”

“Yeah, but how do we get to Fourside? We can‟t even teleport at all!”

“Oh, right…”

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CHAPTER 25 Position waited until the last of them had left, before walking towards his bookshelf. The

bookshelf was the pride of his life, the place where he once held his tools. He was an

educated man now, not needing to work as a laborer. That was the old days, but those days,

the days of Liar X. Agerate, were dead to him now. He was Trew X. Position, the great

scholar, trying to uncover the mysteries of the universe.

It was amazing how much power he could feel exuding from the book in his hands. He only

had the courage to read the introduction… and one other page. It was an accident that he

found it, actually. The page fell out of the book one day when dropped it after slipping on

his freshly mopped floor. After all, X. Position was clean, unlike his previous, slovenly self.

When he reached down to pick the page up, he recognized a few words, enough that it

motivated him to at least translate the rest of the page. He didn‟t remember what it said,

but he knew that it had been important. Maybe important enough to help those people that

were just there…

X. Position quickly returned to his table, and sat down in his favorite chair. He opened the

book, careful not to read anything. Flipping through the page, he finally found a loose page, and gently took it out. Turning it over, he read the title.

“The Vanquish Prophecy,” he said aloud. “That‟s right. But what was it that was being vanquished…”

X. Position quickly turned back to his bookshelf, pulling out a slip of paper where he had

translated that page. He quickly skimmed over the page, realizing what an important piece

of paper this was. He had to find those people before they got away, had to show them this. While he didn‟t understand everything, he knew that they may be able to.

Putting the slip of paper in his jacket pocket, he ran outside, hoping that they had not left

yet. Looking down the hill, he could see the old man and the girl slowly walking towards

town. He quickly began to run towards them.

“Wait!”

The old man turned around, followed by the girl. “Oh dear. Did I drop my wallet again?” Monotoli asked.

X. Position shook his head vigorously. “No. Listen, I need you two to come back inside quickly. I found something else, something very important.”

“Important, huh?” Electra said.

“Yes! You must come quickly,” X. Position said, his voice getting louder.

“Alright, alright. We‟ll come. Just calm down,” Electra said, as the two of them turned around and followed him back to his little cabin atop the hill.

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CHAPTER 26

“Now, listen up. As you all know the former Mayor of Fourside, Enrich Flavor has

proclaimed himself dictator of Eagleland is planning to invade Twoson tomorrow night.

We CANNOT allow this to happen. A fellow soldier stationed in Threed has been

kidnapped by a strange statue said to be unearthed by Trew X. Position. Now, as much

as I would like to rescue him I will remain in Twoson. I will send seven of you to rescue

him. His name is Cpl. Mel Polestar. Now, let‟s be on our way. Tomorrow will be our day,

Eagleland will not fall to the hands of Flavor”.

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CHAPTER 27 Trew then noticed everyone else had come in as well. “Oh yes, I want to show you this

strange…poem, I guess you would call it” He handed the book to Ness, when a loud crash came from the kitchen.

Everyone turned toward the window, where a small circualar metal orb hovered, it swooped

in and shot fire at Ness, who jumped out of the way dropping the book, which was caught in

the flame. “No!” Trew made a jump for the book, but was hit by a blast of flames, just like

the book. “E…everyone, hurry, run, there looking for-cough-you, flee!” Everyone just stared,

no one wanted to move, but Electra was the first one out the door, and everyone else

followed suit, including the orb. Ness turned around, he was a huge mix of mad and sorrow.

“Pk…Rockin‟…OMEGA!” different shapes and formations and rainbows of colors shot the

metal robot, who exploded on contact. “That was for you…Trew” and with that, Ness fell to the ground, the power had overwelmed him, and he passed out.

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CHAPTER 28 The group walked back to Ness‟ house, all feeling some kind of emotion, sadness, anger,

and even confused. Monotoli was carrying Ness, with Paula walking next to him. She was

very worried, they had lost Trew, and she didn‟t want to lose Ness. Electra walked up to the

door and knocked, and when the door opened, there was a gasp. Tracy had answered.

“Moooooooooooooooom! Hurry, come quick, Ness is hurt!” the young girl ran back into the

house, and the others walked in. The man put Ness down on the couch, and Ness‟ mother

walked in and started tending to Ness. Everyone moved outside for some air, except for

Paula. She sat down at the end of the couch. And she started to cry. Jeff was being used as

a puppet, they we‟re just thrown into this mess, Trew was dead, and now Ness was in

trouble. Paula pulled out her teddy bear, and put it near Ness. She got up, and started to head for the door, but she turned around, ran back, and kissed Ness on the cheek.

Then she ran out, and started chatting with the others.

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CHAPTER 29 Ness didn‟t remember dirt being this soft, nor this comfortable. As he slowly woke up, he

realized that it was quiet, too quiet. Had that evil machine killed all his friends? He slowly

tried to get up, when his foot kicked against something. Ness thought it was odd, stubbing his toe. Where did his shoes go? Had that alien literally knocked his socks off?

He slowly sat up, realizing that the “dirt” was actually a couch. His couch. How did get all

the way here? Ness looked down to see a teddy bear lying next to him. He recognized it

immediately as Paula‟s. Was she okay? Looking around him, he could see his hat on the

table, and his shoes and socks lying on the ground. He tried to scoot his legs to the floor, but exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he laid back down.

His hand reached his forehead, and he noticed there were some bandages scattered about.

Suddenly, his head began to throb. With nothing else to do, he clutched Paula‟s teddy bear,

hoping the pain would go away. Somehow, the bear was a comfort to him, just to have

something of his best friend nearby, knowing she cared. The pain began to reside a bit, enough that he could focus on something else.

He resolved that he would not let Paula become a body to Mani-Mani. He would protect his friends. Paula, Poo, Mr. Monotoli and Electra, his mom, Tracy. He would protect them.

Slowly, weariness overtook him, and fell to sleep.

++++++++++

Most people that Monotoli had talked to would at some point talk about what they were

going to do when they retired. See their grandchildren, golf, socialize, go to the lodge,

vacation. To the sixty-five-year-old Geldegarde Monotoli, his twilight years were apparently

going to be spent risking life and limb to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Personally, he‟d rather the prophecy had told him to go forth and golf.

But deep down, he knew that he owed it to those kids to help them, after they did so much

for him. They did turn his life around, showing him the true power of friendship. From what

he understood of that poem that Trew gave him, the Vanquish Prophecy as it was called, he

and Electra were part of the Chosen Six. Ever since Ness was set down to rest, with the

exception of a delicious steak dinner, he, Electra, and Poo had been trying to figure out the

cryptic poem.

Seeing how worried Paula was, however, was what really inspired him. He could see how

bad she was suffering when she finally broke down in tears. Monotoli lost Anna at an early

age through disease, but he would do everything he could to make sure those two kids had

a bright and happy future together. He owed it to them.

“So you have absolutely no idea who this sixth person is?” Electra asked for the fifth time.

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“I told you, the only think I do know is that you, I, Paula, Ness, and Mr. Poo are

prophesized heroes that have to travel to Moonside. I don‟t understand the rest…” Monotoli

replied. “Who are the allies of the idol? The soul of the sage? The song that leads to the land of dreams?”

“Perhaps we should try again tomorrow,” Poo suggested. “Night will soon fall upon us.”

“You‟re right,” Electra said, handing the piece of paper back to Monotoli. Right as Trew had died, he handed the slip of paper to Monotoli, and told him to guard it with his life.

“Maybe you should visit Ness?” Poo suggested to Paula, who had quietly sat in the corner. Monotoli admired how brave she was, considering all that she had went through today.

She nodded and stepped inside the house. “Poor dear,” Electra muttered.

“I‟m hoping a good night‟s sleep will help her, because Talah Rama still said we had to

defend Fourside from Flavor before anything else. Now, I have a plan. Electra and I will

return to Flavor, this time without you all running off, and then you three will head to

Threed and save it from Jeff. Then, we‟ll meet back, the five of us will search for this sixth person. How does that sound?”

Poo nodded. “A wise plan.”

Electra smiled. “I‟ll be the first female mayor of Fourside. A bit exciting, isn‟t it?”

Monotoli returned the smile. “You‟ll make a wonderful mayor, Electra.”

“Ah, you‟re too kind,” Electra replied.

“But where are we going to sleep for the night?” Poo asked. “It would be most rude to impose on Ness‟s mother without her offering.”

“I‟m sure she‟ll understand,” Electra said. “As soon as she gets back from taking Ness‟s sister to that slumber party, I‟ll ask her if she has enough room for us.”

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CHAPTER 30

TONIGHT WILL BE OUR LAST

The rain was brutal and ruthless that night. “Okay! Listen, Flavor and his Statue are coming,

everyone be on your toes. This may be the longest night of your life. Now, about you seven.

Cpl. Polestar is being held in a tent in Threed. We‟ll send about 150 with you to take out Threed‟s border defenses. Good luck out there, I‟ll see you in hell.”

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CHAPTER 31 Unlike the neon world of Moonside, Mani‟s world within Dusty Dunes was a stark contrast.

Nothing in the desert had the faintest hint of light, all was dark and gloomy. Heavy

sandstorms swirled outside the magnificent tower that happened to be the only thing that

was lit up. In the real world, the tower was old, with sunlight cracking in at certain places

where the wall had given crumbled, making Flavor feel as though he was living in some type

of ruin. In Mani‟s world, every corner of the tower looked new, complete with furniture and mindless servants. The best part was that there was almost no neon lighting.

Soon, Flavor would rule both the dark and light world. He only had to follow the orders of the magnificent golden idol that stood before him.

“Is Jeff holding Mel in Threed?” Mani-Mani asked.

Flavor nodded. “Fed and given water twice a day.”

“Good. Now, you must travel to Twoson and lead our forces to its invasion, while I send our

troops to overtake Fourside, and retrieve the broken tip of my sword. Once I am complete,

my power will truly be restored!”

“Then what?” Flavor asked suspiciously.

“Then you shall ascend as the greatest leader in Eagleland’s history!”

That thought still made him smile. He would soon rise from the petty ashes of his miserable

life with irritating people and mindless paperwork, to an emperor that would be feared and respected.

“I have one task for you when the invasion of Twoson in complete. I want you to capture

Elaine Polestar, Paula’s mother, and bring her to me. Paula’s parents should make perfect pawns for our exchange!”

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CHAPTER 32 Why did things have to get as bad they are? Paula asked herself as she laid in bed. After

Ness‟s mom came home from dropping Tracy off at a friend‟s house, she said that everyone

was welcome to stay the night. Mr. Monotoli and Electra were on the sofa-chair and couch

respectively (“Don‟t worry about my back, I‟ve fell asleep many times in my office chair,”

Monotoli assured them), Poo was in a sleeping bag, and Paula was in Tracy‟s room.

Paula had been trying to fall asleep for a few hours, but an uneasy feeling remained inside

of her. Ness had recovered some, straying awake long enough to eat some steak, before

walking upstairs to go to bed. But it wasn‟t Ness that was worrying her, as selfish as that

made her feel. It was something else, something that she couldn‟t quite put her finger on. It was probably just the events of the day. Still, she just couldn‟t stop stressing.

Suddenly, a vision sprang into her head, so clear that she could have sworn that she had

teleported to the location of her vision. All around her was devastation. Destroyed buildings,

still on fire, corpses on the ground, with weapons and ammunition scattered about. In front

of her was the only building that still seemed to stand completely. Polestar Preschool! Her

mother was being dragged out of the building by a strange-looking man. She couldn‟t see

his face, but he was wearing a red jacket, and had black hair. She was being dragged down

the walkway, towards the street. As she fell to the ground, still alive though looking

wounded, a strange, pale light began to glow over both her mother and the strange man, and then…

“Mom!”

Paula blinked a few times. She was back in Tracy‟s room, back to safety. But what did it all

mean? That had to be the reason that she was so worried. All her life she had visions, such

as Ness coming to save her from the Happy Happyists, and none of them had ever been

wrong.

She jumped out of bed, not knowing what to do. She had to return to Twoson, although she

didn‟t know how long she had before her mother… She wanted to get there as quickly as

possible, but that would mean that she would need somebody to teleport her. The problem

was that Ness was sick, and Poo was in some type of deep Mu-related meditation. She could

ask one of the adults if they would drive her to Twoson.

Then, another though sprang to mind. Would they believe her? Monotoli and Electra didn‟t

know about psychic powers, and would probably just tell her that she was suffering from

exhaustion, and it was all her imagination. Poo would most likely tell her the same thing,

only in philosophical terms that she wouldn‟t understand. The only person that would

believe her would be Ness. He could take her without having to wake up the others. But he was still ill.

Mabye, if she just went in to check on him, and he happened to wake up, she wouldn‟t feel

as bad asking him. Not knowing what else to do, she slowly began to head for the hallway.

She felt guilty, but she really had no other choice. Not if she wanted to prevent her

48

mother‟s capture. She was saved from having to wake her friend up, however, when a very groggy Ness poked his head in.

”Are you alright, Paula? I thought I heard screaming in here.”

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CHAPTER 33 Paula broke down crying. Ness, surprised and worried, walked over and sat down. “What‟s

the matter, Paula?” he asked, you could hear the worry in his voice. The way he said that

made her feel…protected, she looked up and him, and told Ness all about the dream. “…we

have to go, now, it‟s the Mani-Mani Statue, Paula, your visions weren‟t wrong before, we have to go!” Ness was awake now, and was whispering.

“Ness…we can‟t, we just can‟t! The others won‟t let-”

“we‟ll sneak out right now. Just get some supplies, and we‟ll go. Come on!” Ness got up,

and ran to his room. Paula sat on the bed and then got up, she had thought about what

Ness said and agreed with him. After they had gotten ready, they quietly went out side, and

Ness started up his Psi, they would teleport, so they would have enough time to prepare.

“PSI…Teleport!” and they were gone.

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CHAPTER 34 “Finally, the tent!”

“Mel?”

Mel‟s clothes were torn up and he was covered in blood and bruises.

“Tell me one thing…”

“Did Flavor get to the school yet?”

“Nope, not yet. It‟s still full blown hell at the border zone.”

“Help me out, there‟s still time.” “Let‟s go.”

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CHAPTER 35

THE BATTLE AT TWOSON

When Paula Polestar first entered Twoson, she expected to see ruined buildings and

destruction all around her. Instead, at least from where she was at, everything looked

pretty much normal. She knew deep in her heart that she didn‟t just imagine what she saw, though she was a bit confused as to just how calm things were.

“Ness, I swear that I saw Twoson completely destroyed,” Paula said, hoping that Ness would believe her.

Ness looked at her with a calm, understanding look in his eyes. “I know. We probably just got here before it happened. Come on, let‟s head to your house.”

Paula smiled, grateful for his belief in her. Together they walked down the street. Paula had

lived in Twoson her whole life, so she knew exactly where they were. More important, she knew how to get home from where they were.

Paula led Ness through a down a few streets, occasionally looking for street signs to tell

them where to turn. It was still dark, with only the glow of the streetlights gently

illuminating the streets. The trees swayed from a gentle breeze, the sound of their shoes

hitting the sidewalk made a soft thumping sound, and the stars shone brilliantly that night.

Nothing indicated danger at all. As a matter of fact, it was peaceful, it was serene, it was… romantic.

Before Paula had any time to think about just odd that thought was, they were within a few

steps of the preschool. At this point, she thought she heard the distant sound of gunfire, but

she shook it off. It was just her overactive imagination.

“Ness, do you think she‟s okay?” Paula asked as they made their way up the steps.

“Well, you said that everything was destroyed when a fat man dragged your mother out. Since the town still seems to be in good condition, I‟m sure that she‟s fine,” Ness replied.

“You‟re right, I just…”

A loud whizzing noise caused both of them to quickly turn around. Paula‟s eyes widened,

her fingers gripping her frying pan tightly. Standing before them was a machine soldier,

completely white with the exception of a few dark symbols on its left side. Instead of hands,

the machine had tentacles. She recognized it instantly. It was a Starman.

“ Whirr I have orders to stop anyone who wishes to protect Elaine Polestar. You will beep be destroyed.”

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Paula narrowed her eyes at the machine. She wasn‟t going to let that thing hurt her mother.

Out of instinct, she charged forward, and stretched out one of her palms, casting PSI Freeze

Beta.

A barrage of ice shot out at the Starman, causing him to stumble back. Ness quickly took

the baseball bat out of his backpack, and smashed the Starman across the head with it, causing it to fall over.

“None shall pass through here,” the Starman yelled, shooting out one of its tentacle-hands,

hitting Ness in the face. Paula ran to the machine, and closed her eyes, casting another one

of her PSI abilities. A large and powerful bolt of lightning appeared, jamming its electrical

tip like a spear deep into the Starman. The result was exactly what she wanted. The Starman was lying on the ground, destroyed, with smoke coming out of it.

“What do you think a Starman is doing here?” Ness asked.

“I don‟t know,” Paula replied, more confused than ever by the whole incident. Did this mean

that Giygas was behind this attack? But of course, they killed him, so how could he be?

However, he was the only one that could control the machine soldiers. Wasn‟t he?

All the new questions running in her head, blending with the old ones, began to give her a

headache, so she turned to the preschool. She didn‟t have time to confuse herself with

unanswered questions at the moment; she had to make sure her mother was alright. Paula and Ness nodded to each other, and slowly entered her home.

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CHAPTER 36

THE COMMANDING OFFICER

Starman General R9006 walked down the hallways. He was disgusted. His Starman he sent

failed, of course. His leader would punish him severly. He greeted some of the other

Starmen, including one of his fellow models, this one was legendary even. This one fought

with a young boy named Ninten, who had defeated their old leader, Giegue. But now that

Giegue was gone, they were commanded by the statue. Who was controlling the statue,

that was the question that was yet to be answered. Today though, he would meet him,

R9006 wondered what the person would be like. Suddenly, a Starman Jr. ran up to him. “S…sir…the leader request you!” the young robot bowed, excellent, time to go.

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ohboy

CHAPTER 37 Ness and Paula ran inside Polestar Preschool. It was surprising to Paula that a place she had

lived in her entire life could now seem to foreign and uninviting. Paula stepped through the

door, entering the nursery where the children were watched. It was dark, which meant that

her parents had probably already went to bed. She slowly began to walk over the light switch, when she heard someone fall to the floor behind her.

“Ugh. Do those kids always leave their toys on the floor?” Ness asked, picking himself up.

“Usually, mom makes them clean up before they leave,” Paula said, worried. She knew that

her parents wouldn‟t have left toys scattered about. Her father was usually strict about that sort of thing.

She turned on the lights, illuminating the nursery. It was even worse than she had thought.

Papers were still on the desks, pencils on the ground, and the mat where the children had to

wipe their feet on before coming inside looked like it had been kicked aside. It was as

though everyone left the house in a hurry.

“Then what do you think happened?” Ness asked.

“I don‟t know. I just hope that my parents are safe,” Paula said, making her way to towards

the door that led to the living room. She went in first, with Ness closely behind her. Like the

nursery, the empty living room looked like a mess. But this time, it looked like someone had

rummaged through different drawers and cabinents, as though looking for something. But

what would somebody want? They didn‟t have anything of interest. Unless this was a random burglary, which she seriously doubted.

“Mom!” Paula yelled.

“Pa…” her mother‟s voice yelled from upstairs, before being quickly muffled. Paula quickly began to run upstairs, forgetting that Ness was also in the room.

“Wait for me,” Ness shouted, running to catch up with her. The two of them reached the top

of the steps, and rushed into her parents‟ bedroom, nearly breaking the door down. Her

mother was tied to a chair, a gag covering her mouth.

Who would be sick enough to hurt her mother? Paula asked herself. She never did anything

to anybody. She didn‟t deserve what was going on. This was between her and the Mani-

Mani Statue, and he had no right to involve her parents. She swore she would kill whoever did this. Paula rushed over to her mother, undoing the gag. Ness ran up behind her.

“Mom! Are you hurt?”

Elaine looked past Paula to Ness, who was now clutching his baseball. “Ness, take Paula and

get as far away as you can. They‟ll be back, and…”

55

“…and what?” a voice interrupted. Paula turned to the doorway, and almost fell over when she saw the owner of the voice.

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CHAPTER 38 All she could manage to stammer out was, “W-Why?”

Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates and she stumbled back, using Ness to support her

as her nails almost dug into his should with her currently iron grip. Paula didn‟t even notice

when Ness winced or that he was currently in slight discomfort from it. After all who enjoyed having fingers putting enough pressure on your skin to draw tiny amounts of blood?

Still, Ness would stand alert to reassure her. That was his position in their journey. He was

a friend who was loyal and true. Now standing before this new challenge he would prove it.

While he was tired, Ness was no pushover. Nor did he plan to appear to have become or to

be one. He looked in the eyes of this new enemy even though the face was a familiar one. He would not let it stop him.

“What do you want from us?” Ness asked. His heart, no his very soul, was ablaze. He wasn‟t

about to give up without a fight. If somebody wanted Paula or her mother they would be

going through him first.

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CHAPTER 39 “Mel, we‟re at Twoson!”

Mr. Polestar groggily opened the door to the school. He saw the toys on the ground.

“Kids, is Elaine home?”

“Umm, she‟s upsta-”

Before the little boy could finish his sentence he caught fire. Water wasn‟t working. The Fire

Extinguisher couldn‟t do anything to stop it. The only person Mel knows who could do that is

Paula, but that was her friend who caught fire. Mel ran upstairs looking for Elaine and Paula. As he opened the door he saw someone Paula had told him about before…

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CHAPTER 40

ANTAGONIST REVEALED

“Jeff Andonuts…Enrich Flavor…and now Mel Polestar…wait…when did we get him under our

control!?” The general was bewildered. This person worked fast. “Yes general, Mel is now

ours, and is about to attack the to PSI weilders as we speak!” The lower starman talked quite fast.

“Yes, yes..leave me, i‟m going to see master, and lowers like you couldn‟t gave upon his…controlliness.”

“Is that a word, sir?”

“Shut up.” The General walked into the room and sat down in a small chair, the side with

their master, although a bit cliched, was hidden in darkness, and the only thing you could

see was the glint of his…teeth?

“Welcome…I hear we have the human Mel, excellent. He will be valuable. The two will not

be able to harm him, especially the girl, she is quite a softie already. Now, as to why I called you here, General-”

“I only speak to people I see.”

“Picky little one, aren‟t you. Alright then.”

He was horrendus, like nothing he had seen before. It was Giegue…but not.

His pale skin gave a small red hue, and his blood red eyes, like pools of red seeping through

a crack, stared soulessly into the General‟s visor, chilling even to a robot. His right arm was

pure unadulterated horror, a rising red mist, as was his left leg and his tail. His body was

cracked all over, a a vase patched together with shoddy glue. A small machine holding a

blue gem was implanted in his chest, to keep him alive, the General guessed.

“S…sir, i‟m sorry, I didn‟t know it was you!”

“And it should have stayed that way, but I suppose it‟s fine, now, I want you to get Jeff,

Flavor and the statue, and Mel. Bring them here, there is one more person we will need for the sacrifice. Then, get the Guardian, he will crush those „heroes‟ "

the General nodded and ran out of the room. Even him, a robot, was completely frightened by the presence of…Giygue.

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CHAPTER 41 “You don‟t look very happy to see me?” the voice said in a tone of mock hurt. Ness watched

the person he depised most step out from the shadows of the door. Pokey Minch, in a pin-

striped red suit and matching tie, smiled mockingly at them. “But I suppose I‟ll be gracious and answer your question, loser. I‟m here for the girl.”

“Don‟t you take another step closer,” Ness warned, raising his baseball bat. If Paula wasn‟t

gripping his arm so tightly, he would have lunged towards Pokey at that very moment.

Pokey used to be his friend so long ago, before he betrayed them all.

“Aww, wittle Nessie‟s gonna defend his girlfriend, huh?” Pokey asked, laughing.

“Leave my daughter alone, you freak!” Elaine yelled out from behind them, standing up from the chair.

Pokey‟s face srunched up, glaring at the woman. To Ness, it made him look exactly like a

pig. “A freak! I‟ll have you know that I‟m Pokey Minch, soon to rule this pitiful world. All will bow down to me!”

“You‟re working with that statue?” Ness asked.

“But of course. I only assist the strong and able, as you know. Mani-Mani wants me to deliver Paula to him, and I intend to do just that.”

Ness took a step towards Pokey. “I‟d like to see you try.”

Pokey, however, wagged his finger in response, taking a step back. He then snapped his

fingers, and two Starmen teleported before him. “I wouldn‟t do that, Ness. You don‟t want

to get beat up in front of your girlfriend. Besides, you wouldn‟t want poor Paula‟s mother to get killed, would you?”

Ness gripped his baseball bat so hard, he swore he heard it crack at the handle. He really

wanted to kill Pokey, wanted him to pay for all the suffering he caused. He could easily take

those Starmen, and he knew that Paula could as well. But he knew that Pokey was sick

enough to hold to his promise. If he attacked, they would kill her mother. He forced himself to breathe deeply, trying to calm himself down enough to think rationally.

“That‟s better. You should realize that in the end, I‟ll always win,” Pokey said. “Oh, that reminds me, I have a little surprise for you!”

Ness recognized the man instantly as he walked through the door, standing besides Pokey.

He had short blonde hair and a mustache. Mel Polestar, Paula‟s father, took out a gun, and pointed it at the two.

60

++++++++++

“Daddy?” The first emotion that swept over Paula was confusion. Why was her father

pointing a gun at them. Or more specifically, at Ness.

“Paula, I need you to listen to him,” Mel said solemnly.

“Wha.. what?” Paula stammered.

He made his way between the Starmen, giving Ness a hard look. “Every father wants the

best for the children. The Mani-Mani Statue can give you the power to rule the world, the

power to be a success in this world. All I want is your happiness, and they can help you. Punks like that Ness kid are beneath you, can‟t you see?”

Paula felt so weak. So far, she had broken down in tears twice in the past twenty-four hours,

and she didn‟t want to do it a third time. But this was too much. Her father was being

manipulated by that statue now. She let go of Ness, and looked at her father deep in his

eyes.

“Dad, you have to wake up! That statue‟s controlling you!”

“Because I want what‟s best for you?” Mel asked. “It may look like I‟m hurting you now, but

once you cooperate, you‟ll realize that I only did this because I care. Of course, you‟ll have to be rid of that bad influence you call a friend.”

“Mel! What‟s wrong with you?” Elaine asked.

“Quite a bad influence,” Pokey chimed in, his smlie showing Paula that he was loving every

minute of this. “You should see how he treats her. I don‟t think she can breathe without his

permission.”

“That‟s a lie!” Ness yelled.

“Right there,” Pokey observed. “Not even letting her speak for herself.”

Paula had never disobeyed her parents before. She always tried to be the best daughter she

could, helping out as hard as she could with the preschool. However, for the first time in her life, she was about to go against her father‟s wishes.

“I can‟t… I won‟t let you hurt Ness.”

“Look at you. You never acted out like this until you met him. Talking back to me like this.”

“Mel, you‟re acting crazy!”

“Finish him, and take her, already!” Pokey ordered. “I don‟t have all day.”

“Wait!” Paula said. “I‟ll go with you, just don‟t hurt Ness.”

“Paula, you can‟t trust Pokey. He‟ll kill me as soon as he can.”

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“Then what are we going to do?” Paula asked.

“Coming with us, that‟s what!” Pokey answered.

Paula couldn‟t hurt her own father. Worse, if she tried anything, those Starmen would kill

her mother. But while she loved her parents, Ness was pehaps the only one that truly

understood her. If he died, then… they might as well kill her too. Paula took a deep breath,

and stood in front of Ness, blocking him from Mel‟s gun.

Paula narrowed her eyes, putting on the strongest face that she could. “If you‟re going to kill him, you‟re going to have to shoot me first.”

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KaylaAlex

CHAPTER 42 There was a moment of complete silence as the tense feelings in the air shifted to a whole

new level. The silence was broken by Pokey‟s cruel laughter. That was the salt rubbed into

the knife wound hitting Paula right in the heart. Ness too. How could any one- even him- find amusement in such suffering? It was inhuman.

Ness‟s blood began to boil. Still Paula was the only thing between him and a gunshot and he

couldn‟t move to go beat Pokey upside the head with his baseball bat without risk to her,

Elaine, and himself. The situation was a stale-mate. Or so he believed. Thoughts flooded his mind, ebbing and raging like the tide when tempest turned. He needed a way out of this!

He needed… He needed help! Then his heart sank to the floor as he remembered on crucial

detail of that situation. Paula was the only one who could call out to the others. She had

been the one to call Jeff to them back in Threed when the two of them had been trapped by

zombies. Still it did not hurt to try, right? Ness found his thoughts interrupted again by a

sound he would never forget. The sound of a gun firing, Paula‟s scream, and a thud as she

hit the floor.

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SonicBlast190 Prod.

CHAPTER 43 Tears streamed down Mel‟s face. He would never forget this day, he‟d never be forgiven,

and more importantly , he had possibly killed Paula.

“What the hell are you crying about?”

Mel held his gun against Pokey‟s head.

“You better be careful with that, if you do that, you and I won‟t be the only ones dead.”

Mel lowered his gun, he was disgusted to be treating that evil kid with respect. “Good boy.”

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 44

AWAKE

“Gahh!” Poo curled up, he felt an extreme pain in his stomach, like a gunshot had ripped

through his side. The others woke up, Monotoli grumbling with having to wake up early, Poo

got up clenching his body, and fell to the floor, it felt like he was dying. He didn‟t eat

anything bad, just some food he brought from Dalaam. “What‟s the matter?” Electra asked,

although she knew there would be no answer, Poo was in too much pain “Geldegarde, get

Ness and Paula!” Monotoli was surprised. She only called him that when she was angry or worried. He moved as quickly up the stairs as he could.

“They aren‟t there!?” He yelled down. Electra stood up, and realised something was up. Poo

had told them how he gelt Jeff‟s pain so maybe…oh no. “Hurry up, Geldegarde, Ness and Paula are in trouble, will you be alright with carrying Poo?”

“I think I could manage that, i‟m not that old Ms. Electra!” Monotoli exclaimed as he picked up the boy. “Poo, do you know where they are?”

Poo nodded, still in extreme pain. “Two…son” and with that, the trio was off. Ness‟ mother

secretly watching the whole time.

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ohboy

CHAPTER 45

RIDING WITH THE SHARKS

Monotoli realized one flaw in his plan, which he and Electra had been arguing about as they

walked down the hill. At the rate of them walking, not to mention having to carry a

wounded Poo with them, it would take them hours before they finally reached Twoson.

“Well, we can ask somebody for a ride,” Electra suggested.

“Who in their right mind is going to pick up two strangers in the middle of the night?” Monotoli suggested. “I feel so useless, but Ness and Paula are doomed.”

As they were walking, Monotoli could have sworn that there were footsteps moving about in the woods to the side of him, but he brushed it off to an overactive imagination.

“Don‟t say that,” Electra said. “We‟ll find some way to reach Twoson in time to save Ness. Maybe the buses will take us.”

“And what about Poo? They‟ll demand that we take him straight to a hospital? Face it, we should probably go back and ask Ness‟s mother if we can use her car.”

At this point, three people walked out from the trees, causing Monotoli to turn. From what

he could see, they looked like teenaged gangsters. The blond one in the middle wore a red

suit and open necked shirt, a fashion which Monotoli himself hated. The other two wore

baggy clothing, wearing symbols that the former mayor knew were gang signs of some sort.

This is just great, Monotoli thought, we’re going to get mugged on top of all our other problems.

“Listen, if its money that you‟re after…” Monotoli began, but was quickly interrupted.

“We don‟t care about your money, old man” one of the punks said.

“Listen, is it true that Ness is in trouble?” the one in the red suit asked.

Before Monotoli could answer, Electra ran up to them. “Yes it is. Why would you care, though?”

Frank sighed, and a look of regret seemed to cross his face. Monotoli recognized the look,

and understood immediately. Like himself, Ness had done something to help this kid change his life around. The look quickly passed, but it was enough to put Monotoli at ease.

“I have my reasons why. Who‟s the kid?” the gangster asked, his attention turned to Poo.

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Monotoli wasn‟t going to risk how much maturity those kids had by giving them his name. “A friend of Ness‟s.”

“You,” the blond said, pointing to one his cohorts. “Take him to the hospital.”

“No problem,” the thug said, reaching to grab Poo from Monotoli. But he took a step back.

“Any friend of Ness is a friend of mine. I promise you, old man, that he‟ll be taken straight to the hospital.”

Monotoli didn‟t know why, but he could trust this boy. Having once been a successful

politician, Monotoli had a knack for reading people. He slowly handed Poo to the punk.

“Mr. Monotoli, what are you doing?” Electra asked. “You really think you can trust them?”

“Yes, I do. He seems sincere enough. Besides, we don‟t really have any other choice.”

“I don‟t think we‟ve introduced ourselves,” the blond said, extending his hand. “Frank Fly,

leader of the Sharks.”

Monotoli shook it. “Geldegarde Monotoli, former Mayor of Fourside.”

“And I‟m his maid, Electra.”

Frank laughed. “What‟s a big-shot like you taking his maid along in a place like this?”

“It‟s a long story,” Monotoli said.

“Which we don‟t have time for,” Electra said. “Listen, do you think you can take us to

Twoson, Mr. Fly?”

“I think we can manage, right boys?” Frank asked, gaining the nodded approval of friends. “We‟ll take you to Twoson, while Mark take‟s the karate kid over to the hospital.”

“But I don‟t see any cars around. Exactly how are we getting there?” Monotoli asked.

Frank let out a big smile. “Follow me, old man.”

++++++++++

“There is no way in hell that I am getting on that thing,” Monotoli asserted.

Electra remembered at that moment one of her boss‟s greatest fears. It was the only way

they were going to save Ness and Paula, but she knew that this wasn‟t going to be easy. Mr.

Monotoli rarely swore, which meant that he was really not going to make this easy “It‟s the only way, Geldegarde.”

“I can think of a thousand other ways I would rather die than on that deathtrap,” Monotoli

replied.

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Electra sighed, looking at the freshly-polished motorcycles in front of her. She knew that

arguing with him would be useless. Usually a reasonable man, her boss avoided motorcycles

and the like at all costs.

“Frank?”

“Yeah?” he replied.

Electra walked over to him, and whispered something in his ear. She wasn‟t going to enjoy

doing this, but she knew that it was the only way. Frank looked at her, surprised. “Are you sure?”

Electra nodded. “It‟s the only way.”

“I don‟t know what you‟re plotting, but why don‟t I just wait with Ness‟s mother. I‟ll help her cook a big celebration dinner for when you get back.”

“Ready?” Electra asked Frank.

Frank went up behind Monotoli, who was still complaining, and lifted him above the ground.

Electra grabbed his legs, and Frank took his arms. Together, they began to drag him to

their only mode of transportation.

“Damn you both! Let go of me!” Monotoli yelled, as they finally neared the motorcycle. How

many maids have to drag their employers, kicking and screaming? she asked herself.

Finally, they lifted him onto one of them, and Frank jumped on in front of him. Electra

jumped onto the other, as the other Shark jumped on in front of her. Poo was carried onto

the last motorcycle, with the rider placing him in front, giving a good grip to make sure that

Poo wouldn‟t fall off.

“Ready?” Frank asked.

“Yes,” Electra replied. “Let‟s go.”

He nodded, and kicked the cycle to life. Electra was a bit worried that she and Mr. Monotoli

weren‟t wearing helmets, but she didn‟t really have much room to argue. Soon, they were off, with Poo‟s rider leaving them after a few minutes to head towards the hospital.

Electra could have sworn that was the longest twenty minutes in her life. When she was

younger, she would have had a blast. The freedom, the wind in her hair, and the overall

exhileration that came from the many rides that her old boyfriends used to give her. Now,

she was cold, wearing the skirt from her maid uniform. The guy that she was holding onto

smelled, and she dared not think what the origin of the odor was. But the worst part of the trip was Monotoli.

Because he had no helmet, he could freely yell for them to slow down. Then, when he

thought he saw a cop car behind him, he yelled for them to speed up, attesting that he

didn‟t want to go to jail. While Frank and his buddy had helmets to muffle the sound, Electra

was forced to then listen to him dictate his living will to her in the event of his demise.

Finally, as they were reaching Twoson, he started yelling out different “happy places” that

68

he would rather be at than where he was. Electra tried to close her eyes to tune him out,

and it began to work. Soon, they began to slow down, until they stopped in front of a large

sign that said “Burglin Park.”

“Well, is this a good place to stop at?” Frank asked.

“YES!” Monotoli said, practically jumping off the seat onto the ground.

Electra also got off. “Thank you very much.”

Frank shook his head. “Don‟t mention it. You two take care of Ness, got it?”

“We will,” Electra said. “Oh, and I‟m sorry about Mr. Monotoli‟s rambling the whole time.”

Frank looked confused. “Was he talking? I get so wrapped up in the feel of driving that I don‟t even notice things like that. Well, take care.”

Frank and his buddy then got back on their motorcycles, and sped off, not seeing the glare

that Electra was giving them.

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 46

STRANGE PLACE

Paula opened her eyes. She saw pink, not her home, not Pokey, not her parents, not Ness.

She got up, and felt her side, nothing, no pain or blood. She got up, and looked at her

surrounding, the sky was just pink, and there were clouds everywhere on the bottom of the

ground. She walked over to them, but they dissappeared when she got near, like a dog

shying away from a vaccum cleaner. Paula really didn‟t know what to do, should she stay

where she was, try and find help? She was really confused, and sat down, the ground was

really soft, and was really comfortable. The girl then noticed movement way in the north,

and got up, was someone here to help? “Hello? Can you help me?” she called out, but the figure remained stationary.

She sighed, that person wasn‟t going to help, that much she could tell. She closed her eyes,

and tried to reach out to someone, she thought she might‟ve reached Poo, but she wasn‟t

sure. She opened her eyes and saw the figure in front of her. It was a giant teddy bear. “I am the Stuffed Man. You‟re Paula right? Welcome to Magicant!”

Paula stared, for a minute or so, and squealed. She always new she had a connection with her teddy bear. “Wait, what‟s Magicant?”

“Oh, yes, very good question, come with me!” The bear grabbed Paula‟s hand and started

running, with Paula trying to not get dragged. This was going to be a long…sleep?

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ohboy

CHAPTER 47

THE AXIS OF GOOD AND EVIL

“But where do you think they went?” Electra asked, as the two of them sat on a bench in front of Burglin Park.

“Well, doesn‟t Paula live at a daycare center? Chances are, if she were to rush back to

Twoson, it would probably be for her parents,” Monotoli replied.

“That‟s good and all, but where would that be?” Electra asked.

Monotoli put his hand on his forehead, trying to supress a headache. All this time, since just

last night when the statue was stolen, it seemed like they had been running around without

actually accomplishing anything. Jeff had fallen under the Mani-Mani‟s sway, Flavor was

camped out in the desert, Poo was in the hospital, Ness and Paula were missing, and the

one person who held the answer to the riddle and that blasted Vanquish Prophecy, Trew X.

Position, was dead. He started to think that this time, that statue would get the best of them.

“I have no idea, Electra. I just don‟t have any idea,” he sighed.

“Mr. Monotoli, I know that things seem hopeless,” she said, as though she could read his

mind. “But you… no. We will get through this. As you said, that statue feeds on people‟s

hatred and negative thoughts. Well, we may not be in love like those two kids, but I‟d like to think that we have a better relationship than maid and employer.”

Monotoli smiled. “Yes, I would as well.”

Electra stood up, a look of determination on her face. “Then we‟ll just start walking, start searching until we find what we‟re looking for.”

“You‟re right, Electra,” Monotoli said, standing up. “I guess it doesn‟t matter if we make it or not.”

“Nope,” she said, smiling at him. “We‟ve got each other, and that‟s a lot.”

Monotoli began to laugh. “Then I guess that makes us halfway there, eh?”

The two of them shared another round of laughter. Then, in high spirits, they began to walk down the road, beginning their search for Ness and Paula.

++++++++++

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Flavor finally had everyone assembled that the statue had asked for. On the top room of the

stronghold in Dusty Dunes, a large table sat in the center. At the head was the Mani-Mani

Statue. To his right was Enrich Flavor, upset that he wasn‟t dictator of Eagleland. Next to

him was Jeff Andonuts, who was promised that he could finally upstage Ness and the rest.

Across from them were General R9006 and Pokey Minch. Everyone was assembled that was needed.

Pokey looked rather upset. From what he told the statue, he had failed in killing Ness. After

Mel shot his daughter, his wife stepped in and broke the spell over Mel. Pokey fled while the

Starmen attacked Ness and Paula‟s parents, but he didn‟t know if they had survived or not. But he didn‟t say rather or not he had captured Paula or not.

“Did our forces take Twoson?” the statue asked.

“Border patrol held out longer than we thought,” Jeff replied. “The General, here, claims that we‟ll take it in about an hour or so.”

R9006 nodded in agreement. “They had more weapons than we thought. But at least I will

succeed in my mission.”

Pokey blanched at that comment. “I did my best. I didn‟t kill that girl. Her parents sacrified

themselves as Ness ran off with Paula. She did get shot, though.”

“You let her get shot!” The statue yelled. “She better not have died.”

Pokey‟s bravery began to waver. “I don‟t… think so.”

“I’m already overlooking your betrayal at Fourside, Minch. You’d better not fail again.”

“If we can move on,” Flavor interrupted, “can‟t we just storm the city and capture Paula by force?”

“That‟s my plan,” R9006 said. “Again, they can‟t hold out much longer.”

“You needn’t worry about that, Flavor. I have a mission for you.”

“Which would be?” he asked.

“You and I are going to Fourside. The city police still have the tip of my sword. Only when I am complete can I fully utilize the girl’s body.”

“When do we leave?” Flavor asked, impatient to hurry up with the process and rule over Eagleland.

“Tomorrow, we leave. As for you, Jeff, I want you to return to Threed. Minch, I want you to stay in the stronghold for now. I may have a mission for you.”

“Fine,” Pokey said, not looking very happy about that.

“You three are dismissed. I have business to discuss with the general.”

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The three left, leaving General R9006 alone. “Master Giegue, what would you have of me?”

“Thank you for keeping my identity a secret. I want you to lead the troops to Twoson, and

bring the girl back personally. From what I know, she’s accompanied by Ness, the chosen

boy, an old man named Geldegarde Monotoli, and his maid. Bring the old man to me alive,

but kill Ness and the maid.”

“May I ask why, sir?” R9006 asked.

“There is something… disturbing, if you will, in the Vanquish Prophecy. I have a feeling that

Monotoli may play a bigger role than I once thought. But what does it matter? Just follow orders!”

“Yes sir.”

+++++++++

Ness ran down the street as fast as he could with an unconscious Paula in his arms. He

didn‟t know what happened after she got shot. When Mel lowered the gun on Pokey‟s head,

Elaine rushed forward, and started screaming at Mel. When she started crying, the spell

broke over Mel, and he tried to shoot at Pokey. Pokey escaped and the Starmen began to

attack, but Elaine rushed Ness to the backroom, where Paula‟s room was, and told them to

escape out the window while she and Mel held them off. Rather they survived or not, he

didn‟t know.

The wound in Paula looked very painful, and Ness didn‟t know how fatal it was. Normally, he

could have used PSI to heal her, but he had run out of it after his last attack. His

concentration was too low, and feared that she would die. And it was would be his fault for

not being able to cure her. He would have failed her, after she risked her life for him. He

began to cry, his tears falling on her dress as he carried her. Where were they going? He

had no idea. Back to Onett, he supposed. He didn‟t even have enough energy left to teleport.

As he was walking, he thought he saw two familiar figures. He could only see the backs, but

one was wearing a black bowler hat, and the other was wearing a maid‟s uniform. Monotoli and Electra!

Ness ran over to them, trying to keep his voice steady despite his crying. “Mr. Monotoli! Electra!”

The two turned around, surprised. He finally came to them, and set Paula down before them.

“What happened?” Electra said in shock as she looked at the bullet wound.

“Not another one!” Monotoli said. “Poo got injured as well when he received a vision about where you two were.”

“Well, why don‟t we find some place that we can hide,” Electra suggested. “And this time, we are all staying together. Understand?”

73

Ness nodded, not being able to speak. Mr. Monotoli reached down, and began to take Paula from him.

“Yes. From now on, we‟re staying together. No more roaming around without anyone else

knowing,” Monotoli said as she gently took Paula. “Good Lord Electra, I hope you don‟t

become unconscious. I‟ve already had to carry Ness and Poo, and now Paula. I don‟t know if my poor back could take an adult.”

“Now, why don‟t you tell me what happened?” Electra said, putting an arm around Ness and handing him a handkerchief from her pocket.

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 48

MAGICIDE

Paula ripped her hand from the bear‟s paw and plopped down. She was tired, and they had

ran for an hour or two, and she was starting to feel pain in her side, just a bit though. She

didn‟t notice it at all in fact. “Come on Paula, we‟ve got to keep-” the rest was drowned out,

something sounded through Magicant, or whatever it was called. “She

was…Pokey…Unconcious…Scared.” It was Ness‟ voice, and to her, at the moment, it was the

sweetest thing she had heard in awhile. “That boy, Ness, you like him right?” The bear asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Like him.”

“Of course, he‟s my best friend!”

“I mean, do you love him?”

“…”

“He loves you, you know. He‟s cared for you the most, besides his family. You‟re a lucky girl

Paula. Well come on we gotta hurry!” And with that little exchange, the bear pulled Paula up

and set her on his back. “There! You rest a bit.” Paula closed her eyes and slept. Maybe she

would wake up and see Ness again. That would be…nice.

When Paula woke up, there were screams, and the pink skies were now blood red. She

looked around, and saw the bear in pieces, it had a sad smile on it‟s face, but seemed…content. “A…are you okay, Mr. Bear?” She already knew the answer.

“Paula…I got you here, and although I could not protect you more, i‟ve done my job. Please

take care, and…protect…Magicant. Goodbye.” The bear closed it‟s button eyes, to forever

rest in Paula‟s memories. She cried, the bear looked like the ear she had when she was

trapped by the Happy-Happiest cult. In fact. when she looked back, a tombstone layed in

the bears place. It read:

Cuddles the Bear

Paula‟s first bear 199x-199x

Suddenly a spear punctered the ground, and Paula jumped. She turned around and came

face to face with…a golden skinned creature. It looked like Giygas, if he had a physical form.

“Ahh, your Ana right…no, no, Paula yes, I remember! I‟m Giegan, most call me Mani-Mani,

our species word for first ruler, they made it just for me! If I remember correctly, I am supposed to destroy Magicant, I named it „Magicide‟, good name, right?” He snickered.

75

Paula was angry, her bear, the used-to-be residents of Magicant, all dead because of this,

creature. So much carnage in her head, it was enough to…

“PK Votum!”

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 49

STAND-OFF

The ball of light ruptered Giegan‟s golden chest, which ripped open, and caused a decent

amount of pain for the being, who‟s tough skin was basically the strongest non-mineral

substance known to man! “Arghh…damned little girl!” the gold alien swam through the air

with ease, and almost stabbed Paula, who barely dodged by sidestepping at the last minute.

“Ahh, your quite skilled indeed, young psychic, but, are you a match for my PSI skills? I was

the first to use PSI, I know just about every skill, but why, I wonder, do I not know of that one?” He said, frowning, that skill could obviously give that girl the advantage in this fight.

“I‟ve beaten Giygas, I am not to be taken lightly!” She said, breathing heavily, Votum had

taken a lot out of her. Giegan smiled, a sickening smile, that Paula could not bear to look at

for more then a second. “Hmm…you are definately skilled with your mind…how about we

play a little game? I‟ll give you a deal, I will summon Jeff here, if you can beat him, he will

return to normal, but of course, if I win, you must become my sacrifice, for our little

ceremony? Deal?” He snickered “or…I could just posess you right now and kill your friends, which will you choose?”

Paula only had one choice, she had to beat Jeff, although she would‟nt like it. She nodded

and said “I will fight with Jeff…”

“Good…this will be more fun then!”

——————————————————————————————————————

“Electra, Mr. Monotoli, something is wrong with Paula!” Ness cried, about an hour after Ness

had explained everything, they had taken her to the hospital, where they could also wait for

Poo. The two ran over to the window where Ness was watching Paula, she was having a

seizure, and energy was rushing through every spot of the room, it was like Paula was being

attacked by an unknown assailent. “I‟ll get the nurse!” Electra said as she ran down the hall

in those damned heels.

———————————————————————————————————————

Paula was losing, and badly, Jeff had his entire arsenal of Bottle Rockets and lasers, and he

was hitting her pretty hard. If only Ness were here, he had Lifeup…suddenly, there was a

grunt, and Paula peeked out from the rock she was hiding behing. Seven giant teddy bears

stood in front of the rock, taking every blow issued. Paula felt really bad, those poor bears…she felt her power rushing back, she could use that skill again!

She jumped out from behind the rock, and shot the angelic ball of power, which destroyed

all the rockets that were being fired, hitting Jeff back a few feet, but he had no visible

damage. “Oh Paula, there you are…you were always a wimp! But now you‟ve pissed me off!”

He took out a bazooka and shot, but the bears rushed out in front of Paula and all took the blow, dying in the process.

77

“Jeff…please, snap out of this!” Paula was crying now, and Jeff looked sad, like he was back

to normal! Paula ran up to him and hugged him, happy her friend was back to normal, but

then, she felt a pain in her back. Jeff had stabbed her.

————————————————————————————————————————-

“Oh no! Look, there‟s blood coming from Paula‟s back!” Ness cried out, where was Electra? It had been 20 minutes!

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ohboy

CHAPTER 50

MONOTOLI’S PROPOSITION

Monotoli ran out towards the hall. Ness didn‟t even look up, his focus solely on Paula.

“NURSE! DOCTOR! ANYBODY!” Monotoli yelled down the hall. “ELECTRA!”

It was almost uncanny, as Electra led a nurse and doctor down the hall, towards the room. They all looked very worried. Electra ran up to Monotoli, the others following close behind.

“I‟m back, I‟m back. Sorry it took so long. I decided to check on Poo as well.” Electra looked

over Monotoli, obviously noticing his worried expression. “Did something happen while I was gone?”

“Now she‟s bleeding,” Monotoli said, focusing his attention on the doctors. “So get in there!”

They both rushed in, followed by Monotoli and his maid. Ness looked up, noticing the

doctors come in. He stupdily took a step back, watching the doctor look her over. “She

needs a blood transfusion!” He turned to Ness, Monotoli and Electra. “You three, to the waiting room, now!”

Monotoli knew that this time, it was for the best. He gently led Ness out of the room, with

Electra following. Together, they made their way to the waiting room.

++++++++++

Ness felt helpless. He continued to pray, pray for Paula‟s well-being. Pray that she would

survive. Somehow, what Paula was going through felt familiar. He couldn‟t place his finger on it, but he felt as though he had gone through the same thing. But where?

To make matters worse, Mr. Monotoli and Electra were busy arguing over something. He

had pulled her aside, saying he needed to discuss something important. He could only make

out a few words, though.

“But Geldegarde, he‟s fourteen.”

“He‟s the world‟s only hope…”

“Think of your age…”

“It‟s the only way…”

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After a while, they returned, standing before Ness, who was sitting down in one of their

chairs. The serious expressions on both of their faces had him quite worried. He could see

Monotoli and Electra glance at each other, before both of them turned their attention to him.

“Ness… I know that at the start, I asked for your help in this. I didn‟t think that things would

go as far as they did…” Monotoli said.

“Is something wrong?” Ness asked.

If Monotoli heard him, he didn‟t act like he did. “Well… you know that Electra and I don‟t

have special powers. We‟ve discussed this a few times, Electra and I, but we figure that in the end, you‟re decision is the one that counts.”

Ness was very confused now. He didn‟t know why Monotoli was acting so odd, but it was even worse that Electra, who usually spoke her mind, also had a loss for words.

“Ness, dear, what Monotoli is trying to say is that… we don‟t want to take a backseat in

confronting the Mani-Mani Statue,” Electra continued. “I know that when Paula and Poo recover, it‟ll be up to you three to save the world. But…”

Monotoli sighed. “Electra, we just need to come out and say this.” He then took off his hat,

and looked at the fourteen-year-old straight in the eyes. “You and Paula showed me what

really matters in life. Ness, I owe you two. If you would have us, Electra and I would follow

you to the ends of the Earth.”

Ness always assumed that Monotoli and Electra were his friends, were part of the team, but

he wasn‟t prepared for what came next. He probably would have been, had he not been under stress from so much else.

“Ness, for what little it‟s worth, I offer my life to you. May I join you in defeating this new threat that plauges this Earth?”

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 51

AMACITIA

Jeff released the knife from Paula‟s back, she wasn‟t dead, she was still able to fight as well,

and she was finally starting to wear Jeff down, and she again had taken up hiding

———————————————————————————————————————

Paula cried silently to her self, a combination of pain and sorrow, she made Ness worry, Jeff

was trying to kill her, and Poo…well she didn‟t know herself. What had happened? They

were all great friends on their quest! If Jeff felt this way, why didn‟t he just tell us?

———————————————————————————————————————

Ness was shocked to hear what Monotoli had asked, and he was trying to decide, they had

helped since the beginning, but in the back of Ness‟ mind, he was fearing for Paula‟s life.

———————————————————————————————————————

Poo was barely consious, the pain was overwhelming, and he was trying to keep awake, so

to pass the time, he kept thinking about what had happened since he joined the quest to

stop this statue, but, he couldn‟t stop thinking about Jeff. Why had he succumbed to this

statue?

———————————————————————————————————————

Paula whacked Jeff in the head with her frying pan, it made a large dent, but Jeff was out

cold. She turned around and stared at the golden alien, who was shocked. Little dainty

Paula had won? What a shock! Giegan floated up and over to Paula, and he laughed, to

Paula, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “So…you won, would you like Jeff now? Well too bad, I am not pleased with Jeff, so I think I will just-” Paula whacked Giegan in the head, and he slammed in to the ground.

Paula was angry, and she couldn‟t take this anymore. She wanted to get back to her friends.

To Ness.

She slammed the frying pan into Giegan‟s face “That was for Jeff!” She whacked him again.

“That was for Poo!” She whacked him again. “That was for Magicant!” She whacked him

again. “That was for all my Teddy bears!” She whacked him again. “That was for my

parents!” She whacked him again. “That was for Electra!” She whacked him again. “That

was…for Monotoli!” She whacked him again, as sobbs wracked her body. “That was

for…Ness. The one I…love!” She smashed the frying pan into Giegan‟s eyes, a piece of metal

cut one of them, making him blind in that eye. “And this…is for our groups…Amicitia!” She

shot PK Votum, and a large blast sprung forth from her hands, hitting the three combatants.

———————————————————————————————————————

Paula had stopped seizuring and bleeding, and returned back to a sleeping state. Ness and

the other 2 ran to the window, to watch over the girl again, Ness was crying, he was happy.

Paula was safe for now. But, what happened?

———————————————————————————————————————

Giegan got up, his body was distorting, he needed his rejuvination pod. He slithered off,

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leaving Paula and the now normal Jeff to lie there and recover. He wanted to kill them when the ceremonie was complete.

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penguinbound

CHAPTER 52

MEETING

“Where is Jeff?” Giegue snarled, he was angry, Paula had beaten the Almighty Mani, of

course, he wasn‟t full strengthened, but still, even in his weak state, Giegan should be able

to beat anything!

“Uh…Jeff has returned to the good side, my lord.” A young Starman guarding the door said.

“Shut up. General! Get the others…it‟s time we start preparing!”

“Wh…what? My lord, we don‟t have the human Paula, or our last member! How-” the

General was cut off, Giegue was fully enraged. “Get. The. Others. NOW!” Giegue yelled, his

voice making the starmen in the room shrink back. The other lower starmen were now told

to go join Mel and his group. The General walked out of the room, to get the others. Giegue

turned around and sighed, it was almost time, Giegan was stirring, the group was almost

complete. He was lucky to have implanted that fake prophecy to Trew, who was originally

supposed to help the group, Jeff wasn‟t needed, he was a little bonus. Things were starting to fall into place, right before his eyes.

“Giegue…are you ready for your punishment?” A voice sounded through the pitch black of

the far side of the room. Giegan walked out of the shadows, and smiled. Giegue was in

trouble.

———————————————————————————————————————

Paula sat in her bed. Was it all a dream? No, she still had a little pain in her back. How long

was she out? And Jeff, what of him? She slowly pulled herself of the bed, and peeked out

the window. Ness was sleeping in a chair. The others probably in the waiting room. Paula

slipped out the door and walked to Ness. She dropped to her knees, and hugged Ness. She

was with the one she loved, she was happy.

———————————————————————————————————————

The group working for Giegue walked into the room, and found something none of them

expected. A creature, one that looked like Giegue, except gold, and more devilish looking,

sat in his chair. “Welcome gentlemen…I am Giegan.”

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ohboy

CHAPTER 53

ELECTRA’S RESERVATIONS

“Mr. Monotoli, you realize that you just pledged your alligance to a fourteen-year-old?”

Electra asked as they sat in the waiting room. After Paula stabilized, Ness fell asleep in one

of the chairs, and the two decided to let them have some peace. If something happened to the hospital, then they would be instantly alerted.

Monotoli could only chuckle. “Well, I‟ve worked for worse. That kid‟ll go far, Electra, and I think that he could easily lead us out of this mess.”

“Still, Mr. Monotoli. I‟m just not comfortable. I mean… I‟m old enough to be his mother,” Electra said.

“I‟m old enough to be his grandfather,” Monotoli countered. “Still, he‟s the only one we can

count on. He defeated the Mani-Mani in the past, and he can do it again.”

“True,” Electra said, still uncertain. “Still…”

“You know, Ness still hasn‟t even official said that we could join him,” Monotoli noted.

“Perhaps we should check up on him again, and ask him?”

“This is really important to you that you get his approval, isn‟t it?” Electra asked.

Monotoli stood up, and his maid followed. “Yes, it is. There are very few people I respect more than that kid and his girlfriend Paula.”

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Yami Mono

CHAPTER 54 For a brief second R9006 hesitated, his eyes fixated onto Giegan, who sat on the throne, a

lopsided grin stretched across his face as if he knew something the others didn‟t. Then,

though R9006 was confused by the appearance of the alien lord, he got onto one knee and bowed deeply.

The new, powerful aura that now cloaked the room was a heavy one, and one that the

general recognized. He had felt it often whenever he was near the golden statue of Mani-

Mani, though then it was faint and slightly musty. Now it was powerful, ebbing through the air like syrup through water.

“Giegan,” R9006 said bluntly. “The greatest Mani-Mani. I thought you were gone, or sealed away?”

Giegan stared at the Starman with heavy amusement before he broke off into a soft chuckle.

“You and the young Giegue have been following your foolish ways for far too long. You

cannot see the truth anymore, as you have strayed on the path too far.”

Giegan continued, his smile never faltering. “Swear your allegiance to me, and I shall teach

you how to truly make our race the greatest in the universe, the most powerful. Giegue may have conquered the Mooks and Titanians, but what did he fail at conquering ultimately?”

These prompting words caused the general to stop in his tracks, his thoughts focused. A

terrible feeling clenched at his heart, as if a giant hand had squeezed it and wouldn‟t stop.

Instinctively, he felt his shoulder throb where a spike had been roughly cut off in the first

war against the humans, and he swallowed loudly. “He failed at conquering the humans, Mani-Mani.”

If it was possible, Giegan‟s smirk seemed to grow wider, and for a foolish second R9006

thought his face would surely split in half from his grin. With a start, the Mani-Mani slid up

from his perch and stepped up the now-cowering general. In the background, R9006 thought he heard Flavor make a little peep of fear, as if his confidence were ebbing away.

“Yes, but I can conquer them. My power is far greater than that little pipsqueak,” Giegan

assured, his voice a feverish whisper. At these words, R9006 reared back, a look of disbelief on his face.

“What have you done to Master Giegue, anyway?” he ordered. As soon as he said those

words, he instantly regretted it. Giegan‟s grin had subsided for a split second. Then it grew very wide.

“Ah, him,” he said dismissively. “He is not completely gone, foolish soldier, but he no longer

truly lives. I ruptured the orb in his chest, the one that kept him alive. Now, he is but a floating form that can cause harm no more.”

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Only then did R9006 realize how strong the alien lord must be, strong enough to defeat the strongest alien that was remembered in the past millennium. He bowed his head.

“I pledge my allegiance to you,” he whispered.

“Good! Now then,” with that, the golden devil turned away and faced the others, who

seemed baffled by the exchange that they had failed to hear. “I hear you two are one of the

closest confidents to Giegue.”

Pokey snorted proudly, grinning widely, though not wide enough to match Giegan‟s, R9006 noted. “Yup! I assist only the strongest and the most able! That‟s me!”

Giegan stared at Pokey with amusement, though R9006 saw a tinge of disdain flickering in

his eyes, which were the color of good wine, red like blood. “Then join me. I have destroyed Giegue.”

Pokey‟s eyes widened, but he blundered forward and grasped Giegan‟s slender, fingerless

hand in his own and shook it roughly. “Will do! Besides, you look cooler than Giegue could ever.”

“Do I?” the alien replied, amusement obvious in his voice. His disdain almost seemed to subside. “I have to say I agree. Oh, and you.”

He flung his arm out at Enrich Flavor, who shook in his shoes at the sight of the devilish

alien. “You could prove to be useful,” he snorted. “You will swear allegiance to me. I can

give you power, let you rule Eagleland, Chommo, and Foggyland alike. I can even give you immortality.”

At this, Flavor perked up, his face turning pink with excitement. “Oh yes, I‟d love that!”

“Good,” he said. “Pokey and Flavor, I‟d like you to continue the mission that R9006 was

interrupted in the middle of when I called you all back. Here is something that will help you complete the mission quicker.”

Giegan pulled out a small but complex gun, which was a terrible golden hue that shimmered

pale red, blue, and white in the light. “This gun utilizes a mechanism that converts energy in

the air into a beam of pure matter that is one and the same to the aura that possesses

people near to the Mani-Mani statue. If you manage to capture someone in its path and hold the connection for ten seconds, the person will be fully under our control.”

He handed it over to the joyous Enrich Flavor while Pokey scoffed at the expression on the

mayor‟s face. They were about to leave when Giegan held up a hand.

“Go down the corridor. Three rooms down, on the right. Password 199938489MANIRX.”

Giegan said. Pokey‟s face scrunched up, trying to remember the said password, but Giegan

saved him the trouble by tossing over a paper with the word written down. “There lies the Gaurdian. Use it wisely, for its power is greater than you can possibly imagine.”

With that, he gestured Enrich Flavor and Pokey out from the room. They left hastily,

obviously excited by their new mission. R9006 was about to leave as well when Giegan called him back. Once again, his grin seemed to be splitting his face.

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“I am powerful, as you now know,” Giegan said, examining his hands, giving the

appearance of being absentminded though his words were serious. “I can bend the

dimensions to my will. Therefore, I‟ve harvested something that you‟ll find very intriguing indeed. Come with me.”

Wordlessly, R9006 followed the golden alien. Giegan placed his hands against a wall, where the wall seemed to ebb away, melting, revealing a dark, black tunnel. He stepped in.

“What I‟m about to show you will prove to be more useful than the Guardian, maybe. Try

not to be taken aback. My mindless robots and I have worked hard on using an ancient

technique used by the Tisgei aliens of millenniums past called chimæraism to create a beast

so powerful that it‟ll hard to not be afraid.” Giegan began talking as they advanced through

the claustrophobic tunnel. The only sign of light was a far-off speck, implying that there was another room at the end of it.

“I want you to unleash the power of this beast upon the Chosen. After all, the

Enlightenment objects have predicted that the Guardian will fail in decimating them all.” He

continued. “This beast… chimæraism is a ruthless and dirty technique that practices fusing

animals, plants, and any matter together. It is extremely difficult to complete the technique

without completely destroying the base of the chimæra’s mind and consciousness, but I

have managed to wipe the base creature‟s memories and sense of justice, while its mind remains cunning and not completely like an animal.”

At last they reached the entrance to the ending room, and Giegan paused. All R9006 could

see was white marble floor from his position behind the floating alien. Giegan turned. His eyes glowed in the darkness.

“Prepare yourself for what you‟re about to see, and don‟t get too excited.” Sparks flared in

Giegan‟s eyes.

R9006 gulped as Giegan stepped in and he followed.

The first thing he saw was colossal, slumbering robots, the RX models from the first war

against the humans. They had been destroyed by the conniving obstructions, the group of

“liberators”, but it was plainly obvious that they had somehow been reconstructed, as their

monochrome coats were gleaming. The Starman general could only presume that these

were the “mindless robots” who had aided Giegan. He moved his gaze to the center of the room, the large mechanism that Giegan stood before proudly.

He froze, and his heart seemed to stop.

Giegan grinned, his eyes flashing. “Beautiful, isn‟t it? I traveled back in time to retrieve the

base body for perfection, during the end of the first war. Behold the chimæra I have constructed!”

Before them was a life-supplying mechanism, and within it was a frightening human with

unnatural features sprawled across its body. Dangerous, blade-like wings made from metal shot from its back.

R9006 recognized the chimæra all too well. It was Ninten.

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ohboy

CHAPTER 55 Paula wanted just one more moment alone with Ness. She didn‟t care that she was still in a

hospital gown, and probably looked like a mess. She didn‟t care that the cold floor was

freezing her knees and bare feet. She didn‟t even care that there were people at the other

end of the hall, probably giving her odd looks. She closed her eyes, enjoying that she was

alive. Enjoying that she was once again with the one she truly loved. She was afraid she

would wake him, but she just couldn‟t let go.

“In my day, the doctor usually made you rest for a while before letting you roam around,” an elderly voice said, breaking her thoughts.

She stood up, and saw the smiling faces of her two older companions. Monotoli looked like

he had been fraught with worry. His red tie was horribly crooked, and his hat seemed

lopsided. His maid faired no better, with a cup of coffee in her hand and bags under her

eyes. Had all those people, Ness, Monotoli, Electra, and she was sure Poo, really been that worried over her?

“There‟ll be time for that later,” Electra whispered. “Ness needs some sleep, considering all that‟s happened. Why don‟t you go back to bed, and tell us what happened.”

Paula silently agreed. She knew that she had to return, but she wanted just one more second. Finally, she stood up, and led the two back to her room, getting back in bed.

“There sure aren‟t a lot of nurses around here,” Monotoli noted, sitting down in one of the

two chairs in the room. “Hasn‟t anyone came by to check on you?”

“Probably budget cuts,” Electra complained, reaching over to fluff up Paula‟s pillow. Even when she wasn‟t at work, Paula had a feeling that she couldn‟t help but be a maid.

Paula could see Mr. Monotoli look around, a look of disapproval spread across his face.

Finally, he focused his attention on her. “You were trashing about horribly, my dear. That must have been some dream.”

“Most dreams normally don‟t end with me needing medical attention,” Electra said, rolling

her eyes as she took a nearby paper towel and tried to rub out a stain on the bedside table.

“Electra, this isn‟t my office,” Monotoli complained. “You‟re making me nervous. Sit down.”

“I clean when I get upset,” Electra countered, rubbing harder. “You don‟t mind, do you,

Paula?”

”No…” Paula said. Despite their arguing, she was glad for the company.

“Paula, why don‟t you tell us what happened,” Monotoli said.

88

Paula shuddered. Slowly, as carefully as she could, she began to recount what happened

after she got shot. The strange land of Magicant, the fight with Jeff and Giegan, Cuddles the

Bear. She mentioned PSI Votum. She was surprised how vivid all those memories seemed,

how much detail she could recall. When she was finished, she had a headache, having to recall such horrors.

“Well, Ness was able to get you out of the house,” Monotoli said. Paula noticed that he was

trying to hold back some pain, but it was showing through in his eyes. Then a horrible

thought struck her.

“Are my parents…”

Electra shook her head. “We don‟t know. Ness escaped while they fought back Pokey.”

“If they opposed the Mani-Mani, Pokey, and this Giegan fellow, then it‟s unlikely they

survived,” Monotoli sighed.

“ Geldegarde!” Electra said sharply, glaring at her boss. “How could you say something like that!”

“Electra, I hope that they were able to get away, I really do. But giving her false hope is not going to help her out.”

Thinking about this, Paula closed her eyes, trying to hold back the inevitable tears. Her

parents… had sacrificed themselves for her. She was all alone in the world now. The only

surviving relative that she could think of was her grandmother, Marge Polestar, who lived in Fourside. What would happen to the preschool, to Twoson. To her?

“Look what you did,” Paula heard Electra say in response to her pain.

“Me?” Monotoli said, standing up. “Listen, I‟ll have you know that my whole heart goes out to that girl. But I don‟t think that lying to her…”

“It‟s called empathy, Geldegarde,” Electra yelled. “Maybe you missed out on that when you tried to kill her the first time around!”

She could now see Monotoli‟s face turn red. “I regret what I did in the past, but that gives

you no right! At least I made something of myself. My biggest life accomplishment isn‟t making a toilet bowl looking sparkling clean!”

“At least I didn‟t run around on my sick spouse!” Electra yelled.

She could now see Monotoli clench his fists. She could have sworn that he would strike. “That‟s because nobody would want you!”

“Please…” Paula said weakly, upset further by their yelling. “Stop…”

“See, even she wants you to stop!” Electra shouted.

“Then maybe I should just leave. Is that what you want?”

89

“No, don‟t,” she said sarcastically. “Then what would you get me when my birthday rolls around?”

“Maybe I‟ll drop dead!”

“Promise?”

“Will you two stop arguing!”

Paula, Monotoli, and Electra turned around to see Ness standing at the doorway, glaring at the two adults.

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Extras

Participating Writers:

-ohboy -SonicBlast190 Prod.

-penguinbound -Psychomax -PK Coffee -KaylaAlex

-Yami Mono

91

Characters:

Ness—The Leader of the Chosen Six

Paula Polestar—Ness‟s girlfriend and wanted by the antagonists

Geldegarde Monotoli—The former mayor of Fourside who seeks help from Ness

Electra—Former maid of the Monotoli Building, intending to be next Fourside Mayor

Jeff—Ness‟s friend who was corrupted by the Mani-Mani

Poo—Prince from Dalaam who helps Ness

Tracy—Ness‟s sister

R9006—Starman general who is a confidant of Giegue

Giygas—An ancient evil that the Chosen Four fought, also Giegue

Giegue—Alien ruler who controls the Mani-Mani statue

Mani-Mani Statue—Statue that can corrupt people

Geigan-One of Giegue‟s race who was trapped in the Mani-Mani

Cuddles—Paula‟s first stuffed bear

Mel Polestar—Paula‟s father, corrupted by Mani-Mani

Elaine Polestar—Paula‟s mother

Frank Fly—Leader of the Sharks who is grateful to Ness

Enrich Flavor—Mayor of Fourside, corrupted by Mani-Mani

Pokey—Rival and neighbor of Ness, corrupted by Mani-Mani/greed

Adrian Guarde—Enrich Flavor‟s secretary

Ninten—Defeated aliens and Giegue in the past

Talah Rama-One who lives in the desert in a hole with monkeys

Liar X. Agerate/Trew X. Position—Man who helps Ness and finds the Vanquish Prophecy

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ohboy

|THE VANQUISH PROPHECY POEM

Translated by: Liar X. Agerate Trew X. Position

The fall of the evil alien lord

Heralds the idol with the golden sword,

To stand a chance against the evil one

A journey must be made to where there is no sun,

To the Mani-Mani’s illusive land

Six good heroes must form a band,

The first is a boy who will be the head

Donning a cap of blue and red,

The second is a girl whose heart is pure

Mani’s prime target, her body to procure,

The third is a prince from the country of Mu

Whose heart is brave and his loyalty true,

The fourth had governed a mighty place

At one time acting as the idol’s face,

The fifth is a servant, the fourth’s best aide

Who ascends as a governess where she was a maid,

The sixth is a coward, scared and meek

Who lives beyond the glacier’s peak,

The allies of the idol are few but strong

The ones who take pleasure in committing wrong,

A childhood friend filled with hate

A cosmic force that’s bound by fate,

A powerful dictator that yearns for more

The disgruntled traitor of the Chosen Four,

For those six heroes, to find what they seek

Must travel to where chaos and insanity reek,

A song that leads to the land of dreams

Is bound together by vocal seams,

Cleft in half, and half, and again

Waiting for a voice free of sin,

To find them are the heroes fate

To disintegrate the Mani’s hate,

The soul of the sage shall lead them on

To bring about a new day’s dawn.

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ohboy

|FLAVOR’S SECRETARY FICLET

Adrian Guarde put the last of the papers in her desk. It had actually been a pretty

good day. She took an extra long break, since it often helped her relieve stress. In

those two hours, she learned the juicy gossip of three break-ups, and a divorce.

Apparantly that elevator attendant that always worries about her hips may be fired,

and the police had a lead on who that dead guy was, but still wouldn‟t say who.

She was worried about Flavor, though, who never came out of his office all day. She

didn‟t bother him all day, especially since she was worried that he might have found

just how long she had taken a coffee break. However, she hoped that he would get

out of his office. It wasn‟t healthy to be cooped up all day long, and besides, he

would have no idea what was going on in the outside world. Adrain always kept up

on the latest news. As a matter of fact, she was going to visit her sister in Threed

tomorrow, where she would no doubt hear all the lastest gossip from that corner of

Eagleland.

She rapped on the mayor‟s door, and yelled goodnight. “He must really be tired,”

Adrian said aloud when she didn‟t get a response. She slowly began to leave, feeling sorry for Flavor for him being buried in work.

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ohboy

|SUMMARY 1CHAPTER 1 TO 18

One night in Fourside, a mysterious thief enters Jackie‟s Cafe and steals the remains

of the Mani-Mani Statue. During his escape of the police, he reaches the front of City

Hall. However, the thief gets struck by a bolt of lightning, and the statue

reassembles. Former Mayor Geldegarde Monotoli sees this, and decides to contact

Ness in defeating the Mani-Mani Statue. He reaches Onett, and makes his way to

Ness‟s house. He agrees to help Monotoli, and the two of them return to Fourside,

where Monotoli finds Jeff just about to enter the Fourside Dinosaur Museum. They

make their way to the one place that Monotoli expects to find Mani-Mani: the

mayor‟s office.

Earlier that morning, Mayor Enrich Flavor enters his office and finds the Mani-Mani

Statue in his closet. The staute and Flavor make a deal: Flavor helps Mani-Mani, and

Mani-Mani will make Flavor the sole leader of Eagleland. As they were discussing this,

Jeff enters Flavor‟s office, and tries to use a bottle rocket to blow-up the statue.

However, Flavor ultimately pushes the statue on Jeff, and stuffs them both in the

closet. Flavor then runs out of his office, needing to find a safe location in which to

hide the statue. Monotoli and Ness enter the office, but Jeff, having been

brainwashed through exposure to Mani-Mani, turns on them, saying that Ness never

respected him because he couldn‟t use PSI. After this, Jeff and the statue vanish to Moonside.

Flavor finds a location for the staute in a drug store in the Dusty Dunes Desert, after killing the owner and his dog.

As Ness and Monotoli leave the office to plan their next move, mainly: find Mani-

Mani, they meet Monotoli‟s former maid, Electra. She asserts that she‟s quitting, and

when she wonders where Flavor is, she gets Monotoli to agree to fill her on what happened. The three of them proceed to leave the office.

Earlier in the afternoon, Paula decides to call Ness. The first time, she is told that he

is not there. The second time, Ness‟s Mother admits that a man came by, worried

about a statue, and they went to Fourside. Paula calls the Runaway Five for help,

and, with her frying pan, teddy bear, and some rolls, the band drives her to city hall. After thanking Lucky and the rest, she enters the building.

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ohboy

|SUMMARY 2CHAPTERS 19 TO 24

Flavor leaves the Dusty Dunes Desert, and using the Mani-Mani Statue, destroys all

the buildings in Threed. As he does this, Poo, acting on a vision he saw, heads for Fourside in order to help his friends.

Back at City Hall, after Monotoli explained the Mani-Mani Statue to Electra and Ness,

Paula meets up with them. They agree to return to Ness‟s house in order to decide

their next plan of action, and begin to teleport. However, they wind up in Dusty

Dunes, where they are attacked by Jeff, who claims that Mani-Mani needs Paula. Jeff

is still upset about not having PSI, and being left out. As he subdues Paula and

Monotoli, Poo jumps in the fray and beats him back, causing Jeff to escape. After the

battle, Talah Rama and the monkeys that live with him say that Flavor will return

soon, and they will fight off him and Mani-Mani while Ness and company return to

Onett. Enrich Flavor was going to build his new capital on the sands of Dusty Dunes

Desert.

Ness decides to see Liar X. Agerate, but first decides to see his mother. While they

are there, Paula asks Monotoli why the statue keeps wanting Paula. Monotoli takes

her outside, and proceeds to tell her that Giygas, who controlled the statue (but it is

unknown if he still does) wants a body to claim as his own, and Paula‟s works best.

At this time, Ness and the others go to Liar‟s house (who changed his name to Trew X. Position for crediability reason).

Liar Trew tells them that long ago, in the last millenium, the Mani-Mani Statue and

the demon-god Giygas attacked Eagleland. Mani-Mani wanted a sacrifice from a tribe

that lived in present-day Dusty Dunes, and they captured a princess who lived in

present-day Onett. The Princess began to turn Eagleland in a wasteland, but her

lover got her from its control long enough for her to kill herself. Trew goes on to say

that the Mani-Mani Statue is actually a transmitter, and it is possible that it could be Pokey, not Giygas, who is controlling it.

Meanwhile, Enrich Flavor revives the fortress in Dusty Dunes, and kills Talah Rama

and the monkeys. Mani-Mani then orders Flavor to find Jeff and imprison the dead

body of Talah Rama. Jeff is actually in the bottom chamber of the monkey‟s cave, where he kills the remaining monkeys and asserts that he must return to his master.

Talah Rama‟s ghost goes to Ness and his party, who proceeds to tell them that

Monotoli and Electra must rush back to Fourside, while Ness, Paula, and Poo must

save Threed, which is now controlled by Jeff. In a rush, Ness and his friends teleport

to Saturn Valley to decide what to do next, leaving Monotoli and Electra. The two of

them decide to return to Fourside, where Electra would lead their forces while

Monotoli told her how to do so.

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ohboy

|SUMMARY 3CHAPTERS 25 TO 39

After Monotoli and Electra leave Trew‟s house, Trew finds an old poem that falls out

of one of his books. The poem, called “The Vanquish Prophecy”, is a description of

the battle between the heroes and Mani-Mani. Trew rushes out of his house, and

calls Monotoli and Electra back to his house to show them the strange poem. Ness,

Paula, and Poo returned from Saturn Valley, and the five of them were given “The

Vanquish Prophecy”. However, before Trew could explain what he knew about it, a

strange metal orb appeared and tried to kill Ness. He missed, but set the house on

fire, killing Trew in the process. Ness killed the orb with PSI Rockin‟ Omega, but

fainted from exhaustion following the attack.

Monotoli carries Ness as the group reaches his house. Once inside, Ness is tended to

by his mother. Paula, overwhelmed by emotions, begins crying. She leaves Ness with

a quick kiss on the cheek and her teddy bear, before going on the deck with the

others. Monotoli, Electra, and Poo are trying to figure out the poem that Trew gave

them. They are able to determine that the five of them were prophecized heroes that

would have to defeat the Mani-Mani Statue. There is a sixth hero that they must join forces with, although nobody can figure out who it is.

Monotoli devises a plan that he and Electra should go to Fourside and lead its forces

against Enrich Flavor and Mani-Mani. Ness, Paula, and Poo should go to Threed and

liberate it from Jeff. The five of them would then meet up again and find this sixth

person. Everyone agrees, and the five of them spend the night at Ness‟s house, deciding to depart in the morning.

Meanwhile, Mel Polestar, Paula‟s father, is kidnapped. The military, Twoson‟s border

patrol, decides to send seven people to go out and rescue him, while the rest stay

behind and defend the town from Flavor. The soldiers find him, and they begin to escape.

Enrich Flavor, inside his new stronghold within Mani‟s dark world, is told to capture Paula‟s mother, and use her and Mel as a medium of exchange for Paula.

That night, as Paula is trying to sleep, she has a vision that Twoson was in ruins, and

her mother was being dragged out of Polestar Preschool by a fat person in a red

jacket and black hair. Paula decides that she has to return home immediately,

although she doesn‟t know how she is going to get there. As she is thinking of this,

Ness comes in to check on her. He agrees that the two of them should leave, and

after they pack what they need, they teleport into the night. When the arrive, they

make their way to her house. Paula finds it a bit odd that she‟s having romantic

feelings about walking down the night streets with Ness, but pushes it out of her

mind as the two reach Polestar Preschool. They are attacked by a Starman, and after

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defeating it, rush in the house, which happens to be a mess. Paula and Ness make

their way to her parents‟ room, where they see her tied up. Ness and Paula untie her,

but are stopped by a familiar voice. Ness poises himself to defend Paula and her mother, despite his weariness.

After the defeat of the Starman, Starman General R9006, a loyalist to Giegue, is told

that his Starman was defeated. While waiting with other Starmen, one of which

fought against Ninten, he is called by Mani-Mani, and would meet the person that

was controlling it.

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ohboy

|SUMMARY 4CHAPTERS 40 TO 50

General Starman R9006 meets the one controlling Mani-Mani, who happens to be a

deformed Giegue. Giegue only seems to be surviving thanks to a small blue gem

implanted on his chest. He orders that R9006 brings Mel (who is also under control

of the Mani-Mani Statue), Flavor, Jeff, and one more person to him so they can

prepare the sacrifice of Paula. He also says that he wants a mysterious force known as the “Guardian” to crush the heroes afterwards.

The mysterious voice that taunted Ness and Paula turns out to be Pokey Minch.

Words are exchanged, and Pokey summons some Starman, threatening to kill

Paula‟s Mother if he takes violent action. Mel then appears, and tells Paula that he

would like her to come with Pokey and him to the Mani-Mani Statue. He also says he

must kill Ness, who he feels is a bad influence. Paula disagrees, and steps in front of

Ness to protect him from Mel‟s gun. Ultimately, Ness begins to pray for someone,

anyone, to help them, until Paula gets shot. Elaine rushes over to beg Mel to stop the

madness, which breaks Mani‟s control over him. Ness and Paula escape out a back window while Mel and Elaine hold off the Starmen and Pokey.

Poo receives Ness‟s cry for help, but along with a terrible pain throughout his body.

He tells Monotoli and Electra that Ness and Paula are at Twoson, and the three are

off. Along the way, they meet Frank Fly and the Sharks, who take Poo to the hospital

and Monotoli/Electra to Twoson (which makes poor Monotoli suffer in having to ride

on Frank‟s motorcycle). They meet a very distraught Ness carrying an unconcious

Paula, and the four go back to Onett hospital with the agreement not to wander off

again.

Enrich Flavor assembles Pokey, R9006, and Jeff. Mani-Mani tells Jeff to return to

Threed, for Pokey to stay at the Mani‟s stronghold, and for Flavor to accompany him

tomorrow morning to regain the tip of his sword from the Fourside police. Afterwards,

the three of them leave, and it is revealed that only R9006 knows that Giegue is the

one really controlling the statue.

Paula, after being shot, finds herself in her own personal Magicant. A large bear

called Stuffed Man begins to quickly lead her somewhere, until Paula forces them to

stop after an hour or so. Stuffed Man asks Paula if she loves Ness, causing her to be

taken aback, until she finally succumbs to sleep. When she wakes up, the pink clouds

of Magicant are now blood red, and Stuffed Man is a pile of fluff before her. He says

goodbye to her, and Paula sees a tombstone to reveal that he was her first bear,

“Cuddles” (who was with her when Paula was captured by Happy Happyists). She

then meets Giegan, a golden-skinned lookalike of Giegue, who is the Mani-Mani (the

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aliens‟ word for “first ruler”) and proceeds to destroy Magicant (which he dubs

“Magicide”). In extreme anger, Paula realizes a new ability, PK Votum, which she

uses against Giegan.

Giegan agrees to a deal with Paula. He will summon Jeff to fight her. If she wins, the

spell over Jeff will be broken. If she loses, he will kill her friends, and possess her.

Paula agrees, and fights Jeff. Jeff is summoned, and his power is much stronger than

Paula‟s. Finally, Jeff appears to have been freed from Mani-Mani, and Paula rushes

over to him. However, being a trick, she is stabbed in the back (literally, in this case).

At the hospital, Paula begins to have phsyical pains resulting from her fight with Jeff.

Electra summons medical staff, and while she is gone, Paula begins bleeding

profusely. When the medical staff return, they insist that Ness, Monotoli, and Electra

go to the waiting room. Once there, Monotoli and Electra have a discussion, and the

both of them make a decision. Monotoli formally asks Ness if the two of them may formally join him in the fight against Mani-Mani, with Ness leading them.

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|PENGUINBOUND’S LATIN LESSONS Votum = Prayer, Wish, Desire

Amacitia = Friendship

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|PSI AND SPECIAL ABILITIES Monotoli:

PSI Politician Alpha: Confuses enemies with campaign promises containing conflicting logic and gaping fallaciies.

PSI Politican Beta: Enemies learn that you are under scandal for possibly misusing

their campaign contributions, causing all enemies to cry.

PSI Politician Sigma: Enemies get poisoned, since you‟re still dragging your feet

on that new health care plan.

PSI Politican Omega: All enemies may die of shock after learning that you actually got reelected.

OR

Politician Alpha becomes:

Campaign Promise

—————————————————

Beta becomes:

Political Scandal

—————————————————

Sigma Becomes:

No Healthcare

—————————————————

Omega Becomes:

Re-election

Electra:

Clean Up: Electra cleans the area, and might find a useful item!

———————————————————————————————————-

Dust:

Take out your feather duster and, well, dust, might cause enemies to get a cold.

————————————————————————————————————

Paperwork:

Assign paperwork to the enemies, making them confused

————————————————————————————————————

Breakfast: Prepares food for the party, healing them!

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