A/N: EARTHBOUND BE NOT MINE! There; disclaimer's out of the way. First and foremost,
I'd like to thank all the EarthBound fans who helped to make "Cycle" my single most
successful story on ff.net. Hopefully this tale will be able to live up to it.
:-) When I began "Cycle" I didn't quite know where I was going with it, as is the case
with this story. Maybe there IS something to be said for improvisation... That
being said, I present to you "Mutation", the sequel to "Cycle".
Like it predecessor, it begins with a dream...
*********************************
Chapter One: Living the Good Life
Ness sat with his arms folded, staring at the desk in front of him.
He was in his basement. The basement where he kept all the memories of his travels with Paula, Jeff, and Poo. His sanctuary. And Paula's, too, sometimes. It had almost become like a little private museum- empty jars of Fly Honey, unused Bottle Rockets, a small container of sand from the desert, a ribbon from the head of a Mr. Saturn, even a couple of pebbles Jeff had picked out of his shoe in Brick Road. On the desk also lay the photo album Ness' mother had put together- the very thing that had saved his memory ten years ago- and the Sound Stone.
There was something else there too, now, something that wasn't usually there.
"You don't scare me, you know," Ness heard himself say.
"That's perfectly fine with me," answered the Mani-Mani statue, "You destroyed me once; then when I returned you protected me. It proves the evil part of a person's soul does need to be preserved."
"Don't be silly," Ness said, "I only 'protected' you to stop an even greater evil from getting ahold of you."
"Exactly my point," said the statue, "Unless we recognize the darkness within us, greater shadows may yet overtake us."
Ness shook his head, "Don't you try that cryptic crap on me after all these years," he said, "I'm a grown man now; I've got a wife and a son and I don't need you anymore."
"If you don't need me," said the Mani-Mani statue, "Then why am I here?"
And the statue began to grow.
It was slow at first, then faster and faster- until the statue first broke through the table, spilling the Sound Stone and other precious items to the floor- until it then dominated the room from ceiling to floor, and Ness had leapt off the stool to get away from it, backing against the wall.
Then the statue moved. The faint basement light made its glittering arms glow as they unfolded themselves, grabbed a massive glittering spear from midair, and went straight for Ness' throat.
*
Ness tapped his right index finger at the glass, distracting the fish that swam on the other side.
"PSI Memory Delta," he said quietly, "From the time I started this sentence to the time I finish it, you were soaring majestically through the clouds, completely free of this two-and-a-half-foot by one-foot fishtank."
He brought his finger away. The goldfish glubbed, and looked even more perplexed- if such a thing was possible.
Ness felt he might snigger like some mischievous little school boy, but instead he just grinned- ah, fish. Gotta love messing with their minds.
"Dad! Dad! Daddy!" little Jeffrey's voice called from the puppy zone. He was jumping frantically up and down, pointing at a little brown-spotted white pup, "I want that one, Dad!"
"You want that one, huh?" Ness kneeled down by his son, ruffling his hair, "And who said I was gonna get you a puppy, huh?" He poked Jeffrey in the stomach, right where he knew it tickled the most, "Huh?"
"Mom said you might buy me a puppy for my birthday," Jeffrey said, giggling.
"Oh, yeah?" Ness picked Jeffrey up, "Well, your birthday's two months away, slugger. That puppy won't be so small anymore by then."
"I don't care; I want it," Jeffrey said.
"Well, we'll see about that," Ness said as they exited from the pet store, "But first let's worry about gettin' you to baseball practice."
*
"Dad, I'm nervous."
"Don't be."
Ness concentrated on the road in front of him with his eyes while his mind wandered toward other things. His son's first day of baseball- he felt so proud already. They'd stopped by the pet store first because Ness felt it might calm Jeffery's nerves... He always did like seeing the puppies.
Wasn't there something else he was supposed to remember, too? Oh yeah- the extra bats for the team. Were they in the backseat-? Yes; Ness could hear them rattling around back there.
The thought of the bats made him think of something else.
It was the dream he'd had the night before.
The dream didn't faze him anymore- he'd had it once every year, ever since the destruction of Pokey's Earth. After the fifth year he'd started to notice a pattern, but Paula told him there were no hidden meanings in it; it was just his subconscious being tricky. If the Mani-Mani statue could have somehow harmed him from within Magicant, it would have done it a long time ago.
Ness snapped back to reality and noticed he was swerving. Readjusting the vehicle, he put his mind back on the road and continued towards the baseball field.
*
The man standing on the grass just outside of first base had a sweaty look to him, even though the spring air was a comfortable 67 degrees. His moustache- terribly oversized for someone with such a bony face as his- twitched, his fingers- long and spindly- fiddled with themselves behind his back. The only relaxed feeling at all about him was the baseball cap perched upon his head.
But when he saw the dark blue car pull up on the park road, he smiled. The dark-haired man and his son got out, and the father directed his son toward the area where most of the boys on the team were already chatting, playing catch, and getting to know each other.
"Ness," said the moustached man, holding out a bony hand as the dark-haired one approached him.
"Adrian," Ness greeted, and took his hand in a hearty shake, "Good day for baseball," he said.
"Great day," Adrian said clipily. "Listen, Ness- it seems your new co-coach hasn't quite recovered from the flu yet." His moustache bristled. "It seems he won't be making it to the first few practices-"
"Oh, that's fine," Ness said, clapping Adrian on one skinny shoulder, "I can handle it."
"Well-" Adrian said, "I was just thinking that- you know- as head of the Little League I would be willing to help any way I could-"
"No, really; I can handle it myself," Ness said, "Jesus, Adrian, they're just kids, huh?" Finally prying his hand from Adrian's he made his way towards the area where the boys were playing, "Go home and get some rest. Or stop drinking so much coffee or something," he added under his breath.
*
Some days, Ness could hardly believe it.
At 36 years of age he had already saved the world twice from certain destruction. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Here he was, a celebrated sports columnist published in 15 papers across Eagleland, and every spring, a Little League coach for the Twoson Tigers. He had a wife, Paula, who after several years of college was now a practicing psychologist- and a darned good one too, since she could literally read people's minds. And he had a son, Jeffrey- named after Ness' and Paula's late friend- who had his mother's golden hair and sparkling green eyes, but his father's spunk and love of athletics. For the last ten years, Ness had finally gotten a grip on what most people considered a normal life.
It felt pretty good.
Like it predecessor, it begins with a dream...
*********************************
Chapter One: Living the Good Life
Ness sat with his arms folded, staring at the desk in front of him.
He was in his basement. The basement where he kept all the memories of his travels with Paula, Jeff, and Poo. His sanctuary. And Paula's, too, sometimes. It had almost become like a little private museum- empty jars of Fly Honey, unused Bottle Rockets, a small container of sand from the desert, a ribbon from the head of a Mr. Saturn, even a couple of pebbles Jeff had picked out of his shoe in Brick Road. On the desk also lay the photo album Ness' mother had put together- the very thing that had saved his memory ten years ago- and the Sound Stone.
There was something else there too, now, something that wasn't usually there.
"You don't scare me, you know," Ness heard himself say.
"That's perfectly fine with me," answered the Mani-Mani statue, "You destroyed me once; then when I returned you protected me. It proves the evil part of a person's soul does need to be preserved."
"Don't be silly," Ness said, "I only 'protected' you to stop an even greater evil from getting ahold of you."
"Exactly my point," said the statue, "Unless we recognize the darkness within us, greater shadows may yet overtake us."
Ness shook his head, "Don't you try that cryptic crap on me after all these years," he said, "I'm a grown man now; I've got a wife and a son and I don't need you anymore."
"If you don't need me," said the Mani-Mani statue, "Then why am I here?"
And the statue began to grow.
It was slow at first, then faster and faster- until the statue first broke through the table, spilling the Sound Stone and other precious items to the floor- until it then dominated the room from ceiling to floor, and Ness had leapt off the stool to get away from it, backing against the wall.
Then the statue moved. The faint basement light made its glittering arms glow as they unfolded themselves, grabbed a massive glittering spear from midair, and went straight for Ness' throat.
*
Ness tapped his right index finger at the glass, distracting the fish that swam on the other side.
"PSI Memory Delta," he said quietly, "From the time I started this sentence to the time I finish it, you were soaring majestically through the clouds, completely free of this two-and-a-half-foot by one-foot fishtank."
He brought his finger away. The goldfish glubbed, and looked even more perplexed- if such a thing was possible.
Ness felt he might snigger like some mischievous little school boy, but instead he just grinned- ah, fish. Gotta love messing with their minds.
"Dad! Dad! Daddy!" little Jeffrey's voice called from the puppy zone. He was jumping frantically up and down, pointing at a little brown-spotted white pup, "I want that one, Dad!"
"You want that one, huh?" Ness kneeled down by his son, ruffling his hair, "And who said I was gonna get you a puppy, huh?" He poked Jeffrey in the stomach, right where he knew it tickled the most, "Huh?"
"Mom said you might buy me a puppy for my birthday," Jeffrey said, giggling.
"Oh, yeah?" Ness picked Jeffrey up, "Well, your birthday's two months away, slugger. That puppy won't be so small anymore by then."
"I don't care; I want it," Jeffrey said.
"Well, we'll see about that," Ness said as they exited from the pet store, "But first let's worry about gettin' you to baseball practice."
*
"Dad, I'm nervous."
"Don't be."
Ness concentrated on the road in front of him with his eyes while his mind wandered toward other things. His son's first day of baseball- he felt so proud already. They'd stopped by the pet store first because Ness felt it might calm Jeffery's nerves... He always did like seeing the puppies.
Wasn't there something else he was supposed to remember, too? Oh yeah- the extra bats for the team. Were they in the backseat-? Yes; Ness could hear them rattling around back there.
The thought of the bats made him think of something else.
It was the dream he'd had the night before.
The dream didn't faze him anymore- he'd had it once every year, ever since the destruction of Pokey's Earth. After the fifth year he'd started to notice a pattern, but Paula told him there were no hidden meanings in it; it was just his subconscious being tricky. If the Mani-Mani statue could have somehow harmed him from within Magicant, it would have done it a long time ago.
Ness snapped back to reality and noticed he was swerving. Readjusting the vehicle, he put his mind back on the road and continued towards the baseball field.
*
The man standing on the grass just outside of first base had a sweaty look to him, even though the spring air was a comfortable 67 degrees. His moustache- terribly oversized for someone with such a bony face as his- twitched, his fingers- long and spindly- fiddled with themselves behind his back. The only relaxed feeling at all about him was the baseball cap perched upon his head.
But when he saw the dark blue car pull up on the park road, he smiled. The dark-haired man and his son got out, and the father directed his son toward the area where most of the boys on the team were already chatting, playing catch, and getting to know each other.
"Ness," said the moustached man, holding out a bony hand as the dark-haired one approached him.
"Adrian," Ness greeted, and took his hand in a hearty shake, "Good day for baseball," he said.
"Great day," Adrian said clipily. "Listen, Ness- it seems your new co-coach hasn't quite recovered from the flu yet." His moustache bristled. "It seems he won't be making it to the first few practices-"
"Oh, that's fine," Ness said, clapping Adrian on one skinny shoulder, "I can handle it."
"Well-" Adrian said, "I was just thinking that- you know- as head of the Little League I would be willing to help any way I could-"
"No, really; I can handle it myself," Ness said, "Jesus, Adrian, they're just kids, huh?" Finally prying his hand from Adrian's he made his way towards the area where the boys were playing, "Go home and get some rest. Or stop drinking so much coffee or something," he added under his breath.
*
Some days, Ness could hardly believe it.
At 36 years of age he had already saved the world twice from certain destruction. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Here he was, a celebrated sports columnist published in 15 papers across Eagleland, and every spring, a Little League coach for the Twoson Tigers. He had a wife, Paula, who after several years of college was now a practicing psychologist- and a darned good one too, since she could literally read people's minds. And he had a son, Jeffrey- named after Ness' and Paula's late friend- who had his mother's golden hair and sparkling green eyes, but his father's spunk and love of athletics. For the last ten years, Ness had finally gotten a grip on what most people considered a normal life.
It felt pretty good.