Wisdom, Courage, Friendship- An Earthbound Novelization

Original story by Shigesato Itoi

That's right, I'm doing a third novelization of a video game! My Undertale story went very well, and people seem to be enjoying my adaptation of Cave Story, so I figured this would be another fun one! As with my previous stories, there will be a few changes to the plot here and there just to keep things fresh. But for now, we'll start with the beginning all Earthbound fans know so well.

The cover image was made by myself, using sprites from the Spriter's Resource. All credit for them goes to the rippers on that website.

Enjoy!

INTRODUCTION: The Night it Began

Chapter 1: The Disturbance

Ness was awakened just as abruptly as sleep had come, shooting up in bed when the foundations of his house- and what felt like the entire world- rattled around him. For a moment he wondered if an earthquake had struck, but he soon became aware of a distinct crashing noise in the distance, as if something had exploded. He was no expert, but he was pretty sure earthquakes didn't sound like that.

The tremors stopped after a few seconds, and all was silent again save for his startled gasps. In fact, the rumbling had been so swift that he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't been dreaming until he heard police sirens outside. Whatever had happened, it had gotten attention.

Rubbing his eyes, Ness climbed out of bed and stumbled toward the door to his room. His heart was pounding after that, and he knew he wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon. Not that it mattered much, it was only around 10:30 and summer had just begun in western Eagleland. He didn't have any plans for the next morning, either.

"Might as well go see what's up," he thought to himself.

Light shone under his door, indicating that he wasn't the only one awake. Upon opening it and stepping into the hallway he came across a blonde-haired girl about three quarters his height, dressed in soft pink pajamas.

"Tracy, did you hear that too?"

His little sister looked even more drowsy than he did, offering a brief nod in reply.

"Are you gonna go look? What if it's the Demogorgon?"

He sighed. Tracy had become a fanatic for some fantasy board game recently and was making constant reference to it.

"Aliens or monsters or whatever aren't real," Ness replied flatly. "Go back to bed, I'll just be gone for a few minutes. Don't tell Mom I left, okay?"

"Fine," she pouted. "But if you get eaten, don't say I didn't warn you!"

He tiptoed down the stairs to the first floor of their home as quietly as he could, wincing every time a step creaked under his weight. If he wanted to investigate, he'd have to make sure he wasn't caught on the way outside.

"Oh, Ness! Are you going somewhere?"

So much for being inconspicuous. His mother was standing in the living room with an amused look on her face. Like Tracy, she had wavy, golden hair. She was also in her nightgown, but didn't have her slippers on. Ness wondered why she'd even left her room; she clearly didn't intend to go out.

"Yeah… that loud noise woke me up, so I wanted to see what was going on."

Inwardly he was already planning his escape route for when she told him to go back to bed. His window was too high up to jump, but there was a tree not far from it that he could reasonably leap to-

"Alright, you can go. I'm sure you'll just try to sneak out anyway if I say no," she said, interrupting his plan. His mother had an understanding look on her face, but also seemed to be resisting a laugh.

"Though… perhaps you should change first."

He looked at himself and understood what she meant. His blue- and white-striped pajamas and bare feet were hardly appropriate for the occasion, and his short black hair was a mess. With a meek nod, he ran back upstairs to his room.

A few minutes later, Ness emerged wearing an outfit he'd picked somewhat at random. His blue- and yellow-striped shirt and lighter blue shorts weren't the best match in the world, but for a quick nighttime run he didn't care much. He slipped into his red and white sneakers and grabbed the one accessory he would always wear no matter the outfit: his red baseball cap. Putting it on over his (somewhat) combed hair, he was ready to go. His mother was still downstairs and waved goodbye to him as he left the house.

The nighttime air, normally cool in early summer, was tinged with a mild warmth and the smell of something burning in the distance. Ness turned his gaze southeast, toward the path into town, and felt the urge to roll his eyes when he saw a stray police car parked there, with the officer setting up wooden roadblocks to prevent anyone from passing. Of course he was doing that; the Onett Police Department would block the roads if a parking meter went unpaid. Residents of the town theorized that either the police were constantly bored out of their minds or going for the world record of having the most roadblocks.

He could hear more sirens from the opposite direction and looked at the hill west of his house. Red and blue flashes of light were near the top of it, alongside a strange orange glow. He was too far down to get a closer look, so he began to hike up the trail toward the source.

Ness had to be careful on his way up, as more officers were stationed along the path. He remained hidden in the shrubbery to bypass them, though in hindsight he wondered if it was really necessary; most of them seemed too tired and grumpy to care about stopping citizens that far down the hill. Nevertheless, he felt he was better safe than sorry.

Toward the hill's summit he came across the only person who lived that far on the outskirts of Onett, a kooky old man by the name of Lier X. Agerate. His disheveled blue clothing and dirty gray beard, on top of his overall sketchy demeanor, made him a person to generally be avoided. Regrettably, it seemed that the cover of bushes was no match for his eyesight.

"Ness, buddy!" he cackled. "How're ya doin'? Did you hear that huge 'BOOM' too? I bet it scared everyone else to death, but not me 'cause I eat my garlic and work out a lot!"

"Uh… yeah, I'm going to check it out," Ness replied, not stopping to chat. Lier didn't attempt further conversation, which he was immensely grateful for.

The most police activity was near the top, where an impassible barricade of squad cars had been parked on the trail. A group of officers milled about, occasionally speaking into their radios.

"Shoot, it doesn't seem like I can sneak past them…"

"Hey kid, get outta here!"

He flinched at the call, but soon realized that it hadn't been directed at him. When Ness saw who was on the receiving end of it, he almost wished it had been.

Standing with the police was another boy Ness's age, but the similarities between them ended there. Pokey Minch, his longtime neighbor, was easily the last person he wanted to see. Dressed in blue overalls and a white shirt that both strained under his generous proportions, the blond-haired boy was often called "Porky" for obvious reasons. He was without question everyone at school's least favorite person, and Ness might have felt sorry for him if he wasn't so unbearable. Pokey didn't exactly try to make himself more appealing to others.

Any chance of going unnoticed by his neighbor was ruined when one of the officers spotted Ness as well and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Not another one. Get your friend away from here, this place ain't safe for kids!"

Pokey turned to look at him, and his chubby face stretched into a smug grin.

"Ness? Don't be rubberneckin', you'll just get in the way for the cops- oops, 'officers.' Are you here to see it too?"

He realized that he had no idea what was even at the top of the hill.

"See what?"

"The meteorite, of course! I saw it fall with my own eyes! It came from the sky and landed right above us!"

His eyes narrowed at the boy's obnoxious snorts of laughter.

"How did you get out here? Did your parents let you come?"

"Pffft, nah," Pokey replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "They're out at some fancy restaurant and won't be back 'til really late. When I heard somethin' was going on here, I decided to come take a look myself. Picky's still at home, watching the place until I get back."

Ness's frown only curved further downwards. Pokey's younger brother was about Tracy's age, as well as the only decent person in the Minch family. Had it not been for Picky, he might have wished for the so-called meteorite to have landed on his neighbor's house. Hearing that he was alone didn't sit right with Ness, but there wasn't much he could do. Muttering to himself, he did an about-face to walk back home. The police were still refusing to let him or Pokey through, after all.

"Don't worry, buddy!" came a yell from behind him. "I'll tell you all about the meteorite tomorrow!"

His mother was waiting outside their house once he finally returned.

"Welcome back, Ness. Did you find out what happened?"

"Pokey's up there," he muttered. "He says a meteorite landed, but the police got there before us. We can't see it ourselves."

She gave him a patient smile.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you go back to bed? Maybe it'll be on the news tomorrow."

The walk had at least made him tired again, so he nodded and trudged back upstairs to his room. Ness haphazardly changed into his pajamas and flopped onto the bed, falling asleep in mere moments.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Once again a loud bang startled him from his slumber. This time, however, it was followed by a series of even louder ones. Someone was pounding on the house's door in a random pattern and wasn't stopping. He tried to cover his ears with the pillow to no avail. A bleary-eyed glance at his clock revealed that it was around one in the morning.

"Ugh, who the heck is-"

Ness didn't even have to finish that thought. He only knew one person obnoxious enough to knock on the door in such a way. Growling, he marched out of his room and down the stairs. His mother had also entered the hallway too, looking just as irritated.

"I'll get it, you can go back to bed," she said.

"Don't bother, I'm gonna punch Pokey in the face," he replied, tightening his fists as he approached the still banging door.

He flung it open, fully intent on doing just that. His portly neighbor was on the other side with sweat dripping down his face.

"P-Picky's gone!" he blurted out just as Ness was about to strike.

Though still infuriated, he refrained from punching him.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

Pokey took a deep breath to try and compose himself.

"Right, I brought Picky up the hill to… oh, good evening Mrs. Harris. You're looking lovely, as usual."

He was looking at his mother inside the house with a snicker. She shared Ness's unamused glare at the insincerity of his comment.

"Anyway," Pokey continued, "I decided to bring Picky up to see the meteorite. I thought there was a way to sneak past the cops, but by the time we made it up the hill they were gone. The Sharks were really going wild in town, so they all left to take care of it. When I turned my back for a second, Picky disappeared and I don't know where is now! I blame the cops, it definitely wasn't my fault."

He buried his face in his hands.

"Oh man, my parents are getting home soon! I know I'm gonna get it this time! You're my bestest friend, right Ness? Come on, help me find him!"

As much as he wanted to shut the door to let Pokey face the music, he felt worried about his brother. The Sharks were Onett's local gang, and despite their ridiculous outfits they were a legitimate danger to anyone roaming around at night. Picky being alone in the woods with them nearby could only mean trouble.

"…alright, fine. I'll come with you. Let me just get dressed first."

And that was how the night everything would change for him began.