Earthbound is the property of Nintendo. No money is being made off this fanfic. In Moonsidian, that's "Nooo mon eyisbe iiing maad eoffthi s faanf ic." Thank you.
 

From the start, I knew I couldn't go to the most obvious sources for information. If I were to go to any relatives, Mrs. Minch would certainly find out about it, and judging by her less than friendly response to my offer for help, I knew that my investigation would shut down right there. Likewise, the police wouldn't be much help, as Mrs. Minch had a lot of clout, and at any rate the police probably wouldn't appreciate a snot-nosed kid like me butting into their business -- especially since this snot-nosed kid kicked their butts over a year ago.

So I decided to go for more underground sources: namely, Frank.

For a guy who used to run the most violent gang of teens in town, Frank had turned into a surprisingly mellow guy. Ever since I'd broken up the Sharks, he'd devoted himself to more charitable work. But that hadn't meant that he'd removed his finger from the pulse of the town -- Frank probably knew more about the townspeople's business than they themselves knew themselves. It was things like that which made me glad he wasn't into the whole crime thing anymore.

I found him hanging outside the burger shop, smoking a cigarette. Presumably, that meant he was on break, since the restaurant itself had a strict no-smoking policy that went with its family-friendly atmosphere. He himself was wearing the standard uniform, which seemed out of place on his lean, muscular frame. Add to that a hardened and slightly cynical face, and he hardly seemed the type you would ask for an extra value meal.

He noticed me before I could hail him. "Well, if it isn't Ness. Haven't seen you around for awhile," he drawled.

I shrugged. "Been busy. Actually, I'm working on something now that I was kinda hoping you'd help me with," I said.

He took a drag from his cigarette. "Yeah, Picky was around here for a bit."

I jumped. "Geez, how do you do that?"

Frank chuckled. "Half the town knows you two started hanging together after pig boy bailed outta the country. I figured the second he came up to me it'd only be a matter of time before you followed in his wake," he explained.

"He came to you?" I asked, pursing my lips. Picky had a fault in that sometimes he was a bit TOO bold.

"Yeah. Asking 'bout his bro, and if I had any information," the ex-gang leader replied.

"Did you?"

"Well, not 'bout his specific wherabouts, but I'd been hearing rumors lately."

This surprised me. "Rumors about what?"

"Well, you know that Giant Step place? Been kinda a tourist spot ever since City Hall opened the place again. From what I hear, though, people have been getting strange visions of what they thought was a pot-bellied pig on the hill lately. I guess Picky made the connection with his big brother," said Frank, taking another drag.

"Well, it's not a hard connection to make," I laughed.

He smirked. "Yeah, I suppose. Anyway, he went that way. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him."

I nodded. "Thanks, Frank."

"Hey, anything for the hero, right?"

I waved goodbye as I headed towards Giant Step. Hopefully, I wouldn't be too late.

The route up to the hilltop was a breeze compared to a year ago. Without the rampant animals and ants getting in the way, it was a cakewalk.

The hilltop itself brought back memories. The odd identations at the top of the hill did, in fact, look like a gigantic foot; so much, in fact, that it looked as though the giant had just stepped there yesterday. The first time I'd ever seen it, I'd been stepping out on my journey. I could still hear the song I'd heard playing in my head.

Wait, that wasn't a memory . . .

I blinked, and listened. Sure enough, the familiar notes which made up the first measure of the earth's melody were playing again. Which was odd, seeing as there was now reason for it to do so.

A sudden flash of light, and . . .

. . . and I'm standing in front of Onett Elementary School, one hand holding a lunch box and the other holding my mother's hand. The school might looked tall and imposing to some, but to me it represents a whole new world of friends and experiences.

My mother lets go of my hand and waves goodbye as she walks down the sidewalk back towards our house. I watch her leave for a bit, then begin heading into the schoolhouse.

I'm interrupted, however, by the sounds of laughing around the corner. It's not the playful laugh of kids playing, however, but rather the taunting laugh of a pack of bullies. I go to investigate.

A group of sixth-graders have gathered around a pretty plump kid, who is flat on the ground with a spilled bag lunch in front of him. They're laughing at his predicament; the kid, strangely enough, looks more angry than frightened.

"Wait till my Mom hears about this! You guys'll wish you never messed with Pokey Minch!" he screams angrily.

The sixth graders all act with mock horror. "Oh no! The pig is going to tell on us! Oh, whatever will we do? Oops," says one, stepping on a sandwich which had fallen out of the bag. They laugh again.

The same kid looks at the others. "You know, there're things we do to tattlers, right boys?" The others grinned evilly, and for the first time the plump kid seems to realize what's about to happen. He cowers.

I walk up to the ringleader and tap him on the shoulder (or rather, as close to his shoulder as my short frame can reach). He turns, his face frightened for a moment. Then he looks down at me, and is angry.

"Wha -- who's this twerp?" he asks.

Another shrugs. "Dunno, must be new," he replies.

"Yeah? Well listen here, newbie, if you know what's good for you, you'll step away -- now," he states in a demanding tone of voice.

I grinned. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll do the same thing," I reply.

The boys stare at me for a moment, then crack up. "Ho ho! The shrimp thinks he can stop us! I'm gonna wet my pants!" laughs the ringleader.

"Probably," I comment, looking at my fingernails.

The boys now have their attentions directed towards me. "Seems to me like you need a bit of an initation ceremony, newbie. What's your name?" asks the ringleader.

I stand defiantly. "Ness Ellis," I state proudly.

"Well, Ellis, looks like your new name's gonna be 'Mess" Ellis. Boys?"

They all gang up on me at once. However, I have two advantages -- I'm smaller and quicker. As they all dive towards me, I duck under their legs, and I grab the fat kid's hand and begin running.

I may be tough, but I'm not stupid enough to let myself get in a proper fight the first day at a new school.

The boys realize what's happening and howl in anger. They begin to pursue. We turn a corner, and as the boys come I stick a foot out. One trips, causing a massive chain reaction of falling oafs. In the end, the only one left standing is the ringleader.

As the other boys lie winded, he approaches me. "Think you're smart, don't you?" he says, voice filled with menace.

"Yeah, but compared to you it's not too hard," I shoot back.

He roars and lunges. I duck and headbutt him in the stomach. His momentum means that it literally knocks the wind out of him, and after standing for about a second, he drops as well.

I grin and turn around, only to find that the fat kid's nowhere to be found. I frown at this, but there's no time for confusion as suddenly it seems the whole playground gathers around me and the older kids.

In the matter of one day, I manage to become the most popular kid in school. I don't even get caught for it.

But I wonder where the plump kid went . . .

. . . and suddenly, I was back at Giant Step. I blinked and shook my head, fighting back a headache.

I hadn't thought about my first day at Onett Elementary in years. I was only in the second grade at the time. That event, however, made me legendary around the school. Of course, I was pretty unpopular with the bullies, but for the most part I made a lot of my good friends that day.

But I'd completely forgotten what had led to that event.

At the time, I was just helping somebody out. I had no perception of the kind of person Pokey was -- all I knew was that he was in trouble, and I had to help. I still had a pretty black and white view of things in those days.

Naturally, he was just as much of a chicken then as he became later, but there was no indication of meglomania at all in his demeanor. A bit of arrogance and a reliance on others to do his dirty work, but no real desire for power. So what happened?

As I pondered this, a sparkle met my eye near what would've been the big toe of the formation. When I went over to find out what it was, I found a small, white crystal sitting in the grass.

Something told me it was important. I picked it up and pocketed it. The distraction, however, was enough for me to get back on the real task at hand -- namely, finding Picky.

I had a feeling that if he'd gone to one of the Sanctuaries, he might visit another one. After all, stories were rampant everywhere about the mystical powers of each site.

So, at least I had a plan. Too bad I didn't have Picky.
 

Author's Notes:

*sigh* I had a feeling I was going to have to explain things.

Okay, here's my reasoning: Although Pokey is annoying at the beginning of the game, he's not really evil. Moreover, the way he acts around Ness is in sort of a "we're friends, but I'm the superior one" fashion. He doesn't hate Ness in any obvious way, and even relies on him to find Picky. So obviously, Pokey places a certain degree of trust in Ness.

Furthermore, the incident documented in the beginning of the story is roughly what happens in the game -- you talk to Pokey in Magicant, and he talks about you two being friends. That, for me, was very solid proof of some sort of friendship between the two.

Still, I might be looking too much into things, but that's how I saw it. Besides, it makes for a ripping story, right?