Earthbound is the property of Nintendo. No money is being made in the production of this fanfic. Unfortunately, no constructive criticism is being made either. Hint hint.

Should I? Should I not?

I was at the corner of the street which led towards Polestar Preschool, considering my options. I hadn't walked there, mind you -- I'd teleported. Not only was it faster, it also meant avoiding the Onett police, who had responded to the missing child report the only way they knew how -- roadblocks. I had a feeling they would even put up roadblocks for double parking. (The downside to teleporting, however, was that it always seemed to make me a little nauseous. Not that I would ever admit it to my friends.)

As for the options being considered, they were really quite straight forward -- see Paula, or don't see Paula?

We'd had a bit of a falling out. Nothing which involved hair-pulling or name calling, mind you, just a few kinks in our relationship, if you could call it as such. Paula would probably say it's my fault. I'd be hard pressed to argue -- after that letter from Pokey arrived, I'd been feeling apprehensive, which apparently ended up translating as "distant" to her.

We didn't argue. We just weren't talking either.

So there I was, at any rate. It wasn't really a matter of whether or not I wanted to see her; more like a matter of whether or not she wanted to see ME.

I had an excuse not to, of course -- I had to find Picky. While I hadn't exactly confirmed that he was heading towards Happy Hapy Village, I did know that a rumor was going on of strange visions occurring at the Lilliput Steps -- which, considering my experience at Giant Step couldn't have been a coincidence.

On the other hand, if she found out I'd been in Twoson and hadn't seen here, there'd probably be hell to pay. I don't get girls.

I sighed. Best to get it over with, I suppose.

Fate decided otherwise, though. "Oh, Paula? She went with the kids to the flea market. Should I tell her you stopped by?"

"Uh, sure," I replied, looking up at Paula's father. "Just tell her I said 'hi,' I suppose."

"No problem, Ness. Say, I haven't seen you around lately -- come visit more often, you hear?"

"Sure, Mr. Polestar," I reply, inwardly sighing with relief. Relationship patching could come another day.

Happy Happy Village, ironically, brought up a lot of unhappy memories.

Back when I was setting out on my journey, the town was one large cult complex. Under the influence of a man named Carpainter, the townsfolk had managed to convince themselves that by painting everything blue and wearing weird masks, they could pave the way towards eternal happiness. Of course, Carpainter himself was under the influence of the Mani Mani Statue, a device used by Giygas to control minds by creating images in the possessor's head which correspond with what the person really wants -- and typically showing them ways to get it.

Carpainter wanted happiness. Monotoli wanted power. Pokey . . . I had no clue.

On the plus side, I suppose I met Paula there, who was originally primed to be the ultimate sacrifice for the happiness of the Happy-Happyists. On the other hand, it was here that Pokey first really screwed me over. I'm not sure why that really bugged me -- it wasn't really like we were that close of friends, but the way he did it, with almost too much glee, hurt a little.

At least, I don't THINK we were ever close friends . . .

I shook my head and continued into the cave leading to the Lilliput Steps. I'd gotten some pretty good confirmation from people that a blonde-haired kid had come through here, and thus this was my best lead.

After some walking, I finally saw the exit at the other side approaching. Unconsciously, my hand drifted towards the pocket where the crystal I'd found was laying, but I didn't think too much of it.

As I exited, the notes of the second Melody of the Earth came to my head . . .

" . . . so I would like everybody to give a warm welcome to our new student, Ness Ellis."

Much to both the teacher's and my surprise, nearly the entire class stands up and cheers. It's flattering, to be certain, but I can't help but notice the person who isn't standing.

The fat ki is looking towards at me almost resentfully. He clutches the bagged lunch he'd been carrying with him possessively, then looks away.

I sit down, next to a red-headed kid with a Runaway Five t-shirt on. "What's with him?" I ask.

"Who?" the boy asks.

"Him. The kid in the back corner. I'm sure that's the kid I saved earlier," I reply.

The boy looks, then snorts. "You rescued Pokey Minch? Gee, not that it's not cool you kicked those older boys' butts, but why'd you even bother?"

I blink. "Well, he was in trouble."

"Yeah, but he's a butthead. He deserves it. He looks like a pig, too," the kid scoffs.

I raise my eyebrows, but before I can say anything, we're interrupted. "Mr. Ellis, I realize you're the new talk of the town at the moment, but could you please do the talking OUTSIDE of the classroom?"

"Sorry, Miss Gould," I mumble. I look back towards the boy I saved. He looks at me and turns away. I'm not sure what to make of it.

I don't need him. He's not going to ruin my day.

Again the flash, and I'm once again at the second of the Eight Sanctuaries. Something tells me I should be seething with rage at this point. Of course Pokey'd been a butthead -- he's always been a butthead. And now he was an evil butthead to boot.

Yet for some reason, I picked up something in Pokey I hadn't before. When I thought back on the event, he'd looked a little envious, and maybe a little . . . lonely?

I laughed to myself. Yeah, right. Since when did a guy with an ego like that ever get lonely?

Another sparkle in the sunlight brings my attention over to a spot near the steps. Another crystal, nearly identical to the first, laid here. I picked it up again and pocketed it next to the first one.

Enough with remembering jerks. The brother was more important.

I began to leave, then paused for a moment. There was something niggling at me, but I couldn't be sure what it was.

Oh well. Surely it wasn't anything important.
 

Author's Note:

Somebody's bound to ask what the point of the Twoson scene was. One, it was to give a little background detail and depth to Ness; two, I wanted to be able to get through it and move on. This isn't a fic about Ness and Paula, after all, it's a fic about Ness and Picky and Pokey. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I could safely write Paula out of the fic without completely disregarding her altogether. Don't expect to see Poo or Jeff too much either.

Sorry about the bumped up rating, by the way. There's a few kinda strong words here, although nothing too serious. I apologize if you'd been reading up to this point expecting clean language, but dem's the breaks.

Anyway, onwards.