By BlitzKrieg

It had been exactly three months since Ness and his friends had defeated the universal cosmic destroyer Giygas. When Ness got back from saving the world, he expected much better treatment then what he got. Homework. Homework up the Yin-Yang. So much homework, that the only day he had any time to have fun with friends was on Sunday. Which posed a big problem, since Sunday mornings Poo had Mu training and in the evening Paula had family time. Polestar family time made Ness especially angry. He figured he saved the world, and wanted more time to be with Paula. The least that family could do is to change the day it falls on. To make matters worse, Jeff was constantly missing get-togethers due to his experiments. To top it off, Ness' family life was becoming very irritating. His family gave him grief that Ness shouldn't think saving the world qualifies him for more relaxing treatment. Frustration was building up on poor Ness, who was unfortunately becoming more of a teenager.

"I'm so tired." Ness mumbled, as he got into his P.J.s and slipped into bed on a Friday night. To Ness, dreams were the only true happiness he had. After a few minutes, he instantly fell asleep, due to the fact that he was so tired.

Mist surrounded him, as Ness traveled down a very strange colored path. Flowers with large smiles, and carrots with eyes were all around him. The sky wasn't blue, but pink.

"Magicant." he spoke aloud. It was true, he somehow appeared within the realm of his mind. The place where his dreams could come true. After all, it reflected what he felt in his mind, so what he did there made an impact on reality.

"It's been a long time since I've been here..." Ness trailed off, as he glanced around, taking everything in. Then he saw her. In the middle of his sight was Paula. The girl he had fallen for.

"Paula..." Ness uttered under his breath.

"Ness... please don't leave me." she said to him with certain longing in her voice.

"What do you mean Paula?" Ness asked, puzzled.

"Your drifting away from me... ...I want to be closer to you." Paula asked, taking a step toward Ness.

"I... ...I'll try harder Paula... ...honest..." Ness rambled.

"Good..." Paula said, as she smiled and disappeared. Ness stood there confused. It was only for a moment though, because another person appeared behind him. It was Poo.

"We need to train together Ness... There's a lot I could learn from you!" Poo laughed. Ness got a tear in his right eye, and then wiped it away. Then, as quickly as he left, there was an explosion right behind Ness. He turned around only to see a charred body wearing thick framed glasses.

"Oh, hey! How's it goin’ Ness? That plan turned out to be a bust... I really could use your help on my next invention, 'The Instant Curtain Cleaner!' It's purpose? Well, I haven't really thought of that yet..." Ness smiled as his old friend faded away like the others.

"Sure thing guys..." Ness continued smiling, and began to walk along the path towards different areas of Magicant. After about a half hour of walking, he came upon familiar scene. His family was just sitting on a couch, smiling.

"My... my family..." Ness uttered, as he walked over, and sat down at the dinner table, which was oddly in the middle of his 'house.' His mother then walked over, and placed a nice, big, juicy steak in front of him. A gasp came out of Ness' mouth, as a knife and fork appeared out of nowhere on the table.

"Thanks..." Ness said, as he took a bite of steak. Incredible flavor rushed over his tongue, as he chewed it up.

"This steak is better then usual Mom. It's delicious." Ness said, taking another bite.

"Good... You know I only want you to be happy Ness,” his mother said, as she slowly disappeared from view. As Ness finished his steak, he turned around to thank his mom again, but he only saw emptiness. She was nowhere to be seen. Ness scratched the back of his head, as he turned to see his sister.

"Sorry I've been giving you a hard time big bro. You know I just don't want you to get a big head." Tracey smiled, gave the 'peace' sign, and slowly disappeared, much like her mother did.

"...Thanks..." Ness said, as he gave a faint smile, and began to wonder down the trail again. After an hour of walking around, trying to find his purpose there, he sat down on a big rock, and began to think about things. As he pondered, a strange form appeared before him. It was an old man. Not just any old man though...

"Star Master? Is it really you?" Ness said with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yes, Ness, it is I." Star Master said with a smile.

"What's going on? Why was I called here to this world?" Ness asked, concerned that he may never see the real world again.

"A new threat has appeared in your mind. Before you say anything else though, you must realize you must once again to travel to The Sea of Eden, and confront the darkness for a second time." Star Master said, as Ness hung his head down in shame.

"It's because I've been upset lately... Right?" he said, with a tone of sadness in his voice.

"I am afraid so, my young friend..." Star Master said, as he disappeared from Ness' view. Ness could only throw his head up, and see the transparent Star Master fade away like all the other beings in this strange world. With a large sigh, Ness got up, and began to head toward The Sea of Eden. As if instinct guided him, he seemed to find the path very easily. He then found it. The Red Tunnel. The place that connects his being with the place of emptiness, where his darkness is.

"Odd... There are no enemies..." As Ness walked, he found no enemies that would hinder his path to the Sea of Eden. After a short walk, he finally reached the curled tentacle, which would warp him to his inner being.

"Here goes nothing..." Ness gently touched the tentacle, as he closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he was in the shallow waters of the Sea of Eden. As he swam towards his Nightmare, he found no Krakens. Last time many Krakens attacked him, forcing him to slow down his path. This time, it was as if he was wanted there fast.

"Where are you!? Come out of hiding, you coward!" Ness yelled to his unfound darkness, as he reached the large hunk of land where he found it last time. Suddenly, as if by a strange twist of fate, a small black kitten appeared before him.

"Meeoww! Coward? I am no coward, nor am I your enemy! Purrr..." the cat spoke.

"Who... or what, are you?" Ness asked the small cat.

"Why, I am here to help you." the cat smiled in delight, as Ness dropped his guard, and stepped back.

"What's your name?" Ness asked.

"My name...? ...Toketsu is my name... meowww...." the cat called Toketsu purred in delight.

"How can you help me?" Ness asked, very confused about this situation.

"I can give you gooooood advice... like you should become much stronger...!" Toketsu hissed.

"Why should I become stronger? Haven't I already saved the world?" Ness asked, becoming more puzzled by the second.

"You never know when new threats will emerge... ...catch my drift?" Toketsu said, as he gave a tiny gleeful smile. Then, as if all his questions had been answered on why he was sent to Magicant, a flash of light appeared, and the entire world of his mind disappeared. When he opened his eyes again, he shot up out of bed, breathing heavily.

"It was... just a dream... ... ...or was it?": Ness said, catching his breath. Ness then stumbled over to his window, and opened up his curtains. The rising sun blinding his vision for a moment, but he quickly over came this, and began to smile.

"School will be out within one month... During summer I can train as much as I want..." Ness said, as his smile grew in size.

"...I'll be busy..." he said, as he began to chuckle, and walk downstairs to eat breakfast.

A month and a half had passed since Ness entered the realm of his mind, known as Magicant. That was not the last time he would enter it though. Due to all the things going on, he still could not find time for his friends and family. So Ness would enter Magicant every time he fell asleep. Traveling through his mind was so relaxing, it seemed like he could stay there forever. Unfortunately, that very thought was causing him to become dependant on it. As if he were addicted to it, the only thing Ness looked forward to was Magicant. School was now out though, so he at least had time to his friends and had no need for the realm of happiness in his head. Or did he? Even though summer had been out for half a month, not once did his friends hear from Ness. This of coarse gave them something to worry about.

"I hope he's alright." Jeff said, as he, Paula, and Poo walked toward Ness' house from the middle of Onett.

"I'm sure he's alright..." Poo said softly, as they came up to the trail toward Ness' house. Paula said hardly anything the whole time, and she had a strange look on her face, as if something troubled her.

"What's wrong Paula?" Jeff asked, confused.

"It's Ness... I can feel him in pain..." Paula said, as the house came into sight.

"I'm starting to feel it now too..." Poo said, as they walked up to the door and knocked.

"Hello kids." Ness' mom said, as she answered the door.

"Hello ma'am." they all said at once, while Poo bowed his head. Ness' mom showed them in, and sat them all down at the dinning room table.

"So where is Ness? Is he alright?" Paula quickly asked.

"I'm afraid I have some odd news." she said quietly, as if she was afraid someone might hear.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I'm afraid for Ness' health, so I want you guys to know." Ness' mother said.

"What is it?" the three children said in unison.

"Up on top of the hill where the meteorite landed, Ness has been in training." she said. All three of them gave a large sigh of relief.

"Oh I'm sure he's just fine if he's only training." Jeff said with a smile.

"You don't understand, his training is unreal!" his mother shouted.

"What do you mean?" Poo asked with a confused look on his face as the room seemed to grow darker.

"His training is so harsh, that it seems like every night he comes home with deep wounds all over. He hardly as the power to heal himself after that kind of treatment!" she said, becoming more concerned.

"How is he hurt that much?" Paula asked, becoming worried.

"Some nights, as I look out the window, I can see huge domes of energy exploding. Other times I can hear him screaming in pain, or cursing at himself!" Ness' mother began to get tears in her eyes.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" she then began to sob.

"Don't worry ma'am, we'll talk to Ness!" Jeff said, as they all got up, and headed up the mountain trail. The trail always was short, so making it up the hill had only taken them a few moments. As they rounded the corner, at the very top was Ness, standing on one of many stakes pushed into the ground with only one foot.

"For being me - you guys sure are pathetic!" Ness yelled up in the air. As the others looked up, they saw three Ness shaped shadows in the air above him. They all merely hissed in delight, and dove down to confront Ness. With incredible speed, Ness began to block all their attacks, without getting hit.

"His speed is unreal!" Poo yelled, as he watched Ness show up his dark doppelgangers. Just then, one of the dark shadows jumped into the air, and threw his hands out towards Ness.

"PSI ROCKIN!!!" the shadow yelled in the same voice as Ness. A smile appeared on Ness' face, as he only held out one hand to block it.

"Is he trying to kill himself!?" Paula yelled to her friends, as the beam of energy collided into his hand and pushed his hair back by some force. Rather then exploding, the beam stayed in the palm of Ness' hands.

"Even fighting three clones of myself, each at 25% of my power is like nothing at all!!!" Ness yelled, as his anger grew. Suddenly, the other two clones appeared around the first clone, and they both clenched their fists in rage.

"PSI ROCKIN OMEGA!!!" all three yelled at once, as they combined all their power into one blast. Ness, still using one leg to hold himself up on the stake, only smiled.

"This is more like it..." Ness then began to clench his hands in rage, as he started to yell out loud.

"...PSI ROCKIN OMEGA!!!!" he yelled, as he threw his hands into the air, and launched a huge blast of energy towards his shadows. As the blasts collided, a huge sonic boom of wind began to push Paula, Jeff, and Poo away from the battlefield.

"This is impossible!!!" Jeff yelled, as he grabbed onto a rock, before more power pushed him away.

"So this is what Ness has been doing!?" Poo yelled, as he grappled onto Jeff's leg, so that he couldn't get blown away. Jeff let out a girlish shriek, as the pain struck him of having something pulling on his leg.

"Please stop this Ness! This kind of power is NOT needed!" Paula shrieked, as she grabbed onto Poo's leg. Both Jeff and Poo let out a scream after feeling such a shock to their legs. A few yards away, two blasts of energy were colliding into one another in the air, causing the ground bellow the battle to cave into the ground.

"This ends now!!!" Ness yelled, as he shrieked even louder, and threw his arms even higher, causing a much larger wave of energy to collide into the weaker blast owned by the clones. Within seconds, Ness' blast easily consumed the three shadows' blast, and the beam quickly collided into them. As the beam exploded, Ness felt a sense of satisfaction. Dust settled around the area where the doppelgangers were. Only... They were nowhere to be seen.

"That was hardly worth it..." Ness trailed off, as he got off the stake he was on, and sat down near a tree, and pulled out his lunch.

"Hey..." Ness said, as he looked towards the spot where the laying bodies of his friends were. His friends only slapped their hands over their mouths, and began to shiver in fear. Ness then looked down towards his lunch.

"I thought we were out of turkey..." he said, as he took a big bite of his sandwich. All his friends then let out a large sigh of relief. They all then stood up, and walked towards Ness.

"Ness..." Paula said, as Ness quickly looked up with food in his mouth. Ness' eyes widened, as he swallowed his food with a large gulp.

"What are you all doing here?" Ness quickly asked.

"Ness you have to stop this training! It will get you killed!" Paula yelled out loud, as tears formed in her eyes and she began to cry.

"It's true Ness, not even in my deepest training would I do what you do." Poo said, as he kneeled down next to Paula, and gave her a pat on the back, to try and calm her down from crying.

"Try to understand Ness, we only want to see you healthy and happy." Jeff said, standing beside Poo. Ness could only hang his head in thought.

"No..." Ness whispered.

"What?" Paula said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I said no!!!" Ness shrieked at the top of his lungs.

"I need to be stronger!" Ness yelled again. Paula then stood up and glared at Ness with tears in her eyes.

"You'll get yourself killed Ness! You'll get yourself killed!!!" she then jumped in to his arms, hugging him and crying at the same time. Ness stood their looking stoic. No emotion what so ever was on his face.

"Paula... There's no stopping me. I will become stronger. That's all there is to it. I hope you understand." Ness put his hands on her arms, and gently took her off him. Ness' friends said nothing, as Ness pointed towards his house.

"Wait there for me to finish, or go home." Ness said, as he was getting irritated. His friends said nothing, and they all headed down the hill.

"His grip... It's so strong..." Paula mumbled under her breath, as they all walked down the hill in silence. As they all walked into Ness' house, they told Ness' mother about all that happened. No words could comfort either Paula, or Ness' mom. After nearly an hour of awkward silence, an ear splitting crack of thunder rocked the house.

"What!? How could rain come so quickly to an area with no clouds in the sky!?" Jeff yelled, as he ran towards the window to see what was going on.

"Oh no... Look at this!" he yelled, as everyone dashed to the window. Storm clouds surrounded Ness' training ground.

"That's impossible!!" Jeff yelled, as they all heard a voice scream, from far in the hills.

"PSI... STORM!!!" The voice of Ness echoed into all their hearts and souls, as a monstrous tornado rose from the ground, and into the sky.

"Wait a minute..." Jeff said to himself, as everyone in the house turned to look at him.

"That's no tornado! That's some new trick Ness is using!!" he yelled, as shock hit all their faces, as they saw a giant twister of wind flailing around on top of the hill.

Away from the house, upon the hill, was Ness. Standing in the middle of his training ground, with all his muscles tensed up. Grunting and groaning from the stress on his body, he stood within a massive tornado, apparently controlling it's actions. All things within the tornado, be they trees, grass, insects, or rocks, were getting tossed around, and ripped to pieces.

"Only one with enough power can take the pain of this technique!" Ness screamed, as he began laughing to himself.

"I'm the most powerful being in the universe!! Nobody can stand against me!!" laughing even harder now, madness began to overtake him. As he laughed, a chord struck in the back of his mind, and he fell to the ground. Standing up again, he silently removed his hat, pushed his hair back, and put his hat on backwards. Two strands of black hair fell over his eyes, blocking others to see his eyes.

"Oh this will be fun..." He cackled with delight, in a voice much more serious then before. As he stumbled down the hill, a tiny smile appeared on his face. As the wind picked up, the hair around his eyes blew out of the way, to reveal piercing blood red eyes.

Silence fell upon Ness' house. After the twister had disappeared, no one had spoken a word. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of each person's heavy breathing. Suddenly, a soft knock was heard on the door, then the doorknob turned, and in walked Ness.

"Ness! Where have you been!?" Paula shouted, with a voice that was reminiscent of a wife scolding her husband.

"..." Ness spoke no words but began staring at her, from behind his hair.

"Well? Answer me...!" she demanded, as everyone in the room stared at them both, fearing for Ness' life.

"...And what concern is it of yours, woman?" a serious and sinister voice questioned.

"Ne...Ness?" Paula uttered, shocked by his cruel words. Before anyone could say a word, Ness placed his hand on her face and smiled.

"It's no wonder he likes you." he whispered to her, as he then dropped his hand down to her neck, and then grappled on tight.

"Ness!! What are you doing!?" Jeff shouted, pulling out a laser gun he created.

"Drop her now!!" Poo yelled, pulling the Sword of Kings out of its sheath. Rather then strangle her, Ness tossed her behind him, and out the door, where he then quickly hopped after her. As surprise shocked their faces, they began to run after him. Ness' mother could only stand by helplessly and watch.

"My son..." she uttered, as she walked to the window and began to watch them. As this happened, Paula was recovering from the pain and shock of Ness hurting her. Looking directly up, she could see Ness face clearly now. Such ferocious and blood thirsty red eyes. Red eyes which gazed into her very soul, and caused fear to erupt inside her.

"Ness..." she uttered as he then shot his face around, to see Poo dive at him, as Jeff took aim with his gun.

"Infidels..." Ness uttered, as he jumped towards Poo, punching him in the face. As Poo fell backwards with a bloody nose, Ness then dove towards Jeff, booting him in the side. As Jeff fell to the ground clutching his side, Ness merely turned around to look at Paula.

"Why are you doing this Ness!?" she screamed, as he continued walking slowly.

"Please stop calling me that..." Ness said, smiling,

"I prefer the name Toketsu..." he grinned with glee, as he clenched his fist. Tears began welling up in her eyes.

"With all of you out of the way, nothing will be able to call that poor boy back to this realm..." Toketsu hissed with delight.

"You... You're controlling Ness aren't you!?" Paula yelled, as she stood up, and tightened up all her muscles.

"What... what is this!?" Toketsu questioned, as power began surging around Paula.

"You're controlling MY Ness!?!?" she shrieked in rage, as she dove at Toketsu, with all her might.

"Even with your full power, you're no match for me!" Toketsu yelled, blocking a punch she threw towards him. As power surged around them for a brief second, she then began throwing hundreds of lightning fast punches at him. Blocking them with seeming ease, Toketsu laughed.

"Paula... She can't win alone...!" Poo yelled, as he tightened his muscles and prepared to dive at them, and help.

"Don't forget about me!" Jeff yelled, as Poo looked back at him. Jeff was now pressing a button on a metallic wristband he had. Power surged through his body after touching it, as he took a step towards Poo.

"I may not have PSI powers... but with this, maybe I can help a little bit...!" he smiled at Poo, and gave him a peace sign.

"Lets go!" shouted Poo, as they both dove towards Toketsu and Paula. Catching Toketsu off guard, they both kicked him in the back, and he went flying into a large tree.

"Give us back Ness!" they all shouted in unison, as they tightened their muscles. As their confidence began to build, a crushing blow was dealt to their faith. Toketsu was merely laughing, as he stood up after his body created a large gash in the old tree.

"With this body, which has been training for the past month and a half, I can do anything I like! Do you really think you stand a chance!?" he shouted with a smile.

"When we're together, we can do anything!" Poo yelled, as they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Then perhaps I should stop using only 25% of my power, and show you what I can do at 75% of maximum power!?" Toketsu shouted, as he began to focus his power. Fear shocked Paula and Poo's faces as his incredible power began to skyrocket towards space.

"What's going on!? How powerful is he!?" Jeff asked with fear in his voice, as he turned his head to look at his friends. No words came out of their trembling mouths. As Jeff looked back at Toketsu, he was still raising his power up.

"Are you afraid now!? Are you peeing your pants in terror!?" he screamed, as he began to laugh in a malicious voice. Then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he stopped raising his insane power, and all things around him went quiet.

"Was... was the ground beginning to shake before he stopped?" Paula asked, in an almost confused voice. Toketsu merely began walking towards them, as he pulled out Ness' bat, which was on his backpack.

"I'll use your beloved friend's weapon to destroy you..." he giggled in a crazy voice. Jeff leaned towards his friends for a moment.

"Hey Paula, if Poo and I can distract this guy long enough, do you think you would have a chance to pull Ness back out?" he asked in a soft voice.

"I... I think I could... Ness is probably somewhere deep in Magicant... If I could get in, then I could tell him to come back..." Paula whispered to herself.

"Good... Poo, you jump high into the air, and distract him... I've got an idea..." Jeff smirked, as he gave him thumbs up.

"I trust my life to you Jeff..." Poo smiled, as he got himself ready for his daring plan.

"Paula, you try and get to his side, so you’re not in front of him, or behind him..." Jeff demanded, as Paula merely nodded her head.

"Making a plan won't save you now...!" Toketsu yelled, as his blood red eyes sparkled with thirst. A thirst for blood.

"Now! Go!" Jeff yelled, as Poo dove high into the air, screaming loudly.

"You can't stop me with such a pathetic power!!" Toketsu laughed, as he looked directly above him. Suddenly, realization struck him, as he looked down. Right in front of his face, was a large barreled gun, charging with yellow energy.

"Seeya..." Jeff smiled, as he pulled the trigger, and a gigantic wave of power struck Toketsu in the face, and pushed him backwards. Falling to the ground, an unconscious Toketsu dropped to the ground. Hopping back down, Poo looked at Jeff with puzzled eyes.

"It's so powerful, it can only be used once before it breaks..." Jeff said, tossing the gun behind him.

"Paula! Reach into his mind! Into the realm of Magicant!" Jeff shouted, as he remembered that Ness was now far too powerful to be stopped by such a blast, even if it took him by surprise.

"Right..." Paula said, as she ran towards Toketsu, and placed her hands on his forehead.

"Ness..." she uttered, as an aura of light surrounded her and Ness' body. As Paula opened her eyes, she found herself in a new world, with many bright and happy colors everywhere.

"So this is what Ness dreams about..." she said, as she began to walk towards the aura she felt was Ness. Walking for a few minutes, she found him, lying against a large tree with his eyes closed. Surprise shocked her face, when she noticed he was holding another girl.

"Th...that...!" Paula began clenching her fist, as anger and sadness struck her heart. As she stared at the girl, she finally realized something.

"That girl... That's me!" Paula shouted, surprising both Ness and the girl who resembled Paula.

"Paula? Did you say something?" Ness asked the girl in his arms. She looked up at him and smiled.

"It must have been the wind..." she said, as she closed her eyes again.

"Maybe..." Ness said, closing his eyes.

"Ness!!" Paula screamed, as Ness and the girl who looked like Paula cocked their heads around, to see Paula standing there.

"What's going on here!?" Paula screamed, pointing at Ness and the girl. As they both stood up, she realized Ness seemed somewhat more mature, and the girl seemed slightly more mature as well.

"Who are you?" Ness asked, as kind and gentle as he once was. Paula began to feel tear fall down her eyes.

"Ness... why are you here? Why aren't you in the real world where you should be?" she questioned. After hearing 'the real world' he suddenly became more serious.

"I didn't like feeling so hurt all the time... I was tired of everything... So I'm staying here..." he said, as it seemed the ~Other~ Paula began to hold onto him, trying to comfort him.

"...But this is all a lie Ness... Don't you see your real friends need you?" Paula asked, as she crossed her arms, as if trying to bring herself some sympathy.

"My friends need me!? The friends who betrayed me!?" Ness shouted, clenching his fist. Paula spoke no words.

"The friends who left me, and wouldn't see me on the only day I had available!? The friends who wouldn't bother to ask their parents if they could see me on the only day I could see them!?" Ness screamed, obviously hurt and furious.

"Ness... I..." Paula uttered, realizing the mistakes she and her friends had made. Ness spoke no words but only stared at her.

"Ness, you’re running away from everything here! Please, if you don't come back, the world may be in serious trouble!" Paula yelled, avoiding using guilt, but not having many more cards up her sleeves.

"So what if I'm running away!? Why not run away from something that hurts!?" Ness yelled, turning his head away from her.

"Why should I care about the world anymore!? I saved it before, but got nothing in return but more pain! If anything I should be glad it's in danger! Only when the planet was in danger did I ever have a good time!" Ness shouted, with depression and sadness in his voice.

"I'm running out of time here Ness... If don't leave soon, we'll both be in danger..." Paula said, as her form began to disappear from Magicant.

"If you won't do it for anything else... Then I guess I won't ever see you again... Remember Ness, I lo-" Paula said, as she was cut off, and disappeared from Magicant. The tears in Ness' eyes increased, as he turned around to look at the ~Other~ Paula.

"I'm sorry..." he said, as he waved his hand, and her form shattered into pieces and disappeared.

"If I'm doing the right thing... Why does it hurt so bad!?" Ness shrieked, as he began crying even more.

Back in the real world, Paula was waking up, as Jeff and Poo helped her up.

"How did it go...?" Poo asked, letting her stand on her own.

"He... He doesn't seem to want to-" Paula started, as she was cut off again. Lying on the ground, Toketsu began to convulse and sweat.

"No!! You can't do this to me!! Without me, your existence hurts!! Why are you doing this!?" Toketsu shrieked in pain, as he arched his back, and began screaming in pain.

"No!!! You can't get rid of me that easily! I'll ALWAYS exist somewhere in your mind! You can't destroy me!!!" he screamed again, as his blood red eyes began to shine.

"No~o~o!!!" Toketsu screeched, as he jumped high into the air, and energy began to swirl around him. He screamed one last time, as a giant explosion consumed him, and then a large tornado appeared to swirl him around, causing more pain and devastation. The only thing that protected everyone else, was that Paula, Jeff, and Poo put a shield around Ness’ house, while they ran inside it.

The world began to return in a fuzzy blur. Ness opened his eyes, to reveal a large white ceiling.

"Where am I?" he asked aloud, in a groggy voice. He turned his head to see a nurse writing something on some charts.

"You're in Onett Hospital. You've been asleep for three days now." she told him, trying to smile.

"Why am I here...?" Ness asked, in a quiet and almost sad voice.

"You came in here unconscious. Not even your psychic friends could do much to help, except stop the bleeding and heal your wounds." she said, as she walked toward the door.

"I'll call your parents and tell them your awake now." she called out, as she left the room.

"They let me live, after all the horrible things I did to them?" Ness asked, as tears rolled down his eyes, as he wiped them away. As if it was showed to him in a dream, he had visions of all the things 'he' did to them, in the form of Toketsu.

"Why would they want me to be alive, after all the pain I caused them?" he asked again, as he began to cry in sorrow.

The next day, Paula, Jeff, and Poo walked into the hospital room, after Ness' mother said he needed some cheering up.

"Ness... Are you awake?" Paula asked, seeing only Ness' back, as he was lying on his side.

"Why are you here? Have you come to scold me...?" Ness questioned, in a soft and almost sad voice.

"Ness, we're your friends! We want you to be happy... You couldn't help what you did... Plus, it was partly our fault..." Paula shouted, as Poo and Jeff remained silent.

"I don't deserve such kindness..." Ness whispered, as he grasped onto the covers even tighter.

"What are you saying?" Poo asked, with concern in his voice.

"I'm saying I don't want to see you anymore... and I also won't fight or train anymore..." Ness stated, his voice still just as soft.

"Don't say such things Ness! You're our friend!" Jeff yelled, apparently hurt by his remark.

"You're the most powerful person in the world Ness... You can't stop protecting the world!" Poo yelled, as Paula's eyes filled with tears.

"When I'm with you, or fighting, all I do is hurt people... I don't want to hurt people anymore..." Ness whimpered, as he closed his eyes tightly.

"Please don't turn your back on me now Ness..." Paula cried out, as tears began to flow from her eyes.

"It's too late... I turned my back on you months ago..." Ness whispered, as his eyes were still shut. Paula then began to cry, and ran out of the room.

"Ness..." Jeff said, as he merely walked out of the room with his head held low. Poo only shook his head, as he walked out.

"It... it's better this way isn't it? This way, I won't hurt them anymore..." Ness spoke aloud, as he was then shocked to hear someone walk back in.

"How are you feeling today Ness?" the nurse's voice asked.

"It hurts..." Ness stated.

"Really? What hurts?" she asked, concerned for his health.

"My heart..." he uttered, as he opened his eyes, and then closed them again. Tears fell down his cheeks.

~The End Of Part One~