Earthbound: Simple Gifts





"Thanks for the food, Mrs. Polestar." Colin said. Paula was still lounging in her bath, while Mrs. Polestar was treating Colin and Ness to some of her delicious pepper baked salmon.
    "Oh, no. Thank you, Mister Strife." She said.
    Colin blushed again and smiled. "Thanks."
    "No, I sincerely mean that. I don't know what Kent and I would have done if Paula hadn't come back." Melissa said.
    Colin shook his head. "It's hard to say that you would have gotten over it, because at first, you don't think you will." He thought back to when he thought his girlfriend was almost killed. "But, over time, it does get better. But that doesn't matter now. Paula's alive and well."
    Melissa smiled greatfully. "Now, isn't Paula going to join you on your adventure?"
    "Yeah." Ness said.
    "Don't worry, though." Colin said. "I'll watch her like a hawk."
    "With you watching her, that makes me very happy."
    Colin smiled. "Thanks. By the way, this is really good."
    "Oh, it's my own special recipe." Melissa replied. "Of course, Paula makes it much better than I do."
    "She's a gifted girl, isn't she?" Ness said.
    Melissa sighed. "Yes, she is."
    "I sense a 'but' coming."
    Melissa nodded, and turned towards the two boys. "Oh, yes. She has some special powers, a lot like you do, Colin. And we're always hounded by the press. She almost never has time to herself. The only time she really has privacy is when she's in the bathroom, or sleeping. It's just getting to be so troublesome."
    Colin lifted an eyebrow. "I don't think she could lob a car three blocks, could she?"
    "Erm. . .No." Melissa said.
    "That method seemed to work for me." Colin replied. "It's still beyond me how you people know my adventures."
    "Oh, it's not that hard to hear about things like that happening in Fourside." Melissa said.
    "But I don. . !"
    Ness muffled Colin's mouth. "Ex-nay on the pokane-say."
    Colin nodded and Ness let his hand off Colin's mouth.
    "Don't you live south of Fourside, though?" Melissa said.
    "Uhh. . .yeah." Colin said.
    Paula came down from her room, dressed in a green bathrobe and a towel wrapped about her head. "Mom, Colin's that one guy I was trying to reach before I was kidnapped."
    "Ohhh. . .why didn't you just say so!" Melissa said.
    "'Cause the idea of me coming from an entirely paralell world seemed to be outlandish and phycotic at the time." Colin replied.
    "I suppose you're right." Melissa said. "Well, if you boys are done with dinner, we could watch a movie if you'd like."
    Paula blushed and looked at her mother. "Please, not those movies. . ."
    Colin and Ness looked at eachother. "Y'know what that means, right?"
    Ness grinned. "Embarassing childhood movies!"
    Paula blushed an even deeper red.
    Colin grinned an evil grin. "I'm so up for embarassing childhood movies!"
    "Oh, guys!" Paula said.
    Colin cackled. "C'mon, let's boot these bad boys up!"
    Melissa laughed, and led the boys to the den. Paula sighed, and walked up to her room.
    "I'm going to bed!" She shouted.
    "Alright. Good night, sweetie!" Melissa shouted back.
    "G'night!" Paula replied.

    The thing about Everdread is that he wasn't really a bad guy, he was just made out to be, seeing as his name was, well, Everdread. Ever dread.
    Colin, Ness, and Paula approached the eccentric man's house. Very, very eccentric. When Colin and Ness first met him, he leapt from his roof almost on top of them, and challenged them to a fight.
    Colin beat the living crap outta him. After that, he told them to bring Paula to him after they got her back.
    So here they were, in Burglin Park, the outdoor market of Twoson, standing outside of a tacky orange and red house.
    "Is it. . .safe to go in there?" Ness asked.
    "I don't know." Colin said. "I don't know."
    "Colin, I'm scared." Ness said.
    "Suck it up, pussy." Colin said. He knocked on the door and immideately it shot out, casting Colin easily outside, standing foolhardily in the door's wake.
    "Hello?" Everdread asked before seeing Paula. "Paula! They saved you!"
    The greatful girl nodded her head. "Thanks for your help, Ev."
    "No problem, come on in."
    Paula walked into Everdread's house, followed by Ness, then a very discombobulated Colin.
    "Well, have a seat."
    Colin sat down on the couch, still seeing stars.
    "So, you two actually did it. You saved Paula."
    Colin nodded, still a little fuzzy on what he'd said. "Yeah we did. . .whatever it is you said."
    "I hit you harder than I thought." Everdread said. "Sorry. Well, I've got something of a gift for you kids."
    Everdread reached into his pocket and handed Colin a huge wad of bills.
    Colin's vision cleared right up. "Hold up! There's gotta be at least 10,000 dollars here!"
    "Mmm-hmm. And it's all yours."
    Colin looked at Paula, then at Everdread, then back at the wad of bills. "Dude. . .you are the greatest."
    He shoved the wad of bills into his pocket. "Well, do you two have to chew the fat?"
    "Naa." Paula said. "We should go."
    Colin nodded, and stood up. "Well, Mister Everdread, it's been a pleasure, but we really must be going."
    "You may wanna see the Runaway Five before they take off." Everdread said. "I know Lucky and Gojasu personally. They have a great show."
    "We will." Ness said. "Thanks."
    With that, they left Everdread's house.
    The minute the door closed, Colin looked at Paula. "You know wierd people."

    Kent landed in front of his house, absolutely exhausted. "Man. . .I haven't flown in so long. . ."
    "It shows." Kelly said, letting go of his arm.
    "For being a tag along, you must not value your life much." Kent replied.
    Adam climbed off and gave him a curteous nod. Mr. Saturn continued to stay on Kent's shoulder, and looked about the neighborhood they had landed in.
    "We far from vehicle!" The odd creature shouted. "We need get to somewhere else!"
    Kent cringed and cleared out his ear. "Yeah, sure." He replied. "Look, if Colin's in trouble, we're gonna need some beefy weapons. Grab something - anything, I don't care, and meet me back here at, oh. . ." He checked his watch. It was two fourty in the afternoon. "Three thirty."
    "Forget that." Adam said. "I can have swords for all of us in a half hour."
    "Swords. . ." Kelly began.
    "Don't tell me. . ." Kent said. "You don't wanna use a sword, do you?"
    "Not really."
    Kent looked at his cohort, his hands in fists. "Alright. Alright, okay. What are you going to use for a weapon?"
    Kelly held up his fists and smiled.
    "No." Kent said. "That ain't gonna work. You gotta use something."
    "But. . .but. . ."
    "Hey, you wanted to come." Kent said. "Now grab something. I'm beyond caring at this point."
    Kelly growled. "Okay, okay. I'll bug Matt and see if he'll let me use his dagger."
    "There we go. You guys need rides?"
    Adam and Kelly nodded.
    Kent took the keys to his car out of his pocket. "Alright, let's do this."
    "Oh!" Mr. Saturn shouted. "Bring coats! It be cold!"
    Kent winced. This was going to be a very long adventure.
   
    Outside the Chaos theater sat two men, one strumming on a guitar, the other singing some blues.
    Colin walked up to them and knealt by where they were playing and pulled out his sticks, jamming with them. Behind him stood Ness and Paula, absolutely appauled that he'd mingle with the likes of the lead singers of the Runaway Five.
    Finally, the three musicians stopped. "Hey, you're pretty good." The thinner one, Lucky, said.
    "Thanks," Colin said. "I've always been pretty adept at percussion."
    "Well," The bigger one, Gojasu, began, "I haven't seen anyone play traditional since our drummer played."
    "No kidding." Colin replied. He stood up and dusted himself off. "So, from what I hear from your lyrics, the owner here trapped you into a deal that you couldn't possibly begin to pay off, so you're stuck here."
    "Erm. . .no." Lucky said. "But that's our problem. You telepathic?"
    "Nope. Just cynical."
    Lucky and Gojasu ahh'ed at Colin's response. Gojasu looked past Colin and saw that they had Paula with them.
    "Hey! That's the telepathic girl that was kidnapped! You save her?"
    Colin nodded. "Ness was the big man, though." He stepped back to put himself in line with Ness and Paula.
    "Well, then." Lucky said, digging into his pockets. "I've been waiting to give these out for a loooong time." From his pocket he pulled three backstage passes and handed them to the kids.
    "Our next show is gonna be later tonight. Why don't you stop by; we'll be going to Threed."
    "We'll be there." Colin said.
    "Good deal. See 'ya." Lucky said as he and Gojasu began jamming again. The three kids began walking away and talking amungst themselves.
    "Don't we have something to do in Happy Happy Village still?" Ness asked.
    Colin mulled over it for a second. "Okay, here's the thing. If we do go, we're gonna miss the show, that's for sure. So, here's the question: Do we wanna go to Peaceful Rest Valley, or use today to catch a second wind?"
    "I dunno, relaxing sounds awfully nice," Ness began. Just then, a soft wind kicked up. "We're staying."
    "Ohhh, yeah." Colin replied. "I could stay here forever."
    Paula looked at the two relaxed boys. "Oh, wonderful."
    Colin looked down the street at Paula's house. A news van. He rolled up his sleeves and put on a dangerous looking gait. Looking closer at the house, there certainly was a news crew there, hastling Melissa.
    "Hey, guys!" Colin said. The crew turned around and saw the legendary Colin Strife, in all his glory. Ignoring the Polestar household, they ran up to him, and shoved a microphone in his face.
    "Colin Strife, why are you in this humble town?" They asked.
    "'Cause I like it." He replied.
    "Really? There's no life-threatening battles? No massively overpowered enemies?"
    "Nope."
    "How 'bout your girlfriend? Is she here?"
    "Nope."
    "Have you heard about the kidnapping of Paula Polestar?"
    "I rescued her myself."
    "What about the Happy Happy Cult? Did they hastle you at all?"
    "Disbanded them."
    "Have you and Casey broken up?"
    "No comment."
    "Are you going out with Paula?"
    "No comment."
    "So is that a yes or a no?"
    "I said no comment."
    "Oh, fine. Can we see some of your powers?"
    Colin shrugged and created a small blast in his hands, morphing it into a figurine of Paula and Casey standing back to back.
    "Cool! Can you blow something up for us?"
    Colin shook his head. "Nope."
    "Well. . .what are your relations with Miss Polestar?"
    "Are you just asking if I'm going out with Paula again?"
    "Erm. . .no. Of course not."
    Colin shook his head. His intense look came back, and that meant bad things for anything that ticked him off. And reporters ticked him off more than anything.
    "Sure. I'll make something blow up."
    Colin walked over to the van, and picked it up on his own, showing no real extertion at all. Balancing it on his finger, he spun it like a basketball. From there he hopped it up off his finger, kicked it hard, sending it flying, sending a blast after it. As the van came down, the blast tore through the gas tank, causing the van to explode in a hail of shrapnel and flames.
    The reporters just stood there. "Whatever happened to freedom of the press?"
    "'Ya wanna know what happened to freedom of the press? You took it too far. Now I'm using my freedom of speech. I'm telling you to leave Paula and the Polestars alone, lest I get really angry."
    The reporter and the camera man conversed a little. "Erm. . . what happens if we, err. . .do get you really angry?"
    Colin evilly smirked. "You don't want to know. Trust me." He then had an evil thought. "Think finals."
    "We're gone." The reporter said. Colin laughed, then turned around to look at Ness and Paula, who were agape at Colin's feat.
    It was about then that Colin realized how pretty Paula was. Today, she wore a pink collared dress and a pair of low heels, a strap running across it to keep her feet in them. She had two pink ribbons in her hair, holding her hair in pseudo pigtails, and her eyes gleamed green. Just like his.
    And she smiled.
    Colin turned away. "I'm taken, I'm taken, I'm taken. . ." He chanted. Letting out a breath he nodded, and turned back.
    "Sorry. I had to remember I was taken."
    Paula blushed and smiled. "Thanks, I suppose."
    Colin nodded. "Trust me, I'm not a man of many compliments. Take 'em when you got 'em."
    And with that, they walked back into the Polestar household.
   
    Adam splayed out his weapons. Kent looked at them, and immideatley remembered why he liked Adam - the man of many resources. "Okay, Kent, we've got your classic long sword, short sword, we've even got a bastard sword and a claymore, a broadsword, and more daggers than you can shake a stick at. Trust me, I've tried."
    Kent was mesmorized. Never before had he seen so much tempered steel in his life.
    "Kent?" Adam asked.
    Without saying anything, Kent grabbed a broadsword, strapped it to his back, took a shortsword, strapped it to his belt, took four daggers, and lined the inside of his trenchcoat with them.
    "I just wanna tell you I love you. In a distant, hands-off sorta way."
    "I get that a lot." Adam replied to Kent.
    "So, quick question. Did you have to go with the thirties getup?"
    Adam was right; Kent was dressed as a classic mobster. Trenchcoat, hat, pinstripes, he was set.
    "Not really. . .but I thought I'd be cool."
    "Yeah, it's cool." Adam confessed. "Just a second."
    Kent leaned against his car and looked at the Mr. Saturn inside, having himself a hell of a time jumping on the backseat.
    "I'm back."
    Kent looked at Adam and saw him dressed in chain maille, and totally decked out for the battle of Minas Tirith.
    "Dang." Kent said.
    "I figured if Colin was in trouble, he was gonna need all the help he could get." With that, Adam tossed Kent a chain maille shirt. "You might wanna throw that on."
    Kent nodded, and threw off his trenchcoat and jacket. Taking off his overshirt, he put on the chain maille, put his overshirt back on, then put his jacket back on. Before rebuttoning it, he put two more daggers in the inside pockets, then put his trenchcoat back on.
    "You've got a point." Kent replied.
    Adam smiled. "What're the odds that Kelly's gonna be prepared?"
    "Precisely ziltch point crap." Kent replied as he and Adam got into his car. "Well. . .next stop: Kelly's place. Let's go."