CHAPTER XIX: Tarah Rama, and the Psychic Teleport
"Ness..."
"Ungh...uh..."
"Ness...get up..."
"Paula?..."
"Yes. It's me..."
He couldn't see anything. He was in complete darkness.
"Go to the desert, Ness...the answer lies in the dunes...find the Monkey Hermit, and save me..."
Her voice began to fade.
"Ness...don't forget...that...I'll...always..."
"Paula! Don't leave me!"
"Ness...Ness...NESS!"
It was Jeff's voice.
"Ness! Wake up!"
He opened his eyes, looking around. Jeff knelt beside him.
"Oh, thank heaven you woke up," he said. "I thought you might be dead."
"I'm okay," Ness grumbled. "But we're at a real disadvantage against Giygas now...my hand..."
He held up his stump--only it wasn't a stump anymore. It was a whole hand. He gasped.
Jeff smiled. "Moonside...it was just a big illusion, Ness," he pointed to the shattered Mani Mani Statue. "The Statue was a machine. An illusion generator."
"Where are we?" The young man asked, sitting up. They were in a warehouse room. A small mouse squeaked up at him.
"You're behind Jackie's Cafe," It said. "You were just sort of...wandering around with a glazed look in your eyes."
"What did it say?" Jeff asked.
"That we're behind the Cafe," He relayed. "C'mon. Let's get out of here!"
They emerged into the sunlight. Ness was thankful to see the sun again. He was taking a deep breath of air, when the Receiver Phone rang.
"Hello?" Ness asked the phone, clicking it open.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey, Ness!" It was Apple Kid. "Guess what? I just created a brand new yogurt machine!"
"Okay," Ness smiled at the sound of his friend's enthusiastic voice.
"But right now, it only makes Trout flavored yogurt. I had some trouble with the zygomorphic coupling transformer."
"Trout flavored yogurt is a rich-person food," Ness told his friend. "But you said 'had' trouble with the zorodynamic whats-its transflipper. Does that mean you fixed it?"
"Nope--I sent it to you. I dunno. Maybe you can find some wacky use for it. Um...uh oh..."
"What is it? Did something explode?!"
"No, my grilled cheese sandwich is burning, and my auto-spatula isn't working! I'll call you later!"
>CLICK!<
A messy, bedraggled young man with red hair and goofy glasses came around the corner.
"Hello! >crunch!< oops...>crash!<...whoops...It's Escargo Express (neglected class)."
Ness and Jeff exchanged exasperated glances.
"Are you Ness?"
"Yeah, but..."
"I was passing through the desert," The man said. "And there was a cave...with a bunch of monkeys...or was it orangutans? I forgot. Yep, I forgot. In fact, I forgot your package. It was some fruit Kid that sent it...I forgot...Pear Kid? Mango Kid? Anyway, I dropped the package in the cave. I'm not going back. It's your package. You go get it. Go on! Get out of here!"
He took off around the corner.
"Great," Ness quickly explained the situation to Jeff.
"That's perfect," Jeff growled. "How will we get that Trout flavored Yogurt Dispenser now?"
A young woman with blond hair curled up at the sides overheard. "Did you say Trout Yogurt?" She asked.
"Yeah," Ness said. "Why?"
"I'm Master Pokey's maid, Electra. I need some Trout Yogurt to serve at Mr. Monotoli's next fling. If you find the Yogurt Dispenser, please let me know! I'll be hanging out in front of the Monotoli Building. See 'ya!" She gave a charming wink, and took off around the corner.
"Lots of visitors today," Ness remarked.
"And it's not over yet," Jeff said, pointing. "Look."
A small brown monkey eeped around the corner.
"You are the chosen," It squeaked at Ness. "Tarah Rama wishes to see you. Come to his cave in the desert, and speak with him."
The monkey turned, and ran. As it ran it began to blur. Right before it hit a wall, it vanished.
"One weird day," Ness mumbled, staring at the wall where the monkey had vanished.
"After meeting you and Paula," said Jeff, "Nothing seems weird anymore."
"So, if we help Electra, we may be able to get at Monotoli, right?"
"Looks that way,"
Jeff pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Well, I have a hypothesis," He said.
"Shoot," Ness mumbled. His rage at losing Paula had gradually diminished to unenthusiastic silence.
"Well," he began, "Paula said something about a 'Monkey Hermit'. Then, the Escargo Express delivery boy said that he dropped the Trout Yogurt Machine in a cave filled with monkeys. Finally, a monkey asks us to come to the desert to see some 'Tarah Rama' guy. Maybe this Tarah Rama knows where the Yogurt Dispenser is."
"Hey...you're right!" Ness exclaimed. "To the desert!"
They wandered through the desert for almost four days. The slept during the day, propping their jackets up on sticks to protect them from the sun. Ness used his PSI energy to draw water from the ground, and fill their canteens, but their food storage was running low. Ness, however, was never going to give up. If there was a chance--even a thin sliver of hope, barely the size of a needle--he was going to grasp it, and get Paula back.
Halfway through the fourth night in the desert, Jeff hailed Ness over to his location.
"I found a hole," he said. "Just big enough to climb through. There's a rope here, too. Do you think this is it?"
"We have no choice!" Ness growled. "Let's go!"
Ness leading with his psychic light ball, the duo entered the cave. As soon as they hit the floor, they heard the far-off chattering of monkeys.
"Looks like we found the right place," Jeff laughed, "I can hear the monkeys from here."
"I hope that they're friendly."
"Me too."
They walked down the roughly hewn rock tunnel. The chattering grew louder as they made their way down. The coolness in the cave was favorable to the burning desert sun. After a few minutes of walking, they saw the monkeys. They walked around, doing their monkey business. One of them, the one that had vanished into the wall back in Fourside, approached them.
"It took you awhile," He eeped. "Follow me. Tarah Rama wishes you to pass a test before he will see you."
Ness translated to Jeff.
"A test?" Jeff asked. "I wonder..."
They followed the monkey down a twisted side-tunnel. The monkey seemed to be able to find his way without Ness' light ball. The winding passage ended abruptly with a familiar sight...
A ten-foot tall iron pencil statue.
"Your test," The monkey squealed. "Is to get by this statue."
Jeff smiled, stepping forward, drawing his gun. "Stand back and watch," He said, after Ness had translated.
Ness was fingering the Pencil Eraser. "Um...Jeff?" he asked. "I don't think..."
BLAM!
PING!
ZIP!
"YOW!"
The beam from his laser reflected from the statue, and struck the wall behind the confused young man as he threw himself out of the blast. Ness laughed shortly.
"Good reflexes," he complimented. "Watch this..."
He whipped out the Pencil Eraser, that small, cell-phone-looking thing, pointed at the statue, and pushed the small red button. In a flash, the Pencil Statue was gone.
Jeff blinked once, his jaw hanging open. Then, he straightened, and said in a gruff voice. "Ever since I met you, Ness, nothing seems to really surprise me anymore."
Ness raised his eyebrows twice quickly, and made his way into the previously blocked entrance.
Tarah Rama was an emaciated old man. He had a long, gray beard, and old black eyes that seemed sort of friendly and aged. He had on a turban, and a heavy cotton robe, and he was--strange as it was--floating like the stereotypical Hindu priest.
"Welcome," Tarah Rama said in a heavy, yet unidentifiable accent. "To the Inner Sanctum of Tarah Rama."
He didn't know why, but for some reason, this old, floating man's holy presence drove him to his knees in respect. Jeff did the same.
"Arise, Children of the Prophecy," He said. "And hear my words."
They sat up on their knees, watching the old man.
"You have struggled greatly against the waves of Darkness, Ness," Tarah Rama went on. "As have you, Jeff. Paula, captured as she is, is also struggling to keep her mind from Giygas' grasp. Know, my young friends, the your female companion is, indeed, safe enough for now."
Ness stood up in the wildest excitement. "REALLY?!" He laughed. "YES! YES!"
Jeff grinned, pulling Ness back down. "Keep going, your Holiness," He intoned in a respectful voice.
Tarah Rama laughed a pleasant laugh. "Ness," he said. "I want you to know that almost all of her thoughts are of you. She misses both of you greatly, and yearns to see you again, but her thoughts of you, Ness, border on infatuation."
The young man blinked, baffled. "I...see..."
"There is one more friend that you will meet down the road. He is a prince, named Poo E'l Ahrim Dalaam. Seek him out. Also, this may help you..."
A small, gray Yogurt Dispenser floated from the darkness. It landed in Ness' outstretched hands. He grinned.
"With this..." he stammered. "W...w...w...WE CAN FINALLY RESCUE PAULA!!!!"
"And, to aid you in your journey," Tarah Rama quietly continued. "I will offer you a form of transportation faster than any vehicle." He turned his face to the darkness. "Chak-Chak!" he called in a rough voice.
A monkey appeared from the blackness. "Come with me," it eeped.
"Goodbye," Tarah Rama waved to the two young men. "Good luck, Children of the Light..."
"Now," Chak-Chak said to Ness. "I'm going to teach you the art of PSI Teleport. You can travel to anyplace in your memory, and it's a very useful mode of travel."
Ness adjusted his cap, nodding through his excitement. He couldn't wait to see Paula again.
"Now, watch carefully," Chak-Chak eeped, and took off running. Ness felt a familiar brushing on his mind, as the powers of the monkey were used to translocate its body.
It appeared again about ten seconds later.
"Now you try..."
Holding Jeff's hand in a death grip, Ness slid to a stop, the sides of his feet kicking up enormous clods of asphalt. He steadied himself, and motioned for Jeff to follow him as he made his way to the Monotoli Building.
Electra greeted them outside. Ness presented her with the Yogurt Dispenser, upon which she clapped with glee.
"I'll tell the maid to let you up to the 66th floor," She said, snuggling the two boys with her cheeks. "Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!"
"Is it just me," Jeff mumbled as the young lady skipped into the building. "Or is she just a bit over-happy?"
They took a few minutes to prepare themselves for battle. Then, heaving deep sighs, they rode the elevator to the sixty-sixth floor of Hell.
As soon as the doors of the elevator were closed, Jeff drew his gun, looking around at the empty hallway.
"A little too quiet," He mumbled. Ness drew his baseball bat.
"Yeah," He said, sweating. "I know."
A small, metal robot wheeled around the corner. It had treads, and a red box for a head. In one hand, it carried a laser similar to Jeff's. It regarded the two young men, before speaking in a fuzzy sort of voice.
"BREACH OF SECURITY PROTOCOLS," The Security 'Bot announced. "SECURITY SYSTEMS WILL ACTIVATE IN 5.........4........3........2........1......ZERO!"
The gun raised with astonishing speed, letting loose several shots. Ness and Jeff leapt to opposite sides of the hallway, behind the many fluted columns that lined the passage. Jeff leaned out periodically, firing his gun back.
"How do we get past it?!" Ness yelled over the din of gunfire.
"Just deactivate it!" Jeff yelled back, firing another shot. "its overall layout suggests very thin armor! if I could just get a clear shot...Hey! Blow it up with PSI Rockin'!"
"I can't! I don't want to risk blowing up any part of the building that Paula might be in!"
"Couldn't you just concentrate it into small, controlled bursts?"
Ness blinked. "I never thought of that!"
He stuck his hand upward. "PSI ROCKIN'!"
A ball of red-blue energies condensed above his palm.
"That's the way," Jeff encouraged. "Now help me!"