CHAPTER V: On to Twoson!
Ness had no trouble getting past the roadblock leading south to the small burg of Twoson. The road beyond the outskirts of Onett was unfamiliar territory.
He was strolling along, when suddenly, a man in a black suit dropped from the sky. He had a blond beard, spectacles, and a top hat. Ness leapt back, taking a defensive crouch.
The man backed away. "Woah, woah, I'm not here to fight!"
Ness remained battle-ready. "Then what are you here for?" He cried.
The man smiled, and brought out a camera. "I'm a photographer. Get ready for an instant memory..."
Ness shrugged, held his bat at his side, and flashed a peace sign.
>Click<
"Oh, what a great photograph," The photographer said happily. "It's sure to bring back the fondest of memories..."
With that, he vanished.
Ness rubbed the back of his neck, confused. He decided not to worry about it, and pressed on.
He was rounding the corner to Twoson, when he ran across a patch of mushrooms. They seemed strange, because they were like no mushrooms he had ever seen. They were red with yellow spots on them.
He was about to dismiss this, when one of the mushrooms actually climbed out of the ground and grew legs!
These Ramblin' Evil Mushrooms attacked Ness with a vengeance. He fended a few off with his bat, but one of them leapt up into his face, and sprayed spores into his nostrils. He sneezed, lost balance, and fell over.
When he came to, the mushrooms were gone. He shrugged to himself, and stood up.
When he tried to walk forward, his legs took him backwards. He tripped, and fell again. Sitting up, he began to rub his head.
There was something on his head.
He crawled over to a nearby water puddle, and peeked in.
"Holy Monkeys!" Ness shouted, his words slurred. "There's a mushroom on my head!"
He tried to pull it out, but he couldn't. It was wedged fast to his head. Ness shrugged, thinking that he could get it removed at the hospital in Twoson.
The road was still a bit long, and he couldn't walk. He sighed, and started dragging himself.
It was morning of the next day when Ness crawled into the hospital. He dragged himself to the counter, and slumped up against it.
"Nuhs..." he said weakly. He couldn't talk straight. His tongue was starting to go numb. "A theem to hahv a mushwoom on mah head..."
The nurse looked over the counter. "I'm sorry, we don't do that here," She pointed at a small, bald-headed man in the corner. "But he does. Hey! Mr. Healer! Get over here!"
The bald man stood up, and waddled over to Ness. He looked at the mushroom, thought a moment, and put his hand on it. There was a light surge, and the thing popped off. Ness' head cleared immediately. He stood up, and thanked the Healer.
"Thanks, man," he said.
Mr. Healer held out his hand shrewdly. "Fifty bucks."
Ness rummaged through his pockets and pack. "Uh...do you have an ATM?"
Finally, he was in Twoson. First things first, he thought, I've got to find that Paula girl. He started towards the southern end of town, not really knowing where to look. Looking at his map, he realized that it worked for every city in Eagleland.
"Let's see...Burglin Park...that might be a good place to start looking..."
He arrived about five minutes later. Burglin Park was a sprawling grassy area, in which the occupants had set up stores and were calling their wares. Ness wandered around, buying a few things, like a fresh egg and a sprig of parsley to go with it. He was almost about to abandon the search of Burglin Park, when he came across a squat, slovenly hovel. A short, stocky man stood on the roof. He had an aloha shirt and black pants on, and had a large mustache. He leapt off the roof, and attacked Ness.
The young boy whipped out his bat, and blocked the attack. He swept the bat around in a wide circle, and struck his unknown attacker in the left arm. The unknown assailant lowered his head and charged. Ness dodged aside, and kicked the man sharply in the ribs. The man fell down gasping.
"What are you doing?" Ness asked.
The guy got up, and dusted himself off.
"I was attacking you. But I lost the fight, and nobody is going to change that. Hi. I'm Everdred."
A very wary Ness responded carefully. "Hi, I'm Ness."
"Ness...so, you're the one that Paula was talking about..."
"Huh?"
"Come into my house, I'll explain everything."
Ness sat down on a woven Japanese mat, sipping hot tea. Everdred did the same.
"All right, Ness," The little man said. "First things first...you're looking for Paula, right?"
Ness nodded through a sip of tea.
"Okay...two days ago, some freaks from this new religion called Happy-Happyism came. It was a chubby kid and a guy with blue hair. They kidnapped Paula, saying something about a human sacrifice."
Ness turned his head, and spit out his tea. "What?!" He didn't know why, but the fact that a girl he had never met was going to die saddened him. "She must be one of the Four Buzz-Buzz was talking about," He mumbled.
"They took her to Happy-Happy Village in the east, a bit beyond Peaceful Rest Valley. I don't know when they plan to kill her, so hurry up!"
Ness stood. "Right,"
"Oh, Ness," Everdred stopped him. "Remember these three things: One--Don't go near Paula's house at the Polestar Preschool. Her father is convicting everyone who passes by. Two--Before you head east, talk to my friend the Apple Kid. I'll show you his house. And three--Come back here when you rescue her, okay? REMEMBER!"
Ness stopped in front of Apple Kid's house, and knocked on the door.
>CRASH<
>POW<
"Just a minute!"
>BOOM<
The door popped open. A short kid in red overalls stood there. He was completely filthy from head to toe in dust, dirt, and grime. He smelled horrible.
"Hello," the boy said. "I'm Apple Kid, the inventor!"
"Hello," Ness replied. "I was told to come here by a man named Everdred..."
"The leader of Burglin Park? Well, come right in. Er...you don't have something to eat on you, do you?"
He rummaged through his pack, and took out the fresh egg. Apple Kid wolfed it down.
"Mmm...thanks. Now, why did Everdred send you here?"
"I dunno...her said something about going through Peaceful Rest Valley..."
"Oh, I see. I have some designs for an invention that will get you through, but I need $200 for funding."
Ness quickly had two hundred dollars from his pack. Thanks to Mr. Healer, he had visited an ATM. Apple Kid laughed out loud.
"This is the peak of my day. Go out to Peaceful Rest Valley, and when you come back, the machine will be ready. Oh, here."
He handed Ness a small cellular phone. it had no keypad on it.
"That's a receiver phone," Apple Kid announced. "It receives messages, but it can't give them."
Ness shoved it in his bag. "Thanks, Apple Kid," he said in a friendly manner. "Oh, by the way, I'm Ness."
"Nice to meet you, Ness. Now, get to Peaceful Rest Valley. There's something there that I want you to see!"