From where she was standing, the interior of the house seemed as worn-out and run-down as the outside. Karen stepped inside.
Since the windows were boarded up, it was even darker inside the house than outside. Without thinking about it, Karen raised her hand with the palm facing up, and a small globe of psychically-produced light appeared above it, illuminating the area.
She was in what was apparently the living room of the house. The floor was covered with a carpet, which was dirty and faded in places. It also had insects and spiders crawling across it, which scuttled away from her light as she approached. For some reason, Karen had a feeling that the carpet was not originally a part of the house, and had been added later. The ceiling was covered with cobwebs and spiderwebs.
There was a sofa in the middle of the room, which was covered with a dusty old cloth. Karen didn't touch it; there was no telling WHAT was living inside it now. She looked over to the right wall; there were a few lamps, and a telephone sat on a table. Karen walked over and picked up the phone with her free hand; it was dead. I wonder how many times my father picked up this phone? she thought.
Further in the room, there was a dirty table, which Karen didn't touch. A chair sat near it; it looked like it might have been quite comfortable once, but now one of its legs was broken, and something had been tearing up the cushion. In the wall, there were some stairs; Karen ascended them, hoping that they wouldn't break beneath her.
Upstairs, Karen found herself in a nondescript hallway. The carpet that had been added downstairs had not been added here; there was a hardwood floor underneath Karen's feet, which was so grimy and dirty that Karen felt glad that she was wearing shoes. There was a door in the left wall of the hallway, but when Karen looked at it, she had a feeling that there was nothing there for her to see. But the other door, in the far end of the hallway, was different; she felt drawn to it. She walked down the hallway and opened the door.

This room was what she had been looking for. Although it was just as dirty and aging as the rest of the house, Karen didn't notice it in here.
It was a bedroom. My father's bedroom... thought Karen. There was a bookshelf and a desk on her left, and on her right there was an old, simple table and chair. A dust-covered lamp sat in the corner, and on the far side of the room, there was a bed.
Karen walked over to the bed. This is where he slept, 30 years ago... she thought. Something inside her told her that this bed was it... Where it all began, as she had said. 30 years ago, her father had started his quest to defeat Giygas right here.
There was an object on the bed. Karen picked it up and brushed off all of the dust.
It was an old baseball cap, faded and well-worn. Karen turned it around in her hands, inspecting it. The cap was red, with a blue bill; there wasn't any team name on it. Looking inside it, Karen could not find a manufacturer's tag. To her surprise, however, she found a note hidden inside. Setting the cap back on the bed, Karen unfolded the note and read it.

"Dear Karen...

I don't know if you'll ever find this, but your mother tells me that you will. But if you ARE reading this, then the worst has happened, and we're no longer around.
Both of us are terribly sorry that we had to leave you in that orphanage, but we had to do it for your own safety. Maybe by the time you read this, you'll understand why; your mother is convinced that you have her telepathy ability somewhere inside you.
In any case, Karen, I hope that you know that we do love you. You're the most special thing that ever happened to us, and there is nothing that can change that. We love you, Karen, and no matter what happens, no matter where we are, we will always be with you.

Love,
Your Father"

By the time Karen finished reading it, she was crying. All her life, she had always hoped that wherever they were, her parents loved her.
"They love me..." she sobbed, clutching the note to her heart. "They do love me..."
Although she still didn't know what had drawn her to this house, she now completely understood WHY she had been drawn here. It was to find this note, to learn that her parents loved her.
Folding the note back up, Karen picked up the baseball cap from the bed and stuck the note back inside. Then, she raised the cap and placed it on her own head. Strangely enough, it fit perfectly, as if it was meant to be there.
Feeling at peace, Karen smiled. "I love you... Mom and Dad."

She left the house. There was nothing left for her there; Karen had found what she had come for.
She looked up toward the top of the hill again. "I guess I'll go and see what's up there," she said to herself.
As she started on the path to the top, Karen suddenly noticed something else, next to her father's old house. It had been a house once, but no longer; all that remained was a burnt-out foundation. Karen had a feeling that she knew who once lived there.

The path to the top of the hill was long and winding. Along the way, Karen saw another abandoned house, much smaller than her father's; there was a billboard in front of it, but the only part of the faded text she could make out was "Agerate." I wonder who this Agerate is? she thought.
Finally, not long after that, Karen reached the top of the hill, going around a few old police barriers along the way.
At the top of the hill, a meteor sat in a crater. It had long since cooled off, and there were several pieces missing.
"This must be it," said Karen. "At this meteor, my father learned of his destiny." She looked up at the night sky. "I wonder if the meteor Zain saw looks like this one?"
She walked over to the edge and looked down on the town of Onett, its lights shining at the bottom of the hill. "Maybe I'll go down there and see what Onett is like..." she decided.
Suddenly, another voice rang out. "I'm afraid you're not going to get that chance."
Karen whirled around. "Who's there?" she demanded. Why didn't my telepathy detect someone? she wondered.
Her eyes widened as Mister P rose from behind a bush. "Hello there, Karen," he said, adopting his usual sneer. "I've been waiting for you; I figured you would eventually come here."
His eyes locked onto the baseball cap that Karen now wore, and his sneer became a snarl. "I see you've been learning a few things," he said.
Her surprise gone, Karen narrowed her eyes in anger at him. This was the man who had stolen her life. "I've learned a lot lately," she agreed, feeling her anger build up. "You murdered my parents!"
Mister P laughed. "Murder? I suppose you could call it that if you want. But since I attacked them with three hundred Starmen Elite, it was more like a massacre." He laughed cruelly.
Karen's hands balled into fists. "You murdering pig--"
"Oh, shut up," Mister P interrupted. "You look like you've gotten a little feistier since our last meeting. You wouldn't have spoken to me like that last time; last time you were too busy cowering in fear."
"I'm not afraid of you anymore," Karen stated.
This caused Mister P to laugh even harder. "Oh, you will be, Karen," he said. "I'm not going to fail this time. Your precious Neil can't jump out of the dark and save you, and there's no Zain to help you. You're completely alone, and this time you're not going to elude me!"
"I can protect myself," Karen spat. "Especially from the likes of YOU, Pokey."
Mister P's laughing smile turned back into his angry snarl. "I don't go by that name anymore," he said. "Pokey Minch is gone. I am Mister P, galactic warlord!"
"You're Pokey Minch," said Karen. "A murderous, cowardly, fat pig. You're the man who stole my parents from me, and you stole my first friend from me. You stole my life away from me, but you won't steal anything else from me, Pokey Minch!"
Mister P roared in anger and flicked his wrists, causing his blade and his paralysis gun to come out of his sleeves. "You stupid girl! I'll kill you just like I killed your whole family!"
He aimed his paralysis gun at Karen and fired. The beam stopped about an inch in front of her and was dispersed.
"What the...?" exclaimed Mister P. "It... It can't be!"
Karen smiled. "It's not going to be so easy for you this time, Pokey." As she said that, her eyes turned a burning red, and pent-up energy began to crackle around her.
Mister P's jaw dropped. "You... You don't have that power!" he cried. "You CAN'T have that power!"
Karen's smile widened. "Like I said... I've learned a lot lately." She reached out with one hand and spread her fingers at Mister P. She felt her anger building up, fueling her power. This is how Zain feels when he's about to release his power, Karen realized. It... It feels invincible!
With that, she released her power. "PSI Fire Gamma!"
The burst of fire that exploded forth from her hand was larger than anything she had ever been able to do. The conflagration scorched everything in its path, burning it all to ashes.
When the smoke cleared, however, Mister P was still standing there. His psychic shield faded from view, becoming invisible again. He smirked. "My new shield generator is a newer model," he said. "It's stronger, so it can take whatever you can dish out with ease."
Her failure to hit him made Karen angrier. "Try this, then!" she shouted, raising her other hand and gathering her power again. Focusing her anger, she called upon one of the new abilities she had learned. "PSI Freeze Gamma!"
Indeed, Karen had learned Sasha's Freeze ability, though she still didn't know why. The air around Mister P froze solid, trapping him in a block of ice.
Karen was about to smile in triumph when the ice block suddenly exploded outward, sending chunks of ice flying everywhere. Mister P grinned as his psychic shield returned to its normal size and became invisible again. "Nice try," he said, "but you still failed."
I don't believe this! Karen shouted in her mind. Zain took out that shield with a single attack! Why can't I? Her frustration caused her anger to rise again, and she called upon another power. "This, then!" she shouted. "PSI Thunder Gamma!"
Three giant bolts of electricity lashed out and struck Mister P's shield with full force... And reflected off of it, flying back at Karen. She barely managed to throw herself out of the way as the bolts screamed past; as she hit the ground, her cap fell off.
Karen stared at Mister P. Even that didn't work...?
"You may have gotten a little stronger," sneered Mister P, "but you're still nothing. Nothing but a weak remnant of your pig's butt father. I destroyed him, and now I'll finally destroy all that's left of him!"
Karen grabbed her hat and got up. Staring Mister P in the eyes with her own red eyes, she put the cap back on her head. "It's not over yet," she snarled.
"Oh, but it is," said Mister P. "You can't touch me with your PSI. You might as well just submit to me!"
"NEVER!" Karen screamed.
Mister P smiled evilly. "Then you'll just have to die!" Grabbing his right wrist, he twisted something in his sleeve. The metal blade slid back inside, and a longer, glowing blade of energy sprang out to replace it. "I'll cut you to pieces!"
Without thinking, Karen reached out and raised her hand, with the palm facing up. A glowing sword of psychic energy materialized above her hand, and she grabbed it. "You're not going to hurt me anymore," she said.
"Nice trick," said Mister P, "but can that thing measure up to my Photon Blade?" With that, he attacked her.
Karen blocked his slash with her sword, and then retaliated. Her psychic blade glanced off of Mister P's psychic shield.
Mister P laughed. "Don't you get it? Your weapon is made of psychic energy; it can't go through my shield!"
Karen gritted her teeth. I HAVE to get rid of that shield! she thought desperately. If I can only get rid of that shield, he'll be almost helpless!
She raised her other hand and materialized the hammer of psychic energy that she had used to get into her father's house, and brought it crashing down onto Mister P's shield. The force of the collision jarred her arm terribly, but Karen forced herself to ignore it.
I have to overload it somehow... If I can just hit it with enough force... She raised her psychic weapons to try again.
"You really should just give up," said Mister P with a sneer. "It would make it a lot easier for both of us."
Suddenly Karen had an idea. The psychic weapons she was using were extensions of her mind; there was no reason why she had to HOLD them.
She outstretched her arms and sent the hammer and sword flying away, behind Mister P, who laughed. "Finally decided to give up?" he asked, thinking that she had thrown the weapons away.
Stepping away from him, Karen let her anger build up. She thought of how Mister P had killed her parents, how he had pretended to be her father on that night last week, how he had stolen Neil from her... This man, Pokey Minch, had ruined her life... And Karen was NOT going to let him take that life!
Her eyes burned even redder, and energy began to crackle around her again. A strong wind began to blow, swirling around her.
"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Mister P. "Haven't you realized by now that you can't hit me?"
"I'M NOT DONE YET!" Karen screamed. "I WON'T LET YOU HURT ME ANYMORE!"
With a thought, she sent her psychic sword and hammer crashing into the back of Mister P's shield. The force of the blow actually caused him to stagger. "What the...?"
Karen thrust both hands outward. Spreading the fingers of her left hand, she attacked. "PSI FIRE GAMMA! PSI FREEZE GAMMA!"
From both of her hands, a Fire and a Freeze attack exploded forth simulaneously. "This can't be!" Mister P cried.
The dual attacks struck the front of his shield as the sword and hammer were still striking the back. Even with all this, the shield still managed to disperse the attacks... But after that, it winked out, overloaded. The rest of his devices also overloaded, and his Photon Blade winked out as well.
Now that he was unprotected, Mister P suddenly became afraid. "This... You can't be this strong!" he cried. "There's no way you can be this strong! It's not possible!"
Karen smiled, and materialized her psychic sword again. "It's over, Pokey." Then her eyes narrowed. "What have you done with Neil?"
Clearly defeated, Mister P scrambled backward, frantically searching for his communicator. "You'll pay for this!" he shouted. "It doesn't matter how strong you've become! Master Giaguo will destroy you!"
"Where is Neil?" Karen repeated.
Mister P found his communicator and scrambled to his feet. He faced Karen furiously. "You're just like your father," he snarled. "Getting in my way and causing me to fail. But I got him in the end, and I promise that one day, I'll do the same to you! One day, I WILL kill you, just like I killed your cursed family!"
"WHERE'S NEIL?" Karen shouted.
Mister P smiled viciously. "You're never going to see him again," he said. "You may have won this fight, but your friend still belongs to Master Giaguo! And you'll never see him again!" He pressed a button on his communicator, and he disappeared in a flash of light.
Even after he was gone, Karen could still hear his deranged laughing.

With the object of her anger gone, her anger faded away, and her eyes faded back to their normal black color. Her psychic sword dispersed.
Despite what he had said, Karen felt somewhat triumphant. I beat him... she thought. I beat him all by myself...
But even though she had defeated Mister P, Karen still felt concerned for Neil. "I have to find him..." she said to herself. "I have to find him... I swore I'd find him, no matter what..."
She missed Neil terribly. No matter how strong she became, it meant nothing if Neil was not there with her. She had other friends as well now, but Neil was different... He was the first person to show her kindness. Neil was special to her.
Karen turned and stared at the place where Mister P had been standing before he left. "I WILL see Neil again," she said defiantly, fighting back tears. "I WILL see him again. I WILL find him someday. I swear I'll find him."

Meanwhile...

Mila tried to remember when she had been in a worse predicament... And realized that she couldn't think of one.
Sitting on the floor, she tried not to look up at the Gang Members nearby. As per the order of their leader, at least fifteen of them kept watch on her at all times, though it was usually more.
Her back still felt somewhat sore from being bested by Dangerous Tom. She still couldn't believe how that had happened. Mila was the best fighter of Home Base, yet Dangerous Tom was far beyond her level. She still remembered how he had calmly caught her fist as if he weren't even trying.
How am I going to get out of this? she wondered. No matter how hard she thought, she was unable to come up with a solution. She could easily beat one or two Gang Members, and maybe even five, but even she could not stand up to fifteen at the same time, and Dangerous Tom himself was only one floor above her...
Mila started to feel despair as she began to realize that she had no choice but to either accept Tom's offer, or remain like this, perhaps until Tom tired of waiting for her to come around and simply had her killed. She would never see Brian, or anyone else from Home Base, again.
She didn't think Dangerous Tom would kill her, though. He had seemed too sure of himself, too certain that sooner or later, Mila would give in to him.
As she thought that, Mila became even more resolved not to accept Dangerous Tom's offer. If she gave in, it would mean that Tom had won, that he had beaten her spiritually as well as physically. Mila would never accept that.
I will never submit to him... Mila promised herself. Even if it means that I'll be a prisoner forever.

Later that day, Tom came to see her again, still as clean as ever. "Hello, Miss Aisengarde," he said amiably as he approached. The Gang Members parted to allow him through.
Mila didn't bother to stand up. She searched Tom for some trace of the nightstick he had hit her with before, but she saw no sign of it. He's probably carrying it somewhere... she thought bitterly.
Dangerous Tom folded his arms. "Have you reconsidered my offer yet?" he asked. "It really would be better if you did. Believe me, Miss Aisengarde, I do not wish for you to be a prisoner here."
She folded her own arms, mocking him. "Even if I do give in to you, which I'm not," she replied, "I would still be a prisoner... YOUR prisoner. I'd rather die."
Tom sighed. "That's too bad," he said. "I really wish you would get over your childish contempt of me and accept this. Think of it, Miss Aisengarde; by my side, you would rule Ellay with me."
"You're full of it, Tom," Mila retorted. "You say those things, but all you want is to conquer me. I'll never give you that satisfaction."
He shrugged. "Then, I suppose you'll just have to remain the guest of my men for a while longer," he said. "But I am confident that you will come around in time, Miss Aisengarde." He turned and walked away, and the Gang Members resumed their watch over her.
Mila glared in the direction he had gone. "Don't count on it," she muttered.

To be continued...