The Denied Vengeance
(another SERIOUS EarthBound Story)
By: EBounding

During the month of May, in the country of Winters, the students gained their well-deserved 3-week break (since they basically had school all year). The students relaxed from their hard work.

After Jeff’s adventure with Ness, Paula, and Poo in the quest to defeat Giygas, he became the most respected student in the entire school. He was also deemed as the smartest, although Jeff tried to be modest about his knowledge. As the weeks went on, a great change came to Snow Wood. Two new students were coming to enroll into the Boarding School. This was a great event, because only the very intelligent and elite could enroll. No student had enrolled in Snow Wood since 198X.

Maxwell rushed into the lounge area to announce the news.

"Everyone! Listen up! We have TWO new students from Merrysville! They’ll arrive here in a couple hours!" "Wow," said one student, "What are their names?"

"Hmmm. According to this list, their names are Brad Jereko, and Gene Franklin.

"Oh, well, alright."

"HEY!" shouted one student, "Who will they be bunking with? It’s not going to be in MY room!"

"YEAH! Same here!" shouted another.

"Yeah, there is no way am I going to share my room with some stranger!" said another.

The students all started talking and arguing about how they don’t want to share their room.

"QUIET!" shouted Maxwell. Everyone obeyed. "Now, we’ll figure that out later. Hey, where’s Jeff and Tony?"

"Oh they’re in Jeff’s lab. Fixing, or making something. I think it has something to do with those brain wave tests he performed on us." answered one student, "Hey! When do I get MY OWN lab? I’m sick of sharing with Jimmy. He spilled my C-81 formula, and I had to start all over on it!"

"Hey! You just wanted to make a bomb!"

The two started arguing. Maxwell tried to open the door to Jeff’s lab, but it was locked. It was a small room in the basement, but Jeff was the only one who had it to himself. Maxwell searched for the Snow Wood master key.

* * *

"This is great Jeff! I can’t believe you’re making this out of old stove and electrical parts from the cafeteria!"

"Yep. This is going to be good. Imagine, if I can get this device to work properly, two people can just THINK to one another, instead of talking to one another!"

"Oh, I thought you were making a nuclear device or something. Um, Jeff, uh, how will this be useful?"

Jeff looked up from his work and smiled, "Well, maybe if this device is USED enough, the subjects MIGHT be able to learn to talk to people through thought, without the device! This is my research on PSI."

"Ah, I see."

"PSI is something strange Tony. I don’t exactly understand it. I’m not sure if you learn it, or if it’s a ‘mystic ability’ that you are naturally born with. But I think that EVERYONE has it."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, look at this chart I made," Jeff unveiled an impressive looking chart,

"Look. Look at these bar graphs. Here is an average Joe’s brain capability. Five to ten percent brain usage. Here is the average for the students at Snow Wood. Ten to twelve percent. NOW, here is Ness, Paula, and Poo’s brain usage. Twenty-seven to thirty percent! Paula’s was the highest with 32! But Ness and Poo’s was 29 or something."

"Wow!" said Tony, "But why aren’t they REALLY smart then? I mean, technically, they should be world renowned geniuses!"

"You’re right, Tony. But you’re wrong. If you look at this next graph, you’ll see that PARTS of the brain are being used more than others."

"Ah, I see."

"Look at this. The average person. He uses the part of his brain that WE use, but only less of it. Now look at us. We use more of it of course. But if you look at Ness, Poo and Paula, their usage of the part of the brain that we use, is only eight to ten percent. Which is what WE use."

"So, where’s the other twenty percent."

"Ah! Now that goes to my theory. They use an unknown part of their brain. The mind, or brain, (although some think of them as completely different) is very mysterious and can’t be fully understood. But because of Poo, Paula, and Ness, we can see MORE of the brain than we ever saw before! This mysterious part of the brain must be where they obtain their PSI power."

"Makes sense," said Tony.

"But here’s one of my main questions," Jeff got up from the floor, "is PSI a taught power, or is it an ‘inborn’ power?"

"Hmm. I don’t know…"

"Well, it doesn’t make sense because Paula said she was born with it, Poo said it was taught by his Master, and Ness isn’t exactly sure. So, it may be a question that will remain unanswered."

"Oh,"

"But what we MIGHT be able to do, is get closer and closer to teaching ourselves this power, and make it useful, other than shooting ice at enemies and stuff."

"But, what if it fell into the wrong hands?"

"I know. That’s what I’m worried about."

Suddenly the lab door flew open and Maxwell nearly stumbled down the stairs.

"Whew! How’s your Thought Project coming along Jeff?"

"It’s going alright. Thanks for letting me analyze the students."

"Yep, no problem. Oh! Big news! We have two new students that are going to enroll into Snow Wood!"

"Oh, um...great!" said Jeff.

"I decided that at least one of them is going to have to bunk with you. Because you and Tony have the most space."

"Okay. No problem," said Tony and Jeff.

"Great! Now maybe everyone will stop arguing. Keep up the good work." Maxwell left clumsily up the stairs.

"So Jeff, won’t you need more parts for this thing?"

"Of course! I think they’ll have what I need in Fourside. They opened up a new high tech store there. They should have the parts we need."

"Okay. How should we get there?"

"Oh, um, well, I guess we could call Ness so he could teleport us."

"Isn’t that just using him?"

"Na, I do it all the time. Well, actually that’s not true. But he could still hang out with us. I could also analyze his brain activity while he’s teleporting too."

"Oh alright."

Jeff ran to the phone, "Hi, is Ness there?"

"Oh, hello Jeff!" said Ness’s mom, "Hold on a sec. NESS!! PHONE!" Ness ran down the stairs.

"Yello?"

"Oh, hi Ness."

"Hey Jeff! What’s up?"

"Oh, nothing much. Could you do a big favor for me?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Could you teleport Tony and I to Fourside? If you can’t, it’s okay…"

"Sure, I’ll do it. I’m not doing anything else anyway. Hold on, I’ll be right over."

"Alright! Thanks a lot!" Ness hung up, and Tony and Jeff ran outside to wait for Ness.

Minutes later, Ness arrived right in front of Jeff and Tony.

"Hey guys!"

"Hi Ness."

"So, what do you need in Fourside?"

"Oh, parts for that device I’m making."

"Okay. Let’s go."

Jeff whispered to Tony, "Here, use this device to monitor his brain activity while he is teleporting." The device was hand held, and had a small monitor on it, and a few other buttons to analyze brain activity.

"Okay."

Tony activated the device, and Ness teleported to Fourside.

"Okay, we’re here guys," announced Ness, "Where is this store anyway?"

"It’s in the Dept. Store, of course," replied Jeff, "Let’s go."

They all went into the mall and found a store called the Brainiac Shack.

Ness chuckled, "Is THIS the store, Jeff?"

"Um...uh, no!" said Jeff in obvious denial, "This is the OLD store. Yeah."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Hey guys!" shouted Tony who was already inside the store, "Look at all of this Jeff! Wow!" Jeff browsed the merchandise very carefully.

"Hey Jeff! Look at this! It’s the Neural Analyzer, by MSI. Could this pose useful?"

"I suppose, if I soup it up a little."

Jeff and Tony collected more wires and gadgets. They laid it out all on the counter.

The clerk registered all of it, and in a nasal voice said, "Well, nygh, that’ll be $30,234."

"Man. Tony, how much do you have?"

"Only $5,000. You?"

"I only have $15,000. It’s amazing how much our two dollars grew. Um, Ness?"

"My dad is laying off money for me for a while."

"Oh."

"Come on Jeff! Let’s just buy what we can and leave. Remember the new students are coming soon."

"New students?" asked Ness.

"Oh yeah," said Jeff, "Two new students are coming to enroll in Snow Wood. I’m sure Maxwell would want us to be there."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"You want to come with us?" asked Tony.

"Hmm…Sure, why not?"

"Yeah, you can hang out with us! Let’s go guys!" said Tony enthusiastically.

They purchased all that they could, and Ness teleported them to Winters.

When they arrived, they ran into the school. They saw two new characters. On the left of Maxwell was a tall kid. He was big, had a sort of beer belly, but he was 6’1". He had short black hair. The first words that went through Jeff’s mind was "White trash". The kid on the right was shorter. He was about 5’8". He was about the same size as Jeff, only a little smaller. He had straight brown hair, and had a shy look on his face.

Maxwell said, "OKAY! These are the new students, Brad, and Gene. They both come from a school in Merrysville. We’ll decide who they’re bunking with first. You two go take a tour of the school."

"Thanks Max," said Brad.

"Uh.." said Maxwell uneasily.

Brad swatted the back of Gene’s head. "C’mon Gene, let’s take a tour of this hole!" Brad started walking down the halls. Gene just stayed where he was. However, the rest of the students started following Brad with great admiration.

Jeff whispered to Tony and Ness, "Who does he think he is?! He already thinks he rules the school! And he seems to have an intelligence equivalent to an ox." "It’ll be all right," assured Tony, "Let’s go greet the other kid." Tony ran up to Gene. Gene stood isolated, in silence, as he looked at the floor.

"Hi!" greeted Tony.

"Wha-? Oh, hello."

"Welcome to Snow Wood! This is my best friend Jeff, and this here is Ness. He doesn’t go here, he’s just visiting."

"Oh, okay. I’m Gene Franklin, if you didn’t hear."

"We heard," said Ness.

"So, Gene, how were you able to enroll into Snow Wood?"

"Well, my teacher said that I was really talented. So, he let me take all these college proficiency tests, as well as others. I never saw the scores, but they said they were outstanding for a 13 year old student. So, they said that I should enroll into this world renowned school. I’m very lucky. Especially since they gave me a good scholarship here."

"Wow," said Jeff, "That’s great!"

"Won’t you miss your friends though? In Merrysville?" asked Tony.

"Naw. To tell the truth, I didn’t have many friends. But that’s okay."

"What about Brad?" asked Ness.

"What? Oh, yeah….Brad. He’s, well, I guess a friend…"

"He’s not your friend, is he Gene."

"No, he’s not. As a matter of fact, I’ve disliked him since kindergarten. And he’s taunted me, and abused me since then."

Jeff was sympathetic towards Gene, since he knew how it felt to be mistreated by kids from his old elementary school.

"Yeah, I know how you feel. So, how did that big oaf enroll in this school?"

"Well, his parents are rich. VERY rich. Brad’s parents have always been jealous of my intelligence, since he had none," Jeff chuckled, "So, they paid a HUGE sum of money, just so he could enroll here."

"Yeah, this place DOES need some work, so I guess the funds that Maxwell received will help. Maybe we’ll get an actual computer, instead of the ones Jeff fixes," commented Tony.

"Help the school?!" said Jeff outraged, "He’s going to tear down the school if anything! He probably won’t even try! Plus he acts like he owns the place already."

"Yeah, that’s Brad all right."

"Yeah," said Tony, "Hey Gene! Do you want to participate in Jeff’s project?"

"Sure! I’d love to actually work on something!"

"Great!" said Jeff, "I’ll explain what it’s all about later. But I want to check out the parts I got for the device so far. Let’s go to my lab."

Jeff, Gene, and Tony, ran to the lab. Ness just stood there.

"Coming Ness?" asked Jeff.

"What? Oh, I gotta leave. But I’ll talk to you later."

"Oh, alright, thanks for everything!" "Yep! No problem. See ya!"

Ness ran out and teleported back home, as Jeff, Tony, and Gene went to work on Jeff’s PSI Device.

"….So you see, if I can expose the what I call (since there really is no other name for it), the A-25 cerebral area, to high ADP current, that will stimulate the B-25 cerebral area, which will ultimately result in the use of psychokinetic energy, or PSI. I just hope I’m stimulating all the correct areas. They were slightly different in Ness, Paula, and Poo…"

"PSI?" asked Gene, "That’s just a myth."

"IT IS NOT!" shouted Tony.

"Tony is correct, Gene. You know Ness?"

"Um, yes. I just met him."

"Well, HE has the ability to use PSI."

"Really? I don't believe it. I don’t even know what it does."

"Well, I guess it’s natural for you to be skeptical about this. But isn’t it odd, that we don’t use much of our brain’s capacity."

"I suppose. Alright, I’ll support your project. But I WOULD like to see some proof of PSI existing."

"Oh. Well, I don’t know if Ness will want to come back here. I’ll talk to him some other time….OH! Tony! The device! What does it say?"

Tony pulled the handheld device from his coat pocket. "Well, it reads that his brain usage during Ness’s teleportation, was….2%."

"What?! Let me see!"

Tony still held onto the device, "BUT, that’s just in the A-25 area, or the ‘PSI area’. The B-25 area was at 100%, since that has to stimulate that part of the brain."

"OH! I see. So, what was his overall cerebral usage?"

"35%."

"Hmm, that’s higher than normal. The brain uses more of it’s capacity in the process of using PSI, I suppose. We need more evidence. All we have are Paula, and Poo though. And I’m sure they hate being treated as guinea pigs."

"Yeah," said Tony.

Gene remained silent. Suddenly the door swooshed open. There, was Brad, stumbling down the stairs.

"Hey you! What’s all this #%$%! down ‘ere?"

Jeff was shocked, "WELL, this is actually a lab, where I work on projects."

"Shut up smart #*$!"

Jeff was getting annoyed.

"So, Gene, whatya doin’ ‘ere with these bunch of dorks? Or do you hang out with your own kind? Blah ha ha ha!"

"No, Brad. We’re, um…we’re working on a project."

"Yeah, well, this #%^#@*%! sucks. Heh heh."

Jeff was furious. "WOULD YOU SHUT UP?!"

Gene’s face went pale, and Tony hid in the corner.

"What the &^%$! did you say?"

"I said ‘SHUT UP’. We don’t need incompetent idiots around here! And can you be more vast with your vocabulary?"

"Man, you are so #%^#@*% dead!" Brad charged at Jeff, but he dodged quickly. Brad ran into a table with beakers, and it all broke. Jeff, Gene, and Tony ran outside, but Brad chased them clumsily from behind. They were now outside.

"You %$&*#&@ #*#^#! I’ll kill you!"

Gene whispered quickly to Jeff, "He has a short fuse. You might want to back down."

"I’m not going to let some ‘white trash’ push me around!" shouted Jeff loudly. Brad punched Jeff hard in the stomach, and took much damage.

"Gurgghhh," mumbled Jeff. Fortunately, he recovered quickly. He then gathered his strength, and SMAAAAAAASHed Brad. It sent him reeling back, and he went unconscious.

"Whoa!" shouted Gene.

"Wow," said Tony in amazement. Jeff was also amazed. He never SMAAAAAAASHed anything in his life.

"Whoa, uh, let’s…let’s go back inside," the three ran back to Jeff’s lab. When Brad recovered, he wasn’t exactly sure what happened. He just knew he had a massive black eye. He didn’t want to know what happened to him, or else his ego would be damaged. He limped back inside the school, but regardless of what happened to Brad, the students were still admiring him.

"…Jeff, why, um, aren’t we in class? Shouldn’t we be learning or something?" asked Gene as they worked on the machine.

Jeff looked up, "We ARE learning!"

"Yeah I know, but, do we just do whatever we want, in order to learn?"

"What? No, of course not. We’re on our late spring break."

"Oh."

"Whew!" said Tony, "How long have we been working?"

"About 5 hours," replied Jeff, "Wow."

"Let’s go upstairs to take a break," said Tony.

The three went up stairs. There they saw Brad. Nearly all the kids were hanging around him, but there were some other students ignoring them from the corner.

"Yeah, then I &$^#*$% punched that ^%$#@ Jeff. HA HA HA! He was crying like a baby! BWA HA HA HA!"

The other kids started laughing too. "BWA HA HA HA! ^%$#!"

Jeff was dumbfounded.

"Come on Jeff," said Gene, "ignore him. You’ll get used to it. He knows how to get people to like him."

"But-but..HOW?!…WHY?!"

The three walked to the library, where the other students were. They sat down at the table.

One student looked up from his reading. He had read hair, freckles and glasses. He then said, "I can’t believe that….PERSON. How on earth was he ever able to get into this school?! Yeesh!"

The three got back up, and went outside. It was mild and sunny. The snow was wet.

"Don’t worry Jeff," assured Gene, "It will be alright."

"Yeah well…he’ll just end up hurting himself. Let’s go back to work."

The three continued working on the device for the rest of the break. Finally, classes resumed. Besides Maxwell, there were many other teachers in the school.

"Okay, students," said Mr. Smith who taught advanced sciences in biology, "Open your books on page 603. We will begin a new unit for the rest of this semester. Jeff and Tony’s independent project inspired me to do an extensive unit on brain waves and activity."

Jeff smiled. Brad was talking to this kid in the back. Mr. Smith ignored it. He kept going with his lecture while most of the students took notes. However, Brad, and 4 other kids in the back were talking and drawing marijuana leaves in their book.

The day wore on with Brad manipulating more kids. Jeff and Tony could not understand it. After and between classes, they worked more on their device.

"Yes!" shouted Jeff, "I believe it is complete! All I have to do know is debug it. And it should be truly be complete!" "Alright!" shouted Tony.

"But who do we test it on?"

"Well, you see, it needs a ‘program’ to run off of first."

"A program? You mean it needs instructions in order for it to operate?"

"Correct."

"Oh, I thought they were already in. But how WILL you get this program? Will you write it?"

"It’s impossible to write! But, the only place we can get the program is from, Ness, Paula and Poo. I used basically the same method my father used when he transferred our minds into the robots and…"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"What? Oh…um, never mind."

"Well," said Tony, "Let’s start debugging this. I’ll mount the two head sets and repair some of the wear and tear. I’ll try to improve the minor components to the mainframe."

"Alright. Gene and I will begin the debugging of the mainframe board."

The three worked all through the night. Then they realized it was nearly complete.

More and more kids started to admire Brad more. Jeff, Tony, and Gene made sure to steer clear of him. But because he was in the same classes they were in, it was hard to do. Everyday, the classes became worse and worse due to Brad’s influence. The three sat in the lounge at the end of the school day.

"Ugh," moaned Jeff, "I never thought I’d be GLAD that the day was over. Whew."

"Man, he is annoying! Him and his cronies started throwing pencils, and other articles at him."

"Yeah,"

"Hey guys," said Gene, "Let’s go check on our device. You know, double check it."

"Huh? Why? We JUST did."

"Well, you’re dealing with someone’s brain. But mainly because Brad and his friends are coming right now."

"OH, well, let’s go." The three ran to the lab.

"Did you seal the door?" asked Tony

"Yeah."

"Okay."

They started doing pointless work on the device. They just didn’t want to encounter Brad.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

"It’s…it’s Brad," said Gene uneasily.

"I’ll get it," said Jeff. He got up from the floor and cautiously went up the stairs. The knocking continued. Jeff was just about to open the door when it flew right open.

"HEY JEFF!"

"AHHHH!"

"AHHHH!"

"Oh, Ness, it’s you."

"Yeah! And Poo and Paula!"

"Hi Jeff!" said Paula.

"Wow. Hi! Nice to see you all again!"

"I suppose this could be a reunion of some sort," said Poo.

"Well, come on down here and relax. It’s not the best place, but it’ll have to do."

"So, Jeff," said Paula, "What are you doing now? Are you still working on that thing?"

Jeff blushed, "Well yeah."

"Jeff, you called us here a while ago because you said you ‘needed us for science’," explained Poo, "But you never told us what you were doing."

"Oh, well, I’ll explain then…" Jeff then explained the whole process of how PSI could be used by anyone with the help of his device.

"Hmm, I see," said Poo in thought, "You know Jeff, what if this fell into the wrong hands? You can’t just KNOW PSI in order to use it, it takes determination, strength, and humbleness. It takes GREAT training."

"Uh, it does?" asked Ness who was confused.

Poo glared at him, and continued talking, "Just be careful Jeff. But if I were you, I would have stopped this project immediately."

"But Poo, you don’t understand my intentions. I don’t want to blow up anything. But I was thinking, maybe we could make EVERYONE self reliant. Everyone can make their OWN energy. But only the very trusted and respected could use it."

"I see."

"So anyway, I’ll need, Ness, Paula, and Poo’s ‘brain program’, in order for this to work properly…is…that okay?"

"Sure, why not? We were robots weren’t we?" said Ness.

Poo was silent, but he sighed and nodded.

"I-I don’t know Jeff," said Paula nervously, "I had to go through some pretty tough stuff with these scientists...thanks to channel 4 news…"

"What? Oh no Paula, don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt a bit. In fact, you probably won’t feel anything. It’s just COPYING your mind. Not removing it or anything."

"Oh, well, alright. I trust you Jeff."

"Ok. Don’t worry."

"I’ll go first Paula," said Ness bravely in a heroic voice. Paula giggled.

"Okay Ness! Just sit down, and I’ll place that headset on you. Tony and Gene will prime the device, and I’ll record the results. This should take five minutes or so."

"Okay,"

"Oh! Paula, could you tape what happens with this camcorder?"

"Sure."

"Great. It’s all set, just press record."

Jeff handed her the camcorder."And………ACTION!" directed Jeff.

Paula rolled the tape.

"Hello. This is Jeff Andonuts. And this is Gene Franklin, Tony, Ness, and Paula, who is directing. Tony and Gene will be operating the device while I explain and document the findings. The subject-er, person sitting there who is waiting to test the machine is Ness. Now, before we start, let me review some of my first findings. If you observe the chart right here, you will see that the common subject has a 30 percen-"

"HEY JEFF!" shouted Ness, "C’mon! Let’s get this over with!" Ness smiled.

"Okay okay. Activate the device!"

"Power’s on," said Tony

"Controls in proper working order," said Gene, "Preparation 100% complete. Shall we continue."

"Yes," said Jeff, "NOW!"

Gene pushed a RED button. The device was a large metallic box in the corner of the lab. It had many wires sticking out of it. The green monitor on the device flashed many numbers and technical words. When the device was activated, the lights in the school dimmed.

"AHHH! What’s happening!?" shouted Ness.

"Ness! What’s wrong?" asked Jeff and Paula.

"Heh heh. Nothin’."

"NESS! YOU…"

"It’s okay Paula," said Jeff, "Just a couple more minutes."

They waited and waited. "Jeff! It’s complete!" announced Tony.

"Great! Power down." Tony turned off the power.

"That’s it?" asked Ness.

"That’s it."

"Wow. Great!"

"I will go next Jeff," volunteered Poo. He sat down and put the headset on his pony tail head, "For science, Jeff."

"Power up Tony!"

"Power’s on."

"Controls on."

Five minutes passed, and the process was complete.

"You okay?" asked Paula.

"Yes. It’s no problem Paula."

"Okay, I’ll go."

Ness took the camera. Jeff sat Paula down and put the headset on her. Tony and Gene powered up the machine. Jeff then explained more of the process.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door.

"Huh?" said Ness.

The door flew open. Jeff forgot to lock it. It was Brad. And some of his newly found cronies were lurking near the top.

"Hey! What the @%*# is goin’ on down here?!"

"We’re doing a project, Brad," said Gene.

"No *#&@ you &$#! What are you doin’?"

"An experiment with brain waves," explained Jeff.

"You *$#@ your smart *$@! Hey, what’re ya doin’ to that &^%#$ right there. Heeyy."

"Don’t touch me you creep!" The device continued to copy Paula’s brain "program".

"Stuck up *#&#$!" Brad nearly slapped Paula!

"Whoa!" whispered Gene to Tony as they watched from the corner, "I NEVER thought Brad would go that far." Tony nodded.

Ness was enraged. So was Jeff. Poo was silent in thought in the corner.

Without thinking, Ness took Brad by the shirt.

"HEY! What’d you think you’re doin’!?"

"What the- Heh, listen you little &$^#, I’ll do what I want. You ‘ere?"

Brad pushed Ness.

"Ness!" cried Paula."Listen you *#$%@…"

"ARGH! Shut up!" yelled Ness. But Poo held him back.

"Hmm, what does this thing do anyway?" asked Brad.

"DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!" yelled Jeff.

"I’ll touch whatever the &#^ % I want!"

"Errr…"

"Jeff, is this thing done yet?!" yelled Paula.

"Listen, I don’t want to hear you talk. You’re pretty annoying. AHH!" This time Brad actually slapped her.

"Ahh…." Moaned Paula.

"That’s it!" yelled Ness, "You’re going to pay!"

"That’s right!" came in Jeff, "You can’t just come and think you control people!"

Finally Poo stepped in, "Yes, you can’t just come in and treat ladies with disrespect. If you want disrespect, you disrespect us."

"HA HA! I hardly call that #&*% a lady!"

Poo wielded his sword, Jeff pulled out his Beam Gun he had in his pocket, and Ness clenched his fists.

"Whoa! What the %$^&?!"

"Don’t kill him or anything guys!" shouted Tony.

"The equipment!" shouted Gene.

"Listen you %&^$#@$, you’re a bunch of freaks!"

"Lay down your weapons," said Poo.

Poo put his sword away, and Jeff dropped his gun.

"Heh heh. That’s better." Brad sucker punched Ness.

"Ugh…" groaned Ness. Ness then punched Brad hard in the face, and he went reeling back into the device. Above the device was the transfer headset that would be used to transfer the ‘program’ so they could use PSI. The headset fell.

"Eeek!" screeched Paula.

"Paula! Stay down!"

"Get real Jeff!" shouted Ness.

"You're right, you're right. Hurry! Get up!"

Paula got up.

"Brad!" yelled Gene, "Stop! You’re ruining everything!" The device continued to spark. Buzzers went off, and lights were flashing.

"Listen you little $%&%^#, I’ll do whatever the &^## I want!" Brad pushed Gene towards the other headset.

"Errrr…Brad…I can’t take it anymore! AHHHH!" screamed Gene.

"What does this do?" said Brad.

Gene was about to get up and attack Brad, but there was suddenly a strange field around them.

"Get down everyone!" shouted Tony.

Everyone gathered in the corner as they watched helplessly as Gene and Brad, were trapped in the field.

"Heh heh…what the *#&# is goin’ on? Heh heh…sweeeet," said Brad strangely.

"Ugh…no….Brad….no…" moaned Gene.

There was then a huge explosion that knocked everyone unconscious.

Jeff woke up. He was in that dark place.

"Here….again. Where’s the voice? Where?"

"Je….ff! Je…ff! Je..ff! Jeff!""Ness! It’s you! Where…are we anyway?"

"I’m not sure. But we’re going to find out what happened."

Jeff and Ness woke up. They were lying outside of the school. They were blown clear out of the lab. Everyone else was lying on the ground. Except Gene and Brad.

Poo was the first to get up, then Paula, then Tony.

"Ness...what happened?" asked Paula.

"I don’t know…"

"Wow, it’s already evening. We must have been knocked out for a long time," said Tony.

"Guys…the school. There’s a hole to my lab. And…it’s glowing inside.

"Let’s check it out," said Ness.

They peered into the hole. There was Gene. But everything was glowing blue.

"What the-?" said Ness.

Some broken machine suddenly flew out at everyone.

"AHHH!" screamed Paula.

"Whoa."

Many parts were flying out of the room.

"Let’s check this out Jeff," said Tony.

"Wait Tony, we don’t know what that stuff that’s leaking everywhere is. It could be radioactive."

"No," said Poo, "It’s PSI power. In it’s natural form."

"Let me get a sample of it…"

"No Jeff! PSI power in that form could kill you instantly!" shouted Poo.

"Oh, well, what about Gene?"

"He…he does not appear to be dead. But the PSI is encircling him. Paula, summon a PSI Shield so we can see what is happening."

"Okay." Paula used PSI Shield Enigma. And the pink shield surrounded everyone. They continued to go inside.

"Wow, this is incredible," said Tony in awe.

"Guys!" shouted Paula, "This stuff is killing the shield!" She summoned the shield again.

"This is very powerful," said Poo.

"Gene!" shouted Jeff.

Everyone attended to Gene.

"He’s definitely out. Can you guys revive him?"

Suddenly Ness, Paula, and Poo had a great pain in their mind.

"ARGH! What’s happening Poo!" Shouted Ness.

"I-It’s this power. Aargh…it’s all going into Gene. This power is seeping into him."

"Let’s hurry upstairs guys," said Jeff, "This shield is almost gone!"

Everyone managed to get upstairs, except for Gene. The school was empty. But then they heard Maxwell. He was hurt in his lab.

"Maxwell!" shouted Tony.

"Oh…Tony…everyone…I’m glad your safe..voo…"

"What happened here?" asked Jeff.

"I…I..I’m not sure. I heard some type of explosion in your lab. I went to check it out, when I saw Brad come up…and…and he started manipulating everyone! It’s was like he was controlling their minds so he could do whatever he wanted."

"Why didn’t he get you?"

"I was hiding. When I came up, a strange force knocked me down here. Now Brad and the students are out doing who knows what."

"Jeff? Poo?" asked Ness, "Can you guys make any sense of this?"

Jeff replied, "Mind control? I don’t know if that’s a part of PSI. Of course, how would I know."

"Hmmm…mind control," said Poo in thought, "Is it possible? No, PSI cannot control people’s minds….or can it?"

"Guys! We gotta find them!" said Ness.

"Right. Let’s go guys!" said Paula.

"Do you want me to stay here Maxwell?" said Tony.

"Well.."

"No Tony, I’ll stay."

"Huh? Why?"

"I have to keep tabs on Gene. He’s in sort of a coma, and we can’t just leave him. Here, take my stuff."

Jeff handed Tony his gun and a few of his old bottle rockets.

"Okay Jeff."

"Come back here guys. Hopefully I’ll learn more about what happened as time progresses. But for now, go out and find Brad!"

"Aye aye!" said Ness. "Let’s go everyone!"

"Oh Jeff," said Paula, "Let me purge my shield onto you."Paula summoned an immensely strong shield on Jeff."Thanks,"

"Yep…good luck."

She ran out with the others.

"Are you going to be okay Maxwell?"

"Yes. I’ll be fine. Go check on Gene. Ugh…"

Jeff ran back down stairs. The glowing in the room was gone. But Gene was still glowing.

"The PSI. It’s gone. It went all into Gene." Objects were still flying everywhere.

"He can’t contain this power. Maybe I can remove it with the device." Jeff observed the machine, but it was completely broken.

"Man…this’ll take months to rebuild. And if Brad is as powerful as he seems to be, all this PSI might be needed to stop him. Man, I hate talking to myself. You gotta wake up Gene…."

All of Winters was destroyed. All the trees were flattened, and the snow was melted. They reached Lake Tess.

"Where are the Tessie Watchers?" asked Paula, "Did they give up?"

"No," said Tony, "They-LOOK! There they are! But they aren’t moving."

"Hmm," said Poo, "they look…petrified."

"Hello?" said Ness to one of them. He was silent.

Ness slapped him.

"Ness!" Shouted Paula.

"Wha-who? Wha? Whoa! That was weird," said the man.

"What happened?" asked Tony.

"These kids, and this one glowing kid started tearing down trees. Then him and the other kids blasted out into the sky with a big flash. It mesmerized me and my friends."

"Do you have any idea where they went?"

"No, but a couple of my fellow watchers went with him. The glowing kid kept saying ‘I can do whatever the *&^$ I want! Heh heh.’"

"Wow," said Ness, "Well, let’s go searching for him. Where to?"

"I don’t know," said Paula.

"How about we split up?" suggested Tony.

"Good idea Tony," agreed Ness, "You go with Poo, and Paula will go with me."

"But where Ness?" asked Poo.

"We’ll take Onett and Twoson, and you guys…um, I don’t know…somewhere out of here and Eagleland."

"Okay Ness."

"We’ll see you soon."

The two groups then teleported away from Winters.

"Man, this is going nowhere," said Jeff to himself, "All my stuff is broken, so I can’t analyze anything."

Suddenly, Gene started twitching and groaning.

"Gene! Gene! Are you alright?"

"Ugh…nugh…Brad…no…"

"Gene! What are you saying?!"

"Brad….control…nugh…ugh…"

"Come on Gene!" "Won’t…let you….ugh…you…can’t…nugh…get..me." Gene then collapsed again.

"Maybe Brad, IS controlling people. Man…"

Ness and Paula arrived in Onett. It was dark and deserted.

"This..this isn’t good, Ness." All the stores and houses were locked and empty.

"Let’s go to my house," said Ness, "My mom is ALWAYS there." The walked up to the Onett suburbs.

But to Ness’s amazement, his own house was empty. "Oh man…what should we do?"

"We didn’t check the Town Hall. Let’s go back there."

Poo and Tony arrived in Summers.

"Wow! Summers!" said Tony excitedly, "I’ve always wanted to go here! So…Poo…um…what are we supposed to be doing right here?"

"We basically are supposed to be ‘guarding’ the town from Brad and his cohorts."

"I see, but it seems fine to me."

"Yes, but…let’s investigate more."

Poo and Tony didn’t realize that Summers was completely empty of people.

"Hey Poo, did you notice that there is NO ONE here?"

"Very observant, Tony. Heh heh, my grasp of the obvious is getting lower." They continued to walk down the street.

"Wow!" exclaimed Tony, "A Myna bird!"

The bird said, "Wark! We’ll get the towns! Come everyone! Wark! %$*&% yeah!"

"Sounds like Brad has been here."

"Yes, indeed. Toto also appears to be abandoned, so let us continue to my home in Dalaam."

"Is the Town Hall locked, Ness?"

"Nope. Let’s go."

They walked in the hall. There was a dim light upstairs where the Mayor’s office was. They continued up the stair case. There was a figure in the mayor’s chair.

"M-mayor Pirkle?" stammered Ness.

The figure said, "The one you call Mayor Pirkle, is no longer mayor…"

"Then who is?" asked Paula.

"I am! Me and the supreme ruler of all!"

"Who are you talking about?" asked Ness.

"NO! Jereko! Hail Jereko!"

"Jereko? Who’s that?" asked Paula.

"The one you call….BRAD!"

"Thought so," said Ness, "Well, we’re not going to let YOU or Brad do anything else!"

The figure laughed, "Hah, Hah hah. Jereko has made me divine! Soon you will be under Jereko control! Just like the rest of the miserable townspeople! Hah hah hah hah! Now come! Join US!"

"No."

"Then I’ll have to use…force….."

"Wha-? AHHH! Paula! What’s this guy doing?!"

"He’s trying to latch onto your mind Ness! They are controlling minds! Argh!"

"Ahhrghh…AHHH!" Ness counter attacked with PSI Rockin’ Omega. The walls shook.

The figure screamed, "Arrgh! How is this possible! How can you resist!?"

"Where’s Brad?!" demanded Ness.

"Jereko! They are here!"There was a sudden flash of light in the area. They saw Brad’s figure descend into the room.

"Jereko! They are trying to stop you!"

"Quiet! So these are the @*#&#^%$ that think they can stop me! Hey, you’re that &^%&! Where’s Gene? I want to finish him!"

"You won’t finish him!" said Ness, "And you’ll have to go through us first!"

"Har HA HA! Losers!"

"Har har har!" echoed the figure in the mayor’s chair, "We have bigger fish to fry anyway…in Fourside!"

"Shut up &^%$&!"

"Ahhh!"

"Bye *&^%$%$!"

With a rush of wind, and a great flash, Brad left. When Paula and Ness opened their eyes they were in a room, with all the entranced towns people. Even Ness’s family.

"Mom! Tracy! Snap out of it!"

"No…..^$%#$" said Tracy strangely.

"Tracy!"

The group started to descend on Ness and Paula. The room was large, so probably all the Onett townspeople were there.

"Paula! What do we do?!"

"I-I don’t know! Maybe we can latch onto their minds, and snap them out of it."

"But I don’t know-"

"It’s okay….I’ll do it." Paula then started using telepathy to bring the townspeople to their senses. "Ness….I can’t do it anymore…you’ll have to try. Just think of THEIR thoughts!"

"Braa dd …"

"Alright, Paula." Ness then realized how easy it was getting. Soon all the townspeople were back to normal.

"Oh Ness…" said Tracy running up to him, "That sucked."

"I can see."

Mayor Pirkle came up to Ness.

"Why if it isn’t Melville! You’re the one who saved the town from the Sharks!"

"Um..my name is Ness…"

"Yes yes yes, good good Mervin."

"Um, Mayor Pirkle…what happened?"

"Well, Dennis, that glowing young man started controlling everyone’s minds. He then said something about Fourside. I hope the mayor there doesn’t have to go through the anguish I had to go through."

"My name is Ness…but, okay. Let’s go Paula. I think everyone should stay inside too."

"Hey since when does a 13 year old kid tell me what to do?!" yelled a stray voice. People then started chattering, and they left the hall.

Ness’s mom came up to him, hugged him and said, "Oh thank you Ness…I want you to be careful now. Okay?"

"Okay mom."

Paula and Ness then teleported to Fourside.

Meanwhile, Tony and Poo arrived in Dalaam. They were explaining the situation to Poo’s master.

"…and that’s how it is," said Tony.

"Hmmm…" thought his master, "Science, a concept made by man, has failed again…"

"But if it wasn’t for….BRAD, we wouldn’t have this problem," explained Tony, "Now he’s off wreaking havoc all around the world!"

"Yes…you’re right."

"Master, is it truly possible for mind control power to exist?"

"Yes. Unfortunately yes, in this situation. From what you have told me about Brad, it seems that he already had a manipulative nature. So it seems that the leaking PSI heightened this ability to a full extent."

"Is there any way to stop him?" asked Tony.

"Well, those strong of will, and mind, will not fall victim to him. But it seems that he has already been able to take control of a large amount of people. And they might have the manipulative powers that Brad has."

"Then…all is lost?" asked Tony in despair.

"It appears so…but…what about that other boy?"

"Gene?"

"Yes Gene. Was he involved in the same accident as Brad was?"

"Well, yeah, but Gene’s in a coma or something right now. But he absorbed all that leaking PSI, and there were things floating everywhere in the lab."

"Hmmm…tell me about Gene. More importantly, tell me about his relations with Brad."

"Well, he was picked on. Mainly by Brad the bully. And although he never would admit it, I KNOW he has a hatred toward him."

"Hmmm…YES. Only Gene can stop him!"

"How do you figure?"

"Well, if Gene’s hatred toward Brad has been heightened, as well as other characteristics of him, then he might just be able to defeat him!"

"But Master, Gene is in a coma…why isn’t Brad in a coma?"

"Gene’s mind knew how to handle the power. You see, I believe that Gene was so angry at Brad, his subconscious mind knew that the only way to stop him was to conserve this energy. Which would result in the coma. But I KNOW Gene can see what Brad is doing right now."

"I see."

"So, when WILL Gene come out of this coma?" asked Tony.

"Whenever his mind feels it is necessary."

"Well I think it’s necessary right now!" proclaimed Tony.

"Is there anything we can do in the meantime, Master?"

"I am not sure. I suggest you stay here, until we find a weakness of Brad, or until Gene regains consciousness."

Paula and Ness arrived in Fourside. More entranced people were heading for the Monotoli building.

"Not again…" said Paula.

"Let’s go."

People were strangely walking into the Monotoli Building. Ness and Paula followed them. The lights inside flickered. It was very dim, nearly dark. When they saw the people use the elevator, it went to the VERY top floor. Therefore, Ness and Paula followed.

After going through all the rooms, they entered the Monotoli office. It was pitch black.

"Uh…N-Ness…"There was a snicker.

"You alright Paula?"

"Yes. I think so…"

Suddenly, the roof of the building flew off. It shocked the two. There was Brad, glowing. He looked stronger then before. And behind him, were his mindless minions, that he unfairly took over.

"Ah, who the $^%& are you?" asked Brad in his glory.

"We’re here to stop you!" announced Ness bravely.

"YOU think you can stop me?! The ^%$# you on?! Not even the two most powerful countries of the world can stop me! So &^%$ off and join me! HA HA HA! ‘Ere it goes! Help me everyone!"

"Y..esss."

Nearly everyone floating above had PSI power!

"What the-?!" exclaimed Ness.

"Ha ha! You &^%$*&# can NEVER beat me, and you never could have! Everyone respects me! Soon you will join me! NOW!"

All the people started attacking using various PSI.

"Ahhrgh…..ahhhh…ARRGH! NO!" screamed Ness and Paula.

"Now for two more &$^##$& to join me! AHHH!"

"Ack! Paula! He’s trying to get our minds!"

"Counter Ness! Counter!"

Ness then tried to latch onto Brad’s mind. Suddenly Ness disappeared. Him and Brad were in a floating void with countless colors and screams.

"Let’s go *&^%#$!"

Ness used PSI Rockin’ Omega. But…it was absorbed into the void. All Brad was doing was trying to gain Ness’s soul. Ness then tried to do the same.

"Argh," struggled Ness. "You won’t get me…even if I don’t get you!"

"Heh heh….."

The struggled continued. Ness’s mind was exhausted. Then with his last amount of mental strength, he hurled all his PSI at Brad. The attack sent Ness reeling. Ness then reappeared on earth, in the Monotoli building.

"Did I…pant..pant..beat him?" asked Ness to Paula weakly.

"Argh! No! He’s stronger then ever!"

"I don’t know if I have enough strength to fight his mind control any more…man…."

"Me too Ness….I’m scared…"

"We have to hang in there."

"Ha ha ha!" boomed Brad, "How &^%^&$ heartwarming! Get them! Break their souls!"

The PSI attacks continued. Paula got hurt and collapsed.

"There’s no way I can beat him…I have to get out of here!" Ness tried using PSI Teleport.

"Oh no you don’t, &^%^*!" Brad was then able to block all of Ness’s PSI.

Then the people from above started swooshing down upon Ness and began attacking physically.

"I….can’t..ACK!…go on!" Ness tried to run away, but Brad kept moving the door.

"HA HA HA!" Thunder boomed. It was apparent that Ness and Paula were doomed….

Back in Winters, Jeff was still waiting for Gene to come to. Then suddenly Gene exclaimed. "ARRRGGHH! BRAD, NO!! YOU CAN’T STOP IT! YOU CAN’T DO THAT TO THEM!"

"Gene!"

"BRAD! I’ll get you! I’ll get you! I’M going to be the one that will teach you. Of all people, I’LL do it! What? NO! I’m not helpless right now! AND-….ugh..nugghhh…"

"Gene! You MUST wake up!" Gene was silent now.

"What does this all mean? Who’s he talking about?" Gene then exclaimed.

"NO! Ness is strong of will! I know he is! You WON’T get his mind! Paula too! If I don’t get you, THEY will……what? NO! STOP!…ughhhh…."

"Ness…Paula…is he…communicating with Brad? But how…no…" Gene exclaimed again.

"Stop Gene! Stop! Onett…Summers…WHERE ARE YOU NOW BRAD!……Fourside? You CAN’T do that in Fourside! It’s inhuman!…ugh…"

"Fourside? They must be there…and it doesn’t sound like they’re doing well." Jeff then used his watch to notify Tony.

Tony replied, "Jeff! Is Gene out of the coma yet?!"

"No…but he IS saying stuff about how Ness and Paula are having trouble with Brad in Fourside. You guys HAVE to go there!"

"Alright…is that okay Poo?"

"Yes. Let’s go."

"BUT POO!" exclaimed his Master.

"Yes Master?"

"He is far more powerful than you two."

"Yes Master, but if Ness and Paula are in trouble, then we must go and save them."

"I see. You do as you wish, but return as SOON as possible."

"Yes Master. Let’s go Tony." They teleported to Fourside.

When they arrived, the wind was blowing viciously, and lightning was striking everywhere. Thunder boomed. Trees were being ripped out from their roofs. Shingles were flying everywhere. They saw the Monotoli building. There were bright flashing lights at the top. Tony and Poo went to the top.

"Ahh! More guests!" said Brad.

"Brad! Cease this at once!" ordered Poo.

"HA HA HA! Cease this, &^%$*." Brad fired a strange PSI power at Tony and Poo. Tony was nearly knocked unconscious.

"Ugh…there is no hope in us defeating you.." whispered Poo to himself, "Where is Ness and Paula!?" demanded Poo.

"Oh, their corpses-I mean…they’re over there."

Poo ran to them. He promptly used PSI Healing Omega on everyone.

"Wha-?"

"Quickly Ness! We must flee!"

"Oh no you &^%&*%$ don’t!" Brad made all the exits vanish.

"Hopeless…" uttered Poo.

"No…" struggled Tony. "Jeff! Come in!" but it was all static. Tony then pushed the panic signal on his communicator watch. Jeff said to never use it, but he felt it was appropriate. Brad boomed in laughter has he began to absorb the four friends…

"Come on Gene…" suddenly a very loud alarm went off on his watch.

"Oh no…they must REALLY be in trouble. Come on Gene!!!"

Gene then exclaimed, "NO! You won’t take THEM either! Never! NEVERRRRRRRRR!…….WAH!"

"Gene! You’re finally up! Oh thank goodness!"

"What?! Brad! Where is he! I saw him! I was fighting with him!"

"Gene, do you know what has happened to you?"

"What? All I know is that I was just fighting with Brad, and he is taking over peoples minds!"

"But Gene! You said yourself that you’re the only one that can stop him! Do you know why?"

"Ye- um…no I don’t."

"You were immeresed with PSI. It seems that YOU are the only one that can defeat Brad now."

"Ok. I do feel strange…so THIS is PSI."

"Alright! Let’s go!"

"No Jeff…You HAVE to stay here. He is much to dangerous. If you could only see what has happened to everyone…"

"But I want to help…"

"Sorry Jeff…but there’s nothing you can do. Your friends tried to stop him, but they could barely lay a finger on Brad."

"I see."

"Thanks Jeff. You taught me a lot."

"Go on Gene…seek your well deserved vengeance…you know what to do." Jeff smiled and Gene smiled back. Then, in an immense bright flash, Gene was gone to Fourside.

"HA HA HA! &^%$#$! I got you now! Soon YOU’LL be helping ME!"

"No Brad…"

"What the…Oh, it’s YOU. HA HA HA! &^%$^!"

"I’ve had enough Brad."

"HA! What do you think YOU can do &^%$^&?"

"You’ve always underestimated me Brad. Now too…you’ve always had to pick on the people lower than you…or manipulate them. Well, I believe I’M at your level now Brad Jereko."

"HA HA HA! But look at me Gene! I’m &^%$*&^ floating and glowing! Heh, and look! I have hundreds of &^%&^% under MY power!"

"Let’s go Brad."

"Alright! Let’s go!"Gene then disappeared. There, he met Brad in the vast void. Brad was bigger and looked stronger than ever. And there was Gene, who looked like a total weakling.

"HA! You can’t!" said Brad. Brad then used his most powerful PSI power that he absorbed from the machine. He attacked Gene with it. But Gene took the power and absorbed it into his heart.

"What do you think yer doin’ ^%$^*&?!" Brad appeared to become larger, and Gene became smaller. Brad summoned his puppets, and they attacked Gene in full force. But everything they did, Gene took and absorbed.

"Stop it ^%&*#$! Oooo. That’s it! You’re mine!" again, Gene became smaller, and Brad appeared to be bigger. Brad then used all his strength and might to gain control of Gene’s mind.

"Argh.." said Gene, "This…can’t be…how?"

"Heh heh. Your mine now Gene!"

"No…no Brad. You're MINE now…you are MINE!" Suddenly Gene released a powerful explosion of PSI power on Brad. Brad lost his hold on Gene, and the attack was repelled against him. Gene was now MUCH larger than Brad. Gene was remembering his whole life that involved Brad.

"YOU RUINED MY LIFE, BRAD! THIS IS FROM MY HEART TO YOUR’S, BRAD!" With strange energy, Gene some how took all the past embarrassment, humiliation, and depression caused by Brad, and Gene amplified it, and fired it into him.

"Arrgh! No…""THIS is for breaking my dog’s legs!" He fired the energy.

"THIS is for ruining ALL my work, and then humiliating me!" He fired the energy

"THIS is for the countless nights you’ve made me worried and depressed! THIS is for the nights when I was SCARED out of my mind just to see you!" He fired the energy. "Please…stop…I’m sorry," uttered Brad.

"And THIS is for all the harm and torture that you’ve done to people because of your ‘power’." He powered a final shot toward Brad. He was in agony.

"AND THIS-" More energy shot at him."And THIS!"

A voice called, "Gene! He’s finished…."

Gene suddenly returned to Earth. And he collapsed.

…everything was black…

"Gene…….I’m…sorry…I never…knew….."

"Gene? You gotta come back to us. Don’t do this to us again…" Gene opened his eyes.

"Gene! Thank goodness!" exclaimed Paula.

"Brad…WHERE IS HE?"

Ness answered, "We never saw him. Jeff just transferred us here, and we didn’t even know it."

"I found my teleportation device. I decided to use it because the elements in that area were VERY unstable. If you guys stayed there, there would have been a nuclear-like explosion! Oh, your PSI powers are neutralized now Gene…for good. And I think Brad’s are too, and the people he controlled."

"So…where is Brad…is he dead? Did I….kill him?"

"At the last second, we didn’t see anyone else," said Ness, "But all the people are back to normal."

"NO! I couldn’t have killed him! He apologized! I’m not any better then he was…"

"It’s okay Gene," said Paula, "Brad was taking over the world…you did what you had to to stop him."

"But…still…"

"Well," said Jeff, "this was a complete failure. Talk about getting into the wrong hands. I’m getting rid of this thing at once."

"Well guys," said Ness, "Let’s all go home. Come on Paula."

"Okay…good bye, Poo."

"Yes, good bye. Gene…you did the right thing." Poo then vanished.

Ness and Paula followed.

"Let’s go to bed guys," said Tony, "We can dismantle this thing in the morning."

During the night, Gene heard a creak. He got out of bed to investigate. He saw a large shadowy figure.

"Gene…"

"Brad! I’m so glad you’re here."

"Well, you’re just in time to see me leave."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"Leaving Snow Wood. I’m going back to Merrysville. You’ve done good all your life Gene. Good job. And don’t mess up."

"I…I won’t."

"Then…later Gene. Thanks for putting up with me." Gene saw a smile on his face through the dim darkness. Brad left, and no one heard from him again.