"I still don’t get it." Muttered Ness as he looked out the glass window of the craft in which he was flying. "Why isn’t there any pressure? Astronauts have to go through training so they can withstand the G-Force when their ship takes off." He looked over at Jeff, who was sitting beside him, focusing on his laptop computer. He stared back at Ness, then redirected his attention to the computer. "It’s simple, really," he said, "The engine of this craft is in reality just one huge magnet that creates it’s own gravitational field. The reason there’s no pressure is because we don’t have to leave Earth’s gravitational field—we have our own gravitational field."

"Wouldn’t that take a lot of money to produce?" asked Ness.

"Thanks to the blueprints you found, the materials needed for this craft were cheap and easily found. It’s almost like telling Columbus the correct route to America and what materials to build his ship with without telling him that America’s there."

"Oh." Ness, having satisfied his curiosity, looked over to Poo, who was in the row of the ship behind him. The small craft seated four, two per row, and Ness had to crane his neck awkwardly to see behind him. All that he found was Poo, sitting with his eyes closed, while the Giygan Lennon watched him. "What’s he doing?" he asked Lennon as he watched Poo. "He is meditating." Was Lennon’s straightforward response. Lennon then turned towards the outside of the ship. "Are you sure Giygas will be there?" she asked.

"Positive." Replied Jeff. "The Beacon found beside Savior is actually a distress call. Giygas is sure to come."

"And how will we know where it is?"

"Iris’ programming is plugged into my computer. She’s currently tracking Giygas and directing the ship’s autopilot." Jeff typed in a few commands in his computer, then raised it so Lennon could see. The image was that of the Solar System, with a small white dot moving slowly through the planets and closer to Earth. "That little dot is Giygas." Mused Jeff. "If it maintains its speed, we should meet within 10 hours of now." He placed the computer back down and resumed typing. "If the Giygans are smart, they’ll find a way to cloak themselves." Were his last words before typing in a few words into the computer. The computer beeped in response, and soon the ship stopped sailing over Ellay and started shooting up. "Here we go." Whispered Ness before the city disappeared and was replaced by clouds.

Ness woke up with a sensation of grogginess and looked around. Everything was as always—Jeff typing at the computer, Poo meditating, Lennon staring off into space. "What did I miss?" he asked as he noticed the steel plating covering the windows. Jeff turned and shrugged. "I don’t know. I closed the shields shortly after you fainted." He tapped the shield. "I haven’t seen a thing for over seven hours." Ness lifted an eyebrow as he heard Jeff. "I fainted?"

"Yep. It was the altitude. Many people get it." Jeff turned back to his computer and started typing. "We can’t open the shields until we get to Giygas, just to be safe." He turned again. "So don’t ask."

"We’re almost there." Sighed Jeff as he typed endlessly at his computer. "Only about an hour or so. We should lift the shield now." Ness nodded. "Finally." He muttered. The trip was an endless bore, having no one to talk to and having nothing to do. He was finally going to see what was out there. Jeff typed some more, and after a few seconds, the steel plates on the sides and front of the craft slid open, to reveal an endless view of space. What was apparently Mars was to the left. Jeff smiled as he looked out. "Good." He said. "Very good." His smile lasted only for a moment, as he began typing again. "I should be almost done." He mused. "One of the hatches should open soon." He turned and pointed at Poo. "Wake him up." Lennon did so, and after Poo came out of his meditative state, he looked around. "Not at all like I expected it." He said. He looked around at the others. "Are we there?" he asked.

"Close." Replied Jeff. "If everything goes according to plan, one of the escape pods should appear…" he pressed a button on his computer. "…now." In response, a large, spherical pod shot out, apparently from nowhere, and jettisoned into space. "I knew they would cloak themselves." Whispered Jeff. There was silence for a minute, then Lennon spoke. "We’d best be careful." She said. "The escape pods are located near the central population area. If they spot us, we’re in trouble."

"Why would that be?" asked Ness. "They know we’re coming, so why should we worry about anything?"

"That’s the thing." Laughed Jeff. "They don’t know we’re coming. The only reason we’re going there in the first place is because we assume whatever’s attacking Earth is originating from there. If we told them we’re coming, they wouldn’t let us in. So, I hacked into the maintenance CPU and made an escape pod jettison. We’ll sneak in through there." He pointed at a random spot in space. "You can see the hatch there." Ness squinted and saw a small gray hole, apparently the escape hatch.

"That’s great." Grumbled Ness. "You were hacking into an alien computer?"

"What do you think I’ve been doing the whole trip?"

"And just how are you going to know how to do that?"

"I asked Gash to teach me some basic Giygan. I expanded from there." Jeff sat back for the first time in the entire trip and stretched out. "Do you know where we should start looking, Lennon?" he asked.

"Yes." She replied. "There’s a small place on the rim of the ship that serves as a scrapyard of sorts. It’s easy to hide there." She looked to the direction where the craft was. "But I must warn you: The ship is almost as wide in diameter as Earth’s moon. It might take a while to find the scrapyard, and even more so without being seen." She flinched. "And there’s the chance of Morrison not being there at all."

By then the craft had reached the hole where they had to go in. The craft glided to a stop, then slipped in through the small hole. The hatch closed quickly. The craft came to a stop on a platform about a mile long and concave in shape. The anchors holding the escape pod could be seen along the platform. About 500 yards out from the platform’s end there was a door, and above it a shaft. "That’s where we’re going in." said Jeff.

"The door?" asked Poo.

"No, the shaft. From there we can get to the maintenance area, and then, the scrapyard." He typed a few commands into his computer. "There. That should transmit the data I uncovered to the other crafts’ autopilot systems." He took a deep breath. "Let’s go."

Ness stretched in an exaggerated manner as he left the confining reaches of the ship and stepped on to the platform. It didn’t feel odd to be on the alien ship, something that bewildered Ness. He assumed everyone else felt the same. After all, someone who had been through what Ness had been through wouldn’t be surprised that easily. He finished stretching, then headed to the ventilation shaft. "Shall we go?" he asked cheerily. The others nodded, and soon after began the traverse through the shafts.

It had been over an hour since Ness had started crawling through the ventilation shafts. The activity hadn’t been overly tiring, but the longing of getting out still lingered in Ness’ mind. He managed to look back and see Poo and Jeff. Lennon was leading. "We’re almost to the main populous area." She said. "From there, we can pretty much sneak to the scrapyard. But we have to be careful." She stopped over a grate and lifted it carefully, then dropped down. Ness and the others followed.

The foursome dropped into what seemed like an engine room. There was a small door at the end. However, there was no knob to open it. Lennon approached the door, and did something to open it (Ness couldn’t tell what), then, after looking both ways, she motioned for the others to follow.

Outside of the room was a hallway stretching to the left and right, with entrances to other rooms. Also lining the hallways were small, open corridors which lead to the main populous area. Lennon automatically headed to the left, while the others followed. While walking, Ness got a chance to look through the corridors to the populous area. The populous area looked a lot like a conventional Earthling shopping mall, with shops selling different items. There were Giygans walking all around. Ness almost stopped to contemplate, but Poo, who was behind him, ushered him along. "We’d best hurry." He said as he pushed Ness. "Yeah…yeah, let’s go." Responded Ness as he started walking again. After a few seconds of silence, he slowed down. "Hey, guys?" he asked.

"Yes?" replied Jeff.

"Didn’t that scene back there look…"

"Like something back on Earth?" finished Poo. "Yes. It seems that the Giygans are not all that different from us, at least not in the sense of organizing their populous." Poo then looked over at another corridor, this one sporting the same look as the last. "I wonder if they will be alarmed at our presence?" he asked.

"Why do you say that?" asked Jeff. "We’re sneaking through the maintenance quarters. A race this advanced must have machines so efficient that they hardly need maintenance." Jeff giggled to himself, then stopped. He opened his mouth, then let out a sneeze.

Lennon froze. She turned slowly, then looked over at Jeff. "Was that a sneeze?" she said.

"Yes." Said Jeff. "I seemed to have caught a cold. It’s okay."

"Yeah." Added Ness. "I’ll heal him later. It’s no big deal."

"But it is." whispered Lennon. "The populous area is germ free. Your sneeze just activated the germ sensors. The Human equivalent of a maintenance crew will come." after finishing, she brought the others closer.

"So, we’ll hide." Said Jeff. "When they leave, we’ll start moving again."

"But we can’t hide. Remember that all Giygans have PSI. They’ll probe the area for life forms. And once they find you, they’ll send out--" Lennon was interrupted as a group of uniformed, helmet-wearing Giygans flooded the hall and started yelling at the group.

"the police."

Paula looked the remaining two crafts over with curiosity. Once again, she was at the rooftop of Omnicorp H.Q., along with Kyle, Jack, and STROBE. It was still undecided who would go where, but it was certain that everyone was to go. "Okay." Mused Paula. "We should assign everyone to a ship before we leave. Whoever’s in your ship is whoever’s with you always, that way we won’t get lost. Agreed?" Everyone nodded. "Good." She sighed. She walked over to Gash. "Any idea how the others might have sneaked in?" she asked him.

"They probably went in through the ventilation shafts and into the maintenance ring around the populous area." Said Gash. "But I have no clue where they went from there." Paula nodded, then looked over at the others. "All right, then; Gash should go with Jack, Catalina, and myself. Is that okay?" Jack and Catalina nodded. "Great. I guess that leaves Claus, Kyle, James, and Jill to go in the third ship."

"This is gonna be a long trip." Said Jack to himself.

It was less that an hour later when everyone was ready to go. They had just received Jeff’s computer program so that they could hack into Giygas, and everything else was set. Paula inspected the ships as she prepared to board the ship. "I guess we’re ready." She said. "Everyone have their things?" Everyone but Kyle nodded, who stepped in front of the group. "Gash and I made these." He said as he took out several earphone-shaped devices. "They’re translators. They were supposed to go to foreign diplomats, but we altered them to understand Giygan. We should all take one." Everyone did so.

"So, now that we’re ready…" began Paula. "…let’s go."

Jeff squinted in thought as the Giygan ‘police’ yelled at him. "…what…you…doing…here…human…yeah, I think that’s it." He sighed as he looked at Ness and Poo. Lennon, recognized as a member of the Giygan army, was simply taken away, leaving Ness and the others to deal with the authorities. Jeff had been translating for what seemed like an eternity, with still no luck. "Tell them that it’s urgent." Whispered Ness to Jeff, who then spoke to what seemed like the leader of the police. His yelling reply indicated that he was not pleased. "This isn’t going well." Said Poo. "We need to see their leader."

"That’s right!" added Ness. "Maybe King Giygas can sort this out!"

"It’s no use." Replied Jeff. "The fact that we’re human and them Giygan makes a very big racial barrier. Words won’t get through to them."

"If not words, then how about thoughts?" smiled Ness. He immediately stretched out his hand and placed it on the leader’s head. He refused the contact at first, but then his eyes became distant. Jeff looked with awe. "What’s he doing?" he asked to his companion. Poo simply smiled. "Ness is using PSI to communicate with him. Transmitting everything that’s happened to him, and maybe even learning Giygan."

"As well as teaching him English." Interrupted Ness. He had finished communicating with the Giygan police leader. He blinked a few times, then walked up to Ness. "You, my friend, are long overdue for an explanation." He said.

Ness, Jeff, and Poo had all been escorted to a chamber a short walk away from the populous area. The policeman had informed them that they were now in the control area, which housed all authority and political services. The chamber looked a lot like an interrogation room, complete with metal walls. The policeman took off his helmet, revealing his light blue hair, which he stroked a few times with his hands before directing his attention to his ‘guests’. "So what you told me was that there are Giygans invading the Earth and you think that their leader comes from here."

"That’s right." Replied Poo. "We haven’t seen him, but we’ve seen two of his henchmen; one of them is Lennon, who you just escorted. Both were under mind control."

"I know." Said the policeman. "We’ve heard about her and Jagger."

"We believe he may be hidden in the scrapyard over on the rim of the ship." Spoke Jeff. "With your permission, we can search him out." The policeman shook his head. "I doubt it. Benign or not, you’re still trespassing." He got up and opened the door to the chamber. "I have no choice but to take you to see Giygas."

"Good. Thank you." Said Ness with a smile. "We appreciate it."

After taking Ness and the others to be ‘decontaminated’, the policeman took them to what seemed like the center of the control area. It was basically a huge palace like structure, in the center of the street-like steel structures of the control area. Upon entering, the policeman led them to the center area. Sitting on a throne-like structure was an aging man, with jet-black hair and a mustache. He was dressed in regal looking clothing, but he wore no crown. Around his throne were several computers, monitoring every aspect of his realm. The policeman led Ness, Jeff, and Poo to the throne. The king was busy looking at his computers, but managed to catch a glimpse of him. "Captain Brocken." His Giygan voice was deep, and penetrating. "What have you come to see me for?"

"I have brought some…visitors from Earth." Replied Brocken. "They want to see you."

"Very well." Replied the King. "Let them come."

Brocken nodded, then ushered Ness up to him. Ness bowed slightly, then pronounced the Giygan word for ‘hello’. He awaited a response, but all Giygas did was chuckle. "You learned to speak Giygan, child. Very good."

"Yes…I see you speak English." Said Ness nervously. He paused, then stood up straight again. "Umm…your majesty, sir…we’ve come--"

"Because you’re looking for a solution to your little invasion problem." Finished Giygas. "I read your thoughts the minute you came in. It seems my race doesn’t seem to want to leave you alone." Giygas sighed. He stood from his throne. "Are there more of you?"

"Yes, sir." Replied Poo. "Eight more. One of them is Gash, the leader of STROBE."

"Ah, so STROBE has gotten involved. But they have no business coming up here. Their job is down there."

"We know." Said Ness. "But this involves the fate of Earth."

"How so?"

"Well, our enemy’s trying to wipe us out, so that he can then destroy Earth."

"And why you?"

"Because I saved the Earth once before, as well as my father. Both from Giegue and from Giygas—or at least, he said he was Giygas."

"I see. So, you’re George’s descendant." Giygas smiled. "That would make your father…Ninten, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir, you are." Said Ness.

"And do you know the name of your assailant?"

"Yes. His name is Morrison."

There was a long pause as Brocken walked up to Ness. "That’s impossible. Morrison is the King’s son." Ness looked at Brocken for a moment, then spoke again. "We’re not accusing anyone of anything. We just know that his name is Morrison. Maybe it’s a different person."

"No." whispered Giygas. "Morrison is my son, and heir to the throne. But a year ago, he was kidnapped—or he left. Either way, it seems you found my son. I thank you." Giygas turned to Brocken. "Get them a place to stay, and show them around. Prepare for his friends’ arrival." Brocken nodded, then led Ness and the others out of the royal chamber.

"We’re almost there." Cried Claus as he looked at the computer. "It should be a matter of minutes before we arrive."

"Great." Replied Jill. She was seated in back with Kyle, while Claus and James rode in front. "What do you think they’ll be like?"

"Like Gash, except with a better sense of humor." Joked Kyle. "What do you think, James?" James took off his sunglasses and cleaned them with his sleeve, then placed them on again. "Five bucks says they’ll try to kill us the second we get on that ship." Claus chuckled slightly as he patted James on the back. "I’ll take that bet, my friend. Maybe then you’ll stop being so pessimist."

Gash looked on calmly into outer space. He sat in front, with Catalina at his side. Jack and Paula rode in back. "We should be almost there." He said. "All we need to do is wait for the escape pod to go out, and we’re there."

"It must be tough having to sneak into your own house." Commented Jack. "Are you okay with that?"

"I’m fine." Replied Gash. "I’m just doing my job."

"They must pay you guys an awful lot of money."

Gash ignored the comment and focused his attention on a small gray dot that had appeared in the middle of the void. "That’s the pod." He said. "Get ready to go in." Gash smiled slightly as he awaited the escape pod to go out. However, the dot only began to grow, larger and larger, until it was big enough for a jumbo jet to fit in. "That isn’t good." He said. "That’s the port for exploration ships."

"I told you." Said James as he looked at the hole. "They know we’re here."

"Just because they know we’re here doesn’t mean they’ll kill us." Retorted Claus with a snicker. "Have patience."

Once the two crafts fit in through the port, the hole closed. After the room was pressurized, everyone got a chance to look around. The semicircular platform was littered with ships similar to the ones they rode in, and there were many doors leading to different places. Jack placed his translator on, and everyone mimicked the notion when they saw him. They hardly got a chance to stretch, though, when a blue-haired Giygan in uniform stepped out of one of the doors and walked up to them. "Greetings." He said. "You must be Ness’ friends."

"Wow." Muttered Jack in amazement. "These translators are good. It’s almost like he’s speaking English."

"He is speaking English." Said Gash. He then directed his attention to the policeman. "It’s been a long time, Brocken."

"It’s only been a few decades, Gash." Replied Brocken as he greeted his friend. Gash chuckled. "It seems now you have my job."

"Yes. And it seems you’ve made some friends."

"Yeah. Maybe they should introduce themselves." The phrase was almost made out as an order instead of a question. The order was quickly followed as STROBE introduced themselves, followed by Paula, Jack, and Kyle. "I take it you won’t try to kill us now." Said Claus. "Right?"

"On the contrary." Said Brocken. "I have orders from the king to make you feel at home."

"Good. Thanks." Claus turned to James. "I’ll take those five dollars now." James reluctantly took out a bill and handed it to Claus, who put it in his pocket.

Shortly after the meeting with the king, Ness and the others met up with Brocken’s family. His wife, Mai, and his daughter, Lei, volunteered to take them on a tour of the ship while Brocken went to receive the others. So far, they had visited the shopping mall-like section of the populous area (whom everyone called the metropolis), and were now about to go to the section of the ship which could only be described as a park. There were trees and paths everywhere, and many families walked around the area. Mai, her green hair shimmering in the artificial sunlight of the park, held Lei by the hand as she led them to the center of the park. "Feel free to look around." She offered. "Everyone knows you’re here. There’s nothing to be alarmed about."

Ness immediately nodded and wandered off, taking Jeff with him. The Giygans all stared and pointed, and some whispered comments into each others’ ears. "It seems prejudice knows no limits." Commented Jeff. "Do you think we’re that bad?"

"Nah." Replied Ness with a smile. "It’s just that they haven’t seen humans before. They’re probably commenting on your weird yellow hair."

"Very funny."

After circumventing the park, the duo came upon a little girl, with red hair and blue eyes. She looked up at them awkwardly, and after a moment she came up to them. "Are you humans?" she asked innocently.

"Yes." Replied Ness. He kneeled up to the girl’s height, and extended a hand. "I’m Ness." The little girl stared at him for a second, then took the hand. "My mother says that humans are very bad, and that they’ll get you the first chance they get. Is that true?"

Ness was taken aback by the statement. "No, we’re not bad." He said with a smile. "In fact, just to show you how good we are, I’ll give you something." He reached into his knapsack, and then pulled out a bar of chocolate. "Here, have some chocolate." The little girl took the chocolate, sniffed it, then proceeded to eat it, wrapper and all. "No, wait!" said Ness as he took the wrapped candy out of her mouth. "You have to unwrap it first." He handed the now- unwrapped chocolate to the little girl. She bit it, and after chewing thoughtfully, she smiled. "This is good." She said. "Do you have more on human land?"

"It’s called Earth," corrected Ness. "and, yes, we have plenty of that." The little girl giggled, then ran off. "See, Jeff?" Ness said as he turned to his friend. "I told you things would be okay."

"You said that they were gawking at my hair." Replied Jeff coldly.

"Oh."

After a few minutes, the others arrived at the park. Paula, as always, had greeted Ness with a hug, but an "Awwwww…" from everyone else made her stop. She took Ness by the arm and begged him to show her around. Ness happily consented, and the two walked off. Not one to be left behind, Jill did the same to Kyle, and they quickly caught up with Ness and Paula. Poo decided to stay with Gash and Jack, who didn’t seem to enthusiastic about looking around. Jeff paired up with James, Catalina with Claus, and soon everyone was at different ends of the park.

The remaining three Warriors of Shadow hid themselves among the Giygan populace as they spied on the humans. They had been undefeated before they met them, yet they single-handedly took out two of them. Mafios was there as well. He had remained inactive since his confrontation with Kyle Braddock, and was bent on getting revenge.

"We are almost ready, sire." Said Morrison. His small room was now riddled with dents from Morrison’s anger. "You will have your revenge on them and Earth." The shadowy figure in Morrison’s monitor simply faded away.

"What is that?!"

Paula stared with fear at the small creature held up by the little girl. She was the same girl that Ness gave the chocolate to earlier, and she decided to thank him by bringing him a pet. It was a small, fluffy ball of purple fur, with two legs coming out of the front and one out of the back. Each leg ended in three suction cup-tipped fingers. It had two eye stalks coming out at the top, each ending with shining eyes. It cooed as it stood on the girl’s hand. "Take it." She said. "It likes you."

"But…what is it?" asked Paula.

"It’s a Mrgtroyd." She responded. "Their pets here. Go on, take it! My father is the cloner, so he can make as many as I want." Ness accepted and took the Mrgtroyd. It obviously liked Ness, and cooed happily as it blinked.

"Squeeze it. They like to be squeezed." Insisted the girl. Ness accepted and squeezed the creature. In response, the Mrgtroyd made a slight "tssss…" sound. Ness giggled. "How does it eat?"

"It eats anything." Replied the girl. "Just as long as it has oxygen. That’s why they’re great pets."

Black inched closer and closer to Kyle and Jill. The two were the weakest fighters of the group, so the remaining Warriors decided to concentrate their attack there. Black had tried attacking them once before, at Fourside, and had almost succeeded. By sheer luck, he had not been spotted amongst the Giygan people. Stealthily, he positioned himself behind the pair. <Ready> he thought.

<All right> The response came from Red, who had managed to sneak up on Ness and Paula. <I’m ready too>

<As am I> The final Warrior of Shadow, Green, was sneaking up on Jeff, Catalina, and Claus. <Mafios, you’d better be ready> he thought.

<Relax. All’s set> was Mafios’ response. <On my mark>.

The four launched a blitz attack almost faster than even they imagined. They had managed to catch everyone off guard, and that put them at an advantage. Mafios quickly dashed off while the Warriors of Shadow began their assault.

"Look out!!" cried Gash as he shielded James from a PK Beam and jumped out of the way. "It’s Morrison’s troops!"

"I know!" cried Kyle as he launched his boomerang at Black. "We need to get them out of the park!"

The three Warriors of Shadow managed to surround everyone. They began hovering around them like flies, blasting them with PSI attacks. "What do we do?" asked Paula. "They’ve surrounded us!"

"That…"

"…isn’t…"

"…all…"

"…Earthling!" The Warriors had melded again. Now they were a true force to be reckoned with. The circle closed in, as the people watched terrified. The little girl, eyes streaming with tears, ran up to them.

"Let them go!" she cried as she tried to cast a mild PSI spell, but failed. "Let them go now!" The Warriors stopped the attack to look at the girl. A smile appeared on their faces as they turned to her and started concentrating a PK Beam. "No!" cried Ness. He managed to jump forward just as the Warriors attacked.

There was nothing but charred grass and smoke where the girl was. For a second, everyone, including the Warriors, froze. "Looks like…" began Black.

"We’ve…" said Green.

"Gotten two of them." Finished Red.

"I wouldn’t be so sure."

Ness was standing only a few feet away from the blast zone. The girl was perched on his shoulder, a smug smile on her face. Ness gently put her down, then turned to the Warriors, a sneer on his face. In the meantime, Poo had looked over at Paula and Jeff. "I didn’t know he could do that." He said. "Did you?"

"Nope." Replied Jeff.

"Not a clue." Added Paula.

Ness had taken out his bat by now, and placed his backpack on the floor, so as not to hurt the Mrgtroyd inside. "All right. Who stays?" Catalina and Claus ran over to Ness, and took up fighting positions. "Let’s go." Said Claus. James also went up to them. "The rest of us should go for Mafios." He stated blankly. The others consented, then left.

The Warriors of Shadow had begun their second assault by now. Red rushed up to James and hit him in the stomach, then retreated in order to let the other two commit the same exact maneuver. James took out a Super Bomb and tossed it at them in response. The explosion caused them to retreat and regroup elsewhere, where Claus managed to suplex Red. Red immediately let out a yelp of pain. He had been broken out of the mind melding. His arm was broken as well as a few ribs. He fell to the floor and didn’t get up.

Catalina dodged a flying kick from Green just as she punched Black in the face. She was about to attack again when Ness yelled out "Duck." Catalina obliged, and soon after a Blast of PSI energy blazed above her. Green managed to dodge, but Black managed to get hit head on. He fell like Red, and soon only Green remained. Unfortunately for him, breaking out of his mind meld gave James enough time to hit him with a bottle rocket. Green was the last to fall.

The Warriors of Shadow were no more.

"Where did he go?" asked Jeff as he looked around the halls. They were now in the residence area, a maze of halls lined with doors, representing different living quarters. Mafios seemed to have gone in that direction, but disappeared soon after. "Maybe he’s hiding again." Mused Kyle. "He tends to do that."

"You can’t hide here." Corrected Gash. "It’s almost impossible." He paused, then looked over at the others. "Feel that?"

"What?" asked Paula.

"We’re moving." Said Gash. "I wonder why?" He had barely finished speaking when an alarm began ringing. It sounded throughout the entire ship, and meant one thing.

"Danger." Muttered Gash. "We have to go to Brocken’s quarters."

Brocken typed away at the computer in his living quarters fervently. The small space housed him and his family, but for now is also was home to eleven others. Brocken uttered a curse in Giygan as he kept on typing. "What is it?" asked Jill. "Why do we have to stay here?"

"Well," answered Brocken. "if speed and trajectory remain accurate, we’re going to crash into Earth in approximately five hours."

"That isn’t good." Mused Jack. "But why is Giygas heading for Earth?"

"I don’t know." Replied Gash. "I think Morrison is trying to destroy Earth by crashing it into Giygas." He sighed. "Don’t see the point, though. It would destroy Giygas as well." He scoffed as he watched Brocken work. "It’d be best if we consult the King."

Soon after a faint beeping sound was heard. "It’s the video monitor." Explained Gash. "It’s like a phone on Earth." Brocken got up and answered the video monitor to find Lennon’s face shining on the screen. "Lennon!" yelled Ness. "Are you all right?"

"I’m fine." Replied the Giygan general. "But I’m afraid I can’t talk now. You must see the King as soon as possible. Giygas is heading towards Earth."

"We know." Replied Jeff. "And we still don’t know where to start looking for Morrison."

"It’d be best if we consult with the King." Mused Lennon. "I’ll meet you there." Lennon then closed the communication.

"Great." Muttered Paula. "I guess we’d better leave now."

"You can’t." interjected Brocken. "The alarm indicates a danger to anyone who stays outside their apartment. Although the alarm might not be set off by Giygas’ unexplained movement, it might, and probably was, set off by someone or something in the halls."

"We can’t accomplish anything here." Said Poo. "We must act now." Everyone else voiced their agreement, and soon they were off.

"Yikes!" yelled Catalina as she ducked behind a corner. A Starman had gone Berserk in the halls and attacked the team. It fired it’s blaster everywhere, trying to hit every possible target. They had encountered two other Giygan robots with the same condition, all easily disposed of. This one was different, however.

Poo sneaked up on the Starman, blade drawn, ready to strike. The Starman hadn’t noticed him, and Poo took advantage of that to attack with a quick vertical swing. The attack hardly made a scratch, however, and soon the Starman had turned to face him. It hadn’t even finished turning, however, when its head was lobbed off. As the Starman fell to the floor, Jack sheathed his own sword. "You have to do it sideways, otherwise it won’t work." He smiled as he turned to let the others know of their safety.

Five Starmen and half an hour later, the group reached the throne room. The door was, surprisingly, unlocked, and the King was sitting in his throne room when everyone arrived. Lennon had met up with them along the way, and together they entered the King’s throne room.

"What are you doing here?" the King demanded as Ness stepped up to the throne. His face looked tired, and his eyes shone brightly.

"There is danger." Replied Ness. "Giygas is going to crash into Earth." He took off his hat again, and twirled it around in his fingers. "What should we do?"

"I believe the safety of everyone comes first." He replied cooly. "Therefore, you must look for Morrison immediately." His tone was too calm for comfort. "Go! Now!"

"Yes, sir." Said Ness as he bowed and left the room. Before leaving, he shot the King one last look, then left. The King flinched for a second, then fell to his knees, one hand on his head, and the other pounding on his throne. "Are you satisfied now?" he cried out. "My son is probably going to die because of you."

"Not if I can help it." The King got up again. "If you want them, you’ll have to go through me first."

The scrap yard was a dark, desolate place filled with junk collected over the years, and oddly never recycled. Ness and the others had a tough enough time getting through the junk, but they also had to worry about the onslaught of enemy robots that had gone berserk. "How’s the countdown before we hit Earth?" asked Kyle as he jumped over a piece of junk.

"Three hours and a half." Replied Jeff. "It’s taken us almost an hour to get here, and still nothing." Jeff got on top of a trash heap and surveyed the landscape. The scrap yard was huge, almost a mile long, and it was very wide. "Hey Ness, we haven’t checked over there!" he yelled as he jumped down.

"Where?" asked Ness as he walked over another trash mound.

"North. It’s an open field, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Morrison was there."

Upon arriving at the place Jeff pointed out, they found a small dome, shaped almost like a hut. Everyone approached it from afar, knowing the danger that might be lurking inside. Ness instructed the others to stay away as he walked towards the hut. He slammed the door open, and walked inside to find…

…nothing. The room was empty, save a few dents in the wall, and a small cot. A video screen was on the wall. Other than that, it was empty.

"Nothing." Commented Ness as he exited the hut. "It’s empty. Whatever was there isn’t anymore." He took two steps towards the others, when a voice rang into his head.

<Ness> It was Lennon.

<What is it?> replied Ness.

<Behind you. On my count, duck. One, two, three!>

Ness bent over backwards as Lennon’s PK Beam attack cut through the air, surprising everyone. The Beam flew past Ness, then hit something. A yell of surprise was heard as a man dressed totally in black, donning spiked knuckles, with jet-black hair like his father’s, came into view.

Ness got up and immediately drew his bat, twirling it in his hand. "Morrison, I presume." He said.

"And you must be Ness." Mused Morrison. "I see you’ve cut off my escape plan. I am not like the others, and I will not overestimate myself." He ran his hand through his hair. "But I don’t think you can defeat me."

"We’ll see about that." Butted in Kyle as he drew his weapon. "Eleven to one is hardly fair odds. But if you want it that way--"

"You must be the comedian." Chortled Morrison. "Mafios told me of you. Still, whatever happens remains to be seen." Morrison turned, then shot the group one last "Ta-ta." Before teleporting away.

"This isn’t good." Mused Gash. "We’ve lost him again. Who knows where he’s going."

"I think I know." Said Paula. "And we had better hurry."

"Three hours." Muttered Jeff as he ran to the throne room with the others. "This isn’t good. Maybe we’d better tell Brocken to evacuate Giygas."

"No." interjected Gash. "We can still stop this without having to involve the people." He slid a little as he rounded a corner. Everyone piled into the throne room as quickly as they could, to find the King sitting there, on his throne, as if nothing had happened. "What do you want?" he asked as Ness once again stepped up to the throne.

"Morrison is here." He said sternly. "We think he’s headed this way."

"Nonsense." He waved a hand at Ness. "Morrison has nothing to do with us."

"But we just--"

"SILENCE!!" King Giygas stood up and grabbed Ness by the shirt. "Morrison is not here, boy. You’d best be leaving now." Ness shivered with fear at King Giygas’ grip, then put on a stern face. "You’re not the King." He whispered.

"WHAT?"

"I said you’re not the King." Ness squeezed out of the King’s grip and drew his bat. "What have you done with him, Giygas?!"

The King put on a stern face and relaxed. "So, you’ve found me out." He smiled. His eyes were shining a bright red. "It’s good to see you again, Ness." He smiled smugly. "How long has it been?"

"Not long enough." Snarled Poo as he stepped up to join Ness. Paula and Jeff did the same. "I thought you were dead."

"You’d be surprised." Giygas floated up into the air as he charged up a ball of energy. "I can’t believe that no matter where I go, you seem to be there." The ball got bigger. "But no more…"

Gash sensed the danger. "He’s going to attack!" he stepped forward and began to concentrate a Shield. Jill did the same, as did Paula. "Everyone get ready!!" shouted Jack as he drew his sword. "This is it!!" The remaining members of STROBE crowded out in front of Paula, Gash, and Jill, while Jack and Kyle flanked them from the sides. "We are in serious trouble." Muttered Kyle. "I don’t think our Shield will be enough."

"Then start praying" Retorted James. "’cause here it comes!!" James spat out the words just as Giygas fired the beam, and then, everything went black.

Wh…where am I? What is this? Ness was floating around in an empty void. His friends were gone, as was Giygas and the ship. His head reeled.

Ness recognized that voice. It belonged to the Benevolent Old Man. Old Man! Is that you? He called out to the void.

Ness still found no one, even though he heard the Benevolent Old Man. Am I dead? His tone was sad and mournful.

They will be fine. Brocken can use Healing PSI, so they will recover quickly. The voice then stopped. Ness looked around again. He called out, but to no avail. Wait! He called. George! I still have so many questions!

Ness awoke to the sound of Brocken breathing heavily. The Healing process had taken a lot out of him, but everyone was safe. "How…did I get here?" asked Ness. "What happened?"

"You tell me." Replied Brocken. "I found you outside. The only reason I even bothered to look was because of the noise your little pet made." Brocken pointed to the Mrgtroyd, who was standing on Brocken’s desk.

"Tough little guy." Ness laughed as he picked up his new pet and squeezed it. The Mrgtroyd cooed, then hopped onto the desk again. "I guess George saved him too."

"Who?" asked Brocken. Ness shook his head. "Nothing." He got up and stretched. "How long until the crash?"

"Two hours and forty seven minutes, Earth time."

"And what of your family?"

"They’re hiding in my room. Mai thinks it’s too dangerous to leave from there. The path to the escape pod is there." Brocken chuckled as he applied the last PSI Healing spell on Gash. He got up, made basically the same questions as Ness, then proceeded to leave the apartment.

"And just where are you going?" asked Ness.

"To the throne room. I’m going to stop Giygas."

"Alone?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes." Claus had just gotten up and leaned on the wall. "We go together."

"He’s right." Added Kyle. He was also up and running. "Like it or not, we’re a team. A rather large one, yes, but a team." He grabbed his things. "I’m ready to go."

"As am I." Poo had just finished sheathing the Sword of Kings.

"I guess that goes for us too." Said Jill as she straitened out her hair and tied it into a ponytail. "I’m ready when you are."

Gash sighed. "This isn’t your business. You humans have no right interfering in Giygan affairs."

"But I do." Interjected Lennon as she appeared in the room. "I have a score to settle with him."

"And, in case you hadn’t noticed, that’s our planet we’re going to crash into." Said James as he holstered his gun. "It’s our business."

"That’s right." Jeff had also recovered. "And, besides, we have a score to settle with Giygas. Right Paula?"

"Right." She held her frying pan like a weapon as she winked at Ness. "We’re Earth’s only hope."

"Again." added Ness as he rested his bat on his shoulder. "And I guess Jack and Catalina have the same thing to say."

"You’ve got that right." Said Catalina as she came into view. "I’m not letting my planet go to waste!"

"And I’m finally going to get mine against that clown, Giegue." He paused. "Or Giygas. Or whatever." He laughed as he put his arm around Catalina. She however, pushed him away. "You can hit on me later." She joked. Together, they marched out of the room and into the hall. Ness was going to follow, but Paula stopped him. "Ness, can I talk to you?" she said. "It’s important."

"Sure." Replied Ness. "What is it?"

"Well, remember how when we first defeated Giygas I said I had something to tell you?"

"Yes. But you forgot. Do you remember now?"

"Yes." Paula hugged him. "But I think you already know." Ness smiled, then hugged her back.

"Awwwww…"

Ness turned to see Kyle with a pouty face. "How cute."

"Would you stop that already?" Ness blushed as he went over to Kyle.

"No time for lollygagging, O fearless one, we still have something to do." He took out Jeff’s watch, handed it to Brocken (who was resting thanks to the massive amount of Healing he cast), and left again. "If that beeps, evacuate everyone in Giygas." Were his last words before leaving again. Ness and Paula chuckled, then followed.

The halls were a mess. The light flickered on and off repeatedly, and there was wire hanging from loose panels in the walls. Sparks flew out of broken circuits, and sounds echoed from elsewhere in the ship. The whole scene inspired fear and uneasiness.

"This must be the work of those berserked robots." Said Jeff as he kicked aside a piece of debris. "I can’t believe anything could be so destructive."

"You’d better believe it." Replied Gash. "Our robots are deadly. Especially since we started making advanced models, such as the Starman DX." As he said this he picked up part of a Starman’s broken visor. "And, apparently, they seem to attack themselves as well."

Despite the general destruction of the Giygas’ halls, the group was able to make it to the throne room with relatively little damage. The throne room , unlike the path that led to it, was clean, almost spotless, with Starmen guards positioned all around the entrance.

"We’d better destroy them." Began Jack as he drew his sword and hid behind a piece of junk. Ness held him back. "Not really. Cover your eyes." Ness began concentrating, then thrust his hand up. A bright Flash emanated from his hand, overloading the Starmen’s visual sensors and causing them to explode. Ness then simply walked up to the throne room’s entrance. "Piece of cake." He said as he marched inside.

King Giygas turned abruptly as he heard Ness approaching. "Oh no…" he said. He looked around frantically, but there was nothing he could do. There’s nowhere to hide. Giygas’ voice rang through his head. I guess they survived. I’ll have a little fun with them first. The King put on a snarl. "No, you--" his plea was cut off as he fell unconscious. At that moment, Ness and the others entered the room.

"It looks like he’s out cold." Muttered Lennon as she walked up to him. At that moment, King Giygas’ eyes snapped open and stared at Lennon profusely. She jumped back in surprise, then called out to the others. "He’s awake! Get ready!"

"No! Don’t!" called out the King. "It’s really me!" He got up and dusted himself off then placed himself in a protective position. "I’m not lying! It’s me!"

"And how would we know?" asked Lennon as she looked him over. "You could be faking."

"I’m not." Replied the King. "I’m under his control like you were. And I know his plan, too. It’s--" King Giygas’ voice was cut off as he fell to the floor again. There was an air of suspense as everyone looked at the limp form. But, after a few seconds, he got up again. "That was him, trying to control me." He stated calmly. His tone had changed again. "I was able to wave him off, though."

"Good." Replied Paula. "We need to know Giygas’ plan." She walked up to the King. "It’s very important." She also looked him over. He was the same as when she first saw him, except that his face now looked tired, and, as she looked into his eyes, she knew.

"Your eyes." Paula mused. "Those eyes." She had barely time to gasp when she was blown back by an invisible force. She careened backwards and into the far wall, then slumped down. Ness immediately rushed to her aid. Meanwhile, everyone else had turned their attention to King Giygas, who had again fallen to the floor.

"Giygas…stop…hurts…" the King’s incoherent mumbling kept everyone on guard. He looked up at them, and his eyes started changing colors, from red, to brown, to red again. His face begged for help, and he slowly reached out to grab the nearest person. Lennon backed away as Giygas’ eyes fixed on the color red.

"There. Everything under control." Laughed Giygas. "Now, where were we?"

Paula had recovered a few second earlier and began charging up a spell without a word as Giygas stood slowly. He shook himself off, then floated up in the air. Everyone else got into battle positions. Paula was about to release the spell when Morrison appeared in the doorway to the throne room. Such was her surprise that she dropped the spell.

"What are you doing?" asked Morrison. "You have no reason to attack my father."

The others turned. Lennon, who was the farthest from Morrison, gasped in surprise, then jumped in a few leaps from her current position to Morrison’s face. "Morrison…" she said. "…what…are you doing here?"

"Get out of the way, Lennon, it’s none of your business."

"Oh, really? You used me! I loved you and you used me!"

That last statement left everyone in shock. Giygas had returned into unconsciousness, and was not moving. Lennon didn’t care, though. Her attention was focused on Morrison.

"How could you?!" she pleaded.

"You were the best warrior. I had to."

"But why? Why didn’t you just tell me?"

"Because you would refuse. When I told you that I wanted to end my father’s government, you said I was crazy."

"I was worried. I didn’t know what would happen to you."

"You still abused my trust, Morrison!"

Jeff looked back and forth from Morrison to Lennon as they quarreled. "I can’t believe this." He whispered. "This all seems like a soap opera."

"It seems like that more than it seems like a final battle." Added Kyle. His expression was dumbfounded. "Speaking of which, how is ‘el Giygas’ doing?" He turned back and saw that Giygas was slowly stirring. "Umm…Guys?" he said as he tapped Gash in the shoulder and pointed to the King.

"You lied to me!" continued Lennon.

"I had no choice!" responded Morrison. "He said that if I helped him get revenge on Earth, he would help me end my father’s government! Then we could be together!"

"We were together!"

"But we couldn’t--"

Ness had already stopped the conversation. "Would you stop?" he said as he pushed them back, and while Lennon accepted, Morrison cringed in disgust at Ness’ touch. "Get away from me." He said as he stepped back. "You filthy maggot."

"What?" said Ness as he drew his weapon. "I haven’t done anything to you yet!"

"You interfered in my affairs. That is good enough reason." Morrison donned his spiked knuckles and stepped forward.

"What does that have to do with anything?" retorted Ness. Gash stepped up to Ness, eyes on Morrison, and took him back. "It’s all a matter of Giygan principle. Even though Morrison wanted to destroy his father’s empire, he is still Morrison’s father. By attacking him, you really disrespected him." Gash shot another look at Morrison. "That, coupled to the fact that you totally destroyed his plans for Global destruction, and ultimately prevented him from realizing his dream of dethroning his father and marrying Lennon…well, let’s just say that really peeved him off."

"Family first." Said Poo. "Basic Confucian philososphy."

Morrison had noticed the King’s state, and rushed to his side. "Father…" he said as he helped his father up. "…are you all right?"

"Morrison…" the King’s eyes snapped open, then looked over frantically at Morrison. "…you…must…leave here…"

"I can’t. I must help you." The King coughed. "I’m losing to…him…you must stop…this lunacy…"

"I can’t." the statement felt awkward, considering what the execution of his plan meant. Morrison bit his lip. "Father…they did this to you…" Morrison didn’t notice as the King’s eyes turned red. A wicked sneer appeared on his face. "They did this to me…kill them!"

Morrison stood and turned and faced the group. "You…did this to my father." He stated blankly.

"No, we didn’t!" replied Lennon. "It’s Giygas! He’s controlling him!"

"You’re lying." Morrison threw off his cape and tossed it aside. "You hurt my father. If I’d have known it would come to this, I would’ve refused." He paused at the sound of his own words, then shook his head. "I wanted this to end peacefully, but no…"

"It’s not peaceful if Earth is obliterated." Said Lennon sternly. "Don’t you see? That’s why your father didn’t approve of your ideals. As long as we coexist, human and Giygans may live in peace."

"Sentimental crap." spat out Morrison. "You’d best prepare to die." Morrison shouted out in rage as he charged toward Ness at full speed. Ness barely jumped aside, but Morrison stopped dead and turned around, grabbing Ness’ leg in mid air and slamming him into the ground. Gash rushed up to him, but Morrison shot out a Beam instantaneously, knocking him back. Both Paula’s and Jill’s PSI attacks were blocked by his Shield, and when Kyle threw his boomerang at him, Morrison simply caught it and flung it back. It hit Kyle in the chest, breaking his rib.

Jeff and James both fired their guns at him, but Morrison dodged the attacks and countered by lifting the guns from their hands using PSI. He then shot Beams at them, rendering them unconscious. When Jack tried to attack with his sword, Morrison caught it between his hands and broke it, then punched Jack in the face. Then, he hit the back of his neck. Jack fell limply to the floor.

Catalina, Claus, and Poo encircled Morrison and attacked with a blur of martial arts moves. Morrison blocked Poo’s high kick, then countered with his own kick to the stomach. Catalina grabbed him and began a suplex, but Morrison broke her grip, then grabbed her with one hand and slammed her into the ground. Claus put his fists together and tried to hit Morrison on the head, but Morrison blocked the attack and punched him twice in the face. Poo had recovered by now, and charged Morrison with a barrage of fists, all of which were blocked by Morrison. Paula, who had remained inactive, shot out a beam of PSI, but Morrison shot out another in response, canceling it out, all the while blocking Poo’s attack. He executed a perfect German Suplex and took out Poo, then shot out a beam and hit Paula dead on. He did the same to Jill.

Ness had healed himself by then, and stood up just in time to see Morrison finish taking out everyone else. He took out his bat, intent on using it this time, and thrust up his hand. "PSI Flash!" he called. Morrison became disoriented and dizzy as the power affected him. Ness seized the opportunity and SMAAAAASHed Morrison in the back of the neck. The blow sent Morrison sprawling. "You little--" he cried as he turned and thrust his fist forward. But he gasped when Lennon stood in the place of Ness. Morrison’s fist stopped a mere inch from Lennon’s face, in a way so violent that her hair was blown back.

"What? You’re not going to hurt me?" asked Lennon. "Don’t you want to complete your plan?"

"Yes, but--" Morrison was surprised when Lennon slapped him in the cheek.

"You idiot." Began Lennon. "You think that by taking out Earth you’ll be happy? And then you think that the fool over there is your father? What kind of thinking is that?"

"Don’t you see? If I take them out, He will help me to be happy!"

"And by doing that, you have to destroy your father, when you defend him now? You said it yourself: you would’ve refused if it meant hurting your father. And yet, in the long run, you are hurting him!" Lennon approached Morrison slowly, and Morrison backed away in fear and confusion. "Everything must go according to plan." He said. "If I can’t get my father to step down, I can at least have you."

That was not what Lennon wanted to hear. "You won’t have me if you keep this up."

King Giygas struggled with himself as he and Giygas battled for control of his body. The King felt feeling escape from his mind, but struggled to regain control. "Morrison…" he called out as he struggled to get up and keep Giygas at bay at the same time. "My son…"

Morrison discontinued his confrontation with Lennon, then rushed over to the King. "Father…I’m here." He said as he grabbed his father’s hand. No, Morrison…Leave! The King tried to call out to Morrison, but he felt Giygas take over. Morrison…I’m sorry…If my ways weren’t to your liking…I should’ve listened to you…At that moment, the King of the Giygans was no more. Only the evil entity named Giygas remained.

Giygas slowly got up and pushed Morrison aside. "Step aside, child." He said as he stood. He focused his attention on Lennon, who was busy Healing everyone else. She had just finished mending Kyle’s rib when she noticed Giygas. "Oh, no…" she said. "Giygas won control over the body."

Giygas charged up a PSI attack, then aimed it at Lennon. "Good bye." He said as he prepared to fire. Morrison looked in horror. "What are you doing, father?" he pleaded. Morrison knew that his father wouldn’t harm anything living unless provoked. That was what made him want to dethrone the King in the first place. Morrison thought the King was too soft, and needed to be more aggressive. The King would never harm anyone malevolently, and yet there he was, about to attack the woman he loved. "They were right." He realized. "You aren’t my father!"

"Your father is no more." Said Giygas as he raised a hand and prepared to fire. "Only I remain."

"No…" said Morrison. "You promised me I’d be happy!"

"The afterlife is a happy place, Morrison." Said Giygas. "I’m sure you’ll enjoy it." Giygas threw the attack out of his fist as Morrison screamed at the top of his lungs. Morrison ran over to Lennon and quickly stepped in the way. He extended his hands to the sides and dug his feet into the floor as he looked back at Morrison. "I love you." Were the last words he said before he took the force of the blow head on.

Lennon watched in horror as Morrison’s form disappeared in the light. Ness and the others had also recovered, and could only stare as Morrison’s form disappeared. There was nothing left when the light faded.

Lennon’s eyes watered as she looked at Giygas. "You…killed him." She said blankly. "You killed your own son…"

"That isn’t my son." Replied Giygas. "I simply used him to get what I wanted."

"And that would be?" asked Jeff as he got up and picked up his gun.

Giygas laughed. "You always were the curious one. But you probably don’t know that this goes beyond your destruction." He smiled as he placed his left hand on his hip. "There’s an awful lot of energy released when people die. Imagine what would happen if many die at a time?"

Jeff’s jaw dropped as he came to the awful realization of what those words meant. "I know his plan." He said as he looked at the others. "It’s so ironic."

"Why do I have a feeling I’m not gonna want to hear this?" asked Jack as he tossed his broken sword aside and put up his fists.

"Because it’s not good." Responded Jeff. "He’s going to crash Giygas into Earth. That will kill everyone both on Earth and Giygas. That will also cause the planet and the ship to explode, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. Thanks to the state of PSILock in which Giygas is now, he will simply leave the King’s body. Because he is pure energy, he will be able to absorb all the energy released from the resulting cataclysm."

"And then?" asked Jill as she brushed her hair aside.

"Then he will become a god. Literally."

"It’s insane!" cried James as he shot a Bottle Rocket at Giygas, hitting him in the chest. "He’s insane!"

"And we only have one hour until Giygas crashes into Earth!" added Claus. "We’d best hurry!" He tried to use a flying kick on Giygas, but he simply dodged. Everyone was desperate to hurt Giygas, but he simply evaded everything they had. "It’s no use!" he cried. "My plan is working perfectly!"

"Not if I can help it." Retorted Kyle. Giygas stopped and looked at him. "And just how do you propose to stop me?"

Kyle snickered. "Well, before we left for this place, I took the liberty of duplicating Jeff’s panic mechanism into my watch." He pointed at his wrist, which was bare. "Then, I gave Brocken instructions to evacuate Giygas if my watch beeped." He then took out a small box. "And the watch beeps if this is activated." He pressed the button on the front of the box. "Like so."

Giygas laughed. "You’re bluffing."

"Am I?" Kyle pointed at the window behind Giygas, where, after a few seconds, many large, spherical pods started appearing. "That doesn’t look like a bluff."

Giygas yelled with rage as he charged towards Kyle, hands curled into fists. Kyle nimbly stepped aside and watched Giygas fly by. "I knew that dodgeball thing would be useful someday." He mused.

Giygas turned, then stopped. "You may have prevented my becoming a god, but I will still have my revenge!" he said. "It is but half an hour before Giygas crashes. You can’t stop me." Giygas laughed maniacally. His laugh echoed eerily.

Ness watched these events unfold with a stern face. Throughout all this journey he had depended on others. He had never given anything back. It’s time to end this. He thought solemnly. I’m not going to depend on anyone anymore.

Ness stepped up to Paula and pushed her out the door. He did the same with Jeff, Poo, and the others. He then took both his bat and his backpack and tossed them out. "Ness! What are you doing?!" pleaded Poo as he was shoved out the door. Ness simply closed the door to the throne room. "I’m putting and end to this." He said as he locked the door. "Get out of here."

"Ness!" yelled Paula as the big metal door shut in front of her. She pounded and cried hysterically as she slumped down to the ground. "Ness…don’t leave me…" she said as she stopped pounding. Jeff put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If you know him like I do, you’ll know that he’ll make it out of there alive." He picked her up. "We have twenty minutes before Giygas crashes. Ness’ attempts will be in vain if we die in the process." Paula looked at him with tear-stained eyes. "You’re right." She said. "We’d best hurry."

A dark shadow cast itself over a small house in a remote town in Eagleland. The two inhabitants, wondering what was wrong, stepped out. One was a man; the other a woman. "Holy cow." Said the man. "What is that?"

"I don’t know." Replied the woman. "But it looks like it’ll crash into us."

"We’d better call the cops."

"Cops? This’ll take an entire army!"

Ness cracked his knuckles as he stared at Giygas. "It all comes down to this." He said. Giygas smiled. "Yes. This is the decisive moment." Giygas fired a Beam, but Ness deflected it with his hand. "You’ve caused Earth more suffering than any war or plague." Ness looked dead serious. "You made my father suffer with your evil ways." He charged up a beam. "My whole family has suffered because of you! Be it Giegue or Giygas, you’re still the most evil person in the universe!"

"That doesn’t bother me." Said Giygas. "In fact, I take it as a compliment."

Ness ignored the comment and made the ball of energy in his hand bigger. "My father beat you so he could save his family. I beat you so I could save the world. And now, I will beat you again, so that I can save the Universe!" The beam of light that erupted from Ness’ hands engulfed Giygas. Everything went white for many seconds, as Ness continued pumping energy into his attack. After a few seconds he stopped, then fell to his knees, his energy spent. Once the light subsided, he watched in horror as Giygas’ form remained.

"Ha!" yelled Giygas. "That’s nothing." He smiled. "Now, it’s my turn."

The three small crafts which were used to bring Ness and his friends to the alien ship Giygas were now landing on Earth again. Even though Paula had opposed fervently, it had been decided for the common good that everyone returned to Earth.

The three crafts landed smoothly, and, within a few seconds, everyone had gotten out. They had landed not far from a mob of reporters, policemen, and fanatics, who were all gawking at the huge ship that was approaching Earth. "Ten minutes." Jeff mused as he looked at his watch. The huge craft could be made out clearly, and many distinct features could be seen. The group could only watch as the craft slowly drew closer.

It was only a matter of time.

Ness skidded forward as another blast of energy hit him in the back, sending him sprawling. He was too tired to scream, too exhausted to yell out in pain. Giygas simply stood over him, laughing. "You weak little insect." He said. "You have no one now. No song to help you, no prayer to speed to your friends, nothing." Giygas kicked Ness in the ribs. "You’ve lost."

Paula let a tear slip down her face as she watched the oncoming ship. The reporters had crowded around them, recognizing them from the various incidents on Earth. Paula ignored them and let the tears flow freely.

"What’s wrong?" asked Jeff as he stood next to her.

"It’s Ness…I can’t help thinking he’s lost."

Giygas laughed again. Four minutes. That was all that stood between him and his success. He might not become a god, but he would survive the crash, and he would get his revenge. He laughed maniacally, and looked at Ness, the world’s champion, just lying there limply. Then he stopped laughing.

Ness’ finger’s twitched as he regained consciousness. His arm dragged slowly to help him support himself. "You’ve lost." He said as he slowly got up and balanced himself on one knee.

"No…it’s impossible!" Giygas fired a beam at him, but Ness simply lifted his hand and the beam dispersed.

"The Human race may not be as powerful as yours." He began. "But we possess a will that is much stronger. In the face of adversity, we will fight to the very end." He stood, his head still lowered. "Even if our energies are totally gone, we will keep coming back." His voice got louder. "And it is now, as I say this to you, that I will show you the power of the human race!"

Giygas watched in horror as Ness floated off of the ground, in a manner similar to his own. His whole body glowed and emanated light. "It can’t be." He said. "His energy is increasing…it’s greater than Morrison’s…than my own…" Giygas could only help but watch as the energy flowing in and around Ness was channeled into his hands, and as the he thrust his hands forward, Ness could only say one thing.

"You’re not coming back this time."

The energy overloaded the circuits in the throne room, destroying much of the equipment that was still intact. Giygas’ body disintegrated, leaving only a mist that represented his true form. But not even that could survive as the energy absorbed him, overloaded him with pure energy. The mist soon cleared. Giygas was no more.

Paula gasped as the ship neared closer to Earth. "Twenty seconds!" yelled Jeff as he stared at his watch. Jill dug her face into Kyle’s chest, and he comforted her, while the others watched the ship approach.

"5…"

"4…"

"3!"

"2!!"

The reporters were announcing prayers to the camera. Children cried. Dogs barked. The ship came within a distance of twenty feet from the ground.

Then stopped.

For a moment, there was silence; the shock was too much to bear. The ship remained still for a few seconds, then slowly began backing up. No one talked. No one cheered. They just watched as the ship accelerated and flew out into the stratosphere.

"Ness…" called Paula as she dropped to her knees. "Ness…don’t leave me…"

"I’m going in there." Yelled Poo as he prepared to Teleport. "Who’s coming?" Jeff nodded as he lined up behind Poo. Together they Teleported to the Giygan throne room. After a moment, they came back, shocked. "There’s nothing there." Cried Poo. "The whole ship is devoid of life."

Everyone remained still for a few seconds. They didn’t know what to say. Ness was gone, God knows where, and he left no trace. No one moved until a far cry could be heard. "Hey, over here!"

Everyone turned to the old man. Who was pointing at a limp figure on the ground with his cane. "He’s hurt! He needs help!"

Gash rushed over to the figure. He was bruised and dirty, but he was still alive. Gash sighed in relief, then placed his hand on Ness’ head. He concentrated so hard that he fell down. But, after a second, Ness’ eyes slowly opened.

"Where am I?" asked Ness softly as he sat up.

"Earth." Replied Gash. "God knows how."

Ness chuckled. He looked at the crowd surrounding him. It had to be hundreds of people. But he was only interested in one. He laughed as Paula neared him and knelt beside him. She looked into his eyes for a second, then kissed him deeply and hugged him.

And this time, no one said anything.

It had been a month since the adventure. To commemorate the event, Ness’ mother had invited everyone to the house in Onett. Paula, Jeff, Poo, Jack, Kyle, the members of STROBE, and even Lennon, Brocken, and Hart himself, were there.

"So, what happened to the Giygans?" asked Kyle. "I mean, after they evacuated?"

"They’re fine." Replied Brocken. "They found the ship, fixed it up, and everything is as it was before. We’ve even worked out a peace agreement."

"And what about you guys?" asked Jill. "What will become of you?" The three Giygans looked at each other. "We’re staying here. We figure that they can get along fine without us." Lennon showed off her black suit. "And we’ve decided to join STROBE."

"That’s great!" said Ness. The Mrgtroyd given to him was still perched on his shoulder. Ness’ friendship with the pet had almost exceeded that of his dog, King (but not quite). Among other things, Jack had decided to move in to Polestar Preschool with Paula. Poo had married Umi, and he held her by the hand as they sat on the table in Ness’ dining room. Starmaster had never doubted that Poo would return, as he said so himself.

"Hey, Kyle." Yelled out Catalina. "You still haven’t been able to complete your training."

"Hah!" replied Kyle. "I’ll take you all on, right here, right now!"

"No, you don’t." interrupted Jill. "You promised to take me out. I intend for you to keep that promise." Kyle laughed as he put an arm around her. "Yeah, that’s right. I guess Paula and the heroic one could joins us too."

"No, thanks." Replied Ness. "I’ve had enough of going out. I’m staying here, in boring old Onett."

"Yeah." Added James as he raised a glass. "Here’s to being earthbound!"

"Here here!!" yelled everyone as they raised their glasses. The merrymaking continued until Jack spoke up.

"You know," he said. "There’s still something that still bothers me."

"What?" asked Jeff as he munched on a piece of cake.

"We still don’t know what happened to Mafios."

"You’re right." Said Claus. "What became of him?"

Outside, perched on the same tree, a figure in a black suit, with sleek black hair, watched as the humans celebrated. He scoffed slightly, then shot one last look at the house before Teleporting away.