Kapeka was hiding in a trashcan nearby. She was spying on this group, who seemed very dodgy, trying to figure out what could be more important than customer service.
Apparently it was some guy who was supposed to be trapped in a rock. It also had to do with some place that had four moons. The guy, whoever it was, had burned down the L'hotel du summers.
Then it hit her. These people knew who had killed her brother. These people knew who had taken away her only friend. Some guy whose name was...Ral-something. And...He wanted...revenge...revenge for being trapped in a rock...revenge...for killing...her brother. She was having a fierce battle with her temper now. She couldn't catch fire; For if the Trash can suddenly caught on fire, it would attract a lot of attention.
She knew what she wanted. It was all she could think of. She wanted revenge. She wanted to kill this Ral-person. She wanted to rip him up into little pieces. She wanted to cause as much pain to him as she could. She wanted to hurt him so bad, and for so long, that , that, that she would never stop hurting him.
Despite Kapeka's attempts to control her temper, the Trash Can had started to smoke.
"Oh, crap! Uh, okay, just think happy thoughts." However, her first happy thoughts of her brother. This did it. Her temper suddenly flared up and went past its limit. The trashcan didn't just catch fire -- it exploded. This caused just what Kapeka was trying not to do to happen. This had drawn attention.
-----
Now in the comforting hospital waiting room, Vincent mulled over the recent events. He had seen several odd things while on that bench, trying to get over his nausea. In addition to the assistant manager walking into the distance, surrounded by a red aura, he had seen a girl fall and land on a mysterious man, who proceeded to walk away, apparently unscathed. To him, it seemed like pieces of a puzzle that never touched. Something told him it was all connected, leaving him wondering what it meant.
"Nothing," he said to himself, shaking the thought off. There was no reason to bother with unfathomable explanations for connections that didn't seem to exist. The hospital would serve as a sufficient shelter from reality. He could spend his days there recovering and avoiding the world beyond. "But do I really want that?" he asked himself. Curiosity had always been one of his more harmful faults. Every logical instinct in his mind was telling him to accept his stay at the hospital with gratitude. Yet something there still beckoned to him, urging him to see what was happening. Something else was calling to him, too.
The nurse popped her head through the doorway to the next room. "The doctor will see you n..." But the patient she was talking to had already left.
Upon exiting the hospital, something immediately caught Vincent's eye: a lonely ship, drifting away into the distance. Puzzled, he walked towards it to get a better look.
"Hey! Look out!" a voice shouted. It belonged to the girl he had absentmindedly bumped into.
"Oh, sorry," Vincent responded mechanically, his attention still on the boat. Christina shook her head irately and continued her return home.
Giving up on trying to identify the ship, Vincent turned towards the direction Christina had run off, then looked the opposite way. The hotel was unrecognizable at this state.
Fighting his weariness and sickness, Vincent made his way towards the scene. Several reporters were still around, talking rapidly to their camera crew, but the crowd had diminished greatly. While examining the scene, Vincent bumped into yet another person.
"Sorry," he said again, this time to Skulryk. "Did they figure out anything yet?"
"No, nothing. I was hoping that there'd be a bigger story to this tale, but it looks like this was just another fire." Skulryk watched the remaining spectators run away like headless chickens when the fire started creeping towards them.
"I had the same feeling," Vincent commented. His view returned to the ship, still puzzled.
– Flashback: Null –
To someone just entering Null, it would appear that you had stepped into a room with dozens of bright lights. In actuality, this was the energy of the elements, keeping those banished to this world where Hell, Heaven, and Earth collided from breaking free of its constraints. But, this day, there was a mass of Shadow energy growing ever stronger, slowly, but surely, overpowering the Holy-elemental restraints of Null.
One year... one year since I was imprisoned here by those meddlesome Chosen. One year since my plan nearly became complete. And now... The mass of Shadow was only thinking to itself, but by some strange power of Null, it heard its thought echoing back.
...now... The mass began to move, only slightly at first, but then its struggling became more prominent as it gained more strength.
...my ultimate revenge shall begin, and the Chosen shall fall! A tearing sound came from all directions, as the mass of shadow energy began to stretch and distort into a larger size.
Then, suddenly, the tearing noise intensified as a shockwave of darkness ripped through the observer's field of vision, and a holocaust of Shadow erupted from its epicenter. Then, abruptly, the vision stopped.
– Onett Residence –
The observer snapped awake in a cold sweat, trying to calm himself. The dreams had been bothering him for hours, and he finally decided to cave in. Groggily, the man got up and got dressed. Trying to awaken even further, the man slapped ice-cold water on his face. Refreshed, he looked up in the mirror and quickly identified his main features: light red hair, hazel eyes, and the crimson scar across his left eye.
Suddenly, he heard noises from outside the bathroom window. Hastily sheathing his dual katanas into the sheathes he wore out of habit, he then, very slowly, very quietly, opened the window and looked around for any signs of the noisemaker.
He found it, and he saw a man walking around the house, trying to find a way in. After several go-arounds, the man gave up and headed towards the next house. The observer from the window quickly ran down the old, wooden stairs of the household, and went out the front door to follow the stranger who had tried to break into his house.
This looks like it's not going to end well... the observer thought. Another movement out of the corner of his eye startled him, and he saw that the would-be thief had engaged in a battle with a boy in a red cap and a yellow backpack.
Why does that boy seem familiar? the man thought.
"PSI ROCKIN' OMEGA!" the boy screamed, stopping the man's train of thought. The boy's opponent was phased by the attack, but not for long, as a ball of darkness was sent flying towards the boy, and it connected, knocking the boy down. Then, the observer realized just who the boy was.
...Ness?! I thought he was in Summers with his parents... The observer didn't know about the Summers incident at the moment, but he did know that Ness's parents had gone on vacation to Summers to take some time off.
Nevertheless, the man thought, I'd better help him before this wacko kills him.
Drawing out his katanas, he charged the strange assailant, and was in mid-swing when the target turned around and threw a fireball at him. He was knocked down, and he was a little shaken, but otherwise he was alright.
"Who are you!?" Ness yelled across the mini-battlefield to the newcomer.
"My name is Virus, but we can introduce ourselves later! Right now we've got this guy to deal with!" the katana-carrier replied. No sooner then he said this, the enemy disappeared without a trace.
"What in the...!?"
-----
Christina arrived home about an hour and a half after the phone call had been made. She entered her house expecting to be greeted by her father. He has been working almost continuously for the past few months. However, nobody was to be found, not even her mother. The only thing that could be seen in the room that was out of the ordinary was an envelope on the table bearing her own name on it. She walked over to the table and opened the envelope.
Dear Christina,
How's it going, my dear? I had come home earlier today while you were out. Your mother tells me that you've found a few valuable items, huh? That's my girl. Always the lucky one. You really need to be careful, though. You never know when that luck may run out. I'm sorry that I can't be with you right now. I was just called out to investigate some strange occurrences out near Threed. Your mother came along because the orders that I received via phone told me to bring her. It seems odd, but I trust the government. The government does some things that help to protect the people of this country so I can't really question their logic. Anyway, your mother and I took the helicopter. If you'd like to come see us, you can. I know that you will come out to see us, so I made arrangements with a captain in Toto to give you a ride to Fourside Harbor. I can't wait to see you again!
Love, dad
Christina folded up the letter carefully and put it back in the envelope. She stood for a moment, thinking about whether she really wanted to travel. The decision was easy for her. Family was one of the most important things in her life at the moment, so she decided to go out to see her mother and father. She turned around and ran out of the house. Before leaving totally, however, she locked the door since she had no idea when she'd be back. She ran down the path to her house and turned the corner, reaching the road that lead to town. She slowed to a walk, knowing full well that she'll get to her destination in due time. Slowing to a walk allowed her to take in all things slowly. Usually, she found a rare plant or insect biding its time in the shade. This time wasn't any different. She stopped to admire the plant.
Mm, the Lunarbloom flower. I read about this once. This flower has really strong healing abilities. Additionally, it has the strange aspect of being able to contain extreme amounts of energy. Perhaps I'll take pictures of it later. Right now, I've gotta get to the port!
Christina stood up and resumed walking back into town.
About an hour and a half passed before she reached the port town. She had spent ten minutes at the police station returning the money that she had found previously. It was a few hours until dusk, but the policeman in the station gladly took the money. As she tried to leave, however, the same man ran out and presented her with the sum of money -- along with a lifetime pass to natural history museums around the world. Again, her luck was making itself shown.
In Toto, Christina walked along the docks. She could see that a sailor was waiting on one of the farther docks. She could also see that the sailor was a captain. His ship looked both brand new and modern, implying to Christina that her father had made arrangements for her trip to Fourside. As she continued down the waterfront, she encountered the same man that she had bumped into earlier. She approached him, figuring that she may learn something relevant.
"Excuse me, but you seem to be confused. Earlier when you bumped into me, you were distracted. Why?" Christina looked into the person's face.
"I'm sorry for running into you. It's just that... I saw something."
"Perhaps you'd talk some more if you knew who I was. I'm Christina Evanhouse."
"Vincent." A moment of awkward silence interrupted the conversation.
"So... uh... were you standing here the entire time?"
"No... I just walked back here." At this point, it seemed like Vincent was talking to himself. "I really would like to know why that ship seemed so puzzling to me." As an afterthought, he directed another statement to Christina. "I'll just sit here and think for awhile. Again, I'm sorry."
"Alright, if that's what you want." Christina decided that it was time to go. "Well, I'm off to Fourside. Try not to be so absent-minded. There may not be another person who can deal with being bumped into, especially in this town." She walked off towards her ship.
-----
Lier. X Agerate brooded in his small shack on the hilltop, his eyes closed in thought. He steepled his fingers, resting his chin on them. A shrill voice echoed through his mind, one wrought with anger and frustration. It was communicating with him. He slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the darkness. They were the color of blood.
A voice reverberated in his ears. It was a booming voice, one full of confidence yet also tinged with madness. "I apologize for interrupting your vacation as I did. After all, I realize Summers is wonderful this time of year, but pressing times call for pressing actions. I'm sure you understand. Yes, yes...tell me, how did your assault go?" Lier grunted distractedly.
"I would have finished him, but I was...interrupted. His powers are no problem, really. He doesn't eat garlic and work out to make himself stronger, so I have the edge." Lier grinned menacingly in the darkness. "But tell me, why don't you just teleport here yourself? Why the boat?"
The voice made a sound of disapproval. "Now, now...it is not the puppet's place to ask why. It is but the puppet's place to do, and die. Yes...but if you must know, I have my own sense of dramatics. And I wish to savor my meal...revenge, quite. Now be a good sport and...stir up some trouble in downtown Onett. Three others will be accompanying you soon." Lier frowned.
"Who would those be?" He inquired. The puppetmaster chuckled.
"Why, merely three other fools that were caught in the strings. Let's just say they had a fondness for gold, as you do. Now go." The voice subsided. Lier X. Agerate stood, and with a flash of purple light, winked out of existence.
-----------------------
Virus turned to Ness. "Who was that guy!?" Ness shook his head.
"It looked like Mr. X. Agerate, but I can't be sure..."
-----------------------
Rustopher stepped forward once again, eyeing Talus suspiciously. "Well then! What do you propose we do, you young criminal worm?" He tried to sound as indignant as possible. Talus shrugged.
"There's bound to be some disturbance nearby. We'll just have to wait and see--"
Talus' reply was cut short by a deafening blast sounding from the south. Seven heads turned to see a cloud of smoke rising from the air near a tuft of trees where the path to Twoson began. Patrol cars sprang into action, and the wail of sirens filled the air. An Onett police officer dashed out of the library, stopping momentarily to listen to his walkie talkie.
"All officers, we have a 910 in progress. I repeat, we have three individuals tearing down roadblocks. Truants have been identified as Mr. Geldegarde Monotoli, Mr. Everdred, and Mr. Carpainter. All officers report to the Onett-Twoson roadblock checkpoint immediately. Over."