André shoved his long bangs out of his eyes as he gazed around the darkened streets of Twoson. At this late hour, they were completely deserted. From his vantage point at the edge of the forest, he could see the long, low building that was his destination. He could also see the blue glow of sentry robots in Burglin Park, just waiting to zap him if he tried to dart across the road.

The teenager sighed. He had made this journey countless times before, and he could do so again. Uttering a brief prayer to whatever deities Giygas had spared, André dashed across the street, his eyes never leaving the fuzzy blue lights the whole time. As had happened every time he tried this, the patterns of movement remained unchanged. They had not seen him. Breathing a sigh of relief, André pushed his bangs out of his eyes once more and entered the building.

Several others were gathered in what had once been a classroom, judging by the chalkboard on one wall. A torn, dirty poster of a bear saying the ABCs hung on another, and a few people sat on wooden boxes. Aside from these, the room was bare. It had been one of the first places Giygas attacked, almost ten years ago. The owners of the school, Mr. and Mrs. Polestar, had not survived, and their daughter Paula had been kidnapped. Now, the name Polestar was synonymous with destruction, for when Paula had next been seen, three years later, she worked for Giygas. She was most infamous for using her awesome PSI power to send Dalaam crashing to Earth, killing all the Dalaamese and all the unfortunates below the falling country.

“André!” a voice called from the inner room. Tracy, one of the founders of the counter-Giygas movement, waved him over from where she stood in the open door. She had hated Giygas passionately ever since he killed her older brother Ness when she was only twelve. She had been instrumental in the saving of the Onett Public Library when she found out Giygas planned to destroy it. The building was long gone, but the books were still hidden somewhere in Onett. André had been taught to read out of one of those books when he had first joined the counter-Giygas movement.

“You need a haircut,” she teased affectionately as he entered the room where the major revolutionary figures were going over their latest plan. They had managed to find a table somewhere and now it was covered in schematics and lists. André saw his code name, Buzz Buzz, on several of the sheets and sighed inwardly. The only reason he was in the movement was because he knew PSI. To the movement’s best knowledge, he was the only user of PSI in Eagleland who had not been killed or captured by Giygas. There were a few left in Scaraba too, but the desert land was too far away to be of much help to the people of Twoson and the neighboring towns.

“André’s finally here,” Mr. Everdred, the eccentric leader of the counter-Giygas movement, announced. “He’s the last.” He turned his gaze on André, or at least, André thought he did. It was hard to tell, because even at night, the former thief wore dark sunglasses and a black hat that shielded his face. “How would you like to go to Winters?”

“W-what?” André asked.

“Oh, don’t that to him!” Tracy’s dad said from somewhere behind André. “André. Do you remember the legend of the Nightmare Rock?”

“Of course!” André said. It was one of the first things the movement had taught him. “When the chosen boy reaches the point, he will find the light. The passing of time will shatter the nightmare rock and will reveal the path of light.” The four short lines were the best known part of the legend. The legend in its entirety was written in hieroglyphs on the walls of the Pyramids in Scaraba.

“Well, from what we can infer, the Nightmare Rock cannot be destroyed by mortal hands, and we just have to wait for its destruction. However, because it amplifies Giygas’ power, it must be stopped at all costs. We have therefore decided to steal it,” Tracy’s father explained.

“The time has never been better,” Everdred continued. “We have the location of the Nightmare Rock, and Giygas is currently off-planet. Mr. Apple has finally perfected his airplane, which marks the first time we are able to fly in a decade. We also have two people who are just perfect for this mission!”

“And I’m one of those two, right?” André asked with a sick feeling in his stomach.

“That you are, my boy,” Tracy’s father said. “You see, while Giygas may be off-planet, Polestar remains, so we need a PSI warrior should she attack.”

André’s ill feeling promptly grew twenty times worse. “But…” he protested, “I am so much weaker than her! I’ll be killed!”

“Well, we’re sending Tracy with you. If you die, she can bring the Nightmare Rock back to us,” Everdred pointed out. This did nothing to reassure André. He turned to look at Tracy, wondering how bad she was feeling. Instead, her face shone with excitement.

“We are finally going to do something!” she said excitedly. “I finally get to start extracting revenge for Ness’ murder! And it will be like an adventure. What a romantic concept!”

“If by romantic you mean ‘death-inducing’,” André told her. She fixed him with an annoyed look.

“I would not complain, Monsieur Le PSI,” she told him. “You get to sleep in the bed today. Apparently they want you really well rested before you steal the Nightmare Rock.” That said, she walked away to talk with Mr. Apple, a Twoson native and the movement’s mechanical genius. André stood rooted to the spot, letting Tracy’s words sink in.

André had only ever seen two beds in his life. Giygas had destroyed all the others. One was in his hometown, Threed, in the old Sunset Hotel. The mattress had several dozen holes and the frame was rusting and unsound, but people still broke into fights over who got to sleep in it every night. The only other was here, on the upper floor of the old Preschool, located in the backmost room.

This room terrified André. Unlike everywhere else, the room was in rather good shape. The walls were still pink, and the bed, a chair, and one wall lamp were still mostly intact. That alone was cause for concern. Giygas had simply destroyed the majority of the buildings he found, so why spare this one? Warily, André shoved the door out of his way and entered. Moonlight poured through the window, too dim to illuminate the room. Hesitantly, he moved the wall lamp to see if it still worked. Unable to see what he what doing, André knocked the shade halfway across the room even as bright light flared into existence.

Squinting against the brilliance, André retrieved the shade and made to cover the bulb when a piece of paper caught his eye. It was folded very small and jammed into a crack where the lamp connected with the wall. Normally the shade hid this crack. André grasped the paper, and after some tugging, managed to work it free. He quickly replaced the shade and unfolded the piece of paper. It was an old photograph. Its color was very faded and parts had been worn away along the creases due to much folding and unfolding. However, the picture was still clear.

Eight children sat on a staircase, maybe the one he had just walked up ten minutes ago. Most of them looked like they were about four or five. They were all smiling with the pure, untainted joy of the innocent. The picture was clearly pre-Giygan rule. However, André’s eyes were drawn to the girl who sat in the middle of the bottom step. She was older than the others, perhaps nine or ten. She wore a cute pink dress and her hair was tied into two pigtails with red ribbons.

Slowly, André turned the picture over. On the back, in a child’s handwriting, was written “Paula and the preschoolers, 199X”. With shaking fingers, André folded the picture back up and shoved it deep into his pocket. He pulled the twist tie holding the longer pieces of his hair out stuffed it in his pocket on top of the picture. Minding the shade, he extinguished the lamp and lay down on the bed. It certainly was more comfortable than the usual tablecloth he normally slept on in Threed, but André was sure he would not be able to sleep with Paula’s ghost hovering about the room.

The next thing André felt was pain. He looked up, squinting in the light at Tracy. “You were sleeping so soundly, I had to shove you off the bed to wake you,” she explained with a shrug. “It’s late afternoon. Change into these and come downstairs. We’ll leave in a few hours.” She shoved a pile of grey material at him and exited the room, closing the door as much as it would fit into the frame to give him a measure of privacy.

André examined the grey bundle and found pants and a shirt with Giygas’ logo on it. He vaguely wondering where the movement would have found the uniform, but figured that if it was clean and would keep him from getting killed, he was not going to ask too many questions. André changed quickly and wound the twist tie back into his hair. He then transferred his few possessions from his old pockets to his new pants, hesitating only a second before including the picture. Gathering up his old clothes, he ran downstairs to find only the most important members of the counter-Giygas movement left. Mr. Apple and Tracy’s dad were talking in low, serious voices, while Everdred made small notes on a piece of cardboard with a detailed map on it. Tracy was attempting to reassure some friends that she would be fine and that they need not worry. Then she caught sight of André.

“André! Come outside- Mr. Apple has built the ship we are to fly to Winters in! It looks so weird!” She seized his hand and half-dragged him across the room. He noticed that she was dressed in the same uniform as him.

“So… where would the movement find enough supplies for a ship… for our uniforms…?” André asked. They ducked through a hole in the wall near the stairs which led outside to the backyard.

“The adults have been saving certain useful items for the last decade. Half destroyed buildings are everywhere, and if it is not burnt, it can probably be used somewhere. They never showed me either, until now.” They came in view of the oddest contraption André had ever seen. Even his fuzzy recollections of cars and airplanes did not resemble this… thing at all.

It looked exactly what it was- a mechanical object compiled of various pieces of junk and scrap metal that might have the capacity for movement if it did not look like it was about to fall apart. Tracy pressed a button on the outside and a large piece of black metal lifted on a hinge, revealing two vaguely human-shaped depressions. They were curved to provide comfort for a person laying down, with an accessible control panel for each. Tracy leaned over and pressed a button on one of the panels. Doors to two compartments slid back, revealing what could only be weapons.

“Mr. Apple only had enough material to build one hyper beam,” Tracy explained with an apologetic look. “Since I do not have PSI, we thought it best that I take the hyper beam and you take the, er, iron wrench.” André gave her a look and leaned over to look at his weapon. A massive wrench, about as long as his torso, lay in the compartment. He gave Tracy an incredulous look.

“How am I supposed to even lift that?” he asked. She shrugged. André rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of the ship. He watched the adults exit the preschool, feeling a sort of detachment. He listened with half an ear as Everdred went over his objectives once again as he helped André into the ship. It would fly them on autopilot to Winters and land them near the entrance to a cave. They would travel through the cave and emerge on the other side at a place called Stonehenge. There they would find a massive building which housed the Nightmare Rock and several of Giygas’ key allies.

“Good luck, m’boy,” Tracy’s father interrupted Everdred’s monologue about the best way to sneak through a ventilation shaft. “Take care of my daughter for me please. Oh, and Everdred? The ventilation shafts are too small to sneak through. I hear garbage chutes work well.” Everdred’s indignant voice faded as the hatch closed, leaving André lying on his back with only the green lights of the control panel for company.

“Tracy?” he asked experimentally. There was no response. He wiggled a bit, trying in vain for a bit of comfort, and failing spectacularly. A message reading “OKAY TO LAUNCH?” appeared on his screen and he pressed the button labeled “YES” in Mr. Apple’s messy scrawl. He immediately wished he had not, for the small ship started to shake uncontrollably, causing André to bump his head rather painfully on the control panel. He felt them shoot straight up at an immense speed, and cursed Mr. Apple for not making the takeoff somewhat gentler.

After what seemed like four hours but was actually only four minutes, the ship stopped climbing skyward, stopped dead, and then shot horizontally at the same rate as before, causing André to develop another set of bruises on the side of his head. He peered at the control panel though clumps of hair that had fallen over his eyes, searching desperately for a button to reduce speed. After about two minutes of fruitless searching, he gave up and tried to relax into the wall he was pressed against.

The next four and a half hours proved very unpleasant for André. Trapped in a dark, confining space, unable to talk to Tracy or move his hands more than a few inches, he could almost feel his sanity slowly leaking away. Somewhere along the way, a draft of air jostled the small craft. Something pointed poked into André’s side and he bumped his head on the control panel yet a third time. At long last, the ship stopped dead once again, sending André slamming into the opposite wall.

If he thought going up felt horrible, it was nothing compared to going down. André left his stomach and several other internal organs a few kilometers up while the rest of his body hurtled to the ground. André was extremely grateful for his moment of foresight in skipping dinner when the ship slammed into the ground, knocking him into the roof. The green text on the control panel spelled “OKAY TO OPEN?” Groggily, André pressed the “YES” button once more and was rewarded by a blast of cold air and moonlight. He tried to sit up and failed miserably when he forgot about the control panel above his head.

Tracy took pity on him and helped him up. “Here,” she said, holding out a piece of spicy jerky. “This should make you feel better so you do not have to waste your PSI with a LifeUp.” He took it gratefully and they ate in silence, sitting on the edge of the half buried ship to avoid the snow. The entrance to the cave loomed behind them, looking very normal and threatening at the same time. Wordlessly, André and Tracy finished their jerky, closed the ship, and piled handfuls of snow on it to conceal it from the casual eyes of sentry robots.

“You go first, PSI boy,” Tracy said, shoving André toward the cave entrance. Immediately upon entering, André was ambushed by an Elder Batty and discovered that he could indeed use the massive wrench. The bat fell sideways, flapping its wings in an effort to retain a straight course. André nearly dropped the wrench, so shocked was he that he actually managed to hit his target. This turned out to be a foolish move, as the Elder Batty managed to right itself and bit him. André hissed in pain and glared at the orange creature as it flew out of reach. Tracy’s hyper beam shot it down a moment later.

“Come on,” she said, rolling her eyes at André’s disbelief at his bite.

“You’re not the one who just got eaten alive by a Batty!” André said incredulously. She sighed and kept walking, leaving the boy no choice but to follow her, not wanting to be left alone in a cave with hostile animals. The two of them walked on into the grayness, squinting as the light from the tunnel opening dimmed. They had a few more unpleasant encounters with Elder Batties and one Strong Crocodile, and at last found their way to what could only be termed a doorway. After their eyes adjusted, Tracy and André were horrified to discover that while the cavern had previously not branched at all, now a row of cliffs lay to their right, all with ropes conveniently placed to allow easier access to the upper levels.

“After you,” Tracy said, indicating the nearest rope. Grumbling, André seized the rope and somehow managed to get himself to the top. He reached a hand down to aid Tracy to the top. She kneeled at the edge, panting a little bit as André stepped forward to seek out the next rope or opening. Suddenly an arm snaked around André’s neck from behind and he was pressed against the cave wall.

“What is your name, Giygas-owned?” a young voice hissed.

“André,” André managed to cough out. “And I’m not, er…”

“Giygas-owned? Then why do you wear his uniform?”

“We’re going to infiltrate his Stonehenge base… we needed to blend in… ow!”

“They’re fairly weak, Dad, both of them. I don’t believe them, but I don’t see how they could be Giygas’ either. Why would you want to enter the Stonehenge base?” André was about to respond when a high-pitched voice stopped him.

“Stop answering them!” Tracy called. The sound of a gun of some sort was followed by a thud and a whimper of pain.

“Keep talking and maybe you won’t be the test subject for my new experiment,” the boy said, pressing André harder against the wall, blocking Tracy from his view. “Who is your girlfriend over there?”

“Her name is Tracy,” André said, ignored said girl’s furious gasp. He just wanted out of this chokehold and off whatever was poking into his hip. “She’s not my girlfriend. This is her crazy scheme to stop Giygas when I barely know how to use my PSI-”

“You know PSI?” the boy interrupted in an excited tone. “Keep talking and maybe I won’t feed you to Tessie.”

“I’m not very good. I’m supposedly the last PSI user in Eagleland or something, but I never really got a chance to learn. My parents don’t have it and neither did anyone else in my hometown. Supposedly I was going to learn from an aunt in Summers, but once Giygas took over…”

“Dad, I doubt they’re Giygas-owned,” the boy said after a long pause. “They don’t glow blue, at least.” He took his weight off André and stuck out his hand. “I’m Jeff Andonuts.” Warily, André took it, looking at his attacker for the first time. He looked surprisingly well off, with combed blonde hair, glasses that had both lenses intact, even though the frame was a bit bent, and a worn button-down shirt and green pants.

“Wait!” Tracy said, glaring at them from where she sat on the floor. There was a bruise on her leg where the ray from the gun had hit her. “How do we know you aren’t Giygas-owned?”

“Look,” Jeff said with some exasperation, “this is just going to require a bit of trust on both our parts. Dad and I are not the ones wearing Giygas’ uniform. As a sign of good will, we’ll let use one of our inventions. It instantly heals you and restores your energy. Follow me if you want, but you can leave. It’s not like you’re a prisoner or something.” He began to climb a nearby rope. Shooting a guilty glance at Tracy, André followed. The four humans entered a clearly manmade tunnel.

“My lab used to be outside, near old Stonehenge,” Dr. Andonuts explained. “UFOs would come and go from the place sometimes, but I never really saw much more activity than that. Imagine my surprise when I awoke one morning to see these robot things uprooting the stones. There was a man who had been spending sometime studying the stones. He had clearly tried to stop the… things, and I saw him lying on the ground, a hole through his chest. Terrified, I retreated into my lab and stayed there for a week or so. When I next ventured out, the ground was laid open to reveal a massive maze of underground tunnels. Some Starmen were building a room, clearly extending the base above ground. The cave boys and bears that used to spend time around these hills were also working, maybe as slaves or something.

“I hid in my lab again, working frantically on an invention that I hoped would help. I called it the Phase Distorter… but it didn’t matter, because I never got to finish it. I awoke to a pounding on my door one night. A Starman informed me that my lab was being absorbed into their base and I was to join Giygas or die. My cave boy (he’s my lab assistant) and I ran for it, and somehow managed to make it into these caves. Apparently Giygas did not consider us worth pursuit, so we started building this tunnel. Not long after my flight, Jeff showed up.”

“They destroyed the boarding school I was attending,” Jeff continued. “I escaped with my friends Tony and Maxwell. Maxwell was killed, but Tony and I managed to escape and took refuge with the Tessie-Watching Club. Two days later, a monkey showed up. Somehow, I was able to understand him, and told him I needed to get to my father. The little guy called Tessie and told her Tony and I needed to get across the Lake Tess. Tessie turned out to be a purple water lizard, and she gave us a ride across the lake. From there, I headed to Dad’s lab, but obviously, I never got there. We have been living here ever since, trying to invent something that will destroy Giygas.”

“We’re from the- ow! Tracy!” André glared at the girl, rubbing the back of his head.

“They may be ready to reveal all their life secrets, but we have more discretion!” she hissed at him. Jeff looked at her sadly.

“I guess you still don’t trust us,” Dr. Andonuts said. “Here. See that thing? Stand in front of the black screen and pull the lever on the left. I call it the Instant Revitalizing Device. You’ll feel like you just had the best rest of your life.”

“André, no!” Tracy cried, but it was too late. André pulled the lever… and nothing happened. His headache suddenly disappeared and when he looked at his arm, he saw no bite. He also felt more rested than he had since being a child. He turned to Tracy with a look of wonder.

“The thing actually works!”

“Who knows what sort of unknown radiation that thing put in you,” Tracy said, still refusing to come anywhere near the machine.

“Look, if your going into the base, these will help. At least take them,” Jeff told Tracy, turning around from a cabinet in the wall. André, you take this rain pendant. It protects you from PSI Freeze, which is Polestar’s favorite attack. And Tracy, you take this gold bracelet. It has protection on it.”

“How would you know what Polestar’s favorite attack is?” Tracy asked. Jeff sighed, bowing his head a little.

“I met her,” he said softly. “I had first arrived and was watching construction on the base. Apparently she had too. I saw her climb out of a small hole in the roof of a room that was jutting out from the main structure. She ran directly for my cave and tripped over my knee, not expecting anyone to be there. We both nearly fell over the edge, but stopped ourselves just in time. She introduced herself and said she was fleeing Giygas. I told her she could hide with Dad and me, but I wanted to watch the construction for a short while longer. She agreed and sat with me. We started talking and it was like we had some sort of connection. I had never seen her before, but we got along so well.

“Before long, we saw a Starman come towards the cave with a device. Polestar told me it could sense a PSI user and we ran for it. He was faster than us though, so we found cracks and hid. The Starman had his device pointed right at me, but it did not pick me up. He found Paula and teleported the two of them back to the base. I never saw her again, nor did I ever forget what I learned in that short half hour of conversation.”

Unconsciously, André’s hand moved toward the photograph in his pocket. He was vaguely aware of Tracy’s protests to Jeff’s story, saying she could not imagine Polestar as innocent. The gold bracelet on her wrist sparkled in the harsh, electronic light as she protested. André was struck by how wrong the entire situation felt. He was not sure what a world without Giygas would be like, as he had been too young to remember much, but he had a feeling that things would be drastically different.

“Can you lead us to that entrance- if it still exists?” André asked suddenly, interrupting the bickering.

“Sure,” Jeff said. “Paula told me that it’s a hatch for UFOs and you just have to wait until one comes in to land and then slip in after it.” He held up a hand to stop Tracy’s protests. “Look, André trusts me. I would promise that I am not leading you into a trap if I thought it would do any good, but you would not believe me anyway. No one is forcing you to come.” Tracy shut her mouth, looking slightly offended. Jeff grabbed a beam from the cabinet, checked the power cell, and nodded to the others.

“Let’s go. Try not to talk after this point.” André and Tracy nodded. They stepped out from the tunnel and were immediately ambushed by a Strong Crocodile and an Elder Batty. André bashed the Batty with his wrench and looked over at the Crocodile to see it fleeing, a large burn on its tail from Jeff’s beam. Even Tracy looked slightly impressed at the older boy’s power. She quickly finished the Elder Batty off with a shot from her hyper beam. Jeff shot her a quick smile, which she slowly returned. André smirked and began to descend the rope.

The three humans did not have far to go. Using the system of ropes that had been installed long before Giygas’ reign, they were quickly able to reach the exit of the cave. There were two tunnels leading out, though one had a ferocious-looking plant blocking the entrance.

“I tried to get past that mushroom thing to see where that tunnel led once,” Jeff whispered to the others. “It knocked me down and said that I wasn’t chosen yet… or something. It was really weird, but since then, it has never bothered me or anyone else that I know of. It’s waiting for some guy called Ness or something.” He shrugged and walked toward the other exit, not noticing Tracy’s sudden paleness or André’s worried look. The only Ness they knew had died several years ago. Perhaps Giygas had specifically targeted him?

Tracy shushed André before he could say anything and the two of them followed Jeff into the light, getting their first glimpse of the massive complex they were about to enter. Gone was any sign of Stonehenge. The giant metal building sprawled over one hundred stories into the air and extended horizontally around a corner which was blocked by a hill. André gaped openly, never having seen such a large building. Ladders decorated the outside and UFOs regularly flew from various hatches in the building. There were a few sentry robots, but they did not appear to be doing much. Giygas was confident in his supremacy.

“This way,” Jeff hissed, running to one of the nearest ladders and beginning to scale it. “They won’t bother us unless one happens to sweep a sensor over here and realizes André has PSI. Giygas is arrogant, and underestimates humans, so that might not happen.” André rolled his eyes and silently demanded of whatever deity was listening why it always had to be him. Then he followed the other two up the ladder, across a roof, up two more ladders, and at last to a flat section of roof with a smooth crack down the middle.

“Good luck!” Jeff whispered. “When a UFO comes near, the hatch will open and you two can enter. You won’t have to wait long.” He gave them a grin and slid down a ladder and out of sight. André and Tracy ducked under a drainpipe and settled down to wait. As Jeff had predicted, only a few minutes had passed before a Cute UFO swooped down from above and the hatch slid soundlessly open. André leapt into the hatch, falling perhaps eight feet. The UFO entered and, not even noticing the two humans, flew down a corridor and out of sight. However, a single Starman Junior stood guard.

“Names?” it asked with an electronic voice.

“Buzz Buzz,” André said with a grin. “I’m coming back from a top-secret assignment from Giygas.” He ignored the pain of Tracy’s repeated stomping on his foot. Apparently the Starman Junior was not impressed either. It sent a beam of fire at the humans and André quickly threw up a shield, which absorbed the flames. Tracy stared at him with wide eyes, clearly unused to a physic battle. André did the first thing he could think of and charged forward. He swung the great wrench and caught the Starman Junior on its chest. The wrench somehow hooked on the edge of the logo and ripped it and several attached wires of the Starman Junior’s chest. It stumbled backwards, avoiding the beam Tracy shot by centimeters.

André used the Starman Junior’s distraction to take another swing with his wrench. He aimed for the thing’s visor, but missed due to the heaviness of the wrench. It crashed down on the Starman Junior’s shoulder, denting it badly. The thing sent out more fire, which broke André’s shield, but did not touch him or Tracy. She shot her hyper beam again and it grazed the Starman Junior’s arm, leaving a scorch mark.

“Die already!” André shouted in frustration, swinging the wrench wildly. By some miracle, it caught the torn edge of the Starman Junior’s armor and destroyed more circuiting. It topped over, some critical function damaged, and lay paralyzed on the ground.

“Whew! Let’s go, before it starts moving again,” André told Tracy. The two of them fled down the corridor in the opposite direction of the UFO and at turned several corners at random, at last reaching a stairwell. The teenagers crouched underneath the stairs, taking the opportunity to catch their breaths and relax.

“This place is huge. We might have a better chance of finding the Nightmare Rock if we split up. Here.” Tracy handed André an object with a speaker and two buttons. “Mr. Apple made two phones, but they only receive calls. Considering that we passed a few phones on the way here, I think there are phones throughout the complex, so we can call each other if we find it. You go upstairs and look through the upper levels and I will look through the lower levels.”

“You do realize that this could take weeks, right?” André asked, not looking forward to the task ahead.

“Well, we can follow a logical search order- it is likely to be in an important place, not an odd storage room. Just follow a logical pattern and it should only take… days…”

“Right.” André said, disbelieving her. However, she was right. It was the most logical and quickest plan of action. Reluctantly, André waved good-bye to Tracy and began climbing the stairs. About four flights later, he discovered that stairs were a very good place for fugitives. Most people preferred to use elevators, especially in a building this size. Occasionally, a Starman would pass him, but they merely glanced at his uniform and blew right by him, not even noticing that he was not glowing the odd blue color that Giygas’ humans normally did.

At last, André felt he could climb no more. He entered the next door he came to and found himself in one of the top floors. André caught a view of the omnipresent thick clouds and marveled at how close they seemed. He crept through the halls, noting that it seemed busier up here. So busy was he scanning for things at eye level that he nearly screamed when something ran into his shin. He looked down to see something that resembled nothing more than a bright pink cross between a rodent and a beach ball.

“Boing! Sorry!” it said loudly. André noticed a chain around one of its short legs.

“What are you?” he asked carefully. “Are you a prisoner?”

“I am Mr. Saturn. Once lived in valley with other Mr. Saturn. Now all slaves.” Its antenna, complete with ragged red ribbon, drooped sadly.

“Uh… sorry?” André said. “Do you know where the Nightmare Rock is kept? Because, um, I’m trying to steal it so Giygas will have less power… then maybe I could free you… or something…”

“You free Mr. Saturn? Zoom! Nightmare Rock up very high. No one has airplanes, so no one steals! Go up four stairs, see important place. Private elevator to Nightmare Rock!”

“Um… I think I got that. Four stories higher, there is some sort of important place with an elevator to the place with the Nightmare Rock?” André asked. The little creature nodded eagerly, causing its entire body to move back and forth on its legs.

“Thanks,” André told the Mr. Saturn, not quite sure what else to say. “I’ll return for you… someday…” The Mr. Saturn did not seem to notice his hesitation and gave a joyful “Boing!” before leaving to do whatever work it had. André turned and walked back to the stairwell, thoughts of the Mr. Saturn plight already far from his mind. If the resistance succeeded, the creatures would be freed, but until then André could do nothing. He was also a bit lazy.

With renewed energy that comes from accomplishing a difficult task, André took the next four flights of stairs two at a time. His boots echoed loudly on the metal steps and he ran breathlessly out the highest door, only to skid to a sudden stop and desperately try to muffle his ragged breathing. Two people were coming towards him from one of the three halls extending from the stairwell door. They were engaged in an argument, and thus had not seen him yet, but they would at any time. André did the first thing he could think of and threw himself under a desk in a niche in the wall. He huddled against the cold metal and listened to the two people talking.

“Why is it so difficult for you to find one man?” one was demanding of the other. His round stomach strained the buttons on his suit as he gestured angrily with one fat arm. “You told me this PSI sensor could find any magical human on the planet and yet you still cannot bring me the last chosen one.”

“I cannot understand it!” the other man protested. He might have been handsome but for the way the harsh fluorescent lights reflected off his orange hair. “Even a decade ago when our technology was still very primitive, we were easily able to locate the other three chosen ones because of the strength of their PSI. Perhaps, Master Pokey, if we tried using something other than PSI sensors… he clearly has a way to block-”

“No!” the other man said, blonde hair flopping into his eyes as he stopped and spun to glare at the smaller man. “Listen well, Mr. Orange, you are on your last failure. Even your slob of a neighbor, Mr. Apple, accomplished more than you. And while we are on the subject of failures, have you got Andonuts’ phase distorter working yet?”

“I… almost,” Mr. Orange stuttered. “If we could cease this relentless search for the chosen boy and find Andonuts himself, maybe we could force him to finish it. Surely… surely it would not take too long.”

“You know Giygas’ first priority is to neutralize the threat those chosen brats pose,” Pokey hissed. “Even though my neighbor and Dalaam’s prince are dead and the Polestar girl is working for us, one left free is one that can threat Giygas’ reign. Speaking of Polestar, where is she?”

“Probably listening to that silly rock again,” Mr. Orange said, allowing some contempt to creep into his voice. “Honestly, I do not see what is so special about it. It’s just a song.” Both men laughed, and the tension that had escalated with their argument seemed broken. They began walking again, discussing concentration of Zexonyte in PSI sensors. André stayed huddled under the table for another minute or two, trying to make sense of the conversation he had just overheard. The only thing he knew for sure he understood was that Polestar was guarding the Nightmare Rock. He was not sure what the men meant by “listening to it” but that did not matter. What did matter was that he was living his last half hour on Earth.

Sighing, André figured that if he was about to die anyway, he might as well throw caution to the wind. He stood up and noticed that a phone was sitting on the desk he had been hiding under. André picked it up and dialed the number for Tracy’s receiver phone. It rang twice before she picked up.

“André, these are for emergencies only!” she hissed. “You nearly got me killed by a couple of Foppies!” André had no clue what Foppies were, but suspected that they were some sort of vicious monster Giygas employed.

“Sorry, Tracy, but I just wanted to tell you that the Nightmare Rock is not down there. Go to the top of the stairs where we split, and then find the private elevator to higher levels. Supposedly Polestar is up there, so I also wanted to say that I will all my possessions to, um, the last chosen one.” There was silence for a moment.

“Who?” Tracy asked.

“No clue. Come find me if I am still alive!” André said and hung up quickly. He hoped his death would be painless, or at least quick. Uttering another small, strangely comforting prayer, he went to find the private elevator. Not knowing what else to do, he started down the corridor Pokey and Mr. Orange had gone down. It turned out to be a short hall, with a few doors, a massive control room at the end, and the promised elevator. People, Starmen, and other creatures were all rushing about in the control room and in and out of the doors, but no one was near the elevator. André walked up to it.

“Password?” a computerized voice asked. André stayed silent. So that was how they kept private elevators private. He had no clue what the password was and was not about to guess and die earlier than his estimated half hour. Maybe he could just walk away…?

“Thank you,” the elevator said suddenly, interrupting his musings. The door slid open to reveal a small elevator, completely empty. André stared at it. How in Winters had it opened when no password had been provided? Only the closing of the doors startled André and he darted forward to enter the elevator before the doors shut.

“Where to?” the elevator operator asked.

“The Nightmare Rock,” André answered, not pausing to realize how ridiculous that sounded. However, she merely nodded and the elevator began gliding smoothly upward. After about twenty seconds, it stopped and began gliding sideways. Apparently that was how people got around the massive building quickly. The elevator stopped again and the doors opened to another corridor, exactly the same as those several floors below. However, this one was deserted.

“Uh, thanks,” André told the elevator operator. She did not bother to acknowledge him, but merely closed the doors, leaving André alone at the end of the hall, with nowhere to go but forward. There was a single door at the other end of the corridor, about fifty meters away. André walked slowly toward it, listening to his heart pound in time with his feet. As all other doors before it, it slid open soundlessly, revealing a circular room. There was a concentric circular platform in the middle of the room, surrounded by a low railing. There were two breaks in the railing, one directly in front of André and the other at the far end of the room near another door. A small ionic column sat in the middle of the room and atop this column sat a round-ish stone, a little smaller than André’s palm, and glowing a soft blue.

André could not help but feel… disappointed. He had been expecting something on the order of a giant lava pit and ferocious monsters, guarding an evil-looking, blood red rock. Instead, he found a deserted room with a perfectly innocent stone, ripe for the taking by whoever wanted it. André walked up, looking for a trap of some sort. There was nothing. He waved his hand over the pedestal and did not even feel the shock of a shield.

“It won’t bite, you know,” an amused voice said from the opposite end of the room. André jumped, startled. A woman was standing in the doorway through which he had not come in. She was dressed in Giygas’ uniform, just like everyone else in the building, and did not look particularly imposing. The only hint of originality about her was the red ribbon tied about her wrist and the Star Pendant around her neck.

“Who are you?” André asked. The soundless doors had been cool before, but now they were just annoying. She did not answer immediately, but took the opportunity to step up onto the platform and lean casually against the railing.

“My name is Paula Polestar,” she said. André paled, a sick feeling growing in his stomach. “I see you have heard of me,” Polestar said quietly. André did not respond, but continued to stare at her in horror. She seemed so innocent. Only the cold detachment in her blue eyes gave any hint of the heinous deeds she had done. Yet, André could still see the smiling little girl from the preschool in the face of this older woman. She sighed, looking sad.

“That thing,” Polestar gestured at the Nightmare Rock with a careless hand, “is left unprotected so I can use it. Really, it is not as big a deal as the legends make it out to be. It is basically a storage vessel for the Earth’s power, no different from your average backpack, really, except that it does not store physical stuff.”

“What are you doing?” André asked, terrified.

“Trying to convince you that stealing the Nightmare Rock is pointless so I don’t have to kill you,” she answered casually. Yet André noticed that she had tensed just a bit. This had to be a trick.

“PSI Shield Sigma,” André said, licking dry lips. Polestar’s face fell.

“I’ll try to make this quick,” she said. “PSI Fire Omega.” Fire burst from her fingers, easily demolishing André’s shield. His eyes widened.

“PSI Freeze Beta,” he whispered. He could not shield all the time or he would lose all his PSI… quickly. The wave of ice flew at Polestar and was absorbed into the star pendant on her chest.

“It protects me from almost all offensive PSI, much like your rain pendant protects you from PSI Freeze,” she explained upon seeing his surprised look. “PSI Fire Omega.” Fire flew at André again, engulfing him. He screamed, and fire burned his mouth. He collapsed on the floor, smelling burnt hair and flesh. All the mental preparations he had made for death vanished, leaving him with nothing but a terrified desperation. He got up and lurched forward unsteadily, swinging the wrench at Polestar. She blocked easily with one arm, surely getting bruises but nothing more.

“PSI Fire Omega. Please die this time,” Polestar said, not looking him as she unleashed her next wave of fire. Again, André fell to the ground, screaming as the fire worsened the already severe burns. The air shimmered with heat, and André could tell that one more blast would kill him.

“Please, if any deity can hear me in this God-forsaken place, help!” he managed to choke out. Amazingly, André watched as some of his burns healed instantly, leaving smooth, white flesh. He did not have time to marvel at this before Polestar screamed.

“What did you just do?” she demanded, eyes wide with terror. She clutched her chest as though in pain. “Prayer has not worked for me since… since…” She paused, gasping a little. “PSI Magnet Alpha.” She was faltering, and André seized his advantage.

“Kind deity, help!” he begged again, and this time saw a light pass over Polestar. She screamed again, in pain and terror. Turning towards André, his earlier desperation was reflected in her eyes.

“PSI Fi-” she began.

“Wait!” André cried, stalling. She paused. He pulled the picture out of his thankfully undamaged pocket and held it out to her. “Do you remember this?” Polestar snatched the paper from his grasp and unfolded it with trembling fingers. She stared at the old picture, tears forming in her eyes. Slowly, she sank to the ground next to André.

“Where did you get this? Giygas told me he vaporized the preschool” she asked, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. It was the first time since André had seen her that her eyes held any sort of emotion.

“He must have lied,” André answered. “It is one of the few buildings still standing. I found this when I slept in your room. I don’t know why I kept it… I guess I was really curious as to how such an innocent-looking girl got to be a murderess.” Polestar did not seem to notice that this was a desperate bid for a few more minutes to live. She began her story.

“This picture was taken when I was nine, a few years before Giygas took over. My mother taught the preschool, so I was home schooled, and I often helped with the children. Although I was an only child, it was like having an endless parade of younger siblings, and even though they got annoying sometimes, by the end of a school year I always found that I would miss them all. Then one day, I went on a walk to buy some candy. I avoided my family, as they were kind of annoyed with me for some silly little transgression. I never saw the preschool again.

“I was ambushed by two men, kidnapped, and locked inside a cabin in a village about an hour away from Twoson. My PSI skills were not developed enough for me to use them to break out. I did not know PSI Fire yet so I could not burn the place down. I turned to telepathy and called the nearest PSI user I could sense. I don’t know if he ever heard me, but he never came and rescued me. It turned out that I was kidnapped to be made High Priestess of Happy-Happyism… whatever that is. I still don’t know. At any rate, the whole thing was a front for a deeper purpose.

“The night after the ceremony, a Starman came to Happy-Happy Village. He teleported me and one of my kidnappers, a kid who called himself Deacon Pokey at that time, to this base. I was imprisoned, and I nearly escaped once. This boy, Jeff was his name, I think, tried to help me but I was caught again. I was moved to a more secure location in the base, and I never escaped again.

“For the next year or so, my only company was Pokey. We were the same age and the youngest two in Giygas’ base. He was an insufferable brat, and really, he still is. However, I found out much useful information when he bragged on whatever secret Giygas had let him in on that week. He… Giygas, that is… was obsessed with the legend of the Chosen Four, since they were prophesied to destroy him. The first thing he tried to do was destroy the Chosen One… and he succeeded. Without him and disunited, the other three were less dangerous, but still powerful.

“A year later, Giygas came back, and finally paid attention to me. I wish he hadn’t. I was brought to a large room and I saw Giygas for the first time.” She shuddered, in remembered horror, looking ill. “He demanded that I use my power for him, and of course, I refused. He had expected this, so Pokey brought a kid from the preschool, Timothy, into the room. The poor little thing was understandably terrified, and as soon as Pokey let him go, he ran directly into my arms. Giygas laughed and told me to kill him. I was appalled, but Timothy merely stood up to that horrible thing and said, ‘Paula would never kill me. She loves me and is a really nice girl. You are a meanie!’

“This did not faze Giygas. He merely looked at Timothy and asked him if he knew that I had magical powers. Timothy nodded and Giygas asked if he knew that I could call lightning to strike things. He said that I had demonstrated PSI Thunder at a picnic and cooked a burger with it. Then he turned to me, and that was his mistake. He never saw Giygas whisper ‘PSI Thunder Alpha’. He only saw the lightning bolt race downward and strike him in the face.” Paula raised a hand to her eye and rubbed furiously at the moisture collected there.

“The kid immediately started bawling. His entire face was covered in horrible burns and I rushed to comfort him. However, due to Giygas’ manipulations, what could he think but that I hurt him? He screamed in terror and fled from me, cowering and crying at the other end of the room. Giygas said in the smuggest tone I have ever heard, ‘Well, Paula, you know no healing PSI. Your charge is in pain and terrified. He has lost his faith in you, the one person he thought he could trust. You know I will continue to hurt him. How long do you want his pain to endure? You could end it all very quickly, you know.’

“I knew what Giygas was asking of me. I could not bear to look at Timothy as I sent my strongest freeze at him, killing him instantly. Giygas at last let me leave, and I fled to my room and cried the entire night. I tried to seek comfort in prayer, as I had always done, but I could not seem to find it. I have not been able to pray since that day.” Tears ran freely down Paula’s cheeks now. Her gaze was fixed on some imaginary point on the far wall.

“I though that the worst was over. I was mistaken. Giygas had collected as many kids as he could find from the past three years of preschool. Every day, I was forced to kill one of them. Even the older ones’ names and faces were so familiar to me. I still remember every single one. Worst were the strongest ones, who did not die with my first hit. I tried to minimize their suffering, but they still only saw a ruthless monster where there once was a loving sister-figure. By the time Giygas ran out of children, his purpose was accomplished. His psychological attacks had worked, and I then saw myself as a monster too.

“I donned Giygas’ uniform and cut my hair, daring only to keep one ribbon to remind of who I used to be. Giygas was obsessed with the murder of the Dalaamese prince at that time, so I broke the powerful magicks keeping Dalaam in the air on his orders and sent the entire country crashing down to Earth, killing an entire race and all the people under the falling country in one fell swoop. Since then, I have in essence been Giygas’ slave, destroying whatever annoyance on which he focused.” André and Paula sat in silence for a moment.

“Maybe…” André began nervously, “maybe you could stop.” Paula gave him a bitter look.

“Giygas has PSI sensors that can sweep the entire planet in less than two minutes. As my power reading is especially high, higher than anyone ever except Ness, I could not even get out of Winters without being found.”

“Not necessarily!” André said with sudden excitement, remembering a piece of information he had heard a short time ago. “There is this guy who knows how to block PSI sensors. I heard some people talking about it… if we could find him…”

“Yes, and Giygas would find me the moment I stepped out of the base to go waltzing around the world to find the one who would protect me from that very occurrence,” Paula told André.

“You said earlier you had telepathy,” André said slowly, trying to come up with some to convince the older girl. “If you are both chosen ones or something, maybe you have some sort of link that would allow you to contact him.”

“Maybe…” Paula said, wary agreement creeping into her face.

“It would work!” André encouraged happily. “And then if-”

“André! I-” Tracy never had time to finish her sentence. Polestar spun about more quickly than André could track and shot her strongest freeze at the blonde. Tracy did not have time to scream before the cold hit her and froze her entire body. As though in slow motion, André and Polestar watched her fall backwards and hit the ground.

“Tracy!” André cried after a moment’s stunned silence. Not even bothering to stand fully up, he crawled over to her still body. Her eyes were still open, though staring vacantly at the ceiling. André hesitantly held his hand under her nose. Cold radiated off her face, from death and the after effects of PSI Freeze Omega. Not a single warm breath disturbed the hairs on André’s hand.

“Why did you kill her? She was my friend,” André asked Polestar as he turned slowly around. She was kneeling on the floor, arms wrapped around her middle. She turned her face away from André.

“Get out of here,” she said hollowly. “Take this.” She held the red ribbon from her wrist out towards André, still not looking at him. “It will give you some measure of protection.”

“But you-” André began.

“Just take the Nightmare Rock and go!” Polestar cried. “I can’t guarantee your safety if you stay here. Leave, or I will kill you.” Terrified, André seized the Nightmare Rock and Polestar’s ribbon and fled the room. He ran down the corridor to the elevator and flung himself inside. The elevator felt like it was descending at a third its normal rate. When the soundless doors opened, André threw himself out of the elevator and ran recklessly towards the stairwell, not noticing the odd looks he was receiving.

André’s hair fell into his eyes and tears blurred his vision as he half-ran, half-fell down the stairs. He could not remember which story he and Tracy had entered on, but his panicked mind did not care. He just needed to get away from that horrible room with the dead girl and her murderer. After what might or might not have been an appropriate number of stairs, André noticed a very large group of Starmen coming towards him from about three flights below. Panicked, he threw himself through the nearest doorway and ran down the hall. One of his feet slid out from under him on the smooth, metal floor, and André slid into a room where stood an Instant Revitalizing Device.

André pulled the lever and watched as all his burns were healed. He scrubbed a few tears out of his eyes and pulled the decrepit twist tie out of his hair. He twisted the longest strands back into their usual ponytail and knotted Polestar’s ribbon around it. However, before André could clean up anymore, the whirring noises of a large group of Starmen communicating reached his ears. Panic once more flooded André’s senses and he fled the room, not bothering to check if the Starmen were anywhere near.

Skidding around corners and nearly tumbling down small steps of stairs, André had no clue if he was going farther into the base and his demise or to some portal to the outside where he could escape. There were many people around at times, and other times the corridors seemed deserted. At last, André came to a massive room where the even, soft lighting of the wall was disrupted. Sunlight poured into the room from an open hatch through which UFOs, Mooks, and any number of other unidentifiable creatures were going.

Lungs straining from exertion, André fled across the massive room. Creatures spun to stare at him, their brains or processors taking a moment to evaluate the situation before they realized he was fleeing the building. Fearful that the doors would start closing or that the Starmen would catch up with him, André ran faster than he had ever ran in his life. By the time he reached the door, the scenery around him was a blur and he no longer felt his feet when they touched the ground. And then he was slowing down, coming to a slower jog in the middle of Twoson.

André gasped and looked around. There were the deserted ruins, the sentry robots, the heaps of rubbish covering the muddy ground of Burglin Park and above all, the Polestar Preschool stood like a monument to lost days of harmony. Somehow, André had teleported from Winters to Twoson, and though he was not quite sure how he had done it that first time, he was nearly certain that he could do it again. He bashed a few of the sentry robots that had noticed his arrival until they joined the rumble on the street and then turned towards the preschool.

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through André’s side and he noticed a new gash, probably from one of the robots. He stumbled and fell, pushing his arms out to catch himself. His head hit one of his hands and something smooth and round pressed into his forehead. There was pain, but at the same time the most comforting melody André had ever heard seemed to emanate from his hand. It helped him gather his thoughts and he pulled his head up and looked at what he held. To his shock, it was the Nightmare Rock. What a misleading name! Using the strange energy given him by the small blue stone, André got up and walked back to the preschool.

The next few days were a blur to André. Everdred and Mr. Apple met him inside the building, shocked that he was back so soon, without the flying machine, without Tracy, and with the Nightmare Rock. Mr. Apple immediately confiscated it. André barely noticed. He was dizzy with exhaustion. There seemed to be a lot of voices asking him things and he supposed he must have told them something satisfactory, for he was allowed to go to Polestar’s room and sleep.

The worst part of those first few days was seeing Tracy’s father. He did not blame André for his daughter’s death. Everyone there knew that André had really had no chance against a PSI user of Polestar’s caliber. Somehow though, André felt that he had better not tell the others of his conversation with her. He did not think they would agree with his attempts to help her. For all they knew, she was ruthless and sadistic from the beginning, not another victim of Giygas.

The trip changed André himself. Although true childhood was not actually possible on a planet under the control of the Universal Cosmic Destroyer, André had been a mostly selfish person. People had to be aggressive and possessive to survive in a world where food and shelter were both scarce. The population of the world had dropped by about sixty-five percent in the first three years of Giygas’ reign and survival of the fittest had never been more evident in the human population.

Now, André wondered if there was something more than merely trying to survive with the least amount of pain from day to day. He had never truly believed in the counter-Giygas movement, and he still did not, but agreed that something needed to be done. About two weeks after his return, he asked Tracy’s father where the Onett Library was hidden. The man told him, for everyone was still walking on eggshells around him. Two days later, André walked to Onett, and found the dilapidated house at Beak Point.

As Tracy’s father had predicted, there was a hole underneath the remains of a section of fallen roof. André descended a ladder into a winding tunnel and after getting lost a time or two in the tunnels, he emerged into a massive cavern. Books lay piled untidily on the floor, their covers dusty and their edges moth eaten. André pushed the sleeves of the gray uniform he still wore up to his elbows and got to work. By late afternoon, the light was nearly gone, and André had found three books on Scaraba, none of which said anything about the prophecies on the pyramid walls.

André zapped an isolated robot with PSI and paralyzed it, then brought it back to the library. By its soft blue glow, he was given enough light to continue searching the stacks of books. After several more hours of fruitless searching, his PSI was running low from paralyzing the robot whenever it began to move again and his eyes were tired. He bashed the robot until it stopped working, idly wondering if Mr. Apple could make some sort of lamp from its intact light panels. He picked up the three books on Scaraba and teleported back to Twoson.

The next day was spent relaxing in Polestar’s bedroom, and reading. Everdred was not happy at his forwardness at claiming the bedroom, but André ignored him. Though ghosts still lingered in the pink walls, André felt more at peace with them now that he knew Polestar had a human side. Most of the books were relatively useless. One, a travel guide, talked about the sphinx and the great pyramid, and related one of the legends. It had to do with a mythical stone called the Hawkeye though, not the Chosen Four. Although the idea of a stone that could light even the blackest darkness was intriguing, it was not what André was looking for. Another was about Scarabian cuisine and the third was a biography about some Scarabian singer.

At last, almost three and a half months into his search, André found a book that would help him. Some books had had partial translations of the Scarabian hieroglyphs which only made André more certain that Tracy’s older brother, Polestar, the Dalaamese prince, and some other boy were the Chosen Four. However, only common knowledge was in most of the books he had read. There was also the slight problem that at least two of the Chosen Four were dead. However, in between a trashy romance novel and letters Gy-Ju of an encyclopedia, André found a book titled “Annotated Partial Translation of the Scarabian Legends: The Most Complete Translation of the Scarabian Hieroglyphs on the Walls of the Great Pyramids to Date!” Although “to date” was thirty years prior, it was the best thing André could find.

The book was very dry. It used esoteric language that André, who had never had formal schooling, found very difficult to understand. He made notes in the margins with a stubbed bit of pencil found at the ruins of the Onett Drugstore. Bit by bit, the story came together. It spoke of the Chosen One missing his destiny, but a second chance would be given to him. It spoke of some of the things he would do, like bringing light to the darkest place, wherever that was, and rediscovering the underworld, which sounded rather morbid to André.

Two things became clear to André: that kid had to be extraordinary to do all the things the prophecies had him doing and someone had to go back in time to pre-Giygas days and warn Ness of events to come. He decided to approach Mr. Apple about the latter problem. Meanwhile, the movement was planning various attacks, some aimed at Giygas, most aimed at Polestar. For reasons even André himself did not fully comprehend, André knew that they were aiming for the wrong target and took their plans and burned them.

“Aim for a man named Mr. Orange,” André told Everdred, Tracy’s dad, and Mr. Apple after one such event. “From what I heard at the base, he is incompetent, but is still the main mechanics person on Giygas’ side.”

“I know that man,” Mr. Apple said. “He used to be a neighbor of mine. He was pompous and rather rude to me, but I doubt he would work for Giygas.”

“And besides, André, what do you care if Polestar dies?” Tracy’s father added. “Even if she is not the biggest threat, although personally I still think she is, she killed Tracy right in front of you. How could anyone not want such a cold-hearted person to die?”

“I just think that, ah, with so few resources, we should focus on those who are the greatest threats without wasting precious materials going after… others…” Even before he finished his sentence, André could tell that they would never listen to him. They would never believe that Polestar did not want to kill and detested what she had become.

The outcome of his plan for time travel met with slightly better reception. André wrote his plan on a somewhat blank page in the back of the “Annotated Partial Translation.” His pencil stub was worn to almost nothing from the numerous notes on the translation. André explained the conversations he had heard in the base that led him to believe that Tracy’s older brother was the Chosen One, and the pages in the “Annotated Partial Translation” that gave evidence of time travel. André suspected Mr. Apple agreed to look into it mainly as a favor to Tracy’s father, who felt bad that he had worked a lot when Ness was young and never got to spend much time with his son before he died.

Now that André could teleport, he spent a lot more time in Onett. He noticed a far heavier concentration of robots in the northern suburbs and could not help but wonder why. Tracy’s father mentioned that he used to live in those hills and perhaps they were guarding the house of the Chosen One, although he no longer lived there. In a rare show of weakness for a post-Giygas takeover man, he asked André to please see if the house was still standing. It was the first house past the burnt-down library, and he would see it immediately because part of the roof was caved in. One of Giygas’ minions had thrown a bomb into Ness’ room, killing him and his mother instantly.

André had never thought to ask how the other two members of the family were killed. The revelation horrified him, and he agreed to go at once. He stepped outside and teleported to Onett, arriving near the ruined hotel. A few people glared banefully at him from a makeshift shelter in the ruins. He paid them no mind and, instead of going south as he normally did, he turned to the north and walked across town until he sighted a large, bare stretch of singed ground. This then, must have once been the Onett Library, and the next house past it was André’s destination. He turned from the main road and onto a dirt path. Already he could see the shapes of robots on the path ahead.

Adjusting the uniform he still wore, André strode forth confidently. The robots and mooks noticed the logo on his left breast and did not bother him. Two sentry robots nearly stopped him with demands for a secret code, but André was able to paralyze them and quickly move on before he attracted attention. At last, he rounded a corner and saw two houses, one with a massive, charred hole in the roof. Over half of the upper story was simply gone. However, no other aspect of it or the house next to it was demolished. André supposed Giygas could not be bothered to destroy these two houses, and no humans could get to them because of all the robots.

The inside of the house was a different story. The place had been completely trashed, though André could not tell if Giygas had done it or why. André wondered if there was anything he could salvage that might comfort Tracy’s dad. Under a broken broom handle and several shattered plates, he found three small photo albums. They were mostly intact, so André shoved them inside a moth-eaten yellow backpack that was lying in the kitchen sink, stepped over a decrepit dog bed and a table leg, and exited the house.

He turned to teleport back to Twoson when a flash of gold caught his eye. It came from a hill several meters above Ness’ house. André narrowed his eyes and peered intensely at the hill and was rewarded with another flash of gold. This was neither the soft blue light of a robot nor the yellow glare of the sun. Intrigued, André ascended the hill. Robots seemed much more concentrated this high up, and André could not avoid a few battles which left him winded but all the more curious. He passed an entrance to cave near the top where the robots were most concentrated and at last reached the summit.

A soft gasp escaped André as he realized he was staring at a meteorite. It seemed to glow with its own golden light, although by the amount of grass around it, it had clearly been on Earth for many years. Parts of it had been chipped away by artificial means, as shown by the even cuts across the rock’s surface. And for some odd reason, André felt that he had seen this place before, a long time ago. Acting completely on impulse, André sliced a baseball-sized piece off with a small burst of PSI and placed it in the yellow backpack. If Giygas wanted this guarded so heavily, it had to be somehow valuable. Maybe Mr. Apple could analyze the sample… Before he could be stopped, André teleported from the top of the hill back to Twoson.

Up in Polestar’s bedroom once more, André examined the piece of meteorite closely. He had given the albums to Tracy’s father, who thanked him with a look of happy disbelief. He explained that when his children were little, he asked a friend from college who then worked at a professional photography studio to take pictures of his children in their various activities. The photographers used PSI to find Ness and Tracy and take pictures of them at various locations and times.

Tracy’s father had shown André some of the pictures from just before Ness’ death. The handsome boy showed up on a baseball field with a few schoolmates, posed on a large boulder with Tracy, and leaning out the window of a large bus, always flashing the same peace sign and grinning openly and happily. He looked like any normal, pre-Giygas kid, and André found it hard to believe he was looking at the Chosen One everyone had placed their hopes in for the last decade.

Now, looking at the odd rock, André wanted more than ever to meet the extraordinary child about whom he had read so much but knew so little. Hopping off the bed, André decided to go see if Mr. Apple had made any progress on the time machine. He slid down the stairs and out through the small hole in the wall. As expected, Mr. Apple was bending over the sheets of aluminum somehow had found a few months ago and drawing on them with a piece of green chalk. A silver canister stood on the ground beside him, a tangle of wires covering one side of it.

“Hey Mr. Apple!” André greeted the older man. “How is the device coming?”

“Hello André,” Mr. Apple greeted with a friendly smile. He stood up, absently tucking his chalk into the back pocket of his overalls as he turned around and laid a protective hand on the canister. “I have the basic design built, but I realized that do not have all the materials I need to complete it. You see André, to traverse time, one need not have PSI, but one does need a certain type pf radioactive element that produces PSI particles. The trouble with this element is that it is not found on Earth. Unfortunately, Giygas has hoarded all space technology. I am afraid that I will not be able to complete your time machine, André.” He shook his head sadly.

“What about,” André began slowly, “a certain object from space that happens to be located on Earth at this point in time? Would that work for the machine?”

“It might,” Mr. Apple said. “Zexonyte is found in some meteors… Why do you ask? Have you found a meteorite lying anywhere around?” He gave a little chuckle at his joke. André gave a little smile and pulled the piece of meteorite out of his pocket.

“Would this work?” he asked, tossing it to Mr. Apple. The man gaped, his round face flushing with excitement.

“This is exactly what I need, André! You truly are a miracle to us. For all of our sakes, I hope this plan of yours works. If I work quickly, we might even be able to send someone back in time within the next fortnight!” The man continued muttering to himself as he pulled a coil of thick blue wire out from underneath a sheet of aluminum. André grinned and strode back to the school, feeling better than he had in weeks. He was about to duck through the low opening when arguing voices caught his ears.

“I’m telling you, this plan is genius!” Everdred’s voice exclaimed in excitement. “Polestar will not stand a chance once we put this into effect. This is going to save millions of people. How can you possibly have anything against it?”

“I still think it is a bit risky,” Tracy’s father’s voice answered. He sounded nervous. “I still think André…”

“Listen, I understand your objections. Even though destroying Polestar would be far easier with André’s PSI powers, we cannot so much as tell him about this plan. You know he has been sabotaging all our attempts to bring her down for the last few months.” He lowered his voice, causing André to lean forward slightly. “I have hidden the plans in that hollow stump to the left of the cave to Peaceful Rest Valley. The plan starts tomorrow. Will you help?” Tracy’s father sighed in defeat.

“Of course. Too many innocents have died because of her and Giygas. I am going to go find some food. See you tomorrow?”

“Good man,” Everdred said. “I’ll be in the hospital if you need me.” André listened as the footsteps of the two men went into the next room and then faded from hearing. Feelings of guilt washed through him. He still did not know why he was protecting Polestar, but already he knew that he was going to destroy those plans tonight. He slipped through the hole and up the stairs to await nightfall. Pulling out a book on family structures of the previous century, he settled down to read for the next few hours.

The moon was a little over three quarters full, giving André more than enough light to see the tunnel ahead. However, its looming mouth was not his destination. He veered left, entering the forest. There were three immediately apparent stumps and a few more he could see farther in the forest. The first was not hollow. The second one he came to was, but no papers were hidden within. He stood up to check the next stump when blue light flooded the area. Squinting painfully, André saw a figure approach from behind a tree.

“I’m so sorry, André,” he said. It was Tracy’s father. His face was filled with sorrow. “You’ve become too much of a liability.” The sound of a leaf crunching underfoot was André’s only warning before something heavy came crashing down on his head. Pain exploded and the world flashed white before he lost consciousness.

André tried to move his arm. It would not move in the right direction. He could move it forward though and he propped himself up and opened his eyes. The world seemed oddly fragmented and distorted. He tried to reach his arms to rub his eyes, but merely fell down once more.

“André?” a concerned voice asked. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes…” André answered. He had no warning before an exceptionally large hand scooped him up and brought him directly in front of Tracy’s father’s massive face. He held up a mirror, which André peered into and saw a tiny, mechanical bumblebee. He raised an -arm, and the bee in the mirror raised one, multi-jointed leg. “W-what is this?” André asked, suddenly afraid. The last thing he remembered was being attacked in the forest.

“Mr. Apple’s time travel machine is not safe for humans,” Tracy’s dad began. “Everdred thinks you have become too dangerous. I do not know why you are trying to stop us from hurting my daughter’s murderer, but it has gone too far. We are sending you back in time in the body of a mechanical bee.

“Mr. Apple figured out that the Nightmare Rock is nothing but a storage vessel and conduit for the Earth’s power. If we can get the rock to my son, he can use it to collect the Earth’s power and thus prevent Giygas from being able to harness it like he is now. There are eight power spots in the world. He only found the one in Onett… somewhere called ‘Giant Step’.

“You must tell give Ness the Nightmare Rock and guide him through his journey. Please, André!” His face was filled with confusion, grief, regret… and something André had not seen in this man for months… hope. That single expression was enough to cause André to forgive him for the attack. He truly did only want the best for humanity. Because, what could André do as a mechanical insect anyway?

“I will do this,” André said. “But I am not doing it for you… or Everdred… or anyone in this resistance party, really. I never agreed with your methods, not really. But I do want Giygas gone as much as anyone here. When do I leave?”

Downstairs, the preschool was busier than André had ever seen it. He flew in circles about people’s heads, attempting to get used to his new body and being a general nuisance. He wondered where his human body was and what they had done with his possessions. In particular, André missed the little book that had taught him about the Chosen Four and Polestar’s red ribbon. The thought of anyone from the movement touching it made him angry for reasons he still could not understand.

People were shouting and attempting to make last minutes plans. Apparently not only was André supposed to leave in the next hour, but a group of Starmen was approaching the preschool from Onett. Apparently Giygas had finally figured out where the headquarters of their resistance were. However, André was distracted from this by the sight of an object he had not seen in months. The Nightmare Rock, round and blue, sat unguarded on a nearby table. He immediately flew down to it and laid his head on it. The soothing melody helped him organize his thoughts.

“You’ll be taking that to Ness,” Mr. Apple said from somewhere above. André looked up. “Ness’ dad told me about a yellow backpack he once bought for his son that could store large items such as bicycles without expanding or getting heavy. Using some leftover Zexonyte, I was able to make a similar pouch for you to carry the rock in although it is about ten times the size of your body.” He took out a pouch and dropped the Nightmare Rock into it. As he pulled the drawstring closed, the bag shrunk and he was able to tie it around one of André’s front legs.

“Apple!” Everdred’s voice called. A rush of loathing shot through André. “Has André got the Nightmare Rock? Good, good… Now, André…” He crouched next to the table and his face completely filled André’s vision. “We are counting on you not to pull any stunts like you have been doing lately. I gave you a chance to repent. I was hoping you would not walk into that trap we set up, but unfortunately, you have proven to be unreliable. I hate to lose our only PSI warrior, but you have done more harm than good. Don’t let us down again.”

With those grim words, he got to his feet and walked away, leaving André and Mr. Apple to stare after him in surprise. André’s wings trembled as he attempted to keep from hurling every PSI attack he knew at the man. A confused look was beginning to settle on Mr. Apple’s face. He turned to André and opened his mouth as though to ask what André had done this time, but though better of it.

“Come on, André,” Mr. Apple said. “It would probably be best if you got out of here before the Starmen arrive.” André wordlessly took to the air and flew over to the device, followed by Mr. Apple. It looked much the same as it had the last time André had seen it, a tangle of blue wires cascading down one side and the cylinder with a bee-sized rectangle cut in another side. To his surprise, André felt absolutely nothing about leaving the world he had always known. Granted, it was a bleak and dreary place, but it was familiar, and a few people had shown André some kindness.

“You’ll want to fly through that hole and inside, you’ll see a black pad,” Mr. Apple explained. “Stand motionless on that, which should not be hard as you no longer have to breathe and I will activate the device. I have configured it to send you to the greatest source of Zexonyte in Onett, which should be the meteor. You should arrive about a decade ago, give or take three weeks. That was as exact as I could make it. And André, do be careful. If the mechanical body is damaged enough to stop functioning, you will die, and even if the body is repaired, you will still be dead. Someone like the legendary Dr. Andonuts could probably do it, but… Well, just be careful. The metal is rather thin and delicate.”

“Thanks Mr. Apple,” André said with a smile.

“Good luck, dear boy,” Tracy’s father said, coming over with Everdred to watch André’s departure.

“And one more thing,” Everdred added. “Call yourself Buzz Buzz. We made you a bee because a small, flying creature was the most convenient form, and it fit with your code name. Things could get complicated if you or the Four meet your past self.” André stared at the man incredulously. He had been six years old at the time of Giygas’ invasion. He doubted even he would recognize his pre-Giygas self. But he had learned that some fights were pointless.

“Alright.”

“Then into the device with you. Our lives are once more in your… wings…” André gave a nod, though he doubted any of the humans noticed, and flew into the rectangular hole and landed on the black pad. However, just as Mr. Apple activated the device, a great crashing sound was heard, and several people screamed.

“The Starmen… invading… more than we antici-” was all André heard before a yellow light blinded him and all went silent. Then the light slowly began to fade and he was falling. Desperate, André flapped mechanical wings and kept himself airborne. When the spots in the lenses that served as his eyes faded, he found himself staring at three boys, one of whom he would recognize anywhere although he had never met him. The Chosen One, Ness, was staring directly at him. He felt like he had to somehow explain.

“A bee… I am… not…” he began, trying to get his racing thoughts into a comprehensible speech. It was probably best to jump right in. “I’m from ten years in the future. And, in the future, all is devastation. Giygas, the universal cosmic destroyer, sent all to the horror of eternal darkness.” Well that was morbid. André though he probably ought to be a bit more encouraging, although everything he had said was nothing but truth.

“However, you must listen! Where I am from, there is a well-known legend that has been handed down from ancient times. It says, ‘When the chosen boy reaches the point, he will find the light. The passing of time will shatter the nightmare rock and will reveal the path of light.’ You see, it is my opinion that you are that boy, Ness. This I believe…” Poor Ness still looked shocked, and André though he might as well continue talking now while there was still a chance of the kid believing him. Tuning the other boys out, André focused entirely on Ness.

“Giygas’ monstrous plan must have been set into motion somewhere on Earth… If you start to confront the enemy immediately, you may have time to counter the evil intentions of Giygas. Three things are of the utmost importance: wisdom, courage, and friendship. The legends from the ancient times tell of three boys and a girl who defeat Giygas.” The shock was starting to wear off. André was amazed that Ness had been able to listen to him for this long.

“I will tell you more later. Go now! And do not be anxious about the future. You have much work to do, Ness. Did you listen to what I told you?” Ness nodded silently. “Thank you for listening to my long story. You are as exceptional as I expected you to be…” André fell silent, grateful for the mechanical body. He would have been very out-of-breath had he still been human.

“Ness!” one of the blonde boys, who looked about Ness’ age, said. “It looks like you’re really in a lot of trouble this time. Three boys, he said? Uhhh… I’m not one of those three, am I? ’Cause… I’m not into this thing at all… Geez. My heart is almost pounding right out of my chest!”

“I think it would be kinda cool!” the younger blonde said. “Are you an alien bee?”

“Not exactly…” André said hesitantly. “My name is Buzz Buzz. I was once human, but now my soul inhabits this mechanical insect. I lived in Threed all my life, which is not very far from here.”

“Cool! I’m Picky, that’s my brother Pokey. Can we go on the adventure too?”

“I suppose what happens from now on is up to Ness,” André said.

“Ness? Can I come? Please?” The blondes and André all turned to Ness, who looked rather startled that they were all looking to him for guidance. The poor boy was probably still surprised that he was the messiah of some insect from the future.

“Look… guys, let’s just get you two home before your parents find out you’ve been out. I will talk with Buzz Buzz and maybe tomorrow when I’m more awake, we can make a plan.” Ness spoke at last, startling André. He seemed so… normal. He gestured for the other three to follow him with a wooden baseball bat he was carrying. André settled down to fly in circles around Ness’ head.

The three of them walked down the hill, Picky and Pokey arguing about whether or not to go on Ness’ adventure. For his part, Ness interjected with a neutral comment every now and then, but did not talk much, preferring to keep a wary eye on the animals that eyed them closely, but, seeing André, did not attack. He strode down the hill confidently, giving a small wave at a man sitting on his front porch next to a sign that said his name was Lier X. Agerate. He called a greeting back and the four continued. It was very odd to André, for in Giygas’ world, neighbors fought one another for the little scraps they could find rather than greeting each other with friendly smiles.

They rounded a corner and in the distance sat two houses that André recognized from his time. Ness’ house was whole now though, and André was able to see what it looked like without a gaping hole in one side. They were not to reach it immediately, for there was great crash as air molecules were forced out of the way to make room for a silvery robot- one André recognized as a Starman Junior.

“It’s been a long time, Buzz Buzz,” it said. André started. How did it know his name? “You’ve been successful at foiling Master Giygas’ plans. But, Buzz Buzz, you must now surrender. You’re no longer a hero, but just a useless insect. I’ll stomp you hard!” André threw a shield up, trying to remember where he had seen the Starman Junior before. Then he remembered… He and Tracy had entered Giygas’ base and he had made up some inane story about being on a secret mission for Giygas. He train of thought was derailed when Ness dashed past him, bat raised.

“Ness! Don’t leave the shield!” André cried. Hopefully soon the boy would learn his own PSI, but for now it would be difficult for him to make even a dent in a Starman Junior. With a childish bravery, Ness swung his bat at the Starman Junior with the experience of many days spent with friends on the baseball field. It connected with a resounding twang and bounced off the alloy, startling the young athlete. André sighed and darted forward.

“Use your stinger!” he heard Picky call from somewhere behind him. The thought had never occurred to André. He looked at his string to discover that it was a tiny laser and used it to slice the Starman Junior’s armor directly up the center of its body. Smooth metal edges smoked and the smell of burnt plastic filled the air. Ness coughed and Picky ran forward and punched the Starman Junior near the cut.

“That’s for making Ness cough, ya bully!” he said, ignoring the shallow cut that appeared where the broken metal met his hand. The Starman Junior looked down at him as though amused.

“You will die, just like the pathetic humans of ten years from now,” it said mechanically and let loose a massive flame that was stopped by André’s shield.

“What do you mean, other humans?” André asked, a horrible thought occurring to him. Ness swung his bat again, giving André a moment to strengthen the shield. The kid was not very powerful yet, but he had guts.

“How do you think I was able to follow you?” the Starman Junior said, swatting Picky away. Reflections of the shimmering shield and lingering flames shone maniacally in his visor. “They were no match for a group of Starmen with psychic powers. We killed them all and stole your time device, insect. A few modifications by our scientist Mr. Orange and I was able to come here. Unfortunately, the device was destroyed when I used it, so I will have to kill you alone. I am sure you will be in heaven with your friends soon.”

André could only hover in the air in horror as flames washed over the shield again. He had not liked the people of the counter-Giygas movement, but for them all to die in one fell swoop was horrible. They were good people, and now more than ever, Onett, Twoson, and Threed would fall to Giygas. Visions of another massive base from Winters with chains of zombies with the features of people he knew flashed on André’s screens, accurately depicting his thoughts.

“Help us, Buzz Buzz!” Pokey, who André had not seen until now, cried. Startled, André looked to see Ness and Picky stumbling backwards from the heat of the metal Starman Junior. André flew forward and cut a diagonal gash across its chest, cutting the logo and making an x where it intersected with the other cut.

“Picky, aim for the x. Ness, hit that logo- it’s a weak spot. Pokey, aim for the visor. I’ll finish this,” André told the boys as flames engulfed them a third time. Without looking to see if they were listening, André flew forward. Two boys followed him while the other hung back, nervously twisting the broken strap of his overalls. The mechanical insect flew into the crack in the metal and up into the machinery near its head. Spinning, André shot his laser in every direction, not bothering to check what it damaged until he heard the whine of dying machinery.

The wires were melting together to his left, burning a hole in the thing’s outer layer. André wiggled out the expanding hole and resumed his circles about Ness’ head. The four people silently watched as flames flickered inside the Starman Junior’s body and it slowly collapsed to the ground, acid from its batteries already disintegrating it. No one spoke for a moment, the sound being the crackle of the remaining flames and the buzz of André’s wings.

“Wicked!” Picky said with a grin. Ness and Pokey gave him looks that were torn between exasperation and agreement and the three of them began walking towards the Minch house once more.

“Whew!” André said in relief. “I was taking a big chance there... He came from 10 years in the future to kill me, so we can't relax yet!” He turned to Ness again. “From now on, you'll be fighting enemies sent by Giygas, as well as humans who have evil thoughts. They'll definitely make trouble during your adventure! Animals are also becoming violent due to Giygas' influence over the evil in their minds! It is the truth, so listen!” he begged the boy as they came in sight of the Minch house. Both Pokey and Picky paled when they saw the car in the driveway.

“Dad’s home,” Pokey said hoarsely.

“We can sneak past…” Picky began, not sounding as though he really believed what he was saying. Ness looked from one to the other and sighed.

“Come on, guys,” he said. “Your dad already knows you aren’t home. If you try to sneak in, you’ll just get punished more.”

“Easy for you to say. Your dad’s never home,” Pokey muttered resentfully. “You never get in trouble. Even teachers and cops like you!”

“That will be useful for your journey,” André cut in. “However, you need sleep now, so let’s go.” The boys fell silent at his words and strode toward the house as though they were about to be executed. Ness opened the door and they entered. Mr. Minch was sitting on the couch, watching television while Mrs. Minch was pacing impatiently, a scowl on her heavily made-up face that turned to a wide smile when she caught sight of the boys.

“Mr. Minch?” Ness asked timidly when neither of the blonde boys moved from behind him. The man turned to them, his expression souring as he caught sight of the boys cowering behind Ness.

“I’m really sorry that my kids troubled you so much…” he said to Ness. “Both of you are really going to get it now!” Pokey and Picky fled the room followed up the stairs by their furious father. André, Ness, and Mrs. Minch heard muffled shouting upstairs before Mr. Minch came back downstairs and spoke again with Ness.

“By the way, I would be happy if you left sometime soon,” he said. Ness made to pick his backpack up, but Mr. Minch stopped him with a hand. “I’m tired of your family living next door. We’ve loaned your father a lot of money. It may have been a hundred thousand dollars or more…” He paused. “Well I guess it really could have been less, but because of the loan, my family and I now live in poverty!” he added sullenly.

“My husband is much too lenient with the children,” Mrs. Minch added, coming over to Ness as Mr. Minch settled back on the couch. “Oh well, nice guys finish last. That’s the story of our life…” André was getting bored as she continued talking and drifted closer, fascinated by the excessive make-up on her face. No one had make-up in his world, though he remembered watching his mother put it on when he was very young.

“Ayaaaeee!” she screamed, noticing him. “I think it’s a dung beetle! I’ll smash your guts out!” André hovered still in shock, forgetting he was an insect. He saw her hand a second too late. It slammed against the delicate insect body more forcefully than André would have thought possible, sending him careening sideways. Thin sheets of metal crumpled and her ring caught on a protruding ridge, tearing a hole in the metal and damaging the delicate circuitry beneath it.

André felt a flash of fear. That circuitry was crucial to the function of the bumblebee body. He had feared for his life and nearly died before, but death in an ordinary house in the suburbs of a peaceful Onett had never entered his thoughts. How could he guide Ness now? André hit the floor, the hard impact further damaging the circuitry. His screens flickered and lost their color. He saw Ness kneel on the ground beside him, his face full of concern.

“Agh!” André managed to gasp, thankful his speakers still worked. “I was… much weaker than I thought… So you must now begin your adventure… See… you…” André felt his vital operations begin to crash, and wondered if the Nightmare Rock would help. With a sudden flash of terror, he remembered that he had to make sure Ness got that stone.

“Oh, I just remembered…” André called, praying he could stay alive long enough to give the Chosen One some final advice. “Listen to my final words… To defeat Giygas, your own power must unite with the Earth’s… the Earth will then channel your power and multiply it… There are eight points you must visit. Make these places your own… Each of these locations is ‘Your Sanctuary.’ One of them is near Onett. It is called ‘Giant Step.’ Go there first… Do you understand?” Ness nodded. “All right,” André continued as the speakers began to crackle. “You are a very intelligent young man… and… Oh!” André’s screens were dimming now and his pain probes were beginning to melt from the heat of burning circuits. “The pain! Everything is getting dark… urgh!”

André gasped and dredged up the strength to continue. “Before I pass on, I want to give you something…” André paused. He could not very well tell the child that he was giving him something called a nightmare rock. “It is the Sound Stone,” he said, improvising quickly. “You can record the melodies from the eight ‘Your Sanctuary’ locations into this stone. It is an awesome item…” André used a small blade on one of his legs to cut the pouch off his leg. It expanded to its original size and Ness reached out to open it with a shaking hand. The Nightmare Rock fell into his palm and André gasped. It was no longer smooth and blue, but white. There were new ridges in it as though parts of it had been worn away and it was no longer glowing.

“That must be what the legend meant by shattering the Nightmare Rock,” André mused. “I traveled through time, which somehow damaged it. I hope it still works to record the melodies.” He looked up to realize Ness was examining the stone, not listening. He raised the volume on the dying speakers. “By the way... I'm almost gone, but did you want to hear the story one more time?” Ness shook his head, eyes wide. “Good! It's already dawn outside... But it doesn't matter to me. I'm fading fast... Argh!” André gasped as he finally began the final shut down process and everything faded out, and he knew no more.

Ness looked from the small white stone in his palm to the swiftly disintegrating mechanical bumblebee who he had only known for a few hours. There was so little he knew about Buzz Buzz, but somehow, he believed him and all the crazy information he had learned since the meteorite’s landing. Clutching the stone tightly, he stood up and looked out the window towards the hills and the meteorite. Everything was golden with the glow of the rising sun. Not looking back, Ness strode out the door to begin his adventure.