Can something that was never technically alive,ever die? Can this empty shell have a soul. Can it have feelings, hopes, dreams. Can it think? These are questions that deserve an answer. I, unfortunately, have the answers. I live in Onett. Quite little town in Eagleland. Well, it was quiet. One night, out of the blue. A comet streaked across the sky and landed just a few miles from where I live. It was the biggest thing that happened to my town in a long time. The hype was short though. Not many scientists came to check it out because they got scarred of a few dogs. I couldn't believe it either. A little after it left my friend, Ness left town. I don't know why. His Mom says he's out trying to help or work or something. Oh well, Pokey left too, but I don't care about that pig. Always being a whiny, snob. Good riddance. Me and Picky hang out sometimes but his Mom doesn't let him outside a lot. Things have sort of quited down a bit. It stayed quiet for a while, too. Ghost stories were common around the clubhouse, but they always had a cheesey ending. Could have seen it a mile away. I didn't believe any of them anyway. Well I didn't used to. Picky showed up at the clubhouse one day. He was pale and stiff as a bored. Looked like he'd seen a ghost. He said he did. He must have been lyin'. He must have. He didn't say too much, just that he was looking out his window when some dark thing sort of floated past his house. We told him it was just somebody walking by or it was a dog. He said no, it looked at him. It didn't have eyes just this long, thin bar. It was glowed in the dark and as he locked his eyes with it lit up for a split second, the disappeared. We laughed at him. Nobody believed him. Ghost are supposed to be white and fly around and have eyes, or at least holes where the eyes are supposed to be. He said it was real. He's lying. It just didn't make any sense. The rest of the day was spent telling ghost stories and makin' fun of Picky. The sun went down and everyone was leavin', I decided I should head home and get some dinner before dad got back from work. As I was stepping out onto the rope ladder, I was halted by a voice. "Hey, um, can you walk me home, please?" It was Picky. Why do I need to walk him home, sure he's a year younger than me but his house is way-out-of-the-way. "Why do you need me to walk you home?" I replied. "Cause," he replied, avoiding my question. "Cause why?" I knew the answer but I just wanted to hear. Nothing ever spooks Picky, he's a tough kid I'll give him that but why does he need me to walk him home. He can handle himself, heck, once I saw him take on three sharks just by himself. He beat 'em, too. Craziest thing I'd ever seen. They shouldn't have beaten his high-score on Donkey Kong. Poor kids. Frank chased him out of that joint, personally. He could handle himself. "Cause, cause... I'm afraid." the way he answered, the way he drew his breath between his words. It wasn't a quick or long breath, it was the kind of breath you take when your starin' death right in the eye. He looked into my eyes, and I saw through his long blond hair, his eyes. They weren't the eyes I was accustomed to. The fire that normally engulfed his eyes was extinguished. The memories I had of him fell, and now I saw in front of me no more than a scared boy. "OK" I agreed. "Thanks..." The walk to Picky's house was fast and silent. The trees had turned beautiful with shades of reds and oranges. I liked this time of year. The air was thick and cold. I could see it hang in the air as my pace quickened, it was a simple reminder that I was still alive. My birthday had passed but my favorite holiday was quickly approaching, Halloween. Maybe somebody was pulling a prank on Picky. Probably those dang sharks. They're never up to any good and at this time of the year, they're downright evil. I mentioned my theory to Picky but he didn't respond he just kept looking around, sacred out of mind probably. During our walk the yellow sun turned crimson and matched the leaves. I wish we weren't in such a hurry, I could've enjoyed something like this. The red sky turned blue and it got cold and dark. We were almost to his house, I could see it up ahead. Picky saw it, too. His step eased a bit and I took him to his doorstep. We exchanged goodbyes and parted ways, his mom would've hit me if she saw me on her property. She already tried suing me for striking-out her son, Pokey. Psycho! Now back to my house! Ugh, I'm going to be late for dinner. I wonder what we're having? I hope burgers and fries. Fresh off the grill. My lips moistened at the thoughts. My trip home was preoccupied with thoughts of a good dinner when I returned home, I failed to notice a fog roll in. When I finally realized my path was being obscured by the earthbound cloud, it was already to late. No problem, I could find my way home with my eyes closed, I'd lived here all my life. At first the fog was light. I could still see the moon and the stars. It got thicker. So thick you could cut with a knife. What is going on? This wasn't any normal fog. I was beginning to feel lost. It all sort of came falling down on me. What is going on? I looked for landmarks, signs, anything. I found what I was looking for, but they all looked demented and evil in the haze. I swear that sign was glaring at me. Must have been my mind, playing tricks on me. I hope it was because I began seeing things other thing, too. Out of the corners of my eyes. Just little things, maybe just a tree or something. I hope they are just a tree. Up ahead I think I see a light! It's pretty dim. A street light? Maybe, I wonder what street I'm on. I walked a little faster. That wasn't a good idea in the current fog. I tripped and hit the ground hard. I fell like a ton of bricks. I looked up just in time to see something though. The light adjusted itself. It turned from a pale, benign white to a sharp, violent violet in hue and proceeded to lurch towards me! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! I could see it was no street sign. It was sharp and glowing, like a neon sign on the burger joint but demented and hell-bent on me! I could hear, it. Not that it spoke, it only thought of doing evil. Taking revenge. I could hear it’s thoughts. I could see it thoughts. They weren’t thoughts tough, they felt like memories. All horrible, horrible things. What is this demon? It memories continued to assault me, until I saw in my mind what was it’s true idol of hatred, Ness. Ness...Ness... Ness... Ness, the mild-mannered soft-spoken boy that was a friend to all. It hated him. How does it know Ness. I was scarred now, sure I was scarred to begin with but now, I was so afraid of this manifestation of hatred toward my friend. What is this thing, lurking towards me? "Get away!" I yelled, the hatred of the thing seeping into my mind. It gave me strength but blinded me in the rage. I got up, and against all common sense, went straight for a tackle. As my body moved towards it th air thinned and grew toward. Frost formed in a heartbeat around my face. I stretched out to grab my foe but my hands were left empty. Before I knew what happened, I slipped through the darkest fog that composed most of its body. Straight through him. My first thought was of shock. My second was of the overwhelming coldness that had wrapped itself around my body. A blanket of ice covered my entire body, the ice sapped at my strength and spirit. What was I thinking, am I going crazy? Before my mind could become anymore confused, the light swiveled a complete 180 degrees, focused on me, and turned to a blinding glare. A thousand points in space lit up. Tiny pinpricks of uncountable multitude, thick as the fog accumulated. They hung in midair refusing to fall. A cackling laugh, hollow and mechanical broke the spell of light. And the world came tumbling down around me. It's so bright, is this heaven? I don't feel dead, what is happening? I must be dead. I can't hear anything either. There is no other explanation for it. I starred at the enveloping white. Until to my surprise fissures appeared in the wall of light. They grew into shapes of white diamonds diamonds silhouetted against a a flowing sea of swirling colors and illuminations. What a weird heaven. "Get down!" a voice behind me broke the silence, it was so familiar, I knew who said that. I knew it could only be one person. Ness, he's come back home. I turned to greet my friend, but my efforts are quickly stopped by a tremendous cracking the diamond wall was cracking in an unsettling uproar. It shattered like a hundred stain glass windows. A magnificent sight. Light and shadow clashed with emense power. Gravity itself seemed to tremble and almost break. My vision was halved by these forces. The black for drew back to gather about the glowing bar. I could see the shape of a man. It wavered, flickered in and out. The bar was a blood-churing neon and it was affixed upon the source of the other light. My friend, the boy I had grown up with. I had lived here, in this small town with Ness all my life. I saw him in a new light. He looked older, but not as if he had aged. He just looked wiser and prepared. He looked strong, hopefully strong enough. He exerted a calm, it was warming and reminded me of home. He carried a baseball bat. It lowered it, and lifted his hand. A harmonic chord filled the air. The tune was rythmic and powerful, it whipped the through the air. Shapes formed through the sound and ripped the ghostly figure to pieces. The bright lines of harmonic air dispersed the shadow, it didn't want to leave. It fought back, every bit of its etheral existance fought to stay tethered to this world. The ghost let out a silent shriek. I could hear it resonating inside my own head, I looked to Ness. I saw him wince once, but as his eyes opened I could see his determination. Flawless and true. The black fgure ripped away from the chords with shocking speed. They took its toll on the thing, for its outline was more tattered. It moved fast, very fast. The two torn feet it used didn't even touch the ground. A single arm solidified from its translusenct body, turning to a sharp twisted spike. It reached out for Ness's heart! No! Stop! NESS! Ness's bat glowed white for a split second. With an inhuman speed, he moved his weapon through the living shadow. It's thoughts of lustful violence were silenced. No shadow lay about my friend. He stood there as if nothing happened. He looked to me, and smiled. I nearly burst into tears. "Welcome home Hero!"