The atmosphere of the lab seemed so heavy. The few machines that were perpetually active were the only things filling the air with sound. Doors locked, windows closed, rooftop's hatch closed tight, the entire place was cut off from the outside world. At the table stood a silent Jeff slowly moving pieces on a chess board. He wasn't playing an usual game. He was trying to understand how the “game” ended up the way it did.
They had the number advantage. They had the power. They had the abilities. They even grew up since. How did they lose then? What changed? Did they messed up somewhere? He recreated the scene over and over. There was nothing that could have been done differently. When Adamant Dog was defeated and it had reverted to Diamond Dog, everything else seemed to have followed a perfect guideline. First, there was this unbreakable barrier. The man had perfectly calculated the distance he had to cast in order to trap Ness inside without having any of his friends along. The lack of knowledge of that new kind of barrier left the four of them off guard. As soon as it was up, Paula, Poo and himself were already out of the game. They tried to get through but the shield was made to reflect PSI and physical force. How to break through it was a variable that couldn't have been resolved yet. Then, there's the battle between Ness and the mysterious man. It seemed like Ness had the advantage all along but in the end, it turned out he simply did exactly what the man had orchestrated. Was it possible that Ness was that predictable? Even so, the man shouldn't have been able to defeat his friend like that. He had a psychic power shield on him and the Franklin badge. How could a PSI ability reach him? It was impossible in the equation. That is, until the equation changed. They witnessed a PSI ability they never knew existed. It seemed like a PSI Thunder but it had a different pattern and a whole different approach. The Franklin badge was designed to repel lightning, not pure electrical discharges. As for the psychic power shield... well, it never stood a chance with electricity to begin with... It just seemed there was too many variables and not enough equations to solve them.
Was that it? Was his knowledge just not good enough anymore? Jeff wasn't sure. Most of all, he didn't know what to do anymore. Ness' Transmitter Phone's signal wasn't transmitting. The satellite couldn't find him. Either the phone wasn't working, either Ness wasn't on Earth anymore or either something was blocking the reception. Still, even if he did found him, what would he do? He obviously didn't have the ability to make a difference back then so what difference could he do now with some of his gadgets out of commission? Some of them even seemed pointless to repair considering how useless they were when he needed them the most.
A sound pulled Jeff out of his thoughts. His own Transmitter phone was ringing. He reluctantly picked it up with his free hand while his other kept moving the pieces. «Hey...» he said in a stoic voice. «Hey... it's me.» Jeff recognized Paula's voice. «Any luck yet?» she asked. Jeff hesitated for a moment. «...No. No luck at all. I just can't seem to track him down. As for my stuff, it looks like it might take some time to fix...» «Should I come to hel...» said Paula before Jeff cut her off. «No, I'll be fine... I'll call you later.» Paula took a few seconds before replying. «Okay then... later.» Jeff put his phone back where it was and moved his eyes back to the chess board. He sighed before shoving the pieces aside. «What's the point?»
The lab's phone then started to ring. Jeff wasn't in the mood to answer. However, he still decided to pick it up. «...Andonuts speaking.» «Wow... you really feel down. I was worried when you didn't called.» Jeff's mind seems to pop as he heard Tony's call. «Tony... why did you...» «Well, we had something planned today. Remember?» That's right... Tony and him had to go to the academy today for their extracurricular project that they planned to do. He would normally be looking forward for this if the circumstances were different. «We can always cancel for now if you don't feel like...» «No. It's fine Tony... I think I actually need to get my mind off this problem for a few hours. Might help me solve it if I look at it with a fresh mind... I'll meet you at the usual meeting place once I get there.» «Ok... Later.»
After Jeff put the phone down, he went to pick up his coat and some of his tools. Finding Ness was currently a dead-end. He had no clue what to do and he felt like he was running in circles for the past days ever since. Working on a totally different project with Tony might actually be what he needs to regain his inspiration. Beside, the last thing he needed was to get Tony worry about him especially at a time like this.
Winters, the actual city of Winters. All his life he had lived by its border near Lake Tess at his parents' house or the Snow Wood Boarding School. The first time he actually stepped into the actual city, he was surprised that all this time he had never ever seen it. For Tony, he lived there before going to Snow Wood but it wasn't Jeff's case. His first time in the city happened when he went for the entrance exam of the Winters' Sciences Academy. He was the talk of the city after that. Not only did he entered a year earlier but he had the highest score on the exam. After the battle against Giygas, Jeff stayed with his dad to learn the most he could. He then returned to Snow Wood thanks to his father that covered for him about his disappearance. He didn't forget however the face his teachers had when he totally aced the exams of not only all the stuff covered on the classes he missed but also of the stuff that was coming up next. They had no choice but to acknowledge Jeff's wisdom despite him being gone from class for a long time. In the end, they even agreed to let him skip a grade. To his surprise though, he didn't expected that one of his classmates would do the same. A year later, Tony ended up catching up with him. He had made an enormous progress to keep up with Jeff. Jeff realized on that day that Tony considered him not only as his best friend but also as his rival.
Thus, the two ended up graduating together, a year before their old classmates. They both registered for the Winters' Sciences Academy and they were both accepted. Their first year ended a few weeks ago. How many times did he talked to Paula about how things were different at this level of education? She always seemed so interested about school.
Jeff arrived at the academy and entered by the main entrance. The halls were almost empty. The only people around there were those who worked there or the students who also applied for extracurricular projects. As he arrived at the windowed hall with the view of the city, he saw Tony at one of the tables looking outside. «Sorry I'm late...» said Jeff. Tony turned around and gave a light smile. «Hey Jeff. No worries. I took care of the paperwork and stuff while waiting. The lab is ready whenever you want to start.» Jeff couldn't help but smile. «Alright then, let's get going.»
The two were working hard in the lab. Jeff was currently next to a table where their mini-submarine was, working on the circuitry. Tony, in the meantime, was on the computer, working on what seemed to be the AI. Jeff's knowledge about submarines that he acquired back when him and his friends were in Scaraba was really helping out. Tony, to Jeff's surprise, was actually quite talented with programming. He once told Jeff that he started programming when he realized he didn't had the dexterity Jeff had but he totally found his forte with computers. The two made a good pair.
Jeff, however, seemed to have some trouble with the circuit board. He seemed to do goofs he normally wouldn't do. He just couldn't find a why to make the connections without making a short. After a few more minutes, he closed down the hatch. «I'm done Tony... let's put it to test.» They moved the mini-submarine on the rolling board and moved it into a pool that was set up for testing machines which were supposed to operate in the water. Tony started the application he had compiled to do the tests. The look wasn't that great but he didn't really cared at this point. He then started to operate the submarine. However, after a minute, both him and Jeff noticed the submarine wasn't reacting like they wished it would. After checking out, they realized the circuitry was overheating. Jeff let out a sigh. It was like he couldn't do anything right anymore. Tony then decided to speak up. «You really must be troubled to be in that state... » Jeff looked at him for a few seconds then started to stare at the circuit board inside the submarine. «I just feel like I'm at my limit... I failed at something that was very important and what's worse is that I was unable to make anything that would have make a difference about it. I can't seem to understand what happened nor to find a solution to it. No matter what I do, I can't seem to understand the problem and find the solution to this long and complex equation that is the situation I'm in right now... I can't even make a stupid submarine. How good am I anyway!?»
Tony took a few seconds to find the words. He knew he had to say something to cheer him up. «Between you and me, we both know you're one of the smartest people in the world. You can do so much stuff that we common people would never hope to accomplish. Still, you still have your limits. You're a human after all. However, you shouldn't blame yourself for that. Beating yourself up to find a solution to an enormous problem is not healthy you know...» Jeff didn't reacted. He remained silent as he kept working on the circuitry. Tony tried another time. «I don't believe one person can have all the answers. The only thing that someone can do is simply do his part to solve the most of it.» Jeff seemed to stop for a second. He was curious about where Tony was getting with this. «Remember some math basics Jeff... To solve the values of a set of variables, you need at least the same amount of equations to pull this off.» Jeff's eyes then lightly turned to look at Tony. «And what do you do when you don't have enough equations to work with?» Tony smiled at Jeff as he expected that question. «You did answered that one before. When out of equations, you make new ones.» Jeff stopped moving for a second. He realized that Tony might have something there worth listening... Tony noticed that he managed to reach him. «But you know what? I think that even if finding the same amount of equations is impossible, there's always something you can do. You can always work on the problem. Work on it not to solve it but to simplify it. You might not find the answer but someone is bound to but he might not be able to figure it out if the problem is still complex. Jeff, you have this amazing ability to understand those complex stuff into something so simple... You have that potential. That's what I believe Jeff.»
'. . .Of course. It's so obvious. I have been so obsessed to find Ness and find a counterattack on the assailant that I was taking the hard path. That's not how it's supposed to go. There's never a great solution for a huge problem. The only way is use small steps... I failed to realize that but now I see the course of actions I should have taken all along.' Jeff turned to Tony. «Thanks Tony... I really needed that.» Tony smiled back while Jeff looked back at the circuit board. He then changed a couple of connections and closed up the hatch. «Let's give it another shot.»
The submarine was making circle around the pool. After the basic controls tested through, Tony added the AI to make it follow the line set at the bottom of the pool. After a few minutes since, it submarine was working perfectly. «Looks like our work is done, Jeff. We're gonna have the best project grade in the whole group!» said Tony. «Not yet» replied Jeff. We still need to paint it yellow... and then...» He moved back to the work table. He opened his toolbox and took out a lot of material before putting them on the table. «This is where the true project begins.»
It was starting to get dark outside. Days were short here in Winters. The two were still in the lab. Tony looked around Jeff. «I can't see them, Jeff» he said. «That's the whole point... I don't really want to lure the attention, answered Jeff. However, when the time requires it, my reaction time will be much more better.» While he was explaining to his friend, he swiftly pointed his arm to a piece of metal at the table and a shot came out of his sleeve to hit the piece. He pulled his sleeve a little to reveal his Gaia Beam, now converted into an armband that he called the Gaia Arm Beam. «Attached to my arm, I can use any other gadget while shooting. I don't if this will make a difference but it's worth a shot.» «What about that weird visor you made me work on?» asked Tony. «That?» Jeff picked up a visor that was on the table and was linked up to a computer. He removed the cables from the visor and then put it on his face. Some lights started to appear on the screen as he stared at Tony. «Look at that... you're out of shape, Tony. I can detect about 43 weak points on you.» «Ha. Ha... Very funny Jeff...» said an annoyed Tony. «That analyzer is gonna be helpful when I study the opponents... Plus, they look like some normal sport goggles! I really wish the interface wouldn't be that bad though...» «Oh! I can work on that while you're away! That will count as extracurricular for next year!» said an enthusiastic Tony. «Yeah... I guess you can... just don't tell anyone what I'm using that for...»
He started to pick up the devices that they built and placed them into a backpack that looked like the one he had brought along in the Lost Underworld. He put the backpack on his back and made some adjustments to it. «That seems heavy» said Tony. «It probably would. That is, if I wasn't using that. He lifted the lower part of his pants. Some sort of metallic holders were actually hidden in the pants. «An exoskeleton!? Since when you been walking around with that!?» Jeff shrugged. «A year maybe? Working with dad made inventing so easy. With this, I have been able to lug like 10 times my own weight with my legs and back without even feeling it. Of course... now I sink like a rock and I fall like a bowling ball on a free fall but that's a minor detail I can fix once I can find some kind of material light enough...» Tony couldn't believe his ears. «What are you doing in school again? You should be teaching instead of studying!» Jeff laughed at the comment. «You've seen nothing yet. I got plenty of new toys I made thanks to you. With this I hope I can solve that problem of mine» said Jeff. «Yeah, I do hope you are able to find Ne... err... I mean...» said Tony who just realized he gave himself away. «I knew it! You knew all along! Spill it Tony. Who told you?» Tony looked away, embarrassed. «Poo did... he was worried about you so he contacted me...» Jeff put his hand onto Tony's shoulder. «He took the good decision. Thanks again, man.»
The two then parted ways after delivering their project to the teacher in charge. Jeff headed back to his dad's lab before it get too dark to see anything. After sinking two or three times into the snow because of his weight, he finally made it to the front of the lab. «I need to work on that problem...» said Jeff to himself. He opened the door but then was taken by surprise as a flash occurred in the lab and blinded him for a few seconds. «Good lord, I made it in one piece! Those Mr. Saturn really know their stuff. I'm home again... Though I'm afraid the machine didn't shared the same fate.» Jeff recognized the voice. He walked inside to make sure he wasn't dreaming. «Dad? You're home! Where have you been all this time!?» Dr. Andonuts was taken by surprise as he heard his son behind him. «Oh son, you're here. I been somewhere you wouldn't believe... Um.. however I think this might have to wait another time because I'm exhausted. You didn't caused any trouble while I was gone I hope.» Jeff seemed to hesitate. He wasn't sure if he could say the current situation was his doing. «Nothing I caused at the very least...» «Good, well, I'll be going to sleep for now. You can tell me everything that is going on once I wake up.» said the good doctor. As the father left to his room, the son unloaded the weight off himself and moved on to the table. He still had some work to do.
Working through the night, Jeff collected his ideas for a new invention. After developing them, he finished the Aircraft blueprints.
«I see... so this is what happened while I was gone» said Dr. Andonuts as he watched his son assemble some metal plates while following some kind of blueprints. «You seem to have not slacked either, father. What's with that briefcase full of research you brought back?» Dr. Andonuts seemed to hesitate. «That... is something I might show you later. Right now I'll rather not think about those for a little while.» «If you say so...» Jeff kept working on his project with the help of his dad. «I been wanting to ask... but shouldn't you be searching instead of working here?» asked Jeff's father. Jeff smiled a little as he finished screwing some of the pieces together. «There's nothing I can do to find him at the moment... The only thing I can do is work on better gadgets, develop new tools, study more tactics, upgrade what I got to offer. That way... when the time comes, I'll be there for them and I won't be a burden like last time... That's what I believe I have to do for now. I know Ness. Where ever he is, he can manage on his own... I just have to believe in that and keep working hard.»
My mind is my existence and my intelligence is my weapon.
Knowledge is my life and research is my future.
Use my mind, fight with my intelligence.
I am your weapon, your ally, your friend.
I shall be by your side, always supporting you.
My friends, I believe in you. Believe in my strength as well.
To be continued...