Part 2: Contact

	"Okay, calm down. Take a deep breath. Are you absolutely sure?"
	Picky breathing stuttered as tears streamed down his face. Struggling, he inhaled deeply and exhaled, still shaking from the sobs. "It was just like it! It was just like the one we saw before! It was silver and tall and...and it got Simon..." Picky let the tears come for a moment more before sniffing and wiping his eyes, looking up to see Ness's worried face. "It used magic like last time, Ness. But we were alone..."
	"It's okay, Picky. It's over now." Ness struggled to be comforting, but he knew that it wasn't over. He feared that it was starting all over again.
	"Yes, it's off of Maple street," Ness's mother said firmly, holding the receiver to her ear. "Maybe ten minutes ago? Two boys. Yes. No, I didn't see anything. He's a bit shaken, I don't think he can. No sir. No sir." As the policewoman on the other line asked her more questions, she glanced empathetically to Picky, then Ness.
	"Picky..." Ness began after a moment of silent recuperation. "You said that Monotoli mentioned me. What did he say?" Picky sniffled a little before using another tissue to clear his nose and wipe his eyes.
	"I don't know...he said you were connected or something. He was pointing to your house." Ness frowned, turning back to his mother, who was just finishing her 911 call.
	"Yes, please let me know. He's not exactly a family friend...but the boys have become fond of him. Yes, thank you so much. Okay. Bye." Hanging up, she turned to Ness and sat down on the couch next to Picky and him. "The police are on their way to Mr. Agerate's home. I told them to give me a call when they found Simon and him." She turned to Picky and her eyes grew soft. "I'm so sorry, dear..."
	"Mom, it's not safe here anymore," Ness stated. "The man who did this knows where we live and knows who I am. Tomorrow you and Tracy need to go somewhere and hide for a few days." His mother nodded, understanding the situation surprisingly well and handling it with a calm attitude. Picky wondered what his mother would have done if he had asked the same thing of her.
	But that wasn't important right now, was it? "What about us, Ness?" Picky asked, turning to the tall boy that sat next to him. He had never seen him without a hat on before, and now that he sat there in his striped pajamas with dark, ruffled hair, he seemed so much more normal, like everybody else. It was like seeing a superhero with his mask off.
	"I guess I'll be leaving tomorrow to find the Starman," Ness replied. Picky had never heard the term before, but he knew that he must have been talking about the robotic menace that he had just encountered. "And you'll be going back home where it's safe."
	"What? No!" Picky objected. "No, I'm coming with you, Ness!" Frowning, Ness shook his head.
	"No, you're not. It's way too dangerous, and your family would never allow it." 
	Ness's mother nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry, dear, but your mother would worry herself to death. Trust me." Standing up, she sighed heavily. "I'm going to go back to bed. Picky can stay the night over if he wants. I left his mother a message about what happened. Goodnight, boys." With that, she disappeared up the stairs and turned out the hall light.
	Picky sighed and shook his head. "You don't understand. I have to come. I have to!"
	"Picky, what could you do? I'm sorry, but it's just not safe. Your family would kill me if-"
	"What family?!" Picky burst out. Ness held his breath, stunned. "Dad and Pokey are gone, and my mother doesn't even know I exist. When Pokey left, she didn't care. Why would she care if I did, too? My family is dead." Picky panted heavily, tears coming back to his eyes. "And...and Simon. I asked him to come. If it wasn't for me..."
	Picky turned to face Ness, blinking heavily to stop the tears that weren't yet streaming down his cheeks. "I have to come," he insisted. "I can help. I'm good at hiding, I can fight...please take me with you, Ness. I have to. Please."
	Ness stared at Picky, surprise written all over his face. And then sorrow. Closing his eyes, he sighed and swallowed, clearing his throat.
	"Alright," he said quietly. "I'll take you with me, but only if you promise to stay out of any fighting that might happen. I don't want-" But before he could finish his sentence, two arms were strung around his neck.
	"Thank you!" Picky shouted, clutching Ness tightly as if he were a long-lost brother. "I promise I'll be good, I promise I'll help you!" Shaking off the surprise, Ness returned the hug and couldn't help but grin.
	"Alright," he said, more confidently this time. "You can come. But you need to get some rest. We'll leave tomorrow morning." Picky let go, wiping his eyes and controlling his breathing. "Go on up to my room upstairs at the end of the hall. You can use my bed."
	"Thanks, Ness..." Picky grinned as he got to his feet and made his way to the stairs. Ness truly was a hero. Simon may be gone, and it may have been his own fault, but Ness would make it all better. He would. He always did.
	"Night, Ness," he said before ascending up the staircase.
	"Good night," Ness responded as he watched the boy walk up the carpeted steps. Once he had disappeared from sight, he turned to King, who was lying next to the kitchen table staring tiredly back at him.
	"Oh come on," Ness whispered. "Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing." The dog blinked, shifting his weight. "Yeah right," Ness responded, reading the dog's thoughts. "Well whatever. Go to sleep, I'll feed you in the morning. And don't be so cynical."
	Lying down on the couch, Ness placed one of the two pillows over his head. Tomorrow would be a long day.

	Picky opened his eyes to a room filled with sunlight. Tiredly he shoved the large blue quilt off of his body and sat up. He hadn't gone asleep until at least four o'clock, maybe five. The clock now read seven. Pure exhaustion had finally forced him to drift away, to which he was engulfed by memories of he and his friends at school. Simon. He would never forget.
	The sun cascaded onto the bed from the nearby window, and birds chirped. Picky simply stared at the trees outside before glancing around the sunrise-bathed room. A light, off-white carpeting was on the floor, almost brand-new if he were to guess. A small desk, perhaps from a long time ago in school. A dresser, a bookshelf, a lamp. It was small, but Picky felt more relaxed than he ever had in his own home in the room. It was a beautiful day, no matter what yesterday held.
	Walking out of the room and down the stairs, Picky heard the opening theme of the local news on the television. There were suitcases on the couch, and Ness was eating pancakes. So was Tracy. Picky had never really gotten to know Tracy, despite the two of them being about the same age. She was kinda pretty, kinda sarcastic, and kinda someone he had never bothered with before. She was a girl. 'Nuff said.
	"Good morning, Picky," Ness's mother greeted as she began placing pancakes on a plate. "Are you hungry?"
	"Not really..." Picky mumbled, picking the sand out of his eyes. 
	"Well you ought to eat something if you're traveling with Ness," she insisted. "He loves to skip meals while he's on the road. Here, have some pancakes." She handed him a plate with three, and he accepted it and sat down next to Ness.
	The news had began to cover yesterday's "horrific event", showing pictures of Liar's cabin and talking about possible reasons how such an attack could have happened. The mayor was conveniently not mentioned.
	"The police called this morning," Ness's mother said, seating herself across from her son. "Mr. Agerate is in the hospital. He'll be fine." She took the syrup and began to pour a bit on her food. It was clear that no one was going to mention Simon. Nothing needed to be said about his fate. It was taboo.
	"Where are you going?" Picky said, glancing at the suitcases.
	"Winters," Tracy stated curtly before taking another bite.
	"Yeah, we know a family up there that will keep a careful watch over them," Ness explained. "Ever heard of Dr. Andonuts?" Picky shook his head.
	"The Andonuts are good people," Ness's mother added. "It would probably be the safest place to go."
	They silently ate for a little while longer before the news came back from a commercial break with another story. Something about video footage of a space man.
	Ness's eyes went wide. "Turn it up, mom!" he exclaimed, pointing to the television. 
	"...stunning footage taken by a man passing by with his cell phone. Officials aren't sure who or what the space man is, but needless to say, the man is certainly lucky to be alive." On the screen was a very blurry nighttime video clip of something shiny appearing on the street just in front of the man. The phone was extremely shaky, but soon it straightened out just enough to see the sentient being, silver with a colorless, menacing visor. Instants later it was gone, and the phone turned to face the asphalt and shook violently as the man began to run. Then the footage cut off. 
	"That's him!" Picky exclaimed. "That's the robot I saw!" Ness grimaced. A Starman.
	"So are you going to Twoson?" Ness's mother asked. "Why don't you get help from Paula while you're there?" 
	Ness paused before he could finish his last pancake. The thought of asking Paula for help hadn't occurred to him. "Yeah," he answered ambiguously. Picky chewed and glanced to Ness. He seemed awkwardly nervous.
	They proceeded to finish their meal before Ness stood up and checked his backpack. "Alright, we ought to get going," he told Picky. "Mom, you and Tracy ought to as well. How are you going to take King?"
	"We still have the old pet carrier," his mother reassured. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. We're flying, so we won't be anywhere near Twoson." 
	After saying their goodbyes, Ness grabbed his backpack and baseball bat, made of a strange material that Picky had never seen before, and the two of them walked outside.
	"I'm so glad Mom doesn't know about this..." Picky breathed. "Are we gonna get a bus and go there?"
	"Onett doesn't have a bus system that goes to Twoson," Ness told him. "But I think we can teleport there just fine."
	"You can teleport?!" Picky exclaimed, his eyes wide from the mere thought of magically being whisked away. 
	"It's been awhile, but I still think I can take us to Twoson." Ness unzipped his backpack slightly and stuck his bat so that its handle stuck out of the top and was easy to reach.
	"All right! This is gonna be awesome!" Picky shouted excitedly.
	Ness frowned. "Yeah. Awesome." With a sigh, he grabbed Picky's hand and began to run down the hill towards the city of Onett. Soon the trees around them began to blur together, and eventually they weren't running on solid ground anymore. The world passed them by in a flash until there was nothing but flash left, just a tunnel of light. 
	This was what magic could do.

	In moments the tunnel of light faded to green leaves, old brick buildings, and grey asphalt below. As the colors took form and solidified, Picky felt his feet hit the ground and frantically pedaled his legs in order to keep from falling forward. Soon they decelerated to a normal sprint, and Ness brought them both to a complete stop. Picky began to pant, but Ness simply smiled, not even slightly winded from the trip. How many times had he done this?
	"We're here," Ness announced. "What did you think?"
	Picky wanted to exclaim how exhilarating the ride had been, but he didn't have time to respond before a deafening boom stole their attention. A sudden flare of crimson caught his eye, and as he turned he saw a car hurdling over them. Flames engulfed every side of the vehicle as debris and smoke careened into the sky. The force of the explosion pushed Picky off of his feet, and the crackling carcass of the vehicle landed just feet away from him, skidding on its roof across the road in a ball of flames.
	Whirling back around, Picky's jaw dropped as a silver robot stood tall, flaunting its might with its fire-bearing hands near its hips. As the car crackled and popped from the massive boom, the fiend glared emotionlessly at them. The Starman was back, and it was ready for a fight.
	"Get behind me!" Ness shouted, snagging his baseball bat from his backpack. Picky leapt to his feet and obeyed, feeling a shiver race down his spine. Glancing once behind his back, he turned to watch the fight that was about to ensue. Then he froze. Picky glanced a second time over his shoulder before a moment of horror took him.
	"N-N-Ness!" he shouted, almost screaming. Ness glanced back, his bat still pointed forward toward the Starman. But the look upon his face betrayed him, and his concentration had been shattered.
	"Uh oh..."
	A second Starman strode forward proudly, focused threateningly on the two children. Ness turned back to the first Starman, but a third robot caught his eye as it approached from the branch in the road. A fourth walked behind it in the distance, as if to reinforce the already-obvious notion that they were being surrounded and trapped.
	Regaining his senses, Ness grasped Picky's arm and began to dash for the only apparent hole the circle of foes that was forming. "Let's go!" he yelled, and the two of them ran as fast as they could away from their pursuers. 
	"Shield β!" Ness cried, and Picky's vision was covered with a yellow field of light. His body was covered by the golden glow, and he could feel the shining substanceas it covered his skin warmly. Laser beams flew between the two as they dashed across the streets, and the blasts ricocheted off of the walls of any buildings with which they collided. As they fled past the Topolla Theater, sparks shot far into the sky as the signboard was engulfed in flames from a stray beam.
	"Get to that building!" Ness shouted to Picky, pointing down the road to a small school building. Immediately afterwards, a heated sting sliced through the skin on his shoulder blade, causing Ness to cry out in pain. Placing a hand on his upper arm, he began to regenerate the skin before another shot hit him in the side. More Starmen were now chasing, and their beams were becoming more numerous. 
	Picky made a break for the large building, ignoring Ness's cries. As much as his mind was turning itself over with fear, he knew Ness would want him to get to a safe place. There was nothing he could do to help. He had to keep going. He had to make it so that he wouldn't be in the way.
	As if out of thin air, a Starman appeared just a few feet in front of Picky. Yelling out, he quickly switched from slowing himself down instinctually to diving between the robot's legs, rolling and getting up as quickly as he possibly could. A laser scorched his back, burning a hole through his shirt and knocking him off his feet, but he could feel the laser deflecting off of him and striking its master dead in the chest. Was that the glowing shield Ness created? Scrambling back to his feet, he glanced back to see him bludgeoning the robot with his bat. Its head crunched downward and smashed through its body, totally scrapping the metallic being. 
	Rounding the corner, Picky charged for the front door of the building, glancing momentarily at a sign that read "Polestar" in big letters. The laser beams had stopped for now, and Picky could only assume that Ness was fending off the Starmen. Looking back, he couldn't see Ness or the robots, despite the echoing sounds of violent crashes and explosions. Worried and scared, Picky darted to the place that Ness had sent him toward, bursting open its doors and slamming them shut as he pulled himself in. 
	"What's wrong with you?! You'll let them in!" a female voice cried out as soon as he had entered the building. A hand snatched his arm and tugged him harshly to the side of the large room. 
	"Sorry, I was trying not to die!" Picky panted as he turned to the force that had pulled him aside. To his surprise, it was a brown-haired girl that was about his age. She had black eyes and wore casual clothes with her hair resting on her shoulders.
	"Well maybe you could not kill us while you're at it," she argued harshly. "What were you doing out there, anyway?!"
	"We were looking for a Starman, but we didn't know that there were that many of them," Picky rushed, glancing out the window nervously. "My friend's still out there. He needs help!"
	"And you think you'll find help at a preschool?" Picky held his breath as he glanced around the room. He hadn't even had time to examine where he was, but on a second glance he knew that there wasn't much to be found here. Desks were positioned along the walls, pushed up against bookshelves and out of the way. Along the top of the walls was a banner that read off the alphabet and numbers from one to ten. Picky couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his stomach. 
	"Paula's not here, if you were looking for her," she continued. Picky recognized the name instantly. Was that why Ness had sent him here? Who was she? "Come on, get upstairs where it's safe." the girl added, tugging him across the room.
	"Why would upstairs be safe? Have you seen what these things can do?!" Picky insisted, pulling away his arm. "They're killing machines! We need to move these desks up against the door or something! If they get in, they'll just corner us and blow us to smithereens!" The girl looked at Picky curiously, as if he was a specimen that she had never examined before. 
	"You know what these things are?" the girl asked. "Who are you?"
	"We don't have time for this!" Picky argued. "They're Starmen, and my friend is fighting them back." On second thought, would Ness follow him here? Chances were, he had chosen the spot as a safe haven to keep him hidden until all of the Starmen were defeated. It would do them no good to leave themselves vulnerable while Ness was out there fighting. "Help me move these desks!" Picky added, running to the nearest seat. "We need to make sure this place is safe."

~~~~~~~~~~

	"PK Rockin' β!" Ness exclaimed, and waves of pigmented light shot out of his hands. The psychic blasts tore through the weakened robots, knocking others off of their feet. With a swing, he dented the head of one of the Starmen, sending it to the ground. In retaliation, a Starman appeared behind him, striking him upside the head with its metallic arm. Even with his power shield up, Ness careened into the grass, rolling onto his back and struggling to get up before his opponents' next attack.
	A laser struck him, winding him before it was deflected back to its sender. Ness rolled out of the way of two more shots before leaping to his feet and tightening his fists.
	"PK Flash γ!" Despite being out of practice when it came to psychic battle, Ness had surprised himself with the amount of skills that he had retained over the months of inactivity. A brilliant flash of light filled the sky, and Ness watched as the Starmen reeled from his attack. Recuperating quickly, Ness scrapped two more Starmen with well-placed swings of his bat. Noting two Starmen in the distance fighting amongst themselves, he grinned from the effects of his psychic attack. One of the robots had simply short-circuited.
	He had to eliminate these fiends and liberate the town. The odds were absurd, but he was making great headway. If Paula was here, things would be so much easier. Where was she? More importantly, where had all of these Starmen come from?! Hadn't Giygas been defeated long ago?
	A laser shot to the back of the head snapped him back into the action, to which Ness clobbered his opponent with his bat. A few Starmen in the distance were emitting a strange sound that echoed robotically across the town. They were calling for help. Reapplying his power shield, Ness could feel his psychic energy depleting. He wouldn't be able to last much longer like this.

~~~~~~~~~~

	"Picky?! What kind of a name is that?!" 
	"Hey, I hate it too," Picky explained, pushing one of the last desks up against the door. "I usually go by nicknames like Mutt and stuff." 
	"Mutt. Yeah, that's so much better," the girl said, rolling her eyes. Picky frowned.
	"Well fine, what's your name then?" he asked tensely.
	"Rebecca," she answered proudly. "It's a beautiful name."
	"It's a boring name!" Picky responded, pushing the last desk into place. "At least mine's original." Rebecca gave him an angry glare. 
	"It is NOT boring!" she insisted, hands clenched into fists. "And besides, I just go by Becca most of the time, so you won't have to say the whole thing if you think it's that bad." Glancing around, she silently admired the wall of chairs and student desks that had been piled in front of the doorway. "Whatever. Let's go upstairs where all of the kids are. We'll be safe up there."
	The two of them walked to the other side of the room before opening the opposite door. As soon as it had been opened, Picky felt as if he had entered a completely different building. The tiled flooring faded into redwood floors, and the school-themed wallpaper was nowhere to be found in what now looked like any other home. There was a couch and a coffee table, a private bookshelf and a kitchen tucked into the corner. The preschool doubled as a home, no doubt for its owners. 
	"They're all upstairs," Becca restated. "The owners are really nice. They'll watch over you, don't worry. Close and lock that door, though, just in case anything happens." Nodding, Picky turned and began to shut the wooden door.
	It was in one flash of a moment that the wall of desks was reduced to nothingness. Steel shot in all directions like they had been fired from a cannon, and wood splintered into small chunks of debris as the door behind them exploded into nothingness. Without hesitation, Picky slammed the door and locked it, dashing up the stairs after Becca.
	"We've got company!" He screamed, hoping that Ness was on his way.

~~~~~~~~~~

	It was cold. So cold. The heat from each blow was so mind-numbingly painful that all he felt was his nerves screaming in pain. Each connected shot was so hot that it felt cold.
	He tried to replenish his strength, heal his own wounds, but he couldn't. His mind was in a daze. He had fought them off until they had surrounded him and unleashed all of their fury. His shield had diminished, and soon he could feel each laser pierce his skin like butter to a hot knife, and he felt so human, so weak. It was all he could do to break through them and run, making a break down whatever road he could. Collapsing from exhaustion, he ducked behind the house of a man he had once met, a thief and a crook that had aided him in his quest so long ago. The name escaped him as he panted, weary from the fight. It didn't matter now.
	Throwing off his backpack, he shakily unzipped the top and reached in, searching for anything that could help him survive. An old badge, a rusty contraption, something hard and conical. There had to be something there.
	And then he heard footsteps. Glancing upward, Ness felt his stomach sink as he stared at a Starman, poised and watching with an omnipotent air. It walked closer, its arms leaving his hips and swaying slowly by its side, its visor unflinchingly cold as it approached its target. This was the one from Onett, the one that had terrorized Picky just a day before. Its prideful gait differed from the others, felt so much more superior, so much more perfect. Infallible. Unstoppable.
	Ness tried to feel alive but couldn't as the Starman neared him. His mind began to shut down, and his vision became hazy. His hearing became muffled as he found a place between consciousness and blackout. The wind was blowing his shirt as it ruffled on end. Footsteps neared him. The sun blinded him. More footsteps. His family afar. Footsteps. The weight of the world. Footsteps. Picky. Footsteps. PK Fire γ.
	Wait, what?
	Focusing his vision, Ness watched as the figure of his enemy vanished behind a colossal flame, tackled into oblivion by its fury. An explosion caused Ness to flinch as the metallic fiend rocketed into the distance. Smoke and flame filled his vision, slowly subsiding to reveal a lone girl dashing around the corner of the building. 
	Her wavy blonde hair fell lightly on her shoulders as she wheeled her head around, her bright blue eyes like a reflection of the sky falling upon his own. Her light purple dress, one he had never seen before, caught the last of the wind as it gently danced around her.  Surprise filled her face as she recognized the old friend, battered and bruised on the ground. And then, as the moment ended, her face hardened with serious focus as she outstretched her hands, forming a circle.
	Ness ducked instinctively as Paula shouted "PK Freeze β!" A shiver ran down his spine as he flattened himself upon his backpack, reaching in once again to find some sort of saving grace.
	It came to him in the form of a small piece of candy, a discarded caramel cube lumped into the bottom corner of his pack. Popping it into his mouth, he felt its immediate effects as the magical treat filled him with concentration and a will to survive.
	"Lifeup γ," Ness murmured, slamming his eyes shut as he forced himself to relax and breathe deeply. He could feel his strength returning, his skin reforming, his soreness dissipating as each second passed. It was only a matter of moments before he felt like himself again, rejuvenated as if he had just woken up and exercised. He was ready to fight again, and this time he wasn't alone.
	Gripping his baseball bat tightly, he lunged for where Paula was unleashing waves of flame and torrents of electricity. Charging into the fray, Ness smashed a Starman that was approaching Paula from behind, crushing its visor and decimating its body. She froze one, he bashed one. It was just like old times. 
	It wasn't long before the fields of Starmen had been reduced to scraps. Paula panted, her palms red from the supernatural stress she had put on them. She turned to him, looking at him partially fatigued, partially still surprised, and partially something else. Ness turned to face her home in the distance. A hole sat where the front door used to be.
	"Picky!" Ness exclaimed fearfully, his thoughts instantly replaced with the boy he was supposed to be protecting. Paula shouted something after him, but he didn't hear. She followed him, and they made a break for the building as fast as their legs could carry them.

~~~~~~~~~~

	"Stay quiet!" The man whispered back. At once, all of the children passed around a "shhh" before the sound died out into silence. Footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door, and Picky held his breath as noises and shadows made their presence known from the other side of the door. He could barely see his own hand in front of his face, but it made their presence less obvious if the light was out. That was just common sense. He still was amazed by how many kids could fit into one bathroom.
	Becca glanced at him before looking back at the door nervously. She was trying not to show that she was scared, but Picky could tell that she was. What did she think she was trying to hide? As he watched the shadows of feet through the crack under the door, a sudden realization gripped him. Wasn't he afraid as well? They all were. But not like he was. They didn't know what they were up against.
	One of the much younger children began to whimper softly and mournfully, and Picky noticed a pair of metallic feet stall from under the doorway. Grinding his teeth, he glanced back to see the man's wife rush to the baby, scooping it up gingerly and trying to silently shush it. The shadow did not pass, and Picky could feel his insides constricting nervously. What if they were all found?
	The baby moaned again, this time starting to cry. In one swift movement, the feet pivoted and the door buckled upon the wall, shaking violently. Screams filled the room as the children squirmed and wriggled toward the back corners of the room, hiding in the bathtub and under the sink fearfully. Moments later, the door had been severed, and light poured into the room as the figure of the robotic nightmare from yesterday filled their vision. 
	Picky locked up. Memories of Ness and a warrior from the future protecting him in battle flooded his mind. He remembered the threats it made, the way it talked, the powers it unleashed. He recalled fleeing the cave just yesterday after watching those same horrific spells conjured from the robot, decimating everything in sight. Memories of the destruction caused by just one alien sentinel. Memories of Starman. Memories of Simon. And now that same fiend stood before him, cornered him, waited to rip him to shreds.
	After a moment's delay, the man rushed the Starman with a scream, clearly aware of the sacrifice he was making and clearly afraid. The woman behind him screamed as he tackled the robot and pinned it to the ground with his body and the element of surprise. Becca hesitated before she, too, ran out of the room, snatching up a nearby chair and hoisting it above her head as a makeshift weapon.
	Picky remained frozen by fear. Closing his eyes, he tried to shake the thoughts of his friend's death from his mind. He whispered weakly, out of pure denial, "I'm not afraid of you". He whispered it again, trying to convince himself that he could help, that he could stand a chance. His voice cracked as he tried again, but he felt no more confident than he had before.
	Opening his eyes, he now saw that the man was on the ground, a hole in his shirt with a burn mark on his chest. Another Starman was approaching as Becca nailed the first from behind with the chair, which she dropped after seeing that it had hardly fazed the Starman. They couldn't win this one. If only Ness were here...
	But he wasn't here. They were alone and helpless. "I'm not afraid of you..." Picky wimpered as one of the Starmen grabbed Becca by the collar of her shirt, hoisting her into the air. Picky knew as he watched that he was terrified, that he felt just as afraid as Simon had when he was cornered, that he was as scared as Pokey was when put to the test...
	Picky felt his face harden as he recalled his brother. No, this wasn't right. He was better than his brother, the coward that had left his family and never returned. There was no way that he had anything in common with Pokey. He couldn't be. He was like Ness...like Ness...he had to be like Ness. He just had to be.
	A third Starman approached the doorway, and the children around Picky recoiled, but for once in his life he was the leader and not the follower. "I'm not afraid of you," Picky said strongly as the robot approached him. He meant it this time -- he wasn't afraid.
	"I'm not afraid of you!" Picky nearly shouted, and he felt a sort of blind courage that he had never known before. "I'm not afraid of you!" he repeated again, screaming at the top of his lungs as the robot reached out its arm, the tip of its metallic limb charging an energy blast. Picky had to stop him. He had to be like Ness.
	"I'M NOT AFRAID!" Picky outstretched his arms to push the Starman away, but instead he felt something push out from within himself. A sea of green bolts filled his vision, and he felt his fingers go slightly numb as they channeled fiercely through them. Swirling into helixes, the bolts of emerald electricity seared through the Starman, coursing across its entire body and utterly destroying it. As the foe collapsed to the floor, the bolts shot like serpents to their next victims, grabbing hold of the other two Starmen and crippling them as well. Becca fell to the floor as the robot released her, and she watched in awe as the lightning repeatedly struck it until it was no more than a steel shell.
	As the piercing rays of green light faded, the figure of Ness and Paula emerged from the staircase, a look of shock upon their faces. "What...?"
	"Paula! You're safe!" the woman cried, and as she emerged from the bathroom a wave of cheering, crying preschoolers followed just behind. "Thank you so much, Ness! You came just in time!" Ness glanced to Picky, surprise written all over his face, but the boy didn't notice. He was still staring at his fingertips in disbelief. 
	"What the heck just happened?!" Becca gasped, collapsing to the floor.