The Last Few Moments

It was ground, ground that wasn't metallic or part of Giygas. It was solid, pure ground from Mother Earth. Ness could have kissed it if he wasn't so tired.

His mind swirled, trying to comprehend all that had just happened. He... just won a war against the greatest threat to humanity. With the help of friends, they had destroyed Giygas and defeated Pokey. They had saved the world from an unspeakable fate.

But despite all that Pokey did to them throughout their journey, the anger that Ness had felt during the battle gave way to sadness. Pokey used to be his friend, many years ago. They had played together, had sleepovers, shared their deepest secrets. They had promised each other that they would be best friends forever. Ness mourned their carefree, innocent days together that had to be ripped apart by greed and ambition. It was sad that they both had to end up fighting because of morals and beliefs. Their childhoods were over, replaced by the brutal realities of the real world.

He thought of the freshly cut grass of his front yard, where he and Tracy spent long summer days playing on that lawn. His mother would often bring out pitchers of lemonade. The biggest treat, however, was when his father would come home to visit. Those weekends were among the most magical in Ness's life.

Other days, he would play with his friends, going to heir secret tree house behind the Onett Library. Ness and his buddies would spend hours in that wooden haven, talking about what they were going to be when they grew up, who was trying out for what sports teams, and of course, girls. What started as a pact to avoid them at all cost for fear of cooties turned to discussions over which classmates they liked.

Lying on that ground, having traveled the world, Ness didn't know if he would really be going back to that same house, the same friends, and the same life. He had seen the horrors, the greed, the corruption of the world firsthand. Those tainted politicians that ruled Eagleland, such as B.H. Pirkle and Geldegarde Monotoli. Those that had twisted views of the world, and often hurt others to achieve their goals, such as Liar X. Agerate and Mr. Carpainter's Happy Happyists. He had watched the enslavement of the Mr. Saturns under Belch, the brutal treatment of the Starmen's prisoners at Stonehenge, and even the invasion of his beloved hometown at the hands of Giygas. Ness was not that same, innocent boy that answered the door that fateful night. He no longer had the blissfully ignorant worldview held by his peers.

Still... for that moment, lying on the ground, watching his friends stand up, he closed his eyes. He had a few minutes to think about those carefree times. He pretended that he was laying under the shady oak trees in his backyard. Before he had to go back to school, to his friends, try to settle back into a normal life, he took a moment, giving himself one last chance to cherish those treasured times.