Chapter Text
The trio finally catch a break in Fourside.
They're joking around the Department store, full and happy from Fourside's fast food. As Jeff awkwardly trails behind them, Ness says that burgers are the best, and Paula counters with sweet potato fries.
First the lights flicker. Paula stops in mid-sentence.
Then, total blackout.
In the chaos, Paula gets kidnapped. Again.
Amidst the eerie hum of the ATM, Ness and Jeff are left to fend for themselves. The second the raspy intercom goes off, a gleeful voice calling for Ness's blood, they bolt up the escalator, no questions asked. Even as hot coffee cups scald and splash their skin, neither of them question if this is a trap.
Jeff has to hold Ness back from wrecking the Department Store Spook who stole Paula away.
Well, that's the lie Ness told Paula.
It's the other way around. Ness of all people has to drag a flailing Jeff off the Spook, before Jeff can nuke the Spook with his bottle rockets and cause World War III. To this day, Jeff's still ashamed over losing his cool, but Ness doesn't judge him.
They've always been the reckless ones. Without Paula's foresight, the obvious cracks in their teamwork show.
Giygas knew what he was doing.
...is what Ness would've said, if Giygas had a brain cell.
It's a good plan on paper. Paula's sudden loss is a devastating blow to their morale, and the two boys are left aimlessly wandering Fourside in circles.
They butt heads. A lot. All the time. Ness wants to go straight after Monotoli. Jeff thinks that a new Sanctuary is their answer. Uncoordinated, disorganized, Ness and Jeff spend more days arguing in the hospital than out.
Their friction finally erupts into a boiling point inside Jackie's Bar. It escalates to Ness calling Jeff an annoying know-it-all.
To which Jeff snaps. Right mate, you clearly don't need me. Once we save Paula, I'm leaving, he says, shaking, and Ness almost tells him to go-
Then there's the sound of a muffled gunshot outside.
And Everdred dying happens.
...Yeah.
This sobers them up pretty quick.
Moonside is... trippy. Bathed in an eerie fluorescent lightshow, the night-life here never sleeps. There's danger around every corner. Explosive Robo Pumps run rampant. Enraged Fire plugs blast them in a painful flood. And Ness has to run to the rescue when a Dali's clock freezes a helpless Jeff in time.
Ness has no words to describe this distorted nightmare-fuel hellscape of an opposite city, but at least Jeff doesn't make fun of him for getting homesick. Whether it be Threed or here, Jeff always has his back.
What happens in Moonside stays in Moonside.
When they land back in the dusty, barricaded backroom of Jackie's bar, a shame-faced Ness apologizes to Jeff for calling him an annoying know-it-all. He hadn't realized that Jeff's dad is a sore subject, and doesn't blame Jeff for wanting to leave.
In response, Jeff just wipes his glasses. Holds his breath like he's trying not to cry. And asks Ness if they can be friends again.
Meekly. As if expecting Ness to reject him.
Ness doesn't fight with friends often. But good friends fight sometimes. Even if it's over the dumbest things, like who ate the last chocolate-chip cookie from the treehouse, it's kinda obvious that they're still friends, at the end of the day. That's sorta the point.
E̶x̶c̶e̶p̶t̶ ̶P̶o̶k̶e̶y̶ ̶M̶i̶n̶c̶h̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶g̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶?̶ ̶
Ness wonders if Jeff has any friends at school.
Instead, Ness claps a hand on Jeff's back. And offers to buy them hamburgers.
They don't bring up the fight again. When Paula asks for details, Ness cuts across Jeff, and sheepishly blames his own hot-headedness for causing them trouble. Which is true. But Ness is more than happy to take the blame, and Jeff throws him a grateful glance.
("You don't have to cover for me. I told her what happened," Jeff admits weeks later, while fixing his broken pipe. Ness isn't surprised. All his friends have hearts of gold.)
It's not Ness's proudest moment. But he and Jeff both get over it, and that's what's important.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
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~Chapter Seven~
Pings and Needles
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"Is this safe?" Ness says, after they're whizzing through the endless spiral of space-time.
"Yes."
Okay. Ness tries a second question. "Is this legal?"
"Technically."
"Technically... how?"
"We're bringing someone back to the world they belong, and the SkyTrain can only travel to parallel universes of the current time. Barring time zones, of course."
Ness sits up. "I didn't know there were laws on space-time travel."
"Master Hand's authority forbids space-time travel outside of the SkyTrains. As the son of its inventor... we had a spare engine, so I turned the Sky Runner into one." Pressing several glowing buttons and yanking down a handle from the ceiling (the Sky Runner happily whistles in response), Jeff hooks them onto autopilot. "Ness... In theory, we should be fine. Whatever we do shouldn't affect this world more than Master Hand already has. But this isn't an authorized trip. That's why I stress we leave no trace. Just to be safe."
"You found a loophole."
"Most deities that can manipulate space-time in other dimensions are either bound by limitations, or treat time with the respect it deserves. Anyone who breaks these foundations risks wiping out their own existence, or worse."
Ness's stomach drops. "Then... your dad..."
"He knows the rules. You know that Dr. Andonuts- I mean, my dad - first had trouble transporting organic matter safely through space-time," Jeff says, and Ness doesn't comment on the correction. "That's why he had to bind our souls to robot bodies to fight Giygas."
"I question his ethics," Ness mutters.
"So do I."
"Where is your dad?"
As if on cue, the Sky Runner beeps, and the dashboard lights up:
Location: ?N̷̴̠̥̫̰͈͙͇̣̗͙̱͆ͥ̀͊ͫ̋ͨ͟͝O̦͇̫̾̏͊̇͂ͦ͢͡W̵̩͖̥̼͍ͥ̾͛̑̇̂͂ͫͯ͟H̫̣̹̃̊̈͛̔̋̊̓Ȇ̴̴̶̛̖̮̹̯̹͈̣̯̫̤̙̮̝̑̂̄ͯͣͫ̈͐͋̐͜͜͝R̵̨̢͇̰̊̍͟Ę̷̤̭̪͎̭̹̘̭͖̙͉̠͚̙̏ͤ͑̌̽̓̿ͪͮͦ́͐̾ͪ͆͘͟͞ͅ?Iͤ̊ͫ̄̏͟Ş̴̟̱̺̻͎͕̰̳̱͖̻͚̫̏͋̇͌̾ͥͪ̅̀ͨ̿̓͊͘̚͝ͅL̸͍̖̲̻͋̍͋̾͐ͦ̎A̸̼̙̞̻͋̀̌͢͠N̸̵̶͉̞͖͕D̩͑Ş̵̛̛̟͔͙͉͚̪̠͈̖̺́̔́ͧ͂ͫ̅̄͋̀ͬ͜͜?
Date: ?7?777777?7!7777?!
"Looks like an archipelago," Jeff reads, and Ness's mind spins.
Nowhere Islands.
...Where has he heard that name before?
Ness is motion sick. Saturn's rings, up is down, down is up, and the Sky Runner doing loop-de-loops like a rollercoaster isn't helping.
"-at least, that'll make our lives easier," a satisfied Jeff continues, oblivious to his passenger's disorientation. "We have a rough estimate of my father's physical location, so we'll ride this parallel timeline until the present. The Sky Runner will ping us when we arrive."
The Sky Runner spins. Faster and faster and faster...
A flash of light.
Blue sky.
Below the Sky Runner, mountainous, scaly-green islands dot the sea, rising and falling with the waves. As if alive. As if like the spine of-
"A dragon," Ness breathes, bug-eyed by the window. The dragon's pupil alone can dwarf a Chomposaurus, and Ness watches as another eyelid snicks open to appraise them. Creepy.
With a frown, Jeff checks the Time Detector. No pings.
"Too far back," Jeff says, slamming the accel.
Round and round they go-
Flash.
...Ping...
"Still off. This isn't right," Jeff says, grabbing onto the wheel. His teeth rattle as the Sky Runner bounces and beeps. "What's going on?! We're not supposed to be in the past-"
The dashboard flashes red.
PREPARE FOR EMERGENCY CRASH LANDING SEQUENCE.
"Jeff," Ness yells, clapping his ears over the wailing siren that deafens his ears.
"Just a little farther-"
Ping...Ping...
Spin, spin, spin-
Dizzy again.
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Flash.
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~o0O0o~
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When Ness comes to, lying in a smoking crater, he knows something has gone horribly wrong.
Because aside from the obvious crash landing, Jeff is missing. And so is the Sky Runner.
Goddamn it. Why is it always him and Jeff getting stuck in some bullshit?
Dazed, Ness lifts himself from the ground. Assesses himself for injuries. Miraculously, unharmed.
No traces, Ness remembers. He kicks dirt over the smoldering crater as best as he can. Then squints around at all the greenery.
The Sky Runner must be here, somewhere. Call it a gut feeling, but Ness has a strong suspicion Jeff's nearby too. He remembers shooting through the stratosphere before the Sky Runner spat them out.
Ness refuses to nurse any alternative thoughts.
Instead, he rubs his shoes full of static electricity. The best view's at the peak, and where everything's within sight.
Time to regroup.
”PK-“ Ness stumbles into a tree, interrupting his teleport. “-sHit!”
“Shit,” echoes the nearest bush.
Startled, Ness turns around to face a scruffy kid with a mop of unruly blond hair. Or is it ginger under the sun?
...Not important.
“PK Shit,” the kid repeats in wonder. “What's a shit?”
Oh man. Paula’s gonna kill him. After Jeff does.
“Shh,” Ness says furiously, but the kid keeps on mouthing the sacred word as if worth its weight in gold.
“PK Shit... Is that a spell?”
“No.”
“But I saw you.” The boy’s eyes widen. “I'm Claus. Are you a Magypsy?!”
"No." Much like his time in Scaraba, Ness knows they're speaking in a different language. One that Ness is barely able to keep up with.
But Ness doesn't have time to think about Linguistics 101.
He lets his instincts take the wheel. “Have you seen a boy with glasses around here?”
“My grandpa Alec wears glasses. He's way older than Nichol,” Claus says helpfully, and Ness groans. This is why he can't stand toddlers. Paula's an absolute saint.
“Nope, wrong guy. Forget you saw me here, okay?”
Trying to shake him off, Ness starts hiking up a steeper slope, but the kid scrambles after him. For a skinny village kid, Claus scales the terrain like a mountain goat. As Ness impatiently swats another branch out of the way, the kid trots behind him like a lost lamb.
He's persistent, Ness gives him that.
...Somehow, Ness feels like he should know this kid.
Maybe it's the voice. Or the hair. Or the eyes burning into him. Uncanny. Something about Claus bothers Ness, the same way Ness has heard of the Nowhere Islands before.
It's unnerving.
Ness turns around, irritated. “Shouldn't you be going home?”
“I don't wanna.”
“Why not?”
“My brother's sick,” Claus says, struggling over a rocky incline to keep up. “Mom and Dad won’t tell me anything. But Grandpa told me Magypsies know magic. They can talk to frogs. That’s why I’m looking for a Magypsy.”
"I'm not a- a Majipsee-"
"Liar. You speak strange. And you dress strange too. I know you live in a pink sea shell on Mount Orishimo-" As stubborn as a mule, Claus grabs Ness by the back of his shirt, and pulls, digging his entire weight into the dirt. "Mister Magypsy, you gotta save my brother, please-"
"Fine! I will," Ness said, shaking him off in exasperation. "Where's your brother?"
"At the Inn." Claus points down the slope. From here, Ness can make out a quaint homey village dotted with wooden chimney-tops. Bustling with people.
Not good. Walking into town isn't an option.
Ness thinks of what Paula would say at her daycare. And tries to channel that energy. "Uh okay, you caught me. Your brother seems super sick, so I'll need my other- er, Magypsy friends to help."
Claus squints at him. "You mean it?"
"Promise."
At this, a triumphant Claus releases him. "I knew you were a Magypsy."
"You wait down there with your brother. I'll grab help."
With a nod, Claus scrambles (rather recklessly) down the rocky slope. Ness watches until the kid emerges safely on the other side of the forest, a tiny blue speck from this distance.
And continues hiking uphill.
It's just a white lie, Ness tries to convince himself. The kid's brother will be fine without intervention.
No traces, Jeff said.
...his stupid hero complex kicks in again.
With a loud groan, Ness treks back down to where he last spotted a clean trail.
Ness doesn't know what Magypsies are. Or if they even exist. And Jeff would chew him out for sure. But Ness doesn't have the heart to ignore the kid's suffering. If Claus-a kid who looked less than ten-was desperate enough to go searching alone for help, his brother must've been in rough shape.
Ness is an older sibling. He knows the feel.
He's not sure if it's an innate magic sense. But following all the crooked wooden signposts, Ness's intuition leads him to a pair of blue frogs dozing by a creek.
"Wrong frog, wrong frog," the left frog croaks.
"Ribbit rabbit. Right frog," croaks the other.
Then the right frog stands. And sings.
Like, full-on belts out an opera choir from its little froggie lungs.
...Ah. That's new.
After Ness awkwardly claps at the performance, the frog bows. In an excited rabble, other frogs break the surface of the creek, bobbing into a make-shift bridge of stepping stones.
"Thank you for listening to this frog. This frog loves you," squeaks the frog.
Still lost for words. Ness has fought all sorts of weird enemies under Giygas's influence. He's just glad he doesn't have to fight an army of grumpy frogs while wading through a freezing stream.
Hopping across the froggy-bridge, his socks damp from river spray, Ness knows he's in the right spot.
Because there's the Sky Runner, mostly (miraculously) intact, smoking into a cliffside. And beside that's the strangest pink house Ness has seen. It's a giant conch shell in a sea of pavement studded with glittering crystals and coral. The house reminds Ness of his Magicant.
But more importantly...
Inside the house, in the middle of what seems like a tea party, sits a puffy-eyed Jeff. Pretty, petite pastries and macarons dot the fantastical Alice-in-Wonderland table.
The world's tiniest tea cup in hand, Jeff's flanked on either side by two pink-haired... flamingo-men... with shaved beards. They remind Ness of the drag queens strutting down the runway on Mom's TV shows. The flamingo with the puffy pink afro rubs Jeff's back in soothing circles, while the other in the green dress seems to be offering their condolences-
"...Jeff?"
Jerking his head up, Jeff spots him through the open window.
They stumble into each other on the furry pink carpet, and Ness laughs, too relieved to care that they're hugging in the gayest house ever. "You're okay!"
"I woke up here," Jeff says, and the weakness in his arms worries Ness. He's forgotten how frail Jeff's gotten. That crash must've wrecked him. "-and these people helped me."
Ness turns to Jeff's saviours. "You must be..."
"Dark Dragon, where are my manners? We're the Magypsies," giggles the one with the afro. "I'm Aeolia, and that fabulous hunk over there's Ionia."
"Welcome, dear! You must be Jeffy-poo's missing friend," Ionia titters warmly. "My, my. Such strange guests you are. Jeff was telling us all about you! Time travelers?"
"Not exactly," Jeff says. "We come from another world."
Ionia claps their hands in excitement. "So you say! We Magypsies know of these things. Your visit was foretold by the stars."
Jeff is taken aback. "Foretold?"
Ness's hair stands on end. Something tells him Ionia's not fibbing - the Magypsies radiate with an unmistakably ancient presence. Almost alien.
Eyes widening, Ionia makes a dramatic O of surprise. "You, there... Nessie-pie. I sense a powerful magic within you."
"You know PSI," Ness says slowly, and Ionia beams.
"That makes three of us here! Oh, isn't that lovely, Aeolia dear? I know you adore interesting visitors."
"I do. Have either of you a place to stay?" Ness and Jeff shake their heads in response. "How awful! You simply must rest here until you repair your ratty-tatty ship. As a proper host, I insist," Aeolia says with a dainty sip of Rose Hip tea, before crossing their legs on their plush couch. "Ionia darling, will you be staying for supper? I know Doria's babysitting Princess Kumatora tonight-"
"Oh, you tease me, Aeolia sweetheart! But I can't bear to part with my delicious pickles, and Alecy-poo invited me over."
"How romantic! You cougar, do tell me how the date goes-"
"Wait! Before you leave- there's a sick kid down in the village," Ness blurts out, and the Magypsies glance at each other. "His brother was looking for a Magypsy-"
"...I'll say. Sounds like Alecy-poo's darling grandchildren," Ionia says, standing up.
Aeolia titters behind their hand. "Ionia dearest, you're too kind. At most, you prolong the child's life by a few decades. That's hardly a blink of an eye!"
"You're absolutely right, my dear. But I foresee poor Alecy-poo paying us a visit to heal his youngest... I'll meet him halfway. Mortal bodies are very fragile." Ionia clapped their hands. "Thank you, Ness darling! And Jeffy-poo, pray heed my advice. "
"What advice?" Ness says, but with a wink and a blown kiss, Ionia flattens themselves thin and flutters out like a piece of paper.
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~o0O0o~
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Aeolia's a generous host.
The Magypsy offers them a treasure trove of (pink) plush couches for the night, but Jeff's too busy fixing up his Sky Runner to sleep, and Ness isn't comfortable leaving Jeff out alone. The last thing he needs is Jeff keeling over from exposure.
Evidently, Aeolia agrees. Because they encourage the boys to fill up on delectable desserts and hot tea.
It's too good to be true. Ness wonders if this is how Hansel and Gretel felt after they scarfed down the evil witch's candy house. Except that Aeolia's not an evil child-eating witch.
Probably.
As if reading Ness's mind, Aeolia stirs their tea with a happy hum. "Does the pink bother you?"
Ness starts. "No! Not really."
"We may have some eclectic tastes, but we're not all so bad," Aeolia says kindly, and Ness flushes.
"You don't... you don't eat children?"
Aeolia throws back their head in a loud laugh, and Ness feels his face burn hotter. "Only the ones that misbehave... I joke! Poor thing, you must've been worried sick. Have more tea-"
"Sorry, that was rude-"
"It's all right, love. Curiosity's not a sin."
Shoulders relaxing, Ness accepts the second serving of rose hip tea. "You can see into the future?"
"When the stars align," Aeolia agrees, demurely lacing their fingers together. "Your friend outside was in terrible shape when we found him, but it was his fate to land here. As was yours."
Ness's stomach turns. "He's right. We're lucky you found us."
"We were predestined to meet in this world. Not a second sooner nor later... Who knows, we may no longer exist in your present." Aeolia re-crosses their legs. "Nessie, is it? A pair of words appeared to me in a dream... if you'll hear it."
"Will it change my future?"
"Possibly. Humans live such short lives."
...Giygas, Ness hates premonitions.
Nothing good ever comes out of them. Ever since the Apple of Enlightenment (dumb name) foretold of his role as the "Chosen One" in Giygas's demise, Ness only feels dread about the future. Call him superstitious, but his premonitions are never harmless. It's never little things like "You will lose five bucks" or "You will live a normal happy life".
(In everyone else's defense, Ness doesn't want a normal life. He doesn't want to be normal. He isn't normal. Isn't that why he's out here in the first place? To forge his own destiny?).
(Childish thoughts, but Ness is still a troublemaker).
(...H̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶).
Ness makes up his mind. "I'll listen."
"Thank you, my dear." Aeolia gives into a serene smile. "...Do nothing."
That's it? Ness thinks. "Is there more?" he says instead.
"Poetic, isn't it? Oddly vague, but I suppose you'll know when the time comes."
Aeolia doesn't have much else to add. So Ness pours them another cup of tea, thanks them for the prophecy, and heads out to check on his n̶e̶r̶d̶ friend.
"Screwdriver," Jeff says, and Ness hands over the wrong size.
Apparently Tony's a great scientist himself, and an even smarter programmer. No wonder he and Jeff partnered in projects together. Ness feels bad he knows next-to-nothing about tools, but Jeff doesn't complain whenever Ness messes up.
During the night, Ness tells Jeff about his encounter with the village child.
Ness holds his breath. "Don't get mad... but I think I changed the future. My bad."
He expects a lecture, but doesn't get one.
"It's not your fault. Besides, kids that young forget easily," Jeff says, screwdriver between his teeth. "I crashlanded us here. I messed up the terrain."
"That's not too bad-"
"This cliff supports a land-bridge higher up. The crash weakened its foundations. I wouldn't be surprised if the bridge crumbles in a few years."
"The village is pretty far down. I doubt anyone lives this high up. And Aeolia said not to worry about it. Something about this not changing fate." Ness sprawls onto the grass. "...Man. I hope we didn't mess up the future."
"Once we get to the present, we can check how badly we've altered the original timeline. But I have to fix the engine first."
"Is your dad here?"
Jeff only wipes the grime off his glasses. "I don't know. But we must be getting close to the present."
Ness isn't blind to the heavy look in his eyes. "Jeff... what did Ionia tell you?'
Jeff's shoulders slump over. "Of course, you'd want to know."
"Well, something's got you in the dumps, and you're acting all moody about it-"
"I'm not 'acting moody' about anything-"
"You've been scowling all night." Like when Poo tasted ice cream for the first time, Ness wants to add, but refrains.
With a frustrated sigh, Jeff sets down his tools. "The Magypsies told me this trip was in vain."
That's not the response Ness expects.
"Ionia said that I had to undertake this journey, because it was predetermined for me to 'understand the past'. But if I push too hard for what I want-" Jeff clenches his hammer. "I'll end up wrecking more than one future."
"We don't know if Ionia's right-"
"They sounded bloody sure. Apparently the person I'm searching for is doomed to die here."
"Divination's an unpredictable magic. You know all of Paula's visions didn't come true." When Jeff doesn't respond, Ness pats him on the back. "Jeff... you're a workaholic, but you know your stuff. You know when to quit before things go south. I'm not giving up unless you do."
"I was a real dunce for letting you onboard-"
"I'm glad I'm here," Ness interrupts.
"Even if we're stuck in the middle of nowhere?"
"Okay, this sucks," Ness admits, and at this, Jeff spares a weak chuckle. "But you're a real know-it-all, so I know we'll be outta here soon."
True to Ness's word, Jeff works through the night. Slaves over the engine until dawn. Fixes the Sky Runner by morn.
By noon, they're trading thank you's, and Aeolia waves them farewell with a white cotton handkerchief. Their open-mindedness humbles Ness, and waving back, he has a sinking feeling they won't meet again.
Then it's back into the unknown.
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~o0O0o~
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"Something's wrong with the Sky Runner," Jeff says, as soon as they're back on-track.
No shit is what Ness would've said if he were a complete dickhead. But Ness isn't one (m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶), and Jeff sounds serious.
Ness voices the other thought on his mind. "How bad's the damage?"
"The Sky Runner's fine. But I see the problem. The flow of time here is so unstable that it's forcing us to take multiple detours until the present." Jeff clutches the steering wheel. "I want to bring my dad back. But we need to reach the present first. Until then-"
"No traces?" Ness finishes.
"No traces."
They have to make a pit stop soon (time travel eats up a lot of fuel... who knew?), but Jeff isn't worried. Most of their belongings survived the crash, including a couple fuel canisters downstairs. Ness has no idea how they scavenged anything, but he's not gonna complain.
As predicted, the Sky Runner pings, and warps into several more sunny skies in the past. But they're getting close, because their jump slows from a span of years to months. Which is good. Ness is getting sick of seeing the same stupid slope twenty times.
Finally, Jeff calls for a pit stop. Sputtering on low fuel, the Sky Runner hides behind a ravaged cliff littered with cacti.
Ness takes watch while Jeff refuels the ship.
As Jeff pumps in the first gallon, Ness shields his eyes against the blistering sun. The heat waves roiling through the sand remind him of the great Dusty Dunes. An unpleasant smell of burnt wood hits his nose, but the hot desert weather's making Ness drowsy...
A strange buzz tickles his mind.
Ness tenses up. "Hey, Jeff?"
He hears Jeff's distant response, and the sound of a someone fumbling out a pistol. "What? Did you sense something?"
"...Yeah. Around the corner."
"What is it?"
"I don't know." Drawing out his bat, Ness flattens himself against the cliffside. "I'm gonna check it out."
"Don't go too far-"
"I won't. If it's an animal, I'll chase it off."
Ness follows the annoying buzz in his mind.
And rounds the corner.
...Oh.
There's a fallen boy. On the ground.
Suddenly frozen in place, Ness watches the battered body shudder and wheeze. Giygas, he's still alive. He's bleeding out pretty bad.
What now?
What does Ness do now?!
Jeff is saying something, but Ness hears the words like they're swimming through molasses. Because despite all the blood, there's no mistaking that copper hair in the sun, and already, Ness has outstretched his arm for a LifeUp-
Do nothing.
Aeolia's warning rings in his ears.
Ness stares at the dying child. This can't be it. There's no way this is what those words meant, because that's not who Ness is.
The LifeUp returns to his fingers-
Ness jerks back at the sudden hand on his shoulder. "Ness, no," Jeff says, though he's looking rather sickly gray himself. "...We can't."
"That's... that's-"
"He's not going to make it. We can't change the future."
Jeff's right. Ness can already sense the light in Claus's mind fading, the hum of PSI dying into a waver.
They know death is upon them. There's only one easy mercy for this suffering, and as if knowing the answer, Jeff's hands shake violently on his pistol.
"I... I can't do it," Jeff says helplessly. "Oh god, what do we do?"
The body whimpers in pain. A watery eye twitches open, and Ness sees himself reflected in it.
Ness wrenches his arm out of Jeff's grip. "Go back to the ship."
"Like hell I am-"
"I'll take responsibility," Ness interrupts, already cradling the unconscious body and letting a LifeUp pulse through his hands. "If this causes a genocide down the line, Master Hand can blame me. But I'm not watching someone die."
Jeff gives an unsteady sigh of relief. Lowers his pistol. And switches to a hand-held radar. "Then we're splitting the responsibility. Heads up- I'm picking up an aircraft headed this way."
"Perfect. How much time?"
"Five minutes. The Sky Runner's hidden well, but there's no cover out here. We'll need to be out of the canyon in five, or else they'll spot us-"
"Time me. I'll teleport us out." With a grunt of effort, Ness pours out his heart and soul into healing. Already, Claus's uneven breathing has relaxed into a reassuring tempo, magic knitting the rips and tears in his bones. Several ribs click into place, and an ankle straightens back out-
"Two minutes," Jeff says, teeth chattering, and Ness desperately forces his magic out, hot sparks chasing the ends of his hair in glowing circles-
Claus stirs in his sleep. He almost looks peaceful.
Ness lays him down.
Then Jeff's grabbing Ness by the arm. "They're in range! We have to go now," he shouts. With a final burst of energy, Ness hauls Jeff out by the wrist, and then they're teleporting back to the Sky Runner in a sonic boom.
Covered in soot, Ness thumps a coughing Jeff in the back. They hear the mystery aircraft first, listen as its bombastic song rattles the pebbles on the ground, and see it slow to a halt.
The aircraft lands. Several people in strange pig costumes scurry out. One points at the body with a loud squeal.
Ness watches with bated breath.
Then the medics - at least, Ness thinks they are - strap the body into a gurney.
There's a bit more fanfare. The aircraft hovers back into the air. And disappears out of sight. Hopefully, homewardbound.
Ness slumps over in relief.
"No traces?" Ness says, and surveying his grinning partner-in-crime, an exhausted Jeff returns the fist-bump.
"No traces."
.
.
.
~o0O0o~
.
.
.
Somehow, after all the endless spinning, they crashland into the present.
The Sky Runner pings incessantly like the world's most annoying alarm clock. Ness wants to smack its snooze button.
Except he's physically, emotionally drained.
Ping...ping...ping...ping...ping...
Neither of them rise from their seats.
Draping an arm over his aching temples, Ness breaks the ice. "How badly did we fuck up?"
Hands shaking from exertion, Jeff lifts himself up to read the Time Detector. The sun shines through the forest in broken rays, reflecting off his glasses. "...I think we're still in the original timeline."
"No think. Only do."
"Okay. I'm ninety-nine percent sure we're in the original timeline."
"What makes you so sure?"
Through the shattered window, Jeff drunkenly points at the SkyTrain station outside. "...that."
Ness stares. "...we could've taken the train. Why didn't we take the train?"
"I'll say. I didn't know someone on the roster lived here."
"I guess we didn't have time to check. Your dad could've escaped into the void-"
"But this town looks peaceful." Jeff lets his arm flop in a wayward circle. "Who lives here?"
Sliding onto the floor, Ness's muffled voice answers for himself. "Dunno. And I don't want to know."
"Aren't you on the roster?"
"Jeff, I can't remember. There's like, 40 of us running around. What, do you remember where all the Assists live?"
"Do you?"
Suddenly they're giggling like a pair of lunatics until Ness's ribs ache, because thank fuck they're back in the present.
"Stop making me laugh, you crazy git. My ribs are sore," Jeff complains, and Ness lightly punches him in the shoulder. "The... The radar's picking up my dad nearby. I thought I spotted a building over to the east-"
"Can you stand?" Ness interrupts, helping him up.
Jeff stubbornly hobbles to his feet. "I can manage, thanks. Let's meet my dad."
"What about the Sky Runner?" Or what's left of it, Ness wants to add, wincing at the smoky mess.
"I'll check on it after."
Ness recognizes the lab when he sees it. Surrounded by broken barbed wire, the lab's a duplicate of the one in winters, hidden in a secluded area of the forest. With all the nature around it, the lab sticks out like a sore thumb.
When Jeff knocks, Dr. Andonuts answers the door.
The man simply appraises his son through thick-rimmed glasses. "Oh... I see. You crashed the Sky Runner," is all the doctor says at their bedraggled appearances. As if he's expected them. "Come in."
Brushing all the messy notes off the table, they sit across from the doctor.
Already, Ness feels like he's intruding on a private family matter.
Jeff clenches his fists on the table. Unclenches them. "Tony said you were kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?" Dr. Andonuts says, peering at them over his glasses. He speaks clinically, without affect. "I left of my own volition. Your old friend Pokey offered me a proposal I couldn't refuse. There was untapped potential in military research-"
Ness finds his voice. "You left to work for Pokey?" he says in disbelief.
"Naturally, naturally," Dr. Andonuts murmurs. "Science waits for no one."
"Where is he now?"
"No clue, my boy. He disappeared a couple months ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's out roaming around the world in his Absolutely Safe Capsule. Though I don't recall attaching mobile parts..." Dr. Andonuts turns to Jeff. "You're quiet, son."
"You never told me why you left. I was worried about you," Jeff says.
"Well, His Highness did employ a degree of force. He thought a younger body would be easier to manipulate in his court. But you were still inexperienced in the field of space-time, so I accepted in your stead. As evil as old Porky was, I do feel sorry about his fate-"
"Dad... what did you do?"
Dr. Andonuts waves their attention to several leather-bound journals on the floor.
For the next half hour, they flip through its dog-eared chapters. A lot of the scientific jargon goes over Ness's head, but pictures are a language he understands, and Ness understands enough.
He can't imagine what Jeff must be thinking.
After another half hour, Jeff shuts the notebooks.
Silence.
Really, Ness has no words.
I mean, what can he say when a kid they saved turned into a science experiment?
"I looked up to you," Jeff finally says. "But you weaponized living beings for military occupation-"
"The chimera project is not my proudest work."
"You broke the law. No wonder the time stream here was so distorted... you let Porky meddle with this world."
"Master Porky would've replaced me with another head scientist to entertain his whims. I had to believe that this sacrifice was necessary for the good of humanity." The doctor peers over his nose. "...The same way I had to operate on all of you, son."
Jeff doesn't respond. Ness feels numb.
So this is what Porky did with the stolen Phase Distorter.
"I defected from the military years ago. Now, I devote my life to making all living things happy. This is my penance." Dr Andonuts sets down his coffee mug. "If you're here to take me back, I'm afraid this is where we part. Let's meet again in another ten years."
Already slipping on his lab coat, Dr. Andonuts remains oblivious to their lack of reaction. Though when he stops by the doorway, his voice takes on an odd quality. "If you're curious... the villagers buried the boy beside his mother. His brother still lives."
.
.
.
~o0O0o~
.
.
.
The Sky Runner is beyond repair.
As Jeff examines its busted Phase Distorter engine, Dr. Andonuts tells them to leave the wreckage behind. He confirms Jeff's diagnosis, hands Jeff a translator for the road, and advises them to take the next SkyTrain home.
Casually. As if the man hadn't committed several war crimes.
Ness isn't sure how this will work. The SkyTrain personnel will definitely question how they ended up here, but that's a problem for when they buy tickets.
After a quick refresh in the Doctor's Instant Revitalizing Device, Ness and Jeff leave the lab.
Beside the empty SkyTrain station, New Tazmily's a cozy village nestled by the coast. They buy sunflowers in town, ignoring Dr. Andonuts' obvious influence on the infrastructure and modern-day amenities. When Ness purchases headache medicine, he catches Jeff reading the chemicals on its jar, an inscrutable look on his face.
There's even a quaint bakery covered in colorful tapestries.
While Jeff's finishing up with the pharmacy, Ness walks inside the bakery for directions. The pleasant aroma of butter melts against his tongue.
"Hey, what can I get you? The owner's out, but we've still got plenty of cake," Baker Boy grins. The lapel on his apron reads Fuel. He's got spiky, jagged chestnut hair like one of those old anime characters Tracy loves, and on any other day, Ness might've found this banter funny.
But today's not one of them. "Where's the cemetery?"
"The cemetery? Tourists don't go there... Are you guys lost?"
"We're looking for a Claus's grave-"
Biting back a loud oath, Fuel bumps into the counter and nearly drops a whole pan of nut bread. "How do you nutters know Claus?" he says in bewilderment, rubbing his sore elbow.
"Nevermind that-"
"I dunno, man. Maybe I should mind," Fuel says, turning suspicious. "Who the fuck are you, and why do you know Claus?"
"What, am I not allowed to pay respects at a grave?" Ness shoots back.
"His grave isn't a tourist attraction, you pig-headed swine-"
"Okay, thanks," Ness says, too tired to deal with... whatever-the-fuck-this-is, and a baffled Fuel watches him leave.
"Where do you think you're going-?" Fuel starts, chasing after him.
Instantly, Ness knows he's going for the punch.
Before Fuel can box in his face, Ness lights up the place with a flick of his thumb. Ness hates to resort to this, but it's a harmless PK Flash, and with a yell, Fuel shields his eyes from the blinding light, buying Ness enough time to escape.
"Come back here, you coward!" Fuel blindly shouts, but Ness has already slipped out the front door.
Ness meets Jeff in front of the pharmacy. Even without directions, they somehow maneuver around the signposts.
Neither of them say anything during their hike to the cemetery.
Not until Ness lays his bouquet by Claus's grave.
"...You were right, Jeff. I shouldn't have tried to save him."
"We couldn't have known."
"Aeolia told me, Do Nothing. But I only made him suffer more until the end." Ness's eyes sting from ocean spray. "How do you think he died?"
"I don't want to think about it," Jeff says suddenly.
So Ness doesn't bring it up.
He lies on the grass. And watches an ant crawl over Claus's grave. Aside from Claus's name and his years, the headstone is blank, as if etching in each word would cause its griever pain. "What should we do about your dad?"
This triggers the dam. Jeff's words blast Ness like a floodgate. "How could he do this?"
"He was threatened by Porky-"
"He chose to run some of these... experiments... to satisfy his own curiosity. You can't deny that." Jeff takes off his glasses. "It's frustrating. You've seen his mark on this town. All the medicine. The clean water. You know he's capable of helping people. But if we force him to leave... Taking my dad from this world might lead to more harm than good. Not to mention that we don't have the authority nor the jurisdiction, especially if there's another Smasher in the area."
"I guess we don't have to make the decision right now," Ness says, closing his eyes against the sky. "It's a lot to take in, but we found your dad. He says he's staying. So if we need to find him, we'll know where to go."
"Ionia was right. I was an idiot-"
"Don't blame yourself, Jeff." Ness's gut twists. He's known that a person can do both good and bad things. But something of this degree? Ness is out of his depth. "I should've locked Porky up."
"No one knew he'd become an uncontrollable dictator-"
"There were signs. I should've stopped him."
"If you don't think I'm responsible for my dad's actions, you're not responsible for Porky's mess." Jeff lowers his gaze to the ground. "Ness, you gave Porky several second chances. It's not your fault that he took advantage of them either."
Ness thinks of Everdred. And BuzzBuzz. He isn't new to loss... but he's barely known the two before their demise.
But this feels personal. Maybe because Claus would've grown up to be his age. Even if events had to run their course, Ness had failed to protect him.
The world just feels so cruel.
As if thinking the same, Jeff crouches beside him. Doesn't look his way. "Do you ever regret saving the world?"
Ness watches the sunflowers dance and ripple across the grassy field. "...No."
"I don't either."
Without a word, they rearrange the flowers in front of Claus's grave. Share a quiet picnic. Neither of them are hungry, but food is how Ness brings his friends together.
Ness thinks this is the last gut punch of the trip.
Then Jeff crouches in front of the other grave beside Claus's. And squints, raising the glasses back up to his eyes. "...Ness."
"What?"
"You should read this."
"Yeah, Dr. Andonuts said that the mom's buried here too-"
"No, I mean... you need to read this."
"Don't tell me the whole family's gone-" When Jeff doesn't relent, Ness sighs and reads the gravestone.
𝚆𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙵𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚝.
𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚃𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚜
𝙲𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙻𝚞𝚌𝚊𝚜.
𝙳𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚌.
𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝙷𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚠𝚊
𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎.