Mother X: Father

by Tatsurou

Wandering Wonderings

While no one knew exactly where they were going when it came to trying to get through the desert, Jeff had seen the desert from above from the Sky Runner while on his way to meet up with the group in Threed, and he knew that it was clearly bounded on four sides by mountains, ocean, ocean, and the road respectively. While nobody knew enough meteorology or environmental science to question how this could allow for an enclosed weather system that kept it boiling hot in the desert at all times, it did tell them that as long as they were methodical about exploring the desert, they would eventually cover every inch of it and find a way through.

Moondancer was able to help there, as she was able to keep a mental map of everywhere they'd walked, thus making sure they did not retread ground they'd already covered without intending to. A weak Freeze PSI to the Wet Towels the three humans wore on their heads before said towels could turn completely dry helped to ensure no one got overheated from the sun, and the heavy armaments the group carried meant that the various desert dwelling animals that had been driven mad - and the few UFOs that were Giygas' troops and actively hunted the group down to destroy them - were unable to inflict much harm on the group before being blasted away or to bits.

The only oddity that occurred as far as Ness could tell was when a Smilin' Sphere charged up to the group...only to hesitate as Moondancer's aura suddenly flared. It then seemed to stare at her for a time - despite completely lacking eyes - before zooming off in another direction. Ness decided to wait and question that until they were out of the desert and talking didn't risk dehydration so quickly.

Of the non-hostile creatures the group encountered, they found several telepathic monkeys, a few sets of animal bones with not much to say, and a couple of sesame seeds that had quite the complex love story between them. For some reason, Ness insisted on moving the white sesame seed to be next to the black one...at which point the Fuzzy Pickles photographer appeared to take a commemorative photo, promising to give a copy to Theodore as it was also a picture of the device Jeff had made for Moondancer, as promised.

Towards the opposite edge of the desert, the group encountered a large burly man with a large yellow crane-like vehicles with scoop-shovels on the front - a brief look into her 'Eclectic Headspace' told Moondancer they were called 'excavators', though not why she knew that - and a few pickaxes standing near around a hole dug into the ground, the various equipment scattered around said hole. There were a few other men nearby dressed like construction workers, but the one nearest the hole seemed to be in a foul temper.

Ness led the group up to the man as he seemed to be rambling to himself. "This hole's great!" he insisted in a gravelly voice. "Good hole, good hole, good hole..."

"Why the hole?" Ness asked him curiously, keeping himself to short sentences. While beating the heat helped him talk to others as it kept his mind off what he was doing, he still tried to stick to short sentences. He could build from there, eventually.

The man glanced at Ness in confusion, then shrugged. "First, someone asked me to dig for buried gold," he explained ruefully. "I began to feel like I was obligated to find it..." His voice trailed off as his stomach grumbled. "Man, I'm-"

Ness quickly pulled out one of the picnic lunches Jeff had brought with him from Winters and handed it to the man.

"Wow, thanks!" he exclaimed happily as he took it. "This is enough for the whole crew...and there's even cake!" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I was never told what to do when I found the gold, so if you need some come look me up when I find it. I'll give you whatever you need. Really, the finding's a lot more enjoyable than the having." With that, he turned to call his men over to eat.

Ness led the group south, and before long they came to a now cleared road. As Moondancer put her Hot Suit away as she stepped onto it, she turned to Ness. "Did you know he was going to make that offer?" she asked curiously.

"Nope," Ness admitted awkwardly. "And to be perfectly honest, unless we specifically need gold, I'm not planning on taking him up on it."

"So...you walked up to some random stranger in the middle of the desert...and just handed him food because he was hungry?" Moondancer asked incredulously as she tried to wrap her mind around it. "Why?"

"Isn't Ness so noble and gallant?" Paula sighed longingly, making Ness blush, Jeff blink in confusion, and Moondancer roll her eyes.

"Perhaps something a bit less flowery, Ness?" Moondancer pressed.

"We aren't on this quest to fight the bad guys," Ness explained calmly. "We aren't here to save the world either. We're here to save everyone. He needed saving from hunger, and we had plenty of food to spare. So I saved him. He's part of 'everyone', after all."

"So you took time out from our big quest to do a small good thing?" Buzz Buzz inquired curiously, a tinge of pride in his voice.

"Big things are made up of small things," Ness pointed out.

"And the good we sow as we go will help us in the long run," Buzz Buzz agreed. "We're fighting a power that seeks to mentally rewrite all of life to erase goodness. Acts like this...may just be the things that turn the tide."

Moondancer rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I...guess I hadn't looked at it that way," she admitted.

"And besides that," Ness continued as they reached the end of the tunnel and out onto a suspension bridge over beautiful blue water, "the last person to randomly ask us for food was Apple Kid. Look how much it's helped us to have helped him." He paused, rubbing his chin. "Speaking of, I wish I had his number. I need to let him know that we aren't infected anymore, and how much his inventions helped in Threed."

Moondancer had stopped listening at this point. With the pause on the suspension bridge, she made her way over to the edge to look over into the water, glancing out as far as she could see. Taking a brief moment, she decided to do something she hadn't done in a while.

Stepping gently out of her body, she extended her time sense so she could glance over a much larger piece of the nearby world without distracting Ness and the others. The green grass, the flowering cacti, the white clouds...

Ness wasn't entirely correct about them working to save everyone. It wasn't just everyone that needed saving. She'd seen the future that was Giygas. The planet itself had died...and it would not be the last one. They were saving the world...and everyone on it.

But the thought that even these little good deeds here or there could somehow turn the tide...suddenly, that task no longer seemed so overwhelming.

Comments

[the other sans]

Now that was a golden moment of having your cake and eating it too.

[Starlight Nova]

Is this a My Little PWNY story?

[Sigmacipher]

8724075
It was certainly worthy of playing "Rivers in the Dessert."

[Tatsurou]

8724132
Yes, yes it is.

[Dirty Bit]

8724142 I love that song

[Chrome Masquerade]

The only oddity that occurred as far as Ness could tell was when a Smilin' Sphere charged up to the group...only to hesitate as Moondancer's aura suddenly flared. It then seemed to stare at her for a time - despite completely lacking eyes - before zooming off in another direction. Ness decided to wait and question that until they were out of the desert and talking didn't risk dehydration so quickly.

I hope he does. I'm curious too.

"And the good we sow as we go will help us in the long run," Buzz Buzz agreed. "We're fighting a power that seeks to mentally rewrite all of life to erase goodness. Acts like this...may just be the things that turn the tide."

Moondancer rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I...guess I hadn't looked at it that way," she admitted.

Me neither. Tactfully put!

8724075 Hopefully that gets our heroes their just deserts.

[InsanityStreak]

Those who think the little things won't matter have never seen a matchstick turn into a wildfire.

Moondancer just needed to be reminded that it's not just the destination that's important.

[Daemon Wolf 22]

8724291
8724142
The funny thing is, the song actually fits, in terms of lyrics. Not perfectly, but well enough.