//------------------------------//
// Samurai Ness 
// Story: Mother X: Father 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

Steering their craft into Earth's atmosphere proved especially difficult for Moondancer...mostly because she had no idea what sort of craft they were in, or what she was doing.  Thankfully, she was able to get a lock onto the general area of Onett, and through trial and error figured out how to send them in specific directions in time to crash at the top of a hill to the north of Onett.  So now what? she demanded of Buzz Buzz.

Now we wait, he answered calmly.  Ness will arrive up here eventually, without any adults around.  When that happens, we'll make contact with him.

Why without adults? Moondancer inquired curiously.

Because he needs to hear our message unfiltered, Buzz Buzz explained.  If there are adults around, they'll try to 'protect' him from what we're saying, or just from us.  But if he's to be set on the right path, he needs all the answers we can give him as directly as possible.

Moondancer was silent for a time.  Buzz Buzz couldn't help but be concerned, since her thoughts up to this point since landing had...no color to them.  No emotion.  She'd withdrawn almost completely.  When she finally sent thought again, there was only...impatience.  So we just wait, she offered flatly.  Wait and hope some kid does the right things to set things in motion and save the day, and hope things happen the way they're supposed to.

Just about, Buzz Buzz allowed.  Don't worry, everything will be okay.  I'm sure of it.

Moondancer did not respond.

Buzz Buzz sighed to himself.  It probably was too much to hope for that Moondancer would be ready to accept all this.  He'd tried to get her to let go of the others mentally earlier for this very reason.  He knew they'd likely never see the others again.  He also knew he likely wouldn't survive long without his UFO shell, which he'd had to leave behind.  He needed to find a way to get her to open up, to bond with Ness.  If she didn't, she wouldn't stay her for very long once they left their ship.

As he waited, he could feel people around them, but none of them were Ness.  As such, he kept them sealed inside, waiting for the right time.  So...know any good knock-knock jokes? he asked Moondancer hopefully.

...knock knock, Moondancer finally responded.

Who's there? Buzz Buzz answered quickly, hoping to bring her out a little.

Nobody, because everyone we know and love is probably dead.

Buzz Buzz was silent.  That...wasn't very funny, he pointed out finally.

Oh, you wanted a funny knock-knock joke.  Sorry, those don't exist.

...okay, that was kinda funny.

When Moondancer didn't respond, Buzz Buzz let them slip back into silence.  When he felt the presence of people fade, he began to wonder if perhaps they were too early, and Ness wasn't ready to start his journey.  He hoped they wouldn't be stuck in their ship too long waiting.

There's a small boy coming, Moondancer observed flatly.  It's not Ness.

Then we don't really need to worry yet, Buzz Buzz allowed.

Giygas madness wave has started to touch creatures here/now, Moondancer pointed out.  He could be in danger.

In truth, this wasn't something that actually mattered from Buzz Buzz's perspective.  After all, they were trying to save the entire solar system.  One civilian life didn't hold much weight in that scale of a situation.  On the other hand, if it got Moondancer to respond at all, it was worth doing something about.  We'll keep watch, he concluded finally.  If anything dangerous comes up here, or if he tries to leave without anyone protecting him, we'll step out and help.

Moondancer fell silent.  Buzz Buzz supposed she was accepting the compromise.  Not long after, she spoke up.  Here comes Ness, she observed, her mental voice showing more interest.  He's got a dog with him...and the dog just fled when it felt my touch on his mind.  There's another boy...  Moondancer's mental voice turned somewhat dark.  ...I don't like him...

Be nice, Buzz Buzz cautioned.  We might need his help to convince Ness.

Hope not, Moondancer grumbled.  Looks like they're here for the other kid.

Okay then, Buzz Buzz observed.  Time to make an appearance.





Ness turned to lead the way back towards home, Pokey and Picky behind him.  Pokey was already panting just from having to climb a hill for a second time that night, while Picky seemed to be handling himself just fine.  As they passed the meteor, Pokey suddenly tugged on his sleeve.  "...what?" he asked flatly, just wanting to get home and get to bed already.  As exciting as the adventure to rescue Picky had seemed when they'd started, Pokey rapidly sucked all the fun out of it.  Besides, the cracked bat was starting to show wear, and he wanted to see if he could fix it before giving it back to Tracy.

"Ness, do you hear that?" Pokey wheezed, his voice grating on the nerves.  "It sounds like a bee buzzing around!"

Ness was about to dismiss Pokey's concerns as his usual issues with insects of any sort, but he did hear...something.  "It's...not quite a bee buzzing," he observed.  "It's...it's got more of a hum to it..."

As he spoke, the meteor suddenly blazed with a beam of light shooting to the heavens.  Two figures rose up out of it before the light faded.  One was a tiny insect.  One was...a small unicorn?

"A bee I am...not!" the insect declared.

"...eh?" Ness squeaked out, a bit lost.  While he was an imaginative boy, this was a bit more than he could readily handle.





While Buzz Buzz explained everything to Ness, Moondancer looked the rather freaked out boy over.  Red baseball cap, striped shirt, blue jean shorts...exactly like the dolls she'd seen once.  She could feel the strength of the PSI in his mind, barely beginning to be unleashed.  If this was the hero they needed...well, he had potential.

She turned to the other two boys, both blonde with their hair cut in such a way their eyes were hidden.  The younger one seemed nice enough, with an eager to help air around him.  The older one...that was the one Moondancer had taken an instinctive dislike to, and she knew why.  His PSI impression felt far too similar to Greyface's.  She found herself glaring angrily at the boy, who flinched back in fear.  Snorting derisively, Moondancer turned to look away...only to find a hand in her face.

"I'm Ness," Ness offered warmly.  "Are...are we going to be friends?"

Moondancer blinked up at him, seeing only gentle sincerity in his eyes and aura.  She wasn't that much older than him, she realized.  A year, maybe two at most.  She just felt much older after everything she'd been through.  She decided to humor him for now.  "Sure," she replied, placing her hoof in his hand and shaking.

"So...three boys and one girl?" the older blonde boy - Pokey, that was his name - wheezed out.  "I'm not one of those boys, right?"

"Heaven forbid," Ness and Moondancer stated together.  They then blinked at each other before sharing a quick giggle.

Pokey's eyes narrowed in irritation, and he huffed petulantly.  "Let's just get Picky home already, okay?"

Rolling his eyes, Ness turned to lead the way down the hill.  Buzz Buzz orbited his head, and Moondancer walked at his side.  Pokey and Picky brought up the rear.  The winding path proved quite empty...which seemed to disturb Ness.  "What's wrong?" Moondancer asked curiously.

"On the way up, there were animals all over the place," Ness explained.  "And they were acting weird.  From what you two said, I think they had Gi...Goo...Giggly on their heads?"

"Giygas," Moondancer corrected idly.

"Yeah, that," Ness confirmed.  "Anyway, they were attacking, and I had to fight them off-"

"I think you mean 'we'!" Pokey snorted in a superior tone of voice.

"No, I don't," Ness corrected as they rounded the last bend, turning towards the houses.  "But now they're all gone.  It...I dunno, feels like a-"

The whole world flashed as a figure beamed down right in front of them.

"Trap!" Ness declared worriedly as he braced his bat in both hands.

Buzz Buzz and Moondancer braced themselves.  They recognized the figure of a Starman...but this wasn't an ordinary Starman.  It was bright blue...there were spikes on its shoulders...and it wore a cape.

As its optics glowed, it turned to the group.  "Not who you were expecting?" it whirred softly.