//------------------------------//
// Leaving Home 
// Story: Mother X: Father 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

It didn't take long for Ness, Moondancer, and Buzz Buzz to reach Ness's house.  Ness entered happily, fully expecting to see his Mom happily tending a pot of spaghetti and ready to serve him up a bowl before sending him off to bed to rest.  However, much to his surprise, his mother was nowhere in sight.  Instead, it was Theodore tending the pots of spaghetti, one exceptionally tiny.  "Oh, you're here earlier than your Mom anticipated," he observed as Ness and the others entered.  "The spaghetti's not quite done, but the sauce can simmer a little longer."

"Where's Mom?" Ness asked worriedly.

"Oh, I managed to help...correct some issues regarding finances," Theodore allowed, flexing his muscles a bit.  "So with a bigger budget available, she decided she needed to get some shopping in.  She's already made her way to Twoson by now, and will either take the bus to Fourside or walk if the bus has trouble.  She asked me to watch the house and Tracy in the meantime."

"But aren't the wild animals and other monsters going to give her trouble?" Buzz Buzz asked worriedly.

To the trio's surprise, Theodore burst into uproarious laughter.  It faded as he saw the looks he was being given.  "Oh, you're actually serious," he observed as he cleared his throat and began serving up the dishes.  "Trust me, there's probably nothing on the planet your Mom can't handle.  She knows what she's doing, so you don't need to worry.  If she says she can handle a trip to Fourside for some household essentials and a few toys, than she can certainly handle herself."





Ness's Mom walked calmly down the tunnel leading from Twoson to Threed.  The bus service had told her flat out that it would not run so long as the tunnel was haunted, and so she'd switched her pretty low heels for some comfortable hiking shoes and marched on down to the tunnel.  A few wild animals had approached, plainly driven mad by something, but one look from her had caused self-preservation instincts to reassert themselves.  She was certain she'd have as little trouble in the tunnel.

A ghost floated up to her.  "Go back..." it moaned spookily.  "Go back..."

Ness's Mom put her hands on her hips and gave the ghost a glare.  "Is that really the best you can do?" she declared irritably as the ghost stared at her in confusion.  "My son will be coming through here on his adventure at some point, and I can tell you now that this just isn't going to cut it.  Can't you at least get some chains to shake and make the lights flicker or something?  This is practically amateur hour here.  If he's going to face everything he'll need to, the least you could do is toughen him up by giving him a real challenge."

The ghost looked at her nervously.  "Uh...go back?" it offered in confusion, wriggling tiny arms in what it hoped was a spooky way.

Ness's Mom pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.  "I don't have time for this.  I have shopping to do, and I don't want Theodore to watch the house for more than a few days, and I only expect that because the stupid bus company are a bunch of cowards."  She pushed past the ghost dismissively without bothering to open her eyes to look.

Several other ghosts moved up close to surround her.  "Go back!" they moaned insistently as they reached out to grab her.

Her eyes snapped open angrily and she lifted one hand.  Flames gathered there as the lights flickered and the tunnel shook, as power barely suppressed yearned to erupt.  The ghosts fled in terror, and the power and flames subsided.  "And I expect Threed to be genuinely spooky when Ness gets there!" she shouted out angrily.  "If this is a sample of what it'll be like, Pokey did better with his haunted house last Halloween and he had to work from whatever he gathered out of the trash because Mr. Minch refused to buy decorations for him, the cheapskate!"  With that last declaration, Ness's Mom continued her march through to Threed, mumbling imprecations about 'lazy productions values' under her breath.





"So for now, why don't you three get a good meal and a good nap?" Theodore suggested as he set the table.  "Two of you sure look like you could use it.  What did you fight to get in such bad shape, anyway?"

"Each other," Ness managed to say, the odd familiarity Theodore took when talking with them managing to somewhat step over his social anxiety.

Theodore chuckled nostalgically.  "Reminds me of when I met your Father," he offered warmly.  "Speaking of, why don't you give him a call before you head off to bed?  Let him know what things are happening?  He probably wants to keep a record of it, knowing him.  He was always a real bear about keeping records."

"I'll do that," Ness agreed as he moved to the phone.

Moondancer did her best not to listen to Ness's conversation with his Dad.  She had her own Prayer to her Father to make, hoping against hope he could hear and that it would somehow help him.  After that and a filling meal, the trio sought bed, finding the sleeping arrangements Ness's Mom had presented still in place.





"..."
"...Ness?"
"...Moondancer?"
"...Ness...I'm a friend you haven't met before..."
"...my name is Paula.  Moondancer knows me..."
"Can you hear me calling?"
"...I'm...Paula..."
"..."
"..."





Ness sat up in bed the following morning in a cold sweat.  "That was-"

"Paula," Moondancer confirmed as she pushed herself to her hooves.  "She lives in Twoson.  She's your next companion.  I met her when she was just a baby...and somehow she knew me, and I her.  Apparently, she already knows you, too."

"She's in trouble!" Ness told Moondancer insistently.

Moondancer's eyes widened in surprise, and she straightened her glasses back onto her muzzle.  "I didn't hear that from the message-"

"I didn't hear it, I felt it!" Ness insisted.  "We need to go, now!"

"You could at least change out of your pajamas first," Buzz Buzz pointed out playfully, making Moondancer giggle.