//------------------------------// // Before, Behind, Beside // Story: Mother X: Father // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Ness and Paula awoke groggily, struggling to get their minds in order and to get their bodies moving. Both of them could feel their muscles protesting every movement, and an inexplicable hunger filling them. To their surprise, more picnic lunches awaited them, and they each fell on one with surprising viciousness, not even understanding why they were so hungry. "Okay, I guess you were right, Jeff," Moondancer observed worriedly. "It...is affecting them stronger than anticipated." "Huh?" Ness asked in confusion. "I'm used to getting by on a half-night of sleep while I invent or tinker the other half," Jeff explained, "so I used the other half to talk with Moondancer and Buzz Buzz about the situation, both small and large scale." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "And what I've been able to determine...is that if it really does take the 'Light of the Planet' to cure this infection, then it can't be a purely biological contamination. And if it's not purely biological, then it will be actively mutating as opposed to passively, seeking out ways to overset your will to weaken you until you turn. Meaning the longer you resist it, the harder it will be to resist, the more energy it will take to purge...and the more it will change you as you become unable to resist its power to influence your actions." Paula groaned, rubbing her head. "Just because we're a bit groggy and a bit ravenous doesn't mean we're acting like zombies..." "And how do you feel about ketchup dripping off your chin onto your dress like blood?" Buzz Buzz inquired, buzzing over to the mess in question. Paula glanced down at herself. She felt like she should be upset about the mess - and about how rumpled she looked after sleeping badly in her clothes - but... "Meh. We've got more important things to worry about." "And there's the problem," Jeff observed calmly. He turned to Ness. "Neither of you slept well last night because you were struggling against both nightmares from the infection and the call of the Zombie Paper-" "Speaking of, can we make sure all the zombies are in the paper?" Ness asked curiously. "That's the tent just south of the hotel, right?" Jeff turned to stare at Ness. "And how do you know where I put the Paper?" he asked coldly. "You weren't there when I did it, and you didn't see me do it from here either." Ness opened his mouth to respond...only to realize he didn't have one. "I...I don't know..." "This is what I was afraid of," Jeff stated calmly. "Both of you are slipping into a zombie mindset without even being aware of it, and it's just going to get worse, not better. I know you're the one who's being infused by energy from the Earth, Ness...but plainly you aren't fit to lead us right now." Ness gritted his teeth, feeling his temper start to build. He wanted to snap out at Jeff, shout him down about taking over the quest, make him back off and bend down to get at that juicy... His eyes widened as he realized the direction of his train of though. "Y...you're right," he managed to force out. "So...what's the plan?" Jeff nodded. "As I said, you're the focus of the Earth's energy," Jeff continued. "While we're apparently supposed to be the Chosen Four, if we lose you we're screwed. And the forces we're up against here know that. And they don't even have to work that hard now that you're infected. We were given an estimate of six stages before full infection...and I think that's about right from how rapidly your behaviors are changing. I'd estimate four more stages before you start to turn, and once that starts you probably won't be able to fight at all. We know there's a path to wherever the zombies are coming from in the cemetery, so we explore that now. I'll take point, Moondancer will bring up the rear, and you two stay between us at all times." He turned to Buzz Buzz. "Do you think you can manage what we discussed?" "I can try," Buzz Buzz allowed. "I've never tried to keep PSI protections up that long, even small ones...and without my shell, my PSI potential is greatly reduced. It was designed as an amplifier, after all..." "Try, but don't push yourself," Jeff stated firmly. "Let's-" "What happened to you being shy and having trouble speaking out?" Ness asked curiously. "Didn't you say you had trouble with that when we met?" Jeff futzed with his glasses, blushing a bit. "I do, in social situations. I'm maintaining control by approaching the situation as a scientific problem. That I know how to handle...for the most part. Let's go...before I lose my nerve." The trek to the cemetery proved rather uneventful. Buzz Buzz orbited the group as they marched in a diamond formation, sticking close together. Any hostile ghosts, bugs, or marionettes that approached from the side he managed to knock back with a brief Barrier flare, long enough for Jeff to lock on and shoot them with a focused Gaia Beam. Moondancer dealt with anything that approached from behind by picking it up in her aura and throwing it to the front of the group. Jeff dealt with anything that approached from in front by parrying with his Robo-Pack, always ready to fire. At the back of the cemetery, behind where the two truly terrifying zombies had been standing guard, was a ladder leading down. Jeff stopped once they reached it. "This is where things will get tricky," he murmured worriedly. "How so?" Ness asked, curious despite the listless tone to his voice. "The Zombie Paper only reaches as far as the city limits," Jeff explained. "Beyond here, we're outside its effects. While that should give the two of you more focus as you'll no longer feel its pull, it also means we'll be encountering zombies again." "And if whatever force is in charge has been paying attention at all, they'll be trying doubly hard to get you infected, as well as push the infection along for Ness and Paula," Moondancer concluded. "Which means we're likely to be swarmed." "Then we'll just have to make a good showing," Ness said firmly, putting his bat away as he gathered his thoughts as best he could. "What are you doing?" Jeff asked worriedly. Ness blinked, struggling through the fog that kept trying to cloud his mind. It would be so easy...so easy to just relax, not think, let the new friends come and plant him. Shaking his head, he spoke up. "You can...parry to protect yourself. That will...keep the zombies distant. But if...Paula or I leap...into the fray..." "You open yourself up to further infection, and your slowed reflexes and thought process will get you in trouble," Jeff deduced. "So you want to have all your focus on your PSI, which you can unleash from behind me." "Good...thinking, Ness," Paula agreed as she slipped her pan into her skirt. She held her hands forward to gather fire between them, only to flinch back. "I'm...I'm afraid of my...own fire..." "Stay strong," Buzz Buzz spoke firmly, trying to hide his own worry as Moondancer shivered. Time Passes Infection Worsens Ness - Infection 3 Paula - Infection 3