First Fragment
Feeling much more certain of themselves now, Ness, Moondancer, and Buzz Buzz progressed south along the forest- and cliff-lined path towards Onett proper. A few snakes and crows attacked, their very shape warped by Giygas influence, but Ness proved fully capable of handling himself with the PSI Bat as Moondancer stood back to watch, Buzz Buzz resting in her mane. Plainly, as long as they weren't encountering anything particularly dangerous, Ness could handle himself. The more he fought, the stronger and more sure of himself he seemed to get, though it was a slow process.
As they reached Onett proper, Ness stopped at the edge of town. "Alright...what do we do now?" he asked carefully.
"Why ask us?" Moondancer asked curiously. "This is your adventure."
"Because I don't really know what I'm doing," Ness admitted. "Fighting the monsters to turn them back into animals? Yeah, I can do that. But figuring out where to go? I haven't even gone to town without Mom before! I only just turned 13, and I'm more at home in the woods or up on the mountain than in town. I don't do well with people, I get all tongue tied..."
"You seem pretty verbose now," Buzz Buzz pointed out.
"Well..." Ness rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I...uh..."
"You were about to say 'I talk to animals all the time', only to worry how we'd feel about being called animals?" Moondancer translated. "Don't worry, we're not offended. You're an animal to us, too."
Ness sighed in relief. "Thanks for understanding. I mean, there are a few kids who enjoy spending time with me up at the clubhouse in those trees, but other than that..."
"I take it that's why you've never stood up to Pokey when he did things you didn't like?" Buzz Buzz inquired.
Ness flinched. "It's...it's not like that with Pokey...really..."
"Do you think we should check in with those friends of yours?" Moondancer asked curiously. "Maybe they'll have something to help on your adventure."
"Good idea!" Ness agreed happily before turning to head for the clubhouse. Moondancer and Buzz Buzz followed, Moondancer keeping up her 'Ignore Me' Aura so people wouldn't notice her if she didn't want them to, though she also kept her distance from the younger of Ness's friends. PSI Auras didn't effect the especially young, as their minds weren't developed enough to receive PSI impressions.
To Buzz Buzz's surprise, Ness's friends talked at him rather than with him, with Ness mostly communicating with nods, shakes of his head, shrugs, and smiles. While adults might have found such behavior concerning, Moondancer found herself amazed at just how much Ness was able to communicate to his friends without sound, carrying on a full conversation to all appearances. He walked away with his friends' well wishes and the loan of a Mr. Baseball Cap, which was infused with his friends' well wishes and thus interacted with his PSI energy to increase his defenses.
"While we were on Earth, we got a Town Map," Buzz Buzz pointed out to Moondancer. "We were told to return it to the library in Onett. Maybe the Town Map would be useful? It did map out every town..."
"I'll go get one!" Ness agreed readily, rushing into the Library to get one. The librarian was understanding enough to know exactly what it was he wanted. Coming back out as he unfolded it, he held it out so Moondancer and Buzz Buzz could examine it and plan the next course of action. "So...what now?"
"From the sound of it, you need some guidance," Buzz Buzz observed calmly. He crawled across the map as he examined individual houses. "...this place," he stated finally. "The map is incredibly detailed this close up, I can even read the signs off the map. And the sign outside this house says something about a Hint Shop. I bet if you bring some money, they can tell you where to go next. Like...like a fortune teller, but more accurate."
Moondancer and Ness exchanged glances. "I suppose it's worth a try," Moondancer allowed, letting Ness lead the way to the house Buzz Buzz had pointed out.
The house was rather plain on the outside, and even plainer on the inside. A balding man wearing glasses - his brown hair combed over his balding head from the sides - stood behind a stand made of cardboard nailed together, looking far from sturdy or reputable. "Welcome, Ness," he greeted softly as the group entered.
"You...know my name?" Ness asked nervously, not noticing Buzz Buzz and Moondancer stiffen at the sound of the man's voice.
"It's my job to give you hints when you get lost on your journey," the man replied readily. "Call me the Hint Man. Of course, my service is not free. If you are to grow, you must learn to stand on your own...and only through growth can you succeed. So I will charge you for the clues I provide...but I'm sure you'll find my prices quite reasonable. $35 dollars for your first hint."
"That's...reasonable?" Ness asked nervously. It sure sounded like a lot of money to him.
"Call your father about how much he's placed in your account for your adventure," Hint Man observed idly. "I'm sure you'll think otherwise."
Ness sighed. He did have $35 on him, as an emergency fund...but he needed to know where to go. He handed the money over.
The Hint Man happily accepted it. "It seems that the citizens of Onett are being harassed by those dang street punks called Sharks," he spoke up, as though reciting from a script. "I wonder if going to talk to Frank, the leader of the Sharks, would do any good?"
Ness groaned softly. "Great...that means I need to t-t-talk to people and ask about this Frank..."
"Fight some of the Sharks," Hint Man suggested blandly. "Not only will your Father send you more than enough to earn back the cost of the hint, some of them might have something to say about Frank."
Ness managed a smile. "Thanks..." Turning, he stepped out of the house.
Hint Man turned to Moondancer and Buzz Buzz. "Aren't you going to jo-"
"George?" Moondancer finally gasped out. It had to be. It was the same voice...wasn't it?"
"I am not George," the Hint Man responded calmly. "But I can tell you about him. But are you certain you want to know? The story isn't pleasant."
Moondancer gulped, but steeled herself to nod.
"I am the past looking forward," Hint Man intoned quietly. "I see the future as it will unfold, but now I turn my eyes backward to speak of what has been. George loved his wife very much, but he was obsessed with answers, discovering the secrets that were hidden without thought to why they were hidden...and this brought him no end of trouble. The grey child...his love for the grey child was rivaled by his desire for answers, to study the grey child. This became a rift between himself, his wife, and the grey child. The child did not trust him enough to go when he discovered the danger. He failed them...but that was only the beginning of his sins."
Moondancer and Buzz Buzz were dead silent. "How...how do you know all of that?" Buzz Buzz finally gasped out. Even their view of the events through Giegue's Magicant hadn't given them those details.
"My story is my purpose," Hint Man answered easily, a soft smile on his face. "That purpose is fulfilled." He started to fade away. "I don't mind not being here anymore. They are better out without this fragment..."
He vanished entirely. His hint stand slowly collapsed in on itself, leaving behind a thick magazine of some sort with a Starman Deluxe on the front. Moondancer curiously lifted it up and tried to open it...only to find she could only read the first few pages, which covered Onett, the areas around it, and the creatures they would face there. "This is...odd..." she murmured nervously. She glanced at the ruins of the stall...which weren't there anymore. "...so is that..."
Ness stuck his head back in. "You guys coming?" he asked curiously. He then blinked. "Where'd the Hint Man go?"
"He had somewhere else he had to be," Buzz Buzz explained. "But he sold all his hints to Moondancer, so she can help guide you in the future."
"Awesome!" Ness crowed happily. "Thanks a lot, Moondancer!"
"Uh...you're welcome," Moondancer answered thoughtfully, turning to follow out of the empty house.
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Starman on the cover, eh?
puu.sh/xgrRH.jpg
8380960
Oh right, it's a Starman Deluxe on the cover. Fixing that.
That feel when you reach the bottom of the chapter and see "1 views". Yesss Fistpump
8380962
That wasn't intended as a correction, as I don't remember enough detail of Earthbound to know the difference offhand. Glad to help anyway, though.
Wow. Some really nice character development here. I'm impressed!
{Ness: That snake is bug-eyed, and that crow is wearing sunglasses! How could this get any worse!?
Spiteful Crow: My dad's a heavy smoker.
Ness: Nicotine addiction, and you can talk?! The horror!}
Huh, so Ness is home-schooled? I always imagined from the way he's always carrying a backpack that he was in regular school, but I guess I was wrong.
*Man
{Moondancer: Doesn't that count as a hint?
Hint Man: Ah, yes, well... the thing about that is- *pops out of existence*}
{Moondancer: Wouldn't that also count as a hint?
Hint Man: Look, do you want to hear some free exposition or not?!
Moondancer: Okay, fine...}
What, you mean building an under-lake bunker that can barely last 80 years despite being able to build a robot that can oneshot any enemy on Mt. Itoi? I guess if you want to nitpick...
{Moondancer: Wait... so you're just giving out all the hints for free? That's lame.
}
Hint Man: What, it's a perfectly legitimate business deal.
Moondancer: I'm just saying, it makes no sense since you already asked for $35 and said each additional one would cost more (even though the cost varies by location, not usage), and you just gave us all the hints for free, so it seems weird that you'd ask to be paid in the first pla-
Hint Man: Fine, it takes a long time to finally stop existing, and I needed the money in case I got hungry for whatever reason, and I decided to bum some money off a kid to do so! Are you happy?!
Moondancer: Wait... so that's what you meant by the beginning of George's sins!
Hint Man: Yeah, well it's like I said, they're better off without this fragment. See ya!... Well, that's what I would be saying, except my consciousness will still be floating around until it catches up with everything else.
Moondancer:
Oh well, it makes contextual sense because Earthßound is a game in-game.
3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gta2-ceuEok/TzJV-0IX1FI/AAAAAAAANyo/Owb_gUKpVb8/s1600/Earthbound_%28SNES%29_21.png
Also, player's guide.
venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/earthbound-players-guide.jpg?fit=930%2C739&strip=all
EarthBound: The game so...EarthBound that its instruction manual was also a walk through with maps...
And Nintendo Power STILL had to field questions about it!
Very interesting chapter. I like how you manage to explain why Ness was a silent protagonist in the game.
That, and the Player's guide at the end
8381289
Never said he was home-schooled. Just that he'd never gone into town without his Mom before. Meaning either his Mom walked him to school every day, or the school isn't in the town proper.
And given Onett seems to be based off small British towns more than American ones, it's likely the schoolhouse was somewhere in the woods rather than in town proper. And there wasn't a building in-town labeled as 'School'.
8381884 I don't recall Threed/Threek having a mayor, but I imagine that some form of government must be present... Huh, apparently the most probable reason it was changed from Threek to Threed was because it could be associated with Three K, which is a nickname associated with the Ku Klux Klan (even though it's probably just a portmanteau of "Three" and "Shriek").
So what's the real story about the $35? Was HM trying to teach Ness a lesson in sacrifices or something?
8381899
Exactly what he said. It's about making him stand on his own feet and progress through his own effort, without hand-holding. Hint's are available, but he has to pay for them, and thus earn them.
That's why so few pages of the 'strategy guide' are visible. Moondancer can only read forward up to what they're currently doing, with a clue to what to do next.
8381943 Yeah, see, that makes no sense.
Hints only come up when you've completed enough stuff in the game to warrant the hint to be told.
Ness can ask to pay for a hint, despite the fact that HM just disappeared into the aether.
And Moondancer has a magic magazine that operates the same way as the HM, except it has more information and it's free.
That's like playing a game that has microtransactions, but there's an option in the game to get everything those microtransactions offer just by playing the game normally.
8381951
But in terms of a world, it makes sense because it's about teaching Ness independence. If he listens carefully to everything people say, he doesn't need the Hints, and he already knows he needs to get to Giant Step. If he listens carefully and searches, he doesn't need hints. However, he now has access to hints if he does need them.
8381966 So then why does Moondancer need the Prima Guide when there isn't much she'd need from it outside of monster drops and laughing at blatant typos?
8381976
She doesn't need it. It's what Hint Guy (that's what the official Earthbound Wiki calls him, not Hint Man) was using to come up with his hints in this timeline, so he left it behind when he vanished.
8382037 ... No it isn't.
Hint Man
Hint Man
8382060
Huh. I got to the page by searching "hint guy", so I must have misread.