Mother X: Father

by Tatsurou

Police Banality

It took some time for Ness and Moondancer to snap out of the trance Giant Step left them in. Buzz Buzz sped up to them both once they did. "It seems the first hurdle has been cleared," he observed idly. "The first Sanctuary has attuned itself to you, Ness...and to you, Moondancer."

"Huh?" Moondancer asked in surprise.

"Ness's Sound Stone recorded the melody," Buzz Buzz explained. "And...so did your Empty Stone. It seems like the Earth intends to empower both of you."

"That's good, right?" Ness asked hopefully. "If it only empowered me, then Moondancer wouldn't have a part to play, and she might not have been able to save her Dad. This means there's a chance!"

Moondancer blinked in surprise. Between Deepsea showing up and what had happened at the Minch residence, she'd begun to have doubts about her ability to save her father...and yet when Ness declared that so strongly, she found she could almost believe in herself again. "Ness, on our way to Twoson, I'd like to find somewhere clear for something," she explained softly. "There's...something I think you're ready for."

Nodding, Ness turned and lead the way back into the cavern. Much to the group's surprise, the mice, ants, and slugs under Giygas' influence fled at their approach. "Are they scared of the power of Giant Step?" he asked curiously.

"A distinct possibility," Buzz Buzz allowed. "It is a place of great power, after all."

"That should make leaving easier," Moondancer observed dryly.

As they exited the caves at the bottom, they found a cop waiting for them. "Hey, you!" he declared, immediately approaching Ness aggressively. "The board says 'Do Not Enter'! Couldn't you read it?"

Ness stared up at the cop in fear. While he'd gotten a bit better at speaking face to face to strangers, the man's aggressive approach scared him even apart from his anxiety. "I...I..."

"Whatever!" he snapped angrily. "Just get your butt to the Onett police station later!" With his statement given, he turned and marched off towards the station.

"Well...we know where to go next," Buzz Buzz observed idly.

"Why do clues have to be so scary?" Ness whined.

---

After some gentle soothing from Moondancer, Ness was ready to head for the Onett police station. It didn't take the group long to get there, and the inside was just as bland as most buildings they'd been inside, with single color walls and floors, this time grey and brown. Cops sat behind desks, though two were out front. One was the cop who had hassled them as they came out of Giant Step. As soon as he saw them, he moved to lecture them, only for the one he was talking to - a red-faced, mustachioed officer with more decorations on his uniform - to silence him. "I'll handle this," he said gruffly. He then approached the group. "So...you went to Giant Step," he said gruffly...though his tone wasn't actually unfriendly yet.

Ness rallied gamely. "I...I was given the key..."

The man waved his hand. "I've been briefed," he interrupted. "I'm Captain Strong. I understand you want to go to Twoson."

"I...understand the road's blocked?" Ness managed to ask.

"Indeed," Captain Strong confirmed. "It's a state of emergency. In addition to the problems here in Onett, though those are dying down, there are rumors of wild animals attacking travelers with the strength of ten men, some sort of crazed cult, and even ghosts of all things. I don't know how much can be believed, but I've ordered the roadblock to try and keep those problems out, and the citizens safely in."

"But...but I really need to go..." Ness insisted, though his voice quavered somewhat.

Captain Strong 'harrumphed' into his mustache. "Well, you're determined. It must be important. And you did handle the Sharks and the cave to Giant Step...still, I can't in good conscience let a child go out of town in the present state of things unless I'm certain of their abilities. If you're confident you can handle anything the path throws at you, then follow me." He turned to lead the way towards the back of the station.

Steeling himself, Ness followed Captain Strong past the bathrooms and cells until they came to a room in the very back. Five police officers were waiting in a line against the wall as Ness entered, Strong off to one side. "These are five of my best men," he explained simply. "But even all together, they have trouble making the trek to Twoson in present conditions. If you can best them all in a fight, myself included, then I'll open the roadblock for you.

Ness stared at the group and nodded. "Okay," he said firmly, feeling more confident now it was a fight. He knew how to handle a fight. "One at a time...or all at once?"

Captain Strong chuckled. "You've got guts, kid...alright. All at once!"

The five cops moved in to circle Ness...and he thrust his arms forward. "KIAI!" he cried out, discharging his PSI.

The wave of destructive energy struck the cops, slamming them against the wall and rendering them prone. Captain Strong grinned. "So you know some martial arts then?" he growled eagerly as he stepped forward. "In that case...get ready for my Super-Ultra-Mambo-Tango-Foxtrot martial art!" He shifted into a stance that was somewhere between a combat stance and a dance pose.

Ness drew back, letting Strong lunge forward with his strikes as he dodged and weaved. The strikes included spinning kicks, swinging chops, and attempts at a submission hold. By keeping his distance, Ness was able to buy time to evade and analyze. When he saw his moment, he raced forward and slid like he was stealing home plate, diving under a spinning kick to slam into the leg Captain Strong was balancing on, knocking him over. Ness winced, clutching at his side as he rolled away, as the impact had hurt. His PSI energy quickly flowed in to heal the injury, and he leapt forward swinging his bat as Captain Strong struggled to his feet.

"Enough!" Captain Strong called out after taking the first blow to his shoulder. He slowly got to his feet. "Damn," he muttered under his breath, "when did kids get to be so scrappy?" He smirked at Ness as he caught his breath. "You should think about joining the force when you're older!"

Ness blushed brightly, lowering his head. "I...I..."

Strong chuckled as he worked the kinks from his shoulder. Pulling out his radio, he found the right signal and opened a communication. "Strong here. Do you read me? ...Hey! It's Captain Strong! Listen, a kid in a striped shirt wearing a baseball cap is going to come to the roadblock soon. His name's Ness, and he doesn't talk much. Let him through. ...I know that. I know that! Don't ask me why, just do it! That's an order!" He turned back to Ness. "Good luck and stay safe. I don't want to have to explain to your mother if something terrible happens to you."

Ness nodded. "Yeah...that sort of thing is...probably the hard part of your job-"

"Because your mother is fudging terrifying!" Strong interrupted. "Sheesh, so I accidentally stepped on the ball and broke it...it was like looking into the eyes of a demon..." He shivered violently. "Don't suppose you'd know if she has mob connections?"

Ness just tilted his head, completely lost. His sweet, kind, gentle, loving mother...was scary?

Comments

[Hiirome]

Ness, your mom (by tats headcanon) was one of the most powerful PSI user of her time, OF COURSE she's scary. XD

And you're gonna be even more terrifying, because you're the result of the two most powerful PSI users of their time doing the two backed beast. Yeah, once you've grown onto your power, you're gonna be a force to be reckoned with.

[Dirty Bit]

Mama Bear is one of the best tropes

[Chrome Masquerade]

8427889 i prefer Beware the Quiet Ones or its sister, Beware the Nice Ones . I think those also fit.
On a side note: Dang! Ness' mom's got some clout! Respect!

[Dirty Bit]

8427932 Oh, those are good, too. My favorite tropes are the Reason You Suck Speech and Heel-Face Turn

[ICCUWAUSIMTOI-Backup]

Well, since Sans hasn't done it, I guess I will.

Strong got really battered there, didn't he?

Messing with Ness's mom is a glaringly bad idea.

He really had them against the wall, didn't he?

[The Feline Bard]

...For some reason I thought of Ness' mother (Ana?) somehow coming across the group later, just as a monster is charging at them.

A: *glares at monster* "EHEM! I am talking to my son. WAIT. YOUR. TURN."

Monster *whimpers, sits perfectly still*

Moondancer "...the fuc-I mean um...fudge?"

[Chrome Masquerade]

8428385 Reminds me of a scene in You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter. Youkind of ""almost"" feel sorry for Persephone .

[Wcheff]

Clearly a good chapter and not some kind of cop-out.

[F14m3rz]

Nodding, Ness turned and lead the way back into the cavern. Much to the group's surprise, the mice, ants, and slugs under Giygas' influence fled at their approach. "Are they scared of the power of Giant Step?" he asked curiously.

... No, they're scared of you. It's a gaming construct that represents your growth as a character. At first, you climbed to Giant Step with an unclear focus, and had trouble with your fights. Now that you've overcome the source of the threat, and obtained the first key to unlocking your true potential, the enemies that once gave you trouble are now know better than to mess with you. And as you progress through your journey, you'll find that you don't get Sunstroke as much, you don't lose as much health in The Swamp Level Deep Darkness, and you won't get Homesick as often.

"Good luck and stay safe. I don't want to have to explain to your mother if something terrible happens to you."

Looks like we can all just get along, after all.

"Because your mother is fudging terrifying!" Strong interrupted. "Sheesh, so I accidentally stepped on the ball and broke it...it was like looking into the eyes of a demon..."

... What ball? Can't be some random ball, since it's prefaced with "the", so what kind is it, and who does it belong to?
But yeah, I'm not surprised that she's one of "the quiet ones". After all, Mother 1 had the most broken PSI abilities (instakill, bringing down HP to single-digits, perfect reflect, etc.).

[F14m3rz]

8427889 I dunno, to me, it's one of those tropes that can very easily fall into a facepalm-worthy cliche.
"Oh look, a mom got mad that her kids were messed with, and is incredibly scary to the one who messed with them. How genre-breaking and hilarious."
It's one of those tropes that can either be done well, or incredibly poorly, and it usually falls to the latter without anything new being brought to the table.

[Dirty Bit]

8429747 Definitely know where you come from in that regard. In hindsight, I should've phrased that it's not the trope, but how it's executed.

[Fire Flyer]

Ness just tilted his head, completely lost. His sweet, kind, gentle, loving mother...was scary?

Ah Ness, don't you know? Always beware the nice ones....

[ShogunWriter106]

8430441
Agreed.