Mother X: Father

by Tatsurou

Easy as Onett, Twoson, Threed

With the power of Lilliput Steps absorbed into Ness and Moondancer, the walk back through the cave was rather straightforward, since the animals within the cave fled from their presence. Ness paused after reentering the cave, however, to move to Mondo Mole's side. "Anything I can do to make you more comfortable until I come back and heal your paralysis?" he asked hopefully.

Mondo Mole blinked at him in surprise. "...you're serious?" he asked in shock. "You really intend to backtrack all the way here once you learn Healing Gamma just to heal the Paralysis you inflicted on me?"

"Well, yeah," Ness confirmed. "I only did it because I wanted to try and talk things over before fighting, to see if there was a way to resolve things without fighting. The fact that you seem to have your complete faculties means that you aren't consumed by the madness waves, so diplomacy was an option. I...just didn't realize that it would leave you completely helpless." After a bit of a struggle, he shifted Mondo Mole back into an upright position. "This better?"

"Uh...sure?" Mondo Mole offered, now completely confused. "I mean, yeah, my current state is from absorbing madness waves and feeding off the power of the Sanctuary, and beating me into submission would just restore me to my previous state given the weapons you're using...but if you'd really rather try the pacifist route with me, I guess I won't complain. Gonna be pretty boring waiting around that long..."

Ness scratched his head as he tried to think of a way to fix that, only for Buzz Buzz to fly over to Moondancer. "Have you got any of my equipment from before?" he asked curiously.

"I...think so?" Moondancer allowed, opening the entrance to her pocket space for Buzz Buzz to find what he was looking for.

Diving in, Buzz Buzz pulled out a complex looking record player and several records, though Moondancer had to levitate them as soon as they were out of the pocket space. "Voice activated!" Buzz Buzz explained happily.

"Aw, sweet!" Mondo Mole crowed. "Tonzura Go! records! I love that band!"

Buzz Buzz decided to say nothing as Moondancer set the device up, but he preened inside.

With Mondo Mole made comfortable, the group made their way back out of the cave.

---

Upon arrival in Happy Happy Village, the group were surprised to discover that all of the blue everywhere was completely gone. "...that was fast..." Moondancer murmured in surprise.

"Well, if everyone worked together..." Paula allowed happily, moving up to Ness' side. Ness blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head.

Frowning, Moondancer turned to Buzz Buzz. Okay, what gives? she demanded in a private thought communication. They literally just met. Why are they already so anchored to each other?

They just met physically, Buzz Buzz corrected. Both of them are exceptionally powerful PSI users, and their destinies have been intertwined under the guidance of the Apple of Enlightenment since they were in the cradle. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were cavorting together in their dreams while younger without even realizing it. That would easily explain why Ness is so anchored to her. That, and she's probably the first human girl his own age he can talk to without completely shutting down since they can talk with thoughts instead of words if they wanted.

...and Paula's already shown to be able to see the future, and has probably seen one she really likes where they end up together? Moondancer added ruefully.

Also possible, Buzz Buzz allowed.

Moondancer glanced at the pair of blushing pre-teens as they walked hand-in-hand towards the entrance to Peaceful Rest Valley. At least they're cute together, she admitted ruefully.

---

Passage through the Valley proved much easier on this trip for a number of reasons. Not only did Ness now know the path through the Valley and didn't have to wander as much, he was much stronger than before. This allowed the whole group to shrug off damage that would have been somewhat debilitating before. On top of that, Paula's PSI Fire proved exceptionally effective against groups of Mobile Sprouts they encountered...especially after one of the Sprouts tried to drain Paula of her PSI energy, only for her to immediately drain it right back as she mastered PSI Magnet Alpha.

Only the Territorial Oak still proved a serious threat with its tendency to explode in flames once defeated, but they were easy enough to avoid. A bridge repaired by one of the citizens of Happy Happy Village made the journey much easier.

Ness's first stop upon their return to Twoson was Polestar Preschool, so that Paula could reassure her parents that she was alright, and let them know she would be travelling with Ness. Paula's mother was warm and supportive, making sure to give Paula a hand-made band-aid in case anyone got injured. Her father was overly emotional, nearly weeping over Paula's safe return, and actually weeping at the idea of her going off on her own with 'a boy, a bug, a pony, and no chaperone!' Moondancer found no end of amusement at Paula's embarrassment at that assertion, though Ness was kind enough to get them back outside rather quickly after letting Paula grab a few things she wanted from her room.

"Don't worry, Dad!" Paula insisted as they started to leave the house. "We'll meet another friend in Threed, I'm sure of it. There's nothing to worry about."

"Well...alright," her father allowed as he started to regain his composure.

"He'll be a great help to us-" Paula continued.

"He?" her father gasped out in shock. "Two boys and no chaperone? Oh, my poor baby girl!"

"Is this a bad time to mention the prophecy about this adventuring group talks of three boys and a girl?" Moondancer asked impishly.

"WAAAAAUGGGH!" Paula's father screamed out in parental despair.

"...there's absolutely no way we can present this such that he isn't going to be freaking out, is there?" Ness asked Paula worriedly.

"Probably not," Paula agreed as they raced out of the school. "Let's go check in with Mr. Everdread-"

"And now she consorts with criminals and older men!" her father wailed out. "My poor baby girl!"

"It's not that funny," Paula growled irritably as Moondancer laughed.

---

Everdread smiled as the group entered his small house. "I see you've rescued Paula," he offered softly. "That's good. I was going to ask you to be my partner, Ness...but I know you'll refuse. Not only is it written all over your face, I read it in your fists when we fought. Of all the things you might turn out to be one day, a criminal is not one of them. Instead, please accept this." He set out a large wad of bills on his desk. "It's $10,000. Use it for whatever you want. I'm sure there's something you want to do that requires this amount of money, so good luck with your endeavors. I intend to find out what happened to the Mani Mani Statue Liar X. Agerate unearthed in Onett." With that said, he turned and left.

"Uh..." Ness began, unsure what to do as he wasn't given an opportunity to respond.

Moondancer grabbed the money. "Let's get to Chaos Theater," she instructed firmly.

"You're going to free the Runaway Five from their contract?" Paula gasped happily.

"Exactly," Moondancer confirmed. "They've already promised a lift to Threed in return."

---

As the group approached the Chaos Theater, Moondancer and Paula both tugged Ness over to where Gorgeous and Lucky stood just outside the theater, next to their van. Lucky grinned as the group approached. "Well look at you, boy!" he crowed proudly. "Not one but two lovely ladies tugging you to a show. A player like you deserves a special treat!" Reaching over, he shoved a Backstage Pass into Ness' hand.

"Huh?" Ness asked in confusion as Moondancer and Paula tried to suppress their laughter.

Gorgeous and Lucky both looked towards Buzz Buzz with a smile before turning to work on the van.

"Let's go inside," Moondancer insisted, nudging Ness towards the theater.

---

With Paula on one side and Moondancer on the other, Ness found himself frogmarched into the backstage area of the theater where the Runaway Five were preparing for their show. Once there, Moondancer went right up to Nice (the sax player) and Groovy (the cellist), curling up with them like they were old friends as they each reached out to stroke her mane familiarly. Buzz Buzz found himself oddly drawn to Okay (the drummer), much to the rest of the Five's amusement. Ness blinked in confusion, but Paula simply gripped his hand a little tighter to take his mind off of it.

Stepping back out of the backstage area, they were greeted by the Runaway Five's rather swinging blues performance.

After the performance, the group made their way back to the theater lobby. "That was..." Ness began, uncertain what to say. "It..."

"I know what you mean," Paula agreed. "I don't normally like Blues music myself...but there's something about the Runaway Five's music that always makes me feel...good. I'm not sure what more to say."

Moondancer smiled softly to herself. She'd heard the music behind the music, the song really being performed. It was the melody of the Points of Power Alinivar - or Groovy, as he apparently presently went by - had gathered in order to unlock PSI Harmony. Hiding it within the Blues music of the Runaway Five, he was playing it over and over on the world that was the focus of Giygas' attentions, in the hopes it would strengthen the restored link between Giegue and Niiue. What the goal of that was, Moondancer wasn't sure...but she'd felt that as she'd listened to the performance.

She decided to let Ness and Paula shake themselves off while she went to speak to the Chaos Theater manager. Slipping into the office, she walked right up to where the portly, bespectacled man sat behind his desk. "The Runaway Five owe $10,000 on their contract here, right?" she asked calmly.

"That's right!" the manager responded immediately in an intense if wheezy voice. "And they'll stay here until they pay it off-"

"Not anymore they don't," Moondancer interrupted, slapping the Wad o' Bills she'd taken from Everdread down on the desk.

The manager blinked at the money sitting in front of him. "Uh...wow. I...I'm not sure what to do. With the contract paid off, they're free to go...though I'm not sure what to do with the theater without them..."

"You'll figure something out," Moondancer allowed as she held out the hoof. "The contract?"

"Groovy has it," the manager replied readily. "Just let him know it's all paid off-"

"We already know," Lucky spoke up happily as he stepped in, scooping Moondancer up in his arms. "And now we're all getting ready to hit the road!"

Moondancer smiled up at Lucky as she was carried out to the van, joining Ness, Paula, Buzz Buzz, and the band inside. Her eyes widened as she entered, seeing somewhat through the PSI field of the van...to the interior of a smaller saucer craft. Larice motioned her to silence on that as music started blaring.

"Okay guys, here we go!" Eldaman called from the controls as he backed up...onto the sidewalk. "Outta the way, sidewalk!"

The 'van' coasted just over the surface of the road, zooming down the path towards the tunnel to Threed as the music blared out, blasting back the madness waves that made creatures go wild so no 'monsters' could interfere with the path of the vehicle. Those unaffected by the waves had the sense to stay out of the path of the crazily driven van as it swerved, bounced, and jived around corners as it zoomed towards its destination.

The ghosts in the tunnel proved unable to interfere with the van, as much because of the upbeat music weakening their ability to be terrifying as because the van was far too fast for them to catch. As they reached Threed, Ness, Paula, Buzz Buzz, and Moondancer took in their surroundings.

Threed seemed to be under a permanent pall of night, with thick cloud cover blocking any sunlight from touching the ground. The trees seemed to be gradually withering, and the few people who were out followed the van as best they could as though its music were somehow a lifeline in a dreary world.

Parking in front of the Department Store, Gorgeous let them off. "Looks like we're parting ways here for now," he offered comfortingly. "This town seems pretty gloomy, but I'm sure you lot will brighten it up with your own little brand of sunshine before long. Just keep a song in your heart...and don't give up." With that, he got back into the van and drove off, taking the upbeat music with them.

As the gloom of the town closed in on the group, Ness shivered. "Let's get inside somewhere and figure out our next move," he suggested eagerly.

Comments

[Chrome Masquerade]

Everdread smiled as the group entered his small house. "I see you've rescued Paula," he offered softly. "That's good. I was going to ask you to be my partner, Ness...but I know you'll refuse. Not only is it written all over your face, I read it in your fists when we fought. Of all the things you might turn out to be one day, a criminal is not one of them. Instead, please accept this." He set out a large wad of bills on his desk. "It's $10,000. Use it for whatever you want. I'm sure there's something you want to do that requires this amount of money, so good luck with your endeavors. I intend to find out what happened to the Mani Mani Statue Liar X. Agerate unearthed in Onett." With that said, he turned and left.

"Uh..." Ness began, unsure what to do as he wasn't given an opportunity to respond.

In other words Ness...
i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/005/574/takemymoney.jpg

[Lucky Ness]

Or "Easy as Onett, Twoson, and Threek" in Japan.

[F14m3rz]

but if you'd really rather try the pacifist route with me, I guess I won't complain. Gonna be pretty boring waiting around that long..."

Hmm... can't remember if 'pacifist route' was used before Undertale in a general context, so I'll just pretend he said 'extending the olive branch' (because Eagleland) and leave it at that.

"Aw, sweet!" Mondo Mole crowed. " Tonzura Go! records! I love that band!"

Didn't know that a mole could be a fan of a band that was renamed a while back, and lives in a place he wouldn't normally hear it in. Get a lot of Happy Happyists playing rock music in their offtime?

Frowning, Moondancer turned to Buzz Buzz. Okay, what gives? she demanded in a private thought communication. They literally just met. Why are they already so anchored to each other?

That's kinda the theme in this game, bein' friends with people they've never met. It's almost like there's a whole song about it that got remixed a bunch of times or something.

They just met physically, Buzz Buzz corrected. Both of them are exceptionally powerful PSI users, and their destinies have been intertwined under the guidance of the Apple of Enlightenment since they were in the cradle. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were cavorting together in their dreams while younger without even realizing it. That would easily explain why Ness is so anchored to her. That, and she's probably the first human girl his own age he can talk to without completely shutting down since they can talk with thoughts instead of words if they wanted.

I guess OG dream bubbles could also be a factor. Or...
{When you're looking for a shoulder you can cry on
Won't you think about me?
When you're looking for someone you can rely on
Don't you ever doubt me
I'll be there someway, somehow
That's what being friends is about!}

" He? " her father gasped out in shock. " Two boys and no chaperone? Oh, my poor baby girl!"

Don't worry about it; he's already got someone in his life... or at least, he will.
i.pinimg.com/736x/7b/34/9f/7b349f16b3c35d0f31de4a305a0e4fbc--series-image.jpg

"Is this a bad time to mention the prophecy about this adventuring group talks of three boys and a girl?" Moondancer asked impishly.

"WAAAAAUGGGH!" Paula's father screamed out in parental despair.

Now that's a legit concern; guy can't keep the ladies off him.
{All the girls in Dalaam are head over heels for Poo. This particular girl says, “Do you have time to play with me?” after which you can say yes or no.
In MOTHER 2, though, what she says roughly translates to, “Will you make out with me again like you used to?” It could be that she’s just teasing him, hoping to get him to say yes. Or maybe she’s telling the truth. It’s up to you to decide!
If you say yes, she’ll say, “I’m so happy! (*make out*)” in MOTHER 2. If you say no, she’ll say, “Aww, it’s because you have training, huh? I hate your training!”
In EarthBound, if you say yes, she’ll say, “Happy me! (patty cake, patty cake…)” If you say no, she’ll say, “Hah, I knew it. ‘Training’ changed you! I’m jealous of your training!”
--Tomato, "Legends of Localization"}

"And now she consorts with criminals and older men!" her father wailed out. "My poor baby girl!"

Eh, he's gonna take a dive, just like EVE before him.

But anyways, I liked this chapter. I expected a bit more, but it was kinda cool to revisit some stuff and think about what could have been, but never was. Anyway, here's something cute I found.
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[Imayaruk]

Not sure if moondancer is getting jealous or just finds how fast Ness and Paula are bonding weird

[the other sans]

So Buzz Buzz basically says that Paula is Ness' dream girl. Seems legit.

[Dirty Bit]

Funny and cute chapter

[InsanityStreak]

Moondancer glanced at the pair of blushing pre-teens as they walked hand-in-hand towards the entrance to Peaceful Rest Valley. At least they're cute together, she admitted ruefully.

It was at this point Moondancer could no longer deny the horrible fact that she had become... a shipper.

Paulas dad reaction to everything was gold as well

[LostArchivist]

Does Threed remind anyone of Hollow Shades?

[Sunny Milk]

8794447
What game is that from again?

[Orphan]

9346926
That is a Pony reference, I think.

[Spellflame]

9375088
Bat pony town.