Chapter 5


	On the same day when Ness was released from the hospital, everyone went home except for him and Paula. Again they decided to walk each other home and discuss private and personal business that they couldn't share with Jeff, Poo, or Nikana. The sun that once shined over Eagleland began to set and it was close for darkness to come rule the sky. Ness and Paula were on their way to Twoson and decided to walk the way there.
	"So that was the power that Nikana inserted into me?" Ness asked Paula about his new power.
	"Yep. She said that she would train you tomorrow before she left with Poo for Daalam. According to her, she said that PK Thunder is the best and most useful power she has given to you. However, I still don't trust her."
	"Why's that? She's been with us over a week."
	"She's not that caring as she seems to be. She looks like that she's using you for something that she wants desperately and doesn't care whatever happens to you."
	"She wants to free the realms and destroy The Master Hand. Who would want a dictating ‘God' to control or run you life? I doubt that she's using me."
	"Yes, but the question is why can't she battle against The Master Hand with those powers she has been giving to those fighters?"
	There was a silent pause of question. The two didn't speak, but Ness thought about Paula's question carefully. Nikana had some powers stored within her, so why couldn't she use them to defeat The Master Hand herself? Why give them away?  

	The two kids were a few blocks away from Polestar Preschool, also known as Paula's house. As they were passing Orange Kid's house, Ness heard an unusual buzzing sound. He stopped walking and listened. Paula stopped walking as Ness did, shot a confused glance at the boy that indicated she was hearing the sound.
	"What's that noise?" Paula whispered.
	Ness shook his head and whispered, "It sounds like a Starman, but we've defeated Giygas a year ago! It can't be!"
	Two polygon figures and a short metallic figure dropped from the sky and landed a few feet, surrounding Ness and Paula. The two polygon figures looked like Nikana's from Ness' training, except they were purple and more deadly looking. Ness could somewhat recall who the purple polygon figures belonged to. The metallic figure however, was shorter than Ness and Paula and looked like a figure of a man with a big nose and big fists. It also wore a cap on it's head.
	"Aren't those Nikana's figures. . .?" Paula asked in a nervous tone as the polygon figures and the metallic figure walked towards them closer.
	"No, hers are only green!" Ness suddenly realized. "I don't know about that metal looking robot guy, but those polygon figures are The Master Hand's. We have to-"
	*Surrender now, human.* Hummed a telepathic, robotic voice to Ness and Paula. *You are pointless into defeating us. We will crush you if you do not surrender you and your pathetic world to our God.*
	"We can't let these guys win and it's up to us." Ness said to Paula as the blonde-haired girl agreed and armed herself with her PSI Powers. 
	Ness commanded PK Fire and shot a fire disc to a polygon figure. It nailed the polygon figure in the chest as Ness' power caught the figure on fire. Paula summoned PSI Freeze Alpha and fired at a polygon figure. However, the polygon figure had taken no damage and absorbed her PSI power! Paula began to back up into Ness with a feeling of defeat. The boy quickly glanced behind his shoulder.
	"They're too strong!" Paula said trembling with a little bit of fear. "That polygon figure had just absorbed my power! I don't have my frying pan with me for any defense!"
	Great, Ness thought sarcastically. We're screwed.
	Just then, a tall, slender polygon figure lunged at Paula. Ness quickly turned and swung with full strength at the attacker with his Gusty bat. The polygon figure flew a few feet back and crashed onto the concrete road. As Ness glanced behind him, Paula was no where beside of him. 
	Just then, Ness heard a shriek. The boy turned to find that the metallic figure had grabbed Paula and was dragging her up the street away from Ness. 
	*Ness, help me!* Paula cried telepathically and hysterically. *Help me! Please! I can't resist from this guy's grasp!*
	The boy darted after the metallic figure. He was edging closer to his target as the metallic figure walked carelessly up the street, while dragging Paula. Just as Ness was about to summon PK Fire, the figure suddenly disappeared, along with his hostage. The boy stopped in his tracks and scanned around the area frantically. The polygon figures had also disappeared. 
	Ness clenched his fists and teeth with a feeling of anger, frustration and great loss. Paula was gone and held captive at will. Not knowing what to do, Ness scanned the area that he stood around cautiously. At that moment, he knew what he must do in order to defeat The Master Hand and free Paula.
	Ness ran down the dark street and headed for Twoson's First Class Hotel. He quickly ran inside, up to the check-in desk and picked up the phone. The clerk turned, snatched the phone out of Ness' hand and said, "Why do you need to use the phone? We're starting a new policy that says that no one cannot use the phone unless an emergency. This isn't a public phone where we are forced to pay the bills."
	"But this is an emergency!" Ness exclaimed as he grabbed the phone from the clerk's hand and started dialing as fast as he could.
	The boy listened to the phone ringing and ringing repeatedly. After a while, the phone had been answered.
	"Hello, this is Dr. Andonuts speaking." Said a man's voice. "Who is this?" 
	"Yes um, this is Ness," the boy identified, "Jeff's best friend. I need to talk to him now!"
	"I'm sorry Ness, but Jeff has gone off to bed. He's due back at his boarding school tomorrow morning from his two week vacation."
	"I know, but this is so extremely important that I must talk to him! It can't wait till tomorrow. Can you wake him up, pleeeaaassseee?!"
	There was a silence at the end of the line. No other background noise came from the phone. Ness looked at the phone to find that the hotel clerk had hit the receiver button to disconnect Ness from communicating with Jeff's father. The clerk then snatched the phone out of Ness' hand and hung it up.
	"Ok kid," said the annoyed hotel clerk, "I've told you that you can't use the phone unless you have to call for a taxi or a medical emergency. It sounds like that you are using this phone to talk to friends."
	Ness glared at the hotel clerk. He had it with this load of crap and was in no mode for putting up with people tonight. The boy made another attempt to try to pick the phone up again.
	"Kid if you don't leave this hotel at once, I'm calling security to remove you." The clerk warned and was now angered. "If there is an emergency, what is it?"
	Ness sighed his surrender over fighting with the use of the phone. He was forced to keep the mission of The Master Hand a secret. The boy hung the phone up and growled, "There is no emergency."
	"I thought so. Now leave!"
	Ness stormed out of the hotel and walked down the street. He felt hopeless and for the first time in a long time, he felt like that he wanted to cry desperately. The boy wanted to know if Paula was safe and where she was being held. He couldn't stop worrying about her and started to think of worst things that might happen to the cheerful girl at the moment. His thoughts were horrific.
	The boy walked under a lamp post and leaned against it. He didn't want to go home to worry his mother with his expression. In fact since he was late on his curfew, Ness knew that his mother would began to worry about him then. He sighed tiredly, not knowing what else to do. Ness was forced to be strong, courageous, and wise.
	Suddenly, a figure dropped from the lamp post and startled the boy. It held a long staff with a sharp blade at the end and it was held in a rest position. Ness quickly caught himself on guard, but suddenly recognized the figure who had surprised him.
	"What are you doing here, Nikana?" Ness asked and then began to recall Paula's questions about not trusting the aggressive, teenage girl. 
	Nikana snapped her fingers as her staff disappeared in mid air.
	"I sensed danger and an evil presence here." The girl replied. "I tried to came here as fast as I can and I found no one. However, I did spot you walking into that building and I decided to wait outside for you."
	Ness shook his head and was confused and upset. He then asked her with his anger, "How did you sense them here?! You said yourself that those psychic powers aren't yours! And how did you get all of those powers?! You act like that you could defeat The Master Hand by yourself! Why did you chose me to be your puppet?!"
	The girl looked at him with some sadness in her hazel eyes. She stood and stared at Ness with silence and then stared at the ground.
	"You don't understand, do you?!" Nikana said with some sadness in her tone and demanded the truth from him. "Those powers I posses now are what I've stolen from The Master Hand. I admit that I was sort of a criminal back on my world, but I only stole things in order to survive on my planet.
	"At every match with those fighters I've trained, I manage to get into The Master Hand's secret chamber. There's an orb in there that posses The Master Hand's power. I steal them at every match while my fighters are busy fighting The Master Hand. There are some powers I can access and there are some that are impossible to get to. In case the fighters do not win the match, I would had stolen the powers from The Master Hand, escape from his dimension, and insert the powers in a fighter's mind. I don't keep the same powers that you've acquired from me; I simply give them away. Once I've given them to you, I cannot use that same power."
	Ness stood in silence, but did not change his mood a bit. 
	"You still haven't answered my other question." Ness pointed and growled. "If you could of gained access to all of those powers you've collected, why did you give them away to people instead of using them yourself? Why do you have to put others in danger along with their people and world?"
	"Ah, you need to think about that reason a little harder, Ness. You see, I was the only person from my realm that escaped and knew about The Master Hand. Without me stealing those powers and giving them away, the Realm of Nintendo would fall like my realm has. There wouldn't have been anyone to help prepare or warn anyone in the Realm of Nintendo. Consider yourself extremely lucky.
	"Also by stealing powers from The Master Hand, I would not only weaken him but confusing him. I have stolen various powers from him and gave them to separate fighters. He does not know what powers I have given the fighters, including you, and because of that it leaves an advantage for the fighters to fight him. If I had fought against The Master Hand myself, he would of known all of the powers that I've stolen from him and easily defeated me. Then everything else fails.
	"Yes, I do not like the fact of putting people in danger and having it to be all my fault. I didn't want to do this, but it was destiny that forced me into it. I was destined to save the two Realms and paste them back together. I had no other choice but to make those six sacrifices. Trust me Ness, I do not like to go around and putting peoples lives in danger and failing them. It's just how I was put in."
	Ness was quiet as his anger had cooled down. He wished that he had heard this before Paula was kidnaped. Then the girl asked, "Is Paula home safe and sound?"
	The boy sadly shook his head. He saw Nikana beginning to worry and tried not to panic. Her eyes began to sadden more.
	"We must challenge The Master Hand as soon as possible, or the world would be easily destroyed." Said Nikana in a worried voice. "He will try to get answers from Paula about you and would easily defeat you. We must hurry and gather Jeff and Poo. I must also train you to master PK Thunder. It shouldn't take too long to learn it."
	The two took off running to Onett town. While running beside each other, Nikana asked Ness, "Do you know who kidnaped Paula?"
	"There were two polygon figures and a short metallic figure that we were going up against." Ness answered as Nikana stopped themselves from running.
	"Hold it! A metallic figure? What did it look like?"
	"He had a cap, a big fat nose that stuck out, shorter than Paul and I and had big fists."
	Nikana squeezed her right hand into a tight fist. She then growled, "The return of Metal Mario. Son of a ***. . . I thought I had got rid of him for good! He's the hardest fighter, besides The Master Hand, to defeat and takes forever to kill. He's a lot stronger than what he looks. Shall we teleport to Jeff's?"
	Ness nodded and Nikana held a strong, firm grasp onto his shoulder. The two teleported to The Winters to retrieve Jeff and planned to have Poo join them.
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