((Note from the Ness-Man: This story directly correlates to events taking place in The Marketplace from 02/23/07-23:15:45 until 02/24/07-00:49:09))
Relaxed footsteps travelled through RhyDin Forest, taking the trail leading through the mountains and to the Spaceport on the other side. Nothing but a few clouds covered up patches of a full blanket of stars above him. The large glowing moon illuminated his surroundings well enough that he barely noticed the absence of a flashlight.
Ness was bobbing his head idly to the music blasting into his ears, emerging from the pair of headphones he was wearing over them. His hands were dug into his pockets to keep them warm, his right hand keeping charge of the iPod in it's respective pocket, scrolling the volume up and down or changing tracks at random intervals.
It had been a long week. His job at the Spaceport, transporting cargo from land to station, had him running ragged. It would be worth it, though, when he could afford to soup up his ship and purchase a crew of droids to help in his professional endeavors. Was it better than being back home on Earth? He wasn't quite sure. Getting used to this new world was still challenging for him, especially considering the all-too-familiar attack in the Marketplace less than a week prior.
He kept on his course through the forest, until he saw a bright red light in the sky. It seemed to be falling fast. He lowered his headphones from his ears, draping them around his neck as he clicked his iPod into "Pause." The object in the sky... a fireball? No, at it's distance it was clearly too large to be a misdirected fireball.
He peered at it as it drew closer to the forest, passing over the mountains between himself and the Spaceport. His eyes widened as he realized that, whatever it was, it was on a collision course with RhyDin Forest. It's momentum and path were enough to make that evident. He quickly ran in the opposite direction of it's trajectory, weaving past trees and foliage, until he came across a giant rock.
No time to run around it, he simply plowed his foot into the ground and leapt into the air, grabbing the top of the rock with his outstretched hands and leap-frogging over it, landing to one knee on the other side. He braced himself as he heard it make impact.
The object was indeed as large as it appeared. The entire forest seemed to rumble, a large flash of fiery red erupted in the sky above the forest, easily visable from both RhyDin City and the Spaceport.
Once the ground ceased shaking, Ness slowly moved around the rock. His jaw dropped in near horror as several trees near him were charred and blackened. He stepped toward the distant epicenter of the explosion, and the closer he got, the blacker the trees were.
Once the newly-formed crater was in view, he noticed that more and more trees were completely burnt and ravaged. Leaves completely disintegrated, and some trees even uprooted and seemingly having been sent flying from the blast.
Smoke poured out of the crater. The air was hot, as though he had just sat down in a car that had been left under the summer sun for an entire day during a heat wave. He reluctantly neared the crater, taking in a deep breath as he eyed a sight he'd seen before.
It was Onett, all over again. He remembered when his hometown was rocked by a meteor crash. The rush of police. The panic. The roadblocks. He also remembered that the particular meteor he remembered was the catylist to the violent and bizarre behavior evident in the wild animals and random civilians back in Eagleland County.
It had only been four years past in Ness' timeline, but the images and feelings rushed back as though the events had just occurred a day before. Could this be some explanation to the increasing amount of violence he'd heard RhyDin's denizens speak of, and that he had read about in a letter published in the newest issue of the town newspaper that Jonas had shown him earlier that day?
No. Back then, the violence and mayhem began after the meteorfall. Not leading up to it. But this realization filled him with a new dread. The possibility that this event would lead to even more evil filling the realm of RhyDin. The realm that, for now, he had to call home. With fresh bruises still adorning his body from the Starman attack in the Marketplace, he quietly cursed the Nexus for bringing him here.
He finally reached the crater's edge, and peered down into it. Sure enough, there was a large and still-fiery meteor resting at the bottom of it. Only for a second did he debate sliding down into the crater to get a closer look before his better judgement kicked in and made him take a step back.
He turned his back to the crater, narrowing his eyes and walking away.
"Sorry, Nexus. I'm not dealing with this crap again. You can ask RhyDin Special Forces or the local authorities to handle it. I'm out." He spoke lowly, angrily, folding his arms over his chest in a slight huff.
Just then, the silence of the forest broke. Ness turned quickly back toward the crater as he heard a high-pitched whistle ring out from within it. A small pillar of light shone down from the sky, illuminating the meteor at the bottom of the crater. A few nervous steps were taken toward it when he heard a faint and familiar buzzing sound coming from the light pillar.
His eyes then widened, and he stopped dead in his tracks, as a voice he never thought he would hear again spoke to him, sending words directly into his thoughts.
"When the Chosen Boy reaches the point, he will find the light." A short pause. "The passing of time will shatter the Nightmare Rock, and reveal the path of light." A little bit longer pause as the words sank themselves in. "Do you remember these words, Ness?"
He hung his head, sighing. Defeated by his own memories, he nodded. "Yes... I remember." He looked back up at the pillar, shaking his head. "But... you died. I saw you die. How are you still here?"
The pillar lit up slightly as a response was sent once again into Ness' thoughts.
"Mortal death is irrelivant. I've lived on in spirit, travelling from one plane to another to decipher the mystery of the Starmen. For even after Giygas fell, they still function. You know this. They found you here."
Ness narrowed his eyes again, growing angry once more. "Yeah dude, they did! Did they come here looking for me? Or was it a coincidence?"
"There are no coincidences." The voice sent these words into his mind sharply, and paused before continuing. "This place was their next possible target. You were brought here to this place and time in anticipation of that. This 'Nexus' as you call it works in very mysterious ways, but I was able to utilize it's properties to get you here. I've also worked as a liason to connect you to your proper home and timeframe."
"You mean..." Ness began, a look of realization overtaking him, "the first day at the Red Dragon when Gabe's comlink was able to call mom? And Valentine's Day, when Paula and I met up and she gave me the bracelet?"
"Exactly. I've done my best to take advantage of my non-corporial spiritual state and travel within the Nexus itself the way your Fae friend Gentlefrost does. I saw to it that she ended up in the correct place to deliver your gift to Paula."
Ness placed his hands on his hips, tilting his neck quickly to crack it. "Alright, that's all well and good, dude. But tell me why I was sent here alone? How come the others didn't come with me, and how am I supposed to fight this Starman unit alone?"
"The other three are busy combating a new threat of Starmen back on Earth in your time. You must stand by your new friends here if you hope to succeed. Heed the Dragon's training, absorb the Angel's wisdom, and listen well to whatever teachings the Faerie and the Musician can offer you. If you can pose a strong defensive early in the struggle, the enemy will not be as much a bad dream to whomever in this realm manages to confront one."
And with that, the pillar narrowed until it was no more, and the final words Ness heard were, "The Meteor is a symbol. This planet is marked, as was Earth. I followed it now as I did then, and once more you must go forth without my aid."
Ness hung his head in worry, stuffing his hands once more into his pockets. "Fantastic. Fan-freakin'-tastic. I've got to fight an enemy that no one else realizes exists, that no one else knows how to deal with, and that no one other than the posse will believe me about to begin with." He sighed, shaking his head. "Fine then. If I have it my way, no one will even know these damn Starmen are here."
And with that, he began walking back toward the trail to the Spaceport, and stopped slowly, looking back over his shoulder.
"Um... 'cept for that meteor crash... not sure if I can hide that..."
He shrugged, bringing his headphones back up over his ears and reaching back into his pocket to click "Play" on his iPod, resuming his musical walk to the place his ship was docked.
Relaxed footsteps travelled through RhyDin Forest, taking the trail leading through the mountains and to the Spaceport on the other side. Nothing but a few clouds covered up patches of a full blanket of stars above him. The large glowing moon illuminated his surroundings well enough that he barely noticed the absence of a flashlight.
Ness was bobbing his head idly to the music blasting into his ears, emerging from the pair of headphones he was wearing over them. His hands were dug into his pockets to keep them warm, his right hand keeping charge of the iPod in it's respective pocket, scrolling the volume up and down or changing tracks at random intervals.
It had been a long week. His job at the Spaceport, transporting cargo from land to station, had him running ragged. It would be worth it, though, when he could afford to soup up his ship and purchase a crew of droids to help in his professional endeavors. Was it better than being back home on Earth? He wasn't quite sure. Getting used to this new world was still challenging for him, especially considering the all-too-familiar attack in the Marketplace less than a week prior.
He kept on his course through the forest, until he saw a bright red light in the sky. It seemed to be falling fast. He lowered his headphones from his ears, draping them around his neck as he clicked his iPod into "Pause." The object in the sky... a fireball? No, at it's distance it was clearly too large to be a misdirected fireball.
He peered at it as it drew closer to the forest, passing over the mountains between himself and the Spaceport. His eyes widened as he realized that, whatever it was, it was on a collision course with RhyDin Forest. It's momentum and path were enough to make that evident. He quickly ran in the opposite direction of it's trajectory, weaving past trees and foliage, until he came across a giant rock.
No time to run around it, he simply plowed his foot into the ground and leapt into the air, grabbing the top of the rock with his outstretched hands and leap-frogging over it, landing to one knee on the other side. He braced himself as he heard it make impact.
The object was indeed as large as it appeared. The entire forest seemed to rumble, a large flash of fiery red erupted in the sky above the forest, easily visable from both RhyDin City and the Spaceport.
Once the ground ceased shaking, Ness slowly moved around the rock. His jaw dropped in near horror as several trees near him were charred and blackened. He stepped toward the distant epicenter of the explosion, and the closer he got, the blacker the trees were.
Once the newly-formed crater was in view, he noticed that more and more trees were completely burnt and ravaged. Leaves completely disintegrated, and some trees even uprooted and seemingly having been sent flying from the blast.
Smoke poured out of the crater. The air was hot, as though he had just sat down in a car that had been left under the summer sun for an entire day during a heat wave. He reluctantly neared the crater, taking in a deep breath as he eyed a sight he'd seen before.
It was Onett, all over again. He remembered when his hometown was rocked by a meteor crash. The rush of police. The panic. The roadblocks. He also remembered that the particular meteor he remembered was the catylist to the violent and bizarre behavior evident in the wild animals and random civilians back in Eagleland County.
It had only been four years past in Ness' timeline, but the images and feelings rushed back as though the events had just occurred a day before. Could this be some explanation to the increasing amount of violence he'd heard RhyDin's denizens speak of, and that he had read about in a letter published in the newest issue of the town newspaper that Jonas had shown him earlier that day?
No. Back then, the violence and mayhem began after the meteorfall. Not leading up to it. But this realization filled him with a new dread. The possibility that this event would lead to even more evil filling the realm of RhyDin. The realm that, for now, he had to call home. With fresh bruises still adorning his body from the Starman attack in the Marketplace, he quietly cursed the Nexus for bringing him here.
He finally reached the crater's edge, and peered down into it. Sure enough, there was a large and still-fiery meteor resting at the bottom of it. Only for a second did he debate sliding down into the crater to get a closer look before his better judgement kicked in and made him take a step back.
He turned his back to the crater, narrowing his eyes and walking away.
"Sorry, Nexus. I'm not dealing with this crap again. You can ask RhyDin Special Forces or the local authorities to handle it. I'm out." He spoke lowly, angrily, folding his arms over his chest in a slight huff.
Just then, the silence of the forest broke. Ness turned quickly back toward the crater as he heard a high-pitched whistle ring out from within it. A small pillar of light shone down from the sky, illuminating the meteor at the bottom of the crater. A few nervous steps were taken toward it when he heard a faint and familiar buzzing sound coming from the light pillar.
His eyes then widened, and he stopped dead in his tracks, as a voice he never thought he would hear again spoke to him, sending words directly into his thoughts.
"When the Chosen Boy reaches the point, he will find the light." A short pause. "The passing of time will shatter the Nightmare Rock, and reveal the path of light." A little bit longer pause as the words sank themselves in. "Do you remember these words, Ness?"
He hung his head, sighing. Defeated by his own memories, he nodded. "Yes... I remember." He looked back up at the pillar, shaking his head. "But... you died. I saw you die. How are you still here?"
The pillar lit up slightly as a response was sent once again into Ness' thoughts.
"Mortal death is irrelivant. I've lived on in spirit, travelling from one plane to another to decipher the mystery of the Starmen. For even after Giygas fell, they still function. You know this. They found you here."
Ness narrowed his eyes again, growing angry once more. "Yeah dude, they did! Did they come here looking for me? Or was it a coincidence?"
"There are no coincidences." The voice sent these words into his mind sharply, and paused before continuing. "This place was their next possible target. You were brought here to this place and time in anticipation of that. This 'Nexus' as you call it works in very mysterious ways, but I was able to utilize it's properties to get you here. I've also worked as a liason to connect you to your proper home and timeframe."
"You mean..." Ness began, a look of realization overtaking him, "the first day at the Red Dragon when Gabe's comlink was able to call mom? And Valentine's Day, when Paula and I met up and she gave me the bracelet?"
"Exactly. I've done my best to take advantage of my non-corporial spiritual state and travel within the Nexus itself the way your Fae friend Gentlefrost does. I saw to it that she ended up in the correct place to deliver your gift to Paula."
Ness placed his hands on his hips, tilting his neck quickly to crack it. "Alright, that's all well and good, dude. But tell me why I was sent here alone? How come the others didn't come with me, and how am I supposed to fight this Starman unit alone?"
"The other three are busy combating a new threat of Starmen back on Earth in your time. You must stand by your new friends here if you hope to succeed. Heed the Dragon's training, absorb the Angel's wisdom, and listen well to whatever teachings the Faerie and the Musician can offer you. If you can pose a strong defensive early in the struggle, the enemy will not be as much a bad dream to whomever in this realm manages to confront one."
And with that, the pillar narrowed until it was no more, and the final words Ness heard were, "The Meteor is a symbol. This planet is marked, as was Earth. I followed it now as I did then, and once more you must go forth without my aid."
Ness hung his head in worry, stuffing his hands once more into his pockets. "Fantastic. Fan-freakin'-tastic. I've got to fight an enemy that no one else realizes exists, that no one else knows how to deal with, and that no one other than the posse will believe me about to begin with." He sighed, shaking his head. "Fine then. If I have it my way, no one will even know these damn Starmen are here."
And with that, he began walking back toward the trail to the Spaceport, and stopped slowly, looking back over his shoulder.
"Um... 'cept for that meteor crash... not sure if I can hide that..."
He shrugged, bringing his headphones back up over his ears and reaching back into his pocket to click "Play" on his iPod, resuming his musical walk to the place his ship was docked.