Another dull summer afternoon.
I was sitting in my room with nothing to do. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead. The thermometer on my window read 96 degrees. I was sweating everywhere and decided that I have had enough of this inferno environment. To accommodate the unbearable heat, I cranked up the AC a little, in the hallway, and went back into my room while closing the door. I turned on my fan to full blast, turning my room into a freezer. Finding myself looking out my window for a while, waiting for something interesting to happen, I saw was the usual. People shopping, cars, cops, and the occasional ice cream truck.
I heard a muffled sound that, I assumed, was coming from downstairs. I hear it, the sound stops. I hear it, the sound stops. "What the heck could that be?" I thought to myself, walking towards my door. I opened my door and the moment I did, I realized it was just the phone ringing. "Probably just an ad. I hate when they call." I thought, about to shut my door again. But curiosity got the best of me. I went downstairs and picked up the phone. "Talk to me." I said in a low voice, expecting an advertisement.
"Ness, Ness!" I heard in a familiar, thrilled tone.
"It’s me Jeff! Paula, Poo and I are in Summers for a vacation. It isn’t too hot outside so why not hang out with us? Got to go Ness, Poo wants me to go into the ocean. I’ll see you here if you come!"
"Wait!" I yelled into the phone. "You’re all there in Summers. Why wasn’t invited earlier?" I asked, feeling a bit miffed.
"Oh, we thought you would be busy. I mean, don’t you have a lot of school work to catch up on? We had this vacation day planned out for a while. I called a month ago. Tracy picked up and said you had a truckload of homework to catch up on." Jeff explained.
"Well I did most of my homework. Yeah, I’ll come. How hot is it outside?" I asked.
"Around 101 degrees. Anyway, see ya here!"
Beeep. I hung up the phone and ran upstairs to throw on my swim trunks. I grabbed my Franklin Badge and Receiver Phone as well just in case and stuffed them into my pockets. I didn’t really care that Jeff invited last minute. As long as I’m going, I’m ecstatic. My mother came into my room with a load of laundry.
"Ness honey, where are you going with your swim trunks on?" she asked me curiously, hands on her hips.
"Mom, Jeff invited me to go to Summers because all of my friends are there on vacation. Can I go? It’ll be like a nice family reunion!"
Mom responded sarcastically. "Alright honey, you may go. Even if I say no, you’ll probably sneak out through your window."
"Thanks. I’ll be back by the end of the day. Bye Mom!" I yelled as I was running downstairs.
"Have fun sweetie! Don’t forget when you get home, you’re doing the laundry!" Mom snapped.
I left my home, at 3:00, and went into the streets of Onett where I had plenty of room to teleport. I used PSI Teleport α to teleport to Summers. When I arrived in the paradise, I couldn’t get over how great it felt outside in beautiful Summers. All I could do was feel the cool sea breeze and inhale that sweet, sweet warm air. The sound of seagulls really made me feel all warm and tingly inside. Before I headed down to the beach, I decided to the food market and buy a few snacks. On my way to the market, a tall blonde woman greeted me.
"Welcome to Summers. Hope you enjoy your stay." She said with a cordial smile on her face while handing me a pamphlet.
"Thank you." I replied with a matching smile.
I looked through the pamphlet as I was nearing the food market. It just showed events that would be going on throughout the week and restaurants. When I walked in the market, I was relieved to feel the air conditioned atmosphere. The sudden change in temperature felt great. I read the price tag for a Picnic Lunch. $24. "That’s reasonable." I thought to myself. I bought some water bottles too and I was ready to meet up with everybody. Immediately after I exited the food market, I was tackled by the hot weather. People were just meandering the streets while my short self had to walk around everyone. I walked down the staircase leading to the beach.
Looking around, my eyes were treated to a beautiful serene landscape. I felt so relaxed when my bare feet made contact with the hot sand. Looking forward, I saw a breathtaking sea of green. The sound of the waves crashing made me feel at utopia. I walked for a little, each step feeling more and more relaxing. I looked up. Not a single cloud in sight. Lots of people were sunbathing. I even saw this guy who was tanning his palms. Finding everyone on the disorienting beach was a nuisance. Luckily, I eventually located Paula sitting down, alone, in a chair. She was wearing a blue bikini.
She noticed me. "Ness, you made it!" she squealed.
"Yeah, the weather really feels swell out here. I brought snacks too by the way." I said with a big smile. I was glad to see Paula again. I put the Picnic Lunch down and placed the Receiver Phone in the basket.
"Oh you didn’t have to spend your money. Anyway, Jeff and Poo went to go get some Magic Cake because the lifeguards just told everyone to get out of the water. Yup, that lady is in business again!" Paula said with excitement in her eyes.
"Nice, I better go try the Magic Cake later and see if anything changed. I hated it last time." I chucked.
"Nobody is allowed in the ocean for some reason. The lifeguards aren’t saying anything. It’s "top secret" apparently. Something suspicious is happening." Paula explained, looking worried. She didn’t acknowledge my joke because, I could tell, she was having a nervous breakdown. That was a quick mood change.
I looked forward and noticed that the ocean waves were becoming rougher. I felt the wind becoming faster.
"Everyone, you must stay out of the ocean until we are cleared to send you back in!" A lifeguard shouted into her megaphone.
"Why, what’s happening?" A surfer asked, looking pretty angry.
"Nothing, nothing, just be patient. You’ll get back in the ocean soon." The lifeguard responded.
I could sense that something vile was approaching the shore which made me feel uneasy. My heart was pounding out of my chest. In a small area of the ocean, there were bubbles forming and popping like soda when you pour it.
Eventually, the ocean started to violently bubble in that secluded area.
"What is that?" I questioned, walking towards the once peaceful ocean. My feet are burning and turning red because of the scorching sand.
Jeff and Poo returned, mouths stuffed with Magic Cake, and were looking at the bubbling ocean too with big, fearful eyes. Jeff was sporting his usual school uniform with a side of pit stains while Poo had his shirt off and six pack out.
The ocean looked like a ton of children playing with bubbles. There was so many of those little green spheres huddled together in the ocean.
The Kraken sprung out of the water minutes later. The moment I saw it, I couldn’t move because I was in shock.
"EVERYONE, EXIT THE BEACH IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! EXIT THE BEACH IMMEDIATELY!" A lifeguard screamed into a megaphone. The lifeguard’s skin became pale. The beast splashed water everywhere.
"The Kraken is going down!" I yelled.
The Kraken used Crash Boom Bang resulting in all of the people sprinting off of the beach. On e of the lightning bolts was about to hit a little kid but I jumped in front of him while holding the Franklin Badge in my hands. The lightning reflected back to the Kraken and it roared so loud that the ground began to shake.
"Thank you mister." The kid muttered, running off the beach.
"UGH, YOU’RE GOING TO DIE, KRAKEN!" Poo yelled in a livid tone, covering his ears from the roaring.
The battle began with the four of us dodging its attacks, mostly just its fire. Jeff ran back to the towels and opened up his suitcase. He took out some bottle rockets.
"I thought we killed this thing with the captain!" Jeff yelled anxiously while firing the bottle rockets.
Most of the rockets missed but one of them hit the Kraken it the face. Jeff ran back to us.
When we had our chance to attack, I used PSI Rockin Ω, Paula used PSI Freeze Ω, Jeff fired his Heavy Bazooka, and Poo used PSI Starstorm Ω.
The Kraken looked severely damaged but was still moving.
"It survived all those attacks?" I questioned. "If I could just land one more PSI Rockin on it, it’ll surely go down!" I thought to myself with mild trepidation.
I’m having an adrenaline rush. I was ready to take down this beast once and for all!
The Kraken roared very loudly and spit out a slipper that hit Poo in his man parts.
"Hey, isn’t that one of the Captain’s slippers that he threw at the Kraken?" Paula asked.
Poo sat on the ground, moaning.
"COME ON POO THIS IS NO TIME TO BE RESTING!!!" Paula screamed.
It was the first time I ever heard Paula raise her voice.
"Right!" Poo replied.
He then took out the Sword of King and started slashing away at the beast. The Kraken began rapidly spitting fire everywhere but we all managed to dodge it. I finally used PSI Rockin Ω again.
"The Kraken couldn’t grasp the true form of Ness!" I thought to myself in a heroic voice.
It was a rough fight due to all the fire the Kraken spit at us but we got the job done.
The four of us just took it easy on our backs at the shoreline, out of breath. The beast was slowly sinking. We all wondered why the Kraken returned after we killed it on our way to Scaraba. It couldn’t of been a different Kraken though because it had one of the Captain’s slippers. Anyway, we destroyed it! As the Kraken was going down in defeat, it spit again and another slipper nailed Poo in the head. "My head!" Poo moaned.
A lifeguard came up to us.
"Wow. nice work kids. Yeah, there were a lot of Kraken sightings the last few days and it seemed pretty obvious it was arriving today." He explained. "Thanks." He said, sounding relieved. "The reason we didn’t tell everyone that we knew about the Kraken was because nobody would believe us, and it sounds so silly." The lifeguard scratched his beard and began walking back to his lifeguard tower.
"It should be dead for good this time. Maybe on the boat we just knocked it out. I ponder why it would come to these shallow waters." Jeff said, out of breath.
"Ugh, this was supposed to be a time of relaxation. While Summers is beautiful, it certainly isn’t safe." I said, my voice as blue as the clear sky.
"The fight is over now, we can relax." Paula snapped.
All four of us sat there and took in the warm weather. The waves would race towards us, cover our legs, and then would calmly return into the aqua field. It was such a relaxing day until the Kraken emerged and attacked. Poo was rubbing his head while mumbling, ow.
"That hurt, the Kraken hit me right in the head with that slipper. I’m going to go to the hotel and get some ice." Poo said while running towards the hotel. He turned around. "Be right back!" he yelled in a raspy voice and continued to sprint for the hotel.
Paula, Jeff and I sat there looking at the beautiful ocean. People eventually returned to the beach and started to relax again.
Jeff stood up after a few minutes and said, trembling, "I got to go use the lavatory, I’ll b-b-be back soon! M-man listening to the sound of the waves really makes you got t-to go huh?" He ran off, clutching his bladder.
Finally, Paula and I were alone again.
"Remember after we saved the world and I dropped you off at your house you said you wanted to tell me something?" I asked in my sexy voice (yes, I’ve got one!)
"Oh." Paula said, giggling. "I remember. I love you... Ness. That feels good to finally get off my chest." She blushed.
We slowly leaned in for a kiss but I looked in my peripheral vision to see a blurry mix of yellow and black. I turn my to the right, got a sweet kiss from Paula on the cheek, and Picky was standing right in front of us.
"Oh, pardon me Ness. I didn’t know you were such a ladies man. Anyway, my family and I are worried about Pokey’s whereabouts. Do you know anything about where he could be?"
I shrugged.
"Wait a second... how did you know I was in Summers, in fact, how did you even get here?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, I just asked your mother where you were. She said in Summers with some friends. I had my mother drive me to Fourside because Pokey told me of a man who has helicopters for free! So I found Mr. Monotoli, the man Pokey told me about, and asked him if he could take me to Summers in one of his ’copters. He brought me to the 48th floor and flew me here in a yellow helicopter with the words BACK-UP spray painted on it. Good thing I found you though, I’ve been searching this beach forever looking for you. The sand is so hot; it feels like a big oven." Picky looked down, and picked up a hand full of sand.
"YIPES! THIS IS HOT! I can’t believe how fast the sand heats up!" Picky yelled.
"Uhh Picky, you do realize this is wet sand right?" I said, on the verge of hysterically laughing.
"Owww... L-L-Listen to what I’ve go to say! There is a big, BIG problem at hand. Where could Pokey be? I wouldn’t have flew out here if I knew you would say I don’t know so please... tell me anything you know!" Picky said with a glass shattering shriek.
"I do know something but can’t you see I’m busy here? I’ll let you know later just hang out here on the beach for a while. It’s really nice out. Well, run along now." I told Picky sternly.
"Fine, meet me in Toto at 5. Tell me everything you know!" Picky ran off. I felt bad about making him worry.
"Wait a second... that’s the younger brother of the chubby kid who kidnapped me? He seems a lot more gentle than his older brother that’s for sure." Paula said, flabbergasted.
Paula and I walked back up to where we had our things. We went onto our towels.
She laid back in the sun, forgetting about our special moment. I didn’t mind. I put some of Paula’s suntan lotion on my body and relaxed, taking in the sun’s rays. With my eyes shut, all you could hear was the waves crashing, people screaming, and the wind. A few minutes later, I heard a familiar ringing sound coming from the picnic basket. Click.
"Hey Ness, Jeff here. I checked up on Poo. He’s resting up in the hotel right now, taking a nap. I’m at the Dinosaur Museum if you or Paula need me. I’ll talk to you later." Click Beeep.
I put the receiver phone back down and Paula asked "Who was it?"
"Just Jeff saying Poo was taking a nap in the hotel and he was in the Dinosaur Museum."
We sat there, awkwardly, getting tans. We didn’t say anything to each other. I looked straight ahead. The ocean was packed with people! There were surfers everywhere. People were driving their boats and, looking up a little, hot air balloons filled parts of the clear sky.
About 15 minutes passed. I struggled at first but I built up the courage to tell Paula, in my seductive voice, "Hey Paula, you got something on your lips." She smiled and blushed, twirling her.
We leaned in to kiss again. We were about to kiss but Jeff screamed our names.
Jeff screamed. "HEY GUYS!!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME? COME TRY THESE HOT DOGS THEY’RE AMAZING!!!"
It was always annoying when Jeff yelled because every other world he said, his voice would crack.
"Radical!" Paula said joyfully. "I’m in the mood for a hot dog on a hot summer day. Come on Ness, let’s go!"
Paula ran towards Jeff.
"COMING!" I yelled.
I opened the picnic lunch and grabbed the Receiver Phone and my wallet while putting the Franklin Badge away. Why does everyone got to spoil the mood? Jeff couldn’t stand still. He went from the bathroom, dinosaur museum, and hotdog stand in about 30 minutes. Anyways, we got up to the hot dog stand and it was $8.00 for a hot dog. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
When we sat down at a table, I drenched my hot dog in ketchup, just the way I like it. The delectable scent of the hot dog and the fresh air mixed together in such a wonderful way that it filled my nose with joy. Where we were sitting, we had a great view of the beach. The ocean looked magnificent! I always stared at the horizon line for some reason because I just think it’s cool how it appears the sky and water meet. I took a bite of my delicious smelling hot dog. My taste buds were jumping for joy when it touched my mouth.
"So... what do you guys think of the Stoic Club turning into the truck shop?" Paula asked.
"Well, to be frank, it does seem pretty arbitrary because how does a building that small have the capacity to become a truck shop?" Jeff wondered.
"I don’t know, it’s weird. I called the place with the Stoic Club number. They said I can come on in. When I reached the door, a voice on the other side said "no kids allowed" or something like that." I explained, taking bites out of my hot dog.
Jeff suddenly changed the subject. "Man, that was a pretty tough fight with the Kraken. I have a theory of why it came to the shallow waters. Care to hear it?" he asked, implying he wants us to listen.
"Yeah sure." Paula and I both said at the same time. We laughed.
"Alright, here goes. Well remember when the captain said that no ship has ever made it passed the Kraken? Well, our ship did. That must’ve been the Kraken’s first defeat. Maybe instead of killing it, we just knocked it out. When it regained consciousness, it finally tasted defeat and wanted revenge on us. I don’t know how it knew we were all going to beach on the beach this specific day, but we schooled the damn thing again. I’m not sure if it’s dead now but... maybe? I’m just glad we saved all of those people." Jeff explained.
"Yeah, how odd that the Kraken survived. I’d say you’re theory is believable. With our combined strengths we were able to take down the beast!" Paula exclaimed.
After we finished our meals, we just sat at the table looking at the beach. I looked over at one of the clocks on the sidewalk, squinting.
"Oh crap, it’s 5:30 already?! I was supposed to meet Picky a half an hour ago in Toto. I’ll meet up with you guys later! If you guys are going to do anything exciting please call me on my Receiver Phone. Bye!"
I ran as fast as I could to Toto. There, Picky was waiting for me. He was petting one of the cats.
"There you are, Ness. Don’t you just love this hot summer air? It makes me so cheerful. Anyway, back to what I needed you for. So, what do you know about my brother?" Picky asked frantically, shaking.
"Well, he said that he was going to escape into a new era. Yes, it may sound far-fetched but your brother time traveled into the future. I’m sorry but I don’t think he’s returning." I explained.
"My family isn’t going to buy that... Don’t you have any other story you could make up on the spot so I don’t get yelled at? I can’t believe he’s gone!" Picky yelled.
"Sorry Picky, I got nothing. Well, I better get going. Listen, I’ll drop by tomorrow and explain the whole situation to your family alright? See you later." I said, in hopes of reassuring him. I began to walk away.
"WAAIT NESS YOU CAN’T LEAVE!" Picky screamed. I turn around, annoyed. "Mr. Monotoli left; I have no way of getting back..." Picky looked miserable.
"Don’t sweat it kiddo, you can hang out with my friends for a while. Come on, let’s go back to the beach. But before we go, why did you want to speak to me about this in Toto?"
"Oh, that’s because a lot of people might know my older brother and would want to get me in trouble if they heard us. There ain’t a lot of people here so it’s the perfect place. Also, the sea looks great over here" Picky explained.
"Uh, alright whatever." I responded.
"Let’s go to da beach dawg!" Picky said, with a wide smile. I was glad to comfort him.
I shook my head "Never say that again." I smiled.
Picky and I walked back to the beach. It was still a tad hot outside so once I reached the somewhat hot sand, I sprinted to the ocean. I went a bit far in the ocean and kneeled to only my head was visible. "Ah." I mumbled to myself. The ocean cooled me off and man did it feel great! I was as cool as a cucumber! I walked around a bit in the ocean with my head still sticking out. Whenever a wave came, I jumped. There was a ginormous wave approaching me from the distance. It was probably 15 Mr. Saturns tall. When the monstrous wave was about to hit me, I jumped and I slid right up the wave, only to fall into the water. I kept doing this with each wave that came. After a while of playing in the waves, I noticed Picky was sitting on the beach, alone. I wanted to keep him company so I rode one of the waves back to shore. When I was walking towards Picky, I saw the rest of the gang strolling on the beach. I signaled them towards me.
For the rest of the day, all five of us enjoyed the great summer weather. Poo was making a sandcastle replica of Dalaam. All five of us helped him out. Jeff would run down to where the wet sand was, got the wet sand in a bucket, and would run back up. I would then take the wet sand and shape it into an object. Paula would take the shape and add detail. Picky would make sure nothing would fall apart. Poo would then take the object and placed it somewhere in the sand Dalaam. We all had a lot of fun with that activity because it was a unbelievable how perfect the sculpture turned out. After that, we all decided to eat the Picnic Lunch I bought in celebration of our marvelous sculpture.
"I went to a restaurant today and I got some Pasta di Summers. I’ll eat the leftovers I saved." Picky said, ready to chow down his meal.
He took a bite and had a face of disgust. "Ewwww! I got sand all over my pasta and it tastes all chunky now!" Picky said, his face as green as the ocean.
He wrapped it up and put it away.
"Yuck" Picky said while he was taking sand out of his mouth. "Remind me to never eat right after I played in sand" He moaned.
I looked over towards the ocean. It was calm and gentle. The waves weren’t as big as they were during the day. I got up and walked over towards the ocean. When I reached the ocean, I just closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the waves for about five minutes. Man, Summers is paradise, a dream come true for many! The seagulls, the sand, the ocean, the food. I loved every bit of this place. The way Paula, Jeff, Poo and I took down the Kraken made me realize that not only did we have fun doing it, we saved the people who could return and have fun as well. Today I learned that summer is an amazing season which can only be enjoyed with the people you love. I opened my eyes and walked back up to where we were sitting. It was getting windy outside and I was shivering. It was 9:00 and we were all just watching the ocean, not saying a word to each other.
It was now 9:30. "Alright everyone, I better get going and return to my kingdom. I shall bring this medal home in honor of my flexibility. PSI Farewell!" Poo said as he disappeared while in gust of wind. "Later everyone, nice seeing you again! I haven’t had this much fun in a while!" Jeff said with a tear rolling down his face and a smile from ear to ear. Jeff took out a remote, pushed a red button and, in seconds, the Sky Runner came out of nowhere. He flew away. Paula and I looked at the sunset, and shared a kiss.
"Wow, my older brother could never get any woman! You’re a real lucky one Ness!" Picky said with a big smile on his face.
"Heh heh. I’ll take you both home." I replied with a smirk, embarrassed.
I took one last look at the ocean before leaving. I smiled. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. I heard a clicking sound followed by a flash. I turned around and saw a man spin and fly into the sky.
"That guy looks familiar." I thought. I forgot that guy. What was his name? Pickleman? Whatever, it didn’t matter.
"Everyone ready?" I asked.
They nodded.
I was about to use PSI Teleport ß, but then I heard "Hang on Ness! Allow me." from Picky.
"Oh sacred gods of this world! Teleport me and my friends to Onett! I cast the spell, TELEPORTITUS!" Picky yelled.
I face palmed, Paula was laughing. Picky’s face turned as red as the sauce on Pasta di Summers. We teleported
We teleported to Onett first where I dropped off Picky. "One of the perks of having hair that covers your eyes is not getting watery eyes from the sun when looking up on a hot and sunny day like today!" Picky shouted while running inside his house. "Uh alright?" I responded, not knowing how to reply to that. Paula and I walked to Twoson together. We reached her home.
"Thank you for a great time today Ness."
When I got home, I ran upstairs and opened my door. My smile quickly dissolved into a frown when I saw a big pile of laundry on my bed.
"Now do the laundry like I told you!" Mom said closing the door, maniacally laughing.
I turned on my fan and sat there folding clothes. A bit of a smile shined down on my face. I never knew how much of a blast summer could be.
.
