And the star god said:
"I cannot protect this planet any longer, for my life is running out, so I will bestow three psychics to protect this world now. Farewell."
And the star god burnt out...
"Danny!" yelled the mother of the house, "Come in here! It's time for dinner!"
"Just a sec, Mom!" yelled back the fifteen-year-old Danny, "Just let me get to a save point!"
Danny, staring at the television and pressing buttons on his Super Nintendo controller, walked Ness and Paula to the nearest inn.
Ness had almost reached the phone when his mom called again, "Danny! Come get --"
"Just a second!" Danny interrupted. Ness picked up the phone and got his father to record the information. Danny turned the SNES off and hit the Power button on the television, watching it go dark.
Danny walked out of his room and turned right, entering the kitchen. The Collins family sat down at the kitchen table, which they rarely did. Usually Danny got his food, and went back to his room to eat while playing video games. Today, though, the mother wanted the three Collins to sit together at the table, mostly due to the cleaning off of the void-like mess on the it.
Reluctantly, Danny sat at the table. One of his parents (he didn't know which) made homemade pizza for dinner. Danny took a couple slices from the pizza and took a bite into the bigger slice.
"Mmmm... this is good pizza," complimented Danny.
"Well, thanks s-," said the dad.
It was then that Danny felt a dizzying, yet unfamiliar feeling in his head. He grasped his head in a way that it looked like he was fighting it. After a brief struggle with himself, which got his parents attention, he fell off his chair, onto the ground, losing consciousness.
"Danny! Are you all right?"
Danny awoke slowly, with blurred vision. He could hear the voice of his mother talking to him, but not the exact words.
Slowly, his vision cleared and his ears could interpret once again. He was surrounded by the identifiable sight and smell of the hospital.
"Danny? Danny? Are you all right?" his mother asked persistently.
"I think so..." he moaned, "What happened?"
"You fell from your chair and collapsed. The doctor says that you'll be fine."
His standing father interrupted, "He -- the doctor -- says that it didn't seem like food poisoning. Said it was some sort of allergic reaction that developed out of a small period of time."
"Well, anyway, you better rest Danny," interrupted the mom.
As both parents left the room, Danny fell into a deep sleep. During his sleep, he had an odd dream in which he could have sworn that he heard someone saying:
"And you shall be the last..."
"WHAT?! Are you CRAZY?!"
"Shh... Forget about it."
"How can I forget about it?" the nurse practically yelled, "You couldn't tell what was wrong with that young man, but you said it was an 'allergy!'"
"Keep your voice down," said the doctor lightly, "People come in here expecting answers to their problems from me. My job is to give them an answer, whether it's true or not. Besides, if I didn't tell them something, they would get all freaked out! Now you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"
"No, but you can't go lying like that! Do you know you can be charged for malpractice if they find out?!"
"It's all right, they'll never find out."
The next day, Danny got out of the hospital. When he got home, he almost ran to his room to get his hands on the controller to play a game, particularly EarthBound. During the time he was awake at the hospital, he somehow felt almost incomplete without his video game consoles. Now that he was home, he wanted to make up for the time he missed.
His mother peeked her head in the room, "If you start feeling bad, call, OK?"
"Don't worry. I'll be fine Mom." With that she left, and Danny turned on the game.
He loaded the first game, but instead of Ness appearing at a phone, there was a shot of Dalaam. The Star Master walked from off screen to the center of the screen, looking forward. Danny sat, watching in bewilderment. His first impression was that he uncovered some sort of secret code.
A text box appeared: Hello... Danny.
Danny dropped the controller and rubbed his eyes to see that what was on the screen was real, and not in his imagination.
The Star Master seemed to respond in the text box: Your vision is not betraying you, nor are you hallucinating.
"What the...?"
Let me explain. You are one chosen by the late star god to protect your realm.
"How can this be?" Danny asked, still stunned, "This is just a video game; it can't be real..."
You are partially right. This is just a game, except that this game is a portrayal of a real world and plot foreseen by the producer. He saw the Second World of Mother, or as you know it as, EarthBound, and made a game out of the world. I am simply using your screen to show myself in this world.
Speechless, Danny sat, watching the television in shock.
Maybe it would be best if I brought you here.
A ray of light came from the television, onto Danny. The light then sucked Danny into the television, as if he were liquid. The light faded, and the room was left mysteriously empty.
Danny opened his eyes to find himself in the middle of the floating (or seeming to be floating) city of Dalaam. In front of him was Poo's Star Master. No longer in a text box, the Master spoke:
"Welcome, psychic one."
"Is this... EarthBound?"
"Well, its official name is Second World of Mother, but yes. This is the world you Americans know as EarthBound."
"So I am inside EarthBound?"
"Well, remember that this is only the realm of Mother 2 and not the game. So, yes, you are in EarthBound."
"Wait a minute," Danny wondered, "you said 'psychic one.' What do you mean by that?"
"Ah, I guess I should explain. The Star God protected us all from the extreme evils of both realms, but eventually, it began burning out, so it decided to stop protecting Mother 2 and mainly on Earth. Before it left Mother 2, though, it bestowed three people in this realm with psychic powers. You know them as Ness, Paula, and Poo. They, and their companion Jeff, saved Mother 2 from the evils of Pokey and Giygas. Eventually, the Star God burnt out completely, and bestowed two psychics -- that I know of -- in your world, one of which is you."
"Wait! Could the second one have been the Masked PSI Guy?" Danny diligently asked.
"I suppose," the Star Master replied, "that is what you would know him as. I never remember knowing his real name. But anyway, he hasn't been showing up here lately, so I believe you are Earth's last hope."
"Now that you mention it," Danny realized, "I haven't seen him mentioned in the news lately."
The Masked PSI Guy: Super hero of the Earth realm. He fights for right, and against the wrong. Using his PSI powers to capture villains and protect the innocent. His identity is unknown...
"You will see your psychic powers," the Star Master said, changing the subject, "Now, fight me!"
"OK..." Danny swung his fist at the Master, but before it connected, a black swirl appeared around him, and he seemed to warp to another world...
Danny found himself in a place with wavering colors all around him, like a hippie world, or an EarthBound battle.
The Star Master, still in front of Danny, spoke, "You are in the space between Earth and Mother 2. This place is called the Battle. All psychics are warped here along with whom they are fighting with and against upon the start of a battle."
"Well, just wondering, why did Jeff enter this... place when only he and his bubble monkey were with him? He was neither a psychic himself nor with one."
"You forget," replied the Master, "that your EarthBound is only a game. The producer just make Jeff enter this place when he fought to keep consistancy between battles. In reality, Jeff did not fight here without a psychic."
"Ah."
"Understand? OK, now look at your left forearm."
Danny pulled up his shirt sleeve to reveal his forearm. On it were two numbers within a rectangle. They had the respective labels of HP and PP, like the EarthBound boxes.
"This...?"
"That," the Master said, "is your life and psychic point meter, as any RPGer would know. When you get hit--"
The Star Master went up to Danny and slapped him. "Nothing personal. Your HP drops."
The HP meter went down a mere 2 of 500.
"Now, cast a spell at me!" the Master ordered.
"OK..." Danny pointed his finger and yelled, "PSI Fire Alpha!"
Nothing happened. The Master then said, "Don't just say it! Will it!"
Again, Danny pointed and yelled, "PSI Fire Alpha!"
This time a fireball came out of his fingers and spread in a horizontal line when it hit the Master. The fire was out quickly.
"Good! As you will notice, your PP has gone down by six. Now I will teach you about the combination spells."
"Eh?"
"You can create combo spells from any spells you have, including other combo spells. By the way, unlike the Mother 2 psychics, you know ALL of the spells. Anyway, for example, you can mix Fire and Freeze spells to create the Water spells. Record the spells in this stone." A stone appeared by Danny's feet. He lifted it up and stared at it, as if trying to find its secret. "Once you think of a good combination, it will be recorded in the stone."
Danny thought about combining Fire and Freeze into Water. As he thought this, the stone shined momentarily, and the spell was recorded. When it was recorded, he put it in his pocket.
"PSI Water Alpha!" Danny yelled.
A small water ball came from his finger, and kept going into the void of the Battle.
"Cool!"
"Now you must remember that combo spells are two or more spells! They are not Natural spells. They do indeed take up the PP cost of all spells involved."
Once again, Danny looked at his left forearm. The PP meter which was once 294 was finishing its scroll down to 284. Of course, Freeze consumed 4 PP and Fire consumed 6 PP.
"Oh!" said the Master, "you'll probably want this."
A small pouch appeared in the Master's slightly clenched hand. He threw it at Danny, who successfully caught it with both hands.
"What's this little pouch for?" Danny asked.
"It's not any regular 'little pouch.' It's a magic pouch which you can fit many items in. It already has some items, you know, bats, guns, bottle rockets, foods, etc. You can put items in it when you find more."
Danny looked in the bag and only saw the darkness. He reached his hand in the bag and thought about the Legendary Bat. He felt a small stick appear in the hand. Reaching his hand out of the bag, he willed the stick to return to normal size. The stick then became a full fledged bat in his hand.
"Ah, so you've found out how to use it."
"Yeah, I just thought I'd use basically the same process of casting PSI."
"Hmm... I see," mumbled the Master, "Finally I will show you one other aspect of the Battle."
He gestured to a black portal behind him that Danny must not have noticed before. It was a spinning spiral, switching the direction it was spinning randomly.
"The sound made in the Battle can still be picked up in the place we started fighting, so either of us can call for help. At that place is a portal like the one behind me. Let me show you an example. Shimu! Demonstrate the portal!"
Danny looked at the portal behind the Master and saw a young seven or eight-year-old apprentice of the Master enter the Battle from it.
"Any help you get will come from the portal behind you. These portals are also used as escape portals. However, you can only escape in the portal behind me and vice versa."
The Master and Shimu walked over past Danny. Danny turned his head to see them enter his portal, which was similar to the portal that was behind the Master. Everything went dark to Danny, and then he was in Dalaam again, as if he had went to sleep and awoke.
"So," the Master spoke, "do you have any questions?"
The return to reality left Danny slightly dazed. He shook his head, which brought him back to normal. "Yes. Two actually. First, how is it possible that another realm would speak English too? I would think that if you did speak an Earth language, it would be Japanese because the producer would understand that."
"Well," the Master answered, "it's not possible. You see, I am not speaking English. That is, a gift from the Star God gave everyone the ability to understand people from the other realm."
Almost unbelieving, Danny said, "OK... and the second question. Earlier you said that I'm the Earth's only hope. Only hope against what?"
"Pokey. That vile one has a plot to take over both realms. he figured out how to use his time-space warping abilities to go to Earth. As for his exact plans... I don't know."
Shimu then burst out into yelling, "So YOU are the once Pokey instructed me to kill! Prepare to die, Danny!"
Shimu morphed into a man sized lizard, with slimy spider legs branching out of his body.
"What?! You're not Shimu!"
Danny then proudly announced, "Good, then I can kill him without worrying about wasting a human life."
A spiked black swirl surrounded Danny, and he was warped once again to the Battle.
Danny: Die!
* Danny equips the Legendary Bat and swings! 132 HP Damage! (Fake Shimu: 1868/2000 HP 300/300 PP)
* Fake Shimu raises his spider legs and attacks! 8 hits! 200 HP Damage! (Danny: 298/500 HP 284/300 PP)
Danny: Oh! I better equip some defensive items!
* Danny equips the Diamond Band and Flame Pendant.
Danny: There we go!
* Danny takes out a Multi-Bottle Rocket and fires! 518 HP Damage (Fake Shimu: 1350/2000 HP 300/300 PP)
Fake Shimu: You may call me Kanba!
* Kanba casts PSI Fire Pi! 4 HP Damage! (Danny: 294/500 HP 284/300 PP)
Danny: Stupid monster!
* Danny records a spell in the stone! Danny casts PSI Mist! Kanba is blinded! (Kanba: 1350/2000 HP 280/300 PP - Blind)
Kanba: Ahhhhh! I can't see!
* Kanba flicks his tongue at Danny! Missed! (Danny: 294/500 HP 268/300 PP)
* Danny casts Lifeup Beta! HP is restored by 200 HP! (Danny: 494/500 HP 260/300 PP)
* Kanba flicks his tongue at Danny! Critical Hit! 300 HP Damage! (Danny: 194/500 HP 260/300 PP)
Danny: Phew! Good timing Danny!
* Danny records a spell in the stone! Danny casts PSI Flare Star Alpha! Wow! 1000 HP Damage! (Kanba: 350/2000 HP 280/300 PP - Blind)
* Kanba raises his spider legs and attacks! Missed! (Danny: 194/500 HP 260/300 PP)
* Danny attacks! Critical Hit! 327 Damage! (Kanba: 23/2000 HP 280/300 PP - Blind)
Voice from Dalaam: Thanks for finding me in the basement, Master, but now I should help Danny!
* Simbu joins the party as an ally.
* Kanba spits at Simbu! Missed! (Simbu: 5/5 HP 3/3 PP)
* Simbu equips the Attack Rod and attacks! 24 HP Damage! Kanba is defeated!
Simbu: Yeah! I beat 'em!
"Did you hear, Master? I beat it!" Simbu announced joyfully.
The Master laughed a bit a replied, "Yeah, I heard."
Danny groaned.
"Danny! It is only the beginning of your adventure!" the Master said.
Shimu ran off to tell all his friends about the monster.
"But what do I do now?" Danny asked.
"It would be too difficult to find Pokey. Go home; wait for him to make the next move!"
"OK, if you say so!" Then Danny clearly thought of where he wanted to go and cast PSI Teleport Alpha. His feet seemed to take a life of their own and make him run. The world around Danny seemed to stop, while in fact he was just going extrordinarily fast. He came to a sudden halt, though, when he crashed into the boundary of Dalaam (ever find it odd that you can crash into nothingness?). Walking out a distance away from the boundary, Danny cast PSI Teleport Beta. His feet made him run in circles, and then go straight through the border. Space cracked open and swallowed him in.
Space cracked open in Danny's room and spit him out. Danny looked at his watch and noticed it was late. He thought about telling his parents good night, but they were probably already asleep.
The text box appeared on the screen again with the Master and Simbu in the center. Danny was not so shocked to see them this time.
Good night Danny! If you have to fight any more monsters, call me!
May your rest restore your health and spirits. Good night.
Danny hit the power button on his SNES and the screen went to a TV show. Then he turned off the television, making it go blank.
It didn't take very long for Danny to decipher what the Master just said. Sleep refreshed HP and PP, not that it would have taken and RPGer like himself very long to figure it out by himself.
Danny hopped in bed and shut his eyes. He wondered to himself whether or not to tell his parents about his powers. A simple demonstration would be able to prove it. Maybe tomorrow.
It was only then that the thought really hit him that he must defeat Pokey. As he was falling asleep, the HP and PP numbers were scrolling up.