From one park to the next (open)

[Ness]

Last time Ness checked, he was waiting at the park for his friend Paula to arrive. He'd been sitting on a bench of some sort, staring off, and he guessed he must have fallen asleep or something. But whatever--none of that really mattered now, because now that he'd woken up, he was definitely not in said park mentioned previously.

In fact, this park looked like the ruins of a zombie apocalypse in some sort of horror movie his mom would never let him watch (even though he'd seen much scarier things in real life than could be in any movie). He stood up and frowned a bit, but was more confused than anything. Was this some kind of weird dream? Whatever it was, it felt incredibly real to him. He came to a quick conclusion that this was definitely real life.

However, he wasn't quite sure how he managed this. He could teleport, sure, but to do so he had to run really fast. He'd fallen asleep on a bench. Last time he checked, PSI users couldn't just teleport by falling asleep. This made no sense no matter what way he put it, and it was starting to make his head hurt! Just how did he get in this creepy place and why?!!

Not to mention he had an awfully creepy feeling about this place. Just about as creepy as his battle with Giygas, and he didn't particularly like that feeling at all. Battling that messed up alien was enough for one lifetime, did he honestly have to be in a place like this?

Giving up on thinking, the boy began to just walk. He didn't know what else to do. Standing in one spot would get him nowhere, and he had to figure out just what this place meant if anything. And, well, if it was just a dream ... he'd wake up eventually.

[Paul]

Everything was blurry when Paul opened his eyes. At first he kept them closed when he came to, not sure why he'd fallen asleep in the first place, not sure of anything. He took a moment to remember—ah, yes. It was June 18th and he had been in his vehicle with his best friend John Lennon behind the wheel. It was Paul's twenty-fifth birthday and John was promising him a night of lots of drinking and lots of girls.

A whole day off work was rare in and of itself, so no doubt was Paul thankful. The last words he remembered speaking before drifting on during the car ride was something about thanking John for being his mate. John had responded by patting his knee and telling to stop being such a queer.

Paul chuckled and smiled warmly at the thought. It seemed he was out of his daze now, his bright hazel eyes having adjusted to the light. When he propped up on his elbows, he knew something was off; why was he lying down if he'd fallen asleep in a car? And then he took in his surroundings and things became even more eerie.

He was in a park. It reminded him vaguely of the playground at his primary school when he was a child; it had equipment for children to play on as well as benches, a couple snack bars, and a water fountain. The eerie part was, it didn't look familiar. Paul had been to a lot of places in his life and he couldn't even guess what country he was in, let alone the town.

His heart beat picked up and pounded in his ears as he quickly scrambled to his feet. His blood went cold as he realized that there was nobody in sight. Absolutely nobody. What the hell was going on? He idly reached up and pinched his arm, only to cringe slightly—this was no dream. This was completely real. And Paul had no idea what to do.

As he took a hesitant step forward, his doe eyes caught sight of the discarded umbrella a few feet away. Quickly, he padded over to it and picked it up, clutching it tightly in his hands. He was just going to walk. His body and mind were numb and he didn't realize how foolish of an idea that was, but he was going to walk until he found somebody else.

Suddenly, something moved in his peripheral vision. He quickly jerked his head in the object's direction, eyes widening slightly as his grip tightened on the umbrella and he identified the figure as a small child. His eyes narrowed behind his long lashes, watching the boy for a good long while as he wondered just as aimlessly as Paul had planned on doing.

A sudden, almost overwhelming sense of relief washed over him. "Hello," he quipped in his thick English accent, almost in a whisper, but surely loud enough for the youth to hear when it was so quiet around them. It felt so surreal to talk in such a place. He swallowed dryly, trying to gulp away his fears and doubts and insecurities. Right now, he would need to be strong, and hopefully that would help him get to safety sooner.

[Ness]

The dark-haired child proceeded to walk through the park, hoping he'd find someone--anyone--in this empty area. It was starting to freak him out, and Ness wasn't one to get freaked out. He was strong and brave for his age.

He continued on, humming quietly to himself as he went, trying his best to not get spooked or freaked out by anything. He just hoped nothing popped out of nowhere and gave him a heart attack. Honestly, the heart attack would most likely be real.

Suddenly, he heard a voice greet him from somewhere and he whirled around sharply, holding up his bat defensively. He wasn't sure who it was, or how they came, but he figured it was best to keep his guard up in case he was to be attacked. "...!" He found himself staring at a tall, lean young man and noticed he seemed kind of scared himself.

Ah well, couldn't trust anyone by simply their looks! He learned this the hard way! "...who are you?"

[Paul]

As the boy quickly whirled around and swung his bat, Paul's eyes widened and he mirrored the child, raising his umbrella and clutching it to his chest. As the child then spoke, the elder couldn't help being a little thrown off by his question.

Who was he? He was Paul McCartney! No child his age in Liverpool would be caught dead asking such a question. But he wasn't in his home town anymore, Paul had to remind himself. Not even close.

"Paul," he answered simply, lowering his umbrella slowly. Usually he was quick to make friends with strangers, but usually those strangers knew who he was and were more than glad to be friends with him in return.

But if this boy didn't even know his name, Paul couldn't help keeping his guard up. He knew it was the safest thing to do, but for God's sake, it was just a little boy. Paul felt the urge to protect him because he was so young, but he didn't even known how to defend himself.

"And who are you?" As he asked this, still keeping his voice quiet despite the continuous silence, he steadily walked closer to the boy. He couldn't be completely sure, since he wasn't even aware of his surroundings, which was something he at least knew no matter what.

If he couldn't commence in step one of figuring out where he was by looking around, how was he supposed to get out of this place? It was better to stick with every person he came across. Maybe this kid would know something he didn't.

[Ness]

"Ness." The boy replied, suspiciously. "Paul...huh..." His name reminded him vaguely of his good friend Paula back at home. It kind of made him miss being in Onett already. And he was supposed to meet Paula at the park too! He almost wanted to cry thinking about it, but no, he was tougher than that. Looking back at the other, Ness lowered his bat.

"Are you.. er... from here, Paul?" He asked. He figured it would be alright to ask, though he couldn't help but feel very cautious. This man seemed like kind of a wimp, but at the same time it could be some sort of feign. He wasn't too sure how to react, but he did his best not to look intimidated. Either way, if this man tried to attack him, he'd get a baseball bat to the face and it'd all be over.

[Paul]

Damn. This kid, Ness, seemed just as clueless as he was. Well, at least he had someone with him, Paul decided rather optimistically despite the circumstances. Being with some stranger was better than being by himself. He was snapped from his thoughts as he remembered Ness' question, and shook his head slightly in response.

"Mn, nah. Me 'n me mate John, we were on our way to a bar to have a couple drinks, and I just nodded off. When I woke up, I was layin' right here on the ground." The words sounded ridiculous even to Paul. He watched the boy expectantly, waiting for him to explain his own story, and hopefully it wasn't far off from his own.

He tried not to remember the fact that it was his birthday. As a kid, birthdays meant cake and inviting friends over longer than he was usually allowed to let them stay over, but once he became famous, it was nice to spend his birthday doing something memorable. And a normal old day with his best friend would have been really nice.

His thin eyebrows knit together in concern as he thought about John. John, and his girlfriend Jane, and his brother Mike, and his father Jim, and his band mates George and Ringo. Where were they? His heart sunk with worry; he wasn't sure if he'd be able to contain these emotions, which was something he was typically good at doing.

"What about you?" He added just to stall his own thinking, tilting his head down slightly to observe the child. He looked pretty normal, despite the odd purple color of his eyes and hair. Oh, well; this was a weird place, it certainly could be much worse, Paul presumed.

[Ness]

Ness listened to his story, then made a thoughtful expression. So Paul wasn't from around here. That kind of sucked, but at the same time it was kind of nice to have someone just as confused as he was. Maybe they could help each other out, in a way.

"Me? Um .. I was waiting for my friend..Paula... at the park. We were going to play today and stuff." As he spoke, he began to feel a little depressed. What if he couldn't go home? That meant he couldn't see Paula anymore. He couldn't see his mom anymore, or Tracy, or King... or Jeff... or Poo... dangit, he had to think more optimistically! "S..so you know nothing about this place, right...? Nothing at all?"

He knew it was a silly thing to ask, but for some reason he just couldn't help it. He just wanted to find something out, and as much as he knew this man wouldn't have any answers, he couldn't help but ask him questions. He then thought up a new question--something that suddenly popped into his mind, and he wondered about the answer too. "Wait, where do you come from, Paul?"

[Paul]

Out of nervous habit, Paul began to pat his pockets idly as Ness explained that he had last been waiting for his friend when he had just as randomly ended up in this new place. His face lit up as he felt his pocket more consciously now, pulling out his cigarette pack with a grin. Thank God. As he was sliding the pack back into his back pocket after pulling out a cigarette, he registered the momentarily upset look on the kid's face. Poor thing.

"Yeh, I dunno anythin'. I, er, travel a lot, so it's pretty easy for me to figure out at least what town I'm in by lookin' around. But I've got no idea." And that fact scared Paul greatly, but he decided to leave that fact out, too. In the same pocket of his pack was his lighter, which he promptly removed to light the end of his cigarette, instinctively shielding the flame against the wind with his hand though the air was practically dead. The stillness of the atmosphere only added to the creepiness.

Upon Ness' next question, Paul quirked an eyebrow. Asked a lot, didn't he? Paul couldn't blame him, though; not only was he obviously a teenager, but he was in a situation where any kind of questions were understandable. Paul questioned frequently in the past, but he honestly didn't want to know anything about this place. He just wanted to leave.

"Liverpool. That's in England, y'know. But now I'm here. Wherever that is." He took a long drag from the end of his cigarette, letting the smoke roll off his tongue through his half-parted, slightly-chapped lips while he tapped the ashes on the ground. "Say, how old are you, Ness?" He shifted feet and glanced around again, his stomach growling as he focused on a snack bar a few feet away.

He was gravely hungry, but he knew he had pot to blame for that one. He had been pretty baked when he'd fallen asleep in the car, but he was pretty sobered up now due to being so scared and confused (though that didn't seem to affect his bad case of the munchies). Almost in a trance, he walked past the child and made his way over to the bar as it was relatively close by in hopes of finding something edible.

[Ness]

Ness stared at the man as he lit the cigarette while he asked his questions. Hearing the response to the first one, he was somewhat disappointed, but he wasn't really all that surprised. When he said he came from Liverpool, however, he only became all the more confused. "Where is--" He paused as Paul asked him a question now. "I'm 13," He told him, turning and watching him head for a bar.

Because he didn't want to be alone, the boy followed. Having some company was better than none, even if this guy was a little weird. He was sort of warming up to him though, and that was what mattered. It made the place a little less scary, at least, if that was even possible. "Um, where are we walking to?" He asked, curiously. He seemed like he had a sudden destination, so the boy wanted to know.

[Paul]

Thirteen, wow. Paul didn't know what he'd do if he was still thirteen and was in such an almost supernatural situation. Ness seemed oddly calm with it, though; it made Paul keep his guard up as he followed him over to the snack bar.

"Here," he announced as he walked behind the bar, crouching down to examine the shelves. There was one single chocolate bar. "Ah-ha." He grabbed it and stood back up, thankfully it was one of those really big ones that he usually wasn't allowed to get as a child because they cost more, so that meant extra chocolate.

Not bothering to discuss his own age, Paul snapped the bar directly in half and handed the kid one half of it. In a way, it was a silent kind of peace offering, for them to stick together and trust each other, even though they were still strangers.

As he began to nibble away small portions of the chocolate—he didn't want to suck it all down in one bite—he tried to take in his surroundings again. He canceled out all of his fears as he tried to break down a logical plan. They had to get somewhere safe. Surrounding them on all sides was the nameless city, though, so Paul could think of one idea only: walk.

"We should probably wonder out and find somewhere to stay. Maybe we'll meet some others." The hope was evident in Paul's tone as he wrapped what was left of the chocolate with his end of the ripped wrapper and stuffed it in his pocket. He had a feeling the kid wouldn't have too much trouble complying with his idea, as Paul just got that weird vibe from him. Plus, it wasn't like there was anything better to do.

[Ness]

Ness watched him walk over to the bar and became curious as he looked like he was seriously on to something! He then noticed the other pull out a chocolate bar and made a quizzical expression.

He gingerly took the chocolate bar from Paul when he handed it to him, thanking him with a big smile. This guy wasn't half bad! At least he knew how to share. Somehow, he felt a lot more trust for this guy than he had for the start. He really was getting comfortable with him.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just standing around isn't going to do us much good." Ness agree and bit into his half of the chocolate bar. It was kinda tasty! He started to walk past the other, in order to get a better look at things. Everything here looked pretty much destroyed. It was going to be kind of hard to find a place to stay, he figured. That kind of sucked.

[Paul]

Paul gave the boy a genuine smile as he took the piece of candy. He was more than glad to have that mutual bond formed between them, if only for the purpose of company as it was better than nothing. The kid was actually decent, and Paul was thankful.

As Ness walked past him and looked around, Paul merely blinked and walked behind him. The sudden rustling sound made Paul snap his head toward it, eyes widened with fear. Except this time, he actually saw something. His heart dropped immediately.

It was disgusting. Thankfully, it wasn't big, but it was hideous, and definitely not of his original world's origin, Paul knew. There, a good ten feet away from he and Ness, was an ugly spider-like creature. It was about the size of a football, if Paul had to guess.

"Wh.. what the bloody hell is that?" As if Ness would know, but he couldn't stop his mind from pushing out the words. His heart pounding in his rib cage as the thing started advancing at them, and fast. Paul began pacing backward, clutching his umbrella, his mind having gone blank. If those existed, he dreaded the thought of what else there was!

[Ness]

Also hearing the same sound Paul did, Ness reacted in nearly the same way. He turned quickly, holding his bat up with one arm and loosely held the chocolate bar in his other hand.

He noticed the spidery like creature and frowned some. "I dunno. Looks gross, but we can take it." He looked over at Paul. "Got any weapons?" He asked him, though he wasn't quite sure the man seemed like the fighting type. That was okay though, he knew if it came to it he had his PSI powers to back him up.

[Paul]

If the odd calmness in Ness' tone was anything to go by, the kid wasn't half as terrified as Paul was right now. This creature existing, even if it didn't look totally threatening, meant lots of bad things were possible in this new world. This creature existing meant plenty more could possibly exist, and plenty of other creatures could possibly exist, and possibly be bigger and stronger than this spideresque thing. It terrified Paul, shook him to the core, and he was frozen.

He almost shouted at the boy when he assured Paul they could take it, but upon realizing the boy had his bat, he was sure the creature stood no chance. Hopefully. To answer the boy's question quickly, he merely shifted his umbrella; he had no other weapons on him. He prayed Ness knew how to use that bat he was holding as it was surely their only way to get rid of this thing.

[Ness]

Ness stared at him for a moment before frowning slightly and then looked back at the bug. "Okay, it'll be okay mister, I plan on smashing this bug into a a squished pile-a guts!!!" He held up the baseball bat in a very threatening manner and smashed it down on the bug--or, so he thought.

The creature had actually quickly side-stepped the attack and began crawling at Ness at near full speed. Kind of not wanting it to maul him, Ness swung the bat again, this time near stumbling as he missed once more. The bug jumped at him, and he dodged to the side by rolling.

After a few minutes of missing, failing and nearly falling over from both sides of the battle, the Creeper turned toward Paul. Of course, it decided perhaps he was better bait. It ran at him now and Ness gasped.

"Uh oh!" He said and then ran after the bug for a moment, then suddenly stopped and discarded his bat, pointing both his pointer fingers as his forehead. He squinted his eyes shut, then reopened them, glaring at the bug: "PSI rockin'... alpha!" He exclaimed and in a burst of red, blue and yellow, the bug was crisped and destroyed. The attack looked like a strangely shaped glowing spiral almost--definitely like modern day special effects and not something realistic at all.

Ness sighed where he stood and picked up his bat from where he dropped it, then looked at Paul. "Well that was kind of a pain. Usually I don't miss so much ... I guess my bat isn't as trusty as I thought." He smiled some at him. "Are you ok?"