He Said, She Said: Chapter 19

He Said, She Said

Chapter 19: Saving the Undeniable

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Seeing Ness, Lucas was just itching for him to come over, grinning from ear to ear and happily extended her arms towards him.

“Ness!” she squealed again. "Come here, I've been waiting for you!"

“...” Her suitors failed to see the excitement in his presence.

Too elated to sense the tension, Lucas turned to them. “Um, you guys can see yourselves out, right? I wanna be with Ness now.”

Popo gawked. “But why? The more the merrier!”

“Well, yeah, but I’m merrier with Ness, so, y’know...” She made a shooing gesture. “Bye bye.”

“Oh, come on...” added Red. “We just got here, and you’re already telling us to beat it?”

Lucas looked at him flatly. “You’ve been in here for almost an hour.”

Ness was shocked. An hour?! What?!

“Oh. Well...” He laughed. “Guess time flies when you’re having fun, huh?”

“I’m sure it does.” She continued shooing. “Now go, all of you. Please.”

“Aw, but why can’t he... uh...” Kirby scrambled for an answer. “Um... Stay in here with us! Yeah, we can do that! Pleeeeeeeeeeease?”

“Sorry, but no.” She pat him on the head, smiling. “I told him to come back, anyway. Please, I’ll see you all later, okay?”

The Idiot Brigade mumbled and grumbled, but going against Lucas was the last thing any of them would do, so they had no choice but to comply. Annoyed, Red signaled to his cronies to back it up as well. Ness stood stupid at the door as they passed, glaring into his very soul. Lucas had no idea how mentally painful it was as they neared to leave.

He tried ignoring them by turning his attention to the floor in his peripheral vision, all without turning his head to dismiss the blonde. It really hurt his eyes to do, but it was either that or risk another nice asskicking, times four. Red, of course, was the last one out and just had to display his hatred for him once more. He did this by slightly, but roughly, bumping shoulders with him. It was like a warning, like if he ever caught him alone, he'd be sorry. Ness' body tensed up in response, just wanting to sock him in the nose as retaliation, but he managed to swallow what he presumed was left of his pride, exhaling in frustration.

Lucas was oblivious to this, still grinning at his presence. "Well, what're you waiting for? Aren't you gonna come any closer?"

Well, he'd done more than that before, so...

The Idiot Brigade had been crawling around all over on the bed, throwing the chair he sat on last time into the corner. Seeing this, he was about to go fetch it when Lucas grabbed his arm.

She looked at him adoringly. "...You can sit on the bed if you want to."

He decided to take her up on that as she scooted over, patting and rubbing the new space next to her. No sooner had he sat down, Lucas pounced, yanking him further onto the bed.

“...Has anybody ever called you a lifesaver?" she happily asked. "'Cuz that's what you are."

“Wha...? Why?”

She groaned. “Those guys just wouldn’t leave me alone. It's like they don't understand the word ‘no’... I was sleeping when they came stampeding in here and woke me up... I’ve been miserable ever since.”

He frowned, hating it for her. "Well, sorry 'bout that..."

"Oh, it's okay. At least you're here now." She took his hand, rubbing it affectionately in both of hers. "And that's all that really matters."

Yeah, spouting dialogue he found both sappy and heartwarming was always a sign of good health for Lucas.

"...So, uh... Are you feeling better now?" He bit his lip, starting to get tired of how spontaneously he asked that.

"Much better, actually. Still a little tired, but better. Thank you for asking..." She smiled. "...again."

"Geh..." Realizing even she was starting to notice his incessant questioning, he turned away, embarrassed.

At this, she beamed. “I don’t know why you keep thinking it’s such a big deal to be worried. If it makes you feel any better, I really appreciate your concern... Honest.”

He looked back at her slightly. "...So when're you leaving?"

"Mario said maybe around dinnertime if I'm feeling up to it."

"Good." He shuffled uncomfortably, turning away again. "...I'm, uh, glad you're okay and all..."

She gushed. “And I'm glad you're glad I’m okay...”

Wow, that was stupid of her to say, as Ness snorted with laughter at it. Fortunately, she did, too. ...And now they were officially outta things to say.

An awkward silence taunted them until Ness said, “So... Now what?”

“...Spend some time with me.”

“Huh?”

“Stay with me. I mean, it’s not like you have anything else to do. Remember? Mario kinda quarantined you from fighting today after you fell down the stairs last night.”

...Oh, yeah. He almost forgot about that. He was starting to wonder why he hadn’t been called to battle lately.

“I know I sound a little desperate, but I’ve been feeling really deprived lately... Like... I really need you around.”

“You always feel like that.”

“No, that was lonesomeness; this is neediness.”

“...”

“Don’t worry,” She hugged him again, “you’re the only remedy I need this time.”

Again with the sappiness? Must’ve been the mood swings...

“So... whaddya wanna do?” he asked, as if there was anything to do.

“Well...” She yawned. “Since my sleep was so rudely disturbed, I think I’ll catch up on it now...”

He gawked. “You’re going back to sleep?”

“Yeah...” She smirked, getting comfortable. “I need a little more rest. How about you be my lookout and make sure no one else comes in here and wakes me up?”

“Uh...” That sounded a little unorthodox, especially considering she really only wanted his company.

“...Or you can sleep with me, if you want.”

“...” At that, both frowned.

Lucas blushed. “I mean... You can stay with me while I sleep... Wait, no. I mean—”

“...I think I get it,” he sighed, going over to fetch the chair.

“...Oh, okay...” Embarrassed, Lucas got more situated as he came back. “You’re so good at understanding me.”

“Don’t know how...” he muttered, sitting down at her side.

“Well, however you do it... I’m glad you do.” She reached out and touched a hand.

Not sure how to respond to this show of affection, Ness shrugged indifferently. “Yeah... I guess so...”

She yawned again and snuggled into her pillow, sleepily grinning at that response. It wasn’t long before her eyelids began to get heavy and, despite her best effort to keep them open, sleep soon overtook her and she slipped into a peaceful doze. This was nice and all, but, in falling asleep, she’d kept her hand on his in a somewhat-tight grip. Lucas was a very light sleeper, making Ness feel restricted in his movement, despite it only being that one hand. Even if he so much as breathed wrong, she’d stir and probably wake up. He sighed.

He tried to at least move to adjust his posture, but Lucas mumbled and squeezed his hand harder. Of course. He was starting to wonder if she was really doing this on purpose. Either way, he was stuck with her and, unable to move, only had her to look at. ...Well, there was the door to his far left, a wall straight ahead, and another wall closest to his right, but he preferred the snoozing blonde by a long shot. ...She was quite the looker, after all.

She was also one of those people who slept oh-so-perfectly. She hardly made any noise, any moment was soft and smooth, and, well, it was overall nice to see her at rest. Lucas slept as if she hadn’t a care in the world, almost to the point where he noticed a sorta “come-hither” air about her; like the typical damsel in distress just waiting for someone to come take advantage of her. He’d seen her asleep before, so this was nothing new, but did all girls hafta look so easy and vulnerable when resting?

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about watching her softly snore made him wanna sleep, too. And he wasn’t even sleepy. Merely observing her in such a perfect, peaceful, innocent sleep forced a yawn outta him. He really wanted to move so he could avoid this, but Lucas softly opposed with a whine and a sleepy pout when his hand flexed.

Fine, you win, Lucas. Have it your way.

...

...

...

...He supposed one little nap couldn’t hurt. And she did offer it... And there was nothing else to do...

Sighing and shaking his head in defeat, he rested his head on his free arm on a small spot of cushion near her face. Lucas must’ve sensed he was doing this, as she snuggled closer to him with a smile. He rolled his eyes and decided to go with it.

...Sheesh, girls...



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Ness was awakened hours later when a sudden lack of warmth stirred him from his sleep. At first, he was too groggy to care, but he soon realized the only source of warmth was Lucas and she’d gone missing. With this taken into consideration, he sat up and yawned, glancing at the now-open door just in time to see Lucas leave. Her soft, speedy footsteps gradually grew fainter and ended with a door slamming somewhere further down the hall. Seconds later, he heard muffled retching in what he hoped was a bathroom.

He stretched and yawned, waking himself up in the chance she’d need him upon her return. Grunting and sighing, he stood and stretched some more as he walked out, only to be greeted with a shady, lit-up hallway. Wow, it was late. There were no windows in the hall, but he could tell from the shadiness from the place they might’ve missed dinner. Damn, and he was starting to get hungry, too... Another retch told him Lucas may be a little longer in the bathroom, so he shoved his hands in his pockets, and went back inside to play the waiting game.

...All of a sudden, Ness had the sinking feeling he was being watched. The room had become oddly dark and ominous in the few seconds of being outside, like something bad was about to happen... Nah, that couldn’t be. If there were intruders in the infirmary, R.O.B. would’ve alerted someone by now... right?

He jolted up as the door before him slammed... all by itself. He was ready to turn and face it head on, but a muscular pair of hot arms grabbed him from behind, a huge body heaving behind him. Startled, he struggled and strained, either to get away or at least see who was grabbing him, but had to stop as none other than Red eerily emerged from his left. ...And he did not look happy.

He was followed by Popo, Kirby, Toon Link, and what may’ve been a reluctant Pit coming from his right as the ones who’d slammed the door. In a panic, Ness looked up to see the orange, lumbering neck of Charizard firmly holding him to that spot. Looking back to the Idiot Brigade, he was horrified to see them more pissed than like never before. They all looked ready to commit homicide and laugh about for the rest of their lives. ...Well, except Pit, who looked more like he had someplace else to be.

“...Well, well, well...” darkly said Red. “You’ve done it this time, Ness. You really have.”

He glowered. He knew what he’d done.

“You just kept messing around and pushing our buttons and poking yourself...” He looked down at his shorts in disgust, “in places where you didn’t belong.”

“And now look what’s happened!” spat Popo, also fuming.

“Lucas is pregnant because of you!” added Toon Link, who seemed to be the most upset. “Pregnant! She’s having your baby, and she’ll never be the same again! You’ve tainted her forever and it’s all your fault!”

“I still don’t know what that means, but I don’t approve of it!” growled Kirby. “You’re gonna get it for sure!”

“Look, it was an accident, all right? You think I wanted to knock her up?” defended Ness.

“We don’t care what it was,” retorted Popo. “All we know is you’re gonna pay for this, Ness. Big time.”

“Ooh, a threat.” He rolled his eyes.

“No, he’s serious,” said Red. “We didn’t think you’d be much competition at first...”

“Until we saw...” Popo shuddered, “you forcing yourself onto her.”

“I still have nightmares from that!” barked Toon Link. What was this kid’s problem today?

“So we tried a more careful approach,” went on Kirby. “We wanted to coax Lucas outta whatever she saw in you and get her back with us.”

“Yeah, we could deal with each other later,” Red came closer. “We just wanted you outta the picture.”

“And I think it was working, too,” said Popo, joining him.

“Until this happened!” screamed Toon Link, looking ready to cry.

“We can’t do anything to poor Lucas over this...” started the male Ice Climber.

“But we sure can teach you a lesson or two!” added Kirby.

“If you thought this morning’s beatdown was bad,” Red laughed, “you’re in for a big surprise.”

Ness scoffed. “Actions speak louder than words...”

“Exactly, and that’s why I feel the need to ask you this: Ness, do you know what they do to dogs when they need to be calmed down?”

He frowned. What kinda question was that?

“Hmm, you don’t know? Really? No idea? Fine, all I can say to that is we’re gonna nip this in the bud... or should I say, the nuts?”

“...What?”

“See this?” He pulled out a gun, a very familiar-looking one.

Ness looked on in confusion. “Samus’ Paralyzer?”

“That’s right. I got Ivysaur to frisk it off her after their last tea party or whatever together.” He came closer with it. “Do you have any idea what this thing can do?”

He scoffed again. “Paralyze people?”

“In a sense, yes. But that’s only in a brawl. In battle, all attacks and moves are lessened in damage so we won’t inadvertently kill ourselves from doing it so much. But I’m sure you know that, right? Getting hit by the Blue Falcon, shot by the Landmaster, caught in the Ultimate Chimera’s mouth...” He nodded, smiling. “Boy, am I glad I don’t hafta do that.”

“Cut the crap. What’re you doing?”

“Funny you should ask. You see, we think you, like a dog, need to be calmed down.”

“Look who’s calling the kettle black,” he sneered.

“Talk all you want. Go ahead, make us madder. I assure you, you’ve done more than enough damage at this point.”

Again with the threats. Weren’t they supposed to be ripping him limb from limb by now?

“We could easily maul you, Ness. You’re in no position to fight back and I’m sure eight against one isn’t much in your favor.”

Pit turned his mouth up. “...Oh, so now I have to help kill him. Where did this come from?!”

“Eight...?” Kirby looked around. “But there’s only five of us.”

Smirking, Red called upon Ivysaur and Squirtle. “Not anymore. Charizard, you’re in on this, too.”

(“Hooray,”) he replied, rolling his eyes.

“But before we get to the fun part, we’re gonna take care of some business first,” said Popo.

“...What business?” Ness asked, annoyed.

“You better be glad Lucas is having this kid, because it’ll be the only one you have,” answered Toon Link.

He stifled a laugh. Well, he wasn’t so sure of that. The world needed more of him in it.

“You know why?” said Red, messing with the gun. Seeing Ness was too busy smirking over what was said earlier, he answered, “Because we’re gonna personally neuter you.”

That sure snapped him out of it. “Wha...?”

“You know, like, those people in the wheelie chair thingies, right?” said Kirby. “Well, you’re gonna be like that, just in your pants.”

He laughed in disbelief. “...Ha ha, yeah, right. Very funny. If you’re trying to scare me, it’s not working.”

“Hmm, what a shame, too. I’d demonstrate on someone here, but...” Red shrugged. “I don’t think they’re nearly as deserving.”

He frowned. “...You’re lying. It can’t do that, it can’t. You’re bluffing.”

“How do you know?”

He retorted with, “...How do you know?”

“It’s a Paralyzer, idiot. What else is it gonna do?”

At this point, Ness was starting to get a little scared. “I-it only stuns people, that’s it. Even outside of battle... that’s all it can do...”

“Not set to the right frequency, it can’t. If I shot you in the legs like this, yeah, it wouldn’t be enough to paralyze you forever. ...But I’m sure we all know down south’s a little more sensitive...”

“...”

Smiling, he approached, poking his crotch with it. “Try to imagine having a limp noodle and a pair of deflated balloons to work with for the rest of your life. They’ll be dead weight, pure and simple.”

Now Ness was scared. That analogy was enough to send him into a frenzy. “...W-wait, c’mon! Y-you can’t do this!”

“Oh, yes, I can, and I will.” He backed up a little, swinging it about on his fingers.

He crossed his legs, desperately jerking away from Charizard. “L-look! I don’t like you and you don’t like me, but don’t bring my stuff into this! We can settle this with a fight... o-or a beatdown or something! C’mon, that’s just torture!”

“Exactly, that’s why we’re doing it.”

“Gimme a break!” He pulled more, swinging his legs crazily. “Not down south, anything but there! What’d they ever do to you?!”

“It’s not what they did to me, it’s what they did to Lucas. Now, spread ‘em.”

“L-listen!” he panted, fear rapidly escalating. “I would never do this to you if you were in my shoes! Really! In the fight this morning! I would’ve dropkicked those suckers, but I didn’t! And do you know why?!”

“I don’t care.”

“Because we don’t do that! Below the belt is coward’s country! As detestable as you are, even you hafta uphold that! You didn’t do it to me this morning!”

“That’s because I was too busy kicking ass. And this has nothing to do with that. This is simply revenge.”

He laughed nervously. “Red, really... C’mon, this is... this is stupid. There’re other alternatives to getting back at someone, y’know.”

“And none are anywhere as fitting as this, huh?” He grinned as he fired a warning shot at the ground, making Ness flail madly. “Now beg.”

“...What?” He couldn’t believe what he’d just asked!

“You heard me. I wanna hear you beg.”

“Well, I’m begging now!”

“Beg more.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the look of pure horror on his face. It was more delicious than the sweetest victory.

“Okay, I admit it; what I did was wrong,” he pleaded, distressed. “I made a mistake and I hafta pay for it. Trust me, I already am. But depriving me of my manhood isn’t gonna make things any better.

“Of course it will. I’ll be doing us and Lucas a big favor.”

At this point, Ness was starting to get a little annoyed. “Man, come on! Where’s your dignity? Your pride?! Real men don’t hit below the belt! That’s just wrong! What’re you trying to prove? That you’re better? That you’re bigger than me?”

“No, I already proved that this morning.” The other got a laugh outta this.

“Well, killing my kids doesn’t make you better than me. It makes you a loser!” he seethed, trying to get away from Charizard again. “Screw getting rid of the competition; you know I’ve got it and you don’t, so you think stripping me of my pride’s gonna make you Mr. Big Shot.”

He made a face. “That’s... That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is! That goes for the rest of you, too!” he growled to the others, perking their interest. “You all wanna kick my ass? Fine, go ahead, have a field day! But don’t think for a second doing this to me is something to be proud of. If anything, it just proves how small you all are. Can’t stand up to the big guy, so you little guys hafta come together and get rid of him. Real classy.”

It was obvious everyone took offense to that, glaring at him darkly. Even Kirby joined in, thinking he was talking about his height. The Pokémon had a feeling this wasn’t directed at them, so they just looked to each other, fearing the consequences of it.

The trainer chuckled, sure he had the upper hand. “...How do you know? Like you’ve seen what we have to offer?”

He sneered. “C’mon Red, cut me slack. I can’t see something invisible to the naked eye.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

The sudden silence in the room told Ness that remark was anything but appreciated. The Idiot Brigade was not amused, as well as Pit. Now it was Ness’ turn to laugh, figuring he may as well while he could. He was gonna get creamed all the same.

Furious, Red grabbed him by the neck, practically choking him. "You know what?! You’ve got a pretty big mouth for someone who’s about to get his nuts shot off!”

“And I’m sure you’ve got none for doing it,” he wheezed.

Fed up with his snappy remarks, he let go, but not before angrily jerking Ness’ head to the side in detest. Both barred teeth at one another as he backed up, calling to his flowered Pokémon.

“...Ivysaur.”

(“Yes?”)

He lifted his head slightly to Ness. “...Spread ‘em.”

(“...You mean his—”)

“Yeah. Do it now so we can teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.”

(“...Whatever you say... Sorry, Ness. No hard feelings,”) she apologized, using Vine Whip to grab his legs.

Seeing this, his anger towards Red disappeared, replaced with his earlier look of terror. No amount of insults to anyone’s manhood wasn’t gonna stop them from making sure he never had the privilege of having his ever again. Despite it being fruitless, he struggled to keep his legs twisted tightly together as Ivysaur began to pry. Unfortunately and ironically, her whips proved much stronger as she eventually pulled them apart, leaving him wide open and vulnerable. Irritated at the degrading position he was in, he gritted his teeth at the smug-looking Red.

“Now, enough fooling around,” he said. “Ivysaur, Squirtle. Better haul ass. I don’t wanna hit you guys.”

The two didn’t need to be told twice as Squirtle scampered over the trainer, and Ivysaur backed away as far as her vines would let her.

“Let’s see how chatty you are after this,” Red challenged, smirking as he raised the gun.

Ness tensed up, feeling himself shrink down south. It was something he found couldn’t be controlled, due to his overwhelming fear of such a cruel and unusual punishment. Red probably knew this, too, and that’s just what he wanted.

He was about to pull the trigger when Kirby shouted “WAIT!”, making Ness both flinch and sigh in relief.

“Gah...” Red turned to him with a frown. “What?”

The ball pouted. “...Why do you get to shoot him? I wanna do it...”

“Well, I had the idea, and my Pokémon’re holding him, and I’m the sexiest, so I should get to do Ness in.” He aimed again. “Now keep quiet so I can hit these suckers...”

Popo scoffed. “Yeah, Kirby’s right! So what if it was your idea? I wanna shoot him, too!”

“Shut up!” snapped the trainer. “My idea, my pleasure, so butt out!”

He grabbed the Paralyzer, jerking it away from the target. “But you never let us do anything! C’mon, we’re all in this together!”

“Whoever said that?”

“You did, when you came up with this idea! That’s why Pit’s in here!”

“I’m in here ‘cuz you forced me to be,” snorted the angel. “The second this is over, I’m leaving and telling on every single one of your asses.”

“And you’ll suffer the same fate as Ness,” retorted Red. “Squeal and you’ll both be peeing like girls forever... not that you already don’t.”

“...” Pit would’ve made a comeback, but that threat was too much to take a chance with.

“I should be the one to shoot!” added Toon Link, grabbing the gun. “I shoot arrows with 96% accuracy, so this should be a breeze for me!”

“Guns aren’t the same things as arrows!” retorted Red.

“How do you know?!”

“They just aren’t! Now let go!”

“No, you let go!”

“No, all of you let go!”

“I wanna do it!”

“No, me!”

“Me!”

“Nu-unh, me!”

“I called it first!”

“But I’m better!”

“Says you!”

“Yeah, says me! Now, give it!”

“You can go second! Me first!”

“That’s no fun! I wanna go now!”

Ness looked on disgust as they fought and whined over who’d be the lucky one to do him in. From the way they were going at it, one would think it was over some sorta wonderful, glorious, once-in-a-lifetime privilege. Sheesh, he sure did know some sadistic people...

Finally, Red kicked Popo off, socked Toon Link in the nose, and sharply elbowed Kirby away. Before they had a chance to gang up on him again, he used a foot to shove Squirtle before him. Immediately, everyone stopped.

“Yeah, that’s right! One false move from any of you, and you’ll all get waterlogged!”

“...” The rest of the Idiot Brigade scowled and obeyed, Pit huffing and crossing his arms in the corner.

"Good, now..." He turned back to Ness, scowling. "Y'know what? I'm just gonna make this quick before there're any more interruptions. As much as I like to see you squirm, this is getting really old really fast."

Ness tensed up again, preparing for the worst as Red got into position. The Idiot Brigade looked on with envy as he steadied his aim. He tried one last time to escape the clutches of Charizard and Ivysaur, but the two refused to let him so much as throw a PSI attack at them. He was outta options, outta time, and worst of all, outta luck. He never thought he’d go down like this, by this asshole and all his asshole friends. And to think, despite this nonsense over Lucas, he still kinda considered himself friends with the others. ...Not so much Pit, but still.

He decided he didn’t wanna see the actual impact, so he closed his eyes and turned his head, waiting for the inevitable. It was then the door opened, a woozy Lucas coming in.

She rubbed her eyes. “...Ness, what’s with all this racket...? Can you keep it down, please? I’m not feeling too well...”

“Huh?!”

Startled, everyone looked in her direction as Red pulled the trigger, firing a charged-up and very painful-looking shot. Hearing it being discharged, Ness panicked and gritted his teeth, flipping his lower half forward in a curl so his legs were on par with the side of Charizard’s turned head. Doing this with such fear and force catapulted Ivysaur up into the air and behind Charizard, where she sat in confusion as the shot missed Ness and hit the large dragon, who let out a loud and painful roar.

Immediately, Ness yelped as he was dropped flat on his back on the ground, the resulting pain a small price to pay for where it could’ve been. Wincing, he managed to look up in time to see Charizard’s pained expression over him as he fell to his knees, clutching between his legs.

“Charizard!” Red fearfully called, dropping the gun and running to his injured powerhouse. “Aw, man, Char! Don’t tell me I hit you!”

(“I wish I could...!”) he pitifully whimpered, shuddering.

Ness scrambled up and away as he fell with a loud thud to the floor, writhing in pain. Like a scared dog with his tail between his legs, he scurried over to Lucas, taking refuge behind her on the floor.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, baffled at the look of horror on his face.

“See?!” shouted Pit, pointing to Red on the floor with Charizard. “I knew this was a dumbass idea! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”

“I told you we should’ve gone with this!” spat Kirby, pulling out his Final Cutter blade. “It would’ve been so easy, too! Just a few whacks, and there you go!”

“...” Seeing the jig was up, Toon Link shadily looked around, deciding to scoot out the door. Once in the hall, he broke into a hilarious sprint back down to the Zelda Room, his hands presumably clean. Noticing his hasty escape, Popo scrambled to get away, as well.

“Don’t worry, Charizard!” soothed Red, trying to pick him up. It was weird to see him so worried. “This is no big deal, right? You’re a Charizard! Big, strong, mighty Charizard, right? You can’t let something like this get you down!”

(“Speak for yourself...”) he moaned.

“Squirtle! Ivysaur! Don’t just stand there! Help a guy out, here!”

His other Pokémon realized this and scrambled to his aid. Despite their help, all three still struggled with their biggest member’s weight. Kirby soon realized this was getting messy and followed Toon Link’s and Popo’s example. Pit clumsily tip-toed out as if he were invisible when he honestly looked like a big doofus in his futile attempt to remain undetected. Regardless, he got away, too.

Irritated at unable to help Charizard, Red stood, rubbing his brow. “Aw, screw it. This isn’t working.”

He yanked out a Poké Ball and recalled him, running off with his remaining Pokémon scrambling after him. It was almost like, instead of dealing Ness a low blow, Red had turned around and accidentally shot himself in the foot. And Lucas. Oh Lucas, was she a good luck charm if he ever needed one. Even if she didn’t know, he owed her one, big time.

“...Are they gone?” Ness finally asked, too scared to turn around.

“Yeah, they’re gone,” she responded, yawning.

Annoyed at her lack of concern, he stood and slammed the door shut. “Lucas, how can you be yawning at a time like this?!”

She sleepily smacked her lips. “Easy, I’m sleepy... What’s... What’s wrong with you, anyway?”

“Whaddya mean ‘What’s wrong with me’?! Didn’t you see?!”

“No...” she yawned again. “Listen, whatever it was, I’m sure there’s no reason for you to be acting so... off-the-wall over it.”

“Of course there is!” he roared, more nervous than angry. “They were about to shoot me in the nuts!”

“...?” Confused, she turned to notice Samus’ Paralyzer still on the floor where Red had thrown it. Going over to pick it up, she looked it over and snorted. “Ness, this only would’ve stunned you...”

“Did you not see what happened to Charizard?! That could’ve been me! I would've been permanently sterile!”

She frowned and rubbed her temples. “Ness, stop yelling... I have a headache...”

“Stop yelling?! At a time like this?! But they—! It was—! And then...!”

Unable to take it anymore, she cut him off. “Ness, Ness, Ness... Listen... I don’t know what happened or why it did, but they’re gone now. I’m gonna lock the door and go to back to bed. I suggest you do the same...”

“I can’t do that! What if they—?!” She stopped him with a shushing finger to the lips, looking quite peeved.

“...Stop it. We’ll deal with this in the morning, all right?”

Ooh boy, there was nothing worse than having to bottle up a conniption fit. Regardless, through some heated huffing and puffing, Ness managed to pitifully nod as she backed away.

“Good.”

She locked the door as promised and walked off, leaving poor, dumbfounded Ness behind. She approached her bed, giving the Paralyzer a puzzled shrug before placing it on a small, nearby table. She then had the nerve to get nice and snuggly under the covers and grin at him.

“...C’mon, Ness. Seriously, you see I locked the door, and you’re with me now. You’re safe... from whatever it is you think’s after you.”

“...” He remained scared stiff.

She sighed. “You’re not gonna just stand there all night, are you?”

“...” Considering he was paralyzed with fear, that may’ve been his only option. Why was she so passive about this?! Okay, so maybe she didn’t know what happened, but she still should’ve noticed how upset he was. It wasn’t everyday he gave someone the look he was giving her now. Horror, trauma, fear, uncertainty, confusion; his expression reflected all these and more, yet, she was too dense to notice just how much consoling he needed at the moment.

“Please, Ness,” she cooed. “I can’t help you out now, so just call it a night and we’ll talk about it in the morning...”

“...Okay,” he finally managed to mutter. At least she sounded convincing, but that still didn’t ease the sudden nausea gnawing at his stomach.

He was finally able to uproot himself from where he was standing and trudge over to her bed, slumping in his chair. He didn’t even bother getting comfortable, as he was too tired, too shocked, horrified, scared, etc., etc. Despite Lucas’ advice on going to bed, Ness found it ironic he just couldn’t take it.

She noticed his despair and gently cupped his face in a hand, smiling. “...Good night, Ness.”

“...Good night... Lucas...”

"And don't worry, I'm right here."

It was a shame she didn’t notice the extent of his despair, as she would’ve known not even a kiss to the forehead was gonna help. Assuming it did the trick, she tussled and turned until comfortable and then fell asleep.

...On the other hand, sleep was not had for Ness that night, not at all.