Earthbound: Time Reflux

Taking a Visit to an Old Friend

"Wow, Ness. I'm so glad you're okay!" Ness' mom said.

"It was really weird..." Ness explained. "The starman came out of nowhere. I couldn't even sense it, and I usually can."

Ninten was concerned. "I didn't see it coming either. Right after they got me breathing, I stormed out because I heard a telepathic cry from you."

"Thank you so much Ninten. If you hadn't saved Ness...I don't know what I would've done..." Ness' Mom teared up.

"It was no problem, Miss. He needed my help, so I helped him."

"...can I hug you?"

Ninten hesitated, but he didn't want to be rude. "Sure."

Ness' Mom embraced "Ninten" with her eyes closed holding back happy tears. "It feels just like hugging Ness..."

"You are hugging me mom," Ness smiled.

"Oh! Hahaha." She hugged the real "Ninten" this time.

Ninten felt like he was being hugged by his own mother, and was filled with nostalgia.

Ness shot up. "Why don't we take the fragment to Jeff?" Ness suggested.

Ninten, obviously not knowing who Jeff was, asked, "Who's Jeff?"

Ness sighed knowing he had forgot to explain who Jeff was. "He's a really smart guy. His dad is an awesome scientist!"

"Well it seems he's our best bet. Where can we find him?"

"He lives in Winters. There's a lab where his dad works."

"Great. Let's go!"

Ness grabbed his trusty backpack and his Franklin Badge. "Might need this..." He waved to his mom as he walked out of the door. "See ya when we get back Mom!"

"Be safe Ness! You too Ninten!"

"Call me if you need me, Ness! I've got plenty of space for your stuff!" Tracy giggled.

Ness smirked and walked down the path in front of Ninten. They traveled down until they reached the first street after the library. "This should be long enough..."

"Huh? What are you...ohhhh. I see what you're doing." Ness kicked into high gear, speeding down the street and gradually gaining speed. Ninten followed doing the same. Ness neared the end of the road and ran full speed; just as he hit the end of the road a warp appeared and swallowed the duo.

The duo reappeared from the warp and skidded to a halt in the snow. Ninten skidded with his feet outward to throw snow in Ness' face. It worked. They walked up to the laboratory and Ness saw Jeff in the through the window on the second floor.

"Is that really Stonehenge?" Ninten asked eyeing the odd formation behind the lab. "It looks like Stonehenge."

"I never payed that much attention to it...maybe it is?" Ness replied knocking on the lab's entrance. Inside, there was a loud thump and the rustling of papers, then a thump on the door.

"Ouch!" The door opened revealing Jeff in his pajamas and a mess of documents and test tubes on the floor and tables. "Oh! Ness! I wasn't expecting you"-he tripped over a few papers- "to be here. Uh come in, come in! It's quite cold out there..." Ness and Ninten walked in, stepping over the papers, and sat down near the Instant Revitalizing Machine.

"It's good to see you again, Jeff! It has been a while since I've been back in Winters."

"It really has..." Jeff looked at Ninten and sighed, "Can you please stop staring at me?"

"Huh?" Ninten blinked a few times, "I'm sorry. You just look a lot like my friend, Lloyd."

"Really? Well that's quite a coincidence," Jeff pushed up his glasses, "you two look similar as well."

"We get that," the two boys replied simultaneously.

"So, what brings you guys here?"

Ness reached into his backpack. "We wanted to know if you could analyze this for us." He pulled out the fragment of the starman's armor and handed it to Jeff. Jeff stared in awe.

"I-I've never seen anything like this before...what is it?"

"Um....long story short, I was attacked by a starman. But not just any starman, it was a new kind. One I had never seen before. Just before it escaped, a piece of its armor fell off."

"Wow...that's kinda crazy. I thought we got rid of all of the starmen when we defeated Giygas." Jeff fiddled with the "metal".

"I did too, but it seems that some sort of reboot was done, and now they're back."

"Wow it even bends without fracture or change in molecular structure...wouldn't it be amazing to see a phone made out of this?"

Ninten's face dimmed, "It really shouldn't bend."

"Well, I'll get to work with this. Maybe if I can get my dad to help...anyway thanks for coming by. Come back in a few days and I think I may have an answer," Jeff smiled brightly.

"Thanks buddy! I really appreciate your help." Ness gave Jeff an approving look and a high five.

"It's no problem." Jeff walked back into the comfort of his home, thinking about so much at the same time. Little did he know...his father, Dr. Andonuts...

Was gone.