Earthbound – Day 09

–Day 09–

After a nice rest at the hotel, our first stop today is going to be the Twoson Dept. Store. This multi floor store has nearly all of the stores Onett had, but all in one convenient location. First floor is reception, second floor has the burger shop and bakery, and finally the top floor has the drug store. I’m well stocked up on food for now, but it never hurts to buy new equipment.

That was going to be the only thing I bought, but someone mentioned that the Teddy Bear the drug store sells can be helpful in battle. I’m not really sure what that means, but I guess I’ll give it a try. To my surprise, the Teddy Bear actually follows Ness around as if it’s a party member. I can’t wait to get into a battle to see what it actually does.

Next stop on our list is the Chaos Theater, currently featuring the Runaway Brothers. They look like a parody of the Blues Brothers, and no doubt that was their inspiration. I’d love to see their show at some point, but I can’t manage to get a ticket.

I thought maybe I could get a ticket inside, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I did however meet with their manager in his office. Apparently the Runaway Brothers owe him a lot of money and they’re being forced to work for him until they pay off their debt. Of course, he’s a crooked manager, and is paying them so little they will almost never be able to pay him back what they owe. I wish I could help them, but there’s nothing I can do at the moment.

We continue to explore the town until we come upon the houses of the two local inventors, apple kid and orange kid. First we visit apple kid, who keeps his house rather dirty, and hasn’t bathed in quite some time, so he’s kind of stinky. He also hasn’t eaten in a while and asks if we have anything to give him. Sadly I don’t at the moment, I stored all of my hamburgers before I went on my shopping spree at the Dept. Store. I don’t have any food to give him at the moment. We’ll have to come back later with something for him to eat.

Orange Kid’s house it much cleaner than apple kid’s. After a brief introduction, Orange kid mentions that he’s currently working on an invention that will help me in Grateful Dead Valley. He’s just running a little short on funds before he can complete it. For a small $200 investment, he can finish his invention which will, I hope, help me rescue Paula.

So of course, I give him the funding he needs. In return, he gives him his new “Super Orange Machine” or “Suporma” for short. I’m not sure what it does, but he said it would help me in Grateful Dead Valley, so I just have to believe him for now.

Our final stop for today is Polestar Preschool, the school where Paula helped out. The kids inside all seem to really love her. One goes so far as to say she’s “Like a Mother” to them. With her gone, it looks like Paula’s mother is watching over the class for her.

In the back rooms of the school, the person I imagine to be Paula’s father is standing around apparently stopping people from bothering his daughter. After convincing him I’m NOT from the TV station trying to interview his daughter, we learn that Paula already warned him we would be coming.

What’s surprising is that he seems to have no idea Paula is missing. He even went and checked her room expecting her to be there. Paula being kidnapped is the talk of the town at the moment. Even one of the kids out front knew Paula was gone. What kind of father are you that you’re the last person in the whole town to find out your daughter has been kidnapped?

Now that the town is mostly explored, it’s time to head out to Grateful Dead Valley. But that’s going to be tomorrow’s adventure, so join me then as we go to rescue Paula!