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Author's Note: This story is set a week ago.
It was one of those lazy, boring rainy days when you
just want to go back to sleep, since it seems unlikely that anything interesting
or exciting will happen.
I knew we had a Turtum in our NeoHome; leb388
had named him Yessycinth (pronounced yes-ee-sihnth, Yessy for short) and told
us he'd only stay until Meridell was rebuilt. Leb388 loved him like she loved
us, but she gave Yessy a lot of attention.
Yessy was extremely melancholy and heartbroken.
After all, he'd been the Turtum in Bullseye, which was destroyed in the Darigans'
raid of Meridell. The poor guy was trapped under the broken shards of his catapult
for hours, until leb388, who had been with the cleanup party for Meridell, found
him and brought him home. The little guy can't really talk, being a petpet,
but he does make a sound like "Nope."
You may have scrolled back up to the title, read
it and thought, "Why isn't this about a Drackonack petpet? It sounds more like
a story about a Turtum petpet." Well, let me continue.
My life is pretty normal--for living with leb388,
my owner, I mean. I run a non-profit, for-fun organization called N.E.M.S.,
or Neopian Explorers and Mystery Solvers, with my brother Conspicit and cousin
Keira, but I mostly just hang out at home, which brings me to the beginning
of my story. I was sitting in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal, and I thought
about how quiet and peaceful it was. No one was smashing anything, no loud music
was blaring, and no voices were screaming. Ah... nice and still.
Then it hit me. It was too quiet. I immediately
jumped up and ran to my room. "KEIRA!"
"Hi-ee, Li. I made your wall wook pwitty-full."
I gaped at what she had done, screamed, and ran
for leb388. My baby Poogle cousin Keira had drawn on my walls with Neocrayons,
not to mention that she spilled paint on my carpet and disheveled my desk of
research and writings.
"What's wrong? Is Keira okay?" leb388 asked.
She was sitting in her room, writing at her desk. Yessy lay on the bed, asleep.
"Don't yell, Li. Yessy's taking a nap."
"Leb388, Keira trashed my room! She--"
Leb388 just looked at me. "Huh. Because, you
know, you were supposed to be watching her. I asked you a few minutes
ago to watch her for about half an hour while I got some work done."
"I just went to get a bowl of cereal, and she
was playing a game--"
"Well, why didn't you check on her every two
minutes or so?" leb388 queried.
"I was only away for a few minutes--"
Our arguing suddenly ended when we heard a loud
knock at the door. We often had visitors, but it was unusual for anyone to come
on a rainy day. I left leb388 to go open the door, and saw a distraught-looking
Blue Kacheek. In the crook of one arm, the Kacheek was holding a Drackonack,
fitted with a diaper and pink bonnet.
I looked at the Drackonack, surprised, and looked
at the Kacheek. "Come in," I said nervously.
The Kacheek entered and introduced herself. "Li,
you won't know me, but I'm Thyme. This is my petpet, Lucy."
I was a pacifist during the Meridell War, but
my white Tonu sister Pegasus fought for Meridell, and leb388 approved of it
and was strongly pro-Meridell. I mean, she had a Turtum, for borovan's
sake! I wondered what leb388 would say when she saw the Drackonack. "How do
you know me? Who are you?"
"I read about you--you and Conspicit and Keira,
the N.E.M.S., and everything--in the Times and I need your help. My NeoHome
was attacked, and my owner and older sister--Rosemary, she's a red Kau--were
out at the time, and I fled with Lucy. They're after him--Darigans, I mean,
because I kind of took him. Well, he was hurt and no one was watching him, so
I rescued him."
After a nod of understandment, I yelled, "CONSPICIT!
KEIRA!"
In a moment, they followed; Conspicit looking
confused and Keira looking cute, as always. I wanted to reprimand Keira, but
now wasn't the time. Leb388 also came, mad that I was yelling while Yessy had
been taking a nap.
"Li, didn't I tell you--"
"What's up, Cousin Li?" Keira asked, interrupting
my owner, while looking curiously at the Blue Kacheek and Drackonack.
"Yeah, I was counting the dust particles in my
room! This better be good," Conspicit, my Island Poogle brother, said seriously.
Frustrated, leb388 stormed off to the kitchen,
muttering about us allying with an enemy.
I sighed, and with my Desert Aisha paw I gestured
toward Thyme. "Thyme helped out a Drackonack and now the Darigans want it back,
and she got separated from her family," I explained. "Er... Thyme, explain how,
exactly, you came to own Lucy."
"Okay. I found him when he was hurt from battle,
and my owner said I could keep him, so I nursed him back to health. I loved
him so much, and Darigan-haters were so abundant, that I couldn't bear to let
him go, and still can't. He's my petpet."
"What do you want us to do?" Conspicit asked
Thyme.
"Well," she began, "I went to the Soup Kitchen
for the longest time, and when someone spotted Lucy and recognized that he wasn't
a freed soldier-petpet, I had to run. My owner and sister were away, and our
NeoHome was demolished. I couldn't find them afterwards, and they're still missing.
Someone told me to find you, that you could help, because you solve mysteries.
I've read some of your publications in The Neopian Times, and I was convinced.
I definitely need some help. I need a safe place for Lucy, and I need to find
my family." She looked at us hopefully.
"He's cute!" Keira giggled, giving Lucy her Yellow
Poogle Toy. "Lucy, meet Susie."
"That stupid," Lucy remarked, shoving it away.
All of us but Thyme gasped.
"You never knew some petpets can talk?" she asked.
"Well, I guess," I admitted. "I mean, my owner's
Turtum says 'Nope' all the time." I stopped and went back to the important subject.
"Thyme, I guess the only safe place for you to go is the Darigan Citadel."
"But how? That would mean--"
Suddenly, someone or something was knocking on
the front door. "Open up!" a voice demanded.
"Thyme, Lucy, c'mon! We can hide!" Keira instructed.
Thyme and Lucy followed her into the next room while Conspicit opened the door.
"What seems to be the problem, officer?" he asked
calmly. He was used to handling the Chia Police--trust me. We know Jamez, after
all.
"It was reported tha' a stolen Drackonack ent'red
this buildin'," a burly Chia police officer bellowed. "Give it up."
"Drackonack? I didn't see any Drackonack," I
replied.
"I don' care if ya didn' see any, I know
there is one in 'ere."
"Search around, officer, and I'll assure you
that there's nothing to be found," Conspicit said.
"All right 'den." The officer, and two backup
officers, started searching our NeoHome.
"Where are they, Conspicit?" I whispered.
"Well," he replied softly, "you know that spot
in my room where leb388 drilled for about half a meter into the wall, looking
for a missing shoe?"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Oh."
"Hey guys, can I borrow some Bread?" came a familiar
voice. "You see, I had some, but then--" Jamezbfod, leb388's older brother,
walked in, looked at the Chia Police and said, "Uh, you wouldn't be looking
for me, would you?" as he hid the contents of his left hand and appeared to
prepare to jump out the window.
"Naw, not this time," one officer said.
"They're looking for some Drackonack petpet,"
I said to the somewhat relieved Jamez. "I don't know why, because--"
"Oh! I saw some Blue Kacheek carry one inside
here," Jamez replied.
I mentally moaned.
"Jamez, that wasn't a Drackonack; that was Yessy!"
leb388 said, coming in and talking with the go-along-with-this-or-else tone
of voice. My owner didn't like the fact that a Drackonack was in her NeoHome,
but good ol' leb388 wasn't about to have it confiscated. "You know, my Turtum?
He just woke up from his nap."
"You have a Turtum, ma'am?" asked an assistant
officer.
Leb388 nodded and ran to get him. She brought
him back into the living room for all to see: a sad-looking Turtum petpet, and
explained that he'd just woken up from a nap.
"Ah, that must've caused 'da accusation," the
first officer said. "Sorry, ma'am. It was a misunderstanding. But a Drackonack
was reported stolen, so we were tryin' to find it."
"Oh, yeah!" Jamez suddenly shouted, finally taking
the hint. "I confuse Draconacks with Turtums and Blue Kacheeks with my sister
when I'm letting the air out of Chia Police Cruiser tires."
Leb388 nodded, and the Chia Police officers left,
making Jamez fill their tires back up and searching him for good measure. After
they'd gone, Jamez came back inside.
Leb388 smiled at Yessy and hugged the little
Turtum. "You got us out of a tight situation, buddy." She turned to Conspicit.
"Run and get Keira. Tell her the coast is clear for the Drackonack."
"Aw, isn't it a cute Turtum? Aren't you a cute
Turtum?" Jamez cooed to Yessy.
"Nope!" Yessy replied, a bit cheeirier than before.
Jamez turned to leb388. "Is he supposed to say
that?"
"Yeah. It's all he says, actually."
"Why did you name him Yessy, then? If all he
says is 'Nope'--"
Suddenly, Yessy jumped out of leb388's arms,
looked Jamez up and down, bit him on the toe and fiercely hung on. "Gah! Save
me from the wee Turdle!" he yelled helplessly, trying to shake Yessy off.
After a good thirty seconds, leb388 and I managed
to yank Yessy off Jamez.
"That thing's vicious," Jamez said, rubbing his
sore foot and eyeing Yessy as suspiciously as the Chia Police had eyed himself.
Keira walked back in with Keira, Lucy, and Conspicit.
"Thanks for hiding me," Thyme said quietly.
"No problem," I replied. "Now, about Lucy being
stolen. Conspicit? We could use some Poogle charm."
"Gimme a minute." Conspicit walked into the kitchen,
and we could hear dialing. "Yes, Darigan? Uh huh...listen, sorry about the whole
Negging-your-Citadel incident, but I need citizenship for someone--two people,
actually--including someone willing to fight for you if there's ever another
war. One is a stolen Drackonack, but the owner was just borrowing it. Can you
clear that up for me? No, not borrowing like 'Jamez-borrowing.' It was a Neopet
trying to nurse a hurt Drackonack soldier back to health. Sure I can put a good
word for you in the Evil Villain's Guild. Yeah, Panty and me are still friends.
Uh huh...okay. Thanks."
Conspicit walked back in and gave us a paws-up.
"That's all?" Thyme gasped.
"That's all. We'll escort you to the Darigan
Citadel, and after that Li, Keira, and I can try to locate your family. I need
to take down some information, though."
While Conspicit took down Thyme's owner's and
sister's names and other information, I tried to explain everything on to Keira.
She'd been trying to understand out what was going on.
"Thyme needed permission to own Lucy, so Conspicit
had to ask for it. And her family's gone for now, but we can find them."
"Like when Jamez disappears, and we find him?"
Keira asked, looking at me wide-eyed.
"Right." I'd wished she'd thought of a better
analogy, but you take what you get.
"All right, I'll Neomail you," Conspicit said
as he finished writing his notes. "Thyme, do you want to stay with us part of
the time? We're a bit crowded, but we can make do."
"No thanks, Conspicit. I needed a safe place
for Lucy. Thanks for all you've done, though. And--" she looked at me, Keira,
Yessy, our petpets, and leb388 (Jamez had taken some Bread and was long gone)--"thank
you, all of you, for your help."
"You're welcome," I replied.
As Thyme and her Drackonack were preparing to
go, I turned to leb388. "What do you think of Darigan now?" I asked.
"Still hate him," she responded.
"No, the Citadel. And its citizens."
"Well, Li...," she began, "as to the war--all
wars are bad. Bad things are done in the name of war. I don't regret what I
did. I don't blame Lucy for what he did. Sometimes we need to get up, realize
what's important, and move on. In the meantime, I have to go." She snapped her
fingers, the signal for transporting herself to her own world, and was gone.
I sighed and looked out the window to the drizzling
rain. "War is sad," I murmured quietly. "A lot of people are hurt by it. Do
you think Thyme's family will be okay? Conspicit?"
He was putting on his coat and opening the door.
"Li, it isn't our job to think. It's our job to find out. Keira, it's raining,
so take care of Yessy for leb388. Also, can you check on Artwo in a little while?"
"Okay, Unky Conspicit!" she said happily, trying
to cheer up the Turtum. Aretwo was Conspicit's Robot Buzzer.
"Keira, I'm your cousin, not your uncle," Conspicit
replied, exasperated.
Thyme and Lucy were outside, waiting for us.
"Okay, Unky Conspicit."
I looked at Keira, too, thinking of my Selket,
Boojah. "Can you check up on Boojah later, too? And... if it's not too much
trouble... try to clean up the mess you made in my room?"
Keira nodded. "I'm sorry I messed it up. I didn't
want to make you mad, Cousin Li."
"It's okay, Keira. I understand. Sometimes bad
things are done, but we need to get up, realize what's important, and move on."
I put on my coat and stepped out into the rain.
The End
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