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Fate can play tricks on people every now and then. A bit of strange chance
can result in the most wild and improbable situations. In this case, unbeknownst
to us, fate was setting up what would be the greatest laugh of the century on
the Dragon Thieves.
MIRACLESTAR WASN'T THE only one who attempted to steal from the dragon. Child_dragon
had also, but in her case she was merely reclaiming the Essence. Now a third
thief was venturing up the frozen peaks of the dragon's mountain, climbing for
the summit and to the cave and treasures untold. The yellow Eyrie walked slowly,
waiting for her owner, a skinny girl with brown hair. The two were tired from
climbing, but determined.
"Are we almost there?" the Eyrie asked.
"I think so, Starjumper…." she replied.
The Eyrie nodded and kept plodding through the
snow.
"Are you okay, Invictus?"
"Yeah…. I'm fine…."
The two continue up to the cave, eager to see
the treasures inside. The Eyrie crept inside first, scouting out to see if the
dragon was there or not. With a startled gasp, she raced back out of the cave
to where her owner leaned against the cave entrance, out of breath.
"The dragons gone! We're in luck!"
With a grin, the girl followed her pet inside.
The two surveyed the massive pile of treasure in awe.
"C'mon, grab some stuff," Starjumper exclaimed,
snatching up the nearest items and shoving them in a bag.
"Starjumper…." Invictus said worriedly, staring
at the even larger entrance at the back of the cave.
"What?"
"I hear something large…. Very large, coming
towards us…."
The Eyrie froze in her plundering, staring in
fear at the direction of the sound.
"Uh oh… the dragons coming back," she whispered
in fright.
"Let's go!"
The two raced for the entrance of the cave, their
hearts in their throats. Invictus skidded to a stop at the entrance of the side
cave, then as Starjumper stopped besides her, leaped onto the Eyrie's back.
"Okay, let's go," she ordered, and the yellow
Eyrie leaped into the air, the girl hanging on for dear life, and a bag of treasure
clenched tightly in furred paws.
***
The ride back down to their house in Neopia Central was a strained one. Invictus
kept looking back over her shoulder, certain she'd see the wrathful outline
of a dragon any second, spewing flame and chasing them through the evening sky.
But for the moment they were safe.
"We shouldn't of done this," she moaned when
they landed.
"Oh, c'mon Invictus," the Eyrie replied. "We're
richer than our wildest dreams, don't be silly. The dragon will never notice,
nothing to worry about. We sell the treasure, and enjoy being filthy rich."
The girl sighed.
"I guess you're right. Now, let's go inside
and get this stuff sorted out, we can sell it in the morning."
***
The dragon sat in his cave, waiting. He'd noticed that some treasure was missing,
and was quite unhappy about that. But he wasn't about to go after the thieves
himself, no, he had others to do that for him. Finally, he heard faint wing
beats. An air faerie flew over and hovered just above the dragon's snout, waiting
expectantly.
"Ahh, Diganis, good of you to come," the dragon
purred.
"Of course I came," the faerie snapped. "Now,
dragon, what do you want?"
"Some thieves have finally succeeded in stealing
from my hoard. Find them and tell me where the treasure is."
"That's it?" the faerie questioned. "I'm surprised."
"That's it Diganis. I'm sure I'll find more
things for you to do later though."
"Thanks, dragon. It's much appreciated," she
replied sarcastically, than with a flutter of light blue wings, vanished from
the cave.
***
Invictus rose bright and early the next morning, banging on Starjumper's door
until the Eyrie awoke also.
"Hurry up, we're gonna sell this stuff today!"
The Eyrie sighed and wondered into the kitchen,
absently shoving the treasure they'd sorted the night before in a bag.
"All right, you go scope out prices, I'll go
get a trade set up on Mystery Island," Invictus said, taking the bag from the
yellow Eyrie.
"Sounds good to me," she murmured in reply.
Invictus walked along the grassy paths of Mystery
Island, headed for the Trading Post. The bag was heavy, and she was starting
to regret not having Starjumper take this stuff to the Trading Post. Suddenly
she heard an evil snicker and turned, catching her foot on a rock and falling
onto her back. The Pant Devil zoomed out and snatched the bag up, still cackling
evilly.
"No!" Invictus shrieked from her spot on the
ground, watching with tears in her eyes as the Pant Devil flew off with their
riches.
***
"So how'd you wind up with that stuff?" the air faerie asked with a disapproving
frown.
"None of your business," the Pant Devil snarled,
hovering a couple feet off the ground.
"Yes, it is my business. You know the dragon
in the Terror Mountain range? That's his stuff."
The Pant Devil was silent for a long time.
"Well, I wouldn't want to be on his bad side…."
he said slowly. "But on the other hand…"
And without another word, the Pant Devil took
off into the sky, laughing insanely.
"Hey!" Diganis shouted, flying after him.
The Pant Devil flew over the residential area
of Faerieland, then tossed the bag into a random backyard. It landed near a
fire Zafara, who stared at the bag quizzically.
"Ha ha!" the Pant Devil laughed, and took off
again, the faerie in pursuit.
"Where is it?" she demanded, finally cornering
him.
"In a fire Zafara's possession," he replied
smugly.
Diganis was silent for a long time.
"I couldn't make it easy for you, now could
I?" the Pant Devil smirked, than vanished with a soft pop.
Diganis sighed and started flying low over Faerieland,
looking for a fire Zafara. Soon she found the Zafara, rummaging through the
bag. She looked for a long time, then noted the address and flew off for Neopia
Central. She'd find out who this was, then report back to the dragon. That was
all he asked her to do, after all.
To be continued...
Note: I would like to thank Invictus92889 for volunteering herself and her
pet, Starjumper92889, to be in this story. Even if I did change the names around
some. | 
