There was no applause, no cheering, nothing. Well, not like that was to be expected. We weren't playing a big show. It was a small stage set up in the Coffee Shop in the catacombs under Neopia Central, and the only reason we even had this stage was because Zander, our bassist, was friends with the owner.

Lovely audience? Ha. Everyone was either in conversation with someone else or ignoring us as they drank their coffee. Hit song? Ha again. We haven't even recorded it yet.

Judging from the reaction, the audience didn't seem to be in the mood for an encore. "Thank you very much," I said again to the crowd, "We'll be here all week!"

Again, no reaction from the crowd. At least not a positive reaction. A Skeith in the back rolled his eyes at the statement and gave a sound like he had eaten something that disagreed with him.

Everyone's a critic.

We were off-stage minutes later, each of us carrying our instruments as we headed backstage. In this case, backstage here was the storeroom for the coffee shop. It wasn't the best, but it was something, and at least we each had a chair, if nothing else.

"This was a waste of time," Nex said, "We're never going to hit the big time if we play these low-key events. I think we need some new leadership here."

I shot Nex a dark look.

"A gig's a gig, Nex," Zander said, the Kougra putting his bass away and keeping me from saying something I would regret, "At least we got paid this time."

"Oh, good... we can stay at The Fleapit Motel instead of Cockroach Towers this week." Nex shot back.

"Ease off, Nex," I replied, "No one is making you stay."

"Pssh," Nex said, waving his hand toward me dismissively, "You guys need me."

As much as I'd hate to admit it, he was right. Nex was a jerk, but the Krawk was the best guitarist I had ever met. Plus, if he left, he'd take the drummer, Lini, with him. Those two were nearly inseparable, and its hard to have a band with just a singer and a bass player.

"Come on, Nex," Lini said. "Everyone starts at the bottom. No one starts off playing the big shows," the Shoyru added.

"Fine," Nex replied, "But how long have we been doing this? Almost a year now, isn't it?"

"It'll be a year in two weeks." I said.

"Well, happy anniversary to the Plushie Tycoons," Nex said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I wonder if we'll see a second year with you in charge of the band, Samuel."

I cringed a bit. Nex knew how much I hated being called my full first name. "It's Sam and you know it, Nex," I shot back.

"Easy, easy," Zander said, "No need for all this bickering."

"Yeah," Lini added, "Give it a rest. You never know. Tomorrow might be our big day. You never know when opportunity will knock."

As if on cue, someone started knocking on the door to the storeroom. All four of us turned to look at the door. The timing was just too perfect, but maybe Lini was right.

I had to know, so I got up to open the door...

"What is it?" Zander asked.

"Is it a throng of our adoring fans begging for our autographs?" Nex added sarcastically.

I bit my lip and tried to ignore Nex, but I could feel the anger rising up within me. "It's a note," I answered, "addressed to us. I wonder what it says?" Without waiting for any further invitation, I quickly tore open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. Clearing my throat, I read the letter aloud.

Plushie Tycoons,
My friends, I have heard your music and think that you are sensational. In fact, I think it's time for you to move beyond the small shows you have been performing and move into the limelight.

On the back of this note, you will find the address for my home. Please meet me tomorrow at 2:00 pm so we can address this matter further.

Gil

"Wow!" Lini gasped, "Do you think that this is for real?"

"I think it's just a prank," Nex replied.

"Either way, we have to check this out," I insisted, "It could be our chance of a lifetime!"

"But we're supposed to be playing here tomorrow at two," Zander said. "I had to really beg my friend to let us play, so I'd hate to back out now."

"It's not like anyone's going to miss us interrupting their coffee time," Nex snorted.

I couldn't believe it, but I was actually agreeing with Nex for once. No one would miss us, and we'd be foolish to pass up this chance.

"We have to go," I announced with confidence, "I'm sure tomorrow is going to change everything for us."

I didn't know how right I truly was at the time, but I would soon learn...

"Nice home," Nex muttered. I nodded blankly, too stunned to do anything else. This guy thought we were worth something? Wow.

"So, should we knock?" Lini asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Zander said, stepping forward and raising his paw. Before he could touch it, however, the gate creaked eerily and swung open.

"Please, we are expecting you," a voice said. I nearly jumped out of my skin, and from the looks of it the others were similarly startled -- even Nex looked a bit uneasy.

"Uh, right," I said. "We'll just, uh, we'll come in then... right, guys?" I gave Zander a nudge in the back to get him to start walking forward.

"This way, sirs," the voice said -- and this time we could see the desert Gelert that the voice belonged to, standing behind the gates with his head bowed subserviently. He didn't wait for a reply, but turned and started walking down the wide brick path.

"Sirs?" I heard Nex say to Lini. "I could get used to this place, you know."

I shuddered -- the whole thing gave me the creeps. If it wasn't for the promise of support for our band, of the Plushie Tycoons making it big time and maybe even playing in the Tyrannian Plateau Concert Hall -- if it wasn’t for all that, I'd have turned tail and run by now.

We followed the Gelert through a pair of doors as imposing as the gates had been -- and, I noticed, guarded by more glaring Seti statues.

"Wait here, sirs," the Gelert said. "The Master will be with you shortly." He bowed and left through the front doors, shutting them behind him.

"The Master?" Zander asked with forced calmness. "I feel like we’re on the space station waiting for Sloth or something..."

"Nah," I said, looking around the room at the various pots, pyramids, and ever-present Setis. "With all this desert stuff? It's more likely to be Jazan."

Zander and I caught each other's eye, then the sheer ridiculousness of the situation caught up with us and we burst into almost hysterical laughter. "Can -- can you believe it?" Zander asked between hiccoughing giggles. "Sam and Zander with their band from the shed, Jazan's personal musicians!"

"Will you two stop it?" Nex snarled. "You may belong in a shed, but some of us are actually decent musicians. If you muck this up by being the idiots you are, Fyora have mercy on you because I won't!"

"Hey, calm down Nex," I said, swallowing my laughter as much as I could. "We're not going to muck it up."

"And we're all in the same band, you know," Zander added. "You came from the same shed as we did, remember?"

"Regretfully," Nex sneered. I frowned and opened my mouth to answer, but just then the double doors swung open...

"And now, the act you've all been waiting for..."

A Poogle, with clothes several times too small for his pudgy body, slid through the door and into the spotlight. With a guitar slung over his shoulder and a microphone in hand, he looked like a Tyrannian Concert Hall reject, someone who had resorted to silly clothes to cope with the disappointment. His hair was much too big for his head, and slicked back with copious amounts of gel.

"Gilroy Fitzgerald... THE FOURTH!"

The Poogle -- Gil, I assumed -- waltzed his way over to our side. He was dressed in a spangly, studded, white pantsuit and platform boots, with a few tacky necklaces around his neck, all of which only added to the "Rising Star who never made it" look. He paused in front of me and threw the microphone in my direction. I only barely managed to catch it.

The spotlight focused on me, and I was suddenly aware that everyone in the room was staring... at me.

"Your turn!" Gil hissed.

"Me? What? Oh, uh..." I didn't know what to do. I thought fast. "Rare gems, rare gems... shiny, sparkly rare gems..."

I honestly wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing. Did he want me to sing? I didn't know what songs he liked. I sang the first few lines of "Rare Gems" and faded out halfway into the second verse.

"Hmm... not as good as you were in the coffee house, I'm afraid," Gil said sadly. "Oh well. No matter. A bit of warming up should fix things."

"Uh... thanks," Zander said. He glanced at the rest of us, as though saying, What's wrong with this weirdo?

"Why don't I find you a room?" Gil continued, in the same bouncy, energetic, voice. "Come with me, folks!"

He took Nex by the hand and dragged the Krawk toward the door. Nex, looking murderous, ripped his hand out from Gil's grip and instead turned to glare at me. I knew what he was thinking. "If anything goes wrong, it'll be your fault!"

What a jerk.

"In here!" Gilroy Fitzgerald twittered, opening a set of double doors that led into a bright, spacious, ballroom-type room. "I'll check up on you in a few hours and see what you've done!"

The four of us filed inside, and the door shut behind us. "Great," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "I guess it's time to get to work!"

Zander nodded and took out his guitar. "The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

Lini started setting up her drums, as I went through my vocal warmups. Only Nex wasn't doing anything.

"Nex," I said. "Shouldn't you be setting up?"

Nex looked at me, scornful, and laughed. "Oh, please. What's the use? It's going to end in failure anyway. I don't know if you've noticed, Samuel, but things you do tend to end in disaster."

"Hey," Zander said. "How about keeping your lips zipped and actually trying to help the band?"

"There's no use trying to help something that's already a disaster," Nex said smugly. "Let's face it. I'm the only one out of you losers that actually has any talent. Instead of telling me what to do, why don't you improve on your own 'musical ability'?"

The room went silent. Zander looked as though he wanted to throw something at the Krawk, and Lini was as white as a sheet.

I sighed. "Fighting won't accomplish anything. Let's just practice..."

"Fine with me," I replied.

After we finished setting up, we started practicing our first song. As always, there was a point where the music moved me so much that I was only vaguely aware of reality. I could hear our voices and instruments, but that was all that existed. It was at these times that I was truly happiest. Time passed by on silent yet swiftly moving feet.

Just after we finished the last few lyrics of "Mystery Island Madness," I became aware of a noise that I rarely heard -- clapping. I turned and saw our host was standing in the doorway of the room, and he was clapping clumsily with a broad smile upon his face. The Poogle had changed out of his pantsuit and was now wearing a silken robe that did not suit him well. It was as if his entire wardrobe was meant for someone else. Still, I smiled and was thankful for this appreciative audience of one.

"What did you think?" I asked.

"Wonderful!" he exclaimed, "Oh yes, you will be perfect. At least, one of you will."

"One of us?" Lini cried.

"Yes," Gil affirmed, pointing with a chubby paw at Nex. "You," he said, "have a great amount of talent and all the makings of a star. With your abilities, fame and fortune is just around the corner."

"We're a band," Zander said, "It's all of us or none of us."

"Don't be so hasty," Nex said, suddenly speaking up and walking over toward Gil.

"Are you serious, Nex?" Lini asked, but there was little need to ask the question. It was obvious that the Krawk was ready to move on the bigger and better things.

"The rest of you can go now," Gil said, waving his paws like he was trying to ward off some unpleasant smell. "Thank you for playing, but your services will no longer be needed."

On cue, the desert Gelert appeared and we were escorted out of the mansion and outside the gate that was shut behind us. We all stood there for a bit, trying to make sense of what had just happened, until Zander finally broke the silence.

"I can't believe it!" he yelled. "He betrayed us!"

"How could he do that?" Lini asked, and I could see the hurt clearly on her face. She had been friends with Nex since childhood, and I knew his rejection of the band hurt her the most.

"The bigger question is," I began, "What do we do now?"

"Easy," Zander answered, "We find another guitarist."

"But," I started to argue.

"We find another guitarist," Zander reiterated calmly, "And we'll start tomorrow. For now, everyone go home and get some rest. Okay?"

Lini and I reluctantly agreed. We all went our own ways and I returned to my home. It was so much smaller and less flashy than Gil's place, but it was mine and I felt comfortable there. I decided to relax my mind a bit, so I settled down on the sofa with a good book.

I hadn't gone more than a few pages when a knock on the door interrupted me. Sighing loudly, I walked over and opened the door -- only to see Nex standing there. Anger rose within me, and I started to tell him how I really felt when I noticed that he was very pale.

"Nex, what's wrong?" I asked.

He didn't answer at first. Without waiting for an invitation he stepped inside and took a seat in the nearest chair. He was trembling, as if freezing, and his eyes never strayed from the floor.

"What's wrong?" I repeated.

"He took it," Nex finally whispered.

"Took what?" I asked.

He slowly raised his head, and I saw tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. "He took my talent," he said, "All of it. I can't play anymore..."

"He used a some sort of ray," Nex whispered.

What?!? I knew Nex was probably not joking right now, but that sounded like something a victim of Dr. Sloth would say. Although he had stopped shaking and was now looking me in the eye, I could still hear the tiniest of trembling in his voice. I decided not to question what he'd just said, but instead let him carry on.

"After you guys left, he led me into a pitch black room," Nex choked. "I couldn't see anything, and then a beam of light was shot at me. I woke up and, for some reason, I just felt talentless. I felt like I was useless, you know?" He then began sobbing uncontrollably.

This was the first time I had ever seen Nex cry. Usually I just felt anger toward him, but now I pitied him.

"You know?" he repeated, staring at me through teary eyes, obviously waiting for a comforting reply.

I nodded. Although this was the craziest thing I had ever heard, deep down I knew he was telling the truth. I decided to change the subject.

"So, have you told the others?"

"No, not yet. I just don't think I could face Lini after what I did. Can you come with me to see her?"

"Sure," I agreed. "We can then go tell Zander, too."

"He WHAT?!?" Zander spluttered, almost choking on the Florange juice he'd been drinking.

I could understand his reaction. After all, this probably wouldn't be the sort of thing an ordinary music band would hear everyday.

"He's telling the truth, Zander," I confirmed. "I know he is."

"Are you sure he wasn't zapped with a stupidity ray instead?" he joked.

I shook my head and stared him straight in the eyes. His grinning expression quickly faded and was replaced by shock.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Nex. I didn't know you were--"

"I need to apologise, too. I'm sorry I ran out on you all," he mumbled.

This is what I wish Nex could always be like. It was as if, by losing his talent, he had become a completely different Neopet. I smiled.

"Apology accepted!" Lini said with a grin, giving Nex a warm hug.

"Okay, now that the heartwarming is done, what should we do?" Zander questioned, putting down his empty glass on the table in front of him.

"Isn't it obvious?" I replied confidently. "We're going to go and get back Nex's talent!"...

"So, how do we get in?" Zander asked, his eyes betraying a lack of confidence. "I mean, we were invited before, but this time..." The Kougra looked at the latch on the iron gates and continued, "It's not like we can just knock and wait for someone to answer and then say, 'Yes, we're just here to get back the talent that you stole from our friend with a strange ray.' I mean, knocking would be ridiculous, right?"

As he said this, Zander gave the gate several light taps with his paw, and the nervousness in his face turned to shock as the gates made a faint clicking sound and swung smoothly open.

Lini jumped back to avoid being swept along with the gate and said in a low voice, "I think maybe someone is expecting us."

My three bandmates looked at me warily, and as I had always been their leader on stage, I knew that it was up to me to take charge now as well.

"Well," I said in a voice that I hoped sounded more confident than I felt, "expected or not, we came to do a job, to get back Nex's talent, and we're not leaving until we do."

I felt a hand grasp my shoulder and turned to face Nex.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," he said earnestly. "I don't know if I can let you guys put yourselves into any danger."

I placed my own hand over his reassuringly and said, "We're the Plushie Tycoons, and we're nothing without you and your guitar. We'd be in more danger if we let this Gil character rob Neopia of your gifts -- we'd be in danger of succumbing to mediocrity, to obscurity, to a lifetime of sitting around the shed wondering about what might have been."

Lini and Zander stepped forward and placed their own hands on top of ours, and just for a moment, I had that feeling that I got onstage, when the music is blending perfectly and I can't tell where my voice ends and Nex's guitar begins; when Lini's drums and Zander's bass not only echo my own heartbeat, but become the force that pumps my blood, that moves my muscles, that propels my voice. I stood there, for I don't know how long, in a place outside of time, and felt my resolve building: This will work.

We broke apart and moved as a unit toward the front doors of the mansion. At a touch, they too moved apart as easily as the gates and we entered onto the marble-tiled foyer. From a room high above us, we could hear a guitar being played. It sang and reverberated throughout the empty spaces like an echo chamber and brought tears to my eyes with its pure and perfect voice. I dared not look at Nex again, for I could only imagine what loss he felt.

We climbed the staircase, steadily but stealthily, wondering why we had not been stopped by servants; wary of plots and traps. Closer we drew to the open door at the end of the hallway where Nex's signature licks and tricks were being played with perfect form. We stood hard against the wall beside the open door, waiting for some unknown signal to tell us when to cross over the boundary, and just as I felt it was time to burst through, a sight to my right caused me to shake my head to make sure I wasn't hallucinating:

Coming jauntily down the hallway was Gil, now dressed in a jumpsuit made of bubbles. I stared closer, thinking that they must be balloons, but no, the glistening, soapy surface of each perfect sphere could only be actual bubbles. As I stared, bubbles on the outside of the garment eventually burst with a faint pop and new bubbles grew up from under to replace them. The Poogle smiled broadly as he approached and said, "Ah, good, good."

"Wait a minute," I said, still shaking my head at the sight of this fashion wonder. "I thought that was you playing the guitar in there... aren't you the guy in charge around here?"

"Oh no, no, no," Gil said with a giggle. "Why don't you have a look?"

I kept my back to the wall as my senses were twitching with danger warnings and craned my neck toward the doorway. My jaw dropped when I saw who was in the room, wailing away on Nex's guitar...

Gil giggled, smiling so widely that his facial muscles were visibly straining. "I really couldn't care less about you!" he chirped. Gil then hopped over to the Poogle, putting a pudgy arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry," Gil announced. "You know how show business goes. I'm disappointed, Nex," he continued, eyes shining. "New talents come... younger Neopets, you know... and old talents get kicked to the curb."

"You won't get away with this!" Lini cried, her eyes furious. "You--"

"Meet my protégé," Gil shouted over her voice. "Nil." The younger Poogle smiled just then, a creepy and malicious sort of smile. This time, I couldn't suppress the shivers that ran down my spine.

"Give back my talent, you thief!" Nex hissed. As I turned over to Nex, I noticed a new change in his expression. It was an expression that I saw rarely. Nex was mad. He was very mad.

In the heat of the moment, I wondered what Nex was planning to do. How were we going to get back his talent? We had confronted Gil and Nil. Now what? What if the change was permanent? I shot a look at Lini and Zander. Zander only exchanged a helpless look similar to mine, but it only took one glance at Lini to know that she had found out something that was to our advantage.

"Oh, really? What are you going to do?" Gil answered in a high-pitched voice, widening his eyes in mock fright. He covered his eyes with his two chubby hands. "Oh, what am I going to do? I'm SO scared."

Lini made eye contact with me. She first twisted her head towards Nex, then pointed her head toward something else. I followed her gaze. At the back of the room, there was a closet. It was ajar. The closet was pitch black, but there were some wires leading from it. There was also a pointed metal end sticking out near the ground from the closet, similar to a point you'd find on the end of a laser. I suppressed a smile.

Lini and I quickly communicated our discovery to Zander. Eyes glinting, he answered with a swift nod.

"Oh, I'm sure," Nex said, suddenly calm. "Because I know something that you do not know."

"Oh?" Gil sniffed. "And what is that?"

In one swift move, we all sprung into action...

Lini raced for the closet. Zander pounced on Nil, who went down with a terrified yet melodious yelp. I lunged at Gil, Nex alongside me with all the rage of bereavement.

Nex grinned down at Gil's suddenly-terrified face. "I know," he said, "that even if this band doesn't have a lot of musical talent--"

"Hey!" I yelped.

Nex ignored me. "--They're really pretty brilliant."

Gil and Nil had been fine in a two-on-one fight when they were the ones with the advantage. Caught off guard with the odds the other way, they didn't do so well. We tied them up, and Lini rattled out a cheerful rhythm as she worked out how to hook up the talent-stealing machine.

"You all right?" I asked Nex, quietly, as Lini and Zander put together the connections. "Nervous?" Same machine, untested hands...

He shut his eyes. "A little... more than a little ashamed of myself."

"Because you left us?" I shouldn't have rubbed it in, but hey... nobody's perfect.

"Because you didn't leave me."

I smiled a little. "Hey. We need somebody with talent in this band." I then offered him a bite of my potato.

"Hey," Lini said. "You ready?"

Nex took a deep breath. "Yeah."

Lini flipped the switch.

It was surprisingly quiet. Just as well, considering we had to work fast and as quietly as possible in case Gilroy Fitzgerald the Fourth's servants heard us.

The machine made no sound.

Nil whimpered.

Nex gasped.

He then unhooked himself and got up, moving like himself again, dancing and laughing aloud. "I'm back!" He picked up Lini and swung her around into a hug. "I'm back."

"So, what do we do now?" Zander asked. "How many Neopets have they done this to? Well?" he added to Gil.

Gil shrugged. "Lost count."

"All these stolen talents," Zander said.

There was a collective, longing pause.

All these stolen talents. Nil and Gil certainly didn't deserve them. No easy way of returning them to their original owners. And us here, waiting for a chance.

Waiting for a break.

I wanted them so badly it hurt. Looking around at my friends, I could see they did, too. Hunger, thirst, aching, aching.

I swallowed, opened my mouth. Choked a little. It hurt to say, but I had to. "All those," I repeated, "stolen talents."

That broke the spell. We all sighed, shifted, looked away from each other.

Nex, to my surprise, pulled away the gag from our host's mouth, and Gil laughed, shrill and angry. "You wanted it. You wanted it. See, you're no better than I am."

"We didn't take it," Nex said, kneeling before the bound Poogle. "Now. I want a list of your past... proteges."

"And why should I tell you anything?"

"Because my sister runs a rumor column in The Neopian Times," Nex said. "She's been looking for material."

Gil swallowed. "Okay, then."

So we got the list... and we eventually got back to the coffee shop and apologized to Zander's friend, although we didn't get another gig there until the band they'd booked to replace us had moved on.

Well, we were busy anyway. It took a while to get the talents distributed back to their proper owners. Time to find them, time to convince them to get near the machine again.

Way too much time in the worst rooms the Neolodge had to offer.

Still...

Talent matters.

But loving music enough for devoted practice, enough to figure out where you could do better and work at it, will get you a long way. Also, it doesn't hurt to have better taste than to dress in fancy magic soap bubbles a few sizes too tight, either.

We're probably never going to play at the Tyrannian Concert Hall... but we did make it to the Campfire in the Catacombs.

And you know what?

We've got an awesome guitarist.

The End