Also by adoriblelapin
“Eep,” squeaked Miff, looking around her.
The room was brightly lit by Faerie magic, a
large table in the center of the room. Chairs lined up at the sides, allowing
the guests to seat themselves.
The Faerie Queen walked in swiftly, the rim of
her purple dress trailing behind her. She spoke firmly and importantly, “We
have just received the news that The Book is located somewhere in Maraqua.”
She paused, looked around the room and asked,
“Who brought the Pant Devil?!”
Blizzy raised her fin. “He’s gonna be a good
Pant Devil for the time being. I’ll take full responsibility for his actions
if he’s not.”
The Faerie Queen eyed the Pant Devil suspiciously
and continued speaking. “As Maraqua is several hundred square meters, I will
be dividing the area up between all of you. You will be split into pairs of
one water Neopet and one land Neopet.” For the first time, Blizzy noticed that
there was the same amount of water dwellers as there were land dwellers. Fyora
continued, “My assistants are handing out your assignments as I speak.” Some
Chias were walking around handing out pieces of paper to each Neopet.
“Whoever finds the book is to radio back to me
immediately. No one is to touch it. Understand? NO ONE.” She stared at
everyone of the pets sitting at the table. They nodded.
***
Down Near Maraqua, all the pets were getting ready to split up.
“Okay Miff, here’s how it’s gonna go down. You’re
going to stand right here and I’m gonna dive down. You’ll hold on to this end
of the rope and the other end attached to me. I’ll pull on it if I’ve found
the book. When I pull on it, that’s your cue to radio Fyora that we’ve found
it.”
Miff shivered. “But what if you don’t come back
up? What if you get too close to the book or touch it? What if the radio runs
out of batteries? What if—”
The Pant Devil rolled his eyes. “Is she always
like this?” he asked.
“Only when she’s breathing,” Blizzy laughed.
***
Blizzy dived in. The water was a bit murky at the top, but after she got about
5 feet down, Blizzy could see almost perfectly. It was wonderful down here.
She’d forgotten how much she loved the ocean. She did a couple of twirls is
the clear, cool water. The she remembered that she had a mission. She could
just barely see the bottom of the water. The Flotsam flapped her fins wildly
trying to glide to the bottom.
As she got closer and closer to the bottom, she
could see the ruins of Maraqua. The view became clearer and clearer the closer
she got. After what seemed an eternity she hit the bottom. Some little fish
were swimming around what looked like the ruins of an old building. Blizzy began
searching for the book. She shifted the old ruins around.
Around an hour and a half later, Blizzy sat down.
“It’s not here,” she said to a small black and blue spotted fish swimming by.
The fish seemed to frown at her.
“Hmm… what’s that?” Blizzy saw an eerie green
glow coming from a tall patch of seaweed. She swam over to it to see what was
there. Moving away the seaweed she noticed a stone figure. It was a statue,
but it wasn’t glowing. So where was the glow coming from? Blizzy walked around
the base of the statue, which was enormous in size. The glow got stronger.
Squinting her eyes tightly, Blizzy neared the
light cautiously. She swam closer to the statue, near enough for it to be in
her reach. The statue was of a Faerie, an infuriated stone, just glaring at
her.
The Flotsam retreated back, before she noticed
a red amulet floating in front of the statue.
Touch it, touch it. Hold it, hold it. Take
it, take it, a voice hissed at her. Blizzy shook her head wildly. A shiver
ran down her spine, as she sensed something creeping behind her. She whirled
around quickly, only the find the Chiazilla standing in front of her.
“Roar!” it raged, stomping on the sea floor.
Blizzy squeaked and swan swiftly toward shore.
She arrived, panting heavily, trying to explain what had just happened between
her gasps of air. “Chi – a – zill – a,” she stammered. “In – the – water.”
“Oh no! I should have guessed as much!” fretted
Miff fearfully. “What if he comes up and eats us? Worse, what if he rips up
The Book so that the magic bind is broken and the evil creatures can rampage
around Neopia and—”
The Pant Devil glanced at Miff. “That’s supposed
to be a good thing for me,” he stated. She gave him a pleading look, then he
sighed. “Alright, alright! I’ll get him!”
A piercing sound of a whistle escaped the Pant
Devil’s mouth, and from the sea the Chiazilla emerged. He roared angrily and
swapped at the air in front of him. The air punches missed the trio by a long
shot, and so, none of them but Miff was worried.
“I’ll distract him,” said the Pant Devil as
bravely as he could, although his voice shook as he said it. “You guys just
go down there and get the book.”
***
“Pantyyy!” cried the fearful Miff, as Blizzy dragged her in the water. “Blizzy!
Blizzy!” she said, trying to swim. “I can’t swim! And the Pant Devil was hit!
He was hit! What if Chiazilla goes after us and hits us too—”
“Oh borovan! That’s right, you can’t swim!” Blizzy
cursed. She pulled Miff back to land. “Good thing I brought this along.” The
Flotsam pulled a scuba suit out of her bag.
“It looks a little small…” Miff griped. She put
it on anyway. “It’s squishing my taaaail!” she moaned.
“Come on!” Blizzy said, jumping in and pulling
her underwater.
The two swam around, as Blizzy searched for the
statue again. Miff held her hand; afraid she might drown. Blizzy definitely
heard a voice… but perhaps her mind was just playing with her. She decided not
to mention any of this to Miff, just in case she brainstormed some possible
causes for it.
The sea was a deep aqua blue, the seaweed rushing
back and forth, flowing in the water. Coral filled much of the ground, as underwater
Petpets swam through the deep blue sea.
Miff pointed suddenly, for in front of them was
the statue. By her feet was what they were searching for.
“Arg! We can’t touch it, remember?” Blizzy said.
“Oh piffle, as Al the Chia would say. So what now?”
The two pets thought for a few minutes. “Can
you stay here for about five minutes?” Blizzy said. Miff nodded unsure. Blizzy
swam to the surface.
At the top of the water the battle was still
raging. Blizzy crawled along the land back to their bag. She pulled the radio
out and hit that ‘Talk’ button. “Attention! Attention! I’ve found the book!
I repeat, I’ve found the book! Send reinforcements, because we’ve got a problem!
Chiazilla!”
***
Back in Faerieland, Fyora was getting the troops ready.
“Okay, the book has been located. We’re going in! You all are going to get
rid of Chiazilla, while I retrieve the book.” She led her army of faeries to Maraqua
while she spoke. “You will have to use your powers to stun him or something,”
Fyora sounded unsure of herself for once.
Fyora and the rest of the faeries got to Maraqua
and found Blizzy. “Where is it?” Fyora asked, referring to the book.
“Down near a statue which is stuck in some seaweed.
I’ve had Miff guarding it.”
“Watch out,” Fyora warned and she waved her
arm. In a whirl of her arm a fog filled the air and she glowed with a purple
tint. A bubble seemed to envelop her and she descended to the bottom of the
sea. Blizzy jumped in after her.
The bubble kept Fyora dry and allowed her to
speak to Blizzy without drowning. They found Miff, who was all curled up next
to the statue looking very nervous.
“Are you oka--” began Blizzy, when Fyora motioned
for them to be quiet. She raised her arm and bubbled the book. She started to
float toward the surface and motioned for the two pets to follow her.
The two followed her, reaching the surface. Fyora
used her magic, and a sweet-smelling powder came from her hands, as Blizzy and
Miff fell into a deep sleep. The last thing they saw was the Pant Devil hovering
proudly above them.
Several Months Later…
“Pant Devil!” shouted Blizzy, summoning him.
“Here are the new Battledome items I promised you.” She handed him a set of
weapons, and he grinned mischievously before leaving their backyard.
Blizzy went back inside her NeoHome, sighing.
Miff was propped at the dining table, deeply interested in a book.
“Can you believe it?” Blizzy began slowly, sitting
herself on a chair of the table. Miff looked up from her book. “Just a few months
ago, we were living outside, afraid of everything.”
Miff nodded in response. There was a soft rap
at the door and unfamiliar whispers. Miff fell off her chair. Blizzy smiled.
“I wonder who that could be...”
The End
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