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Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau, American author, poet and philosopher
-1 week later-
It was 3 am, and Illusen was awake. Something was bothering
her.
"It couldn't be true, it hasn't even been proved
yet… but if it is…"
She tossed and turned anxiously, her foggy mind
trying to discern a rational thought. But the same phrase kept echoing through
her mind…
"The Order…"
******
"Tell me Mulgurg, how old were you when your mother decided it was a good
idea to replace your brains with cement?" Furg snapped.
The Grundo remained silent.
"Well!?"
"I don't know… sir."
The words were forced. Mulgurg and his brother
Zrax went through this more than twice a day now, ever since they had failed
in their last mission. Mulgurg ground his teeth. Everyone believed him and Zrax
to be nothing more than ignorant brutes without any other thoughts besides what
was for dinner. This wasn't true. Mulgurg had purposely let the Aisha escape,
so they could get out on honorable discharge.
Being discharged was the only way a member of
DFSA (Dr. F. Sloth's Army) could leave once they were drafted. Unless they escaped,
which was unheard of. It had been a mistake in the first place to join, Mulgurg
knew it. The ads had promised adventure and visits to exotic places, plus a
paycheck. It had sounded like a dream job, but it turned out to be the opposite.
Locked in a shuttle with nothing to eat but nameless
grey muck breakfast, lunch and dinner, in close quarters with loutish morons
who broke out in fights with one another nearly every day, and not a book in
the whole place. Just technical manuals, and even those were reserved solely
for the pilot and computer engineers.
Mulgurg longed for a book, any book. He missed
them even more than a home-cooked meal, and that was saying a lot. But he never
said a word. He didn't dare… yet.
"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this,"
Furg announced, "but I'm sending you blockheads back out again. But if you mess
up this time, I'll have your brains for breakfast. If you have any."
"Yes, sir."
******
"Vai, we've been here three weeks. They can't still be following us."
"And what makes you such an expert?"
"We can't stay here forever."
"Why not?"
"Illusen is a wonderful person, but she won't
want us around forever. You don't want to be a burden, do you? And what about
Mom? What will she think when she comes home in two weeks and we aren't there?"
Vai sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "I don't
know… we'll tell her we've been attacked by aliens."
Keagn groaned and rolled his eyes. "Okay, tell
you what. We'll go on a shopping trip this afternoon when lots of pets are around,
and if nothing happens we can go home. Deal?"
Vai thought for a moment, and then, "Deal."
******
Zrax adjusted the strap on his Qazar 3000, the best stun weapon DFSA could
provide. Audrilene was famous for her gel coolant technology, and of course
when her patented blasters came out on the market, Sloth snapped them up like
hotcakes. The model he had was arm length with a hair trigger and diamond coated
blue chrome.
Zrax detested it.
Usually he loved weapons, but not ones with the
Sloth logo engraved into the barrel. Everything Sloth touched was poison as
far as Zrax was concerned.
Although Zrax was an intelligent creature, he
was not near as peace loving as his brother. When he wanted revenge, he got
it. And considering the fact Zrax was a solid 7 feet tall and in a perpetual
bad mood, very few pets had the guts to get him that mad.
Except for Sloth; it was Zrax's greatest dream
to grind a bowl of "breakfast surprise" into the hated villain's face. Instead
he was taking orders from him.
Right now that order was to find the Aisha he
should have caught last week. He would have, if his brother hadn't been distracting
him with mindless escape plans. It had finally made him lose the trail.
Of course, Zrax had thought about deserting,
but that was near impossible. Mulgurg still thought it possible, but Zrax had
given up. He was stuck working for someone he had never met and still thoroughly
detested, but it didn't matter to him anymore. Just follow orders, and forget
about anything else. It wasn't worth the anger.
"We have a new video feed; she's been tracked
to Illusen's Glade, due west of here," Zrax grunted. Right now, they were resting
against a tree near the edge of the Glade, going over the briefing again.
Mulgurg shrugged. "But…"
"Yes Mulgurg, I am sure. It doesn't matter anyway,
Aishas are a Neopoint a dozen. And we won't have to kill her, just bring her
back to the ship."
Mulgurg looked apprehensive, but nodded.
"We'd better hurry, Furg doesn't like slackers."
Zrax rose, and disappeared into the trees. Mulgurg
sighed, but followed, feeling a lot more than sorry for the poor Aisha…
******
Illusen scrubbed dishes over the sink, humming softly. She was worried about
Vai and Keagn; they had been through a lot in a short time. Keagn seemed to
have recovered, but Vai was upset as ever. And why shouldn't she be?
Illusen thought, especially with what she's got coming for her…
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
Illusen undid her apron as she walked to it, muttering, "Lousy questers, why
can't they bother some other Earth Faerie for a day?"
Slipping the apron off and hanging it on the
coat stand, she unlocked the door. In a moment, she regretted it.
Two huge Grundos filled the doorway, blocking
the light. The one closest to her grinned, and held up a strange weapon.
"Hello, Illusen. I don't think you'll mind if
we relieve you of a few guests."
Illusen didn't even have time to gasp when a
sedative dart flew into the side of her neck. The world spun, and went black…
******
"Look, Keegs. You've been cloned."
Vai grinned, holding up a Sloth Faerie doll.
Keagn growled.
"Ha ha, I'm laughing."
The marketplace was bustling with Neopian life,
streets packed to the breaking point with all species of pet and an assortment
of owners. Right now, the three pets we have come to know were standing under
the awning of a toy shop, finishing off hot dogs. Katanya was wiping her mouth
on the sleeve of her black sweatshirt, now stained with cheese and mustard.
The hood was up, and it hid all of the Aisha's features from sight, except for
her mouth. Vai pulled the hood further down over Katanya's face, glancing around
for anyone who looked menacing. She checked her watch and said, "I'm going to
visit SanLin. Can you take Kitty, and I'll meet you back at Battle Magic in
about an hour?"
Keagn nodded, and Vai headed off to the bazaar.
SanLin was a very old Nimmo who owned a shop
near the edge of Central, and those who knew her guessed that she had been in
Neopia before the Space war, and even the Tyrannian Land war. Vai loved the
shop; the way the dim light would cast strange shadows on the walls, the dusty
items atop even dustier shelves, and the way it was always the perfect temperature,
despite the weather outside.
In the time she had known the old Nimmo, Sanlin
had become like a grandmother to Vai. Wise and not one to mince words over sore
subjects. And for a shy Aisha like Vai, that was the best thing possible.
As Vai entered the shop, she caught the familiar
whiff of something sweet and dusty in the air… Vai didn't even ask to know what
it was, she already knew. SanLin's shop always smelled like magic. Vai went
to the counter and rang the service bell, and after an age, the sound of a cane
tapping along the floor was heard.
"Hello, Vai. I haven't seen you in months. What's
the occasion?" SanLin asked, leaning on her cane.
"Not much. Just wondering about that Asparagus
Powered Ray Gun you had when I was here last…"
SanLin smiled wryly, Nimmo eyes glittering in
the half light.
"I see. Keagn out of hand again?"
"Something like that."
Sanlin picked the item in question off of a shelf,
and handed it to Vai.
"It's on the house, love."
Vai blushed and shook her head. "You don't have
to…"
"But I already have. Now, you came here to talk
about something. What was it?"
Vai couldn't help a grin. She swore that Nimmo
could read minds.
"Just some… stuff. Weird stuff."
"Weird stuff? Don't insult me Vai, I know you
aren't that inarticulate."
Vai felt a twinge of fear. She shook it off;
no one could hear her now. But SanLin noticed.
"Is this about your birthday, dear?"
Vai jumped. Her birthday! She had forgotten completely
in light of everything else, and now she had only 3 days until it came.
"No, no it's not that. I forgot about my birthday,
actually."
"I doubt that."
Vai ignored the comment.
"Actually, I wanted to know if you knew someone
who knows about Alien Aishas."
Sanlin raised an eyebrow, but replied,
"Yes… if you mean besides myself. There is a
Faerie I know, she lives on Terror Mountain. Been around even longer than I
have. Anything you need to know, she can tell you. Only trouble is, she's very
hard to find…"
Vai was interested immediately.
"What's her name? What kind of Faerie is she?
Did she fight in the Space War? Where…"
SanLin held up a silencing finger.
"All I know is that she lives in the Ice Caves.
Besides that, you're on your own."
Vai was about to continue asking questions, but
her eyes fell on a clock on one of the shelves. She had five minutes to meet
Keagn! With a rushed goodbye, she dashed out.
SanLin sighed, and watched her go. Maybe I
should have told her, she thought, but she wouldn't have believed me,
anyway. No… let her find out by herself. She will anyway…
To be continued...
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