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Eternity
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
George Santayana, Philosopher, poet, literary and cultural
critic
Vai felt a trickle of sweat run down her cheek. She was
still gasping, trying to breathe despite the unbearable pain squeezing at every
nerve in her body. Vai could not remember the last time she had screamed like
that. Maybe never. She didn't dare look at her hand, for fear of what she might
see. Sloth dropped the smoking coal back into the fire, and laughed.
"You must think I'm raving mad, don't you? Well,
I have news for you…"
Sloth replaced the tongs, and settled back into
his chair.
"I am. In fact, that is the only way I have
managed to survive all this time. If I was completely sane right now, you would
not be here, and neither would I."
Vai said nothing, her face as blank as she could
make it. She did not want her hatred to show through just yet. Sloth sighed,
and shook his head sadly.
"I suppose, before I kill you, it is only fair
that I tell you why."
So that was it. He was finished with her. Only
a few more minutes of stalling time, and it was over. But maybe, she still had
one spark of a plan left…
"First, a history lesson. A century ago, during
the Space War, the Space Faerie thought it wise to go against me and my army
of mutants. Of course, she did not calculate on what kind of a threat I would
be. When the war was over, she made a decision; she would need help if she was
to keep the evils above Neopia at bay. So, she chose five pets to each represent
one of five elements: fire, water, light, darkness and earth, and blessed them
with the ability to control that element so they could aid her in protecting
Neopia. Of course, you know that because of people like your owner coming up
and stealing my Grundos, she eventually was able to divert my mutation ray."
Sloth grimaced, looking like the memory alone
was painful.
"Because she was so weakened from a combination
of doing such powerful magic, and her fight with me, she regressed back into
a basic form of which we do not know…yet. So, Neopia was at peace for so many
years that the five pets, now known amongst themselves as the Order of Eternity,
slipped into a sort of limbo until trouble arose once again."
Sloth paused to relish the look on Vai's face,
but was disappointed as he saw that the same expressionless glare was written
on it. He continued;
"Part of being one of the Order was an invisible
rune written on the back of each pets hand. This rune was different on all of
them, representing their element. The only time the rune was visible was when
they were Summoned; a process alerting them to a direct threat to Neopia's well
being. Only the Earth element pet could summon them, and this was a painful
operation. Therefore, it only took place when Neopia was in immediate peril.
They had been instructed to drop whatever they were doing when they identified
that signal, and proceed immediately to a secret meeting place where it is said
they would send for the Space Faerie herself."
Vai said nothing. Her eyes were vacant, and her
face as blank as a sheet of paper. No one had the good sense, however, to look
at her hands…
Sloth shrugged.
"Once the rune appears, it won't go away until
the threat to Neopia, namely me, is incapacitated. Since I am still here, this
makes it easier for my assassins to track down the other four members of the
Order, and destroy them too. Thank you for your help, Anevai. You've been lovely
company."
Sloth gestured for the Mutant Grundo who had
been waiting near the door, and he lumbered in. Drawing a non-stun pistol, he
took aim at Vai's ribcage, and fired.
******
Keagn banged on the oaken door to the Snow Faerie's dwelling, Flame and his
brothers a few yards away, hidden behind a drift. Breathing heavily, he waited
until the Faerie opened the door. Her pretty face looked confused for a moment,
then bored.
"What do you want? A quest? Okay, I want you
to bring me three…"
"I don't want a quest," Keagn panted, "I need
to borrow your cloud racer."
"My cloud racer? No way, I just washed and waxed
it yesterday, and you think I'm going to lend it to some sweaty Lupe kid? Dream
on!"
"But my sisters… they need my help!"
The Faerie just laughed, a tinkling sound that
reminded Keagn of sleigh bells.
"Do I look like I care? Now go away." She began
to retreat back into her home.
"I'll pay you!"
The Faerie turned around.
"How much?"
Keagn took out his wallet.
"How much do you want?"
******
Keagn looked at the cloud racer, to the keys in his hand, back to the racer.
The Snow Faerie tossed a bag of Neopoints from one elegant hand to the other.
"When you bring it back, there better not be
one scratch, got it?"
"Got it."
Keagn climbed into the plush white leather seat,
and put the key in the ignition. Immediately, the engine purred to life. Keagn
helped his friends in as the cloud racer hovered in the air. He pressed a few
buttons, and set the coordinates to the Alien Aisha vending machine in Central.
Keagn set his jaw, pressed the gas pedal, and slammed back in his seat as the
cloud racer flew towards Neopia Central on autopilot...
******
Keagn landed the cloud racer behind the Vending Machine, and the five pets
jumped out. Warblade lugged a metal suitcase next to him. Flame immediately
began running his claws through the grooves in the metal, looking for something.
"You're a nut, Flame. This is nothing but an
urban legend, it isn't true."
"Shut up, Torpedo."
Flame continued searching for a few more minutes,
and then he grinned.
"Found it."
The others looked at each other, and back at
Flame. He was twisting one claw around as if undoing a screw. He did this four
times on odd parts of the machine, and then stood back.
Nothing happened.
"See? Flame, you're such a…"
Torpedo didn't get to finish the sentence because
a small door had just appeared in the side of the machine, and the next thing
that came out of his mouth sounded like "mphglrgr"
Flame smiled imperiously, and strutted inside.
Keagn beamed, and followed, along with the other three. Inside, it was black
as pitch until the door shut behind them, and lights came on.
Even Torpedo couldn't retain his indignant scowl
for long as he saw the array of shining equipment covering every square centimeter
of wall. Flame began shouting orders at the other four, who did exactly what
he asked without question. After a few minutes, Flame stopped them. Biting his
tongue, he flipped the switch for the ignition. The Vending Machine didn't move.
Torpedo smirked.
And then, the metal floor beneath their feet
began to vibrate...
******
"Can I put the Nerkmid in, momma? Pleeeease?" the little Wocky simpered to
his owner, a tired looking Newbie who had won the Nerkmid in a random event.
"Okay _bab3e_boi_, you can put the Nerkmid in."
The Wocky squealed with delight, and reached
up to put the Nerkmid in the machine. He never got the chance.
The Vending Machine was slowly rising into the
air, propelled by rockets that had been quite invisible before. It hovered for
a moment, attracting the full attention of everyone in a quarter mile radius.
Then, it disappeared. Gasps and amazed whispers
spread through the crowd like wildfire. A pack of alien-hunting nerds on the
other side of the street looked like Christmas had come early.
_bab3e_boi__whimpered, and clung to his owner,
who was staring at the sky. She shook her head, and then looked at the Wocky.
"Whatever you did," she said bemused, "I bet you couldn't do it again."
******
Vai shut her eyes, and remained completely silent as she used a bobby pin to
reach back one last time for the release button under her armrest. Just as the
mutant Grundo was ready to fire, she hit it. The cuffs flew open with a hiss,
and she rolled onto the floor the second a burst of deadly laser blew a smoking
hole in the chair where her head had been only moments before.
Vai kicked the intergalactic villain in the head,
then turned to the Grundo, who was busy recovering from the shock of what had
just happened. She clapped him on the temple with the blade of her hand, and
he toppled face first onto the floor.
She looked around, shocked at what she had just
done. Vai had never felt that much power before. She smelled the air. There
was a strange scent drifting in it, sweet and dusty. Vai smiled, but it soon
faded, and the perfume vanished into the stuffy air.
To be continued...
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