|
"Here it is…" Loop said, fishing out the sack from his backpack.
The two had entered the clearing in Kiln Forest and had stopped in front of the
stump. "Okay, here goes nothing…" Loop murmured, more to himself than Boye. He
sprinkled some of the crushed crystals onto the top of the stump. Immediately
the powder was absorbed and the top of the stump popped open, just like Silvia
had said. "You first," Loop said nervously to Boye.
His sister nodded and braced herself for the
ride. Taking a deep breath, she slid down the dark hole and disappeared from
view. Loop did the same.
"Wow, look at this place!" Loop breathed, looking
around the grand palace. They had entered a small city of some sort, yet the
sun was shining. A citadel sat in the middle, encrusted with shimmering gems
and sparkling jewels. Small huts were dotted across the land of lush grass.
Carts sat in front of the huts, easy to wheel in for the night and out for the
day.
"Can I help ya?" a voice asked gruffly. Loop
turned around and came face to face with a mean looking Grarrl. Loop nodded
his head shakily.
"Silvia sent us here," he answered. "We're thieves
too. We were new to this part of Neopia -- you see we came from Mystery Island
-- and she sent us here after we asked her where the nearest thief city was."
"I see," the Grarrl said, pondering the lie.
"Well the name's Lark. Just gimmie a holler if you need someone to show you
around the place." He nodded curtly and turned around, pushing an Aisha out
of his way.
"Loop, look at this," a sudden trembling voice
said. The Zafara turned around and saw Boye was pointing a finger a poster that
lingered on the wall. Loop's eyes widened as he saw what it read.
The Beast Is To Awaken!
The beast is to awaken! Spectral is back in action to awaken the beast at
Lost Desert! Make sure you are prepared with Lost Desert items to make a profit!
Contact Helen (1865 Thieves Street) to get more information before the big
awakening! Get stealing and good luck!
"So Helen was a thief!" Loop whispered with
wide eyes. "And that's why she had so many rare valuables! She was a thief that
stole things! We have to go to her and talk to her!"
"1865 Thieves Street," Boye repeated. With a
frown, she turned to Loop. "But won't she get angry at you if she realizes that
you were the one that stole her book? I mean, this wouldn't happen if it wasn't
for you and stealing. Hey, maybe you really are a thief!"
"Wow, thanks for the support," Loop replied
sarcastically. "But with my hat and my big glasses, she won't know a thing.
And we have our excuse; we're thieves. And yes, maybe it is true because you
did steal a piece of that snowberry delight yesterday," he pointed out with
a laugh.
"We paid for that," Boye said hotly. "At least
my snowberry delight didn't ruin the world." Loop muttered words under his breath
and after asking a kind thief for directions, they turned for Thieves Street.
As soon as they got to the door, Loop whipped on his glasses and knocked lightly.
"Come in," Helen's familiar voice called out
at the knock. Loop wandered in, pushing the door open. "Hello," she said as
Boye and Loop walked into her hut.
"Are you Helen?" Loop asked with a Scottish
accent. Boye looked at him with raised eyebrows, but since they were standing
behind a green sofa, Loop kicked Boye in the shins. Helen nodded. "We're here
to talk about the awakening of the beast? Do you know where exactly this all
happens?"
Helen nodded excitedly. "You seem familiar,
but I've talked to about a thousand spotted Zafaras during the week." She waved
her hand absent mindedly and let out a hearty laugh. "But never mind. Yes, the
beast will awaken right where Brucey B's hut is. He is to awaken tomorrow morning
at exactly noon. I wish that thief of a Zafara didn't steal that book of mine.
He seemed like a nice looking pet, but I guess looks are deceiving." She looked
at Loop suspiciously for a moment and shook her head.
"Well thank you for your information," Boye
said politely without a Scottish accent. Loop nodded, agreeing with his sister.
"Any time dears. Anything for a fellow thief,"
Helen said, laughing. "Is there by any chance I could interest you with any
of my goods?" Loop shook his head respectfully and Helen shrugged, returning
to her thieves magazine. Then both walked out of her hut.
As soon as they left, Loop took off his glasses
and looked at Boye with wide eyes. Without a word, they both rushed off to find
Lark.
When they finally did find the big Grarrl, Lark
handed them both a hypno helmet and a dark battle duck. Loop graciously took
them both and stuffed them in his backpack. "You'll need them," Lark said, nodding
his head. "You can make a big profit too if you sell them after the beast is
awakened. Just take them as a welcoming gift to Neopia. Besides, I have more
at home." He smiled warmly and directed them out of the city, which they had
to walk up a pair of stairs.
*
"It's almost noon now…" Loop said nervously, fidgeting with the battle duck
in his hand. Boye nodded in slight agreement.
"Okay so you know what to do right?" she asked,
her voice unusually high. Loop nodded quickly. "I hypnotize the beast along
with the slash of my dagger and you throw the battle duck and do the slingshot.
Got it?" Loop nodded again and was prepared to protest about bossing around
again when a deep rumble filled the air.
The ground shook with protest as Loop and Boye
fell backwards onto the broken down Brucey B tent. Suddenly, sand flying everywhere,
a massive rock beast opened up from the ground and roared massively. As in on
cue, an Usul appeared at it's side.
"Ah, I see someone came to fight the beast as
always, hem?" the Usul sneered gleefully. "Well you better watch out because
my little beasty-weasty will terror over Neopia again." He cackled and a long
pause followed. "I am Spectral, guardian of magic. Also awakener of the beast.
I assume you've read my letter, so no need to explain." His dark eyes loomed
with suspicion over Loop and Boye. "But now since you've come to save the day,"
he continued on in a bored voice. "I suppose you'll get your chance to fight
the beast. But after it crushes you into grains of sand to match the desert,
please don't come back." He cackled again as he saw the look of fear upon Loop's
face and Boye's large gulp. "You may…begin."
In a flash of whirling sand, Spectral was gone.
"On the count of three. One… two… three!" Boye shouted, throwing out the hypno
helmet. As always, it began to hypnotize the angry beast so he gazed blankly
straight ahead of him. Boye hurled her dagger at him and Loop threw the dark
battle duck. The beast screamed with agony. "NOW!" Boye exclaimed. Loop flung
a rock from the slingshot and it hit the beast with a crash. Suddenly, the beast
began to dissolve into the sand beneath him.
"No!" Spectral cried angrily, appearing at the
beast's side. "Not only did you kill him, but now I don't have a job anymore!"
He looked at Boye and Loop with a mad glint in his eye. "You'll pay for this
you little stupid pets!" He spat. "You'll pay!"
He snatched the dark battle duck that lay abandoned
where the beast once stood. He grasped it tightly in his dark hand and Boye
jumped in front of Loop protectively. "Boye!" Loop cried loudly.
"Shh!" Boye commanded, her eyes still on Spectral.
"Mama always brings me to Healing Springs after or lets me drink a potion afterwards
a big fight. I know what I'm doing!" Loop stopped for a moment and gaped at
his sister. She hadn't said Caroline's first name, she had said Mama.
So she finally accepts the fact that we are her real family, Loop thought
to himself. He looked at Spectral again. Just as he did so, Spectral chucked
the duck at Boye with great strength.
Before he knew it, Boye was lying in the sand,
hurt severely. "Boye!" Loop screamed as she fell with a thump onto the ground.
He looked at Boye's closed eyes. At first, he thought she was dead. But then
he saw her lips move.
"Go get him Loop," Boye murmured with the amount
of strength left in her. "Go get him."
Loop stared at her at first as she slowly stopped
with the pain. He nodded his head and picked up the lost desert dagger that
still lay at his feet. He walked over silently, knowing Spectral was watching
him intently. He rummaged through his backpack and picked out the letter that
was smudged slightly. He picked it up, looked at Spectral and before Spectral
could do anything, he stuck the dagger into the page.
"NO!" Spectral cried again. Loop's gaze settled
on the dissolving Spectral who was screaming with anguish. He was slowly disappearing;
out from the world. Finally, he was gone. Gone from the face of Neopia. Gone
along with the beast. Gone.
"We did it!" Loop cheered. Then he remembered
about Boye, who lay suffering in the sand. He quickly dropped the dagger and
ran to the petpet stall where the nearest telephone was.
*
"Loop! Boye! I'm so glad you two are okay!" a voice cried. Loop looked up
to see Caroline running toward him. "Why didn't you two tell me what was happening?
I could've easily helped! But that's in the past now." She smiled and enclosed
her pets in a hug.
"I knew you could do it," a voice said suddenly.
Loop squirmed out of the tight hug and looked with wide eyes as Helen, transformed
into a nice woman, walked toward him. She no longer had a hunchback. In fact,
she was slim with her white hair pulled loosely in a ponytail. She wore nice
looking overalls and a plaid shirt that's sleeves were rolled up to her elbows.
"Helen?" Loop asked with disbelief. Helen nodded
her head.
"That, surprisingly, was my disguise because
I needed for someone to steal the book and hopefully beat Spectral and the beast.
I'm glad that you went through," Helen said, smiling warmly at him. "Spectral
and I used to be good friends, but after he left for the beast, I was transformed
into a hideous hag because I had not been supportive and had never written back.
I was told that the spell would be broken if I was truly supportive or someone
demolished the beast and beat Spectral. Thank you."
Helen hugged Loop awkwardly and as the parted,
Loop told everyone, including the Chia police, Caroline and Kimmi about how
Boye and himself had traveled far and fearlessly beat both beasts, Spectral
and the gigantic rock. When he was through, Boye laughed, the broken arm of
hers bouncing in it's sling.
"That's not completely true," Boye pointed out
as Loop had described the brave trip through a Terror Mountain blizzard. "But
in the end, everything turned out okay. And I'm glad." She smiled and Caroline
hugged her with one arm.
"And I'm glad too," Helen said softly. Everyone
nodded in agreement.
"Let's go back to my house and have a little
party in favor of this big event," Caroline suggested. Everyone nodded again
and they slowly began to move toward the portal to Neopia Central. As they left,
Loop turned around and looked at the spot where Spectral had once been. It was
all over. And he was glad.
The End
| 
