|
Prologue
The world of Neopia was a peaceful one. People
treated their neopets with care, and the neopets in return showed their owners
respect and love. Markets flourished, friendly battles were fought, and people
played various games. Things started going wrong, however, when there was a
quake.
Little damage was done, and no one was hurt in it, so people generally
ignored it. About a week later, another quake occurred, and a little more damage
was done. The next thing people knew, they occurred faster and harder with each
one for two months before they suddenly stopped. People were puzzled by the
sudden occurrences, but more puzzled by the halting of occurrences.
During the time of restoration, buildings were rebuilt, and people went
back to life as usual. People wanted to forget the quakes. A few weeks pass
afterwards, and people all over Neopia relax from their labors. What happened
next struck without warning. Clouds appeared out of nowhere and brought upon
the planet heavy storming. There were floods and major electrical disturbances.
For three days continuously there was nothing but disastrous storms everywhere.
The worst has yet to come.
RAGE ALONE: Part I
Sitting under a tree is a shadow Shoyru, doing nothing
more than taking a nap. It was mid-day, and the weather was calm, the temperature
comfortable. With nothing to do with his time, he fell asleep. No reason for
him to wake up really until his friends came rushing over to give him some news.
"Jyrados!" yells a red Eyrie, seeming to be
in a hurry with a silver Zafara at his side.
Opening his eyes, the Shoyru looks at the Eyrie
with a tired look, "What is it, Gorrem? You know I don’t like my naps disturbed."
The Eyrie, Gorrem, stops just short of Jyrados
and breathes as if he’s been running a while, "Simpha and I just heard news
about the recent disasters from the faeries. They said they could only have
occurred if someone made them. They said something about a relic capable of
such things, but it could only do this if someone made it. I didn’t quite hear
all the details, though."
The Zafara, Simpha, clarified with some amount
of worry in his voice, "She said it was an ancient relic thought to be lost
centuries ago. It was the Legacy of Fethva, and it could have possibly been
used by someone. At least, that’s the most likely thing to have caused these
disasters. However, most believe if it could cause disasters, it would have
shattered the world long ago, so Neopia must be causing these to warn us someone
has it. Considering the history of Neopia, it’s certainly possible."
Gorrem looked at Simpha somewhat puzzled, "How
is it that you remembered all that, or even heard that? We were pretty far back
in the crowd that heard the announcement." Simpha simply smiles and says proudly,
"With ears this big, I can hear anything." Jyrados just sighed and interrupted,
"Have you guys seen how Buzz is doing? I’ve been worried about him ever since
the disasters."
Gorrem sighs heavily, "Yes, it certainly was
tragic that he was injured so badly. The doctors said he’s getting better and
should recover in time; however, he’s going to be in the hospital for a while."
Jyrados gets up and walks a few meters away
to look out over the area. He looks up at the sky with a very serious expression
on his face, "I’m not going to simply let someone get away with doing this,
especially when it injures my friend. If this is being done by someone who would
want this to happen, it must be someone who has something against us. I can
only think of one person who has wanted to destroy Neopia for a long time, and
that’s Dr. Sloth."
Simpha walks over closer to Jyrados, his back
still faced towards them, "Let’s be reasonable, Sloth has always shown himself
when he’s tried to do this stuff. That’s just his way; he wants people to know
how evil he is."
Jyrados quickly turns around to face Simpha,
"Don’t you see, that’s why he wouldn’t be blamed and stopped. He’s learning
from his mistakes, and that’s why we have to expose him. If we can find where
he is, we can keep him from doing anything."
Simpha simply shakes his head and walks off.
As he trails away, Gorrem says to Jyrados, "You must be insane. We wouldn’t
know the first place to look, much less how to actually do this. Be reasonable,
this is too big for us. We should wait for more word from the faeries or even
the military. This is too big for us."
With a smirk, Jyrados responds, "One quiet man
can see what an army cannot. I’ll go stop him myself. You can tag along if you
want, but if you choose not to, I’m still going."
With that said, Jyrados spreads his wings and
lifts off the ground, going to look for what he can to help him. Simpha has
already gone most the way home, and Gorrem flies off himself to head back home
with Simpha. Jyrados was on his own.
<><><>
Jyrados knew he couldn’t do anything if he was ignorant, so he wanted to first
get the facts from the only place he knew he could get them. Soaring through
the sky, he rushed through the clouds until he reached the place where he knew
he could get a start, Faerie Cloud.
Upon reaching the city in the skies, he landing
and surveyed his surroundings. There was the various places where people were
in the outer city, then there was the inner city where those more knowledgeable
would be.
Walking, seeming casual, he entered the inner
city and looked around. Here and there were various neopets and faeries enjoying
themselves. This haven was unaffected by the quakes and storms, so it did not
suffer from reconstruction.
While heading for the main palace, he heard someone
say in a rather scratchy voice, "Shadowed one, I know what it is you seek. Come,
come and listen if you wish to learn more..."
Jyrados looked over and noticed a rather elderly
nimmo mostly covered in a wool cloak. Rather curious, he walked over and stopped
about five feet away from the figure, wanting to remain cautious. He waited
for the old man to speak while remaining silent himself.
Looking up, the old man resting against the side
of a building appeared to have a smile on his face, "Yes, you look plenty right
for the task at hand. You wish to stop the one who caused the disasters and
disasters yet to come, correct?"
Very stiff and serious, he said to the old nimmo,
"Yes, I am. What do you know of it? And what do you mean by ‘disasters yet to
come’? Are you saying Neopia will give more warnings about whatever might be
able to destroy it?"
Laughing shortly at the shoyru, he talks as if
he knows exactly what’s going on, "You think they’re warnings? Oh well, you’ll
learn the truth eventually. Anyway, I know more about what will stop it than
what exactly it is. The one controlling it is an outcast. He has no one to stand
by him, and it has made him rather angry at the world. It takes one angry heart
to stop another, and you’ll do quite well. I sense a rage burning in you, and
you must learn to use it and control it. Now, with my bit of wisdom in your
head, go continue on your way."
Jyrados becomes very puzzled by the old man’s
words. "What do you mean? I’m not sure what you’re talking about."
The old nimmo just set his head down and started
to snore. It was clear that Jyrados wouldn’t be hearing anymore from him. Figuring
the ramblings of an old man were not too much to take note of, he just continued
on his way to the faeries who would be able to give him real information.
Catching his eye on the streets was an air faerie.
Having no idea where exactly to go, he goes over to the faerie and asks where
to find the faerie queen to talk to. Being pointed in the direction of the central
building of the city, he heads there, but it stopped at the door by two skieth
guards.
"Hold it, shoyru, what’s your business?" The
guard on the left was very blunt and not seeming too nice.
"I am here to speak with the Faerie Queen. I
am trying to get information on what is causing the recent disasters."
The guard on the right looked to the one on the
left and nodded. The left one returning the nod, they opened the door, the one
the right afterwards saying, "The queen has allowed people to enter for that
reason, but don’t spend too long. She is a busy faerie."
Jyrados gave a quick nod and entered the doorway,
the doors being closed behind him. He went down a fairly long passageway, eventually
reaching the doors to the throne. Upon entering, he noticed a rather worried
queen faerie. She was clearly not liking the recent events of the land, as few
did. He approached slowly, not wanting to cause her any big disturbance.
"My queen," he said as he kneeled, showing his
respects.
Looking up at the shoyru, she said with a very
gentle voice, "Stand, my friend, there is no need for such gestures here. I
take it you are wanting to know about what was announced earlier?"
Getting to his feet, he took a breath and spoke,
"Yes, I was sleeping at the time of the public announcement, so I only heard
of it from a couple friends. I’m wanting to know about the Legacy of Fethva,
I believe it is called."
The queen nodded, "Yes, that’s correct. It’s
an ancient device with powerful magical properties. Many believe it to be myth,
but some of us know better. It was made as a regulator to keep the planet in
balance, believe it or not. Thousands of years ago, there was chaos and havoc
everywhere with people wanting to use magics to bend reality at their whim.
Us faeries needed a way to keep them from wrecking the world, and keeping their
powers from functioning was the best way. Fethva was a very ancient creature,
the last of his kind. Some say he was the only of his kind ever, but the point
is he was extremely powerful. He felt bad for the world as it was, and wanted
to restore it at any cost, and so he did. In an amazing display of courage and
power, he sacrificed his life to become the relic himself. Fethva is his own
legacy to us and the planet of Neopia."
Jyrados understood everything she said, but was
even more curious now. "But if he made himself into a device to keep balance,
how could he be doing the opposite?"
"You see, young one, he keeps the planet in balance,
but if in the wrong hands, powerful wrong hands, he could be twisted to do the
very opposite. The planet will be torn apart unless it is recovered. If we’re
still alive, then it must not be corrupted just yet. We need to find it and
get it out of the hands of whoever has it. This is our top priority."
Bowing, Jyrados backs off and turns to walk away
while saying, "I thank you for the information. Good day, queen."
As he left the main building, he noticed a few
others walking towards it. He figures they want to know what he just got done
hearing about, but cares not. Knowing the relic causing this, he now goes to
find the one he figures is using it.
<><><>
Flying through the sky, he notices a space transport on a launchpad, one of
the many which take people to the Virtuepets Space Station everyday. Still fixed
in his head that Sloth is the one using the Legacy of Fethva, he descends to
board the transport. No one hassles him, as usual when boarding the transports,
so gaining access to the station is simple. It is a good start for finding Sloth,
seeing as he use to rule it.
Entering the corridor upon exit of the transport,
he follows everyone to the main hall where most conversing and shop is set up.
Jyrados entered the food pellet store, and seeing as how most the stuff was
already bought, he just went straight to the grundo in charge. He tried to act
casual, though looking for such information is sure to make one nervous.
Walking up to the counter, he said in a somewhat
quiet manner, "Excuse me, but I’m looking for Dr. Sloth. Know where he keeps
himself these days?" The large grundo just snorted and replied somewhat stubbornly,
"You must be an idiot for asking about that. Questions like that are sure to
end you up in the hospital. Anyway, I just serve food here, I don’t keep in
contact with my old boss. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to tend to.
Go find some Sloth loyalists to bother if you want answers," he then turned
and walked into the back room to get more food to stock the shelves with.
Jyrados left the store rather disappointed, but
not disillusioned. Spotting a relatively young grarrl sitting alone at a table,
he figured he had nothing to lose by asking him. At the very least, it wouldn’t
be any more useless than talking with the shopkeeper was.
Walking over to the table, he said rather politely,
"May I sit down?"
Looking to be a little startled at first, he
said in response, "Well this is new, someone actually wanting to be with me.
Go ahead, I have nowhere to be."
Jyrados sat down and started off with, "May I
ask you a few questions?"
Raising a brow, the grarrl responded with the
question, "What are you, some kind of authority?" "No, I’m not an authority,
I’m just looking for someone. Would you happen to know where old Sloth went
to stay after he lost that war in Sakhmet?"
"I’ve heard rumors, as people often do. There’s
an old house near the Haunted Woods region which many say he stays at. Whether
or not it’s true has yet to be seen. Why would someone being for Sloth, though?"
"Let’s just say I have some business to take
care of with him," Jyrados said before giving his farewell to the grarrl and
walking off towards one of the leaving transports to return to the planet.
<><><>
Yet again, he took flight to head for the Haunted Woods region to search for
any old houses nearby. The area was dark, even during the day, and many trees
were knocked down from the quakes, making the land look even more dead than
usual. It would appear people did not put much effort into restoring it after
the disasters. Nevertheless, Jyrados had a job to do and he wasn’t going to
stop when he was nearing the end.
With so much land cleared from the fallen trees,
finding a broken-down house was easy to do from the air. He found a single house
which looked like it should have been torn down years ago. It fit the description
of an evil hideout perfectly.
Landing in front of it, he immediately got the
feeling he was being watched. He expected that Sloth would keep surveillance
on the area, but the feeling was still unsettling. He approached the door, and
when pushing to open the remains of the door, he found it was surprisingly locked.
Not feeling like wasting time, he just slammed his body into the old wood and
it broke right open.
The inside was not pretty. The wood was rotted,
the furniture needed major cleaning, and webs were in every corner. The lighting
was very dim, but he could see the stairs were pretty much shattered. Picking
up a stick, he spit fire on it light the end for a torch. The area illuminated
around him, and things became more clear to him.
There was one thing very much out of place. Below
the table, the dust was not nearly as collected. He walked over to it and kicked
over the table, it shattering upon the ground due its fragility. Stomping the
ground, there was dust flying up from unseen cracks, the cracks of a trap door.
He lifted the door up, which revealed a staircase down. He had no choice but
to go down if he was to continue.
Upon reaching the base of the stairs, the area
was lit up without the help of his torch. He blew it out and tossed it to the
side, the wood hitting a stone floor. There were electric lights up on the walls
of the stone passage, making a very short hallway before coming to a door.
Gathering all his courage up, he crashed through
the door, breaking the lock and entering a room with computers and machinery.
Turning around to face Jyrados was Dr. Sloth himself, standing dark and proud.
He did not look happy to see the shoyru.
"What do you think you’re doing, shoyru!?" yelled
the angry Sloth. Jyrados points at Sloth, rage filling his eyes, "You have the
Legacy of Fethva, don’t you? You’re the one trying to yet again destroy Neopia."
Dr. Sloth just snickers in a wicked tone at the
comment, "Calm down, creature. I am not the one doing these things, it’s not
my style. Don’t you think that if I was going to destroy this planet I wouldn’t
be on it when it was destroyed?"
Lowing his arm, Jyrados spreads out his wings,
"Don’t think I’m a fool. You have always been the one attacking our planet,
so don’t think you can trick me into believing you’re not this time."
Sloth takes a few steps towards the shoyru, "For
once, I am being honest. If I had the ability to wipe this planet out, I wouldn’t
be waiting over a month. I would feel rather proud of myself if I could do this,
but I am not. I have no way to escape the planet with my station taken by your
people, so this will kill me as well as everyone else. You can either go elsewhere
to search for the one doing it, or can waste both our time some more. Now if
you’ll excuse me, I’m trying to see how long it will take for me to get off
this doomed rock."
Jyrados could tell he was being truthful. It
became clear now that Sloth would never do this without preparations to keep
himself safe, so this was a dead end. He calmly left the house and took to the
skies again, not knowing where to go from here. As he flew, however, he noticed
the skies were turning blood-red.
To be continued...
| 
