Harry and the Noil Nuisance by mrs_fluff |  |
My name is Harry, and only Harry, the Mootix Commando, leading
paratrooper of the PDA (Petpetpet Defensive Army). Well, my real name used to
be Harold Danger Fillywilly, believe it or not. But most army petpetpets are known
by their last name, so I dropped my silly one the moment I was accepted into the
PDA Training Academy. I mean, even then I had dreams of being a famous, tough
Commando, and nobody would take me seriously with a name like Fillywilly. I also
started going by Harry. And before long, my true talent was revealed at the Academy,
and my dreams came true. Today, I am probably the most famous Commando in all
of the PDA, with a whole game created in my honor.
I love my job -- I mean, people say I'm a Commando
first and a Mootix second. That's very true. Honestly, I'd rather turn into
a Cooty than give up my life of excitement. But what exactly do I do? Well,
first, let me give you a little background info on the PDA. We're an organization
that has its headquarters on Cottonswab, a Babaa owned by Liza the Usul, who
lives in suburban Neopia Central. We also have bases on Petpets in other suburban
houses and in all other parts of the world of Neopia. Our Training Academy is
on the dangerous and desolate landscape of Iko the Spardel, owned by Liza's
little brother. Iko is a very dangerous Spardel who provides a challenge to
our trainees. I remember my experience there. Seriously, it was hard. That Petpet
practically sweats acid. It's some real difficult work, trying to live off of
him.
But what does the Petpet Defensive Army do, you
ask? Well, we defend Petpetpets, of course. Gee, that was a hard one to figure
out. You see, some Neopets actually seem to think that Petpetpets are annoying
pests, and that we bother and harm their beloved Petpets! Where they got that
wild idea I don't know, because we're just humble creatures looking for a warm
place to live. Hey, sometimes we even become best buddies with the Petpets!
But still, some Neopets try to wash us out, kick us out, and just plain get
rid of us using any way possible. And when the PDA hears of a Petpetpet that's
about to be removed from its home, we rush to the rescue and save them, and
we help them find a new Petpet to live on.
My job is to parachute onto Petpets to rescue
the Petpetpets that live on them. I mount one of the PDA's highly trained flying
Petpets, who flies me over the targeted Petpet, and then I jump. I free-fall
down, and then open my parachute for a graceful landing on the target. We do
this to avoid a long and difficult foot journey to a Petpet. And besides, it's
really annoying when you've walked almost 30 minutes to get to a Petpet and
then they get up and walk to the other side of the room. Parachuting onto them
takes only a few seconds and is 90% accurate, especially for experienced parachutists
like me.
But if you want an example of one of my daring
deeds so that you can understand my duty a little better, I have written down
this record of a recent mission. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:
A few weeks ago, the Headquarters received word
of a Vernax who lived on a Noil called Grumbles in a house not far from our
base. Apparently, the Noil's owner was not happy in the least about the Vernax
being there and wanted him evicted as soon as possible. I was selected to go
on the mission to save the Vernax.
Later that day, I strapped on my trusty, Mootix-sized
mini-parachute. I then boarded Squawk, the PDA's Crokabek. You see, Liza and
her little brother have many flying Petpets living in the trees in their Neogardens,
and they'll come flying to us when we need their help. Trusty old Squawk took
off and flew me away from Headquarters and down the sunlit street, just how
our boss had instructed her, where she took me in through the window of a large
wooden Neohome.
The room we entered was dark and messy, with
toys sprawled out all of over the floor. A large, unmade bed was on one side
of the room, and an opened wardrobe was on another side. Another side had the
window that we had just come through, and the last had an open door. A single
blue rug was on the floor, and on it was a Noil, laying down.
Squawk circled above the Noil several times.
Her wings flapped gently, and she let out a shrill caw. That was my signal for
action. Making sure my parachute was firmly strapped on, I jumped.
Free-falling is the best feeling in the world,
and that's one of the reasons why I love my job so much. I mean, falling down
seven feet may not seem that thrilling to most people. But when you're a Mootix,
it feels like you're plummeting miles out of the distant atmosphere of Neopia.
I dropped down and down and down, the air slapping my face and blowing back
my antennae, while the Noil grew closer and closer below me. Adrenaline rushed
through my tiny veins, and my microscopic heart pumped wildly. I smiled and
narrowed my eyes into slits.
When I was very close to the targeted Noil, I
pulled open my parachute and began to float down at a slower rate. The fun part
of my mission was over, and now the danger was starting. A slight breeze blew
off the Noil's thick mane and caused some turbulence. My parachute began to
sway back and forth, but I steered myself to land right in the middle of the
Noil's back, where the fur is thin. When I landed, I took off my parachute,
stuffed it back into its pack, and put it back on. I looked up and saw Squawk
circling above me, and then the Petpet flew off to hide in the shadows of the
room to wait for my completed mission. I went out is search of the Vernax.
I was marching up towards the mane, where I guessed
he would be hiding, when I came upon the sleeping creature. The small Vernax
was just sleeping right there in the Middle of Grumbles's back, where he would
roll off the second the Noil stood up. He was also in plain vision to the Petpet's
owner. No wonder this guy was in danger! He sure wasn't the smartest Petpetpet
around.
I stopped and patted the Vernax on his back.
He immediately woke up and stared up at me with unblinking eyes, but did not
move further. I leaned over and pulled him to his feet, but he sank back down
onto the furry ground and closed his eyes again.
That agitated me. Obviously, he did not understand
that he was in peril and we needed to get off of that Noil fast, before his
Neopet came wandering in. I was just bending down to pull him up a second time
when the very thing I feared happened: the Noil's owner appeared in a doorway
leading to the room. She was a young blue Aisha, and though she was small compared
to most inhabitants of Neopia, from a Petpetpet's view she was gigantic. "Mr.
Grumble Wumbles," she called to her Noil, "has that nasty old Vernax left you
yet?"
The Noil's reply to this was to swish his tail
back and forth, and though I couldn't see it from where I was, I'm sure he was
rolling his eyes. I anxiously dragged the Vernax to a standing position and
wildly tugged at him to come with me. He looked at me with those staring eyes,
and this time he didn't sink back down, but he did not willingly move, either.
The Aisha was coming towards her Petpet. "Let's
give you a bath, Grumbly-pie, just in case," she said in a babyish singsong
voice. "That'll get rid of that nasty little bug!"
My eyes popped. A bath? No way... Petpetpets
can do many more things than most people think, but we sure cannot swim. I pulled
at the Vernax frantically as the Aisha drew nearer. Finally, the civilian surrendered,
and allowed me to pull him along. I let go, and began to run towards the side
of the Noil. He followed me slowly and somewhat reluctantly.
Upon reaching the Noil's side, I turned back
to see him lagging behind. My eyes widened and I waved for him to hurry up,
but he continued to dawdle. Then suddenly, the Aisha, having reached us, bent
over her Noil. I saw her furry face close-up. Then she reached out her paws
and began to bring them down upon either side of the Petpet! I rolled out of
the way just in time to avoid being squished, and looked back at the Vernax
to make sure he was alright, which he was. And thus, having a firm grip on Grumbles,
the Aisha lifted him off of the ground and cuddled him close to her chest.
The Noil had changed from lying down to being
at a steep angle as his owner lifted him, and I felt myself sliding backwards
over the glossy yellow fur. I quickly grabbed hold of a hair and clutched it
for dear life, but when I looked towards the little Vernax, I saw to my horror
that he was barely clinging onto a hair a few long centimeters away. But his
feet were not meant for grabbing things like mine, and he would not be able
to last for much longer. He was slowly slipping downwards, and looking towards
the distant floor in terror.
My eyes popped open, and then I narrowed them
again. Pulling myself from hair to hair as if I was a Mynci swinging through
the jungles of Mystery Island, I crawled towards him as quickly as I could,
but it was too late. Before I got there, he slipped off of the little piece
of fur and went tumbling downwards! The first thought that entered my mind was
that if I hurried, I might be able to use my parachuting skills to my advantage
and catch him. I let go of the hair I was clutching and fell down after him.
The little Vernax flailed and screamed out strange
little chirps as he plummeted down. He extended his wings, but did not use them,
and I realized that he was too young to know how. So he wasn't dumb after all:
he was just young and didn't know much about the way of the world yet.
I pointed my body directly downwards, streamlining
it. The speed of my descent began to increase as I accelerated towards the ground.
And yet he still fell in front of me! I was beginning to think I'd never catch
up to him. Then, about a foot from the ground, I began to pass right next to
him. Extending my arm, I grabbed him and pulled him next to me, then released
my parachute. We dropped slowly and peacefully to the dusty floor.
When we landed, the parachute came down over
us gently. Gradually, we found our way out form underneath that dark blanket,
and I could see the Vernax's face. This time, those enormous eyes were filled
with thanks as he looked at me. He wasn't old enough to understand a lot, but
he did know when he was in danger, and he comprehended that I had saved him.
He helped me stuff my parachute back into its pack, and we looked up and watched
together as the Aisha carried off Grumbles to take an unnecessary bath.
Squawk came flying out of the shadows in the
room's corner and landed near us. I climbed aboard with the frightened Vernax,
who was hanging on to me closely. Then together, we flew out of the window and
in to the bright sunlight. All the way back to Headquarters, he held on to me,
and I could feel that he was very grateful to me for what I had done.
But I don't need any thanks, although it's nice
to get some once in a while. After all, I love my job. Not only does it keep
me fit and energized, but it's provided me with lots of memories and experiences.
But the best part is that I'm actually helping my fellow Petpetpets. Sure, it's
a very dangerous job, but someone has to do it!
This is Commando Harry, signing off.
The End |
