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Coming near the home of the Brain Tree, Metonot saw Jacob
sitting on a rotten stump. As he flew over, Jacob noticed him and said, "Hey there
Metonot. You alright?"
Metonot gave slight grunt and said, "Considering
that you left me behind in that store and had me travel across Neopia alone,
yeah, I'm feeling great."
Jacob scratched his head, looking bashful, and
said, "Yeah. Sorry about that. You know how I get whenever I get into something
I don't want to do, like spending large sums of money. You even tried to talk
me out of this, realizing that this would happen. Well, the good news is that
it's over now, as I got the answer to the Brain Tree's question."
Metonot, still feeling kind of doubtful, said,
"It may not be over yet Jacob. What if the reward the Brain Tree gives you is
less in value then what you bought?"
"As I said earlier, the more costly the quest,
the greater the prize," said Jacob with a smile. Yet the smile didn't really
seem sincere. It was more of a hopeful one.
As Jacob and Metonot came close to the Brain
Tree, it said, "Ah. Welcome back Jacob and Metonot. Do you have the answer to
my question yet?"
"Yes, we do," said Jacob. "Chris Tonu died in
Virtopia, 30 BN."
The Brain Tree pondered what Jacob said for a
bit and exclaimed, "Of course! That's correct! I thank you!"
Jacob smiled, as he was glad that the quest was
over. Metonot, however, merely frowned, as he had a feeling that Jacob's smile
would soon be turned into an angry scowl.
"As a reward," continued the Brain Tree, "I shall
give you 1,644 Neopoints, and this feather tickler."
The Brain Tree handed Jacob his reward, who merely
grabbed them, but took no notice of them. He was staring into space, as if he
was stunned beyond believe. 'Uh oh,' thought Metonot. Slowly, Jacob put his
'reward' into his travel sack and dropped it to the ground.
"Do you know how much getting your answer cost
me?" asked Jacob.
The Brain Tree got a puzzled look upon its face,
and said, "While I do claim to know everything, I do not yet know that. Would
you mind telling me so that I may know?"
"Of course. I'd be happy to share."
In an instant, Jacob rushed right at the Brain
Tree, slamming into its trunk with its shoulder. The entire body of the Brain
Tree shook and shuddered from the impact. The Tree's screams of pain were deafening,
and Metonot had to cover his ears from its screeching and painful roar. Yet,
despite the volume of the Tree's screams and Metonot's hands over his ears,
Jacob's own screams could be heard clearly.
"29,006 Neopoints! That's how much your answer
cost me! 29,006 Neopoints!"
The Brain recovered from Jacob's blow, and swung
down its branches, intending to crush him in one blow. Jacob easily dodged,
and grabbed some of the Brain Tree's branches that were intended to harm him.
The Tree cried out in pain again, as if the simple action of Jacob grabbing
its branches was excruciating.
"The pain you are feeling is the pause of the
flow of magic that allows you to life," said Jacob. "Just as magic has brought
you to life, I can take it away."
The Brain Tree shuddered, and asked, "What do
you want?"
"I want something more than 1,644 Neopoints and
a feather tickler!"
"The rewards I give are predetermined. I shall
not give you anything else."
"But I deserve more for your quest than what
you gave! I lost more than I gained here by supplying you with the answer to
your question!"
"My quest for you was to find the date and place
of Chris Tonu's death. How you received your answers is your choice, though
I'm sure you went to the Esophagor for the answer. It ripped off, not me!"
A few moments passed as Jacob continued to hold
onto the branches of the Brain Tree. Finally, Jacob grunted and let go, much
to the Brain Tree's relief. The rage had died down in his eyes, but it was still
present.
"Fine! Then I will go to the one that took my
money."
Jacob ran off, leaving behind the beaten Brain
Tree, and a horrified Metonot. He had seen Jacob enraged before, but never as
fiercely as this. His actions were parallel to that of a villain! Worried about
the health of the Brain Tree, Metonot flew over and asked, "Are you okay Brain
Tree? I'm sorry about what Jacob just did. I've never seen him act like that
before."
The Brain Tree breathed heavily, his branches
still drooping with exhaustion.
"I suppose it was to be expected. Jacob has always
been protective of what is his, and losing it for what I had given him must
have been too deep a blow."
"Yes…I suppose so. You are the Brain Tree, right?"
The Brain Tree merely grunted, and the two of
them stood there is silence, while Whooper began to beep and dance around them.
"I think I might have said the wrong thing when
Jacob disrupted the flow of my magic," said the Brain Tree, breaking the silence.
"But, under the circumstances, I don't think I was capable of saying anything
else. If I wasn't concerned for my own existence, I would have consoled him
and calmed him from his rage. However, I have merely just redirected it."
"Well…Jacob's tantrums usually don't last long.
I'm sure he will calm down soon," said Metonot, although he didn't fully believe
in what he said.
"Regardless, I think you should find Jacob, before
his rage spreads out too far."
"Yes…I should," said Metonot, and picked up his
dancing Avabot with his feet.
Apologizing to the Brain Tree once more, Metonot
flew after Jacob, hoping that he wasn't doing something stupid again.
The Esophagor was having a wonderful day. Many
Neopians had given many different assortments of food, and he felt somewhat
full. However, he knew this would only be a temporary feeling, as he would be
feeling hungry again in only a few minutes. For the time being, it could at
least close its eyes to rest.
"Hello there, Esophagor!" said a voice. "How
are you feeling today?"
Grumbling, the Esophagor opened its eyes, and
saw that it was the one that had given it 2 vanilla ghost cakes earlier. The
one named Jacob.
"Go away," said the Esophagor. "I am not feeling
hungry at the moment, and don't feel like giving away answers to the Brain Tree's
questions. I merely wish to sleep a bit with the peace I have gained."
Jacob got a sad look on his face, saying, "Aww,
that's too bad, as I got food for you right now. Are you sure you aren't hungry?"
"Yes! Now let me have some peace! I don't want
to give out any answers!"
"That's OK. I don't want any! I just thought
you would like to have some food is all."
The Esophagor was now fully awake at what he
heard.
"You are willing to give me food, even though
you know you won't get anything in return?"
"That's right!" said Jacob, and he pulled out
a vanilla ghost cake from his travel sack.
"No!" screamed the Esophagor. "I don't want a
vanilla ghost cake! I want a Korbat wing!"
"Are you sure? You got two from me earlier, so
what could hurt having some more?" and Jacob pulled out a second vanilla ghost
cake.
"I TOLD YOU! If I'm going to eat something, I
want to eat a Korbat wing!"
Still, the appetizing look of the two cakes was
getting to the Esophagor, as it was now beginning to feel hungry again. Even
if it wasn't getting exactly what it wanted, free food was something nobody
could turn down.
"How about this," said Jacob. "Instead of two
cakes, how about four?" and he pulled out two more from his bag.
If the Esophagor wasn't part of the ground, it
would have leaped with joy.
"Yes! Please, I would love to have four vanilla
ghost cakes!"
Jacob smiled, and tossed the cakes into the Esophagor's
hand. It immediately threw all four cakes into its mouth, and bit into them…
…Immediately, the Esophagor spit out all four
'cakes' and screeched, "Those aren't cakes! Those were rocks!"
"Really?" said Jacob, looking somewhat confused.
"Maybe you just didn't get a cake that was big enough."
Before the Esophagor could react, Jacob had rushed
to the nearest boulder, picked it up, and threw it. The boulder, twice the size
of a full grown Lupe, hit the Esophagor, stunning it for a moment.
"What is the meaning of this!" screamed the Esophagor.
"I intend to get back at you for wasting my money
on the food you devoured," said Jacob, his smile now replaced with an angry
grimace.
As Jacob rushed upon the Esophagor, it reached
into its mass and brought out a Sludge Hammer and Slime Net, its trademark weapons.
It swung the hammer right at Jacob, who dodged it with incredible speed. The
Esophagor then threw the Slime Net, and this time didn't miss. Jacob was tangled
into the gooey contraption, and the Esophagor began to laugh.
"Try to attack me will you? I'll give you a beating
so bad you will wish you never meet me in the first place!"
As the Esophagor swung its Sludge Hammer, he
failed to notice that Jacob suddenly freed himself from the net. When its swing
came down, Jacob dodged, and threw the Net around the Hammer, ensnaring it.
Realizing its error a moment too late, the Esophagor became helpless after Jacob
tore the Sludge Hammer from its grasp and threw the Slime Net over its large
body.
With the battle now over, the Esophagor asked,
"How did you escape from my Net? You should not have been able to pull it off
of you as you did."
Jacob shrugged and said, "Your Slime Net stays
slimy by a form of magic. I merely shut it down for a bit."
The Esophagor growled, angry that it was now
being held prisoner by one of its own weapons.
"Now," said Jacob, interrupting the Esophagor's
thoughts. "You cheated me. All I got from the Brain Tree was 1,644 Neopoints
and a feather tickler. I'm 29,000 in dept because you had me buy expensive foods.
I WANT to be repaid!"
"Repaid? I have already eaten your spooky foods.
I can't even repay you if I wanted to, as I have no materialistic things. Is
this why you are trapping me in my own domain?"
"Shut up!" screamed Jacob, pulling tight on the
Slime Net. "I want vengeance!"
"If it is vengeance you seek, it should not be
against me, but against those that supplied you with what I desired. They are
the ones that had you pay huge fees, correct?"
"…Maybe, but it doesn't matter. I don't even
remember where I bought your food."
"Well then. It seems we have a case of misplaced
anger here. Instead of getting revenge against the supplier, you go against
the consumer."
It seemed as if the Esophagor's words were having
an affect on Jacob. Instead of being calm with his rage, he was now visibly
shaking, unsure of what he was doing. After a few moments, Jacob stopped shaking
all together, and the rage was gone from his face. He dropped the ends of the
Slime Net that held the Esophagor down, and walked away.
Despite the fact that the Slime Net was not being
held together now, the Esophagor could not get free of its sticky grasp. It
began to cry out for help, for anybody that could pull it free of its own weapon.
The help came from Albert the Mutant Kacheek, its personal slave. He had just
gotten back from the Graveyard of Doom, and was carrying a large filled sack
over his shoulder.
As Albert pulled the Slime Net off, he said,
"Dear me! Someone stole your own Net and used it against you! What happened
Esophagor?"
"Someone wanted to get revenge upon me for asking
for expensive foods."
"In return for answers to the Brain Tree's questions?"
The Esophagor nodded.
"Well, that's just silly! He should have known
that completing a quest for the Brain tree is an expensive task, with awards
that really don't make up for what you give."
"It seems he was ignorant of the fact."
The Esophagor began to moan, and Albert asked,
"What's wrong?"
"Jacob, the one who did this, promised to give
me 4 vanilla ghost cakes, which of course was not true. Now I'm really hungry!"
"Don't worry Esophagor! I got just the thing
you need!"
And Albert went to his travel sack and emptied
all of its contents in front of the Esophagor. Among the large collection of
clawmatoes, mashed eye potatoes, and spooky doughnuts, there were even bat cookies,
moldy cheeses, and apple lanterns.
"Yes! Thank you Albert! This is just what I need!"
and it began to shovel handfuls of Albert's hard earned food into its mouth.
Halfway to the Esophagor's lair, Metonot noticed
Jacob walking out of the Haunted Woods. He quickly flew up to him and asked,
"Jacob! Are you alright? What happened to the Esophagor?"
Jacob kept on walking as he said, "Doesn't matter.
Let's get out off here."
Sadness was apparent on Jacob's face, and Metonot
was about to ask more before Jacob stopped and turned towards him.
"Look, I don't want to be in the Haunted Woods
any longer. The demeanor of this depressing place is getting to me, and I want
to be out before night time comes."
Not wanting to press Jacob any further, Metonot
merely followed him out of the Haunted Woods. They entered the untainted grass
fields at its entrance just as the sun was setting. Finding a lone tree beside
the road, Jacob sat down under it, and leaned against its trunk with a giant
sigh. The depression he felt was still present.
"Thanks for allowing me to walk out of there,"
said Jacob after a few moments silence. "You can ask your questions now if you
want."
"Okay…um…what happened when you got to the Esophagor?"
"I feed him four rocks instead of cakes, and
trapped him in his own Slime Net. I wanted him to get me back what I believed
was stolen from me."
"You do realize that it was a bit unfair to get
revenge against the Brain Tree and Esophagor, right?"
"I know."
"If you really wanted to get revenge against
someone, it should have been against the shopkeepers, as they were the ones
that had you pay huge amounts of Neopoints."
"I know."
"And thinking about revenge is just stupid, as
you should have known you were going to lose more than you gain when you decided
to do this quest. It really isn't their fault."
"I know!" cried Jacob, sitting up from his position.
Genuine sadness could be seen in his eyes.
"I know that it was me who wanted to do this
in the first place. I know shopkeepers raise the prices drastically when they
are really rare. I know it was wrong to take out my anger on them. I know all
of this!"
Metonot merely stood there looking at his Master
as he released his frustration. Even Whooper stood in silent awe at what it
was seeing.
"Right now, I wish I hadn't done what I did.
It was childish, and all it got me was guilt. I lost my cool, even though I
should have realized that I would have to pay a large price for what I wanted
to do."
Hoping to calm Jacob down, Metonot said, "It's
alright Jacob."
"It's not alright. In a couple of weeks, the
front page news will talk of a crazed Neopet Owner attacking the Brain Tree
and Esophagor, because he was upset over what he received as a gift for completing
the Brain Tree's quest. Neopians will talk of this new villain for ages, fearing
to cross its path. And it's all because I had to lose control over losing money.
Money! Of all the important things in this world, I had to get upset over the
one thing that slips from everyone's grasp. Money!"
Jacob sat back against the tree truck, close
to tears.
"And I could have prevented it all if I hadn't
been so ignorant and thought this would be an inexpensive and worthwhile quest!
In my idiocy, I had allowed my expectations to soar, and come crashing down
hard. And now I have only caused myself more pain for letting out my disappointment
on those that were just doing their daily routine."
Jacob leaned forward into his knees, and put
his hands to his face.
"I'm such an idiot."
Metonot, pained to see Jacob in turmoil, said,
"Come on, Jacob, cut it out. It's not the end of the world. The Brain Tree understood
your anger, and the Esophagor…well…his memory is only good at recalling what
food you haven't brought to it yet."
Jacob laughed at that part, and brought down
his hands. Metonot could see the hint of a smile on his face, but Metonot was
sure Jacob was far from feeling better. Just because one smiles, doesn't mean
they are happy.
"Sure, the Brain Tree can understand, and the
Esophagor can forget. But the rest of the world doesn't do either of those.
You do one thing wrong, they exaggerate it, and you are hated forever."
To Metonot's surprise, he had the perfect comeback
to what Jacob had just said. The words poured out of his mouth, as if they were
instinct.
"If that's true, then why are we still viewed
the same after the incident with the Roboball? As I recall, you did some very
bad things in the eyes of average Neopians. You tore up a Light Faeries wing,
knocked out the Castle Healer's assistant, and you stole Fyora's staff and used
it for destruction, something that it was not supposed to be used for."
"And don't forget the fact that I used you as
a tool to destroy the Roboball," interrupted Jacob.
"Whatever! The point is what has changed since
then? Nothing. No one has ridiculed us as villains, and no one has praised us
as heroes. You supposedly did all of those 'horrible' things, yet our life has
not changed one bit!"
Metonot was out of breath after giving his speech,
but he was glad he gave it, as Jacob now had one of his old smiles upon his
face.
"Yeah, I suppose you are right Metonot," said
Jacob. "Still, this incident today might change people's opinion on us. Only
time will tell I suppose."
Sensing the change in Jacob's demeanor, Whooper
let out a couple of beeps and began to dance around the tree. Both Metonot and
Jacob began to laugh at the petpet's insanity. As more of their gloominess began
to fade, Jacob began to notice that they were both hungry, and reached into
his travel sack. Finding a slice of green pepper omelette, Jacob passed to Metonot
his portion, and they began to eat.
Long after they had eaten, they both leaned against
the tree, staring up at the night sky. Whooper had long since dug himself into
a hole head first, and had gone into sleep mode as it could not get out. One
of them would pull Whooper out in the morning. For now, they were content with
the silence they were given when the Avabot fell asleep.
After a few more moments of silence, Jacob said,
"You know…despite the fact that I may have ruined our reputation for beating
up both the Brain Tree and Esophagor, I think there's one thing to feel good
about."
"The fact that we are still together and alive?"
inquired Metonot.
"Well, yes. That, and I got this," and Jacob
pulled out something from his coat pocket.
It was the Feather Tickler he had received for
his completion of the Brain Tree's Quest.
"You are happy you received a Feather Tickler
from the Brain Tree? If I recall, you can buy them cheap in many stores, and
they are a horrible weapons when compared to others you can get for almost the
same price."
"I don't know Metonot. I think I can find some
use for it."
And with that, Jacob rubbed the tip of his nose
with the feather, and began to laugh from the sensation he felt.
The End
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