T-Rex Weaponry Providers, Inc
Flying as fast as possible with Saf atop Angel's back, it took a little
over ten minutes to fly to the Industrial District. The problem lay in where
the culprit was carrying out is evil plot, as he had been for years.
Their first stop was to the sludge furnace in Downtown Neopia. There lay all
the documents of which industries had donated how much sludge. They wandered
into the foyer. Angel sheltered Saf as they approached the desk.
"Small-talk time," murmured Swifty, "Just put on your best American Tourist
act and try to disguise the fact that you're a Geordie!"
A fat Green Lenny sat behind the desk, stuffing sugar doughnuts into his mouth.
He never looked up from the magazine he was reading when they walked in, even
when Swifty tapped on the desk and cleared his throat.
"This isn't going to be too hard," whispered Angel, "A Skeith on roller-skates
could get past this guy."
Swifty chortled. At that moment the Lenny decided to look up and asked, "Can
I help you?" in a very droll and monotonous voice. Saf was given a nudge and
she slipped silently through the open door and into the office.
Angel tried to stifle a laugh. Swifty beamed an obviously fake smile.
"Hello there! Nice weather we're having today!"
The Lenny frowned.
"I'm just here with my girlfriend on a trip to the Big City." He gave Angel
a bear hug. "We're just here to see the sights, and how could we leave without
visiting the sludge furnace!"
Saf, meanwhile, was totally engaged in checking out the database. She found
a file that listed all the names of companies and how much sludge they'd donated
in the last 25 years. She ran a query through the databases search engine. A
graph appeared on-screen. One company stood out above the others. Just as Angel
guessed it would be! thought Saf. She pressed the print button and hid behind
the bin.
Luckily, the Lenny was too suspicious of the Eyries, and the printer was too
quiet for him to notice. Saf grabbed a hold of the end of the printout... suddenly
it made a horrible loud noise to signal the end of the printout. The Green Lenny
spun round and immediately spotted the Aisha tearing through the office. He
yelled, "Stop! Thief!" after her, but never left his chair. He turned to face
the Eyries. They were gone! The trio were already out the building, down the
High Street and in the clear!
The Lenny, embarrassed to admit he was too fat to get out the chair, shrugged
and went back to his magazine.
***
Swifty led the way as Angel and Saf ran behind, scanning the printout paragraphs
for more relevant info.
"The company's name is T-Rex Weaponry Providers, Inc," they gasped, "and it
should just be round the corner. Over the 15 out of the 25 years it had given
a fairly regular amount of sludge to the furnace. But in 1992 it went under
new management, and the donated sludge plummeted. And the manager? Who do you
think?"
"We've got him!" Swifty grinned. Just then they skidded round the corner and
came across a factory: T-REX WEAPONRY PROVIDERS, INC.
"There's no going back now," Angel sighed.
They sneaked in the factory through the grubby back door. Some lax security.
The factory itself was very low-key. There were a few manual workers, but most
of it was mechanised. The sound of the machines screeched down the corridor
as they ran through the halls, past the apparatus, towards reception. A Red
Usul minced down the hall, skipping a little. Angel darted forward.
"You know where we can find the manager?"
"Oh, yah, I think I saw him in the lobby."
Saf shouted "Thanks!" as they rushed past and into the lobby.
Time was running out! Angel could already feel an unnaturally grim presence
in the building. The deeper into the building they ran, the creepier it became.
The constant whirr of machinery that had deafened them mere seconds ago was
now a dim hum in the background. Swifty barged through the lobby door. A desk
leant across the far right wall, but dotted all around were doors! All identical
doors, at least thirty of them!
Saf leaped up onto the first doorknob and opened the door. It led into a honeycomb
of corridors. Angel and Swifty tried a few other doors too: all identical. Swifty
slammed his fist on the wall in rage, and roared, "We'll never find him at this
rate!"
Angel yelled back at him, "Aye, we will! Don't think like that. It might not
be too late."
"Yes it is. It is. You must have felt that as well as I did. A few more minutes
and it'll be too late."
Angel clicked her beak. She knew it too. She'd always been taught to be wary
of these signs, but never thought she'd EVER come across them. They were in
worse trouble than they thought. Her heart was pulsing and throbbing around
her ears. Then, BEEEEEEEP she stopped and listened. It must have been
her imagination, otherwise she could have sworn she heard...
Just then, the lobby door burst open. The ditzy Usul from the hall walked through,
holding her arms as far from her body as possible. In her hands was a small
yellow machine, squirming and bleeping insanely. Angel went pale. It was the
Avabot! The one Spike and Rincham had been talking about! The one from her dream
- no - the one that was in her room last night. She focused on the squirming
Petpet in the Usul's hands.
"I thought I told him to keep this... this... trash can out of here!" she
complained, "it's, like, just so gross!"
The Avabot wriggled out of her arms and dashed towards the seventh door along,
scratching the dashboard.
Saf approached the Usul, asking, "What does he want?"
The Usul sat on a wheelie chair and dabbed on some horrific glittery lipstick.
"Dunno. He probably just wants to find 'Big Boss Man' down there. He doesn't
like to be disturbed when he's working. Sorry."
"Sorry? Why are you saying sorry? You've just saved our butts!" squealed Saf,
rushing over to the desk. "When do we go, then?"
Swifty glared, "You're not going anywhere. Stay here and phone the police.
And make sure it's not I.H. - we've got to find him before it's too late."
Saf protested but Swifty would have nothing of it, yelling back that it was
for her own good. He and Angel slammed the door behind them and stalked the
Avabot, following the whirring of cogs.
***
The Eyries darted down the corridor, barely speaking to each other. The situation
was now distinguishably more serious than they ever expected it to become.
Swifty thought he heard mumbling. He looked sideways at Angel.
"What are you doing?"
"What? I'm not doing anything. What did you think I'm doing, like?"
"I could have sworn you were just talking into your locket."
"Really? Now why would I do that?"
"I dunno. Think I'm going crazy."
They stumbled along the winding corridors together... until they came to a
fork. The bleeping of the Avabot echoed around - it could be anywhere!
Swifty looked at Angel with sincerity: "It is inevitable: we've got to part."
He felt his eyes burn and sting, and turned his head away.
Angel felt empty. She couldn't just leave without saying anything. If they
were too late... it could be the last time they ever see each other. She simply
walked over to Swifty as he turned away, and rubbed her neck against his, purring
affectionately. He seemed surprised at first, but then returned the favour.
A deep rumble roused from his throat, like Angel's only deeper. This emotion
was so new, so intense. For the first time ever, Angel didn't want to go on
an adventure. Swifty felt weird: like he just didn't want to leave. He purred
tenderly, and they left. Swifty to the left, Angel to the right.
***
Swifty felt hot. That thing that just happened... it was really weird, he
thought. His feelings were preoccupied - but he was soon distracted by the creepy
sensation all around him. The air around was becoming denser and denser, like
he was about to meet something of pure evil. He ran down the twisting corridors,
getting closer and closer to his goal...
***
Angel too was experiencing mixed emotions. Why did they have to leave? This
is so dangerous. What if they never come out of this alive? What she wouldn't
give to be back in the swamp with all her friends. No, that's crazy! If they
had never left, this wicked Neopet would never be caught, never even be suspected!
They were doing a good deed.
The air felt heavier suddenly. There was a crunch. Angel stopped in her tracks
and quivered. She shook her head. I'm on the right track! she told herself,
It's just that Avabot again. She ran down the hall and skidded down the
corner.
THUMP!! Something was waiting for her on the corner. It bound her as she struggled,
making it impossible to move. The moist smelly breath whistling down her neck
made her feel sick. Huge claws grappled round her beak. She tried to scream... but the scream just didn't come.
***
Her friend was starting to get worried. Swifty just could not get rid of the
notion that she could be in danger. He continued nevertheless. If there was
any trouble, he was bound to hear her via the echoes bouncing off the walls.
BLEEEEEEEEEEP
Swifty recognised that sound anywhere. The Avabot was right in front of him!
He stalked it, following it into - a huge hanger! There was grit and sludge
- black sludge - and bottles of yellowy-brownish dye dotted all over. The place
stank! It was retched! Broken weapons and prototypes were dotted all over the
place. Hahah! Evidence! he thought.
There was a sudden heaving sound coming from the back of the hanger. Swifty
trailed the noise warily, taking care to let the pads of his feet avoid the
smashed glass and metal shards scattered across the floor. He winced on every
step.
He approached the balcony and edged forward. Below him stood a huge figure
draped in black cloth, lifting a dumbbell with great ease. There was also a
panicked muffling noise, but Swifty was just too far to see it properly. He
tiptoed further towards the edge.
BLEEEEEEEEP
"Bleepers? There you are. Where have you been?"
It growled and seized up the Avabot in its grasping claws.
"The next time you decide to do that, don't bring any more uninvited guests
along."
It threw the Avabot against the far wall, where it bounced and quivered, humming
sorrowfully to itself. The dark outline was standing in a pool of sweat that
had collected during its exercise. It leered forward in pain, wincing from
excessive training, then stopped and laughed.
"Don't be too afraid for him, my dear. He's made of metal. You're not. If you're
scared of what happened to him, well, I'll leave what'll happen to you to your
imagination."
The muffling sound occurred again. Swifty edged forward and peered over the
top. It was Angel. She was bound with rope and had her beak tied, preventing
her from making a noise. He started to feel a fierce emotion swell up inside
him. How dare he! This jerk has got to be stopped.
He tried to get up silently but - being in a rage - a herd of Elephantes could
have been subtler. He immediately knocked over a bottle of sludge that toppled
over the side and smashed into a million pieces on the ground below.
The thing's blood-red eyes turned slowly to the wreck, then to the stunned
Eyrie on the balcony. It screwed up its nose in hatred and turned towards him.
Angel screamed through the ropes for him to get away. He ignored her and floated
down to land opposite the creature. He wavered. The hooded figure was HUGE:
much bigger than the one he had tried to chase over the rooftops the night before.
Much too big, even, to fit through the hotel room window now! Swifty quivered
suddenly, hearing its sinuous breathing and feeling its eerie presence as
it turned to face him.
The creature narrowed its eyes and started to talk in a hissing tone.
"You shouldn't have done that. Now you will suffer the same fate as she."
Angel muffled again. Swifty looked at her. She was trying to put on a brave
face, but couldn't stop the tears of terror forming in her eyes. Swifty puffed
up his feathers, driven by rage to take on this guy.
"The game's over, Burzwakh," he growled, "We've found you out. Now just give
up and it'll stop causing so much pain."
Burzwakh grinned maliciously.
"I don't think I want to stop playing yet."
To be continued... | 
