Somewhere on Terror Mountain
Magnolia shuddered. It wasn't only the cold weather
that caused her to shiver, but the height of the mountain as well. Snowbunny
slopes, she thought, I've seen Snowbunny slopes, Tiira_Misu, and
these are no Snowbunny slopes.
"Are you all set?" asked Tiira_Misu. She paused, seeing
Magnolia's terrified expression. "Oh, it's okay. Just think, these are the smallest
slopes on the mountain! Besides, you wanted to go on a skiing vacation. How
are you going to go on a skiing vacation if you don't ski?"
"But I am skiing!" Magnolia retorted. "You
talked me into all of this, Tiira_Misu."
"Well, let's quit arguing and start skiing, then,"
Tiira_Misu replied. "You're never going to get anywhere in life if you just
sit there blaming stuff on people."
"Okay, enlighten me--how am I going to get anywhere
in life, then?"
"How about this?" The red Usul gave Magnolia
nudge, sending her down the mountain. "You're going places, Magnolia!" she called
after her.
"THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL IT?!" Magnolia screeched,
halfway down the slope. Adding the fact that these were the mere Snowbunny slopes
to Magnolia's skiing prowess, (or lack thereof), Magnolia had soon enough toppled
to the bottom of the mountain, where Noelle and Sys-op were waiting. Head submerged
in the snow, she murmured a greeting.
"Oh, good morning," said Noelle. "Done already?"
"You have no idea." Magnolia stood up and clapped
her paws free of snow as Tiira_Misu reached the bottom of the slope. "Back to
the Ski Lodge, shall we go?"
"Oh, Magnolia, we just started!" Tiira_Misu exclaimed.
"Good enough for me," replied Magnolia. "Methinks
I've had enough skiing for...ever."
"Well, the ski lifts are that way," said Sys-op, pointing
left. Magnolia, bitterly taking up her skis, pouted and headed the way of the
ski lifts, Tiira_Misu, Noelle, and Sys-op following after her. The group boarded
the closest lift down the mountain and soon set off. Somewhere near the middle
of the trip to the ski lodge, the lift began to shake.
"W-why is the lift m-moving like that?" Magnolia asked
shakily, clinging to her seat.
"I think I heard somewhere that the cords were a bit
damaged, but nothing serious," Tiira_Misu replied as the lift reached the ground.
"See? Nothing to worry about."
"Good, then," Noelle answered, stepping out of the
ski lift and heading for the lodge. Since the murder mystery that had hit the
news a few years past, the ski lodge had been tidied up and now appeared much
more welcoming. The lobby was large and spacious, with a few tall windows, a
check-in desk, and a group of assorted pets crowding around a fireplace. Among
the crowd were Taro and Natalie.
"Oh, hey, you two," greeted Sys-op. "Where's everyone
else?"
"In their rooms," Natalie replied. "We're waiting
for them so we can all go out skiing. I see you four are done."
"More than done." Magnolia sighed, sitting
down. "Well, I suppose, as long as I'm here, the only thing I'll ever need to
worry about for the remainder of my vacation is how many marshmallows I have
to put in my cocoa." Suddenly, Magnolia's phone rang. "And I forgot to turn
my phone off," she finished irately, answering her phone. "Magnolia Cherry speaking."
"Oh, great, I reached the right Magnolia," replied
a voice. "Good morning, I'm Sara Secretary, from the Neopian Private Investigation
Agency." Magnolia moaned in reply. "I'm so sorry, but you're the closest person
to Happy Valley right now." Sara sighed. "I know you're on vacation and all,
but, y'know...."
"What is it?"
"Well, it's just before Christmas, as you know. Neopia's
Santa Clause, as I've been told, is sick, and can't make his rounds. Added on
to that, all of his presents have been stolen."
"Erm...Santa Clause?"
"Yeah, you know, that fat Bruce who lives in some
castle in Happy Valley?" Sara asked. "The guy with the big bag of presents and
a raindorf-drawn sleigh."
"Oh! That guy, right," replied Magnolia. "I thought
that was just a commercialism-based faerie tale."
"Apparently not, because commercialism-based faerie
tales can't be stolen from," replied Sara. "Look, it's Christmas Eve-Eve, and
if you can't get the bags back to Happy Valley by tomorrow, there'll be a bit
of a price to pay. Meaning you won't get your presents Christmas
morning."
"Really?"
"I take that as a, 'Yes, I'll take the mission, Sara.'
Well, I've got to go; got stuff to do, you know."
"Bye, then!" Magnolia hung up the phone, her face
twisting into an annoyed frown. "Just when I get a vacation--whenever
I get a vacation, something like this happens!"
"What's the matter, Mag?" asked Sys-op.
"Santa's the matter, that lazy lug. He can't even
find his own stolen presents, let alone prevent them from being stolen
in the first place, and now I have to go get them! Well, I suppose he's
sick, but still, I'm a bit peeved," Magnolia fumed.
"Should we...?" Noelle suggested.
"No, you stay here. I'll handle this one on my own."
Magnolia stood up. "Come on, Sys-op."
"Oh, they can stay; I have to go," Sys-op
muttered. "I tell ya...."
Outside the Ski Lodge
"W-well, I-I've never really g-gone sk-skiing b-before,"
Peach stuttered. "I-I may be a Cybunny, but I'm no Snow bunny. I-I'm
more of a b-beach bunny."
"Well, you agreed to tag along," said Taro.
"Ah, it'll be fine, Peachy," said Gabrielle, a starry
Kyrii. "We'll start skiing, and before you know it, you'll be used to it."
"Please, don't call me Peachy," Peach replied. "And
it's COLD!" she shrieked, shuddering under six layers of clothing. "For crying
out LOUD! Where's the HEATER on this mountain?!"
"Oh, here comes another ski lift," said Charlie. The
ski lifts were fairly large, holding three people per lift. "How about Taro
and Natalie get on this one, and the rest of us on the next?"
So, in agreement, Taro and Natalie boarded the first
ski lift. The next ski lift was to hold Charlie, Gabrielle, and Peach, but it
was a bit of an effort attempting to pry Peach from a tree and onto the ski
lift. Soon enough, she agreed, and the lift departed, only a few feet behind
Taro and Natalie. As before, the ski lift began to shake halfway into the voyage,
but this time, it stopped moving altogether.
"Uhhhh..." Natalie murmured. "Isn't it supposed to
keep going?"
"It's supposed to," replied Peach. "Oh, NO!
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I was ALWAYS against coming here, and once something like
this happens, y'know what I do? I wonder why I actually LISTENED to you guys!
Because if I HADN'T, I wouldn't be DANGLING FROM A MALFUNCTIONING SKI LIFT RIGHT
NOW!"
"Whoa, calm down, already!" cried Gabrielle. "This
ain't my fault, if that's what you're getting at."
"Pipe down, you two," said Charlie. "This is only
for a minute. I'm sure a rescue team on the staff will find us here and save
us as soon as possible. I think...I hope."
Top of Terror Mountain
"I cannot believe this," murmured Magnolia, storming
down the snowy mountain to Happy Valley. "Just when I get the season off."
"Ah, it's okay," Sys-op reassured. "Don't worry, we'll
get the thieving...thief."
"Oh, that's comforting," said Magnolia. Suddenly,
she saw a yellow Eyrie hiking up the mountain, toting a red slushie. "What's
this? I think we've found our culprit!"
"But, Mag--"
"But nothing; that's Camella, right? I bet she's
responsible for all of this. VILLAIN AHOOOOOOOOOOOOY!" That said, Magnolia made
a mad dash for Camella, who promptly shrieked as she was knocked to the snow.
"What on Neopia--?" Camella shrieked, looking
up. "M-Magnolia? What--HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?!"
"Oh, don't play the 'I-was-innocently-toting-slushies-up-the-mountain-and-have-nothing-to-do-with-this-whole-Santa-thing'
bit with ME! I can see through your little charade!"
"What are you talking about?" Camella demanded,
sitting up. "This must be something pretty important to get you to tackle me
and spill red slushie all over my favourite jacket!"
"It was already red," observed Sys-op.
"Oh, shut up," Camella snapped.
"Never mind that--You know what I'm talking about,"
Magnolia interrupted. "Y'know, the whole stealing-the-presents thing? Where'd
you hid them, anyway?"
"I have absolutely no idea what you mean,"
replied Camella. "I haven't stolen anything."
"Oh, sure," said Magnolia. "I bet."
"I'm not kidding, I'd swear--if I was a swearing
type of person, which I'm not, but if I was--that I don't have anything
to do with this whole present-stealing thing." Camella paused, looking up. "Hey,
isn't it near Christmas, anyway? What are you doing on the job?"
"Don't remind me," Magnolia replied, standing up.
"Well, sorry about this whole mess--I'll go now." She turned to leave, Sys-op
following after.
"No, wait," said Camella. "You know, this does sound
pretty serious, and if it's as bad as it sounds, I'll go with you."
"Y-you mean--you actually want to help me?"
"No, I just want to make sure you pay me back for
the jacket AND the slushie," she replied, standing up to follow Magnolia. "Either
way, I want to see just how serious this thing is--mainly because if
it's enough to get a big red stain on my--"
"--ALREADY RED jacket," Magnolia interrupted. "Where's
En Guarde, anyway?"
"Ski lodge," Camella replied. "We just went out skiing,
actually, when I remembered I left my purse out here. Where are you headed?"
"Happy Valley," said Sys-op. "That's where the presents
were stolen from, basically. And since the ski lifts are over--" Sys-op paused.
A long line of pets stood waiting for the next lift to come, which never did.
"I guess they aren't working."
Magnolia sighed exasperatingly. "Now what?
We'll never get back down the mountain at this rate!" She and Camella sat down
in the snow. "Maybe we could--" Suddenly, they began to slowly slide down the
mountain.
"Err...is this supposed to be moving?" Camella asked.
Further travel proved that what they had been sitting on was a wide plank of
wood buried under the snow. The board slid quickly downwards, Sys-op clinging
on for dear life.
"I'M BEGINNING TO THINK ICE SKATING WOULD HAVE BEEN
BETTER!" Magnolia shrieked, shying to the back of her makeshift sled.
"Kind of late, don't you think?!" Camella replied. "How do you stop
this thing?!"
"I don't know! I've never been sledding before! And
the fact that there's nothing PULLING it kind of puts us at a bit of a disadvantage,
huh?" Magnolia answered. "Oh, wait, it's slowing down a bit."
The 'sled' skidded to a halt on a small ridge of snow.
The line behind the ski lifts was out of sight, signifying that they had already
come a long way. "Why did I volunteer to go with you?!" asked Camella.
"Well, at least there wasn't anything to run from,
like an ava..." Magnolia droned off as the ground began to shake. A wave of
snow burst into sight. "...lanche."
"You just had to say something, didn't you?"
Camella asked as the sled sped down the mountain again.
"AUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"
"MAKE IT STOP!" Magnolia cried. "MAKE IT STOP!" She
paused, turning around. "MAKE IT GO! MAKE IT GOOOO!"
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" said Camella. "YOU
SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN OFF WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE!"
"ME? WHAT ABOUT YOU?" Magnolia shrieked in
reply. "And besides--this isn't MY fault! It's Chief's fault! He knew very well
I was on vacation!"
"Well, once you get back to the agency, give him a
SLAP for me!" Camella answered. Suddenly, the sled veered to the left, sending
Camella and Sys-op off and into a nearby crevasse in the ice. "...If
you get back."
Meanwhile...
"Don't panic! Don't panic! Don't panic! Don't panic!"
Charlie murmured over and over to herself, rocking in her seat. "DON'T PANIC!
DOOOON'T PANIIIIIIIC!"
"Urm...Charlie; you want to lay off the caffeine,
yes?" suggested Natalie.
"Well, it has been an hour or two, you can't blame
her," said Gabrielle. "And no one's come to help, either. Who knows how long
we'll be here at this rate!"
"Please, don't say that!" cried Peach. "Just get me
down from here! I'm DONE skiing!"
"You and me both, Peach," Gabrielle replied. "But...could
you...let go of me? You're starting to cut off my circulation."
Suddenly, Magnolia slid nearby on a plank of wood.
"MAGNOLIA!" cried Peach. "HELP!"
Magnolia looked up in surprise. "What on--Peach? How'd
you get up there?"
"The ski lifts--we were on our way to the mountain--they
suddenly stopped--and now we're stuck here!" Charlie stuttered.
"Oh, you guys, they were undergoing maintenance,"
replied Magnolia. "That's why that long line was back there!"
"Long line?" asked Gabrielle. "Where've you been,
anyhow?"
"Looong story," Magnolia answered. "Look, I'll go
get help. But, Sys-op fell off of the sled, and she's stuck back somewhere...I'll
have to go back to get her. So, I'll go fetch someone in a second and go back
to the mountain, okay?"
"Great, just get us down!" Peach cried.
Magnolia nodded and ran off towards the ski lodge
to get help. She soon returned with a yellow Elephante. "Ohh, right," said the
Elephante. "I heard those were a bit unstable. They say some guy named Chet
Flash could be responsible, but I think it's just a problem with the system.
I'll have you down in a second."
Terror Mountain
Camella sighed. Today just wasn't her day, apparently.
First the stain on her jacket, then the avalanche, and now being stuck in a
crevasse with Sys-op. It was too much to bear, really.
"Soooo," said Sys-op. "While we're stuck in here,
we ought to converse a little!"
"Converse?" asked Camella. "Err--"
"Oh, don't be scared; conversation is the best way
to get to know someone better!" Sys-op paused. "Now for a topic. Um...so! Tell
me about your life!"
"My
life? Oh, that's boring, you don't want to hear about me," Camella replied.
"Huh. Soooo...I heard there was a big Zurroball tournament
going on at the Space Station!" Sys-op remarked. "I'm not really a big fan of
sports, but..." Sys-op sighed, leaning against a tan-coloured bag.
"Hey, what's that?" asked Camella, pointing to the
bag Sys-op was leaning against. Sys-op turned around, bewildered at what she
saw.
"Wait a minute--This is a bag of presents!" Sys-op
replied, showing the opening of the bag and drawing out a box. "Oooooh, I wonder
who this is for! But who would leave a bag of presents out in the middle of
nowhere?" Sys-op asked quizzically.
"Wait, isn't Magnolia looking for presents?" Camella
asked. She gasped, finding three other bags behind a ledge of ice. "We have
to get back to her! B-but...how?"
Meanwhile...
"Oh, I hope they aren't in any trouble," murmured
Magnolia to herself, trudging through the cold snow. "This is the absolute worst
vacation ever."
Shivering in the bitter cold, Magnolia forced herself
on. Within a few minutes' time, she heard a faint screaming noise, but couldn't
determine where it had come from. "H-helloooo? Is there someone out there?"
A muffled murmur sounded in reply. "Sys-op, Camella, is that you? Where are
you? Oh, for the love of the Faerie Queen--where are you?!" Magnolia,
a bit worried now, began to walk faster. "Can you hear me? Oh, tell me where
you are...." The sun had long since set, and the snow was beginning to fall
harder and more quickly. "Where could they be?"
Suddenly, the snow began to shift underneath Magnolia's
feet, revealing a crevasse a few inches away. "HEY!" cried a voice from underneath.
"You want to watch it with the snow up there? It's kinda cold!"
"Oh--!" Magnolia darted to the edge of the crack in
the ice and brushed the remaining snow aside to view Camella and Sys-op. "There
you are! You don't know how long I've been looking for you!"
"Magnolia!" cried Sys-op. "Get us out of here--we
found the 'stolen' presents!" The crevasse was not as tall as Magnolia had imagined,
and the only thing keeping them out was the fact that Camella couldn't reach
the very edge. When asked as to why she didn't think of flying out, she simply
replied that she wasn't very proficient at it anyway.
"So, how do we get down from here?" asked Camella.
"We're smack in the middle of a potential storm!"
Magnolia looked around the mountain, just as puzzled
by their dilemma. Soon enough, she saw a large, wooden board lying in the snow.
"Anyone willing to go back to square one?"
Later, at the Ski Lodge...
"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sys-op squealed as the 'sled' skidded
to a halt. "Do it again! Do it again!" Magnolia and Camella stepped onto the
snow, dragging a bag of presents each, and Sys-op followed them into the ski
lodge. There, Noelle and a Christmas Kiko sat waiting for her.
"Magnolia!" said Noelle, standing up. "This Kiko's
been looking for you. I told him you were out, but, well, now you're not!"
"What was it that you wanted to tell me?" Magnolia
asked, intrigued.
"Oh--uh--Magnolia, right?" the Kiko asked, met with
a nod. "Great. Look, I'm here representing your latest client, as I've heard,
Santa Clause. Er--as you know...you were recently sent out to find a few stolen
presents of ours, and I see you've succeeded. But, frankly, those presents were
never stolen in the first place."
"They w--"
"No, no, let me finish! We at Terror Mountain find
it a very hard job wrapping presents and delivering every single one
on the 24th, but, unfortunately, that's a bit of a deadline for us. So, with
that in mind, the big red guy comes up with this ingenious idea that
we go out early and get some of them delivered ahead of time. Big mistake. So,
he and three others go out to deliver a few presents. Unfortunately, the first
person on their list is the Snow Faerie, who lives on top of the mountain. So
then, they, try to make it up the mountain in a tiny sleigh to deliver presents
to the Snow Faerie. Even more unfortunately, there was a blizzard on the mountain.
So, the sled crashes into a rock and all the presents fall out. Santa was sick
because of his bright idea of going into a blizzard at night, and the presents
getting lost were his fault, so he makes up a story for Princess Lilac, and
she contacts the Neopian Private Investigation Agency, and you go out to find
them--"
"--For absolutely nothing?!" Magnolia shrieked.
"Er--I suppose you could say that," replied the Kiko.
"I should be going now."
"I take it that those planks of wood we found were
just parts of the sleigh," Camella said. "That makes sense."
"Umm...Magnolia?" Sys-op murmured as the Kiko quickly
left the lobby.
"AAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"
The End--and a Very Merry Christmas From the NPIA to you!
Note from the Author: Thank you for reading my story, and Merry Christmas
to you all! So, how was it? I'll greatly appreciate any comments, suggestions,
or opinions you have to give, so, by all means, don't
hesitate to Neomail me! | 
