The Great Orb Theft: Part Five by hot_pink_lizard |  |
Untitled Document
After leaving the note for my pets to find, I had picked
up what equipment I still had. My cat suit still fitted me, even though I'd grown
a bit since I worked for the organisation. Hey, I'm fifteen, what can you expect?
Luna and Solar had designed most of the equipment,
and I can tell you now, it's good stuff. I wondered how they were getting on,
being on opposite sides. They were twin Kougra's who could hardly breathe without
each other, let alone think. But together, they were one, well, two of the cleverest
pets I had ever met. Though I'm pretty sure Immacolata could give them a run
for their money.
I selected a small vial from my belt. One of
the twin's brainwaves, a one shot morphing potion that would last a certain
amount of time, depending on the dosage. A slight alteration of the recipe and
a few months careful testing had worked out the standard quantities, which made
them incredibly useful. They could last anywhere between an hour to a few years.
The one I had chosen would turn me into a shadowed Pteri for five hours, which
I estimated would be long enough to get me to Merridell. Pteri's were very fast,
powerful flyers, although it was possible that I could get shot down as a Darigan
spy. Oh well, risks had to be taken.
I downed the potion in one gulp, shivering as
I started to change. I had never liked the experience, but once I was in my
new form, I felt… free. And oddly happy. I hadn't realised just how much I had
missed being with the organisation, even if things got a bit dangerous from
time to time, like when White found out I had hidden his coffee mug. I absentmindedly
wondered whether he'd found it yet. I didn't think so.
Once out on the cool night air, I assessed my
chances. There wasn't much that could match a flying Pteri for speed or manoeuvrability,
but I would have to look out for Draiks. My new form was certainly not built
for combat, and nothing could take out wing feathers like a blast of flame from
a Draik. And without my wing and tail feathers, I was a goner. The weather conditions
weren't brilliant, I could have wished for better. Some decent thermals, maybe.
But with ninety percent cloud cover and fifteen inches of snow, the most I could
hope was that poor visibility would cut down my chances of being seen.
I smiled, although it's hard to tell with a
beak, and turned a few loop-the-loops before settling in a course for Merridell
castle. I needed a plan. A really good plan. Don't let me down, brain; you've
never done it before. And after this, I really am going to retire.
White and Shadow had taken the three pets down
to the organisation headquarters. All the pets, from both sides, had turned
up. It seemed Chrissy had been more popular than she thought. White was soon
introducing them to everyone.
"Immacolata, meet Luna and Solar." The twin
Kougra's bowed. One silver, the other gold, but apart from that the resemblance
was striking.
"We've heard…"
"…All about you."
"Seems you're pretty smart."
"What's this about a tracker, then?"
"Selenium."
"Clever."
"And scanners on the weather satellites."
"We're impressed."
Immacolata looked slightly pleased with herself.
"I'll be certain to show you the entire reaches of my technological empire,
but before that, can we rescue our owner?"
"Yes, Luna, Solar, no time for small talk. We
need equipment for a party of five, pronto."
"Five?"
"Yes, you three, me and Shadow."
"You're kidding, right?"
A tall, Faerie Peophin raised her eyebrows at
them.
"You, and Shadow, out on a mission together?
You can't even hold a conversation without trying to destroy each other."
Shadow snarled at her "Shift, stop being so
negative. This is Shift, everyone. Our best undercover pet, even if she is a
pain in the neck."
"Pleased to meet you," she smiled.
"And you," replied Elenna.
"And anyway, what's with the she? I'm a…" Shift
trailed off, noticing them all looking at her meaningfully. She then looked
like she was doing some heavy mental arithmetic.
"Oh yes!" she exclaimed finally. "I am a she
now, aren't I? Forget my own head next. I'm still getting used to the tail."
"…Hence the name Shift," White added. "Shift's
been so many different things, I'm surprised she can still talk. That amount
of changing can do serious damage."
Shadow introduced them to the rest of the group.
They all seemed to have short names, most of which somehow described them. There
were all the colours of the rainbow, all different objects, black, crimson,
lemon, forest, turquoise, midnight, lavender, storm, wings, flame… There were
way too many for them to remember them all. Before they knew it, White had sat
them down for a mission briefing.
"Now, we've got two options here. It's early
afternoon, and I reckon Chrissy has reached the castle by now. She's good, really
good, so unless she makes a big mistake, which is not likely, or is really unlucky,
also not likely, she'll get the orb very quickly. Remember, the war is over
tomorrow, and then the Orb will very likely be moved, looking at the scores.
Chrissy will want to get it before then. We've got to get to her before tomorrow,
and stop her from taking it."
"Question?" Waterlily tilted her head to one
side. "Why can't we just… Not stop her? I mean…" She continued, faltering slightly
as everyone was looking at her like she had said the most incredibly stupid
thing. "The Orb is what this stupid war is all about, isn't it? So if there's
not Orb, there's nothing to fight over…" She stopped, and shrugged. "It's just
an idea."
"It's a good idea," Shadow answered. "But it
won't work. For one thing, Darigan will not believe Merridell when they say
the Orb has been stolen. They'll probably destroy the entire country once and
for all. Some people could take the opposite view, thinking that Darigan stole
it. Then, they'll probably wage war on Darigan again. And if anyone finds out
that Chrissy was involved, both sides will stop fighting each other and go after
her. No, the only way to make sure everything will be okay is to stop her stealing
the orb in the first place."
"Right." Elenna tucked Neca into a special pouch
Luna and Solar had rigged up for her. "So, how are we getting there?"
"We're flying," Shadow smiled at Waterlily's
incredulous face.
"I can't fly."
He handed her a small bottle. "Now you can."
To be continued...
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