Petpet Adventures: Petpetnapped - Part Two

     The petpet stepped forward into the light provided by a single light bulb and was revealed as a fierce looking Skree. He cocked his head to one side. "But first things first," he said, clicking his beak. "What are your names?"

     Ellen answered the question because Thon was too preoccupied studying the Skree. "I'm Ellen and this is Thon."

     The Skree inclined his head then motioned towards the others. "And who are your companions?"

     Thon looked at them; none of them were awake yet, but Terkan was moving. "That's Terkan, the Angelpuss is Faffy and the Noil is Jaraval." He couldn't help an edge creeping into his voice when he said Jaraval.

     The Skree chortled. "I take it that you don't like that Jaraval," he observed.

     "And what's your name?" butted in Ellen.

     "My name, my esteemed Doglefox, is Evar," said the Skree. "And now to answer the question you asked a few moments ago."

     He flew into the darkness and Thon thought he had disappeared from the room completely until he landed in front of them moments later, a piece of newspaper held tightly in his beak. He placed it in front of the cage.

     "Go ahead, read it," he invited.

     Thon leaned forwards, his black nose touching the bars of the cage. "But... it's written in Pet," he said.

     "Of course it is," said Evar irritably. "What else would it be?"

     "We don't know Pet," explained Ellen.

     Evar looked surprised. "Oh. Oh I see. But you should, you know else how would be able to tell what your pets are doing?"

     "We don't really know, we just guess," Thon stated simply.

     "Hmm..." Evar seemed puzzled. "I'll just have to read it for you."

     He opened the newspaper and began reading. "Distressing news from the inhabitants of the Neopian suburbs. Petpets have been disappearing from houses while their owners are away at work... The Defenders of Neopia, our current justice system, believes that they are being sold in a black market for petpets. If anyone has any valid information please contact the... I don't think I need to finish the article," said Evar, looking up at them. "So now you have your answer."

     "It doesn't explain where we are, though," said Thon.

     Evar sighed and folded the newspaper up again. "I don't know either, but you can be assured that you're at the main headquarters."

          "Oh." Thon turned to Ellen because she seemed to understand all this better than him.

     "An' if you're a petpet than why ain't you in a cage?" said the voice of Terkan from behind Ellen.

     Surprised, Thon turned to him. He was standing up and staring suspiciously at Evar. Thon realized that he must have been awake this entire time, listening to their conversation. But then he remembered what Terkan had said and realised that he had a point. He looked at Evar, expecting an answer.

     Evar looked at Terkan. "Because I belong to Walder," he said slowly. Seeing three surprised and suspicious faces staring at him he continued. "Walder is the red Kyrii. And anyway, one petpet not in a cage isn't going to bother him."

     Terkan still wasn't convinced that Evar was innocent. "If you belong to 'im then why are you talkin' to us?" he asked.

     "Because there is nothing else to do," Evar replied.

     Thon was thinking. He looked around the room at the other cages and counted about twenty or so other petpets. His eyes had adjusted to the dim half-light and he was able to make out the shape of door at the far end of the room.

     "Hey, Evar," he said. "Do you think you could get us and all the other petpets out of the cages?"

     Evar followed his gaze. "You wouldn't be able to get out unless a pet opened the door and even then they'd be able to catch you again. Trust me, I've tried."

     "Not if all of us were trying to get out," said Thon, determined to escape. "Please just try."

     Evar sighed but he went over to the lock of the cage and began attacking it with his sharp beak. While he was doing this, Thon decided to wake up Faffy and Jaraval. He would have happily left them behind, but he knew that if he didn't it would be stuck on his conscience. He shook Jaraval awake, none too gently.

     Jaraval glared up at him, then got to his feet. "I don't need your help, thank you very much," he said grumpily, and with that he turned his back on all of them.

     Faffy was a little more difficult. On the third shake she opened her eyes. She looked down at one of her paws and saw it covered in dirt. Her eyes widened in shock and she frantically began cleaning it before she noticed that all of her was a complete mess.

     "Oh no," she moaned. "My beautiful fur, it's ruined."

     "Faffy, shut up," growled Thon and he knew that it wasn't going to be the last time he said it that day.

     The door swung open with a loud creak as Evar broke the lock and Ellen stepped out. Thon and Terkan followed. Faffy was still complaining about the state of her fur and Jaraval stayed where he was.

     "Just leave them," Thon whispered to Evar, who was about to step into the cage. Then he turned to Ellen and Terkan. "Help me get some other cages open."

     He walked along the bench, freeing other petpets as he went. Soon there was a group of twenty or thirty petpets milling around on the floor of the room. Jaraval and Faffy had finally come out of the cage and joined the group, although neither of them looked very happy. Jaraval was studiously ignoring the movement around him.

     When all the petpets were released they turned to Thon, as if expecting him to do something. Ellen nudged him encouragingly and motioned that he speak to them. Thon looked at their bewildered faces and spoke.

     "Ok everyone, when that door opens you have to run through it as fast as you can; otherwise you'll be caught again," he called to them.

     It wasn't the best of speeches but they didn't seem to care. They just turned to the door and waited. Thon went over to Evar.

     "Are you coming?" he asked.

     "Of course. I'm not going to waste the rest of my life sitting here in the darkness," Evar replied. "And I have to say thank you for giving me this chance to be free." He looked over at Jaraval. "I see why you don't like him now," he said. "But I guess you have to look after him, as he doesn't look the type that can look after himself."

     Thon smiled at that and Evar moved away. Ellen approached Thon with Terkan following behind her. Terkan looked happy at being part of all the attention but Ellen looked annoyed.

     "Do we have to take those two with us?" she asked, pointing in the direction of Jaraval.

     Thon remembered what Evar had said to him. "Yes, after all we have to look after them."

     Suddenly all noise was hushed and the only sound in the small room was the heavy footfalls of someone coming towards the room. The door opened and the red Kyrii, Walder appeared through it. He didn't notice the petpets until they began streaking towards him, Thon among them. He nipped one of Walder's red toes as he passed and heard him hiss in pain.

     Thon was in a narrow corridor as dark as the room. Ellen and Terkan were loping beside him. Something whooshed overhead. It was Evar, flying at full speed.

     "Follow me," he squawked and led the petpets towards another door. Luckily his one was open and all the petpets ran out into the bustling streets of... where? Thon had no idea but he and the others from his cage followed Evar until they were well away from Walder. All the other petpets had dispersed in different directions.

     Evar perched on top of a tree smiled at his newfound freedom. Faffy was panting heavily, unused to overexertion. Thon looked carefully at his surroundings but still couldn't tell where they were.

     "Ah, Evar, where exactly are we?" he asked.

     Evar looked down at him. "I don't know. But goodbye for now, and good luck on finding your way home." With that he took off from the tree and flew over the top of a nearby shop. Thon didn't try to stop him. He knew that Evar needed some time to relax. But it still left them with problem of how they were going to get back to the Suburbs.

     "Well that's just great, Thon," sniffed Faffy. "You get us out, but you can't even get us home."

     Thon was annoyed. It wasn't his job to do all the work. "Faffy, shut up," he growled.

To be continued...