We Are Meepit: Part Three

The Second Fight

"I still hate this so bad..." I murmured.

    "Oh, the excitement will change your mind when we get in," the pink meepit whispered, dismissing my words as unimportant. I shrugged and stared at Fyora's castle, butterflies crawling in my stomach.

    "Rayd, I hate being a... what was it you called it? A deputy! I don't want this responsibility, as I've tried to tell you so many times before... I shouldn't even be here!" I protested.

    Rayd withdrew his Sword of Skardsen and pointed it at the castle. "I dee-clare, Clyde, you are the most difficult meepit I've ever talked to! But that's what'll make you great. Think about it... years from now, when we rule, you and me, we'll be Jonas' head meepits!"

    "If we win," I countered darkly.

    The leader sighed and thrust his sword into the door. The door to Fyora's castle creaked open, slowly, loudly. I stiffened. My nerves were so plentiful that anything would startle me. I did not see how we meepits could possibly force Fyora to surrender.

    As we entered, I stared at the marble rooms, the marble staircases, the marble instruments... all had to be perfect for the Faerie Queen. For good measure, I took a flute and smashed it quietly. Rayd cast an approving glance my way.

    "The other leader is Reed... the other deputy is Holly," Rayd informed me. "They rule the other group. We four are the most significant figures here... we make the plans and all."

    I groaned. "Rayd, I don't want to be making any plans... I'd so much rather follow the ones you make."

    Rayd shrugged. "Have it your way. Still, I don't want it to seem like I have a weak deputy, so you'll still have to talk with Reed and Holly with me. Besides, you may have a good strategy... ain't you one of the brightest meepits here?"

    "No."

    "Oh..." Rayd didn't seem to be paying much attention. He walked over to an authoritative blue meepit and they talked a few seconds. I didn't bother to walk over there.

    When Rayd came back, I whispered, "What's going on?"

    "We storm the staircase to bring out the guards. Then we fight them," he said casually, as though announcing what was for breakfast. I didn't understand how Rayd could be so calm, when I was so jittery I thought I'd faint any second.

    We began to march up the stairs. I dizzily placed my paws on one step, then the other. "It's off we go, to take down the queen, to take down Miss Fyora!" we chanted loudly.

    As Rayd had predicted, swarms of Grarrls leapt down. Several carried Bony Grarrl Clubs, and others wore metal armor; I felt sick to my stomach. A hundred meepits couldn't bring down such a fighting force!

    "Attack!" shrieked a voice, and I realized it was Holly, a dung meepit off to the side of me. I readied my sword for the battle and sipped from a healing potion.

    Then a Grarrl charged at me. He was a gargantuan monster, one I didn't particularly want to deal with. But I was forced to, so I did. I tried to glare at him with an unwavering gaze, and not tremble at all; I wished I could be brave. I noticed my knees were shaking and tried to dismiss that fact. I charged at the Grarrl and swiped at him with the Sword of Skardsen.

    He was blown aside. He stood up and brought down his Bony Grarrl Club, trying to have it land on me, but I nimbly jumped aside and again swung my Sword of Skardsen. The Grarrl lost all of his hit points and keeled over.

    "There's too many!" I gasped to a meepit at my side. He blinked for a second; he was a standard pink meepit who didn't seem too open. Then he spoke.

    "Umm... we have to, um, keep fighting. I'm, um, Hefflin, by the way, um," Hefflin told me.

    I nodded. "I'm Clyde!" I yelled as another Grarrl charged towards us. For a moment I wished I had a different weapon besides the two-ton Sword of Skardsen - it was so heavy it was hard to maneuver - but I changed my mind as I knocked the Grarrl out with one swipe.

    "Onward!" called a thick, deep voice; I turned my head and recognized Reed. Following his orders, I began to march farther up the stairs, and before long we were on the second floor.

    I grinned; we were winning! If we could take down those Grarrls, we could force Fyora to surrender... I hoped.

    Hefflin ran behind me, and I ran behind Rayd. "Where to now?" I asked my leader.

    He looked at me strangely. "The throne room, of course!"

    So much for my good mood.

    We ran up stairs and dodged enemies until we reached two large doors. FQF, in bold, beautiful, jeweled letters, sat at the top of the doors. I assumed it stood for Faerie Queen Fyora. The doors were huge and oaken, a fine wood. It felt like a crime to have to destroy these beautifully crafted doors, but I did, with the other meepits' help. On three, we ran at the door, our swords outstretched, ready to chop the wood and break into Fyora's throne room.

    The wood exploded and we ran in, a swarm of meepits focused on one task alone; to inform Fyora that she was no longer the ruler of Neopia. I looked around for the Faerie Queen, waited to be destroyed by some magnificent weapon from the hidden tower, but she was nowhere to be found.

    "What the -" the meepits asked, scratching their heads.

    "Where's Fyora?" Rayd hissed in my ear.

    "How should I know?" I whispered back.

    I walked over to her throne. It was magnificent, a purple-gold with Fyora in beautiful cursive at the top. On it was a folded note. Curiosity got the better of me, and I picked up the note and carefully unfolded it.

    On milky white paper there were thin red letters. I scrutinized the paper, trying to decipher the queen's tiny hand-writing.

    "Out to give a quest," the letter read. "Be back in a few minutes."

    "She is out! We wait!" I yelled to the meepits. They stared blankly up at me.

    "There's no other choice!" Rayd put in.

    I leapt down from the throne and landed on the softly carpeted floor. "Rayd," I whispered. "What do we do?"

    "Wait to ambush her when she opens the door!" Rayd answered loudly.

    I nodded; it seemed reasonable to me.

    We waited ten minutes, then half an hour, then an entire hour. "It said she would be back in a few minutes!" I said worriedly.

    Rayd was trembling. He nodded. "D'you think this is a trap?"

    I hadn't thought of that, but now that the meepit mentioned it, I was scared. I didn't want to meet the same fate as Katelynn!

    All of a sudden the door slammed open and in stormed Fyora, armed with all her best weapons from the Hidden Tower. Now was the moment of truth.

    Battle.

    The ground erupted in battle. It was a hundred meepits, armed against Fyora, the strongest being on the face of Neopia. I was too scared to jump in, but after a while, I was tired of playing the coward.

    "Time to attack," I hissed to myself, and I lunged at Fyora, swinging my sword.

    "Uh!" gasped Fyora in pain. She threw a Bagguss Bomb at me. It exploded in my face, and I was knocked off my feet. The wall behind me exploded, and I fell into a different room.

    "Clyde?" called a familiar voice. I looked; it couldn't be; no, it couldn't be... it was impossible...

    "Katelynn!" I exclaimed.

    "They've held us here forever! Help!" Katelynn yelled. I looked at all the other cages. There were at least three-hundred meepits in there.

    Four-hundred meepits made a much better fighting force than one-hundred.

    It took me a moment to decide. "Wait here!" I called as I ran through the hole in the wall.

    "Not much else I can do!" Katelynn responded.

    I entered to find Fyora winning. Panicked, I ran to Hefflin. "Hefflin! Gather up a few meepits! We have to free the PPL meepits!"

    "You, um, found them?" he questioned in wonder, but he followed my orders anyway. "Oi! Ya'll! Come with me and Clyde!"

    About twenty meepits followed me.

    "What are you doing?" barked Rayd furiously. I didn't answer.

    I jumped up to Katelynn's cage and started biting the catch that held it closed. "Wait... what am I doing?" I questioned.

    "I don't know, seeing as you have a Sword of Skardsen right there!" Katelynn answered.

    I sliced at the catch and it quickly came undone. Katelynn hopped out. "Thanks," she said hoarsely.

    "No problem," I replied, and sliced at another meepit's cage.

    Suddenly I heard a Bagguss Bomb clatter to the floor. An eruption threatened to deafen me; Fyora ran in and started throwing her best weapons at us.

    We dodged as best as we could and continued loosening the catches.

    Rayd ran in, followed by Reed, Holly... the whole gang! All of a sudden we had a chance again. "Fight her!" I yelled to Rayd. "Hold her off while we free the meepits!"

    "Will do," Rayd answered, saluting.

    Rayd rushed at Fyora and swung with his Sword of Skardsen. About fifty other meepits did the same. The others were helping me free the others.

    Finally I sliced at the last catch, and a petite meepit named Yi popped out. "Thank you," she whispered timidly, and she hopped away.

    The rest of us attacked Fyora ruthlessly. "Help me, Katelynn!" I yelled. "You're a better fighter!"

    "Yeah, right!" she yelled, but she grabbed my sword anyway and ran at Fyora.

    We were winning.

    When Fyora's last hit points were drained, I had never been happier.

    The meepits could now truly rule the world.

To be continued...