A Meerca's Mission

      She giggled into her paw and nodded. “Yes, at the Space Station. My name is Chuychu. And you are…?”

      “Matatat,” he said. She extended her paw, so he hesitantly reached out and shook it. She had a strong, firm grip.

      “A pleasure to meet you.” Chuychu took a careful look at him, her head slightly tilted. “You are… a follower of Sloth, aren’t you?”

      Matatat’s eyes widened. “What?! How did you know?!”

      “You could say I have a very keen intuition,” she said, smiling as if this was some sort of private joke. Matatat had no idea what she meant by that, but all he could do was nod. “Do you work for him?”

      Part of Matatat wanted to lie and say he was Sloth’s right hand man, but since she seemed to guess that he was a fanatic so easily, she would see right through any lofty claims he could make. “No, but I’d really like to. I think that if Sloth met me, he’d see that I’m one of his most loyal devotees! I’d do just about anything to get him back in power again! I’m sure he’s hidden somewhere deep in the Space Station, I just need to get to him.”

      Chuychu’s expression changed from one of amusement to one of bewilderment. “Oh, he’s not-” she began, but stopped herself. “How have you been trying to get to him?”

      “Oh, you know, like trying to sneak into the restricted areas of the Space Station and stuff. I bet all of those warehouse Grundos walking around are helping prepare so that he can go back to Neopia!” Matatat said excitedly.

      “Oh dear,” Chuychu said softly, shaking her head. “The Space Station is under the guard of the Space Faerie. If Dr. Sloth was hiding somewhere here, she would know about it and kick him right out. He’s probably somewhere else in space right now.”

      Matatat’s face fell. “Wh-what do you mean? How do you know?”

      “Well, you see, I actually have some magical abilities. For instance, it wasn’t just intuition that told me you were a Sloth follower. I could read your mind,” Chuychu said, a small smirk dancing across her face.

      “If you can read my mind…” Matatat trailed off, “then what are the winning lottery numbers?”

      “That’s seeing into the future.” Chuychu stared at Matatat for a moment, slightly pensive, as if she was weighing the pros and cons of a decision. “So now you know that Dr. Sloth isn’t in the Space Station. What are you going to do now?”

      “Well, if you know everything, then you probably know where he is, right?” Matatat asked, his face filled with hope.

      “Well, no. I don’t know everything. But I do remember that last anyone knew of him, he was trapped in a coin floating in outer space.”

      His face went right back to sadness. “Outer space is huge! I’m never gonna find that coin!” But then, he looked determined. “I’ll just get in my space suit and search for myself! I’ll look every single day until I can find him!”

      Chuychu released a long breath. “Matatat, right? I think you’re going to need some help if you want to achieve this lofty goal.”

      “Help? Pfft, I don’t need help! In fact, people should be begging to join me! I’m going to-”

      Chuychu cut him off. “Then I happen to know two creatures who would be the first ones in line to help you out. Would you mind terribly if I took you to meet them?”

      Matatat stared at Chuychu in disbelief. Did she really mean to say that there were two Neopians out there who would believe in the cause just as much as he did? And even better, would accept him as a leader? He stood up a little straighter and puffed up his chest. “Alright, I suppose I could-”

      Before he could finish his sentence, Matatat felt a strong pull forward, forcing the breath out of his lungs. He shut his eyes for a brief moment and when he opened them again, he was somewhere deep in a cave, surrounded by molten lava.

      “WHOA!” He shouted, jumping practically a foot into the air.

      “Welcome to the Magma Pool,” Chuychu said, gesturing around her. “Forgive me for teleporting you so suddenly, I didn’t particularly care to take a shuttle back to Neopia and then walk all the way here. One does not simply walk into Moltara.”

      Matatat looked around, the new heat causing him to sweat. He had never been on the mainland before. 8-bit pets were typically born in the Space Station, so he lived out his childhood years there and felt like he had no reason to leave while he was trying to find Sloth. But then again, once Dr. Sloth made him his right hand man, surely he would have to invade Neopia too. So it was as good of a time as any to get acquainted.

      “Is the gravity change bothering you?” Chuychu asked.

      “No, we have regular gravity inside the Station. It’s only bouncy when you go out,” Matatat answered.

      Before they could continue the conversation, two Neopets approached them. One was a Wraith Draik, and the other was a Magma Lupe. Matatat had never seen those colors on pets in person before, only on TV or in magazines. His jaw dropped when the two walked up so casually like they were there to chat about the weather.

      “Matatat, I’d like you to meet Killua and Macer,” Chuychu said, nodding towards the two.

      “Whoa, you guys are so cool! You mean you’re here to work for me?!” Matatat asked, walking up to the pets and examining them like they were statues.

      Macer shot a questioning look at Chuychu while Killua glared daggers at her. Chuychu simply smiled as if nothing was wrong and spoke on their behalf. “Yes, precisely.”

      “This is incredible!” Matatat said, bouncing up and down on his toes. “I can’t wait to have you guys help me, this is the best day of my life!”

      Chuychu giggled again. “I’m very glad to hear it. Now, do you mind if I speak to these two privately before we all go back to the Space Station? I think that would be the best place to start working on a plan.”

      “Yeah, sure, sounds good!” Matatat said, going over to see if he could make out anything in the Magma Pool.

      Once he was out of earshot, Chuychu gestured for Killua and Macer to come in a little closer. “Look, I know this is a bit odd, but I told the two of you I would help you get back into good graces with Fyora if you did me a favor someday. This is going to be that favor. If you hold up your end of the bargain, I can plead your case in the Faerie Court.”

      “You’re kidding, right? I expected to be fighting in your name or going on a quest to fetch something important, not bowing at the feet of some pathetic Meerca,” Killua snarled.

      “Do you want to be welcome in polite society again?” Chuychu asked. “Besides, you may end up fighting for me anyway. If he gets too far into this, he’s going to be facing some powerful foes. You may have to step in and get involved.”

      “And give him all the credit, huh?” Macer asked with a sigh.

      “I’ll make sure you’re rewarded handsomely in Neopoints for this as well. Not only will you be able to blend back into the crowd without a second glance, but you can get yourself amongst the elite. Who knows what you could gain from that?” Chuychu offered, her smile slightly devious. “After I raise your reputation back up, whatever you choose to do then is no longer my responsibility, nor will I care.”

      A small grin spread across Killua’s face, the kind that would send chills down any Neopian’s spine. Macer’s spirits seemed to lift a bit as well. “Alright, fine, we’ll do it,” Killua said, glancing at his partner in crime for approval.

      “I have plenty of scores to settle once I know I won’t get arrested on the spot for stepping into Meridell,” Macer mused, looking up to the top of the cave as if he could vividly picture it above him.

      “Fantastic,” Chuychu said, giving them one last nod before calling Matatat back over to the group. “Alright, I think we have some ideas for what the next move will be. The four of us can head back to the Space Station and we’ll work on gathering intel for where and how we can find Sloth. How does that sound?”

      Matatat grinned again. “Oh yeah, I’m so ready! I can’t wait, let’s go right now! No time to waste!”

      With an amused roll of her eyes, Chuychu used her magic to summon the group back to the Space Station in the blink of an eye.

To be continued…