World Dominate: Over-Cheery - Part Three

The Promise

Even an hour after the unexpected talk with the Hissi, Agent 53 was slightly unnerved. He wasn't all too intimidated because the Hissi had been able to somehow block the stare's power. He was more anxious about the fact that the Hissi had known more about him than did any other, besides Alexander himself.

     How had the stranger known his name, and more importantly, hers? How had the Hissi even known that he was there? How had he blocked the power of the Meepit's eyes? These questions filled Agent 53's mind like a swarm of angry insects. The worst of it was the fact that Agent 53 had never let anything unnerve him as the Hissi had done, though the stranger had spoken those words and broken down his defenses so easily. Were there others that could throw off the stare as if it were a bothersome itch to be scratched away and forgotten?

     He didn't look forward to telling these things to the Master, but he knew that he would have to. Such facts were key to the Meepits' victory, for if they didn't know that there were some that might be able to resist the Meepits' eventual domination, they might be stopped. Though highly upsetting to him, he knew that he would be punished severely if the Master discovered he had withheld information that might prove the downfall of their entire plan.

     He just hoped that he would be able to give the report in secret. He wanted no one to know what his name had been before he had been recruited. The only ones that knew his name were himself, the Master, that stranger he had never met… and Penelope.

     "Focus," he whispered to himself, and in seconds the image of her left him. He looked around from underneath a stand selling vegetables - great fat potatoes from Meridell, mild and spicy peppers from the Lost Desert, even some foreign, spongy-looking leaves that seemed to have come from the underwater city of Maraqua. Agent 53 sniffed the air experimentally, and looked around at the people who milled the streets but didn't come toward that particular stand. No one seemed to even be looking at it. He grinned very slightly. Then he threw a small stone past the green Scorchio that was owner of the vegetable stand, aiming it so that it hit a can of water in the back. The Scorchio jumped and turned around to see the water in the can leaking over the dirt. Sighing, he walked over and picked up the empty can, looking down at it and muttering something like "stupid petpets". He then set the can down and returned to his post behind the stand, waiting for customers.

     But in the time it had taken him to walk over and back, the unnoticed Meepit had quickly reached up and stolen a potato for his breakfast.

          ******

          More and more people were coming to shop as the morning wore on, and so the Meepit decided to finally search for the shop that the Hissi had told him about. He hated himself for following the directions of a stranger, but he had no other place to start, and the Hissi had seemed honest. The best thing about the streets being so full was that no one would notice a small green petpet running around, whether they saw that he had a fixed destination or not.

     A Gruslen was tied to a stand selling toys, looking cheerfully up at his owner - a purple Uni. The Meepit walked up to him slowly, and the other petpet looked over and saw him.

     "You're a Meepit," the Gruslen said warily, taking a step or two backward, frowning a little.

     "You're a smart one, eh," the agent sneered. "Tell me where 52nd Street is."

     "That way," said the Gruslen quietly, pointing with his paw to the right, further into the heart of the Central. The Meepit turned and began to head the way the Gruslen had told him without giving a word of thanks.

     Unnoticed just as if he were any other petpet wandering the streets, Agent 53 hurried along, watching with his unblinking eyes the streets around him for any sign of trouble. After ten minutes or so he looked up and saw it - 52nd Street, a busy, cobblestone pathway with a wide assortment of shops ranging from foodshops with varieties of edibles, toyshops with toys both large and small, cheap and expensive, even a bakery. When Agent 53 passed by the window the bread-shop a small breezed billowed out, carrying with it the delicious scents of baking bread. But there, wedged between a tall building that looked as though it specialized in codestones and dubloons, and a pink-painted building selling fancy cloths, was a small, run-down looking building with flaking paint and a weathered sign hanging over the door with the words "Tom's Second-Hand Shop" written in peeling white letters.

     The Meepit crossed the street, still apparently unnoticed, and entered in when a blue Lenny opened the door to view the stock. A small chime rang as the door hit a few bells tied to the doorway. The room was poorly lit and over-crowded with a mass of second-hand objects, ranging from battered toys to unread books to old food. One corner - the one to the right of the door the Meepit had just entered - was taken up by a cashier's stand, where a bored-looking purple Scorchio waited for people to decide their purchases. Tied to the stand was an Albat, who was humming a soft tune to himself.

     The Meepit turned and headed to the corner to the left of the door, peering at the shelves. Just some old books, nothing more. He headed down the aisle, coming to the back corner of the shop. Old, beaten, useless toys. Knowing the final corner had to be the one with the plant, he began to walk toward it, passing a large tank filled with greenish water where some fish were swimming drearily around.

     And there he saw it - a small patch in the darkness that stood empty, just big enough for the plant to rest it. Disappointment swelled in his chest. Anyone could have the plant now, anyone at all. Who knew if that person had only stopped there for a few moments, and then returned home with the plant… But where was their home? In the Central itself, or in one of the many other cities or towns? How far would he have to go to find it?

     The strange link that connected him to his projects cast a dull hum over his mind. The plant must have been taken the previous day, or else the hum would've been louder - or so he thought. He shook his head. The link did him little good now, and he couldn't very well ask the cashier who had bought the plant.

     He started to walk toward the exit, but movement caught his eye. The Albat was staring at him, though not with the same wariness as the Gruslen he had met earlier. The Meepit hesitated an instant, and then walked forward to the Albat.

     "Did you see someone buy a plant from here yesterday?" asked Agent 53.

     "Yes," the Albat chirped.

     "Who?"

     "I'm not telling you, Meepit. You'll take over the world and treat all others unfairly, and I won't be as happy as I am now," said the Albat cheerfully.

     The Meepit focused his hypnotizing power, planning to force the answer out of the Albat. The other merely chuckled at the attempt.

     "You had better learn more things about your opponents," the Albat laughed. "Surely you know that these two are fake eyes. I suppose that only an Albat knows where the real set of eyes is. But you won't get your powers to work on me, nope."

     "Is there anything I can make you do to tell me? I need to get that plant back."

     "Why? So you can enslave the world and make me a servant? I think not."

     The agent sighed, rubbing his forehead with his paw. "Please?" he asked resentfully, hating himself for saying the word.

     "Ah, the one who plans to rule the world must resort to begging," the Albat chuckled. "I'll tell you who has the plant on one condition."

     "And what is this?"

     "That you will give me the power to protect some people when it comes time for you to rule. You must give me your absolute word."

     The Meepit considered this for a few moments. "I give you my word," he said at last.

     "How will I be able to trust you?"

     "You just have to. I am a more honorable Meepit than others, and I will not go against my word."

     The Albat nodded, apparently persuaded. "By your word, you will give me power to protect the people I chose when you begin to take over," he repeated.

     "I promise."

     "Good. Now, yesterday, a young blue Wocky by the name of Victoria came in here to buy some food. She's a very poor creature, you see. Well, on her quest through the shelves she came across the smiling plant you seemed to have let escape." Agent 53 bristled against these words - it wasn't his fault the plant had been freed! "She immediately fell under a trance - I know, I watched her. Anyway, she bought some fish to feed herself… And she bought the plant. She left then, though I don't know what way she went. You will have to ask other Petpets along the way."

     The Meepit sighed at those last words - he had wanted to stay as hidden as possible, though he knew that he had to find the plant.

     "Thank you," the agent said, and turned to leave.

     "Remember your promise," said the Albat. "I will remember you by your unique armguards, Lightning Meepit. What is your name, so that I can tell any others that may come what you have said?"

     The Meepit hesitated. "Agent 53," he said.

     "Agent 53," repeated the Albat. "My name is Konnor. Remember your promise."

     "I shall," said the Meepit sincerely, turning and leaving the shop as a Meerca opened the door to leave as well. The only thing that followed the Meepit was the weight of the promise he had just made and the soft chiming of the bell above the old battered door.

To be continued...