Sol Dreaming: Part Two

     A shadowy figure approaches the Lupe. "Follow your instincts, they know what to do," a rough male voice says.

     The Lupe nods her head. "Yes, Sol. I shall follow my instincts," she says, her mind in some sort of trance.

     "Good. Leave your home tomorrow and head east. A new beginning lies for you there. Keep going east; you'll know when to stop.

     "Remember. The sun holds the key; red, though offering help, will hurt you; and blue shall overcome all obstacles, but not without the help from family, friend, stranger, and foe. Though in a small way, you'll find the biggest help of all is green. And, remember this, all is not the way it seems."

     And then he's gone.

          * * *

    Aquamarine jerks awake. She sighs, wanting to go back to sleep; sleep, where a world where her owner is still there exists. She must wake up, though; her sister and brother need her help. They need her in order to survive.

     Days have passed since she received the letter. Aquamarine does her best to take care of her Maroon and Sunshine. Soon, though, the food runs out.

     "What are we going to do?" Maroon whines.

     "I want Daddy," Sunshine whimpers.

     "Shh. I'll find something for us to do," the blue Lupe says.

     In truth, Aquamarine has already exhausted all her options. All of her and her sibling's friends are members of two, three, or four Neopet families, so she can't turn there. They can't continue to live in the house; sooner or later a Neopets staff member would come to the house, find they have no owner, and they would go to the pound. Hotels would wonder where their owner is. The pound isn't an option, either. What can they do?

     Aquamarine remembers the dream. Could it be a sign? It didn't matter to her. It is the best option available. Not to mention the only option.

     The Lupe darts up the stairs into her bedroom. She grabs her Icklesaur Piggy Bank shaking it, only to be confronted by a couple of Neopoints. "Oh," she whispers to herself, remembering that she has spent the last of her birthday Neopoints on a Jeran backpack.

     As if moving underwater, she slowly puts down the bank and picks up the backpack. She is sitting on the bed when she remembers the loose floorboard.

     She gets up and walks to the loose floorboard on the stairs. She pulls it off. A large pile of gold coins glitter in the space there. All her Neopoints from Deck Swabber and Dubloon Disaster are there. She counts the Neopoints inside. The Lupe comes up with a count of 718 Neopoints. She picks up the three handfuls of coins and puts them in a swag bag.

     "Come on. We're leaving," she barks to her brother and sisters.

          * * *

      Half an hour later, they leave the house. Sunshine doesn't want to leave Little Sun, her yellow Shoyru plushie. Aquamarine gives in, and put the toy in the bag along with the Neopoints, then puts it on.

     "Where are BB and Eleven?" Aquamarine asks Maroon and Sunshine.

     "Bizz-Buzz is hanging out with Tanzi for a while," Sunshine says bitterly. Bizz-Buzz is her Buzzer, who also happens to be her best friend. Tanzi is a Gelert at school who loves Buzzers, but can't have one to call her own. Sunshine loathes Tanzi because apparently Tanzi only takes interest in Bizz-Buzz, and is very, very popular.

     "Eleven went to go stay with Scarlet," Maroon says. Scarlet, a red Kacheek, is Maroon's best friend. Scarlet volunteered to take care of Eleven, a Tenna, when Maroon was sick, and that was the beginning of their friendship.

     "Where are we going?" Sunshine asks, flying about a foot off the ground.

     "East," Aquamarine answers uncertainly.

     They tread on. Homes go by, steadily getting better as they go further into Neopia Central. They finally reach the shops. A wave of relief flooded over Sunshine and Maroon; they assume that they are at their destination.

     "Are we stopping here?" Maroon asks, hoping for a chance to rest.

     "No, not yet," Aquamarine says doubtfully. She, too, wants to stop and rest, but something is telling her to go on.

     "Hey! You! Stop!" a voice yells. The Neopets turn around to find a giant fire Grarrl running toward them.

     "Run!" Aquamarine hisses to Maroon and Sunshine. The yellow Shoyru lands and starts running with her brother and sister.

     "What are you doing!?" Maroon asks his sister sharply.

     "Aquamarine told us to run," Sunshine retorts.

     "You can fly, you know," an exasperated Aquamarine tells her sister.

     "Fine, but you told us to run."

     "It was a figure of speech! Just go okay!"

     Sunshine lifts off while her brother and sister run below. The trio never hears the Grarrl yelling that they dropped some Neopoints. They pass all of the shops. They pass the bank, food shop, book shop and more until they are out of the main shop and into a nearby wooden area. Not many people go into that area because of a rumor that says there is an evil monster in there. They stop there.

     "We... We're... stopping here?" Maroon asks, half out of breath and half afraid of the rumors.

     "Quack!" Captain Quack quacks in agreement.

     "Yes, here," Aquamarine pants. The three Neopets collapse on the ground, tired from their ordeal. They then fall into a deep sleep... at least that's the way it seems.

     * * *

     "Come swiftly. We must hurry," Sol says, jumping off a cloud, beckoning Aquamarine to follow him. His shadowy body makes unearthly jumps from cloud to cloud, but no one notices. Aquamarine jumps, though terrified, onto the next cloud. This isn't so hard, she thinks. She gains confidences as the clouds get lower and lower, getting ever closer to Neopia Central. The clouds stop suddenly, right over the spot where a blue Lupe, red Kau, yellow Shoyru, and a Mallard are sleeping peacefully.

     "What-" Aquamarine begins, noticing it is her and her family. A shadowy hand covers Aquamarine's open mouth.

     "They may not be able to hear or see you, but now, just watch. Your questions may be answered," Sol explains mysteriously.

     She watches. Nothing happens for a few seconds, till she realizes that she and her family aren't alone.

     A shadowy figure approaches Maroon. The form prods the Kau with something, waking him. The form then points the something at Maroon. On closer inspection, Aquamarine sees what Maroon is being threatened with: an Ultra Bubble Gun.

     The shape forces Maroon up, pointing the Ultra Bubble Gun at him. Something is shoved towards Maroon. A bottle of something, Aquamarine sees. The figure then points at Sunshine. Slowly, Maroon walks over Aquamarine and to Sunshine. He then pours the entire contents of the bottle down the Shoyru's throat.

     Aquamarine stifles a scream. The body unknown then picks up Sunshine, while still threatening Maroon. Some dialogue is spoken, but Aquamarine can't hear what is being said. Maroon heads deeper into the forest, followed closely by the shadow.

     "What... What was that?" Aquamarine says, barely audible.

     "Don't speak; there is more," Sol answers, putting a finger to his lips. He then grabs one of Aquamarine's paws and holds on tightly.

     With a small "pop" they arrive in a large room, one that looks much like a laboratory. Many weird objects litter the room as if some scatterbrained scientist has just left the building, but no scientist can be found.

     The door opens. Inside arrives the shadowy figure from before, with a sleeping Sunshine in its arms. It walks about halfway into the room, then stops and puts the Shoyru on the ground. It takes out a key and unlocks a cage. He tosses Sunshine into the cage and locks the door. He then flips a switch to the ON position. Blue waves of electricity surround the cage, much like that of the lines on a globe.

     "Phase two complete, my Lord," the shadow says. He is facing the back of a giant red chair. A soft chuckling sound comes from the chair.

     "Excellent... excellent indeed. When are you beginning phase three?" the voice from the chair asks sharply. There is something in the voice that Aquamarine recognizes, but she can't remember where she heard it before.

     "It has already begun, m'Lord. She's at the edge of the Haunted Woods; she'll get lost for sure."

     "She doesn't even know about the prediction of her overthrowing me. No matter. Her downfall will be my victory, leading into my reign as ultimate ruler! Aquamarine doesn't stand a chance!"

     The men laugh while Aquamarine gasps. With another small "pop," she and Sol are back on a cloud.

     "Sorry, but I needed to show you so you wouldn't be hurt," the form of Sol says heavily, looking away, as if he couldn't bear the burden of what he just showed Aquamarine.

     * * *

     Aquamarine gasps for breath. She realizes that it was just a dream. She also sees that her brother and sister have vanished. She bangs her head against a rock. "Not again," she moans aloud.

To be continued...