We Are Meepit: Part Four

The Final Battle

I was still in the throne room when everyone had left. I was shaking from pure joy; the meepits had planned this forever, and we had won. Now Jonas would win, and I - me, Clyde, the meepit coward - was a hero! Rayd and I were heroes, just as he had always said. I had to go thank him.

    I raced down the marble staircase and fell into the parade of four-hundred meepits, those of us who had fought Fyora and managed to bring her down. I poked Katelynn in the side. "Could I have my sword back? You fought well."

    She nodded. "Of course, Clyde. But really, Clyde, I couldn't have fought well if you hadn't... if you hadn't opened all the cages and saved us all."

    I shrugged. "Any meepit blown through the wall could have done that," I told her modestly. "It was just me with the Bagguss Bomb in my face."

    "Any meepit could have, that's true, Clyde. But you did, and you stopped the battle to free us. That's what I call being noble."

    I smiled, happy to have my best friend back. She was being held by the PPL against her will, she and three-hundred other meepits, but we managed to rescue them all. Now the head meepit would be really proud of us. But really, I didn't care if Jonas was proud of me. I just wanted to be proud of myself.

    And I was.

    "C'mon," Rayd called impatiently.

    A pink meepit, Hefflin, ran up beside me, puffing. "Some, um, battle, now, wasn't it, um, Clyde?"

    I nodded. "It was, but even better than the battle was the outcome."

    We followed Rayd into a small tunnel. I recognized it as an entrance to the Faerieland secret location. "Are we meeting up with every meepit here?" I asked Rayd.

    "No, I don't think..." Rayd blinked. "In the neomail Jonas said he just wanted us here. Imagine his surprise when he finds an extra three-hundred!"

    I nodded, smiling. "Where are all the others, then?"

    "I heard that they were all sent to the Altador base to be told that we've won."

    I closed my eyes and pictured the Altador base; it was built underneath the Colosseum. It looked almost just like the Colosseum, but it was far bigger, and with meepit paintings everywhere. Even so, I didn't see how it could hold the millions of meepits that would soon be arriving there.

    In no time we reached the secret location. I gazed at the palace with little wonder, much less than I had the first time; it simply wasn't majestic anymore. However, by Katelynn's sharp intake of breath, I realized that she probably thought it was, having never entered it before.

    Jonas was standing on a pedestal, looking down at us, his purple cloak slightly off the ground as he raised his paws in a 'V' for victory.

    "You have all achieved greater things than I ever thought possible -" the head meepit started. Then he noticed that there were still meepits marching in. "Why so many meepits?" he demanded.

    Rayd shoved me forward, and I stumbled. Looking back at Rayd, he encouragingly flashed a thumbs-up.

    He wanted me to speak.

    I turned my head to look at Jonas, his arms crossed, awaiting an answer. "Um, your majesty -" I started. "The meepits captured by the PPL turned out to be in the castle, um, your majesty." Now I was sounding like Hefflin, with all those ums. "And while we were battling, um, Fyora, we also managed to break these meepits free."

    Jonas started to laugh. "Very good, very good! This is much better than I have ever thought! Besides securing my place on the throne, you found it within yourselves to free the captured meepits!"

    I shrank back into the crowd.

    "Well, I say that you all receive medals of valor and bravery!" Jonas declared.

    Airaxes started to fly through the sky, dropping gold medals every which way. Four-hundred meepit paws flew into the air, trying to grab a medal for themselves. A silky ribbon landed in my hand; attached to it was a golden circle that read "CLYDE: BRAVE DEPUTY".

    I did not ask how Jonas knew that this one would reach me. I accepted my gift without question.

    *

    The next day, we led Jonas to his throne.

    We entered the castle to find no resistance; it seemed the fool Neopians had finally gotten it through their thick heads that we ruled Neopia now. Up the marble staircase, one step, two step...

    And through it all there was a sick feeling of dread running through my stomach.

    I wasn't sure why. I had a bad feeling about this - I had a horrible feeling, a feeling that the meepits weren't the rulers just yet. A feeling that there was one more challenge for us to face, and that this one would be the hardest.

    Before long we reached the throne room doors, miraculously repaired. Two royal Ixi bowed to us as we passed.

    Rayd, Katelynn, Reed and I led the crowd. In the center, about fifty meepits were holding a large throne on which Jonas sat.

    As we reached the door, Rayd, Katelynn, and Reed made no movement. I decided it was something for me to do and I pushed open the oaken door.

    It creaked, making me shudder. Something was very wrong here...

    And then I saw it.

    I saw what had caused my dread.

    I saw the last challenge for the meepits, the final battle.

    The one we might not win.

    There were rows of feepits, lined up everywhere, their arms folded indignantly and their icy glares defiant. At the front was a feepit, probably the head feepit, with a crown on his head and a green cloak.

    Jonas stepped down from the portable throne and pushed through to the front. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

    The head feepit was the one who answered.

    "You do not know me, Jonas, but I know you all too well. By now the world knows you all too well. I am Kyte. I am the leader of the feepits. And Jonas, I have something to tell you.

    "For years feepits have lived in the shadow of the meepits. The meepits were always the ones blamed, the ones they assumed would take over someday. We preferred it that way. We feepits wanted to hide until the timing was right.

    "For you see, King Jonas, the meepits were not the only ones whose greatest desire was to take over the world. The feepits did too.

    "So for these past few days we have waited, watching as you ascended to greatness. We're here to bring you down.

    "You see, I have sent thousands of troops all over Neopia to fight your unsuspecting meepits. We will win, and we will be the lone rulers of Neopia!"

    I hadn't anticipated it. I was too quick to assume that the meepits would go unchallenged. But here, in front of us, were the feepits, armed with Fire and Ice Blades.

    I remembered all of our Sword of Skardsens and withdrew mine. Then, not even thinking, I marched to the front of the crowd and pushed the blade lightly against the head feepit's chest. "We don't go without a fight," I warned.

    Then the throne room erupted in battle once more.

    I ran over to a feepit and swung my sword. It met with his Fire and Ice Blade and I pushed, grunting, until I won control and swiped. The feepit's hit points melted away and I had no more trouble with him.

    Then I leapt into the air and jumped over about five feepits, to duel with Kyte. But when I got there, I noticed something horrifying.

    King Jonas, lying there on the ground, his hit points gone away.

    In a rage I swung my sword at the feepit leader. He nimbly dodged it and stabbed the air with his Fire and Ice Blade. I jabbed the Sword of Skardsen near him and, when he flinched, knocked him down. Now his hit points were gone too.

    Before long the meepits had easily won and the few feepits remaining had fled. I surveyed the battlefield and looked for all of my friends.

    Rayd had met a fate like Jonas; his hit points had disappeared.

    Katelynn was weakened, but not out yet; I gave her my healing potion.

    Hefflin was nearly unharmed.

    Reed and Holly were fine.

    All in all, the meepits had won once again.

    And now the meepits ruled Neopia - forever.

    Epilogue

    "Clyde!" called Katelynn. I was in the Faerieland secret location with the rest of the meepits.

    "What is it, Katelynn?" I asked her.

    "You know how they put it to a vote, how we had to choose who we thought was worthy to be our next head meepit?"

    I nodded, laughing. "I voted for Rayd. Did he win?"

    "No!" shouted Katelynn excitedly. "You won!"

    I grinned. I was pleasantly surprised.

    Days later Katelynn and Rayd were my head officers, and Hefflin, Holly, and Reed were secondary head officers.

    Even a meepit's story can have a happy ending.

The End