Teleported: Part Three

      The sun was beaming on Christy’s back as she stood in front of the rather small house that lined the street. A Blumaroo was on the porch reading. He looked up intensively at the owner.

      “Hi.”

      “Um... do you happen to know where Trinity is?”

      The Blumaroo sighed, thumbing the page of his book. “She ran away.”

      “Oh dear...” Christy buried her face in her hands, then looked back up. “Do you know where to?”

      “It’s Miles. And no,” he muttered.

      “All right, listen up, you little Moach!” Ivory appeared behind Miles, grabbing his neck and leveling her eyes with his as he dangled in mid air. “Trinity did not run away! Balthazar has her. Hear me? BALTHAZAR. BAL. THA. ZAR.”

      “What? So she didn’t run away?” Miles squeaked.

      Ivory made a face. “I just said that!” In a huff, she dropped him to the ground.

      “Oh no... who knows what danger my Trinity is in...” Christy was on the verge of having a meltdown.

      Rolling her eyes, Ivory kicked Miles’s book to the side. “I’m going right now, Christy. Don’t freak. And you, insane Blumaroo kid, tell your siblings that Trinity is in some serious trouble. Ok?”

      Miles nodded.

      “Good. Christy, stay here,” Ivory ordered. With a quick glance around the lawn, she flapped her wings and began increasing the speed until she was off the ground. In a flash, she darted into the sky.

      No one saw the Desert Ruki run into the woods.

     ***

      The ditch seemed to have gotten much deeper over the span of three hours. Or so it seemed. Perhaps it was just a hallucination that Trinity was seeing, like when she “saw” a Spyder climbing down the earth walls to attack her. That didn’t actually happen. Or did it? Trinity couldn’t remember. Her head was spinning and limbs began to feel weak from not eating since she had arrived in the Haunted Woods, the same day she took a chance at Balthazar’s shack. This also prevented her from even attempting to make an effort to climb up the sides of the ditch. Sure, she was offered plenty of food at Jillian’s house, but she couldn’t take it. Not while that family was suffering. It made her feel guilty to even crave a satisfied hunger. When Charles told Trinity how many days he went without eating, her heart sank and she vowed not to eat anything of theirs. No matter how much of a headache she was getting.

      Looking upwards, all Trinity could see was the trees of the Haunted Woods that blocked part of the sky. Why would Balthazar bring her all the way back to the Haunted Woods just to punish her for taking one of his faeries? From slamming into the ground with such force, she couldn’t see clearly. It was impossible for her to determine if the sky seemed to be gray or purple. And were the trees always that blue? That’s it. She was losing it.

      “Trinity? Is that you?”

      The voice seemed so distant, but in reality it was coming from above her. Trinity made out the light purple toned face and violet hair as the dark faerie that was trapped in the bottle back in the Haunted Woods.

      “Ivory...” Trinity murmured.

      “Yeah, you don’t look too great, buddy. Like a delusional Cybunny. All though I’m not aware if they do become delusional at times. You think? Hm... it’s a possibility. Oh wait, I got off track as usual. No surprise there. Hey... you look weird. Why are you in a ditch? Are you hiding from me? Do you need some help getting out of there?”

      “That would be nice?”

      “Knew it! All right then, just wait a sec.”

      Ivory circled her hands around each other, starting above her head and slowly bringing them down towards the ground. Purple static crackled as it joined closer together, growing larger until it enveloped around her hands and wrists. Trinity could only look on in amazement as the huge mass slowly flattened into a solid surfer. It lowered itself into the ditch.

      “Trinity, you think you can get on that?”

      Nodding, Trinity hoisted herself up with the last bit of energy she had.

      “Don’t move,” Ivory called down as the surfer began to elevate to land, allowing Trinity to slide off and land in a heap of grass. “And in case you're wondering how I found you, you can thank Fyora for that. And you can thank the fact that I have a little bit of kindness inside of me. I know, you should be happy! Trying to find you in the Haunted Woods was like trying to find a Mootix in a safety deposit box.”

      From out of nowhere, a claw grabbed Ivory’s wrist. She writhed in pain, clenching her teeth and trying to swallow screams of agony. The overpowering strength of the furry paw was enough for Ivory to figure out that it was Balthazar.

      “Balthazar, you meaningless excuse to life. Let me go!” Ivory’s arm started to bend backwards, causing her to slowly fall to her knees.

      “You stupid faerie!” Balthazar roared.

      “You idiotic dog. Release me,” Ivory spat.

      “This is why I HATE faeries!” He threw his arm to the side, sending Ivory flying into the ground. She slid with such force that she was stopped when she rammed into a tree.

      “Trinity! Trinity, look out!” Ivory feebly attempted to warn her as Balthazar headed over to Trinity. The Xweetok was motionless as Balthazar loomed over her limp body. The dark faerie struggled to regain her ground, realizing that her hands were rather stiff and bruised. This wasn’t good. Now what was she suppose to do? She wasn’t exactly the Battle Faerie. Suddenly, she jolted from a gentle touch on her shoulder.

      “Miss, if you grant me an ability, I can attack Balthazar from behind!” a Ruki whispered to the faerie, so low that Ivory strained to hear. She recognized this Desert Ruki. It was one of the family members that had taken Trinity in. What was his name... Remmel? Rack? Rick? Why was he even here?

      “I’m supposed to only grant an ability if I was let out of a bottle!” Ivory hissed back.

      “Didn’t Trinity let you out?”

      “Well, when she was teleported, the bottle dropped and turned to shards. So, I guess she did... but however, you didn’t.”

      “Trinity can’t even run away! Come on, you have to break the rules!”

      “What’s your name?”

      “Rackquel.”

      Ivory gritted her teeth. “This isn’t even your level. But in this circumstance... I grant Rackquel the ability... Drain Life.”

      A purple light flashed on Rackquel. Once it vanished, he felt a sense of overpowering energy throughout his body. Rage and fury overtook his mind. Whatever Ivory had granted him was perfect. It was his chance to attack Balthazar as he reached for Trinity.

      Streaks of blinding purple and black rays escaped his hands and attacked Balthazar from behind. He howled, falling to his knees and gripping the ground tightly as his life began to drain. Rackquel kept going, allowing the power to become stronger and Balthazar weaker. Finally the hunter couldn’t take it anymore. In the opposite direction, he raced off into the deep Haunted Woods.

      “You did well,” Ivory said as the two headed over to Trinity’s side. She stirred.

      “Rackquel? Ivory?” Trinity looked in question at the Ruki and faerie.

      “You look a tad horrible.” Ivory smirked.

      “That was unnecessary!” Rackquel snapped.

      “I know, I apologize,” Ivory purred as she stood up

      “Come on, Trinity.” Rackquel lifted her up in his arms. “We have to get back to Neopia Central. Your owner Christy is home. And Jillian, Charles, and Miles think you ran away.”

      “Why?”

      “Because Miles assumed that you did. I didn’t think you would just run off like that. I knew something had to be wrong.”

      “How’d you know I was all the way in the Haunted Woods?”

      “Just because I’m not a Lupe doesn’t mean I can’t have good senses.”

      “Wait...” Trinity sighed, and Rackquel stopped. “Why did you do that?”

      “Do what?”

      “Save me?”

      Rackquel paused. “I couldn’t bear the thought of one of my family members getting hurt.”

      “Can we save the mushy stuff for later? Let me teleport you guys back home, ok? Walking all the way will be a drag,” Ivory interrupted. Both pets nodded, and in a flash they were home.

     ***

      “I can‘t believe you‘re leaving.” Miles choked back tears, still latched onto Trinity.

      “I know, I can‘t believe it either.” Trinity hugged her new friends now that she was stronger and more full of energy. “You guys taught me that there’s a whole lot more to life than just living it rich. I‘m going to remember you guys forever.”

      “We’re glad we opened up that window for you.” Charles beamed. “We’re even more glad that we met you.”

      “Trinity! Trinity, come on!” Christy waved from the end of the walkway.

      The Xweetok looked back at her owner and then at her friends. “I don’t want to go back. But I have no choice.”

      “We understand,” Jillian insisted. “Please, they’re waiting. Write to us!”

      Trinity nodded, letting tears escape her eyes. She threw her arms around Jillian’s neck, burying her face in her blue fur. She then took her free arm and put it around Charles and Miles. “I’m going to miss you guys so much. And Rackquel...” She hugged the Ruki. “Thank you for everything.”

      “We’re going to miss you, Trinity.”

      “Trinity! Let’s go,” Christy yelled, disturbing the heartfelt moment. “We have to get home!”

      The Xweetok looked up at the solemn family gathered closely together as she headed down the grass, waving the entire way.

      It was fate that had brought her to this family.

      It was the kindness that they offered that made Trinity realize what she was missing.

      It was the moral that they had taught her, one that she would always remember.

      It was her real family that she was leaving behind.

      She met up with Christy and Ivory. Her owner drew her in a tight hug that Trinity reluctantly returned. Ivory then waved her hands, and the group disappeared in a blinding light.

      Charles, Jillian, Miles, and Rackquel stood quietly side-by-side. They said nothing as they watched the sky turn a mix of pink and blue, signaling the day was coming to an end. One by one, they headed into their home. The last one left outside was Rackquel. He sighed as the sun vanished and the sky became littered with stars.

      “What an adventure this turned out to be.”

The End

C&C is welcome. (: