Zaph's Journey to the Virtupets Space Station

     “I just think it would be so cool working in space! You know, seeing Neopia from all the way up there” he would say to his three Petpetpets who lived on his Petpet Comb. “Another fun feature would be floating. I envy Grundos who can go up there and help work at the Virtupets Space Station. There needs to be a way for me to get up there so I can help, surely!” Zaph said as he continued to play with his Sloth Paddleball Game.

     “Why don’t we see if we can find a job there? We could go to the Astronomy Club and the Altadorian Archives isn’t very far from our Neolodge” Lucy his Blechy suggested.

     “That’s a good idea, Lucy. Though, if there is a job in the Space Station, how would we go to space? There’s no rockets here in Neopia, at least from what I know” Zaph asked as he stopped playing with his Sloth Paddleball Game. He placed it on his Sloth Paddleball Game on his bed and sat up. He smiled looking around his room seeing his furniture. “Let’s go now and check to see if there’s a job at the Virtupets Space Station. Even if it’s a cleaning job I’m desperate to go to space” Zaph added picking up his Petpetpet Comb.

     “I take it you don’t like cleaning?” Mari, the Itchy asked curiously.

     “No, not really. I find it boring and pointless” Zaph answered as he remembered the number of times he had cleaned his room and only to have it become messy again moments later. “though, I do my best to keep my room tidy” he then made his way to the door, unlocked it and opened it, walked out and closed the door behind him then locked it. It took him at least an hour to get to the Astronomy Club mainly because he met a few Neopets he knew and started chatting to them telling them that he wanted to work at the Space Station, some laughed at him.

     “You’re funny, Zaph! How are you going to get to there when there are no rockets in Neopia?” one of his friends said with a laugh.

     “I’ll figure it out!” Zaph answered feeling determined not to give up on his dream of going there.

     “What if they have no jobs there?” another friend asked.

     “If they don’t, I’ll ask if I can volunteer there,” Zaph said with a smile. He then bid his friends goodbye and made his way to the Altadorian Archives. When he got there, he looked at the notice board and looked to see if there were any jobs in space available. Much to his disappointment, he didn’t see any advertised, he did however, notice that there was a flyer to the Astronomy Club.

     Zaph smiled and made his way to the Astronomy Club. When he walked inside and noticed a Wocky, Korbat and a Buzz busying themselves with projects they’ve been working on. The Wocky saw him and stopped what he was doing and approached Zaph.

     “Welcome to the Astronomy Club, I’m Asherane and it’s a pleasure to meet you. This is Lunarioz the purple Korbat and Lotriie the Spotted Buzz” The Wocky greeted him.

     “Thank you and hi, I’m Zaph, pleased to meet you. My dream is to work at the Virtupets Space Station. Do you know if there are any jobs available there?” Zaph asked. Lunarioz and Lotriie turned their attention to him.

     “Yes, I saw one not long ago. They were asking for a Tour Guide as one of theirs quit because they wanted to move to Faerieland” Lotriie told him.

     Zaph looked at her in great excitement.

     “That one got taken up though,” Lunarioz said as he spoke, his glasses slid down to the end of his nose, he pushed them up. “What about the cleaning job?” he asked.

     “I’m happy to take any! As long as I can go to space. Even if I had to wash dishes at the Grundo’s Café and I can’t stand doing that job” Zaph said eagerly.

     The three pets looked at one another then at Zaph. “We don’t normally do this, but seeing how eager you are to go to the Virtupets Space Station, we’ll take you to someone who knows how to get there,” Asherane told him.

     “Ooh, do you mean him?” Lotriie asked. Referring to a Mutant Grundo who works for Grundo’s Café on the Virtupets Space Station.

     “Yes, I mean him” Asherane answered smiling to Lotriie and looking at Zaph. “He uses the Portal to the Unknown to get to space.”

     “The Portal to the Unknown? What is that and who are you talking about?” Zaph asked.

     “We’ll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone else,” The Korbat said.

     “I promise not to tell” Zaph promised.

     “There’s a Mutant Grundo who runs the Grundo’s Café at the Virtupets Space Station’s Recreation Deck. He comes every week to Neopia by using the Portal to the Unknown in hopes to hire someone to help out at the cafe” Asherane explained.

     “Is he here today? Where is the Portal to the Unknown?” Zaph asked. “I’m eager to help.” He imagined himself helping the Mutant Grundo serve food to customers in space. “AAH! I’m just so excited!” Zaph added.

     “Yes, he’s here today as we mentioned we’d take you to where he is. We have to put a Yooyuball Blindfold on you to take you to the Grundo. He’d be in his office today which is a top-secret location in Altador” Lotriie told Zaph.

     Zaph looked at them in great excitement. “That’s fine by me, did you hear that guys?” he asked as he looked at his Petpetpet Comb.

     “Sure did, this is going to be an amazing adventure” Jo said excitedly.

     “We can’t wait to go” Mari and Lucy said.

     “Is that a Petpetpet Comb?” Asherane asked in surprise as he looked at Zaph in surprise.

     “Yes, I treat it as my Petpet and my Petpetpets are the Petpetpets so I have two in one combination” Zaph explained smiling to him.

     “That’s interesting, I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Lotriie said. “Do you feed the comb?”

     Zaph chuckled and shook his head. “No, only Jo, Mari and Lucy. Do I need to pack up?” he asked.

     “We’re not sure yet. It depends on what he says when you meet him” Asherane answered referring to whether Zaph needs to pack up to go to space.

     “I’ll go fetch the Yooyuball Blindfold and put it on you. Do you have a pocket so your Petpetpets can’t see where they’re going too?” Lunarioz said.

     “No, I haven’t. However, I can put them up my sleeve” Zaph answered. “You’ll be fine there won’t you three?” he said looking at his Petpetpets.

     “Of course!” Jo said.

     “No need to worry about us” Mari assured Zaph.

     “We’ll be fine! I’m looking forward to meeting this Grundo, what is his name?” Lucy said. With that, Lunarioz flew out of the room for several minutes.

     “His name is CosmicMarshmallow, but we call him Cosmic for short” Asherane answered. Lunarioz returned with the Yooyuball Blindfold and a smile.

     “Ready?”

     “You bet I am! I’m just psyched” Zaph said as he put his Petpetpet Comb up his right sleeve.

     “Great. Do you know a lot about space?” Lotriie asked.

     “Of course. I know there’s asteroids, stars, planets, constellations you name it. I really love space” Zaph answered proudly. He told them about the glow-in-the-dark items he had in his Neolodge room too.

     “Ooh sounds like you’re a big fan too. You should join our club. We’re always interested in new members” Lunarioz said as he gave Zaph the Yooyuball Blindfold and watched him put it on.

     “Can I join your club and be in space at the same time if I get the chance to go there?” Zaph asked thinking that was a possibility. He ensured the Yooyuball Blindfold didn’t have any gap where he could see where they’d be walking too.

     “You could, but it might be a bit hard to attend meetings of new discoveries. Speaking of discoveries, this is funny. My sister named Sally was looking through a telescope the other night and thought she found a new planet” Lotriie said then chuckled as she remembered what happened.

     “Was it a new planet?” Zaph asked curiously as Asherane held Zaph’s arm and began to lead him to lead him to the secret office. Lotriie and Lunarioz followed them.

     “No, guess again,” Lotriie said, trying her best not to laugh.

     “A Dust Mote floating by?” Zaph guessed trying to imagine what Lotriie’s sister had seen.

     “Try another guess” Lotriie said and laughed.

     “A Rubber Yooyuball?” Zaph asked thinking that might be it.

     “No, guess again” Lotriie repeated and laughed. “Though that was an interesting guess”

     Asherane and Lunarioz knew the answer to what Lotriie’s sister had seen so they kept quiet.

     “Um, ah… Let’s see. How about a Faerie Rock?” Zaph guessed thinking he’d get it wrong again. Though if he got it right, he could see how one can easily mistake it for a planet except the wings are a giveaway.

     “YES! You’re right. She saw a Faerie Rock that was floating in front of the telescope and thought due to it being so close to the lens, it was a brand-new planet. She didn’t realize it was a Petpet until the Faerie Rock flew off” Lotriie said, Zaph and Lotriie laughed, Asherane and Lunarioz smiled as they continued to walk.

     It took them at least an hour to get to their destination and when they did, they stopped walking and Asherane let go of Zaph’s arm.

     “We’re here, Zaph. We’re still in Altador” Asherane announced as they approached a building behind the farm in in Altador. “You can take off the Yooyuball Blindfold” Asherane added, watching as Zaph did just that. Zaph smiled and gently removed his Petpetpet Comb from in his sleeve.

     “Where are we?” Zaph asked looking around noticing they were near the farm but could also see an island ahead of him.

     “We’re at CosmicMarshmallow’s house. This is where he lives” Asherane answered and walked up to the white house which had a red roof. Asherane knocked on the door and waited for a while. Moments later, the door unlocked and opened. Behind it was a Mutant Grundo, holding a Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Babaas in one paw and a Coffee and Marshmallow in the other.

     CosmicMarshmallow bit into the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Babaas and started chewing at it as he looked at Zaph.

     ‘What do I say?’ Zaph thought wondering how he could ask about the portal the job at the café.

     “Hi Cosmic, this is Zaph and he’s interested in helping you out at the café in the Virtupets Space Station” Asherane introduced Zaph to CoscmicMarshmallow.

     “Mfice mfo mfeet mfou Maph! Mf’m MfosmicMarshmallow!” CosmicMarshmallow began as he ate while he spoke. He then swallowed his mouthful.

      “You can call me Cosmic for short. Are you really interested in helping me out?” CosmicMarshmallow said. He sipped a drink of his Coffee and Marshmallow and smiled.

     “Nice to meet you too, Cosmic! Yes, I’m eager to help out. I’ve always wanted to go to space” Zaph answered excitedly. Surprisingly, he was able to understand what CosmicMarshmallow had said with his mouthful of food. “I think it would be such an amazing experience, being at the Virtupets Space Station helping you and being able to see what its truly like in space. Is there anything I need to do or bring?”

     CosmicMarshmallow took another bite from his Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Babaas and started chewing it. Zaph waited patiently for Cosmic to answer, Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz were too.

     “Mfave mfou mfone mfraining?” Cosmic asked while chewing loudly.

     Zaph tilted his head in confusion, Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz looked at one another. The four had no idea what he had just said.

     “Could you please repeat that?” Zaph asked, though he could understand what the Grundo said earlier this time it was slightly difficult.

     Cosmic swallowed his mouthful and sipped his tea. “I said ‘have you done any training?’ You’d need to do some just in case Dr. Sloth tries to send out his army at the Space Station”

     “Yes! I’ve done training at Krawk Island Training School and enjoyed it. Does Dr. Sloth send out his army now and then?” Zaph said. He imagined himself and CosmicMarshmallow fighting against an army of Dr. Sloth’s minions at the café.

     CosmicMarshmallow took a final bite of his Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Babaas and started chewing it again. “Mfes, mfe mfried -scarf- mfo mfake mfover mfe -gag- Mfirtupet Mface Mfation mfa mfile mfago!” he replied, like earlier, he chewed loudly once again.

     Zaph couldn’t understand what he said and felt bad, nor did Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz.

     “Cosmic, could you please repeat that?” Asherane asked.

     CosmicMarshmallow swallowed his mouthful and took a final drink of his Coffee and Marshmallow.

     “Sure! I said ‘Yes, he tried to take over the Virtupet Space Station a while ago’’ CosmicMarshmallow repeated.

     “What happened when he tried taking over?” Zaph asked curiously.

     “We had to battle against him. It was a rather long one too” CosmicMarshmallow answered. “You should’ve seen it! All of us Grundos were against him going ‘pew pew pew!’ with our Ylana Blasters! He eventually left and we cheered when he did” CosmicMarshmallow added smiling as he remembered the battle.

     “I wish I could’ve been there. Anyway, enough of that, what happens now? Does Zaph need to have a job interview of some kind to go to space?” Asherane said, imagining how fun that would’ve been. Lotriie and Lunarioz wished they were there too.

     “Yes. Come on in, and I’ll take you to the meeting room, you three can come in too if you like, unless your busy” CosmicMarshmallow looked at Asherane, Lunarioz, Lotriie and Zaph.

     “Sure, I’m in! Always wanted to see what it was like inside your place” Lunarioz said smiling. Asherane and Lotriie nodded too. CosmicMarshmallow led the group inside his house, closing the door behind them and locking it. Inside, Zaph noticed it was dark and all the curtains were drawn close, he looked around at the walls and saw that he too had Glow-in-the-dark-Stars, Moon and Sun scattered around the walls and ceiling.

     “Wow, this is so cool! I thought I was the only one who did this” Zaph exclaimed, as he walked around, spreading his arms out so he could feel his way around to ensure he wasn’t going to walk into something in the dark.

     “You have the glow in the dark stuff too?” CosmicMarshmallow asked excitedly.

     “Yes, all over my Neolodge Room walls and ceiling. My friend, Jossee helped me put them up” Zaph answered. CosmicMarshmallow was about to answer when….

     THUD!

     “Ouch! That hurt! What did I walk into?” Asherane complained after bumping into something.

     “Maybe a pillar? That would mean your walking too close to the wall. Try moving to the right a bit” CosmicMarshmallow said to Asherane, who moved to the right after he said that and continued walking with the group. “Your Neolodge Room sounds so cool, Zaph” he commented.

     Zaph smiled. “Thanks, I’m really proud of it. Do you always keep your house in the dark?” he asked curiously.

     “Yes. Since I’m from space, I wanted my home to mimic space so I don’t have the lights on. I do have a set of Flickering Floor Candles if you want me to light them up” CosmicMarshmallow answered.

     “As tempting as it is, I’ll pass with the Flickering Floor Candles, thank you for the offer, Cosmic” Lunarioz said.

     “I agree” Asherane and Lotriie said.

     “Same with them. What do we do in the meeting room?” Zaph asked.

     “I need you to answer several questions regarding space and to do a few tests for me before I can let you go in the Portal of the Unknown which leads to the Virtupets Space Station” CosmicMarshmallow answered. “Do you three want to come to space too?” he asked Asherane, Lunarioz and Lotriie.

     “Oh no thank you! I’m happy being on Neopia and studying space. I think I’d be too scared to go there due to the height.” Lotriie answered.

     “I agree with Lotriie, thanks for asking though,” Asherane said.

     “We’ll listen to the questioning and the test and stay silent as we do though,” Lunarioz said.

     “That’s fine with me. Alright, here we are” CosmicMarshmallow announced as they walked to a door which had Twinkling Nova String Lights hanging above the doorframe. It was lit up so they could see. CosmicMarshmallow opened the door and allowed Zaph, Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz inside first, he then went inside and closed the door behind him.

     Zaph noticed that the room had Twinkling Nova String Lights on the four walls of the room and there was light in the room. He saw that the furniture consisted of a: Electric Desk (which had a Roll of Drawing Paper, Basic Pencil and an Altador Sun Lamp on it), a Rolling Chair which was tucked behind the Electric Desk and several Wooden Chairs that were lined up in front of the Electric Desk.

     “Have a seat,” CosmicMarshmallow said as he walked over to his Rolling Chair and sat down in it. He smiled as he watched the four sat down on the Wooden Chairs.

     Mari, Jo and Lucy stayed quiet as they looked around the room from the Petpetpet Comb while waiting for the meeting to start.

     “What are the questions and tests?” Zaph asked eagerly.

     “There are ten questions. The first one is, have you ever been to space?” CosmicMarshmallow said.

     “No” Zaph answered.

     “Do you plan to live in space for a long time?”

     “Yes”

     “What will you do if Dr. Sloth returns and tries to take over the Virtupet Space Station?”

     “I would join the others and fight back until he goes away.”

     Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz listened to the questions and answers in excitement.

     CosmicMarshmellow asked Zaph several more questions, which Zaph answered then smiled. “So far you're doing really well. Now for the final part – the test” he opened the draw of his Electric Desk and pulled out a pair of Constellation Wings. “If you can fly around in the room with these several times, then you have the green light to come to space. Wings are pretty easy to use” he said, Zaph got up walked around to CosmicMarshmallow who attached the wings to him.

     “I’ve never flown before but this should be fun,” Zaph said and started to flap his new wings. He slowly began to rise from the ground. “Woah! This feels weird but is this what it’s like to be in space?” he asked as he continued flapping his wings. He rose to the ceiling knocking his head by accident. “Ouch!” he complained, rubbing his head as he slowed down the flapping.

     “Yes, but we have gravity in most areas of the Space Station” CosmicMarshmallow answered watching as Zaph getting used to flying. Zaph flew into the wall once. “Ow!” Zaph complained. “I really need to be more careful,” He said.

     Eventually after several tries and bumping into the wall or ceiling, Zaph got the hang of flying and was able to do just that around the room without issues. Asherane, Lotriie, Lunarioz, Lucy, Mari and Jo watched him in interest. The Xweetok then decided to try and do a summersault which he managed to do with no trouble.

     “You’ve passed the test, Zaph. You may keep those wings if you wish to. The final thing you’d need to get is a Xweetok Space Suit, Helmet and Boots then we’ll head into the portal. I have a set that might fit you” CosmicMarshmallow said. “I’ll go and get it, be right back” he then left the room for a moment. Zaph flew around while he waited for CosmicMarshmallow to return.

     “This is really exciting. Thank you so much for helping a dream come true” Zaph said to Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz. His Petpetpets agreed, they enjoyed flying around too in Zaph’s paw.

     “You’re welcome, Zaph” Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz said at the same time. Moments later, CosmicMarshmallow returned with the Xweetok Space Suit, Helmet and Boots and gave them to Zaph who put the Petpetpet Comb on the Electric Desk and quickly put on the Xweetok Spacesuit, Helmet and Boots. “I’m ready,” he said as he grabbed his Petpetpet Comb. “Thank you, Cosmic. I’m looking forward to work with you” Zaph said. “Should I send a Neomail to the Neolodge when we get there?” he asked.

     “You’re in the Altador Neolodge, aren’t you? If so, we’ll just tell them on the way back for you and tell them that you want to keep your room” Asherane said before CosmicMarshmallow could answer.

     “Yes, I’m in room number 4. Thank you so much, Asherane. Alright, that’s sorted out. I’m ready to go” Zaph said. Asherane, Lotriie and Lunarioz bid Zaph and CosmicMarshmallow good bye and good luck then left. When they left, CosmicMarshmallow smiled and looked at Zaph.

     “I’ll take you to the room that has the portal in now” CosmicMarshmallow said and led the way out of the room and to another one which was further away. Zaph, Lucy, Mari and Jo excitedly followed him. CosmicMarshmallow opened the door to the room and when they entered it, Zaph noticed a Portal to the Unknown in the middle of the room. “Ready?” CosmicMarshmallow asked.

     “Of course!” Zaph answered, watching as CosmicMarshmallow shut the door behind them. He then jumped into the Portal to the Unknown, Zaph jumped in afterwards. Moments later, after travelling through the portal, Zaph and CosmicMarshmallow arrived at Grundo’s Café. When Zaph turned around to see if the portal was there, but it wasn’t. He noticed it vanished.

     “Don’t worry, it will be back soon. Alright, I’ll take you on a tour and teach you what you need to do to help me at work” CosmicMarshmallow said. He then showed Zaph around the three decks of the Virtupets Space Station, introducing him to everyone there, showed him where to find a Ylanas Blaster in-case of a Dr. Sloth invasion, and finally where he was going to sleep before returning to the Grundo Café.

     At the café, Zaph found out his job was to collect dirty dishes, wash them and put them away and serve food and he enjoyed it. His Petpetpet Comb was usually put on a shelf so Mari, Jo and Lucy could watch him work. There was a day where Dr. Sloth and his minions attempted to take over the Virtupets Space Station, Zaph had no training with this but managed to find and use a Ylanas Blaster against his minions. Zaph and CosmicMarshmallow’s team won against him and Dr. Sloth and his minions left.

     Zaph smiled. He was glad he had the chance to move to space.

     The End.