All for a Freebie

     It was perfect for her neohome. Or so it seemed.

     The ornament stood stoically against the light blue wallpaper in stark contrast to the fluffy pillows and pink coffee table. Azetrine sighed and closed her eyes. It was a relief simply to stop looking at her latest mistake. A week ago, she had purchased a gold disco ball on impulse, which now lay languishing in her storeroom after a night of regrettable retro lighting.

     "Well, it's free," she yawned. "I'll bring it to the marketplace after a short nap."

     Pe-tooooot!

     The Acara jumped. A sudden high-pitched burst of sound vibrated with an eerie echo throughout the room. She glanced around in panic. Having lived on Mystery Island all along, she was used to strange noises in the air. But this was far from weird. It made her ears twitch with discomfort.

     Pe-toooot! Pe-toooot! Pe-toooot!

     Azetrine turned sharply to where the noise was coming from and gazed at the vase. Getting up gingerly from the couch, she crept slowly to the offending ornament and peered inside.

     Pe-tooooot!

     Amidst the shrill cry, she came face to face with the culprit, a small creature with large eyes and a feather extending from its blue forehead. Covering her ears with both paws, she glared at the petpet. It looked back in innocence, oblivious to the exasperation that was steadily building up within the Acara.

     "I can't believe that I brought that thing all the way back without knowing it," she muttered. "Of all the petpets, it has to be this crying din. So much for freebies."

     Azetrine grasped the Petoot by the scruff of its neck and lifted it out of the vase.

     "Let's see what I can do with you."

     -

     Geraptiku petpet for sale! Only 1000 neopoints!

     "Wow! Look at that sign. What a deal!" yelled a passing Scorchio in excitement.

     A bustling crowd built up steadily in front of Azetrine's trading lot. She smiled broadly and stood behind the table on which the Petoot sat. The petpet was silent, having been fed a spoonful of sticky caramel just moments before. It was a stroke of genius for which the Acara congratulated herself with glee.

     Those gathering around gawked at the Petoot in curiosity. A few of them gazed wistfully at the exotic creature before frowning at their own Spyders or Abominable Snowballs and trotting off. Potential buyers were already counting shiny round coins in their bags.

     "Here, one thousand neopoints!" exclaimed a Draik, who held up the money in a purple sack.

     "One thousand five hundred," said an orange Grundo calmly, jiggling his pocket.

     "Two thousand!" shouted a Poogle.

     "Three thousand!"

     "...and eight hundred!"

     "Four..."

     "Five thousand!"

     Azetrine watched in amazement as the voices grew louder with each bid. The Draik and Poogle were shooting daggers at each other as they tried to shout down and outbid everyone else. From the impending chaos, the orange Grundo pushed his way forward and cleared his throat.

     "Fifty thousand neopoints."

     The declaration sent a hush through the crowd. All eyes were on Azetrine as her jaw dropped, for a second, in shock.

     "Uh, sure," she recovered, taking the heavy bag with shaking hands. "Here's your um, purchase."

     The Grundo grabbed the petpet and walked off without a word.

     After the crowd had dispersed, Azetrine stared dumbly at the large sack of neopoints. A nagging feeling welled up in her chest. Something is just not right,she thought. Who pays fifty thousand neopoints for a Petoot?

     Fortunately, the Acara knew just where to seek counsel: Dvidion's house.

     -

     Dvidion the Krawk stared at the large sack that his long-time friend was carrying.

     "Something is definitely not right," he sighed. "Did you find out where that generous patron of yours lives?"

     "I didn't get his calling card but there's only one place where you find orange Grundos."

     "You're going all the way to Kreludor just to satisfy your curiosity? Azetrine, maybe... perhaps he likes the Petoot so much that parting with fifty thousand isn't a big thing."

     "There was this glint in his eye," frowned the Acara, "The way he looked at the petpet was almost scary. You said that something is definitely not right!"

     Dvidion winced.

     "I was being paranoid for a moment there. If I were you, I would just take it as a good profit and celebrate. A dinner at Kelp's would be nice. Not a long tiring trip to the moon! Besides, I thought you came all the way here for my advice?"

     Azetrine ignored him. "I'm going to Kreludor," she declared. "I must find out what that Grundo is up to."

     "If you must. But Café Kreludor is cheap for someone with a bounty of fifty thousand," said the Krawk. "Bring something good back for me, maybe a cookie or cake."

     "Whoever said anything about takeaway? You're coming with me."

     -

     The air on Kreludor was cool and dry. Dvidion and Azetrine gazed around in wonder at the rocky ground, which seemed to stretch on for miles.

     "Meet back here when you're both done," said an alien Aisha, who had provided the transport. "Remember, Kauvara's spell allows you to stay on the Neopian moon for exactly an hour."

     The two friends nodded and ventured forth, bouncing between rocks and craters.

     "The café is this way; you're heading in the wrong direction," said the Krawk.

     Azetrine glared at her greedy friend. "We're here to find the orange Grundo, not drool at Kreludan cuisine!"

     "Well, if you're so concerned over that Petoot, I wonder why you even sold it in the first place. You could always feed it extra sticky caramel for it to stay quiet..."

     "Shh, I hear something," whispered the Acara.

     They hurried towards a large green building. Dvidion swished his tail in excitement. The strange noise grew louder with each second. It sounded like rapid chatter in an unidentifiable language. The two friends approached the back of the imposing structure in anticipation. What could it be?

     -

     Pe-tooooot!

     "Your latest specimen is unimpressive," sneered orange Grundo Alpha. "It's only quiet because a substance known as melted sugar - or caramel - caused its mouth to stick shut."

     Three other identical Grundos nodded in unison.

     The fifth Grundo fumed. "That sneaky Acara! I thought that the petpet had a special ability to overcome its natural act of screeching."

     "Tsk tsk tsk. You have been on Neopia for far too long, Delta," Alpha declared. "Imagining complicated reasons for a simple thing eh? That's what The Boss dislikes most about Neopians. You're beginning to think like them. Even your Kreludan has a foreign accent."

     "I'd watch my words if I were you," huffed Delta. "The Boss knows that my intentions are always in keeping with our mission."

     Pe-tooooot! Pe-tooooot!

     He glowered at the Petoot, which cringed in the middle of the circle. "Let's return to the mining headquarters and leave this critter here. In a few days, it may even contribute to the landscape."

     The Grundos laughed.

     -

     "Look, they're leaving it alone," whispered Azetrine. "The poor petpet."

     "So now you're going to play heroine, aren't you? Go on. I'll wait here," said Dvidion, "And then we can all have a nice drink at the café afterwards."

     The Acara bit her lip and watched the Grundos disappear into the building. She bounced forward with her arms stretched out to grab the frightened creature.

     Pe-tooooot!

     "Hush!" she exclaimed.

     Pe-tooooot! Pe-tooooot! Pe-tooooot!

     "Hurry, they're coming back!" exclaimed Dvidion, who began bouncing to where the alien Aisha was waiting for them.

     Alpha and Delta had left the building to resolve their disagreement outside, according to Grundo tradition. Arguing in the presence of their peers would only lower group morale. However, the two orange Grundos instantly forgot their quarrel when they saw the friends fleeing with the Petoot.

     "Intruder alert!"

     A deafening siren blared across the rocky land. In a split second, mining personnel stopped work and headed out of the building. Groups of orange Grundos streamed out of the café and the bookstore.

     "Don't let them get away," ordered Alpha as he transmitted the mental image of the Krawk and Acara to his colleagues.

     -

     "They're gaining on us," groaned Dvidion. "I can't bounce any faster!"

     "Neither can I," panted Azetrine, with the Petoot in her arms, "but we're almost there, can't you see her?"

     True enough, the alien Aisha stood waving at them a distance ahead.

     "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" The voices of orange Grundos resounded with force.

     The Aisha stopped waving, stunned at the scene of the friends bouncing as fast as they could from a mob of Grundos. Hastily, she prepared to launch the portal that would bring them back to Neopia. Dvidion reached her first, unencumbered by the weight of the petpet. He gazed wildly at the open space gate, which was controlled from the space station.

     "Jump through the portal now!" the alien Aisha shouted.

     Dvidion shook his head and held out a paw for Azetrine, who was getting nearer. Just as she took his hand, a Grundo grabbed her hind limb tightly in desperation. She tried to shake him off in vain. The other Grundos were closing in on them, each filled with a rabid compulsion to capture the blatant trespassers. The friends looked on in horror as Kreludan miners soon surrounded them.

     Pe-tooooot!

     The shrill cry broke the persistent advancement of the Grundos. A powerful sound wave cut through the thin air, interfering with the transmitted thoughts of Sloth's minions. The mental image distorted into a glittery amber mess, leaving the Grundos frozen in action.

     "Come on, hurry," gasped the alien Aisha as she ushered the Acara and the Krawk through the portal. "They won't be stunned for long."

     -

     "Ouch," moaned Dvidion. "My tail."

     They landed on a pile of dried grass next to the lost city of Geraptiku. The alien Aisha got up promptly and bid them farewell, heading for her next space-bound task. Azetrine clutched the Petoot tightly looked around in a daze.

     "We're back," she realised belatedly.

     "Revelation of the day," sighed the Krawk. "We're even right next to where you picked up that troublesome critter."

     The Acara stared at the petpet in her arms. "Time to return to where you belong."

     "More like where it can pe-toooot without anyone trying to wring its neck."

     "Dvidion, be nice! The poor little thing nearly got lost forever on Kreludor, with those horrid Grundos."

     "Aww, looks like someone has gone soft," he observed. "Why not bring it home with you?"

     Azetrine gazed at the Petoot, which was nuzzling her paw. Its feather ticked her palm and made her fingers twitch. At that moment, it looked up at her with a wistful expression.

     "All right, I'll keep it," she said. "Just remind me to buy some ear muffs alright?"

     "Sure, I'll remind you after a meal at Kelp's," declared Dvidion, who was immediately subjected to a mock glare. "Okay, okay, an Ummagine will do. So much for almost getting caught by Sloth's minions."

     "That was a close shave."

     "Let's get going. You aren't going to spend the whole day just sitting here hugging and cooing to your new petpet, are you?"

     "So what if I am?"

     "I give up. That is too cliché," sighed the Krawk.

The End