A Noteworthy Adventure: Part Three

     I shrugged, but kept a good grip on my Sun Staff as I strode resolutely into the throne room. Sitting lazily on a large, golden throne was an Alien Aisha, a crown perched precariously on top of his bubble-like space helmet. He had a none-too-friendly gleam in his eye, and he was staring right at me, making me incredibly uncomfortable. "Well, well, if it isn't the traveler from afar," he said nonchalantly. "Step forward, my boy. Let me get a closer look at you."

     I glared at him, my red eyes full of fire and my spirit flaring up like a rekindled flame. I stood my ground, bringing my Sun Staff close to me in a defensive position. I wasn't going to do anything this guy asked me to.

     He chuckled, and slid off of the throne, coming down the steps of the dais, an eerie grin on his face. Suddenly, I heard a whizzing sound and felt a wind rush past my ear. Gavlet shifted to the side, still smiling, and I heard a sharp crack. Looking past the Aisha, I could see a Faerie Acorn embedded in the wall, still glowing with magic. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Lilis, her Faerie Slingshot still raised, and a look of frustration across her face.

     "Hehe…patience, young lady. Patience. If it's a fight you want, then a fight you shall have," Gavlet snickered. The doors shut with a loud bang, and the three of us spun around to see the Kacheek and Eyrie guards drawing near us, holding their weapons in attack stances.

     Without warning, Gavlet suddenly slipped two daggers from the pockets of his space suit and rushed at me, still wearing that malicious smile. I realized that it was me he was aiming for, so I quickly dove to the side and started to sprint to the other end of the huge room. Sure enough, he quickly turned around and followed me. When he got within striking distance, he began to thrust with his daggers, forcing me to either block them with my staff or weave myself out of the way. I hadn't fought anyone of his skill level in a long time.

     "Can you feel it?" he suddenly asked, not stopping his assault.

     "What?" I snapped, not letting my guard down.

     "That rush. That exhilaration of fighting someone," Gavlet gasped, beginning to tire slightly as we worked our way around the room. "The sheer thrill of combat." His thrusts began to come more slowly.

     I, too, was feeling the fatigue of constantly blocking and dodging. I could barely keep myself at the height of alertness, and my arms began to ache from moving the staff. Thankfully, we were wearing out at the same rate, so neither of us had the advantage. Then, suddenly, it dawned on me what he was talking about. I knew the feeling he was describing. I had felt it many times when I had fought before. The sensation of moving one's body continuously, almost rhythmically. The small boost of morale one obtains from successfully making contact with an opponent. The fluid heat of steady, oft-practiced motions. "Yes!" I almost shouted.

     Gavlet laughed. Suddenly, he had me pinned to a wall, held fast in his paws. "I thought so! I sensed your power from the moment you walked into this kingdom!"

     I struggled to free myself, but at the same time I was curious as to what he was talking about. "What are you getting at?!" I screamed.

     "You have the Fighting Spirit!" Gavlet bellowed.

     Meanwhile, Lilis and Chaser were in trouble of their own. The Kacheek had gone straight for Lilis, while the Eyrie headed for Chaser. Stepping back and aiming her Faerie Slingshot straight at the Kacheek, Lilis yelled "Chaser! B Formation, now!"

     "Roger!" Chaser flapped his powerful, magical wings and rose to the ceiling of the throne room. The Eyrie followed him, and when he reached the same height as the Kougra, started to jab his spear at him. Chaser easily evaded the spear, but when he tried to claw and bite the Eyrie, the Pirate pet dove out of the way, snickering. He obviously had more experience with wings than Chaser. The two flying pets were soon playing a dangerous game of air tag among the eaves.

     Lilis fired Acorn after Acorn, but each one just bounced off of the Kacheek's wobbly body. Unfortunately, its gelatinous nature did not prevent it from effectively wielding a sword, as it quickly showed by slashing through the air close to Lilis so quickly that she could hear the sharp zip of the blade as it swished through the air. She tried to hop backwards to gain some ground, but the Kacheek was fast for a pet made out of a dessert, and Lilis dodged just as he swung his sword down. She looked down and realized that the swipe had been more accurate than the first-it had taken off a small piece of the hem of her dress. She took a deep breath and continued to try to dodge the Kacheek's attacks.

     "The what?" I inquired of Gavlet.

     "I'll tell you more, if you join me," he said, still smiling. "You and I have the potential to rule all of Neopia."

     "Sorry, not interested," I retorted, tossing my head up in a gesture of rejection.

     For the first time since I met him, Gavlet stopped smiling. Now, he wore an enraged frown. "If that's the case, I can't have you messing up my plans," he seethed, holding up a dagger. I struggled to break free again, but his grip was surprisingly strong.

     Suddenly, something brown and gooey launched itself at Gavlet's head, and it splatted onto his helmet, obscuring his vision. "ARGGGH! Get this thing off of me!" he yelled, releasing his hold on me and flailing his arms about. It was a Faerie-sent miracle. Well, more accurately, it was Gai, who had snuck into my backpack at Lilis's house and kept quiet until I was in trouble. In a moment of panic, I pulled my backpack off of my back and checked the contents. Amazingly, there wasn't a speck of sludge.

     While Gavlet was kept busy by my Petpet, I looked over at my friends and immediately saw that both of them weren't faring too well against their opponents. Then, I realized what the problem was. "Lilis! Chaser! Switch!"

     They looked at me for a moment, then understood. Lilis pulled her Slingshot back, but this time aimed it upward, at the Eyrie, and fired. It hit one of his wings, immediately disabling him, and the guard plunged to the ground, out cold. At the same time, Chaser folded his wings in close to his body and swooped into a dive, heading right for the Kacheek. "Target locked," he said before crashing into the Kacheek, making him slide across the floor with the force of the impact. Chaser's eyes started to glow red, and he licked his maw, eyeing the Kacheek that he had pinned to the floor. "Subject identified," he intoned. "Species: Kacheek. Flavor: Lime. Condition: …Delicious…"

     The Kacheek's jelly eyes widened with horror. "PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!" he screamed. "I ONLY LOOK DELICIOUS!!! I'LL BE GOOD, I PROMISE, JUST PLEASE LET ME GO!!!" Chaser smiled, and then stepped off of him. The Kacheek dropped his sword and ran out of the throne room screaming.

     Gavlet finally managed to throw Gai off of him, but his helmet was covered in sludge, severely limiting his vision. As he looked around for me, I decided to go on the offensive. I held my Metallic Sun Staff aloft, and suddenly, all of the sunlight streaming through the elevating windows seemed to flow into the golden sun adorning the tip of the staff. The staff glowed and started to shake, and I pointed it toward Gavlet. He noticed the blinding blast of light heading toward him a little too late. The pure white beam completely enveloped him, and when it fizzled out, he lay on the floor, unconscious.

     "Well…" I said, scooping Gai up and putting him back in my backpack, "that solves that."

     "We still need to find the King, though," Lilis pointed out.

     The three of us hurried out of the throne room, and ran into the Acara again. "Request for coordinates of location of King Faw," Chaser stated.

     The Acara looked at him, confused. "Erm, what he's trying to say is, do you know where the King is?" Lilis explained.

     "Ohhhhhh!" The Acara nodded. "It's a good thing you asked me. I actually bring him his food. Follow me."

     We were escorted to a spiral flight of stairs, which could only mean one thing-a turret. "He's up here," the young pet explained, and then she proceeded to climb the steep stone steps. We followed her.

     At the top of the stairs was a plain wooden door with a large padlock on it. The Acara grinned and pulled the key out of her pocket, inserted it in the keyhole, and turned. The lock fell to the floor with a loud clang, and she gently pushed the door open.

     The small, round room was sparsely furnished. When I say sparsely, I mean the only thing there was a pair of shackles "decorating" the wall, and the King was attached to them. He was a surprisingly young Gold Wocky, and he was asleep, snoring peacefully, the sunlight from a high, barred window reflecting off of his golden fur.

     "Wake up, your Majesty," the Acara said, sounding like she was rousing him for breakfast instead of to reclaim his throne from a traitorous Aisha. She softly shook his shoulder.

     The Wocky stirred, then awoke, looking at the Acara. "Oh, good morning, Miriam," he said with a smile. Then, he looked up and noticed Lilis, Chaser, and I. "Lilis? Chaser? What are you doing here?" he asked, then looked at me. "And who is this young pet?"

     We told him everything about my journey and our fight with Gavlet, and let him read the book (after Chaser took care of his shackles, that is). I wasn't surprised when he opened to my story and the woodcut was complete, now showing Gavlet, the Eyrie, and the Kacheek running away in defeat, the Acara holding the key triumphantly (she squealed when she saw that), and King Faw sitting on his throne with a big, sincere grin on his face. I also noticed that the writing took up quite a few pages, so it took the King a while to read it. When he was finished, he handed it back to me. "My boy, I'm glad this book led you to us," he said. "Now, let's go take care of Gavlet."

     The five of us stepped into the throne room where Gavlet and his Eyrie guard were still out cold. King Faw immediately summoned his knights (most of them were still loyal to him), who put Gavlet, the Eyrie, and anyone who sided with them in the dungeon, where they received weekly "How Not to be a Power-Hungry Usurper" lessons.

     That evening, King Faw held a grand feast to celebrate his return to the throne, and Chaser, Miriam, Lilis, and I were the guests of honor. Gai and I got to spend the night in one of the castle's guest rooms, fit for a king (literally). In the morning, though, I knew it was time to go back to my crazy owner and siblings.

     The entire kingdom gave me a farewell at the gates, and King Faw said "Hyren, this kingdom will always be your second home."

     Lilis and Chaser approached me, and Lilis grabbed my hand. "And we'll always be your friends," she added.

     "Affirmative," Chaser said, eyes glowing happily.

     Suddenly, I had an idea. I pulled the book out of my backpack and handed it to Lilis. "I think my story's about to end," I said to her, "but maybe you can begin a new one."

     As she looked down at the cover, the arrow suddenly shifted from pointing north to pointing southwest, the direction that the Haunted Woods was in. Her face lit up with a huge smile. "There's gotta be something I can give you in return," she said, digging through her pockets.

     "That's okay," I said. "Your friendship is enough of a gift."

     "Well, this'll have to do," she said, giving me a torn piece of a treasure map with palm trees drawn on it. "I found it on the ground one day."

     "I hope this doesn't lead me on another adventure before I can get back to TK…" I groaned playfully.

     "Neomail us sometime, okay?" Lilis asked. I nodded.

     After we had said our good-byes, I turned away from the small kingdom and looked down the faded path back to the Meridell-Neopia Central road. The morning sun was bright, but not yet hot, and a refreshing breeze made my antennae bob up and down. Taking a deep breath, I started walking.

     That's the story of how a seemingly ordinary book turned out to be anything but ordinary. I helped save a small kingdom and made some new friends, and I even learned about a thing called the "Fighting Spirit." I have a feeling that I'll discover more about it in the future…but that will be another story.

The End

Author's Note: Yes, I really am that weird in real life. =b Everybody in this story is fictional except for my pets and I. Vysalia is a fictional kingdom, too. Well, thanks for reading another one of my stories! If you have any comments or questions, just Neomail me!