A Change in Heart: Part Three

      She was still going over her plan in her head. "Get some money, go to the Eyrie Express, take an Eyrie to the Lost Desert, and find Marsha. It's not that difficult a plan," she kept telling herself over and over.

      Reassured, she skipped up the stairs and back to her room. She quietly tip-toed in, as she made sure the petpets didn't wake. Then, the Wocky crawled on the floor and looked under her bed. As soon as she had found what she was looking for, she pulled it out. A little dusty, she lifted a large box onto her bed.

      Mimi opened it up, and coughed, and dust and dirt flew into her face. Inside were several things: a little stuffed bear Mimi had when she was little, some photos of her playing around with Marsha, and even an old bag of Neodrops.

      The pink Wocky carefully took everything out of the box and laid it on her bed. However, she paid no attention to any the things she had taken out. Instead, she turned back to the box. Carefully, she reached into it and took another thing out.

      In her paw was yet another box. She opened it and poured its contents on the bed along with the other junk. But, inside the box were not more things from when she was little. Instead, several neopoints shone as dim light flashed on them.

      Carefully, she counted up all her money. "Exactly…thirteen-thousand and four-hundred sixty-two neopoints!" she declared quite proudly. "All my savings," Mimi added, with a hint of sorrow in her voice. "It really is a pity I have to use nearly all of it."

      The Wocky collected nearly all of the shiny coins and placed the remaining few back into the box they came from. Then, she neatly placed all the other items into the box, and returned it to the place under the bed where it had been gathering dust.

      Mimi then searched through the closet on the other side of the room. Quickly, she returned, with one of Lesley's old backpack. She stuffed her money into the backpack, put it on her back, and ran down the stairs.

     --

      "I'd like a ride to the Lost Desert. And back, please," Mimi chimed to an Aisha dressed in what seemed to be a work uniform. She was at a desk at the travel agency. More specifically, the Eyrie Express.

      "That will be a total of ten-thousand neopoints," replied the Aisha. Mimi nodded, and emptied her backpack upon the desk. The Aisha wrinkled her noise at the dust that came out with the money. But, she accepted the coins and handed the Wocky two tickets, one pink and one blue.

      "This one," she explained, pointing to the blue ticket, "is for your trip there. The other, for your trip back. Hold on to them, and give them to your Eyrie before each trip."

      Mimi nodded, and thanked the Aisha. Then, she examined the long line of Eyries, waiting for someone to ride them. There were Eyries of all color, and the pink Wocky finally selected a particularly pretty green Eyrie.

      "Here you are," she said, giving the ticket to the Eyrie. The Eyrie gladly accepted it, and bowed down, allowing Mimi to mount it.

      "My name is Carol," said the Eyrie, and Mimi got into a comfortable position. "Ouch! Don't pull on my feathers."

      "Sorry," mumbled Mimi as Carol began to run to the exit. She picked up speed, spread her wings, and took flight. After a moment or two after they began their journey, Mimi introduced herself. "I'm Mimi."

      Carol nodded. "I'd shake your paw, but, well, I can't." The two chuckled, and Mimi looked down. They were high above the ground, and were beginning to leave Neopia Central. The Wocky hung on tightly, as she made sure not to pull out any of Carol's feathers.

      They rode for silence for a few minutes. But then, Mimi had an idea. Had Carol been one of the Eyries who had flown her Marsha, Lesley, or Matt to the Lost Desert? Or had she at least seen the Eyries who had?

      "Carol…" she began.

      "Yes," replied the Eyrie.

      "Earlier this morning…did you see two Wockies, one blue and one faerie, and a girl? Their names were Marsha, Lesley, and Matt."

      Carol thought for a moment. "I didn't fly them, if that's what you're wondering, but I believe a friend of mine did. She flew the blue Wocky. Quite a pest, he was, according to her." Mimi smiled at the mention of her brother.

      "Oh. He's my brother." Carol chuckled, and the two did not speak for the remainder of the flight. Soon, Mimi could see the Lost Desert below them. She remained silent, for she had sensed that her flyer had gotten a little bored with her, but her eyes widened as she looked down.

      Carol began to slow her speed, and gently glided to a large building, which Mimi guessed was yet another travel agency. The Eyrie easily landed and bent down so Mimi could get off.

      "Thanks," the Wocky said and she climbed off. "I would give you a tip, but I only brought enough from the trip here and back." The pink Wocky slapped herself on the forehead. Carol had been so nice to her, and she didn't have a neopoint to give her.

      "It's alright," replied Carol. "I get paid very well here, so I don't really need tips. I know how expensive it is, here. Well, goodbye. Wait, what was your name?"

      Again, Mimi slapped herself on her forehead. Carol had told Mimi her name, but she hadn't told Carol hers! "I'm Mimi," the pink Wocky said as her Eyrie friend began to walk off for another flight.

      "Bye Mimi," she chanted.

      "Bye Carol," coughed Mimi, although Carol was already long gone. She sat on a chair in the waiting area of the Eyrie Express for a few moments, before she did anything. When a Kyrii (dressed in the same uniform the Aisha who had given her tickets had worn) asked her to leave or take a flight, she slowly got up and walked out to the Lost Desert.

      It was beautiful, but it was also very, very hot. Mimi could have sworn she got sunburned, though you never would be able to tell, with her pink fur. "The easy part is done," choked the Wocky to herself. "But now I have to find them."

      In her mind, Mimi thought that that wasn't really the hard part either. The hard part would be explaining how and why she was in the Lost Desert when she was supposed to be at home.

      Mimi walked for a few minutes, but her paws where getting very soar from the hot sand. "The Lost Desert isn't that big," she mumbled impatiently. "They have to be here somewhere."

      The Wocky scanned the area she was in, which was near the Fruit Machine and the Food Stall. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized she should have eaten before she left. Marsha and her siblings wouldn't have enough money for her dinner, too. She should have at least brought some more neopoints.

      Although Mimi didn't see her family anywhere, she did see the river that ran through the Lost Desert. It had a small bridge for easy access between the two, but that wasn't what the Wocky was interested. She hurriedly ran to the water and soaked her aching paws in it.

      "Ah," she said aloud, as she found the cool water quite refreshing. Mimi pulled her paws out and gently soaked her face. It tickled her fur, and she laughed. As she leaned over the edge, she looked around. She had a nice view from where she was.

      Quite clearly, she could see games of Tug-of-War, which proved to be very amusing. They took place right next to her, with one pet on her side of the river, and their opponent on the other side.

      Right now, a green Mynci was losing severely to Ramset, the Kacheek. The Mynci's toes were dangerously close to the water, and another pull would toss him in. He was pulling with all his might, but his attempt seemed to be in vain.

      Suddenly, Ramset gave the rope an extremely hard tug and the Mynci fell into the water with a splash. Mimi, who was watching from very close by, got soaked from head to tail with water.

      Ramset, who had seen her get splashed, quickly waddled over to see if she was okay. "Madam?" he asked very politely. "Are you alright." Mimi laughed, backed up, and shook out her fur.

      "I'm fine," she replied. "It felt nice." As soon as she had convinced Ramset that she was fine, Ramset returned to the game and Mimi to her spot by the river. She hadn't found her family, but she was quite enjoying herself.

      Mimi scrunched her eyes, trying to see who the next competitor at Tug-of-War was. She leaned over trying to get a better view, and got quite a shock. There was a little blue Wocky stepping up to the rope, but not just any Wocky! It was no doubt her brother Matt!

      In great surprise, Mimi leaned in forward, and her paws slipped from the sand. This, in turn, sent her flying into the river just as the green Mynci had minutes before. Ramset, who was taking a break, ran back over to her.

      "Madam!" he screeched once more. "Are you sure you are alright?" But Mimi didn't bother to respond and climbed out of the river at the other side. She shook her fur off again, and ran to the blue Wocky.

      "Matt!" she screamed, hugging her little brother rather tightly. He wrinkled his nose, and didn't seem to recognize that the Wocky was his sister.

      He pushed her away quickly. "Ew. Get off me," he said, brushing the water of his fur.

      "Matt! It's me, Mimi," explained Mimi, who was out of breath. "Where are Marsha and Lesley?" She was shaking with excitement, and couldn't believe her good luck.

      The Wocky still eyed Mimi uncertainly. "Mimi?" he asked timidly, stepping away from the Tug-of-War rope. "You're not Mimi. Mimi's at home with Dolly and Snuggles." Mimi laughed and shook her head.

      "Where's Marsha? Where's Lesley?" she asked again. Seeing how impatient she was, Matt led her to his owner and sister.

      "There you are. Happy?" Matt asked. "But Mimi, how did you get here?" Mimi was about to answer, when Marsha spotted her. The girl ran up to the pink Wocky and began choking her in a giant hug.

      After a minute or two of non-stop hugging, Mimi began to push away. "Mimi?" asked Marsha, who was shocked to see her. "How did you…why did you…what happened?"

      The four family members walked over the bridge and back to the Eyrie Express as Mimi explained how she had been scared and bored all alone and how she had flown to the Lost Desert to find them.

      "Touching," Lesley said sarcastically. "But how did you ever get the money?"

      "I have some money of my own, thank you very much," snapped Mimi abruptly. "It cost me nearly all of my savings, mind you," she added. "But I think it's worth it."

      The family selected Eyries for the ride home and handed over their tickets. Mimi, who had picked an Eyrie next to Marsha (where Lesley and Matt had picked others, father away), smiled at her owner.

      "Basically," she said, as she mounted her Eyrie. "I guess I had a change of heart." Marsha laughed, and would have hugged her pet again, if they had not been on their Eyries.

      "A sudden change of heart?" Marsha said hysterically. "You never cease to amaze me, Mimi."

      The pink Wocky grinned in response, when he stomach reminded her of another problem. "Marsha?" Mimi asked softly. "I never had dinner."

      "Neither did we," replied Marsha, as her Eyrie began to pick up speed in preparation for flight. The Eyrie flapped its wings, but Marsha turned before it took flight. "I'll stop at Pizzaroo on the way home. I'll get some pizza, fresh out of the oven," she yelled over the flapping of the wings.

      With that, her Eyrie took flight and soared into the sky, Mimi's not far behind. Mimi was happily thinking of a warm pizza dinner, and how hopefully, Matt wouldn't swipe the last pepperoni piece right out of her paw. She giggled, as her Eyrie flew over the Lost Desert and back to her home in Neopia Central.

The End