The Lost King of Geraptiku: Part Three

"Gosh..." Donis said, looking down at his plate, "isn't this the same thing we had the night I came here?"

     "Why yes it is," smiled Hana. "Why do you ask?"

     "Well... is it a special occasion?" Donis asked, picking at the Meat Wrap with his fork.

     "It is the one year anniversary of you being with us!" Hana said pointing at the calendar on the dining room wall. There was a big red circle on the square of Friday.

     "I don't remember you giving me a one year anniversary..." Fyren grumbled, picking at his now brown fur.

     Donis looked at him, and asked, "What did you say?"

     "I didn't say anything to you, you-you..." He paused, searching for the right word. "You in-blue-cell!!!!"

     "That's imbecile, you imbecile..." Donis said, smiling coyly at Fyren, glad that he wasn't as stupid as him.

     "Now boys, no fighting today! Not on my lovely-wovely wittle Donis' one-year anniversary!" Hana said, ruffling Donis' scraggily blue hair from across the table.

     Fyren rolled his eyes, and continued shoveling food into is mouth. Donis smiled and continued eating watching the infuriated Fyren growl between bites.

     ***

     "Gosh, Zar," thought Donis, "Can you believe I've been here for a whole year?"

     Donis and Zar were sitting in Donis' room about a week after the anniversary party.

     "No sir," said Zar. "It feels much less than that, doesn't it?"

     "Yes, it does..."

     Just then, a loud ruckus scrambled up the stairs and Donis' door flung wide open to reveal a very delighted looking Hana.

     "Guess what, Donis?" Hana asked.

     "What?" Donis asked, jumping up from his bead to stand next to Hana on the landing.

     Hana pointed down the stairs to where a very disgruntled Faerie Lupe sat, its teeth bared.

     "Fyren was turned into a Faerie Lupe at the Lab Ray today!!!"

     Zar slithered to Donis side and thought, "That's Fyren?!?"

     "That's Fyren?" Donis asked, a smile creeping across his face.

     "Yes," answered Hana. "Isn't he something?"

     "Oh he's something all right..." Donis said, smiling down at Zar.

     "Well, I've got to go do more shopping, all right?" Hana said, kissing Donis on the forehead.

     "OK..."

     Hana bounded down the steps, and with SLAM the front door closed and Donis and Zar were alone with a very angry Fyren.

     "One word..." Fyren said, climbing his way to the top of the steps, his new shining wings glistening in the sunlight.

     "You look ridiculous!!!" Donis laughed, running down the steps as Fyren chased him, his wings flapping in anticipation.

     "I'll catch you, Donis, and when I do..."

     "What?" asked Donis, looking over his shoulder, "You'll flap me to death?"

     Fyren roared with anger, and flew up into the air. He grabbed Donis by his shirt collar and with his other paw he reached down at Zar, and grabbed him straight around the middle.

     "What are you doing, Fyren?" Donis screamed.

     "I'm taking you to the basement!" Fyren said, slamming into a door at the end of the hall.

     Fyren grasped the door handle with his sharp teeth, and threw it open. With a heave Fyren threw Donis and his petpet down the stairs into the darkness of the basement. Donis yelped as he hit the ground, Zar landing a few feet away from his head.

     "That'll teach you to make fun of me!!!" Fyren yelled down the stairway.

     With an earth-shaking slam and a click, Fyren locked Donis and Zar in the basement.

     "What are we going to do?" asked Donis as he paced the dirt floor of the dark and smelly basement.

     "First," Zar said, slithering away into the darkness, "We need to find a candle or a light source of some sort."

     Zar reached his tail into a box, and pulled out a candle and a bundle of matches.

     "Perfect!" he said, slithering back to Donis.

     "Where are you?" Donis asked out loud, looking around the pitch-black basement.

     "I'm at your feet. I brought some matches and a candle."

     Zar reached his tail up to Donis' hand, and Donis took the supplies. After a few grunts and scrapes, the basement was flooded with soft candlelight.

     "Thanks Zar," said Donis as he patted the Quetzal on the head.

     "Just doing my job..." Zar said, smiling happily.

     "We need to find a way out of here!" Donis said as he paced the basement again.

     "I believe modern basements come with a sort of escape stairway in the back..." Zar said, moving towards the back wall of the basement.

     "Yeah, you're right," Donis said, following his advisor.

     "Aha!" Zar exclaimed, stopping at the back wall of the basement. Donis stopped at his side.

     "Did you find it?" he asked, looking at the wall.

     He didn't, however, see a door labeled "Exit" or some such nonsense. What he saw was something totally different.

     "What in Neopia?" Donis exclaimed, looking at the back wall of the basement.

      Instead of just one door, there stood two. The door to Donis' right looked like your average everyday metal exit door. The one to the Donis' left looked very old and withered, like it was from a different time and place. Donis raised his candle to the top of the doorway on the left.

     "What is this?" he asked Zar, looking at the words that were inscribed upon the frame of the door. "It says 'Ukitpareg ot rood eht'. What the heck does that mean?"

     "Read it backwards," said Zar, looking up at Donis.

     "The door to Geraptiku," Donis read, slowly, and when he was done, he gasped.

     "Is this the-the-door that-no... it couldn't be! Could it?"

      Donis looked down at Zar who was shaking his head.

     "Well," Zar said to Donis, "of all the basements in all of Neopia, Lord Vagio placed the portal in yours. Huh!"

     Zar scoffed at the stupidity of the antagonist.

     "Why would he do that?" Donis asked.

      "I don't know... perhaps he never thought you would look in your own basement," Zar pondered as he began slithering back to the stairs and stopped to think on this newly acquired information.

     "Or maybe he WANTED me to find it! Yeah! So I would go through it, and upon entering, he would have all his minions grab me and tie me up and take me to the dungeons!" Donis waved his arms around in excitement, his eyes as big as dinner plates.

     "You're as same ever... always exaggerating..." Zar laughed, shaking his head at Donis. "Come over here and sit down. We need to discuss this seriously."

     Donis reluctantly obeyed his advisor and sat down on the bottom step.

     "Should we go through the door? What will happen if we do? Is that really the way to Ancient Geraptiku? How do we know that Vagio isn't waiting on the other side?" he asked.

     Donis took a deep breath to prepare for his next round of questions, but Zar wouldn't let him say another word.

     "It is really the way to Geraptiku, and we have no idea what might be awaiting us on the other side. We should go through the door, but not right this moment. We should prepare ourselves."

     "Prepare us how?" Donis asked, staring across the basement.

     "Well, we need food, water, some more candles and a few matches," Zar said, "Perhaps a warm blanket and a pillow too. Do you think Miss Hana has all these things down here?"

     Donis got up from the stairs and began searching the boxes that lined the walls of the basement.

     "I dunno," he said, "Help me look, will you?"

     Zar slithered to the other side of the basement and they began their search for supplies.

     ***

     Two minutes later, Donis found just what they were looking for.

     "Aha!" he exclaimed, and Zar came slithering to his side.

     Donis was holding in his little blue paws what seemed to be an emergency supply kit. It was fairly plain looking backpack, except for the words 'Emergency Supply Kit' written in permanent marker across the top.

     "It looks like Hana's handwriting," Donis said, remembering the words that were inscribed in dark black marker upon the bright blue fabric of the backpack.

     "She probably put it down here in case of an emergency..." Donis thought deeply, scratching his head.

     "You think?" Zar thought to himself, rolling his eyes.

     "What did you say?" Donis asked, glaring at Zar.

     "Uh... I said, what do you think? Shall we go now?"

     Donis swung his arms through the backpack strap and said to Zar, "I'm ready if you are!"

     Zar smiled, and slithered across the room with Donis at his side. When they reached the doors, Donis gulped, and thought to Zar, "Er... On three then?"

     Zar nodded.

     "One."

     Donis reached his paw out to touch the old iron door pull.

     "Two."

     Donis pulled the latch towards himself.

     "Three."

      The door swung open.

     Donis and Zar were immediately stripped of their sense of sight, as a bright light shined into their eyes as they plummeted onto a hard earthy plane.

     "Ooh..." Donis groaned, rubbing his head.

     "Hmm..." said a voice from somewhere above them. Donis blinked back the darkness now surrounding them, to see a striped Cybunny peering down at him through foggy spectacles.

     "I've been expecting you."

To be continued...