The Disappearance of Choppy: Part Two

Indipsi galloped full out, her legs stretching as far as they could possibly go. Plan A to retrieve her owner's missing island Uni plushie had failed miserably and so she was moving on to Plan B. She just had to make a quick stop at her Neohome before putting the plan into action.

      When the baby Uni's owner, Charmedhorses, say Indi racing up the hill to their Neohome a smile came to her face. Indipsi must not have found the plushie, which was no surprise to Charmed, who knew that Choppy was safe and sound in her room. That, however, was unknown to Indipsi.

      Indi slowed down as she entered the Neohome, trying to keep up appearances so she wouldn't attract attention. She walked calmly into the hall, fighting back her anxiety as she continued to her bedroom. Once safely inside Indipsi closed the door and rushed to her nightstand, where she kept her Neopoints.

      "Months of saving," the Uni said sadly, emptying out her Snorkely bank on the floor. "Oh well. At least I'm not saving up for a royal paint brush anymore."

      One by one Indipsi counted her Neopoints, going over her plan all the while. Since she hadn't found the island Uni plushie at the Money Tree, where she had accidentally sent it in a box of old toys, she would have to try something else. Indi figured if she couldn't find Choppy she would have to get a Choppy look-alike.

      "Indi, what are you doing?" Charmed called from outside the bedroom door.

      "Nothing!" Indi replied hastily, hurrying to put her Neopoints in a fabric sac.

      For a moment Charmed felt guilty, hoping she wasn't being too cruel to her beloved Uni. Then she jumped as Indi sped out of her room, dashed through the Neohome, and out the door. By then Charmed was too curious to stop her Uni.

      With her bag of Neopoints gripped firmly between her teeth, Indipsi continued her quest to find Choppy and galloped down to Neopia Central. When she arrived there, heaving and slightly sweaty, she headed straight for the toy store.

      Over the time of her life Indipsi had learned that the toy shop had almost everything a Uni could possibly want. She was sure it would come through for her once more.

      "Good day," a red Kau welcomed Indi upon her entrance. "May I help you?"

      "You could save my life," Indipsi answered, a bit too seriously.

      "Excuse me?" the Kau said, looking wearily behind the Uni for any followers. "Is someone after you?"

      "No," Indipsi shook her head. "I'm alone."

      "Okay, the Kau appeared slightly reassured. "What can I do for you, then?"

      "I need an island Uni plushie," Indipsi told him, emphasizing need.

      "Right this way, Miss. I'll see what I can find."

      Indi followed the Kau through the various aisles to the plushie section of the store. Lined on both sides of the aisle were bins of plushies, from green Buzzes to Darigan Peophins. Indipsi's eyes scanned over them, searching desperately for an island Uni. With help from the Kau she dug down amongst the stuffies and didn't come up for air until she was sure she had seen every single one.

      "I'm sorry, but I don't think we have any," the Kau said.

      "No! You have to have it!" Indipsi exclaimed. "This is a matter of life or death!"

      Again the Kau looked cautiously around.

      "No, no, no. Not like that," Indipsi explained. "It's an expression. Can you please check what you have in the storage room?"

      The Kau wavered under her pleading and consented to look in the back. When he returned and shook his head Indipsi gave a groan.

      "You don't have any whatsoever?" she asked.

      "I'm afraid not, Miss," the Kau replied. "Would you like me to assist you with anything else?"

      For a moment Indipsi wondered if everyone at the toy shop was that polite, but she quickly recovered to say, "No, thank you. Just time to think up a new plan."

      "Okay," the Kau said before leaving to help another customer.

      "Plan C…Plan C…" Indipsi murmured to, willing a new idea to come to her whirring mind. Suddenly a white Uni plushie caught her eye and she knew what to do. Indi grabbed the toy and hurried to the art aisle, where she picked up a set of markers.

      After paying for her purchases Indipsi trotted over to the park and sat down to work on her project. It took her two solid hours of coloring before the Uni completed her task.

      "You look adorable," Ind told the plushie, a grin on her face. "Charmed'll never knew the difference."

      Unable to find an honest to goodness island Uni plushie, Indipsi had colored a white Uni plushie with the design of an island one. The plushie was still damp with ink and its striped pattern looked slightly sloppy, but Indi didn't think her owner would notice the slight difference.

      "Oh, no," Indipsi said, looking down at her hooves, which had green and blue stains on them. "Charmed may not notice that this isn't Choppy, but she's sure to notice that my hooves are dirty." With that in mind Indi rinsed her hooves off in a nearby stream, rubbing them until no trace of color other than their natural one could be seen.

      "Time to go," Indipsi declared. She grabbed the plushie in her teeth and took off galloping toward her Neohome, eager to deliver the plushie.

      Charmed was sitting at the kitchen table when she heard her Uni approaching. Indipsi had been gone for most of the afternoon and Charmed was eager to see her back.

      "Hello, Charmed!" Indipsi called happily as she pranced through the front door.

      "Hey, Indi! What have you been up to?" Charmed asked.

      "Uhh," Indipsi stalled, thinking of what to say. "I've been…hanging around."

      "Oh, really?" Charmed questioned.

      "Yeah," Indipsi answered, slinking away to her room.

      So as not to raise attention to the replacement plushie Indipsi figured she would find a way to return it unnoticed. That should be easy considering her owner was in the kitchen. All Indi had to do was sneak into Charmed's room and leave the plushie on her bed.

      Indipsi was across the hall when Charmed came out of nowhere and caused Indi to jump, almost dropping the plushie she was hiding.

      "Jeepers, Indi, are you alright?" Charmedhorses asked. "What's got you so jumpy?"

      "You just startled me," the Uni replied.

      "Okay, can I get you something? You look a little off."

      Indipsi's mind raced. "A glass of water would be great."

      "I'll go get one," Charmed said before disappearing.

      With little time to make her move Indi raced the rest of the way across the hall to her owner's room and deposited the Uni plushie on her bed. She then dashed back out to wait for Charmedhorses.

      "Here you go," Charmed said when she returned and handed her Uni a tall glass of icy water.

      As Indi drank nervously Charmed casually asked, "So did you find Choppy yet?"

      Indipsi froze, but was able to collect her composure and say, "As a matter of fact, I did."

      "You did?" Charmed asked in surprise. She wondered if Indi had found out that Charmed had hidden Choppy under her bed after having found in one of the give-away boxes.

      "Uh huh," Indi replied. "I put him in your room like you asked me to."

      Curious, Charmed stepped into her bedroom. There on her bedspread sat an island Uni plushie.

      "Thank you," Charmed said, waiting until she was alone to inspect the plushie.

      "You're welcome." Grateful to escape Indipsi hurried off. She was a bit taken aback by how easily Charmedhorses accepted the plushie as Choppy, but she wasn't about to complain.

      Meanwhile Charmed sat on her bed holding the island Uni plushie in her hands. He girl turned it over and over, sure that it wasn't Choppy. "What did Indi do?" she wondered. "Buy another island Uni plushie thinking Choppy was gone for good?"

      Suddenly Charmed gasped. In the process of exchanging the plushie from one hand to the other she caught sight of her left palm. Green ink from the Uni's stripes had rubbed off on her skin.

      "Why lookie there," Charmed said in amusement. "That baby Uni sure got me this time."

      Charmed wiped her inky hands on her jeans and pulled out the real Choppy out from under her bed. "Hey boy, you'll never guess what Indi did," she whispered to him.

      With the colored Uni plushie in hand in front of her and Choppy hidden behind her back, Charmed went in search of Indipsi.

      "Hey, Indi," she said, having found the Uni hiding out in the kitchen. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

      "Sure," Indipsi agreed, eyeing the plushie in her owner's hand. "Glad to have Choppy back?"

      "That's the thing," Charmed explained, pulling Choppy from behind her back. "I found Choppy in one of your boxes of old toys. He almost got sent to the Money Tree."

      "Ohh…" Indi's eyes traveled back and forth from one island Uni plushie to the other.

      "You did a great coloring job," Charmed complimented. "Did it take you a while?"

      Indipsi nodded.

      "So this is what? A white Uni plushie you colored island?" Charmed asked.

      Indipsi nodded again. Then she narrowed her eyes on Charmed. "Why didn't you just tell me you found Choppy?"

      "I wanted you to learn a lesson," Charmed said. "Choppy shouldn't have been tossed in a box with all your unwanted toys."

      "Well, you didn't have to lead me on like that for so long," Indi complained.

      "Oh, well, it's all over now, right?" Charmed asked, ready to let it go.

      Indipsi grunted. "I guess so."

      Charmed laughed softly. "Aw, I'm sorry, Indi. I didn't mean to worry you quite that much."

      A smile broke on Indi's face. "Well, now you have a back up Choppy."

      "That I do," Charmed agreed.

THE END

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading my series! I love writing about Indipsi! Please feel free to Neomail me!