The Five Kaus: Part Eight

      "Wrong," said Jacob, stepping in front of the Scorchio's view. "You are going to change Metonot back to normal, remember? I believe you said you would do that?"

      "Oh yes, of course, silly me. As I said to you not long ago, a new Lab Ray 2000-X needs to be built, and I require your payment to do so," he said and reached out his hand.

      Jacob took a look at the Scientist's hand and then over his shoulder, and said, "It looks like you already have one behind you."

      "Oh! Don't mind that. It's the second prototype I made. I wouldn't be so foolish to make one prototype of a very expensive and delicate machine, now would I?"

      "And yet you are foolish enough to demand blackmail for building a machine you already have. I think you should go and set that lab ray up right now before I get angry. Move."

      "Now you wait one moment-"

      "No, YOU WAIT!" and Jacob picked him up by the collar. "I've been through too much to have you shift blame on me for a mistake that you have made. I'm not going to hear a word of it!"

      "Jacob, that is highly unnecessary," said White Metonot.

      "Yeah right. He's just giving him what he deserves," laughed Red Metonot.

      "Either way, it isn't helping me out," said the shaking Yellow Metonot. "Please put him down."

      "Fine," said Jacob as he dropped the Scientist to the floor. "Now start up that machine before I change my mind."

      The Lab Ray Scientist snarled, and then said, "All five of you stand upon the 'zapping pad.' I'll power up the Lab Ray 2000-X."

      One by one, each Metonot walked past Jacob and right behind the Scientist. White Metonot handed him Whooper to place in his pocket, Red gave him a snarl, Yellow gave a nervous smile, and Blue mumbled something as they each in turn walked by. The last was Grey Metonot, whom Jacob stopped.

      "I just want you to know that I intend to take better care of you from now on," said Jacob.

      Grey Metonot smiled. "Doesn't really matter if you do or don't. You are entitled to care for me regardless of what I want."

      "That doesn't matter. You know I would let you leave me if that was what you really wanted. If you would be better off away from me-"

      "Forget it, Jacob. Happy or sad, I'd rather stick with you."

      Jacob rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Thank you."

      Grey Metonot grunted a laugh and then walked off to join the rest of the Metonots on the platform.

      "Why didn't you give me one of those moments as well?" whined Blue Metonot.

      "Or me?" said Red Metonot. "Are you too good for that?"

      "No, it's just that you two, and Yellow Metonot included, get in the way of the true Metonot's happiness. To put it quite frankly, I think you all should take a step back and let Grey Metonot express himself more."

      "Shouldn't Grey Metonot need something to be happy about in order for him to do so?" inquired White Metonot.

      "Leave that to me," Jacob said as he pointed his thumb at his chest.

      When Grey Metonot finally joined the rest of them up on the platform, the Lab Ray Scientist was standing ready at the Lab Ray 2000-X.

      "Are you sure this is what you want, Jacob?" said the Scientist with concern.

      "As it was proven to me earlier, having eight Neopets won't sit well with a few people. Plus I don't like having Metonot in turmoil by being this way. Now do it."

      Sighing, the Lab Ray Scientist pushed a button on the ray, but the Lab Ray 2000-X did not fire. Instead, the platform the Metonots stood upon became electrified, and they were knocked unconscious within a few seconds.

      "What did you do!?!" cried out Jacob as he leaped at the Scientist. Before he could get within range he pulled a hidden weapon from his coat, which he swung at Jacob, who barely dodged. Jacob jumped back at the sight of his weapon: a Sword of Skardsen.

      "You didn't think I've come to be in my position by being bullied by the likes of you, did you?" smiled the Scientist.

      Without breaking eye contact from the Scientist, Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out Whooper. "Fly off, Whooper. Things are about to get rough," and Whooper did so.

      Suddenly, the scientist put the sword back within its place in his coat, and Jacob rushed in, seeing an opening for attack. He was never able to exploit it though, as the Scientist quickly pulled out his next weapon: a Faerie Slingshot. He fired a single shot, and Jacob was knocked backwards on his back.

      "Try and bully me around, will you?" laughed the Lab Ray Scientist. "I'll show you!"

      The scientist chased after Jacob, firing off faerie acorns as he went. Missed shots crashed into expensive equipment, sending off explosions and spark showers. But those that did hit Jacob sent him flying.

      "Ha!" laughed the Lab Ray Scientist after another successful hit. "Think you could threaten me, could you? You may have enough brute strength to fight Sloth's soldiers, but you are nothing compared to me! Take that!" and fired another acorn.

      Instead of dodging, Jacob stood his ground and caught it with his hand, wincing from the blow.

      "Ha!" laughed the Scientist. "How does that do you any good?"

      Jacob smiled, a weary and pained smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Have you noticed there are fewer acorns on the ground than you have fired?" and Jacob produced his other hand, showing the handful he had collected while on the run.

      Before the Lab Ray Scientist could cry out in horror, Jacob threw all the acorns at him. On quick impulse, he grabbed a piece of lab ray casting that was close at hand and swung it at the oncoming acorns. The acorns clashed against the casting, and were deflected right back at Jacob. Not a one struck the Scientist. This time the blow that struck Jacob flung him all the way across the lab. He struck the archway entrance, sending several cracks around its base.

      'Looks like I need to repair that, doesn't it?' thought the Lab Ray Scientist with more excitement than worry. 'But it was worth it.'

      As the Scientist ran over to Jacob, he laughed manically. With great satisfaction he saw that he had won the battle. Jacob lay against the wall, head down and completely still. If he wasn't unconscious, he was the perfect example of what someone that was looked like.

      "You gave me a real start there, Jacob," chided the Scientist. "And to think if I hadn't quickly grabbed some worthless piece of metal, I would have been done for. Lucky for me, too bad for you!" and brandished the Sword of Skardsen once again.

      "That's enough, Scientist," said a firm voice from beyond the entrance. "Cease and desist, or I shall be forced to harm you."

      Looking up with confusion at who would order him around, the Lab Ray Scientist froze at seeing who the voice belonged to: Judge Hog.

      "Again, I ask that you drop your weapons and cease your actions. Do so right now."

      From the ground, Jacob gave a grunt of a laugh and looked up at the Scientist with one eye open. "You better do what he says. He gets angry if you don't do what he asks."

      "You aren't unconscious!?!" cried out the Scientist. No one should have been able to take a blow like that and still be able to laugh as Jacob did. No one!

      "This is your last warning!" said Judge Hog, a mere ten steps away.

      "I take orders from no one!" laughed the Scientist, and threw the Sword of Skardsen at Judge Hog. Hog swatted it away like a fly, sending it clanging into a wall. The Scientist let out a furious cry and fired an acorn, which Hog merely caught in his hand and crushed. At the display of such strength, the scientist dropped the Faerie Slingshot immediately.

      "I surrender! I surrender! Don't hurt m-"

      Before he could finish his sentence, Judge Hog rushed forward and punched him, sending him flying back to the middle of the lab.

      "So you were going easy on me, weren't you?" laughed Jacob as he raised his hand to Hog.

      "Yes, I suppose I was," sighed Judge Hog as he lifted Jacob to his feet. "I loathe the idea of harming those that have saved Neopia in the past, even if it may seem that their current actions are criminal."

      "And I thought I had you by the ropes for a few seconds during our fight," Jacob said as he shook the dust from his coat. "Thanks for setting me straight and showing what you really can do."

      "No problem. Now let's go settle this with the Scientist before he awakes."

     ********

      Several minutes later, the Lab Ray Scientist awoke to see Jacob and Judge Hog standing over him. In his hands, Judge Hog held his regular old Lab Ray.

      "What are you doing with my valuable property," mumbled the Scientist, still groggy.

      "Safe keeping," replied Judge Hog. "For as long as I hold onto it I'm sure you will cooperate with us."

      "Oh? And what is it I must do for you?"

      "Change Metonot back to normal," said Jacob.

      "NO!" screamed the Scientist, immediately back on his feet and very much awake. "I refuse to change him back! I will not waste such a valuable scientific find just so you can sleep better at night. And since you can't get what you want without my cooperation, you're stuck!"

      "Well now, this lab ray looks rather fragile, doesn't it?" said Judge Hog with a laugh. "I mean, look how easy this little knob comes off," he added, tearing off the said knob.

      "What do you think you're doing!?!" cried out the Scientist.

      "Oops! You didn't need that did you? Well, I hope you don't need this either," he said, pulling off a wire, electricity sparking out of the tear.

      "Alright!" screamed the Scientist, who jumped at the Lab Ray 2000-X and began turning dials, pushing buttons and flipping switches. "Fine! I'll make the machine work! Just stop destroying my Lab Ray!"

      "That's a much more positive attitude!" smiled Hog, tossing the lab ray up and down like a baseball, making the Scientist cringe every time it landed back in his hand.

      Within a few minutes, the Lab Ray 2000-X fired upon the sleeping Metonots, and where there were once five there was one. The original Ghost Kau, Metonot.

      "Is he back to normal?" asked Judge Hog.

      "Of course he is!" said the Lab Ray Scientist. "You dare doubt my intellect?"

      "I'll take a look," said Jacob as he walked up to the unconscious Metonot. He bent down and looked for a few seconds, then beckoned Whooper to come forward. The Avabot immediately began to dance upon Metonot's head, and Jacob could plainly hear Metonot mumble, "Get off, Whooper."

      "It's him, alright," laughed Jacob as he scratched his head.

      "Good," exclaimed Judge Hog. "Now we don't need this anymore," he said, and tossed the lab ray over his shoulder, where it crashed into the floor.

      "NO!" cried out the Scientist as he ran to his damaged lab ray. "What have you done?"

      "And we don't need this anymore, either," said Judge Hog as he walked up to the now defenseless Lab Ray 2000-X and smashed it to pieces. "Such a dangerous device in the wrong hands could mean trouble for Neopia. I sure hope you don't build another, Lab Ray Scientist."

      "Just you wait," said the Scientist as he tinkered with his original lab ray. "I'll build something that not even you will be able to fight against. You'll see!"

      "I'm sure we will stop you before sure a thing ever happens," and turned around to look at Jacob. "You ready to go?"

      "Yep," Jacob said as he slung the still sleeping Metonot over his shoulder. "Let's get out of this laboratory before Metonot wakes up. I'm sure he doesn't want to see this place in a long time."

     ********

      "Ow…what happened?" said Metonot as he awoke to the sun of the outside world. "Where am I?"

      "You are lying out in the ground outside the Secret Laboratory!" exclaimed Jacob. "The sun is bright and the air is fresh! It's good to be alive!"

      "...what has gotten into you, Jacob?"

      "Nothing. I'm just happy that things have worked out so well. How are you feeling?"

      "Despite the headache, I'm okay. I never thought the lab ray would make me unconscious though. This is the worst I've ever felt after being zapped by it."

      "I'm sure. I think you will be glad to know that I've decided to leave off on you visiting the ray for awhile."

      "Really?" said Metonot, his headache forgotten. "You really mean that?"

      "Why not? Seeing what this latest blast from the lab ray did to you, I don't think I could keep you going there with a clear conscience."

      "Whatever ever happened to making me stronger?" Metonot said with sarcasm.

      "You're strong enough at this time. I just needed a kick to the head to make me see that. But really, are you okay with this? You know...being a Kau?"

      Metonot shrugged. "I may not be able to fly, but I can manage it just fine as long as I don't have to deal with coming here again. Besides, I'm finding a new respect for the ground. Way I see it the longer I stay this way the happier I will be when I get my wings back."

      Jacob laughed and patted Metonot on the shoulder. "That's one way to look at it. Come on. Let's get moving."

      After a few minutes of silent travel, Jacob said, "You know, I was thinking. Seeing you aren't going to be visiting the lab ray for awhile, perhaps we could have some of your siblings go in your place?"

      "Are you serious?" laughed Metonot. "They would actually want to go there?"

      "They even mentioned it to me a few times. They were a little jealous that you had gotten so strong."

      "Yeah, I'm sure their jealousy will fade the minute they start changing to every different Neopet in the alphabet."

      Jacob and Metonot shared a little laugh at that, and they continued to walk, all the while having Whooper dance around them in its happy, chaotic dance.

The End