Sol Dreaming: Part Four

     "Doesn't 'Lord Harry' mean 'the devil?'" Aquamarine puzzles.

     "What?" Harry hisses. Digging deep into a pant pocket, Harry pulls out a small black book with gold letters on the front reading Handy Dandy Dictionary. He starts to flip through the book.

     "L... l... here it is," He says, reading the page.

     Aquamarine rolls her eyes, remembering all the times she has seen that little black book. At least once a day Harry would take it out and look something up.

     "Curses to the three-toed sloth who invented this definition!"

     "Told you so!" Aquamarine taunts.

     "Might I remind you that I'm not the one who is in the cage and has been betrayed by her alleged owner," Harry snaps back.

     The blue Lupe opens her mouth, remembering her rage. "How could you! This is what you do with your Neopets!? Throw them in cages!?" Aquamarine bangs her powerful forepaws against the bars of the cage, but the backs away; the fur on her paws is singed from an electrical shock given from the blue current running around the cage.

     Lord Harry snickers. He sneers, "Oh no, only you and Sunshine." He takes a few steps in her direction. "Do you like the cages? Ramosans provide the nice little shock."

     Aquamarine's former owner looks as good as ever. His dazzling smile reveals his teeth, which are still unnaturally white; his wavy blond hair perfectly shaped, the same man who created her is still standing before her; the only difference is that his eyes glimmer with hatred.

     "But why are you doing this?" Aquamarine says slowly after a few minutes, her voice full of complete bewilderment.

     With a simple shrug and smile, he states, "Number one, because I can; and number two, because otherwise you'd ruin my plot."

     Aquamarine gives her former owner a very baffled look.

     (You put out of your mind what I told you again. Remember the one where you saw Sunshine being captured?) Sol gives the telepathic hint to Aquamarine.

     (You're right about that one... don't you get tired of being right? Ignore that. Sorry I forgot about that... I do look as if I'm doing a lot of forgetting, don't I?) Aquamarine thinks back apologetically to Sol.

     (Don't show that you're fearful, bewildered, or fragile; it'll only please him and give him more willpower to succeed... not to mention more reason) the ball of light advises.

     (Okay,) Aquamarine says, nodding comprehensively. Lord Harry squints at her, wondering why she just nodded out of the blue. He shakes it off in the same manner a person who just had freezing water dumped onto them would shake it off. The man gives his head a small shake, and then starts his long story. I'm going to lose my mind if I keep seeing things like this, he thinks shakily.

     "When I was a teenager, I had my life dream: to rule the universe. I started to gather cohorts. One of my closest followers told me that an object called a Neopet would defeat me. I reserved this thought, as my adherent is usually correct. But, at the time, there was no such thing as 'Neopets,' so I put the thought aside.

     "Years and years and years passed. But then I found out that a land called Neopia was indeed discovered. Humans were given free reign over the planet and its inhabitants, known as Neopets. I went to the devotee who gave the prediction. I demanded the specifics from him. He willingly provided them to me.

     "I remember it perfectly. 'The only one who can overthrow you is a blue Lupe, a Neopet. Her name is Aquamarine.' So my short-term goal became to obliterate you.

     "I had to give up my life on Earth and move to Neopia. I found you rather promptly in the pound." The man gives a small satisfied smile. The smile is not a happy one, but rather one full of evil.

     "In the pound? You said you created me!" the Lupe shrieks, incredibly angry that her former owner would lie to her about something that important. She rams the cage with the side of her body, ignoring the intense smell of her burning fur.

     The man laughs softly, but it echoes as if he had laughed like a maniac. "Do you like? Angry Ramosans provide the nasty shocks. The neobuilders gave me scraps... very expensive. Anyway, yes, the pound. But that would be a partial lie... no... a major lie. I found you living happily with your owner in Happy Valley. You were suffering from the Jitters, and your owner couldn't pay for the treatment. The cold wasn't doing you much of a favor." A leer appears on Harry's face.

     "So I struck a deal with your owner. In exchange for you, I would give your owner a million Neopoints. But she wouldn't take it. She loved you so much. I raised the amount to five million and treating your sickness. She looked tempted, but she still wouldn't take the deal. I became impatient. I gave her my final offer. Five million Neopoints, treating you, and providing you with a good life. Your owner couldn't resist. She only wanted the best for you. She unsuspectingly dealt you to your doom. She said she would always love you.

     "I'll give you some time to contemplate what you just heard." He sneers, but with a tiny hint of compassion, unseen before.

     This blow hit Aquamarine hard. She had had an owner who loved her and still did. If I get out of this alive, I'm going to find her; I swear I will!

     (You okay?) Sol asks kindheartedly.

     (No. No, I'm not. But I will be, eventually, if I survive this.) Aquamarine thinks strongly.

     "I kept my word to her. I don't know why I didn't murder you there. I should have. It would have been much simpler. But I was foolish and thought maybe I could persuade you to join my side if I gave you a good home," he says, and begins pacing.

     "I then created Maroon, so you could have a brother. It's thanks to him that you're here.

     "But you were missing something, so Sunshine came along. I couldn't do anything but sit and wait for you to trust me in a way you would do anything for me. That all changed when I saw you fight the Pant Devil and Lava Ghoul. You quite clearly stated that you thought they were evil, and weren't going to join anyone who shared ideas with them.

     "Now you're here. And you have a choice. Either join me or die," Harry says pleasantly, smiling.

     "Well that's not much of a choice, now is it?" Aquamarine utters sardonically, with a very disgusted look on her face.

     (Don't get cocky,) Sol thinks crossly. The Lupe perceives a scrunched up face from Sol.

     (Well, it isn't!) Aquamarine reflects in a fiery tone. Her face plainly shows her disgust. Once again Lord Harry raises his eyebrows, more sure that something is up. He gives some sort of signal to some unseen person, or thing for that matter.

     (Your life depends on it, your call,) Sol tells her tartly in thought.

     "Why did you keep your word to her?" Aquamarine inquires heatedly.

     "She's my little sister. At the time, I was twenty-nine and she was only twelve. I would have done anything for her.

     "Now back to your decision. What is your choice?" He asserts level headedly with complete control over the situation.

     "No," Aquamarine immediately tells him simply with a teeny smile on her face.

     "What?" Lord Harry says sourly to her, barely above a whisper. "Why do you say that?" Aquamarine smile turns into a grin. Now its his turn to be irritated.

     "That's easy," a groggy Sunshine answers. Aquamarine jumps a little; she didn't realize that her sister was awake. Lord Harry, on the other hand, seemed to know she was awake. He merely raises his eyebrows in mild surprise that she talked.

     Sunshine sits up in the cage next to Aquamarine. "Neopets can't die. We have always been that way," the yellow Shoyru says woozily.

     Lord Harry knits his eyebrows together. He then hollers, "Aizel! Come here!"

     The man called Aizel approaches Lord Harry cautiously, as someone would approach the Snowager. A normal sort of man; unnoticeable to anyone, with the exception of his wearing a strange green trench coat with a matching top hat. "Yes, my Lord?" he stutters with just a hint of terror.

     "Why did you not tell me they can't kick the bucket?!" Lord Harry says pointing a furious finger toward Aquamarine and Sunshine, his voice so calm and low it seems deadly. If only voices could kill, Aquamarine thinks sweetly.

     "It wasn't foreseen, m'Lord. I'm truly sorry! Please forgive me!" Aizel yelps, dropping to his knees and lowering his head in a half bow.

     Aquamarine's former owner gives him a look of disgust. He then kicks the man squarely in the stomach. Aizel takes his punishment without not so much as a grunt; just a pained expression on his face. "Go tell Pendleton to bring the red one," Lord Harry says with a wicked look on his face.

     Aizel scurries to his feet and rushes out of the room. When "Pendleton," wearing the same ensemble as Aizel, returns with another one, both Sunshine and Aquamarine gasp in horror while Lord Harry cackles softly. The cackle turns into a roar of laughter.

     A devilish red Kau is next to Pendleton.

To be continued...