In This Together: Part Four

     "I was right all along about one thing, though," I sighed as I made my way along the track road. "I was not cut out to be an adventurer. Why couldn't this have been the other way around?" I was sure that, if I had got into some spot of trouble far from home, Voltare would've gone after me without a moment's hesitation and rescued me-- fabulously, as ever-- before Fiona had even noticed he was gone. Well, so much for that. Voltare wasn't going to help me out, and I had to do this myself as best I could.

     I could see buildings on the horizon as I walked. Looking over the top of the hill I'd just climbed, I gasped aloud; there were more houses, shops and strange-shaped buildings than I'd ever seen in my life. This had to be the massive capital city I'd heard so much about: Neopia Central.

     I made my way into town through one of the enormous wallgates. A scruffy blue Kyrii was playing the guitar on the steps of a shop, and although I had almost no Neopoints, I threw a toffee into his hat. He grinned as I walked on.

     *

     The crowds! I couldn't believe there could be so many pets and people in one city. A pretty rainbow Pteri bumped into me, then fluttered past without even bothering to apologise. It was still raining, and I wondered if one of the glittering, enormous shops around me would sell me an umbrella, or a mackintosh, if I promised them something in return. Probably not; the shopkeepers didn't look the sort to barter.

     I didn't know where the Adoption Centre could be. I'd read stories about it in the Times-- who hadn't?-- but none of them gave any hints as to its exact location. Uncertain, I carried on searching as the happier citizens of Neopia Central began to shut up shops, pulling down blinds, picking up cases and hurrying home for their tea.

     As I stood in the market square considering my next move, I felt a leathery wing touch my shoulder. I jumped.

     "Little Ixi, where are you going?" snapped the Korbat, his face stern.

     What could I say? "I know where I'm going, thanks," I told him, tossing my ears back carelessly, like someone who'd known Neopia Central all her life. "I don't need any help."

     "Hmmm, okay." He nodded. "I thought you must be lost, a little girl like you out on her own. Run along now." He paused. "You know, you have quite an unusual accent. Where do you come from?"

     "Meridell," I admitted. It was the truth.

     "That's a long way for such a small Neopet," he marvelled. I was beginning to be fed up of the constant remarks about my height, but he meant well, so I kept quiet. "You'd better get going if you want to be home before nightfall."

     Which is where I made a big mistake.

     "But... I'm not going home!" I told him. "I've run away."

     His eyes widened, and for a minute he looked more sad and afraid than stern. "Oh, little one," he said. "You're ownerless... I can't... I'm sorry, my dear, but you'll have to come with me."

     I followed him. What else could I do? He had his wing firmly clasped around my shoulders, and now he was steering me through the streets in the direction of... a tall building, at least fifteen storeys high, with metal bars at the windows. Was it my imagination, or was someone looking mournfully out of that top window, resting two blue paws on the ledge?

     "Wh-where are you taking me?" I stammered, suddenly scared.

     "I'm sorry," he said again. Something in the way he said it reminded me of Fiona, poor Fiona, the night she'd had to tell me Voltare was gone. "It's the law here in Neopia Central. You're not old enough to take care of yourself, especially not in a big city like this. You have to be taken to the Adoption Centre for your own protection before night falls. We don't want you getting bitten by Count Von Roo, my love, or attacked by thieves."

     The Adoption Centre. How ironic; I was going to be a prisoner in the very place I'd tried so hard to find. Visions crossed my mind of my former owner who had never deserved me at all, never mind Voltare. My brother had taken me away from that home, carrying me in the shelter of his beautiful wings until we found Fiona and sanctuary. But supposing that that girl were here, looking for a new pet!

     My heart began to race. No! I would never be locked up there!

     Kicking my back hoof high into the air, I struggled out of the Korbat's grip. He let out a startled cry, but I had already gone, sprinting down the street and splashing water everywhere as my hooves went into puddles. I had to run, it didn't matter where, just to get away.

     A whistle blew. The flustered Korbat was calling in reinforcements. Knowing that he was no stranger to this town, that it was probably a useless chase, I ducked round corners and skittered across slippery roads. He was gaining, I was sure of it.

     Suddenly he shouted. I risked a look over my shoulder, and saw that a Miamouse had run across his path, jumping playfully and nipping at his dangling feet. He flapped and yelled in panic, unable to see what it was. Thanking Fyora for the diversion, I ran as fast as I could to make the most of the few extra seconds the Petpet had bought me.

     Then I saw the street sign on the wall, high above my head. It was grubby and faded, but it shone on me like a Faerie's blessing as the words leapt out to me.

     Kadoatery Street

     I bolted down the long avenue, watching the house numbers as I sped past them. Suddenly the one I was looking for passed me. Pulling out of my dash so fast that my hooves screeched on the cobbles, I hammered on the door.

     Please be in. Please be in. Please be--

     The Miamouse, which had followed me, crashed against my side at the same time as a yellow paw pushed the door open. I grabbed the Petpet, figuring I owed it a favour. Then I shot through the door and closed it behind me.

     "Oh, my word," breathed the Baby Gelert who'd opened the door. "Who in Neopia are you?"

     "Are you." I couldn't breathe deeply enough. "Rickaira?" He nodded. "I'm... Novella..."

     My penpal just stared.

     *

     The house was cosy, filled with toys and books, soft carpets and huge, welcoming armchairs. Ricky passed me a mug of hot cocoa. "I'm keeping house," he told me as he scrabbled for a spoon. "Sis is out of town. Watching some Lenny in a Beauty Contest."

     "Thought she wasn't into them," I responded, sipping the beautiful warmth of the cocoa.

     "No, not normally. She won't explain," he said with a shrug, handing down a chocolate biscuit. One thing I'd known before I got here was that Ricky and his sister were both crazy for chocolate.

     The Miamouse lay curled up by the fire, drying out her fluffy green fur. I was basking in the glow myself, enjoying the feeling of being warm and dry once more. Somehow, I'd managed to convince Ricky that I was his faraway penfriend and that I had a reason for being here, cold, wet and seeking shelter.

     As I drank, Ricky asked me about my quest. He knew I'd never been to the city before, and his eyes were wide as I told him about Voltare, Fiona and my brush with the law.

     "Wow," he said. "Novella, you're almost as brave as my Sis." Coming from Ricky, there was no higher praise. He idolised his beautiful, faerie-winged sister more than any pet or human in the world. Then again, he had never met Voltare.

     "I can walk you down to the Adoption Centre in the morning," he offered. "They know me here, and there'll be no problem with us visiting the place. We can find your brother there, or if he isn't there any more, we can find out who's picked him up."

     It was such a simple, wonderful solution that I could have cried with relief. Instead, I smiled back at Ricky, hoping he'd know how I felt.

     *

     The next morning came sooner than I'd expected, and Ricky put on his smart green collar to go out into the city. I washed my muddy fur and tried my best to groom myself; for a rich and obviously quite pampered Gelert, Ricky had surprisingly few grooming items. A swift search of the house turned up a glittery brush, some two-in-one shampoo and a bar of sweetly scented soap-- he was sure that there was a comb somewhere, but he wasn't going to waste valuable time looking for it. He and his sister didn't care much for grooming beyond what was necessary for looking smart.

     We walked down the main street together, Ricky in the lead. In the warm light of the morning the Adoption Centre didn't look so frightening, and the street officials didn't look twice at a smart, well-brushed white Ixi who obviously knew where she was going.

     "Good morning," I said to the pink Uni who stood, her desk covered in papers and her front hooves resting on the table, in the front room of the Centre. "I'm here to enquire about a pet. A Kougra named Voltare_my_neo?" She looked blank. I suppose that when pets are coming and going every day under your nose, you can't remember them all. "He arrived in the last couple of days? A Darigan Kougra with a nick out of his right ear?"

     "Oh, that one!" she interrupted with a visible shudder. "Yes, I remember now. He came in and tried to knock poor Dr. Death into the middle of next week. Some of the staff had to restrain him."

     "He's my brother," I told her pointedly, "and I want to take him home. Where is he?"

     She checked records for a while before looking up in surprise.

     "I don't remember giving him out to anyone," she explained, "but he isn't here. Someone must've adopted him."

     Ricky pulled at something on a high shelf and got down the enchanted book that held the Faerie Census. "All pets in Neopia are in here," he told me, flicking it open. "You just need to speak the name of the pet you want to see."

     "Voltare, underscore, my, underscore, neo," I said carefully.

     The book shimmered for a moment, then green writing began to curl itself across the page:

     Sorry, no such Neopet exists.

     In a place well used to the howling of lonely Neopets, my scream shook the building and brought staff running to see what was going on.

     *

     I walked back to Ricky's house in a kind of nightmare daze. I didn't even see where I was going, who was passing me. He let me in without a word and left me sitting in the armchair while he got me a drink. Tears spilled from my eyes as I contemplated my own clasped hooves. Voltare-- somehow-- was gone, vanished from the face of Neopia. And I had no idea how to get him back.

     When someone began to bang at the door, I wondered distantly who had found me. Ricky went to open it, then startled me by bounding through the house calling my name a moment later. "Novella! Novella!"

     There was a red Acara standing at the door, dressed in the uniform of the Neopian Adoption Centre. "I came as fast as I could," he panted. "I heard you talking, and then I saw this..."

     It was a copy of the Neopian Daily News. The paper was crumpled, as if it had been passed around several staff members before reaching the young Acara at the door, but the headline was still clearly visible.

     Darigan Kougra Robs Defence Magic Shop

     "Ricky," I said, looking up with a faint smile, "I think the Great Voltare Hunt is back on."

To be continued...