Strength of Character

      Amy the shadow Eyrie was searching her kitchen in vain for her school assignment. If she didn’t find it, Ms. Eatwood, the history teacher, would be sure to chomp her head off. Probably not literally, but Amy wouldn’t want to take chances. She was almost ready to flip the fridge upside-down when a red Draik burst in through the door.

      “Hey, Amy,” he started to say, until he saw the mess of the kitchen. “What happened here? It looks like Neopia Central after half-price day!”

      “Very funny, Reynard,” she hissed with a sneer. “I can’t find my history paper... are you going to sit there like a slorg or help me find it?”

      “Okay, okay, don’t have a Kau...” he said, wincing at his full name. “I’ll help. So... is this it?” he innocently asked, holding up an ummagine. Amy sighed. Rey was her best friend and all heart, but if he and a rock entered a battle of wits, he’d be hard pressed to win.

      Seeing her glare, he put the fruit down and glanced around the kitchen. If I were a history assignment, where would I hide, he thought. Walking over to the counter, he picked up a stack of papers and looked under them.

      “That’s it!” Amy exclaimed, snatching the project from Rey with one hand and hugging him with the other. “Where’d you find it?”

      “Find what?” he responded, genuinely confused.

      “Um... forget it.” The Eyrie sighed. “Anyway, why are you over here? You’re usually at school by now.”

      “Well... it’s a funny story, really,” the Draik sheepishly began. “I was walking to school to be three hours early like every morning when I saw Goober and his friends bound out of nowhere towards me.” Goober was the nickname everyone gave the school bully, a Grarrl. His real name was Clive, but most neopets would call him Goober at his back and laugh at the story behind the name.

      “I tried to ignore him, but the guy shoved himself right in front of me and said he’d fancy a little fight against me. I very politely told him I wouldn’t like that at all and thought he should do the world a favour and put a bag over his head, and you know what he did? He chased me all the way to your street through the back yards! Well, I saw your back door was unlocked, so I invited myself in. Then I came into the kitchen and I -”

      “You helped me find my project. Right,” Amy impatiently cut in. “So what are you so nervous about? I’ll make him a permanent part of my patio if he’s still out there.”

      “Well, he kind of stole my backpack,” Rey continued. “And now he has all my school stuff.”

      “Oh. That’s terrible!” the Eyrie gasped. “He’ll probably destroy it. I think it’s time we had a little chat with our friend Goober.” She fumed ominously.

      “He’s our friend?” Rey cried and was dragged by the scruff of his shirt to the back door.

      Clive the bully was no longer there, but Rey spotted a crumpled piece of paper on the ground and picked it up.

      “Well?” Amy prodded. “What does it say?”

      “What?” the confused Draik responded, but then understood. “Oh. Right.” He un-crumpled the note and began reading silently.

      “Out loud, genius!” his friend flared. Dealing with this every day left Amy with a shorter temper than King Skarl.

      “Alright!” Rey whined. “Don’t get your feathers ruffled. Goober said, ‘Dear Shorty, thanks for the bag. If you ever want it back, meet me in the playground before school alone...’ and he threatens me for the rest of the page.” He groaned. “Why does he always pick on me? Why in Neopia did he have to steal from me? I have enough problems on my plate already without extra helpings from Goober.”

      “It’s okay, Rey,” Amy reassured him. “I’ll help you out.”

      “If you helped me, he’d just come after me another time,” the red Draik countered, and for once, Amy knew he was right.

      They sat on the back step for a moment before an idea came to the Eyrie faster than a cobrall could strike.

      “Rey,” she quickly sputtered, “stay right here. I’ll be back with a... drink. Yeah, that’s right. I’ll get you a glass of... uh... toast... or something. You just stay right there!”

      Without waiting for a response, Amy tore back into the house and brushed past her half-asleep Eyrie brother, Zach, who yawned, “Morning.” She tore into the basement and went up to a workbench with strange beakers and test tubes covering the entire surface.

      One day a few years back, Amy had bought a book written by some obscure wizard. It had been a joke birthday present for her brother, reminding him of all the times he had said, “Someday I’ll make you disappear like a bad potion!” whenever she’d done something irritating. She began to read the book and took to the spells like a Koi to water. Through her traveling aunt, she was able to get the necessary ingredients and henceforth practiced different spells without actual purpose.

      Now she was really going to use one.

      Flipping to a page she saw the other night, she quickly gathered the ingredients. One roast tentacle, three pawfuls of powdered bagguss... Amy quickly cooked all the ingredients in a small test tube. Taking it upstairs to the kitchen, she made sure it was hidden from her brother as she edged towards the fridge...

      Rey was still sitting on the step looking depressed when she returned.

      “Here,” she chirped, handing him a glass. “Try some Starberry Cider! It’ll make you feel loads better!”

      If Rey hadn’t been so worried about his own problems, he may have noticed how closely Amy was observing him as he drank the cider. Once he was done, he handed the glass back to her and muttered a very hollow, “Thanks.”

      “Well?” Amy inquired, “how do you feel? Different, perhaps?”

      “No,” he responded with a little more enthusiasm. “But your cider was pretty awful, I must say. It sort of tasted like a spoiled onion. I kind of feel a bit better, though. Let’s get to school. Maybe we’ll get my stuff back after all.”

      Amy laughed at this and the two of them headed of to school. They were still around two hours early, but she was too happy to care. Seeing her friend content and enthusiastic again was enough for her. It didn’t really matter that her super-strength potion didn’t work. No one needed to know.

      After turning the block, Amy and Rey came face-to-face with Goober and his friends. At first the Grarrl looked surprised, but quickly sneered at them and held up a tattered rag; the remains of a backpack.

      Amy glowered and was about to try and snatch it from Goober when the bully howled louder than a Werelupe during a full moon. With shock, she realized he was doubled over in pain, and Rey’s backpack was back in its owner’s hands; Rey.

      Both Eyrie and Draik stared at each other in shock before running past the bully’s friends. Neither stopped until they arrived at the school.

      “What was that?” Amy asked in between gasps of breath.

      “Goober,” Rey responded. “I know he’s not exactly handsome, but he should look familiar to you.”

      “Reynard,” his friend hissed irritably, “What happened to Goober?”

      For a moment, the Draik glanced at Amy with cold, calculating eyes that caused her to take a step back in surprise, but the instant passed and he continued as if nothing had happened.

      “I’m not sure,” he muttered, frowning, “I just saw him with my backpack and then I had it in my hands. Maybe he threw it at me and then reacted to a bad breakfast or something.”

      She was about to agree when Rey got that cold look in his eyes again.

      “Are you okay?” she asked tentatively.

      “I could be better,” he responded coolly, in a voice not completely his own, “It must have been that Starberry Cider. It would have been much easier to take control if you hadn’t diluted the potion for this twit.” His final words were spat out.

      “What are you talking about, Rey?” she asked, increasingly afraid.

      “Rey? Reynard, as you called him?” The red Draik chuckled malevolently. “I’m not him. I am Zebedee, the sorcerer almost as old as Neopia itself!” Amy gaped wordlessly at him. “I must thank you, young girl, for finding the one neopet out of millions who can hold my spirit. I will continue as I left off many years ago, to reshape this world into my kingdom!”

      Rey then began to laugh menacingly, but faltered and stopped completely. Falling to one knee, he looked up at Amy and muttered, “Ouch,” before falling unconscious.

      The shadow Eyrie panicked for a moment, but then hauled her friend over her shoulder and trudged quickly back to her house. Amy passed Goober and his friends again, who gave them a wide berth. Once inside her home, she bumped into her brother.

      “What’s going on? What happened to Rey?” Zach asked with concern.

      “He was attacked by a bully,” she lied. “I’ll take him downstairs to recover.”

      “What happened to the bully?” he growled. “I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”

      “The bully? He’s still outside. A big Mynci.” Amy hated that just like Jelly world, her brother would be searching for something that didn’t exist.

     Walking down the twenty steps and stumbling the last five, she dropped Rey into a chair. He was slowly regaining consciousness, but she paid little attention to him while she skimmed the book for an antidote.

      “You won’t find it in there,” Rey mumbled. “He made the book, so he decided the spells to place in it.”

      Amy rushed over to her friend. “How do you know that?”

      “I can see all his memories,” he explained, “and he can see all of mine.”

      “Quickly,” Amy urged. “Can you tell me an antidote, Rey?”

      The Draik’s face contorted with pain and concentration as he struggled to remain in control.

      “Use the same ingredients,” Rey panted, “except don’t cook them.”

      Rushing back to her workbench, Amy tried to mix the same ingredients as last time with shaking hands. Once the beaker was full, she turned around to face Rey, who, she could tell by his eyes, was actually Zebedee.

      He gave her a small, twisted smile and flicked his hand towards himself. Instantly, Amy’s workbench toppled onto her, pinning her to the ground. She could only move one wing, which she used to cover her head from beakers smashing to the floor.

      When all the glass had broken, the sorcerer magically cleared a path through the shards to Amy. At one time, the Eyrie would have scoffed at people who said eyes can show emotion, but now she knew better. Zebedee had a wild, merciless look to his eyes, while Rey had always had genuine friendliness. She sure would miss Rey.

      The Draik stopped a pace in front of Amy and looked at the beaker still being held by her. He began to reach for it, but was stopped by some invisible force. Every limb in his body quivered. Rey, Amy assumed, grabbed the beaker and brought it to his mouth, but Zebedee tried to throw it away. The rim was actually touching his lips when Rey began to lose control. He slowly began lowering the beaker and loosening his grip, but Amy had an idea. Grabbing one of his feet with her wing, she pulled him towards her, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards. The potion mostly ended up on the floor, but the rest made it into Rey’s mouth, sending him sputtering and coughing to the floor. The resurrection of Zebedee had failed.

      After five minutes of hacking like he had Kikoughela, Rey shuffled over to Amy and lifted the workbench upright. The Eyrie was lucky to have only been pinioned. She only had some scratches and bruises. Zach came bounding down the stairs.

      “I couldn’t find... whoa!” he cried in surprise at the mess. “What happened? It looks like a herd of Elephantes went parading through here!”

      Rey and Amy looked at each other and burst out laughing. They laughed to the point of tears, but their laughter was of relief. Zach, who knew nothing about what had happened, simply smiled and thought they enjoyed the joke.

      “You two should really get ready for school,” he said, smiling. “You’re going to be late if you don’t. And Amy? You’re cleaning up the kitchen and basement tonight!” Then he went upstairs.

      Amy sighed as she brushed herself off. Spotting the spell book, she picked it up and tossed it into a patch of sizzling goo. Then she turned back to Rey, tears beading her eyes.

      “Rey,” she shakily whispered, “I am so, so sorry. I... I just wanted to help...” She tried to say more but choked.

      “It may have happened anyway. No more magic, though. Okay, Amy? A little more time and he would have been in control. It would have been worse than the magic he used on Goober...” When Rey finished, tears streamed down his face as well.

      Zach’s distant warning that they were both going to be late for school made them both jump. Amy gathered her school supplies and handed Rey his backpack.

      “Are we still friends?” she asked weakly.

      “Sure!” he replied with a sincere grin, brushing his tears away. “I wouldn’t want to miss any other wacky adventures! Which reminds me... can I ask a favour?”

      “Anything!” Amy replied with enthusiasm.

      “Is the history project for Ms. Eatwood due today?” Rey asked.

      “Yes...”

      “Ah,” he exclaimed. “Get out a piece of paper and pencil. I need help starting it!”

The End