Qasan's Quest: Part Four

     He met a formidable mutant Grundo at the entrance to Sloth’s liar.

     “Annuda slave, eh?” He spat.

     “Y-ye-yes...” Qasan sputtered. Be brave, be brave, do it for your family, he told himself.

     “Numba?” the Grundo said, eyeing Qasan suspiciously.

     Qasan had not prepared for this.

     “Uhh, 6-4... uhh 209.”

     “Enter, Numba 64209.”

     “Yes, ma’am- ah, I mean, sir.”

     The giant Grundo glared. Qasan scurried away.

     “Hello, I am number 64209, where can I meet Dr. Sloth?” Qasan asked (rather too enthusiastically) a large Blumaroo. The Blumaroo turned to face the JubJub in disguise.

     “I’m sorry; we don’t let slaves into the headquarters.” It was Commander Garoo!

     “But I’m his new assistant.” Qasan continued, feeling as see-through as a glass of water.

     “I’m sooooo sorry, Mr. Kingston!” Garoo sang, in feigned apathy. He grabbed Qasan and headed for the nearest corridor. Just then Qasan thrust one of his powerful JubJub feet forward, hitting Garoo squarely in the stomach. He dropped Qasan, howling with a mixture of pain and rage. Qasan scampered down the corridor, thinking to himself what a good thing it was that Karmeliza had taught him to kick like that, when the speaker went off saying:

     “Commander Garoo, The Space Faerie has escaped. She is headed down the South Corridor.”

     Qasan glanced to his side, where a sign said: SOUTH CORRIDOR on a bleak metal wall. Not sure if he he was going to wait for her or run, he was suddenly grabbed from behind.

     Qasan filled with dread. He was sure it was Garoo. But as he looked up, he saw that it was the Space Faerie’s kind ruby-red eyes and tanned face. She winked at him.

     “The chamber where your family is held captive is this way.” She pointed. “You must destroy the stamp swiftly, Qasan.”

     She let go and Qasan tumbled to the floor. A hexagonal-shaped door with a jagged crack running down the center stood before him. A small keypad with a post it note on it read: Out of order, use temporary key pad.

     Qasan was now what we call in a pickle. He didn’t know the code. But before he had time to think, a large hand grabbed him by his left foot, dangling in mid air. Grimacing, Qasan really, really hoped it was the Space Faerie again, but as he looked up to the grim face of Commander Garoo, Sloth’s right hand man, his heart dropped right into his stomach.

     As Garoo hurriedly typed the code on the keypad, they entered the chamber.

     That evening, Qasan was awakened by a paw shaking him; it was Resmerelle, his Poogle sister. Commander Garoo entered the room. He started to speak, but Qasan was frantic. The stamps were gone! He remembered Taelia’s words: “The fate of Neopia rests in your hands.”

     Just then he noticed the Space Faerie and the real Taelia imprisoned on the opposite wall. Instead of chains, like the Kingstons’, they were engulfed in soundproof glass boxes. Qasan realized that the Space Faerie was motioning to him. He turned to look, and saw she held two Rod of Dark Nova stamps, one with round notches and one with square. She winked and suddenly the decoy stamp appeared in his foot (because he didn’t have paws). Garoo, who had apparently been following this, went over to the JubJub and tried to snatch it away. But Qasan saw it coming. He jerked away, and kicked Garoo in the face. Garoo staggered back and drew a Ghostkershield and Fire and Ice blade from his jacket.

     “I noticed that you carried these,” he said with a menacing grin.

     He lunged at Qasan, who cowered back. But instead of cutting him in half as Garoo had hoped, Qasan’s bonds were cut!

     Commander Garoo was then caught in mid air by a green hand. He hurtled backward and crumpled to the floor in a heap, he was unconscious.

     Qasan noticed that a slim figure was moving across the room, to where the faeries were being kept. The faeries had sour looks on their faces. Qasan thought that person might be a friend, but by the looks on the faeries faces he knew it could only be a foe. The figure turned around, threw off his hood and laughed manically. It was Sloth himself!

     “I see your whim of a plan has failed. In fact I am such a genius that I know that you all wish to know why I knocked out my favorite servant. Well, it is simply because I wanted to finish you off myself! Hahahahah!” Sloth laughed again.

     “The great Qasan Kingston will fall! And after that, all the rest of Neopia. Nothing can stop me now,” continued Sloth in an overly happy, but boring voice. Sloth then lunged at Qasan and grabbed the decoy stamp from his left foot.

     Qasan was now starting to like how an evil villain mastermind as famous as Dr. Frank Sloth called a small frightened JubJub great. As Sloth rejoiced in his “victory”, the real stamp appeared in Qasan’s right foot. He immediately called to Dr. Sloth, “Hey, Sloth, guess what? I have the real stamp right here,” Qasan called.

     Sloth turned around and then Qasan ripped up the stamp in his face, just as he imagined it would happen.

     Sloth let out a roar of pure rage mixed with hate and anguish. He snarled at Qasan, and then grabbing Qasan’s Fire and Ice Blade with both green hands, he threw it with all his might at Qasan’s head, but it never hit him. Instead, it melted into thin air.

     “Not- so- fast.” A calm yet triumphant voice filled the air.

     Seven faeries burst through a hole in the wall. Leading them was the Faerie Queen, Fyora. Following her were Jhuidah, Illusen, the Negg Faerie, Psellia, the legendary faerie who saved Jeran’s life, the Battle Faerie, and Nereid, a well known Water Faerie. The last thing Qasan saw was a bright flash, a blurred rainbow, and a very small horse galloping into the battle.

     When Qasan woke up, he was still in the Space Station. Sloth lay unconscious next to Garoo, and Jhuidah and Nereid were severely injured. Taelia, Illusen, Fyora, and the Space Faerie were helping attend to others, but the shock came when he saw his family... or where his family used to be. Scorch marks and melted chains covered the wall.

     Qasan was up in a second.

     “Excuse me, Ms. Fyora, but...” he was almost too afraid to ask.

     “Qasan, is everything all right?” Fyora asked.

     “Well, no and yes. Do you- do you know where my-my- family is?” Qasan asked shyly.

     “They were sent to the very best hospital in Faerieland. They need all the help they can get,” Fyora replied.

     Qasan wanted more that anything to see them again.

     “What happened here?” he inquired.

     “A lot has passed before you awoke. As you know, Sloth came into the possession of the decoy stamp; you ripped up the real one. And my fellow faeries and I took out Sloth and his minions. Sloth almost destroyed you, but your little friend Bailey knocked into him and that brief elapse of time let us capture Sloth and win the battle. If it wasn’t for your friend, we would have lost. You both are true heroes. This spaceship- after we have all left it, of course, will be flown onto an asteroid by the Space Faerie, and left there. Sloth, theoretically will be able to come back, unfortunately. It won’t be the end of Sloth, but at least we have foiled another one of his disastrous schemes. We- and I speak for all of Neopia- owe it to you, the one and only, Qasan Kingston. You have come a long way, my friend. It is time for you to return home, I should think,” said Fyora.

     “I would like that,” Qasan replied.

     The next spring, Qasan was reunited with his family at last. All, including Bailey, were released from the hospital. Qasan was no more an easily frightened JubJub, but now a Neopet of confidence and extraordinary courage. No more was his sister’s strength an envy, it was a likeness. Now, as he was lying in his bed, Qasan heard a voice in his ear.

     “May you ever find the stars even when you think them to be unreachable. May we meet again, Qasan the Great.”

     A starry paintbrush now lay next to him. He smiled and set it on his bed-side table, planning to go to the Rainbow Pool and use it tomorrow. As he drifted off to sleep, he could’ve sworn he had heard shouts of a certain evil villain being landed on an asteroid by a certain Space Faerie.

     This was a time to remember indeed.

The End