When Shaina arrived at the site where she had fallen,
Amity told her the direction of the Evil Eye Aisha’s escape, and she said she
would be with Sir Chancellor if she needed any backup. Shaina knew that Amity
would actually come to the rescue, so she promised herself to try her best and
not call for aid for any cause.
“Good luck, Aisha Dark Shadow,” Amity said,
as Shaina ran off into the distance, her dark fur coat blending with the shadows
of the mountain. “Good luck.”
Shaina ran stealthy through the field, staying
as far from Kiko Lake as possible, not wanting to risk anyone seeing her reflection.
When she smelt light smoke, she quickly turned, and saw the Evil Eyes Aisha
standing there, staring right at her. It was as though he were expecting her.
“Ah, Aisha Dark Shadow has come back for her
little revenge, has she?” he sneered, grinning evilly. “You want to fight me,
don’t you? But you have, once again, underestimated me. You are merely a rogue
with technology, and have no ability to fight.”
“I’ve fought the Pant Devil, and I can fight
you,” replied Shaina, her expression becoming cool. “I’ve beaten the Flaming
Meerca, and I’ve had many lessons with Ryshu and trained with the Techo Master
and Cap’n Threelegs. I can definitely beat you.”
“It does not matter who you’ve beaten. I could
easily defeat Balthazar right this minute. You don’t stand a chance, puny Aisha.”
Evil Eyes Aisha came so close to her so swiftly
it looked as though he teleported. He attacked, and Shaina staggered back, ready
to pounce on him. She did so, and she used her claws to attack, while the Evil
Eyes Aisha used the same move he used the previous battle.
“Let’s finish this quickly, Aisha,” he said,
purple rays sprouting from his body.
Suddenly, Aisha Dark Shadow made a flash, distracting
the Evil Eyes Aisha, and prepared for another ability. She used sun ray, determined
that it would harm Evil Eyes Aisha, for it was used for evil creatures, and
he most certainly was one.
Much to her relief, Shaina’s sun ray worked perfectly,
and she decided to bless herself in case of any fault in plan. She attacked
him while she had the chance, took a few minutes to restore herself, and finally,
the Evil Eyes Aisha could defend himself. It was much earlier than Shaina expected.
“How can that be?” questioned the evil Aisha,
hissing angrily. “You are Aisha Dark Shadow, so how can you use light attacks?”
“I did great deeds, Evil Eyes Aisha. I’m not
evil, like you.”
“That may be,” replied Evil Eyes Aisha. “But
you’ll still never defeat me.”
The two continued to battle, and Shaina became
weak, tired, and injured. The Evil Eyes Aisha would be impossible to beat without
help, or at least more distraction.
Finally, Shaina could not take any more of this
battle, for she had too many injuries.
“Sir Chancellor!” Shaina muttered, as she took
out her cell phone-like object.
“We’re on our way, Aisha Dark Shadow.”
Shaina leaped, dodging the attack of Evil Eyes
Aisha. The bless had helped her greatly, but it was already wearing off. It
was either that or Shaina was so injured she could not feel herself healing
and becoming stronger. Restoring would take much to long to do, so she decided
to dodge Evil Eye Aisha’s attacks until help arrived.
When she could hear the footsteps of Sir Chancellor
and Amity, she made a fireball and threw it at Evil Eyes Aisha. The Evil Eyes
Aisha was as worn out as she, and collapsed when it hit him. Shaina had used
all her energy, and fell down right before Sir Chancellor and Amity arrived.
~
“Shaina! I’m so glad you’re alright!” came the
voice of Amity. “And you won too! You won!”
Shaina sat up and looked around. This time she
was in Sir Chancellor’s hospital in his laboratory. She looked around and touched
her fur. It was rainbow, but still covered in filth from the battle.
“I should clean off this stuff,” said Shaina,
getting off the bed, pointing at her fur. “I’ll be right back.
Amity nodded, smiled, and picked up a newspaper.
She scanned it thoroughly, and when Shaina came back, she leaped up and began
telling her what she had read. “You may have defeated Evil Eyes Aisha, Shaina,
but you haven’t gotten the Neopian’s trust yet.”
Shaina understood, and sat down in a chair beside
her. She sighed deeply and began thinking, as Amity turned to the comics. Amity
giggled as she read Alpha70 and MuRou, but Shaina kept thinking.
Who could be a good witness and would play the
best performance in proving her innocent? It had to be someone else other than
Sir Chancellor and Amity, and it had to be someone she helped. Who could help
her in a situation like this?
Suddenly, Shaina had an idea. “I have to go to
Faerieland right now,” she said, determined. “The Faerie Queen was the first
person I helped, and she just has to be the one who helps me.”
Amity looked at her, blinked, then nodded. “I’m
coming with you!”
In minutes, Amity and Shaina packed up and began
to leave for Faerieland. They walked passed many plains, the great lands of
Meridell, and stopped at the coast. There was a helicopter waiting for them
there, for Sir Chancellor had buildings all over Neopia.
The helicopter brought them to a soft, fluffy
cloud, which floated in the air. Not long after, the cloud whisked away and
led them to Faerie City, where they jumped off it and headed to the Hidden Tower,
where Fyora would be working.
Shaina took out a bottle of Rainborific Slushie,
and began drinking it contentedly. With her rainbow fur, nobody could recognize
her at all.
The two went inside the tower and climbed the
spiraling stairs. Fyora worked on the very top, so all her customers had to
climb the stairs as they were doing now. On their way up, a Nimmo, who was looking
around, spotted them.
“Hey there,” he said, eyeing them warily. “Aren’t
you Aisha Dark Shadow?”
Shaina stopped, and stared. How could he have
known?
“Excuse me?” she asked, and laughed. “I’m not
Aisha Dark Shadow, Aisha Dark Shadow has black fur. Of course I’m not her, what
a silly thing to say.”
Oh, well, you haven’t been watching the news,”
replied the Nimmo, staring at her with his beady eyes. “They say that Aisha
Dark Shadow can change her fur from rainbow to black with some sorta device.
She hangs out with another Aisha friend hoping she wouldn’t get caught. They
also say that she likes hanging out in places like these. They picked up a hair,
ya know?”
Shaina stared back at the Nimmo, her eyes wide.
Her cover was blown. She grabbed Amity’s paw and ran up the stairs, past the
Nimmo and into the room.
“Shaina!” cried Amity, as they came into a room
full of merchandise. “You could have said something like ‘There are billions
of Aishas out there, why would you think it’s me?’ or something like that! But
I do suppose it is a real shock, and you’re not too good at lying.”
Shaina breathed hard, and lifted her head. She
was standing right in front of Fyora, and the Nimmo was coming in the room.
“That, ma’am, is Aisha Dark Shadow!” he said,
panting from chasing her up the stairs.
“I know that, dear Neopian, now please leave.
Thank you.”
“Yes, ma’am!” said the Nimmo, grinning with
pleasure as he left. “They’re sure gonna get a beating!”
Shaina looked at Fyora, and she smiled sweetly.
“It looks like you have come back, Shaina. You would not have believed how happy
I was to get the sword returned, dear. You are the best hero I have ever known.”
Shaina could not speak, her voice quavering.
The room was silent for a long time, until she had enough strength to say, “My
cover is blown! They know it’s me! Now I’m doomed!”
“Shaina!” replied Fyora, trying to calm her
down, for she almost burst into tears. “It’s alright, dear. You have helped
me, and I shall return the favour.”
Amity looked at her best friend. It was the first
time she’d seen her cry in years. The only time she had seen her cry, in fact,
was when they had first met.
Shaina was in an abandoned park, crying, until
she saw Amity. They talked to each other for a long time, then began playing
on the slide, enjoying themselves on the swing, and after that, they always
visited each other in the park, until they were old enough to live together
as roommates.
When Shaina finally settled, she glanced at Fyora
and apologized.
“You do not have to be sorry,” replied Fyora.
“It was your feelings that guided you, and it’s wonderful that you’ve let it
all out. Now, I will let Neopia know that you are innocent.”
***
Fyora stood there, as reporters gathered round. Sir Chancellor, Amity, and
Shaina stood behind her, and they looked at the many people in the audience.
They were all whispering to each other, not knowing what would happen next.
“Dear Neopians,” began Fyora, her voice calm
and slow, looking around at the Neopets. “I would like to announce that Aisha
Dark Shadow is not a simple rogue. In fact, she is a hero to all Neopians out
there. Instead of stealing and being greedy, Aisha Dark Shadow stole from the
thieves and gave back the others’ possessions. Aisha Dark Shadow would like
her name cleared, for all of you out there, and she would like to keep her identity
a secret, until she herself has decided to announce her identity.”
Neopets were now looking at each other, wanting
to hear more, but many were staring at her in disbelief.
“That is all, dear Neopians,” Fyora said, glancing
at Shaina and smiling. “To the greatest thief and heroine in Neopia, Aisha Dark
Shadow.”
To be continued...
* The comic “Alpha70 and MuRou” is used with permission from Felabba!
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