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“A SIDEKICK?” questioned Shaina, her voice loud and demanding.
“Why, I’d rather have Amity as my sidekick! I mean, she did save my life
and is my best friend, but that?” Shaina pointed at a cloud Gelert, who was
staring stupidly at Shaina.
“Aisha Dark Shadow, you really need a sidekick
for the worst, young heroine,” replied Sir Chancellor. “He’s very friendly if
you get to know him. Quite funny too!” he added with a chuckle.
The Gelert panted, his tongue hanging from his
mouth, drool was dripping visibly onto the ground.
“Sir Chancellor!” growled Shaina. “But that
— I know I need a sidekick, but I don’t need someone like him!”
Shaina thrust her finger at the Gelert, and he
licked it merrily without thinking, which made Sir Chancellor chuckle again
before Shaina could scream. “You really are acting like your friend, Aisha Dark
Shadow. You didn’t have this much spunk before. Anyway, his name is Conley.”
Shaina rested her forehead in her paw, shaking
it furiously and sighing. “Who ever heard of a male cloud Gelert, anyway?”
“Me dad was a muscular blue Gelert, and me mum
was an agile cloud Gelert. I have me mum’s coat, but me dad’s eyes. People say
I also think like me dad too,” said Conley, finally speaking.
Shaina shook her head again. “I really didn’t
need to know that, Conley. I really didn’t.”
“Ah, come on, Aisha Dark Shadow,” Sir Chancellor
said, chuckling some more. “Get to know each other. You might start liking him
as a sidekick! He’s a mighty fine boy, I’ll tell you that! Very fast, very strong,
and can stand up to powerful attacks. He may not seem like it, but he’s one
of the strongest Gelerts around!”
Shaina snorted, and Sit Chancellor suggested
a “nice little walk”. She reluctantly went with the Gelert, and walked around,
going ahead of the Gelert, not wanting to speak to him.
“So I hear you’re Aisha Dark Shadow,” said the
Gelert cautiously, acting smart. Before he noticed what was going on, Shaina
nearly punched him, for Shaina’s identity was to be kept secret.
“Hush!” ordered Shaina.
“Oh, right,” said the Gelert, lowering his voice.
After that, the two walked in silence through the city, until he claimed he
was tired, and they walked back to the laboratory.
Shaina’s mood toward him didn’t change one bit.
In fact, it may have gotten worse, for on the second day of meeting Conley,
Sir Chancellor forced them to train together.
They practiced in an isolated room, which was
large enough for them to exercise, hop, and do other moves in. The cloud Gelert
panted behind Shaina everywhere, as she leaped from wall to wall, seemed to
teleport to the ceiling, and practice kicking the mats that hung on a wall.
“Will you quit following me?” scowled Shaina,
after a while of practicing. “Sir Chancellor doesn’t want you hear just to irritate
me! You have to practice too, you know! Either that, or get out!”
With that, Conley stopped following her and whimpered
sadly, curling up in a corner beside the mats. He hid his head under his cloud-coloured
paws and let his tail droop behind him.
After leaping around the room once again, Shaina
sighed. She neared Conley and said, “Look, I’m really sorry. But since the past
few months, nobody wants to talk to me anymore, other than Amity and the people
who work here. They still think that Aisha Dark Shadow shouldn’t be trusted.
Some people don’t know whom I am, but less people are talking to me because
I’ve already been suspected by a Nimmo. And I have to practice so much around
here nowadays! It’s all so frustrating, and that’s why I’m acting so awful.
I hope you can forgive me for the next few months, Conley.”
Conley raised his head in delight, and replied
happily, “Oh, it’s okay, Aisha Dark Shadow! And I’d be glad and honoured to
speak to you, ma’am!”
“That’s the spirit!” Shaina said with a smile.
“Now, come practice with me. You should practice your balance and speed first,
because if you don’t, you’ll never be able to climb walls fast enough that people
wont spot you.”
Everyday, Shaina slowly began to like Conley
more, although she didn’t approve to his stupidity, and him drifting off into
dream world once and a while, if he had a few seconds to himself.
Shaina brought out many benches and other skinny
things for Conley to walk across, and soon, he could go across pretty quickly,
although with much tripping and voice (“oops”).
After about two weeks of practicing, Sir Chancellor
called them for a meeting. They sat in a businesslike room, with boards, lamps,
chairs, paper, and a large table in the center. Conley sat down on one of the
swivel chairs and span round and round, while Shaina and Amity entered the room.
“Trouble has found us once more,” sighed Sir
Chancellor. “There was a large robbery last night with stealing a Stone Hourglass
on Ghoul Close at a grand party. I was there myself, and I witnessed the rogues
climb off the top of the roof. Too bad I’m too old to chase,”
“You were at a party?” questioned Amity,
gasping with surprise. “Without us?”
Shaina smiled at her friend. The two loved going
to parties, and they went to as many as they could. Then Shaina glanced back
at Sir Chancellor. “What did the thieves look like?”
“They had black fur,” Sir Chancellor said warily.
“And were Aishas.”
***
Shaina changed her fur to black, and looked at Conley. He was staring into
the night sky, glaring at a bright, twinkling star high above him. His tongue
flared outside of his mouth, tasting the cool and brisk air around them.
“This is your first mission, Conley. It’s a
big one,” said Shaina, now Aisha Dark Shadow. “Please follow my lead, and promise
not to wonder off too far. Big robberies like these are dangerous.”
Conley only nodded slightly, and Shaina began
walking stealthily around the streets. After a while, seeing that he did not
follow, and that he would not be able to spot her anyway, Shaina practically
dragged the Gelert through the sidewalk to a dark alleyway.
“Conley!” she hissed angrily. “You have to learn
to concentrate — concentrate on the appropriate subject! When we’re done the
mission, you can look at stars all you want. But this is our number one priority.
Not planet-gazing.”
Conley nodded again, and seemed to be regaining
his brain back. He followed Shaina, using the techniques that he learned in
the training room. He did not make a lot of noise, tripped only a few times
on litter, and kept up to Shaina.
Finally, after nearly half an hour, they reached
a warehouse on Dark Forest Path. They examined the outside for a little while,
and Shaina began climbing the walls. Conley had never learned to do so.
“Alright, Conley,” said Shaina. “Here.” She
tossed down a bunch of materials and continues climbing to the roof. When she
reached the flat surface, Conley was ready to use the equipment.
“For Fyora’s sake, Conley, come on!” ushered
Shaina, cueing him to hurry.
Conley struggled to climb, and when he did, Shaina
waited for him to take all the straps and belts around him before they could
enter the building.
Shaina found an entrance on the roof, and squeezed
through it. She handed Conley a talking device before going in. “I’ll go in
alone, and you just wait here. I’ll tell you to enter when I need help.”
“Right,” replied Conley, but Shaina was already
inside and ready for action.
Shaina tiptoed inside. The warehouse was only
two stories high, but the walls and floor were full of splinters, damp and cool.
The wood creaked with every step, and the floors were breaking apart. There
we no items around, only the winding stairs in front of Shaina. Before she clambered
downwards, she decided to go through the top floor.
There were many rooms around, most looking as
though they used to be used for storage. Shaina reached a door on the other
end of the hall, and tugged the doorknob. It seemed as though the door were
locked.
The Aisha reached into her bag of equipment and
pulled out an unlocking device. She placed it around the area of the keyhole,
pressed a button, and the door unlocked with a “click”.
Shaina crept inside, but in the room was nothing
but junk. She inspected the room more thoroughly, and in front of her was none
other than Evil Eyes Aisha.
“You’ve been expecting me, Dr. No?” teased Shaina,
walking in. She signaled Conley that trouble was on it’s way with her communicator,
and glared at Evil Eyes Aisha.
“Yes, I most certainly have,” replied the Evil
Eyes Aisha cockily. “I knew you would stop by here, Aisha Dark Shadow. But that
was what you were expecting, were you not? Or did you not know that Evil Eyes
Aisha could never be defeated?” Evil Eyes Aisha cackled evilly. “Your own Neopians
do not trust you, Aisha Dark Shadow. I shall give you one last chance to come
and join me, even after you have ‘defeated’ me.”
“What do you mean ‘one last chance’? It’s not
like you asked me this before,” stated Shaina, a glint of confidence in her
eyes.
“Well?” continued Evil Eyes Aisha, ignoring
her speech. “Are you going to join me or not?”
“Let me think,” said Shaina, placing her paw
on her chin. “How about… no!” As soon as she said that word, the two began to
race toward each other with amazing speed.
Evil Eyes Aisha slashed Shaina, who dodged just
in the nick of time. Shaina leaped from a wall and bounced to the ground. She
soared into the air, toward Evil Eyes Aisha, just as he extended his arms and
struck with his claws.
Shaina landed on the ground, and began to use
her Faerie Powers. She used Water of Life, giving herself the water to heal
herself with. She began to bless herself, as she saw Evil Eyes Aisha sneer at
her.
“You wont win this time, Aisha Dark Shadow,”
commented Evil Eyes Aisha when she began to bless. “Your Faeries can’t help
you now.”
“What do you mean ‘Faeries can’t help me’?”
spat Shaina, just before she noticed the claw marks from Evil Eyes Aisha were
still present. Suddenly, a stinging feeling came to her arm where the scratch
was. Shaina grabbed it almost instantly, as the pain was unbearable.
“Before you entered this building, I put a dark
shield around it. You can’t use any Faerie abilities in here, and neither can
Faeries enter,” replied Evil Eyes Aisha, his smirk evil.
All Shaina could do was stare. Her only weapon
of defense was Faerie abilities. She reached for her communicating device when
Evil Eyes Aisha said, “Electronics don’t work either. That means no getting
help from your little friends, who are much more of a challenge than you.”
Before she could stop herself, Shaina flung herself
forward. This surprised both Shaina and Evil Eyes Aisha, and he fell over, his
smirk now a face of shock. He hissed and leaped back to his feet. He extended
his arm and swung his paw viciously at her.
Shaina jumped back and forth, avoiding the weapon
with ease. Obviously, the more frustrated Evil Eyes Aisha got, the less he could
do. Finally, with a powerful strike, Shaina kicked the claw out of his hand,
realizing it was an Aisha Claw.
“Now you don’t have your little claws,” said
Shaina, confidence growing back. “Let’s see how the battle goes now.”
Shaina was about to sprint toward Evil Eyes Aisha
when he replied, “Don’t get to cocky now, Aisha Dark Shadow. It’s not good for
you.”
Just then, three shadow Aishas, just like Shaina,
came marching into the room with Lightning Guns. They held them at the height
of Shaina, and seemed ready to attack at any moment.
“Do you have it?” asked Evil Eyes Aisha to one
of the shadow Aishas.
The Aisha nodded.
“Excellent…” snarled Evil Eyes Aisha. “Now, Aisha
Dark Shadow, shall we speed up time so that you do not have to feel your demise?”
“Petrifying, Evil Eyes Aisha, petrifying,” replied
Shaina sarcastically, hiding her fear.
Just as she said that, Evil Eyes Aisha flipped
the hourglass upside down, and most items in the room began to shatter. Shaina’s
equipment were going wild, Evil Eyes Aisha’s claws suddenly exploded, and the
Lightning Guns in the hands of the thieves flew out of their grasp and shattered
into a billion pieces.
Evil Eyes Aisha cackled evilly, as the three
thieves ran out of site, most likely away from the hazard. The building shook
uncontrollably, and then broken pieces of wood snapped into pieces. The doors
flapped back and forth, the windows smashed into smithereens, leaving little
pieces of glass on the ground.
“Now I can control the world with the Stone
Hourglass in my hand, and nobody can stop me!” Evil Eyes Aisha turned to Shaina.
“Not even you, Aisha Dark Shadow, not even you. And to think, I was going to
share this glory with a pitiful being like you!”
Then the strangest thing happened. Time was going
faster, incredibly rapid indeed. It made Shaina’s head spin terribly, and she
saw a shadow lurking through the hall outside, as she attempted to grasp the
hourglass. Evil Eyes Aisha laughed and laughed, the noise flooding Shaina’s
ears. She tried to reach and reach, when a gust of wind came, blowing the bits
of glass around her. The shadow, the shadow of a Gelert, came back, and Shaina
finally got hold of the hourglass as the shadow pounced into the room, and onto
Evil Eyes Aisha.
***
“Conley!” was the first thing Shaina said when she woke up, not surprisingly,
in the hospital.
“Conley?” questioned a voice, which sounded
like Sir Chancellor.
Shaina looked around. In front of her was a worried
Amity, and Sir Chancellor in his heavy cloak as always. But where was Conley?
“Conley! Where’s Conley?” Shaina asked, gazing
at the two. They looked back as though she had gone mad.
“Conley has been fired, Aisha Dark Shadow,”
replied Sir Chancellor. “You were right. I should have listened to you; he’s
not a very good sidekick.”
“No!” Shaina nearly screamed. “Conley saved
me! He did! He did! I saw him, he pounced onto Evil Eyes Aisha and —”
“You must have been imagining things, Aisha
Dark Shadow. You took hold of the hourglass, and knocked Evil Eyes Aisha off
his feet. Conley came when everything was over, just a little before we arrived.”
“No!” repeated Shaina. “It was him! He was in
the hall! He was just looking for the right room! He must have noticed something
when I went inside, when my communicator didn’t work, when the building shook…”
“Oh Shaina!” said Amity, bursting into tears.
“I’m so glad you’re alright…”
“Thanks, Amity,” replied Shaina. Then she turned
back to Sir Chancellor. “Where is he?”
“He went out for a walk. He said he’d pack up
afterward, just to refresh a bit of memory,” answered Sir Chancellor.
Shaina then rushed outside after she got dressed.
She threw a cloak over her rainbow fur and marched outside into the windy weather.
She searched everywhere for Conley, hoping that she’d find him, and find out
by herself if he had saved her.
***
In a park, there stood the Gelert, gazing into the sky,
with tears of sadness in his eyes.
“Conley…” whispered Shaina.
Conley turned around, and when he realized it
was her, he wiped his tears. “I’m a pretty bad sidekick, aren’t I, Shaina?”
“No, you’re great…” replied Shaina, nearing
the depressed Gelert.
“You’re just saying that. I’m horrible, even
Sir Chancellor said so. I can’t fight or stealth around the streets. I can’t
do anything right. I couldn’t even save my parents when they — they…”
Shaina sat herself next to Conley. “Oh, Conley,
it’s okay. You saved me, and without you, I may not be alive right now. I just
wanted to know; was it you who was out in the halls and attacked Evil Eyes Aisha?”
Conley nodded solemnly, as Shaina smiled. “So
it was you. You did save my life, sidekick.”
“Sidekick?” asked Conley. “Do you really think
I could be worthy of that position?”
“Yeah, I mean, what more can you ask for than
a sidekick saving your life?” replied Shaina. “Come on, we have to settle some
business with Sir Chancellor.”
***
“Rehired!” chuckled Sir Chancellor after he heard the story. “Well, this is
a pretty good ending, isn’t it?”
“Well,” replied Shaina. “For us, it’s really
just the beginning.”
“That’s right, isn’t it, Shaina’s sidekick?”
said Amity boldly, whacking Conley on the back.
“Oof! Right!” panted Conley, covering Amity
with saliva.
The four laughed cheerfully, as the sun began
to set, and the clouds gathered for the night.
To be continued...
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