|
NOTE: The characters portrayed here are from a series I wrote, Kettch's
War: Betrayal, which can be found in weeks 113, and 114 of The Neopian Times.
You can read either one first, but this is a prequel my other story.
A warm and gentle breeze blew across a sleeping Mystery
Island. The midnight wind floated drifted, as if searching for something once
lost and never to be found. It brought little comfort to the citizens of the
island, as it seemed to come straight from the Lost Desert itself to torment
them during their heat wave.
The wind worked its way along the tropical isle,
caressing many homes with its unwanted warmth. One of those homes was the house
of one rainbow Meerca. And his was no ordinary NeoHome, either. It was as if
a three-tiered pyramid had been built upside down, with pillars at the four
corners to help support it. This was the NeoHome LtKettch lived in.
The window to his room on the top floor lay
wide open, much as a dream catcher tries to catch dreams, so was his window
with cool air. Cool air would not be what he received that night: it would be
something very, very different.
[Kettch...] a voice gently cried out into the
night. Kettch stirred a little, but did not react. [Kettch... Catalyst... it
is time,] the voice cried out again, more urgently than before. The Meerca awoke.
"Who's there? Stal? Vesp? Nauta?" Kettch inquired
of the darkness. The only sound to be heard was that of his petpet--Niveus,
a beautiful white Weewoo--'weewooing' into the night. Kettch hesitated, and
lay back down. Sounds like it was nothing more than Niveus. I probably dreamt
the words, Kettch thought, and settled back into a restless sleep.
[It is time, Catalyst. It is time.]
* * *
The sunlight beat down on the house, bringing more unwanted heat with it.
Kettch stirred, and opened his eyes a crack. He groaned and opened them all
the way. Two more eyes blinked inquisitively at him, and the head they belonged
to cocked to one side. "Weewoo?"
"Niveus..." Kettch grumbled, half-asleep, at
his petpet.
[Niveus. What an interesting name...] Kettch
was fully awake after that. His eyes went wide, and he rolled off his bed, the
Weewoo hopping out of the way. After he hit the floor, Kettch came to his feet
and stared at his pet.
"Niv-Niveus, did you just...?"
"Weewoo." The head cocked to the other side.
"KETTCH!" a voice called from the doorway of
Kettch's room. "C'mon, you need to get moving."
"I'll be out in a second, Vesp!" Kettch responded,
rubbed his eyes and stared at Niveus a couple more seconds. After more silence,
Kettch picked himself up and left, leaving Niveus on the Meerca's bed.
"Weewoo?"
* * *
"'Mountaintop believes; like cloud forgives; everywhere earth, elegance thinks.'
Contemplate this, and return tomorrow for another Neopian haiku," the green
Kougra stated, in a meditative, calm voice. Kettch took it in mind, and moved
on.
[Don't bother, Kettch. You'll never get it,]
the voice returned. It sounded distinctly female, and exotic in tone. Kettch
stopped dead in his tracks.
"Who said that?" Kettch hissed, as some passersby
stared at him oddly.
[I did, Kettch. No one else can hear me, only
you, my catalyst,] the disembodied voice said in a dry voice. Kettch resumed
his pace.
"I must be going crazy. I'm hearing voices,"
Kettch grumbled, and picked his pace up, heading towards the Mystic's Hut now.
[Trust me, Catalyst. You're not losing it.]
Yeah, right, Kettch thought to himself.
The Mystic better give me some good advice.
[The MYSTIC?! Don't make me laugh. That insane
old coot can't get anything right. Sometimes he's correct, but have you
ever found a Rod of Nova at the bank?] the voice chuckled. Kettch stopped in
his tracks, again. The voice did make some sense...
"Wait a second, you heard my thoughts," he hissed
once more.
[Because I'm tuned in to you, Kettch. You're
my catalyst.]
"We'll see what the Mystic says..."
* * *
"You will suddenly realise you have to put your finger in your ear," the Kyrii
stated in silence to Kettch. Kettch began to speak to him, before he was 'escorted'
out of the hut by two Myncies, who told him to remember to come back tomorrow.
All right, so maybe the Mystic needs to see
someone about insanity, too. Kettch picked himself off the ground, and headed
to a small cafe. He hoped to get something there and clear his mind.
[Told you so. Kettch, you're not losing it.
Trust me,] the voice said, exasperated.
"Easy for you to say. You're not being told
to trust a voice with no name, that only you can hear, telling you that you're
not crazy," he said under his breath, and walked to the counter, where he ordered
himself a tall glass of Cherry Neocola.
The voice laughed.
"WILL YOU STOP THAT?!" Kettch cried out, and
a young Chia immediately stopped it's crying. The mother of the child looked
at Kettch, and couldn't decide if to thank the Meerca or smack him. Kettch winced
and changed tables.
[I find it interesting how you took the seat
normally referred to as the 'crazy seat'. Sitting in the corner of the room,
where they can see everyone. More for the paranoid types.] The voice chuckled
more. [You're right, though. My name is Aya. And forces you can't even begin
to comprehend have bound you, Kettch, to me. You are my catalyst.]
Kettch took a few breaths to calm himself. As
scary as it was, he was growing used to the voice's -- Aya's -- presence in
his head. He actually thought of it as rather... cool.
[See you're growing fond of me all ready,] Aya
teased.
Let me get this straight. You say we're...
'bound together' in some way. And I'm your... catalyst?
[And you begin to grasp. As I've been trying
to get you to see, you and I have been bound. I am tuned into your every move
you make, sight you see, sound you hear, thought you think--]
I get the point.
[I experience everything as you do. And as I've
also said, you're my catalyst. You shall do things I ask you to. You may not
know why, and I may not tell you. But you can believe that anything I ask you
to do will turn out for the best.]
But what is a 'catalyst'.?
[You are the force that will provoke change
or action in other threads of fate. For example, that Chia you stopped crying
will allow a writer to concentrate more on her writing. His deadline will not
be missed, and a very informative article that all should read will be published
in The Neopian Times. A person will then read that article and be inspired to...]
"I see..." Kettch mused aloud, grasping what
may eventually be required him.
[So you see, it's an important job, and one
you were chosen for, Kettch. There may be failures along the way, but you are
helping out when you accomplish. We are bound, Kettch, and so it will always
be.]
Will I ever see you?
[That is doubtful. I may show up someday in
a dire emergency, but only then. Anonymity is best for me now.]
Are there others like me? Kettch inquired,
finally getting used to conversing with a disembodied voice, yet still in awe
over his new 'job.'
[A handful. Most work for good... some for evil.
You may meet them someday, but I'll never point them out to you. It's best that
catalysts do not know who another catalyst is,] Aya said.
Kettch sat in contemplation as he finished his
Neocola. He left, and walked back to his NeoHome. He noticed life a lot more
than usual that day. Each kind word he said to someone along the way, or a smile
given to a stranger, he wondered what effect those might have on their particular
strands of the threads of fate.
[Remember, Kettch, no one is to know what you
do, or who you are. No one. But also remember, my dear catalyst, we are in this
together. I think before long, you'll find the two of us as good friends,] Aya
told him as he got back to his house.
Kettch paused, as the realization of everything
hit him. He rested his hand on the doorknob of his house. "Together, right?
You and I are doing this together?"
[Right. No matter how rough it gets, Kettch,
no matter how bad life seems, or how tough the road gets, I shall always be
here for you, Kettch. Always.] She finished her statement.
The Meerca smiled. He was beginning to grow
fond of Aya, yes, and her reassurance meant more to him than she knew... or
did it? Wasn't she a catalyst, in her own right? Kettch chucked to himself.
"You and I, Aya. You and I." He opened the door, and entered.
THE END
Author's Note: Well, there you have the meeting between Aya and Kettch.
Hope you all enjoyed it. Please Neomail me if you have any feedback to give
me on it (positive, or negative), or even if you just have questions about it.
A big thank you to Rae, the NTWF (and its members), the White House Staff Guild,
and The Secret Lab Guild, for all their friendship and help.
| 
