"This is terrible! How could they?" Queen Kihalai was not happy that some of
the NeoPets from the friendship hut had stole out of the village, "They knew
perfectly well that it was forbidden. Now let's see, Pozialle and the other
generals say that the village is not there?"
"Yes, replied Stefang. They were standing on the castle's north balcony looking
over the village and the Kontana Mountains stood out on the other side. It was
a perfect view and the castle was high enough, over the trees and taller, surrounded
by water and modern technology security with computer screens and etc.
"You know, I think - I think it's time we should pay a visit to Kontana," said
Kihalai slowly.
"Uh well, I heard that he's vacationing in Faerieland," said Stefang.
Kihalai pressed a button on the balcony and Cadbuy_Bunny appeared next to her
in no time. "Faerie call. I need to use a fast line to get to Faerieland."
Cadbury_Bunny quickly called on an Earth Faerie and she created a teleportation
line on the balcony for the Queen, Stefang, and Cadbury to step through to get
to Kontana. In less than 5 seconds, they stood next to Kontana who was sitting
in his hotel room reading The Neopian Times. He looked up, but did not smile.
"I thought you would come," he said stiffly, then turned back to the Neopian
Times.
"I suppose you have heard," said Kihalai.
"Yes."
"Can't you just tell us what the answer is?" requested Kihalai.
Kontana looked swiftly at Cadbury and said firmly, "I can't, Kihalai.
I wrote those scrolls and cast magic on them. That magic isn't on me, it's on
the scrolls."
"Can't you just cast the magic again?" asked Kihalai.
Kontana looked at her as if she was crazy, "Apparently, you don't
know much about your own land, eh?"
"It's your land too," said Kihalai with irritation, "in fact,
you have more control over it. Learned it from your father, Kontana?"
"Never insult my father," stormed Kontana, "he is well respected
and powerful."
"You ran away from him," said Kihalai.
"I didn't run," said Kontana in a tone that meant this was final,
"I walked."
Kihalai wouldn't give up, "Kontana, you must help us. The army
is looking in the sand for nothing right now!"
"You are looking in the sand for nothing," said Kontana, "you
know what, maybe you should leave, Queen."
"Kontana, I don't want to have a bad term between us," said Kihalai,
"but I am very worried about our village... I mean, I remember you once told
me that the Firehole is the village's heart and when that's gone, our kingdom
dies. Please help us, Kontana."
"It's not to my choice," said Kontana with a sigh putting the
Neopian Times aside, "the world is full of people looking for answers. When
someone knows all the answers, everyone would want a solution, but the thing
is, the solutions must be earned. Now please, leave me in peace. I am on vacation."
He stood up and opened the door. Kihalai looked at him for a long moment, then
turned and left with Stefang and Cadbury. She sighed and muttered, "Silly squirrel."
There was laughter, "I heard that." Kontana's head was sticking
out of the doorway.
Queen Kihalai's face flamed and said, "Sorry," then turned and
walked on.
There was only one thing that Gyka and TrailMixed thought they
should do. They jumped into the Nosilis Fountain again searching for their friends.
They let the swirling fountain pull them in and then suddenly they arrived somewhere.
It was light and everything was blinding white. The light was very intense,
but Gyka and TrailMixed had no problem adjusting to it, because it wasn't just
white light to them at all. The colour was very different and they didn't even
know if it had a name. It was a colour that can be mixed by red, blue, and yellow,
but a colour that is totally different and never before seen. It hit them hard;
it was the colour of Usul. It was the kind of colour you just can't describe just
like some smells you can't describe. I have often heard people say about the
smell of death and wondered what it smelled like, but it didn't smell like anything
else, it just smelled like itself. The colour Usul is like the same, because
it just didn't look like any other colour but itself. The colour Usul could only
be seen by Usuls too and suddenly, Gyka and TrailMixed heard moans and voices
coming from somewhere.
There was only one thing that Gyka and TrailMixed thought they
should do. They jumped into the Nosilis Fountain again searching for their friends.
They let the swirling fountain pull them in and then suddenly they arrived somewhere.
It was light and everything was blinding white. The light was very intense,
but Gyka and TrailMixed had no problem adjusting to it, because it wasn't just
white light to them at all. The colour was very different and they didn't even
know if it had a name. It was a colour that can be mixed by red, blue, and yellow,
but a colour that is totally different and never before seen. It hit them hard;
it was the colour of Usul. It was the kind of colour you just can't describe just
like some smells you can't describe. I have often heard people say about the
smell of death and wondered what it smelled like, but it didn't smell like anything
else, it just smelled like itself. The colour Usul is like the same, because
it just didn't look like any other colour but itself. The colour Usul could only
be seen by Usuls too and suddenly, Gyka and TrailMixed heard moans and voices
coming from somewhere.
"This light is blinding me!" a familiar voice said; it was Yamakarasu.
"Even my shades aren't protecting my eyes from this light," groaned
Exlund.
Sahe's eyes were squeezed together, "Close your eyes!"
"Oh great... how are we going to get out of here," moaned Flamie_500.
"Where are we anyway?" wondered Chelses with her hands over her
eyes.
TrailMixed's eyes were working perfectly fine, "What are you guys
moaning 'bout? Ah can see perfectly well."
"Traily, it's the colour of Usul," said Gyka, "they must see something
else other than what we see."
"Duh," groaned Sahe.
"OK um, I suggest we start walking out of here?" said Yamakarasu,
"Traily, Gykes, lead the way."
"Yeah," sighed Exlund covering his eyes with his paws.
As they started walking forward, or backwards, they didn't know.
It seems like they were walking into nowhere because every single part was the
same. There was no edges or lines, just endless of the colours. They were actually
surprised they could walk in such place at all. Then TrailMixed whispered, "Wow,
dis is certainly our lucky day, meetin' de colour of Usul when de chance of it
waz a trillionth."
"Yeah," said Flamie_500, "aren't we lucky."
"Minimize the sarcastic comments, Flamie," said Chelses frowning,
"we are bad enough here already."
"This is no use," said Gotenks79 with a sigh as he and the army were looking
for the friendship hut pets, "we'll never find them. They are sneaky and quick,
and could be anywhere now."
"I think we should start digging again in the sand," said Pozialle.
"Not that again!" said Kikugoku, "we've tried that before and
it didn't work. Nothing good came out of it now, did it? You, we might as well
go home right now, because there's nothing to search for. Another possibility
is: they're already heading back while we are wandering around."
"That was for the scroll, Kiku," said Pozialle, "this time we
are looking for our citizens and I'm quite sure they haven't started going back
yet, OK? Let's give it a few days first."
He ordered the soldiers and knights to start digging in the sand
again that they haven't touched. When it reached nightfall, nothing came out
of it. They decided to go to sleep, but Pozialle couldn't sleep. He wandered
here and there across the sand and suddenly saw some footsteps. New footsteps
were creating across the sand. He held his breath staring at the footsteps walking
past him. He counted... seven footsteps! He gasped.
Pozialle took one glance at the sleeping army, and decided to
do this himself. In truth, he didn't want the seven friends arrested at all.
He wanted to see those NeoPets succeed because deep inside, he felt that they
have already succeeded in most of the Kontana Scroll by now. He stood right
before the footsteps to see if it was the seven friends walking around invisible,
but he gasped as the footsteps went right through him. Something was going on,
he thought, maybe the sand is the village and that he couldn't see the village
and the seven friends are just walking through a street or something. His thoughts
were spinning in his head like a Rainbow Pool.
Meanwhile, the footsteps were truly of the seven friends, but
they were still in the world where the colour of Usul swirled around them. Gyka
was looking very strangely.
"What is de p'oblem?" asked TrailMixed.
Gyka shook his head, but TrailMixed kept at it and Gyka finally
gave up and spoke in a whisper, "I remember Kontana telling me that anyone who
knew what the colour of Usul looked like are never in the condition to tell
what the colour is which means we could be destroyed or something worse could
happen to us."
TrailMixed's face was white masked and then said slowly, "Anatnok
survived didn't he?"
"He's powerful, very powerful..." said Gyka, "we, on the hand,
are not."
Exlund overheard and said, "Thanks for the encouragement, Gyka,
just what we need, to hear that we are going to be goners. Gosh, why did I come
along on this hateful trip anyway? Oh wait, Vivarosa... yeah..." his voice faded
off and Gyka wished he never said anything.
On the other side, Pozialle was following the footsteps when they
stopped. They had seemed to stop before a forest. He wondered if they knew where
they were. He was breathing heavily and feeling worried what was going to happen
to them. A strange feeling came over him. He suddenly wished that he was walking
along with the seven friends and never served the castle. He knew this could
cost his job, but he still didn't wake the army up.
Suddenly, the tree in front of him and the seven footsteps burst
into flames. At this moment, the seven friends and Pozialle stood between worlds.
Pozialle looked to his right and he could see the seven pets clearly somewhere,
but still sand and army to his left. Sahe, Flamie_500, TrailMixed, Gyka, Chelses,
Yamakarasu, and Exlund looked to their left and could see Pozialle and the sand,
but to their right was only white/Usul colour.
The tree in front of them was still burning fiercely. Pozialle
bit his lips and reached out a paw towards the right at the seven NeoPets. Something
told the friends that he was not going to arrest them and so Chelses reached
out her hand too with her other hand clinging onto Yama's who was clinging on
the others into a chain. As soon as Pozialle and Chelses' hands touched, the
burning tree seemed to flash into different colours, the colours of the rainbow
and sometimes the colour Usul too, though only Gyka and TrailMixed could recognise
the Usul colour. To others, it was still blinding white light.
Finally, the tree returned to normal colour and the flames were
gone. There seemed like no difference at all, except a leaf from the tree gently
fell, and that was the only difference the flames and the colours made. The seven
NeoPets found themselves standing on the sandy Neopia next to Pozialle. Gyka
suddenly ran towards the tree and picked up the leaf, his face glowing as he
ran back with it.
"It's the last Kontana Scroll piece!" he cried hopping around
and doing a little victory dance.
"Shhhhhh!" Pozialle looked at the sleeping army, "Wow, you guys
found them all?" he exclaimed with admiration, "that is so amazing you know...
and such a great accomplishment."
"Yeah well, so you aren't going to arrest us, are you?" asked
Yamakarasu looking over the piece Gyka picked up.
"No, of course not," said Pozialle with a little sigh, "but you
guys better go quick...not that I have the urge to arrest you, but you see,
I don't want anyone to know that I met you and never stopped you. Besides, what
if someone wakes up form the army right now?"
"You'll lose your job, Pozialle," said Flamie_500 with a frown,
"they'll find out in the end, they always do. It'll be kind of obvious too in
your behaviour anyway."
"I'll be fine, don't worry, now go and rescue Viva, Noro, and
get our Firehole back somehow!" said Pozialle.
Exlund smiled and shook his paw, then said with cheek in tongue,
"Thanks, you are improving in priority since the last time we met, hey, do you
want to come with us?"
"I can't, I work for the castle and I must, erm, report back.
Now go when you can!" said Pozialle urgently taking a glance at Gotenks79 who
in the distance stirred.
With this, the seven NeoPets waved and disappeared into the forest
away from the army to put all the pieces together.
To be continued... | 
