Saratigo looked terrified into the threatening blaze ahead. XJeer was waiting
for her to recover from shock and help her work.
“Why are we even doing this?” Saratigo had asked many times.
“A man, possibly the Monoceraptor’s leader, said that we must gather boulders
and form rooms. We must first build his personal room, and that will take a
long time because the Monoceraptor may want to enter too," XJeer explained.
“Then we may gather more rocks if we want to build a shelter for ourselves.
The work in process is over there,” the Lupe pointed a paw at a small square
formed by gray stones.
Saratigo sighed. The building would take forever. No--she wouldn’t stay here.
She had to defeat the Monoceraptor, but how? That question ran through everyone’s
mind. They had all heard of the brave Shoyru Vinson, who wanted to defeat him
before, but now, they needed a leader.
She glared at her enemy--the fire searing in front of her. She had never wanted
to see another fire again after her home had been ruined. But as she stared,
her whole life recapped in front of her. Her reflection was somehow caught in
the fire, trapped like she was here, as she saw the miserable pound and the
rusty, steel cage that had once been her ‘home’. A tear fell from her eye and
she sat on a nearby rock.
The tears were endless as she bawled, thinking about her owner. The labor
worked around her and XJeer just stared, speechless. Only when someone clutched
the stone from under her did she speak.
“Leave it!” she yelled.
She turned to find a mutant Techo hissing furiously. She allowed him to pull
the boulder from under her light body, but then anger swept through her. She
stood up to the Techo.
“That’s my rock and if you want to fight for it, then so be it.” She was surprised
that the words rolled off her tongue, and her voice had managed to avoid quivering
cowardly.
The Techo hissed.
“Find your own rock, you mutant!” Saratigo growled. She made a mental note
never to insult another mutant pet, for LittleNaik’s sake, but this one was
too much. He clutched the rock, and tugged with all his might.
XJeer cried out but his words fell upon deaf ears - that rock was hers. While
she fought for it, she wondered why she was doing it, but she felt herself growing,
becoming stronger.
When she flung the Techo off of the large rock, she placed it where it had
made a groove in the dirt and sat on it again. The Techo, angry, backed off.
Saratigo turned to XJeer’s disapproving face.
“He started it.”
“If you want to survive a day here, you’ll smarten up,” XJeer said seriously.
“I don’t want to spend another minute here--even the Tyrannian Volcano is
better than this.” The small Shoyru stood. XJeer immediately seized the rock
and brought it to the large pile.
“Maybe so, but it could be worse--if we hadn’t taken you from that dungeon
then--”
“Wait! You guys took me from the dungeon?” Saratigo’s eyes brightened slightly
with interest.
“Well, you see, the Monoceraptor and his boss, they have a lot of pets held
captive. They first take you to the dungeon, then they examine you. All of us
ended out here. It usually only takes a minute or so, but when they brought
you, I had to see why they were arguing. Apparently, you were the one, so they
wanted to keep you there. I told my friends, and here you are now.”
“What do you mean?” Saratigo asked. “What do you mean, 'the one'?"
XJeer shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I am younger than most here, and
I do not have the answers to the questions people face me with.”
Acceber stared at the Lupe, who lowered his head as if he were ashamed.
“You don’t know how sorry I am--I meant to tell you much sooner.”
“I just don’t know--do you want her back?” Acceber asked, tears welling in
her eyes. She loved her Shoyru so dearly. She couldn’t give her up.
The Lupe shook his black head. “She has a good home now. I just felt that--that she should know.”
“I’ll tell her. But I’m not sure if I’ll even see her again.”
“Don’t be so pessimistic!” The Lupe jumped. “We’ll find her.” “Please, help
me.” Acceber clinched her fists. “Fine. Tomorrow morning, I will send out my
forces. You and your friends will be given some money, but you are ordered to
remain in Sakhmet. If you require anything further than what we have provided
you with, tell me and you will get whatever you need. I admire you for caring
for my baby.”
Acceber almost smiled.
As Tigo watched the labor continue and then she got up. XJeer’s ears stood
tall as he questioned her.
“Where are you going?” he asked, following her.
Saratigo picked up a small, flat stone and a bigger rock. She scraped the flat
one against the large rock, making a triangular shape. She made more jagged
pieces. Though some snapped like twigs, she worked hard, keeping out of the
way of other pets.
“I have a plan," Tigo muttered. “We won’t be here much longer.
***
Spyro and Shyning sat together in the same room containing the sleeping pets
and owners. They looked at each other with hopeless eyes.
To Spyro, Tigo had always been like a sister. He thought maybe somehow they
were related, as Acceber had her sister had always said.
“They have the same determination. They were both born red, too, and they always
seem to resemble each other.”
And as Spyro recalled everyone’s sobbing for the poor Shoyru, he could just
sense that this powerful pet was somehow still alive. He was somehow almost
certain that Saratigo was nearby.
Shyning finally smiled. “Spyro?”
“Yes,” Spyro asked.
“I don’t know how to say this, but I think we should find Saratigo. I had
a psychic vision that she is in great danger.”
“Shyning, please. There’s no use in being heroic.” Spyro shook his blue head.
At that Mument, Shyning slapped her mate as hard as she could. “You listen
to me! I’m not trying to be like a hero that everyone in Neopia hears about,
for crying out loud! You can help me find her or not, but if I leave here alone,
then you will never have the satisfaction of being with me again. You’re not
the type of Shoyru that would just lay down and give up, and I know for sure
that I’m not. So make a decision because I’m leaving--tonight.”
Jemanlea left a bewildered Acceber alone, staring at the orange flames that
cackled in the fireplace. She swallowed hard. When she had first seen Saratigo
in the pound, she had known that there was something special and unique. She
had grown to love the Shoyru, who had loved her unconditionally. Now she had
to save her.
It seemed like everyone had a plan to save the purple Shoyru, sitting beside
XJeer.
“Please, Saratigo, you can’t escape. We’ve tried. And I know that the Monoceraptor
would stop at nothing to keep you here. Please just wait. I know something will
save us soon," he pleaded.
“Yes, I will save us.” Saratigo had fashioned weapons out of stones; a slim
dagger made of a rock she had ground until it resembled a knife and the triangular
rock she had made before for a close attack.
She was ready. But she’d have to wait until later. She planned to sneak out
while the other slaves were sleeping. She’d destroy the beast’s leader, and leave
the creature useless.
Shyning and Spyro packed, blankets serving double-purposes by holding supplies
as well as keeping them warm at night. That evening, they ate supper with the
rest.
It was a quiet meal of Sakhmet’s finest. They were all dressed in gowns that
were the Sakhmet style, save LittleNaik, Cherpster, and the other males, who
flatly refused to wear “girl’s clothes”. Spyro didn’t object, but Jemanlea assumed
he fit the other male’s opinion and brought a robe for him as well.
Shyning requested a private room, and they were given one. Fortunately, they
were given a window not far from the tall wall that bordered the palace. Shyn
grinned when she entered the room. She placed their supplies by the window and
left only once to see her owner.
“Shyn, is something wrong?” Sparkle_Qween asked, seeing the woebegone look
in Shyning’s blue eyes.
“Nothing, Mum.” Shyn forced a smile.
“Okay, Sweetie.” Sparky hugged the Shoyru. “Nice place, eh?”
“Oh, it’s lovely, Mum," Shyning commented. “I just wanted to say that I love
you.”
“Oh, well, I love you, too, Hunny.” Sparky’s face at that Mument made Shyning
turn away.
“I have to go--er, to my bedroom.” Shyning allowed a tear to drift down her
pale blue cheeks. “I love you.”
Spyro and Shyning set out that night. The stars were as bright as ever as
they traveled, kicking up sand as they went. They didn’t speak to each other.
Spyro held a compass he had gotten from a Lupe Cracker. He found North-East
and they followed the arrow that pointed right to Tyrannia.
XJeer and the many others had fallen asleep when Saratigo made her move. They
all slept huddled on the ground, and Saratigo knew she had to fight for their
liberty.
She searched the unfamiliar land. She moved her paws in front of her, her eyes
adjusting to the darkness as she distinguished a path among the many stray boulders.
She wandered in the dark, halting as a twig snapped. She was sure the nose
came from behind, so she kept her eyes squinting in the distance behind her
as she walked on. She tried to avoid screaming as she bumped into a hard wall.
To her amazement, she had discovered a cave. It had a narrow entrance, one
that only a starved Shoyru could squeeze into. She crawled slowly, her sides
rubbing against the cold stone. As she continued, the ground became wet and
light flooded her vision. Her paws were filthy with mud but, her dagger in her
mouth and her spear-like weapon in wedged between an old rope she had found
and her stomach, she persisted on.
Finally, she stopped, her heart racing. Before her, the Monoceraptor was chained
to the wall of the cave. An angry figure yelled at him, his voice brutal.
“You let her escape! She was the key to my victory over Neopia! She was the
one who was supposed to put me back on top! And you blew it all! I should have
left you to starve years ago! Left you to rot under ground!”
The Monoceraptor
let out a cowardly below.
“Oh, ask for forgiveness now! I have a right mind to destroy you. And I will--if you don’t bring me the stupid Shoyru!”
Saratigo listened with scared ears. She clenched her fists, her mind racing.
She remembered the fervid cries of the pets taking the abuse. She wanted to
jump out and face her enemy. But she waited as the figure came into view.
To be continued... | 
