“Archie was a kind Lupe loved by everyone, and shall
be sorely missed. He had a plethora of achievements, such as fighting
for the Tyrannian Army,” the Air Faerie said solemnly. “With these words,
we go forth to celebrate his life.” With that, the coffin containing Archie
the Lupe was lowered into the ground. His family and few friends, some
teary, watched as they saw the last of Archie.
“Hello, Archie,” a deep and commanding voice said. Archie
glanced around, but could see nothing but a black void stretched infinitely.
“What? Where am I? I-I-I caught the Mombo Flu, and--”
Archie started.
“That is not relevant,” the voice intervened.
“Who are you?”
“That is not relevant.”
“What am I doing here?”
“Archie, true you lead a life full of helping the community
around you. But, what community exactly?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You chose who to like, who to accept, who to help. Deeds
are not good if they are accompanied by bias.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you like Lennys?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like Bruces? Do you like Koi?”
“Yes! What are you getting at?”
“You chose who to accept certain people instead of accepting
the whole. You used past experiences with a certain species to join an
elite group set out to wreck havoc on many species not meeting certain
criteria, which should not exist. Gelerts were a target among others,
and you set out to ruin a species’ life.”
“Yes! Gelerts, they’re lazy, and don’t care about anyone
except themselves. They--”
“Tell me, are you aware of Trog E. Gelert? He helped
save Neopia from political madness and utter revolution from citizens.
Hemard the Gelert saved Neopia from economic disaster.”
“This doesn’t matter! Those are two people, oddities
among their own backward, wrong species!”
“You are the type to learn the hard way. You will learn.”
“What? What are--”
A simple white light took Archie away from the voice.
“Hey, Ert! Come on over here!” Someone called behind
Archie. Archie, assuming that someone else was being called, looked in
wonder that he was back into Neopia, specifically Little Oak town where
he grew up when he was a teenager.
“Ert! Come here!” the voice yelled louder. Then Archie
heard a clatter of feet and felt a paw on his shoulder.
“Ert?” Archie turned around and saw it was a group of
three Gelerts!
“What? Who are you?! Get your paws off of ME!” Archie
said hysterically twisting and turning.
“What’s with you?” the Gelert raised his hands off of
Archie’s shoulders.
“Just get away from me now!”
“What, why Ert? I’m your buddy!”
“I really don’t think I’d be a buddy with someone like
you.” Archie turned the other way and strode the opposite direction.
Seeing all of his hometown from his adolescent years
gave Archie an unusual giddiness. He found all the places he used to hang
out, and even saw people who were a part of his life. But, he had a mission
to figure out how and why he came back from death. That mysterious voice
must be the reason why he’s there Archie reasoned. But, why his childhood
years?
“Hello, Ert. Here to buy more trading cards?” An unusually
jolly Grarrl shopkeeper chuckled as Archie walked in.
“I am not Ert.” Archie glared at the shop owner.
“Why, I’ve known you since you were a baby. I’m pretty
sure you are Ert.”
“Well, I’m...” Archie trailed off as he saw a mirror
pointing towards him. Instead of a grey face with silver hair he saw...blue.
Huh? He thought. He raced over to the gold lined mirror and glanced into
it. He saw a Gelert and dropped the mirror in horror. It shattered, leaving
jagged edges all over the floor.
“Hey, I’m not the one to get all angry, but, kid, that
was expensive! I think you’re gonna have to pay for it.” The Grarrl frowned.
“I don’t have any NP on...” Archie stuck his hand into
his pocket and pulled out a handful of coins. “Will this be enough?”
“Yes, here is your change. Just be careful next time.”
And so Archie was out the door.
Archie’s mind raced as he tried to figure out why he
was occupying a Gelert body. Obviously, that voice had something to do
with this, but no one had the power to do this. If he was a someone. Archie
shuddered. He was going to find out why he was here.
After finding nothing to attribute to why he was, he
felt discouraged. After hours, he was no closer than he was when he first
got here. “Hey!” A familiar voice called. Archie turned around to see
spit come flying at his face. “That’s for scamming me, and being a Gelert,
rubbish eater!” Archie wiped the brow of his face and saw it was himself!
“What are you doing?” Archie asked.
“You scammed me, scum.” The other Archie replied.
“What, but I didn’t... do anything to you.” Something
dawned on Archie. Ert, was one of the first Gelerts he met. Ert scammed
him out of NP, and never gave it back. He not only hated Ert, but also
began to have distaste for his race. It only took a few more incidents
before he gone all out to hate the race. He had judged the whole on the
individual. Archie opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t muster anything
out. Archie felt a tightening, and watched as himself turned into Ert.
Ert glanced at him confused, but waiting for confrontation. “I-I’m sorry.”
Archie croaked out. As the unforgettable light flashed, Archie saw Ert’s
tears and smile.
“So. I suppose we shall talk about what you have learned,
if hopefully anything.” Archie looked around and saw he was in the same
void. “Yes.”
“Well, please, enlighten me.”
“I realised I was wrong.”
“Is that it?”
“No. I now know that being mean is nothing more than
alliteration of power. Power can consume you. If we can conquer something,
even a person, we feel power. We conquer other people of other beliefs,
and looks, and feelings. But, what we don’t realise is that unless we
stop this then the whole will fall into a place devoid of kindness and
compassion where people are treated with not treated with dignity, but
an endless cycle of atrocities.”
“I see. You haven not only changed yourself, but your
future. I must depart now. Good luck to you.”
With a light, Archie was gone.
“Get 20 Cc’s of Magic Goop!” A doctor said urgently.
Archie laid on an operating table unconscious.
“Wait, I think he’s coming around.” The EEG beeped steadily.
Archie slowly opened his eyes and looked around. “What, where am I?”
“Calm down. You just had the Mombu Flu and we nearly
lost you.” As Archie’s vision cleared, he saw it was Ert! “Ert?!”
“Now sit down, I don’t want my best friend to pass on.
You’re going to have to keep calm for the next few days.” Ert smiled.
Archie look at him in confusion, but smiled and held
his paw in joy. Archie just received a second chance at life and with
a friend.
The End |