Lassie had decided that in a war between Chias and Lupes, with the Chias against
her, the Lupes were a good thing to have on their side. She was waiting for
her friend Lightfoot to return. The Lupes had sent him to go undercover in Neopia
to scout out what the Chias were up to. There were whispers that there was another
pet he wanted to find.
Hours passed. Finally, the guard Lupe, Roughpaw, spotted a red blur running
toward the hideout. "It's him," he told Silverclaw.
Lightfoot arrived breathless, with a note in his teeth.
"What does it say?" Lassie asked, anxious.
Lightfoot dropped the note on the ground. In untidy, scrawled handwriting,
it read:
|
DEAR
LUPES,
BE READY TO HAND OVER THE YOUNG LUPE CALLED "LASSIE," OR WE'LL HAVE TO
GET HER WITH FORCE. WE WILL FIGHT YOU IN THE HAUNTED WOODS, WITH BATTLEDOME
WEAPONS AT EXACTLY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. BE READY. IT WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE
DEEPEST PART OF THE WOODS. IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU, DO NOT TRY
TO AVOID IT.
~THE CHIAS OF NEOPIA
|
"It is a trap," Silverclaw said. "And you told them that she is with us?"
"Yes," Lightfoot said quietly. "It was the only way to settle this. I--"
"They know we're hidden in the forest now," a Lupe said.
"They might not, yet," said Silverclaw, "but they know that the forest is
the best place for them to attack without being seen. But they want Skye."
"They must have talked the Faerie Queen into letting them have some weapons,"
Lassie said. "No Chia can take on a Lupe with everyday Battledome weapons. But--"
Silverclaw turned away. "We will go," he said. "But we will not hand over Skye.
It is most likely an ambush. I will not sacrifice any of my followers' lives
on this. No one shall be forced to fight, and if there appears to be any danger,
we will leave at once." He walked back to the hideout with all the other Lupes
"Sounds like fun, " Lassie said sarcastically. "A battle over me I don't even
understand."
"Really?" came a voice.
Lassie jumped. She'd thought that she was alone.
"I can't judge," the Lupe replied. It was Lightfoot. "I came from a very un-bright
species, and changing to a Lupe hasn't added to my intelligence. You could judge
better than I could."
Lassie looked shocked, and then smiled. "Nice joke, Lightfoot."
Lightfoot leaned over to whisper in Lassie's ear. "A joke? No. I'm not really
a Lupe"
Lassie's eyes widened. "What? Then why--"
"I'm not really a Lupe," he repeated, ignoring her question. "My name is ConspiracyPhreak3_0.
When you first heard me, you said, 'Philosophy,' right? You were concerned about
someone named Philosophy?"
"Yes, that's right," Lassie replied. "What do you know about him?"
"First, Lassie let me ask you: how do you know him?"
She shuffled her paws. "He was with me while I was at the Pound. He said something
about missing his family, and being worried about his brother."
Lightfoot breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, then. I'm his brother."
Lassie jumped. "Brother? You can't be his brother! His brother was--"
"Taken to the Adopt-a-Grundo in the VirtuPets Space Station? I was."
"Oh, but--that girl," Lassie said, "the one that saved me-- or sent you and
the others to save me. She had a NeoPet. A Uni, I saw her a few times in my
shop. I didn't hear of her having a Lupe, why would she be concerned in all
of this?"
"Well," Lightfoot--or Conspiracy--said. "There are a few owners on the inside,
going incognito. They tell us what's going on in Neopia. They are the ones who
are trustworthy, and care for their pets. When an owner told me that my brother
was in the Pound, I was hopeful, and when we were planning to set you free,
I quickly volunteered. Everyone else thought it was because I was the fastest.
I couldn't find him in the Pound. But we saved you."
"He was my cagemate. He must have fled right away when my cage was broken."
"I see," Conspiracy replied quietly. "But, I guess I'm the person to tell
you this; you're involved in the Chia-Lupe War, and now he is, too."
"Chia-Lupe War?"
"Yes," he began. "Chias and Lupes never got along. Long ago, rumours started
that Lupes sometimes attacked Chias Recently, a Chia named Sam Smith tried to
tell people how bad Lupes were. When he heard about you and that shop owner,
Sam was going to spread it everywhere, so all of Neopia would believe it was
your fault, but luckily one of our spies heard they were going to put you in
the Pound. She was the one you met before; she tipped us off, and we rescued
you at once. The Chias couldn't say anything while you were in the Pound; after
all, they thought you were too young for anyone to take notice. But if the Chias
were to get you back--if they found out that you escaped...."
"I see," she replied. "But why do you care? I mean, about me, about Lupes
Why did you help in all of this?"
Conspiracy closed his eyes before starting again. "Well, Grundos... we were
taken from our homes and forced to be Sloth's slaves. Chias are trying to oppress
Lupes, even though they're weaker, which is sort of like Sloth did to my people.
I knew I had to help, so I changed to a Lupe and joined the rebels here." He
paused, and opened his eyes. "Will you help us?"
"I guess I have no choice."
"No, there's always a choice," he replied. "That's what we're fighting for.
Freedom. I can't force you to do this, you have to act on your own will."
Lassie sighed. "I'll think about it." ***
What am I going to do? Philosophy wondered. He'd been arrested by the
Chia Police for 'perjury.' I don't know where Lassie went... I hope I can
find a way to warn her before these Chias find her... but I how can I get out?
Philosophy noticed that every hour, there were less and less guards. "Where
are they going?" he asked a Chia that went by his cell.
"Classified information," he replied.
They think I'm just another dumb Grundo, Philosophy thought. "But where?"
he asked again.
"Oh, you're the one who's connected to that rebel Lupe," the Chia laughed,
leaning close to Philosophy's cell. "Let's say we're going to find your friend."
With that, he was gone.
Philosophy was silent as he used the key he'd pulled from the Chia's pocket
to unlock the cell door. A trick Sloth had taught him, a trick that had helped
him escape from Sloth. "I have to find her," he said, running off into the night.
There were no Chias to stop him--and a million couldn't have stood up to him
at that moment anyway.
Lassie watched Silverclaw on his cliff. It was about eleven o'clock, she guessed,
and he was howling. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
He turned around to look at her. "It is the night the moon appears full," he
replied. "It is comforting to a Lupe to howl to the sky, and the wind howls
back to him, signaling that all is right."
"You're uncomfortable?"
Silence. Then: "A little."
"Well, so am I," Lassie said. "Let me try." She howled into the wind, and
in a few seconds, the wind appeared to be howling back at her. "It's just an
echo," she sighed.
"But if you imagine..." he replied. "Just imagine what it would be like if
the wind howled to you for real, thanking you for your loyalty. Lupes are known
for loyalty. They are loyal to their families, their pack, their friends. You
are now part of our family, Skye."
Lassie closed her eyes, and howled into the sky once more. The wind carried
the howl back to her. In an hour they'd beat those Chias for sure. Had she been
without Silverclaw, she'd have thought everything was her fault. But for a brief
moment, every move was caused by some unknown force. A peace filled her, and
for the first time ever, she felt safe. "Master," she said, "I'm ready."
As the Lupes walked to the place the long-waited Chia-Lupe battle would take
place, they waited for a Lupe to return with the message.
"They said that if they lose, they will forget the entire incident ever happened,"
the Lupe said when he arrived. "They won't bother us again. And if they win,
they say it will 'finally prove their superiority' and they want--her." He jerked
his head toward Lassie.
"They will not win," Silverclaw said fiercely.
"Why did I ever agree to come here?" a blue Lupe walking next to Lassie whispered.
"You know as well as we all do that we have to defeat those Chias," another
Lupe replied.
"We should never have taken it this far," a third Lupe sighed.
"Yes, we should have," Lassie said confidently. "Listen, we're one of the
best NeoPets in all of Neopia. Are we going to let a group of stupid Chias destroy
our lives, and make us outcasts forever? Are we going to show them that we can
fight back, or not?" She had the strange feeling she'd heard that before.
Everyone agreed, but no one spoke for awhile. Then they heard leaves rustling
in the distance. "Halt," Silverclaw commanded.
"No need to hide from us," came a squeaky voice. "We know where you are. You
can never beat us. You may think you have..."
"ATTACK!" Silverclaw yelled.
The Lupes ran to a clearing and saw an army of Chias There were thousands.
All of them had expensive Battledome weapons. The Faerie Queen had let them
use her weapons after all. The Lupes attacked, trying to knock the Battledome
weapons out of their hands. Every Chia was frozen in shock.
"There's something wrong," Lassie said. She looked closely at a Chia It didn't
blink; it wasn't even breathing. "GRRRRRRR!" she growled, ripping
the Chia in two. Even in the darkness there was no doubt that stuffing and a
spring fell out. Its Ultra Attack Chive was just a blade of grass. It was a
plushie.
"Silverclaw!" she cried. "They're plushies! The real Chias are around us!"
The real Lupes had set the plushies as a trap, and formed around the Lupes
in a circle. Every Chia in Neopia must have been there, and they were all holding
valuable weapons, not like the plushies' fake ones.
"We are trapped," Silverclaw shouted. "But not for long! Fight! To the left!"
Lassie definitely needed some confidence now. She looked up at the sky and
howled. She didn't know if it howled back. Her friends were attacking, trying
to escape. The Chias had blocked off every part of the clearing except the part
the Lupes had entered from. There was no escape.
"Remember me?" came the squeaky voice of a Chia
She'd know that voice anywhere. "Bob," she growled.
"A handy little pseudonym," he said, holding a Rod of Supernova at her. "My
real name is Sam Smith."
"What are you going to do?" she asked boldly. "You wouldn't hurt me. That
would break the code of Chias non-violence!" She grinned. "Which you broke long
ago!"
She lunged at him, and knocked him over. She heard someone scream her name,
but she didn't know who.
"You lose," said Sam, grinning.
There was a flash, and then darkness.
To be continued... | 
