"No problem, bro," said Angel, smiling sweetly. "You
just go and get some well-deserved rest." Luckily Saf - with a large clothes
peg still firmly attached to her nose - took this moment to exit the office
holding Jitterbug on her outstretched paws.
"How was it?" she taunted, transforming her
face from a sombre and melancholy expression to an impish grin.
"I don't want to talk about it," grumbled the
Aisha, ignoring Rockhound's cries from inside the office of 'Pew! What's that
smell?'. "What was that all about?"
Angel rolled her eyes to the back of her head.
"Rocky's been up all night for the past 72 hours working on his latest project.
I told him to get some rest. His latest life's ambition is to make a shrinking
ray."
"Y'think he's ever going to wake up and realise
that none of his life's ambitions ever work?"
"He's ambitious," she said, clicking her beak
nervously. "It's not a bad forte to have. The best thing to do is either encourage
him, or humour him."
Saf chuckled. "Well, neither one will stop his
next project from blowing us all sky high."
"Saf! That's a horrible thing to say!"
"Well it's true! I heard last time he tried
to make a machine that could turn wood into golden juppies, and it took two
weeks to get the juice out of the walls."
"That's just a rumour. You don't know if it
really happened!"
"But you do."
"Oh yeah."
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted
by a creaking noise that sliced through the silence like a knife through butter.
"Huh. That's odd," muttered Saf, her eyes drawn
to the beam of light that shone from Rocky's lab door. "Rocky must have left
a window open. I could've sworn I heard the door close."
"He did!" said Angel, her eyes wide with alarm,
as she looked from Saf's paws to the lab door and back again. Saf looked down.
Jitterbug! She was gone! And the lab door... oh no.
The lab door was WIDE OPEN!
Suddenly there was a many blue-hued blur of
two figures charging down the hall and praying the Baby Acara hadn't got into
any of the more destructive weapons. The door creaked a steely and splitting
kind of creak as they darted through and looked around, their gazes searching
every piece of equipment for the smallest sign of a nappy-clad baby or the faint
sound of a giggle. Had it not been such a dire situation, they would have marvelled
at the amazing gadgets and gizmos that littered the lab. But no - find Jitterbug
now, marvel later.
"I don't see her anywhere," whispered Saf. "Maybe
she didn't come in here. Maybe it was just a gust of wind that blew the door
open."
"A solid steel door?" returned Angel, her eyes
darting anxiously from device to device. "No, she's still here. Just keep--"
She was cut short by the sound of a joyful snicker
echoing from somewhere nearby. Jitterbug was obviously happy about something
- which could only mean trouble. Saf took a step backwards.
"All right, maybe if we back out slowly, she'll
not notice us."
"Pull yourself together, Saf! She's just a baby!
What can she do?"
There was a whirring sound, then a buzz, and
the blood suddenly and rapidly drained from Angel's face.
"DUCK, SAF!"
She did so in a split second, just in time before
a bright orange beam of light whizzed past her ear, hit the shelf beside her
and reduced it to mush! She spun round quickly to see an awesome sight - an
enormous machine pointing a huge glowing orange ray directly at him, like a
giant black crane with a orange beak, with a tiny Baby Acara at the wheel, giggling
insanely and pushing every button she could see. The machine uncurled its head
and fired another beam at the Aisha. This time the aim was more accurate, and
Saf had to stand on one leg and do a funny pose to prevent it doing any more
than singe her ear stalks.
She gave a squeak of fright and sprinted under
Rockhound's desk where Angel was waiting.
"What do we do?"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking..."
An explosion from somewhere nearby confirmed
to them that they wouldn't be getting that shipment of spy watches they were
expecting.
"As if this situation could get any worse. If
only there was a stop-button..."
Angel's eyes flickered as she was drawn to realisation.
"That's it!"
"What? Get a stop-button? Draw one on the floor
like so many cartoon clichés?"
"No! There's a power switch on the other side
of the lab. If we could just get to it without Jitterbug seeing us..."
Angel stretched her leg out from under the desk
and touched the floor with her foot. Immediately an orange shaft of light zapped
the area just centimetres from her foot.
"Okay, scratch that. We need a distraction.
Someone who knows the lab well. Someone who's good at finding hiding places.
Someone who's a fast runner."
At that very second, the familiar sound of a
creaking door tore through the air, and in walked a skinny Green Gelert holding
an ice pack to his head.
"What is all the commotion in here? What's all
the racket? I--"
Jitterbug stopped blowing up inanimate objects
and turned the machine to look at the newcomer. Rockhound's face suddenly paled
and his eyes widened shockingly. With a yowl of shock he galloped along the
lab, racing the beam of orange light that was closely pursuing him. Angel screamed
"NOW!" and they seized this opportunity to make a run for the switch.
Jitterbug was oblivious to the sound of the
Eyrie and Aisha crashing and falling over boxes and gadgets. She was having
way too much fun chasing the puppy dog through the room. Now he was cornered,
pressing himself as close to the wall as possible to avoid the ever-advancing
threat of the ray. Centimetre by centimetre, it was closing in on his foot,
its power-mad, nappy-wearing controller giggling riotously. And then - in what
seemed like an age to Rockhound, but was actually only a few seconds - a certain
Electric Eyriess bounded over the final hurdle and flicked the switch.
The hum of mechanics was suddenly drained. The
machine shuddered, made a sound like a chipmunk with a cramp, dimmed the orange
beam and lowered its head. The lights were suddenly extinguished, and the lab
was plunged into darkness. All that could be heard was the dazed and muffled
sound of Rocky's voice: "But mommy, I don't want to go to school today."
***
At 9:45 PM that evening, Twist waltzed into the NSPA HQ with a bag full of
souvenirs and a 'I Went to Faerieland and all I got was the Lousy Cap' hat replacing
her normal jester's hat. With a hum and a whistle she scaled the spiral steel
stairs, dodged the broken shards of metal and plastic, and walked nonchalantly
into the office.
Jitterbug was fast asleep, curled up I a pink
woollen blanket in the middle of Angel's desk like an innocent little cherubim.
Angel and Saf were both sitting at least 5 metres away from her: the former
just sat there, the muscles in her face tense with anguish every time the Acara
stirred, and the latter was sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped round herself
tightly, and rocking backwards and forwards on the balls of her feet, murmuring
something to herself. They both started towards Twist the second she walked
in the door, unbelievably grateful that she had arrived and ended their torment,
and - before they realised it - were hiding behind her to keep as far away from
Jitterbug as Neopet-ly possible.
"Twist, we are eternally grateful for your coming
here to rid us of this monster!" Saf said, her voice still shaking after several
hours.
Twist chuckled. "Oh don't be silly, Safyre.
Look how cute she is! I've never seen her so relaxed - you two should baby-sit
more often!"
"NO, NO!" the two cried in unison. "Please don't
make us go through that again!"
The Checkered Acara gave them a funny look.
"Are you for real? I mean, I know she can be a bit of a handful, but --"
"A bit of a handful? A BIT OF A HANDFUL!" screamed
Angel, "Let's put it this way - Rocky is hiding in the cupboard, he hasn't come
out all afternoon and I doubt he will for a long time. We're renting his lab
out to the Neopian Army to use as a temporary assault course. There is a flood
of nitric acid sweeping through the first floor toilets! That possessed little
weevil is a psychosis-inflicted, power-hungry maniac!"
Jitterbug blinked once, and went back to sleep,
cuddling up to her big sister.
Twist laughed hysterically and walked back out,
the baby Acara a picture of sweetness and light. "This little thing? A maniac?
Oh pur-lease. Pull the other one Angel. She's just a baby..."
The End | 
