Be sure to read "Sakirina's
Change of Heart", as it is my first short story.
Sakirina the Lupe muttered something and a blue flame
flared into life. She and Linkidu the Chia had come a long way with working
the Gem of Truth since they had found it in an abandoned well in the Haunted
Woods many months ago. They now knew many of its powers, although they could
not use them all. Since their first meeting with Hubrid Nox, Sakirina and Linkidu
had not seen him again. His promised revenge was still to come.
The two were an odd couple, a Chia and Lupe,
but they were good friends all the same. They would explore the depths of Neopia
together, finding many surprises and mysteries. Though sometimes Sakirina wished
for an owner to feed and play with her, she was happy being free and in the
companionship of Linkidu.
One day they were camping in a clearing deep
in the Haunted Woods. Sakirina was practising with the Gem when Linkidu voiced
something he had been thinking about a lot lately.
"Saki? Do you think the Gem is good or evil?"
he asked.
"I don't know. It was made by Hubrid Nox, and
he's evil, but it doesn't seem evil itself. Maybe it just depends on how you
use it," she replied.
"That's possible. How do you know it was made
by Sir Evil Chia?" Linkidu questioned.
"I don't know. Who else would have made it?"
retorted Sakirina.
"He just doesn't seem powerful enough to make
it," he said, eating an apple.
"Get me an apple, will you," Sakirina said.
Linkidu handed her an apple and she bit into it before continuing. "That's true.
I don't think he's very powerful. He always finds someone else to do the hard
work. I wonder how much its worth."
"Good question. Maybe we could find someone
who would know," Linkidu said.
"Hey, that's a great idea! Who do you think
would know?" Sakirina exclaimed.
"Hmmm... oh, I know! Remember that one professor
we read about in The Neopian Times? Remilas Lenlei? I bet he could help us!"
replied Linkidu.
"Oh yeah! I remember now! I bet you're right!
Let's try and track him down tomorrow." Sakirina said excitedly.
"We should get some sleep then," Linkidu said,
lying down.
"Good night," Sakirina said sleepily.
"Good night," Linkidu replied.
***
When Sakirina and Linkidu woke up the next morning the woods were shrouded
in fog. Yawning, they cooked breakfast and packed up their things. "
"Where d'you think we'd find that Remilas Lenlei
guy?" Sakirina asked, stuffing a pan into her backpack.
"I don't know. Maybe we should try the NeoCollege.
If he's a professor kind of guy he's probably there," Linkidu decided.
"That's a good idea. How should we get there?"
said Sakirina.
"Maybe we can catch a ride with someone. Come
on, let's find the road," replied Linkidu.
Sakirina and Linkidu had been walking for a
while when they stumbled upon the road. In the distance they could see a small
navy blue car. As the car drew closer the two pets could see that an old yellow
Techo was driving.
"Great timing! Maybe he'll give us a ride,"
Sakirina exclaimed.
The Techo was wearing a little black hat and
a black coat. Linkidu shifted nervously on his feet. He wasn't fond of strangers.
"Hullo there! Who might you be?" the Techo asked.
"I'm Linkidu and this is Sakirina," Linkidu
told him. "Where are you headed?"
"I'm off to Neopia Central!" replied the Techo
"Great! Would you mind giving us a ride?" Sakirina
asked hopefully.
"No problem! Hop on in!" the Techo said. Sakirina
and Linkidu climbed into the back of the car.
"By the way, what's your name?" Sakirina questioned.
"Name's Denekin," he replied.
"Hmmm..." Linkidu muttered.
They rode in silence for a while, just watching
the scenery flash by. Linkidu had been thinking hard all the while they had
been driving through the Haunted Woods. There was something he didn't like about
Denekin. He wasn't sure what, but there was something strange about this Techo
"Umm, Saki?" he whispered hesitantly.
"What?" she asked sleepily.
"Does this Denekin guy seem weird to you?" Linkidu
shifted around to see her face.
"What do you mean weird?"
"I don't know. Something just doesn't seem...well...right
about him," he replied slowly.
"Hmmm...I don't see anything wrong with him,"
Sakirina said thoughtfully.
Linkidu shook his head, but didn't say anything
more about his uneasiness. He looked at Denekin. He didn't look odd, but something
about him puzzled Linkidu. He sighed, and sank into the seat of the car, quickly
falling asleep. Sakirina fell asleep not long after.
***
When they awoke, Sakirina and Linkidu were somewhere completely different
from the woods they had been last driving through. Linkidu looked around groggily,
seeing a low wooden bench sitting in the corner with food on it. He realised
he was starving and went over to see what the food was. 2/3 Bacon and Broccoli
Omelette sat on a blue plastic plate, looking old. Linkidu ate 1/3 of it anyway
and went to wake up Sakirina.
She was already awake and sitting up. "I think
you were right," she mumbled grumpily. "Where are we anyway?"
"I have no idea. There's an omelette over on
that bench if you're hungry."
Sakirina got up stiffly and stumbled over to
the bench. Sitting down, she picked up the omelette and bit hungrily into it.
Swallowing, she mumbled, "Ugh, this tastes like cardboard."
"I know, but at least it's edible," Linkidu
replied. Sakirina finished the omelette and looked around the room some more.
There was a jug of water in another corner. Sakirina went over to it and took
a gulp. Linkidu got up and followed her over to the water. "Are you worried?"
Sakirina asked, handing the jug to Linkidu.
"A bit, but remember we have the Gem. You do
have it don't you?" Linkidu inquired anxiously, after taking a drink from the
jug of water.
"Yes, I have it. Remember that it can't be found
by anyone but its ruler, which is us now. We went through that ceremony to make
us its controller, remember?" Sakirina replied evenly. She went back to the
bench and sat down.
"Does that mean that even if Hubrid Nox found
it he wouldn't be able to use it?" asked Linkidu. "You've studied the power
of the Gem more than I have."
"No, because he could just go through the same
ceremony. It takes a long time to do though so he wouldn't be able to use the
Gem until he completed the ceremony, which takes a month. That would give us
time to retrieve the Gem, or disable it," replied Sakirina. Linkidu came to
sit beside her.
They sat in silence for a minute before Linkidu
asked, "How do we plan to get out of here? There's no windows and I bet you
a million Neopoints the door is locked." Linkidu got up to make sure the door
was locked. It was.
"Well...I suppose we could use the Gem to break
the door, but we don't know where we are. There could be anything on the other
side of that door," Sakirina answered. She looked around for anything that might
be of use to them. There was nothing.
"Does the Gem have the power to show us what's
on the other side of the door?" wondered Linkidu.
"Hmmm, let me try something," Sakirina muttered
in response, pulling out the Gem. "Teketius locurum! Nope, didn't work-let's
try something else. Lialumdi renedur!" A ghostly picture appeared hovering over
the door. It showed dense forest and not a soul in sight.
Linkidu sighed. "Well, that's a good thing-nobody
there." The picture disappeared and the plain wooden door showed once again.
"Now for the hard part," Sakirina said. "Let
me try something." She held the Gem up and muttered something but the door didn't
open.
"Darn," grumbled Linkidu.
"I had a feeling that wouldn't work-it's not
a very powerful spell," replied Sakirina. "Let me try again. Tajeryn sekoria!"
That didn't appear to work either. Linkidu got up and kicked the door.
"I think we're going to have to bust it with
pure truth," he said thoughtfully, sitting down in the middle of the room.
"You're probably right," Sakirina observed.
"Although we've never done it before."
"Yeah, that's true. Do you know how?" Linkidu
asked.
"I know how, but it's really dangerous. Especially
since I've never done it before," replied Sakirina.
"You should still try. There isn't really any
other way out of here," answered Linkidu. He looked around the room for anything
they might have missed that could help them.
"You're right. We have to try," Sakirina said
bravely. Linkidu slipped his paw into hers. She smiled and held the Gem tightly
in her other paw. Holding it up she said softly, "Qasimlor tigansa!" The door
shook but held.
"One more time I think," Linkidu whispered.
Sakirina took a deep breath and said, louder this time, "Qasimlor tigansa!"
This time they heard a click and the door swung open.
"You did it!" Linkidu cried, throwing his arms
around Sakirina.
"You helped," she replied, embarrassed. "Come
on, let's go." The two grabbed hands and walked out of the little house.
As they walked along Sakirina asked, "Who do
you suppose kidnapped us?"
"That old Techo obviously. I knew there was
something weird about him," Linkidu replied.
"But why would some old Techo want to kidnap
us?" she said, looking back at the house.
"How should I know? Maybe he was working for
Hubrid Nox? It's possible," answered Linkidu.
"That's possible. He's not giving up on getting
the Gem back is he?" They were in the thicker part of the woods now, pushing
through dense ground cover.
"I don't believe he'll give up until he gets
the Gem then or we defeat him," Linkidu observed.
"Then we'll have to defeat him won't we?" Sakirina
replied.
"I do believe you are right," decided Linkidu.
The End | 
