Back to Work
It was a few moments before she finished her sentence
with " - trouble." What had happened to the Town Hall? It was swarming with
police investigators - normal ones, not NSPA appointed like Haltred or Cold_Dauphin
- and reporters constantly hassling the congress. A tall, official-looking Gelupe
bared his teeth, barking at the press to "Get the heck outta here" and tried
to lock them out.
"Angel!"
A little white lightning bolt dashed across
the room and commenced in tugging at the Eyriess' paw, which was just as big
as her in the first place. Accompanying her was a much taller Green-flamed Gelupe,
who gestured towards the office door. The two padded sheepishly through the
door whilst the white blur whizzed frantically round their feet.
The second the door lock contacts clicked
together, there was a sudden explosion of sarcastic, irritable rage from somewhere
around the Kougra's feet.
"Ta dadadaaa!! Here they are! Our saviours."
Rincham acknowledged the source of the sarcastic
trumpet pageantry as a really tiny White Aisha, who hopped onto the desk to
be at waist height with the two Neopets. Angle8285--the leader of the NSPA--was
a plushie Aisha, a one-of-a-kind Aisha. She looked just like a normal Aisha,
but smaller. A lot smaller. So tiny, in fact, that a lot of people mistook her
for a White Aisha plushie: a benefit that helped her climb the ranks to become
top spy. How did she become a plushie? Let's just say an odd incident involving
the Shadow Usul and a load of prototype apparatus.
"Thank goodness you turned up in time," snarled
the Gelupe. "It's been chaos in here ever since yesterday."
Angel wiggled her ears comically. "Yesterday?
What happened yesterday?"
"Y'know, the Island Mystic appearing at the
unveiling of the Kumlaa Scrolls yesterday afternoon," said Rincham. "It was
all over the news today and yesterday. He got past security and appeared on
the stage yakking something about 'fields' and 'Kumlaas', and then disappeared
without a trace. Saf caught it on tape and sent it through. Didn't you see it?"
Angel cocked her head onto one side.
Rincham slapped his forehead. "Oh right, the
woods." Angel wasn't a city slicker. Far from it. She lived in the middle of
the woods in Kiko Lake, where she owned a bookshop and information service carved
into a grand Oak tree, named ~The*Eyrie*Oak~, and she rarely came into contact
with the outside world. If she could help it. She spent most of her time as
a woodland recluse, but sometimes seemed to believe her responsibilities in
the woods exceeded her responsibility as an NSPA spy.
"It's not too much of a problem for the NSPA,"
resumed Jakeio the Gelupe, slouching on a chair. "The police think that it was
just some superstitious nut trying to scare people away from the relics. All
the same, everyone's terrified to go to Mystery Isle now. The tourism business
is plummeting."
"Huh? Over one day? That's not right."
The Aisha snickered and fiddled with the stitches
in her arm. "I'm glad to see someone else takes my point of view. No, it's not
just because of the psycho Witchdoctor at the museum. I believe that someone
has used him as a scapegoat - a reason to keep people off the island. There's
something very sinister going on there. And it's our job to find out what. Leave
the Witchdoctor to the real police --"
"Oh no. Nonono. You're not gonna drag me into
doing another mission, Angle." Angel had risen and was edging towards the door.
"I told you I would never do another crazy mission on my time off, and I'm sticking
by that. Find yourself someone else."
Angle sighed. "All right Angel. Have it your
way. You up for it, Rincham?"
"No way. I've got way too much planned. So
has Saf - I spoke to her before."
"Oh well. In that case, I'll suspend the mission."
The Aisha hopped lightly off the desk and started fumbling about in a filing
cabinet.
"Woah. Woah. Wait a sec," said Angel, startled.
"You're just gonna leave the mission? Toss it to one side? Surely you of all
people should know that no mission is too small to ignore. You have a responsibility,
y'know."
"And so do you." Angle glared at the Eyriess.
"You have a responsibility within this organisation whether you like it or not.
And you are just the person for the job."
Jake took a file from Angle and dropped it
on the desk.
Angel gave the Aisha a look - a subtle mix
between a scowl and despair - and submitted to her commands. "All right. All
right. I'll do it. But you owe me big time, Angle." She muttered under her breath
and, painfully lifted the heavy file into her arms, trudged out the room.
The door creaked shut, and the trio left behind
immediately dissolved into relieved laughter.
"Yes! She's back!"
"I knew that would work - she can't resist
chivalry!"
"Nope. She's a professional. She just wants
to do her job."
***
Back at 15510 Water Faerie Way, the whole of Angel's extended family was there
for a meeting. You must know her closest siblings Twist2185 and Rincham by now.
Twist was … well … mad. That's the only word to describe her. She was their
owner's first pet and a former street performer and pickpocket. A dishonest
career, I know, but she was naïve and easily taken advantage of, and her acrobatic
talent was used to the advantage of the street mafia-like gang. Yet when she
was rescued by their owner, her comic and loveable character soon became evident,
and even today she still wears her trademark yellow and purple jester's hat!
She was always the heart and soul of parties, and liked to think she had put
her past behind her and formed a compromise with Angel, who - being older than
the Eyriess - she feels slightly responsible for. The sisters formed a common
bond and had been together before they can remember, which is saying a lot for
Angel, who can't remember a thing before she was three years old. Their brother
Rincham, however, was an odd character. Totally aloof and hateful towards the
world, he dressed in a dark cape and kept his face covered most of the time,
and wore a silver, gold-rimmed shackle around his left wrist inscribed with
the Hawaiian phrase 'O-Rincham, ko'u inoa' and that emits a hologram, leading
others to believe that - despite a few run-ins with the lab ray - he is still
a Kougra. Image-wise, he had a shock of blondish-white hair on the top of his
head, three stripes on his tail, and all four of his charcoal-black coloured
paws faded at the knee. He was a lab pet who is determined to become the strongest
there is, due to a very bad past. When he was found a Kougra, he was wild. Totally
wild. Jen was the only person he could trust, though both she and Angel had
risked their lives trying to save him during a risky first
assignment. The opponent was one Malkus Vile, and he is bent on becoming
strong enough to fight him. He rarely speaks of his past. Now he spends most
of his time alone, or with his friend and fellow outcast of society KeirothMohaki
complaining about life, the universe, and everything. How cliché.
On the sofa beside the Checkered Acara sat
a relatively passive creature - a Green Gelert wearing a white lab coat. The
Gelert would usually have been quite at home on an NSPA desk gathering measurements
and calculating quadratics, but was currently sitting as far back on the Zen
sofa as he possibly could, a nervous wreck. Xx_Rockhound_xX was as far from
his namesake as he could be. Jen said she reminded him more of Niles Crane in
his manner! But had he not shared a house with two insane pets who were at that
time ripping the house to shreds, maybe he wouldn't be so terrified of everything.
Two other insane pets were little more than
a blur of green that darted round the house like Pawkeets on caffeine. Invader_Zim
was just constantly hyper. Though he rarely stood still for more than a few
seconds, his eyes sparkled like two rubies, and you just couldn't help but love
the lil' guy! He idolised the character he was named after, and usually took
out his rage on Igasho. His brother Lupe had a deflated ego. He used to be arrogant
and bossy and basically unpleasant to be with. He's still arrogant and bossy,
but at least a little more pleasant to be with. Not too long ago, Igasho was
known to be a famous Neopian superhero figure, though all he ever really accomplished
was becoming a very large thorn in Angle8285's side. The poor guy had his ego
seriously deflated when he was tricked into drinking a tapped Lupe Transmogrification
Potion, which turned him into a monster for one night. He caused utter chaos
in a nearby crowded High Street before retiring somewhere in the Haunted Woods.
Luckily it was just for one night, and if Saf and Angel hadn't stopped him in
his tracks at an ominous old building named Hemminghyde Manor, there was no
telling what he could have been capable of. Luckily he escaped with only a half-deformed
body and snake-for-a-tail. Nowadays his recreation time is spent not chasing
super villains, but chasing Zim round and round the coffee table.
Their owner, Jen, was sitting on a rainbow
beanbag and reading a hefty unabridged volume of 'Wuthering Heights', listening
to some swing and jazz music on her CD player. Jen was of medium height-to-tall
with large hazel-brown eyes and hair that turned a spectrum of colours - brown,
blonde, auburn, black, and many others she just couldn't identify. She wore
dark blue cords with a light blue top with white trainers. She was just … normal.
Shy. A little antisocial, maybe. And with a strange liking for unusual nicknames
like 'Tiny Tim' - resulting from a falling-up-the-stairs incident from last
Summer. But normal. Apart from her ears, of course. They were pointed like a
cat's. No. Like an … elf's? Perhaps.
It was a rare occasion that all the family
were together in one place. Well, not all the family. Angel was still missing.
There was a sudden thump from outside which barely fazed most of the pets, but
Jen suddenly reached out her foot and hooked a large vase and stand, moving
it out the way of the door before it unlocked violently and slammed against
the side of the house, just where the vase used to be.
"I can't believe this!" she screamed.
"Tough day at work, huh?" purred Jen.
"Work? Pah! It's not work that's bothering
me. Although they did persuade me to go on another mission …"
"So what's up?"
Angel slammed a decrepit - but very recent
- copy of the Bunbury Gazette down on the coffee table. Jen picked it up and
cleared her throat sheepishly.
"In a shock revelation today, the Neopian
courts condemned the verdict that convicted criminal Burzwakh has been released.
It came as a total surprise to the court, who believed that Burzwakh, as far
as they were concerned, was still behind bars and well out of anyone's way.
Yet it was brought to their attention that the Grarrl Battlemaster was released
into police custody several weeks ago. The potentially dangerous character is
recognisable by having half a tail and only two fingers on his left hand; a
result of over-excessive training. If any of the public should recognise him
out of the region of Mystery Isle, they should report immediately to the police."
Rockhound whimpered and sunk deeper into the
cushions. For a split second, Zim's eyes lost their brightness. Even Twist's
expression darkened.
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, Angel."
The Eyriess snarled maliciously. "I can't
believe they would let him out. He nearly finished me! And Saf. And everyone
if we hadn't stepped in! The system must be so corrupt."
Angel crossed her arms and collapsed, slouching,
on the red beanbag. This was not a good day to break that kind of news to her.
"Just put it out of your mind, Angel," said
Twist reassuringly. "It's not worth it. Leave the matter to the police, and
don't let it bother you."
"Police, police, police. It's the police we
have to trust with everything!" She sunk deeper into the beanbag. "But you're
probably right. I don't know why I'm so uptight recently. It's not like we're
ever going to see him again."
"Famous last words," muttered Jen, before
settling down and turning immediately to the comic pages.
To be continued...
Author's Note: That's all a bit ominous, eh? Next week find out what momentous
confession I have in store for Angel.
Thanks to White_Wolf42 for allowing my using of her pet Jakeio and, as
always, Sonicoem and Snickering_1 for allowing my use of Angle8285 and Shining_Safyre.
I love to know the audience's opinions on my stories, so if you have any
compliments, criticisms, whatnot, send
'em on in! | 
