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Neopia's Fill in the Blank News Source | 28th day of Running, Yr 26
The Neopian Times Week 73 > Continuing Series > Shankly Holmes and the Dysfunctional Ducks: Part Two

Shankly Holmes and the Dysfunctional Ducks: Part Two

by simsman24000

Dec. 20th, 7:42 NST
Somewhere in Neopia
Morning

     Almost everywhere you go in life, you will encounter people who will lie, bluff, trick, con, pretend, deceive, mislead, and swindle you. Whether you like it or not, you'll meet frauds, fakes, cheats, liars, impostors, hypocrites, and phoneys. However, most of the time, you'll meet these people with reluctance, and once they meet you, the cheating begins. When Shankly Holmes and Wockson followed the Elephante outside of the Battle Magic shop, they had no idea who they were dealing with.

     The desert Elephante led the two confused detectives out of the marketplace and into an extremely large secluded area of trees, a little bit away from the Wishing Well.

     "OK, this looks like a good place to stop," said the panting Elephante, sitting down on a nearby rock. "That was kind of a bad start, so let's start over. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Menti."

     "I'm Shankly Holmes, and this is my partner Wockson," said Shankly politely.

     "I know who you are," stated Menti proudly. "I've read all about you! I've even written an article about you for the Neopian Times!"

     "So why did you bring us here?" asked Shankly, brushing dirt off of his trench coat. "What do you know about the disappearances of all those pets?"

     "Well, I brought you here because I wanted to tell you this in private. Anyway, I know some things about the disappearances."

     "Tell us, tell us!" said an impatient Wockson.

     "Well," began Menti, "The other day I found a very peculiar map while I was strolling around the Rainbow Pool. It was shaped like a duck, and on it was a path that led from the Battledome to an old factory, also shaped like a duck. But the strange thing is that the factory is supposedly around here, yet we can both see that it's perfectly empty. When I heard about the disappearances, I knew that I should tell you instead of going to investigate by myself."

     "Are you sure this is where the factory is supposed to be?" asked Shankly, taking the map from Menti.

     "I believe so," said Wockson, looking over Shankly's shoulder and using his amazing mathematical skills to determine the exact location of the factory.

     "Well," said a jealous Menti. "I could've answered for myself..."

     "Stop bickering, you two," said Shankly, walking around the clearing. "The factory has got to be-OOF!"

     There is nothing so funny to me as watching people make silly mistakes in life. Just the other day, I visited my Aunt Tilly's house for her birthday and watched the family Gelert knock her over as she carried her cake into the kitchen. As her face became frosted, I couldn't help but thinking that that event would be the highlight of my laughing life. But there is nothing funnier than watching a grown man with crazy sideburns slam right into a wall that's not even visible.

     As Shankly slid down the wall, his arms and legs outstretched, Menti and Wockson became as worried as...something that gets worried a lot.

     "Mr. Holmes!" shouted Menti and Wockson simultaneously, both running over to Shankly. "Are you-OOF!"

     If you have ever seen two Neopets run straight into invisible pillars simultaneously, you wouldn't be so shocked or humorous at finding that when Menti and Wockson ran over to the recuperating Shankly, they both ran straight into hard substances and slid down the sides of it.

     "Ouch!" all three shouted together.

     "What is this?" asked Shankly, getting up and feeling the wall. "It's right in front of me, yet I see no trace of it whatsoever!"

     "Hmmm...very strange," added Menti. The trio surveyed the walls and pillars in front of them, feeling along for something unusual.

     "Look!" shouted Wockson, and the other two came over. "I found a door!"

     Slowly and carefully, Wockson pushed open the door, revealing a hall of complete darkness.

     "I'll go first," volunteered Shankly, taking a step forward and disappearing into the darkness. Not wanting to be left alone, Wockson moved into the doorway, but before Menti could go inside, there was a sudden shaking and an enormous din.

     "Wockson? Wockson, are you OK?" came a voice.

     "Yes, sir, I'm all right!" replied another.

     "Where's Menti?" asked the first voice.

     Just then, Shankly and Wockson, alone in the darkness, felt an extreme heat boiling down upon their skin and fur. All in an instant, all of the hot lights turned on, until the two detectives finally realised their surroundings.

     They were inside a humongous blue room, with cages lining the walls and potions of all sorts on tables in throughout the room. On each of the cages was a label marked "Roso Factory." Shankly and Wockson stood in front of the door in which they entered (which was locked, as Wockson discovered the hard way). On the other side of the room was a door marked "TESTING ROOM" in bright red letters.

     "What does Roso mean?" asked Wockson, staring at a nearby label on the side of a cage.

     "Wockson, come look at this," said Shankly, looking inside a cage. Between the bars was what appeared to be a Dark Battle Duck, sleeping quietly.

     "How strange," said Wockson. "Battle Ducks are inanimate objects-they only move when you use them in the Battledome." But Wockson could clearly see that this Battle Duck was snoring and quietly breathing.

     "Look, there's more!" interjected Shankly upon discovering other Battle Ducks in other cages, sleeping and even twitching. "They've even got different colours!"

     Suddenly, one of the cages next to Shankly began to shake violently. Rapid squeaking came from the inside that sounded like a hyperactive Psimouse. Just then, the cage burst open, and a purple Battle Duck came zooming out past Shankly's head and towards the wall, where it bounced back and came hurdling back.

     "Mr. Holmes, duck!"

     "I know it's a duck, Wockson!"

     "No, duck!"

     "Yes, I know, I'm not dumb!"

     "DUCK!!!"

     In one moment, Wockson leaped, Shankly shrieked, the duck squeaked, cages rattled, potions broke, tables turned, cages opened, and after all the pandemonium, Wockson and Shankly were now hidden behind a table, close to the Testing Room wall.

     "What's happening?" screamed Wockson over the noise, although they were right next to each other.

     "Apparently, these Battle Ducks are much more powerful than they're supposed to be!" said Shankly, holding up the table as duck upon duck bounced off of it. "They must have been altered or mutated or something!"

     "But who would do something like that?" asked Wockson as both detectives struggled to move their table shield with them while they nudged to the Testing Room door. They got up, holding the table, and ran into the door of the Testing Room.

     "Sir," said Wockson again, panting. "Who would alter Battle Ducks?"

     "Only one suspect so far," said an out of breath Shankly.

     "Who?"

     "Elephante, my dear Wockson..."

To be continued...

Previous Episodes

Shankly Holmes and the Dysfunctional Ducks: Part One

Shankly Holmes and the Dysfunctional Ducks: Part Three

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