The Last Space Aisha

Part III: Love, Evil, and War

by aishagirl104

Let's just refresh our memories now…the twins' father has died with no money and the evil forces are getting stronger every day. They have to save their world, but they have to learn about it - and about their mysterious past…

The girls grew stronger by the day, but they often wondered what their purpose was. One night, they held a secret council of war in their bedroom… "Do you think the faeries are hiding something from us?" asked Emma. "I think they know something about our past that they don't want to tell us until they have to."

"That's probably right," said Lucy. "We'll ask them tomorrow morning."

The next morning when they went in to see the Faerie Queen, she immediately sensed their state of mind. "What is it you girls want to ask me?" she wondered. "Is there a problem with the work you have been given? Are the tests we give you too difficult or too easy? Is there any extra material you are interested in covering as an extension of your studies?"

"No, Your Majesty," said Emma. "Everything about our education is fine. It's just - well, we want to know about our past. We like it here and everything, but surely we had a different life before we came here?"

"What we're trying to say is, do you know anything about our past - who our parents are, did we have other family, where do we come from, what are we here for?" asked Lucy. "We were hoping you might know some answers to these deep and mysterious questions."

The Faerie Queen took off her tiara and began to brush her long purple tresses with a silver comb decorated with purple gems that formed strange symbols. "Those are the questions I would expect of any NeoPet in Neopia! But your past is a deep and mysterious one that not even I know too much about. But I will tell you this - you are very special Aishas, even very special NeoPets.

"Your parents were King Fabiola and Queen Juana, the king and queen of the Aishas on their home planet. And you had a sister named Saria, who was 49 days old when you were born - or she would have been."

The Faerie Queen leaned towards Emma and Lucy on her throne made from the clouds. "Fabina, an evil NeoPet whose true species and identity have never been revealed, was on a crash course in conquering Neopia. Kacheeks, Scorchios, Jubjubs, Chias, Lupes, Tuskaninnys and many, many others had lost their home planets to him, and he was going to grab as many species of NeoPets as he could, then take over the Mystery Island and then go on to Neopia Central.

"After taking control of the Space Station, Fabina worked under the infamous Dr. Sloth as a scientist and engineer. He was the inventor of the Mutant Ray and had developed a miniature version. After selling the rights of the large version to Dr. Sloth for 1,000,000 Neopoints and shares in every business in Neopia, he stole the miniature version and burned its paperwork. But not before he had transferred every letter of it onto a computer system that was virtually impossible to enter - passwords, code names, complicated file locking systems, the works.

"He blitzed the planets of the species he had conquered and turned them all into mutant NeoPets. After making them into his slaves, he headed straight for your home planet. He stirred up a rebellion and got some of them to pose as servants in your family palace. One night, the traitors set light to it and it was a race against time to rescue your family, for other rebels were firing bolts of illegal magic from all around. Your sister was killed in the escape, and your mother died giving birth to you both in the hut where you had to hide from your pursuers. A witch Aisha working for the dark forces, Morticia, placed a curse on you. You have to defeat Fabina's army in battle before you can know your real names. Your father was sworn not to reveal the names he gave you both at birth until the quest has been completed. You have 24 days until you must go into battle, and you must be wise and just over that time. Your father died about a month ago and half his fortune was divided between you two, but the passwords to his vaults have been lost. The other half went into shares in two stocks on the Neopian Stock Market, and both stocks have crashed dramatically."

The twins looked stunned. "Are you saying that we've got to defeat Fabina's army in battle?" asked Emma. "I'm not sure we could do it…"

"Your training is not yet fully complete," said the Faerie Queen. "There is still time for you to begin constantly improving it. Fabina grows stronger every day, and his evil forces cannot be destroyed without you two girls. But now…we have decided that you should both have the day off to explore Neopia Central. Go to The Aisha Pack and ask to be taken in. Use the code names Emma66 and Lucy54, and spend your day with those of your own kind who escaped Fabina!"

The girls were beamed down to the Marketplace and landed in front of a small brown hut with a pink door, the inscription T.A.P. over the door, and pink Aisha ears growing through the roof. "This is the place!" said Lucy, and she rapped on the door.

A lovely blue Aisha, wearing a collar patterned with silver sequins, answered. "Yes?" she said. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"We are Emma66 and Lucy54, and we ask that you should take us in," replied Emma. The blue Aisha nodded, and showed them through the door and into a room full of Aishas….

The Aishas talked and laughed amongst themselves. Some were helping themselves to small finger snacks and drinking fruit punch. Some were practicing magic in another room. But the first ones to catch Emma and Lucy's eyes were two young male Aishas who were huddled in a corner. Four red Aishas approached them. "What are you two little boys doing here?" asked the tallest. "Did Daddy say you could come here all by yourselves? Or are you being naughty?"

"Go away, Samhain!" burst out one of the young Aishas. "What do you care anyway? All you want is to get rid of our family so your father can get his hands on our father's money!"

"Eevee!" hissed his brother. He stood up. "Samhain, Imbolc, Beltain and Lughanasa, you do realize that, despite the fact you are our stepbrothers, your father can never get to the money my father stored away to take care of us, because it is protected by the Unbreakable Code…"

"Just tell us the secret, Bakathi!" One of the red Aishas slammed the one who had spoken into the wall and pushed his throat up with his fist. "You will tell us or you and your brother will never see each other again!"

"Hey!" Emma and Lucy approached the red Aishas. "What's your problem? What have they done to make you do that to them? Leave them alone or you'll have us to deal with!"

"Ooh, two little girls are going to come and beat us up! We're scared!" the red Aishas jeered. But they were scared when Lucy and Emma leapt on them. Screaming and yelling, they ran for their lives - out of the hut and back to their owners.

"Thanks!" The girls helped the two male Aishas up. "You were so brave! I don't know anyone who ever stood up to those guys before…" The green male Aisha struggled to get the words out. "I'm Bakathi, and my brother is Eevee."

"It's OK," said Emma. "We always help any NeoPet who needs us. I'm Emma, and that's Lucy, my twin sister." Eevee and Lucy walked up to them.

"Did anyone ever tell you two you're beautiful, and smart, and brave?" asked Eevee. Lucy giggled.

"No," she said. "We've never been told that, but we're only here for the day, so we don't know many NeoPets here…"

The Fire Faerie shook her head as she watched Emma and Lucy walk out of the hut with Bakathi and Eevee. "I don't like that," she said. "If the girls fall in love with Bakathi and Eevee, it could destroy everything. It's a dangerous game they're playing now…"

"Don't worry! The girls have to return at sunset, by order of the Faerie Queen," assured the Light Faerie. "Besides, it's good for them if they have friends to tell them where everything is, and how to go places."

"But is it right?" wondered the Earth Faerie. "If the girls do fall in love with those two male Aishas - and they are very sweet and cute - they might not want to come home, and then they would abandon the whole plan, and Neopia Central would be destroyed! Fabina already has the Mystery Island and the old Space Station, and he's planning to conquer every last inhabitant of Neopia!"

Morticia blurred her viewing cauldron again and chanted a strange incantation seven times over. "It is time, Fabina…" she said, "time that the dark forces, crushed and suppressed beneath the power of good for centuries of time, to rise again in glory and bring about a glorious future!"

"Good, Morticia…you are a witch with talent…I knew that as soon as I hired you. Cause the deaths of those young Aishas, and I will take what you have to offer me, and then I shall pay your reward for helping me in my quest…10,000 Neopoints…spend them how you wish…" A dark figure wearing a black hooded robe emerged from a corner. Slowly, he drew back his hood to reveal a terrifying creature…a red Aisha and a red Skeith, perfectly blended together to create a monster that would cause fear in the stoutest of hearts.

As Bakathi and Eevee finished their tour at the soup kitchen, they looked into Emma and Lucy's eyes. Slowly, they came towards them, arms outstretched, when the girls suddenly slipped on some split soup and fell into their arms - Bakathi caught Emma, while Lucy clung to Eevee. The boy helped the girls up, drew them closer to them, and…the girls began to disappear, like the waving lines on the TV set when someone pulls out the picture tube.

"Good-bye!" they cried. "Good-bye! We will return soon!" Bakathi and Eevee waved and wished they could go with the girls, more than anything else in the whole of Neopia…

So the girls have gone on their first dates and visited their homeland. But do they know enough about Neopia Central to save it from being destroyed? The final battle against evil will require strength, determination, belief in their cause and a strong heart. Can they do it? Read the next issue of the Neopian Times to find out!