Paparazzi: Part Two

     Okay, so, I’m on my first assignment ever. That’s right, the first assignment of Peppi Pansy. I definitely like the sound of that. That Samuel seems like such a nice fellow; sure he was a bit skeptical at first, but who wouldn’t be? He really is charming, and thanks to him I’m enjoying the beautiful scenery of Faerieland.

     Of course, I’m not here for the scenery, I’m on a mission. Samuel gave me the overview of the story that he wanted to write. It turns out that not too long ago both Illusen and Jhudora were locked up in the Faerie dungeons; I’m guessing that since they’re both pretty big it’s not going to be a long-term thing, but it will certainly get a lot of readers. Apparently both of them were using unethical methods to deal with Balthazar the bounty hunter. That really doesn’t give me too much information, but I was lucky enough to organize an appointment with the two faeries. So, hopefully that’ll clear things up.

     Photography may be my specialty, but I know a little bit about all journalism aspects. I’m sure that with a little research and interviews, I’ll be able to come up with a great story for Samuel. It’s no surprise that Jhudora ended up in trouble; everyone knows that she’s been up to no good. So, I suppose that I’ll focus more on Illusen in this story.

     My first stop is the Library to do a little research on Illusen. I skip along the beautiful cloud path towards the Faerie City. As I walk I take time to admire all of Faerieland’s wonderful attractions. There’s the flowing fountain of healing, and that strange blue Grundo plushie; I take in all of these details, plus everything else around me. Eventually I arrive in the majestic Faerie City. I head down the cheery cobblestones to the Library where the Faerie is deeply into a book.

     “Hello,” I greet joyfully, “I’m here to do a little research.”

     She looks up at me and brushes her messy brown hair out of the way of her glasses.

     “Oh yes, go ahead,” she mumbles as she returns to her book.

     I pace through the many shelves, each one stuffed with books. I find one that claims to be a biography of her entire life, one that claims to reveal all of her dirty secrets, and one that claims help people understand the Earth Faerie. Sadly, books’ claims are often misleading, and I doubt that I’ll truly be able to learn everything there is to Illusen from these pages. Eventually I’ve accumulated a couple books on Illusen, so I sit down at a small table and begin to take notes.

     It turns out that Illusen went to Faerie school with several other famous faeries, one of which was Jhudora. Some books even say that Illusen and Jhudora had been friends, while others directly deny it. Other than that I didn’t really find anything else of interest; she opened up her glade and took wonderful care of it for the rest of her life. It seems like the whole Balthazar things was just a snap of anger. But I’d find out when I interviewed her. Little did I know that fate would not let the opportunity happen.

      ***

Autolog:

     I am soaring through space and into the atmosphere at rapid speed. One of the many enhancements that I was given was a jet attached to my back that allowed me to arrive anywhere in record time.

     My target is Faerieland, the Hidden Tower to be precise. My goal is to bring back as many valuables; my method will be to cause as much damage as possible. That had always been the way that I operated, and right now my emotion is set to high rage. All I can feel is hatred and a thirst for destruction. A thirst that I will satisfy in this mission.

     I see a pink speck in the cerulean waters. Now, I can make out the bright city, and in incredible time I arrive at the invisible tower. Using my robotic vision its lack of appearance makes no difference to me; I can see it as well as any other tower in the area. My first job is to place a small disc-like object on the ground near the tower; I don’t know what it does, but those were my orders and I can’t argue.

     I point my arm at the tower; immediately a miniature missile fires from my paw and into the wall. In a explosion of invisible debris the missile creates an entrance for me. I enter through the hole that it had caused and see that already everyone was in panic. Their lives made have no effect on me; I have destroyed so much before, and this will be no different. I turn my head to the ceiling and fire a laser from my eye into one of the support beams. Debris begins to fall and the bystanders quickly flee from the scene.

     I approach the shelves of valuable items. I grab one of the shelves and lower it into a containment compartment in my robotic stomach. It is then that I notice that someone else is still in the room with me.

      ***

Journalism Notes:

     I am walking towards the grand, royal Faerie Palace, when I see something zooming towards the castle. A good journalist never passes up a chance for a good story, so I rush over to where the thing is headed. I see that it is a strange Cybunny creature with many robotic features. I gasp in horror as the Cybunny creates a hole in the invisible wall and enters.

     This story is definitely much more appealing than the one that I had been writing. I begin to scribble notes furiously, and then follow the Cybunny into the tower. The usually cheery place has quickly become greatly damaged. Debris from the ceiling has fallen and knocked over many of the shelves. Paint brushes have splattered onto the floor, dolls have become ripped and torn; and the Cybunny is taking everything that she can get her paws on.

     I pull out my camera and begin snapping as many photos as I can. I try my best to show the damage and the robotic creature, without her noticing me. I decide that I have enough to make a good article, yet something is nagging at the back of my head.

     The journalist side of me is telling me to flee from this area and let the Defenders of Neopia deal with this. Then I could go back to Samuel and give him this awesome story and all would be good. Yet there’s a more heroic side of me that’s wants to step up and defeat the Cybunny. I pass this off as craziness; there’s no way I could face that beast, I don’t even have a weapon... What am I talking about? I’m in the Hidden Tower where some of the best weapons are sold.

     I notice that a ghostkerbomb has rolled to my feet and I take this as a sign. I pick it up just as the Cybunny turns around to look at me. I close my eyes and hurl the yellow bomb with all my strength. I peek and see it explode into a starburst while in midair. The Cybunny is knocked back and her storage compartment is spilling out precious items.

     She gets up and glares at me with both of her menacing eyes, one that can fire a laser and one that shows nothing but hate. She is clearly damaged; I guess this is why she runs in the opposite direction.

     I choose not to push my luck and follow her; instead I return outside where a crowd has gathered nervously. I feel slightly awkward as they all stare at me quizzically. A good photographer should be able to get good pictures and a good story without drawing attention to herself; I guess I don’t quite make the criteria as a good photographer yet. I blush and try to explain what happened when I notice a small object that the Cybunny left on the ground.

      I reach over to inspect it and suddenly it flashes an orb of colour into the sky. The orb transforms into a hologram of a Faerie Lenny.

     “Greeting, Neopians,” she booms. “You have just witnessed the massive power of Larkin and Myrtle. Be warned as this is only the beginning and no one can stop us!”

     As all eyes focus on the strange message, I make my disappearance. I’ve definitely stumbled onto something big, and I’m sure that my employer will be thrilled to have the first scoop on it. As I depart from the glamorous city there are two things on my mind. One is the names, Larkin and Myrtle--I will have to research them further to see what I can find; and two is that although they claimed to be unstoppable, I did stop their Cybunny from stealing anything. Maybe they aren’t as invulnerable as they think.

To be continued...