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The Chronicles of Super Pea: Part Two


by the_crimson_rose

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"You want to join the Defenders of Neopia?"

      "Yes," squeaked the small Super Pea. Judge Hog leaned over the counter and squinted down at his small stature, his red satin mask, and his billowing red cape.

      "Well, son, here is your first mission." He reached down to pass Super Pea a Wanted poster with the image of some sort of scraggly cave Chia staring back at him. Super Pea sensed his excitement tingle within him. "This Chia is believed to have terrorized two small children. You must find him and bring him to justice!"

      "Sir, yes sir!" Super Pea answered with a salute. He marched outside again and started the trek toward Tyrannia, where the Chia was last seen. This involved avoiding the curious stares of many passersby as he stood on the street corner and offered to pay any flying pet to take him to the strange land. Most scoffed or laughed, but one pretty eventide Draik stopped and looked him up and down.

      "Climb on," she said. "You'll have to share whatever room there is with my Anubis. I'm Elucidation, by the way, but they call me Lucy. This is my pet Ari."

      "Great to meet you, young lady," Super Pea answered mightily. She snored and spread her wings.

      "Cleared for takeoff. Hang on tight and try not to roll away."

      "Never fear! Super Pea is here!"

      "All right, whatever," she dismissed and launched herself into the sky. Adrenaline coursed through his small body as she soared above the clouds, dodging and dipping beneath the densest ones. Art seemed to be relaxed, at least, as she sniffed the air with her ears blowing in the wind. Lucy must have felt him grip her for dear life, because she soon called, "How are you doing back there?"

      "Fine," he managed through clenched teeth. "We're fine."

      "Good. We're almost there."

      The terrain beneath them changed from a town to an ocean, and eventually, a plateau. Super Pea was a bit scared to let go of the large Draik beneath him when she touched down. After an awkward moment or two, she shimmied him off her back until he dropped with a plop.

      "What brings you to Tyrannia, anyway?" she asked.

      "I'm looking for him!" he announced as he thrust the poster in front of her face. She peered at the criminal and jerked her head back.

      "Good luck with that," she said. "Come on, Ari. By the way, little guy, send one of those crazy Pteris over there to come get me when you want to leave. Or you could ride one of them, but believe me, honey, that's a crazier ride than you just got! They must break the sound barrier when they fly."

      "I'm sure it will be fine," he squeaked with feigned confidence.

      "Whatever you say, dude," she launched into the sky again with a "Good luck!"

      Perhaps he might need it. He waddled across the plateau, starting with surprise at every Pteri shriek and every native Usul grunt. One stopped him in his tracks and waved its arms.

      "Ugga ugga!"

      "What?" Super Pea asked.

      "Ugga ugga!" the Usul pointed at him and danced up and down. "Ugga ugga!"

      Suddenly, a swarm of Tyrannian Usuls descended upon him with shouts of "UGGA UGGA!"

      "Oh my gosh, they think I'm fooooood!" Super Pea realized as he turned and bolted away as fast as he could. Waddle as he may, his training boosted his speed to surpass the natives. He darted behind a rock and watched as they passed with grunts and shouts of "Ugga ugga!"

      Eventually, they disappeared, leaving dust cloud wake behind them. Super Pea wiped his brow.

      "Whew, that was close! Too close. But I outran them!"

      And with that knowledge, he strutted proudly around the rock, only to find more rock. He kept at it, searching for the end of the stone, until he came to the mouth of a cave. This was too easy! Already he stumbled right up to the entrance he was searching for. With a smile, he waddled right in and looked around the darkness.

      "Hello?" he called. "Villainous cave Chia? It is me, Super Pea – a Defender of Neopia! Show yourself!"

      He heard a scuffle and a scrape that sent his heart racing, but saw nothing.

      "I am here to subdue you and arrest you!" Super Pea announced, his shrill voice echoing in what must have been several tunnels. He flicked an invisible match on cue, thanks to a fire faerie ability, and searched around.

      Suddenly, the light cast shadows behind a large mass. The creature heaved itself upright with a grunt, towering over the little Pea Chia in the vast cave. He released a roar and raised his club. Super Pea strove reach for Attack Pea, but his little hands trembled way too much.

      "Ugga UGGAAAAA!"

      The cave Chia swung his mighty club until it swept Super Pea into the air, sending him flying out of the save and smack into another rock. The poor humbled Chia pushed his bruised body up and sniffled as he scurried away, peeking over his shoulder to make sure that awful cave Chia wasn't about to follow.

      He was too impatient to get home to call upon Lucy, so he wrangled one of the curious Pteris with a shy request. Sadly, Lucy was right about the awful ride. The creature dove and darted, rose and dropped with every air current while speeding faster than an arrow. Super Pea didn't care. He wrapped his arms around its neck for dear life and buried his eyes into its scraggly feathers.

      When it dropped him off (rather rudely and definitely literally) in front of his house, his owner ran out with open arms.

      "My poor boy! What happened?" she asked. He explained the entire thing as she took him to the Healing Springs, crying between every word. When they arrived, she dropped to her knees ahead of him and wiped his tears on her sleeve before requesting help from the faerie.

      "Wow! Fifteen hit points! That was a good spell," she smiled back at them. Super Pea only felt a little better. No matter what spell the good faerie used, none of them would heal his wounded pride.

      As he and his owner started back from the Springs to allow the line of pets to approach the faerie, his owner stopped him and kneeled down ahead of him. "Honey, you understand why you were beaten?"

      He sniffled and wiped his eyes again.

      "You weren't ready for that battle, and pride goes before a fall. You need more training."

      "So what do I do? I can't do anything!" he burst into tears. She soothed him with another sleeve to wipe his cheeks and kissed his head.

      "That's not true, and you know it," she answered firmly. "You start small, just like you did with your schooling, your work, and your training. Start small and keep growing."

      He sniffled and raised his eyes to hers. "Mamma?"

      "Yes?"

      "What should I do first?"

      "First, you can go save your sisters from taking over your chores today. Then you can get ready for the first day of school tomorrow."

      Right, the first day of school. Before he did any of that, though, he had to go face Judge Hog.

      The great Neopet raised his eyes expectantly from behind the desk when he approached.

      "I found his cave," Super Pea explained, "but I... I couldn't bring him to justice."

      The Judge smiled and leaned over the counter to pat his smooth head. "Don't worry, young fellow. I will send one of our veterans out to take him down. Good work in finding his cave!"

      Super Pea smiled. "Yeah?"

      "Yeah! We'll make a Defender out of you yet!"

      Mighty Pea beamed with excitement.

      When he arrived at school the next morning after an entire summer of working and training, he was more confident than at the start of any other year. He waddled down the path buried beneath a red backpack almost as big as he was. He knew he looked like a Turdle, but he was glad he was strong enough for the load and smart enough to read all the books inside.

      Moments before he reached the door at the end of the line of Neopets, a pretty cloud Kacheek glanced around her at the grass.

      "Shoot! I lost my pencil."

      Super Pea smiled, his heart pounding. He darted behind a tree and scrambled to assemble his cape and mask, then came tumbling back into view with excitement. "Never fear! Super Pea is here!"

      His classmates stared blankly at him.

      "Wait, who are you?" asked the Kacheek.

      "Oh, look, I found it here on the pavement," said one of the Zafaras. Super Pea drooped at the shoulders and trudged back behind the tree to remove his disguise.

      Although he knew school was important, it was hard not to be distracted by his morning blunder until lunch. He snatched his paper bag and waddled out the door to enjoy his sandwich and an apple.

      He perched on a downed log by himself and chewed his sandwich slowly, thinking. What more could he do to be heroic for someone? All he wanted was to be loved and respected and help other Neopets feel the same. After he finished his sandwich, he picked up his apple and was about to crunch his teeth into it when he heard a groan.

      "I left my lunch on the kitchen counter," groaned his nemesis, the chocolate Draik. After a quick glance around him, Super Pea realized there was no tree to hide behind. He stood up so fast the bag fell to the grass below.

      "Hey," he called. The Draik turned slowly, clearly unsure of what to expect. Super Pea reached the apple toward him. "You can have this."

      "Seriously?" the Draik asked, then accepted it and turned it over in his hands. "What did you do to it?"

      "Well, I was about to eat it, but now you get to."

      The Draik raised his eyes with a polite nod. "Thanks."

      "Sure." Super Pea smiled at his first act of heroism. There was a warmth that cheered him the entire day. It wasn't that the Draik stopped what was left of the teasing aimed at the little Super Pea, because he didn't. It wasn't because his classmates recognized his effort, because they didn't. But that didn't matter. He made someone's day a little brighter, and that made a difference.

      That moment of satisfaction led him to seek out more Neopets in distress. Surely there would always be someone who could use his help, after all!

      One afternoon, as he returned home from school, he saw a small blue Acara crying on the sidewalk. He stopped with a bewildered look and glanced around, unable to see anything worth crying over. When he tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "What's the matter?" she pointed up to the top of a tree. At the end of one branch perched a sad Angelpuss.

      "He can't get down!" she wailed, but he already disappeared behind the tree to assemble his cape-and-mask disguise. Seconds later, he scrambled back around the tree.

      "Never fear! Super Pea is here!"

      She sniffled and raised her eyes. "Huh?"

      "Look here," he announced confidently. "I've got this. He will be all right."

      With that, he used his recently acquired strength to scramble up the trunk of the mighty tree and clamored onto the branch that held the nervous Petpet. He reached around the uncertain creature and swung it onto his back, where it clutched his cape for security. Then he scooted across the branch and down the trunk, where the Acara received her Petpet with open arms.

      "Oh, Otis!" she cried excitedly. "Oh, thank you, Super Pea!"

      "Happy to help, Miss!" Super Pea saluted and disappeared behind the tree to return to his everyday appearance as a small, stout pea. These sorts of acts he continued to do each opportunity he got. And as he did so, he trained and grew stronger and more mighty with each passing day.

To be continued...

 
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» The Chronicles of Super Pea: Part One
» The Chronicles of Super Pea: Part Three



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