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The Chronicles of Super Pea: Part Three


by the_crimson_rose

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The Soup Faerie stirred the bubbling potato and leek soup and breathed its aroma with a smile. This would surely be pleasing to the needy pets at her door. She nodded to the Pea Chia, who crossed the cottage and pulled the door open.

      "Welcome, everyone!" he said cheerily as he shook each paw of the Neopets that entered. "The soup is ready. Come in and be fed!"

      A stream of ragged and starving pets entered and drank the bowls of soup as swiftly as the Soup Faerie ladled and served them. It always astonished the Super Pea that, as he watched the ladle scoop soup out of the pot, the generous faerie never seemed to run out so long as there were hungry pets. The scent was enough to make his mouth water, but he reminded himself of his abundance of food at home and pushed the idea out of his mind.

      He seated himself at the picnic tables with the eating Neopets and listened to their praise for the meal. Each ended his or her meal with a burp and a word of appreciation toward the Soup Faerie and himself before leaving, usually with a remark about how comforting the little cottage was to be in.

      "Come back anytime!" the Soup Faerie called after them.

      At some point in the afternoon, a shadow passed over the cottage. The Soup Faerie dropped her ladle in the pot and raised her eyes up, mouth open with apprehension. Super Pea gave her denim apron a tug and asked, "What's the matter, ma'am?"

      She never answered, but a malicious giggle soon sent shivers over him and answered his curiosity. He waddled to the window and peered out at the darkened sky as the clouds swirled in a vast array of indigos and violets.

      "Get under the tables!" he shrieked shrilly. No sooner had he spoken than the wooden door banged open and a lovely, tall Dark Faerie entered with her hands perched on her hips. Another accompanied her on each side, and she sneered at them when the pets started sniveling beneath the tables.

      "Good afternoon, all," she said casually.

      "What do you want?" the Soup Faerie demanded, picking up her ladle again to shake it at the intruders. "Get out! You are not welcome to cause trouble here!"

      The lead Dark Faerie cackled maliciously. "Cause trouble! Why no, my dear, I am only here to have some fun!"

      With that, she raised her index finger, thus drawing the Neopets out from under the tables, and swirled it around, causing them to swirl around the room with groans and terrified cries. The Soup Faerie covered her mouth with her hands in horror, tears streaming down her cheeks.

      "You let them go!" Super Pea marched straight up to the faerie with his hands on his, well, where his hips would be if he wasn't shaped like a pea. The faerie froze, dropping the pets to the floor, and looked straight ahead before looking down.

      "Oh! There you are," she said. "Did you say something?"

      "I said, 'Let them go!'" he squeaked bravely, pointing up at her. She swatted his little hand out of her face and sniffed contemptuously.

      "Why should I?" she asked.

      "Because you'll have to answer to me!"

      The trio of faerie exchanged smirks before bursting into maniacal laughter, slapping their knees in entertainment. "You," they gasped between breaths. "Answer... to... you?"

      Super Pea stared at them with patience. When they recovered, they cleared their throats and wiped their eyes. The Neopets scrambled beneath the tables once more.

      "Answer to this!" the leader of the Dark Faeries cried suddenly as she raised her arms and all the Neopets wilted in their positions of retreat. The Soup Faerie dropped her ladle in the soup with a splash and covered her heart with both hands. Even the mighty Super Pea struggled to stand upright, but he mustered all the powerful abilities granted to him by the Light Faerie he uncorked recently.

      "I see your ability to drain life," he started as he prepared to strike back, "and raise the stakes with a Lens Flare!" he cast his arms toward them, and a blinding light struck the cottage. He heard three shrill screams, and when the light flashed back to normalcy, the Dark Faeries were gone. Before another word could be said, he utilized his ability to restore the other Neopets so they could crawl safely out of hiding.

      "You scared them away!" gasped a yellow Kacheek.

      "They're scared of light." The Super Pea smiled brightly.

      As the Neopets gathered around the tables with their soup and discussed the events they just witnessed, and as the Soup Faerie stirred the pot of soup with renewed vigor, a soft glow surrounded the cottage. An awed hush fell over everyone, and a swarm of Light Faerie descended upon the Soup Kitchen. They were gorgeous. The leader of the five came toward the Super Pea and crouched down to his level.

      "Well done, young Neopet," she praised. "I apologize that we were unable to reach you in time to ward the Dark Faeries off ourselves, but we hear that you managed just fine, little one."

      He blushed beneath his green complexion.

      "We wish to present you with these gifts, in case you come across them again," she continued as she produced an armful of items to pass to him one at a time. "First, we present to you a Light Faerie Shield, to cancel out any retaliation they have to offer."

      Super Pea accepted it with a mouth opened with awe.

      "Secondly," she said as she reached out to give him another item, "a Light Faerie Staff, which provides both protection and some attack power of its own. And lastly," she removed a sword from its sheath at her side and presented it to him with a flourish of elegance, "a Light Faerie sword, to continue defending Neopia and its citizens from the evil of Dark Faeries and other villains."

      The small Pea received each with astonishment, then raised a smile to her. "I will do my best to defend Neopia and all Neopians!" he promised. "Thank you, ma'am!"

      "Thank you," she said, "for being the mighty, the daring, and special Super Pea!"

      And with that, the Light Faeries disappeared and the cottage seemed dim without them, except for the glow of the Super Pea's new weaponry. His fellow Neopians oohed and aahed at them, but the Super Pea was distracted with an idea. He was the Super Pea, accompanied by the blessings of Light Faeries and the dependent trust of the Neopians who stared at him now with admiring eyes.

      "Will you defend us, Mr. Super Pea?" asked the Kacheek with awe.

      "Yes," he answered positively. "And any one of you who is bold and determined and ready to learn and train can join me!"

      They bubbled with excited chatter at the idea. The future of the Defenders of Neopia was looking strong, he decided. Literally.

      After this, Super Pea had the confidence to challenge some of the more notorious villains to the Battledome. He started with the Clown Chia, whose frightful antics scared Neopians far and wide, and defeated him with some ease. This gave him more confidence, and he picked a fight with the pesky Pant Devil, who stole his sisters' nail varnish recently. He beat him.

      One morning , he stared at the recent Defenders of Neopia news and realized that no one had yet mustered enough courage to visit the Cave Chia in his natural habitat. The Super Pea took a deep breath, examined his weapons and his own condition, and announced to his owner that he would be on a mission that day.

      He managed to flag down a friendly Draik to give him a ride to Tyrannia with the promise that he would try and defeat the evil Cave Chia, who had scared the Draik's children. He was eager to help in any way possible.

      When they arrived, the Super Pea strode confidently to the location of his prior defeat and sucked in a deep breath. The Light Faeries granted him many abilities to help him see, and many of the same abilities would be able to blind his opponent. He peered down at the weapons they had given him, as well as the ones he already owned, and smiled to himself.

      With a wave to the friendly Draik, he sauntered into the deep cavern and reminded himself to remain humble in his confidence, because he was not indestructible. A flame appeared at his command, and he used it to light his way around the cave.

      "ROOOAAAAR!"

      Apparently, he awakened the Cave Chia. A massive shadow rose up behind him, and his heart skipped a beat. He swiveled around and raised the Light Faerie Staff, sending the villain reeling. He could hear the shouts of frightened prisoners, who were too scared to leave the cave they had wandered into ages ago.

      The Cave Chia retaliated with its primitive fists, but the Super Pea answered with the Light Faerie Shield and sent the Attack Pea after it. Lastly, he withdrew his Light Faerie Sword—but the Cave Chia was defeated. The prisoners raced out of the cave and headed straight toward home, not even stopping to look at him.

      That evening, the Super Pea returned to the Defenders of Neopia headquarters with photo evidence that the Chia had been defeated. Judge Hog examined the photo and broke into a grin and, with a jovial tone, said, "Well done, Super Pea! You have defended Neopia against one of her greatest villains, and rescued scores of Neopets at the same time! Please, take this trophy home to remind you of your deed."

      With that, he presented a shining gold trophy to the Super Pea, who accepted it with a smile. He stared at his reflection in the gold and was surprised to see the same Chia he always was, but one who was still reaching his potential. After all the effort, he received the trophy and it was only metal. The memory of the liberated Neopets running out of the cave was much more valuable.

      "Thank you, sir," he answered. "It's lovely."

      He returned home shortly before dinnertime. His Mamma was removing some Tuna Stroganoff out of the oven and straightened to embrace him. He then plopped himself in a kitchen chair and explained his adventured with excited chatter. His sisters rolled his eyes, but his Mamma listened intently and nodded with every new adventure.

      "What an admirable Chia you have become!" she said when he was done. He shrugged and looked around at his family.

      "I'm just me, making progress," he said. His Mamma served the dinner and they sat down to eat. His sisters argued over who would get the last Tchea Fruit, and he asked to go pick some more the next day. His Mamma reminded him that he would have to wait until after school, and the little Pea Chia felt very much at home, and very happy to be himself.

The End

 
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Other Episodes


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



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