Janet and Jane: The Case of the Targeted Heiress: Part Five

      The first thing that I needed to do was get away from these two and find someone that wasn't under Shadow's control. It was likely that Xavier was hypnotized as well (that was if what Mae told me earlier was true). I really hoped that Mae or Jane were still okay -- I literally had no one else to turn to.

      I was so scared, even my own footsteps freaked me out. I kept thinking they were from someone else. Other than my own sounds, the hallway was quiet. If one was dropped, I could hear a pin drop from the end of the hall (and if that did happen, I bet you that I would run in the other direction).

      As quietly as I possibly could, I got away from Shadow and his new, little helper. I wondered if there was any way to reverse it (not wondered -- hoped). Maybe there was something in Mae's study for this type of thing. I was going to head there after I talked to somebody.

      It felt like hours, but I got to Jane's room. Nobody was around. Looked like luck was on my side for once. I quietly opened the door and went in, shutting and locking the door behind me. The last thing I needed right about now was an uninvited guest.

      I looked over Jane's bed. The Korbat looked peaceful. I really hated that I would have to wake her up, but this was important. I started with quietly telling her to get up, which did absolutely nothing. Then I began to shake her. All she did was moan a little -- that meant that I was not going to wake her up like that. Plan C it is.

      I shoved her off the bed.

      That definitely woke her off. I heard her grunt as she hit the hardwood floor with a thump. She got up, still covered in some of the blanket she was under. Weariness covered her eyes and her ears were floppy instead of straight up -- a tell tale sign that she was on the brink of falling asleep.

      "Do I want to know why you woke me up at three in the morning?" she asked in a yawn.

      "You probably don't," I answered.

      She looked at me with those tired eyes. "What happened?"

      Oh, she knew me so well. "The Blumaroo we're after is in the Neohome."

      The tired in her eyes washed away and the shadow Korbat's ears perked up into those poised positions. "He's in the Neohome?! How did he even get in?"

      I rubbed the back of my neck. "I went to check something downstairs and I left my window open."

      "Oh, Janet. Why?"

      "It was an accident! I swear!"

      Jane sighed. "It's fine. Accidents happen. We just need to get him out."

      "Even then, we're not safe."

      Jane looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about (well, to be fair, I wasn't pretty sure of it). "What are you talking about?"

      I walked to the door and asked, "Can I explain as we look for the Blumaroo? We can't afford staying still."

      "I suppose."

      We left the bedroom. Jane led the way through the Neohome. She knew it better than I did at the time. It wasn't like I didn't remember where we were -- it was just that I could never learn my way around somewhere this big without a map or some time to memorize the area.

      "So how would the problem not be solved by just getting him out of the Neohome?" Jane asked. "I know that isn't a permanent solution, but it would give us some time to think of something."

      "It's Xavier and Natia. They're working for him now," I explained nervously.

      Jane gave off a little chuckle. "I could possibly see Xavier working for him, since we don't know him all that much, but Natia? We've known her for a couple years now! She's given up crime!"

      "I know. I know." I held my forehead with my left hand. "It's not like they were willing to do it."

      "Then why would they be working for Shadow?"

      "Because they're under hypnosis."

      Jane tilted her head. "Hypnosis?"

      "You know, when someone's in a trance and--"

      "I know what hypnosis is," Jane quickly interrupted. "How would you get this idea?"

      I sighed. "I think I saw Natia get hypnotized."

      Jane chuckled again, but this one seemed more nervous than silly. "You sure you saw her being hypnotized?" she asked.

      "I know what I saw," I said assertively. "And I also heard a conversation with him and Xavier. They are after me!"

      Jane looked at me and said, "Why you? Why not me or Mae?"

      "They knew I was up."

      "How would Shadow know you're up?"

      I sighed, "I ran into him when I realized my window was open." I caught onto what she was saying. "Wait, how do you know he's called Shadow?"

      Jane nervously swallowed. "You said Shadow, so I assumed that was his name."

      I crossed my arms. "I never said the word shadow in our entire conversation." Jane stopped walking. So did I. "You're under hypnosis." I said.

      Jane nervously chuckled again. She said, "No I'm not. Where would you get an outrageous idea like that from?"

      "Cut out the act. I know you're under a spell."

      The shadow Korbat blinked. I kept my serious expression. She looked nervous -- for good reason, too. I caught her in the act. Suddenly, she smiled evilly. I was always unnerved by her creepy smile, so I stepped back.

      "I guess I don't need to keep up the act anymore," she said.

      Jane jumped on me without warning. I quickly got her off and ran away as fast as I could. I was always faster than Jane, but she could fly. That plus she knew the area better than I did put me at a major, pretty much fatal, disadvantage.

      Even after a good amount of time running, throwing stuff in front of Jane in attempt to lose her, and a tumble down a flight of stairs (ouch, by the way), I still couldn't lose her. How on Neopia could I get rid of her until I figured out how to snap her out of her spell? I knew Jane was determined when she wasn't under some sort of spell, but if she was actually chasing someone down, she would have given up by now.

      I passed by the study. Perfect! The numerous shelves made the place like a maze, perfect for losing hypnotized Jane. Plus, there were many books out there. I was sure there was one on how to get her out of her spell. With those thoughts of hope in mind, I ran into the room.

      This was good. Jane was beginning to lose track of me. Each time I looked back, she was getting farther and farther away from me. I let out a sigh. Maybe everything was going to be okay.

      Well...

      Since this place was so much like a maze, I got lost. On the bright side, I lost Jane. Now I just needed to find some books that could help me out, get out of here, and find Mae (if nothing happened to her yet).

      I began to go across the shelves lined with books. Some of these were pretty old. There were some books from the Lost Desert, Shenkuu, Altador, and Terror Mountain. Looked like Mae spent a lot of time getting her hands on these. I think there were even some from the Order of the Red Erism.

      Hold on, the Order? How could she get some from there? The Order was very strict about giving their books to members of the faction. Maybe Xavier and Mae were members of the Order. It was a definitely a possibility. It would explain why they didn't want to join The Sway.

      Maybe Mae would need a spellbook. It wouldn't hurt to take one. I chose one to take and began to figure my way out of here. Let's just hope that Jane wasn't still in here -- and if she was, let's just hope that I didn't run into her.

      Yes! The door! I was free! Now I could get Mae. Without any form of hesitation, I opened the door and ran out as fast as I could. That was when I sprung a trap. One of Shadow's. It was another net, like the one Jane and Natia got trapped in earlier. Just what I needed. I looked around and saw Jane fly up to me.

      "Nice try," she said. "Now you just have to stay here while I get Shadow."

      She flew away. I rocked the net back and forth, hoping I could get out. Yeah, that didn't happen. The calm in my body was beginnng to disappear and was replaced with nervousness. I really didn't like being up high, though the idea of being hypnotized was the first worry on my mind.

      Suddenly, the net dropped. I yelped as I quickly dropped onto the hard floor (that was why I didn't like being up high -- I didn't like falling). I looked around very frantically, though I saw nobody who could cut the rope holding the net up.

      I heard a squeak at my feet. I looked down to see Supra with Alize looking up at me. Supra scurried up my pajamas and onto my shoulder. She nuzzled my cheek. I smiled at the Petpets.

      "Thanks for helping me out," I whispered. I looked at the book that was still in my hands. "Let's go get Mae."

      I began to walk to Mae's room. Thankfully, I remembered where it was. When I got there, I quietly opened the door. The room was really big. Sheesh, how much room did you need to sleep? Whatever, I would ask her that later. I went up to her bed. A wave of worry now washed down my body.

      She wasn't in her bed.

      To be continued…