The Magical Transporter:Part Four

     Katniss couldn’t get herself to calm down. It had been a while ago when Calleigh and Amy had disappeared. The Defenders of Neopia still hadn’t found out what the metal thing was they found on the spot where they disappeared.

     It was fun with her new owner. He cared for her, played with her and fed her but it wasn’t the same. He was worried about her and brought her to Roo Island to cheer her up. But no matter how much fun they had, Katniss started to feel guilty. How could she be happy while bad things could be happening to her owner and her sister? Yay told her that her owner would have wanted her to be happy while she was waiting. His Neopets told her the same thing. It didn’t work. Katniss couldn’t get herself to enjoy everything they did. When she saw Neopets and their owners play happily together, when she saw Neopets getting toys she felt sad. She wished Calleigh was here to do those things with her. What was she supposed to do?

     The Defenders of Neopia regularly asked Katniss to come over to the headquarters. They asked her questions. What could she tell them about Calleigh and Amy? When did she last see them? Did they act weird on the day they disappeared? Why wasn’t she near them when it happened? How did she met Emily, were they close friends? They asked the same questions over and over again. Details were important they kept telling her. All she could tell them could help them find Calleigh and Amy.

     ‘We have news for you,’ judge Hog said on one day. ‘We have examined the piece of metal and the plastic grass that we found in the forest. It seems the plastic is used in an inside grass field. A place where owners can play sports with their Neopets when it’s cold and raining. It doesn’t need water so it is cheaper. It’s a very strange piece though. If we look at it from a different angle it changes colour. It doesn’t look like normal grass for an inside grass field. And usually in plastic grass fields it looks a lot better’.

     ‘Maybe someone is trying to make Np,’ Katniss suggested. ‘Someone might be making it from cheap materials and then sells it to other people. They sell it like it was normal plastic grass and earn a lot of NP with it’.

     ‘We thought about that,’ judge Hog answered. ‘We hope it isn’t true. These fake pieces could be dangerous. We are still trying to find what kind of materials are present in this piece. If we know that it can tell us a lot about where it was made. You know a piece of plastic contains a lot of information. In Terror Mountain the wood from trees is different than the wood in Mystery island. So if we know what this is, we could find the fabric where it was produced. Then we could extend our investigation’.

     ‘Could I be of help?’ Katniss said. ‘I know someone who works in a factory. Maybe he knows where this piece has been made. He has contacts with other factories too. He could try and ask around’.

     ‘Where exactly does he work?’ Hog asked.

     ‘In the stamp factory,’ Katniss said. ‘In order to make stamps he needs paper, he needs ink and a lot of other things. He even uses a special sort of plastic coating to make sure you can’t tear apart the stamps. That coating is also used to make other materials stronger. So if this grass needs to handle a lot of people standing on it, it might have that coating too’.

     ‘What is your friend’s name?’ Hog asked. ‘You may be right. A coating like that could make this piece strong enough to handle a lot of people. That way people are less likely to notice this one is a fake. And I am sure it is a fake. It is our task to protect the world of Neopia against those people’.

     ‘His name is Iuka,’ Katniss said. ‘If you’d like I can ask him to come over here and have a word with you? He doesn’t live near here though. And he has a pretty busy job too’.

     ‘That would be great’ Hog answered. ‘Please let me know if he tells you anything’.

     Katniss sighed. Her friend was now being busy to produce stamps in his factory. She needs to find something to do. She has to stop thinking about her owner and sister all the time. There is nothing she can do to save them. The Defenders of Neopia will do that for her. Worrying about that won’t help anyone. Yay was right, but still. It is hard to concentrate on other things when you know your sister and owner could be in trouble. Maybe even in great trouble. She wondered if she would ever see them again. A tear started to drip out of her eyes. She didn’t want to cry here!

     Judge Hog handed her a handkerchief. Katniss used it to wipe her tears. It was all so difficult. She had to go on. But she was so worried.

     When she came home after the talk with Hog she told everything to Yay and his Neopets.

     ‘I am sure they will sort everything out,’ Yay said. ‘You shouldn’t worry about it. It will all be all right. They wouldn’t let your family be hurt. I know you’re worried but I was thinking of going to Mystery Island. I want to give you and my other Neopets training at the academy. Would you want to come with us? It is a chance to make some new friends and spend some time away from here’.

     ‘Sure I come with you,’ Katniss said. ‘When I was telling the story at Judge Hog I realised I won’t help my family by worrying about them. I am sure Amy and Calleigh would want me to do this too. The time will go faster and maybe the Defenders will know more when I come back’.

     ‘That is a good idea,’ Yay said.

     He called his other Neopets and off they went. They travelled to Mystery Island. Yay paid for a course for all his Neopets. He chose a Strength course for Katniss. He told them that he would wait for them at the beach. When they were done with their course they could come there and maybe swim a little and build a sandcastle. After that they would go home.

     Katniss fought with other Neopets in the training school. She became stronger and so did the others. The teacher kept them busy so Katniss didn’t think about her family. She gave the lesson everything she got. She learned how to fight more effectively. She was sure her owner would want to see her now. She also knew Calleigh would be proud. She could beat a lot more opponents the next time they went to the battle dome she was sure of it.

     It seemed that all Yays Neopets had enjoyed their courses. They waited for each other at the entrance of the school. There they shared stories about how great their course had been. Katniss really felt at home here. Together they walked to the beach to meet up with Yay. One of his Neopets kept watching Katniss to make sure she was all right. He told her stories about his life with Yay. He told her that he was abandoned by his previous owner. Yay had adopted him from the pound and cared for him. If it wasn’t for Yay he would have left here already. He always had a problem to make friends and to be nice to others. He had been hurt so bad by his previous owner that he didn’t know what love was. Love for your family, knowing that they will always be there for you. Katniss told him about her owner and the things she did with her family. The boy called her lucky that she had met such an owner. Too bad there are owners in Neopia who couldn’t deal with their pets and let them rot on their accounts forever. Katniss understood, the pound took good care of the Neopets who were in there but there shouldn’t be abandoned Neopets at all.

     Yay asked his Neopets questions. He paid enough attention to Katniss because he saw she had talked about her family.

     ‘We are going to find them back,’ he said. ‘I am sure of it. The Defenders of Neopia have never failed upon the tasks they were given. There are a lot of Neopians out there who are kind enough to help out the people in need. You can be lucky they exist. Don’t forget that’.

     ‘I know,’ Katniss answered. ‘I know I should be more patient too. But I really enjoyed the course. It’s really nice of you to get me one. It made my thought go toward other things as well. I think I am very lucky to have met you. There are still Neopets who don’t have a good owner’.

     ‘It’s good that you’re thinking about them,’ Yay said. ‘Maybe when your owner comes back you can tell her about it. Maybe she can be of help for all these Neopets who are stuck in the pound waiting for someone to adopt them’.

      ‘Good idea,’ Katniss said. ‘Then more Neopets will have a good home’.

     Where would her owner be at the moment? Was she scared, was she all right?

     To be continued…