Mystery of the Brightville Vanishing:Part Eleven

     Orlitz and Erin tumbled off their benches as the lights in their gondola blinked on and the ride lurched forward. Someone must have turned the ride back on. They scrambled back up to their feet and peered out the window to see what had happened.

     When it came to ranking amusement park rides, ferris wheels had never placed very high on Orlitz’s list. She found them slow and constricting, and she did not appreciate being perilously suspended high above the ground. Their descent down from the ride’s apex was agonizing; Orlitz pressed her forehead into the glass to garner a better look at the action down below.

     “There’s Reba!” Erin yelled. As the loading platform gradually came into view, Orlitz noticed the Orange gnorbu too: she was pinning someone against the ride’s control panel.

     “ISKEEN!” Orlitz could see the ixi had grabbed ahold of Reba’s wrists, using all of her strength to push her aggressor away. Two more figures were yelling and trying to yank Reba away from her victim. “MOM, DAD!” Without turning around, the gnorbu shoved Keon with enough force that he stumbled off the platform. “Fyora, Reba is too strong, she’ll hurt them!” Orlitz pounded her fists against the door. They were still a quarter of the way above the platform.

     “How do we get off this ride?!” the cybunny spun towards Erin. Hot tears burned at the corners of her eyes, “if anything happens to Iskeen—”

     “It’s—there’s an emergency latch under your seat.” Orlitz dropped to her knees and reached under the bench, but Erin grabbed her shoulder, “it’s too dangerous Orlitz, you’re up too high. Please d—”

     The cybunny shoved her hand away, “I’m ending this right now.” With Erin’s protests falling on deaf ears, her fingers felt the latch. She pulled with all her strength, and with an extraordinary gust of air, the gondola’s door flew open. Orlitz eased her way to the ledge and steadied herself against the opening. Her hair, once elegantly done up, whipped wildly in the wind.

     The cybunny waited a few more seconds, and then she jumped.

     * * * * *

     “I know Brightville better than any of you. You will never find your friends!” Iskeen gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on Reba’s wrists. She was pinned against the control booth and could not kick the gnorbu away. Behind her, Elva and Keon were still fighting to tear Reba away, but the handyman held fast. In the darkness, Iskeen had not seen Reba lunge toward her until the force of impact had sent her flying into the control booth. Her back must have struck the ride’s “on” switch, because seconds later, the ferris wheel was ablaze in lights and its mechanism whirred to life.

     “If you think I’ll ever let you leave this park, you’re kidding yourself. No one’s ever gonna find you!”

     “It’s over Reba, the Brightvale Guard already knows it was you!” Iskeen strained.

     Reba let out a frantic laugh. “I don’t see any guards.”

     The ixi squeezed her eyes shut. Her elbows were buckling under the force of Reba’s strength. She wouldn’t hold out much longer. And then suddenly, Reba was gone. Iskeen shot her eyes open. Something had collided with the gnorbu and sent her sprawling on the floor. She saw Orlitz lying a mere inches away from the handyman.

     The cybunny scrambled to her feet and jumped to restrain the stunned gnorbu before the latter had the chance to react. From the passing gondola, Erin leapt off as well, producing a piece of rope with which to restrain Reba.

     “You don’t get to hurt my family,” Orlitz glowered. Piecing everything together, Iskeen realized her best friend had jumped off the moving ferris wheel to intercept them. The ixi produced a shaky breath and sank with relief to the ground. The cybunny’s rumpled yellow dress fluttered in the breeze, and Orlitz looked less like a frazzled party-goes and more like a triumphant Defender, wary from the fight.

     * * * * *

     When Orlitz, trailed by Iskeen, Erin, her parents and an especially-furious gnorbu, found their way back to the Brightville celebration, they were greeted by—well, no one. It seemed as though the guests really had deserted the site once they had heard Reba’s threatening announcements. Even King Hagan’s royal entourage had packed up their tent and left. Before long, however, they found what remained of the festivities inside the restaurant.

     Sophia was in the midst of an agitated discussion with Lou Elder, a handful of Brightvale Guards, and what appeared to be a member of the royal entourage when she looked up to see Orlitz’s party enter the building. The cybunny relished the chomby’s look of bewilderment as her eyes fell on Erin, and then on Reba.

     “You really did find Erin,” she stammered.

     “What, did you think I was lying when I told you?” said Orlitz, “I caught your kidnappers and found Erin. And I couldn’t have done it without all your generous help, Sophia.”

     The chomby forced a tiny, dry laugh. “The party was a resounding failure, thanks to you. We couldn’t even launch the firework show, everyone left,” she muttered.

     “You should be thanking her,” Iskeen interjected, “thanks to Orlitz, you can now go ahead with the demolition, just as scheduled.” This remarked spurred a fresh wave of insults from Reba and a string of protests from Lou.

     Orlitz pulled Erin to the side. “I wonder if there is a way around the demolition,” she gestured towards the entourage member, a White vandagyre donning King Hagan’s royal crest. “Maybe you can still do something.”

     * * * * *

     At the guards’ invitation to complete the investigation in the morning, Orlitz, Iskeen, Keon, and Elva gratefully took leave and went home. They left Reba and Erin at the guard outpost for further questioning, but not before the Pink acara had spoken briefly to the vandagyre, a royal advisor by the name of Navarre. By the time Keon unlocked the door to their house, it was nearly three in the morning.

     The sun was well above the horizon when Orlitz awoke to a Gruslen licking her nose. Slowly, glimpses of last night came back to her: surely, she couldn’t have leapt from a ferris wheel to tackle Reba, yet the aching in her knees where they had made contact with the ground assured her that yes, in fact, it had all really happened. The cybunny slid out of her blankets. To her dismay, she realized she had passed out in her dress: it hung limply from her figure, crumpled and dirty. At her feet, Iskeen snored peacefully in her own fort of blankets and pillows. Orlitz chuckled to herself: she’d better let the traumatized ixi rest.

     The cybunny showered and met her parents in the kitchen, grateful for the plate of hot french toast awaiting her at the table. She tucked in; the cinnamon melted on her tongue was bliss.

     “How’re you feeling today?” Keon joined her with his own plate of steaming breakfast.

     “Much better dad.” He grinned at her. “Thank you, by the way. To you and mom, for coming to find me last night. I know I don’t say it enough, but I’m so lucky to have you guys.”

     Elva reached over the table and embraced Orlitz in a tight hug. It felt nice to finally spend time with her family.

     * * * * *

     Later, Orlitz and Iskeen would set out for the guard post. The Brightvale Guard did not feel compelled to keep Erin, as she hadn’t been directly responsible for any violent actions during her disappearance. Besides, her special affiliation to Brightville made her a valuable asset to the park’s future, now that Sophia had relinquished all ownership. The chomby’s negligence and unwillingness to help during Erin’s disappearance absolved her of all park profit. This did not seem to bother her, however. When Orlitz last spoke to her, Sophia had revealed that she was moving to Tyrannia, thrilled to be done with Brightville once and for all.

     “Did you know?” Orlitz had found herself sitting next to the chomby at the outpost’s waiting area. “About Erin? And about Emnor’s will?”

     “Of course not.” Orlitz raised a doubtful eyebrow, and Sophia let out a sigh. “I didn’t find out about Emnor’s will until Erin wrote me.”

     “Erin wrote to you?”

     “Oh, several months ago, now. It was a letter about her supposed inheritance of the park.”

     Orlitz perked her ears. So Sophia had known about Erin long before she ever vanished. “What did you tell her?”

     Sophia shot her a look. “Off the record? Nothing. I threw the letter away. I didn’t want to waste my time, it might have been a fraud trying to save the park.” She straightened her neck, “Besides, transferring the park over so late would have meant even more time sacrificed to deal with Brightville, and I’ve been ready to let that park go for years now.” Orlitz’s jaw clenched with irritation: had the chomby just told her about Erin right away, she might have solved the case sooner. She bit her lip: well, it was solved now, which is all that mattered.

     Meanwhile, and based on her multiple attacks and harassment claims, the Brightvale Guard had elected to turn Reba over to the Defenders of Neopia. Yet this decision had been surprisingly difficult to make: after all, the gnorbu had genuinely loved Brightville.

     At the outpost, Orlitz also briefly collided with Lou Elder and a few members from his merry band of protestors. It seemed as though a few of them had been stopped by guards for causing such a ruckus at the celebration. No guards had been able to assist at the ferris wheel confrontation, because they all had been occupied with crowd control at the amusement park gates. Of course, being in trouble could not dissuade Lou from giving up his life as an extreme conservationist. Though saddened by Brightville’s inevitable demise, he had recently heard tell of a historic house in Meridell looking to be renovated into a smoothie shop, and was already scheduling new protests.

     By noon, all evidence had been reviewed and everyone’s testimonials had been recorded. Word had arrived from the Neopian Times headquarters, offering to send more journalists to Brightvale upon hearing the news of Erin’s disappearance. Orlitz had asked a guard to contact the paper while Erin was still missing, but now that she’d been found, there was little need for additional aid.

     Eventually, Iskeen, Erin, and Orlitz found themselves at an ice cream parlor near Roberta Plaza.

     “I wanted to say thank you for yesterday, Orlitz.” The cybunny looked up from her Passionberry sorbet to find Erin struggling through a half-melted cone of chocolate ice cream. “Thanks for rescuing me and listening to me. And for encouraging me to find another way to save Brightville.”

     “Of course,” Orlitz grinned, “did you figure something out?”

     “I was able to speak to Navarre for a long time last night, and he was in agreement that Brightville deserves to have its legacy honored.” Iskeen and Orlitz leaned in with interest, “he said he would speak directly with King Hagan today, to try and figure something out. We were thinking, may be the lot could be converted into a Brightvale-sponsored botanical garden. And in the center, we could refurbish the carousel and build a museum all about my grandpa and Brightville.” Erin giggled and wiped a stray tear from her eye, “there’s hope.”

     Orlitz reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m so relieved to hear that, Erin!” In spite of the harrowing few days she’d been forced to spend in Brightville, Orlitz couldn’t deny that she’d fallen a little bit in love with it. Even now, they could hear the demolition crew tearing into the amusement park, and it filled her with a muted sort of grief to realize that the final chapter of Brightville’s history was finished. She chuckled softly. “I wish you hadn’t resorted to kidnapping yourself to come to this solution, but I’m relieved nonetheless.” This last remark made Erin blush sheepishly.

     Iskeen bit into her cone. “Are you staying in Brightvale after all?”

     “Yes. In fact, I have an audience with the king’s advisors at the palace later today, so that we can begin planning the new site.”

     Orlitz whistled. “So are you going to stop being a reporter?”

     “For the time being—but who knows? I want to begin by finding out what’ll happen to Reba. If she ever comes back to Brightvale, maybe she’d like to maintain the museum… supposing we’re able to build a museum.”

     The cybunny sighed contently. It would appear as though Erin had found her calling: with the support of King Hagan, she could now honor the bond she’d shared with her grandfather. It would be a long and arduous project, there was no doubt about it—but Orlitz was already looking forward to her next visit to Brightvale, to witness how Erin’s ambitions would take shape.

     As the trio left the ice cream parlor, they walked past Brightville, perhaps for the last time in the foreseeable future. A Spotted gelert was just leaving through its gates as they neared it. A backpack slung across one shoulder and a guitar on the other, Rey Wilde glanced once more at the park behind him and pulled the gate shut. He noticed Orlitz and waved.

     “Looks like this is the end of the road for us,” he flashed a rueful sort of smile. “Glad you found your friend.”

     Orlitz returned his sad smile. “Thanks for everything, Rey. Really, if there’s anything we can do to help—I’m sure we’d all be happy to help you find new gigs.” Iskeen and Erin grinned in agreement.

     “S’alright miss, I’ll manage. It’s a new chapter, is all. I’m gonna visit my brother in Meridell, he writes music. Maybe I’ll find somethin’ new there.”

     “Hey, if you’re ever in Mystery Island and need a quick gig, I know of at least one restaurant that’s always looking for performers,” Iskeen offered. Rey solemnly promised to consider the offer.

     Orlitz observed that Erin was silent: perhaps she was mulling Rey’s situation over, considering how his musicianship might fit into her future vision for Brightville. The trio made for home, a little bit sadder from the exchange, and perhaps a little bit more hopeful as well. The closing of one chapter meant the start of a dozen new ones. Life would continue ticking along, and Brightvale’s heritage would surely continue to grow, even through the loss of one of its gems.

     * * * * *

     “Are you kidding me?!”

     “What’s wrong Or’?” Keon looked up from his handiwork on the barbeque. With the clear afternoon skies and no rain in the forecast, the Livia family had hiked to Turtum Cove, a pebble sand beach nestled at the base of the Brightvale cliffs. Everyone reasoned that they should at least do some relaxing before the girls traveled back to Mystery Island tomorrow. Basking in the golden hour sunlight, Orlitz rifled through a newspaper.

     “How did she do it? How on Neopia did she write an entire front page article when she wasn’t even there?!” Orlitz tossed the latest issue of Brightvale Gazette aside for her parents to see. Elva read the front page:

     “‘Brightville’s Lost Heiress Found, King Hagan Agrees to Conserve the Jewel of Brightvale’... by Nora Sparks.”

     “It’s such a good title too,” Orlitz moaned, collapsing into her seat, “how can I compete with that?”

     “What do you have so far?”

     The cybunny limply took her notepad, on which she had scrawled the skeletal beginnings of an article. “The legacy of Brightville is destined to live on while demolitions continue as planned…”

     “Well...” Elva began hesitantly, “it’s a little dry…”

     “I’m writing about hard facts for the Neopian Times, mom, not tabloid drabble,” Orlitz protested. “Fine, maybe it could use some revision.” She set her notepad aside, however, when Keon offered her a grilled negg.

     Elva abruptly stood and gestured upwards. “Oh! Look over there!” Everyone paused to look up towards the cliffs, where a certain Island ixi was jumping off the ledge. Instead of plummeting into the water, the hang glider she was fastened to caught an updraft, and she soared upwards, high above the beach and the ocean.

     Once the investigation had been completed for good, Iskeen had packed up her jigsaw puzzle almost as quickly as she had completed it. Before Orlitz could intercept her, the ixi had bolted out of the house, on the pretense that she was “going to sightsee for a bit.” Now Orlitz understood what her best friend had meant.

     “ISKEEN!” she hollered, shielding her eyes from the sun. She waved wildly at the airborne ixi, “YOU’RE CRAZY!”

     Iskeen’s retort was lost in the wind, but Orlitz managed to make out: “JUMPED… FERRIS WHEEL… LET ME H… THIS!”

     Afterword: A big thank you to Isabelle, Becky, and Wisp (our resident mysterious Plushie Kougra) for reading through everything I threw at you and being so willing to give feedback! This project was so much fun to complete thanks to you!

     The End.