DeSoni's Potion Predicament: Part Three

     "Thought I felt a rush of air as we entered the room… Yeah, I'm okay. It's just… I anticipated something entirely different." He sat still in the chair, staring into space. He didn't even seem aware of the force field around him or the pawcuffs linking his front paws together.

          The tall Red Ruki sighed. "You thinking about her offer?"

     "I… I just don't know what to do. I know Fyora would say I was under no circumstances to abandon my principles and ally myself with the Alien Aishas again. But… imagine, peace between Alien Aishas and Neopians. Rocky, it's my dream come true."

     "Look, buddy, I really don't know what you want me to say, but I doubt 'political' peace would change anything between Alien Aishas and Neopians. There'd still be prejudice, and notice that Madam didn't promise a single thing regarding ending those 'espionage' dealings you were involved in. Do you really honestly think you can trust them?"

     "I used to be only concerned with 'peace' and 'the world' and things like that. But, somehow I'm more worried about you, your family, Khargana, and Kay than my own government of the faeries of Neopia. Didn't you hear what she said? How much do they really know about my friends and family?"

     "They've been after you for years, DeSoni. They probably would've nabbed me a long time ago if they knew I was your best friend, and I doubt they're stupid enough to go within a hundred feet of Khargana or Kay. I mean, Khar would-"

     DeSoni chuckled, trying but not succeeding in making things lighter. "She'd beat them up. And Kay would probably try a wacky experiment out on them. Like the time she invited the soap salesman in to test that-what was it?"

     "A dust collector."

     "Yeah, one of those things we shouldn't ask about. That poor Eyrie was absolutely filthy when that thing exploded all over him."

     "And then Khargana came in and told the guy she thought he should leave and try out his soap on himself, as he was dirtying up their entryway!"

     DeSoni chuckled some more, then sighed and stretched out a paw to rap the force field. It buzzed and crackled, but thankfully didn't hurt him.

     "Any way I can get you out of there?" Rocky asked.

     DeSoni shook his head. "I really don't know. By brute strength, absolutely not. By any other means, I have no idea. It's fairly new, and unfortunately seems to be tied with the Madam's bracelet." He closed his eyes and waited for an idea to erupt in his head. There had to be some way…

     The tall Ruki waited, knowing his friend well enough not to interrupt his concentration.

     DeSoni opened his eyes and scanned the room, finally allowing his eyes to alight on the panels that his chair stood on. "These. It's got to be, there's nothing else."

     "What, Soni?"

     "The Madam's bracelet remote is only the activator, so naturally the actual initiator of this force field must be in here, near enough for it to cause this shield to zoom up around me in record speed. If her activator had created the force field, I would've noticed. But this sprung up around me, meaning it came up from the floor and expanded vertically to the ceiling, which may have similar grouping panels, but certainly not the initiators."

     Rocky looked totally confused, but blinked a couple times and asked the obvious. "So pretty much I just rip up those panels around the base of your chair and wait for you to tell me what to do."

     "Well, yeah."

     "Okay, here goes!"

     The Ruki braced his four legs and reached down, digging his pincher-like finger-claws (what else should I call them?) into the panels making up the floor nearest DeSoni's chair. They came up so easily, Rocky actually fell over backwards with the first one.

     In a matter of moments, Rocky had all the metallic panels around DeSoni's chair out and the force field disappeared with the last one. DeSoni held out his pawcuffs and Rocky simply crushed the lock in his fingers and the cuffs popped open. The tiny ex-Alien Aisha espionage agent brushed it off onto the floor, not even bothering to pick it up.

     "What do we now?" asked Rocky.

     DeSoni frowned. "My original plan was for you to use your superpowers to get us out, but if they have a tracer coded to XG12C… and if they already know about you…" He scratched his earstalks thoughtfully, much as a human would rub their temples. Suddenly he started patting his jeans pockets, finally pulling out the little stopwatch. The one he'd used to time Rocky's laps only… could it really be less than a couple hours ago?

     "How's a timer going to help, Soni? We've got bigger problems then how fast we go. Namely a countdown of 60 minutes that started the second your Madam Commander left the room."

     DeSoni nodded his yellow head. "I'd say it's been only 7 minutes since then. But that's certainly not enough time to formulate and execute a brilliant tactical plan. Even Khargana allows herself at least 3 hours before a big job…"

     Rocky blinked his giant eyes. "You're the genius. You formulate, I'll execute. We can do it. And I still don't see how a stopwatch will help."

     DeSoni smirked, glancing around the room. The smirk widened as he spotted a maintenance vent. "Like you said: I formulate, you execute. How about you start with getting that vent cover off?"

     Rocky gave up asking about the timer and did so. It came off easily. He tossed it aside like scrap metal, which it pretty much was as the Red Ruki certainly hadn't bothered with a magnetic screwdriver. The corners were buckled in somewhat and the holes were easily twice as large as they should've been from Rocky's nonchalant yanking. But it was off.

     "Well," sighed DeSoni, glancing at the vent cover then around the room: destroyed force field panels, broken pawcuffs. "It's not as if we're not leaving traces as it is." He pulled a box to the wall and used it to hop into the vent. Rocky climbed in afterwards.

     ******

     Soon they reached a vent overlooking a small empty room over half full with a giant computer. DeSoni peeked through the vent and nodded in satisfaction. "That'll work. Now we just need to find a com-link of some sort." He narrowed his eyes. "There just might be one in there. And a upload link too."

     "A little help with the lingo, buddy," whispered Rocky. "And I'm assuming you want the vent cover off?"

     "If you'd be so kind," said the yellow Aisha with a smile. The Ruki hooked his finger-claws into the vent panel and yanked backward. He folded it in half and stuck it behind them. "I'm kinda beginning to wonder if those babies are expensive."

     "Don't worry about it," said DeSoni, jumping down. "You wouldn't believe their budgets. And I plan to activate a false yellow alert, with an evacuation notice and complete with a countdown."

      "How on Neopia-?"

     The little yellow by-birth Alien Aisha spoke as he scrounged for the links into the computer. "I activate the yellow alert, you destroy one of those pipes when I give you the go ahead," he waved towards the far left end of the computer, "I attach my timer to an all-send for a countdown, and we escape in the resulting ruckus. In theory, it couldn't be simpler."

     "I hate it whenever you use the words 'in theory'. It means something horrible could easily go wrong."

     "The worse that could happen is that we run into Commander Galba, that giant Red Alien Aisha from earlier."

     "If you say so," said Rocky doubtfully. "Ready?"

     DeSoni was climbing out from behind the giant computer. He had two cords with him. "Ready as I'll ever be. Wait for my signal." The tiny Aisha took a deep breath and pulled what appeared to be some sort of microphone close to his face. He attached one of the cords to the mike, closed his eyes, and spoke in a low, clear, computer-generated-sounding voice.

     "Yellow alert, yellow alert. All point personnel please report to stations." He reached out and flicked a greenish switch on the computer. A whooping siren began and the lights turned yellow and began flickering. "Repeat, yellow alert. All point personnel please report to stations."

     He gestured to his Red Ruki friend, and pointed to a long, blue pipe stretching from the ceiling to the back of the computer. Rocky gulped, placed his claws around the pipe, and twisted. The whole thing came apart. The siren grew louder and the lights flickered.

     "Canthium gas leak in Sector C-12 through Sector C-40. Evacuate all nonessential personnel immediately. Yellow alert. Yellow alert. All point personnel please report to stations. All nonessential personnel in Section C evacuate now. Yellow alert."

     DeSoni attached the remaining cord to his small, low-tech timer. He set it for a 4-minute countdown, fiddled with the computer some more, then hit a large orange button with the words "ALL SEND" printed beneath. He continued in his computer-sounding monotone.

     "Repeat, canthium gas leak in Section C. All nonessential personnel evacuate now. Containment fields activating in 4-minutes. Yellow alert. All point personnel report to stations. Computer will now standby." The little Aisha switched the mike off and turned to Rocky. A giant countdown on a black screen above the computer was working its way down. 3.59…3.58…3.57…

     "We've got a 4-minute window-let's get out of here!"

     "Wait! How do we know they're gone?"

     "Alien Aishas are notoriously paranoid for the most part. They force all these drills and alerts into your head in training-they'll be long gone. Let's go! There's bound to be an emergency exit in this Section."

     "But how do we-?" asked Rocky, staring at the solid door blocking this room from the rest of the base. The poor Ruki could barely follow what was going on, let alone what to do next. It was all like a bad dream. 3.35…3.34…3.33…

     "Just knock it down! They'll hopefully be too distracted to watch their monitors! But we gotta go NOW!!"

     Rocky leaned his shoulder against the door and pushed; it collapsed outwards. Not an Alien Aisha was in sight. Every few steps there was a black computer screen with the countdown. 3.20…3.19…

     DeSoni yanked Rocky along. "Come on, buddy! I know this is all new and confusing, but you've got to use your superpowers to get us out of here! Hurry, while they're distracted!"

     Rocky shook his head to get a hold on himself, then scooped his small friend up onto his back. "Hold on," he said, "and you'd better give me directions." They took off, a blur if any cameras happened to be pointing their way.

     ******

     "Okay, everyone, calm down!" shouted the Madam Commander, gorgeous starry robes fluttering as she waved for attention. The pandemonium of dozens of Alien Aisha military personnel clamoring for answers immediately silenced. "I'm sure it's just a small leak. All have evacuated Section C, so I'm sure everything is fine. We just wait for the section to seal off, then send in trained poison gases personnel in proper suits to find and treat the problem. As you see," she pointed to a countdown on the wall behind her, "we have less then 2 minutes to wait. Everything is under control." She smiled dazzlingly and motioned to Commander Galba to follow her as she slipped off the stage and into a corner. The clamor had quieted incredibly, but the Alien Aishas were obviously still restless.

     "Commander, in what sector was Sonix placed?"

     "Sector D-3, Madam Commander. But you can't possibly be presuming he-"

     "I'll presume what I wish. Don't underestimate Derek Sonix; he's escaped from our clutches before. You and two lieutenants must immediately go check on him. He was in the espionage interrogation room-no cameras. Get moving!"

     "Yes, Madam." The giant Red Alien Aisha bowed, motioned to two officers, and took off.

     ******

     "There!" gasped DeSoni, clinging to Rocky's neck. "That door on the end with the diamond symbol-it's an emergency exit!"

     "And if this ain't an emergency, I don't know what is!" gasped the Ruki in relief. He skidded to a halt in front of the exit. "Do I bash through it?"

     The Alien Aisha runaway glanced at the countdown. 1.14…1.13… "YES! No time for anything else! As soon as that countdown ends, they'll send in their poison gases squad to examine the problem. And since there isn't really a problem-"

     Rocky tried to get a grip on the door, only to find he couldn't. The metallic surface was nearly slippery, it was so smooth. "Oh, Miamice and Feepits!" he groaned, scrambling for a hold. His claws caught on the upraised diamond symbol. "Better than nothing!" he said, and twisted and pushed at the same time.

     DeSoni's eyes were glued to the countdown. 0.57…0.56…0.55…

     The door finally gave under Rocky's super-strength, opening outward. The sky shone blue and the grass green. It was a direct exit to outside.

     "YOU HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!" bellowed a voice behind the two friends.

     DeSoni glanced back and Rocky felt his grip tighten. "It's Galba! RUN!!"

     "DON'T YOU-" suddenly the two seemingly disappeared. "Go… anywhere?" he concluded, lowering his tri-phaser Neutrono Blaster. The two lieutenants finally caught up with their commanding officer. The shoved-open door and Galba's shocked face were all the answer they needed.

     "Um, orders sir?" asked one, pulling out his own weapon and making as if to dash out the door.

     The giant Red Alien Aisha shook his head, blinking a few times to collect his thoughts. "Stand down, lieutenants. Nothing we can do here." The two nodded. Galba rubbed his earstalks angrily, then flicked on his communicator.

     He took a deep breath and opened a channel to the Madam Commander.

     ******

     "Oh, by Fyora's crown! I'm sore," groaned Rocky, stumbling as they reached DeSoni's Fix-It shop.

     "Interesting," said the tiny Aisha thoughtfully, hopping down from his friend's back. "It would appear that the potion may give you the ability to use superpowers, but doesn't lessen the strain of the potent forces on your actual physical muscles."

     "Whatever," mumbled Rocky, pushing the door open and stumbling to a sofa needing reupholstering. He collapsed onto it and closed his eyes. "All I know is I ache and I'm exhausted. I feel like I spent the day in the Battledome…"

          DeSoni pulled open a cabinet and popped open a Dewberry Reviver, which he passed to his tired friend. "Here you are, Rocky. Thanks a ton for today."

     Rocky downed the whole potion, closed his eyes while it did its job, then opened them and sat up. "No prob, Soni. Just don't make me do it again anytime soon," he said, chuckling to take the seriousness out of the words.

     "Just don't use your superpowers until we can get some sort of blocker to stop them tracing us, okay? If you don't use the powers, the signature should fade. Got it?"

     "Yeah, sure, buddy. What now?"

     "We could go catch a movie? See what's playing at the Disney Theatre on High Street?"

     And the two friends set off to enjoy the last few hours before their owners would expect them home.

     ******

     Commander Galba stood at attention, though his earstalks drooped in shame. "I am sorry, Madam Commander. I was too late. I should've realized it was a trick long before our emergency squad discovered the broken water-vapor coolant main and the crude Neopian timepiece up-linked to our framework."

     The Madam Commander leaned back in a swirl of starry robes. "So, Derek Sonix has escaped again."

     The Red Alien Aisha commander looked down at his feet and didn't answer. His leader suddenly sighed and stood up.

     "Very well. It is time for us Alien Aishas to move on anyway. Even without Derek Sonix, I still feel it is in our best interests to establish peace with Neopia. Get me a secure channel to the Space Faerie. Oh, and Galba?"

     The commander turned back to face her.

     "I never want to hear the name Derek Sonix spoken again. Yes? He is persona non grata on our home world and among all Alien Aishas. Move him from the traitor files to the blacklisted files. You and your department are to no longer waste resources chasing him, but he is still never to return to our planet or make personal contact with any of us."

     "Yes, madam."

The End

Thanks for getting through my new series! What did you think? Let me know! And I'm always open to suggestions, ideas, and just plain comments and chats! If you want more DeSoni and Rocky adventures, you'd better tell me! See ya next time.