All I was supposed to do was investigate this crime ring going around Altador. Nothing more, nothing less. I had no idea what I would get myself into. I knew deep in my gut that this was a bad idea, but I somehow convinced myself that it'd be okay.

Oh, the life of a private investigator.

Since I was here not too long ago and I worried I would get recognized, I decided to morph myself. I morphed myself so many times Kauvara knew me by name. This time I was a pink Aisha. Yes, nobody would recognize me as that. At least I hoped.

I had no clue what this crime ring was doing or planning to do. Robbery seemed obvious - too obvious, actually. If it was a robbery ring, than I'd know about it. Maybe fraud. Either fraud or selling dangerous information. Those were the only things I could think of at the moment. I was sure there was more.

Walking down the streets of Altador this time of year would be really nice with snow. There was no snow. Only rain and the ice on the ground that formed when the water droplets hit. That and the wind made me want to go back inside. No matter, I've faced worse. The cold rain wouldn't force me inside, especially now. I had a job to do.

"Spiryt."

I wondered how someone knew my name, but I just ignored it. My name wasn't common, but maybe it was directed at me. Besides, who would recognize me? Like I said, I morphed into a pink Aisha. I just walked by as if I heard nothing.

"Spiryt, I know you hear me."

Footsteps followed me. I tried to ignore it, pretend that I knew it wasn't me, but no, the Neopet still followed. A hand was placed on my shoulder. Feeling threatened, I turned around to confront the Neopet.

This Neopet's name was Rellow. The blue Cybunny was always able to tell if it was me no matter how many times I morphed. I was concerned to see him, considering the last time I was in Altador, seeing him was never good news...

"How could I not?" He replied with a bit of snark. "You're the only one I know who's dumb enough to walk around the city during dangerous times. C'mon, lets get out of these empty streets. You never know who's listening when you think there's no one around..."

With that, I followed him into a tavern on the eastern side of the city. It was a small place full of people and food, loud music coming from the live band in the back of the room. The atmosphere of the tavern was completely different from that of the silent, eerily empty streets of the city. Rellow led me to a table in the corner and ordered us both a steaming cup of borovan.

"You know, then? About the crime ring?" I asked, partially hoping to get some information out of him. It was concerning, however, because I knew Rellow well enough to know he didn't like confronting people until *after* they had caused some sort of trouble. Though Fyora knows I've given him his fair share of headaches in the past...

"Of course," he said flatly, "and I know you're here to investigate. For your own good, Spiryt, don't. This isn't something you can do on your own."

He looked at me with a pinch of concern in his eyes. I could tell he was at least being serious, which honestly came as no surprise seeing as how Rellow was part of Altador's tiny police force. I took a moment to consider his words before finally saying, "No can do, Rellow. I'm here with a job and you've no right to stop me."

"No right to--! I have every right to stop you!" He responded sternly, nearly spitting out his drink. "You're in over your head this time, Spiryt. Leave before you get hurt."

Hurt? Just what was going on in this peaceful city? Rellow had me, much to his dismay, more curious than ever. The Cybunny continued to look on at me with anger in his eyes, but his expression slowly changed back to that of concern. "You're a pain in my rear, Spiryt. Seriously. But... if you're so intent on investigating the city, I may be able to help you."

"HELP me?" I replied with disbelief. "Really? Why would you want to help me? You're a stuffy policeman and I'm everything you hate about private investigators."

"Stuffy? I'm not - okay, listen. You want to find out what's going on in the city, and I want to *stop* it. If we work together, we might be able to do just that. Does that work for you, miss 'everything I hate about private investigators'?"

"Alright," I said after a moment of thought, "but we play by my rules. We've got to be sneaky about this... but where do we even start?"

"There's a reason I brought us here specifically," He said slyly. After finishing off his borovan, he signaled for someone to another Neopet to come over to us. A scruffy and harsh looking Yurble sat down at our table, shaking hands with Rellow and giving me something of a stink eye. Just what have I gotten myself into...

The Yurble snorted harshly at my sudden interrogation, before he replied in a voice like gravel, "I'm your in to the group, that's who. My name doesn't matter." Shaking his head, he turned to Rellow instead of addressing me, "You sure about this Aisha? This ain't the kind of operation just anyone can step into."

"Spiryt's an old friend. She can be trusted." Rellow reassured. He was stretching about the old friend bit, but whatever it took to get information. It wasn't the first time I'd had to spin a few tales to get some gold. I didn't think a police officer, especially one like Rellow, would do the same though. Maybe the Cybunny had changed more than I thought.

Shaking my head, I put away the past and focused on the present. "Enough small talk. Let's get down to business already." The faster we finished off this crime ring, the faster I could get out of this place, and get a morphing potion. There was no point in staying like this if Rellow knew, after all. Maybe I'd get a Shoryu potion this time. I missed flying.

"Alright, then." The Yurble with no name agreed to my suggestion with a gruff nod. "The first thing you need to know about this crime ring is, no one ever knows who all the members are." Looking around the noisy tavern, he lowered his voice as he warned, "You never know who is actually part of the ring, and who isn't. So don't trust anyone."

Frowning a little, I pointed out, "Wouldn't that mean, I shouldn't trust you, either?"

"Would I be telling you all this if I was a member, little Aisha?" He replied with a scathing look.

I was not impressed. Instead, I told him pointedly, "You would, to lull me into a false sense of security, before you spring a trap on me!"

Before our fight could escalate though, Rellow shook his head and tried to steer the conversation back on track. "Spiryt, trust me. He's legit. I vouch for him, okay? So, just listen to what he has to say."

"Rellow's right," the Yurble admitted, and he returned to his speech before I interrupted. "Anyway, the other thing you need to know is, the group has this hide-out where the members meet up in. It took me a while, but I found out where it is, so I can take you there now." At this revelation, he stood up and bade us to follow. Rellow got up without hesitation, but I was suspicious. This was sounding more and more like a trap.

Still, it was the only lead I had at the moment, so I followed anyway. We followed the Yurble out the back door of the tavern. He led us around a winding path through several small alleys, before we finally stopped at an old-looking warehouse. "This is the place," he announced, once we came to a stop, far enough away that we could see it without being seen.

Just then, a cloaked figure walked towards the warehouse doors. We hid ourselves away, but I couldn't help trying to inch closer to get a better look. Before the figure slipped inside, I managed to get a glimpse of their face.

"Avery?" I whispered in shock. What was that old Gelert doing here? He was supposed to be back in Meridell...

Rellow whispered loudly, "wait! We haven't -", but cut short his sentence, wore a cloak and followed me instead. I caught sight of the Yurble shaking his head and dashing after us in my peripheral vision. It was probably a rash decision, but curiosity got the better of me.

Opening the door and stepping into the warehouse, I immediately scanned the room but Avery was nowhere in sight; it was empty except a few Neopets who were huddled in a corner, whispering hurriedly. Just then, I noticed a menacing-looking red Jetsam approaching us and I nudged Rellow and the Yurble, who entered the warehouse shortly after.

"Haven't seen ya around here before, have I?" the Jetsam looked directly at me, his tone condescending. Curses! Why didn't I wear a cloak?

The Yurble was quick-witted. "My friend here is an avid collector of rare artifacts. She's hoping to find one that she really likes, so I brought her here."

Any hint of suspicion on the Jetsam's face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of hope and glee. "Well, in that case, today's your lucky day!" and ushered us through three identical rooms, each guarded by an Elephante. It was robbery after all.

"He let his guard down all because of greed," Rellow chuckled while walking.

When we reached the fourth room, the layout was slightly different. There were three rows of rickety chairs placed behind a platform. At that moment, the Jetsam said "the auction's about to begin. Hurry up and take your seats."

We were confused but took his advice so that we wouldn't stick out like sore thumbs and sat in the last row. The auctioneer, a cloaked figure, moved to the platform and I realized that it was Avery!

I was stunned. Just as I was wondering what he could have stolen, Avery placed a fiery sword on the table for all of us to see. My shock increased tenfold and I couldn't help but gawk in utter disbelief. It was the Sword of Reif!

"How ... d-did he ..." I stuttered. "T-this is really *really* bad."

As the Neopets started betting, the Yurble, who had been silent the entire time, looked at Rellow and I. "I have a plan," he said ...

"That's exactly it! We're going to bid!" The Yurble's excitement was mounting, I could feel it.

Rellow, of course, had to ruin his happy mood. "Oh, yeah," he started sarcastically. "Cause we *really* have the money to bet against these people." He had a point. The Neopoints were getting into the millions, and everyone was going still going strong.

"Yeah, we do." The Yurble's eye's were twinkling with ecstasy. He pulled something out that made me gasp. It was even more valuable than the sword in front of us...

Rellow wore an indifferent face. "Why? What's so special with that negg?" he inquired, seeming somewhat disappointed by the look of the item that the Yurble was holding.

"It's the 00 Negg, that's what it is!" I responded. There was no way Rellow couldn't have known about this one and only negg in the whole Neopian world.

The Yurble interrupted us. "You're not quite right. It's a fake duplicate of the 00 Negg but these thieves won't notice it."

"Oh," was all Rellow could say.

"Anyway," the Yurble continued, "Rellow, leave this room secretly and inform the police force to come here immediately."

Since the atmosphere in the room felt like a Yes Boy Ice Cream concert, there was no need for Rellow to leave the room in a discreet manner, but he did anyway.

"Now," the Yurble concentrated on me, "we're going to use this item to lure Avery, and any other thieves on the way, out of the warehouse."

My panic had subdued enough for me to think rationally. That wasn't a bad idea at all. Who wouldn't want to own a one-of-a-kind item? It could sell for billions!

Waving his hand that held the negg above the crowd, the Yurble slowly retreated from the room. In a few seconds, Avery noticed and, without a doubt, picked up the sword and started inching slowly towards the Yurble.

It worked! If only the police force arrived in time, I thought to myself.

This tactic was brilliant. By the time the Yurble retraced his steps back to the warehouse entrance, the neopets - thieves and bidders alike - were scrambling to the front and frantically offering neopoints and other rare items.

I was back in panic mode again. Would this get out-of-hand? Will the police force find their way here? I prayed hard that my Aisha form wouldn't change. Just hold on a little longer. A little -

All of a sudden, the police force, led by Rellow, charged in. Although it was considered a tiny police force, they easily outnumbered the members inside the warehouse. In a matter of minutes, all the neopets were rounded up.

Some of them were whimpering, but Rellow announced, "don't worry. We're not going to arrest all of you. We'll ask all of you a few questions, and if you're innocent, we'll let you go." He smiled slightly to reassure them.

The situation was under control but there was another problem. The effects of the Aisha morphing potion was wearing off! Grabbing the Sword of Reif, I apologized to the Yurble for leaving the crime scene and sped off as fast as my Aisha legs would allow me.

Fortunately, it didn't wear off for another half hour and I managed to leave Altador safely. A few days later, the Sword of Reif was returned to Fyora and all was well.

The End.