I laid back in my chair, sipping a fresh cup of borovan. I hated the stuff, but it kept me awake on these long nights. I kicked my feet up on my desk. My former assistant insisted it wasn't very lady-like to do so, but it sure made passing the hours more comfortable. I just needed one client… one Neopet in trouble, to make my time worth it.

As my mind wandered, and the music on the record player came to a close, I noticed a stain on my dress and started blotting it out with my tongue. But in this moment of vulnerability, that’s when it happened. Without even a knock, a new face popped burst in, soaking wet, the music skipped back to the start of the record.

“Well, hello there.” I asked her, quickly taking my feet off the table before she noticed

“Oh! Hello.” the begraggled and stressed looking Purple Cybunny wrung some of the rainwater out of her ears. “This is the office of Belinda D. Brockworth, P.I.?” she asked desperately.

“That’s me alright.” I put on a charming smile. My smile was genuine: This could be my big break for this week. “What seems to be the problem?” I asked, handing her a scrap of terrycloth to dry herself with.

“Oh it’s terrible. I’m in a real bind. Before I can tell you about it, you have to promise me secrecy!” She thanked me for the towel and started getting the rain out.

“Of course.” I leaned on my desk. “Discretion is my middle name.”

“Well, it happened last week. I had just left the Art Center that night when...”

Her lips trembled, and I could see that the Cybunny was trying to hold back tears. I politely nudged the box of tissues on my desk towards her, and she took one, dabbing at her eyes for a few moments before continuing.

“I searched that alley as well as I could, but there was nothing there—not Mr. Dottington, and not the other Petpet I thought I’d heard. I called his name until I went hoarse, but he didn’t come running.” She sniffled. “I thought… at first I thought maybe he’d just slipped his leash, somehow. I didn’t hear anyone nearby, and the lights were only out for a few moments, and surely I’d have noticed someone getting close enough to—to Petpetnap my sweet baby—so at first I just did all the things you do for a lost Petpet. I checked at the shelter; I put up signs. But…” She sniffled, then dabbed at her eyes again. “I got a note two days ago, shoved into my mailbox”

She rummaged in her bag for a moment, then handed me a crumpled piece of paper. I took it and gave it a once-over.

It looked like one of those stereotypical ransom notes—with letters cut out of newspapers or magazines and pasted together to make a message—but there was no ransom request. Instead, it just said:

yoU wILl gEt HiM baCk whEn ThE sHow iS dOnE aNd tHe bEst peTpEt hAs WoN

“Someone stole my sweet baby,” said the Cybunny. “He’s probably so scared right now, and I—I heard about you, that you’re good at finding things—can you help me?”

I nodded. “I’ll certainly do my best. But what’s the show the note mentions?”

“There’s a big Petpet show coming up—the Golden Paw Championship,” said the Cybunny. “I was going to enter him, but… that’s not my biggest concern, right now. The show’s not for two more weeks, and I can’t just leave him in the hands of some awful Petpetnapper for two whole weeks—and who knows if they’d even actually give him back? They said ‘when the show is done and the best Petpet has won,’ so if the Petpet they want to win doesn’t… I just can’t risk it. But I’m also afraid of what might happen if the Petpetnapper finds out I’ve hired an investigator—please, you can’t tell anyone I’ve hired you.”

“Of course,” I said, nodding. I thought of Misty, my Doglefox. Or, well, the Doglefox I’d once called mine. But then Eleanor and I had had our falling-out, and I’d had to move to a dingy little apartment that didn’t allow pets.

I hated the thought of anything bad ever happening to her. The only comfort I had about the whole… situation… was that I knew Eleanor would take good care of Misty. Lots of treats, lots of pats, lots of walks, lots of exercise in the garden of the house I’d once called mine…

“I’ll find your Warf,” I said. “But first, I need to go over some things with you…”

I paused a moment. “And also, what’s your name? I don’t think you mentioned it earlier.”

“Oh!” said the Cybunny. “My name’s Violetta. Violetta Merriwell.”

The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. I supposed I came across a lot of names in my line of work, though.

“All right,” I said, laying the thought aside for a moment. “Now, I need to ask you a few questions...”

I had her go over everything she remembered—asked her about people who might have had motive to take Mr. Dottington, about people who would have known she’d been planning to be at the Art Center that night, about any little thing that seemed like it might be relevant, and all the while I was scribbling notes in shorthand.

As it turned out, there was rather a lot of drama involved in the Petpet show scene. It wasn’t something I was terribly familiar with; Misty had been many things, but a show-dog had never been one of them. She’d been a rescue from the shelter, not a purebred pedigreed premium pup.

“All right,” I said after a while. “I think that’s about it. If you could just put down your contact information right here—” I handed her a pen and a scrap of paper, “—I’ll get on the case.”

“Thank you,” said Violetta, after she’d finished writing. “Thank you so much. Please, if you find out anything—anything at all—please, please let me know as soon as possible. I’m just sick with worry.”

“Of course,” I said. “Here, let me show you to the door.”

After ushering Violetta back out into the cold, rainy, windy night, I sat back down at my desk.

I took a deep breath. Time to get back to work. It looked like I had my job cut out for me this time, but I was going to give it my all.

As I reviewed my notes, I considered my next steps…

---

The day after hiring Belinda D. Brockworth, P.I. (and Violetta couldn’t help but wonder whether Discretion was really what the D stood for), Violetta went to meet a friend at a nearby park, like she did every week—they always spent Sunday afternoons at this park, letting their Petpets play together, and even though Mr. Dottington wasn’t with her… sitting out here on the park bench, in the sun—the rain had finally stopped—made her feel a little better.

After looking around to make sure no one was within earshot, she said “Thank you so, so much for recommending that P.I. to me. She said she’d take the job, and it’s a relief to know that knowing someone’s out there looking for Mr. Dottington.”

Her friend—a tall, graceful Faerie Kau named Eleanor—smiled. “Of course,” she said, gently scratching her Doglefox behind the ears. “I knew she’d be willing to help you...”

I shook my head, trying to clear it. The late nights must be getting to me. I stretched my arms out wide, my body groaning as I felt the tension slowly dissipate, and reached for a fresh cup of borovan. It’s going to be a long day ahead, best to keep my wits sharp.

I glanced at my pages of hastily scribbled notes, mentally ticking off the important items. The first order of business was to speak to the owner of Petpet Supplies in the Neopian Bazaar, a Yellow Chomby named Hutchison. Violetta’s trip to the Art Center was, according to her recollection, a spontaneous outing. The event only came to her attention that same morning, when she was taking Mr. Dottington out for his usual morning walk around the block. They had passed by Petpet Supplies when she spotted a few fliers posted on the store windows. Hutchison was one of the volunteers of the event and enthusiastically invited Violetta to the occasion.

Keys in hand, I reached for my well-worn tanned jacket and soft-brimmed hat, the one that Eleanor used to say made me look like a gangster instead of an investigator.

“Stop it,” I said aloud to myself. Is it because the seventeenth of the month of Running was coming up? I can’t afford to let my mind keep wandering.

I stepped out into the crisp morning air and turned toward the direction of the Neopian Bazaar. The clouds had finally parted, casting rays of sunshine onto the pavement still slick with last night’s rain.

As I hurried on, I turned my mind to the other piece of the puzzle: the Golden Paw Championship. Known as the most competitive event in the Petpet show scene, the winner gets a whopping one million Neopoints in prize money and a life-sized statue of their Petpet made of pure gold displayed in the Golden Paw Hall of Fame. Violetta knew Mr. Dottington’s chances of winning were slim, but her friends were going to enter their Warfs so she thought it would be a fun outing. A fun outing that could turn into a reality show. From what I’ve gathered, last year’s Golden Paw winner was ultimately disqualified after a kerfuffle and the runner-up ended up taking the gold. I’m not one for reading up about gossip, but this will have to be an exception. I made a mental note to grab some old copies of the Neopian Times at the Book Shop later.

Fifteen minutes later, I found myself in front of Petpet Supplies. With a list of questions in mind for Hutchison, I pushed open the door and let myself in.

The shop was quiet, with neither a shopkeeper nor any shoppers in sight. I wandered slowly down the rows of shelves, thinking of the last time I was here, buying a goodbye present for Misty. I wondered if she still played with that toy.

At the till I looked for signs saying “back in 5” and found none. I checked my watch. A quarter to nine. So I’ve been waiting at least ten minutes. Just as I decided to leave and come back later, I spotted something behind the curtain to the Employees Only section. A poster board was lying against the wall. I had just enough visibility to make out the words “...Claws & Chaos: Petpet Brawl...”

My heart sank to my stomach as the pieces came together in my mind. There was an illegal Petpet fighting ring running somewhere in Neopia Central…

My mind started to race. What if Misty had been abducted? What if my little Doglefox was in danger?

I scrambled to take my cell phone out of my pocket to call Eleanor. As I was dialling the number I had dialled so many times before, I stopped myself. I pinched the fur between my eyebrows and took a deep breath.

“No, no. I can’t be selfish. Time is of the essence and I need to think of all of Neopia’s Petpets… Not just my own.”

I knew I had to continue with my investigation, so I pulled back the curtain. No one was there.

How could Hutchison have this poster in his employee break room? Were he and his employees running this horrid ring?

“He does have a lot of connections in the Petpet community…” I thought aloud.

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities, but he seems like such a kind, caring soul. While I know you can’t always trust intuition, mine was near perfect. That’s one of the reasons why I became a private investigator in the first place.

“Hello?” I said, walking through the back of the shop and opening all of the supply closets. I even checked the bathroom. The entire store was truly empty. Hutchison wasn’t even there.

I returned to the front of the store and that’s when I noticed it. Behind the counter, there was a drink spilt and flyers scattered across the floor where Hutchison usually stands at the cash register. I walked over to pick up the flyers, stepping on the broken ceramic pieces of the Yellow Chomby’s mug.

The flyers were smaller versions of the “Claws & Chaos” poster on the other side of the store. This was the sign of a struggle… Some sort of confrontation. Maybe someone had come into the store to try to convince Hutchison to join the underground Petpet fighting ring and, when he declined, they took him by force…

I turned the shop’s sign to read, “CLOSED”, and headed out the door…

I managed to talk to the shopkeepers as well, but they weren't really clued in to the upcoming Petpet competition or were too busy to entertain me for long. Even after showing them the "Claws and Chaos" poster, some of them merely offered their condolences and the rest just shrugged it off.

It seemed really weird and suspicious that no one knew about the competition. Judging by the public's lack of knowledge about the supposedly grand Petpet event, I gradually began to suspect that it was an illegitimate competition that was being arranged by underground traders. But even with this new perspective, I still had to find a way to obtain evidence to support it.

Enquiring civilians was no longer a viable option. I didn't want to spread the word about such a horrible thing to the public. Besides, even if I encountered a Neopian who was involved in the Petpet Brawl, what were the chances that they would reveal their shady dealings to me? I shook my head at the ridiculous thought.

I recalled my meeting with Violetta yesterday. The Cybunny had mentioned that Mr. Dottington was abducted in an alleyway near the Art Center. Therefore, inspecting the crime scene would be the best next step, I thought to myself. Perhaps it'd be better to do it at night; I would be able to witness the Petpetnapping first-hand if it happened again. So I whiled away the remaining hours of daylight by preparing for my overnight stay at the back street - I headed back to my office and stuffed in my backpack a torch, a few handy tools for self-protection as well as a packet of biscuits in case I got hungry.

---

The sky had turned orange, so Violetta bid farewell to Eleanor and left the park for home. The Faerie Kau still sat on the bench as she waved to her friend. Her Doglefox was curled up in her lap, eyes drooping and snapping open occasionally as she stopped herself from falling asleep.

Once the Cybunny was completely out of sight, Eleanor pulled out her cellphone from her handbag. As if on cue, the phone vibrated. She glanced at the number that popped up on the screen and answered the call.

"Pandora speaking."

She stayed silent for the next minute as the voice on the other end of the line talked.

"Good. Make sure we get all the supplies needed. Force him using any and all means if you have to."

And with that command, she ended the call and enjoyed the view of the sunset.

---

I searched the brightly-lit alleyway, trying to spot anything that seemed suspicious or out of place. If Mr. Dottington was Petpetnapped so fast that Violetta couldn't react in time, there ought to be a secret passageway or trapdoor somewhere around here for the perpetrator's ease of access.

After a brief preliminary investigation which revealed no clues, I put my hands on my hips and tilted my neck to gaze at the sky. It was another starless night, as if the hope from the stars had fizzled out. I prayed for Mr. Dottington to be safe and sound wherever he was, and for Misty too. I also prayed for a hint to this case to show itself since I was a little stumped.

Whether it was merely coincidence or my wish had really been answered, I didn't know, but at that moment, I caught sight of...

I didn't need a PI's intuition to know where this trope was headed.

Like the good girl I was raised to be (and ultimately rejected), I stopped, I looked, and I listened. When I was sure I wasn't being followed or otherwise watched, I pressed the brick with a light tap of my steel-toed boot. Sure enough, the ground just beneath me shifted, and I jumped backward as it parted.

My heart beat faster than one of the Poogle Racers as I immediately heard the collective whimpering of Petpets. This was, undoubtedly, where Mr. Dottington had been Petpetnapped.

I lit my torch and leapt silently down into the hole, closing the trapdoor behind me. It was a narrow crawlspace and I had to duck, but there was a fair bit of light emanating from the other side of this narrow chasm; it opened to a larger area, likely part of the systems of Catacombs under Neopia.

Gingerly, I approached, extinguished my torch, and peeked my head inside.

A sense of dread deeper than most unexplored zones of the Pirate Caves washed over me. I noted about half a dozen cages harbouring mutant and mutated Petpets... Dogglefoxes, Warfs, Puppyblews, you name it, rabid, foaming at the mouth... These were definitely Claws and Chaos contestants. And there was an Aisha feeding them some formula that looked more green and twisted than Sophie's Staff... on Illusen's Day. "Ah yes," he cooed in an admittedly high-pitched voice, "you are going to do so well in the ring."

He checked his cell phone, grumbled, and then immediately dialled someone; it seemed to me as though he missed an important call. "Kaman speaking, sorry I missed your call earlier." Bingo -- as I've said, my instincts are more spot on than a Polka Dot Paint Brush. "Oh, yes, we're back on track. Enough threats broke that Chomby's resolve and as we speak he's currently retraining Mr. D into the perfect weapon." I figured out immediately the Aisha had been referring to Hutchison and Mr. Dottington; on one paw, I thought I might be so lucky as to find Mr. Dottington here, but on the other paw I was happy he wasn't among this mutated lot.

But what possibly could Hutchison be training Mr. Dottington for? What training was so important that this band of criminals kidnapped Hutchison? And what did that Aisha mean by "weapon"? I was certain it had to do with the Golden Paw Championship, which must have been so elite that it just simply wasn't on the radar of the ordinary, working class Neopians I'd asked earlier.

"Zafara, eh?" the Aisha asked. "Alright, I'll be on the lookout."

Zafara?

...Me?

The call ended, and he returned to his task.

Using my skills at stealth, I snuck up behind him. Before he knew what was coming, I made my attack using provisions from my pack. Not even giving him a chance to scream, I had him gagged, blindfolded, and tied up... it wasn't my best work, and though I preach consent and discretion, an exception seemed to be warranted in this case. He whimpered and struggled on the ground, but was none the wiser as to my identity; mmm, this would do. I smiled with more satisfaction than Skarl feels after eating 42 drumsticks in a row.

Without hesitation, I tore open the cages and the Petpets leapt out with gleeful yips. Much as I wanted to join them as they raced down the hall toward the trap door and their ultimate freedom, I thought to sleuth around for clues.

I noted only a few useful pieces of evidence: a small journal, the bottle of the formula the Aisha had been feeding the Petpets, and the Aisha's cell phone. I took them all, and would study them later. My Aisha companion writhed about like his life depended on it -- and, had I not been such a good cop, it very well could have. But I also knew his binds wouldn't last forever.

Deciding I'd scoped the area out enough and committed to memory what I could, I flew down the corridor to the trapdoor, where the Petpets had been dutifully waiting. I opened the trapdoor and we all jumped out. And then I ran -- after all, based on the phone call, it sounds like someone had been expecting me! Once I was far enough from the Catacombs that I was sure no one of any relevance was coming after me, I checked my treasures from the scene.

First, I looked at the cell phone. It was a cheap burner phone, and though it was password protected, I was sure I'd be able to answer incoming calls -- and I was no dummy, but I was even surer I could imitate Kaman's voice and greeting. I knew those acting classes and drag workshops would come in handy, eventually!

My eyes narrowed. I could still see a notification advising a missed call from one "Pandora", the call that Kaman had likely responded to; given his hurriedness to reply when he realized he'd missed it, I was sure Pandora must have been someone important in the organization. I rolled the name around in my head... Pandora, Pandora. What sort of unleashed chaos was a Pandora, anyway? And then I noted the phone number... why did it look more familiar to me than a cheap Shirley Techo on a Tuesday evening?

Putting that on the back burner, I chose to leaf through the journal. Disappointingly, there didn't seem to be a lot written, but I did note the syndicate seemed to be called the Union of Super Secret Rebels, that they were definitely behind Claws and Chaos, that they had a hand in fixing other competitions (and seemed to have money tied up in the Golden Paw Championship), and -- the only finding that truly piqued my interest -- that the attack on Violetta was motivated because she was, in fact, exceedingly rich.

By the number of NP signs drawn around the Cybunny's name, I had to estimate her coffers were even bigger than those of someone in desperate need of Kikoughela Syrup -- and that the Rebels wanted in on some of that dough. I then recalled that the Merriwells were heirs to the prestigious Battle Magic fortune -- that was why her name had sounded familiar. (It seemed like my middle name stood for "D'oh!" on that one.) But how would they get it out of her? Would they ransom Mr. Dottington after all?

The rest of the pages were blank. Blank... or written with invisible ink? But I'd have to put that idea to the test later.

I panicked as I realized the phone was ringing...

"Kaman speaking," I began once I accepted the call, adjusting my voice to make it slightly higher in pitch (mine was already shrill to begin with but his was even higher). My introduction came out a little awkward and uncertain. I paused, not knowing what else to say.

"Well?" a gruff voice simply asked.

Well what? Was Kaman supposed to report something?

"The Petpets have been fed," I cooed, then switched the focus onto him instead. "How are things going on your end?" Perhaps I could glean some information from him.

"We're working on it," he said shortly. "What're you going to do next?"

Not only did my enquiry fail but it backfired on me. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of my forehead as I wracked my brain for a vague answer. "I'll keep an eye on these Petpets a little longer. I think some of them still need to drink more of the stuff," I finally replied, straining to keep my voice level. Maintaining a high-pitched voice was harder than I thought it'd be.

"Let me hear their snarls."

An odd request, and one that I couldn't fulfil since I freed the Petpets just now. "They're quite inert today." A poor excuse but I prayed to the stars that they would buy it.

Oh, right. The sky was void of stars tonight.

"Are they."

Why did that voice sound so much louder all of a sudden? I whipped my head around and swallowed.

In front of my eyes were three beefy Neopets - a Chomby, a Skeith and a Quiggle - all wearing black cloaks and lopsided grins. The Quiggle had a cellphone raised to his ear, which he brought down and flipped the cover shut. I heard the line on my phone end with a beep immediately after.

"Well well well. If it isn't the Zaf Pandora warned us about," the Chomby mocked me, snickering.

"At least that Kaman fool knew to alert us with his emergency signal," said the Skeith in a low voice.

How did the Aisha escape that quickly? I didn't have time to ponder that though; I had to find a way out of this situation stat...

With my free hand, I shoved Kaman's phone into a pocket. This unfortunately left an opening as I began to ran past the Quiggle, and I felt the Chomby shove me hard. I fell over, but quickly spun to my feet, just in time for the Quiggle to get their bearings. I got to my feet, but the Skeith grabbed my arm. So I flipped my arm to twist the Skeith around. I was just about to shove him to the ground when I felt someone grab me and pull me backwards. I elbowed my assailant, but the Skeith recovered and grabbed my arms from the front while someone cast a blindfold over me.

I was trained. But clearly, so were they. Of course those running an illegal battle ring would.

"You're as skilled as she warned," the Chomby commented.

"But still three against one," the Quiggle chuckled. "Bring her to the cells. And give her a good shove for me."

***

I was indeed shoved unceremoniously into some sort of cell before I heard a clack as it locked behind me.

"Notify Pandora. She'll want to know about this. Quince, watch the door. If anything funny happens, call us immediately."

I heard footsteps disappearing as I attempted to work my bonds. They tied up my hands well, but with some finagling, I should be able to remove the blindfold, at least--

"Here, let me help," Came a whisper from behind. And indeed, the blindfold fell before my eyes, and I found myself in one of the same cages as the Petpets, with plenty of room to crawl but barely enough room to stand. From below, it looked even more of a grimy and grim fate. At least the Petpets were free. I hoped to guide the Petpets home or to a temporary shelter, but I could only hope they could find their way.

"Now your hands." My assistant came in front of me, when I realized-

"Violetta Merriwell?" My eyes went wide in shock.

"Oh, you know me?" Violetta responded as she worked my hands. "I suppose I would be, but I don't think we've met."

"What are you saying? You stopped by my office, told me your Warf, Mr. Dottington, had been Petpetnapped. That's why I'm here; I was investigating the case."

"Oh. Oh no..." Violetta sighed as she continued to work. "I knew they'd try something like this. After they stood me up, of course they'd be able to afford the morphing potion and paint brush. And if you hadn't met me, of course you wouldn't know different."

I blinked. "So... Someone impersonated you?"

"Yes. I was kidnapped... I think days ago," Violetta confirmed. "Part of a long-standing dispute with my fortune, though I had no idea it had gone this deep, or that they were doing something so uncouth. I assumed they were just going to ransom me. But it makes sense when I think about it. My aunt never liked how I got the fortune and moved away from Battle ventures. But some of my family could be vicious; Battle always put a bad taste in my mouth. Still, I never thought that they'd be cruel..."

"But it's strange..." I sat in thought, putting my now-free hand to my chin. "They can't keep you here forever. And why would they send an impostor of you to hire me, a P.I., against this very investigation? We're not related in any way, and I'm certainly not the only P.I. in town. Battle is not my main goal, and as for Petpets, my... my Doglefox lives somewhere else now."

"You have a Doglefox? Were they here?"

"Her name is Misty. And had a Doglefox." I sighed. "Thank goodness I didn't see her here. Eleanor has her now. I'm sure she's taking good care of her."

"Eleanor?" Violetta asked.

I sighed. Eleanor... Once more I felt my heart sink and my thoughts wander. "The one mystery I haven't solved, how we were so close, and now how it feels like a chasm between us. Maybe I was too busy with work. Maybe something happened. But suddenly I couldn't reach her. Little things became arguments when we'd have just laughed it off before." I put my face to my knees. "I don't know how it happened. But we're apart now. And I should focus on the case."

Violetta sat next to me. "Well of course you can't focus; your whole world shifted. I'm sorry it happened to you. I've felt this way before. And things like this... Maybe something happened, or maybe there were always cracks. I know this may be hard for a P.I. to hear, but sometimes there are things we'll just... never know. And we cope how we can."

"I might just be able to provide a clue," came a voice.

Not an old voice, not by any means.

My head shot up, but Violetta shouted first. "Pandora!"

Pandora...

I stood at the familiar Faerie Kau before me, and in that moment, I could feel my heart drop to its deepest despair...

How will this story end?

My heart sank even deeper. So it HAD been my fault, this whole time. All the things I lost to her... My NeoHome. My life. It had been my fault.

"Poor, poor, Belinda," Eleanor mocked, "didn't even know how your job drove us apart." She looked straight into my eyes... and I didn't think I could see a soul behind her orbs. "The 'D.' stands for 'dunce', my dear. And you're going to be in here for a long time."

No, she hadn't taken my life. I still had my job, and with that job, my dignity. My composure strengthened, and at once I felt like I could knock out that Coconut Shy Quiggle with a taste of his own medicine.

"Give me Misty," I started, biting back a snarl. "Now."

Eleanor barked a staccato laugh. "As we speak, Misty -- Mist' D -- is being trained by the greatest Petpet Trainer in all Neopia, being trained for the greatest match in all Petpet battling!"

I grit my teeth. My Petpet... Mine! Being trained for some kind of kind of vicious, dangerous match!?

Violetta bared her fangs, scowling more than Edna the Tower Witch... the day after Halloween. I figured it had to do with this direct challenge to her seeming pacifism and anti-battle stance.

"The Claws and Chaos?" I answered with a smirk that would give Chadley a run for his money.

The Kau crossed her arms and harrumphed, as though I wasn't supposed to be privy to this information.

"The very same..." my insignificant other trailed. "The very same that YOU interfered with, letting many of our contestants go AWOL! I'm not sure if the show can continue, now, this year... but this will give her a good head start for next year!" She cackled. She came up to my cage, leaned in, and gave me a single kiss -- the kiss of death. "Good luck finding Misty, Belinda. You'll need it.." she trailed ominously before her and her entourage exited the cavern.

All except Kaman, who stayed behind. He pointed at me and looked at Belinda. "I want double for releasing her, too," he squealed in his high-pitched voice. "Actually, triple, she's a wily one."

Belinda sighed and handed over the cash. He grinned and unlocked the cage.

"Oh, and I know where Misty is," the Cybunny whispered to me.

My eyes went wider than a pair of Yooyuballs, as she let me see a map she had on her cellular device. I committed it to memory, thanked her profusely, and we parted ways.

***

Violetta smiled thinly as she exited the Art Centre, her mind flitting back to the events from earlier.

For years now, her Aunt had wanted to be rid of those thieving Rebels and their annual Claws and Chaos, this year's match was scheduled for the end of the week. Such an ugly, crass, pedestrian version of her family's signature event for the elitist of Neopia's elite -- the Golden Paw Championship. An annual contest where impoverished Neopets would enter their Petpets into an absolute bloodbath of a competition, winner takes all, all for a stake at 100 million Neopoints. Meanwhile, the elite Neopets invited along would make bets and simply enjoy the entertainment.

So, she found Eleanor, whom her family's intel had gleaned was involved in the upper ranks of those ugly Rebels. She got on Eleanor's good side through befriending her at the park. Eleanor even shared with Violetta where the Kau worked... OK, she hadn't willingly shared, but the Cybunny discretely planted a tracker bug on Misty. That was how she knew Eleanor's rough work location was near the Art Center -- part of the Catacombs, no doubt -- and that there were lots of Petpets making noise (which made sense given their literal racket) just before the signal went silent. The Dogglefox must have gone too far into the cave system. (Though, when both the tracker and receiver were underground, well, that was another story. And the signal did appear and move sporadically outside the Caves... that Mist sure was a busy pupper.)

When Eleanor asked to meet Mr. Dottington -- whom Violetta had talked about but who didn't actually exist -- Violetta panicked and lied saying he'd been stolen. That lie escalated. Though she didn't have to follow Eleanor's advice, she figured that the leader of the Rebels must have a good reason for wanting this Belinda D. Brockworth involved... And she didn't want to lie to Eleanor, not when she had made this much progress. But she could also massage the truth a bit. So, she went to Belinda, and told the Zafara the evidence that she, Violetta, knew. After all -- why do the dirty investigative work when you can let someone else do it for you?

She'd clandestinely followed Belinda as the Zafara did her sniffing around the Art Centre. Again, Violetta knew the general location of where the Rebels housed their Claws and Chaos Petpets, but she couldn't get a signal on her receiving cellular device from Misty's tracker. But, Belinda would find the entrance, and Violetta would wait around -- this was the Cybunny's plan. She would just so happen to "bump" into the Zafara, claiming that her lonesomeness without Mr. Dottington prompted her to return to the scene of the crime. She was sure that she could get Belinda to spill what she knew about the case, and then Violetta could come back with other members of her family to rough up the Rebels and their travesty called the Claws and Chaos.

Unfortunately, it was a starless night, and Violetta couldn't keep up with that quick Zafara and quickly lost her in the shadows. And then Eleanor -- who had just returned from dropping Misty off somewhere in the Caves -- found Violetta; the Cybunny knew her cover had been blown. Trying to win favour, she revealed that Belinda was nearby, but that almost made things worse.

Getting captured and stuffed in a cage beside the obvious Claws and Chaos contestants hadn't been in Violetta's plans. Yes, it did not take much convincing to get Kaman to release her for a large sum of Neopoints -- prompting him to draw something in his journal, something stupid no doubt, and in so doing he missed a phone call from someone. She taunted him about it, and he flipped, covering her cage in a sheet. She sighed, checked her cellular device -- which now had signal to Misty, but no signal to the outside world -- and decided to get some rest until Kaman decided he was ready for his Neopoint reward.

She woke to the sounds of heavy whimpering and the rattling of her cage bars. She forced the sheet off, reached through, and, smirking, untied the sullen Aisha. She looked around and saw the now absence of Petpets, and figured out what must have happened.

Belinda coming and releasing the Petpets -- as Violetta herself had intended to do with information gleaned from Eleanor -- had been a boon... though not necessarily an unexpected one.

Violetta, of course, falsified her whole duplicate story to Belinda when the Zafara was captured and trapped in her cell -- as the Cybunny figured would happen when Kaman was freed and he used his distress signal.

Belinda certainly seemed none the wiser. Indeed, by tying her family's signature event for the elitist of Neopia's elite -- the Golden Paw Championship -- to the "fake" Violetta under the apparent auspices of the Rebels, the Cybunny was sure Belinda would think the whole Golden Paw Championship non-existent, thereby preserving its clandestine nature. Another part of her plan.

Nevertheless, all things considered, perhaps she owed Belinda a favour after all. And that was precisely why she helped Belinda find her missing Misty. OK, and to get back at Eleanor for sticking her in the cage in the first place.

Violetta's thin smile slowly became a wider one. Yes, she might have to morph herself after this, but her Aunt and family would be pleased by the favourable turn of events. The Claws and Chaos was ruined this year, and with some further meddling those Rebels would be taken down once and for all.

It was nice to be an heir to the Battle Magic fortune.

***

With the help of that 'bunny, I'd finally gotten out of my situation stickier than someone's freshly used sticky hand. I have no idea how she knew exactly where Misty was, or how she convinced the guard to let us go free (OK, well, the latter had just been her flaunting her wealth), but she ended up being a big help. Did she have eyes on the inside? Anyway, something told me that wasn't the last I'd be seeing of her.

Anyway, I was in and out, one and done... OK, maybe four and done. Either way, the place wasn't heavily guarded, and henchman went down easy. Almost too easy. I rescued Hutchinson, liberated Misty, and fled out a back entrance I found, dashing away from the scene of the crime.

Now that I had time to myself and my Dogglefox, my heart skipped a beat... and it wasn't arrhythmia. I clutched Misty, hugged her, and cried, promising that I wouldn't let her go, ever.

But I won't tell you about all the gushy details, that would be too boring! Instead, I'll skip ahead to--

Kaman's cell phone rang... And I hesitated. Why did I still have it on me? Didn't everyone KNOW I still had it on me? I mean, I could just throw it away like nothing ever happened.

The call was coming from Pandora. No... Eleanor.

Swallowing my fears, I answered it in a high-pitched masculine voice. "H-hello? Kaman speaking."

"Yes, 'Kaman'," the voice started, emphasizing my stolen pseudonym. "It's Pandora. Thanks for your help today, it was nice to see you. Meet me at our spot at dawn. Bring Mr. D."

I nodded... slowly. I knew this was absolutely not what I should be doing... But Eleanor wanted to see me. Not Kaman. Me.

But... she hated me. Didn't she?

My P.I. instincts told me not to go. But they were batting... well, more than a third right on this case so far, anyway. This story really wasn't my best work, all things considered.

So... I bit the bullet and decided to go. It was a good thing my teeth were bulletproof.

***

By chasing_stars44

I found myself walking down an uneven path into the forest outside of Neopia Central. If you could even call it a path, at least. Hard to walk and any footprints I might have left behind were nigh visible. The canopy above my head was thick, blocking most of the already dim light of twilight. Whenever we took this path before, it was always during the middle of the day, not its very beginning.

After some walking, I saw her. Eleanor. She was sitting on a downed tree, looking down at Misty. Misty was chewing on a stick, likely salvaged from nearby. Rustling foliage alerted her to my presence. Her gaze reached mine and she smiled.

Our spot. The spot where we first--

"It's good to see you," she said kindly, breaking my reverie. "I thought you wouldn't come."

"Of course I'd come," I replied. I walked up to her and sat down beside her. "Thank you for contacting me."

"Of course. I had to get away somewhere from the potential of being watched." Eleanor chuckled and looked up at the dark sky. "Lovely, isn't it?"

"You always did like the inky black nights."

"It offers more room for mystery, don't you think?" She grinned at me. "Perfect for noir."

Eleanor and I stared up at the sky for a moment. Eleanor placed her hand onto mine. I leaned on her shoulder. It was nice. Comforting. More familiar than Sophie's Meowclops.

"Why?" I found myself asking. "Why did you do this?"

Eleanor gave a soft, sad laugh. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to protect Misty."

"You joined the Claws & Chaos so you could protect Misty?"

"No no... Let me start over. I said work drove us apart. It did. I never told you before, I couldn't... but I'm currently working from the inside to bring down the Rebels. That's why I left you. You're in the same line of work and we just... can't be too close, right now." She paused. "I left to protect you." She sighed. "But I got in over my head. As a member of the upper circle, I was expected to have my Petpet fight in the Claws & Chaos. And, well... I couldn't refuse. I couldn't blow my cover. It had to be you, it always had to be you to come and rescue her. So, the moment I saw the chance to bring you into stopping it, I knew I had to seize it."

I frowned and wondered what opportunity she'd meant... but decided that was a question best left for another day.

"But now," Eleanor swallowed a lump in her throat, "with Misty in your hands, I'll have one less worry." She picked up my... yes, for now, my Dogglefox, and gave her a squeeze.

A silence came over us.

"So what now?" I asked, slicing through it like a knife through a Tchea fruit.

"I need to continue my work. As a high up in the Rebels and one of the Heads of the Claws & Chaos, I still have things I need to do in order to dismantle it once and for all." Eleanor held my hand tighter. "And I have to do it alone."

My ears perked up. "Alone? Eleanor, I just got to see you again, you can't leave now. And what about Misty? She'll miss you."

"Misty is safer with you." Eleanor stood up. "I know you'll take care of her. You care for her more than anybody. Know that I care about her and I care about you. More than anything, which is why I have to-"

I grabbed her hand as she began to move away. "Wait."

"What?"

"Will I ever see you again?"

Eleanor gave a soft smile. "We'll meet again. Someday. Somehow. I'll be sure of it."

We watched the sun come up, embraced each other, and then parted ways.

It looks like the case was closed on this story.

But I was Belinda D. Brockworth! P.I. extraordinaire.

And my next adventure was only a Stone's throw away...

THE END