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Part Five - Discouragement
Magnolia sighed. It had been five hours since she’d been
thrown into her cell, but the hours passed quickly. She’d tried to sleep already,
but sleep refused to come. So, now she merely sat, leaning against the cold
metal wall, turning to a sleeping Sys-op periodically.
“Well, this is odd,” she finally murmured.
Sys-op opened one eye curiously. “What is?”
“Knowing I’ve failed, I mean.”
Sys-op frowned, sitting up. “That’s silly. You
haven’t failed at anything.”
“Kinda needing an unbiased opinion here, Sys-op,”
Magnolia murmured. “Think about it. I’ve known you since I was in the third
grade--of course you’re going to say that.”
“That’s because it’s true!” Sys-op hastily explained.
“When have you ever known me to not be honest? We still have a chance
as long as we’re onboard, Magnolia.”
“Oh? And how do you suggest we get out of here,
anyway?” Magnolia inquired.
Sys-op sighed. “I don’t mean immediately, Magnolia.
Sooner or later. But in the meantime, pessimism doesn’t suit you very well.”
“I know, but, still...” Magnolia looked away.
“Still what?” a voice inquired. “Still feeling
bitter? You get used to it.”
Magnolia turned around curiously. A purple Grundo
wearing a large, pink bow glanced at her. “What?” she inquired.
“And who might you be?” asked Magnolia.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the Grundo replied. “I didn’t
mean to intrude -- I’m Oosylla. Um... I was sent here as captain of a fleet
of ships -- the purpose of which was to stop The Narcissus. And... well,
unfortunately, it didn’t work out too well. I was captured and pressed for information
-- which, actually, I didn’t have too much of -- and then sent down here.”
“I see. Well, it’s nice meeting you, Oosylla,”
said Magnolia. “How long have you been here, exactly?”
“A day. Maybe longer. I’ve lost track of time,”
Oosylla murmured. “Captivity has, however, given me a good opportunity to devise
an escape plan; that’s for certain.”
“Really?” Magnolia inquired. “Do you think it’d
be enough to get us all out of here?”
“I’m not too certain,” Oosylla replied, “but
no harm comes from trying, right?”
Faerie Castle...
Fyora sighed as she flipped the front cover of a book back and forth in an
attempt to relieve herself of the sweltering heat. The sun was remorseless that
day -- even her attempts to fan herself were of no help to her. And yet, everyone
around the castle held their own fans -- the air faeries circulating weak breezes
about, knowing it didn’t help at all.
Fyora finally stood up. She remembered that there
were only one more day left to make her decision -- and she hadn’t already.
She had lost contact with Captain Oosylla and had come to the conclusion that
that mission was in vain. There was no way she was going to be able to stop
Aglyco on her own, and she knew that. She needed some sort of plan.
She reviewed her options. Perhaps she could tell
Aglyco that she would refuse to give her position as queen to her, and... and...
rely on the Space Faerie to help! Right!
...No.
There was always the option of telling Aglyco
that she would comply with her demands and then devise a cunning plan to destroy
her ship... but that was supposed to be what she was doing now.
Perhaps she could -- no, no, her magic wasn’t
that powerful. There had to be something else she could try.
She recalled an earlier meeting with the Space
Faerie. According to her, another pet -- an Aisha -- had recently attempted
to stop The Narcissus. No important news had come about concerning her,
but Fyora had a feeling that, perhaps, that Aisha might be able to help. Oh,
yes, the disco Aisha, that’s what the Space Faerie told her she was.
Disco Aisha?
That couldn’t be Magnolia -- that very same Aisha
she’d caught prancing around her castle a little less than a year ago, could
it? But then... why was the Space Faerie concerned? Did she have confidence
that this... Magnolia could actually save the world?
Fyora sighed. Maybe she could.
The Narcissus
“You’re absolutely sure that this will work?” Sys-op inquired shakily, looking
up at a confident Oosylla. “I-I mean -- I don’t know if I can do it--”
“It’ll be perfectly fine!” the purple Grundo
assured, patting the pink Kadoatie on the head in a vain attempt to make her
feel more secure. “You’ll do a great job, I’m certain.”
Sys-op only blinked, gazing at the metallic floor
of the prison where she was kept. “W-well... o-okay, I guess. I’ll t-try...”
Magnolia looked away from the small window on
the locked metal door. “Quick! Someone’s coming!” She stepped away from the
door as Oosylla and Sys-op advanced, peeking through the window as a guard came
closer.
“Psst! Hey!” Oosylla squeaked, cupping her hands
around her mouth. The Alien Aisha guard looked towards the cell curiously. “Yeah,
that’s right -- you!”
“What are you doing?” the guard inquired, raising
his weapon suspiciously. “You’re not supposed to be conversing with the guards!”
“No-no-no, wait!” Oosylla interrupted. “I think
I’ve got something that may interest you.”
“Really?” asked the guard. “And what, pray tell,
is that?”
Oosylla held Sys-op up to the window. “It’s a
rare pink Kadoatie, of course! Only one of ‘em in space.”
“Meow,” Sys-op muttered. This is degrading,
she thought miserably.
“Do you know how much these go for on Neopia?”
Oosylla inquired. The guard shook his head. “At least 200,000 Neopoints, man!”
“That’s certainly a lot,” the guard replied.
He suddenly looked mistrustful. “What are you getting at?”
“I’m saying...” Oosylla leaned forward, her voice
a low whisper. “...I’ll let you have the Kadoatie. Just think about how much
it’s worth!”
“Meow, meow!” Sys-op exclaimed. Yeah, that’s
right, I’m expensive!
“I’ll let you have the Kadoatie if it can get
this Aisha and me out of prison, see? You can do whatever you want with it --
sell it, play with it -- whatever floats your boat. What do you say?” Oosylla
questioned, a grin plastered on her face.
“Well, I haven’t been paid much here -- working
for Miss Aglyco,” said the guard. “And... what are just two prisoners, anyway?
You seem nice enough... all right, I’ll let you go.” The guard unlocked the
door and opened it.
“Thanks! You’re a really nice guy, y’know that?”
asked Magnolia.
“Glad you think so. Now... about the Kadoatie?”
The guard eyed Sys-op greedily.
“Pah! Are you kidding?” Magnolia inquired, snatching
Sys-op from Oosylla’s arms. “I didn’t think you’d actually fall for that!”
“What -- but-- hey!” the guard exclaimed
as Magnolia and Osylla ran off. “GET BACK HERE!”
Magnolia and Osylla ran through an automatically-opening
door and into an elevator. “Wait, where are we going?” asked Sys-op as Magnolia
pressed a button reading ‘3A’.
“The control room, of course!” Magnolia replied.
“Day six is almost over, Sys-op -- Neopia hits the sun tomorrow!”
To be continued...
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