| Also by adoriblelapin
JadePaw appeared from the sky and swooped down. “I’m
sorry,” she apologized guiltily. “It swung me off… but I managed to find my
way back.”
The others accepted her apology with ease and
continued as though she had never left their side. Charl panted, as they had
just departed from the laboratory, the other three winged Neopets landing beside
him. He looked at them, then shook his head. “We’ll have to devise a plan of
some sort.”
SilverEmerald nodded in agreement, thinking
hard. If they departed from the group and each went their own way, anything
could happen without the other knowing. Staying together would mean they were
strong, but also meant that they were easily spotted. There only option left
would be…
“We have to split up into groups,” SilverEmerald
stated, JadePaw and Lappiny giving her a slight nod. “How about me and JadePaw
and Lappiny and Charl? We need one Neopet in each team to know their way around,
like Charl and I, but we also need someone who can assist.”
The other three concurred intently, going into
their groups swiftly. SilverEmerald glanced at them, her gaze slow. “We’ll meet
back at the secret lab. Let’s go.”
***
“Hey Charl, let’s go that way. We’ll free the larger Neopets first so that
they can help.” Lappiny suggested, holding one of the cage keys. The cage keys
could open any cages around the zoo or in the laboratory and there were an uneven
five of them.
Charl smiled, also getting his key ready. “Good
idea. We’ll stick together and then head to the building.”
“Should we—” Lappiny began, but Charl had already
bounded toward the cages, unlocking as many as he could. Lappiny followed close
behind.
The cloud Shoyru reached an unusually large
Lenny’s cage, slipping the key through the hole of the cage and opening the
door with a creak. He tossed the Lenny one of the cage keys and told him, “Please
help us unlock some of the cages. We need your aid.”
The Lenny nodded and quickly unlocked the cages.
With Charl, the Lenny, and Lappiny, they made a good team and completed that
section quickly. Charl gathered all the released pets and explained, “The Lenny
over there has the cage key. Your objective is to free as many Neopets as you
possibly can together and help each other when needed. When you think you have
all of them, go home immediately.”
Charl and Lappiny hurried to the building. Lappiny
looked puzzled and asked, “Shouldn’t we go help them?”
The Tuskaninny shook his head. They had almost
reached the building already and his reply finally came. “I’m afraid we can’t.”
“Why are we waiting here? Shouldn’t we go to
the lab—” the cloud Shoyru inquired as they clambered inside, his heart racing
with excitement. At least that was why Lappiny’s heart was thumping so loudly;
Charl had another reason. He took out a weapon given out to all guards, which
was on his belt strap and pointed it to Lappiny’s direction.
“THIS is why. I’m sorry, little Shoyru, I had
to do this.”
Lappiny had been betrayed. His mind whirled
and he attempted to relieve it by questioning Charl further. “Why are you doing
this?”
Charl smirked, still holding the weapon firmly.
“I’m keeping my side of the deal. Azaarx and Tandard offered me a robotic wing
if I followed you through the trail and led you here. I could have done it sooner
but I guess my heart was softened with pity for you fellows.”
“You DO know that this could mean betraying
the whole of Neopia, right?” Lappiny asked hopefully, wishing the Tuskaninny
would change his mind.
“That wouldn’t matter much to me,” admitted
Charl, making Lappiny’s heart sink. “I have the wing. I can get out of here
before anything happens. I think you winged Neopets have taken your wings for
granted. Wings are more precious than they look, it seems.”
“Hold on here…” the cloud Shoyru called. “You
mean you’re going to fly out of Neopia? You can’t do that! There’s thinner air
up there and it’s colder as you go up. It’s DANGEROUS!”
The Tuskaninny looked rather angrily at him
but his expression became cool again. He chuckled his ironically warm laugh
and said, “You’re saying this job isn’t? Now, enough talk and get into the cage,
little Shoyru.” and sounded exactly like a criminal.
***
"Come on, we need your help to free the others!" the anxious Draik pleaded
as she pulled open the door to the cage, allowing a grateful looking Skeith
to slink out of the cage.
Their joined efforts had proven successful;
the two sisters had managed to free a dozen Neopets. An abundance of flight-worthy
Neopets scurried around. A Christmas Zafara flew on her powerful wings over
to a cage where she and a Scorchio wrenched open the door to another cage, allowing
a appreciative Elephante to flitter out on her minute wings.
Suddenly a group of guards came out of nowhere,
holding Frost Cannons. They fired their weapons with looks of malevolent mirth
portrayed on their faces, freezing a quartet of Neopets.
"Not so fast!" SilverEmerald exclaimed as she
flew over. She exhaled deeply, emitting a torrent of crimson flames at her frozen
companions. The flames melted the ice away, allowing the pets to fly away. SilverEmerald
charged at the assailants, breathing a slew of flames at them.
"Come on Silver, leave them! We have to find
out where Lappiny and Charl got to!" JadePaw exclaimed angrily as she looked
from left to right looking for their friends.
"I don't know," the Tyrannian Shoyru replied,
"I've heard some of the pets whispering a Shoyru was taken away, but it might've
been one of the freed pets attacking a guard."
The livid expression on her sister's face told
SilverEmerald that the Draik didn't believe that. Before she could stop her,
JadePaw soared into the night sky followed by SilverEmerald.
"LAPPINY!" the Draik bellowed, scanning the
ground below her. "WHERE ARE YOU?" All of a sudden something came in contact
with the Draik.
SilverEmerald watched in dismay as she helplessly
saw her sister, encased in a knoll of red ice. The Shoyru didn't have to watch
for long, for she was soon following suit and found herself encased in a similar
mound of blue ice. Two guards laughing gleefully as they saw the two dragon
sisters falling helplessly to the cement ground below.
To be continued...
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