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Rushing out of the building and to through the city,
Ajliso raced, her heart throbbing. Tears of relief flowed down her cheeks, and
she was never happier to see her crew, those smiling faces and helpful personalities,
whether they had a grudge against her or not.
Eyelle had climbed on top of Rosch, who carried
the baby Shoyru with difficulty, as it was hard to keep up with Ajliso racing
on top speed. They hopped through obstacles, running non-stop. Ajliso stopped
at the outskirts of town, where a large ship had landed itself.
“Oh Fyora,” she croaked, her voice weak. “I
can’t believe they came for me! I can’t believe it! I thought they would have
just left me here.”
Many alien Aishas marched from the ship toward
them, armed and looking very relieved. They cheered individually at her, glad
to see their former shipmate. Ajliso was stunned, and she showed it.
“They came back, and they missed me, too! They’re
so nice. They must have missed me a lot, or the commander must have bribed them
somehow,” the alien Aisha squealed, nearing them.
They gathered, and allowed Ajliso, Eyelle, and
Rosch to enter the ship. The troops welcomed them warmly, offering them some
late dinner. Ajliso accepted graciously, happy to finally have a taste of her
home food again.
The crowd entered a large eating hall, the tables
aligned with various pieces of food. Drinks were poured into their ship’s un-Neopian-like
cups, the saucers made of the same material and design. Ajliso seated herself,
beckoning Rosch and Eyelle to do the same.
The commander came from behind and shook her
hand. “Welcome back,” he greeted gruffly, before marching off through the halls.
“Thank you, everyone!” she exclaimed, her voice
practically unheard through the excited whispers. She waited for them to quiet
down a minuscule amount and said, “This baby Shoyru here, the green one with
wings, is named Eyelle. And this Doglefox, see he’s soft and not robotic, his
name is Rosch.”
Ajliso ate from her odd saucer and drank from
the goblet cheerily, chatting with the other members of the ship. She asked
how they were, what had happened, but they all seemed to say the same general
things. They were traveling round and came for her, and that was it. Ajliso
shook her head at these and said to most of them, “There must have been more
to it than that!”
Eyelle was more than happy for Ajliso, but she
was home, he was not. He missed his mother dearly, and wanted to return to what
it had been before, a life with his mother, father, and Rosch. When they were
together and having fun, even though troubles seemed to peek through their windows
everyday.
But if Eyelle brought them to Neopia Central,
they could live there and be happy for every, like paradise. The Shoyru admitted
that it was fun in the bustling city, and soon they would have many friends
and go to school.
Soon, night arrived, the crew of the ship still
greeting Ajliso kindly, and she was still at the eating hall. The alien Aisha
accepted dessert and ate it swiftly, before claiming she was very drowsy and
tired.
“It’s like the food is making me sleepy,” laughed
Ajliso with a wide yawn. Soon after, another alien Aisha escorted her through
the hall to her room, as Eyelle and Rosch simply sat at their seats, looking
at their untouched meal.
Gradually, the lights flicked off, leaving the
two sitting by the table, unnoticed by the many alien Aishas around them. Finally,
the commander confronted them and guided Eyelle and Rosch out of the hall. He
left them at a small door a few winding paces from the eating hall, as Rosch
tapped it. The door creaked open, and when they entered the pitch black room,
the metallic exit slammed shut.
Meanwhile, Ajliso was in her familiar room, smiling
as she sat on the foot of her bed, chatting with two alien Aishas she had known
for a while, Mosie and Ornikai, but like the rest, avoided her.
“I really can’t believe you came back for me!”
Ajliso confessed. “I thought you’d just leave me there, you know. My communicator
was messed up, and you guys were nearly off my radar map. It was really scary,
but I’m glad to be home. For once.”
The two Aishas merely nodded as Ajliso said this,
and only responded to questions. Ajliso asked how they were, what they had been
doing all this time, and many more basic conversational things.
Ajliso paused after questioning the duo, before
tapping her head thoughtfully, and inquiring, “What will happen to Eyelle and
Rosch? You’ll let them live here, right? Until they find their mother, of course.”
“Their mother was on board this ship,” explained
Ornikai. “A few of the team are bringing them back together, and they’re most
likely heading back home as we speak.”
“Oh,” Ajliso said. Her expression sank, as she
whispered to herself, “Without a goodbye?”
“Pardon me?” Mosie asked, most likely almost
hearing Ajliso’s musing. “Well, it’s getting late. We had better get back to
our rooms, before the commander lectures us.”
Ajliso laughed, as Mosie and Ornikai walked out
of the room. Ajliso felt lonely for a moment, turning off the light and crawling
into bed. Everything seemed to end well. Perhaps it was a little too
well for her liking. Ajliso shook this thought out of her head before she slept.
She replaced it with the fact that she was home again, she was safe, and everything
would be like how it was before.
***
Eyelle slid his bare hand along the metallic floor, trying to feel his way
around the room. Rosch sniffed the room and walked around in circles, of that
was where the trail led. They had strolled around the room, looking for something
or someone that could help them.
“Over here, over here I think!” whispered Rosch
through his translator. The Doglefox beckoned Eyelle toward them, as they neared
a wall. “There the door right there, see? I think there’s a panel of some sort
hanging beside it, and it has all sorts of different smells on it.”
Eyelle clambered onto Rosch’s back eagerly, then
leaping to the side panel and tugging on something that felt like a switch.
The wall, or door rather, opened mechanically and slowly, as they squeezed through
the door before it had completely opened.
Eyelle and Rosch made their way around the dark
halls, tapping on all the doors they could find, but none of them budged or
had any noise in them. The baby Shoyru’s heart sank. They couldn’t find Ajliso
now, and besides, if they could, they would be intruding in her happiness.
At last, the two found a previously opened door
and sneaked inside. The commander awaited them from his chair.
“Ah, how unexpected, two intruders escaping
from their little prison. If I hadn’t left the door open, what could have you
done? Spoiled my plans. Ah, that would never have been well,” the commander
said with a large grin, which did not suit his stern face.
“What do you mean?” demanded Eyelle, as the
door behind him close and the room’s lights flickered on, the sudden brightness
blinding.
The commander continued to smirk. “Meaning you
two will be disposed of, and we will capture that friend of yours with the others.
Telling others their plans is a mistake most villains make, but that is what
makes us evil. Besides, I have the most highest security and such complex plot
nobody could ever follow, except for me, of course.”
“But you’re the commander!” Eyelle exclaimed.
Rosch agreed with a “Yeah!” and neared the commander,
growling.
“You can both talk now, can you?” the commander
inquired, scratching his chin thoughtfully. As he said this, Eyelle held the
translator between his two paws tightly. The commander continued, “No matter.
I will keep you from speaking soon enough, as it is vital to my plan. As I was
saying, I will capture your friend and everyone else who has prevented us monsters
from rampaging.”
“But –” Eyelle began, the voice form his translator
speaking shakily as he was thinking his speeches. “You’re a commander! You helped
too!”
“Ah, that is what you think, little pest. All
these alien Aishas are clones of the ones I had captured. Yes, every single
one of them, except for your friend who we have found anyway. Once we have everyone,
we will guide them to our land and let them feel our wrath and anger! We will
destroy their ship, and the alien Aishas as well.”
Eyelle gasped, as Rosch stared at the ‘commander’
in disgust. The commander smiled, and suddenly was in the form of a large blob.
He slithered across the room and grabbed Eyelle and Rosch with his newly formed
hands. The monster snatched the translators and ripped them out.
“Now you can no longer talk,” the creature said
through his evil cackle. “And then I shall lead you to a secluded room, in which
you can do nothing but wait and see the result of this plot.”
The monster took hold of them once again, carrying
them through the room and to a closet. He stuffed them inside in the darkness,
Rosch whimpering and howling in sadness.
When the door was closed shut, Eyelle petted
the Doglefox in comfort and clung onto its neck. Sighing, Eyelle shut his eyes
and slept.
It felt as though a few seconds had passed when
Eyelle woke up with a jolt, Rosch no longer by his side. The Doglefox was scratching
the door helplessly, and soon Eyelle joined him.
Seconds of scratching turned into minutes, and
easily formed into an hour. Eyelle stopped and looked around the room. He could
hardly see anything in the darkness, but he looked up at the ceiling, only to
see a door with light peeking through its rims.
Eyelle pointed toward it, Rosch turning around.
The two leaped up as best they could and managed to spot a rope latter a few
heights taller than they were. They managed to grab onto the bottom and made
their way up. Eyelle and Rosch pushed the door open with much effort and climbed
out of the room.
They were on the upper level of the ship, and
saw the exit in the far distance. They ran up to it and escaped. The ship had
landed in a forest, the rays of the sun peeking through the tree leaves. Wind
and breeze rusted the leaves of the plants, the greenery swaying.
The midst of the morning greeted them, Eyelle
drawing in a deep breath. He glanced at Rosch and the Doglefox looked back.
Footsteps came from behind, as the two whirled around swiftly, only to see Ajliso
come up to them.
The Shoyru was about to explain everything to
her, from where they were, what had happened, and what the monster (disguised
as the commander) had said, but Eyelle merely opened his mouth and no sound
escaped from it.
“Hello, guys! Glad to see me? I sneaked out
of the ship earlier this morning because I wanted to see if you were all right.
By the way, where’s your mother? I would be more than glad to meet her – hey,
what’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking?”
Eyelle gasped and stared at the many troops coming
from behind Ajliso. They were armed and ready to fire, cages and nets prepared
to be of use. The Shoyru nudged his companion, Rosch growling afterwards.
“Words come from the heart,” Eyelle managed
to whisper, although anyone who heard him would not have been able to tell it
from a gurgle.
One alien Aisha came from behind and lifted her
Asparagus Powered Ray Gun to aim at the trio, as Eyelle yelled, “Look out!”
To be continued…
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