also by tracypaper12
"Can you believe that you're gawking at a really serious
Neomail? We have to go find her!" Buffy replied to Tracy, pleading desperately.
Tracy nodded, and soon they found themselves
preparing to explore the dark of the night. They searched around their street,
calling ‘Lapinniiie’ as they strolled round the area. Buffy flicked on the flashlight
and searched nearly everywhere, in neighbourhood's garbage cans, in recycling
bins, behind bushes, and across the streets.
After nearly an hour of looking around, Tracy
shook her head.
"We'll have to wait until tomorrow, Buffy," Tracy
said sadly, but seeing Buffy's depressed expression. "It's getting really late,
and maybe Lapinnie already went home."
"Then Lapin would have Neomailed us," Buffy objected.
Buffy followed Tracy inside their NeoHome anyway,
following her owner's orders of brushing her teeth and going to bed without
any resistance. Buffy merely lay on the mattress, looking out the window of
her room, and sighing, she propped a pillow on her head and thought. She had
to look for her, and she would tonight.
The mutant Cybunny checked Tracy was indeed asleep,
and hurried down the stairs, taking her school bag and filling it with food,
paper, pencils, flashlights, and many more items she thought necessary.
Buffy left the house, locking the door behind
her. She raced through the dark streets, not knowing where she was going. Something
seemed to tell her the directions in which she should travel, although she was
not sure how or why.
Soon enough, Buffy arrived at the schoolyard
of her Neoschool. Lapinnie was sat on a clump of dirt far from the fence that
surrounded the yard. The Cybunny went inside, whispering, "Lapinnie..."
Lapinnie whirled around, surprised to see Buffy
there.
"Ohhh," she said. "Oh, hi."
"Hi," Buffy said, seating herself next to Lapinnie.
"I was wondering where you were. Tracy and I were searching for you everywhere
-- and Lapin was really worried too. We're all really concerned, maybe we should
go home."
Lapinnie hesitated, hardly able to get words
out of her mouth. "N... no..."
"But Lapinnie!" Buffy urged. "When we get home,
we can chat all we want. Everything will be fine. It's kind of dangerous out
here, you know, at night."
"N -- no..." Lapinnie repeated. "I can't."
"Why not?"
"I just need time to think," Lapinnie said. Buffy
turned to look at her. She noticed her eyes were puffy and her face was streaked
with tears. The Aisha wiped them away with the back of her paw, and looked down
at the ground.
Buffy sighed. "Okay then, you can tell me everything
here. What's wrong?"
"It's just that... that... award. I didn't know
I wanted it so much -- for me and you -- it was just hard letting go of the
fact that we lost. That we didn't get it, and I didn't really expect I would,
considering all the bright people here, like you... I guess deep down I really
thought I would get it, and I'm disappointed that I didn't and I... I'm greedy,
aren't I?"
"You aren't," Buffy said. "I've never seen anyone
as generous as you."
"Thank you, Buffy," Lapinnie continued, wiping
her tears again. "It's just sometimes unfair, everything. I’ve try my hardest,
we both have, and we get lots of awards and things. One hundred and thirty-eight
books read... for what? We were second, and we received awards several other
pets got. We were second, and we got nothing out of the ordinary. Some who may
have been thirtieth might have gotten a special award of some kind, but us,
being second; we got nothing. We were so close, and we got nothing. It's not...
it's not fair..."
The mutant Cybunny looked sympathetically at
Lapinnie. "Some things in life just aren't fair."
"I know, I know that, Buffy." Lapinnie assured
her. "But it --"
"SHH!" ordered Buffy, her ears prickling. Lapinnie
fell silent at once. They could hear footsteps from all directions.
Suddenly, several Neopets leapt from behind the
swings, dressed from head to toe in black. Buffy couldn't make out their species.
She didn't have time to think, as a sudden pain shot through her head, sending
her tumbling into the darkness.
***
"B... Buffy?" Lapinnie said quietly, shaking the unconscious Cybunny. Buffy
groaned.
"But I don't like asparagus," she mumbled dazedly.
Lapinnie shook her again.
"Wake up!" Lapinnie cried. Buffy sat up slowly.
They were in a dark room, with a candle for light. The window was barred up,
and both of them were chained to a large iron ball.
"Are we in Meridell?" Buffy asked, rubbing her
head. Lapin shook her head.
"From what I've heard, I think they're a thieves'
guild. But I'm not sure what they'd want with us --" Lapinnie fell silent as
a Yellow Kyrii slipped round the door. He inspected both of them thoroughly.
"Fozaibae?" the Kyrii cried. "I don't think these
are the right ones." Buffy glanced at Lapinnie. That name sounded very familiar.
"I mean, they don't have the emblem or anything,"
the Kyrii continued. Another figure sauntered round the door. It was a tall,
black Nimmo.
"No, no, these do not look like members of the
Elite Thief Association at all," the Nimmo said, flicking her wrist. "Fozaibae
will not be pleased." There was that name again, Lapinnie thought.
"Well, they can't just leave," the Kyrii said,
flailing his arms, "they might squeal on us."
The Nimmo turned to Buffy and Lapinnie. The two
gulped hard and held their breaths, as the Nimmo said, "Would you?"
"W -- would we what?" inquired Buffy shakily,
edging toward the corner, dragging the iron ball behind her, the chain rattling.
She answered her own question. "Would we rat out on you? No, of course not!
If you let us go, we'll be more than grateful."
The Kyrii gave the two a suspicious and passed
it on to the Nimmo, who caught the gaze and turned back to Buffy.
"No, we're not letting you go. We know what you
little guys do," the Nimmo said, putting her hands on her hips, and when she
realized she did so, she put them down again. "We'll report you to Fozaibae
immediately tonight. Oh, I just can't wait to see how he will react. Perhaps
this will be your last night in freedom."
"So much for the truth," Buffy growled under
her breath. Lapinnie nudged her and watched the two captors warily.
"Umm," she said gently, "please? Could you at
least tell us why we're here? All we were doing was sitting in the schoolyard."
The Kyrii snorted. "Just sat in the schoolyard,
huh? So, you didn't know what was going on there? We were informed by Princess
that there were jewels in there. Perhaps you were trying to stop us, or worse,
trying to get it for yourselves? Hmm?"
"Well, they believe you more than me," Buffy
said. Lapinnie was silent, allowing Buffy to speak to them. "There were no jewels
there. The teachers bring all their possessions homes in the few last days of
school."
The Nimmo shook her head. The Kyrii gave them
a look, as the two marched out of the room without another word, looking disgusted
and outraged, perhaps thinking Buffy was lying.
"So much for that!" Buffy spat, Lapinnie nodding
furiously in agreement. The Cybunny and the Aisha sat there for a long time,
thinking. The duo sat on the iron spheres chained onto their legs, Lapinnie
tugging on them. The chains clattered and rattled, sending out a hallow noise
through the room.
Lapinnie dug her paw on the hard ground. She
tapped on it, and exclaimed, "Hey! This isn't cement..."
Buffy raised an eyebrow, but Lapinnie just shook
her head.
"It would take us too long to dig ourselves out
of here, and even if we did, they'd spot us. Let's just do something resourceful
meanwhile,” suggested Lapinnie, "and who knows what that Fozaibae person will
do."
Minutes passed, as Lapinnie kicked at the dirt
ground beneath her, glancing at Buffy once and a while. Buffy was in a strong
thinking pose, mumbling the name 'Fozaibae' over and over. A clock ticked, irritating
them after a while, but both were tired and speechless.
Lapinnie rose from her position and dragged the
iron ball behind her as she walked toward the clock. It was hard, almost tripping
with each step. At least, she reached it, snatched the clock and threw it onto
the ground. She stomped on it, Buffy looking at her.
"Great, now we don't know the time..." mumbled
Buffy.
"Buffy, the second hand wasn't moving at all!
It was just ticking and ticking... and ticking, and ticking, and ticking, and
tic--"
"Okay, Lapinnie. I get it now. It was getting
annoying anyway," Buffy sighed, returning to deep thought.
Lapinnie sat on the black sphere and brought
out a photo of her family, thinking about them, home, and her books. The room
was silent for a very long time, as the disco Aisha rose from her seat once
again.
"I'm sorry," she apologised suddenly.
Buffy looked at her.
"If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have been here.
I shouldn't have dragged you into this... we should have went home... I shouldn't
have been so stubborn."
Buffy shook her head. "You're my friend, and
you had some problems so you ran away. I admit that wasn't very smart, but you
took some time to think things through. I couldn't have just left you there."
Lapinnie nodded, sinking back in her seat. Time
crept by slowly, the two mistaking seconds for hours, exhaustion and sleepiness
taking overpowering them. But if they slept, who knew what the Kyrii and Nimmo,
or perhaps others, would have done to them?
The Aisha nearly dozed off, when Buffy exclaimed,
"Fozaibae! It's --"
Suddenly, many masked characters walked into
the room. The surrounded a figure, although they could not make out who. Buffy
and Lapinnie were adjusted to the darkness of the room, but it was difficult
to see anything through the blinding white light sprouting from the hall.
"So are you the prisoners?" the figure said casually.
The voice was deep and rough, but sounded quite young. "I am Fozaibae, Grand
Thief of the Guild." Two Neopets unclipped the iron chains that Lapinnie and
Buffy were attached to.
Welcome to your new home," he said emotionlessly,
"I hope you like it here, because you are never leaving."
To be continued...
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