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The huge Electric Buzz got out of the carriage and stretched
to his full monstrous height I remembered all too well from the day before.
The day before…my earstalks twinged at the very thought of it. Then I remembered
having absent-mindedly slathered my ears with yellow gook that morning, and
Janet's clear advice to put more on every three hours or so to relieve the bruising
and keep the discoloration covered. How long would this crazy job last? I didn't
even know how long it had been, but at least my captors haven't shown any intention
for me not to come out of this episode of my life alive.
One of the colossal Buzz-guards leaned in and
grabbed me by the back of the neck, snatching me outside and dumping me on the
hard asphalt. Asphalt? I looked up and saw a huge black warehouse. I read mystery
novels; I know a warehouse is a bad guy's preferred HQ. And I hadn't forgotten
that "take over the world" comment, though I tried to.
I didn't speak, couldn't speak, nor was I spoken
to. As if I was the object they were treating me like, the Buzz-guard lifted
me back up like a sack of Meridellian potatoes and hoisted me over his massive
shoulder. Talk about the ultimate in humiliation. I'm a full-grown (well, as
much as I was ever going to get) Aisha, and here I am being treated like a kitten,
a silly little whiney kitten that doesn't even know how to think for itself.
Of course, I was doing some serious thinking,
no matter how they treated me or thought of my intellectual abilities. Some
serious thinking that perhaps my past had something to do with this, and sincerely
hoped it didn't. My thoughts were soon to switch into an even higher gear as
the substance of my nightmares began to unfold before my eyes.
The guard dumped me on the ground and my 'host'
finally seemed to remember I was there. He smiled, almost as cheerful as he
could possibly get. "Here it is, DeSoni! My pride and joy!"
I looked up and stared, hardly able to believe
what I was seeing. "Th-The Lab Ray? Here?" I gasped.
"Oh, no. A lab ray, yes, the Lab Ray, no. This
is, believe it or not, the original prototype for The Lab Ray, invented by Doctor
Zappy and received by myself at a private auction on the rather more hidden
and illustrious side of Krawk Island. I only have one problem: it doesn't work.
That's where you come in."
I stood up without saying anything and walked
over to the gorgeous machine. Now that I was thinking clearer and knew what
it was, I could easily see several differences, the most obvious of which was
that it was much smaller. Instead of filling an entire room, the topmost console
only came up to my forehead, or about to a normal Neopet's waist. The second
point I took notice of was the shimmering opal-like liquid substance in a large,
glass cylinder-container attached to the ray.
I stroked the beautiful machine as I studied
the console. Gingerly placing a paw on the shining container, I turned my head
toward The Buzz. "What exactly does it do? What's wrong with it?"
The big guy blinked. "You should be able to figure
that out yourself. I do believe that's why you're here. Get on with it."
I huffed, getting a little fed-up with this pompous
Buzz's superior demeanor. "Jus' tryin' to save some time…" I mumbled while I
got down on all fours and crawled under the electric table and command center
of the ray. After fiddling around for a bit, I crawled out and studied the switches,
buttons, monitors, and cables covering the top.
Then I circled the cylinder holding the shimmering,
constantly changing liquid, checking the tubes and wires connected around the
metal base and getting a little suspicious as to how the Buzz knew I could handle
something as complex as this. Carefully taking in every detail, I slowly followed
the assorted lengths towards the ray-head itself and studied that for a minute.
Obviously, while I was doing this, the Buzz dude
was getting more than a little impatient. "Well, Mr. Genius? What does it do?
What is the problem?" he sarcastically asked, tapping his loafer shoe impatiently.
"That depends entirely," I walked over to the
container of shimmery liquid, "on what this is. It clearly isn't the power source,
just as obviously as it IS the guck the ray transforms into beams which transform
Neopets."
The Buzz raised an eyebrow mockingly, waiting
for me to finish. I sighed inwardly and got on with it, all the time with the
distinct feeling of a noose tightening around my neck.
"It's not any regular paint, invisibility paint,
nor Robot or Mutant adapting guck. My guess is a magic-invulnerability paint,
which I happen to know is notorious for clogging and congealing at the most
inconvenient of times."
His eyes widened appreciatively, though not in
surprise. That worried me, but I continued on bravely.
"Isn't that, like, the ultimate in illegal contraband
here on Neopia? Not even the Alien Aishas brew this dangerous junk anymore,
since they entered their halfway-sincere trade agreement with the Space Faerie."
Naturally, I wasn't going to enlighten him as to how I learned all of that fascinating
trivia.
He smirked. "That's where you're wrong. Select
few Alien Aishas have rediscovered the recipe to this fantastic formula and
have begun to manufacture it once again. More specifically, they've begun to
brew magic-invulnerability paint that renders the wearer invulnerable exclusively
to faerie magic. I won't pressure you as to how or how much you know, as long
as you fix the ray. Now, fix it!"
I knew I was killing myself, but it was getting
more and more obvious that this Buzz was up to something incredibly evil. My
ears were beginning to droop from stress, as I knew what I had to do. My paws
shook and my jaw was clenched. I really, really didn't want to play the part
of the hero, but I shook my head anyway. "No. No, I won't help you defeat the
Faeries and take over Neopia."
SallyGirl, who must not have understood I had
a strong feeling as to who she really was, came sauntering over to me and spoke
in that silky voice of hers. "Ah, c'mon DeSoni. You can't actually think we're
planning on destroying the faeries and setting ourselves up as rulers! Don't
be silly." She grabbed my yellow paw in her disco one. "Just fix the little
machine and we'll let you go home to your shop. I promise the faeries will not
be harmed-"
I angrily yanked my paw out of her and backed
away. "How stupid do you honestly take me for? Sure, you're not going to destroy
them. You'll bottle them up and sell them as that stinkin' rich and evil Balthazar
does! I'm sure 'bottled faerie queen' would make quite an expensive trophy for
any living room! This is so absolutely cliché, captured and forced to work for
a rich villain bent on world domination!"
The Buzz, tired of my ranting, stomped forward
angrily and grabbed me by my shirtfront (at least not my earstalks), twisting
it so I had to really concentrate to breathe. "You will fix my ray!"
"I won't!" I managed to huff out, despite my
lack of breath.
"Then I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell the
world about how you know so much about magic-invincibility paint, Mr. Deformed
Alien Aisha!"
For a second I could've sworn my heart had stopped.
My mouth dropped open. What?! How!? I was right when I felt I was going through
a nightmare.
"Th-That's not true! I'm normal, if short! You-You're
bluffing!"
"And what if I drop a few names? Madam Commander
Jierdana? Young Kregor Geiger? Captain Galbatorix? Trust me, I am not bluffing."
Now my ears were big-time drooping. How? My worst
nightmare had come true: my secret was out. How did he uncover my ex-identity?
It was all true; I had to face it once again. I was born an Alien Aisha, tragically
missing my two extra earstalks. All my life I had been treated like a freak,
a complete weirdo, a 'Neopian', which was considered the worst of all of the
insults on our planet. Madam Commander Jierdana had been one of the few to recognize
my potential value as a spy, and I had been so incredibly grateful I didn't
care what I did for her. I had dealt so much in the black-market and helped
so many illegal and sinister uprisings. But I came to fall in love with Neopia,
seeing how everyone was so happy and peaceful, how the faeries kept everything
in order, and had thus abandoned the Alien Aishas and their purpose. I knew
they'd find me someday, but why so soon?
"Well, DeSoni? Or should I call you by your birth
name: Derek Sonix."
I haven't heard that name in years.
"I'd say you're in a pretty bad position, Derek.
You're a traitor to your people, a liar to your friends, an nuisance to the
authorities, a spy to the faeries-"
"STOP!" I interrupted. "You can't even blackmail
me that way if you tried! Fyora already knows! You can't turn me over as an
illegal either, because she granted me citizenship and full rights! Guess you
didn't do your research as thoroughly as you thought, huh?!"
He dropped me abruptly on my tail in a very familiar
manner and laughed in a cold way that absolutely terrified me. "I underestimated
you once again. First, by not expecting you to look and act so much like a normal
Aisha. Second, expecting you to be a complete coward and do whatever I told
you to. Third, your rather surprising intellect. And, now, fourth, the fact
that you had the guts to approach the Faerie Queen herself! But, no matter,
I wasn't intending to turn you over to any Neopian Authorities."
What? Not, then… that must mean…
Now that girl Aisha laughed and whipped a Disco
Paintbrush out from under her cape. With two quick swipes she had a total of
six ears. "Invisibility paint, Derek Sonix, or have you forgotten how we use
it to blend in? BB, or Bad Buzz, here has kindly offered to turn you back over
to us if you fail to comply with his, or should I say our, wishes."
To be continued...
Author's Note: Please Neomail me on what you think about this turn of events!
Stay tuned!
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