"Our forces are too weak, Master," whispered a brown Grundo,
clutching a clipboard and scribbling furiously into it. "We need more Neopets,
of higher intelligence."
Whoever was sitting in the high-backed chair
in front of the Grundo spoke. "But where will we find smarter Neopets, eh? They're
too hard to find, many of them in far away places like Faerieland and Meridell…we
have to grab the first intelligent creature we find! That's why our monitor
is searching for a good, intellectual being!"
Suddenly one of the monitors in front of Dr.
Frank Sloth blinked on. He came across a picture of a white Aisha, absorbed
in books and sitting in a beanbag chair.
"And I think we've found her," he added, rubbing
his hands together gleefully, continuing to watch the little Aisha. "We shall
move into a secret hideout in the Haunted Woods tomorrow so we can survey her
better."
***
"Fluffy, don't you want to play with us?" asked Sweet, a striped Kacheek. He
and his siblings, Glitter and Angel, were already headed for the door, their
arms loaded with toys. "You've spent several days reading and reading, and don't
you know that too much work is actually bad for you?"
"I'll be with you in just under several minutes,"
the white Aisha mumbled, her eyes traveling from word to word. Her Kacheek brother
shrugged and raced out the door, the faerie Acara and blue Zafara trailing behind
him.
Just as Fluffy went back to her book, her owner
passed by, holding a plate of strawberry jelly. "Don't you want to play with
the others?" Kat asked. "You know, it's not very exciting in here, and you won't
want to be in the way while I experiment with some new dishes. Go ahead-I like
reading, but I also make sure I have time for some recreation."
"Oh, all right, if you insist so much," Fluffy
answered. She picked up about five books and went outside. As she took her first
step outside, Sweet, Glitter and Angel noticed her right away.
"Let's play a nice, classic game of catch!" suggested
Angel. "Aren't you going to play with us right now?"
"Umm…maybe later," answered the Aisha absently,
as she plopped onto the grass, still absorbed in one of her books. Her siblings
went over to where she was sitting.
Glitter sighed. "Isn't reading getting a bit
boring to you? What you need is a little EXCITEMENT! Spice up your monotonous
day with a great game or some time with your most favorite siblings in the whole
of Neopia!" she suggested cheerily.
"You three ARE my only siblings in Neopia," replied
Fluffy. "I have no time to play, I have to brush up on my algebra and petpet
biology. Maybe tomorrow instead."
"You're hopeless, Fluff," grumbled Sweet. Then
he turned to the Faerie Acara and the blue Zafara. "Come on, she won't budge.
We can try asking her again tomorrow." The trio went back to their game of catch,
while Fluffy read a particularly thick book in the background. Her petpet, Cottontail
hopped over to the Aisha and jumped onto her lap. Fluffy gave the Snowbunny
a pat and it curled up to sleep.
The minutes fell away. After some time Kat called
the four pets into the Neohome for dinner.
"Hurry up, or it'll be dark! Besides, you'll
like the new dish I prepared for you tonight! It's good, and I tasted it myself!
Come in!" she called.
The four pets all walked in (except Glitter,
who just flew into the doorway) and sat themselves on the table. Likewise the
four petpets were already by the table, eating their food.
"What's this?" asked Glitter nervously, poking
the stuff in her plate with her spoon.
"It's Bacon, Broccoli, Pepperoni and Pea Surprise!
The dish is made out of bacon and broccoli omelettes, some pea soup and peas
and topped off with delicious pepperoni! It's tasty, and nutritious, too!" answered
Kat, looking very pleased with herself.
"Kat, this is quite…ah…wow! This is great!" exclaimed
Sweet. He started wolfing down on his meal. "I might get a second helping of
this!"
Glitter reluctantly put her spoon in and tasted
the concoction. "You really should make this stuff more often!" she added.
Their owner grinned and said, "Thanks! Hey-Fluffy
hasn't touched her plate yet!" She looked over at the Aisha, who was bent over
the table. Kat walked over to her pet to find out what she had been doing.
"Fluffy, what have I told you about reading books
under the table during mealtime?" Kat said firmly. "There's a time for everything,
you know. And right now, it's time for you to eat and receive nourishment."
The Aisha's face fell. "But…the story was so
interesting, I couldn't put the book down!" she confessed. Kat sighed.
"Well, I just hope this is the last time I catch
you," she said calmly. "Besides, you wouldn't want to get food stains in your
books now, don't you?"
***
In the Haunted Woods, Dr. Sloth and his most trusted sidekick were now hidden
amongst the shadows of the forest, in a secret lair.
"Wow, Master," said the brown Grundo in awe.
"She's smarter than we thought…"
Dr. Sloth sighed with content. "She's perfect…perfect
for my master plan. With my superior intellect, and her superior intellect,
I can take over Neopia easily, with such a lovely, smart sidekick," he said.
The Grundo gasped. "But sir, I thought I was
your sidekick…your accomplice…your partner in crime!"
"Of course not," answered the evil villain absently.
"Come, Bonehead. We will take her in the middle of the night and bring her to
our hideout. Then she will help us concoct countless cruel, complicated schemes
of doom!!" Sloth laughed evilly for a moment. Bonehead shuddered, slightly fearful
of his master. But he was able to pop a question.
"S-Sir…" he began nervously. "W-What if she does
not comply with your wishes?"
His master laughed his evil cackle again. "Then
our little gadget, the Ensorcellator, shall enter the scene. It shall hypnotize
our new member, and the only way for her to recover is when the Ensorcellator
breaks," he replied softly. "Am I a genius or what?"
The Grundo nodded, still slightly frightened.
"So do we go now? Do we use your teleportation device?" he said.
Dr. Sloth nodded, and pulled out a device that
looked like a small remote control. He deftly pushed the red button. In one
move, they disappeared from their secret lair and reappeared in Kat's now-empty
and dark kitchen. All the dishes and silverware had been washed up and put away.
"Where is she, boss?" asked Bonehead, shining
a flashlight through the kitchen.
"Bonehead, don't be such a bonehead!" whispered
Sloth. "She's in her bedroom, you fool! Besides, according to the monitors,
there's only one floor in this Neohome! Now come on! We might wake up the owner,
or the other not-so-smart siblings of our new minion!"
Bonehead tiptoed out of the kitchen and entered
a hallway. There were six doors-three on each side of the hall. His mouth dropped
open in confusion. "Which door do we open, Master?" he asked.
"Let's try them all," said Sloth quietly. "Our
quarry is bound to be in one of them."
Bonehead opened the first door quietly, and closed
it just as silently. He had seen not a white Aisha, but a striped Kacheek, sleeping.
A Lost Desert Dagger and a Kacheek Pebble Lobber lay at the foot of the bed,
along with a blue Angelpuss.
Dr. Frank Sloth tried the next door. A girl was
sound asleep on a fancy purple bed. The curtains and just about anything in
the room was purple too (except the others, which were in a blue color)
His Grundo associate peeked in the third room.
A blue Zafara and his Anubis were snoozing on the bed. "He actually lets his
petpet sleep on the same bed as he does?" asked Bonehead to himself.
Sloth snuck a look at what was in the fourth
room. A Faerie Acara was sleeping in it, and a Baby Fireball lay on a fire-resistant
petpet bed.
At last Bonehead opened the fifth door and found
Fluffy, sleeping on her bed. A large bookshelf was filled with books of every
kind, while more books were stacked up neatly on one side. A Snowbunny was fast
asleep on a petpet bed nearby.
"This is it, sir," the Grundo whispered. His
master nodded, and silently pulled out a sack and some rope from Bonehead's
knapsack. He approached the Aisha's bed with caution, so as not to wake her
or anyone else up. Then he tied Fluffy up and shoved her roughly into the large
sack. She woke up after realizing she was pushed into a bag.
"Help! Anyone! I'm being taken by…by…" Her voice
trailed off as she glanced at her captor. "It's you, Sloth! What are your motives,
and why would you need me?"
Sloth just whispered, "You'll see, little one…when
we get to our hideout in that spooky forest!" He slung the pack over his shoulder
and he and Bonehead made a dash for the front door, with Fluffy kicking helplessly
in the sack.
Kat and the rest of the Neopets rushed to her
rescue. But it was too late. The villain and his accomplice teleported back
to the lair, leaving the quad horror-struck.
To be continued...
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