"There's a Beakadoodle for you, Mr. Vile," said Mildred.
"That's funny," Malkus Vile said, as he bit into another Spoc Spoc Kebab. "I
wasn't expecting one."
The tiny bird flew into his office, and he removed the metal capsule holding
the note.
Our client is FURIOUS with us now! He has given us one chance to redeem
ourselves, and that is by finding a green Grundo who answers to the name Specimen
492-T. We have lost track of him over our satellite. His last known whereabouts
were somewhere in the vicinity of Faerieland. FIND HIM OR ELSE!
--Central Control
Malkus was stunned. What had angered the organization's client so? What was
this about a missing Grundo? Was THIS what all of these items were for?
The door of his office creaked open to reveal a wounded and limping Shadow,
his bag of loot ripped, torn and soaked with potions. "Shadow! What happened
to you?" Malkus said.
"This Eyrie…the Uber Darkness Faerie…caught me…" Shadow gasped.
Malkus grew pale. No wonder their client was furious-Shadow had failed. Now
all he needed was to find that Grundo. He knew what he had to do, even if it
meant risking arrest. It was time for Malkus Vile to get his hands dirty.
"Shadow, go to the Healing Springs at once," Malkus said. "Then lay low for
a while. Our client is asking me to find someone for him."
"Let me do it, sir!" Shadow gasped.
"No. You are too wounded. I will be the one to find what our client is looking
for," Malkus said. He pressed the intercom button. "Mildred, get Shadow a Healing
Potion XIX and hurry! I'm going to be heading out on business."
"Yes, Mr. Vile," Mildred said.
Malkus threw on his coat and tied the belt, then pulled his fedora over his
head enough to conceal some of his features. "We will never let anyone down
over a job," he murmured as he exited his office.
It was a pleasant day in Neopia. The sun shone through the brightly coloured
windows of the Faerie Foods store as we sat at the little tables outside, gorging
ourselves on a platter full of Faerieland Gourmet Burgers. Frederic, who had
been given faerie wings and a new outlook on life by the Faerie Queen, was joining
us and chatting excitedly about everything that was happening to him.
Miss_dream smiled as Frederic bolted down another burger. He was finally beginning
to get some meat on his bones, thanks to three meals a day in the Faerie Palace.
"So, Frederic," I said, "what's the best part about this new life?"
"I feel so safe and free!" Frederic said. "It's wonderful! The Uber Faeries
are so kind, and I don't even have to worry about Sloth anymore!"
"No one does," Sallie_chan said. "He's not gonna show his face around here
for a long, long, time, I hope!"
"Especially after that fiasco with the Lost Desert," Riahli said. "One wonders
whether he has been truly defeated."
"Probably not," NayotakeNoKaguyaHime said. "He's the type that takes a lickin'
and keeps on tickin'."
An Earth Faerie came by with another five burgers, and a platter holding five
Faerie Bubbles, one in each flavor. "Here's the rest of your order, Miss," she
said.
"I'd like the bill now, please. How much do I owe you?" Miss_dream said.
"6,782 Neopoints, please."
"Six THOUSAND…" Miss_dream grabbed her wallet, and shook it upside down over
the table. It was empty, save for a single Neopoint.
"Um, I need to go to the ANM (Automatic Neopoint Machine) for just a minute.
Could you hold on?" Miss_dream asked.
"Sure," the Earth Faerie said.
"Guys, stay here," Miss_dream said. "I'll just be going to the ANM to get some
money. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"All right," I said. "See you in a few.
As Malkus Vile boarded the shuttle to Faerieland, he began thinking about the
whole situation that the organization had been forced into. First, the thefts
of the cheap stuff, then a request to move on to the more valuable things. And
now they had to search for a green Grundo? Why, there were probably five thousand
of them living in Faerieland alone. What did all this mean?
"Next stop, Faerieland," said the shuttle driver. The shuttle chugged to a
stop and set down on the thick, puffy cloud that held Faerieland aloft over
the rest of Neopia. Malkus pulled his hat down and exited the shuttle, keeping
his eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Faerieland was bustling today, and
he could see all sorts of people looking around the market-none of them leading
a green Grundo around.
"Drats," Malkus muttered, as he scanned the market place for a good coffee
shop where he could sit and observe everything. Noticing the Faerie Food store,
he began to make his way towards it.
I looked up from preening to see his bulky body opening the door. My feathers
seemed to stand up on end, and I looked at Riahli. He seemed to nod, as if he
felt some evil aura radiating from him, too. Sallie and Nayo glanced at him
quickly, then switched their glance to Fred, whose colouring seemed to be much
paler than usual. "Just relax," I whispered to him. "Keep a low profile. I have
a really bad feeling about this guy."
"One Gourmet Burger, and make it snappy," Malkus barked at the Earth Faerie
waiter. His hat slid up a little, and it was him. The face that was on all the
wanted posters and plastered all over the police station. The greatest criminal
mastermind Neopia had ever known-Malkus Vile. And he was right there in front
of us, in real life. I shuddered.
Fred began trembling and murmuring something, when Riahli gently placed a paw
on his shoulder. "Be still," Riahli whispered. "If the need arises, we shall
defend you. Be careful to conceal your fear."
The door opened again, revealing Miss_dream who was hastily counting a bundle
of Neopoints. "Here's your bill, ma'am," she said, handing it to the waitress.
"Sorry to have taken so long, but you know how long lines can get."
I whistled very softly through my beak and pointed ever so slightly to Malkus,
who was sitting on his own at a small table. Miss_dream looked at him, and nodded
to us. We needed to get out of there.
As the four of us got up to leave, Malkus yawned a bit, turned around, and
then noticed us. "Ah…May I ask you a few questions?" he asked, his voice tinged
with false innocence.
"Proceed," Riahli said.
"Have any of you seen a little green Grundo…about yea high, very timid, very
shy?" Fred swallowed, unseen by Malkus.
We all looked at each other. "Sir," I said, "there's thousands of Grundos in
Neopia. I mean, if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all."
"We haven't seen anyone," Sallie said.
"Sorry to bother you, friends. Now run along and play," Malkus said, returning
to his food. As we all walked out the door, we breathed a collective sigh of
relief.
"Whew!" Miss_dream said. "That guy sent chills down my spine."
"At least he didn't notice Fred," Nayo said. "But with his new wings and everything,
I wouldn't think he'd be able to recognize him."
As Malkus bit into his juicy burger, a beeping noise from his pocket disturbed
him. Stunned, he reached inside to pull out a small satellite alarm. The readout
on the screen read: "TARGET: FOUND!"
He looked at the group that had just left the café, his gaze fixed on the Faerie
Grundo. That was him. He had been right under his nose!
Leaving his burger, Malkus charged out of the food store, running to catch
up.
"What's that?" Miss_dream yelled as she heard the pounding footsteps behind
us.
I leaped from her shoulder into the air, my wings flapping as I soared twenty
feet into the sky. It was HIM…and he was FOLLOWING US!
"Riahli, guard Miss_dream! Nayo, Sallie, guard Fred! FOR GREAT JUSTICE!" I
screamed, diving for Malkus Vile. With an ear-piercing shriek, I aimed my beak
right for his tubby Skeith body.
"What the…" Malkus had a second to react. He quickly pulled out a Sparkshooter
and turned it on. Ignoring the sparks that seared my feathers, I bowled him
over flat on his back.
"Give me the Grundo!" he roared. "Give me the Grundo NOW, or I'll use my Wand
of Flamebolt!"
"Like you've even GOT one?" I said.
Suddenly, I was hit by an immense ball of flame and light that sent me back
up into the air. He really DID have a Wand of Flamebolt, and I was feeling the
effects firsthand.
"DON_MEDUSA!" Miss_dream cried. She ran towards me as I plummeted to earth,
strength drained. With a final dive that a baseball catcher would be proud of,
she caught me in her outstretched arms.
"Are you all right? Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?" she
screamed, panicked.
"Just a…little burn, that's all," I wheezed.
Riahli and Nayo bared their teeth as they leaped into the fray. Nayo's jaws
clamped on Malkus' arm as he powered the wand. "Get off of me! Get off of me!"
he screamed, as Nayo growled. Finally, he was forced to drop the wand.
Riahli stepped back and howled towards the sky. The ground began to shake,
and hoards of pebbles lifted themselves from the ground and began to batter
Malkus.
"Sallie, go take care of Malkus! I'm going to get Fred and Don to a safe place!"
Miss_dream yelled. With that, she ran towards the Healing Springs.
I felt a cool splash of water on my feathers as I awakened. I opened my eyes
to see the Uber Water Faerie and Miss_dream standing there. She sighed with
relief as she saw me struggle to my feet.
"I got the faeries to help us," I said. "Fred's going to be safe here."
"Sallie…Riahli…Nayo…" I gasped. "Are they going to be OK?"
"They can hold their own for now," Miss_dream said. "We've got to get back
down there now, Uber Water Faerie!"
"I'll get us there," she said. With a sweep of her hand, she made a huge tidal
wave out of the water in her healing pool, and an ivory slab shaped like a large
surfboard emerged from it. "This is the best way to travel." We hopped on, and
the wave of water surged over the cloud towards the fight scene.
Nayo was unconscious on the ground, fur singed by another blast from the Sparkshooter.
Riahli's sides were heaving in and out, his fur raked with scratches and scorch
marks. Sallie's faerie wings were torn as she struggled to get up again. Malkus
laughed, kicking the downed body of Nayo gently.
"Tell me where the Grundo is, and I won't hurt your little friends," he hissed.
Riahli growled. "Why should I tell you?"
"Because I've still got some other tricks where that Wand of Flamebolt came
from," Malkus said. "And I'd like to try them out."
"You scoundrel!" Riahli growled. "Don't even come any closer!"
"Then you'll tell me?"
Riahli looked down at his paws sadly for a moment. Then, he heard the sound
of rushing water and looked up to see the Uber Water Faerie, Miss_dream and
me on top of the ivory surfboard.
"Stop right there, evil villain!" the Uber Water Faerie said. "I know what
your intentions are! Leave here now, and learn your lesson!"
"The…The Uber Water Faerie…" Malkus gasped. The wave slowly began to fall back
to earth, and the ivory surfboard came down with it. The Uber Water Faerie defiantly
walked up to Malkus and stared him in the eye.
"Leave here, now. And never return."
"Who are you to tell me, the great Malkus Vile, to leave?" he said. Suddenly,
there was a flash in the air, and the other Uber Faeries arrived, flanking the
Water Faerie.
"Leave here," the Uber Light Faerie said. "We will give you five minutes to
get on that shuttle and leave this cloud forever."
Malkus stepped back, and then smiled. "You know what I want," he said. "If
you want me to go home, then you'll give me what I want."
"I will never hand Frederic to you!" boomed the loud voice of the Faerie Queen.
Malkus gasped and turned pale.
The Faerie Queen walked defiantly towards Malkus, between her retinue of Uber
Faeries. She was holding a Rod of Supernova and tapping it in her hand, impatiently.
"Do you want me to use this?" she asked, shaking it in Malkus' direction.
Malkus gasped. He looked at her, then the Faeries, then at all of us, turned
around and ran towards the shuttle. He did not look back.
A cheer arose from all of us. Even the normally somber Darkness Faerie joined
in the cheer. "We've saved Neopia," the Faerie Queen said. "Thank you, all,"
she said, giving each of us a kiss.
"We couldn't have done it without you," Miss_dream said. "It is you that I
need to thank. I don't know what I can do for you to thank you-"
"Nonsense! You have done enough," the Faerie Queen said. "Now, for you, my
friend, I will give you a present for helping us all out." She opened a small
bag and pulled out a small, glowing star.
"This, my young friend, is an Ultranova. It is a treasure that will help you,
but only once. I can think of no one more worthy to keep it than you, Miss_dream."
Miss_dream held the glowing pink star in her hands, and smiled. "Thank you,"
she said, quietly.
In a secluded, dark base, Dr. Sloth sat brooding. Malkus had been defeated,
Specimen 492-T lost forever. He had his chance and lost it. Sighing, he opened
up his Book of Bad Ideas to record another one that had failed, and cursed when
he realised that he was on Page 100.
"Great, I had no idea that I had failed so many times," he sighed. "But next
time…next time, for sure, I will be victorious!" His laugh echoed throughout
the cavernous depths of his secret headquarters…
To be continued…? (But we think it's The End.) | 
