Tyrannia
We hiked up to Tyrannia. We decided to go to the Plateau. On our way, we
passed a young Grarrl. He looked at us and smiled. "You're not going to the
Plateau are you?"
I looked at my NeoPets. "Yes," Jainny said slowly. She regarded the Grarrl
suspiciously.
"You're going to the Plateau?" he said, emphasising the last word. "Haven't
you heard?"
"Heard what?" Mairey snapped, waving her arms impatiently.
"The Beast," was all he said and headed off if somewhat quickly.
I looked at my NeoPets, then at the retreating Grarrl and to my NeoPets again.
I shrugged. "From what I heard, the beast lives only in its lair. I don't see
why that makes the Plateau dangerous."
But I was proved wrong. As soon as we entered the Plateau, there was havoc
everywhere. They all seemed pretty shaken up. All they said was "the beast".
I decided to go to the Town Hall and ask them. The five of us headed there.
I climbed the massive stairs and soon saw the elders. They were in the middle
of a discussion. I gestured to my NeoPets to halt and keep quiet. I managed
to catch bits and pieces of their conversation.
"Yes..."
"Her lair is not enough..."
"We must warn..."
"The lair is the same...the beast is.... Yes, she will be back..."
"She is gone. Her lair is empty. There have been no reports of her?" By now
I had silently crept closer, so I could now make out the full sentences. I gasped
when I heard this last statement.
“There have been no reports of her?" the elder repeated.
"None dared to enter her lair even when she was not missing, what makes you
think they would have been parading inside?"
"We must do something about this. Remember, if anybody sees her, they must
report to her."
I turned and ran, my NeoPets behind me. I had heard what I wanted to know.
I turned to my pets. "Jainny? She's missing!"
Jainny looked at her sisters nervously. "Don't worry," she said, sounding more
enthusiastic than she felt. "She'll be back to her home..."
"That dinky little room?" Mairey snapped. "She can have all of Tyrannia! Why'd
she want to go back there fore?"
Silence.
"Well," Santannaa said finally. "One things for sure.
We have to find her." We headed off to the only place we thought she might
be hiding: Her Lair. It was not easy. The hardest part was when we reached the
cave. "L-Let's just go. We can leave the matter to the Elders. They'll know
what to do!"
I hesitated. I was just as nervous as they were. More so! I tried to keep my
voice from shaking. I said firmly, "No. We're going on." I looked into the mouth
of the cave. Nothing. I peered around it. All I heard was the steady dripping
of the water within. I picked up a torch. But it did little to illuminate the
cave. If so, it made it worse. It's light cast horrid shadows on the wall.
I held the torch high and stepped forward inside the lair. Sharp rocks jutted
out from the cave walls. I looked at the walls, and stopped. I stepped forward,
and held the torch just in front of the walls. I reached out my hand and dusted
the walls. "Jainny, Mairey, Santannaa, DorthyAnne! Come look at this!” My NeoPets
rushed over to me and looked at the walls.
There were carvings on them. I studied the carvings. It revealed-I blinked.
There were many pictures of a huge Pteri-bigger even than a Grarrl! And then
it showed the pictures of Terror Mountain. The land was splitting, and beneath
it was Tyrannia. I pointed to the carvings. "This must be how Tyrannia was found.
Wow, she must have lived here since before it was even founded!"
Jainny nodded. "Come on. So, now we know her story."
I nodded and we headed off. We walked down the winding, twisting corridor.
We brushed away thick spider webs. We approached a dead end. There were two
more tunnels leading in opposite directions. "That one," Jainny said, pointing
to the left one. Nodding we all stepped in. We approached another dead end.
"Great, now we have to go back!" Mairey muttered. I looked around silently.
"No," I said triumphantly. "We don't. Look."
They all followed my gaze to a withered old rope, hanging off a jutting rock.
I looked up, raising the torch to the hole. The rope continued out of the light's
range. I jumped up and my fingers brushed the ends. I jumped higher, and managed
to snatch a piece. My fingers slipped. I fell down, and tried one last time.
I grabbed at the rope and pulled it downward, releasing it from the rock.
I reached out as high as I could and climbed upward. My NeoPets followed me.
I heard a noise and froze. The five of us dangled from the rope, listening.
We heard these faint scratching noises. I bit my lip and forced myself onward,
hand over hand.
Finally, we reached the top of the rope. I reached out and my hands grappled
at a rock. I pushed myself upward. I looked down and reached out a hand, helping
the others up. We walked on down another corridor. I noticed that the walls
were older than the ones in the entrance. The creature must have created the
entrance ones some time earlier.
The ceiling was high, and the room huge. The five of us stood in the center,
looking around. There was a whole high in the wall. Sharp, deadly rocks jutted
out from the perimeter, creating a ring of teeth. Beckoning my NeoPets to follow,
I swung one foot over the mouth, gripping a tooth in my hands. I leaped inside.
My NeoPets followed pursuit.
We entered the darkness. There was nothing. I looked around. Then I noticed
the other cavern. It was large enough for the beast to fit in. I walked in.
"Look,” Jainny said. She touched a wall. “Look how new the wall is! She must
have made that soon!”
I nodded. We looked around. Why didn’t anybody see this cavern? I wondered.
I studied the wall, and I knew then the answer to my question. There was an
open wall impossible to see when it was closed. I looked inside and felt this
warm breeze. I peered inside and saw a huge bird lying curled around a young
one. One eye opened and looked at me.
I gasped and we ran from there. I heard the sound of rocks crumbling above
me, and I cried out as one struck me on the head. My NeoPets creamed. I looked
back and saw that the whole place was caving down. The beast had risen to hear
full height, and she roared. She flew over to us, and her head peered through
a small tunnel.
We stared at her eye, about as large as Santannaa’s head. Just then, I heard
DorthyAnne scream and make a dive as a rock cascaded down on one of the Beast’s
young ones. DorthyAnne threw herself on the egg, and the rock struck her full
force.
She stood up and cried out, crumbling to the floor in pain. The beast stared
at us for a moment. We stood there, staring at her. Then she reached out a wing
and we laid the egg gently on, and she let us run out. She turned back to her
young and began moving rocks away, forming a protective ring around her eggs.
***
I took a deep breath. The Elders sighed. I had spent the last half an hour
explaining to the elders the Beast, and my NeoPets had been answering any questions.
"Thank heavens," Plesio said. "But who is the father?"
Mairey smiled. "Mysterious always lead to another mystery. Well, we’re not
done yet. We’re not even close. Maraqua was de-”
“What now?” Jainny asked.
She blinked, and gazed out at the ocean.
She blinked again.
It was gone, and in the air, she heard the faint sound of tinkling laughter…
To be continued… | 
