Griffin's face seemed glued to the glass in front of the PetPet shop. His nose
inflamed, his eyes bulging at the sight of one of the most beautiful things
he had ever seen in his life. His tail furiously wagged, and his grin on his
face was enormous. His gaze was broken by his newly adopted daughter, Indiana.
"You know, dad, we CAN go in," Indiana said with a light smile. She was a kind
Wocky with fuzzy green fur and a mean bite. She was gently holding her new Cobrall,
Surpento Fuerte (Fire Snake in Spanish), by the leash. Surpento used to be Griffin's
old pet, but became so bonded with Indiana, Griffin had to give him up. Surpento
was happier now, with his new owner, and he still got to see Griffin often,
too.
"Uh... huh?" Griffin said, pulling himself away from the glass and putting his
khaki cowboy hat back on and straightening in his red bandana. He was a tall,
buff fire Lupe at the age of 24 in Lupe years. He turned around to see his daughter
and gave a confused look, then shook out of it. "Oh... right. Kinda zoned out
there for a second."
Indiana looked at Griffin blankly, then let out a half-giggle. The two walked
into the store, and the bells set up gently rang. The shopkeeper, a young blue
Tuskaninny, was silently listening to music through her headphones behind the
counter and sipping a coco-whip slush. Griffin handed Indiana a handful of coins,
five thousand Neopoints in total, and she quickly scuttled off to gaze at the
many PetPets--Hopsos and Pickulasaurs, Abdominal Snowmen and Zebbas. There looked
as if there were every single living breed of PetPet, and then some! The shop
was huge. Counters were stocked high of PetPet treats, PetPet brushes, toothbrushes,
combs, and other various grooming items. A counter full of PetPet paintbrushes
of every colour were encased in glass cases, the Faerie one laying on a velvet
pillow. Indiana gazed around like a six-year-old in an all-for-free toy store,
her eyes sparkling as she grabbed various items to buy for her beloved Cobrall.
Griffin smirked as she saw her daughter running around merrily. He continued
to pad up to the counter, his toenails chinking against the wooden floor. "Excuse
me, ma'am," Griffin said, looking up at her, but she didn't look back. There
was no reply. "Ma'am?" He repeated again, then shouted. "MA'AM? EXCUSE ME?"
There was no reply once again. Griffin flipped the headphones off of the Tuskaninny
and glared at her.
"What?" She replied with a blank look, as if nothing at all had happened.
Griffin rolled his eyes and sighed, then continued, putting a paw up on the
counter. "How much for the Moltenore?"
"Oh, the PetPet aren't for sale," the girl at the counter replied and began
putting her headset on again. Griffin pawed the headset down and looked up at
her again.
"You mean to say that this is a PetPet shop where you don't sell PetPets?
What kind of place are you running?" Griffin said with a disappointed look.
"My owner's collecting the things, not me. Willya buzz off already? I'm trying
to work here," said the Tuskaninny, and put her headphones back on again.
Griffin stood there, his mouth half-open and his lip raised. He let out a
half-laugh, half-sigh with a raised brow. This kid here is running a place here
where she treats the PetPets like non-living items, Griffin thought, still angry.
I can't believe this. The poor PetPets... they don't deserve to be cooped up
like this! Especially that Moltenore, who needs even extra care... the poor guy.
He needs to be able to get out an run around. A cage is no environment for him...
"Isn't this illegal?" Griffin said, destined to win the argument.
The Tuskaninny looked up at him disgustedly and pulled back an earphone. "No,
it's perfectly legal. I feed the creeps and they get cleaned up. Abra kadabra,
no animal abuse here. Now get out of here before I call the cops, and you can
complain your way out of jail!"
Griffin snorted and turned around, Grabbing Indiana's arm. "Drop that stuff... we
have no business here."
"But I didn't pay for it yet..." Indiana said, looking up at him.
"No, Indy. Put it away. We're going to go to a better shop, one that treats
PetPets with love," Griffin said, loudly, on purpose. Indiana set all the supplies
on the counter and dragged Surpento Fuerte along out of the shop. When they
were safe outside, Griffin finally spoke again. "Look, Indy, that lady was abusing
those PetPets. They weren't in the right environment, and she was putting them
on display... like, like some sort of collection or something. I don't find it
right at all!"
"Are you serious?" Indiana said, holding Surpento up and cuddling him in her
arms. "That's so mean!!"
Griffin looked in the large display window of the room and saw the little
Moltenore cuddled up in a mass of wood chips, shivering gently with a sad face
on. Griffin touched the window with his paw and looked at the Moltenore, sadly,
back at it.
"What are we going to do?" Indiana asked with a wrinkled brow.
"I don't know, Indy, but we have to do something," said Griffin with a determined
glare.
***
Griffin and Indiana were back at their property, gently sipping hot cocoa
in the barn after grooming Larie, Griffin's steed. Larie is a strange, yellow
half-raptor half-Lenny creature who Griffin had rescued several months back.
"We can get the police to see how they're treating them. We can run them out
of business," Indiana suggested.
"Nah, they'd never believe us. Didn't you see the paper on the wall that meant
it was approved by the PetPet warden? Besides, even if we did run them out of
business... the PetPets wouldn't have any place to go. The cops would take 'em
to a pound or the streets or something. There are just too many of them," Griffin
muttered, half to himself as Larie rubbed her beak against his shoulder.
"You got a point there..." Indiana said, then looked down to think.
Several minutes passed before Griffin spoke again. "You know, we CAN break
in and take the PetPets to the large PetPet shop in the Neopian Bazaar. The
Usul there takes good care of the pets; that's why her shop is so popular. I
got Surpento Fuerte there, and all your uncles got their pets there as well."
"That's a great idea!!" Indiana said giddily and held her hot cocoa mug up
high. "I'll get my things. We can do it tonight!"
Griffin caught Indiana by the arm before she scuttled off. "No way, Indy.
It's too dangerous. If we get caught, I want to take all the blame. You have
all your schooling and life ahead of you, and I'm not going to take it away
from you... (this continues on for a while... )"
What Indiana hears: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah... Blah blah blah. Blah
blah, blah blah. Blah. No, you can't come. No, no, no, no, no. You can't because
of this. Blah, blah, blah. Blah blah...
"Uhhhhh... right. Whatever, Dad," she said in a blank tone.
"Now please, get some rest. I'll see you in the morning," Griffin said. Indiana
got up and pretended to walk off... until Griffin turned back around again to
saddle up Larie for the trip. She turned around and hid behind the back of the
barn, Surpento still cradled in her arms. He hissed and raised a brow up at
his owner, and flipped his tongue in and out several times furiously.
Several minutes later, Griffin padded out of the barn with black rubber gloves
covering his paws and black sunglasses on. Larie's sharp feet had Kougra paw-shaped
boots on, so they wouldn't think it was Griffin at all. He was ready all right,
very ready. Griffin guided his steed through the stone and dirt path with much
ease, little to his knowing that a silent green Wocky and her Cobrall were following
closely behind...
They reached the shop at midnight. Griffin got off Larie and let her stand
there, untied, as he trusted her dearly. He turned around and nearly jumped
out of his skin when he saw Indiana standing right there with her Cobrall behind
her.
"Indiana," He whispered in a strong and scolding voice, "What are you doing
here? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is??" He paused, realizing that
he could do nothing about it, and let out a deep sigh. "Fine. Just... stay here
and make sure Larie doesn't get away, and keep an eye out if anybody comes."
Indiana rolled her eyes and leaned against Larie, stuffing her hands in her
pockets. Griffin shook his head and climbed up onto the roof of the store, and,
carefully, opened up a sun window. Griffin knew where it lead from there; as
he remembered the tank of aquatic PetPets being bothered by the sunlight. He
sniffed the air several times to make sure none of his fur was shed during the
process. Check.
Griffin hit the ground without a sound and looked around at all the sleeping
PetPets. He rushed over to the Moltenore and gently pet its head in a loving
way, and it woke up, beaming its large and beautiful eyes at Griffin. It gently
licked his paw as a sign of happiness and perked its ears up. Griffin smiled
immediately and picked it up, carefully, and put it in the crate designed to
fit four or five Lupes. He figured it would be able to fit the entire crew of
PetPets, for a few hours, anyway, while they took them to the Usul PetPet keeper.
Within a half hour, all the PetPets were in the crate. Griffin smiled in success
and began to climb up the ladder to get out of the sun window, but some unfriendly
guests were there... some very, very unfriendly guests. Three jetsam police peered
over the hole with clubs and weapons, and Indiana was tied up next to Larie.
Griffin's eyes bulged. There was no way he could get out of this!!
WHAM!! Suddenly the first jetsam was down. WHAM! The second one--down. The
third one, the largest and strongest of the group, stood up and faced the thing
that sent the other two down. Whoever that was... a girl about age 12... long,
brownish-blonde hair... oval-shaped glasses... tan field jacket... blue jeans... silver
dog tags... the hat. The brown fedora hat from a favourite adventure movie. Griffin
immediately recognised her as the one and only Sharky, Griffin's owner.
Her nostrils flared as she stood up against the oncoming jetsam, using her
cunning and strength to outwit him. The brute cop dashed after her with his
head, but she dodged out of the way and knocked him in the back of her head
with the back of her hand in an almost perfect ridgehand attack to the back
of the neck. The jetsam snorted furiously and pounced on her, sending her to
the ground. The jetsam angrily hit her several times in the face, holding the
collar of her shirt menacingly. Sharky kicked the jetsam in the stomach and
sent it flying across the roof, joining the other two Jetsams on the other side
of the roof. All were unconscious. Good.
Sharky smiled and relaxed as Griffin got up out of the window and set the
huge cage of PetPets on the roof. Sharky took the cage and brought it down in
her hands from the roof, setting it down next to Larie. She untied Indiana and
looked back at her pets. "Listen, you guys..." she said in a stern voice. "Griffin,
that was dangerous! You KNOW to always have a lookout on the watch when doing
an operation. Have I taught you nothing?"
Griffin recoiled slightly and bowed his head, his ears pressed flat against
his head in sadness and his tail kept towards his body. "Err... sorry?" he said,
not making eye contact with his owner, who was also his sensei (teacher of karate),
drill sergeant, and teacher.
"Griffin, look. I need to get back home. But anyway, feel lucky that I was
there just in time for help," Valerie said, twisted her mouth and turned around
to get on her helmet and climb onto her Harley-Jetsamson motorcycle. She sped
off, picking up dust, back to the house.
Surpento hopped into the sitting Indiana's lap before she spoke. "Dad, how
did Sharky know we were in trouble?"
"I don't know. Nobody knows. It's like asking if the Loch Ness monster exists
or not," Griffin said.
Indiana gave him a flustered look. "Huh?"
"Human thing," Griffin said, rolling his eyes. "Sharky taught me about it."
The sun had only begun to rise when Griffin arrived at the Usul PetPet shop.
It was huge and suited every PetPet's needs. It was almost like a paradise.
Griffin and Indiana stood at the well-polished marble counter of the shop,
waiting for the Usul shopkeeper to notice them, as she was busy holding up a
Puppyblew with a furiously-wagging tail and saying how cute it was in a baby
voice. She opened one eye and saw Griffin and Indiana, blushed, then put away
the Puppyblew into her cage.
"Uh... Miss? We have some PetPets here..." Griffin began. The aging Usul waddled
up to the counter as Griffin heaved the crate on the countertop. The Usul gasped
and blinked, not believing her eyes.
"Where did these come from?" she asked in disbelief.
"Well, can you keep a secret?" Griffin asked. The Usul suspiciously nodded.
He told her the whole thing.
After the dilemma was over with, Griffin ended in a big smile and patted the
crate. The Usul chuckled under her breath and opened the cage gently, taking
the first pet she saw, a Splyke, in her paws. "They've been abused all right.
I can't handle all of them at once," She looked up at the two. "I'll have to
hire a veterinarian. I'm good friends with a Gelert who knows much about the
health of PetPets... old Edith sure will come in handy, she will. You two saved
many little lives today... I don't know how to repay you."
"You don't," Griffin said immediately, right before Indiana was about to ask
for a certain plushie she had been wanted for ages. "We did it for the good
of the PetPets. Our repayment is that the PetPets are all in safe paws."
The Usul twisted his mouth in concern. "Well... I really don't want you to
leave empty handed. Your daughter can have any two PetPet items in the store
if she likes... but I wish you could have something, too, from my shop, but you
look like the kind that already has a PetPet..."
"Oh, no, Miss," Griffin said. "My daughter here has one, a kind Cobrall that
I myself used to own. But I am PetPetless."
"Why didn't you say so?" The Usul said, brightening up. "Listen. You choose
any one PetPet you want in the entire store, any breed, for free."
"Seriously?" Griffin asked.
"Seriously," the Usul replied.
Griffin and Indiana looked at each other in awe as a huge grin came across
their giddy faces. Indiana bolted across the room, grabbing various items and
deciding which items to get. Griffin's heart leaped as he approached the cage
of PetPets that he rescued and picked up, ever-so-gently, the little Moltenore
he had his eye on for the longest of times. He held it tightly to his chest,
and the Moltenore gave out a chuckle of glee and freedom.
"I'd like the Moltenore, ma'am," Griffin said plainly and cuddled the
PetPet in a loving way.
The Usul smiled and nodded kindly. "A wise choice, my friend. Treat her with
respect."
"Her?" Griffin said, confused.
The Usul chuckled and nodded. "Yes, she's a girl. Didn't you know that? Take
good care of her."
Griffin smiled again, anyway. All along he thought she was male, but it didn't
matter much to him. He still loved the little Moltenore, no matter the gender.
He had saved this PetPet's life, and now she was safe with him--and that was
all that mattered.
Epilogue: Indiana walked out of the store with a black-silk-diamond-studded
collar and leash set for her beloved Cobrall, plus a box of gourmet snake treats
from France. Both her, and Surpento Fuerte were extremely jolly that day, acting
like a princess and the royal pet, pretending to be filthy rich from the gifts
from the kind Usul. Griffin walked out with one he dearly loved; not just a
PetPet, not an item to collect, but a loving, kind, friend.
The End
Author's Note: Unfortunately, Griffin337, my Lupe, the star of the story,
doesn't truly have a Moltenore If you have a Moltenore you would like to trade
or sell, please contact me. | 
