SQUAD Squadron: First Mission -- Part Three

Misty’s eyes widened with realization. “Fenris, I don’t know what I would do without you,” she said.

     Fenris casually walked over to Glug Glug. “Hey there,” he said. Glug Glug was right in the middle of a big swig of the juice, so all he could do was stare at Fenris and Misty warily.

     Finally, he set the half-empty bottle down on the table, gasping for breath. “Whaddya want?” he asked.

     “What’s in your bag there, buddy?” Fenris jerked his head in the direction of the large sack sitting next to Glug Glug.

     “None o’ yer business, landlubber,” Glug Glug said through narrowed eyes.

     Misty’s hand wavered towards her sword. “That bag is full of food, isn’t it? And you stole it from the Chef on Mystery Island, didn’t you?!” She practically shouted her last question, and instantly everyone in the restaurant was looking at her.

     Glug Glug looked as if he had been struck. “H-h-how did you know that?!?!” he cried, scooting away from the Faerie in his booth.

     Fenris bared his teeth. “Faeries have their ways. Give the food to us or we’ll have to take it by force.”

     “All right! Ye caught me! Jus’ don’t hurt me! I been broke for weeks now and I jus’ needed a way to get me juice! I was so desperate, I sailed to Mystery Island and stole all of the Chef’s food so I could sell it to buy more Kraku Berry juice!!” Glug Glug was huddled in a ball on the seat, clutching his bottles of juice and wailing.

     Fenris looked at him blankly. “I can see why you’re not a very respected pirate,” he finally said.

     “Nevertheless, thank you for confessing. I’ll allow you to keep your juice, but next time, earn it through more honest means, please,” Misty said, picking up the sack of food. With some effort, she managed to hoist it onto Fenris’s back.

     The two flew back to Mystery Island, Misty keeping a tight grip on the bag of food. “Uh-oh, Misty…” Fenris said.

     “Yeah?”

     “Have you noticed the sun lately?”

     “What about it?” Curious, Misty looked at the sun nearing the horizon, and then remembered what the Chef had said earlier that day—that if Mumbo Pango didn’t get his dinner by sundown, he was going to summon Chiazilla. “Oh, my goodness! Hurry, Fenris!!” Misty shouted.

     “Don’t have to tell me twice,” Fenris replied, flapping his wings with all of his might. When they reached Mystery Island, Fenris didn’t stop. He flew over the jungle and landed in the Cocos’ village, right next to the Chef’s hut. Fenris ran inside and Misty handed the bag of food to the Chef.

     “What’s thi—“ the Chef started to say, opening the bag, but he was speechless when he saw that all of his missing food was inside. “Thank you! Thank you so much!!” he gasped with joy. He adjusted his large chef’s hat and began taking out all of the food. “Now, to make dinner for that Mumbo Pango…”

     As if on cue, a Coco ran into the Chef’s hut and screamed at the top of its lungs “THE GREAT MUMBO PANGO DEMANDS PUREED TOMATOES AND FISHY PIE…or else,” it added with a touch of nastiness, before leaving.

     Misty looked after it sourly. “As soon as Mumbo Pango gets his dinner, I’m going to ask him to better your working conditions.” She turned to the Chef. “Can we help you make Mumbo Pango’s dinner?” she asked.

     “That would be wonderful! I’ve never had anyone help me cook before!” the Chef exclaimed, clapping his flippers together. “Misty, if you wouldn’t mind mashing these tomatoes…” the Flotsam handed the Faerie a bowl with a pile of skinned, seeded tomato slices and a wooden spoon, “and Fenris, if I could have you roll the dough for the pie crust…” A rolling pin and a large lump of dough was deposited in the Lupe’s paws.

     The three cooked until it was almost too dark to see, so the Chef turned on a small electric lamp in the corner. The warm, aromatic smell of fishy pie soon filled the small hut, and some of it wafted outside, where some passing Cocos wondered what smelled so…fishy. Just as the Chef took the pie out of the oven and put it on a platter next to the bowl of pureed tomatoes, the Coco who had delivered Mumbo Pango’s order came traipsing in, not a care in the world. It reached out to take the platter, but Misty said “I want to take Mumbo Pango’s dinner to him myself.” The Coco snorted, displeased, and the Chef looked mortified.

     Misty winked at the Chef. “Don’t worry! I’m a Faerie Knight of the highest order, and if I can’t reason with that overgrown coconut, nobody can!”

     “All right then…follow me,” the Coco said, bouncing out of the hut. Misty and Fenris followed him, Misty holding the platter of food. The tall torches that surrounded the huts of the Cocos were now lit, and they cast a flickering light on the village and the shadows surrounding it. Many Cocos were at the doors of their huts, watching Misty and Fenris pass by.

     As Fenris padded into Mumbo Pango’s hut, Misty felt the slightest twinge of nervousness, but shook it off. She had asked to go on this mission, and she wasn’t going to go back to Faerieland until she had seen everything through. All of the usually noisy Cocos in the large hut were silent as Fenris and Misty walked in. Even the shaman stopped dancing. Mumbo Pango leaned forward in his chair, curious as to what a Water Faerie riding on a Faerie Lupe was doing bringing him dinner. Carefully, Misty handed the tray of food to the huge Coco deity, and he accepted it, sniffing it cautiously before eating the pie whole and washing it down with the tomato puree. Misty smiled nervously. There was an uncomfortable silence while Mumbo Pango savored his meal.

     Finally, he shifted in his chair and spoke. “…Mumbo Pango eat good dinner. Mumbo Pango no summon Chiazilla…this time.” The tension in the air immediately dissipated, and the shaman shook his stick happily.

     “However, Mister Pango, I would like to have a word with you about your Chef,” Misty said, arms folded. “You’ve been working him like a Whinny, making him fix you food so often! And he never gets a break!” The Faerie looked up at Mumbo Pango, waiting for a response.

     “Mumbo Pango love Chef like son!” Mumbo Pango exclaimed. “When Chef sad because home-under-water go away, Mumbo Pango take Chef in! But Mumbo Pango always hungry! Always need Chef to make some of Chef yummy food!” His big Coco-head drooped a little.

     “I understand…” Misty said, a little more softly. “But he’s being terribly overworked. Would it be too much for him to maybe just make you, say, three meals a day? And maybe get a day off every week?” she offered.

     “If it make Chef happy and want to cook yummy food for Mumbo Pango…” Mumbo Pango sighed.

     “You know, when the Chef isn’t cooking your meals, you could have some of your Cocos go into the jungle and gather fruit for you,” Fenris pointed out.

     “Wing-wolf right!” Mumbo Pango pointed to his shaman and barked an order to him in the native language of the Cocos. The shaman nodded and ran out of the hut. “Shaman tell Cocos!” Mumbo Pango announced proudly.

     Misty sighed contentedly. “Well, I’m glad I was able to resolve everything,” she said to Fenris. “Thanks for being so cooperative, Mister Pango! I’ll be sure to tell Fyora that you were so obliging!” With that, Fenris turned tail, ran out of the hut, and leapt into the sky.

     The two coasted over the pinkish-orange clouds, returning to Faerieland and Fyora. “Fenris, I’m glad I was able to help,” Misty said, her bangs blowing back in the wind. “Maybe Fyora will let us go on more missions like this. It’s…pretty fun!” she said with a giggle.

     “Yeah, it was kinda fun, huh…” Fenris agreed. He soared inside the lofty windows of Fyora’s throne room. It was completely empty. The only noise came from the soft rustling that the purple curtains made as they billowed in the evening breeze.

     “Hey, where are they?” Misty wondered.

     As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Fyora and the other Faerie Knights burst in, looking very disheveled. “We did it! We sent Jhudora back to her cloud and defeated the mutant Meepit army!” the Faerie queen exclaimed. The Knights thrust their swords in the air and let out a victory cry as Fyora collapsed on her throne.

     Fenris and Misty rushed over to her. “Your Highness, are you all right?” Misty asked.

     Fyora gently massaged her temples with her delicate hands. “Yes, I’m fine…that battle tired me out…did you complete your mission?”

     Misty and Fenris immediately stood at attention. “Yes, Your Highness!” they said in unison.

     “We shouldn’t be having any more trouble from Mumbo Pango, Your Majesty,” Misty added.

     Fyora smiled. “Thank you…you are becoming wonderful knights, both of you.”

     Misty looked down and fidgeted. “Um…Your Majesty…I was wondering…um…”

     “Yes?” Fyora looked up at the Water Faerie, curious.

     “Well, I’ve seen how busy you are with things in Faerieland…and how sometimes, you don’t have very much time for other things…and it is my duty as a Faerie Knight to protect and help all of Neopia’s citizens…”

     “Go on…” Fyora said.

     “…So…may Fenris and I form our own knight force?” Misty asked quickly, trying to get it over with.

     Fyora looked at Misty and Fenris for a moment, and then grinned. “Misty, that’s a wonderful idea!” she said. “You two can take care of any small problems that I can’t get to. Just come to me in the mornings and I’ll give you your assignment for the day.”

     Misty nodded fervently. “Yes, Your Majesty! We’ll give it our all!”

     “Hm, but…what should you be called?” Fyora asked.

     “What do you mean?” Misty inquired.

     “I think your mini-squadron needs a name,” Fyora insisted.

     “Erm…I’m not very good at names…” Misty protested.

     “SQUAD Squadron.” Fenris spoke so suddenly that Misty was startled.

     “Squad…Squadron? Isn’t that a little…repetitive?” Misty asked him.

     “Not Squad, SQUAD. It’s an acronym. It stands for Special Queen Attack and Defense.” Fenris seemed proud of himself.

     “Were you thinking about that the whole way home?” Misty questioned.

     “Yep,” replied Fenris.

     “I like it,” Fyora said. “It’s catchy. Keep it. SQUAD Squadron…” she mused. “All right…you two are dismissed. You may go home now; it’s getting quite late.” She waved her hand, and Misty and Fenris ran out of the castle.

     At their home on Water Faerie Way, Misty snuggled under her warm blue quilt on her bed. From her open window she could see the majestic purple castle, and below it, the lights of the shops and homes in Faerieland. She reached her hand out of bed and patted Fenris on the head. He was sleeping on a fluffy blue rug beside Misty’s bed. “Good night, Fenris… Tomorrow brings a new day, and a new mission for SQUAD Squadron.”

The End

     Look for more exciting adventures of Misty the Water Faerie and Fenris the Faerie Lupe soon (I hope…) ! Who knows, they might get a new SQUAD member or two…