Battle Quills... ready! Circulation: 190,612,197 Issue: 577 | 11th day of Sleeping, Y15
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Dr. Sloth Returns... Again!: Part One


by dolphinsareawesome

--------

Dolphinsareawesome was relaxing in her Mystery Island Neohome one sunny afternoon when a knock came at the door. She dragged herself off the couch to go answer it.

      "Oh, The Neopian Times! Of course!" she shouted when she saw the yellow delivery Kacheek. She had forgotten all about it!

      "Here's this week's issue, miss," the Kacheek replied, handing her a newspaper.

      "Right on time, as usual." the owner praised the Kacheek, fishing around in her pockets. She pulled out a bag of a hundred neopoints and dropped it into the Kacheek's open paw. "Here you go!" Seeing the amount on the bag caused his eyes to widen.

      "Thank you miss!"

      "Run along, now," Dolphinsareawesome told him. He readily obeyed. "And I told you to call me D!" the owner called after him, smiling. She went back inside and plopped down onto the couch, unrolling the newspaper. Perhaps it would be something good, like a funny comic, or an interesting article, or maybe one of her own stories had made it in. She glanced at the headline: Anonymous Owner Discovers Mind Control Device in Sloth Cap. She sighed with annoyance. "Girls!!" she yelled to her neopets. "Kitchen. Now." The kitchen wasn't much more than a table and a few chairs. But that was all the family needed. D was too anxious to sit, so she stood by the table.

      Cuteflamelady was the first to come in. She was the oldest; a red Usul that wished to be painted fire to match her name. She was the smartest one, and she loved to read. Her sisters just called her Flame. Houndour, her Fire Werhond, trailed in after her. Then purtygal33 came in. She was a Christmas Wocky - the only painted pet in the family. She was so proud of her color that she even had her sisters call her Chris. Her Petpet - Chrystal the Christmas Crystacat - wandered in with her. The youngest Neopet, a red Peophin named Serphine1, was soon to arrive. She wasn't sure what color she wanted to be; she just kept bouncing between Island and Pirate. Despite being the youngest, she was the strongest, with the best record at the Battledome. Her Petpet was an ordinary Ombat named Leo. The girls sat down at the table. D slapped her issue of the Neopian Times down on the table.

      "All right," she said. "Who spilled?" Flame and Serphine immediately turned their heads and looked at their sister.

      "Aw, come on, you guys!" Chris whined.

      "Chris," D warned, "what have I told you about ratting out Dr. Sloth?"

      "Well, I had to do something!" the Wocky protested. "And it didn't work anyway, so what's the problem?"

      "THE PROBLEM!" D shouted before she caught herself. "The problem is that I'm pretty sure I'm the only one he told! He'll think that it was me! We could be in deep trouble for this! And besides, I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone and even though I was crossing my fingers the plan didn't work so we weren't going to tell anyone!"

      ***

      Dr. Sloth was relaxing in his black-and-red throne on a particularly evil day. He had decided to be in a good mood today. The delivery Grundo came in with his copy of the Neopian Times and fled immediately. Perhaps it would be something good, like a funny comic, or an interesting article, or maybe one of his own stories had made it in. But no. He unrolled the newspaper to see the worst headline imaginable: Anonymous Owner Discovers Mind Control Device in Sloth Cap. Not only had his plan been discovered, but he couldn't even punish the one responsible! He ripped the newspaper in half out of anger.

      "AAAARRRRRG!!!" he roared at thin air. "How did this leak out? I haven't told anyone! Well, I told my lab of course... THAT RAT!!!! I knew I shouldn't have trusted her!" The evil mastermind pushed a button on the armrest of his throne. "Felix?" he asked.

      "Yes master?" the nervous-sounding voice of a Grundo replied.

      "Get D on the communicator I gave her," Sloth instructed. "I need to have a talk with her."

      ***

      Back at D's house, the girls had broken into an argument over whose fault the leak really was. Suddenly the communicator from Dr. Sloth began to ring.

      "Quiet!" D yelled. "It's him. Act natural!" She picked up the communicator. "Hello, dolphinsareawesome but you may call me D! How may I help you?" Her tone was so nonchalant, anyone would've believed it. At least, Serphine hoped that Sloth would believe it. Despite being the toughest in the family, she was still only level 12, and really didn't desire to be reduced to a pile of sludge. "Ah, Dr. Sloth! What a pleasure to hear from you, sir! How's the current plan going? A leak? How could that have happened? What, me?! Don't be so ridiculous, sir! I promised I wouldn't tell a soul. And I didn't. It just says 'anonymous', sir. That could be anyone! Well, that narrows it down to half of Neopia, but still! I bet it was the resistance, sir. I bet they bugged my communicator. I thought they trusted me, sir! I'll make sure they do, sir. I promise. Well, sir, if it makes you feel better, it didn't work anyway. Yes, sir. Yes, I know, sir. I will, sir. Talk to you then. Bye." D hung up.

      She released an exasperated sigh. "Evil masterminds!" she complained. "You just can't work with them!" Serphine smiled. Sometimes it got a little annoying, being the pet of Double Agent D, but moments like these always brightened it up. The communicator from the resistance rang. This communicator was remarkably similar to the other one due to the fact that D had stolen the schematics for the Sloth communicator and sold them to the resistance for a very high price.

      "The resistance!" D shouted. "I almost forgot!" She picked up the communicator. "Hello, dolphinsareawesome but you may call me D! How may I help you? Oh hi boss! What a pleasure to hear from you, sir! How's it going? I know, sir. No, I didn't tell anyone! Don't be so ridiculous, sir! It would jeopardize my position. It just says 'anonymous', sir. That could be anyone! Well, that narrows it down to half of Neopia, but still! We might want to keep an eye on him, sir. I'm sure he's cooking up another plan right now. He didn't tell me anything. I think he suspects me. I bet he bugged my communicator. I thought he trusted me, sir! I'll make sure he does, sir. I promise. Well, sir, if it makes you feel better, it didn't work anyway. Yes. Yes, I know. I will, sir. Talk to you then. Bye." D put the communicator down and sighed again.

      "So you really don't know what he's planning?" Flame asked. D shook her head.

      "He'll never tell me anything after this," she answered. "And the resistance probably won't tell me anything, because they don't trust me either."

      "So what do we do?" Chris questioned.

      "I guess we just have to keep an eye on him. Wait for him to make a move."

      ***

      Dr. Sloth put down the communicator and sighed. "Double Agents," he muttered. "You just can't work with them!" He pushed the button on his throne again. "Felix, get my lab on the communicator," he ordered.

      "Yes master." Dr. Sloth jumped. Not because Felix had scared the evil mastermind, but because Felix was already in the room. The little white Grundo had stuck around in case his master needed the communicator again. Which he did. Felix set to work connecting to the lab.

      "How did you... why are you... how long have you been here?!" Dr. Sloth stuttered.

      "I stuck around after you got off the communicator with D, master," Felix explained. "In case you needed the communicator again, master."

      "Ah, yes. Yes, of course," Dr. sloth agreed, shaking his head. "You must excuse me; I'm having a bad day." Felix thought that was supposed to make him feel better. It didn't. If anything, it made him feel worse. Just then the communicator connected to the lab. He handed the communicator to his master. "Hello? Yes, this is Dr. Sloth. Oh, you heard? Yes, I'm aware of that. I think it was D but she won't tell me anything. I KNOW IT DIDN'T WORK ANYWAY! AND IT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!" Felix winced instinctively. "No, no, it's fine. Relax, it's not your fault. The technology is brilliant but... Well, the thing is it doesn't work through the skull. It can make it through fur and skin alright, but the bone blocks the signal. And scales don't help either. The chip would have to be applied..." Sloth's tone slowed down and his face changed. He no longer looked like he was having a headache; his face relaxed and his eyes widened - his "I have an idea" face. "directly to the brain!" he shouted excitedly. "Ready the lab! I'll be down there in ten minutes! Felix, fetch my lab coat!"

      "Yes, master."

      "And whatever you do," he instructed, "don't tell D!!"

To be continued...

 
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