Tor & Roberta's Halloween Misadventure:Part Two

     About an hour had passed and the sky was completely black. A few wispy clouds floated in the sky, and a full moon’s bright glow had lit the cobblestone paths winding through Neovia. Neopets of all ages dressed head-to-toe in costume bustled the streets in search of tricks and treats.

     Tor and Roberta were searching frantically for Bruno and Sophie. Were they too late? Did Mr. Krawley get to them already?

     “Roberta! There he is!” Tor hissed, pointing toward a dark alleyway. Sure enough, a Krawk dressed in a suit and top hat with a shining cane in hand was lurking in the shadows.

     “We can’t be so obvious, Tor! We have to follow him to wherever he keeps all his elixirs, and destroy them,” Roberta said.

     “Tor! Roberta! Over here!” A warm voice called. It was Bruno, with his dear little sister, Sophie. She seemed much more cheery now that she was chewing on a mouthful of candy. “Fancy some chocolate? We’ve only just begun!”

     Roberta sighed with relief. Mr. Krawley hadn’t gotten to him...yet. They couldn’t let Bruno and Sophie know what they were up to, or who Mr. Krawley was, or the fact that they were from the future, so Roberta came up with a plan.

     “Hey Bruno,” Roberta said. “Could Tor and I join you after you take Sophie trick-or-treating? I’d hate to intrude on your time together, and we actually have a friend we’d like to visit for just a bit.”

     “Oh, of course!” Bruno grinned. “What’s their name? It’s such a small town, I’m sure I know them!”

     “No… no I don’t think so! See you later, Bruno!” Tor said hastily, grabbing Roberta and walking the other way.

     “Do you think that was rude?” Roberta asked. “That was rude. We’ve been nothing but dismissive!”

     “Now’s not the time for courtesies, Roberta. We need to get to Mr. Krawley fast. I have a bad feeling that this is one of those things where once the clock strikes midnight on Halloween, we’re back in Neopia present-time, and all this is for nothing,” Tor theorized. He had a point.

     Nodding in agreement, Roberta kept her eyes peeled for the stealthy Krawk. As they neared the alley where they last saw him, they saw a glimmer of something behind a few barrels. It was a door handle, but no door was in sight. It was simply a handle on a brick wall. Could Mr. Krawley be setting them up?

     Roberta suddenly felt a chill come over her. Tor felt his fur stand up on the back of his neck. Turning slowly, the pair saw that Mr. Krawley himself was standing behind them. Although he was somewhat small and short in stature, his presence was nonetheless foreboding.

     “Hello, young ones… Happy Halloweeen…” he hissed in a low, soft voice. “Is there something I could help you find?”

     Tor gulped as he carefully thought about what he said next. “Yes, sir. There is. My friend and I were hoping you could help us. You see, we feel like we don’t fit in quite right here in Neovia. Everyone gives us glares, as if we look like monsters. We just want to make friends and look like the other Neovians. Do you think you could help us with that?”

     Roberta immediately caught on. Mr. Krawley did not. He grinned. “Oh, sweet lad...and lady...yes, of course...please, come follow me…” he motioned for them to move away from the wall, of which he tapped twice with his cane. The brick suddenly crumbled away, and sure enough a wooden door with a glistening handle was before them. The door opened.

     “Come, this way…” Mr. Krawley said, tipping his hat for them to go first.

     Gripping her wand tightly within her robes, Roberta took the first steps as Tormund followed behind her. If all else went wrong, at least she would have her best friend beside her…

          Tor and Roberta walked down what seemed like an endless flight of winding stone steps, until they reached a small, candle-lit room. There were books and scrolls scattered about, along with broken potion bottles and ropes. Roberta scanned the room for anything that looked like an elixir. Nothing was in sight; only empty potions.

     “Please, take a seat.” Mr. Krawley motioned to two wooden chairs against the wall. “I will return in a moment.” With his cane, he sauntered over to a dark corner of the room, that now seemed larger.

     “Tor,” Roberta whispered. “On my count, you have to distract him before he brings it over, and I’ll sneak behind him to grab the other elixirs and destroy them.”

     Tor nodded. Soon enough, Mr. Krawley came over, with a small vial in his hand. The liquid inside was green. “Say, err… before I drink that, aren’t you curious to know where I’m from?” Tor tried, turning away from the eerie Krawk. “Nothing about my armor seems...odd to you?”

     Mr. Krawley croaked out a maniacal laugh. “Oh, I know exactly who you are, Tormund Ellis.”

     Tor’s eyes widened as he began to turn around, “But...how…”

     Suddenly, he felt a hard blow against his back, as Mr. Krawley’s cane came cracking down on him.

     “AH!” Tor yelped. Roberta had snuck her way over to the corner Mr. Krawley emerged from, frantically searching for the other viles. As soon as she heard Tor’s cry, she came bolting over, her wand at the ready.

     “DROP the vile, Mr. Krawley! We know what you plan to do to all those Neovians! Tell me where the other viles are, and I won’t hurt you.” Roberta shouted. She was trembling, but trying to remain brave.

     The Krawk let out another evil cackle. “Oh, please...you won’t hurt me…”

     In one swift motion, Mr. Krawley had poured the vile into Tor’s mouth as he lay on the floor, groaning in pain.

     “NO!!” Roberta screamed. “TOR!” Fueled with rage, Roberta directed her wand at Mr. Krawley and blasted. The blast shot past Mr. Krawley and into the wall behind him, causing it to crack and crumble. The room began to shake, as a couple of decaying wooden pillars supporting it were collapsing. Mr. Krawley looked panicked.

     “Foolish girl! What have you done?! My elixirs!” He cried, as he ran over to the corner. Sure enough, bottles upon bottles of elixir came raining down from the cupboards, many of them unopened. The green elixir began to cascade down onto the floor and onto Mr. Krawley as he frantically tried to use the glass bottles to preserve the green puddles.

     “Tor! Please! We have to get out of here! Get up!” Roberta cried. Tor used his shield to prop himself up, and with an arm around Roberta he quickly hobbled over to the exit.

     The two hurriedly ran up the flights of stairs, as the walls of the building began to shake and collapse. Without looking back, they made it to the exit onto the cobblestone streets of Neovia.

     Roberta felt tears welling in her eyes as dread overcame her. Tor staggered as he held onto Roberta, his back aching.

     “Tor, we have to get back up the hill and find the portal --before the mutation begins!” Roberta cried helplessly. As they began to make their way toward the outskirts of the town, ignoring the fearful looks Neovians gave them, they heard Sophie calling behind them.

     “Roberta! Tor! What happened? What’s wrong?” Sophie cried out, Bruno by her side. They came running over, looking panicked.

     “I...I can’t tell you, I’m sorry. I can’t explain right now, trust me, but I’ve got to get Tor back up the hill… I think he’s been...poisoned” Roberta tried to explain.

     “Back up the hill?! Tor can hardly walk!” Bruno said incredulously. “Please, come with me. My brother Reginald may know how to help. He knows everything. Come back to my house. Trust me. We’re going to help Tor.” Bruno smiled.

     ~~~

     When the four entered the small, cozy home they were hit with a strong smell of baked bread and maple. Roberta instantly felt more at ease, but wasn’t sure the answer to her and Tor’s problem was here. Could Reginald really have a cure? Did he even know who Mr. Krawley was?

     A young and scrawny Lupe with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail came out from the kitchen. “Err...hello” he said.

     “Reginald, these are our friends, Roberta and Tor. Tor needs help. Roberta said he’s been poisoned, and was hit in the back with a cane.”

     Tor’s eyes began to droop as his head twitched. “I… what’s going on…” he tried to mutter.

     “Help me get him upstairs, Reginald.” Bruno took Tor by one arm, and Reginald took him with the other. They carried him up the steps.

     “He can stay in my room!” Sophie cried out. She and Roberta hurried up the stairs after them.

     As Tormund lay on the bed, Sophie began to sing a song to help calm her two new friends.

     Instantly, Roberta recognized it. It was the same tune she and Tor heard earlier in the Haunted Woods...the voice that lead them to the portal. “Sophie, that’s a beautiful song. Where did you learn that?”

     “I just taught myself.” Sophie shrugged nonchalantly.

     “Let me look through my books and see what I can find for Tor,” Reginald said. “I’ve dealt with poisonings before.” He got up and left the room.

     Bruno looked at Tor and then at Roberta. “I’m sorry this isn’t exactly a great first impression of Neovia...maybe you two are just unlucky!” He tried to joke.

     Roberta mustered a smile, “Maybe.”

     “All right, Sophie. It’s bedtime.” Bruno said as he got up and tried to take Sophie’s hand.

     “No! It’s still Halloween! I can stay up. I want to stay with my friends.” She pleaded, looking at Roberta.

     Roberta smiled. “Sophie, it’s ok. I’ll see you in the morning.”

     “Do you promise?”

          “I promise.”

     Sophie and her big brother left the room, leaving Roberta to watch after her best friend. “Oh Tormund… look what we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

     Suddenly, a glimmering light began to shine from Sophie’s wardrobe. Curious, Roberta walked over and opened the doors. She gasped. The portal! It was here!

     “Tormund! The portal! Get up! We have to go NOW!” Roberta cried, tugging him out of bed.

     Tor grabbed his sword and shield, groaning. “I better not wake up tomorrow morning mutated…”

     Roberta paused. She didn’t say goodbye to Sophie. Or Bruno, or Reginald. The portal may only be open for so long, and she couldn’t risk losing Tor to Mr. Krawley’s mutation. With one deep breath, Roberta stepped into the portal, hand-in-hand with Tor.

     “AHHH!”

     Roberta and Tor crashed onto the ground from thin air, once again. “Ugh. Not going to get used to that…” Roberta sighed. She looked over at Tor. “How do you feel?”

     Tor shook his head and looked down at his arms and legs. “I feel...great! I mean, other than a massive bruise I’m going to have from that fall.”

     Roberta smiled. Her friend was safe from mutation, and everything was back to normal. Hopefully…

     They looked up at the sky to see it was still dark. “Err… how long were we gone for?” Tor asked. “Is it still Halloween?”

     Roberta looked perplexed. “I think it might be...did any of that even happen? Did we really save Neovia?”

     Tor shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

     The pair then embarked on the path that they were certain would lead to Neovia; a small path at the edge of Haunted Woods, just past a gypsy camp.

     Clouds began to cover the sky, obscuring the full moon’s bright gleam. Soon enough, Roberta and Tor reached a familiar clearing. They ventured up a small hill to soon reveal the truth. Before them, they saw Neovia. It was bustling with Neopets, dressed head-to-toe in costume, and the faint sounds of children’s laughter could be heard over the clocktower ringing.

     Cautiously, Roberta and Tor walked down the hill toward the entrance of Neovia. The town they once knew as dilapidated and depressed was just the opposite.

     “I think it worked, Tor! I think we really did save Neovia!” Roberta grinned.

     “I guess we did, huh? And apparently, not much time passed while we were gone! It’s still Halloween,” replied Tor as he admired the costumes.

     Walking down the cobblestone paths through town, Roberta couldn’t help but smile. Had she not reluctantly gone with Tor to venture into the Haunted Woods, Bruno would still be mutated, Sophie would be a Swamp Witch, and Neovia would be barren of cheer.

     In the distance, Roberta spotted a green Ixi with dark, flowing hair plaited into a braid. She was with a few friends, laughing. Could it be…?

     The Ixi turned and stopped in her tracks, catching Roberta’s gaze. It was Sophie. She looked perplexed, as if she was trying to remember how exactly she knew the Lupe and Acara staring at her. She just couldn’t quite place it. She smiled, waved, and went on her way.

     “Was that…?” Tor began.

     Roberta nodded, smiling. “Sophie.”

     The pair then decided to end their night back at home in Meridell and Brightvale. Before departing, Tor laughed.

     “What’s so funny?” Roberta asked.

     “See how right I was? Aren’t you glad I forced you to come with me to the Haunted Woods? Just think if we hadn’t!”

     Roberta laughed, “Ok. You’re right. But, for the record, I saved you from mutation, so...let’s call it even.”

     “Ok,” Tor grinned as he began to walk away. “Happy Halloween, Roberta.”

     “Happy Halloween.”

     The End.