The Roboball

Somewhere deep within the earth of Neopia, Dr. Sloth was working on his latest invention. It would be the tool that would allow him to reclaim his place as the most powerful being in Neopia!...That is, if he could get it to work.

It wasn’t that Dr. Sloth’s work was a failure. Everything up until this point has been perfect! The case was that if he did not do everything right in the completion of his creation, a year’s worth of work would have been wasted. Up until this point, his Mutant Grundo slaves have helped in the gathering and construction of the parts to put together. It was now his job alone to put everything together properly.

The interior body of his machine was not too difficult. Dr. Sloth was used to making humanoid robots enough that it has become second nature to him. The plating and reflectors, however, would need a little more work on his part. The armor needed to be set just right, so that if his robot pulled his arms and legs into a fetal position, it would look like a giant metal ball. In this form, it could fly through the air at break neck speeds, as if it were a thrown baseball. And in combat, it could reflect or absorb any magical blow from its attacker. This feature, along with one other, would make it invincible. And it would be under complete command by him. Dr. Sloth, the future ruler of Neopia!

After many grueling weeks of work, Sloth was almost completed with his robot, which stood six feet tall from head to toe, and was colored red and silver. One final piece of plating needed to be put in place. Before it could be welded however, Sloth needed to install all of the machines programming. This was the most critical phase, otherwise all his work would be for nothing! If the programming went correctly, his invention would close off into a ball after the final plate was put in. He would then put his invention in a specially designed chamber and power up his robot, to make it come alive. After it is powered up, it would emerge from its ball form and receive orders from Sloth.

However, if his programming was faulty, the robot may stay inside its protective state, making it impossible to open up. If Sloth were to pry his invention open, all of his compact welding and wiring would be torn apart, thereby destroying his creation. So as to not let that happen, Sloth put extra care to be very careful with its programming, to make sure it came out of its shell after being powered up.

The programming of his robot took many days, but it was finally complete. He activated the countdown programming, and he began to quickly weld the final plate permanently to the body. He had only a few minutes before his robot pulled himself into a ball. He finished his welding and gathered up his tools, with about eleven seconds to spare. Sloth stood there, sweating with excitement, completely focused on his creation.

Eleven seconds passed, and Sloth’s robot stood silent. He began to wonder if it was a failure after all, and that he would have to build another. To his glee, however, the robot began to cave in upon itself, and formed into a ball about two and a half feet wide. He did a little dance and shouted for his Mutant slaves. Two hulking Grundos came into his lab. He ordered them to pick up the metal ball on the floor and place it into the power chamber. Picking up the heavy robot, they placed it on the pedestal in the center of the room. The room was sealed off, and many electrical wires and probes came out of the floor, walls, and ceiling to encircle the entire circumference of the robot. Sloth put on a pair of shades, and giggled with anticipation as he flipped switches and pressed buttons to power up his invention.

With a blinding flash, electrical current flowed onto the robot. The plating was doing its job, as the power meters by Sloth’s hands showed that it was absorbing all the energy thrown at it. After ten whole seconds, the bright flash subsided. All the wires and probes returned to their places in the walls. Dr. Sloth removed his shades, and stared intently to see if his creation would respond to the extreme boost of energy. To his extreme joy, the robot levitated off the pedestal it was resting upon, and changed into its humanoid form. It then placed his feet upon the pedestal below him, and stood there, prepared to receive orders from Sloth.

Dr. Sloth’s fanatical laughter could be heard throughout his underground base. Every Mutant Grundo turned their heads towards the laughter, knowing that it was time to again go to the surface, and wage war against Neopia. They each readied themselves with all there new weaponry and armor, ready to hear the command of Sloth.

Sloth’s laughter toned down after a minute to mere giggles. He gazed through his looking glass at his creation, which was still waiting for orders, as his programming said to do. Sloth wondered to himself, and realized he did not have a name for his creation yet. He thought for awhile, and then thought of a clever name after remembering it could turn into a ball. He decided to name it Roboball.

Far from Dr. Sloth’s underground lair, Nameless the shopkeeper wasn’t feeling too good. Not too many people were coming to the shop today. In the past, he thought no one bought anything because they could not see him, the store clerk, as he sometimes became invisible. After time, however, he began to realize that no one bought anything because his entire stock was filled with junk and overpriced items. They adorned all the shelves of the store. Anyone who came by and saw the products and prices were so disgusted that they never came back.

It was this fact alone that the previous clerk, Clog the lumbering Frankenstein, left without a word. He was replaced by a Robot also named Clog, but it eventually left too. Jacob (his employer) was so devastated, he almost gave up the store. His joy for life though was changed when Nameless came in for the job. He had begun to restock the shelves again, with both junk and worthwhile buys.

Business boomed in spurts, and it’s been a few days since the last one. It would be another week before he got any customers, so Nameless simple passed the time by sleeping in his chair, waiting for a new customer.

The bell above the store entrance ringed, meaning someone was coming into the shop. Sitting up, Nameless gathered up his strength to make himself become visible to the customers. With a happy voice and a grin, he said, “Hello! Welcome to my store!”

“Hey Nameless. What’s up? Just so you know, I got a big haul today!”

It was Jacob, still wearing dark clothing and still a bit pudgy. Nameless uttered a groan, and went back to being an outline of his true image. That was his best customer welcome all day, and he wasted it on his boss. Jacob took notice of this, saying, “Hey Nameless. Are you alright? You look kind of sick. You don’t have Neoflu do you?”

Nameless gave a small smile, and said, “No. I’m fine. What do you got for me today Jacob?”

Jacob brought up his travel bag up on to the counter. Out of the bag he pulled three different flavors of jelly bottled soda.

“So, what do you think,” said Jacob with a hopeful grin. “Jelly food from Jelly World, the place that is not supposed to exist.”

Nameless scratched his head, not too impressed. “So you got it from Jelly World, huh? I don’t think it will sell Jacob.”

“Not necessarily,” said Nameless, pointing at other jelly products on the store shelf. “As you can see, that hunk of jelly cheese hasn’t sold yet, and neither has the bowl of jelly cereal. And those happen to be the first jelly products you gave me.”

At that moment, Metonot (Jacob’s Korbat friend and Neopet) flew up and started to hover in front of Nameless.

“Hey, just because nobody bought it right away doesn’t mean it will never be bought,” said Metonot. “Have some faith in people Nameless. Someone will eventually realize the value of jelly food.”

“That’s the spirit Metonot,” said Jacob, his spirit refreshed. “It doesn’t matter if it is a quick buy or not. Just the fact that it is there when one someone needs it.”

Nameless sighed, saying, “Alright. Let’s put these jelly soda bottles up on the shelf then.”

“Good,” said Jacob, who was now packing up his bag. “I’ll be back to see you in a few days Nameless. Have a good day!”

“Bye Nameless!” said Metonot as he flew after Jacob through the door.

Nameless placed the jelly food in its appropriate area, and walked back to his place behind the counter. Sighing to himself again, he knew it was going to be another uneventful day.

“Hey Metonot,” said Jacob. “Get your Avabot out of the ground before it gets stuck.”

Whooper, Metonot’s petpet, started spinning on its head when they had gone into the store. It was still spinning, and it had already dug itself into the ground halfway. Metonot flew above the swirling feet of Whooper, and grabbed them with his own feet, stopping him in mid-spin. Flapping hard, Metonot proceeded to pluck Whooper from the ground. As the Avabot was dropped on its side, it gave off the impression that it didn’t know what had just happened. After giving off a few sparks, he jumped to his feet, and tried to shake off all the dirt that had gotten inside of his interior.

Metonot landed in front of Whooper, with a concerned look upon his face. Cautiously, he asked, “Are you okay Whooper?”

As if to answer Metonot, Whooper took a single look at him and fired a small laser blast from his eyes at Metonot’s feet. The blast wasn’t large enough to harm Metonot, but gave him a giant sting of pain.

“Ouch!” cried Metonot, who was know ten feet into the air. “That hurt Whooper! What did you do that for?”

Whooper merely fizzled and sparked, and started to do a tap dance.

Jacob began to giggle at the show the Avabot was putting on. “I always wondered what was up with Whooper’s actions.” He then looked at Metonot above him and said, “Do you think he might be broken? I’m sure we could fix him, or even get a replacement.”

Metonot flew down in front Jacob, a very furious look upon his face.

“Oh gee, that would be nice! Let’s get rid of my petpet, whom I happened to bond with even though he has trouble expressing his feelings! Or better yet, we could even go to the Virtual Space Station, and have one of the many robot builders there give him a complete work over, so that he can finally stop acting so quirky. But no! We got no time to be doing that, we are to busy frolicking in the grass! And you don’t want to spend any money!”

Jacob’s hands were in front of his face, as if to protect himself from Metonot rage. He was not scared though, as he had a small smile on his face. He was being playful, kidding as always, and not being serious a bit.

“Metonot, if Whooper was actually broken, he wouldn’t be following you as a petpet should. Since we aren’t trying to chase him down, he isn’t really broken. He just happens to have a screw loose is all!”

Metonot gave one final grunt of anger, as he knew he wouldn’t be able to get through Jacob’s strange sense of humor. Jacob could never get serious about anything. Metonot stopped flapping his wings and dropped to the ground, defeated.

Jacob took notice of this, and decided to cheer him up as he rummaged through his bag. He said, “Don’t you worry Metonot. I got just the thing that will cheer you up!”

Metonot looked up at Jacob with hopeful eyes, thinking Jacob was going to do something rational to cheer him up. His gaze of hope turned to horror as saw that Jacob was holding in his hands one of his oldest weapons. The Sword of Domar. This could mean only one thing. Jacob intended to have Metonot fight in the Battledome.

“Jacob, you can’t be serious!” cried Metonot. “I haven’t fought anybody in months! And the last time I did, I was wupped by the Pant Devil! For the seventh time!”

“Oh, don’t you worry Metonot,” reassured Jacob. “I also think it would be a bad idea to put you in a fight. Especially since you don’t want to be in one! The sword is just going to be for show, so that we can enter the Battledome. What we are going to do is watch other Neopets fight.”

Metonot’s heart leapt, as he enjoyed watching good fight. When he watched great fighters duel, he always imagines himself fighting like them one day. As things were turning out, however, it didn’t look like that was happening in the near future. Still, it was wonderful to dream of such things. Metonot began to smile again and asked, “Which Battledome are we going to see this time?”

Jacob began to ponder, and his eyes beamed with joy as he said, “How about the Mystery Island Battledome?”

“What?” said Metonot, very surprised. “Couldn’t we just go to the one here in town? It’s not that far off.”

Metonot knew that it would take a few days to get to Mystery Island, as they were supposedly not very rich. The rich could go on any boat or flying vessel they wanted, as they had the ability to do so. Jacob could only afford the cheapest boats, and those were the slowest.

Of course, whenever Jacob says he can only afford the cheapest boats, Metonot knew that he was just being cheap. He knew this, as Jacob usually sent him and his siblings to the Cockroach Towers for vacation. Metonot sighed, as he knew he could not change Jacob’s mind. So he might as well live with him, and hope for the best.

A few minutes later, Jacob, Metonot, and the dysfunctional Avabot named Whooper set off towards the docks to find a boat heading for Mystery Island, where they hoped to see great fighters compete against each other for higher glory.

Sloth walked into the chamber holding the Roboball with his two strongest Mutant Grundo warriors. The Roboball took notice of Sloth, and stepped down from the pedestal he was standing on.

“Master Sloth, what shall you have me do?” said the Roboball in an electronic voice.

Sloth smiled, as that was exactly what it was supposed to say when he came before it. He then pointed at his creation, and said, “Your codename is Roboball. Whenever I call out your name, and nothing else, you must acknowledge me by saying ‘Yes Master Sloth’ and await my commands. Understood?”

“Yes Master Sloth.” replied the Roboball.

Sloth giggled to himself again. To see if his orders were followed, he said, “Roboball.”

“Yes Master Sloth?”

Sloth began another bout of laughter. His programming had done well. He knew that it was time to test one final element of the Roboball’s design.

“Begin scanning perimeter for strong energy signatures,” said Dr. Sloth. “Upon identification of two strongest signatures, commence program ‘Energy Steal’, then await further orders.”

On command, the Roboball’s sensors kicked in, scanning in every direction for one mile. When it was done searching, Sloth knew it would identify his two Grundo slaves, as they were the strongest warriors in the entire base. Roboball’s second counter measure would then come into effect. Program ‘Energy Steal’. It would literally absorb his two warrior’s strength, thereby making Roboball even stronger. After Sloth’s two warriors have been drained, he would send Roboball into the world, to assimilate the powers of the strongest of beings. By use of this power, Sloth would take out the strongest of warriors, and at the same time use their power for conquest.

The Roboball had finished his searching, as two metal collars came out from a hidden chamber in his body. Both collars floated in the air. Sloth smiled, seeing that his programming as done well, as Roboball’s actions have been completed at record time. The first collar flew at one of the Mutant Grundos, snapping around its neck. The second one...went straight at Dr. Sloth! Unable to dodge the fast collar, Sloth’s neck was also caught in its grasp.

“What do you think you’re doing?” screamed Dr. Sloth, trying to tear off the energy absorber from his neck. “This collar is supposed to be on my other Grundo warrior, not around my…”

Sloth’s words were cut sort as the Roboball activated the collars. The Grundo warrior and Sloth collapsed as their will to stand was taken away. A few seconds later, both of them fainted.

“What are my orders Master Sloth?” said the Roboball.

Dr. Sloth could not answer though, as he was in a deep sleep. The Roboball waited several more minutes for a reply, and then secondary programming kicked in.

“Master Sloth incapacitated. Secondary program ‘Revenge’ activated. Begin assimilation or destruction of strongest of warriors and destroy Neopia.”

Roboball then transformed into his protective sphere, and crashed through the ceiling of Dr. Sloth’s laboratory, and through the many miles of earth and rock that was above it.

Jacob had just bought two tickets to Mystery Island from the ticket booth. He was smiling like a child with a new toy, as he had gotten a bargain from the dealer. As Jacob was buying the tickets, he noticed that the Kyrii ticket seller was famished from lack of food. Seeing that the poor Kyrii needed nourishment, and that he had little cash at hand, Jacob bargained with the ticket seller. Two tickets at half price for a Baggus.

The Kyrii jumped at the offer. After they switched the tickets for the desert fruit, the Kyrii instantly bit into the Baggus. Through its chewing, Jacob could almost hear the thank you from the starving Kyrii. Jacob smiled and nodded, and gave the now happy Kyrii a wave before he turned around. As he walked away, Jacob felt extremely happy, and not just because he saved money or fed the hungry Kyrii. He had gotten rid of a Baggus, a desert fruit that Metonot absolutely loathed.

Speaking of his Neopet, he was currently waiting at the docks with Whooper. As Jacob came up to them, he could see that they had gathered a crowd of assorted Neopets around them. This was usually common considering both of their eccentric attitudes. Politely pushing through the crowd, he saw that Metonot and Whooper were doing their daily exercise. In reality, that meant that Metonot was trying to stop Whooper from acting weird.

It happened almost every day. Whooper would suddenly crackle and fizzle with electricity, and then fly about, spin in the air and ground, fire lasers here and there, and speak complete gibberish. Metonot would get in a fit and try to stop Whooper, as his stray laser shots usually hurt people. That and the fact that Whooper’s gibberish talk annoyed Metonot completely. The exercise, as Jacob liked to jokingly call it, would go on for at least ten minutes before Whooper powered down. By then, Metonot was exhausted, and needed to rest on Jacob’s shoulders for awhile before he could move again.

Which was about to be the case in a few more seconds if Jacob allowed the exercise to continue. Jumping between the two of them, Jacob swiftly grabbed for Whooper. As Jacob held him in both of his hands, Whooper spun around his head a few more times, and then calmed down. He could hear everyone gathered around them sigh in disappointment, as they knew their show was over. Not too happy with any of them, Jacob called out to all of them in a polite voice lined with anger.

“The show is over folks. You all go abbot you business now, and keep in mind to help those that need helping.”

The crowd, unnerved by his words, slowly spread out and disappeared. Jacob turned around to see his tired and thankful Korbat gasping for breath. Jacob was glad, as Metonot wasn’t too tired to need a rest. That meant he wouldn’t have to hold his arm up for an hour while Metonot slept upside down from his wrist. Jacob was strong, but not that strong!

“So Metonot,” said Jacob. “Are you ready to head off to Mystery Island?”

Metonot wiped the sweat from his eyes, saying, “Sure. I’m ready to go. As long as Whooper stays away from me.”

Noticing that Whooper was still in his hands, Jacob set him down on the ground. As the Avabot spent most of its excess energy already, it was now content with just staring up at the sky, as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Jacob looked back at Metonot with a smile, and said, “You of all people should know that you two are bound by a pact of friendship.”

“Well,” scoffed Metonot, “I don’t have to like it though. And it’s more like ownership if you ask me.”

“Don’t sound as if you aren’t grateful Metonot. I seem to remember when I first gave you Whooper. You were happy that I was able to get you a petpet. And not just any petpet, but a robot petpet!”

Metonot sighed, as he knew that was true. Of course, he was beginning to regret that happiness, as he found out over the past two years they’ve been together that Whooper was an insane robot that could not be controlled.

Seeing Metonot’s glum face, Jacob thought he had spoken some sense into him. If he wasn’t so ignorant, he may have been able to see the emotional torment that was going through his Neopet. As he didn’t, Jacob simply turned around and began to walk towards the waiting boat that would take the three of them towards Mystery Island.

“Come on then,” said Jacob. “If we get on the boat now, we might be able to pick the best cabin before anyone else gets there.”

As Jacob walked away, Metonot stared at Whooper, who was still as docile as a sleeping baby. He sighed, and lifted himself into the air with a few flaps of his arms. As he started to fly off after Jacob, Metonot began to believe his life had hit the lowest point of sadness. ‘At least it can’t get any worse’, thought Metonot. Not far behind him, Whooper noticed that he was being left behind, and he quickly hovered after Metonot and the boat leaving towards Mystery Island.

Far away, in the land of Meridell, Jeran walked across the drawbridge leading from his land’s castle in full body armor. He was about to begin his daily stroll across the kingdom, as it was his duty as captain of the knights to maintain peace and order. However, the feeling of majesty and pride that he had in the past was now replaced by confusion, as he had no idea who to protect anymore.

In the past, Jeran fought for the peace of all that lived in Meridell. And to maintain that peace, in was necessary to have possession of the magical Orb that was in King Skarl’s possession. Only the Orb could keep peace and happiness in the land, as its power kept back famine and disease.

Doubt was instilled in his mind when Lord Darigan and his followers had come to wage war against Meridell. They had claimed Skarl had stolen the Orb from their land, and they intended to take it back. Jeran fought against them, even though their accusations troubled his conscience. It was all in vain however, as Darigan recruited more powerful warriors that believed in his claims than in Meridell’s.

But it was not over even after Meridell’s defeat. The Orb, the magical artifact that was the cause of the supposed peace they had throughout the years, had driven Darigan insane. He began to destroy not only Meridell, but also the very followers that acquired the Orb for him. After a long and hard fight, Darigan was defeated. He vanished into thin air, and the orb cracked in two.

With the destruction of the orb, it was assumed that the fields of Meridell would decay, and sickness would begin to spread like wildfire. None of this has passed though, much to the horror of Meridell and Darigan alike. They all believed prosperity was achieved because of the Orb. However, as Meridell continued to grow from day to day, they all began to realize that they placed too much trust in the Orb. It had deceived them all into a pointless war for peace. And now that it was gone, the only difference that they had achieved was more pain and grieving for those that were lost.

After much negotiation, a truce was finally formed with the forces of Darigan. They would live in peace with the Meridell citizens, and would share the prosperity that they had all taken for granted in the past. It was uneasy at first, but now Darigan and Meridell citizens can freely walk the streets without tension.

As the orb was not crucial to the peace of the land, what had they all fought for? That was Jeran’s predicament at the moment.

Jeran’s brooding was cut short as he heard a loud crash. He jumped to attention, raising his sword and shield into a battle stance. Scanning Meridell for the disturbance, he saw smoke rising from Illusen’s Glade. ‘What could be happening over there’, thought Jeran. Having no time to speculate on things, his knight’s instincts kicked in. He cleared his mind, and ran towards Illusen’s Glade.

Illusen began to cough as she inhaled smoke and dust. Only a second ago, she was resting against a tree, enjoying the midday sun. Then someone or something had smashed right through the tree, spooking her out of her daydreams. Before she could move away, the upper half of the severed tree and fallen on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

Illusen raised a shaky hand and summoned up some winds with her magic. Within a few seconds, the smoke and dust had cleared from her vision, and she finally saw the one responsible for her current situation. Floating in the air not that far from her was a red and silver robot.

“Target aquired,” said the robot as its feet touched the ground. “Beginning Capture.”

The robot began to walk towards Illusen, who was still trying to struggle free from underneath the tree trunk. She began to realize that the robot would be right in front of her before she ever got free, so she decided to focus on slowing him down instead. Raising her free hand again, vines began to grow from the ground and around the ankles of the approaching robot. This did not work at first, however, as it simply tore away from the vegetation with its powerful strides. With a little more focus though, Illusen was able wrap vines all around the body of the robot, stopping it for a few extra moments.

While the robot struggled against its bonds, Illusen was able to crawl from under the fallen tree and finally get to her feet. When the robot finally tore through the restraining vines, she was ready for it. Picking up a few leaves from the fallen tree, she focused her magic to form them into sharp throwing weapons. She hurled them at the robot, expecting them to cause some form of damage to it. However, the enchanted leaves either bounced off or broke to pieces when they hit the metal surface of the machine.

Free of its bonds, the robot raised an arm and pointed it at Illusen. The humming of gathering energy could be heard by Illusen, and she decided to make a dash for it. As Illusen jumped away, the robot released a blast of energy from its hand, incinerating the ground where she stood. The robot continued to shoot a barrage of laser fire as Illusen jumped and weaved away from it.

Illusen knew she was not ready to fend off the machine. She began to make a run for her home, where she would gather her weapons of battle, so that she would be ready to take it down.

Jeran saw the meeting between Illusen and the robot as he ran towards them. He was stunned at the power of the machine that had sent Illusen running. He had heard stories of the power of robots, but he had never taken them to be true.

The robot was about to chase after Illusen when Jeran came upon it. Its back was turned towards Jeran, so it could not see him running towards it. Putting his shield forward, Jeran charged right into the robot, intending to knock it off its feet. He did happen to land hard enough into the robot push it into the air, but the robot merely levitated to prevent it from falling to the ground. The robot landed back on its feet only five feet away.

Frustrated at his failure to knock down the living hunk of metal, Jeran rushed at it with a powerful sword chop. His sword hit the robot with a soft clang, not even penetrating its shell.

Finally turning around, the robot said, “Capture of primary target interrupted. Fend off intruder and continue capture.”

Jeran was able to throw in a few good swings as the robot said that, but even those weren’t effective against the machine. He quickly raised his shield as the robot raised one of its arms to attack, and the impact of the robot’s swing nearly threw him over. Jeran kept his footing though, and made another futile swing, accompanied by another punch from the robot. Jeran was able to keep his footing this time, as he now knew how strong the machine actually was. ‘This may take awhile’ thought Jeran as he ground his teeth.

After about a minute of swinging his sword and absorbing blows from the robot, Jeran actually got a cut into the hull of its armor. He knew this, as he was being electrocuted. His sword was conducting electricity from the crack he had made. Jeran accepted the pain as a victory, as he had finally cut through the hull of the robot. The robot, sensing the damage, leaped ten yards away from him.

“It’s afraid,” thought Jeran. “It knows that I have the upper hand. And I’m not even winded yet!”

Before Jeran could rush at the robot again, it folded into itself and became a large metal ball, hovering in the air. ‘What is it doing?’ thought Jeran. After only a few seconds, the now ball shaped robot flew straight at him. Having no time to dodge, Jeran put his shield up in front of him to absorb the blow.

The robot slammed into him, smashing his shield into several pieces, and throwing his sword from his hand. Jeran flew several feet through the air, and then landed on the grass. Dazed and confused for only a few seconds, he got right back to his feet, grunting in pain. His sword was a short run away from him, but there would be no time to get it, as the robot was coming at him again.

He quickly dodged and grabbed for his belt. He grabbed for the Ultra Nova that was given to him as a gift by his sister Lisha. When the robot came by again, he activated the Ultra Nova, ignoring its healing properties, and threw it at the rushing robot.

The robot flew through the flash of magic like it wasn’t even there. Not only that, but Jeran could have sworn that it had absorbed the magic. He tried to dodge again, but was clipped in the shoulder as it flew past again. Jeran tumbled several more feet onto the ground. Pushing himself up again, Jeran saw that he was even farther away from his sword than before.

“I’m getting tired of this,” thought Jeran. “I need my sword.”

Again, the robot was flying straight at Jeran. Deciding to take a chance, he began to utilize the magic Illusen had taught him and quickly burrowed himself under the ground. Safely under the dirt, the robot passed above his head. Grinning, Jeran began to dig a tunnel towards the direction of his sword. He hoped his disappearance would confuse the robot while he retrieved his sword.

After half a minute, Jeran poked his head above the dirt and looked around. He almost shouted with glee when he saw that his sword was a hands grasp away and the robot was coming out of its ball form, back to humanoid. He grabbed his sword and leaped from his tunnel, spraying dirt everywhere, rushing straight at the robot. If Jeran wasn’t in such a rush to slash at the head of the robot, he would have heard it saying:

“Power low. Require new power source.”

The robot turned straight at Jeran. Seeing that his attack wouldn’t be a surprise anymore, Jeran pushed himself to run harder. Apparently, because the fact that he was so focused on rushing at the robot, he did not see a collar coming from it until the last second. The collar clasped around Jeran’s neck, and he gave a yelp of surprise.

“What the heck is…” was all Jeran could say as the collar was activated. Jeran jumped with a jolt, dropped his sword, and fell to the ground while running. He stopped a mere four feet from the robot.

The robot began to hum from the new power it was receiving from Jeran. The cut that he had put into its hull with his sword was closing up, via self repair.

“New power source acquired,” said the robot. “Continuing acquisition of primary target.”

The robot changed back into its ball form and flew off, leaving the unconscious Jeran behind.

Far away from Meridell, Dr. Sloth’s army was moving at a slow pace across Neopia. Had Sloth not been incapacitated, the army would be attacking the surrounding lands. Instead, Sloth was being carried by one of his Mutant Grundos, along with the other Mutant Grundo that had a collar around its neck.

“Get me another healing potion,” groaned Sloth. “And get one for him too while you are at it.”

As the Grundo went off to get another two bottles, Dr. Sloth groaned again, thinking of the situation he was in…and how it was all his fault!

When Roboball activated program ‘Energy Steal’, Sloth programmed it to absorb the powers of ANY creature it could in its vacancy. He should have programmed it to absorb the powers of any creature in its vacancy EXCEPT Dr. Sloth. If he had, Sloth wouldn’t be a battery for his renegade robot.

That was another effect of the energy stealing properties of the Roboball. Not only did the collars it used immediately absorb power from the targets, but it stayed around their necks and kept absorbing energy for the Roboball. A maximum of two collared creatures could be attained at a time. Whenever a new target was collared, the weaker energy source of the previous two would disengage, and the collar would fall off.

That was what Sloth was waiting for as he marched across Neopia with his army. When the Roboball collared two others, his own collar would fall off, and he would be able to chase after it with full strength.

“It’s only a matter of time,” thought Sloth, as he was about to drop off into a little nap. “I know where it’ll eventually go to, and when I get my strength back, I’ll meet him there. Then he will be under my control again.”

Before Dr. Sloth could fall asleep though, the Mutant Grundo he had sent off to get healing potions came running up and said, “Master Sloth, look!”

“What do you want!” yelled Sloth, beginning to moan since he wasted his strength to yell. He didn’t feel like drinking any healing potions at the moment, but he knew it was for his own good.

When he looked at what his Grundo minion held in his hands though, Sloth was woken up to full alertness. Not only was he holding a healing potion, but a collar. Sloth quickly looked to the other collared Grundo, and saw that his collar HAD come off its neck. The Grundo was now marching instead of being carried. He looked weary and tired, but he was still marching.

Sloth grabbed the healing potion from his minion’s hands and instantly swallowed all its contents. Throwing the flask to the ground, he yelled, “Double your pace. Soon I will be healed, and we may then enslave all of Neopia!”

Back in Meridell, Illusen ran out of her Glade ready to take on the robot. Not taking any chances, she carried her staff in one hand and her blade in the other, along with a few battle potions on her belt. There was no way she was going to lose.

Coming at her from where she first met the robot, she saw a ball of red and silver streaking straight towards her. She could only guess that it was the robot that had sent her running, as it was the exact same color. She stopped running, and waited for the robot to come towards her.

When it was within range, she called upon the power of her staff and threw her magic at the flying robot ball. The magic did not affect it. It just kept charging at her! She quickly dodged out of the way and threw another magical barrage at the passing robot. Again, there was no effect.

“Strange,” thought Illusen. “Why isn’t my magic working?”

When the robot came flying back for another attack, she decided to try some thing different. She grabbed for a Honey Potion at her belt and threw it right at the approaching ball. The potion shattered, and the honey spread across the entirety of the surface of the ball. Dodging the now covered robot, Illusen turned back towards it to see it crash to the dirt. ‘Good,’ thought Illusen. ‘That should keep it busy while I dismantle it.’

Before she could move, however, the honey covering the robot began to boil off. The robot was heating up its hull. With all the honey off it, the robot reassumed its humanoid form.

Frustrated, Illusen rushed at the robot with staff and sword raised. Again and again she struck the robot, all the while dodging its hands. After a few minutes of giving it hard blows without even a scratch, Illusen began to lose her breath.

“I’m defiantly out of shape for battle,” thought Illusen. “I would have been able to last longer than this in the past.”

Her mind exhausted, Illusen happened to forget that the robot had two hands, and was slapped away by one of them eleven feet away. Knowing that her defeat was at hand, she grabbed her staff with both her hands and pointed it at the robot. Using the remainder of her magic, she threw one last magical blast at the robot. The robot merely raised a forearm, and the blast was absorbed completely.

“That’s why my magic was ineffective?” thought an outraged Illusen. “He absorbed it?”

A mere second later, a hidden compartment opened up on the robot, and a collar flew out straight at Illusen. Having no strength left to dodge, the collar snapped around her neck and activated. She convulsed a bit, and then fell over unconscious.

The Roboball started humming again from the new power source it had acquired. After a few more seconds, it began to scan for stronger energy sources around Neopia. After another few moments, the Roboball finished scanning and said, “Target acquired.” It then formed into a ball again and flew off to the south.

Back with Dr, Sloth’s army, Sloth was laughing maniacally. The collar that was around his neck had just fallen off, and now his strength was back.

“Mutant Grundos!” laughed Sloth. “Grab your jet packs! We will now fly too the Roboball’s final destination, Faerieland!”

Metonot was looking all over the boat for Jacob. He was starving, and for the past few months that was a pretty common thing. He finally found Jacob leaning his elbows against the railing on the deck of the ship. Sitting on the railing with him was Whooper, staring up at the night sky.

“So that’s where he went,” thought Metonot irritably.

Flying up to Jacob and Whooper, Metonot yelled, “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all over this boat as I haven’t had anything to eat in awhile.”

Not even looking at him, Jacob said, “Hello Metonot.”

Angry that he was not being acknowledged, Metonot flew in front of Jacob’s face and screamed, “Are you even listening to me! I’m starving!"

Jacob was looking up at the sky without the playful smile he usually wore. Finally looking at Metonot, Jacob said, “Alright, lets get you some food for you.”

Picking up the travel bag that was by his side, Jacob opened it up and pulled out a full helping of lime jelly. Metonot sat down on the rail and took it from his hands, but his concern at the moment was not eating it. ‘Why does Jacob look so sad?’ thought Metonot.

Putting his sack back down, Jacob leaned his elbows back on the railing and continued to look back up at the sky. Curious, Metonot followed his gaze to where he was staring. All of a sudden, he knew why Jacob was feeling down. He was staring up in the sky at the cloud city of Faerieland. The home where he was born.

Jacob hardly ever talked about the time he grew up there. But whenever he did, Metonot knew that it was a horrible upbringing. Even though he was a Faerie, he was never accepted into the hearts of other faeries, as he was not like them. And not just because he was a bit chubby, had no wings or pointy ears, even though they ridiculed him for that. He was born without the ability to cast magic.

For that fact, he was the blunt of all jokes. Jacob could not walk the streets of Faerieland without someone staring or laughing at him. And no one seemed to care if he was picked on. Not even his parents, who were embarrassed that they had a child like him.

Of course, it really shouldn’t have been that way. Jacob was capable of doing things that almost none of the other faeries could do. His strength was enormous, far beyond faerie standards. He was capable of lifting hundreds of pounds with just one arm. And, even though he had no magic, he could feel and use the magic of all things. There was no magic he couldn’t sense or manipulate to his will. If he was given a magical lock, in only a few moments he could dispel the magic and open it. Such skills could only be attained by the highest order of faeries, and that was only after years of practice. But he was able to do it ever sense he was young.

This was overlooked though by his tormenters. In fact, it may have even made them a bit jealous, as he had something they didn’t. The teasing went on till he had left the city. Metonot did not know the circumstances that lead up to his departure, but it was not necessary for him to know. He was just glad Jacob was away from all that.

Whenever Jacob did happen to go back to Faerieland, he always went through back roads and alleys that he knew he wouldn’t be recognized in. He never wanted to be seen by another faerie, as he feared of being ridiculed again. At least that’s what Metonot thought.

After sitting silently together on the railing for a bit, Jacob said, “You better eat that up Metonot. It might spoil.”

Metonot forgot all about the lime jelly as he was thinking about Jacob. He didn’t feel like eating much anymore, but he knew he had to eat the jelly. It would eventually spoil, and that would only sadden Jacob more. He hated it when good food was wasted.

As Metonot chewed into his jelly, Jacob looked at him from the corner of his eyes, smiling slightly.

Early the next morning, in the outskirts of Faerie City, Jhudora woke up from her bed and began to walk out into the air outside. Inside of her home in her dark and thunderous cloud, she could not see much of the outside world. She did not come out here to see how far she could see though. She merely wanted a bit of fresh air before she retreated back into her home, where she would stay the entire day.

Back inside her house, Jhudora went straight to the room that held her crystal ball. She knew that Neopets were coming to see her. Some were bringing with them her desired items. Others were coming to be sent on a quest to gather items. What ever the case, she wanted to see whom was coming, and when, to be prepared for them. It was in her best interest to put in the correct amount of fear for each Neopet when they came.

As Jhudora stared at her crystal ball, she saw that something she had never seen before. A red and silver metal ball moving at incredible speed towards her cloud. She had no time to wonder what it was, as it was about to be upon her house in only ten seconds. Quickly getting up from her seat, she began to run to the entrance. But before she could get there, the metal ball slammed through the doors and flew straight at her. Quickly dodging away, the ball went past her, and spread out into a humanoid robot.

“A robot!” screamed Jhudora. “Someone dares to attack me and my home with a robot!”

“Target acquired,” said the robot, paying no notice to Jhudora’s screams. “Beginning capture.”

“I will not be captured by the likes of you, mechanical creature! Your pathetic existence is about to end!”

Jhudora threw out her hands and cast spells of darkness on the robot. The robot merely stood there, unaffected.

“What?” thought Jhudora. “My magic didn’t affect it?”

The robot now raised up it own hands and fired off laser blasts. Jhudora raised a protective shield in front of her in time to deflect them. When the robot paused between firing, Jhudora threw magical flame at it, with no success again. Back and forth the two of them went, until the robot stopped firing back. He simply began to walk towards Jhudora.

“What is it thinking?” thought Jhudora. “With it not trying to defend itself, I’ll be able to take it down before it even reaches me with its hands.”

And so Jhudora summoned up her strength and cast one of her most powerful spells. The burst of the spell shook the entire foundation of her home. Even those outside the house could have felt the shockwave. Thinking her opponent defeated, Jhudora smiled, as it had been a long time since she had a foe give her a challenge.

Jhudora’s hopes were dashed though when the robot walked out of the smoky haze left by her spell. Sparks were flying from cracks her spell made in its armor. Shocked that it was still alive and moving, Jhudora was unable to dodge the robot’s hand as it punched her. Jhudora flew across the room into the wall, creating a large crack in it.

Jhudora was unable to bring herself up to her feet. She couldn’t even keep her eyes open. After a few more painful seconds, she felt the robot tear away the collar that she wore, and replaced it with another one. Then Jhudora fell into unconsciousness when the collar activated.

The Roboball didn’t just hum now from the energy it received from Jhudora. Bands of electric energy began to spark and singe the area surrounding it. With its power up complete and armor fused back together again, it said, “Two collars remain. Only one necessary to capture final target.”

And the Roboball flew off again, straight towards Faerie City.

A Shoyru captain stood atop the outside wall of Faerie City, resting his eyes. He had missed out on the explosion that had sounded from Jhudora’s Cloud, but two of his fellow guards didn’t. They rushed to him yelling, waking him up from his nap.

“What is it now?” asked the disgruntled Shoyru. “Another unauthorized visitor trying to get in?”

“A sound of an explosion just came from Jhudora’s Cloud!” yelled an excited Lenny. “Someone reported earlier that something entered there earlier and began a fight with her.”

“Well, I feel sorry for whoever crosses with her. Nothing we can do about it now.”

“Captain!” said a Kacheek. “The one who entered her home came out!”

“Oh. Well, that’s good. I guess we don’t have to worry about her no more.”

“The one who defeated Jhudora is coming right this way!” said the Lenny.

“What?”

Right then, all three guards were knocked off their feet, as something hit the wall with incredible force. Getting quickly back to their feet, they rushed to the side of the wall to see what happened. A red and silver ball had just crashed through the wall and into the city. Panicking, the Shoyru captain cried out, “Sound the alarm. Faerie City is under attack!”

Whooper was back to his crazed self again, as he was trying to dance on Metonot’s head every ten or so seconds.

“Cut it out Whooper,” yelled Metonot. “We got to find Jacob again. I need some breakfast.”

“Breakfast,” chirped Whooper in its monotone voice.

“That’s right Whooper, and I intend to get some.”

Whooper replied by spinning around its head.

They found Jacob on the deck, travel bag strapped to his shoulders. He was watching a large gathering of Neopets. The group was shouting excitedly, as if something big was going down. Flying up to Jacob, Metonot asked, “What’s going on up here?”

Jacob merely smiled and said, “Look up at Faerieland. It’s not that far away from us now.”

Hesitant, Metonot looked up at the sky. He nearly screamed in horror. Smoke was rising from Faerieland. Looking back down at Jacob for some explanation, he saw that he was still smiling as he watched the gathering of Neopets.

“Why are you smiling about that!” screamed Metonot. “Faerieland is burning! This could mean it’s under attack, which means danger to all of Neopia!”

Jacob’s smile got wider as he brought his hands in front of him to calm Metonot down.

“Just calm down Metonot. I’m not smiling because Faerieland may be under siege. I’m smiling because of the Faerie in the center of the gathering there.”

Turning his head to the group, Metonot saw the person whom had gathered everyone together. An Air Faerie.

“What is she doing here?” asked Metonot.

“She came down not too long ago and began requesting help at defending Faerieland,” said Jacob. “It seems a robot has just mopped the floor with Jhudora, and now it’s entered the city. Those that have fought it have been beaten, and the robot isn’t even slowed down. She’s one of the few sent out to get reinforcements.”

“But why are you smiling at a time like this?”

“That Faerie over there was one of the many that teased me when I was young.”

“...And why are you smiling over that?”

“You’ll see. Get yourself ready. We’re about to head off to Faerieland.”

“What!” cried an astonished Metonot. “We’re going to Faerieland to help those that are being attacked by the robot? We can’t do that! I can’t even fend off the Pant Devil, and you want to take someone on that can break through the defenses of Faerieland?”

Jacob just kept smiling, and said, “Just get yourself ready. Trust me.”

After saying that, Jacob picked up Metonot’s Avabot, and said, “Whooper, it’s time for you to calm down. Please shut down for awhile, and stay that way until I tell you to.”

To Metonot’s surprised eyes, Whooper did exactly as it was told. When Whooper was done powering down, Jacob placed it in a pocket of his coat.

“Wait a minute,” said Metonot, feeling rather cheated. “Why did he do exactly as you told him? Every time I tell him to do something he disobeys.”

“Me and him just have an understanding is all,” said Jacob as he began to walk towards the group of Neopets. “Remember. Get yourself ready. We’re about to leave soon.”

Metonot followed Jacob after a few moments, thinking why Jacob always did eccentric things. As they came upon the group of Neopets, Metonot began to hear what she was saying to them.

“What do you mean none of you can help us? Faerieland is under attack! We need your help! Are all of you just too cowardly to...”

“I am willing to fight for Faerieland,” said Jacob, interrupting her.

The Faerie almost leaped with joy when she heard the claim. Upon seeing who said it though, she frowned heavily and said, “Jacob.”

“Good to see you too Cassie. As I just said, I am willing to go back to Faerieland with you and fight off the robot.”

“That won’t be necessary Jacob,” said Cassie, regaining her composure. “I can get enough help here from the rest of the Neopets.”

“Sound like they weren’t willing to help just a second ago. Besides, I think I could be of some use to you at the moment.”

“I don’t need help from a Faerie with no magic! Having no one is better than having you help me!”

Jacob just smiled, hardly taking notice of the mocking she gave him. Angry, Cassie turned her back to him and said, “Is there anyone at all that would be willing to help us defend Faerieland?”

Right when Cassie turned her back towards Jacob, He began to push himself through the people in front of him. When he was right behind her, he raised his hand and tore away a piece of her wing. Cassie cried out in pain, and the gathered crowd spread out in shock, giving room for Jacob to walk backwards towards Metonot, who shared the horror of the rest of the Neopets.

Turning upon Jacob, Cassie screamed, “How dare you! My wings have just lost the scars of when you tore apart my wings in the past! And now I have to start healing them again!”

“What can I say?” said Jacob, smiling happily. “Pieces of your wings happened to be really helpful when you and your friends boxed me into corners in the past. And it seems like I have to start taking from your wings again as you seem unwilling to take me to Faerieland yourself.”

Then, quickly turning around, Jacob ran up to Metonot, grabbed him, and ran over the side of the boat. Metonot began to scream, thinking Jacob had finally gone crazy. He closed his eyes, expecting to fall into the cold ocean in a few seconds. After awhile though, he began to wonder how big the boat actually was, as the wind was rushing past him for over ten second already. Slowly, Metonot opened his eyes.

Far below him, Metonot saw the boat where they had stood just before. They were flying into the air!

“Jacob!” screamed Metonot. “How are you doing this? I thought you couldn’t fly?”

“I can’t,” said Jacob matter-of-factly. “I’m using the magic that resides in the piece of wing I tore from Cassie. Because she is an Air Faerie, I can easily manipulate the magical qualities inside of it and make myself fly. It won’t last long though, as it is just a torn piece. It’ll get us to Faerieland though.”

Surprised about the current change of events, Metonot kept quiet as Jacob held on to him, enjoying the flight as they went towards the smoking clouds of Faerieland.

Fyora walked from her castle, horrified by what she saw. She had heard from the guards that a robot was attacking through the city, but she didn’t realize how desperate the situation was until she saw the city. Right out from the walls that defended the city, a line of destruction lead straight towards her. Buildings were aflame, and the fire was spreading to the other buildings. Never in one thousand years has something like this happened to Faerieland.

The retreat of all defenders was already called, as no one was able to fend of the robot. As it seemed like the robot was heading straight towards the castle, Fyora would wait for it to come upon her, and face it in battle, as it seemed as if she was the only one that could stand against it.

Finally, walking amongst the rubble came the robot. From the battle report she was given, she knew that this robot absorbed magical energy. Hopefully, this knowledge would be enough to thwart the machine.

The robot rushed at Fyora, palms raised, firing laser blasts as it came upon her. Every blast was neutralized easily, and when the robot was upon her, she easily dodged its punches. Grasping her staff, she swung it full force into the head of the robot. The robot flew through the air and landed on its feet twenty feet away. A large dent coupled with cracks could be seen by Fyora.

The robot then collapsed upon itself and formed into a ball, flying straight at Fyora. Remembering not to use magical defense, she summoned forth a wall of solid steel and placed it in front of her. The robot hit the wall with so much force that it infolded the entirety of the robot. Seeing this as her opportunity, Fyora summoned forth her power, to cast one of the most powerful spells she knew. When the robot broke free of the confining steel by transforming to humanoid form, she threw all her magic at it.

Fierce white light struck the robot, engulfing it in flames. The clouds that supported Faerieland began to shake. The light and the shaking faded quickly, leaving just the smoke. Fyora summoned forth winds to see if indeed the robot was vanquished.

The robot was a mess. All of its armor was blackened and cracked, and sparks were flying everywhere from almost every single crack. The robot gave no intention of moving. The battle was over.

Fyora walked up to the robot, hoping to see if was still capable of talking.

“Tell me. Who is your master?”

A few more sparks began to fly from the robot as it said, “Objective achieved. Beginning ‘Victory Speech’ recording.”

Then a voice came from the robot that was not its own. Fyora knew it well. It was the voice of Dr. Sloth.

“Congratulations Fyora! I applaud your effort in trying to destroy my creation. However, this is not the end. For I have a trump card that you are not able to destroy. An indestructible case.”

After saying that, a hidden compartment opened up on the robot, and a collar flew from it right onto Fyora’s unsuspecting neck.

“Neopia is mine! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

The collar activated, and Fyora lost her strength to stand. Dropping her staff, she collapsed unconscious.

Self repair of the Roboball began immediately. Within a few seconds, all cracks and dents were gone. Getting to its feet, the Roboball began not just to hum and spark from the power of Fyora, but glow. The ground it stood on cracked from the bolts of electricity that came from its surface.

“Assimilation of strongest warriors complete. Beginning destruction of Neopia.”

Still glowing from its new power, the Roboball flew into the air, firing off laser blasts in every direction as it flew into the castle.

Back in Meridell, Illusen groaned and awakened. She was in an infirmary tent, being watched over by a heavily bandaged Jeran.

“What happened to you?” said Illusen, confused as to how she got here.

“I fought the robot that you were up against, and it bested me in combat.”

Sitting up, Illusen said in a panicked tone, “Is Meridell safe?”

“Yes. After the robot put this collar on you, it flew off,” said Jeran, holding up an open collar. “The collar came off your neck just now before you came awake.”

Illusen sighed, saying, “I hope that is a good sign and not a bad one. No land is safe wherever that robot is. I hope not too much damage is being made by it.”

The Shoyru captain on the top of the defending wall saw the battle between Fyora and the robot threw his handheld telescope. Taking it away from his eye, he frowned as he turned to his fellow soldiers.

“Fyora has been defeated,” said the Shoyru.

“Faerieland is doomed!” cried the Kacheek.

“It couldn’t get any worse,” said the Lenny.

As if on cue, all three of them were ambushed by Mutant Grundos. After the all three were knocked out, the Mutant Grundos signaled to the rest of the army outside. Dr. Sloth’s army rushed into Faerie City, surprising the already weary soldiers.

Jacob was already in the city when he noticed the Grundos. He knew they would eventually overtake them, and he would be no match for them. If there was any hope for him to get to the robot in time, he needed to slow down their charge. Taking Metonot inside of a ruined home, he quickly formulated a plan.

“Metonot, I need you to do something for me,” said Jacob as he rummaged through his travel sack. “You have to distract the Grundos behind us.”

“What! I can’t do that! They would throw me around like a rag doll!”

“If you were fighting them, yes, they would. But I don’t want you to do that. I just want you to distract them while I head off to help fight the robot.”

After handing the Sword of Domar and a Small Metal Shield to Metonot, Jacob reached inside his pocket and pulled out Whooper.

“Come on Whooper,” said Jacob. “Time to wake up now.”

Whooper made a few beeping noises, and began to hover instantly.

“Good. I need you to help Metonot distract some Grundos. Do not battle with them, as you will lose. If you are in danger, run after me, okay?”

Whooper spun around its head and said, “Must protect Neopet.”

Satisfied, Jacob focused his attention again at Metonot, who was beginning to shake with fear.

“Hey now,” said Jacob as he went down to one knee. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. All you have to do is pretend you’re running after Whooper instead of running away from Mutant Grundos.”

Metonot gave a slight laugh at that, and said, “I guess it won’t be so hard if I think of it like that.”

“Good,” said Jacob as he got up to run. “I’m counting on you Metonot. Be careful, alright?”

“I will.”

Jacob gave one last smile, and ran off towards the center of Faerie City. Metonot looked at Whooper, who was jumping up and down excitedly. Smiling to himself, he ran out of their hiding place and into the front of the advancing Mutant Grundos.

“Hey you stupid green buffoons! Bet you can’t hit me with those big hands of yours!”

As if to strengthen Metonot’s claim, Whooper blast a Grundo in the eyes with its laser beams.

Alana, an Earth Faerie and one of the healers inside of the castle, crouched beside Fyora, unable to rouse her from her sleep. She didn’t understand it. She had already given her enough strength to heal a small army, but Fyora kept asleep.

“Are you sure you’re casting the correct spell?” asked Danielle, a Fire Faerie, her assistant.

“Yes, I’m sure! I think this collar around her necklace is absorbing all of the energy I’m giving her.”

“Then how are we going to awaken Fyora?”

A voice from behind them said, “We are going to have to destroy the robot.”

Alana and Danielle turned around to see Jacob watching them. Alana was speechless, therefore Danielle got in the first words.

“What are you doing here? And what do you mean we have to...”

“Jacob!” said Alana, her surprise finally gone. “Thank goodness you’re here!”

“Wait a minute!” said Danielle. “You’re glad to see him?”

“Of course I am! Aren’t you?”

Danielle said nothing, as she really wasn’t glad that he was back. She hated him. Not taking notice of her dissatisfaction, Alana motioned for Jacob to come closer and said, “I think this collar is absorbing all the healing energy I’m giving to Fyora. Are you able to take it off?”

Jacob shook his head and said, “The collar is shut tight by technology, not magic.”

“Then could you at least make it so that I’m able to heal her. The collar is absorbing all my magic.”

“Even if I stopped the flow of magic to the collar, it would begin absorbing from Fyora the instant I walk away. I got no time for that.”

“How dare you!” screamed Danielle. “You don’t care what will happen to Fyora at all, do you?”

“If we destroy the robot that put the collar on her, she will be fine,” said Jacob. “The flow of energy that is going from Fyora to the robot will then be cut.”

“And what makes you so sure that the robot is taking away her energy?” Danielle said accusingly.

Jacob looked at her calmly and said, “I see it.”

While Alana and Danielle were taken aback by what he said, Jacob walked over to Fyora lay and picked up her staff.

“What do you think you’re doing!” screamed a panicked Danielle as she grabbed for his arms.

Jacob swung his fist at Danielle, not giving her a chance to act against him. She fell over, stunned. He stood up, Fyora’s staff in his hands. Alana looked at Jacob with fear, but he reassured her by saying, “Don’t worry Alana. I know what I’m doing. I will destroy the robot.”

Alana, holding the unconscious Fyora, merely nodded. Smiling, Jacob ran towards the castle. As he ran, he called back to Alana, saying, “Take care of Fyora.”

Inside the castle, the Roboball fired upon all creatures it saw. Thankfully, not that many Faeries or Neopets were left behind, as they all fled upon the defeat of Fyora. The Roboball’s main goal was now to destroy the castle. Upon the destruction of it and the city, panic and chaos would spread throughout all of Neopia, and no one would dare defy the one that destroyed Faerieland.

Down the hallway, in the full view of the Roboball, a hiding Lupe thought it would be the best time to run away. It aimed its hand at the retreating Lupe, ready to fire. The instant he fired however, he was hit from behind by huge boulders, and the laser shot missed by a few feet.

Unharmed by the boulders, the robot turned around and saw Jacob standing down the hallway. The Roboball rushed towards him, intending to smash Jacob with its fist. Jacob dodged the punch, and forced the staff he held against the Roboball’s arm, attempting to pin it down. Jacob was merely thrown several feet away when the robot pushed him off.

Landing on his feet, Jacob thought, “Okay. I need to take him out of this castle to fight him, but I can’t force him out. He is to strong to take on physically, and he’ll just absorb the magic I use.”

The Roboball began to rush him again.

“Maybe if I used his own momentum against him.”

When the Roboball threw its next punch at Jacob, he didn’t dodge. He grabbed the Roboball’s hand and pulled it towards him, pulling the Roboball off balance. Then Jacob pulled it with him through the walls of the castle.

Finally outside of the castle, Jacob let go of the off guard Roboball and hit it like a baseball with Fyora’s staff. It flew off towards the smoking buildings of the city.

“Well, at least it’s out of the castle,” thought Jacob. “Hope it doesn’t get in the way of Metonot. He’s got enough problems with the Mutant Grundos.”

During the chase Metonot gave the Mutant Grundos, he had weaved them back and forth across the city, making it near impossible to attack the city, as those that were rushing after him ran into others along the way. He was having the time of his life. Of course, as with all good things, it had to end eventually, as was the case right now. The entirety of the army was after him now, and they were all annoyed that a weak Korbat along with an Avabot could cause them so much trouble.

“Come on Whooper!” cried Metonot. “We’re in way over our head! Let’s find Jacob and hope he can help us get rid of these goons!”

Whooper responded by making a loud beep and firing another laser shot at the rampaging Grundos.

With a few more seconds running, Metonot would be out of the downtown part of the city, and would be able to find Jacob more easily. Right before he could exit though, something crashed right in front of him. The shockwave knocked down not only Metonot and Whooper, but the Mutant Grundos that were chasing them. As Metonot got up from the ground, he saw the object that crashed in front of him. It was a glowing red and silver robot.

“This must be the robot that Jacob was talking about,” thought Metonot, beginning to panic.

The robot took notice of Metonot, and raised one of its hands towards him. Metonot yelped, knowing that this was the end for him. Before the robot could fire however, a loud voice from behind him called out, “Roboball!”

The robot dropped its arm, focused on the one that called out, and said in a monotone voice, “Yes Master Sloth?”

“Uh oh,” thought Metonot as he turned around. Behind the ranks of the Mutant Grundos, He saw Dr. Sloth laughing manically. Metonot quickly flew off with Whooper to hide behind some rubble while Sloth’s army and the robot named ‘Roboball’ were distracted.

While Metonot hid, he was able to hear Sloth say, “How many collars do you have left Roboball?”

“One Master Sloth. But I have already reached maximum power.”

“Good! Good! Save that collar for later. If one of your power sources should fail to give you anymore power, you can find a replacement with that final collar. Now…destroy this city and everyone in it, starting with the Korbat that ran behind the rubble over there!”

Taking that as his cue to run, Metonot jumped away just in time, as the rocks he was hiding behind were blown apart by the Roboball. A few more shots were fired after him as he ran, but Metonot was fast enough to stay out of the way. It looked like he was in the clear, until a few Mutant Grundos jumped in front of him. Metonot threw his arms up in front of him to defend himself from the thrashing he knew he was about to receive.

Instead of feeling fists, however, Metonot felt a magical force flow over him. It was a pleasant and good feeling instead of being harmful. Opening his eyes, Metonot saw the Mutants Grundos that were about to throttle him were now regular shaped Green Grundos. They were dazed and confused, as if they had no idea how that got to where they were. A whistle above Metonot’s head broke his eyes away from them, and when he looked up, he saw Jacob. He was floating above the ruins, holding onto Fyora’s staff.

“You alright there Metonot?” said Jacob.

Metonot was about to ask what had just happened, before Dr. Sloth screeched behind him.

“How DARE you take away my Grundo army!” screamed Sloth. “I’ll make you pay! Roboball, attack that…”

Sloth stopped in mid sentence and began to shake. Confused, Metonot looked back up at Jacob, who was pointing Fyora’s staff right at Sloth.

“He’s trying to take control of Dr. Sloth’s actions!” thought Metonot excitedly.

After a few more seconds, Sloth began to utter words with great effort.

“...Robo...ball...”

“Yes Mater Sloth?” chimed the Roboball.

“...For three...minutes...I...want you...to...obey...all orders...from him,” said Sloth, pointing up at Jacob.

“I’m programmed to obey only you Master Sloth.”

“Then obey my...orders...Roboball!” cried Sloth, who collapsed after finishing his sentence.

Jacob flew down right next to the Roboball, and asked, “Tell me. How exactly does your energy absorption work?”

The Roboball told him everything, even the specifics of what happens when a new person is collared when there are already to others collared. Jacob pondered everything it told him, and he snapped his fingers and said, “Metonot! Come over here!”

Metonot flew over to Jacob, uneasy about standing next to the Roboball.

“Um...What do you need Jacob?”

“I want you to do something that will be very painful, but is necessary for me to take down this robot.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to be collared by it. Doing so will have it lose one of its already strong power sources, and replace it with you.”

Metonot had overheard what the Roboball had said about its absorption process, so Metonot jumped several feet away when Jacob said that.

“What!” cried Metonot. “Are you kidding? I’m not going to do that!”

“Metonot, if you don’t do it, the Roboball will be too strong to overpower,” said Jacob in a pleading tone. “I need to order it to the robot while I still can.”

“Why don’t you just have Sloth order more time for you to be in control of it? Maybe even have it under you permanent control.”

“I can’t do that Metonot. Sloth’s mind is too strong to manipulate. All I could get was three minutes, and can’t get anymore now, as he’s currently unconscious. If we waste anymore time, I’ll lose control of the Roboball, and Faerieland and the rest of Neopia will be doomed.”

Metonot looked at the Roboball, who was now starting to get jittery, as if it was getting impatient. In a few more moments, the Roboball would attack them both. Making up his mind, Metonot gave a grim nod to Jacob.

Not wasting any time, Jacob yelled at the robot and said, “Roboball! Collar this Neopet right here!”

“Sloth said to save last collar for emergency,” said the Roboball. “And your designated target will lower my power drastically.”

“Do it anyways! I order you to collar it now!"

The Roboball waited a few more seconds, and then a compartment opened up on it. A collar flew out and onto Metonot’s waiting neck. Fearful, he stared up at Jacob, who said, “Don’t worry. Everything will turn out alright.”

The collar activated, and Metonot fell over unconscious. Whooper, who had remained silent the whole time, floated over to him, and began to try and rouse Metonot by tapping him with its feet.

Jacob looked away from his Neopet, and stared at the Roboball. It was beginning to power down, and the glow around it faded away. Jacob knew that it was weaker, but it was still a formidable foe, as it had Fyora’s power.

“Alright then,” said Jacob, gripping Fyora’s staff tightly. “Let’s see what you got.”

Outside of the city, Jhudora woke up from unconsciousness, the robot’s collar off of her neck. Propping herself against the wall, she got to her feet and began to slowly walk towards the entrance of her cloud, leaning a gainst the wall for support. She was seething with anger, as that robot she fought beat her down to unconscious. No one in hundreds of years has done that. And those that did never came back from the rematch.

Jhudora intended to make it that way for the robot. However, that was going to be a problem, as it could be anywhere in Neopia now. Her doubts were swept away when she got outside. Jhudora saw the smoke rising from the city.

“So the robot is attacking Faerie City?” thought Jhudora with a grin. “This is perfect.”

Raising her hand, Jhudora summoned forth her staff, which appeared in her outstretched hand with a flash. Coming off the support of the doorway, she grasped her staff with both hands, summoning up a storm that would cover up the whole city.

“Not only will I destroy the robot, but I will finally destroy Faerieland, and the rule of Fyora.”

With the image of the robot in her mind, Jhudora sent out the storm upon the city, covering it with its dark and thunderous clouds.

Jacob was finally able to knock the Roboball to its feet when the thunder clouds blocked out the sun. He looked fearfully up at the sky, knowing full well where the source of this storm was from.

“Darn it Jhudora!” cursed Jacob. “Why of all times do you have to send a magical storm?”

The Roboball, sensing the new magical energy, formed into a ball and flew up into the dark clouds. Jacob followed after it, not only angry now, but fearful. If the Roboball absorbed the magical energy of the storm, it would be recharged with power again, and Jacob would not be able to stop it.

Catching up to the Roboball, Jacob could see that thunderbolts were already striking the surface of it and being absorbed. Summoning up magic quickly, Jacob swung Fyora’s staff, sending his own winds against the dark clouds. He hoped this would fend off the clouds and take away the Roboball’s new source of power. In a few moments, the clouds dispersed, and the thundering disappeared. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jacob focused his attention back on the Roboball.

The Roboball was flying straight at him, taking advantage of the fact that Jacob’s back was towards it. It struck Jacob hard, but he did not let go of Fyora’s staff. The Roboball continued flying down towards the city, intending to crush Jacob into the rubble. Quickly gathering his wits, Jacob teleported away just in time, before the Roboball smashed into the buildings.

Not far off, in an abandoned cellar, Jacob was breathing heavily. He was overmatched, and he knew the reason why. It was Fyora’s staff. While it was one of the most powerful magical relics known, it was not a thing of war. It was meant to heal, nurture, and protect, not harm. To use it for battle would go against the will of the staff’s purpose. And against the will of Fyora.

But Jacob needed its magic now, even if it was forbidden. The staff itself would not allow itself to be used for destruction, so Jacob would have to put its power into himself. It would be dangerous, but it was the only way. The robot needed to be destroyed, and a staff that was meant to heal would not be of use.

With Fyora’s staff in his hands, he kneeled on the ground, and focused its magic into himself. If anyone passed by the cellar at that moment, they would have seen a red glow come from its opening, getting brighter by the second.

The Roboball forgot all about Jacob, and was now destroying the surrounding homes. After a few minutes of destruction, the Roboball noticed a red glowing form running straight at him. It was Jacob, his face full of fury. Taking opportunity of the distance between them, the Roboball fired a few laser shots at him.

Jacob did not dodge, and ran straight into the barrage. He flinched with pain and almost tripped on his feet, but he kept on running straight at the Roboball. Sensing that laser fire was ineffective, it began to charge at Jacob, intending to take a more personal approach.

Coming upon one another, the Roboball swung its fist at Jacob. Jacob merely swatted it aside and threw his own punch, hitting it right in the face. Again and again, Jacob kept throwing punches at the Roboball, not giving a chance to retaliate. The Roboball, beginning to finally feel fear of destruction, formed into a ball and slammed into Jacob.

Jacob flew only a few feet with the Roboball before he grabbed hold of it and forcible stopped it in its tracks. The Roboball kept trying to force Jacob backwards, and it only succeeded with a few inches. With a great cry, Jacob began to press against the sides of the Roboball. As its hull began to crack, the Roboball stopped trying to press Jacob backwards, and began to try and fly from Jacob’s crushing grasp.

Sneering, Jacob said, “I’m sorry. There’s no escape for you now.”

One hour later, all of those that had fled during the Roboball’s attack had come back. Many of them were putting out fires, repairing buildings, and healing the wounded. Some of them were even helping the freed Grundos search for Dr. Sloth, who had seemed to disappear in all the confusion.

Alana was in charge of the faction that was healing the wounded. At the moment though, she was more concerned with finding Jacob and Fyora’s staff. She found him removing rubble from a building, with the help of assorted Faeries and Neopets.

“Jacob!” cried out Alana.

Turning away from the rubble, Jacob gave a faint smile when he saw Alana.

“Good to see you Alana. I was hoping you would be able to heal Metonot for me, as he still seems a bit wobbly on his feet.”

“There will be time for that later. Is the robot destroyed?”

“Yeah, it’s destroyed. We wouldn’t be able to do all this if it wasn’t.”

“Good,” said Alana as she breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad my trust in you didn’t fail.”

“I’m just glad you did!” said Jacob.

Alana giggled a bit in her happiness, and said, “Come on then. Let’s go to Fyora. She’ll want her staff back.”

Jacob got a cautious look on his face, saying, “Um...I don’t know if that would be a good idea Alana.”

“Why not?”

“I sort of lost it,” Jacob said with a sheepish look.

Dr. Sloth was hiding deep in a forest laughing. His Roboball was destroyed, and his army was converted back to normal. But his plan wasn’t a total failure, as he now held one of the most powerful magical relics in Neopia. Fyora’s staff!

“With Fyora’s staff missing, Faerieland will be in disorder!” thought Sloth triumphantly. “In the meantime, I will study the magic of this staff, and gather more Grundos to man my army, and lay siege to Neopia another time!”

Sloth began to laugh again, put his laughter was cut short when he realized he wasn’t holding Fyora’s s taff anymore. Panicking, he looked all about him, hoping that he dropped it. Finding nothing, Sloth had begun to realize the obvious truth. Fyora called back her staff.

“No!” screamed Sloth, as he began to kick a tree in anger.

Alana was pulling Jacob by the arm through the castle. They were being followed by Metonot and Whooper, who were trying to keep pace with the arguing Faeries.

“I can’t believe I trusted you with Fyora’s staff!” yelled Alana. “I should have just done what Danielle was going to do, and stop you!”

“Hey, will you stop yelling at me,” said Jacob. “The magic I used on myself put me in a rage. I couldn’t control my actions, so I left the staff wherever it is. At least I destroyed the Roboball.”

“The destruction of a silly named robot doesn’t matter if Fyora loses her power to rule!”

“Will you stop worrying Alana?” said Jacob reassuringly. “Maybe Fyora has a recall spell on her staff that will make it return to her hands.”

“Stop trying to defend yourself Jacob!” said Alana, turning towards him. “You lost Fyora’s staff! And when the rest of Neopia finds out, there will be chaos. And I hope they find out it was you. You deserve to be...”

“That’s enough Alana!” said Fyora.

Both of them turned towards her voice. She was standing only ten feet away from them, holding her staff.

“You have your staff Fyora,” said Alana.

“Yes, I do. Thankfully, I did have a recall spell on it. It was a bit old though, and only by luck did it work.”

Jacob gave a sigh of relief to what she said. Fyora looked at him and gave a smile, saying, “It’s good to see you again Jacob.”

“It’s good to see you too Fyora,” said Jacob as he bowed.

“Why have you decided to come back now after all this time?” inquired Fyora.

“Well, to be truthful, this isn’t the first time I’ve been here. I’ve just laid low. I’m here now because I heard from some Faerie that a robot was attacking here.”

“Some Faerie?” asked Fyora, raising an eyebrow.

“Doesn’t matter now. You’ll find out later who it was.”

Fyora nodded her head and said, “Do you have proof that the robot is destroyed?”

Jacob nodded and reached into the side of his coat. He pulled out a flattened red and silver disk, and dropped it to the floor. The disk hit the floor and rolled to Fyora’s feet, falling over mere inches from hitting her toes.

“This is the robot?” asked Fyora.

Jacob became a bit red in the face, and said, “Yeah. That's it alright.”

Fyora nodded again, and looked at Jacob and talked with a more serious tone.

“I wanted to ask what it is you did to destroy it.”

Still red in the face, Jacob scratched his head and said, “Well, I don’t really need to tell you, as you can tell by the state of your staff what happened.”

“You took the magic from my staff and used it in a destructive way,” said Fyora, to which Jacob gave a nod. “You used an illegal form of magic, turning the power to heal, to harm. A very punishable offense.”

Jacob kept silent and looked at the floor while Fyora let what she said sink in.

“An offense I will not charge you for,” continued Fyora. “While I am not pleased you did it, you would not have done it if it was not necessary. I am glad that you were successful.”

Jacob continued to keep silent and stare at the floor.

“However, I’m also guessing that you didn’t enjoy what it was you did.”

Giving a nod, Jacob still kept his eyes to the floor.

“That’s some much like you. You always refrain from violence, even though you’ve been tempted many times in the past. Whenever you did jump to anger, you’d always be ashamed. And I suppose the rage you were in when you did this,” said Fyora as she tapped the now crushed robot, “didn’t feel too good either.”

“I’ll be fine Fyora,” said Jacob, looking up from the floor finely.

Fyora smiled, and said, “I know you will. It was good to see you Jacob.”

Jacob grunted, turning away from Fyora. Alana, who stood silent during their conversing, put her hand on Jacob’s shoulder, saying, “Jacob, I’m sorry if I...”

Alana stopped when Jacob brushed her hand off of his shoulder.

“I don’t need an apology Alana. If Fyora didn’t have a recall spell on her staff, you’d still be yelling at me.”

Jacob walked away from both of them towards Metonot, who was waiting for him. Fyora turned towards Alana, seeing that she was in turmoil and said, “Don’t worry about what you said Alana. Jacob isn’t unforgiving.”

“I told him I couldn’t trust him, and I would have said worse if you didn’t interrupt me,” said Alana, on the brink of tears.

“Jacob used to be sensitive in the past, but life has made him stubborn, and free of care. What you said might have hurt him, but not much. He understands you were just upset, and was looking for some outlet for your frustration. You need not worry if you think you’ve damaged your relationship. Just give him time, and he’ll come back someday.”

Alana sighed, said thank you, and ran off to find wounded Neopets and Faeries, hoping to take her mind off things. Fyora, letting out a sigh of her own, picked up the crushed remains of the robot and walked away.

As Jacob and Metonot walked out of the castle, Metonot finally spoke up and said, “So...I guess you know Fyora really well.”

Jacob laughed, saying, “Yeah. I guess you could say that. We’ve seen enough of each other to see eye to eye.”

"...Wow. Do you think you could introduce me to her? I’d like to meet her!"

“You could have met her right there in the castle! Nothing was stopping you!”

“Well...I didn’t want to interrupt what you two were talking about. I don’t think Fyora would think too highly of me if I did. And when you were finished talking, it seemed like you wanted to leave. And I’ve learned it’s impossible to argue with you when you want something.”

Jacob began to laugh some more, getting the attention of all those around them as they walked through the devastated city.

“Yeah, I guess you are right. I suppose I should try to set that up next time we come here. I should be of celebrity status after today.”

“Hey, you’re right!” said Metonot, flying excitedly. “You saved Faerieland from destruction! Maybe even Neopia!”

“I don’t see how that should change anything. I’ll be viewed by a higher standard, but I’ll still be viewed the same.”

“How can you say that? When people find out what you’ve done, they’ll...you know,” said Metonot as he got a cautious face. “Faeries will be able to except you now.”

Jacob smiled, and said, “Again, I doubt it. When the rest of the Faeries find out it was me who destroyed the robot, word of how I tore Cassie’s wing, punched Danielle, and improperly used Fyora’s staff will spread. Then my past will start to leak out to others, and then rumors will be made. The intolerance given to me by the Faeries will be the same, only on a higher scale. The rest of Neopia will know.”

Hearing this, Metonot began to feel sick. Jacob was going to have to put up with more pain because he did a good deed. Jacob took notice of Metonot’s attitude and said, “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m not worried. Only thing I’m worried about is your well being. How are you holding up from being zapped by that collar?”

Thankful for the subject change, Metonot said, “I’m fine. One of the cities guards gave me a healing potion after it came off, so I...”

“No,” interrupted Jacob. “I mean how are you dealing with the fact that I told you to accept having a collar around your neck.”

Metonot was taken aback, and looked up at Jacob. His eyes were filled with concern. After thinking for a bit, Metonot said, “Well, you said it was the only way to power down the Roboball. Besides, it wasn’t really that painful. This whole day was a fun adventure! I’m glad we came on this trip!”

Jacob grunted, and said, “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

All of a sudden, Jacob stopped and snapped his fingers, as something dawned on his mind.

“The Battledome!” said Jacob. “I forgot all about the reason we started this trip! Come on Metonot! Let’s go before we miss out on some good fights!”

Jacob ran off, without giving Metonot a chance to say anything.

“Story of my life,” thought Metonot. “Jacob gets serious for once and suddenly snaps back to being care free. Should have figured it wouldn’t last.”

Metonot flew off after Jacob, calling for Whooper to keep up with him.

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