One early morning in Neopia, Jacob walked through the entrance of the Haunted Woods. Those that knew him would recognize him on the spot, as his physical appearance never changes day by day. He was still a bit chubby, had light brown hair, and wore a full length black jacket over his shoulders. The coat was so long in height, the coat tails almost dragged through the dirt he walked on. And he was over 6 feet tall!
Not far behind Jacob was Metonot, his pet Korbat. Unlike Jacob, who was somewhat famous to the world of faeries, Metonot was a very average Korbat. Well, in terms of those that frequently go to the Battledome, he was a below average Korbat. Even the Pant Devil could give him a beating! Still, Metonot did not let this bother him…most of the time. What he lacked in physical prowess, he made up for with a wonderful charm. And if he ever did have to fight someone to get his way, Metonot could always tire out his opponent by running away.
And the last to enter into the Haunted Woods was Metonot’s petpet, Whooper, the dysfunctional Avabot. While both Jacob and Metonot cared for Whooper, it became hard to show affection whenever it began to zap random targets with its laser beams, dance around on any surface it could, and perform other crazy antics. Still, they accepted Whooper the way it was: an insane robot petpet that was sometimes good to have around and have a laugh with.
Today was not a random stroll through the Haunted Woods. Jacob came here for a purpose, yet Metonot felt that it was not going to have a positive outcome. Putting on a burst of speed, Metonot flew up to Jacob and asked, “Are you sure we should be doing this Jacob?”
“Of course I’m sure,” said Jacob, the confidence evident in his voice. “We wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t want to. Besides, it’s not like this is going to be an impossible task.”
“Jacob, you want to do a quest for the Brain Tree. The last time you did a quest for the Brain Tree, you quit on the spot, as the Esophagor asked you to give it chocolate covered peanuts, which were 250,000 neopoints at the time. And now, after all this time, you finally want to give it another shot?”
“The very fact that I have never completed a quest for the Tree is the reason I want to do it now! I’m paying it back for my past mistake by trying again. Besides, I’m sure the price on chocolate peanuts has gone down since then, as have all the prices on spooky food. And don’t forget that we have a huge stash of spooky food back in our deposit box. It just might happen that the Esophagor will ask for food we already own. And even if we DO have to go out and buy something, we have money in the bank.”
“That’s just what I mean!” said Metonot as he flew in front of Jacob, thereby stopping him from walking any further. “When was the last time you actually SPENT money on anything? Almost all the money you make is sent to the bank, and you never take any out! And whenever you have the chance to buy something expensive, you back out, as you don’t want to ‘waste your money’. And you are usually talking about something that isn’t even over 1,000 neopoints!”
“Metonot, will you just calm down,” said Jacob, hardly taken aback by what his Korbat said. “If we do happen to spend a lot, it is all for good. The more costly the quest, the greater the prize, correct?”
With that said, Jacob walked around Metonot, and continued farther into the Haunted Woods. Whooper, who had finally caught up with Metonot, looked back and forth from his master and Jacob, making an assortment of beeps.
“I have no idea what you are saying with all those beeps,” said Metonot, “but I can at least sense your concern. This is going to be a hard day.”
After walking through the dark paths of the Haunted Woods, Jacob and Metonot came upon the Brain Tree. Taking notice of them, the Tree bellowed out, “You there! Come forward!”
Jacob laughed a little as he said, “There isn’t much else in this part of the woods except you Brain Tree, so the very fact that we are here must mean that we are coming to you already.”
The Brain Tree merely grunted, saying, “There’s no need for sarcasm Jacob. I merely desire you, Metonot, and Whooper to come here quicker. I am in need of your assistance.”
Metonot yelped in surprise, and got a fearful look upon his face. Weakly, he asked the Brain Tree, “How...how did you know our names?”
The Brain Tree got a disgusted look upon its face, and before it could answer, Jacob said, “Metonot, you’re talking about the Brain Tree. It spends it’s time having others tell it things from all over the world. Don’t you think it would now about us after all this time?”
Feeling embarrassed, Metonot said, “Oh. I forgot about that. Sorry if I offended your intelligence Brain Tree!”
Looking somewhat appeased, the Brain Tree said, “That is alright Metonot. Not many in Neopia realize the amount of knowledge I have collected over the years. Now, come forward, the three of you. I am in need of you.”
“Again, that is why we are here Tree,” said Jacob, finally standing in front of it.
“Very well. I want you to find out when and where Chris Tonu died. I will reward you if you are successful. Now go!”
Jacob quickly turned around from the Brain Tree and went running off. Seeing that he had left behind the surprised Metonot, he yelled back, “Come on Metonot! We don’t have that much time on our hands to gather the information for the Brain Tree! Let’s get it as fast as possible!”
Metonot sighed and flew over to the hopping Whooper, and said, “Come on Whooper. I don’t think you can keep up with Jacob’s running or my flying, so I’m going to have to carry you”
On Metonot’s first attempt, Whooper zapped him with a laser beam. Metonot yelped in pain, and quickly made a second grab for his Avabot, and was able to get it by the head.
“Come on Whooper! This is no time to play around! I’m going to lose track of Jacob if we don’t catch up!”
With Whooper secured in his feet’s grasp, Metonot flew off after Jacob to gather the information the Brain Tree desired.
Ahead of Metonot loomed the pit of the Esophagor. For some unknown reason, the Esophagor was the only one that knew the correct answers to all of the Brain Tree’s questions. How it knew what the Brain Tree didn’t was a mystery, and would probably never be solved. This was because the Brain Tree was too busy asking questions, and the Esophagor was to busy answering them…and eating of course.
And that’s what the Esophagor was doing while Jacob and Metonot stood in front of it. It was eating a strawberry flavored rat that was given to it by a Zafara. After the Esophagor belched a few times, it said, “I thank you. I was so hungry.”
A few seconds passed, and it didn’t seem like the Esophagor was going to say anything else. Feeling rather impatient, the Zafara cleared his throat, and the Esophagor shook to attention after realizing he had something more to say.
“Oh yes, of course,” stammered the Esophagor, “Nick Chompy died in 71 BN.”
Having heard its response, the Zafara quickly hopped away, leaving Jacob and Metonot behind. The Esophagor finally took notice of them, and said, “You there! I’m hungry! I want you to feed me!”
Jacob smiled and walked in front of the large creature, and said, “We will feed you, on condition that you tell us when and where Chris Tonu died.”
The Esophagor made a little laugh, and said, “Ah. Another one seeking answers for the Brain Tree. Let’s see then. What shall I have you bring me?”
For a few minutes, Jacob waited patiently for the Esophagor to decide what it wanted to eat. Whooper began to dance around the nervous Metonot, oblivious that they were in front of one of the more fearsome creatures of Neopia. Finally, the Esophagor snapped its fingers and said, “Bring me a vanilla ghost cake, a chocolate ice lolly, and a squishy brain wrap!”
Hearing exactly what it wanted, Jacob again ran off, this time with Metonot beside him instead of behind. He prepared for the moment that Jacob would leave, so that he wouldn’t have to follow after him from such a long distance. And a few minutes flying, Metonot said to Jacob, “You realize the squishy brain wrap is the only spooky food we have right? We have to buy the other two items.”
Jacob merely laughed and said, “That’s alright Metonot. I got some money in my pocket. We’ll be able to pay for them.”
When Jacob got to the Shop Wizard however, his jaw almost hit the floor.
“6,500 neopoints?” cried Jacob. “For a vanilla ghost cake? You got to be kidding me!”
“Nope,” said the Jub Jub. “That is the lowest price that exists for the vanilla ghost cake at the moment.”
Jacob put his hand to his forehead and sighed in frustration. Metonot wasn’t really surprised, as he was sure this would happen. Almost all the shops sold rare spooky foods at high prices, as they knew that people would buy them if it was needed. Jacob took his hand off his forehead and said, “How much for the chocolate ice lolly?”
“One moment please,” said the Shop Wizard, who began cast a few incantations. After a few seconds, the Wizard said, “the lowest price is 17,000 neopoints.”
Jacob merely put his hand to his head and groaned. Metonot, hoping to say something positive, said, “Well, at least we don’t have to buy the squishy brain wrap.”
Turning to Metonot, Jacob said, “Be quiet Metonot,” and left the Shop Wizard’s Tent.
The Shop Wizard, looked the departing Jacob, and asked Metonot, “Is he always like that?”
“Only when he has to spend some money,” said Metonot, who flew after him with Whooper clasped in his talons.
Catching up with Jacob, Metonot asked, “Where are you going Jacob? Aren’t we going to have the Shop Wizard teleport us to the shop with the lowest prices?”
Growling, Jacob said, “No. We need to go to the bank first. I don’t have that much money on hand.”
After they went to the Bank, Jacob and Metonot went to the shops that had the vanilla ghost cake and chocolate ice lolly in stock. After each purchase, instead of bidding the shopkeepers a good day, Jacob merely threw the correct amount of neopoints onto the counter and left with his purchase. Metonot stayed behind to thank them instead, but that didn’t really help, as Whooper would either zap them or dance on their heads while Metonot did so.
Needless to say, Metonot was not feeling too good. Not only was he worried that Jacob would release his anger on some unwitting Neopian, but he was getting tired holding his spontaneous Avabot as he flew. Thankfully, he was able to rest for a bit, as they had just made it back to the Esophagor.
Walking up to the monstrosity, Jacob said in an angry tone, “I got your food. One vanilla ghost cake, one chocolate ice lolly, and one squishy brain wrap. Enjoy.”
Jacob then threw the food at the Esophagor. It caught the food in the air, and stuffed all three food items in its giant mouth at once. After a few moments of noisy chewing and swallowing, the Esophagor said, “Thank you. I was so hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” whispered Jacob angrily.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Now tell us when and where Chris Tonu died.”
“Of course,” laughed the Esophagor. “Chris Tonu died in Virtopia. And as to when? To get that, you must get me more food.”
“Very well then. What do you want?”
The Esophagor pondered a bit, and said, “Bring me a vanilla ghost cake!”
“What!” screamed Jacob. “I just brought you a vanilla ghost cake! And now you want another one?”
“Yes! Now go get it!”
Realizing that he would have to spend more money on expensive food, Jacob cried out in anger and ran off, leaving Metonot behind again. Metonot, breathing and panting, caught up to Jacob after a few minutes and asked, “Are we going to get the cake for the Esophagor?”
“Of course we are!” said Jacob, still furious. “I intend to get the Brain Tree its answers. But now we have to go to the bank again, as I don’t have that much money on hand after buying what the Esophagor inhaled!”
Metonot felt bad that Jacob was still angry, and he knew it was only going to get worse, as he needed to spend more to complete this quest. Hoping to cheer him up, Metonot said, “You don’t need to feel so bad Jacob. Think of it like this. Instead of having to buy 3 foods, you only need to buy 1 now!”
“Be quiet Metonot,” scowled Jacob.
After going to the bank for the second time and going to the Shop Wizard, Jacob found out the current cheapest price of vanilla ghost cake was now 7,550 neopoints, 1,050 more than the previous cake. After Jacob stomped his foot a few times in anger, he had the Wizard teleport him to the shop. The Zafara shopkeeper was pleasant and courteous, but Jacob took no notice of this as he barked out what he wanted from the store. The shopkeeper got a vanilla ice cake and handed it to Jacob, still having a somewhat smile on his face, as he hoped Jacob’s attitude would change to happiness if he continued to smile.
No such luck, as Jacob tore the cake from the Zafara’s hands and pushed a bag of neopoints into its chest. As Jacob slammed the store doors behind him as he left, Metonot began to apologize to the now sad Zafara. This time his apology worked, as he made sure Whooper was pinned down beneath him so that the Avabot wouldn’t shoot the shopkeeper with its laser beams.
As Metonot left the store with Whooper in his claws, he could not see Jacob anywhere in site. Jacob had completely abandoned Metonot behind. He didn’t take it so badly though. He knew where Jacob was going, and now that he didn’t have to follow Jacob step by step, he would slowly fly and have his body rest from the constant moving. Also, it would be great to not have to calm down Jacob the entire trip.
And so Metonot flew to where he knew Jacob would be heading: The Brain Tree.
Coming near the home of the Brain Tree, Metonot saw Jacob sitting on a rotten stump. As he flew over, Jacob noticed him and said, “Hey there Metonot. You alright?”
Metonot gave slight grunt and said, “Considering that you left me behind in that store and had me travel across Neopia alone, yeah, I’m feeling great.”
Jacob scratched his head, looking bashful, and said, “Yeah. Sorry about that. You know how I get whenever I get into something I don’t want to do, like spending large sums of money. You even tried to talk me out of this, realizing that this would happen. Well, the good news is that it’s over now, as I got the answer to the Brain Tree’s question.”
Metonot, still feeling kind of doubtful, said, “It may not be over yet Jacob. What if the reward the Brain Tree gives you is less in value then what you bought?”
“As I said earlier, the more costly the quest, the greater the prize,” said Jacob with a smile. Yet the smile didn’t really seem sincere. It was more of a hopeful one.
As Jacob and Metonot came close to the Brain Tree, it said, “Ah. Welcome back Jacob and Metonot. Do you have the answer to my question yet?”
“Yes, we do,” said Jacob. “Chris Tonu died in Virtopia, 30 BN.”
The Brain Tree pondered what Jacob said for a bit and exclaimed, “Of course! That’s correct! I thank you!”
Jacob smiled, as he was glad that the quest was over. Metonot, however, merely frowned, as he had a feeling that Jacob’s smile would soon be turned into an angry scowl.
“As a reward,” continued the Brain Tree, “I shall give you 1,644 neopoints, and this Feather Tickler.”
The Brain Tree handed Jacob his reward, who merely grabbed them, but took no notice of them. He was staring into space, as if he was stunned beyond believe. ‘Uh oh,’ thought Metonot. Slowly, Jacob put his ‘reward’ into his travel sack and dropped it to the ground.
“Do you know how much getting your answer cost me?” asked Jacob.
The Brain Tree got a puzzled look upon its face, and said, “While I do claim to know everything, I do not yet know that. Would you mind telling me so that I may know?”
“Of course. I’d be happy to share.”
In an instant, Jacob rushed right at the Brain Tree, slamming into its trunk with its shoulder. The entire body of the Brain Tree shook and shuddered from the impact. The Tree’s screams of pain were deafening, and Metonot had to cover his ears from its screeching and painful roar. Yet, despite the volume of the Tree’s screams and Metonot’s hands over his ears, Jacob’s own screams could be heard clearly.
“29,006 neopoints! That’s how much your answer cost me! 29,006 neopoints!”
The Brain recovered from Jacob’s blow, and swung down its branches, intending to crush him in one blow. Jacob easily dodged, and grabbed some of the Brain Tree’s branches that were intended to harm him. The Tree cried out in pain again, as if the simple action of Jacob grabbing its branches was excruciating.
“The pain you are feeling is the pause of the flow of magic that allows you to life,” said Jacob. “Just as magic has brought you to life, I can take it away.”
The Brain Tree shuddered, and asked, “What do you want?”
“I want something more than 1,644 neopoints and a feather tickler!”
“The rewards I give are predetermined. I shall not give you anything else.”
“But I deserve more for your quest than what you gave! I lost more than I gained here by supplying you with the answer to your question!”
“My quest for you was to find the date and place of Chris Tonu’s death. How you received your answers is your choice, though I’m sure you went to the Esophagor for the answer. It ripped you off, not me!”
A few moments passed as Jacob continued to hold onto the branches of the Brain Tree. Finally, Jacob grunted and let go, much to the Brain Tree’s relief. The rage had died down in his eyes, but it was still present.
“Fine! Then I will go to the one that took my money.”
Jacob ran off, leaving behind the beaten Brain Tree, and a horrified Metonot. He had seen Jacob enraged before, but never as fiercely as this. His actions were parallel to that of a villain! Worried about the health of the Brain Tree, Metonot flew over and asked, “Are you okay Brain Tree? I’m sorry about what Jacob just did. I’ve never seen him act like that before.”
The Brain Tree breathed heavily, his branches still drooping with exhaustion.
“I suppose it was to be expected. Jacob has always been protective of what is his, and losing it for what I had given him must have been too deep a blow.”
“Yes...I suppose so. You are the Brain Tree, right?”
The Brain Tree merely grunted, and the two of them stood there is silence, while Whooper began to beep and dance around them.
“I think I might have said the wrong thing when Jacob disrupted the flow of my magic,” said the Brain Tree, breaking the silence. “But, under the circumstances, I don’t think I was capable of saying anything else. If I wasn’t concerned for my own existence, I would have counseled him and calmed him from his rage. However, I have merely just redirected it.”
“Well…Jacob’s tantrums usually don’t last long. I’m sure he will calm down soon,” said Metonot, although he didn’t fully believe in what he said.
“Regardless, I think you should find Jacob, before his rage spreads out too far.”
“Yes…I should,” said Metonot, and picked up his dancing Avabot with his feet.
Apologizing to the Brain Tree once more, Metonot flew after Jacob, hoping that he wasn’t doing something stupid again.
The Esophagor was having a wonderful day. Many Neopians had given many different assortments of food, and he felt somewhat full. However, he knew this would only be a temporary feeling, as he would be feeling hungry again in only a few minutes. For the time being, it could at least close its eyes to rest.
“Hello there Esophagor!” said a voice. “How are you feeling today?”
Grumbling, the Esophagor opened its eyes, and saw that it was the one that had given it 2 vanilla ghost cakes earlier. The one named Jacob.
“Go away,” said the Esophagor. “I am not feeling hungry at the moment, and don’t feel like giving away answers to the Brain Tree’s questions. I merely wish to sleep a bit with the peace I have gained.”
Jacob got a sad look on his face, saying, “Aww, that’s too bad, as I got food for you right now. Are you sure you aren’t hungry?”
“Yes! Now let me have some peace! I don’t want to give out any answers!”
“That’s OK. I don’t want any! I just thought you would like to have some food is all.”
The Esophagor was now fully awake at what he heard.
“You are willing to give me food, even though you know you won’t get anything in return?”
“That’s right!” said Jacob, and he pulled out a vanilla ghost cake from his travel sack.
“No!” screamed the Esophagor. “I don’t want a vanilla ghost cake! I want a korbat wing!”
“Are you sure? You got two from me earlier, so what could hurt having some more?” and Jacob pulled out a second vanilla ghost cake.
“I TOLD YOU! If I’m going to eat something, I want to eat a korbat wing!”
Still, the appetizing look of the two cakes was getting to the Esophagor, as it was now beginning to feel hungry again. Even if it wasn’t getting exactly what it wanted, free food was something nobody could turn down.
“How about this,” said Jacob. “Instead of two cakes, how about four?” and he pulled out two more from his bag.
If the Esophagor wasn’t part of the ground, it would have leaped with joy.
“Yes! Please, I would love to have four vanilla ghost cakes!”
Jacob smiled, and tossed the cakes into the Esophagor’s hand. It immediately threw all four cakes into its mouth, and bit into them…
...Immediately, the Esophagor spit out all four ‘cakes’ and screeched, “Those aren’t cakes! Those were rocks!”
“Really?” said Jacob, looking somewhat confused. “Maybe you just didn’t get a cake that was big enough.”
Before the Esophagor could react, Jacob had rushed to the nearest boulder, picked it up, and threw it. The boulder, twice the size of a full grown Lupe, hit the Esophagor, stunning it for a moment.
“What is the meaning of this!” screamed the Esophagor.
“I intend to get back at you for wasting my money on the food you devoured,” said Jacob, his smile now replaced with an angry grimace.
As Jacob rushed upon the Esophagor, it reached into its mass and brought out a Sludge Hammer and Slime Net, its trademark weapons. It swung the hammer right at Jacob, who dodged it with incredible speed. The Esophagor then threw the Slime Net, and this time didn’t miss. Jacob was tangled into the gooey contraption, and the Esophagor began to laugh.
“Try to attack me will you? I’ll give you a beating so bad you will wish you never meet me in the first place!”
As the Esophagor swung its Sludge Hammer, he failed to notice that Jacob suddenly freed himself from the net. When its swing came down, Jacob dodged, and threw the Net around the Hammer, ensnaring it. Realizing its error a moment too late, the Esophagor became helpless after Jacob tore the Sludge Hammer from its grasp and threw the Slime Net over its large body.
With the battle now over, the Esophagor asked, “How did you escape from my Net? You should not have been able to pull it off of you as you did.”
Jacob shrugged and said, “Your Slime Net stays slimy by a form of magic. I merely shut it down for a bit.”
The Esophagor growled, angry that it was now being held prisoner by one of its own weapons.
“Now,” said Jacob, interrupting the Esophagor’s thoughts. “You cheated me. All I got from the Brain Tree was 1,644 neopoints and a Feather Tickler. I’m 29,000 in dept because you had me buy expensive foods. I WANT to be repaid!”
“Repaid? I have already eaten your spooky foods. I can’t even repay you if I wanted to, as I have no materialistic things. Is this why you are trapping me in my own domain?”
“Shut up!” screamed Jacob, pulling tight on the Slime Net. “I want vengeance!”
“If it is vengeance you seek, it should not be against me, but against those that supplied you with what I desired. They are the ones that had you pay huge fees, correct?”
“...Maybe, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t even remember where I bought your food.”
“Well then. It seems we have a case of misplaced anger here. Instead of getting revenge against the supplier, you go against the consumer.”
It seemed as if the Esophagor’s words were having an affect on Jacob. Instead of being calm with his rage, he was now visibly shaking, unsure of what he was doing. After a few moments, Jacob stopped shaking all together, and the rage was gone from his face. He dropped the ends of the Slime Net that held the Esophagor down, and walked away.
Despite the fact that the Slime Net was not being held together now, the Esophagor could not get free of its sticky grasp. It began to cry out for help, for anybody that could pull it free of its own weapon. The help came from Albert the Mutant Kacheek, its personal slave. He had just gotten back from the Graveyard of Doom, and was carrying a large filled sack over his shoulder.
As Albert pulled the Slime Net off, he said, “Dear me! Someone stole your own Net and used it against you! What happened Esophagor?”
“Someone wanted to get revenge upon me for asking for expensive foods.”
“In return for answers to the Brain Tree’s questions?”
The Esophagor nodded.
“Well, that’s just silly! He should have known that completing a quest for the Brain tree is an expensive task, with awards that really don’t make up for what you give.”
“It seems he was ignorant of the fact.”
The Esophagor began to moan, and Albert asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Jacob, the one who did this, promised to give me 4 vanilla ghost cakes, which of course was not true. Now I’m really hungry!”
“Don’t worry Esophagor! I got just the thing you need!”
And Albert went to his travel sack and emptied all of its contents in front of the Esophagor. Among the large collection of clawmatoes, mashed eye potatoes, and spooky doughnuts, there were even bat cookies, moldy cheeses, and apple lanterns.
“Yes! Thank you Albert! This is just what I need!” and it began to shovel handfuls of Albert’s hard earned food into its mouth.
Halfway to the Esophagor’s lair, Metonot noticed Jacob walking out of the Haunted Woods. He quickly flew up to him and asked, “Jacob! Are you alright? What happened to the Esophagor?”
Jacob kept on walking as he said, “Doesn’t matter. Let’s get out off here.”
Sadness was apparent on Jacob’s face, and Metonot was about to ask more before Jacob stopped and turned towards him.
“Look, I don’t want to be in the Haunted Woods any longer. The demeanor of this depressing place is getting to me, and I want to be out before night time comes.”
Not wanting to press Jacob any further, Metonot merely followed him out of the Haunted Woods. They entered the untainted grass fields at its entrance just as the sun was setting. Finding a lone tree beside the road, Jacob sat down under it, and leaned against its trunk with a giant sigh. The depression he felt was still present.
“Thanks for allowing me to walk out of there,” said Jacob after a few moments silence. “You can ask your questions now if you want.”
“Okay...um...what happened when you got to the Esophagor?”
“I feed him four rocks instead of cakes, and trapped him in his own Slime Net. I wanted him to get me back what I believed was stolen from me.”
“You do realize that it was a bit unfair to get revenge against the Brain Tree and Esophagor, right?”
“I know.”
“If you really wanted to get revenge against someone, it should have been against the shopkeepers, as they were the ones that had you pay huge amounts of neopoints.”
“I know.”
“And thinking about revenge is just stupid, as you should have known you were going to lose more than you gain when you decided to do this quest. It really isn’t their fault.”
“I know!” cried Jacob, sitting up from his position. Genuine sadness could be seen in his eyes. “I know that it was me who wanted to do this in the first place. I know shopkeepers raise the prices drastically when stock is really rare. I know it was wrong to take out my anger on them. I know all of this!”
Metonot merely stood there looking at his Master as he released his frustration. Even Whooper stood in silent awe at what it was seeing.
“Right now, I wish I hadn’t done what I did. It was childish, and all it got me was guilt. I lost my cool, even though I should have realized that I would have to pay a large price for what I wanted to do.”
Hoping to calm Jacob down, Metonot said, “It’s alright Jacob.”
“It’s not alright. In a couple of weeks, the front page news will talk of a crazed Neopet Owner attacking the Brain Tree and Esophagor, because he was upset over what he received as a gift for completing the Brain Tree’s quest. Neopians will talk of this new villain for ages, fearing to cross its path. And it’s all because I had to lose control over losing money. Money! Of all the important things in this world, I had to get upset over the one thing that slips from everyone’s grasp. Money!”
Jacob sat back against the tree truck, close to tears.
“And I could have prevented it all if I hadn’t been so ignorant and thought this would be an inexpensive and worthwhile quest! In my idiocy, I had allowed my expectations to soar, and come crashing down hard. And now I have only caused myself more pain for letting out my disappointment on those that were just doing their daily routine.”
Jacob leaned forward into his knees, and put his hands to his face. “I’m such an idiot.”
Metonot, pained to see Jacob in turmoil, said, “Come on, Jacob, cut it out. It’s not the end of the world. The Brain Tree understood your anger, and the Esophagor…well…his memory is only good at recalling what food you haven’t brought to it yet.”
Jacob laughed at that part, and brought down his hands. Metonot could see the hint of a smile on his face, but Metonot was sure Jacob was far from feeling better. Just because one smiles, doesn’t mean they are happy.
“Sure, the Brain Tree can understand, and the Esophagor can forget. But the rest of the world doesn’t do either of those. You do one thing wrong, they exaggerate it, and you are hated forever.”
To Metonot’s surprise, he had the perfect comeback to what Jacob had just said. The words poured out of his mouth, as if they were instinct.
“If that’s true, then why are we still viewed the same after the incident with the Roboball? As I recall, you did some very bad things in the eyes of average Neopians. You tore up a Light Faeries wing, knocked out the Castle Healer’s assistant, and you stole Fyora’s staff and used it for destruction, something that it was not supposed to be used for.”
“And don’t forget the fact that I used you as a tool to destroy the Roboball,” Interrupted Jacob.
“Whatever! The point is what has changed since then? Nothing. No one has ridiculed us as villains, and no one has praised us as heroes. You supposedly did all of those ‘horrible’ things, yet our life has not changed one bit!”
Metonot was out of breath after giving his speech, but he was glad he gave it, as Jacob now had one of his old smiles upon his face.
“Yeah, I suppose you are right Metonot,” said Jacob. “Still, this incident today might change people’s opinion on us. Only time will tell I suppose.”
Sensing the change in Jacob’s demeanor, Whooper let out a couple of beeps and began to dance around the tree. Both Metonot and Jacob began to laugh at the petpet’s insanity. As more of their gloominess began to fade, Jacob began to notice that they were both hungry, and reached into his travel sack. Finding a slice of green pepper omelette, Jacob passed to Metonot his portion, and they began to eat.
Long after they had eaten, they both leaned against the tree, staring up at the night sky. Whooper had long since dug himself into a hole head first, and had gone into sleep mode as it could not get out. One of them would pull Whooper out in the morning. For now, they were content with the silence they were given when the Avabot fell asleep.
After a few more moments of silence, Jacob said, “You know…despite the fact that I may have ruined our reputation for beating up both the Brain Tree and Esophagor, I think there’s one thing to feel good about.”
“The fact that we are still together and alive?” inquired Metonot.
“Well, yes. That, and I got this,” and Jacob pulled out something from his coat pocket.
It was the Feather Tickler he had received for his completion of the Brain Tree’s Quest.
“You are happy you received a Feather Tickler from the Brain Tree? If I recall, you can buy them cheap in many stores, and they are a horrible weapons when compared to others you can get for almost the same price.”
“I don’t know Metonot. I think I can find some use for it.”
And with that, Jacob rubbed the tip of his nose with the feather, and began to laugh from the sensation he felt.
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