Underneath the sea in a secret laboratory, Metonot sat waiting. He had gotten bored of staring at all the amazing state-of-the-art machinery, as the splendor of it all fades when you sit in one spot for over half an hour. During this whole time, Jacob had been arguing with the laboratories resident: The Lab Ray Scientist. As odd as it seemed, that was his name. You would think that somebody as popular as him would have a name, but that was not the case.
For the past few months, Jacob had been taking him to see the Mad Scientist to test his experimental lab ray.
“If you ever want to take out the Pants Devil without my help, you need to get stronger,” said Jacob as they first visited the lab. “And the best proven way to get strong fast is to visit that crazy Lab Scientist at his laboratory.”
“But I’ve heard rumors that his lab ray can change me into a different Neopet!” Metonot complained. “I don’t WANT to change into another Neopet! I’ll lose my wings!”
“Look, the chance that it could happen is low, but even if it does happen, as least you will be tough, right? And if you do change into another species, perhaps it will be a winged one, like a Scorchio, or an Eyrie.”
Despite his arguments, Metonot visited the Lab daily, and DID get strong enough to over power the Pants Devil and a few other villains of Neopia. And Metonot didn’t change into another species as he had feared. He only changed into a bunch of different colors: Disco, Electric, Rainbow, Mutant, Green and Halloween.
Only after he got into the habit of visiting the lab did his fear come true: Metonot turned into a Yellow Poogle. He could no longer fly! For the first time in his life he was forced to walk on the ground like everyone else. It brought him to the point of tears. Jacob tried to cheer him up, even gave him some toys to play with, which never happened before. But none of that worked, and Metonot was in complete misery.
Both of them were hoping that the lab ray could fix the situation they got themselves into, and continued to visit, first getting turned into a Red Quiggle, and then thankfully turning into a Yellow Korbat. When Metonot realized that he had been turned back into a Korbat, he flew about the laboratory several times, much to the discomfort of the Scientist, as there were many fragile things stacked on top of the shelves. But Metonot didn’t care. He had his wings back!
His joy was cut short when Jacob told him they were still going to visit the lab.
“What is wrong with you!” cried Metonot. “I finally got my wings back, and now you want me to lose them again?”
“No,” said Jacob as he covered his ears from Metonot’s screams. “I just think that we can continue visiting the lab ray without worrying about you getting changed again. The worst is behind us, you know?”
Metonot tried to change Jacob’s mind, but the decision was made, and they continued to go to the lab, and Metonot was eventually turned into a Red Kau, and then into a Ghost not long after that.
And that was the current state of Metonot: Turned into a Ghost Kau when in actuality he was a Korbat, capable of taking off from the ground with a single flap of his wings. Now anytime he flapped his arms, people thought he was about to charge somebody and ran away. Or they just ran away because he was a Ghost.
Whooper, Metonot’s Avabot, was the only one that seemed to be noticing the anguish that he was going through. Instead of being the insane dancing and broken robot that he was, he was now just...dancing. It was a waltz to one of the slow orchestra tunes Metonot was fond of. If there was any notion that Whooper was broken as he danced about in front of Metonot’s tired and sad eyes, none was given.
“Whooper, you can cut it out,” said Metonot with a sigh. “I just want to rest.”
The Avabot gave out a low humming noise as it stopped dancing, an obvious gesture of disapproval. Nonetheless, Whooper was being cooperative, another trait that he had developed as of late. He jumped atop Metonot’s head, and went to sleep on the space between his horns.
‘At least you can sleep,’ thought Metonot as he watched Jacob and the Lab Scientist bicker. “I have to stay awake and see what’s going to happen to me next.”
“Metonot is miserable,” said Jacob. “I know it, you know it, even Whooper knows it, and he’s a broken robot!”
“He’s broken?” said the scientist with a mischievous grin. “Would you mind if I fixed him up for you? I would do it free of charge.”
“You keep your hands off of Whooper! All I want from you is to turn Metonot back into a Korbat or other flying Neopet. Any will do as long as he can fly again.”
“Jacob,” said the Scientist, “As much as you are worried with the health of your Neopet, I’m being honest that I cannot reverse the effects on the spot.”
“What do you mean you can’t reverse the effects?” screamed Jacob. “Haven’t worked out the random effects of that laser yet?”
“As I have already told you,” continued the Scientist as he scratched his head, “This is an experimental machine. I’m still trying to work out a few bugs. Every time I try to fix something, another problem occurs with the ray, in the form of a Black Aisha turning into a Sponge Grundo.”
“Well, haven’t you at least made a new ray with all the data that you have collected over the years? It’s not very scientific to keep doing an experiment that you KNOW is faulty.”
“No, I haven’t made a new—” and The Lab Scientist’s eyes opened wide...wider than normal at least. He stood agape, seeming to finally recall something that he had forgotten.
“Yes...I DO have a new ray...”
“You do?”
“YES!” he cried out as he hovered in the air a bit with his wings. “I finished it a few months ago, and was cautious about presenting it to the public, as...”
“Yes?” asked Jacob, who was now leaning in closer to hear the Scorchio better, even though he was standing right in front of him.
“Well, it’s an experimental machine of course, but it’s different from the other ray’s side effects...”
“Yes?” and he leaned in even closer.
“All the effects are POSITIVE!” cried out the scientist with a jump into the air.
“What do you mean they are all positive?”
“Every time a pet gets zapped from my new ray, there are no negative results. All strength, speed and endurance will be raised, and not only that, they will be raised tremendously!”
“Really?” said Jacob with disbelief. Something like that was too good to be true.
“Of course! And this will get you even MORE excited! I can change Neopets to any color or species on command! Your Neopet can be turned back into a Korbat right now!”
“Okay. If this ray is so great, why isn’t everyone in Neopia using it?”
“One, you are the only person I have told of my newest invention. Two...it’s still experimental, and has side effects.”
“What side effects?” asked Jacob as he rubbed his forehead in frustration. He knew there just HAD to be something wrong with it.
“I don’t know! I’ve never used it yet! But from my calculations, perhaps the worst that could happen is a failing to change a pet to the species I want.”
A tremendous increase in power and the only adverse effects being the failure of a pet species change? So even if Metonot remained a Kau, he would be an incredible contender in the Battledome. And as there was a chance to turn Metonot back into a Korbat...
“Alright then. Let’s see this ray of yours.”
“Of course!” said the Scientist as he jumped off to a corner of the lab and came back with a large cloth covered display.
“Behold my newest creation! The Lab Ray 2000-X!” and the scientist pulled back the cloth.
“Looks more like a cannon than a lab ray. Are you sure that thing is safe?”
“I assure you,” said the Scientist as he gave a bow. “It is as safe—no, even safer than my previous lab ray.”
Though he didn’t think he would be able to sleep, Metonot was snoozing when Whooper began to softly tap him on the head with its foot. Another change from the old Avabot: He used to dance on his head to wake him up. In either case, both ways of waking him were annoying, as he didn’t enjoy being awoken right after he dozed off.
“Knock it off Whooper. I’m trying to sleep,” and he rolled over on his side.
“READY!” piped Whooper with his electronic voice. “JACOB READY!”
“Finally,” groaned Metonot as he slowly got to his feet. “Now let’s see what pet I shall turn into today. Perhaps it will be a Koi, and I’ll have to be carried around in a fish tank.”
As Metonot walked over to the firing pad, he gave Whooper over to Jacob, who placed him in his pocket for safe keeping. They both didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. Jacob then placed a hand upon Metonot’s head.
“Now, now, Metonot,” said Jacob with his ever so happy voice that had become so aggravating to him. “I assure you, this next test will turn you back into a Korbat.”
“Yeah right,” Metonot said as he crawled on the ‘zapping pad’. “And I’ll eventually be able to fight off the Giant Ghostkerchief.”
“That’s the general idea!” laughed the Lab Ray Scientist as he hit the switch, powering up the ray.
“What?” asked Metonot, startled that the Scientist would say something like that. In the past, it was always something along the lines of ‘I hope this works’ or ‘you must have plenty insurance to be doing this’. He focused his eyes, as he was still half asleep when he crawled onto the pad.
And he saw the lab ray. The last coherent thought Metonot had was, ‘That is not the lab ray,’ and then the ray fired.
The experimental ray fired with a loud thunderous crack, and Jacob was almost thrown make by the force of the blast.
“What just happened!?!” cried out Jacob, thinking that the Scientist actually DID fire a cannon at his pet.
“Calm yourself, Jacob” said the Scientist as he removed his goggles. “You can’t expect your pet to gain a large dose of strength without there being a huge release of energy in the process. Your pet is fine. Now let the smoke clear so that we can see the results.”
Having no other choice, he focused his eyes back on the firing pad, wishing the mist would clear faster so that he would know if Metonot was truly okay. After several seconds, the mist cleared enough so that Jacob saw the silhouette of a Kau. He began to breathe a sigh of relief...but then the air got caught in his throat. Another Kau appeared not far from the first. Then another. And another. And another. There were five Kaus where just one Metonot used to be.
“Drat!” cried out the Scientist. “The experiment has failed! They are still Kaus!”
Had not Jacob been stunned by what he saw, he would have thrown the scientist into the nearest wall. All he could do was watch as the mist continued to pass away, showing him the Kaus clearer than ever. He could see now that these Kaus weren’t the same color as Metonot either. Each of them was different: Red, blue, yellow, white and grey. ‘What happened to Metonot?’ thought Jacob.
Just then, the group of Kaus began to stir. The first to get to his feet was the white one, who got nimbly to his feet and shook himself awake, as if he had a delightful little nap. Next up was the red one, who grumbled under his breathe as he began to sway back and forth on his feet, obvious to all that he was not well rested.
The Blue, Yellow and Grey Kaus stayed upon the floor, though it was evident that they were awake. The blue one moved its head a little when the two other kaus got to their feet, and turned away just as quickly, seeming to fall back to sleep, while the yellow one was shaking uncontrollably and the grey merely readjusted its legs.
Suddenly, the eyes of the Red Kau snapped open, and he became to scream, “Alright! What happened to me this time?”
The sudden outburst of the Red Kau startled the Yellow Kau, who yelped and literally took off from the floor, sprinting behind a shelf several feet away in an instant. He had moved so fast, a trail of yellow followed right behind him.
“There is certainly no need to shout out like that,” said the White Kau. “I can hear you just as fine if you talked with your inside voice.”
“I don’t need to listen to you, you stupid Kau!” retorted the Red Kau, squaring off with the white one. “So just shut your mouth and keep your comments to yourself!”
The White Kau, taken aback by the show of anger, backed off a few steps, while the Blue and Gray Kaus watched with renewed interest. The Red Kau began to look at himself with disgust then whirled around at Jacob. “Well, it looks like your stupid Lab Ray didn’t do anything except change my color, now did it? To bad it couldn’t turn me back into a Korbat, huh?”
“What?” asked Jacob, still bewildered that there were five Kaus where there used to be one.
“Is that all you have to say for yourself? You brought me here to this blasted laboratory for months, changing me into something I’m not, and all you can say is ‘What’? How dare you!”
With that said, the Red Kau rushed at Jacob head first. Still in shock from the current events, Jacob was unable to dodge and took the charge right in the chest, sending him flying into the air. He had smashed through three shelves of laboratory equipment before he finally landed on the ground.
“I’ve been waiting to do that for a long time, don’t you know?” laughed the Red Kau. “Know what else I’ve wanted to do? THIS!” and he kicked the Lab Ray 2000-X, smashing it instantly, and sending the fragments flying.
“No!” cried out the Scientist. “I’ve been working on that model for months!”
“Can it you bug-eyed Scorchio!” and the Red Kau charged at him as well, sending him through a few shelves of his own.
“Great! I feel much better!” said the Kau as he ran up to the semi-dazed Jacob. “Now leave me alone, or you will wish you’ve never been born!” and he went stomping off towards the Laboratory exit.
A few seconds after the Red Kau left, the Grey Kau, who was now slowly getting to his feet, said, “Well, I’m glad I didn’t get involved with that.”
“Agreed,” said the White Kau. “That Kau would have definitely destroyed us if we had provoked him any longer.”
“Well, I’m glad you guys thought that through rather nicely,” groaned Jacob as he got himself out of the rubble. “Helping me out would have been much appreciated though.”
“And what could we have done, Jacob?” whined the Blue Kau, still upon the floor. “You saw what it did to you. He took you out with one blow. I can only fight off a few villains, and you want me to take out something like that?”
Jacob was about to reply—but then stopped. The Blue Kau had called him by his name.
“How is it that you know my name?” he asked the Blue Kau.
“What? Why wouldn’t I know you name? You’ve been taking care of me for the past few years, haven’t you?”
“What are you talking about?” asked the White Kau. “Jacob has been caring of me these past few years. I believe I would know if he was taking care of another pet, as I have never left his side.”
“You’re lying,” whined the Blue Kau. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. Just who do you think you are?”
“Metonot,” said the White Kau matter-of-factly.
Near the entrance of the Secret Laboratory, a master and his Neopet, an Electric Acara, were waiting for the elevator to come to the surface. When the bell rang, signaling the elevator was ready to use, the master happily jumped up from the ground.
“Alright!” said the caretaker. “Now we can use the lab ray!”
“Yipee,” said the Electric Acara, who had already been changed into so many species he had lost count. They both lined up at the elevator, expecting to see another caretaker and his Neopet, but what met their eyes was just a Neopet. And a very angry one at that.
“What are you two starring at?” yelled the Red Kau in the elevator. “You wanna start something?”
“What? No!” replied the caretaker, flustered that a Neopet would show such uncalled anger. “We are just waiting to use the lab ray. Honest!”
“What? You torture your Neopet as well?” said the Kau, glancing at the Acara. “You make me sick! Take this!” and the Kau charged forward, sending the Neopet’s master flying into the air.
“Why did you do that?” said the Acara. “I don’t like visiting the lab ray, but you didn’t have to do that to him.”
“I help you out and this is the appreciation I get? Fine! See how you like it!” and he kicked his back feet out at the Acara, sending him flying in the other direction. “You all make me sick! But I’ll show you! I’ll show you alright!”
Back down below in the Secret Laboratory, things weren’t going smoothly either. The four Kaus that were left behind were all shouting at each other (save the Grey Kau), each proclaiming that each of them was the true Metonot.
“Oh yeah?” whined the Blue Kau. “Well, what does Jacob usually feed you when you’re hungry?”
“Well,” said the White Kau, “I believe he feeds me from the batch of surplus omelettes and jellies that he has collected over the years. More so the jellies, as they are in higher supply than the omelettes, which sell faster in his shop.”
“Anyone with a brain could have known that,” mumbled the Blue Kau as he looked towards the floor.
“You guys are REALLY beginning to scare me!” cried out the Yellow Kau, who was running around the lab in circles at an incredible speed, leaving a yellow trail behind him. “Each of you are saying things only I would know. Have you guys been spying on me for the last year? Oh no! How much do you know about me?”
“ENOUGH!” yelled Jacob, stopping all the proclaimed Metonot’s in their place. “There is a very simple way to figure this all out. I have in my pocket Whooper, right? Whooper can only follow orders from Metonot, no matter what shape or form he is in. So if I activate him, he will go right towards one of you, dispelling this whole argument.”
“Of course!” said the White Kau, smacking his head in frustration. “Why didn’t I think of this before? Good thinking Jacob!”
“Yeah,” said the Blue Kau. “Now you will know for sure that I am right and you are wrong. Bring out Whooper, Jacob.”
“Just give me a second, will ya?” said Jacob as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the inactive Avabot. “Wake up now, Whooper. Metonot is waiting for you.”
The Avabot immediately shot up from Jacob’s outstretched hand, landing on the floor with both feet before beginning a tap dance. It continued this for several seconds before the Blue Kau got impatient and said, “Will you cut that out Whooper? I need you to come to me so I can prove to these liars here that I am Metonot.”
Whooper’s ears perked up, and it began running to the Blue Kau...then stopped with one foot still in the air when it saw the White, Yellow and Grey Kau. Slowly placing its foot to the ground, Whooper began spinning its head from one Kau to the next.
“Why are you just standing there?” whined the Blue Kau. “Come on over here!”
“It would seem that Whooper cannot make up its mind on which of us to go to,” observed the White Kau.
“Oh no!” cried out the Yellow Kau. “If Whooper only follows around the real Metonot, and he doesn’t come to me, does that mean I’m not me? AHH!” and he began running around the laboratory again.
Jacob merely stood there, feeling cheated out of a resolution that he thought for sure would work. Sighing, he said, “That’s enough. All of you go wait for me at the elevator. I’m going to have a little chat with the Scientist, who may be able to shed some light on the current situation.”
One by one, they each left towards the elevator, the last being the Grey Kau, who seemed to have been taking a nap during the whole ordeal. Whooper followed after them with small hops, still quickly snapping its head from one Kau to the next. When they were all out, Jacob stomped over to where the Mad Scientist had fallen and picked him up into the air by the collar of his lab coat.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, you insane inventor!” said Jacob through clenched teeth.
“Insane inventor? I resent that comment! I’ll have you know—”
“Shut up! Just tell me what just happened to Metonot. I thought you said the Lab Ray 2000-X was flawless?”
“I said no such thing, Jacob. What I said is there would be no negative results, and from what you and I saw, there were none, as showcased by the power of those Kaus. And about the side effects, I’m sorry Metonot wasn’t turned back into a Korbat, but I already told you that feature needed tweaking so—”
“That’s not what I’m angry about!”
“Really?” said the Scientist, surprised at this change of events. “Then what is the problem?”
“I want to know why there are now five different Kaus proclaiming to be Metonot.”
“Oh, that,” sheepishly said the Scientist, scratching his head. “Well, perhaps the Lab Ray 2000-X fired too much power into the body of Metonot, and he couldn’t contain it. Luckily, I installed a feature that would clone the subject should such an event occur.”
“...And what would have happened to Metonot if this ‘feature’ of yours wasn’t installed?” asked Jacob with sullen eyes, though he was pretty sure he knew what the answer was.
“Why, he would have exploded of course! And I would never do such a thing to another Neopet. I would run out of subjects to test on!”
Jacob dropped the Scientist, who yelped with surprise from landing on the ground.
“Alright then,” sighed Jacob. “Can this be reversed?”
“Of course it can!” said the Scientist with a self-righteous tone, shaking off the dust he collected from the drop. “I will simply have to repair the Lab Ray 2000-X, which will of course take several months to accomplish and...,” grinning evilly, “a hefty fee for all the new parts I shall need to buy.”
Jacob merely looked at him with those sullen eyes, and nodded his head. The scientist had him right where he wanted him.
“Good!” laughed the Scientist, who began rummaging through the scrap that was once the Lab Ray 2000-X. “Now go off and catch the Red Kau that has run off. If you have any hope of getting Metonot back to normal, I need all of them here. Go!”
Jacob stayed for a few more moments, watching the Scientist work through the rubble, and wandered off. When he got to the elevator, he saw all four Kaus waiting within, Whooper hopping around the legs of each Neopet. Jacob walked in without a word or greeting, and pushed the button that led to the surface.
After a few seconds of silence, the White Kau asked, “What shall we do, Jacob?”
“We are going to catch Metonot and bring him back here,” he said, not looking away from the closed elevator doors.
“But I’m Metonot!” piped the Yellow Kau, his voice almost a screech.
“I know. You all are.”
During the course of the day, Neopia came face to face with a terror in the shape of an unsuspecting Red Kau. All Neopets that came across him claimed they were minding their own business, but the Kau was able to find some reason to put them in the hospital. Be it a glance of curiosity or a happy tune being whistled, he attacked them without remorse.
The speed at which he traveled and the ferocity of his attack passed over the land so quickly no one was able to retaliate against him. And by the time there was a force strong enough to contend with him...he was gone. It was as if he wasn’t on Neopia anymore.
Later that night, Jacob, Whooper and the four Metonots sat around a campfire. Whooper was still quickly looking back and forth to each Metonot before him, still trying to decide which one was its true master, while Yellow Metonot kept shaking and crying out little yelps of surprise every time a loud snap from the fire went off.
“So,” said Jacob as he scratched his cheek. “I think we all need an introduction, seeing as we don’t all know each other that well.”
“What do you mean you don’t know me?” whined Blue Metonot. “You’ve been my caretaker for the past few years. How can you—”
“What I think he means,” interrupted White Metonot as he put a hoof to his chin, “is that he doesn’t know what we, the essence of Metonot, have become.”
“The ‘essence of Metonot’?” asked Jacob.
“Ever sense I have awoken from the experimental ray’s effect, I have been observing each of us and how we act, each of us believing that we are Metonot. I know for a fact that I AM Metonot, as I have memories of my life with Jacob. But when all of you mentioned these memories as well, there involves a paradox, as only one of us could have memories.”
“Are you saying three of us aren’t the real Metonot?” yet again whined Blue Metonot. “I AM the real Metonot. Why would I lie?”
“I didn’t say you were lying,” reassured White Metonot. “If you would let me finish—”
“Oh no!” cried out Yellow Metonot, who began to shake even more. “Does that mean I might not be real? It can’t be true! I know I exist!”
“Be quiet, all of you!” screamed an exasperated Jacob. “ALL of you are Metonot!”
“Precisely,” said White Metonot, clanking his hoofs together with victory. “We are all Metonot, or more like the essence OF him. We are each a part of that which makes him whole.”
“Well, what does that mean?” questioned Yellow Metonot, who was now getting over his shakes after hearing he did indeed exist.
“The experimental lab ray was designed to alter the five basic attributes of all Neopets: strength, speed, defense, intellect, and endurance. However, no Neopet body could possibly contain such power in itself. An explosion would most likely occur!” Jacob scratched his cheek at hearing this. “Thankfully, this did not happen in our case. Instead, Metonot, our original form which we have sprung from, split into five pieces, each accompanying the five attributes.
“However, physical traits can be separated into different bodies, but not a whole mind. Therefore, when we were split into each of our distinctive forms, Metonot’s mind also split apart, giving us each a certain aspect of his psyche.”
“I still don’t have any idea what that means,” said Yellow Metonot.
Jacob grunted in frustration, and kicked fiercely out at the fire, sending sparks of flame almost within reach of Yellow Metonot. He cried out in surprise, and went immediately running off, his ultra fast feet taking him to a hiding spot fifty feet away in just two seconds.
“What he means,” cried out Jacob, cupping his hands so that Yellow Metonot could hear him, “Is that you have super speed, and that you have Metonot’s cowardice, which I don’t particularly enjoy!”
“Exactly,” said White Metonot. “Although I would have used a much more pacifist way to get the point across, that’s exactly the point.”
“Whatever,” said Jacob with a wave of his hand. “As long as things get done, I don’t care. Anyways, let’s figure out the rest of you guys. You,” pointing at Blue Metonot, “have inherited the sadness of Metonot.”
“What?” said the Blue Metonot. “Shouldn’t sadness be the trait Grey Metonot has?”
They all looked at Grey Metonot, who had remained silent throughout the whole proceeding. It looked like he was almost asleep, and didn’t care about the bickering of the others around him.
“I don’t think so,” said Grey Metonot matter-of-factly. “I wasn’t the one whining the whole time.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault Jacob set up camp in direct contact with the cold wind,” complained Blue Metonot.
“That’s settled then,” said Jacob. “Now we just need to figure out what attribute you have super powered...hey, what’s that up in the sky behind your shoulder Blue Metonot?”
Curious, Blue Metonot looked behind him, and suddenly felt something bang off his head. Stunned but not hurt, he turned back to Jacob and exclaimed, “What was that?”
“You’re not hurt?” asked Jacob, sounding surprised.
“No, I don’t think so,” replied Blue Metonot, who began to check his body for cuts or bruises...when he noticed the large boulder sitting a few feet away from him.
“You threw a boulder at my head!?!” cried out Blue Metonot, devastated that Jacob would do such a thing.
“Well, I already figured you had the defense attribute, so I didn’t think you were going to get hurt. Now I got proof.”
“And what if I did get hurt?”
Looking rather sheepish, Jacob ran a hand through his hair and said, “Then I suppose you would be going to bed early tonight.”
Blue Metonot began to whine even louder than before, but this did not stop White Metonot from saying, “I, on the other hand, and I am sure it’s apparent to you, have inherited super powered intellect and the logic of Metonot’s mind.”
“It’s painfully apparent,” said Jacob. “And the red one that ran off somewhere inherited super strength, all of which is fueled by Metonot’s anger.”
While White Metonot nodded with approval, Jacob looked over at Grey Metonot, who was now almost asleep. “And just what part of Metonot’s mind do you represent?” asked Jacob.
“Isn’t it obvious?” said Grey Metonot, eyes still closed.
“Well, you certainly aren’t his sadness, as was pointed out with the blue one over there, so I don’t really have a clue.”
Grey Metonot grunted a laugh and said, “I’m Metonot’s happiness.”
“What? That can’t be right. How can you be Metonot’s happiness? I mean, you’re...miserable.”
Grey Metonot opened one tired eye and looked straight at Jacob. “I know,” and he turned over, going right to sleep.
Outside the atmosphere of Neopia, a spaceship was docking into the Virtupets Space Station. To the workers there it was just another cargo ship, and they would follow the routine as they always have. They never expected a Red Kau to burst through the steel cargo bay doors and into the Space Station.
“Sound the alarm!” cried out a Grundo. “Sound the—”
The unfortunate Grundo was kicked into a nearby spaceship, and was soon accompanied by another as the alarm sounded. Gun turrets opened up from the walls and entrances into the Station started to close off.
“Shut that racket of an alarm off!” yelled Red Metonot.
Guns began to fire upon Red Metonot, who ran straight for one of the closing doors. He was halfway there when it slammed shut.
“Do you think a stupid door can stop me? DO YOU?”
Crashing through the doors, he was greeted by a squad of soldiers. Needless to say, they didn’t fair as well as those in the docking bay.
The sun rose to find Jacob and company rising to the new morning, smoke still rising from the ashes of the previous night’s fire. Being what he was, Yellow Metonot was the first up and quickly scanned the perimeter of the camp to make sure nothing was stolen during the night and no thieves were going to rob them while they were still groggy.
Instead of finding anything along those lines, he saw a squad of flying troops off in the distance, bearing down right at them. Freaking out, Yellow Metonot began to quickly tap awake the still resting Jacob. And because of his extreme agility, he was tapping Jacob close to ten times a second.
“What? What is it?” moaned Jacob, pushing away Yellow Metonot and then wiping as his eyes.
“There are flying soldiers coming in our direction! They will be here any minute!”
Awake but still muddled, Jacob looked in the direction Yellow Metonot pointed and grunted. “Troops from Faerieland. I was wondering when they would come.”
“What do you mean they are from Faerieland? You knew they were coming? Why didn’t you tell me? What are we going to do?”
“Calm yourself, Yellow Metonot,” said White Metonot, fully awake and ready for travel. “Faerieland, as the most powerful of lands, maintains order within Neopia. At this time, they aren’t at war, so they mainly deal with civil disputes between Neopets and their masters, or when a Neopet should ever escape the care of their master.”
“Exactly,” said Jacob as he got to his feet, dusting off the dirt from his clothes. “They have probably found Red Metonot or will give a status report so we can help capture him.”
“But how were they able to find us?” worried Yellow Metonot. “We are out in the wilderness! How could they have known?”
“Aw, come on!” whined Blue Metonot before Jacob could reply. “They are protectors of Neopia and outfitted by Faerieland’s armory. Don’t you think they would have a seeing stone or two to help them?”
“Oh no! They are always watching us! The know everything we are doing at all times! What are we going to do?” and Yellow Metonot began running about the camp at top speed until Jacob placed an open sack in his path. He ran into the bag, and Jacob closed off the opening and threw him over his shoulder.
“Well,” Jacob sighed. “I’m ready to go. Grey and Blue Metonot, get yourselves ready for the visitors.”
“Hey! Let me out of this bag! I’m scared of the dark!”
“Don’t you worry Yellow one,” patting the bundle over his shoulder. “You have nothing to fear, since you are right next to me. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
A whine escaped through the confines of the sack, but nothing more. While all of them got through their morning routines, Jacob overlooked the Metonot’s with amusement. He noticed all the little quirks they did, recognizing them for what Metonot truly was.
White Metonot began to systematically do all the morning chores, first by putting out the still burning smolders of the fire. Then he began making breakfast for everyone present, making sure everyone got an equal portion.
Blue Metonot whined that it wasn’t enough food for him to eat, to which White Metonot replied that it was, and that he shouldn’t eat too much, something Jacob would have said. Blue whined at hearing the statement he knew he was going to hear, and nibbled at his portion of omelette resentfully.
Grey Metonot, being true to the essences of Metonot’s happiness, ate his omelette without any emotion at all. He seemed so withdrawn, which was to be expected, as he had been living a life that didn’t have much joy in it since visiting the lab ray. Jacob made a note to try and change all that in the future should their current situation be solved.
All the versions of Metonot weren’t the only things of interest. Whooper was sitting atop the head of White Metonot, apparently choosing him as its current master. Perhaps it was because the White one’s essence was logic, which counterbalanced the illogic that Whooper always displayed.
They were all travel ready when the flying troops landed in front of them. Jacob walked forward to the apparent captain of the squad, a Scorchio in brighter colored armor than the rest. “Greetings! What news do you have for me?”
“Not good news I am afraid,” sighed the captain. “I’m very sorry to do this to you Jacob, but I have my orders,” and he signaled to the others behind him, who then circled Jacob and the Metonot’s, weapons drawn.
“What’s going on here?” asked Jacob, alarmed at this sudden show of aggression.
“It has recently come to our attention that you have taken under your wing four new Neopets, exceeding the limit you are allowed to raise. We are placing you under arrest.”
“What? Wait a minute, this can all be explained—”
“You and your new Neopets will be taken into custody, at which time you will have your say. But as of this time I must ask you to surrender.”
“You are being highly unreasonable!” complained White Metonot. “If you would just stand down and listen you will see this is a huge misunderstanding.”
“Failure to comply,” continued the captain, “and we shall have to use force, your caretaker contract shall be void, and all your Neopets shall be placed in the pound.”
“The pound?” cried out Yellow Metonot from the sack over Jacob’s shoulder. “NO! I don’t want to go to the pound!” and began fighting frantically to get out of the bag. Jacob, not ready for such a struggle, dropped the sack, and Yellow Metonot flew out, knocking over several of the soldiers that were guarding the side of the ring he had rushed.
“They’re attacking!” said one of the Eyrie soldiers. “Get them!”
Before the captain could call for them all to hold their ground, they all charged in. Jacob quickly rushed into the fray, hoping to stop some of them before the Metonot’s got harmed. But he really had nothing to fear, as he noticed after tossing several of the guards to the ground. They were outfitted with Swords of Domar and other such obsolete weapons. ‘Really wish Faerieland would give more funding to their army,’ thought Jacob after punching a Pteri. ‘These soldiers would never be able to defend anything!’
The poor weapon choices of the soldiers weren’t the only thing in Jacob’s favor. The Metonots’ were also putting up quite a fight. White Metonot ducked and dodged all blows with perfect accuracy, and with help from Whooper was able to put his opponents off balance. Blue Metonot was getting highly offended the soldiers bossing him around, and beat down one after the other while their weapons bounced off his invincible hide. And Yellow Metonot, of course, continued running about, sending opponents flying should he have run into them.
The only Metonot that seemed to be having trouble was the Grey. But even that wasn’t right, as his opponents were going down as fast as the others were. He fought on, feeling the pain of every blow the soldiers happened to land on him, but kept right on fighting. ‘Just like Metonot,’ thought Jacob with great satisfaction. ‘His hope for happiness will endure no matter how bleak things may seem.’
In less than two minutes, the entire squad of soldiers was either knocked unconscious or had retreated to the skies. Blue Metonot cried out, “Yeah! That teaches you for trying to bully us around!”
“You tell ‘em Metonot,” laughed Jacob, dusting off his clothes once again. “Well...let’s get going. We better start off at a run, since their reaction speed to a defeat is much better than their combat prowess.”
“That’s right!” exclaimed White Metonot. “Once the troops that escaped return to base, they shall have even more powerful reinforcements.”
“Oh no!” screamed Yellow Metonot once more, and ran off...once again.
“For once I agree with his cowardice,” sighed Jacob.
Deep within the bowels of the Space Station, Commander Garoo sat upon a stolen bean bag after eating a meal of stolen goods. He was contemplating where he was and why he was here, and realized that he shouldn’t be sitting on a bean bag eating space food, hidden within the confines of the Space Station. He should be upon a throne with hundreds of Mutant Grundos under his control, feasting upon the finest of foods.
But fate, and a certain Space Faerie, had other plans for him and his master. Now his was reduced to hiding, scavenging whatever weapons and supplies he could with his meager force. But soon his master would return, and they would rise yet again to challenge Neopia. Give it another year, and they would have everything they would need. Soon...
“Commander Garoo, sir!” said a Mutant Grundo. “News to report!”
“What is it this time?” Garoo sighed as he stood up from his bean bag. “Another shipment of Gateaux? We already have a surplus of it.”
“A Red Kau has broken into the Space Station and decimated the defenders earlier today. It continued to rampage throughout the Space Station until it disappeared. The current state of the Station is weak and perfect for the taking.”
“I appreciate your zeal, slave, but such a gamble wouldn’t last, even IF the Station is in shambles, we would never be able to hold it more than a few days. Reinforcements from other outposts would come in, as would those from Neopia, and do not forget the ever hated Space Faerie. The most we can gain at this time is by doing as we have always done: Stealing from under their noses. We can gather several thousand neopoints worth of goods before the day is through. Gather a team when I’m finished with you.”
“Yes sir!”
“I’m more interested in this Red Kau you mentioned. He caused so much destruction, and yet he suddenly disappeared. What happened to him?”
“Reports speculate he may have crawled into one of the many ventilation entrances we use to enter the main portions of the Station.”
“...You knew we might have a breach in security and you tell me this now?”
A fine sweat began to form on the brow of the Grundo, but before he could say anything, a ventilation vent cover flew off the wall and into his head, knocking him out. The Red Kau the Grundo spoke of jumped out of the open vent.
“You!” said the Red Kau to Garoo, and charged right at him. Garoo quickly dodged to the side, the bean bag taking the place of the Kaus wrath. As it tore open the bag and spilled its contents everywhere, Garoo felt a vague sense of loss, as that bean bag was his chosen seat for the past few months. ‘No matter,’ thought Garoo. ‘It was stolen.’
“I have a few words for you and your master,” said the Red Kau after he finished tearing apart the bean bag.
“Really?” Garoo said as he slowly walked over to where he kept his axe. “I’ll have to put in a message for you then, as even I don’t know where Dr. Sloth is.”
“Fine then. Then all I got is you.”
“That you do.”
“Help me defeat Jacob!”
“...What?” Garoo stopped moving towards his axe, as he was sure this Kau said the word “help”. No, that couldn’t be right. Not only that, he was sure he could place the name Jacob in some relation with Dr. Sloth.
“Help me defeat Jacob!” the Kau continued. “My master! I wanted the help of Dr. Sloth, since he is ‘supposedly’ the most powerful villain in all of Neopia. I hate him too! But of all people, I hate Jacob the most.”
“The enemy or your enemy is your friend. Is that why you are here?”
“That’s exactly why I am here. So how about it? Are you going to help me out?”
Garoo crossed his arms across his chest. He was beginning to like this Neopet. And if he was powerful enough to decimate the Space Station...
“What’s your name, Kau?”
“The name is Metonot, and don’t you EVER refer to me as a Kau! I’m a Korbat through and through. Blame my stupid master for the way I am.”
“Whatever. I agree to your proposal. Let me show you around the place. For someone of your talents, one must know all he can about his partners abilities...partner.”
“Well, it looks like the coast is clear at this time,” said Jacob after closing the abandoned barn’s door. “We can hole up here for the time being, but we will have to move out soon.”
“I’m tired of running,” said Blue Metonot.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m having the time of my life!” laughed Yellow Metonot, hardly shaking anymore. “Having to run just for the sake of running is sure better than being paranoid.”
“But we aren’t running for the sake of it,” scoffed Blue Metonot. “We are running away from Faerielands’ reinforcements.”
“Please leave Yellow Metonot alone, Blue,” said White Metonot. “He finally feels the least bit safe and doesn’t need to be reasoned with. Let him be.”
“I agree,” says Jacob as he fell into a pile of hay.
“What do we do now?” asked Blue Metonot.
“We wait,” said Jacob, his hands propped behind his head.
“Wait?”
“Yes. The longer we wander about in the open, the more likely we will be spotted. Plus if we wait it out, Faerieland will be able to sort out the mess they started.”
“Of course!” said White Metonot. “Faerieland’s troops are non-aggressive in almost all cases they undertake. That they were so willing to attack us from the start shows there was a breach in protocol.”
“I assume it is a faerie that still has a grudge against me,” sighed Jacob. “I never had many friends there. Whoever she is, hearing news that I had four ‘new’ Neopets gave her the chance to get back at me. She instilled fear into the Guard I was dangerous, and with the Guard defeated, she has the proof that I truly am. Now she can send in the heavy guns...so to speak.”
“But that’s not fair!” whined Blue Metonot. “They attacked us! We had no choice but to defend ourselves.”
“It doesn’t matter. They are the law, and no matter how much we kick and scream, they will get their way. But, as I said, I’m sure the whole situation will work itself out if we wait.”
“What makes you so sure?” asked Yellow Metonot, who was calmed by Jacob’s demeanor.
“A hunch,” Jacob said, and gave a small smile.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” said White Metonot, “But isn’t this an abandoned barn in the middle of a field? Wouldn’t this be the first spot reinforcements would look into instead of the last place?”
All of a sudden, they heard a whooshing noise outside, as if someone was moving at incredible speed.
“You had to jinx it, didn’t you?” moaned Jacob as he got up quickly to see what it was. A quick peek outside was all it took, and he nearly fell over. ‘Uh oh,’ thought Jacob. ‘Anyone but him.’
“Who is it?” said Yellow Metonot, who had resumed shaking again.
“Who leads the Defenders of Neopia?” asked Jacob with a laugh. None of them needed to answer, as they all knew, but Grey Metonot voiced the name anyways.
“Judge Hog.”
“No! Not him!” cried Yellow Metonot. “What are we going to do?”
Jacob quickly looked about the barn, making a plan as he made an inventory of everything inside. All he could find was a bunch of hay, rope, and a worn but usable wagon. It wasn’t much, but it would work. He didn’t have many options at this time.
“Come on out Jacob!” yelled Judge Hog. “I know you are in there!”
“White Metonot,” said Jacob. “You are in charge of the rest of the Metonot’s. I’m going to slow down Judge Hog while you guys make a break for it. I assume you will know what to do, seeing as you are a genius.”
“...I understand Jacob,” said White Metonot.
“What?” said Yellow Metonot. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t you worry, Yellow Metonot,” Jacob said as he patted Yellow on the head. “Just follow White’s instructions and everything will be alright. He’s probably a better planner than I am anyways. He certainly would think to do what I’m about to do.”
“This is my last warning, Jacob!” said Judge Hog. “Come out peacefully or I will be forced to take action!”
“Alright, Judge Hog!” replied Jacob from inside the barn. “I’m coming out now! I surrender! It’s no use fighting you!”
‘You got that right,’ thought Judge Hog. ‘To fight me would be insanity. No one can stand up to me.’
No sooner did he finish that thought, Jacob burst through the barn doors. Not open the doors and run through the opening. He ran right THROUGH the doors and into Judge Hog. Not expecting such a sudden attack, Jacob’s tackle sent the both of them tumbling away from the barn. Judge Hog kicked Jacob off of him the instant they stopped rolling. “Jacob, what is the matter with you? Do you have any idea what you are doing?”
Jacob’s reply was a punch right to Hog’s snout. “I’m stopping you from taking Metonot away! That’s what I’m doing! Now fight!”
“Oh no!” cried Yellow Metonot. “Jacob is fighting Judge Hog! What are we going to do?”
“Run for it, as Jacob ordered us to do,” said White Metonot. “Now let’s get to business. Blue Metonot, you open the doors on the other side of the barn. Yellow Metonot, collect all the rope around the barn and met me by the front of the wagon.”
“Why do I have to open the barn doors?” whined Blue Metonot.
“I’ll do it,” sighed Grey Metonot. “Just get in the back of the wagon while we work.”
Blue Metonot pouted but did as he was told. They all went about their tasks and met up at the wagon, where White Metonot tied the lengths of rope to Yellow Metonot and the wagon.
“What are you doing?” Yellow inquired.
“I’m tying you up to the wagon, as you are going to pull us out of here as fast as you can. Jacob can’t last long against Judge Hog, but it’s all the time we need to put the miles between us.”
Finished tying the knots, White Metonot climbed up onto the wagon, where Whooper was jumping up and down excitedly. “Yes, Whooper. This is very exciting. Now, get us out of here Yellow!”
“But what about Jacob?” asked Blue Metonot.
Before anything else could be said, Whooper blasted Yellow Metonot with his laser eyes, setting him off on a run with the rest of the gang in tow behind him. Within a few seconds, they were already half a mile away.
Judge Hog was unable to see the wagon of Neopets rocketing off into the distance. Nor did he see the huge plume of dust it left behind. All of his attention was taking in trying to fend off Jacob’s blows. He had heard gossip of Jacob’s strength, but was surprised to deal with it first hand.
“Jacob, if you don’t stop this insanity I will be forced to retaliate.”
“Fine by me,” said Jacob as he threw another punch. “I’m beginning to wonder if you can even—”
Judge Hog silenced him with a punch that sent him twenty feet away. While Jacob struggled to his feet, Hog walked towards him saying, “You know it is fruitless for you to fight against me. Give up while you still can.”
“I guess I’m a glutton for punishment,” said Jacob. He then threw a handful of dirt at Judge Hog, and attacked while he was blinded. “You better go all out on me, as I’m not going to hold back one bit.”
Judge Hog’s next strike was an uppercut, which sent Jacob into a nearby tree. He tumbled through the branches for a few seconds before landing on the ground, and quickly got back onto his feet. “Nice one,” wheezed Jacob. “But I think you can do better. You better realize that I have no intention or surrendering to you.”
“...So be it,” said Judge Hog as he balled his hands into fists.
They fought for only a minute, and it was apparent who the winner would be after Judge Hog sent Jacob flying a few more times. He had just thrown Jacob into a tree when the communicator on his belt went off.
“Judge Hog, come in! This is Sergeant Brexis!”
“I hear you. What is it?”
“Abort your mission. I repeat. Abort! Jacob is an ally!”
“What do you mean he’s an ally?”
“Someone within Faerieland is manipulating us. My advice is to find out what happened from Jacob himself. As I was informed, there has to be a reasonable explanation why he has four new Neopets.”
“I copy that. I’ll inform you with new information when it comes about,” and set the communicator back on his belt. Right after wards Judge Hog was hit with a boulder thrown from Jacob. He could barely stand on his feet and looked like he should have passed out already, but he was rushing yet again at Hog.
“Jacob!” cried out Judge Hog, pushing Jacob off him one last time. “You can stop trying to fight me! I’m not going to take your Neopets into the pound. I’m going to hear you out.”
Jacob wobbled on his feet, and said wearily, “Well, that’s good to know,” and fell to the ground unconscious.
Within one of Faerieland’s barracks, a Techo messenger was visibly shaking. He had contacted the Defenders of Neopia and told them to call off the capture of Jacob and his Neopets, something which his superior wouldn’t like. Sure, the order to do so came from someone even higher, but that didn’t help him. He still had to give his report to his superior on what was happening. Being a Fire Faerie, Felicia had quite a temper, and the last thing he wanted was to have it directed at him.
“What news from Judge Hog?” said Felicia as she suddenly appeared. “Has he captured Jacob?”
The poor Techo gulped and said, “Jacob has not been captured yet. He—”
“Well, that is odd,” interrupted Felicia. “For being one of the greatest heroes in Neopia, you would think he would have taken care of someone like Jacob already.”
“He stopped fighting Jacob and is now helping him!” the Techo nearly screeched.
All the color drained from the faerie’s face. “What did you say?”
“I contacted the headquarters of the Defenders of Neopia and said we made a mistake, and Jacob was an ally.” The Techo let the words flood out of his mouth, as he was sure he would be unable to speak any second now.
“How DARE you do such a thing!” screamed Felicia, her face blushing crimson. “I never gave you such an order. Who said you could be such a thing?”
“I did.”
Felicia spun around in fury, intent on retaliating on whoever interrupted her, and immediately went cold. The Techo sighed with relief, knowing that everything was going to be okay. Fyora stood before them.
“What is the meaning of this?” said Felicia, gaining back some of her composure.
“I stopped by the infirmary earlier, as I was told several of our soldiers required medical attention after they tried to subdue Jacob,” said Fyora.
“They were acting in self defense, Fyora!”
“That’s not what I heard. Alana, one of the healers present, questioned all of them, and they all agreed they had struck first. It was no wonder really, since you had instilled so much fear into them about Jacob. They assumed the retreat of a scarred Neopet was an attack against them.”
“Alana is a friend of Jacob and you know it! She could have lied to save him.”
“That’s not true, my lady,” said the Techo to Fyora. Felicia turned to him in fury, but he didn’t mind. He knew she couldn’t do anything to him anymore. “Felicia made it well known that Jacob was extremely violent and should be taken with extreme caution.”
Fyora nodded and looked back at Felicia. “I will not doubt that Jacob has done questionable actions at times, but it does not entitle you to treat him as a criminal. So he has four new Neopets? We go and ask him what happened. We don’t try and kill him in the process.”
Felicia looked down to the floor, obviously wanting to shriek out at Fyora, but held her tongue. Fyora took a step forward. “Yes, Alana is a friend of Jacob’s, but so am I. And seeing that you have used your position for your own gains, I have no choice but to demote you.”
“What!” all desire to hold her tongue gone. “You can’t do that!”
“I certainly can, as I am ruler of Faerieland, and I am within my reasons to do so. I know perfectly well you are good friends with Cassie, and what you have done to Jacob while he was young. I have no tolerance for your behavior. Report to your superior and receive your new orders.” Then Fyora looks toward the Techo with a smile. “And you can follow me if you wish. I have a feeling she might be a little angry when I leave.”
Fyora started walking away, and the Techo took a few tentative steps after her before looking back at Felicia. The look of fury within her eyes was enough to get him running after Fyora.
Back upon the plains of Neopia, the four Metonot’s were walking briskly. White Metonot lead the way, Whooper dancing around him, while the other three followed in their own fashion.
“Where are we going?” whined Blue Metonot. “And why do we have to walk so fast?”
“Time is of the essence,” replied White Metonot. “We need to find Red Metonot as fast as we can, and seeing as our cart is now useless, we cannot rely on Yellow Metonot’s speed.”
“It’s not my fault one of the wheels went over a rock,” said Yellow Metonot. “It’s not like I could have slowed down going at that speed.”
“No one is blaming you Yellow Metonot,” soothed White Metonot. “I am simply stating why we are now walking to Blue Metonot.”
“But you didn’t say where we are going yet,” said Blue Metonot.
“We are going to Red Metonot,” said Grey Metonot.
“But we don’t even know where he is,” whined Blue Metonot.
“Were you not paying attention to Yellow Metonot as he ran?” said White Metonot. “He had no idea where we were going like the rest of us, save away from Judge Hog. And yet he followed a path that made him feel safer the longer he went upon it.”
“He’s right,” said Yellow Metonot with a nervous laugh. “I just started running wherever it felt right.”
‘Right over a boulder,’ mumbled Blue Metonot.
“As Yellow Metonot is a broken piece of Metonot’s essence, it’s only natural that he would want to be whole again. To be safe. So he ran in the direction to which Red Metonot is in.”
“I’m actually surprised you didn’t feel it yourself, Blue,” said Grey Metonot with a smile. The only smile he had given thus far. “Can’t you feel the distance we are closing with Red?”
He didn’t say anything, as he did feel it. They were slowly getting closer to Red Metonot. He just wished they didn’t have to walk.
Within a day, Red Metonot had learned all the details within Commander Garoo’s operation on the Virtupets Space Station. It was simple, but cunning and deadly. And now with Metonot on the squad, they were three times that. Nay, countless times. With him leading them into battle, there was nothing they couldn’t win.
But that would have to wait, as Garoo would soon find out. While Metonot sat upon one of Garoo’s personal bean bags, Garoo was going to find out a lot.
“We are ready to seize the Space Station whenever you are ready, Metonot,” said Garoo as he was done pepping up the troops.
“Then we are going to wait awhile, as I don’t feel like moving yet.”
“It seems you misunderstood. What I meant was we are ready to go right now.”
“No, YOU misunderstand! We aren’t going anywhere because we don’t need to! Jacob is coming to US!”
Commander Garoo rubbed his forehead with frustration. He was beginning to be annoyed by this talk of Jacob, even though he himself wanted to exact revenge against him for what happened in Faerieland. Priorities had to be set though, so he played along just to enlist the help of Metonot.
“How can you be sure Jacob is coming here? We have no equipment surveying the outside of the Virtupets Space Station, and you made it clear that no one has tracked you here.”
Red Metonot got a distant look in his eyes and said, “I feel it. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel him getting closer. Or something is. Either way, we are waiting here until it gets within the Station, THEN we shall strike. After that, do with me as you will.”
Never in his life did Garoo feel so insulted. A powerful yet still lowly Neopet was calling the shots on his operation? And all because he had a “feeling” that someone was coming?
“No you listen here, Metonot. You do not call the shots around here. I do!”
“Wrong!” said a sinister voice to the side. “I do, so you better not escape you bounds, Commander.”
Both Garoo and Red Metonot turned swiftly at the voice, and all thoughts of arguing faded. Stepping out from one of the many secret entrances was Dr. Frank Sloth.
“When did you arrive at the Station Dr. Sloth?” said Garoo as he bowed.
“I heard this place was in shambles after an enraged Kau broke in,” said Sloth as he looked at Red Metonot, who was snarling at him. “I used the confusion to sneak in. I heard you were in need of some leadership.”
“Yes sir! I have assembled a small army of Mutant Grundos in your absence, and—”
“That is enough Garoo,” said Sloth with a wave of his hand. “I do not need the details of what you have done. I am sure you have made a very formidable squad. I’d expect no less from you. And this,” pointing to Red Metonot, “is the Kau I spoke of, is it not?”
“You bet I am,” said Red Metonot. “And you better watch your tone with me.”
“Feisty, aren’t you?” laughed Sloth as he turned back to Garoo. “We shall do as Metonot asks. We shall await the arrival of Jacob, as I have a score to settle with him as well.”
“As long as I get at him first!” said Red Metonot.
“Of course, Metonot. You shall get you chance,” at which Sloth began to laugh.
Sneaking into the Space Station was fairly simple to the other four Metonot’s. They didn’t even have to hide in a ships cargo to get inside. The entirety of the Station was in shambles, and the security was more concerned with finding the perpetrator than keeping others out. They slipped into the infrastructure of the Station unnoticed.
Now they were navigating the ventilation system, feeling the pull between them and Red Metonot grow stronger by the second.
“How much longer do we have to walk,” said Blue Metonot.
“Not that much farther now,” said White Metonot, pondering the quickest path for them to follow. “I measured how much stronger our attraction to Red Metonot became with every step we took. And if my calculations are right, we should be within a mile of him...maybe even closer.”
“Finally. I’m tired of walking for so long without a break.”
“It’s going to get worse before it gets any better, Blue Metonot. These secret paths within the Space Station are not safe as I’m sure they are inhabited by fringe survivors of Dr. Sloth’s army.”
All the Metonot’s looked at Yellow Metonot upon hearing that, but were surprised to see that he was only shaking a bit. It was to be expected though. Being this close to Red Metonot not made them all feel...like Metonot not again.
Suddenly, the walls in front and behind the Metonot’s burst forth, and a mob or Mutant Grundos had them surrounded. They were all battle ready within a second, knowing they could fend themselves against this squad as they did Faerieland’s troops.
“Get out of my way you stupid Grundos!” said an angry but oddly familiar voice coming behind the wall of Grundos. Several of them began to be thrown into the air as the voice got closer. “You hear me Jacob! I’m coming for you! You hear—”
Red Metonot broke through the ranks of Mutant Grundos and stopped, completely stunned. Before him wasn’t Jacob as he hoped, but four differently colored Kaus’. Not only that, but Whooper, his Avabot, was with them.
“You’re ambushing us with Sloth’s Mutant Grundos?” whined Blue Metonot. “Why are you doing this?”
“Be quiet Blue Metonot,” said White Metonot, who then focused back on Red Metonot. “We’ve come to being you back Red Metonot. We need you to make us whole again.”
“Who are you?” whispered Red Metonot. He was beginning to shake with fear at what his gut instinct was telling him to do: join them, and stop being angry. He couldn’t do that. He had every right to be angry.
“We are YOU!” cried out Yellow Metonot. “Please come back to us! I don’t want to be scarred anymore!”
“SHUT UP!” yelled Red Metonot, broken from the trance he was going under. “I don’t know who you are or why you are here, but taking my Avabot like it is your own is something I will NOT tolerate. Get over here, Whooper!”
Whooper made a few beeps and fired his laser beams at Red Metonot’s feet. While Red Metonot tended to his burned feet, Whooper danced upon the back of White Metonot.
“I always knew you were a defective piece of machinery,” said Red Metonot when he settled down. “It’s about time I do what I should have done ever since you first danced on my head. Destroy you! Attack!”
Commander Garoo had heard word that Metonot came into contact with Jacob (or whoever it was), but was concerned with his own matters at the time. While a large chunk of his forces were with Metonot, he was with only a small force to fend off an attack that was breaking deeper into their base from the other direction.
He now laid in wait with his troops in a wide room used exclusively for ambushing. When whoever was attacking arrived, they would be surrounded without escape.
The entrance to the room was busted down, and Garoo was filled with fear to see that it was Judge Hog, followed in by someone else he didn’t recognize, save that he seemed to have the style of dress as his master: black.
“We should expect an ambush in here,” said Judge Hog. “Be on your guard, Jacob.”
“If the troops here in this ‘ambush’ are anything similar to those we faced earlier,” said Jacob, “we shouldn’t have that much to worry about.”
‘So this is Jacob?’ thought Garoo. ‘It would seem Metonot was wrong on where he would appear. No matter. He is mine now.’ And when Jacob and Hog were in the center of the room, Garoo and his Mutant Grundos had them surrounded.
“Surrender now,” mocked Garoo, “and you may be able to escape with your lives.”
Judge Hog smiled. “You are in no position to make threats with me, Commander Garoo. I am perfectly capable of taking you out on my own, so don’t—”
Judge Hog was cut short by a punch from Jacob.
“What do you think you’re doing?” cried out Judge Hog in disbelief.
“The way you were going there, I didn’t think I could let you see reason any other way,” said Jacob as he looked straight at Garoo. “Leave Garoo and his goons to me, and go find the Metonot’s. I’ll catch up with you when I can.”
“Jacob, if you should be harmed—”
“Do I have to punch you again Hog?”
Grunting in frustration, Judge Hog dashed through the wall of Grundos, swatting them away as if they were flies. As he dashed off deeper into the Station, the opening was quickly closed off, leaving Jacob alone against Garoo and his Grundos.
“You honestly think you can best us in combat?” asked Garoo.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Jacob said as he smiled. “At least I can satisfy your urges to have a duel with me”
“That you can,” said Garoo as he placed his war mask on. “I’ve waited a long time for this. Ever since you foiled Dr. Sloth’s attempt at conquering Faerieland, I’ve wanted a chance at fighting you. I’m really going to enjoy this.”
“I have a feeling you are going to be really disappointed Garoo,” mocked Jacob, hands still at his sides. “Give up, or you are going to regret ever coming face to face with me.”
“Will I now?” raising his axe and shield. “We shall see who regrets what when I defeat you!” and rushed forward at Jacob, axe raised over his head.
Jacob stood still until the last second and made a quick slide to the right, dodging Garoo completely. For several more swings this was how it went, till Garoo swung a little too wide and Jacob was able to throw in a punch. Garoo smiled and merely raised his shield, which absorbed the blow. His smile faded however when he realized that he was flying into the wall of his Grundo troops.
He crashed into them, knocking them off their feet. Those that tried to help him up were shoved off angrily. Receive help from a lowly Grundo? He was Commander Garoo! He needed help from no one! Turning around, he saw Jacob holding the shield that used to be held in his hands.
‘He grabbed my shield after his punch, using my strong grip to it against me!’ thought Garoo with outrage. ‘He moved so fast I couldn‘t stop him!’
Jacob smiled and threw the shield aside, where it landed in front of some Grundos on the other side of the ring. They made a move to pick it up, but Garoo cried out, “Leave it be! I do not need my shield to defeat the likes of this one!” and pulled out his blade from his belt, holding it underhanded.
“Do not expect the same trick to work twice Jacob. I am not that foolish.”
“I never said you were…yet,” and got into a battle stance.
Garoo’s next assault was incapable of being countered. When he swung his axe and seemed to leave himself open, he followed through with a slice of his blade, which in turn he swung his axe again, repeating the process over again. Yet even though this was the case, Jacob made no moves to attack. He kept dodging with the same fluid motions as before. This continued for thirty seconds or so till they stood near Garoo’s discarded shield. Seeing an opportunity to have the battle turn in favor of his master, a Mutant Grundo kicks out at the shield, sending it sliding under Jacob’s moving feet, tripping him.
Garoo cursed under his breathe. He wanted this battle to be his own victory, and not have any credit given to a lowly trooper. He would deal with the insubordinate later. For the moment though, it would have to wait. He had more pressing matters. While Jacob with sprawled out on his back, he swung his axe down with all his strength.
And Jacob stopped the blow, slamming the palms of his hands on opposite sides of the axe blade, mere inches away from him. Before Garoo could retaliate with his blade, Jacob fiercely pulled the axe to his side, sending him to the ground as well. Garoo quickly got to his feet, and saw that Jacob was now holding his axe.
“What do you know?” said Jacob. “It seems the same trick can work twice. Guess that means you really are foolish.”
Garoo cried out in fury and rushed at Jacob, blade raised. He stabbed down but cut nothing but air as Jacob jumped backwards, taking a swing of the axe as he went. The axe struck the blade, knocking it out of Garoo’s hand, leaving him speechless and defenseless in front of Jacob, who dropped the axe to the floor and punched him right in the face. Garoo flew once again into the ranks of his Grundo troops as his mask went clattering to the ground.
“I’ll get you yet!” screamed Garoo as he got himself up. “Just you wait!”
He was silenced when Jacob kicked his dropped mask right at his head, knocking him unconscious. The Grundos surrounding Jacob all began to murmur to each other, wondering what to do next now that their leader had fallen.
“So who else wants to stop me?” said Jacob, raising his arms to them in challenge. “Do any of you think you can take me?”
Thinking this was an order, they all began to charge at Jacob.
“I suppose you guys aren’t smart enough to be intimidated. Oh well.”
Amidst the chaotic battle between the Metonot’s and the Mutant Grundos, White Metonot tried desperately to keep Red Metonot at bay. Keeping true to what he said, Red Metonot was actually trying to smash Whooper to pieces. The Avabot dodged oblivion countless thanks to the help White Metonot, but it was a losing effort against Red’s relentless fury.
“Be reasonable, Red Metonot!” gasped White Metonot, once again dodging one of Red’s deadly kicks. “Whooper is our Petpet!”
“He isn’t anybodies Petpet but mine!” retorted Red Metonot, whose kick finally connected with the winded White Metonot. “And I’m tired of dealing with him. Now stay out of my way!”
Once again Red Metonot chased after Whooper, he continued to not only dodge, but enjoy himself at the same time as he danced and hopped about. This continued for several seconds, until there was no where left to run as the Avabot had his back against the wall.
“That’s right!” said Red Metonot as he got ready to stomp upon Whooper. “Your days of dancing and making me look like a fool are OVER!”
Before his feet could crash down upon Whooper, Grey Metonot slammed into Red, sending them tumbling into a gang of Mutant Grundos. Whooper, sensing that he had been saved once again, continued to jump about the heads of the Grundos, causing confusion amongst the ranks.
“Get off of me you stupid Kau!” said Red Metonot as he kicked Grey Metonot into some surrounding Grundos, knocking them out in the process.
“It would seem you are incapable of being reasoned with,” said Grey Metonot, “so I’m going to have to beat it into you.”
“You wouldn’t last a chance pipsqueak!”
“Come on then,” said Grey Metonot. “Hit me.”
Red Metonot screamed with rage, kicking out his back feet into Grey Metonot’s face. He flew up into the ceiling with a loud crack, and fell down to the floor with the same effect. And he got right back up.
“That the best you can do?” laughed Grey Metonot as he quickly got back to his feet. “Jacob can get harder than you.”
“Shut up! Jacob is nothing to me! You hear me!?! Nothing!”
“Really? Prove it to me then.”
“I WILL!” and rushed at Grey Metonot horns down.
And Grey Metonot clashed horns with him, and used the momentum Red’s body to throw him over his shoulder into the wall. While he was stunned, Grey Metonot quickly ran over to him and put him in a grapple hold.
“If you have any sense left in that head of rage, you will listen to me!”
“Let me go!”
“Aren’t you tired of being angry? Look around you! Has any of this chaos made you any happier?”
“I don’t care!” to which Grey Metonot replied by slamming him into the wall.
“Stop being a baby and think. You do realize what me and the other Kaus are, right? We are you!”
“Shut up!”
“I know you can’t help being angry, as that is what you are, but if you stay this way for much longer, the only thing you are going to be IS angry, and happiness isn’t included in that. I should know, as I AM our happiness.”
“What do you want from me?” said Red Metonot, finally calming down a bit.
“I want you to help us fend off these Grundos after I let you go, as we won’t be able to do it on our own. And realize that if you don’t, we will never be put back together again, and we will each be as miserable as Blue Metonot. What is it going to be?”
On the outskirts on the battle that was being waged, Judge Hog fought against a never ending tide of Mutant Grundos. For every one that he knocked aside, two more would replace it. If it kept up for any longer, even his strength wouldn’t be enough, and he would be overwhelmed.
Relief came in the several Grundos being thrown in the crowd from behind him.
“Did I miss anything?” asked Jacob as he slung a Mutant Grundo off his shoulders. “Sure hope not. I found some nifty tools while on the way here,” and he brandished a pair of blasters we swiped from Garoo’s elite guards.
“Be careful with those! They are not toys!”
“I know. That’s why I’m using them to make people dance,” and he began firing at the feet of the Grundos, who began hopping about. While they were off balance, he knocked them aside and fired at a new set of Grundos. This strategy coupled with the might of Judge Hog soon had them both running deep into the ranks of Grundos, until they both caught sight of the fighting Metonot’s.
As Jacob had hoped, they were not in much need of help, and could take care of themselves. Yellow Metonot continued to run about the feet of the Mutant Grundos, Blue was still kicking and screaming, Grey fought ever on, and although White looked a little injured, he continued to duck and dodge with the aid of Whooper. The only Metonot unaccounted for was—
“HEY!” said Red Metonot. “It’s about time you got here!”
Before Jacob could defend himself, he was knocked against the floor, Red Metonot, pushing him to the ground.
“And here I thought you were undependable. Now help us fight!” and jumped back in the fray. Jacob was stunned to say the least, as he was sure he was going to receive a whooping like last time. Whatever caused the change, he was glad, as Red Metonot packed quite a punch.
Quickly picking back up his dropped blasters, continued you to fight against the Mutant Grundos, who were now beginning to flee seeing that it was a hopeless cause. As the numbers began to thin, Jacob happened to notice a figure running away, one which he recognized immediately: Dr. Sloth.
“Manage without me!” Jacob called back after the Metonot’s and Judge Hog. He easily broke through the small ranks of Grundos before him and was soon on a dead run towards Dr. Sloth. A quick fire to his feet was all it took and Sloth fell over, followed soon after by Jacob who pinned him down.
“Get off of me!” said Dr. Sloth.
“I don’t think so,” said Jacob as he rummaged through his pockets. “I’ve been waiting to do this ever since I heard you escaped from your invasion of Faerieland. Now you will know true suffering!”
And Jacob brought forth his weapon of torture, something he knew Sloth wouldn’t be able to stand: His Feather Tickler! If there was one thing Sloth hated, it was being happy with glee when he wasn’t doing something evil.
“For all the suffering you have caused!” cried Jacob, and he began to tickle Sloth’s neck...and Sloth didn’t laugh. Instead, he kept trying to struggle, as if he didn’t feel the Feather Tickler at all. “Why aren’t you...hey, wait a minute!”
Jacob put back the Feather Tickler in his coat pocket and poked rather forcibly at Sloth’s head. Like he thought, the head popped off with an electric snap and rolled a few feet away, and the body stopped thrashing.
“I should have figured you’d use a robot clone to work your guise here at the Space Station,” said Jacob with disgust as he got up from the ground. “That explains why you allowed Metonot to get so close to you. If you had nothing to lose save another clone, it was worth the risk.”
Kicking the lifeless body one more time, Jacob looked over his shoulder at the dwindling battle behind him, being taken care of the five Metonot’s and Judge Hog.
“Well, all that’s left is clean up,” sighed Jacob. “May as well get this over with. The sooner we get back to the lab, the better.”
Several hours later, Jacob, the Metonot’s and Judge Hog were sitting inside a debriefing room within the Space Station’s security headquarters. Word of their heroic deeds were being kept silent to the populace of the Station, as it was uncertain if they would accept Red Metonot as a hero, seeing as he also destroyed so much of their community.
Not only that, but if word that Garoo had managed to escape once again, fear would only be escalated.
“I can’t believe you let Garoo slip through your fingers!” said Red Metonot. “You had him by the ropes and you let him go!”
“I didn’t have any rope to tie him down,” said Jacob as he scratched his head. “If I went on a search for rope, I wouldn’t have been able to help you guys and Hog.”
“And I think it’s worth noting,” White Metonot interjected, “that you were helping Garoo the whole time, and therefore had a better chance to take him more than any of us.”
Red Metonot looked grimly at White Metonot, but cooled down when Grey patted his shoulder.
“Either way,” Jacob sighed, “I don’t see why my blasters had to be confiscated.”
“They weren’t yours to begin with,” said Judge Hog. “Nor were they Commander Garoo’s. Most likely stolen from a shipment being delivered to the security force. I’m sure they will be glad to have then back.”
“Even so, having those would have be nice...Metonot could have used them well in the Battledome.”
“No!” cried out Yellow Metonot. “Not the Battledome!”
“Quit your whining!” said Red Metonot. “You can’t stand to be in the Battledome? Fine! I’ll take your place. I’m not afraid of anything.”
“And if we manage to come back together again, you or he won’t have to be,” said White Metonot with a sigh.
“Speaking of that,” Jacob said to Judge Hog as he got to his feet, “I was wondering if you could pull a few strings and let us head back to Neopia. We have some business to settle with the Lab Ray Scientist.”
“I would recommend you stay behind,” Judge Hog said. “That Scientist is a crafty one, and you would do better to have me along.”
“He’s right about that, Jacob,” added White Metonot.
“Even though it isn’t logical, I still want to go,” said Jacob. “I have a feeling Red Metonot is getting anxious to move,” and Red Metonot grunted in reply.
“Very well,” said Judge Hog. “Just be careful with him. He is not someone to be taken lightly.”
“Will do Hog. Thanks for all the help,” and bowed before he turned away.
“I see that you have them all,” laughed the Lab Ray Scientist with excitement, eyeing each and every Metonot in front of him. “It’s good that you could have done this so quickly. We can begin experimenting again!”
“Wrong,” said Jacob, stepping in front of the Scorchio’s view. “You are going to change Metonot back to normal, remember? I believe you said you would do that?”
“Oh yes, of course, silly me. As I said to you not long ago, a new Lab Ray 2000-X needs to be built, and I require your payment to do so,” and reached out his hand.
Jacob took a look at the Scientists hand and then over his shoulder, and said, “It looks like you already have a one behind you.”
“Oh! Don’t mind that. It’s the second prototype I made. I wouldn’t be so foolish to make one prototype of a very expensive and delicate machine, now would I?”
“And yet you are foolish enough to demand blackmail for building a machine you already have. I think you should go and set that lab ray up right now before I get angry. Move.”
“Now you wait one moment—”
“No, YOU WAIT!” and Jacob picked him up by the collar. “I’ve been through too much to have you shift blame on me for a mistake that you have made. I’m not going to hear a word of it!”
“Jacob, that is highly unnecessary,” said White Metonot.
“Yeah right. He’s just giving him what he deserves,” laughed Red Metonot.
“Either way, it isn’t helping me out,” said the shaking Yellow Metonot. “Please put him down.”
“Fine,” said Jacob as he dropped the Scientist to the floor. “Now start up that machine before I change my mind.”
The Lab Ray Scientist snarled, and then said, “All five of you stand upon the ‘zapping pad.’ I’ll power up the Lab Ray 2000-X.”
One by one, each Metonot walked past Jacob and right behind the Scientist. White Metonot handed him Whooper to place in his pocket, Red gave him a snarl, Yellow gave a nervous smile, and Blue mumbled something as they each in turn walked by. The last was Grey Metonot, whom Jacob stopped.
“I just want you to know that I intend to take better care of you from now on,” said Jacob.
Grey Metonot smiled. “Don’t really matter if you do or don’t. You are entitled to care for me regardless of what I want.”
“That doesn’t matter. You know I would let you leave me if that was what you really wanted. If you would be better off away from me—”
“Forget it Jacob. Happy or sad, I’d rather stick with you.”
Jacob rubbed the back of his neck, and said, “Thank you.”
Grey Metonot grunted a laugh, and then walked off to join the rest of the Metonot’s on the platform.
“Why didn’t you give me one of those moments as well?” whined Blue Metonot.
“Or me?” said Red Metonot. “Are you too good for that?”
“No, it’s just that you two, and Yellow Metonot included, get in the way of the true Metonot’s happiness. To put it quite frankly, I think you all should take a step back and let Grey Metonot express himself more.”
“Shouldn’t Grey Metonot need something to be happy about in order for him to do so?” inquired White Metonot.
“Leave that to me,” Jacob said as he pointed his thumb at his chest.
When Grey Metonot finally joined the rest of them up on the platform, the Lab Ray Scientist was standing ready at the Lab Ray 2000-X.
“Are you sure this is what you want, Jacob?” said the Scientist with concern.
“As it was proven to me earlier, having eight Neopets won’t sit well with a few people. Plus I don’t like having Metonot in turmoil by being this way. Now do it.”
Sighing, the Lab Ray Scientist pushed a button on the ray, but the Lab Ray 2000-X did not fire. Instead, the platform the Metonot’s stood upon became electrified, and they were knocked unconscious within a few seconds.
“What did you do!?!” cried out Jacob as he leaped at the Scientist. Before he could get within range and pulled a hidden weapon from his coat, which he swung at Jacob, who barely dodged. Jacob jumped back at the sight of his weapon: a Sword of Skardsen.
“You didn’t think I’ve come to be in my position by being bullied by the likes of you, did you?” smiled the Scientist.
Without breaking eye contact from the Scientist, Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out Whooper. “Fly off Whooper. Things are about to get rough,” and Whooper did so.
Suddenly, the scientist put the sword back within its place in his coat, and Jacob rushed in, seeing an opening for attack. He was never able to exploit it though, as the Scientist quickly pulled out his next weapon: a Faerie Slingshot. He fired a single shot, and Jacob was knocked backwards on his back.
“Try and bully me around, will you?” laughed the Lab Ray Scientist. “I’ll show you!”
The scientist chased after Jacob, firing off faerie acorns as he went. Missed shots crashed into expensive equipment, sending off explosions and spark showers. But those that did hit Jacob sent him flying.
“Ha!” laughed the Lab Ray Scientist after another successful hit. “Think you could threaten me, could you? You may have enough brute strength to fight Sloth’s soldiers, but you are nothing compared to me! Take that!” and fired another acorn.
Instead of dodging, Jacob stood his ground and caught it with his hand, wincing from the blow.
“Ha!” laughed the Scientist. “How does that do you any good?”
Jacob smiled, a weary and pained smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Have you noticed there are fewer acorns on the ground than you have fired?” and Jacob produced his other hand, showing the handful he had collected while on the run.
Before the Lab Ray Scientist could cry out in horror, Jacob threw all the acorns at him. On quick impulse, he grabbed a piece of lab ray casting that was close at hand and swung it at the oncoming acorns. The acorns clashed against the casting, and were deflected right back at Jacob. Not a one struck the Scientist. This time the blow that struck Jacob flung him all the way across the lab. He struck the archway entrance, sending several cracks around its base.
‘Looks like I need to repair that, doesn’t it?’ thought the Lab Ray Scientist with more excitement than worry. ‘But it was worth it.’
As the Scientist ran over to Jacob, he laughed manically. With great satisfaction he saw that he had won the battle. Jacob lay against the wall, head down and completely still. If he wasn’t unconscious, he was the perfect example of what someone that was looked like.
“You gave me a real start there, Jacob,” chided the Scientist. “And to think if I hadn’t quickly grabbed some worthless piece of metal, I would have been done for. Lucky for me, too bad for you!” and brandished the Sword of Skardsen once again.
“That’s enough Scientist,” said a firm voice from beyond the entrance. “Cease and desist, or I shall be forced to harm you.”
Looking up with confusion at who would order him around, the Lab Ray Scientist froze at seeing who the voice belonged to: Judge Hog.
“Again, I ask that you drop your weapons and cease your actions. Do so right now.”
From the ground, Jacob gave a grunt of a laugh and looked up at the Scientist with one eye open. “You better do what he says. He gets angry if you don’t do what he asks.”
“You aren’t unconscious!?!” cried out the Scientist. No one should have been able to take a blow like that and still be able to laugh as Jacob did. No one!
“This is your last warning!” said Judge Hog, a mere ten steps away.
“I take orders from no one!” laughed the Scientist, and threw the Sword of Skardsen at Judge Hog. Hog swatted it away like a fly, sending it clanging into a wall. The Scientist let out a furious cry and fired an acorn, which Hog merely caught in his hand and crushed. At the display of such strength, the scientist dropped the Faerie Slingshot immediately.
“I surrender! I surrender! Don’t hurt m—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Judge Hog rushed forward and punched him, sending him flying back to the middle of the lab.
“So you were going easy on me, weren’t you?” laughed Jacob as he raised his hand to Hog.
“Yes, I suppose I was,” sighed Judge Hog as he lifted Jacob to his feet. “I loathe the idea of harming those that have saved Neopia in the past, even if it may seem that their current actions are criminal.”
“And I thought I had you by the ropes for a few seconds during our fight,” Jacob said as he shook the dust from his coat. “Thanks for setting me straight and showing what you really can do.”
“No problem. Now let’s go settle this with the Scientist before he awakes.”
Several minutes later, the Lab Ray Scientist awoke to see Jacob and Judge Hog standing over him. IN his hands, Judge Hog held his regular old Lab Ray.
“What are you doing with my valuable property,” mumbled the Scientist, still groggy.
“Safe keeping,” replied Judge Hog. “For as long as I hold onto it I’m sure you will cooperate with us.”
“Oh? And what is it I must do for you?”
“Change Metonot back to normal,” said Jacob.
“NO!” screamed the Scientist, immediately back on his feet and very much awake. “I refuse to change him back! I will not waste such a valuable scientific find just so you can sleep better at night. And since you can’t get what you want without my cooperation, you’re stuck!”
“Well now, this lab ray looks rather fragile, doesn’t it?” said Judge Hog with a laugh. “I mean, look how easy this little knob comes off,” tearing off the said knob.
“What do you think you’re doing!?!” cried out the Scientist.
“Opps! You didn’t need that did you? Well, I hope you don’t need this either,” pulling off a wire, electricity sparking out of the tear.
“Alright!” screamed the Scientist, who jumped at the Lab Ray 2000-X and began turning dials, pushing buttons and flipping switches. “Fine! I’ll make the machine work! Just stop destroying my Lab Ray!”
“That’s a much more positive attitude!” smiled Hog, tossing the lab ray up and down like a baseball, making the Scientist cringe every time it landed back in his hand.
Within a few minutes, the Lab Ray 2000-X fired upon the sleeping Metonot’s, and where there were once five there was one. The original Ghost Kau, Metonot.
“Is he back to normal?” asked Judge Hog.
“Of course he is!” said the Lab Ray Scientist. “You dare doubt my intellect?”
“I’ll take a look,” said Jacob as he walked up to the unconscious Metonot. He bent down and looked for a few seconds, then beckoned Whooper to come forward. The Avabot immediately began to dance upon Metonot’s head, and Jacob could plainly hear Metonot mumble, “Get off Whooper.”
“It’s him alright,” laughed Jacob as he scratched his head.
“Good,” exclaimed Judge Hog. “Now we don’t need this anymore,” and tossed the lab ray over his shoulder, where it crashed into the floor.
“NO!” cried out the Scientist as he ran to his damaged lab ray. “What have you done?”
“And we don’t need this anymore, either,” said Judge Hog as he walked up to the now defenseless Lab Ray 2000-X and smashed it to pieces. “Such a dangerous device in the wrong hands could mean trouble for Neopia. I sure hope you don’t build another, Lab Ray Scientist.”
“Just you wait,” said the Scientist as he tinkered with his original lab ray. “I’ll build something that not even you will be able to fight against. You’ll see!”
“I’m sure we will stop you before sure a thing ever happens,” and turned around to look at Jacob. “You ready to go?”
“Yep,” Jacob said as he slung the still sleeping Metonot over his shoulder. “Let’s get out of this laboratory before Metonot wakes up. I’m sure he doesn’t want to see this place in a long time.”
“Ow...what happened?” said Metonot as he awoke to the sun of the outside world. “Where am I?”
“You are lying out in the ground outside the Secret Laboratory!” exclaimed Jacob. “The sun is bright and the air is fresh! It’s good to be alive!”
“...what has gotten into you, Jacob?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy that things have worked out so well. How are you feeling?”
“Despite the headache, I’m okay. I never thought the lab ray would make me unconscious though. This is the worst I’ve ever felt after being zapped by it.”
“I’m sure. I think you will be glad to know that I’ve decided to leave off on you visiting the ray for awhile.”
“Really?” said Metonot, his headache forgotten. “You really mean that?”
“Why not? Seeing what this latest blast from the lab ray did to you, I don’t think I could keep you going there with a clear conscience.”
“Whatever ever happened to making me stronger?” Metonot said with sarcasm.
“You’re strong enough at this time. I just needed a kick to the head to make me see that. But really, are you okay with this? You know...being a Kau?”
Metonot shrugged. “I may not be able to fly, but I can manage it just fine as long as I don’t have to deal with coming here again. Besides, I’m finding a new respect for the ground. Way I see it the longer I stay this way the happier I will be when I get my wings back.”
Jacob laughed and patted Metonot on the shoulder. “That’s one way to look at it. Come on. Let’s get moving.”
After a few minutes of silent travel, Jacob said, “You know, I was thinking. Seeing you aren’t going to be visiting the lab ray for awhile, perhaps we could have some of your siblings go in your place?”
“Are you serious?” laughed Metonot. “They would actually want to go there?”
“They even mentioned it to me a few times. They were a little jealous that you had gotten so strong.”
“Yeah, I’m sure their jealousy will fade the minute they start changing to every different Neopet in the alphabet.”
Jacob and Metonot shared a little laugh at that, and they continued to walk, all the while having Whooper dance around them in its happy, chaotic dance.
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