Lupe Pack Detectives - The Kidnapped JubJub: Part Four

      Three days had passed since our first attempt in finding the kidnapped JubJubs miserably failed. We were starting to become restless due to the fact that we had a lack of clues, but I was not going to go back home to Neopia Central empty-handed and disappoint our clients. Besides, disappointing our clients would cost us the word of mouth advertising and potentially our reputation, something which I did not want to happen because the word of mouth advertising was far too valuable to just throw away.

      Seeing that we had nothing else to do, Crimson Lightning politely asked me and Opren if we could help the cooks prepare lunch. We agreed to help out because we knew that doing something else would help ease our minds off of the case, even if it was for a few minutes. I guess all of us had been frustrated at the case so far because we had hit so many dead ends.

      As I was getting vegetables from the cellar, I began to wonder if each Terror Mountain Neohome came equipped with a cellar. It seemed likely, but I was not that certain about it, so I asked one of the cooks, a Green Bruce, about the Terror Mountain Neohomes.

      “It’s true that all Terror Mountain Neohomes do come equipped with a cellar because it’s a far cheaper way to store food. Of course, some Neohomes have faerie powered fridges because there are some Neopians who do not want to go looking for food in the cellars for one reason: they’re usually the same width and length of a Neohome. Why do you ask?”

      “Well, I wasn’t sure because I’m not a Terror Mountain resident. Now that I know the general size of a cellar, tell me, if any food, specifically perishable ones, became rotten, would the stench travel upward into the Neohome?”

      “It rarely happens, unless there is enough rotting food in the cellars. Of course, I don’t see why someone would leave anything perishable in there for a long time. I may be a humble chef here, but that tells me that either the owners did not create the proper plan for the long term, or they’re covering something,” Something clicked in my mind, thanks to his information. I now knew what was going on.

      After I finished my lunch, I grabbed my winter coat, strapped on some snowshoes and headed back to Midnight Shower’s village. Before I left the PPL, I told my siblings about my suspicions about the rotting food, so they were fully aware of what I was going to do. They actually agreed to let me go by myself because if I was caught by Drake and Noah, they wouldn’t know about my siblings. It also avoided a potential run-in with Aura as I was certain they held a grudge against my sister.

      Before I entered their Neohome, I made a pit stop at Midnight Shower’s Neohome, hoping that someone there would help me with me dilemma. After all, I was fully aware of the stench from the rotting foods, so I wanted to cover myself up with something just so that I would not be able to smell it. Midnight Shower’s sister, a Strawberry Poogle, came up with the solution by spraying nearly a quarter of a bottle of Sunshine Perfume onto me. I thanked her for her help and left for my next destination.

      As soon as I was inside Drake and Noah’s Neohome, I went to the kitchen and began searching for the trapdoor to the cellar. After a few minutes, I located it and opened. Even though I was wearing perfume, the stench was still overwhelming, which made me a little bit nauseous, but I was not going to turn back because I was too close in finding the JubJubs.

      When I could not smell the rotting food anymore, I went down and landed in a pile of rotten tomatoes. Even in the dim light, I still picked out the outline of the cages right in front of me. I went over to one and looked inside. Two blue eyes stared right back at me, frightened.

      “Hey, I’m not here to hurt you, I’ve just here to set you and your fellow JubJubs free from your cages. Tell me, what is your name?” I told the Halloween JubJub, hoping that my voice would reassure her. She gulped before she replied, telling me that her name was Jackie.

      “Okay, Jackie, I’m Detective Blizzard from the Lupe Pack Detectives and I want to know if you have seen a Christmas JubJub who goes by the name of Noel,” I said as I was picking her lock open. She told me that she had not.

      As soon as I was done picking the lock on Jackie’s cage, I went around the cellar and picked the locks, asking the JubJubs the same question that I asked Jackie. Like her, they had not seen him, leaving me wondering where he was. Besides, I only found twenty-seven JubJubs, meaning that half of them were still missing. A thorough search of the cellar turned up nothing.

      As we were walking back to the PPL, I asked each of the JubJubs who their family was and where they lived, along with the details of their kidnapping and imprisonment. Some of them did not want to talk about their ordeal, so I did not pursue the issue any further. I guess that they had been severely traumatized by it, which was why they did not want to talk about it.

      It took us over an hour to reach the PPL. Of course, after we arrived, there were some PPL members that either gave us strange looks or covered up their noses. I could not blame them at all for what they were doing to prevent themselves from smelling the foul concoction of Sunshine Perfume and rotten tomatoes, but I simply ignored them as I sent the JubJubs to the showers so that they could clean themselves up and get rid of the rotten food smell clung onto them. I decided to do the same.

      “Aura, when you and your friends were investigating the stolen petpets, how many did you find at Drake and Noah’s Neohome?” I asked her after I was finished, given her experience.

      “We only found half of the stolen petpets at their home. The rest of them were found in another village, in an abandoned Neohome, thanks to a tip by one of the villagers who was suspicious of their actions. I guess they were using it as a backup storage room just in case we found the petpets at their home. If we didn’t get that tip, they definitely would have implemented their cruel plans,” she replied.

      “I see. Anyways, can you show me that village?” She nodded.

      The village where the rest of the petpets were found was a lot closer to the PPL then what I had expected because it took us approximately fifteen minutes to reach it. Aura pointed out the Neohome where she found the petpets to me.

      When we broke into the home, we were surprised that it did not stink as much as Drake and Noah’s Neohome. I guess that Drake or Noah had recently moved some of the JubJubs to this location, which was probably why it did not stink like a garbage pile.

      It did not take us that long before we found the cellar door. After my sister opened it, I told her to remain behind. After all, I still reeked of rotten tomatoes, so I thought it was wise if I was the one that went down to look for the remaining JubJubs. She nodded.

      This time, when I landed, I landed in a pile of slightly rotten carrots. I was relieved that it did not smell as bad as the rotten tomatoes. Then I began searching for any signs of the cages or the JubJubs. I passed by a couple of them and noticed that they were empty, so I continued moving. Yet, something was nagging me in the back of my mind, so I went back and inspected them. Upon closer inspection, I could make out the outlines of various JubJubs. Coupled with the fact that that was no light source, all of them were sleeping, which was why I initially had thought that the cages were empty.

      “Is there anyone named Noel in there?” I loudly whispered. One of them opened their eyes and came forward.

      “Who’s looking for me?” he asked. I introduced myself to him, telling him about his brothers. After the introduction was made, I began picking the locks open. They were about to taste freedom.

      It took me a few minutes to pick the locks open, but after they were opened, I woke the remaining JubJubs up and led them upstairs to my sister. They were definitely relieved to be finally free. However, I reminded them that we were not out of the clear just yet. After all, we still had to get them back to the PPL, hopefully without bumping into the two Hissis.

      Of course, that plan sort of backfired on us. As soon as we came out of the Neohome, we just had to stumble into them. As soon as they saw us with the JubJubs, they abandoned their bags of groceries and began slithering away. Aura quickly whipped out her Scarab Stone Slingshot and loaded a scarab stone into it. She was often deadly and accurate with it, so my brothers and I affectionately called her ‘Sniper’. She did not mind being called that name.

      “I don’t think so, you two” she yelled as she fired the stone off and reloaded it in a blink of an eye for her second shot. Both of the stones found their mark, stunning the Hissis. After they fell to the ground, stunned, she went over to them, picked them up, and slung them over her shoulder.

      As soon as we returned to the PPL, she locked them up in an empty room and promptly informed Crimson Lightning to contact the DoN. He nodded and left to write the letter.

      For our first case, we probably exceeded our expectations. It was not the prettiest case that we had solved, but we were proud of our accomplishments. This was the beginning of our new life as private detectives. For us, this was our special moment.

      The End.