The Unlikely Attack

     "If I knew then the Meepits were up to no good, I would have banished them all," King Skrarl mused to himself on a crisp autumn morning. His eyes wandered out the window and up into the thick smog in the Northern mountains. "Wretched beasts, the lot of them!" he said to himself aloud. It was the beginning of the day after an inauspicious attack upon the northernmost village in Meridell.

      The Meepits had briefly returned from a venture to Kreludor where they were to be rented by the Kreludan Institute of Research for purposes of gathering information on the terrestrial inhabitants of Neopia. The deal included loaning out a group of fifty Meepits to be studied and unharmed in exchange for one hundred thousand neopoints. This deal was now weighing heavily on the king’s mind. He never received payment, his Meepits were no longer serving his kingdom and he now was forced to create a plan of action to save the northern village. King Skrarl presumed the Petpets had turned their backs on Meridell but could a more sinister event have transpired?

     “We need resources! Food, clothing and shelter is needed immediately for the peasants," Skrarl's advisor, Rainey, an intelligent green Gelert, demanded with a sense of urgency. "Send some berries and Autumn Leaf Caplets to them. I think there are still some Brown Winter Scarves and Rubber Boots in the lost and found box you can give them, too. Grarrlgroth is instructing the lumberjacks and has the blueprints for creating new settlements. They'll be rebuilding the northern village no later than 7:00," Skarl replied with an obvious tension in his voice. "They can't eat JUST berries!" Rainey barked back. Skarl put his face in his palm and pointed to the Market as if to tell Rainey to take whatever food she needed. Satisfied with this notion, an eager Rainey loaded up the supplies and headed northbound to the war torn mountains.

     Rainey approached the peasants who were now residing in tents and dilapidated cabins. They were becoming increasingly desperate for resources. "Oh, thank you!" an Elderly Acara woman cried out. "It's not much but I guess it'll do," said a young yellow Blumaroo accompanying the woman. "I'll return with more supplies in a couple of days. This should sustain you all until then,” Rainy told the uprooted Neopians who were already feasting on their rations. “Grarrlgroth has a team working to manufacture the lumber needed to reconstruct your settlement. They should be arriving before the day is done." The displaced peasants were growing impatient but did not dispute any of Rainey’s statements. They wrapped themselves in the Caplets and continued their meal and banter around a warm campfire. “Have any Meepits been spotted?" Rainy inquired to anyone who was listening. "They boarded the ship immediately following the attack," a farmer said. Rainey nodded and began to head back to the palace.

     “Wait!" cried a youthful voice trailing closely behind. "I need to show you something." The young Lupe grabbed Rainey's paw and pointed to the forested mountains. Rainey followed the boy into the trees and through the dense brush. The young Lupe sifted through a bush and carefully pulled out a Blue Meepit. "He's injured," whined the Lupe. "It must be destroyed, Timothy!" Rainey snapped. "No! They didn't do this! They were pawns in the Mutant's scheme," Timothy, the young Lupe, pleaded. "Mutants?" Rainey questioned. "I've heard nothing about any Mutant." "They stayed hidden in their ships and used the Meepits as decoys to destroy our village. They took most of the Meepits back to Kreludor but I found this guy lying helpless in a field. I can't show the others. They wouldn't listen to reason.. But I know you, Rainey. You have a heart. We have to help him and find a way to defeat the Mutants." Rainey hesitantly agreed to Timothy's sentiment with a nod. She then returned to the palace.

     “Preposterous!" Skarl shouted. "If Mutants were involved in this attack, my guards would know!" "Your guards don't survey the village to the north! None of us ever saw the attackers up close. This boy witnessed it firsthand. We have to trust his judgment," Rainey tried to reason. "Then I shall have a word with this boy!" Skarl declared. He sent a trusted guard to retrieve the Lupe for questioning.

     “I saw them with my own eyes!" young Timothy cried. "I even have a sample of Mutant ectoplasm they left behind!" The Lupe showed Skarl a cracked vial with the rancid fluid, making the evidence indisputable. "This fell from one of the Meepits’ heads. I’m not sure what it is, though.” Timothy handed over a small piece of metal to the king. It had an antenna with a small light and intricate wiring. The King looked perplexed by the object but Rainey chimed in, “I have seen this object in a book on the theory of mind control! I didn’t believe it was truly possible. This explains why the Meepits seemed to have turned on Meridell.”

     Timothy returned to the village to find that Grarrlgroth's people had already gotten many of the settlements reconstructed. By that time, the day had grown dark and the darkness was mingling with an uncomfortable chill. Timothy retreated into a warm, cozy new cabin where his mother and father were residing with another family. As he lay down to rest, he couldn't help but think of the poor, helpless Meepit he left lying on the forest floor. He knew it would be impossible to bring the Meepit into the cabin where the other peasants would certainly discover him. Timothy worried and hoped that nothing bad would happen to the defenseless petpet.

     The sun rose on a windy day, under a partial blanket of light grey clouds. Most of the leaves had fallen by now and the ones still intact were all brown. Timothy hastily went into the forest in search of the injured Meepit only to discover he was gone! Oh no! What cruel fate could have befallen this poor creature?! He frantically searched all through the forest for any sign of the petpet but to no avail. With a distraught perspective, Timothy knew he needed the counsel of his friend Rainey, thus, he headed toward the palace to seek her out.

      Young Timothy traveled the path that connects his village to the palace square and much to his surprise, Rainey was already headed in his direction. “How strange,” he thought. “She wasn’t supposed to return for another two days.” She greeted the young Lupe with a smile and a hug before carefully revealing a bandaged Blue Meepit that was healing up quite nicely. "You saved him!" Timothy cheered. "I believe in your story, Timothy. You're not one to lie. I've done what I could to convince the others your story is true. Besides, this is not the behavior displayed by a destructive Meepit.” Timothy's smile extended across his face as he expressed his gratitude. "Oh, thank you, Rainey! I just knew you would be able to help me!”

     The Blue Meepit leaped into Timothy's arms as if to greet a long lost friend. “It seems you’ve found yourself a new companion,” Rainey suggested to Timothy. “Yeah,” he smiled. “I guess I have! Do you think the Mutants will return?” Rainey could see the concern on Timothy’s face. "We'll have to deal with the Mutants again, I'm sure. But for now, your village is safe and back in working order and the palace council will be lifting the Meepit ban indefinitely so your new friend can stay by your side.”

      And so concludes the story of the abducted Meepits. The village never reported another sighting of any space craft or Mutant and the Meepits freely roamed the lands of Meridell once again.

     The End.