Post by pteriforever on Nov 1, 2009 4:58:38 GMT -5
I'm a week and a half late... Oh well...
CHAPTER 1:
Snurple, the red penguin, looked out at the deep, neverending horizon stretched out in front of him from his view from Keybader’s Secret Observatory. It was far, far into the night, the night on which the battle had occurred. But, for some reason, there was no sense of victory in winning the battle… it was somehow… dampened. The Espi guinea pig, Syrig, had been hit by a *poof* bomb. Even though she was immune to it's teleportation effects, it hurt her quite a lot. She was sleeping, curled up, on the bottom floor because her own world lay far away -- Too far to travel to the portal before midday. As this was a rather unpleasant thought, he shifted his mind into something more pleasant. Like what Frupplex88 was doing, perhaps?
He stood there, alone with his thoughts, for several mystical hours, before the horizon began to glow with the perfect purply dawn. Just as he decided that he should get some sleep, Keyblader burst out onto the impenetrable plastic viewing platform, holding a set of ruffled documents. He pulled out a diagram and showed it to Snurple, murmuring something about how Frupplex88 should know about this. Keyblader was the leader of the Espi, but he had suddenly become clumsy and nervous since the battle the previous day. He was working on these papers the entire night, and he was undoubtedly worried about Syrig as well. Snurple looked at the diagram. It was perfectly drawn, but Snurple didn't have the foggiest idea what it was. He then, slightly more formally, explained that the diagram contained a crucial formula relating to *poof*ium. Snurple still found the diagram clear as mud, but he didn't say anything, to be polite. Keyblader insisted not to leave the Secret Observatory for a little longer, just in case the Pwnage Kittens came back.
Snurple knew they wouldn't come back for a while, and even if they did, the guinea pigs would soon take care of them. He slowly walked out of the platform back into the third-floor room of the observatory. Keyblader had finally gone to sleep in the room below. He was very tired and attempted to get to sleep. He could hear some squeaking noises some distance below him. Probably guinea pigs, he thought.
After a while, there was absolutely nothing to be heard except the quiet whispery whistling of the gentle wind against the building.
Chapter 2:
Snurple awoke around 10 AM to a clattering rush on the bottom floor. "There it is!" a voice shouted. "Catch it!" Just as snurple started down the steep, spiral staircase down to the lowest floor, a different voice said, "Quick, Hurry!." There, Syrig still lay silent, but her eyes were open and she seemed to be slowly recovering. What bothered him was the two penguins in the room with large butterly nets, making a huge amount of noise. Keyblader was nowhere to be seen. Syrig's friends had had the cardboard box they were in overturned, trapping them. A large, green penguin made a lunge to the other side of the room with his net. The other penguin, a small red one, followed with a squeal.
Snurple tried to yell above the din something to the effect of "Could you please tell me what you're doing here?!"
It took a few moments before the penguins calmed down. "Who are you and what are you doing here?", Snurple repeated, a little more quietly. "I'm Naturo10", said the green penguin, "and this is Ronin." The red penguin said something that sounded like "Squee!". "Were here", Naturo10 continued, whipping out a peculiar brown hat that was far too small, "Because we need to capture the Puffle of Smoke.", trying to sound as formal as possible but failing miserably. "What is that?" Snurple replied, "And why is it all so important that you must come in without asking?".
Silence.
"And then", he thought out loud, "How the hell did you get in here in the first place?"
Naturo10 opened his mouth to reply, but Ronin interrupted. "The Puffle of Smoke is a one-of-a-kind creature. It looks like this!"
Ronin drew a fuzzely circle in the air. "But it turns invisible for most of the time. It can tell the future and if it is hurt emotionally it glows purple. When we catch it, we'll bring it to Tyce in exchange for a great reward. And Naturo10 is giving me a third of it!"
Naturo10 looked reproachfully at Ronin, as if he had just blurted out a great secret.
Snurple looked rather angry now, and so was Ronin. "Well, I won't have anybody who works for Tyce in this place. Too risky, you could hurt the guinea-pigs, and you could accidentally reveal secrets. Leave now, both you and your annoying friend."
Ronin looked absolutely furious, but Naturo10 nodded and left, taking Ronin with him. Naturo10 was surprisingly calm and had an unreadable expression as he exited the room.
CHAPTER 3:
Snurple now realised something peculiar. Although he had noticed earlier, albeit vaguely, it had not until then struck him that Keyblader was not here. He then remembered that the door was not locked -- Naturo10 and Ronin got in, and out again, without any evidence of tampering with the lock. Keyblader had evidently left earlier, perhaps to get to the Espi Chamber; The next meeting was not too far off, only a week or so.
Snurple had projects to work on, and because the observatory was left in a mess by Ronin and Naturo10, he decided it woud be a good idea to wait for a while, and tend to Syrig, who was healing well. He then found Snowy, Fireball, and Vapoury hidden underneath the overturned box, and let them out. They were understandably upset at being trapped in the box the whole morning, but they quickly calmed down and helped Syrig. He continued to return the place to order until well after midday, when, just as he had found his long-lost BEST BUDDIES picture, he heard a sound from outside. He opened the door, and in came a quite windblown Frupplex88.
"I came here as fast as I could", Frupplex88 panted. "This blue penguin I found, about an hour ago... it had an urgent message for Keyblader."
"Keyblader's not here", said Snurple. "He must have left early this morning.
"But he also had a warning for everybody who happened to be here. His friends had disappeared two or three says ago, and he said to look out for suspicious creatures that aren't usually in this region"
"Suspicious penguins?", said Snurple, sighingly. "I've had quite enough of those this morning. They come in here without permission and mess everything up. What is the message for Keyblader anyway?"
"Something about escaping one's destiny I think... The penguin seemed to think he was some sort of chosen one, and really didn't want to be. Anyway, it was just a plea for advice, and was not very important. Anyway, in Keyblader's absence, he would like to see you. He claimed to have some secret information, but he wouldn't share too much about that with me. I can't stay here very long, though: Keyblader has arranged some event in Donut's Clan, which actually starts at 3:00."
Before Snurple could get another word in, Frupplex88 had left.
There were still so many questions that remained unanswered. Snurple thought that rather than waste time, it would be a good idea to hurry up and find this blue penguin before something more disagreeable found him. He quickly left with his Espi gear, and hurried on to find the penguin.
Chapter 4:
The illuminated hideout glimmered in the light. It lit up the room brightly, and one penguin stepped forth.
"I've got it! I can't wait to tell-"
Naturo10 broke off. The cave was empty except for a ninja penguin, who had creepy red eyes, and a grey mask.
"HIIIIIIIIIII!", shouted another penguin from just behind him. The ninja silenced it with a glance.
It then spoke, for the first time since Naturo10 met it.
"They're not here", said the ninja penguin in a voice so serious nobody could take it seriously.
"WHO'S NOT HERE?!?!?!?, said the penguin behind him, overdramatically.
Naturo10 recognised the penguin as FattyServantBoy.
"Them", said the ninja, more harshly.
Naturo10 mentally facepalmed.
He had,
of course, come here to deliver news about the Puffle of Smoke to Hugykinz and Tyce. However, because neither of them were there, he decided to leave the hideout. of course, this mission was important, but he had urgent projects of his own that needed to be attended to.
He had never particularly liked the place, so he went on his way to get away from it.
Behind him, he heard FattyServantBoy and the ninja penguin converse quietly and ominously.
"Shall I go after him?"
"No, that won't be necessary."
Chapter 5:
The wind picked up. The sky clouded over. The sun set frighteningly fast. Snurple felt the world go hazy around him, and before he knew it, he was swirling through snow drifts, running as fast as he could. The skies became ominous and stormy. A fork of lightning startled him, but didn't make him stop running. The scene was all too familiar.
He remembered another time, in a different place, but in an equally troubled time, he remembered the rune in the stone table, he remembered the mystical book, and the forest, all with perfect clarity. But instead of encountering the forest, he came across a grey, weathered stone circle, and saw two figures -- one was a spirit penguin. Even as they were silouetted against the sky, he was sure they were staring at him, silently and unmovingly as the ice and stones. He stood there, too scared to do anything but gape at the scene. An even more wild wind sprang up, as if warning him to keep away.
Suddenly, he snapped out of some sort of trance. The wind was still gentle, the sky was not at all cloudy, and it was only afternoon. He was right next to a shining stone, which reminded him an uncomfortable amount of the stone circle he had experienced just a minute ago.
The ice and snow glimmered a little in the sunlight, and he stopped. The faraway mountains peacefully jutted out of the horizon. He was struck by a moment of anxiety, of despair. Could he do this? Indeed, what was he even doing? He didn't have the slightest idea whether or not what he was doing was right, but he had to try. What kind of danger he might be facing, other than Tyce and his gang, was unimaginable, but he still thought vewry much, as to be almost definite, that something deeper existed.
His mind once again sank into quiet determination, and he started forward again.
It was not too long before he came to a shallow ridge. He quickly passed it, and just as he clambered up another hill, he heard an all-too-familiar voice behind him. It was real this time, not a vision, dream or flashback, and not a meaningless echo carried on the light breeze. At first he ignored it, but it came again only a minute later. When Snurple finally thought he found who it was, he found a jostling mass of penguins instead. Some were evidently from Donut's Clan, although most were not. He was still fairly far away, he could hear they were arguing fiercely. One blue penguin bolted away from the group, as if fleeing. The penguin came over to him. "Follow me", it said, in an unrecognizable and oddly neutral tone. "I know who you are. We need to talk."
The penguin then ran away again.
Snurple struggled to keep up. It was uncomfortably fast, and the way changed direction often. Fortunately, it was not far before they came to a sheltered area. It was the coldest part of the island, as the other half, near the Espi meeting chamber, was mostly warmer and so the trees grew more easily. But here, conifers towered above the entrance to a hidden clearing, completely undisturbed.
Chapter 6:
"Where could they be, where?", Naturo10 worried. Hugykinz and Tyce were still missing without a trace. He turned around. "OMG fireworks!"
Ronin burst out from just in front of him with an uncomfortably sharp stick.
"I found it"
Naturo10 just stared for a few hundred milliseconds."Found what?"
"I mean them", Ronin replied, waving the stick randomly.
"Hey! That could hurt someone!", he squeaked, scrambling out of the way.
"By the way, who did you find?
"THEM"
Naturo10 facepalmed again.
"But he's here too"
Ronin was making no sense. Naturo10 just wanted to walk away, and finally get his job done! Ronin was now being a lunatic with the stick, almost hitting him on at least four occasions.
Naturo10 tried to ask Ronin a question, but it was useless. He just wanted to get AWAY from Ronin. He obviously didn't understand the mission. He just went off, Ronin hardly noticing.
After a while he found himself near a large group of penguins. There was nothing much going on with the penguins, they were just there.
There was one he recognised. In the back of the croud was Hugykinz, with nothing but Ronin's stick.
He had no idea how important that was.
Chapter 7:
The blue penguin spoke in a much more natural tone now, although it sounded very worried indeed. "I'm sure they're after me!", it said at length.
For some reason unknown, Snurple found no meaning in this. He had a drifty, sleepy feeling all of a sudden.
It seemed like a shock when the blue penguin spoke again. "My friends are missing! I think something really bad must have happened to them! The yellow penguin must have gotten them!"
"Wha-what? Yellow penguin? What did it look like?"
"Oh, err... umm sorry.", the blue penguin replied. "I forgot, you don't know me very well. I'm Greenpaw."
Snurple felt bright again. The name was slightly familiar, after all.
"Oh yes.", said Geenpaw with very little satisfaction. "It was a small penguin, and it was an orangy banana colour. It attacked me when I was going to my hiding place."
Snurple felt silently happy. He loved puzzling mysteries!
"You think it could be ZiggyEggrollIce?"
"No, it made itself clear it was working for Tyce."
"Ok...", he said, seriously. "I guess it could be FattyServantBoy"
Greenpaw looked to the side a bit, thoughtfully.
"Yes, I do think you may be right... It sounds logical... But we have to check first.", he said, with a whisper of meaninglessness.
To Snurple, the conversation was tantalisingly mystical for some reason beyond his grasp.
A small breeze ruffled the landscape as Greenpaw looked away, and then back.
"But I have a deeper concern, one that only an Espi member could interpret.
Snurple found it suitable to not say anything.
"And that", Greenpaw said with a sigh,"Is extremely worrying."
Snurple felt insecure as he shivered in the sunset, staring at the snow.
Soon it got fairly dark. Only then did Greenpaw get out a brightly glowing sphere and set it on the ground.
"My deepest problem, Snurple, is this. For just about every day for the past two months I've dreamt of a spirit penguin. Sometimes it exists just as an onlooker to somehting more important, sometimes it obstructs my path. But often it talks to me. It always says that I'm some kind of chosen one, and that I should not try to change my destiny. It haunts me Snurple, and I feel I can trust none other than you or Keyblader. Just what, what does it mean?"
Snurple blinked. "Is it really that important?"
Greenpaw looked crestfallen. "You don't understand! It means SOMETHING, I just don't know what! I can't ignore it any longer!"
Snurple still felt very skeptical. Was this a joke?
He then remembered his own ominous dreams in the Eternal Sunset World, a reminder of how real they can seem.
"It could have just been a coincidence? maybe you're thinking too hard about something during the day..."
"No, I know this means something, it isn't a coincidence, Snurple! I already told you!"
Before long it was totally dark, the sky indigo with the starlight. He should really be going!
But, he decided, it was too late to get anywhere. With a hastened goodbye to Greenpaw, he went off to find somewhere he could rest for the night.
Shuffling in the half-blackness, it took him a while to find anything much at all. He thought he could hear something. Sounds carried far through the still night air, as it was very calm. He was not exactly frightened, but he wanted to find shelter as fast as possible.
Chapter 8:
It had just occured to Naturo10 that reenpaw wasn't there. Since they met Tyce and Hugykinz several days ago, their relationship was strained, and Greenpaw had not reappeared! the three of them usually did almost everything together! Megcat, too, was kind of quiet.
Naturo10 told himself to stop worrying. Greenpaw always came through everything all right, right?
He looked back over more harmless days as he rested there staring at the sky, which seemed as far away as ever. The clouds drifted overhead as the night continued. The silence was peaceful, and nothing much was shiny except the stars.
Things had happened since 2007, he thought. Everything had changed. He just wished it could be the same again, for just a little longer.
But, he thought, time disappeared these days. He thought he might do something, but it felt too sad to think of anything other than the night sky. And so he kept on dreaming, staring at the sky... It was an amazing feeling, and yet so sad... So thoughtful and restful...
Suddenly he woke up. He was still outside his home at Donut's Clan.He hurriedly went back inside. How did he get out there?
He finally decided to do something. He'd get Ronin and find Greenpaw. But, that was a lot easier in theory, because, little did he know until he checked, Ronin was not there. He seemed to have left without a trace. With that, he quickly asked himself what he was doing, and went off to finish his projects. He was behinda long way as it was! He could live without his friends for just a little longer. There were things much more urgent that needed to be attended to!
But whenever he tried to get anything done, he couldn't concentrate. He kept hearing annoying crackly noises, or randomly dozing off. It just wouldn't work for some reason unthinkable. Why did these annoying, unpleasant thoughts keep intruding on his time!
He decided he needed a break.
After fetching a drink of orange juice, it worked significanly better. He was relieved that he could finally get down to work. The rest of the day, too, was more pleasant. He could at least THINK clearly!
Chapter 9:
Snurple had, that day, made it back to the safety of the secret observatory, where life was very uneventful until almost five days later. He knew the next Espi meeting was coming very soon, and set off once again.
The journey to the Espi Meeting Place selected for that week, which was not the usual meeting chamber, was also very quiet. A suspiciously acting purple penguin was spotted a couple of times.
Apon reaching the place, a sheltered clearing among the rocks, the feelings of excitement returned. An unusually lage number of penguins were mindlessly shuffling around the clearing, obviously waiting for something. Snurple guessed that some of them were from Donut's Clan. None of them he recognised.
Around Midday, Keyblader came in, followed by Frupplex88 and Syrig, who, in the secret observatory, had completely recovered. Keyblader, too, was back to normal; he guessed that it was just lack of sleep making him act strangely. The sky above the scene was a serene blue-white. The air carried no disappointment, and neither did it carry shockwaves. It was just there, there was no purpose but the meeting. Happily, the four of them took their places, and the other penguins formed a ring around them. At this moment something bad could have happened, but it didn't. The rocks were grey, just like the sea and just about everything else. Before long, two penguins came into the clearing. One was Ronin and the other was... Greenpaw? what was he doing here?
Snurple blinked.
There were penguins all around, watching him! This was no time for daydreaming!
He assumed a glum look, hoping the others would think he was looking serious.
The air had a furry feel as the meeting began with some red lightning.
"This is an important general meeting", Keyblader said at last with very much confidence, "Because things did not quite go according to plan"
Snurple knew what this meant, but evidently nobody else did and you probably don't.
He then heard Syrig squeak about the time when Naturo10 and Ronin came. She never mentioned the secret observatory or the Puffle of Smoke, much to the confusion of just about everyone. Donut, who was present, then began talking about the business of the Clan, in a non-monotonous but still kind of boring voice, during which Ronin tried to interrupt on multiple occasions.
Snurple then noticed, with great shock and surprise and wonder, that Hugykinz was watching.
The world was going hazy and dreamlike. What was going on?
The meeting was not important. Nothing was!
Chapter 10:
"So, Naturo10... You have failed us once again."
The pwnage kittten stepped forward with satisfaction and frustration as Naturo10 stared at the ground.
"I am giving you one more week, and no more. The next time you are called, you must have the Puffle Of Smoke, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"Y-yes", Naturo10 stammered in the twilight.
"You are also to stop Snurple from getting anywhere near it. You must say nothing more about this to anybody, not even Hugykinz. Oh, the horror if Snurple finds it..."
"Yes, I get it, now goodbye", said Naturo10 in frustration. Did this Pwnage Kitten think of him as an idiot?
As he turned behind him, he found none other than Megcat, who had spontaneously appeared.
"Hello", she said after a while in an uncharacteristic voice. "What have you done wrong this time?"
Naturo10 was at a loss for words. This was totally not like Megcat.
Instead of doing something more productive, he just ran off into the snow.
"How is the plan going?", Megcat said to the pwnage kitten.
There was no reply. The pwnage kitten was deep in thought, with a troubled but otherwise unreadable expression.
Megcat looked back again. Naturo10 was out of sight. What had come across him? She knew she had come kind of suddenly, but... What was wrong?
Finally the pwnage kitten answered. "It's going fine. Our plans are fully drawn up. It is, however, larger than we expected. It will probably take at least a few months to finish."
Megcat looked in wonder at the designs. She felt that this was soemthing of great power, but was it in the wrong hands? Megcat, being of Donut's Clan, had very little opinion of Hugykinz and Tyce. She had no reason to dislike Tyce, other than the odd rumour here and there. She had only agreed because she knew she would get something out of it. The nature of her mission was secret from Naturo10 and Greenpaw, mostly because they had closer ties to the Espi.
The pwnage kitten still sat there in a thoughtful way, as if the half-darkness was restful.
Megcat, too, reflected on something for a second, but quickly snapped out of it. After a goodbye, she left, to go back to Donut's Clan.
She, and all the others, somehow knew that it was not over yet. There are a lot more adventures to be had!
Watch out for part III: Puffle Of Smoke
Coming 17 February 2010!
CHAPTER 1:
Snurple, the red penguin, looked out at the deep, neverending horizon stretched out in front of him from his view from Keybader’s Secret Observatory. It was far, far into the night, the night on which the battle had occurred. But, for some reason, there was no sense of victory in winning the battle… it was somehow… dampened. The Espi guinea pig, Syrig, had been hit by a *poof* bomb. Even though she was immune to it's teleportation effects, it hurt her quite a lot. She was sleeping, curled up, on the bottom floor because her own world lay far away -- Too far to travel to the portal before midday. As this was a rather unpleasant thought, he shifted his mind into something more pleasant. Like what Frupplex88 was doing, perhaps?
He stood there, alone with his thoughts, for several mystical hours, before the horizon began to glow with the perfect purply dawn. Just as he decided that he should get some sleep, Keyblader burst out onto the impenetrable plastic viewing platform, holding a set of ruffled documents. He pulled out a diagram and showed it to Snurple, murmuring something about how Frupplex88 should know about this. Keyblader was the leader of the Espi, but he had suddenly become clumsy and nervous since the battle the previous day. He was working on these papers the entire night, and he was undoubtedly worried about Syrig as well. Snurple looked at the diagram. It was perfectly drawn, but Snurple didn't have the foggiest idea what it was. He then, slightly more formally, explained that the diagram contained a crucial formula relating to *poof*ium. Snurple still found the diagram clear as mud, but he didn't say anything, to be polite. Keyblader insisted not to leave the Secret Observatory for a little longer, just in case the Pwnage Kittens came back.
Snurple knew they wouldn't come back for a while, and even if they did, the guinea pigs would soon take care of them. He slowly walked out of the platform back into the third-floor room of the observatory. Keyblader had finally gone to sleep in the room below. He was very tired and attempted to get to sleep. He could hear some squeaking noises some distance below him. Probably guinea pigs, he thought.
After a while, there was absolutely nothing to be heard except the quiet whispery whistling of the gentle wind against the building.
Chapter 2:
Snurple awoke around 10 AM to a clattering rush on the bottom floor. "There it is!" a voice shouted. "Catch it!" Just as snurple started down the steep, spiral staircase down to the lowest floor, a different voice said, "Quick, Hurry!." There, Syrig still lay silent, but her eyes were open and she seemed to be slowly recovering. What bothered him was the two penguins in the room with large butterly nets, making a huge amount of noise. Keyblader was nowhere to be seen. Syrig's friends had had the cardboard box they were in overturned, trapping them. A large, green penguin made a lunge to the other side of the room with his net. The other penguin, a small red one, followed with a squeal.
Snurple tried to yell above the din something to the effect of "Could you please tell me what you're doing here?!"
It took a few moments before the penguins calmed down. "Who are you and what are you doing here?", Snurple repeated, a little more quietly. "I'm Naturo10", said the green penguin, "and this is Ronin." The red penguin said something that sounded like "Squee!". "Were here", Naturo10 continued, whipping out a peculiar brown hat that was far too small, "Because we need to capture the Puffle of Smoke.", trying to sound as formal as possible but failing miserably. "What is that?" Snurple replied, "And why is it all so important that you must come in without asking?".
Silence.
"And then", he thought out loud, "How the hell did you get in here in the first place?"
Naturo10 opened his mouth to reply, but Ronin interrupted. "The Puffle of Smoke is a one-of-a-kind creature. It looks like this!"
Ronin drew a fuzzely circle in the air. "But it turns invisible for most of the time. It can tell the future and if it is hurt emotionally it glows purple. When we catch it, we'll bring it to Tyce in exchange for a great reward. And Naturo10 is giving me a third of it!"
Naturo10 looked reproachfully at Ronin, as if he had just blurted out a great secret.
Snurple looked rather angry now, and so was Ronin. "Well, I won't have anybody who works for Tyce in this place. Too risky, you could hurt the guinea-pigs, and you could accidentally reveal secrets. Leave now, both you and your annoying friend."
Ronin looked absolutely furious, but Naturo10 nodded and left, taking Ronin with him. Naturo10 was surprisingly calm and had an unreadable expression as he exited the room.
CHAPTER 3:
Snurple now realised something peculiar. Although he had noticed earlier, albeit vaguely, it had not until then struck him that Keyblader was not here. He then remembered that the door was not locked -- Naturo10 and Ronin got in, and out again, without any evidence of tampering with the lock. Keyblader had evidently left earlier, perhaps to get to the Espi Chamber; The next meeting was not too far off, only a week or so.
Snurple had projects to work on, and because the observatory was left in a mess by Ronin and Naturo10, he decided it woud be a good idea to wait for a while, and tend to Syrig, who was healing well. He then found Snowy, Fireball, and Vapoury hidden underneath the overturned box, and let them out. They were understandably upset at being trapped in the box the whole morning, but they quickly calmed down and helped Syrig. He continued to return the place to order until well after midday, when, just as he had found his long-lost BEST BUDDIES picture, he heard a sound from outside. He opened the door, and in came a quite windblown Frupplex88.
"I came here as fast as I could", Frupplex88 panted. "This blue penguin I found, about an hour ago... it had an urgent message for Keyblader."
"Keyblader's not here", said Snurple. "He must have left early this morning.
"But he also had a warning for everybody who happened to be here. His friends had disappeared two or three says ago, and he said to look out for suspicious creatures that aren't usually in this region"
"Suspicious penguins?", said Snurple, sighingly. "I've had quite enough of those this morning. They come in here without permission and mess everything up. What is the message for Keyblader anyway?"
"Something about escaping one's destiny I think... The penguin seemed to think he was some sort of chosen one, and really didn't want to be. Anyway, it was just a plea for advice, and was not very important. Anyway, in Keyblader's absence, he would like to see you. He claimed to have some secret information, but he wouldn't share too much about that with me. I can't stay here very long, though: Keyblader has arranged some event in Donut's Clan, which actually starts at 3:00."
Before Snurple could get another word in, Frupplex88 had left.
There were still so many questions that remained unanswered. Snurple thought that rather than waste time, it would be a good idea to hurry up and find this blue penguin before something more disagreeable found him. He quickly left with his Espi gear, and hurried on to find the penguin.
Chapter 4:
The illuminated hideout glimmered in the light. It lit up the room brightly, and one penguin stepped forth.
"I've got it! I can't wait to tell-"
Naturo10 broke off. The cave was empty except for a ninja penguin, who had creepy red eyes, and a grey mask.
"HIIIIIIIIIII!", shouted another penguin from just behind him. The ninja silenced it with a glance.
It then spoke, for the first time since Naturo10 met it.
"They're not here", said the ninja penguin in a voice so serious nobody could take it seriously.
"WHO'S NOT HERE?!?!?!?, said the penguin behind him, overdramatically.
Naturo10 recognised the penguin as FattyServantBoy.
"Them", said the ninja, more harshly.
Naturo10 mentally facepalmed.
He had,
of course, come here to deliver news about the Puffle of Smoke to Hugykinz and Tyce. However, because neither of them were there, he decided to leave the hideout. of course, this mission was important, but he had urgent projects of his own that needed to be attended to.
He had never particularly liked the place, so he went on his way to get away from it.
Behind him, he heard FattyServantBoy and the ninja penguin converse quietly and ominously.
"Shall I go after him?"
"No, that won't be necessary."
Chapter 5:
The wind picked up. The sky clouded over. The sun set frighteningly fast. Snurple felt the world go hazy around him, and before he knew it, he was swirling through snow drifts, running as fast as he could. The skies became ominous and stormy. A fork of lightning startled him, but didn't make him stop running. The scene was all too familiar.
He remembered another time, in a different place, but in an equally troubled time, he remembered the rune in the stone table, he remembered the mystical book, and the forest, all with perfect clarity. But instead of encountering the forest, he came across a grey, weathered stone circle, and saw two figures -- one was a spirit penguin. Even as they were silouetted against the sky, he was sure they were staring at him, silently and unmovingly as the ice and stones. He stood there, too scared to do anything but gape at the scene. An even more wild wind sprang up, as if warning him to keep away.
Suddenly, he snapped out of some sort of trance. The wind was still gentle, the sky was not at all cloudy, and it was only afternoon. He was right next to a shining stone, which reminded him an uncomfortable amount of the stone circle he had experienced just a minute ago.
The ice and snow glimmered a little in the sunlight, and he stopped. The faraway mountains peacefully jutted out of the horizon. He was struck by a moment of anxiety, of despair. Could he do this? Indeed, what was he even doing? He didn't have the slightest idea whether or not what he was doing was right, but he had to try. What kind of danger he might be facing, other than Tyce and his gang, was unimaginable, but he still thought vewry much, as to be almost definite, that something deeper existed.
His mind once again sank into quiet determination, and he started forward again.
It was not too long before he came to a shallow ridge. He quickly passed it, and just as he clambered up another hill, he heard an all-too-familiar voice behind him. It was real this time, not a vision, dream or flashback, and not a meaningless echo carried on the light breeze. At first he ignored it, but it came again only a minute later. When Snurple finally thought he found who it was, he found a jostling mass of penguins instead. Some were evidently from Donut's Clan, although most were not. He was still fairly far away, he could hear they were arguing fiercely. One blue penguin bolted away from the group, as if fleeing. The penguin came over to him. "Follow me", it said, in an unrecognizable and oddly neutral tone. "I know who you are. We need to talk."
The penguin then ran away again.
Snurple struggled to keep up. It was uncomfortably fast, and the way changed direction often. Fortunately, it was not far before they came to a sheltered area. It was the coldest part of the island, as the other half, near the Espi meeting chamber, was mostly warmer and so the trees grew more easily. But here, conifers towered above the entrance to a hidden clearing, completely undisturbed.
Chapter 6:
"Where could they be, where?", Naturo10 worried. Hugykinz and Tyce were still missing without a trace. He turned around. "OMG fireworks!"
Ronin burst out from just in front of him with an uncomfortably sharp stick.
"I found it"
Naturo10 just stared for a few hundred milliseconds."Found what?"
"I mean them", Ronin replied, waving the stick randomly.
"Hey! That could hurt someone!", he squeaked, scrambling out of the way.
"By the way, who did you find?
"THEM"
Naturo10 facepalmed again.
"But he's here too"
Ronin was making no sense. Naturo10 just wanted to walk away, and finally get his job done! Ronin was now being a lunatic with the stick, almost hitting him on at least four occasions.
Naturo10 tried to ask Ronin a question, but it was useless. He just wanted to get AWAY from Ronin. He obviously didn't understand the mission. He just went off, Ronin hardly noticing.
After a while he found himself near a large group of penguins. There was nothing much going on with the penguins, they were just there.
There was one he recognised. In the back of the croud was Hugykinz, with nothing but Ronin's stick.
He had no idea how important that was.
Chapter 7:
The blue penguin spoke in a much more natural tone now, although it sounded very worried indeed. "I'm sure they're after me!", it said at length.
For some reason unknown, Snurple found no meaning in this. He had a drifty, sleepy feeling all of a sudden.
It seemed like a shock when the blue penguin spoke again. "My friends are missing! I think something really bad must have happened to them! The yellow penguin must have gotten them!"
"Wha-what? Yellow penguin? What did it look like?"
"Oh, err... umm sorry.", the blue penguin replied. "I forgot, you don't know me very well. I'm Greenpaw."
Snurple felt bright again. The name was slightly familiar, after all.
"Oh yes.", said Geenpaw with very little satisfaction. "It was a small penguin, and it was an orangy banana colour. It attacked me when I was going to my hiding place."
Snurple felt silently happy. He loved puzzling mysteries!
"You think it could be ZiggyEggrollIce?"
"No, it made itself clear it was working for Tyce."
"Ok...", he said, seriously. "I guess it could be FattyServantBoy"
Greenpaw looked to the side a bit, thoughtfully.
"Yes, I do think you may be right... It sounds logical... But we have to check first.", he said, with a whisper of meaninglessness.
To Snurple, the conversation was tantalisingly mystical for some reason beyond his grasp.
A small breeze ruffled the landscape as Greenpaw looked away, and then back.
"But I have a deeper concern, one that only an Espi member could interpret.
Snurple found it suitable to not say anything.
"And that", Greenpaw said with a sigh,"Is extremely worrying."
Snurple felt insecure as he shivered in the sunset, staring at the snow.
Soon it got fairly dark. Only then did Greenpaw get out a brightly glowing sphere and set it on the ground.
"My deepest problem, Snurple, is this. For just about every day for the past two months I've dreamt of a spirit penguin. Sometimes it exists just as an onlooker to somehting more important, sometimes it obstructs my path. But often it talks to me. It always says that I'm some kind of chosen one, and that I should not try to change my destiny. It haunts me Snurple, and I feel I can trust none other than you or Keyblader. Just what, what does it mean?"
Snurple blinked. "Is it really that important?"
Greenpaw looked crestfallen. "You don't understand! It means SOMETHING, I just don't know what! I can't ignore it any longer!"
Snurple still felt very skeptical. Was this a joke?
He then remembered his own ominous dreams in the Eternal Sunset World, a reminder of how real they can seem.
"It could have just been a coincidence? maybe you're thinking too hard about something during the day..."
"No, I know this means something, it isn't a coincidence, Snurple! I already told you!"
Before long it was totally dark, the sky indigo with the starlight. He should really be going!
But, he decided, it was too late to get anywhere. With a hastened goodbye to Greenpaw, he went off to find somewhere he could rest for the night.
Shuffling in the half-blackness, it took him a while to find anything much at all. He thought he could hear something. Sounds carried far through the still night air, as it was very calm. He was not exactly frightened, but he wanted to find shelter as fast as possible.
Chapter 8:
It had just occured to Naturo10 that reenpaw wasn't there. Since they met Tyce and Hugykinz several days ago, their relationship was strained, and Greenpaw had not reappeared! the three of them usually did almost everything together! Megcat, too, was kind of quiet.
Naturo10 told himself to stop worrying. Greenpaw always came through everything all right, right?
He looked back over more harmless days as he rested there staring at the sky, which seemed as far away as ever. The clouds drifted overhead as the night continued. The silence was peaceful, and nothing much was shiny except the stars.
Things had happened since 2007, he thought. Everything had changed. He just wished it could be the same again, for just a little longer.
But, he thought, time disappeared these days. He thought he might do something, but it felt too sad to think of anything other than the night sky. And so he kept on dreaming, staring at the sky... It was an amazing feeling, and yet so sad... So thoughtful and restful...
Suddenly he woke up. He was still outside his home at Donut's Clan.He hurriedly went back inside. How did he get out there?
He finally decided to do something. He'd get Ronin and find Greenpaw. But, that was a lot easier in theory, because, little did he know until he checked, Ronin was not there. He seemed to have left without a trace. With that, he quickly asked himself what he was doing, and went off to finish his projects. He was behinda long way as it was! He could live without his friends for just a little longer. There were things much more urgent that needed to be attended to!
But whenever he tried to get anything done, he couldn't concentrate. He kept hearing annoying crackly noises, or randomly dozing off. It just wouldn't work for some reason unthinkable. Why did these annoying, unpleasant thoughts keep intruding on his time!
He decided he needed a break.
After fetching a drink of orange juice, it worked significanly better. He was relieved that he could finally get down to work. The rest of the day, too, was more pleasant. He could at least THINK clearly!
Chapter 9:
Snurple had, that day, made it back to the safety of the secret observatory, where life was very uneventful until almost five days later. He knew the next Espi meeting was coming very soon, and set off once again.
The journey to the Espi Meeting Place selected for that week, which was not the usual meeting chamber, was also very quiet. A suspiciously acting purple penguin was spotted a couple of times.
Apon reaching the place, a sheltered clearing among the rocks, the feelings of excitement returned. An unusually lage number of penguins were mindlessly shuffling around the clearing, obviously waiting for something. Snurple guessed that some of them were from Donut's Clan. None of them he recognised.
Around Midday, Keyblader came in, followed by Frupplex88 and Syrig, who, in the secret observatory, had completely recovered. Keyblader, too, was back to normal; he guessed that it was just lack of sleep making him act strangely. The sky above the scene was a serene blue-white. The air carried no disappointment, and neither did it carry shockwaves. It was just there, there was no purpose but the meeting. Happily, the four of them took their places, and the other penguins formed a ring around them. At this moment something bad could have happened, but it didn't. The rocks were grey, just like the sea and just about everything else. Before long, two penguins came into the clearing. One was Ronin and the other was... Greenpaw? what was he doing here?
Snurple blinked.
There were penguins all around, watching him! This was no time for daydreaming!
He assumed a glum look, hoping the others would think he was looking serious.
The air had a furry feel as the meeting began with some red lightning.
"This is an important general meeting", Keyblader said at last with very much confidence, "Because things did not quite go according to plan"
Snurple knew what this meant, but evidently nobody else did and you probably don't.
He then heard Syrig squeak about the time when Naturo10 and Ronin came. She never mentioned the secret observatory or the Puffle of Smoke, much to the confusion of just about everyone. Donut, who was present, then began talking about the business of the Clan, in a non-monotonous but still kind of boring voice, during which Ronin tried to interrupt on multiple occasions.
Snurple then noticed, with great shock and surprise and wonder, that Hugykinz was watching.
The world was going hazy and dreamlike. What was going on?
The meeting was not important. Nothing was!
Chapter 10:
"So, Naturo10... You have failed us once again."
The pwnage kittten stepped forward with satisfaction and frustration as Naturo10 stared at the ground.
"I am giving you one more week, and no more. The next time you are called, you must have the Puffle Of Smoke, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"Y-yes", Naturo10 stammered in the twilight.
"You are also to stop Snurple from getting anywhere near it. You must say nothing more about this to anybody, not even Hugykinz. Oh, the horror if Snurple finds it..."
"Yes, I get it, now goodbye", said Naturo10 in frustration. Did this Pwnage Kitten think of him as an idiot?
As he turned behind him, he found none other than Megcat, who had spontaneously appeared.
"Hello", she said after a while in an uncharacteristic voice. "What have you done wrong this time?"
Naturo10 was at a loss for words. This was totally not like Megcat.
Instead of doing something more productive, he just ran off into the snow.
"How is the plan going?", Megcat said to the pwnage kitten.
There was no reply. The pwnage kitten was deep in thought, with a troubled but otherwise unreadable expression.
Megcat looked back again. Naturo10 was out of sight. What had come across him? She knew she had come kind of suddenly, but... What was wrong?
Finally the pwnage kitten answered. "It's going fine. Our plans are fully drawn up. It is, however, larger than we expected. It will probably take at least a few months to finish."
Megcat looked in wonder at the designs. She felt that this was soemthing of great power, but was it in the wrong hands? Megcat, being of Donut's Clan, had very little opinion of Hugykinz and Tyce. She had no reason to dislike Tyce, other than the odd rumour here and there. She had only agreed because she knew she would get something out of it. The nature of her mission was secret from Naturo10 and Greenpaw, mostly because they had closer ties to the Espi.
The pwnage kitten still sat there in a thoughtful way, as if the half-darkness was restful.
Megcat, too, reflected on something for a second, but quickly snapped out of it. After a goodbye, she left, to go back to Donut's Clan.
She, and all the others, somehow knew that it was not over yet. There are a lot more adventures to be had!
Watch out for part III: Puffle Of Smoke
Coming 17 February 2010!
We have a cbox again and we're opening the place up as a closed, members only rp