Momo's Curious Discovery
These events take place during "The Tale Of Momo" from the episode "The Tales Of Ba Sing Se".
Momo sniffed at the piece of fur, and knew the scent instantly! It was his friend, he was here, in the city! Momo quickly tied the clump of fur around his wrist, and got ready to fly out the window, when he heard the most curious chirp behind him. He turned around, and saw what looked like a small Armadillo-Slug lying on the floor near the wall, staring. Curious, he flitted down to the floor, landing just in front of the unexpected guest. Looking at it up close, he realized it wasn't a true Armadillo-Slug – it was about a foot long and at least four inches high, and it's shell was a very shiny white-gray color a pair of simple multi-jointed antennae coming from the top of it's head. The eyes were unusual, looking simply like a pair of solid light gray orbs on the sides of the head, and had no visible pupils that Momo could make out.
Then he looked at it's antennae again, and noticed that the tips looked like tiny little dishes , each with a tiny little rod sticking out of the front with a tiny bead at the end. The antennae waved around simply, like a real Armadillo-Slug's, but something about it seemed more like a very close mimicry of one, not the actual thing. And as Momo looked at it, he realized it didn't have a mouth, just a small hole, or port, through which maybe something could enter, or from which something could possibly emerge. All in all, it looked someone had made a toy version of an Armadillo-Slug, with what Momo could only call incredible accuracy for the most point. Momo looked back to the creature's shell and blinked. It's shell almost looked like it was made of...
He cautiously reached out a paw, and lightly tapped on the shell, receiving back a small metallic "ting, ting", in response. He was right, the shell was made of metal! And now that he thought about it, given the color, he was thinking an expensive silver. It was then the thing chirped again, to Momo's ears a definitively artificial created chirp, it's antennae swerving to aim at him, and even the "eyes" seemed, though he was unsure as to how he got this impression, more focused on him. A moment later he heard a small "clack" sound, and the metal Armadillo-Slug rotated in a perfect on hundred and eighty degrees, without shifting from it's actual location, then he heard another "clack", and then the metal Armadillo-Slug scooted away and disappeared into a small hole in the wall, one too small for him to follow it through.
Momo blinked, again. 'What was that thing?' he wondered to himself. It certainly looked like an Armadillo-Slug, but he was pretty sure they didn't come in metal, and more obvious mouths, and had eyes that came with pupils, not mention the odd antennae. As he thought about it, it was almost like someone wanted others to think it was an Armadillo-Slug from a distance, and thus ignore it. 'Fire Nation!!' his small mind concluded. 'They've finally found a way to get inside information on Ba Sing Se!' But then, as he thought it out some more, he rose his paw to his cheek, and caught Appa's scent again, finally recalling the tuft of hair that had flown in, and what he was about to do before noticing the metal Armadillo-Slug. He quickly scampered back up to the windows, opened his wings, and flew away to search for his friend, all thoughts of the metal creature forgotten.
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(Later.)
For a moment he thought about leaving the nasty Pygmy Panthers behind, but then thought better of it – not even they deserved the fate the two men had in store for them. So he climbed back up, and pulled the first pin out, when he heard the chirp. The same artificial chirp he'd heard from the metal Armadillo-Slug that morning. He whipped his head around, and saw it, or at least another one. Watching from across the street by a pile of trash, it's bizarre metal antennae waving nonchalantly. He turned back to the Pygmy Panthers, chattering at them and indicating with one paw the metal creature in question. The three Panthers stared around him, and quietly growled their assent – they saw it, too. Just then the men started to move again, and Momo remembered that time was of the essence, and quickly pulled the second pin, releasing the Panthers. They quickly made good their escape, Momo glancing back towards the Armadillo-Slug briefly, only to see it had left once more. As he and the Pygmy Panthers fled across the roof tops. Momo wondered idly if he'd ever see the weird little metal Armadillo-Slug again...
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Yes, I am alive. This is mostly just a drabble, really, but 50 brownie points to whoever can correctly name what Momo actually found! I'll only give one hint - think "Doctor Who", and "cyber". R&R, please!
