Author's note.
Dude: 'Sup, my peeps? That's right I'm back! AAAAAND! I'm very excited, cause first Mission! *Starts jumping around, cackling*
Hunter: *Sigh* Sorry, guys. He had more coffee today...
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! *Weeps* Well, my PS3 is an exception.
Defenders of Neopia chapter 7: Leadership and the big one.
Jack slowly crept down the halls. He was hiding from Hunter. The two were playing a game of paintball. Well, they weren't supposed to do it inside, but it was blazing hot outside. "Got you," said a sing-song voice behind him. He whirled around to get a face full of paint. "OW! God, Hunter!" he shouted loudly, clutching his poor face. Hunter was hooting with laughter, rolling on the ground. Jack slowly lowered his hand, to reveal a large black eye. "I'm gonna kill you!" he roared, charging at Hunter and firing paintballs in random directions. Thank God there were no students there!
"You can't get me!" Hunter shouted over his shoulder, keeping a firm grip on the paintgun in his tail. The two ran into the Gym, disrupting a basketball training session.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory yawned, yet again. It was a Saturday, so no school. He was glad, but now he didn't know what to do with himself. "Where are Jack and Hunter, again?" he asked turning in his lounge chair to Kendra, who was brushing her hair. "I dunno, I think they were playing paintball."
"Paintball?" asked a student, a Starry Scorchio, with red eyes. "I thought we weren't allowed to play like that in the acadamy!" "You're not," Kendra informed the Scorchio. He gaped at her. "Those guys are hardcore!" Then he eyed Kendra. "Scott," he introduced himself, trying to look cool. "Kendra, not interested," she told him curtly. His face fell.
Suddenly, said Kougra, and Mynci came running into the room. Jack was clutching his right eye. But the one Jeffory could see, had pure terror in it. The two ran behind a couch and hid. Jeffory and Kendra walked over to them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's wrong?" asked Jeffory upon seeing their terrified faces. "Coach Kwii is g-go-GONNA KILL US!" Jack wailed. Hunter next to him, began nodding rapidly. Kendra sighed. "Did you two interrupt a training session again?" she asked.
The two didn't answer as they ducked. Jeffory turned around and saw a Shadow Yurble come storming in. He was wearing a sleeveless excercise shirt, flip flops, and shorts that were way too small. THIS was Coach Kwii. "KNIGHTS!" he roared, stomping over to him. Jeffory stood toe-to-toe with him. Kwii leaned down so close to Jeff's face that he could feel his breath.
"You see your little friends come in here?" he growled. Jeffory grinned, putting his hands behind his head. "Maaaybe," he said, drawing out the word just to tick him off. "Why should I tell you?" he asked smartly.
"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!" Kwii roared, spraying Jeffory with spit. "Alright," Jeffory muttered, wiping the spit of his face. "They went that way," Jeffory lied, pointing out the door. Kwii stormed off in that direction. Jeffory turned back to Jack and Hunter, who were breathing a sigh of relief. "Alright, spill."
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
After the whackjobs were done explaining, Kendra went to get ice for Jack's eye, promising she would heal it when nobody was around. When she came back, she was holding the icepack; she handed it to Jack. "Oh, thanks!" he groaned, placing it on his eye. Kendra smiled at Jack, and she looked at Jeffory. "Jeff, Commander Gray wants to see you. He didn't say why," she told him quickly. Jeffory hoped Kwii hadn't found out that he had lied to him, and told Gray...
Crossing his fingers, and hoping for the best, he set off to see Gray. But not before saying, "Nice shiner, Jack." He ran off leaving Jack grumbling, as Kendra tended to him.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory stood in front of the Commander's office. He was nervous. The last time he had been called to an office was that time he and Sam dropped water balloons from the school cafeteria balcony. Good times, Jeffory thought. "Now or never." Jeffory knocked on the door.
"Come in!" said Gray's voice from the other side of the door. Jeffory walked in. Gray greeted him, smiling. "Hello, Mr. Knights. May I call you Jeffory?" he asked politely. "Go ahead," Jeffory responded. Gray motioned to a seat across from his desk. Jeffory sat in it.
"Now I called you here for a reason. Ms. Mayer didn't tell you, did she?" Jeffory shook his head. "Good, I asked her not to. She knows," Gray explained. Jeffory tilted his head to the side, blinking. Gray chuckled. The confused Kyrii looked like a confused Doglefox.
"I called you here because I want you to go on a mission." Jeffory eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "R-r-really!" Jeffory caught himself, and cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said, feeling embarrassed. "No need for apologies," Gray told him. "Thank you, sir. But may I ask where to- uh, I mean the mission?" Jeffory spluttered. He felt very excited. "You will be going to Market Town. (1) I want you to investigate a local legend. Can you do that?" Jeffory nodded. "Excuse me, but how are we going to get to the northern continent, the road's flooded since-" Gray quickly cut Jeffory off, chuckling. "I know my history. 'The Great Flood of 3592.' You will be taking an airship from the hangar." Jeffory nodded yet again. "Tell your team, alright?" Gray ordered. "Yessir." Jeffory got up from his chair and walked out the door.
Gray sat in silence for a moment before saying to himself, "He's just like you."
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
Jeffory told his team about the mission. Jack and Hunter were very excited. Kendra seemed nervous, though...
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
The guys were getting dressed in their dorm. Jeffory was wearing a blue t-shirt with a picture of a soccer ball on it; he was also wearing light blue jean shorts, grey sneakers with blue outlines, a black watch, and his sword was strapped on his back(2).
Jack was wearing his outfit from when he met Jeffory. (Read chapter 4.) Jack had recently realised that his blaster could shrink down to a tiny size, and fit in his pocket.
Hunter was wearing a black t-shirt with blue jean shorts. He was still wearing his Tagari bangle.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
When the three friends walked out into the lobby, they saw Kendra waiting for them. She was wearing a plain baby blue t-shirt with a black skirt. She had a gold bracelet on her left hand/fin. She was also wearing her belt, and was floating. "You guys ready to go?" Upon seeing them nod, she did the same. "Now, where do we find the hangar?" Jeffory asked crossing his arms over his chest. Jack shrugged and muttered, "I dunno." Hunter chuckled, "It's up the stairs, down the hall, up another set of stairs, down another hall-" Jack cut him off. "SHUT it, Hunter," he snapped. Hunter had lost him at "It's." Jeffory jumped in. "We could-" "-No, that would take forever." "Maybe we-" "NO!" Kendra sighed, watching her friends bicker about which way to go. "GUYS!" she shouted, over their now-raised voices. They stopped in an instant. "We could take the ELEVATOR," she told them, amused. "Whaaaaaaat?"
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
After taking the elevator to the top floor, they were excited to see the hangar. Jeffory stared in amazement. It. Was. Huge. Workers were scrambling around, carrying pieces of incomplete Airships. As they were on the top floor - five hundreth, to be exact - they were above some of the clouds. There was heavy machinery on the walls, creating pieces of Airships. "Maybe we should ask that guy over there!" Jack said, pointing at a large Blue Grarrl. He was wearing an outfit exactly like Gray, except he didn't have the symbol. The Grarrl also had purple eyes and a strong, but friendly, face. He looked about in his mid-thirties to early forties. "Let's see..." Jeffory muttered, walking over to the worker.
"Keep moving, boys! And don't drop anything on Harrison's toe THIS time!" he shouted at his crew. He had a deep, booming voice. He must be the boss of the Hangar, Jeffory thought.
"Excuse me!" the Kyrii called, jogging over to the head honcho. He turned to see them coming, and grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "Ahhh, WAIT, don't tell me! Knights, Mayer, Tagari, aaaaaaaaand MASON!" with each name, he pointed at the correct student. He made Jack jump when he shouted his name. "That would be us, Mr..." "Call me Jake!" he said, extending his hand for Jeffory to shake. Jeffory took it and was surprised when Jake shook it vigorously, making Jeffory's whole body lift off the ground multiple times. He did the same with the others.
"Commander Gray told me you'd be comin'! The airship's this way," he said, leading them over to a large Airship that was docked and ready to take off. "This is Nora,(3) the latest model!" he said proudly. Nora was spectacular: a large grey black and blue Ship with navy blue wings, with light blue outlines that seemed to pulse. There was also a large cannon on the front of the ship. Jack sniggered, "You NAME your SHIPS?" He broke down cackling. That was, until Jake rounded on him, getting right in his face. "You got a PROBLEM with THAT?" he snarled. Jack immeadiatly shut up. He shook his head, looking terified. "Good. Now then, head on in, an' I'll give ya the A-OK." The group nodded, though Jack's was shaky.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
The team climbed into the ship (Jack fell over Hunter's tail). The group looked around the ship. If the outside was cool, the inside was spectacular. Metal floor, with the same blue pulsing outlines in the middle. The pulsing lines went up the side of the walls, as well, and met in a cross. There were seven seats: one for the pilot in the front of the craft; one adjacent to it, for the co-pilot; one on the west side, with a window in front of it; and one on the east side, for the navigator. The other three were in the back, for passengers. There was also a large moniter attached to the ceiling.
Jeffory then realized something: nobody knew how to fly an airship. "Uhhh, DOES anybody know how to fly an airship?" Everybody but Hunter shook thier heads. Hunter grinned, "Step aside, my good man," Hunter said in a bad British accent. He pushed past Jack, and sat down at what Jeffory thought was the pilot's seat. As there was a stick thing there, Jeffory thought it was a joystick. "Oh, brother..." Jack groaned. "Hey! You don't have opposable thumbs! You can't fly an airship!" Jack shouted erratically. "Au contraire, my loud friend. Observe," Hunter told him in a bad French accent. He reached over his shoulder with his tail, and gripped the yoke. The other three stared in stunned silence.
"Showoff..." Jack muttered bitterly, although he was impressed. The computer moniter flashed to life. Jake's face appeared on it; he was grinning. "Ah, I see Hunter's captain! You ready for take off?" Jake asked. Hunter shook his head. "Everybody, take a seat! And strap in. We don't want any accidents. YES, I'm looking at YOU, Jack." The crew sat down and strapped in, Jack muttering rude things under his breath. "Now we're ready!" Hunter said, turning back to the monitor. "Okey doke. Lift off in: 5..." Jack rubbed his hands together excitedly. "4..." Kendra took a deep breath. "3..." Jeffory prayed that Hunter wouldn't crash them into a wall. "2..." Hunter pulled the yoke backwards. In front of the ship, a large door opened. "1!" Hunter forced the yoke forward and the ship launched out the door, into the clear blue sky.
"WHOO-HOO! That was awesome! DO IT AGAIN!" Jack shouted, bouncing in his seat and laughing. Jeffory grinned at his childish friend. "Good job!" he told Hunter, who laughed. Kendra was clutching her hammering heart. Hunter put the ship on auto-pilot and climbed out of his chair. "Yeah, that was great!" he admitted. The others got out of their seats, as well. Hunter spoke up. "Jeff, I think our team should have a leader." Jeffory nodded, motioning for him to continue. "Well, we thought it should be you," Hunter finished. Jack walked past Jeffory and patted him on the shoulder. "I..." Jeffory didn't know what to say. He had never felt this trusted before. Sure, he was the leader of his and Sam's pranks, but this was obviously more important than a harmless prank. He stood in silence for a moment. The tension was so thick, you could've cut it with a knife.
Jeffory made his decision. "I'll do it," he told them confidently. His friends smiled widely, knowing they made the right choice.
"So, Jeff, who should be in what positon on the ship?" Hmm. Well, Hunter's a good pilot, Kendra knows her way around, and Jack likes blowing things up. OK. "Hunter, you're pilot. Kendra, you will be Navigator. And Jack, you are on weapons." Hunter grinned widely, Kendra nodded, still smiling and Jack rubbed his hands together, and laughed, somewhat evilly. "I guess that leaves me with... Co-pilot." The crew all went for their seats.
D.O.N. D.O.N. D.O.N.
A couple of hours later, it was growing dark. Jack was bored, Kendra was dozing on and off, Jeffory was also bored, and Hunter wished something would happen... Wish granted. There was a thud outside the ship. Kendra bolted upright. "WHAT was that!" she screamed. "Shh!" Jack shushed her. Jeffory knew this was his first test as a leader. "Hunter, get back on the pilot... Jack, get on weapons, and Kendra, keep quiet." He didn't mean to hurt her feelings when he said that. Fortunately, she understood.
Jeffory slowly walked over to the window and peeked out it. Nothing. Suddenly, a frightening face slammed against the window. It had a bat's face, but a bird's beak. It's torso was a bat's, but it's wings and legs were that of a bird. It also had red eyes. It stared at Jeffory for a second, before letting out an ear-splitting shriek. The group screamed and covered their ears. "HUNTER!" Jeffory shouted over the shriek. "WHAT!" "PUNCH IT!" Hunter forced the yoke forward. The ship rocketed forward. Jeffory fell over, and the Shrieker fell off the Nora. Jeffory uncovered his ears. He ran back to the window and gasped. The Shrieker was back, and it brought friends. A couple hundred, to be exact. "Guys! The shrieks attract MORE!" Hunter cursed, and sped up even more. But the stupid things were fast. Jeffory growled. Jack sniggered. "Play time..." He pushed a button, on his seat, and a hatch opened up. A turret the same color of the ship extended out of it. The window opened up, and the gun pointed out of it. There was also a scope.
Jack grinned and grabbed the handles, his thumbs on the triggers. He pressed them, and the turret turned out to be rapid fire, shooting down Shriekers. "TIME TO ROCK N' ROLL, DUDE!" he screamed. Hunter was tearing through the skies, trying to shake the hybrids, but to no avail. Kendra got an idea. "Jeffory, open the hatch on the side." Jeffory gaped at her. "ARE YOU NUTS!" Kendra glared at him. "Fine." He found the button, and the hatch on the east side opened up; the bar for people to hold on to - so as to not fall over - extended. She floated over to it and grabbed hold with one of her fins, sticking her head and free fin out the hatch. She raised her fin, and it began to glow. She started firing Fire bursts at the Shriekers behind them.
Jack groaned. He couldn't get the Shriekers behind them. Then he got an idea. "This always works in the movies..." he muttered. He took his hands off the turret and began feeling around the chair. Bingo! The turret retracted and the chair lurched before extending upwards, taking Jack with it. A hatch opened on the roof, and the chair went through it, then stopped. Jack was now on the roof. His chair turned backwards, facing the hybrids. Then the front of the chair shifted into a turret (4).
"EAT THIS!" Jack shouted, over the roaring wind, and the Shriekers... shrieked. Jeffory grinned. THIS was the best team a guy could ask for. But he wished there was something he could do to help... Suddenly, the ship lurched again. And a siren began going off. A computer voice was sounding: "WARNING, WARNING,WARNING! DAMAGE TAKEN ON THE ENGINE! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!" Jeffory cursed. The ship was going to self-destruct! "Everybody! Get back inside!" After a couple seconds, the crew was back inside. "We have to jump!" Jeffory ordered. "We'll go splat!" cried Jack. "NO, we won't! TRUST ME!" The team was at a loss for words. But they followed suit.
They jumped, screaming the whole way down. "THIS IS IT! IT'S ALL OVER! OVER, I TELL YA! I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!" Jack screeched. Jeffory ignored him. "KENDRA! LISTEN TO ME! I WANT YOU TO USE YOUR TELEKINESIS! SLOW OUR DECENT TO THE GROUND!" Kendra looked scared, and not just because she was falling. She had never done this before. But she inwardly promised that she would do it. She nodded at Jeffory. "ON MY COUNT! 1... 2... 3!" Kendra's eyes turned white, and her hands began to glow. With a scream of pain, they slowed down almost to a stop. They then landed with a thud. Kendra was panting heavily, Jack was still screaming, and Hunter was shaking. Jeffory looked up to see a cloud of black surrounding the Nora. And the ship exploded, killing all Shriekers. Jeffory let out a laugh. They did it! They really did it. He sat up and checked on his friends. Kendra had caught her breath, and Jack had shut up. Hunter was still shaking. Jack looked at Jeffory. "We made the right choice." Jeffory grinned.
Hunter shouted, "RUN!" Jeffory and the others didn't ask, but ran. They stopped after a minute, and turned around to see a piece of the Nora land where they had just been. They all breathed a sigh of relief, and plopped to the ground. Jeffory, Jack, and Hunter looked at Kendra. "Thanks Kendra, you saved our butts with your abilities," Jeffory said. She smiled, at them. "Let's rest here tonight. We'll head to Market Town in the morning." They nodded. Jeffory thought, I managed to do something right... I protected them. They DID make the right choice. Jeffory felt better than he had in a long time.
DONE! YAAAAAAAY! This was a long chapter, huh? Well, the next one will be up soon.
(1) Market Town is not a real place in Neopia, exept in Darkest Fairy. I thought I would put in, though.
(2) If any of you have played Crisis Core ffvii, you'll know what I mean. It just sticks to his shirt.
(3) It's odd when people do that. I love people like that, though.
(4) Think Tranformers movie.
Also, I've decided on voices for Jack, Kendra, and Hunter. Jack is James Arnold Taylor, Tidus ffx. Hunter is Shia LeBeouf, Stanley in Disney's Holes. Kendra is Terra Strong, Rikku ffx/ kingdom hearts 2. R&R, please. LaDude out.
