After the first week, Baron announced to us that Brave was going to take us to change our names. Apparently we needed to have names that were more "fit to what we did." I'm not stupid. I know that they just want to make it look like they have more Jamaarians working for them. Not people from Toontown.
"I'm not going to do it."
I turn around to find Clark, my only friend, glaring off into Jamaa from the top of Mount Shiveer.
It was about a month ago when my home was overrun by a neighboring country. We were forced to travel to the outskirts of Jamaa- another neighboring and troubled country. However, we were soon found out, and we were all forced to go our separate ways.
My longtime friend and teacher Professor Wiggle was sent to be a teacher, while my other friend, Sir Astro, was supposed to be in the military. Instead of being sent directly to the military, though, he was severely burned and cut by a few people from Jamaa.
Our leader, Jesse, was taken hostage and sent to Crystal Bay, a detention center on an island south of Crystal Sands. I currently don't know if any of them are alive.
"What do you mean you're not? They'll kill you," I say to Clark, knowing all too well that he wouldn't change his mind.
"I'm not letting them take my name away from me. That's the last thing I have." I frown at this.
"Clark, you're being ridiculous-"
"No, I'm not," he starts, cutting me off. "Not everyone can just go with the flow like you can." Go with the flow? What was that supposed to mean?
"What do you mean? Of course I value things, but in the end should it really matter what I want?" I ask him, curious as to how he would respond. He simply shakes his head.
"That's just it. You're too selfless." The end of that sentence marks his departure, because a few seconds later he's trudging off into nowhere.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he says as a closing, then picks up his pace.
Right- tomorrow. Today is when we are changing our names.
Since there are a few more minutes until we have to meet with Brave, I decide to travel up Mt. Shiveer a little. I had never been on the summit- it was almost impossible to do. There was only one person that had made it up the entire mountain, and that was a while ago apparently. When I do climb it in my free time, I only go as high as the little marker. It didn't have any exact measurements, so I didn't know exactly how high up it was.
I don't have time for that, though.
I travel up a little ways; just enough to look out into Jamaa. It looks nice, I'll give it that. Most of the other miners were pretty nice, but most of the Jaamarians I've encountered are pretty mean.
Maybe it's because I'm from Toontown.
Jamaa didn't have any allies. They were enemies with Toontown and Monstro City, but they were neutral with Neopia and Club Penguin.
Actually, they might be allies with Club Penguin now.
I skip back down to the base of the mountain and meet up with Brave.
"Where's Clark?" he asks me, and I start to feel sick.
"He's not coming," I say, trying my best to let him know that I don't agree with Clark either. Brave sighs and looks down at the snow.
"Fine. It's just us. Do you want to know your name now?" I study Brave's face, trying to tell if I want to know yet.
"No," I say, shaking my head. "I'll know when we get to Jamaa."
Brave had a pretty cool car. It was a crazy dark black with tinted windows. Normally I would've had to ride in the back, but Brave and I were kind of friends, so he let me sit up front.
"How's Baron?" Brave asks once we're a little outside of Mt. Shiveer.
"He's alright. Better than a lot of the other authority figures," I say. Brave nods.
Yes, Brave was pretty high up in the military, but he wasn't a douche bag like most of the other people. In fact, he took the job to settle disputes between Jamaa and Toontown. We were allies.
"What's your next step?" he suddenly asks me, catching me off guard.
"With what?"
"Saving Jesse."
"Oh."
Brave and I had talked about this on the first day I was sent to the mines. In order to save Jesse I needed someone that worked at Crystal Bay; someone to sneak him out. However, this was highly unlikely. Crystal Bay was guarded like crazy, and getting someone like Jesse out would be almost impossible.
"I guess I need someone in the military," I say, not really knowing what the right answer was. Brave considers this for a moment.
"Or a boat." I snap my head over to look at him.
"You mean… We would take Jesse away? Just go in and… Sneak him out?" Brave nods.
"More or less."
"Would that really work?"
"If you plan it well enough, it might be your only option."
Sneaking Jesse out… Would that work?
I take a seat next to Brave in the courtroom. It was going to be quick; we would get the needed signature on the name then we would be out.
And I would have a new name.
"So do you want to know your name yet?" Brave asks me, breaking my train of thought.
Hearing Brave say that makes me think of what Clark told me earlier. Was my name the last thing I had? Would I change after this?
No.
That's impossible.
I might get a new name, but that doesn't make me a new person. I still had myself; I wasn't going to get broken by Jamaa.
I nod my head.
"Your new name is Mutant."
Even with a name as humiliating as Mutant, I wasn't going to let them break me.
More importantly, I won't let them keep me in the mines. I was going to escape.
