Saving Neopia

Chapter 7: The Cult of Apocalypse

Bloony woke up once again, ready for a new day. He went downstairs once again, and decided to watch TV, eager to see what was going on.

Bloony saw that Cherry was watching TV as well. "Hey, did you check out what was on the news?" Cherry asked.

"Not yet, why?"

Bloony and Cherry then turned to watch the television. A Gelert news reporter was on the news, telling current events.

"In recent news, there have been mysterious dark clouds forming over various locations in Neopia. Nobody knows why they have been there, but according to the past, these are a bad omen. In other news, something very strange has happened to the residents of Roo Island."

"Hey, they're talking about your hometown!" Cherry told to Bloony. Bloony frowned.

"The residents there have been acting strangely. They have attacked anyone that has entered the island, and have also oddly changed appearance. The king was nowhere to be found. We shall show the island to you now."

Bloony looked at the island, and saw that it had vastly changed in appearance. It looked rather evil-looking, similar to the Haunted Woods. The King's Castle had fallen into ruin, and several of the buildings were damaged as well.

"In other news, two Neopets have recently been attacked by two other Neopets, who judging from their actions are not in good terms with Neopian law. We shall show you footage of the incident now."

"Whoa! Check it out, we're on TV!" exclaimed Cherry. "I know…." Bloony responded.

"Fortunately, the Neopets are unhurt, and the criminals have left the area. We shall be holding an interview shortly." With that, it turned to commercial.

"Hooray! We're going to be interviewed by news reporters!" Cherry exclaimed. "Seems like we've got into things out of the ordinary a lot lately…." Bloony muttered.

Bloony still wondered what had happened to his island…the residents there had once been so friendly…now they were attacking anyone that wasn't already affected by whatever taint had purged the island….

Little did Bloony and Cherry know that they would be getting answers soon…..

Bloony and Cherry decided to go outside. Cherry had earned several Neopoints, so they were able to buy some things. Bloony and Cherry had a good time together.

Bloony still hadn't explored the entirety of the island, so Cherry showed him around. Cherry showed Bloony the Kadoatery, which was filled with hungry Kadoaties.

Cherry also showed him some other places where he could get food, such as Pizzaroo, which was unsurprisingly, run by a Blumaroo like Bloony himself.

Once again, Bloony had a good time in Neopia Central. It seemed like there was just about everything inside it, from a hot dog stand (run by a Mynci named Herbert) to the Money Tree.

"So, do you like it here, Bloony?" Cherry asked. "Yeah, but I sure miss home…" Bloony replied. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find a way to get you back eventually…"

"Thanks." Bloony wondered if there was a way that they could free the Blumaroos from whatever had happened to them….

Meanwhile, at a Slorg-infested abandoned house….

"This rots, Redtooth! I can't believe that yellow Blumaroo bested me again!" Snotty grumbled.

"I know…that Red Chia managed to best me too. How could I have fallen for a trick like that?" Redtooth wondered.

"We'll get revenge on them some day….for now let's look for someone that can help us with our schemes…." Snotty recommended.

"Like….what?"

"Well, I was planning on robbing the Neopian National Bank….but that might be a bit difficult….we could also try robbing the Money Tree!"

"Oh yeah!" Redtooth exclaimed. "But what if we encounter those annoying Neopets again?"

"We'll beat them up to make sure they won't bother us….but like I said, that can wait. We should look for somebody for help….that way it'll be three of us against that obnoxious Blumaroo and his little Chia friend."

"Good thinking…but where should we start?"

"I say we look for somebody that would be dumb enough for us to easily manipulate…" Snotty plotted. "And somebody that would be strong enough to beat whoever bothered us in a jiffy!"

"Ah, I like the sound of that…" Redtooth replied.

"I think that maybe we should go to Tyrannia….it's filled with residents that would serve as dumb muscle…."

"Sounds good!" With that, the two of them started laughing, a very evil laugh…..

It looked like that Snotty and his friend were up to no good once again…..

Back at Neopia Central…..

"So, do you think we'll run into Snotty and his partner again?" Cherry asked Bloony.

"Probably…..Snotty did say that he was going to be a recurring villain…."

"What's that?" Cherry asked.

"Simple really. A recurring villain is a villain, who for some reason, comes back to pester the hero again and again." Bloony told Cherry.

"Sounds kind of annoying." Cherry said.

"Yes, I know. Fortunately, a recurring villain usually gets theirs eventually….although they may turn good and decide to join the heroes…." Bloony once again told Cherry.

"Sounds kind of unbelievable…." Cherry said incredulously.

"Believe me; it happens more often than you think. In fact, the only villain I could think of that wouldn't do something like that is known as a Complete Monster…."

"What's a Complete Monster?" Cherry once again asked curiously.

"It's quite simple really. A Complete Monster is a villain who does terrible, terrible things, in general, there's nothing that this type of villain wouldn't commit."

"Even destroy all of Neopia?"

"Yes, if they felt like it and had the capability of doing so, they would probably do something like that."

"I see…"

"Now then, where were we? Ah yes. A Complete Monster doesn't have adequate justification for their misdeeds, nor do they care about what happens as a result. They are so evil that even other villains tend to despise them, or at the very least take them seriously."

"Gosh, they're that evil?" Cherry asked.

"Yep. Finally, they must have no chance for redemption. They're so evil that the only thing to do with them is to make them disappear completely."

"Yikes."

"So there you have it. Now where were we? Weren't we enjoying our day?" Bloony told Cherry.

"Yes we were. It's so nice too…I don't think anything can go w-"

"Don't jinx it, Cherry!" Bloony exclaimed. But it was too late, for at that moment, the two of them noticed several strange cloaked figures near Neopets. Bloony and Cherry went into the bushes to see what was going on.

"Excuse me, have you seen these two Neopets?" one of them, apparently their leader, asked, pulling out a piece of paper with a Yellow Blumaroo and a Red Chia on it.

"Why yes, I saw them on news today." A blue Kacheek replied, telling the cloaked figure what he knew about them.

"Thank you, that's very useful information." With that, the cloaked figure along with his cohorts began to leave.

"Wait, who are you guys?" another one of the Neopets, a Green Skeith asked.

"Well, if you must know, you Neopets….we are all members of the Cult of the Apocalypse, an organization that will bring around a new world….." the cult member replied. "That's all I can tell you, though, so don't ask me any more information." With that, they started walking off once more.

"The Cult of the Apocalypse, huh? Who are those guys?" Cherry wondered.

"I don't know….didn't they say that they would bring around a new world? I wonder if they have anything to do with what happened to my home…." Bloony wondered also.

Unfortunately, one of the cloaked members spotted Bloony and Cherry. "Hey, I think I found who we're looking for!" he exclaimed to the others.

The cloaked member removed his hood, revealing that he was a Red Elephante. "Well well, if it isn't the ones that escaped from Roo Island! Get them, boys!" With that, the cult members removed their hoods, revealing that they were Neopets as well, some of them pulled out various Battledome weapons, and attacked!

Bloony and Cherry prepared to fight for their lives. Bloony punched a cloaked Grarrl in the face, knocking him over. Cherry kicked another member, a Blue Nimmo, in the legs, causing him to fall over as well.

Bloony and Cherry continued fighting them, and oddly enough, they seemed to be winning. Several of the cult members were sitting on the floor, with stars circling over their heads.

The Elephante noticed as well, and thought to himself Perhaps it's time I changed tactics…..With that, he pulled out a dagger and slowly crept towards the two Neopets.

Meanwhile, Bloony and Cherry were still fighting the cloaked Neopets. "Gosh, these guys sure don't know when to quit, huh?" Cherry told Bloony.

"They certainly don't…" Cherry and Bloony kept fighting, doing well despite being outnumbered.

Eventually, they had managed to win, or so they had thought….

"They sure weren't so tough huh Cherry? Um, Cherry?" Bloony turned around and saw Cherry was being held by the Red Elephante with one of his hands (do Elephante have hands), with the other holding a dagger right near her.

The Red Elephante began to speak to Bloony. "Ah yes, now where were, yellow Blumaroo? Ah yes-"

"Let me guess, you're going to cut my friend unless I surrender and comply with whatever demands you may have." Bloony told the Elephante.

"How'd you guess?" the Red Elephante asked.

"Believe me; I've seen it all before…" Bloony rolled his eyes.

"Right, so what's it going to be?" the red Elephante told Bloony.

Bloony turned his eyes in the other direction. "I suppose only a convenient plot device could save me now…."

"Like what?" It was then that something happened.

Boochi, a baby Bruce, suddenly came out of the bushes. Firing his ray gun, he blasted the Red Elephante.

"Oh dung! Not now! I have a mission to c-" Without completing his sentence, the Red Elephante turned into a baby, dropping his dagger and letting go of Cherry in the process.

"Awww, he's so cute as a baby!" Cherry exclaimed.

"Are you hurt?" Bloony asked.

"Not really. Phew, that Red Elephante sure was smarter than his cohorts, huh?" Cherry commented.

"Yep, he sure was. I'm just glad that we were saved by a random event…"

Suddenly, Bloony noticed that there was a note on the ground. "Huh? What's this?"

Bloony looked on the ground, and saw what was written on it. Apparently, Boochi would be waiting for him at a place called the Battledome.

"The Battledome? What's that?" Bloony asked.

"It's a place where you can fight various opponents in an entertaining match." Cherry told Bloony.

"Normally I wouldn't approve of such violence…but seeing though we're being attacked by various scoundrels, where do I go?" Bloony asked.

"Oh there's several….in fact, there's one of them right in Neopia Central itself…" Cherry told Bloony.

"Good to know." With that, Bloony followed Cherry.

Back at the dark castle….

"I'm sorry; sir, but we couldn't do it! Those two Neopets were too strong!" one of the cloaked figures that had escaped the battle to report to his master said.

"Come here, my minion…." The cloaked figure on the throne beckoned.

As soon as the cloaked minion went up to the throne, the leader of the Cult of the Apocalypse himself stood up, transformed into a giant Hissi, and swallowed the minion whole.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" the cloaked messenger that had previously given the cult leader information asked. The cloaked messenger in question wore a mask, and spoke in a metallic voice.

"I made it very clear to him not to fail me. Go get the mad doctor; he'll know what to do…." With that, the cloaked figure left the throne room.

"What peculiar Neopets….being capable of defeating some of my loyal followers…." The cult leader went back to his throne and was silent.

Did you enjoy this chapter? They seem to be getting longer and longer…. In the next chapter, a new character will join the cast….please R&R!