Part 1: Xelqued's Big Mistake
Xelqued ran breathlessly through the corridors of Space Station V, knowing fairly well that he was going to be late for his Neopian Study class. His extra pairs of ears flew behind him as he ran for it, dashing through the crowds of his fellow Alien Aishas.
"Hey! Watch it!"
"Where'dya think your goin'?!"
"No Running!"
But he ignored them all. He knew very well that Professor Tzexuel would be very angry with him if he was any later than he already was. He just ran by, panting, until he suddenly tried to stop, but skidded, down the hall, past the open door of his classroom, watching as his classmates turned their heads and laughed at him, he fell flat on his stomach and started spinning.
"Woooaaaahhh…..AHH!!" Xelqued slammed, head-first, into a pane of glass, hearing a crowd letting up shrieks of surprise. The glass didn't break, but he was positive his skull did. Rubbing his head, he opened his eyes to see a few thousand glass rooms and one purple animal in each room, running around looking positively spooked. When his eyes finally focused, he could only see one room, and one little thing running scared. He sat up and stared, stunned at the creature. He had never seen anything like it, long purple ears, a long tail with a strange shape at the end, big black eyes, a little nose…
Finally, he noticed everything else. The silence. He turned his head to see thousands of Alien Aishas of every color, all adults, staring him down in fury and shock. The crowd parted as a larger green Alien Aisha came forward. Xelqued, cornered between the Aisha and the pane of glass, had no where to run. He looked up meekly into the stern eyes of the Commander.
"Xelqued." an overly cold voice greeted him.
Xelqued just squeaked a reply. He knew, as well as any other Alien Aisha on Space Station V, that the Commander was in command of everything, from a war raging on the station to…
"…One… little… wayward… Aisha…" Commander grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, forcing Xelqued to face him. "Have you any notion boy, any small idea what you could have just done?!" He emphasized that last word by shaking Xelqued fiercely. Xelqued shook his head.
"You could have just killed us all." Commander dropped him to the floor, and started pacing, refusing to look at the little Aisha. "Had you have ever thought…" he turned. "…That we would be holding an experiment in this very room? Had you had a notion that perhaps we may have been holding poison chemicals in this room, and you may have shattered the glass with your large head and small brain, bringing us all a painful DEATH?!" Commander stared coldly at him. "What, boy, made you think you could run in the hallways of our beloved Space Station V?"
Xelqued finally got the power to talk restored into him. "I was late for my classes, sir; I didn't want-"
"You didn't want. You didn't want, did you? Well, what if I was to tell you WE DIDN'T WANT ANY AILEN AISHA CHILDREN RUNNING THROUGH OUR HALLS?" He turned to the glass room, where the little animal was shaking thoroughly. "And, not only to that, you scared our experiment. She may have a mental disorder now. Look."
And Xelqued looked. It was true; the animal looked scared to death. "I'm sorry sir."
"You had better be sorry. For all she must be going through now, you had better be sorry." A strange grin crossed the commander's face. "And so you will be the one in to soothe her."
Xelqued's ears shot up. "Soothe her?! But sir, what if it is blood thirsty?" The commander laughed simply.
"Well that is a chance we'll just have to take, now isn't it?" He leaned over so he could whisper something into one of Xelqued's ears. "Now, I wonder why you didn't consider that before you came bursting in here?"
Xelqued stomped towards the door of the room, which opened to him. Taking a deep breath, he took his first few steps in. Looking at his surroundings, he could see trees and bushes that he hadn't seen before through the looking glass. The glass was one way only, unless you went up to it, and some things that didn't matter wouldn't be seen through it. He felt the grass beneath his paws, and could smell the flowers around. He let loose a light sneeze, and then quickly tried to stifle it, but it was too late. The monster had to know that he was there now, as the sound seemed to be magnified 10 times to his own ears. He stood, unmoving, begging that it wouldn't come charging and attack. He couldn't hear anything, silence all around. He waited for a minute, looking forward and on either side as much as he could, then with a sigh, he turned to leave and found himself face to face with a pair of very large black eyes.
"AAAHH!!!!" he screamed, jumping back.
"AAAHH!!!!" the creature replied, her voice light and slightly squeaky. It was blocking the door, preventing his escape! He ran as fast as he could towards the surrounding trees, trying to hide. He ran faster than he had run before when he was late, much faster. He was practically flying through the green that seemed to be closing in, choking him. Finally, when he couldn't run anymore, he hid behind a tree, shaking. After sitting with his back to the tree for a few minutes trying to catch his breath, he turned his head to see if the monster had followed him. But once again, there were no signs of it anywhere. He looked behind him this time, making sure that it wasn't there, staring at him, ready to scare him out of his wits again. It took him another few minutes to see the purple and tan head poking out from behind another tree, shaking.
He had scared it. Amazing as it was, he had truly scared it more than it had scared him. Now that he looked, even he could see the cuteness of the large scared eyes, the beauty in it's sleek, shaking body, the interesting feel of it's long, draped ears. He stepped out from behind the tree, and the head disappeared with a squeak. Every step he took towards that tree brought another squeak of protest, until he was right in front of it. He cleared his throat.
"Uh… excuse me?" He asked, his voice trying to be gentile though it was shaking. The head came back out.
"Who're you?" The voice still just as scared sounding, very girlish. It could speak Alien Aisha! Amazing discovery, he praised himself.
"Uhmm… my name is Xelqued." He stood as tall as he could, knowing that the animal would be his size no matter what. "Did I scare you?"
She blinked. "Well…" she straightened up as well. "I wasn't scared at all, not like you were of me! Honestly, I've never seen an Aisha RUN that fast!" She looked up at his extra ears. "or any extra terrestrial Aisha, for that matter." Her tail flicked back and forth as she studied him. She walked around him in circles, looking at him from every angle, until he finally had enough of it.
"So… um… what's your name?"
She straightened again and sat in front of him, looking very regal indeed. "I don't have a name. They call me Experiment Z."
He pondered this for a minute. "May I call you Zee?"
"Of course. And may I call you Xel?"
"I suppose there's no harm in that."
She suddenly snickered. "You were running awfully fast, you know."
"I wasn't scared!"
"No, before that I mean. When you woke me up. What on…" she looked at her surroundings. "What on…"
"…Space Station V?" he added helpfully.
"What on Space Station V were you running from?"
"Actually…" he said meekly, amazed that an experiment that looked so much like a baby was having a conversation with him, or attempting to. "I was late for one of my classes. I woke up late this morning and I didn't really mean to miss it, but…"
She nodded understandingly. "I see. Is your instructor hard?"
"Well, not as hard on me as the Commander is."
"Ah, that old four-ears, hard? It's very easy to get around him." She snickered, loosing all politeness. "He's absolutely mad, I tell you. What a mood ring!"
Xelqued looked nervously toward the black glass.
"Oh don't worry. He can't hear us; I've tried to get him to listen. He acts like I'm a baby putting on a circus every time though." She flicked back her ears. "Honestly. Do I look like a baby to you?"
Xelqued studied her. "Actually, have you had the chance to look at yourself lately?"
"Look at myself? Of course I can't. I am myself."
"I mean, in a mirror or something."
"Mirror?"
Xelqued raised one eyebrow. "Where are you from?"
She shrugged it off. "I dunno. I just remember some metal, and silvery stuff, and water, and then coming here. Nothin' doin'."
That only confused him further. Suddenly, he heard a bell being sounded. He jumped and looked around, defending himself. Zee laughed.
"Lunchtime! I'm starving, really I am." She ran and seated herself at the door, waiting. It opened, sure enough, and a light blue Aisha which Xelqued recognized as Vertunax, who was a scientist, waved him out, putting some food on the floor for Zee. She instantly began eating at the little pellets, looking very happy.
"Come on out, Xelqued, I think you've had enough." Trotting out of the bubble room and trying to hide the excitement on his face, Xelqued picked up his backpack and was about to leave when…
"Here." The commander handed him a little slip of paper. "That explains why you were late for class. And don't let me catch you running again, Xelqued. You've been getting into my fur too much lately, and I know you don't want to be knee-hauled." Xelqued turned away and walked out the doors. Once they closed, he speed off towards his classroom.
Xelqued ran breathlessly through the corridors of Space Station V, knowing fairly well that he was going to be late for his Neopian Study class. His extra pairs of ears flew behind him as he ran for it, dashing through the crowds of his fellow Alien Aishas.
"Hey! Watch it!"
"Where'dya think your goin'?!"
"No Running!"
But he ignored them all. He knew very well that Professor Tzexuel would be very angry with him if he was any later than he already was. He just ran by, panting, until he suddenly tried to stop, but skidded, down the hall, past the open door of his classroom, watching as his classmates turned their heads and laughed at him, he fell flat on his stomach and started spinning.
"Woooaaaahhh…..AHH!!" Xelqued slammed, head-first, into a pane of glass, hearing a crowd letting up shrieks of surprise. The glass didn't break, but he was positive his skull did. Rubbing his head, he opened his eyes to see a few thousand glass rooms and one purple animal in each room, running around looking positively spooked. When his eyes finally focused, he could only see one room, and one little thing running scared. He sat up and stared, stunned at the creature. He had never seen anything like it, long purple ears, a long tail with a strange shape at the end, big black eyes, a little nose…
Finally, he noticed everything else. The silence. He turned his head to see thousands of Alien Aishas of every color, all adults, staring him down in fury and shock. The crowd parted as a larger green Alien Aisha came forward. Xelqued, cornered between the Aisha and the pane of glass, had no where to run. He looked up meekly into the stern eyes of the Commander.
"Xelqued." an overly cold voice greeted him.
Xelqued just squeaked a reply. He knew, as well as any other Alien Aisha on Space Station V, that the Commander was in command of everything, from a war raging on the station to…
"…One… little… wayward… Aisha…" Commander grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, forcing Xelqued to face him. "Have you any notion boy, any small idea what you could have just done?!" He emphasized that last word by shaking Xelqued fiercely. Xelqued shook his head.
"You could have just killed us all." Commander dropped him to the floor, and started pacing, refusing to look at the little Aisha. "Had you have ever thought…" he turned. "…That we would be holding an experiment in this very room? Had you had a notion that perhaps we may have been holding poison chemicals in this room, and you may have shattered the glass with your large head and small brain, bringing us all a painful DEATH?!" Commander stared coldly at him. "What, boy, made you think you could run in the hallways of our beloved Space Station V?"
Xelqued finally got the power to talk restored into him. "I was late for my classes, sir; I didn't want-"
"You didn't want. You didn't want, did you? Well, what if I was to tell you WE DIDN'T WANT ANY AILEN AISHA CHILDREN RUNNING THROUGH OUR HALLS?" He turned to the glass room, where the little animal was shaking thoroughly. "And, not only to that, you scared our experiment. She may have a mental disorder now. Look."
And Xelqued looked. It was true; the animal looked scared to death. "I'm sorry sir."
"You had better be sorry. For all she must be going through now, you had better be sorry." A strange grin crossed the commander's face. "And so you will be the one in to soothe her."
Xelqued's ears shot up. "Soothe her?! But sir, what if it is blood thirsty?" The commander laughed simply.
"Well that is a chance we'll just have to take, now isn't it?" He leaned over so he could whisper something into one of Xelqued's ears. "Now, I wonder why you didn't consider that before you came bursting in here?"
Xelqued stomped towards the door of the room, which opened to him. Taking a deep breath, he took his first few steps in. Looking at his surroundings, he could see trees and bushes that he hadn't seen before through the looking glass. The glass was one way only, unless you went up to it, and some things that didn't matter wouldn't be seen through it. He felt the grass beneath his paws, and could smell the flowers around. He let loose a light sneeze, and then quickly tried to stifle it, but it was too late. The monster had to know that he was there now, as the sound seemed to be magnified 10 times to his own ears. He stood, unmoving, begging that it wouldn't come charging and attack. He couldn't hear anything, silence all around. He waited for a minute, looking forward and on either side as much as he could, then with a sigh, he turned to leave and found himself face to face with a pair of very large black eyes.
"AAAHH!!!!" he screamed, jumping back.
"AAAHH!!!!" the creature replied, her voice light and slightly squeaky. It was blocking the door, preventing his escape! He ran as fast as he could towards the surrounding trees, trying to hide. He ran faster than he had run before when he was late, much faster. He was practically flying through the green that seemed to be closing in, choking him. Finally, when he couldn't run anymore, he hid behind a tree, shaking. After sitting with his back to the tree for a few minutes trying to catch his breath, he turned his head to see if the monster had followed him. But once again, there were no signs of it anywhere. He looked behind him this time, making sure that it wasn't there, staring at him, ready to scare him out of his wits again. It took him another few minutes to see the purple and tan head poking out from behind another tree, shaking.
He had scared it. Amazing as it was, he had truly scared it more than it had scared him. Now that he looked, even he could see the cuteness of the large scared eyes, the beauty in it's sleek, shaking body, the interesting feel of it's long, draped ears. He stepped out from behind the tree, and the head disappeared with a squeak. Every step he took towards that tree brought another squeak of protest, until he was right in front of it. He cleared his throat.
"Uh… excuse me?" He asked, his voice trying to be gentile though it was shaking. The head came back out.
"Who're you?" The voice still just as scared sounding, very girlish. It could speak Alien Aisha! Amazing discovery, he praised himself.
"Uhmm… my name is Xelqued." He stood as tall as he could, knowing that the animal would be his size no matter what. "Did I scare you?"
She blinked. "Well…" she straightened up as well. "I wasn't scared at all, not like you were of me! Honestly, I've never seen an Aisha RUN that fast!" She looked up at his extra ears. "or any extra terrestrial Aisha, for that matter." Her tail flicked back and forth as she studied him. She walked around him in circles, looking at him from every angle, until he finally had enough of it.
"So… um… what's your name?"
She straightened again and sat in front of him, looking very regal indeed. "I don't have a name. They call me Experiment Z."
He pondered this for a minute. "May I call you Zee?"
"Of course. And may I call you Xel?"
"I suppose there's no harm in that."
She suddenly snickered. "You were running awfully fast, you know."
"I wasn't scared!"
"No, before that I mean. When you woke me up. What on…" she looked at her surroundings. "What on…"
"…Space Station V?" he added helpfully.
"What on Space Station V were you running from?"
"Actually…" he said meekly, amazed that an experiment that looked so much like a baby was having a conversation with him, or attempting to. "I was late for one of my classes. I woke up late this morning and I didn't really mean to miss it, but…"
She nodded understandingly. "I see. Is your instructor hard?"
"Well, not as hard on me as the Commander is."
"Ah, that old four-ears, hard? It's very easy to get around him." She snickered, loosing all politeness. "He's absolutely mad, I tell you. What a mood ring!"
Xelqued looked nervously toward the black glass.
"Oh don't worry. He can't hear us; I've tried to get him to listen. He acts like I'm a baby putting on a circus every time though." She flicked back her ears. "Honestly. Do I look like a baby to you?"
Xelqued studied her. "Actually, have you had the chance to look at yourself lately?"
"Look at myself? Of course I can't. I am myself."
"I mean, in a mirror or something."
"Mirror?"
Xelqued raised one eyebrow. "Where are you from?"
She shrugged it off. "I dunno. I just remember some metal, and silvery stuff, and water, and then coming here. Nothin' doin'."
That only confused him further. Suddenly, he heard a bell being sounded. He jumped and looked around, defending himself. Zee laughed.
"Lunchtime! I'm starving, really I am." She ran and seated herself at the door, waiting. It opened, sure enough, and a light blue Aisha which Xelqued recognized as Vertunax, who was a scientist, waved him out, putting some food on the floor for Zee. She instantly began eating at the little pellets, looking very happy.
"Come on out, Xelqued, I think you've had enough." Trotting out of the bubble room and trying to hide the excitement on his face, Xelqued picked up his backpack and was about to leave when…
"Here." The commander handed him a little slip of paper. "That explains why you were late for class. And don't let me catch you running again, Xelqued. You've been getting into my fur too much lately, and I know you don't want to be knee-hauled." Xelqued turned away and walked out the doors. Once they closed, he speed off towards his classroom.
