As the sun set, the girls descended to the to the first floor of the
apartment building where they were to meet their friends. Chippy wore a red
dress that was long enough to conceal a black band with weapons tucked into
it. Kee-Kee's silky black gown brushed the floor. Lalaputza, Kee-Kee's chia
and escort, carried Kee-Kee's equipment which was disguised to look like
Battledome weapons.
The large glass doors at the other end of the lobby were thrown open, and Ara strode in, silver skirt swirling around her. Her long, dark hair framed her heavily freckled face.
"Chippy! Kee-Kee! Good to see you!" she called. "Come on. Ramo and Ray-Ray are waiting in the car!
The three young women made their way down the darkened sidewalk. Their fancy shoes clicked on the cool pavement. Lalaputza stumbled along after the girls.
A deep blue van was parked in a dark ally. Ara jerked the side door open and shoved various items off the seats to make sitting room. Ramo was watching cartoons on a small TV built into the interior. Ray-Ray was updating her website on a black high-tech laptop. Ramo's brother Mike was driving. As usual, he was clad in a trench coat and combat boots.
After the group exchanged greetings, Mike stomped on the gas pedal, and the vehicle lurched forward. They sped toward the guild headquarters. Most people in Neopia relied on public transportation, and since rush hour was over, the streets were clear. Mike stopped in front of the headquarters to let the girls out. Then he drove off into the night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was brightly lit inside the guild headquarters. Colorful banners hung from the ceiling. Chippy had never been inside the massive structure. A polished white marble floor complemented the ivory and gold walls. At least a hundred tables draped with multicolored silk were scattered throughout the spacious dining room.
"Wow!" Chippy exclaimed. "This place is beautiful!"
"There are parties here all the time," Ray-Ray told Chippy, "but usually only guild leaders are invited. For big events like this, the leaders can sometimes purchase extra tickets."
Ara ran up, slightly breathless. "Kee-Kee and I have found us a spot. Hurry before someone tries to take it!" she gasped.
"It's really crowded in here already," Ramo remarked.
"Sure is," Chippy replied as they waded through the mass of well-dressed people and their Neopets.
All of the girls were Anti-Tableists, so the 'spot' Ara had referred to was a shadowy corner next to a large fireplace. There were no furnishings other than a soft oriental rug. Kee-Kee was sitting in front of the crackling fire and chatting with a figure in the shadows.
"Chicken Man!" Ramo shrieked. She ran over and threw her arms around the person.
"Good evening, Raistlin," Ray-Ray declared, taking a seat beside Kee-Kee. "We didn't expect to see you here."
Raistlin managed to free himself from Ramo's grip and inched into the firelight. His golden eyes and skin glittered in the orange glow.
"You didn't?" he questioned. "I've been Neomailing you and Kee-Kee for about a month."
There was a pause. Ramo put a arm around the mage.
"Really?" Kee-Kee sounded puzzled.
Understanding suddenly sparked in Ray-Ray's eyes.
"You're that crysania_hater666 who keeps sending me messages! And you're the leader of the Mages Against Paladine guild!" she triumphantly declared.
"I thought you two would have guessed," Raistlin said.
"Not everyone's as smart as my Raistlin," Ramo mumbled.
"Oh. . . Now I feel really bad," Kee-Kee grumbled in a sheepish voice.
"Why's that?" Ara inquired.
"Well," Kee-Kee started, a blush creeping onto her face, "when strangers send me mail and I don't know why, it makes me mad. I didn't know it was Raistlin, so I called the fertilizer company and asked that a truckload of dung be delivered to crysania_hater666's house. . ."
Silence followed Kee-Kee's statement. Raistlin tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace.
"It wouldn't have been a big deal, but I was on vacation. Try leaving several hundred pounds of dung in your yard for two weeks. It was a nightmare to clean up."
Chippy tactfully changed the subject. "With the possible exception of Raistlin, I think we're all here for the same reason."
"To eliminate Woo By, a.k.a Telly Belly, and Soby Timpson?" Ramo replied.
"Yes. Why must they be disposed of?"
"Do the servers ever come over here?" Ray-Ray interrupted. "I'm starving!"
"So am I! These tickets were expensive! The least they could do is feed us!" Kee-Kee added.
"Anti-Tableists have rights too!" Ray-Ray declared. "We'll be back after we set these people straight!"
Both she and Kee-Kee were on their feet. Ray-Ray's flowing green skirt billowed behind her. The effect made her look rather scary. Lalaputza handed her owner what looked like a harmless rainbow gun. But, knowing Kee- Kee it was probably an AK-47. Ray-Ray appeared to be unarmed, but there had to be some sort of weapon concealed somewhere.
"See you guys later!" Kee-Kee said in a sweet voice.
They were off in a swirl of green and black.
"OK. . . back to the original topic," Ara continued. "Creature Labs was shut down recently on Timpson's order. Ramo and her fellow Docking Station players were devastated. Kee-Kee worked with them to develop Soby Timpson: Project Revenge."
"And what about this Telly Belly person?" Chippy demanded.
"She's dating Timpson," Ramo explained. "She and Kee-Kee are enemies. Might as well get rid of her to."
"Sounds good. We'll get to work after the party."
Raistlin coughed and began making tea.
Just then, Kee-Kee and Ray-Ray returned. Both were grinning broadly.
"Some waiters should be right over. And with a bit of "persuasion" they agreed to give us a refund on our tickets!" Ray-Ray sounded extremely pleased with herself.
"And look who we found while we were wandering around!" Kee-Kee cried, gesturing towards a man that the others had not noticed before.
He wore long black robes that made his pale face appear yellowish. His longish black hair was greasy looking and black eyes gleamed.
"Severus!" Chippy blurted. "Please, sit down!"
Professor Snape carefully seated himself on the rug. Kee-Kee and Ray-Ray were already sprawled out across it.
"I really liked your part in Order of the Phoenix!" Ramo told him. "But I was wondering, were you stripped nude in front of half the school?"
Raistlin, who had been paying little attention to the group, watched intently to see how Snape would respond.
"Oh, that incident. . . Of all the memories J.K. Rowling could have written about, she had to pick THAT ONE!!!" Severus's face flushed, although it was impossible to tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. "Yes, James did expose me," Snape snickered. "I think I permanently damaged his ego."
"That must have been horrible," Ara remarked.
"Not really. I got a date with the head of the Slytherin cheerleading squad, and eighty-two other girls asked me out."
"Who was the cheerleader?" Raistlin wondered aloud.
"Lucius Malfoy," Seeing the looks on their faces he added. "He IS a woman."
"Did you know that half of the people who read Harry Potter write fan fiction about you?" Kee-Kee probed.
"Really? They do?" Severus was obviously surprised.
"Well yeah!" Ray-Ray snapped. "Do you ever get online?"
"Um. . . No."
Ray-Ray pulled her sleek black laptop out of her bag and flipped it on.
"The good news is, lots of people are in love with you," Kee-Kee notified Severus, "the bad news is, half of the other half think you're gay."
"For example, read this," Ray-Ray brought up a fan fiction entitled "Twins".
Horror spread across Severus's pale face as he read the the graphic SLASH piece. Ray-Ray proceeded to show him "Confessions" and "Confessions Part II", although she wisely left out the fact that she, Ara, Kee-Kee, and Ramo had written the second part.
Though he was traumatized by the fan fiction, Snape was flattered by his adoring fans. With renewed confidence, he said that he would stop by later after finding a date.
"How come he gets all the fans?" Raistlin sourly asked.
"Don't be sad, Raistlin," Kee-Kee murmured in a fake sympathetic voice. "Lots of people feel the same way about you!"
"Yeah, some people think you're hot and some think you're gay," Chippy mumbled.
Raistlin choked on his tea.
Ramo was highly offended. "No one except ME is allowed to call Raistlin hot, and he is NOT gay!"
"I was just telling him. . ." Chippy squeaked.
"No one writes much sick fan fiction about Raistlin," Ara pointed out.
The black-robed mage slunk back into the shadows.
At long last, a waiter came and took the groups' orders. He looked like he was afraid of the assembled party. It didn't help that Kee-Kee was raving about slow service.
"OH MY GOD!" Ramo gasped, staring out the window.
The large glass doors at the other end of the lobby were thrown open, and Ara strode in, silver skirt swirling around her. Her long, dark hair framed her heavily freckled face.
"Chippy! Kee-Kee! Good to see you!" she called. "Come on. Ramo and Ray-Ray are waiting in the car!
The three young women made their way down the darkened sidewalk. Their fancy shoes clicked on the cool pavement. Lalaputza stumbled along after the girls.
A deep blue van was parked in a dark ally. Ara jerked the side door open and shoved various items off the seats to make sitting room. Ramo was watching cartoons on a small TV built into the interior. Ray-Ray was updating her website on a black high-tech laptop. Ramo's brother Mike was driving. As usual, he was clad in a trench coat and combat boots.
After the group exchanged greetings, Mike stomped on the gas pedal, and the vehicle lurched forward. They sped toward the guild headquarters. Most people in Neopia relied on public transportation, and since rush hour was over, the streets were clear. Mike stopped in front of the headquarters to let the girls out. Then he drove off into the night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was brightly lit inside the guild headquarters. Colorful banners hung from the ceiling. Chippy had never been inside the massive structure. A polished white marble floor complemented the ivory and gold walls. At least a hundred tables draped with multicolored silk were scattered throughout the spacious dining room.
"Wow!" Chippy exclaimed. "This place is beautiful!"
"There are parties here all the time," Ray-Ray told Chippy, "but usually only guild leaders are invited. For big events like this, the leaders can sometimes purchase extra tickets."
Ara ran up, slightly breathless. "Kee-Kee and I have found us a spot. Hurry before someone tries to take it!" she gasped.
"It's really crowded in here already," Ramo remarked.
"Sure is," Chippy replied as they waded through the mass of well-dressed people and their Neopets.
All of the girls were Anti-Tableists, so the 'spot' Ara had referred to was a shadowy corner next to a large fireplace. There were no furnishings other than a soft oriental rug. Kee-Kee was sitting in front of the crackling fire and chatting with a figure in the shadows.
"Chicken Man!" Ramo shrieked. She ran over and threw her arms around the person.
"Good evening, Raistlin," Ray-Ray declared, taking a seat beside Kee-Kee. "We didn't expect to see you here."
Raistlin managed to free himself from Ramo's grip and inched into the firelight. His golden eyes and skin glittered in the orange glow.
"You didn't?" he questioned. "I've been Neomailing you and Kee-Kee for about a month."
There was a pause. Ramo put a arm around the mage.
"Really?" Kee-Kee sounded puzzled.
Understanding suddenly sparked in Ray-Ray's eyes.
"You're that crysania_hater666 who keeps sending me messages! And you're the leader of the Mages Against Paladine guild!" she triumphantly declared.
"I thought you two would have guessed," Raistlin said.
"Not everyone's as smart as my Raistlin," Ramo mumbled.
"Oh. . . Now I feel really bad," Kee-Kee grumbled in a sheepish voice.
"Why's that?" Ara inquired.
"Well," Kee-Kee started, a blush creeping onto her face, "when strangers send me mail and I don't know why, it makes me mad. I didn't know it was Raistlin, so I called the fertilizer company and asked that a truckload of dung be delivered to crysania_hater666's house. . ."
Silence followed Kee-Kee's statement. Raistlin tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace.
"It wouldn't have been a big deal, but I was on vacation. Try leaving several hundred pounds of dung in your yard for two weeks. It was a nightmare to clean up."
Chippy tactfully changed the subject. "With the possible exception of Raistlin, I think we're all here for the same reason."
"To eliminate Woo By, a.k.a Telly Belly, and Soby Timpson?" Ramo replied.
"Yes. Why must they be disposed of?"
"Do the servers ever come over here?" Ray-Ray interrupted. "I'm starving!"
"So am I! These tickets were expensive! The least they could do is feed us!" Kee-Kee added.
"Anti-Tableists have rights too!" Ray-Ray declared. "We'll be back after we set these people straight!"
Both she and Kee-Kee were on their feet. Ray-Ray's flowing green skirt billowed behind her. The effect made her look rather scary. Lalaputza handed her owner what looked like a harmless rainbow gun. But, knowing Kee- Kee it was probably an AK-47. Ray-Ray appeared to be unarmed, but there had to be some sort of weapon concealed somewhere.
"See you guys later!" Kee-Kee said in a sweet voice.
They were off in a swirl of green and black.
"OK. . . back to the original topic," Ara continued. "Creature Labs was shut down recently on Timpson's order. Ramo and her fellow Docking Station players were devastated. Kee-Kee worked with them to develop Soby Timpson: Project Revenge."
"And what about this Telly Belly person?" Chippy demanded.
"She's dating Timpson," Ramo explained. "She and Kee-Kee are enemies. Might as well get rid of her to."
"Sounds good. We'll get to work after the party."
Raistlin coughed and began making tea.
Just then, Kee-Kee and Ray-Ray returned. Both were grinning broadly.
"Some waiters should be right over. And with a bit of "persuasion" they agreed to give us a refund on our tickets!" Ray-Ray sounded extremely pleased with herself.
"And look who we found while we were wandering around!" Kee-Kee cried, gesturing towards a man that the others had not noticed before.
He wore long black robes that made his pale face appear yellowish. His longish black hair was greasy looking and black eyes gleamed.
"Severus!" Chippy blurted. "Please, sit down!"
Professor Snape carefully seated himself on the rug. Kee-Kee and Ray-Ray were already sprawled out across it.
"I really liked your part in Order of the Phoenix!" Ramo told him. "But I was wondering, were you stripped nude in front of half the school?"
Raistlin, who had been paying little attention to the group, watched intently to see how Snape would respond.
"Oh, that incident. . . Of all the memories J.K. Rowling could have written about, she had to pick THAT ONE!!!" Severus's face flushed, although it was impossible to tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. "Yes, James did expose me," Snape snickered. "I think I permanently damaged his ego."
"That must have been horrible," Ara remarked.
"Not really. I got a date with the head of the Slytherin cheerleading squad, and eighty-two other girls asked me out."
"Who was the cheerleader?" Raistlin wondered aloud.
"Lucius Malfoy," Seeing the looks on their faces he added. "He IS a woman."
"Did you know that half of the people who read Harry Potter write fan fiction about you?" Kee-Kee probed.
"Really? They do?" Severus was obviously surprised.
"Well yeah!" Ray-Ray snapped. "Do you ever get online?"
"Um. . . No."
Ray-Ray pulled her sleek black laptop out of her bag and flipped it on.
"The good news is, lots of people are in love with you," Kee-Kee notified Severus, "the bad news is, half of the other half think you're gay."
"For example, read this," Ray-Ray brought up a fan fiction entitled "Twins".
Horror spread across Severus's pale face as he read the the graphic SLASH piece. Ray-Ray proceeded to show him "Confessions" and "Confessions Part II", although she wisely left out the fact that she, Ara, Kee-Kee, and Ramo had written the second part.
Though he was traumatized by the fan fiction, Snape was flattered by his adoring fans. With renewed confidence, he said that he would stop by later after finding a date.
"How come he gets all the fans?" Raistlin sourly asked.
"Don't be sad, Raistlin," Kee-Kee murmured in a fake sympathetic voice. "Lots of people feel the same way about you!"
"Yeah, some people think you're hot and some think you're gay," Chippy mumbled.
Raistlin choked on his tea.
Ramo was highly offended. "No one except ME is allowed to call Raistlin hot, and he is NOT gay!"
"I was just telling him. . ." Chippy squeaked.
"No one writes much sick fan fiction about Raistlin," Ara pointed out.
The black-robed mage slunk back into the shadows.
At long last, a waiter came and took the groups' orders. He looked like he was afraid of the assembled party. It didn't help that Kee-Kee was raving about slow service.
"OH MY GOD!" Ramo gasped, staring out the window.