The Sailor NeoPets RPG Series One Episode Fifty-Five “Hey!!! I’m home!!!” Chase yelled throwing her bag on the coffee table.  She used too much strength so the bag hit the table and slid off.  Chase trudged into the living room where she found Jonathan and Brian.  Jon was reclining on the straw sofa and playing with his long, messy brown hair.  Brian was enjoying a lovely drink of Diet NeoCola.  Chase came up behind Jon and whacked him on the head. “What was that for?” he whined. “For being feminine!” Chase said, sticking her tongue out at him.  She turned to Brian.  “Where’s everyone else?” “Who knows?” Brian replied between sips of his cola. “Oh my Donna!  Alert the missing persons association!!!” Chase said in false shock.  Jon and Brian both laughed at her snide remark.  “Well,” she sighed, “I’m going to go take me a drag, then drop Sez off at the Neo Lodge.” “Hey, I’m coming with you.”  Jon sat up and pushed himself off the straw sofa. “Whatever you say, whatever you say…” Chase darted outside to take a quick drag then promptly stomped the cigarette out.  “Stop smoking, you’re going to kill yourself,” Jon commented as he came outside carrying Chase's Ghost Pteri, Spooky_sez. Chase picked the bundle of ghastly fluff, which was her Pteri, up.  Well, actually ghastly feathers, but fluff just sounded better.  Chase was dropping him off at the Neo Lodge because she started her classes at Inigmah tomorrow; until she got the hang of it, Sez would be staying there.  It wasn’t that Chase didn’t trust her roommates with the Pteri - it was that she didn’t trust the Pteri with her roommates. There were two things that set Chase apart from her roommates.  Actually, make that three. First of all, she was about five years younger than them.  Probably less than that but it was still a big difference. Second, she was the only minority in the bunch.  Chase came from a very poor section of Neopia.  It was a ghetto, and I don’t mean ghetto fabulous.  She had grown tough over the years because she had been dirt poor and treated like dirt because of her skin color.  It was a dark tan that fit with her brown eyes and black hair.  Trying to avoid racial tension, she tried to disguise herself by dyeing her hair blonde.  It didn’t really work, but Chase fell in love with it.  While working off debt at the coffee shop in the Arts Centre, she met two of her now roommates who were in the same, well, similar, boat.  They were white but they didn’t mind that Chase was different.  Other poor users didn’t usually care.  The two found out she was homeless and invited Chase to stay with them and their three other friends.  That was five years ago when Chase was 12.  She’s now 17, and best friends with her gang of roommates.  Also, they aren’t poor any more.  In fact, now they live in a large neohome in the good section of town but the still live in relative poverty. Lastly, Chase is also the only girl. Jon followed Chase and Sez doggedly to the shopping center, where the Neo Lodge was located.  The three hadn’t said a word on the trip there but now as they were almost to the doors, Jon spoke up.  “Are you sure they’ll let you in like that?” “What? Just because my skin’s a different color?” Chase snapped at him. “No, I mean your clothes.”  Jon gestured toward Chase’s oversized red Neodidas tracksuit pants, tennis shoes, and her dark charcoal “H.E.R.” t-shirt.  H. E. R. is a somewhat gothic band that had come from Maraqua before it was destroyed; the all-user band includes the famous Valle Villo. “Oooh!”  Chase laughed.  “You aren’t much better!”  Jon had on sunglasses, Neodidas slide sandals, baggy black pants, and a white wifebeater shirt.  Before they left the house, Jon had put his somewhat-dreadlocked hair in a ponytail on top of his head.  They both looked pretty ridiculous. “You're both idiots,” Sez mumbled. Now that I'm trying to get to the actual point of the story, I'll sum up what happened.  The clerk wouldn’t let Chase check Spooky_sez in because “there was no room,” so Jon had to check the Ghost Pteri in under his username, 6kilted_popkorn9.  His Pirate Krawk, Sht_Kckn_Pirate_, was already staying at the Neo Lodge, so Jon told the clerk to put the two pets in the same room.  Jon and Chase went back home, where Chase went to bed; she had to get up early to be ready for her first day of school at Inigmah the next morning. “BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP!!!” Chase’s alarm clock screeched at her.  Half asleep, she smashed in the snooze button and knocked the clock off her nightstand.  She rolled over on her other side and promptly fell back asleep.  Jon burst into her room, followed by Brian. “WAKE THE--…” Jon paused.  “’Scuze me, gotta remember to mind my language…”  Brian laughed and picked up Chase’s alarm clock before Jon could step on it.  Brian slammed the clock down on the nightstand but got no reaction from Chase, who was out like a light.  Brian took his turn at yelling to wake her up, but alas no avail.  The two paused in their efforts. “I think I have an idea,” Jon mumbled.  “Hold on…”  He darted out of Chase’s room.  Brian was completely puzzled, and his face showed it.  (He also had just gotten up, which didn’t help much either.) Jon came back dragging a 7-string electric guitar along with a small amp.  There was Brian’s ‘aha!’ moment. “Great idea,” Brian whispered.  He slipped the guitar strap on while Jon plugged the amp into the electrical outlet behind Chase’s nightstand.  “Wait, you forgot the cable.  How could you forget the cable?” Brian muttered at Jon angrily. “I’m not a guitarist,” Jon mused.  “But I’ll go get one.”  Brian began warming up with some scales and simple chords.  His guitar was worse for the wear and he was in the process of getting enough NP for a new one.  But this one would do for now.  Jon returned shortly, cable in hand.  Brian plugged himself in and turned up the distortion.  He began slamming chords and making the guitar shriek and whine, all at max volume. Chase bolted up.  “What the-!?”  She looked around at Brian, who was smirking as he continued to play, and at Jon, who was practically rolling on the floor with laughter.  Chase sunk back into her bed.  “I hate you guys so bad…” “Well, you have to get ready for school,” Jon said in between fits of laughter.  Brian was still playing his guitar but it didn’t sound as violent now. Chase hid her head under a pillow.  “STOP THAT, HEAD!!!”  Brian, who was also known as ‘Head’, chuckled and switched off the amp and unplugged it.  Chase threw her pillow at him and got out of bed; Jon tossed her school uniform at her. “What’s this?” she asked, holding up the skirt and blouse. “Your new uniform,” Jon said.  “Today’s your first day at Inigmah.  We’ll leave you to get dressed.” Jon left but Brian remained in Chase’s room.  “Ahem!”  Jon walked back in and dragged Brian out.  Chase closed the door behind them. “AHHHHH!” Chase ran from her room and into the kitchen, screaming at the top of her lungs.  Brian looked up from his omelet, which he was eating at the stone kitchen table. “LOOK AT ME!!!”  Chase gestured towards the over-the-knee brown skirt, white blouse, and brown and gray kerchief. “You…look like an Inigmah student,” Brian said cautiously. “This skirt!!!  It’s so horrid!!!  Look at how long it is!!!!!” she began screaming at him. “Roll it,” Jon said from behind Chase who jumped.  She turned quickly then sighed in relief muttering, oh, it’s only you. “No, seriously, roll it,” Jon continued.  “That’s about the length of my kilt.  It’s way too long for you.  So, just roll it.” “Um, okay.”  Chase began rolling the waistline of the skirt until it fell about a hand's length above her knee.  “Now what about this big lump from rolling it?” “Tie a sweatshirt or something around your waist and I’ll fix it for you after school,” Jon replied all-knowingly.  Chase went back to her room and yanked a black zipper hoodie out of her closet, tying it around her waist.  She re-entered the kitchen asking about shoes. “Just wear your Neodidas tennis shoes,” Brian suggested after taking swallowing the last bit of his omelet. “Okay.”  Chase walked over by the front door where random pairs of shoes were lined up.  She shoved her stockinged feet into her black Neodidas supermodifieds. “You might want to do something with your hair, too,” Jon said as he sat down in a chair next to Brian. “Oh, yeah,” Chase said dumbly as she touched her disheveled locks.  She went into the bathroom, reappearing moments later with her hair brushed and pulled into a low ponytail. “Wait a minute.”  It had finally dawned on her that she, Brian, and Jon were the only ones home.  “Where’s David and everybody else?” “Out playing games to earn some more neopoints,” Jon explained.  “We’re still here to get you to school on time.” “Yeah, so are you ready?” Brian asked. “Yeah…” Chase said, picking up her bag from the floor where it had landed yesterday. “Well, good, because I’m not,” Brian grinned and disappeared into his room. “Yeah, let me get fixed up too,” Jon said and retreated to his room.  Chase sighed and sat down at the kitchen table.  She began cleaning out the black messenger-style bag that would serve as her backpack, shoving some NP in her pocket for lunch money and neatly placing all the required textbooks in the main compartment.  A pen and pencil were picked out of the bag and pushed into her skirt pocket. Brian came out of his room significantly earlier than Jon.  His shaggy braided hair was hidden by a black beanie, and he was wearing baggy jeans and a red t-shirt that had the Kgra Sportswear Company logo on it in white. “Do you know where my chain or my earrings are?  ‘Cause they weren’t in my room,” Brian asked as he began searching the kitchen. “Bathroom sink,” Chase replied, pointing to the bathroom. “Okay, thanks.”  Brian slipped on his silver chain necklace and put his silver hoop earrings in.  At about that time, Jon came out of his room in his kilt and a long-sleeved black shirt.  Chase shook her head as he slipped on a pair of black shoes that were by the door.  The three locked up their neohome and headed out for Inigmah.  First, they made a little pit stop at the Coffee Shop to get some Phear Coffee.  Upon leaving the Coffee Shop, the group parted ways.  Jon and Brian went off the Poogle Race Tracks in Faerieland while Chase trudged off to Inigmah. Chase entered the school building cautiously.  She slipped past groups of students who were milling around waiting for classes to begin and ducked into the principal’s office. “Hello,” a cheery Meerca secretary greeted her. “Hi,” Chase said, she wondered how someone could be so happy this early in the morning.  She pulled her transfer papers out of her bag and handed them to the woman.  Quickly reading the nameplate on the desk, Chase said, “Mrs. Taki, these are my transfer papers.” “Ah, yes, you must be Chase.  Am I correct, hun?”  Mrs. Taki skimmed through the forms with her large smile still plastered across her face.  Chase nodded.  “Hold on one second, hun.” The secretary slipped out from behind her desk and called into an annexing room.  “Miss Maxwell, if you would like to escape any further punishment for your little mishap at the Faerie Arts Academy, I suggest you show our new student around… Now.”  Mrs. Taki added the last bit forcefully and retreated to her desk.  A short girl in an Inigmah uniform walked out of the connecting room and over to the secretary’s desk.  The moment she saw Chase, she grinned. “What is so hilarious, Miss Maxwell?” Mrs. Taki asked. “Heh!” the girl turned to the secretary and laughed nervously.  “Nothing, nothing at all!”  She ushered Chase out of the office. “Kali, won’t you be needing Miss Bennington’s schedule?” Mrs. Taki called out the door. “Oh yeah.”  The girl dubbed Kali Maxwell popped back into the office and grabbed the schedule from the secretary’s hand. “If you don’t screw up today, you may return to the Faerie Arts Academy tomorrow,” Mrs. Taki told Kali. “Don’t worry about it!  I’ll be outta your hair soon enough.”  The brunette cheerfully slipped out of the room. “OH MY DONNA!  CHASE IT’S SO GREAT TO SEE YOU!!!”  Kali enveloped Chase in a large hug. “Why are you here?” Chase laughed.  “I thought you went to the Faerie Arts Academy.” “Well let’s just say… I had some “issues” there,” Kali grinned wildly. “I should have known,” Chase sighed. “Hey, it wasn’t my fault!  I didn’t see those freakin’ stairs!!!”  Kali glared at Chase.  The short coppery haired girl had sapphire blue eyes and a wild fanged grin always plastered on her face. “Stairs?”  Chase sighed.  Despite being a quarter Dark Faerie, Kali was rather clumsy.  The only thing showing Kali’s heritage are her fangs.  Faeries are graceful and balanced.  Kali has no grace or balance whatsoever. “I’ll tell you later.  Here’s your schedule.  Oh and by the way, tell Jon I said ‘hey’.”  Kali handed Chase the paper that was her class schedule.  Kali had a thing for Chase’s roommate Jon.  “Oh, meet at the slushie shop in Happy Valley after school, ‘kay?” “Sure.  It’s a good thing I know where I’m going because you sure couldn’t show me,” Chase smirked and Kali grinned.  Kali was rather directionally challenged.  The two friends parted ways and Chase finished her first day at Inigmah; Kali finished her last. Chase didn’t see Kali when the dismissal bell rang, but she didn’t worry about it.  Kali was probably finalizing her readmission to the FAA.  Her choices were in-school suspension for two months or a month attending classes at Inigmah for dumping paint all over the principal, which she claimed was an accident and knowing Kali, it probably was. So Chase headed home to change her clothes before going to Happy Valley.  She quickly scribbled a note to her roommates in case they went looking for her, then slipped out of her Inigmah uniform into a pair of jeans and a black baby doll tee.  She also shoved her smallest camera into her pocket, as she had been given a photography assignment earlier that day. Chase entered the Slushie Shop and looked around for Kali.  Not noticing her immediately, she sat down on the counter. Adam came up to her and asked, “How may I help you, Chase?” “The usual,” she replied.  Chase was a regular at the Slushie Shop and the Coffee Shop, so most people who worked at either of the establishments knew her by name.  Adam handed her the small Rainborific slushie. “Hey, Adam, have you seen Kali lately?” “Who?” Adam asked. “A loud annoying girl, with coppery hair and blue eyes,” was Chase’s description of Kali. “Yeah, she’s over there,” after a short amount of thinking Adam replied. “Oh, okay,” Chase said somewhat solemnly.  “I was supposed to meet her here.” “They’re over here…”  Adam motioned for Chase to follow him. “Okay.”  Chase got up from the counter and followed Adam to a small booth where three girls were sitting with Kali. “Chase!!!” Kali screeched. “Okay, I’ll be leaving your heartfelt reunion,” Adam said as he quickly walked away. “Chase, this is Leslie, she goes to Inigmah with you.  Leslie this is Chase.”  Kali introduced Chase to a girl with hair that reminded her of a lupe’s tail. “Nice to meet you,” Chase smiled.  It would be nice to meet normal people with actual personalities instead of the “tortured artist” attitudes of her classmates. “Hi,” Leslie said shyly.  It was obvious she was afraid of Chase but one of her companions asked Chase to sit down with them. “I’m Pandi!  And if you know how to sit, then why don’t you sit down with us,” the cheery half faerie girl said.  She was sitting next to Kali and across from Leslie and girl with glasses who looked younger than the others. “I’m Maxima,” the glasses girl said cheerfully.  After the introductions Chase dragged a chair over from a table and put it next to the four-person booth. “Sooo…” Chase attempted to make small talk.  “You go to Inigmah?” “Yes,” Leslie answered quietly. “What for?” Chase asked. “What do you mean?”  Leslie looked at her somewhat dumbly. “What is your area of expertise?” Chase asked again. “Oh, botany,” Leslie said, glancing sideways, trying to get out of conversation with this scary girl. “I go to the Faerie Arts Academy,” Pandi cut in. “That’s—” Chase was cut off by a loud crashing sound coming from outside. “Uh oh…” Maxima got up quickly and ran outside; Leslie followed. “Oh, could you excuse me?” Pandi asked.  “I’ve got to go save Happy Valley now.”  Chase was bewildered by that last remark but nodded and moved her chair over as Pandi dashed past. “Your friends are weird,” Chase told Kali bluntly. “Why thank you,” Kali said sarcastically.  “But you know about as much as I do.” “What are you talking about?”  Chase eyed Kali. “I mean, I have no idea why they left, either.” “Ooooh, well why didn’t you say that in the first place?”  Chase asked; Kali shrugged. “OH MY DONNA!!!”  A red blumaroo ran into the Slushy Shop, heart pounding.  “THE SAILOR NEOPETS ARE OUTSIDE!!!” “Huh?” Chase raised a brow.  Customers ran outside hurriedly to catch a rare glimpse of the Sailors in action.  Kali dragged Chase out of the shop to see what was going on. Pushing their way to the front of a large crowd, Chase and Kali found themselves watching Sailors Aisha, Lupe, and Mynci square off against two large mutant Grundos.  Chase thought the Sailors looked oddly familiar.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it seemed that she vaguely recognized something about them.  So she decided to pull out her trusty old camera and snap a few pictures of the Sailors before turning to Kali. “Okay, whatever.  See you, Kali. I’m leaving,” Chase said and waved. “Huh?  Sure, you do that. I’m going to stay and watch…” Kali mumbled, her eyes fixed on the Sailors. Upon leaving Happy Valley, Chase ran into Jon and Brian, who had come looking for her. “Hey,” Brian greeted her.  “What’s with the commotion?” “The Sailor Neopets or something like that.” “The Sailor what?”  A baffled Brian looked at Chase. “I have no idea.  I guess they’re some sort of crime solving celebrities or something.  They were fighting these two big mutated Grundos.” “Okay, whatever.”  Jon shook his head skeptically. “I’m serious!  I’ll show you the pictures when we get home!  But they looked like people I know… But I don’t know who they reminded me of.  I wonder who these Sailor Neopets people are and what they’re about…” Chase said, partly to Brian and Jon but partly to herself. That’s when Chase made a conscious decision to get in contact with those girls and find out who the Sailor Neopets really were.