When she takes hold of her Token, she's, of course, going to notice that there's nothing but pure anger and hatred radiating out of it. And this is only further emphasized by the fact that, for only a few seconds before fading back into the indigo gem, a pair of familiar, red eyes glare from the magical orb in the center.
But really, with the joy, relief and celebration going on on both Neopia and its moon, Kreludor, Sloth's black emotions are like a hornet buzzing inside of a jar. It's angry, yes, but it can't do anything beyond making its container vibrate with its displeasure.
Exactly. As a certain good witch once said, "You have no power here, now begone before somebody drops a house on you, too."
Not that Neopia has the Oz books, but you get the picture.
The faerie loops the golden chain around her neck, and she's surprised to find out that it doesn't 'complete' her like it once did. Whether that's the result of his essence trapped within, or the copies he made, or the length of time she's been separated from it, she can't tell. It could be all three. Or none of the above. It just feels like a small brand of relief, like when you lose something of just sentimental value, to have it returned later. Hrm.
She holds it in two fingers, up from her chest, and looks down at it, as if waiting for his eyes to reappear.
"Here I am. And now I'm going to release you, as promised. Just not here. Vacuum wouldn't be good for you. Just a little longer, Frank."
The 'buzzing', which isn't really like a physical vibration, but more of a psychic or spiritual one, increases momentarily as she addresses the inhabitant of her jewelry. The eyes flash again as well. That would probably be him either yelling, or urging her to get on with it already.
It's not snarky, it's not vindictive, it's not even particularly annoyed. It's said gently, like a mother teaching a child a lesson. Or a lover doing her best to defuse her man's anger. Not that she blames him for being angry. He was right, in one respect; this was a mistake.
But it's a mistake she can rectify.
Soon, they're zooming through space together, where the Token is, erm, tucked into her cleavage. At least he's getting a nice view, right? She arrives just outside his ultra-top-secret last-resort base, which is about a sixteenth of the size of his current station. It's a monitoring satellite, which gives him access to all the computer read-outs of his network.
And best of all, there are no minions there that might stumble upon her freeing him. (They have orders to shoot her on sight, after all.)
Who knows how long it takes for her to finally reach Fyora, and request an audience alone? Inside the Token, time literally has no meaning. In reality, it probably is only a couple of minutes; to Sloth, it probably feels like decades. Centuries. An eternity of being alone, trapped, and disregarded.
Then, like the rising of the sun, she returns, flushed and actually grinning. And this time she's with him inside the token. The magical fog returns to its glowing magenta, all the comforts return, and that sense of adoration floods the place.
"Oh, Frank, it's all going to be okay! She knew exactly what was going on, and she's going to help!"
Sloth's entirely stunned at her arrival, as it did indeed feel like ages upon ages before anything resulted. He was certain that something had went wrong and he was stashed in some sort of magical vault for 'safekeeping', just like other villains the faeries have managed to contain. And the gloom somehow prevented him from thinking up any plans, as all that occupied his mind was that he was trapped.
So he doesn't react right away when the Space Faerie appears and is suddenly hugging him. But then the color and light seep back into this limbo and he feels like he can breathe again after holding his breath for a long, long time.
"It's about time!" he sputters eventually, brushing her off with irritation. "How long did those negotiations take? I could have at least used a warning that I'd see you again in twenty years or so."
"Oh, Frank, it was only three minutes, don't be such a big baby."
Not even his irritation can put a damper on her mood. She looks so innocently joyful, like a little kitten. This is her at her absolute best; this right here is probably the reason (or one of many reasons) why he wants to 'keep' her. At least, that's how she sees it in her own mind. (He probably thinks this cheerfulness is like nails on a chalkboard.)
"I had to get us through the Tower's defense system. It doesn't tolerate any evil, you see." She says this so matter-of-factly. "So I had to hide all indications of your presence in my Token. The only way I could do that was to withdraw completely. But anyway! She knew, and she said she'd help, so behave yourself. She's on her way in here right now."
And soon enough, there's a swirling column of purple light and the Faerie Queen stand before them, staff in hand and a bit more stern expression than usual on her face.
"The magic is very strong in here," she says as she appraises their surroundings. "It will take a great deal of work to undo it in any way. I'm not surprised you struggled with it, Lumindra. The weaving of this spell is expertly done and with a good deal of strength."
...Within moments, Sloth is standing before her, as tall and green as berobed as ever. He's already in the act of stretching, lifting his fists and shouting even as he's still just a shimmering outline coming into being.
She giggles, and flies around him, still holding the Token in both hands. She leaves little trails of sparkles all around him, like...well, Tinkerbell. Shut up.
Their carrying on will probably attract the attention of some of the weirder residents of the Nexus, but so what? He's free, she's not under orders to kill him, and she can still visit him from time to time. Not too often, of course. Just an occasional reward if he's on his best behavior. Heh.
Once he's done stretching and carrying on, Sloth's hands drop to his side again and he eyes the Token he was previously inhabiting for the last...well, who knows how long.
"So now what about that thing? I suppose it has to be kept safe somewhere, as whenever I walk into Neopia, I'm going to be sucked back inside it?" This is said in a very bitter and cold tone of voice; he obviously doesn't think highly of this or look forward to it. "We could always test how that works, but...I'd rather not right this second, if you don't mind."
"Noooo," she agrees in a laughing drawl, "I can't imagine that you would. After all that trouble to get you out, I'm not letting you experiment right now."
Hovering closer to him, she dangles the Token in front of his face, playfully. Although it should be noted that, in spite of her laughter and playfulness and relief, her face is flat once again. Yes, this truly is the real world.
"Maybe I'll keep it this time! That way you have to come to me in order to get what you want."
...That's...probably taking this a bit too far. She seems to realize what she's just implied, because she hastily presses the thing into his palm, and then curls his fingers closed with her gloved hand.
"I was kidding. You keep it. Keep it safe. If you ever need anything, I'm just a thought away. No matter how many worlds separate us."
Comments 54
But really, with the joy, relief and celebration going on on both Neopia and its moon, Kreludor, Sloth's black emotions are like a hornet buzzing inside of a jar. It's angry, yes, but it can't do anything beyond making its container vibrate with its displeasure.
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Not that Neopia has the Oz books, but you get the picture.
The faerie loops the golden chain around her neck, and she's surprised to find out that it doesn't 'complete' her like it once did. Whether that's the result of his essence trapped within, or the copies he made, or the length of time she's been separated from it, she can't tell. It could be all three. Or none of the above. It just feels like a small brand of relief, like when you lose something of just sentimental value, to have it returned later. Hrm.
She holds it in two fingers, up from her chest, and looks down at it, as if waiting for his eyes to reappear.
"Here I am. And now I'm going to release you, as promised. Just not here. Vacuum wouldn't be good for you. Just a little longer, Frank."
Reply
Reply
It's not snarky, it's not vindictive, it's not even particularly annoyed. It's said gently, like a mother teaching a child a lesson. Or a lover doing her best to defuse her man's anger. Not that she blames him for being angry. He was right, in one respect; this was a mistake.
But it's a mistake she can rectify.
Soon, they're zooming through space together, where the Token is, erm, tucked into her cleavage. At least he's getting a nice view, right? She arrives just outside his ultra-top-secret last-resort base, which is about a sixteenth of the size of his current station. It's a monitoring satellite, which gives him access to all the computer read-outs of his network.
And best of all, there are no minions there that might stumble upon her freeing him. (They have orders to shoot her on sight, after all.)
"Here. Is this acceptable?"
Reply
Then, like the rising of the sun, she returns, flushed and actually grinning. And this time she's with him inside the token. The magical fog returns to its glowing magenta, all the comforts return, and that sense of adoration floods the place.
"Oh, Frank, it's all going to be okay! She knew exactly what was going on, and she's going to help!"
She flings herself at him, to hug him.
Reply
So he doesn't react right away when the Space Faerie appears and is suddenly hugging him. But then the color and light seep back into this limbo and he feels like he can breathe again after holding his breath for a long, long time.
"It's about time!" he sputters eventually, brushing her off with irritation. "How long did those negotiations take? I could have at least used a warning that I'd see you again in twenty years or so."
Reply
Not even his irritation can put a damper on her mood. She looks so innocently joyful, like a little kitten. This is her at her absolute best; this right here is probably the reason (or one of many reasons) why he wants to 'keep' her. At least, that's how she sees it in her own mind. (He probably thinks this cheerfulness is like nails on a chalkboard.)
"I had to get us through the Tower's defense system. It doesn't tolerate any evil, you see." She says this so matter-of-factly. "So I had to hide all indications of your presence in my Token. The only way I could do that was to withdraw completely. But anyway! She knew, and she said she'd help, so behave yourself. She's on her way in here right now."
Reply
"The magic is very strong in here," she says as she appraises their surroundings. "It will take a great deal of work to undo it in any way. I'm not surprised you struggled with it, Lumindra. The weaving of this spell is expertly done and with a good deal of strength."
And then she addresses Dr. Sloth.
"And I take that you do wish to be released?"
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"YES! Sweet freedom!"
Reply
Their carrying on will probably attract the attention of some of the weirder residents of the Nexus, but so what? He's free, she's not under orders to kill him, and she can still visit him from time to time. Not too often, of course. Just an occasional reward if he's on his best behavior. Heh.
Reply
"So now what about that thing? I suppose it has to be kept safe somewhere, as whenever I walk into Neopia, I'm going to be sucked back inside it?" This is said in a very bitter and cold tone of voice; he obviously doesn't think highly of this or look forward to it. "We could always test how that works, but...I'd rather not right this second, if you don't mind."
Reply
Hovering closer to him, she dangles the Token in front of his face, playfully. Although it should be noted that, in spite of her laughter and playfulness and relief, her face is flat once again. Yes, this truly is the real world.
"Maybe I'll keep it this time! That way you have to come to me in order to get what you want."
...That's...probably taking this a bit too far. She seems to realize what she's just implied, because she hastily presses the thing into his palm, and then curls his fingers closed with her gloved hand.
"I was kidding. You keep it. Keep it safe. If you ever need anything, I'm just a thought away. No matter how many worlds separate us."
Reply
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