Tales of Jeppy the JetPunk Fish-Chapter One

Jeppy the JetPunk Fish strolled through the forest. It was a crisp autumn afternoon, and he loved to be outside. His house was just up the hill, and he would return once it began to grow dark.

Jeppy roamed the countryside frequently to clear his thoughts. When he was not doing photoshoots for the Jeppy in Disguise Magazine, he was almost always on an adventure. And a new one was about to start.

Just as he began heading back, he heard the sound of a helicopter. It tore through the air above him. He ducked and hid. It could only be one person.

A searchlight fell upon Jeppy and he had nowhere to go.

“I surrender!” he shouted.

The helicopter landed and two hulking fish walked out, grabbed him, and stuffed him in a sack. He awoke moments later in what appeared to be an underground bunker.

“Full name?” one of the fish asked, standing over him.

“Jeppy the JetPunk Fish, formerly known as Ike,” Jeppy said.

“Fair enough,” the fish said. “You are who we are looking for.”

He grabbed Jeppy, blindfolded him, and took him somewhere else in the bunker. The blindfold was yanked off, and Jeppy saw a room filled with screens showing live feeds of different places. One was his house.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“That is not your concern,” came the answer. “Now tell me, is that your house on the screen?”

“Yes,” Jeppy squeaked out.

“Very good,” the fish said. “Anthony, send in the ninjas.”

The screen showing Jeppy’s house went dark. Jeppy sat in silence, wondering what the ninjas would do. A few moments later, the door opened. One of the ninjas was holding a young fish-someone very familiar.

“Peppy!” Jeppy shouted. His sister whimpered.

“You leave her alone,” he said to the ninja.

“I will, so long as you give me what we are looking for.”

“And what is that?” Jeppy asked.

“The key to the Vault.”

Jeppy began to panic. He was under strict instructions to guard the Vault with his life, but he could never harm his sister. What could he do? Then he noticed something. A fish, all in black, was sneaking behind the ninjas. She took them down in seconds with a few martial arts moves.

“Get out of here,” she said to Jeppy. “Take your sister and run. Your house is safe for now. I will handle the ninjas.”

“Who-” Jeppy asked.

“I said run!” she shouted.

Jeppy grabbed Peppy and ran out of the room, through a hallway, and out into the forest. It had not taken long for the ninjas to abduct him and his sister, so the bunker had to be nearby. He ran until he found a trail, then dashed up towards the road. He knew the way to his house. But then he heard the sounds of pounding feet behind him. Peppy cried out, but he silenced her. Jeppy ran up the road into his yard, then to his house. He flung open the door, only to find his parents angrily standing in the entryway.

“What were you doing?” his father asked. “Why did you take Peppy out into the woods?”

“I-I can explain-” he stuttered.

“Then do it,” his mother said. “I am all ears. Start talking.”

Jeppy could not tell them. They were protected by their ignorance. Their lack of involvement would save them from this whole conspiracy.

“We went out to the pond to see the baby fish,” he said. “Peppy still vaguely remembers her time there before we brought her home, and she loved returning.”

“Go upstairs,” his father said.

Jeppy hurried upstairs while his mother comforted Peppy. He went to his room, but paused when he heard them talking.

“Did you believe anything?” his mother asked.

“Not a word,” came the reply.

Jeppy flopped on his bed and cried. His sister had been put in danger. His family was beginning to suspect that something was amiss. It would only be a matter of time before this all unraveled and came crashing down.

But who was the girl who took down elite ninjas with superior martial arts moves? Was she truly on his side? Did she know him in real life? So many questions.

But for now, he should sleep. It was getting late. The next morning, he had the Beginning of Year Standard Tests. He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the delicious, steaming strawberry waffles he would eat the next morning.

He awoke a few hours before school, as the sun began to rise. Jeppy made his way downstairs and cooked himself some waffles. As he ate, he thought about what he would do the next time the ninjas came for him.

A few hours later, Jeppy walked down the road to the bus stop. He boarded, instantly bombarded with the sounds of dozens of fish arguing about crushes, makeup, sports, and reality television stars. Teenagers. He rolled his eyes.

The school bell rang and Jeppy walked into his classroom. The teacher, an elderly fish named Mr. Van Jepp, greeted him with a smile.

“Alright class,” he said as the last students filed in. “Today we have our standardized beginning-of-year tests, starting with the Countries of the World Quiz.”

“I can do it in 5 minutes,” a fish said.

“5 minutes? So lame,” someone else scoffed. “I can do it in 3.”

“Enough chitchat,” Van Jepp said. “I will be passing out your tests, you have 15 minutes.”

Jeppy was good at the quiz. He practiced it every day, and had gotten down to a very good time.

The rest of the day was filled with more testing, from “World Map Without 20 Random Countries” to “Elements of the Periodic Table” to “Countries of Europe Quiz”, which had to be stopped due to a fistfight between two fish in disagreement on whether Cyprus should be added as an answer.

Then, after school, Jeppy walked to his locker. A group of girls in his grade looked at him strangely. He saw they were holding copies of the “Jeppy in Disguise” magazine. He smiled at them and they giggled amongst each other. This was what happened when you were a supermodel.

Then came someone Jeppy was dreading-Preppy. The mean girl at the school, Preppy loved to pretend that she was perfect.

“Jeppy, you are not invited to my birthday party,” she said.

“Okay?” he asked.

“You are not invited, dork,” she told him.

“I never expected to be,” Jeppy responded. “You don’t have to tell me these things.”

Preppy scoffed. “Dork.”

Back at home, Jeppy sat at his desk, making notes. He needed to get to the bottom of this conspiracy. The ninjas had gone too far.

Suddenly, there came a knock at his window. It was the girl, all in black, who had rescued him back in the forest. He went to the window and let her in.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am a friend. And I need to warn you, the ninjas are coming for you.”

“What should I do?” he asked.

“Nothing for now. They will not strike until next week. But be ready. They plan to attack you on your weekly dinner with your parents’ friends. I will see you soon.”

Footsteps came up the stairs. “Hide,” Jeppy whispered. He looked around, but the mysterious fish was already hiding under his bed.

His mother came into the room. “Jeppy, were you talking to someone in here?” she asked.

“No, mother,” he said.

She looked skeptical, but reluctantly closed the door.

The girl came out from under his bed. “See you soon, dork.” And just like that, she was gone.

“Dork,” Jeppy murmured. “Is she-Preppy?!”

The next day at school, Jeppy tried to find Preppy. She was with her gang of mean girls.

“Preppy, I need to talk to you,” he said.

“Ew, dork,” she scoffed. “I’m already dating a guy who is a million times cooler than you.” The rest of them laughed.

“Not that,” Jeppy said.

“Leave me alone, perv.” Preppy stomped off.

Jeppy wondered if Preppy really was the girl who had rescued him. The only evidence he had was that both liked to say “dork” a lot. This would require more investigation.

In class, Jeppy doodled in his notebook. School was very boring, and doodling was the only thing that would make it less miserable.

“Jeppy!” his teacher shouted.

“Yes?” he asked as the class guffawed.

“I asked you four times, what is the difference between a plateau and a mesa?”

“The difference-”

“You had your chance,” she snapped. “Someone else answer the question.”

The rest of the day was uneventful, and nothing notable happened until Jeppy found himself in his basement, searching through family records.

His parents kept dozens of boxes recording their family history, traced back hundreds of years. And there was one thing in particular that he was looking for.

After a few minutes of searching, he found it. The photograph was torn up and in poor condition, but one could easily see what was happening in it.

Jeppy’s great-great-great grandfather was standing with another fish in the middle of the desert. Together, they held the flag of the Belgian Order. It was confirmed. No longer was it just a speculation. Jeppy was descended from a founding member of the most evil organization on the planet.

The Belgian Order was who Jeppy suspected had sent the ninjas to abduct him and his sister. But why did they want him? They must have known about his ancestry. That was probably the key to unlocking the secrets of this conspiracy.

This concludes the first chapter of Tales of Jeppy the JetPunk Fish! If you enjoyed this, please give it a like and share it with others.