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It was late evening, and my pets had eaten their dinners
and gone to bed. I was restless, however. There was some nagging feeling that
kept me from falling asleep.
I was mostly worried about Nexxus. Ever since
we had gotten home from the bakery to get a few fresh baguettes for dinner,
Nexxus had been constantly sneezing. His eyes were swollen and they watered
frequently; Nexxus was absolutely miserable.
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw a shaggy
blue Lupe enter the room. "Lightspeed," I said, speaking to the blue Lupe disapprovingly.
"Why are you out of bed? It's the middle of the night."
"That's exactly what I came to say to you," Lightspeed
replied, his old, wise eyes looking at me with concern. "It's past midnight.
What worries you so?"
"It's Nexxus," I told him. "He's... sneezing.
But not like a cold. It looks really serious. Did you notice?"
Lightspeed came over to me and sat on my lap.
I stroked his fur, thinking. Not so long ago, Lightspeed had been a prisoner
to an evil creature named Death. We had just barely managed to escape with our
lives.
Lightspeed must have so many nightmares,
I thought to myself. And yet he is still so wise and independent.
"We'll go see Kauvara in the morning," I said,
making my mind up.
***
In the morning, Nexxus was even worse. He kept sneezing so hard that the patterned
tablecloth on the breakfast table kept blowing off.
After breakfast I saddled up Shiva and put Nexxus
on her back, since now his eyes were so swollen that he could hardly see.
Kauvara's shop was a nice place, filled with
potions of all shapes and sizes. It was dark inside, and there were only a few
people with their NeoPets.
I strode over to the front counter, and noticing
that Kauvara wasn't there, called, "Umm... Kauvara?"
Kauvara emerged from the beaded silk curtains
that hung behind the counter. She was holding a bubbling yellow potion, which
she quickly passed to a mutant Kougra. "Drink this," I heard her advise the
mutant. "And try to stay away from ghosts."
The mutant drank the potion and morphed into
a sleek yellow Kougra, then left the shop.
"Can I help you?" Kauvara spoke to me in a soft
voice.
"Yes," I told her. "You see, my Gelert has been
going into horrible sneezing fits!!! Is there anything you can do to cure him?"
Kauvara shook her head sadly. "I have never studied
the magic of healing," she said. "But do try the hospital. They have a big book
of every NeoPet illness ever recorded. Good luck to you."
At the exact moment I entered the hospital, the
Gelert doctor came rushing over to meet me. "Ah, there's a patient!!" he placed
a hand under Nexxus's chin and lifted it up. "Looks like he's got D'achoo, 'cuz
you can see the - YELLOW LUMPS?!"
The Gelert doctor adjusted his spectacles on
his nose. "There seems to be... fuzz. Purple fuzz. The throat is swollen and
there are yellow lumps all over it. This disease is a combination of so many
others - and it's brand new. But your Gelert is not the only one who is suffering
from this same illness."
He led me into a room. Several white hospital
beds were stationed in the middle, their occupants sneezing, coughing, and looking
miserable. "This new problem has no cure yet," the Gelert doctor explained sadly.
I looked in dismay at the hospital patients.
I felt so helpless. There had to be some way I could help them...
"That's it!!" I cried, my face lighting up as
I dashed out of the hospital. Then I leapt up onto Shiva's back and said, "To
the Healing Springs!!"
At the Healing Springs, I noticed that several
pets had the same disease as Nexxus. But each time the diseased pets came and
asked for the Water Faerie's help, she shook her head sadly.
I made my way to the Faerie. When I reached her,
she said, "I cannot cure your Gelert's disease. Don't ask why; I have no idea.
Sorry."
"But that's not why I came," I persisted. "I
came because... I want to learn healing magic."
"Hmmmmm," said the Faerie, thinking. "And why
is it that you ask me?"
"Because," I replied simply, "I want to be a
Neopian vet."
The Water Faerie looked at me for a moment, possibly
sizing me up to see if I was capable of learning a type of magic as advanced
as healing.
"Alright," she said with a sigh. "Have you had
any previous experiences with magic?"
"I can shapeshift," I said, and just to demonstrate,
I lifted my dagger and shifted into my half-Gelert, half-Peophin form.
"Impressive," said the Faerie, nodding her head
in approval, and, upon noticing that there was nobody left in line, added, "We'll
start now."
Three days later, after hour upon hour of hard
work and studying, I had learned everything there is to know about healing magic.
It would have taken much longer, as the Water Faerie stated, but I seemed to
have strong healing magic already inside me, which was good, because if I hadn't
had a trace of magic blood in me, I wouldn't have been able to heal.
I thanked the Water Faerie for all she had taught
me and on my way out, she said, "Oh, and one more thing, Ixi. You've been such
a good student, and I've decided to give you this."
She fingered the small bottle that hung by a
delicate chain around my neck (something I found in the Lost Desert a while
ago), and then mumbled a few words. The bottle glowed with a beautiful blue
light that was as pure and untouched as the sky itself. Then I felt something
that I had felt only once before, when I had shapeshifted into my other form
for the very first time. It was that unexplainable feeling of magic, flowing
in my veins, part of my blood. And my mind - it swirled with new knowledge,
new spells, some of Earth elements, some of Fire, some of Water, some of Air,
and some that I could not name. All the magic flowed into me and I felt myself
becoming wiser still. "All the magic spells in Neopia," said the Water Faerie.
"Use them wisely. And remember - never neglect an injured pet, no matter what
the circumstances are. Good bye, Ixi."
"Thank you," I whispered, and without any effort
I sprouted wings and flew over to my pets, who had been staying with me the
past few days on the condition that they be very quiet and polite. "Let's go
home," I said.
Nexxus was still sneezing. I laid out my hands
and a box of tissues appeared, which Nexxus accepted gratefully.
***
"All the magic in Neopia???" DarkNight shook his head in disbelief,
his long silver mane billowing around himself as he turned to his companion,
Teardrop.
DarkNight, a strong ghost Uni, sat in a forest
clearing hidden from mortal eyes with a spell. He had been murdered many years
ago, when his owner, a foolish one, decided that the fine to dump a pet in the
pound was too high, so instead of dumping him, DarkNight's owner had killed
him. Now he sought revenge - not just on his owner, but on the whole of Neopia.
It was in his eyes, which were red as flames.
And Teardrop, a brown Uni, was simply dumped
out on a sidestreet, his legs bound to his chest so that he could not follow
his owner home. DarkNight had found Teardrop and introduced him to the other
abused Unis of Neopia. Teardrop had been fighting for revenge ever since.
"Fetch the others," ordered DarkNight, and Teardrop
slipped away, returning moments later with Scamp (a starry Uni with scars all
over his right front leg), Holly (a Christmas Uni whose horn was broken), Flame
(a fire Uni who'd been thrown into a burning fireplace long ago), Crystalle
(an invisible Uni), and StormyNightmare (a shadow Uni with no left wing).
"I want superixionffx dead," said DarkNight,
"and her pets must be taken care of, too. Transfer her magic to one of you,
finish her off, and then bring her magic to me. Now tell me, which jobs will
you do? Scamp?"
"I'll take her magic."
"Holly?"
"When I'm through, there won't be a single trace
of superixionffx."
"Flame?"
"Nexxus367 and Lightspeed45neo have no chance."
"Crystalle?"
"I think I'll steal a few jewels before destroying
the house."
DarkNight shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said.
"And Storm?"
"I'll take care of the Peophin and the Kougra."
"Good." DarkNight looked at Teardrop. "And we'll
lure them out of their house, so that they can't call for help."
***
Back in my NeoHome, I was frantically casting spells at my wings, trying to
get them to disappear. "Enchante Dissappearus!!" I shouted. "Dissappearus Enchante!!"
When nothing seemed to work, I got on the telephone
and called the Faerie Queen. "Who's there?" The Faerie Queen said as she picked
up the phone.
"I'm superixionffx," I said. "I'm calling because
I sprouted wings, and now I can't get them off."
There was a poof of smoke in front of me, and
the Faerie queen appeared. She gasped in surprise when she saw my wings. "But
how can this be?" she muttered to herself in disbelief. "There hasn't been one
in over a hundred years!!"
"Excuse me," I said, "but what hasn't existed
in over a hundred years?"
"You... you are... you are a Faerie," said the
Queen. "But not just any Faerie. You're an AEF."
"And AEF?" I asked, confused. "What's that?"
"It means All Elemental Faerie.
You have magic in every element, not just one. I think you'd best come with
me. Your Neopets can come too, if they wish."
Nexxus, Laserbud and Lightspeed hopped on Shiva's
back, and we flew out the window behind the Faerie queen.
The Queen led us to a cloud, then said, "Each
Faerie starts out as a normal Neopian. But when they become very interested
in magic and show that they have extreme skill, they sprout wings. After that,
they must complete a brave and noble task that will demand the use of all their
magic skills, and more."
"What do you mean, 'And more'?" I asked, not
fully understanding the concept.
"Your friends," said the Queen. "Your friends
may help you, and you must learn to be patient, and understanding. These qualities
can be just as - or even more - powerful than magic."
"And what happens if I don't want to be a Faerie?
Can't I just stay home?" I asked.
"I'm afraid not, my dear," the Faerie Queen said
gently. "I'll meet you tomorrow in this very place. Bring your friends, and
their pets."
"Alright, then," I said, getting ready to leave.
"See you tomorrow."
To be continued...
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