There they were. Hundreds! Thousands! Dozens of tiny fists pounding him.
He couldn't bear it...
Rofal2000 the silver Shoyru woke up screaming and sweating. Shuddering, he
listened to the footsteps of his owner Joey200010 walking down the hall.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked, looking worried as she closed the door
behind her, "Did you see Dr. Sloth out of your window again?"
Rofal hugged his pillow. "No, I just had a nightmare... don't worry," he mumbled.
Joey sighed, tucked him in, and walked out of the room. Rofal heard her telling
Grundioy the desert Aisha, his little sister, to go back to bed. Rofal's redtail,
Rover, looked up at him, rolling his eyes silently. "Put a negg in it!" Rofal
exclaimed, throwing his pillow at his pet. It was going to be another sleepless
night...
He had been having the same dream ever since he'd gone into his big sister's
room a few weeks ago. There they were... millions of frozen faces. Unblinking
eyes. They covered her bed, her wall. They were all over the floor. They covered
her desk, and there were Usukicon Posters stuck to the door and ever space left.
It's amazing she can sleep in there, he thought to himself afterwards. He hadn't
gone back there since. That's when he knew they were evil.
He thought they were so horrible. All attacking him. Those unblinking eyes.
The same fixed expression on his face. They never moved.... except for in his
dreams. How could anybody love them? How could anybody collect them like Annalisaca?
They were terrible beyond words. They were... Usuki.
It was bad enough being afraid of a toy. If anybody ever found out, he would
be a laughing stock. He broke into a sweat every time he passed Flowal's room,
averting his eyes from the terror within.
***
The next morning at breakfast, Anna had brought down some of her collection.
He almost screamed looking at the Mermaid Usuki sitting against a glass of milk.
He grabbed a bowl of NeoCrunch Cereal and ran up to his room to eat it, throwing
back frightened glances at the table.
"What's his problem?" Annalisaca, the youngest sister and the faerie Cybunny
of the family, asked Flowal.
"I think he's afraid of Bearogs," Flowal replied, feeding her own Bearog Rabbit
a piece of bacon. She was a gold Usul and had won many Beauty Contests.
Rofal ate his meal quickly. He was still hungry, so his ate some Eye Candy
stashed in his mattress. He heard a thump on his window and walked over to it.
He opened it, and outside was 6612, his best friend, throwing rocks at his window.
"Ouch!" Rofal exclaimed as one hit him on the head, "Hey 66. Wassup?"
6612 grinned. "Want to have another go at making counterfeit Dubloons?"
Rofal thought for a second. "Sure, be right there." He was heading out
the door when Joey stopped him.
"Just where do you think you're going?" she questioned, eyeing him.
"I'm going to meet 6612. To uh... go to the Money Tree and donate to the poor."
Rofal squirmed. He wasn't a good liar.
"You are not going anywhere with that Meerca. He is a bad influence. Baby-sit
your little sister while I take Grundioy and Flowal2000 to sign up for the beauty
contest"
Rofal sighed. He couldn't get out of this easily.
"And Rofal, if I hear one complaint from Annalisaca, you'll have to stay in
the Cockroach Towers while the rest of us are in Faerieland staying with Rex30,"
Joey finished, frowning. Rofal shuddered. Cockroach Towers... he'd been there
once when there was a mess up with papers. It was the most terrible place he
had ever been to. And he knew Joey was staying with Rex for at least a month.
"I'll be good," he choked, three words which had never escaped his lips before.
Joey looked pleased, and led Grundioy and Flowal outside by the hand.
"Why can't I go?!?" Anna whined, looking as pitiful as she could. She was very
spoilt, adopted from the pound by Joey before she was even a day old. She was
a yellow Jubjub back then, and she got a PetPet and a room straight away, changed
to a Cybunny, and was painted faerie soon after.
"You're too young, poor thing," Joey said, closing the door. It was just Annalisaca
and Rofal.
"Uh, Anna, why don't you go and play in your room while I uh, buy some candy
for you?" Rofal said, edging towards the phone. Anna bounced to her room while
Rofal frantically called 6612.
He talked to 6612 for a while, when suddenly there was a terrible wail from
Annalisaca's room, followed by sobs and screams. Rofal hung up the phone and
ran to Annalisaca's room.
"What's wrong?!?" he demanded. Anna looked up tearfully from the floor, surrounded
by Usuki She pointed to a corner where Rabbit the Bearog was chewing happily
on a Fun in the Sun Usuki Rofal kicked him out and examined the Usuki It didn't
look as dangerous all chewed up, and he smiled to himself.
Another scream from Annalisaca brought him to his senses. "It's OK, he's gone!"
he comforted her, but she screamed louder. Panic swept over him.
"Mummy will get you a new one!" he said, thinking about the Cockroach Towers.
"I-i-i want one n-n-now! It's my favourite," she sobbed.
"I'll get you one, don't worry" Rofal sighed, trying to ignore the sense of
disgust in the pit of his stomach, "where's the catalogue?"
"You have to go to Usukiland," Annalisaca said quietly.
***
Rofal shuddered every step to the shops. He thought he would go crazy. Finally,
after what seemed like an eternity, he was outside Usukiland, the famous shop.
"Go in and get it, quick!" he told Annalisaca, shoving her forward.
"Go in with me...." she said, her bottom lip quivering, and he thought she
was about to cry. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Sound hit him like a wave. All around him NeoPets and owners were shouting
and fighting over little dolls and miniature clothing. A toy car zoomed by his
head. Rofal2000 felt like screaming, all around him he felt Usuki eyes... staring
at him. Annalisaca ran over to a table and grabbed something, then paid for
it. He made a grab at her but she headed towards another crowd.
Rofal couldn't take it anymore. He saw a door in a far corner, and headed for
it. He slammed it shut behind him and sighed happily, the noise was gone, and
so were the Usuki
He slowly opened his eyes, feeling a gentle breeze, and he gasped. He was in
a pink forest. Fairy floss clouds swept over the sky, hot pink leaves and grass,
and faded pink leaves littered the ground in front of him. It looked like something
out of one of Annalisaca's Usuki Storybooks.
He turned for the door but it had disappeared. So he walked, leaves crunching
beneath his feet. He felt suddenly peaceful.
He stepped through a cluster of trees, and in front of him was a giant pink
castle. It looked... it looked like an Usuki Dream Castle.
Something drew him forward. The giant drawbridge fell down, and he stepped
into a courtyard. And there, he saw a figure. It looked like an Usuki version
of the faerie queen, kind and gentle, but stern. It was so lifelike, and life-size,
and surrounded by a faint glow. It was moving too, towards him.
"Hello, little one," she spoke, her voice sounded like the soft tinkle of bells.
He stood still.
"Little one, you do not speak. Do you fear me" she didn't say it like a question,
more like a statement.
"No... Miss. I--" he started to feel silly.
"Do not worry. I will bless you so you do no longer fear my kind" and she blew
something over him, something warm and glittery that made him feel sleepy.
***
He woke up with the sun shining outside his window. His redtail was curled
up at his feet. He felt something clutched in his hand.....
He crept into Anna's room. Strange, the Usuki looking up at him seemed friendly,
cute even. Annalisaca blinked and rubbed her eyes, just after he'd placed the
tiny replica Usuki on her pillow. It was a Faerie Queen Usuki
He went back into his room for a few more minutes of sleep.
"Rofal! Rofal!" Joey whispered loudly.
"Mmmmmph," he protested and rolled over.
"Rofal, sorry for waking you up, but I just had to show someone! I've started
a new collection, come and see!" and she eagerly dragged him out of bed.
He blinked stupidly in her room. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw a shelf full
of keychains. But they had pictures on them... of NeoPets
They were staring. Frozen in movement, just glaring and staring with those
twisted smiles. They had to be evil....
Uh oh.
The End | 
