To the Infamous, We Salute You: Part Three

     “Tals?” Wess and Tally muttered, confused, at the same time, looked at Vyxtra.

     “Ohh... whatever. Come on, let’s go!”

     “How?” asked Tally. “We can’t... fly. Remember?”

     “Oh, right,” Vyxtra realized, biting her lip. “Well, hmm... oh, I know!” She zoomed off and came back two minutes later with a two very puzzled looking Shoyrus. “I told them I have a... special quest for them. Well, and promised them a three point endurance increase. And maybe strength too... agility? Oh, agility would be useful; it would get us there faster...”

     “Whoa, whoa. whoa,” Wess cut in. “That’s awfully generous for getting them to do what they do anyway. Just because they do you a favor? I’d try and sprout wings myself for that kind of boost.”

     “It’s more of a favor than just getting an item... so I figured a special reward would be called for. But I see what you mean. I’ll boost their endurance a little bit is all... since that’s what dark faeries do anyway. Alright.” Vyxtra turned to the Shoyrus. “Can you fly those two to Faerie Castle, please?”

     The Shoyrus, too stunned to speak, just nodded. They walked over, picked up Tally and Wess (who objected to being picked up and flown away with, but eventually gave in) and flew towards the castle.

     “Where are we going, anyway?” asked Tally.

     Vyxtra grinned. “To my little hideaway. To my favorite place in the entire world. Oh, look! We’re here!”

     The Shoyrus landed on the cloud, dropped the two Neopets, and flew away. Vyxtra called out a thank you and blessed them before turning to Tally and Wess. “Alright. See? See? Can you see it? It’s wonderful!” Vyxtra was waving frantically and pointing to something behind her. Well, sort of. Something was more like nothing. There was nothing there. They were on an empty cloud.

     “Umm...” Wess muttered.

     Tally cocked her head to one side. “I don’t get it. Is this some kind of joke?”

     “Oh, right. You can’t see it, can you?”

     “Nope,” said Tally and Wess at the same time.

     Vyxtra giggled. “Only I can see it. But come on, I’ll show you the entrance!” She lead them about five steps to the right of where they had landed, and walked forward. Into... a laboratory.

     “Wait... did we just walk into the Virtupets Space Station or something? This looks like no faerie haven I’ve ever seen,” Tally wondered out loud.

     “Well,” Vyxtra replied, “it’s a magical laboratory – if you will. I conduct experiments, trying to mix and match different items together to get more powerful items – items that are more useful, you know?”

     Wess walked over to one of the tables and picked up an apple. “An apple, huh? I’m sure this is very powerful.” He tossed it up in the air once then bit into it. “It tastes crummy; you’ve got grubs living in here or something?”

     “Hey! Give me that!” Vyxtra grabbed the apple and set it back down in the table. She flew away, on the hunt for her book. Wess watched in utter amazement as the apple, which he had just taken a very large bite of, regenerated.

     “Wow,” said Wess. “Even for nasty tasting food, that’s pretty cool.”

      “Now, where was that book I wanted. Oh, there it is!” Vyxtra flew over to a dusty table and picked up a very old, tattered book. She flipped a few pages in and grinned. “Now here it is. All I need are your drawings and a mirror. I’ll use my favorite one.” Vyxtra grabbed a silver hand mirror lying next to the book. “Where are your drawings?”

     “I left mine by the tree.” Tally shrugged. She turned to Wess. “Do you have yours?”

     “Nope, they’re by the tree as well.”

     Vyxtra thought for a minute. “That’s alright, I’ll just teleport them here.” She waved her hand in a circular motion a few times and the drawings appeared. “Now, Tally, take this, I want you to go first.” She handed Tally her experimental drawing.”

     “No.” Tally handed the paper back. “I want to be a Faerie, not a creature.”

     “It’s just for fun. You can be turned back, don’t worry.”

     Tally looked uneasy. “Well... okay.”

     Vyxtra gave Tally the mirror. Tally closed her eyes, holding tightly onto the mirror. Vyxtra waved her hands a few times, murmuring to herself while staring at the book. She flicked her index finger and a bright green flash filled the room.

     Tally felt very, very sick all of a sudden. She felt her fur twist and felt like her body was on fire. She fell to the ground and cried out in pain. The spell must have gone wrong; what was going on? Maybe this Dark Faerie was dark of heart. Maybe she cursed her. Tally moaned quietly as she put a paw to her head, growing terrified. She felt spiraling horns emerging from her head and felt her eyes grow wide. She had dropped the mirror and ran over to pick it up. She held it out in front of her and looked. “Oh... my...”

     Looking back was, sure enough, exactly what she had drawn herself to look like. She had forest green fur with crooked horns emerging from her head. She looked at her tail – she had a tail! With a pointed tip! No other Neopet with a tail had one like hers. She stared into her own piercing eyes, bright red with green irises, and swallowed quietly, a small grin growing across her face. For it was of no matter what she looked like. It was what she now possessed.

     Tally reached back and softly ran a green paw along her new wings. Not faerie wings – too dainty for this new appearance – just as she had drawn. Deep green Shoyru wings grew from her back and fluttered gently against the breeze. She ran a long, red fingernail along a wing and it shuddered in response. Tally flapped her wings gently and she began to hover above the ground. Her eye widened as she looked at Vyxtra and whispered, “I can fly.”

     Tally flew out of the laboratory and into the sky, spinning around in circles as the wind rushed by her head, higher and higher, ignoring the strange looks faeries gave her. She made loops and turned flips and swished and dived throughout the air, feeling completely free. She flew as fast as her wings could carry her, pushing her farther and farther away from Faerieland until she found a cloud to rest upon – flying was tiring!

     It was a very odd cloud. Most she’d know were white and puffy, moving wherever the breeze pushed them. This was green and sat still in the sky, making it a smooth landing for Tally to land on. She noticed a Dark Faerie on the cloud, humming to herself. Tally walked over to her. “Hello, I’m Tally.”

     The Dark Faerie stared blankly at Tally. She cleared her throat and spoke again. “I was wondering, why isn’t your cloud moving? And it’s green! Not that it isn’t a nice color, it’s just rather different than any cloud I’ve ever seen.” The Dark Faerie blinked at her, and opened her mouth slightly. Tally stared back at her.

     “Aren’t you afraid of me?” asked the Dark Faerie.

     “No,” Tally responded, “should I be?”

     “I’m... I’m a dark faerie.”

     “Yes, and I’m a very strange looking Acara. What of it?”

     “Most people... are afraid of us,” the Faerie said carefully.

     “Yes, but I have Dark Faerie friends! They’re no different than any other faerie.”

     “Well, looking like you do, I suppose they played a prank on you. You aren’t even a mutant. I have no clue what to call you.”

     Tally waved her paw nonchalantly. “It’s only temporary. We were practicing magic. So anyway, why is your cloud green?”

     “It’s a warning, to stay away. I keep to myself. Most Neopets don’t think like you. They don’t like dark faeries.”

     “Don’t be silly. Dark faeries are like any other faerie. And dark faeries can be just as great as any other faerie. You just watch. One dark faerie is going to make it big. And it can be an inspiration for others. Don’t worry, it’ll happy. You have my word.”

     “You’re very confident for a simple Acara.”

     “I am not a simple Acara,” Tally giggled, spinning in a full circle to give the smirking faerie a look at her brand new pointy tail. “Look at me!” She suddenly remembered what got her that way, and realized that she must have been gone longer that she planned. “I have to go. But good luck, okay?” The Dark Faerie nodded as Tally took off into the sky.

     The Dark Faerie ran her long lavender fingers through her flowing violet and green-streaked hair. “She was wrong,” Jhudora murmured softly. “I’ll never be anything famous. But that girl? She’s going to make something of herself. She’s going to be spectacular.”

To be continued...