Chronicles of the Chosen: The Last Battle - Part Two

     I tried to ask myself, “What time is it?” but it sounded more like, “Wha-hawl-isin?”

     The flame in my hand slowly began to die down. I couldn’t even tell how small the flame had become, since my eyes were so crossed. My eyelids grew droopy as the flame grew dimmer and dimmer. Finally, as the fire was snuffed out, I drifted off to sleep.

     Suddenly, I was in the middle of Neopia Central, standing next to the Rainbow Pool. I glanced at the neopets splashing around in the waters, and giggled. The whole world seemed to be at peace with itself.

     “Finally,” I said to myself. “The first happy dream I’ve had in days!”

     I decided to celebrate this happy dream by joining the neopets in with their splashing. I felt like a little kid again, I laughed so much. Most of the older pets were giving me strange looks, but I didn’t care. I was happy.

     Suddenly, the water turned cold. I almost froze in place from the temperature change. The neopets waddled out of the pool, shivering.

     “Oh, COME ON!” I whined, climbing out.

     The first happy dream I’ve had in ages, and it’s ruined. Yep, I’m so lucky... not.

     The sky began to darken above me. Everyone began to panic, many running in circles. A few screaming, “I WANT MY MOMMY!!!”

     If it weren’t for the fact that the world was being thrown into chaos, I would’ve laughed at that remark.

     Then, when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, a HUGE cluster of black hovered over the land. Beams of darkness shot out from the cloud, zapping the buildings that surrounded me. One hit the Rainbow Pool, and it exploded, spewing multi-coloured water all over the place.

     The cluster began to descend, and I gasped. The cloud wasn’t even a cloud at all.

     It was a swarm of Dark Faeries, led by Jhudora.

     “Dark Faerie minions, ATTACK!” Jhudora commanded.

     The other Dark Faeries lifted their battle equipment, shouted, “HUZZAH!” and ran into the streets of Neopia Central.

     I couldn’t hold them off forever. I needed help.

     “Monica! Kendall! Maurice! Johnny! Where are you?”

     Suddenly, I heard an ear-splitting scream. I looked up, and saw a yellow Kacheek tied up under the Money Tree, struggling.

     “MONICA!” I cried.

     Maurice, Johnny, and Kendall were also under the tree, tied together with yellow rope. They looked at me, fear in their eyes.

     “No!” I exclaimed.

     Looks like I was flying solo this time around.

     I turned to face the swarm of Dark Faeries. I raised my arms up, summoned every ounce of power I had, and shoved my green Zafara paws forward.

     FWUSH!

     An enormous flame shot out from my palms, and rained down on Jhudora’s minions. A few fainted from the heat, but many seemed unaffected by the flames. Growling, I unleashed dozens of fireballs down upon them. Still they stood, proud and strong.

     I gasped. They were unstoppable!

     Just then, a cold, icy hand rested upon my shoulder. My eyes slowly looked over at it, and I screamed. Jhudora grabbed me by the limbs, and, with the help of her army, threw me up into the air, towards the NC Mall Building.

     The wind rushed against my face as I continued to fall. The brown building drew closer, closer...

     I closed my eyes tight, expecting the crash.

     I waited. Why haven’t I hit the wall yet? I opened my eyes again, and saw that instead of falling and hitting the building’s wall, I was passing through it, like I was a ghost.

     Finally, I landed on the grass below. For a few moments, I lay there, too pained to move. Then, slowly, I realized something important: I was still alive.

     I rubbed my head, and spit out the dirt that found its way into my mouth. Slowly rising to my feet, I realized that I wasn’t standing in green grass, like I would usually be.

     The grass was instead a dark shade of purple.

     I gasped as I looked around. Neopia Central looked more like Darigan Citadel, with the buildings dark and sinister-looking. Neopets walked around, wearing only rags, carrying picks and shovels behind their backs. Dark Faeries cracked long whips at the neopets, commanding for them to work harder.

     “...What happened to Neopia Central?” I asked myself, holding my head with my paws.

     Suddenly, a voice came out from nowhere and answered. No one seemed to hear it, but the voice echoed throughout my head as it spoke:

     “Jhudora’s army burned it to the ground!”

     The voice made the green fur on my back stand on end. I looked around, to find the person speaking, but she was nowhere to be found. The words shook through my head like an earthquake. Even my vision shook as the voice answered.

     “Who... who are you? Why are you telling me this?” I cried, holding my ears in pain.

     Suddenly, in a swirl of green mist, my old owner appeared. But she didn’t look the same as I remembered. Her long, flowing black hair was cut into a short bob. Her eyes, with used to glisten a deep ocean blue, now glowed a neon green.

     But what really made my hair stand on end was definitely new. On her back, fluttering slightly in the chill breeze, were a pair of wings, two shades of green that looked like giant tree leaves.

     I barely managed to whisper her name, “J... J-Jamie?”

     She didn’t hear it, though. She just stood there, an angered look on her face.

     “I tell you this because this will be your FUTURE!” she boomed.

     My eardrums buzzed, and I covered my ears once more, but her voice penetrated through to my head, where it was amplified by 100%.

     “Without the Chosen Neopets, THIS is what the whole world will be like. Everyone will be the Dark Faerie’s slaves, forced to do as they say! Constant wars will rage on without end!”

     Jamie paused. Her voice grew softer. In fact, it sounded just like the Jamie I remembered; sweet, tender, and loving.

     “Even Fyora will be a servant to Jhudora.”

     I looked around, fighting back tears. Even though this was just a dream, it was almost like Jamie was standing right in front of me.

     And then the aftershock of what she actually said settled in. How could Fyora’s side lose so badly? Where could we end up going wrong in the future?

     “How could we have let this happen?”

     Suddenly, I figured it out. Jamie nodded, as if she knew what I was thinking.

     “The other Chosen Neopets lost hope and gave up, which gave Jhudora an advantage. She attacked and invaded at our weakest point.”

     “And by the time we fought back...”

     I gulped.

     “It was too late.”

     My ex-owner gave a long, shuddery sigh.

     “It’s true. Jhudora ended up getting the upper hand.”

     I looked down at the ground, and a tear escaped my eye. So this is what the future held. One hundred years of tension and war preparation, all for nothing.

     “But, this can all be fixed.”

     I looked up from my sulking.

     “It can?” I asked.

     “Yes,” Jamie answered. “It can all be fixed with YOUR help.”

     “I know your friend Kathryn is gone, but you must find and ready the other four Chosen Neopets by the Summer Solstice. That is when Jhudora will strike. The faeries will be there, too, for back-up.”

     “The Summer Solstice,” I repeated. “But that’s only two days away!”

     “Then you must hurry,” she told me. “Time is running out.”

     Suddenly, the ground started moving forward (or I started moving backwards) back into the NC Mall building. Jamie grew farther and farther away as I passed through the structure. Even though she was far away, somehow I could hear her words clearly before I passed through the wall:

     “The future is in your hands.”

     ---

     Suddenly, my eyes spun open. Blue and white swirled in my vision, until I finally saw The Lair. I sat up and stretched and yawned, and then I stood up from the table.

     I must’ve fallen asleep in here, I thought, rubbing my eyes.

     Quickly, I recalled my dream about the future, where Jhudora was ruler of the world, and I cringed slightly. I hoped and pleaded that it was only a dream.

     It HAD to have been a dream. I mean, my old owner, with Earth Faerie wings? That definitely was NOT reality.

     “A dream,” I told myself. “It had to be a dream.”

     I grinned, a wave of relief washing over me.

     “Yep, it was all just a dream.”

     Smoothing out my wrinkled shirt, I began to walk out of the headquarters. But suddenly,

     “NO!”

     The word rang in my ears as I covered them hurriedly. The voice was so powerful; it even blew me backwards, right into the table, knocking it over like a domino. In fact, the voice sounded just like the one in my dream. Just like the voice Jamie used when she first appeared in my nightmare.

     “IT IS NOT JUST A DREAM!” Her voice boomed.

     The entire Lair rattled and shook as she spoke. I clung to the table for dear life, gripping it so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I did not see my owner, but her voice echoed through my head easily.

     “You must tell your friends about what will happen,” Jamie warned me. “Or else the world will be in jeopardy!”

     I barely managed to make my head give a slight nod. Then – with my knees buckling and my heart pounding – I slowly rose to my feet. My feet almost gave way underneath me when I walked out of the Lair.

     Finally, I got a hold of myself. I made myself calm down before sprinting to my and Monica’s dormitory.

     ---

     “MONICA!!!” I cried as I pounded on her door.

     BANG! BANG!

     No answer followed.

     I let out a groan and kicked the door as hard as I could.

     BANG!

     Still no answer followed.

     Suddenly, an idea hatched into my brain. I looked around the hallways, made sure they were clear of any neopets, took in a deep breath, and shoved my paws forward.

     Flames poured out, and singed the door. Fire cackled as the door fell into a crumbled heap. I put out the flames before looking into the dorm.

     Monica wasn’t anywhere to be found.

     I sprinted down the halls faster than a bolt of lightning. I continued to run until I reached Maurice, Kendall, and Johnny’s dorm. I skidded to a stop in front of it.

     Their door was painted a deep blue, dotted with yellow around the edges and splotched with white down the middle. Across it diagonally were pictures of the three friends, laughing and goofing off. I grinned. Life is always interesting with these guys.

     Remembering my mission, I pounded on the door with my fists,

     And kicked the door with my feet,

     And did just about everything else I could think of.

     I continued to ram into the door until Maurice opened it suddenly. I (in mid fist-pound) was caught off guard and fell face-first into the carpet.

     “Sandra?” Maurice said in shock. “What are you doing here?”

     I peeled myself off of the carpet and stood to my feet. I felt relieved to see Monica in Maurice’s dorm, along with Johnny and Kendall.

     “Oh good, you’re all here.” I said, grinning.

     My grin disappeared as I told them the news boldly and calmly.

     “YOU’VE GOT TO HELP! Jhudora’s going to take over the world if we don’t work together and reunite everyone and... THE FUTURE’S AT STAKE, PEOPLE!”

     Yep, even I was surprised by my calmness.

     When I told them the news, I expected that all of them would agree to work together to stop Jhudora, high-five, and maybe even do a cool motivational cheer.

     I woke up from Fantasyland seconds later.

     “Sandra, for the last time, the world doesn’t need us anymore,” Maurice said.

     “But without us, the world will be in chaos!”

     “Oh yeah?” Maurice questioned, glaring at me with his dark blue eyes. “And how do you know for sure?”

     “I had this dream, and...”

     “A dream,” he repeated, his face scrunched into a scowl. “You are so naïve! Even if you dreamt that the sky would turn neon green, you’d believe it.”

     “But...”

     “What if it was just a dream, huh?” He said. “What about that, Sandra?”

     I fought back tears as I said, “But Maurice...”

     “Maybe you think you’re some psychic swami, but I’m not stupid.”

     I looked at him doubtfully.

     “Really, are you SURE?”

     “Yes, I’m sure. Not get out of here, before I get Dr. Death to kick you out.”

     “But Maurice, I...”

     My sentence was cut short suddenly. Yellow orbs of light appeared in front of the five of us, and began to swirl around us.

     “What’s happening?” Monica asked, her knees buckling.

     I shrugged my shoulders and said, “I don’t know,” in response.

     Soon, we were surrounded by these orbs of light. The light was blinding, and I was forced to blink. When I re-opened them, the motes were now at the base of a giant transparent bubble, with us inside.

     The only word that could escape my lips was, “Wow!”

     Then, the motes began to rise off of the ground.

     I screamed as my feet were lifted off of the floor. We were hovering from where the ceiling was. I slowly looked up, and gasped. The bubble, it was going to crash into the ceiling!

     Here’s how to best describe the problem: What goes up, POP, whirr, and then splat?

     CRASH!

     I stood there, rising higher above the ground, my mouth hanging wide open. The bubble didn’t pop when it hit the ceiling.

     It broke through the ceiling, like it was a wrecking ball instead of a bubble.

     “Wow,” Johnny whispered. “This bubble’s indestructible!”

     I grinned, and then looked down at the ground. Big mistake. I began to feel dizzy, noticing how high up we were. Soon we could see the entire land of Neopia Central, right below our feet. I tried to smile to hold back my screams.

     Before we knew it, we began to soar through the air at top speed, racing over hills and plains, cities and villages, oceans and lakes. I stood there, speechless, looking down at it all.

     “This... is... AWESOME!!!” Kendall cried.

     I rolled my eyes.

     Boys, I thought. Why are they so immature?

     Suddenly, the motes skidded to a stop. I toppled over on top of Monica, Monica falling on top of Kendall, Kendall on top of Johnny, and Johnny on top of Maurice. The motes of light disappeared, and we struggled to our feet. I gasped when seeing where we were.

     “Faerieland,” Monica said, astounded and awestruck by her surroundings.

     It was even more beautiful than I ever imagined. The light pink clouds were as soft as a Babaa’s fur. Faerie neopets soared through the skies, flaunting their Rainbow-coloured wings. Chanting was heard from the nearby Wheel of Excitement, “Go! Go! Go! Go!”

     I grinned. This place was amazing!

     Then, catching us by surprise, a loud voice announced, “SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED! Motes of light surround you. You have been summoned to FAERIELAND by Queen Fyora!”

     “Stupid Random Event voice,” Maurice mumbled, rubbing his temples in pain.

     Suddenly, a HUGE cloud of pink appeared in front of us. It reeked like smoke from a fire, and took my breath away when I breathed it in. I sputtered and coughed wildly as my eyes watered immensely.

     Finally, the pink fog began to fade. The breath I needed was found, and I blinked until I could see again. That’s when I noticed a tall, thin figure standing within the deteriorating mist.

     She had big pinkish-purple eyes that glistened in the early morning light, and light pink wings as beautiful as the sunrise. Her pink hair flowed and fluttered in the breeze. She stood, holding her fancy staff, looking into our eyes with a warm smile.

     “Fyora,” I said, too shocked for words.

     I quickly scrambled to my knees and knelt before her.

     “I am honored to be in your presence.”

     Johnny took one look and me, and then knelt before her, too. Monica and Maurice gave her a nod of respect. Kendall - since he’s a complete Bubble Brain (Don’t tell him I called him that) - just stood there and waved.

     “Kendall!” I hissed, “You’re not supposed to wave to a QUEEN!”

     “It’s alright,” Fyora said. “I accept all greetings.”

     Apparently, Kendall thought he had the right to stick his tongue at me, and did so without thinking twice.

     “Why did you summon us here, your highness?” Maurice asked, looking up at the Queen.

     “Please, call me Fyora,” Fyora said, smiling warmly.

     “Why did you summon us here?” Maurice asked again, slightly annoyed.

     Fyora sighed. She looked up at us.

     “The future... it is in grave danger. The only way to save it is if you all defeat Jhudora by the Summer Solstice.”

     Maurice gasped. He glanced at me, and I gave him my best I-told-you-so look ever.

     “So Sandra was telling the truth,” he mumbled to himself.

     “Yes, she was,” Fyora said.

     “Now, all six of you must be in Neopia Central by Saturday, or else Jhudora will take over the world.”

     She looked at us. Her eyes suddenly popped open.

     “Where’s Kathryn_090?”

     “She was adopted,” I told the Faerie Queen. “She’s in Meridell now.”

     At first, everyone just stared at me, their eyes wide open. Silence spread across the room. Finally, Fyora spoke.

     “How do you know that?” she asked, clearly concerned.

     I blushed.

     “I had this dream a few nights ago. Kathryn was in Meridell, being tortured by her owner.”

     Fyora’s expression worsened as I continued;

     “They had a big fight, and Kathryn accidentally used her earth-controlling powers on her. Her owner chased her into the forest, and Kathryn ran into Jhudora.”

     “Then what happened?” Fyora asked desperately.

     “I woke up,” I said, turned deep shades of red.

     Fyora took one glance at me, looked at the sky, and fainted on the spot.

To be continued...