The Great Cybunny Theft

      Author’s Note: When I saw the book “The Great Cybunny Theft” and its description, I felt inspired to write my interpretation of what happened in the story. Therefore, I present my version of “The Great Cybunny Theft.”

      One sunny day, a trio of sisters decided to visit the Mystery Island Museum of Archaeology. Maldice the Stealthy Draik, Sellescha the Pastel Kacheek, and Walda the Baby Kacheek were going there because a recently discovered diamond statue of a Cybunny, believed to be an artefact of an early Neopian civilization, would be unveiled that day. While Maldice and Sellescha were eager to see the statue, Walda felt less than excited.

     “This is going to be BOOOORRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!!!” she whined.

     “How can you say that already?” reasoned Sellescha. “We’re still waiting in line outside. We haven’t even gotten through the door yet.

     “I’m not interested in history!” Walda complained. “There are so many better things we could be doing...”

     “Like what?”

     “A visit to the Chocolate Factory?”

     “NO!!!” snapped Maldice. “Chocolate gets you all wound up!”

     The sisters reached the front of the line, showed their tickets, and entered the museum. “Where’s the statue?” asked Sellescha.

     “Behind that curtain,” answered Maldice. “They’ll unveil it at 10 am sharp.”

     “Okay, only ten minutes from now.”

     “Find some way to keep the rug rat occupied for those ten minutes, will you?”

     “HEY!” interjected Walda. “I’m not THAT babyish!”

     The sisters sat down in the seats that had been brought for guests to use during the unveiling. “Walda,” began Sellescha, “I brought your favourite colouring book, complete with glitter crayons, to keep you busy.” She handed the items to Walda, who started colouring with delight.

     When 10 am arrived, the guests were greeted by a speaker, an Island Bori. “Hello, everyone!” he greeted them. “My name is Boris---”

     The audience laughed slightly.

     “Keep the jokes to yourselves, will you? I know that my name is rather funny for my species. I was named “Boris” followed by a bunch of numbers by some kid who thought she was being clever. Anyway, I am an archaeologist here on Mystery island, and today, I am here to present the enormous Diamond Cybunny statue, as promised! The estimated worth of this precious artefact is a whopping 450 MILLION Neopoints due to its massive carat weight in diamonds. Let’s see it! 3...2...1...UNVEIL!!!”

     A few other Neopets pulled the curtains aside. However, much to the chagrin of everyone, there was no statue present. “I-It’s gone!” stammered Boris. “Someone must’ve stolen it! How’d they do it?! It’s much too big and heavy to be moved out of here physically with no one noticing! We needed 10 Mutant Grundos, who made a special trip from OUTER SPACE, to pull it in here on a dolly...”

     “It must’ve been magic,” joked Walda as she continued to colour in pages.

     “No, really, I think it might be magic,” hypothesised Maldice, a sorceress who was especially well-versed in dark magic. She approached the statue. “I sense a strange presence here... It looks like a darkness spell was used to teleport the gem elsewhere.”

     “Well, how can we find out where it went?” asked Boris.

     “Every teleportation spell creates a portal, regardless of whether or not you can see it. That is true because if you didn’t have a portal, you wouldn’t be able to return. I’m guessing that the portal for this teleportation spell was deliberately made invisible so that no one would have any clues. Fortunately, I know a spell which reveals invisible objects.” She said a few magical words and waved her wand, revealing the portal. “The thief went through this portal.” She turned to Sellescha and Walda. “Let’s all go, the three of us, and pursue this crook.”

     “Okay!” exclaimed Walda excitedly. “I’ll annihilate them in a Battledome match!”

     “Um, okay...” agreed Sellescha nervously.

     Maldice turned to the onlookers. “We’re going now. Don’t follow us. None of you have skills in dark magic. You REALLY don’t know what you’re doing.” With that, the three sisters jumped into the portal.

     ---

     They jumped out of the portal on the opposite end and were greeted by a large crowd in Faerie City, a colourful and vibrant place. However, this occasion was by no means happy. “Look!” exclaimed Walda. “There’s the statue! It’s on that stage! Jhudora’s standing next to it! She’s probably the thief!”

     As the three Neopets rushed toward the stage, Jhudora had an announcement to make to the large crowd standing before her. “Foolish mortals think that this statue is just a pretty gem of historical significance,” she sneered. “However, I know that it is much MORE than that. It’s a powerful magical artefact which will allow me to BRAINWASH the whole of Neopia, controlling everyone’s mind to do my bidding! I will dominate the whole planet of Neopia!” She cackled.

     The onlookers exchanged worried glances.

     “All it needs is activation by means of a dark magic spell. Then it will create a circle of dark magic. All of the living beings in the circle, regardless of species, will be brainwashed. The more powerful the spell, the larger the circle. Fortunately for ME, I own the most powerful darkness weapon in existence.” She brandished her Wand of the Dark Faerie and started feeding dark magic into the statue, which gained a neon green glow. “This lovely weapon will enable me to create a circle that envelopes the whole of Neopia, and which even stretches into Kreludor and the Virtupets Space Station! I will control the minds of EVERYONE!!!”

     Jhudora laughed maliciously as the crowd before her was brainwashed. Curiously enough, none of the three sisters were affected. The crowd quickly turned angry and violent, attacking the sisters. Walda, a skilled Battledome pet, began to fight them off, but there were so many of them that it was taking a while.

     Maldice knew that she had to reach the statue and use her own spell to deactivate Jhudora’s spell. Being a Draik, she could easily fly over the crowd. She was about to take off when some hostile Neopets lunged toward her and Sellescha.

     “Maldice!” yelled Sellescha. “I will use myself as bait, egging on these beasts. While they are distracted, you fly toward the statue and reverse Jhudora’s spell!”

     “I have a better idea!” answered Maldice. Then she turned in Walda’s direction. “Walda!” she shouted. “Use your Lens Flare faerie ability to dazzle these monsters!”

     “Okay!” A brilliant light consumed the area, and none of the enemies could see a thing. However, the ability did not affect allies, so Maldice quickly flew over to the statue, said a few magical words, and waved her wand. The statue immediately stopped glowing, and the crowd came to its senses.

     As discussions about what had happened unfolded within the crowd, Jhudora flew downwards and landed on the stage. “Blast it! I thought I could just watch you get annihilated while sitting on that tree branch! I didn’t expect you blockheads to be strong! However, you are NOT stronger than ME!!! I’ll END THIS!!!” Again, she waved her Wand of the Dark Faerie and attempted to zap Walda with it.

     However, Walda came prepared. She blocked most of the darkness attack with her “Blaze” weapon, which also hit Jhudora with 10 fire icons and some physical icons. The second weapon she used was her Sword of Malum, which was quite strong. Jhudora collapsed, knowing she was beaten.

     “Blast it, you rotten brat!” she snarled.

     Walda smirked. “I beat even the Space Faerie!” she gloated.

     “No wonder I lost...” Then Jhudora fell unconscious.

     The three sisters, not concerned about such an evil villain in the slightest, ran toward the statue. “I’m going to teleport this back to the museum right now,” announced Maldice.

     “Hold up,” interjected Sellescha. “How will we prevent some other villain from doing the same thing Jhudora did?”

     “When I deactivated Jhudora’s spell, I also drained the statue of all its magical powers,” explained Maldice. “Something like that would only be used for evil. Now that it is powerless, I will teleport it back to its rightful place.” She waved her wand and said a few magical words, and the statue disappeared.

     “Great!” exclaimed Sellescha. “However, no one, and I mean NO ONE, is going to believe this crazy story. What should we tell everyone back at the museum?”

     “Ummm...” Maldice thought for a minute. “We’ll say that some random dark faerie, not anyone famous like Jhudora, stole it, and hoped to sell it and become rich.”

     “Sounds like a plan!” answered Sellescha. With that, the three sisters jumped back into the portal and returned to the museum.

     ---

     “Yay! You got it back!” cheered Boris excitedly. The crowd of museum visitors burst into applause.

     After the excitement died down, everyone was curious about what had happened to the statue. Maldice gave the explanation that she had fabricated, and the crowd accepted it. “That makes sense,” commented Boris.

     He turned to Maldice. “You have experience in dark magic. Is there any way that you could prevent the statue from being stolen again?”

     “Of course.” Maldice waved her wand and said a few magical words. “I have created an invisible force field around the statue,” she explained. “Well-meaning individuals can approach the statue to examine or transport it, but any thieves or vandals will be zapped. If the statue is moved, the force field will follow it.”

     “Great! Thank you!” replied Boris.

     “Sure.” Then Boris gave a speech, describing what he thought he knew about the statue. “Our team of archaeologists believe that this beautiful statue was constructed for a monarch to decorate the castle. It was made for cosmetic purposes for an extremely spoiled queen who loved diamonds. A few hundred years later, it was locked away in a tomb full of traps because there had been numerous attempts to steal it due to its high Neopoint value.”

     The three sisters smirked. They all knew better.

     The crowd, interested in the statue, approached it to take a good look. The three sisters walked toward the statue and noticed that some ancient runes had been carved into its base. “Maldice,” began Sellescha, “can you read what it says?”

     “Yeah,” she answered. “It says:”

      This statue is more than just a pretty gem---it is a magical artefact that can brainwash others when imbued with a darkness spell from a Battledome weapon. The more powerful the weapon, the farther the brainwashing effect will radiate, and the more living things will be brainwashed. (All species are affected, whether Neopet, faerie, or some other creature.) Therefore, this statue should be kept in a safe place so it does not fall into the wrong hands. Please bear in mind that the brainwashing effect is not perfect. It will not affect those with extraordinary Battledome abilities, those well-versed in dark magic, and those who simply have a very pure heart.

      “That explains why we weren’t affected by the brainwashing effect,” commented Maldice. “Walda is a Battledome pet, I’m skilled in the art of dark magic, and... That leaves Sellescha with the pure heart.” Maldice turned to Sellescha and smiled. “We already knew your heart was pure!”

     Sellescha blushed. “Aww, thanks! That’s so sweet of you to say.”

     “It’s true! You were willing to use yourself as bait for an angry mob in an effort to save all of Neopia from being brainwashed.... That was very selfless.”

     Sellescha nodded modestly.

     Maldice clapped her hands. “Well, today has clearly been very interesting. I’m glad we were able to solve this.”

     “We saved the world!” cheered Walda.

     “...And every hero deserves a break once in a while,” commented Maldice. “Let’s go home and get some rest.”

     “Plus something to eat!” exclaimed Walda.

     Thus, the three sisters began walking back home. “I’m starving!!!” continued Walda. “Fighting off that brainwashed crowd made me hungry. I can’t wait for a nice, big dinner!”

     “Me, neither!” agreed Sellescha.

      The End.