The Box from 10,000 Years Ago

     ~~~

     Everyone fighting in Faerieland under the blizzard gets an unexpected pause as they witness the strong glow that pierces the clouds, accompanied by roars of extinct monsters from thousands of years ago. The Darkest Faerie appears in a dark smoke in the skies, accompanied by a loud malicious laugh that frightens those who hear.

     "OH! It feels good to no longer need to hide!" Says the triumphant Faerie. "My beloved creations, how I have longed for this reunion! You all are free! GO! Go and take revenge on these Faeries who imprisoned you all for countless ages! Neopia will drown into darkness and the Faeries won’t be enough to stop us. Our time has come!"

     The monsters of all sizes start to roar, commemorating they are once again in the world and start destroying even more the walls of Faerieland. Darkest is laughing watching her creations bring chaos, just like in her glorious days in the past.

     Fyora, the Faerie Queen, flies in the middle of the chaotic scene. She stops in the air, and with all her regal and majestic presence, she looks with disgust at Darkest floating in front of her. Faeries gather around the queen, ready to use their elemental powers to fight the new threat. The Darkest Faerie's malevolent laugh continues.

     “You have been behind all of this.” Says the queen, with a frustrated expression. “What do you want with all this chaos?”

     “Watch MY creations destroy YOUR creations! Stupid Neopets will no longer exist in the world, they’ll be eaten one by one till only me and my creatures rule this entire world! HAHAHA! What should I call my creations? Darkpets? Badpets? Newpets?”

     The Faeries frown angrily at their rebel sister, and right when they are about to release their elemental powers towards Darkest, the monsters start to chase all of them. The Faeries are unable to stop in the air with the uncountable monsters after them. Darkest continues to laugh maliciously in the air, till she remembers someone. “OHH Itachiro, wasn't you the one who wanted a body before? Why don't you go and enjoy the party too?" She taunts.

     The Ghost Usul gets summoned and tries to flee from Darkest right away, a cry for help pierces the air as he screams "Teca!!" and the familiar voice makes the Fire Wocky look at the skies. The girl ran in the direction of the voice that was talking to her “Teca!! The seal… Was broken!! Help!!” But when she spots Itachiro, it is already too late to do anything. He is caught by Darkest's magic and Teca ends up witnessing Itachiro’s transformation into a big Monocerous in the skies, a fearsome-looking creature that resembles a bull, with great bat wings and pointy teeth that stick out of the mouth.

     “Now, let me choose your special ability, Itachiro! You shall petrify any Faerie whom you touch, transforming them into stone statues!! A brilliant idea, yes!! I wonder where did I get this idea from?” And she continues to cackle viciously as her new monster descends back to the floor.

     The newly formed Monocerous appears initially confused, struggling to get used to its legs. However, the confusion rapidly fades away and rage feelings take place, making him attack anything in the way. He directs its attacks toward the Faerie Queen who attempts to evade his wrath but fails and turns into a statue of herself, leaving everyone who watched in shock. Teca watches afar at everything, tears fall down her cheek as she sees her friend, the once peaceful Itachiro, now a grotesque monster with a will of destruction. She’s sure Itachiro would never wish to hurt others.

     “... The seal was broken? The seal of what?” She wonders, trying to decipher Itachiro’s last words before turning into a horrific creature. “... Probably he meant the seal that was on the box put by the Darkest Faerie thousand of years ago?”

     In the middle of chaos, one of the giant monsters released from the box collides with a group of towers, and one of them falls on Teca. Luckily, she heard the strong noises and ran to the other side, barely escaping the falling debris. Right after the incident, her thoughts immediately turn to Vyim. "Oh no! I must rescue him!" The Fire Wocky wonders as she gets afraid that other monsters will knock down more walls and end up hitting him, she runs desperately to where she left her winged horse to ensure his safety.

     Teca does her best to ignore the pain in her shoulder and sprints through the chaos under the roars of monsters, the blasts of elemental powers and the falling structures. Finally, she spots the partially destroyed house where she left Vyim. However, her relief is short-lived as she notices another giant monster stepping on nearby structures, drawing dangerously close to Vyim's hiding place. Her heart pounds heavily as panic takes over all her body, desperately trying to reach the place and remove the Uni from there… But it gets too late.

     The ground shakes as the giant creature steps into the area where Vyim is hidden, leaving a thick dusty fog and everything in ruins. Teca falls to her knees in disbelief. Feeling helpless, anguished cries escape from her after witnessing the annihilation of her beloved companion. Her entire body trembles as she drags herself to the remnants of the house, her hands tracing the outlines of the broken objects. The reality of Vyim's loss strikes strongly on her with a deep guilt of not reaching him on time. "I said I was going to protect you, Vyim. I have failed you… I have failed everything…" She whispers to herself, her voice trembling. "I won't let this be in vain, I'll make sure all of this wasn't for nothing..."

     Amidst the sad and heavy atmosphere, a familiar laugh breaks out coming from behind Teca, it's Magax laughing at the situation while he is sitting on Vyim's back.

     "What's wrong? Why are you laughing?" Asks the confused blind Uni.

     Teca gets up and angrily frowns at Magax's foolish behaviour, she hurls a brick to the ground in frustration. "URGH!! Why didn't you stop me or at least let me know that Vyim wasn't inside anymore??"

     Magax's laughter intensifies with Teca's angry reactions, his amusement evident with the situation. "I couldn't resist! I wanted to see just how far you would go in your quest to save him!" The Blue Wocky even falls from Vyim's back and keeps laughing on the floor.

     "Save who?" Asks once again the confused Uni, having no idea of what the two are talking about.

     Her fists clench with the urge to punch Magax in the face, but she gets calmer and a sigh escapes her lips with the realization that her Uni friend is safe. “Vyim, is your wing alright by now? And Magax, how did you escape the knights?"

     “My wing is in less pain now!” Replies the White Uni, flapping his wings. ”It was good to take some rest.”

     Magax gets up from the floor with a grin, slowly trying to regain his composure. "The stupid Faerie Kiko was in charge of taking me to prison, but he was too afraid to cross the path with the monsters and fled! Don't worry, I'll return to my commitment with the prison once all this mess is sorted out. I also heard Vyim calling for you, so I came to check on the frightened Uni."

     "I was feeling hungry! Magax took me outside to eat some grass." Says the White Uni with a big smile and a satisfied big belly.

     She shakes her head in disbelief with a half-smile. "You two... Honestly, I can't even."

     Their moments of distraction turn to worried expressions as they see the statue of a random Faerie falling down in front of them. The chaotic Itachiro is flying around turning more Faeries into stone statues, and the knights are struggling to keep up with the new unleashed monsters. Magax's timing for a laugh couldn't have been worse.

     The Fire Wocky grits her teeth, climbing on Vyim's back and taking off as she sees the monsters coming near. Magax floats after the two Neopets, impressed by Teca's ability to guide Vyim's movements using just his mane.

     "Magax, look! That Monocerous is Itachiro now, the Darkest Faerie finally gave him a body. We need to find a way to stop him and this madness!" Shouts the Fire Wocky.

     Magax nods with determination. "You're right. We can't just stand by and watch this chaos getting worse. Itachiro seems to be a strong opponent..."

     Teca holds onto Vyim's mane tightly, guiding him to avoid the attacks from the flying monsters. The Uni has trouble while flying under the snowstorm, but is doing his best flapping his wings with all his might. Magax summons his Darklight Axe and manages to get rid of a group of Wraiths coming at them.

     Teca concentrates on a solution for the ongoing battle with the unleashed monsters and Wraiths. "Magax! You know the original purpose of the box was to trap the monsters inside, right?"

     The Blue Wocky nods. "Right. Itachiro told us the story. Do you think the box can trap the monsters again?"

     The female Wocky continues. "Exactly! And you know that the Darkest Faerie put a seal on the box, reverting its use to free all the monsters inside it from the next time it gets open. I think the seal got broken when all these monsters got released from it!"

     "This is good news!!" Shouts the Uni. "Well, actually bad news since the monsters got freed from it..."

     "A stupid knight from Meridell stole the box from me and opened it. I know where the item might be!" Quickly, the Wocky directs her Uni to the cliff where Elvira falls with the object. “Me and Elvira had a fight before she opened the box.”

     “Oh! So this is why you have this injury on your shoulder? It seems to be made by a sword…” Inquires Magax with a worried face. “Is it still hurting?”

     Teca continues to talk with a soft voice and a sorrowful expression on her face. "With all the adrenaline, I even forgot the injury on my shoulder. Elvira was kind of controlled by the Wraiths, I know her intention wasn't to take the object from me. I had no idea Wraiths could control Neopets either..."

     “Yes, they can.” Replies the floating male Wocky after Vyim. “It’s rare because the Neopet has to manifest strong negative feelings in the exact moment they are near, giving them an opening to feed themselves. That’s how villain Neopets are born. I’m sorry for the Acara knight.”

     With that, Teca, Vyim and Magax soar towards the cliff where the fate of Neopia hangs in the balance. The chaos intensifies around them as the knight Neopets seem to be losing the battle to the hundreds of monsters while stone statues of the Faeries are scattered on the floor, their expression of fear and desperation.

     As they fly approaching the cliff, Teca and Magax scan the area for any sign of the box, but nothing is seen from the skies. Then, the female Wocky decides to guide Vyim to land where Elvira probably fell with the object. To her surprise, she spots an object that no longer seems to be the box she knew before, the item now lost all its beautiful blue glow, becoming a mere box made of iron. Teca grabs it from the floor and has no idea if the object can still do magic and trap monsters inside it.

     However, someone attacks Teca behind —it's Elvira! But she's different now... She got a transformation as a curse for those who open the box with the seal, morphing her into a grotesque monstrous version of an Acara with pointy horns and bat wings. The newly acquired wings were likely what allowed her to survive the fall.

     Using a quick motion with her transformed claws (as if she was still trying to complete the task from Skarl) Elvira cuts Teca's back and makes a sharp pain runs through Teca's body. The Wocky lets out a loud scream as she crumples to the ground.

     Teca's horror at the new monster form of Elvira standing there is evident in her wide eyes. She remembers her friend Zak is also acting aggressively due to the Wraiths' influence, so she doesn't wish to hurt Elvira. Our female Wocky steps back, avoiding getting caught by the Acara monster, but it gets too complicated with the intense pain in her back and shoulder. "Stay away from me!" Teca shouts, clutching the box made of iron tightly to her chest.

     “Teca!! What are you waiting for?? Try using the box against this monster!!” Shouts Magax by Vyim’s side.

     The Fire Wocky, although feeling afraid, refrains to use the item against Elvira. “She’s a Neopet, Magax! I can’t trap her inside along with thousands of monsters! She doesn’t belong with them!!”

     The monstrous Acara lets out sinister hiss sounds that send chills down the spines of those nearby. Her movements are jagged and disjointed as if she is struggling to control the new form.

     Magax, watching the scene unfold, grips his Darklight Axe with concern. "Teca, If you don't act, she will come attack us again!"

     Teca holds the box tightly and gulps, agreeing with Magax. She directs the object to Elvira with her trembling hands, then hesitates when her fingers are about to open the object. "Elvira, if you can hear me, I promise we'll find a way to free you from that body. I won't condemn you to be trapped in this box forever."

     Elvira's response lets out a loud roar, her monstrous form lunging towards Teca with aggression. In a split-second decision, Teca sidesteps the attack. Magax decides to engage in a battle with Elvira and his Darklight Axe clashes against the monstrous Acara's claws. Our Wocky girl tries to find a way to break the curse without harming Elvira. As the two fight, Teca spots a shard of mirror on the ground.

     The female Wocky picks up the shard and holds it in front of the Acara. "Elvira, look at you. This is not who you are. You're only in this form because you let yourself be carried away by the darkness. If you've always sought prestige as a knight, be aware that no one in Meridell would give prestige to a monster like you!"

     The monstrous Acara gets scared by her own reflection and gives a horrified scream as she hides her own face, not realizing of her transformed form till now. Elvira walks back seeming lost, hating her new face and body. All she wants to do is to hide her horrible form from everyone, so she flies away in despair and disappears into the skies.

     Magax lowers his Darklight Axe and turns to Teca with a solemn expression. "Is it over?"

     Teca gazes at the shard of the mirror, her heart feeling heavy for the Acara. "I think so. She seemed to recognize herself… I feel sorry for what she has become."

     Magax also feels sad for the Acara, but then speaks resolutely. "Well, our mission is far from over. We gotta trap all the monsters again in the box!"

     The young Fire Wocky takes a deep breath, holding tightly the box against her chest. With a determined expression, she swiftly climbs onto the Uni's back and is ready again to fight against Darkest's threat. "Right. Let's hope the box can work as expected!"

     The trio fly once again to the centre of the chaos, where knights from Meridell, Brightvale and Altador are bravely fighting the monsters. Even more help came from warriors of Lost Desert and Shenkuu, but despite the united effort, the Neopets seem to be losing the battle as more Faeries had been gored by Itachiro and his petrifying touch.

     The Fire Wocky does her best to guide Vyim through the chaos, dodging attacks and maintaining the course. A group of flying monsters come at them and Teca sees it as an opportunity to use the box for the first time. With her firm hands holding it, she opens the object.

     For a few moments, the box seems like it won't do anything and it makes Teca feel heavily apprehensive, but after detecting monsters nearby, a strong glow surges from the object, sucking the nearby group of monsters and Wraiths in a swirling vortex. The box closes itself and is again glowing in a beautiful blue colour.

     "It worked!! The box really had its seal broken!! We can open it whenever we want now!" Says the very happy Wocky, with a spark of hope in her heart.

     Magax floats by Teca's side and gives a thumbs up. "That was impressive to see. We're making progress!"

     Teca smiles with confidence. "We can do this. I'll keep using the box to trap the monsters and Wraiths, one by one!"

     They continue to fly through the chaotic blizzard, seeking out more groups of Darkest’s creations to confront. With each use of the box, monsters slowly are disappearing from Neopia and the battle begins to turn in favour of the Neopets.

      The Darkest Faerie, who was enjoying the view of chaos, gets furious once she notices what is going on. "My creations getting trapped all over again?? No way!!" Her fists clench, giving a magical command to all the creatures and Wraiths to intensify their assault on the Neopet holding the magical box. With that, Vyim and Teca end up being hit with an icy blast from a monster and the duo ends up falling through the skies.

     Teca was thrown from the height with the attack, meanwhile, Vyim struggles to regain control, flapping his wings with all his might to shatter the frozen parts on the wings. The blind White Uni manages to free himself from the frozen parts, but without anyone to guide him in the air, he stumbles on a tree covered in snow and he ends up falling on the floor. His wing and his entire body seem too exhausted to continue assisting Teca.

     Meanwhile, plummeting helplessly through the air, the world for Teca spins around her. Magax leaves the battle with the Wraiths and uses his powers to reach Teca quickly. He manages to catch her in the air with a graceful motion just when she was about to hit the ground. Their eyes meet in a moment of affection and relief to each other. However, their relief is short-lived as Magax is struck on his back by a fire blast from another monster. The Wockies end up falling on the floor, the impact sending pain through their bodies as they roll on the snowy ground.

     The box falls to another direction, but Teca's worries are focused on Magax who got severely injured. She quickly regains her composure and approaches the small Blue Wocky, seeing the burns on his back and hearing his groans in pain as she puts him to sit. Magax seems to be out of combat.

     "No… You should go after the box..." Says the male Wocky panting, the pain evident in his voice. "I'll be fine. Please, go…!"

     The Fire Wocky shakes her head in tears, her voice filled with emotions. "I won't leave you here alone! We're in this together!!"

     “Teca, you're alone on this now... You can do this. Save Neopia.” Magax then gives a weak smile as he sweetly holds her hand. “... And without a Neopia, we can’t exist together.”

     With tears still falling on her cheek, Teca smiles back at him and gives a determined nod. With one last glance, she tenderly squeezes his hand and gently releases it, turning away to look for the box in the thick snow. There are already lots of monsters looking for it, including Zak, they can feel the presence of the magical object nearby.

     Taking a deep breath, Teca decides it's time to use her powers once again, summoning fire against the monsters and melting the snow in the area. The raging fire reveals lots of debris, junk and broken objects under the white blanket, then the blue glowing box becomes visible to everyone.

     Monsters who spot it try to seize the object, but since it’s made of iron and suffered a strong heat, it gets too hot for anyone to hold it. The monsters are in despair making multiple attempts to grab the item, the box jumps many times from one monster's hand to another till Teca ends up snatching it. She cheekily sticks out her tongue at them as only she is able to bear holding the heated box.

     As she holds the item for a few seconds, Teca can sense the Darkest Faerie's growing desperation. The creatures are drawn to the box like moths to a lamp, but Teca remains fearless with their approach. Finally, she uses the magical item against the horde of monsters that have gathered around her, they all struggle against the force drawing them inside.

     The Darkest Faerie's furious screams are heard in the air as she realizes that her creations are still being trapped, then she has an idea. She immediately commands Itachiro to engage Teca in a battle. "Let's see if you would trap your own friend forever in a tiny old box." She taunts with a malicious laugh, wanting to see their confrontation.

     The Monocerous was stepping on a pile of statues of Faeries when he heard the Darkest’s call. He turns his focus to the Fire Wocky holding the magical box, then he begins to charge furiously at her. She notices the Monocerous doesn't have the purple glowing eyes like Zak and the other monsters in Haunted Woods who had their minds subjugated by the Wraiths. Itachiro was born with only his natural instincts given by her to be aggressive. Teca then believes that she is able to convince Itachiro to be on the good side again, just like Zak when he decided to be friendly with Neopets years ago.

     Sadly, there were no pieces of a mirror to be found on the floor like she did with Elvira, so the Wocky decides to gently move closer to the raging Monocerous, ignoring the danger and attempting to use only words.

     "Itachiro, do you remember me? It's Teca!" She sweetly calls out to him, hoping that her friend remains inside the monstrous thing. "I am still with the box. We are in Faerieland, just as you wished back in Meridell. Daisy would be so proud of how far we've come together."

     Her words seem to have an effect as Itachiro widens his eyes and begins to slow his charge. However, he was still moving too fast to completely stop and managed to strike Teca as she stood before him. The collision sent them both crashing into a pile of debris of fallen towers. A thick dusty fog surges and a heavy silence follows up, no one knows if both survived the impact.

To be continued…