The Price of Ambition

     Saorsie, who had been reading a fashion magazine in the living room, got up and went to get the door. “Hi, can I help you?”

     Annie couldn’t see who was on the other side of the door, but she heard a squeaky, feminine voice speaking. “Is this the Golden residence? I have a message from Kauvara!”

     “Yes, I’ll take that. Thank you!” Saorsie said before shutting the door. She hopped over to Annie, holding the little scroll that she had gotten from the visitor. “Man, Kauvara’s really dramatic. Look at how she tied this up! It even has a fancy wax seal! I hate that you have to break this.”

     “I don’t care, gimme!” Annie snatched the scroll and unrolled it before reading the letter out loud.

     To the Goldens,

     I have finished my analysis of the potion. It was difficult to work with since I only had a drop, but I think I understand it now. Please come to my shop at your earliest convenience.

     Magically yours,

     Kauvara

     “Let’s go! We gotta go! Right now!” Annie said, leaping up from her seat after reading the letter. She ran to grab her usual cloak, but Saorsie stopped her with her paw.

     “Wait, Poppy and SB are at work! We need to wait for them!” She insisted. Annie hated that she was right - although SB was still a pet, as the eldest she was considered the authority figure to defer to in Poppy’s absence.

     “SB works at the bookstore, though. That’s right in the same plaza as Kauvara’s shop. And we can send a message to the Neopian Times offices to get Poppy to come down,” Annie suggested, slipping right past her older sister to put the cloak on.

     “Ugh, fine. If Bryn wasn’t out on a playdate, you’d be out of luck. Let me go change my outfit and then we can go,” the Cybunny said before retreating to her room. Annie always thought it was silly that she constantly changed her outfits depending on where they were going and what they were doing. When she came out, she was wearing a sparkly red dress and a blonde wig. “Do you like my dress? It was designed by Limbre!”

     “Am I supposed to care about who that is?” Annie asked. She thought the dress looked more like an eyesore than a fashion statement.

     “She’s one of Neopia’s best up-and-coming designers! I heard she was mentored by Kallique, and she’s been in talks to design an outfit for Fyora!” Saorsie gushed before spinning around in her dress. Annie didn’t know who Kallique was either, but she figured that was some other important designer.

     “Can we just go now? The sooner I can get back to normal, the better,” Annie said.

     The two walked out the door and had to make two stops before seeing Kauvara: the post office to send a message to Poppy, and the bookstore to get SB. Once they were ready, they headed straight to Kauvara’s shop. Hope was beginning to fill Annie’s heart again.

     When Annie, Saorsie, and SB arrived at Kauvara’s shop, the Kau looked up from behind the counter, her eyes widening when she recognized them. “Goldens! Please, please come in! Mereoko, can you take over? I need to help these three.” A Grey Uni came out from the back and took Kauvara’s place at the counter. Kauvara gestured for the three to follow her, and they all headed to the back of the shop.

     There was a stock room full of different potions, and as Annie passed by, she wondered what they were. The temptation to take one and try to use it in the Battledome flickered in her mind, but she set it aside. The group finally reached the very back, where Kauvara had a work table surrounded by books, magical equipment, and even more potions. “Now, let me look at my notes…” She pulled out a thick notebook, with pages marked by dividers and Post-it notes. “Alright, so this isn’t exactly going to be good news.”

     Annie’s heart sank again. So much for her hope. “No cure?”

     “Well, not that I can make. However, I do have a few answers about the ingredients in the potion, as well as a vague idea of how you could go about looking for a cure - ah, here it is!” Kauvara exclaimed as she came to the proper page in her notebook. “So, I found a few different things in that one little drop. Obviously, it had some elements from Transmogrification potions, but that isn’t news. I also saw something similar to what I use in my special Kauvara’s Potion, which really bugs me... “ She trailed off for a moment, but caught herself. “Okay! Continuing on!

     “There were one or two other ingredients that are typical for strength, defence, and health potions, but there was one thing that I think is the most notable.” Kauvara held the notebook out for the three to see. Annie peered over, but she couldn’t make any sense of the writing on the page. Not only was Kauvara’s handwriting a little messy, but all of the words were fancy magical terms that she knew nothing about.

     SB, on the other hand, seemed to recognize something. “Grundite?” She asked, pointing a hoof at the word. “That’s the substance they say is used to create Grundos, right?”

     “Yes, exactly. It’s very potent and can create a strong, long-lasting life. It’s not meant to be drunk by Neopets. I suppose if someone were to, it would turn them permanently into a Grundo. There isn’t full Grundite in the potion, but there is an element of it, and I assume that’s what made Anerada’s body so resistant to any other morphing potion.”

     “I think it’s definitely safe to say Dr. Sloth was behind this,” SB said, furrowing her brow. “Nobody else would have easy access to Grundite, right? They keep it under lock and key up at the Space Station.”

     “Exactly. I have no doubt that he was the one who gave it to you,” Kauvara said, looking at Annie with a pitying glance. “And because he used it, it’s going to make this very difficult for you. I’m not sure if anyone up at the Space Station has anything to counteract Grundite, but I would recommend going up there. In fact, I can give you the name of a scientist up there that I’m good friends with. He can help you.” She wrote a name down on a Post-it note and handed it to them.

     Annie read the name aloud. “Dr. Fueggo? I’ve never heard of him.”

     “Well, yeah, he’s not renowned on the mainland or anything. But I’ve spent some time up at the Space Station working with the scientists up there on some of their projects, so just him I sent you and he’ll be happy to help out. Especially if he knows Dr. Sloth was behind your current calamity.” Kauvara ripped the page on Sloth’s potion out of her notebook and handed that over to Annie as well. “Give this to him, he’ll know what to do with it.”

     Annie folded up the paper and held onto it along with the card. “Is getting to the Space Station hard? I’ve never been there before.”

     SB shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. We just have to take a shuttle. There are a few people who run one south of the Central Forest. If we get Poppy’s permission, we can go tomorrow. How does that sound?”

     “Um, alright. I guess.” Annie let out a sigh. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Would the scientists at the Space Station have the answer? Or would they just be running down towards another dead end? Her faith was slipping more and more.

     “Take care of yourselves, okay? And don’t hesitate to send me a message if you have any questions.” Kauvara began to walk them up to the front, but Annie was dragging her feet most of the way.

     “We really appreciate the help, thank you!” SB said before heading outside and making sure her two sisters followed her.

     When they were outside of the shop, they found that Poppy was standing out front, waiting for them. “Hey, I just got here a minute ago. The Uni at the front said I should just wait for you guys. What happened? Did she have any answers?”

     “She figured out what was in the potion, and one of the elements was this thing called Grundite,” Saorsie explained. She nudged Annie, encouraging her to show Poppy the paper.

     Annie handed it over, and Poppy read it. “Alright, I’m having a hard time understanding her handwriting, but I think I kind of see what she was getting at. So it turns people permanently into Grundos, right? But the only effect that was in that potion was the permanent part?”

     “Yeah, she recommended that we go to the Space Station and visit a scientist up there. She said that he knows about Grundite and could maybe help,” Saorsie answered as Poppy handed the paper back to Annie.

     “You guys are lucky this happened in the summer,” Poppy said, giving them a small smile. Annie couldn’t tell if she was teasing or not. Would she really have made her go to school as a mutant? Would she not have let her go on a journey to try and find the cure. “When are you guys gonna go?”

     “We’d like to go tomorrow, if you don’t mind,” SB replied. “I have the day off from work, unless you or Saorsie want to accompany Annie instead.”

     “Nah, I think I should stay home with Brynnie,” Poppy said. “But you guys can go tomorrow if you want.”

     “Great! Tomorrow! Let’s do it!” Annie blurted out. She would’ve preferred to go tonight, but it seemed like she didn’t have a choice.

     “I think I’ll stay home for this one too, I have some design stuff I wanna work on,” Saorsie said. “I’m gonna link up with my friends and we’re gonna collaborate on something special!”

     “So then I guess it’s just you and me, huh?” SB gave Annie a gentle nudge and smiled. Annie felt reassured in her presence. The Peophin wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her, even if it meant she was more conservative with her choices. “We can get up first thing in the morning and head out. I think the shuttle takes a few hours to get up or back, so hopefully we won’t have to stay the whole day or anything. But if we have to make it an overnight, we can.”

     “There, it’s all sorted out! Now, let’s go home so I can pick up Bryn from her playdate and then we can get started on dinner. How does that sound?” Poppy asked the group. Everyone nodded, so the four of them headed out of the plaza and went back to their house for the evening.

     ~

     The next morning, bright and early, SB and Annie stood in the kitchen as they prepared for their journey to the shuttle. Normally, Annie would’ve had a hard time dragging herself out of bed at 7 am, but the motivation to get back to normal (as well as a raspberry Achyfi) fueled her to be ready to go as quickly as possible. While SB sipped on a cup of coffee, she pulled a jacket on and looked over to the bouncing Annie. “You look like you’re Bryn at the toy shop,” she said with an amused expression.

     “I’m just ready to get this over with!” Annie said, opening the door the second SB had finished her coffee. She was excited to go on a space shuttle for the first time, too, but that wasn’t as important as not being mutant anymore. It was the biggest thing on her mind all day, every day since it happened.

     When they hit the streets, SB gave Annie a look that told her she was about to say something serious that she wouldn’t like. “Annie, you may have to accept that there won’t be a quick fix or cure. Kauvara couldn’t come up with anything, and that’s not a good sign. I really hope it isn’t permanent, but it could also be really difficult to undo.”

     Annie hated thinking about it like that. If she got too into that line of thinking, she’d feel hopeless. She could tell herself over and over that it would be okay, but that didn’t make it any easier. Meeting Gus and learning about his life as a mutant only helped her see other mutants in a positive light. It didn’t change how she felt about herself.

     It took a while to get to the shuttle, but they could see it coming for a few miles before they even made it to the base. Two big spaceships rose above the trees, like monuments to Neopian achievement. Annie felt a sense of awe when they got closer; this would be her first time ever leaving the planet and seeing the world outside of mainland Neopia. She had barely been to too many places outside of Neopia Central. She used to go to Krawk Island for training, and most recently she had gone to Mystery Island. Poppy had taken her to Faerieland once or twice, and she took a few trips to Meridell and Brightvale every now and then. But anything beyond that had been out of her reach until today.

     “Are you nervous?” SB asked when the base was in sight. “It gets a little scary when you take off, but once you’re in space, the zero gravity hits and it’s really fun.”

     “Will we have to wear space suits or anything when we get up there? How do we not fly right off of the planet?” Annie asked. She hadn’t thought of any of those questions before that exact moment, and now she was getting scared.

     “The Space Station has some pull that keeps everyone from flying off, and it’s not like there isn’t any gravity at all up there. The shuttle is where it gets the most intense,” SB explained. They were only about two hundred feet away from the shuttle base now, and Annie’s heart was pumping as fast as it did in a battle. “And yes, we do have to wear helmets outside. But once we’re inside buildings, we don’t have to.”

     When they reached the base, they saw an Alien Aisha standing outside the gateway to the ships, looking at something on an electronic device. The sisters could see that there was one empty spot at the dock, so there was room for three ships. Annie had never met an alien pet before, so she wondered if it spoke a different language than her, or if it would act weird.

     “Hi,” SB greeted the Aisha at the dock. “We’re here for the shuttle.”

     The Aisha looked a little startled when SB spoke, and she shoved the device into the pocket of her space suit. “Oh! Hi! Of course, you are! Come here!” She spoke with a slight accent, one that Annie couldn’t place. Her ‘s’ sounded more like a ‘z’, and the e’s and i’s in her words sounded similar, and were spoken a little longer than normal. “My name is Twinkliy. Are you ready to take off with me today?”

     “Yep, ready to go. We just need two helmets,” SB answered, then gestured to Annie. “This is gonna be her first time flying.”

     Fortunately, Twinkliy didn’t seem phased by Annie’s appearance. “Ah, yes! Welcome, new space traveller! We’re happy to have you here! If the two of you would just step this way…” She pressed a few buttons on the panel on the gateway, and the doors opened with a large whooshing sound. Behind them, the docks for the two ships could be clearly seen, as well as the stairs and tunnels that would let the group go inside of them. She led the two up to one of the shuttles and pressed a button, opening the door to the stairs. “Follow me, try not to trip!”

     Annie’s jaw was practically on the ground with every step she took. Neopia Central technology wasn’t as archaic as Tyrannia, but she hadn’t seen anything like the shuttles before. When they were led down the tunnel, she looked out to the sides and saw that they were pretty far up from the ground. She couldn’t see her house or anything, but she could see the edges of the forest that they had just walked through to get to the shuttle. Her stomach churned when they reached the door to the shuttle, and SB seemed to notice the discomfort on her face.

     “Hey, it’s gonna be okay, I promise. I’ve been here before. Once you get past the initial turbulence, it’s really fun. You can hold my hand if you need to,” she said while Twinkliy punched in the passcode for the final door.

     Although she would’ve normally passed that comment off as patronizing, Annie was starting to feel like she might need to take her sister up on the offer. The last time she had held her hand was when SB walked with her to her first day of middle school, before she went off to high school herself. The sensation would probably bring some comfort to her, in a nostalgic way. So she nodded as the door opened, and the Alien Aisha led them inside.

     They had to climb up a ladder to get to their seats, which were horizontal on the ship. “I know this is a bit odd, but once we get into space, it will be a lot more comfortable!” Twinkliy said, buckling the two of them in.

     After they were safely strapped in, Annie reached over and grabbed SB’s hoof, holding it tight. “Thank you for coming with me. Doing this alone would’ve been too scary.”

     “Of course, Annie. I’m always here for you,” SB said as the shuttle began to roar to life.

     From the cockpit, Twinkliy’s voice called out. “It’s time for takeoff! In 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1…” By the time she got to one, the ship’s boosters had kicked in, and they were getting off the ground. “Liftoff!”

     As SB had mentioned, the turbulence while they were just getting off the ground was enough to make Annie feel sick. It lasted throughout their ascent through Neopia’s atmosphere, and it only ended when they were finally in space. Her stomach stopped turning, and she could feel her body begin to lift slightly in her seat. The Zero gravity was kicking in, and excitement began to bubble up in her chest. “Can I take my seatbelt off?”

     “Of course! I’ll let you know when you need to put it back on,” Twinkliy answered from the cockpit.

     Annie unbuckled her seatbelt and her body immediately began to slowly float from her seat. “SB! Look!” Her heart was soaring, like when she flew for the first time. But being in zero gravity was a little more like gentle floating since she didn’t have to exert herself to use her wings. “This is so fun!”

     SB stayed in her seat, nodding at Annie. “It is, isn’t it? It makes me a little dizzy, though, so I think I’ll stay right here.”

     Annie continued to zoom around the shuttle, enjoying the freedom as long as she could. She knew it wouldn’t last very long and eventually, they would have to land, but she could take floating around as a simple pleasure. In fact, she was having so much fun that she forgot about the predicament that got her there. It was only when Twinkliy told her to buckle back in that she looked down at her body and remembered how she looked. She let out a sigh and looked out the window as the Space Station came into view.

     The ship lowered itself into a dock, it whooshed like no wind Annie had ever heard before. When it finally fit into its slot, it thunked into place, rocking the ship slightly. Annie and SB had to grip their seats, but eventually, they finally settled in, and Twinkliy emerged from the cockpit. “Alright, you have arrived at the Virtupets Space Station! I can process your payment as soon as we have exited the shuttle. Please take a helmet from the rack at the bottom of the ship, and be sure to return it on your flight home. Thank you for choosing Twinkling Shuttles!”

     The sisters climbed down the ladder, and took one helmet each when they reached the bottom. It took a minute for Annie to adjust it on her head, but once it was locked in place, she took a few deep breaths. It would be weird to walk around with it on, but she could get accustomed to it.

     They exited the ship and walked through the tunnels, then down the stairs to get to the base. SB handed a medium-sized bag of Neopoints over, and they parted ways with Twinkliy. “Geez, that expensive?”

     “Did you think space travel would be cheap?” SB asked with an amused smirk. “It’ll be worth it if we’re able to get answers on this trip.”

     They left the base and Annie found herself struck dumb when she saw the enormity of the Space Station. It was far more futuristic than she could’ve ever imagined. Sure, she’d read a few books about Battledome technology from space, and she’d had a few lessons about it in class, but never what it would be like to actually be there. The population mostly consisted of Grundos, but she could see a few other species walking around, going about their business. They were able to take their helmets off once they were inside, and Annie was relieved to take a breath of fresh air - even if it was probably a bit artificial.

     SB nudged her, interrupting her thought process. “Hey, let’s get moving. I’d like to make it back before it gets dark.”

     Annie picked up the pace, and they started to quickly head inside, towards the Supply Deck. When they got inside, they found what seemed to be swarms of people moving around. Everyone was moving quickly with a solid destination in mind and little time to stop. As the two watched them all, Annie realized that they had no idea where they were supposed to go to meet the scientist. “I think we have to ask someone for help,” she said to SB.

     “It doesn’t say where to go on the card?”

     She took the card out from the pocket of her cloak and looked down at it. “Uh, it says Virtupets Scientific Lab, Floor 4, Room 2. I don’t know how to get there.”

     “Alright, then let’s ask someone.”

     The two found a help desk next to Space Armour. It was taking all of Annie’s strength to not go in there and check everything out. She’d seen imported goods from the Space Station a few times in Neopia Central, but they were always marked up. The chance to buy it straight from the source was almost irresistible. But SB could sense her wandering mind and she nudged her again. “You can check them out afterwards. Come on.”

     Approaching the help desk, Annie got the attention of the Water Aisha sitting at the desk. She was decked out head to toe in pink, purple, and blue, and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. “Um, excuse me?”

     The Aisha, whose name tag read Aizii, looked up. She didn’t look any more interested upon seeing the sisters. “Yeah?” Her voice was low, with tinges of vocal fry in some of her inflexions.

     “We’re looking for the Virtupets Scientific Lab. We have an appointment with one of the scientists there, Dr. Fueggo?” Annie showed her the card, but Aizii barely glanced at it. “He’s on Floor 4, Room 2, I guess.”

     “Uhhhhh, yeah.” Aizii wasn’t even making eye contact with them, she was just looking down at a handheld device with a screen that was lighting up. “Go down that way, past the weaponry store. There’s a big elevator at the end with a bunch of buttons. But Dr. Fueggo is super busy, I dunno if he’ll be able to meet with you.”

     Annie’s heart sank. Even though SB said they could turn the trip into an overnight, they both would prefer that it didn’t. “Is there any way we can talk to like, a secretary or something? Kauvara sent us,” SB cut in quickly.

     At that, Aizii’s eyebrows raised a bit. “Kauvara? Mm, okay. Lemme give the lab a call.” She pressed a few buttons on her flashing device, then held it up to her ear.

     While they waited, Annie looked over to SB. “What is that thing anyway?”

     “It’s called a cell phone. It’s something the Space Station has had for a while. There are some Neopians on the mainland who have one, but I’ve heard they’re planning on mass production soon. It’ll make getting in touch with your friends a lot easier,” the Peophin explained.

     Annie nodded, as if she understood it. “Oh. Okay.”

     Finally, Aizii spoke into the cell phone. “Hi, I have two people here to see Dr. Fueggo. They said Kauvara sent them. Yeah? Mhm. Okay. I’ll send them over. Thanks. Buh-Bye.” She looked over at SB and Annie, looking a little more chipper. “Alright, head over to the elevator. They’ll be expecting you up on the fourth floor. Good luck!”

     Annie breathed a sigh of relief as they left the help desk and headed over to the elevator. While they walked, she noticed that there were a good handful of other mutants walking around out in the open, not hiding or looking ashamed. “I see a lot of mutants here. Nobody’s looking at them weird.”

     “Yeah, I can imagine there’d be a lot here since Dr. Sloth’s base used to be here. He might even still be here somewhere, honestly. Some of them were probably turned by him, but I think some of them voluntarily became mutants,” SB explained. “See? It’s more proof of Neopians who are able to live happy, productive lives even as a mutant.”

     She hated that it felt like another lesson, but Annie nodded. SB did have a good point. There were mutants with briefcases, mutants walking and talking with non-mutant friends, and even mutants working at some of the shops. By the time they got to the elevator, she had counted at least twenty mutant pets in the Supply Deck, and there may very well have been more.

     SB pressed the button, and they stepped onto the elevator. Annie had never been on an elevator before, so she was a little startled when it rose quickly. “Don’t worry, I promise it’s safe. Especially at the Space Station. Everything runs smoothly and efficiently,” SB said with a calm smile. Annie didn’t understand how she could remain so calm in the face of all of the new technology.

     Finally, the elevator finished its glide to the top, and the doors opened with a light ding. A sleek lobby awaited them, with the same chrome colour scheme as everything else in the Space Station. There was a Robot Bori sitting at the front desk, rifling through about fifty papers. The nameplate that sat in front of him said ‘Voyagier.’ He seemed to not notice them come in, judging by the fact that his eyes were rapidly scanning the papers at speeds unknown to regular Neopets. Behind a glass screen on the wall, a Robot Draik sat in front of a control panel with more buttons than Annie could count.

     “Hello, we’re here to see Dr. Fueggo,” SB said politely as she approached the desk.

     Voyagier’s head snapped up to attention, and an ominous beeping sound came from him that made Annie jump back a foot. When he saw the two, his red eyes changed to a normal green colour. “Are you the ones here to see Dr. Fueggo?”

     “Y-yes!” Annie blurted out. She was shaking slightly, worried that if she said the wrong thing, he would obliterate her. “That is what we said…”

     The little antennas on Voyagier’s head twitched. “Alright, I’m sending him a message right now. Please wait here.”

     “How are you doing that with just your ears?” Annie asked.

     “I’m in touch with the building's servers and can send a message to Dr. Fueggo in his lab directly. He’ll be out in just a moment as long as he’s not distracted with something.” Voyagier paused for a moment. “It does happen, quite often. I can send a louder, more intrusive alarm in that case.”

     They waited in silence for about a minute or so and Annie’s eyes shifted around the room, taking in everything with a bit of culture shock. Sure, she had some technology in her home, and Poppy used a laptop when she wrote for the NT, but anything this advanced was beyond her wildest dreams. Her eyes came back to the Draik sitting in front of the big panel the most. “U-um, who’s that? What are they doing?”

     Voyagier’s face wasn’t fully capable of showing discomfort, but she could tell by the way his nose twitched and his mouth shifted to the side slightly that it was a touchy subject. “That’s Draickle. He works on this floor too, monitoring all of space that we can see. No one’s really sure what happened to him, but we heard that he was a Dr. Sloth experiment gone wrong. The Space Station rescued him, and now he works for us.”

     There was something about him that made Annie uncomfortable. He seemed to be wearing space equipment, despite being inside, and his wings had been replaced with propellers. It was as if he was more of an artificial machine than a Neopet - even more so than one that was already a robot. His head moved from side to side, scanning all of the monitors on the wall. From what she could see, they were all empty shots of space, with the exception of one focused on Kreludor.

     Before she could get herself too worked up about Draickle, a Grey Kougra shuffled into the room. “Hello, I’m Dr. Fueggo. You said Kauvara sent you to me?” His voice wasn’t as pathetic-sounding as Moluimge or Shylark’s, but he didn’t sound very enthused when he spoke either. There seemed to be something dark behind his eyes, like a deep sadness that he couldn’t shake.

     “Yeah, we came here for help with a little predicament we have,” SB explained, handing over the paper Kauvara gave them. “Annie here drank a potion that we think is from Dr. Sloth. It turned her into a mutant, and it seems to be resistant to any normal methods of changing her appearance. Kauvara examined the molecular content of it and she said that it contains Grundite.”

     Dr. Fueggo took the paper and examined it closely. His eyes widened a bit as he read it, and Annie assumed he understood all the scientific jargon that Kauvara had written down. “Grundite, that’s serious stuff. The other parts of the potion are no joke either. Here, come with me.” He gestured for the two to follow, then led them down the hallway. “I’ve worked with Grundite up here and it’s tough to crack. It’s used to create a Grundo with a particular machine up here. We don’t use strong doses of it, and it creates the pet instead of having an already existing one drink it. The effects of a pet drinking Grundite haven’t been studied.”

     “That’s not a good sign,” Annie said, her shoulders slumping. It felt like every professional she talked to made her feel worse and worse, and she was getting tired of it.

     “Well, just because it’s untested doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. It just means we don’t know. If you’d like, I can work on commissioning a study and try to fast-track it. It won’t be cheap, but I’ll try to apply for some grants,” Dr. Fueggo said as they arrived in his lab. The place was immaculately clean, almost freakishly so. Every cabinet and every drawer was labelled, and things seemed to be almost unnecessarily organized. Looking at one section of the room, Annie could see one drawer labelled for blue pens, and one for black pens.

     SB seemed starstruck. “This is incredible! Look at all the equipment! Look at all the books!” She headed straight for the bookshelf, running her hoof across all the titles. She stopped at one and pulled it out. “This one’s really rare, how did you get it?”

     “Some departments here at the Space Station are woefully underfunded, but occasionally, we get an absurd amount of NP for an easy task. In that case, we use the rest to replace outdated equipment, or spend it on other important things for research.” Dr. Fueggo’s voice was flat as he spoke, distracted by looking through his files for something. “Aha, here’s the most recent information we have on Grundite”

     SB crossed the room to peek over his shoulder, but Annie stayed where she was. She knew that regardless of what that paper said, she wouldn’t be able to understand it. “So if Grundite is so permanent, the only reason it can be reversed on a normal Grundo is because what they use here isn’t as potent, right?”

     “Precisely. Which is why I’m worried.” Dr. Fueggo looked between SB and Annie. “Even after I commission this study, it could take months to even a year for it to reach a conclusion. And I don’t know what conclusion that would be.”

     Annie’s eyes filled with tears. She wanted to run right out of the room and head straight back to the shuttle. SB seemed to notice this, and she left the Kougra’s side to comfort her sister. “What about in the meantime? The study could help any other pets that Dr. Sloth gets to, but what could we do for Annie right now?”

     Dr. Fueggo tapped a black pen on the table in thought. “Hmmm, unfortunately, anything I could try right now would be very experimental. I wouldn’t feel comfortable testing something on a live subject like this since it would be volatile. However…”

     “However what?” Annie blurted.

     “I think your best course of action would be to pursue other, more organic cures. What we do here is extremely scientific, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always the answer. If you were to ask, say, someone from the Haunted Woods or Faerieland, they might have a different answer,” Dr. Fueggo said as he put the paper from Kauvara into a new file labelled ‘mutant Grundite.’ “I would recommend seeking counsel with Fyora or Edna. Perhaps one of them would have a helpful suggestion.”

     “Getting an appointment with Fyora is near impossible,” SB replied, her face crinkling a bit in frustration. “You have to schedule three weeks in advance at minimum.”

     “This is where friends in high places can come in handy.” Dr. Fueggo reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a business card, writing their names on the back of it. “When you schedule with her, give her secretary this. It should cut your wait time down by a few days. I can’t work miracles, but it should be a little helpful. Otherwise, I’d recommend seeing Edna first. It’s much easier to meet with her since she’s a little… eclectic, to say the least.”

     Annie had heard of people who did quests for Edna, but she had never seen the sorceress in person. Most of her questers did them out of a sense of loyalty to her, but some went to her when they sought something that no one else could help with. There were a few tall tales that would go around school every now and then about pets who went to visit her and never came back. Even though she knew it probably wasn’t true, the thought still made her tremble a bit.

     SB took the business card and put it in her pocket. “Thank you, Dr. Fueggo. We really appreciate the help. If anything goes forward with the study, please let us know.”

     “Of course. Take care,” he said with a sigh, before turning back to whatever he had been working on before they arrived.

     The siblings walked down the hallway, heading back to the elevator. When they hit the lobby, Annie shot one more look at Draickle, who hadn’t moved an inch, and at Voyagier, who was typing something furiously into a computer. SB pressed the button for the elevator, and the two rode it back down to the main floor of the Supply Deck.

     They walked in silence for a little while. Neither of them looked at each other, opting instead to scan the area again, looking at the pets walking around and the various shops. Screens on the walls were advertising various products, or showing news from across Neopia. Finally, SB turned to Annie. “Do you wanna check out the battle shops? I’m buying.”

     Normally, that would’ve completely lifted Annie’s spirits. But under the circumstances, she still felt the dark cloud of sadness following her. What was the point of buying anything for battle if she wouldn’t be getting into the arena anytime soon? But when the Battle Armour shop came into view, she couldn’t help herself. “Alright, I guess you could twist my arm,” she said with a small smile.

     The two headed off to Battle Armour, being swallowed up by the bustling crowd.

     ~

     The day after the trip to the Space Station, Annie woke up at nine in the morning to the sound of her sister playing downstairs with friends. She rubbed her eyes and slowly pulled herself out from under the covers to get ready. Hopper was somehow still snoozing away on his bed, and the Eyrie found herself jealous of the Petpet. He never had to worry about how he looked. All he knew was jumping around. She poured some of his food out and set it on the ground so he would have it to eat when he woke up, then went to get ready.

     When she arrived downstairs, she found Brynettia playing in the living room with a Baby Kau, Baby Lutari, and Baby Bori. Poppy was over in the kitchen, making some food and looking over every now and then. When Annie came downstairs, Poppy looked up. “Hey Annie, I’m just making a snack for Bryn and her friends. You can have some when it’s done if you want.”

     Annie hadn’t eaten anything yet, so she nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

     “You should go in and say hi. They’re having a lot of fun in there.”

     At first, Annie wasn’t sure if she wanted to do that. What if Bryn’s friends all cried when they saw her? Baby pets seemed to be sensitive, so she was hesitant to put herself in a position where she could get her feelings hurt. But then again, maybe it would be a good test run to see how others reacted to her new appearance. As long as they didn’t have a similar reaction to Bryn when she first saw her, it would be okay.

     When she walked into the living room, the pets were all surrounded by plushies and books. The Bori was in the corner reading a surprisingly thick book, the Kau was dancing around with a faerie wand, and Bryn and the Lutari were tugging on a Meerca plushie. Bryn was the first one to look up, and she smiled when she saw Annie. “Hey!! D’ya wanna join my playdate?”

     The reactions to Annie seemed to be mixed. The Bori looked up, seeming neutral to her appearance. The Lutari gave her a big smile, and the Kau’s eyes widened a bit. “Is that your sister?” The Kau asked, setting the wand down.

     “Yep!” Bryn bounded up to Annie and hugged her. Annie was surprised that Bryn wanted to hug her in her current state. She was afraid that people would not want to touch her out of fear that they would become a mutant too just from contact. But her sister openly showing her affection made her feel a lot better; it meant that she could still be loved, regardless of her current state.

     “So um, who are your friends?” Annie asked after Bryn let go.

     “This is Moo, that’s Streha, and over there is Lulu!” Bryn said, gesturing to the Kau, the Bori, and the Lutari respectively.

     Moo still looked a little shocked, so Annie tried to offer a smile to her. But the way the side of her face twitched probably made her look either scary or scared herself. “Um, h-hey…”

     Bryn looked over to Moo. “Have you never seen a mutant pet before?”

     “No…” Moo said. Her expression hadn’t changed much, so Annie couldn’t tell if she was fascinated or disgusted.

     “I have a mutant sibling too,” Lulu said, going over and gently nudging Moo to try and snap her out of her trance. “His name is Bwa. He’s a funny frog. He’s really nice.” It reassured Annie to know that there were other sweet mutants like Tuskgus out there.

     Streha had already buried his nose back in his book, and Annie could see why he was friends with Bryn. “Mhm, mutants are cool.”

     Moo’s face finally relaxed a bit, and she walked up to Annie. “Do you like faeries? Wanna play faerie princesses with me?”

     Although Annie was tempted to say yes just because of how thankful she was to be accepted, she had a plan to go with one of her neighbours down to the Haunted Woods to meet up with Edna. She smiled but shook her head in response. “I can’t, I have stuff to do today. But I will stay and have a snack with you guys.”

     As if on cue, Poppy came out with a stack of starry cookies, and the baby pets all cheered. Annie couldn’t help but get excited herself. How could she not get excited around a bunch of cheering babies? Before any of them could get a cookie, Annie reached over and snatched one from the pile. Poppy shot her a stern, but teasing look as she set the plate down on the table and the babies started to swarm.

     “SB is at work, and Saorsie and I are going to swing by Faerieland to get you an appointment with Fyora. You’re going to the Haunted Woods, right?” Poppy asked, backing away from the hungry pets.

     “Yeah, you wanted me to ask Izzrin to accompany me, right?” Annie asked. Izzrin was the yellow Gelert who moved into the house across the street a few months ago. In the few encounters Annie had with her, she thought she was strange, but not unbearably so.

     Poppy nodded. “Yep. I think she lives alone, so she probably doesn’t have much better to do. It’d be good for her to get out a little bit.”

     Annie nodded. She started to head towards the front door, grabbing a small bag and munching on her cookie. She thought about pulling her cloak on again, but ultimately decided against it. Her interaction with Bryn’s friends made her feel a little more comfortable in her skin, and the Haunted Woods was used to creepy creatures. With one last wave to Poppy and her sister, she walked out the door and headed across the street to Izzrin’s house.

     The Gelert’s house hadn’t been decorated at all, save for a welcome mat in front of the door. Since Izzrin hadn’t lived there very long, it made sense, but Annie wondered if she ever planned on decorating it. When she got up the steps and to the door, she raised her hoof and knocked three times.

      Before Izzrin could even open the door, Annie heard a few loud noises coming from inside. Some were clangs, some were thuds. From what she had heard about the Gelert, she was a little ditsy, and always seemed out of touch with everything around her. So when she heard the noises, she was a little worried that this was a bad choice.

      Finally, Izzrin opened the door with a small smile. “Hey! Sorry, I was upstairs. Kinda tripped on the way down. What’s up?” She looked dishevelled, with her brown hair messily tucked under her blue beanie, and her AAA sweatshirt slightly rumpled.

      “Um, I need a favour from you, if that’s okay.”

      She nodded eagerly, without even knowing what was being asked of her. “Yeah! Sure! I can help! What’s the favour?”

      Annie blinked a few times before speaking again. “Do you even recognize me?”

      Izzrin’s face fell, as she had just been told the Tax Beast stole money from her pocket. “Oh. I don’t. Sorry. Who are you?”

      “Annie Golden. From across the street,” she said with a sigh.

      Izzrin’s face lit up again in recognition and Annie wondered why she was so performative with her expressions. “Oh! Yeah! You! Hi! Come on in! I was just finishing up lunch.” She stepped aside, holding the door open to let her neighbour in.

     Annie followed her into the house, regretting her choice with every step. She could see dishes sitting in the sink, random knick-knacks scattered around the house, and the TV playing a slapstick comedy movie. The house wasn’t filthy, but it was disorganized. She began to wonder how Izzrin ever found anything.

     Izzrin led Annie over to the couch, which had two big, fluffy blankets draped over it, and plopped down. There was half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sitting on a plate on the coffee table, and the Gelert picked it up and started eating it. “So, whatsh thish favor you need?”

     “So um, I don’t know if you noticed since the last time you saw me but uh, my appearance is different,” Annie explained.

     “Oh! Yeah! You’re right! Wow, I didn’t even notice,” Izzrin said with a laugh after swallowing her sandwich.

     “I drank a potion from a mysterious person and turned into this. We haven’t been able to get it reversed yet. I spoke to a scientist up at the Space Station and he said I should go see Edna.” The whole time Annie was explaining the story, she noticed that Izzrin was rubbing her face on one of the fluffy blankets. “Are you good?”

     Izzrin looked up, eyes wide. “Yeah! Sorry! Got distracted. Go on.”

     Annie rolled her eyes and continued. “So I need to go to the Haunted Woods. I want to bring someone with me so I’m not alone. Would you be willing to come with me?”

     “Hmmmmmmmm.” Izzrin’s hum of consideration was very long and drawn out. She rubbed her chin with her paw in an exaggerated manner, and Annie didn’t know if she had an answer and was just being dramatic or not. “Alright! I’ll do it!”

     After all that, Annie wasn’t sure if Izzrin was the right person for the job, but since she said yes, she had no choice. “Are you able to leave now? I’m trying to get all this done as quickly as possible.”

     “Yeah, I just gotta get my shtuff together and uh… we can go!” Izzrin looked down at her empty plate and rushed to pick it up. She fumbled it in her paws a bit and nearly dropped it, but she relaxed and was able to hold on tight. “Heh, sorry.”

     Annie watched her go to the kitchen, put the dish in the sink with the rest, then come back over to the living room. “What do you think I should bring with me? I don’t have any like, Eye of Slorg or anything weird like that. Is that even a thing?”

     “Just bring anything you might need for a day trip or adventure. I brought a compass, a map, some snacks, some NP for transportation or anything else we might need to buy…” Annie explained, taking things out of her backpack to show Izzrin.

     Izzrin nodded eagerly. “Okay! I’ll go get some stuff!” She ran upstairs, nearly tripping as she went. A few minutes, and some more thud noises later, she brought down a pink backpack that looked a little more full than necessary. “I got everything you said, some spare clothes, water, a plushie…”

     “Um, I think that’ll be good. Let’s get going.”

     Annie headed out of the house with Izzrin trotting happily behind her and beginning to chat about random things. Although she appreciated the enthusiasm, she had a feeling that it was going to become a long journey.

To be continued…