Prologue:
Searching

A spotted cybunny walked cautiously through the forest. He sniffed the ground, hoping to find food. But not for himself: for his partner. She was waiting for him back at their burrow.

Then his nose picked up the scent of food. A berry bush to be exact. As he was gathering some berries to bring home, he suddenly stopped. His ears told him he wasn't alone. A hunter and his lupe was stalking him. The cybunny immediately dropped the berries he gathered and ran for his life. The lupe then chased after him.

Chapter 1:
The Burrow

Meanwhile, back at the burrow, the cybunny's partner was anxiously waiting for him to return.

You'd probably think his partner was a female cybunny, right? Wrong. She was actually a Wild Island Acara, a breed of acara native to Mystery Island.

Wild Island Acaras usually live in large groups, but this one got sepperated after some hunters attacked them. (Wild Island Acaras are often hunted for their fur.) Shortly afterwards, she met the male cybunny.

She was very anxious for him to return. And for a good reason. She wasn't alone...

A few days ago, the acara had become a mother. She delivered three cubs, two of which were born dead. She instinctively took them into the forest and buried them.

The living cub was only six days old and her eyes weren't open yet. She was actually only part acara: she had some features of a cybunny. She had a cybunny's tail, her horns were floppy like a cybunny's ears, and her forepaws were similar to those of a cybunny's.

The male cybunny had left to find them food. He had been gone for hours, and the female acara was getting hungry. She wanted to go find food herself, but she couldn't bear to leave her little one alone. She then decided to stay until he came back.

Chapter 2:
A Tough Choice

Many hours passed. The male cybunny still hadn't returned. The female acara was now very hungry and unable to feed her little one.

She was then facing a tough decision. Should she stay in the burrow and wait for someone who might not come back? Or should she leave to find food and risk leaving her little one alone?

She then made the tough decision to leave the burrow. But before she left, she blocked the burrow's entrance with a rock, hoping this would keep a predator from getting in. Thus, she began her search for food.

As she was searching, a lupe was stalking her. Her hearing wasn't as good as the cybunny's, so she was unaware of the approaching danger.

When the lupe was only a few yards away frow his prey, he accidentaly stepped on a twig. The acara suddenly turned around and saw the lupe. She then took off, and the lupe went after her. The lupe chased her towards some bushes, where a hunter (the same one from before) was waiting in ambush. The acara didn't realise this until it was too late.

Then with a loud BANG, it was all over for her.

Good job, Wolfgang!" The hunter replied. "This Wild Island Acara and that cybunny we got earlier will sell for a hefty price." He then picked up the limp body and left, will his lupe following.

Chapter 3:
Alone

The baby half-acara was now all alone. She no longer had any parents to feed or protect her.

She would have starved to death if it weren't for what happened next...

A gelert was sniffing the ground, looking for his owner. He had wandered too far away from the beach and was now lost. He then saw a rock and heard something crying behind it. The gelert pushed the rock aside and then saw the baby acara. He then gently picked up the acara in his jaws. His nose then picked up the smell of saltwater- the beach wasn't far away. The gelert then headed in that direction.

The gelert's owner was waiting there. When she saw the little acara, she figured it probably didn't have any parents, so she took it home with her.

When they got to her home in Neopia Central, she washed the acara until her fur was nice and clean. Once she was dry, the human then fed her.

Then something else happened. The acara opened her eyes for the first time. She then looked at the human and smiled.

Chapter 4:
The Truth

The young acara (whose name was now Acara) had grown very attached to the human who raised her. In fact, she often called her 'mother'.

This made the human feel strange, because she wasn't Acara's actual mother. She wasn't even sure if she had one. Acara wasn't aware of this, because the human never told her.

But one night, Acara learned the truth.

That night, she got out of bed to get some water, when she overheard the human talking with her gelert. "I'm not so sure how to tell Acara that I'm not here real mom. I'm not even sure if her real parents are even alive."

Acara was shocked and upset to hear this. The human she had known and loved had lied to her. She then decided to run away. Far away.

And she did just that.

Chapter 5:
Mooshi

Acara ran far away from her home. She soon because lost and confused. She didn't know where to turn.

Then she heard a voice say "Hello."

Acara turned around to see who said that. She saw nothing but a Hopso.

Did you here something?" Acara asked him. "Huh?" The Hopso responded. "Wait...you can understand me?"

Did you say hello?"

Yes. But I didn't think you'd understand me. Most neopets I say 'hi' to don't understand anything I say. But you seem to understand me."

Wow...I'm talking to a petpet, and the petpet is talking back." Acara paused for a moment, then said "What's your name?"

Mooshi. What's your name?"

Acara."

The two soon became best friends.

Chapter 6:
Neomonia

Acara and Mooshi were never seen apart. Even during the cold winter months, which were quite hard on them. Temperatures plummeted and food became harder to find.

And during that time, Acara became ill.

She felt sick, tired, and grumpy during those cold winter months. She had NeoMonia. Mooshi became very worried for his friend.

Mooshi remained by her side, keeping her warm during cold nights. He also went to get food for her, since she couldn't do it herself.

But one day, someone called the Neopian Pound reporting a sickly acara seen in the park.

Acara and Mooshi were then taken to that place.

Chapter 7:
The Pound

Acara was absolutely miserable in the Pound. The grouchy old techo that ran the place hardly cared for her, or all the other pets for that matter. He gave them enough food and water to keep them alive, but that was about it. And speaking of food, it wasn't very appetizing.

Acara sighed as the grumpy techo handed her a small plate of Beef Rouladen. This was her least-favorite dish in the Pound, as she had been growing tired of tasting dry potatoes and re-hydrated meat substitute.

Not that I'm ungratefull, but, couldn't you give me something else besides Beef Rouladen once in a while?" Acara asked.

Just zip it and eat!" The techo grumbled. Acara stared at her dish for a few seconds, then said "I've been getting tired of this dish, lately. That's probably what happens when you eat the same thing every day."

Tell me about it." A yellow acara next to her replied. "That grouch has been giving me nothing but Spudnicks for the last two weeks!"

Wanna trade?" Acara asked him.

Well, at least your supper didn't run away." A blue uni sighed as she watched her Batter-Fried Grackle Bug scampered off her plate.

Acara munched on the Spudnick she traded her supper for and said "Why is that grumpy old techo such a meanie?"

Well, he wasn't always that way." A blue shoyru replied. "Legend has it that there once was a time when he used to smile."

Really?"

Yep, that's right." A christmas chia replied. "They say that when he was a young boy he would find injured petpets, nurse them back to health, and find good homes for them all. And after years of medical training, he got a job here."

A green tonu joined in and said "But as the years went by, he became sadder and sadder as more pets were abandoned. Some were abandoned because they were sick, others because their owners couldn't feed them, and -even worse- some were dumped simply because a cool new species of pet was discovered."

Darn Lutaris." The yellow acara coughed.

S-s-soon..." a blue hissi hissed. "He gave up hope. The onc-c-ce happy techo is-s-s now a grump. A grump who wishes-s-s he didn't have to s-s-see helpless-s-s young neopets-s-s being abandoned every day."

You need to work on that hiss in your speech." The yellow acara replied.

I'm a hiss-s-si. I'm s-s-suppos-s-sed to talk like that."

Chapter 8:
The Back Room

Every now and then, Acara and the other pets would see the grumpy old techo -who they learned was named Dr. Death- walk down the hall with a leash in his hand. He'd open one of the cages and clip the leash to the pet's collar. They noticed whenever this happened, he'd look sadder than usual.

Then the unlucky neopet was dragged to the bacck room. The back room was where pets go in, but never came out again. For some reason, this only happened to pets that nobody wanted.

One night, when the other pets were asleep, Acara asked Mooshi to sneak into the back room. They were curious as to what happened to the pets back there.

Mooshi squeezed himself under the cage door, then quietly crept towards the back room. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He then decided to wait until another pet was taken back there.

And the next morning, a quiet blue uni that Acara befriended was taken to the back room. Mooshi wasted no time in following them inside.

There wasn't much inside the back room. Just another door and a machine of some sort. Dr. Death then opened the door, unclipped the uni's leash and lead her inside. Then he closed the door and walked towards the machine. He then turned a few knobs, and looked sadly towards the closed door.

Mooshi heard a hissing sound coming from behind the door. He heard coughing, then a loud thud.

Dr. Death turned off the machine, then after a few moments, he opened the door.

Mooshi was shocked at what he saw. The blue uni was lying motionless on the floor. She was no longer breathing.

He understood everything now. This was a gas chamber.

He immediately ran outside to warn Acara.

Chapter 9:
The Suprise

Acara!" Mooshi shouted. "Acara, wake up!"

Acara yawned and asked "What? What is it, Mooshi?"

The back room...It's a gas chamber! The pets lead back there are taken to their deaths!"

What?!"

You heard me! We have to get out of here before you get taken back there!"

Suddenly, Acara felt herself being picked up. Dr. Death was taking her to the back room! Oh, no!

Acara tried to break free of Dr. Death's grip, but it was no use. She was too sick. Mooshi tried to help her by biting Dr. Death's ankle, but he just kicked him aside and grumbled "Beat it, you stupid rodent!"

She knew why she was going to the back room. Nobody wanted her. Who would want a sick yellow acara, anyway?

Wait!

Dr. Death stopped in his tracks. Acara looked up and saw a human girl, probably somewhere between the age of 12 and 13. She had brown hair and green-colored eyes.

I'll take that one." She said. Acara was suprised. Did she want her?

You want this one?" Dr. Death asked, holding up Acara. "But she's got Neomonia. And I'm sure nobody wants a pet with that illness."

I don't care. I want her."

The cure is very expensive!"

I'll just take her to the Healing Springs and hope she gets cured."

But...but...but...oh, all right." Dr. Death placed Acara in her arms. As the human took Acara to the front desk to pay the adoption fee, she looked to see where Mooshi was. He was hopping along behind the human, not wanting to be away from his beloved master.

Acara looked and saw all her friends waving goodbye and wishing her well.

The human girl looked at the floor and noticed Mooshi. "Is that your petpet?" She asked. Acara nodded weakly.

He's very cute. By the way, what's your name?"

I'll tell you if you tell me what your name is."

Sarah. And what's yours?"

Acara."

To Be Continued...

Jula
Jula is a fellow Wild Island Acara and the very first pet Sarah ever got. She's also her strongest pet. When she fights others in the battledome, she often fails more than she succeeds. But she doesn't give up easily! Her 'rival' is the Flame Meerca, the first pet she battled. She lost to him, but she says, and I quote, "Someday i'm gonna defeat that flame meerca! This I swear!"

Sarah B.
Sarah B. is one of Jula's sisters. She has the ability to shapeshift into a different pet.

A.J. and Aly
Aly (the acara on the left) prefers to stay out of trouble and is often seen guarding the items in Sarah's galllery. A.J., on the other hand, likes getting into trouble and pulling pranks on her twin sister.

I don't have that many friends, but I would like some. ;)

Customs:

Yellow Acaras: