"That will be 24 tokens, please."

"Thanks," Gar said, carefully trying to balance the Vortex Negg in his claws without scratching it. As a Grarrl, it was often difficult to carry delicate objects without harming them.

The Negg Faerie noticed his trouble and winked. Pulling a small, empty basket from a nearby table, she gracefully scooped up the Negg with it and hooked the handle over Gar's arm.

"Thanks," the Grarrl repeated gratefully.

"You're welcome," she said with a wave. "Visit me again soon!"

Just as Gar turned to leave, however, he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the table where the basket had been. There, in a crumpled heap, lay what looked like a pile of colourful shell pieces, cracked and mixed together.

"Oh, that," the Negg Faerie said, carelessly running her fingers through the pieces. "From the looks of it, some poor Neopet dropped their Negg and left it on my doorstep, probably in the hopes that I would fix it. It's cracked beyond repair, though. I can't even tell what kind of Negg it used to be, the pieces are so small."

"Could I buy it?" Gar asked, spurred on by a powerful curiosity that startled even him.

"Sure, you can have it for free," the Negg Faerie answered, cocking an eyebrow in surprise. "If you can find some sort of use for it, be my guest." She swept the pieces off the table and poured them into Gar's basket.

With another nod of thanks, the Grarrl turned and left the Neggery...

He could hear the Negg pieces rattling at the bottom of the basket and so quickened his pace to avoid damaging them further. When he got inside, he placed the basket down on the table and lit the fire. Warming his hands, he sighed, the warmth calming him from his hurried walk though the brisk air. He had lived on Terror Mountain all of his life, but even so, he still couldn’t get used to the harsh coldness. Satisfied with the level of heat coming from the fire, he grabbed the basket and took both Negg and pieces up to his balmy room.

He took the Vortex Negg out first and held it under the light, twisting it around so that its shiny surface glistened and sparkled. Now that he was in the comfort of his own bedroom, he found that he had the calm and carefulness to admire delicate items such as Neggs with ease. Satisfied with his purchase, he placed the colourful Negg onto his shelf, along with a pair of novelty sunglasses, a strange coloured abacus and a Bottle of Love which was not actually what its name suggested, as instead, it was filled with hundreds of multi-coloured beads.

He tipped the pieces of Negg onto his bed, grabbed his magnifying glass and investigated the colourful mess, trying to establish what kind it used to be. He realised that oddly, the jumble of pieces wasn’t the broken remains of ONE Negg, but several. He carefully picked out a piece of Glamour Negg and put it to one side. Then he found a yellow piece and realised that this bit could have come from any number of Neggs. Within half an hour, he’d established that all in all, there were pieces of about twenty-nine Neggs. That in itself was odd, but unbeknown to the Grarrl, something even weirder was to follow.

That night, after a hard day sorting out his room to fit all of today’s junk inside empty boxes and shelves, he’d failed to do a last check up on his mismatch of Negg pieces, which he’d placed back in the basket to keep them out of harm's way. He figured he’d have more time to do something with them tomorrow, when it was a fresh new day. Dressing in his pyjamas, he pulled back his bed quilt, jumped inside, turned off his bedside lamp and settled down for the night.

In the basket, the piece of Glamour Negg connected to a piece of Genius Negg, which then connected to a piece of Stormy Negg, just like water droplets connected to make a big puddle. This oddity continued right until the middle of the night when the formed pieces moulded together to create a brand new variety of Negg, one that had never before been seen. And then the Negg started to move...

Having escaped the basket, the Negg proceeded to roll itself along the floor with a clunking gait that took it towards one of Gar’s shelves on the other side of the room. The glow from the fire further enhanced the outlandish creation with flickering orange highlights dancing across its surface. Gar snored a little, still deep in sleep.

Slowing as it reached the shelf, the Negg revolved a little on the spot, seeming to look up and around. The shelf on which the Vortex Negg stood was balanced on two enormous stacks of old books and annuals. Gar had never bothered with a hammer and nails, finding the piles to be much more efficient in terms of space usage.

Backing a little, the Negg rolled towards one stack, faster and faster, until its multiple components became simply a blur of colour bathed in orange firelight. With a sonorous hum, the object collided with one of the piles, bringing a crash as abacus, sunglasses and bottle crashed to the floor, sending beads in every direction. The Vortex Negg also came crashing to the ground and smashed on the wooden tiles with a mournful tinkle. Beautiful pastel-swirl fragments littered the ground.

As though sensing that time was running out, the curious thing responsible for the destruction again rolled, this time towards the fragments of the Vortex Negg. In one smooth motion, it melted into a pool that swirled and shone with an ethereal glow, covering the remains of the Vortex Negg entirely. In one brief moment, the puddle reformed and there was once again a strange Negg on the floor. Only now it had fragments of pink, blue and purple swirls mixed in.

Gar’s eyes flew open; immediately he knew that something was wrong. He swivelled his large head on the pillow and caught sight of the fallen shelf. He called out in dismay and flew out of bed, only to fall immediately on a collection of beads on the floor.

Picking himself up from the ground, he caught sight of his treasures, broken, and a Negg next to them. He knew that it was not the Vortex Negg; it looked nothing like one, although there were a few disjointed suggestions of spirals in the curious design.

Before he could consider the puzzle any further, the Negg began to vibrate vigorously and a deep rumbling sound seemed to emanate from within. He felt a little quiver of fear.

“What is this thing?” he whispered to himself...

He heard the loud thump-thump of the Negg beginning its descent down the stairs. Suddenly enthused (and perhaps a bit fearful) the Grarrl forgot his puzzlement and dashed towards the top of the stairs, just in time to see the patchwork object tumble down the last steps, rolling fluidly across his living room carpet. Curious, he followed in hot pursuit.

The Negg, if that was indeed what it was, had a mind of its own, Gar realized. It knew exactly what it was doing. It had a mission, a destination in mind. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw the Negg turn a corner and roll into the kitchen, not faltering, not unsure. It then vanished into the shadows behind the countertop of the unlit room.

Quietly, he leaned over the countertop, just in time to see it roll into the pantry. He did not know quite why he was acting so stealthily; it wasn't like the Negg possessed sentience, was it? Even so, the idea that the Negg could recognize what he was doing nagged at him from the furthest depths of his mind. He tried to shrug them away, but to no avail.

He heard a shudder from the pantry; after that, a crack. He then realized he had kept his stash of Happiness Neggs inside. For the sake of his curiosity, he refused to be angry by this Negg's antics. Instead, he crept around the side of the countertop, so he could get a better glimpse of what was going on.

His eyes lit with wonderment. The strange Negg was gone! In its place was a liquid pool, now moving, quietly, creeping towards the fragments of the Happiness Neggs. Their yellow coloration he could easily identify, even in the dim light. The liquid shone, as if sunlit; in moments, however, that moment of wonder had passed, and a new Negg stood where the puddle had been. Now, however, there was no scrap of Happiness Negg on the floor. More importantly, though, the new Negg had more pieces that were yellow, and seemed to wear a smile on its face.

Gar watched, enchanted, as the new Negg rolled out of the pantry, through the dining room -- towards the foyer. He pursued it carefully, still not wanting to make his presence known, despite his greater logic insisting that the thing was not conscious of him. He froze in the open doorway between the dining room and the foyer, the sudden witness of a sight that took his breath away.

The Negg stood before the shut front door. It began to glow for a moment, that same glorious luster it had taken on in the pantry. However, it did not become a pool. Rather, a tongue of that shining liquid rose forth from the side of the equally luminescent Negg, sliding like a serpent through the air, up to the lock. The liquid pressed against the lock with utmost finesse; there was a click, the tongue of liquid retracted, and the Negg was no longer glowing. The door immediately swung open, now no longer locked.

The Negg resumed rolling, and rolled right out the door.

Gar knocked himself out of his reverie and dashed to the front door, just in time to see the Negg tumbling merrily through the snow, towards the Neggery...

Famous last words, Gar...

Pushing that unpleasant thought from his mind, the Grarrl kept on running, his deep breathing beginning to stab at his throat and chest as the cold air invaded his body. Maybe he should slow down.

No, he had to keep going. He liked the Negg Faerie, and he didn't want her to be angry with him. Besides, he could only imagine how much the Neggery's entire stock would cost if his Negg were to eat it.

Gar's toes were numb and the rest of his feet stung fiercely by the time he reached the Neggery's front door. The Negg had left it open, and Gar burst in unceremoniously, glancing wildly around the front of the shop. No Neggs lined the shelves, and no fragments or puddles decorated the floor. The stock must have been put away for the night.

Panic exploded in Gar's mind. What if the Negg Faerie didn't sleep here? What if she was somewhere else in the Ice Caves right now, and Gar was left to deal with the living Negg on his own? Even worse, what if she walked in on him just as the Negg finished eating one of her Neggs? How would he ever explain it to her?

Now I know how the Meerca from Meerca Chase feels!

Gar was just about to head for the door at the back of the shop that no doubt lead into the storage room when a high, terrified shriek ripped the night apart. Bolting forward, Gar tried the door, found it to be already slightly open, and charged into the storage room.

Never had he imagined that such a sight would meet his peace-loving eyes. There, scrunched into a corner of the room, was a bed, and on it was the Negg Faerie, cowering wide-eyed against the wall. Several shelves littered the floor, some of them cracked and splintered.

And in the middle of it all, drawing all of Gar's attention and making every other detail of the room fade into the distant background, was the Negg, now glutted and dazzling with the absorbed remnants of the Neggery's extensive collection. Every single Negg in the building had been devoured.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, there was also the uncomfortable fact that such a huge meal had had an effect on the Negg: namely, causing it to grow exponentially in size...

She muttered a few words under her breath and cast out her arms. Streams of light shot from her fingertips, aimed directly at the giant Negg.

Gar ducked as the beams simply bounced off the solid surface of the Negg. The Negg Faerie shrieked as one of the beams hit her leg. She crumpled to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

The Negg seemed to be having problems. Because of its immense size, it couldn't fit through the doorway of the Neggery.

Gar grinned nervously at the back of the Negg as he started inching towards what looked like a large axe standing in the corner. The Negg didn't seem to notice, thumping continuously against the door.

Gar hefted the axe in his paws. It was very dusty. The dust, unsettled, floated up into the air. Gar, not noticing, approached the Negg cautiously. The dust filled his nostrils, and Gar twitched his nose. All of a sudden,

"ACHOO!" Gar immediately covered his mouth. He dropped the axe, and the large Negg slowly turned around to face him.

The mouth of a Happiness Negg twisted in anger, and the Negg let out a mighty roar. It started rolling towards a petrified Gar, who was once again rooted to the spot...

The Negg Faerie was still in there, trapped with that awful giant Negg, locked helplessly in unconsciousness! Torn between fear for himself and fear for her, Gar hesitated, then rushed back into the bedroom/storage room, fighting a tsunami of instincts with every step. The axe. Maybe if he could get to the axe, he might have a chance.

If only his brothers could see him now.

The moment he was through the inner door, he found himself face-to-rear with the Negg, and his courage almost faltered. Only the sight of the Faerie, sprawled on the floor and blinking slowly in the first stages of regaining consciousness, drove him forward. Darting around the glimmering bulk that dominated the room with the speed of desperate necessity, Gar dove for the axe, then lifted his fearful gaze to find himself staring straight into the eyes of a very angry Negg.

NNGGRRRRRRGG!

A deep, grinding, rumbling sound caused the floor to vibrate underneath Gar's feet, and the Grarrl watched in fascinated horror as the Negg began to dissolve, melting down into an incandescent puddle that began to swiftly fill the floor.

Wait - wasn't that what it did right before it ate my Happiness Neggs?

But there AREN'T any Neggs in here.

...

EEYYAAAAAHHH!!!

Only the fact that his throat was too tight to allow so much as a squeak prevented Gar's inner howl from blasting forth from his mouth. Finding a better use for his powerful jaws, he transferred the axe to his mouth, then dove for the Negg Faerie, scooping her up in his short but sturdy arms and then racing for the door. Behind him, he could hear a faint swish and gurgle, and the light of the liquid Negg sent his shadow fleeing ahead of him as the fluid menace flowed swiftly and quietly out the door in his wake...

Gar gazed out into the silent snow of the Ice Caves. In daytime, this place would be packed with tourists, sledders, shoppers, and warriors heading to the Ice Dome. Now, in the pinnacle of night, it was quiet. A cold wind howled through the passage, and crystal stalactites clung to the ceiling, glinting in the faint moonlight. From a distance, Gar could hear a soft, deep breathing, that was neither his nor the Negg Faerie's.

All of this, however, was lost on him. He watched the liquid mass that the Negg slide forward, effortlessly over the snow, as if it were made of air. It moved seamlessly, without friction. Any obstacle it came across, it managed to evade with inhuman grace. Gar could do nothing but watch as the Negg headed off, making not a noise, shimmering like glass in the dim moonlight.

In his arms, the Negg Faerie gave a sudden gasp. Gar gazed down at her, alert. The troubled faerie was gasping deeply for breath, and her eyes fluttered open. Within them swirled a fog of disorientation.

"Where... am I...?" she breathed.

"You're outside your house, Miss Negg Faerie," Gar murmured softly. "In the Ice Caves."

The Negg Faerie nodded slightly. Gar gazed back up at the Negg -- it was slipping off into sight. He cursed his circumstances, but not audibly; he did not want to alarm the Negg Faerie. She, however, suddenly gave a violent shudder.

"That thing!" she cried, grabbing Gar's shoulders. "That thing must be stopped! It must!"

"What? Why?" Gar could only stammer, totally taken aback.

The Negg Faerie ignored his inquiry. "Please, you must stop it. You must stop it! At all costs!"

The green-haired eccentric gave a flutter, and was suddenly out of his arms, hovering slightly in the air before him. "Quick! Before it gets away! You must run after it!"

"Wait," Gar managed to speak, "what is that thing? Where is it going? What is it doing?"

"That thing," the Negg Faerie murmured, "is no mere Negg. It is something far greater... something I have known of, and yet, something that is so great a mystery to me."

"What is it doing?"

"It seeks out all Neggs of Neopia," the Negg Faerie spoke. "It absorbs their strength, that magical energy that lies within all Neggs. It has no purpose other than that. It will seek to fulfill that purpose endlessly... until it is destroyed."

"Where is it going?"

The Negg Faerie was quiet. "I... I don't know," she breathed.

But Gar already knew.

The realization struck his brain like thunder. He gazed at the Negg Faerie, suddenly horrified.

"I know where it's going," the Grarrl gasped. "Who else in the Ice Caves has a huge stash of Neggs just lying around?"

The Negg Faerie clasped a hand to her mouth.

"The Snowager...!"

"No!"

Gar breathed the syllable. Then his gaze darkened. "No! This must be stopped."

He looked at the Negg Faerie again and they nodded in silent comprehension. Then, without further ado, both of them dashed out into the night.

Gar had lived on Terror Mountain long enough to know the way from the Neggery to the Snowager even in the middle of the night. He remained impervious to the snowy ground that numbed his feet as he ran the short while to the entrance of the Snowager's cave.

At the mouth of the icy structure, he stopped and took a deep breath. The Negg Faerie, who had been flying silently behind him, gave him a reassuring nod. Together, they entered the cave.

But before they could come in sight of the Snowager, an earsplitting roar temporarily deafened Gar. He clamped his hands over his ears and let out an involuntary gasp as the walls shook from the strength of the noise. Icicles trembled on the ceiling, and some clattered to the floor.

The Negg Faerie grabbed his wrist and pulled him around the corner, into the main cove of the Snowager.

The sight that met his eyes was fascinating.

The strange liquid mass had solidified into a Negg again, but one that was ten times bigger than Gar himself. But it had such graceful agility for such a clumsy-looking item! Gar could only stare as it dipped and wove, spun and ducked.

The Snowager, who was wide awake, was intent on not letting the intruder escape with some of his beloved treasures. He refused to back down even though the formidable Negg kept advancing on his stash. The Snowager roared and sent icy blasts, one right after another, at his contender. The Negg survived through the frantic maelstrom nevertheless, sometimes dissolving into a large puddle to avoid being shattered. When it did so, it would try to glide forward to the stash, only to be hindered by a giant ice wall that the Snowager built up.

The Negg Faerie seemed oblivious to the tremendous battle taking place before her eyes. She stared at the adjacent wall, lost in thought.

Then, without preamble, she whirled around and looked at Gar. Realization flooded her eyes. And she said, gently but audibly above the raging noises-

"I know how we can win this..."

Beyond them, the Negg shimmered into molten silver just before several shards of ice pierced through it. The liquid Negg held its shape for just a moment, then slid forward and began building up against the growing ice barrier, trying to find away over or around.

There was a sudden hiss, and the ice began to melt. The Snowager was still building it up from the other side, but....

"Quickly," Gar said.

The Negg Faerie fixed him with a sad gaze. "It won't be easy."

"I can be tough," Gar assured her, bracing himself.

She shook her head. "That's exactly what you can't be, for this. Gar... the Negg may know you. You saved it. You may be able to reach it." A tiny smile. "We share a love for Neggs," she said, "but you're the one who wanted to take care of it."

Gar shot the Negg an agonized glance. It was glowing brighter than ever now, and surrounded by steam. "What do I do? Just talk to it?"

"I..." The Negg Faerie hesitated. "I think you should do what feels right."

"Oh, thanks," Gar said, "here goes nothing." And he advanced through the clouds of steam from the melting ice, peering ahead in hopes of discerning some useful information about his footing. At least he wasn't cold anymore.

One clawed foot came down in hot, thick liquid, and Gar had just time to think So much for watching my footing! before the ominous shockwave of ripples loomed up into a gigantic Negg that towered over him. Gar wasn't too sure it didn't overtop the ice wall. He gulped and tried to step back, only to discover that the Negg had resolidified around his foot.

Oh boy, he thought nervously. He cleared his throat. "Um," he said. "Hi, Negg." Oh, that was brilliant.... He wished his sarcastic side would shut up.

The Negg, however, didn't seem to care about his lack of eloquence. It didn't seem to want to eat him right away, either, even though he rather thought the mouth had taken on a few of the toothy characteristics of a Ferocious Negg, and it certainly didn't look happy.

It rocked from side to side, studying him. If it had had a nose, he would have thought it was sniffing him.

He suddenly felt that it recognized him, a sense of knowing. He hoped that was from the rescue the Negg Faerie thought was so important, because it was suddenly occurring to him that she hadn't been awake for the part where it saw him threatening it with an axe.

Then speculation was replaced by terror as one half of the Negg turned silver. He saw his reflection mirrored in glowing liquid just before it engulfed him.

The Negg Faerie screamed in horror. The Snowager roared, more because someone else was making noise than anything else, and arched up over the wall to see what had happened.

The Negg resolidified and sat still, rocking back and forth.

The Snowager, seeing an opportunity to get rid of its enemy once and for all, reared up and prepared to loose a storm of jagged, penetrating ice shards.

The Negg trembled and began, very slowly, to spin.

The Snowager drew breath and opened its mouth.

And the Negg Faerie, watching keenly, threw up one hand and forced the massive ice worm's jaw to snap shut.

The Snowager gave a pained snort as its weaponry was suddenly stalled, but the Negg Faerie was the Negg Faerie. It glared at her and waited.

And she waited.

Gar discovered after the first few seconds of sheer panic that he still had a self to panic with, and this was enough of a surprise that he next found himself able even to think.

He was alive, at least sort of. He was himself, with his own mind.

He wasn't too sure about having his own body. He couldn't see, hear, or smell anything, though he didn't seem to be having any trouble breathing. Strike that. He wasn't breathing. It just didn't seem to be a problem.

He didn't seem to be able to move, either. He couldn't feel his limbs. In fact, he felt remarkably... round. And Negg-shaped. And perhaps a bit liquidy.

Something that was not quite his stomach, but close enough to the concept, rumbled. He wanted Neggs. He wanted all of them, wanted to devour them, wanted to be them --

No.

Recalling his mission here with an effort, Gar dragged his mind off the hunger for other... for Neggs, and thought about simply... loving them. Not just eating them, though they were good for food and training, but appreciating them. Collecting them, growing them, tending them, admiring them for their beauty and magic and differences.

He trembled.

The Negg trembled around him.

Gar thought harder about the beauty and delight and magic of separate, different, unique Neggs.

And then there was light, splitting it apart, and Gar was a very surprised Grarrl again, sitting atop and partially inside a mound of Neggs that could almost have passed for a junior version of the Snowager's.

"It worked," he said.

The Negg Faerie rushed up to hug him. "It did. I was worried about you for a minute there."

"So was I!" There was a rumble from above them, and Gar looked up. "Um," he said, as the Snowager eyed the new heap of Neggs with an avaricious gleam in its eye. "Perhaps we'd better go."

The Negg Faerie looked up too. "Ah, yes," she said. "Let's."

The Negg Faerie's collection, in the end, was restored. So was Gar's, or most of it.

When he was putting them all away again, Gar noticed that he had one Vortex Negg that didn't look quite right. Perhaps it had a few more colors than normal.

He held it in his two claws and looked left and right furtively, feeling inexplicably guilty. It was a Negg. It was his Negg. It was a very lovely Negg and he didn't have one like it in his collection, but that didn't mean he had no options.

He looked down at it again and thought he saw, at the heart of the vortex, a hint of liquid silver.

He made up his mind.

For the rest of the day his stomach was full, with just the occasional burp.

The End