The sky shone a brilliant sapphire blue, puffy clouds
floating against the scene of blue.
Broy, a happy human Neopian, walked along
the busy streets of Neopia Central. Neopets scurried round, some with owners,
and others owners themselves.
Broy whistled merrily, crossing the streets to
the Money Tree, where he was about to donate some of his spare Neopoints.
He neared the tree, spotting a joyful, although
poor, group of Neopians. They, too, came near the tree. One of the members of
this small pack, a baby Zafara with beaten clothes for that matter, cried, “Oh,
mummy! Lookie! A blue Poogle toy! Can we get it? Pretty please?”
The mother of the Zafara hesitated and smiled.
“As long as nobody else wants it, dear.” Seeing that no one nearby seemed too
keen in the plush, she reached her paw out for it. Suddenly, another Neopian
— although human — who looked much wealthier than Broy snatched the toy into
his hands, leaving the baby Zafara crying and Broy fuming for the first time
in Neopia.
Broy crept over to the depressed Neopet and handed
him two hundred Neopoints. “Here you go, little guy. Now go spend all those
Neopoints on toys, some yummy food, and descent clothes.”
The mother looked very grateful, as the toddler
ended his crying and began to hop round. The other group members were grinning
from ear-to-ear. Broy sighed a sigh of relief and headed back to his small,
cramped NeoHome, where he and his Neopet, a Shoyru still un-hatched from an
egg, lived.
Broy hurried to the egg and rubbed his T-shirt
against the smooth, round surface. He pressed his ear against the egg, hearing
muffled noises inside of it.
“Oh, little Shoyru,” he said, propping the egg
on his lap to bounce it around. “When will you finally hatch from that egg and
play?”
Placing the egg back on a soft beg, Broy scurried
off into his only other room, the kitchen/dining room. He peeked into his minuscule
refrigerator and extracted from inside a small plate of Meatless Meatballs and
a can of Neocola. Broy ate intently, and when he was finished, he decided to
do a little shopping.
Broy browsed around the average Neopians’ shops,
seeing plain white banners saying “hey by sumthin from ma shop!!!11”, others
being decorative and colourful. Broy decided to enter a particular shop saying,
“hi plz by sumthing from my shop im poor thnx!!!!” for Broy loved to help and
donate, especially to the unfortunate.
Peering around the stuffy shop, Broy found something
useful-looking. It was a Shoyru shield, and he decided to buy it, placing three
thousand Neopoints on the cashier counter.
The shopkeeper was an innocent-looking Acara.
When Broy slipped the money on the counter and was about to leave, the Acara’s
owner swiped another few thousand Neopoints before shoving Broy out of the shop,
smirking and reminding him, “No refunds or exchange allowed, loser!”
“What a terrible day,” commented Broy when he
arrived home and sat next to the egg. “In fact, that was a terrible owner; a
terrible store. Maybe if you hatch, you could show me how to be more careful.”
Broy sighed sadly and tucked the egg into the
oversized bed. He himself curled up, although upon a weak, damp, and rather
smelly, strew couch.
Leisurely, the sun lowered down under the horizon.
The sky dimmed and darkened, as stars glittered in the distance. Despite all
that, Broy was still wide awake. He sighed heavily and rolled to his side, facing
the wall. The unfortunate Neopian pondered of what — or who — was out there
in outer space, and how life was. Thinking about these things made Broy confused,
his head aching for sleep, and his eyes squinting. Finally, after being awake
in the dark for hours, he slept.
Broy slept well, resting until almost noon. When
he awoke, he was shocked and hurriedly did his morning routines.
The Neopian hastily walked back and forth afterwards,
cleaning the two-roomed house while gobbling down an omelette. Today was a brand
new day for exploring, but even so, he went over to his beloved egg and cradled
it in his arms.
After a few minutes with his unborn Neopet, Broy
zipped on a heavy coat, as he had decided to head north to Terror Mountain for
the first time.
Broy stepped out of his NeoHome, walking through
the streets. He would be able to take a bus for little price just out of the
city, and that he did.
Boarding the bus silently, he looked at all the
poor Neopians around him. He sat beside a particular female Kyrii and took a
small glance at her. She was holding a Neopkin in her paw, while having a stack
of Neopkin boxes on her lap.
“Hello,” she greeted cheerfully, despite the
fact that she was ill. Broy was quite surprised, but smiled warmly.
“Hey there,” he replied. There was a brief moment
of silence, when Broy inquired, “Where are you headed?”
“Oh, just to a Neopian’s shop a little outside
of town — they sell many medicines, and along with one, I think I should fetch
some Neopkins also,” answered the Kyrii.
“Oh, hey,” said Broy thoughtfully. “Isn’t there
a pharmacy in Neopia Central, just a bit from the Bazaar?”
“Well now,” puffed the Kyrii. “I was wondering
where everyone else received the products. Thank you very much, and perhaps
I will not make waste of this trip and buy a Chia pop from Terror Mountain.”
Broy was glad to be of aid and know something
about Neopia. He looked at the Kyrii and reached into his pocket.
“Why not have some Neopoints?” he offered kindly.
He placed a few hundred Neopoints on top of her Neopkins boxes as she gave him
a shocked expression.
“Here,” said the Kyrii, handing him a potion
that she extracted from inside her bottom box. When Broy shook his head, she
said, “I insist. I have no use for it anyway.”
Before they realized it, the bus had reached
Terror Mountain.
Broy hopped off the bus and waited for the Kyrii
to also exit. The Kyrii thanked him and sighed, “Well, I best be off.” She headed
in a different direction, as Broy began his exploring.
After a few short hours of walking, Broy headed
to the Ice Caves. There, he met another Neopian.
“Haze,” he greeted, which Broy presumed was “hey”
with a “z” sound at the end. He greeted him in response, and the Neopian continued,
“Over dere, ya know da Snowager?”
“No, I’m sorry — it’s my first time here,” Broy
replied.
“Oh, he’s a big giant Cobrall and he like totally
has a collection of items. You know, he liked injured so many people, someone’s
gotta stand up to him. Like you, guy. You can stand up to him. Just when ya
go inside, don’t like, trust your umm — feelings, just like go for it, man.”
“O-okay,” said Broy doubtfully. It seemed as
though he didn’t have an option. The Neopian he had been chatting to — or listening,
rather — scooted over somewhere, although Broy was unsure of where.
Broy marched up a hill, and saw the Snowager’s
cave. He crept inside, a chill rushing down his spine. He shivered, looking
around him. He spotted all types of item in heaps — Neggs, Battledome items,
and much more! Broy looked up at the stack of items, staring higher and higher…
until he gasped and froze. Towering over him was a long, striped creature, glaring
straight at him.
Be brave. Stand up to him, Broy thought
to himself. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel brave. He didn’t feel he could stand
up to him. But he had to. Broy stood there, determined, and was about
to speak when the Snowager blasted a ray of ice toward him. He barely dodged
it, his body nearly frozen solid, cold, and in pain. He whirled around, quickly
attempted to walk on his feet, succeeded, and stumbled outside the cave.
He adjusted his eyes to the light and surroundings,
when he heard someone laughing hysterically behind him.
“Haha, you stupid newbie, I can’t believe
you fell for it! Haha!”
Broy glanced over his shoulder and saw the Neopian
who had pulled the prank on him. Broy took out his healing potion he had received
from the Kyrii, and as he swallowed the bottle’s contents, the Neopian mocked,
“Hah! Healing Potions are for Neopets, not people! Hah!”
Broy knew that couldn’t be possible, for if he
was injured in Neopia, he could surely be healed. When the two discovered Broy’s
theory was correct, the Neopian scowled and walked away, while Broy felt grateful
for the potion.
By the time Broy arrived at his NeoHome, he was
tired and decided to call it a day. He bounced on his straw couch and glanced
at his Shoyru egg. He gasped and hastily picked it up, seeing many cracks upon
it.
“Oh, my little Shoyru, you have began to awaken,
have you?” said Broy softly, clutching the egg as his heart pounded.
After a while, Broy placed the egg on the bed
and slept on his couch.
Morning arrived, the sun beaming down into the
room. Although the glittering objects and the bright light looked wonderful,
the heat made Broy’s couch smell as strong — and awful — as dung. Although this
occurred, Broy did not care. He was awake, content, and whistling around his
stuffed NeoHome.
He leaned toward his egg, rocking it back and
forth for many minutes. After that, he decided it was a beautiful day to go
to the beach of Mystery Island, which is precisely what he did.
***
Broy arrived there, boarding on a bus near the edge of Haunted Woods, and across
the smaller islands and seas to his destination.
The soft, gentle wind of Mystery Island brushed
across his face, the sand moving slowly and rhythmically below his feet. Broy
grinned, looking around him. He was surrounded by many palm trees, fruit, straw
buildings, and busy Natives marching round.
Broy browsed around, obviously very excited.
He glanced inside the many stores, spotting many more odd fruit. He decided
to buy one for a snack, and one for home. After taking a bite from one and stuffing
the other into his pack, he continued the walk around the land.
To his right was a harbour, and to his left were
straw buildings. Then, in front of the many malls, he spotted a six-sided prism,
or as it looked like afar, a cylinder. He ran toward it ecstatically, and in
front of him was a rack of items and an over-tanned man. He wore a wooden mask,
which was smiling toward Broy.
Broy could now see that the cylinder had the
world “Tombola” scrawled upon it. The tan man stood behind it, looking at Broy
keenly. A second later, his eyes veered away and his expression somehow seemed
to change behind the mask.
“Oh, another eager Neopian,” sighed the man rather
too unenthusiastically. He reached out his arms and span the Tombola, and the
two watched intently as it spun round and round until a ticket dropped out of
it.
“Well, sorry, fella. That’s not a winning ticket.
Be sure not to threaten me or anything,.” the man sighed once again.
“Actually,” said Broy anxiously. “I mean — could
I just ask you another favour… sir?”
“Oh?” the man said, quite obviously surprised.
“Go right ahead. And everybody calls me the Tiki Tack Man.”
“Okay, Mister Tiki Tack… I was just wondering…
well, I’m new here,” Broy managed. “I mean, I’m just visiting, and I need to
know my way around. Could you tell me some good sights — if you’d like, of course.”
The Tiki Tack Man looked extremely glad for a
simple question. He raised his arm and pointed yonder, toward a group of Native
statues. “Around that area is the Rock Pool, where they sell petpets. And there”
— he shifted his hand a little to the left and toward a large mountain in the
shape of a Techo — “is the Training School. And by the looks of it, those two
previous ones wont mean much to you as of this minute. Well, I guess you may
want to go to the Trading Post…”
“Oh, yes! Thank you!” exclaimed Broy, as Tiki
Tack Man gave him directions.
Broy went along a sandy trail until he arrived
at a straw building. It was an entranceway to a whole new market, where Neopians
gathered round. They were scattered nearly everywhere, as Broy watched the Neopians
excitedly, his eyes dancing.
They shuffled about, yelling and talking to each
other. Broy walked along until he found something that interested him; a starry
paint brush. He gasped excitedly, scrambling toward it, seeing many Neopians
walk to and from that stand.
“Hey there!” said a sharp, female voice. In front
of him was a girl, whom he predicted was a few years older than himself. “Do
you want to trade this ultra cool paint brush for just twenty-thousand
NP?”
“En Peeh?” questioned Broy, for he had hardly
heard this term before. To his surprise, the girl spat back rottenly, “It’s
short for Neopoints, you newbie.”
“Oh, right. I’m sorry,” he apologized sadly.
“Can I still bid?”
“Yeah! Of course! No, no, I should be sorry.
Okay, so, like 20k, alright?” she offered, smiling a smile which looked like
a wicked grin.
Broy nodded heartily, reaching into his pockets.
He made a face, as he only extracted ten thousand. “Oh no, I think I have some
in the Neopian Bank…”
The girl glared at him. “10k? You trying to scam
me or something? Fine, ten thousand. Deal, no withdraw.”
Broy bobbed his head up and down once again,
placing the money in the girl’s palms.
“So this is how it works,” pointed out the girl.
“You gave me the money, I accept and… you lose ten thousand NPs!” mocked the
girl, waving the money in the air and going off with the paint brush.
Another girl nearby, although more gentle and
neat-looking, witnessed it. “Oh no! Oh gosh! Was that a scam? Oh, I’m
so happy I didn’t bid… oh, poor guy.”
The girl glanced at him, looking sympathetic.
“Do you want some Neopoints? I could give you some.”
“Oh, no, no. I can’t accept — it wasn’t your
fault,” insisted Broy kindly, as he walked shakily back through the entrance.
He breathed deeply, as he walked through the island and to the harbour, where
a glum Native asked him sadly, “Are you sure you’d like to leave?”
Broy nodded with an even sadder expression and
sighed while he was shipped back to Neopia Central and to his small, stuffy
NeoHome.
***
Early the next morning, Broy woke up with a start. He was suddenly aware that
he had forgotten to thank the person who had offered Neopoints to him the day
before, and so, he rushed with his morning routines.
Cheerily seeing that his Shoyru’s egg was cracking
and would need some protection, and since he couldn’t spend much time at home
today, Broy placed it carefully inside his small pack and traveled to Mystery
Island once again.
Broy glanced around, and disappointed at his
site. Nobody around him looked familiar, but he doubted she would have come
back anyway. Sighing deeply, he walked round, and when he was finally tired,
he placed his bag under the tree beside him. Closing his eyes and relaxing in
the shade, Broy did not notice the ruffling noises near him.
At last, Broy opened one eye, squinting by the
sight of the light. A minute later, he sprung up, gaping at his bag. His
Shoyru egg was missing!
Frantic, Broy searched everywhere — around his
bag, near the tree, through the sandy beaches, and even inquired the Tiki Tack
Man. But it was no use; he couldn’t seem to find his beloved egg.
Screaming in frustration, the unlucky Neopian
stomped around, determined. Then he found it — sitting right under another tree!
Assuming it may have rolled around and somehow landed there, Broy stumbled near
it, feeling very relieved. When he was in reach of it, he stepped upon a loose
branch. To his surprise, a net swallowed him up — he was now stuck in a net
on the tree!
Cackling was beneath him, as he saw a bunch of
howling Neopets of all sizes, genders, and colours teasing him. Broy struggled
free, landing on his feet. One of the Neopets quickly grabbed the egg, and then
began the race.
They all ran round and round, Broy exhausted
and frustrated. He sprinted toward the Neopet with his egg and snatched it out
of his hand. He continued to run — run away from his unknown foes. What had
he done to deserve all of this? What had he done to deserve all this horrible
luck, mock, and disappointment?
Those were questions that couldn’t be answered,
and soon, certainly never.
Broy had a plan. He couldn’t take it anymore
— all the harassment, terrifying events full of worry, and unluckiness. Broy
appeared back in Neopia Central, when he met a puzzled-looking Neopian. They
chatted, Broy hiding his anger. He was determined; he had to do it.
Behind him was his pack, the egg cracking. Broy
opened his mouth to speak, as the minute seemed to go in slow motion.
There didn’t seem much time left — the egg wriggled
and cracked, Broy tonguing the first word. “Could —” the Shoyru, at last, popped
his head out of the egg. He spread his wings and lunged through the pack. “I—”
spoke Broy.
The Shoyru had to hurry. Being with his owner
for so long, getting to know him even though he was inside the egg, he knew
what he was plotting. “— have your —” continued Broy.
The newly-hatched Shoyru flapped his wings once,
as Broy finished with, “…password?”
The other Neopian, the victim, spoke, as a bright
light flashed upon them. Broy froze, gasping at his sight. He was terrified,
as his Shoyru curled into a sphere, and they both vanished.
Frozen. The air drifted amidst the Shoyru, as
tears streamed down his cheeks. His wings were folded, his voice seeming non-existent.
He shook inside his barren, cold, foggy NeoHome, waiting.
***
There was a Neopet, free for only seconds. His owner, however kind, true, and
innocent, was the fault. He did not know, that no matter what, crime never paid.
He never knew, that however mocked and innocent he was, crime never paid.
The End Author’s Note: This one is for Black Hawk.
I hope you, reader, have learned the true meaning of Neopets through this story,
and that however horribly treated, you cannot strike revenge through the same
path as others had done to you. The most important thing is to accept help,
and perhaps even ask for it yourself.
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