The fight downstairs was taxing both on the living room
and kitchen, damaging half the furniture, and on its participants. Even though
the Shoyrus outnumbered the two Dark Faeries and their Meerca, the Faeries had
magic on their side. Because of this, it was a fairly even fight.
Furbyfun, wanting to help, rummaged through her
youngest pet's lab looking for some kind of barrier she could use to keep Damiyé
and Mysinell out. On the top of one pile, she spotted a large metal pane. "Perfect!"
she said as she lifted it off the pile. It was surprisingly light, but seemed
very strong. She carried it down to the bottom of the stairs, and set it in
the doorway. It somehow adjusted itself to fit perfectly, blocking the stairway
off completely.
Meanwhile, Mysinell noticed the aluminium panel
that had appeared in the doorway to the stairs. She gestured in her sister's
direction. Damiyé fended off the speckled Shoyru flying at her and looked at
the stairway. She nodded, and grabbed her Meerca by the tail as the two Dark
Faeries ran out the door, Shaylily closing it behind them.
The disco Shoyru dusted off her hands. "Well,
that wasn't too hard," she commented. "Now, how do we get back upstairs?"
Her owner's voice, made metallic-sounding by
the thin but tall aluminium barrier, was heard from the stars. "Just teleport
through and you can help me take it down!"
StarSkyFire's eyes widened as he looked at the
metal pane. "Um, Furbyfun..."
"What?"
"That's my 'slipthrough' metal barrier. It's
my newest invention: a wall made so that people, or pets, can walk -- or run,
or fly, or even swim if placed underwater -- through it, but only if it recognizes
you as someone allowed to do so. But, if you're not allowed, it won't
even let you teleport through it. I'll demonstrate both for you." He stepped
right through the apparently solid barrier, and Azamanti, his Baby Fireball,
followed.
"Now, Starilya, try to come through." Intrigued,
the speckled Shoyru ran directly at the wall. She collided with it, making a
loud clanging noise as she bounced off.
The shadow Shoyru couldn't hide the grin as he
imagined the look on his youngest sister's face. That should be payback enough
for when she dropped Furbyfun's smelly socks in his potion, effectively ruining
it! "I know how to dislodge it," he said to Furbyfun.
"How?"
"Well, you just -- or, rather, I just, seeing
as it won't work for anyone not allowed to go through it -- drag your finger
across it." He demonstrated, and it not only came loose but also resized itself
until it was about the size of a Neopoint, only square. StarSkyFire pocketed
it, and he and his Petpet flew up the stairs and disappeared into his lab.
Later, JC told everyone to come to the living
room. The four other Shoyrus and their owner gathered, crammed onto the Zen
Couch. The striped Shoyru sat in a Rolling Chair, facing her small audience.
"You're probably wondering why I fell from Faerieland,
why those Dark Faeries were so interested in me, and, well, everything else
up to the point you found me." She took a deep breath, and then launched into
the story of what exactly had brought her to the tiny island where they'd found
her.
Casidrelle, the Uber Air Faerie, played with
her long blonde hair. Her Shoyru, Jadecrystal, sat in a plush armchair, twiddling
her thumbs with her feet propped up and her Cirrus floating in midair beside
her. Both were bored, and both needed something -- anything! -- to entertain
themselves.
The Air Faerie suddenly thought of an idea, a
silly and possibly dangerous idea but one that would nonetheless relieve their
boredom. "Hey, Jadecrystal?"
"Hm?" The white-winged Shoyru looked up from
her thumb-twiddling.
"Why don't we go spy on the Uber Dark Faerie?
I hear she's having a visit from her sister Mysinell today."
Jadecrystal's eyes lit up. "Sure!"
And so, they found themselves hiding in Damiyé's
closet, waiting for her to return from the Faerieland carriageport, which was
where the carriages to and from Faerieland- pulled by flying Neopets- departed
and arrived.
After what seemed like hours, the Uber Dark Faerie
returned to her room in the Dark Tower, her main residence, with her sister.
"Ah, Mysinell, come right in," she said, holding the door open. Mysinell held
a small purple bundle in her arms; what could it be? She handed the bundle to
Damiyé. The Uber Dark Faerie carefully unwrapped the bundle, wondering what
it was- and there, after she was done, was a baby Faerie Meerca, fluttering
wings no larger that a butterfly's.
"I stole this Meerca from Create-A-Pet, just
as you asked. She is not perfectly matched to you, but you can train her to
follow and obey you." When Mysinell stated that, cold and unemotional, it made
Casidrelle gasp. Quietly, so as not to reveal their presence in the closet,
and even more so because Jadecrystal put a hand over her mouth. The Uber Air
Faerie switched to thought-messaging, a form of mind-reading that was almost
like talking but without the possibility of being overheard. Stealing newborn
pets from Create-A-Pet is a heinous crime! thought Casidrelle.
I know! It's bad enough when you just want
a pet for yourself, but stealing them away before they're even named? That Meerca
has its whole life ahead of it, and now she'll have to live it without a family!
She isn't even perfectly matched, like a Faerie pet would normally be!
We have to tell Fyora,they thought in
unison, and then the Air Faerie and her pet teleported away.
"Your Highness, you have to believe us! Damiyé
had her sister steal an unbonded Meerca from Create-A-Pet!" Casidrelle said,
the words coming out several times faster than normal.
Fyora paused in thought. "So this Meerca is unbonded,
and from Create-A-Pet, yet you say she was Faerie? How can that be?"
"Mysinell -- that's her sister's name -- probably
just painted her. She can't possibly have the Mark of the Faeries; Mysinell
said she wasn't perfectly matched to Damiyé herself!
"I believe you. Now, could you please explain
the full story? If you are to be proved right, we must have proof."
So Casidrelle and Jadecrystal told their story
of what had happened in the last hour, ending with, "Just examine the Meerca
for proof. We didn't get a great look, but we're sure she's unbonded and unmarked."
That was how they'd ended up in the Faerieland court, opposite Damiyé and Mysinell.
The Meerca they'd kidnapped was in a basket, for lack of a better place to put
her, wrapped in soft green blankets.
The six Uber Faeries, excluding Damiyé and Casidrelle,
sat in a semicircle facing Fyora, with Damiyé and Casidrelle on either side
of her. Outside the main court, there were the voters' booths where the main
Faerie population would be able to vote on the outcome of decisions. But for
now, all they needed to worry about was the judge, an old Earth Faerie.
First, to open court, Fyora used her magic to
light the chandelier. This was the action, only done by the royals, which began
the trial. She repeated everything the Uber Air Faerie and her pet had told
her, provoking a seething look in Casidrelle's direction from Damiyé. "You hid
in my closet?" she hissed. Casidrelle opened her mouth to say something but
was drowned out by the Faerie Queen, producing the Meerca -- sleeping, fortunately
for the inspector that had been called to examine her -- as evidence. The inspector's
search turned up no marking of any kind upon the Meerca, which was announced
as Fyora closed the court for lunch break.
The Uber Air Faerie finished her stack of Faerie
Pancakes and decided to go for a short walk, outside in the day's gentle breeze.
Unbeknownst to her, she was being followed. Damiyé and Mysinell, also finished
with their lunches, followed them until they reached the edge of Faerieland.
Then, they surprised her by coming out of the shadow cast by the Earth Tower.
"Casidrelle, look what you've done!" roared the
Uber Dark Faerie as she grabbed her nemesis, her sister picking up Jadecrystal.
"You've ruined everything! I'll be banished from Faerieland!"
"Damiyé, you did something against the laws of
Faerieland! No pet should ever be taken from a chance to have an owner and a
family! You know perfectly well that the only pet a Faerie can adopt is one
from the Nursery, perfectly matched to its owner!"
"Perhaps you're right. But I'll still pay the
price -- unless I can do something about it." Her purple lips curved
into a wicked smile as she rammed first one and then the other fist into Casidrelle's
wings, and then, with an almighty kick, knocked her off the cloud. Mysinell
didn't bother to break Jadecrystal's wings; she just crumpled her white feathers
and threw her off Faerieland, muttering a curse on the Shoyru as she fell.
After falling for what seemed like hours, Casidrelle
managed to grab hold of her Shoyru. "Look, Jadecrystal, we only have one chance
to get out of this."
"I'm all ears! What's the plan?"
I'll give you what magic I have left, since most
of it left me when Damiyé broke my wings, and you have to find someone who'll
listen to you and take you back to Faerieland. Then, you can tell Fyora what
those two tried to do to us."
"But what about you?"
"Don't worry about me. Just save yourself! You
can still fly!" And with that, the Uber Air Faerie transferred the last of her
magic into Jadecrystal and let go, nearing the shallower waters of Mystery island.
JC tried to steer herself towards the water, but the wind seemed determined
to drop her on a tiny island offshore. She braced herself for the impact, but
it was no use. The wind was knocked from her as she hit the land, flat on her
back with wings spread out to slow the fall. Despite it being mid-afternoon,
darkness was creeping into her vision. When she woke again, it was staring into
the faces of two Shoyrus. Disco and shadow, the disco one with sky-blue eyes.
JC's voice faded, and she seemed worn out. Furbyfun
rushed in with, "Holy Kau! Look at the time! It's midnight! Better get you into
bed!"
So, the second of two long and eventful days
ended as the five Shoyrus traipsed up the stairs to bed and their owner logged
out -- but none of them knew what was in store for tomorrow.
To be continued...
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