Amulet of the Waters
I awoke to find myself looking a shimmering
surface. The sunlight seemed suspiciously wavy, and...where those fishes floating
above me?! I stood up, or rather tried to stand up. I was underwater, and yet
I could breathe fine. I looked around to see Star, Animus, Purity, and Dark
Star all looking as confused as I felt.
"Are we here?" Star asked, wonderment on her
face. Yes, you are in the Ruins of Maraqua. A lovely voice, full of majesty
and power, rumbled in our heads. A light shone and slowly morphed into a shape.
A woman appeared, but unlike anyone I have ever seen. Her features weren't human.
The woman's dark blue eyes slanted, wither nose was small and delicate. She
was wearing a light blue robe, and her pearly-white hair floated around her.
Do you know who I am? The woman asked, her lips not moving.
"Lady Aquarius," I said softly.
"How are you still alive?" Star inquired.
After this is done, I will not be alive for long.
The Lady smiled sadly. But that is of little matter.
"Then you will give us the Amulet, and not make
us do a test like the Beast did?" Animus was obviously relieved. Yes.
"Blade!" Star suddenly exclaimed. "Where is
he?" You love him, yes? Star looked surprised for a second, but the slowly nodded.
Don't worry, he is safe. He also misses you.
"How can you be in love already?" Animus asked.
"You just met him!"
"But it didn't take long for you to realise
Sublime was your soul mate, Animus," I chided my Gelert. "You knew you
guys were meant to be together. That's how love works sometimes."
That is true, Tridragoness146. Or shall I call
you by your birth name, Tiari?
"Either one is fine." I shrugged. "May I have
the Amulet, please?" The Lady laughed. Of course! Here. A blue necklace, made
of lavender and azure shells, appeared around my neck. It disappeared, and I
felt the burning sensation. I took out a small mirror, and saw the four marks
of the Tools. First, there was a delicate green flower on my right cheek. On
my forehead was the Wind mark, the silver wing. The Fire tattoo, a red flame,
was on my left cheek. And now, the latest one, three wavy cerulean-coloured
lines decorated my chin.
"Wow." Animus gazed at me. "Now that's completed,
you look, well, different."
How little you understand. The Lady lifted a
gentle hand to my face. Do you wish to know about the Enemy? I have a feeling
you will have to be prepared.
"Yes," I said firmly.
Then here. Images warped around me. I shuddered
as I saw the Five Lords and Ladies, dressed in shimmering robes. One had fiery
orange and red hair; that had to be Lord Temperus. Another had black hair with
a metallic green tint to it. Lord Green leaf, of course. One woman had pale
blonde hair. That was Lady Windsong. And the last had dark brown hair with a
sneer on his face. This had to be Lord Htlead.
More images flooded my mind. Lord Htlead blasting
Neopia. Lord Htlead, powers almost gone, retreating in a dark place. Then the
images suddenly turned to a different area and time. It showed a woman holding
two babies in her arms. One was a boy, with a familiar face and eyes. The other
was a girl, and she had large dark brown eyes and hair like my own. That was
I! But who was the boy...?
I suddenly realised whom the Lady was showing
me. That was my brother. And my brother was the enemy. My brother was the boy
from the Mystery Island boat.
Name-Telling
"My brother?" I clasped my hand on my mouth.
"I have a brother and now I find out he's my enemy? That brat on the boat is
my brother?" Animus started. "But you don't have a brother. And even if you
did, why is it that guy?"
The Lady Aquarius shook her head, white hair
flowing behind her. He's not your blood brother. Don't you see? You are made
of the Core. You just have the same mother, really. Your brother, his name is
Jacob, never came to Neopia as a child, like you did. So you grew up different.
But Lord Htlead called Jacob to this world because he thought your brother was
the Carrier and then took over his mind.
"I get it," I said slowly. "Jacob was on the
boat because he was looking for me. But he didn't know I was right in front
of him!"
"Jacob?" Star interrupted. "That was the name
of my old owner."
It came to me suddenly. "Of course! He must have
gotten you, and knew you were the Key! He, or Htlead commanding him, tried to
make you discover the Tools, but you needed Animus and me. And then you did
find us when you ran away..."
"Hey, you remember what that snob said? " Animus
looked up at me. His Gruslen, Dark Star, was sitting next to Purity. (And in
case you didn't know, Purity is Star's Cirrus) "Remember? He said, 'Maybe Ahsia
and my other Neopets should teach you a lesson.' That invisible Lupe must've
been with him. And the other guy, uh, Treleg. They're the other Neopets!"
"Wait." Star paced back and forth. "I just noticed
something that's been bothering me. Did you know that Htlead spelled backwards
is Death? And the other Neopets Jacob owned, their names were Ahsia, Epul, and
Treleg. I know them because I had to live with them for a while. Ahsia, the
faerie Aisha you guys apparently saw on the boat, has a name that when spelled
backwards is Aisha She's just a normal Neopet. Epul was an invisible Lupe, and
his name is Lupe spelled backwards."
And Treleg is Gelert backwards. The powers are
strong in all of you, and it shows by helping you find out the truth. The Lady
smiled sorrowfully, and two tears fell from her eyes. Here, these will help
you in the final battle. They can be used to summon people. Use them wisely.
The Lady handed me two diamonds, tear shaped.
"Thank you," I whispered. "Will you send us
to Neopia Central now? I think that is where Htlead and Jacob are hiding."
The Lady kissed all of us, even Dark Star and
Purity. Goodbye. And I fell into the blackness again.
The Final Battle
All of us landed on our feet. This is getting
really old. "Ah, you made it, Tiari." A cloaked figure stood against the black
sky. Apparently Lord Htlead wasn't wasting time on taking over Neopia.
"Do you recognise me, sister dear?" The figure
took of his cloak, and I saw my brother.
"Jacob!" I gasped. "Don't do this! Lord Htlead
is in your mind. He's evil!"
"Ah, but I am Htlead." Jacob/Htlead cackled
evilly.
"What is with that maniacal laugh?" Animus asked,
with Dark Star crouching at his side. "I mean, all bad guys do it. Seriously."
Jacob/Htlead narrowed his eyes. "Silence, fool!
You do not comprehend the matters of my plan. Hah! Me taking over Neopia! I'm
not only going to do that! I'm going to take over Earth too." He flicked his
hand, and we became entrapped in a large dome. "There. Now it's just you...five
and us." About twenty invisible Neopets appeared, their eyes floating above
the ground. One of them growled, "You will pay for the imprisonment of my brother."
"Treleg, probably." I thought this over. There
was Animus, Star, and I. But there was Purity and Dark Star too. If each of
us took out four...that would be fair...yeah right...
"Ignorant people! My plan is perfect. With my
dark spell made with this pathetic body, I shall control all the humans in the
Worlds! And therefore control all the Neopets...then I shall unleash them to
the Earth! The pathetic humans won't stand a chance-"
"You're wrong!" Animus yelled. His fur darkened,
and his eyes turned into the strange steel-gray colour.
"We won't allow you! Your plan will never work.
Neopets won't obey evil masters. I never did for you." Star's fur, instead of
darkening, lightened. Now she and Animus stood sided by side, one darker than
night while the other translucent white.
"We'll see," Jacob/Htlead growled. In his eyes
I saw a lurking fear.
"Attack, my minions!"
The invisible mass surged forward, and all of
us, that included the pet pets, fought. Animus dodged left and right, slashing
without damaging the Neopets too much. Star held them back, using a magic that
shimmered in the air. I however, kicked a few but mainly stood amidst them all,
unsure of what to do.
"Be careful not to hurt them!" I called out
desperately. "They're actually innocent." After this, I scrambled around in
my pockets for anything that might help me. Two hard stones met my fingers.
Duh! The summoning diamonds Lady Aquarius gave me!
"I summon the Guardians of the Tools!" I held
up one of the stones. A light shone, and the battle fray quieted. Before me
grew four shapes. One was a shimmering apparition of Coltzan, the Guardian of
the Orb of the Earth. Another was Fyora, Sceptre of the Sky Guardian. And there
was Beast and Lady Aquarius.
Why Tiari. The Lady laughed. You cheated. You
summoned four people instead of one. You must be getting in more control of
your powers.
I nodded, and held up the second stone. "I summon
the friends of the Carrier!" With that, Katie, Sublime, and Katie's other Neopets
landed. Bladecharm, to almost no one's surprise, came too.
"Whoa," Katie murmured. "Weren't we just playing
Dice-A-Roo?"
"Sublime!" Animus said hoarsely. The two nuzzled.
"Star." Bladecharm walked over to the white
Lupress. "I thought I- I didn't know if- well, I know I only known you for a
short while but I missed you." And the two rubbed against each other.
"Pah! Neopets in love. Disgusting," Jacob/Htlead
spat.
"You're disgusting.!" The irrepressible Katie
shouted back. She knew what side she was on. "Uh, who's he?"
"You must all hit the army together, and banish
the evil thoughts in their mind," Beast said in his deep voice. " But we
must concentrate the power to Animus and Star. Same with you Tiari. This is
where the Four Tools come in." When he said that, I felt a strange sucking feeling.
All the sudden I saw I had the Four Tools out. The Sceptre of the Sky was at
my right hand, the Orb of the Earth was lying balanced in my left, the Sword
of Fire was at my waist, and I wore the Amulet of Waters around my neck.
Jacob/Htlead's eyes gleamed. "Hah! That won't
stop me. I see you haven't even wielded the true power of the tools yet. And
as for summoning all your little friends, perhaps I should kill I couple?" He
raised his hand and shot a beam at Katie. It was so fast I couldn't even think
about it. But as for Bladecharm, who was right next to her, he just dove across
to block the blow.
Katie screamed and burst into sobbing, while
Star howled in pain. The white Lupress ran over to her fallen friend, and nuzzled
him.
"Blade/" She whispered. Animus stonily stared
at Jacob/Htlead, while all the others' eyes were on Star. "Are you OK?" Blade
coughed weakly. "To die a life with honour is better to die without it. I love
you-" And his body went limp. Star stared, silent tears coursing down her furry
cheek. Quietly, Lady Aquarius walked over. None of us questioned what she was
about to do. None of us knew. The Lady laid a hand of Bladecharm, and a soft
white light gleamed about them, and- they disappeared.
"Where'd they go?" Star asked, hoping inside
for a miracle.
"Lady Aquarius was to die soon," Fyora said
in a sad voice, "So she used the rest of her soul so that Blade could be reborn
in another."
"Than we'll win this battle." I said in a clear
voice, to the invisible army, to the remaining Guardians, to all my friends,
to my faithful Neopets, and mainly to the glaring Lord Htlead. "For Blade, and
for the Lady."
"For them." All of them echoed. I felt all the
marks of the Four Tools on my face burning once again. Puzzled, I touched each
of them. First there was the green flower, then the silver wing, the crimson
fire, and the three light blue lines. After I did this, I saw all of the Tools
come from my neck, my hands, and my waist to float in the air. They I coming
together. The shimmery Coltzan commented. I looked more carefully, and saw it
was true. All the tools were- well merging. It finally came back to my hands,
where it formed into a tall rod with a red blade at the top, a green orb at
the bottom, silver wings below the blade, and a shell engraved in the middle.
"No!" Jacob/Htlead shrieked. "She has made the
Elemental Glaive!"
"Everybody, remember what Beast said. Aim whatever
abilities you have to Animus and Star. They're the only ones that can wield
the power of the Glaive!"
"Go!" I yelled. I aimed the Rod at my two Neopets,
and a rainbow of colours burst out. I saw beams of light coming from behind
me, and I turned to see Katie's Neopets using whatever small abilities they
had, too. Huge burst of Light came from the Guardians, and I of course could
not expect no less.
Meanwhile, Star and Animus were glowing brightly.
The last thing I remember was seeing a white light come from Star, and a black
light coming from Animus...
Epilogue
It has been two weeks since the final battle,
and Star and Animus kept their white and black coats. The Elemental Rod was
then split up and given back to the Guardians, except for the Amulet of Waters.
I still have that as a memory.
As for Jacob, his mind and the other minds of
the evil Neopets were erased from the Lord Htlead. Jacob was sent back to Earth,
where he still plays Neopets to this day.
Oh yes, and what of Sublime, Sublime, and Dark
Star? Well, the two Gelerts are in are in love, that's for sure. Let's leave
it as that.
And who can forget poor Blade. Well, the answer
came to us one day when a male blue Lupe knocked on our door. And when I say
blue, I MEAN blue.
This guy had the same colour pelt as Lady Aquarius
dress...hmmm... anyway, it was Star who opened the door. She recognised him
right away.
"Blade?" she asked, happiness in her voice.
"My name is Arrow_Charm, and I'm new around
here. I just had this feeling I had to come to this house." The blue Lupe grinned.
"I'm not usually this strange, but I just had to!"
"Why don't you come in? You could hang around
with Star. Animus' with Sublime at a concert," I told him.
"OK." He smiled at Star, who blushed. Purity,
still floating around, cooed.
And finally, one more change came to pass. Whenever
a kid passed me dragging along a Neopet, I informed him that Neopets were your
friends, not your little toys. And when the kid disagreed too much, Animus and
me gave him a butt-whooping... hahahaha.
The End
Last Word: Yes, I really think that Neopets shouldn't be played just for the
money. I mean, what's the point? No one can see your bank account. I don't get
these people. Oh yes, and don't try to challenge me that much. I'm not a fighter;
I just like lounging around and making new friends. Feel free to Neomail me! | 
