It Was Never Really There: Part Four by moongirl170 |  |
Untitled Document
"Amy? What's wrong? Where is my stuff?" Blue said calmly.
Then, she exploded. "What? No, that can't be! No, no, get away from me! Stop,
stop it! I don't need you, I don't need anybody! Get away! Let go of me, let me
go!" Blue writhed around in her cage, until with a scream she shot upright in
a cold sweat. She looked around at all of us staring at her. "It's okay guys,
just another nightmare. Go back to sleep."
"No," said Zgorf rather unexpectedly. "These
dreams are not just nightmares. It's obvious they are suppressed memories from
your past, memories that you just want to push away, forget about. But these
dreams will not stop tormenting you until you let it out. Tell us." We were
taken aback. That was the sort of thing you would have suspected from Neo, not
the quiet Z. Blue gave her a long look, then took a deep breath, looked down
at the ground and started. <p>
"I lied to you guys. My owner wasn't like Cool's
or any of the others. She wasn't an uncaring owner, although she didn't harbor
much love for us. I was her second. She had two others in a matter of days.
But she wasn't satisfied. When she decided that Usuls weren't her thing, she
got rid of Babyface123 and got a Quiggle. When she decided that she no longer
thought Jubjubs were the cutest pets around, she got rid of Fluffball999 and
got herself an Acara. No one pet stayed for very long. She always got tired
of them. I was probably the pet that stayed the longest. She had a soft spot
for me. I watched pets being adopted, and abandoned all around me. I made friends,
and lost them. Lost my only friends, because she got tired of them." A single
tear dripped down Blue's face. "One day I got home from playing on Mystery Island.
But our home was-different. All my toys were gone, and so was my little Harris,
Moonbeam. Amy? I asked. What's wrong? Where is my stuff? ‘I sold all your toys,'
she said, without a hint of sadness or pity in her voice. ‘And Moonbeam too.
These really cute new pet just came out. I've had you for a long time, so I
think it's time I get rid of you,' she said, happy as can be. I screamed, kicked,
resisted her. Not because I wanted to stay. I just didn't want to go to the
pound. But here I am now." She forced a weak smile, which quickly faded. Blue
burst into tears, and cried out shakily, "She took everything away from me!
She took my friends, family, toys, petpet, she took my life!" She collapsed
on the ground, in a shaking, crying heap. Long story short, we stayed up all
night comforting her. From then on, she never had another nightmare. A few days
later, a girl walked into the pound. Her long, almost white-blond hair flowed
down her back, held off her face by a red kerchief. We all sensed something
about her, something strange. She stopped by Z's cage, and kneeled down.
"Zgorf. Z," she said, not even looking at the
name tag. "I am Crystal. Would you like to come with me?" Z looked up into the
girl's eyes, and it seemed saw something there. Something clicked. But then
Z looked back at all of us, sitting in our cage, watching. Even Blue was silent.
The girl looked at us. "I understand you would miss your friends. Blue, Spaceman,
Neo, Cool, and Rip," she said, looking at us each in turn, without even a glance
at the tags on the cages. Then turned back to Z "This is completely up to you
Zgorf" Z looked at all of us pleadingly, as if to tell us to understand, then
looked back up at the girl and nodded. I gasped. Blue growled. "Blue, I understand
that you don't want Z to go, after what happened with Amy, and all that has
happened with Cool, but you must understand, not all humans are like that. There
are many that do care for their pets. And I am one of them." This did not convince
Blue. Z turned to her.
"Blue, let me go. It is my own choice. I sense
something in Crystal. I don't know what it is, but I can tell she has a good
heart. Don't worry about me." Blue stopped her growling, and looked down at
the ground.
"I suppose it is your choice," said Blue. Z
smiled.
"Don't worry about me." Crystal called Rose
over to the cage. She unlocked it, and Crystal paid her and signed the form,
writing her name as Crystal_Fortune. Zgorf went to Blue's cage. "Goodbye Blue."
"Bye Zgorf. You were a good friend. No, are
a good friend. Thank you."
"Goodbye Spaceman," said Zgorf, going over to
Spaceman's cage.
"Bye Z. Miss ya."
"Goodbye Neo."
"Farewell good friend."
"Goodbye Cool," she said, turning to me. "I
didn't get to know you very well, but I will miss you all the same."
"Same to you Z. Bye Zgorf."
"Goodbye Rip."
"Bye," said Rip gruffly, trying to keep his
dignity. "Ah what the heck, I'll miss you too Z!" Realizing how stupid his outburst
sounded, he quickly coughed and resumed his normal tough appearance. Crystal
looked down at Z.
"Are you ready?" She nodded and looked back
at us.
"I'll miss all of you guys. I'll never forget
you."
"Nor will we forget you, Z," said Blue.
Then Crystal spoke to Z. "Come with me, Ruby
Z Fortune."
I looked at the old name tag on Z's cage. It
no longer said zgorf983b48ffjkds939, but instead, said Ruby_Z_Fortune. I looked
up at Crystal.
"How?" But I did not finish my sentence. Crystal,
and Z were already gone. I had seen that one good human. But that did not banish
the hatred in my heart. Sure there were exceptions, but there were exceptions
to everything.
***
Despite the big, sad farewell scene, Crystal and Z, newly named Ruby, still
visited us often. It was a few weeks before I was adopted again. Two girls walked
into the pound.
"Here is the pound, where you can adopt pets
that get abandoned by others," said one of the girls, who had short brown hair.
"Hmm..." The other girl looked around. She turned
her shadow-black haired head towards me. "I'll get that one, cuz I feel like
it."
"Well, okay"
The first girl called the attendant over to
my cage. I was taken away, once again, by someone who didn't really care. The
girl didn't have any other pets, although she did have a one-room NeoHome. She
didn't come very much, and when she did, she often forgot to feed me. Then,
eventually, she stopped coming at all. I sat in the NeoHome., alone, starving,
and sad. It looked like she would never come back, and I would be stuck there
to rot, officially registered as her pet. Then one day, the door creaked open.
I looked up, at this point, I would be happy to see even the girl who left me.
But it wasn't RavenBlack829, for that was her name. It was her friend, the one
that had been with Raven when she adopted me. She walked over to me, and knelt
down.
"Hi."
I didn't reply.
"I'm really sorry, it's all my fault, I showed
her Neopets, I didn't know she wouldn't like it. I know it's against the rules,
but I asked her for her password. I just felt so bad for you, I had to come
get you." Another exception. A human that wasn't all bad. "Come on, I'm taking
you back to the pound." And so I again ended up at the pound. I still can't
quite decide whether I hate or like that place.
"Back again?" asked Blue. "This time we were
kind of all expecting it. This time was a bit longer then usual though."
"Yeah." Then more quietly, muttered to myself.
"It was never really there."
"What did you say?" asked Spaceman.
"Nothing. Just nothing."
***
Three months later, I am sitting in the pound writing this. Everyone from
the old gang except me and Blue have been adopted. Crystal and Ruby hardly ever
visit anymore. I was moved to a larger cage when I grew to almost full size,
far away from where Blue is. The pets around me don't understand. They all still
have images of the perfect human that will one day walk through that door and
say "That pet is the one for me!" and they will be taken home and loved and
cared for, and bought paint brushes, and petpets and all sorts of wonderful
toys. I know better, but I don't want to shatter their hopes. That is really
all they have left. So, here I sit in the pound, still sitting here in my cage.
I will probably get adopted, and abandoned by many other people in the future.
And I know, that with every one, I will say yet again, it was never really there.
The End
Before you ask, yes, I do realize this story is HORRIBLY sappy. By the
time I figured that out, I was too into the story to stop. I wrote this story
in an attempt to make those planning to abandon a pet think a little, and maybe
even persuade them not to. Don't say "Well, they will get adopted by someone."
Because you never know who it is that will adopt them. All characters in this
story were made up, except for moongirl170 who adopted the Gelert, (duh!) her
friend, who was lfofan84, although the account lfofan84 is currently in the
possession of a hacker, (her new account is buffythevampslayer98) and of course
the Gelert herself, Catty43_2000. My friend actually was showing me the pound
when I was a newbie when I adopted Catty. Catty still lives happily with me,
although no longer a Gelert, now an ever changing lab pet. I would also like
to mention my Krawk Krazy friend kirsabear, who although she has no relevance
to this story whatsoever, I thought I should mention as I am her editor for
stories she writes for the Times.
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