I Thought You Loved Me

I Thought You Loved Me

by virgo_10

I, LaMynna, sat in my dank, musty cage in the Pound, staring gloomily out through the cold cage bars, thinking about how nice a hot cup of Borovan or a flaming Fire Faerie pizza would taste. It had been months, maybe even a year, since I felt the warm arms of a parent around me, the joy of having a family, or a new toy to play with. The only toy I had left was a slightly ratty yellow Acara plushie with one eye missing.

Why am I here? I thought. What did I do to get here? Nothing. That's what I did. Nothing at all. It wasn't my fault. None of it. I didn't want to change. Maybe you'd like to hear how I got here. This is how the story goes....

I was just a little kitten when my mom took me in. I still remembered how tenderly she held me, how she promised to take care of me and give me a kind home. At the time, I was a yellow Acara, and I was so happy to have a new mom. She took me home and called out, "Sugarbush_2! Look what I brought home!"

Sugarbush, expecting a new toy, ran up eagerly. Sugarbush was a fluffy white Usul with a big poofy tail, and squealed with delight when she saw me.

"Watcha gonna name 'er, ma?" Sugarbush asked, crawling up to our mom's shoulder to tickle my toes.

"I think I'll call her...LaMynna."

"Lah-Mee-Nah?"

"LaMynna," her mom confirmed.

Sugarbush looked at me, the little ball of yellow fluff, gurgling away happily in her mother's arms. "Okay. Not my baby," she said, defeated, hopping off her mom's shoulder.

"Oh, and Sugarbush?"

"Ya?"

"Could you bring out a yellow Acara toy for her?"

"Sure!"

The next two months passed easily. I had been an inquisitive little creature, always asking questions and bugging Mom and Sugarbush until I got a playful spank on the head. I remember the day my mom got me my first book, Playing With Fire, written by the Uber-Fire Faerie herself. I fell in love with the Faerie books, and soon after, I read Green Thumb, Breathe, and numerous others. All the while, my mom gathered more and more NP daily. One day, on Sugarbush's 100th Day (in other words, her first birthday), we all went to Neopia Central to buy her a present. Mom had already told me what she had in mind: a Warf. We couldn't go to the PetPet store with Sugarbush, lest we spoil the surprise, so Mom told her that maybe the beauty store would have new items, and that a new hot dog stand had opened. At that, Sugarbush was running down the path to the Neopia Bazaar. Mom and I exchanged smiles. "Whew. That was easy," she said.

I laughed.

So we went to the PetPet store. We looked at the PetPets in the cages: Unioctos, Mallards, Beekadoodles, Tigermice, a Cobrall, and a few Angelpuss. The shopkeeper was busy with a customer who was purchasing a Cobrall, so we decided to look around and see if there were any Warfs. None.

When the shopkeeper was done assisting her customer, we stepped up to the counter. "Excuse me," mom said, "but do you have any Warfs?"

"No, sorry, sold out," the Usul said apologetically. "You might want to try the Shop Wizard, though."

"Okay." Mom turned to me and said, "Quickly, before Sugarbush comes back."

So off we were to the Wiz. We walked through the Marketplace, past a squat little brown building. "The Soup Kitchen," mom told me. "The Soup Faerie works there, and feeds any poor, hungry pets." I thought it was very kind and generous of her. Then I asked if she had written any books. Mom laughed and said simply, "Not so far as I know."

When we got to the Wiz, mom asked him to find a good price on a Warf. I was curious to see what kind of magic this wizard had. He looked pretty simple, just a fat yellow pom-pom wearing a moon-patterned hat and cloak. But at my mom's command, he pushed a little button on this touch panel, and it lit up. Suddenly, a section of the air in front of us showed a list of shops and the prices they sold Warfs for. I was astounded; there was a screen floating in midair!

"There's the cheapest price; 3,000 NP!" mom cried. "C'mon, let's go get it, quickly!"

"But how do we get theeeeeeeeeeeere!!!!" I cried, as she dragged me to the screen and shot her hand through the picture of the store. No sooner had she done that had I spoken, and in mid-speech I was transferred to the store.

"Excuse me! Sir?" mom called, running up to the counter where a little blue rhino sat. I was sitting on the floor right inside the doorway, shocked at how quickly everything had gone by.

"LaMynna! I got it!" Mom cried, holding up a cage with a round, cream-and-brown puppy in it.

As we started to walk towards the door, I noticed some square picture pieces on the shelves. They looked a lot like the sky-and-rock pictures Mom had in her safety deposit box. "Mommy, don't you have those at home?"

So she purchased the two map pieces, and practically dragged me to Hubert's Hot Dog stand to meet Sugarbush_2.

"Sugarbush, I got you something!" mom cried. I took a huge bite of my hot dog, and swallowed it without chewing in my excitement. I watched as mom took the little Warf out of the cage, and as Sugarbush shrieked with joy and hugged all of us, I felt as though our family could never be separated. Ever. We'd last through hurricanes and tornados, through tsunamis and fire, we'd last.

I should've known better.

***

When we got home, mom ran through her safety deposit box, withdrew seven map pieces, and instantly dragged us back out the house to the Games Room, a name for this big, colourful building where all the main games are hosted. She dragged us to the Puzzle wing. We walked pass the Poogle Solitaire boards, and into this door labeled "Treasure Hunt". Here, there were five walls: Underwater, Spooky, Lab, Space, Treasure. We walked to the wall labeled Lab, where there were nine square pieces arranged in a square, each one with a little ? in the middle. Mom took her nine picture pieces and proudly stamped them into the squares. When she stepped back, I saw that the nine pieces put together formed a picture of an island in the ocean.

Suddenly, the picture glowed darkly, and the colours swirled away. In place of the picture, there was now a steel double-door. I gaped, wide-eyed, at first the doorway, then mom, Sugarbush, Peanut (her Warf), then back at the doors. We walked through the right door and found ourselves in a musty, white-walled room. The wooden shelves were full of bottles, test tubes, and strange potions. The cold cement floor felt unwelcoming to me, but I was so excited that I didn't care.

"Good evening," a soft, clipped voice said. We all jumped; Peanut yipped, then started barking. Sugarbush quickly clamped his mouth shut, then looked for the source of the voice. I looked, too. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something yellow and white.

"Look!" I cried, pointing to the thing. We all looked, and saw a yellow Scorchio with goggles and a shock of white hair leaning against the far wall. There was a white door in the wall, and something written on it, but I couldn't read it.

"Are you here to try the Lab Ray?" he asked in his short, clipped voice.

"Yes." At this, mom threw her shoulders back.

"Which pet would you like to try the Lab Ray on?"

Sugarbush and I looked at her nervously.

"This little Acara, right here," mom said, stroking my head. Me. LaMynna.

Me? Go get zapped by the Lab Ray?

"Fine then. Come with me, little one," he said, putting a hand on the doorknob. He beckoned to me.

"Ma, I'm scared," I whimpered.

"No, you're not," she told me. "You're brave."

I tried to protest, but the Scorchio had picked me up, thrust me through the open door, and set me on this black Bull's-eye thing, four black circles inside each other.

"Stand right there, don't move," he ordered. I was too scared to move, anyway.

He walked over to the other side of the room. It was only then did I see the large which machine he was walking behind. The large machine that resembled a Grundo space gun.

The Lab Gun.

I shivered with fright.

All I remember after that was this loud, low "BZZZZ" and a flash of bright blue-gold lightning from the silver end of the gun, which flew towards me and hit me full-force.

The lightning faded away, and I felt different somehow. I couldn't tell what it was, but I felt as though I had become healthier and tougher, as though I had more immunity to pain. Then I realised, my defence had gone up 3 points.

When I came out of the little room unharmed, Sugarbush ran towards me. She looked scared; more scared than I felt as the Lab Ray hit me. "What happened?"

"My defence went up three points," I said proudly. "Now, I'm hard as a rock!" I thumped myself on the chest several times like a gorilla, then..."Ow!"

Okay, so I wasn't quite hard as a rock yet.

***

After my experience in the Lab, mom took us there every day. On Sugarbush's first tine, she gained 1 HP. The day after, I went in as a yellow fluffball and came out a checkered fluffball. Mom realised then that the Lab Ray not only raises stats, but also changes colour and appearance.

At the time, we didn't know just how much of my appearance it could change.

After about a week of going through the Lab each, Sugarbush's stats were all above 20, and mine were almost 17 each. I exercised daily to keep my stats up. This one particular day, though, I went in to the Lab Gun and sat on the black circles as I had done for the past two weeks, and when the Scorchio pressed the button and bid the lightning to strike me, I felt as though something were changing...but I couldn't pinpoint just what....

The lightning faded away, and I felt very odd. I tried walking on all fours, but my rear just went straight up in the air and I ended up doing a headstand. I landed on my back and felt a heavy, crunching sensation on my back. What was that?? I thought, standing up. Then I noticed that my fur was no longer black and white, but light blue. In fact, I barely had any fur at all! I gasped and looked over my back....and nearly fainted.

Sprouting from the lower parts of my shoulder blades were a pair of wings.

Blue, leathery, flapping wings.

I also had a thick, virtually hairless blue tail sticking out of my rump. It was then I realised...I had become a Shoyru.

Oh, you can't imagine what it was like, walking out of the door (not to mention on two feet), dragging my tail on the ground and sobbing. Mom and Sugarbush just stared, and Peanut started barking. "LaMynna....Did the ray..."

"Yes," I sobbed. "Mom, I wanna go in tomorrow and change myself back. Please!"

"Okay," she said softly, "but who knows what'll happen next."

Boy, were we ever shocked by what happened next.

The next day, I sat before the Lab gun, my new wings drooping. I had just barely learned how to fly, and it was kinda fun, but I missed my soft, furry paws, swimming in the cool water, and the sturdy feeling of walking on all fours. I held my breath as the familiar BZZZZ rang throughout the room, and the bolt of blue light dove at me.

This time, I felt even stranger when the lightning faded than the day before.

"What happened now?" I asked aloud.

Only it wasn't my voice.

I gasped. "WHAT HAPPENED??" I shouted. My voice came from my chest, and it was a boy's voice.

I had changed gender.

Mom screamed when she heard and saw me. Sugarbush gasped. "Mom....I don't know if I wanna go to the Lab Ray anymore," she said shakily. "What if I become a male Robot Chomby??"

Mom bent down and put my hands on my shoulders. Wings. Whatever they were called. "I'm not sending you to the Lab anymore. It's too much of a risk. I wouldn't be surprised if it lowered all your stats back down. No, you're not going anymore." She stood up straight, an odd, faraway look in her eyes. I wondered what she was thinking.

***

The next morning, I woke up, ate my breakfast as usual (sitting in a chair with a great pair of bony wings behind you isn't exactly comfortable. I wonder how Shoyrus manage), and when I was bloated, I started to play with my yellow Acara doll. I looked over the toy, and noted the things it had that I lacked; fur, ears, paws, swimming abilities, waterproof-ness, and four-leggedness. I sighed, and held it close to me.

"LaMynna! Mynna! C'mere!" It was mom, calling me from out back.

It felt a little strange, being called LaMynna, now that I was a boy. I flew out the open back door and over towards her. She was sitting in the grass with Sugarbush_2 and Peanut. Sugarbush had a strange, sad, blank expression on her face. "What is it, ma?" I asked.

"Come with me. There's a place I want to show you."
As she took my hand/paw/claw, I heard Sugarbush say, "Good-bye!"

I had wondered why.

We went across Neopia Central. Mom bought me a chocolate, and I stuffed it down. I felt about to explode, so mom carried me.

Soon, we got to this very shallow hill. There was a large white building on it, surrounded by bushes and a few trees in back. Above the double-door set, there was a big sign in brown letters:

POUND

"No," I whispered. "No!" But she carried me right towards that building. "NO!! Mom, let me go!" I tried to fly away, but she pinned my wings to her chest. "Don't do this!"

She stepped inside the building and walked up to the right side of a big brown desk that said ABANDON. "Mom!!" I sobbed.

"You abandoning 'im?" asked the sour-faced yellow Techo behind the counter. A name tag read: Dr_Death

"Yes."

"NO!!!!" I sobbed. "Mom, don't do this!"

"80 Neopoints."

Mom reached into her pocket, dug out a handful of NP, and handed it over to him.

"Yes, now come with me, little guy." He scooped me up and headed down the hallway. The whole time, I kicked and cried. I think I gave him a black eye at one point, but I didn't care. I didn't want this.

"In here, c'mon, don't---OW!!" I whapped Dr_Death in the nose with my wing.

"Get in," my ex-mom muttered, stuffing me in the little cage.

"Mom....don't do this to me," I cried softly. "Mom? MOM!"

She walked away, down the hallway, back towards the exit.

"Mom....I thought you loved me," I whispered softly. My face was streaked with tears.

At that, she stopped walking, turned around, and faced me. "It's not that I don't; it's just that I can't." Then she turned back and walked away.

"Why? Why can't you love me? Is it because I'm a male Shoyru now???" I cried, but she was out the door.

Suddenly, from deep down inside my broken heart, I found the strength, the emotion, the power to cry, sobbing hysterically, clutching onto and soaking my yellow Acara toy, the last remains of my family I once loved.

***

So that, my friends, is how I got here. I've been here ever since, and I've had several other roommates, all of whom were adopted. None of them were much fun to talk to (except this one extremely hyper Kyrii who kickboxed constantly, and used my Acara doll as a punching bag, which is how it lost one eye. He was an interesting fellow, indeed).

I sighed, and stretched my wings across the little space I had. It had been so long since I'd stretched my wings or exercised, I wouldn't have been surprised if I were rusting.

I'd given up. No one would want a stupid little boy Shoyru with such a feminine name, even if I were tough. My face was no longer tear-streaked, my eyes no longer bright, my tail no longer plump. My face was blank and expressionless, my eyes blank, yet filled with the emptiness of heartache, and my tail was shriveled from lack of food. The stuff they filled our food bowls with most likely came from the litterbox. It was gross, and the Uni and Dr_Death could hardly afford any better, as they spent most of the NP they earned trying to keep the hundreds of cages clean and to take care of themselves as well. I wouldn't be surprised if a pet actually died from eating too much of the Pound's food. I was used to it by now. I'd actually had a few dreams about eating my little Acara toy, but that never happened. I'd never do that. All I wanted was to taste an apple, a slice of cheese, even a grub-infested banana would be an improvement! Just a little loving care, like my ex-owner gave me.

Before I changed, that is....

***

One day, I had just about given up, physically and mentally. I was crying with hunger, and I missed having a family. But then, she walked in. A pretty young girl--very pretty, actually--stepped inside the Pound, the soft bell beeping as the door opened. At her side was a white Kougra, and around her shoulders a yellow Flotsam. The Flotsam had a little glowing thing floating alongside it, something that represented a rabbit embryo and a light bulb A closer look, and I saw it was a PetPet, with fins. I wondered what kind it was. The Kougra had a little Puppyblew trotting behind it. My heart ached with the memory of Sugarbush's first glance at her PetPet. That memory was one that would sting my mind forever.

It was then I knew, I knew that she was the one, the angel sent to take me to a place called home, a place I had been so long without. She walked up to the desk, and I couldn't hear what they said, but the Uni handed her a small remote control-like device and pointed down my hallway. The devices, I knew, had small censors on them. When pointed at the small red light above a cage's lock, and the button pressed, the screen on the "remote control" would light up, and show all the information on the pet[s] in that cage.

The girl scrolled down the aisle while the Kougra and Puppyblew sniffed around. The Kougra ducked down to the cages on my side. The girl walked closer towards me in my cage. I knew what I'd do. As soon as she walked by, I'd ask: "Can you take me home?"

Suddenly, a round white face peered in through the bars of my cage. I squealed in surprised, a very un-masculine thing to do. It was a habit I had picked up from Sugarbush, long ago, that hadn't faded. "Hey, ma, there's a lil' squeaker in here. Take a look!" The Kougra was, like I was, male. The Puppyblew's face popped up, dropped, and popped up again as he/she hopped up and down, yipping and trying to see into my cage.

The girl walked over to me and peered in. "Ooo, lookie, he has a toy!" The Flotsam squeaked. A female.

"Yeah...someone loved him once," the girl said. "Look at his stats!"

Now. I had to ask now, or never. "Um...Can you take me home with you? I haven't eaten gourmet stuff in ages, please say yes!" That part I blurted out unintentionally, and I choked on my last phrase and tears threatened to spill over.

She leaned closer to me. "You were zapped by the Lab Ray, weren't you?"

"Yea. How'd ya know?" I asked her, swallowing hard to get rid of my tears. Not to mention that funny feeling in my tummy. Up close, the girl looked even prettier than from 100 feet away.

"Because who would name a male Shoyru LaMynna?" she asked with a grin. "Besides, your stats say it all. Your strength is way higher than your defence, the Lab does that to practically every pet."

"Oh." I was a little surprised. "So, can you take me out of this prison? Take me out of this black hole I've been living in?"

"Sure." It was definite, and I knew by her tone of voice that she'd love me, like my old mother had.

...No, wait. Not like my old mother had. More love than that.

I felt a great feeling inside me, something I hadn't felt for at least 30 weeks.

Love. Happiness. Swelling inside me like a hot-air balloon, putting that light back inside my empty eyes, filling my hollow soul with warmth.

She summoned the Uni to my cage. "I'd like to have this young Shoyru."

"Sure. Let's see, now, 98 NP."

"Got it!" She handed the Uni the NP. After counting it, the Uni took her electric key, stuck it in, and after a few twists and a BZZZ (I was reminded of the Lab Ray), the cage door opened with a CLICK.

I was free. Koi almighty, I was free at last!

As I leapt into my new mom's arms, I heard her whisper tenderly, "First thing we gotta do is fill you up. You're baggier and more wrinkled than a wet sack of potatoes!"

***

We went to Hubert's hot dogs, and she got us all some food. I practically inhaled my hot dog, I was so hungry. FOOD! At last, food! Gourmet and good, just the way I like it! We then went to the chocolate factory and picked up a few chocolates. Last of all, my new mom bought me this funny yellow mushroom with white spots.

"Will it change me?" I asked nervously.

She laughed, a delightful sound that tinkled like clean silver bells. "Yes, it will make you healthier and less hungry. Just eat it," she said playfully.

I scarfed it down, and indeed, I felt a lot healthier. "Yummy, thank you for the food!"

"You're welcome!" She wrapped us all up in a bear hug.

"By the way, I never got your name." She let go of us.

"Just call me Cloud. Everyone does," she said. I thought about that, and how this girl---all right, Cloud---could be compared to one. She was nothing like a storm at all! On second thought, that's where the heavenly angels and Faeries live, high up in the sugary clouds.

"Cloud? Can you turn me into an Acara again? A girl one?"

"Is that how you started? A yellow Acara?" she asked, taking good notice of my plushie.

I nodded, remembering with a twang of pain my old life.

Cloud seemed to be thinking. Suddenly, the little Flotsam on her shoulder gave a squeak, "I know! There's this person who left an Acara Morphing Potion in the Trading Post, and wants a Neopox Pizza! We can get those!"

"...And I have a friend trying to get rid of her Strange Potion," Cloud said slowly, with excitement in her voice. "C'mon, let's go get those potions!"

***

On the way to the Trading Post, I took the time to talk with my new brother and sister. "I never caught your names," I commented.

"I don't believe I threw it," the Kougra said slowly, intentionally trying to be a smart-aleck.

"His name is SafariKlauz, and I'm Hakunesu," the Flotsam squeaked. "This little guy here..."--at this, she pointed her nose to the glowing fish/embryo floating alongside her--"...is Hotwire. He's a Ramosan," she added, at my puzzled look.

Safari nudged the little Puppyblew at his side. "This is Lethal Killer," he announced proudly. At that, I had to laugh, because a Puppyblew is the least deadly thing with teeth that I have ever seen.

Just then, however, we arrived at the Trading Post, a huge building with bamboo walls, and Cloud told us that we couldn't be too loud. So we kept quiet while she found the lot with the Morphing Potion, bid, and left.

***

"Good news, everyone!" Cloud called one day. She was holding her NeoMessager in her hand, and looked excited. In case you're wondering what a NeoMessenger looks like, just picture something between a video game controller and a laptop computer.

"What?" Safari asked, looking up from his breakfast of sausage omelette.

"Our offer was accepted!" she said ecstatically. "All we have to do is accept the offer, and the potion is ours!"

"What about the Strange Potion?" I asked, afraid we wouldn't get it. What's the use of living in my old body, but with a different gender?

"Safety deposit box," she said. To prove it, she opened the box and pulled out a dark blue potion that was glowing faintly. She handed it to Safari, but when he held it, the liquid turned a dusty rose colour. I touched it, and a wave of dark blue flowed from the point where my hand/claw/paw touched. I realised that the blue represented masculinism, and the pink feminism (are those words?). Whatever gender you were, and touched it, it changed to the opposite colour. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Cloud, of course, accepted the offer, and in no time at all, I was holding a bottle full of pale yellow liquid, with wiggling ears. Every time I touched an ear attached to the bottle, it wiggled.

"Drink it," said Cloud.

Somehow, the thought of drinking something that has moving parts made me queasy. But drink it I did, and no sooner had the bottle been emptied did the ears fade away. Suddenly, my stomach lurched, and I clutched it, moaning. It was then I realised that I was growing fur faster than you could say "bamboo shoot". Ears popped out of the sides of my head, and my tail became smaller while my fingers became larger. Then....

It was done. I was an Acara again!!

I squealed in delight, then grabbed my Strange Potion. The liquid stained my lips pale pink, but that didn't matter, because then, my voice changed back to its original soft, slightly squeaky tone. I was back in business!

I thought I couldn't have been any happier than I was in those ten minutes, running around, kissing and hugging everything in our house from my pillow to Hakunesu's Ramosan, Hotwire (although he didn't seem to pleased with me giving him a big wet smooch).

I guess I was wrong, because things did get better....

A few months later, we were celebrating my 1-year birthday. I made a wish, blew out the candles on the cake (lit my Hotwire, of course), and cheered. Ever since I turned back into a female Acara, Cloud said that I seemed to be glowing with joy.

"Hey...LaMynna?" Cloud asked as I cleaned off my last crumb of cake.

"Yea?" I asked, licking the frosting from my whiskers.

"What did you wish for?"

"If I tell you, it won't come true," I told her stoutly.

"Oh... really?" she said with a smile. She looked up at Safari and Haku. "Bring it out." I wondered what she meant.

Apparently, my siblings knew what it meant, because they dashed out of the room, then came back, dragging something between them. At first, I wondered what it was, then I heard that "Warrrrf! WAAARF!!"

"No...You didn't!" I cried.

"I did," Cloud said smugly.

I was speechless. A Warf? For me???

"Let him out!" Haku squeaked. Safari opened the door, and the little Warf ran out into my arms.

"I think I'll call you....Peanut," I whispered to him.

Peanut nibbled my ear, and it was then I knew, I realised, that this was the family that I had belonged with from the start, and it was where I was going to stay. Family is so important, and so few owners realise that when they abandon their pets. Like my old mom. Family is the most important thing that counts, and it's not what the family looks like, or what they do....

It's how they do it.

The End

Author's Note: Cloud, SafariKlauz, Sugarbush_2, the old mom, and LaMynna are completely fictional characters, but Hakunesu is indeed a real Flotsam. I created the characters just for the sake of the story, and I hope you understand how important your family---on the Web or in your house---are.