Hannah Meets Hannah: Part One

     Alicia, Hannah Jewel's owner, looked down from her writing to see her Usul dressed almost exactly like Hannah. The only difference was her skirt, which was purple instead of green. She even had the brown hair like the real Hannah. "Yes, Hannah Jewel?" she asked. She knew that all her Usul would do is blabber on about Hannah and the Pirate Caves again. Even so, she was still nice to her Red Usul.

     "Hannah, the real Hannah, is coming to Neopia Central TODAY!" replied Hannah Jewel. "You can meet her in person and get her autograph for FREE!"

     Alicia's eyes went wide. "Whoa," she whispered. "Hey, maybe if you're lucky, she'll let you explore the Pirate Caves with her."

     Hannah Jewel laughed. "Good one, Alicia. I've got to find Slushie Jewel and tell him about this! Now, where did that Ice Bori run off to?"

     "Last time I saw him, he was in his room playing games."

     "Thanks, Alicia." The red Usul raced to Slushie Jewel's room. Like Alicia said, he was in his room playing games. "Slushie Jewel, guess what?"

     The Ice Bori looked up. "Let me guess: It has to do with Hannah," he said.

     "Yep," replied Hannah Jewel, shoving the copy of the Neopian times into her younger brother's icy paws. "Read this. It is the coolest thing that's ever happened in a lifetime!"

     Slushie Jewel sighed and looked at the paper. "'Hannah the Usul's Neopian Central Debut on the 30th Day of Collecting, Year Six, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. NST,'" he read aloud. "That's… today…" he stammered.

     "Told ya it was cool!" said Hannah Jewel. "We have to go!"

     "What do you mean 'we?'" asked Slushie Jewel. "I'm not going!"

     "Read on."

     Slushie Jewel gave a confused look at his sister, and then read on. "'Hannah the Usul and her friend, Armin the Bori appear at Neopia Central on this date…'" He stopped reading. "Armin the Bori? I'm like, his biggest fan! And it also says that you can get their autographs for FREE!"

     "So, are we going or what?"

     The Ice Bori looked up at his big sister. "How do we convince Alicia to take us?"

     "We don't. Alicia lets us do EVERYTHING! All we have to do is ask."

     "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

     "Believe me, you don't know Alicia as well as I do," said Hannah Jewel as she left the room with Slushie Jewel right behind her.

     "Where are you going?" asked Hannah Jewel's younger sister, Maya Jewel the Kacheek.

     "We're going to ask Alicia if she'll take us to meet the real Hannah," replied Slushie Jewel.

     Maya Jewel shrugged. "I hope you don't want me to go. I don't like Hannah as much as you do."

     "You don't have to go," answered Hannah Jewel. "It's just Slushie Jewel and me."

     "OK. Have fun!" Maya Jewel went back to her room to play with her Neoquest II Plushies.

     Hannah Jewel and Slushie Jewel ran into Alicia's room. "Alicia?" asked Slushie Jewel. "Can we go meet Hannah?"

     Alicia looked up from her book. "Sure," she replied. "I take it I get to at least tag along and make sure you're safe?"

     Hannah Jewel and Slushie Jewel looked at each other. It'd be so embarrassing if Hannah saw their owner there protecting them. She'd never let them explore the Pirate Caves, or any caves for that matter, with her and Armin. "Sure," replied Hannah Jewel. "But, only if you promise to stay out of our way unless we say so, OK?"

     Alicia looked at the two Neopets with a confused look. "Okay, but as long as I can still see you."

     "Deal!" both pets said at the same time.

     "OK. You two go get ready. We still have an hour until she gets here."

     "We need to get there early if we're going to be one of the first to meet Hannah in person," said Hannah Jewel. "Let's leave in a half hour, OK?"

     "I guess that works," replied Alicia. "I'm not doing anything today, anyway."

     "Yes!" cheered Slushie Jewel. "Come on, Hannah Jewel, let's go get ready to meet Hannah and Armin!" Both pets ran to their rooms.

     Alicia laughed. "What crazy pets. Always a HUGE fan of whatever's popular at the current time." She laughed and looked at her book again, then looked up again. "I wonder if I can get past the tenth level on my Hannah and the Pirate Caves game." She marked her place in her book and put it up.

     About thirty minutes later, Hannah Jewel, Slushie Jewel, and Alicia were out of the house and walking toward the Neopian Central High Street, the place where Hannah was supposed to be. There were about ten others in line in front of them. Alicia got out of view with several other owners whose pets didn't want to be embarrassed at the sight of their owners.

     "You excited?" asked Slushie Jewel.

     "You bet," replied Hannah Jewel. "I'm also a bit nervous. But just a little bit."

     "Same here," said Slushie Jewel. "Only thirty minutes to go. What to talk about what we like about each character?"

     "If it'll pass the time," replied Hannah Jewel. "OK. I like Hannah because she can jump really high."

     "I like Armin because he can dig through snow."

     "I like Hannah because…" Hannah Jewel stopped when she realized that a blue Cybunny had cut in front of her. "Hey! We were here first!"

     The Cybunny looked at Hannah Jewel in a snotty way. "Yeah, well I'm Hannah's biggest fan!" she said meanly.

     Hannah Jewel just about punched her in the nose. "No way! I'm Hannah's biggest fan!"

     "Excuse me, but I believe you are mistaken. I am Hannah's biggest fan! How about a quiz to see who's the biggest fan? Whoever can answer the most questions wins!"

     "Fine, but who will quiz us?" asked Hannah Jewel.

     "I will," said a familiar voice behind the two pets. Both spun around so see the real Hannah standing there. "Having a little problem?"

     "You bet!" said the snotty Cybunny. "This wannabe here thinks she's your biggest fan!"

     "Well, I'll determine that," said Hannah. "I'll give you questions that only a true fan of me would know, OK?"

     "You bet!" said the two fighting pets at the same time.

     "OK! Let the quiz begin! Question One: How many games am I in?"

     The Cybunny chimed in. "Two!" she said.

     "Correct," said Hannah. "Question Two: What recent Neopian plot am I a part of?"

     Hannah Jewel chimed in first. "Hannah and the Ice Caves!"

     "Correct. Question Three: What species of Neopet is the figure who I am trying to help in the Ice Caves Plot?"

     The Cybunny chimed in. "Gelert!"

     "Correct. Question Four: What species, color, and name, in that order is the character that helps me in Hannah and the Ice Caves game?"

     "Bori, Yellow, Armin," said Hannah Jewel. "Piece of cake!"

     "Final Question: How many total gold pieces are in Hannah and the Pirate Caves?"

     The Cybunny thought for a long while. "I… I don't know…" she said.

     "I do!" said Hannah Jewel. "Five hundred eleven!"

     "Congratulations!" cheered Hannah. "You have been nominated my biggest fan! Sorry, little Cybunny, but you're the first runner-up!"

     The Cybunny grew a scowl on her face, then turned up her nose at the two Usuls and stomped off. "Stupid little Usuls…" she muttered.

     Both Usuls rolled their eyes, then looked at each other and began laughing.

     "Well, you know who I am," said Hannah. "What's your name?"

     "Hannah Jewel," replied the red Usul.

     "Wow! You're a bigger fan than I thought! Tell you what, you get your autograph first!"

     "Cool! Hey, could you get Armin for me? My brother's a big fan."

     Slushie Jewel shyly looked at Hannah. He waved nervously.

     "Sure! I'll be right back." Hannah ran off, and came back about a minute later with the yellow Bori by her side. "Meet Armin, you two."

     "Hi!" said Armin. He, too, seemed a little nervous.

     "Hi!" said Slushie Jewel. "I'm Slushie Jewel Jewel, but just call me Slushie Jewel. I'm a huge fan! Maybe not your biggest fan, but pretty close!"

     Armin smiled. "So, I guess you want our autographs, huh?" he asked.

     "You know it!" said Hannah and Slushie Jewel at the same time.

     Hannah got out a piece of paper and signed it, "To: My biggest fan, Hannah Jewel. From: Hannah the Usul." She gave it to Hannah Jewel. Armin also got out a piece of paper and signed it, "To: Slushie Jewel Jewel. From: Armin the Bori." He gave it to Slushie Jewel.

     "Thanks!" said Hannah Jewel.

     "You're welcome," replied Hannah. She turned to Armin and whispered something in his ear. Armin nodded in reply. "OK, Armin and I have come to an agreement."

     "What kind of agreement?" asked Slushie Jewel.

     "We want you two to come exploring with us," replied Hannah. "We're going to the Ice Caves tomorrow to look for treasure. Want to come?"

     Hannah Jewel and Slushie Jewel looked at each other. They smiled and nodded. "Okay," said Slushie Jewel. "But first we have to ask our owner."

     "OK. Come back to this spot at 3:00 p.m. with your answer. Then, if your owner agrees, we'll head out right away!"

     "OK, no problem!" said Hannah Jewel. "See you in a few of hours!"

     "OK! I've got some fans to make autographs out to. Bye!" Both her and Armin waved and headed for the front of the line.

     "Come on! Let's ask Alicia. Like I said, she says yes to EVERYTHING!" Both ran to Alicia.

     "Back so soon?" asked Alicia. She laughed. "I watched you out there. You got to meet Hannah before anybody else! You even got her and Armin's autograph. I also know that you've been nominated Hannah's biggest fan. So, ready to go home?"

     "First, can Slushie Jewel and I ask you something?" asked Hannah Jewel.

     "Ask away," replied Alicia.

     "See, Hannah and Armin did some thinking, and they want me and Slushie Jewel to go exploring in the Ice Caves with them. Can we go?"

     Alicia thought it over. "Sure!" she said. "I know Hannah and Armin are strong, and I know you two are strong as well."

     "You mean it?" asked Slushie Jewel.

     "Better pack your winter clothing!" said Alicia. "Let's get home and pack. What time do we need to be back here?"

     "3:00 p.m.," replied Slushie Jewel. "We've got to get home and get packing!"

     So, the two pets and Alicia ran home. Hannah Jewel packed her big coat and a few supplies for climbing the slippery rocks. She also packed plenty of food in her lunchbox. Slushie Jewel only packed some emergency supplies. Being made of ice, he could eat snow in the caves and survive the freezing temperatures. He packed some flint and steel.

     "You never know when a good fire could come in handy," he had said to Hannah Jewel. "You never know…"

     "You got that off the Neopedia Article of Hannah and the Pirate Caves, didn't you?" asked Hannah Jewel.

     Slushie Jewel's eyes moved left and right. "Maybe…" he said just before he burst out laughing.

     At exactly 3:00 p.m., the two pets and their owner headed to Neopian Central where Hannah was waiting.

     "Ready to go?" she asked.

     "Yep!" said Hannah Jewel. She turned back to Alicia. "Bye, Alicia!"

     "Bye Alicia!" said Slushie Jewel.

     "Bye you two," said Alicia. "Have fun and be careful!" She began the walk home.

     Hannah Jewel and Slushie Jewel turned back to Alicia. "So, which direction do we go from here?" asked Slushie Jewel.

     Hannah got out a map and looked at it. She then looked up, then pointed north. "First, we go to the northern coast of Neopia. Then, we take a ferry to Terror Mountain. Once we arrive in Happy Valley, we go into the Ice Caves. We can use the map to navigate the tunnels easily."

     "Guess we're ready to go then," said Armin. "You two ready?"

     "We've been ready all day!" said Hannah Jewel. "Lead the way, Hannah!"

     Hannah smiled, and then began walking north, followed by Hannah Jewel. Just behind them were Armin and Slushie Jewel, in that order. They were ready for an adventure of a lifetime…

To be continued…