An Encounter With Elzzuf

     It started off as little mischievous acts. Little things, really not worth mentioning. First it was just strange noises. Then plants were going missing from my Neogarden. Then it was the strange Neomails that began showing up in my inbox. Messages that stated three menacing little words. BEWARE THE FUZZLES!

     Quivering in fright, I stared at the Fuzzles in my gallery. Their cute smiling faces staring back at me. I wondered how such small creatures could invoke so much fear in me. The cute, fuzzy little creatures, I once called my friends, were now tormenting me. Following my every footstep. Haunting my dreams.

     I began devising a plan to secretly get rid of them. Randomly gave some away to random Neofriends. Donated a few to other peoples Fuzzle galleries, but they all seemed to wind up back in my gallery, with meaner and angrier faces. I was in for it now.

     Before I knew it, I was captured, with my hands tied up behind my back, in some lab out in the middle of nowhere. This huge ray gun pointed down at me. A light bulb lit up in my head. I knew where this place was, but a sinking feeling rose from the bottom of my stomach. So many times before I've brought my dear pets to this place and even though they pleaded for me not to do it, with tears in their eyes, I let the ray zap them and watched with glee as they changed species, gender, or colour.

     Now here I sat, under the very same ray gun. Tears blurring my own eyes, as I pleaded with the Fuzzles to let me go.

     "I'll do anything you ask! Just please don't zap me with that thing!"

     The Fuzzles only laughed at me. A shrill, frightening cackle that sent shivers up my spine. Rocking back and forth on my knees, I tried desperately to think of a plan to get myself out of this mess. Even tried bribing some of the Fuzzles with their favourite treats. Told them I'd pamper them for the rest of their long lives if they let me go, but it was no use. The Fuzzles wouldn't take any of my offers. They only laughed louder.

     "Please let me go! I'll do anything! Anything!" I cried in desperation.

     Then when all hope seemed lost, a booming voice echoed out from a dark corner.

     "Anything, you say?"

     I looked up, as a giant figure emerged from the shadows. A gigantic Blue Evil Fuzzle, bigger than I any I have ever seen through my travels about Neopia. It was ten times the size of me and made all the other little Fuzzles appear like ants. I shivered in fright, as I stared up in awe at the size of the creature.

     "Well? Will you really do anything?" Boomed the massive creature.

     The Fuzzles all around me were bowing down to the enormous one looming over me as if it were some sort of god. Instinct told me to do the same. Kneeing, with my hands still tied, I bowed as low to the ground as my body would allow.

     "Yes, I'll do anything you ask. Anything at all! Just name it!"

     For a long time the godly Fuzzle didn't say a word. It seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, it let out a loud, rumbling sigh and turned back into the shadows.

     "Wait!" I cried out, in sudden panic. "Are you going to let me go free?"

     The panicked words that escaped my mouth made the Fuzzles crack up laughing again. I still failed to see the humour in the situation and out of fright and frustration I began yelling at the Fuzzles that surrounded me.

     "You better let me go! Or else all of you, including that oversized blob of fur over there are going to get it!"

     The room suddenly filled with an eerie hush. The Fuzzle's intimidating laughter stopped dead, as if someone had pressed a mute button, and they all stared at me in total shock.

     "Was it something I said?" The words came out of my mouth so timidly, it surprised me. I winced, expecting any second now to be pelted by Fuzzles, but to my surprise, they began to leave. One by one, the Fuzzles where hightailing it out of the lab as fast as their little legs could carry them. I swallowed hard, fearing the worst.

     Just then, the massive godly Fuzzle appeared out of the shadows again. It stared down at me with its huge black eyes. I looked up at the large ray gun that was still pointing at me and quivered. I thought for sure that this would be the end of me. The Overgrown ball of fur would pull the trigger and the ray gun would zap me into something strange.

     I began wondering how I ever thought these creatures were cute and cuddly and how I even thought of them as friends. I wondered why I ever wanted a whole gallery full of them and what I must have done wrong to provoke them to this level.

     Looking up at the monstrous Fuzzle with sad, teary ears, I tried pleading again. Knowing it wouldn't work, but I had to try something.

     "Please Mister Fuzzle, your highness, your godliness! I'll do anything you say! Just let me go! I'll give you all my Neopoints! All my expensive items! I'll even build a NeoHome, just for you! Please, I beg you! Let me go!"

     Then it laughed. A deafening chuckle that shook the whole room. Dust fell from the ceiling. Things came crashing down off of shelves. It was like an earthquake of laughter.

     Just as fast as the laughter started, it stopped. The floor still rumbling in aftershock.. The giant Fuzzle went quite again, just like it did before and for a long time there was nothing but silence in the room.

     I didn't say a word, afraid of what the creature might do to me, if I broke it's train of thought.

     "I am Elzzuf! Lord of all Fuzzles!" It finally spoke. "It has come to my attention that you have treated my dear Fuzzles with lack of respect. Stuck them in a gallery and ignored them. Never letting them out to play."

     "But I-"

     "SILENCE!" The creature boomed. "All I ask is you let them out every once and a while. Fuzzles need to have some fun too. And they need attention, or else they'll get themselves into trouble! And lastly, let them take over the world, as it has been our personal mission for many years now."

     "Yes, yes! If I do all that will you let me go?"

     The large Fuzzle closed it's eyes again and was silent. Then with a loud, rumbling sigh, it turned around and fled back into the shadows. Leaving me completely alone in the lab. Then with a click, the lights turned off and everything was pitch black. There was nothing to do, but curl up in a ball and fall asleep in the darkness.

     I awoke the next morning to bright sunlight shining down on me. I let out a huge yawn and stretched, slowly opening my eyes. I was back in my room. It had all been a strange dream. Or had it?

     As I sat up, 50 pairs of eyes stared back at me. There they all were, out of my gallery with their menacing Fuzzle smiles, gleaming at me. It was no dream!

THE END