Anah followed the flagstone path through their garden, heading toward the trees that Suki loved to climb. Her own stomach growled a little bit. "Get inside, Suki! I'm hungry too!" If she had to spend any more than five minutes finding the Harris, Lijh was going to be in major trouble.

The leaves rustled at the bottom of the garden, and Anah thought she spotted a fuzzy Harris paw disappearing into the branches. "I've got you now, you naughty Harris!" Anah said, heading for the tree.

Suddenly, the Zafara's foot went out from under her, as if she had stepped into a hole. Anah glanced down in shock to find the fluffy pink clouds thinning beneath her. "What the...?"

Her words were cut short as the rest of her body was sucked through the rapidly expanding hole in the clouds. The last thing Anah saw before the pink clouds closed after her was Suki staring down at her as she fell...

Her heart pounded madly. Her stomach was in her throat.

Oh, sweet Fyora. I'm falling. Falling from Faerieland. How far is the ocean below? I can't fly! Help!

It took her about five seconds to gather her wits, and by then, Faerieland was ever so far away, like a glittering star in the vast midnight sky.

Oh. Right. She could fly. She'd been given her lifelong dream and painted faerie a week ago.

Swallowing down her fear, she spread out her butterly-like wings. Anah shuddered as they absorbed the shock and the speed, but heaved a sigh of relief when her freefall slowed down into a controlled hover. She was a novice at flying, but she had this much down, at least.

Fluttering her wings like the breeze through a field of dew-soaked grass, Anah cast her eyes to the lavender clouds above and began to fly back home.

Clambering back onto the edge of the cloud where her Neohome rested, the Zafara flipped over onto her back, panting, and stared up at the sunny sky as if life's meaning was etched into the sun's rays. She breathed deeply, trying to calm her frantic heart, and pondered what had just happened.

It was strange. The clouds had opened right beneath her... and then closed right after she'd fallen through. A perfect timing for the Faerieland ground to open up like some monster's maw, and either way, she'd never heard of a sinkhole in the clouds before.

And the way Suki had stared at her... it was almost like the Harris had been concentrating.

Maybe it was just imagination, but she didn't like Lijh's new Petpet much. Suki just freaked her out sometimes. The way it stared at things was too intelligent. It reminded her a little of a Meepit.

"Suki?" she called, shoving her stipulation aside. "Where are you, you naughty Petpet?"

No response. Not that she'd expected one. The Harris was a Harris, after all.

With a sigh, she turned back to her Neohome. Dinner would be getting cold, and she needed to find that Petpet.

After increasingly uneasy and then agonising minutes spent searching and calling in her Neohome and gardens, Anah had drawn a conclusion.

Suki was gone.

And so was Lijh...

But he had. There was no doubt about it. She had searched all the rooms. Why did he have to disappear tonight, of all times?! Mom and Dad would be home tomorrow. She had taken such good care of Lijh, all this time, and now he was gone...

Anah struggled to hold back the torrent of emotions. Think, she commanded herself. Think. Where would Lijh go with that Petpet?

Her thoughts swirled back to the day they entered the store. Lijh had just lost his umpteenth Petpet, an Angelpuss, and was crying for a new playmate. Anah rarely had time to play with him, and besides, he preferred to play alone with a Petpet rather than with other Neopets. So Anah had taken him to the store.

There were rows and rows of Petpets, all cute and all appealing, but Lijh had walked straight to the back of the store, where he found that pink Harris. It was curious, now that Anah thought about it. None of the other Harrises in that store were so completely pink. And certainly none of them had that solemn, cold stare. But Lijh had been adamant, pointing at the Harris and saying, "Suki, Suki," with a strange light in his eyes, as though he had known the Petpet's name all along.

Lijh had spent a great deal of time alone with Suki from that day on. Anah realised with a chill that she had never been quite aware what Lijh did with that Petpet. She had just assumed that it was ordinary playing, ball-throwing and the like. But now she recalled the distant expression that Lijh wore sometimes, when he came in after an afternoon of playing. And she recalled the quiet stare of the Harris as it accepted its food. None of the other Petpets had ever had that effect...

She got to her feet and straightened her wings numbly. She was getting nowhere moping like this, letting her imagination and fear get the better of her. She had to find Lijh and Suki, and quickly. She would ask her neighbours to help. They would comb every garden, every corner, every area near her Neohome.

Her movements charged now with determination, she moved toward the nearest neighbour's house, her gaze sweeping the landscape as she walked. And it was then that she saw the eyes...

"Suki!" she cried, her voice filled with a mixture of contempt and relief. The first thing she would do after she found Lijh was send that Harris straight back to the Petpet shop. But first, she had to find her brother.

Hoping desperately that finding one would lead to the other, Anah moved quickly toward her Neohome. The leaves masked Suki's pink fur, but her beady eyes continued to stare blankly at the faerie Zafara, not moving until Anah was nearly upon the small Petpet.

At that moment, as Anah's fingers began to reach out toward Suki with an almost magnetic attraction, the bushes rustled and the eyes vanished from sight.

"Suki!" said Anah, bursting forward and plunging her arms elbow-deep in the prickly bushes. But the Petpet had vanished, by some kind of power that Anah could only dream of.

But as her hands worked their way along the brick wall, pulling away the scratchy branches of the plants, Anah saw that Suki had disappeared by more conventional, if not less sinister, means.

A small doorway was set at the base of the Neohome, where Anah could see that several bricks had been pulled away. She didn't recognise the wooden panel from anywhere, but it wouldn't have surprised her if Lijh had acquired it somewhere and placed it in the wall to serve as a secret hiding place for him and his Petpet. The Nimmo loved nooks and small spaces.

But as Anah pulled the door open and leaned forward into the blackness, she couldn't help but wonder if there had been another mind behind this plan.

Suki couldn't be seen anywhere in the darkness, and Anah was met with a waft of stale, cold air. The Zafara realised, as she poked her head through the doorway, that although Suki and Lijh might have been able to fit in there, her body would never make it.

Withdrawing her her head, Anah stepped back from the wall and surveyed the house.

She estimated that the passage was closest in proximity to the back closet on the first floor of her Neohome. Glancing suspiciously at the dark hole one last time, Anah hurried around to the front of the house. She had to find where that door lead. Her brother may be trapped inside one of his own secret hideouts, and it was up to her to find him...

As she nimbly crossed her front yard and pulled open her Neohome's door, the evening's events began to dawn on her.

What was going on?

Okay, so Suki looked sinister. Maybe that was just her imagination running amok. And it looked like the Harris had lured Lijh away. Not to mention, it also seemed as though Suki had caused the clouds to open up beneath her feet.

But she had to be serious with herself -- she was being ridiculous. Suki was a Harris. A small, pink Petpet. How could she possibly be evil?

Maybe the Petpet's constant staring off into space was even a sign of dimness.

So what was going on? Just a little misadventure?

It didn't feel like it.

But even as she tried to convince herself, she knew her mind wasn't complying with her wishes. Suki's gazing didn't seem dim at all; rather, the Harris seemed far too intelligent for a Petpet.

Anah shook her head a little, trying to empty her mind. She needed to find Lijh. He would be scared, trapped inside a secret room, even if he found comfort in the freakish Petpet that was with him...

Inside her Neohome, the delicious scent of dinner wafted through the halls, making her stomach growl. She pushed her hunger aside, although a small, rather random bit of her mind noted pessimistically that the food was getting cold now.

No time for that now. No time...

At last, she made it to the closet. Storage and junk. She pushed her way inside, fighting through the old clothes and photographs and trinkets --

Click.

Anah stiffened.

Her paw had struck a small cylindrical object. Thin and tapered.

A lever.

With a whirring sound, the back wall drew away to reveal... a tunnel?

It was stone and dark. Very unusual for Faerieland, whose architecture generally included magically enhanced wood and clouds.

The Zafara stared in shock for a few seconds, then shook herself.

How many mysteries does my Neohome hold? she wondered. Cloudy sinkholes, secret passageways. No wonder we got this place so cheap.

With only a moment's hesitation, she clambered inside.

It was stuffy, dusty, and the darkness was abyssal. The tunnel seemed to narrow instantly, and soon, Anah was struggling to move on. It was constant pulling and dragging, reaching forward and repeating the cycle. Her fur had accumulated so much dust, she wondered if she'd turn grey.

Colour change. Ha-ha.

She panted. Her heart pounded madly. It seemed impossible to breathe.

Oh, Lijh, you are so grounded for this.

Her eyes were ill-accustomed to the darkness, but at last, she saw the deep greyness around her seem to branch away, and the tight corridor relax and spread out. Almost like she was stepping into a room.

She stumbled, and her paw struck something. She fumbled with it, realising it was a lamp. Without thinking, she struck it, and a small, quivering flame jumped up, casting the shadows dancing back.

"Lijh?" she called tentatively.

A small, mewling sound was her only response.

Startled, Anah whirled around, lifting up her light source to the sound.

An Angelpuss was sitting on the ground in front of her, its paws crossed over its chest, its eyes large and endearing. And yet, it bore an oddly scared appearance. Somehow, it looked familiar.

The Zafara frowned. Well, she'd seen Angelpi before --

Her eyes flew wide open in shock.

It was Lijh's missing Angelpuss.

There was no mistaking it for anyone else but Fluffles. The Angelpuss had a quirk in its left ear, and sure enough, there it was.

Anah took a step back from the Petpet, shocked.

There was a nervous bark and a rather throaty chuckling sound as a Doglefox and Gallion stepped forward to meet her. They also looked frightened; the Doglefox had its fluffball tail down, and the Gallion was quivering. Anah instantly recognised them as Rusty and Flames, Fluffles's predecessors.

Amazed, she turned around and saw myriad sets of eyes staring back at her from the darkness.

All of Lijh's Petpets were here.

But there was a glaringly obvious one missing.

Lijh was not here, and nor was Suki.

The tunnel stretched on further beyond the room filled with Petpets, a yawning earthen corridor that was black with shadows and menace...

The Petpets followed her, paws and hooves padding softly on the hard floor, letting out an occasional whimper.

Anah was glad for the company. Something about this place made her fur stand on end, as though there were someone, or something, watching her and waiting for a chance to strike. The Zafara kept shooting nervous glances over her shoulder, but no sinister creature revealed itself.

"Lijh?" she called out again, her voice more subdued, even trembling slightly. Her brother's name echoed back at her, resounding from the stony walls, but there was no other reply.

The Petpets had all fallen silent, appearing, if anything, more frightened than before.

Anah kept going, each step careful and deliberate. She would find her brother. She would get this whole thing sorted out.

And she most certainly would take Suki right back to the Petpet shop as soon as Lijh was back home, safe and sound.

A pink Harris stepped into the light shed by Anah's lamp.

"Suki? Where's Lijh?" she asked it, knowing full well that the odd Petpet wouldn't answer her.

Yet the Harris did answer, as best as it could. It reached up one of its paws, tilted its head to one side, and tapped the top of its head a few times.

It was a familiar gesture. Lijh did it often when he was thinking about something.

Then the Harris looked up into Anah's eyes.

These eyes were not the beady, all-too-penetrating eyes of Suki. The Harris's eyes were gentle, playful, innocent, and afraid.

Something clicked in the back of the Zafara's mind. She shook her head slowly.

No. No. It can't be. It's impossible.

But then a speckled Nimmo hopped out of the shadows, scooping up the Harris and holding it tightly in his arms.

Anah sighed in relief. "Oh, Lijh, you're safe! For a second I thought..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the Nimmo's face.

His usually warm eyes were cold, calculating, and unmistakably intelligent.

"Not Lijh," he said, his voice thick as though he were unused to speaking.

"Not Lijh," he repeated. "Suki..."

"But how...?" she cried, her gaze darting frantically between the small, timorous Harris and the eerily smiling Nimmo. "How could you...? What have you...? Give me back my brother!"

"No," came the simple answer, issued from that spoiled young mouth, Lijh's mouth, the mouth that Anah had fed and wiped, that could not be saying what it was saying now -- "He is mine. I waited too long."

The emotionless, artificially pronounced words clawed at Anah's heart. "What do you mean?" she shouted, snatching the little Harris and cradling him fiercely. "Lijh is my brother. I helped bring him up. It was me who put him to bed at night, who dragged him into the shower and cooked meals for him. What do you mean -- he's yours?"

"I've been trapped forever," sighed Suki, stretching his arms -- no, Lijh's arms -- appreciatively. “"Lijh was the only suitable mind and body I could find. But it was so difficult to access him, so, so difficult..." The words were coming more easily now, smooth as warmed poison. "I had to get rid of all these Petpets here before he would come to me. Now he is mine, at last." The familiar round eyes regarded Anah with a horrible coldness. "Credit is due to you, however, for taking such good care of my house and my new body while I was away..."

"Your house?" Anah's mind was spinning. "But my parents bought it..."

"...from that foolish fiend who thought she could imprison me in a Harris's body," sneered Suki. "A deceptively quiet air faerie called Psellia, who now and then performs so-called virtuous deeds... am I right, young Zafara?"

Anah's throat was dry. She could only hold on to the quivering Harris in her arms as her world continued to fall apart...

"I shall have my revenge at last," breathed Suki. "Psellia's legacy will last no longer. The great sorcerer Suki is back, and it will take more than a mere air faerie to put me down this time." He laughed, an out-of-practice maniacal laugh. "Come, and let us enjoy our dinner. We have things to do afterward."

"We?" gasped Anah.

Suki contorted Lijh's face into an unfamiliar expression of contempt. "Why, isn't it obvious?" he said. "You've looked after my house and my body, and prepared an excellent meal to celebrate my return. You are my servant..."

She consoled herself by clutching Lijh even more tightly, as if to somehow shield him from their terrible circumstances.

Suki was oblivious to Anah's distress. "I didn't intend to keep you as a servant, of course," he continued silkily, "but you proved to be more resilient than I had expected. It was foolish of me to forget about your newly acquired wings..."

A piece of the puzzle clicked into place in Anah's brain. "You!" she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "You're the reason I fell through the clouds!"

A low, gravelly chuckling sound issued from the Nimmo's throat, sounding so unlike Lijh that Anah flinched. "That was my handiwork," Suki admitted, his smile wide. "However, I have since realised that I have a better use for you. But enough! I am eager for the feast that awaits -- I have grown quite tired of Petpet kibble."

Anah wasn't sure that mashed potatoes and slightly burned macaroni qualified as a feast, but she grudgingly turned and started down the meandering tunnels that led back home. Suki followed with slightly clumsier steps.

The stifling silence was broken only by the shuffling footfalls of the diabolical sorcerer and the despairing Zafara. Anah couldn't say what occupied Suki's thoughts -- nor did she want to know -- but her own mind was sluggish with dread and desperation. She racked her brains for a solution to what seemed like an impossible problem. If only Mom and Dad were here, she thought, her eyes moist.

Lijh, still nestled safely in his sister's grasp, yawned. Anah saw a flash of his pink tongue before he buried his tiny face in the crook of her arm. She smiled at him sadly.

Then, a sudden idea struck her. If their parents couldn't help them, she should find someone who could. Who better than the faerie who'd defeated Suki before? Everyone knew Psellia's name, so the famous founder of Altador couldn't be too difficult to find. If she and Lijh sneaked away from the house...

Anah sent a surreptitious glance at Suki. They had almost reached the back closet, a pale light flooding the end of the tunnel. Perhaps when they reached the house, she would find a way to distract the sorcerer and make her escape. Already plans were forming in her mind...

All Anah really had to do was wait. She could cooperate as best she could until the villainous Suki went to bed, and then she could take her brother and run.

The three exited the tunnel and made their way to the kitchen.

Suki observed the rapidly cooling meal with disdain.

"What is this?" he asked scornfully. "It is certainly not a fit repast for a great sorcerer such as I."

Anah glared at him. It wasn't her fault if she wasn't such a great cook!

The Nimmo stared back impassively. "Go to the marketplace and fetch something a bit more... suitable for my meal." He paused. "Perhaps some Faerie Asparagus, marinated in a light cream sauce..." he trailed off, considering. "Yes. That will do nicely. Now go off and fetch it!"

Anah tried to hide the sudden elation she felt. She wouldn't have to wait until Suki fell asleep after all! The sorcerer himself had given her an opening to escape!

"Okay," she said, cradling the Harris that housed her brother's mind. "I'll get right to it." She turned to leave.

"Wait. Give the Harris to me."

Anah froze, her blood running cold. "...what?"

"You heard me. Give me that Harris. Do you think me to be a mere simpleton? If I let you both out of my sight, you will flee straight to Psellia, am I right?"

Anah didn't answer.

"This way, you'll have no choice but to do as I bid you. Here, I'll take the Petpet off your hands!" Before the Zafara could object, he snatched Lijh out of her arms.

"Now you may go," he said, waving a hand dismissively.

Biting her lip with anger and disappointment, Anah departed for the market.

After buying everything she needed from the Faerie Foods store, the Zafara set off for home, her mind whirling.

Suki knew she wanted to escape. He would be very, very careful not to give her any chance. She wouldn't put it past him to put her to sleep with a spell before going to sleep himself, eliminating any chance that she could take her brother and leave while he slumbered.

Something green caught her eye as she walked past, caught up in her own thoughts. She turned to see a small stall, one she knew hadn't been there yesterday.

The owner of the stall wore a green hooded cloak, but judging from her wings, she was obviously an earth faerie.

"Hello," said the faerie, her voice soft. "Have you come to purchase some of my magical herbs?"

An idea hit the Zafara. "Um, do you have any that can put someone to sleep?"

The faerie nodded. "Yes, of course. Here." She took a handful of leaves and placed them in a bag. "Whoever consumes these will fall quickly into a deep, deep sleep." Anah thanked her and paid for the herbs, setting off for home in higher spirits than when she'd left.

"It certainly took you long enough," Suki growled as Anah entered the front door. "I am terribly hungry." He paused. "I suppose I shall have to waste a bit of my precious magic on you if I want to get this done right."

With a quick gesture and a few murmured words, Suki cast a spell and Anah suddenly felt... like a chef!

She immediately knew exactly how much of each ingredient she should use, how long she should cook the dish, and even how to serve it in an appealing manner.

As an unintended side effect, she also knew exactly how much of the sleep herbs would be required to put the sorcerer to sleep right after dinner.

Anah practically skipped to the kitchen and prepared the meal.

When the asparagus was properly prepared, she served a dish for the sorcerer and set it in front of him.

"Thank you," he said, nodding. He picked up his fork.

Yes, yes, the Zafara thought. Eat up!

But then the Nimmo paused. "Why aren't you eating?" he asked.

"M-me?" she asked.

"Why, of course you," said the sorcerer, a smile spreading across his face. "Even servants have to eat, don't they? And after you prepared such a splendid dish, it's only fair that you should be able to enjoy it as well..."

Wait... dreams?

The lovely Psellia, who Anah sought so desperately, was known as the Dreamer. Her constellation, the myriad of shimmering stars that glittered in Altadorian skies each evening, was even called by the same title. Was it possible that hope wasn't lost? Eating the food was inevitable; Suki was evidently clever, perhaps being in possession of a crafty mind made him well aware that those who opposed him would seek to finish him off. If indeed Anah had to sleep, perhaps there was a way to contact Psellia without ever leaving the house.

Dutifully the Zafara sat at the table, slowly dishing out a small serving of the creamy asparagus onto her own plate. This plan was nowhere near as good as her previous one; Suki might awaken before her; she might not be able to contact Psellia through her dreams; Suki's magic might be stronger than that of the herbs... a million things could go wrong, but what choice was left? It was this or... Anah didn't want to contemplate the "or."

With overdramatic relish, Suki waved his hand in the air.

"Eat!"

It was obvious the sorcerer wasn't going to take a bite until she did. Anah only hoped she stayed awake long enough that he would try the food too. Inhaling deeply and trying to seem nonchalant, the Zafara lifted the spoon of cream sauce to her lips and ate. The taste was delicious; she had never before cooked something so incredibly delicious, the creamy, earthen taste of vegetables and sauce utterly delightful. It was a shame that such talent had only been induced by a spell, she reflected, struggling against the sudden urge to sleep that gently began to wash over her. Fighting to appear like nothing was wrong, the Zafara continued to nibble -- thank goodness her spoon was smaller than Suki's!

Apparently satisfied that the meal didn't contain anything sinister, the sorcerer began to eat. He was still trying to master the ability to function in Lijh's body, Anah observed. Suki's motions were awkward and lacked grace; he was shovelling the food into his mouth at an alarming rate.

Suddenly, the Nimmo blinked several times. Anah knew how he felt; she was desperately fighting waves of slumber that washed upon her like a soothing tide, and she hadn't consumed a tenth of what Suki had just gorged himself with. The Nimmo seemed to sway a little, and Anah managed to stay awake just long enough to observe Suki falling face-first into his dinner and releasing a loud, grunting snore before she too collapsed, one last word escaping her mouth in a desperate, whispered plea.

"Psellia..."

A haze of slumber gently captured Anah's mind, lifting her to a strange, dreamlike place as she slept. There she envisioned herself sitting upon a hovering ivory cloud, a slender figure beside her.

Psellia!

The faerie smiled softly as the Zafara bowed her head in reverence.

"You have done well, little Anah." Psellia's voice seemed distant and dreamy, as if she were speaking from far, far away. "Suki is a dangerous foe, wicked enough as an opponent to foresee a simple plan, but his one failing has been his inability to understand sacrifice."

Anah frowned softly. What did the faerie mean?

"By falling asleep, Anah, you risked that nothing would happen. You had no way of knowing whether I would hear you call and come to your dream. You risked everything to save your little brother. Such things are done by the strength of love you have for him. This is something Suki could never understand."

Anah shivered softly. What if Suki awoke before her and discovered what had happened while she was defenceless? Had she fully calculated the risk?

"I don't know how to stop him. I need you to come and help." The Zafara whispered these words, startled to find her own voice sounded dreamlike and faraway.

Psellia smiled softly as Anah grew distressed.

"Psellia! You need to tell me what to do!"

The air faerie's golden hair seemed to shimmer a little, an imaginary breeze toying with the silken strands.

"You need to wake up."

The faerie's voice sounded even further away now, Anah realised with confusion, suddenly aware of a sharp pain in her ankle.

"Wake up? Psellia, we need... ouch!"

There it was again, a sharp, irritating pain, repetitively stabbing into her ankle, though she could see nothing but the slowly fading vision of the air faerie before her.

"Psellia!" This final cry was uttered seconds before the dream dissipated, Anah finding herself struggling wildly between the realms of slumber and awareness, the acute pain in her ankle intense. She sleepily brushed a hand down toward it and connected lightly with soft fur.

"Lijh!" He had been trying to wake her!

Struggling to sit up, the Zafara quickly glanced to the slumbering form before her. Suki was snoring loudly, blowing bubbles in his cream sauce. This wasn't what brought a smile to Anah's face, though. Behind the slumbering sorcerer stood an elegant, tall figure, a determined smile upon her face, a box held under her arm.

Psellia!

Placing one hand on the box and one on the sleeping Nimmo form, the air faerie murmured strange incantations under her breath. Suki seemed to stir for a second, struggling bitterly against whatever magic was occurring as Anah watched in fascination. Then the Nimmo form slumped, leaving the Zafara with the creepy, eerie sensation that the body was utterly empty.

This lasted only seconds. Gently Psellia scooped the quivering Harris from the floor and placed her hand again upon the inactive Nimmo's form, murmuring softly. Light seemed to shimmer and dance before Anah's eyes, and she lifted a paw to shield her vision from the bright kaleidoscope of colour that seemed to glitter around the room. By the time she could see clearly again, the Harris had vanished, and the Nimmo was upright, gentle, kind eyes blinking in confusion.

"Lijh?"

Anah didn't need to ask twice. Her heart flooded with the knowledge that her baby brother was back safe where he belonged. Laughing and exuberant, the two siblings embraced, both talking a mile a minute and clinging to one another for dear life as the benevolent air faerie looked on with a smile.

Still hugging Lijh, Anah glanced up, her eyes moist with emotion.

"How can we thank you?"

Psellia laughed softly, waving an elegant hand.

"I should be thanking you. Placing that wretched sorcerer in the body of a Petpet someone would find sweet was a silly oversight. But it won't happen again."

Anah frowned slowly, her eyes travelling to the nearby box as Psellia opened the lid.

"I made sure it's a Petpet Neopians will know to keep an eye on this time." The faerie smiled softly as the siblings peered in.

Curled up tight, still slumbering under the effects of the magical herbs, was a pink, plush Petpet. Anah smiled slowly.

"A Meepit!"

The End