Having run away from her owner, Usulkaren now finds herself in an alleyway
in Neopia Central. She entered because she heard a voice, but she couldn't find
anyone.
"Hello?" she called. No one answered. "Is somebody back here?" she called again.
Still no one answered. "HELLO?!" she shouted.
"You know, bad things can happen to people in a dark, deserted alley like this
one," a voice behind her said. She quickly spun around and found herself face-to-face
with what appeared to be a scientist (AKA Doctor Sloth!!!) "And at this time
of night," he continued, "no one would be around to see it."
"And bad things also happen to people who sneak up on other people from behind,"
Usulkaren answered. She raised her bow to defend herself.
"So, giving me an attitude, eh?" Doctor Sloth replied. "What's your name, little
girl?"
"It's Usulkaren, and I'm not little!" she answered, still keeping her bow trained
on him.
"Quite a feisty little one, aren't you?" he said. "What are you doing out
here all by yourself?"
Usulkaren lowered the bow. "I'm running away."
"Why?"
"Nobody likes me because I'm a skunk."
"Nobody likes you, huh? Well, what if I told you that I had something that
could make EVERYONE like you?"
This caught Usulkaren's interest. What kind of wondrous object could this Doctor
have on him? "What is it?" she asked.
The Doctor reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle filled with a foul
smelling liquid. (AKA Kiko Transmogrification Potion) "If you drink this, everyone
will like you."
Usulkaren accepted the bottle, and opened it. "Wow, this smells terrible!
Are you sure about this?" Doctor Sloth nodded. "Well, then here goes nothing!"
She raised the potion to her lips, then began to drink it. A strange feeling
came over her, and she collapsed. Before she passed out, she heard the Doctor
laughing.
***
Usulkaren awoke with a pounding headache. "Mmph...ow, my head!" she muttered.
"I wonder where I am? Mmph...man, I'm thirsty!" She reached for her carton of
Chocolate Milk, but it wasn't there. Neither was her Omelette or her bow. "Huh?
Was that guy a thief?" She then noticed a dish full of water. Ravaged with thirst,
she crawled over to it, but when she looked into the dish, a horrible sight
met her eyes.
In the reflection was an ugly Mutant Kiko! "Eek!" she shrieked at she backed
away, but soon bumped into something iron. She spun around, and realised she
was in a cage! "Wh...what's happening?!" She was scared beyond thought. That's
when she realised it.
"Oh no!" she thought. "That Doctor was a fake! That potion that he gave me
must have turned me into...into...an Mutant Kiko!" She bounced around the confines
of her cage, screaming.
"Hey! Shut up over there, will ya?!" a rough female voice snapped, quickly
bringing Usulkaren to an abrupt halt. She looked around for the source of the
voice. "Over here!" it shouted, drawing her attention. She realised the owner
of the voice was an Electric Eyrie in the next cage. "Will you settle down?!
You're loud enough to wake up a dead Techo!"
"S...sorry," she responded. "I'm sorry. I just got scared. I don't really
know where I am."
"And you don't want to, either. This is the Neopian Pound."
"The pound?! Oh no!"
"Pipe down! If you're a nuisance, they won't feed you! So be quiet!"
Usulkaren saw that there was no point in arguing. She crawled to a far corner
of the cage and slumped down, sadder than ever. Tears came to her eyes, and
she began to cry again. She eventually cried herself to sleep.
As she slept, she dreamed. She remembered her younger days, when she was a
plain red Usul. She played with her sisters all the time, and Vulpixio was very
nice to all of them, feeding them when they were hungry, and always having toys
for them to play with. Her dream then shifted to the day she became a Skunk
Usul, then to the terrible first day of school, and from there to Doctor Sloth
giving her that terrible potion.
She was aroused from her sleep by the sound of the door opening. She quickly
bounced to the door of her cage and peered out. Vulpixio! "It's Vulpixio!" she
thought. "I'm saved!" She watched with joy as Vulpixio began to look through
the cages. He eventually came to her cage, and after taking a good look, turned
to the warden and said, "Nope. That's not her."
Usulkaren was crushed. She slowly bounced back to the back of the cage, even
sadder than before. Vulpixio looked at the rest of the cages with no luck, then
left. She sadly watched him leave. Her only chance for freedom was now lost
to her forever.
To be continued... | 
