When the world of Neopia lay in slumber, the cloud floating hundreds of miles
above the surface of the planet, Faerie Land, was deserted as well. In the golden
temple that Neopians left their offerings for the Uber Faeries in, behind the
biggest door, there was a meeting in session. The Uber Elemental Faeries, all
six of them, the Space Faerie, and the Faerie Queen herself sat on jeweled thrones,
arranged in a circle, except the Space Faerie, whose legs faded into a starry
mist. She contented herself with floating in the centre of the circle.
"Fellow Faeries," the Space Faerie began, "I come before you tonight asking
for your aid in an event that gives me great pain. I know not how it started."
"If it has anything to do with those deformed Chias," the Faerie of Darkness
interrupted, "I apologised a million times."
"It has nothing to do with that," the Space Faerie snapped. Like the rest
of her sisters, she had no patience for the Faerie of Darkness.
"These past nights, I have been having strange dreams."
"What kind of dreams?" the Air Faerie asked gently, in her voice like summer
rain.
"Terrifying dreams."
"Are you sure you just haven't been looking in the mirror too long before
you go to bed?" the Faerie of Darkness sniggered.
"No, I've been having nightmares! Horrible nightmares! With monsters and spiders
and snakes."
"You're afraid of snakes?" asked the Fire Faerie.
"Let me finish. You all know of my ability to feel the pain of Neopians."
The Uber Faeries nodded. "I fear that a pet out there is having these dreams
too."
"So?" the Earth Faerie sighed. "Every kid has nightmares. What can you do?"
"That isn't all I see in my dreams. I see the Faerie of Darkness, reaching
out her hands to grab me, and her minions: goblins and walking corpses! And
Dark Faeries, swirling all around, chanting strange words."
"Hey!" the Faerie of Darkness screamed. The Elemental Faeries all started
talking at the same time.
"That is exactly what little pets are scared of!"
"I take that as an insult!"
"Don't be foolish. Pets are terrified of you."
"Which pet is it?"
"We have to find which one it is!"
"We'll go search now."
"Silence," the Faerie Queen commanded. The Faeries stopped talking at once.
"I have never heard of such nightmares in all my reign. We shall have to put
a stop to them. Light Faerie." The Light Faerie stood up. "Since you are sensitive
to the evil present in these dreams, you will go and find the pet having these
dreams. Dreams in this world are contagious, and those close to the pet will
be having bad dreams as well. The Space Faerie will go with you. This meeting
is dismissed."
The Faerie Queen departed to her room. The Elemental Faeries were silent for
a moment, then they all disappeared, other than the Light Faerie and the Space
Faerie. They set off, in the darkness of the night, the Light Faerie glowing
like a firefly, and the Space Faerie leaving a trail of stars behind her.
***
In the dark, humid night, small desert creatures scurried about, active after
the intense heat of day. On 2900 Delta Close in the Lost Desert, the lights
were turned off, like every other house on the street.
MinxJade the white Aisha stirred in her sleep. "Get away..." she murmured,
"no... please... no... GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!" she shrieked, and woke up in a
cold sweat.
"AAARRGGGGHH!" A scream came from a nearby room. Down the hall, another scream
erupted. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"What's going on?" Rumples_Skin_Skin, the speckled Aisha and the second one
who screamed, called. Loud sobbing was heard from his little brother's room.
MinxJade bolted out of bed and down the hall. She burst into ChinoGod's room.
The green Aisha was whimpering and clutching his stuffed cat. Rumples was already
there, sitting on his bed. MinxJade flicked the lights on.
"AAALLLISSON!!!" Chino wailed, calling for their owner.
"Where is she?" MinxJade panted.
"I d-d-don't know," Rumples stammered. His whole body was trembling. "W-w-where's
K-k-kiwiBonk?"
"I didn't hear her scream." MinxJade went over and sat on the bed. "I just
had the scariest dream ever."
"Me too."
"M-m-me three."
"I dreamt that the Darkness Faerie was trying to get me. I tried to run away,
but everywhere I turned, there were zombies and monsters."
"That was what my dream was like, too."
"I had never been so scared in my life...."
"Me neither."
"I want Alison!" Chino moaned.
"Shh, she's not here now. But she'll be here in the morning," MinxJade said,
comforting her brother.
"Can I sleep in here?" Rumples whispered.
"Okay. You, too, MinxJade."
"Let's leave the lights on." The three Aishas snuggled together, but none
of them slept. Chino clutched his cat all night, Rumples shuddered every time
there was a noise, and MinxJade covered her eyes with her paws and hid under
the blankets.
Down the hall, and two rooms to the left, KiwiBonk the desert Aisha woke up
from a dream as well. "Snuffs?" she mumbled. Her Abominable Snowball screeched
softly. "I'm hungry...." She rolled over and went back to sleep.
***
The sunlight filtered through the windows as Alison entered her NeoHome the
next morning. She was surprised to find Rumples' and MinxJade's rooms empty.
KiwiBonk lay in her bed with a happy smile on her face. She found Rumples, MinxJade
and Chino squeezed in Chino's bed. They all sat up as she entered, and Chino
started to cry.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"We had a bad dream," MinxJade told her about the nightmare they had shared.
"You all had the same dream?" Alison said. "That's amazing."
"Aren't you worried about the scary stuff we saw?" said Chino.
"It was just a scary nightmare. Everybody has nightmares. Don't worry about
it. Come on, I'll make you some breakfast. You guys have to go to school in
an hour."
"I can't go to school, Alison," said MinxJade.
"Neither can I," Rumples said.
"You guys can't stay home from school because of a nightmare. Get real. I'll
go wake up KiwiBonk, too."
As Alison left, Rumples turned to his siblings. "I wonder if KiwiBonk had
the same dream, too."
"Probably. I feel sick," Chino whimpered.
"I do, too."
***
KiwiBonk walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She held a beautiful pendant
in her hand. A Faerie had given it to her. She stopped suddenly at the sight
of her brothers and sister sitting at the table, staring at her.
"What?" she said.
"Did you have any kind of dream last night?" said MinxJade, trying to act
casual. She reached for the milk, but she was shaking so much she knocked over
the cereal.
"Yeah, I had a really good dream!" KiwiBonk exclaimed. The other Aishas' mouths
dropped open. "I can't remember what it was about, but I felt happy, like I
was special, like I was the chosen one.... It was weird," she giggled. "You
guys are freaking me out."
"Alison, do we have to go to school today?"
Alison was cleaning up a puddle of slush left on the floor by Snuffs. "Yes,
you have to go to school. You three are fine."
"Why? What happened?"
"We all had the most horrible nightmare ever!" Chino whispered.
"And I think we're gonna need therapy," Rumples added, his eyes huge with
fright.
"It was about the Faerie of Darkness," MinxJade said.
"The Faerie of Darkness is cool. Hey, come on. Our bus is here." KiwiBonk
slipped off her chair. MinxJade and Rumples felt sick to their stomachs.
***
KiwiBonk walked down the hallway of her school, notoriously called 'All Species
NeoHigh'. She stopped at Melon_Berry's locker. Melon, her friend, was a pineapple
Chia, and one of the most popular Chias in the school. She was taking books
out of her locker, and kept glancing worriedly over her shoulder.
"Hey, Melon!" KiwiBonk said.
Melon jumped in surprise. "Oh hi, KiwiBonk," she said. KiwiBonk noticed she
had the same crazed look in her eyes that her brothers and sister had.
"What's up?"
"Uh... nothing... I have to talk to you about something...." Melon grabbed
her friend's arm and directed her to a deserted corner.
"Yeah?"
"KiwiBonk, I had this really weird dream last night."
"So?"
"It was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life."
"What happened?"
"The Faerie of Darkness was trying to grab me, and every way I turned--"
"Not this again!" KiwiBonk stomped away. "I don't know why I'm so hungry lately..."
she added to herself, clutching her stomach.
***
Five days later, Rumples, MinxJade, and Chino were still in that terrified
state. Rumples sat in his room with all his lights on, reading book after book
that had anything to do with the Light Faerie. MinxJade sat at the computer,
playing NeoQuest and listening to her M*YNCI CD. Chino hugged his stuffed cat
and rocked back and forth, chanting strange words under his breath.
"For Faerie's sake, take 'em to the doctor or something," KiwiBonk told Alison.
"They're giving me the creeps."
"Me, too. That's what I'll do."
"And drop me off at the Battledome on the way, okay?" KiwiBonk asked.
"Sure thing."
While Alison phoned the psychiatrist, KiwiBonk went into her room and lay
on her bed, planning to do her homework. As she was about to start her algebra
problems, she saw something sparkly out of the corner of her eye. It was her
reflection in the mirror on the back of her door. KiwiBonk didn't know her coat
was that shiny!
"Wow, Snuffs, I look great, don't I?"
"...."
"When did I get all these muscles, Snuffs? Snuffs?" Turning around, KiwiBonk
saw Snuffs staring at her from atop her Kau print dresser. She could have sworn
that her little PetPet had the crazed look in his eyes as well.
"Alison? I think you should get Snuffs checked out, too...."
***
Two hours later, Alison returned to her NeoHome with three nervous Aishas,
four agitated PetPets (The other Aishas' pets proved to be jittery as well.),
and one extremely happy desert Aisha, carrying a armful of trophies.
"I can't believe I won all these fights!"
"Yes, you certainly were amazing in the Battledome" Alison said, depositing
Chino's Flightning Bug on the floor, who screamed and buzzed away. Chino, MinxJade,
and Rumples each disappeared in their rooms.
"I even beat the Jelly Chia!" said KiwiBonk proudly.
"That's great... KiwiBonk, did you know that all of your friends were in the
hospital, too?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Snowneooo, Melon_Berry, Qt_the_adorable, Poo_gie99, and Momopofogokozomo.
They were waiting for the same doctor I brought your brothers and sister to."
"What?"
"I seems they've been having bad dreams, too. There's something really weird
going on."
"You can say that again." To change the subject, KiwiBonk went over to her
collection of trophies. "I didn't know I could do so well in the Battledome"
"It looks like you beat every challenger."
"Yep, even the Snowager."
"KiwiBonk, have you been using a different shampoo?"
"No, same Peophin stuff I always use. Why?"
"Your fur looks a lot shinier."
Ding Dong!
"That must be Julie! She brought Melon and Poogie over."
Julie looked normal, to KiwiBonk's relief. Melon wouldn't look KiwiBonk in
the eye, and Poogie looked like all the energy had been drained out of her.
"Hey, Alison," Julie said. "My pets have been driving me crazy. They're going
nuts. Hey, KiwiBonk's normal. She even looks better than usual."
"Yeah, but the rest of them are paranoid. Even the PetPets are."
KiwiBonk led Melon and Poogie into her room.
"How are you guys doing?"
"Fine."
"Yeah...."
"Poogie, have you been having bad dreams, too?"
"Yeah. Have you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't know," KiwiBonk snapped. She felt really mad for some reason.
"I'm scared to go to bed tonight," Poogie sniffed.
"You guys are wimps," KiwiBonk snarled.
"You can sleep in my bed," Melon offered.
"That horrible Faerie of Darkness. She's the one that sent us these dreams,
I bet. I just hate her," Poogie said.
"TAKE THAT BACK!!!!"
KiwiBonk could feel her body getting bigger. Her fur started to glow. Melon
and Poogie's eyes grew big. A strange wind blew around her ears, but it felt
nice. Her body was tingly and pleasant. She felt a rush of energy, two voices
screaming in unison, and laughter. KiwiBonk realised it was her laughing. She
was happy, happier than she had ever been in her life.
***
The Light Faerie and the Space Faerie had been searching for hours, but to
no avail. They were flying low over Krawk Island, invisible to the Neopians
below. The Space Faerie giggled.
"I feel really giddy for some reason," she explained.
Suddenly, the Light Faerie stopped."I felt it," she said.
"The Darkness?"
"Yes. Strongly. This way." The Light Faerie took off in the direction of the
Lost Desert.
To be continued... | 
