Morning turned to noon. Bip woke up, then Elle. She volunteered
to get some food, even though none of us were hungry. She brought back some
old vegetables from the trash cans behind the Health Food Shop, and we chatted
for awhile, even though no one ate much.
Once it started to get dark, my optimism faded
and anger erupted. "Bip, remember, way back--oh, it must have been only a week
ago, but you told me we could find owners?"
"Yep!" he said, bouncing up and down.
I looked around. "I've seen maybe three dozen
people today, and none of them have been interested in some third-class petpets
in a box. I'm not a baby...I don't want to wait for something that won't come."
"What are you saying?" Elle asked quietly.
"I'm saying, well...Bip, you lied to me."
"Aw, c'mon, Dylan, be patient." Bip sighed--the
first time I'd ever seen him remotely sad. He desperately needed me. But I didn't
want anything to do with him.
"We came all this way for nothing," I pointed
out. "We went to almost every world possible, even the Faerie Queen, and found
nothing."
"Dyl, you're our leader," Phoenix said. "Without
you, we'd be lost."
"We're already lost," I pointed out. "You guys
can wait forever if you want. But I'm going to the only place I can remember
being a home."
"Wait, Dylan, wait!" Elle called. "Don't go!"
Her calls faded into the night, but became etched
in my memory. That didn't matter--I was leaving them. Leaving them for good.
An owner! What pitiful hopes I'd had. I found
the place I wanted and crawled back up to my familiar corner of the Book Shop
doorway. My last web was destroyed, so I set to work making a new one. I spun
almost all night, because I couldn't sleep. Finally, in the last hours of the
night, just before morning broke out, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was late afternoon. At first
I wondered why my friends weren't there. Then I remembered--I'd left them.
I was back in my own comfortable corner, safe
in solitude. I could hear shoppers shuffle below, and there were more than usual--it
was probably a weekend. All of the Neopians were buying busily. And they didn't
realise they made all the wrong things the most important.
"All right, Six, I bought you a lot of books.
Now where do we go?"
"We have to start my course at the Swashbuckling
Academy, Jamez."
"Oh, right. Arr!"
Hmph, just voices. I used to hear the same things
every day, so it was nothing unusual. I looked down, and the two Neopians talking--a
dark-haired boy and a Blue Shoyru--were already walking off, and some more people
were leaving the Book Shop.
"All right, Stretch, here's your book. Sorry
I couldn't get you one last week."
"It's okay. Thanks."
"Oh, mum, why can't I have a petpet?"
"I just can't afford one right now, Sun. I just
had the NeoHome rebuilt, since cardboard doesn't last long in the rain. I could
only afford four rooms."
My tiny ears perked up. But...nah. It was better
not take a risk that would lead to nowhere.
"Ugh! Is it in the same spot as before?"
"Yeah--41667 Bread Street. We have to go check
out the Neopian Lottery first--I want to buy a ticket. I have just enough money
today to take the chance."
Something came over me--it reminded me of Bip,
of Phoenix, and of Elle. But no, I was resolved to never see them again. Still....
I can't really explain what made me go and follow
those shoppers. I knew where Bread Street was--my old owner had lived a street
or two off it. It took me awhile, being as small as I am, but I finally made
it. There were ten houses on Bread Street, and since I couldn't read the numbers,
I made my way up the stairs to the first house I saw.
Climbing up the side of the house, I made my
way to the doorbell, and rang it.
"Yes? What is it?" an irritated voice called.
The door opened slightly, and out poked the head of a beautiful Christmas Kadoatie.
"Is this, um, 41667 Bread Street?" My heart sunk.
They already had a petpet!
"Of course not!" it snapped. The Kadoatie sounded
female--like Elle. Only Elle wasn't so snobbish. "You want the house over there."
She cocked her head to the right. "Though I don't know why. Pitiful, really.
The owner's too poor to have more than four rooms, and they're made of stone."
Then they'd be too poor for petpets. And too
poor to know what Spoppys were, or even care to make one. That sounded good
enough for me.
"I'm sorry," I said to the Kadoatie. "I thought
this was their house. My bad."
The Christmas Kadoatie came fully outside. "What,
are you looking for them or something? They don't have enough Neopoints for
a petpet, let alone four for all the pets they have. My owner is a beautiful
Faerie Krawk, and her brother is a Peach Chia."
"Uh-huh." I looked at her fancy gold collar.
"So...your name's Zeo? That's pretty. My name's Dylan."
"Puh, you're not even painted! And you apparently
don't have an owner. Go away." With that, she hissed, ran inside the house and
slammed the door.
Four pets; I was just one petpet. But I knew
where to find three more.
I retraced my route, hardly believing what I
had just heard. It was too good to be true. Was I dreaming?
No, this was real. And just as I had expected,
I spotted a cardboard box with purple tape on it and crept closer. Sure enough,
a Poppit, a Pink Wadjet, and a Floud were inside.
"Dylan? Is that you?" Elle gasped.
"It's me all right. No owners yet?"
"No..." Phoenix sighed. "Came back, Dyl? Thought
so."
"Dylan, Dylan, you came back!" Bip bounced happily,
so far up that he bounced out of the box.
"Guys, I've got great news. I found a family
of four Neopets and a human, and none of them have petpets. It's our best chance
yet."
"Sounds good to me," Phoenix replied eagerly.
"Between a chance and a cardboard box, I take
the chance," Elle said. "Dylan, you've been our leader all along. Thanks for
coming back--I missed you."
"Me too," Phoenix agreed.
"Count me in!" Bip shouted happily. "I knew we
could find owners!"
I breathed a sigh of relief. So they weren't
mad at me after all. "What are we waiting for? Follow me." Not for the first
time, I directed them on where to go. I only had one change this time. I asked
Phoenix to carry the box, with the note on it. I found the Fire Faerie's marker,
too, so I put that inside. And we were off.
"It's only about a five-minute walk," I said.
"Keep to the sides of the road. If anyone goes by, Phoenix, drop the box on
us."
"Will do," he said, hovering over us with his
little Floud wings, straining to hold the box.
We soon reached Bread Street, and I went to the
second house I saw on the left side of the street. "Here goes nothing," I muttered.
I took the marker, and added to the sign so it read: "Congratulations, you have
won the Neopian Lottery. Your prize is four free petpets." I read it out loud
to everybody, since I was the only one who could read or write.
"Sounds good," Elle agreed.
At the front to the house, the four of us dragged the
box up the steps. "Everyone get in the box," I ordered. They did it without
hesitation, and I climbed up the side of the house, pressed the doorbell, and
jumped into the box.
"Who is it?" came a voice. Someone came out of the
house. "Oh, Sun--look!"
"I've got a petpet after all!" another voice shouted,
reaching in and grabbing Elle. It was a Yellow Peophin. "She's so pretty!" the
Neopet exclaimed.
Next came another yellow pet--a Yellow Lupe, who reached
in the box to pick up Bip and hug him. Bip grinned at me and mouthed, "Thanks."
I smiled back at him.
A Cybunny reached in and picked up Phoenix. "It's so
cool--a Floud!"
I almost thought I'd be forgotten, but then a Blue
Korbat appeared. "Wow! A Spyder!"
"And that, my friend," I whispered to Phoenix, within
the loving hug of an owner--"is skill."
Well, it's been a couple of months since my journey.
Bip is Stretch the Yellow Lupe's best friend, Phoenix and Munchy the Red Cybunny
can't be separated, Elle is spoiled by Sunrise the Yellow Peophin, and me? Wing-ki
the Blue Korbat and I are the best of friends. But my three buddies and I stay
close. There are some things that make you friends forever--and going to all
ends of Neopia together just to find a home where you're loved is probably first
on the list.
I used to look at the sky and think I was alone.
But with three of the best friends in the world, I guess we proved that even
common pets can be loved and happy.
It doesn't matter what species you are--all petpets
weren't created equal, but all petpets have an equal chance of finding a place
to call home and people to share it with. I hope you already know that. But
if you didn't, I hope I helped you out some.
The End
Leb388's Note: No petpets were harmed in the making of this continuing series.
Well, I can't say that for the Kadoatie running underneath my bike (That was an
accident!). But for the record, no petpets were harmed (Don't worry, I haven't
ridden a bike in years. The Kadoatie's fine). I named all the petpets and pets
myself, either with common names/things (Dylan, sunrise) or named by myself or
my brother, jamezbfod. I hope you enjoyed the journey of a Spyder named Dylan
as much as I did creating him. | 
