The Secret in the Stone

by mikokee

Coughing and sputtering, Gemikki and Genomee made their way through the dusty attic in their grandparents' house. Hours before, Genomee had objected to doing this, but Gemikki was so stubborn, Genomee couldn't stop her. He knew that going through a disgusting attic filled with cobwebs and dust bunnies was a bad idea, especially since strange noises were coming out of there for the last couple of days. Still pondering over why he had agreed to join Gemikki on her little search, he tripped over something. "You found it, Genomee!" Gemikki yelled.

On the floor was the reason why they were up there in the first place. There it lay, on the floor, a great, big ruby with a diamond Uni encrusted in it. It was what Gemikki's grandmother had been talking about the other day. The emerald had been in the family for centuries, and Gemikki was told that soon, it would be hers. She was not supposed to look at it yet, but what's the worst that could happen? She admired the gem while Genomee stared in amazement. The Uni's eyes seemed to shine and looked as if it was made to hypnotize. Suddenly, it started to shake. The eyes turned bright red and the attic began to rumble. Both NeoPets screamed loudly and fell through the floor, as if in some wonderful dream…

They landed with a loud thud on a soft patch of bright green grass. Dazed and confused, Gemikki stood up and brushed the grass off of her. She noticed she didn't get any scratches or bruises. It was about thirty seconds before she looked around at where she was…

A beautiful forest lay ahead. Inside, a river with crystal-clear water could easily be seen. Amazing Pteris of paradise flew overhead and the sound of their singing could be heard for miles around. One of their magnificent feathers fell and landed right beside Gemikki. She had never seen a land so amazing and colourful. She shook Genomee to wake him up, but he just moaned. He looked as if he had been bruised pretty badly. His wings were crooked, but he stood up anyway. For a moment there, he thought he had died and gone to heaven. "Ain't it amazing?" Gemikki asked. Genomee just nodded and looked around him. He saw things he could only dream of, but suddenly, something ended this enchantment…

Genomee shrieked and hid behind Gemikki. Gemikki was simply paralyzed with shock. A dreGemikki-looking Uni was standing right in front of them. With a long mane and flowing tail, it looked like something straight out of a storybook. The Uni whinnied and stomped its hoof. Gemikki was getting the feeling it had never seen Cybunnies or Shoyrus before.

"H…hello?" Gemikki sputtered, "WH…who are you?"

The gentle beast simply stared. After a brief moment of silence, the horse spoke in a sweet voice. "My name is Gwendolyn," it said softly, "I live in Crystialis, a city within the Great Forest. Our Faerie Queen is in trouble. She is in great pain and there is no way we can help her."

"Oh," Gemikki whispered, "is there any way we can help?"

"Yes," answered Gwendolyn politely, "there is a fabled stone that belongs to the kingdom. It can cure anything just with one touch. It-"

"Is it a ruby with a diamond Uni on it?" Gemikki suddenly interrupted.

"As a matter of fact" Gwendolyn replied, "yes! Many years ago, a young girl named Mikokee brought it to the kingdom. That is when we discovered its power. Our Faerie Queen says the little creature was the strangest thing she had ever seen. No one else saw the girl, though."

"Hey!" Genomee exclaimed, "remember, Gemikki, when we did that essay on our family? Mikokee was out great-grandmother!"

Gemikki could not believe it. Something like this happened to one of her family members and no one had ever told her. She felt mad, yet somehow proud that her family had discovered a new dimension, a new world…

"So, have you ever heard of that stone?" asked Gwendolyn anxiously.

"Yes! That's how we got here," Genomee replied happily, "I found it in the attic at granny's."

"Do you have it here?" Gwendolyn wondered.

"Yeah, sure! It's right…uh-oh," Gemikki said, "I had it right in here, in my pocket…."

"Well, we have got to find it! Let's go!" Gwendolyn yelled.

They walked briskly down a golden road that led to the city. Gwendolyn first wanted to show them around the city so they wouldn't get lost in the future. The city was miraculous, indeed. Unis busily trotted around the marketplace, pegasi (winged horses) flew around gracefully above the city's turrets and little baby animals examined the odd toys in the toyshops. Some of these creatures were difficult to identify.

Some were a strange mix of horses and eagles, lions and hawks, and probably the oddest of all, a tiger and bull combination. While Gemikki and Genomee looked around, Gwendolyn spoke to her friend Magnolia of her discovery. Magnolia was very surprised and requested to see these "NeoPets" right away. To her, they were the weirdest-looking creatures. "Look at those little legs…and pink fur!" she exclaimed, "do you really suppose they'll help us?" Gwendolyn nodded politely. She thought the NeoPets had enough sightseeing and were ready to search for the ruby.

It was beginning to get dark by the time they reached the place they had landed on. They looked through all the grass and the trees, but no luck. But suddenly, Gemikki saw a green flash. "There it is!" she yelled. In an instant, it was gone. Gemikki wondered why it would have disappeared so quickly. Gwendolyn got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Faeries," she said. The NeoPets simply stared. Gwendolyn then explained that forest Faeries were a Uni's greatest enemy. They stole whatever the Unis held dear and then taunted them. She also explained that they may look harmless and pretty, but they are vicious. Gemikki had never thought of Faeries as wrongdoers. By now, she was determined to catch whichever nymph stole the precious stone and get it back to heal the Faerie Queen.

They set off into the deep forest. In the darkness, it didn't look half as pretty as in daylight. Soon, Genomee got tired and had to ride Gwendolyn. Gemikki had so much confidence she barely rested for a second. "We have to call it a night, Gemikki," Gwendolyn said sleepily with Genomee snoring on her back, "we won't have energy for later." Gemikki pretended she couldn't hear her. After about an hour, Gemikki started getting drowsy and tired. She finally called it quits and decided to continue first thing in the morning.

Gemikki woke up with a yawn the next morning. She felt happy and was ready to go to school. But seeing a big Uni right beside her suddenly told her she wasn't in her bed anymore. Then she remembered she was searching for the ruby. Gemikki quickly got up and washed her face in the clear water of the sparkling river. Genomee and Gwendolyn already had eaten their breakfast of berries and some nuts Gwendolyn found in the forest. Gemikki wasn't hungry so she just ate a couple of Kraku Berries (a delicacy-hard to find and good to eat). After this, they headed deeper into the woods. Seconds later, they heard an ear-piercing shriek.

Gwendolyn realised they had found the Faeries' home. Faeries were frantically running for cover- it had been that a while since someone had found their hideout. A voice suddenly yelled, "SILENCE!" It was the Faerie Queen of Faeries. She asked the travelers what their business was in her land. Gemikki ran up and told the Faerie Queen about the stone. The Faerie Queen answered that none of her Faeries had ever taken such a thing. Lies, Gemikki thought, lies. But Gwendolyn nudged her in the arm and told her it is a proven fact that Faeries never lie- whatever the circumstance. "There goes that idea," Gemikki thought and the two NeoPets and the Uni apologised to the Faerie Queen and left.

As soon as they got back, Gwendolyn told the Faerie Queen of her failed quest. The Faerie Queen was disappointed. Yet she suddenly remembered something Mikokee had told her when she was young. There was a spell book that Mikokee used to command rain and to heal sick. The Faerie Queen, whose name was Equis, tried to think of the spell, but no such luck. Yet she did remember where the old spell book was hidden. She commanded the guards to go into her royal stables to search for a certain leather bound book. Gemikki helped with the search, and it wasn't long before she had found a large dusty book…

Equis told her servants that it was indeed that book. Mikokee had also told her that only NeoPets were able to perform such deep magic. So Gemikki looked for the page on healing and recited the spell…

"Equa tantum perona AMBRA!" she yelled. Then, something amazing happened. The Faerie Queen was lifted high into the air and regained her health. She could now rule Crystialis like she had for many years…

While looking through the book a day or so later, Gemikki found a spell that could get her and her brother back to the attic in not time. She was sad she had to leave her friend Gwendolyn and Equis, but she had no choice. Before reciting the spell, however, Gemikki had one more question for Gwendolyn, "How did the spell work without the gem?" Equis was the one to reply, "Our kingdom is the eye of the Uni on that emerald. We always have the gem around us, so there is no need for it to be right here in our hands." And with those last words from the Faerie Queen Equis, Gemikki and Genomee rose up into the air, waiting to get back to earth…

Years and years had passed. Gemikki was now a grandmother and had two grand-NeoPets of her own. She could not wait for them to receive the family heirloom, and have adventures of their own.

The End