The Aisha Trio

The three sat in the dark corner of the adoption center looking down at the wooden floorboards sighing. Their owner had abandoned them months and months ago, and, as they sat, they could only recall their dark past in silence, and to think it all started with Angelina...

Angelina had longed for the day a nice boy or girl would come to the adoption center and choose. Just to have somebody to lend her a home. The blue Aisha was always excited when a human came into the shelter, hoping that they'd pick her up and take her away. Life at the shelter was harsh. The meals were usually cold and displeasing long before they touched her plate. The other orphaned pets were usually very nasty, and tended to get into fights among themselves. She was so glad when it finally happened…

A girl with shiny, curly hair came walking into the adoption center. She was carrying a bag filled with Neopoints, and she walked down by what seemed like almost all of the Neopets. Until she stopped, to Angelina's surprise, at her! Then she dashed off to the Uni in the front register, soon enough, she ran back to Angelina, now with the Uni, and picked Angelina up!

Angelina thought that this was the best day of her life, but she knew it wouldn't last long, for when she got to her new Neohome she saw why the girl had chosen her.

Two other Aishas were working tirelessly on the magnificent golden railing of the stairway, and a Moehog seemed to be acting like a butler for Angelina's new owner saying, "Would you like some tea madam?" or "Is there anything I can do to help you, miss?" every single moment. There seemed to be only one neopet not working, a Christmas Cybunny who looked slightly dissatisfied, though she was being pampered at every single second, in fact, she must've been the only one complaining!

"Okay you rot!" barked the girl. "Listen up! My name's Mona, I'm going to be your new owner! Now then, you will be working on the railing of the stairway with Alisha and Alicia." She seemed to be pointing to the two Aishas that Angelina saw earlier working on the railing of the stair. "Okay?" Mona continued. "After you're done, report to me to get your next instructions! Now, go!"

Angelina scurried towards the two pink Aishas that were scrubbing the golden stairway with dirty rags. The two were both wearing patterned aprons and rubber gloves. The taller of the two was staring at her and tugged her sister on the apron. They signaled her with a wave and smiled.

"Hello!" said the two Aishas.

"We're Alisha…" the taller of the two explained with her squeaky voice.

"…And Alicia…" the other interrupted in a high-pitched cry.

"The Aisha sisters! We're twins. Who're you?" the sisters said together.

"Me?" answered Angelina. "My name's Angelina!"

"Hi Angelina!" said the twins.

All of the sudden, a Lupe ran over and said, "Sorry to break up the conversation, but Mistress Mona said if you don't stop fooling around soon, she'll have to put one of you in the Haunted Woods for a night. So get back to work!"

"He's Lupin the Lupe. His brother was a troublemaker, and one night he did something to make Mona really mad," Alisha paused, looked around, and whispered. "He put three, slimy Wadjets in Mona's soup..."

Two of the Aishas, Angelina and Alicia, were giggling frantically, but Alisha looked serious, "...and Mona made him go into the Haunted Woods-alone-at night, and he never was seen again after that."

Alicia and Angelina looked thunderstruck, as if they had just been electrified from a very strong Battledome move, but kept on polishing the rail. They hadn't noticed how long they'd been talking, because the rail had been polished so much that the Cybunny couldn't even complain!

"Do you know what the Cybunny's name is?" Angelina asked the Aisha sisters as they walked over carrying buckets of dirty water

"Her name?" said Alisha. "Well of course, she's Christen. I don't know that many Neopets around here that don't know her name, but you're new so that's okay."

From that day on they became friends, the Aisha Trio.

The days went by slowly for Angelina. Cleaning, cooking, everything that the owner should handle, not the neopet. It was a nightmare, waking up to the sound of Mona's earsplitting yell in the morning.

"It's time for a little bit of action to flavor this up!" Angelina whispered to the Aisha sisters one cold morning.

"No, you can't! We'll get in huge trouble!" Alicia cried.

"I don't care! I want to give her what she deserves, and I'm not going to let some dumb punishment stop me!" Angelina answered.

"Please don't, or else you'll go to the Forest!" said a teary Alisha.

"I'll see you soon!" Angelina waved and set off to her and the Aisha sisters' room.

About halfway through the passageway to the room, a snobby voice stopped Angelina on her tracks. It was Christen.

"Well...Well...Well...What do we have here?" said Christen in a voice that made Angelina want to punch that snobbish Cybunny in her face. "Ah! Yes, of course, you're that Aisha I overheard talking 5 minutes ago! Want to get back at my owner, yes? Well then, I'd just be glad to tell her about this, but I have to go get groomed. So, please wait for me to get back so I can enjoy all of the fun!" and then Christen ran down the hallway and exited the Neohome.

Angelina dashed into her room, and started to map out a plan. She then realized she'd need more Neopets to work it than just herself, and right when she thought of this two other Aishas entered the room...Alicia and Alisha!

"You're right!" said Alisha cheerfully. "We shouldn't be afraid all the time of being punished for stupid little mistakes!"

"Yeah!" said Alicia. "So we're going to help you!"

Angelina smiled widely. Then she and the two sisters started discussing their plan. On their night shift, they usually had cooking duty, and their owner always wanted barbecue sauce omelette so they would Mix bits of dead Selkets with hot sauce and tell their owner it was barbecue sauce! She'd never know!

So that night, the plan was all set and when Mona asked for her omelette! Everyone had known about this plan except for Mona and Christen, and were waiting for it to happen. So Alisha served Mona the omelette, and Mona smiled an evil smile, "This isn't barbecue sauce." And called for two of her servants to dump the trio out into the woods.

"Christen knew," said Angelina darkly.

"If only we could've gotten away with it…" Alicia sulked.

"Well, we didn't…" Angelina remarked gazing at the forest floor.

"But what'll we do now?" cried a disappointed Alisha.

"Fend for ourselves...I guess..." Angelina sniffled.

"Fend for ourselves? I couldn't 'fend for myself' in Neopia central! Let alone here!" Alicia whimpered.

"It is our only choice, Alicia," Angelina said.

"Yeah, she is right you know," Alisha said to her twin sister.

"Wait a second! Neopia central is near the Haunted Woods, right?" Angelina asked the sisters.

"Right. Just a ways north," Alisha answered.

"And it will only take a while to get there, right?" Angelina asked the twins.

"Right," Alicia responded.

"So we can go to Neopia Central!"

"Not right," said Alisha. "We'd only have until midnight to get there or else the ghastly creatures of the Haunted Woods will devour us..."

"…But if we stay here we'll be killed straight away so..." Alicia interrupted.

"…All right!" Alisha finished her sentence.

The three trotted down the winding dirt-laced path. The forest scenery shook the two twins and their comrade. After a few hours of walking, they finally came across the elusive heart of the Haunted Woods.

"Let's ask someone if they can show us where Neopia Central is!" Alicia suggested pointing to "Spooky Petpets". They walked in and were immediately greeted by the Cybunny shopkeeper.

"Got lost in the wood, dears?" said the shopkeeper.

"Yes," said Angelina. Then the three Aishas told the shopkeeper about everything that had happened to them.

"Oh! I know a young Lupe who has a story like yours, put some Wadjets in his owner's soup, and she kicked him out, she did! That's pretty drastic for a little prank, though..." the shopkeeper said, "...but sure I can help you! In fact, stay in my Neohome! We'll have some company, because that Lupe I was talking about lives with me, and in the morning I'll help you figure out how to go to Neopia Central!"

The shopkeeper led them to a pretty 2-room Neohome. When they got inside the Neohome they noticed a white Lupe was sitting there reading a book, Alisha whispered in Angelina's ear, "That is the Lupe that disappeared!"

The Lupe said, "Hello Alicia, Alisha, and… whoever you may be. Did the master chuck you out, too?"

Alicia said directing his attention to the blue Aisha, "This is Angelina, Markus…"

Alisha said, "…And yes, Markus, unfortunately she caught us replacing some barbeque in the barbeque sauce omelette with some Selket powder and hot sauce. Dreadful temper she has…"

"Well," Markus explained. "Selket powder and hot sauce isn't that unnoticeable. I would've done…"

"Markus, dear, I think that it is too late to talk about that sort of stuff," the shopkeeper interrupted.

They slept quite soundly, and then, when the sun had risen, the shopkeeper woke them up, "Wake up girls! We must not waste time!"

"Why wake us up so early?" Alicia asked the shopkeeper sleepily.

"We have to get you going early, and I have to go to work, so this is the best time to wake you up!" the shopkeeper said.

The shopkeeper handed them a map to Neopia Central. The map showed the three Aishas that they must go due north for approximately 150 miles before they would reach Neopia Central. However, the Cybunny shopkeeper filled their knapsack with enough provisions to last them for at least several days. They gathered their belongings, bode her farewell, and left by midday.

Again, they found themselves wishing they were back somewhere more hospitable. The wood was so dark, cold, and damp. Even the Neopian adoption center would've at least been lit. Still, the three did not give up hope that they'd make it to Neopia Central. They vowed to make it to Neopia Central alive.

"I wish that I wasn't so tired," whined Alicia three days after they left the Cybunny shopkeeper's Neohome

"Well, it's your turn to carry your provisions next, so you'd better be awake enough to carry the knapsack," Alisha said irritably, as she was the one carrying the heavy knapsack.

"Oh, come on guys. No time for us to argue when we're only a little over a day away from Neopia Central," Angelina told the, attempting to resolve the argument.

"A day away isn't…" Alicia started.

"…Close," Alisha finished.

"We've been in the forest for ages! Surely, you'd be overjoyed to hear that in a day or so you'll be out of this dreaded place," Angelina told them.

"But I want to be out of here now!" Alicia moaned.

"Oh, stop whining. I know the Haunted Woods are dark and scary, even during the day! I wish to be out of this wretched wood as much as you!" Angelina told the twin.

They continued to quarrel and walk, and they found themselves much closer to Neopia Central then before.

* * *

Barely a day after that, they arrived in the heart of Neopia Central. The three Aishas were so excited! The Haunted Woods really could take something out of them. Anyway, they decided that they should try to find a new owner before the adoption center people caught them and took them away. They wandered through the back alleys and began to knock on doors.

The people seemed pretty nice, or at least, most of them. Yet, none of them were available to adopt a pet. Some said they were too poor to provide for one. Others explained that they had too many pets already and could not provide for another three. Left and right, they were rejected homes. They couldn't take anymore of this and decided that they must go to the Neopets adoption center to take them in.

While walking to the adoption center at night, a group of Gelerts confronted them saying, "You better watch out, kids. The streets are unsafe at night," and walked away.

They scurried off hoping to reach the adoption center soon. They saw it, and then went inside…

"Excuse me," Angelina said to the Uni sitting at the reception desk. "May we be housed here for a small while?"

The Uni said, utterly taken aback by the three pets that were willingly walking into the shelter, "I suppose you can… were you abandoned? What are your names?"

"My name's Angelina," Angelina told her.

"Alicia," Alicia said.

"Alisha," Alisha said as if she was echoing her sister.

"You see," Angelina explained. "Our former owner was very cruel, and made us do hard labor at her mansion."

"She was very wealthy," Alisha said to the Uni.

"Yes," Angelina continued. "Very wealthy, indeed. Yet, she was heartless. We attempted to pull a prank on her, to teach her a lesson, but it was a fruitless attempt. We found ourselves tossed out of the place and sent into the Haunted Woods."

"Then," said Alicia picking up on the conversation, "we wandered into the town in the middle of the Haunted Woods. We found a nice shopkeeper that took us in for the night and helped us reach here."

"After several days of hiking through the woods," Alisha continued her thought. "We finally reached here. However, we had no home to stay. We had to find somewhere."

"So," Angelina said, "we knocked on the door of almost every citizen of Neopia Central. Then we gave up and went here."

"I see," the Uni said. "Well, you can stay here until an owner comes in and picks you up."

They were shoved off to a cage in the back of the shelter.

Well, so there they are. They're just sitting in their cage in the adoption center waiting for a new owner to come by and save them. I guess that some things you just can't escape. Well, one thing's for sure. As long as friendship is around to support them, the Aisha trio will be together!

Oh wait… what's this? There goes a human now. Approaching their cage… I think she's going to adopt them…

The End?