Not a Happy Holiday

     It's Gadgadsbogen.

     This was Alana's favorite time of year. The island Xweetok enjoyed the celebrations. you can often tell it's her by the way she twirls around the island and the festive songs she hums. She enjoys the island she's proud to call home. The only thing she probably liked more was, well, Gadgadsbogen.

     Alana saw everyone either decorating, shopping for the special fruits, or just celebrating as she skipped home. On the way, she noticed an island feepit was following her. It seemed to like her. She continued her way home and the feepit still followed. Alana stopped and looked at the petpet.

     "Aw, hi there," she said sweetly. "You seem to like me. Would you like to stay with me for the night?"

     The feepit barked. That was a yes.

     This wasn't uncommon for Alana. She was friends with all the petpets on the island, and pretty often, a few spent the night with her. In fact, it's unusual for Alana to have less than three petpets in her house. She never minds, she likes helping them.

     Alana went inside her house, along with her new friend. Today, it was only her and the feepit, so it was pretty quiet in her house tonight. She did her usual bedtime rituals before she turned in for the night.

     In the morning, the Xweetok woke up with much energy, as with every morning. She got ready for today, because she knew everyone would officially begin the fun stuff today. Alana, with the island feepit on her shoulder, merrily skipped outside.

     Much to her surprise, everyone was in a frenzy, but not the good kind. The tourists and the natives were running around like they saw a ghost. It wasn't long before everyone went inside a building of some sort. Alana, due to her notorious curiosity, decided to find out what the neopets were panicking.

     She stumbled upon some wreckage. Decorations were torn to shreds and thrown to the dirt. Many of the native fruits that were part of the festival were either smashed on the ground, along with the decorations, or had huge bite marks taken out of them. Alana went up to a melowhirl with a bite mark and picked it up to examine it.

     "What happened?" she asked.

     She didn't expect it, but she got an answer.

     "I think I know," a voice replied.

     Alana looked around, looking for whoever could have said that.

     "Who said that?" she asked. Alana faced the feepit. "Did you hear something?"

     Again, she didn't expect an answer, but she got one.

     "No, but I did say something," the feepit replied.

     Alana was in shock.

     "You talk?" Alana shouted. In all her days, she never saw a talking petpet. "Cool!"

     "So about what caused this." The feepit went back on track.

     "Do you really know?"

     "I'm not positive, but I do have a good idea."

     "Where is it? I want to see it."

     Again, her notorious curiosity got the better of her.

     "Are you sure of this?" the feepit asked uneasily.

     The island Xweetok walked again.

     "You bet I am!" Alana shouted again. She was always a little too energetic.

     "Alright."

     Alana walked around the island. As she explored, she saw that not only were the decorations destroyed, but the island itself was in ruins. The palm trees looked as if they would fall over if someone even breathed on them. Alana was scared, terrified even, but she kept going. She wanted to know what caused this. Even if it would cost her life.

     Which very well may be the case.

     She found what may have caused this wreckage. Once she spotted it, she froze in her spots. It was a humongous monster of some sorts. It had tan, really matted fur and huge, yellow teeth. The monster was at least twice the size of Alana. It was facing away from Alana and the feepit, eating the fruit and destroying things.

     "What did Jhuidah mix in her pot this time?" Alana whispered to herself. "Is that the thing you were talking about?"

     "It is," the feepit replied. "If I were you, I'd slowly walk away."

     "Okay."

     Alana slowly walked away, eyes still on the monster. She was careful not to make a sound to make it notice her. To be honest, Alana was surprised to see that she could move, let alone slowly. Every one of her nerves were telling her to run, but she knew she'd only attract attention.

     Because she was not watching where she was going, she did something that attracted attention to her. Alana stepped on a twig. It snapped in two. The sound it made sounded like it was played into a microphone with the speakers on max. Alana looked down at the broken twig and faced the monster.

     The monster faced Alana. It had huge, black eyes that could pierce anything it looks at. Alana froze again. The monster turned its body to her. They had a staring contest of some sort. After a few seconds, the monster roared loudly. A gust of air from its mouth rushed to Alana and nearly blew her of her feet. Then it charged at her.

     Alana couldn't even react to that. She just stared in terror as it approached her. She wanted to run more than anything, she tried her best, but she couldn't get her limbs to budge. With every step the monster took, Alana wished she didn't want to see this thing at all.

     "Look out!" she heard someone shout.

     Someone tackled her out of the way just before the monster got to her. The two landed in the sand by the clear lake they were near. Whoever saved her quickly got up and ran right to the monster. Alana couldn't help but stare.

     "Are you nuts?" Alana yelled at the neopet who saved her. "Run away!"

     The neopet that was nice enough to save her didn't listen, but the monster followed her directions like they were meant for it. It scurried off into a nearby jungle. The neopet that helped her walked up to Alana and the feepit.

     "Are you alright?" he asked.

     "Why'd you do that?" Alana shouted. "You could've gotten seriously hurt! That thing is dangerous!" Alana got a good look at the one who saved her. "Wait a minute."

     The neopet that saved her was a purple Ogrin. He was pretty tall, certainly taller than Alana, since she looked up at him. This Ogrin had neat, brown hair and blue eyes. Even though Alana had never met him, she knew who exactly he was.

     His name was Corbin. A professional monster hunter.

     "So are you alright?" he asked again.

     Alana nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you for saving me. I assume you are hunting that monster now, right?"

     Corbin nodded. "Kell and I are."

     "Then where is he?"

     He shrugged. "We split up a while ago to see if we can find it."

     The next words that Alana said were surprising. Even she was shocked by what she said.

     "Can I help?"

     Corbin and the feepit looked at her like she was crazy.

     "I don't think that's such a good idea," Corbin informed her.

     "Please? I want to help you two!" Alana said enthusiastically. "At the very least, I should repay you for saving me."

     Corbin groaned. "I'll discuss it with Kell. If he says you can help, you can help."

     Alana jumped with excitement. She knows that's a maybe.

     "Alright," Alana cheerily said. "Let me know."

     Without even saying good-bye, Corbin turned around. Alana went after him.

     "Wait," she said. "Don't you need to know my name?"

     Corbin turned around, then said, "Oh yeah. What's your name?"

     "Alana."

     ***

     Alana wandered around the jungle the monster went into. She's trying to find it. Fear doesn't stop her this time. In fact, she was petrified, but she was more curious than afraid.

     "Why are you here?" the feepit asked. "I thought you were afraid."

     "Oh, I am," Alana replied. "But I'm more curious than afraid."

     "This is a bad idea."

     "But I want to find out what it is and how it got here. I don't care what happens."

     The two heard a rustling. Alana froze and looked around. She saw the monster again. Alana was sure not to move a muscle. The monster was digging in the dirt for some apparent reason. It soon went under the dirt, not seen again.

     It burrowed.

     "It can burrow?" Alana asked.

     "Apparently," the feepit responded.

     "I need to let Corbin know this."

     Alana began to run out of the jungle. Her legs are running as fast as they could. And her tail was flapping in the breeze. The feepit had trouble staying on her shoulder.

     "Don't you think they would know that already?" the feepit asked.

     "Maybe they do, maybe they don't," Alana said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

     "I don't know it that's best. Even if they don't know, how will you find them and let them know?"

     "I'll find them. Easy."

     Alana made it all the way out of the jungle and back to the village she lived in. She didn't stop until she found the two monster hunters. They have to know that it can burrow. Nothing would get in her way. Well, one thing.

     While looking for Corbin and Kell, Alana, apparently, sprung a trap. It was a snare trap, so Alana went up an dangled there. She held onto the feepit as she was suspended upside-down. It wasn't long after she was caught when the monster hunters came up.

     "You're not the monster," Kell said.

     "I'm not?" Alana said sarcastically. "I haven't noticed."

     "Do you need help getting down, Alana?" Corbin asked.

     "Nah. I got it."

     Alana swung around, trying to grab a hold of her leg. Once she got it, she freed her ankle from the trap. Once she was out, she fell to the ground. She landed on her feet and was still holding onto the feepit.

     "Hello." Alana panted like nothing ever happened.

     "You're Alana?" Kell asked.

     She nodded. "That's me. I was looking for you two."

     "You were?" Corbin asked. "How come?"

     "I ran into the monster again," Alana explained. A concerned look crossed Corbin's face. "Don't worry. Nothing happened to me. It burrows. Did you two know that?"

     Corbin looked at each other, then at Alana.

     "It can burrow?" Corbin asked.

     "Uh huh. I didn't know if you knew or not, so I figured I'd better be safe than sorry. If you would like, I know where it burrowed and I can show you if you would like," Alana said.

     A spark of cleverness went through Alana. She figured out a way to have them want her to help. After all that she had had been through, she still wanted to help.

     "If you could, we would appreciate that," Kell said.

     And there it is. Alana hopped up in joy.

     "Follow me!" she cheered.

     The island Xweetok ran right back into the jungle. After almost being trampled by a monster, running all the way out of the middle of the jungle, and being caught in a trap, she still had tons of energy inside her. This puzzled the monster hunters.

     She stopped around the area the monster burrowed. The ground had no sign of being dug in. Alana was a little curious about that.

     "Are you sure this is the area the monster burrowed in?" Kell asked.

     Alana wandered and looked around the area.

     "Positive," she replied. "It was here. I know it."

     "Then where did it dig?"

     She walked onto unstable ground. The dirt under her collapsed and created a hole. Alana fell down said hole. It was a good distance down, but Alana was able to climb back up on the rocks.

     "I think I found it," Alana said, then giggled.

     "Are you sure that's it?" Kell asked.

     "Hey, if you have any other ideas, then feel free to speak. If not, I'll meet you down there."

     Without even giving him time to react, she hops down the hole again. The feepit on her shoulder was still on, surprisingly. Kell and Corbin hopped down shortly after. The three took a look around the hole they jumped in. It wasn't really a hole, but more of a tunnel. It appeared to stretch for a few miles. Whatever that monster is, it can sure dig.

     "So does anybody have anything that we can use to see?" Alana asked.

     "We do have a lantern," Corbin informed her.

     "Well can you light it? I like being able to see."

     The brothers lit the lantern. Everyone could see at least a few feet away. After they lit it, a rumbling came from deep within the tunnels. This scared Alana and the island feepit, but not Corbin and Kell.

     "Ready to go?" Kell asked.

     Alana swallowed hard. She was scared, but that didn't stop her. "Yes."

     The three walked deep into the tunnels. Alana stayed close to Corbin. She said it was because he had the lantern, but she was terrified and needed somebody to hide behind when things go south.

     "So other than the monster burrows, do you know anything about this monster?" Corbin said.

     "Well, no, but I know someone who does," Alana replied.

     "Who?" Kell asked.

     Alana took the feepit off her shoulder and held it out to them. They looked at it in confusion.

     "This feepit?" the yellow Wocky asked. "The feepit knows something?"

     "Yes, he does," Alana responded. "He can talk and said he knew what caused the debris in the first place."

     "Alana," Corbin began. "Feepits can't talk."

     "Well, this one can." Alana pouted. "Go on, little guy. Talk to the nice Neopets."

     She shook the petpet. The monster hunters looked at her like she was crazy.

     "Alright, stop shaking!" the feepit yelled.

     Corbin and Kell looked at the feepit the same way Alana did when she found out it could talk. She put the feepit back on her shoulder.

     "Funny thing," Alana said. "I had the same reaction to that."

     "How can you talk?" Corbin asked.

     "And what do you know?" Kell added.

     "Well, that's sort of a long story," the feepit began. "Yesterday, before Alana let me stay in her house for the night, I was walking by Jhuidah's pot. I saw a petpet by the edge of the pot and it fell in. There was a blast of magic, which is what I believe allowed me to talk. It hopped out and grew rapidly, about the same size of the monster. I also believe it also affected the temper of it, too."

     "So that monster is just an overgrown petpet?" Alana asked.

     "I wouldn't categorize it as a petpet at this point, but basically." The feepit sighed. "Let me tell you, it was not fun being the first thing it saw. It tried to eat me! That's how I first met Alana. I was following her for protection just in case it would find me. She was willing to take me in, so I said yes to the offer."

     The tunnel rumbles. Rocks fell from the top. Everyone was dodging the bigger rocks. After that, they just kept going. For what felt like forever (For Alana because she was complaining every five minutes. For Kell and Corbin because Alana was complaining every five minutes), they find the monster. It appears to be sleeping in a den of some sort.

     "Any ideas on how to catch it?" Alana whispered.

     "Well..." Corbin trailed off.

     "You don't have a plan?!?" Alana shouted.

     "Shhh!" Kell shushed. "You don't want to wake the monster."

     The three Neopets and the one petpet heard growling. They looked at the sleeping monster. Only it was no longer sleeping. It was now awake and staring at them.

     "I-I think it's a little late for that," Alana stammered.

     The monster growled. Everyone scattered across the den in fear. The monster went after them, but mainly Alana. Who knows why. Alana was backed up in a dead end, the monster fast approaching.

     "Good monster. Good, big, scary monster," Alana said shakily. "Don't hurt me. Please stop!"

     Just then, a miracle happened. The monster stopped right in its tracks, no more than a few feet from Alana. Everyone was confused. It was like earlier the day, when Alana shouted "Run away!" and the monster listened.

     Alana wanted to see if it happened again.

     "Sit?" she asked uncertainly.

     It sat down.

     "Roll over?" she told it.

     And again. It rolled over at her command.

     "What's going on?" Corbin asked.

     "I don't know, but I like it," Alana replied.

     The monster walked up to Alana and sniffed her. Alana petted the monster's fur. She felt something at its neck. She lifted it out of the matted fur. It was a lei with a metal flower at the front. Alana looked at the metal flower. It had but a single word engraved in it. Sierra.

     Alana looked again at the monster in awe and surprise. It looked back at her with kind eyes. Kell, Corbin, and the feepit all are confused.

     "Sierra. It's been a while," Alana said gently.

     "You know the monster?" Kell asked.

     "Mhmm. This is my petpet. An island snowbunny. Sierra ran away a long time ago. I always wondered what happened to her. In fact, earlier today, Sierra just wanted to see me and was running towards me in excitement, not anger." Alana faced her petpet. "Is that right?"

     The monster nuzzled up to the island Xweetok. Alana chuckled.

     "If this is yours, how do we get it back to normal?" Kell asked.

     "Maybe Jhuidah knows. Her magic caused this. Maybe it's able to reverse it."

     The tunnels started to rumble again. Even more rocks and debris fell down this time. It was very possible the tunnels would collapse, burying everyone alive.

     "What do we do?" Alana asked nervously.

     "I don't know what we can do." Corbin said, trying to sound calm, but some panic slipped out.

     Sierra sprang into action. First, she lifted Alana up onto her back, than Corbin and Kell. The oversized snowbunny then ran out of the den and through the tunnels. While she was running, the tunnels collapsed on themselves behind her. Sierra got to the area where everyone first came in and hopped out. Corbin, Kell, and Alana were thrown off, afterwards. Hey, it's better than being buried alive.

     Everyone got up slowly. Alana looked at Sierra. She saved everyone. Even though she looked like a monster didn't mean she was one.

     "Sierra..." Alana said speechlessly. She was in awe of this. "You saved us."

     The big snowbunny twitched her nose. Alana smiled at her pet.

     "So where's Jhuidah?" Kell asked.

     "I'll take care of that," Alana assured him.

     Alana walked to the Cooking Pot. Sierra followed. Jhuidah was at her pot, like usual. She looked at Alana and Sierra. Jhuidah didn't look scared.

     "Excuse me, Jhuidah," Alana said. "My petpet has fallen into your pot and has grown into a monster. Can you fix her?"

     Jhuidah looked at the giant snowbunny intently. Sierra blinked.

     "I believe so," she responded. "I have just the thing."

     Jhuidah mixed some items into her big pot. She stirred the mixture and gave Sierra a spoonful. Sierra shrunk down to her normal size.

     "Thank you!" Alana cheered.

     Alana went around the whole island, telling them the monster is gone. Everyone went back to celebrating their favorite holiday. Gadgadsbogen.

     ***

     The island feepit wandered the island late that night, while everyone was asleep. He went up to a bush. It rustled.

     "The plan didn't work," a voice in the bush said. The voice was dark and mysterious.

     "I didn't know the snowbunny was Alana's," the feepit replied.

     "What shall we do?"

     "I do not know." The feepit rubbed his paws together. "We will find a new plan to cause havoc across the island."

The End