The Grey Omelette

     Sabre-X’s jaw dropped in disbelief at the sight in front of him.

     The day had started as it always does, with the Lupe waking up bright and early to the sun rising over the Tyrannian Plateau, casting the barren landscape in a brilliant golden hue. He had stretched his tired limbs and prepared for another day of guarding and distributing his precious Giant Omelette.

     He spends each day at the same spot, feeding the hungry Neopets that come to him in search of just a slice of his delicious Omelette. He loves to try out different flavours and ingredients to give the Neopets something different to try each time, and last night he had chopped up some fresh spicy red peppers for today’s batch.

     Sabre-X was very meticulous in his Omelette preparation, and he had found some very shiny and delectable looking giant eggs the evening before. He would then climb to the highest point in the plateau, crack the eggs over the sunbaked rocks, and let the morning sun cook them to perfection by the time the breakfast crew started to roll in. Who says that fierce Tyrannian war veterans can’t have a passion for cooking?

     Thus resulting in Sabre-X’s shocking revelation when he approached the Giant Omelette, expecting the spicy red pepper creation of his dreams, to find that the Omelette was…

     Grey.

     He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. How could something like this happen? He thought in a panic.

     He slowly approached the Omelette to get a closer look at what had happened. The Omelette was a drab grey colour, looking sad and almost mushy as it continued to bake in the rising sun. Sabre-X tentatively reached out for a small piece to investigate but then decided against it.

     “Sabre-X! What’s going on?”

     He turned to find the Wheel of Monotony Quiggle approaching the Omelette, staring at it in both awe and horror as he took in the giant grey blob in front of him.

     “Don’t touch it! It might be… I don’t know, poisonous I guess.” Sabre-X commanded, though even he wasn’t sure how to approach the situation. He and the Quiggle both stared at the Omelette uncomfortably, knowing nothing like this had ever happened on the plateau as long as they’d both been stationed there.

     “Well, guess I’m not having my morning snack today, huh?” The Quiggle laughed unconvincingly. Sabre-X glared at him in response, now wasn’t the time for jokes.

     “You going to tell me what happened?” The Quiggle asked, nervously looking around the plateau for other Neopets that might be approaching soon.

     “I have no idea.” Sabre-X confessed. “Maybe the peppers I used were bad? Maybe… I don’t know, the sun isn’t as hot today?”

     “Ha!” Barked the Quiggle. “I know that second one’s not true. And what sort of peppers are going to do something like this?”

     Sabre-X sighed, he knew the Quiggle was right.

     “Look, we need to get rid of this thing. We’ll scrape this one off the rock, then tell the Neopets that we already ran out of Omelette. I’ll go out looking for another giant egg to see if I can whip up something new as soon as possible. Can you keep an eye out while I go searching?”

     “Just keep it quick.” The Quiggle smirked. “Nah, I’m just kidding. I’ve got a Neopet at the Wheel mid-spin right now. He’ll be there for at least three more hours before it stops.”

     Sabre-X nodded appreciatively, then turned his attention back to the Omelette. It had a musty odor that stung his nose as he began scraping the mushy blob off of the rock and down the sides of the cliffs below. He hoped there were no poor Neopets hanging around below, but he didn’t wait to find out. Finally, he scooped the last bit over the edge and then set off towards the empty expanse of rocks where he knew giant eggs could be found. He tried not to pay attention as unsuspecting Neopets passed him along the way.

     “… You’re kidding me! They’re out of Giant Omelette already??” He heard one shout in protest as he quickly made his way past the Concert Hall and towards the empty landscape beyond.

     It was much more quiet on this part of the Plateau, past the hustle and bustle of the Tyrannian Plateau’s main attractions. Sabre-X secretly loved the calmness of the land out here, the delicate art of selecting the perfect giant egg for his next omelette. He hoped he would have better luck this time than this morning’s result.

     He quickly found a nice pocket of giant eggs not too far ahead, and as he approached, he inspected them carefully. He wished he could carry more than one egg back just in case, but these eggs were larger than Sabre-X himself. Carrying just one back was a workout in and of itself.

     Finally, he found what looked like the perfect candidate. He tapped lightly on the egg’s shell and inspected it for any cracks. When it finally got his seal of approval, Sabre-X carefully placed the egg into his bag, hefted it over his shoulder, and began to make his way back towards the centre of the Plateau. He was anxious to see a line of frustrated Neopets had already begun to form as they waited for the next Giant Omelette to appear.

     “Sabre-X! When’s the next Omelette showing up? We’re starving over here!” An outraged Kacheek yelled from the crowd.

     “Yeah! You never run out this quickly. I’m here at the same time every day and I always get a piece. What gives?” Called a nearby Blumaroo.

     “Sorry Sabre-X. I tried to keep ‘em calm. These Neopets really need to start trying their luck at the Money Tree if they’re so hungry, am I right?” The Wheel of Monotony Quiggle laughed lamely as Sabre-X approached the giant stone and carefully began to set down the giant egg.

     “Looks like today’s just going to have to be a Plain Omelette I suppose…” Sabre-X muttered to himself, realising he hadn’t brought any ingredients with him to prepare anything different. He looked back at the crowd that continued to grow.

     Although by the looks of it, I doubt these Neopets are going to care, he thought to himself.

     Sabre-X then slowly lifted the giant egg out of the bag and positioned it to crack onto the hot stone.

     “Stand back!” He barked at the Neopets leaning forward curiously. “If any of you gets mixed up in my Omelette you’ll never get any from me again!”

     The Neopets quickly shuffled backwards, but continued to watch in silence as Sabre-X cracked the egg hard against the stone and pulled the two halves of the shell open.

     The crowd gasped as a dull grey egg fell out and spread across the stone.

     “No!” Sabre-X roared. “It can’t be!”

     The scorching hot sun immediately began to fry up the egg and a new Giant Omelette began to form, just as dull and grey as the previous one.

     “What’s happening?” The Quiggle whispered in fear.

     “It’s the curse.” A voice in the crowd spoke.

     Sabre-X turned his head along with the others towards the ominous voice. A Grey Draik stepped forward, looking sadly at the Neopets around him.

     “I’m Miles, I run the Wheel of Knowledge in Brightvale. I’ve been following up with the other Neopets who run the wheels across Neopia to see if they’ve also been hit by the Grey Curse. But it looks like your giant eggs have been affected first.”

      “A Grey Curse? That sounds preposterous!” The Quiggle yelled in outrage, though Sabre-X could hear the fear in his voice.

     “It does, but it’s true. And we don’t know how to stop it.” The Draik said sadly.

     Sabre-X looked back at the grey Giant Omelette already cooked on the stone. A chill went down his spine.

     What was happening in Neopia?

     The End.