Harmless Wishes: Part Three

      "Nope. I'm telling you the truth," Yannagiba said opening the bottle cautiously. "I can prove it."

      "Riigght," the Aisha said sarcastically.

      "Name one thing you'd really love to have right now," Yannagiba stated.

      "Duh. Why, a cloud Aisha pillow, of course!" Nadashikoh said scornfully. "You know, like the one you ripped apart the other day?"

      The Gelert didn't even flinch. He poured some of the golden wishdust on one of his paws, getting ready to make another harmless wish.

      "I wish I had a cloud Aisha pillow right now," he said seriously blowing gently at the golden dust. Instantly, the pillow popped into existence. Yannagiba gave it to his sister.

      "I don't believe it!" Nadashikoh cried running a paw on the pillow's soft velvety surface. "This is…real."

      "I told you I could make your wishes come true," the Gelert said smugly.

      "Where did you get this magic stuff?" the Aisha asked.

      "I bought it from a shop. All it cost me was one hundred fifty NPs," he replied, giving Nadashikoh a superior smile. "A bargain, don't you think?"

      "Sounds…too good to be true," Nadashikoh said skeptically.

      "I thought I'd share my good fortune with you and grant all your wishes," Yannagiba said happily. "This is SO cool! We can actually have everything we want with the wishdust. What do you say, everyone?"

      Nadashikoh and Yuki were both silent. They were both having doubts about how safe the wishdust was.

      "This has got to be the luckiest thing that has ever happened to us!" Chi said jovially. "Imagine, we can have whatever our heart's desire with just a pinch of that wishdust and a little wish."

      The Chia's statement seemed to do the trick. Both Nadashikoh and Yuki nodded ecstatically. The four Neopets looked at each other eagerly.

      "I thought we should take turns in using the wishdust. Whoever it is who holds the bottle can wish for everyone else or ask for things for their own intentions. That's the only decent way to do this," Yannagiba said with a shake of his paw.

      "I was about to suggest that Yannagiba get the first turn. After all, he is the one who bought the wishdust," Chi told them shyly.

      "I don't mind," said Yuki, his ebony eyes staring at the wall. Those were the Kacheek's very first words that day.

      "I guess I'm outnumbered," Nadashikoh grumbled. "I wanted to get first dibs on the wishdust." She pouted.

      "It's decided then!" the Gelert exclaimed. "I'm taking the first turn. We'll worry about who's going next later." Yannagiba's forehead creased in his concentration. He wanted his wish to include everyone. "Would you guys like to go on an adventure instead of wishing for material things?"

      "Yeah!" Nadashikoh suddenly yelled, sounding very thrilled.

      "Alright. Let me think…" Yannagiba said setting his eyes upon the ceiling. "Has to be something…really…wonderful…"

      The others gazed at him.

      "A deserted island wouldn't be so bad…" Yuki suggested eagerly. "Complete with palm trees and the ocean."

      "I wouldn't mind visiting Mystery Island for a while," Chi hinted. "Lots to do there, if you know what I mean."

      "Well, I think it would be just perfect if we headed to Faerieland and go Faerie Cloud Racing! That would be totally the bomb," Nadashikoh said loudly.

      Their efforts were to no avail, of course. Yannagiba, as usual, wasn't listening, at all. He was too busy thinking of what to wish for. Something to do with the ocean. Oh, and ships! It has to have ships in it. Now, what could I wish for with the ocean and ships? He frowned and scratched his head.

      The Gelert's eyes suddenly lit up as he lowered his head. "I wish we were all aboard a pirate ship with real pirates!" he shouted with gusto. He blew.

      All at once, a haze of sparkling golden glitter surrounded them. The Neopets clung to each other tightly in fright.

      "Yaaaanaaagiiiba!!!" screamed Nadashikoh. "Thhiiis iis aall yooour faaauult!!!!" Her voice trembled as they floated upward.

      The mist became so thick that they could hardly see, much less, feel each other's paws.

      When Yannagiba opened his mouth to speak, the glitter entered his mouth. He let go of Chi's paw abruptly (his brother was beside him) and his own paws flung to his mouth. Eyes closed, the Gelert struggled to remove all the glitter from his pink tongue.

      What none of them knew was that they were no longer in the comfort of Yannagiba's cluttered room. They had vanished. The bottle of valuable wishdust sat on the bed, contents spilling out on the covers…

      As the fog of glitter slowly began to fade, the pets found themselves on the deck of a colossal sailing ship. This was, of course, exactly what Yannagiba had wished for…a pirate ship with real pirates. The sound of roaring cannons could be heard even from miles away. The whole ship reeked of the smell of gunpowder. The pirates were engaged in battle.

      "Uh, oh," Yannagiba muttered as he stared at the commotion in front of them.

     The captain of the pirates was a Krawk wearing an eyepatch over his right eye. He also had one wooden leg and a hook instead of a left hand. On his face was a malevolent grin of approval. He watched as his loyal buccaneers fired cannonball after cannonball at the galleon in front of them.

     "Where's the wishdust?" Nadashikoh asked frantically, looking around for the bottle. "Wish us out of here! Do it! NOW!"

     Yannagiba's eyes grew wide as he realized that the bottle wasn't with them.

     "Everyone?" he began softly (but just loud enough to be heard). "Uh, we have a problem. I kind of forgot to wish the wishdust along with us."

     "You mean, we're trapped???" Chi shrieked. It was a good thing that the bellow of the cannons was so deafening. If it weren't, the pirates would have heard the Chia's outraged cry.

     But, then, again, it really didn't matter. The pirates were occupied with the task at hand. The sea pets in the other ship were fighting back with muskets and their own cannons.

     "Load yer cannons one more time, m'lads!" the captain roared raising his left arm (including the hook, of course) in the air.

     "Yannagiba, tell me you're joking," Nadashikoh said. She was seriously getting vexed.

     "I'm not," the Gelert replied dejectedly. He turned away from his sister.

     "Well, then we better sit very quietly," Yuki said, his eyes flitting all over the place, as he watched the pirates at work. "It won't be too long before they notice we're here…"

     Ice cold fear washed over the rest of the Neopets as Yuki's words began to sink in. They really were on a pirate ship with real pirates.

     As the combat wore on, the four pets huddled against each other with obvious dread and panic. As soon as the pirates won their battle, they would surely see the intruders on their beloved ship.

     "We don't have a chance against them!" Nadashikoh hissed. "We're not Battledome-trained." She gave Yannagiba a piercing look.

     "HEY, don't look at me like that!" the Gelert said heatedly. "You were the one who said 'Yeah!' when I asked you guys if you wanted to go on an adventure!"

     "Oh, yeah? Well, this isn't my kind of adventure, doofus!" Nadashikoh shouted. "We're all going to…KICK THE BUCKET and it's all YOUR fault!"

     "Uh…keep it down, you two," Chi said apprehensively. "You're getting a little too loud."

     "It is so NOT my fault!" Yannagiba growled.

     "IS, TOO!"

     "IS NOT! And, even if it is, it's your fault, too!"

     "It IS, TOO, your FAULT!"

     Okay, Yannagiba and Nadashikoh's shouts were (to put it mildly) loud. Awfully loud. The Krawk captain whizzed around and saw them cowering in one corner. His smile widened.

     "What do we have 'ere?" he stated nastily.

     The captain's crew pets were cheering loudly. They had defeated the sea pets successfully.

     "She's a-goin' down!" one of the pirates yelled as they watched the opponents' ship sinking.

     The Krawk turned to face his crew.

     "Which one o' ye brought these scoundrels on board?" he growled pointing at Yannagiba and the others. By now, they were shaking uncontrollably.

     The pirates began chatting among themselves, pointing accusatory paws this way and that. A Kacheek stepped forward.

     "Cap'n, I believe none o' yer devoted crew would ever let those creatures set foot on the Zeke," he said passionately. The Zeke, in case you didn't get it, was the name of the ship.

      "Must've sneaked in when we dropped by da Smuggler's Cove, Cap'n," a Blumaroo added.

     "Alrighty," the captain said gruffly. "Ye migh' be righ'." He turned again toward the four Neopets.

     "Wal, I'll let ye decide yer own fate. Choose. Would ye rather walk da plank o' be hanged?" the Krawk queried. He guffawed (and the rest of his crew, who didn't want to be on his bad side, laughed along with him). And it wasn't a nice guffaw, I'm telling you…

To be continued...