Usukicon Madness

      “Folding chair… tote bag… blanket… snacks… pass with lanyard…” she said aloud to herself, double checking she had everything on her list. Seren looked down at her cosplay to check that everything looked okay. She was dressed as Mira, the Space Faerie. She had on the Faerie’s iconic red and blue body suit that she had sewn herself and donned a matching vibrant blue wig. She grabbed a few more bobby pins to help secure it in place. “Oh! Almost forgot!” she said as she raced to her bedroom.

      She grabbed two Usuki dolls from her bed. She had the regular Space Faerie Usuki Doll and the Fashionable Space Faerie Usuki Doll. Seren wanted to bring them along to accompany her to go with her cosplay. “There, ready to go!” she exclaimed as she gathered her belongings and headed out the front door.

      The Space Faerie cosplayer made her way down the streets of Neopia Central to the Neopian Bazaar. In her view she spotted Usuki Land, a bright yellow and pink building topped with a white flower and a giant Usuki. Seren and her friend Onica must have been on the same wavelength, because they both showed up to the building at the same time. Onica was also dressed in cosplay, the Pastel Usul matching her with the Faerie vibes as she wore the clothes of Baelia, the Grey Faerie. “Onica, you look fantastic!” Seren said as she embraced her friend.

      “Thanks, Seren! You look great, too,” Onica responded with a smile. They looked around to see a large line had already started to form outside of Usuki Land’s doors. “Here, let’s set up before more start to arrive,” Onica said as she pulled out her chair to set up camp.

      The pair sat together and warmed themselves with blankets against the chill of the night. “Hopefully these next few hours go by quickly. I want to head inside already! I’m so excited to see this year’s Usukicon bag,” Seren said as she munched on her snack.

      Onica gave a big yawn. “Yeah, there should be lots of excitement this year. Maybe we should try to get some sleep though, so we are well rested for tomorrow.”

      Onica’s yawn made Seren realize how tired she really was. “That’s probably a good idea,” she said as she snuggled herself deeper into her blanket. “Good night, Onica! Get ready for a fun day tomorrow!” She closed her eyes and was able to quickly fall asleep.

     ***

      Just as soon as Seren’s eyes shut, they seemed to open again. This time with the sky brighter and with more commotion. Other Usuki fans surrounded the building and were eagerly chattering with excitement as the doors were getting ready to open. Seren noticed Onica was already gathering her belongings and getting ready to enter, so she did the same.

      “Please stay inside the ropes and keep an organized line! Have your bags ready to be checked and have your badge easily accessible! We are about to open the doors!” a Quiggle by the front doors announced to the crowd.

      Seren squealed with excitement. “It’s time! Are you ready?” she said as she grabbed onto Onica’s paw, not wanting to lose her amongst the heavy mob of Usuki fans. The line quickly began to move and before they knew it, they were inside Usuki Land. During Usukicon, the building was rearranged to be able to host panels, specialized merch booths, and other fun areas to explore along with its usual store.

      The Faerie cosplaying duo first found the Collector’s Circle – a group of collectors from all of Neopia that had a massive collection of, you guessed it, Usuki items. One Neopian had all the Usukicon Goodie Bags, with one empty spot left for the new bag that would soon be announced. Another had all their Usuki Dolls on display, and another that had a plethora of Usuki Sets that was trading their duplicates.

      Seren looked at the table with the Goodie Bags. “Wow, none of these have been opened! Don’t you ever wonder what you may have in them? There are so many great collector’s items available!” she said in awe, looking at the owner of the table. The Green Usul was dressed as the Meridell Usuki Queen, looking the part with her regal dress and glittering pearls.

      The Queen greeted her with a royal smile. “Of course I do! But I also have a collector’s heart, and I don’t want to ruin their perfect condition. Maybe someday I will cave and see what’s inside though!” she said with a laugh. The Queen turned to chat with some other Neopians who had approached her table.

      “I can’t believe she has all the bags, and she’s never even opened them!” Seren said to Onica. “I’ve only been able to get one bag a few years ago, but I couldn’t wait until I got home and opened it!” she said as she recalled the Gamer Girl Usuki she received that was sitting on her bed right now.

      As they explored the other tables, they suddenly heard a loud gasp. “EEEK! Who opened my Goodie Bags!?”

      Seren whirled around and saw the Meridell Usuki Queen sobbing over her table. “My perfect bags! They’ve been opened!” the Queen wailed. She then locked eyes with Seren. “You! It must have been you! You were the one asking about opening them!” she shouted with fire lighting her eyes. “Collectors! Seize her!”

      “What!?” Seren said, confused. She was going to defend herself but was quickly grabbed by both arms. “Onica, help me!” she cried to her friend, but had lost her amongst the masses.

      “For your crimes, you will be punished! Take her to the dungeon!” the Queen ordered with a flick of her hand.

      “Punished! Dungeon!? At the convention?” Seren said with her heart racing as she was dragged away.

      They quickly took Seren away from the crowd and down a set of stairs that had been blocked off and labeled “STAFF ONLY”. The dungeon was more of a basement, but they still threw her down there and locked the door.

      “Hey! I didn’t open or steal anything! Let me out of here!” the Space Faerie cosplayer yelled as she banged on the locked door. After trying to escape for a while, she sat on the basement floor tired, having worn herself out.

      “Seren! Seren, it’s time!” a familiar voice rang.

      Everything appeared kind of hazy for Seren. All that screaming and pounding really took all her energy. “No, it’s not time for my punishment… I don’t deserve this,” Seren said clearly. Why was she talking like that? Next thing she knew, her body was shaking.

      “Seren, wake up! It’s time for Usukicon!”

      Seren blinked a few times. Instead of already being inside the doors of Usukicon and stuck in a basement, she was back outside sitting in her folding chair. “We’re not already at Usukicon? I’m not in the dungeon?” Seren asked as she tried to grasp her surroundings and reality.

      “We are at Usukicon, silly. And what’s this about a dungeon?” Onica said with a laugh. “It’s about to start! Hurry and pack up so we can head in!” the Grey Faerie cosplayer said as she was already busy gathering her own items.

      The Space Faerie Usul had to laugh at herself as she realized she must have dreamt up her own Usukicon adventure. Seren hurried to grab her things and join her friend for the real Usukicon experience, hoping that this time events would be smoother.

     The End.