To the Infamous, We Salute You: Part Four

     Tally,

     Where have you been? We went looking for you after you flew off! Are you okay? I hope you aren’t upset. However, we must find you! If we don’t in two more hours, you are going to look like that forever! We went to the fair, though, after we gave up looking for you. Planning on staying a while, stop on by. We’re worried.

     Vyxtra and Wess

     P.S. Once you come to the fair, we are going to have to find you. You may not... recognize us at first. Be safe.

     Tally felt her eyes well up with tears. She had been gone for longer than two hours. She was going to look like this forever. She was going to be this... this creature. Forever. She ran over to the mirror that still lay on the floor from where she left it and stared at herself, crying. She tossed it against the wall, and the glass shattered into pieces. She ran over and picked it up again, staring at the broken mirror, teardrops falling onto the empty space that once held the reflective surface.

     But then, her wet teardrops began to conglomerate... and solidify. Tally wiped her eyes and watched in sheer amazement as the product of her sadness formed a new mirror. An exquisite mirror, with delicate flowers and vines seemingly carved from silver covered the outside of the mirror. She smiled; at least she could make something beautiful. Not wanting to worry Wess and Vyxtra more, she picked herself up and flew out the door, clutching her mirror tightly to her chest.

     Flying through the air, Tally thought about the events that had just happened throughout the course of the day. Getting kicked out of school, befriending a Dark Faerie, and insulting a Light Faerie were not exactly on anyone’s Daily To-Do list. Not to mention having your appearance changed forever. But... she had wings. She was flying. Tally did a fast loop, just to emphasize that fact to herself. Finding herself closer to the fair, she increased her flight speed, zooming towards the chaos below.

     A pair of golden eyes watched her from behind a cloud.

     Tally hovered above the fair, searching for a unique pair, coming up empty handed. What could be so different about them? How much could they change? Before she had time to ponder further, she heard her name called.

     “Tally? Tally. TALLY!” She looked down, and saw an incredibly strange couple. One was a Lupe. Sort of. He looked like a Halloween Lupe, but dark blue. Tally instantly remembered where she’d seen that before. Wess’s picture. That Lupe was Wess. Wess! He looked so different? Tally wondered if he liked being different, unlike her. But where was Vyxtra? If she had changed to look like her picture, she must be one of the most beautiful creatures in Neopia.

     “Wess!” Tally called excitedly. She zoomed straight down from the sky and threw her arms around him as far as they could reach (not very, he was a very big Lupe). Wess winced at the embrace.

     “Please... get off of me.”

     “At least your personality hasn’t changed. But who is this?” The faerie standing next to him was also odd, but in her own way. She was the most beautiful faerie Tally had even seen, with flowing purple hair, lavender wings, and a floor length lavender dress with purple trim. Her hair was lighter in the front, and she carried a long silver staff; it was as tall as her. Tally felt her mouth drop. “What – who are you?”

     The flawless faerie grinned. “I’m Vyxtra, silly. Don’t you remember my drawing?” She turned around, making her dress swirl around her ankles. She hovered above the ground to display her shimmering, lilac wings to the speechless Tally.

     “You’re... amazing.”

     “Thank you! By the way, I’m awfully sorry about you getting the message late and all. I know you hate staying the way you are... but you have wings. That’s good, right? It’s all you wanted.”

     “I wanted to be beautiful, Vyxtra.”

     “You are. You’re unique, and that’s what makes you beautiful. Look at Wess, he’s staying how he is too. Don’t worry, you’re fine.” She gave Tally a reassuring pat.

     “Alright,” said Tally, caving. “We’re at a fair, let’s have fun!”

     The trio ran off, giggling, into the massive, joyful group of Neopets. The owner of the golden eyes that had been watching Tally from the cloud began making her way towards the fair. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it!” the Faerie cried. “That hideous creature is Tally? And the even scarier one is Wess? That evil Lupe that humiliated me? And even worse, that stupid Dark Faerie. Oh, they’re going to pay. Are they ever going to pay,” Iltyana muttered. She flew towards the fair, to an inconspicuous tent, and walked inside.

     On the other side of the fair, Tally giggled. There were clowns walking back and forth all along the fair, handing out lollypops and cookies. She had just polished off her fifth one when Vyxtra gasped, her eyes widening slightly. Wess turned to her, suddenly defensive, his hulking body in a crouch. “What’s up, Vyx? What’s wrong?” But before she could answer, a bag was thrown over her, Wess, and Tally’s heads, and everything went black.

     Tally felt herself being dragged along the bumpy rocky ground. She tried desperately to claw out of the bag, or maybe find a hole in it, but the bag was tough. Soon, the little pinpricks of light that she could see disappeared, leaving her in total darkness. She called for Vyxtra and Wess, but there was no answer. She screamed as loud as she could, trying to get out of this strange bag, with no success.

     She was starting to worry she would never get out of the bag. Maybe never see her friends again. The fabric scratched and her fur, but the space was so small she could not readjust her position. Knowing her calls were futile, she tried once more, almost in a whisper - too tired to yell.

     “Vyxtra?” No answer. “Wess? Wess?” No answer. Tally bit her lip to fight back tears and lay down as best she could until she got out of the horrible sack. Eventually, the dragging stopped, and Tally felt her head hit something hard, and she was knocked into a restless sleep.

     When Tally awoke, she looked around. Still bleary-eyed and groggy from being dragged around in a bag, she rubbed her head and whined a bit. She stuck out her paw, and felt metal bars beneath them, and she was suddenly alert. Her paw closed around the cold, cylindrical metal and she opened her eyes wide, getting a good look around.

     This place smelled, that was for sure. It smelled damp and moldy, like it hadn’t been cleaned in years. She could hear the faint yelps of excitement, but it seemed to be very distant from where she sat. It was also cold, and she shivered involuntarily. She realized she was in a cage of some sort. It was very cramped, and a heavy lock sat on the outside of it. She hit it lightly, and it didn’t even seem to react at all.

     Next to her, she could see through the slits in the bars, lay Wess. In a cage only slightly larger than her own – it was way too small for him. On her other side, sat Vyxtra, curled up in a ball, holding her staff protectively. She looked as if she was concentrating very hard, and Tally did not want to disturb her. She tried to remember anything to give her a hint as to how she or her friends got here, but everything was fuzzy. A voice interrupted her thoughts.

     “Yes, yes, Iltyana. You may come in and see if it is them. I thank you so much for our addition.” Tally looked to the direction the voice was coming from, and a beautiful light faerie came into view. A beautiful, familiar light faerie.

     “You!” Tally screamed. “You? How could you?”

     Iltyana smirked devilishly. “You never got me my Rayn Trueshot, you insolent little Acara. Look what hanging out with Dark Faeries has done to you. Tsk, tsk. If you would have just let me deal with her –”

     Wess, awake now, growled at her. Tally curled up into a ball, whimpering. Vyxtra’s eyes were fiery. “You stupid, greedy faerie. Just because you didn’t get what you want, you go pick on others? You are just a bully, you know that, right?”

     “Ssh, Fyora. Be calm. Being furious never helped a situation. Not that you’ll get out of this one any time soon.”

To be continued...