The Misadventures of a White Weewoo

      Julius the white Lupe sighed. "Aw, it's all in Phoebe's personality!" he replied loudly. "She loves to explore and then make calls at night! You can't blame her for that!" He heard his owner sigh in reply, and then he turned back to Phoebe the white Weewoo.

      "I'm sorry," he whispered to his petpet fondly. "You'll have to keep it down if you want Diana to let you stay here for good." Phoebe looked up at her owner with concern in her large, dark eyes, opened her beak to yawn, and finally curled up to sleep in her tiny bed. "Good night, Phoebe," said Julius as he drifted off to sleep on his own bed. After a moment of observing the Weewoo, he curled up on his bed and began to snore.

***

Just several minutes later, Phoebe woke up with a start and looked at her owner on his bed. The snoring had stopped, a sign that he was now sleeping soundly, like a baby Lupe. She stretched on her little petpet bed, gazing at the ceiling, probably thinking of Diana's complaints about her nightly habits and affinity for adventure.

      But tonight, both Diana and Julius were now asleep. And the day was quite boring-unless she counted the time when she was finally painted white. She wanted adventure, action. Tonight was the night.

      She slowly crept out of her Lupe owner's room, partly but gently pushed open the door, and stepped out into the hallway. No sound was coming from the door on the left-a good sign. Diana must be asleep too. Just in case, she made her way soundlessly, and made it to the front door. Phoebe tried pushing it. Unfortunately it was locked, unlike Julius' door, which was almost always left ajar.

      The Weewoo spotted the table next to the door, which was close to an open window. A couple of stools varying in size were beside the table, and to Phoebe they looked like steppingstones into the world outside the Neohome. She gingerly hopped onto the first chair, climbed up onto the second, and made it to the table. From there, she jumped out the window, the bushes below it cushioning her fall.

      This was it…the outside world. Phoebe surveyed the row of Neohomes, the plants surrounding them, and looked up into the night sky. Stars littered every inch of the Neopian sky. Neopia Central looked much better at night, with no bustling owners and Neopets bumping into her, or accidentally stepping on her tail. There were so many great things out here, and there was no one around to stop her adventurous spirit.

      She first decided to try the Magic Shop. Julius had often said that it was a very interesting place, so Phoebe decided to find out for herself if it was true.

      The Weewoo silently hopped over to a low window. Unfortunately the window was still too high for her to reach, so Phoebe pushed a rock over to it, and stood up on the large stone in order to see better.

      There were bottles of many different things stacked neatly on a shelf. Some shelves were empty, probably wiped out by avid restocking Neopians. But it was nighttime, and no one was inside. Kauvara, the shopkeeper, was probably either asleep or busy making another new potion. Julius was only half right-the Magic Shop was only interesting during the day.

      Phoebe jumped off the stone and made her way towards the other shops, often using her "stand-on-the-rock" trick to help her see what was inside every building. She saw tantalizing treats in the Food Shop, and her tummy began to growl. The Weewoo pecked the door, and found out that it was open. She entered the shop, and found shelves upon shelves of food. No one was around…and no one would notice if she took a bite.

      The white Weewoo instinctively hopped onto the lowest shelf, where a small piece of cheese was sitting, and began to eat for a while.

***

Phoebe had never felt so well fed in her entire life. She tottered out of the shop, very happy, and took no notice that she had wiped out a couple of cheese wedges, a red apple and even some cheese and onion crisps. Then she went off to explore some more.

      But the rest of the shops were locked, and not well stocked. The little Weewoo was losing interest in Neopia Central, and she didn't want to go home yet.

      She spied a small patch of trees nearby…and her spirits began to soar. There seemed to be another place that she hadn't seen yet. The white Weewoo ran over to the tree-filled area, and began following the path.

      The path got steadily darker as Phoebe went on. What she didn't know was that she was now entering the Haunted Woods-a place even some of the bravest Neopians didn't dare enter at night, especially near midnight. Phoebe shuddered, but she didn't dare turn back. What if a great adventure lay ahead of her? She wasn't about to let such a chance slip away fast.

      Time slowly fell away as the Weewoo continued walking. Every now and then lingering shadows and strange noises would make her neck feathers stand straight up. Still, she paid no attention to those feathers of hers. At last she made it out of the dense road, and was now in the heart of the Haunted Woods. Excitement and pride filled her mind as she waddled towards the first structure-which she didn't know was Eliv Thade's haunted dwelling.

      Phoebe opened the door, and walked in. Haunting portraits that seemed to follow her were hung everywhere. The furniture cast weird shadows, and as if that wasn't enough, she heard footsteps, and they were getting louder by the second.

      "Who dares enter my dwelling? You dare challenge me, Eliv Thade, to a game of anagrams?" the deranged Kacheek called. His eyes met the scared-looking Weewoo on the carpet.

      "ETIWH!!!" said Eliv, looking at Phoebe straight in the eye. She was shivering, and continued to shake as he held her in his paw. "You do not know?" He grinned, an evil grin spreading across his face.

      The Weewoo couldn't answer. She leapt out of his paw and made a mad dash towards the door. Phoebe didn't stop running-until she hit a tree that immediately wheeled around and bellowed, "Who dares disturb the Brain Tree's sleep?"

      "Who dares escape the great Eliv Thade?" screamed the Kacheek from inside his house.

      "SSSHHHHUUUTTTT UUUPPPP!!!" screamed the Esophagor, startling Phoebe even more. The Weewoo fled to Edna's tower to hide, and heard some very startling words.

      "Now…I shall work on my magical potion of Weewoo transforming!" came the voice of the witch from inside. The white Weewoo shuddered again, and fled into the Spooky Petpet shop instead. But she still didn't feel safe. There were weird moving shadows just about her size, and they made strange, scary noises.

      "Meep?" said a nearby Meepit, startling Phoebe and making her leap into the air. She whipped around and found herself staring at a creature with large, staring eyes. The Weewoo sprinted for the door again. She wasn't safe anywhere in these woods…scariness lurked around every corner. Phoebe tried to look for the path leading out back to Neopia Central, where it was not very exciting…but safe anyway. But she couldn't find it. Her surroundings were quite dim.

      Instead, she raced to the Deserted Fairground, and stopped to catch her breath next to the gate.

      "Doessss Ssssidney sssspy a cussssstomer?" a voice rang out somewhere next to her. She looked up into the face of a scary-looking Nimmo clutching a pair of cards. He was wearing a malevolent grin, and gazing intently at poor Phoebe, who dashed off, right into the Deserted Fairground. She suddenly came face to face with a structure that looked somewhat like a strange, frightening clown. The sight alone was enough to make Phoebe run out again, not caring if Sidney was still staring at her.

      But her troubles were far from over. She bumped into a Chia, wearing a black cape, sporting a small moustache, and an evil grin to match.

      "Hello, little unexpected visitor to the Haunted Woods," whispered Hubrid Nox. He picked up the Weewoo and walked to his lair, which was not very far.

      "You look like you could make a good sidekick," he hissed. "I bet you can lend me a hand in taking over Neopia and making all Neopets my slaves."

      Phoebe tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but it was too tight. She gazed at some jars and bottles with weird contents in them, and a portrait of a young Wocky. The frame was cracked, dingy and downright broken. She stared avidly at him and his determined look.

      "Ah, you haven't heard of MAGAX: Destroyer, have you?" said Nox. "Ah…he was evil turned good, and is now my worst nemesis…Oh, if you would help me get rid of him, my plans will be unstoppable. Perhaps you would want a nice drink? I shall fetch you one right now…"

      The Chia set Phoebe down on a large armchair and walked off to another part of his lair. Seeing her chance to flee once again, the Weewoo dropped onto a pillow to make sure her captor wouldn't hear a sound, and broke into a run for the front door. She pushed the door open, but it wouldn't open. Phoebe looked up and saw that it was locked. The lock would be easy to pry. The only problem was that it was too high for her to reach.

      "Dear little Weewoo, I'm back!" called Nox.

      Phoebe had to act quickly. She found a large footstool, and pushed it in front of the door. The Weewoo hopped onto it and quickly started pecking and pulling the lock. The villain's shadow loomed from the shadows of the hallway just as she heard a small click.

      She jumped off the stool, pushed it away, and in turn pushed open the door in time, and dashed away. The sky seemed considerably less dim, and it could only mean one thing.

      Dawn was now breaking, and Phoebe had to hurry, otherwise Julius and Diana would find out she was missing. The Weewoo searched frantically for the same path she took to get into the Haunted Woods, and once she found it, ran off, back into Neopia Central. The sky was getting brighter now, and some of the shopkeepers were now awake. Phoebe ducked behind a rock larger than herself so the early Neopians wouldn't kick her by accident. Next she made a mad dash towards her Neohome, ran for Julius' room, and jumped right into her tiny bed. Just a few moments after the white Weewoo was back safe and sound, the white Lupe awoke, yawned and looked down at Phoebe, who was dozing after a busy night.

      "Wow," said Julius. "She was really quiet last night!"

      "I agree," added Diana, peeking into her pet's room. "In fact, Phoebe can stay here with us!" She walked in and bent over, looking fondly at the Weewoo.

      "Looks like she's dreaming of a big adventure!" remarked Julius' owner.

The End