The Not So Deserted Tomb?

     You were wandering through the Deserted Tomb in the Lost City of Geraptiku, as many others before you, you were searching for the treasure rumoured to exist in its depths. As far as you knew, nobody had succeeded, which could either mean that the treasure was still there, or it really was nothing more than a rumour and it never really existed. Either way, you and your Neopet were more than happy to adventure into the ruins. You'd been to so many places around Neopia, finding treasure and untold tales, there weren't many places that you hadn't discovered. But the Deserted Tomb was one of the few that you had never been to before. That was all about to change.

     You'd been walking for a while, conversing with your pet in excited whispers, eager but not wanting to wake up any beasts lurking in the Tomb. You'd been warned by previous adventurers to keep as quiet as possible and only to speak when necessary.

     "We take a left up here," you said, consulting your crudely drawn map of your estimations you'd gathered from previous explorers. Your pet looked at the map over your shoulder.

     "Nope I'm pretty sure we're supposed to take the right path," they argued, pointing to the other tunnel. You debated the directions in hushed voices that were slowly becoming louder and louder. Suddenly you heard a rumble coming from the walls around you.

     "Duck!" yelled an unfamiliar voice. Thanks to your fast reflexes you dived out of the way just in time, but your pet was hit by a flying arrow. The rest went flying over your head and embedded themselves in the hard stone wall opposite. Your pet collided with the wall and lay on the ground. A Shadow Xweetok, closely followed by a pure White one, ran into the corridor and knelt next to your pet. The White Xweetok, that looked like it must be female, was holding a covered basket that she quickly opened.

     "Who are you?" you asked, eyes wide with terror. The experience left you scared and out of breath, but adrenaline was rushing through your veins at the same time. You were confused, where had these Xweetok come from? You hadn't noticed anyone following you when you had entered the Tomb, had they been that quiet? Or had they been in front of you? You really had no idea.

     "I'm Cindaquil and this is Espeeon," the Shadow Xweetok said distractedly. Espeeon had handed him a flask of purple potion and he poured it on your pet's wound. He took another potion, blue this time, and poured a few drops of it into your pet's mouth. They lifted their head and their eyes fluttered open.

     "What happened?" your pet mumbled, dazed.

     "Your arguing set off the arrow trap," Espeeon explained, her voice soft as Cindaquil bandaged your pet's wound with a palm frond, "we're going to take you to the Healing Springs once we've got you in a stable condition where you won't get hurt while we move you."

     "I don't know if I'll have the strength to carry you," you said worriedly. Espeeon smiled reassuringly at you.

     "You won't have to do that, Cindaquil and I can do it." You stared at her in shock. How could the two tiny Xweetoks possibly carry your pet by themselves?

     "Now... don't be alarmed," Cindaquil said worriedly. He started to glow with a red light while Espeeon shone blue, they shot beams at your pet before you could react. The colours blended together around your pet. The glowing eyes of the two Xweetoks scared you slightly.

     "What are you doing?" you shouted, lunging forward. They weren't going to hurt your beloved pet were they?

     "Don't distract us," Espeeon warned you softly. Your pet had started to float before your very eyes. For some reason you trust these two Xweetoks.

     "We'll get your pet to the Healing Springs in no time," Cindaquil assured you. They carried your pet through the Deserted Tomb, following the exact path you had taken to get to where the trap had been. You followed them out of The Lost City and across Mystery Island to the dock where you had left the ship that had brought you to Mystery Island. You fell asleep on the long sail to Faerieland.

     Sure enough within the next hour you were sitting at the edge of the Healing Springs, watching your pet bathe in the waters with Cindaquil and Espeeon sitting beside you.

     "So what exactly was that?" you finally asked. The Xweetoks smiled at each other.

     "It was telekinesis, we can move objects with our minds," Cindaquil reeled off as if he'd explained it a thousand times before.

     "Cindaquil and I often have to rescue pets from the Deserted Tomb with our powers," Espeeon added. You shook your head.

     "Where can people learn to do this? It would be so cool..." your voice trailed off as your mind ran wild with the possibilities of what you could do with powers like that.

     "You can't learn, you have to have been born with it, like Espeeon and I," he replied.

     "So what are you two like related or something? Does it only run in your family?"

     "No we aren't related, as far as we know, although many Neopians mistake us for twins." Cindaquil seemed to often speak for them both.

     "How come you were in the Deserted Tomb anyway?"

     "Oh we live there, well I'm there more often than Espeeon is, but we go back and forth between the Tomb and our Neohome."

     "And how did you meet?" This time it was Espeeon who answered.

     "Cindaquil had bad experiences when he was younger with people and their pets. He became full of anger and very hateful, using his telekinesis to hurt. When he badly injured a pet he realised the error of his ways. I'd heard about him through vague rumours, but I was able to use my powers to track him down. I taught him how to care for others and use his powers for good instead."

     "What other things can you do with it?"

     "We won't pretend that we know the full extent of our powers, because honestly we have no idea. We know that we can move objects and sometimes manipulate minds, but that's about as far as we know. Espeeon has taught me a lot, but we both need someone with more extensive knowledge. So far we haven't been able to find anyone, but we won't be giving up any time soon." How in the world hadn't you heard of them before?

     "You've never heard of us because we erase the memories of the Neopians and their pets after we've done our job," Cindaquil said as if he'd read your mind.

     And maybe he had. But you don't remember any of this, do you?

The End