Beneath

     My eyes snapped open, only to find myself in pitch darkness. I sat up, becoming dizzy. But I had to find out where I was.

     I rubbed my front hooves together. A spark of light appeared. I quickly blew on it, and it swirled and grew, gaining life, the magic taking the form of a Glowing Xweetok, except one that glowed blue instead of green. I thought I saw a dark form in the corner of my eye as well but chose to ignore it.

     The Xweetok said nothing, but it didn’t need to. I could see now. I could see I was in a room hewn from stone. The walls, floor, even ceiling were all made from carved blocks. There were two wooden doors as well, on opposite walls.

     I traced a Codestone rune into the air. “Point me the way back to where the sunlight touches,” I said to the Xweetok.

     The Xweetok got on its hind legs and jumped, leaping far higher than a normal Neopet would. It hit the ceiling, magical sparks brushing off as it passed through to the level above. So I was a level below the sun, at least.

     The room became dark again as the Xweetok scouted the way. I swore I saw the shadowy form of Neopet, but knew it was just my eyes playing tricks on me in the darkness. After five minutes, I grew worried. It was a simple spell to have one’s magic lead to magic alike; I had light magic, and this should easily lead back to the outdoors, where the sunlight is.

     Ten minutes. I did my best to ignore the shadows twisting and turning, playing at my mind.

     Finally, the Xweetok returned, its light bursting through the ceiling, driving away the shadows. “What took so long?” I shouted, my nerves frayed.

     The Xweetok silently stared at me, then walked to one of the wood doors, walking through it to the next room. I followed, opening the door to find stairs leading upwards.

     The Xweetok that glowed blue trotted up the stairs, only to appear at the bottom of the stairs once they reached the top. It magically repeated this a few times before I got the message.

     “I have to go up multiple times?”

     The Xweetok nodded.

     “Just how far down are we?”

     The Xweetok tilted its head, unsure of how to answer my question.

     “Still,” I said, more to myself, “It must be very far underground for it to take so long to get back up for you.”

     My magic agreed with me, the Xweetok nodding its head.

     This was going to require more complex magic. I grabbed for my satchel, only to realize it was missing. I dashed back to the room I’d found myself. It was empty.

     I ran my hand over my hair, brushing up against my horns as well. Where was it?

     I ran across the room barely registering the sound of music, the Xweetok following. I threw open the door only to see myself playing the banjo.

     The Eventide Ixi who surely wasn’t me looked up. “You interrupted the song!” she complained. Then my doppelganger thrust out an outreached hand, cursing me. It felt like the world was spinning. Then I realized I was the one spinning, I’d been given the Curse of Barrel Roll.

     It clicked into place. “I’m… I’m in the catacombs, the ones under Neovia. But this place is full of curses, how did I even get down here?”

     “How did I even get down here?” mocked my doppelganger in a high-pitched voice. The Eventide Ixi that wasn’t me laughed. “Like all the others, silly, you were sent down. Teleported.”

     “I don’t remember that!” I argued. “I was visiting Neovia, looking for a place to stay, and the Ghoul Catchers-“

     “Pft, they call themselves ‘Normalcy Officers,’ don’t ya know?” said the other Ixi.

     “I don’t know. Only the Ghoul Catchers said they had the perfect place for me. And then-, and then I woke up here.”

     “Yeah, I hear that story a lot,” said the doppelganger. “Ya done been bamboozled. The Ghoul Catchers got paid to remove all the monsters from Neovia, and I mean ALL the monsters.”

     “But I’m not a monster.” I protested.

     The other Eventide pointed behind me. I whirled around, but the only thing I saw was the shadowy imprint of an Acara in my eyes. Then I looked down, and saw the Xweetok.

     “You mean my magic?” I said.

     The doppelganger nodded. “That’s right! Anyone abnormal is against the law in Neovia now! The law only recently passed, but do you think the committee cares? No! They started right away dumping them out of the town’s limits. And when that didn’t keep them out, they started throwing them down here. The cults hate it, you mind, it invades on their space, but no one is willing to admit they’re in a cult in Neovia, so nothing comes of it.”

     “Wait wait, back up, Who’s throwing people down here?” I yelled.

     The other Ixi rolled her eyes. “The Committee of Normalcy in Neovia, duh. They’re the ones who are trying to get Neovia to be normal and boring like Neopia Central.”

     “They… they do realize what planet they’re on, right?”

     The doppelganger shrugged. “I don’t know. I just know I have way too many people interrupting my banjo practice. Now shoo, before I curse you again.”

     I stepped back, closing the door behind me. The sound of banjo music started up again.

     I’d read about the catacombs, though I never had any desire to visit their dark depths myself, or even let my Petpet explore them. They were filled with sarcastic skeletons, zombie ghosts, Petpets, and cultists of all sorts. And doppelgangers, of course.

     They were a maze of levels stretching far below the surface. And I was now trapped in them.

     But it didn’t even make sense. Since when was Neovia not okay with its position in the Haunted Woods? Hadn’t it always been a part of the spooky magic that surrounded it? What was going on at the surface?

     The bBlue-glowing Xweetok looked up at me with concern in its eyes. “We’ll get out of here,” I promised, though I wasn’t sure how long it’d take, with all the curses, rooms, and levels we might encounter.

     I slumped to the ground. Just how long would it take? How long would my light magic hold out? How much longer could I hold out against the shadows?

     I closed my eyes, only to again see the black outline of an Acara. I jerked them open, but only saw the blue comforting glow of the Xweetok. How much longer?

     Then I heard something. The trotting of tiny hooves, like a Petpet. I stood up, readying myself for whatever was coming my way.

     A blue Petpet peered around the corner of the doorway. With its horns, little tail, and hooved feet, it looked to be a Tamed Mini-Monster, native to the area. It came up to me, sniffling and snorting. Then I noticed a tag hanging from one of its horns.

     I knelt down, gesturing the Glowing Xweetok to come closer. The tag read, “Teleportation spell in Pouch. Please bring April along.”

     I gasped, and looked closer. There was indeed a pouch harnessed to the Tamed Mini-Monster, apparently named April. I stroked April’s fur gently while unfastening the pouch. Inside the carrier was a packet with instructions written on the outside. “Throw the powder in the packet to the ground while carrying what you want to go with you.” Standard teleportation stuff.

     I picked up the Petpet, who seemed to be used to being handled. I dismissed my magic, the Xweetok dissipating. Then I threw the powder to the ground.

     A rush filled my head before I found myself outside a cottage. Judging from the multitude of dead trees, I was still in the Haunted Woods, but outside of Neovia. The cottage itself had a fenced-in yard filled with many unlit lanterns, an odd decorating choice.

     April the Tamed Mini-Monster wriggled out of my grasp, trotting through the open gate and up the path, squealing excitedly. The front door to the cottage opened, revealing an adolescent Cybunny girl. She scooped up the Petpet, hugging April.

     I hesitantly followed. “Hello?” I said, “I’m Starla, I was trapped in the Catacombs, but your Petpet kind of rescued me? Thank you.”

     The blue-grey Cybunny looked me up and down. “The Committee’s just getting worse and worse about who they throw down there, aren’t they?”

     I nodded, “I’m completely ordinary,” I said, pushing aside thoughts of my magic. Magic like mine was ordinary in Neopia, right?

     She set down the Tamed Mini-Monster, who trotted inside. “Well, ordinary or not, you’re still welcome here.”

     She gestured for me to follow as she crossed the threshold. “I’m Saskori. Welcome to the Monster Resistance.”

     The End.