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Untitled Document
All seven of them were in the Real World. WraithX had come
along with them. He had become part of the family - as odd and unreal as they
were.
It was dark, and Lacey didn't see any sign of
Sloth or his troops. All seven of them were on a bridge over a highway. Lacey
bit her lip as she held her Magic Key.
"Okay, Airiea..." she said. "You ready?"
Aireia nodded.
"I want you all to stay here, and try to keep
out of sight. You don't know how to use your powers yet," she said to her pets.
She mounted her Eyrie's back. They took off
together, and flew into the sky. They flew higher and higher... Until the tear
in the sky was near enough.
Lacey held out her Magic Key, and found the
edge of the Ripple. Making sure it was the complete edge - just like Fyora told
her - she nodded to Airiea, who began to fly across the sky.
Like a zipper, the gate began to close as the
Key skimmed the tear. But the more they went, the harder it was to close and
to hold on to; and the more they went, the more the stone in the Key glowed.
The Key began to shake violently. It shook right
out of Lacey's hand, and plummeted towards the highway below.
But luckily, Lilly was there. She grinned as
she caught it.
"Trouble?" asked Lilly, grinning. She flew up
and handed the key back to her owner.
"No," said Lacey in a tone of seriousness. She
and Airiea flew back into the sky, and once again tried to close the gate; but
they failed.
"Great!" said Lacey, sarcastically. "We can't
even do THAT right!"
"I think it's time we got some help," suggested
Kita.
"Your pets are what?!" said Arden. Aurora253
was one of Lacey's best Neofriends, and one of the only persons she could trust
with their secret. The same punk Lupe WraithX had asked for directions to Lacey's
NeoHome walked with them.
"So you're the Guardian of Fire Magic?" asked
the punk Lupe, Karnivekker, to Arrowtak.
"Yep!" said Arrowtak proudly.
"Cool!" said Karni. "Dude, that's so sweet!"
Both Arden and Karni had traveled through the
Gateway, and now stood with Lacey and her pets in the Real World. They stood
on top of a bridge, looking up at the rip in the sky. It was daylight now. But
Lacey didn't worry about anyone seeing the Neopets. The streets and stores were
lifeless. Everyone stayed in their houses for fear of Dr. Sloth. It was true
- he had taken over the Real World. All of the countries had been invaded by
Sloth's mutated army. Everyone realized Sloth had to have been planning this
for a very long time. And Sloth's weapons and ships were so different than what
the Real World had seen before, they didn't know how to fight against him.
"So, we have to close that," said Lacey to Arden,
pointing towards the rip. Arden looked at her Lupe, and sighed.
"This is worse than I ever thought things'd
be," she said.
"Welcome to our world," replied Airiea quietly.
Lacey mounted Airiea's back again, and Arden
climbed onto her Yellow Eyrie, Utukomanii. They flew into the sky, both holding
out their Magic Keys. Lacey began at one end of the huge rip, and Arden began
at the other. They flew towards each other, but as they neared the middle, the
same thing happened - the Keys vibrated and shook, but this time, they grew
red-hot.
"Ow!" shouted Lacey, letting go of her Key.
She caught it as it fell from the rip, and like a zipper had completely broken,
the rip split and was all there again. Likewise, Arden dropped her Key. All
four landed on the ground, and sighed. A few moments later, they leaned against
the railing on the bridge, thinking.
"This is bad," said Utukomanii to Airiea, who
nodded in reply. Karni and Arrowtak didn't joke around like they usually did,
but sat in silence. Kita, Lilly, Tylali, and Wraith followed suit and thought.
After a few unsuccessful attempts, Arden and
her Lupe and Eyrie went back into Neopia. Lacey and her six pets sighed as they
left, realizing they were without ideas. A few hours later after a few more
tries, Lacey opened the Gateway and they walked back into their NeoHome.
Chapter 9: Dead End?
Lacey was putting dinner on the table when the doorbell rang. The six pets
stayed at the table, and Lacey opened the front door.
There stood Chloe - also known as Sailor_Michiru
- at the door. Her eyes were wide, and she clutched an early copy of the Neopian
Times.
"Chloe, what's wrong?" asked Lacey to her Neofriend.
"What are you doing answering the door?!" said
Chloe. "Read this!" she said, stuffing The Neopian Times into Lacey's hand.
Chloe walked into the Neohome, and slammed the door shut, and locked it.
"What's going on?" asked Lacey.
"Just look," replied Chloe.
Lacey glanced at the front page. The entire
of it was a giant picture of Dr. Sloth. And in huge font letters below the photograph
read: "CALLING ALL NEOPIANS! Unless you want to die, you better read the inside!"
Shaking her head, Lacey opened the very thin
pages. Inside was one article - the rest were a list of rules from Dr. Sloth.
"WANTED," read Lacey aloud. "Owner and her five
pets. Username: Horsegirl4231. Pets: Airiea, Arrowtak, KitaiMyou, Lilly_Fluff,
and Tylali. Wanted dead or alive. Preferably alive so Sloth can take care of
them. Reward: Your life." And below the writing was a minuscule picture of Lacey
and her pets.
Lacey put down the paper, shocked. "This is
lovely..." she said, sarcastically.
"Lacey, you need to lie low," said Chloe. "You
and your pets should go to the Real World and -"
"Sloth has already taken over the Real World..."
interrupted Lacey, a tone of fear in her voice.
"Well," said Chloe. "You have a better chance
there. The Real World is much bigger than Neopia... At least there's more people,
and it's less organized, really. He won't know where in the world to look...
Literally!"
"Yes he does," said Kita, walking over to Chloe.
"He saw her when he first made an announcement in the Real World."
"We're dead, aren't we?" said Tylali, sniffing.
"Of course you're not!" said Wraith, standing
up. "You're the Guardians of Magic! Only you can defeat Dr. Sloth and save both
worlds!"
"Easy for you to say..." said Arrowtak. "You
don't have to do it."
"Maybe not," replied Wraith. "But I can help
you. You must all look deep inside yourselves for your power!"
"Why aren't the Faeries fighting?" said Lilly
quietly. Everyone turned their eyes on her. "I mean... Wouldn't Fyora fight
him? Why isn't she doing anything?"
The color seemed to drain from Wraith's face
as he realized what Lilly meant. "She must be in danger," he said.
They flew to Faerieland as quickly as possible.
But as soon as they reached the clouds, they were horrified. The clouds themselves
had been scorched and burnt. Every NeoHome had been wiped out in flames. The
Faerie Palace was nothing but rubble. Holes through the clouds were many, and
the winds were rampant. And the Hidden Tower was no longer hidden - it was on
fire.
Wraith - in Angel wings - swooped to the entrance.
Lacey and Arrowtak leapt off Airiea's back, and Lilly and Kita landed as Tylali
glided in.
"No..." said Arrowtak, his eyes wide.
They burst through the doors that were nearly
just ash. They ran through the Item Shop, finding it empty and black. Wraith
found the same door he had used so many times to get to the throne room, and
opened it. Inside the hallway was just as decimated. The Hidden Tower was slowly
burning, and they had to find Fyora.
"This way!" shouted Wraith, pointing down the
hallway. They ran as fast as they could until they reached the Throne Room...
Which made them choke.
Fyora and the other six Uber Faeries were on
the ground, holding wounds. Some were coughing, and others were faint. Wraith
knew Sloth had attacked them without warning. He knew Fyora had sent out a troop
to meet Sloth's army, but it had been defeated in mere moments.
Fyora stood up.
"You failed?" she asked sadly.
"Yes..." said Lilly, starting to sob. "We did.
We just can't help you! You have to give the powers to someone else."
"It can't be done," said Fuhnah, standing up.
"You are the Guardians, not just holders of the power. You were always meant
to be the Guardians. It's your destiny."
Iyana stood as well. "You have to confront Dr.
Sloth. We were wrong - you must come into your powers. It will take the entire
magic of Neopia to close that tear in the sky. That means all of you must become
the Guardians. Or we'll all perish."
All five pets stood motionless.
"Sloth is currently in the Real World," said
Fyora. "He's made himself a base there. See if you can find any allies to come
with you. Anyone worthy of helping you I've already informed. You have to lead
this war, not us. The true loyalists of Neopia have taken refuge in the deep
forests of Meridell. Find them and head to the Real World and fight Sloth."
The five pets nodded, and the seven left. Airiea,
Arrowtak, KitaiMyou, Lilly, Tylali, Wraith, and Lacey headed to Meridell to
find the last hope.
To be continued...
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