My pets were fighting again. I could tell before I even got into the house.
Angry shrieks, assorted war cries, and shouts of "YOU IDIOT!" accompanied the
sounds of shattering glass, ripping furniture, and a whole cacophony of things
I didn't want to hear right then.
I swung the door open, and my pets froze. Dervetta, my blue Cybunny, was attacking
Ellimistio, my yellow Poogle. Ivyleaf24 (better known as Ivy), my green Blumaroo,
was hanging from the chandelier as Everestik, my blue Lupe, lunged at her.
I knew something had do be done. My pets had been going on like this for a
week now. But what could I do? I couldn't disown any of my beloved pets--no,
the foursome could be quite a hassle, but I loved them far too much.
"SHE STARTED IT!" cried Ellimistio, pointing at Dervetta.
"I did not, you fleabag!"
The chandelier (as well as Ivy) then crashed to the ground on top of Everestik,
who, after pulling himself out from under the shattered remnants of the chandelier,
attacked Ivy with teeth and claws bared.
"CUT IT OUT!" I shouted. Ellimistio and Dervetta stopped bickering, and Everestik
let Ivy up to look my way. "This can't go on, you guys."
"Sorry," Everestik mumbled.
"It's OK for now because you didn't break anything too important. The repairs
won't cost more than 5,000 NP. But please, if there's anything I can do to get
you to stop fighting, just tell me. I don't want any of you getting hurt."
"I'm sick of being cooped up in here!" Ivy said. "We Blumaroo need lots of
room to bounce around!"
"I'm tired of eating take-out!" exclaimed Dervetta.
"I wanna be changed back into a Jubjub!" Shouted Ellimistio.
"All I want is peace and quiet... Just for five minutes... But NO, they always
have to come up with SOME excuse to make more noise than normal," Everestik
snarled, glaring around at his younger siblings.
Then it hit me. I had the perfect solution to all of our problems! "Guys, we're
going on vacation!"
"Vacation? We haven't--this isn't just to pick up more items for the shop,
is it?" Everestik looked stunned.
"No, it's not. I'm going to close up the shop and we're going to take a month-long
trip around Neopia. That'll give us plenty of time to see the sights."
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Ivy said enthusiastically, bouncing up and down rapidly.
"All right, guys, can you stay good until I get back? I'm just going to go
get tickets for the Aquamarine cruise that sets sail for Terror Mountain tomorrow."
My pets all nodded vigorously, and I headed back out the door for the harbour.
***
"Are we there yet?" Ivy asked, getting impatient.
"Just a little longer," I said. I pointed at the cluster of buildings up ahead.
"We only have to walk a little past them and then we get on the cruise boat."
"Oh goody!" Ellimistio said, and joined Dervetta in chanting, "We're going
on vacation! We're going on vacation!"
"Terror Mountain... I haven't been there for a long time," Everestik commented.
"Not since the time we stole a Negg from the Snowager."
I nodded, remembering. "We need to take breaks like that more often. Running
a shop is hard work, even if it does pay well."
"Yeah."
By this time, we'd reached the harbour. The NCS (Neopian Cruise Ship) Aquamarine
towered over us with a whopping ten decks.
"Wow," Dervetta said in awe, standing stock-still as she stared up at the ship.
"It's just breathtaking!"
"It's even more breathtaking inside," I said. "Come on!" My pets and I came
aboard, eager to explore the ship, and even more eager to explore the distant
lands it would take us to. Perhaps we wouldn't have been so enthusiastic, though,
if we knew what perils lay ahead...
To be continued... | 
