Beyond the End of the World
Original content © Rainbow Daydreamer, © Adam and Donna, I don't own it
"Ruby? Where are we?"
I look up at my cousin in confusion. I can't remember where we are, or how we got here, or how I came to be holding her paw. One glance shows me that she's just as puzzled as I am. Her pretty face is streaked with tears, but she wipes them with a paw as though she can't remember why they are there.
Together, we look around. Though I seem to recall that it's not yet summer, the landscape is covered in frost, the colours faded by a gentle mist that cloaks everything. I don't feel cold, though. Winter sunlight is shining through the mists, casting our shadows on the jewelled grass. There doesn't seem to be a building for miles around, though I can see the silhouettes of a few Neopets in the distance.
"Do you remember… something bad happening?" Ruby whispers. I nod slowly. It feels as if I do, but I can't think what.
Suddenly, there's the sound of footsteps behind us. I turn to see a beautiful pink Bori running towards us, out of the mist. "Vair!" she calls. "Hey, Vair! Come and look!"
"What is it, Fleur?" A Scorchio swoops out of nowhere, gliding effortlessly through the air on delicate pink and purple wings.
"New arrivals." The Bori called Fleur ruffles Ruby's fringe with her claw. "Go tell Cii. She's always looking for new Darigan pets to meet."
"Arrivals?" Ruby looks more confused than ever. "Miss… Fleur, where are we? Can you tell us how to get home?"
"Well…" She thinks for a minute. "Oh, Vair, help me. I'm not quite sure how to put this."
Vair lands gracefully in front of us. "My dear new arrivals," he says gently. "What Fleur wants to say is that you are not, as most people would understand it, in Neopia any more. Nor, in all probability, will you return. Come with me."
As Ruby and I follow him, he comes to the edge of a deep pool of water. There are more pets standing around it, some of them watching the sky for no apparent reason, others simply sitting by the waterside. I trail one hand across the surface, but I can't see the bottom.
"Look," Vair says, pointing deep into the water. "Do you see that circle of light, a long way down?"
I nod. It is there, now I look.
"That is the world you used to call home," he tells us softly. "It's too far down to return on your own."
"Then where are we?" I ask. The ring of light seems to be tugging at my heart as I watch it shimmer beneath the surface.
"This place has many names," Fleur answers thoughtfully. "But to most of us here, it's known as the Land of Eternal Dreams."
"Land of Eternal Dreams…" Ruby echoes the words. Another tear falls from her dark eyes, splashing into the pool and rippling the light into fragments. "Vair, where is my owner? Is she here?"
"I'm afraid not, my dear." Vair strokes my cousin's head with one gentle claw. "Humans don't come to the Dreamland. No-one understands why. Most of the time, they stay down there, where you first met them."
"Are all these pets ownerless, then?" I ask, thinking of the guild my owner was in. She would never have tolerated so many homeless Neopets.
"No!" A young Ixi bursts out with the answer, glancing up from her contemplation of the water. "We're not ownerless at all. I have an owner, somewhere down there. Who do you think turned me into a Jelly Ixi?"
One by one, the other pets join in.
"Mine was called Kari…"
"I learnt to cook when I was with her…"
"Mine saved for two months to get me this Faellie…"
"She thinks about me a lot, I can tell…"
"I know mine was a scammer, but he's reformed now. He remembers me whenever he wants to do something wrong."
"We lived in a little Neohome on Terror Mountain…"
"We're not ownerless," Fleur says, smiling softly. "We're just separated, the same as you."
I can't stop myself from beginning to cry. Vair is kindness itself and these pets seem so loving, but memories of my owner fill my mind, memories of my siblings back home. I will never see them again. Ruby throws her arms around me, comforting me wordlessly. As I tremble with sadness, she wraps me in the warmth of the jacket she always wears, lifting it off her own shoulders. The familiar touch of the fabric is a comfort, but my tears don't stop flowing.
"Look. What are those?" she asks to distract me, pointing one paw to the sky.
There are stars falling. Red stars, yellow stars, blue and green, with a few purple and brown ones scattered among them, forming a constant sparkling stream in the air. One by one, they hit the water and fall out of sight.
"They're the spirits of little Neopets," explains a red Gelert, resting his head on his paws as he watches. His little Lupe brother nods in agreement as he listens. "Pets that haven't been born yet. Every single one passes through this place on their way to Neopia. Once they reach that world, they'll hatch from eggs, and they'll have a name and a species, and an owner."
A little green Poogle watches the stars intently. As an orange-red one, the colour of fire, falls towards the water, she catches it in her cupped paws.
"I'll call you Dawn," she whispers, caressing the little light. "Go to my Karen. Comfort her." Then she reaches out over the water, dropping the star. It vanishes from sight just like the rest.
A golden Eyrie is sweeping his wingtip through the water, making swirls and patterns with his feathers. Suddenly, a bright yellow star falls towards him, burying itself in his fur. He gasps as the light pierces his heart, and a moment later, he falls into the water, his golden fur fading to a simple yellow colour. No-one lifts a paw to help him as he falls towards the light, disappearing in the misty water; rather, most of the pets are smiling, as if they've just witnessed something wonderful. I sense that the Eyrie, whatever has happened to him, will be all right.
"Good luck, Griff," smiles Vair. "We'll miss you."
"Where did he go?" I ask, puzzled.
"He's become an Eyrie kit again," Fleur tells me. "He's going to start his life over again, down in Neopia. It doesn't happen often, but just sometimes…"
I begin to wonder just how many pets there are in this place. Leaving the water's edge, I wander further out through the fields of frost-tinted grass.
A little Acara is sitting in a patch of flowers, making daisy-chains by herself while a Plush Meekins bobs happily beside her. She looks up as I approach, and I have the odd feeling I know her face from somewhere. Was she in my guild, back home?
"Hey, there. Would you like a daisy chain?" she asks. I hold out one hand, and she gives me a long string of delicate, multi-coloured flowers. Smiling at my pleasure, she returns to her work, seemingly without a care in the world.
A realisation hits me like a bolt from a Lightning Beam: this Acara is happy here. The other pets, they're happy. They don't feel loss or loneliness without their owners, just a sense of warm remembrance. No guilds, no shops and houses, no exciting adventures, but no need for them either: these pets live a life of simple peace, even if their memories are sad ones.
As I contemplate this strangeness, a glow appears in the air close to me. It grows, becoming the figure of a golden Korbat. The young Neopet takes one look at my Acara companion before letting out a wordless squeal of joy.
"What…?" The Acara stares for a moment. Then something in the Korbat's expression seems to strike home. Gasping, she throws herself at the newcomer, knocking him to the ground in a loving embrace. "Little brother… you came here? Then… did something happen to our owner? Oh, come here. I've missed you lots…"
I leave the Acara among her flowers, and return to Ruby's side. She may be as lost and lonely as I feel, but she's my last link to a world I still can't imagine losing.
"Someone said there was a Darigan Zaffy over here?" A tall, elegant Aisha stalks over to the pool. "Oh, there you are. What's your name?"
"Ruby." My cousin gives her a weak smile, still tearful.
"Missing your owner, hon?" The Aisha puts a paw around Ruby's shoulders. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you, you'll be happy here, trust me. Every pet's like you when they first arrive, but they turn out all right, you'll see. You come with Cii now, and I'll sort out that fashion disaster of a fringe."
Ruby lingers for a moment, watching the permanent glow at the bottom of the water. "I wish I could know she'd be all right," she sighs. "My owner. She took such good care of me. I wish I could tell her I'm going to miss her…"
Although my intention is to come to her side and comfort her, somehow, I end up walking past her instead. Suddenly, my own feet aren't under my control any longer. I half-walk, half-drift out into the shallows of the water, as though I'm being carried by someone I can't see.
"Ruby?" I squeal in alarm. "Help me!"
Fleur catches sight of me, and throws up her foreclaws in what looks like delight. "Hey, everyone! Come quick! This little one's being Taken Home!"
Taken Home? As I wonder what that might mean, Vair smiles brightly at me. "You weren't here long, young one. You're going back to your owner in Neopia!"
"Back home?" I stutter. "Is… is Ruby coming too?" But as I look, I can already see that my body is surrounded by sparkles of silver light, while Ruby's is completely normal, and I know what the answer must be.
"Sometimes, not all the pets from one family get Taken Home," Fleur explains softly. "We don't know why it happens. Don't worry, sweetie. We'll take good care of your friend."
"Will I ever see her again?" I ask quietly.
"Who knows?" Cii gives a half-smile. "Don't fret. Sometime you'll probably feel a little bit extra love in your heart, down there, and you'll know she's thinking about you. Now go. You won't have another chance to go home."
I take one long look at the frosted grass, the misty light, the pale sky overhead. Ruby wades out into the water and lifts me up, kissing my forehead. "Take care, sweetheart. Tell our owner I love her lots. Don't… don't ever forget me…" Then Cii takes hold of her paw, and together they lower me into the water again.
And I fall, away from the Land of Eternal Dreams and into darkness.
The water is all around me, but I can breathe. A glimmer of wintry light shines down from the Dreamland, and I keep my eyes on it until it's out of sight. Then, below me, I see a golden glow. Closing my eyes, I let it pull me closer, and sink into oblivion.
"Are you all right?"
I open my eyes.
My big brother is looking down at me. I don't know if I've ever been so glad to see him. Looking around, I see my own room, my Neohome. Standing in the doorway, my owner is looking at me with a tearful smile.
"What's going on?" I ask hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, my darling…" She runs forward and hugs me tight. "I thought I'd lost you…"
"I thought I'd never see you again," I whisper, clutching her to me.
"You're safe… oh, my darling… but Ruby… on my other account… she…"
And then she notices the jacket I'm still wearing, Ruby's jacket. She doesn't say anything, but I feel her arms tighten around me. Something clatters against her own shirt buttons, and I look down to see a rainbow-coloured necklace, frosted glass flowers on a slim chain. A tear falls down to catch itself on the glass petals.
My brother joins the two of us, saying nothing. My small sister comes to the doorway to see what's going on. I realise slowly that it's over, that I'm really home, in my owner's arms where I belong.
Someday soon I'll tell her where the necklace and the jacket came from. I'll find the owners of the pets I saw, if I can, and tell them the story of where I've been. For now, it's enough to hold her tight, and remember how lucky I am to have her back.
A shooting star flashes across the night sky outside the window, and I feel the warmth of Ruby's love as if she were by my side. After all, the other side of a dream isn't so far away.
Written for my guild, TNO, originally, though I don't know if they understood why. And to comfort me.
Reviews welcome. Again, I'd be grateful to know if people understand what I'm driving at.