CROSSING OVER

CHAPTER 3: TO KNOW

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The temporary blindness caused by the light did not wear off right away, so Maggie kept her eyes closed, concentrating instead on the feelings she was experiencing. A warm breeze, wafted with unfamiliar grassy smells graced the air, and she could hear voices in the distance.

Upon finally opening her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the colour of the sun. A deep red, set high up in the sky. The same colour as that of the one that appeared only at sunset in her world. The sky above was a perfect baby blue, so stereotypical in its perfection that there was not a cloud in its midst. Looking down, she saw the grass, an equal fresh green.

"You're lucky; you've arrived in mid-spring! Neopian weather is best then!" Fashir's voice startled Maggie out of her reverie, and she turned to look at the Lupe.

"Where are we exactly?"

"On the outskirts of Neopia Central," he replied. "Walk a few miles to the west and you'll come up to the Haunted Woods!"

She looked towards where he inclined his head, and could see what looked like the tops of tall, black trees. They reached high up into the sky, and were bent in odd ways. Turning, she looked the opposite way. Across the field, to what looked to be about a ten-minute walk, were the first signs of society. Buildings and houses grouped together.

"Come on!" Fashir beckoned, already heading in the direction of the buildings.

After another short pause to look back at the treetops to the west, Maggie ran after him, catching up and keeping a steady pace.

"So now what?" She asked.

"Now, we go to the National Bank, and meet Madison there! He'll get you settled into your Neohome!" Fashir replied. "And in case your wondering, yes it's the same one you bought via the Internet!"

Maggie nodded, for that was indeed what she had been thinking of. The idea thrilled her. Her Neohome had been pretty big. Two floors, with five rooms on the first, and four on the second. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious living room, a large kitchen, a small 'study' room filled with books and the like, and a reading room at the other end of the second floor. Solid oak, and furnished with the best.

She had saved up for a pretty long time for it to get that good.

Soon, they were walking down the main street, and Maggie walked a good portion of that with her mouth hanging open. The citizens of Neopia bustled along with their Neopets. Techos, Shoyrus, Cybunnies, a Chombie, a fire Krawk, and other Lupes. The air moved with Korbats and Buzzez, all heading in different directions.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Fashir smiled thinly, seeing the amazed expression on her face.

Maggie nodded slowly, and paused to look at a large cluster of people that were scrambling around a huge tree in the center of an intersection.

"The Money Tree?" Maggie motioned to the scene.

Fashir nodded, rolling his eyes as the people crowded around it practically stepped over themselves, trying to grab the Neopoint coin bags and random items that fell from the branches.

Just beyond that, loomed a large grey building. The carved name above the door read: NATIONAL NEOPIAN BANK

Pulling the door open at Fashir's prodding, Maggie stepped inside, accompanied after a tight squeeze with Marius.

"I wish they would make that door bigger!" He growled, shaking his fur to relieve the tension of squeezing through the small door frame.

"Or make you smaller!" Maggie grinned as they walked towards one of the bank attendants sitting behind a large grey counter.

"Ha.ha.ha," Fashir muttered, butting her lightly with his head.

Smiling, Maggie walked slowly over to the attendant, a small red Chomby.

"May I help you?" he asked, turning his red head to them as they approached.

"Uh yeah, I'm looking for Mr. Madison Crowley; he said he wanted to meet here. I'm sort of…new!" Maggie smiled a crooked grin; still slightly amazed at all she was seeing. She was talking to a CHOMBY...

"Oh yes! You must be Ms. Dead_Doll00! Mr. Crowley is waiting for you in his office!" He motioned to a room in the back, and left them to their own devices.

As they walked towards the office the Chomby had motioned to, Maggie leaned in to talk to Fashir.

"Is that it then? Am I Dead_Doll00 or Kitty or whatever now?"

"Yes, though I'll call you Kitty, since you put that in your name preferences! So you call me Fashir instead of Fashir00! Remember, this is your new name, Magnolia Griffin doesn't exist here!"

Kitty, for that was who she was now, nodded.

When they reached the office, Kitty rapped on the door, and moments later Mr. Crowley opened it and ushered them both in.

"Good to see you made it alright Kitty! I have everything you need in these files!" He reached for the folder resting on his desk, and picking it up, handed it to Kitty.

"What's all this?" she asked, feeling the heaviness of the package.

"Legal little things. Papers on your house, insurance, ownership papers for Fashir, and a legal paper that will let you adopt or buy any additional pets or Petpets! As you know, our limits are four pets per owner, and one Petpet per pet!" Mr. Crowley droned, pulling random papers out of the folder in Kitty's hands as he talked. When he was done, he shoved the papers back in, and motioned for them to follow him.

"You already have an account with us! At the present, it contains the last balance you had in it, which was I believe around 70,000np?" He watched Kitty nod, then continued on. "Good, and you also contain your own private security deposit box, to which the key is in the folder I've given you! Along with the keys to your Neohome!"

They left the bank, took a while to get to the main transit system for Neopia. Hopping aboard, they soon arrived at the outskirts of the Lost Desert. From there, Maggie rode on Fashir's back while Madison walked alongside them. Soon, they arrived at Dune Street; a name that Kitty instantly recognized as the name of the street her house was situated on.

Sure as rain, within two minutes they had arrived at house number 2347, and Kitty was looking up at it with a sort of wondrous deja vu.

Fashir smiled, and headed up towards the front door.

"Welcome home Kitty!"

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Next, Kitty enjoys her new life, while her parents search for her in the real world.