[A/N] Alright, so I know I've got other stories to update and I really shouldn't be starting a new one (but I swear I'm still working on them. They aren't lying forgotten in my attic!), but when this idea hit me, I just couldn't resist. I really will update them in a jiffy though! And odd point, I wonder why I always write Neopets stories in first person... oh well, just another unsolved mystery of the universe!
...:..Disclaimer: I do NOT own Neopets. Err, I mean I own some Neopets, but I don't own the site... That is, I have an account there... Oh, bugger. I'm confuzzled. Well, how's this: I don't own this stuff. Adam does. And Donna. And The Neopets Staff. But hey, NOT ME. Got it? Good. Now, on with the sho—story!
"Hello, and welcome to Neopia! We have worked hard to make this a happy and exciting community, with as much fun as you can imagine! In Neopia, you can create your very own pet, feed and train it, teach it, and much, much MORE!" The tall (and extremely fanciable) blonde spoke excitedly, but his face revealed his boredom at repeating the same things over and over again. It was too bad he'd landed a job like that, really. He would have been sweet if years of redundancy hadn't washed away his personality. Poor guy, and he's not half bad, I thought sympathetically, passing through the swinging doors at the entrance of the Neopia Registration Hall. Inside, the floor consisted of white and black patterned tiles, sickeningly reminiscent of those on a hospital. The walls were coated in at least one year's grime, and the ceiling was ornamented with hanging lamps, casting an eerie glow in the main room. Signs hung above various corridors that all tunneled away from the main room. As I glanced around, searching for the right one, a voice addressed me.
"Girly, let me guess: you're here to sign up with Neopets, and you have no idea where to go." The redheaded receptionist smiled cynically, twirling a tuft of her frizzy hair. I sighed and nodded, deciding not to mention that the name "girly" was hardly suiting for me; I was seventeen. After all, she was here to help me. If I got an attitude with her, I could very well be turned out without a thought. "Well, before you go anywhere, you need to come over here and fill out some paperwork. See, there's rules we hafta make sure you follow." She smacked a wad of bubble gum while lazily putting together a stack of papers for me to deal with. "And here's a pen, and you can just scoot over there to fill it all out." She gestured with the pen in her hand to a large circular table over at the far end of the room. With a nod of thanks, I took the items and headed to the table, wanting to get this done with and be in Neopia as soon as possible.
"Name... date of birth... sex... simple enough," I muttered to myself, scanning the forms. One question caught my eye. "Preferred appearance? What on Earth is that supposed to mean?"
"Not on Earth, on Neopia," was the receptionist's idle remark. "And it means what do you want to look like while you take the part of a Neopian." At my blank stare, she sighed and continued, "You see, while in Neopia, you can't very well go around just looking as you are when your pets are cartoons. This method lets you pick what your Neopian cartoon appearance will be."
"You mean, I'm going to be... a cartoon?"
"What are you, deaf? Yeah, that's what I mean. Just fill it out, and any details you neglect to mention, they'll ad-lib with. Or just write 'as is' if you'd like to simply look like a cartoonized version of your current self. That's what most people go with." I scribbled down "as is" in the space provided, perfectly willing to keep my appearance. While I wasn't exactly a supermodel, with my average waist size, blunt features and slick black hair, I didn't consider myself at all ugly. In fact, I had been told often enough that I was pretty in a plain sort of way. My eyes, in particular, were deemed lovely, and they were compared to the color of rich milk chocolate. My dark skin was inherited from my Blackfoot heritage, a Native American tribe. I thought for a moment, then added to my answer, "but with cat ears." Hey, I could have a little fun, right? There was no way I'd be the only part-anthro there anyway.
"So, what was Neopia's lure to you, kiddo?" For a second, I thought I had imagined the question until I looked up and saw the receptionist looking inquiringly at me. "Was it the pets? Of course, that's the whole point, but... well, I've encountered some different reasons to come here." When I hesitated, she added, "It's okay if you don't wanna tell me, I understand it could be personal."
"It's okay," I replied, "I'll tell you. I came because it seemed like an adventure. Getting a pet unlike any on Earth, and spending as much time as I wanted in a completely different world, just to see that no time has passed on Earth, and I can go between the worlds freely. My friends have changed since they decided to sign up, so I thought I'd give it a try myself."
"Pretty positive outlook on things. I prefer a pessimistic way of life."
"Life is a adventure, and every new thing that happens is just a new chapter in the great book. "I took a deep breath, remembering when I had first heard those words. Though I had scoffed at them before, they now represented my beliefs and my life. "Don't think of things as bad, think of them as new challenges. A fresh chance to prove yourself."
The receptionist laughed. "Quite the idealist, aren't you? If I was still young, like you, your words might mean something. I'm just too old for taking up new challenges, as it were. Why do you think I've got a job like this? Here, are you done with that?" She beckoned me over to the counter where I handed her the now completed forms. Fast as lightning, she transferred all the information I had given her to a database on the computer. "Alright, now go down that hall and they'll finish registering you." She pointed to corridor marked by a sign that read "Preparation Centre".
"You know, I've been wondering, why is it so empty here? I thought a ton of people signed up every day." I cocked my head, waiting for her answer.
"It's complicated. Each person sees the building separately from the moment they walk in. It's almost like a different building for everyone, but... I guess that's the best I can tell you. I don't fully understand it myself." She frowned, thinking about it. "Oh well, there's not much point in worrying about it. Go on, finish up." She gave me a gentle shove in the direction of the corridor she had previously pointed out. Pulling together my shot nerves, I strode down the hall. The walls in here were just as dirty as those in the main room, but underneath, they were tiled, just like the floor. I shrugged and continued walking down the twisting tunnel. After about thirty seconds, I reached the end of the hall, with a single door displaying the neon red word, "ENTER". I followed the directions and went in.
The room was much more inviting than what I had seen of the building so far. Though it wasn't exactly large, it's walls were clean, but not extensively so. The floor bore a calm, creamy vanilla-colored carpet, while the light in the room came, not from hanging lamps, but a light fixture on the ceiling not unlike those in an apartment or house. A young woman with shoulder length platinum hair and soft green eyes glanced up upon my entry and smiled. "Hello there, I suppose you're here to finish registration?" When I nodded, she laughed and said, 'Silly of me to ask, I suppose. Why on Neopia would you be here otherwise?" I grinned nervously and took a seat as she gestured for me to sit down. The woman turned to her computer and began clicking madly before turning to me again. "It seems you have all your paperwork in order, so now we'll just deal with the rest." She pressed a button on her keyboard that I couldn't see, and immediately, to my total surprise, the wall slid open to reveal what appeared to be a huge chamber, covered with flashing lights and snaking cords and wires. "If you'll just step in there, you'll get a preview of what your Neopian form is like." Terrified, I stepped back. "Don't worry, it's not painful or scary." I looked from the sweet woman to the chamber before gulping and stepping into the huge device. My view blocked by the thick metal skeleton of the machine, I could only guess at what was going on outside.
"Ahh!" Suddenly the chamber snapped into life, and a thick mist flowed around me. It seemed to seep into my very pores even while I inhaled it, finding it surprisingly breathable. Soon the swirling fog had completely enveloped me, then, just as suddenly, it quickly faded away. The doors of the dark chamber snapped open, and I found myself facing the blonde woman again.
"Ah, I see it went perfectly. Come here, you can see yourself." She brought me to a full-length mirror on the opposite wall. I looked at the mirror, feeling the same as before but apparently looking much different. Staring back was my face, framed by my hair, on my neck and figure, even wearing the same camouflage tank top and dark denim jeans I had been wearing. But two things were different. For one, a pair of pointy dark gray ears with pink insides poked out of the top of my head, replacing the curvy skin- colored ones that had previously decorated the side of my head. And for another, detail was gone. My features were all simplified, now resembling an animé-style cartoon. In fact, I was a cartoon.
"What do you think?" the woman asked, interrupting my self- evaluation.
"...I- I like it," I stammered, slightly frightened at seeing myself, a cartoon, standing next to a real—no, I was just as real as her—a regular person in the mirror. "So am I going to look like this for as long as I'm in Neopia?"
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while. Besides, you wouldn't want to stand out too much—everyone else will be one." I grinned and studied myself again.
"So, what's going to happen now?" While it was exciting enough to look at myself as a 'toon, I was still anxious to become an official Neopian.
"Well, now we set up your account." She took a quick glance back at her computer monitor. "So then, your name is Lara, huh? And you want your account name to be Craftycunningkiller. Is that right?" I nodded quickly. "Well, it's not taken, so it's all yours. And let's see, we'll need to start you off with a pet as well. Do you have your choice, or would you like to see a list?"
"I'd like to see a list please," I said, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. Pressing yet another button on her keyboard, the blonde popped a projector out of the wall. She snapped it on, and a slide show displaying the pets in alphabetical order began running. "Oh, that one's very cute, can I get one of those?" I pointed at the screen, which displayed a draconic Neopet labeled "Draik".
"I'm sorry, but those ones are restricted."
"What's that mean?"
"It means that you have to do something in order to get one; you can't just adopt it normally. I'm sorry," she added when she saw my look of disappointment, "that's just the way it is."
"It's okay," I replied, glancing back up as she resumed flipping through the pets. "Y'know, maybe I oughtn't create a pet."
"But everyone has a pet, at least one."
"I didn't say I shouldn't get a pet, I just said I shouldn't create one. Didn't the brochure say there was a pound?"
"Oh yes." The blonde looked somewhat distressed. "Are you sure you want to get one from there? There are plenty of beautiful pets you can choose from anyway."
I stared at her, shocked that she couldn't understand. "The pound pets are desperate and lonely! They were mistreated and cast away! I'd be better off adopting one of them than creating four pets on my own." I shook my head. "Just why are you so adamant against me going there, anyway?"
"It's a cruel place." Her voice was full of experience and pain as she spoke. "The cries and pleads of thousands of pets ring in your ears, all of them insisting that you must take them home. All around, naïve new owners find themselves helplessly surrounded by monsters, yes monsters. Pets that have been in the pound so long the very souls have been withered away into nothing. The most horrible people arriving every second to drop off a pet they grew tired of, someone who just wasn't good enough anymore. Wails and screams are what define the place, not happy little pets getting new owners every second. The pound is the worst place in Neopia. It's worse than a thousand Haunted Woods. It's a prison, a torture chamber, a nuthouse, and all the worst places rolled into one. Trust me, you don't want to go there." The woman's eyes shone with tears, hard memories clearly hurting her for what couldn't have been the first time. I was curious about what could have been so terrible and traumatizing for her to break down when speaking of the place, but at the same time, I was afraid. Besides, what business of mine was her past? I had no right to barge into her memories, prying out every painful detail.
"Uhh, I guess I'll try and stay away from there then," I said, hoping to break off from the subject. "All the same though, I'd like to wait awhile before I make my choice. Is there a problem with that?"
"Oh, of course not! Here, take this brochure, it explains all the pets in great detail so you know everything about every one of them." The blonde seemed to have recovered completely as she handed me a thick little booklet with the words "Picking your pet: Finding the perfect pal" printed on the front. A genuine-seeming smile was plastered on her face, and her jade eyes seemed to have fully regained their initial sparkle. "Well, I guess now, we start you off! You'll be placed in a one-room Neohome to start; later on you can build it up if you'd like. It'll have basic needs: plumbing, electricity, and water all paid for, and they will continue to be, but any embellishments whatsoever from the basic living unit provided will come out of your own pocket. And here's 200 Neopoints to start you off." A small but slightly heavy burlap-y bag was dropped into my hands. Upon opening it, I found several coins, some different colors and all marked as having different values. "Don't lose those," came the warning, to which I nodded.
"Now, if you'll just step through the door you came in, everything will be put in order. You'll find a newbie's guide, explaining everything to starting Neopians such as yourself, and with luck, you'll fit right in." I offered my thanks, and was about to open the door when she handed me a slip of paper, saying, "And if you have any questions, feel free to call Sarah the Zafara, smartest pet there is on this side of Neopia. Her number's on that paper, she should be able to help you out."
"Well, thanks a ton, I guess I'd better go then." I waved goodbye, then passed through the door, only to find myself in a small, one-roomed building. The start of a new life in Neopia, I thought, grinning broadly.
[A/N] Whoa! That's uber-long in comparison to some other stuff I've written...I just hope the streak lasts! Anyway, tell me what you think of this! I'd say more about what is to come, but somehow, I've temporarily forgotten the entire plotline! It must be those ebil plotbunnies, always scheming against me... So ebil!!!!! They are the source of all my problems, and if I stop them I will be grand high ruler of the earth and—err, did I just say all that? Uhh, please disregard the last thing I said completely! O.o
...:..Disclaimer: I do NOT own Neopets. Err, I mean I own some Neopets, but I don't own the site... That is, I have an account there... Oh, bugger. I'm confuzzled. Well, how's this: I don't own this stuff. Adam does. And Donna. And The Neopets Staff. But hey, NOT ME. Got it? Good. Now, on with the sho—story!
"Hello, and welcome to Neopia! We have worked hard to make this a happy and exciting community, with as much fun as you can imagine! In Neopia, you can create your very own pet, feed and train it, teach it, and much, much MORE!" The tall (and extremely fanciable) blonde spoke excitedly, but his face revealed his boredom at repeating the same things over and over again. It was too bad he'd landed a job like that, really. He would have been sweet if years of redundancy hadn't washed away his personality. Poor guy, and he's not half bad, I thought sympathetically, passing through the swinging doors at the entrance of the Neopia Registration Hall. Inside, the floor consisted of white and black patterned tiles, sickeningly reminiscent of those on a hospital. The walls were coated in at least one year's grime, and the ceiling was ornamented with hanging lamps, casting an eerie glow in the main room. Signs hung above various corridors that all tunneled away from the main room. As I glanced around, searching for the right one, a voice addressed me.
"Girly, let me guess: you're here to sign up with Neopets, and you have no idea where to go." The redheaded receptionist smiled cynically, twirling a tuft of her frizzy hair. I sighed and nodded, deciding not to mention that the name "girly" was hardly suiting for me; I was seventeen. After all, she was here to help me. If I got an attitude with her, I could very well be turned out without a thought. "Well, before you go anywhere, you need to come over here and fill out some paperwork. See, there's rules we hafta make sure you follow." She smacked a wad of bubble gum while lazily putting together a stack of papers for me to deal with. "And here's a pen, and you can just scoot over there to fill it all out." She gestured with the pen in her hand to a large circular table over at the far end of the room. With a nod of thanks, I took the items and headed to the table, wanting to get this done with and be in Neopia as soon as possible.
"Name... date of birth... sex... simple enough," I muttered to myself, scanning the forms. One question caught my eye. "Preferred appearance? What on Earth is that supposed to mean?"
"Not on Earth, on Neopia," was the receptionist's idle remark. "And it means what do you want to look like while you take the part of a Neopian." At my blank stare, she sighed and continued, "You see, while in Neopia, you can't very well go around just looking as you are when your pets are cartoons. This method lets you pick what your Neopian cartoon appearance will be."
"You mean, I'm going to be... a cartoon?"
"What are you, deaf? Yeah, that's what I mean. Just fill it out, and any details you neglect to mention, they'll ad-lib with. Or just write 'as is' if you'd like to simply look like a cartoonized version of your current self. That's what most people go with." I scribbled down "as is" in the space provided, perfectly willing to keep my appearance. While I wasn't exactly a supermodel, with my average waist size, blunt features and slick black hair, I didn't consider myself at all ugly. In fact, I had been told often enough that I was pretty in a plain sort of way. My eyes, in particular, were deemed lovely, and they were compared to the color of rich milk chocolate. My dark skin was inherited from my Blackfoot heritage, a Native American tribe. I thought for a moment, then added to my answer, "but with cat ears." Hey, I could have a little fun, right? There was no way I'd be the only part-anthro there anyway.
"So, what was Neopia's lure to you, kiddo?" For a second, I thought I had imagined the question until I looked up and saw the receptionist looking inquiringly at me. "Was it the pets? Of course, that's the whole point, but... well, I've encountered some different reasons to come here." When I hesitated, she added, "It's okay if you don't wanna tell me, I understand it could be personal."
"It's okay," I replied, "I'll tell you. I came because it seemed like an adventure. Getting a pet unlike any on Earth, and spending as much time as I wanted in a completely different world, just to see that no time has passed on Earth, and I can go between the worlds freely. My friends have changed since they decided to sign up, so I thought I'd give it a try myself."
"Pretty positive outlook on things. I prefer a pessimistic way of life."
"Life is a adventure, and every new thing that happens is just a new chapter in the great book. "I took a deep breath, remembering when I had first heard those words. Though I had scoffed at them before, they now represented my beliefs and my life. "Don't think of things as bad, think of them as new challenges. A fresh chance to prove yourself."
The receptionist laughed. "Quite the idealist, aren't you? If I was still young, like you, your words might mean something. I'm just too old for taking up new challenges, as it were. Why do you think I've got a job like this? Here, are you done with that?" She beckoned me over to the counter where I handed her the now completed forms. Fast as lightning, she transferred all the information I had given her to a database on the computer. "Alright, now go down that hall and they'll finish registering you." She pointed to corridor marked by a sign that read "Preparation Centre".
"You know, I've been wondering, why is it so empty here? I thought a ton of people signed up every day." I cocked my head, waiting for her answer.
"It's complicated. Each person sees the building separately from the moment they walk in. It's almost like a different building for everyone, but... I guess that's the best I can tell you. I don't fully understand it myself." She frowned, thinking about it. "Oh well, there's not much point in worrying about it. Go on, finish up." She gave me a gentle shove in the direction of the corridor she had previously pointed out. Pulling together my shot nerves, I strode down the hall. The walls in here were just as dirty as those in the main room, but underneath, they were tiled, just like the floor. I shrugged and continued walking down the twisting tunnel. After about thirty seconds, I reached the end of the hall, with a single door displaying the neon red word, "ENTER". I followed the directions and went in.
The room was much more inviting than what I had seen of the building so far. Though it wasn't exactly large, it's walls were clean, but not extensively so. The floor bore a calm, creamy vanilla-colored carpet, while the light in the room came, not from hanging lamps, but a light fixture on the ceiling not unlike those in an apartment or house. A young woman with shoulder length platinum hair and soft green eyes glanced up upon my entry and smiled. "Hello there, I suppose you're here to finish registration?" When I nodded, she laughed and said, 'Silly of me to ask, I suppose. Why on Neopia would you be here otherwise?" I grinned nervously and took a seat as she gestured for me to sit down. The woman turned to her computer and began clicking madly before turning to me again. "It seems you have all your paperwork in order, so now we'll just deal with the rest." She pressed a button on her keyboard that I couldn't see, and immediately, to my total surprise, the wall slid open to reveal what appeared to be a huge chamber, covered with flashing lights and snaking cords and wires. "If you'll just step in there, you'll get a preview of what your Neopian form is like." Terrified, I stepped back. "Don't worry, it's not painful or scary." I looked from the sweet woman to the chamber before gulping and stepping into the huge device. My view blocked by the thick metal skeleton of the machine, I could only guess at what was going on outside.
"Ahh!" Suddenly the chamber snapped into life, and a thick mist flowed around me. It seemed to seep into my very pores even while I inhaled it, finding it surprisingly breathable. Soon the swirling fog had completely enveloped me, then, just as suddenly, it quickly faded away. The doors of the dark chamber snapped open, and I found myself facing the blonde woman again.
"Ah, I see it went perfectly. Come here, you can see yourself." She brought me to a full-length mirror on the opposite wall. I looked at the mirror, feeling the same as before but apparently looking much different. Staring back was my face, framed by my hair, on my neck and figure, even wearing the same camouflage tank top and dark denim jeans I had been wearing. But two things were different. For one, a pair of pointy dark gray ears with pink insides poked out of the top of my head, replacing the curvy skin- colored ones that had previously decorated the side of my head. And for another, detail was gone. My features were all simplified, now resembling an animé-style cartoon. In fact, I was a cartoon.
"What do you think?" the woman asked, interrupting my self- evaluation.
"...I- I like it," I stammered, slightly frightened at seeing myself, a cartoon, standing next to a real—no, I was just as real as her—a regular person in the mirror. "So am I going to look like this for as long as I'm in Neopia?"
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while. Besides, you wouldn't want to stand out too much—everyone else will be one." I grinned and studied myself again.
"So, what's going to happen now?" While it was exciting enough to look at myself as a 'toon, I was still anxious to become an official Neopian.
"Well, now we set up your account." She took a quick glance back at her computer monitor. "So then, your name is Lara, huh? And you want your account name to be Craftycunningkiller. Is that right?" I nodded quickly. "Well, it's not taken, so it's all yours. And let's see, we'll need to start you off with a pet as well. Do you have your choice, or would you like to see a list?"
"I'd like to see a list please," I said, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. Pressing yet another button on her keyboard, the blonde popped a projector out of the wall. She snapped it on, and a slide show displaying the pets in alphabetical order began running. "Oh, that one's very cute, can I get one of those?" I pointed at the screen, which displayed a draconic Neopet labeled "Draik".
"I'm sorry, but those ones are restricted."
"What's that mean?"
"It means that you have to do something in order to get one; you can't just adopt it normally. I'm sorry," she added when she saw my look of disappointment, "that's just the way it is."
"It's okay," I replied, glancing back up as she resumed flipping through the pets. "Y'know, maybe I oughtn't create a pet."
"But everyone has a pet, at least one."
"I didn't say I shouldn't get a pet, I just said I shouldn't create one. Didn't the brochure say there was a pound?"
"Oh yes." The blonde looked somewhat distressed. "Are you sure you want to get one from there? There are plenty of beautiful pets you can choose from anyway."
I stared at her, shocked that she couldn't understand. "The pound pets are desperate and lonely! They were mistreated and cast away! I'd be better off adopting one of them than creating four pets on my own." I shook my head. "Just why are you so adamant against me going there, anyway?"
"It's a cruel place." Her voice was full of experience and pain as she spoke. "The cries and pleads of thousands of pets ring in your ears, all of them insisting that you must take them home. All around, naïve new owners find themselves helplessly surrounded by monsters, yes monsters. Pets that have been in the pound so long the very souls have been withered away into nothing. The most horrible people arriving every second to drop off a pet they grew tired of, someone who just wasn't good enough anymore. Wails and screams are what define the place, not happy little pets getting new owners every second. The pound is the worst place in Neopia. It's worse than a thousand Haunted Woods. It's a prison, a torture chamber, a nuthouse, and all the worst places rolled into one. Trust me, you don't want to go there." The woman's eyes shone with tears, hard memories clearly hurting her for what couldn't have been the first time. I was curious about what could have been so terrible and traumatizing for her to break down when speaking of the place, but at the same time, I was afraid. Besides, what business of mine was her past? I had no right to barge into her memories, prying out every painful detail.
"Uhh, I guess I'll try and stay away from there then," I said, hoping to break off from the subject. "All the same though, I'd like to wait awhile before I make my choice. Is there a problem with that?"
"Oh, of course not! Here, take this brochure, it explains all the pets in great detail so you know everything about every one of them." The blonde seemed to have recovered completely as she handed me a thick little booklet with the words "Picking your pet: Finding the perfect pal" printed on the front. A genuine-seeming smile was plastered on her face, and her jade eyes seemed to have fully regained their initial sparkle. "Well, I guess now, we start you off! You'll be placed in a one-room Neohome to start; later on you can build it up if you'd like. It'll have basic needs: plumbing, electricity, and water all paid for, and they will continue to be, but any embellishments whatsoever from the basic living unit provided will come out of your own pocket. And here's 200 Neopoints to start you off." A small but slightly heavy burlap-y bag was dropped into my hands. Upon opening it, I found several coins, some different colors and all marked as having different values. "Don't lose those," came the warning, to which I nodded.
"Now, if you'll just step through the door you came in, everything will be put in order. You'll find a newbie's guide, explaining everything to starting Neopians such as yourself, and with luck, you'll fit right in." I offered my thanks, and was about to open the door when she handed me a slip of paper, saying, "And if you have any questions, feel free to call Sarah the Zafara, smartest pet there is on this side of Neopia. Her number's on that paper, she should be able to help you out."
"Well, thanks a ton, I guess I'd better go then." I waved goodbye, then passed through the door, only to find myself in a small, one-roomed building. The start of a new life in Neopia, I thought, grinning broadly.
[A/N] Whoa! That's uber-long in comparison to some other stuff I've written...I just hope the streak lasts! Anyway, tell me what you think of this! I'd say more about what is to come, but somehow, I've temporarily forgotten the entire plotline! It must be those ebil plotbunnies, always scheming against me... So ebil!!!!! They are the source of all my problems, and if I stop them I will be grand high ruler of the earth and—err, did I just say all that? Uhh, please disregard the last thing I said completely! O.o