Their footsteps echoed throughout the wood. Nothing could be seen living; everything was dead. No wind rustled through the trees, which held their leaves only by the tiniest of stems... and a whispering... small voices and sounds everywhere... then, everything was covered by a mist, swallowing the trees, the plant... hiding everything in a veil... all is quiet... except...

The whispering trembled and then disappeared. Nothing was left, except for mist... nothing...

But then...

A figure, dressed in black, approaching... drawing rattling breath... the sky turning black...

'No!'

Lukinonia woke up with a start. Her back was against a tree, fully living and magnificent. All around her, a beautiful scent wavered throughout the grove. Slumped on trees close to her were two other Aishas: Granion and Panika.

Panting, she slowly got up and looked around. Everything in sight was extremely healthy. There was nothing unusual about the grove. Well, almost anyhow. The trees which they were sleeping against belonged to the Forest of Mist, high up in the sky. Luki's mother was Karolina, a wondrous storyteller, who had sent her daughter and her two dearest friends on a journey to restore peace and harmony back to the fabled Cities of the Sky. The only way to accomplish this was to get the three pieces of the Gem of Fyora, which, centuries ago, had been broken and then taken away by the cities. Each city had one piece of the stone, and it was now up the Aisha companions to get them back. They already had the first piece, which Panika had miraculously rescued from the City of the Wind. Now, they were heading through the Forest to get to the City of the Clouds, which was on the other side.

Panika was stirring, while Granion was still sleeping like a rock. They had journeyed from the Gates of the City of the Wind to the edge of the forest, with Panika repeating her fearful experience inside the City along the way. They knew that the Shapeshifter of Darkness was following them, because Panika had encountered it inside the City. Though they didn't know where he would pop up, they had to keep their guard.

Now the Purple Aisha was beginning to sit up. Lukinonia ran up to her friend.

'Good morning!' said Luki cheerfully.

'Hello,' said Panika. 'What's for breakfast?'

'Oh, some of Anson's goods,' answered the Split Aisha casually. Anson was the name of the Faerie Aisha which had rescued Luki and Granion from dying because of starvation when they were waiting for Panika to come out of the City. Before leaving, he had given them a large supply of food and drink which was to last for a long time.

Panika took a piece of bread, broke it into thirds, and tossed some to her friends. Luki caught hers in her mouth and began eating it; Granion's piece bounced off his head and fell right next to the base of a nearby tree.

'Dunce,' laughed Panika. 'Better go wake him up...'

However, as she went to go shake the life out of Granion, the Purple Aisha was distracted by a small rustling in the bushes. Soon, all the leaves in the entire grove began rustling. The two conscious Aishas looked up as the colour from the faces faded away.

'Run!' shouted Luki. Panika didn't need telling twice; she quickly kicked her twin awake ('What time is it?' he asked stupidly) and they started down the Forest trail.

They didn't stop running until they were forced to: at the place where the mist began to hide all of the tries in a veil.

'That was close,' panted Panika. She threw Granion his piece of bread and then snacked on her own piece.

'What if that- that rustling thing follows us?' asked Luki, worried. She gazed disapprovingly at her two friends, who were eating as if they were going to make camp there.

'We can gave it a big punch in the face!' said Granion viciously. 'And then a big kick in the-'

'Granion, quiet!' said Panika.

'Well somebody got up on the wrong side of the tree base this morning!'

'QUIET FOOLS!'

A deep rumbling voice penetrated from the mist. It seemed to make the white veil itself quiver.

'What do you want?' it asked.

'We- we'd like to go through here,' said Luki meekly. Her two friends were stunned to silence.

'Oh, is that so?' said the voice. Even though they could not see the speaker, they were almost sure that he was sneering.

'Y-yes it is,' said the Split Aisha. 'M-may you let us th-through?'

The hidden maker of speech's voice bubbled into laughter; great booming sounds that came his throat. The Aishas could feel goose bumps rising up their necks.

'Of course you may!' laughed the voice. 'Just step into the mist! The other side won't take you too long to get to! Good luck!'

The mist, which had been vibrating like sound-waves, reverted back to their original state: completely still.

'I think the dude left,' said Granion.

'Well, I guess there's nothing else to do but go in,' said Luki. Slowly, she beckoned for her friends to follow, and, holding their breaths, they stepped in.

Sometimes you might say the phrase, 'It's a dream come true!'. Other times, it might be, 'It's a NIGHTMARE come true!'. Well, one of those two thoughts ran through Luki's head as they trudged along. Can you guess which one?

Their footsteps echoed throughout the wood. Nothing could be seen living; everything was dead. No wind rustled through the trees, which held their leaves only by the tiniest of stems... and a whispering... small voices and sounds everywhere. Everything was covered by a mist, swallowing the trees, the plants... hiding everything, even themselves…

'This place is creepy,' said Panika, scared. 'And isn't there an end to this stupid forest? We've been trudging for hours.'

Actually, they haven't. Even someone like Panika can lose their perfect sense of time in a place where mist covers all and thoughts run through your mind like Slorgs. They had only been traveling for about half an hour, but they still have a LOT of things to do until they get to the end. You didn't think that they were going to go through this place without anything BAD happening to them, did you?

Suddenly, the whisperings faded away, and a much louder noise came. It didn't come from everywhere; instead, it came from up ahead. They had grown louder, but you can't hear exactly what they were saying. Nobody, not even Aishas, can strain their ears that hard.

'Life?' said Granion. 'Food? Shelter? Hope?'

'Maybe,' said Panika, looking up from her feet, which she had been watching for all this long time. 'Maybe… there is! There just might be! Come on!'

Luki barely noticed her two best friends run past her. She did notice, and without as much as a thought, she chased after them.

They ran as fast as their Aisha legs would carry them. They still weren't covering much distance, with the frantic dashing. Actually, they weren't covering any ground at all. The mist wouldn't let them get through it that easily. The white vapor held them back as the loud-but-still-not-hearable whispering taunted them.

'What in the name of Neopia is wrong with this?' demanded Panika to the ground. 'We're not covering any distance at all!'

'Will you all just SHUT UP?' screamed Granion at the whispers. 'I haven't drunk anything in days; my legs are as tired as if I've just ventured through the Lost Desert and then climbed Terror Mountain; food is as scarce as the number of Krawks; and I just wanna lie down and get a good rest!'

'Granion,' said Luki timidly. 'We've only been walking through this weird misty thing for half an hour.'

'Oh whatever,' said Granion. 'Just let us THROUGH!'

The whispers then started to fade away. The forest was silent once more, as if a wave of silence had washed over all the whispers. And then, a wind began to pick up: first, a small unnoticeable breeze, and it gradually began to get wilder and wilder.

'What's going on?' said Panika. 'This wind's strong enough to pull the flesh off our bones!'

'Ewww,' said Granion. 'I don't want to be Mr. Skeleton!'

'We don't have to be,' said Luki, all of a sudden. 'Look,'

The Split Aisha raised her paw toward a small breach in the gust. A small clearing was up ahead, and they could see figures moving about. The wind had blown away all the mist, and they could see the trees, dead and lifeless, beginning to be blown off its roots.

'If this wind gets any stronger…' began Panika, but she was interrupted.

'I don't wanna think about it!' said Luki. Quickly, she grabbed the paws of her two friends and they started to advance towards the clearing.

'Well, at least it can't get any worse,'

But of course, things did get worse. The clearing began to shine with black light. It began to get stronger and stronger, as if it was a portal, closing up the entrance from their lips being blown off to life.

'We're not going to make it!' cried Panika. 'This is the end! THE END!'

'What are you; a soothsayer?' said Granion grumpily.

'Oh, just be quiet and focus on us dying,' replied Panika. She began to let go.

'No!' shouted Luki. 'Don't give up yet! We can make it! Just believe in ourselves!'

'You know that never works, right?'

'Well, we have to do something!'

And did something they did, for at that moment, Luki grasped her friend's paws as tightly as possible, and jumped; jumped from the blistering gale and through the battling gates as the portal behind them closed with a BOOM!

'Well, it sure is a wonder that you didn't get us KILLED!' said Panika, depriving her fur of any dead twigs.

'Oh, just be glad that we made it at all,' said Granion. 'Now, we have to decide what we're going to do.'

Then, all of a sudden, a voice rang out, making them all jump three feet into the air.

'You kids look like you're lost in the forest!' said a voice cheerfully.

'Well, uhhh…' said Granion dozily. 'We are kids and we are lost in this hideous forest. Do you know our flesh nearly got blown off back there?'

'And he yelled shut up for the entire forest to hear?' said Panika, pointing to her brother disapprovingly.

'And let me guess,' said the man. 'You saw some shapes so you ran after them, only to find yourself in some sort of strange mist that won't let you pass?'

'Yes,'

'And then, a blistering gale picked up and you nearly became Mr. Skeleton?'

'Yes,'

'And then, some strange voice began asking you strange questions that have no use to you whatsoever?'

'Yes,'

'And then you don't even bother wondering who was speaking until now?'

'Ye- hey, wait!'

Granion turned around, followed closely by his friend and sister. They were finally facing the speaker: a small portly Mynci dressed like one of those announcers you might find at the circus.

' Well, you've come to the right place!' said the announcer. 'I'm Gondola, and welcome to Escape from Misty Forest!'

Before anyone could say anything, Panika spoke up. 'A gondola? Isn't that one of those things that takes people up mountains?'

'What's a mountain?' asked the Mynci. 'Oh, whatever. Are you going to play or not?'

'What's the point?'

'The point is that this game invented by some psycho is the only way you can get out of the Forest of Mist!'

'What do we have to do?'

'Ah,' Gondola smiled. 'You'll see! Come with me to the platform!'

'The plat-'

But before Panika could finish her two-word question, the Mynci had already left, his tailcoat flying behind him.

'Gruesome and misty! Things of all evil! Welcome to Escape from Misty Forest!'

The announcement could be heard all throughout the glade. Platform Glade was apparently the starting point of EMF, the native name for the contest. Luki, Granion, and Panika were 'Team 1', and they were up against 'Team 2', the ever-returning champions. Bass, Treble, and Tenor weren't much a joke. The two girls and boy were wise beyond their appearance, and had always returned to the Forest of Mist just so that they could play EMF.

'I will now be explaining the rules!', shouted Gondola from the Platform. 'Each team will be given a good look at the plaque at both entrances. The plaque will contain instructions on what you are to do. The first team that successfully completes the challenge is shown the gateway out. Ready? On your marks, get set, GO!'

Panika and Granion, led by Luki, ran as fast as their Aisha legs would carry them to their plaque. It stood on a little support pillar that had fallen off. Panika had glanced at the other team all the way, and was astonished at what he saw. With a swish of Tenor's cloak, her teammates had gotten to their plaque in the blink of an eye. When our heroes made it there, they had already picked up the plaque and were already inside their entrance.

'What does it say?' said Panika quickly, as soon as they had gotten there.

Luki read it aloud:

'Doors and locks there are three

Each needing a different key

A guardian for each

Is all it will need

But remember to take great heed!

The Temple of Gold

Will not make you so bold

The colour of blood

Will be in the Tower of the Wood

Your last feat,

Will be below your feet.

So hurry, hurry,

As fast as you can,

To reach the exit,

And…'

She stopped abruptly.

'What's the matter Luki?' asked Panika.

'That's it,' said the Split Aisha. 'There isn't anything else on here. I think it looks like it might have been scraped off…'

'What?' demanded Granion. 'Let me see!'

He snatched it from his friend's paw and held it up directly in front of his eyes.

'She's right!' the Orange Aisha said. 'There isn't anything here!'

'Let me see!' said Panika, snatching it from his brother's paw and holding it up directly on front of his eyes.

'He's right!' the Purple Aisha said. 'Well, those are two words I never thought I'd say in a row...'

'But how can that be?' Luki wondered aloud. 'Was there some sort of-'

'Sabotage?' asked Gondola, all of a sudden. 'Well, there might as well have been.'

'What do you mean?' asked all three of the Aishas in unison.

He chuckled. 'That team two will do almost anything to make sure that they're the winners.'

'Wait a moment...' said Panika. 'If they keep on returning, then wouldn't the contest always be the same?'

'Oh, of course not,' the Mynci replied instantly. 'What kind of fun would that be, my dear Aisha? Now, I would recommend you people to go and get a move-on, because Team 2 could already have gotten the first key already, and you wouldn't want that happening, wouldn't you?

As soon as they left Platform Grove, they discovered the Forest beyond was as dark as murky as before. Some of the trees were dead, and the living ones had completely black leaves that looked as if they were little chunks of the night that had fell the sky and turned into leaves. The three Aishas were moving as fast as they could, trying to find their first destination.

'The tablet says that the first key is supposed to be in a place called the Temple of Gold,' wondered Lukinonia aloud. 'How are we supposed to find it?'

'It says that it won't make us so bold...' said Panika thoughtfully. 'Could that mean that it's in the scariest part of the Forest of Mist?'

This gave all the Aishas a new idea to think about. However, as they trekked through the area, they discovered that everything looked the same. The path underneath them just kept on going straight; straight until they probably encountered something so horrible that they would regret ever accepting Karolina's Quest to save the skies. They just kept on going, and going, and going...

Finally, all three of the Aishas just slumped down against the base of a large oak.

'I give up!' Granion cried. 'We've been searching for HOURS, and still we haven't found a single clue to where the Temple of Gold could be!'

Below them, they could see the path through the woods slowly starting to disappear. Night was falling down on Neopia.

'And now, we've even lost our pathway! What are we going to do!'

And at that very moment, Granion Cloud had lost all of his great boldness and pride. And it was at this that Panika and Luki, looking past him, noticed that a large stream of golden light had erupted from the ground and slowly formed into what looked like a magnificently built structure.

'...of course,' said Luki slowly. 'When you're not so bold... the foundation feeds off those who are hopeless and helpless!'

Panika didn't seem to understand, but Luki hadn't noticed. Forgetting about Granion, the two Aishas entered the wide entrance of the Temple.

Inside, they both had to blind their eyes, for everywhere they looked there was gold. 'Every single inch of this place is made out of gold!' Panika exclaimed wondrously. The Temple was only just one large room. Now that their eyes had grown accumulated to the light, they noticed that the floor was decorated with tiles that were adorned with carved pictures. The walls held long rows of carved runes, which Panika instantly rushed at and began to study. On the ceiling there appeared to be a map of some sort, but it was too far away to study carefully.

At the opposite end of the Temple, there was a large monument. This caught Luki's attention, and she quickly rushed towards it. It appeared to be a statue of a rich Lupe king. He had a long golden bear which was carved so magnificently that it almost appeared to be real. Its face almost looked surreal; the sculptor had carved every little thing, down to the last wrinkle. Its eyes were rubies as big as her paw. The king was clothed with a beautiful robe and cape that Luki could almost reach out and feel the material. In its paw, it held a magnificent staff, adorned with opals and lazuli. At the very top sat a humongous, round sapphire as big as the Aisha's head.

At the King's feet sat three figures, which looked familiar. One had a long, swishing cloak that covered its entire body except for its head. Another was covered with what looked like golden mail, grasping what appeared to be a large tablet. The third one looked the boldest, holding a long sword adorned with amethysts. Luki gasped, stepping back.

Panika appeared in an instant. 'What?'

Luki slowly pointed to the three figures. 'The one with the cloak is Tenor... the one with the mail is Treble... the one with the sword is Bass!'

Panika looked at her friend, and then the monument. 'What could statues of those three be doing in here?'

She suddenly looked up at the King, her eyes wide. 'That's King Alto!'

'King Alto?' Luki repeated. 'Wasn't he the one that broke the Gem of Fyora in the first place?'

Panika nodded. 'How could those three other Neopets possibly be related to King Alto?'

Luki was about to say what she had in mind, but suddenly she noticed a small, golden key at the feet of the entire statue. 'Hello, what's this?' she said instead, bending to pick it up.

As soon as it was scooped off the ground, the entire Temple began to rumble. The statue of the Alto, Tenor, Bass, and Treble disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Next minute, all the ruins were fading back into the walls as they slowly crumbled into the ground.

'Run!' Panika screamed. Luki didn't need telling twice; as fast as they could, both Aishas started to run as fast as they could towards the doorway.

As soon as they burst through it, they grabbed Granion, jerking him out of his fear. Quickly, they rushed from the falling temple as fast as their legs could carry them, deeper into the heart of the wood.

'Where to next?' shouted Panika as loud as she could.

'The plaque says that the next key must be in the Tower of the Wood!' Luki screamed in reply. 'But where could that be?'

The pathway was alight once more when they finally stopped at the foot of what appeared to be a cone on the ground.

'This looks like the top of a tower,' Panika said, thoughtfully. A large window was still visible, and it was big enough to admit one Neopet.

'I think that this must be the tower of the wood!' said Luki, investigating it very carefully. She moved closer, and peered into the window. 'It is! I can see the bottom from here!'

She turned around to face both her friends. 'Come on!'

Granion stepped up very quickly, but Panika slowly backed away.

'What is it, Panika?' Luki asked her friend.

'I'm- I'm afraid of heights!'

'Oh, come on, sis,' Granion looked ashamed. 'The tower is inside the ground!'

'I know, but... it's still scary...'

Lukinonia and Granion sighed. 'Fine then... you can stay out here until you get back,'

Panika looked relieved. 'Okay!' She sat down and began digging in her pockets.

'Come on, Granion,' Luki said, ushering him towards her. She then climbed, headfirst into the opening. 'Give me a push.'

Granion pushed his friend as hard as he could, and Luki started to fall into the depths of the tower. She could feel the window all around her, and then-

WHAM! The Split Aisha crashed headfirst into a stone cold floor. Quickly springing up, she brushed herself off before her companion, Granion, broke his fall by landing on her.

'Ow!' she said, groaning. Granion quickly got up and helped his friend up.

'What now?' he asked, looking around. The tower was extremely musty. The only source of light was from the tiny opening at the top. Inside the tower, it just looked like a circle, with nothing interesting at all except for a blood-red key on the floor.

'The key!' Granion exclaimed. He quickly bent down and scooped it up, giving it to Luki. 'You did find the first one, right?'

Luki nodded wordlessly. Slowly, she took out the Golden Key and added the Red Key to her collection. 'Now we just have to find that last key, and it's supposed to be under our feet...'

'Under our feet?' Granion asked thoughtfully. 'Aren't we already under our feet? I mean, if we're under the surface, then we're under our feet. The last key has to be around here somewhere!'

Quickly, they searched the bottom of the tower. In only five seconds, Luki suddenly shouted, 'Found something!'

Granion quickly rushed to her side. 'What?'

The Split Aisha pointed to a square tunnel at the bottom of the wall. It was basically as big as the opening to the tower, and led to blackness.

'Quick! We need to get Panika down here!' Lukinonia said. 'How are we going to do that?'

'Oh, don't worry about that,' said Granion, smirking. 'That will be easy enough.'

He dashed over to the very center of the tower and then yelled, 'Oh Luki! What's this? Books? Oh well, that's no help to us... let's just destroy them!'

As fast as you could blink, Panika was in the tower with them, having her fall broken by Granion. 'There are no books down here!' she scolded at her brother.

'Well, now that we're all down here, we can continue on with the journey!' Luki said impatiently, pointing to the tunnel.

Nodding, all three Aishas bent down and crawled into the passageway that would lead them to the third key.

The tunnel was very small and narrow, and as it slowly sloped downwards, it was a miracle that they could even crawl through it at all. Finally, at the very end, they saw a fiery red light at the end of the tunnel.

'Well, this is it,' said Panika, as they crawled through the exit. 'The last key should be around here-'

Before she could finish her sentence, her words were cut short by a spurt of flames that had emerged from the ground and wall, meeting together and creating a fireball. The fireball hovered in the air for a split second before swiftly shooting through the air and towards the Aishas.

'Dodge it!' Granion shouted, and Luki, Granion, and Panika all leapt aside. The fireball crashed into the tunnel, caving the tunnel in!

'We need to get out of here, now!' Panika said. She quickly looked around for an exit, and found one: a long, metal ladder which lead up to what looked like a tangled sea of vines.

'Over there! Luki, stop bending over on the ground and come on!'

'Huh? Oh right...' Lukinonia sprung up, slipping something away in her pocket.

'We need to find a way to get to the other side...' said Granion. In the room, there was a large pool of lava that made it impossible just to walk across. The sides were extremely narrow; if a fireball were to shoot at it, then it would be fatal. A small hole on the ceiling released a flamethrower of fire, which would merge with the lava and create a hazardous ball of fire.

'We need to find a way to block that opening somehow, so no fire can come out!' Panika exclaimed. 'But what could we do?'

Suddenly, the lava began to bubble, and released an array of strange bubbles. 'Watch out! Lava bubbles are extremely dangerous!' Panika said.

However, Luki had a strange compulsion that they could somehow help them. Slowly, she reached out and put her paw on the bubble. It didn't pop, or scorch her paw; instead, it felt like she was putting her paw over a mild fire.

'Luki? Have you lost your mind!' Granion shouted at his friend.

'No...' she said slowly. 'These bubbles are okay! They don't hurt me!'

Granion, curious, reached out and touched one. His paw quickly retreated back towards his owner. 'Kau dung! These things are SCORCHING!'

'But they don't hurt me...' said Luki. She tried touching another bubble, and it still felt the same. They're pretty solid...

'Hey, guys,' Luki suddenly said, thoughtful. 'Let's clog up the hole using these bubbles!'

Her two friends looked at her as if she had lost her mind. 'You can't be serious,' Panika said. 'These are BUBBLES. They would pop if a strong stream of fire shot through them!'

'These aren't ordinary bubbles... watch!' Panika took out a Blue Key, and was about to do something when Panika exclaimed, 'You found the third key!'

'Yeah... that was what I was bending over for; now watch!' Panika took out the other two keys, and then swung them through the air towards the bubble. The keys, and her paw, just went right through it. The bubble still floated there as if nothing had happened.

Panika was amazed. 'That- that can't be p-possible...' she stuttered.

'Has anything ever been possible in this journey?' Granion asked her.

As Panika and Granion broke into an argument, Luki had begun throwing bubbles of lava as fast as she could towards the hole. The bubbles all went in one by one, and they slowly began to fill up the hole like a package of Candy Peas. Soon, there was a rumbling, and what sounded like fire. However, the bubbles were preventing it from getting out, and instead the tongue of lava fire just shot right through the bubble to meet the fire at the end of the long row of fires. This ended up taking so long that the other fire had already burnt out. In other words, no more fireballs could be made!

'Guys, it's safe now,' Luki said to the arguing siblings. 'Just edge along the sides very slowly and we'll be safe.'

When they all finally got to the other side, they could almost feel their fur begin to shrivel up and die from the extreme heat. As fast as Poogles, the three Aishas rushed to the ladder and began scrambling up towards the light. Bursting through, they all slumped on the ground one by one into the cool, fresh air, safe- or were they?

'Well then, look who finally made it here,' said a female voice. The three companions looked up, and saw Treble, Bass, and Tenor all smirking at them. 'I knew you were slow, but not that slow,' said Treble.

Flabbergasted, the Aishas could only watch as the Lupe team each held up a key that was Yellow, Blue, or Red in colour. As fast as they could, Treble, Bass, and Tenor stuck them into the keyholes behind them- and they screamed as they did. Large beams of light had erupted from the openings towards each one of them. Tenor had turned completely yellow for a second, Bass blue, and Treble was red. The Aishas shielded their eyes as the Lupes slowly started to turn into-

'Hams?' Granion said in astonishment, looking up. His two friends did too, and saw that they were in fact hams. The large gateway that was the exit of the forest slowly opened up.

'But how could it be?' wondered Panika aloud.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Gondola appeared. 'Aha! So I see you have won!'

'This is impossible!' Luki spluttered at the Mynci. 'They stuck the keys into the keyholes! They were the ones that won, but they turned into hams!'

'Ah, but you see, that is what it was foretold on the plaque. However, since sabotage was done to yours, sabotage was also done to theirs.'

'But who, in all of Neopia, would bother sabotaging theirs?' Panika asked.

'I would have no idea,' said Gondola, but Luki could have sworn she saw the Mynci's eyes twinkle for less than a second. 'It says that whoever that would first insert the keys into the keyhole would turn into hams, and that the other team would be successful in their endeavor to win. Now... you can leave the Forest of Mist!'

Laughing, they quickly dashed from the pathway and through the gateway into the magnificent sight of the skies. Towards the distant, there appeared to be a city with walls that were painted orange.

'The City of the Clouds,' breathed Panika.

As fast as they could, the three friends rushed as fast as they could towards their next destination. There are many happy things that raced through their minds as they ran towards the City: their luck that they had escaped the forest, they had not ran into the Shapeshifter of Darkness, Lukinonia had found out something about Tenor, Bass, and Treble that she would tell Panika later, and that their new enemies were ham were only a few things that they were happy about at the moment as their adventure through the skies continued.