Mystery Island is a beautiful, forest-covered tourist attraction near the equator in the Southern Hemisphere of Neopia. Its shores have been the scene of many a game of beach volleyball, it was responsible for the introduction of Kougras, Acaras and many other exotic species of Neopet to 'civilised' Neopia, and it even housed many a Maraquan reeling from the destruction of their city in year 3.
But Mystery Island – as the name might imply – has not always been such a friendly, tourist-attracting place. Merely five years ago, in year 2, the coconut island natives, unhappy with the planet and the way it was being run, kidnapped thirteen (relatively) innocent Neopets Team members, with plans to sacrifice them to the great god Mumbo Pango. Neopians interfered and politely requested that they not kill all the team members. The savage coconut men obliged and killed eleven of them – and sent a twelfth over a waterfall. Luckily for Neopia, the dead staff members were mysteriously brought back to life.
But where are these coconut men now? Are they still practising their tribal, sacrificing traditions? Why don't we hear about them?
Can anyone learn the truth about these nutty, Neopets-Team-member-killing island natives?
Jess prided herself on her tendency to do completely insane things. Right now, she was engaged in an incredibly long glaring match with her silver bracelet.
Jess didn't like the bracelet, and for a very good reason. Five weeks ago, in an attempt to prevent Sloth – or rather, who she thought was Sloth, because it turned out to be an android – taking over Neopia, Jess had changed history. Because generally weird time-watching aliens don't like it when you change history, Jess had gone to a trial in something called a telepathic plane. The time-watching aliens had decided that since she had changed history for good and not for evil, she should have the opportunity to fight for it.
...so they gave her the bracelet. That had seemed like a rather nice gesture at the time, but Jess soon realised – through experience – that it was irremovable. Neither Fyora, Illusen nor Jhudora could, to their embarrassment, remove the dratted thing, and as Jess had gone through several other unlikely options – Taelia, the Negg Faerie, the Library Faerie, the Soup Faerie, the Faeries in charge of the Faerie Food and Faerie Furniture shops and even the statue of the Dark Faerie in the ruins of Old Maraqua – she had pretty much given up hope.
So she turned to glaring at it.
And then it did a very strange thing. It started to change colour. Jess stared in awe at the suddenly red, shiny metal bracelet.
"You're not supposed to change colour," she told it, feeling quite ridiculous.
In response, the bracelet changed colour another time – to yellow.
"Not another time!" she declared, fleeing the kitchen – though what that achieved, she had no idea. She then ran into the second lounge room, where a Faerie Uni was relaxing and reading a nice, six-hundred-page novel. "Blanche! My bracelet is changing colour!"
The Faerie Uni got off her incredibly comfy beanbag to examine the bracelet that had not two minutes ago been silver.
"It's yellow," she commented. As if to prove her wrong, the bracelet then proceeded to turn a blinding, neon green.
And the house disappeared.
Suddenly, Jess and Blanche were standing right in the middle of a thick forest, no civilisation in sight. The two girls looked around curiously at the place. Then they examined Jess's bracelet, which had reverted to its usual colour.
"That is very, very strange," Jess commented. "Exceedingly strange. Mind-bogglingly strange."
"Indeed," Blanche agreed. "I'd say... Mystery Island? At night?"
"Oh, undoubtedly," Jess coughed, not quite giving the impression of having known that previously. "More importantly, why are we on Mystery Island at night? It'll be ages before the first boat back to Neopia Central..."
"It can't possibly be more than nine hours," Blanche pointed out.
"Great, Blanche. That's really comforting. What are we going to do? Where are we going to stay?"
"Oi, mum. Let's think about this calmly and ratio -"
"Fine," Jess said indignantly. "You go first."
"Well," Blanche said, "I believe that bracelet had something to do with it."
"Of course!" Jess exclaimed triumphantly. "I know exactly what happened!"
"What?"
"The bracelet had something to do with it!" After a playful grin, she went on. "No, no, really. When Kayandri -"
"Who's Kayandri?"
"Would it kill you to pay attention? For once?"
"I do, mum, and you've never mentioned a Kayandri before."
"Not a Kayandri," Jess rolled her eyes. "The Kayandri. Or at least, I imagine it's the Kayandri... it's not a very common name..."
"The Kayandri?" a nonplussed Blanche inquired.
"No, not the Kayandri," Jess rolled her eyes again. "Seriously Blanche, who do you think Kayandri is, an alien race? A god?"
"I've no idea," Blanche remarked acidly. "You've never told me."
"Oh." Jess grinned. "That would explain it, wouldn't it?"
"Yes," Blanche glared. "It would."
"Mm." Jess nodded. "Now, when Kayandri gave me the -"
"You still haven't answered the question," Blanche pointed out. "Who's Kayandri?"
"Just let me go on, will you? Anyway. When Kayandri gave me the bracelet, it was after telling me that I changed history for good, and that by doing that I proved myself to be a determined sort of... person that fights for good. He gave me the bracelet so I could fight for good more often."
"What does it do?" Blanche asked.
"It... sort of... um... I think it's supposed to summon me to trouble..."
"You? Why am I here?"
Jess shrugged. "Maybe you were too close to the bracelet?" she suggested warily. "Now, since it's supposed to summon me to trouble, let's take a look around, eh?"
Blanche did not look wholly happy with that situation, but – relentlessly grumbling all the way – she agreed.