The Cursed Paintbrush- Transformation

"Hey, Sabrina!" yelled Paws as he bounced into my room, "Today is Half Price Day in Neopia, did you know that?"

"I certainly didn't! I think I have enough Neopoints (NPs) in my wallet for a special item… Maybe a squeaking toy plushie? Let's get everyone together and we'll shop!" I set down my pencil as I listened to my Kougra talk about the events of Neo-school and the Giant Omelette Day. I laughed at his cute little trick which involved balancing an asparagus on his nose. He was so CUTE!

More than three months ago, I was saved from the Crystal Palace of Priscilla by my Neopets, and almost had my soul taken away, so I was trying to forget the memories of the emptiness and coldness I had experienced… But they sometimes flooded back in a rush when I was busy with something important… I just wonder though, what would have happened if the Coin of Fate chose Heads instead of Tails? No time to think about that! I had a special surprise for my Neopets!

I hugged Paws and my green Kougra didn't mind a bit, he purred! I smiled at him as I put a scrunched hair-band in my black Asian hair (and before you ask, I'm not Japanese, Chinese or an Indian) as I cleaned my thick glasses. "Parlrina, Mysteria! Want to go to the shops!" I called out to everyone.

Parlrina and Mysteria loped into the room and Kassiko dove into the room with a whoosh! "Hey!" I called out, "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, Sabrina… I guess I was so excited today!" squawked Kassiko the Lenny… Mysteria laughed a deep gruff chuckle as she watched the commotion in amusement. "Let's go down to see the sights!" yelled Parlrina as Kassiko played some pranks on the poor Rainbow Wocky… Then she flew out the door by making a decent-sized hole in the middle of it! I sighed in contentment… Sure my Neopets may be a bit on the wild side, but I still love them no matter what!

Walking down to the Neopian shops was hard, but it was worth it! The entire bazaar was decorated for Half Price Day, colourful banners were flying gaily and every Neopian shop was filled with Neopians- all wanting to buy from the same stock! We had to literally push our way through the crowds!

"I wanted to buy that The Falcon Lupe comic book," sighed Mysteria, "But they're all sold out!"

"And what about the price of that Encyclopaedia!" shouted Paws as he was about to grab it, but then suddenly, another paw (puns) snatched it instead… "AWWW!"

'CLOSED FOR RESTOCK- BACK IN EIGHTY (crossed out) EIGHT MINS!' said the new sign on the Book Shop. Everybody, including my Neopets, groaned.

Two hours later, we came home empty-handed.

"This is hopeless," said Paws, "every shop we go to is either restocked or crowded! Even the Food Shop is out of food!"

"It's also ridiculous," shouted Parlrina as he preened himself using a comb borrowed from Paws. "How come every time we go to the shops, someone gets the item before WE do! And I sooo wanted that beauty treatment shampoo they gave out!" I was full out trying to calm my complaining Neopets.
"Don't worry, I'll think of SOMETHING…" I said to Kassiko…

"What about that Hidden Tower, the Faeries say they have in Faerie Land? Maybe they have Half Price Day too?" said Kassiko. I stared at her in amazement!
"Kassiko, you just saved my day! Up and away!" I said as we set out for the Hidden Tower…

"Heh, heh, heh." said the Shadow Usul as she crept in the shadows. I did my work very well today…:-D She grinned as she searched for her next innocent victim and waited. Suddenly she saw movement as the Queen Fyora greeted her next customers to the Hidden Tower. The unused door creaked open with a shudder. Great! Another victim to prey on! The gold eyes contrasted against the black and purple fur as she grinned, white ivory fangs were bared against the darkness…

"I don't do loans, you know." Said Fyora as a red Lenny gaped at her, Fyora's eyes were bored, "What? Do you expect me to say anything different!"

"Er, sorry, your Majesty, some of my family would like to come to your Tower today!"

"Certainly, but be warned, don't touch anything in the Tower! You can look, but not touch them; they cost millions of Neopoints for me to buy!"

"Hey there Fyora… Wow, you look awesome today!" said a voice of softness. The Usul hesitated, was it prey or was it a friend? A young teenage girl with black Asian hair, short stature and glasses was talking to the Queen as the girl inspected each shelf briefly before moving on to the next item. Finally she rested her hands upon a Darigan paint-brush.

"How much does this cost?" she asked Fyora.
"1.4 million NP." said the Faerie Queen.
"You GOT to be kidding about the price," muttered the teenager.

"Nope, it's true!" smiled Fyora.

Just then, a dark shadow leapt out! And it roared and hissed at me, fangs were shown. I screamed as it fastened its sharp teeth upon my fingers! It hurt a lot!
"OWWW! Get him off me!" I yelled as I dropped the Darigan paint brush in pain. Shimmering fresh purple paint splashed over my clothes, face and hands as the Shadow Usul kept gnawing at my fingers. Fyora managed to grab the Shadow Usul with her hands as Parlrina and Mysteria entered the room.

Meanwhile… In another world, Steph was playing on the Neopets website in the real world… When she got this message on the screen while exploring the Hidden Tower… She clicked on the Darigan paint-brush icon and got this ultra-special Random Event from Neopets!

RANDOM EVENT: You get Darigan Paintbrush! The Shadow Usul bites your hand and takes away half your life points!

"This is WEIRD," said Steph, "How come it says that on my screen! The computer mustn't be working then!" With a dismissive sigh, she progressed playing Destruct-O-Match on the computer, unaware of the things that were happening in the Neopian world at that moment(Lol! Ironic isn't it!)

"Oh my gosh; it's the Shadow Usul!" cried Mysteria as she saw the Darigan paint running down the Shadow Usul's face and paws. The black creature hissed at them through the globules of wet paint. Its look was so fierce that Kassiko was reminded of Priscilla's expressions when she was angry.

"It appears that Thaerin has bitten your owner..." said Fyora as she struggled to hold the dark-squirrel Usul. "And she has Darigan's paint all over her… That paint was designed to change a Neopet's appearance, but I'm not sure whether it has any effect on a human owner…"

I groaned, not only did Thaerin bite me; he had just ruined my entire day! And even worse, I also had purple Darigan's paint all over myself… But Fyora said that there shouldn't be any side effects for me… But I was worried, what if the paint affected me in more ways than one? And what about that bite? It was looking like it was caused to burn my skin! When I went home, I washed myself in the shower and went to bed early… I didn't even have the strength to talk to my Neopets…
"Are you sure you're okay?" said a concerned Kassiko looking at me…
"I'm fine," I told her for the thousandth time, "What harm can a Paintbrush do?" Little did I know that both the paint and bite would change me, from the inside out…? I'm not sure, I feel kind of woozy right now, better put the pen away…

I woke up in the middle of the night, for some strange reason… My hand wouldn't stop stinging and my heart felt like it was pounding rapidly in my chest. "Uhh…" I said, "I can't get to sleep like this! There's got to be something I could do…" Suddenly, I felt like I was changing, I cried out in horror as I staggered to the bathroom mirror. Until I realised I haven't bought one for my Neohome yet…! Duuhhh. I thought uncharacteristically, next time, buy a mirror! Huh, even my thoughts were different…?

When I finally found a mirror, I stared at myself in shock! Gone was the pyjama I was wearing to bed, instead, I saw a girl who was altered to look… More evil than she really was… Purple clothes adorned my body and fingernails were polished… Purple dragon wings were fully opened as well… Red eyes, the colour of blood were set in an otherwise beautiful face… Hey, I could get used to this… NOOOO!

I stopped the thought in mid-thought (is there such a word?)… What had happened to me? The creature that I saw wasn't me at all… I looked like one of those Dark Faeries you often hear in Faerie Tales… What if someone saw me like this, especially my poor Neopets? How would they react to this? Then the painful bite struck again and I fainted on the floor…

The next day…

"Sabrina, where are you?" shouted Parlrina as he looked into my room.

"I'm in here," I whimpered, would I find that I looked the same as last night? To my relief I was normal again… Must have been a nightmare. I decided, but for how long…?