Two Mynci and an Aisha put their heads together in an unused hut at the Trading Post.

"Ever since they made the blue Mynci look blue, PallaMynci's wanted to become blue," explained the blue Mynci, J_ci. "And I've wanted to be purple. So here's my idea. We raise money to buy a Blue Paint Brush. Any extra goes into the Purple Paint Brush For Me fund. Okay?"

CinnaStick, the green Mynci, nodded. "I want to be painted too."

"That can wait," said Trinity_Empress, the blue Aisha. She was very quiet recently since her sister whiterosy, a red Usul, had been painted and abandoned because their owner was low on funds. Shortly before that she'd almost been turned into a mutant, and without the gift of an unknown friend she would be a yellow Meerca. So she was quiet.

"How, exactly," said CinnaStick now, "are we going to raise this money?"

"Dunno," replied J_ci, shrugging. "Let's go ask Hu."

Ji Kouryuuno turned on the man with venom in her eyes. "Hey! Smarty!" she snapped. "Why don't you grow up?"

Her friends, a group of female users (all close to her age), nodded their agreement, and a few shot nasty words at the guy. He slunk off without a word. Ji and her gang high-fived each other.

Ji had light brown hair that fell just below her ears. She lived with her brothers and mother, and wasn't a registered user yet. Once she had created a pet illegally, a yellow Shoyru named Shoylanna...or was it Shoylana? She'd been forced to abandon her, and Ji didn't know now where Shoylanna was.

Ji looked about ten, with her round face and flat everything else, but was thirteen and couldn't stand coments on her age. She had a throng of cronies who followed her all over, but saw them as 'bubbleheads'.

Most of all, Ji thought as she and her crowd approached Hubert's Hot Dog Stand, she wanted Shoylanna back. But first she had to get a username, and she had to pick just the right one. It would last her forever, after all.

"Hi!" said the cheery...green...Mynci at the hot dog stand. "What do you want?"

"Like, who are you?" asked one of the bubbleheads.

"I'm CinnaStick. My brother's friend Hubert gave me a job here."

Ji pondered this. "Can I have a Spinach Dog?"

"Sure!"

"Does 45 NP sound good?" The marked price was 93 NP.

"Sure!"

Ji could hardly believe her luck as CinnaStick handed her a Spinach Dog for her measly forty-five NeoPoints. Her attendant bubbleheads all got hot dogs for their tremendously low first offers. A young blue Aisha diligently recorded every purchase in a purple notebook.

As Ji stepped away to enjoy her spinach dog, she saw Hubert, the purple Mynci who owned Hubert's Hot Dogs, dragging a blue Mynci by the ear. "J_ci," snapped Hubert, "if you comearound here looking for a job again, not only will I not give you one, but I will box your ears so hard that they will ring for a week!"

"I take it J_ci can't cook?" asked CinnaStick with a grin.

"Can't cook? Can't cook?" repeated Hubert furiously. "He exploded a hot dog in my microwave, filled my grill with ketchup, and unplugged my fridge! I'll be out of business for a week! Let me see the sales." He took the notebook from Trinity_Empress and scanned it. Then he turned on CinnaStick.

"Have you no concept of negotiating? I've lost profit with these sales! I'll take the losses out of your salary."

He took the pencil from Trinity_Empress and started scribbling calculations. "Hourly wage times hours minus lost profit, damage costs, and lost profits from destroyed inventory...I owe you two NeoPoints." He pulled a few from his pocket. "Take them and go!"

Ji laughed as the unhappy Myncis and Aisha passed her and her friends. She started to take a bite of her Spinach Dog.

It was halfway to her mouth when the Aisha stooped and said, "You're one of them! With the giant wings!"

"I'm a wha?" asked Ji.

"Me?" asked the Aisha.

"Yeah. You. You just told me I was one of them. Who's them?"

"I don't know..." Trinity_Empress was puzzled. "I don't remember saying that." She ran off with the Myncis following her, and Ji almost forgot about the whole thing. Almost.

"I guess not," said Leslie, putting a hand to her forehead. It ached. "Will you run up to the shop, and go too the Giant Omelette?"

There was a worried 'mrow' sound from the floor, and FirePrinse looked down to see Tigger, his Gruslen, purring and rubbing against his leg.

"Hi Tigger. What do you want?"

Tigger looked at him pathetically.

"You're hungry, right?" FirePrinse loped over to the kitchen with a cutely trotting Tigger keeping pace with him. Leslie could hear the clattering around in the kitchen. Then she heard Tigger munching contentedly and FirePrinse coming out with a bottle of water, which he put on the Coconut Glass Table next to the sofa.

"Get lots of liquids," he said, sliding the TV remote control across the carpet. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Thanks," said Leslie, lying down and switching on the TV. She found the news.

"In a show of support for our new heroine, students in schools across the continent have been imitating Sailor Lupe," said a News-a-Roo reporter. Behind her stood a crowd of elementary school pets chanting, "We're here to protect Neopia from all evil! Dr. Sloth, if you're watching this, we mean you! In the name of Neopia, we'll punish you!"

They were cute. Leslie laughed and stretched out on the couch. She wondered if Dr. Sloth was actually watching. (He wasn't; rather, he had been scouring old legends and such for any mention of Sailor Lupe. He'd come across something about a magical coin that brought the wearer luck, and a staff with massive destructive powers, but nothing about Sailor NeoPets.) The news report moved on to the stock market and Leslie moved on to watch the Neopian Cheat! championships.

Kami Neko scratched Fi's red Acara ears. "Don't worry. The news will catch on soon enough. Want to run up to the Giant Omelette with me?"

"Nuh-uh. The Neopian Cheat! championships are on."

"Can I come?" asked SparkleAcara from the next roo.

"Sure, Sparks." Kami stood up. "Channel 9," she told Fi.

"Bye," called Fi, immersed in the Neopian Entertainment Network's covering of thechampionships.

So Kami and Sparks made their way to the Giant Omelette in Tyrannia, then shoved apart the jostling crowds in an effort to reach the omelette. The crowd was huge; Sabre-X had his paws full. Then Kami saw a familiar face. "Hey, FirePrinse!"

"Hi Kami!" Clutching a Bacon Omelette, FirePrinse shoved his way over. "Who's this?"

"This is SparkleAcara. Sparks, this is FirePrinse, Leslie's pet."

"Hi!" chirped Sparks.

"Hi," replied FirePrinse. "Leslie's not feeling well," he told Kami.

"She isn't" asked a strange voice. "Is it NeoFlu? Or maybe Achy Head? Those are the diseases users normally get." The stranger had brown hair with two green pigtails that stuck up. At her side was a silver zafara.

"Who are you?" asked Sparks.

"Zelda Amaryou." Zelda looked down at FirePrinse. "Do they know about Sailor Lupe?" When he nodded, Zelda lowered her voice and added, "I'm Sailor Zafara."

Kami smiled. "I'm Sailor Acara. Nice to meet you."

Ten people to the left...

"I can't do ballet to save my life," said PallaMouse. "How does the arabeske go?"

Ji winced. "It's arabesque, and like this," she said, doing one.

"You're pretty good for someone who hates ballet," said PallaMouse. "Do your parents make you?"

"Uh-huh. And I can't take any omelette, because I'm not a registered user."

"So why do you come here at all?"

"For the atmosphere."

"Do you like the atmosphere?" asked a gruff male voice from behind Ji.

"Yes, I-" Ji stopped when she saw that PallaMouse had gone white, and turned to see the speaker. He was big and green and build like a gorilla, carrying a large wiggling sack.

People started noticing the mutant Grundo pretty quickly.

It reached down and grabbed PallaMynci from PallaMouse's side, stuffing her in the sack. Another mutant Grundo appeared, also collecting pets. Sparks was grabbed.

"Where's the nearest place with no people?" asked Kami.

"The Tyrannian Concert Hall should be empty."

"Let's go there." They ran.

"You mutant Grundos, capturing pets for evil purposes!"

"I'm Sailor Zafara!"

"I'm Sailor Acara!"

"Hey!" shouted Sailor Zafara. "You're supposed to pay attention when we do our speeches!" The green tail that sprouted from the back of her waist lashed in irritation.

"Mutant Grundos, helloooo..." called Sailor Acara.

That at least got their attention.

"We're going to rescue those poor pets you captured!" yelled Sailor Acara.

"How?" asked one of the Grundos.

"Yeah," said Sailor Zafara. "How? We can't shoot from here; we'd hit all the people." The land around the Giant Omelette got quiet.

"Hey!" Ji burst out of the crowd and confronted the two sailor senshi. "Are you two real or just copycats of Sailor Lupe?" she demanded.

"Real," said Sailor Zafara.

"Prove it," Ji challenged.

There was silence.

Then the Sacred Chalice appeared, quietly, not glowing, without any fuss, in front of Ji. It opened.

"Ohhh no," whispered Sailor Acara. "Everyone will know."

A pen dropped out of the Chalice into Ji's hand.

"You know what to say," prompted Sailor Zafara as the Chalice vanished.

"Yeah," said Ji weakly. "But how?"

"And the doubters demanded proof," said a small yellow Aisha from the crowd, "and lo, the Sacred Chalice came down from on high to defend its chosen warriors and offer proof to the people."

Aishas are often prophetic without knowing it.

"Shoyru Neo Power, Make Up!" There was a flash of light...

"The Neopian Cheat! championships," said Leslie sleepily.

"Who's winning?"

"Brucey B, hands down."

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you an update on the story of the Sailor NeoPets," said the TV. Leslie was instantly wide awake. She watched as the light faded to reveal a Sailor NeoPet in cream and blue.

"Wow! This is awesome! I'm actually *one* of them!" She paused. "With the giant wings..." she mumbled.

"Huh?" asked Sailor Zafara.

"Okay. I'm Sailor Shoyru," said Ji. "Now what do I do?"

"Attack. Just point and shoot. But-"

Before she could be warned, Sailor Shoyru pointed straight into the crowd and said, "Shoyru Hover!"

There was much ducking and screaming, but Sailor Shoyru couldn't see the effects of her attack. Nothing happened...

Sailor Shoyru turned to see that she had two huge cream shoyru wings, one neatly in each senshi's face. "Sorry."

"Can you fly?"

"Um..."

"Try."

So she did. Then Sailor Shoyru, in the air above the crowd, had a sudden inspiration. She swooped clumsily down and picked up Sailor Zafara from behind. "Here you go. Now you have a clear shot at the mutant Grundos. Attack!"

"Zafara Flame!"

"One down," said Leslie, who was watching from her couch.

"Zafara Flame!"

"Two down."

The pets spilled out of the sacks and ran to their owners. Shoyru set Zafara down beside Acara. "Better fly off," said Zafara. "Here come the reporters."

"Here comes the hard part," added Leslie from her couch.

"I brought you more water," Kaen announced. "Now turn off the TV. Otherwise you'll decide to go out and help them, and you're in no condition to do that right now." So Leslie switched the television off.

"Yeah," agreed FirePrinse. "Do you have a PetPet?"

"I do, actually. A Gruslen."

"Hey, me too! They're cute, but so demanding. Mine will wake me up whenever his food bowl is empty, even if it's midnight."

"I named mine Muffy, even though Kyruggi expected me to name him Fang."

"That reminds me of a Caption Contest-do you read them?"

"Every one. I read all the early ones that I'd missed."

"Great! I mean the one with the Lupe and the toy...wait a second," said FirePrinse slowly. "I'm talking with Sabre-X!"

Sabre-X grinned. "Yes, you are. Am I not what you expected?"

"Not at all."

"My favorite caption is the one where that Lupe goes, 'More tea, Muffy? I mean...Grr, I'm really scary!' That's where I got the name Muffy."

"I really liked 'Uh...I was just watchin' them for my little sister...'" They both laughed.

A rookie reporter, unable to fight through the crowd to get the scoop on the Sailor NeoPets, stepped up to the two Lupes. "Sabre-X, a girlfriend?"

Sabre-X cracked up as FirePrinse snapped, "I'm not a girl!"

The reporter looked at FirePrinse's teeth and decided he had a pressing engagement elsewhere.