After "The Tell-Tail Heart" by Edgar Allen Roo, "The Legend of Sleepy Puddle" by Mync Twain, and "The Necklace" by Maria Zaffar, the lead actress (a tall, overdramatic blue Lenny) came to the front and spoke.

"This last story," she said slowly, "is one from the mole who archives the Scary Cave. He tells us that it is most chilling indeed, because it is true."

Quite a few eyes rolled, but the Lenny went on. "Take heed, good Neopians, for this is not something to be laughed at! Rather, it is something to be feared."

Several users, Leslie_83_ and her friends in particular, were paying close attention. They had had their share of scary adventures in the past months.

A yellow Scorchio, dressed as the one in charge of the Secret Laboraory Ray, stepped out onto the stage.

"Alas, I have come to warn you all about one of the most fearsome mistakes a scientist could ever make," he began. "For alas, like the poor Professor Kachevski and his brainchild Scauderwelsch, I have created a monster."

He continued, acting out the story as he narrated: "It started innocently enough. I wanted to create intelligence - but then, do we not all wish for intelligence? - so I began to construct a creature whose brain I could manipulate into being smarter than the great geniuses of this world, such as Antorcha and Cadaverous1.

"I took the genetic material of a human male and an Air Faerie - with their consent, of course - and began to alter their DNA. The result was a blueprint for a creature of human size, with many small alterations to distinguish it from a normal human. The largest was a pair of wings on its back, similar to those of a Buzz." (Not surprisingly, a Buzz was playing the part of this experiment soon to go wrong.)

"And, inevitably, a mistake arose! When the creature was born, it - although it was female, it should not be called a she - had the healthy appetite for learning and knowledge and all sorts of books that I wished it to have from the very beginning.

"And yet, it was almost too intelligent after ten long years of feeding it information from every source I could find! It was intelligent enough to read and write, yes, and adapt to any situation quickly. But somehow, some flaw that I had carelessly overlooked, the creature hated me!

"Yes, this half-human genius believed that, instead of its benefactor - nay, its very parent - that I was an enemy, a captor to be despised with all its twisted heart! And it is a storage of all the knowledge ever written down and saved until this era. It knew combat and war and physical fitness, and decided that it would learn the martial arts it had read of and use them to take my life!

"I was so proud of my creation, so blinded by an almost fatherly pride (but yet, it was not fatherly, only the pride of a scientist in his greatest experiment), that I failed to realize the flaw in its intellectual brain.

"And then, one evening as I cleaned up the lab and put away my experiments for another day, it struck!

"Ripping apart the equipment between us with superhuman strength, it attacked me with a series of vicious kicks and jabs until I fell, writhing in pain. When it was certain that I would not move to hold it, the creature spread its wings and flew away.

"I have searched long and hard for this creature for a full three months, but have not found hide nor hair of it. The Chia Police are alert, but I am certain they will be no match for my creation's strength, flight, and colossal brainpower. And so I warn you, all Neopians! Be on your guard, for you never know who it may believe next to be its enemy, and none of you - nobody at all, I tell you - can possibly hold out! Be careful, good pets and users...be careful!"

"It certainly wasn't very scary," agreed Leslie. "I kind of sympathized with the experiment. She was so smart, and the scientist treated her like a thing rather than a human being! And he kept calling her half-human...as if her other half were some wild creature, instead of an Air Faerie!"

"That bit was rather silly," Kaen remarked from her invisible position on Leslie's shoulder. "One of my best friends was an Air Faerie, and they're smarter than most humans - no offense to you girls, of course."

"You always take pity on the weirdos, don't you, Leslie?" asked Melony.

"A-hem." Kami cleared her throat signifigantly and tossed her head, causing her acara-horn hair to wave.

"Well, we're all weirdos really," Melony amended quickly.

"You're not kidding," said a voice from behind them. It was Gami, the ringleader of the popular snobs and recently discovered to be Sailor Uni.

"It's not like you're normal," Zelda shot back. "As far as I'm concerned, you're just like us, only meaner."

"Ooh, the girl genius threatened me," snickered Gami. "Sure you're not the creature from that story? A smart mutant freak?"

"Hiiii!" exclaimed Brooke, skipping up to them. "Now we're all here...except Ji cause she's in a diff grade...what did I miss?"

Gami distanced herself from the other girls quickly, lest someone see her in their company, and her reputation be scarred. "I wonder what the experiment's doing now?" Leslie mused as the group left the building and started home.

"Leslie, you're talking like she's real," Kami said with a laugh.

"Yeah!" Brooke kept on running a few meters ahead of the group, then dashing back to them. She jogged off now, and upon her return giggled, "It was just a story."

Two Buzzes, one yellow and one blue, came speeding through the door. "I won! I won!" shouted the blue one.

"You did not. I won!" the yellow one retorted.

"Kara Lynn, tell Berveth I won!" the blue one whined.

"I don't think you did, Artemis," Kara Lynn said softly. "I think it was a tie that time. Would anyone like a Kaubuggle sandwich?"

"Me! Me! Me!" chorused Artemis and Berveth. Their owner laughed. "Coming right up!" As she handed them the sandwiches, she froze suddenly.

"What's wrong?" asked Artemis.

"Oh no! It's Halloween, and I haven't bought any candy yet!" Kara Lynn grabbed her purse and dashed out the door, instinctively spreading her translucent blue wings although she knew they wouldn't help her fly.

Suddenly a pair of red eyes appeared in front of her. "You've got neomail," said a smooth, deep voice.

"Oh, there you are."

"You really shouldn't call your leader stupid," said the Chaos Faerie, before fading out again. Then her eyes reappeared. "Got a talent for getting people mad at you, don't you?" she asked, and then vanished for good.

"Grrrr..." Chia suddenly brightened. "Oh - duh!"

Zelda walked up in a green tunic, white tights, brown boots, a strangely shaped sock-esque hat, and a sword. My_lil_Zaffie was with her, in a brown burlap sack with leaves glued on at the top. "Get it?" she asked as she entered the yard. "I'm Link, and Zaffie here is a Deku Scrub!"

"I get it Zelda, from the game!" Melony replied, laughing. "Do you know when the others will get here?"

"I don't know if Ji's coming," Zelda replied, "but Leslie should be here any minute now."

"That's wonderful! Snacks are on the table, and my sis, Naomi, should be arriving soon."

"Hi!" called a new voice. Zelda and Melony turned to see...Sailor Lupe!

"What's wrong?" asked Zelda.

"Should we transform?" Melony said quickly.

"Calm down!" Leslie laughed. "It's just my costume, see?" As the girls looked closer, they realized that the skirt was too long and a lot of the details were missing, such as the choker and tiara. "I found this in the Neopian Clothes Shop, and it was so cute I just had to get it! I saw a Sailor Zafara costume too, but no Sailor Moehog."

"Well, that seriously stinks!" Melony said angrily. At that point a girl in a striped Wocky outfit walked up. This was Naomi, Mel's older sister. "Hi, sis," she said with a grin.

Zelda (or should I say Link?) grinned. "I think it would be cuter if other peeps wore the Sailor Zafara costume," she remarked. "Besides, I worked hard on these costumes, and if I was Sailor Zafara, what could Zaffie be?"

"What're you talking about, Zelda?" asked Naomi. "You *are* Sailor Zafara. By the way, I love your costume!"

Just then Zoe Amaryou, Zelda's twin sister, ran up out of breath. "Sorry I'm late," she said. Her Peophin, Treasure_of_the_sea_87, nodded. Zoe was dressed as a Peophin and Treasure was a Peo (the petpet). "I lost my head and then I couldn't find my candy bag."

"You lost your head years ago," Zelda/Link said mischeiviously.

"Ready to go trick-or-treating?" asked Mel/Water Faerie, interrupting the argument about to erupt.

"Kaen wanted to come," Leslie/Sailor Lupe replied. "She said she'd be a minute...I don't know what she'll be dressed as."

That's when a girl around Mel's age, slightly shorter, very slender, and dressed as an Earth Faerie, showed up. "Hi!" she said in a very familiar voice. "Are we ready to go?"

"Who are you?" asked a puzzled Naomi/Wocky.

"It's me...Kaen." Everybody jumped at this; now they could tell that it was in fact Kaen, but they hadn't recognized her at first because they weren't used to seeing her so BIG! "I managed to get the Uber-Earth Faerie to let me use a growth spell so I could collect candy with you guys."

"Impressive," said an openmouthed Leslie.

"Hey, everyone who's coming is here now!" Mel/Water Faerie said happily. "Now let's go get some candy!"

"Aren't you a bit old for trick-or-treating?" asked Kara Lynn as she dropped a Sweet into each bag.

"Maybe," replied Zoe/Peophin, "but we don't want to pass up free candy."

"It's good economics," Naomi/Wocky added. "Say, do you go to a private acadamy or something? I haven't seen you in school."

Kara Lynn froze for a second, then relaxed. "I'm very intelligent," she said. "I'm ahead of college; I might decide to go to medical or law school when I'm older. Do you think I'm missing much?"

"Not really. Take today, for instance," Mel/Water Faerie told her. "We watched these supposedly scary plays. Most of them were kind of silly, and the last one was really weird. It was basically a monologue by the Lab Ray scientist about how he created a monster."

Again, Kara Lynn froze. "What kind of monster?" she asked cautiously.

"He went on and on about how it was a half-human genius who hated him and wanted him dead and how it was a dangerous freak who might attack anybody. Real cliche, and not much of a plot. In fact, Leslie there liked the moster better, because the scientist didn't acknowledge it as a thinking being..."

Mel kept talking, but Leslie/Sailor Lupe wasn't listening. She was looking at Kara Lynn with an odd pondering look. Kara Lynn noticed this and looked scared for a moment, then questioning. It was as if she was asking, Who are you really, and what are you doing here?

I sympathized with the freak, Leslie thought. Maybe because I've always been considered a freak myself. Who is this woman, why is she not much older than me but so intelligent, why did she freeze up when we mentioned the monster, and why was the play so boring, when real life is boring but plays are supposed to be interesting?

"Come on Leslie, we're going!" called Zelda/Link.

"Go ahead. I'll catch up with you later," Leslie replied.

"Are you sure?" Kaen asked.

"She's a genius, right? Maybe she knows some stuff that could help us." Leslie winked at Kaen, hoping the faerie would figure it out.

"Oh. Come on, let's see what's at the next house," said Kaen to the others. They looked puzzled, but left, and Leslie turned to Kara Lynn.

"May I come in?"

Although she looked puzzled, Kara Lynn nodded, and she closed the door as they stepped inside. "Your name is Leslie, right?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"Kara Lynn. Tell me, how did you get your hair to look exactly like Sailor Lupe's? And your friend, the one dressed as the Earth Faerie, has an impressive costume."

"I'll tell you in a minute. What do you know about the...experiment...by the Lab Ray Scorchio that we don't?"

Kara Lynn blinked her big blue eyes. "I..."

"Tell me...is the story true?"

"Y-yes..."

"Are you that experiment?"

The girl sighed. "All right, you've figured it out. Yes. I am. What are you going to do with me now? Kill me? Send me back to the lab?"

"No, no, of course not! I want to hear your side of the story. All I know is the version told by a group of actors on information from the Scorchio, and they were probably exaggerating to make it sound scarier. What's your point of view?"

Before Kara Lynn could explain, the doorbell rang again. Kara Lynn opened it. "Hi!" said a familiar voice. "I'm one of the Sailor NeoPets, and I'm trying to deliver a message to all of Neopia from me and the gang!" She slapped Kara Lynn twice across the face and kicked her in the shin. "You're all pathetic, you know that?" Sailor Chia asked, then scrutinized Kara Lynn more carefully. "And you're a freak."

Kara Lynn gave Chia an angry look and spread her wings.

They were just like a Buzz's wings, only larger: two translucent blue pairs. Chia was obviously not expecting this, and looked almost shocked for a moment. Then she regained her composure. "What did I say? You're a freak."

The girl's lip trembled, and her eyes widened.

"You can't talk to her like that!" snapped Leslie.

"Sailor-? Oh, it's your costume. Happy Halloween, by the way. I'm all decked out to celebrate," Chia laughed, tossing the black-and-orange ribbon of her fuku's long back bow with one hand. "What are you going to do, Sailor Costume Lupe?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Leslie asked Kara Lynn.

"Yes..."

"Lupe Neo Power, Make Up!" Green sparkles replaced the store's Sailor Lupe costume with the real thing. The difference was instantly apparent. "Lupe Lunge!" Sailor Lupe shot a pair of green Lupe paws at Sailor Chia.

"You're...you're a Sailor NeoPet?" an astounded Kara Lynn asked. "Like her?"

"I am, but I'm not on her side. That's Sailor Chia. She decided she'd rather work with Dr. Sloth than against him. That slap was all her idea; the rest of us had nothing to do with it."

"Oh." Kara Lynn turned to Sailor Chia, who was getting up and preparing to release an attack....and the blonde was abruptly hit with a series of jabs, punches, kicks, and slaps which sent her reeling. "Go away," said Kara Lynn, managing to sound terrifying with such a simple phrase, "and stay away."

"It's too late. I've already visited several hundred houses. Nobody will trust you by tomorrow afternoon!" shouted Sailor Chia venomously as she vanished, fleeing back to the ship with the borrowed Chaos power.

"Now where was I?" Leslie asked, detransforming. "I was about to ask if you'd like to be our ally. You're a genius, you've just demonstrated that you can fight...it would be great to have you officially on our side."

"You want me to help you fight her?" exclaimed Kara Lynn. "But there are so many of you...and just the one of her."

"But she has some powerful attacks that you didn't give her a chance to use, plus she usually sends VirtuaPets, she's got Dr. Sloth's array of gadgets at her disposal, and the Chaos Faerie's supporting her. Kaen can explain to you about the Chaos Faerie and so on. We really need all the help we can get. Are you with us?"

"Am I ever!" Kara Lynn held out her hand and shook Leslie's firmly. "You can count on me. I'll fight with you if you need it and help you in any other way I can."

"Thanks!" Leslie replied. "I'll let Kaen explain all the confusing stuff later; now, I'd better catch up to my friends. Talk to you later?"

"Sure. I hope you get lots of candy." Kara Lynn opened the door and Leslie left, elated. She'd just gained a very powerful ally, and a new friend.