"Naomi!" yelled a gruff but loud voice from the room across the hall.  The Aisha next to Naomi had been holding still as she and a Grarrl set a headdress on his head; now he shot her a resentful look.

"Sorry guys," replied Naomi, and ducked out of the room.  The NEOFASHION! office was at its busiest, and a junior photographer/model sometimes had to double as a lackey.

Crossing the hall, Naomi entered the other room.  "Yes, Mr. Kaikin?"

"Naomi, our Nimmo models are late and we have to have a dozen good shots by tomorrow!" bellowed Mr. Kaikin.  "Here's their owner's username" - and he thrust a sheet of paper at her - "get in touch!"

So Naomi sent a quick neomail to nimmophile asking what was going on.  She got a response almost instantly: "Right outside your door."

Dashing down the hall to the front door of the offices, Naomi opened it to see a girl of about her age with curly green hair held up in a bun.  There was something odd about her, but Naomi couldn't place it until she noticed the spring green antennae curving backward from her head.  Next to her stood two Nimmos - both an absolutely stunning shade of green.

"You must be the models?" asked Naomi after a moment, looking down at the pair of Nimmos.

They nodded.  "I'm Libellule," said one, "and this is my sister Tai-Kai.  Are we late?"

Naomi checked her watch.  "Only by a few minutes.  Come on - time is NeoPoints."  She led the pair of Nimmos in.  Their owner hesitated a moment, then tagged along.

"Ah!  There you are," said Mr. Kaikin the instant he saw them.  "Come in, come in.  You," and he pointed to Tai-Kai, "are set to model a fine set of goggles, and you," to Libellule, "have to pose for the cover splash image.  We're doing an article on your breed."  He led them off, leaving Naomi with their owner.

"So," said the green-haired girl after a moment.  "Can I help with anything?  I know where model owners and pets are supposed to wait - my Nimmos have modeled before - but I can tell you're overworked."

"Tell me about it."  Naomi rolled her eyes.  "Well, there's an Aisha in the room across the hall that needs two people to get his Desert costume on straight.  If you help them out, I can go help with the group of baby pets down the hall - they need to hold still for the article on caring for them."

"No problemo.  By the way, what's your name?"

"Naomi.  And you?"

"Vicki.  Good to know you."   Vicki then darted across the hall to help with the unbalanced headdress, and Naomi went down to devote a long consecutive stretch of time to calming down an unhappy baby Grarrl.

"Yep.  In a lighthouse.  Do you work here full time?"

"No; I have school.  I'm studying to be a teacher.  What do you do?"

"I study ... I used to study at the Training School."

They ended up being booted out of the building when it closed; they walked to Vicki's home together, and they talked.  "Say, Naomi, what do you think of Billy Shoal's music?"

"Um ... it's okay.  Only type of music I don't like is country, really."

"I see."

"Why do you ask?"

"Never mind.  So, what classes do you take?"

"I-"  Naomi stopped.  The dirt path they'd been walking on, lined with jungle plants and trees and the occasional bamboo NeoHome, was blocked by a mutant Grundo holding what looked like an empty Genie Orb.  "Excuse us..."

"No," said the Grundo gruffly.  "Need energy - you have."

"What is this creep?" asked Tai-Kai, raising her delicate eyebrows.

"Who are you working for?" demanded Naomi, who already suspected the answer.

"Chaos Faerie needs energy."  The Grundo held out the empty orb, opening aiming at them.

Naomi was trapped.  She could transform and pounce on this thing - but Vicki and both of her Nimmos would see, and she couldn't let that happen.  Or could she?  She'd be jeopardizing the safety of herself, her sister, their pets, and her friends...

Thwack!

While Naomi had stood frozen, Vicki had acted.  Naomi hadn't even noticed Vicki leap forward until she'd heard the sound of her friend's boot connecting with the Grundo's face.  As Naomi watched, astounded, Vicki whirled around and delivered another kick to the similarly stunned Grundo.  It staggered back and dropped the empty orb; she grabbed it and tossed it to her Nimmos, who nodded to each other and chopped it in half with the heels of their hands.  Shimmering waves of energy poured out, so dense for a moment that they were visible before they dissipated into the air.

"Don't think you can just attack Vicki Pawkeet like that," snapped Vicki to the mutant Grundo, who was on the ground and just barely still conscious - she hadn't stopped attacking while her pets broke the orb.  "When you wake up, tell your master that."  She delivered a final kick to the Grundo's head, and its eyes fell shut.

"Th-that was amazing!" exclaimed Naomi.

"Thanks," replied Vicki without a trace of modesty.  "I didn't study under the Techo Master for nothing, you know."

Naomi stared, awed.  "You studied under the Master?"  The only person she knew of who'd done that was Ryshu, the famous Nimmo - and he was nearly legendary.  He even had his own Collectable Card!

The green-haired girl nodded.  "I did - once.  But don't feel bad," she added, completely misconstruing Naomi's unhappy look.  "We can't all be martial arts stars, but you seem to be talented and a perfectly nice person nonetheless."

"Um...thanks," replied Naomi, though Vicki's reassurances were far off.  After all, how could her new friend know that she'd been upset that Vicki could do all on her own what Naomi needed to become Sailor Wocky to do?

"Sure!"  Vicki had won a poetry contest and had been extended an invitation - for herself and a friend and their pets - to go to a fancy-dress party at a mansion on Terror Mountain.  Her first thought had been to invite Naomi, who had agreed enthusiastically.  "Oh gosh - what will I wear?  What will my pets wear?"

Vicki laughed.  "I don't have anything either - want to go shopping with me?"

"Great idea!"

"Don't worry, Leslie - you look fine," Kaen assured her.  "Try to relax..."  And indeed Leslie did look very pretty.  She'd gotten a beautiful Victorian-era style dress with large roses embroidered on the front and matching pearl jewelry, and it suited her quite well - not that she was convinced of that.

"But I want to look perfect," Leslie insisted.  "I've never been invited to a fancy-dress party before - what if I use the wrong fork, or something?  I have to at least look right."

"Leslie, you look beautiful," Unirus2000 said candidly.  "Now cheer up!"

"We'll get Luname and Silvacheek to confirm it if you need us to," laughed Kaen, landing on Unirus' shoulders.  "Kids that young don't lie, you know."

"All right, all right, I'll calm down," said Leslie, but she was still fidgeting nervously before the mirror...

"Bah," replied Naomi.  "You worry too much.  Ah! there's Vicki!"  The green-haired girl was waving, with her Nimmos beside her.  She was wearing a simple but elegant Victorian dress in shades of rosy pink with green trim.

"Naomi!  You look great!" cried Vicki.  And indeed Naomi, in a flowing gown of bronze silk with orange fur accents and a fur stole, looked very nice indeed.

Then Naomi spotted another familiar face - or rather, set of faces.  "Leslie, Aviva!  What are you doing here?" she exclaimed to the two younger girls coming up the walk.

"Leslie won a Poetry Contest," explained Anisiali, Aviva's red Blumaroo.  1Fire_Faerie1 the red Acara and RebelionCharge the green Blumaroo nodded agreement, as did FirePrinse and Unirus.  Leslie smiled modestly.  Aviva, who was wearing a flowing lime green dress with blue roses, grinned.

"Are these friends of yours?" asked Vicki, and Naomi looked over, startled at the coldness of her friend's voice.  Vicki was looking down at Aviva and Leslie with something remarkably like contempt.  "A little young, aren't they?"

"I'm fifteen," Leslie replied, a bit thrown off by Vicki's snub.

"I'll be fifteen in a few months," put in Aviva.

"Two years younger.  They can't possibly be in your classes," Vicki said, addressing Naomi.

"No; they're in my little sister's..."

"Oh."  Vicki sounded as if that explained everything.  "I see.  Acquaintances once removed.  That's fair enough."  And she turned and walked towards the lodge.  Tai-Kai and Libellule looked back at the group and shrugged before following their owner.

"Come on," said Naomi, turning and following the trio - and, after a heartbeat, Leslie and Aviva and their pets followed.

"Shhh," murmured Leslie.  "The food will be here in a moment."

The table, with its red velvet chairs and row of red candlesticks down the center, was so long that our heroines - who were sitting somewhere in the middle - could barely see their hostess at the table's head.  A dozen tall Zafaras came out of the kitchen holding covered dishes, and proceeded down the length of the table to start laying them out.

The hostess lifted her fork, and like a ripple down the rows of seated guests everyone raised their forks as well.  Somebody lifted the cover off of a Grackle Stew, and then all the dishes were being revealed and sampled.  Vicki lifted the cover of the dish in front of her (she and Naomi and their pets were sitting across from Leslie and Aviva and their pets) - and Aviva and RebelionCharge both promptly excused themselves and stood up.

As the pair left, Leslie murmured to her pets, "Stay here."  Then she stood, not bothering to look at the dish Vicki had uncovered, and hurried after her retreating friend.  Naomi sat frozen for a moment, then made her decision and rose to follow them; Vicki caught her arm as she stood.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see if Aviva and her Blumaroo are all right."

"I see...all right.  I'll come too.  Who knows what trouble they could get into."

"Vicki," remarked Naomi as the pair left their pets at the table and slipped out of the dining room, "don't you think you're a little hard on them?  Just because they're a couple years younger than us doesn't mean they're incompetent."

Vicki shrugged.  "If you say so."  She still sounded unconvinced.

They found Aviva and Rebel in a bathroom vomiting - one into the toilet and one into the sink, Leslie straining to hold a comforting hand on both of their shoulders.  Naomi quickly took over the support of Aviva and Leslie held Rebel until he stopped heaving.  Vicki started the water running in the sink and fetched some napkins.  "What happened?" asked Leslie when Aviva had recovered.

"That dish...was a Blumaroo Tail Salad Extravaganza..." said Aviva weakly.  Rebel looked greener than usual at the mere thought of it.

"Oh dear..." murmured Leslie, and Naomi looked sympathetic and nodded.

"If we go back, and we pass that dish down, will you two be all right?" Naomi asked.

Aviva took a long swallow of water from the faucet, then nodded.  "I think I will.  What about you, Little Rebel?"  The little Blumaroo nodded.

The quintet left the bathroom and started back to the dining room...

The five had just pulled open a pair of heavy double doors and found themselves staring at a clear blue pool.  It was only a few feet deep but as wide and long as the actual room; clear water fell from two spouts on either wall.

"This is what they started calling 'The Dead Pool' after Snowflake was found stuffed into that faucet," murmured Naomi, looking up at the drainpipe on their left.

"Let's get out of here," said Aviva sharply.  They all turned, preparing to leave - when everyone clearly heard a strange hissing sound.  As one they ducked back into the pool room and pulled the doors closed, leaving only a crack open; crowding on the steps that were above water, they peered through the crack.  Half a dozen good-sized Hissladies slithered past.

"Those look rather like VirtuPets," murmured Vicki.

"They're Hissladies," replied Leslie.  "What on Neopia are they doing here?"  Nobody answered; they slipped quietly out of 'The Dead Pool' and followed the Hissladies...

Every single guest, users and pets alike, was tied up with a living rope: a Hisslady's tight coils held all the diners to their seats.  And Sailor Chia had deposed the hostess to sit in the chair at the head.  (She looked rather different - her hair had been cut, and was a darker shade of orange, except for half of it, which was purple, but she was definitely herself.)  "And now," she said cheerfully, as if nobody was bound or gagged and the whole thing was a casual affair, "I would like to treat you all to a reading of my epic poem - 'Ode to Chia Pops'."

Then she noticed the quintet standing at the door.  "Ah, it's the Lupe-haired pest.  I have a surprise for you."  She pushed a button on the watch-sized gadget on her wrist, and a huge Grunka was transported into the room near the doors.  "Get those interruptions!" Sailor Chia exclaimed.

The girls and Rebel turned and fled with the Grunka in hot (and loud) pursuit.

"Listen," panted Vicki as they dashed (or, in Rebel's case, bounced) down one of the halls.  "I'll lead it off in another direction - you guys go find a telephone and call somebody, all right?"

"We can't let you go off on your own!" exclaimed Aviva, gasping for breath as they turned a corner, footsteps thudding on the uncarpeted floor.  She was holding her skirt up around her knees and she still wasn't running at her fastest.

"Oh yes we can," replied Naomi, remembering Vicki's performance on the Mystery Island path.  "Trust me, 'Viva - she can take care of herself."

They split up when the hallway went off in two directions, and Aviva, Leslie, Naomi, and Rebel stopped running and held perfectly still while Vicki dashed noisily in the other direction.  Within seconds the Grunka came to the intersecting halls - and headed after Vicki.

Once it was out of earshot...

"Blumaroo Neo Power, Make Up!"

"Wocky Neo Power, Make Up!"

"Lupe Neo Power, Make Up!"

Rebel was instructed to stay where he was, and three Sailor NeoPets sped down the hall.

The VirtuPet grunted, but didn't seem pained much.  It was bigger than the mutant Grundo she'd fought before; clearly it was stronger, too.  Suddenly a massive pink hand swatted the side of her head - she hadn't even noticed it coming.

Vicki slammed into the wall and collapsed, but was back on her feet before the slow-moving VirtuPet reached her.  She stepped forward - and nearly tripped over something.  Some kind of ornate gold and silver cup.  Curious, she bent down and picked it up, then jumped out of the way of another massive slap.  My dress will never be the same again, she mused regretfully.  Not because she wore dresses often, but because this one had been rather pricey.

Opening the top of the pretty chalice, Vicki found a sort of pen inside.  It was spring green, the color of the accents on her dress, with dull brown trim; there was an N in a circle and little wings on the cap.  Cute, if somewhat silly.  She picked it up...

"Nimmo Neo Power, Make Up!"  The words were out of her mouth almost before she decided to say anything.

She was sitting in air, legs crossed, in the classic Nimmo meditation pose - and a wave of water approached her from behind and crashed over her.  When she returned to reality, she was sitting cross-legged on the ground in a spring green skirt of the length that one does not sit cross-legged while wearing.

Jumping up, Vicki - no, Sailor Nimmo - covered her embarrassment.  After all, there was nobody here except the VirtuPet, and it was going to be dead in a minute anyhow, so what was there to worry about?  She faced the Virtupet - and another phrase came into her mind.  Considering what the last one had done, she was rather reluctant to say this one, but oh well...

"Nimmo Meditate!"  She was assuming the meditative position again.  Oh joy.

But now she was glowing a vibrant shade of spring green, and although she couldn't see anything else happening, the VirtuPet had clearly lost its bearings.  It was staring off into space dully.  Sailor Nimmo relaxed and looked around for the pen she'd held up and the chalice, but neither seemed to be around.  Odd, that.

"Lupe Lunge!"  A pair of Lupe paws smacked the VirtuPet in the back.

"Blumaroo Ball!"  A blue orb ricocheted back and forth between the hall walls to hit the VirtuPet in the side.

"Wocky Pounce!"  The VirtuPet fell forward, still looking dazed, with a person who looked somewhat like Naomi only in a similar short skirt having pounced on its back.

"Vicki, are you all right - Vicki?" asked Sailor Wocky in surprise.  "You're a sailor!"  She remembered Vicki's pets.  "Sailor Nimmo?"

"And - let me see if I have this straight," Vicki cut in.  "The fate of Neopia is in the hands of you and a bunch of your friends?  And Naomi's the oldest?"

"That's right," replied Aviva hesitantly.

"How young are the youngest?"

"Well, Sailor Mynci and Sailor Gelert are eleven..."

"Neopia's doomed," said Libellule frankly, and, much to everyone's dismay, Vicki nodded.