Corey the Christmas Uni smiled. The school reunion party he and his mother had organized was going well. Neopets milled about, enjoying delicious refreshments that ranged from his mother's Jipple Pear punch to cheese sandwiches. Having checked to ensure all their refreshments were filled, he was ready to join back into the mingling himself.

He was just talking to a Yurble acquaintance when Frankie the Brown Gelert and Arthur the Orange Pteri, his two best friends growing up, came in. Corey ran over to greet them.

"Frankie! Arthur! It's been too long," Corey said, laughing.

"It certainly has," Arthur said, chuckling lightly. "How's it been?"

"Wonderful! The English professors at Brightvale University are excellent. I've been learning so much about Neopian literature," Corey replied. "And you?"

"My studies of Petpet Biology have certainly been interesting," Arthur replied. "Becoming a veterinarian will be more exciting than I realized."

"And you, Frankie?" Corey said. It was surprising he hadn't said anything yet, considering he was the most talkative (not to mention rambunctious) of the three.

Frankie coughed. "I, er... I'm still not sure what I want to do yet... heh. But my college classes have been going, well, not bad, really." He gave a strained smile.

"Eh, forget about school, anyway," Arthur said, clapping Frankie on the back with his wing. "We shouldn't be thinking about our studies. Are we at a party or not?" The friends laughed.

"Have you seen our refreshments yet?" Corey said. "My mother really outdid herself." Corey waved at his tall Yellow Cybunny mother, who was standing by the punch bowl.

"Your mother sure is something," Frankie said. "She fights monsters AND makes a killer punch... a winning combination, I'd say."

Corey laughed. "Come on, she hasn't 'fought monsters' for years... but, still. You're right. A winning combination."

The friends eagerly got snacks and continued their conversation, which soon turned to reminiscing about fun times during their youth - classes, vacations, family and friends, and most of all, the adventures they had together. They had so much to talk about that they were still chatting by the time most of the guests had left.

"Ha, Corey, remember the times when Arthur and I would go into the forest and you'd refuse to come?" Frankie said. "Have you ever gone into that forest since?"

"No, and I intend to keep it that way," Corey said. "Mom didn't fight the monsters in there just for me to go wandering in for fun."

Corey and his friends lived in a town between the Haunted Woods and Brightvale. There was a forest on the outskirts of town, an offshoot of the Haunted Woods. Long ago, monsters emerged from there and caused trouble, but thanks to the town's militia, including their general, Corey's mother, that hadn't been a concern for many years.

"Aw, come on, Corey!" Frankie said. "That's the very reason you shouldn't be afraid to come. You know there hasn't been any trouble from that forest since before any of us can even remember."

"Yeah, but you know what my mom always said... 'You can never be too careful'," Corey replied.

"No offense, but a bit hypocritical of her, isn't it?" Frankie said, smirking.

"Hmm... I suppose," Corey admitted.

"Come on, guys. The party's almost over. When it's done, let's take a romp in the forest, you know, for old time's sake," Frankie said, placing his paws on his friends' backs.

"Well, I do like the old times," Arthur said. "Corey? How about you?"

"Um..." The Uni hesitated. "I'm sure it'd be fun, but... even today, I'm not sure my mother..."

"Aw, c'mon, she doesn't have to know," Frankie said. "We're adults now, anyway!"

"Heh, yeah... you have a point!" Corey said. He still wasn't too keen on going through with this idea, but he didn't know how to refuse without being a spoil-sport. "Sure, I guess... why not. When we're done with the party, let's head out."


The friends approached the forest. Corey swallowed. He'd never done this before, and the tall, dense trees were imposing. But his friends had been in these woods many times with no issue. They hadn't seen anything dangerous. So was there really any risk?

But Mom had warned him many times... she must know what she was talking about, right?

"C'mon, Corey. Are you going to be too lost in thought to have fun?" Frankie said, cuffing the Uni on the shoulder.

"Uh, n-no," Corey said quickly. "Er... I can't help but wonder, what exactly are we going to be doing in there?"

"Well, I mostly like exploring," Arthur said. "There are interesting plants, and interesting wild Petpets... nothing particularly dangerous. Frankie here, though... always climbing trees, trying to scare the Petpets, or pretending to be a ghost and trying to scare me." He rolled his eyes while smiling.

"Yeah, but I won't try to scare you unless you want to," Frankie said to Corey.

"Well, I appreciate that," Corey said.

The friends walked into the forest. Between it being evening and the trees being dense, it was very dark. Thankfully, they had lanterns that Frankie brought - apparently, this wasn't a spur of the moment idea, but something he had planned and hoped to do.

As uncomfortable as Corey felt, he had to admit there didn't seem to be anything to worry about. There was some interesting glowing fungus and moss around the trees, and Batterflies flying about... a little creepy at first, but overall pretty neat. The friends strolled around, taking it in. Not much to get excited about, but still, it was fun.

"Ah... the general's son faces the old battlefield."

"Heh, yeah, I guess," Corey said.

His friends looked at him. "What?" Frankie said.

"Er... I just said 'yeah'," Corey said. "Wait, which one of you said that?"

"Which one of you said what?" Arthur said.

"'Th... the general's son faces the old battlefield'," Corey said, feeling nervous.

"I... didn't hear anyone say that," Frankie said.

"...Neither did I," said Arthur.

"Of course they didn't hear anything. You're the only one I care about..."

Corey jumped. "Did... did either of you say THAT?"

"I... I still didn't hear anything!" Frankie said.

"Come on, guys. I don't know how you're pulling this off, but this isn't funny!" Corey huffed, trying to distract himself from his fear.

"We're... we're not doing anything, honest," Arthur said. "Listen, maybe... we should leave."

Corey wanted to agree, but he felt something cold touch his legs, and he found himself frozen in place. The ground started to rumble, and cracks began to appear in the earth.

"What's happening?!" Frankie shrieked.

"Corey? Are you OK!?" Arthur yelled.

The cracks in the ground grew larger. Seconds later, a huge black monster made out of magical energy burst forth. Its body was largely an amorphous mass, but it had enormous reptilian jaws, clawed hands, horns, and empty eyes. It pulsated with an eerie purple glow. Frankie and Arthur screamed and ran for their lives, and Corey would've joined them, but he couldn't move a muscle.

The creature dived towards him and grabbed him in its jaws. Corey couldn't so much as squirm in response, even though he was screaming internally.

Instantly, Corey was enveloped in the magical void that composed the monster's body. It felt like floating in acid, only searing cold.

The voice spoke again. "That accursed Cybunny... all these years, revenge has been all I craved... I had such little strength left, I dare not do anything but lie here... but now... finally..."

Terror and hopelessness consumed Corey. He felt like he was melting away, both physically and emotionally - as though this monster was eating away at his very being.

Yet even in the midst of this, he couldn't help but think of his brave mother... the one responsible for defeating these creatures and protecting the town...

Corey thought he heard something like a groan of pain. It was... from the monster. But how could that be? And why?

An image flashed in his mind of his mother slicing at a monster with a sword, and the monster moaned again.

"No! It's like... it's like she's here!" the creature shrieked.

It was then that Corey realized the monster which tore away at his mind and soul couldn't help but be influenced by them. In spite of the pain and hopelessness, Corey forced himself to focus as intensely on his mother as possible. He thought of every single thing about her that he could, until his mind was flooded with her traits - strength, power, many stories of victory in battle, but most of all, love.

It seemed that the monster, being a manifestation of evil, had no way to comprehend or prepare for the emotional power of the bond between a son and his mother. Corey heard a hideous scream from the depths of the void, and the darkness abruptly melted away.

The monster was gone. Miraculously, Corey was saved.

But something had happened.

Corey had made contact with the deepest essence of the hideous creature. Every facet of his being had been touched by its grasp.

He knew something had changed. He felt like his hooves weren't touching the ground. He felt like he didn't even exist physically, and yet he still perceived he had a body, somehow. But before he could understand what had happened him, he realized his friends were nowhere to be seen.

"H-hello?" he called out - but his own voice made him step back. It didn't sound like his own voice.

It sounded like the monster's voice.

"YOU!" Corey's mother burst into the area and glared at him intensely, holding her sword and looking as though she were ready to slash at him, when suddenly her expression began to soften. "W-wait... you don't look like..." Suddenly, her expression changed to horror. "Oh... Fyora... C-Corey, is that..."

"Yes, it's me, Mom." He finally lifted up his hoof to his face to look at it. It was composed of the same black energy as the creature. "S-something attacked me..."

"Oh, Corey..." The Cybunny embraced her son, holding him tightly to her chest, but then abruptly let go and jumped back. Corey saw her shiver as though she were extremely cold. She stared at her son in horror. "Oh Fyora... oh Fyora!" She began to tear up. "What did it do to you?!" Her eyes suddenly filled with a rage unlike anything Corey had ever seen. "I will make that miserable beast sorry it was ever born!" she spat in a voice of pure, acidic hatred.

"No, Mom... it's already... destroyed," Corey said. "I don't know how, but... I destroyed it. Just... just thinking of you caused it to... melt away." He still wasn't used to the sound of his voice. He wasn't sure he'd ever be.

Once again, the rage faded from the Cybunny's face. She retrieved a magical object from her pocket that Corey knew was a device for detecting monsters. "Y... you're right. The only... creature like that in this area is... you." She swallowed. More tears appeared in her eyes and her lower lip trembled. But finally, she said, "Come on, Corey. Let's go home."


Corey the Wraith Uni sat in his room. It had been a month since the incident. He had never been out of the house since then, and he knew he might never be again.

Corey's mind and soul were unchanged, but he had transformed into the same kind of creature that had attacked him - the kind of creature that had once attacked the city. No one would trust him again - in fact, he dare not be seen, lest others flee in fear or attack him. His mother was already planning on moving to a secluded place. He had also gained many of the creatures' "powers". It was impossible for anyone to touch him, or even to touch something which he had made contact with recently, without feeling an unbearable chill. Even being in the same room as him for prolonged periods of time could have negative effects. And it wasn't just cold - touching him or being around him too much could cause emotions of anxiety and even despair.

He could still eat - in fact, he had a more powerful appetite than before - but he could barely taste anything. And sometimes, food didn't seem like enough. At a moment when he was feeling hungry and frustrated, without consciously intending to, without knowing exactly what he was doing, he had caused his own mother to collapse into a horrible sadness (even worse than what she was already experiencing from this ordeal), which in turn caused him to feel an immense sense of fullness and satisfaction, as though he were feeding himself by draining her emotions. Even though he was horrified by what he had done, he couldn't deny that the nourishment he received was the most enjoyable sensation he had felt since his transformation.

Morphing potions and paint brushes didn't work. His mother had sent a petition to the fairies, but there was no response.

He knew he could never go to the University again. He knew he would never throw or attend a party again. He probably would never see most of his friends again. Except for the two who understood what had happened... Frankie and Arthur.

But could he ever forgive them?

Once, his name was Corey. Now, it is Mi Corazon Esta Roto: My Heart is Broken.