A Neopian Story

It was a very hot day on Mystery Island. Alisi had recently won 10,000 from the wheel of excitement, and used the money to build a jelly room. The construction would take a long time, and we were told to keep away for that period. My pets and I split up. Lili was off going on crazy adventures God knows where, Feryn was getting ready for Neoschool in the library, and Alisi had gone with me to Mystery Island.

Mystery Island was a blast. Alisi and I went to the beach every single day. We found some cool deals at the market, went on a Tiki Tour, won a faerie at tombola, watched a few fights at the arena, and traded about a fifth of our vacation money for tiki tack souvenirs. We were having the time of our lives. But not for long.

Alisi and I had just come from the beach that day, and were on our way to the small summer house we had rented. We walked along, making verbal replays of the last fight we’d seen in the arena, when I felt a tap on my back. I turned around, but saw no one. I shrugged, thinking that it must’ve been a runaway Sproing. I was about to keep going, when I felt another tap. I turned around again, feeling slightly agitated, but again, saw no one. Feeling annoyed, I walked on, thinking what it could possibly be. When I felt a tap for the third time, I whipped around angrily. “Who’s doing that?” I yelled. My only response was silence. Steaming, I explained the taps to a puzzled Alisi. She didn’t know what it could be, either. The taps stopped, but as we walked on, I was sure I heard giggles behind me.

At home, over a lunch of oyster salad, Alisi and I discussed the taps. “Maybe it was some petpet or something?” suggested Alisi. “But what about the giggles?” I asked. “Coincidence?” was Alisi’s only answer. We thought about this for a while and exchanged ideas. But, by the time we had left for our daily tombola visit, I had forgotten all about the mysterious taps.

We came home a few hours later than expected, and in quite a good mood. We had won a codestone from tombola, and gave Alisi a course in agility at the training school. When we got to the house, an unusual thing happened. I couldn’t close the door. It was as if someone was pulling it from the other side. Only when I called Alisi, and we had slammed the door together, had it closed properly. I thought that that was very strange, as the door was fine the whole time. But, this wasn’t remotely the strangest thing that would happen.

I grabbed an ergy slushie from the refrigerator, and slowly walked up the stairs to my room. Setting the slushie on the coconut glass table beside my fresh bamboo bed, I lay down among the coconut souvenirs scattered across the bed and reached for the slushie. To my surprise, it was no longer there. It had apparently sprouted wings and flown to the fresh bamboo table, even though I clearly remembered putting it on the table. I sighed, got up, took a sip from the slushie, and placed it back on the table. I sat back down on the bed and fell back, staring at the ceiling for a moment. By the time I sat back up, the Amazing Flying Ergy Slushie was sitting on the fresh bamboo chair on the other side of the room. Now genuinely freaked out, I put the slushie back on the table, stood up to leave, and was at the door, when I heard movement behind me. The slushie was flying by itself across the room, headed for the fresh bamboo shelf unit.

“Alisi?” I called nervously. When she didn’t reply, I turned toward the slushie. It stopped in midair, and suddenly, dashed through the air towards me. “Alisi!” I shrieked, and almost broke the door down getting out. Once outside, I slammed the door to stop the haunted slushie. Alisi heard me, and was already at my door, asking “What happened, Mum?”. I told her about the world’s first haunted ergy slushie. Neither of us believed it could be ghosts, but we couldn’t think of another explanation.

“The taps, the door, and now a haunted slushie. What could it be? I wonder if it’s just someone’s twisted sense of humor?” I thought aloud. “Yeah.” said Alisi. “It all reminds me about a story I heard about a pet who…” Alisi’s voice trailed off, and she suddenly got a dreamy look on her face. Then, she grinned, and without an explanation, ran out the door. She returned about 10 minutes later with a bag. Inside were a bucket and about ten containers of sparkly blue and green paint, and a jelly web. “What…” I was about to ask, but Alisi waved me away, and ran to her room. I cautiously went up to my room, and slowly opened the door. The haunted slushie was gone. I was about to sit down on the bed, when I heard a yell from Alisi’s room. “Alisi?” No answer. “Alisi, are you alright?” I stepped out of my room. Alisi’s room was near the stairs, so that’s where I was headed. Before I could get there, however, Alisi’s door slammed open loudly. For a moment, I wondered who had opened the door, since Alisi was nowhere in sight. A second later, however she emerged, with a bucketful of blue-green sparkly paint, chasing something that she alone saw. “Stop right there, you trickster!” She screamed wildly at the air in front of her, all the while chasing it, splashing around the contents of her bucket.

I slowly started backing away from the chase scene, thinking Alisi had gone nuts. Suddenly, my foot no longer felt ground. I froze just in time. I was on the edge of the stairs. I breathed a sigh of relief, but too early. Something invisible bumped in to me and I fell over. Screaming, I tumbled down the stairs. I landed at the bottom in a heap. I felt like I broke everything. At that moment, I heard heavy footsteps down the stairs, but saw no one. Then, Alisi appeared, with her bucket and jelly net in hand. She threw the bucket over whatever she had been chasing, and then threw the net over it. What I saw was hilarious. Under the big, sticky net, lay a kyrii-shaped creature covered in bluish-green sparkly paint.

After a few calls, including one to the doctor, we learned that the kyrii, ironically named kitsune, had convinced his owner to get him an invisible paintbrush. Always a prankster, his abilities had gone even farther, now that he could do anything, but never be seen. Now though, he had gotten too far. In punishment, he had to do work at the baby care center for half-a year every weekend, and (his worst fear) be painted disco, the paintbrush was donated by another one of his “victims”. Now, he could no longer pull pranks, as he was bright and colorful. He was also forbidden to use the rainbow pool, rainbow fountain, morphing potions, or any other ways to change his color for five years. Alisi and I returned to our house. The jelly room turned out wonderful. I gave Alisi a box of her favorite faerie bubbles for figuring out what was happening. Our adventure was over, and we could finally rest. For now.