| Natalie the blue Aisha sighed. On quiet Saturdays such as
this one, she already knew her routine--she would wake up in the morning, roll
out of bed, and start cleaning the house for the rest of the day. That would have
been all well today, but for some reason, Natalie was feeling a bit depressed.
Today, it seemed as if it was too lonely around
her home in Mystery Island. Sure, she lived with her brother Taro, but he was
away. She could have called Magnolia over, but she was working, which was the
same for about everyone else she knew. Of course, Natalie had to be the only
person not working at the NPIA that day. Today had to be her off day,
but no one else's.
And since Taro was at work, Natalie was all alone
at home, cleaning. After Natalie had finished a roll of paper towel while cleaning
the windows, she darted upstairs to retrieve another. She found another roll
in the hall closet, and was about to start cleaning downstairs again when she
heard a thud! Natalie quickly whirled around to find a book on the ground
behind her. She knelt to the floor to pick up the copy of Guide to Pet Pets
that had fallen.
While flipping through the book, Natalie got
a sudden notion. Maybe a petpet would help the household feel a bit less lonely.
Yes, that's what she and Taro needed...
Later that Night...
"A petpet?" Taro the yellow Chia frowned. "But... but... those are too much
of a hassle to take care of! They're demanding, you have to feed them, you have
to clean up after them, and you have to play with them, too!"
"Taro, I'm not asking for one, I'm saying
we need one," Natalie insisted. "It's too lonely around here! And today
was my day off, so while you--and everyone else--were away, I had to just stay
at home, cleaning all day! Imagine how fun that was!"
"Oh... well..." Taro paused. "I guess... not
very?"
"Exactly! Not fun in the least!" Natalie
exclaimed. "Taro, you're going shopping for a petpet tomorrow--"
"I am?"
"Yes, you are!" Natalie replied.
"And I don't expect to see you come home tomorrow without one!"
"Er... okay... if you want," Taro answered. "I'll
go out first thing tomorrow."
The Next Day, Neopia Central
"Ah, you're looking for a petpet, are you?" The petpet shopkeeper, a green
Usul, giggled to herself. "Well, no wonder--of course you are! What sort of
petpet would you like?"
"That's the thing, I don't quite know," Taro
replied. "Do you think you can recommend anything?"
"Well, for a gentleman like yourself, I think
I know just the thing!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, holding up a pink Hopso. "How's
this?" she inquired, handing it to Taro.
Taro stared at it, and it stared back. "Um...
I don't know about this."
"Oh, right, Scruffy's been here for years. He
doesn't really do much anymore." The Usul took the petpet back and set it in
a cage. "Unless you'd like a petpet who isn't too active..."
"I think that's the last thing she wants," he
answered. "No thanks. Anything else?"
"You bet!" the shopkeeper told him, retrieving
a Poppit from its cage. The Poppit began writhing uncontrollably.
"Y'sure it's supposed to do that?"
"Down, boy! Down! STOP THAT!" The Usul
threw the Poppit back into its cage. "Uh... of course it is...You want?"
"Thanks, but no thanks," Taro replied.
"Didn't think so. But I'm sure this one is perfect
for you!" The Usul pulled a Spardel from its cage and set it on the ground.
The two watched it for a second, until it suddenly made a beeline for the wall.
WHACK!
OOH!" Taro exclaimed. "Eh... I don't think any of these petpets are for me...."
"No matter," the Usul replied. "What I think
you need to do is visit another shop, and I'm sure you'll find the perfect one
soon enough!"
Later, in the Haunted Woods...
"Ewwwwwwww."
The Cybunny Shopkeeper looked up from a Psimouse's
cage. "What seems to be the trouble, sir?"
"It's crawling on my foot," Taro murmured,
trying to nudge a Sludgy away from him. "I don't think this one is very cuddly."
"How about this?" the shopkeeper inquired,
tossing a Melton in Taro's direction.
"AUGH!" he exclaimed, backing away quickly. "THAT
THING'S A FIRE HAZARD!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," replied the Cybunny, putting
the Melton in its cage with a pair of oven mitts. "That's about all I have in
stock right now. You might want to try somewhere else..."
Faerieland...
Taro the yellow Chia stared at a pink Floud as it hovered a few feet in the
air for a few seconds. "Uh..." he finally murmured. "Does it do any tricks?"
"He gets pretty rowdy if you feed him a carrot,"
said the Earth Faerie shopkeeper. "Other than that, no. How about this one?"
she inquired, holding up a buzzing Teasqito.
"Zzzzzzzzzzz..."
"Hi there!" Taro greeted, patting the Teasqito
on the head.
"ZZZZZZ! ZZ...ZZZZZ...!" The Teasqito began buzzing
and flying around wildly. "ZZZZZZ! ZZZZZZZZZZ!"
"NO, WAIT! STOP!" the shopkeeper cried,
much too late.
CHOMP!
"Oy..."
Tyrannia...
"SSSSSSSSSSSS!"
"NOT AGAIN!"
CHOMP!
"UUGG! UGG-UGG-KA!"
The Lost Desert...
"A CURSE ON YOU!"
Peopatra sighed. "No, Lyins, no! Don't be mean
to the Chia!"
"Trust me, it's no big deal," Taro replied. "I've
already had enough petpets be 'mean' to me. Do you know how long it took to
get that poisonous snake back in Tyrannia to calm down?"
"A CURSE ON YOU!"
"Is that all it says?" Taro questioned.
"Yes... most of the time," Peopatra answered
as the Lyins repeated itself about five more times. "And you should see the--LOOK
OUT!"
CRASH! BANG! THUD!
Peopatra gasped as the roof and shelves collapsed
all at once. "Uh...I don't think any of these petpets are for you..."
Meridell...
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"
"NO, ALBAT, DOWN-ETH WITH YE!"
"HIIIISSSSSSSSSSSS!"
The Space Station...
Taro, about as battered as he'd ever been, wandered into the RoboPet shop timidly.
The shopkeeper welcomed him with a grin. "Hello, how can I help you today?"
he greeted.
"I'd like to buy a petpet," Taro answered. "Not
one that claws, bites, poisons, scratches, curses, or tries to murder me in
any other way, please."
"Well, I think you've come to the right place,
then." The shopkeeper held up a Pinceron to Taro. "This one will defend you
very loyally."
"OH, NO YOU DON'T!"
*BLEEP! BLEEEEEP!* PINCH!
"Ow," Taro murmured. "Not that one."
"Well, the only one we have is this!"
the shopkeeper cried, holding up a Diddler. "And I don't know if you'll like
her."
"Um... she looks nice enough so far."
The Diddler looked up. "Well, of course I'm nice!
I'm the nicest, cutest little petpet you'll ever meet! And I know you like me
already--you like me, don't you?"
"She's... er... modest," said the shopkeeper.
"I guess... do you have a name?" Taro inquired.
"Yes, I do!" the Diddler answered. "My name is
RoboPet Model D-92838-I-28939-X-29038-I-29038!"
"That's a mouthful," Taro murmured. "Well, she
hasn't tried to murder me yet. I think she's a good choice. I'll take her."
"Good! Finally, I'm free of this thing!"
the shopkeeper exclaimed joyously. "I'll give her to you for a discount! 1,000
Neopoints!"
"That little?" Taro inquired. "Well, of course
I'll take her! Thank you very much!"
Back at Taro and Natalie's House
"Aww, she's cute," Natalie cooed. "Does she have a name?"
"Mm-hmm," replied the Diddler. "RoboPet Model
D-92838-I-28939-X-29038-I-29038."
Taro and Natalie glanced at each other for a
few moments. "Well... I can't go around calling her that all the time, can I?"
Natalie queried.
"Wait, she said D-something-I-something-X-something-I-something,
right?" asked Taro. Natalie nodded. "So, why not call her Dixi?"
"Oh, that's perfect!" Natalie exclaimed. "Well...
I guess the first thing we ought to do is find out what Dixi here likes. What
do you like, Dixi?"
"Money."
"What was that?"
"Pastries!" Dixi replied. "Uh... can't... get
enough of 'em!"
Taro and Natalie glanced at each other for a
second. "I could have sworn you said you liked money," Taro insisted.
"Well, who doesn't?" Dixi inquired. "Don't tell
me you don't like money."
"I don't hate it," Taro replied. "It's
just that... that's a pretty strange response from a petpet. I thought you'd
say, 'Plushies!' or 'Playing in the sun!' But 'money'?"
"You act like it's a big deal!" Dixi told him.
"I'm very responsible, too! I think that if the Neopia Central government has
a treasury, I would make a very good candidate!"
"Well..." Natalie droned off. "Say, what do you
like to do?"
"Invest?" Dixi answered.
"I can see where this is headed," Taro interrupted.
"Why don't we stop while we're behind? Besides, it's getting late. I think I'm
going to take a bath and wrap myself in gauze and hydrogen peroxide now."
"Aww, what happened?" Natalie inquired.
"Long story."
The Next Day
"Thanks a bunch!" Natalie exclaimed, taking a package from the mail Chia outside
her door. "Wow, you look pretty battered."
"It's that STUPID EUSTABEE!" Robert the spotted
mail Chia replied, stamping his foot on the ground. "It chases me around town
EVERY SINGLE DAY!"
"Aww, you poor thing!" Natalie cried. "I should
give you a tip--oh, my purse is inside; hold on a second." Natalie darted inside
before Robert could politely object and soon returned with a black purse. She
retrieved a few Neopoints from her wallet and pushed them into Robert's paw.
As Robert thanked Natalie, Dixi rolled past the
hallway from the kitchen, observing the scene. Natalie closed the door and put
a bit of small change on the nearest table before striding off to retrieve a
glass of water.
Now, as Natalie dropped the coins on the table,
Dixi caught a short glimpse of them--both silver coins displaying Princess Vyssa
on one side. Twenty Neopoints. Twenty Neopoints! Left there to rot!
Dixi had to act fast in order to save this beautiful money from being soiled
by this... this... table!
Dixi, in a fit of rage, rolled back a few feet
and darted for the table. Once she hit it, however, she discovered that she
had only managed to make the coins tremble a bit. "Well, that won't work," she
decided, rolling back a few more feet and attempting to knock the coins over
the edge of the table once more. Nothing much happened. "Okay," Dixi
murmured. She rolled backwards down the hallway, turned a corner, and rolled
just outside of Natalie's room. She then traveled as quickly as she could down
the hallway, around the corner, and towards the table...
CRASH! Clink... clink.
The coins fell from the table and one conveniently
fell into the shallow dish at Dixi's side. The other, however, continued to
roll down the hallway and towards the door before she could celebrate.
"Oh, NO!" Dixi only had a moment to exclaim before
the coin rolled through a crack in the door. She quickly darted to the open
side exit and through a few bushes before she reached the street, where the
coin was already a yard ahead.
This didn't dampen Dixi's motivation in the least
bit. No; instead, Dixi continued to roll as fast as was possible after the gleaming
10 NP coin, zooming towards the pier. The coin was in a boat in front of her,
Dixi still unable to obtain it. After a few moments, the boat docked at Neopia
Central and the coin rolled out onto the High Street and towards the food shop.
Dixi followed the coin through the sliding doors and straight towards a shelf
piled with jars of baby food. The coin turned around and rolled towards the
exit, Dixi following after, as the shelf began to wobble a bit.
"N-no... nooo... NOOOOOO--!" the shopkeeper exclaimed.
CRASH! THUD! "AIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"
Dixi didn't turn around for a mere second to
see what was going on. Instead, she continued to roll after the coin, past the
vending machine and into the beauty shop...
CRASH! THUD! "AIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"
Dixi quickly rolled out of the ruined shop before
an infuriated shopkeeper could catch up with her. In a few minutes, Dixi had
managed to knock over displays in the coffee shop, health food shop, smoothie
shop, bookstore, and even Kauvara's shop, just while chasing after a coin. Finally,
the coin rolled to a stop and toppled over. "SUCCESS!" Dixi exclaimed joyously.
"It took long en--"
BOOM!
Kauvara's shop exploded.
"...ough," Dixi finished. "Oy."
"DIXI?" Dixi whirled around to find Taro,
arms crossed, standing behind her. "What on NEOPIA did you DO to the Magic Shop?
Don't you KNOW how much it's going to cost to repair that?"
"Oh, I didn't know you were shopping today, Taro."
Dixi grinned uncomfortably. "Listen, I didn't do anything--"
"Except blow up the magic shop."
"The shelf tipped over!" Dixi explained. "Look,
I was chasing after a coin--"
"How about telling me later?" Taro inquired.
"Because this sounds like a long story."
Natalie and Taro's House...
"Wwwwweeeeeeeeeelllllll, Stacey, you've won our bonus round and you now have
a choice between a brand new car and a TRIP TO MYSTERY ISLAND!"
"Uh... uh... uh..."
Natalie glanced at the rain outside her window.
"Take the car! Take the car!"
"Uhm... I... I... um... I'M GOING TO MYSTERY
ISLAND!"
*Yaaaaaaayyyy!*
"No!" Natalie exclaimed. "The CAR, you silly!"
Suddenly, Natalie felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around. "GEEE--TARO!
Oh, hi, Taro."
"Hi, Natalie," Taro replied. "Turns out our new
addition to the household has been causing a bit of trouble lately."
"Eh? What seems to be the problem?"
Taro held up a timid Dixi. "THIS is the problem!
She was zooming all around town trying to get a 10-NEOPOINT COIN! Not to mention
she blew up the Magic Shop in the process."
"Magic Shop? That's in Neopia Central," Natalie
observed.
"Yes, it is. She went to the pier after the thing."
"Oh, for the love of Chet Flash--were those the
coins I left on the table when I paid the mail Chia this morning?" Natalie inquired.
"Um... yes?" Dixi inquired. "But it's no biggie--I
mean, I've done it befo--oop--er--"
"You've DONE this before?" Taro and Natalie queried.
"ER"
"How much money can you fit in there, anyways?"
asked Natalie. Taro pushed the cherry that marked Dixi's nose. Instantaneously,
a hole slid open on her underside and a multitude of Neopoints fell to the floor
as a slot-machine-esque noise sounded. After a three-foot-high pile of money
had accumulated on the ground, Natalie blinked. "Well. That answers it."
"Well, why are we upset?" Taro inquired.
"You can certainly pay off the damages to the Magic Shop with all of that money
you've got there."
"WHAT? B-but... but... but..." Dixi began. "You
can't DO that!"
"I'm doing it now," Taro replied. "Of
course, one must wonder how to pick up all of this so we can take it to Kauvara.
I mean... a boat at the pier would probably SINK with all of this money in it!"
"Nooooo... this isn't fair," Dixi insisted.
"Oh, what would you suggest is fair?" asked Taro.
"Anything but taking my money away," Dixi replied
solemnly.
"Well..." Natalie began. "I think I have an idea."
Later that Night...
Dixi frowned as she looked up. Above her was a 50-Neopoint coin dangling from
the ceiling by a string. She couldn't reach it--it was much too high. There
was nothing to stand on, and she couldn't jump either. She could only stare
at it longingly for a few moments.
"TARO! NATALIE! THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL!"
Outside, Natalie glanced up from the television
screen at Taro. "Think we should let her have it?"
"Nah, let's just let her suffer for a couple
minutes."
The End
| 
