| also by leb388
Authors' Note: This series was written by leb388, aerisangel01, stoneman3x,
and smileyface12_5690.
“What day is it?” asked Meranlia, a spotted Wocky, as
she fanned herself lightly with her paw. “I think it’s Tuesday, but it might
still be Monday.”
“I don’t remember... lost track of the days,”
said Squisito, a Tyrannian Quiggle, smiling at her reflection in her handheld
mirror. “Aren’t I beautiful, though?”
“Yes, simply gorgeous,” Meranlia replied in
a tired voice. She rolled over on the floor, searching for a position at least
half way comfortable. “Ugh, it’s no use. It’s so hot in here.”
Dumas_Dirt, the two girls’ idiotic Lenny brother,
stared out the window eagerly as though expecting someone. “I wish I had some
fudge,” said Dumas idly.
“Dumas, he’s not coming...” said Squisito, staring
at the brown Lenny through the courtesy of her mirror. “Close the blinds --
the heat’s getting in. The humidity is going to wreck my hair.” She turned to
Meranlia. “He’s been gone for... how long?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s been a few weeks.”
Meranlia grunted and rolled over again.
The pets’ owner didn't come home very often.
They couldn’t remember his name, but that was no matter. They rarely saw him
anyway, and their once piled-high stack of Neopoints had dwindled to a few coins
that Meranlia had decided should be spent only on food. It was a hot, muggy
day in late summer, so Meranlia had suggested that everyone stay inside, where
the marble floors were cool, unlike the grass and pavement outside. So they
stayed in the living room of their owner’s huge NeoHome. Everyone listened to
Meranlia: she was the oldest and the smartest. But still, everyone was bored.
“You know what, I’m so sick of being ignored,”
Squisito started. She dropped her mirror, something that made Meranlia jump
up since it rarely happened. “We haven’t seen Owner in ages, and whenever he
does come back, he always leaves again for days on end. What gives?”
“Oh, Squizzy,” Meranlia snorted, “he’ll only
like us if we are the brightest pets in Neopia, which doesn’t seem to be happening
any time soon...” she stared gloomily at Dumas_Dirt, who was still staring through
the cracks of the blinds, “or if one of us becomes the best Battledomer of all
time, and we’re all weaker than chalk.”
“Yeah... chalk,” Dumas said dreamily, peeking
through the blinds. “Chalk is cool. You can do things with it.”
Meranlia shook her head and sighed.
“Of course, we could... no... that wouldn’t
work...” Squisito began.
“What wouldn’t work?” Meranlia asked, turning
to Squisito.
“Well,” said Squisito, staring at the ceiling,
“I was thinking maybe we could buy our own codestones and such for training.
But of course, we don’t have any Neopoints to spare.”
“We could raise Neopoints,” said Dumas idly,
now looking at the closed blinds. “We could....” he broke off into a long silence.
“Dumas, how in Neopia could we raise Neopoints?
If you’ve got an idea, say it,” Meranlia said sternly.
“But I already said!” replied Dumas, turning
away from the window and then turning quickly back in case he missed something.
“We can raise Neopoints!”
“And Meran already asked!” Squisito said irritably.
“HOW?”
“We could buy all the squished tomatoes selling
at one Neopoint and sell them for two!” Dumas began eagerly. “We could have
a used bookstore of books that have already been read! We could play the lottery!
We could steal from the Hidden Tower! We could sell fake issues of the Neopian
Times! We could risk our lives trying to get stuff from the Snowager! We could
even sell Squisito’s mirror!”
“My mirror? No way, Dumas!” She picked up her
mirror and was immediately engrossed in staring at her reflection.
“Oh, you’re hopeless,” sighed Meranlia. “You
think anyone would want to buy squished tomatoes and bogus issues of the Neopian
Times?”
“Hmm?” Squisito looked up. “Did you say I was
beautiful?”
“Yes, Squizzy, you are. As beautiful as the
moon and twice as helpful.”
Squisito looked at her, confused. But then she
turned back to her mirror and started humming, oblivious to what just happened.
“Well, I suppose we could try our luck at some
games. That might work.” Meranlia looked back up at her siblings, but neither
seemed to be listening to her. She threw a chunk of the peeling royal wallpaper
at Squisito. “Hello?”
“What?”
“We’re trying to think of ways to get our owner
to notice us. Or at least, I am.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” The Quiggle turned to her
mirror again.
“SQUIZZY, PUT THAT MIRROR DOWN!” Meranlia roared,
her eyes fierce. “Since when does a Tyrannian pet try to be beautiful? Now,
the best way to get noticed when Owner comes back is to be Battledome champions.
I’ve had some training, but I’ll need more. And weapons and potions... lots
of those. And a trainer, too, since Owner’s not here. Are you guys listening?”
she suddenly snapped. “Squizzy, if you help me figure out how to raise Neopoints,
I’ll buy you some makeup, and Dumas-- I’ll-- I’ll--”
“Can I have some fudge?” he asked hopefully.
“Fine, we’ll buy you all the fudge you can eat.
Any ideas?”
Squisito looked at her mirror, but instead of
looking lost, she began to speak. “I remember Owner talking on the chat boards
right before he left... someone was saying that there was some really, really
good Battledomer in the pound. No one wants her, because she has a bad name
and an attitude problem. Humans tried to adopt her, but ended up abandoning
her again and going to the NeoHospital for lots of bandages and gauze. I bet
she’s still there... we could go talk to her.”
Meranlia stared at her sister in awe for a few
minutes, then smiled. “That’s perfect! I can’t believe you remembered something
like that.”
“December dumpling white hat?” Dumas queried.
“Yeah, whatever. Squizzy, do you remember that
name?” Meranlia asked hopefully.
“Well... it was something with a lot of numbers...oh,
1_0wnz_j00_4_3v3r.”
“Are you sure?”
But Squisito was lost in her mirror again.
Meranlia got up and stretched a bit. “1_0wnz_j00_4_3v3r...
I’ve heard of that name before.... I think it was a Kiko....” She left the room,
still muttering, and left Dumas still staring through the blinds of the window
and Squisito still vainly looking into her mirror.
“Hmm... I could use some makeup,” Squisito muttered.
“Hey, Meran! What were you saying about a Kiko?”
To be continued....
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