Bizzy_Buzzy2000 gulped and looked at the old house. Most of the other single-story
brick houses looked scary enough in the faint moonlight. But the two-story wooden
house on the corner, with its rusting fence and wild garden, looked positively
creepy. Thunder crashed overhead. "Are y-you guys sure about this?"
The fire Lupe, leader of the gang, nodded. "All you have to do is go up to
the old house and ring the doorbell. Then you're one of us. Unless..." He grinned
unpleasantly, "you're too scared."
The little blue Kyrii shook his head. "I-I just wanted to know. N-n-no, I'm
not scared. W-what's in the old house, anyway?"
A hulking Grarrl leaned down to speak in what she supposed was a whisper.
"They say it's a vampire. Or a mad scientist. Or maybe it's Dr. Sloth's secret
lab." The rest of the gang laughed at the shaking Kyrii "Still going in, Buzzy?"
The little NeoPet nodded, squared his shoulders, and set off down the street
to the house.
The gate creaked as he opened it. Did most gates creak this much? The entire
street must have heard, not to mention whatever was inside.
He squeaked in fear. Something had bitten his tail, and was dragging him into
the depths of the wild garden! He thrashed and struggled, but whatever it was
held on. The door banged open suddenly, and someone was speaking in a strange
language. "Gninrom, tiaw ereht. I kniht eno fo eht sdubnogard tib enoemos niaga."
Grundoish! It was Dr. Sloth! He'd never get out! A dark shape loomed over him.
Poor Buzzy closed his eyes and began to cry.
Something was gently removing his foot from the trap and lifting him up. Whatever
it was was talking in Neopian now, with a strange accent.
"There we go, no harm done, just a few scratches. You should stay out of other
people's yards at night, you know? Never mind, I can get you fixed up in no
time. Where's your owner? You really shouldn't be out on a night like this,
you know."
He opened his eyes and looked up. A human was crouching over him, examining
his scratched paw. A dragonbud snapped near his feet.
The owner smiled. "Want to come in? I'm becoming an expert on first aid here,
so many scratches and cuts in this family…" Bizzy followed her up the sagging
steps, still shaking. Two Grundos and a fire Lupe were sitting around a scorched
wooden coffee table. One of them grinned. "Don't worry, you're not the first
one to be nearly eaten by our garden."
Buzzy looked around at the NeoHome. It wasn't in perfect order, but it wasn't
really all that scary either. A lot of the furniture had scorch marks on it,
and several blackened bits of metal were scattered around the floor. Well, maybe
they had a Scorchio.
The owner was taking several healing potions and plasters out of a cabinet.
"Here, let me see that paw, I think I can get it fixed up. What with all the
explosions and man-eating plants around here there a lot of minor scrapes. By
the way, what's your name? I'm loveablepet2000."
"Bizzy_Buzzy_2000. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble."
The other Grundo laughed suddenly, speaking with an accent similar to his
owner's. "I know where I remembered you from! I fought you in the Battledome!"
Buzzy nodded. "You're Spacechaser. I remember you. You beat me, too."
Loveablepet grinned. "I remember going with warm_and_cuddly to adopt you.
She's a good friend of mine."
Buzzy looked around the room. "I'm sorry if I'm offending you… but do you
have a Scorchio? Or maybe was there a fire?"
The owner shook her head. "Nope, though I do have a Shoyru. You could call
me… well… a mad scientist. I specialise in explosions."
The Kyrii's eyes widened. "A mad scientist? But… you don't look like one."
Loveablepet laughed. "The Scorchio who runs the lab ray gives us a bad name.
Trust me, it's not all about zapping pets." She walked over and lifted a blackened
curtain, squinting outside at the moonlit street. "I wouldn't mind being able
to zap a few pets right now… you know they come up to this house for dares?"
Bizzy nodded. "That's the way you get into their gang."
The odd owner nodded. "Yeah, I remember one of 'em… a big fire Lupe Took off
like a started Cybunny when I opened the door. I know a lot about him. He's
a bully, but he's easily scared. I hear he's the leader." She grinned again,
suddenly. "I've got an idea. Why not scare them all?"
Buzzy smiled too. "How?"
"Well…" Loveablepet explained. "All you have to do is this…"
***
The big Grarrl laughed nervously. "D'you think whatever it was got him?"
The fire Lupe shook his head. "There's nothing in that old house, remember?
Nothing at all. He probably chickened out and ran away."
A shadowed Kougra muttered, "That's not what you were sayin' when you went
up there. You were cryin' about how Sloth was gonna eat ya."
"I never said anything," the Lupe snapped, "I remember you weren't too keen
on going up there yourself."
"Shut up, you two. I heard something."
The Kougra snarled at the Grarrl, "Awww, you're just making things up. I didn't
hear nothing."
"There it is again! Can't you hear it? A sorta clanking sound."
The fire Lupe sniffed. "You can't scare me. There's nothing there."
"Yeah there… AAAAAAAHHHH! RUN FOR IT!"
***
Bizzy removed his mask, giggling. "Lucky loveablepet had that old Halloween
costume. They won't bother me any more."
Still laughing, he walked home along the dark streets.
The End
Author's Note: Bizzy is the pet of one of my best friends. He lives with his
owner, warm_and_cuddly, and his sister, a blue Uni. | 
