MisticalFlier sighed deeply and looked around his room for one last time, because,
soon, it would no longer be his. He was a Scorchio, but not a regular Scorchio,
make no mistake. With his pastel scales and butterfly-like wings, he was a Faerie
Scorchio, and proud of it. Also, in just a few minutes, he would have a new
little sister.
How did I get myself into this mess?! MisticalFlier thought to himself
as he paced back and forth. For his entire life, he had been an only pet. He
had never even had a PetPet to care for! He was allergic to the hairy ones,
he didn't want something slimy or scaly, and, well, he didn't want to deal with
a squabbling creature drooling over everything crying for food, anyway. In case
you haven't guessed, MisticalFlier was a tiny bit spoiled. With another sigh,
he sat down, and, with wings drooping, tried to recount exactly what had happened
the night before....
He was minding his own business listening to his NeoHits CD in his room, when
his owner called him. MisticalFlier knew her as "Mum" so, since it's his story,
that's what we'll call her.
"Mist..." Mum called from the living room. "Can you come in here?"
"Coming..." MisticalFlier grumbled as he set down his headphones and trudged
down the hallway. "What is it?"
"I've been thinking... " Mum began to say. She was smiling and holding a sheet
of paper kept from his view. "It's been a while, and you're not a dragonling
anymore, and, we've had more money nowadays, so, I was thinking... maybe it's
time we've added to our family."
MisticalFlier's jaw dropped.
"No, no way. Uh-uh. Not gonna happen! I'm NOT sharing my room with a chattering,
dribbling--" he stubbornly shouted before being interrupted.
"MISTICALFLIER SCORCHKINS!" Mum scolded. MisticalFlier shuddered. His
full name. Usually Mum called him "Mist" or "Mistical-sweety" etc. "How
can you say that? You know there are tons of starving pets in the adoption centre!
I know you're used to being my one-and-only, but you can't say that you NEVER
think about having somebody else to talk to. I'm sure you two will be the best
of friends. Either you stop being so selfish, or I'll turn you over to the Swashbuckling
Academy...."
MisticalFlier shuddered. He was too soft for the Academy's strict training,
and he knew his potbelly would earn him push-ups 'till dawn.
"OK..." he mumbled sadly.
"Look, I'm sorry I was so hard on ya, Mist. Here..." Mum handed him a brochure
for the Create-A-Pet centre which included all the species available for adoption.
"I'll let you pick what kind."
"Hmmm...." MisticalFlier hummed while he browsed through the pages.
"How 'bout a Lupe? They're cute..." Mum suggested while pointing to a picture.
"A Lupe?!" MisticalFlier shuddered. "With the fur, and the claws and the teeth,
and the..."
"Okay, okay, no Lupes."
MisticalFlier wanted something more tame; he was slightly phobic and wasn't
looking forward to having his plushies torn to shreds. He wanted it hairless
(so his allergies wouldn't be at risk), non-flying (to assure he had at least
one advantage), not cuter than him (but not ugly either, he decided after glancing
at the Buzz), and somewhat intelligent (so he could share a conversation.) That's
when he found the perfect species: the Aisha. It had all of the above, and plus,
it looked skinny so it wouldn't eat much.
"An Aisha." MisticalFlier announced as he handed back the brochure. "I want
an Aisha."
"An Aisha?" Mum questioned. At first she was sceptical, but, as she looked
over the picture, she was taken by the catlike charm and clever expression.
"All right, we'll get an Aisha."
"Yeah!!!" MisticalFlier exclaimed as he jumped up and down. He was so excited
that he forgot what he was getting into, and, by the end of the night, the pair
had filled out the adoption form with everything they wanted. She would be a
female blue Aisha who loved reading and learning, and wanted to live in the
city. They even picked out a great name: Lunanyte. "Luna" for short.
"Well, that's it," Mum announced as MisticalFlier yawned and stretched
on his way to bed. "I've got school tomorrow, but I'll drop by the Create-A-Pet
Centre after school and Lunanyte will be home by this afternoon."
MisticalFlier stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened. What had he done?! He
had to destroy that adoption form, but Mum had already placed it on her bureau,
which was too high for him to reach without flying, and he was soooo tired.
I'll get it in the morning before she wakes up... he decided as he nodded
off to sleep. When he woke up the next morning, however, Mum was already gone.
MisticalFlier anxiously glanced at the clock. It had been an hour since Mum
had left school, and she would be home, soon. He couldn't take it. He couldn't
believe this was happening to him. Just before he was about to scream: "WHY
ME!?!?" he heard the doorknob click.
"We're home!!" Mum cheerfully called. "Mist-sweety, where are you?"
MisticalFlier grimaced and trudged out to meet his owner. She was grinning
widely and cradling a blanket with a small figure inside. Gently, she pulled
back the cover and set down a new-born Aisha kitten. The Aisha blinked at the
bright light and twitched her antennae.
"Luna, this is your big brother. Say 'hi!'"
Lunanyte looked straight at MisticalFlier and cocked her head.
"...Mew?" she softly squeaked.
"Can't it talk?" MisticalFlier rudely retorted as he wrinkled his snout.
"Not yet. She's just a baby! I can remember a certain somebody's little growls
when HE was a new-born," Mum wittily answered.
MisticalFlier rolled his eyes and looked again at his new little sister. She
was... sorta cute, he guessed. Maybe having it wouldn't be so bad after all.
She was so little and so defenceless. Surely she wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Hi, there, Lunanyte..." MisticalFlier softly greeted her. "I'm MisticalFlier,
but you can just call me Mist..."
"Mew?" Lunanyte repeated. Cautiously, she approached him and, finally,
decided she trusted him and rubbed against him. "Mew! Mewmewmew!!!" she
squealed happily. Then, suddenly, something caught her eye. MisticalFlier looked
behind him and realised she was interested in his wings. Lunanyte stared at
them intently before jumping on his back and pulling at them, hard.
"Hey! Cut it out!!!" MisticalFlier exclaimed. "Mum!!!"
"Oh, how cute. She's just playing!" Mum replied happily as she watched her
two pets.
MisticalFlier grimaced and groaned. When he decided he wanted an Aisha who
liked "Reading and Learning" he didn't quite realise exactly what he was
getting into. Lunanyte was curious about EVERYTHING! She scratched his CDs,
ripped his Fuzzles, threw his battlecards, wore his collars, tampered with his
grooming tools, and took his Usuki plays sets out of their original plastic
wrap! Mum called her inquisitive. MisticalFlier called her his worst nightmare
and wished he could call her a cab. Lunanyte was a fast learner, as well. Her
mew's and meow's soon became real words, and after only a week or so she was
speaking in full sentences. Then, she began to read, and she read A LOT. It
wasn't long before half of MisticalFlier's books were puffs of smoke, and he
had to keep his rare ones in the safety deposit box, although he knew it was
only a matter of time before Lunanyte learned to recognise the lock clicks in
order to crack the combination.
"Mu-um!!!" MisticalFlier moaned as he looked for his owner; Lunanyte hanging
onto his tail as he walked. "Luna stomped on all my coloured pencils! Now I
can't finish drawing my picture!!! Can't she get her own toys!?"
"Now, Mist..." Mum started. "I buy toys for all my pets to share. It just
happened that, until Luna came along, you were my only pet. Now Lunanyte can't
draw with them either, so she has to suffer, too..."
"But Luna DOESN'T draw with them! All she does is read all my books and break
all my toys!"
"She's just curious."
"But, Mum..."
"No more 'but, Mums! If you don't stop complaining, you're not coming to the
marketplace with me--"
"The Marketplace?!" MisticalFlier gasped. He absolutely loved to shop, and
he hadn't been to the Marketplace since Lunanyte's arrival. "Oh, please, please,
can I go?!"
"Of course you can. I was just about to tell you we were leaving."
"Yippeee!!!" MisticalFlier squealed happily. He jumped up and down while flapping
his wings to propel him higher and dropping Lunanyte from her position clinging
to his tail in the process.
"Mawket play?" Lunanyte questioned after she flopped to the floor and shook
her floppy antennae back into place. "What's that?"
"The Marketplace," MisticalFlier corrected. "It's where I get to go to
buy toys, and treats, and all kinds of great stuff."
Lunanyte gasped in wonder at the description.
"I wanna go! I wanna go!" she squealed.
"No way!" MisticalFlier snarled in quick response.
"Of course you're coming, Luna-dear," Mum calmly said in an overrule of
MisticalFlier
"Yaaay!" Lunanyte exclaimed before jumping into Mum's arms to be petted and
caressed.
"Sorry, Mist," Mum responded to MisticalFlier's sour expression. "But
you know we can't leave her behind. Besides, it'll be good for her; she can
pick out her own toys for once."
MisticalFlier sighed deeply.
"I guess I can look after her...." he muttered.
"Thank you, Mistical. Now, get your things and let's go."
When the three reached the marketplace, Mum handed MisticalFlier a bag of Neopoints
and, after one last warning about looking after his sister, left the siblings
alone to fend for themselves while she went off to another part of the marketplace.
"Now, Lunanyte..." MisticalFlier sternly lectured. "The Marketplace is
a big place, and if I lose you, Mum will really let me have it, so let's make
a deal. You stay by my side, be quiet, and not wander off, and I'll buy you
some ice cream. Have we got a deal? Luna? LUNA?!" MisticalFlier looked down
and realised that the curious blue Aisha had already gotten bored and was lost
in the huge crowd of humans, NeoPets, and PetPets. "LU-NA-NYTE!!!" MisticalFlier
angrily snarled. "FINE! If that's the way you want it, go ahead and be lost.
I don't want you for my sister, either, and I'll have a lot more fun WITHOUT
YOU!!" With that, he turned and walked away. About a hour went by, and MisticalFlier
was engrossed in a Usuki shopping spree with Lunanyte completely forgotten.
Just as he was haggling over a Geisha Girl Usuki, one he'd had his eye on for
quite sometime, he heard the following:
"Mew...? ...MEOW!! YUCK!"
CRASH!
"HEY! Stop, thief!"
"Uh-oh!" MisticalFlier suddenly gasped. Those meow's had sounded awfully familiar.
What trouble had Lunanyte gotten herself into, now?!
"6,463 NP, and that's my final offer!" bellowed the shopkeeper.
"I'm sorry, I'll be back later!" MisticalFlier quickly stammered. With a couple
pumps of his wings and a takeoff push from his hind legs, he was airborne and
scanning for Lunanyte. Finally, he saw her, standing over a broken bottle with
a crowd of spectators surrounding her. Quickly, MisticalFlier dived from the
sky, snatched Lunanyte within the grasp of his front paws, and swooped back
up again. He flew for a distance until his wings couldn't carry him anymore,
and then landed, sloppily, on a rooftop while huffing and puffing to catch his
breath. "I need to get out and stretch my wings more..." he admitted.
"Wheee! That was fun!" Lunanyte squealed before belching and hiccuping.
"What did you drink?!" MisticalFlier demanded.
"I dunno..."
"How can you not know?! What did that bottle look like?!"
"I dun 'member."
MisticalFlier slapped his paw to his forehead and groaned in annoyance.
"Who knows what that potion could do to you?! It's bad enough that you stole
it!"
Lunanyte thought for a moment, interrupted by another hiccup, and then replied:
"Ohhh.... so THAT'S what steawing is..."
Before MisticalFlier could utter another outburst, Lunanyte suddenly began
shivering and shaking violently.
Oh, no!, MisticalFlier thought. What if it was poisonous?! He was about
to reach out to cradle his poor little sister, when suddenly, slowly at first,
but then full speed, her antennae shrunk to nothing, her ears widened out into
more circular shapes, her body grew striped fur, and her paws grew claws. When
the transformation was complete, Lunanyte dizzily stood, twitching her new whiskers
and swooshing her new, more flexible tail. MisticalFlier jumped back in horror
when he realised she had drank a Kougra Morphing Potion.
"Lu-Luna..." he stuttered as he backed away in fear after taking one look
at her new sharp claws and teeth. "N-nice kitty. G-good girl..."
"What's wrong?" Lunanyte questioned with a puzzled look on her face. Shaking,
MisticalFlier took a mirror out of his shopping bag and presented it to her.
"Wo-ow!!" Lunanyte happily gasped. "I look sooo cool!!!"
"No you don't! This is not funny, Lunanyte!!"
"Oh, common...." Lunanyte happily rubbed against her big brother. Her newly-grown
fur made his nose twitch in irritation as he felt his allergies acting up.
"HA-AH-AHCHOO!!!" MisticalFlier sneezed loudly and covered his stuffy snout.
"You're coming home with me RIGHT NOW!" Ignoring the fact that he was out-of-shape,
he snatched up his troublesome sister and flew her all the way home. The door
was locked since Mum wasn't home yet, and so MisticalFlier had to enter through
the window. When inside, he promptly dropped Lunanyte down on the floor and,
mind racing, tried to decide what to do about the situation. The sweet little
Aisha he had taken to the Marketplace with him this morning was now a furry,
ferocious looking blue Kougra, and HE had been in charge of looking after her!
What would Mum say?! MisticalFlier HAD to find a way out of this.
"What do I do?! What do I do!?" he muttered to himself while pacing back and
forth. "Buy an Aisha morphing potion? Too expensive and I already spent all
my money. Maybe if I--"
"Big brother..." Lunanyte pleaded. "I'm getting tiewred of sitting here. Can't
I go play?"
"Fine, fine, fine! Just leave me to think." MisticalFlier quickly shooed her
away and returned to his train of though. "Maybe with some blue socks as ears,
and if I shave her fur off, nobody will notice! Yeah, that's it..." With that
idea in mind, he began to search for a pair of socks that were the perfect shade
of blue. This was a big task since he had to fly up and into Mum's sock drawer
and dig through them. Finally, he found what he was looking for and pushed the
drawer closed while hovering in mid-air. But, where was Lunanyte? No sooner
than he had asked himself this question, then yet another loud CRASH was heard
in the distance. "Luna?" MisticalFlier asked the seemingly empty house.
"Lunanyte, where are you? Luuunaa--OOMPH" He'd accidentally bumped into something.
Something, out of the corner of his eye, dark, with long hair and.. bat wings?!
"AAAYAHAA!!!" MisticalFlier screamed and jumped back to face the creature,
which was staring at him with piercing, golden eyes. "W-Who are you?! W-What
do you want?!"
The creature continued to study him.... then burst into girlish giggles.
"Big brother, you're so silly!!" it giggled in Lunanyte's voice.
"L-Lunanyte? LUNA!!" MisticalFlier exclaimed. His situation had just turned
much worse. When his sister stepped out into the light, he realised exactly
what had happened. She'd finally cracked the lock on the safety deposit box,
and discovered the Halloween Paint Brush that Mum had found and had been saving.
Now painted Halloween, she had shadowy black hair, long silver claws, vampire-like
fangs, a large, full body, and, much to MisticalFlier's dismay, two large bat-like
wings. She had become EVERYTHING he'd dreaded for his new little sister.
"Don't I look cool?!" Lunanyte squealed.
MisticalFlier sneezed two more times before he could muster a response.
"Cool?!" he angrily replied. "You think it's cool?! You have become MY WORSE
NIGHTMARE, and you think it's COOL?! All I wanted was a nice, quiet little sister
who I could share a conversation with, but NO! You have to turn yourself into
a furball who does nothing but wreck my toys, and-- scratch that, I DIDN'T EVEN
WANT YOU TO COME! I worked so hard just to have you RUIN EVERYTHING!!"
Lunanyte was stunned. She whimpered and burying her head in her paws.
"I-I'm sowwy," she stammered. "I just... I just wanted to be like you. I mean,
you have all this cool stuff, and you have wings, and... Your wings are STILL
cooler than mine." She sat up straight and examined them while MisticalFlier
was standing with his back turned and his arms crossed. "But... where did that
come from...?" Lunanyte suddenly laid eyes on a scarred tear in the bottom half
of his left wing.
"None of your business!" MisticalFlier quickly snapped as he jumped away.
"..Did you always use-ta be this way...?" Lunanyte began to ask. "What happened?"
Suddenly softened, MisticalFlier swallowed and trembled as memories of his
past flowed in his mind. He turned back to the innocent Halloween Kougra that
was his younger sister. She really had meant well, and was still as tame as
the Aisha kitten she once was. Why was he so hard on her? She deserved to know
the truth. MisticalFlier sighed.
"You really wanna know?" he asked her with absolute seriousness.
"Yes, please." Lunanyte firmly answered.
"All right. You're right, things didn't used to be this way. Mum didn't used
to be this way, either. Once, a long time ago, she was really rich. Whenever
a new painted pet came out that she liked, she would create one and place it
in a new account, and then use that new account to assume a new personality
and get more and more Neopoints. And, so, I was created simply to help make
money. My account was in Faerieland, and--"
"You lived in Faerieland?!" Lunanyte exclaimed.
"Yeah." MisticalFlier shrugged and smiled. "It's not all it's cracked up to
be. Sure, the clouds taste like strawberries and the scenery is full of rainbows...
but after a while, anything sweet and colourful makes you sick. I was so bored
there and I NEVER got anything to eat besides Neolodge food and Tombola goodies
because Mum rarely visited me, and, when she did, all the ever did was play
the Wheel of Excitement, and then head off on her way to another account. To
pass the time, I worked guarding the Hidden Tower for Fyora--"
"You met The Faerie Queen!?"
"Well... not exactly... she saw me from her balcony, and decided I was a young,
strong Scorchio, and, plus, she liked my Faerie looks. So, she sent a scout
to find me and offer me the job. The Hidden Tower exists, I know it does, although
I've never actually seen it. The reason that nobody's ever found it, quite simply,
is because it's made invisible by Fyora's magic. All travelers ever see is an
undercover guard sitting on a cloud. I had the afternoon shift. The only problem
was, however, I was only a level one at the time. They never checked my level
because they assumed I had high stats since I was painted, and I just had to
hope I would never have to defend myself. There was one who suspected the difference,
though. She was the night guard; a fierce Faerie Gelert with a level too high
to count who constantly growled and taunted me. One time, she caught my sleeping
on the job, and, well...." MisticalFlier pointed to the tear in his wing that
Lunanyte had noticed earlier. "That's why I'm nervous around things with claws...."
Lunanyte nodded and said nothing. She waited patiently for him to continue.
MisticalFlier had never seen Lunanyte like this before; she was quiet, attentive,
and he was quite flattered by her questions. With this in mind, he continued:
"Finally, Mum's cheating was discovered and her main account was frozen. Frantically,
she searched for any account that hadn't been disabled. She found only one they'd
missed. It was mine, she hadn't visited it in nearly a month, and I was starving.
Frantically, Mum nursed me back to health and promised me that this time it
was different. She was sorry for what she'd done and mourning over all the pets
she'd lost. This time, she promised, I would be her only pet and I could have
everything I'd wanted all my life."
"Oh..." Lunanyte mumbled sadly as her ears and wings drooped. "So THAT'S
why you don't like me..."
MisticalFlier sighed, and replied, "I don't hate you, really I don't. I'm the
one who's been selfish. I guess I stopped appreciating what I have now."
"So.. I can stay?"
"Of course you can!! Just... keep away from my rare books and Usukis."
"As long as you keep telling my stories!"
"It's a deal!" Giggling, the two hugged. In the happy moment, MisticalFlier
almost forgot about his allergies.
"AAAHCHOOO!!!" he sneezed while reaching for a Neopkin.
"Sowwy I make you sneeze....." Lunanyte bashfully apologised.
"It'll be OK..." MisticalFlier decided. "We'll just split our room into two
with a curtain or something, and I always have Neopkins on hand. Besides, I'm
sure you can survive a haircut every once in a while."
"O-K!" Lunanyte chirped.
"I'll just tell Mum to--OH, NO! I forgot about Mum! What'll she say!? The last
time she saw you, you were a blue Aisha!!"
Lunanyte gulped.
"Will she be mad? Am I gonna go away?"
MisticalFlier's expression turned grim.
"No, no way. I'll stand up for you! Nobody's going to send you away!" he bellowed.
"..You promise?" Lunanyte softly pleaded.
"I promise." Of course, when MisticalFlier made that promise, he hadn't exactly
thought about how he was going to carry it out, nor did he realise he didn't
have time to. The doorknob was already turning. "Quick! Luna, Hide!" he
gasped. Lunanyte jumped behind a door.
"MisticalFlier!" Mum exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you! I wish
you had told me you were going home early. Oh, well. Did you and Lunanyte pick
out some new toys? Hey... where is Luna, anyway?"
"Uhh... ummmm..." MisticalFlier murmured. "Well, you see, Mum, ummmm...."
"Mummy!" Lunanyte squealed and jumped from behind the door and into Mum's arms.
"Lunanyte!!" MisticalFlier hissed. "You were supposed to hide!!"
"Oh... I forgot..." she sheepishly admitted. MisticalFlier smacked his forehead
in frustration once again, and Mum looked a little confused.
"Erm... she was supposed to hide because, ummm, it was a surprise... SURPRISE!!"
MisticalFlier improvised.
"MisticalFlier..." Mum began to say. MisticalFlier grimaced and waited for
his just deserts. "...this is... she's so... CUTE!!!!" She happily hugged her
new Halloween Kougra. "Wow! I just love the fur, and those cute ears, and those
wings! Oh, Mist, this certainly WAS a surprise."
MisticalFlier let out the breath he'd been holding and let himself be picked
up by his owner so she could cradle both her pets. He decided at that moment
that he couldn't wish for a better family. Everything was going to be OK.
Well, not everything. He still wanted that Geisha Girl Usuki.
The End | 
