Still thwarting Sloth's mind control... Circulation: 169,514,968 Issue: 293 | 25th day of Hunting, Y9
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Friends Are NOT Forever


by slothgirl

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Hello, my name is Lunamoom, I am a seven year old checkered Blumaroo. I live on Mystery Island with my mum and three older siblings. We have a happy home at the end of Coconut Road. I love it there. Anyway, I don’t spend all my time on Mystery Island. I go to a private boarding school on Roo Island. It’s called Roo Island Private. I’ve had some exciting adventures there; let me tell you about one.

      ****

      It all started one Monday morning, I was still at my home in Mystery Island, since I leave Monday morning and come back Friday evening. I was asleep in my Blumaroo bed in the room that I share with Mama. I opened my eyes and turned to face the regal oak bed that’s Mama’s. She wasn’t there.

      “Mama,” I called out.

      No reply. That’s strange, I thought. So, I bounced out of bed and down the hall, into our kitchen. My siblings were there, but no mama.

      “Morning Lune,” my big sister Fuzzimal said.

      “Hi Fuzz, do you know where Mama is?” I asked.

      “Oh, she had to run down to her shop. Someone neomail saying they’d bought all those petpet lab map pieces. I HOPE it wasn’t a hoax,” she replied.

      “Me too,” my other older sister, Wingosloth interjected.

      “Wow,” said my older brother, QueenBarbie. “If it wasn’t, then we’d have nine thousand more NP!”

      “I know,” said Fuzzimal.

      “I’m gonna go get ready for school,” I said, bouncing away.

      When I got up to my room I started packing my small suitcase. I put in some clothes, my yooyuball stuff, my toothbrush and toothpaste, and a few books. I also grabbed my ghostkerchief, SpookyPuff.

      “Come on, Spook,” I said, “We have to hurry if we want to say bye to Mama before going to the docks.”

      “Grrrrrrrrr,” was the reply I got.

      I rolled my eyes and rushed back downstairs. I decided to pop back into the kitchen before heading off.

      “Bye guys, see you on Friday,” I called to my siblings.

      “Bye Luna! Don’t forget to neomail every night,” Fuzzimal called.

      “Okay, sis,” I called back.

      Then, I grabbed my Taelia style coat and rushed out the door.

      I ran to Mum’s shop as fast as I could. I finally got there and yanked open the door. A flood of warm air greeted me. I saw Mum behind the counter, dusting off a few things. I also heard the bell above the door ring.

      Hearing the bell, Mum turned around, “Welcome to...” She trailed off when she saw it was me.

      “Hi Mama,” I said.

      “Oh, Luna,” she said happily, “Come here a moment. I have a gift for you.”

      “A gift?” I asked.

      “Yes, now come here,” she said again.

      I bounced over to her. “What is it?”

      “Well... I was at the trading post on my way over here, and I bought you a Von Roo plushie! It still has its head!” exclaimed Mama.

      “REALLY?! Oh BOY!” I said.

      “Yes, and it just came in,” she said happily. She handed me a plushie.

      I stared down at it, its wide button eyes glaring at me. I was slightly afraid to tell the truth...

      “Now, hurry or you’ll miss your boat to school,” said Mama.

      “Yes, Mama,” I replied. “Love you lots. See you on Friday!”

      I gave her a kiss and ran out of the shop. I rushed down the street to my friend Twisty512's house. Her dad is one of my Mum’s best friends.

      I got to her neohome a knocked on the door. A few moments later Twisty answered it. She’s a yellow Blumaroo, and she goes to Roo Island Academy too!

      “Hi Twisty,” I said. “Are you ready to go to the docks?”

      “Oh, hello Lune,” she said. “Yeah, I’m ready. Come in for a minute while I get my stuff.”

      “Okay,” I replied.

      I stepped inside. It was nice and cozy.

      “So, you think King Roo will meet us at the gates?” Twisty asked.

      “Probably not,” I replied. “He’s always real busy...”

      “Well,” she said. “Let’s hurry up and find out!”

      She grabbed her bag and slipped on a coat and we ran outside. We rushed all the way down to the docks. Now, since Mystery Island is well, an island, our docks are VERY posh. There are soft, beautiful sofas, fountains, and statues, and an amazing six boats take off every hour! That’s crazy compared to the two or three that most lands have. Twisty and I bought our tickets, at a very low price thanks to our student discount, and hopped on board the nearest boat. We sat down next to a green Chia. He didn’t even look up from his copy of the Times.

      I turned to Twisty, “So, how was your weekend,” I asked.

      “Oh, fine. But, Kneoz was a bit of a pain,” replied Twisty.

      I laughed. “Sometimes,” I said, “I wish I had a younger sibling. But, I like being the youngest too.”

      “You’re lucky,” she said. “You’re the youngest, yet you’re already a MASTER genius! It’s amazing.”

      I blushed. “Not really,” I said in a shaky voice. “I-I just study hard, and read a lot. Besides, you’re just as smart!”

      Twisty sighed. “Whatever,” she said. “Look, forget I said anything.”

      “Okay,” I replied slowly. “So...what do you think our shots at beating the Krawk Island Pirates? They’re ranked PRETTY high in the league.”

      Twisty thought for a moment. “We’re gonna get trounced,” she said finally.

      “Nice pep talk.” I laughed.

      Twisty laughed too. Soon we were in a fit of laughter.

      “So,” I gasped when we finally stopped, “guess what Mum gave me.”

      “Hmmmm... did you get... a Jazzmosis CD?” Twisty asked.

      “Nope,” I said, smiling. “I got a Von Roo plushie!”

      I pulled it out and showed it to her.

      “Neat,” she said. “Although, the eyes are sorta freaky...”

      “So true,” I whispered, as if the doll could hear us.

      “It’s strange...” Twisty whispered back. “Maybe, we should ask King Roo about it when we get to school.”

      I nodded, then stuffed the strange toy into my bag. We began talking normally again.

      “So, Wingosloth’s birthday is coming up, huh,” said Twisty.

      “Yes, just a few more days. She’s so happy,” I replied.

      After a few minutes the ship pulled into the dock at Roo Island.

      “Roo Island,” called the captain. “We are now at Roo Island!”

      “C’mon Twist,” I said, getting up. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late.”

      Twisty nodded and hopped up. We bounced all the way to the large castle in which our King lived and the school was held. We saw many other Blumaroos going into the school. Madame Annabella, our deputy head mistress was greeting us at the door. Even though the king was the headmaster, he rarely ever came to greet us.

      “Good morning, Madame Annabella,” Twisty and I said together.

      You must greet Madame before entering the castle, or you will have to go outside and try again.

      “Greetings, Master Lunamoom and Madame Twisty,” Madame Annabella replied.

      We hurried into the castle and up to our dorm. We flopped down our bags. The first day back was usually boring; we had no classes, although we did have Yooyuball practice.

      “So,” I began, “wanna go to the library?”

      Twisty looked up. “No thanks,” she said, “I think I’m just going to stay here.”

      Her voice sounded far away, “Um... okay,” I said.

      “Goodbye,” she said.

      “Uh-huh,” I replied.

      I slipped on my coat, because it’s always cold in the library.

      “See you at lunch,” I said happily. “Today’s my favorite, Lemint Salad and Tropical Noodle Surprise!”

      “That’s... nice,” said Twisty.

      I nodded and rushed down the corridors to the library. I was still worried about Twisty, but I just thought that maybe she was a bit tired after the ferry ride. I nodded. Of course, only tired.

      After I checked out a few books and went back to the dorm. I opened up the door to find Twisty staring at the Von Roo plushie I’d unpacked before going to the library. She seemed to be in a trance.

      “T-Twisty?” I asked.

      “Yes, mortal,” she replied in a raspy whisper.

      “Twisty!” I shouted, “If this is a joke, it’s not funny!”

      “This is no joke, foolish mortal,” she said in the same raspy voice.

      She then stood up and walked out of the room in long, flowing steps. I had to follow her, even if it meant missing my favorite lunch.

      I rushed after her. I saw her at the school gates. She seemed to be frozen. I ran to her side.

      “Twisty,” I begged, “stop this. Come back in.”

      “Stop following me,” she said, her raspy voice now full of rage.

      “NO!” I shouted.

      I tried to grab her, but she just bounded through the gates.

      “Twisty,” I shouted.

      I followed her for a few minutes. But, I lost sight of her around Von Roo’s tomb.

      I heard cackling coming from the vampires’ lair. I thought I heard Twisty. I decided to have a look. I bounced down the steps, two at a time.

      I saw Von Roo; he had Twisty. I hid behind one of the large stone pillars.

      “Good job,” he said to Twisty. “But I have no use for you anymore. Although... I AM a bit peckish...”

      I saw him bend down towards her. I ran out from behind the pillar.

      “No,” I screamed, hurling myself at the Count.

      “Wh-what?” he said, surprised. “Who are YOU?”

      “Her friend,” I said angrily, “and I’m not about to let her become your snack!”

      “Is that so?” he asked with a sickly grin. “What are you going to do to stop me?”

      “I’ll...” I stopped. I didn’t know HOW I was going to, but I knew I had to. “I... I will FIGHT you!” I declared loudly.

      Von Roo chuckled. “You,” he said. “You could never win.”

      “Th-then, King Roo will defeat you!”

      The count stopped laughing. I saw something new in his eyes - sadness, perhaps? I looked deeper. Yes, a definite sorrow resided in the count’s eyes.

      “King Roo,” he said, “is my brother...”

      I gasped. The king that had said so many horrible things about the count, how he was evil, and must be defeated, was Count Von Roo’s BROTHER?!

      “No,” I thought. “He’s toying with you. Remember, you must save Twisty.”

      I decided to get the count to talk about his “brother”. I had to be careful; one false move and I’d be history!

      “What?” I asked. “But that’s impossible. You two are enemies!”

      “Yes,” said the count, “we are. But, it was not always so.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “When we were first born, we were the best of friends, even though we were siblings. We were twins, you see, both blue. But my brother was older by a few moments. So he received the throne, and I was a Count. Everything was fine, until our tenth birthday. He received a scepter and crown; I got a Halloween paint brush. My brother was jealous; one day it just... fell apart,” explained the Count.

      I thought it was still a ploy, but the sincerity in the Count’s voice made me begin to think otherwise. I looked in his face. The cold, merciless expression that he’d had was there no longer. It was replaced with a warmness I’d never know him to have.

      “Please,” I begged, “release my friend. If best friends can truly become worst enemies, I want to have the most time possible to be with mine.”

      The Count looked at me, his eyes brimming with tears. “Yes,” he said, “You should spend as much time as you can. One day, it could fall apart.”

      He loosened his tight grasp on Twisty. I rushed over.

      “Thank you,” I whispered.

      I took Twisty slowly from him. I slung her across my back. Making my way towards the door, I was stopped by the Count.

      “Wait,” he said, scribbling on a bit of paper. “Take this to my brother.”

      He handed me the paper, and I nodded.

      “Good-bye,” I said.

      The count nodded. I turned and began to walk away. Once I heard the stone door close I read the paper...

      Brother, we’ve fought long enough. I’m sorry that I was painted, but you are still my brother, and my friend. Please, accept my apology. Remember, anything can happen. If we don’t make up today, we may never get the chance.

      Your brother,

      Count Von Roo

The End

If you are reading this, it means I got into the Times! I’d just like to thank my friends, my family, and my neopets. If you have any comments, good or bad, about this, please feel free to neomail me! Special thanks to Cocoa, spiritboy804,and build_a_beat333! And, of course, my darling pets Fuzzimal, Lunamoom, queenbarbie, and Wingosloth!! Thanks for letting my use Twisty512, spiritboy804! You rock!!! :)

 
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