Al kicked his wrecked jeep, which was resting in the middle of the road, instantly
regretting it. “OWW!! PIFFLE!!” he bellowed, clutching his foot and hopping
around in agony. Fluffy stared at him, lifting an eye. “Don’t hiss a word!”
Al huffed, grabbing his suitcase and golf clubs. He had been looking forward
to a week of golfing with Cousin Harold, but unfortunately, from the condition
of his transport, it looked as though he would be spending the night in the
pouring rain. Fluffy slithered behind, carrying a tiny backpack. “Who could
have put that pothole there?” he complained, wiping rain off his glasses. A
particularly large bolt of lightning made Fluffy screech and hop onto his head.
“AAAA!” Al bellowed. His beloved Cobrall was slowly cutting off his circulation.
“YOU LITTLE…” Al stopped himself. He wrestled the offending PetPet off his head.
“Don’t be such a worrywart!” Al scolded.
Another bolt of lightning illuminated a ten foot figure standing behind him.
Fluffy’s eyes widened as he began to shiver. “Fluffy, what is it now?” Al sighed,
failing to notice the huge monster behind him. He paused. “There’s someone behind
me…” Thoughts went through his head before he reached a conclusion. “It’s a
ten foot snowman, isn’t it?” He whirled around, his face alight. “Oh. It’s just
a menacing looking blue Grarrl with a dark, shady look in his eyes, carrying
a chain saw and grinning at us maniacally as he begins to turn on the motor
and raise the weapon so that it glint in the rain as a bolt of lightning brightens
his grotesque features and he cackles insanely.” Al paused again, his face turning
purple. “AHHHHHH!!!” He and Fluffy both jumped.
The Grarrl suddenly frowned. “Hey! Don’t worry! I’m not gonna hurt you!!”
Al, shaken, glared at him. “THEN PUT DOWN THAT MONSTROUS SAW!”
He looked down. “Oh.” He dropped it, nearly crushing Fluffy, who once again
wrapped himself around Al’s head. Al, more annoyed then ever, gave up on prying
him off. “Could you tell us where we can find a place to stay for the night?”
The Grarrl paused, a grin returning to his face. “Oh, sure. As a matter of
fact, I live right in it!” His grin grew wider. “This is the Fates Motel, and
I am the gardener!”
Al suddenly realised the Grarrl was wearing a uniform. “Oh!” Al said. “That’s
great!” He picked up his suitcase. “Let’s go!”
The Fates Motel. A huge, blinking neon sign towered in front of the massive
building. The storm grew louder, and the house was illuminated several times
by huge flashes of lightning, and shaken by crackles of thunder. Al smiled.
“Pleasant looking place, isn’t it?” Fluffy was looking faint. The Grarrl gardener
was smiling even more unpleasantly. “All right. I’m sure they have plenty of
vacancies.” He lowered his voice to a murmur. “Some of our guests have been…
leaving early lately… We don’t know why, but we have a gut feeling about it...”
Fluffy was the only one who heard him…
Al gasped, surprised at the quality of his room. “It’s beautiful!” He breathed.
Indeed, it was a five-star room, complete with a little refrigerator, room service,
and other good stuff.
“All this for free?” The Grarrl bellhop smiled the same grim smile as the gardener.
“Plus room service!”
“This is great!” Al hopped into the room and began to explore. Fluffy was still
a little tentative. He looked around carefully, eyeing everything in the room.
Nothing seemed strange or out of place.
“Hiss…” Fluffy called.
“All right, but don’t use up all the hot water!” Al yelled, his eyes glued
on the massive screen TV in front of him. Fluffy rolled his eyes and slithered
into the bathroom.
Fluffy was hissing a tune as he put on a shower cap. As he hopped into the
tub, he broke out into a full operatic voice as he turned on the shower. “LA
LALALAAAAA!!” He roared in a deep baritone, turning on the hot water, screeching,
then turning on the cold and sighing. Fluffy closed the curtain, and began to
scrub his back, still performing his self composed opera.
Al frowned. “TURN IT DOWN IN THERE!” he cried, “DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO SING
IN THE SHOWER?” He fixated his gaze back on the TV, popping a Grakle Bug into
his mouth. “Some PetPets are just weird…” he muttered, crunching the disgusting
bug and savouring the taste. Suddenly, the TV went blank. “Oh Piffle…” Al groaned.
It was just white fuzz now. But suddenly, a strange little noise emitted from
it. Al’s eyes widened. “What?” He got off his seat and went up closer to the
TV. Al’s eyes began to whirl as the TV glowed. “They’re Baaaaaaaack….” Al said,
hypnotised. The TV flashed a picture of a strange Aisha in a huge false mustache.
“You are getting huuuuuuuuungry, very very huuuuuuuuuuuungry… When I snap my
fingers, you will go down and order the Grarrl Surprise…” The Aisha grinned,
then snapped. Al woke up with a start. “Geeze, must be getting hungry…” He scribbled
down a note on the table, and burst out the door…
A shadow appeared on the shower curtain. Fluffy noticed it, and paused. It
wasn’t his own, it was much too big. And it was getting bigger all the time
as well. Fluffy dropped his poofy washcloth and hissed. The curtain flew open.
Fluffy screeched! The figure was a ghostly blue Acara! “Whatever…” It moaned,
his dull, blank eyes fixated on Fluffy. “Whatever…” Fluffy broke into a high
pitched soprano wail. The apparition winced. “WHATEVER!” It bellowed, rattling
the windows and causing a blast of icy cold wind to hit the stunned Cobrall.
Fluffy blinked, bewildered. The figure waved his transparent arms. “WHATEVER!!”
He wailed, over and over. Fluffy raised an eye quizzically. The ghost paused.
He turned around, approaching the mirror. He carefully wrote a long message
in scrawled handwriting onto the fogged-up looking glass. “Whatever!” He bellowed
again, before releasing a cackling laugh and zooming into the air vent. Fluffy
looked at the mirror, shaking. He saw the message:
Dear Fluffy,
My name is Whatever. I am an Acara, who once lived happily. But because I believed
the deceptive Grarrls, I found a fate worse than death… Death with the ability
to say nothing but FOREVER! ! I was leaving for the evening meal one night…
Whatever had yawned, bored beyond his own wits. He lifted his baggy pants and
smoothed down his Sticks N Stones T-shirt before slumping into his seat at the
dinner table, looking around with a bored face. A Grarrl, apparently the manager,
approached him, smiling dimly. He wore a rich-looking suit and a monocle. “Welcome,
my friend! I see we are looking rather juicy… erm… Nice today!” He handed the
Acara a menu. “We have a REALLY good special today! The best! The most tender,
juicy, delicious Grarrl Surprise on the planet! Would you like to try it?” the
Grarrl asked. The Acara, yawning, looking at the menu. ‘Grarrl SURPRISE’ was
the only word scrawled on it. He gave the Grarrl a quizzical look before giving
menu back to him. “Whatever,” he stated, a glum look on his face. As he yawned
again, he revealed bright blue braces. “Very well.” The Grarrl smiled even more
dimly. “Bring the Acara our SPECIAL!” the Grarrl called. Instantly, three Grarrls
leapt from the kitchen, wielding a variety of spices. The Acara was shocked
by their sudden appearance, and as he fell over in his chair, a Spyder web entangled
him. The Grarrls gathered around their stunned prey. “Mmm… How do Acara burgers
sound?” One offered. The other shook his head. “Kentucky fried fur!” He bellowed.
The other one glared at him. “No way! We did that with the last guest! I say
we stuff him with Grakle Bugs and roast him!” The fourth and littlest Grarrl
watched them argue before screaming: “LET’S JUST EAT HIM ALREADY!” They all
paused. “That sounds good!” the Trio cried in unison. The fourth Grarrl shook
his head. “all right, I call the drumstick!” They closed in on the sickly-looking
Acara, their smiles suddenly growing…
…You don’t want to know the rest. So
anyway, I suggest you run. Run far, far away, and get out of here before It’s
too late… before they offer your owner… the Grarrl Special…
With love, Whatever.
Fluffy dashed into the room. No one there! Just Al’s suitcase and belongings.
He gasped as he read a not left on the table:
Dear Fluffy,
I’ve gone to get some chow down at the kitchens. I’ll be back soon!
-Al
Fluffy screeched again. He dashed out of his room, looking left and right.
He whirled around and sped down the hallway, past the multiple scarlet doors.
They all seemed dark and scary. Suddenly, a pair of Blumaroo twins wheeled into
the hallway on trikes. Fluffy paused. “Will you play with us?” one said, a blank,
monotone look in her face. “Please play with us!” the other called, as if from
a distance. Fluffy blinked twice, then barreled through them, knocking them
to the floor. As he turned down the corner, they helped each other up, shaking
their fists. “WELL GEEZE!” they cried in unison. “YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAID NO!!”
Fluffy hissed back at them before he slid down the staircase, darting towards
the dining room door…
“Hm… Could I see the menu?”
“Certainly.”
“Uh…”
“Anything wrong?”
“There’s nothing on the menu but… Grarrl Surprise…”
Fluffy came closer and closer to the door…
“What is the Grarrl Surprise?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”
Fluffy was almost there….
“Well, I guess that it’s worth a try. I’d like one Gra…”
“HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!”
Fluffy burst into the room, hissing at the top of his lungs. In slow motion,
he flew over to the Managing Grarrl. “What?” the Grarrl cried, putting up his
hands as his monocle fell off. “H…I…I…I…I…I…S…S…S…S!!!” Fluffy cried, gradually
jumping onto the Grarrl’s face. Al stared at them, bewildered. The Grarrl began
to run around the room, crashing into walls as the Cobrall tightened his grip
on his nose. “Uh…” He got up slowly. “I guess Fluffy is in one of his moods…
I should just go…” He slowly crept out of the room, looking back as the rest
of the Grarrls burst from the kitchen, wielding frying pans and spatulas.
“GET OFF OF ME, YOU CRAZY Cobrall!”
“HOLY COW!! WHAT IS IT DOING?!?!”
WHACK! BANG! Noise emanated from the empty dining room, echoing around
the hotel… “HEEEEELP!!”
“HISSS!!”
“TO ARMS!! TO ARMS!!”
BOOOM!!
Fluffy triumphantly wielded a spork, standing up over the defeated Grarrls.
“All right! We give!” They cried, covering their faces. The Grarrl Gardener,
the Grarrl Chef, the Grarrl Hotel Manager, and the Grarrl Bellhop all lay on
the floor, shielding their eyes from the threatening cross-utensil. Fluffy hissed
at them, jabbing at them with the spork menacingly. The chef looked to the plate
he had been holding, gasped, then began to cry. “Look at it!” he yelled in a
thick Italian accent, waving his hands and pointing to a ruined cake lying upside
down on the floor. His mustache wiggled as he screamed. “Look what you’ve done
to my Grarrl Surprise!” Fluffy paused. The chef burst into a loud, wailing sob.
“I WANT MOMMMMA!!”
The bellhop glared at him from his seat in a soup. “What did you do that for?
You ruined Uncle Eddie’s big premiere! That cake could have started him off
on a professional career as a chef! But now look at him!”
The Grarrl, teary eyed, pointed an accusing finger at Fluffy as the manager
tried to comfort him. “YOU! I do not like you at all.” He pulled himself off
the floor, his voice quavering. “Because of this humiliation, I shall never
cook again!” And with that, he threw his chef hat onto the floor and stomped
out of the room, slamming the door so hard a picture fell off the wall. Fluffy
recoiled, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
The remaining Grarrls got up, brushing themselves off. “Well, I hope your happy…”
The manager scowled, picking a leaf of lettuce off of his head. “You’ve ruined
him.”
Fluffy wilted, dropping the spork.
“What… I ask you… WHAT could POSSIBLY possess you to do that?!?” the bellhop
screamed, trying to wring the soup from his pants. The gardener just shook his
head, wincing as he emptied out spaghetti from his pants. Al burst into the
room once again. “FLUFFY!! WE NEED TO TALK!!”
Fluffy hung his head. “Hiss…” he apologised. Fluffy began to explain what he
had heard from the ghost with quiet hisses. As he mentioned the Ghostly Acara,
the Grarrls all gasped.
“Oh NO!” the bellhop cried. “NOT WHATEVER!!”…
A pale-looking Meerca pulled up at the Drive-Thru at the Acara Burger.
“Whatever.”
A squeaky voice called from the tiny, fuzzy-noised box. “I’d like an Acara
Burger with a Small Neocola please!” he yelled.
“Whatever!” the box coughed.
The Meerca drove up to the window. A glum-looking teenage Acara with blue braces
and a goofy, uniform hat on handed him a bag. “Thanks a bunch!” the Meerca called,
handing the Acara a few Neopoints.
“Whatever.” The Acara yawned. He pulled up his baggy pants and fixed his apron
over his Sticks N Stones T-shirt. The Meerca hummed happily as he drove away.
The Acara watched him go, keeping a glum look on his face. Looking around carefully,
he pulled out a ghost costume, suddenly smiling.
“Heh heh… Those dumb Grarrls think their Grarrl Surprise is better then my
Deluxe Acara Burger… Now who’s the better chef, eh?…”
Whatever pulled on the costume, creeping out of his restaurant. He reached
the Fates Motel, zipping up the costume and snickering. Suddenly, a car pulled
up in the almost empty parking lot.
“Hm… looks like a new guest…”
A Blumaroo hopped in, guided by the Grarrl Gardener. The Ghost opened up a
window on the side of the hotel. He snickered as he opened up the Air Vent and
climbed in. “Now to do a little scaring…” he whispered, sliding down the vent
like a disgusting worm. He reached the place over the Lobby, where the Blumaroo
was signing in, and talking excitedly with the gardener. “Oh, you’ll just love
it here…” he was saying. The bellhop was talking to the manager in a hushed
voice. The manager paused. He cleared his throat, then began to talk loudly.
“Yes, I think you're right. We’d better turn on the Hot Air, the rooms might
be getting cold.”
Whatever paused. “What?…”
He looked behind him. A loud, screeching noise emitted from behind him, followed
by a sound like a vacuum. His baggy pants nearly fell off as he began to struggle
to get out. “AHHHHHHH!!!” WOOOSH!! A blast of searing hot air hit Whatever
full on. He was shot from the vent like a canon, right into the kitchen, where
the Grarrl’s pet Spyder had woven a large net.
“ARRRRRGH!” The Acara struggled, but just tightened his trap. Suddenly, the
lights went out. The Chef approached him, holding up a flashlight to his creepy
face.
“Hm…” he began, his white teeth gleaming as he grinned. “What shall we do
with him? How about we BAKE him?” The chef grinned, showing his white teeth
again, and holding up a sharp butcher’s knife.
The bellhop walked over, his eyes gleaming evilly as he held up his own flashlight.
“No, no, I say we FRY him!” He held up some chicken fat, and threw it onto a
heated pan, laughing as it sizzled.
The manager clamored in, trying not to laugh at the horrified look on the Acara’s
face. “Oh, No, we can’t do that… I suggest we FREEZE him.” He opened up the
freeze, revealing Fluffy hanging upside down within among the meat.
Finally, the Gardener walked in, holding a huge rake and looking the most menacing
of them all. “I don’t agree with any of you. I think we should just EAT HIM
RAW!!”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” The Acara’s eyes rolled into his head as he fainted.
The Grarrls all gasped. “Did we scare him too much?”
Al walked in, pulling off his Blumaroo costume. “No, I think we did fine.”
Fluffy hopped off the hook he had been hanging on, glaring at the Acara. He
reached into the net, tugging on the Acara’s face. The Grarrls gasped as it
lifted off to reveal…
“CREEPER THE THIEF!”
Creeper the Undersized Aisha Thief was in a clever disguise. “So he abducted
the REAL Whatever, and hid him in the basement of Acara Burger. He turned on
the security camera, and got pictures and snatches of devious plotting of him
sneaking into the Hotel. Then, he terrorised the guests with hypnotism and false
ghost stories. He would have ruined our business! Then the real Whatever, the
creator of the Acara Burger, would have taken the blame. But Why?” Al pondered.
The real Whatever sheepishly took back his clothes, pulling them on. The pants,
which had been baggy on the short thief, fit the Acara perfectly.
“Do you know?” Al asked him.
“Whatever,” was his response.
The manager piped up. “Of course! He looked so familiar!” He reached into the
Thief’s pocket and pulled out a huge bristly ball of hair. “He put on this big
fake mustache and befriended me under the name Zilius Haze! He convinced me
not to leave the hotel to my sons. In fact, I trusted him so much I said should
I ever leave the business, I’d give him the hotel instead!”
They all crowded around the Aisha, grinning. Creeper sighed. “I despise you,
Al. I despise you, Fluffy. I hope you both fall into the Rainbow Fountain and
come out as mutant Chias. And another thing, I never used…”
Fluffy whacked him over the head.
“Ow!” He quickly fell silent after that.
“We couldn’t thank you enough, Fluffy.” The Grarrls all shook his tail. “And
you too Al!” They all shook Al’s paws. “Hey, who’s up for some Grarrl Surprise?”
Al and Fluffy cheered. “Good!” The Grarrl pulled out a napkin, tying it around
his neck. So did all the rest.
Al stopped. “Uh… I thought we were having Grarrl surprise…”
Creeper’s eyes widened. “Like I was trying to say, I didn’t have any hypnotism
tapes about getting hungry…” He was pushed into the corner with Al and Fluffy.
“Hey, wait a second…” Al said. “What IS Grarrl surprise?”
The Grarrls ignored him. “Should we bake them?…”
“Nah, let’s fry them…”
The End | 
