The Swamp Ghoul Invasion

by chickchasez

It was an exceptionally warm day in Neopia when the Swamp Ghouls came. No one saw them coming or knew what to do. The entire world was in chaos. The Swamp Ghouls, who were like large blue bags with horns, rose up from the ground in flocks and then spread out to rain terror. Some went into shops and threw food at the customers, others went into Neopian homes and stole precious items. The ghouls always made plenty of horrid noises to sound their arrival, and most Neopians hid their families and themselves until the ghouls left. The family living at 3469 Earth Faerie Close were an exception.

The residents of 3469 Earth Faerie Close were a strange family indeed. Fanancy, Shnoogums, and Huitzilopoctli were all completely different. Fanancy was a long sleek Zafara. Shnoogums was a strong, smart Lupe. And Huitzilopoctli was the most beautiful. She was an Eyrie with dark and light blue stripes all over. Fanancy was colored like a night sky, with little stars all over. Shnoogums had cloud patterns on his back. So they all looked different. Yet it was a wonderful family. And on the day that the Swamp Ghouls came into Neopia, this wonderful family was at home, enjoying a nice quiet game of Jeopardy on the television set.

“What is the Mariana Trench!” screamed Fanancy when Chia Treblec said, “The deepest point in all the oceans on the planet Earth.”

“Shut up, Fanancy! You’re ruining the show for us!” growled Shnoogums, throwing a paw-ful of popcorn at her.

“Oh, you’re just jealous ‘cause I’m so smart and beautiful,” she replied, opening a can of Cherry Neocola.

Shnoogums rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. Huitzilopoctli was quietly munching on a chocolate bar and clutching a pink pillow in her talons. She turned towards them and snapped her beak impatiently.

“I’m trying to hear the show, if you two don’t mind,” she snapped.

Fanancy and Shnoogums got quiet and for a few minutes there was peace. Then the television made a little clicking noise and a breaking news report came on.

“This is Darrel Blumaroo. I’m here with an urgent breaking new report. Swamp Ghouls have invaded Neopia. Civilians are urged to lock their doors and remain calm while professional Battledome squads take care of the problem. If confronted with a Swamp Ghoul, do not, I repeat, do not attempt to fight it. It will only take a few of your things and leave peacefully if you don’t fight it. Wait--we’ve just got news that these Swamp Ghouls are armed and extremely dangerous. Stay away from them at all costs! If there is an emergency, just--”

The reporter gasped as a floating blue figure hovered in front of the camera. It laughed menacingly and people were heard screaming in the background. The television went fuzzy after that, and then Jeopardy came back on.

“Stonehenge!” said a contestant.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said the host. “The answer was Cheddar.”

Fanancy flipped the television off.

“Come on, guys, let’s go look outside for Swamp Ghouls!” she said.

“Are you nuts? The Blumaroo guy told us to stay away from them!” said Shnoogums.

“I’m scared,” said Huitzilopoctli. “Do they eat Eyries? They won’t take the entertainment center, will they?”

“Oh, you guys are such wimps! They’re just bags with horns and eyes, aren’t they? But then again...maybe we should guard the entertainment center, just in case they get any ideas,” said Fanancy.

“It’d sure be neat to see the Battledome squad take out some ghouls, though,” said Shnoogums.

The Battledome squad was a highly respected group of strong NeoPets. They were equipped with fine weapons and were like an army to Neopia. Fanancy, Shnoogums, and Huitzilopoctli had always dreamed of being in the squad one day.

“Well, let’s lock up some of our stuff first, then we’ll go on the roof and look around for a while,” said Fanancy.

She was the oldest sibling and therefore led the family. They spent the next hour gathering all their most precious items and storing them in the fallout shelter. When that was full, they put more valuables in the wine cellar. By the end the NeoPets were so exhausted they flopped down on the couch in the living room and watched The Mommy on the HSO channel. They didn’t even hear the menacing laughter and horrible sounds bubbling up from the pipes in the toilets and sinks.

Out of all the houses in Faerieland, Zira had chosen 3469 Earth Faerie Close to be her pack’s hideout. She was a very powerful Swamp Ghoul, but she preferred to be called a Demon. That name was so much less degrading than Swamp Ghoul.

“We shall stay here,” she growled to her pack. “Drive the inhabitants out. Better start with a pipe entrance, and do the soul-sucking routine. Call me old fashioned, but I still believe it’s the most effective one in the book.” She floated silently after that, watching her minions fly down to the house, laughing hysterically.

“Can we go on the roof now?” moaned Shnoogums. “I’m bored.”

“Yes, I suppose we--” began Fanancy, but she was interrupted by a melody of laughing voices coming from all directions. Blue figures floated through the walls, bobbing spookily and laughing. Their eyes were blood red and their claws looked awfully sharp. The three trembling NeoPets swallowed heavily.

“Greetings, petsssss,” laughed a large Swamp Ghoul.

“We’ll be needing this lovely house of yours, so do kindly GET OUT NOW, YOU WORTHLESS NEOPETS, OR WE’LL SUCK YOUR SOULS OUT THROW YOUR TOES!” All the ghouls laughed even harder at this and started grabbing at the little NeoPets. Fanancy stood up and arched her back.

“We’re not afraid of you, and we’re not worthless, either!” she growled.

For a moment the ghouls looked almost surprised. They hadn’t expected that kind of reaction. Usually there was screaming and running involved. To be honest, the ghouls had never really had to do anything besides frighten NeoPets in the past. Now that wasn’t working. They had had no training in the field of combat. Several of the ghouls started to panic. One backed up through the wall back to the toilet where he had first come in, and hid in the pipe.

“Perhaps we did not make ourselves clear, WORTHLESS!” bellowed the big ghoul. “Do not anger us further with this nonsense! Leave now or suffer our wrath!”

Fanancy did not move a step. Instead she growled just as loudly as the ghoul had shouted.

“This is our home, and I really don’t think you can do anything to us!”

“Exnay! Exnay!” whispered Shnoogums. He smiled innocently and backed away with his other sister. The ghouls looked at each other questionably and scratched their heads. This was a strong NeoPet they were dealing with.

Fanancy looked over to the door to the kitchen and made a run for it. Only the big ghoul followed her. When she got in the large room, she made for the refrigerator.

“This isn’t the time for eating, worthless NeoPets,” said the ghoul.

Fanancy only smiled and opened the fridge. She stood in front of it like she was guarding the food inside. The ghoul laughed and charged. He attacked so fast that he couldn’t turn or stop when Fanancy stepped aside. He went right into the fridge, knocking over a shelf of cheese. The ghoul was instantly frozen when Fanancy turned the temperature down. It looked quite pretty, Fanancy thought when she looked at the frozen blue demon. She closed the door and ran over to the main dining room. Now she knew the demons’ weaknesses.

Shnoogums and Huitzilopoctli found themselves pressed against the wall by the remaining ghouls.

“You ain't going nowhere now,” they said.

There was a loud sound from behind them as a vase fell to the floor. The ghouls turned around to look. Another ghoul had accidentally knocked the vase over and was floating in circles laughing. Shnoogums poked his sister and tilted his head towards the kitchen. They quickly slid past the ghouls and dashed into the kitchen.

“Where’s Fanancy?” cried Huitzilopoctli. She ran over to the fridge.

“I just need a Neocola and then I’ll be fi-AHHHHH!” she screamed when she saw the solidified ghoul. Shnoogums pulled her into the dining room and they found Fanancy holding three fire extinguishers.

“I thought you guys would never get here,” she said. She handed each an extinguisher.

“Here’s the plan. Their weakness is cold air, so we go in there and freeze every last one of those babies with these!” she said.

“What if they...hurt us?” squealed Huitzilopoctli.

“They can’t hurt us when they’re frozen,” replied Fanancy.

But when they got into the living room, the ghouls were gone. Their laughter could be heard in the house, but they had all split up to look for the pets. Fanancy turned to face her siblings.

“The hunt begins,” she said, and ran off towards the guest rooms.

“Split up,” she called behind her. Shnoogums turned to his sister.

“Well, just think of it as tag,” he said hopelessly. “Only in this version, you have to hit them with about a quart of Halon, water, and CO.

Huitzilopoctli smiled and ran into the kitchen. She came back with a tub of liquid chocolate.

“Sit still,” she told Shnoogums.

She smeared chocolate stripes under his eyes.

“Now you look like a Battledome squad member!” she said.

Shnoogums put chocolate on his sister’s face too, and they set out in different directions.

Fanancy was going from room to room, spraying the screeching ghouls with her extinguisher. She had already taken out ten by the time she met up with her brother in his room. His fur was messed up and he was panting. There was a scratch wound on his left hind leg and he was resting on his bed. Fanancy ran over to him and made sure the wound wasn’t too deep.

“I’ll be OK, I just need to sit down for a bit,” he panted. “I’ve gotten eight so far, but the last one was a nasty one. He threw a book at me and scratched my leg.”

Fanancy was angry. Not at her brother, but at the ghouls. She took her extinguisher and turned to leave. Then she went back again and wiped the chocolate mess off of her brother’s face. Then she left.

Zira was growing impatient. The NeoPets had not left the house yet, and none of the ghouls had returned. She was a bit worried, but not much. Finally after a half hour of waiting, she flew down to the home and went in. The first thing she saw was an angry Eyrie running towards her with an extinguisher. The Eyrie stopped with surprise and almost fell. Zira roared and stretched her jaw out so that it dangled loosely. The Eyrie cowered and ran away. Zira smiled and floated slowly around, looking at the house. There was an occasional sound from one of her ghouls, but then there was another hissing sound and the ghoulish laughter would stop. Zira wondered what these NeoPets thought they were doing.

Huitzilopoctli hid under her bed with her talons over her head. The ghoul she had just seen was the most frightening thing she had ever seen. It was a vibrant blue and everything about her seemed so much more horrifying than a normal ghoul. Huitzilopoctli had taken down twelve ghouls so far, and she thought that was a good number to stop at.

At last, there was only Zira left in the house. She was the only ghoul left, and she knew it. She often passed by a solidified statue of one of her minions and shook her head in disgust. Then again, she was also afraid. What weapon were these creatures using? It was certainly effective, whatever it was. A Zafara emerged from behind a curtain. She was tired looking and angry. In her hand was a fire extinguisher. Of course! thought Zira. They’re freezing my minions with extinguishers! She smiled.

“Well,” she said.

“You’ve put up quite a fight for a pathetic little weakling like yourself! That thing won’t have any effect on me, by the way. I’m invincible to normal stuff like that. I suggest we settle this somewhere else.”

Fanancy thought it over.

Why not settle it now? What’s in it for you?” she said.

“Let's fight in the Battledome. If you win, I take all my minions and leave this world forever. If I win, we stay in Neopia, and you, my little dear, will be destroyed!”

Fanancy gulped. “OK,” she said.

In an instant they were both at the Battledome Fanancy looked around the arena and saw thousands of Neopians watching them. The Neopians were just as confused as she was and they were all wondering why they were there. Fanancy saw a table nearby with weapons on it. She picked a helmet, shield, and a Frost Cannon. Zira was on the other end of the arena and had chosen a helmet and a rainbow gun. Fanancy was trembling and getting frightened when Shnoogums and Huitzilopoctli appeared by her.

“Even the three of you are no match for me,” leered Zira. “I shall crush you like bugs!”

And with that, a gong sounded and the fight began. Shnoogums quickly picked up a sword and Huitzilopoctli got a lightning wand. For five minutes the fighters dodged and jumped and snarled and attacked. So far the NeoPets were losing. Zira was just too strong for them. Weapons kept appearing out of thin air and zooming into Zira’s claws. Then Zira fired a Frost Cannon at the NeoPets and they fell onto the ground. At that instant, a Faerie appeared by the NeoPets. She was the Great Battle Faerie who was said to help noble young NeoPets. With a flick of the wrist, she healed the NeoPets and handed each a wand. Huitzilopoctli got the Wand of the Air Faerie, Shnoogums got the wand of the Fire Faerie, and Fanancy got the Wand of the Water Faerie. The pets looked at each other and all of them shot their wands at Zira at the same time.

The result was fascinating. Little holes of light appeared all over Zira’s body and she snarled with anger.

“That’s not fair!” she screamed. “How dare you! AUGGHGHH!”

Finally she exploded in a stream of light. All the Swamp Ghouls in Neopia exploded just as she had. Fanancy and her siblings cheered with the crowd and danced around the arena. The Battle Faerie came to them and beckoned them to come close. She gave each NeoPet a gold medallion and bowed to them. They turned to face the crowd and found that they were back at home, sitting on the couch. The medallions were still around their necks, though. And each of the Great Faeries had given them a present for saving Neopia. The Fire Faerie had given them the ability to roar fire like a dragon, the Water Faerie had given them enchanted snow weapons, The Dark Faerie had given them each dark shields, the Earth Faerie gave them a bountiful feast which was laid out on the table, the Air Faerie gave them crystal flowers, and the Light Faerie gave them the ability to see in the dark.

After that, the Battledome squad came to 3469 Earth Faerie Close. They gave each pet a promise that when they were old enough, they could be in the official Battledome squad. When everyone had left, the NeoPets sat down on the couch again and turned on the television.

“Want to watch Jeopardy?” asked Fanancy. The other two said yes, and they all settled down after their long day.

The End