Surprise, Surprise!

     He thought of the events that transpired this very day. He remembered an encounter with the Crumpetmonger in Neovia (and buying a snack or two), more than half of Neopia migrating to the Haunted Woods because of some sort of food contest, solving a really hard puzzle for the Brain Tree because he got bored, zapping pesky robot Chia Clowns for good old Sidney, and finally – finally – tending to an elderly Wocky's garden, who rewarded him with a fresh batch of cookies straight out of the oven. Occasionally, residents of the Haunted Woods would ask him to do menial tasks for them, like delivering parcels, zapping pests and moving furniture around their neohomes. If he did get a day off, he'll be sleeping inside his home all day, or thinking.

     He planned on staying in for the rest of the day, but fate seems to say otherwise. As he was dreaming about battling a strange Chia warlock with an even stranger moustache, he was woken by a loud rap on his door.

     He shot up at once and pulled on his gloves. If this is a real estate Aisha suggesting that he move out of his shack again, he'll zap him into smithereens. Unfortunately, though, the neopet knocking on his door is not a real estate Aisha, but a little Usul girl in a red cloak. She looked familiar, but Magax cannot put a finger as to who she is.

     "E-excuse me, Mister Magax," the girl stammered. "My name is Gilly. I seem to have lost my way through the woods. By any chance, can you please guide me to the exit of this cemetery?"

     The scary blue Wocky gauged her from head to foot. She was tiny – maybe a good few feet tall – with shocking orange hair that was tucked underneath a scraggly-looking red cloak. She's smart enough to wear mittens – the cold around this part of the woods is almost unbearable. Even though she looked perfectly harmless, she STILL disrupted his sleep, and that's what Magax hated the most.

     "Get lost, girl," he growled, closing the door.

     The little Usul stuck her foot out on the door jamb. "I'm afraid I already am," she sheepishly said, shouldering her way through, "but I really have to get out of here. I need to return to the gypsy camp before —"

     A loud howl echoed through the woods. She flinched, ducking through Magax's outstretched arm and into his shack.

     "Watch it, you! Hey, get outta that, you little — what in Fyora's name — NO! GET YOUR HANDS OF MY USUKI, YOU INSOLENT PILE OF —" Magax chased after the little girl. He grabbed her by the arm as she was about to throw open the door of his closet.

     "Please, Magax sir!" she cried, clinging onto his arm like a lifeline. "Please don't let me out there! They — the Werelupes — they're coming after me!"

     Magax passed a hand over his face, irritated at the tiny Usul cowering under his table. "Look, girl," he sighed. How will he put this...? "Do you know that I've had a very tiring day, running errands and stuff like that?"

     Gilly shook her head.

     "And that I need some shuteye?"

     She shook her head again, more profusely this time. "No. What I do know, however, is that it's not night yet."

     Magax peered through the shutters. When you live in the Haunted Woods, you get lost in time. The days and the nights look exactly the same. Coupled with his exhaustion, the fact seems truer and truer with every tick of the clock. The little girl wasn't helping, too.

     He let out one big yawn, plopping on his cot in the process. He stretched his arms. "I'm going back to sleep," he declared, his eyelids drooping. "You know where the front door is. Just find your way out. And lock the door, will you?"

     The Usul clutched on the leg of his table. "W-Werelupes!"

     He cracked open one eye. "They won't eat you. Just get a stick and throw it at them or something. See if it hits." He yawned again. "That's not my problem anymore. I'm on my day or afternoon or night off, and I'm enjoying every minute of it."

     "I don't have a stick. Should I throw your Usuki?"

     "NO!" he exclaimed, jolting up from his cot and glaring at her. "Get your hands off my Usuki, girl! Better yet, put it back where I last left it! You touch your own stuff, okay!?"

     "I didn't know you play with Usukis," she remarked, a grin creeping up her face. Devious little girl...

     "I don't."

     "Then why are they out of their boxes?" She began counting. "There's the Usuki Pirate Wench, which you kept near your boots, a Tyrannian Usuki underneath all your shirts, a Reject Snowager Usuki, the Prom Date Usuki that you keep near the Prom Queen Usuki, this Magical Hair Usuki that I'm holding, and –"

     "Okay, that's enough!" He stood up and opened the door for her. "Get outta my shack."

      "I don't want to." She pouted. "Can you at least accompany me to the front door, Magax, sir?" She leaned on the plane of the door. "Please? So the Werelupes won't eat me?"

     He rolled his eyes. "Don't be preposterous." He sighed. "But okay. Fine. Just to get rid of you."

     She squealed, the little runt. "Yes! Finally!" She tugged on Magax's arm. "Come on! Come on! Come on!" She literally swung herself on his arm. "Maybe you can even meet my friends in the gypsy camp. They're a good lot. Even Sophie thought so."

     "Is that so?" He opened the door. He knew Sophie, all right. The swamp witch's as grumpy as a Plumpy, and he'd rather be alone on this day than see her again. "Will meeting them help me regain the faeries' trust?"

     Gilly fiddled with her thumbs. "Uh, no."

     "Then I won't bother to meet them. Besides, I don't need any –"

     POP!

     "SURPRISE!" everyone chorused, confetti raining down upon them, colouring the dullness of the Haunted Woods with reds and greens and purples.

     Magax nearly gaped at what he saw. Hundreds of residents crowded around him, popping confetti everywhere. There were tables laden with food, hats and toys and other things that can only be seen at parties. What caught his attention, though, were the blue-green banners that hung messily in between trees, bearing the words "THANK YOU, SAVIOUR OF THE HAUNTED WOODS" in black and orange paint. For once, Magax the Destroyer was left speechless.

     "We wanted to thank you," piped an Elderly Xweetok from the crowd. He recognized her as the owner of the garden he helped rid pests of. "—for everything. You've been patient enough in the last few months, tending to small tasks that we can do ourselves."

     "And you helped me escape from scarabs once," said a Red Ogrin from the middle of the crowd. "You know, from that Expellibox in Qasala. It's hard to have scarabs under your blankets when you least expect them."

     Other words of encouragement flooded the woods. Magax would have stood there looking like an idiot, if not for a small hand that tugged at the hem of his shirt.

     "We're all your friends," Gilly said, smiling up at him. "You might not remember, but you helped me once, sir."

     "What do you mean?"

     "It was a long time ago. I was lost in the woods, as always." She sighed. "It happened right after I escaped from the castle of Eliv Thade. I was hungry, and you gave me food."

     "I don't –"

     "Of course you don't," she told him. "You see, good sir Magax, helping others is second nature to you. That what makes you so special." She gestured to all of the neopets around them. "They think you're special."

     "Yeah, we do!" one exclaimed, sipping on a cup of borovan.

     "You're so awesome, Magax!" piped another.

     "We appreciate what you do!"

     "Yes!"

     "Yeah!"

     "That's why we're thanking you for everything that you've done!"

     Magax smiled. Gilly's right; maybe he do have friends.

     "So, now that we're friends," said the little Usul, her face lighting up like a Gigantic Decorated Christmas Tree on the Day of Giving. "Can I hang out every day at your house? Please?"

     "No."

     "Or let me travel with you every once in a while?"

     "No."

     "Or let me have all your Usukis?"

     "NO!"

     That was his final word.

The End