The Shadow Mirror

     “Why in the world would you whack Turmaculus with a bat? Haven’t you heard the stories? He’s eaten petpets before,” Chris the starry Shoyru answered.

     Ello laughed at her owner’s reply. She liked asking him stupid questions because of his strange replies.

     “Where do you get these violent thoughts?” Chris asked, smiling. He then tripped over a rock he didn’t see while walking. Chris got up and shouted, “Uh, stupid rock! You will perish!” He picked up the rock and chucked it off in the distance! The rock hit a nearby apple tree and a big juicy apple fell and conked Chris on the head. “AH!” he screamed in anger.

     Ello gave him a look. “Gee, where do I get my violent thoughts? Who knows, I certainly don’t get it from my owner.” She smirked sarcastically.

     Chris grinned. “That rock had it coming to him and you know it.” The two then laughed, and started walking again. They were in Neopia Central on their way to their friend’s yard sale.

     Soon, after walking for fifteen more minutes in the nice warm sunshine, they reached their friend’s house. “Hey, guys,” Zachary greeted them. Zach was a blue Lenny and he and his grandpa were the ones having the yard sale. Tables and tables of random items covered his front yard, most of the things looking like they belonged to Zach’s grandpa.

     “Hey, Zach,” Chris greeted him.

     Ello’s eyes immediately scanned the table they were in front of, seeing if she wanted anything. She then saw a Lu codestone. “Chris, can I have this?” Ello asked, showing him the codestone.

     “Sure, Ello. How much, Zach?” Chris replied.

     “Well, because you two have been my long time friends... I’ll sell it to you one neopoint cheaper than marketplace price,” Zach answered.

     Chris rolled his eyes. “Gee thanks, you really make us feel special. How about 1000 neopoints?”

     “Deal,” Zach accepted, handing Ello the codestone.

     Ello clutched it tightly and cooed, “Thanks, Chris.”

     “No problem, buddy. Now let’s go find something for me.”

     Chris and Ello then walked off to other tables, as Zach went to go help other customers. There were mainly plushies all over the tables, with an occasional piece of furniture or Dr. Sloth shirt. “I don’t see anything I like,” Chris sighed as he set down a red Scorchio plushie.

     “Well, there’s one more table to look at; we might as well check it out,” Ello suggested. Chris nodded and went to the table. All over it was old makeup and hair bows. “Oh look, Chris, here’s something you always wanted- purple lipstick,” Ello joked.

     “Yeah, I want that as much as the Space Faerie wants a signed autobiography of Dr. Sloth.” Chris smirked. He saw something strange. “Hey, check this out.” He picked up a strange looking mirror.

     The mirror looked old, maybe even older than Zach’s grandpa. It was painted black, and all along the handle was purple gems shining brightly and around the glass were thorns tightly twined around it.

     “It’s pretty in all, but don’t you think it’s a little girly for you?” Ello asked.

     “Obviously I’d add it to my collection,” Chris answered. A year ago Chris began collecting strange looking and rare things he found. This mirror certainly would add to his collection.

     “Well, you should get it if you like it.” Ello smiled.

     “I think I will get it. Hey, Zach, how much for the mirror?” Chris yelled across the yard.

     “That old thing? You can have it for free!” Zach called back.

     “Wow, thanks, Zach!” Chris exclaimed with happiness. He turned to Ello, “Ready to head home?”

     Ello replied with a simple, “Coo.”

     “Hey, Zach, we’re going to head off, thanks for the mirror and codestone!” Chris called.

     “Okay, bye!”

     Chris and Ello then began to fly off towards the skies. The two lived in Mystery Island so they had to leave early to make it to their house by dinnertime.

     The rays of the sun warmed Ello’s back, as she effortlessly soared through the sky. By now she and Chris would’ve had a race to see who would get home first, but he seemed preoccupied.

     Chris was carefully studying the mirror. After toying with the handle, he discovered that a piece of paper slipped out. “Hey, check this paper out,” Chris told Ello. The two looked at the paper and it read:

     Do not look into in the dark.

     “Well, that seems a little stupid. Why would you look into a mirror in the dark? You couldn’t see your reflection,” Ello replied.

     “That does seem strange,” Chris agreed. He put the note in a slot in the mirror. “I’m starting to see the island. Want to race to the house?”

     “You’re on!” Ello accepted. The two zoomed off, forgetting what they had just read about the mirror.

     ~*~

     It was nighttime and one of the darkest nights of the year. The moon seemed so lifeless, barely giving out any light and there were no stars to be found.

     Chris lay in his bed, tossing and turning uncomfortably. He hadn’t had a wink of sleep, and he tiredly watched the minutes of his alarm clock go by. When it was almost midnight, Chris sat up and groaned, “Forget it!” He carefully got out of his bed, trying not to wake up Ello, who was curled in a ball at the end of his bed.

     Chris stood there in his room for a moment, his mind completely blank. Just then memories of earlier popped into his head. Why would the mirror have a paper telling you not to look into it in the dark? Where does that even begin to make sense?

     Almost as if it was right on cue, Chris then turned his head and looked at the mirror lying on his desk. It just sat there, but it was almost as if it was beckoning him- beckoning him to come closer.

     Chris took a few steps towards the mirror but stopped. For fifteen minutes he stared at it and then walked right up to it. He picked it up, but before looking into it paused for one moment- then he stared into the mirror.

     “Hey, gorgeous.” Chris grinned when he saw his reflection. “I should’ve known nothing would happen. All I see is my handsome face.” But then his reflection started to get blurry. It blurred from starry to black, and then the shape began to morph. Chris squinted his eyes, trying to see what was in the mirror.

     He froze- staring back at him was another creature, with bright yellow eyes glaring at him. Chris then realized that was no random creature- it was the Shadow Usul.

     Chris tried to put the mirror down but his paw wouldn’t move! He tried to look away but the Shadow Usul locked his eyes with hers! “Chris... come join me. Come into my mirror.” The Shadow Usul gestured. “Come into my mirror.”

     “No! No, let me go!” Chris screamed. It was no use; he could feel himself getting sucked in! “No!”

     “Yes.” The Shadow Usul smiled.

     The scenery of the mirror changed and Chris saw shadow neopets tied up with chains. Their eyes were glowing bright red. “Join, join, join!” their raspy and maniacal voices cheered.

     Suddenly Chris was right next to them! “Oh no, I’m in the mirror!” he exclaimed. Chris shot off running, but he couldn't escape the darkness. It didn't matter where he went or which direction he flew to; it still seemed he was in the same spot!

     "Don't try and run," the chained neopets laughed. "You're going to stay here forever and ever."

     Then chains appeared on Chris's paws! “No! Let me go!” Chris yelped, struggling to break away. He watched as his starry color began to turn shadow.

     “You’re mine now,” the Shadow Usul laughed. "You'll be a prisoner in my mirror as long as you live."

     Chris couldn’t see her, but heard her voice loud and clear. The shadow color covered just about every inch of his body, when suddenly a large pink paw appeared out of nowhere!

     The paw grabbed Chris! “No!” he screamed. There was a sudden flash, and Chris realized he was back in his bedroom! “I’m back!” he cried. He then looked up to see Ello giving him a glare.

     “Are you insane? The paper specifically said ‘do not look into in the dark’! And what do I wake up to? You screaming like a girl inside the mirror! You’re lucky I saved you!” Ello yelled.

     “Hey, I resent that, I do not scream like a girl,” was all Chris replied with. Ello saved him; that explained the pink paw. “I didn’t mean to look into it. It was like the mirror enchanted me or something.”

     “Whatever! Let’s just return this thing to Zach. He obviously knows what to do with it and how to keep it from hurting people.”

     Chris looked at the clock. “It’s 12:34 in the morning!”

     Ello rolled her eyes. “You act as if it matters what time we go over there.”

     “Well, what if he’s asleep?”

     “We’ll wake him up! This mirror is too dangerous!”

     “All I’m saying is that we could try being a little considerate.”

     “Considerate? Dude, I just pulled you out of a mirror and you want us to be considerate?”

     While Ello and Chris were fighting, they didn’t notice the mirror float up in mid air. The mirror floated directly above their heads and then the Shadow Usul roared, “No one escapes my mirror!”

     “Ah!” Chris and Ello shrieked at the same time. The two then dashed off flying, with the mirror right behind them! All over their neohome the two flew, but the mirror was still in close pursuit!

     “We need a plan!” Chris yelped to Ello.

     “Just as long as we’re considerate about it,” she replied.

     “Ello, this is no time for sarcasm! We need to find a way to stop that crazy mirror!”

     Ello thought for a few seconds. “Okay, I’ve got an idea!”

     “Brilliant! What is it?”

     “No time to explain, just distract the mirror for me!”

     Chris growled. “Oh, so now I’m a decoy?”

     Ello grinned. “Pretty much.” She then swerved left and started to head back towards Chris’s room. The mirror didn’t follow her, but continued to pursue Chris.

     Finally Chris reached a dead end in his kitchen. He halted to a stop and turned around to face the mirror. It was now stopped, and hovering a few feet away. “This is it for you, Chris. Now come back to my mirror,” the Shadow Usul said sternly. "Once a prisoner, always a prisoner."

     “Okay, I’ll join you again,” Chris sighed. “Only if you promise leave the rest of my family alone.”

     “I only hunt who looks into me. If your family does what you did, they will fall prey to me as well,” the Shadow Usul explained. Even though Chris couldn’t see her face, he knew she had a devious smile spread across it. The mirror started to float closer and closer to Chris.

     “Please hurry, Ello,” Chris whispered. The mirror was about to suck him in when- BAM!

     Ello threw a sheet over the mirror, and then took all the corners and wrapped them together, trapping the mirror. Then Ello took a baseball bat and repeatedly whacked the covered mirror. After her tenth whack she threw down the bat and took in a satisfied breath.

     “That was close,” Chris sighed, letting out a relieved breath as well.

     “Yeah, sorry it took so long, I was about to throw the sheet, but then I saw this piece of metal that was really shiny and I had to stare at it,” Ello said. She then grinned.

     Chris rolled his eyes and laughed, “You can’t take anything seriously, can you? Always have to make jokes.”

     “Thank you for stating the obvious. Now let’s take this mirror to Zach’s house.”

     “Fine, let’s go.”

     ~*~

     “So, Zach, how many points did we make today?” Zach’s grandpa asked. The old and wrinkly yellow Lenny watched his grandson count out their earnings.

     “15,000 points!” Zach exclaimed.

     “Excellent! That’s enough for me to buy-,”

     The doorbell rang, interrupting Zach’s grandpa. Zach answered the door, surprised to see Chris and Ello standing there.

     “Dude, I need to give you this mirror back,” Chris told him. “It tried to hurt me!”

     “Uh,” Zach replied, not sure how to react to Chris’s strange sentence.

     His grandpa then came to the door and saw Chris holding the mirror. “Zach! You gave Chris my mirror! Do you know how dangerous that is?” he yelled.

     “We have a pretty good idea of how dangerous it is,” Ello huffed. She handed Zach’s grandpa the mirror. “You can take it back.”

     The grandpa took it and was about to give a speech on how dangerous the mirror was, but then his jaw dropped. “I don’t believe it,” he murmured softly.

     “What is it, Grandpa?” Zach asked.

     “Chris, you can keep this mirror. It’s no longer dangerous,” the grandpa said.

     "No way!" Chris and Ello exclaimed at the same time.

     "No, really, it's no longer dangerous. Look," said the grandpa. He turned the mirror towards Chris and Ello, to show a giant crack across the mirror's glass. The two then saw something that set their mind at ease- their reflection.

The End

I hope you enjoyed my story and feedback is appreciated! Hooray for Faellies and Shoyrus!