A Part of the Family 2: a Xweetok Brother

Author's Notes: Since the surprise reaction to A Part Of The Family 1, I thought that I should inform you that Guy and Gryffindor have recently gained a brother. That's right. A brother. This details the events that ensued the arrival of young Xavier Sebastian.

'But I want to be Armin!'

     'But you're always Armin!'

     'That's because I'm a Bori and you're a girl, so you have to play Hannah!'

     Crazy listened to the playful bickering between her pets. It had been nearly three months since Guy_T_Sebastian, her handsome blue Bori, had accepted Gryffindor_Sebastian, a stunning red Hissi, as his sister. The two had become best friends and life had been fairly quiet. That was, until now.

     Crazy sighed and got up off the stone chair she had recently purchased. Her petpet shop was doing fairly well and the addition of Flouds to her inventory had sent her profits sky-rocketing. It had allowed her to landscape the surrounding grounds of their neohome on Mystery Island and plan for a second level to their house. At the moment, they were all sleeping in the rumpus room on camp beds. The beds they owned were stored away until the new renovations had been completed.

     Then how, she wondered, was she going to break the news that their family was going to be turned upside down again? Cosima the Cobrall had stopped hissing at Paulini the Angelpuss and the family was finally settling down. How, then, could she explain his arrival? It was a disaster.

     Crazy looked out of the Hissi Stained Glass Window that the builders had installed in the rumpus room. It overlooked the pretty front yard which, while empty, had been turfed and housed a couple of innocent shrubs. Guy and Gryffindor tumbled about playfully, Gryffindor obviously resigned to playing the role of Hannah again. Crazy smiled at the family. She wouldn't have agreed, normally, but there was something about him...

     It had started at the Adoption Agency. Crazy ran a program with the Uni and Dr_Death for all the unadopted pets, through which the petpets that had not been sold at the end of the day would be taken to the Agency to interact with the pets. It was when a young yellow Uni had finished playing with a small Hopso that guy_sebastian_crazy had noticed him. She pointed out the pet, who was huddled in the corner of the playroom, to the Uni in charge.

     'Who's that?' Crazy asked. The Uni shrugged.

     'Apparently, he's one of the new pets. A Xweetok. He was discovered by the Soup Faerie wandering the streets of Neopia Central last night. He was half-starved and cold when he came to us. He won't talk to us or even tell us his name.'

     Crazy frowned, then set her face determinedly and scooped up the tiny Hopso, which squeaked in surprise. She strode purposefully onward, arriving at the tiny neopet.

     'Well, hi there!' Crazy said cheerfully. The Xweetok only huddled away further. Crazy set the struggling Hopso down and stepped away. The pink petpet hopped closer and sniffed at the pet. The Xweetok screamed.

     'GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY! WHAT THE HECK IS IT?!'

     Crazy laughed and touched the Hopso's floppy ears.

     'It's just a Hopso. It's a harmless petpet. This one's name is Honouria. Would you like to play with her?'

     The Xweetok blinked at her rapidly. Crazy nudged the Hopso over to the neopet. He held out a paw to the petpet. The pink petpet squeaked and nuzzled the Xweetok's paw. The Xweetok sighed with relief. He patted the rabbit-like creature gingerly.

     Crazy sat on a nearby chair and watched him play with the petpet.

     'So, do you have a name?'

     'No. I wasn't given one.'

     'Would you like one?'

     The Xweetok looked at Crazy, his left paw tickling the underside of the Hopso's stomach.

     'A name is a promise. You can't promise to take me home and give me a family.'

     'What if I could?'

     'You have pets of your own. I wouldn't fit in.'

     'It's true that I have pets, but we are a family with a big heart. Besides, we're renovating. You can have your own room.'

     'Assuming that I believe you, what would you call me?'

     Crazy got up and paced for a moment, considering names for her newly-adopted pet. She halted as he hugged the Hopso tightly.

     'Xavier. You look like a Xavier. Henceforth, you shall be known as Xavier_Sebastian,' Crazy said determinedly. The newly-christened Xavier grinned shyly and hugged the Hopso tighter.

     * * *

     And so Crazy found herself in the predicament that she was now in. That happened four days ago and tomorrow she was due to go back and pick up Xavier. How on earth was she going to explain this to Guy and Gryffindor? She heard the front door slam as her two pets raced inside with their petpets. Crazy inwardly groaned. This was impossible. But she had to tell them before Xavier arrived.

     'GUY! GRYFFINDOR! Rumpus room! Now!' Crazy yelled as they skittered through the hallway. The Bori looked at his sister.

     'Wonder what she wants?' Guy asked indifferently. Gryffindor shrugged.

     'Probably to let us know it's gonna be another three weeks before we get our bedrooms built,' she sighed, fluttering into the room half-heartedly. Guy followed and sat down on the edge of his trundle bed, stroking Paulini's ears absently.

     'So, what's up?' Guy asked. Crazy looked at her loving pets in despair. It was time to come clean.

     'You're going to have a brother.'

     For a moment, neither pet moved nor spoke. Then Gryffindor somehow found her voice and choked out;

     'A brother?'

     Crazy nodded.

     'His name is Xavier. He's a Xweetok.'

     'A what-tok?'

     'A Xweetok. He's like a... big squirrel-y thing...'

     'Can't be any weirder than Gryff,' Guy murmured, regaining the use of his voice. Gryffindor smacked him with her tail. Guy yelped in surprised.

     'Now settle down! I want you both to look after Xavier. He's a messed-up kid. He's coming to a good home.'

     'But Crazy...'

     'You listen to me! Look after him. This family is going to be all the better now that he's a part of it.'

     As Crazy left the room, Guy looked over at his Hissi sister. Gryffindor shrugged.

     'What do you want me to do about it?'

     'Talk to her. It's good, just me and you.'

     'I dunno, we haven't even met Xavier yet.'

     'I'm not sure I want to.'

     'We have to give him a chance.'

     Guy got up and headed towards the make-shift kitchen. He halted in the doorway.

     'If you say so,' he murmured.

     * * *

     Xavier stood on the path that led up to 135623 Safari Lane, Mystery Island. This was even bigger than he imagined. There was a proper garden, not rocks and dirt and it had two levels. Crazy stood nervously beside him, looking appraisingly at her home.

     'We're planning to build the new bedrooms on the second level. That's where you'll be sleeping when it's finished, in the room I was supposed to have. Then we're building an office level so I can have my bedroom, bathroom and office on the third level. It's going to take some time, but...'

     Xavier grinned happily and threw his paws around his new owner's waist. Crazy was startled for a moment, then smiled softly. She patted the pet's back gently.

     'This... this is amazing,' Xavier whispered. He pulled away and sprinted around the house, admiring it from every point of view.

     'You ready to meet your brother and sister now?' Crazy asked. Xavier screeched to a halt at her feet.

     'As I'll ever be,' he replied, eyes shining.

     Guy and Gryffindor waited nervously in the Entrance Hall. Guy was fidgeting and Gryffindor was fiddling with the pink bow that Crazy had tied around her neck.

     'D'ya think he's going to be really young? Like, a baby? Are we going to have to look after him?' Gryffindor asked Guy, who was brushing Paulini's fur. Guy paused.

     'If there's going to be any diaper-changing, you are going to do it, not me.'

     'Fat chance of that happening, Guy. I'm a Hissi. I don't have opposable thumbs.'

     The door swung open and the pets fell silent. Crazy entered the house, followed by something that barely came up to her knee. Both Guy and Gryffindor looked down in shock.

     'It's... it's a petpet!' Guy choked out. Xavier tilted his head inquisitively.

     'What makes you think I'm a petpet?'

     'Ai ai! It talks too!' Gryffindor laughed. Xavier blushed with shame. Sure, he wasn't too tall, but he was a neopet. Crazy glowered at the two pets. Guy and Gryffindor fell silent.

     'Need I remind the pair of you what happened the last time I adopted a new pet? I ended up with a Drackonack lodged in my arm! I don't need more headaches from the pair of you!' Crazy admonished. The pair felt thoroughly ashamed. Crazy reached down and picked Xavier up.

     'Come on, I'll show where we've been sleeping,' she said softly, taking the tiny neopet into the rumpus room. Guy stared at Gryffindor.

     'He looks like a Symol!'

     'Guy, you thought I was a Wadjet, or a mutated Cobrall.'

     'That's not the point!'

     'It's exactly the point. We need to give him a chance. You might just see that you and he aren't so very different after all.'

     Guy looked over his shoulder where Xavier was bouncing on his trundle bed. He shrugged.

     'We'll just see about that,' he murmured.

     * * *

     As the seasons changed and the Month of Celebrating began, the renovations increased. Crazy's profits jumped up for the holiday season and the second level began to be built. As the three pets had finished Neoschool for the year, days were spent playing hide and seek on the renovating floor.

     It was on such a day, a hot day on Mystery Island, when disaster struck. After initiating a game of tag, Guy was chasing Gryffindor to the edge of the newly-renovated second floor (which was still missing a roof) when a loud crack echoed into the still afternoon. Guy stopped in his tracks, ears twitching. Gryffindor hovered three inches above the floor.

     'Guy? What's...' Gryffindor began. The structure groaned and creaked. Guy paled.

     'Oh no,' he whispered and bolted towards the reinforced floor, but it was too late. With a heave and groan, the flimsy structure collapsed. Guy threw himself towards the floor. His large claws carved into the wood like grappling hooks and there he hung, back legs dangling helplessly over the edge.

     'HELP! HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPP!' Guy screamed, frantically scrabbling at the cracking timber. Gryffindor swung into action. Flying out, she wrapped her coils around her brother. But Guy was too heavy, allowing Gryffindor to lift him only a couple of inches.

     'You're too heavy! I can't lift you!' Gryffindor sobbed. Guy dug his claws in deeper and cried.

     'I'm... I'm going to die!' Guy wailed. Suddenly, a flash of brown and red fur shot past the struggling pets. Xavier raced past, a rope in his mouth. Like a bolt of lightning, three seconds was all it took for Xavier to loop one end over a secure rafter and around Guy's waist and the other around Gryffindor's and his own. Stopping dead on the reinforced floor, Xavier looked down into Guy's terrified eyes.

     'We're going to pull you up, but you have to pull yourself in,' Xavier said simply. Guy nodded mutely. Xavier looked up at Gryffindor.

     'You weigh more than me. I need you to fly back towards me. We can pull Guy up, but we have to work together.'

     Gryffindor nodded seriously and pulled hard. Xavier clawed his way towards the door, struggling under Guy's weight. It was a slow run, but soon Guy was level with the floor. He pulled himself towards the door. Gryffindor and Xavier yelped as they were dragged back towards the hole.

     'GUY! DON'T MOVE!' Gryffindor yelled. Guy froze. Xavier untied himself and Gryffindor. They held the rope tightly.

     'Guy, start crawling. Gryffindor, let the rope out slowly,' Xavier directed. The pets swung into action. Within five minutes, Guy was safely on solid ground. Xavier padded over and rubbed Guy's back.

     'Word of warning, Guy. Never play on a building site unless you weigh less than three pounds,' Xavier said. Guy grinned wryly.

     'Good advice, Xavier. Where did you learn that trick?'

     'Xweetoks are by nature speedy pets. We also tend to have a light frame, so by the time you and gravity realise that we are standing on you, we're already gone.'

     'And the rope thing?'

     'I trained with the Warf Rescue Team. You wouldn't believe the things that I learnt from those guys.'

     Guy turned to Gryffindor.

     'See? Told you. He's a petpet.'

     Xavier laughed as Gryffindor sighed and smacked Guy across the head, causing him to yelp again. Guy rubbed his throbbing ear and shook Xavier's extended paw.

     'I owe you one, man. Welcome to the family, I say.'

     Xavier grinned. A promise was a promise. Crazy had come through.

The End