The Girl at the Cork Gun Gallery

    The Kacheek screamed and threw down his bat. Storming away, he headed off for some new game in Meridell. A young blue Aisha up on the tree branch giggled. Letting herself drop from the trees, she picked up the Kass plushie the Kacheek had whacked, and reaching inside, pulled out a rock. It's no wonder the poor boy never got to hit it very far, she thought with glee.

    "Syra!"

    The blue Aisha cocked her head and turned to see an angry red Kougra run up to her, his teeth clenched and his fists balled. He wore a white skirt and a beautiful vest with the Meridellian colors swirling around. A brown belt with a silver buckle was worn around his waist, and he wore green pants and brown boots and gloves. He gave up to Syra the Aisha and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Don't tell me you're rigging up the Whack-a-Kass game! I had four people come to me with their complaints about a Blue Aisha with scarlet hair tied back in a red bandanna straying around the game!"

    Syra rolled her eyes, which were both a mixture of purple and blue. The blue Aisha was a carefree, stubborn spirit, with long scarlet bouncy hair tied back with a red bandanna, also fastened with another red ribbon. Her earstalks were very long and had to be pulled back and then pulled in the front. She wore light purple eyeshadow, and wore a plum purple shirt with dull, puffy sleeves, trimmed at the end with gold and sewn with red patches at the elbows. A purple cloth was tied around her dull maroon patched-up skirt, and she wore red shoes. As for jewelry, she wore two loops on her right ear, one large one on her left, two gold bangles on her right hand, and a belt of brass bells wrapped around her waist.

    Syra was part of a little band from a large group, the Lost Desert Gypsies. Every two months, they would visit a certain place of Neopia, showing off their tricks, merchandise, dancing, and other source of entertainment. But Syra didn't want to be part of the band. The only reason she was in it was to go around and try something new, basically cause problems at games.

    Thanks to Syra, this caused heaps of trouble; a flaming fireball on Deckball singed a Pawkeet, the Bruce and all the judges fell in icy water because of extremely thin ice, the bugs in Swarm began attacking more than just the Wocky in the tank, the Guess the Card cards were Cheat cards, the Wheel of Monotony fell on top of two Neopets, and who could forget the King of Blumaroo Island hiding the Dice-a-roo game until Syra was gone for good?

    Indeed, Syra was a prankster, and was unfair. She wanted to own her own little game shop, where she could make her own little games and make them unfair. Of course, her leader, Carlos, would not allow that. He was already close to throwing Syra out, but since Syra was extremely stubborn and unpredictable, that would be difficult.

    Still, he continued to berate Syra. "What is the matter with you, Syra?" he yelled. "Can't you be like a normal, decent, FAIR Neopian? Just like everybody else?"

    "Hey, hey, Dr. Frank Sloth was not a fair Neopian," Syra argued. "Neither was that guy in the Wheel of Monotony, and that thief guy who died, what's his name, Galem! Then there's Jhudora, Masila, the Court Dancer-"

    "Yeah, I get it, no need to continue on," Carlos sighed. "But seriously, Syra, try and loosen the pranks up for a moment, okay? Try and make our little trip here a bit less stressful, so we can actually please some people, NOT make them angry! Now we're supposed to perform in Brightvale Castle. Come along, we need to get to Brightvale."

    Syra tried to hide a snicker as she followed Carlos.

    * * * * * * * *

In King Hagan's castle, everyone knew that citizens of Brightvale were, as they say, bright. Literally and speaking of term. The gold decorations that hung everywhere glittered off light and each citizen was smart. Carlos gulped and bowed to King Hagan, who simply stared at him. "Your Majesty," Carlos stammered. "May I present our little act from the Lost Desert Gypsies!"

    Small applause rang through the air. Carlos sighed, and watched as two Kacheek twins, one green and one blue, came onstage, with a large basket. They wore ornate robe-like costumes and a gold band on each tail.

    "Your Majesty and his court, we shall perform some magic. Slight of hand," the green Kacheek said, bowing. He pulled back his long sleeve and wiggled his fingers. "Now, behold!" he cried, and snapped his fingers. An Ace of Hearts appeared in his hand. "That's not all," the Kacheek continued, and flourished his hand quickly. What was in his hand now was a whole hand of cards. The crowd muttered and some "oohed", but they were still not entertained.

    "Now, you shall witness one of our greatest tricks!" the Blue Kacheek bellowed, outstretching his arms over the basket. He pulled the blanket. "See? Nothing inside," he started.

    Just then a bunch of Snowbunnies leapt out. The Kacheek twins jumped back and tried herding them back. The Snowbunnies were followed by dozens of Faerie Meepits, which flew around while chanting "Meep!" over and over. Everyone screamed and backed away as the Meepits flew around. King Hagan groaned and smote his head.

    "Dancers!" Carlos hissed. "Get the dancers on there!"

    Immediately two beautifully dressed Neopets, one a Kyrii and the other a Uni, came out. They screamed as they slipped on the ground, sliding into a bunch of Snowbunnies. As though that wasn't enough Petpets, White Weewoos began jumping out of the large basket and bouncing everywhere, chanting "Weewoo!" and arguing with the Meepits. Carlos was about to scream for the pyro when he spotted Syra hiding behind a statue, giggling mischievously and holding a White Weewoo.

    "That's it!" Carlos roared, storming over to where the Blue Aisha was. He had it! Syra gasped and shrieked as Carlos picked her up and kicked open the large doors. Throwing her outside, he glared at the prankster before shutting the doors.

    "Well, isn't he the rude one!" Syra gasped. "Oh, so a few little pranks, and I get kicked out?"

    Next to her the White Weewoo chirped. "Okay, so it was my fault, but that can't stop me from having some fun!" she pouted. She picked the feathery Petpet up. "You're my best and only companion now. What am I gonna call you?"

    She stared at the Weewoo's cute, beady eyes for a moment. Finally she snapped her fingers. "I got it!" she said. "I'll call you Trouble, since you helped me with the trouble in there."

    The White Weewoo cackled. Syra smirked. "Seems like that name fits you enough, Trouble," she said, letting him rest on her head. "Now...where should we go?" she thought.

    "Weewoo!" Trouble chirped.

    "Jelly World?" Syra scoffed. She rolled her eyes. "Everybody knows it doesn't exist!"

    Trouble guffawed. "Woo!" it said.

    "The Haunted Woods?" Now Syra considered this. She only went to the Haunted Woods when she was a little girl. It had been a long time since she went back there again. "Okay, let's go then!" she decided. "Come on, Trouble!"

    The Weewoo did a little dance on his new owner's head as she strode on proudly to the Haunted Woods.

    * * * * * * * *

Twisted, presumably dead trees with scary faces. Green gobs of goo being thrown around everywhere. Magax chasing after a Ghost Chia. Tombstones that got up and began walking, possibly just Halloween Rocks. All these meant one particular place: the Haunted Woods.

    Syra walked through, with Trouble in her hands. "You're trembling, Trouble," she said.

    The Weewoo shot her an indigent look. "Yeah, I do have goosebumps," Syra chuckled nervously. "I can't help it, Trouble. This place is, well, creepy. At the same time, it looks like a really great place!"

    Suddenly Trouble began dancing in Syra's hands. "What is it, Trouble?" she asked.

    Trouble jumped up and down, nodding to what was on the other side of the Haunted Woods. Syra looked there and gasped. "Merciful White Weewoos!" she screeched, ignoring Trouble's glare.

    Though she was there as a child, she had not seen the Deserted Fairground at that time. There was a broken-down Haunted Coaster of Doom, a Test Your Strength stand, a Bagatelle stand, and even a little shop where you could buy Spooky Food!

    "Wicked," Syra murmured, using a Neopia Central term she learned.

    "Literally."

    Syra stiffened and looked behind her to see a tall Nimmo with shifty eyes, a crooked smile, raggedy clothes with dozens of patches and a top hat staring at her slyly. "Sssay there, beautiful, haven't ssseen your pretty face here. Welcome to the Desssserted Fairground," he hissed. "I am Sssidney, owner of an innocent little Ssscratchcard Ssshop." He waved a scratchcard in front of the Aisha's face. "Buy one, who knowsss? Maybe you'll win."

    Syra shook her head. "Sorry, Sidney," she responded, placing Trouble on her shoulder. "I don't have any Neopoints with me."

    "No Neopointsss?" Sidney repeated. "Well then, here, it'sss on the houssse." He handed her the scratchcard.

    Syra scratched it reluctantly. When she was done, her eyes widened. "Great Borovan!" she squealed. "I won! I can't believe I won! Oh, thank you so much!"

    Sidney sniggered. "Gullible isss ssspelled on the ceiling," he smirked, pointing above.

    Syra looked up. Sidney burst out laughing. "There isss no ceiling!" he snickered. "And that'sss one of my fake ssscratchcardsss! Sssoooo, you don't win!"

    Syra frowned, then burst out laughing. "Oh, good one!" she giggled. "I would've never thought to play a trick this good!"

    "Of courssse not," Sidney murmured. "You don't have any sssscratchcardsss or any bussssinesss for that matter."

    "I used to be in a band, but then the stupid leader kicked me out," Syra explained. "Now I'm stuck here, without anything to do. Have a job for me?"

    "Well..." Sidney pondered, placing a hand on his chin. "There'sss an old abandoned Cork Gun Gallery jussst near the Wheel of Misssfortune." He pointed to a stand. "Sssee?" he said. "You can try making some money there."

    Syra followed Sidney to the Cork Gun Gallery. Indeed it was abandoned and beat-up, with crooked shelves and cobwebs everywhere. Syra smirked. "Gives it a more Haunted Woods air around it, don't you think, Trouble?" she said.

    "Weewoo!" Trouble said with a grin. He hopped on one of the shelves and began toying with the little cork gun. Syra turned to Sidney. "Thanks, Sidney!" she said. "How can I ever repay you?"

    "This is the Haunted Woodsss, you don't have to do anything," Sidney said.

    "Do you always have to hiss?" Syra asked.

    "Yesss," the Nimmo replied.

    "Well then, I'll just ssstart up my little busssinesss now," the Aisha teased.

    For the next few days Syra used things she could find around: cans of discarded Neo Cola and Achyfi, some torn-up plushies, and a few other random objects. A few customers came by and took their turns, and usually walked away mumbling with their pathetic prizes after wasting 100 NP on nothing.

    Even Syra was getting bored. She was making some great money, yes, but her game was just too easy and dull! Everything was so light, it was easy to knock over!

    What is the matter with you, Syra? she thought to herself. What happened to your prankster style?

    Sighing, she took up her bag of 1500 NP, not bad for a few days, and turned her troubles to the Test Your Strength game. Grabbing the mallet from Arnold, she took a deep breath and slammed the mallet down as hard as she.

    It only rose up a few measly centimetres. "Wow, girl, you are PATHETIC!" Arnold said.

    "I'm stronger than this!" Syra argued, slamming the mallet furiously to the ground. "YOU rigged the game, you sneaky little Wadjet!"

    "Now hey there, what'sss the problem?" Sidney asked, sliding next to Syra, who had her arms folded and scowled at the Mynci.

    The Aisha turned to her Nimmo friend. "He rigged the game!" she accused, pointing at Arnold.

    Sidney laughed. "And that'sss your problem?" he said with a smile. "Sssyra, of coursse it'sss rigged. Almossst all the game ssstandsss here are rigged! We earn big Neopointsss just by rigging up our little gamesss."

    Syra's eyes widened. "So, basically, the whole game system in the Deserted Fairground is rigged," she exclaimed.

    "Exactly!" Sidney hissed, taking her away from the Test Your Strength game.

    "But you said almost all the stands!" Syra pointed out. "Who's the almost guy?"

    "You, Sssyra!" Sidney said. "You're making usss men look bad! No, I'm not going againssst your gender, but you are a girl, and girlsss ssseem to act fair. Everyone knowsss that all the gamesss here in the Fairground are rigged! But they're bored sssolid becaussse of your game! It'sss not rigged!"

    Syra's eyes widened as big as Weewoo eggs. "So...all I have to do is make my stand rigged, and I'll get more customers and Neopoints?" she questioned.

    "Pretty much," Sidney shrugged. "There'sss a sssucker born every minute."

    Syra ran off. "Thanks, Sid!" she yelled, and stopped at the nearest stand to buy a few new prizes.

    * * * * * * * *

A day after Sidney realized that there was a crowd of people coming to Syra's Cork Gun Gallery. Confused, Sidney went to the crowd and watched as a Blue Lupe stormed off. And then he saw Syra, dancing with Trouble on her shoulder across the Gallery.

    "Well hello there, stranger!" she said with a smile on her face. She handed the cork gun to another Neopet. "Welcome to the FINEST game kiosk this side of the Wheel of Misfortune, which is over there!" She pointed. "For a mere 100 Neopoints per shot, you could be on your way to winning fabulous prizes! Such a very small price to pay, don't you think?" She winked. "Take your shot, young Neopet!"

    The red Yurble aimed his cork gun and shot at a can of Achyfi. Sidney expected him to knock it down, but instead the cork bounced harmlessly off. The can didn't even move! Syra giggled. "Too bad!" she said. "Do you want to try again, or does anybody think they can beat this Neopet?"

    Instantly there was an outburst of cries to let them shoot the cork gun. "How about the tall gentleman at the back?" Syra said, pointing to Sidney.

Sidney gave a crooked smile and took the cork gun. "Just watch, missssy," he hissed with a smirk. "Nobody can ssstop Ssssidney." With that he aimed at the can of Achyfi and shot.

    The cork bounced off and hit him in the nose. "Hey!" Sidney groaned, rubbing his nose. Syra and Trouble laughed as they took him to the back of the gallery.

    "Well, you said girls were fair, but not me!" Syra grinned. "Just call me Syra the Sinister!"

    "Sssinissster you are, Sssyra!" Sydney growled. "What didga do?"

    "Rigged my Cork Gun Gallery, just like you said!" Syra explained.

    "Yesss, but how?" Sidney asked.

    Syra waved a bottle of glue in his face. "This should hold the prizes, literally, before someone actually knocks a prize down," she giggled.

    Oh," Sidney said. "Well, that'sss certainly clever." He cleared his throat and grinned. "Hey, maybe sssometime, maybe you wanna go sssomewhere sssometime, maybe ssshoot the Chia Clownsss at the Carnival?"

    Syra's face turned a slight shade of pink. "Oh, well, erm...I guess I have some time," she replied, beaming. "How about Ssssaturday?"

    "You have good tassste," Sidney smirked.

    "Thank you kindly, sir," Syra said with a mock bow. As he walked away, Syra returned to the front and smiled at the next Neopet. "Well hello there, stranger!" she greeted. "Think you can knock one of these faboo prizes down? Only 100 cheap Neopoints!"

- THE END -

Author's Note: As you probably realize, I'm a sucker for writing about pretty Aishas and gypsies. So here's a little story dedicated to that Cork Gun Girl at the Cork Gun Gallery! Syra the Sinister is a name I gave the Cork Gun Girl, and I don't know if she really owns a White Weewoo named Trouble. :) Questions, comments and just plain fanmail would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!

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