Molly Daente and the MarshMonster

     "Fssssshhhhhh--the sparks flew as two stones jetted together over a patch of dry branches. A fire soon roared below the seven campers' paws. The only sound that was heard was a mysterious rustling sound, ever-so-faintly coming from behind them. Still, they suspected nothing while toasting white Marshmallows over the fire.

     "As the rustling grew louder, a Baby Cybunny tugged at the Gelert's tail. 'Mister...Mister...' she wailed, franticly ripping at his long tail and pointing at the bushes behind their campsite. 'Behind you! Behind you!!'

     "'What is it, hone--' But that was all he had time to say! Before the rustling Night Monster jumped out of the bushes! It was none other than the Mysterious MarshMonster!!"

     "AAAAAAAGHHH!!!" Aqua Daente, a young Island Kougra, jumped up and ran behind her adopted Faerie Shoyru sister, who was gobbling her Marshmallow, listening intently. "The MARSHMONSTER!!"

     "What in Fyora's name is a MarshMonster!?" the two girls' older brother, a Fire Kougra named Mark, demanded. He was reclining back in his camping chair, listening to their Father tell one of his many Ghost stories.

     "Let me finish, why don't you!?" Mr. Daente, a Royal Kougra, sat on a log opposite them. "Now where was I--oh, yes.

     "The MarshMonster, a hideous beast in the shape of a MarshMallow Grundo, hops about the Haunted Woods, looking for prey. When it spots a Marshmallow-gobbling camper, one with the sticky, sweet candy smeared about their face, it takes them, and throws them into the fire! And it keeps them there, until they are toasted brown enough to eat!"

     At this time, Aqua was clutching Molly's wing, cowering behind the stump she had previously been sitting on. Mark was still perched on his Camping Chair, though a curious, frightened glint had appeared in his eye. He was a tad bit closer to the edge of the chair than he'd been before.

     "AH-HAHAHA!" Mr. Daente roared with laughter, so much that he toppled over, his long mane getting entwined with the splinters on the log that had been beneath him. His three children rolled their eyes, exasperated at the fact of how embarrassing parents can be, even if there's no one around to see their antics.

     "Father, I think that's enough!" Molly pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, and grabbing a Neopedia out of what seemed like thin air. She thumbed through the pages, Aqua breathing down her neck all the while. Finally, she stopped at a page in the "M" section. "Ah, see? Here."

     "What?" Mr. Daente picked himself up off the ground and rounded on Molly, who pushed the book into his hands.

     "Section 'M', subsection 'Q'. Under 'Ma-'. It goes straight from Magax to Meri Acres -- there IS no MarshMonster!!" The Faerie Shoyru nodded matter-of-factly, and snapped the book shut. "If there were, it would have been in the Neopedia. EVERYTHING is in the Neopedia!"

     "Oh, yeah?" teased Aqua, popping out from behind her sister's left wing. "I bet there isn't an article ab-"

     "'Page 10, Section 'L', subsection 'V'. It's below the 'Adventures of Dinki' article." Molly stuck her tongue out at her Island sibling, who quickly found out that she was right--EVERYTHING is in the Neopedia!!

     "Enough of this bookish nonsense!" commanded their father, pointing at the large green Tent-in-a-box they had earlier assembled. Molly, Aqua and Mark clambered inside, bid each other good-night, and crawled into their sleeping bags. All was silent as they drifted off to sleep.

     All of them except Aqua, who still lay awake, thinking about the horrible MarshMonster she was sure that was peeking into her tent right now, just itching to pluck her from her sleeping bag and toast her in the fire. But, looking around, she saw no one there. As she tried to calm herself down, she heard a voice whisper into her ear--

     "Aqua, are you ready?"

     "Eep!" Aqua whirled around, only to come face-to-face with the golden-flecked eyes of her brother, Mark. "Mark, what are you doing? Ready for what?"

     "Just come with me." The Fire Kougra grabbed his little sister's hand, and, being careful not to awaken his father or Molly, slipped out of the tent into the dark night air. "Now--you saw how stuck-up Molly was earlier on, right? Making us feel bad for being scared of that MarshMallow monster, right?"

     "I-I guess...?"

     "Exactly. So here's what we're gonna do--" Mark pulled his sister close and whispered his plan into her ear. Aqua's eyes grew wide at the sheer genius of his plan. As he pulled away from her and asked, "Got it?" It was all she could do to help from snickering evilly, but that might arouse suspicion from the sleeping family members. So without another word, they set off to initiate their plan.

     Aqua ran back towards the campsite, but instead of first going into the tent, she rustled around in one of their provision sacks, pulling out a variety of random items before finally finding what she needed--Marshmallow spread! Then, taking a butter knife from her pocket, she unscrewed the lid of the spread and crept back into the tent. Molly was lying on her back, snoring loudly, completely unaware that Aqua was gently spreading the Marshmallow gunk in and around her mouth.

     After emptying a quarter of the container onto her sister, the Island Kougra raced back outside, to re-light the fire.

     Meanwhile, Mark had been busy on the other side of the campsite. He had found two long branches that would be of good use for antennae. He then rummaged into his blue sack and pulled out a Grundo mask and a bottle of white paint. He sneered.

     "I knew this junk would come in handy SOMEday!!" he laughed, dipping both branches and the mask into the bottle of paint. "Now if I could only find a--" Mark's eyes suddenly looked to a blow-up chair, that had been conveniently set just outside their campsite. "Wow--now how am I going to paint this white...?"

     ***************

     The time had finally come, and Aqua and Mark were both in position. Right on cue, the ruckus started:

     "MOLLY! DADDY!! COME OUT HERE QUICK!!" the Island Kougra shouted at the top of her lungs, waiting for only about two seconds before her father and sister came zipping out of the tent, nearly knocking it over in the process.

     "What is it, Aqua!?" Molly cried, marshmallow spread still smeared all about her face, going over to her seemingly agitated sister, who was faking terror, and faking it quite good might I add. "What's wrong?"

     "I came outside to get a drink, and I noticed that the fire had re-lit itself! And then I noticed that Mark was gone--and this trail of white goo was left behind!" she pointed down, near the bush that the Fire Kougra was hiding in, there was a lump of white goo. (Which she had laid there herself, about five minutes earlier so it would be fresh.)

     "What is it?" Mr. Daente muttered to himself, leaning over the goo. He touched it with his fingers, and sniffed it. "Marshmallow goo, I think. But--how did the goo get from there, near our campsite...to over here, when none of us had been over here before bedtime...?"

     "Ehh, maybe Aqua tracked some over when she walked over here?" The Faerie Shoyru, as usual, was taking the logical route of this. But Mark and Aqua had anticipated this, and they knew the way around it.

     "Y-yeah, but I have no shoes on!" the Island Kougra held up her left foot, which indeed was bare. "So how could this have--"

     "AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHH!!!" Just on prompt, Mark, who had retreated a bit into the forest, screamed out at the top of his voice. Mr. Daente and Molly jumped. Aqua fake-jumped.

     "What was that!?" Molly, a new fear in her voice and eyes, clutched her sister tightly. "Where did it come from?"

     "That sounded like Mark!" Aqua's Royal Kougra father pushed past his two daughters and spread the bushes apart, creating an opening. Nothing was there. "But--but?"

     "AQUA!! LOOK!!" Molly dug her fingernails into Aqua's shoulder and whirled her around. There, standing in clear view, was a giant Marshmallow Grundo!! It looked down, a blank expression on its face, and suddenly hopped over the bushes, and let out a deafening roar! "IT'S THE MARSHMONSTER!!!"

     "MarshMonster?" Aqua backed up with her sister and father, smiling broadly on the inside, but feigning terror on the outside. "But I thought you said they didn't exist! I thought you said that the Neopedia has EVERYTHING!!"

     "I lied!" cried Molly, suddenly bursting into tears. "I'm sorry--I lied! Everything is NOT in the Neopedia!"

     "Bu--"

     "Queen Fyora isn't in the Neopedia!" blurted the Faerie. "You're not in the Neopedia--neither am I! And I know that the MarshMonster is NOT in the Neopedia...obviously the Neopedia is worthless now that I'm going to be roasted!!" She grabbed the large book from the stump she'd been sitting on, and threw it into the fire!

     "Be there anyone here who has MARSHMALLOW ON THEIR FACE!?" boomed the MarshMonster, jumping almost mechanically in place.

     "I don--" but Molly had already cut herself off, for she had just touched her mouth, and off came a huge glob of white, gooey Marshmallow! "PLEASE HAVE MERCY!!!" she screamed, throwing herself to the ground and begging. "PLEASE, DON'T EAT ME!"

     "Well, young Marshmallow-eater! Do you know what I'm going to do NOW!?" Mark suddenly jumped out from behind the giant makeshift MarshMonster, a megaphone in his paw, laughing hysterically. Aqua, at seeing her brother reveal himself, joined him on the floor in a huge bout of laughter!

     "What's going on, then!?" cried Mr. Daente, completely dumbfounded still. Molly, however, immediately understood that she'd been duped, and her face grew alight with rage.

     "You--you--you should have seen the look on your face!" whooped Aqua, pointing at her enraged older sister. "I thought you were going to wet yourself, right then and there!!" The two Neopets rolled about, unable to contain themselves! While this happened, though, Molly became increasingly vengeful.

     "ARGH!!" Molly threw herself at her siblings, giving them barely a moment to get up and run. "I'LL GIVE YOU MARSHMONSTER!!" Still laughing hysterically, Mark and Aqua ran giddily from their sister!

     And in the shadows, a White Monster stared at the large MarshMonster suit, and muttered to himself, "I look nothing like that!!"

The End

Author's Note: It's my FIRST NT submission accepted! Thanks to dragonservant22 for help and opinions!!