Void and Faeries

     A Scorchio, Whysp, noticed the stairs creaked underneath his feet, and he paused, not wanting to wake everyone up. Then he remembered the stairs almost never creaked. Then the stairs fell out beneath him as he screamed pitifully. He woke up the entire neighbourhood with his whistling shrilling.

     Three Blumaroo brothers all fist bumped from their patios. They hated their neighbours. Especially Whysp.

     "Whysp, what have you done this time?" Starladust the Lupe asked as she got off of the couch.

     "Those flabbergasted Meepits," Whysp said as he flew out of the hole before pointing a finger, "they ate through the boards and weakened everything up so I would slip and fall that way I would end up not being alive no more!"

     Starladust rolled her eyes. "We'll speak about your double negatives later, but first, clean this up."

     "I just almost broke my everything on that fall."

      "Yeah, you almost broke your everything, not someone else. Clean this up."

     An Eventide Xweetok observed from the top of the stairs. "I need my beauty sleep, so, how about all of you keep your bickering down to a lower level?"

     "Vyonaw, you flabbergasted Xweetok!" Whysp shouted, "I just broke myself and you're not helping me at all."

     Starladust squinted her eyes, not sure whether to be angrier at Whysp about shouting at their little sister or because he said flabbergasted again.

     Vyonaw brought a paw to her chest and brought her nose to the air. "Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that I should be at fault when you're the one who isn't willing to solve the problem with the Meepits. Only one letter-"

     "We are not writing any letters," Whysp told her. "I will find myself some wet cement and shove my hand in there and let my hand petrify, to make sure I never write another letter. If I see or even smell ink in this house, there will be a reckoning, there will be an upstart, there will be a ruckus because I will be flabbergasted, got that!"

     Starladust said, "Wow, I think you've used flabbergasted three times this minute, and have somehow misused the word differently three times."

     Whysp stormed over to a book and said, "I know how the word flabbergasted works, now let me see here."

     Vyonaw rolled her eyes as she bounced back to her room. She hopped onto a bed next to a Ghost Pteri, known as Lanius. The Pteri looked her over in a slight interest.

     "I heard the fighting."

     "Yeah, this house is literally just about to be in shambles," Vyonaw said, "pure shambles." She flopped onto her tummy, before bringing a pillow underneath her chin.

     "I've never been to Shambles before," Lanius told her.

     "Shambles means the place will be in ruins."

     "Never been to Ruins."

     "I’m surprised we let you near knives at dinner."

     ***

     Later that night, Starladust sat by a candle.

     Easing back into the chair, scooting, she grabbed an inky quill from a Weewoo. Her other paw fished blindly for a blank paper from a cabinet, before she placed the soon-to-be letter on a table. The normal chittering of Meepits in the night and the whispers of winds on leaves blended away with the sound of Neovision.

     She wondered what she would say as she was about to bring feather to paper when Whysp grabbed her wrist.

     "I thought I said no to letters," Whysp told her.

     She twisted her wrist so the bone poked through a gap between his fingers and thumb, enabling an easy escape from the grip. As her wrist slid from him, she said, "You have to think about more than yourself."

     "We're able to handle this on our own," Whysp told her.

     "If we want to beat Mikayla, we need help."

     "Then let's go and try to figure things out tomorrow," Whysp said in a soft voice, "okay?" He kept his gaze firmly on her until she sighed in agreeance. He patted her wrist several times.

     "Alright, I'm going to sleep, we'll deal with this in the morning," Whysp said to her.

     "Yeah," Starladust answered back, still holding the feather.

     ***

     A Dark Faerie stared over at the houses, admiring her handiwork. Within only a few days, each house fell prey to her pet Meepits.

     She watched in particular as the owners of one house, three Blumaroos, began bragging.

     The Red one said, "Now we have one of the nicest houses in the block. That stupid Scorchio is getting all he deserves." His name was Steve and he was not smart.

     The Yellow one said, "That's right, I hate him. I hate him as much as I hate the neighbours next door to, those two Wocky girls." His name was Stevie and he was not smart.

     The Green one said, "Well fellows, I believe we only hate on them possibly because we are envious that we used to have the worst house in the lot, and they looked down on us for keeping our Petpets off leashes while we had trash on our lawn, and never cleaned our dwellings ever." His name was Bob and he was a straight-up idiot.

     Mikayla the Dark Faerie watched as her minions finished eating parts of the wall, before one of the Meepits grabbed a small toy hammer, winked, and gently tapped the side of the house.

     The entire thing collapsed while the window fell through the brothers, thus keeping them safe from harm.

     Stevie sipped his drink.

     Steve said, "Well this sucks."

     Bob said, "Yes."

     "Oh, Mikaaayllllaaa!" Whysp said as he stepped out onto the street. "I seem to see you're bringing down the neighbourhood and we're here to stop you by any means necessary. Meet Vyonaw."

     The Eventide Xweetok stepped out to the fray and grinned at Mikayla. "Greetings, so as you may or may not know, you are currently wrecking my home. Since I have nowhere else to go, I suppose you may wish to stop out of pity."

     Mikayla giggled and shook her head before saying, "I have a plan. You see, I've always loved this part of Brightvale, ever since I was younger." She pointed to a stream. "That was where I used to play with my sisters."

     "So you just want your home back?" Vyonaw asked her.

     "No, just that this place will be worth something as soon as I raze this entire neighbourhood and level everything."

     "Uhhh." Vyonaw bit her lower lip.

     "You see, Dear, this property, just the very grass underneath us is worth lots of money. Probably hundreds of thousands of Neopoints. As soon as this place looks thoroughly whipped, there will be no choice but to decrease the costs of everything, allowing me to build my own houses, which I will sell for a high price."

     Vyonaw said, "Okay, but there's much better neighbourhoods."

     "No there's not, not as soon as I'm done with this place. This soil is perfect for certain plants." She pulled a blueprint out of her pocket, with all the details.

     "Wow that's fancy, I wish I lived there," Vyonaw said, her eyes gleaming.

     "Yeah, too bad you won't for very long," the Dark Faerie said as she loomed over her. She put a hand on her hip and used to the other to shoo the pesky Neopet.

     Vyonaw told Whysp, "No way to appeal to her sense of greed or anything."

     The Pteri flew over next and said, "Misses Mikayla?"

     Mikayla clicked her nails.

     "I just need you to know... My family came here after a long legal battle in Roo Island."

     The Dark Faerie said, "Alright, I'm listening."

     "You see, my family isn't all blood, just Whysp and Starladust. Starladust was the daughter of a wealthy Roo Island family, but when her family saw Whysp, he wasn't allowed within their Lupe pack. Our aunts and uncles had labelled them as outcasts."

     Steve said, "I hadn't known about that, that's kinda harsh."

     "Vyonaw and I were born during the War of Faerie's Ruin, where we both lost everything before we even had anything. Starladust and Whysp were there for us. They became our siblings once they knew the story of how we had no one. That was when we came with a plan."

     Stevie said, "You better have a plan."

     "We joined with a Water Faerie who helped us to break back into Roo Island's vaults, and we took back the money that belonged to us. They wanted to eliminate us from the tree, so we eliminated their soil. We took back the money and we bought ourselves a place in Brightvale."

     Bob said, "I must say, that is quite a story, yes. Never heard anything quite like that before, seems like a major task."

     Mikayla said, "Well in light of that news, I suppose that yes, I guess I should have a heart. I'll just raze everything around you."

     "NO!" Steve and Stevie and Bob all jumped around and began yelling at Lanius.

     "Alright, fine, I'm feeling pity for you three as well," Mikayla said, "so how about I tear down everything but your houses too?"

     "Yeah!"

     "Wait, your houses are already torn down, and if you tear down everything but their houses, you're going to tear ours down anyway!" Whysp told her.

     "I'm sorry," she told him with a shrug, "I'm just full of sympathy."

     Whysp grabbed an Obsidian Dagger and said, "Well time we do things my way." He charged at her.

     Her eyes widened as she narrowly parried a slash.

     He grabbed her wrist and as she tried to escape, he brought a knee to her gut. She hunched over, before he lifted his knee to smack into her chest. Finally, he began winding up.

     Vyonaw shouted, "Yeah!"

     Lanius said, "Oh dear, I hope he does well in this fight."

     As Whysp was about to throw his fist, he heard the thumping of thousands of feet. He turned around, only to find himself getting mowed over by a rampage of Meepits. Screaming, he fell and sunk, getting drowned by a swarm of the little pink punks, drowning and screaming. The Scorchio's arm was the last thing seen.

     Vyonaw blinked a couple of times, and said, "Wow, that's a dark way to end someone's life."

     Mikayla said, "So I suppose negotiations are over." She clapped twice. "Alright, time we begin the absolute annihilation of the neighbourhood now."

     "Stop," Starladust said as she came out.

     "Now you're here to stop me, Lupe girl," Mikayla said with disgust. "Are you going to appeal to my sense of good and sympathy? Are you going to attack me? Are you going to bark a lot?"

     "I'm not doing anything, but he is." Starladust pointed over.

     Whysp sat up from the pile of Meepits as he saw someone. "You told me you weren't going to write a letter!"

     "We needed his help."

     Another Faerie, Mikayla thought as she saw him. No, impossible, this figure was clearly male. Then she laughed and said, "Come to claim your Neopets, I see."

     He wore purple trunks and a purple jacket. An eyepatch covered one eye, however, he covered the eyepatch with his hand, a hand that had an eye painted on the back.

     Mikayla winced as she stared at him. A purplish creature, almost reminding her of a wraith.

     The bipedal creature sauntered over while carrying a bag.

     Some of the Meepits parted ways from him, realizing he wasn't staring at any of them. Instead, he arrived in front of Mikayla and sat crisscross. He took a slice of pumpkin pie from the sack, removed some wrapping, and began eating.

     Other than evening wind, there was silence.

     Mikayla was finally about to speak when he shot up.

     "My name is Jack. I came here just for you Mikayla. I've always been a fan of certain games."

     The sky became darker around them while several papers materialized, hanging on a chain fifteen feet overhead of them.

     Starladust said, "The deeds to the houses are hanging there."

     Vyonaw tilted her head, before saying, "Yeah."

     Jack grabbed some playing cards before throwing a stack to Mikayla. As she furrowed her brows, he told her, "These are the rules. We have to build a house of cards that leads all the way to the deeds fifteen feet above us. The first one to finish will grab the deeds and achieve victory. However, if you fail, then you will learn from your errors."

     Mikayla laughed and said, "Even a child is able to make a house of cards." Her power of flight would make this much easier.

     Jack ran a length of several feet, sliding cards onto the floor. Mikayla was caught off-guard by how quickly he set up his foundation, but there was no way he'd know exactly how long to make them. Instead, Mikayla attempted to do the same thing that he did, just she was slower.

     Jack kneeled as he began placing the cards, rushing over from row to row, building each story from bottom to top.

     Whysp told Starladust, "I thought I told you not to do any of this. I doubt we'd need help from him, and I think we could have handled this ourselves."

     Starladust said, "Whysp, just because you have a stupid hatred of someone won't stop me."

     "He literally came out eating a pie," Whysp said, "and everyone was so flabbergasted they wouldn't speak."

     "Whysp, for once in your life, listen to me: You finally figured out how the word flabbergasted works."

     Mikayla realized she wouldn't be able to keep up with Jack, even if she attempted to spice things up with some Faerie Magic. However, he was getting the cards level with himself. He wasn't fifteen feet tall, and at best he would be able to reach six feet of height. Therefore, he was guaranteed to lose.

     However, Jack went to grab some stairs from the rubble, before setting that up. He went back to building.

     Of course, Mikayla thought. Now Jack was taking from the fallen pile, the rubble Mikayla created, to beat her.

     Mikayla wasn't even three feet high yet, but she kept working. She wondered if she'd be allowed to spice things up with a little magic, but instead simply flew quicker. She barely cared about placement, the Dark Faerie had to win by any means necessary.

     Soon enough, Jack was at fourteen feet and was setting up the last parts. "I suppose we know who's going to be the owner of the houses."

     Mikayla was only at ten feet when her cards fell out beneath her, making her shriek. "Meepits, I want you to attack now!"

     The Meepits ran over to Jack's house of cards while others went to the physical houses of the neighbourhood to dismantle everything when everyone present saw a purple glow. The eyepatch.

     Jack raised the patch, and Mikayla saw an abyss where an eye should have been.

     "The abyss stares back," Jack told her.

     His face was warped, mutated, much like a Wraith. There was no way he was a wraith, however, but she was frozen.

     A scythe formed from the shadows into his palm. As he grabbed the staff part he walked to her.

     The Meepits stood guard over Mikayla until a bolt of dark energy struck one. That one greyed out.

     The others jumped out of the way of another dark blast before one got caught in another stream of energy.

     Purple fog rose, causing some Meepits to cough until the fog swallowed them.

     Mikayla grabbed an Obsidian Dagger before running at him, and she stabbed into his chest. She wasn't even sure how far she got, but she kept pushing.

     He whispered into her ear as she felt a thick liquid cover herself, "Cheaters never win, Mikayla."

     She attempted to drive the dagger in even further when she realized her chest was the one with the wound opening.

     Magic burst from the hole as she felt her power draining out of her and flowing into Jack's lost eyeball, as he said, "Ashes to ashes."

     The darkness of the arena faded away as Mikayla collapsed, now being a Gray Faerie, to practice any form of magic nevermore. The Meepits were also dulled and washed out, seemingly only capable of blinking.

     "Well that was terrifying," Starladust mentioned as she stared at the house which was about to fall. Their home was going to fall any minute now.

     Vyonaw burst out laughing. "That Faerie is so grey now and she totally got what was coming to her!"

     Whysp patted Vyonaw lightly on her fluff while saying, "You're a good kid, or at least, have a good heart."

     "Yeah," Starladust said, "she has a real sense of justice."

     "Now where are we going to live?" Steve asked. "Where are we going to eat, and where are we going to shop? Everything has fallen."

     "Just this neighbourhood," Bob said, "but you have to figure, if we are able to afford this one place, we should be able to afford somewhere else in the nearby area."

     Jack's pupils swam through his eyes as Starladust came to him. She said, "Jack, I want to thank you for everything, and for saving everyone." She heard something rustling before she heard a collapse and several screams. All of them from her siblings.

     She refused to turn around already knowing the fate of their house, knowing that was where most of their belongings were. She took a deep breath.

     Jack scratched her on the head and said, "Follow me."

     Starladust perked up before staring at the others and finally seeing the wreckage.

     ***

     "So you brought us all the way," Whysp said, "to Neopia Central, right where Haunted Woods starts."

     "We're not that close to the Haunted Woods," Lanius told him.

     Whysp pointed to a hissing tree and said, "I rest my case."

     Jack said, "This place is probably the best place for you all. After all, last time we met I left without saying much, but I feel like we're still allies. I told you I'd answer your call, and I did, and yet I managed to not save your house. You may stay here."

     "Well I am going to refuse to stay here," Whysp told him, crossing his arms.

     Jack opened the door to the spacious living room. There was a small kitchenette and an upstairs to other rooms. "This house is a mystery for most of you. Avoid going into any rooms you aren't able to see."

     "As opposed to purposefully going to the rooms we can see," Whysp said, nodding.

     Jack stared at him and nodded back, saying, "Yes, exactly." Bypassing Whysp and his poor attempt at sarcasm, Jack said, "There are three rules."

     Vyonaw rolled her eyes. "Including or not including avoiding rooms we are unable to see."

     "That's strike one." Jack held up a single finger. Vyonaw mimicked the gesture, before Jack said, "Now that's strike two."

     Lanius grabbed Vyonaw's paw and held her back. "I saw something that was frankly horrifying, Vyonaw. So stop trying to get yourself in trouble. Let's avoid making your pretty little precious fur a new, grey colour."

     Jack said, "Next rule is, you will not disrupt me while I'm watching wrestling. Finally, touch any of my drinks, and that's when there will be a punishment."

     Starladust told Whysp, "Please, just be with us, for the night?"

     Whysp said, "Alright, but no funny business will be happening." He sauntered over, only to slowly realize he was an entire foot shorter than Jack.

     Jack patted him before sitting on the couch, and he turned on the Neovision.

     Starladust giggled while Whysp went upstairs, muttering several words he'd never want Vyonaw to repeat.

     "I know you weren't able to save the house, but I'm glad you came, Jack." She curled up to the couch next to him. "We'll try not to stay for too long."

     Jack hung his arm over, and spoke, "Take as long as you want, Starla, as long as you want."

     Whysp was still whining.

     The End.