Not the Best Family Reunion

     Forget the Sway and all their lies of grandeur. They’d only pretended that she’d one day stand among their ranks. Forget those freaks that she had once called sisters. She was better off without them. Not that anyone would notice she was gone…

     Reena was insane, but a true adventurer. Kalilu was a genius. Leala was a sweet, innocent ball of fluff. What did Nixie have back in the day but fantasies? She had everything she’d ever wanted now: trendsetting clothes, a lavish lifestyle, and all the attention she could ever ask for. She’d finally done it after all these years. She’d carved out a life that most could only dream of. She was beauty. She was grace. She might punch you in the face, but…

     Nixie finally felt special. Important. Lo-

     There was an impatient knock at the door, rousing her Royal Anubis from sleep. Jay yawned as the Hissi slithered her way across the soft carpet. She raised a feathery hand to the handle and gleefully swung the door open, expecting a fan or a gift from an admirer.

     When she saw who it was, she immediately said “No,” and slammed it shut.

      “Nixie, don’t even start with me right now,” called Leala, uncharacteristically annoyed and gruff.

      “We’ve spent the past three days trying to get here. We’ve been stowaways on every mode of transport in Neopia. We’ve barely eaten anything, I’ve only had two hours of sleep in the past week, and we’re on the run from some alien monster. So open this door right now OR SO HELP YOU I WILL-”

     She at last threw the door open, forked tongue slipping out with a hiss. Nixie realised just how awful these three looked, and quickly changed her tune.

      “Leala? What-what happened? Who is this? Is that Kalilu?”

      “Hello!” said the plushie in a cheery voice.

      “Reena did a spell. This is Mio. Long story. Where’s the fridge?”

     Nixie sighed, another hiss in the back of her throat. She draped her claws over her muzzle and grumbled as the bunnies hopped inside. Looked like she was to be caught up in some new episode of weird events, and there wasn’t much she could do about it once that wheel started turning… Right?

     Jay and a Ghostkerchief sniffed each other. The bunnies helped themselves to what they could find. The Hissi coiled herself on a thick mattress of Drugal fur and silk. She waited rather impatiently as the trio made their way back to her. They plopped themselves down on the floor in a neat little line. Mio and Leala put the cub between them and commenced stuffing their faces.

      “You changed colour, too.” Nixie’s tail tip twitched silently and light from the chandelier danced across her scales.

      “I KNOW NOTHING OF GHOSTS NOW SHUT UP BEFORE IT WAKES UP AGAIN.”

     Nixie flinched at the sudden yelling. She narrowed her eyes, wondering what was up with Leala today. Three days of travel with no food would be enough to put any ‘Pet in a bad mood, but still.

      “Okay. So.” The Magma Cybunny shoved an entire doughnut in her mouth.

      “And what happened to your eye? And your paw?”

      “D’ y’ wan’ know vhat ‘appened or nah?”

      “Fine. Just chew your food first,” said Nixie with an eye roll.

     After a gross couple of minutes and several chunks of half-solids hitting the floor, Leala finally began her explanation.

      “Kay’s back. She added Mio to the account, and they came home. Kay went looking for us and some evil clone swapped with ‘er. Notixu’s planning some… nefarious… scheme of some sort, and we have to stop her.”

     Nixie sighed; heck, it wasn’t like anything else that happened in this family made sense. Why not have clones with vague evil plans running amok? The Hissi shook her head as she started putting together a skeletal plan of action. While the Sway had only pretended to train her, it certainly didn’t mean she hadn’t picked up a thing or thirty. She had a secret stash of weapons and knew her way around some basic spells. If she played her cards right, maybe she could even get this problem solved before her show…

     Her show… The beautiful flowing dresses, the dazzling jewels, the sea of faces all with eyes on her. True, she was only one model, but the spotlight felt more like home to her than anywhere else in Neopia. Her sparkling scales like a stream of glitter… Her makeup nothing short of perfect… For a precious few moments, Nixie was the center of everyone’s attention. After it was all done, she showered in compliments. Neopians crowded around her for a chance to talk with her, give a little gift and ask where they might find clothes as lovely as the ones she wore.

     She took a long look at the three before her. She didn’t know what happened between Reena and Kalilu. She hadn’t a clue what was going on with sweet little Leala. The sentient plushie was a stranger to her, account resident or not. Kayixu- bah! What did that alien ever do for her?

      “No.”

      “What do you mean no?”

      “Exactly what I said; no. I’m not getting involved in this.”

      “Wha-but-you-we…” Leala’s cloudy eye twitched.

     Kalilu, muzzle coated in mush, gave a squeaky little yawn and snuggled up to the plushie.

      “I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t want to understand what’s going on. You little snots can figure this out by yourselves.”

      “That’s not how this works, you imbecile! This is a family thing; it involves all of us, and if we don’t solve it, it’s gonna involve the whole planet before you can say gene splicing!”

      “I don’t ca- wait, why would I say that?”

      “Never mind. Just come with us before Notixu breaks gravity! Or overthrows the government! Or exposes the existence of Jelly World!”

      “You can’t expose the existence of something that doesn’t exist!” Nixie bolted to the edge of her bed, hanging over a piece of polished wood to bare her fangs at Leala.

     Far be it from a self-respecting mad scientist to back down. She raised her not-broken paw and poked her sister’s nose as she spoke. “You’re. Coming. With us. And we’re. Going. To deal with. The blasted problem!”

     Nixie had to admit it: hearing Leala swear did throw her for a loop. Nevertheless, no way was she about to give in. She shook her head. Scales scraped on the footboard as she slid herself down to the floor. She landed with a soft thud. The Ghostkerchief chased playfully after her trailing garments.

     She slithered over to the door, swung it open with a dramatic flair, and said, “Get out. I’m not doing this.”

     “I don’t think your sister likes us very much,” said Mio, carefully coaxing the Kougra cub onto her back.

     “You got that right.”

     Leala limped closer to her, blinking. Slorg, the bunny looked like a wreck… Some clone showing up at their doorstep couldn’t be all that happened. Leala was an exhausted, ireful, mess of a ‘Pet, and it hadn’t happened overnight. Kalilu hadn’t spoken a word. She was acting as if she were an actual baby as opposed to just wearing the colour. Reena was a wildcard, but cursing her sister was strange even for her. Just what had the Kougress done to anger her so?

     No… No. It’s not my problem anymore.

     “Slorg, Nixie… What’s your problem?”

     “You. You can’t just barge in here and derail my life.”

      “And you can’t just steal from your family and run off, but that didn’t stop you from draining our whole bank account and pulling a disappearing act!”

      “You bunch o’ circus freaks aren’t my family! You never were! Now get out; I never fit in with you people, anyway.”

      “You-”

      “I said GET OUT!”

     The Cybunnies shared a look and hopped back out into the hall. Nixie slammed the door shut behind them and locked it. Jay whined questioningly at her. She threw herself into bed and buried her face in a pile of pillows.

     They weren’t kids anymore, except for Kalilu apparently, and it wasn’t Nixie’s job to babysit anyway. Gone were the days of Reena’s insane ramblings and Kalilu’s lectures on archaeological discovery. Gone were the days of constant food fights, bickering, and Kay’s alien enemies. Gone were the days defined by how unpredictable they could be. Absurdity and randomness had given way to flashing cameras and red carpets and mingling with the best of the fashion industry. And she was better off for it!

     Things weren’t the same as before. So why did Nixie feel the way she did?

To be continued…