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“Okay KeeKee. I gotta go to my lessons for the day. You gonna be okay on your own?” A young Charlie asked.
KeeKee stretched a bit before pawing at her pillow. Charlie giggled a bit as she patted her head; she was such a silly and cute kitty. Ever since finding her in that old hotel, Charlie adored having KeeKee around. She always managed to make her days more fun whether it was playing games with Razzle and Dazzle, running down the halls, or exploring rooms of the castle she hadn’t seen yet. Even though this was her home, she still didn’t know all the secrets it held.
But KeeKee was good at finding secrets.
“Well you take it easy today KeeKee. See you later!” She waved.
KeeKee waited until Charlie had left before looking out the window. Sometimes when she was left to her own devices, the kitty would explore on her own. She loved having a home to return to but she was still a hell cat that liked to do her own thing.
Nudging her face against the window, KeeKee pushed her way outside. With Charlie busy, she wanted to find something interesting to do. Hell was a fairly big place so she could find something to do.
The day was hers to make her own.
(…)
“Ahh…ahh!” Blitzo cried out, scrambling under his bed.
“What’s wrong Blitzo? Is there a bug under there?” Fizz wondered.
“If there is, I’m not touching it.” Barbie chimed in, peeking her head in the boys’ room.
“It’s not that! And I don’t have bugs under my bed!” Blitzo snapped, crawling back out before looking worriedly at them. “My horse plushie is gone!”
“What? Oh no!” Fizz fretted, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry buddy.”
Barbie knew this was serious business. Blitzo would never misplace that thing ever since he got it from Stolas. He always made sure it was in the same spot on his pillow every morning. Even if he accidentally dropped it during the night, he’d make sure it ended up back on his pillow. But he had no idea what happened to it this morning!
“Augh! What am I gonna do?!” Blitzo cried.
Fizz saw his boss walking by, looking confused and slightly irritated. “Hey sir have you seen Blitzo’s toy horse?” He asked.
“Is it in the same place as my damned hat?” Cash snarked, rubbing the top of his head. “I went to grab it this morning and it was gone! I swear I put it on the hook in my room last night!”
“That’s weird…” Barbie mumbled. “We gotta check and see if other stuff has gone missing.”
Once they were dressed, the trio began to check and see if anything was missing in the house. Fizz was shocked that his favorite washcloth was missing from the bathroom and Barbie fluffy socks were gone from her room. Even Tilla noticed a scarf she’d wear around winter was gone. She had been planning to switch out the winter clothes with spring/summer clothes so this was very strange. Just for their own peace of mind, Cash checked the locks on the doors and windows to make sure that they were safe.
“Huh…the locks haven’t been tampered with…no broken glass or shit…” The ringmaster muttered before standing up straight. “Welp I’m stumped. I don’t know how this stuff went missing.”
“Could it be a ghost?” Blitzo whimpered, clutching onto his mother’s dress.
“I don’t think so honey.” Tilla reassured him before recalling something. “Although, I did hear a weird noise early this morning. I thought it might be the pipes but it sounded like skittering.”
Cash let out an annoyed groan. “A fucking animal? Dammit…” he grumbled, looking up at Tilla. “Where’d ya hear it?”
“I think the attic.” She mused. “I’ll go get Dante and see if we can chase the critter out.” Cash decided.
“Can we help?” Barbie offered, surprising her parents.
“Yeah if it’s not a ghost, I think we can take it.” Blitzo agreed.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If it is an animal, I don’t want you getting bitten or scratched.” Tilla told them.
Cash then rubbed the tops of his twins’ heads. “We can handle it pipsqueaks. If it’s too much for us, we’ll call for ya.” He reassured them, giving them a grin.
The kids looked at each other in worry, not liking being left out. Whatever was up there, it was a little thief. They had to find a way to lure it out and get their stuff back.
(…)
Cash had Dante and Nyx follow him up into the attic, holding a net and a pot with a lid respectively. On the suggestion of the kids, Cash had a little jar of cereal to try and lure the creature out. Thief critter or not, they figured it was probably hungry. Plus they wanted to help even if they weren’t allowed in the attic.
“I swear if it’s another damned hell-skunk, I'm gonna be pissed.” Cash grumbled.
“I hope it isn’t a raccoon.” Nyx shuddered. “They are really mean.”
“If it is a raccoon, it’s probably asleep right now.” Dante added, holding up the net. “Get back if it gets wild.”
Cash began glancing around before he let out a sneeze. “ACHOO! …guh…stupid allergies…” he grumbled.
If there was animal hair in the air, they had to be getting close. As they kept crawling around the messy attic, Dante felt a shiver up his spine. Cash and Nyx were in front of him so something was touching the back of his neck…and it made him freak the fuck out. He hated anyone touching his neck unless it was his girlfriend.
“Fuck I hope we find this thing…” he muttered, pulling his collar up to protect his neck.
Nyx wasn’t doing much better, feeling like something was watching her. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something. But as she turned to see what it was, it disappeared. Maybe it was just a fear of an animal actually being the attic, but she was feeling on edge. Hopefully whatever this was wasn’t dangerous.
“Maybe you should put some more lights up here, sir. Just to make it less creepy.” Nyx suggested.
“Yeah the kids were yappin’ about making this place a fort but maybe making this place look good ain’t such a—!” Cash let out a sharp gasp as something crossed his path. “There! Shine the light there!”
“On it!” Dante nodded, quickly moving his light to the corner.
But as the light caught the creature, they were stunned to see a very large eye staring at them, almost the size of a beach ball. Dante dropped his flashlight unable to look away as he held his girlfriend’s hand. The ringmaster gulped a bit before stepping forward.
“Alright ya weirdo! Give us our shit back!” Cash ordered, shaking the food can at it. “Ya want this? Leave our house and I’ll give it to ya!”
The giant eye blinked before forming a giant gaping mouth, drooling fangs and a loud hiss sounding.
“HIIIIISSSSS!!!”
“GAAAAHHHH!” They screamed, running back to the ladder. Thief or not, they couldn’t fight that! They weren’t monster hunters or part of Satan’s army!
They had to get out of there!
(…)
“A giant eye with teeth?” Tilla repeated skeptically.
“I swear I’m not fucking with you!” Cash promised, slightly shaking on the couch. “It was a fucking-ass eye with fangs!”
“We saw it ourselves, ma’am.” Nyx told her, still unsure of what she actually saw. “It wasn’t like any animal I’ve seen before…”
“Should we call an exterminator?” Dante wondered.
As the adults tried to figure out what to do, the kids began to plot how they could help. Blitzo was just relieved it wasn’t a ghost or something. But he wasn’t sure how they could fight a monster. Fizz was pretty worried about something so dangerous was in the house. Mr. Buckzo wasn’t usually scared of a lot but if this creature scared him…that was worrying. Barbie seemed the most calm about the situation. Maybe whatever this ‘monster’ was wasn’t really scary at all.
Maybe it was frightened too.
“Let’s go up and find this monster ourselves.” She decided.
“But it scared Mr. Buckzo! What can we do against a monster?” Fizz questioned.
“Let’s try giving it food. Maybe it’s cranky because it’s hungry.” Blitzo suggested.
Looking around to make sure he wouldn’t get caught, the young imp boy crept into the kitchen with Cash’s food can. He quickly yoinked it off the table before heading upstairs, Fizz and Barbie following suit. The kids quietly climbed up the ladder, not wanting to disturb the critter. They’d fight back if they had to but maybe being calmer would help it calm down.
“Heeeey little buddy.” Blitzo tried, softly shaking the can. “We got some treats for ya. Wanna come out?”
“Here critter critter critter~” Barbie cooed in a singsong voice.
Fizz was keeping an eye out for anything weird when something fwumped in his face. “Huh?” He blinked, backing away and feeling it with his hands. It was long and furry, wiggling in his grip before brushing against his face. “H-Hey! Cut that out!”
“Did you find it?” Barbie asked, turning back to Fizz.
“I…think so…” the jester boy nodded slowly, carefully pointing up. The kids looked up and were surprised. Whatever their dad and Dante and Nyx saw…this wasn’t what they were expecting. This was the strangest looking monster they’ve ever seen.
But oddly? Kinda cute.
(…)
*ding dong*
Tilla went to answer the door, surprised to see Queen Lilith and Princess Charlie at their doorstep. The imps inside immediately stood up straight, wanting to show the royal duo respect. But to Tilla’s surprise, they both seemed rather troubled.
“Your majesties.” Tilla quickly bowed before straightening up. “Is something wrong?”
“I am very sorry to trouble you. But we’re looking for something important to my daughter.” Lilith explained.
“My pet KeeKee got out and she hasn’t come home yet.” Charlie chimed in.
“Oh that sucks…” Dante frowned.
“We’re sorry, princess.” Nyx added.
“Ya know where the little furball might’ve gone?” Cash wondered. “Maybe the pipsqueaks can keep an eye out for her. What's she look like?”
“Well…she’s a cat with a long furry tail and a big eye. She’s kinda shy around strangers but also pretty tricky.” Charlie told them all.
“If you see anything, will you let us know?” Lilith requested.
The other adults agreed to keep an eye out but Tilla began to ponder over what the young girl told her. A furry creature with a long tail and a large eye? That sounded similar to what her husband found in the attic. And from how she described the kitty’s personality, her hunch might be correct. Hearing the ruckus upstairs, Tilla began to smile to herself.
“If you aren’t busy, would you both mind coming upstairs for a moment?” The young imp woman suggested. “I think your missing pet and our little home intruder might be the same.”
Wanting any answers, Charlie immediately went up the stairs and climbed the ladder to the attic. Lilith followed after her, looking up worriedly at her daughter. Tilla was pretty calm but Cash was just shocked. How was his wife so relaxed?!
“Honey please be careful!” Lilith called.
“I think she will be fine.” Tilla reassured the queen.
Meanwhile, Charlie was running through the attic to find her beloved pet. To her relief and joy, KeeKee was floating above her friends as they played with her tail. Blitzo and Barbie were trying to catch it while Fizz was giving her chin scratches. He was just relieved she wasn’t a monster.
“KeeKee!” Charlie smiled.
KeeKee turned and quickly flew up to Charlie, cuddling against her cheek before landing on top of her head. The kids were surprised to see their friend but happy just the same. They ran up to her, telling her everything that happened.
“We thought a monster was in our house!” Blitzo began.
“Something was stealing our stuff!” Barbie went on.
“And she scared Mr. Buckzo!” Fizz finished.
“I WAS NOT!”
Charlie picked KeeKee up from off her head before giving her a stern look (for a seven year old). “KeeKee have you been acting like a rascal?” She questioned.
KeeKee blinked her big eye as her tail swished sheepishly.
“No more scaring my friends or their family, okay?” She warned.
As her cat placed a paw on her face Charlie nodded in understanding before placing her back on her head. “Sorry about all that. She’s a bit of a trickster.”
“It’s okay. We’re just glad it wasn’t anything too scary.” Barbie assured her.
“But why was she messing with us and our stuff?” Blitzo wondered.
“Oh she likes playing games. I guess when I told her about you guys, she wanted to play.” Charlie laughed sheepishly. “She can have mean streak when she’s scared.”
“Where did she put all our stuff?” Fizz wondered.
KeeKee held her tail out before shaking it up and down, causing everything to fall out. Blitzo immediately grabbed his horse and held it close. “Chocolate Pudding!” Blitzo cheered.
Barbie picked up her socks and Tilla’s scarf while Fizz grabbed his washcloth and Mr. Buckzo’s hat. They quickly headed downstairs to the relief of everyone. Lilith was relieved KeeKee wasn’t in any real danger and immediately went to talk to Tilla to come up with some sort of thank you for them all. Dante and Nyx were just happy the house wasn't haunted while Cash was embarrassed he was scared of a cat of all things. He narrowed his eyes at the cat and frowned.
“You’re a real smartass, ya know that?” He told her. At KeeKee placing her paw on his face, he gave it a wry smirk. “But you are damned cute.”
[END]