AN: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I truly appreciated it! ^_________^

Chapter 2:

            Cindermushie ran down to the basement singing and dancing. He could go to Hades' party! He ran up to a dusty old armoire and flung the doors open, coughing and sneezing at the dust that burst into his face. Wiping his eyes (the rest of his face was completely gray from the dust), he peered inside the armoire. It seemed as though a choir was singing behind him as a nice suit of clothing hung neatly in the armoire, lit up by a beam of sunlight.

            Tears of joy filled Cindermushie's eyes and he took the suit out. "It's a little old fashioned," he remarked, holding it up against him and viewing in the mirror. "But I can fix that right up!" He went to a nearby set of drawers and pulled out a small sewing kit. Sitting down in a patch of sunlight that now rested on the floor, he began to work wonders on the old-fashioned suit. "Hades' party, here I come!" he exclaimed. Five minutes later, Cindermushie had completely transformed the fusty old suit into a new, very handsome three-piece suit, similar, but not exactly like, a tuxedo.

            "Perfect!"

            "CINDERMUSHIE!"

            Dropping the suit, he leapt to his feet. "Comin' Wicked Newsie Trio!" And he rushed from the room. The rest of the day, the Wicked Newsies kept Cindermushie busy-cleaning the lodging house, helping prepare everyone for Hades big party that evening, and preparing gifts for them to give her. He had almost no time to get ready himself! But finally, his chores were complete, and he ran down to the basement where his suit lay, primed and ready.

            Humming gleefully, Cindermushie donned the suit and studied his reflection in the mirror. He smiled brightly. "I look so handsome!" he said, amazed at how he looked when clean. Adjusting the bowtie around his neck, he turned on his heel and headed up the staircase. "I's ready!" he called out to Shadow, Mississippi, and Blank.

            The three, exquisitely donned in beautiful gowns (Shadow) and expensive suits (Mississippi and Blank), turned slowly and stared at the beautiful Cindermushie that stood behind them. Immediately, Mississippi and Blank were jealous of his unsurpassed attractiveness. Shadow was just angry that he actually did prepare in time, when her fellow wicked newsies said it was impossible.

            "We must do something!" Blank hissed. "He isn't s'posed t' go!"

            Shadow stepped forward and circled around the nervous Cindermushie. "Well, ya certainly cleaned up."

            "Yes," he nodded. "I did. So now I can go t' Hades' party, right?"

            She nodded, making a face. "I guess a deal's a deal."

            "Wait!" Mississippi approached him. "That's my bowtie!" Of course, it wasn't, but black bowties all looked the same anyway and were quite easy to confuse. He yanked it off of Cindermushie's neck and tossed it to the ground.

            "An' hey! Ya used my hairbrush!" Shadow screeched, pulling on his hair frantically.

            "What?" Cindermushie yelped, trying to dodge her grabbing hands. "But I didn't!"

            "An' those are my shoes!" Blank yelled, leaning over and pulling the shoes right off of Cindermushie's feet, knocking him over in the process. They weren't even remotely similar to Blank's shoes, of course, but he just wanted to get in on the action.

            Seeing that Cindermushie was on the floor now, Shadow yelled, "Dog pile!" and they all jumped onto him in a heap.

            "But Wicked Newsie Trio!" he managed to protest before they attacked.

            Just a few minutes later, the three stood, dusted off their pretty clothes and watched Cindermushie, now in rags, climb to his feet.

            "Well, it looks as though you can't go Hades' party after all, Cindermushie," Mississippi said with what seemed to be true sadness in his eyes. Next to him, Blank and Shadow were grinning mischievously.

            Cindermushie looked upon them with eyes wide. "But... ya said I could go..."

            "Yeah... if ya looked good," Shadow replied. "But you's all in rags!" She pointed to his clothes.

            "And the conditions were, you may go if your chores were done and you were dressed well," Mississippi added.

            Cindermushie watched them sadly as they approached the door. "Well.... have a good night!" he called out, but only silence heard him, as the others were already outside, climbing into coaches. Leaving for the party.

            Sitting in a little chair next to the fireplace, he began to dream of a better life. 'Where they work for me!... No, that's too mean. I love the Wicked Newsie Trio too much to treat them like they treat me... Still, I wish I could go to the party. Then Hades maybe would fall in love with me! ...' "Who'm I kiddin'? Hades'll never love me." He sighed and put his chin on his hands. "Oh, but I wish, wish, wish!"

            "Did I hear someone say wish?!" shrilled an overly perky voice.

            With a terrified yelp, Cindermushie toppled backwards in his chair. A moment later, a face framed by lots of curly hair donned with a small, glittering tiara, appeared over him. "What're ya doin' on th' floor, Cindermushie?"

            Quickly, he scrambled away from her. "Who... who are ya?" Before him stood a young adolescent girl with curly brown hair, wearing a white velvet leotard and glittering white tutu, white ballet shoes, a huge floppy bow in her hair, sparkling wings, and a wand with a star at the point, and several streamers swirling around the stick. "Lil' Bit?" Cindermushie blinked in surprise.

            "Hi, Cindermushie! Wait, no! I's ya fairy godnewsie!" She twirled around on her toes and then curtsied primly.

            "My fairy godnewsie? But ya look jus' like Lil' Bit!"

            "Shhhh!" she hissed, waving her wand at him frantically and, in turn, turning him into a frog, a goat, a piece of cheese, and a pigeon. "Whoops." She waved her wand again and he returned to Cindermushie form. "Anyway, yes, I's ya fairy godnewsie. Spot was s'posed to be it, but he ran away when he saw what he had t' wear. Fairy Godnewsies Incorporated's lookin' for 'im."

            "Why are ya here Lil' Bit- I mean, fairy godnewsie?"

            "I'm here to... um..." She waved her wand around absently as she thought. Unknown to her, Cindermushie was undergoing some very bizarre changes.

            "Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

            "What's that Cindermushie, I can't understand when ya speak mouse-ish." She crouched next to the mouse shaped Cindermushie.

            "Squeak, SQUEAK!"

            "What's that?"

            The mouse gave her a very pointed look.

            "Oh! That's right!" She tapped the mouse on the head with her wand and Cindermushie returned.

            "Ow.... didja hafta hit me so hard?" Cindermushie muttered, rubbing the top of his head ruefully.

            "Sorry." Lil' Bit patted his head. "Anyway, let's see... Oh yes, I's here t' get ya ready t' go t' Hades' party!"

            "Hades' party?"

            "Yeah!... Ya wanted t' go, right? I didn't get th' wrong place again, did I?" She looked around curiously, walked outside to check the address, and then returned. "Nope, right place all right." She looked at him critically. "You's the one who did wanna go to th' party, right?"

            "Oh yes! Yes, fairy godnewsie, yes!" Cindermushie clasped his hands together in delight.

            "Great! Now... Let's see... I guess all we need is a coach to get you there! Skittery! Race!"

            "Yes?" Two boys popped in from out of nowhere and approached the fairy godnewsie.

            "Hey Cindermushie," Race said with a wave.

            "This is no time for chitchat!" Lil' Bit waved her wand at him and he turned into a hamster. "Whoops." Whacking him on the head with her wand, she turned him back into a boy. "You an' Skitts go get me a pumpkin an' two mice."

            "Why the both of us?" Skittery asked, arching a brow in her direction.

            "Jus' do it!" she shrieked, waving her wand at him threateningly.

            "Yes ma'am!" Race and Skittery saluted her and then scampered off to find the desired items.

            "Now sit down, Cindermushie, while I think of ever'thing I need.... Two horses, a coach, a driver a'course, an' th' feller who opens th' door- whatever that feller is called..."

            Race and Skittery returned a moment later.

            "We couldn't find two mice, so we got a mouse an' a gerbil," Skittery explained, handing her the rodents.

            "An' there ain't any pumpkins back there, so we brought ya a licorice whip instead." Race handed her the candy.

            Lil' Bit shook her head, placing everything on the floor. "It's so hard t' find good help these days... Now, what was th' magic words? Abra Cadabra!" She waved her wand over the three items and the licorice whip exploded. "Whoops, wrong one. Race, get me another licorice, would ya?"

            Race did as told, and Lil' Bit tried again. "Shiza mazu, shiza mazay!" But instead of turning the mouse, gerbil, or new licorice whip into anything, it flung Race through the roof of the lodging house!

            Cindermushie stared on, wide-eyed. This fairy godnewsie had lost her mind, he was certain!

            "It's bibidy bobidy boo, ya muttonhead!" Race yelled from about fifty feet in the air.

            "Oh yes!" Clearing her throat, Lil' Bit turned to the three items before her. "Bibidy bobidy-"

            At the last minute, Skittery grabbed her arm. "Wait, do this outside. You's gonna wreck this place if ya turn that licorice into a coach in here!"

            With a grumbling sigh, Lil' Bit muttered, "Oh, all right! Cindermushie, get ya coach an' coachmen fellers an' meet me outside." Turning, she flounced out the door.

            Cindermushie gulped and jerked his thumb in the direction she left. "Is she certified t' be doin' this?" he asked Skittery.

            He shrugged. "Well, she gots her FGN license... But watchin' her try an' remember her spells is enough t' scare even th' toughest fellers all th' way outta New York!" Leaning over, he picked up the mouse and the gerbil. "You get th' licorice."

            Picking up the candy, Cindermushie followed Skittery out the door. Out in the front yard of the lodging house, Lil' Bit pranced around singing and waving her wand around, which, in turn, was changing everything around her into crazy items. Dropping the rodents, Skittery tackled her and pried the wand from her.

"Hey! That's my magic wand! Give it back!"

"Stop that prancin' an' wavin' it around or y'ain't gettin' this back!"

            Lil' Bit puffed out her bottom lip. "Fine!" He handed it back. Then she turned to the mouse and the gerbil. Both looked positively terrified. "Now lovies! You's gonna be turned into coachmen fellers!" Waving her wand over them, she said, "Bibidy bobidy boo!" And suddenly two well-dressed coachmen appeared.

            "Squeeeeeaaaak!" shrilled the former mouse.

            "Wont' someone realize these ain't coachmen when they talk?" Cindermushie asked her, looking at the two former rodents with eyes widened in awe.

            "So? Jus' don't let 'em talk." Then she motioned for him to place the licorice on the ground. "Bibidy bobidy boo!" And it burst into a brilliant licorice shaped carriage. Making a slight face, Lil' Bit flitted her wand about a bit until the ends curled up. "Well... 's the best I can do." Then she turned to Cindermushie. "All right! You's ready to go! Have fun! Don't drink too much, an' play nice wit' the others!" She turned and began to flounce away.

            "Wait a minute!" Skittery snagged her arm. "There ain't any horses to pull th' carriage!"

            "An' I don't have nothin' to wear to th' party!"

            Lil' Bit shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You fellers are so demanding! Well, th' horse problem's easily fixed." She whapped Skittery on the head with her wand and he turned into a glistening palomino.

            Skittery-horse snorted. "This ain't what I meant!" he yelled.

            Cindermushie stared at him. "Wow fairy godnewsie... ya made him into a talkin' horse!"

            Lil' Bit smiled proudly. "Yup. Now... about ya clothes.... what was th' spell for that one again?... Oh, I know!" She waved her wand in front of him.

Cindermushie flinched. 'I's gonna die, I jus' know it!'

            "BIBIDYYYYY... BOBIDYYYY... BOO!"

            There was an explosion of smoke. Cindermushie looked down to see he was wearing clean clothes. Lil' Bit smiled, proud of herself, and proceeded to scamper off.

            "Um, fairy godnewsie..." Cindermushie grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back. "This is my normal clothes. Only cleaner an' stuff."

            "Well, what didja expect? Fairy Godnewsies Incorporated is on a budget, ya know. You's lucky t' get nice clean clothes wit' th' money they allow me t' use."

            "But... won't they recognize me?" he asked. "I mean... I wear this all th' time!"

            Lil' Bit sighed. "Men!" She waved her wand in the air and out popped a top hat.  She handed it to him, trotted back into the lodging house, and returned with the black bowtie that had been ripped from his neck earlier that evening. Standing back as he put them on, she stroked her chin critically. "There's somethin' missin'... I jus' dunno what."

            "The magic shoes, ya moron," Skittery-horse grumbled, walking over to them on four hoof-clad legs.

            "Right!" Then she tossed Skittery-horse a glare. "An' I ain't a moron! ... I's jus' forgetful. An' downright adorable t' boot!"

            Skittery-horse snorted in a very horse-like way before he trotted off again.

            Lil' Bit, the fairy godnewsie, turned back to Cindermushie. "To make ya so beautiful, I's gonna give ya some magical shoes." She tapped his tattered boots and they evolved into beautiful glass slippers. "Whoops," she muttered, "wrong fairytale." She tapped his shoes again and they transformed into beautiful, shiny black leather shoes- so shiny, Cindermushie could see his face in them.

            "They're beautiful!" he gasped in delight, twisting his torso back some so he could look at his lovely new shoes from every possible angle. He clicked his heels together and said, "There's no place like home."

            "Wrong line Cindermushie!" She then smiled brightly. "And a'course your shoes are!" She herded Cindermushie to his coach. "Now, go! Go to Hades' party an' have fun!"

            "I will! I will!" he exclaimed, climbing into the coach. "Goodbye, fairy godnewsie! Goodbye!"

            The coach driver cracked a whip over Skittery-horse's rump. "Ey! Watch where ya snap that thing!" he yelled, trotting into action.

"An' don't forget!" Lil' Bit yelled, running after them. "Bring me back a piece of th' cake!"
            "Ya mean, 'Get'cha bum back before midnight or th' spell'll wear off!'" Skittery-horse yelled.

            "That too! Bye Cindermushie!" Then, Lil' Bit disappeared in a puff of smoke.

            And all was silent.

            "Hey! What about me!" Race yelled, kicking and thrashing about from fifty feet in the air. "Ya jus' gonna leave me up here? Bit? BIIIIIIT!"