Well, if you've been waiting for some REAL action to show up in this fanfic… here you go. Hiko finally gets a chance to fight… problem is, it isn't against the sort of "insanely evil monsters" she's daydreamed about facing. Things are not always as simple as black and white… Also, be warned, as there is a bit of violence in this part – obviously. Does anybody think I should up the rating a little…?

~ * ~ * ~

Hiko stomped forward, trying her hardest to conceal the anger and frustration she felt at the moment. Her black and white tail lashed behind her, causing her Forest Cloak to rustle slightly, but she ignored the noise the same way she ignored the sound of her own heavy footfalls.

She couldn't believe how rude that Kyrii had been! Hiko didn't understand it: she thought she had been acting nice and polite, striking up a friendly conversation, and how had he replied…?

By laughing at her! By making a mockery of her dreams and expectations! Calling her a rookie, and claiming that she wasn't strong enough to take care of herself!

"Remember, every great fighter started out as a young rookie."

Hiko smiled, calming down a little at the memory of her guardian's words.

So what if she was younger and less experienced than other fighters? That was why she kept training, wasn't it? It was why she was so eager to get out and expand her skills, to test the spells given to her by the faeries as well as her own natural strengths. She'd get better and better, until she was viewed by her peers at the Battledome as an equal, a worthy rival…

Somebody to respect and not just a "weak little tomboy Usul".

Smirking at that thought, Hiko balled one of her paws into a tiny fist at her side. Pushing the Kyrii's insults out of her mind, she swore once again that nothing would stop her from attaining her dreams.

So caught up in her thoughts was the skunk Usul that she failed to notice that a shadowy figure was beginning to emerge from the woods, darting behind trees as it drew steadily closer. However, the dry snap of a twig under its paw was all the warning she needed.

Tensing, Hiko whirled in the direction of the sudden crack, Sword of Domar in her paw again, tail bristling behind her, sky blue eyes glowing faintly.

"Who's there?" she demanded bravely.

However, once again Hiko found herself blinking in surprise as the sight before her failed to match anything out of her heroic daydreams. She had expected to see a hulking Grarrl or a snarling Lupe, but instead, she found herself sticking the point of her blade directly at the nose of a pale green Gelert.

For his part, the Gelert appeared just as startled as she was, deep brown eyes fixed on the sword hovering inches away from his muzzle. Cheeks burning slightly, Hiko recalled how the Kyrii had responded to this same situation calmly, not panicking in the least about having a blade stuck in his face. At least this Gelert appeared somewhat unnerved by the whole thing…

"Sorry 'bout that," she murmured, dropping her ready stance and smiling at him. "I guess I'm a little edgy right now…"

"…Edgy, huh," echoed the Gelert, sounding like he couldn't make up his mind whether to be nervous or amused. After a few awkward seconds, however, amusement won out, and he smiled back at Hiko, much to her immense relief.

"So, are you out here all by yourself?" he queried, cocking his head to one side.

"Uh huh," Hiko nodded enthusiastically, beaming as she added, "I'm going on a adventure. My name's Hiko FlashFlame, what's yours?"

"…My name?"

For an instant, a strange expression flickered on the green Gelert's face: a mix of pain, sorrow, annoyance, and other emotions Hiko couldn't identify. However, the look was gone just as quickly as it came, replaced by the same, friendly smile, leaving her to wonder if it had ever existed in the first place.

"I don't really have a name," he announced brightly.

"…What?" Hiko blinked, confused, and cocked her head to one side as she studied her companion. "…But… didn't your owner give you a name when you…"

"Don't have an owner," interrupted the Gelert smoothly, still grinning at her as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

Hiko blinked again, trying hard to conceal her shock as she gazed at him with dawning sympathy.

"Oh… that's too bad…"

"No big deal. Don't really need one, anyway."

"…Eh? But… don't you get lonely…?"

"…Not really."

The skunk Usul stared at her Gelert companion in growing shock, his calmness triggering something in the back of her mind. This didn't seem right, somehow… Her senses were warning her to be careful, that something big was amiss here…

Warily, she glanced around, her movement apparently surprising the Gelert standing in front of her.

"Something wrong, Hiko?" he asked, and she bristled at something… off… in his tone. He sounded guarded… just as wary as she was, but for a different reason…

The Sword of Domar was still in her paw, and she gripped it tightly as she whipped it back in front of her, edging away from her companion. He took a step toward her, only to find the blade pointed at his nose again.

"Stay right there," Hiko told him, danger sense now screaming that something was seriously wrong.

The green Gelert frowned, previously friendly face darkening, and he took a few cautious steps backward at the same time Hiko did. Each glared at the other, trying to read their next move.

Hiko's ears twitched, and she felt her fur bristle at the sound of light footfalls coming from all sides. Glancing around, she barely managed to catch her sharp gasp – of surprise, not fear, she reassured herself.

Several more Gelerts had emerged from the cover of the trees and had fanned out to surround the little skunk Usul. Most had simply colored coats of red, blue, yellow or green, but as she glanced around, Hiko noticed that a few had been painted: some shadow, a few spotted, and even a faerie Gelert with pale lavender wings.

Although she attempted to mask her surprise at seeing this, several of the Gelerts picked up on her confusion, and one of the dark-painted canines sneered as he circled around in front of her.

"What's the matter, little one?" he sneered. "Why do you look so stunned? Don't you like my lovely black fur?"

"Or my dazzling wings?" added the faerie Gelert, flexing the pale butterfly wings as she spoke.

"Did…did your owners take you to the Rainbow Fountain too?" Hiko asked, attempting to keep her voice steady and calm.

The simple query caused several of the lanky lupines to snarl, and Hiko winced, realizing that she'd said the wrong thing. Gripping her sword's hilt a little tighter, she shifted her weight slightly, trying to ensure that as little of her cloaked back was exposed to the lupines as possible.

"…Yeah, my owner took me to the Rainbow Fountain," one of the spotted Gelerts suddenly piped up, smiling faintly. However, his smile abruptly twisted into an angry smirk and a shadow seemed to fall over his face as he added, "Before he abandoned me."

Several of the other painted Gelerts echoed this statement, muttering under their breath. Hiko felt a cold chill run down her spine.

"But why…how could they do such a…"

"Don't you keep up with the news, little Usul?" taunted a Gelert with deep crimson fur, dark brown eyes glittering faintly as he regarded her with amusement. "Our kind recently underwent a… makeover of sorts…."

"There was a big election and everything," added a blue-furred one. "They asked all the masters and owners to vote on a new look…"

"Isn't it funny how they never thought to ask us? The ones that would have to live with whatever they chose for the rest of our lives?" another blue Gelert said with false cheer. She smiled crazily as she giggled, "Ha, ha, ha…"

"We were kept hanging for weeks, wondering how we would end up looking," a green Gelert, the same one she had met first, went on. "Blame it on another stupid recount…"

"And once we finally discovered our new appearance and were forced to adopt it…"

"Our owners decided they were no longer pleased with the way we looked," a pair of yellow Gelerts said in succession, one picking up the other's sentence so there was no gap between words.

"Even though they got to vote just the same as everybody else did," chimed in another red Gelert. "Imagine, huh?"

"So they dumped us into the pound, just like that. Didn't matter how long we'd lived with and loved them, how loyal we'd been…"

"Or whether or not we'd been painted," added one of the shadow Gelerts, lips curling back in a snarl that exposed gleaming white teeth.

"We're the lucky ones," the faerie Gelert continued. "We managed to escape from that wretched kennel and find our way here. It's a nice life, I suppose… nowhere near as cushy as the one you're likely used to… with your loving master looking after you…"

"But don't worry," added another shadow one with false cheeriness. "We've found a few good ways to provide for ourselves…"

Hiko had a pretty good idea of what exactly he meant by that, and felt her body tense even further as she struggled to keep an eye on as many of her opponents as possible as they continued to slowly close the circle around her.

"I thought you Gelerts were supposed to be kind, loving, loyal Neopets," she commented, trying to keep her tone light as she adjusted her grip on her sword's hilt.

"As kind, loyal and loving as our former owners were," shot back the first Gelert she had met, tensing for his own attack.

Abruptly, one of the canines behind Hiko leapt toward her turned back, ready to send her sprawling to the ground.

The sly smirk on his red-furred muzzle suddenly twisted into a shocked expression as the skunk Usul dodged out of his path, then whirled about to face him, the tip of her Sword of Domar nicking his side. Landing roughly on his feet, the crimson Gelert gasped, then shot a murderous glare at Hiko. She smirked, recognizing the surprise that glinted in his narrowed chocolate eyes.

"Not as helpless as you thought, eh?"

The red Gelert snarled at her, but to Hiko's amazement, several of the other lupines snickered at their comrade's pain and humiliation. She had been trying to prove she was more than able to fight them, not amuse them…! Gritting her teeth in frustration, the skunk Usul struggled to suppress the urge to lunge forward and punch one of the sneering Gelerts right in its smirking face.

The crimson-furred Gelert was still growling at her, crouching low to the ground as he prepared to pounce again. Hiko readied her blade, waiting for him to lunge…

Suddenly pain exploded across the back of her head, and the little Usul gasped and reeled, barely managing to keep gripping the hilt of her sword as her other paw flew up to cover her aching skull. Whirling around, she caught a glimpse of one of the spotted Gelerts standing there, paw poised in front of him. She had not yet recovered from her strike, but still smirked knowingly at the fuming Usul.

"That's not fair!" shouted Hiko, swiping at her new attacker and driving the spotted lupine back. "You have to wait until I've finished my fight with him! That's how the rules…"

Again the Gelerts chuckled and snickered at the skunk Usul, laughing at her outraged declaration. The spotted Gelert shook her head in mock disbelief, dark eyes dancing with mirth as she eyed her prey.

"This isn't the Battledome, sweetie," she said airily, long whip-like tail lashing behind her slender body. "There's no such thing as a 'fair fight', and the only rule that matters is 'win no matter what'…"

Hiko's sky blue eyes flared with outrage and embarrassment, but she had little time to dwell on her mistake.

The red Gelert took advantage of her distraction, and lunged toward her turned back, snapping his jaws shut on her long tail. Hiko screeched and yanked it away, wincing as she felt some of the black and white fur tear out, remaining lodged in her attacker's teeth. Thankfully, a mouthful of fur was all that she lost to him. However, this did not keep Hiko from shooting an angry glare at the scarlet canine and swinging her sword at him, driving him back.

Another set of paws slammed into her back, nearly knocking her down, and Hiko gasped to regain the air forced out of her lungs by the blow. She dimly heard a metallic clang, and realized that one of the Gelert's attacks had hit her armor instead.

For some reason, that knowledge caused a slight smirk to come to her face, and the skunk Usul twisted away from her opponents, then adopted another fighting pose.

I can do this, she reassured herself. I'm not half as weak or defenseless as they think I am…

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

That little fool! Why doesn't she run?

A pair of narrowed tan eyes glittered with frustration and growing anger, and the blue Kyrii gritted his teeth as he continued to watch the fight from the cover of the trees.

The little Usul was doing better than he had initially believed she would, he had to admit silently. Despite the fact that she was horribly outnumbered, she was putting up a brave front, and had somehow managed to keep standing even as the Gelerts attacked time and again.

But it was painfully obvious that she would never be able to defeat all of them by herself. After all, she was only a little rookie…

The Kyrii grimaced, shaking his head and closing his eyes. His long cobalt bangs fell over his forehead, casting most of his face into shadow.

Abruptly his eyes flashed open again, and seemed to glitter faintly as a smirk twisted the Kyrii's lips.

Guess I'll even the odds a bit…

A dark mist formed around his body as the Kyrii crept forward, causing his form to blend in even more with the shadows surrounding him. Tan eyes narrowed in slits as he approached, and he silently gauged the strength of each of the Gelerts. His gaze fixed upon a snarling green Gelert that was on the fringe of the circle surrounding the skunk Usul, and his smirk widened.

…This should give the little rookie a bit of an advantage…

The green Gelert he had singled out failed to note his approach, focused entirely on his soon-to-be victim. Growling and taunting the Usul, he dropped into a crouch, whip-like tail wagging at the thought of pouncing upon her…

In a single, swift movement, the Kyrii reached out, seized his chosen victim's right hind leg, and twisted.

A single, clear snap accompanied the action, and was almost immediately followed by a piercing, pained howl.

Hiko froze, startled by the sound, and spun to see what had happened. Most of the other Gelerts stopped and stared as well, curious.

The green Gelert had collapsed to the ground, howling in agony, his leg twisted at an awkward angle beside his fallen form. As Hiko and the other canines stared in shock at the horrid sight, a dark mist swirled and faded just in front of the crumpled Gelert. As the shadowy fog vanished, it left behind a single figure, and Hiko gasped in recognition.

The blue Kyrii stood there calmly, arms crossed over his chest, a smug smirk on his face as he studied the rest of the Gelerts with gleaming tan eyes.

"Next."

The rest of the pack abruptly scattered, fleeing in all directions. Hiko stood in mute shock, watching the Gelerts bound away without even another glance at their fallen comrade, vanishing into the forest as quickly as they had come. Soon, the only ones left were herself, the wounded green Gelert, and the blue Kyrii that still stood a few feet away, smirking at her.

"Heh. What weaklings," he observed, shaking his head slightly, the same smug smile on his face. His eyes never left her face, and he added, "You're lucky I came to help you, rookie. Your little stunt was about to get you killed…"

He trailed off, seeing that the little skunk Usul was walking toward him, and his smirk grew wider.

…Ah, here we go. This is where she apologizes for being so much trouble and thanks me before going home…

She walked up to him, head bowed, a shadow falling over her eyes. The blue Kyrii looked down at her expectantly, waiting.

Then, abruptly, Hiko FlashFlame snapped her head up to face him, sky blue eyes blazing with anger, and slapped him across the face.

"You IDIOT!" she shrieked.

The blue Kyrii blinked, barely able to mask his shock as the skunk Usul whirled around and dashed to the fallen Gelert's side. As he watched, rubbing his sore cheek, Hiko knelt beside her former opponent, tears glistening in her eyes as she pulled a potion from her traveling pack and proceeded to try and make the canine drink it.

…Alright… now I know for certain she's a complete fool as well as a rookie, he mused darkly, glaring at her as she continued to try and help the Gelert.