~ Here it is, Chapter 8 of my fan fiction. (Wow, eight already. I never
dreamed it'd be so successful. ^_^) I tried to make it long, hence the time
waiting. My thanks go out to karigan, Zimmy Kid and waterfarie165 for their
reviews. ~
Chapter 8: The Battledome
Alicia awoke and found herself in a sunny place. In fact, it was too sunny. She yelped as the bright light entered her eyes. It was harsh light, and it hurt her eyes. Clenching them shut, she felt better at once. But she couldn't go around Neopia with her eyes shut. Groping around her pockets, she finally found what she was looking for.
"Thank goodness I have this cool shades." She muttered, putting them on. Opening her eyes again, the light didn't hurt as much. She looked at her surroundings. It seemed slightly familiar. She was in Neopia again! She laughed in joy, putting the strange incidents of the previous days behind her.
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"Hey! I'm talking to you, you common Shoyru. Where's your owner? She asked for a battle, and I'm going to give her one." Joshua shouted. Chyora stared back blankly.
"Are you a mute? Or just stupid? If so, let me say this again, slowly, GET- ME-YOUR-OWNER-NOW!" Joshua shouted. All Chyora could think of was that his ex-owner hadn't changed one bit. He was still as rude and arrogant as ever. Joshua lost his patience and walked up to Chyora.
-Slap-
Chyora stumbled back, stunned. His face stung from the slap he received. Just like the one he was given when he was disowned. Tears came to his eyes. It hurt, it really hurt. There were too many sad memories. He stifled back a sob.
"What a pathetic Shoyru. Crying like a baby. I know my pets wouldn't do that. They're all strong, smart and limited edition. Unlike you common breeds." Joshua sneered, "When your owner comes back, I'm gonna make her bite dust in the battledome. And if you're the one fighting, the battle shouldn't last long."
"You're going to eat your words, boy." A clipped voice called. Chyora looked up in surprise. That sounded like Alicia! He dashed out of the window. He had been so worried. Looking at Alicia, he found it strange that she was wearing some cool shades. The sun wasn't that bright, it was already the evening, and the sunlight was fading. But it didn't matter much. Alicia was back! He rushed up to hug her, but was stopped by Joshua.
"So, you're that Alicia who so foolishly challenged me. Don't you know my record? I've gotten 100% scores in the battledome. I won the last battledome contest. What makes you think you can beat me?" He smirked. He snapped his fingers, and his Neopets came out. There were four, all looking thin and gaunt, but fierce. Each was a different limited edition pet, and had been painted with a unique colour. There was a white Tonu, a split Chomby, a starry Poogle and even a faerie Cybunny!
Alicia smiled a cold, dangerous smile. Chyora shivered slightly, he had never seen that expression on her face. She walked up to Chyora, pushing Joshua aside. Stroking Chyora gently on his back, she faced Joshua.
"Care to try me?" She asked in a soft, silky tone. Chyora was surprised. She had never talked this way before either. Still, he pushed his doubts aside. He was extremely happy to see her. A week was a long time, and he had really missed her.
"Why you…? Let's go to the battledome right now and fight it out!" Joshua nearly screamed. His face was red with anger.
"Ready when you are, boy." Alicia said. Joshua stomped off, towards the battledome, leaving them behind for a while.
"Alicia? Are you really going to let me fight in the battledome?" Chyora asked, looking up in slight disbelief. Alicia nodded, giving him a small smile and nudged him along. He could barely contain his excitement. First, he was finally going to battle against his ex owner, and Alicia was supporting him. Even encouraging him to fight! He pinched himself, hard. It hurt, a lot.
'It's not a dream,' he thought giddily, 'I'm really going to fight Joshua, and Alicia approves of it.' As they traveled to the battledome, his mind was in a whirl. He barely noticed the scenery around him.
"Chyora, we're here." Alicia called. He snapped to attention. The Battledome. He was finally here. The pair marched purposefully to an arena. The fuming Joshua was already there.
"Took you long enough." Joshua spat dryly. With a gesture, his starry Poogle entered the Arena. Chyora looked to Alicia, and she nodded. Chyora jumped into the arena. Their equipped weapons materialized, and each Neopet armed themselves. The battle began!
The Poogle charged straight at him. Chyora flew out of reach with the 'Shoyru Hover'. He thrust forward with his Shoyru sword. The Poogle (A/N Let's name him Rian. It's sad to go without a name for too long) blocked with a heavy metal shield. Metal rang on metal, as the sword clanged against the shield.
-Boom-
Something exploded. Chyora and Rian were both thrown back by the impact. He (Chyora) lay on the ground, panting. A trickle of blood ran down his chin. Rian was not doing much better. The explosion had caused his shield to be broken in half. He too lay on the ground, eyes closed.
"Get up you ungrateful creature. I didn't spend so much Neopoints training you so you'll get knocked out by a baby." Joshua hissed. Chyora looked to his owner for encouragement. None came. Alicia merely stood there, observing the battle with cold, hard eyes. He wondered greatly at the change that had come over her.
A snarl brought him back to the battle. Rian had gotten up, and was barreling towards him. He brought up his shield, and he smashed straight into it. Chyora felt like his arm was breaking as Rian pushed harder and harder against the shield. He dug around, and came up with a battle card. 'This'll do.' He thought weakly, and threw the card at Rian. The Poogle's front leg burst into flames as the card reached it. He squealed and ran off, trying to put out the flames.
Chyora was glad for the lifting of pressure. He thrust his shield aside. It had been bent into a strange shape. He would have to repair it later. Rian had finally put out the fire, but his burnt fur was evident. It left charred marks on his feet. Rian bared his teeth, showing off his sharp silver fangs that glinted in the moonlight.
Both charged and met headlong. Rian was onto Chyora, biting, scratching and kicking away. Chyora too punched, scratched and kicked Rian and they were locked in close range combat. For a moment, their eyes met. And they understood each other. For they fought not because they were enemies, but because their owners wanted them to battle. Then, their eyes broke away from each other, and they separated.
Now, Chyora looked upon Rian in sorrow. This poor Neopet had nothing to do with it. All he wanted to do was to get back at Joshua. He didn't want to make other Neopets suffer because of this. Then, he noticed something at the corner of his eye. A flurry of snowballs was flying towards him. But Rian hadn't done a thing…
He curled up and defended himself as best he could as the snowballs came raining down on him. Some exploded, some covered him with water, some stuck to him like glue, others slowed down his movements. Through the wave of snowballs, he saw Rian looking as surprised as he was. He too was busy dodging and defending himself against the snowballs. Which meant the snowballs were not coming from him. But no one was supposed to interfere in a battle.
Looking up, he was shocked to see a look of pure malice on Alicia's face. Her mouth was twisted into a cruel grin, and she looked like she laughing as she watched. Was that really Alicia, the sweet owner that he knew? The snowballs fell thick and fast, and soon he could not see anything besides snowballs, more snowballs and even more snowballs.
"What is this? That's cheating!" He heard a muffled voice scream. There was only a cold laughter that followed the outburst. Trying to plough his way through the snowballs, he found Rian. The Poogle was in a bad shape, having suffered burns on his front legs, and now with snowballs raining all around, it was not helping. He winced as yet another snowball exploded on his back. Rian had gotten a snowball covering his eyes. Chyora, with a great effort, summoned a shield to protect themselves against the snowballs. It worked, but he could feel it weakening every second.
Chyora wiped the snow from Rian's eyes. The Poogle coughed and spat out some snow. He tried to stand, but collapsed onto the ground. Chyora saw that his right hind leg was broken, or severely sprained at least.
"Do you have any healing items?" He asked. Rian nodded, indicating a small bag. It was an infinite bag of Neggs. Tipping the bag over, two Neggs rolled out. It would give no more for a while. He passed one to Rian, who nibbled at it half-heartedly. Chyora took a bite, and felt better. The Neggs worked fast. He felt revitalized, but still weak. Rian was still limping, but at least he could get to his feet.
"What are we going to do?" Rian asked. Looking around, the shield had almost given out completely.
"We fight. We must find a way to escape this arena. It has become a deathtrap." Chyora answered. As if on cue, the shield was destroyed and the snowballs came raining in. Working together now, they blocked off as many snowballs as they could. Some hit, but with wonderful coordination, they managed to find the way out of the arena. Rian blew it open with a well- aimed blast and they rushed through, the snowballs still raining behind them. They fell to the ground, exhausted.
A crowd of people had gathered on seeing the phenomenon. The Neopian police held them back, as they investigated the area. Some Neomedics attended to Chyora and Rian. He only noticed when the throbbing pain lifted. Looking at Rian, he gave him an exhausted smile, which he gladly returned.
"I tell you, that owner cheated! She was laughing all the time! She sent those snowballs down!" A familiar voice screamed. Searching for the source of the noise, Chyora found that it was none other than Joshua. He was arguing with a Neopian officer, who was desperately trying to calm him down as he took a statement. Alicia stood nearby, seeming unaffected by the accusation. He tried to stand up, but a splitting headache forced him back down.
"Drink this." He felt a vial held to his lips. He drank it down, and the headache became a mild throb. He struggled to his feet, and made it, albeit still a little wobbly. He dragged himself over to Alicia and Joshua. Staring at Alicia, he felt a great sadness. 'What had come over her? Why was she doing this?' He wondered sadly.
"Alicia? What are you doing here? I thought you hated the battledome!" a voice exclaimed. Turning around, he saw Teena walking up to Alicia. The Uni's face held a worried frown.
"I changed my mind. Is there a problem?" A distant voice answered. Teena looked at her, puzzled. Chyora too was surprised. Alicia was always the most polite and cordial of people. She was never rude to anyone, least of all her friends. Then, he saw Teena's eyes widen, focusing on something behind him. He saw Alicia stiffen slightly. The officer had stopped scribbling down notes as Joshua's mouth hung open. Everyone else had gone silent too. Wondering what was going on, he turned around.
"Alicia?" He gasped.
~Omigod. That was my longest chapter ever. Hope you all liked it, and don't forget to review! Next chapter coming up: One Double, Big Trouble. BIG hint as to what it will be about. *wink* ~
Chapter 8: The Battledome
Alicia awoke and found herself in a sunny place. In fact, it was too sunny. She yelped as the bright light entered her eyes. It was harsh light, and it hurt her eyes. Clenching them shut, she felt better at once. But she couldn't go around Neopia with her eyes shut. Groping around her pockets, she finally found what she was looking for.
"Thank goodness I have this cool shades." She muttered, putting them on. Opening her eyes again, the light didn't hurt as much. She looked at her surroundings. It seemed slightly familiar. She was in Neopia again! She laughed in joy, putting the strange incidents of the previous days behind her.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Hey! I'm talking to you, you common Shoyru. Where's your owner? She asked for a battle, and I'm going to give her one." Joshua shouted. Chyora stared back blankly.
"Are you a mute? Or just stupid? If so, let me say this again, slowly, GET- ME-YOUR-OWNER-NOW!" Joshua shouted. All Chyora could think of was that his ex-owner hadn't changed one bit. He was still as rude and arrogant as ever. Joshua lost his patience and walked up to Chyora.
-Slap-
Chyora stumbled back, stunned. His face stung from the slap he received. Just like the one he was given when he was disowned. Tears came to his eyes. It hurt, it really hurt. There were too many sad memories. He stifled back a sob.
"What a pathetic Shoyru. Crying like a baby. I know my pets wouldn't do that. They're all strong, smart and limited edition. Unlike you common breeds." Joshua sneered, "When your owner comes back, I'm gonna make her bite dust in the battledome. And if you're the one fighting, the battle shouldn't last long."
"You're going to eat your words, boy." A clipped voice called. Chyora looked up in surprise. That sounded like Alicia! He dashed out of the window. He had been so worried. Looking at Alicia, he found it strange that she was wearing some cool shades. The sun wasn't that bright, it was already the evening, and the sunlight was fading. But it didn't matter much. Alicia was back! He rushed up to hug her, but was stopped by Joshua.
"So, you're that Alicia who so foolishly challenged me. Don't you know my record? I've gotten 100% scores in the battledome. I won the last battledome contest. What makes you think you can beat me?" He smirked. He snapped his fingers, and his Neopets came out. There were four, all looking thin and gaunt, but fierce. Each was a different limited edition pet, and had been painted with a unique colour. There was a white Tonu, a split Chomby, a starry Poogle and even a faerie Cybunny!
Alicia smiled a cold, dangerous smile. Chyora shivered slightly, he had never seen that expression on her face. She walked up to Chyora, pushing Joshua aside. Stroking Chyora gently on his back, she faced Joshua.
"Care to try me?" She asked in a soft, silky tone. Chyora was surprised. She had never talked this way before either. Still, he pushed his doubts aside. He was extremely happy to see her. A week was a long time, and he had really missed her.
"Why you…? Let's go to the battledome right now and fight it out!" Joshua nearly screamed. His face was red with anger.
"Ready when you are, boy." Alicia said. Joshua stomped off, towards the battledome, leaving them behind for a while.
"Alicia? Are you really going to let me fight in the battledome?" Chyora asked, looking up in slight disbelief. Alicia nodded, giving him a small smile and nudged him along. He could barely contain his excitement. First, he was finally going to battle against his ex owner, and Alicia was supporting him. Even encouraging him to fight! He pinched himself, hard. It hurt, a lot.
'It's not a dream,' he thought giddily, 'I'm really going to fight Joshua, and Alicia approves of it.' As they traveled to the battledome, his mind was in a whirl. He barely noticed the scenery around him.
"Chyora, we're here." Alicia called. He snapped to attention. The Battledome. He was finally here. The pair marched purposefully to an arena. The fuming Joshua was already there.
"Took you long enough." Joshua spat dryly. With a gesture, his starry Poogle entered the Arena. Chyora looked to Alicia, and she nodded. Chyora jumped into the arena. Their equipped weapons materialized, and each Neopet armed themselves. The battle began!
The Poogle charged straight at him. Chyora flew out of reach with the 'Shoyru Hover'. He thrust forward with his Shoyru sword. The Poogle (A/N Let's name him Rian. It's sad to go without a name for too long) blocked with a heavy metal shield. Metal rang on metal, as the sword clanged against the shield.
-Boom-
Something exploded. Chyora and Rian were both thrown back by the impact. He (Chyora) lay on the ground, panting. A trickle of blood ran down his chin. Rian was not doing much better. The explosion had caused his shield to be broken in half. He too lay on the ground, eyes closed.
"Get up you ungrateful creature. I didn't spend so much Neopoints training you so you'll get knocked out by a baby." Joshua hissed. Chyora looked to his owner for encouragement. None came. Alicia merely stood there, observing the battle with cold, hard eyes. He wondered greatly at the change that had come over her.
A snarl brought him back to the battle. Rian had gotten up, and was barreling towards him. He brought up his shield, and he smashed straight into it. Chyora felt like his arm was breaking as Rian pushed harder and harder against the shield. He dug around, and came up with a battle card. 'This'll do.' He thought weakly, and threw the card at Rian. The Poogle's front leg burst into flames as the card reached it. He squealed and ran off, trying to put out the flames.
Chyora was glad for the lifting of pressure. He thrust his shield aside. It had been bent into a strange shape. He would have to repair it later. Rian had finally put out the fire, but his burnt fur was evident. It left charred marks on his feet. Rian bared his teeth, showing off his sharp silver fangs that glinted in the moonlight.
Both charged and met headlong. Rian was onto Chyora, biting, scratching and kicking away. Chyora too punched, scratched and kicked Rian and they were locked in close range combat. For a moment, their eyes met. And they understood each other. For they fought not because they were enemies, but because their owners wanted them to battle. Then, their eyes broke away from each other, and they separated.
Now, Chyora looked upon Rian in sorrow. This poor Neopet had nothing to do with it. All he wanted to do was to get back at Joshua. He didn't want to make other Neopets suffer because of this. Then, he noticed something at the corner of his eye. A flurry of snowballs was flying towards him. But Rian hadn't done a thing…
He curled up and defended himself as best he could as the snowballs came raining down on him. Some exploded, some covered him with water, some stuck to him like glue, others slowed down his movements. Through the wave of snowballs, he saw Rian looking as surprised as he was. He too was busy dodging and defending himself against the snowballs. Which meant the snowballs were not coming from him. But no one was supposed to interfere in a battle.
Looking up, he was shocked to see a look of pure malice on Alicia's face. Her mouth was twisted into a cruel grin, and she looked like she laughing as she watched. Was that really Alicia, the sweet owner that he knew? The snowballs fell thick and fast, and soon he could not see anything besides snowballs, more snowballs and even more snowballs.
"What is this? That's cheating!" He heard a muffled voice scream. There was only a cold laughter that followed the outburst. Trying to plough his way through the snowballs, he found Rian. The Poogle was in a bad shape, having suffered burns on his front legs, and now with snowballs raining all around, it was not helping. He winced as yet another snowball exploded on his back. Rian had gotten a snowball covering his eyes. Chyora, with a great effort, summoned a shield to protect themselves against the snowballs. It worked, but he could feel it weakening every second.
Chyora wiped the snow from Rian's eyes. The Poogle coughed and spat out some snow. He tried to stand, but collapsed onto the ground. Chyora saw that his right hind leg was broken, or severely sprained at least.
"Do you have any healing items?" He asked. Rian nodded, indicating a small bag. It was an infinite bag of Neggs. Tipping the bag over, two Neggs rolled out. It would give no more for a while. He passed one to Rian, who nibbled at it half-heartedly. Chyora took a bite, and felt better. The Neggs worked fast. He felt revitalized, but still weak. Rian was still limping, but at least he could get to his feet.
"What are we going to do?" Rian asked. Looking around, the shield had almost given out completely.
"We fight. We must find a way to escape this arena. It has become a deathtrap." Chyora answered. As if on cue, the shield was destroyed and the snowballs came raining in. Working together now, they blocked off as many snowballs as they could. Some hit, but with wonderful coordination, they managed to find the way out of the arena. Rian blew it open with a well- aimed blast and they rushed through, the snowballs still raining behind them. They fell to the ground, exhausted.
A crowd of people had gathered on seeing the phenomenon. The Neopian police held them back, as they investigated the area. Some Neomedics attended to Chyora and Rian. He only noticed when the throbbing pain lifted. Looking at Rian, he gave him an exhausted smile, which he gladly returned.
"I tell you, that owner cheated! She was laughing all the time! She sent those snowballs down!" A familiar voice screamed. Searching for the source of the noise, Chyora found that it was none other than Joshua. He was arguing with a Neopian officer, who was desperately trying to calm him down as he took a statement. Alicia stood nearby, seeming unaffected by the accusation. He tried to stand up, but a splitting headache forced him back down.
"Drink this." He felt a vial held to his lips. He drank it down, and the headache became a mild throb. He struggled to his feet, and made it, albeit still a little wobbly. He dragged himself over to Alicia and Joshua. Staring at Alicia, he felt a great sadness. 'What had come over her? Why was she doing this?' He wondered sadly.
"Alicia? What are you doing here? I thought you hated the battledome!" a voice exclaimed. Turning around, he saw Teena walking up to Alicia. The Uni's face held a worried frown.
"I changed my mind. Is there a problem?" A distant voice answered. Teena looked at her, puzzled. Chyora too was surprised. Alicia was always the most polite and cordial of people. She was never rude to anyone, least of all her friends. Then, he saw Teena's eyes widen, focusing on something behind him. He saw Alicia stiffen slightly. The officer had stopped scribbling down notes as Joshua's mouth hung open. Everyone else had gone silent too. Wondering what was going on, he turned around.
"Alicia?" He gasped.
~Omigod. That was my longest chapter ever. Hope you all liked it, and don't forget to review! Next chapter coming up: One Double, Big Trouble. BIG hint as to what it will be about. *wink* ~