Family and Neopia is always a tricky business. Most kids are lucky, and never have trouble with their siblings. But what happens when a feud goes overboard? The potential to wreck havoc on a sibling's innocent pets is a horrible threat.
****
The red Kyri loved his family. It was crazy, just the way he liked it. His owner, a eleven year old boy was quite rambunctious, and his pets, all four of them guys, matched his personality. Sure, they're names weren't the best, the Kyri was Cool_dude11 after all. But still, it was a great family. They'd get up whenever they wanted, have whatever they wanted to eat, usually something sweet, and spend all day playing. They weren't rich, Punk_11, their owner, only bothered to earn enough money to kept them fed and supplied with toys. But Cool_dude11 didn't mind. It was a carefree life, of nothing but games and no responsibilities.
Cool_dude11 vaguely knew his owner had a brother. He'd heard references to him before, just vague comments, but other then that, the Kyri could care less. A brother wasn't important.
One day, however, Punk_11 seemed rather upset one morning, eating his breakfast in stony silence.
"What's wrong?" Wild_1_11, a red Kau, asked cheerfully.
"Nothing," their owner grumped in reply.
"Ah, something's wrong," the Kau persisted.
"Yeah, com'n Punk, it's okay, you can tell us," Cool_dude11 butted in.
"It's not important."
"If it's making you upset, it's important!" Igloo11, a blue Quiggle chimed in, just coming downstairs.
"Fine, fine," Punk_11 reluctantly conceded. "My brother is being such a pain. He's younger than me by two years, but he thinks he's so great or something. It's cause he's a better soccer player than me. As if I care. Like I even like playing soccer," he finished in disgust, standing and storming out the front door, slamming it behind him.
The NeoPets stared at their owner in shock, not moving, just staring at the door with wide eyes. Finally, Tough_Guy11, the red Grarrl, ventured to speak.
"But I thought he loved soccer," he whispered.
"Me too," Igloo11 added softly.
The next couple days got even worse. Punk_11 hardly played with them anymore, instead spending all his time trying to earn Neopoints and training Tough_Guy11 at the Academy on Krawk Island.
"I don't know what's going on," the Grarrl confessed to his brothers one night. "It seems all I do is train and train. Sure, I don't mind having good statistics, but Punks never bothered to really battle with us before. And now he's spending all this money of fancy equipment. I don't know why."
"I guess it's cause of his brother," the red Kyri muttered.
"I don't like his brother now...." Igloo11 said softly.
It was indeed because of Punk_11's brother that things had changed. Their owner was determined to be better than his younger sibling, and he was letting that drive get in the way of everything. Punk's brother, in turn, was just as bad. He too worked non-stop at having a stronger pet, more Neopoints, a bigger house, and gloated at every opportunity when he was ahead. It was sibling rivalry to the worst degree.
The brothers should never of dragged their pets into the conflict. But they did. The family was outside one day, Punk_11 sitting on the steps and pondering over ways to make more money to buy more training and more battledome equipment and therefore be better than his brother. The NeoPets were playing their own version of Gormball in the front yard in which the winner was determined by whoever stayed on their feet longest. It was a very rough game, as the only way to win was to throw the ball as hard as possible to the other pet. Cool_dude11 had just heaved the ball at Igloo11, who caught it and staggered, but didn't fall, when they heard a bit of shouting behind them. They stopped the game and turned to observe Punk_11 and a younger kid that looked like him shouting at each other angrily. A blue Lupe, a green Buzz, and a red Gelert stood nearby, growling at Punk_11.
"I think that's his brother," "Igloo11 observed grimly.
"Let's go say hi...." Tough_Guy11 muttered under his breath.
The four pets walked closer to the fight.
"I hate you!" Punk_11 was screaming. "Why don't you go somewhere else with your stupid pets!"
"My pets aren't stupid!" the brother screamed back in return. "They're better than your gang of losers!"
"We aren't losers!" Cool_dude11 snapped, clenching his paws into fists.
"Yeah?" the Lupe sneered. "Sure look like that to me, Kyri."
"At least I'm not a slobbering Chia eater like you," Cool_dude11 retorted.
"Slobbering? Why you..."
And the place erupted. The two gangs of pets leaped at each other, snarling, biting, and kicking at each other. Punk's little brother in turn tackled his brother, and the two boys rolled on the ground trying to pin the other.
"Hey!" someone yelled. "Cut it out! Break it up!"
And the Kyri caught a glance of a disco Kacheek pulling Igloo11 off the Buzz. He was then yanked back by another pet, a Halloween Kougra. The two pets quickly separated the feuding groups.
Cool_dude11 glanced around, panting and sore from a couple kicks and bites. An older guy, much taller and stronger than the brothers was holding them apart by the back of their shirts, while the two glared at each other with fury in their eyes.
"Now, what's this all about?" the stranger demanded.
"He started it!" Punk's little brother declared.
"I did not! You jumped me!"
"You called my pets stupid!"
"You did too! And you said I'm worthless!"
"And you hid my skateboard!"
"Because you tore all the pages out of my book!"
"ENOUGH!" the stranger shouted.
Silence fell over the two boys.
"This is ridiculous. Brothers shouldn't fight like this," he said, more softly this time. "Now, think you two can make up and stop fighting? Look at your pets."
The two brothers glanced guiltily over at their NeoPets. They just sat there, staring at the their owners, keeping a wary eye out for the opposing group, with the Kougra and Kacheek standing between them all.
"You've dragged them into this now. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Now, apologize."
"I'm sorry," Punk reluctantly muttered.
"Yeah, me too," his younger brother grumbled.
"Good. Now, no more fighting," the guy said, letting the two brothers go and gesturing to his pets. "Com'n you two."
The Kougra and Kacheek gave the pets one last stern look, then trotted off after their owner. With one last dirty glance, Punk's younger brother left too, his three pets trailing after.
A couple days passed without incident. Life returned to normal, a bit. One day Cool_dude11 was the only one at the house, the others out shopping. The Kyri hadn't really felt like coming along, and so stayed behind at the house. He heard the door open and came running, only to screech to a halt at the front door, staring at the person in the hallway. It was Punk_11's little brother.
"What are you doing here?" the Kyri demanded suspiciously.
"Com'n," the boy replied, slipping a collar over the Kyri's head before he could react.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" Cool_dude11 protested, yanking at the collar.
But the boy was stronger and dragged the Kyri out the door on a leash.
"You can't do this!" Cool_dude11 shouted. "It's illegal!"
"Not today. Punk_11 should be more careful about what he leaves lying around," the boy said smugly, waving Punk's ownership file in one hand.
"What are you doing?" the Kyri demanded, still struggling to get loose.
The boy didn't reply, only dragged the Kyri all the way down to the pound.
"No, wait!" he shrieked as Punk's brother filled out the abandonment form. "He's not my owner!"
The yellow Techo merely looked up at the Kryi and shrugged.
"All the papers are in order."
"But... but.... NO! You can't do this!"
With a wicked grin, Punk's younger brother walked out the front door of the pound without a backwards glance.
"This is a mistake," Cool_dude11 pleaded. "My owner loves me, that was his brother, you can't...."
But the Techo merely caught up the leash and dragged the Kyri back to the cages.
"Sorry," he muttered, locking the forlorn NeoPet into the nearest empty one.
"No, wait, don't leave me here!! My owner doesn't want to abandon me!! That wasn't him!! It was a mistake!" the red Kyri screamed at the Techo's departing back.
"Don't leave me here..." he whispered, sinking down to the bottom of the cage in despair.
All day Cool_dude11 waited patiently for Punk_11 to come find him. And the next. And the day after that. He waited a whole week for his owner to come find him. And then a month. By then, he'd lost all hope. Rumors eventually reached him, that Punk_11 had been kicked out of Neopia. And somehow Cool_dude11 knew that it was all Punk's brother's fault.
****
The red Kyri loved his family. It was crazy, just the way he liked it. His owner, a eleven year old boy was quite rambunctious, and his pets, all four of them guys, matched his personality. Sure, they're names weren't the best, the Kyri was Cool_dude11 after all. But still, it was a great family. They'd get up whenever they wanted, have whatever they wanted to eat, usually something sweet, and spend all day playing. They weren't rich, Punk_11, their owner, only bothered to earn enough money to kept them fed and supplied with toys. But Cool_dude11 didn't mind. It was a carefree life, of nothing but games and no responsibilities.
Cool_dude11 vaguely knew his owner had a brother. He'd heard references to him before, just vague comments, but other then that, the Kyri could care less. A brother wasn't important.
One day, however, Punk_11 seemed rather upset one morning, eating his breakfast in stony silence.
"What's wrong?" Wild_1_11, a red Kau, asked cheerfully.
"Nothing," their owner grumped in reply.
"Ah, something's wrong," the Kau persisted.
"Yeah, com'n Punk, it's okay, you can tell us," Cool_dude11 butted in.
"It's not important."
"If it's making you upset, it's important!" Igloo11, a blue Quiggle chimed in, just coming downstairs.
"Fine, fine," Punk_11 reluctantly conceded. "My brother is being such a pain. He's younger than me by two years, but he thinks he's so great or something. It's cause he's a better soccer player than me. As if I care. Like I even like playing soccer," he finished in disgust, standing and storming out the front door, slamming it behind him.
The NeoPets stared at their owner in shock, not moving, just staring at the door with wide eyes. Finally, Tough_Guy11, the red Grarrl, ventured to speak.
"But I thought he loved soccer," he whispered.
"Me too," Igloo11 added softly.
The next couple days got even worse. Punk_11 hardly played with them anymore, instead spending all his time trying to earn Neopoints and training Tough_Guy11 at the Academy on Krawk Island.
"I don't know what's going on," the Grarrl confessed to his brothers one night. "It seems all I do is train and train. Sure, I don't mind having good statistics, but Punks never bothered to really battle with us before. And now he's spending all this money of fancy equipment. I don't know why."
"I guess it's cause of his brother," the red Kyri muttered.
"I don't like his brother now...." Igloo11 said softly.
It was indeed because of Punk_11's brother that things had changed. Their owner was determined to be better than his younger sibling, and he was letting that drive get in the way of everything. Punk's brother, in turn, was just as bad. He too worked non-stop at having a stronger pet, more Neopoints, a bigger house, and gloated at every opportunity when he was ahead. It was sibling rivalry to the worst degree.
The brothers should never of dragged their pets into the conflict. But they did. The family was outside one day, Punk_11 sitting on the steps and pondering over ways to make more money to buy more training and more battledome equipment and therefore be better than his brother. The NeoPets were playing their own version of Gormball in the front yard in which the winner was determined by whoever stayed on their feet longest. It was a very rough game, as the only way to win was to throw the ball as hard as possible to the other pet. Cool_dude11 had just heaved the ball at Igloo11, who caught it and staggered, but didn't fall, when they heard a bit of shouting behind them. They stopped the game and turned to observe Punk_11 and a younger kid that looked like him shouting at each other angrily. A blue Lupe, a green Buzz, and a red Gelert stood nearby, growling at Punk_11.
"I think that's his brother," "Igloo11 observed grimly.
"Let's go say hi...." Tough_Guy11 muttered under his breath.
The four pets walked closer to the fight.
"I hate you!" Punk_11 was screaming. "Why don't you go somewhere else with your stupid pets!"
"My pets aren't stupid!" the brother screamed back in return. "They're better than your gang of losers!"
"We aren't losers!" Cool_dude11 snapped, clenching his paws into fists.
"Yeah?" the Lupe sneered. "Sure look like that to me, Kyri."
"At least I'm not a slobbering Chia eater like you," Cool_dude11 retorted.
"Slobbering? Why you..."
And the place erupted. The two gangs of pets leaped at each other, snarling, biting, and kicking at each other. Punk's little brother in turn tackled his brother, and the two boys rolled on the ground trying to pin the other.
"Hey!" someone yelled. "Cut it out! Break it up!"
And the Kyri caught a glance of a disco Kacheek pulling Igloo11 off the Buzz. He was then yanked back by another pet, a Halloween Kougra. The two pets quickly separated the feuding groups.
Cool_dude11 glanced around, panting and sore from a couple kicks and bites. An older guy, much taller and stronger than the brothers was holding them apart by the back of their shirts, while the two glared at each other with fury in their eyes.
"Now, what's this all about?" the stranger demanded.
"He started it!" Punk's little brother declared.
"I did not! You jumped me!"
"You called my pets stupid!"
"You did too! And you said I'm worthless!"
"And you hid my skateboard!"
"Because you tore all the pages out of my book!"
"ENOUGH!" the stranger shouted.
Silence fell over the two boys.
"This is ridiculous. Brothers shouldn't fight like this," he said, more softly this time. "Now, think you two can make up and stop fighting? Look at your pets."
The two brothers glanced guiltily over at their NeoPets. They just sat there, staring at the their owners, keeping a wary eye out for the opposing group, with the Kougra and Kacheek standing between them all.
"You've dragged them into this now. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Now, apologize."
"I'm sorry," Punk reluctantly muttered.
"Yeah, me too," his younger brother grumbled.
"Good. Now, no more fighting," the guy said, letting the two brothers go and gesturing to his pets. "Com'n you two."
The Kougra and Kacheek gave the pets one last stern look, then trotted off after their owner. With one last dirty glance, Punk's younger brother left too, his three pets trailing after.
A couple days passed without incident. Life returned to normal, a bit. One day Cool_dude11 was the only one at the house, the others out shopping. The Kyri hadn't really felt like coming along, and so stayed behind at the house. He heard the door open and came running, only to screech to a halt at the front door, staring at the person in the hallway. It was Punk_11's little brother.
"What are you doing here?" the Kyri demanded suspiciously.
"Com'n," the boy replied, slipping a collar over the Kyri's head before he could react.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" Cool_dude11 protested, yanking at the collar.
But the boy was stronger and dragged the Kyri out the door on a leash.
"You can't do this!" Cool_dude11 shouted. "It's illegal!"
"Not today. Punk_11 should be more careful about what he leaves lying around," the boy said smugly, waving Punk's ownership file in one hand.
"What are you doing?" the Kyri demanded, still struggling to get loose.
The boy didn't reply, only dragged the Kyri all the way down to the pound.
"No, wait!" he shrieked as Punk's brother filled out the abandonment form. "He's not my owner!"
The yellow Techo merely looked up at the Kryi and shrugged.
"All the papers are in order."
"But... but.... NO! You can't do this!"
With a wicked grin, Punk's younger brother walked out the front door of the pound without a backwards glance.
"This is a mistake," Cool_dude11 pleaded. "My owner loves me, that was his brother, you can't...."
But the Techo merely caught up the leash and dragged the Kyri back to the cages.
"Sorry," he muttered, locking the forlorn NeoPet into the nearest empty one.
"No, wait, don't leave me here!! My owner doesn't want to abandon me!! That wasn't him!! It was a mistake!" the red Kyri screamed at the Techo's departing back.
"Don't leave me here..." he whispered, sinking down to the bottom of the cage in despair.
All day Cool_dude11 waited patiently for Punk_11 to come find him. And the next. And the day after that. He waited a whole week for his owner to come find him. And then a month. By then, he'd lost all hope. Rumors eventually reached him, that Punk_11 had been kicked out of Neopia. And somehow Cool_dude11 knew that it was all Punk's brother's fault.