Alternate Destiny: Sloth's Reign

Author's Notes:Oh no, the second last chapter... sniff, sniff- crying Sabrina and Gardenia (the Arena Master) face off in the Ultimate Arena Showdown! Who will end up losing the most? Will the prophecy finally be fufilled? Tears fall, regrets are spokenandtheangst are all here...

By the way, it would be cool if the creator ofNeopets could make a plot out of this seriesor even a comic saga/movie! What do you guys think? Hey, I could even become famous for this story... :-)
And the songs appropiatefor this chapter would be "Rainy Day Man" by Salior Moonor "Something About Us" by Daft Punk...! The theme song for the series would be "Moon Revenge" by Salior Moon! -


Down in the depths of the ocean, a blue and white figure glistened once before it shot out of the water like a comet, trailing bits of starry debris behind it…

Many Artesians were surprised at this sign as they were still totally in awe at the beauty of the object…

An unearthly sweet voice emanulated from the sky. I have returned- make way for a New Neopia! Old lives will be renewed once the Gate closes- Destiny waits for all!


Sabrina approached the platform, dressed in completely different attire that she wasn't really used to wearing. Fingerless white gloves adorned her hands; her hair was set back with a braid and she was wearing a long robe that suited her when battling.

She didn't really like the prospect of battling her Neopets, but if she didn't accept… Better not think about the consequences, Gardenia would literally get hot underneath the collar and refuse to release her dear Neopets and thousands of others from the Arena…

Gardenia Sera, the Arena Master entered dramatically- as usual. Her scarlet-red cloak seemed to billow at her command and the tranced teenager's odd irises glowed eerily. It was hard for Sabrina to believe that this female was part of the Rebels group once.

Still, there was something not quite right about this creepy dual battling/fire Master… It seemed that the Arena Master's presence was simply tingling with energy- Element? Gardenia seemed not to be concerned as she addressed the crowds of Artesia…

"A long time ago it was believed that Neopets and their Owners were bonded in more ways than one. They shared their energies as one. That power was lost as the Prophecy was laid in a dormant state for many years."

"But now due to unknown circumstances, that power is revived! Access to the Astral Gate will allow me to do transference!" Gardenia leered shiftily across the raised platform at her opponent, who was sceptical about the 'astral gate' the Wielder mentioned.

Since when -in the whole of Artesian history- was the Astral Gate ever mentioned? "This is the ultimate battle of the century! All of Neopia hang in the balance! The Astral Gate will lead the way!"

"What?" exclaimed Sabrina, "If you believe in such things- then it's no use,"

Parlrina the Wocky hissed dramatically as a chained Xweetok entered the platform, its' fur was sticking out like spines as they watched it stride across the smooth surface.

"This is my fearsome Xweetok called Spitfire." Gardenia answered directly- on impulse- coaxing the coffee-coloured foxy Neopet who seemed too reluctant to move. "I normally keep him because I feel like it; today he'll be unleashed upon the world!"

"Cut to the chase, Arena Master," Sabrina stated calmly, crossing her arms as self-dependence. I just want my Neopets back, not some dodgy talk!

"What are the current rules we must abide by? I remember the Battle-dome had rules…" The Arena Master had learnt all the rules by heart, so she needed no more prompting from the waiting Owner as she recited the words sharply.

"Sharp fangs and ivory claws- due to Artesian laws- must always be the main lore. All weapons subdued and are utterly unused. Our Neopets will defend to the bitter end. With that being said, I will now announce…"

"Let us DUEL!"


Immediately, Spitfire curled up into a furry ball and launched himself into the air, rotating and spinning. "XWEEIII!" Gardenia held out a fist as she closed her eyes, heat streamed from her hand.

Slowly, the brown fur of the normal Xweetok became pure energy and his body lengthened so it had become a deadly beast… Sabrina's face paled when she saw the large size of the Xweetok… "Oh no," she groaned. "I never thought that this would occur… Not in a million years!"

Parlrina tried to dodge the large abnormal Neopet, skidding sideways as Spitfire swiped at him. Impossibly, the Xweetok seemed to respond to some sort of signal from the Master and the Wocky was soon alarmed.

Spitfire let loose a torrent of unknown energy from its filtrated aura and the dense air crackled with orange light and flames…

"Radiation Shatter!" Gardenia was definitely getting into gear. The crimson aura seemed to explode into millions of pieces.

The stone column right in front of Parlrina was ultimately ripped to shreds in a devastating move as the rubble lay on the ground. Sabrina realised what was happening- Gardenia was transferring most of her basic abilities and commands to Spitfire's mind, making him infinitely stronger than most Neopets… The opening of the Astral Gate allowed Owners and Neopets to combine their abilities –and some contact was available to all who used it.

Parlrina, dodge the attack!

The Wocky nodded and jumped to the ground athletically as Sabrina felt her own agility being passed into her Neopet's body. Spitfire growled tensely again before being dazzled by a display of a Wocky-created 'whirlwind' when Parlrina ran in hyper-fast circles.

Sand was kicked up and flung into Spitfire's face... Spitfire howled in pain and tried to rub his eyes with his leg- and then the Fire Wielder also experienced the same discomfort as her Neopet. "OW! What did you do that for?" Gardenia yelled at Sabrina.

The Wielder's eyes looked a little hurt from the vigorous rubbing. She glared at the Rebel who was nonchalant.

"What did I do?" shrugged Sabrina, "I just told my Wocky to imitate a 'cyclone'."

"You DID WHAT!" growled the Master, "You'll bear the brunt of my revenge!"

"Even if you take revenge on me, you'll never take away the legacy the Rebels have offered this world. Neopians will persist to resist and you Wielders will have an even harder task ahead. I have sacrificed too much to save Neopia…"

"And now I shall try to reclaim what I have lost." Spitfire seemed to be approaching Parlrina from the side as their Owners exchanged words. The Arena Master noticed this position and sneered- there was an advantage!

"Spitfire use Searing Song!" Gardenia yelled as both Sabrina and Parlrina looked up in shock at the unseen threat... A wail erupted from Spitfire's mouth, the high pitched screech affected Parlrina's ears but that was only the start…

Soon, the song seemed to reach a crescendo… Meanwhile, Dallas, Fawn Bella and Dana had reached their destination and watched the events unfolding while they were seated in the Arena.

"We've got to help them," insisted Dana desperately, "if Spitfire finishes that song, then Sabrina will lose the battle!" Fawn Bella agreed with the teenage girl.

"It's just like the Prophecy says: For the Rebels are the ones we seek most."

Dallas closed his eyes, trying to summon his Blue Wielder's ability…

Instantly, there was a thunderclap and rain come tumbling down by the bucketloads. The other Artesians cursed that there was rain pouring and making the Arena muddy…

Spitfire stopped his attack and started reverting back to normal as Gardenia screamed, "What!" But this time, Parlrina no ticed that the Arena Master's voice was a lot weaker than it normally was… Could it be that she was weakened by the rain?


"What... Who am I...? What?"Gardenia seemed confused for a minute after a couple more minutes.

"I don't remember- What am I doing here?" Defeating the Arena Master seemed to break the control DictatorSloth previouslyhad over his Wielders...


"Aye, STOP THE BATTLE!" yelled a familiar voice as a brown Neopet bounded in.

"Rexford?" wondered Sabrina, what could be the problem, huh? The Gelert looked sorrowful as Kali and Artemis also entered the scene sadly. Dana and Dallas came down too. Jacobin and Elena the Neo humans joined the others with stern looks…

"What had been happening in the Arena?" Artemis muttered to Kali, "I missed out on a lot of things when I was being forced to obey Sloth…"

"Looks like a battle was fought here," commented Kali.

"Aye, Maxine needs you! He's hurt seriously!" Phoebe came in, the graceful Neopet sliding in the puddles as Maxine reached out a hand to Sabrina.

Parlrina was confused as to why his Owner suddenly looked so shattered by the disturbing news...

"Sabrina, I'm so sorry… I was such a fool for believing that traitor Calais- I should have trusted my instincts more- and you as well." Max whispered as he was agonised by watching his entire friends cry and feeling pain. "I care for you, I've never said this before, but it seems too…"

Rex tried to comfort Maxine by licking him on the face.

Tears were now running down Sabrina's cheeks as she held Max in her arms, clear at first but then as the rain poured down, the teardrops mixed with Max's wounds, the tears were stained and became bright crimson.

She clutched the first person who showed her kindness. And all through this experience, Sabrina had one question: Why?

Because, this destiny was never meant to be. You two were the ones who sacrificed everything for Neopia.

And for that, I will renew the City and make Sloth run. All of the Artesians, Neo-humans and Faeries watching this looked up in surprise as a new blue and white Faerie entered the Arena. "Quinn!" yelled Dallas, the Blue Wielder.

Yes, it is me- all of Artesia thought I had ceased to exist. But I have returned!