RINGO WAS QUITE happy to let the matter or StormZ rest,
he had found out what he wanted and was ready to drop it. Ringo wasn't a deep
thinker. He really wasn't. StormZ had scared Ringo, and young pets naturally
want to find out more about what scares them. Miles did that for Ringo, so now
he was done. Shelly, however, was a different story. Shelly was a deep thinker,
she picked that up from her owner. Ringo had been adopted when he was younger,
so he wasn't officially related. Shelly had been the first pet, so she and her
owner shared kind of a special kinship with each other.
Shelly spent all of her time pondering about
StormZ. Could he really be a monster? No pets were monsters, they just... Weren't.
What puzzled Shelly most about StormZ was the shadow. Could've it been a brand
new monster? Or maybe it was the swamp ghoul... Shelly suddenly shuddered, remembering
the final remark that Miles had made. "Don't go back unless you seek death"
No Neopet, not even an "evil" one... could kill. Could they? Shelly felt the
hairs on her nape pricking up at the thought.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Shelly's head.
She would go back. She had to. Unlike Ringo, she couldn't simply let the matter
rest. Shelly was an aspiring scientist, and in her mind, everything had to have
a meaning, there was no room for simple myth. She furrowed her brow.
There was something about StormZ that intrigued
her, she wanted to learn more about him. Could've his change really have been
planned by nature? Shelly had to find out.
She checked around for Ringo, she had to go
without him. He wasn't at the house. Shelly began to panic, but then she saw
the note on the table. "Dear Shelly," it read. "I took Ringo out, we're going
shopping for some battle magic items. We'll be back at around 5:00 NST." Shelly
heaved a sigh of relief, at least she had some "unwanted parties" out the way.
She scribbled her own note on a piece of paper,
explaining that she had some business to attend to. (Just in case battlesunn
and Ringo came home before she was back.) After that, she was all set. Shelly
ran up towards the forest, ready for anything she met. As it had done before,
the sky began to cloud and thunder boomed. Shelly wasn't fazed. She had to continue,
for the good of science. She set her tracking skill to work, and it wasn't long
before she found some paw prints. Shelly smiled grimly. Luck was with her. She
lowered her nose, trying to pick a scent. There was none. StormZ, apparently,
didn't leave any kind of scent.
She sat down and sighed. "Could StormZ really
be bad to the bone?" She asked aloud. "Bad to the bone is such a lame way of
putting it." Said a voice behind her.
Shelly turned, and there he was, StormZ, in
full glory. His huge wings were folded neatly at his side, his strange, blood
red eyes were focused on Shelly.
"I like to think of it as more of a 'tainted
soul' or 'possessed by darkness" His sharp fangs were exposed every time he
opened his mouth to speak.
Shelly's courage failed her. "W-ho, What...
are you?"
StormZ darkened his eyes. "I am a stormz Kougra,
I live alone in the shadows. Cut off from the happy-go-lucky citizens of Neopia."
StormZ flexed his gnarled claws. "I wasn't really going to kill you on that
evening..."
Shelly stared defiantly back at him. "Then why
did you attack Ringo?"
StormZ sighed. "I merely wanted to scare you
away. I don't enjoy visitors, I am better of alone." He flared his massive wings.
"Now listen to me carefully. I want you to leave, don't ever come back to this
place. Do as I say, or you WILL face the consequences!"
"NO!" Shelly said angrily. "I don't have to
do anything you tell me to! Now listen here, I want some answers!"
That was enough for StormZ. He roared ferociously
as lightning crackled around him. One bolt of forked fire hit Shelly square
on the paw, and she was instantly knocked out. As her vision clouded, Shelly
faintly glimpsed the huge Kougra as he reared up and howled his triumph to the
swirling winds...
***
Shelly awoke the next week in the hospital, her owner and brother beside her.
Battlesunn looked terribly pale, and Ringo was visibly shaken. Shelly stared
up at them.
"Wha... What happened?"
Battlesunn frowned. "We came home, an we couldn't
find you anywhere. Finally, the Chia police issued a search party and we came
across you, unconscious in that horrible forest. We brought you back, and you
only just woke up."
Shelly shuddered, recalling the searing hot
pain on her paw as the lightning struck her.
"We'll let you rest, Shelly." Battlesunn and
Ringo quietly walked out of the room, leaving Shelly alone with her thoughts.
Shelly held up the paw that the lightning had
struck, it was completely healed... All except one vivid blue, lightning shaped
scar.
The End
Author's note: I'd really, really like to thank _saiyan_girl for letting me
use her pets, (_Stormz and _miles_tails) In this story. Stormz the Kougra had
such an interesting personality that I knew I would eventually have to write a
story about him. Thia story is dedicated to _Stormz and _saiyan_girl. | 
