Defender of Neopia - Origin of Keenomarci

     It's foggy, but as far back as I remember I've been a Kyrii. Things in Neopia were bright, there wasn't much going on. I would spend my days looking for treasure... Well, not really "treasure". I would go around the beaches of mystery island and pick up the smooth coloured rocks that would occasionally wash up. It is kind of embarrassing now... but I always wanted to keep a collection of them.

     It was a vivid memory, kind of like a flash, but... it seemed to last forever.

     My owner Kinokiro let me wander around the shores of Mystery Island. We went for a Tiki Tour but, it was fully booked and we had to wait. Okay, well maybe I didn't get permission to go wandering but that's besides the point!

     I ended up finding a really cool looking rock, it was shaking and everything... that's when it happened.

     As I was trying to figure out what the stone was, I felt very sleepy. My eyes became very heavy, and there was a massive flash of light and I heard the sound of the waves...

     When I woke up, my owner wasn't anywhere to be found. I was alone, in a dark cold cave and I had no idea what had happened. My vision was a little blurry but I heard a faint voice whispering to me. I couldn't make out what it was saying, but I also couldn't help but feel at ease.

     I started to adjust to the dark cave, I could make out a doorway. I didn't understand it. It was a perfectly chiseled doorway in a dark, murky cave. What was it doing there? Where was I?

     I inspected the doorframe and it was metallic, cold to the touch. As I stepped through the door there were these lights, that blinded me! I couldn't see anything! As my vision started to come back, I saw a blobby shadow figure walking towards me... I thought, "Oh great..."

     The figure became clearer, it was wearing a stark white lab coat and he looked like he had been cooped up in this place for several years... His hair was all out of place and his glasses were stained with fingerprints. "Welcome, Keenomarci!" the strange looking Scorchio said to me. I was kind of startled that he knew my name!

     He had a strange smirk on his face, he kind of seemed a bit deranged. "Thank you for finding my teleporter, I was simply going MAD without it." He chuckled. "You know, I haven't been able to get out of this dusty old place without it."

     I was so terrified, I didn't even take my eyes off of him. "I-I'm sorry that I, I'm not interrupting a-anything important, a-am I?" I remember stuttering...

     "No, no, dreadfully NO!!" the Scorchio shouted out stamping a foot. He stopped for a moment and peeked over his glasses at me. "But now that I've got my device back... Perhaps I can repay you for bringing it back to me..."

     I swallowed hard... I remember feeling like I had just ate a day old fish pop...

     "Don't be afraid, it won't hurt. I'm almost certain of it!" the Scorchio said waving his pointy digit in the air.

     "O-okay then..." I choked out, knowing I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "What do I have to do?"

     The Scorchio beamed with excitement. He motioned me to a complicated looking machine. It was nothing I've ever seen before! Full of wires and blinking lights... It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. He pointed to a metallic panel that looked like it had been charred recently.

      "There, stand RIGHT there. I can say with 90% certainty that you won't be horribly burned. That only seems to happen to petpets..."

     There was that feeling again.

     Knowing that I was probably light years away from my loving owner... I slowly stepped on to the metal panel. I closed my eyes tightly and I'm sure I let out a whimper...

     "Hold STILL! I don't want to have ANOTHER accident..." the Scorchio shouted, as I quivered with fear. "CARRY ON WITH THE EXPERIMENT!!" he exclaimed as I heard the loud crack of electricity.

     All I remember after that... was feeling a tingling sensation, I felt lighter... somehow. I opened one eye and then the other. I looked around the room and the Scorchio wore a face of disappointment.

     "Another FAILED experiment..." he scoffed as he turned around and began writing no a clipboard.

     My whole body felt numb, and I could feel something inside of me changing. My mane began to grow wildly and turned jet black... My skin started to turn random colours until I was a deep shade of purple and as I took a step off the metal panel, I lost my footing and tried to catch myself before I fell.

     The Scorchio spun around with a look of terror on his face... I had just crushed a thick metal pipe with my bare hands! I stared at it in disbelief... Then I turned my gaze to the crazed scientist.

     "What did you DO to me??" I shouted at him with tears in my eyes. He just stood there and began to laugh insanely, dropping his clip board, scattering the research papers over the floor. I picked one up and read it quickly...

    "...may cause sudden and permanent increase in strength and other strange effects..." it read. I realized now what I had turned into... and so did the Scientist. His laughing slowed to a nervous chuckle as I began to walk closer to him. I showcased my new found strength by picking up his futuristic looking computer and throwing it across the room.

     "What, what are you doing to my RESEARCH?" he shouted at me.

     "You need to be stopped!" I yelled back. "You've been experimenting on poor, defenseless Neopets and I'm going to STOP YOU!"

     The Scorchio mad a mad dash for the door, hitting a hidden button which caused blast doors to shut behind him... He thought I was trapped... but he was wrong. I peeled the doors open with my new found abilities and made chase, but by then he was long gone.

      I found my way out of the strange cave, and swam to shore... I wasn't all that far from Mystery Island after all. I was soaking wet when I heard my owner calling me frantically. I ran to her and cried... I never felt more happy to see her!

     She questioned me about what happened to my mane and my skin... I made up a story about spending the day with some Faeries, and helping them with quests... I couldn't bear to tell her that I was horribly experimented on and turned into some... kind of, hero.

     Since that day... I've heeded the calls for help from all over Neopia. I've battled the tyranny of General Kass, the destruction of Dr. Sloth... The horrors that plagued Neovia... and who else knows what is to come. All that I know is that when it happens... I will be ready.

The End