"Oooo wouldn't you just love to do that honey?!?" Tammie said, pointing at the flickering TV screen where a Battledome fight was commencing.

Yusella sighed, "No mum." She continued brushing her mane. She was always brushing her hair, sometimes to the point of being obsessive, demanding her hairbrush when her hair was out of place.

Tammie, Yusella's owner, sighed too. She looked at her faerie Usul. "Yusella, I don't know why I bought you all that battle junk, if it's just going to rot in our safety deposit box."

"I didn't ask for it! Anyway, I think I'll go see Reabecka," she said simply, putting her brush on the Kauvara coffee table and skipping out the door.

Reabecka was Yusella's best friend. Nobody really knew why... they were complete opposites. Yusella flew from her house on Faerie Lane, high over the clouds of Faerieland, until she saw her friend's one-story Neohome. She landed, took a minute to fix her windblown hair, then went inside.

"Your owner's still convinced you should try out the Battledome?" Reabecka the blue Blumaroo asked sympathetically, bringing a can of neocola to Yusella.

"Yeah... personally, I don't see the big deal" Yusella admitted, popping the tab of the neocola. She took a sip and her eyes widened. "Reabecka, this isn't DIET neocola!!!"

"Sorry, sorry," the Blumaroo said in a panicky voice, running off to get another can. Yusella checked herself in her compact Aisha mirror.

Reabecka scurried back in, apologizing profusely because she had no diet neocola. Yusella snapped her compact mirror shut, deciding she wouldn't bother getting angry at her friend this time.

"I mean, what's so good about battling, Becka??" she continued.

Reabecka nodded as if she were agreeing, glad for the change of subject. She was in constant fear of her friend getting mad. "Uh huh. Usuls like you belong in the Beauty Contest, although the Battledome is actually..."

"Not you now!!!" Yusella exclaimed.

"Well you should try just one battle. I mean, it's pretty fun, once you try it out," Reabecka told her, blind to Yusella's short temper flaring up...

"STOP TALKING ABOUT BATTLING ALREADY!" Yusella yelled, standing up quickly and facing her friend. "Battle this, and Battledome that... I've had enough of it to last me a lifetime!" Huffing in anger, she walked to the small mirror in the corner of Becka's room, looking into the glass and smoothing down her fur. "Honestly, Becka! Don't you have a bigger mirror than this? I can't see a thing!"

The Blumaroo sighed, happy that her friend had cooled down so fast. Shaking her head, Reabecka took another sip from her neocola. "No," she said, "I've never really found the need for one."

"Hmm," the Usul said as she turned around, primping the bow tied around her tail. "This just won't do..." she declared, continuing to mumble. "How do you expect me to keep coming over here if you don't have anything that I need?"

Reabecka silently rolled her eyes. "I'll get one sooner or later..."

"Hmph... no need! I have another mirror that my owner stored away in our safety deposit box, after buying the one I have now, which is much better," Yusella commented dryly. "Well? Come on, let's go. I don't have all day, you know."

"You have so many items in here!" Reabecka exclaimed, digging through the masses and masses of food, clothing, toys, and much more that littered the floor of the messy room.

"I know," the Usul said, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "Mum saves everything she's ever gotten." Yusella glanced around the large, metal room they currently inhabited, sneering at the sheer messiness of it all. "You know, the bank should really keep these safety deposit boxes cleaner... it's impossible to find anything."

"That's for sure," Becka agreed, switching to another pile, amazed by some of the stuff she was finding. She pushed aside a large rug, seeing something silver glint beneath it. "Oh, hey! I found the mirror!"

"It's about time," Yusella answered rather stuffily. "Another minute in here, and I'd have to scrub my fur twice as long tonight! All this dust..." she said, her voice trailing off as she saw Becka staring at something. "What's that?"

"Are--are you kidding me, Yusella?!" The Blumaroo glanced at her before turning back to look at the magnificent piece of craftsmanship she was holding. "This... this is a Sword of Skardsen..."

"Is that good?" Yusella asked, sounding impatient.

"It's only one of the best battling items around! Oh, and look over there!" Becka said, throwing a paw to point at something else. "You have a full suit of armor! And, over there..." Reabecka was now talking so fast that she was becoming hard to understand.

"I already told you... I don't know, and don't WANT to know, anything about battling!" Her voice was sharp, causing Becka to stop her gleeful rambling.

"I doubt that you could use this anyway," the Blumaroo said in earnest, picking up the hefty sword and tapping her foot against the armor suit. "This is pretty advanced stuff."

"WHAT?!?" screamed the Usul. "How dare you insinuate that I'm too weak to battle?!? The nerve of it... why don't you just leave?!?" she yelled, turning her back on the stunned Blumaroo.

Becka opened her mouth to offer a retort, and point out that that's not what she had meant, but instead, she simply sighed. It was no use trying to get through to her friend. Oh well, she thought, knowing her friend would battle now, simply to spite her. Hopefully she'll get a little of that ego knocked out of her. Goodness knows she needs it.

"I'll show Becka who's too 'frail' to battle..."

...A few hours later, thanks to some help from her owner, Yusella had equipped herself with a full set of armor, tying a couple of potions to a belt around her waist and holding in her hand the sword that her friend Reabecka had found. Rather than wearing a helmet, Yusella opted to allow her hair to fall down around her head. Additionally, there were slits cut for her wings in the back of her armor.

The young Usul looked into her largest mirror as she combed her hair. Whether she did this out of nervousness, or simply as a part of her normal obsessive behavior, it could not be told. It made for a rather humorous sight, however, to see the Usul standing in front of such a large mirror, with a Sword of Skardsen in one hand, and her favorite brush in the other.

"I'll show her..." Yusella grumbled to herself. Finally putting down the brush, she began to exit her room... towards an appointment in the Battledome.

Upon reaching the Battledome, Yusella was confronted by a list of challengers. From the looks of it, most appeared to be freaks who'd turned up from all over Neopia. She huffed at the thought of doing battle with a lowly creature of some sort. She then remembered what Reabecka had said: "I mean, I've battled once or twice, and even though it was against the Chia Clown, I'd still say it was an exhilarating experience..."

"Chia Clown..." Yusella repeated aloud, then quickly found the name on the roster. Next to the Chia Clown's name, she silently read his description: "This pint sized prankster was once a great entertainer, but ever since the theme parks closed he has been really lonely. Now he lurks around the Battledome, looking for new people to play tricks on."

Yusella grinned to herself as she absentmindedly ran a hand over her hair, smoothing it out. "If Reabecka wants to see just how 'frail' I am, I'll show her by defeating the opponent she thought was so 'exhilarating'!" There was almost a mocking tone in her voice as she spoke that last word.

Pulling out her pocket mirror, Yusella quickly checked her hair one last time, before stepping towards the entrance of the Battledome, and into the fray of her first battle...

The delighted laughter of the Chia Clown followed her as she limped out of the Battledome. The bow was gone from her tail, her hair was mussed and tangled, and her dignity had been severely bruised.

Her owner, Tammie, was trying to hide an amused smirk behind a concerned expression when she approached the furious Usul.

"You ought to be proud of yourself," she insisted, trying to lift Yusella's spirits. "After all, it was only your first battle--"

"But I have a Sword of Skardsen!" Yusella whined, "Becka said it was the best!"

"Well, it is," Tammie agreed, "But only if you know how to use it." Yusella glared at her while snatching up her brush and beginning to work on the stubborn knots in her hair.

"It can't be all that hard to use a sword," Yusella said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, you just have to swing it and make sure it hits something." Tammie choked back laughter, and Yusella's frown deepened.

"I think you've still got a lot to learn," her owner grinned.

"I know everything that I need to know, thank you very much!" Yusella snapped. "Battling is just too... animalistic for someone as sophisticated as I." She sniffed delicately to prove her point, then continued to vigorously brush her hair.

"Well, if you don't think you're up for it..." Tammie said, her eyes sparkling mischievously as Yusella's spine went rigid.

"Of course I'm up for it!" she snarled, "I could beat anything in Neopia if I wanted to."

"Oh, really?" Tammie asked, raising an eyebrow, "Let's see you prove it."

"Fine!" Yusella declared, throwing down her brush and jumping up in fury. "What do I have to do?"

"First, we should pay a little visit to Mystery Island."

"What for?" Yusella asked. Though she'd calmed down a bit, she now seemed slightly confused. "The Battledome is here."

Tammie smiled. "It's about time you met the Techo Master..."

..."Enter, young one," a voice called.

Yusella looked around the room. "Ugh. Not a brush in sight! How am I supposed to keep up my appearance?"

The Techo Master stepped towards the Usul. "Your physical appearance is not of concern to me, young one. You must learn if you are to battle."

"Battle," Yusella humphed grumpily. "I can do that. After all, I have the Sword of Skar--something."

"Of course you do... not to mention battle armour... and potions. But, tell me, what good did they do you against the Chia Clown, hmmm?"

Yusella frowned. She didn't like this. He was looking at her as though she were unworthy of his teachings! Couldn't he see that she was suited for more refined things than the Battledome?

Yusella sniffed. "Well, I just wasn't ready--I mean, I..." She stopped.

"No. You weren't ready. That is why you are here. Battledome skills are as necessary to Neopia as being well-groomed and polite. Although, methinks politeness is something else you should work on," the Techo Master said, smiling benignly.

"Why, young Yusella, do you think you shouldn't participate in the Battledome?"

"Well, because it's dirty!" Yusella replied. "They're just a bunch of rejects, who wouldn't know refinement if it jumped up and bit them!" she cried forcibly.

"You have much to learn," the Techo Master said quietly. "Let's begin..."

Yusella rolled her eyes. "How is that supposed to help me in the Battledome?"

"A trained mind is a valuable asset in the Battledome. With it, you may make important decisions in combat." The Techo Master walked over to the front of the room, and grabbed two Kendo sticks. He handed one to Yusella.

"In order to pass this test, you must hit me once... and once only."

"No problem," Yusella said, changing into fighting position. The Techo Master merely stood in the center of the room, his eyes closed. A few minutes passed by in silence, then--

*BAM!* Yusella was the first to strike, only to be countered by the Techo Master's kendo stick. "You almost had me there... I'll give you that much," he chortled. That being said, he vanished into thin air.

"Darn... where'd he run off to?" Yusella muttered.

"Concentrate, young one," the Techo's voice echoed. "Use your other senses, and try to anticipate my next move."

Hmm... that's so crazy it just might work, Yusella thought. She closed her eyes, and waited for any indication of the Techo's coming. She heard a slight creak to her left, and smelled a familiar odour. It was the Techo Master, and he was closing in behind her.

"Not so fast," Yusella said, whipping around and hitting him. She felt the Kendo stick making contact with his body, causing something to pour out.

The Techo Master's laugh became audible. "I see you were able to prevent my flour attack," he said.

Yusella opened her eyes, and discovered that she had ripped through a sack of flour. "And I thought I had something, too," Yusella said.

"It's alright. The real test was to anticipate that attack. That being done, we'll move onto the next task.

"What would that be?" Yusella asked.

"This one requires both concentration and agility. You'll have to go into the jungle..."

...The jungle was hot and sticky, and Yusella pushed a leaf aside in disgust as she wandered through the thick pathways.

"One of my current students is training out there, on a lesson that is similar to your own," the Techo Master had said. "You must find him, and bring back an artifact he carries."

seemed like a simple enough task at the time. However, it occurred to her now as she looked around... how would she ever be able to find him in this mess?

Her fur was sweaty, the heat was unbelievable, and worst of all... her hair was a tangled mess.

Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes behind her caused the faerie Usul to whip around anxiously. She eyed the ferns and bushes carefully.

She heard the rustling again. It had come from behind her this time, accompanied by a blur of green and white.

The Usul spun around and slammed down her kendo stick. It connected with her enemy, but his own stick smacked hard onto her shoulder. The Usul winced as she staggered to keep her balance.

"Ow..." Yusella murmured.

"Of all the things Neopia has to offer, the old Techo sends me an Usul," arrogant voice sneered. The offending Eyrie whom it belonged to cocked his head as he watched her from across the pathway.

"Hey, I hit you too! I can fight!" she spat defensively.

"Please! What are you going to do... brush me to death?" he sneered.

"I'll show you! I was supposed to find you, anyway, and have you give me something," she mused. "So... c'mon, then!"

The Usul braced her kendo stick in front of her, fortifying her stance. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the laughing Eyrie, then took up a battle pose.

The two clashed in the center of the forest path. Their kendo sticks clacked as they matched each other move for move. Occasionally, one would slip or find an opening, and a hit would be made.

Already weary from the long jungle trek, Yusella began to tire quickly. She could feel her strength drifting, and knew that she had to end this soon... if only she could trick him, and use the Eyrie's cockiness against him...

Yusella spun her kendo stick around towards the side of the Eyrie's face. He countered as she planned, catching her across the cheek with a heavy blow.

The Usul fell to the ground, moaning with overdramatic pain (because, in all actuality, it had smarted quite a bit). She kept one hand clutched tightly around her kendo stick, then waited for him to come closer.

"Ha! You see! I told you I was better," the Eyrie said, while looming over the Usul to taunt her.

Yusella latched her other hand around the stick, then brought it forward with all her strength. It smacked hard against the Eyrie's front paws, causing him to yelp and leap backwards.

As he did so, a pouch on the Eyrie's side flew open, allowing three stones to fall out. Yusella eyed them quickly. They all had strange symbols on them. The Usul darted forward to grab one: a bright, red stone.

"You see, I did defeat you! Plus, I even got what I came for!"

The Eyrie just stared speechlessly as Yusella gleefully ran off into the jungle.

"I've returned, Techo Master! I've got... uh, it." Yusella said, holding up the stone. She was full of pride at first, but then just stared in surprise.

There, in the center of the room, was the Techo Master. However, by his side was the green Eyrie who'd assailed her in the forest.

"Welcome back, Yusella," he said politely and nodded his head.

The Techo Master just held out his hand expectantly for the stone.

The Usul placed it into his hand, blushing a little. She was sure there was some mistake somewhere...

"That," he said, pointing to a brown codestone at the Eyrie's feet, "was the correct stone."

"But-but... you didn't tell me!"

"You asked neither myself nor your opponent, knowing he was part of the test and knew the answer. You chose vanity over knowledge. You sought to defeat him with his own pride, but in the end, it was your pride that defeated you," he said. "It is mistakes such as these that send even the greatest of fighters running to the Healing Springs. However... that's all right, Yusella. You learned the lesson that I'd wanted you to pick up. Now, it is time for your next lesson: one that will incorporate the endurance, concentration, and wisdom you have gained so far. Are you ready?..."

The Techo Master raised an eyebrow, but continued. "Yusella, you must scale the great Techo Mountain, facing whatever obstacles and dangers that might await you. You will return as a true Battledome fighter. Will you take up this enormous task, Yusella?"

Yusella paused for a moment, staring at the Techo Master. "Techo Mountain?" she asked somewhat tentatively. She had seen that huge expanse of rock, touching the clouds above... what would the altitude do to her fur?

"Yes, Yusella... the Techo Mountain. You will take only your kendo stick, and the knowledge you have obtained... nothing else." The Techo Master paused, his eyes glancing to a brush clutched in the Usul's paw. "Not even brushes."

Yusella gasped. "WHAT?" she cried. The Usul started to protest vehemently, but the Techo Master held up a hand. "There is a lesson embedded in all that we do," he said calmly. "You must learn about true beauty."

"True beauty?!?" Yusella scoffed. "True beauty is NOT going to be in MY possession after a week in the mountains with no accessories."

The Eyrie snorted slightly with laughter.

"Kyo," the Techo Master said sharply. "Don't you know? You're going with her..."

...after much deliberation, Yusella and Kyo finally began to scale Techo Mountain. "If this is what he gives to amateurs, I'd hate to see what he does with experienced Neopets," Yusella murmured.

"I've witnessed their training program- they scale this mountain at least twice a day for warm up," Kyo said sagely.

Yusella's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?"

The two Neopets conversed on their way to the top of the mountain, as a means of occupying themselves. Yusella realized that Kyo wasn't half as bad as she thought he was- in fact, he was pretty cool.

"Well, I'm beat. I think I need to take a little rest for a while..." Yusella said.

Kyo stopped as well, and they say on the ledge of the nearest platform. "Wow, the view is excellent from here," he remarked.

Yusella nodded. They had scaled about three quarters of the mountain, and were pretty high up. "I can't believe I'm doing all this to beat the Chia Clown," Yusella said. She expected a response from Kyo, only to be met with silence.

"Kyo? Is this some kind of joke?" she said, searching frantically for the Eyrie. She discovered that there was a cave nearby, and figured that he went inside. However, she didn't have anytime to do anything else, as his limp body came shooting out of the cave, followed by a large, monstrous Bearog.

"Run, Yusella! Climb to the top of the mountain," Kyo shouted still dazed from the blow. "I'll distract him, just go!"

"Are you kidding me? You don't stand a chance against it with your shoulder hurt," she indicated the nasty bruise already forming on his arm.

Kyo growled in revolt. "Just get out of here, or we're both mince meat!"

Yusella wasn't listening. She withdrew her Kendo stick, and prepared to do battle with the fierce Bearog...

"Ugh, my head," Yusella muttered, sitting up in bed.

"You're awake!" Kyo cried. "Master, she's awake!"

The Usul sat up confused. She was in a bamboo bed back at the training school.

"You were amazing Yusella!" exclaimed the Eyrie.

"Did I... beat the Bearog?" she asked, rubbing her head.

"Well, erm, technically speaking I guess," explained Kyo. "No offense, but that beast was way out of our class, however, you did take it on, and quite ferociously I might add! You knocked it good with your staff, and held it off long enough for me to gather myself, but it charged you, and even though you dodged, it grabbed your tail and you both tumbled down the cliff. I flew down to the ledge you landed on, and brought you back here."

The Usul blushed. "Thanks for rescuing me."

The Eyrie shook his head. "No, thank you. I would have been toast without you."

"Ahh," said the Techo Master, walking into the room. "My student, you are awake. Kyo has told me what happened upon the mountain, and I must say...

"But I didn't scale the mountain, we didn't get to the top," Yusella replied. The Techo Master only made a warm smile.

"Strength, agility, endurance, those are just minor help," The Techo Master answered. "Bravery, loyalty, friendship, those are the most important, and what I have seen, you passed them all." Yusella got out of bed, and bowed to the Techo Master, and Kyo. She got her things and walked out of the entrance to find Tammie waiting for her. Yusella waved the final goodbye to the Techo Master and Kyo, and was off to the Battledome...

"You back again, weakling?" The Chia Clown laughed, as Yusella stood in the ready position. The Chia Clown only laughed, ignoring Yusella. She knew this would be a great chance to kick him, and so she did, and the Chia Clown went flying. He fell, unconscious, on the ground. The intercom came out, as a voice yelled.

"Chia Clown down! Usul wins!" Yusella cheered, as she went back to Tammie.

"I did it, Mum!" Yusella cried, while jumping up, and down. Yusella ignored her hair, as it got more and more tangled. The Usul was about to say more, but then Reabecka appeared behind Tammie.

"Becka! I haven't seen you for so long!" Yusella yelled, her happiness taking the better of her. Reabecka didn't say anything though.

"I am sorry Yusella if I made you mad, I didn't say you were frail I just--" Becka was about to finish, but then Yusella stopped her. Yusella forgot all about being mad about Becka.

"Becka, lets just forget about this, it was my fault anyways. I am sorry," Yusella interrupted, putting her arm around Becka's shoulder. "Now who wants a neocola?"

"I thought you liked diet neocola," Tammie asked.

"That's all in the past," Yusella replied happily, leaving the Battledome a brand new Usul.

The End