| The sun outside of the house pierced with its warmth every little bit of Roo Island. Neopets of every species were buying fans from the shops, fans of different shapes, colours and sizes. Most of them cared what the fans looked like. They mostly chose random fans; blue ones with fake Elephante eyes or Feathery ones with plastic beaks around. They only really wanted to find their small oasis while flapping them, for some cool air to take them away from this hot season.
But let's take a closer look into a colorful house that is built near the Merry-Go-Round. The door was wooden and the roof was shining as the sun hit it. Two small Kacheeks were sitting inside the house. They were thinking about their poor bank condition. The blue one was contemplating hard, while his Rainbow Babyca was playing hide and seek with his brother's Walking Carpet. Of course the Walking Carpet was winning; it's not that hard to find an eight-coloured, round pet with three tails!
Nivyi, the blue Kacheek was sitting on a brown, comfortable sofa. He was looking at the petpets, but he wasn't really paying attention to what they were doing. He was deep in thought, to find the perfect way to get more Neopoints. On his left, lying on a bean bag was his brother Antithet, a green Kacheek. He was eating a lollipop, while he was thinking with eyes closed. He was probably sleeping, but Nivyi thought that he was thinking, for once!
There was silence in the room. From the open window heat waves could come in, wander as much as they would like and just leave. Cold silence; no one was talking. Occasionally the Walking Carpet would laugh at the Babyca's hiding place, or the Babyca would whine at the Walking Carpet that it was too hot. That lasted several minutes, until Nivyi cried out...
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Author: water_park1993
Date: Aug 7th
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..."I have it!"
"I know you've had it with what we've gone through," Antithet replied absently. "I've had it too. But I can't think of anything."
"No, I have it. It being an idea! An idea to get ourselves out of this financial rut," Nivya corrected his brother.
Antithet sat bolt upright, lollipop stick waggling comically out of his mouth. "Really? What is it?" he asked, suddenly alert.
"We'll sell cold! Think about it, everyone is trying to beat the heat with little fans and whatnot. We could make a ton of money selling something that would really keep people cool," Nivya explained excitedly. Even the Walking Carpet and the Babyca paused to listen to that. The Babyca tickled at Nivyi's leg with its tails and squeaked excitedly.
"Sell cold? How do you sell cold? Like... ice?" Antithet asked.
Nivya reached down to pat his Petpet's head. "No, we'll sell cold itself. I remember talking to a visitor from Happy Valley and she mentioned something. First, we've gotta go to the Ice Caves in Terror Mountain, then we have to find..."
| Author: catchinglights
Date: Aug 8th |
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"...that visitor from Happy Valley. She told me she works in the stockroom at the Ice Crystal Shop, so we should be able to find her there."
Antithet looked dubious, but he shrugged. "Sure, let's do it."
Nivyi noticed his brother's uncertainty, so he reached over and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "I promise I'll fill you in on the details, but we need to get moving if we want to make the trip today."
Antithet tended to the two petpets, ensuring they had everything they needed, since they wouldn't be making the long trip, then the pair of Kackeeks were on their way to the Ice Caves.
***
Once the brothers arrived in Happy Valley, they headed straight for the Ice Crystal shop in the Ice Caves, hoping to find the visitor who had inspired Nivyi's plan in the first place.
"Isn't it kind of weird to track down someone you barely know?" Antithet asked his brother, nervousness setting in. He was shy, and meeting new people sometimes made him feel awkward, and this situation was strange enough already.
"Nah," said Nivyi confidently. "She told me, if I was ever in the Ice Caves, that I should stop by the shop." He paused. "But she probably doesn't need to know we traveled all the way just to talk to her." He smiled winningly at his brother, and they pushed open the door to the shop...
| Author: a_ramsell
Date: Aug 8th |
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...only to be met with a heavy blast of cold air. As chilly as the Ice Caves were, the inside of the shop was even colder, and both of the Kacheeks involuntarily crossed their arms together and shivered.
"Please keep the door closed!" A voice came from somewhere in the back, "All of the merchandise needs to be kept at a frozen temperature!"
Antithet shut the door behind him and the pair stood amid all the frozen weaponry and crystals that were in the shop. "Was that the voice?" He asked his brother.
"No, I think that's the owner." Nivyi said, "I'll find out."
The blue Kacheek looked over the frozen snowflakes and snowballs that lined the shelves and called out. "Excuse me, but can you help me find something?"
"Just a second!" The voice called out again, "Kora, can you help the customers we have?"
Some shuffling from the back echoed through the store, and soon an Ixi emerged from the back of the store and went wide-eyed.
"Oh, you decided to show up?" She said, "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."
"I decided to take you up on that offer." Nivyi said, "So I brought my brother here with me to see what you have to help us with our little...arrangement."
The Ixi nodded and slowly closed the door to the back and bent over behind the counter. She popped up a few moments later with a bright blue box with a lock on it. Dangling from one of her fingers was a small key.
"Here it is." Kora said, "Just what you need."
She pulled a key off and put it into the lock and turned the box, opening it to reveal...
| Author: dr_tomoe
Date: Aug 9th |
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A frozen glove.
"It's a Battledome weapon that can freeze opponents. When used properly, you can make everything and everyone a little chilly!"
Nivyi and Antithet looked over it in awe. It was a large glove, big enough for a Skeith to wear, and had formed ice all around it.
"It won't melt," Kora continued, "And anyone who gets a blast of it is sure to feel the cold! It works anywhere, too. Neopets in Lost Desert will feel like they're in Terror Mountain with a good, strong blast from this thing. You can control how much cold you use, too. It's really COOL."
Kora turned the glove towards Nivyi and Antithet and slid it their way. Nivyi picked it up and put it on immediately. It fit perfectly, surprisingly enough, and was not too cold to wear.
"These Battledome things fit every Neopet. It's really a one size fits all situation with them and they are more comfortable than they look."
As Kora finished explaining, Nivyi began to play around with the glove, moving it and making it sparkle.
And then BOOM. Like a lightning bolt, ice soared through the sky and onto the ceiling, leaving a patch of icicles.
Nivyi, startled, exclaimed, "I am sorry! I was just trying to practice and-"
"It's fine!" Kora said, waving it away, "But be careful! One wrong move when using this around Neopets and you could..."
| Author: lacy861
Date: Aug 9th |
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"...freeze them permanently! It's a Battledome item, after all. Of course, in the Battledome, they have counter-items to melt the fighters back, but an item like that I don't have... so use them sparingly! And never aim towards the face!" Kora said, then went over to the counter.
Nivyi looked at his brother uncertainly, then faced Kora with a determined expression on his face. "We'll take it. But, if I may ask, how did you come by it? You don't seem like someone who'd be in the Battledome, after all," he added.
Kora laughed. "I get these items from all sorts of travelers who come by the Ice Caves. In fact..." She paused and connected her brows in thought. "...I bought this item from a rather battle-scarred Kacheek. Looking back on it now, I think he resembled you two."
The two brothers looked at each other excitedly as Kora withdrew behind the counter and rummaged through a pile of boxes, unearthing years of collections. Eventually, she voiced her approval as she removed an object from the pile. Then, she rose and showed the two. In her hand was...
| Author: lurensar
Date: Aug 9th |
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A framed picture of a stern looking Darigan Kacheek with a scar on his right cheek.
"That's our Uncle." Nivyi gasped in surprise as he seized the photo and held it up for his brother to see. They both seemed shocked.
"Our estranged Uncle." Antithet explained dejectedly. "We haven't talked in years. Had a falling out of sorts awhile back. He left and that was the last we ever saw of him."
"Thank you, Kora, for everything. We need to get going now." Nivyi hugged the Ixi, who smiled warmly at the two one last time, while Antithet followed suit. The Kacheeks left the shop, faces solemn. They stopped when they were able to found a place where they could be alone.
"I think I need to tell you everything about our Uncle, brother..." Antithet began plainly.
| Author: jokerless
Date: Aug 10th |
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"What do you mean?" Nivyi answered, a look of confusion crossing his expression. "You don't know anything about him that I don't! He's estranged, like you said!"
Antithet bit his lip in hesitation, and thought for a moment before responding. He chose his words very carefully and told his brother, "He's not as estranged now as he used to be. I saw him once, about a year ago. You weren't home at the time, and he didn't stay long. But before he left, he made me a promise I would never tell anyone..."
Nivyi's eyes had gone wide in shock--he could hardly believe what his brother was saying! "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded of his brother, momentarily losing sight of the real point.
"I wanted to!" Antithet responded earnestly. "I really did, but I was...worried. What he told me was the kind of thing that could be dangerous." He hesitated again before continuing. The information could still be dangerous, but he couldn't keep it from his brother any longer. "Do you remember that Uncle used to be a battledome champion? Well, he found out that one of his opponents, Kagar the Krusher--supposedly one of the best battlers ever--was cheating. He felt like he had to report it, to keep the battledome fair for everyone. But when the news came out, it ruined Kagar's career, and ever since then he wanted revenge on our Uncle. He hasn't had any contact with the family since then because he didn't want us involved in that mess."
"So why did he change his mind?" Nivyi asked, anxious to know the rest of the story.
Taking a deep breath, Antithet answered, "He told me it was because...
| Author: kayahtik
Date: Aug 10th |
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"He'd gotten word Kagar had found out about us and was after us because he thought it would hurt Uncle the most. We aren't safe, we never were." The Green Kacheek explained morosely. Nivyi seemed troubled by these words but took a moment to hug his brother.
"Thank you for finally telling me." The Blue Kacheek said as he patted his brother's shoulder. "We should hurry and get home." Antithet nodded, relieved he wasn't angry with him.
****
Destroyed. Their house had been completely and totally ransacked from the ground up. The furniture was overturned, while everything else had been tossed from its original position to lay broken or worse, on the wooden floor. Antithet and Nivyi stared in bewilderment at the scene in front of them.
Then they heard a knock on the door...
| Author: jokerless
Date: Aug 11th |
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... and both brothers froze, staring transfixed at the door.
"What do we do?" Nivyi mouthed.
"Hide, we need to hide!" Antithet whispered, glancing around for a worthy hiding place.
"Hide where, Antithet!? The house is a wreck. No, listen to me Antithet-" Nivyi said, hastily cutting across his brother who had opened his mouth to respond, "-We can't run from this. He'll only find us again. We- We have to face this."
Though his voice had faltered somewhat, the Blue Kacheek composed himself and with a look of confident determination, strode to open the door.
"Nivyi don't-" Antithet cried.
But Nivyi wasn't listening. He took a deep breath and opened the door and gasped as he came to face the ominous knocker.
"You ought to listen to your brother more, Nivyi."
Their Uncle stood in threshold...
| Author: beagums
Date: Aug 11th |
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...looking at the house that was now in ruins. And then, he glanced at the two Kacheeks who stood still. Antithet was still trying to hide and Nivyi looked confident before seeing who's there.
"We thought you were Kagar the Krusher." Nivyi said.
"Don't say that," Antithet whispers. "you're being a little rude Nivyi."
"What's wrong being honest?" Nivyi whispers back.
"So Nivyi, you know him?" Their Uncle asked.
"Yes" Nivyi said. "Is he the one who destroyed our house?"
"What I need to tell you kids" Their Uncle said ignoring the question. "is that the only thing that can hurt him is a glove that I gave to a store years ago..."
How will the story end?
| Author: juliakare
Date: Aug 11th |
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..."but it is no longer there. The girl I gave it to said she had just regifted it to some weary travelers when I stopped in a few hours ago."
The brothers' faces lit up.
"We have that glove right here!" Nivyi replied as he went and grabbed it and gave it to his uncle.
Uncle's eyes went wide. "How did you ever get your hands on this prized possession?" And then the realization hit him. "You two were the weary travelers!?"
"Yes!" Antithet exclaimed. "We just returned from a trip to the Ice Caves... we thought we could use your glove to make things colder here, and we could be financially successful..." he trailed.
Their uncle just frowned. "You have no idea how dangerous this weapon really is, boys. Especially in the wrong hands -- one small move and all of Roo Island could be stuck inside a glacier ten miles high." He paused for effect. "This said, I admire your entrepreneurial spirit." He smiled at them and gave them each a small autographed hand fan. "Need be, you can sell these... my name is still worth a nice little bit to the right Neopet."
"Are you leaving, Uncle?" asked Nivyi.
"I'm going to go and find Kagar the Krusher and finally put an end to his cruelty." Uncle nodded determinedly. "Ciao, boys! I promise, when it's done, I'll return."
The Kacheeks hugged and Uncle parted from them.
***
Hot sunrays beamed down onto every little bit of Roo Island. Neopets of every species were buying fans from the shops, fans of different shapes, colours and sizes.
But take a closer look into a colorful house built near the Merry-Go-Round. Two small Kacheeks were sitting inside the house, fanning themselves with small autographed hand fans, thinking about what all they were going to buy.
"I'm going to buy my Babyca a top hat!" said Nivyi.
"I'm going to buy a super huge jawbreaker to suck on while I think!" said Antithet.
After their uncle had frozen and captured Kagar the Krusher, a wanted criminal in seven Neopian lands for thievery, assaults, and destruction of property -- general thuggish rudeness -- he'd started sending Antithet and Nivyi a fairly hefty weekly salary from the reward money pool. The Kacheek brothers' financial struggles seemed to be over.
"But, doesn't it all seem a bit hollow?" Nivyi commented.
Antithet raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"
"I mean, we're not making the money we plan to spend. It's all just coming from Uncle."
"Hmm... I see what you mean." And then Antithet gave a wry smile. "Back to the Ice Caves to try and find another way to create cold?"
"You're on!" Nivyi agreed with a wide smile. "I always have liked that Ixi."
THE END
| Author: rielcz
Date: Aug 14th |
