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“Well, let’s see,” sighed Guen. “There are 600 cans of
Neocola rolling around on the floor, so I’d have to guess... the refrigerator.”
“Oh, very perceptive!” laughed Flare. “That 100,000
Neopoint prize is ours, Guen! There’s no way anyone can beat-” Flares voice
trailed off when she noticed the strange creature Guen was holding. She pointed
to the Peadackle, “Guen, what the heck is THAT?”
“I couldn’t find a chicken,” explained Guen.
“I even went to the Shop Wizard and he said there’s an abundant supply of chickentastic
ice lollies, but there aren’t any chickens in Neopia. When I asked him how that
was possible, he started acting crazy, pulled this Peodackle Petpet out of his
robe, and told me to forget our conversation. I think there’s some huge conspiracy
about chickentastic ice lollies, Flare. He acted so strangely, like something
was-”
“Oh, man, that’s hilarious!” laughed Flare. “The
Shop Wizard keeps a Peadackle in his robe?”
“What? Yeah, yeah, Flare, he does. You’re completely
missing the point though. He-”
“Well, at least you got that thing for free,
right?” Flare interrupted again. Guen slapped her shadowy face as Flare continued,
“An aquatic Petpet? Oh, gosh, Guen! What if the Kickin’ Chickens staff won’t
accept this? The article in “You’re Just Gonna Flip When You Hear This!” says
to enter you must have a chicken. It doesn’t say anything about Peadackles.”
"Well,” responded Guen. “Maybe they’ll make
an exception when they see how hard you worked on the, uh...”
“Ultra-Chilling-Fire-Breathing-Coffee-Brewing-Annihilation-Madness
3000!” finished Flare.
“Yeah that’s it,” stammered Guen, trying to control
her laughter at the ridiculous name. “Will you fill the coffee maker with water?
We’ll have to put the Peadackle in it so she doesn’t wilt.”
Once the Peadackle was comfortable inside the
Ultra-Chilling-Fire-Breathing-Coffee-Brewing-Annihilation-Madness 3000 machine,
the two friends set off for the Mystery Island Arena. A short while later they
arrived at the stadium, excited and surprised at how crowded it was. Thousands
of Neopets and their owners stood outside the Arena, anxious to get inside.
Dozens more waited impatiently for the Kickin’ Chickens staff to check their
home-made weapons, hoping to earn a spot on the show.
“Come on, Guen!” Flare shouted, hoping her friend
could hear her over all the commotion. “Let’s go over there and wait with those
Neopets!”
The two girls began walking toward the crowd
when Guen noticed something odd. “Look, Flare,” she said. “All of those Neopets
have chickens! I wonder how they got them.”
Flare just shrugged as the two took their place
in line. Neither of them had been to such a large event before. The sun had
almost disappeared beneath the ocean, but the lights from the arena made it
seem as if it was the middle of the day. And so many people! The noise from
all the talking and laughing was almost too much to bear. Even celebrities such
as Nigel, a Chia who was Neopia’s leading stockbroker, and Aletra, a famous
Aisha chef who had her own TV show called “What’s Cooking?”, had come to witness
the show. Camera crews were everywhere, all trying to get an interview with
anyone who looked important.
“I’m glad we don’t look important,” said Flare.
Guen smiled and nodded to her friend as a familiar fire Ixi walked toward them.
“Guen, look!” Flare exclaimed. “That’s Inna!
The announcer of Kickin’ Chickens!”
“Oh, I just can’t take it anymore!” Inna whined
to Samuel, the cloud Skeith co-host of Kickin’ Chickens. “We have to get off
this horrible island!” Inna continued. “I thought this trip to Mystery Island
was going to be a fabulous vacation and instead it’s turned out to be a nightmare.
Can you believe that Tombola guy? He gave me a lousy tin of sardines! And that
Kougra from the Haiku Generator! That jerk bit me!”
“Inna, look!” interrupted the Skeith, motioning
Flares way. “Look at that Unis machine! It has a, uh, a thing inside of a coffee
machine! Isn’t that cool?!”
“I guess if you’re a weirdo who’s easily amused,
it is,” snapped Inna. “Hello, um, person,” she said to Flare. “What is your
little machine called?”
“It’s called Ultra-Chilling-Fire-Breathing-Coffee-Brewing-Annihilation-Madness
3000!” replied Flare, proudly hugging her creation. “And this thing inside the
coffee maker is our chicken.”
“That doesn’t look like a chicken,” said Samuel,
confused.
“Well it’s not an actual chicken,” replied Flare,
looking to Guen for help.
“It’s a chicken painted with a mutant paint brush,”
Guen lied.
“I think this is one of the most original machines
I’ve ever seen!” exclaimed the Skeith. “I’m going to let you on the show. Could
you do it tonight? That machine would be great for our opening spot.”
“Sure!” Flare beamed.
“Okay, great!” replied Samuel. “Just go through
that door on the side of the arena, and down the hall. The first door on your
right is where the producers are, and they will fill you in on the rules and
introduce you to your opponent. Good luck!”
Guen and Flare rushed to the door and made their
way down the narrow hall. They then met the producers who went over the rules
and some basic tips.
“During the match you and your opponent will
be inside a room next to the battleground,” one of the producers explained.
“Keep the remote to your machine close, in case your chicken decides not to
fight. You will be behind a protective window the entire time, so don’t worry
about any stray fireballs that are launched your way.”
“Your opponent should be coming in any minute
now,” another of the producers said to Flare. “He’s a little, uh, scary,” she
continued. “But try not to let him intimidate you.”
At that very moment the meanest-looking Grundo
Flare had ever seen stepped into the arena. He was mutated, and nearly twice
as tall as Flare. His huge, muscular legs shook the very foundation of the arena
with each long stride.
“Hi,” stammered Flare, unable to pull her deep
blue eyes away from the Grundo. “My name is Flare, and this Guen.”
Guen didn’t say a word. She just put an ebony
paw over her mouth and tried not to laugh at the strange Grundo.
“What you starin’ at?” demanded the Grundo. “My
chicken’s gonna beat your... your thing!”
“Our thing?” laughed Guen. “It’s a Peadackle,
you giant idio-”
“Guen!” Flare shouted in disbelief. “The guy’s
huge! I don’t think you should be insulting him!”
“I’m gonna beat you sooo bad!”the Grundo taunted.
“My chicken eats butter knives for breakfast!”
The Grundo nudged his chicken toward Flare with
his large, green foot. The chicken, obviously not appreciating the rude movement,
turned around and peaked his foot.
“Ouch!” shrieked the Grundo. He pulled his foot
close to his face to examine it and began to cry.
“Why you gotta peck at my toes, chicken?!” he
sobbed.
Suddenly, one of the producers ran up to Guen
and Flare, distracting them from the hilarious situation.
“Hurry up!” he shouted. “The show’s about to
start! Get into position!”
The three Neopets ran to their instructed spots,
eager to fight for the 100,000 Neopoint prize. Colorful lights danced around
the arena, falling on the cheering crowd, and then stopped in the center of
the battleground.
“Live from the Mystery Island Arena,” Inna shouted
to the camera, “it’s Kickin’ Chickens!”
Drums sounded throughout the Arena and the excited
crowd began chanting ”KICK-IN’ CHICK-ENS, KICK-IN’ CHICKENS!”
“Tonight we have an epic battle,” announced Samuel,
“between two amazing machines! Our first competitor is Bob, a mutant Grundo,
and his machine Awesome Oven Attacker!”
The crowd began to chant, “AWE-SOME OV-EN, AWESOME
OVEN!”
And our second competitor,” continued Inna, “is
an island Uni named Flare! Her mutant chicken will be wielding Ultra-Chilling-Fire-Breathing-Coffee-Brewing-Annihilation-Madness
3000!”
On cue, the crowd began chanting again, “WHAT-EV-ER
SHE SAID, WHATEVER SHE SAID!”
“Bob?” laughed Guen. “That Grundo’s name is Bob?!”
“What were you expecting it to be?” asked Flare.
“I don’t know,” replied Guen. “Bigbuffmeatygreenman679,
or something.”
“Let the fight begin!” shouted Inna.
To be continued...
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