Koa the Wocky and Jerrio the Skeith as well as Mavis the Krawk began walking
through the woods. Chiroke stood as lookout up in the trees. She swooped from
tree to tree like a bee pollinating flowers.
Koa and Jerrio were silent and stepped lightly. Even though they'd be warned
of any approaching pets, they had to be careful. Roque was on the Beta team,
and she most likely had her Pirakeet doing the same thing Koa's Pawkeet was
doing. Chiroke wouldn't be able to spot a hiding Pirakeet, and even if she did,
it would fly off before she could warn them. Koa told her if she saw Roque's
PetPet to attack it.
As they treaded on, Jerrio finally whispered, "If we run into anybody, I'll
fight. You can hide behind a tree..." Koa stubbornly protested. "No way. I'll
fight. I'm faster, and I can aim better. I want to fight. I'm not going to hide
behind a tree." Jerrio was quiet for a moment. Then he replied, "If you say
so. But I won't accuse you of being a burden if you don't." Koa was burning
with fury. Why was he saying this? Didn't he trust her ability? Wasn't the reason
they were going along together to be more formidable?
Just as she was about to tell him off, she saw Chiroke fly to her. Koa and
Jerrio stopped as the Pawkeet perched on a branch and screeched, "There's two
NeoPets coming!"
"Calm down," Koa said.
"Who?"
"A Grarrl and a Kyrii! Green and yellow!" Chiroke was flapping her wings wildly.
Sergeant Jerrio said, "Gester and Parch. They're from Beta."
Koa looked at Chiroke and told her to hide in a tree. She lifted her Lightning
Gun to her paws. Jerrio followed her lead and held up his Bubble Beam. Koa pointed
at a large tree for Jerrio to hide behind and went to a separate tree. Jerrio
went behind the large tree. They both looked toward the direction that Chiroke
had said the antagonists were coming from and waited.
Sure enough, a Kyrii, Parch, and a Grarrl, Gester, came romping through the
brush. Koa could see their yellow bands. They had no PetPets with them, fortunately.
She was confident that she and Jerrio could take them down.
Jerrio the Skeith was too big to be inconspicuously hidden behind a tree, and
Koa was ready to lunge out and shower Parch and Gester with volts when they
saw him. The Kyrii and Grarrl weren't very cautious about keeping quiet. They
spoke out loud as they pounded through the woods holding their Improved Lightning
Beams. "Think we oughtta' guard the flag, Gest?" the Kyrii asked.
Jerrio was about to strike, but Koa looked at him and mouthed the word "wait".
Jerrio knew she thought that they might reveal where their flag was. They stood
still and listened.
"Nah, Jay and Yarda and some other guys are guarding it. There's no way they'll
get passed them," replied the green Grarrl. "Well, we're getting nowhere here.
The yellow flag could be on the other side of the forest for all we know."
"If we frag a couple of Alphas, we'll be accomplishing something. Let Roque
find the flag. She's got that Pirakeet buzzing around, and if anyone finds it,
it's her."
"Yeah," Parch said. "I guess you're right."
They became quiet and walked on. They passed the trees Koa and Jerrio were
behind. It was a miracle they didn't see them. As soon as Gester and Parch were
a ways away from Koa and Jerrio, Koa turned to Jerrio and said, "Let's roll."
They quickly dashed out from behind the trees, and ambushed Parch and Gester.
The two blasted at the unknowing Betas with bursting bubbles and zaps of electricity.
Parch the yellow Kyrii was hit hard and skidded about three feet along the forest
floor.
Gester was lucky. He bounded to the side and fired a few blasts with his quick
and strong Improved Lightning Beam. But they missed their targets and only left
black marks on a few trees. Koa and Jerrio split up to avoid getting hit by
the beam.
Koa's amazing Wocky speed proved to be very beneficial. The lone Grarrl's eyes
couldn't follow the yellow flash that maneuvered swiftly through the trees.
Koa heard several blasts from the Improved Lightning Beam, but she heard nothing
from Jerrio's Bubble Beam. It was very quiet (one of the weapon's advantages).
When Koa felt she was out of the line of fire, she aimed her Lightning Gun
to the green figure and shot out numerous volts. Most hit trees, but some came
close to Gester. Parch had already left, and she saw his yellow band on the
ground beside Gester. She didn't see Jerrio, so she was afraid she might accidentally
hit him. Koa came in closer to Gester so she'd get a better shot at him. But
soon she found herself in a dangerous situation. Gester was wildly firing his
beam in all directions, desperate to hit one of the two Alphas.
Deafening blasts from Koa's and Gester's guns filled the air. She saw a blue
figure -- Jerrio -- so she felt better, but she spent her time dodging beams.
They were fast, but she was faster. She barely had time to aim, and she knew
she had to be careful with her comrade close in the line of fire.
Finally, she fired a bunch of volts at him. Gester was occupied dodging Jerrio's
bubbles, too of course, so his attention paid to Koa was halved. As soon as
those volts screamed through the air, a huge noise flooded their ears, and a
bright white blast shot through the terrain. Koa dove to the side and shielded
her eyes.
She heard two cries at the same time. When it was safe to look, Koa stood up
and gazed at the scorched body of the Gester the Grarrl. She smiled and let
her Lightning Gun hang on its strap. She looked at her comrade, but her smile
immediately faded. On the ground beside Gester, was Jerrio with his blue skin
burned terribly. Koa stared in horror but said nothing.
She heard the tearing of their armbands and the sound of them dropping to
the ground. Jerrio moaned in agony and slowly stood up. Gester followed. The
Grarrl made his way down the same path his old friend had gone. Jerrio looked
at the young Wocky and said, "Good luck, Miss Koa." And then he shakily walked
off. Mavis, his PetPet Krawk, came out from hiding behind a tree and scurried
to follow his defeated master.
Koa was still silent. What an irony that the one who offered to fight without
her had been fragged! But he had helped her get through this battle. Now she
had to find the red flag. She turned around hearing the flapping of Chiroke's
wings. The Pawkeet perched on a branch, looked at Koa, and chirped in a low
tone.
"Sergeant Jerrio was hit," Koa said. "We'll have to find the red flag by ourselves
now."
"I know," Chiroke replied. "I saw it."
"Let's go," Koa the Wocky said. "I need you to make sure I don't get hit, too."
Koa looked back at the two yellow armbands on the ground and the one red armband
and then walked off.
Chiroke flew very far to look for the flag. She paid a lot of attention in
the inside of the trees, because it was pretty likely that Roque had hidden
the flag in a tree. She flew back to Koa periodically, to make sure that she
was okay. Chiroke began to tire from all this flying, but she didn't complain
or stop to rest. She was Koa's PetPet, and she had a job to do.
After finding and losing Sergeant Jerrio, Koa was extremely determined to win
this war game. It would prove to everyone what a fierce fighter she was, and
she laughed to herself at imagining Roque's expression if she won. She had longed
to do something like this for a long time. She continued walking with confidence.
Chiroke flew back and swooped over her head. No news now. The Pawkeet flew
in a circle around Koa and then flew to the north.
Far to the east, Chiroke saw a Chia going through the woods. She flew closer
and saw its red armband. The Chia had a Chia Bubble Gun, a popular weapon for
that species.
Quietly flying overhead, Chiroke called out, "Chia!"
The small creature stopped and looked up. Chiroke cautiously remained in the
air. "I'm the PetPet of an Alpha. Don't worry."
The Chia looked at the fluttering Pawkeet and asked, "Who's your master?"
"Koa, a Wocky."
"Koa! Can you bring me to her? I'm scared. I don't wanna' be alone!"
"Shhhh," Chiroke hushed. "There might be Betas nearby. Have you seen anyone
else or any flags yet? If you know where a flag is, whisper it to me."
The Chia frowned. "I've seen a few NeoPets fighting, but I ran away. I talked
to Sergeant Larson. As for flags...I dunno. I want to make sure you're from
an Alpha. How do I know you aren't trying to trick me?"
"Do you know where the red flag is?"
"No, Miss Pawkeet, I don't. But Sergeant Larson said that he saw a bunch of
Beta pets around one tree, and he said he thinks that's where it is."
"Can you show me where that tree is?"
"No, I haven't seen it. He went on his own."
"Do you know where the yellow flag is? Yes or no. Don't say where it is out
loud if you know."
"I don't. Sergeant Larson is our Team Commander, and he knows where it is,
'cause he's the one who hid it."
"Where's this Larson guy?"
"Uhhh...I saw him a while ago. That way," the Chia pointed. "But I'm not sure."
"It's about time I went back to my master," Chiroke said while flying overhead.
"Thank you."
"Wait! Don't leave me! Let me come with you!"
Chiroke sighed. "I can't let you burden me. I've got to get back to Koa. You
can follow if you want." Then, she flew away.
To be continued... | 
