IV: Red Disc, Why Art Thou Here?
SnowOhki and Orichalkon were really going at it, it seemed that Ryo didn't
have to make any battle commands at all! It had appeared that none of the pets
were using any equipment, I was wondering if that was good or bad. I came to
the decision that it would be best to just let them go at it.
"You're... better... than you look," SnowOhki said while she was blocking Orichalkon's
attacks and using her own. Ryo took out his NeoP0rt and performed a NeoPet Lookup.
"Okay... Fire Male Shoyru, Level 7. Good stats... I wasn't expecting this."
Ryo looked a little worried that he would lose. Just then Orichalkon got behind
SnowOhki, grabbed her by the neck and tripped her to the ground.
SnowOhki got up, and charged at Orichalkon, bombing him into the ground. Before
she could attack again, I yelled, "You win!" I might as well have, SnowOhki
would've won with a few more hits. Orichalkon walked back up to me, and SnowOhki
had already vanished into the brush.
"So, another new one? How did you get here?" Ryo asked me. He must've had a
major mood swing.
"Umm... my Shoyru found a red disc on the ground. He put it in his computer
and it turned out to be an Ethereal Connection Port item... I used it, and it
turned my cell phone into a NeoP0rt. Then I got connected to the Internet...
and ended up here."
Ryo took out his NeoP0rt. It was just like mine, only red. "This used to be
a palm pilot. There's something I think of every day... why oh why did I have
to use that item?"
This thing just kept getting weirder and weirder... just why was it our pets
that received the red discs? And how could this place be real? These answers
were not to be handed to me. "So, how did SnowOhki get the disc?"
"She said she dropped a NeoPet card into her CD-Rom drive, and when she opened
it back up the drive, the red disc was there."
"So... it changed from something else? Orichalkon, when the red disc appeared,
did anything on you happen to go missing?" Okay, so maybe the answers were being
handed to me. Not clearly, though.
"Well, now that you mention it... my membership card at the Battledome went
missing... I got a spare one though. But I guess that's not what you're wondering.
So, you think that my membership card was turned into a red disc?"
"It makes sense, don't you think? You heard something drop, maybe it dropped
out of your pack." The answers were starting to reveal from the haze now. "One
last question: Why us?"
Ryo answered quickly. "That's something even I have yet to figure out. It doesn't
make any sense, really... all I know is that I wish I could go back, just for
one day." A very depressed look went over Ryo's face.
"Just how long have you been here?" I figured he wouldn't say more than a week
or so. Boy was I wrong.
"About seven months now... I tell you, living on Neopian foods can sometimes
be gross."
"Seven months!? Wow, I haven't even been here for a day and I am homesick."
I felt sorry for the guy. I could tell he didn't want my sympathy and was probably
contemplating whether or not to punch me in the face, but I still felt sorry
for him.
"Hey, it's not big deal... this is a cool place. I think we were brought here
for a reason, to accomplish something. So I guess if we accomplish that we can
go back." Hey, it made sense to me, and I didn't have any better theories.
"Maybe you're right... so I guess we'll just have to accomplish that." The
problem was, I had no idea what that was!
"Well, I should be going now. Good-bye Brad, until we meet again." Ryo walked
off. I figured it was best not to stop him. He looked like someone itching for
a fight. And honestly, he'd kick my bum. So I let him slip away. My only source
of answers.
"So, Orichalkon, what's the deal with that Emperor of Shadows guy?"
"Not really much to him. He's just your evil maniac on the loose. He's after
something, but nobody is really sure what."
"But... he's a kid just like me. I wonder what he could possibly want. I can't
really imagine anything cooler than just being here!" That was the truth. This
was the coolest thing ever. "Come on Orichalkon, I've waited a long time to
be here, you've gotta show me around!"
"Okay Brad... where do you want to go first?"
"Where else? The Battledome!"
***
We arrived at the Battledome. I was in utter awe. It was just as I had imagined
it. I walked up to the counter, where a Lupe was there to take our registry.
Orichalkon handed me the membership card. I swiped it through, and let myself
in.
"Orichalkon, this is so cool! I can't believe I am..." I stopped dead in my
tracks. Because I saw a Halloween Nimmo drop a floppy disc. And I watched it
turn into a red disc. I took out my NeoP0rt to see if I could verify anything.
Then I thought, "I just saw something turn into a red disc! What more proof
do I need?" I walked over to the Nimmo, and said hi.
"Um, hi... just who are you?" The Nimmo looked puzzled. Maybe it was as dull
as me.
"I'm Brad, and this is my Shoyru, Orichalkon. Did you just see that floppy
disc that fell out of your bag turn into a red disc?" I pointed him towards
the red disc.
"I never... noticed." I picked up the disc and walked over to a public PC. I
popped the disc in and watched what happened. The screen went blue.
"Ah... this is what happened with my computer!" Orichalkon said.
"Same here!" I said. The screen then stopped glowing blue, and an item lookup
appeared. "So, what's your name Nimmo?"
"Umm... my name is Cubix," the Nimmo hesitantly replied. He was really freaked
out.
"Okay, I got the Ethereal Connection Port item here. Now, if I send this to
your owner, he'll be able to travel here. Do you want me to send it?" The Nimmo's
face lit up. I was soon surrounded by his chattering, yelling, "YES YES YES
YES YES YES YES YES!" So, I clicked send. And waited to see if it was successful.
To be continued... | 
