"I'm taking Krawkchan to the Battledome."
"OK," Koggledoo answered his master. Absently, he peeked over his book to
see his master, Derek, with Krawkchan standing boldly at his side. "Krawkchan,"
muttered Koggledoo quietly. Derek's favourite pet.
"Don't break anything, either. I spent a lot of Neopoints on this stuff,"
spat Derek harshly at the Kacheek.
"Yes, master. I won't break anything," sighed Koggledoo, accustomed to his
master's rude treatment.
"Come on Krawkchan," said Derek, patting the Krawk on the head. Derek opened
the door and the two stepped out.
Koggledoo sat up, relieved to finally have some peace. Derek's attitude would
hurt other Neopets, but not Koggledoo. He was used to it. For all Derek was
concerned, Krawkchan was his only Neopet. Koggledoo served simply as a distraction
and an ailment. Created without a second thought, Derek regretted bringing Koggledoo
into Neopia every time he saw him. In fact, the only reason Koggledoo wasn't
sitting in the pound was because Derek worried what his Neofriends would say
when they found out he abandoned one of his Neopets So, begrudgingly, Derek
held on to the Kacheek. In an attempt to make him look suitable, Derek had bought
Koggledoo a striped paintbrush. That paint brush was the one and only present
ever purchased by Derek for Koggledoo.
Koggledoo shut the book in his hands having read the last page. Of course
the books were Krawkchan's, but Koggledoo doubted if the Krawk even knew how
to read. He stood up, and began to make his way to Krawkchan's room to return
the book. Koggledoo made his way through the hallway. He turned the corner to
enter Krawkchan's room and--
"The Pant Devil!" shouted Koggledoo, stepping back.
The thief lifted his head from Krawkchan's box of Battledome items and shot
Koggledoo a menacing grin. "Why hello there." His grin grew larger. "I'm sure
you won't mind if I just take this with me," he said sarcastically, clutching
Krawkchan's Rod of Nova.
"Put that down! It took my master months to get enough Neopoints to buy that,"
pleaded Koggledoo.
"Oh stop it! You're making me feel so guilty. I don't think I'll be able to
sleep at night!" he said as he left, cackling like a maniac the whole way.
Koggledoo starred at the chest of Battledome items for a while, unsure of
what to do. Eventually, he formulated a plan. He said it aloud. "I'll go to
the Battledome and tell Derek. Krawkchan can beat up the Pant Devil and get
the Rod of Nova back."
He dashed from the NeoHome and was an in the middle of the Neopian Bazaar
before he realised he had not a clue as to where the Battledome was. He had
only visited it once with Derek to see Krawkchan battle. As he pondered this,
a blue Uni trotted to his side.
"Hello there," she smiled. "You seem lost. Can I help you?"
"Umm, err, yes," Koggledoo tripped over his words. "I'm looking for the Battledome"
"Hop on my back. I pass it on my way home, I can fly you there," she suggested.
"It's no trouble, I just closed my shop for today," she gestured towards the
clothing store.
"Thanks," offered Koggledoo, as he made his way onto the soft back of the
Uni.
As promised, the Uni had Koggledoo to the Battledome a few minutes later.
"I can't thank you enough. Is there any way I can repay you?" asked Koggledoo.
The Uni thought for a moment. "Just visit my shop every now and then," she
winked as she flew away.
As Koggledoo made his way into the Battledome, he felt instantly overwhelmed.
Everything was so tall and he was, well, not. He had a eerie feeling that finding
Derek was going to be quite a task. He wandered around a bit until he saw a
large Grarrl walking by.
"Excuse me, sir," started Koggledoo. "Do you by any chance know where I can
find my master, Derek."
"He's the trainer with that Krawk, correct?"
"Yes," said Koggledoo, breathing a sigh of relief.
"He just beat me in the stonedome. If you hurry you can probably still catch
him."
Koggledoo felt excited as hurried away, thanking the Grarrl for all of his
help. Soon, Koggledoo found himself in the stonedome. He scanned the area desperately,
searching for Derek and Krawkchan. After Koggledoo was convinced they had already
left, he saw them. Derek was praising Krawkchan, presumably for winning a battle.
"Derek!" shouted Koggledoo, racing forward. "Something terrible has happened!"
Derek averted his attention to Koggledoo. Immediately he seemed angry. "What
are you doing here?" he demanded. "I never said you could follow me."
"It's important!" insisted Koggledoo. "The Pant Devil stole Krawkchan's Rod
of Nova!"
"He did what!?" roared Derek.
"He didn't stutter, Derek," said a mocking voice from behind Derek's back.
The trainer turned around and found himself standing face to face to the Pant
Devil.
"So, you want this back, do you?" asked the Pant Devil, twirling the rod in
his fingers.
"Give it here!" shouted Derek, thrusting his hand forward. Too slow. The Pant
Devil flew a few feet higher out of Derek's reach.
"I'll tell you what," smiled the Pant Devil. "Since I'm feeling in such a
good mood today, I'll give you a chance to get it back."
"How?" asked Derek, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"If you can beat me in a battle, I'll give you the rod back. If I win, I get
to keep it. Deal?"
"Deal," agreed Derek. He turned to Krawkchan. "Ready to take down the Pant
Devil?"
"No, no, no," laughed the Pant Devil. "Krawkchan won't be the one fighting
me. Koggledoo will!" Koggledoo held back a laugh. He'd never had so much as
a pillow fight, let alone a real battle.
"But Koggledoo can't fight!" argued Derek. "He... err... Just got over the
Neezles," he lied.
"It's all right, Derek," said Koggledoo, stepping forward. "I can fight."
Without allowing Derek to respond, Koggledoo leaped into the Battledome, followed
by the Pant Devil.
"Do you really think you can beat me?" snickered the Pant Devil.
"Let's find out," Koggledoo responded, undaunted.
"Ready," started the Pant Devil. "GO!" He lunged forward, attempting to tackle
Koggledoo.
Doing the first thing that came to mind, Koggledoo curled into a ball and
rolled out of the way. The Pant Devil hit the stone floor with a loud crunch.
"What do I do now?" asked Koggledoo desperately, seeing the Pant Devil stand
back up.
"Smile!" shouted Derek.
"What!?"
"Smile!" he repeated.
Koggledoo shrugged, but didn't think he had time to ask questions. He licked
his lips, then gave a large, ear-to-ear smile. Instantly, the arena lights reflected
from Koggledoo's pearly whites.
"Aghh! My eyes!" moaned the Pant Devil, falling to the ground.
"Now roll into him!" shouted Derek.
Koggledoo got a running head start, them leaped into the air and curled into
a ball. He collided with the Pant Devil and sent him flying against the arena
wall.
"Stop, stop!" begged the Pant Devil. "You win! Take the rod!" He flicked his
wrist and the Rod of Nova appeared in his hands. He threw it to Koggledoo.
As everything that had just happened ran through Koggledoo's brain, he felt
himself being swept off the ground in a large hug. "You did it!" cheered Derek.
"I'm so proud of you." Koggledoo blushed, but no words would make the plunge
out of his mouth.
"That wasn't so bad," praised Krawkchan. "I'll give you some pointers when
we get home, though," he added, as he patted Koggledoo on the back.
"How about we go get some slushies," smiled Derek. "You deserve some," he
said, looking at Koggledoo.
"I-I'd love to go for slushies." Something, though Koggledoo wasn't sure what,
told him things were going to be a little better from now on.
The End
Note to readers: Though Koggledoo and Krawkchan are real Neopets, their true
personalities and lives are not portrayed in this story. Koggledoo isn't neglected
and Krawkchan isn't stuck up or snobby (and yes, he can read). This story is purely
fictional, and I hope you enjoyed reading it :) |