Blue Moon

     Beneath the twinkling skies of a lunar nighttime, stars of a different kind were enjoying the Kreludan Yooyuball Federation's annual End of Tournament Celebratory Dinner under the grey central dome of the organisation's Headquarters. With a metal cover protecting the sandy indoor training pitch from any accidental jetboot scorch marks, the floor of the dome had been filled with a swathe of purple and orange tables and chairs with a large stage constructed on the far side where the goalposts of the covered pitch usually stood. Later on, it would be where Chairpet Rigel would give his customary End of Tournament Speech but for now the Orange Grundo had other equally-grand tasks to undertake by the dome's main entrance.

     Adjusting the violet bow tie and matching pocket square that perfectly set off his newly tailored deep orange tuxedo, a gentle quiet descended on the gathered crowd and assembled Yooyuball players as he formally approached his highest ranking guests. "Your Blarpxarlliest, Xarthab and Zorlix," the administrator addressed Kreludor's joint-rulers, bowing slightly before heartily shaking both of their hands, "I present to you both the Kreludan National Yooyuball Team - or 'Team Kreludor' for short." A soft round of applause rippled across the room as he began the player introductions, "Led ably by our Captain, Derlyn Fonnet."

     Xarthab suppressed a laugh. Both he and his brother had attended enough of these events to know the drill by now. Not that he would dare ruin his old friend's fun, of course. After the pair had shaken the black tuxedo-clad Purple Gnorbu's paw, the leader of the Orange Grundos praised his counterpart, "Excellent work, as always, Fonnet." Before grinning, "I speak not only for myself but for my brother when I say that we were particularly impressed with how you handled Virtupets this year. If only our newest recruits had a fraction of the resolve shown by you and your team."

     The simultaneous raising of both of the defender's eyebrows caused the leader of the Purple Grundos to let out a chuckle. "We get the matches streamed straight from Altador," Zorlix explained, before chuckling again. Deep within a lavatube located in an undisclosed but central area of Kreludor, the Combined Kreludan Defence Force's Emergency Bunker had been the home of the brothers and their closest Generals since the rift in the skies over Neopia had opened up. From there, they could monitor every corner of the moon and hopefully protect it from succumbing to the same fate as Meridell and its neighbours. But just because they were basically living in their military fatigues didn't mean they were going to miss out on their favourite sports tournament.

     "Our goalkeeper and second-in-command of Team Kreludor, Jurin T.," Rigel continued grandly down the line of assembled players, the rulers shaking the Red Ruki's hand and chatting to him in a similar manner as his Captain before him. "Our centre forward, Ealyn Hawkshanks." As always, the Pirate Quiggle - looking dapper in a black dress coat that covered a dark grey waistcoat, matching trousers and a frilly white shirt - instead chose to stand to attention and salute the brothers, an act the Grundos happily reciprocated. "Our right forward and newest member, Motor Dahy." Who, uh, was chewing on a Kreludan Grunpop that he had managed to snag off one of the caterers from Cafe Kreludor. "Oh," the administrator smiled, "and of course, Qlydae Wegg."

     "Ah!" Xarthab exclaimed in faux-shock before scooping the younger Orange Grundo up in a Bearog-hug, Zorlix quickly joining in despite Wegg's futile squirming. Sufficiently squashed, the elder Orange Grundo slapped his General's son on the back before remarking, "You're looking more like Dwaq every time I see you, kid!" The brothers let out a hearty laugh, Rigel doing his best not to join in. The left forward just frowned. Until his Captain directed a sympathetic look in his direction. And the Chairpet's pocket started... blinking?

     Noticing the perplexed looks on the faces of his playing staff, the Orange Grundo looked down and saw a light flashing through his top jacket pocket and accompanying violet pocket square. "Oh!" he remarked, unfazed, "Perfect timing." Pulling out a shallow, metal cylinder, the administrator pressed a series of buttons on its base while explaining its purpose, "With the grey curse afflicting Neopia and that strange interdimensional rift opening up in its skies, the Space Faerie is too busy checking the Solar System for any evidence of you-know-who's involvement to attend this celebratory event. However, she told me that she really wanted to say a quick hello to you all... and to update our Blarpxarllies on the progress of her search."

     Cue much murmuring between Derlyn and her teammates. Unlike Xarthab and Zorlix - who had really taken to these End of Tournament Dos - the Space Faerie rarely attended the festivities, as there was always something going on in some part of the galaxy that required her attention. So even a holographic appearance was quite an honour. "There we go," Rigel mumbled as the top of the cylinder glowed and a miniature Mira floated above the device. If it wasn't for the small size and the occasional flicker of the hologram, you'd think that she was right there.

     "Greetings Team Kreludor," the Space Faerie spoke solemnly, the players gathering in a loose semi-circle to get the best view possible of the device and its holographic display, "I am truly sorry that I'm unable to make it to the festivities marking your second Altador Cup victory but I want you all to know that I am immensely impressed by the dedication and tenacity you have shown in order to achieve such an incredible feat." She smiled. "In trying times like these, it is so important for pets of all kinds to come together to-"

     "Yeah, PETS," Motor interrupted, to the astonishment of his teammates. Flicking the stick of his Kreludan Grunpop to the floor, he was far from finished. "Because we PETS are always having to do things for ourselves. I'd like to see the hundreds of Faeries who are always whining at us to do their Quests actually do something for us. For once. But nah. It's us pets who have to do eve-ry-thing." Out of the corner of Jurin's eye, he could see the anger building up inside his Captain. "Meanwhile," the Tyrannian Pteri kept going, loud enough for the crowd to hear, "you're off on a wild Sloth chase with no proof he's done anything wrong. Because it always has to be Sloth, right? It always has to be his fault?!"

     "DAHY," Derlyn finally snapped, derailing the right forward's train of thought.

     "In his dreams, maybe," Mira muttered to herself in jest. Causing the Purple Gnorbu's blood to run cold. It... it wasn't a pre-recorded message. It was a... a live call. She didn't think that was possible. And going by the look of shock on her other colleagues' faces, she wasn't the only one who had assumed that that was the case. Turning to Xarthab and Zorlix, who were feeling understandably awkward, she managed to strike a dignified tone, "Gentlepets, I have much to discuss about Section Six." Taking the opportunity, the brothers left in the direction of the Chairpet's office. "Team Kreludor," she smiled warmly, "farewell and congratulations once more."

     Watching Rigel disappear down a corridor that led to the administrative heart of the Kreludan Yooyuball Federation, Wegg bit his tongue. Just long enough for the gossiping crowd to disperse out of antenna-shot. "How DARE you talk to Mira like that!" the Orange Grundo shouted at his fellow forward, Ealyn being the one brave enough to wrinkle his deep orange three-piece suit by holding him back. Not that the Pirate Quiggle disagreed with the sentiment, though. He just didn't think that the Tyrannian Pteri was worth the fine.

     Motor laughed. And not just at the sight of his half-sized teammate, thinking that he could take him on. "Aw..." he mocked, further infuriating his counterpart, "Q-Ball's on first-name terms with a Faerie, eh?" He had nicknames for everypet. Though he hadn't used Jurin's in a while. "Truth hurts, don't it?"

     The left forward was insulted to his core. Zenor Kevix was his best friend. And the former Twin Grundo Terror had grown up on the Virtupets Space Station. Under Sloth. The Blue Grundo had plenty of stories from his childhood, but he preferred to keep to himself. He was forward-looking that way. "Mira saved the Grundos from that tyrant!" But Wegg wasn't going to stand idly by and listen to this nonsense. "She's a hero!" he insisted, "The greatest hero in the galaxy!!"

     "CORRECTION:," the Tyrannian Pteri exclaimed, wagging his feathered forefinger at his colleague, "Pets 'saved' - if you can even call it that - some of the Grundos." Now the Pirate Quiggle was scowling. Even Ealyn knew that was wholly disingenuous. Sure, Neopia took in some Grundos to allow the Space Faerie to defeat Dr Sloth, but by doing so, the whole of Grundo-kind ended up being freed from his clutches. You know, by Mira. "And why should you care anyway?" The Orange Grundo's anger switched to bewilderment. "She didn't do anything in that Civil War your lot had." And then back to anger.

     "Enough," Derlyn stated loudly, accepting that she had let this go on for far too long. The defender was loath to stop her left forward, setting the record straight. But some arguments could not be won. And she had a duty of care to protect him. As well as his teammate. "Wegg," she continued, in a surprisingly soft tone, "you're better than this."

     Wegg made eye contact with his Captain.

     Before turning around and walking away.

     Jurin watched silently as Ealyn followed his fellow forward towards then through the maze of tables and chairs that lay ahead of them - while a pleased Motor headed off, laughing to himself, in the direction of one of the nearest buffet tables that hugged the outer perimeter of the circular room. As the second-in-command of Team Kreludor, one of the roles Derlyn had given the black cloak and white robe-clad Red Ruki was to mediate player disputes. But that was hard with the Tyrannian Pteri. After another awkward silence, he turned to the Purple Gnorbu. "Motor's just a kid," he excused, "I'm sure he didn't... well... mean it exactly like that."

     The defender's left ear twitched backwards. She'd had just about enough of her right forward's antics for one season. And couldn't believe that her goalkeeper - himself a survivor of Sloth's exploits in the Lost Desert - was allowing such seditious sympathies to slide. Or at least, she wouldn't have believed it a few months ago. To say they hadn't been on the same page since the Red Ruki's behaviour in preseason would be something of an understatement. She narrowed her eyes. "If I had spoken to the Space Faerie like that," his Captain responded, bluntly, "I would have been sacked on the spot."

     "Don't exaggerate, Derlyn," Jurin batted away, somewhat awkwardly

     And there it was.

     The same lack of respect he had shown her in preseason.

     When she had repeatedly ordered him to stop fighting with Motor.

     Only for him to ignore her. Every. Single. Time.

     The tension around Team Kreludor's training camp in Altador had been unbearable at times throughout the tournament. A fundamental breakdown of trust between the Captain and the second-in-command had affected team morale. Which had weirdly led to everypet working twice as hard as they usually would and had probably in part led to their overall victory. It was unsustainable, though. Derlyn knew that. But caught up with all her responsibilities as de facto Head Coach, she'd had no time to thrash things out between them. Not helped by Jurin failing to understand what the big deal was. It was... a mess. A mess that felt as raw as ever.

     Turning to face him, the Purple Gnorbu glared at the Red Ruki. Causing him to freeze to the spot. Before he could say anything in his defence, she went to join her forwards at Team Kreludor's designated table in front of the stage. Leaving the goalkeeper to bury his head in his hands.

     -----

     Stumbling out of his spacious office and into the adjoining corridor, Chairpet Rigel rolled up the sleeve of his tuxedo jacket and looked at his violet digital wristwatch. He was late. With his workplace morphing into the de facto headquarters of the Combined Kreludan Defence Force, the elder Orange Grundo had been unwittingly pulled into a detailed discussion between Xarthab, Zorlix, their Generals and the holographic presence of the Space Faerie over the threat the rift in space-time may or may not pose to their moon. As a member of the committee running the Orange Central Moon Base, his presence was important in case any information needed to be relayed to his peers. But so was his speech.

     Rushing down the passage that led to the grey central dome and quickly clambering up the steps of the stage towards the microphone stand, the administrator seemed oblivious to the fact that his attendees were tucking into their first course. "Is this thing on?" Rigel muttered, tapping the microphone to ensure there was an echo before continuing unabashed, "Ahem. Esteemed guests from across Kreludor and beyond, I would like to welcome you all to this Celebratory Dinner in honour of our returning Champions!" A faint ripple of applause just about drowned out the sound of cutlery being placed down on pets' plates. "After many, many years, the Altador Cup Trophy has finally returned to our wonderful moon thanks to the tremendous efforts of the Kreludan Yooyuball Federation and our hard-working Board of Directors."

     Derlyn Fonnet wrinkled her freckled nose. As if being sat between an understandably irritated Qlydae Wegg and a clueless Jurin T. hadn't made for an awkward enough evening, now the belated entertainment had become in-meal. Fixing a look of disdain at her employer, the elder Orange Grundo spotted this and frowned. "But of course," he continued, not allowing the Purple Gnorbu's scowl to dull his enthusiasm, "none of this could have been possible without the players of Team Kreludor themselves. So, I would like to give this opportunity to our Player of the Tournament to say a few words." Excited, Wegg sat up and straightened out his suit. "Motor Dahy! Come on up!"

     "Ha!" the Tyrannian Pteri gloated, jumping up from the orange chair on the other side of the Red Ruki before storming the stage. The younger Orange Grundo was livid. He had been the side's top scorer in that Cup. Not Motor. More often than not in recent years, it had been Ealyn Hawkshanks, but not this year. It had been him. The left forward instead found himself being consoled by the Pirate Quiggle and his Captain. Grabbing his drink, he was sure this had absolutely nothing to do with Rigel having personally recruited him to the team and being his biggest supporter. Nothing whatsoever.

     "Thanks, Rige!" the right forward enthused, almost shaking the elder Orange Grundo's arm off. Approaching the microphone stand, he paused. Uncertain. "Whoa," he mumbled, "that's a lot of eyes." Before snapping out of it. Grabbing the microphone, he grinned triumphantly, "So! Yeah! We SMASHED the competition this year!" The crowd cheered loudly. "Team 'Greyvale' thought they had us, but they never stood a chance! I was just warmin' up in the first match we played against 'em. Then in the Finals they never knew what hit 'em!" The cheer was less loud that time. "And Tyrannia? HA! They'll rue the day they ever turned me down!" And that time. "All the way through their Academy. Through the age brackets. And for WHAT?! Them to turn around and say I'M a liability! ME! Because of MY temper?! Well, I showed them!!"

     The younger Orange Grundo winced. "I usually enjoy a good meteor strike and all..." he spoke with a concerned tone, furrowing his brow, "...but, uh... not this..."

     His fellow forward was in agreement. "Aye," Ealyn concurred, having finished his Moon Soup moments earlier, "Wegg be right Capt'n." Derlyn turned her head to face the duo. "Ye might wanna call off the youngun' afore he says summit he cannae take back."

     She was unmoved. "And deprive Jurin of the opportunity?" came the blunt retort as she turned back to her first course. After all, the Purple Gnorbu clearly didn't know what she was doing. It wasn't like she had spent the best part of the past two decades managing arguably the most successful Yooyuball Team in the modern history of the Altador Cup or anything.

     Her goalkeeper was perplexed by his best friend's turn of phrase. But chose not to question it. Gesturing at the Tyrannian Pteri to try to get him to wind his speech up and return to his seat, his teammate failed to take the hint. "Oooh!" Motor interrupted himself, "And how could I forget!!" His anecdote about meeting Tobias Sigmir for the first time would have to wait. "Jurin! None of this would've been possible without the best 'Keeper in the Cup! And unlike those Virtu-pests, we didn't have to build ours!" The aforementioned player buried his head in his hands as his colleague got back to his anecdote.

     Peering through his fingers, the Red Ruki watched as his Captain despondently prodded her Sentient Stew with a spoon. Shockingly, Derlyn didn't feel particularly interested in eating a meal that could pull off a better hard stare than she could. His hands fell back to his sides. He just... couldn't take it. As laid back as Jurin was, there were certain things that would always get under his exoskeleton. And being on the wrong side of his best friend was one of them. "Okay, fine," he stated loud enough to get the attention of the entire table but not the nearby ones, who were far more interested in Motor's extended speech, "I'm a terrible pet! Is that what you want to hear? Can you please just stop being angry at me already?!"

     Wegg's jaw dropped as his fellow forward facepalmed. This was not going to end well. "I never said that you were a terrible pet," the Purple Gnorbu corrected her colleague, her attention still firmly on the staring contest that she was having with her first course.

     "You didn't have to," her goalkeeper grumbled, "you made that part clear."

     Now he'd done it.

     "You just don't get it," the defender snapped, pushing her stew away, "do you?"

     Jurin closed his mouth firmly upon realising that clearly he did not.

     Derlyn looked straight ahead towards the stage and the still-celebrating Tyrannian Pteri atop it. "You embarrassed me in front of my team and undermined my authority." Her tone was emotionless. "Not just by going against my orders in training... but by doing so to such an extent that you could've gotten hurt and jeopardised our entire Tournament! We don't exactly have a spare goalkeeper just hanging around, you know." She lowered her eyebrows. Now she was angry. "And your excuse? That we're 'friends'? That you're 'helping' me out? Friends don't trample over each other's boundaries. Friends respect boundaries. Friends actually respect each other."

     An uncomfortable silence fell over the table.

     "I do respect you, Dee," Jurin spoke softly, finally understanding the magnitude of his actions and being embarrassed that it hadn't dawned on him sooner. "I know you are perfectly capable of fighting your own battles. It's just... hard seeing you getting messed about like that. But you're right. I was well out of line. I am sorry for undermining you. Truly." He sighed, rubbing the back of his antennae. "I do try not to let my emotions get in the way. I'd like to think I have gotten a bit better at it over the years. But, I dunno... sometimes I just see red, and I just can't help myself. I know I need to work on it." A cheeky smile filled his face. "You're my best friend. I think my real problem is I prefer it when you're not, you know, glowering ALL the time."

     "Prfft," she snorted.

     "...prfft?" he repeated, worried.

     "You're far too laid back to ever see actual red, Jay," the defender almost smiled.

     Ealyn nodded in agreement. "The Capt'n be right, matey."

     "Yeah," Wegg smirked, pointing to his suit, "more like a deep shade of orange."

     "You guys are the worst," retorted the goalkeeper with a smile as the two forwards burst into a hearty laughter, a much-missed sound that had not been heard amongst the team in some time.

     A small frown grew across Derlyn's face. Jurin wasn't the only one who had let his emotions get the better of them. "I," she spoke softly, catching her teammates by surprise, "shouldn't have let things get so..."

     "Intense? Suffocating? Down right miserable?" quipped the Orange Grundo, trying not to grin.

     "Pay him no heed, Capt'n," the Pirate Quiggle playfully scolded his fellow forward, who took it as it was intended, before trying to reassure the Purple Gnorbu, "I fer one noticed no d'fference to our usual buildup."

     "Suck up," the left forward retorted just loud enough to ensure that the centre forward would be able to hear him over the tailend of the right foward's speech. Turning to his Captain, who hadn't exactly been cheered by Ealyn's words, Wegg chose to be more upfront, "Look, it wasn't great, but it was fine. We've had far worse preseasons over the years. Besides, we won the Cup. That's all that matters. That and we haven't tried to feed each other to Giant Space Funguses just yet." He shivered at the thought. "Also, for the record, I was Team Fonnet." Before slurping his drink. "Just sayin'."

     The defender couldn't help but roll her eyes. An act stopped by an elbow in her side, courtesy of the still smiling Red Ruki. As far as the goalkeeper was concerned, Whistles' policy of no harm, no foul was very much applicable in this instance.

     Loud applause filled the grey central dome as a victorious Motor disembarked from the stage and returned to Team Kreludor's table, catching his distracted teammates somewhat off guard. Oblivious to this, the Tyrannian Pteri grinned as he queried, "So! What did you think of my speech? Awesome, right?" He slammed his feathered hand down onto the purple table before staring down the Orange Grundo who was sat on the opposite side. "It was awesome. You should just get it over with and say it."

     "It was something, alright," the left forward muttered, rolling his own eyes.

     "Hmmph," grumbled his counterpart before spotting the Red Ruki patting his seat. Taking this hint, the right forward sat back down onto his orange chair before crossing his arms on top of his torn, sleeveless tuxedo. "You're just jealous there's a new fan's favourite 'round here, Q-Ball."

     "When you score your first own goal, then we'll talk," Wegg just shook his head before gulping down some of his drink. At that moment, surrounded by his friends and listening to Rigel ream off thank yous to every single one of the Federation's sponsors in alphabetical order, he just didn't feel like arguing with Motor anymore. He felt content.

     Seeing the weight lifted from her colleague's shoulders, Derlyn smiled. The Purple Gnorbu knew that the future wasn't written in moonrock. The events of the past year had underlined that. No-pet could know what the future may or may not hold. But no matter what happened from this point onwards, rift in the space-time continuum and greying of Neopia or no rift in the space-time continuum and no greying of Neopia, she was certain that Team Kreludor was going to get through it (mostly) together.

     The End.