Zapped: Stats

Rayd had always been such a kind and charming Kougra back in his early days. He would give a helping hand to anyone who was in need of it, and he always carried a warm smile on his face. Unfortunately, this all changed when one day, Matthew his owner, came back with the entire set of the Secret Laboratory Map. Rayd would go pay a visit to the Lab Ray everyday, and he would be zapped into a stronger, more defensive, and quicker Kougra. And sadly, that’s when he began forgetting about the most important things in life: his friends, his family, his hobbies, his schoolwork, and most importantly, he completely forgot about his real self…

***************

The white Kougra and green Grarrl gazed at one another intensely, a fiery glare of hatred burning through their features. Rayd, the white Kougra, pushed his four paws deeply against the dusty soil of the Battledome, and swiftly jumped into the humid air, his maw releasing powerful pants of air. His dark eyes were completed fixed on his grand, yet weak challenger. The Grarrl raised his thick limbs as quickly as possible, but Rayd was faster. The Kougra slammed his strong body against the Grarrl, causing the giant’s body to fly back, and land with an echoing THUD on the ground.

The crowds surrounding the two challengers burst into a stream of ear-shattering applause. Fans yelled out enlightening remarks of how strong and rapid Rayd was.

“Thank you, thank you!” Rayd shouted, bowing to his beloved fans. He grinned as he saw his fans wave furiously at him, holding out thin slips of paper for him to autograph.

The Kougra subsequently turned his attention to his defeated opponent, who was now being put up on a wooden stretcher by two assistants working at the Battledome. He winked at the Grarrl as it was being quickly carried away.

“Loser!” he yelled, his paws cupped around his mouth.

The Grarrl groaned, tears welling up in it’s droopy eyes.

Rayd flashed an extra wicked grin, and began waving to his thousands of fans as he made his way towards the changing room.

“Ah--they love me,” he said to himself, as he entered the bright-lit room.

Rayd quickly hopped into the shower and washed himself clean for a few minutes. When he was done, he dried himself and paced out of the Battledome, sporting a corny smile that somehow made all of the girls gaze at him dreamily.

Dozens of reporters and fans began crowding around the Kougra, asking him hundreds of questions all at the same time.

Rayd rolled his eyes, and simply weaved his way through the large crowds. He then raced to his comfy abode where his family and friends were, of course, waiting for him.

When the Kougra stepped inside the comfy home, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to find his friends and family screaming, “SURPRISE!!”

Hung across the room was a large banner that read, “Congratulations On Your 473^rd win!” Tons of colourful balloons were scattered around the living room, and vivacious streamers complimented the lively sight.

Reana, the pink Ixi, who was Rayd’s one and only sister, stepped up in front of the group, and gave Rayd a tight and lengthy hug.

“Congrats Rayd!” she proclaimed blissfully, a warm smile spreading upon her lips.

“Thanks Reana,” Rayd said lazily.

He released himself from Reana’s hug and pushed himself though the masses of pets.

“Where are you going?” Reana inquired.

“To bed,” Rayd retorted.

Reana frowned. “But we set up this party up just for you!”

“I don’t care. You guys can all party without me,” Rayd said. He walked into his room and slammed the door behind him.

Once in his room, Rayd idly flopped down onto his bed. His muscles ached in pain, and his body was exceedingly exhausted.

“Goodnight Neopia,”  Rayd whispered to himself. He softly closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

***************

The next morning, Rayd was awoken by the melodic twittering of the Weewoos that surrounded the area. The Kougra hopped out of his bed, and immediately gazed at himself in the mirror, admiring his rock-hard muscles and his gorgeous smile. This was his usual morning routine.

“Rayd!” Matthew, Rayd’s 12-year old owner, suddenly yelled.

“WHAT?!” Rayd yelled back angrily. He didn’t like being disrupted when he was in the process of studying his features.

“Breakfast is ready!”

Rayd sighed and broke his gaze from the mirror. He raced out of his room and made his way down to the kitchen. The sweet aroma of pancakes was wafting throughout the air, and boy, did it sure smell good! But unfortunately, Rayd didn’t seem to notice this. Instead of sitting himself down at the table, he briskly paced to the back door.

“Where are you going?” Matthew inquired, surprised.

“To the Lab Ray,” Rayd simply said. The Kougra stepped out of the house and darted towards the sidewalk.

“B-but!” was all Matthew yelled.

Rayd rolled his eyes and continued walking, his walk turning more into a run as he began racing to the Secret Laboratory. Luckily, he only lived ten minutes away from it, and he quickly arrived there. As he entered the damp cave, he noticed that there were about seven pets lined up behind the shadows. It was a busy day. Rayd placed himself at the bottom of the line, and began gazing at his muscles, smiling while doing so.

Five minutes swiftly flew by, and Rayd found himself entering the Secret Laboratory. Dr. Zappy gave him a wave of hello, not bothering to chat with him. Rayd sat down on the metal chair, and strapped himself with the familiar-looking leather belts. He grinned as the ray positioned itself towards his direction. With a quick breath of the fresh air, Rayd let the powerful ray shoot out of the machine and absorb itself into his body. The Kougra’s body always felt as if it was as light as a tiny feather, when he was being zapped.

“Done!” Dr. Zappy proclaimed dully.

Rayd flashed a toothy grin, and unbuckled himself from the seat.

“So, what did I get today?” he asked cheerfully.

Dr. Zappy peered at him with a dreary expression. ‘You lost four strength points, kid. Now get out of here and let the next person in.”

Rayd’s mouth fell open in astonishment as he perceived the Scorchio’s words.

“W-wait! You’re kidding, right? This is all a joke!”

“No, it isn’t!” Dr. Zappy exclaimed, frustrated. “Now get out. I don’t want my clients waiting.”

Rayd’s eyes were wide the entire time he walked out of the Secret Laboratory and back home. When he entered his home, he didn’t bother to say hi to Matthew or Reana. Instead, he went to his room, where he then finally shrugged the thought off.

“Don’t worry, Rayd,” he said to himself. “You’ll get those strength points back tomorrow.”

***************

Unfortunately for Rayd, he didn’t get back those strength points that he wanted. Nor did he get points for any other additional categories. Instead, his stats began dropping down incredibly fast, weakening the Kougra each and everyday. Each night, Rayd told himself that his stats would increase dramatically. But they didn’t, and Rayd knew he was going to lose his popularity if this is how it kept going.

***************

Two weeks later, Rayd knew his little dilemma had gone too far.

“Lunch is served!” Matthew proclaimed, at the same time setting the plates on the table.

At the sound of the call, Reana and Rayd raced downstairs, both scurrying to their seats, and starting to stuff their mouths with the delicious food.

“Hey Rayd, could you open this jar of pickles for me?” Matthew suddenly inquired. “I‘m to weak to do it.”

Rayd looked up, and nodded. “Sure!” was all he said.

He grabbed the jar and placed his paw around it. He tried to twist it open, but for some reason, he couldn’t. He tried again, this time harder. And yet, the lid still wouldn’t budge. Rayd was quickly beginning to grow embarrassed. This had never happened to him before. He had always managed to open the lid in a snap. Gulping, Rayd tried again, this time using all of his force.

“ARGH!” he yelled when nothing happened.

Reana frowned. “I can see you’re having a bit of trouble there,” she said. “Here, give it to me.”

Rayd reluctantly handed her the jar. Reana positioned her two hoofs around the lid, and quickly twisted it open.

“Woah, when did you grow so weak?” Matthew asked Rayd, his face full of curiosity.

Rayd was now embarrassed and nervous. “I’m not growing weak!” he yelled in a panicky tone. “My paws were just sweaty, that’s all!"

Matthew shrugged. “Whatever you say, buddy.”

***************

That night, Rayd decided to go to bed early. He was so humiliated by what had happened at lunch, he hadn’t said a peep during supper, which definitely wasn’t in his nature. Matthew and Reana had said nothing, but Rayd knew that they thought he was acting bizarre.

“Oh, what am I going to do?” Rayd asked himself, when he was tucked inside his bed. “I’m going to be crushed by Lerato at tomorrow’s Battledome match!”

Lerato was an enormous Eyrie, who was one of the strongest pets that currently fought at the Battledome.

Rayd stayed up the entire night, mostly because he was too nervous and scared to sleep. He imagined the crowds bursting into uproarious laughter as they saw his crumbling defeat.

“I am so dead.”

***************

The next morning, Rayd awoke to realize that he had actually fallen asleep for a bit. Unfortunately, the reminder of today’s match quickly drifted into his anxious mind. The Kougra groaned at the excruciating thought, and slid out of his bed.

“BREAKFAST IS SERVED!” Matthew suddenly yelled in one of his lame chef accents.

Hearing the call, Rayd made his way downstairs to the kitchen, where Reana was already seated, and Matthew was serving scrambled eggs.

“There’s probably no need to make breakfast for you!” Matthew said sarcastically. He was still a bit peeved from Rayd’s abrupt departure during breakfast time.

Rayd shot him a fiery glare. “This isn’t the time to joke around, Matt,” he grumbled, his fists clenched tightly together.

Matthew frowned. “Is something wrong, Rayd?” he asked.

Rayd paused for a moment. The thought of telling his family what was going on was hammering itself into his heart, yet his mind had other plans. “Nope, nothing’s wrong at all,” Rayd quickly declared.

He sat down in his chair, and began munching on the eggs that were lying on the plate.

“Anyway,” Matthew began, “me and Reana have decided to go to your Battledome match today. We’re a bit bored from staying in the house all day long.”

Rayd almost choked on his eggs from the comment.

“Woah! Are you all right?” Reana inquired nervously.

Rayd swallowed down the eggs, and said, “Never been better!”

“That’s it!” Reana exclaimed, dropping her fork down onto the plate. “I know something’s wrong, Rayd, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it!”

Tears started to well up in Rayd’s eyes. “I need to go!” he abruptly cried.

He stood up from his chair, and made his way to the door. “I’ll meet you guys at the Battledome!” he yelled, as he left his home.

Tears gliding down his cheeks, Rayd raced to the Secret Laboratory without stopping once. As he arrived to the cave, his mouth began releasing sobs. He didn’t care if anyone was watching him. He just wanted to go to the Lab Ray once more.

He quickly entered the room, and called out, “Dr Zappy, please zap me!”

“Sit down,” the voice of Dr. Zappy quietly said from Rayd’s top left.

Rayd ran to the chair, and buckled himself up, snivelling while doing so. He shut his eyes tightly as the ray positioned itself towards him. ZAP! was all he heard. After a few seconds, Rayd’s eyes fluttered open.

“You have been changed into a Blue Pteri,” Dr. Zappy proclaimed.

Rayd gazed down at his body, and sighed in relief. Inside the pit of his stomach, he felt exceedingly joyful. His stats had not been lowered, nor did he have any intention of them becoming any more lower then they already were. They would stay the same for the rest of his days. Because at that moment, Rayd made a promise in his mind, that his eyes would never lay upon the sight of the Lab Ray again.

“Thank you!” Rayd cried as he left the room.

“No problem, kid,” the voice said.

As Rayd began racing back home, a strange thought entered his mind. I have wings…

Wings that would able him to fly.

The thought alone made Rayd so excited, he didn’t even realize that he was spreading out his majestic wings, and running down the road to gain speed. He suddenly kicked his feet off the ground, and began soaring into the air. The feeling itself was so incredible! Rayd had never felt happier in his life, as he flew through the daytime sky, and gazed down upon the land of Neopia.

This is the real me, Rayd said to himself as he flapped his wings.

Five minutes later, Rayd gently landed at the front entrance of his home. He rang the doorbell, and waited for someone to answer.

A few seconds later, the door swung upon, and standing there was Reana.

“Oh my gosh! Rayd?!” she asked excitedly.

“Yup, it’s me,” he softly said.

“Oh, you look wonderful!” Reana cried. She opened up her arms, and placed them around her brother, giving him the warmest hug a pet could ever ask for.

“Hold on a sec! I’m gonna go tell Matthew!” Reana said.

“Wait!” Rayd exclaimed.

Reana swivelled her body around. “Yes?”

“When you’re telling Matthew about me turning into a Pteri, tell him that I’m not going to the Battledome.”

A look of confusion washed over Reana’s features. “Why?” she asked.

“I’m done, Reana. I can’t keep going on like this forever. There are more important things in life then the battledome, and one of them is family.”

A radiant smile formed across Reana’s lips. “Oh--welcome back, Rayd!” she exclaimed.

Rayd smiled as well. “It’s good to be back, Reana.”

***************

Of course, Rayd explained everything to Reana and Matthew that day. He didn’t go to the Battledome, and quickly became a laughing stock. But for Rayd, this didn’t matter. Because as I said before, there a more important things in life then fighting for fame and glory. And luckily, Rayd had finally realized this.

The End

Author’s Note; Hope you enjoyed #2 of the Zapped series! If you have any comments, I’d love to hear them! Thank you!