Lebki woke with a start. Today was the day she had long waited for-- today
she'd finally enroll in the Mystery Island Training School! But instead of feeling
proud, the little yellow Aisha felt nervous. "But what if I can't do it?" she
asked.
Her owner, leb388, appeared at her bedroom door. "Lebki! You're going to miss
your lesson!"
"I don't want to go," she mumbled.
"Are you sick?" asked leb388. "Y'know, once Pegaususmon3--"
"Was sick and needed Neopkins, but there was a Neopkin shortage," Lebki mumbled.
She was so tired of that story.
"I took her to the Healing Faerie, and she instantly got well," continued leb388.
"Y'know, someday you'll have to learn all of the tricks and advantages of other
worlds. You're getting to be older now."
"Growing up is too hard," said the little Aisha.
Leb388 thought for a moment. She had never heard that question from Pegasusmon3.
"You're just nervous; you'll be okay. C'mon! You want to get stronger, don't
you?"
Before she knew it, Lebki was out the door of her NeoHome. Her older and stronger
sister, Pegasus, was on vacation, and staying at the Neopian Lodge. Pegasus's
pet, a Poppit, was left for Lebki to take care of. She liked the Poppit, but
the little Aisha wished for a pet of her own.
"A Kadoatie would be nice," she said as she walked. "Pink. Pink is my favorite
color. But I wouldn't say no to a Poppit like Pegasus has, or..."
"Hold on," said leb388. "A pink Kadoatie? Those go for tens of thousands of
Neopoints. It's hard enough paying for your lessons." She pulled up the hood
of her coat to keep warm against the wind.
"Well, why don't we go to the Swashbuckling Academy?"
"Because," said leb388, "I don't want you trained by a bunch of pirates."
"Oh," she said. But then she suddenly remembered-- "Oh no!"
Leb388 turned. "What?"
"I forgot my Tombola coin!" yelled Lebki, running back toward their NeoHome.
Leb388 followed, confused.
"Uh-oh," thought leb388. "I left the house unlocked!" She ran faster, even
though the wind was blowing hard.
When they got there, they saw:
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!" cried leb388. "My new codestone! And Pegasus's
Poppit!"
"Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" shrieked the Pant Devil. He had them, a Mau
Codestone and a little Poppit, held greedily in his ghostly fingers. "Come and
get them!" he snarled.
Leb388 had expected something more challenging than the Pant Devil. "Do you
really want me to?"
"Bring it on!" retorted the Pant Devil.
Suddenly, they were in the Battledome. How that happened, we may never know.
Lebki turned to her owner. "What are you going to do?"
"Battle!" she called, glaring at the Pant Devil. "But--"
Lebki had never been to the Battledome before; her owner hadn't wanted her
to get hurt. After all, she was such a young NeoPet, with no experience. But
now she was her owner's only hope. She had to defend her home. Lebki stepped
up to battle.
"Oh, Lebki," gasped her owner, "can you do it?"
Lebki nodded.
"Heh, you'll like the new Hidden Tower weapon someone left for me to take!"
teased the Pant Devil. He attacked Lebki, but she defended most of it. Aishas
are great at defence.
"Lebki!" called leb388. Why had she let her fight in the first place?
"Ha! I knew that little NEWBIE couldn't fight."
Something stirred up inside of Lebki. She was young. In Neopian school, she
had been laughed at because she wasn't very smart or strong. A newbie? How dare
he!
"I'm ready! I can do it!" said Lebki with absolute confidence. She wasn't a
newbie. She would show that Pant Devil. Gathering her strength, Lebki used her
only ablility--Pebbles.
A wave of little rocks shot at the Pant Devil. He laughed.
Lebki was on the verge of crying. "That's it!" she called. With all her energy,
she conjured up the biggest- and best- pebble Neopia had ever seen.
"What the--?" The rock hit the Pant Devil, knocking him from the air. He dropped
the Mau Codestone and the Poppit to the ground. The Poppit, of course, bounced.
"I'll get you Lebki!" he yelled, half hovering, half limping, away.
Leb388 rushed to the Aisha's side.
"I did it!" Lebki said. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She had saved her owner's
life, her home, and her possessions. She was a hero.
"About that PetPet," said leb388, smiling, "you really deserve one. I'll try
to get you the best. I guess you don't need that lesson in the Training School,
do you?"
Lebki returned the smile. Her very own PetPet!
The two of them returned the Poppit and codestone to their home, and instead
of going to the Mystery Island, they went to the Neopian Marketplace. At the
main PetPet Shop, there were spooky PetPets, cute ones, fuzzy ones, mean ones,
and adorable ones.
"You can have a Kadoatie," said leb388. "Even though they're expensive, they're
what's popular for an Aisha like you."
But Lebki wasn't listening. There in the very back of the store, was--
"Oh, that," mumbled the shopkeeper, distracted. "That's a Selket. Nobody wants
it because it's really shy and weak. It's not a very good PetPet."
But she had made up her mind. Pointing to the ladybug-like thing, she said,
"I'll take it."
Walking out of the shop, her owner asked cautiously, "Are you sure you want
that? I could have bought you something better, something already trained."
"No," said Lebki. She didn't want something strong, powerful, and popular.
It's what's inside that counts.
The little Selket shivered against the cold. Lebki hugged him. Her wish for
a PetPet had been granted. "He's perfect."
The End | 
