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Prologue
As we continue with the tournament you will see why
it is so important to the story... Trust me, I wouldn't have noticed it at first
but it is the main turning point in this tale... Prepare to witness the last
half of The Battledome Tourney...
Raven hugged Viper when he returned to the waiting
room while Kar and WolverineX2 fought for third place. "See, you've already
won us an automatic twenty grand!"
"Guess so." He tapped Einstein on the shoulder.
"What can you tell me about DrakenFireXL?"
"Umm..." He searched the records. "There's not
much here."
Viper nodded irritably. "Well, not much is better
than none."
"Okay, well, he's a southpaw, like you... and
he's pretty much never been beaten."
"Great," said the mutant flatly as WolverineX2
took third place. "I gotta go."
When Viper entered the arena, the crowd burst
into applause. He had become a favourite among many owners and Neopets. Not
many of them had seen such exciting battles. This cheered Viper up and boosted
his confidence.
From across the arena Draken eyed Viper wrathfully.
This is my best idea yet; killing the traitor during a battle and making
it look like an accident! Draken stroked his precious mini Frost Cannon
behind his back. Just you wait.
Without warning the ref. ran into the arena.
"Now, the Class Three finals are to take place! To the victor goes the thirty
thousand Neopoint grand prize! May the best Neopet win!" yelled the Gelert excitedly,
though Draken was thinking, 'Or may the smartest Neopet win!' The two
pets heard the whistle blow.
Without any hesitation, Draken pulled out his
shiny black weapon and pulled the trigger. An orb of light exploded from it,
just barely missing Viper. The mutant looked in awe at the wall just behind
him. There was a large chunk that had fallen off of it and it was cracked all
over. The Lupe was frightened. He knew that no normal Battledome weapon could
do that. Viper turned back to look at the deadly weapon, which had made the
damage, and then he looked at Draken whose face was shadowed by his oversized
cowboy hat.
Desperate to show no fear, he howled and charged
the Kougra. Draken pulled back the trigger again and gulped when nothing happened.
It had jammed. He hit the barrel of the weapon, but still it did not unclog.
Viper's charge hit Draken full on and knocked him to the ground. The blocked
handheld Frost Cannon flew from Draken's left paw and hit the back wall. That
wasn't his only weapon though. As a last resort, he'd also brought a handy little
switchblade with him. Sure, it wasn't nearly as clean and promising as the mini
Frost Cannon, but at least it would do the job.
Using all of his strength, the Kougra threw
the Lupe off his chest, rolled back onto his feet, and pulled out the knife
hilt. He pressed a button on it and a sharp metal blade popped out of it. Just
as Viper started to get up, Draken through the dagger. This time his aim was
true. Viper pulled the dagger from his chest's side, breathing heavily.
Back in the stands, Einstein and Raven gasped
in horror as they looked at the score board. It read, 'HP: 1/70'.
Using every last ounce of strength that remained
in Viper's body, he stood up and, teeth bared and claws spread out, he launched
himself at Draken who was absentmindedly thinking of his payment. Viper's claws
dug into Draken's chest, and the charge knocked the Kougra into the wall at
full force. A jolt shot through Draken and he was unconscious before he even
hit the ground. From somewhere, the whistle blew to signal the match's end.
* * *
After a few hours' recovery at the Neopian Hospital, Viper returned to the
Battledome to collect his prize money. Draken had been disqualified for the
use of illegal weaponry, so second place was split between Viper and WolverineX2.
In other words, he went home with a grand total of forty thousand Neopoints
instead of thirty.
s for Viper's recovery, he was now so bandaged
up that he could have passed for a mummy, no problem. Lucky for him, the knife
was small, so the wound was shallow. Actually, compared to his re-broken shoulder,
the stab wound was nothing. And compared to what was still to come, his re-broken
shoulder was nothing...
* * *
Chapter VI-The Museum
"So?" growled the chief commander, his chair still turned. Behind him stood
two rueful looking agents. They were Scorpion and Draken. Draken had a bandage
across his eyebrow where he had got stitches from the afternoon's battle.
"W-well, we have s-some good n-news and some
bad news," stuttered Scorpion nervously.
"Good news first," grunted the boss rather happily.
He thought that his betrayer was dead.
"Okay, we have some bad news, then," corrected
Draken bravely.
"He's alive, then." The two failures nodded
and braced themselves for their boss's fury.
"INCOMPETENCE!!! I AM SURROUNDED BY INCOMPETENCE!!!"
roared the chief commander, causing his agents to flinch. The boss took a deep
breath and hissed, "Are you true Serpent Thieves or not?" He hardened his tone
a bit. "You ask for a week; I give you a week. What happens? Still, YOU FAIL!"
"W-what's going to happen to us?" asked the
Gelert, scared.
"Never you mind. You will serve your purpose
soon enough. But for now we have our own, shall we say, unconscious allies on
our side."
"Who?" asked Draken.
"The NCPD, of course."
"But how? You're wanted all over Neopia."
"I have my ways... now leave!" ordered the boss.
The Gelert and the Kougra nodded gravely and backed out of the soundproof office,
shutting the thick door behind them. He laughed maniacally. "Doppelganger, it's
your turn now."
* * *
"Well, at least it's not raining," sighed Raven as she and her two pets stood
outside, watching construction workers enter and exit their NeoHome with all
sorts of tools. Raven had decide to use half of their winnings to make some
long-needed repairs on the house, including a new paint job; a new couch and
27" TV; a new bed for herself; a nice cream carpet for the entire floor; and
a brand-new fridge. The construction Neopets kicked them out of their own house
while they did their work, so now Raven and her pets were waiting outside even
though they knew it would be more than a few hours.
All of a sudden, a resounding thunderclap sounded
overhead closely followed by a flash of lightning. Then, even more unexpectedly,
a curtain of rain poured down from the heavens, soaking them from head to toe.
Viper groaned. "Spoke too soon." Raven and Einstein
exchanged glances. "Well, we can't just stand here!"
Einstein frowned at him. "Well no duh, Brainiac!
But where can we go? It's a Saturday afternoon; everywhere is gonna be jam-packed!"
Raven covered her head with her sweatshirt's
hood and thought for a second. "I know it'll probably be the most boring place
in Neopia, but there is the Neopian Museum. At least it'll be near empty."
Viper stood on his hind legs and held his arms
up at his sides like a cross. "Let's see..." He waved his left paw. "Get bored
to death in a museum or," He waved his other paw, "sick in bed for a week with
a bad head cold." He then leaned over to the left, so much that he almost fell
over.
Raven nodded and looked at the little Eyrie.
"No objections."
To be continued...
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