When Neopia was new, and owners weren't like they are today, all of Neopia's
economy was based on mostly one thing-Lupe Fights.
It was a popular sport now, where Lupes would be trained to fight in a large
pit, usually to the end. No, always to the end. It was for Neopoints and glory.
No one cared for the loser. The winner seemed to be all that mattered to anyone.
The champion of these battling pits was Nekkar, a huge black Lupe who took no
prisoners. Just the sight of him could make any Lupe faint.
This is the story of a single Lupe fighter who discovers something that no
other Lupe had ever thought of before. He finds out that his past was all a
lie, and that his owner didn't really care for him.
I sat in the corner of my old, rusty cage. A chain was wrapped around my neck,
and tied to the wall of my cage. I chewed on an old bone and glared into pure
darkness. I had been in here for days, maybe weeks, possibly months-or even
a year! I couldn't tell, my cage was never opened, except for when I got a small
scrap of meat.
Then, a bright shaft of light sliced into my cage like a sword. I snarled.
Was I to be fed? No. Outside of my cage bars, I saw a man holding a whip and
a chain, and a young man wearing a leather and chains around his neck, wrists
and boots. He didn't look like the person that I would go well with. When my
cage was fully opened, I bark and snapped my jaws. The man with the whip crack
it in my cage, and I fell silent. My chain was grabbed and I was jerked from
my cage. All around me there were Lupes, just like me, in their cages.
The man in the leather drew something from behind his back. I leapt at him
and snarled, but a stinging pain hit my back as the whip lashed across me like
a flame. Behind his back there was a paint brush. I sniffed it, but backed away.
Then, the paint brush come to me, and I felt strange as it touched me. I watched
as I became purple on one side, and orange on the other. I looked at the man,
and he glared at me.
"This one will do," he said, and handed the man with the whip some
NP. Then, my chain was grabbed, and I was jerked down a hallway. I yelped and
tripped many times, as I had rarely walked.
The man holding me stopped and knelt down, then touched my head. I tried to
snap at his hand, but was slapped on my paw.
"I am Tarran, your trainer. You are to become a champion of the fighting
Lupes, and you will become the master," he said.
Master? Champion? Fighting? What was he talking about? Tarran seemed to read
my expression and laughed. He lead me out into a bright world, fully of people
and things. Strange creatures, and some Lupes who snapped at me. Tarran kept
me by his side with the chain, and explained the whole fighting to me. I was
the fight other Lupes? No, it was a sport, for glory and fame, money and wealth.
I could do that, I could fight. No problem.
Tarran took me to his house and cleaned me off, fed me, and then locked me
in a dark cage. I sat in the corner, crossed my paws, and lay my head on them.
Then, closing my eyes, I drifted into a deep slumber.
"Get up!" Tarran's booming voice echoed in my head. I jumped up and hit my
head on the top of the cage. Tarran was outside, holding a leash.
"C'mon, first fight in a bit! Hurry!" he yelled, opening the cage. I jumped
out, and the leash was around my neck.
We stepped outside, and I stayed close by Tarran's side as we walked down
the street. Then, we entered a huge arena. Tarran took me to the center and
sat me down in the dust.
"Win this fight," he told me sternly, and took me off the leash. I gulped.
He left the pit, and I began to whimper. I tucked my tail between my legs and
looked around. A cage nearby was opened, and a great skunk Lupe leapt out. He
snarled and the fur on his back stood up.
Desperately, I stepped back. The Lupe leapt at me. I ducked and evaded the
attack. Then, I turned around and slashed my paw through the air. Fur met my
paw's pads, and my claws stuck out. I gave the skunk Lupe a cut across his leg.
He yelped and leapt at me. We rolled over each other in the sand, teeth snapping,
claws slashing.
Then, my teeth found home. I felt the Lupe fall limp in my jaws. I stood there,
paralysed. Then, the crowd started to cheer. I had won! I dropped the Lupe and
kicked it away. I jumped up and down and barked.
My owner ran into the stands.
"Good job," he mumbled, and took me away.
My second fight left me scarred pretty bad, but I soon recovered and kept
on fighting. Tarran became rich and famous, and was invited into the NLFL, or
the National Lupe Fighting Leagues. I couldn't wait to go.
Tarran took me on a long trip across Neopia to the Lost Desert. There, we
met a man at an office. Tarran said, "Lupe Number 45777, split, male." The man
behind the desk looked through some papers.
"Tarran?" he asked.
"Yes," Tarran replied.
"All right, here's your fighting schedule. Your first one starts in fifteen
minutes. I suggest you hurry," the man said, handing Tarran a piece of
paper. Tarran left, reading the paper. He pointed to a word and began running,
choking me with a leash.
"You'll be fighting a fire Lupe, number 78764. I hear he bites low, so you
evade that, or else," he warned me. I looked at him and nodded. We entered the
arena. I stood there like I had done many times before. tarran left for the
stands, saying only one thing, "Or else," I heeded that a dive, and stood poised
for the Lupe to leap from the cage.
The metal bars opened, and from it a great fire Lupe leapt. It barked and
leapt at me, snapping low. I stood still until his jaws were an inch from my
chest. I bashed my head down and hit hit neck. The Lupe yelped in pain and tripped.
The wooden boards below the sand cut the Lupe's leg, and when the sand got in
it, the Lupe got very irritated.
I leapt, but so did he. His claws met my face, and I fell back. However, I
quickly stood up and charged at him. He swiped his claws at my feet, but I jumped
over them and landed on the Lupe's back, pinning him down.
I made one quick lash with my paw, and the Lupe was down. I howled my victory,
and Tarran began collecting money from Neopians, then grabbed me and took me
to the next arena.
I won every single fight, but the last one left my leg badly bruised. Now
I was to fight Balthazar, the most powerful of all Lupes, and the champion of
the pit.
I stepped into the arena. The stands seemed to touch the sky. At the other
side, a huge blue Lupe stood, growling, his muscles looking like long chords
of power. But I could beat him, I knew it.
We leapt at each other, and Balthazar's claws swung at me. I ducked and kicked
him in the stomach. He fell back, but at the same to bit my paw, dragging me
down with him. I barked and lashed at his nose. He let go, and I spun back into
the sand. Balthazar kicked me 3 times before I managed to get up. I bit his
leg and threw him to the ground.
I stood over the wounded Lupe, preparing to make the final blow. I raised my
paw, looking into the Lupe's face. Then, I noticed something.
I was doing this for my owner's greed and wealth. He wanted to be rich and
powerful, just by making me destroy innocent Lupes. That wasn't right. I lowered
my paw and looked at Balthazar. I couldn't destroy him. Not for my owner. I
was a slave of the almighty Neopoint.
"Destroy him!" Tarran yelled. I looked at Balthazar. Tarran came into the pit
and screamed, "Destroy him, you idiot of a Lupe!" he yelled. He reached me, and
I bit his hand. Balthazar roared and grabbed me.
"I can't destroy you!" I cried out to him through a whimper. "You
are doing this for greed!" I cried out to him, and Balthazar stopped. I
saw a look in his eye, one that made me not think of him as a brute, but a kind
and loving Lupe.
"You're right. I-I-I never realised that," he stuttered, and put me down gently
on the dust.
"Destroy him! Obey me!" Tarran yelled, slapping me. I locked my teeth around
his hand again. Balthazar picked up my owner and threw him. Thudding in the
dust, Tarran got up and looked at me.
"I thought you cared for me, we were a team!" he yelled. I ran up
to him and grabbed the Neopoints from his belt, not even looking him in the
face. It seemed like a dishonour.
Turning to the crowd, I opened the sacks and gave the money back to the people
who rightfully deserved it. They understood, they knew what I was doing. Tarran
seemed to be the only one who didn't know.
Tarran was banished from Neopia, and I created a good bond, a loving one,
between owners and their pets. I was finally in my place, and felt proud of
Neopia. I was a Neopian.
The End | 
