| Morrison the Kacheek lived a happy life in the Mystery Island
home where he and his owner, slamdown2256, and his other pet, the_wizzy_wizard
the Zafara, resided. They got up at noon each day, ate a scrumptious meal of omelettes
and Neocolas, then went out to do some exploring. Every day, it was the same routine,
but this did not bother them. This was the routine that one could get used to.
Yes, it was a great life.
There was just one small problem. Morrison hated
the Battledome. Whenever they went there, the_wizzy_wizard would fight, and
usually he would win (being a strong Zafara and all), but Morrison merely hid
his eyes as he watched Punchbag Bob get pummeled. Of course, Morrison was rooting
for his brother, but he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would cry.
Morrison was not weak, no sir. He was an able-bodied Kacheek, his stats were
admirable, and he knew how to hold his own whenever necessary. Unfortunately,
an incident there when he was a baby left him shaking whenever he went near
the Battledome.
Unfortunately for Morrison, the Battledome is
where our story starts.
It was a warm spring day. The sun shone brightly
on the grass in Neopia Central. The flowers gave off an aroma that seemed to
scream at you, "Sniff me...", and the wind was a calm breeze. You would think,
on a day like this, Morrison would be happy. That was not the case. He was in
the Battledome, along with slamdown2256 and the_wizzy_wizard. They were registering
to fight in the tournament later that day. The_wizzy_wizard was going to fight.
Morrison was not.
"But why not?" said slamdown2256.
"I don't want to. I'm scared," said Morrison.
"Scared of what?" demanded slamdown2256. "You're
stronger than any pet I've seen here!"
"Hey!" said the_wizzy_wizard.
"Okay, the second strongest," added slamdown2256.
"Are you saying," said Morrison, who looked
as though he was about to explode with rage, "you think that my brother is better
at this than me?"
Suddenly, slamdown2256 had an idea. "Yes. I
do think so. So what do you say to that?"
Morrison sucked up his breath, and proclaimed,
"Well, if he is, what am I doing here?" So much for the great reverse psychology
technique.
Slamdown2256 knew about that incident, but said
nothing. As far as Morrison knew, he knew absolutely nothing about those events.
The Wocky clerk came back with a long piece
of paper and said, "Bad news, sir. He didn't make it." Before one could be entered
in the tournament, he or she had to pass a rigorous physical examination. The
three of them gasped. Morrison thought that the_wizzy_wizard performed it admirably.
The Wocky clerk looked at Morrison. "Say, what
about him?" he said.
Slamdown2256 merely looked down at Morrison.
Morrison looked into those eyes and knew that if he was going to get rid of
his fear, he would have to start now.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE FIRST
ROUND OF THE BATTLEDOME TOURNAMENT!" The resonant voice echoed throughout the
arena. Morrison stood inside, shaking a jelly caught in a stiff wind. His opponent
had not yet arrived. He saw slamdown2256 and the_wizzy_wizard watching, and
he waved. They waved back.
Then, suddenly, the door opened, and Morrison
saw his competitor.
He was a Grarrl. He must have stood six feet
high, weighed several pounds more than him, and had tremendous sharp claws that
looked as though they could tear him apart. This reminded him of the Battledome
trailer. The only difference was, he was sure he was a roast chicken this time.
He knew no abilities, had no tremendous special powers, and had only a Trumpet
of Blasting and a Level 1 Bubble Beam. The Grarrl charged. Morrison knew he
had to act fast. He tried the Trumpet. No good. He tried the beam. No good either.
Then, out of no will of his own...
"ACHOOOOOO!" It was a tremendous Kacheek sneeze.
Morrison looked up, and saw the Grarrl sprawled out on the ground.
In round 2, he faced a Moehog. He tried the
same strategy, and charged. Morrison looked around. He tried to sneeze, but
couldn't. He decided to look less dangerous, to buy himself some more time.
He smiled.
"AAARRRRGGGHHH!" The Moehog lay on the floor,
moaning. The Kacheek Smile did it! It blinded him! Morrison then decided to
attack fiercely. The Moehog surrendered.
In the third round, things began to get nasty.
A Lupe attempted (it seemed) to bite his head off. He was disqualified, and
Morrison advanced.
In the quarterfinals, the Scorchio he was supposed
to fight got a bad case of NeoFlu and had to leave.
In the semi-finals, he faced off with a Level
1 JubJub. He took one look at Morrison and quickly ran away, screaming like
a banshee.
In the final round, he was paired up against
a Skeith. This fellow ran at him and slammed him to the ground. He turned and
slammed Morrison again and again. As he prepared to make the final blow, Morrison
said, "If he does that one more time, I'm finished!"
The Skeith turned and charged. But it seemed
those body slams had taken a lot out of him. He fell over and began to snooze.
He was disqualified.
They went home that day with a trophy and 5000
Neopoints. Morrison went home with one other thing: a new-found courage. No
one could ever say he was a coward again.
By the way, you're probably saying to yourself,
"What was the deal with that 'incident'"?
There wasn't one. Morrison had a bad dream.
The End
Author's Note: If I used the names of any owners or their pets, I apologize.
Consider it some free publicity. =)
This story is dedicated to poopyoopy13 the Ixi, sammyslammy12 the Scorchio,
tribute_90 the Aisha, and poopyoopy2000 the Kacheek, who provided the model
for Morrison. Thanks to them for making Neopets worthwhile for me. =)
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