The Fire and Ice Twins

      "So, you have accepted the truth, Aquarius. And are you sure you do not wish to battle? It is quite a mistake if you decline my merciful offer!" he warned, his devilish grin still smeared on his face. Aquarius, the gentler, good doing Maraquan Krawk, nodded without hesitation.

      "You will not defeat me, Ignatius. If we fight you will only meet your fate - one thing that I do not wish to happen to my own flesh and blood." Ignatius' eyes narrowed at the calm Neopet. He waved some of his men over.

      "Then you shall have your punishment for not cooperating as you were warned to," he hissed, as the men led a silent, not struggling Aquarius away from the dome.

      Outside the arena, a small part of Ignatius' men (which were Neopets of all species and colours) waited impatiently for their victim, about to pounce. When they spotted Aquarius, their faces lit up in a disgusting, demon-like way. They sneered at Aquarius.

      "Ah, so you are not intelligent! You did not accept our Master's pity. Not at all what all the rumours we heard were like," a Darigan Eyrie spat out, its grotesque claws grasping hard onto the Maraquan Krawk's right arm. Aquarius flinched slightly, but it was not noticeable to his torturers. The evil Neopets continued teasing and injuring him physically little by little. They spit on his body, ripped his already dirty and worn clothes, tugged on his tail, whacked him, beat him, and soon Aquarius was losing his patience. He had taken enough of it too nicely. It was time to strike back! He searched his surroundings carefully for good places to go to fast as the men, oblivious to his plans, pulled his head 'feathers', as they called them, and endlessly kicked his sides. Aquarius smiled brightly deep down in his heart when he found out the perfect plan. His gaze turned back to the lead Neopet in this group. The Shadow Lupe wasn't paying attention to him, just where his kicks landed. Suddenly, in a quick flash, Aquarius leaped up into a tall tree, making most of the men fall from the sudden movement.

      "Wha-a…?" one Neopet cried in amazement.

      "You rat!" another yelled. They all got up, and those who could fly bolted upwards. Aquarius grinned. This was all too easy. And to think his twin brother could have gotten more experienced Neopets for his service! He, using his great power of water, made sudden hailstones fall down from the sky and purposely hit those who were flying, and caused them to land. The hailstones got larger and larger, and the frustrated men shouted phrases of disapproval, disappointment, and anger. The Maraquan Krawk jumped onto a Neohome's marble roof and watched as the Neopets ran around blindly, hitting each other and tripping as they tried to make their way to him. He laughed again. But it was not over.

      "Aquarius, aun doigfs se pnestralin nhuxral!" a loud voice boomed. Aquarius stopped laughing and looked about. He knew that language. It was the language he had been taught as a boy, used to make water spells and a language that his mother said was important for him. Whoever it was, it wanted him to stop hurting and confusing the men. The Maraquan Krawk shouted back,

      "Oisk qutalle ytes? Swhi talle nofpra heswaen, tuwn med Ignatius! (Who are you? And why should I stop this, I am defending myself from my twin Ignatius!)" The Neopets below had stopped, and were quietly listening to this mysterious conversation between their prisoner and the anonymous voice. Their ears and eyes were alert to all things, concentrating on all the sounds.

      "Ignatius? Ao, sil ytes tronenil stetrum felri! Ytes lokfon rhepsn gratioulsi (Ignatius? Ah, so you know your brother of fire! You must fulfil your destiny)," the voice said more quietly this time. The Maraquan Krawk stood there silent for what seemed to be a long time.

      "Nro, miv nussien. Hlir miv amre, oln tyise! Miv nussien kisli MEd tuwn stetrum; Ignatius waslon frolisgt (No, I cannot. Here I am, in bonds! I cannot kill my twin brother; Ignatius will surely lose.)," Aquarius replied, his head bowed. He knew what this person wanted him to do. They wanted him, Aquarius, the prophesied Ruler of the Water, to defeat his evil twin brother, Ignatius, prophesied Ruler of the Fire.

      "Aquarius! Dorne tlir stialopf! Ytes lokfon feigt Ignatius, eor ilpsf ailp tiew ltospf! (Aquarius! Do not stall! You must fight Ignatius, or else all is lost!)" the voice cried out again. The Krawk was on his 'knees', head still facing the ground. The Neopets below stopped concentrating and started attacking the Neohome. Luckily, there was no one inside, so the owners were not killed by those ruthless servants of Ignatius. The Maraquan Neopet stayed where he was, and allowed them to take him away. They must have understood something, for they took him straight to their Master, without any further torture. Ignatius was still in the arena, laughing and chatting non-stop with his fans and fellow evil doers. When they arrived, he abruptly turned to them, and a scornful look was on his feared face.

      "Ah, my ignorant little brother. So you have reconsidered my proposal?" he sneered, his deep red eyes piercing Aquarius' light blue ones. There seemed to be some power released from those crimson marbles, for the other Krawk writhed in pain.

      "Ye-e-s, Ign-at-atius," Aquarius answered, his features all scrunched up from the Fire Krawk's fiery magic. "I have to fight you. It is against my own will, but I must do it for the good of all Neopia. And if I do not win, so be it." He lowered his head, and felt the bonds be taken from him. He shook out his arms, stretching and getting prepared. Ignatius watched in amusement.

      "You are brave, Aquarius. And you have been well trained. Very soon you will see the power of fire, and you shall turn to my side!" he chanted, as some of his personal attendants readied him. Aquarius, who was preparing alone, looked up.

      "No, brother, you are wrong. It is not I who will do the changing. It is you who will join me in the water! This is what was prophesied. I have the prophets on my side. Soon after we begin, I shall quench your flames." Ignatius just laughed, and in minutes they were led by referees to respective sides.

      "My lord Ignatius, are you ready?"

      "I was ready since I was born, Ref!" he shot at him. The referee sighed and called out,

      "Sir Aquarius, are you ready?" Aquarius nodded without hesitation.

      "Alright…BEGIN!" The audience cheered loudly. All of them were cheering for their feared Master, Ignatius, but secretly, everyone hoped the kind Maraquan Krawk would defeat him.

      Ignatius leaped at Aquarius, but the Maraquan Krawk was ready. He used a green sticky hand and grabbed one of Ignatius' most treasured weapons, a fire ball staff. Quickly he attached it onto his own belt, and put away his Green Sticky Hand. Ignatius gaped at the belt, and looking up, glared at his brother.

      "Oh, Aquarius, you're asking for it!" he yelled, charging again in an attempt to knock over the other Krawk. Using his Water Jelly Shield, Aquarius blocked the charging fire Neopet, causing him to bounce off uselessly. Into the battle now, he dodged Ignatius' third charge, and sent him billions of ice shards from his Ice Sceptre. Screaming in deep pain, Ignatius reached for his fire hammer, and threw it at Aquarius. His reflexes working fast, Aquarius managed to escape the powerful hammer, but left arm was scorched and a bit sore. He sucked in a breath of air, and grasped his arm. In a bit the wound was soothed and healed since he used his power of water. By this time, Ignatius had healed most of his cuts, and was now taking out a Fire Muffin. Aquarius concentrated on the flaming muffin, and as it came towards him at lightning speed, he was able to whack the dangerous muffin away with his Ice Sceptre. Squinting at Ignatius, he released a cold ice beam at him. At the same time Ignatius released a deadly fire beam at him! The bluish-whitish and deep red beams came dangerously fast at each other, going at top speed. What happened next still amazes every single Neopet present at the arena, and is still unbelievable to many.

      The beams met one another in a split second. At first there was a loud buzz, and then all of a sudden Ignatius and Aquarius were thrown to the ground, and when they tried to get back up, it was as if someone was holding them down. The beams were still met in the middle, buzzing.

      "Ah, are those Dueling Brothers that I see? By the names of Ignatius and Aquarius, the twin sons of a certain couple that was prophesied, the Chosen Fire and Water Lords?" Both brothers looked around, confused again. Aquarius was beginning to get scared by these mysterious voices. Ignatius bravely spoke up,

      "Whoever you are, and wherever you are, you have no business in what goes on between my brother and me. I was just about to defeat him, and turn him into one of us!" Aquarius rolled his eyes at this, and then he gave his wiser answer.

      "As my brother said, who are you? And yes, we are brothers, and we are dueling, and our names our Ignatius and Aquarius. But who is my father? I knew nothing of him. I only have a mother, and she passed on years ago, when I was merely a boy," he inquired. "And…Fire and Water Lords? How can that be? What must we do if we are such 'lords'?" The person chuckled, and again Ignatius had a confused look on his face.

      "But I only had a father, and no mother. I have never known of a mother," he murmured. The voice chuckled.

      "Can you not figure that out right now? You are twins. Your parents were the same. Therefore, Ignatius' father must be…"

      "…my father!" Aquarius cried out in joy, for he had finally found out he had a true father. Ignatius snapped his fingers.

      "And Aquarius' mother must be my mother!" he declared, grinning. The beams suddenly clashed together, and the ice beam, in seconds, quenched the fiery beam's flames. In that same moment Ignatius shouted out, again in throbbing pain, and he sounded as if his body was being torn apart, bit by bit, from the inside. A bright blue light encased him, and he floated upwards and hovered about 10 feet from the ground.

      "What in Neopia is going on here?!" he screamed, squirming around. But he could not move. The ice beam returned to the fallen Aquarius, and encased him. He floated upwards as well, and also stopped about 10 feet off.

      "Ignatius, Aquarius, listen carefully to my words. Ignatius, will you not leave the evil side of the fire?" The Fire Krawk defiantly shook his head.

      "Why should I? There is no danger of being on the evil side. Also, there is nothing in it for me if I turn away from it. Besides, it has captured me, and forever I shall stay in its strong grasp!" Ignatius roared. Aquarius was a bit taken aback by his outburst.

      "Ignatius, are you sure of this decision? If you are, then the kind, gentle boy I once knew has really gone for eternity…" the voice whispered in a sad tone. Ignatius seemed to be extremely thoughtful, but was silent.

      "My brother!" Aquarius cried out. "Have you already forgotten the stories our father must have told you? Have you not learned anything from those tales at all? If you do not change, Neopia is doomed. It is our only chance of becoming true, loving brothers." Ignatius glanced at himself. Then he glanced at Aquarius. He glanced down and looked at his servants. He looked back at Aquarius.

      "I shall change, dear brother. I will never embrace the demonic fire again! I shall use my powers for Neopia's citizens' good, never for their suffering!" he announced triumphantly, and somehow, the bubbles floated towards each other, and the brothers embraced.

      "Ignatius, I am very proud of your final decision, and I look forward to seeing the nice Krawk you once were again. And now, you are officially the Ruler of Fire, and you now possess all the fire powers. You and your people will be blessed forever and ever, my child," the voice declared. "And you, Aquarius, oh faithful one! You have treated everyone kindly since the day of your birth, and your doings in Neopia will never be forgotten. Your tale and adventures will be known to all Neopets, and for eternity your name will be admired and adored. You have just become the official Ruler of Water and Ice, and all the water and icy powers have been granted to you. Without your help, your brother would have never turned, and moments ago all of Neopia was depending on your wise words to save their lives." Aquarius and Ignatius smiled and shook each other hands.

      "Sorry, my brother Ignatius, for having to hurt you so much during our quick battle," the victorious Maraquan Krawk apologized. The Fire Krawk shook his head.

      "No, Aquarius. It was entirely my fault. If only I had turned before, I could have prevented all this trouble. I am terribly sorry for what I did to you before; give you to some of my men to torture and all. Oh, if only I was the one to receive the pain you suffered!" The two Krawks embraced again, and slowly the bubbles descended, and the audience began to cheer again.

      In time the two brothers had gone to all parts of Neopia, Kreludor, and the Virtupets Space Station and had helped greatly in some way. They fought off evil with their Fire and Water magic, and restored peace to many lands. Aquarius made rain fall on the driest places to help the Neopets grow their crops easier, and provided the thirsty with good, clean drinking water. Ignatius warmed the Neopets on Terror Mountain and other dreadfully cold places by providing them fire, and every Neopian was grateful for their help. The two lived a very long and good life, and centuries after their deaths, every single Neopet knew of their tale, for the story was passed on generation to generation. Each year the Fire and Water Twins were just admired all the more. So, they would live on for many years to come.

The End