The Danger of Clockwork Yooyus

     Now he came to his compatriot, Tandrak Shaye. Layton had more concerns with Shaye. The Gelert had been having trouble in the past with his health – and these daily games wore on them all. Vickles hoped Tandrak would be able to last the entire fleet of games.

     Shaye looked up from the magazine he was reading. “Heard the latest?” he asked, clearly amused. “There’s a rumour that the Cup Board says that we are to blame for the Darigan Yooyu’s existence.”

     Layton blinked, then scowled. “That traitorous little ball... It’s not our fault they sent us a bunch of normal-coloured Yooyus, expecting us to pay for those paintbrushes. We’re not exactly a rich club. And I did warn them of the supposed taint.”

     Tandrak laughed. “I know, I know. I just recall the expression on the Commissioner’s face when, as you informed him of that change, one of them ran at him.”

     “Dianythia wondered why I didn’t bring her with us to the Cup. And why I took her from a spare goaltending position to defence back-up.” Layton shook his head. “On a more serious note – will you make it through today? We can always send out Noctarne in your place.... I know he’s not as good as you are, but we can’t afford for you to be laid up.”

     “I’ll be fine, Layton. Besides, we can’t hold back any stops against Roo Island. Maybe against Mystery Island tomorrow or Tyrannia the day after.”

     “Not against Mystery Island, unless we have to.” Layton nodded. “Just keep away from the Clockwork ones. Remember – we’ll just go in for a single goal attempt, then just try to keep it away from our side, should it fail to go in.” The Hissi was about to say more when the warning call for the game went out. He gave Shaye a cautionary look, before the pair joined the others, and the five Darigan Citadel players entered the arena.

     Layton gritted his teeth in anticipation as they entered the Coliseum. Today would be a tough game – they had underestimated Roo Island two weeks before and paid the price. They would not today. The Hissi slithered forward to shake hands (well, a wing and a paw) with Lilo, the other team captain. He could see a hint of weariness plaguing the Blumaroo. “Daily games getting to you?” he remarked wryly.

     Lilo grinned. “They’re affecting everyone. But don’t think that’s going to make today any easier.”

     “Right. It will be a good game,” Layton replied. After shaking hands, the two captains returned to their sides of the field.

     The serpentine Neopet hissed in annoyance as the first ball was revealed to be Darigan. Hopefully this time it would not end up in their goal.

     Several traversings of the field later, the rebellious ball settled in the Roo goal.

     The next ball was a fire yooyu, and Roo moved quickly to tie the game at one game a piece.

     A Clockwork ball followed. Layton managed to win the toss-up and raced for his opponent’s goal. Not having time for a decent feint, Clutch Billaban caught it. As Layton fled, the other Roos moved in to prepare to catch the pass. The Pteri hesitated a moment too long, and the Yooyu flung itself out of his grasp, right at the Hissi as time was almost up.

     “’Ware, Vickles!” Lilo cried, hoping to get his attention before it was too late.

     The Hissi turned as the robotic ball reached him. He lacked any time to react, however, and the ball’s timer ran out as it made contact. His first thought was a regret on how tightly his sling was attached – he couldn’t use his wings for their intended purpose. His next thought was lost as he crashed into the stands and blacked out from the impact.

     The entire stadium was silent for a moment (even the blue Techo), before pandemonium ensued. The fans where he had landed (Darigan fans, as it happened) responded after recovering from their shock. Shedding giant puffy hands and pompoms (yes, they had all the team paraphernalia), the Neopian and her Darigan Lupe began attempting to administer first aid, while her Snow Eyrie took off to find the water faerie attending the event. As soon as the Eyrie returned with directions, she picked up the unfortunate Vickles and fled for the training room.

     Once there, the devoted fan set the player on the table for the faerie to examine, then stepped back. Maji, the faerie assigned to this game, looked the dazed Dariganite over. Once she’d come to a conclusion about his condition, word was sent up to the field.

     On the field, the game had come to a halt. Both Roo and Darigan players (even those from their bench) were gathered in the centre, waiting word. It was agreed between Tandrak and Lilo that the game would be delayed until they knew what was happening. However, the Gelert did look over their substitutes to determine who would fill in for the Hissi, as it was unlikely he’d be returning for the rest of the game. Once this was confirmed, Tandrak selected Noctarne, the one who Layton had wanted to fill in for him. The Darigan Kyrii was given a few minutes to warm up before the game continued.

     After the game had finished, Tandrak immediately headed to see his compatriot. Layton was awake, though still somewhat fazed. The faerie had worked some of her magic to ease the injury – he’d have to miss the next few days.

     “How did the game go?” Layton asked, as soon as he realized his team mate was there.

     “Noctarne filled in for you. He lacks your cleverness, however. I do think some experience will be good for the kid.”

     “And the final score?”

     “We managed to draw with Roo. Blumario was a good sport about it – he did want to be certain that you were going to recover, and he hoped we’d get to test our skills against theirs again in the final. Maji informed us that you’d be out for the next couple of matches – I was going to have our subs run some plays later, so they could test out what they saw on the field.”

     Layton nodded. “Good. I trust you’ll run the team well for the next few days.”

     “And I trust you’ll rest up. We’ll need you at full strength against Krawk Island,” Tandrak returned with a half-grin. With that, the Gelert left the room to return to the Darigan locker rooms and start practise.

The End