Ye Olde Escapade: Part One

Cunchicka, a speckled Kacheek with a big grin on her face, skipped excitedly into the Meridell entrance way. Beside her was her big brother Tidus, a sarcastic shadow Lupe. A giggling Polarchuck, Daisy, followed the Lupe while making a game out of trying to latch onto Tidus' back leg. Tidus kicked his paw out at her as an expression of disgust at the Petpet.

     Up ahead, another Lupe painted Halloween named Ramrod was busy counting the Neopoints their owner had given them. His sister, whom everyone liked to call Ketchup, had become a strong Fire Kyrii after visiting the secret lab for quite some time. Their sibling, Kachoo, who changed species and gender regularly, had not been able to come along with them as now she was the family's lab pet. The two of them turned their heads to see Cunchicka and Tidus walking along the rugged and aged road.

     Cunchicka spotted her friend Ketchup and ran the last stretch at her top speed while squealing gleefully, "Ketchup!" at the top of her lungs.

     "Hey, Cunchicka!" Ketchup hollered excitedly. "I didn't expect to see you here!" She then trotted over to the Kacheek, leaving behind her brother.

     Tidus nodded to Ramrod in a slightly calmer greeting, calling out, "Hey!" and continued walking at his leisurely pace. Little Daisy, unsure of whom to follow, jumped up on Tidus' back and held on to his ears with her little furry paws.

     Ramrod nodded to Tidus as the four pets banded into a single group. "So," he began, "would you two like to come along with us to play Kiss the Mortog?" He looked at everyone hopefully.

     Cunchicka nodded enthusiastically as Tidus responded, "Yeah, sure. We were heading over there anyway!" The group started down the road, laughing and chatting along the way. When they arrived at Kiss the Mortog, there was a short line backed up. Peering around the crowd, they noticed a blue Aisha throwing a temper tantrum about her lost Neopoints and refusing to step aside so the game could continue. Finally the green Grundo in charge persuaded the Aisha to step aside so that other pets could give the game a shot.

     "Gross! I'm not kissing one of those," Ketchup sneered, looking at the Mortogs.

     Ramrod rolled his eyes. "You don't have to actually kiss them, Ketchup, you just point to the one you think is a princess." The Kyrii simply ignored her brother and stepped forward in the line.

     "Next!" The green Grundo called out, annoyed. The group stepped forward, their eyes scanning over the Mortogs thoughtfully. "That'll be fifty Neopoints," The Grundo held out his hand as Ramrod handed over the money.

     "Which one should we pick?" Cunchicka asked, looking at Ketchup.

     "The one on the left," She decided, after a few moments of thinking. The four pets watched in horror as the Mortog Ketchup had picked exploded into bits.

     "Great job, sister," Ramrod told her sarcastically.

     The Grundo stuck Neopoints that were formerly Ramrod's into his pocket. "Ready for another go?" He asked cheerfully.

     "I'll try it," Tidus announced casually.

     The Grundo cackled and said, "Alright kid, but that'll be fifty Neopoints."

     Tidus slipped the Neopoints into the Grundo's outstretched hand, then gazed at the two Mortogs. After a second, he said quietly, "The left one." They waited for a second and to their surprise, the Mortog changed into a beautiful princess.

     "Way to go, Tidus!" Ramrod cheered.

     The Grundo looked disgruntled for a moment, then resumed his professional pose. "Alright, kid. Would you like to keep on going, or keep your pathetic one hundred Neopoints?"

     Tidus did not even turn to his friends for a decision. "I'm not done just yet," he told the Grundo with a smirk.

     Tidus watched carefully as the set of Mortogs changed and three new ones came up to stand in a line before him. He gazed at each one with steady and practiced eyes before saying again, "The left one."

     Again the group stared at the left one, and again, the Mortog changed into a princess. "You must be cheating somehow," The Grundo told him with a disgusted look on his face.

     Meanwhile, Ketchup, Cunchicka and Ramrod exchanged nervous glances. They watched as four new Mortogs appeared before Tidus. Everyone was silent. Finally, the red Lupe spoke up. "The left one," he beckoned to the Grundo.

     The Mortog's mouth puffed up and soon enough its entire body had exploded. "Too bad, kid," the Grundo said with a grin. "It looks like you don't win anything."

     Tidus turned around without saying a word to the Grundo. "Come on, Tidus," Cunchicka nudged him optimistically, "let's go somewhere else. We've already wasted one hundred Neopoints, and we only have nine hundred left. Not including our food money, of course."

     Daisy had been sitting quietly in a stupor while the pets played Kiss the Mortog. Not fully understanding the situation, the Polarchuck giggled as the group sullenly shuffled away. "Come on Daisy," Cunchicka told her. Turning to Ketchup, she asked, "Where should we go next?"

     Ketchup thought for a moment, then answered with renewed energy, "The Wheel of Knowledge! Can we go there? It might make me smarter!"

     "Yeah, right," Ramrod muttered. Thankfully, Ketchup, who was actually much stronger than him, did not hear that. The pets continued along a path that led them into the realm of Brightvale. They walked past the Motery, although none of them were quite sure what 'motes' were, they thought that they were pretty neat. Daisy sat comfortably on the back of an annoyed Tidus. Fifteen minutes later, they stood before the Wheel of Knowledge.

     "Who's going to spin it?" Cunchicka asked her friends with a smile on her face.

     "I think that Ramrod should," Tidus suggested, grinning at his friend. Ketchup and Cunchicka nodded in agreement, then waited for Ramrod.

     "The wheel does not go around until the five hundred Neopoints is in my hand," The Draik announced, stretching out his hand.

     "I'm beginning to dislike people who outstretch their hands," Ramrod muttered to Tidus as he dug into his rapidly emptying pocket and handed the Neopoints to the Draik.

     "Excellent," the Draik said, satisfied. Ramrod pulled a lever and the Wheel began rapidly spinning. Daisy giggled as she saw pictures of the Healing Faerie, the eight pointed Brightvale star, and King Hagan himself go whirring by. In fact, it was the picture of King Hagan that the Wheel stopped on.

     "Oh, you four are lucky," the words slithered out of the Draik's mouth. A small piece of paper appeared in his claws.

     "What do we get?" Ketchup asked, confused.

     The Draik responded, "King Hagan has chosen some wisdom to share with you. It is not often that this great opportunity is laid upon such young ones."

     "What's the wisdom?" Cunchicka asked impatiently.

     The Draik cleared his throat and read solemnly, "Brave warriors often eat an extreme amount of spice."

     Tidus stared at the Draik blankly. "That... did not make sense. At all."

     The Draik's eyes flashed. "Oh, but it did! Someday, children, you will see, this knowledge will come to good use."

     Ramrod growled. "No, it won't. That was just rubbish disguised as wisdom. Did King Hagan even write that?"

     "Of course King Hagan wrote this great knowledge and wisdom! It's the finest that I've seen in my life!" The Draik cried indignantly. Daisy mimicked the Draik's tone with a ear shattering squeal.

     "What books have you been reading?" Ketchup asked. "I think that we want our Neopoints back."

     "Neopoints will not be refunded. You are simply too young to understand the complexity of this wisdom," the Draik said formally. The pets had a funny suspicion, however, that he had said that line too many times before.

     "Let's just go back to Meridell," Cunchicka groaned. The four pets turned away from the Wheel as Tidus gave the Draik one last disdainful look.

     It was half past noon and the sky was clear and sunny when they arrived back to Meridell. "I'm starving," Ketchup declared.

     "Don't worry, Ketchup," Cunchicka replied, "there's a food court right over there!"

     "What do they serve?" Ramrod asked.

     "GRUEL!" The Kacheek shouted happily.

     The other pets stuck their tongues out and made faces while Daisy clapped her paws. "You're the only one who likes gruel, Cunchicka," Tidus moaned in disgust for his little sister.

     "Don't worry, they have other stuff too," Cunchicka assured them. They walked up to the food shop and Cunchicka pointed to an item. "See? They have stale bread and stone soup."

     "Oh great," Ketchup muttered as they bought their food. Their opinions showed on their faces as they cautiously took bites. Except Cunchicka, who was shoveling the gruel into her mouth as if it was going to run away.

     "So," Ramrod raised his head, politely shoving his half eaten meal out of the way, "I was kind of thinking we could go to the Symol Hole and throw Daisy down it for fun."

     "Yeah, that would be awesome!" Tidus exclaimed instantly.

     "I kind of wanted to go to the Pick Your Own farm, though," Cunchicka pleaded.

     "Yeah, me too," Ketchup acquiesced.

     "How about this..." Ramrod said to the Kacheek, "you and Ketchup can go visit the Pick Your Own farm while Tidus and I take Daisy to the Symol Hole. We'll all meet back here at three. Sound like a plan?"

     "Sure, sounds great!" Cunchicka nodded, taking one last bite of her gruel pizza.

To Be Continued...