The Silent Warrior

     SEAGLA55 trained at the Mystery Island Training School. While Tallulah had many other Neopets, she put most of her attention into SEAGLA55. Or at least…so everybody thought.

     One day, Tallulah was going to send her warrior into battle with Kavura. Kavura readied herself for the plucky Kougra.

     Everyone was waiting to see SEAGLA55 kick Kavura’s Kau butt. But what was that? It sounded like…hooves.

     A hooded Neopet entered the arena without a word.

     “You have quite the nerve to come to fight me,” Kavura said but elicited no response from the mysterious warrior.

     Kavura, shrugging to herself, lunged at the warrior with an exploding potion. Just before it struck, the warrior quickly brought a necklace out from under her cloak and created a water shield to defend herself. Only Kavura saw it clearly, though the crowd saw a glint as the warrior brought it out. The warrior brought out a scroll from her cloak pocket and read it aloud. Instantly, Kavura knew it was the scroll of the sea! She had no time to move before a gigantic, saltwater wave crashed down on her, nearly drowning her. Too weak to fight more, she was defeated. After the mysterious warrior saw she was down, she left as silently as she had come.

     Who was the warrior? The question was on the tips of everyone’s tongues as the hooded figure defeated many, many more challengers. SEAGLA55 was still seen in the arenas, though sometimes at nearly the same time as the hooded warrior. The mysterious warrior always fought in absolute silence, and so the people dubbed her ‘the silent warrior’. Nobody knew her name. It was impossible to sight her out of the arena, and nobody knew what she looked like because of that hood. Even if people hung out near the entrance or exits of the arenas in hope of seeing the mysterious fighter, all they saw was a quaint-looking Blue Ixi, Tallulah's pet Trixi.

     The silent warrior fought many challengers, but her regulars seemed to be Kavura, S750 defender Kreludon robot, and various other challengers leaning towards the side of weaker fighters. Once in a while, the silent warrior fought harder opponents, but, as the public noticed, most of her fights were in less watched arenas. This puzzled the public-with such a gifted warrior, why didn't Tallulah show off more?

     One eventful day, the silent warrior challenged Tekkitu the witch doctor. It was known that one of Tallulah’s biggest dreams was to defeat Tekkitu, ever since she first entered SEAGLA55 into the arena. But everyone expected her to send in SEAGLA55 to defeat him since she was Tallulah’s favourite. Imagine everyone’s excitement when instead of SEAGLA55, the silent warrior entered the arena. A gasp went up from the crowd at the hearing of the only noise the silent warrior ever elicited-the clop of her hooves-beat down on the grass.

     Silent as ever, she readied herself for battle.

     Tekkitu was unsurprised. He raised his staff-everybody thought he was going to strike, but surprisingly, instead, he hooked it under the silent warrior’s hood and pulled her hood off! With a gasp, the crowd saw a Blue Ixi - Tallulah’s pet, Trixi! Tallulah had been training Trixi at night in the training schools; that was why Tekkitu had been unsurprised - he recognised her from the school. Trixi carried on as if she still had on her hood, defeated Tekkitu with her magical scrolls, and walked back out without a word. Tallulah came in and picked up her hood. To this day, nobody knows why Tallulah was so secretive with Trixi’s training and battling - some think that Trixi was shy, others that Tallulah just wanted a little mystery to her name. Perhaps SEAGLA55 needed a break - she certainly fought less when Trixi was battling! Some people started to grow suspicious - maybe Trixi wasn't even the silent warrior! For all they knew, Trixi could have just been a decoy to throw them off the trail. Other people thought that Trixi was a coward, and that was why she wore a hood. Still, others believed that Trixi isn't even real! (Though, how would that work out?) The public started to murmur, then there was a protest against Trixi's hood! Luckily, Tallulah and her pets were a roving group, so the mob didn't quite know where to find them. But Tallulah heard about it, and it made her worried.

     The next day, she sent the silent warrior into the central arena. The crowd murmured - Tallulah and the silent warrior usually avoided this place, except for battles with Kavura! - and then, they noticed that the silent warrior had no opponent! Tallulah was standing beside the warrior. She spoke loud and clear.

     "I have heard about the rumours flowing around about Trixi and me. I assure you Trixi and I are not trying to trick you. The reason I was so secretive I will not tell, but it is for good. Please trust me. We are on a quest for the good of Neopia."

     The public, of course, didn't trust this at all. They wanted proof.

     Before long, they had proof. Trixi, under her cloak, entered the arena one day - the central arena. Her opponent was a secret - nobody knew who it was - and imagine the crowd's surprise when in walked Jhudora! The collective gasp ran through the crowd. Maybe this was why Tallulah had been so secretive!

     Jhudora cast spells and threw potions, and the silent warrior read scrolls and unleashed battlecards (a new move of hers). They appeared evenly matched; neither of them got the upper hand until Jhudora dipped her fingers in a potion from her pocket, lifted them to the sky, and started literally bringing down the sky! The dome groaned at the pressure being put on it. Glass shards and rock dust started falling down. The silent warrior read all of her scrolls, but in vain - Jhudora was bringing the entire ceiling of the dome down! The silent warrior suddenly stopped, seeming to think of something. She tossed off her hood and charged at Jhudora with her Ixi horns level with Jhudora's abdomen. She struck Jhudora, who emitted an "oof!" as Trixi made contact. She collapsed, and a chunk of the ceiling collapsed with her - crushing her and effectively defeating her with her own magic. A shocked silence ensued, and then a wild cheer went up. Neopia was finally freed of at least one of the imminent threats to it. Jhudora would no longer be able to collect ingredients for her now - forever-unfinished potion, terrorising her helpers while doing so.

     Tallulah came into the arena and rushed to Trixi, whom she hugged snugly. "You did it," she said, hoarsely, in Trixi's ear. She then addressed the crowd:

     "Now you see why I was so secretive. Are all of you satisfied now? Do all of you believe me when I say it was for the greater good?"

     The crowd left no doubt; everyone cheered at the top of their lungs.

     Some say that now Tallulah and Trixi are after Sloth. Maybe so, maybe not - but many think that whether or not they decide to take on Sloth, they'll probably defeat him, even though he doesn't play fair. For now, Trixi needs to rest - but soon, the hooded warrior will be back, fighting for the better cause. You can count on that.

     The End.