Sparkle and Shine (20 May 2013)
It's been over a week since the official opening of the Colosseum for Altador Cup VIII, but it wasn't until today that the winners of last year's AC finally arrived. When asked about the reason for the delay, especially since the team's strategy for ACVII had been to make the transition to Neopia early, Kreludor forward Zenor Kevix responded with a sheepish grin; "Well, we had....... other things pressing on our minds this year." When questioned further, the Grundo gave a sigh and finally explained; "To be honest, the whole team ended up getting involved in the battle for the Obelisk a little while ago. It wouldn't have been a problem, except I joined the Red Erisim, Coco and Jurin went with the Sway, Derlyn chose the Awakened, and Qlydae fought for the Brute Squad. Being with different factions caused a huge split among the team, especially since Coco and Jurin wouldn't stop doing their victory dance after their side won," he added with a glare. "Things got so bad that our practices were being affected," he continued, "So our coach decided it would be best if we stayed on Kreludor until everyone cooled down a little." In what will no doubt be a huge sigh of relief for KD fans, all five members of the squad answered to the affirmative when asked if things were finally back to normal, though it should be noted that Coco Metrone brought along a Handmade Duchess Plushie to keep in the team's locker room.
The moon had long risen over Altador by the time the ship carrying Team Terror Mountain docked in the harbor. One by one, the weary players disembarked from a boat which looked as though it had been in a prolonged battle with a giant sea squid. "It's starting to feel like the weather has it out for us this year," goalie Minae Mitora told a reporter who happened to be at the docks looking for color commentary to include in his next article. "Our plan was to be here early this year, so we set sail from a port just outside of Tyrannia nearly two weeks ago." She went on to describe the massive hurricane which blew up when the ship was only a few hours out. "The captain tried to make it back to land, but it was no use. We eventually wound up in a lee behind Lutari Island, where we were forced to ride out the storm for almost five days until the winds had subsided enough for us to set out again." The Chia, apparently exhausted just in the telling of the story, trudged off towards the Colosseum, and her teammate Rinok Fitel picked up where she left off. "We had to stop several times to make critical repairs to the ship," he said, "And the food and water ran so low these last few days that everyone went on emergency rations. At this rate, we wouldn't be surprised to see an earthquake or tornado heading our way."
With a full two-thirds of the teams reporting for duty, the Colosseum has begun to ring with the sounds of Yooyuball at all times of the day and night. Fans from all over Neopia continue to stream into Altador, eagerly anticipating the friendly battles and fierce rivalries in the biggest sporting event of the year.