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HAUNTED WOODS - Hanging over him like a shadow, his dark past haunts him unmercifully.
He defends goodness but has yet to be forgiven. He is both Hubrid Nox's greatest
enemy and ex-slave. His name is Magax, and this article is about him.
Oh, in case you were wondering, I'm Sakura_MoonRose, the purple and blue Eyrie.
When The Neopian Times Appreciation Guild sponsored a series of interviews,
my owner volunteered to interview Magax. Of course, somehow or another, I
got stuck with the job, so I dragged my sister, Magaxana the blue Wocky (evidence
as to why owners should not be allowed to pick out Neopets' names after playing
way too much "Magax:Destroyer" for their own good) along with me.
After a couple of hours of wandering through the Haunted Woods, Xana and I
finally came upon the blue Wocky we were seeking. We had tried to set up an
interview with Magax via Neomail, but we could not find his address in the Neopian
Neomailbook. It had not occurred to us that there might be a reason for this
absence until we came upon him.
It just so happens to be that Neomail addresses only exists for Neohomes. Magax
does not live in one of these. Instead he haunts a graveyard, protecting it
from those with ill intentions.
Magax was floating above this graveyard when the two of us caught our first
glimpse of him. His silver earring glinted in the moonlight, and his garb was
dark grey. When we had come within a few feet of the wrought iron gate that
surrounded the graveyard, Magax descended till his feet almost touched the ground.
Magax: I take it you would like to interview?
Sakura: Uh... yes, actually. How did you guess?
Magax: I could hear you talking for the past hour, Sakura. I
would have called out, but I was hoping that you would not find me. The graveyard
is not safe. A ghost could appear at any moment. Hubrid Nox could return.
Sakura: Then we can interview them, too.
Perhaps I should not have acted so recklessly, but the unappealing idea of
all our walking being for naught egged me on. "Hand me my Scorchy Notebook and
Wobbly Pen," I commanded Xana. I will admit that that my ambition had somewhat
dwindled when it took her five minutes to find them. "What did you do? Bring
along the entire safety deposit box?" I growled at her as she began shoving
stuff back into her Green Backpack.
"No. I tried but it wouldn't all fit."
My cheeks flushing under my fur, I turned to Magax. "Shall we begin?"
***
Sakura: So, what do you like to do for fun?
Magax: I have no time for fun. I am devoted to keeping those who wish
to do evil where they are-whether it be in or out of the graveyard.
Sakura: Well, then what do you like to eat?
Magax: I adore just about anything shaped like a Chia. Lupe Treats are
my absolute favorite, especially the Gingerbread kind. It is so much fun to
pretend they are Hubrid Nox and then bite their heads off!
Sakura: You just said you didn't have time for fun.
Magax: Oh... well, what I meant was that I don't have time for deliberately
setting out to enjoy myself. I may amuse myself while performing necessary functions-such
as eating-but I don't have time to say, invite my friends over for a few games
of Cheat!.
Sakura: So you have friends?
Magax: A few Lupes I am acquainted with occasionally stop by with their
ripped Chia plushie collections, and we throw a few around. I like to pretend
they are Hubrid Nox and...
Sakura: And how does that fit into your 'necessary functions'?
Magax: Erm... I can't just turn them away; it would be rude.
Sakura: You tried to turn Xana and I away.
Magax: Do you want this interview or not? I can always stop talking,
you know.
Sakura: I did some research on you before coming here, and the Neopedia
contains a passage saying that the faeries will never forgive you for the crimes
you committed towards them. What were these crimes and why do they refuse to
forgive you?
Magax: Fyora is a technological, TV-headed, automobile...
Sakura: Watch your language Magax. This is for The Neopian Times!
Magax: As you may know, Hubrid Nox had once enslaved me. Under his control,
I engaged in activities that were... well saying they were "not very nice" would
be an excessive understatement. "Treasonous" might be considered a more suitable
word, especially in the faeries' opinion. I actually lived in Faerieland before
meeting Hubrid.
Sakura: How did you meet him?
Magax: I ran into him on an excursion through the Haunted Woods. A pack
of half-crazed Spyders were chasing me, and I was too preoccupied with trying
to make my legs move faster to pay enough attention to where I was going. My
feeble body could not defend me, and Hubrid forced me to drink a potion that
not only made me his slave but also rendered me able to float through air. He
equipped me with what he called the "Dark Axe," a weapon made of grey stone
from the Haunted Woods.
Sakura: So how did you regain your freedom?
Magax: While returning to the Haunted Woods one evening after a long
day of trying to form an alliance between Hubrid Nox and the pirates near Maraqua,
I saw a old Zafara tending to her Neogarden. Stressed out, I figured that I
deserved to have some fun after my hard day. I had nearly finished hacking the
heads off of all the flowers when the Chia police showed up, riding on armored
Unis. I defeated them and blew up half a block without any trouble to my body
or conscience. When I came back, however, and Hubrid was yelling at me for returning
late and failing in my mission, a thought just fell from the sky and hit me
on the head: Hubrid very much resembled the Chia police. They were all pudgy,
yellow Chias who thought that everyone should obey their every command. With
that revelation, I slipped out of Hubrid's control. With a blow from my Dark
Axe, I knocked him out and disappeared into the forest.
Sakura: So how were you converted from evil slave to defender of good?
Magax: After first gaining my freedom, I traveled as a rogue-I did whatever
I wanted whenever I wanted. I guess you could say that after tasting freedom
I wanted to bloat myself with it. Slowly, however, the sense of right and wrong
I once had began to return to me. I started searching for good deeds to perform.
I even helped the Zafara whose garden I destroyed get across the street, although
I don't think the height agreed with her. It was after Hubrid sent a legion
of undead Neopets after me that I realized what I needed to do in order to escape
my nagging guilt. I banished Hubrid's minions to a graveyard and have been guarding
it ever since.
Sakura: This graveyard?
Magax: Yes.
Sakura: So how did you come to own a Darklight Axe?
Xana: Let me guess! Did the nicer you became, the lighter the Dark Axe
grew until it glowed a dark green as a testimony to your dark past but brighter
future?
Magax: No... I accidentally dropped it in the Rainbow Pool while some
Eyrie was painting himself radioactive.
And that is the story of Magax. I could have asked him more questions, but
Hubrid Nox showed up and, erm... I didn't have enough paper to interview him,
so I left. I am sure Magax won, though, because if he didn't Hubrid would have
already taken over Neopia, and do you see any of his minions around? No, your
siblings don't count. Just remember, if it were not for Magax, the only thing
standing between Hubrid Nox and domination of Neopia would be, well look around
you. Kind of scary, isn't it?
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