Hi! My name is Mutant_Mike. As you can see, I'm not exactly like other gnorbus. I'm....different. But Mom says I'm adorable. I love the way I look too. You're probably guessing why I'm a mutant too, aren't you? Well...it all started out when I was a simple kougra.....

My mom always had a dream. A mutant gnorbu. She had already had 3 pets, but she felt like she was missing something. Meanwhile, I was a happy (not to mention nameless)green kougra. I played in the field around Neopia Central with the rest of my kougra friends, but there was something wrong. Every day, it was the same thing. The same pets, the same field, even the same foods! I wanted to be different. So, I decided to go on a little trip. I said goodbye to my closest friends and I was off to the unknown parts of Neopia.

I was always different from the rest of the kougras. I would go to every pond or stream I could and taught myself to swim. I would also try to learn about the different kinds of lands in Neopia, but most of the other guys ruined my studies, so went I went out on my little trip, I knew nothing besides Roo Island and Neopia Central. I had heard about a Jelly World, but it was obvious that wasn't possible. I started to walk south for a long time. I ran into a pteri along the way. "How long until the nearest city?" I asked her. "Ha! Buddy, you've got a long way," she answered. I grumpily kept walking. Before I knew it, I ran into some sand. Oh no, I thought, this can't be good. But then I saw a puddle beside me. Wait, it was an ocean! I couldn't help myself. I ran into the pool and started to swim. And swim. And swim. Before I knew it, it was dark and stormy. I was all alone in the middle of the empty ocean.Then, I sank, lower and lower into the ocean.

Ahoy! Ye lad be wakin'!" yelled a voice. Everything was blurry. "What's going on? Who are you people?!" I screamed. I seemed to be aboard a ship. Some of the older kougras had told me about them. "Aye, ye be scarin' the lad, Russel!" A pirate chomby and blumaroo stood in front of me. The chomby stepped forward. "Ahoy there. I be Vex, the captain of the Smuggler II. This here," he poked the blumaroo with his wooden leg, "is part of my dim-witted crew. This scallywag's name be Russel. Ain't it, ye stupid tingy?". Russel scowled."Well, at least I'm a little kind." He glanced at me. "We found ye holding onto a rock. If we wouldn't have found ye, who knows what woulda happend?" I nodded. I still wonder.

The next couple of months, I traveled with the crew. I met the coolest people along the way. There was Tough Luck Chuck, the unluckiest lupe on the seven seas, he would say. Ever since he became a pirate, his life was unlucky. 3 bullet wounds, a peg leg and an eyepatch. Ow. Gutterz, the pirate gelert, was the smelliest creature I have ever smelled. Even smellier then dung (which I have grown quite fond of since I became mutant). Les the lass was a pirate elephante. She was tougher than all of the men on the crew put together. She actually scared me a little. And then, there was Smithers. He was a big, fat, white bruce. He was the captain's "assistant" as Smithers would call it. The rest of us calle him a waiter. Which he was. The captain wants a drink? Smithers. The captain wants a footrub? Smithers. We would also meet interesting people on the way back to Krawk Island. We once met an odd speckled aisha. She liked peanut butter a little too much and...well, thats another story. While on the ship, the guys said it was time to give me a good burly name. Gutterz suggested Dirt, Smithers said Elliot. We all laughed and threw him overboard. It was funny because he couldn't swim. (Don't worry, he got back on the ship) Vex said I should be named Smuggler, after the ship. I liked it, but then Russel suggested Mike. "I'm pretty sure ye ain't gon be a pirate none more," he said, "Maybe ye should have a name to fit yer own kind." Everyone started to laugh. Smithers got up onto the ship again while we sailed to the island. It was a few hundred yards away. "Oi! Mike!" yelled Les, " I want to tell ya something." I walked over to her. "You know you've been on this ship for about a year?" I was alarmed. I promised my friends I would be back in a month. They would be worried sick about me! "I just want to help you out a bit. As you can tell, I'm a little smarter than most here," she looked over at Russel and Chuck, who were playing catch with Smithers as the ball, ("Oh for the love of Pete! GET ME DOWN! I"M GETTING NAUSIOUS!" yelled Smithers) " I want to tell you a little bit about myself. We've become good friends, right?" I nodded, and she started to tell me her story.

It all started out when I was known as Leslie, the royal elephante." When I heard her say that, my jaw dropped. Since when did Les have manners? She continued, ignoring me. "I was always pampered and treated like a princess. My parents ruled over the Kingdom of Brightvale. I, of course, was one of the most educated women in the land. I had power, money, and brains. Not to mention beauty." She flipped back her greasy black braids. "But the only thing I didn't have, was freedom. My parents didn't allow me to do anything, unless it was in there schedule, like balls and royal meetings. I couldn't even walk outside without Klyde, my Darigan Eyrie bodyguard. Sometimes at night, I would sneak out my window and just run in the fields around the castle. But one day, I decided I wouldn't come back. I wrote my parents a note. I can even remember it by heart." She coughed. " Dear my wonderful parents, I have decided to leave this wonderful life to start anew. This life of royalty is not for me. I need more adventure and freedom, where I am not kept back from doing what I have to. Do not blame yourselves. It is the path I need to take. I hope to come back one day. I do not know what will become of me. Love, Princess Leslie."

I know this is kind of surprising to you. I'm not finished though.But, I am tired of talking now. Tell me a little about you!" She smiled. I told her about my life, how I strived to be different. How I never knew my family, everyone around just grew up as friends. Then I told her how I needed to get away, just like her, so I went on a trip. I kept swimming from around where I now knew was the Lost Desert and got lost at sea. She seemed intereseted. She looked up. " A storm is coming. We won't make it ashore for a few days. Actually," she looked at a clock, "it's been a few hours. We never made it ashore because of this wind. Don't worry though, we'll make it ashore by the end of the week." She sighed. "Now I guess its my turn again? Now where did I leave off... Oh yeah!" "I started to run. I looked behind me. My father checked on me every night at exactly 12am. I always left after he came in. I left easrly tonight so he would get the note. I saw him satrt to cry. Then, he called in Klyde. They were going to start searching for me." She looked up again. "It's raining hard. We better get inside the cabin." As we walked inside, I noticed how she spoke. She didn't call me a "scallywag" or "dingbat" like the other guys called me and everyone else. She was strong, but not as scary as I thought. She was actually kind of pretty. "Hello genius!? Did you hear a word I said?" I looked up. Les was talking to me the whole time. "I guess I'll have to start over.

Les started to speak again."I ran into the trees. I ran up one of them until the guards searched everywhere else.I felt bad, seeing my father cry, but its what I had to do. After a while, I started walking. I had been to some parties in Meridel, but I hadn't been anywhere else. I walked all the way to Kiko Lake. There was a small market there. I had forgotten to grab some money before I left. I only had a few coins and I was hungry, so I walked up to a Blumaroo to ask where the food stall was. 'Excuse me sir, do you...AHH!!' I noticied he was a pirate. He glared at me. 'What?' he said, 'haven't ye never seen a blumaroo none?' 'Well, I....' I paused. He looked so...scary! 'Aye! Are ye Princess Leslie?' he pointed to a sign next to him.

MISSING: Princess Leslie of Brightvale. 1 million np reward for her return.

The blumaroo smiled. 'Hello. My name be Russel, and I'll be ye kidnapper today.' The next thing I knew, I was screaming and being thrown onto a boat. The next thing I heard was a voice. 'Aye! Who be dat, distubin' de cap'n?' 'Its me, Russel, I have found the princess!' I was furious by now. I was not going to settle for this! I don't know how I overeacted so bad, but I tore open the bag and knocked Russel down and grabbed Vex, the captain. 'GET ME OFF THIS SHIP!' I screamed. 'Hmmm....' said the captain. He started investigating me. 'Ye be strong for such er' beautiful princess. Have a seat. I want to make a deal with ye."

I was very suprised with Les's story so far. "Why didn't you tell me this before?!" I asked her. "Well, I...umm..." She stopped.Then she started laughing. " How about you let me finish?" Then Les got all serious again. "You know Mikey Boy, I'm telling you all this for a reason. Now shut up and listen." I started to listen to Les. "Vex started to talk. 'How would ye like to be a pirate? A lass with strenght like that shouldn't be wasted with gowns and dancin'. She should be beatin the snot out of ye public and stealin' booty. What'd ya say lass?' I was stunned. I wanted more than anything to do something like this. But there was a problem. What would Mother and Father think? It wouldn't matter because I wouldn't see them again! I was worried. 'Aye, Princess, I know ye may have to think, but do it quick! It's either the SmugglerII or more days of being locked in a castle.' I sighed. 'Call me Les. Les the pirate.'"

Les waited for me to ask some questions. " But weren't you still...Royal?" "Ahh!" Les said smacking herself on the head. "Is that the only part I left out? We sailed out from Kiko Lake and I relized a pirate's life was for me. I forgot about the kidnapping too. I learned to love them all on the crew. Except Smithers, of course. When we got around Brightvale again, which took about 2 weeks because we did some exploring, Vex came up to me. 'Aye Les, you need to show yer true colors.' He lifted up a ratty old rag from behing his back. There was something in it. 'How would ye like to become a pirate Elephante?' I was absolutely delighted. This would mean I was an official pirate. No more fancy life. No more guards. No more Mother or Father. They wouldn't reconize me. Suddenly, I relized we were near Brightvale. 'Excuse me a moment captain!' I shouted, as we landed in the port. I ran off the boat and ran to a near Brightvale resident.'Excuse me sir, would you mind giving the king and queen a message?' I asked. 'Your princess Leslie! Of course I would! You must be coming back to the throne!' the quiggle exclaimed. I wrote a note using a special symbol on the front, which only royalty could send. The letter said 'Dear parents of Princess Leslie, I will be becoming a pirate today. I will not be princess Leslie any longer. I will be Les, the pirate. I know you haven't seen me in a while, and I know this sudden change will make me unwelcome to the kingdom, but I will love you no matter what. Love, for the last time, Princess Leslie. Attached it was the broach I was wearing. Instantly, I got on the ship,and I threw the shawl I was wearing overboard and snatched the paint brush. 'Today, I am a pirate.' I said to myself."

This is an interesting story Les. I've got a few more questions though. Why didn't you keep Leslie? Why did you call yourself Les?" Suddenly, Les, for the first time in 10 years since she ran away, burst into tears.

Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to upset you Les! I am so sorry! Very sorry!" I yelled. Then, she calmed down a bit. "It's okay," she sniffed, "It's my fault. It's because..because..." her voice was kind of shaky. "It's because I have less of what I had before. Now I don't even have a Mother and Father! I have nothing that is important to me.And I was so happy.Now I am less fortananate,and I'm happy. That's why I've been telling you all this. The story of my life. I want you Mike," she stopped sniffing and made eye contact with me. Her eyes were puffy and red, " I want to come with you when you leave. I want to see Mother and Father again."

I couldn't speak. "I..but...you....you have to stay here! The crew needs you!" I yelled. "It's okay," said Les, "it will only be temporary. I'll stay with my parents for a while and find my way back to SmugglerII. I'll talk to the crew tonight. You better get some sleep. It looks like we've been up all night. The storms cleared, so we should hit shore tomorrow. You better get some rest. It's going to be a big day tomorrow. I'll make a plan for where to go and everything. Goodnight." I couldn't disagree with Les. I was going to miss the crew. But we would contact somehow. I decided to takes Les's advice and get some sleep before the big day.

The next day, Les and I said goodbye to all of the crew. We decided to communicate by sending Weewoos to each others. As a goodbye present, they gave me a warf. I named him Fozzie. Les and I set off, to what we hoped to be near Brightvale. We walked for hours until it got dark. "I'm tired." I said. "Me too," Les said, "Look! There's a cave! Maybe we could sleep in there." We walked near the cave, hoping that nothing was inhabiting it. When we walked in, it looked fine. "It seems ok," said Les, "But let's walk a little further just to make sure it's safe." We walked into the darkest part of the cave, when we heard a noise. I screamed. I wasn't use to things like this in Neopia Central. Les was used to this kind of thing. A little Tyrannian snorkle jumped in front of us. "See, Mike? It's just a little...." ROAR!! A beast came out of the darknest and wooped up the snorkle. It flew back into the darkness. We heard a big "gulp".

Poor little petpet. But the horror wasn't over yet. The beast was back for seconds-us. We ran as fast as we could, the monster close behind. ROAR! It screamed at us.We were almost out of the cave. Then Les tripped. "Go on without me!" she cried. I ran out of their as fast as I could. Suddenly, there was a ROAR! then a gulp. Les was dead.

I started to cry and I couldn't stop myself. Fozzie didn't understand what was going on. He was trying to play. "Go away, you stupid petpet!" I yelled at him. He didn't understand that I missed Les. The beast could have eaten Fozzie for all I cared. I started walking. Fozzie ran into the cave. There was no more reason to go to Brightvale, unless I wanted to talk to Les's parents. But I didn't think I could. Well, what was there to do in Tyrannia? I walked around for a while, not too far from the cave. I was extremely hungry, so I went to Tyrannia's famous giant omelette. After that, I thought about Fozzie. He was probably alone, and cold, and hungry. I tried to think about something else, but then I thought about Les. I decided the only thing I could do was go back to the cave.

I had gone to the Tyrannian battle shop and purchased a shield and sword, in case the beast got hungry again. I walked into the cave. "Here, Fozzie, Fozzie boy!" I yelled. There was a "woof!" and a large pile of dung stood in front of me. It was disgusting. I kept walking. "Fozzie!" I shouted. I heard another "woof!" coming from the way of the pile of dung. "F-Fozzie?" I said nervously, looking at the dung. He was covered in the stuff. He was smelly, but yet, he was uniqe. I liked it. "Come'on buddy. Let's get out of this cave." I told him. Now, we were right back where we started. Homeless, little money (I spent it all on the shield and sword), and alone. We walked near a game of Kacheekers and asked directions to Neopia Central.A Tyrannian koi answered, "Ugg! Oog huh huh ug!" That was no help to us. We kept walking. Soon we were at the concert hall. Chomby and the Fungus Balls were playing. I sighed. "What do you think Fozzie? Maybe some music will get this whole thing off our minds." "Actually," said a small, weak voice behind us, "I heard they were pretty good." Fozzie and I turned around. There, behind us, was a pink Elephante with pirate clothes. There was blood all over her blouse, and she had a bone as a crutch. Les!

LES!" I screamed as I hugged her. "No need to get that emotional, Mikey Boy. I've only been in that cave 2 days." She pushed me off of her. "What happend Les? Your....pink." I asked. She sighed. "My paint wore off, from all the fighting I did with that thing. This is Princess Leslie in pirate clothes." She sighed, looking at her clothes. "Well, I guess that thing did more to me than I thought," she said, noticing the blood stains on the shirt. "But what happend in the cave?!" I asked. "That, my little green friend, is a long story." said Les.

After I had fallen, the beast had grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. It ripped and I fell. I landed on my leg. Hard. I tried to get up, but it hurt so bad. I dragged myself over to the side of the cave. Fozzie was there, chasing a Tyrannian Tigermouse. He was next to a big boulder. At least four times bigger than him," Les paused. "You know, thats not showing good responsibility, letting your petpet, a gift from your friends, run off like that. But anyway...I called him over. 'Fozzie, I need you to grab that rock, and push it over here.' It was big enough for me to carry. Barely.Fozzie obeyed. Russell had trained him pretty well. The beast was 3 yards away. But Fozzie knew that. He ran up and grabbed the beast's tail.The beast rammed his tail into the ground. Fozzie didn't let go. I couldn't let that thing hurt Fozzie. I stood up. It was painful, but I couldn't let him hurt Fozzie. I grabbed the rock and threw it at the beast's head. Then, I fell over. I was starting to faint. I saw the monster slam it tail into the ground one last time, Fozzie landed into a pile of what I thought was mud, or dirty water. The beast was still.Then, everything went black."

When I woke up, it had been 24 hours. The beast was gone, so it wasn't dead. Fozzie was gone too. But I didn't have time to think about that. I grabbed a random bone from one of the beasts other meals and I used it as a crutch, and with a broken leg, it took me a long time to get out. Then I tried to find help. My leg still hurts really bad, you know,"She said. "Oh!" I exclaimed. I had forgotten about her leg. "Sorry. We should have probably gotten help right away," I said. We walked down the road, looking for anyone that could help us.

There wasn't any hospitals or pharmacies in Tyrannia. We asked a Tyrannian Uni for directions. "OOOOOOOOGA OOG!" He told us, pointing west. "I wish these Tyrannians would just speak English," I whispered to Les.Then, she started speaking to the Uni. "Ugg ugg ooh?" she asked. They started a coversation I could not follow. Les turned to me. She looked serious. "Terror Mountain is North, but with my leg, I could never climb it. He says West would be the best choice, but there is some water. We have to leave immeaditly."

We didn't know what to do. We barely had any food or money, (thank goodness for that giant omelette!)and we had to leave-now. Les and I walked to the beach, trying to think of a plan, when we heard a noise. "Neeeeed some heeeeeeelp?" came a voice from the ocean. Suddenly, a Mundo and a Maraquan Lupe jumped up from the water. "I'm sorry for evesdropping. I was chasing Caylis here," pointing to her Mundo petpet,"when I heard you talking about getting help. It seems to me,Kougra, that your girlfriend's leg is injured." "She's not my..." I was interupted(once again) by Les. "Oh yes, could you please show us to some help, Miss... I'm sorry, what was your name?" "My name is Murska. can take you with me under the sea. The water current is much faster, and there is a splendid place in the Haunted Woods that could help you two out." She had an evil smile on her face, but she seemed friendly. And she was the only way out.

We grabbed on to the Lupe's tail and under we went. She was right, we did move quite fast. After a while, we stopped and took a nice long break. We stopped at an old shack on the surface of a small island. "In the morning we will finish our journey. I need rest," said Murska. "Good night!" we said to each other. I couldn't sleep. It was about 2:00am, when I heard Murska speaking to someone-a cellphone! "Yes, the Princess is with me. I know, it was THAT easy! Yes. Uh-huh. So bring her to the Brain Tree at 7:00am? Who knows how much ransom the kingdom will pay?! She has a boyfriend with her of some sort. What about him?" she asked. I heard a man's voice from the phone. "Kill him." it said. The phone made a "click!" and there wasn't anymore talking.

LES!" I screamed in a whisper. "WAKE UP! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" "Oh, just...10...more minutes Mother!" she said. "We need to get out of here, NOW! Murska's going to...." "Murska's going to what?" said the lupe from behind us. I jumped. "Err...We better get going! We need to get her leg fixed!" I said, trying to think of an excuse to get away. Murska looked confused. "It's 4:00am, Kougra. Are you sure you want to leave?" Les was about to yell at me for disturbing her rest, but I wanted her to get away. "Yes! Right now!" I yelled. Murska was puzzled. "Ok.......hold on!" We zoomed through the water, and soon we could see land. It took a while for Murska, (she wasn't used to "land legs" as she called them) and her Mundo to walk to the Haunted Woods. "Give me a minute!" yelled the out-of-breath Murska. This was our chance. "Les,there's something I've got to tell you something about Murska. She wants to kidnap you for ransom and kill me." I told her. Les gasped. "I should have known. Her petpet has the same name as a famous Maraquan, amd not a nice one." "Well,well,well. It seems Princess's boyfriend has found out something he shouldn't have?" Murska's voice was cold. "I'll let Midnight have the joy of killing you." Suddenly, the lupe lashed a Maractite Cord across my face, and everything went black.

Wha-Where are we?!" Les screamed. We had awoken in a cove, near the brain tree. "You..." said a dark voice-the same from the phone! " are in my home. You will soon be taken to my Darigan home, and we will consult the parents of Princess Leslie, and demand ransom. After that....I shall kill you." The voice came out of the shadows. A tall Darigan eyrie stood in front of us. He had a long, dark scar across his cheek, and he walked with a long cane. "Who are you?!" I asked. "Well, I might as well tell you. My name is Mildus Lowden Sveex. Most address me as Midnight, for that is when I strike." Murska walked into the room. "Oh, and what do you know?" she said "It's midnight!" She laughed. "My work is very serious." continued Midnight. "It started when I was an orphan boy. I was what you may call a "profesional" at pick-pocketting. It was quite simple, everyone belives children. But anyway, it became more than just stealing useless change, it was wallets, idenitys, keys, and even a deed to a house. I sold them of course, what would a 12 year old do with a house?" he asked. I decided to take charge, make the world MINE! By the time I was 13, I was one of the richest men in the land. I afforded anything I wanted, but there wasn't enough thrill. Then, i got a splendid idea. On my 14th birthday, I became what I am now....a killer, you children might say. I've been doing it all my life,since then. I was finishing a job in Meridell when I saw a sign..a certain Princess was missing. An 1,000,000np reward. The highest I've ever been paid for a job. But..for ransom...your parents will pay more. And I have a little something in mind I've always wanted," he explained. "What is it that you've always wanted?" Les asked. "Why do you ask?" asked Midnight. "Maybe...."she said, "We could trade." "What for?" he asked. "You let Mike go free, and my parents will give you what you want,and you can keep me. For ransom, as a slave, I don't care." she said.

Interesting.What I have always wanted..." he said looking out a window, "is a son. To take over the 'family' business. I won't last forever, you know. Especially in this line of work." Les nodded. "What do you mean by son?" "I was getting to that!" he snapped. I sat there, watching them fight. I didn't know what to say. They were fighting over my life. "Get me an ice draik egg. No exceptions. I will raise him to be just like me," he said, smiling devishly. "Les, plea-" I started. "Done," she said, grabbing the phone Midnight handed her. She dialed something quickly. "Royal Office of Brightvale, how may I help you?" asked an Aishia woman's high voice. "Get me the King. Tell him it's Leslie."

There was silence for a moment, and then a rough voice answered. "Hello?" "Hello, father," Les said. I heard a yelling noise come from the phone and Les turned to us. "Permission to leave, sir?" "Murska! Watch the girl and she settles the deal." He grinned. "You may leave once the girl's promise arrives." We waited for an hour before Murska and Les came out."He will have the money and egg by tomorrow," Murska announced. "Until then, you may sleep. You start as my servant tomorrow, Leslie. If you attempt to escape, either of you, you will be found and killed." Midnight said. We were left to sleep on the rock-hard cave floor, with Murska watching us.

After a few hours, Murska dozed off a bit. "Les," I whispered, "we might have a chance to escape. Look!" I pointed to the lupe. "She's still got that stupid whip with her, though." "Mike, you stand watch. I'll be right back!" she said to me. She ran to Murska. She carefully grabbed a twig and switched it for the whip. "Ha! Teaches you to mess with Princess Leslie of Brightvale," she said, "Now lets get out of here!" We silently walked out of the cave. Suddenly, Les gasped. "What about Fozzie?!" she whispered. When Murska attacked me, I had lost him.

We started to swim near shore. Suddenly, we heard a bark. We turned around to see a red warf. Not Fozzie. We walked around the Haunted Woods a bit, bought some healing potions, and asked directions to Brightvale. We had been around for a while, so we tried to find a place to stay. Some nice Halloween Unis said they could stay at their shack, so we made ourselves comfortable. I missed Fozzie. "I'm going for a walk," I mumbled to Les. I was in a terrible mood and I snapped in everyone who got in my way. In this place of mutants and Halloween pets, there was a tiny white grundo. He was wearing odd little rubber boots. He had a knapsack over his shoulder full of weird brown liquids and some purple lollypops. He looked misrable. "Nice boots," I sneered. I don't know why, it just seemed I'd feel better if I did. "Please, I've been having a bad da-" "Get in line,buddy!" I yelled at him. He looked angry. Then he smiled weakly. "Have a lollypop," he offered. He grabbed one of his oddly colored lollypops and handed it to me. Some of the brown potion seemed o have dripped on to it. Oh well, I thought, this may brighten my day. "Thanks!" I said, shoving the lolly in my mouth. Then, everything started to spin.

AHHHH!" I screamed. I fell to the cold, hard ground. My pointy kougra ears shot up and then bent. My face sprouted into a snout. My tail shot up into my body, a little stub leftover. My whole body changed. I was once Mike, the green kougra. I was now Mike, the mutant gnorbu.

YOU!" I pointed my dirty little hoove at that grundo, "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" The grundo burst into tears and ran. I felt sorry for him, but more for myself. I ran back to the house. "Les! Les!" I called. She awoke in a start. "Ahh! Get out of here! I don't know you! I'm a fighter, I'll-" "Les, settle down!" She sat on her bed. "How do you know my name? I've never met a mutant before in my life." I sighed. "It's Mike."

Mike who?" she said. "I only know one Mike and he's a green-" "Kougra. You met him because he was drowning." Les looked amazed. "Is that-you, Mike?" She stammered. I nodded and explained. "Oh no! I will find that little brat and have him arrested and thrown in a dungeon and, I don't know, but he'll pay!" she threatend. We sat for a while. "Mike, would you mind,um, moving a bit? No offense, you stink." "Oh, right." I hadn't really gotten used to my new body. I had dull hooves instead of soft furry paws, dung smells wafting from me instead of the smell of berries like in Neopian Central. I was angry, but I was kind of excited. I came on this trip to find something, to make me different. Maybe this is what I was looking for. I walked outside. I could see the flies gathering around me. There was loads of them. But there weren't that many before-where'd they come from? Suddenly, a big pile of dungs came to me, attracted by my smell. It looked oddly like a certain warf. I smiled and took Fozzie inside.

After Les's emotional breakdown after finding Fozzie, we went to sleep. The unis came back in the morning and we paid them. For Neopets from the Haunted Woods, they were pretty kind. They insisted we keeped the money. We left it there anyay and headed toward Brightvale. There was a few potato farms on the way, but pretty much nothing else. We decided not to hitchike, because I had a half-princess half-pirate with me, and our last expirence wasn't good. It took us a very long time to get there. But our trip was worth it. We had finally made it to Brightvale.

Les was nervous. " I haven't seen Father in years," she said. We walked into the main city, and people reconized Les right away. They all got down on their knees and bowed. "Umm...You don't have to bow, I guess," she said to the people. "But m'lady," said a speckled krawk, "you are our princess!" "I don't remember how to BE a princess!" she whipered to me. We kept walking. Suddenly, I was smacked to the ground. "Princess Leslie!Get away from her, you dumb ol' mutant! Go back where you came from- the garbage can!" shouted the figure on top of me. "Les! Help!" Les grabbed the figure. No wait-she was hugging him? "Klyde! I'm so happy to see you!" she yelled. The Darigan Eyrie glared at me. "Go on, get!" he said, shooing me away, "And that dung covered mutt too!" "Klyde!" yelled Les, picking up Fozzie,"I thought you had mannners." "Sorry," he grumbled. "This," Les explained, pointing to me, "is Mike. He's my friend. He had well,er, shall I say an 'accident' back in the haunted woods. He used to be a green kougra. But he hasn't changed, Klyde, so don't think you can protect me from him!" Klyde mumbled some words to me that were supposed to be an apology, then turned around and spoke to Les again. "Where were you all this time? You're father has been worried sick!" "I'll explain later!" she said grumpily. "I'm back for 10 minutes and you start to nag me! Sheesh!" Les laughed and ran up to the castle.

You think I'm done with this story? You don't even know what happens to Les or how I got mom! Anyway, we reached the castle:

Darling!" yelled the king, wrapping his arms around Les. "You've finally come!" Les just smiled. It looked like she was even crying a bit. Les's father looked at me. "Excuse me,er, 'sir', I'm in a family meeting. Go back to your home and come back later! Guards!" Just when a purple skeith wrapped his arms around me, Les stopped him. "Father,this is Mike. He rescued me!" The King was in shock. "This disgusting beast?!" I looked down. "I'm sorry I bothered you, your majesty," I mumbled as I headed toward the door. "Just wait a darn minute!" Les screamed, "I've been missing for years, and you dismiss the neopet who brought your daughter back to you? If this is the way Mike will be appriciated, I'm leaving too! For good this time, King!" She stomped out the door. The King yelled at a green techo guard to bring her back in. When he came back, he had a black eye. "See's twoo swong and wons twoo fast!" he said, obviously missing a few teeth. Les can be very aggresive. The King glared at me. "You!" he roared, "You are responsible for this, you talk some sence into her!" I quietly stood up. "You know," I mumbled, "I think she'd like it better if you called her Les." The Kingjust sighed. "Go find-Les."

I found Les at the Brightvale Books. She had a hood over her head and her nose was in an atlas. "Where shall I go?" she whispered to herself. "Les," I tapped her on the back and whispered," you need to go back." "No!" she roared, and her hood fell. The electric gelert at the counter bowed down. "Princess Leslie!" She gasped, "You may take anything you like!" "No!" roared Les once again and she turned to me "You blew my cover." She starte "C'mon, he's just worried about you!" "Yeah," she said,wiping away the tears. "He just wants the best." We walked back to the castle, and Les apoligized. "It's alright. I understand. I shouldn't have been so,aggresive,about Mike's apperance. I'm the one who sorry,Les," he said. Les was amazed to be called Les by her father. I turned to Les. "I guess I have to go," I said, "I guess this is goodbye." Les hugged me and said "If you ever need anything,you know where I'll be. Otherwise, once I go back Smuggler, we have our weewoo mail." I was shocked. "Your going to be a pirate again?" Les sighed. "Maybe. I want to go back some day," She looked like she was going to cry again. "Goodbye," I said before she could start. Fozzie led me out the door. I was glad to be a mutant. At the beginning, I wanted to be uniqe. And now I was. Now my only problem was, where would I go?

I decided to go to Mystery Island. I hadn't been there in my life, so I wanted to see it. I looked at all the sights and went to the Trading Post. I wanted to play the Gadsgads game before I left. I saw a girl there,around 12 or 13. She had a peophin and a bori with her. She looked mad. "They want that much for a stupid Transmogrification Potion? I still have to buy you a Silver Paint Brush and PopPappy an Island Paint Brush! And don't forget Snow_Bro!" The peophin looked concern. "We still have enough for some lipstick for me,right?" PopPappy,the one I suspected to be the bori looked angry. "Shut up! Who cares about looks! I want a new friend!" The girl silenced them. "It's OK. We'll be able to get both, one day." She looked over at me. "Excuse me," I asked, "is something wrong?" The peophin whispered to the bori,"Wow,mutants look scarier in person!" The bori smacked her. "Water Spirit! Don't be mean!" I looked down. "It's alright, I'll just leave." I started walking toward the boats that headed to Tyrannia. Maybe I could get Fozzie some Tyrannian petpetpet. "Stop!" The girl ran up to me. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm M&M. I'm sorry about PopPappy and water spirit. They were excited about getting a new friend. See, we were going to get a Transmogrification Potion and-" She looked at me. "Oh my! You're a-" "Mutant. I know. I'm not wanted here." I started to walk away again. "Stop!" She ran up to me again. "I love mutants. They're always unwanted, but I know they're not bad. So,what's your name?" She bent down beside me. "Mike," I mumbled. I was pretty shy unless I was with my pirate friends or in danger(which was often)."Mike? Nice name. Where do you live? Who's your owner? You probably shouldn't be out, this place gets pretty dangerous at night, with all the canibals and-" "I don't have an owner. I don't live anywhere," I told her. My stomach growled. "Well," she said, standing up, today's your lucky day! How would you like to come with us?" asked M&M. "I'd love to!" I shouted. I couldn't be happier. I was so lonely these days, without Les or Russel or even Smither's annoying orders. She led me to where PopPappy and Water Spirit were, once again, fighting. "We should go to the Island Market!" said Water Spirit. "No! We should go to Tropical Foods!" yelled PopPappy. When they saw M&M, they both raced to her. PopPappy won. "M&M, can we go to the Tropical Foods to eat out today?" he pleaded. "PopPappy! You're my first pet, you know not to call me by my first name. It's Mom to you! Besides, we should let the newest member of our family decide." The two neopets wre puzzled. "I thought you lost the trade! We're not getting a Transmogrification Potion!" said Water Spirit. "I know,"said M&M, "I just found him." She smiled, and I walked out from behind her. Water Spirit whispered "Eww!" louldy. I was ready to leave again, not be a burden, when PopPappy ran up to me. "Hi! I'm PopPappy! This is my sister, Water Spirit! We have another brother, Snow_Bro, but he's home sick with Neomonia. Mom said he' more responsible then me so he gets too stay home alone but I think I'm pretty responsible but Mom still thinks I'm the most childish of all of us pets and-" "PopPappy! Your such a chatterbox! Hi, I'm Water Spirit." said Water Spirit, with a curtsy. M&M looked at me. "Let's go to the Tropical Foods," I said, as I walked away with my new family.

While we munched on our Thornberry Crepes,I explained my life, with many questions from PopPappy. After that, we started to head home. "Oh no, Fozzie!" I yelled. My family was confused. "Who's Fozzie?" asked M&M. "My petpet! FOZZIE!" I screamed, and suddenly, a pile of dung stood before me. "Eww!" said Water Spirit,"What's that?" "Fozzie's a dung warf!" I exclaimed. M&M laughed and said "Okay, we better get home!" We got on the boat and left for home.

I was curious what there was in my new home. Hopefully not a garden, plants seemed to die near me since my transformation. When we walked in the door, PopPapy yelled in a singsong voice, "Oh, Snow Bro! We're home!" We heard a sneeze come from the other room. I wondered what he looked like. "Did you get the-ACHOOO!- potion?" "No, but we got something better!" called PopPappy. "A paintbrush?!" "No! We got Mike!" PopPappy dragged me into the living room. On the couch was a big white blob. It turned arount. There sat a white grundo. The same white grundo I saw that night in the Haunted Woods. He was the one who made me this way. He saw the amazed -disallowed_word-to bad she only mops the deck!) and Tucker the Tonu or "Tough Tucker". He mans the cannons because he so strong. Les is good, except she refuses to be repainted royal. She snuck out and repainted herself pirate. We all visited her in the castle. PopPappy got a little too curious, so we left before he broke anything. Everyone in the family's doing well. Water Spirit has just been painted Silver, in the time I am writing this. M&M just finished human school and now gets what she calls "summer vacation". Well, I hope you enjoyed my story. M&M will add a button soon! I'm excited

Buttons and Other Stories

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<a href="http://www.neopets.com/~mutant_mike"><img src="http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk84/oinkquack/msn_gnorbu_mutant-1.gif"></a>

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<a href="http://www.neopets.com/~mutant_mike"><img src="http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk84/oinkquack/msn_gnorbu_mutant.gif"></a>

Affies

Neomail oldtimerbanana if you want to trade links!