Miserable, Dustin laid his head on his front paws and thought longingly about his owner; how they loved to romp and play together, and go shopping in Neopia Central. How he cheered when Dustin fought in the Battledome, and hugged him afterwards whether he had won or lost. His memories drifted to the warm fireplace in their NeoHome, which he would lay next to as his owner read him books, so that he could get smarter I wonder if I'll ever see him again... The Lupe thought sadly, as a chill wind picked up and the sun slid below the horizon.

Dustin suddenly awoke in the darkness, aware that he was not alone. He jumped to his feet, startled, realising that he was surrounded by at least ten rather wild looking Lupes.

"Who are you?" Dustin demanded, trying to back away.

"That's what we were wondering ourselves," said a low voice. A large red Lupe stepped towards him, with an air of leadership surrounding him. "Where do you come from, strange-coloured intruder? What pack do you belong to?"

"Huh? P-pack? Strange c-colour?" Dustin stuttered, looking around confused. He had no idea what a "pack" was, and he didn't consider himself that odd of a colour- white was a fairly inexpensive paint brush compared to most; a lot of Lupes were coloured white. Looking around at the surrounding Lupes though, he realised none of them were painted. All were the natural colours of red, blue, yellow, or green. "I don't understand!" he cried, feeling vulnerable among the mysterious strangers. "I'm just lost and trying to find my owner!"

It was now the wild Lupes' turn to look confused. "What's an... owner?" one of them asked.

Dustin looked at them incredulously...

The leader grunted, apparently displeased by Dustin's answer. "Before now, none of us knew what an owner was. Now, how did you become such an unusual shade? Are you sick?"

"Sick? No..." Dustin sighed, starting to feel incredibly desperate. "Well... homesick, perhaps."

"And I thought all Lupes had a good sense of direction," a blue Lupe near the front of the group commented.

"I've never been here before! And this place is huge!" Dustin protested.

The Red Lupe paused. "Outsider, you confuse us." he said at last.

Dustin pawed the grass sadly. "I-I don't know how to explain... I've never met anyone who doesn't know anything of owners, or painted pets..."

"What should we do with him?" one of the wild Lupes asked the leader.

The red Lupe thought for a moment, considering his options...

The wild Lupes guffawed rudely.

"Tales! These are not tales! This is life, and if you know nothing about it, then you are... you are positively primitive!" Dustin flared up in anger.

"Primitive! Well, I'll tell you one thing, I know an intruder when I see one, and you are it! Don't smart mouth me in my own land!" the leader growled. Things were not looking to good for Dustin.

Dustin shrank back in fear. After a while, he asked timidly, "Do you have any idea how to get to Neopia Central?"

"What is a 'Neopia Central'?"

"It's--well, it's a place where lots of owners and Neopets live together..."

"What? All of you living together in one place? This 'Neopia Central' must be big!" a green Lupe exclaimed in surprise.

"Actually, it really isn't THAT big, not as big as these plains..." Dustin searched in vain for a possible comparison that these Lupes could understand.

"How do you live in such a small place? Where do you run? Never mind, we shall keep you with us... and you can show us this Neopia Central!"

All the wild Lupes growled excitedly. "To Neopia Central!"...

"Are you sure there is such a place as Neopia Central? Maybe you have lost your memory?" the leader asked.

"No! There is such place! I was born there in the hospital!" Dustin insisted.

"I don't know..." the red Lupe looked into Dustin's eyes. "You might be mad."

"No, I am not mad. I was camping with my owner only days ago! I must get back to him! He must be worried."

The leader sighed. "It is so. We will search for a week more. If we do not find this Neopia Central, you will have to become one of us."

Dustin looked down at his paws. "Yes."

And so, the pack of Lupes ran on. Dustin paused now and then to look about him. He looked up at the sky. The sun shone in his eyes, so he looked down. But then, he remembered what his owner told him before they went camping, just in case Dustin happened to get lost.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, Dustin's owner had told him. Remember, Neopia Central lies west of the Endless Plains.

Dustin had nodded at his owner's words and promised to remember.

Dustin looked up at the speeding pack of Lupes and shouted, trying to get them to stop, so he could tell the pack what his owner had said...

"Alright. We head west then," the leader nodded.

With that, Dustin and the wild Lupes headed towards the setting sun.

Meanwhile...

"I am not giving up. I know he's out there somewhere," Dustin's owner said.

"Alright, already! We'll keep up our search for a week, but only for a week," the Chia policeman said, exiting the NeoHome.

"Thank you," Dustin's owner said.

Over in the corner sat a Gelert and Cybunny, watching their owner.

Poor guy. He hasn't been the same since Dustin went missing," the Cybunny said.

"Yeah, I hope Dustin shows up soon," the Gelert said.

"Diana, Daniel, come on were going looking for Dustin," their owner said.

"We're coming," they said at the same time.

Back in the Endless Plains...

Dustin sighed as the sun went lower and lower on the horizon. They would soon have to stop for the night.

The leader called them all to halt and rest for the night. Dustin fell into a fitful dream of looking for his owner.

The next morning...

Dustin sighed as he streched his long legs and got up. The wild Lupes had captured some food and were munching on the catch. Dustin joined in, then got a drink of water before they set out.

They continued traveling west until...

Dustin narrowed his eyes, swearing that he saw something on the horizon. That's when he realized that he saw... "No it can't be! It is! Guys, I see it... I see Neopia Central!" Dustin shouted excitedly...

They soon made it there. The Lupes looked upon the area with great uncertainly.

"What an odd place," their leader said nervously.

But Dustin was already up and running. "Come on, you guys... come on! My NeoHome's this way!" But they stayed planted where they were at.

He ran back, then carefully led the pack into Neopia Central. They all had their ears back, and were either very low to the ground or very high. Stepping carefully, it was as if they expected the sidewalk underneath them to fall.

"This grass is... hard," commented a blue Lupe, carefully knocking it with his paw.

"And gray," added his yellow companion.

"And what are all those two-legged things?" asked their leader. "And why are they different colors all over??"

"I don't know, but they sure are ugly," snickered a green Lupe.

"Hey!" Dustin snapped, very offended. "I like them! And by the way, they're called humans. And that's not grass, it's pavement. It's made out of cement."

The Lupes looked at him blankly, before one exclaimed, "Ohmygosh!! FOOD!!!" They ran over to the Food Shop. A few of the dimmer ones kept trying to gnaw on its hamburger shape in frustration, while the rest ran inside. As most of them gobbled up pork and cheese, a few cast their sights upon the Chia shopkeeper.

"EEK!!" he screamed, running around in circles.

Soon the Chia police arrived on the scene.

"No!" yelled Dustin, but, being the Chia police, they didn't seem to hear. They quickly caught the Lupes in nets, despite Dustin's unheard calls of, "Stop! STOP!! They're wild! They've never been to Neopia Central!"

Soon a crowd had gathered up. "These ought to go to the pound," the Chia police chief said, after seeing that they had no owners. "And as for you," he said, finally paying a bit of attention to Dustin, "your owner is looking for you. We ought to take you home immediately!"

"Wait!" Dustin protested. As much as he wanted to see his owner, he couldn't leave the Lupe pack like this. "They helped me! They're wild! You can't just put them there!"

But the Chia policeman was already dragging him off...

"Max!!" cried Dustin joyfully as he ran up to hug him. But suddenly he remembered something.

"What is it?" asked Diana the Cybunny as she ran up with Daniel the Gelert.

"My friends were just taken away. They helped me survive in the Endless Plains. Without them I'd be doomed!" exclaimed Dustin.

"Woah buddy, slow down. What happened to your friends?" asked Max.

"They're wild Lupes. They went sort of crazy in the Food Shop and the Chia Police took them away to the pound," said Dustin. Max looked Dustin in the eyes.

"Then we're going to the pound!" he cried. They ran down the crowded street to a large building, filled with the sound of Neopets. There were sad sounds, as owners abandoned their pets, but there was also the joyful cries of those who'd found a new owner. Max opened the door and let his three Neopets in.

"Can I help you?" asked the kind Uni behind the counter.

"Were some Lupes just taken in--" but Max was interrupted by the Lupes bursting through a door. Dr. Death was holding them by their leashes, pulling with all of his strength.

"Help us, Dustin!" cried the leader. Dustin looked up desperately at his owner.

"I'd like to adopt all of these Lupes!" cried Max. Everyone stopped.

"You can't take these Lupes! They're mad," said the Uni.

"I don't care. I'm adopting them," Max said stubbornly.

"But you can only have four Neopets," replied Dr. Death...

"I-I..." Max grew silent.

Diana, Daniel, and Dustin peered at Max. "What are you going to do, Max?" Dustin asked.

Max flashed his eyes. "Yes, you are right... these Lupes are a danger to society!" Everyone gasped.

"What do you mean?" said Dr. Death.

"These Lupes have been surviving in the wild since they were born. You never know what types of diseases they may contain!" Max's eyes flashed again.

"Hmm..." Dr. Death and the Uni huddled and muttered under their breath. Dustin perked up his ears to try and listen. However, the shuffling of other Neopets made it hard to hear.

"Well then, we will test these Lupes for disease," said the Uni.

"But they are mad! Can you handle a mad, chaotic, possibly contaminated Lupe?" questioned Max. The boy winked at the Lupes. The Lupes hesitated... then all of a sudden, once they understood Max's plot, began to growl and howl, causing all the other Neopets to cry hideously. The wild Lupes began shoving at the bars of their cages. The leader even snapped at Dr. Death.

"Oh, my!" exclaimed the Uni. "Doctor, we cannot handle these dangerous Lupes! There are too many!"

"Then they will be imprisoned here permanently!" Dr. Death said.

I'm afraid you can't... you should know that the Endless Plains are protected territory. Imprisoning these Lupes would be a violation against your pound!" Max's eyes, this time, flashed with triumph.

"Well, I-I... fine, these Lupes will return back to their habitat." Dr. Death said.

"Habitat?" the leader asked Dustin.

"Shh..." muttered Dustin.

Dr. Death went to the phone. "Hello? Yes... Excuse me, but I'm going to need back up."

The leader grinned.

"Thank you, Max." the leader bowed as the vans drove away with their cages emptied. The wild Lupes pranced around yelping with glee. "Ahhh! Grass feels much better than 'concreet'!"

"Is there anything I can do for you, Max?" the leader asked.

"No, you brought Dustin back home safely. That is all the thanks I deserve. It is I who should repay you," Max replied, smiling.

"You have brought us freedom; there is no payment due," the leader assured him.

"Then I guess we're even, right Dustin?" Max patted Dustin's head. Dustin nodded in agreement.

"Well then, we shall be going now. Our families must be worried. So long Neopia Central, Max... Dustin." The leader howled in triumph. The other Lupes howled with him and leaped off toward the rising sun.

"Do you think we'll ever see 'em again, Max?" Dustin asked.

"Maybe," Max replied, "but for now, how about breakfast? I'm starving." Max rubbed his stomach.

"Me too," Dustin said, "last one home is a rotten negg!" and they raced away.

"Neopia Central sure is a strange, wonderful place. The food is good." the leader laughed. "However, one thing still puzzles me."

"What is it leader?" a blue Lupe asked.

"What's a 'habitat'?" the leader said.

The End