"Yeah," the mutant Lupe agreed, "I've never seen any weather like that here before." Both pets were born and raised in the Haunted Woods, so they were used to the things other pets considered "spooky": mummies, eerie swamps, witches, ghosts and haunted houses were an everyday thing to them. "I think I even heard some maniacal laughing between the lightning crashes."

"Serge, we live in the Haunted Woods," Justin pointed out, "someone is ALWAYS laughing maniacally."

"Yeah," agreed Serge,"but this sounded REALLY maniacal."

The two friends continued to discuss last night's events as they casually walked past the Spooky Petpet Shop. Serge came to a sudden stop.

"What's up?" asked Justin.

"I wonder what they are all looking at...?" muttered Serge.

"Huh?" Justin looked to see what the Lupe was talking about.

Many of the residents of the Haunted Woods were gathered around what appeared to be a community notice posted on the side of the Petpet Shop. Serge tried jumping to look over everyone's head, but it was no use. Even Justin couldn't seem to get near it, flying.

An old mutant Blumaroo pushed out of the crowd, muttering to himself, "...terrible, just terrible..."

Serge and Justin ran up to meet him. "Excuse me, can you tell us what has happened?"

The aging Blumaroo looked at the two young pets and wheezed a bit before he explained what he had seen on the notice board. "It's terrible I tell ya, terrible! It will be the ruin of us all!" he bellowed.

"Uh, what will be?" Serge asked.

"Why, with no more quests, the Haunted Woods won't get any more visitors! Our economic structure will topple!"

"What do you mean the quests are gone?" asked Justin.

"That's what the notice says, boys!" the elderly Blumaroo continued. The Brain Tree can't think of any questions, the Esophagor is full, and Edna can't remember what ingredients she needs!"

Serge and Justin looked at each other, wide-eyed. "Wow, that IS bad." Justin said.

"It sure is," Serge agreed.

The Blumaroo wandered off as the two friends continued discussing what could have happened. Justin began, "Do you think it had anything to do with that odd weather last night?"...

The Korbat shrugged. Okay, so a lot of weird stuff DOES happen in the Haunted Woods, but nothing this weird ever happens. Hmmm... maybe Hubrid Nox has something to do with it."

The Lupe licked his lips hungrily while he thought of how good an evil Chia would taste.

"Well if Hubrid Nox is involved," continued Justin, "then it has nothing to do with us. It's MAGAX's job to keep him under wraps."

Suddenly a scared looking Gelert ran up to the two friends. "Help! MAGAX is missing! Help!" he shouted, then dashed away screaming.

Serge's jaw dropped. "You know, it might not be a bad idea to investigate Hubrid a bit..."

Justin nodded. "Y-yeah let's check it out now while it's light out. Not that I'm afraid or anything! It's just, well... who knows what Chias are like after nightfall?"

At noon the two friends crept up to the mansion and began to climb the fence. Once over, Serge hid behind a bush while Justin flew up to the window. Suddenly he screamed, "Serge!"...

He gasped with fear when he saw who stood in the doorway. It was Hubrid, the most evil Chia of all. Dangling from his gruesome arm was a struggling Justin. "Serge!" the Korbat cried, "Serge! Help! He's got me!"

"Leave my friend alone!" Serge shouted.

Hubrid chuckled evilly. "What would a Lupe and a Korbat be doing, sneaking around in my garden?" he asked, with menace in his dark eyes.

"I'll only tell you if you put my friend down!" Serge yelled.

Hubrid grinned. "Very well," he said cunningly, "but you must tell me, or else."

He dropped Justin to the ground, without even lowering his arm.

"Ouch!" Justin cried as he hit the stone steps. He scrambled to his feet and then flew behind Serge, staring fearfully at the hideous Chia.

"Well?" Hubrid asked Serge impatiently, "why were you creeping about in my garden?"

Serge took a deep breath, and explained everything.

"...so we came to you in search of answers, but we were afraid you'd be angry with us if we knocked on your door, so I hid in the bush while Justin peeked through your window!" Serge finished breathlessly.

"But we now know that you have no answers," Justin said hurriedly, "so it's best Serge and I leave you in peace."

"Yes," Serge agreed quickly, "Goodbye, Mr. Hubrid."

The two Neopets turned to walk out of the garden, when each of them felt a cold hand grip one of their shoulders.

"Now, now, boys," Hubrid said cunningly, "why leave so soon? Come into my house for a bite to eat."

Justin looked horrified. "No," he burbled hastily, "we should be going, really!"

"Come into my house for a bite to eat!" Hubrid snapped, so fiercly that Serge and Justin had to obey.

They followed him into the dark hall. Spider webs hung from the ceiling, and they felt an eerie breeze on their backs.

Hubrid led them into a gloomy living room. They sat down on a moth-eaten couch.

"Stay here," the Chia commanded, "I'll be back with some food for you both." He went out of the room, leaving Serge and Justin in an awkward silence.

Then Serge saw a very old, dusty book lying on a table next to the couch. He took it in his paw. There was no title on the front page. He opened the book and stared at one of the yellow crinkly pages. Then he let out a gasp.

"What is it?" Justin asked. He peered at the page Serge was staring at, then cried out in astonishment. For there, on the page, he saw...

It read: DO NOT LOSE! This key is important to the plot! (note to self: this unlocks both Florg's and MAGAX's cages.) Footsteps sounded down the hall.

"Quick!" hissed Justin, "Close the book!"

Serge nodded, grabbed the key, closed the book, and put it back quickly. Hubrid entered the room holding a tray. On the tray was a very stale-looking spooky doughnut, a moldy sand apple, and a small glass of something that could have been water at one point, but neither of the pets felt like drinking it. The lifeforms floating in there had already invented the wheel.

"Here," said Hubrid, putting the tray down. "I'm so sorry about the choices, but I haven't gone shopping in awhile." There was an odd glint in his eye when he said this. "You see, I don't eat often."

Serge smiled shyly and said, "Y-you get take-out right?"

"Ha! Yes! Take-out! I like that one, Lupe!" he smiled slowly, not so much for the effect but because he was trying to remember the muscle actions. Suddenly he stopped. His eyes stared at Serge's hand. "Where did you get that!?!" he barked. "Tell me!"

Serge cleared his throat and looked worriedly at Justin. "Ya know, my owner has a saying for times like this."

"What, 'The world's gonna end, but they ain't gonna get mine?'" Justin asked.

"Noooo--It's the one where he says, 'The best thing to do in times like this, is to..." Serge stood up, and filled his lungs with air. "RUN!!!" he bellowed.

Justin didn't need to be told twice. He flapped his wings and started to fly away; Serge was hot on his tail when a shout stopped them.

"Wait, please!"...

"Wait, please!! I beg you! Don't leave me here with this... this thing!" The two friends couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.

While this was going on, Hubrid was quietly approaching the two friends. He couldn't let them get away. They knew too much, and the Lupe had HIS key!

To keep them distracted while he silently signaled to his evil helpers, Hubrid continued to act like someone was crying out for help. Meanwhile, Hubrid summoned the fleet of little robotic Puppyblews that he'd built, who shared the evil Chia's "unique" personality.

Before the friends knew what was happening, they were attacked from behind... then everything went dark.

Serge woke up some time later on a cold stone floor, and didn't remember what had happened to him. Everything was fuzzy and his head hurt. He looked to the left of where he was laying and saw Justin still out. Serge then looked to his right and saw bars. They were in a giant cage!!

"You're finally awake, my young friend. We were worried about you when Hubrid threw you and your Korbat friend in here two days ago," a voice said from somewhere behind him.

Serge stood up and walked around the cell. The voice belonged to none other than MAGAX.

"W-why does he want us? What does he want to do to us?" Serge asked. All of a sudden he was really frightened, not only for himself, but also for Justin, who wasn't much of a fighter, or very strong.

"I don't know, my friend. I've heard him talking of some kind of plan to take over Neopia, one land at a time..."

"What?!" Justin, who had just woken up in time to hear the last part of their conversation, cried out.

MAGAX said to him, "Yes, I'm afraid it's over. Over for all of us, unless..."

Serge sheepishly looked down at his paws. "Well, we DID have the key, but that's what got us down here in the first place."

"Wait a second!" Justin said as he fully-awoke from his sleep. "Didn't that book say that the key was for MAGAX and Florg's cage?"

MAGAX nodded his head softly. "Yes, he's in the next cage." Serge and Justin looked next to their cage, finding a solid steel box with a tiny bared window in the front. Obviously, Hubrid did not take any chances with putting a creature as destructive as Florg in a regular cage. "Poor creature," continued MAGAX. "Hubrid tricked him into eating one of his Puppyblew robots. Its fuel tank was filled with sleeping potion."

"What about you, MAGAX?" asked Serge. "How did you get down here."

"That Chia fooled me, as well. Let's just say that those Petpets are not to be taken lightly. They outnumbered me and their claws were filled with the sleeping potion. When I woke up, I was in here. That's what happened with you, I suspect."

A low growl came from the Florg's cage, grabbing the attention of the three prisoners. "Was that his throat or his stomach?" Justin asked nervously.

"Possibly both," answered MAGAX. "Hubrid's been feeding him nothing but dried apricots and prunes for the last few days. I think he's trying to starve him, to increase his agressiveness."

Suddenly, an idea popped into Serge's head. It was a long shot, but it was worth try. He smiled somewhat slyly. "Let's just see how hungry he is." Serge went to the far end of the cage and cleared his throat. "Oh, wow!" he said loudly. "Look at all the Petpets in this room! I've never seen so many Puppyblews and Hopsos. And just look how plump and juicy those Warfs are! They must be five... no, TEN pounds each!"

As Serge continued lying about the "Petpets," the stirring inside the cage began to get louder and louder. Florg's hunger was beginning to drive him crazy. The steel box rocked back and forth violently. Suddenly, a large dent emerged from the front of the cage.

"It's working!" cried Justin.

With one last gigantic roar, the door flew off the cage and out stormed a large, green, mutated Chia. The Florg was free!...

"Yes, he's coming to now!" MAGAX said, then turned to the mutant Chia, "That's right Florg, the evil Hubrid captured you. Remember? He's been starving you!"

Florg knelt down and began nursing his wounds. He had gotten so hungry at times, that he began gnawing at himself. He looked up at MAGAX and the others, confused.

"Don't worry Florg, it will be all right. Listen, you need to go get some help," said MAGAX.

Florg focused his attention on the pets' speaking, and appeared intelligent enough to understand that something was needed of him.

"The Lupe added, "There is a black key that opens the cages, Florg. That key is kept inside a book. This book is very old and tattered. You need to find it!"

Florg looked puzzled, so the Lupe answered, "Look around you some more Florg. Find old book, and black key."

Florg began to walk around the room, examining the strange and rare items that were lined up on the tables.

"That's right Florg! Hubrid must be a little too confident with us in his cages, and thought we'd never escape. Looks like he didn't see any harm in keeping us at his secret lab!" Justin exclaimed...

Serge and Justin both turned around to see MAGAX lying on the floor, boiling over with laughter.

"What are you laughing about?" Serge asked, "What is it?"

"It was all too easy!" said MAGAX with a grin on his face. He turned to Florg, who was still searching for the book. "Florg!" he said. Florg turned and ran up to the cage. "Bring me the key," demanded MAGAX, and Florg ran upstairs. Then, MAGAX pulled a bottle out of his pocket. It was a potion. A morphing potion. A Lupe morphing potion. He quickly gulped it down.

"MAGAX, what are you doing!?" asked Justin.

MAGAX just laughed as a swirl of blue swallowed him up. When the swirl cleared away, a rather demented-looking blue Lupe stood there. "It was too easy to trick you all," MAGAX said.

"Trick us? What are you talking about?" demanded Justin.

"I have been planning it for years." explained MAGAX. "You see, it has always been my dream to conquer Neopia, and now I will. Because of my great power, I shall rule this land!"

"How? But I thought it was Hubrid..." muttered Justin.

"No, it was all me. You see, I have had Hubrid under a trance for 10 years. I am using his intellegance to make weapons, and gather creatures full of power! And Florg, well, he has been my loyal pet ever since I turned him into a mutant."

"You're the one who turned Florg into a mutant?" asked Serge in shock. "And the reason you could control Hubrid, was because you had him in a trance?"

"Yes, and all of you suckers in the Haunted Woods believed me... and now, you will be destroyed, one by one." MAGAX smiled evily. "Starting with you two interlopers!"

He pounced at Serge and Justin. The unexpected attack sent them both into the bars of the cage, knocking them both momentarily out of their senses.

Just then, Florg came down the stairs, holding the key. Florg somehow managed to put the key in the lock, and open the cage. MAGAX stepped out, and closed the cage again. Then, he took the key, opened Florg's mouth, and dropped it down his throat...

"You!!" he was yelling furiously, while MAGAX continued to laugh insanely. "People thought you were... some kind of hero! And it was you all this time!" He was throwing himself at the steel bars, as though desperate to get at MAGAX, but just bouncing off like a ball thrown at a solid stone wall. MAGAX slowly walked towards the cage.

"Yes," he replied softly but maliciously, and an evil gleam could be seen glinting in his yellow eyes.

"And as you can see," he continued, as the two trapped Neopets watched him, "I have already completed part one. Yes, it was me who sent the storm... it was a warning... a warning of my power, which everyone was soon to discover."

He laughed maniacally again, so that the sound rang strangely around the small, darkened room.

"After that, as you may of course have guessed," he explained, "I deprived your world of things to do. It was me who stole Edna's spell books. I who enchanted the Brain Tree so it could not think of questions. It was me who put a spell on the Esophagor, so that it no longer wanted any food. But that was just the first part of my plan. I haven't actually destroyed anything yet! However, that will soon change," he smiled nastily. "Florg! Finish them!"

The mutant Chia advanced towards the cage, and with its horrendous strength, ripped the cage door right off its hinges. Then, he proceded to lift the cage over his head, shaking it, trying to dump the helpless pets into his gaping mouth.

The pair slid closer to Florg along the steel bottom of the cage. "Justin! Hold on!" Serge shouted, grabbing the Korbat in his mouth. Serge leapt as high as he could, planting his paws on Florg's face and jumping to safety. Florg attempted to grab them as they jumped off his face, but instead lost his balance, falling backwards with the cage trapping him against the floor.

"You shall not escape me!" MAGAX ordered.

MAGAX charged fiecely at the two pets. Serge jumped out of the way, causing MAGAX to land with a heavy thud on the hard stone floor. The demented Lupe straightened up, then turned towards Serge and leapt, throwing its whole weight at him...

"Justin help me!" he shouted, but Justin was in a battle of his own. He was flying in a circle, trapping Florg as the cage was no match for the huge beast. As the mutated Chia spun around trying to catch the crafty Korbat, he was getting dizzier and dizzier. Suddenly there was a loud boom and Florg hit the ground causing dust to rise from the stone floor. He was out cold.

Now it was time to aid Serge. Flying over quickly, Justin dive-bombed the blue Lupe, causing him to stop in shock. MAGAX got to his feet and turned towards Justin. The Korbat could see his friend lying on the floor senseless.

"It's time to pay!" growled Justin through gritted teeth, his eyes glowing red with rage.

As they lined up ready to battle, both MAGAX and Justin eyed each other. This was going to be one big battle, and a rather one-sided one too. A little Korbat would be no match against a vicious blue Lupe. He could only try, though.

The battle had begun. The two angry pets raced towards each other. Before they met though, the door to the lab opened and a loud voice boomed through the room.

"MAGAX that's enough!" shouted a voice.

Serge opened one eye, and both Justin and MAGAX turned to look.It was Hubrid, and he no longer looked evil... instead, he looked gentle, loving even.

"H-H-Hubrid!" stammered MAGAX. "What are you doing? Get back to work!"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" replied Hubrid smugly. "I have completed my job!"

"Well done!" said MAGAX wiping his brow with relief. "Now I want you to dispose of these two menacing fools!"

Hubrid walked closer to the blue Lupe who was staring back at him. "Did you honestly think you could keep me in a trance forever? The only person who shall be disposed of is YOU. The Chia Police are on their way as we speak. You shall be locked up for good!"

Hubrid whistled. Moments later the sound of a stampede could be heard, and seconds later dozens of robot Puppyblew's came charging towards a stunned MAGAX, knocking him to the floor and holding him down.

Then the Chia Police arrived. Handcuffing the defenseless blue Lupe, they carted him off to the van outside of the mansion.

"Thank you so much young ones!" thanked Hubrid. "I am now back to my normal self. MAGAX won't be bothering us again!"

"Will Florg be okay?" asked Justin, pointing to the unconscious beast.

"He will be fine," replied Hubrid. "I will nurse him back to health... don't worry. Anyway, you two had better be going."

"But we still need to help the Brain Tree and..." began Serge.

"Oh! Not to worry!" Hubrid said, and brought some items out of a closet. "Here are Edna's spell books, and remebering potion for the Brain Tree, and a hunger potion for the Esophagor."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Justin and Serge together.

The three walked together outside, and Serge and Justin waved goodbye to the now sane Hubrid as they walked home after their long and eventful day.

As Hubrid walked back to his mansion, he chuckled evily to himself.

"Hahahahaha! They fell for it! They really fell for it! Trancing MAGAX wasn't as hard as I though it was going to be! Now that meddlesome hero will no longer stand in my way! MWAHAHAHA!"

The End