However, the Polarchuck he'd just bought ran lightly across the top of the snow. Turmor slowed to a halt, as the furry creature made its way into the Ice Caves. The Elephante sighed. Well, that 4,000np went fast... literally, he thought to himself. Too exhausted to run any further, he trudged through the snow into the ice caves.

A cold blast of wind whipped past his ears, chilling the Elephante to the bone. He shivered, thankful to at least have a thick coat of Tyrannian fur. Taking a good look at the Ice Caves, he gasped at its beauty. The walls of the cavern reflected like glass, making the cave seem to stretch on for eternity. Frozen trees appeared to be encased in crystal, and the entire place glittered like a diamond. Turmor just stared in wonderment, until he noticed a flash of movement along a wall. His Polarchuck! Once again the race was on.

Although the snow wasn't so deep in here, the icy patches, more often than not, sent the poor Elephante hurtling out of control. At one point the Turmor almost slid into the large crack leading to Tyrannia. Luckily, he managed to jump over it, rather than fall in. He had no intention of making his way back there again; the first trip had been bad enough. As he continued searching, his mind wandered, and Turmor pondered if Tyrannia was the only place that the Ice Caves led to. No one had known of Tyrannia before the crack appeared. What if other cracks led to other places? He shook such foolish thoughts out of his head, and focused at the task on hand.

After nearly a half hour, Turmor spotted his Polarchuck trapped in a corner. "AH-HA!" he yelled as he charged towards it. However, too late did the Elephante realize that it was merely a reflection in the ice. The Polarchuck, hidden behind a rock, laughed in glee as Turmor skid past him. Even as the Elephante slid past, though, he thrust out his trunk and nabbed the mischievous Petpet by the foot. Together, they slammed into an icy wall.

*CRUNCH*

Dazed, Turmor was unsure why he was still moving. By all logic, the hitting of the ice wall, though painful, should have stopped him from skidding. From the look of it, though, the Elephante and his Polarchuck were still sliding, out of control and down a narrow tunnel-like slope. Glancing up behind him, he saw the hole that they must have punched in the ice wall quickly growing smaller, and as they continued down the icy slide...

Below him was a huge clod of brown earth, but the thing that made him gasp was a sharp stone that had been wedged into it.

Closer and closer Turmor came to the stone, until he was a foot away. By instinct he jumped, just as the sharp rock was centimeters away from his feet.

BBreathing a sigh of relief, Turmor relaxed and eyed his surroundings... Oh, no! he thought, realizing that his Polarchuck had gotten away again. It was running into the nearby trees.

Sighing, Turmor reluctantly jogged after his Petpet. The soft dirt was easier on him, though he was still slower than the Polarchuck.

"I think I'll name him 'Mischief,' or something like that," Turmor said to himself as he made his ways through the dense forest, leaves crashing into his face.

It seemed like hours, but soon Turmor was clear of the forest. Instead, in front of him he saw a huge gate with wide bars. Beyond it the Elephante spotted buildings... and odd ones at that.

Spying his Polarchuck, who had squeezed through the gates, Turmor sighed again.

It took awhile, but the Elephante finally managed to climb over the gate. Looking around at his surroundings, Turmor gasped in wonder. I guess there are more places that can be reached from the Ice Caves, he thought, continuing on through the mysterious city...

...Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Look!" yelled the voice.

Turning around, Turmor saw a crowd of petpets, but the petpets were as large as him, if not bigger. Shocked, the Elephante took a step backwards... Hey, petpets don't speak! Turmor thought.

"What are you?" said a smaller Miamouse, tweaking its ears forward.

"I-I'm an Elephante," said Turmor nervously. He didn't like the way the petpets were looking at him.

"An Elephante?" the Miamouse echoed. "What is that?" it asked, stepping closer.

Turmor was about to reply, but then a sudden silence occured as a voice, quite authoritive, said, "Excuse me! What is this all about?"

Turmor saw that it was a Crokabek. It came closer, leering at Turmor. "You aren't one of my people," he sneered. "Therefore, you are not allowed in my city... how did you get here?"

Turmor explained, but the Crokabek snorted disbelievingly. "This is lunacy," said the Crokabek. "Take him away!"

Two Cyodrakes, wings flapping, came forward. They were the largest petpets Turmor had seen so far, and they gripped his arms tightly. Before he was carried off, Turmor saw his Polarchuck come forward. It whimpered softly.

Everything stopped at once, as the Crokabek came forward to the Polarchuck. "You... you're so small!" he exclaimed. "Tell me about you, little fellow!"

The Polarchuck looked at Turmor. The Elephante sighed, knowing that his petpet wouldn't be able to speak.

After a few moments of silence, the Crokabek pointed to Turmor and roared, "Take that thing away!" Then, turning to the Polarchuck, he smiled. "Nervous, eh? It's okay."

Turmor wondered how he would escape this place, when a small voice said, "Stop."

Everyone stared at the Polarchuck, who had somehow spoken up...

The Crokabek looked at him in a disbelieving way, then turned to Turmor. He laughed heartily, as if it were all a joke.

"That? Your owner?!? Don't be ridiculous! What did you say it was called again, an Elpante?"

"An Elephante!" shouted Mischief, getting more annoyed by the second. "He's a Neopet! You do know what Neopets are, don't you?"

All the Petpets started to laugh with the Crokabek. It was as if the word Neopet was the punchline for some hilarious joke. They pointed and sneered at Turmor, who could only watch in embarrassment, his cheeks getting hotter every second.

"What's your name, little one?" asked the Crokabek.

"I-I don't know," replied Mischief. "He didn't name me."

"It's Mischief," stated Turmor.

"Where do you come from, Mischief?" asked the Crokabek.

"Terror Mountain."

"Terror Mountain? Where is that? Are you just making this up, Mischief?" The Crokabek's eyes flickered with anger. "And why are you so small, anyway?"

Mischief explained everything in full detail, but the Crokabek would have none of it.

"Gerro, Jacol! Take them away!"

Immediately, the two Cyodrakes rushed forward, both holding a giant net. Together they raised their arms, hurled the net over both Turmor and Mischief, and flew high up into the air.

"You didn't tell me you could talk!" exclaimed Turmor. "Why didn't you tell me?"

But Mischief wouldn't talk. Instead he just whimpered, like he usually did. Turmor begged him to explain what was going on, but it was to no avail. The Elephante finally gave up, and instead took to marvelling at the scenes below them.

They were flying over a town full of enlarged Petpets. Buildings of all shapes and sizes lined the Petpet-filled streets. As they entered the surrounding countryside, fields full of grazing Babaa stood below them.

Suddenly Mischief let out an alarmed whimper, then tapped Turmor on the arm. They were nearing what looked like...

...a zoo! Turmor gasped when he saw what was inside it. About ten or eleven normal Neopets were trapped inside cages, looking extremely miserable.

The two Cyodrakes slowed down, and gently landed on a dirt road right outside the zoo.

"Hey Zubbin! C'mere a sec!" Gerro called.

"What do you need?" Zubbin, a Buzzer asked. He stepped outside, and gasped. "Holey moley! Where'd you get that thing?"

Turmor cried out indignantly, I am not a 'thing'! I'm an Elephante!"

Zubbin examined him carefully, and then noticed Mischief along the inside of the net.

"Hey little guy, what are you doing in there?" Zubbin asked gently.

"I wouldn't look too much into this one," Jacol warned, "He was going on about how this... uhh... whatever it is, was his 'owner'. I think he must've taken a bump on the head."

"Ahh... no matter," Zubbin said, "I'll take him inside, if you guys don't mind putting that thing in an empty slot."

"Are you going to make hot chocolate?" Jacol asked hopefully, "Because we can do the job twice as fast if there's hot chocolate involved."

"All right, all right, I'll make some hot chocolate. Just put that thing away," Zubbin laughed.

Turmor was flown rather quickly to an empty pen, and deposited hastily on the floor. The two Cyodrakes, thinking only of their stomachs, flew off immediately.

He looked around his new "home". It was almost empty, except for a feeding trough and water bottle.

"Hey, hey you!" a voice called out from behind him. Turmor turned around to face...

"Meaty pot, meaty pot, meaty pot pie!" the Kougra nearly shouted into Turmor's face.

"Umm, right..." Turmor said, slowly beginning to back away from the disheveled feline.

"Meaty pot, meaty pot, meaty pot pie!" the Kougra exclaimed once more.

Turmor grimaced as the Kougra's sour breath hit him in the face. "Uh, hi. My name's Tur-"

"Meaty pot, meaty pot, meaty pot pie!" Obviously, the Kougra didn't care. Turmor put his head in his hands and sighed as the crazed Kougra continued his little chant.

"Hello!" a voice called out from a distant corner. "What did you say your name was?" The Elephante turned to face a blue Cybunny, peering through the bars of an adjacent cage.

"Turmor," he replied, "and yours?"

"Comanche," came the curious reply. "I've been here for three years."

"Three years?" Turmor asked, his mind churning like a stormy sea with many unpleasant thoughts. "Haven't you ever tried to escape?"

"Well," Comanche began, taking a quick look around before continuing. "It's funny you should mention it..."

..."but I've been waiting a long time for a Neopet like you to help me pull my plan off. You have--"

"Meaty pot, meaty pot, meaty pot pie!" interrupted the Kougra, jumping between Turmor and the bars of the cage.

Comanche blushed. "Ignore him." she said quickly. "You see, he's part of the plan. I guess after all these years of meaty pot pies, he'll finally do me some good." The Cybunny smiled awkwardly, as if she hadn't done it in a long time.

Comanche continued, "You're just the type of pet I need. Those tusks look pretty strong... do you think you could maybe pull off one of the bars of your cage with them?"

"Umm..." Turmor muttered, looking around at all the Petpets wandering around the paths of the zoo, "wouldn't we be caught?"

Comanche began to say something, but her voice was drowned out by a loud, "Meaty pot, meaty pot, meaty pot pie!"

The Cybunny shook her head, then continued, "We need a diversion. That's where 'Meaty' comes in," she said, pointing to the deranged Kougra. "He's been here for quite some time, so I think you should help him get out."

"What?" Turmor shouted in disbelief, but quickly clasped his hand over his mouth.

"Let him out!" Comanche whispered hoarsely. "Just do it!"

Turmor shrugged, then sauntered to the front of his cage. He wrapped his tusks around a bar, and with a mighty tug, it miraculously came loose. Before he could even step back, the bedraggled Kougra shoved him out of the way and squeezed out of the cage.

A cry of "Meaty pot, meaty pot, meaty pot pie!" broke the still air. Petpets everywhere turned and looked at the Kougra, then shrieked like there was no tomorrow.

"AIEEEEE! The monster's out!" yelled a Mallard. The Petpets ran around crazily, jumping in bushes and taking cover as the Kougra dashed around, screaming hysterically.

Turmor quickly squeezed through the space in the cage and ran over to Comanche's. He ripped a bar off of her cage, and the small Cybunny walked through with ease.

"Thank you," she said. "Now let's get out of here!"

The Cybunny hopped swiftly through the crowds of confused Petpets, but Turmor stumbled along after her clumsily. Soon, they had come to the wide-open front gates of the park. As they ran through, Turmor couldn't resist looking into the window of a small wooden shack just outside the entrance.

Inside, he saw that the two Cyodrakes had fallen asleep at a table, with their cocoa mugs still in hand. The Buzzer was sleepily pouring himself another mug, obviously too tired to notice that anything was going on. Then there was Mischief, sitting nervously on the counter.

"My Petpet!" gasped Turmor. "Comanche, we have to save him!"

"Are you kidding?" Comanche asked irritably. "We have to go, or else we'll get caught! Don't you ever want to get back to the Neopia we both know and love? I barely remember it, but I know--"

"No!" Turmor interrupted, "We have to get my little Polarchuck!"

"Wait!" called Comanche, but it was too late. Turmor had burst through the door of the shack.

"Heh?" Zubbin muttered softly, slowly turning to the Elephante. "What are you doing here?"

Turmor hesitated as Zubbin went on, "What are you doing here, mother? Aren't you back home in... in..." the Buzzer collapsed, snoring, on the floor.

Turmor rushed over to grab his Petpet, but the little Polarchuck didn't look quite right...

"He... it... he made you one of them! A giant!" Turmor gasped, snatching the large, heavy Polarchuck off the counter.

"Oh no! Now you hate me, and II have to stay here forever... I knew I shouldn't have drank it!" Mischief sobbed, wiping wis tears away.

Turmor looked at him, and said in a soothing voice, "I still love you. Big or small, short or tall, I'll always love you, Mischief. You're my Petpet, and my resposibility... so don't worry, I won't leave you behind. Now, first things first, what did you drink that did this to you?"

Mischief sniffled, and gave Turmor a hug with his furry paws. "The hot chocolate. It put them to sleep, but it made me big and sleepy."

Turmor grabbed the tear-stained Polarchuck and started to head out the door, when the Buzzer and the Cyodrakes started to wake up.

"W-what? HEY! GET HIM!"...

..."MEATY POT PIE!" The disheveled Kougra shouted out, while suddenly bolting in through the doorway, startling the pair of Cyodrakes and the Buzzer into stunned silence. Like the Kougra gone mad that he seemed, Meaty threw himself against the counter, rebounding off and smashing into one of the Cyrodrakes, which let out a startled croak as he tumbled into the other. Taking advantage of the situation, Turmor backed out of the doorway and turned to leave.

The zoo below was in shambles; obviously, Meaty had been a good enough distraction. Off to the side, Comanche leaped furiously in an attempt to get his attention, gesturing him to hurry. Turmor scrambled across the ground and took off after Comanche. He wondered briefly where the Kougra had gone, but the sing song cry of "Meaty pot, meaty pot, meaty pot pie!" That trailed the fleeing Neopets was answer enough.

Bounding past Turmor as he stumbled along, the Kougra passed by Comanche and vanished off ahead of them, only to return every now and then to circle back and start the process over. Turmor staggered a bit, unused to the new weight - and size - that Mischief had gained. "W-What," he gasped, drawing in a breath of air as he hurried along, "Is he doing?" Turmor said, indicating the Kougra with a roll of his eyes. Comanche continued onward, though spared him a quick look back.

"Making sure we're not being followed, I think..." the Cybunny said, looking doubtful for a moment, but hurrying onward nonetheless. Turmor was left with little choice but to follow.

"Do you know where we're going? How to get back?!" The Elephante gasped between breaths. He didn't want to admit he was getting tired, but Mischief's added weight was beginning to put a strain on him.

"Just a little bit farther..." Comanche's reply sounded encouraging enough, so he kept moving. Turmor even went so far as to put on another burst of speed, as Meaty circled back with a hopeful repetition of, "Meaty pot pie!"...

"Quickly, Comanche!" the Elephante bellowed.

"Soon... be... there..." Comanche panted.

Suddenly Turmor felt something cold land upon his trunk. He squinted his eyes and gasped, seeing a snowflake on the end of his snout. He suddenly shivered, and his feet became numb. Looking down, Turmor saw ice under his feet. He ran further, and the ice turned into snow, getting thicker and thicker.

"What is this?" he cried.

"Don't you understand?" Comanche puffed, "We came here through the Ice Caves! We have to get back and climb through the crack that dropped us in this Petpet land!"

Suddenly Mischief squealed and pointed a finger forward. There was a large cave mouth, with icicles hanging like jagged fangs from the top.

"HURRY!" Comanche yelled.

"Don't let them escape!" one of the Cyodrakes screamed, closing in behind them.

"Meaty pot pie!" Meaty wailed, raking at his face in despair. His feet then became tangled, and he slipped on the ice. He shot away and tumbled into the mouth of the cave.

"At least Meaty's gotten in!" Comanche said.

Mischief lagged behind, not used to his new large heavy body. Suddenly his feet became tangled and he slipped on the ice. With a bellow, Mischief landed on his backside, slid across the snow and crashed straight into Turmor and Comanche. With a series of shrieks and wails, the three whizzed along the icy ground, and with a large crack they slid straight into the cave!

The two Cyodrakes and the Buzzer were soon to catch up. Turmor, Comanche and Mischief all jumped out and rubbed their numb, cold bottoms. Turmor looked up and gasped. They were standing between two thin, narrow ice walls, and as he looked up he realised that they were at the bottom of the crack that led into the Ice Caves! Above them was Neopia, but how could they get there?

"We have to hold onto the ice and climb up!" Comanche cried.

"Meaty, meaty pot pie!" Meaty whimpered.

"Meaty, climb," the Cybunny said slowly, "CLIMB. Understand? Climb!"

"Aha!" Meaty drooled, sussing it out, "Meaty pot pie!" He held up his long, sharp claws, which hadn't been cut for years, and stuck them straight in the ice. He began to climb easily, as if he were hiking a mountain.

"It's too dangerous!" Turmor whined, "I'll fall!"

"You have to try!" Comanche answered, and with her paws she gripped the ice and began to climb slowly upwards.

"Come on, Mischief!" Turmor gulped.

Mischief started to climb, his arms straining with his body weight. Turmor put his large feet on the ice. It felt extrememly cold and he winced, but he lifted himself up and began climbing after the giant Polarchuck.

"GET THEM! HURRY!" the Buzzer roared from outside the cave, just a few metres away. Meaty was at the top. He pulled himself over the side and stood on the land above, his mouth wide open in awe as he looked around. Comanche was almost there. She panted and reached up towards the edge. Meaty grabbed her paw and hauled her up onto the side.

"Come on, Mischief!" Turmor urged, "They'll get us if we don't hurry!"

"Its... so... hard..." the Polarchuck gasped for air.

His muscles ached and sweat formed on his white furry brow, but with one last heave, he pulled himself over the edge. Now it was just Turmor.

He climbed up more and more, but his feet started to shake at the sound of the giant Petpets coming towards the cave. With a last pull, he heaved himself up... but his foot slipped. He was suspended in midair, with nothing to hold, nothing to grip. He started to fall backwards, the wind rushing in his face and eyes clenched shut, when he felt something grab his trunk and pull him back upwards. His eyelids snapped open to meet the face of... Mischief!

"Come on, Turmor!" the Polarchuck yelled, "Pull yourself upwards!"

They pulled and heaved, their arms straining, and finally, just when Turmor thought it was all over, he was pulled up over the edge!

He landed on his back and gazed up at the Ice Caves. He was home. There stood the Scratchcard Kiosk, the Neggery, and he was even glad to see the Snowager's cave!

"We're home!" he cried, jumping up, wiping away tears of happiness.

"Oh, Mischief, you saved me!" Turmor yelled happily, "You're the best Petpet ever!"

The four pets hugged and laughed. "We should block this crack, so others don't fall in like we did," Mischief said. With all of his weight, he ran into the wall, causing an almighty crash that sent hundreds of icicles to come down. The pets quickly moved out of the way and watched as the iciles filled the crack. It was soon gone, hopefully for a very long time.

Turmor breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on, everybody," he smiled, "Lets get out of here!"

They began to walk out, when Turmor gasped. "We have a problem!" he cried.

"What?" the others gasped in horror.

"How in Neopia am I going to explain a giant Polarchuck?" Turmor grinned at Mischief.

They all laughed, and walked out of the Ice Caves, their hearts happy to be home, and in the presence of what was sure to become a lasting friendship.

The End