"W-what can I do for y-you m-master?" enquired the Grundo, bowing his head.

"Things have been too quiet here. Have you looked at that blasted planet lately?!?" he demanded, pointing out a tiny window. There, the peaceful world of Neopia floated among the stars. "My cameras record happy pets! Frolicking with no worries whatsoever! This is totally unacceptable! How is my robotic army coming along?"

Grenton flipped through the papers on his clipboard. "According to our reports, your army is 98% ready, master."

"Ah ha! Wonderful. Soon, I will successfully overthrow those ridiculous Neopets, and replace them with my wonderful Virtupets! They don't eat or ask you to play with them, they have lasers cannons, and best of all... they only obey ME!" Sloth cackled in triumph. The pathetic little world would soon be at his disposal, to do with it whatever he wished. "Tell the deployment technicians to stand by. It's time to liven things up on Neopia."

Grenton's eyes flickered as he walked down the hallway. Soon, the army would land near Neopia Central, and Doctor Sloth would be with them. The Virtupets Space Station was now under Grenton's control. He grinned... his "nervous" act had worked. Sloth never suspected... and wouldn't realise his mistake until it was far too late...

The Grundo approached a barred iron door. The digital sign on the front read, "Robotic Army Engineering." Grenton snickered as he pressed his hand into the jelly fingerprint analyzer.

"Access granted," croaked the machine. The door slid open with a groan, only to slam shut as soon as Grenton had entered.

Grenton smiled as he examined the scene. Thousands upon thousands of robotic Grundos were lined up in columns across the vast room, each having been carefully built, numbered, and placed in order by Dr. Sloth's former assistant. It had been long, grueling work, reprogramming all of those robots, but Grenton was satisfied. It was, in all reason, extremely well worth his effort.

His thoughts drifted contently towards that fateful day, when his robots were perfected, and polished to shine. Sloth would depart on the space shuttle soon, with the Virtupets following him obediently. However, they wouldn't be obeying him... oh no, they would never obey *him*...

Grenton smirked as he strode over to robot number 37798. He patted its head fondly. The robots would attack Sloth when he least expected it.

"Then," Grenton said, "I will rule ALL of Neopia..."

...chuckling at this master plan, he headed for Grundos to get something to eat. Nothing can stop me now, Grenton thought happily. Sloth wouldn't know what hit him!

"Grenton, you are trying my patience," yelled Sloth. "When will the army be ready?"

"T-they are now, master," replied Grenton, faking a nervous voice. "My apologies for the delay." Sloth smirked, then walked towards a nearby window. A colourful planet was orbiting outside.

"Ah, Neopia," he whispered. "Soon you shall be mine!" Sloth cackled at this, then returned his attention to the "nervous" assistant.

"Grenton, it is time to deploy the Virtupets," he declared. The Grundo nodded, then headed back to the control room.

After returning to the control room, Grenton couldn't help but laugh at Sloth's foolishness. "Ha, a little modification was all it took," he muttered. "I will be the one to rule Neopia!" Dashing towards the control panel, he initiated the launch command. Several hatches appeared under the Virtupets, and they were soon on their way to Neopia...

"Reports are flooding in that several robots have landed in Neopia Central, causing chaos and destruction," informed the reporter. "Word has it that Dr. Sloth is behind this, but, the real question is: HOW DO WE STOP IT?"

Meanwhile, Sloth was already heading towards Neopia himself. Grenton watched gleefully as his master left him in charge... with no idea of the mistake he was making.

"Heh heh, this is excellent," laughed Grenton. "I..."

Sloth smiled to himself. All was going well as his ship smoothly descended into Neopia. Yes, all was well... until, suddenly, the ship jerked violently, sending Sloth out of his seat. "What? What's going on?!"

"The engine's stalled, sir!" a Grundo, sitting at the control panel, stuttered nervously.

"What's the cause?" Sloth spat as they began rocketing downwards.

"Unknown, sir!" the Grundo shouted.

"Well, you'll FIND OUT if you value your life!" Sloth shouted back. The Grundo nodded and began running towards the back of the ship. Sloth's brow twitched. To think, it had all been going so well...

Upon reaching the back of the ship, the young Grundo stopped in shock. Several Virtupets were crowded together in the engine room, plucking out various wires, each falling to the ground, sparkling and crackling.

One spoke into a transmitter. "Everything's going as planned, Commander Grenton."

A voice crackled on the other end. "Good... make sure everything stays that way..."

...The little Grundo raced back to Sloth.

"Sir!" he cried. "The Virtupets! They are destroying your ship!"

"What?!" growled Sloth. "They obey ONLY me! You're lying, you little--" he was cut short by another violent jerk that knocked him off his seat. "All right then!" he spat, climbing back up. "We'll just see about all this!"

Sloth and the Grundo strode to the back of the ship. He peered around the corner to see that, indeed, his very own Virtupets were tearing apart the ship's vital wires.

"Who would do this?" he asked, anger rising in his voice. "It had to be one of my Grundo commanders... they are the only ones with access to my Virtupets!" He seized the small Grundo. "Tell me who it is!" he barked. "Do you know who did it?!"

"Yes, master!" gasped the Grundo, who found it hard to breathe with Sloth's hand gripping his neck.

"It was... Grenton!"

Grenton strode around the Space Station as though he were King Skarl. He was totally in power right now, and once he'd gotten rid of Sloth, it would stay that way. He made his way to the viewing deck, to get a closer view of Sloth in despair. As he peered out, nose to the cold glass, Grenton stopped dead. Dr. Sloth's ship was turning around...

Grenton could feel a large lump forming in his throat, once he realized that Sloth must've either figured out his little plan, or at least determined that he had something to do with it. Grenton quickly got ahold of himself and smirked. "Very well," he said quietly as he walked to the control panel. "We'll just have to alter our plans a bit."

Meanwhile, back on the ship, Sloth and his crew tried desperately to get back to the station before his entire ship was destroyed. "Initiate booster engines now, you idiot!" Sloth shouted.

"I'm trying, sir," cried the small Grundo as he frantically pushed buttons and pulled levers. "They're not responding! The Virtupets must've already disabled the wires!"

Sloth could feel his blood boiling as he gripped the armrests of his chair. I'm going to strangle that little traitor, he thought.

Just then, another loud explosion came from the back of the ship. Sloth and the Grundo turned to see that the Virtupets had changed their position and started coming towards them. Cannons and lasers emerged from their chests as they began to fire at Sloth and his only crewmember. Sloth quickly activated the automatic door which, luckily, was still operational. He knew that wouldn't hold them for long, though.

"What will we do, Sir?" cried the Grundo as they both hid behind Sloth's chair. "All of our weapons have been stored, and the ship's crawling with these things!"

Sloth's eyes grew red as he studied the door, which had almost been destroyed by the Virtupets. "The only way to stop them is to attack them directly in combat," he replied.

The Grundo's eyes grew wide with surprise. "You mean you're going to go in and fight them yourself, Sir? That's very brave of you!"

Sloth then grinned wickedly. "You mean, brave of YOU!" He grabbed the Grundo by the collar and took his ray gun.

"WHAT???" cried the Grundo as Sloth carried him towards the door. "No! No, Sir... PLEASE!!!" Sloth paid him no attention as he quickly opened the door, threw the helpless Grundo into the mass of Virtupets, then quickly closed the door again.

Sloth ignored the poor Neopet's cries for help as he headed straight for the escape pod. Luckily, it had its own wiring and engine, so its controls had not been harmed during the attack. As the pod launched into space, Sloth began to plot all the things he would do to the traitor...

...At the same time, Grenton had been wondering what to do with Sloth.

"No, no no no! It's not supposed to go like THIS!" Grenton howled as he watched Sloth's escape pod inch closer and closer to the Space Station.

"Hrm, what to do... what to do?!?" Grenton paced the room, racking his brain for an idea. As an idea struck him, he sneered with an evil smile.

"Let him come," the Grundo snickered, "that way, it'll be even easier to get rid of him..."

The escape pod smoothly sailed into the docking bay, landing with a gentle thud.

"Thank you, and welcome to the Virtupets Space Station!" welcomed a cool, electronic voice. Sloth scowled at the happy noise and made a note to have something more sinister installed. The room itself was empty, devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of Grundos running about...

Yes, it was too quiet.

Sloth didn't notice, however. Instead, he simply strode forward, hoping to soon find Grenton soon. He needed a new subject to test his sludge gun on.

When he opened the door, though, Sloth found a shocking surprise. Standing before the door were three of his robots, all pointing their lasers towards him.

"GRENTON!" Sloth howled in anguish as he saw the robots. Instantly, the intercom system crackled as the small Grundo took control.

"Hello Slothy," Grenton said disrespectfully. "Having fun, are you?" he asked mockingly. Sloth snarled as he began to grow red.

"If you do not call off these robots, I shall..."

"You shan't do anything! I'm in charge now, and my FIRST order will be to dispose of YOU! Goodbye, DOCTOR!" Grenton laughed as the intercom clicked off. The laser cannons on the robots began to hum and spring to life, aimed perfectly at Sloth...

"What in the name of?" began Sloth, noticing the aftermath of the shot. A web-like design was crawling over his skin, soon covering his entire body.

"Ah, I see the rays do work," said Grenton. "You see, you've become the victim of my new virus! My little creation will drain away your life force... until you are completely gone! Rather than taking you out quickly, I'd prefer to watch as you experience a slow, painful demise."

"You... IDIOT!" Sloth roared in anger, taking out his sludge gun. He blasted the robots' vision sensors, rendering them completely blind. Then, running back to his space pod, Sloth blasted off.

"Aww... is little Slothy looking for a cure?" asked Grenton over the speakers. "Well, try as you may, you'll never find one!" Grenton cackled, then turned off the speakers. Since Sloth would soon be out of the way (or so he thought), the Grundo decided to move on to Part B: domination of Neopia!

"Things are taking a turn for the worse, as more robots continue arriving in Neopia," said the reporter. "These robots are coming in like Flightning Bugs--but wait, this just in! A craft has arrived from the Space Station... who could it be?"

Sloth was beginning to feel the effects of the virus, and been forced to turn to a last resort. The evil doctor would have to find a cure in Neopia; otherwise, the disease would kill him. He cursed under his breath, then slouched towards the Clothing Shop for a disguise.

Meanwhile, Grenton was taking his time at the Space Station. Things had gone even better than he'd anticipated, so he rewarded himself with a "short" nap on the control panel...

...Grenton's eyes fluttered open. Briefly, he wondered how long he had been asleep. Lifting his head up, he felt cold steel against the back of his skull. Slowly turning, Grenton gasped in horror. He was looking down the barrel of Sloth's raygun.

Dr. Sloth grinned. "So, thought you'd gotten away with it, hmm?"

The Grundo jumped away from his seat, back pressed to the control panel. He was shaking. "H-h-how did y-you survive? That virus should have destroyed you!"

Sloth gave the Grundo a condescending smile. "My little Grenton. I admire your evil ambitions very much. Regretfully, though, it seems you are in way over your tiny little head. It takes YEARS to become a master villain. Did you really think this little plan of yours would be enough to get rid of me? You should know, the number one rule of villainy is: DON'T TRUST ANYONE." He held up a small remote. "If you understood how to be a proper megalomaniac, then you would know to always have a failsafe. This wonderful little remote has now deactivated every one of the reprogrammed robots. If I were to push this green button, right over here," Sloth said, his finger moving over a glowing button "then, when rebooted, they will all start up with their original programming!" He punctuated his statement with a triumphant laugh.

"B-but that still doesn't explain how you survived my virus!" the Grundo cried.

Sloth's face fell slightly. "Ahh yes, well... it seems those pesky Faeries weren't fooled by my disguise. However, they still struck a deal with me. They agreed to cure me if I stopped my Virtupet onslaught, which I did." Sloth turned his attention back to the remote. "Heh. Stupid Faeries! I didn't become a super villain by keeping my promises! Now that I'm safely back on MY station, I can continue the destruction of Neopia!" Sloth placed his finger over the green button.

"Wait!" Grenton cried. "Even after they saved you, you're still going to destroy them?"

Sloth sneered. "Welcome to 'Evil Villain 101.'" Sloth pushed the button with a click.

However...

Sloth looked in horror at the remote. "What? It's not working!" He pounded the remote with his fist until it snapped in two. "What's going on?"

"Oh, I just reprogrammed that particular button on the remote," Grenton replied with a pleased laugh. Smugly pleased by Sloth's confused glare, he continued, "Sloth, you should know, the number two rule of villainy is: BE READY FOR ANYTHING. Congratulations, that button you just pushed has fried your beloved Virtupets. They are now useless."

"B-but, why destroy your key to taking over Neopia?" stuttered Sloth, frozen in fear.

Grenton laughed heartily at Sloth's confusion. "Sloth, you fool... I didn't want to take over the world! As long as you remained free, I knew that the independence of Grundos everywhere would always be at risk. Don't you see? This whole thing was planned from the very beginning, even down to your cure. Oh, by the way, let me introduce you to a few of my friends..." Sloth looked up to see hundreds of Neopets and Faeries, including the ones who'd given him the cure to Grenton's virus, forming a ring around him.

"No, NO!!!" Sloth howled, really terrified for the first time in his life. "This can't be happening!" He sank to his knees, pounding the floor in desperation.

Grenton looked at Sloth in disgust and said, "Welcome to Neopia 101."

Two Lupes came forward and handcuffed Sloth, then dragged him away to be locked up for life.

When the two Lupes and Sloth had reached the doorway, Sloth jerked around to face Grenton. An evil grin covered his face as he shouted. "Just you wait, Grenton... I won't be stopped! You'll see, Neopia will be mine! I will return! Mwahahaha!"

Grenton shook his head and turned around, proud to have succeeded. As the other Neopets congratulated him, however, a feeling of unrest came over him. Sloth's words echoed in his mind. "I will return..."

The End