"And so, police fear the wave of Chia captures will get worse before it gets
better. And now, Jewel, the cooking Chia for some new Chia Pop dishes..."
Crooky24 the Christmas Chia wasn't listening. He was thinking about this new
Chia fad going around Neopia. Of course, it was against Neopian Law to catch
Neopets that were in their own cities (Furgleton, another Chia city, and Crooky's
own city, Chiopia. Both were made up of mostly Chias and were built by Chias.
But Crooky still worried. Residents of both Chia cities had to go through Lupe
Forest if they wanted to get to the next town. And trapping wasn't illegal there.
Aside from his own well being, Crooky worried about someone else's. His best
friend, Nip72. Nip and Crooky had met a while back and become best friends.
But Nip said that he was being called a traitor and he left to rejoin his own
kind. Although the two hadn't seen each other since the night Nip had left,
they still remembered each other and now Crooky was worrying. Lupe fur (especially
painted fur) was worth a lot of money in some parts of Neopia. Hunters pay a
lot for a soft, white pelt or a flame-licked tail. Nip's fur was soft with no
tan belly. He was a rare PURE white Lupe, and hunters would get him if they
could. Crooky brushed the thought from his mind.
It was late at night when Crooky waddled downstairs to get a Green Apple Slushie.
He stubbed his foot/toe on a chair and squealed in pain. Grumbling, Crooky let
his nose glow and light up the darkness (Although Crooky's description showed
his picture as the snowman Chia, he remained a reindeer Chia). He groped around
inside his refrigerator but felt no Slushies. In fact, no drinks period! Crooky
was amazingly thirsty and also tired. He didn't think very clearly when he decided
to go to the next town and buy some, because his store was closed. Crooky pulled
on his almost-cover-all-coat-with-hunter-scent to keep Lupes away, got a flashlight,
and left the house.
The moon was full and the path was well lit. It was a lovely night. Through
the trees, he could see Kiko Lake shining. The moon bathed over the lake and
gave it a frosty look. Against his better judgment, Crooky walked closer. He
wanted to enjoy this peaceful moment. It didn't last long. As Crooky sat by
the lakeside, thinking and looking, he noticed that more and more noises were
all around. Maybe that was what finally made him use common sense. He jumped
up and ran.
"Get it!" A voice cracked through the night and barks followed Crooky.
Crooky wasn't a fast runner. He figured that it was the end when he felt huge
blows knocking him to the ground. When he felt hot breath and hungry growls
all around him.
"PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M JUST A CHIA!" Crooky yelled in desperation.
Laughs began but a growl stopped them.
"That's enough, everyone. Go get a drink. We'll raid the garbage behind Salmon
Steaks O' Plenty tonight."
That voice was familiar. Crooky slowly pulled off his hood and looked at the
towering figure above him. It was the smiling face of Nip72.
Nip and Crooky talked and rejoiced for a while. It seemed that Nip now was
alpha male of the Kiko Lake Lupe pack. This was their hunting night. And Nip
insisted that Crooky stay with the pack for the night. This was hunting night
for other packs, too. The Lupes had a pretty nice den. It was by the edge of
the lake and it was stocked with food. Seeing the pack rip into the salmon steaks
and fries that they had raided earlier made Crooky glad he was hunted by Nip's
pack, instead of another.
Well, after that, Nip and Crooky met often for visits. One day, Nip and Crooky
went into the woods and played, just like old times. They sat by a brook afterwards,
and it was their that Nip snapped to attention.
"Humans! I smell them." Was all Nip said, other than telling Crooky to get
on his back and hold on tight.
If you have never been a Chia riding a Lupe, you won't know what Crooky felt.
He held on VERY tight as Nip sprung with amazing speed through the forest. It
would have been thrilling if Crooky hadn't felt so helpless. He remembered an
old tale. It involved a white Lupe and a Chia running away from hunters. But
in that story, the Lupe didn't make it. A tear fell from Crooky's eye as he
thought of what may be coming ahead.
Nip and Crooky made it to some rocks. Nip panted heavily. The two hid in a
cranny to hide. After what seemed like hours, the noise stopped outside. Nip
gulped and stepped out to look. He said he didn't smell anything and he seemed
relived. He began to walk along.
"Come on Crooky, I think we still have some old Strawnella Shakes back at the
cave. We can celebrate!"
The friends walked along, laughing and joking about how stupid humans could
be sometimes. Then Nip came to a stop. But this time he looked happy as he sniffed.
He said to wait, that someone must have left a Sugar-Coated Lupe Treat. He sniffed
around, walking into a clump of trees. Suddenly, Crooky heard a bang and a yelp.
Crooky quickly moved aside the leaves. Inside was a huge cage. Door had snapped
shut and now neither Crooky or Nip could open it. Nip was so scared that he
didn't even want the Lupe treat left as bait. Finally, the two sat down and
hoped for the best.
"Really, you should leave. There isn't any reason why both of us should be
caught," Nip said.
"Nip, don't talk like that! I'm not leaving you here!"
This loyalty made both of them sadder than ever. It was about a half hour later
that some men came. Crooky ran into the bushes, Nip began to pace and snap at
them, and they laughed.
"Look at him, it's like he really thinks he can get himself out!" The first
said.
"Yeah. But it's true, he really looks mad. Be careful," said the other.
The first man nodded and approached the trap. Crooky watched in horror as the
man pulled out a long, white, tube. He aimed it at Nip, put something in one
end, and blew in another end. Nip yelped in pain and Crooky felt sick. Crooky
felt his throat go dry as Nip fell to his side. It was too much when the men
opened the trap and wrapped Nip in a net. And when they began to take him away,
Crooky issued a Chia battle cry and raced at them, head down.
The second man worked Crooky's antlers out of the first man's you-know-but-I-might-not-be-able-to-say-it-here
and loaded him into a small cage. Then the men (the first in bandages) drove
away. Crooky cried. The only happiness was coming from the fact that the first
man wouldn't be able to sit down for a long time.
By the time night fell, Crooky was in a cage at a lab. He was trying to get
used to the smell of antiseptic when some men in white coats came. They whispered
some things. Then they wrestled Crooky out of his cage and shoved him into another
transporting one. Although he didn't catch many of the words among the scientists,
he did hear a few.
"Vicious...white Lupe, just caught today...keeps attacking...can't use him...put
down tomorrow...let's get some lunch."
Crooky squealed and screamed, but it was no use. Dr_Death came into the room,
picked up the cage, and set off to the pound.
The pound was worse than the lab. But it would have been worse if Crooky was
new to it. He remembered it as the place were his old owner had dumped him because
he was a mutant Chia. Lucky he had found that Christmas Paint Brush, escaped
and became wild.
Crooky didn't want to be adopted and not let go. Nip was going to be killed
tomorrow! So the Chia punched and bit at whoever tried to see him. Dr_Death
came at 8:30 and began shoveling out slop that was food.
"Chia, why won't you be good and be adopted? Most pets love it," Dr_Death said.
Crooky sighed and quickly explained the story. At the end of it, Dr_Death had
tears in his eyes.
"That's beautiful. I remember you now, Crooky24. You were always a special
Chia. I don't know why I didn't recognise you."
He pulled out some keys and unlocked the cage. Giving Dr_Death a smile of thanks,
Crooky leaped out and sped away. He was going back to the lab, back to Nip.
It was a long trip. And Crooky isn't exactly in shape. Before long, he was
panting for breath. Sadly, the little Chia sat down on the side of the street.
Suddenly, he heard a sound. It was a roaring one. Then bright lights flashed
at him and a green motorcycle pulled up. A pretty blue Poogle hopped down. She
was wearing a fire-coloured crash helmet.
"Need help, stranger?" She asked.
Once again, Crooky explained the story. The Poogle nodded and listened, then
nodded again.
"Go on. Take my motorcycle. I was going out to buy milk, but this is more important.
I'll have to tell ilovepets85 that I got sidetracked."
She explained the instructions for the bike and told that her name was Chick993.
Crooky thanked Chick, put on the helmet, and sped off as best he could on the
cycle.
Crooky did a terrible job riding but he managed to get to lab. It was a long
trip though, even with the motorcycle. By the time Crooky got to the lab, it
was dawn. The little Chia managed to weasel his way into the building and down
to Nip's cage. It was empty. Crooky was about to give up right there. But then
he thought about Nip's pack. About Nip's mate waiting back home. He had to get
his friend back. Asking a Kyrii for directions, Crooky ran off.
It wasn't THAT hard to find the room were pets were destroyed. But it was locked.
Crooky wasn't going to give up now! He used his Chia attacks until he thought
he would collapse. Luckily, the door did first. Inside, Nip was laying strapped
onto a table. His eyes were red. The lab team was holding a red scanner type
thing over him, the thing used to wipe pets from the database. Before Crooky
could react, they pressed a button and Nip's eyes closed. He let out a shuddering
sigh and then faded from sight.
Crooky managed to escape. He even managed to get home to Chiopia. But he was
heartbroken. How would he tell the pack that they had lost their leader? It
was so hard. About 4 days after Nip's passing, Crooky had cried himself to sleep.
He still wasn't over his friend's death. He had a strange dream. He was in a
snowy white place. This was like in the legend of the white Lupe and Chia! Sure
enough, a lot of Lupes were there. Two identical ones, pure white, played and
romped through the snow. A split Lupess and a muscle-bound fiery male watched
and smiled. Crooky approached the two non-white Lupes.
"Who are those Lupes?"
"The one on the right is Nip72, our son. We haven't seen him since he was a
pup. And the Monocerous attacked. The one on the left is Nip's idol, Angel.
He was in an old Neopian Times issue. And he is in a Lupe/Chia legend. Nip always
did love that tale, he really does love meeting his idol."
Of course! Nip had mentioned something like that, once!
"Hey, Crooky!" Nip glided over. "You know, I'm not ready to be here yet. I
want to go home. Crooky, can you do me a favor? Tell the Disposal Team that
I'm here and I shouldn't be." He gave a lot of instructions. "Now it's time
to end this dream, Crooky. Don't forget the standard vision-scream."
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Crooky woke up. He knew what he had to do.
Well, Crooky wrote letters. Lots of them. He begged for Nip to be put back
in the database. One day, Crooky had almost given up. He was in his house, not
doing anything special. When he saw a pure white face at the window. Running
outside, he threw his arms around the Lupe's neck and hugged him. Although Nip
said he didn't know why. Crooky decided it was best not to tell him.
Well, things are back to normal for Nip72 and Crooky24. Nip visits Crooky,
the two stay out of trouble. When Nip asks what happened at the lab, how Crooky
saved him from being wiped (that is where he can't remember anything), Crooky
just says that he beat up the lab guys and they got out. Then he changes the
topics to something good.
The End | 
