"A-are you SURE we h-have to do this Tyler? I mean, Eliv Thade went mad. I d-don't think it's a good idea to wander into his mansion," stuttered the blue Kacheek.

"Relax Joey, he passed away years ago. What is he gonna do? Come back as a ghost and haunt us?" Tyler said sarcastically, waving his hands around his head and "wooing" for added effect, before falling over and laughing. "Besides, lots of pets have been going there lately. They say if you can solve some puzzles painted on the walls, and make it all the way to the crypt, you will be rewarded!"

"Yeah, rewarded with WHAT? A vile death?" Joey shuddered, hugging his prized possession, a Mutant Kacheek Plushie, tightly to his chest. He never went anywhere (especially a scary place like this) without it.

"Well I'M going. You can sit here in the woods by yourself if you don't want to come," said Tyler before starting off towards the abandoned mansion.

Joey looked around nervously. The sun was already setting, painting the sky a blood-red color. The Kacheek hurried off after his friend.

He met Tyler on the doorstep, just opening the door. "Well, here goes!" he said, as they both stepped in. The door slammed to a close behind them, causing them both to jump. "U-uh... it's probably just the wind," Tyler said, trying to convince himself more than anyone.

Joey tried the doorknob. "Uh, Tyler, IT WON'T OPEN!" yelled the Kacheek, quickly reaching a point of hysteria.

"You're just not pulling hard enough," said the Gelert, pushing Joey away. "See? I... can... OPEN IT!" said Tyler, straining with all his might to pull open the door to no avail. "Phew... okay. So it's stuck. There must be another way out. We're just going to have to find it. Come on, follow me... and stay close!"

Wide-eyed with fear, Joey squeezed his plushie for assurance, as he followed his friend down the dark hallway...

"That must be old Eliv Thade," laughed Tyler. "The old nut. He went insane over some dumb puzzle."

"Y-yeah... a dumb old puzzle," said Joey. He giggled nervously, but couldn't find anything really funny about the situation at all.

Tyler suddenly skidded to a halt. In front of them was a solid stone wall, with only a fading picture of old Thade festooned upon it.

"Wonderful," groaned Tyler, "a dead end. Now what should we do?" He asked, staring in disgust at the enormous portrait of the loony old Kacheek.

"I think he's looking at us," whispered Joey, eying the picture. Indeed, Eliv seemed to be glaring right at the little Kacheek with his blood red eyes.

"Stupid, it's just a picture," Tyler shot back, knocking his paw against the portrait to prove his point. Suddenly, they heard the sound of paper tearing. Tyler had punched right through the painting!

The Gelert and Kacheek stared through the torn picture in amazement. "It was a doorway," whispered Joey. Behind the painting was a pitch black corridor!

"Let's check it out! I bet no one has been down this way before!" Tyler said eagerly, running straight through the ruined painting. Joey sighed, squeezing his plushie again.

"How do I get mixed up in these things?" he whispered to himself. His mind full of doubt, Joey took a deep breath and plunged into the dark passageway...

"Hey, look at this!" Tyler shouted to Joey.

Joey hurried forward to see what Tyler had found, and gasped as they both stood at a doorway leading into an old bedroom. Tyler raced forward and jumped onto the huge, decrepit old four-poster bed, and began bouncing up and down on it.

"Hey, I bet Eliv Thade slept in this bed, the old nutcase!" Tyler said, laughing at his own wit.

"I wish you would stop badmouthing him. Nobody knows if he's really dead... they never found a body, so keep quiet!" Joey shouted in utmost terror.

Tyler looked at Joey with an expression of mild shock. He seemed to be considering what Joey had said. He climbed down from the dusty bed and it gave a sigh of relief as the weight was lifted from its old, rotting mattress. Tyler walked over to Joey and put a paw around his shoulders.

"Joey, my friend! You need to relax, stop stressing and help me find a way out. Besides, we can explore along the way!"

Joey sighed and as they both turned around, only to be greeted by a pair of glowing red eyes which shone through the gloomy room.

"Well, well, well Tyler. It seems as if your friend Joey has a valid point. They never did find my body...

The ghost only laughed cruelly and said in a mock tone, "Squealing will get you nowhere, pathetic coward! You are in the grasp of Eliv Thade, master of all riddles, whom no creature can escape or out-smart!"

A last bit of courage then roused in Tyler's mind. He stood in front of his friend and growled, challenging his foe to move closer. His blue and white furs were raised on his arched back, though it was plain that his lower lip was trembling slightly.

"Pathetic mortal!" the evil voice boomed. "You cannot stop the great Eliv Thade!"

Thade drew out a short, black sword, but did not charge yet. He had other plans...

"If you think you're so bold, then perhaps you would like to solve a little riddle for me? If you guess right, then I will consider freeing you, but if you guess wrong, I will give you a closer look at my little toy," he said, brandishing the dark blade...

"Uh... al- alright." Tyler said, trying to muster courage in his voice.

"Unscramble 'fesufr'," he grinned, running his fingers across the edge of the blade...

Eliv's eyes narrowed. "Unscramble 'yebtart'!" he snarled.

"That's easy! It's 'battery'!" shouted Joey.

Tyler looked on amazedly as Joey demolished every single anagram Eliv could think of. Eliv scowled, "There is still one anagram you have not solved... ah, but that is for later... in any case, you still cannot leave." Hmm, Thade thought to himself, that was over quicker than I had expected.

Tyler was impressed. "Hey Joey! I didn't know you were so good at these kinda things!"

"Never know until you try," Joey said, grinning for the first time since he had entered that mansion. He had never felt that he could help defeat Eliv Thade, the great puzzle-solver, let alone single handedly defeat him! If Eliv will let us go when I solve more anagrams, then we're home free! he thought to himself.

Eliv had other plans, however. "It's not that easy," he announced with a look that could've dropped Joey where he stood. "You first must retrieve all the artifacts from my mansion!" he cackled insanely. "I guess you have earned yourself this first one," he said glaring at them, before throwing the dark sword at their feet.

"Fine!" said Tyler, his natural bravado returning as he saw his best friend's confidence rise. "We'll go through your stupid maze, and we'll beat it, too!"

"We'll see about that," Eliv smirked. He glided to the maze. As he left, he whirled around and bellowed, "Nepenico!"

"Pinecone!" returned Joey.

Eliv Thade's face grew terrible and he whooshed to the maze, roaring, "Louly vernn veela vilae!"

Tyler began shivering. "What did he say?"

"Give me a minute... ah. Oh."

"What did he SAY?!" Tyler demanded.

"'You'll never leave alive'..."

As they stumbled toward the maze, Tyler wasn't holding his head so high anymore. Tyler whimpered, and Joey looked at his pal in astonishment. "You're not... afraid, are you?" Tyler sat down and nodded fearfully. Joey was baffled. "But you're Tyler! You can't be afraid!"

"Well, I am now," whimpered Tyler. "Stay close to me, Joey. I couldn't decipher one of those anagrams if my life depended on it--and it seems that it does..."

Tyler nodded and joined his friend as he set off through the maze. They walked down twisting corridors, not knowing when Thade's icy, sinister voice would unleash a puzzle; a puzzle which could very well decide whether Joey and Tyler would live or die.

"Fusraec!" Thade bellowed, making both Neopets jump.

"Surface!" Joey yelled back, a hint of triumph gleaming across his face.

They continued walking on, until suddenly finding a door. Joey tried to open it, but found that the door was locked. He knew that an artifact was locked in this room, and that in order for them to retrieve it, he would have to decipher another anagram.

"Civeedie!" the evil Kacheek shouted.

Joey thought for a moment. Deceive!" he responded, only seconds later.

The door clicked, and Joey pushed it open. Beckoning Tyler to follow him, they walked into the room and picked the shield up from the table.

"We have two artifacts now," whispered Joey. "Two more, Tyler, and we're home free!"

A smile appeared on Tyler's face; something that Joey had not seen in a while. Joey was having no trouble solving the puzzles, and there was no reason why he would falter now. They would be going home tonight.

Joey and Tyler continued around the maze as the clever blue Kacheek solved every anagram Thade threw at him. At last they had retrieved all of the artifacts. Tyler's smile grew permanent, and Joey hugged his mutant Kacheek plushie.

"We're going home!" cried Joey and Tyler together.

"No you're not!" bellowed a voice as it echoed all around them. "You may have the artifacts, but now you have to make your way to my crypt!"

He cackled evilly as his icy voice faded into the musty air that surrounded them.

Joey and Tyler's faces dropped, and Joey clutched his plushie once again, holding it close to his chest. That last cackle of evil laughter made Joey wonder if they really were going to get out of this mansion alive...

They progressed along the dark hallway, flinching with every squeak of a floorboard that sent more rats scuttling into the shadows. Joey had felt better when Thade had been throwing anagrams at him. At least then he had an enemy he could see and a riddle he could solve; now it was just him, Tyler and his imagination populating the shadows with nightmares.

The minutes passed in utter silence. Joey began to grow more frightened; a few of the threads holding his mutant plushie together snapped from his tense grip. Joey stared unhappily at the tiny bits of cotton stuffing lying on the ground.

"Thade's too quiet," Tyler whispered, but the sound was swallowed by silence. Joey barely heard.

"I know," he said. "He should have thrown at least five anagrams at me by now. Something's wrong."

Joey listened to the quiet. It roared in his ears like no noise could. It was so--empty... and ghost-free. An hour ago Joey would have been glad of that; now he wasn't so sure. Eliv Thade wasn't here, so where was he? And what was he doing there? Walk, Joey told himself firmly. Just walk. If you think, you'll scare yourself.

"Hey!" Tyler stopped suddenly, and Joey bumped into him. "What's that?" Joey craned his head around Tyler's shoulders. The door to the crypt! It could be nothing else, rotting and wooden but locked securely.

Tyler began to run ahead. A horrible feeling sped up Joey's spine like ice, and he screamed, "No, Tyler! Wait!"

But Tyler wouldn't. The cloud Gelert hammered on the door to the crypt. The door opened suddenly, and Tyler gave a startled cry, lost his balance, and fell inside. The door slammed shut and relocked behind him. Joey stared. "Tyler!" he yelled, running up to the door. He could hear his friend scrabbling at the door.

"So the Gelert fell into my trap," said a cool voice behind him.

Joey spun around to face the smug ghost. "Thade!" he snarled.

"Yes, my name. That's already been established. Now I have a challenge."

Joey's mouth went dry. This didn't sound too good. "Yes?" he croaked.

Eliv Thade grinned evilly. "A riddle. If you can solve it, I will free your friend and you can go. If not, you will join him and lay in my crypt for enternity!"

"Give me the riddle," Joey whispered. There was no other choice.

"Do you really want it?" Thade mocked. "Fine, then. I want you to solve the riddle that drove me mad and eventually led me to my demise...

A scroll of parchment fell at Joey's feet, and he picked it up cautiously. Scanning the parchment, Joey bit his lip and sat down to think. "Hurry, Joey!" came Tyler's muffled voice from inside.

Joey frowned in thought. He could understand how Eliv Thade had gone mad trying to solve this- and now his life and Tyler's rested upon the hope that he himself could solve it. But was that even possible? "How much time do I have?" Joey called out, hoping Thade would be fair enough to respond.

"Until the clock strikes one!" cried Thade, adding with a cackle of laughter, "Unless you go insane first."

"But that only gives him two hours!" Tyler shouted.

"Two hours? Really? Then let's make it midnight!"

Despite the situation, Joey couldn't help feeling a little angry at Tyler (and Thade) for cutting the time he had in half. However, Joey would just have to ignore this thought and move on. He forced air down his lungs, concentrating on the puzzle.

"This doesn't make any sense," he thought out loud. "It's impossible... unless... no, that doesn't work at all." Joey thought he heard a faint murmur from inside Thade's crypt. He stopped talking a moment.

"Joey!" Tyler hissed, as quietly as possible. "Joey!"

"What?" Joey inquired eagerly.

"Remember that Thade doesn't know the answer!"

"Tyler, what do you mean? Oh..."

Now Joey wasn't afraid at all. But I can't just say I know it now, he thought to himself, I'll have to wait and make Thade think I'm still trying to work it out.

"Tyler... Tyler," he whispered.

"Yeah Joey?" came his reply.

"I'm really sorry about this, but you'll have to hold on a bit," said Joey.

"How long's 'a bit'?" gulped Tyler.

"Nearly one whole hour," Joey said with pure sorrow in his voice. Tyler didn't reply. Joey knew he wouldn't.

The blue Kacheek sat there looking at the puzzle, pretending that it was the most difficult thing he had ever seen. (Which wasn't that hard, since it WAS the most difficult thing he had ever seen).

Joey would say things like, "Ahhh this is SO hard." and "I'll NEVER get out of here alive!" while making a very succesful scene by crying.

Every now and then Thade would come into the passageway, convinced that Joey and his friend were never getting out.

Joey looked at the clock. He could hear Tyler's impatient cries from the other room. Five minutes to go.

"Hey, Thade!" yelled Joey...

"I-I-I've solved your riddle," stuttered Joey.

"Really?" asked Thade, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Then what is it? Oh, and hurry up... you only have two minutes left."

Joey leaned over and whispered something into Thade's ear. An amazed and angry expression came over Thade's face. "WHAT?!?" he roared, the whole house trembling in his anger, "How can that be?!?"

"Well, am I right or wrong?" questioned Joey, squeezing his plushie so hard that the strings on its neck were ripping.

Thade looked over the riddle several times, then answered slowly, "I don't believe it... it can't be true!"

"Well," Joey pressed.

"It just so happens that you're right," Thade finally answered, as he slowly disappeared.

"Wait! Come back," shouted Joey, "what about Tyler?"

That's when a thunderous crash roared over the mansion. Joey found himself outside of the house, with Tyler standing there, tail between his legs and paws over his eyes. "Is it over yet?" Tyler asked, his voice barely audible.

"Yes," came a voice from above. Tyler and Joey looked up to see Thade's spirit. "Thanks to you Joey, I can finally rest in peace, for the riddle is solved." With that, his spirit rose up to the heavens...

On the way home, Tyler asked Joey, "Hey Joey, what was the answer to the riddle, anyway?"

Joey replied, "It was really simple, actually..." then leaned over and whispered the answer into Tyler's ear.

"Oh..." Tyler said, his eyes lighting up as he heard the answer, "of course! Oh well, let's hurry and get home... I'm starving!"

So then, as they began the long journey home, Tyler looked over at his friend, and knew that he would never see him in the same way again.

Eth Ned