An icy wind swept throughout the palace, the black curtains that were meant
to prevent sunlight from entering blew around wildly. The darkness of the night
enveloped the castle. A dark shrouded figure bounced over to the windows, staring
out for only a second, then quickly moving away, letting the darkness of it's
home wrap it up in its black cloak. The caped figure bounced into a half-empty
room, its stomach rumbled as it took a seat in an old rusty chair. "Time vor
dinner?" he questioned himself. Grinning, he hopped off his chair and swiftly
bounced over to the window. Hopping onto the sill, with his long black cape
trailing behind, he sucked in the night air, "Ahh...young Neopian blood!" he
thought. Within a second, the bouncing figure was no more then a small black
bat, gliding through the air.
"Mmm... ze scent ov dinner," he said, licking his lips and landing on a tree.
Then, gracefully landing on the ground, he returned to his shape of the figure
in the cape. From the hidden darkness where he was standing, his eyes trailed
a spotted female Blumaroo. He grinned, and the light of the moon shone to reveal
two long sharp fangs.
He began following the spotted Blumaroo down a path near the Roo Forest that
lead to the town. The blumaroo sensed that someone was following her, so she
bounced at a quickened pace. She heard the snap of a twig break, and the crunching
of leaves, "Wh-who's there?" she called out, terrified as she turned around
abruptly, expecting to find someone behind her. She let out a sigh of relief
as she observed no one was there, "Hmm, me and my silly imagination!". She thought
and bounced back around to continue her journey home.
"Vhere do you think you are going?" whispered the raspy voice of the stranger
who had appeared before her.
"Wh-who are you? What do you want from me!?" She cried, terrified and confused.
"Vhat? you don't know me?". He said grinning. "I am Count Von Roo," he smiled
mischievously, his two shiny fangs glistening in the light of the moon.
"Pl-please, I have some Neopoints. You can have them," she stuttered, showing
him a small bag.
He grinned, revealing his fangs once again, and cackled in high-pitched laughter,
"Muhahahah, I vant to drink your blood".
Five hours later, as the sun rose over Neopia, the shadow of Count Von Roo
disappeared into the night. Laying on the ground, in a clearing on the side
of the path, was the limp body of a spotted Blumaroo...
"Please! Someone... anyone! Help my poor Blumaroo!" cried a young Neopet owner.
In her arms she held the weakened body of her spotted Blumaroo. She had been
running around Neopia for days trying to get help. It seemed the blumaroo could
NOT be healed by the Water Faerie.
A blue Chia, wearing a police uniform approached the young girl, "Look M'am,
I understand you want to help your pet, but you've been causing quite a scene
here in Neopia Central for the past few days. I'm very sorry to say but, your
Blumaroo has lost too much blood. It would be best for you to let the blumaroo
go free... It might return as a vampire." he said sadly.
"A Vampire?!?" whispered the confused girl.
"Yes... it hasn't happened in a few hundred years, but it seems Count Von Roo
has returned, and wants more than just a few drops of blood." replied the Chia,
shaking his head.
"Ok, I'll let her out into the Haunted Woods tonight," the girl said sadly.
As the sun disappeared from the sky, the girl approached the Haunted Woods.
Laying her poor Blumaroo on the ground, she stared for a minute. "Can you hear
me Lizzieroo?" the girl whispered, wiping a tear that had rolled down her cheek.
As the girl turned and began to slow walk away she heard a sound. She turned
to face her Blumaroo, who was now slowly awakening, and getting up from the
cold hard ground of the forest. "Lizzieroo!!!" The girl cried excitedly, rushing
over to the Blumaroo. She suddenly stopped, for the blumaroo's eyes were glowed
red, and two long fangs appeared, "No!!!" the girl cried, as the Blumaroo stood
up on its tail hissing at her. Then, turning around, the Blumaroo bounced off
deep within the Haunted Woods.
***
Standing near a huge window in the old musty palace, Count Von Roo peered out,
the sky was dark and the rain fell heavily. The violent winds sent raindrops
into the palace, dampening the curtains. The Count heard a noise behind him
but didnt move. He knew who it was, he could smell the fear and excitement of
the young vampire. The dark figure bounced out of the darkness and approached
Count Von Roo. "I've come, Master," it said softly.
"I knew you vould, Lizzieroo." He replied, turning around and smiling.
"Come vith me, my dear," he beckoned to the young spotted Blumaroo. She smiled
and bounced after him as he lead her into the palace's basement. Cobwebs covered
the walls and there appeared to be cells, which held nothing but skeletons now.
"A dungeon?", asked the curious Blumaroo.
Count Von Roo laughed, "Muhahaha, vell it vas, until recently." he said. "How
can one have a dungeon vithout prisoners?" he questioned. Lizzieroo nodded.
At the end of the dungeon's corridor was a hallway; it was different from
the rest of the palace. It wasn't cobwebbed or smelled musty. The walls were
covered with expensive paintings featuring many evil creatures. Lizzieroo noticed
the savage beasts from pictures and stories she'd heard about them from the
Gallery of Evil. At the very end of the hall was a self-portrait of Count Von
Roo himself, and across from it hung a blank frame. Count Von Roo noticed Lizzieroo
staring at the frame, "It's vor my Queen..." he informed her.
She stared at him, confused, "Queen?" she asked, puzzled.
He laughed as he entered the room where his coffin resided. "You, my dear."
he whispered turning around and grinning. Lizzieroo stared at the Count in disbelief.
That's when, out of the shadows, a rather bizarre creature emerged. Upon closer
inspection, Lizzieroo saw it was a Grundo."Who are you?" she asked.
""The one who made you Queen. Of all the neopets in Neopia, I chose you."
replied the Grundo. "My name is Moogor, but you may call me Moo," the Grundo
said twiddling its toes.
"There is good in here; I can smell it!" Count Von Roo screamed, enraged.
Lizzieroo, not expecting the sudden outburst, jumped back in fear.
"Well, she's not perfect, YET!" answered Moogor calmly, as he spread his wings
for the first time in Lizzieroo's presence, then glided over to the bookshelf.
Moogor removed a huge book from the shelf and opened it on a nearby table. "This,
my Queen, are our plans... Neopia shall be yours." he said, pointing to the
open page.
Lizzieroo stared at the marks on the map of Neopia before her. "War?" she questioned.
"Of course, what else?" replied Moogor, cackling insanely.
"Where are the Faeries! Where?!? Have you even summoned them?" demanded Count
Von Roo. It was after dinner, and still the Faeries had not shown up for the
meeting with the Count and his Queen-to-be, Lizzieroo.
"I summoned the Faeries, maybe they're just late." replied Moogor.
"The Faeries are on OUR side?" asked Lizzieroo, excitedly.
"Not those Neopian dimwits! The evil Faeries, we call them the Triad of Evil,"
answered Moogor. "Oh." mumbled Lizzieroo under her breath.
An icy gust of wind blew throughout the room instantly, and three Faeries
dressed in black appeared. They were all very pale, and had brightly colored
hair, purple, blue and red. "Well since you're all LATE AS USUAL, you can introduce
yourselves to Lizzieroo!" yelled Count Von Roo, obviously angered about their
late arrival.
"Don't raise your voice to me, Vampy!" Said the blue haired Faerie as she cackled.
"And, you must be Lizzieroo?" Asked the Faerie staring at the spotted Blumaroo.
"Yes, I am."Lizzieroo said confidently.
"I am Kiara, Queen of the Triad," said the blue haired Faerie.
Then, the purple haired Faerie stepped forward, "I am Phred."
"And I am Casper," said the red headed Faerie smiling evilly, as she tossed
a ball of fire from one hand to the other.
"Ahh, I see the circus is here, and the clowns are late yet again." Moogor
said as he laughed. "Choose your words carefully, my bald idiotic friend, for
they could be your last". whispered Kiara. Moogor instantly backed down, knowing
and fearing the power of the Triad.
"We're here for business, not for jokes. Let's get this over with quickly,"
urged Phred, as the ceremony for Lizzieroo began.
Casper waved her hand around the room, and appearing in a flash were books,
ancient scrolls and candles. "Sign here, in blood." Casper said, pointing to
a scroll.
"Von Roo probably already got it all! Moohahaha!" cried Moogor as he began
rolling around on the floor, laughing hysterically.
"SILENCE!" Screamed Kiara. Moogor stifled his laugh and brought the ceremonial
cup. After signing her life over to the Triad, Lizzieroo drank from the cup.
"With this Crown, you shall be the queen of evil in this land, spread fear
and hatred into the hearts of young Neopians." Said Phred, as she whispered
ancient blessings over Lizzieroo.
"The crown". Called Count Von Roo to Moogor, who quickly handed over the crown.
"My Queen! Muhahahah." Laughed the Count as he bit into Lizzieroo's neck.
"YUCK!" Said Moogor as he mumbled on.Just then, the Faeries were gone. They
disappeared as fast as they had appeared, as though they had ridden off on a
gust of wind. Moogor shuddered, "I hate when they do that!"
***
"How many Neopoints do you need for ze veapons, Moogor?" The Count said angrily.
He had been discussing Neopoints all morning and it was making him sick. The
Count was eager to take over Neopia; he had all the battle plans ready, and
now the weapons were being a pain in the neck.
"About, 20,000,000 should do for now," interrupted Hack, the assistant general
to the Count's army.
"Vhat?!?" boomed the Count.
"Well," replied Hack, as he padded across the room, "I was planning on getting
some good Hidden Tower items, because the Faerie Queen would never suspect me,"
he said slyly. Hack paused for a second as he scratched his black ear and allowed
his fiery striped tail to curl around him. "I was planning on getting a couple
of fire and ice blades for my strongest soldiers, but if you'd prefer they fight
with golden butterknives, then be my guest. Neopia won't be laughing at me,
they'll be laughing at Count Von Roo and his butterknife army." said Hack, grinning.
"Butterknife army!!! Moohahahah, you're killing me, stop!" shrieked Moo as
he rolled around the floor in laughter.
"Fine, do whatever it takes, as long as I win." mumbled the Count .
"You mean WE!" said Lizzieroo, gracefully bouncing into the room, hardly making
a sound.
"Well, hello there," said Hack as he approached her.
"Down Jack, that's the Queen," Moogor said, as he got up from the floor.
"IT'S HACK!" screamed the angered Kougra.
Staring at the Count's castle from Triad's Peak, Casper groaned, "You're not
actually gonna let that bucktoothed kangaroo rule over Neopia, are you? I mean,
if he DOES conquer Neopia, he's surely going to imprison us or attempt to get
rid of us; our power is too much for him to even consider controlling." Casper
finished as she threw a small ball of fire into the sky, just as an innocent
Pteri flew by, engulfing it in flames and sending the helpless animal plummeting
to the ground.
"I know," answered Kiara from the seat on her throne chair, "Let him try! We
will win, in the end."
"The cauldron guarantees it," whispered Phred. She was the only Faerie known
to use a witch's cauldron with success, and in it she saw Count Von Roo's miserable
failure, alone and cast out again, hurt and betrayed by those he trusted. "She
will decieve him," whispered Phred.
Lizzieroo glanced out of her room's small window again, staring at the free
Neopets, roaming Roo Island as the sun set. She missed being free, but this
was better in a way; everything had changed for her in the past week. She had
met Moogor, the General of the Army, Hack, the Asst. General, the legend himself,
Count Von Roo, whom she had actually began to like. The evil Triad of Faeries,
all powerful, but seeming mysterious as if they hid millions of secrets. Lizzieroo
personally wouldn't trust them, but the Count had convinced her that the Faeries
relation to him and Lizzieroo was strictly business and nothing more. She had
also met Starz, a halloween Cybunny, who began to teach Lizzieroo her duties
as a leader and queen. Starz was younger than Lizzieroo, but had been through
much more. Lizzieroo remembered the stories Starz had told her about how she
came about working for Count Von Roo.
"I was a young pet, still a baby in some ways, but grown enough to understand
life. I was captured by some beasts that worked for Count Von Roo at the time,
but they eventually betrayed him and I was locked in the dungeon. In due time,
I was freed to roam the palace, and now I can travel Roo Island. However, I'm
not allowed to leave the island. So, i'm still a prisoner... it has been decreed
by the Count." Those were Starz' words; Lizzieroo couldnt forget them.
She had begun to question the Count, not understanding if she herself was
a prisoner. Lizzieroo had asked to be allowed to visit Neopia Central again.
She would take the ferry at sunset and make it there by nightfall, but Count
Von Roo had forbidden it. He had made it clear that she wasn't allowed to leave
the palace until Neopia Central had been conquered. He had assured her that
as soon as Neopia Central belonged to him, it would be easy to conquer Faerieland,
Tyrannia, The Lost Desert, Haunted Woods, Krawk Island, Mystery Island, Terror
Mountain, and the Virtupets Space station. Then, she would be free to go where
she pleased. However, that time was so far away, and now more than ever, Lizzieroo
felt like a prisoner...
Chapter 3
Within a few days, the once empty palace became a sea of different faces. Guards
were hired to protect the rooms that held the maps and plans for the war. Soldiers
who would help Count Von Roo in his fight to reign over Neopia visited daily
for meetings with the General and the Asst. General, making plans and training
to become invincible. Neopian low-lifers and beggars appeared in the palace
at times, attempting to help Count Von Roo, but the Count was no idiot... he
knew what they wanted. Not to help him win his fight against goodness, but to
get their greedy hands on as much neopoints as they could. He turned away many
beggars without a second thought, but some of these assorted low-lifers were
strong and fierce, making them candidates for the Count's powerful army. War
plans were a breeze for Hack and Moogor. Although they didnt get along at times,
their vengeance on goodness made them co-operate for the sake of winning. Training
was also quite easy, considering the Count had hired a tough Krawk to keep the
future soldiers in shape. There were also training lessons conducted by Hack,
who had an undefeated background. His winning streak in the Battledome made
hundreds of soldiers look up to him.
Lizzieroo awoke at sunset to violent screaming. "Starz, what in the blazes
is going on?" she asked sleepily, too lazy to check for herself. Starz didnt
answer. She's probably out somewhere, thought Lizzieroo as she rose from
the coffin and left her chamber.
"What?!? You call yourself a MAN? Talking about, 'Ooh, a girly is gonna train
me,' and you cant even do a single pushup?!?" screamed the voice.Lizzieroo walked
down the hall and turned the corner, towards the training arena, a place the
Count had told her pets where to be trained until Hack thought they were good
enough for the army. "Come on, this isn't the beauty parlor! What, are you afraid
to break a nail?" yelled the voice of the striped Krawk, whom Lizzieroo
was now staring at. The Krawk stood over a purple Mynci, who was quietly mumbling
curses as he struggled to do pushups.
"What's going on?" asked Lizzieroo, confused.
"See, this clown thinks he can call me weak and get away with it, but he can't
even do a pushup!" said the striped Krawk confidently, as she put her foot on
the back of the Mynci, who was now face down on the floor. "Get outta here,
stupid beggar!" said the Krawk as she removed her foot from the Mynci's back,
grabbed him, pulled him up and pushed him towards Lizzieroo. The purple Mynci
hurriedly scrambled away.
"Scared away another one, Princess?" asked Hack as he quietly approached from
the opposite hallway.
"The name's Choker," answered the Krawk, irritated.
"I'm Lizzieroo," interrupted Lizzieroo.
"I know who you are, Queen," Choker answered.
Hack peered into a huge room adjacent to them. It was quiet, except for the
two Neopets battling at the moment. From the sidelines stood other Neopets,
waiting hungrily for their turn to battle and make it into the army. "Doing
a good job, princess, they're real toughies when they get to me," Hack said,
grinning and quickly winking at Choker.
"What are you, deaf?!?" growled Choker angrily, grabbing Hack's black fiery
tail and yanking it, "The name's CHOKER! Twitch that eye again, and you'll only
have ONE left, got it?" she said.
Hack pulled his tail away from her grasp and grinned, then slipped around the
next corner. "He acts like I'm his wife!" Choker said angrily to Lizzieroo,
who had been staring into the battle arena room.
Lizzieroo had headed back to her chamber after dinner. The Count decided to
not let Lizzieroo out that night; he said something about an important meeting.
Lizzieroo lay down in her cold stone coffin; the Count had offered a wooden
one, but there was no blood running through her veins to keep her warm anymore,
so she couldn't feel the coldness anyway. Laying there, she thought about everything
the Count had mentioned to her at dinner; he had actually sounded like he cared
about her. She then shuddered at the thought, and decided to think about something
else.
Lizzieroo was not evil and she knew it. The vampire in her made her do evil
things, but she could never be truly evil. Starz had tried to convince Lizzieroo
that she was just in denial, but Lizzieroo knew the truth in her heart. "Thinking
about hatred, evil and fear again, I hear my favorite words", whispered Kiara
as she floated into the room.
"What are you doing here?!? H-how did you know that?" asked Lizzieroo as she
quickly stood up.
"I read your mind and told her," Phred said as she appeared. "We're here for
a meeting," finished Casper, grinning and tossing a fireball at Lizzieroo. The
fireball extinguished itself before it touched Lizzieroo, and Casper cackled.
Lizzieroo entered the study, which was guarded by two Jetsams. Meanwhile,
the Faeries floated in behind her. Choker, Hack, Moogor and the Count had been
waiting. "What took ya?" asked Choker rudely.
"They did," said Lizzieroo, pointing to the Faeries.
"We don't have all day, what do you want?" demanded Casper impatiently.
"Is there a problem?" asked the Count suspiciously.
"No, we just have other business to attend to," answered Kiara.
"Everything's ready," interrupted Moogor, "we have undercover soldiers acting
as merchants in Neopia Central, and of course, some in Faerieland to keep the
Faeries busy," he finished.
"Then why have you summoned us if everything is ready?" asked Kiara.
"We wanted to stare at your hideous face," Choker said, grinning. Moogor collapsed
in laughter.
"We did not come here to be insulted," whispered Phred. "I can take care of
the Krawk for you; she thinks her life is worth something in my presence," laughed
Casper as she playfully allowed a flame to light at the tip of her finger, glaring
at Choker.
"I summoned everyone to inform you of something that concerns us all," Count
Von Roo cut in. "We attack at dawn...." | 
