AL, ALWAYS IGNORANT of his surroundings, set about looking for it. He poked
his head into a trash can, digging through the garbage until pulling out with
a newspaper in his paws.
"Huh? What's this?"
He opened it up to a large headline in bold
black letters.
HUBRID NOX TALES OVER THE WORLD
Al gasped in horror.
"WHAT?!?! SOMEONE DIDN'T RECYCLE THIS?!?! How
disrespectful to the environment!"
Al clucked his tongue as he put the newspaper
into his coat pocket and went out in search of a recycling bin, whistling as
he waltzed down the eerily empty street. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a cracking
whip, followed by loud complaining from a familiar voice.
"Would you go easy on the whip? I have a back
problem, you know!"
"I know, you worthless slave! That's why Ahmagonna
sell ya to the glue factory!"
"Oh, sure, that's just peachy keen."
He whirled around to see a rather strange sight.
A rather fit-looking skunk Skeith in a black uniform was riding a blue Kau and
waving as he galloped towards Al. The Kau looked bedraggled and miserable, but
the rider was smiling like it was a sunny day.
"Howdy Captain! Just patrolling these here streets,
ya know! Hubrid's orders!"
Al frowned.
"Aren't you Rancid Rex, the greatest outlaw
in the wild west?"
"No, actually. I'm Rancid Rex, the greatest
torturer of slaves in Hubrid's Dungeons. Ain't that right, Kaupoke?"
Rex gave the kaupoke a firm kick in the ribs.
"OWCH!! Why, if I weren't brainwashed and my
spirit wasn't sucked away, I'd..."
"Anyway," Rex interrupted. "I reckon yous better
get back to Hubrid's Mansion. He's been lookin' fer ya. So long!" Rex whipped
Kaupoke again, and, amidst loud complaints, he continued on his way. Al raised
an eyebrow.
"Something doesn't seem right..."
Al glared suspiciously after the quickly retreating
back of Rex.
"What's a Western Outlaw like him doing in Lupe
Forest?"
Suddenly, a loud voice began to echo in Al's
head.
"Alexander! I'm transporting you to the Central
Control room...Hubrid Nox wants to have a word with you."
Al gasped. "What? Huh?"
Suddenly, Al felt a strange feeling, like the
feeling you have right before you have to sneeze. His nostril flared, his left
eye twitched, and with a loud pop and a puff of smoke, he was gone.
Hubrid's Mansion...
A puff of smoke and a flash of light announced
the arrival of Al into the Central Control Room. He sneezed loudly, stumbling
onto his feet and teetering to regain balance.
"Wha?!? Where am I? What's going on?!?"
"The Central Control Room of Hubrid's Mansion,
sir!"
Al jumped. "AUUGH!! Don't do that!!"
He turned towards the source of the sound to
see two strange Chias in black uniforms standing in front of a gigantic metal
door. They smirked evilly at Al as the first one, a purple Chia, began to speak.
"Hubrid has been expecting you, hasn't he Mark?"
Mark, a green Chia, nodded like a bobble head.
"Oh, yes indeed, Milford. He's been expecting
you for quite a while now."
They both nodded in unison.
"Yes indeed, sir. So come right on in!"
With that said, Milford reached over and pushed
a button near the metal frame of the entryway. With a creak and a slam, the
door swung open. The floor under Al began to move forward, forcing him towards
the entrance, until he found himself plunged into the darkness of the strange
room beyond the doorway. The doors slammed shut behind him with a crash. Everything
went silent.
"And I thought Mark and Milford were strange
already..." He thought to himself.
"Oh, I wouldn't say they are strange. I'd say
they are...eccentric. Just like...me."
With a flash of green light, Al saw the silhouette
of a Chia, sitting in a black, finely crafted throne. His slicked back hair
gleamed in the dim light, and two glowing red eyes peered from underneath evil,
slanted eyebrows and above a devilish moustache.
"Well, welcome back to the Central Control Room,
my most trusted companion, Captain Alexander. I'll be happy to read the report
you have prepared on the other control rooms."
Al, shocked to see the infamous Hubrid Nox,
hater of Lupes and world-domination-aspiring villain, standing in front of him,
found himself in an awkward situation. "Well, well we... well..."
"Ah, never mind, I'll get it myself."
With that, Hubrid's eyes grew a little redder.
"Hm... that's funny...you don't seem to have
a report...but you DO have something else in that little mind of yours..."
Hubrid was silent. After a moment of silence,
he gasped, clutching the arms of his throne.
"WHAT?? What are these...these...MONSTERS...that
I see in your memory?"
Al frowned. "What do you mean? Monsters? Memory?"
Hubrid was sweating, and looking somewhat disturbed.
"H-h-hairy... something like Gelerts, but without
the ears...And vicious, sharp teeth...OH MY..."
Hubrid shrieked. "LUPES!! THEY'RE CALLED LUPES!!!
THESE DEMONS ARE KNOWN AS LUPES!! Where did you find them, Captain Al?!? Why
are they so hostile towards Chias?!?"
Al frowned. "Monsters? Uh, pardon me, but I
think they are normal pets, just like you and me...They can be found in Lupe
Forest, and I've been trying to find out why they are hostile towards Chias
for years! Now..."
Hubrid began to wail.
"What are they doing to those Chias?!?...NO....NOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Hubrid began to writhe in his chair as he continued
to read Al's mind, retracing all the lupological study Al had done the past
few years.
"GUARDS...GUAAAAARDS!!! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!
LOCK HIM IN THE DUNGEONS!! I MUST NEVER HEAR OF THESE...L-L-LUPES...AGAIN!!!
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!?!?"
Before Al could respond, Mark and Milford had
appeared on either side of him.
"Right away, your highness! Right, Milford?"
"You bet, Mark! Am I right?"
"Of course, not another word about..."
"SHUT UP!!!" Hubrid screeched. With a mumbled
apology, the two Chias grabbed Al by the paws and whisked him away...
Hubrid's Dungeon...
Al found himself chained to the damp, dirty
wall of Hubrid's dark, deep dungeons, his face the perfect picture of puzzlement.
"I wonder what that was all about..."
"YOU wonder? I've been here for YEARS, and I
STILL don't know what I did."
An ancient, grizzled-looking, and rather short
Aisha appeared from the shadows, with chains attached to his stubby and thin
legs. They rattled whenever he made the slightest move, which soon became quite
annoying to Al.
"My name is Creeper. I've been an honest citizen
of Neopia...or Noxville, as he calls it now...for years. Then, one day, he captured
me, and without even having a trial, forced me down here. I've been searching
and searching, but I haven't been able to find a way out."
Al sighed, staring at his chains. "At least
you have the freedom to move your arms."
"Oh, that can be easily fixed..." The Aisha
pointed to Al's arm holds. "Just tug really hard and they should come off. The
leg ones are new, however. They hold on very well."
Al tugged, and after a fair amount of force,
the armholds did fall off. He tried tugging the legholds as well, but they were,
as the Aisha said, brand new, and stuck tight.
"Well, Creeper, as long as I'm stuck here, I
might as well talk to you..."
Al sat down against the wall.
"I'm curious, Creeper...Hubrid acted as though
he didn't know what Lupes are. I mean, everyone should know that! They live
everywhere, you know."
The Aisha blinked. "Lupes? I've been here for
a long while, son. Maybe it's some newfangled contraption, or something, but
I certainly don't know what Lupes are."
Al frowned. "You don't know either? Geeze, and
we're right in the middle of Lupe Forest, too..."
"Lupe Forest? This place was called Furgleton
before Hubrid Nox came and took over the world. Now, it's simply Noxville, like
all the other cities in the world..."
"Wait...when did Hubrid Nox take over the world?"
To be continued... | 
