The Beginning of a Legend: The Story of Magax

      The Wocky whispered, “Magax, are you awake?” It was Megan, Magax’s sister.

      With a dazed expression, Magax asked, “Where am I?” He was groggy and his words were slurred.

      “You are in the Intensive Care Unit of the Neopian Hospital. You took some nasty blows from the Battle Faerie,” answered the Gelert, who was apparently a doctor. Magax closed his eyes, trying to remember an encounter with the Battle Faerie. Blurry scenes swam before him as his mind drifted to that recent day...

      “You have done well, Magax,” a harsh voice rasped. “You have conquered more faeries than any other Destroyer I’ve hired, but now you must defeat the Battle Faerie. She has thwarted my plans for Neopian domination long enough.” Hubrid Nox laughed, a grin spreading across his face.

      “I am not ready for the Battle Faerie! I barely made it out of that last fight alive!”

      “Silence! I know you had trouble with the Air Faerie, but I have had the scientists make a potion for you. I also have a new weapon for you. Come here!” Magax followed Hubrid into a laboratory, where a red Lenny in a lab coat handed him a bubbling green potion.

      “Drink it,” Hubrid hissed. Magax had been required to drink potions before, so he did so without hesitation. All of a sudden, he found himself rising into the air, but the Lenny grabbed his leg. Magax, confused, looked to Hubrid.

      “You have trouble with the faeries because they can fly away from you. With this, you will be able to go after them! Now, I have something else to give you. Come into the Weapons Room.”

      Magax managed to touch his feet back on the ground, and followed Hubrid down several flights of stairs to the Weapons Room. As he stepped through the doorway, the gloomy depths of the room were eerily lit by a glowing black axe which was floating in the center of the room. “This,” grinned Hubrid, “is the best weapon Neopoints can buy. Watch.” He strode over to the axe and picked it up... only to have it disappear!

      “Where did it go?” asked Magax, alarmed. Hubrid grinned.

      “I’m holding it. When you pick it up, it becomes invisible. Swing it, and a bolt of energy flies from it.” Magax was excited to get such a weapon, but he tried not to show it. “Train for a month, Magax. But after that, I expect you to fight the Battle Faerie!”

      Darkness enveloped Magax and the images faded as he heard the faint voice of his sister and struggled for consciousness. Again his eyes were met by the anxious gaze of Megan and the doctor.

      "So you're saying that I actually tried to fight the Battle Faerie? How do you know all this anyway?" Magax focused, the best he could, on the doctor’s kind face.

      "Well, the Battle Faerie brought you here. When you went to go fight her, Hubrid followed, and as usual, he wasn't thinking and bragged about everything to the Battle Faerie, revealing all his secrets. You didn't even have a chance to fight, because Hubrid wouldn't let you fight until he was done talking, and, well, you know what happened next... Hubrid was so busy talking that he didn't even notice that the Battle Faerie had already defeated you."

      Magax groaned and put his head back down on the pillow. "I can't believe this. I don't remember any of this happening. Why would I be Hubrid's apprentice? I've always wanted to fight against him..."

      Megan and the doctor looked at each other, wondering how to explain what had happened to Magax. Megan finally spoke.

      "Hubrid... he... he made you drink a potion. It had a strange effect on you. You had a sudden urge to leave home. We did not know where you went, but apparently you went with Hubrid.”

      “Well, I’m going back there as soon as I’m better, and I’m going to show Hubrid! Do you have my axe, Megan?”

3 MONTHS LATER:

      “Hubrid!”

      “Ah, Magax! It is you! You know, I’m very disappointed in you for not defeating the...”

      “Hubrid, you wouldn’t let me battle until you had finished talking!”

      “Hahaha! That does not matter. What matters is that you came back!”

      “Well, Hubrid, you have caused my family enough pain. You have caused Neopia enough pain. It is time that I put a stop to it!” And with that, Magax slowly rose into the air.

      “Ha! Aren’t you clever! Not so fast, little Wocky.” Hubrid stepped aside to reveal Magax’s parents, bound and gagged, and Megan a mutant!

      “You... How did you find out?” Magax squeaked in disbelief.

      Hubrid’s now familiar grin spread across his face.

      “I have my ways.” He whistled, and four huge mutants came through the door. “Do you see those Neopets, the ones that just came through the door? They’ve been brainwashed. At my command, they could instantly crush any one of your family members. In order for this not to happen, you must continue working for me!!!”

      Magax was shocked, but he knew that if he pretended to go along with it, Hubrid would believe Magax had ‘submitted’ to him. “I... agree,” said Magax very solemnly. But as he walked into the next room, he gave a wink to his family.

ONE YEAR LATER:

     “I told you not to do it, Hubrid!” Magax yelled at the top of his lungs, pinning Hubrid to the wall with a dagger.

      “Umm, sorry?” Hubrid’s voice cracked, and cold sweat ran down his brow.

      “Hubrid! Trying to take over Neopia with TCG cards? I knew you were crazy, but for Pete’s sake--you lunatic!!” To Magax’s surprise, Hubrid’s worried expression turned into his oversized grin.

      “I just remembered,” he said with a smirk, “that I revived about two hundred ghosts at the graveyard in the Haunted Woods. They should be figuring a way out of the graveyard any second now. Then my ghost minions will take over Neopia! Muahahahahaha!”

      Magax dropped his dagger, picked up his Dark-light axe, and flew as fast as he could to the old graveyard. Sure enough, there were ghosts EVERYWHERE! He stopped them fairly easily, and sitting down to rest, he noticed a laboratory test tube on the ground beside him, filled with glowing liquid. The tube read: “Potion of Everlasting Life”. Magax smiled. “This might come in handy...”

      “So... you found my potion, eh, Magax?” Hubrid chuckled with glee. Now the fool would serve him forever. Magax thought he was so smart! “Now you will be under my control for all eternity, fool!”

      “Hubrid, I drank the potion because you must be stopped. I think I may be the only one standing between you and the destruction of Neopia.”

      “So... this is what it has come to! I thought you were with me, Magax. I thought I could trust you. No matter. You will be under my control in no time. MINIONS, ATTACK!!!” And with that, ALL the ghosts in the graveyard arose from the ground and floated toward Magax. He just grinned.

The End

Note: Do not drink any potions that Hubrid offers you. Especially if he says they are from the health food store. They are NOT from the health food store! Of course, you can drink them if you want to, but you’ll probably be very sorry...