This plot line began on June 12, 2001 and concluded with the rediscovery of the Lost Desert, the Seige of Sahkmet, and the war to save it from Dr. Sloth. Shortly after it's completion, King Coltzan was murdered and Usurper began.

12th Swimming :Our story starts at the Annual Neopian Cheat! Championships. With a prize of over 250,000 Neopoints at stake, Neopets from all over Neopia attend - hoping to carry off the trophy, the money, and of course, the title of Neopia's Biggest Cheat!

If you haven't played it yet (and why not!), Cheat! is a card game on the Neopets site itself, and can be played here.

Anyway... this competition was attended by some familiar characters, including Brucey B, 00 Hog, Princess Fernypoo and even Capara the Kyrii. With hundreds and hundreds of other players, what hope did they stand? This year would most probably be the same as last year, and the year before that... complete and utter failure.

The busy, completely crowded hall was full of the players who had traveled from all corners of the globe. Suddenly a voice started to boom out across the room... and the room was suddenly quiet. They were about to announce the names for the first round.

Brucey B began the competition on a lucky streak. He picked up the right cards and made all the right moves. His smiles began to turn into chuckles, and his chuckles began to turn into laughter... tonight was his night... nobody could beat him!

The golden medallion around Brucey's neck was noticed by everybody... I mean, how could anybody have missed it? After every hand, Brucey would kiss his lucky coin, just to make sure his amazing luck never rubbed off!

With the help of his coin, Brucey breezed through the quarter finals, the semi finals, and then to the final itself. He could not believe his luck, he would imagine a card in his head, and it would be the next card he picked up, every time!

The final was over in 20 minutes, and Brucey had demolished both his opponents. Brucey was the new champion!! 250,000 Neopoints and the trophy was his!!!

Brucey was delighted, he had finally won something, and could not stop thinking of the thousands of ways he could spend his prize money! A new yacht, a golden Neohome, and all the food he could ever dream of eating! Young Neopets would recognise him wherever he went, he would be the most famous Cheat! player in the whole of Neopia!

However... a long long way away, and completely unknown to Brucey... somebody, or something was watching.

That night, Brucey headed home. Opening the door of his Neohome, he prepared himself for bed, knowing that tomorrow he would celebrate in style! Brucey noticed a letter lying on the floor. That's funny, who would write ME a letter? thought Brucey as he bent down to pick it up.

Dear fellow Cheat! Player,

Congratulations on your performance in the recent Cheat! Championships, I am impressed. I am cordially inviting you to a private game, tomorrow on the 14th day of Relaxing. The minimum buy-in will be 100,000 Neopoints, and I am sure this will not pose a problem for you. Look forward to seeing you there!

Yours Sincerely,
R.S.

Brucey could not resist the offer! A great chance for him to win EVEN MORE Neopoints! With his lucky coin around his neck, how could he lose.

Suddenly, the telephone rang... 'CONGRATULATIONS!!!' came the voice over the speaker. It was Capara the Kyrii, Brucey's friend. 'I heard you won, thats fantastic news' said Capara. 'What are you going to do with the money???'.

'Oh, hi Capara.. yeah great news isn't it! I have been on this amazing lucky streak all week...', replied Brucey, '... and, and I have even better news for you... I have been invited to another game, I'm bound to win....'

'Don't you DARE!' cried Capara... 'You know what happened last time... now you put that money STRAIGHT in the National Neopian, or I'll be round there this minute'.

Brucey just smiled... nothing in the world could convince him otherwise, he would be at that game tomorrow.

It was dusk when Brucey arrived at the mysterious house he had been given directions to. He walked down a dark alleyway to get there, and knocked on the big wooden door. He was startled to see an evil Mutant Grundo open the door, 'What have I got myself into??', thought Brucey as he descended into the dark cellar below...

(this movie is about 140k, over a minute on a modem)

Brucey was heartbroken... he had lost his money, and his coin... and it was all his fault!

http://images.neopets.com/desert/4_neohome.swf?cache=0

Capara, Brucey B and Princess Fernypoo decided to track down the mysterious stranger. After a couple of hours they had done an awful lot of talking, but not much else. While Fernypoo was trying on her 3rd new travel outfit, Capara and Brucey decided to get a bite to eat.

'Grr... I can't wait till I get hold of that little thief', growled Brucey. 'Yeah, we'll show him, that silly Jetsam won't know what hit him', laughed Capara.

As they walked into the main shops, Brucey had a thought. 'Kauvara runs the local magic shop, she must be VERY wise, perhaps she can help us', he told Capara. A couple of minutes later they entered the shop, and eagerly started telling the story of the Lucky Coin to Kauvara. She listened intently until Brucey finished then took a deep breath.

'Hmmm... I haven't noticed anything strange recently, although I have been busy in my shop. You know you should probably go to see the shop wizard, or perhaps that Brain Tree creature in the woods... If something is happening in Neopia, they would normally know about it. Sorry I can't help you more, here are some potions and fresh sandwiches, they should come in handy later on.'

With that Kauvara walked back into her shop, wished Brucey B the best of luck and locked the door tightly shut.

Meanwhile, many miles away...

'Thank you, you have done well', hissed Sloth as he grabbed the medallion from the mysterious scarred Jetsam. 'I trust the carriers are loaded... we may proceed as planned.'

http://images.neopets.com/desert/5_sloth.swf?cache=0

The mighty carrier ships launched with a thunderous roar, and flew off into the night...

The next morning...

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As the sun set that night, two dark shapes flew through the night sky, still headed towards their final destination, travelling south... always south...

Sloth relaxed back in his chair, surveying the dark forest beneath him. If he could hear the screams of terror coming from below, it would most probably have made him smile... but Sloth's mind was focused on something else. He gripped the coin in his hand tightly, knowing that tomorrow his journey would be over.

Other notes, Rework!!!

Part 7 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin has been released!

Facing imminent doom, Capara's sobs began to fill the air. She begged for mercy, cried for her mummy and wailed how she wished she had never set eyes on the stupid coin.

It was at that moment that streaks of sunlight began to shine through the branches of the trees all around... the sun had risen, but how.. it seemed like that they had hardly spent a whole hour in the forest. The red eyes in the darkness began to retreat, and the scary gnarled forest around was not at all frightening any more.

The gnarled branches gently scooped Brucey B out of the mire and placed him on solid ground. Fernypoo was released although the scowl on her face was anything but thankful. Her dress was ruined!

As they emerged from the thick forest, they couldn't believe what they saw. Shielding their eyes from the blinding light they could just make out what appeared to be a vast plain. In the distance was what appeared to be sand dunes. Sand Dunes???

Awed and confused, the three young Neopets stepped cautiously into the sunlight. 'Where are we?' gasped Princess Fernypoo. 'I don't know, no-one has ever made it through the Haunted Woods before....'

Meanwhile...

That same morning, many miles ahead of our adventuring trio… Sloth had finally arrived at his destination.

See the Flash Movie for Part 7 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

21st June 2001 - Part 8 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

'Uhhh... did anybody bring a map?'

All that morning, and most of the afternoon, our friends trekked through the desert in search of the mysterious Jetsam, the sun beating harshly down upon them.

'I'm going home now, I have had enough!! My nails are cracked and my shoes are full of sand!', moaned Fernypoo. 'No, please, just one more dune... they have to be around here somewhere', replied Brucey.

'Look, B, I haven't had a drink in nearly a whole day, I don't think I can take this any more.', added Capara, 'Forget about that stupid coin, lets get out of this wretched pl...'.

Capara's mouth hung open in mid sentence... she was staring at something. Brucey and Fernypoo slowly turned their heads towards what had caught her attention...

A Lost City!

Up ahead of them they could see a gigantic city among the dunes. What was this place??? They had never heard of it before, not even read about it in books. They were right... nobody HAD ever made it through the Spooky Woods alive...

Thirsty from their trek, Brucey, Capara and Fernypoo raced up the last dune towards the gates of the lost city.

… they have just stumbled across ...

THE LOST DESERT!

26th June 2001 - Part 9 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

Walking up the sandy dune to the city in the distance, Brucey, Fernypoo and Capara were amazed to see tents scattered around. 'Look - civilisation, there are actually Neopets living way out here', gasped Brucey. Suddenly Brucey's pace quickened '... and what's more they have FOOD!!!'.

'Yes! Im starving! I don't care what they eat out here.. Im having some of it. Did you bring any Neopoints with you Ferny?', added Capara.

A rather large Grarrl stood at the stall in front of boxes packed full of foods they had never been before. 'Can I help you?', growled the yellow-skinned Grarrl. 'Yes.. sir.. we are looking for this Jetsam, have you seen him?'.

Suddenly, Capara erupted with a shriek, 'AAARGHHH THATS HOT!!!', she cried, spitting out the remains of the mummified pepper she had been chewing. 'Hey, you need to pay for that' growled the Grarrl Shopkeeper.

Capara passed Fernypoo a quick glance. 'You did bring some Neopoints right???' she whispered. Fernypoo shook her head. 'Ok... plan B...', replied Capara, they both started running away from the stall as fast as they could. 'Hey, wait for me...' gasped Brucey as he waddled down the sand dune after them.

Running into the next tent they were met with a suprise. Inside were all types of creatures, strange insects, snakes, little ball-type creatures with bandages on, and in one corner a couple of baby pyramid-type creatures no more than a foot tall were running around chittering to each other.

'Can I help you?'. A Peophin sat in the middle of the tent, smiling at them. She was tall and was dressed in fine clothes. 'Ahhh yes, hi there. I don't suppose you have seen this Jetsam... here I drew a picture'. Brucey handed the Peophin his drawing.

'GAAH! I HATE SNAKES', cried Capara. She stood at the other side of the tent surrounded by hissing snake-like creatures. She tried to move, but they followed her, their eyes trained on her as they hissed.

The Peophin suddenly gave a shrill whistle, and the snakes backed away. She chuckled, 'It's ok, they won't hurt you'. Turning her attention to the paper in her hand, she thought for a while, and brushed her hoof against her chin. 'Im sorry, I cant really help you... but you may want to head over to the city, Sakhmet, you will find people there who can help.'.

See the Flash Movie for Part 9 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

Our plot continues... check out Part 10 by clicking here.

Meanwhile...

Over by the Great Pyramid, things were not going according to plan. Sloth had tried every weapon he had and still the stone walls remained untouched. He could not understand why the stone would not break. Frustrated, and hot, Sloth was in a particularly foul mood...

See the Flash Movie for Part 10 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

28th June 2001 - Part 11 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

Sloth has entered the Pyramid, with Brucey, Capara and Ferny following behind.

Outside the Pyramids

Brucey B had been doing a lot of thinking. He just had to go after the thieving little Jetsam! He wanted his precious coin back so badly that he could think of nothing else.

Sadly his simple brain hadn't managed to think much about what they would do when they actually arrived there. Now the the three travellers were crouched down behind a sand dune, watching the activity below. There were literally hundreds of mean looking Grundos and colourful tents surrounding the base of the pyramid.

"So what do we do now Mr Mastermind?" quipped a rather hot and tired Capara. "Oh I don't know, we could always try what happens in adventure books, we could wait until after dark then sneak through the enemy base!". Fernypoo groaned, this was turning into her worst nightmare, her nails were chipped, her paws were blistered and now Brucey B was trying to re-enact one of his silly adventure books.

So they waited... When the sun began to fall, they quietly tip toed through the tents until they arrived outside the pyramid entrance. "What now?" asked Fernypoo? "Well I haven't seen the purple Jetsam yet and its getting dark out here, why don't we head inside?".

But Deep inside the Pyramid...

With the Pyramid open at last, Dr Sloth and his minions were forging their way through the maze-like tunnels and making very rapid progress...

See the Flash Movie for Part 11 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

Meanwhile...

Exhausted from their travels, Capara, Fernypoo and Brucey B had fallen asleep not long after they had entered the Pyramid. They were woken by the sound of heavy footsteps coming from another chamber. Curious and with no other clues, they set off to find where the noise was coming from...

See the Flash Movie for Part 11 (page 3) of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

29th June 2001 - Part 12 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

OH NO!!!! SLOTH!!! What is he doing here??

See the Flash Movie for Part 12 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

The Story Continues…. to see what happened during the war, Read our Attack on The Lost Desert Summary

War: The Siege On Sakhmet

Brucey B and his friends have only just discovered the Lost Desert. It looks like they have stumbled upon a plot from the evil Dr. Sloth himself! Our Story continues….

2nd July 2001 - Part 13 & 14 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

See the Flash Movie for Part 13 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

Part 14 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

Hours Later...

'AAarrrgh!, what has happened??? What has he done to you?', cried Brucey as he saw what had happened to his friends. Capara hissed, and Fernypoo stumbled forwards looking sorry for herself. Brucey carefully picked up a rather indignant Capara and they all set off across the desert. It was quite easy to see where Sloth's army had gone, they had razed every shrub, rock and plant in their path, leaving a trail of blackened sand across the dunes.

To pass the time Brucey B tried telling jokes, although nobody seemed in the mood for laughing. When he joked about selling the one and only red haired Wadjet to Peopatra, he was quite firmly bitten on the nose. Fernypoo was unusually quiet and didn't complain about how dirty her dress, nails or hair were getting at all.

Crossing the next dune, the view took them by surprise. Gone were the immaculate, tidy little tents, instead there were broken crates, torn fabrics and trampled foods everywhere. Peopatra was desperately trying to round up a group of young Khonsu and the once brave Grarrl shopkeeper was trembling under his counter.

After his initial shock at seeing the hideously mutated Fernypoo, Brucey managed to coax him out from his hiding place. The Grarrl shopkeeper kept muttering something under his breath and he would not stop shaking.

'He has the staff... the great staff... but it can't be... it has been lost for thousands of years... no one can possibly know how destructive it is... he came here... destroyed my shop...'

Capara, who by now was in a VERY BAD MOOD couldn't take anymore of his gibbering and she slapped him hard in the face with her tail. The Grarrl looked stunned for a few moments, then turned to Brucey and whispered 'You must get the staff... it could destroy us all... you must save us!'...

Meanwhile Sloth continued to test out his newest toy...

See the Flash Movie for Part 14 of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

(Hope you didnt get too attached to that yummy Lost Desert Food... it just got blasted by Sloth!)

3rd July 2001 - Part 15 Brucey B and The Lucky Coin

For those who have been following our story, we have some news. Brucey B has set up a tent outside Sakhmet ... I wonder what he is up to. Click here now!!!

5:42pm

Brucey makes a statement to the people of Neopia. Please read this heart-rending plea from Brucey B .

5:50pm

HELP THE CITY OF SAKHMET!!! - Brucey B needs your help to defeat Sloth's evil minions. You don't think he can defeat them all himself do you? Thousands and Thousands of Grundo Troopers are storming the walls, devouring the Sakhmetian residents and ripping houses to bits.

4th July 2001

12:03pm

The Battle for Sakhmet continues. The battle raged through the night, and it looks like the hoards of Grundo Troopers have nearly been vanquished. Thanks to your help only around 5,000 purple Grundo Troopers remain!

1:45pm

Sloth has summoned his Grundo Commanders to help defeat the NeoPets who are trying to foil his plans!

3:00pm

Mechanoid Warriors have joined the battle!

5th July 2001 - SAKHMET UPDATE

The battle is still raging. Sloth, from the tower in the center of down has been barking down orders to his troops... and seems to have come up with a new plan. Sloth has summoned an army of Evil Sloth Clones to help with the Battle. Is there no end to the onslaught???

6th July 2001 - Part 16: The Rock Beast!,

Sloth is getting desperate... in his tower all he can see around him are the sounds of his armies being defeated. However... he has one last trick up his sleeve... Sloth has summoned a gigantic Rock Beast to help him win the Battle. Click here to see it in action!

The Rock Beast has been defeated.... or has he? As the pieces fall to the floor... they begin to reform!!! Sloth, watching from above, chuckles evilly... THE ROCK BEAST IS BACK!

Finally, the Rock Beast has been defeated, and has crumbled to dust. A Quiggle, Shoyru and a Lupe delivered the final blows!!! Sloth is not happy...

9th July 2001 Part 17: The Finale!,

Finally, The Battle is Over!!!!! Sloth has Retreated!!! View the Last Episode of Brucey B and the Lucky Coin.

Bye Bye Sloth!

10th July 2001 - Epilogue
The final part of our story Brucey B and the Lucky Coin has just been released. We hope you enjoyed it! Our next story will be arriving soon.
And that is the end of Brucey B's adventures and how he discovered the Lost Desert. But it is only the beginning of the Story for the people of the Lost desert…..

Oh no! Just when you thought life would get back to normal after the Attack on the Lost Desert, another crisis occurred. On the same day that the war was won; King Coltzan was found murdered! Can you find who did it? Check out the newest game from Neopets - Usurper!. 20 million Neopoints plus a host of rare artifacts are on offer if you can solve the mystery!!!
To see what happened to poor King Coltzan, Read our Usurper Summary