Many thanks goes to breakingchains for her very helpful critique and feedback. Without her, this story wouldn't be what it is.

Dark_breed_Hyren woke up to voices outside his door.

"Hey, Blynn, isn't tomorrow Grundo Independence Day?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! It is! How about that!"

The diminutive blue Grundo rolled over in his bed to stare out the window of his room in his strange little family's Altadorian villa by the sea. Kreludor was almost full and high in the sky, casting its silver light across softly undulating hills and towering cypress trees. They'd moved here some years ago, from Mystery Island. His owner had been ecstatic over the discovery of Altador. Hyren had been more excited to live in a place where it didn't rain several times daily.

"What do you think Hyren wants to do tomorrow?" ArPharazonTheGolden asked from out in the hall. "Perhaps we ought to throw him a surprise party!" The Faerie Draik's tone was hushed but eager—he obviously thought Hyren was asleep.

"Ooh! Awesome idea!" Blynn679 replied. The Disco Zafara, on the other hand, had a distinct lack of volume control.

No parties, Hyren thought in annoyance, grimacing and squeezing his pillow over his antennae. He wanted tomorrow to just be another routine day of catching the ship back to Mystery Island for training with the Techo Master. After all, someone had to fight in wars and it might as well be him. It was just a shame he'd outgrown the Swashbuckling Academy. That had been the only shred of significance his own species day ever held for him.

Blynn's voice gradually faded as she moved down the hall and began belting out a rather off-key rendition of The Ballad of Rosie the Grarrl. "Ohhh, when the Kau Slips are in blooooom, and the Peadackles crooooon…"

Hyren winced.

"Now would be the perfect opportunity to do some research on traditional Kreludan cuisine!" Pharazon said, blithely ignoring her. "Not to mention the cultural origins of Royal Grundo attire… I wonder if the library is still open this late… Oh, this will be the greatest Grundo Independence Day Hyren's ever known!"

Hyren let out a dry chuckle, flopping onto his back and closing his eyes, the memories flooding his mind. Pharazon had no idea of the irony of that statement, because Hyren's day of independence had come much later.


"Fifty seconds to deployment," a tinny, robotic voice fizzed over the comm.

"Roger," Commander Hyren said, clamping one large Mutant Grundo hand over his helmet. He checked the straps on his armour one last time, shifting heavily on one of the carrier ship's cold metal benches. The diagnostic heads-up display on his helmet's visor confirmed that everything checked out.

Sloth was returning to Neopia, and this time, he and his army would not fail.

It was an honor for the commander to have been chosen to lead the space contingent of his overlord's elite invasion troops into battle at Sakhmet, especially considering Hyren's species. Gormos was jealous, of course, and Garoo was not much happier even though he had the prestige of being the first to the planet with Sloth's ground forces.

But Hyren had taken over a thousand worlds under Sloth's banner since that fateful day on Doran when the Grundo had willingly pledged himself to the doctor's quest for dominion. Could Hyren really be faulted for having a good deal more vision and ambition than his meteorite-licking, troglodyte brothers and sisters?

Sloth had mutated him anyway, but allowed him to keep his mind. "You are going to be very useful to me," the green-skinned supergenius had said as Hyren inspected his new form, so much larger and stronger than what he was used to. "I will give you all the power you could ever desire, Hyren," the doctor said. "In return, all I ask is that you never renounce your loyalty to day you do will be the day you draw your last breath."

He was made perfect for conquest, Hyren thought as he flexed his meaty fingers in front of him in the belly of the carrier. He didn't miss his weak blue body a bit.

"Thirty seconds." The constant dull roar of the engines that pervaded the entire ship was joined by the thrumming whine of shields protecting the massive craft from the heat of atmospheric entry. The turbulence of hitting air after cruising through the vacuum of space made the craft rattle, and Hyren reached up and grabbed one of the support straps hanging from the ceiling. A few more moments and it would be over. He'd gone through this routine countless times before.

"Twenty seconds." The shaking lessened and the ship veered, sending Hyren leaning against the shoulder of the trooper next to him. The other mutant did not react in the slightest.

Hyren glanced up at the row of expressionless Grundo faces in front of him. It was a little strange to realise that none of them remembered their home world like he did, and had only enough cognitive ability remaining to know how to aim a blaster and follow orders. Perhaps he'd known some of them back on Doran. But they'd never understood him, anyway. And now they never would.

"Ten seconds. Prepare for deployment." At the end of the bay, next to where Hyren sat, a large door swung open. Bright daylight and hot, dry, sandy air peeled into the pristinely regulated atmosphere of the ship. Hyren squinted against the light, glad that his visor at least provided protection from the sand.

He stood up, motioning for his troops to do the same. Gripping a handhold on the inside hull, the commander planted his two-toed feet on the floor and watched as other ships circled and dove toward a walled city of alabaster spires and gleaming golden domes. The battle going on below had been instigated by the ground division a few days previous, leaving the city already smoking. Undoubtedly, the beleaguered inhabitants would point up at the black fleet, wondering what it was, not comprehending that it would be their doom.

The city wall provided an ineffectual defence against an attack from the sky, and the carriers swooped low over the ancient stone. The commander counted the remaining seconds in his head, then— "All troops… move out!" Hyren roared, leaping from the bay. His weight impacted the parched ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

Screams of chaos and the unsteady rhythm of blaster fire filled his antennae as he signaled for two of his squadron to flank him. He headed them toward the largest building in the city, intent on taking out anyone stupid enough to get in their way. If they could seize the palace, the rest of this backwards land would follow, and the planet soon after. And Hyren didn't want the honor of this conquest to go to Garoo.

An Usul with a red neck ruff jumped in front of him with a yell, brandishing a sword. "You won't take Sakhmet!" she squeaked fiercely.

Hyren quirked a heavy brow in amusement. "Just try and stop us." She screeched and pounced at his face, and he easily knocked her aside with one muscular arm. "Spread out into the streets!" he barked into his helmet. "Raid every building, capture them all!" Taking the palace was important, but Sloth would be doubly pleased if Hyren made sure to collect a deluge of new test subjects for him.

Turning into a narrow alleyway, the commander kicked down a flimsy wooden door, smashing aside a hasty barricade of crates. Behind it stood a green Techo, bow drawn. Next to the Techo was a Scorchio, purple with orange spots, hefting a battle hammer.

"Leave us alone!" the Scorchio cried, flapping her wings and swinging the hammer around to swipe at Hyren's legs. He dove forward, tackling her to the ground.

The Techo unleashed a hail of arrows, but Hyren threw up his arm and they pinged helplessly off of his gauntlet. He picked up the Scorchio and shoved her toward the other Neopet. The Techo tried to catch her, but they both were sent tumbling.

Hyren felt an obnoxious clang on the back of his helmet and it took him a moment to register he'd just been struck. Spinning around, he lunged for his attacker, pinning her to the wall and wrenching the wooden pole out of her hand.

This being was not a Neopet. She was taller than most pet species, mammalian with smooth bronze skin and long black hair. She looked at him in terror. "Sloth… Sloth came back…!"

The commander tilted his head and narrowed his large red eyes. Sloth had a special hate reserved for owners. They had foiled his plans the first time around and freed nearly all of his Grundo army, and had fallen under the auspices of his greatest nemesis, the Space Faerie.

"Let her go!" the Scorchio yelled, and Hyren was suddenly tackled from behind by the two Neopets. They dragged him to the ground, allowing the girl to break free.

He grappled with them for a few seconds before letting out a roar and rolling over, pinning them beneath one large hand and tearing their weapons away. Curling his fingers around the pets, he picked them up so they could see the girl being slung over a Grundo soldier's back, kicking and screaming and reaching for her pets.

Hyren handed them over to the other trooper. "Take them back to the ship with the others," he said. "I'll check upstairs for anything that thinks it can hide from me." If there were any more pets or owners hiding out in here, Hyren would get quite a bounty from Sloth in return.

The sounds of battle outside intensified as the commander climbed to the second floor alone. The air shook with regular explosions and occasionally the entire building would rock, sand and debris blowing in through the open windows.

Ripping a curtain off of its rings, Hyren stalked through the entryway at the top of the stairs and into a simple living area. Antennae low, he scanned the room with his bio-sensors. No signs of life, but perhaps that pathetic little family had been hiding treasure. He knelt down on the floor and moved to check under the bed.

"We're pulling out, Hyren," Garoo's voice snapped through the comm.

Hyren paused. "Wait—what?!"

"They have reinforcements coming in from the north, we're vastly outnumbered!"

"Garoo! Ugh…" Hyren scooted out from under the bed and bumped his helmet on the underside, hissing in annoyance. "Fine, I'll redirect the troops—"

A deafening boom sounded. The entire building shuddered and rippled, swaying like it was made of jelly. Dust sifted from the ceiling as Hyren staggered to stand, and he looked up and saw a swarm of black ships retreating into the sky.

"You misunderstand me, Hyren," Garoo cut in again, his voice suddenly taking on a sinister edge. "We're leaving right now."

Hyren glanced at the corner of his HUD and saw that Garoo was using a private channel. "What are you doing?!" he hissed.

"Making sure I get all the glory for this," Garoo said. The Blumaroo snickered. "Nice knowing you, commander."

The roof cracked and buckled, and the last thing Hyren remembered was pain.