Two months later.

Two months later, Sloth's plan had furthered. Roughly one in a hundred residents – that was, nearly 2,440,000 residents – were not actually in the community at all, but replaced by android duplicates.

That was his plan. He would attack Neopia from within. He would start an Armageddon.

And there was the large red button. Press that, and the androids – currently programmed to believe they were pets – would switch programs to be killing machines. They would slaughter Neopia. Sloth would rule.

aussiejewel's android twin, blissfully unaware of this, happily munched at a chocolate bar and read the latest issue of NeoFashion magazine. Her sister sat across the table from her, reading a newspaper.

"Unbelievable," Blanche muttered. aussiejewel looked up.

"Hm?"

"They found four pets and three owners that were, in fact, androids," Blanche replied.

aussiejewel shrugged. "So?" she asked.

"Well, why would there be seven androids wondering around Neopia?" Blanche explained. "Someone's been up to no good."

"Like who?" aussiejewel enquired sweetly. "Doctor Sloth?"

"Probably," Blanche replied.

aussiejewel nodded smugly. "Always knew he was no good."

"What're you reading?" Jess rapidly strolled into the lounge room where the two Unis were having this discussion.

"They found androids," Blanche said, "masquerading as Neopians."

"Did they?" Jess asked, nodding. "Where are the real ones?"

"No one knows. Currently the theory is some mishap with the Lab Ray."

"You disagree, don't you?" Jess asked solemnly. "Well, if you do, excellent. I do too."

"You haven't even read the article yet!"

"Yes I have!" Jess cried indignantly. "Benefits of an Australian time zone. I read it while you were in bed."

"Well, what do you think?" Blanche asked seriously.

"I think someone's been up to no good," replied Jess, unaware that had been Blanche's theory exactly, to the last word.

"But who?" aussiejewel pressed. "I think it's Sloth."

"You always think it's Sloth."

"Well, it usually is."

Jess smiled. That was true. "It could, of course, be a random evil person no one's heard of," she told the two pets.

"The possibility of that happening is rather small," Blanche protested.

"You calculated it?"

"Well, given that the ratio of 'good' people to 'evil' people is seven to two, it would seem rather large," Blanche began, "but in actual fact it's not, because nine million nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of ten million, they just support evil, not dare start it. That means the ratio of..."

aussiejewel found herself more interested by these statistics than she would under ordinary circumstances. She assumed it was the effect of too much milk and decided to have NeoCola to put some junk back into her.

Jess was just as bewildered by Blanche's mathematical theory as aussiejewel should have been. "Right," she said, after Blanche finally finished her description. "You could have been a rocket scientist."

Blanche beamed. Her beam was cut short by Jess's next remark.

"So now we have to make sure that no one's controlling these androids. Or can."

Blanche sighed. "Weren't you listening?" she growled. "The chance of a random person being the culprit is approximately one in forty-five million!"

Jess decided to pretend she had. "Oh, I know," she said. "I just think we should rule out the improbable first."

"You didn't, did you?"

"Yes I did!" Jess protested. "Forty-four million nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people out of forty-five million aren't interested in world domination. There you go."

Blanche continued to stare at Jess.

"Fine," said Jess eventually. "We'll go with my plan. My new and improved plan."

"Which is?" aussiejewel asked.

"We'll go and see Doctor Sloth!" she grinned triumphantly.

"That was my plan," Blanche protested.

Jess opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and opened it again. "Only after I thought of it," she lied. Before Blanche had time to formulate a response, Jess added to her sentence. "Now. no arguing. Either of you. We have to get your brothers ready for the shuttle."

aussiejewel grinned bemusedly as Blanche glared at Jess and Jess walked away apparently ignorant. They were like those two on the TV, when it worked. The Doctor and Romana, she believed their names were.

"Now!" Sloth declared loudly. His large, ugly green finger descended towards the bright red, shiny button...

And then it was pressed. Armageddon had begun.