Brucey B and the Lucky Coin

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Brucey B and his friends discover the Lost Desert after almost giving up hope.

Brucey B and the Lucky Coin is a plot which began June 12, 2001 and ended July 10, 2001. During the course of the plot the Lost Desert was released, along with many new Games, Items, Shops, Petpets, and other items of interest.

The Plot

The Lucky Coin

It was the Annual Neopian Cheat! Championships, with a prize of over 250,000 Neopoints, a giant trophy and the title of Neopia's Biggest Cheat. Neopets from all over Neopia attended to play Cheat!, including famous Cheat! players Brucey B, 00 Hog, Princess Fernypoo and even Capara.

Most noticeable was Brucey B, who picked up the right cards and made all the right moves, and was wearing a golden medallion around his neck. 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, he was able to imagine a card in his head and it would be the next card he picked up. Brucey breezed through the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, and then to the final itself.

The final was over in 20 minutes and Brucey had demolished both his opponents, Capara and 00 Hog (which is the only recorded time 00 Hog lost his cool and calm composure). Brucey was delighted at finally winning something. He 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 as the most famous Cheat! player in the whole of Neopia!

However, a long long way away and completely unknown to Brucey and the rest of the Neopia, Dr. Frank Sloth was watching, and began to laugh as he took notice of the lucky coin Brucey wore (specifically after seeing the "Z" or "N" symbol).

Later that night, Brucey returned to his NeoHome and prepared for bed, intending to celebrate in style the next day when he noticed a letter lying on the floor. Failing to wonder how someone got inside his NeoHome, he read the letter...

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 couldn't resist the offer of even more Neopoints, and with his lucky coin around his neck he couldn't lose. He received a telephone call from Capara , who congradulated him on winning. When he said he was going to play a private game of Cheat!, Capara immediately forbid him from going, and he should put the money in the National Neopian instead. Nothing could convince him however, and he appeared at the game the next day. 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, and was startled to see a Mutant Grundo open the door. Wondering what he got himself into, Brucey descended into the dark cellar below.

The game of Cheat! lasted for hours, eliminating the two other players, leaving Brucey B with no Neopoints and the mysterious Jetsam with all of it. The Jetsam made a proposal: He would bet all his Neopoints if Brucey bet his lucky coin. Feeling he could still win (and being influenced by all the Neopoints being offered), he agreed. The Jetsam same played a "4", and Brucey called "Cheat!", as he laid down four 4's previously. However, it was a four of diamonds, showing that even though the Jetsam wasn't cheating, he was cheating at Cheat!. The lucky coin was taken away from Brucey B, and he was throw out of the building by the Mutant Grundos.

The Next Day

Heartbroken from losing his money and his coin, Brucey contacted Capara and Princess Fernypoo who decided to help him track down the mysterious stranger, each for their own reasons (Capara wished to steal the coin from him, and Princess Fernypoo had nothing to do). Meanwhile, the Jetsam delivered the lucky coin to Dr. Frank Sloth, who immediately boarded his carrier ship with his army of Mutant Grundos. They blasted off into the sky, flying south and startling many Neopets as they went.

While Brucey B and company walked around Neopia looking for clues, several Neopets recommended they see The Brain Tree, as it knew almost everything. Kauvara also recommended this after hearing the story of Brucey B's lucky coin, and walked back into her shop and locked the door tight after hearing it, making it seem she knew more than she was letting on.

Upon visiting the Brain Tree, it claimed to have known they were coming, and said the lucky coin would be found through the Haunted Woods. All three were reluctant to attempt the passage, as no one ever made it through the Haunted Woods. However, Brucey's lucky coin needed to be found, so they walked through, and almost instantly everything went wrong. Brucey fell into quicksand, Princess Fernypoo was being held up in the air by a tree, and Capara was flanked by many dark creatures with glowing eyes.

All seemed lost when light began to shine through the branches of the trees. The sun had risen, but it seemed they had hardly spent a whole hour in the forest. The creatures retreated, the gnarled branches scooped Brucey B out of the quicksand, Fernypoo was released, and the scary gnarled forest around was not at all frightening any more. 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 desert.

Many miles ahead Brucey B, Sloth had finally arrived at his destination. He and his army arrived at the Great Pyramid, but he could not get the door to open. To quickly remedy this, he had his army open fire at the door, but it was not damaged even after a 10-second volley from his army. He bade them to continue, claiming he would take what was rightfully his (the truth of this claim is undetermined, as he could be just stealing what he thinks belongs to him).

All the while Brucey and company continued across the desert in search of the mysterious Jetsam. They continued through the whole day when they finally came upon Sakhmet among the dunes. Despite never hearing of it before (not even in books), they raced up the last dune towards the gates of the lost city, thirsty and hungry from their trek.

The Lost Desert

Walking up the sandy dune to the city in the distance, Brucey, Fernypoo and Capara were amazed to see a civilization and other Neopets living way out in the desert hidden past the Haunted Woods. Of course, they were more concerned with the fact these Neopets had food, and immediately ran to the nearest stall.

A rather large Grarrl stood at the stall in front of boxes packed full of foods they had never seen before. Brucey B began to ask him about the mysterious Jetsam, when suddenly Capara screamed, spitting out the remains of the Mummified Pepper she had been chewing, claiming it to be too hot. The Grarrl got angry, claiming she needed to pay for that, but Fernypoo hadn't brought any Neopoints with her, so they quickly ran off before the Grarrl could retaliate.

Running into the next tent, they found Peopatra selling many Petpets, including Selkets, Wadjets (Capara shrieked in fear from these as they followed her), Khonsu, Geb, Anubis, Horus, and Khnums. Brucey shared his drawing of the Jetsam with her, and although she couldn't give him any information, she told him that he may find something in the city.

Later after much searching, Brucey came upon an old Techo who mentioned there were strangers at the Great Pyramid and offered his telescope for Brucey to use. Looking through it, Brucey not only sees the Jetsam with the horde of Mutant Grundos, but the Jetsam sees him too, and waves.

Over by the Great Pyramid, Sloth fumed at his army, who had fired upon the pyramid with everything they had (even the megablaster5000), but still the stone walls remained untouched. Frustrated, Sloth threw the Lucky Coin at the entrance, accidentally throwing it into the coin slot next to the door. The door opened, prompting Sloth to laugh and lead his army into the pyramid.

Not far away, Brucey B and company were hiding behind a sand dune overlooking the hundreds of Grundos and colourful tents surrounding the base of the pyramid. Having no better idea what to do, he decided they should wait until nightfall and sneak through the camp as the heroes in adventure books did. This plan annoyed both Capara and Fernypoo, but they followed through all the same, waiting till nightfall and sneaking through the camp and into the pyramid.

Deep within the Pyramid, Dr. Sloth and his minions forged their way through the maze-like tunnels until they came to a door with an engraving of the Lucky Coin to the side. Sloth placed the coin into the engraving and the door opened, revealing a great treasure behind it. While the mysterious Jetsam tried on the golden jewelery and danced upon the piles of gold, Sloth found the Staff of Alhasutek, and laughed.

Hearing the laughter and heavy footsteps, Capara, Fernypoo and Brucey B awoke from their sleep which began not long after they had entered the Pyramid. Following the noise, they found not only the Jetsam but Dr. Sloth, and immediately began to run away in fear. Sloth chased after them, turning Capara into a wadjet and Fernypoo into a gibbering Mutant. Brucey escaped from the Pyramid untouched and collapsed against the Pyramid.

As Sloth's army emptied the entire treasury onto the ship, the Jetsam came forward to Sloth and asked what was going to be shared with him, to which Sloth laughed and threatened to give him another scar to pair the one given already. Reaching into a large pile of gold coins, Sloth gave four of them to share amongst the Jetsam and his crew. Sloth then lead his army towards Sakhmet City, leaving a path of destruction behind them.

Hours Later, Brucey was torn when he saw what had happened to his friends. Capara hissed, and Fernypoo stumbled forwards looking sorry for herself. Brucey carefully picked up Capara and they all set off across the desert. 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 by Capara, and Fernypoo was quiet and didn't complain about how dirty her dress, nails or hair were getting at all.

Crossing the last dune, the view took them by surprise. The the tents containing homes and Shops were destroyed. Peopatra was desperately trying to round up a group of young Khonsu and the once brave Grarrl shopkeeper was trembling under his counter. Brucey managed to coax him out from his hiding place, and he kept muttering about the great staff and his destroyed shop, shaking all the way.

Fed up with his gibbering, Capara 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!"

The Siege of Sakhmet

The inhabitants of Sakhmet heard word of Dr. Sloth's coming and barricaded the front gate with countless items of furniture, even a large Elephante. However, the army of Mutant Grundos merely fired through the wall next to the gate and invaded the city. All Neopets were gathered and turned into Mutants, one by one.

Inspired by the shopkeeper's plea, Brucey B sent out a plea for help all across Neopia and set up a war tent for those who would help fight off the army. For three whole days, Neopians around the world fought day and night against the horde, defeating them one by one, along with the reinforcments released each new day. Not liking the odds being evened against him, Dr. Sloth summoned the Rock Beast, a monster which could reanimate itself even after being defeated.

After many defeats, the Rock Beast was finally put to rest by a Quiggle, Shoyru and a Lupe. Before Dr. Sloth could create a new Rock Beast, Brucey B scaled the tower was in and jumped him from behind, demanding the return of his Lucky Coin and pulling at the Staff in Sloth's hands. Infuriated that such a puny Neopet would bother him, Dr. Sloth bellowed that he didn't have the Lucky Coin and threw Brucey off. However, he accidentally let go of the Staff in the process and it broke in half against the wall. The enchantments upon Capara and Fernypoo were reverted, and the inhabitants of Sakhmet were likewise restored. Sloth escaped on a rocket ship which was part of the tower, vowing vengenance upon Brucey.

Returning home from their adventure, Brucey B and company relaxed upon his couch (except for Capara, who still felt hurt from being a Wadjet). Both Fernypoo and Capara expressed loss at not finding Brucey's Lucky Coin. Brucey smiled and pulled the coin out in front of them.

The War

Opponents
Grundo Trooper Difficulty: 25		Grundo Commander Difficulty: 45		Mechanoid Warrior Difficulty: 50

Evil Sloth Clone Difficulty: 85

Rock Beast Difficulty: 500

Users participated in the plot by fighting against Sloth's army in the Battledome, collecting points for each opponent defeated. Fighting lasted from July 3, 2001 to July 9, 2001, and users could face off against the challengers as many times as they wanted to. It is said on the archived news page a Quiggle, Shoyru and a Lupe delivered the final blows to the Rock Beast, final opponent, though it's unknown who they are.

Prizes

Lost Desert Ranks
Helper 1 - 4 Skirmisher 5 - 9 - ?	Battler ? - 10 - 13 - ?	Commander ? - 34 - ?	Lord ? - 57 - 68 - ?	Conqueror ? - 224 - ?

Participants in the war were awarded Trophies on July 17, 2001, displaying the number of successful battles they fought in the Battledome. Three days later 5,000 - 30,000 NP were given to each user as well, depending on how many battles they won.

Trivia

• While The Neopets Team at this time referred to the pyramids as "pyramids", they are now thought to be called 'Gebmids', in reference to the Geb.
• It's still unknown who the mysterious Jetsam is, but he still manages to play Tug-O-War. However, the ??? Jetsam is now played by Cheat! champion, Spectre.
• One of Sloth's mutant Grundo minions may be Gargarox, a mutant Grundo featured in Tug-O-War.
• The Evil Sloth Clone ended up as a regular 1 Player opponent.

External Links

• Plot Info: Brucey B and the Lucky Coin, Lost Desert War Tent
• Neopedia: Darkness Scarab
• NeoDeck: Dr. Frank Sloth, Ghartun The Grundo Commander, Garrox5 The Grundo Trooper, Evil Sloth Clone #32, Mechanoid Warrior, Rock Beast, Bazri The Grundo
• Neopets TCG: Lucky Coin, Lucky Coin (2nd Print)