And that's how Nasalite and I were awarded the Psy Corps' Medal of Honor—by @Junior Agent LuLu herself!

Upon returning to Junior Psy Corps HQ, Nasalite sneezed the kindly old man into a containment chamber. After the anesthetizing effects of Nasalite's mucus wore off, the kindly old man readily admitted to the whole scheme—how, after introducing Mipies to a new generation of bioengineered pet consumers, he tricked unwary students into allowing themselves to be experimented on as a way to pay back the voluminous debts they'd accumulated through his gambling con games. By creating human/Mipi hybrids, the kindly old man hoped to create a whole new kind of Mipi—one more suited to today's jaded youth, but that could also serve as board members for a shady corporate cabal to further his dreams of domination of the global market.

Meanwhile, @Sammy Watson, @Eva_Riffic's Onionator Erasmus P Hardington, and other students that had been transformed to Mipies are undergoing reverse gene therapy in an attempt to return them to their original human states. Doctors give the procedure a 50/50 chance.

As for the Mipies liberated from the kindly old man's hidden lab, they are all in need of good homes! That's why the Junior Psy Corps is sponsoring an Adopt-a-Mipi event all this weekend at the Spoonbender. Drop by and take home your new forever friend today!

"Hellllllllllllp ussssssssss!" squealed the Razorite, who was cutting off the ropes Nasalite and I had been bound with.

"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhep uzzzzzzzzzzzzz..." hissed the Shloo, who was norfing at my boot with its snout.

"Hi there!" chirped a Winklet.

Before long, Nasalite and I were free from our bonds, huddling with a group of very serious Mipies in another wing of this abandoned science lab, learning about the strange power the kindly old man held over them. As a youth, he had been one of the top Mipi trainers in what was then a very niche market. Then, when the original Mipies were forgotten as yesterday's fad, he went mad, became obsessed, and purchased the last remaining IP -- actual biologic cuttings from the original Mipi strain.

It was then that he returned to his alma mater to take up residence in the now abandoned labs he'd first attended science class in at the school.

"And I would have gotten away with it too--" came the voice of the kindly old man behind us.

"SNORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP!!!!!"

Thinking quickly, Nasalite had inhaled the kindly old man into his left nostril.

"WELL WELL WELL. AND WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?"

Nasalite and I were trundled into a decrepit laboratory, full of bubbling vats and tubes, and a host of Mipies of all shapes and sizes. In the center of it all was an enormous creature, with a giant head with oversized features and puffy arms and legs. It was vaguely humanoid, for a Mipi. And strangely familiar.

On closer inspection, it was @Sammy Watson, but superdeformed and alarmingly oversized.

"I'm, uh... Junior SPECIAL Agent Avery, of the Psy Corps, and we're here to rescue you, Sammy Watson!"

"BWAA HA HA HA HA!" Sammy's laugh thundered through the room. His head and arms seemed to sway in slow motion. "BUT I HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAVED!!! I HAVE BECOME THE HYBRID HEAD OF A NEW WORLD! HALF MAN, HALF BUSINESS!!! ALREADY, THE MIPIES ARE THE CENTER OF THE NEW ECONOMY. ALL THAT THEY NEEDED WAS A HUMAN MIND TO MINE! A HUMAN MIND TO MELD WITH! ALL THAT THEY NEEDED WAS A... WAS A..."

Sammy Watson began to look very sleepy. He swayed back and forth a few times, then fell forward, flat on his enormous superdeformed face.

The surrounding Mipies looked startled, then afraid, and scurried to his giant inert body.

Just then, a kindly looking old man appeared from the shadows behind some lab equipment.

"You Mipies -- the ones with hands -- roll him back into the vat. And prepare this new one for the procedure."

A small platoon of Mipies swarmed Nasalite and I and hauled us away down a long dark hallway.

I would love one! Though im suspicious if the new mipi will connect with Ciuhu... also, i have heard of a rabid virus that leads mipies to eat soap, has this mipi been checked for this illness? Thanks!

My Onionator is now a big stinky fellow he sits on my bed with the heat turned all the way up basking in his own stink and sending out his runners which are rooty fronds that run up the walls and make little hanging sacks that look like baby dolls.

So I poked at one of the baby onion sacks with a pencil and it said “I’m Erasmus P Hardington!” what do you think about that?

Then I poked at another of the onion doll sacks with a ruler and it said “I’m Erasmus P Hardington!” and what do you think about that?

And I poked at another of the baby doll onions with a twig and it said “I’m Erasmus P Hardington!” that is what it said.

So if anybody wants a baby Onionator just let me know.

spheres

At the bottom of the steps, Nasalite fell into a puddle.

"SNORRRP! SNORRRP!"

"Shush your snorfling" I whispered. "We're SPYING!"

We were fifty feet underground at least, under the woods behind the science lab, and the walls were wet and drippy. Cut from the bedrock itself, like a hallway. I lit the path with my Psy Corps issue flashlight and Nasalite led the way.

After a turn or two, we heard a distant din, and soon the glow of lights beyond the next corner. I flicked the flashlight off.

"SNORRRP! SNORRRP!"

"I said HUSH Nasalite!" I whispered as hard as I could.

"SNORRRRRRRRRRP!!!!!"

Too late, I realized we were under attack.

Nasalite followed @Sammy Watson's trail all around campus, from the field behind the gym to his dorm room, multiple trips around the commons and to the psychic ATM, down to the boat house, and finally to the woods behind the science lab.

"SNORRRP! SNORRRP! SNORRRP!"

Nasalite snorfled around the bushes a bit looking for the trail and rustled up a Trailerbite! Battle ensued, and we won. Which frankly isn't surprising since Nasalite has been with me through all the Psy Corps fighting training. So I popped that Trailerbite into a Mip Case and Nasalite continued tracking.

Deeper into the woods, a Pincan appeared from behind an old log, and before you know it I had another new Mipi in a Mip case. Nasalite was getting hungry but luckily there were a bunch of Esterberries nearby. The Pincan was probably attracted to them.

We followed an overgrown path along a stream and Nasalite started snorfling in the water and what do you know a Hoseator latched onto Nasalite's nose (which is also his body)! At that stage of development, Hoseators are just mostly flimsy tubes and can't do much, so it was another battle won and another Mipi in a Mip case. You can really clean up in the woods behind the science lab. But I was already down to only two empty Mip cases. I wish they were smaller so you could carry more.

At the end of the path we found a tiny concrete building, stained from rain and age. Looked like a pump house of some kind. The rusty door was locked, but it had a keyhole and I was able to put my Psy Corps lock picking training to use.

Inside was a slippery looking metal staircase heading down into the darkness. I've pulled out my Psy Corps issue flashlight, and Nasalite is leading the way...

My Mipi Ciuhu is the cutest when hes not eating our smoke detectors... the rusty, crap covered batteries around the house don't make the best centerpiece at dinner...

I know you're supposed to keep your Mipi in a Mip Case but my Marshy is just so cute I let her stay out on my bed all day and at night I use her as a pillow. She loves it because she's so squishy and white and lets my head just sink right into her.

Her power is absorbing things, like attacks, but also sounds, which is why I like to sink my head into her at night, it's so quiet, and I just mmmmmph mmmmph mmmph. Mmmph mmmph? MMMMPH!!! MMMPH! MMMPH!

MMMMMMMMMPH!!!!