Undead Rising: Part Seven

      Bernard felt a chill run down his spine. Whoever that voice was, it didn’t sound good.

      Edlun’s expression looked like that of one before he was about to slay a vicious beast. He clenched his fists, drawing his blade and shield as two small figures walked into the room. Jerdana and Zeena looked equally as surprised, though Jerdana seemed to be having an easier time keeping her cool. Zeena jittered with fear and hid behind Bernard.

      A pair of twin Wockies, both with black hair, yellow fur and purple dresses, stepped into the room, their eyes dead and cold. They showed little to no emotion as they spoke, and finished each other’s sentences.

      “You figured out our game…”

      “…far too quickly. That’s not very fun.”

      Edlun put himself between the Wockies and his friends. “You two are the ones that caused the rise of the dead so long ago…”

      “And your demise.”

      “Wasn’t that fun?” The two Wockies grinned at the same time.

      Bernard stepped forward a bit, but was quickly blocked by Edlun’s shield. He peered around the shield slightly. “How… How are you two here if Edlun defeated you guys before?”

      Their heads tilted at the same time, giving Bernard chills over their synchronicity. They began to speak in poetic tones.

      “Silly Lupe.”

      “Edlun didn’t defeat us.”

      “Sealing us underground wasn’t long enough to hold us.”

      “Once the obelisk was unearthed in Tyrannia, so were our friends.”

      “A few skeletons were unearthed…”

      “…breaking the curse and allowing us to roam once more.”

      “We left as soon as we could…”

      “…and stole Eddy’s amulet.”

      “We placed a curse on it to take away his memories…”

      “…and send him into a world unknown when he awoke.”

      “Giving him memories of someone who didn’t exist…”

      “…and taking his amulet to a graveyard long forgotten.”

      Bernard clenched his fist. “So YOU were the ones who gave Edlun amnesia!”

      “You expected anything less?” They both replied, their smiles disappearing. “Our plans wouldn’t have worked if he came back after we rose.”

      “I should have known that obelisk was a bad thing…” Jerdana observed. “Many Neopians have been able to benefit from the oracle, but at what cost?”

      Edlun glanced back at the Aisha. “It is not your fault. No one could have known that unearthing such a relic would cause this catastrophe.”

      Zeena stepped up. “But there’s one thing I don’t understand… The obelisk was unearthed years ago. Why did you not start attacking Neopia then?”

      “We needed time.”

      “Time to rebuild our army.”

      “In fact, now should be the perfect time.”

      “When we first began our attack against the obelisk, we had a few followers who were willing.”

      “Then we gathered more… and more. So many we lost count, and now that we’ve gathered enough…”

      ”…we can finally realize our dream of taking over Neopia.”

      Edlun gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. “I cannot allow you to do that. This war was ended thousands of years ago. I won’t let you do this again.”

      The twins stared at Edlun for a solid minute before a wide smile stretched across their faces. “Silly Eddy. You’re not getting in our way this time.”

      With that, the two twins walked out the door, slamming it behind them. Bernard flung the doors back open, but they were already gone.

      The Lupe turned and looked at the group of heroes. “What are we gonna do now?”

      All over the world, the attacks of the twins began taking place, zombies and ghosts and ghouls rising around the globe to perform their evil deeds. Most pets retreated into their homes, boarding up doors and windows to try and keep out the zombies. Many resorted to try and make ghost repellent, any and all attempts failing in turn. Even the heroes of other Neopian lands had trouble fighting them off. Meridell castle was overrun by zombie farmers and knights, the temples of Shenkuu were wrecked by the ghosts of samurais and ninjas of the past, Terror Mountain was ambushed by icy skeletons rising from the ground…

      The undead had completely taken over Neopia.

      The twins watched their work from the obelisk all the while, sitting on the massive rock as if it were a playground. They giggled to themselves as several Neopets ran screaming in fear from the zombies. Even members of the other factions of the obelisk war were being overtaken by the army of the undead. Commander Flint, Kanrik, The Duchess, Professor Lambert, and even Rasala had all been captured and were forced to watch their followers fall to the zombified Neopians.

      “You can’t do this!” Rasala grunted, trying to free herself from the bondage that they had put her in. Each faction leader was bound by chains to the obelisk itself. “This is madness!”

      “Don’t struggle. It just makes it worse.” Kanrik barked. “We’re all chained up, in case you didn’t notice.”

      “If we just had something to break these chains…” Lambert mused. “Then we could help them fight back.”

      ”We do have something! We have brute strength!” Flint roared, flexing his muscles to try and break the chains. Though they looked old and worn, the chains held tight.

      “Fool.” The Duchess mocked. “These chains are cursed by magic. You cannot break them with strength alone.”

      Flint stopped flexing and clenched his teeth. “Dumb chains…”

      “Aww, how cute, you think you can break through those, don’t you?” The twins appeared before the leaders, their hands behind their backs and grinning happily. “Well, we have something even more fun for you.”

      The two of them raised their arms, a dark magic glowing from their palms. The chains began to glow a bright purple colour, squeezing the leaders tighter. Rasala and Flint struggled even more, when suddenly they were overcome with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. They could feel themselves losing their energy fast, and the other leaders looked just as tired. Bags formed under their eyes and wrinkles on their faces, as their life forces slowly began to drain from their bodies. Each of them found themselves gasping for air as the chains’ magic exhausted them.

      “There you go. That should keep you occupied.”

      “Have fun watching your followers crash and burn.” The two finished their sentence with a giggle.

      Rasala weakly raised her head. “No… You can’t…” She wheezed, letting her head fall in defeat.

      “It’s begun.” Edlun replied grimly, staring out the window of Altador’s council chambers. The sky had turned a deep red from the sunset, and he could see a storm growing in the distance. Dark purple clouds lit up with bright lightning over Shenkuu, and were slowly moving towards Altador. “It won’t be long before those clouds reach us…”

      “We have to do something!” Zeena urged. “Can’t we just go and fight them?! Do what you did before!”

      Edlun didn’t say anything, placing a wing on the side of the window.

      “Hey! Didn’t you hear me?! We have to go fight them, now!” Zeena demanded, whipping Edlun around. His face was one of frustration and concern. Zeena stepped back a bit, her wings and ears lowering.

      “I cannot defeat them… not with the little power I have.”

      “What?!”

      Edlun crossed his arms and lowered his head. “I am of the spirit world now. My power has been significantly weakened since that time long ago.”

      Bernard shook with fear. “So then… you can’t fight them at all?”

      Edlun placed a hand over his amulet. “There is… one way.” He grasped the amulet and stared at the gold surface. “Those who wear my sacred amulet… will be infused with the power I once wielded. Only a living being can defeat them…”

      The entire group stood in stunned silence for several minutes, all of them looking back and forth between each other as if they were trying to decide which one of them should take the amulet.

      Jerdana stepped forward. “Normally I would not take on such a heavy burden myself… but since King Altador is not here, I-“

      “I’ll do it.”

      Bernard’s determined expression said everything anyone needed to know… except Zeena. “What?! Bernard, you’re crazy! Don’t do it, you should let Jerdana take the amulet! Or we can wait for King Altador to come back!”

      “King Altador is already long gone by now, and those clouds are moving in fast. If we don’t act, all of Neopia will be destroyed." Bernard turned to Zeena. “I was the one who found Edlun in the first place… I found him in the Haunted Woods. I somehow feel like it’s my responsibility to do this.”

      He turned to Jerdana with a pleading look. She looked unsure for a moment then slowly nodded, giving him a smile. “You remind me of a young knight from a few years ago… Sir Tormund. He was a determined young lad… and now he’s one of the fiercest knights in Meridell.”

      Bernard nodded and then grinned, turning to Edlun. “What about you then? Last time I took that amulet from your neck, you disappeared… You’ll be able to come back after this, right?”

      Edlun found himself smiling as well, folding his hands behind his back.

      “I suppose that is up for fate to decide.”

      To be continued…