The two Shoyrus stared at the crack in Neopia Central, hardly believing what
had happened. "They... just came out... and grabbed them," stuttered Yang.
Ying flew to the crack, and looked at it. "Do you think we can fit through
that?" he asked.
"Fit through it? But why would we…? Ying no! We don't know what we're dealing
with, we could be seriously hurt!"
Ying flew back up to his brother. "Yang, we both know it has to be Sinicar.
Those vines were like roots, and the only plant around here is the Money Tree.
We can't just leave Fortuna and Destiny."
"But, but what if he turns me into a mutant again?" whimpered Yang.
Ying smiled. "Hey, we beat him before remember? This time it'll be a piece
of cake. You know I'll never let him or his stupid brother take you again."
Yang smiled. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Uh, you know Yang, we can go back if you want," shivered Ying. "I mean, I'm
not scared, but if it's too much for you, then…"
"Don't worry about me Ying, this is actually kind of fun. Besides, with my
magic torch ability, I can't be scared."
After squeezing through the crack on the surface, the Shoyru brothers found
themselves at a crossroads, filled with passageways. Once Yang had used Magic
Torch, and the two of them had tried rock, paper, scissors, they decided on
a passageway to the left.
Ying however, was starting to wish he'd played rock instead of paper. They'd
been walking forever, and they hadn't seen as much as a leaf, much less mutant
roots.
Yang was too busy looking at the passages to be too worried about his brother.
There was something strange about these tunnels…
Just then, he heard a rumbling behind him. Turning round, he saw a large root
snaking its way towards them. Finally it clicked. These passageways, the moving
roots created them! "Ying, quick! The roots are coming back!" he cried to his
brother, and flew as fast as his wings could carry him.
The two Shoyrus weren't the fastest Neopets around, but you can move surprisingly
fast when you're running for your life. Suddenly, the passageway turned two
ways, and the Shoyrus looked at each other. It looked as if they had to be split
up, after all.
"I'll go to the left, and you to the right!" shouted Ying to his frantic brother.
Yang nodded in agreement, and the two Shoyrus shot down the tunnels.
The roots reached the split, and hesitated for a moment. Then, they turned
down the right hand passage.
When Yang turned round, he was struck with fear. The roots were following
him! Panting, he urged his body on. But he had used up all his adrenaline, and
as the roots encircled him, he fainted from exhaustion.
Yang, thought Ying. He had stopped for at least five minutes, and there
was no sign of the roots. That meant that they had either given up, or followed
Yang.
"Some brother I am," muttered Ying. "This is twice I've let Yang down. I promised
I'd protect him. Yet he always ends up saving me."
Frowning, he looked up and went back down the tunnel. I'll follow the roots,
he thought. They'll lead me to my brother, Fortuna, and Destiny. I hope…
"Uh, where? Where am I?" said Yang, as he woke up. Ying! Was he okay?
The Green Shoyru got up and looked around. He seemed to be in a large underground
cavern, with vines as bars. And there seemed to be a large amount of Neopets,
Petpets, and owners sharing the cage with him.
Just then, he heard a voice. "Yang! Is it you?"
Turning round, Yang saw a white Lupe bounding towards him. "Destiny!" he cried,
and flew towards her.
Once the two of them had rejoiced, and Yang had told Destiny about what had
happened after she and Fortuna had been pulled under, he asked Destiny what
was going on. "Has Sinicar been released again?" he asked, shaking.
Destiny shook her head. "That is not possible. The Money Tree still stands,
yet the spell put on the tree should not allow him to move this freely. He must
have found a new source of power to do the things he is."
"So what is he doing? Is he planning to turn us all into mutants, or just
get rid of us?" asked Yang. "Because I don't want to be a mutant again."
"I do not know, Yang. He can't turn us into mutants; he has to be released
from the tree to be able to do that. But something is wrong."
"Hang on, I see other humans here," said Yang, looking round. "But I don't
see Fortuna."
"That is the problem. When we were pulled under, we were taken to separate
places. Yet, when I asked others," she pointed to the Neopets. "They all say
that they stayed together, that no one was split up."
"So what do you think he's up too? And don't say you don't know cause I see
it in your eyes. There's something you're not telling me."
Destiny nodded gravely. "You are right. I believe that Sinicar pulled anyone
and anything that came into range into his hole, looking for someone."
"Fortuna?" Yang whispered.
"Now, if I were a root, where would I be?" said Ying to himself, as he flew
down the passage… and slammed into a wall.
"Ow! Man, this is even worse than the Faerie dungeons," he complained. Without
Yang's magic torch, finding the roots was harder than he thought.
Muttering and complaining, Ying kept one hand on the wall, and felt his way
down the tunnel. He knew the roots had to have come this way.
Just then, he felt something ooze onto his hand. Pulling away from the wall,
he squinted, and tried to see what it was. From what he could see (which wasn't
much) he could tell it was a dark, sticky liquid.
Just then, a spark of electricity lit up the tunnel, and Ying got a brief
view of the surroundings, and the liquid.
Shocked, he found a dry patch of earth, and frantically rubbed his hand until
the liquid was gone. When he had seen it in the light, he had been filled with
a terrible feeling. He had felt true power, and evil. At that one moment, he
had been willing to do anything for control. Anything. If the light had lasted
much longer, he didn't know if he would have been able to resist. Even now,
he hungered for another second of that feeling.
He shook his head. Don't think about it, he thought. It was evil.
Now where did that light come from?
From what he had seen, the light had come from the left passage. Not that
he could see the left passage. Sighing, he replaced his hand to the wall, and
felt his way down the passage, being careful not to touch any more of the dark
liquid.
"What would Sinicar want with Fortuna?" asked Yang, who couldn't understand
what Destiny was saying. "She barely did anything in the Battle a year ago."
"Yes, if he was after revenge, he would have gone for you, or Ying. But he
may be thinking about the original curse."
"The original curse?" repeated Ying, puzzled.
"Remember, Fortuna predicted the evil Sinicar would create, and convinced
the Faeries to seal him away. That is what I believe."
Yang looked at her accusingly. "Are you sure?" he questioned.
"Yes" Destiny replied. "I do not know why else he would want her. And I do
not want to think about what he may do to her…"
"Finally, light!" gasped Ying, as he found himself on a ledge, overlooking
a lit room. But his celebrations were short lived, when he looked down in the
cavernous hall.
Fortuna groaned and opened her eyes. The picture was hazy, but as she tried
to rub her eyes, she found that she couldn't move any part of her body.
As she struggled, a booming voice called to her. "Do not attempt to struggle
Predictor, your attempts are worthless."
"Sinicar?" asked Fortuna, puzzled. "Since when do you speak perfect Neopian?
Last time we met, you couldn't even string syllables together."
"I've been practicing," replied Sinicar. "But my speech is not your more serious
problem. Care to look underneath you…"
Looking down, she realized that she was attached to a wooden circle, and tied
with roots. It reminded her of something she'd seen in a medieval torture chamber.
Just then, she felt something slimy reaching up her ankles. As she glanced
at the floor, she was struck dumb. It was moving! The entire floor was a dark
rushing liquid. As she looked in horror at the rest of the room, she realized
it wasn't just the floor. The walls, the vines, even the roof was an oozing
tidal wave.
As her eyes widened, Sinicar laughed wickedly. "A while ago, one of my brother's
potions was dropped underneath this tree, and started to mutate my entire structure,
as you can see all around you. It gives me complete power to move, and act my
revenge on anyone that comes near me. But it will only last about a day. That's
why I need you."
"I don't think I follow you," said Fortuna, still trying to kick the ooze
away.
"Well, one of the potion's other abilities is to take the mind of one creature,
and insert it into another. Thanks to this! The potion was called, "Mind
Taker," or something like that.
"Mind Taker? But what does that have to do with…" Fortuna cut herself off
as the truth became obvious.
"Ever since you had the Faeries trap me in this infernal tree, I have wanted
revenge. And when you foiled my brother and I, it was the last straw. So what
better way to take my revenge, than taking your body, and leaving you to live
inside this tree, without anyone realizing the difference?!? Once the potion
goes down your throat, the transformation will be complete!"
"No," said Fortuna with shock. "Ying, Yang, Destiny. Help me…"
To be continued... | 
