Brought Together II: Part Two

     "The Amulet contains an ultimate, evil spirit," Fyora had said. "It will consume and possess anyone who dares to wear it around their neck. Once you put it on, you lose control, and the spirit commands your every move. Your body, your mind, your soul...you no longer become aware of those. They are all replaced with pure evil."

     "Whoa...and why is this thing only locked up in a small transparent box in your basement?" Smatty asked.

     "The box may not look like it, but it is one of the most impenetrable safes in Neopia. It's magical," Strophagus answered proudly.

     Smatty laughed, and said, "Awesome. But why hasn't it just been destroyed? It seems like something this awful should just be thrown into a pit of lava and never seen again. And isn't the Amulet of Ascendence an item that's sold in the hidden tower? That really doesn't make sense, if this one is so special...."

     Fyora chuckled. "You're thinking of the Amulet of Thilg. Well, while I'm on the subject of that amulet, the ones sold in the hidden tower are mere replicas. They're supposedly powerful, but really useless compared to the real Amulet of Thilg. But don't tell my customers that - they think they're buying powerful artifacts when the amulets are only expensive pieces of jewelry. But I would never experiment like this with an amulet such as the Amulet of Ascendence. It is much too powerful."

     "And the Amulet of Ascendence cannot be destroyed," Strophagus added. "Fyora has tried every magic trick in the book to banish it from Neopia forever, but there is no use, I'm afraid. It's here to stay - but luckily, in good hands. For if it was to ever fall into the wrong hands, or if someone were to put it on...."

     "That would not be good." Smatty folded her arms and grinned.

     "Agreed," Fyora said. "Well, I think I've kept both of you down here in this dark room long enough. Go on, go explore Faerieland. Have fun!"

     "I promise that we will, Queen Fyora," Strophagus said with bow.

     "See you later, Queenie, and thanks for the history lesson!" The two of them then ran up the steps as fast as they could. Strophagus almost tripped and fell back down, but that was nothing unusual.

     Strophagus and his friend emerged out from Fyora's office and into the bright hidden tower corridors, and immediately Smatty began to chuckle.

     Strophagus looked puzzled, but then understood. He had always had trouble figuring out humor, but Smatty had helped him with those issues in the past. Now he could at least take a joke. "You're laughing about Queen Fyora, aren't you?"

     "I guess. I'm just surprised that she was so...cool. That's all I'll say." The Kyrii nodded.

     "Queen Fyora is indeed an interesting person. I myself admire her a lot."

     "Me too. She isn't arrogant at all; she's actually nice," Smatty said with a small hint of disbelief.

     Strophagus gasped dramatically, made his eyes unusually large, and said with short pauses in between each word, "I can not believe it."

     Smatty laughed for the millionth time that day. She and Strophagus got along very well. "I'm glad to know you haven't lost your sense of humor, Strophy."

     "My name is Strophagus."

     "Of course it is. Come on, you have to show me around the tower." Smatty grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the halls, and Fyora watched happily as the two pets frolicked away. She was surprised they hadn't noticed her listening on their entire conversation.

     "Smatty," the Queen said to herself. "She's quite the character."

     ***

     Smatty and Strophagus had ended up having a wonderful day. They had gone on a tour of the tower, during which Smatty got to meet all sorts of new and interesting faeries. However, throughout the entire day, one thing still remained extremely clear in her memory. It was impossible for her to forget how the Amulet of Ascendence had drawn her toward it, and how compelled she was by it. It was impossible for her to shake it out of her thoughts, as if the Amulet permanently haunted her.

     By the end of the day, both of the pets were exhausted. After eating a rather fancy dinner consisting of food Smatty had never even known existed, the two of them retired to bed. Smatty was about to pull out her sleeping bag, but then she remembered she had a bed the size of her own house to sleep in, and put it back in her back with a nostalgic sigh. It was the same sleeping bag she had slept in during her four day adventure with Strophagus the previous month, in Terror Mountain. The Kyrii shook her head and crept onto the extremely comfortable mattress, pulled the covers over her, and shut her eyes.

     Immediately, a mental image of the Amulet of Ascendence flashed before her. Come to me, a voice whispered raspily in her head. She yelped and sat upright, holding the covers tightly. That image had been so vivid in her mind, with the dark-golden gem glowing in her face, and the voice speaking to her. She glanced sideways to see Strophagus turned over peacefully in his bed; he obviously hadn't heard her yelp.

     "I'm going nuts," Smatty said to herself a moment later, with a quiet laugh. "Today must have been a little too exciting for me to handle."

     With that, she closed her eyes again but opened them back up instantly. The Amulet had flashed before her as soon as her eyes had shut. Beads of sweat were now running down her face, as she wondered what was going on.

     Smatty, the voice called in her head.

     The Kyrii tried covering her ears, but it was no use. The voice continued to call her more and more, and eventually she gave into it. Reluctantly, her small feet hopped off the bed and marched up to the door of the room. She twisted the knob and peered outside, making sure the coast was clear. A small voice in the back of her head was asking her what she was doing, but some other power seemed to be controlling her.

     Completely intrigued, she marched up the hidden tower's steps made of the cloudy substance, and without any further thought she was standing in front of Fyora's office. Before Smatty could even put her paw on the knob (which was locked anyway), the doors swung open before her. With a puzzled expression, she walked thoughtlessly through the dark office up to the purple curtain, which was almost invisible to her in the darkness. Just like the doors, the curtain flew off the wall magically, leaving the entrance to the gray and uninviting basement unguarded.

     Smatty marched down the steps in a robotic manner, unaware of herself. She reached the bottom of the steps in no time, and she could now see the Amulet of Ascendence. The gem was glowing so brightly that the entire room was illuminated; the light passed right through the transparent box that contained it.

     Hello, Smatty, a voice coming from the Amulet whispered in the Kyrii's head once more. Dazed, Smatty approached the transparent box, slightly staggering. She was beginning to completely lose control. She squinted and pressed her face against the box, staring deeply into the gem of the Amulet.

     Without any notice, an orangish-red beam of light came from the top of the Amulet's gem, and burned a hole through the top of the box that was supposed to keep it so well contained. For a moment after that, the gem ceased to glow so brightly and Smatty fell back in shock.

     "What am I doing here?" she asked herself, coming to her senses. She had no memory of getting up out of bed, or coming down into the basement of Fyora's office in the first place. How had it all happened?

     She didn't get much time to think it through. The Amulet had raised itself out from the box, and was now floating in midair. The dark-golden gem seemed to look straight at Smatty.

     "I better go get Fyora," Smatty said, not wasting any more time. This Amulet looked like it meant business and there was no way Smatty would let it do anything to her. As she turned around and sped up the stairs, the Amulet flew through the air and followed her with amazing speed. It went behind her, completely unnoticed, up into Fyora's office. Panting, Smatty stopped for a moment at the door. Something felt eerie. Slowly, she moved her head to look behind her.

     The Kyrii's eyes opened wide as the Amulet's gem shined directly into her face. Before Smatty could think to do anything else, the Amulet charged into her and latched itself around her neck.

     "No!" Smatty yelled, trying to pry it off of her. "Get off of me!"

     With great difficulty, she tried to run up to Fyora's room, but soon found out it was becoming more and more difficult to control herself. The Amulet was beginning to possess her...beginning to take control. First, she discovered she could no longer use her voice. She tried to open her mouth, but it wouldn't. Then, her legs, arms, and eventually her entire body fell out of her command. Her lips curved into a smile, but she wasn't really the one smiling.

     The Amulet had taken over.

To be continued...