909 Fake Angel, Hat Monster
Story contributed by Al Naga
On the Island of Taoyundao, there are magical items available for sale, but one should be careful. Some items are cursed, cruel practical jokes by the spellcasters on that island that sometimes fall in the hands of the unwary. Sometimes the items are not just cursed, but malevolent...
A-Ya was a young girl fresh off the boat from Taiwan who was recruited for a her new job at a local bird sanctuary. A-Ya loved birds, and often fantasized about flying like them. As she headed for her new job, she noticed all the women on the island either wore hats or covered themselves with parasols from the hot sun that beat down on the tropical island. The island of Taoyundao had appealed to her, as she heard it was much like her native Taiwan as it did not lack for any tech available in her own home country, except in a much more tropical climate. But A-Ya wasn't prepared for this hot rays from the sun, even though she had taken precautions to protect her sensitive skin with sun screen.
There a booth on the street that was covered with parasols, which showed A-Ya an convenient solution to her problem. The spoke to the store keeper at the booth and quickly bargained for a pretty parasol with flowers and vines painted along the boarders, then something caught her eye, a strange colored hat that seemed to be both purple and blue at once. "How much for that hat?", A-Ya asked. The store keeper looked at A-Ya, unsure what to do as he was an amateur magic researcher, and discovered the hat in the street and suspected it was magical in nature. However he recognized the opportunity to make a good sale, when he saw it, "50 Taoyundao Dollars." he replied. "FIFTY TD!" A-Ya cried, but she quickly counter offered, "Thirty!" The store keeper mused on it and then replied, "Thirty Five and it's yours!" A-Ya quickly paid up and put the hat on her head as she went off to her new job.
A-Ya goes home, gets the shock of her life when while holding the hat over her right hand, her hand disappears leaving a stump. A-Ya screams, and drops the hat on the ground. A-Ya picks up the hat as her house keys had Bao-Yun in her right hand, only to be horrified as her right hand is now attached to the side walk. A-Ya falls down, but suddenly realizes she can still feel her right hand, and even uses it to make the keys its holding jiggle.
A-Ya walks up to her hand that is attached to the sidewalk, curiously places her strange hat on it. Then she picks up the hat and the hand disappears. She places the hat on her head in disbelief, then she feels her hand again. She takes off her hat and the hand is now on top of her head! She then gets and idea, and place the hat on her head again, which makes her hand vanish from the top of her head. She then places the hat on the stump of her right wrist, and the removes the hat, showing her hand is now restored to it's proper place on her arm.
A-Ya sits down after getting into her apartment, tired from her ordeal. She gets ideas to try the hat out, transposes her body parts on different surfaces. Finally puts herself back together. Gets an idea of taking the hat to her work.
In the morning, A-Ya greets Bao-Yu, but restrains herself from telling her about the hat. A-Ya goes to Larry's cage and uses the hat to borrows his wings, which she attaches to her shoulder blades. A-Ya is so excited that she remade herself into an angel, and to her surprise she can fly with Larry's wings. A-Ya is concerned that she's not as beautiful as she sees as angel should be. So she calls in her beautiful assistant Bao-Yu, setting up a situation that will show the hat is obviously magical: by placing her legs and her head in flower pots. Bao-Yu comes into the lab and she sees the disassembled A-Ya and spots the hat. Bao-Yu warns A-Ya to put herself back together right away! The hat is an evil hat that corrupts spirits and steals bodies. A-Ya denies that's what happening, but the hat begins to laugh with evil laughter.
A-Ya tries to remove the hat, but she loses control of her torso, and the hat flies away with that part of A-Ya's body. A-Ya cries that she deserved this to happen, as she lost Larry's wings and desired to steal parts from Bao-Yu's body. But Bao-Yu offers to care for the disassemble A-Ya, which helps A-Ya comes to accept her new situation.
