To say that Simon was "paranoid" after what happened with the Father the other day, would only scratch the surface to Simon's strange obsession with the crown.
When he returned to his apartment the other day, it took him two whole hours to realize that the only thing of Betty's that was left behind was the portrait of him and her. The one that had the Sasquatch behind them.
After his sudden realization, he scoured the building, searching for anything else she might have left him. It slowly became more than finding anything that would remind him of her and their good times together, but it was looking for something that she would come back for. Something that she couldn't go long without, and make her return. Even if it was just to pick up her lost artifact.
Simon was looking for hope.
He searched and searched, but couldn't find anything else.
Simon's shoulders slumped and he walked back into the living room. The crown was placed on a coffee table, Gunther growling and keeping a close eye on it from the floor. Simon sat down on the couch across from it and took in a breath, removing his glasses.
He stared at the crown and lost track of time. An entire day had passed with him doing just that. He even fell asleep on the couch just staring at it, trying to dissect it with his mind, trying to see beyond the gold and find some sentience within to communicate with.
But all he saw was his own reflection staring right back at him. Tormenting him with the secrets of the crown, torturing him with the knowledge of what he did say to make Betty leave.
"I should have never found you. I should never have gone to Scandinavia." he said, "But I made a deal. I'm not going to get rid of you. But I am going to make sure nobody has to ever go what I'm going through ever again, because of you." He jumped when he heard a knock on the door.
Could it be?
"Betty?" he asked, rushing to the door. He was greeted with the sight of two bulk men, a safe in between them.
"Yeah, you Simon... Patrikoff?" the first said
"It's Petrikov." Simon sighed, "I'm sorry, but I was hoping you. We're someone else... Wait, is that my safe?"
"Yes it is sir. Fire-proof, unbreakable, and even magic-proof." the first said
"How is it made to be magic proof?" Simon wondered
"Some runes are carved into it, holy water was used to harden it, I don't know. I just deliver the things." he said, holding out a clipboard for him to sign. Simon took it and signed his name, standing aside for the men to bring the safe into the living room.
"By the way, there was a special on this safe when you bought it. Chains come with it, no cost." the first man said, he opened the safe, showing a box of chains and a lock to go with them.
"That's perfect. Thank you very much, and have a good day." Simon said. The second man looked down at Gunther.
"Heh look at this." he said, picking up the hedgehog in a ball, "A little hedgehog. What's his name?Sonic? Shadow? Knuckles?"
"Actually, Knuckles is an echidna, but please put Gunther down." Simon said, hurrying to his one friends need. Gunther whimpered and looked at Simon pleadingly.
"Come on, put him down." the first man said. The second man shrugged.
"Yeah okay, sure." he said, putting Gunther's ball on the ground. With. Flick of his wrist, he made the ball spin and spin like a top.
"Gunther!" Simon said. He slid on the ground on his knees, stopping the ball's rotation. The second man laughed before the first punched his shoulder.
"That was not cool man." he said before leaving. The second man looked down on Simon. He looked like the kids he made fun of when he was a kid. Weak and nerdy. Even as an adult, he liked to torture their kind.
"You gonna cry now whimp?" he said
"Get. Out." Simon said
"Peh. And whose gonna make me?" he asked. Simon stood, his back to the man. He gently placed Gunther on the couch and took a calming breath.
Before either could blink, Simon spun around and punched the man in the face and kneed himon the stomach. He had no idea where this strength came from, but his moves were skilled, almost like a ninjas. Butat the moment, he didn't care. This man needed to pay for what he did. Nobody hurts Gunther and gets away with it!
NOBODY.
Tha brute of a man lay on the floor, beaten and bloodied. Simon stood over him and grabbed his shirt collar.
"I will say this one last time: Get out." he said. He let go of the collar and the man complied, scrambling to his feet and running outside, slamming the door behind him.
As if there was a flip of a switch. Simon blinked with hardly any idea of what he did.
He remembered seeing Gunther being tormented and stopped his ball from spinning, but then...
He looked at the crown.
In the distorted he reflection, he looked as though was a smirking devilishly.
His eyes travelled down to his hands. They had splashes of blood that he hoped wasn't his. He wasn't hurting at all, so none of it was his.
His hands started shaking.
Hepicked up the crown and placed it in the safe, locking it. Then with the chains, he made sure that if the crown did have any sentience, it wouldn't break free. And if anybody brokeit to his apartment, they wouldn't free the crown.
After the deed was done, Simon ran into the shower, not bothering to take off his clothes, trying to cleanse himself from whatever darkness was taking hold of his mind.