The Mekai: Endgame

Chapter 6

The First Trial

The Celestials descended onto the first of the ten floors. They entered the door and stepped into the hallway. This floor looked similar to the last, minus the balcony. Another door stood on the left side near the corner. Ray opened it to find another descending stairwell. He took a deep breath and ran down them, the others following close behind.

When everyone reached the second floor, the door opened and closed itself as the others had done. A spacious hallway welcomed them. The same demon-skull sconces lit the room, giving it a gloomy feel. Two life-sized gargoyle statues decorated the wall on either side. Each statue held an attacking posture and looked as though they would battle one another at a moment's notice.

"I love what Ren's done with the place," John joked.

"Look- the stairs," Yin pointed out. True enough, up the hall and to the left, stood another door. "Shall we?" she asked.

They only got to take one step before a black substance oozed out of the statures' mouths. As it dropped on the floor, it formed into five black blobs. The blobs didn't have a definitive shape themselves, instead they jiggled in place.

"What are those?" Jerry asked.

"I don't know, but there are enough for each of us," said Ray.

"Nah, I got this."

Everyone turned to Yang as he popped his knuckles and neck. "I'll handle these things," he said. "They'll be just the warm-up I need; you guys just hurry on ahead."

"Are you mad?" John asked. "You're going to take these things on by yourself?"

"He won't be alone," Yin spoke up. "I will stay here to fight with Yang."

"No way," Yang rebelled. "I don't need your help!"

"Well too bad," Yin snapped. Yang gave her a "Well, excuse me," look and silently complied.

"Hey Ray," he said. "When you do see Ren, give him a good one for me!" He slammed his fist into his other hand to demonstrate his meaning.

"You bet," Ray agreed.

Jerry stepped over to Yin. "Are you sure about this?" Yin nodded and kissed Jerry on the cheek.

"Be safe and we will catch up with you soon," she told him. "Now go, all of you- hurry!"

Ray, Jerry, and John all nodded and ran around the blobs and toward the exit. The blobs attempted to follow before Yang hit one with a fireball.

"We're your opponents," he declared as the others exited.

Three of the blobs merged into one and the last two merged to form another; only two larger blobs remained. A black aura surrounded them as they shifted their shape to one more humane. By the end of the transformation, the end result more than amazed Yin and Yang. As if they looked into a mirror, two completely identical copies of themselves stood before them.

These clones retained everything from the originals, down to the clothes. The only true difference between them lied within their color scheme. They wore the same style, yet Yang's double wore white and Yin's sported black. Likewise, their hair colors had been reversed: instead of black hair with red and blue streaks, theirs were red and blue and contained streaks of black.

"I see we've got a couple of copycats, Sis," Yang pointed out. He stepped back and his double took a step forward.

"Who knows- this might be fun," Yin said, carelessly. Her copy backed away and Yin stepped forward.