Of Good & Evil

XIII. Before You Know It

The group walked to Xenon and helped him to his feet. Xenon, finally catching his breath, wiped his forehead and looked to Passion and Hardy. He said, "So... who's gonna fight next?"

"I think that will depend on the opponent," Hardy said.

"True," Passion said, "I think we should wait and see what the next one is like before we decide."

They looked around and saw that the candelabras in the room had all gone out and the book that was previously sitting on the pedestal was gone. Xenon approached the pedestal and inspected it further, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He wanted to know what it was that gave her those powers.

"I think the book itself was her soul skill," Passion said, realizing what Xenon was thinking.

"Oh, so like... she could summon or change with the book?" he replied.

"Makes sense," Time said, looking at the pedestal, "It's why she would keep the book in plain sight, being the only one able to use it for anything. It's probably why you couldn't read any of the cover too."

Xenon nodded.

The group stepped away from the podium and walked toward the other side of the dome toward the next hallway. They immediately stopped and stared down the hallway, as it appeared that the passageway itself twisted around.

"What kind of place is this?!" Xenon said, staring that the hall.

Passion stepped to the front of the group. Her eyes began shining with rainbow-colored light as she looked over the hallway. She turned to the others and said, "It's just an illusion. The hallway itself is normal. Just walk forward."

They began to progress forward, Xenon trailing at the back, holding on to Passion's dress for support. He was clearly having an issue with vertigo and looked like he might be sick. With each step they took, the hallway seemed to straighten out, leading them to the next dome. When they finally reached the next doorway, Xenon was still holding on. Passion turned and said, "You know, you can open your eyes now."

Xenon hesitantly opened one eye, then jumped up and said, "Haha! No hallway can defeat me!" clearly acting as though nothing happened.

Passion rolled her eyes as they walked into the dome. The room was the same size as the dome with a park in it, about the same size as a football stadium, but this one was different. The roof and walls appeared to be made out of bars rather than stone as they were before. Plants of many varieties were planted everywhere, ferns and small shrubberies. The bars were all curved and had accents inlaid within them. It made Passion think of a fancy bird cage. This was the aviary.

Standing in the center of the enormous room, the plant life reaching up to his knees, a man in a black suit and a purple tie stood before them. He had a smile on his face that made Passion feel uneasy.

"Oh wow," he said in an almost bored-sounding voice, "I never imagined I would actually get to fight."

Hardy stopped in his tracks and stared in shock at the man. He thought he looked a little different than the last time he saw him, but he definitely recognized that voice. He stood, frozen in place, as the others stopped to see what the problem was.

Just as they were about to ask, the man said, "Oh wow, and you're with them too," he said looking at Hardy, "I'm surprised you survived, your majesty."

Hardy's suspicions were confirmed. This was the leader of that gang he was with the night he joined Phantom Diamonds. Hardy's memory flashed to that night, being stabbed with his powers and left to die in the street. If Judais hadn't been there to revive him, he would have died in the street that night. He stepped forward, pushing through the others, and said, "This one is mine."