Upon regaining consciousness, I realized Xavier was holding me and walking. We were in a building of some sort and I knew we had moved far. Xavier's green vest was wrapped around my neck and Josh was limping alongside him.

"So, Josh, anyway," Xavier said, not realizing yet that I was awake. "I believe even if the main characters beat the boss, the bosses still return for us to beat them too. It would only make sense, right? I mean, we have to beat the game in the main character's place even though he's here."

"Yeah, I guess," he replied, holding the wound in his abdomen. It was bleeding a lot less but like my wound, the bleeding had not yet stopped.

"Where are we?" I moaned.

"Beats me," Josh replied. "But you missed it! I killed these guys wearing white with my bare hands! I think we're playin' on easy mode!"

"Finally, you're awake!" Xavier grinned, putting me down to my feet. "You had us worried."

We reached the end of the hall and opened the door. We suddenly began to hear faint music. It was a slow, eerie hymn.

Our feet loudly tapped on the floor which seemed to be freshly waxed. When we got to the end of the hall, Josh froze, holding his head in pain.

"GAH!" he cried. He stood there for a few seconds.

"Are you alright?" Xavier asked frantically. "Is something wrong?"

"I...no...I'm fine," he replied. His voice suddenly had a strange, metallic undertone to it. We continued walking and opened yet another door. Before us was a creepy room. There were tables and chairs. It looked extremely old. It appeared to be from around the twentieth century.

Josh stood up on one of the tables and pointed his gun at us.

"Wha-"

"Josh, cut it out! Put your gun down and let's go!" I complained.

"Scott, Scott..." he said with a grin, getting off of the table and caressing my cheek. I quickly backed away. "You're so cute when you act this way."

"Josh, stop!" Xavier cried.

Josh pointed his gun at Xavier and shot him in the foot. Xavier gasped and began to quiver.

"Stop that, you douche!" I yelled. "It isn't funny!"

"What's wrong? Did I hurt your boyfriend, Scott?"

I clenched my hands into fists and punched Josh in the face twice with all of my strength.

Blood dripped from his mouth but he continued to smile.

"How adorable. As much as I enjoyed being around you, I think I'd have more fun watching you die a virgin."

He fired his gun at my arm and laughed as tears fell down my cheeks. I twitched a few times before I felt the adrenaline kick in. I kicked him to the ground and he hit his head on the floor. I punched his skull and kicked him in the stomach. His eyes closed and I began to back away.

"Josh..." I said, very confused about what had just happened.

"He was useless anyway," I heard a muffled voice say. I looked to my side and then I saw it. A man wearing a black mask and suit, floating in midair. I was sure I was hallucinating.

"Who are you?" Xavier asked.

"I...am Psycho Mantis!" he announced proudly. "I can read your every thoughts. I know everything about you."

"Alright, what am I thinking of?" I grinned.

"Robotic German alpacas," he said simply.

"You're good..." I gasped.

"Hmm, So, Scott, is it? Before I kill you, I'd like to read your past."

"Alright, knock yourself out," I snorted.

"You...your mother died when she was very young, did she not? You were left to take care of your sister, Kimi. Your father was rarely there for you because of his drug and alcohol abuse. I can safely say you were a parental figure to Kimi, correct? I see you care a lot about your sister and your friends. You've known Xavier and Josh for a long time, no? And your sister...you love her more than anything. But you have no job. You're a reckless young man. You lie and steal from others. I think you're stuck in this place because you need to learn a lesson."

"Humph," I said. "Do Xavier's now!"

"Very well," Mantis sighed. "Xavier...you're very caring of your friends. You come from a middle class family of six. You are the youngest among your siblings but it seems they did not set a good example for you, huh? You try your best to be a good friend because of your past mistakes. Maybe you shouldn't sleep with Josh's girlfriend or steal from people that are close to you. You don't have much confidence though and you, too are reckless. And that secret of yours...I'll keep it safe."

"Um...thanks?"

"Now..." Mantis hissed. "Prepare to see your death!"

He levitated a chair and a bookcase and threw it across the room, hitting Xavier with the chair in the process.

"AH!" Xavier cried, holding his head in pain.

I picked up Josh's gun and pointed it at Mantis. I began to shoot but he dodged every bullet.

"Did you forget I can read your minds, child?"

He picked up a chair and threw it towards me. I tossed the gun to Xavier and he began to shoot Psycho Mantis as I dodged the chair. Many of the bullets struck him. He cried in pain.

"Fine, have it your way. Josh, let them watch as you gut yourself."

Josh stood up, knife in hand. He stabbed his own stomach, pulled the weapon out and did so again.

"No, Josh!" Xavier cried, limping over and twisting Josh's arm, making him release the knife. Xavier took a nearby chair and struck him in the head with it, making him fall unconscious yet again.

Xavier handed me the knife and I held it close to me as Xavier shot at Mantis but to no avail. Mantis levitated the largest bookcase in the room, held it high, and just before he could fling it across the room at Xavier, I sneaked behind him and stabbed him hard in the back before pulling the knife out. He fell to the ground and a puddle of blood began to form under him.

"I should have known..." he coughed. "I can't read more than one mind at once. I seemed to have overestimated myself."

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Josh growled, standing and going over to Mantis. He kicked him in the stomach with his remaining strength.

"Well..." he replied slowly. "I think you three should know that you're not going to have each other for much longer. Make it last."

With those words, his eyes closed. The room fell silent. (Maybe because everyone in it was either badly injured or dead!)

"Well, let's move on..." Xavier sighed. "We wouldn't want to stay in this game longer than we have to, hm?"

Omnom nom. I love reviews.