"No."
It wasn't Chase, the one I had grown to know and love. It was the one I had first met, injured and bleeding during that fateful sunset. The one with innocent gold eyes and a sweet smile. The one I thought had gone forever. He was hunched over, his knees to his chin.
Then he raised those achingly familiar eyes at me. "Eva?" His old voice, lacking the cynism and now filled with loneliness.
I took a step back.
He climbed to his feet. "Eva? Let me out of here, please!"
"No," I snapped. "You're not him." I didn't know why, but somehow it wasn't him. There was just a hint of malice, of something alien in those gold orbs.
"What are you talking about?" His eyes narrowed into slits.
"Hannibal Roy Bean." The name sounded distant, coming from far away. "Chase locked you here, didn't he?"
"Smart girl." 'Chase' grinned. "Moby Morpher!"
He raised his arms and brought them together. There was a sickening rubbery sound as he stretched and turned into that ugly red bean I remembered. Only bigger.
"Tell me," he yawned and inclined his body on one tentacle/arm. "How did you know?" He was wearing black and gold armlets, I noticed.
I shrugged coolly, forcing my face into an emotionless mask. "You're a lousy actor."
"Aw, don't be like that," Hannibal leered, putting on a mock-hurt expression. "If I recall correctly, you owe me something."
"You recall wrongly then."
He leaned closer to the piece of glass that separated us. "Wasn't I the one who turned Chase evil?"
"Oh, so now you're saying you did it for me?"
" 'Course not." He paused. "But you benefitted from it, didn't you?"
"And why should I help you? Do you really expect me to return the 'favour'?"
"Just let me out of here and I'll call it even."
I pretended to consider. "Nope, don't think so." I turned to leave. "You cam rot here for all I care."
"Wait."
I didn't know why, but I froze at his words. "What?" I couldn't help asking.
"I know how to get out of this hell hole."
I turned, slowly, deliberately. "Explain."
He chuckled. "Get me out of here first."
My face was a cold mask. "Explain first."
He sighed and snapped his … tentacles? A bird, grey with red and black bands of feathers swooped down and glared at me. I recognized the malevolent look. It was the one Hannibal rode on years ago, on that night I had met him.
"Ying Ying here," the bean waved a tentacle at the grey bird. "Is the Ying-Yang bird. She can travel between our world and this."
"So you'll give us a ride back?" I asked, skeptical.
His grin widened. "Of course not. I'll be going back with you."
I studied him, keeping my expression blank. "Fine."
"Good." He gestured at the glass. "Brute force won't break this thing."
I raised my hands, muttering a spell under my breath, weaving a web of magic. The shadows swept from the room, forming a black mass that glowed with an eerie purple light.
Wuya wasn't the only Heylin witch around.
Hannibal watched me with interest. "Who are you?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Without replying, I threw the shadows at the glass cage. It shattered into a thousand little fragments with a loud crash.
"Nice." Hannibal brushed the broken glass from his body and hopped towards the Ying-Yang bird. "Now grab hold." He cast Omi and Clay a disdainful look. "You want your… pets along?" Omi spluttered and started to say something. I shot him a glare and he kept quiet. Grabbing hold of one of the bird's tail feathers, I gave him a quizzical look. "You're actually keeping the bargain. I'm amazed."
He chuckled. "I don't cheat on my partners. Unlike some people."
"Partners?" I choked on the word.
He grinned. "How about it beautiful? You and me?"
"Never," I spat.
"You really do love him?" I hated that pitying look on his face.
"Obviously," I glared.
"Even after he pushed you here, trapped you here, like he did with me?"
Encouraged by my silence, he went on. "You can trust me Eva. We can be partners. We don't need two-faced traitors like Chase. We can be great. Together."
"Why would he want to betray me?" I asked, my mouth dry.
He shrugged. "He's insecure. He made use of you, then he got rid of you. Like he did with me." Hannibal paused.
"But I wouldn't do that. Ever," he said, kindly, warmly. "You're far too valuable to be thrown away like garbage. I heard he replaced you too, and with a hag like Wuya. He's nothing but a – "
"Enough!" I yelled. I lowered my eyes to the floor then glanced up at Hannibal. "Alright, partners."
He smiled. "You'll soon see you're doing the right thing, sweetheart."
I grimaced. "Don't call me that."
"Eva!" The cry was from Omi. "You trust this Hannibal Bean? I must warn you – "
I lost my patience. It was only a matter of time anyway – one could only put up with so much from this brat.
My hand lashed out and slapped him, hard. "You forget, Omi. I am not on your side. The Xiaolin are doomed now, so save yourself the trouble and stop lecturing about good to me. Understand?"
He nodded mutely, his face flushed, and not just from the slap.
"Let's get out of here," I muttered.
They took hold of the Ying-Yang bird.
There was a flash of light.
And we vanished into another dimension.
Two more chapters and this will be done... I'm pretty sad to end it...
