Review Response:
Jadestar123: Basically yes, Trycos and the new guy have similar powers, although with subtle differences...
Rubber Duck: Hmm...I guess I am getting closer to the climax...Ack! I gotta think of an ending! Oh well...that comes last...
Mango Sam: I might tweak your idea a little, and it definitely made me think about my plot line, which is good.
Germany bound: Heh heh...the dog statue is key to their upcoming issues? I have no idea what you were thinking... ;)

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Alex and Devic burst through one of the stone walls, Alex's face covered with his sleeve, and Devic with his cloak pressed over his nose and mouth. As the dust settled, the two stepped inside over the pile of rubble, and lowered their makeshift masks. Alex turned to Devic, "I didn't know your Gift can do that..."

"Well, it is not easy to use the Gift to blast through things, I will tell you that...and it always drains my energy a bit. Do not worry, I will be fine, I just need to catch my breath..."

Alex nodded and waited, inspecting the inside of the building as Devic leaned against one of the inside walls until his breathing had steadied. After a few moments, Devic stood up and faced Alex, "So...What do you see?"

"A lot of black..." The hallway they found themselves in was long and shadowed, the only light coming from the hole they had made in the wall. The hallways seemed to stretch on endlessly into the distance on either side of where they were standing. Alex frowned, "How do we know that these shadows won't try to strangle us while we have our backs turned?"

Devic shrugged, "I suppose we do not know...But they seem pretty docile to me."

"Which way do you think we should go, down the hall to the left, or to the right? This place looks like some sort of maze."

Devic shook his head, "I do not know...We should not split up though, otherwise we may lose each other in the darkness."

Alex nodded again, "You're probably right..."

"Let us go left."

"Why left?"

"It always seems that everyone goes right. I thought that we should go left because it is probably the way the old man least expects."

"I never thought about it like that...You're probably right. Let's go!"

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Phi frowned and let out a small sigh, trying not to panic. Slowly, she walked around the perimeter of the room, taking in every detail, running her hand along the wall to search for hidden passages. Suddenly, she remembered something that Alex had said on their last trip to Tortall, when they had been captured by Trycos and were looking for a way out of his room, "...this isn't the Hardy Boys, there won't be a secret passage way! This is real life! Well, sort of anyway, but I don't think real bad-guys put in escape routes for the people they kidnapped...". With his voice echoing in her mind, she grinned softly to herself, despite the situation. He was right that time, but perhaps she could prove him wrong today.

Finishing her examination of the space, she walked back over to the huge statue and leaned up against it, looking down at Will, who was looking better now that the cut on his head had stopped bleeding. He glanced up at her, his eyes curious, "Did you find anything?"

She shook her head, "Nope...No such luck...I think we might be stuck here until something happens..."

Will frowned disapprovingly and touched his bandaged forehead gingerly, his brown curls stained a dark red, "I wish I had been more careful...This wound is an...inconvenience."

Phi smiled dryly at him and offered him a hand as he shakily rose to his feet, "You sure you're okay?"

"Oh yes...I will be all right." He grinned lopsidedly, then glanced at his fingers which were covered in his own blood and winced, "Eventually..." Suddenly caught off balance, he stumbled, his hand brushing up against the statue, a dark streak of red left behind as a trial on the stone carving. Phi caught him by his arm and helped him steady himself.

"You should sit back down again..."

"No, I am truly feeling better...The circulation in my body just needs to readjust itself a little..."

Phi nodded, and was about to reply when she fell silent, and narrowed her eyes. A low hum had begun to sound through the room, the sound waves bouncing off the walls as the noise grew steadily louder. Suddenly, there was a loud splintering noise, and a huge fissure cracked down the statue's back. Phi, her mouth hanging open slightly, jumped away from the stone, and Will fell backwards and scurried back to where she was standing. Phi stared, wide-eyed, at the statue as a soft growl filled the air, "What's going on?"

Will shook his head, "I do not know, but I suggest that we take cover."

"Where? There's no where to hide!"

"What? Ahhh!" Will and Phi dove to the ground, both screaming in surprise and pain as the statue exploded. Shards of stone hurled through the air, and a great wave of heat burst from the front of the room, where the statue's platform had been standing.

A great billow of dust flew up and Phi rose shakily onto her elbows, her face and torso covered in small cuts from the flying debris. She shook her head softly, coughing in the thick air, "Will...Will, are you alright?..." As the dust began to clear, she caught side of his limp form about five feet away from her. She grimaced and began to crawl towards him, thinking to herself, "That blast must have knocked him unconscious again...I hope he's all right..."

She bit her lip as she sifted her weight onto her knees and let out a soft cry. Rolling over onto her side, she pulled her leg up close to her chest and pulled a shard of rock the size of her thumbnail out of her thigh. She winced as she tossed the shard behind her and examined her leg. Her jeans had a tear in them and she was bleeding, but otherwise it didn't look too bad. Turning her attention back to the matter at hand, she clamored back onto her hands and knees and continued to crawl towards Will.

Right before she made it to his side, she heard a noise on her left side that made her freeze in her tracks: a deep, guttural growl. She turned her head slowly, her hand stretched out in midair towards Will, and her eyes grew wide as an enormous shape stalked towards her, the top of its head nearly six feet tall. It was a huge hound, it's jowls pulled back in a vicious snarl and its red eyes glowing like hot coals.

Phi's breath caught in her throat at the sight of the hellish creature and she scrambled close to Will, shaking his shoulders roughly trying to wake him up. The dog let out a fierce bark and leapt towards them, its teeth bared, and as Phi turned to face the dog, she did the only thing she could think of, letting her instincts take over...

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Alex stopped in his tracks as a blood-curdling scream echoed down the shadowed halls of the complex. He felt his heart stop and a cold sweat pour down his face, "Oh my god...Phi!"

Devic squared his jaw and caught up with Alex as he broke out into a sprint, "Alex! Do not get to far ahead, otherwise I will not be able to keep up with you! We must not get separated!"

But Alex couldn't hear anything but the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears. What if Phi had...? What would he do? How would he live? What would he tell Tom? His mind was swarming with gut-wrenching thoughts and what-ifs as he tore blindly down the hall, deeper into the building and away from the light. He had to save her! He called out desperately into the blackness, "Phi! I'm coming! Hold on!"

Suddenly, he rounded a corner, and nearly stumbled on his own feet as he came to a suddenly halt. He felt his racing pulse suddenly freeze over and the blood drain out of his face as he found himself staring into a long, rectangular room. A strangled cry rose out of his throat, and came out as a hoarse whisper, "No!"

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Trycos raised his head up off of his chest as he reclined outside in one of the trees that surrounded the clearing, a malicious grin on his face, "My, my, my...It seems like they have awakened him...Fools...I wonder how long they will last?"

He frowned, annoyed, as he heard a branch snap behind him and he whipped around to find himself face to face with the old man. The old man smiled as Trycos' frown spread into a sneer, "It is about time you showed yourself..."

The old man chuckled, his breath wheezing and dry, "Well, well, well...Look who finally decided to crawl out from underneath his rock."

"What an impudent, grotesque thing you have grown into..."

"At least I will admit to show what I truly am, instead of hiding behind a mask..." The old man's lips curled into a disgusted frown, "...Master...Have you come to make sure that the student does not surpass the teacher?"

"I have come to continue my monopolization on my occupation...This world is not big enough for two men with powers like our own, even as withered as you are, and I have come to insure that you are the one who passes from it."

"Confident words for a man whose assassins are being eaten alive as we speak..."

"You refer to your pet? That mongrel? You must be joking..."

"And you must be overestimating your men...No one survives when my hound is unleashed..."

"Ah yes...I remember the last time you let that thing loose...Do you? It was nearly seventy-five years ago I believe...A whole city destroyed: men dead with swords in their hands, women and children lying bloody in the streets, buildings burned to rubble...That was what happened when you lost control of your Gift; and from your magic, the blood, and the horror and fear, that beast was born. You, being the novice that you were, encased it in stone before fleeing into the hills, ashamed and horrified about what you had done..."

The old man winced, tears pricking his eyes, "And you just sat there, on the steps of that temple, and you laughed...Yes, I remember..." As suddenly as the sadness had come, it disappeared from his face, "And know you have come again to have my creation unleashed again, is that it?"

"Well, you are as hideous as a decaying corpse, but at least you are not as stupid as you used to be...I remember, when you were my student, you were always messing things up. So clumsy, so idiotic...And yet I kept teaching, because you were the only one who I knew of who possessed the potential to have the same powers that I did."

"Why did you send others to do your work for you then? Just a drop of blood on the statue would have done it, and you would have saved yourself so much trouble..."

"Because I want you dead too! And, just as you cannot harm me, I cannot harm you. I was hoping that they would kill you before unleashing the dog, but I am sure it will all work out in the end..."

"You will fail and I will return the monster to its prison."

"Was that a premonition or a threat? It is hard to tell sometimes with you..."

"Consider it a little of both..."

"Oh, I am shaking in my boots. Leave me to enjoy the show, you old geezer! You are upsetting my view!"

"Mark my words, you will regret this! I will kill your assassins and return my burden to its eternal sleep, and then I will kill you!"

"Not unless you die of old age first...Besides, you know me...I always have an extra trick up my sleeve..."

"I do not doubt it, but I shall deal with those as they come..."

With that, the old man stepped back and once again disappeared into the mist. Trycos snorted and turned his attention back towards the long marble building, "Impertinent fool..."

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A/N: Ahh! What happened! Did Phi and Will get eaten alive only seconds before Alex could reach them? Would he even be able to save them even if they were still alive? And what the heck is Trycos planning?! Ha! That's for me to know, and you all to eventually find out...depending on how many reviews I get...Wahahahahahaha! (Evil laughter of the cliffhanger-producing author).