Phase 5 is finally out. Sorry it took so long for this chapter. I had a metric shit-ton of homework to fill out, not to mention my computer got hit with a virus. Other than that, it was all good, since I had most of this written down already beforehand. Thought the fact that this is my shortest chapter so far doesn't really help.

Hopefully, this chapter will meet up to your expectations

Disclaimer's in the first chapter, as well as the dialogue key.

Phase 5: Dreams of Power

The next thing I knew, I suddenly felt a strong wind blowing in my ears. My eyes opened, and I was greeted with an incredibly familiar sight. Lying in front of me was a deep square pit, and looming over was the same Aztec pyramid. I blinked a few times before I began rubbing my eyes. There was no way I could've been home already, much less the dig site. Going home couldn't have been as easily as falling asleep. I never was a movie buff, but that was something reserved for The Wizard of Oz;

Even then, I had a weird feeling about this place. If the thundering sky wasn't enough to make me uneasy, then the fact that the place was abandoned did. There wasn't anyone in sight, whether in the excavation pit or anywhere around.

There was something, however, that wasn't at the original dig site. In place of where the tunnel entrance was what looked like a reddish-pink wall. Well, maybe 'wall' wasn't really the right word. It seemed a little bulbous, and it pulsed slowly, almost like it was…breathing. Root-like tentacles stuck out and clung to the walls.

I was a little disgusted, but, for some reason, I was drawn to the 'wall.' I wasn't sure what it was, but I just had to get there. Without another thought, I went over and climbed into the pit. I kept my eyes on the pulsing object as I moved closer to it, almost in a trance.

Before I knew it, I was standing just in front of the living…well, I didn't know what to call it. All I knew was that something was behind that thing, and it wanted to get out. I stepped forward, my foot landing on a small tendril branching out from one of the roots. I looked down and saw a small spurt of blood jut out from under my boot, but I paid it no more attention as I turned my attention back to the wall.

Without knowing it, I felt my hand reach up towards the fleshy barrier. Once again, it was as though I had no control over my arm. As my hand grew closer to the pulsating wall, I could've sworn I heard a raspy voice whisper in my ear, "Yes…that's it…"

My hand was just about an inch from the fleshy wall when I heard an all-too familiar voice made itself known, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I flinched and twisted around, suddenly regaining control of my arm. When I turned to the source of the voice, I was shocked beyond all belief. Standing behind me was, well, me.

I tried to make sense of it, but the guy looked like me in almost every way. Whether it was my height, my average build, or my hairstyle, he could've passed as my identical twin. Still, even he looked different. For one thing, his eyes were solid, glowing yellow instead of green like mine. Another major difference was that his face was decorated with black and white paint, almost to look like a skull over his face. Wait, it didn't look like a skull at all; it looked more like a mask, like…

"Montezuma?" I started, not really sure. The doppelganger just chuckled and uttered, "Well, who were you expecting, Freddy Krueger?" It was official; I had officially gone insane.

At least, that was what I thought at the time. I stood where I was, staring at Montezuma with my mouth agape for what felt like ten minutes before asking, "Uh…how…how are…why are you…what the hell…" Unfortunately, I couldn't find the right words, or the first thing to say.

Montezuma cleared his throat, stopping my incoherent ramblings, and said, "Just calm down, take a seat, and I'll explain everything. I don't want you to hurt yourself in trying to make sense of it on your own." I didn't argue as I sat down on a block of limestone. I wanted an explanation, but the fact that I had my mind going on overdrive wouldn't help.

Once I was calmed down enough, Montezuma cleared his throat and asked, "Have you ever heard the phrase, 'no two minds are alike?'"

"I thought that only applied to snowflakes," I asked out of the blue.

Montezuma chuckled and replied, "That's true. Still, it's the same thing with a person's mind. No one thinks or sees things exactly the same way as another. That's what makes their mind unique. And just like their thinking patterns, they have to have something of a 'happy place,' to call it differently."

That wasn't clearing up anything. He was just going on about people's minds and how they were different. "But what does that have to do with where I–" As if on cue, something in my head clicked. "You're saying…this place is–"

"Yep," Montezuma replied, a smile growing on his face. "This shit-hole…is your mind."

I could've sworn my jaw snapped off my face and landed on my lap. I thought it was a little too farfetched for me to actually be in my own mind. Still, I was in a world that housed monsters that ate human souls for a living. My grip on reality and logic was slipping, and it was only a matter of time before I officially had to go to the asylum.

"So, if this is my mind," I started. I froze when I tried to come up with the right phrase. I soon said, "So…why, exactly, am I here?"

Montezuma's grin disappeared as he answered only, "I brought you here to tell you something important." I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he was talking about, before he continued, "Besides you and me, there's something else living here in your mind."

"Well, where is it?" I asked, a little on edge. Montezuma's only response was a pointed finger. I followed the finger's direction, and my eyes landed on the same fleshy walk I was so close to touching.

That was a little confusing. I already knew that there was that piece of flesh connected there, because it was the first thing I saw. "Uh," I started, turning back to Montezuma. "I already saw that. That's not really news."

Montezuma sighed as he shook his head. "Not the barrier, jackass," he deadpanned, giving me a look that said that I was a moron. "There are two points to a wall: to keep something out or…"

"To keep something in?" I finished. He smirked and nodded. I furrowed my eyebrows, and then realization struck me like lightning. "You mean…something's on the other side of that sack of skin?"

"No shit, Sherlock," Montezuma replied, stepping over to the wall. He then faced the wall and flicked it with a finger, smirking as he did it. Suddenly, a large, clawed hand reached out and tried to grab Montezuma. It didn't break through the wall of flesh, but the claws stretched through enough to inflict pain.

The hand barely missed Montezuma's face as he leaned backwards to dodge the creature's grip. I then noticed his fist rise up and slam straight into the top of the arm. The creature recoiled in pain, and I could just hear a muffled wail come from the other side of the tissue. Soon, the hand slid back, and the wall returned to its original shape, as though nothing tried to poke through in the first place.

I replayed what just happened with wide eyes as Montezuma walked back over. So many questions ran through my mind from that event alone, and it was hard to pick one. Eventually, I managed to ask, "What the hell was that thing?"

Montezuma took a seat next to me and sighed. I was expecting another speech or something time consuming. I was surprised when he came out and answered, "That…was your inner Hollow."

I was speechless for what felt like half an hour. How could I have an inner Hollow? How did I even get an inner Hollow in the first place? Unless…

Montezuma sighed and asked, "You remember when you killed that frog thing?" I nodded, and he continued, "Well, when I absorbed his blood, I noticed that something was being…created by the blood. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I didn't want to take any chances. Whatever it was may have wanted to kill you from the inside out."

"It was sitting in the darkness of that tunnel," he went on, pointing towards the same tunnel he was just in front of. "I used what abilities I had and built that wall up over the entrance. It was a last ditch effort, but it worked pretty well. See, when we absorbed Szayel's lackey's blood, I noticed that your inner Hollow was growing stronger, so the flesh barrier was a smart move."

I scratched the back of my head, letting the information soak in, before asking, "So all I have to do to keep my 'inner Hollow' from growing stronger is to not kill any Hollows?" I was hoping that was the case, but the look on Montezuma's face killed whatever optimism I had.

"It's not that simple," he replied. "If it weren't for two things, then your idea would work. First off, we're going to have to kill anything that may want us dead, and I don't think they'd be up for negotiations. Second, there's something in the air here in Hueco Mundo. I'm not sure what it is, but somehow, it's making the thing behind that wall stronger by hour."

I grimaced. Nothing could ever be easy. I then asked, "Wait, if my inner Hollow gets stronger as time goes on, then wouldn't it be able to break through that wall in a matter of time?"

As soon as I asked that, Montezuma began cackling like an asylum patient. I raised an eyebrow as Montezuma wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I already took care of that." He then gestured to the flesh wall and said, "It'll take way more than a dagger to cut that baby open. The wall needs either of our permission to open up and let that thing out."

I understood what he meant, except for that exact last part. "I can understand why it would need your permission," I started. "But…why are you giving me part of the control?"

Montezuma shrugged and said, "I dunno. You could probably use the Hollow to your own advantage. Maybe you want to kill yourself. Maybe you'll want to use its power out of desperation. For all I know, well, I don't really wanna know what gets you off."

"You're an ass," I deadpanned. Montezuma only laughed. Suddenly, he lifted his wrist up to his face like he was checking his watch.

"Well," he began. "It's almost time for you to wake up."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean by–"

All of a sudden, the world around me disappeared into a black void. My eyes shot open, and I could only see the dark ceiling overhead. Lifting my head up from the arm of the couch I was laying on, I looked around and saw that I was in the same room I fell asleep in. It was still dark, and from the one window, I could see the crescent moon shine through.

"I told you," I heard Montezuma comment. "It was time to get up."

I sighed as I lay back on the couch. I didn't answer back to Montezuma as I shut my eyes. It was then that I realized:

"Fuck, now I can't sleep."

And cut! That's all I got for this chapter. Next chapter, John starts his training. We'll see how that fares, and who his teacher is.