As soon as it recuperated, the two exchanged blows. Sometimes the monster progressed while the other times it was Psyche who got the upper hand. It was almost like a dance, but a dance to the death. Then like in a video game, Theo blinked in surprise when Psyche charged forward with so much raw energy, it even made the monster step back in retaliation. She leapt and sliced off its stuffed head before landing a few feet away from it.

"Did you get it?" Hugo asked, sounding hopeful. Theo gaped at the girl in disbelief when she shook her head.

"No matter how many times I behead it, it always comes back up." She said as she wiped the sweat off her cheek with the back of her hand. Then, as if to prove her point, the stuffed toy turned its body, waving its worn hands to it's head in a blind attempt before bringing it up and reattaching it back to its body again.

Then, the stuffed toy's speed took a dramatic shift as it picked up a large boulder of debris. To Theo's horror, it lunged it at them. Psyche reacted but she stumbled to her knees, weakened from her fight. To their luck, Hugo saved the day.

Hugo took off his beanie hat and Theo eyes widened to find lush green hair occupying the elf's head. Just as he had assumed, Hugo did have pointed ears that stuck out in the horizontal direction. It wasn't as long as he had thought it would be but it wasn't as short to be mistaken as Lillin's ears as well.

What Hugo did next, surprised Theo even further.

He plucked a few strands of his hair, pointed it towards the oncoming boulder and snapped his fingers. A large explosion happened just right in the middle of the boulder, blasting it to smithereens. On impulse and thanks to the adrenaline rush pumping in his veins, Theo raised his hands and snapped his fingers too, conjuring up a solid barrier.

Small boulders and debris rained down on them, causing cracks to form on his barrier. As more cracks started to bloom around, against the raining wreckage, Theo feared it would break. The danger soon passed though, but the barrier faded, leaving three helpless looking teenagers facing against one gigantic looking stuffed toy. That was when a haunting suspicion popped into Theo's mind.

"Is this happening because I turned a teddy bear to a giant?" Theo asked aloud, déjà vu washing over him. Psyche just gave him a glare that made him shut up.

"Have any other plans, do you?" Hugo asked, stepping back as while having one hand raised out to shield both Psyche and Theo. Psyche raised her weapon, a silver staff, and poised in a way that she was shielding Theo too. While Theo was grateful that they were looking out for him, he couldn't help but feel he was being a burden to them by dragging them down.

"Feed me..." The creature spoke again. This time, it raised its hand and pointed straight at Theo, much to his displeasure.

"The thing I will eat..." It slurred and Theo felt his heart pulsating again, suffocating him. "The thing inside your heart...."

Then it lifted another boulder again but this time, all three of them were ready for it. Just as the monster lunged it at them, they jumped off to the side and scrambled up to run off again. Theo watched as Hugo continued to pluck off strands of his hair and pointed them towards the monster.

Whenever he snapped his fingers, an explosion occurred without fail, but no matter how many explosions he made, the creature was unfazed and undefeated. It was as if it had an armour of invincible metal instead of rags and threads.

During the whole ordeal, Theo was starting to feel uncomfortable with the whole chest tingling sensation. It was cutting off his oxygen supply, yet he did not feel pain at all. It was like suffering a silent death. It sent tremors through his body and he was starting to feel a dull ache in his body.

Then, Psyche started charging towards the creature again, jumping on the debris thrown at her way like a stepping-stone and raised her arms to slice the creature again. Meanwhile, Hugo hauled Theo away from the scene by running back where they had come out from.

Theo couldn't find himself to run as quick as before. The dull ache was growing in size, turning his muscles into jelly. At one point, he tripped and crashed, pulling Hugo down with them as the two of them careered down like a leaf in the middle of a hailstorm. Theo heard Hugo swore under his breath, perhaps calling him names too but Theo grabbed his chest again, trying to will the changes occurring in his body down.

"Oi, Theo!" Hugo cried, his anger taking a dramatic dip to concern. "What the klank is wrong with you?"

Theo wheezed, trying to answer when across Hugo's shoulder, he saw the monster raised its arm. Theo widened his eyes in shock when within a blink of an eye, the monster slammed its arm right against Psyche, sending her soaring straight into a wall.

"Psyche!" Theo yelled. Fear for her wellbeing dominated inside of him when he saw the girl rebounded against the wall and slid down, falling limp to the ground with blood flowing down from everywhere. He couldn't even tell if she was alive or not and the fact that she was remaining very still didn't help either.

"Ah klank!" Hugo swore, scrambling up to his feet. "We gotta bail! Where's Oracle when we need him?"

"But, Psyche!" Theo protested when the elf started to drag him away again. They didn't go very far because another boulder flew past them, smashing at the door, blocking their only means of escape. Theo knew they could try to explode their way out but not even Hugo could conjure up enough power to do so.

Trying out a different routine, Theo and Hugo both turned around but froze when they saw the rag doll storming up to them. It cornered them like a predator cornering a prey.

"Feed me...." The rag doll moaned and reached its large arm out at them.

"Klank, klank, klank." Hugo muttered and before Theo knew what happened, the elf pushed him aside. Theo had to hold back a gasp as he landed with a rough thud, bouncing several times until he reached to a stop. He looked up just in time to find the elf in complete mercy of the rag doll's hand. The elf struggled and kicked, every now and then casting fire spells when the rag dolled tossed him in the air.

Then, to Theo's disbelief, the sad face on its gigantic stomach tore open and Hugo, flapping his arms like a penguin while falling, landed straight into its large mouth. The stomach sewed shut again, leaving Theo aghast.

"Still... Hungry..." The monster grumbled and turned his attention back to Theo again, who was still immobile from the trauma.

'No way...' Theo thought, his mind a mess with all the chaos. 'Hugo can't be dead. Not yet. I have to get him out of there!'

"Your heart...." It groaned. "I will eat it..."

Theo couldn't move, his feet were rooted to the ground and his chest was compressing itself, as if his lungs were shrinking. Despite all the pain aching all over his body, he stared at the rag doll, unable to defend himself as the creature reached out its worn out hand to him. The bell on his wrist started ringing but Theo knew that Psyche was too beaten down to come to his aid then.

Or so he thought.

For the third time that day, Theo witnessed one of the monster's limb fell off. It was an arm this time, straight off its shoulder. Psyche appeared, looking not so different from a zombie, before she stumbled and collapsed.

Theo managed to catch her before she smacked onto the cold tiles, preventing her from getting further injuries. He watched as Psyche's scarlet eyes rolled and her head slumped against his chest. She was out cold.

As a result, the creature open its mouth from its face and let out an earth-shattering scream.

Theo grimaced, holding Psyche close and noticed bits of fire flickering around in its mouth. Smoke started puffing out of its stitches on various parts of its body. A vague voice of someone cursing inside the monster could be heard before another burst of flames appeared in the creature's mouth.

Theo took it as a sign that the elf was still alive, fighting inside the stomach. There was no way that Hugo would die just like that without raising the depths of his fury.

The creature let out another blood-curdling screech and Theo distraught when the smokes started coming out less. Even Hugo's voice was becoming more muffled by the second. Knowing that the situation was looking quite bleak, Theo carried Psyche away from the scene as a safety precaution and placed her against a wall.

He then stood up, closed his eyes, took a deep breathe before opening them up again with newfound resolve to defeat the monster. Any strands of fear dissolved inside of him as he strode towards the monster with his head held high, unflinching. The monster watched him as he got closer and Theo stopped about a meter from him, an eerie silence lingered in the air.

"Hungry..." The monster complained, also known as, Theo's cue to snap.

"Feed on this!" Theo bellowed as he traced the first word that came to his mind onto thin air. When he snapped his fingers, the stomach of the toy started bulging out, like a balloon. It continued to expand, the fabric of the toy beginning to resist against the strain and the creature started to whine. Then, without warning, it burst out and mushroom of various sizes, colours and patterns shot flew out like cannon balls.

In the midst of it all, a bewildered looking Hugo was flung out. He pretty much dove to the tiled floor, hurtling himself over like a tumbleweed from the west before coming to a rest. For a short period of time, Hugo was sprawled on the floor like a starfish. He then scrambled up to his feet, ready to fight again.

"Phew!" The elf cried. "Was a goner, I thought!"

Theo smiled in glee when the creature started screeching again, holding its torn out stomach in its arm. He was taken aback when he realised that the creature looked much skinnier than it had been at first. He half wondered if it had been feeding on mushrooms and whether what it ate never gets digested throughout life.

Despite that, already feeling upset with how his day was unfolding, Theo crouched down and picked one of the mushrooms. He twisted the cap of the mushroom, snapping it into half. Right in the middle of the stem was a wick of a candle. How it got there or how Theo knew it was there in the first place, he wasn't sure.

Regardless, using the fire spell that Hugo had taught him, Theo lit it on fire and reattached the cap on the stem again. Then with utmost concentration while running through all the basic things he had learnt from baseball, Theo pitched a screwball with the mushroom.

"Boom shakalaka!" Theo yelled as the mushroom made contact with a puzzled looking monster's face.

He had expected the mushroom to explode. It did, but not in the way he had planned it to be. Instead of orange flames covering the monster whole, colourful ribbons erupted out of the mushroom. The monster staggered, stumbling back while the ribbons began to snake itself all around it, covering both mouths while at it, and finished it up with a nice colourful bow on top.

"Now that's a wrap!" Theo grinned, pleased with the pun while Hugo stared at him.

"How the klank did you do that?" Hugo asked, dumfounded. Theo just shrugged his shoulders. In all honesty, he hadn't foreseen that to happen too.

Nevertheless, their moment of success was short lived when the monster rocked back and forth, growling in a dangerous tone before it started to melt on its own. Theo and Hugo, both startled, watched as it started changing to a darker shade of colour, melting into a thick liquid. The hair at the back of Theo's neck start to rise when he realised what was happening.

The monster, it was transforming into a Shadow. But how?

"Uh... it won't attack us if we are don't look back right?" Theo asked, hoping Hugo would figure it the message on his own.

"Know what you said, I don't." Hugo replied without missing a beat. "But hoping it won't attack us, I am, since didn't look back, we."

Theo had to refrain himself from chuckling in hysteria.

That was when everything happened in fast forward. Theo had no idea what slammed into him until it happened. The two of them were watching the monster transform to a Shadow when it pounced straight onto Theo, several feet away.

Theo landed down on his back with a loud grunt and almost gagged when he felt something warm and slimy around his neck. It was heavy, suffocating him and through his somewhat blinded vision, he saw its face covered in that dark substance, roared.

Hugo, who was stunned at the Shadow's lightning speed, pulled his gloves off, revealing purple mist hovering between his fingertips. When the elf grabbed the Shadow and tried to pull it off from the blonde lad, the Shadow screamed in agony and smoke started puffing out from where the elf was touching it. It started to thrash, somewhat releasing Theo from its hold to which the blonde lad was more than glad to struggle away to freedom.

Then the Shadow stabbed him, in the chest, at his heart.

For some strange reason, Theo felt nothing. He did felt his chest grow warm, but there was no pain. His senses started to desert him though and he could hear Hugo yelling something but the words were obscure. He felt like he was submerged underwater and dark spots ate away his vision.

When he opened his eyes, Theo yelped to find that he was no longer in the ruined hallway. Instead, he was out in the open on a green hill. Right in front of him was a tall and large tree, standing proud. The leaves were a beautiful shade of crimson, similar to a particular persons' eye colour. Golden apples glimmered beneath the leaves wherever the sun's light struck them.

'This is the tree where Catiriona, the Golden Child was born.' Theo thought, musing in silence. 'Does that mean I have already died?'

"Already causing trouble in your second life, aren't you, my beloved child?" A voice spoke up.

Theo spun around to see a tall lady smiling at him. He couldn't see her face for it was blurred against the white mist surrounding her. However, without looking at her face, Theo could tell that the lady was beautiful.

She had flawless white skin while she wore a long icy blue dress that reached up to her bare ankles. Her hair was silver, even longer than her dress as it dragged behind her. Behind her, on her back, butterfly like blue wings accompanied her.

"Who are you?" Theo asked without thinking before biting down his tongue. Even in what seemed like the afterlife, he still had the curse. How laughable.

The lady smiled. It was a merry smile, the kind filled with warmth and kindness. It was then Theo realised that the lady reminded him of someone. He knew her, but he couldn't find a name to tag her.

"Maybe next time, my dear Alice."

That was the last thing Theo heard her say when his body jerked, making him gasp. The first thing he saw was the ruined ceiling. For a moment, Theo stared at it in confusion when he remembered what had happened, causing him to sit upright.

The sudden movement caused the world to tilt, making him sway until he caught himself. He scanned around, wondering how much time had passed when he was rendered useless. He supposed not much time had passed as the whole hallway still looked ruined with no other extra damage.

A few feet away from him, Hugo was lying on the ground, battered with his clothes torn in some areas. The floor under him was dark and ashen, as if Hugo was emitting poison from his body alone. He was looking at something, crawling towards to that direction.

Theo followed his line of gaze and jumped to his feet when he saw the Shadow. It was holding an unconscious Psyche by the foot, dangling her in the air.

"Hey!" Theo yelled, running towards the Shadow. "Let her go!"

He had no idea why he even thought of rushing towards the Shadow and soon learned how stupid that decision was when the Shadow turned and smacked him away. Theo was sent flying and he landed straight beside Hugo, who stared at him with wide eyes.

"Still alive, you are?" The elf asked to which Theo blinked.

"Did I die after all?" Theo asked before shaking his head and turning towards the Shadow. First deal with the Shadow and then he would ask questions later.

The problem was, how?

Theo leafed through his surroundings, looking for anything that could help him with the situation when his eyes landed on Psyche's weapon, which was the infamous gigantic axe. He stared at it for a couple of moments, his brain buzzing up with various solutions when he recalled the moment he first met Psyche.

She had tried to cut him into half at that time, thinking that he was a Phantom. Theo could only imagine how Psyche had assumed him such things. He was unharmed though, with the exception of feeling something electrifying. It was as if the axe had passed through him.

'Wait... that's it!' Theo thought and started running towards the weapon. He picked it up and almost dropped at how heavy it was in his hands. It was buzzing with energy too, but he steadied himself and lifted the weapon as much as he could.

He pointed it at the Shadow, taking several deep breaths as he concentrated. If his hunch was right, Psyche's weapon does not harm anybody except Phantoms, monsters and maybe Shadows as well. Therefore, if he wielded it, he would have to bet his chances that he would not hurt Psyche as well. For safety's sake though, he would have to try avoid Psyche altogether.

With this plan in mind, Theo relaxed and counted to three.

At one, he hesitated. After all, this Phantom, this Shadow, it was once a person. However, from what he knew, once it turns to a Phantom or Shadow, there was no humanity left within the creature.

At two, he was already running towards the creature, letting out a war cry. Raising the axe up, Theo slashed against the Shadow with every strength he could muster. To his unfortunate luck, the momentum caused the axe to graze past Psyche's side too, but no wounds appeared.

From where he had cut, light started flowing out of its wound, engulfing the Shadow as it howled, releasing Psyche as it did so. Theo dropped his weapon and caught her, falling back to his bottom once more.

The Shadow staggered back, having a spasm attack as white light began to overtake the Shadow. The darkness started to fade away bit by bit until what was left from the Shadow was a ball of silver light. Theo watched as it bobbed in the air for a moment, being still before it floated towards them. He leaned back, not trusting it as it came nearer.

It slowed down and floated towards Psyche, hovering above the girl's neck. It remained suspended in the air, as if staring at the few bells around her neck before it started to dim down. Theo blinked when it transformed, morphing itself to a bell and began to wrap itself around Psyche's neck. Then it became still once more, hanging around with the rest of the bells.

"Is... Is it over?" Hugo's feeble voice asked, dazed. After scanning his surroundings and making sure that there were no Shadows or any other monsters in sight, Theo turned to give him thumbs up.

That was when he felt something warm pressing against him. Frowning, Theo looked back at Psyche and gasped when a fresh wound appeared from Psyche's side. Instead of blood, he was flabbergast to find something wispy and black emerging out of them. Psyche cringed in her unconscious state, seeming in pain as more of those dark wispy things began to escape out from her wound.

"What... what is that?" Theo asked aloud, his mind trying to come up with various answers when he heard something. It was faint but distinct, and Theo shuddered when he realised it was muffled screams of pain. Why was it coming inside from Psyche?

Then Theo realised he already knew the answer. It was right there from the start, under his very nose. Why was she always in the forest? Why did she dealt with Shadows? Why did she isolate herself from others? How did she figure out Theo was an Alice?

The answer, she was a Shadow herself too.

Author's note: Boom! Cliffhanger once again! Who saw that coming? Anyway, I really think the quality of my writing is dropping. I always think that when my best friend isn't there to read it QvQ I miss you best friend! Also, how did this book got from 700+ reads to 800+ within three days? That really surprised me but also made my day! I would like to dedicate this to an all time friend, MysticTrinket who reappeared in wattpad again. God, I missed her a lot so its good to see you again! Anyway, you know the drill. See any mistakes, please notify!

Oh and don't forget to vote!