***

Monster, or not, Tao didn’t spend all those years learning martial arts just to chicken out right now. The odds were definitely not in his favor, but he couldn’t let the creature get the better of him. Gathering whatever courage he had left, Tao planted his feet firmer on the ground and faced the horrid monster with certain bravado and determination. The monster didn’t seem to like the challenge and shrieked at him, the mirrors trembling terribly in response.

“Bring it, ugly,” Tao provoked as the monster lunged towards him.

Evading the attack on the right time, Tao spun around and kicked the monster square in the face. He heard something shatter, as if the creature was made from mirrors as well, though it was far from pleased that Tao got a hit on it.

It started to swing its black claws at him, jumping deftly from mirror to mirror in an attempt to confuse Tao. The young man punched a mirror where the monster had jumped into, but it switched at the same moment and Tao hit the glass instead. He winced in pain, quickly kicking the monster once more when it attempted to sneak up on him.

Despite his best efforts, Tao knew that he didn’t stand much of a chance. He was already exhausted and with all the mirrors around, the monster could use the field to its advantage to disorient him and attack from all sides. This became evident when the ugly beast even came at him from the reflective black floor. It would have dragged Tao into its world of distorted mirrors, had he not elegantly leapt away at the right time, grabbing a few broken shards and flinging it at the beast.

The demonic creature roared in pain and anger when one of the shards broke through its skin and lodged itself in the side of the monster’s face. The shriek was so loud, Tao was afraid all of the mirrors would break and he’d be in the middle of the explosion of sharp mirror shards. He covered his ears, and crushed his eyes shut for a moment, before his warrior instincts kicked in. Now that the monster was distracted, this was his time to try to escape. Next to a broken mirror stood a clear path that he could take.

Not skipping a single beat, Tao took a breath and ran. He jumped past the creature as it lunged for him once more, but its claws missed him by a hair and Tao ran, as fast as he could. He prayed that he could turn into a Marvel superhero, flitting from one place to another with the speed of light, especially when the monster wouldn’t give up on him and chased after him again.

Just when Tao thought he had gained momentum and was faster than the horrid beast, he nearly slammed against a mirror, the maze having led him towards a dead end.

“No,” he breathed in a flash of panic, looking up at the damning mirror in front of him. “No!” he repeated, banging against it and quickly trying to find another way to escape to. When he realized that he was truly trapped this time, Tao felt the end coming near as the monster appeared from behind the corner. It had walked slower, as if it knew that there was no other way for Tao to go. The sadistic beast was revelling in the fact that his prey was caught and trapped, Tao desperately trying to find another way out.

Not knowing what else to do, he made himself angry, made himself stronger for a second round of fighting. He was bleeding from his knuckles, his feet were sore and his eyes hurt. He was still dizzy, but he absolutely refused to give in so easily.

“Fine. Let’s do this again,” he said to the monster, balling his fist tightly, ready to fight once more.

The monster hissed menacingly, running up to Tao for the attack. He was prepared for the impact when all of a sudden the world around him changed. The air was knocked out of his lungs for a moment and then his stomach turned, making him fling his legs in response. Before he knew what was going on, Tao was watching the raging monster screeching up at him as the beast became smaller, the ground further away from his feet and the mirror maze properly laid out for him to overlook.

Blinking in utter amazement, Tao thought that he was saved by an angel, but as he looked up at the person that flew them both to safety, he had a newfound appreciation for dragons.

“Kris-ge!” he exclaimed in joy, his eyes wet with unshed tears. “Is it really you?”

“Taozi, how did you get here? I thought I told you to wait outside for the rest of us?” he managed to reprimand, landing somewhere far away from the beast at the edge of the maze.

When Kris had set him down, Tao flung his arms over his brother, absolutely relieved and thankful that he was there to swoop him away on time.

“Hey, hey, okay, okay, no hugging,” Kris awkwardly patted the shorter teen on the back, though he seemed relieved to have found him as well, “come on now, you know this ain’t my style,” he said coolly, but hearing that stupid clichéd phrase roll out of his gege’s mouth only made Tao hug him tighter.

“I was so scared, gege,” Tao muttered against his shoulder. “I was all alone, looking for Jae-noona, and then that thing! It just appeared and started attacking!” he exclaimed, finally forcing himself to pull away, quickly wiping his tears.

“Ayo, it’s okay, don’t cry, huh?” Kris didn’t seem to know what to do for a moment, until he dropped his cool guy act for a split second and used his sleeves to help Tao wipe his tears. “Why are you even crying? I saw how you kung fu’ed that monster’s ! You were so brave, Taozi,” he complimented and soothed, calming his younger brother down.

“I don’t feel brave, gege,” he admitted openly, never having much trouble being honest with Kris. He just had that vibe about him that made Tao feel at ease. It was definitely a hidden superpower in that regard, especially in this situation.

“Well, whether you feel brave or not, you were definitely being brave when you faced that ugly monster,” Kris ruffled his hair a moment before he looked at his injuries. “Ah man, you took a few punches, too, huh? Too bad Lay isn’t here, he would have healed you up in a second,” he muttered.

Tao sniffed and immediately grabbed Kris by the shoulders when he mentioned Lay. “Kris-ge! We need to go back to the office of that mad doctor! Lay-ge and Luhan-ge are stuck there! They were fighting off this scary fire ghost and I was the only one that could escape. We have to go safe them!” he urged, already prepared to head back in the maze to get back to his other brothers.

“Whoa! Wait, hold on, Taozi!” Kris pulled him back and shook his head. “Not brave, he says,” he muttered under his breath. “Luhan and Lay are stuck somewhere?” he asked as Tao nodded.

“We have to get them,” Tao repeated again. “I promised that I’d come back for them, but they said I had to find Jae-noona first,” he added then, biting on his lip.

“Yah, Kris-ge, what should we do?”

Kris blinked at him before he frowned deeply. He usually had a severe look on his face, but it was far more serious and far more grave this time. He was interrupted in his thinking when the monster was shrieking again, its voice traveling through the large chamber, bouncing off the mirrored walls.

“We’ll come back for them,” Kris then started, knowing that time was of the essence, “but for now I’m afraid we’ll have to get out of here first. As soon as we found a way to escape, the easier it’ll become to get Luhan and Lay out as well. Not to mention all the others,” Kris then decided.

“You think they’ll be okay, ge? Waiting for so long?” Tao asked for good measure, part of him still not feeling at ease for having to let Luhan and Lay wait even more for him to come back for them.

“Come on, now. You’re talking about Luhan and Lay. That ghost better be afraid of Lay suddenly healing it back to life only for Lulu to torture it with his mental tricks,” Kris comforted, managing for Tao to crack a smile.

“You’re right, gege,” Taozi said, straightening himself. “We should go and find Jae-noona. It’s her I’m mostly worried about,” he said as Kris heaved a sigh and nodded in agreement.

“I’m worried about her, too. She shouldn’t have gone in here alone,” Kris huffed.

“Did you read about the mansion’s history, gege? About the doctor and his weird experiments?” Tao then asked, suddenly scared that if this house was truly haunted by its former owner, it may be a threat to Jae, putting her in further danger.

“Yeah, I passed his office too. Dude is crazy, right? Wanted to find a cure for death or something? I didn’t read all of it, the fireplace was being weird so I bolted out,” he shrugged as if his actions were the coolest thing anyone could ever do. Typical Kris.

Tao managed to chuckle again before nodding. “Araso. Well, as long as we can find Jae-noona I don’t particularly care all too much about that doctor. Let’s go, gege,” he then stated as Kris agreed.

Feeling strengthened and hopeful again, they moved on, leaving the monster behind in the mirror maze, without even looking back.
 

>>> CONTINUE HERE <<<