The Curse of Hidden Hollow

Confronting Him

Ash looked around cautiously, wondering where Thomas was when he heard a rumbling sound. He looked down to see the ground cracking around him. He didn't even have time to wonder what it was before he was thrust upward into the air. The platform he was on stopped suddenly, and he turned around to face Thomas, except it didn't look like Thomas. His greyed hair was flapping wildly, the veins in his arms bulging, but the scariest thing was his eyes. They were glowing purple, with streaks of purple spread across his face, like porcelain that had been haphazardly put back together. "Thomas, what have you done?" Ash called out. "You shut up!" Thomas screamed, raising his arm. Ash looked closer and saw that he had the crystal in his hand. The crystal was glowing in his hand. A bolt of purple lightning came shooting out of it, striking Ash in the chest. He shouted in pain as he was propelled onto his back. "Nothing can stop me! I have the crystal, so I have all the power!" Ash rolled over to his stomach and called out again. "Thomas! This is wrong and you know it!" Thomas fired another bolt into Ash's back. He winced and forced himself to his knees. Thomas fired again, and Ash shouted out. He wasn't going to let himself go down. Not again. He stumbled shakily to his feet. "That crystal is evil! It's gonna eat you inside just like it did your great-grandfather!" Thomas looked at Ash, his purple eyes shooting rage his way. "My great-grandfather was a coward! He could've ruled the world with the crystal! Instead, he chose to lock himself away with it so nobody could find it!" Ash took a step forward. "He wasn't a coward! He knew what had to be done! If anything, you're the coward, not him!" Thomas shot another bolt of lightning. "Shut that smart mouth of yours, boy! You don't even know what I'm capable of now that I have the crystal's power!" Ash reached the end of his platform and looked down. There was a mother of a fall underneath, if he fell off, he would surely be killed. He took a few steps back and took a running leap over to the next platform. He landed gracefully and looked back up at Thomas. Another bolt was flying towards him. He hit the dirt, letting the bolt fly over him, then he jumped up, and kept going. The wind was all around him, slowing his advance. He jumped to the next platform, then the next. He kept going until he was on the platform right in front of Thomas. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, before Thomas spoke. "You dare cross me? With the crystal's power, I am almighty! I! AM! GOD!" He laughed maniacally, and Ash said nothing, he only took a step back. "Running away?" Thomas taunted. Ash stopped and ran straight toward the edge. He dove off his platform, and plunged into Thomas, catching him off guard. Thomas stumbled backward, hoping to catch his footing, but there was only open air. He went tumbling over the edge, screaming in anger. He caught onto Ash's pant leg, pulling him over with him. Ash was too surprised to scream. He tumbled end over end through the air. "NO!!!" He heard Thomas scream. He looked up and saw the crystal floating through the air, Thomas desperately reaching for it. He grabbed Thomas and forced him underneath him. They landed hard, and Ash felt the wind go out of Thomas, temporarily stopping him. Ash saw the crystal on the ground. He crawled off of Thomas and reached over to the crystal. He was about to grab it when he heard Kiera. "Ash, don't!"