I'msosorryI'msosorrypleasedon'thatemepleasedon'thatemepleasedon'thateme!

*ahem*

Now that we've gotten the apology of my unexplained absence of about 9 months from this story out of the way, please enjoy my return while I bang my head on my keyboard, trying to figure out what to write in the next chapter.

*bangbangbang*

Spirit

Brittany sat through math class, bored out of her mind, as she tuned out yet another of one of Miss Hatchett's boring lectures on algebraic equations. When was algebra going to help her, anyway? Would it help her in her career as a professional singer, anyway? Would it help her become one of the world's youngest billionaires, right next to that guy that invented Facebook? Would it help her to become a world renowned singer-songwriter, fashion designer-slash-model, entrepreneur, household name, and all-around biggest name that needed to be recorded in the history books? Who also had biographies, pictures, and movies to document her greatness? Who was going be bigger than life, almost as big as Madonna and Michael Jackson? She seriously doubted it.

So, why was she still sitting in a frumpy, knee-skimming green plaid skirt, itchy stockings, ugly penny loafers, and a stiff, starchy white button-down shirt with a green plaid tie that matched the skirt a little too well, mulling over how she should be famous and beautiful and get everything she ever wanted instead of listening to the lesson and taking notes like Theodore, who she could've sworn was checking her out every five seconds after scribbling down notes onto his paper?

Maybe she could drop out. But that would seriously not look good, especially when Miss Miller had paid almost five hundred dollars for her to even attend this stupid school instead of sending her to the local public high school.

Curse Jeanette and Eleanor for having academic and athletic scholarships.

Maybe if there was some kind of beauty or singing scholarship instead…

!
Brittany sighed in relief, stuffing her books into her backpack and running out of the classroom as quickly as possible, not even bothering to wait for Theodore.

Brittany pursed her lips as she dialed the combination into her locker to get it open, her mind racing over her status as a cheerleader. What if they hadn't liked her cheers? What if she needed to beg and plead with the seniors to get them on her side? Or maybe she needed to lay back and keep cool…

"Uh, Brittany?" a timid voice said

She snapped to attention.

It was Theodore.

She rolled her eyes at the person who dared to interrupt her thoughts. "Not now, Theodore. I'm busy." She stuffed random things into her pink and black backpack, hoping he'd think she was preoccupied and leave.

"Uh, actually, I just wanted to give you this." He offered a pink binder with black and silver marker writings on it. "You'd left it behind when you left, so I, uh, wanted to give it to you."

Brittany creased her brows, bewildered. "Uh, thanks, I guess." She took it.

Theodore looked at her long and hard, blushing madly. An awkward moment passed.

Brittany shifted uncomfortably. "Did…you want anything else?"

"N-no…" he murmured. Another hesitant pause, and then he blurted, "Well, uh, bye!" before rushing down the hall as quickly as his chubby body could take him.

Brittany snorted in amusement and confusion. What had just happened? She went back to her books, muttering, "Weirdo…"

All of a sudden, something caught her eye in her binder.

She opened it and pulled out a ruby-colored rod, no bigger than a pen. Could that freak have possibly looked through her binder and put it in there as a not-so-subtle "I like you" present?

Maybe.

But, as she surveyed the little object, it seemed to bring back something that was important. She couldn't seem to know what it was, but it seemed to be at the back of her mind, on the very tip of her tongue, like it was something she wasn't supposed to forget…

The bell rang a second time, signaling the start of the club meetings.

Brittany gasped. The second cuts of tryouts were today! She grabbed her binder, shoved it in her bag, zipped it up, and pushed her way through tons of people to get to the gym.

The small red rod landed onto the tiled floor with a hollow clink as she hurried away, abandoned and forgotten.

Eleanor skipped home from school, hoping to stop by the local ice cream shop for a scoop of mint chocolate chip. She licked her lips, imagining how she would ask for whipped cream on top, then top it with smooth hot fudge, crunchy peanuts, and a big, fat, ripe cherry right on top.

Now that was how a sundae was built.

Eleanor turned the corner, and somehow saw herself reading unfamiliar symbols on the buildings.

She groaned. She'd gotten lost in Chinatown. Again.

Eleanor looked around, looking for a possible map out of there, and it wasn't until she'd circled the same three buildings five times each that she realized that she was just walking around the same street. She sighed and looked around for something familiar, something that was near the main street that she recognized…

And there it stood, right in front of her.

The pawn shop that she'd stumbled over last week. The one that that lady had given fortunes and those pretty necklaces. Maybe those nice ladies knew how to get to the main road…

And before she could stop herself, she burst through the door, the chimes ringing.

She observed the store, which was full of people buying, selling, and pricing. Eleanor eyed the front desk, hoping to catch the nice lady that had helped her…

"May I help you?"

Eleanor spun around. It was that younger Chinese lady that nearly kicked them out of the store last time.

"Oh, it's just you again," she said in that nonchalant tone, waving her off. "I see you're alone this time. Did you get lost on the way to your little clubs in town?"

Her sarcastic tone was starting to make Eleanor uncomfortable. Where was the nice, older woman? "I…uh…"

"Are you messing with those teenagers again?"

Eleanor sighed with relief as she saw the short, elderly woman cross over to her, a welcoming smile on her face. Her smile widened with recognization. "Ah, I remember you. Welcome back. Have your and your sisters' fortunes come true yet?"

Eleanor's hand flew to her neck, where the pendant still hung. "Not yet. Actually, I had come inside to ask you something…"

"Let me guess," the woman said, "You are lost, correct? You need directions back to the street, right?"

Eleanor beamed incredulously. "R-right. How'd you know?"

She smiled, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkling softly. "Lucky guess. Well, come, come. Make yourself comfortable."

"One-two! Three-four! Five-six! Seh-vun-eight!"

Brittany tried as hard as she could to keep up with the cheers, her hands and feet moving automatically, her ponytail whipping around her head. The beats pumping through her, she added an extra sass to her sashays and a little bump in her hip shakes, hoping that the seniors would notice. If this didn't forgive making a complete fool of her herself (and nearly burning down the gym), then she'd might as well just tattoo the word LOSER on her forehead as of tomorrow.

Luckily, she didn't have to suffer any longer, because one of the blonde seniors announced, "Okay, everyone, let's take a break, and then we can keep going from there."

Everyone scattered into different groups, chattering about different subjects in school and how nervous they were. Brittany sat alone, opting to scope out the competitors. Taking slow sips of her water, she noted how one frizzy-haired blonde kept misstepping; a bigmouthed brunette had the voice of a bullhorn, and had kept stepping on people's feet during the whole routine. One tall redhead with huge green eyes kept on picking at her ratty cuticles and frazzled mess of hair, and a tiny, tittering girl with short, bluish-black hair kept surveying the room in a mousy way, obviously wishing that she wasn't here at all.

Brittany rolled her eyes and took a triumphant gulp of her water. If this was her competition, then why did she still have a still have a huge knot in her stomach, as if something big was going to go down soon?

She tried to make eye contact with Muffy but all she did was give her a blank look from her group of friends. For a second, she could've sworn that she saw anger flick across her face, but the look was gone as quickly as it had come. Brittany blinked as she turned around, wondering what her deal was. Actually, she thought, eyeing her friend, she's been like that for the past few days. What's up with her?

Muffy had ignored Brittany's calls for a few days, pointedly walked past her in the halls, and didn't even save her a spot on the bench when she came late to the tryouts. She'd also had this sort of dazed look on her face, as if someone had sucked out her soul or something. She also had this habit of not talking, like she was someone foreign that didn't know what was going on. But the weirdest part of all was whenever Brittany was around, she noticeably had this way of ogling her, as if she were some kind of science experiment, and having a look on her face that wanted to strangle her or something. But then, just as startling as it came, it went, and she went back to being Zombie Muffy again. It was way too weird.

"Okay, girls, let's start up again in formation!" the perky blond senior chirped, clapping her hand together.

Muffy glared at Brittany as she stood up, her eyes radiating hatred and glowing…

Red?

Brittany thought this to be a little weird, very used to seeing her friend's blue-green orbs. Okay, as soon as we're done, I'm gonna have to have a little talk with her…

Eleanor was led to a windowless back room, where more golden antiques hung from the walls and the lights were dim, the only light coming from the small kerosene lamp in the center of a small table. Red dragons were painted on the mustard-yellow walls, and the soft scent of lavender wafted in the dense air.

"Tea?" The woman gestured her small hand to a delicate tea set on the table, which was surrounded by various snacks.

Eleanor brightened. "Sure, thanks!" she giddily sank into the rich, velvet cushion on the ground, folding her legs underneath her, and eagerly helped herself to the cookies on the plate, popping one after another into her mouth and savoring every bite.

The old woman looked at her bemusedly, pouring tea into Eleanor's cup and then her own. "You have quite an appetite, don't you? I'm glad that you enjoy them. I made them myself. Have as much as you want."

Eleanor suddenly felt self-conscious, swallowing the wad of food in her mouth to speak. "Don't you want some, Mrs.…?"

"Cheng," she finished for Eleanor, "and no, thank you. Tea is just fine. Besides, I'm too old for cookies now."

Eleanor smiled politely. She really was a nice person.

They sat in silence for a while before Eleanor forced herself to break the pause. "Hey, how did you know what I was thinking when I came in?"

Mrs. Cheng smiled. "I can read your face. You seemed lost even when you wandered into this little neighborhood."

"You knew I was coming, too? How?"

"I just knew. That's all there is to it."

"Well, yeah, but how did you—"

"Silence, little one." She smiled a wise smile. "Curiosity killed the cat."

This plunged them back into a peaceful silence, but Eleanor was on edge. Was this woman a psychic or mind reader or something? She sank lower in her chair, eyes wandering to the little old woman sitting in the chair across from her, looking strangely regal and formal even in the small, cramped setting.

Eleanor decided to sit back and relax. What was she so worried about? This was a strange but kind person who invited her to tea and made her feel comfortable. She seemed so trustworthy. Maybe Eleanor should just try to relax her mind and focus on more important things, like the delicious platter of chocolate cookies in front of her. As she reached for another one, though, Mrs. Cheng said something that made her hair stand on edge:

"So, how was your detention with that teacher of yours, er, Mrs. Collins?"

"Okay, everyone, don't forget to check the lists for the final cut. For those of you that make it, we'll see you on Monday."

Brittany slung her backpack over her shoulder and began to follow the others out the door. She spied Muffy on the wall, watching her with cold, stony eyes, and shivered. What was up with her? Had she done something wrong?

Brittany inhaled deeply, not knowing why she was so anxious; Muffy was a good friend, after all. It seemed after a few days, she didn't trust her at all.

Turning towards the exit, trying to put the event off for tomorrow, a strange voice shouted at her from across the room, "You there! Halt!"

Brittany turned slowly and jumped to find Muffy standing right behind her.

"God, Muffy! You scared the heck outta me," Brittany said, smoothing her already perfect ponytail and trying to catch her breath.

"We need to talk," her friend said flatly, her voice strangely echoing and void of emotion.

"Well, yeah," Brittany said, shying away from her nervously. "What's been up with you lately? You've been ignoring me in the halls, you never answer my phone calls, and how come your eyes glow that creepy red?"

Her red eyes flashed angrily. "I have been placed under a lot of stress from my superiors," she muttered.

"And that's another thing: why are you talking like that? You voice does this weird echo-y thingy, and it's creeping me out."

Muffy's jaw tightened. "It is not wise to ask questions such as those. It can get you hurt. Very easily."

Brittany narrowed her eyes. "Are you on some new kind of steroids or something?"

"Enough of your insipid babbling!"

Before Brittany knew it, she was pinned to the bleachers forcefully, her friend's eyes gleaming a bloody red. Her grip was tight on Brittany's wrists, and her voice was laced with angry venom when she spat, "Tell me about the Gems this very instant, or someone is going to have a very unfortunate accident!"

Eleanor froze. "What do you know about our teacher?"

Mrs. Cheng smiled, calmly sipping her green tea. "I've known for a while that she's been a bit off now."

Eleanor pulled her hand back, alarmed.

"I also knew about the dreams you and your sisters have been having lately."

Eleanor started to slink away, fear rising in her throat. "H-have you been stalking us or something? Wh-who do you think you are?"

Mrs. Cheng's face became straight and serious. "Eleanor, please—"

"How-how do you know my name?" Eleanor asked.

"If you would just let me explain—"

"You know what?" Eleanor stood and picked up her bag, her beating a mile a minute. "Maybe I should just let you keep working. I must be hearing things."

"But—"

Eleanor backed away to the door, feeling for the knob behind her frantically. "You're really nice, but I really should go now. My, er, mother is probably waiting for me back at home right about now—"

"I know what happened to your real mother."

Brittany struggled against Muffy's grip, feeling her blood run cold through her fingertips as she lost circulation in them. "I…have no idea…what the hell…you're talking about…"

This new Muffy growled, an angry, animalistic sound, and took one hand off her arm to wrap it around her slender neck. "You have vexed the Kingdom for the last time, little girl. Prepare to pay for your mistakes."

With a swift movement of her hand, she picked up Brittany by her neck and threw her across the room, her body slamming against the hard concrete wall and knocking down the humongous American flag that hung there.

As Muffy slowly approached, Brittany whimpered, gritting her teeth against the aching in her body. This can't be the same ugly thing that had invaded their teacher's body…could it?

Brittany looked up into the girl's blood-red eyes, hoping that she could see what was wrong, what was attacking her so roughly…

The air suddenly became colder, and she could feel some kind of strange aura emitting from her best friend, and starting to come from under the ground as well. What was this weird feeling that she had? Was it because she was about to die? Or was it because she was about to have one of those life flashes that people said was going to happen before you died?

No, she figured. It was much stronger than just a blast from the past.

She could feel the presence of evil beginning to rise from the ground.

As soon as Muffy curled her hands and summoned the spirits, the ground quivered underneath Brittany's body. It was subtle at first, but it soon rose to the mass of an earthquake that would have broken the Richter scale. Dry, cracked roots broke the polished wooden floorboards in half, branches from nearby trees smashed through the glass windows, and the ground itself ripped in half, flames of purple spitting out of the dark abyss.

And if that wasn't enough, Muffy was instantly surrounded by the cheerleaders, all of which had the same aggressive red glow in their eyes, their sharpened nails ready to tear Brittany's flesh apart at the command of their leader.

Muffy's bony hand pointed to her, practically mouthing the magic words: Get her.

Brittany widened her eyes, only one thought coming to mind: Oh, crap.

The blood drained from Eleanor's face. Her whole body was frozen to numbness as she practically whispered, "You…you don't know anything about my mother…"

Mrs. Cheng nodded grimly. "I knew her all too well, little one."

"You don't know anything about my mother!" Eleanor nearly yelled, tears welling in her eyes. She turned and started to sob quietly, whispering, "I don't even know what she looked like…"

Mrs. Cheng stood, putting the small teacup back on the table, and put a small, bony hand on her shoulder. "I know, Eleanor. I know. It'll be all right."

Eleanor turned slowly to face her, blinking softly. If this woman really knew about her… "Did…did you really know her?"

Mrs. Cheng stared at her for a while before slowly nodding. "I…I did. I…knew her very well." Her voice caught, and Eleanor thought that, in the dim light of that room, that the woman was going to cry.

Eleanor turned fully around now, wiping her face with the sleeve of her bluish-black blazer. "What…what did you know about her?"

Mrs. Cheng's face became stoic and grim, as if she had never shown any weakness. "I…I can't tell you."

Eleanor's hazel eyes widened in anger. "Are you serious? What was the point of setting me up—"

"I can't tell you because it's not time yet," Mrs. Cheng said flatly, stopping her. She paused hesitantly. "The timing's not right. When the stars align on the day that darkness blocks light, then I can tell you." She took a deep breath. "I'll tell you everything." She seemed to elongate the word.

Eleanor carefully nodded. "Oh…okay. When should I come back, then?"

Mrs. Cheng smiled, looking more like herself again. "You're a smart girl. You'll figure it out. But for now…" Mrs. Cheng pulled something out of her dress. It was a shiny little green rod. "Take this. You'll need it."

Eleanor took the small wand, bewildered. "What does this do?"

"You'll find out soon enough, young one," she answered. "Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, you should be going. Your sister needs you at school."

Eleanor stared at her strangely. "Uh, how did you—"

"Just trust me," Mrs. Cheng said, half-shooing, half-pushing her out the door. "I believe she's going to need all the help she can get."

As Evil Muffy commanded her corrupted cohorts to attack, the first thing Brittany thought was, This is a dream. This has to be a dream; I should just blink my eyes and I'll be safe and sound in my room.

Brittany blinked once. The burning, ominous red eyes burned holes into her head.

She blinked twice. The girls growled threateningly, taking slow steps forward.

With a small whimper, she closed them a third time, whispering frantically, "I wish they were gone, I wish they were gone. Please wake up, Britt. This is a dream. This is all just a dream..."

This isn't a dream, Brittany.

Brittany gasped, her eyes popping open…just in time to see one of the seniors swipe at her with a sharpened branch. Brittany narrowly missed the sharp point, jumping back towards the wall with a squeal. When another snapped at her with her talons, she crawled around her spastically, running towards the entrances.

"Oh, no you don't," Evil Muffy's voice echoed through the gym, her hand curling out.

The doors sealed shut, the purplish flames blazing in front of them.

Brittany dashed toward the emergency exits in the back of the gym, hoping that they were unlocked and she could set herself free of this living nightmare. But as soon as she touched the metal handle, a bolt of electricity shot out of it, sending her flying backwards. When they approached, she staggered toward the wall, her heart hammering hard.

Evil Muffy chuckled grimly, standing in front of the weakened Chipette. Her minions laughed along. "I'm afraid I overestimated you. You have no power, no skills. You're just as pathetic as the other humans around here."

Brittany tried to get up, opened her chapped lips to retort, but her former friend shoved her sneaker hard into her stomach, sending her back down.

"And I'd thought you were just the person we were looking for." Evil Muffy shook her head sadly, as if she were disappointed at the pain she was in. With a careless shrug, she turned to one of the cheerleaders—the brunette that had her nearly disqualified a couple of weeks ago—and ordered, "Make sure she doesn't get out alive. We don't want anyone knowing this secret."

The brunette nodded mechanically, sneering as she held up her branch-spear, ready to disembowel her at the perfect moment. The others growled impatiently, their perfect faces marred by sneers, permanent wrinkles, and vicious, teeth-bearing frowns.

It was as if they were all animals that had escaped from the zoo, prepared to kill.

Muffy snapped her fingers and stepped back to watch the show.

Brittany gripped the wall protectively, as if it could shield her face from being mauled. She wanted to close her eyes and wish them away, but she knew that it wasn't a dream. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the killing; if she kept them open, she would get a last glimpse of her malicious attack before she died.

Either way, it was a lose-lose situation that she couldn't afford to lose.

Brittany prepared to curl into a fetal ball, wanting to get her slow and painful death over with.

Don't give up, Brittany…

Brittany's body jerked. It was that creepy voice from before, the one that told her that this dream was a total nightmare. Who…who are you? What do you want? Why are you in my head? she thought timidly.

The gentle voice responded calmly: I am your Inner Voice, Brittany. I've come here to steer you in the right direction, from all of this.

Brittany focused on the zombie-like girls, still charging at her, and a bolt of fear sliced through her. They'd be there to chew her out in a second. Well, can you kind of steer faster? I'm about to get my insides ripped out here. So, if you're some kind of magical entity or whatever that can poof me outta here, I'd really appreciate it.

The voice laughed a soft chuckle that sounded like chimes. I can only give you advice: Look above you.

Brittany looked up and noticed the school's emblem, a knight's shield and two swords crisscrossed underneath. Yeah, it's our stupid emblem. So what?

It felt like the voice was rolling its eyes in a knowing way at her.

Brittany's mind clicked. Ohhhhhhhhh…

Now, on my command, retrieve the sword and shield as fast as you can.

Brittany's body coiled, ready to spring. Wait, why on your command—

One…

The inhuman girls were getting closer, their fangs and talons ready to dig in.

Two…

Evil Muffy's mouth curled into a smile, everything going accordingly to plan.

Three…

Brittany gulped as they got dangerously close, trying to trust the strangely comforting voice in her head and praying that she lived to see herself make the squad.

NOW!

Brittany grabbed the nearest cheerleader's head and pulled her hair, stepping lightly on the back of her head. She bobbed onto the different heads, ignoring the complaints, while trying to reach the shield and sword. The demonic girls swiped at her feet, sharp nails tearing her new sneakers. Brittany reached as far as her hand could go; her fingertips touching the cool metal of the sword handle…

And then she felt a searing pain in her right ankle.

She jumped, hanging onto the shield for dear life. The red-eyed girls growled angrily, pawing at her feet like wild animals, wanting to crush her.

Muffy, who sat high up in the bleachers, smiled her amused smile, her red eyes shining.

Brittany tried to pull herself up, desperately trying not to fall to her death. She felt the swords start to give from the wall, the fasteners creaking under her weight. She let out a nervous squeak, her heart accelerating.

The demons seemed to rile up even more, swiping impatiently and growling even louder.

Brittany squeezed her eyes shut, the pain in her ankle blazing. Suddenly, anger welled up inside of her. First that weird fire thing at the tryouts, then her house nearly blowing up, and now she was about to die by her former ex-best friend sending cannibalistic cheerleaders after her.

Yep. That was the cherry on top of a good month.

A glowing orange ball of light floated in front of her. Brittany…

It's that voice! she gasped, opening her eyes…and not believing what she was seeing in front of her.

The orange ball materialized in front of her, forming a face in its sunset-colored flames. The flames still blurred around it, but Brittany could make out a heart-shaped face, with big eyes and flowing red hair, and a small pinkish nose.

The vision looked just like her.

Don't give up yet, Brittany, the face mouthed. You have too much to live for. We have too much to live for.

What do you mean—?

Silence, the voice cut off. Just trust me, Brittany. I'm your friend. I'm your conscience. I'm…I'm you.

Brittany stared at the weird floating head, her thoughts running a mile a minute. She opened her mouth, wanting answers, but the vision continued: Brittany, just trust me. Everything will be clear. Just trust me now.

Brittany reluctantly nodded, not sure what she was getting into, when the shield started to peel off the wall. Brittany shrieked, lifting her legs to prevent any other sharp protests from the girls, and shrieked again when she caught a glimpse of her ankle wound. It was a deep, puncturing wound, tearing through her skin and muscle, leaking blood to the hungry demonic creatures that lapped it up below.

When she shifted her weight, the emblem moaned, the bolts cracking from the brick wall.

Brittany bit her lip hard. She really hoped that the fall wouldn't smash her pretty face in…

With a final give, the emblem came crashing down.

Brittany was immediately surrounded by a rush of warm air, and the whole gymnasium was surrounded by a bright light, blinding the possessed souls and their leader. When the light died down, Brittany was on her feet, shield in hand, and pointing a sword threateningly at the cheerleaders, orange flames encasing the silver blade.

"You freaks want a piece of me? Well, come and get it."

Muffy raised an eyebrow. "Well, this shall be quite interesting."

The cheerleaders growled, lunging at her.

Frightened, Brittany instinctively jumped back, shrieking as the flaming sword nearly charred her face.

Don't be afraid of the element. Embrace it, the voice guided, the warm air protectively surrounding her. The demons hissed, stepping away.

Brittany nodded to herself, taking a deep breath.

The first demon that got near her was immediately sliced in half by the blade and disintegrated into dust. This made the others attack her, and the more they poured into her personal space, the more heads, arms, legs and torsos met her flaming blade. The sword made swishing ad clanking sounds as talons met the sword, and there were low hisses before the orange flames burned them into black powder.

The more she slashed these evil creatures, though, the easier it was to fight. Adrenaline pumping through her, and she was hyperaware of her surroundings. Once she would slice one creature and it turned to dust, she could sense another one behind her, talons ready to tear her throat.

After finishing off the last of them, she stood defiantly, her flaming sword pointed at her friend.

Evil Muffy raised an eyebrow, leaping off of the bleachers and staring at Brittany intensely. "Impressive skills. Maybe I underestimated you."

"If you don't tell me what is going on right now, I swear I will go up there and chop you into little bitty pieces," she threatened.

Evil Muffy laughed an obnoxious sound that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. "I believe your power is so much more than just dicing me with your scary sword."

Why was she so amused at this? "Fine. You asked for this."

Brittany ran across the gym, her sword in front of her, when she suddenly bounded off of an invisible dome-like surface, and landed very closely to the dark abyss, her head pounding.

Muffy stood over her, her foot shoved into her gut. "Do you think you can defeat us? You don't even have a clue as to who you're dealing with. We've been fighting for thousands of years, and you are just too naïve to se it."
"Get off me," Brittany hissed, trying to pry the foot off her stomach. "And for the record, I have no idea what you're talking about. We've been friends for years. Why would I want to hurt you?"

"Silence!" Muffy said, red eyes glowing, and pointing the other long-bladed sword from the emblem this one covered in deep blue and purple flames. "Join me, and our race for universal domination, or you die with the rest of those unworthy humans."

The voice in Brittany's head was gone, but she knew that it wouldn't want her to be influenced like that. She responded:

"I will never join you."

Muffy growled, baring her teeth at her. "You will pay for you insolence!" She brought her sword down; about to slice through her heart, but Brittany parried it with her orange sword. As she got up, the two swords met with a chink!

The swordfight went on, the two swords constantly clanging together. Sparks of hatred flew from the sword, and orange flames mixed with purple to create a spectrum of light. When Muffy swung her sword at Brittany's neck, she ducked, the shield protecting her, and aimed for her stomach. Muffy blocked the attack with her sword, sending more sparks.

Brittany managed to disarm Muffy with her sword, pointing it at her chest.

Muffy smiled. "Maybe you do have the Affinity I'm looking for after all. If only I could figure out where all that power is coming from…"

"Maybe you should leave before this Affinity thingy brings permanent damage to your face!"

Muffy stepped back, her whole body radiating that deep negative purple entity surrounding her. "Fine, I'll go. But when the time comes, we find those Gems, and when the Deltas rule your pathetic little planet, you'll be gravelling at our feet. Just wait and see. Oh, you just wait and see, Gem…"

A flash of lightning struck outside, darkening the gym for only a second…

But suddenly, she was gone.

Brittany blinked, the sword, still covered in burning flames, in her hand. What just happened?

Brittany noticed that the sky was clear and bright, with the peachy orange and bubblegum pinks of sunset outside, not thundering and lightning outside like she'd just imagined. She also swiveled her head to find that the gymnasium was no longer the battleground from hell. The angry cheerleaders' dusty remains were nonexistent; the dents in the walls where Brittany was tossed around like a beanbag were fixed; the bottomless abyss that spit out a purple bonfire was closed, not even a scratch in the gleaming, waxed floors.

Brittany stared at her surroundings once, twice, even three times before uttering an intelligent "Huhhhh?"

A gust of comfortable heat swirled around Brittany. You did well, Brittany.

"There you are again!" Brittany thought aloud, swiveling, expecting that same fiery head to appear in front of her. "Who are you?"

I cannot explain now, the voice said softly in her head. it was so calming and soothing, like a mother's voice.

"Who…who are you?" Brittany repeated, her voice decreasing to a soft murmur.

Once again, I cannot tell you. Everything will be clear when you learn to use your powers.

Brittany bristled. How did this…spirit, or whatever it was, know about her run-in with fire?

As if sensing her hesitance, the voice said reassuringly, Someone will tell you everything. You have to trust her…and me.

"But, what's this all about?"

Once again, that's information you'll find out later. Until then, this will protect you from any future attacks. If you lose it, it will always come back. the voice hesitated. I know that this will be hard on you, but you have to trust your instincts and fight for your life. Do you understand? This is very important.

Brittany paused to let the information sink in, but nodded.

Good. I'll be seeing you soon, Brittany. Very soon.

"But, wait—what do you mean by all of this? I'm not supposed to fight those things on my own, right? Right?"

Suddenly, Eleanor burst through the door, huffing and puffing. "I've…been looking…for you…everywhere… Where…have…you been…?"

Brittany gave her a confused look. "Um…right here?"

Eleanor nodded, still trying to catch her breath. She looked around, confusion filling her flushed face. "Huh. You don't look like you're in any danger."

Brittany rolled her eyes outwardly, but her heart skipped a beat. Did she know, too? "Like I'm any danger. I've been practicing in here all day. Duh."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes. "Oh. Well, then, I guess we should walk home together, then."

"Hey, where have you been all day today?"

Eleanor's face brightened a shade of red. "Oh, nowhere. Just hanging around, that's all."

"Oh. Okay, then."

"Okay."

"Okay. Let's just get out of here. This school still creeps me out after hours."

As Eleanor and Brittany walked out of the gym, something on the wall caught her eye. The school's emblem was mounted proudly, two swords crisscrossed behind a green and black shield. Brittany squinted, noticing something out of place.

There was that pretty red rod that she'd seen in her binder, all sparkly and pristine.

She jumped, reaching up and grabbing the small object. Brittany stared at it in her hand, questioning its role in her universe, when she heard Eleanor say, "Hey, Britt, you coming?"

Brittany looked up for a second. "Y-yeah, I'm coming."

Eleanor nodded and walked ahead, holding the door open for her sister.

Brittany looked around the gym for a final time, willing the voice to come back to her, to give her answers to her questions and explain who she was.

But all she got was utter silence.

Writer's block sucks. :(

Especially when you've had it for 9 months (not to mention wrapping up school w/exams & being in summer school ever since school was out). Now, school is coming up on me yet again, and I meant to finish this story months ago.

Did I mention writer's block sucks?

Well, I'll keep banging my head on my keyboard until my brain comes up with something intelligent. For now, keep reviewing-and supporting the story! It gets better, promise!

(Have I promised that already? Ugh! Stupid frozen brain. *pulls out brain-stimulating strawberry Pocky and enjoys* YAY POCKY! ^.^)