Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Certainly, but if you go to the bottom of page seven, it explains it all. The only addition is that Bella has joined. If you need any more clarification after that, just ask. ))

*Aly could hear the faint sound of footsteps that echoed in the once empty forest. She heard her heart skip a beat in horror and dread. Her face still as the dead of night. Yet, her mind battled through the haze, begging for a solution. Never before had Aly felt so conflicted. The muscles within her legs ached for her to run. Her body told her to hide within nature, but it was her heart that spoke the loudest. It told her to stay put. She could run and hide, but she would never be free. They would find her and destroy her. Bella would join them, and soon others would follow in her footsteps- eager to help destroy her. Aly grimaced at the apparent truth. She would not be able to lie. Bella had said it herself, that she had been around for a century and held powers of her own. Bella was a mystery of her own. Aly was uncertain of what she was capable of, or what kind of an enemy she would be. Aly knew it was a losing battle. Bella had not yet met Spirit or Maya and already she was losing. Yes, Bella would join them. She would give no second thought. But through all the darkness, Aly felt hope. She had not lost yet. There was still hope; a light at the end of the tunnel. All that she needed to do was trudge forward and choose the right path. She would do just that. "They have come to destroy me," Aly told Bella. "They find me dangeous and right now, the numbers are in their favor. It stands as two to one. Which side will you choose?"*

*Once they stopped running Spirit she closed her eyes and focused on the area where Aly was. There was defiantly someone with her and Spirit was positive that she was not human, which was both good and bad. If she wasn’t a human it would mean Aly was most likely not going to hurt her, but she could be something much stronger than a human and that she could be helping Aly. Spirit turned to face Maya and whispered to her so that she was the only one who would hear, “Lets stay put for a moment, see what’s going between the two of them before we act.” Silently Spirit moved closer to where Aly was and then crouched behind a large tree, motioning Maya to follow her. She wanted to get a sense of what was going on and be prepared if Maya and her would be fighting two not one. There was also the hope that Aly was somehow decided not the kill the whole human race but Spirit didn’t know if she could trust her again. Trust was something she didn’t give out easily but when she first met Aly she thought for a moment that they could be friends and that she could finally let someone into her life; the thought had left the moment Aly changed. Now Spirit didn’t know if the person she first met had been who Aly really was, or if she had been lying the whole time. Everything was so messed up that it took some effort to stay focused.*

* Just as soon as it came into view, it vanished. The light at the end of the tunnel was dead just as her hope. Aly paled; her heart skipping a beat. She wants to meet Spirit and Maya. Aly thought, stressed. It will be three on one. Not easily one. She hadn't realized that her hand had started twirling a piece of her hair around her finger, but it didn't matter. She was about to face Maya, a girl with the power to move objects with her mind. Spirit, another with her own power and a book with unknown content. And then there was Bella, someone who was still quite mysterious but had a century worth of knowledge. Sweat trickled down her face with each new thought. She had no chance of recruiting another for help. If Bella turned, Aly would have to make a quick escape. Her mind debated whether to turn run now, or later. If she did now, it would mean she were safe, for a moment. But it would also say she was guilty, and Bella would surely join. If she waited, it might be too late for her. She sighed and turned toward the bush Spirit and Maya hid and nodded toward Bella. "Spirit, Maya. Why don't you come and meet Bella." Aly requested, ignoring the shiver that ran through her spine. *

* Maya leaped out of the bushes behind Spirit. She was a compassionate and patient person by nature, but after what Aly had done, she still could not immediately trust her, let alone forgive her. Maya stared at Aly, and her natural instinct to use her power filled her. Maya held it back inside of her; she would not attack immediately - she would first give Aly the chance to explain herself, and this Bella the chance to state her position. All the same, the surge of power being held back inside of her gave her eyes an odd glowing effect, and created an aura around her form. Maya regretted it. It usually freaked people out. She tried to keep herself calm so she could let them know that her and Spirit meant no immediate harm. It was still hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Oh yeah,"she said, continuing on Spirit's last quesion, not giving the others a chance to answer,"I'm sure Aly's told her the whole story, every last bit, from beginning to end. And I'm sure it's a fair account of what happened, too." Maya chuckled mirthlessly. Aly was probably trying to win Bella's pity like she did to Maya and Spirit when she had that broken ankle. Maya was suddenly confused. Why had Aly changed back to her normal form? It seemed like she was seeking new allies, but why? She couldn't possibly want or need more, with the power she had. Unless, all of the power binding her to nature had been used up, and she was helpless now. That seemed like a possibility. But what if her real reason for changing back was because she was sorry, because she sought forgiveness? What if Aly really wasn't that bad at heart? Maya knew that it was thinking like this that often caused people to fall. There was a reason Spirit was so withdrawn, and Aly so corrupt. People did this to them, made them this way. Bad people with cold hearts. It was unwise to automatically assume that everyone was a good person. Maya thought that in the future, she should not give her trust so easily. But she also knew from experience that if you just listened to a person, and tried to understand them, they could actually be good. Staring at Aly, Maya's heart swelled with pity; her face was tearstained and she looked exhausted. Maya decided on a compromise between her instincts and emotions. She would keep her guard up, but she would be calm and let Aly have a second chance. She sighed. "It's been a while, Aly." Maya said, smiling slightly. She then turned her attention to Bella. "Hi, Bella. I'm Maya," she began. "You must be pretty confused right now. Has Aly told you everything, or would you like the whole story, from all perspectives?"

* Aly’s face remained expressionless as Spirit paraded her way through the bushes with Maya hot on her trail. She waved her hand dismissively as Spirit and Maya each shared their own comments or two. Aly held up a good façade, but inside she was breaking. She never knew how much it would hurt to see her former friends again. She wished desperately to go back, to have the power to rewind time, but she knew it would never happen. As much as she wished she could go back, she also felt a rage inside of her. She found herself shocked at her findings and her façade broke a bit. Her eyes widened and a small gasp escaped from her lips. They betrayed you. They want to kill you; they are even trying to persuade Bella to join. Will you give up so easily? Her head whipped to the sound of the voice. It was calm and clear, with an authority in it that was hard to ignore. Aly had been so preoccupied with the battle in her head that she hadn’t heard someone else come up. Breaking her concentration, she looked around; puzzled. No one was here. It was exactly the same as it had been before, Bella, Spirit, and Maya. The rage that was there before was now gone, and left in its place was only the sorrow. She had no idea where the voice had come from, and it frightened her but she remained calm. It was Maya’s voice that broke her concentration, and she turned her head back, looking at Spirit and Maya. Shh The voice murmured, Don’t talk, just listen. You don’t understand the powers I have. She nodded and stopped the shivers that convulsed her body. She took a few deep breaths and pretended that she was simply upset about what Spirit and Maya were about to tell Bella. “As Bella said, I’ve told her nothing, yet.” Aly muttered, keeping her eyes on the ground. “You may tell her the story if you wish.” *

*Spirit let her eyes wonder as Maya introduced herself to Bella, always looking for some kind of trouble. Something Aly did caught her attention; she looked confused and began looking around her as if the expected to see something. Spirit studied her expression but her confusion was quickly replaced with the concern that she had before. Then out of no where Spirit felt a shiver go down her spine and even before she saw the look in Maya’s eyes she thought something must be up. Spirit was tempted to let Maya tell the tale, but she figured that Maya probably had a better understanding of what was happening, so it would be best if she stayed on look out duty. “Well to make a long story short, Aly has been struggling with problems from the past and just recently she snapped. She decided that she would cause pain to the ones who had hurt her in the past, but she didn’t end up hurting just the idiotic humans, but all of them.” Spirit could stop her words from being filled with anger and hate, just thinking back on what Aly thought she had the right to do made her sick. Taking a deep breath Spirit calmed her self and continued, “We asked her to stop and think about what she was doing but she was so set on getting her revenge that she would not listen. So Maya and I knew her actions where wrong and were on our way to stop her and we ended up here. Surprisingly things seem quite normal and I think I shall let Aly explain why since I really have a clue what she is planning.” Spirit looked at Aly again, locking eyes with her. Although Spirit’s look was stern it wasn’t harsh, it was almost pleading, hoping that Aly would say that she had just cracked, that she had seen the wrong in what she had done and that she wouldn’t let it happen again. Spirit didn’t want to hurt the Aly she had known, personally Spirit didn’t like hurting people but she would stop Aly if she had to. Suddenly a flash of the time when spirit had willed people to die popped in her head and a second of fear flashed over her face. Not that way, she told herself, never again that way. Quickly she pushed the thought from her head and put a blank expression on as she waited for Aly to explain.*