Not much to say, except here's another chapter! Enjoy!

**~Songbird341~**

DISCLAIMER: Don't own it :(

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Jade stared at her. "Train us? For what?"

She turned to Jade and said simply, "For the coming battle, of course."

What? Jade and Cat looked at each other, brows furrowed and eyes wide. "What do you mean?" Cat ventured to ask, her voice shaky.

Viviana eyed them carefully. "You mean, you don't know?"

Jade sighed. "No! No, we don't know, 'Viviana'; if that's even your real name!" Cat laid a hand on her arm, but Jade shook it off, walking closer to "Viviana". "We have no idea what you want with us! And frankly, I don't really care! I just wanna get off this island, away from you two, and stop this whole nightmare we're living in!" She turned and walked away angrily, not exactly knowing where she was going. I just want to get lost. Then I won't have to deal with them.

Over her shoulder, she heard Cat whisper "That's just Jade. I'm sure she'll come around."

Viviana didn't like this assurance. "I can't take my chances."

What does that mean?

Suddenly, Jade froze in place. What's going on? Jade tried to walk forward, but couldn't move a muscle. She felt something pushing back on her limbs, like a great wind. Being Jade, she only took this as a challenge and pushed harder, but her legs grew tired and she stopped. "Viviana, whatever weird thing you're pulling on me, you'd better cut it out." She turned her head, craning her neck to look at the girl restraining her without touching her.

Viviana shook her head, tightening her fists. "I've been sent to train you two. Both of you." She looked between the two girls. "I am not failing another mission. I've already compromised this enough." She flexed her fingers, causing Jade to be pulled toward her. Jade froze, now pushing backward and resisting with every muscle in her body. The pale girl's face turned pink with effort as she tried to fight Jade's will, but she was fighting a losing battle. However, she knew Jade would grow tired eventually, so she kept at it, completely silent.

The silence was intense for the redhead observing their battle-of-the-wills. Cat broke it, speaking cautiously. "You guys, can't we just stop fighting?" They didn't move. She walked closer to them, poking Jade's shoulder and doubling backward in pain. "Ow! Jade, you shocked me!"

"Stay out of this, Cat." Viviana said, barely audible, though you could have distinctly heard a feather hit the sand at the moment. "This isn't your fight."

"Don't tell her what to do," Jade defended, more defending herself than Cat. "You can't tell either of us what to do."

Her offender smirked. "You're just afraid of what you are. Of what you can be." She glanced over at Cat. "She's not."

"I'm not afraid." Blood pounded in Jade's ears.

Viviana chuckled. "Yes, you are. You're afraid of me, too."

Anger bubbled up inside of her. Jade clenched her fists, a cold, desolate look flooding her eyes. "I am certainly not afraid of you."

Their eyes remained locked.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

With that, Jade erupted. Her eyes turned dark, clouding over with a fiery red color. She felt power surging to her fingers, and clenched her fists so tight they turned white. Her skin burned, as if she was sitting on hot coals. The sand under her bare feet grew searingly scalding, and all the heat surrounding her built up in her body until she felt as if the tips of her hair were on fire. With all the pressure building up inside of her, it was only a matter of time before she let it loose. And she did.

Jade raised her hands, as if she were about to attack Viviana, and all the heat center on her fingertips, lingering for a moment. Cat and Viviana watched, awestruck and unable to move for fear of disrupting the false-peace. But it wasn't silent to Jade; voices whispered in her head.

Do it...

Show them your power...

What are you waiting for, Giada?

Jade released the tension in her fingers, sending a dark, fiery beam spurting out, headed straight for Cat and Viviana. Viviana took quick action and threw herself to the ground, pulling the redhead with her. The beam instead hit the sand behind them, setting the ground ablaze and smoking. The power continued to flow into the ground until she heard Cat whisper,

"Jade..."

The dark eyes met Cat's brown ones, causing her to freeze in place. A cold chill ran through Cat's skin at the eye contact with the girl she'd come to know so well in the past ten years. But it wasn't the same girl she looked at now. It was a stranger. And she wanted desperately to get her friend back.

"Jade, slow down and think."

The use of her name felt odd for some reason. Jade had expected her to refer to her as Giada, for a reason she couldn't understand. It was comforting and relaxing to be called by her real name, contrary to the voices in her head that begged Giada to continue; to destroy the two girls with the power she just discovered in herself. Jade felt peace settle in, and the passion in her hands died down. The beam slowly simmered down into a streak of darkness, and then disappeared into the burning sun that shone over the island. The air returned to its normal state, and everything was at rest once again, save for the gaping hole in the sand from where she had burned it.

She turned to Cat and Viviana, who were silently lying on the ground, in fear; of her. She felt overwhelmed with shame, and sighed.

Viviana shook her head. "This'll be harder than I thought."

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What did you think? Review!

I'd thank you all for reading, but I have to go, so bye! :)

**~Songbird341~**