Hey all :P I have to say, I love this chapter. After the horribleness of the last couple, there is only one thing for it. I have no regrets ;D

On with the show...

I was surrounded by a swirling grey mist, hints of silver shimmering within it. The air was heavy, as though pressure was building around me. No, not pressure. Power.

I was asleep, dreaming. It was Sunday night, or maybe early Monday morning. Either way, my weekend of rest was out of the way and it was back to school. 3 days since my collapse during training. I had a feeling that this dream would be related to that.

Looking down, I saw I was dressed in a flowing white dress, like I always was in these dreams. I tried to smooth out the creases before the person controlling this dream arrived. She'd only have another reason to complain otherwise. Sadly, I knew my face and body was a lost cause. In these dreams, you appeared how you felt. So I probably looked like crap right now.

"Yes, you do."

I spun around to face the speaker, causing the mist to shift around me.

"Yeva." I greeted my great-grandmother, biting back a retort. She was obviously feeling a lot better than I was. In this dream, her body appeared young again, and she reminded me of my aunt Vika- who I was supposed to resemble myself. But despite her youthful looks, Yeva's eyes were full of a wisdom that seemed to stem from the beginning of time itself. I suddenly felt very young in front of her, and knew the reason for this visit.

I hung my head in shame, wondering if I'd ever live up to Yeva's hopes for me. After all, if I couldn't fix my own life, how could I save anyone else's? I was weak, and I had failed.

Yeva looked at me disapprovingly. In these dreams, she could hear my thoughts. I couldn't do the same for her; yet another piece of evidence that I wasn't as strong as she was.

"Of course you're not. I have lived a long life and have had time to hone my skills. You are powerful for your age, and will one day surpass me. But first, you must stop dwelling on past events and once again cast your eye to the future."

I laughed humourlessly. "I've tried. Believe me, I want that. But the words just keep playing in my mind. I've made things worse. Why didn't I see that happening in time to stop it? Why can't I see what will happen in the future?"

The look on Yeva's face told me that I wouldn't be getting a straight answer. It was the one that usually preceded one of dad's Zen lessons.
"Anastasia, do you remember the first thing I taught you when you saw your first vision? When you asked 'why'?"

"Of course Yeva." Her silence made me guess she wanted me to repeat that lesson now. "We see the future so that we know what is to come, and might help people to find their true destiny."

"Then you have answered your own question, child." Wait, what? "You will not see anything else whilst you are in this state." Noticing my expression of bewilderment, she grudgingly continued explaining. "If you were to have a vision now, it would show no change, as if you were to see it, you would be unsure whether it showed past, present or future, and would lose your judgement, setting you back and further worsening your condition and any other visions."

"Uh... what?" Was the best response I could come up with.

"Don't worry, child. Just remember; you have been allowed to see what few others ever have. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, it comes with responsibility," Yeva said gravely, eyes darkening with her warning. "It is up to you to find the right path to follow your destiny, or the world will begin to crumble around you."

"...Balls."

The corner of Yeva's mouth curved up at my eloquent way of expressing my opinion towards holding the fate of the world's crumbliness in my hands. No pressure there then. Then I immediately became stressed again. I couldn't save my own friendship. The world was screwed.

"You are strong, Anastasia. Remember who you are. The name you bear is just a reminder of your destiny. Rebirth and strength, survival, from the joining of 2 in a way no one thought possible. You are the key which can save us all."

Yeva reached out and placed a hand on my cheek, and the mist glowed brighter silver before surrounding me completely. When the brightness faded, I welcomed the blackness of deep sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I'd barely been asleep 5 minutes. But at the same time, I felt a sense of peace, and was calmer than I had been in months.

I got out of bed in a new record time, padding over to the mirror. The red circles under my eyes were gone, replaced by a fading, barely noticeable black that could be passed off as a bad night, instead of weeks of crying through sleepless nights. My skin had lost its pallor, and there was a spark of life in my eyes that I had almost forgotten existed. Even my hair looked good.
I was back.

Silently, I slipped out of the dorm room to shower, getting out only after the water began running cold. There would be a few pissed off classmates of mine in the morning, but they'd have to deal. Closing the door quietly behind me, I returned to my room where Sophia was still sleeping.

Rummaging through my wardrobe, I pulled out a dark denim skirt that challenged the dress code slightly, and a tight red T-shirt with a cutout back with 'badass' written across the chest. I then slipped on a pair of black heeled boots. I looked sexy as fuck.

After applying minimal makeup- it was the first time in weeks I didn't have to cake on half a tube of foundation just to look alive- I sat at my desk and caught up on all the assignments I had been diligently ignoring for days.

Just as I finished, I heard movement from the other side of the room. On impulse, I crept over to the other side of the bed, leaning right over Sophia until my face was just inches from hers.
Her eyelids fluttered open and she jerked her head backwards as she saw me, a slight squeal escaping her lips. I laughed so hard that I fell off the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

"Anya? What the hell?" Sophia shouted, before leaning over the edge of the bed and watching me trying to control my hysteria. A look of shock crossed her face, followed by one of hope.
"You're laughing. And dressed. In something other than a hoodie and sweatpants."

Picking myself up, I nodded. "I couldn't deprive the world of my wit and beauty any longer. It just wasn't fair."

Grinning, Sophia pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I could feel her relief and happiness that I was back to normal.

Wait- I could feel?! Reaching out with my senses, I realised that I had regained my 'sixth sense'. Around me, I could once again feel the pulse of life, the steady hum of people just coming into wakefulness. I had no doubt that my mind was open to visions, and I could feel the power once again thrumming through my veins. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed it until now.

"What changed?" Sophia asked me.

I half smiled. "A certain old lady decided to pay me a visit last night, and for once said something that made some vague kind of sense."

"What was it?"

I shook my head. "Okay, so maybe it didn't really make sense. But she did remind me about something very important." Sophia looked at me expectantly. "Something about destiny, the future, and remembering who I am."

Sophia nodded in appreciation. "Well, whatever that means, I have to agree with the crazy old witch. You're so strong, Anya. It's time you remembered that."
The words themselves were a little harsh, but her tone and feelings displayed only friendly concern.

To reassure her further I said, "Well, I'm dressed for battle. Guardian Belikova at your service, ma'am."

Sophia giggled, and began to snuggle back down under the covers. I pulled them away. "Nuh-uh. I want donuts."

With a huge grin, my best friend sat up. "Then donuts you shall have. It's a miracle!"

20 minutes later we were making our way across the quad towards the cafeteria. I saw a couple of Moroi staring at me a little, but then Adam came jogging over.
"Anya! Are you alright now? You looked really bad on Friday."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, just what every girl wants to hear. But yeah, I'm fine. Even people as awesome as me have off days- it keeps the world in balance. I should be good for another 16 years now." I winked.

Adam laughed, before giving me a quick hug. "Whatever you say, Belikov. It's just good to have you back." I knew he wasn't just referring to my 3-day absence.

"I know. It's good to be back. I can't wait to kick all your sorry asses later."

"We'll see." He smirked, before leading the way into the cafeteria.
I walked with my head held high, laughing at whatever Adam was saying. I wasn't exactly listening. As we took our place in the queue, I was aware of the slight buzz of hushed whispers following me, but I ignored it. As long as they were wary enough to keep quiet, I wasn't really concerned with them.

I was just making my way to my table with a plate laden with donuts and pastries when I my gaze met a pair of dark blue eyes. A jolt of lightning shot through me , but I barely broke stride as I kept walking.

Dropping down onto the empty seat at the table my friends already occupied, I devoured my first donut in 15 seconds flat. As I swallowed the shoved the last bite into my mouth, I looked up at the faces staring at me intently. Looking between them, I swallowed slowly.
"What?" I asked innocently. "I haven't eaten in 3 days!"
My friends burst out laughing, and I joined in, stopping only to stuff more food into my mouth.

Once my plate was clear, and I'd stolen food from my friends as well, I felt even better than I had earlier. Kind of giddy, actually. After being so low for so long, and then at rock bottom these last few days, anything was better than that. I felt wonderfully, beautifully, blissfully numb.

"I have a plan. How does everyone feel about bringing Outcast Monarchy out of hiatus and showing this place what we can do?"

I was met with confused stares. Outcast Monarchy was the name of the band we had set up a few years ago, of which I was the lead singer. We hadn't practiced since I got back from Russia this year, since everything had been kind of hectic.

"The Sophomore prom fundraiser. People are coming up with all these crappy ideas for fundraisers like cake sales, sponsored events and talent shows that nobody would actually want to be in. They'd all be too scared, embarrassed or generally talentless." I leaned in closer. "But we put on a proper show, with a band that can actually play? An evening social event that isn't school-run? That every age can attend without there being a problem?" I leaned back. "With a $5 entry fee, we'd make $1000 easy."

After a moment, the stunned looks changed as my friends looked at one another.

"That... could actually work," Lily stated, and not even Ash argued with it. Though Lily didn't actually play, she was the one who had helped us get rooms to practice in, found us sheet music and sometimes translated it into tab if needed. She was still a music geek, and had once played violin, before deciding that she'd rather spend her time reading than practicing an instrument.

There was silence for a few more seconds, before Sophia spoke. "I have Ms. Carmack for Elemental Basics later, I could ask her to set up a meeting then. I heard that she's in charge."

I smiled. "Great, try and get a meeting for tonight. Then if it goes well, we can have a movie night in my room. Girls only," I added quickly, smirking when Mason pouted.

"Why so sad Mason? I thought you were included." Ash joked.

Lily elbowed him. "That would be nice, Anya. We haven't had much fun time together recently."

I cringed. "Sorry. I know I haven't exactly been the most fun person lately. Scratch that, I've been downright depressing. But I'll make up for it tonight. I'll even get the food."

Marina's earlier joking mood shifted, and she turned to put an arm around me, face gentle. "You don't need to apologise, Anya. We're your friends, and despite what you may think, you don't always have to be the protector. We'll always be here for you."

I was about to say, 'That's what he told me,' but I held it back. As if reading my thoughts, or it was just that plain on my face, Mason placed a hand over mine.
"We love you, Anya, and nothing will change that. You know we're all waiting for you to say the word, and we'll end him."

Despite their comforting words and promises that I didn't look weak, I could feel tears threatening to make an appearance. Their friendship had the effect of reminding me that there was one person missing, the one who could actually make me feel better.
I dragged my gaze away from the empty chair before they all noticed. Only Mason did, and I squeezed his hand reassuringly. It was bad that I still wanted Aleks to comfort me when he was the reason for the pain in the first place, and I had all these amazing friends on my side.

"Thanks for the offer, Mase. But I really want to do that myself." The bell saved me from having to show any more gratitude, which would probably make me cry. "And my chance is now. Come on, we have gym. I'm gonna kick ass."

Jet winked at me. "I can't wait to watch."

Thanks for all your reviews, I thought about all your suggestions. I know you wanted the guys to beat Aleks up, but I think that Anya should get the chance to have that honour for herself ;P Not exactly sure about what I'm going to do with the other part yet, but I have some ideas...

Tell me what you think of Yeva's dream. Isn't she just the best? ;D