Greetings, dear readers, and welcome back to Bayley's Universe! Well, it looks like quite a lot happened last time. From the reveal of Shayna's true nature to the fights and everything else, we seem to have ended things with a (not-so) mystery hugger almost tackling poor Sasha. And just who could they be? Their identity shall be revealed below. Read on to find out who it is, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter, my dolls. =)

Shayna was almost set to say something a bit snappy, to try to break out of Lana's hug when the sounds of crunching leaves could quickly be heard coming her way. Managing to shake out of Lana's hold, the brunette summoned her gauntlets, with Nia summoning her hammer and Sasha summoning her whip. The trio then stood in wait of whatever it was that was coming their way when all of a sudden, -

"SASHA!" a relieved voice could be heard saying before almost tackling the magenta-haired Gem in a hug that almost knocked her down.

Managing to keep her balance as she dropped her whip and let the incoming person give her a fairly tight hug, something she couldn't help but laugh at a bit.

"I'm fine, Bayley, relax. I'm not hurt. I'm perfectly okay," the magenta-haired Gem assured the brunette teen.

"Are you sure, Sash? Let me check your Gem. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! …OK, it's still in one piece. What a relief, too. Just …what even happened out here? What were you two fighting about? …Oh gosh. Where's the Gem from that Gem spider you guys fought?! Did you bubble it?"

As she stood and listened to this onslaught of questions from Bayley, Sasha couldn't help but let her glance go over to where Mia stood. She wanted to say something to the blue-haired girl. To ask if she was okay. But, before she could think to say anything, she looked to see Shayna move towards the human.

"Mia! What are you doing out here? I thought you would've left school by now," the brunette said as she approached the blue-haired teen.

Seeing Shayna coming toward her, Mia didn't know what to do. 'Oh man. She's coming right for me. W-What should I do? Should I try to run away? Or should I see if Sasha can protect me? …No, wait, that'd be stupid. She'd probably try to put me in one of those bubble thingies like she did with that weird rock. Either way, I'm a goner! I should just run and get help. Yeah, that's what I should do. I oughta just make a break for it, and run while I still ca-' Feeling a pair of arms wrap around her seemed to help snap the teen out of her mental storm. Blinking as she looked to her left, she saw that, once again, it was Bayley hugging her. Quickly bringing her arms up and wrapping them around the ponytailed brunette, Mia whispered "Thanks, Bayley. Now, come on. We should go now."

"Go? Go where?" Bayley whispered back.

"I don't know yet. Just …just somewhere far from here. I don't think we're too safe with …with them here."

""Them'? Who's 'them'?" Bayley asked, feeling confused as she pulled away.

Trying not to be too noticeable, she pointed behind the brunette as she said "Shayna and Sasha. I don't know how they did what they did, but it doesn't seem safe here. We should go now!"

"Mia, relax, calm down. You've got nothing to worry about here," Bayley said, trying to help the blue-haired teen calm down.

"Nothing to worry about? Nothing to worry about?! Bayley, are you crazy?! Did you not see what they did to …whatever the heck that spider thing was?! None of that was normal. It was dangerous! I'm telling you, Bayley, we need to get out of here now and go get help," Mia said through her panic with a slight yell.

"Mia, Mia, it's okay. Really. Honestly."

She couldn't believe this. There was just no way Bayley could seem so calm in the face of their classmates, these …these monsters! Mia wanted to run. She just wanted to get as far away from this bunch as she could and hope to never see any of them ever again. …But, it seemed like any possibility of doing so was stopped by a surprise hug from the very person that had caused her a great deal of pain earlier in the day. Blinking as she watched the surprise hugger pull away, all the blue-haired teen could say "Shayna."

Pulling away as she took a step back, Shayna first paced around a big before saying "Look. Mia, Mimi. I just wanted to say I am so sorry for what I did to you earlier."

She felt at a loss. Mia didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't quite expecting Shayna to apologize for what she had done, as she was thinking it would've just been forgotten about like with all of those times she had gotten lunch money from her. So, hearing this now was quite the surprise. Blinking as she shook her head, Mia finally found the words she wanted to say. "W-Well, Shayna. After what you did to me, …I'm not sure if I can forgive you. What you did, punching me, …that really hurt. And that was without you having on one of those weird glove things you had on when you and Sasha were fighting that big spider! …I-I just don't know."

As she stood and listened to what Mia was saying, Shayna couldn't deny that some of it hurt to hear. …But, at the same time, if she could be completely honest with herself, she knew the blue-haired teen was right. After all, it was a pretty rash move on her end that she had punched Mia as hard as she did for what the blue-haired teen told her. So, hearing all of this, all she could do was let out a scoff of a laugh in response. "Yeah, I should've seen that coming. Well, Mimi, I don't blame you. It was pretty bad of what I did to you. And for that, I honestly and deeply apologize. I just wish there was a way I could make things right between us. …I may not really show it all that much, …but I really do value our friendship. I know I should work on stuff between us, but …I just hope you'll find it in you to forgive me for what I did," the brunette said as she rubbed one of her arms. 'At this point, who cares? If they ever come back, no one has to know about me apologizing to a human. Just me and Mimi …and the others here'll know.'

This was quite a surprise. Mia honestly wasn't expecting Shayna to just be so upfront and apologize for what she did nor was she expecting to hear any of the other stuff the brunette told her. After taking a bit of time to process all of this, Mia cleared her throat before saying "OK, Shayna. I forgive you."

"Really? You actually-"

"But, on one condition," Mia interrupted, cutting the brunette off.

"O-OK sure, Mimi. What's your condition?" Shayna asked around her surprise.

"I-I just want to know. That spider, …the way you and Sasha fought it, the weapons you two had, how you two fought each other, …just what are you both?" the blue-haired teen asked.

Here it was. The question she wasn't planning on answering so soon. And here Mia was asking it. She didn't even know where to begin as it was all just one long story that she wasn't sure she'd be able to tell on her own. So, it felt like a relief when she heard leaves crunching behind her and soon found herself and Mia joined by her recent fighting partner and opponent holding the bubbled Gem.

"Actually, Mia, that's a bit of a long story. One that may need more help with telling it," Sasha said.

"More help? What are you saying, Sasha?" Mia asked, feeling a bit confused.

"I think what Sasha's saying is that …she wants you to come to our house!" Bayley excitedly cut in.

Well, it sure looks like a lot on the forgiveness started in this chapter. And what's this? Future story time for Mia? I'm sure that'll be quite the long story Sasha and Shayna have for our still shook blue-haired cinnamon roll. And just how will this all go? We shall see ...next time. So, until then, don't forget to RR please. And, if I don't post the next chapter before it happens, Happy New Year, lovelies! I hope you all have a fun and great (safe and healthy) time ringing in 2023.

(Stay safe, warm, and healthy out there, lovelies. *sends love and positive vibes out to you all*)

(I know I haven't used him in this, but I just want to take a minute to offer my thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the family and friends of Don West, a mainstay in TNA Impact Wrestling for years, who recently passed away. His overall enthusiasm from his commentary work to when he'd do ShopTNA bits will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace, and thank you for sharing your work with us fans over the years.)