I watched in absolute horror as Jeriah scrambled to his feet and ran back out into Ianarea. The Shadows shut the door behind him, leaving me alone to panic. If I wasn't being held completely still, I probably would have had a meltdown. I didn't know what Jeriah would do once he escaped. Not that I knew what I was going to do, either.

"Time to go, Alyssa. Let's see what your little friend is actually like, shall we?"

I struggled against the fog holding me back, but it was obviously useless. I felt myself dissolving suddenly. First my feet, then my legs, and everything else dissolved one by one. I was in what must have been spirit form, like Dianite for the first few years. The only difference was that I couldn't speak either. I was nothing but a mind. I felt myself soar through what seemed to be empty space, and reappear in a small, box-like dimension.

Bella appeared in front of me. The second her feet touched the ground, she split into two- the Shadows, and the real Bella. The poor girl collapsed onto the ground, shaking and crying. I stared in shock as the black fog took the shape of a faceless person.

"Get up, you stupid girl. Meet your little friend while you can," he snarled at Bella.

Struggling to keep from crying, she got to her feet and faced me. "H... hi, Alyssa." Her tangled blond hair covered most of her face, but she was able to see me through one of her blue eyes.

I didn't know what to say. I was able to speak again, and I had a thousand questions to ask, but all I could do was stare in a stunned silence. Finally, I managed to whisper, "What's going to happen to me?"

"We're going to form one person, I guess." Bella's voice was hollow and quiet. "He's going to condemn you to the same fate as me."

I began to shake, realizing in that second just how much I didn't want this to happen. "What if I refuse?" I asked, my voice trembling with sudden anger. "What if I won't fuse into one person? I would much rather die than face this fate."

"It's not a choice," the Shadows replied. "You're forced into it, whether you want to fuse or not. No amount of willpower can make you stop this process."

"Trust me," Bella told me, her voice almost a whisper. "I tried the same thing when it happened to me. There's nothing you can do. Just go with it."

My instinct told me to trust her, but I was having my doubts all the same. "I don't even know you, Bella. I don't know either of you. I never did anything to the Shadows. Dianite attacked me, so I fought back. It's as simple as that. I don't deserve what you're doing to me."

The fog-figure laughed. "Well, you see, Alyssa, I couldn't care less. You're just another human being in this miserable, miserable world. Your fate is of no matter to me."

"I'm one of the last human beings in this world," I snapped. "Because you killed all of them! Who are you going to rule? Everyone's gone!"

"I don't need to rule people," the Shadows replied. "You narrow-minded human beings think you are above all. If there are none of you to rule, you humans believe that there is no point in being a ruler. I, unlike you, do not have the ability to become lonely. I can live forever in a destroyed world, content with what I have."

I shook my head. "Fine. Do what you want. I'll accept my fate."

Something similar to a smile appeared on his face. "Very good. I knew you would accept it. Oh, and Alyssa," he said as my body began to dissolve once more. "You were correct at the start. The process does require human will to work. You accepted your fate, therefore beginning the process. Congratulations, both of you idiots condemned yourselves to this fate."

If I had a mouth, I would have screamed. Bella began to dissolve as well, and I felt our minds mixing. I could suddenly read all of her thoughts, and she could read all of mine. Our brains weren't exactly combined, but they were definitely connected in some way. I felt a body forming around our minds, and my senses returned to normal.

"Welcome, superhuman Bella-Alyssa," the Shadows cackled. "Welcome to the real world."

I could feel Bella trying to say something, but it had to be accepted by me before our combination could say it. Once I did, we said in a sarcastic tone, "The name 'superhuman Bella-Alyssa' isn't very fitting. I was thinking more along the lines of 'the Mighty Belyssa'."

He snorted. "Call yourself whatever you like. All that concerns me is that you can function properly. Try walking forward."

Bella, probably out of fear, tried walking, but I wanted to stay in place. I found that even if the second person doesn't accept the first person's action, the action can still take place, but the first person would have to fight for it. I fought back, and it resulted in the two of us falling flat on the ground.

"Get to your feet, you sorry excuse of a person," the Shadows snarled. The black fog swirled around us, and lifted us to our feet.

Alyssa, listen to me, I heard Bella think. He can't hear me until he starts possessing us. You have to trust everything I say, or neither of us will get out of this, and everyone you love will die. Do you trust me?

I didn't exactly have much of a choice. I figured that while I didn't really know Bella, she had much more experience with this and would probably know how to get us out of trouble. Yes, I trust you.

Good. Now, I want to tell you not to fight against my will. You should probably just go with whatever action I take, but if you really want something different, try to find a compromise. Somehow, she had a voice, even in her mind. She sounded (is sounded the right way to put it?) very firm, as if I wasn't supposed to argue with her. She was right, and that was that.

Why not? It makes it more difficult for him if we fight, I reasoned. Her reply was so sharp that it shook Belyssa, and she (we?) fell to the ground again.

No! You don't understand, Alyssa. If we fight too much, we'll end up splitting. He'll then force us to join again, against our will this time. Fusing while fighting is incredibly, incredibly painful. Please don't fight.

I let out a mental sigh. Fine. I'm guessing you have experience with this.

Yes, I do. I told you, you need to trust me. She seemed to relax a bit now that I had agreed. I was getting slightly frustrated being joined with her, since I knew so little about her.

So, do we have a plan? Is there any way to stop this or are we really going to have to accept our fate? I asked. I knew that there was a very slim chance that everything could go back to normal, but I would do anything I could to fix the problem that I had unintentionally created.

I have a plan. If we split at the right time, we'll throw him off balance and, hopefully, damage him. It won't kill him, but it'll make it so that he won't have the strength to continue possessing us. Then, we decide what to do from there. She sounded uncertain.

How long will we have to wait before this happens?

A while. I have to stop talking now. He's going to possess us. Just make sure to do what he tells you. It'll make this process easier. I hope your friends are wise enough to do the same.

The Shadows let out a short cackle, dissolved into black fog, and flew right into our joint minds. Everything was about to change.