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Description
By the time that Stella was able to see the beach through the gaps in the trees, the sky above her had been covered by a thick grey blanket of heavy clouds. Their presence added an air of foreboding to the day which did nothing to alleviate her growing fear. She could only hope and pray that her friends were alright.

Bursting from the shelter of the forest, Stella’s eyes grew wide in horror as she took in the ruined beach before her. Huge chunks of gold lay everywhere, embedded in the sand as if tossed there with considerable force, with bits of debris and rubble poking out from beneath their hulking forms. Shattered palm trees were strewn across the ground, their bits and pieces littering the beach and making it rather difficult to move without stepping on one. Several large black craters sat smoking passively while their molten insides boiled and slowly solidified. To say the beach looked like a warzone would not have been an exaggeration.

Stella took all this in in less than a second but before she could react, she was startled by a loud BANG nearby. She spun towards the sound just in time to see a large ball of flame rising up above the field of debris that was separating her from the treehouse. For the briefest moment her nightmare flashed before her eyes and she was filled with an overwhelming sense of terror. She could feel the heat of lava around her, could taste as smoke entered her lungs and just like before, she found herself unable to move, this time out of fear.

But just as quickly as they had appeared, the flames were gone, dissipating into the air and revealing a black and sooty figure that had apparently been thrown skyward by the blast. Stella watched the shadowy figure as it seemingly stopped, unsupported near the apex of its trajectory. It flipped itself upright and considered its ash covered body for a moment with large angry golden eyes before it was suddenly enveloped in shimmering gold plating. In one fluid motion, the golden ashes leapt from the figure’s body and revealed the elegant purple feathers that had been hidden beneath them, making Stella gasp in surprise.

It was Gale.

She was alive.

At first Stella couldn’t believe her eyes. She shook her head, certain that her mind was playing tricks on her, but there was no mistaking the regal looking bird hovering in the air before her. Her familiar pointed beak and swept back crest feathers brought tears of joy to Stella’s eyes, however as she continued to take in the sight of her friend she began to think something was wrong with her.

“I want my book!” Gale growled at someone lost within the field of clutter that covered the beach. Her voice, loud and commanding, rang out with an unfamiliar undertone of power, which Stella could feel rumbling through her bones. Despite all logic, the flakes of gold that had leapt from her body remained suspended in the air and now orbited her like a thousand tiny satellites. As Stella watched, they began to press themselves together, forming more distinct shapes while their rotation speed rapidly increased. In moments the harmless cloud of shimmering golden ash had turned into a maelstrom of glittering golden blades that whirled around Gale menacingly and as Stella looked up at her friend in growing terror, Gale took a breath.

“Give me back my book!” she screamed, releasing the shards of metal from her telekinetic grasp in rapid succession. The blades went spinning towards their target in the maze of rubble but with another loud BANG they were incinerated by another ball of flame. With a shriek of frustration Gale darted into the dissipating smoke and out of view. Apparently her charge was unsuccessful as Stella heard her cry out in anger.

“Get back here with my book!”

Suddenly, at that precise moment, another figure winked into existence at the edge of the battlefield. It was Dahlia, making liberal use of her teleportation powers to reach safety. She was holding a book and a device that looked like a cross between a bicycle pump and a can of spray paint which Stella recognized as her boom-fruit blaster. By dehydrating the boom-fruit that grew around the island she was able to carefully crush them into a fine powder which would violently combust if overly excited...or at least that was how she had explained it. All Stella knew was that whenever Dahlia sprayed that powder into the air, an explosion was sure to follow.

Still unaware of her pink friend’s presence, Dahlia started to back away from the piles of debris, making sure to keep her blaster trained and at the ready. She had barely made it two feet when Gale suddenly leapt into the air, her eyes full of fury. With a piercing shriek, golden veins arced across her body and she let loose a bright golden laser from her mouth. Dahlia leapt backwards, narrowly dodging the laser as it pierced the ground in front of her and turned the sand into a solid chunk of shining gold. Seeing an opportunity, she jammed the end of her blaster into the sand underneath the golden chunk and slammed the plunger down. Four thousand pounds of solid gold were sent hurtling through the air at the floating purple bird and if it wasn’t for her newfound chrysokinesis it would have smashed her into the ground. As it was, she only managed to bring it to a stop a couple inches from her face due to its immense size. She moved it aside as quickly as she could but was unprepared when Dahlia suddenly blinked in to replace it.

For a moment, it was as if time slowed down to a crawl. Stella watched as Dahlia slowly raised her weapon to point squarely at Gale’s face and her eyes widened when she realized her intent. At such close quarters, an explosion from Dahlia’s blaster would surely rip Gale’s body to pieces. Stella’s mind raced as she watched Dahlia pull back the plunger and prepare to fire. She had to stop her! She couldn’t handle losing Gale again.

“Daaaaaahliiiiaaaaaaa!!! NOOOOOO!!!”

Dahlia faltered and turned her head to look at Stella, a look of surprise etched across her face. She remained frozen that way, even as time started back up again and it was with horrified eyes that Stella watched as Gale leapt forward and clamped onto her like a spider pouncing upon it’s prey. There was a great blinding flash and in an instant Dahlia had been replaced by a life sized golden replica of herself, it’s face the same mask of surprise that she had been wearing a second prior.

For a moment, Stella couldn’t react. She watched as Dahlia’s blaster and the book slipped from her grasp and tumbled to the sand below, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Then, as her mind finally caught up with her, she suddenly realized her other friends were nowhere to be found. Her gaze quickly moved over the piles of rubble and picked out several details she had missed before. She could see faces, familiar faces. Golden faces. Lifeless faces. Her heart froze.

She killed them…

Stella’s eyes turned slowly to look at the purple bird hovering above her. She watched as Gale casually tossed the Dahlia statue away and swooped down to retrieve the book. Around her, the air seemed to drop several temperatures as a cold breeze blew across the beach

She killed them…

They were her friends and she killed them!

Gale scooped up the book and dusted it off before turning to smirk at her. Her smug golden eyes flashed with malevolence and drew Stella’s horrified blue ones to her wicked grin. Her mouth opened and she seemed to say something, but Stella couldn’t hear it. Her eyes narrowed and she blinked away the tears building inside them as her blood began to boil with rage. Gale peered at her for a second but when she received no answer, she shrugged indifferently.

“Well, I can’t say it has been nice seeing you, but I appreciate your cooperation.” she remarked, turning away “I must be off now; things to do, people to see. And I have been away for quite a while.”

Stella watched as she rose into the air and suddenly the cool breeze that had picked up didn’t feel chilly anymore. She started to tremble as her blood boiled white hot.

How dare she…

How dare she! HOW DARE SHE!!!!

With a shriek of anger Stella shot toward the other bird. Gale barely had time to turn around before she found herself flying backwards, rather quickly, as the little pink bird slammed into her with the force of a steam engine.

Gale was sent straight into the ground, her body tearing a long trench through the sand before coming to a stop at the base of the treehouse. Stella fell into a crouch, pausing only to snatch a large heavy branch from the ground before charging at Gale once more, her eyes alight with fury. In an instant she was upon the purple bird and, drawing the branch backward quickly, brought it streaking around to slam forcefully into her bottom jaw.

“HOW COULD YOU!” Stella screamed, as she whaled on Gale again and again and sent splinters and feathers flying everywhere “They were your friends! Your family! And you KILLED THEM!”

With a final mighty CRACK the branch shattered leaving Stella to pant breathlessly as Gale slumped back against the tree. Stella stood over her, unsatisfied with the performance of the branch but unable to do anything about it and as the rage ebbed from her body, it was slowly replaced by an overwhelming sense of despair.

They’re gone…

Poppy, Willow, Luca and Dahlia…they’re all gone…

Stella felt tears well up in her eyes but did nothing to stop them. She was too tired. Too tired of the pain, the sadness, the heartbreak…

It was all just too much.

So instead she let them fall, cascading down her face to the sandy earth beneath her. Without her friends there was nothing left for her to live for. Her eyes drifted toward the volcano which jutted up from the island like a knife. She couldn’t help but notice how easy it would be to toss herself off of it and end it all. No one would miss her. No one would mourn her. She would be completely forgotten from history and no one would even care. She felt her body melt to the ground.

“Why Gale?” she whimpered “Why would you do such a thing?”

There was a moment of silence before a deep, threatening voice spoke up behind her.

“You silly, stupid bird!”

Stella spun around in surprise and gasped as a golden claw grabbed her by the throat. Gale was standing before her, her body enveloped in a golden aura. Her eyes, glowing with golden light, glared down at her vehemently. Stella glanced down at the claw holding her in place and noticed it was a tree branch that had been converted to gold and was now bending to Gale’s will. Despite this, it was incredibly strong and no matter how hard she struggled, she could not pull out of its vice-like grip.

Suddenly Stella felt herself leave the ground as she and Gale began to rise into the air. The two of them floated upwards until they were at least twenty feet above the ground. Below them the waves leapt and churned like a pack of ravenous wolves, greedily awaiting their next meal. Stella could feel the waves of power coming off her friend but was unable to do anything at all. Finally Gale spoke.

“You may have incapacitated your friend but I assure you, the powers she inherited from me are nothing compared to my own.”

Stella’s eyes widened in shock. The voice coming from Gale’s mouth was entirely not her own. It rolled out of her and washed through Stella’s body, turning her muscles to jelly. It was timeless, ageless and seemed to carry with it an air of commanding authority over all living things. The most unnatural thing about it, though, was the fact that Stella recognized it. After all it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since she had last heard it. It was the same voice she had been hearing every night for the past week, the voice from her dreams.

It was the voice of the Golden Egg.

Stella’s eyes widened as she came to her realization and her heart started to beat rapidly in her chest. Around her the winds whistled and sang, signaling the arrival of the ever approaching storm while the trees that made up the forest shook wildly and clung desperately at the earth. A few stray palm fronds tumbled across the beach and spun happily into the sea, only to be pulled under by the restless waves. The swirling black clouds above them rumbled with thunder and seemed to press down on them threateningly. Stella felt dread grip her heart.

“What are you?” she whispered fearfully “What have you done with Gale?”

A small smile played across Gale’s face but it was gone almost immediately.

“A god long forgotten, I was imprisoned within the egg for the powers that I possess.” the thing inside Gale explained resentfully, pulling Stella closer “As for your friend...It was by my hand that she now lives. In exchange…” Gale drew in close “She and her body are mine to command.”

Stella felt a fire light inside her body and she struggled fiercely against her bonds.

“YOU MONSTER!” she shrieked as tears burned at the corners of her eyes. “I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”

The Egg, in control of Gale’s body shook her head condescendingly.

“No, young one, you won’t…” It said, pulling Gale’s features into a wide grin “You are indeed an impressive fighter but sadly your journey ends here. It is just unfortunate that you hadn’t been the one to release me, rather than your friend. I suspect I could have done more with your body than with hers.”

With that Stella felt herself move toward Gale’s body but was unable to get away. The Egg raised her before Gale’s face and sneered menacingly.

“Goodbye Stella” It said before bringing their foreheads together. Stella cried out as intense pain seeped through her entire body. She tried to pull away, to do something but found herself completely unable to move. Her scream was cut short as her vision was swallowed by darkness and the pain burning through her faded to a dull numbness. She felt her breathing catch in her throat and her heart slow to nothing as the world vanished around her. All she had left was her hearing but she knew even that would soon be gone as her brain began to shut down from lack of oxygen. She heard the sound of rushing wind, a splash, bubbles, a dull thud, then…

Nothing.

Description
By the time that Stella was able to see the beach through the gaps in the trees, the sky above her had been covered by a thick grey blanket of heavy clouds. Their presence added an air of foreboding to the day which did nothing to alleviate her growing fear. She could only hope and pray that her friends were alright.

Bursting from the shelter of the forest, Stella’s eyes grew wide in horror as she took in the ruined beach before her. Huge chunks of gold lay everywhere, embedded in the sand as if tossed there with considerable force, with bits of debris and rubble poking out from beneath their hulking forms. Shattered palm trees were strewn across the ground, their bits and pieces littering the beach and making it rather difficult to move without stepping on one. Several large black craters sat smoking passively while their molten insides boiled and slowly solidified. To say the beach looked like a warzone would not have been an exaggeration.

Stella took all this in in less than a second but before she could react, she was startled by a loud BANG nearby. She spun towards the sound just in time to see a large ball of flame rising up above the field of debris that was separating her from the treehouse. For the briefest moment her nightmare flashed before her eyes and she was filled with an overwhelming sense of terror. She could feel the heat of lava around her, could taste as smoke entered her lungs and just like before, she found herself unable to move, this time out of fear.

But just as quickly as they had appeared, the flames were gone, dissipating into the air and revealing a black and sooty figure that had apparently been thrown skyward by the blast. Stella watched the shadowy figure as it seemingly stopped, unsupported near the apex of its trajectory. It flipped itself upright and considered its ash covered body for a moment with large angry golden eyes before it was suddenly enveloped in shimmering gold plating. In one fluid motion, the golden ashes leapt from the figure’s body and revealed the elegant purple feathers that had been hidden beneath them, making Stella gasp in surprise.

It was Gale.

She was alive.

At first Stella couldn’t believe her eyes. She shook her head, certain that her mind was playing tricks on her, but there was no mistaking the regal looking bird hovering in the air before her. Her familiar pointed beak and swept back crest feathers brought tears of joy to Stella’s eyes, however as she continued to take in the sight of her friend she began to think something was wrong with her.

“I want my book!” Gale growled at someone lost within the field of clutter that covered the beach. Her voice, loud and commanding, rang out with an unfamiliar undertone of power, which Stella could feel rumbling through her bones. Despite all logic, the flakes of gold that had leapt from her body remained suspended in the air and now orbited her like a thousand tiny satellites. As Stella watched, they began to press themselves together, forming more distinct shapes while their rotation speed rapidly increased. In moments the harmless cloud of shimmering golden ash had turned into a maelstrom of glittering golden blades that whirled around Gale menacingly and as Stella looked up at her friend in growing terror, Gale took a breath.

“Give me back my book!” she screamed, releasing the shards of metal from her telekinetic grasp in rapid succession. The blades went spinning towards their target in the maze of rubble but with another loud BANG they were incinerated by another ball of flame. With a shriek of frustration Gale darted into the dissipating smoke and out of view. Apparently her charge was unsuccessful as Stella heard her cry out in anger.

“Get back here with my book!”

Suddenly, at that precise moment, another figure winked into existence at the edge of the battlefield. It was Dahlia, making liberal use of her teleportation powers to reach safety. She was holding a book and a device that looked like a cross between a bicycle pump and a can of spray paint which Stella recognized as her boom-fruit blaster. By dehydrating the boom-fruit that grew around the island she was able to carefully crush them into a fine powder which would violently combust if overly excited...or at least that was how she had explained it. All Stella knew was that whenever Dahlia sprayed that powder into the air, an explosion was sure to follow.

Still unaware of her pink friend’s presence, Dahlia started to back away from the piles of debris, making sure to keep her blaster trained and at the ready. She had barely made it two feet when Gale suddenly leapt into the air, her eyes full of fury. With a piercing shriek, golden veins arced across her body and she let loose a bright golden laser from her mouth. Dahlia leapt backwards, narrowly dodging the laser as it pierced the ground in front of her and turned the sand into a solid chunk of shining gold. Seeing an opportunity, she jammed the end of her blaster into the sand underneath the golden chunk and slammed the plunger down. Four thousand pounds of solid gold were sent hurtling through the air at the floating purple bird and if it wasn’t for her newfound chrysokinesis it would have smashed her into the ground. As it was, she only managed to bring it to a stop a couple inches from her face due to its immense size. She moved it aside as quickly as she could but was unprepared when Dahlia suddenly blinked in to replace it.

For a moment, it was as if time slowed down to a crawl. Stella watched as Dahlia slowly raised her weapon to point squarely at Gale’s face and her eyes widened when she realized her intent. At such close quarters, an explosion from Dahlia’s blaster would surely rip Gale’s body to pieces. Stella’s mind raced as she watched Dahlia pull back the plunger and prepare to fire. She had to stop her! She couldn’t handle losing Gale again.

“Daaaaaahliiiiaaaaaaa!!! NOOOOOO!!!”

Dahlia faltered and turned her head to look at Stella, a look of surprise etched across her face. She remained frozen that way, even as time started back up again and it was with horrified eyes that Stella watched as Gale leapt forward and clamped onto her like a spider pouncing upon it’s prey. There was a great blinding flash and in an instant Dahlia had been replaced by a life sized golden replica of herself, it’s face the same mask of surprise that she had been wearing a second prior.

For a moment, Stella couldn’t react. She watched as Dahlia’s blaster and the book slipped from her grasp and tumbled to the sand below, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Then, as her mind finally caught up with her, she suddenly realized her other friends were nowhere to be found. Her gaze quickly moved over the piles of rubble and picked out several details she had missed before. She could see faces, familiar faces. Golden faces. Lifeless faces. Her heart froze.

She killed them…

Stella’s eyes turned slowly to look at the purple bird hovering above her. She watched as Gale casually tossed the Dahlia statue away and swooped down to retrieve the book. Around her, the air seemed to drop several temperatures as a cold breeze blew across the beach

She killed them…

They were her friends and she killed them!

Gale scooped up the book and dusted it off before turning to smirk at her. Her smug golden eyes flashed with malevolence and drew Stella’s horrified blue ones to her wicked grin. Her mouth opened and she seemed to say something, but Stella couldn’t hear it. Her eyes narrowed and she blinked away the tears building inside them as her blood began to boil with rage. Gale peered at her for a second but when she received no answer, she shrugged indifferently.

“Well, I can’t say it has been nice seeing you, but I appreciate your cooperation.” she remarked, turning away “I must be off now; things to do, people to see. And I have been away for quite a while.”

Stella watched as she rose into the air and suddenly the cool breeze that had picked up didn’t feel chilly anymore. She started to tremble as her blood boiled white hot.

How dare she…

How dare she! HOW DARE SHE!!!!

With a shriek of anger Stella shot toward the other bird. Gale barely had time to turn around before she found herself flying backwards, rather quickly, as the little pink bird slammed into her with the force of a steam engine.

Gale was sent straight into the ground, her body tearing a long trench through the sand before coming to a stop at the base of the treehouse. Stella fell into a crouch, pausing only to snatch a large heavy branch from the ground before charging at Gale once more, her eyes alight with fury. In an instant she was upon the purple bird and, drawing the branch backward quickly, brought it streaking around to slam forcefully into her bottom jaw.

“HOW COULD YOU!” Stella screamed, as she whaled on Gale again and again and sent splinters and feathers flying everywhere “They were your friends! Your family! And you KILLED THEM!”

With a final mighty CRACK the branch shattered leaving Stella to pant breathlessly as Gale slumped back against the tree. Stella stood over her, unsatisfied with the performance of the branch but unable to do anything about it and as the rage ebbed from her body, it was slowly replaced by an overwhelming sense of despair.

They’re gone…

Poppy, Willow, Luca and Dahlia…they’re all gone…

Stella felt tears well up in her eyes but did nothing to stop them. She was too tired. Too tired of the pain, the sadness, the heartbreak…

It was all just too much.

So instead she let them fall, cascading down her face to the sandy earth beneath her. Without her friends there was nothing left for her to live for. Her eyes drifted toward the volcano which jutted up from the island like a knife. She couldn’t help but notice how easy it would be to toss herself off of it and end it all. No one would miss her. No one would mourn her. She would be completely forgotten from history and no one would even care. She felt her body melt to the ground.

“Why Gale?” she whimpered “Why would you do such a thing?”

There was a moment of silence before a deep, threatening voice spoke up behind her.

“You silly, stupid bird!”

Stella spun around in surprise and gasped as a golden claw grabbed her by the throat. Gale was standing before her, her body enveloped in a golden aura. Her eyes, glowing with golden light, glared down at her vehemently. Stella glanced down at the claw holding her in place and noticed it was a tree branch that had been converted to gold and was now bending to Gale’s will. Despite this, it was incredibly strong and no matter how hard she struggled, she could not pull out of its vice-like grip.

Suddenly Stella felt herself leave the ground as she and Gale began to rise into the air. The two of them floated upwards until they were at least twenty feet above the ground. Below them the waves leapt and churned like a pack of ravenous wolves, greedily awaiting their next meal. Stella could feel the waves of power coming off her friend but was unable to do anything at all. Finally Gale spoke.

“You may have incapacitated your friend but I assure you, the powers she inherited from me are nothing compared to my own.”

Stella’s eyes widened in shock. The voice coming from Gale’s mouth was entirely not her own. It rolled out of her and washed through Stella’s body, turning her muscles to jelly. It was timeless, ageless and seemed to carry with it an air of commanding authority over all living things. The most unnatural thing about it, though, was the fact that Stella recognized it. After all it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since she had last heard it. It was the same voice she had been hearing every night for the past week, the voice from her dreams.

It was the voice of the Golden Egg.

Stella’s eyes widened as she came to her realization and her heart started to beat rapidly in her chest. Around her the winds whistled and sang, signaling the arrival of the ever approaching storm while the trees that made up the forest shook wildly and clung desperately at the earth. A few stray palm fronds tumbled across the beach and spun happily into the sea, only to be pulled under by the restless waves. The swirling black clouds above them rumbled with thunder and seemed to press down on them threateningly. Stella felt dread grip her heart.

“What are you?” she whispered fearfully “What have you done with Gale?”

A small smile played across Gale’s face but it was gone almost immediately.

“A god long forgotten, I was imprisoned within the egg for the powers that I possess.” the thing inside Gale explained resentfully, pulling Stella closer “As for your friend...It was by my hand that she now lives. In exchange…” Gale drew in close “She and her body are mine to command.”

Stella felt a fire light inside her body and she struggled fiercely against her bonds.

“YOU MONSTER!” she shrieked as tears burned at the corners of her eyes. “I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”

The Egg, in control of Gale’s body shook her head condescendingly.

“No, young one, you won’t…” It said, pulling Gale’s features into a wide grin “You are indeed an impressive fighter but sadly your journey ends here. It is just unfortunate that you hadn’t been the one to release me, rather than your friend. I suspect I could have done more with your body than with hers.”

With that Stella felt herself move toward Gale’s body but was unable to get away. The Egg raised her before Gale’s face and sneered menacingly.

“Goodbye Stella” It said before bringing their foreheads together. Stella cried out as intense pain seeped through her entire body. She tried to pull away, to do something but found herself completely unable to move. Her scream was cut short as her vision was swallowed by darkness and the pain burning through her faded to a dull numbness. She felt her breathing catch in her throat and her heart slow to nothing as the world vanished around her. All she had left was her hearing but she knew even that would soon be gone as her brain began to shut down from lack of oxygen. She heard the sound of rushing wind, a splash, bubbles, a dull thud, then…

Nothing.