A/N: This is your second and final warning- this story is DARK.

At least, dark for this fandom. I mean, there's not going to be any cute fluffy animals prancing around in a sun-shiny meadow. If that's what you're looking for, then I'll see you when I write something happier.

I didn't really want this to be my first story, because I worry that it's going to give you the impression that I like destroying characters' lives. I don't. I love writing happy stuff. This just... isn't that happy stuff.

Oh well. You've been warned. In any case, enjoy the prologue!

You murdered your best friend. And it was easy, wasn't it? Too easy.

There was a voice in her head, and it wasn't her own.

You say your friends want you around. But where are they now? Where were they when you needed them most? They forgot you then, and now they haven't called you in days. They lost all interest in you, you realize, after you didn't comply with their wishes.

It whispered things in her ear; bad, dark things that weighed upon her soul more and more with each passing day. It was always there, chuckling and smirking as she tried harder and harder to get rid of it; and she tried very hard. At first. Ignoring it, responding with screams and yells and taunts of her own…

They see you as weak, you know. Your 'friends' see you as weak and helpless. They call on you when they need you, and ignore you when they don't. To them, you are like trash. Disposable.

…and finally throwing herself down the stairs in utter desperation. But through it all it stayed, omnipresent and seductive, even as she lay in her bed with a severe concussion, floating in and out of consciousness. Angering her. Frightening her.

Do you recall how it felt to control the Web? Unlimited power at your fingertips, yours and yours alone. Wasn't it nice to have something to yourself for once?

Corrupting her.

It wanted her to give in. To give up. To stop fighting the pull of the darkness in her soul, of the blackness in her heart, of the evil in her magic. To lose herself to the inevitable. You were born for this, it would purr. Accept your fate.

And over time, its knowledge grew. Its words changed.

You could create worlds, you know. Safe havens for the animals in need. Areas where they could be sheltered from outside influence and easily accessed. They would be indebted to you, in awe of you… do you not want to help them?

It slowly found all her weaknesses, the cracks in her armor, and sunk its claws deep into her mind and her heart and would not let go. Her emotions and thoughts and feelings bled like an open wound, and it feasted upon her deepest fears and her darkest desires.

Why do you resist? There is nothing left for you here, and you have the potential to be the greatest of them all.

Accept your fate, Emily Fletcher.Accept you fate.

And in the end, she did.

It became too much to take, the whispers and the taunts, too much to block out. She began to listen, to see the truth in the words, to hear the reason and logic in that smooth, clear voice. Where were her friends when she needed them most? Caught up in an argument, too busy to notice her. Had they called recently; come over and inquired how she was doing? No. She had spent countless hours caring for them, soothing their aches and pains and healing their injuries. Couldn't they, at least once, do the same for her?

She hated herself, truly hated herself every time she thought such selfish things, but she couldn't stop. Somehow, she just couldn't stop.

The seed of darkness had been planted, and it was growing.

She'd always thought people had their best self-realizations in front of a mirror, but all her reflection showed was that she was a pitiful excuse for a girl. Hair, scraggly and tangled from neglect, skin sallow and tear-stained, alarming bags under her eyes. She was broken, completely and utterly, and it disgusted her. Weak and ugly and helpless, that's what she was. Pathetic.

How could she have fallen so far?

The mirror was her undoing. She didn't quite notice when her reflection changed, but suddenly it was different. It was still her, but… better. Stronger. The woman she wanted to be.

This Emily radiated power and oozed confidence. Her hair floated free, glossy and vibrant, a halo of fire framing her face. Her skin was glowing and unblemished, her freckles faded until they were nearly unnoticeable. Her teeth were straight, white, and surrounded by an easy and self-assured grin. And her eyes. Two warm pools of hazel, a deeper color than her normal drab shade, and framed by long, thick lashes and perfect eyebrows. They stared into her soul, and sparkled in the light of the rainbow jewel around her neck.

She wanted to be her, that woman in the mirror. It was an all-consuming desire, thick and tangible in the air around her. She stared at her counterpart unblinkingly, mouth parted slightly as she tried to take it all in. The strength, the confidence, the beauty and power… why couldn't she have that? Why was that not her?

The reflection was moving, reaching out and pressing a strong, sure hand against the glass. She mimicked its motion unconsciously, fingers shaking.

"I…I want to be you," she whispered, cursing her voice for trembling. Her statement might have slipped out unbidden, but the words were true. She wanted it, with all her being.

Her heart skipped a few beats when that grin widened. And the voice that came out of the mirror made her forget to breathe. It was strong, warm, and seductive. Irresistible and familiar.

"And you can be," the reflection purred, holding her gaze with such intensity that she shuddered. "You just have to give in. To my power, to the dark magic.

"Accept your fate, Emily Fletcher."

The earlier apprehension, the hesitation, was gone. Her answer was the opposite of her typical, finally the right one.

"Yes."

The fingers intertwining with hers should have alarmed her, but all she felt was the sudden rush of pure power that flowed into her. It traveled from her arm to the tips of her toes, filling her entire being with complete utter bliss. Her eyes fluttered shut and she moaned, face bathed in the light of her jewel as she was pulled along a magical high unlike any she had ever experienced. It was a drug, and she couldn't get enough.

She was drowning in darkness, and it felt so good.

Why had she resisted? It was a pointless, stupid notion to run from this power, this magic. She had been afraid, weak, but no longer. From now on, she would embrace her destiny, accept her fate with open arms. She would become the dark mage, an entity to be feared.

There was no going back now. No reason or way that she'd want to, either.

There had been a voice in her head, but she'd been wrong about whose it was. Wrong to ignore it, wrong to fight it.

It had been her, all along. And as she was dragged through the mirror, into darkness, she could only form one coherent thought.

She had never been more pleased with herself in her entire life.

A/N: WAIT WAIT WAIT! Before you scream at me; I like Emily. A lot. Please forgive me? *Dodges rotten tomatoes* GAH!

I got the idea for this story after finishing Full Circle. I loved the way the book ended, but there was a part of me that wanted to know what would've happened had Emily stayed dark, and it had been Adriane and Kara alone up against the bad guys. That eventually spawned this creature.

This, once again, is AU. Specifically, it goes AU about 3/4ths of the way through Ch. 6 of Full Circle. The actual story takes place two years later, when the mages are 16. It hasn't been a good two years for Adriane and Kara, and not in the way you'd suspect either. One more thing: this is going to be Adriane-centric, though I doubt anyone has a problem with that.

Now review, and rant your feelings about this chapter out at me.