Disclaimer: I do not own the Lorien Legacies; I do not own any of the Garde apart from Five. But this is my take on a sequel so please enjoy. Remember, reviews are like food to writers and you are welcome to leave me prompts!

Five

Located in Palestine

They ran, attempting to flee from the carnage in the streets in to the safety of their houses but there was nowhere to hide. Concrete did little to block the wrath of the bombs that rained down on to their city like fire flies on a summers night. Time and time again I watched as fire engulfed the apartments and scared the once beautiful streets where children had played just hours before. There were the brave people, like the medics, who risked the night streets in an attempt to help those whom had fallen and were now lying across the scarlet pavements. The medics seemed to always be the first to lose, so caught up in the protection of others that they had no time to worry about themselves, their own safety. They were selfless and innocent but it is always the innocents that are the first to die. The beauty of human warfare.

I stand on the edge of a bridge, high up out of the main town, looking over the destruction bellow. The wind blows across my face and it brings with it the scent of smoke and gun powder from the fires that still burn. It is late night or maybe early morning and the sky is pitch black and littered with thousands of stars like splatters of paint on a black canvas. I cross my arms over my waist in an attempt to lock in some heat. Despite my long trench coat I am cold in the night air.

I am alone, taking some time to sort out the mess that is my head. It's true that I have become even more...distant...lately. I no longer feel the remorse that I used to when I killed an enemy or inflicted pain on another person: even now as I look over the devastation bellow I feel nothing! No pang of remorse or empathy as I watch the suffering taking place in front of me. I am cold.

No surprise really, I have reason enough. I have been abandoned by my planet, left to fend for myself in a cold hard world. I spent the first few years here fighting to survive in the harshest places, picking off humans for money and food. No regrets, after a few run ins with street gangs in china and Japan I have picked up some skills; mostly in the art of torture though so it's not like I can demonstrate in public. That's part of the problem, the pain I inflict on others without care.

I have some companions now, six of them in fact, they are the closes things I have ever had to family or friends (thought I would never tell them that as it would go to their heads). I met them three years ago when I was ambushing a Mogadorien post in south Asia. I picked up one of their feeds and from the information I could get I knew they were working to take down the base also. They had a vested interest to protect the loric garde and I needed some reinforcement. It must have been a surprise when I teleported directly in to their hideout; a very big surprise since the tried to shoot me down. There are five Mogadoriens and one unknown.

The unknown is female like me. We found her in a base when we went under cover for information a few years back. She was almost dead and showing several signs of torture but she pulled through. She is a fighter, all of us are, and she has a grudge against the bad Mogadoriens. She is deaf due to her injuries but I nick named her wanderer since she can never seem to stay in one place for long. She has been very useful when it came to my legacies. I had been working on them for a few weeks before we found her but she seemed to know how to control the lights that had burned out of my palms and I am grateful.

I have my legacies and I would not be surprised if they were complete. I can read minds, though it is vaguer than that. Instead of picking up individual thoughts it is more sensing feelings or feeling pain when others do. I can teleport and conduct some sort of electricity all over my skin. The latter is pretty horrific in action as I tend to use it for military purposes like killing and "interrogation". I have telekinesis also but I rarely use it. I don't need it in combat; I have spent my whole life fighting and have yet to meet a challenge.

We are currently based under the bridge like a group of story book trolls. This place makes good cover for me to hone my legacies and for Byron to test his weaponry. Byron is the oldest in our company and although he is useless in combat due to the fact he is paralysed from waist down but he is probably our most valuable asset. He is an inventor, a genius and he developed all the weaponry we have. His mind is amazing; it just works differently to the other Mogadoriens and it allows him to see more clearly. He knew what the other Mogadoriens were doing to the Loric was wrong and he rallied together the other four mogs in our company (all of whom had been victims or lost family members at some point) and began his own war. This was before I had met him of course but he has told me his story many times.

A faint noise behind me makes me turn round and in the faint light I can make out Rye (Another Mogadorien ally) walking towards me as he surveys the destruction bellow. He is in his early twenties and is heavily trained in combat giving him a somewhat lethal reputation. His dark eyebrows are knitted together he frowns, disgusted at what he sees.

"Beautiful isn't it?" My voice is monotone as I turn back away from him. I am not saying this just to freak him out, it is beautiful. It can be horrific and beautiful at the same time. Nothing is wrong with the flames, just the way they are used on the people in the city bellow.

"In a way." He replies. His voice is vague and I don't need to see his face to know what he is thinking. My legacy registers his concern for my sanity but he shouldn't worry; I lost my sanity long before I met him and my morals have become very warped since.

"Byron wants you underground, something about the other garde and the charm."

The other garde. No wonder Rye is being vague. For weeks the others have been trying to persuade me to track them down and invite them to fight with us. They believe it is time to make a move and start this war and they think it would be best to do this with the other garde onside but I disagree.

I do not like people and I would not care to meet these strangers. They are nothing to me. Maybe it is because I am so jealous of them and the cushy lifestyles they must have lived in comparison to mine. I do not care much for the other loric; I can't even remember another loric. Byron claims that we were all assigned protectors on Lorien but I can't remember mine. She probably took off when we arrived; either that or she was killed very early on. I try not to care; it has made me so much stronger.

To strong.

I dread to think what I could do even if we win this war. Rye is right to be wary; I am unstable, cold and manipulative. Could I be the real threat to this planet? I am so heavily militarised that when this war is over I will be lost. It's not that I like killing, but can I live without doing it. Murder has become my way of survival. The others recognise this and it has caused them to tiptoe round me at times but they all understand what I feel. I know they have the same urge to avenge. That's why I can tolerate them. A bunch of teenagers is a completely different matter though; the rest of the garde will be different to me and I cannot guarantee they will see things the way I do.

Anyhow, I turn away from the massacre and head down under ground in to the make shift base. We have cleared about 50 metres of tunnelling under the bridge and have set us a stock pile of weapons. Byron had connected this place to the internet and it cannot be seen from the ground above. With everything that is taking place bellow no one will be looking for us here or be suspicious at the sounds of our gun fire when the weapons are tested. The down side is the constant stench of damp and must that haunts the place like an invisible ghost; even in my dreams I can smell it. It is somewhat gloomy and even in the day we need to wear headlights to see clearly.

When I reach base I turn on my new headlight and walk towards the glow of the other lights. After a few seconds I come across Byron, Wanderer and our other three allies grouped around a monitor. I wait for Rye to come down and then slam the door to the outside world closed with my telekinesis. I peer over Byron's head and try to take in the clip that is playing on the monitor. The atmosphere around me is varied; I can sense Ryes curiosity, wanderers' excitement and Byron's fear. I am drawn in to his fear and cock my head in questioning.

After a few seconds the clip ends and they all turn to face me. I cannot help but think I have missed something as they all wait for my response on what we just saw but I have none. Just confusion.

"Five..." Byron's says to me softly and I know that tone of voice. He is going to break bad news to me. "The garde have united and the charm is broken"

He is being blunt but I like that. Everyone is awaiting my response but I still have none. I feel nothing. Not fear (Why would I) It does not affect me whether or not the charm is broken. I can protect and handle myself with my legacies so do not need to worry about coming to a sudden and untimely end. It may be an inconvenience, I think I killed more Mogadoriens by letting them stab me that I did by stabbing them myself but it is not a major concern to me.

"And..." I inquire. Still not sure what the big deal is. What does this new revelation mean to use really?

"And..." Byron says continue my sentence "This means the real war had begun. It is time to choose where we stand and how we fight and if we ally with them."

I feel an alien pressure on my wrist and look down. Wanderer pats my arm in what might be sympathy and her big, dark eyes communicate clearly to me what she cannot say with words. It is clear that this decision is down to me.

Well Darn.