Hello! I'm back! This is the sequel of my original sequel, Strike Of Seven (which was the sequel of Fall Of Five lol) if you haven't read it please check it out so you will know where I'm continuing from, but this is roughly what I've covered:

John, humans and Adam were in Illinois, Minnesota then Wyoming, they escaped from the headquarters while rescuing Ella.

Six, Marina and Nine were in Texas, Mexico, Nevada then Wyoming. Nine developed a legacy, Marina got over Eight's loss, Six got closer to Nine.

Ella spends nearly all her time suffering with the Mogs before being rescued. She develops advanced telekinesis and with training, grows stronger. After that, she feels out of place and contacts Kesia, a sign that she may be helping the Mogs

Adam has not reconciled with his family, but Kelly misses him greatly

Five was not promoted to general and although still with the Mogs, he feels a certain guilt and urge to be with the Loric after Pittacus comes to him in dreams.

Sam was growing closer to Sarah, but eventually decided that she and John were meant to be.

There are paperwork stolen from Mogs that could help them in their quest.

The drugs made by Mog scientists were destroyed.

Setrakus knows extra info from Sarah and he knows where the ships are.

Eight might be alive.

Did I already mention that you should check out my previous story?;)

I decided to be slow and steady with this book, so I will just write as many chapters as I want until my version of the story ends(instead of trying to cram everything in like I did in Strike Of Seven). I decided to start with a bit of fluff and happiness in this first chapter instead of instant action, and also to introduce what is their current state, so enjoy reading this! I hope you don't get bored;)

Chapter 1

John POV

I look around at our new apartment. Wyoming, United States. Never been to this place, and never expected to live here either. However, its new, clean, modern and for the first time in months, its a place I call home.

Nine's Cepan Sandor had bought it a few years back as a safe house. Turns out he has a bunch of other houses around the world, perks of being a rich alien, so Nine has all the addresses in the chest. Next time we're on the run, we will always have a home. The tenants in it cleared out after there was no more word from their landlord (who, you know, died). All Nine had to do was fish out a few hundred keys from his chest, try out all of them until one finally fit into the lock.

Although the apartment was large enough to fit five people, there are nine of us now: me, Six, Seven, Nine, Ten, Adam, Sam, Sarah and Malcolm. Also, to prevent others from being suspicious, we rented two other apartments a few blocks away (since we have all our Chest's, we're rich again) and we split ourselves randomly: me, Sarah and Nine; Six, Sam and Malcolm; Marina, Ella and Adam.

We are foreign students from a nearby university (we even enrolled ourselves in part time courses, though Six and Nine cut classes all the time) staying in a rented flat, which is how we know each other. All of us (except Ella, who is Marina's 'younger sister' and Malcolm, who is Six and Sam's father) range from 17 to 19 years old, and we work in the city part time. Sometimes I feel a bit claustrophobic, always on guard in case Mogs ambush us in our apartments, but for now, I know we are safe. After being careless the pas few months, Malcolm has created solid cover stories so we'll never get caught. We've made a few friends, made up stuff that this time did add up (we learnt all too well the consequence of not having legit alibis). We go for outings, have part time jobs, jog instead of sprint like normal people do. We're trying to live normal lives, which may seem like a laugh, but hey, as Nine says, "Hiding in plain sight."

But right now, we're trying to enjoy ourselves. You know, take this as a bit of a break time, doing stuff as normal, instead of constantly fighting Mogs. We still do our exercises in rented gyms (again, we split up) and Malcolm designs war tactics and strategies, while translating and analyzing the papers we stole from the Mogs. Still, as far as things go, I'm happy.

"Babe, lunch's ready." Sarah comes into the living room, wearing just a tank top, sweatpants and no makeup. Gosh, she's gorgeous. "You look beautiful," I whisper, as I lean in for a kiss. We embrace and for a moment, I forget about the war and just Us, Sarah and Me. I honestly don't know what I'll do without her, and I love her so much. She's human, yet she left everything, her family, school and cheerleading, to risk her life to follow me to the ends of the earth. I am indebted to her, and I can only hope that she can survive this war and be with me forever.

"Ooh shucks. PDA alert!" I hear an annoying familiar voice say. Sarah instantly breaks away from me and I frown, trying to stop the blush that is spreading across my face. "Nine.."

"What? I just came to say, lunch is ready." Nine says innocently as he munches on a fried chicken wing. Six finally persuaded him let her cut his hair, so now his black hair is just above his neck, short and spiky(still messy though).He hates it and now refuses to talk to Six (and has been yelling and shouting at everyone for a week) but I have to admit, he looks good. According to Sarah, he looks hotter than before. Even so, we continue to rag him about it all the time,just to,you know,irritate him.

"Nine." I stand up. "Get out."

"But-"

"Get out!" I yell. Nine mutters something about airhead romances and walks away, while Sarah looks at me. "Where were we?"

"Over here." I bend down and we continue kissing.

Marina POV

"Ella! Time for breakfast!"

"Marina-"

"Come on, Adam has already left for college long ago! The food's getting cold!" I call, trying to keep the worry out of my voice. These days, Ella's been completely different. All the cheer and cuteness has gone out of her; she's become silent and moody. Even I can't get her to talk; although we share a room, she is always staring out of the window, her back turned towards me. Every night, she wakes up screaming, but wouldn't tell me what she dreamt of, whether its from the past, or in the present or future. Some stuff she lets out by accident also worries me: Five, Kesia (her assistant whom she seemed to like), Setrakus, wipe out the earth, and lastly, the Mogs aren't always the bad guys...

Getting reunited with the rest was the best thing that's ever happened. Now that they're all back, I can't imagine how I managed to survive without them. Catching up with John and the humans, sharing all our adventures, made us all the more determined that we'll never be separated again. I enjoy sharing an apartment with Adam (kinda because I'm the only one kind enough to take him in). Although I had my natural suspicions, I came to know that Adam truly is like one of us. He's kind, faithful and loyal, and has been a great asset towards helping us defeat the Mogs. We share stories about our planets often, and sometimes wonder if its possible to merge them together..

Although he's always in the back of my mind, I've finally moved on from Eight. That's what he would have wanted me to do. Whatever I do is always for his sake, and when I do something wrong, I can imagine him shaking his head solemnly and guiding me; when I do something right, I can imagine his eyes twinkling, clapping his hands together and patting me on the back. I miss him so much, but I know that one day, I'll see him again. Now if only Ella would come...

To my surprise, Ella actually comes out of the room this time. I force my cheeriest smile and put a bowl of Cheerios, her favourite cereal, toasted bread carved into the shape of a dog (her favourite animal) in front of her. "Morning! I made your favourite today!"

Ella nods slowly and eats, not meeting my eyes. I sigh. She's the only one not going out or doing anything, and I persuaded Malcolm not to enroll her into a middle school. I've bought her books, craft paper, a hula hoop, anything to keep her entertained, but she never wants to do anything. Although I love college (I'm studying interior design), I skip it sometimes to spend time with her..although she doesn't seem to appreciate it.

"So! What do you want to do today?" I ask.

"Nothing." Ella mumbles.

"How about baking? I printed out a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. We can surprise the rest when they come for dinner today!" I suggest.

"Mar, I'm not up to it." Ella says.

"Or drawing! You like drawing, don't you? I went to the art shop yesterday and bought you those professional paint brushes, so you could paint and draw, can't you?" I blabber on, trying not to sound too desperate. The last thing I want to do is scare or frustrate Ella.

"Mar, it's okay." Ella puts down her spoon.

"Ella, darling, I just want to tell you how much I-"

"Stop! Just-just leave me alone." Ella pushes back her chair and stomps back into her room, making me stare at the unfinished breakfast, tears rolling down my cheeks.

Six POV

I stand in front of John, Sarah and Nine's apartment, staring at the door. I'm not stupid, of course I know how to knock, but for some reason, I'm scared. Yes, I admit it, I'm actually scared.

Not of knocking the door! Of actually seeing, and talking..to Him.

That's what Sam advised me to do anyway. We've been talking a lot ever since we've reunited. I feel bad, telling him to wait and all that in the past, but at least I didn't keep his hopes up. Sam was disappointed at first, but like a true buddy, he understood. Now I tell him my feelings all the time, something I've always found difficult to express, even to Four and sometimes Katherine; and he tells me his. He gives me advice (though he admitted he's never dated before: his advice is base on his instincts) and stands by me all the time. According to him, 'If you're happy, I'm happy.' And the same goes for me too. So yes, our relationship is stronger than ever, but its completely platonic.

Now for the damn door. I hold my breath and try to calm myself down. Now, all you're going to do is ask him to go with you for a walk. No biggie. We do it all the time.

But not alone, together! Ever since we've reunited, we've always done stuff as a group; Nine and I hardly ever talk by ourselves anymore, and though I tried to deny it, I admit, I miss his annoying jokes, his constant blusters and his charming way of talking. NO, not charming! Um, endearing?

Why am I such an idiot? I've always told myself to put the battle and duty ahead of sentiment and emotions. Up till now, I've always managed to do so. Heck, I rejected both John and Sam. So why can't I do the same for Nine? Why am I wasting my time and effort on this arrogant and egocentric jerk?

Just knock the door, I tell myself frustratedly. No, I wail silently. Come on, you've had the guts to fight and kill Mogs, why don't you have the guts to talk to a guy? But I'm scared -no I'm not! I totally dare! Then do it! Before I can stop myself, my hand flies to the door and bangs it. Hard.

Oh shucks. I reel backwards, holding my sore hand. Maybe John or Sarah will open the door. Maybe Nine's not in, and the three of us can just have a nice cup of tea and-

The door opens.

And there stands Nine.

He looks hotter than ever. Wearing large lime green headphones on his head, he's leaning against the doorframe, munching on a cupcake that Sarah probably made (why didn't I think of baking something? Because I can't bake? Why can't I act like a normal girl?) His short messy hair looks like he just rolled out of bed, yet he looks great, even better than when he had-

Oh. I just remembered. He's still pissed at me. I hacked off like six inches of his hair and now he thinks he's practically bald (he exaggerates. A lot.) because of me. I mean like, hey, it's not my fault! We all needed a disguise, and no Mog would recognize him now! And it also gave me some time to run my fingers through his hair..

"What do you want?" Nine asks rudely. Uh-oh. He's not happy.

"Um, I wanted to, uh-" I stutter. I'm distracted by his dark eyes that glare directly at me, piercing into my soul, and his broad, muscular shoulders, knowing full well that he can lift me up anytime.. My heart does a silly tap dance in spite of myself. He looks so amazing.

Damn hormones.

I take a deep breath. Calm down. Remember the lines Sam taught you. I give Nine a small smile. "I'm sorry about the haircut." The frown deepens. Uh-oh. "I really didn't mean it, and I hope you'll- forgive me?" That last part came out in a squeak.

Nine looks coldly at me. "Yeah, I don't exactly have a choice do I." He looks like he wants to slam the door in my face.

"So as a peace offering, do you want to go for a walk with me?" I quickly said in a rush.

Nine looks taken aback. "Oh, erm." He hesitates. He's going to say no. I take a step back. "Never mind.."

"Okay." Nine says. I stare. What?! He gives that irritating smile of his. "Though as a peace offering, a kiss would definitely be better."

"No. No way. You annoying, slimy, bastard-" I start to say angrily as Nine laughs. All my fear and anger dissipates as I realise that he's not angry with me anymore. "Glad you're back to normal anyway."

"Normal? I was always normal" Nine teases. I roll my eyes. "Anyway. Lets go for a walk."

Nine nods and gestures towards the apartment awkwardly. "Would you um, want to er, come in?"

I hide a smile as I walk in. Nine gives me one of Sarah's amazing cupcakes and I make a mental note to ask Mar to teach me how to bake. Nine comes out changed into outdoor clothes. "Lets go. John and Sarah are being OCC anyway."

We go down, at first in silence, then one of us starts to talk, I can't remember who, and by the time we reach the bottom of our building, we are practically tripping over our words to talk. I drag Nine to the lake just 5 minutes away, and he buys bread to feed the ducks. While we throw bread, we talk about whats been happening so far.

"Marina's worried that Ella isn't being 'out in the world'. She acts like a sulky teenager,but yet looks absolutely terrified and traumatized all the time. She keeps having nightmares and cries, yet she doesn't confide in Marina. I can tell that Marina is hurt and pressurized, she doesn't know how to make Ella better."

Nine frowns. "Perhaps I could talk to her? I may not be much help, but I'll try."

I smile in spite of myself. "You do make her happy just by being there. You're like her idol, wonder why." Then I say, "How are you doing?"

Nine looks like he doesn't want to say anything, but then sighs. "Nothing much. Having Johnny there is wonderful, but he keeps coddling with Sarah and you know how much I hate humans. (I glare at him) fine! Sam's alright, though very nerdy. Sarah I don't trust too much." I want to ask him why, but then he moves on. "Setrakus doesn't give me dreams anymore, which means he either can't track us down or hasn't found anything worse to creep us out.

"Eight no longer haunts me anymore. I wonder why. I still blame myself for his death.." Nine's voice cracks and without thinking, I hold his hand. He tenses up a bit but doesn't say anything. We sit in silence for awhile.

Finally, Nine continues. "Adam says he's seen and talked to Five personally, and so has Ella. I cant believe they didn't beat the shit out of him. I want to meet him one day and do just that, for turning his back on us and killing Eight."

I want to do that too, but I don't say anything. Instead, I squeeze his hand tighter and change the subject. "These past few weeks, I've been wondering, what will Setrakus' next move be?We destroyed everything of his, what do you think he's going to do now?"

Nine looks out into the distance, pondering that for a moment. Finally, he looks straight at me and says, "I guess we have to wait and see."

Sorry that it's a bit boring! Please suggest what should happen next because I'm not too sure myself. Next chapter is about Five and Setrakus. Please review, favourite and follow; it encourages me so much, thanks!