A/N - Hi, everyone! I recently finished reading The Fate of Ten, and I thought of some things that I would have put into the book instead. So, I'm now making my own version of The Fate of Ten that I call The Fight of Eight! This first chapter is a bit shorter because I just wanted to get the story on the site to start, but anyway, I hope you enjoy!
The window does not resist the weight barreling through it. Five and I got tumbling across the floor among the broken glass; loud noises erupt from outside where Setràkus Ra, Ella, and John are still skirmishing.
I focus my attention back on Five who is starting to stand up next to me. I drive him into the wall behind the reception desk, and he blasts through it and into the next room. As I run toward the hole his body made, Five comes flying out of the room, grabs me by the shirt, and lets me go once we are outside. I slam head-first into the UN stage with a loud thud, and Five quickly charges me again. I roll to the left to avoid his attack and notice John racing up a staircase attached to a pearl-shaped pod. I want to help, but I have a more important matter on my hands: a chance to kill this son of a bitch traitor. I jump to my feet and quickly duck under a punch from a now metal Five. I grab his extended arm and fling him over my shoulder then into the ground; the pavement cracks underneath his body, and his skin returns to normal. Five tries to get to his feet, but I throw punches at his face until I start to see blood.
"Today is the day you die!" I scream.
I feel a tug on my shoulder, and I turn to see Sam standing there. "We have more important matters than Five right now!" he yells to me over the roar of the fighting.
Five takes my moment of falter to escape my grasp. He turns metal and punches me in the gut, sending my rocketing into the UN building's front wall. He charges me again, but I manage to slide to the ground before he gets to me, and his fist slams into the wall a few inches above my head. I kick Five's feet out from under him, and he hovers just above the ground before he can hit it.
I see Sam running at me once again, but this time he is frantically pointing toward the sky. I look up to see scout ships pouring from the Anubis' docking doors. The ships quickly descend into the city, presumably bringing Mog soldiers with them.
"Shit," I whisper, realizing that New York is in a lot of trouble, nevertheless us.
Before I can take in any more information, I feel my shirt tugging at my body, and I go soaring into the sky. Five has grabbed me and is carrying me indefinitely high above the ground. His eyepatch falls off his face, falling to the ground with the two balls he stores there following; Five is now back to his normal skin. I begin to rake at his body, but it's hard to do anything while you're traveling at unknown speeds and are being carried by the back of your shirt.
"Are you crazy?!" I yell at Five.
He immediately stops and looks me in the eyes. I can't help but cringe at his empty socket: a dry, irritated mess. His other eye glares me down with hatred.
"You don't know the shit I've been through," he says angrily.
"Oh, what, being pampered by the Mogs and killing one of our people?" I retort.
"You know I regret that! You know it! You fucking know it, Nine!" Five screams, and he lets go of my shirt.
Not many thoughts pass through my head as I plummet to almost certain death. As I get closer to the pavement, I begin to frantically use my telekinesis to slow my fall. I can't do much to help. I close my eyes and prepare for the slam. I think of the others, of Six and John, of how they're going to suffer through realizing another of the Garde is dead.
But I don't die.
I pass through the concrete and crash into the water in the sewers underground. My body aches from being slammed into the water, but I'm alive. I remember the purple pebble from my chest that could phase through objects. I just gained a new legacy.
Above me, I can hear people screaming and gunshots. I look around for an exit but there are none in sight. I decide to walk onto the ceiling of the sewer tunnel and focus all my attention on traveling through the concrete and onto the street above me. My head begins to pound, but eventually I the feeling that my feet have gone numb, and soon that travels through my whole body. Soon I am back on the New York streets; humans are running around in a panic, and I see Mogs nearby shooting at some of the innocent people.
Before I can move a few feet, a huge weight comes crashing into me from behind. "You survived that fall? Lucky son of a bitch," a familiar voice says.
I twist over and slam my fist into the side of Five's face, and he reels back in pain. "Never, ever, call me that again," I say firmly.
A Mog's blaster fire whizzes by my ear, and we both look up to see a group of about twelve Mogs running at us. Five flicks his wrist which sends four of them flying into the air; when they land, they disintegrate into ash. I sprint at them and take down two Mogs as Five flies into another, plunging his hidden blade into the Mog's skull. I use my telekinesis to take out a few more Mogs, the ash beginning to cake my body. Five grabs the last Mog by the neck and slams its head into the ground, a cloud of ash forming where the Mog was standing just a moment ago.
As Five rises to admire his work, I slam into him and he falls to the ground. Before I can reach Five for another blow, I feel myself being pushed back by his telekinesis. I fight back with my own and my body strength, but Five wins out. I am thrown back and smack into a hot dog stand on the side of the road. I quickly stand up and run for the building behind me, using my anti-gravity to run up the side of it. Five follows pursuit in flight. On top of the building is a pit of small pebbles which make it harder to keep balanced; a pile of metal lays by the roof door. Five lands on the pebbles across the roof from me.
"So, Nine, do you think you can handle any more of this beat-down?" Five asks tauntingly.
I scowl at him to make sure my hatred shows clearly. "You killed my friend," I start, "I will never forgive you, and I will never stop fighting you until the day one of us dies."
As if on cue, a giant shadow grows on the roof until a piken larger than any I've ever seen fills its spot. It roars in my face; the breath blows my hair back and out of my face as a few drops of slobber land on me. The beast roars again, but this time in pain. I see Five with his blade in the beast's right thigh. While the piken is distracted, I run to my left and grab a piece of sharp metal from the pile. I then run to the piken and drive the metal directly into it's head. The beast bellows in pain and falls to the ground as it turns to ash.
I notice Five has disappeared, and I instantly tense up. I focus on my surroundings to look for any movement, but I can't sense anything. I take the opportunity to go back down to street level and start fighting Mogs.
While Five and I were fighting, it seems like the city has either been evacuated, or everyone has been killed. There is little commotion besides the sporadic gunfire and Mog blasters. Then I hear a scream from a nearby alleyway. I run to it to find two Mogs with their backs facing me. Before I can do anything, one of their blasters floats up above the Mog's head and is flung toward me; the same happens for the other blaster. The Mogs look just as confused as I am. I run forward a slam the Mogs together with my telekinesis, and they instantly turn to ash.
In the spot the two Mogs were blocking is a girl on the ground who looks about sixteen. She has dark skin and curly, black hair. Her dark brown eyes are piercing mine; her gaze never falters. I see that she is shaking, but she is trying to hide it. She slowly stands up, never breaking eye contact.
"Who are you?" she asks cautiously, one hand raised as if ready to use telekinesis.
"Answer this first: did you just move those guns with your mind?" I respond.
"What's it matter to you?"
I squint my eyes. "I'm Nine; I'm one of the Loric those Mogadorians are trying to kill."
"Do you know John Smith?"
"How do you know his name?"
"I'll take that as a yes. It's all over the news, dude. Everybody knows about John Smith now," she says.
"How did you move those guns?" I ask more forcefully this time, taking a step toward the girl.
"I don't know, it just happened. I was about to get shot, so my defenses took over I guess."
"You need to come with me; John needs to know about this," I say and grab her arm.
She pulls out of my grip and I turn around to face her.
"Why should I trust you?" she asks.
"You don't have to trust me, but if you don't go with me then I could easily snap you in half," I respond.
"That's a little much, don't you think?"
"Just c'mon," I say, and I leave the alley.
The girl follows, now close on my heels. "My name is Daniela by the way, but you can call me Dani," she says.
I turn and look at her. "Well, Dani, welcome to the Garde."