Author's Note: HELLO! Welcome to the first chapter of The Stand of Eight! I'm so excited! Thank for the very early reviews and followers – ChildOfChaos, ZazzyZ, I'm Number Eleven and The Robot Reader (The Robot Reader, you managed to be the first to review again!).
You guys are the best supporters!
Five (clone) POV
I don't usually extend myself to anybody. I'm very... reserved. People will say I'm awkward... I don't deny that – I'm terrible with people. Nine used to call me socially retarded... or just plain retarded.
The air is hot, but I like the heat – growing up in Miami and the islands in the Atlantic really made me get used to this type of weather. But Kenya is much hotter than Miami and some islands.
The Garde are in Sector 12348; that base is an abandoned airstrip, Ra wanted to use it for the Second Phase...
I'm flying high enough in the sky so that no one would see me. Besides, humans rarely look up.
Emily POV
I fly-tackle this John guy. I know, you're probably wondering why? Well in short terms, good Johnny turn bad Johnny – as Nine would say. Speaking of Nine, he really makes me feel... special I guess, it's – Em?! What are you doing?! Get back to work!
John goes sprawling into the one of the hanger doors. Everything and everyone has erupted into battle and fighting. I quickly glance at the rest. Malcolm, Sam and Sarah are shooting Mogs around Six and Nine. Eight is taking on a brute, which sends chills down my spine, but luckily Nine steps in and helps him fight. I look to Six... wait there is no Six – she must have gone invisible, because I see Mog soldiers exploding into ash consecutively. Marina is running towards a zooming Three. Two, One and Adam are causing chaos over their side. Two is, well, a giant and One and Adam are send shockwaves of seismic energy through the ground; its more powerful than before – Pikens are now getting knocked to their feet... or paws... CONCENTRATE!
I listen to my conscience and turn to face John. He gets up quickly and stares at me for a good 7 seconds. Normally I'd be blushing if a boy stared at me for that long, but John's eyes are black, nothing seems reflect in them.
I grin at him, a faint heat starts in my ankle and then I look next to me. Emily #2 gives me a wink and she duplicates herself again until there are 4 of me. The thing about my duplicates is that the only Legacy that transfers over to them is my Flight Legacy. So YAY they can fly, but I'd rather them have Externa to protect themselves because the injuries they acquire transfer over to me... I guess every Legacy has its flaw.
John charges at me... or us – not sure just yet. 2 of the four duplicates run at him, John throws a wide arching punch at the first one, she ducks and rolls, sliding past John. He keeps his eyes on the first and forgets about the second; the second jumps and speedily punches John in the face as he turns his head. I summon the duplicates back to me as John tumbles and regains his balance.
It was a good hit, but little punches aren't going to bring down the leader of the Garde. This time I charge at him, flying to be exact. In mid-flight I turn my skin into solid steel metal. I land kicking John in the chest, he slides back, regains his balance and punches one of the two duplicates left in the gut, he grabs her as I'm about to run forward again, and he throws her into the other duplicate that has come to my aid.
They go sprawling and are left unconscious from the metal wall of the hanger. I telekinetically push John back into the wall, he's stuck there by my telekinetic force, but it's weakening. I quickly look over to my fallen duplicates and summon them back to me; the balls of small light whiz back to my chest. A small bruise forms on my stomach and I'm winded for a second. I look back up to where John is... or where he was... great Emily!
I turn around and am immediately made contact with a fist. I fall backwards but catch myself by hovering back. My nose is bleeding slightly. Well at least your knees aren't!
"John listen to me! The Garde need you!" I plead with him, he doesn't budge, instead he runs forward and as he does, his hands light up a bluish light, he aims them at his feet and flames are instantly climbing up his legs.
"Oh sh*t" I mutter, he sprints the last meters and jumps just in front of my line of sight. I put my hand towards my pocket as the fiery fist is about to make contact with my face...
I hear someone scream my name...
Marina/Seven POV
Three is fast. Not like Nine fast, more like Flash fast. After I blew a flying kiss towards Eight I sprinted in Three's direction. I smirk at the image of Eight's face after I sped off.
Three runs towards me – he's gaining more distance than me. I quickly strategise a plan. I fire up my Cryomen, ironic uh? And increase my running speed to my limit. He's 50 meters away... 30... 10...
He jumps in mid air and I slide underneath his front flip jump. I leave a trail of ice in my speed trail and get up. Three has landed and slides a bit on the ice surface I made. He sprints again, I don't have time to react, and he's way too fast.
I double punches my side, runs around me then kicks my legs out from underneath me, I fall with a grunt. He runs around me again; but this time I drop the temperature around me to about minus 5 degrees Celsius. Time slows down again as he runs towards me. But this time I have him.
He jumps and corkscrews through the air, his arm folding out to meet my stomach, I step aside and bring my elbow down on his back as he spins over. He grunts loudly and is sprawled onto the ice. I smile at my first blow on him, but he ruins my mood and gets up to his feet and speeds around me.
Dust and dirt is flicked up into the air, and suddenly I find it very hard to breathe. I hold my throat and start to choke, I slowly knee down trying very hard to breathe. It's not working... the sight around me is just dust and dirt – a mini tornado has formed around me!
I'm going to die... NO! You Marina, are not going to die, not today! I think of Eight, how he makes me smile, his face, his eyes, his laugh – he's perfect. I think of Ella who needs me as her big sister, I think of Adelina, My Cepan, she sacrificed herself for me, when I was helpless... but I'm not helpless now. GET UP!
I stand up and return the temperature to minus 5 degrees Celsius. Immediately Three's movements become slower which gives me a chance to land a hit. I've held my breath for a full minute now, and I'm starting to see black spots around the corners of my sight.
I instinctively jump outwards and amazingly tackle Three to the ground with me. He goes sprawling. I roll and get to my feet easily, before Three can move, I freeze the ground around him; his feet are frozen. I haven't frozen through his body when I've frozen him fully to the dusty ground. He lies there struggling against the sheer hardness and thickness of my ice cacoon I've created. I grin at what Eight might say if he saw this. God I'm obsessed with him...
At least Three won't get frostbite.
I look around to find Eight. I see Emily in one of the empty hangers battling John, in a second I'm blurring towards them. It's hot, very hot. The sun and its blistering heat don't make a girl's job easy. But I push myself, knowing that we're going to get through this. But doubt quickly comes into my mind,
John lights himself on fire, Emily gets regains her balance,
John jumps and sends a punch sailing through the air towards Emily's face,
Emily stands there frozen, I scream...
"EMILY!"... in a flash, Emily skin has turned solid crystalline blue! John fist makes contact and a sickening crack is followed. Emily quickly knees John's gut, punches his back as he doubles over, he then falls to the ground. Emily then telekinetically lifts up John and sends him sailing into the metal hanger wall.
I almost forget to stop running at full speed when she has subdued John.
"Emily!" I say, slowing down completely as I reach her, almost tripping over, she smiles and laughs,
"Haha, slow down there speedy" she says, her skin still solid, crystalline blue, she squeezes my shoulder. I'm shocked and look at her confused; her form is... different.
"Um... lovin' the new look" I say trying to get the awkward out of the air, we both run towards the rest of the battle. It's... gigantic, it's a spectacle I can't even describe...
"Haha, yeah, it's Zythardic; Loralite alloy... indestructible – ya know, the norm" she says, grinning and now flying at the same running speed I am at. I break into a grin and wipe some of the dust from my forehead.
"So you're like Eight with that?" I ask, still having a casual Garde conversation while running into a massive battle. She looks to me,
"Sort of... Eight's Legacy is much cooler and doesn't look weird... but this is extremely hard to concentrate with... I guess that's the price you pay for being indestructible" she replies, smiling and the upcoming fight – she's like a nicer, more likeable Nine. Eight says she's bossy - but that's just Eight being Eight.
We are about 20 meters away from the centre battlefield, it looks... amazing, Two is picking up Pikens and throwing them into the air or crushing them. Eight, Nine and Six are still trying to get to Ra, slicing and cutting down Mog ranks and brutes – ash is pretty much everywhere and on everyone. I'm very confident and I'm about to help Adam who's taking on a pack of Krauls, then I hear a scream,
I look to where it came from.
And there she is... Ella. On the ground, below a brute that's holding a broken sword...
Everyone screams for Ella,
"ELLA!" I shout, Emily tries to fly towards her at an increasing speed, but is tackled to the ground by another brute.
"Emily!" Nine shouts and speeds off towards her, leaving invisible Six alone with a squadron of Mogs. Eight is thrown to the ground and is beat repeatedly by another brute! Six materialises and jumps onto the brute' back, stabbing it there, drawing its attention away from Eight.
Everything was going so well a second ago.
And now... now someone might die.
I have to help Eight or else he'll be captured or even worse; though he has indestructible skin – his bones can still be broken. But Ella is about to get stabbed by another brute... she was with Ra at the start of the battle... what happened?
"ELLA!" I'm shocked, still running, but shocked. I won't get there in time. Tears are now flying out in the wind from my face, One puts up a force field around Ella; but One is shot in her thigh, the force field goes down with her and Adam runs to One's side, yelling for her name. I try to run faster, but I can't – I don't have Supersonic Speed.
The brute descends it's sword down on Ella. Time slows down again; the screams are so loud that they mute my ears, blocking any sound in, the only thing I hear is my rapid heartbeat and my fast breathing.
C'mon Marina! Run! RUN!
Then the most shocking thing happens next...
Author's Note: Dun dun duuuuuuun... this is Chapter 1! I told you there would be ACTION!
Tell me what you thought, and what might happen – please review and follow! Thank you all those you read my stories and,
WELCOME TO THE STAND OF EIGHT!
What was the shocking thing?
Why are John's eyes black like Three's?
Why is Ella about to get stabbed by a brute?
Will the Garde ever win this battle?
Keep reading guys and keep reviewing!
Next time on The Stand of Eight...
I'm still shocked. He moves around Ra quickly, like a blur... Emily screams out his name... I try to run forward but something or someone is pushing me back.
Emily screams his name again. Ra flips him over. The Mogadorian leader has a sword raised, slowly descending downwards.
...
...
...
There's a scream and a cry, the battlefield goes quiet, and a familiar burning sensation heats up.
No...
Tune in next time!
Au revoir (French for goodbye)
Paragon 8