Disclaimer: I don't own Lorien Legacies or the Hunger Games

Hi guys!

So as always a huge thank you to everyone who reviews my story. These reviews are just so lovely and they really help me update this story, especially when it's such a difficult time for me at the moment. They're all so lovely and sweet and I love them all. *Hugs*

Answers to reviews:

- Blonde girl in red dress = One. If I ever mention a sarcastic girl with blonde hair, 9/10 it will be One. I'll say otherwise if not :D

- There won't be any POVs from Eight as of yet, but Adam and Nine are done deals :D

Huge announcement that you guys will most likely love: This story is very likely to end up as John/Six. That doesn't mean that Sarah is going to die anytime soon, it just means that in the end it will be a John/Six story. Hope that makes everyone happy!

So, please read on!

Chapter 9 – Meeting the Enemy

Marina

I eye the plate in front of me, not sure how I'm going to manage to eat so much. I didn't choose the food I was given for breakfast, the attendants gave it to me. I wonder if that means the training session with both the mogs and the Loric today will be really hard if they're giving us all this energy.

A few other Loric sit on a nearby table, their nametags on as is required. There's this boy called Cody and a girl named Hannah, as well as a few others. None of them make conversation and as I watch Cody tearing his bread roll apart, I can tell we're all really nervous.

"Hello Marina" I turn to see Ella smiling shyly at me as she sits down next to me. I grin back at her, relieved to see her familiar face. She's already got some crumbs around her mouth and once she's sat down, she takes a big bite from her pile of pancakes. I guess she's hungry; some things never change. I smile fondly at her, before trying to start on my meal.

"Do you think the mogs will be mean to us today?" she asks me, her eyes big and innocent. She's worried about the mogs we'll meet in the arena hurting her in the training session. I smile gently, wiping the crumbs away from her chin.

"Of course not" I reassure her, even though I'm not sure if I'm telling the truth or not. "They'll save that for the arena" I add. She nods, looking happier, even despite the slightly morbid reassurance.

"And by then, we'll be hiding in a tree" she giggles. A few other Loric look at her wistfully, as if longing for her childish innocence. I kind of want it too as it would certainly get me through the coming hours.

"Exactly" I nod. "And the mogs won't be able to get us there" I lie. She grins happily, taking a drink from her hot chocolate, something she's fallen in love with.

"And if they try, you can throw stones at them with telekinesis" she giggles. I can't help but laugh too, because it's quite a funny picture. Both of us perched up high in a tree whilst pelting mogs with sticks and stones.

"Come on, eat your breakfast" I say gently. "We'll need lots of energy for today" I remind her. She nods and begins to eat quicker, the food disappearing at an incredible rate. How can someone so small, eat so much?

"Don't forget to breathe," a teasing voice says and I look up to see Joseph there. I haven't seen him in months and he's changed a little. His grin is just as wide and happy, but he's a little taller and not as skinny as he used to be. I smile a little shyly when he sits next to me, setting his own plate down.

"Been a while" he notes, tucking into his own food but at a much calmer pace than Ella's. "You haven't changed much though" he says friendlily. I smile as I swallow my mouthful of food, aware that we're the only ones talking and everyone else might be listening in to us.

"Well, not that much has happened since the last time I saw you" I reply. Ella finally takes a break from eating, her large eyes watching me.

"But we came here, Marina" she reminds me and I laugh, poking her belly. She squeaks in shock and Joseph chuckles, holding his hand out to her.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Joseph" he says kindly.

Ella grins and shakes his hand, hers looking tiny in his. In fact, she looks a little smaller today and I wonder if she might have changed her age a bit as a protection. Nobody in their right mind would want to hurt her looking as she is now. Well, unless you're a mog of course.

"Ella" she replies. He nods and leans back, looking around the room. His face is thoughtful.

"I wonder what the mogs will be like today" he murmurs, a bit more serious now. I shrug, turning back to my food.

"Well, they won't be wanting to be friends, that's for sure" I hear a sarcastic voice and I look up to see a girl standing there. With her long black hair and grey eyes, she's beautiful but really familiar. I watch her perplexed as she sits down when I realise she's exactly the splitting image of the girl I dreamt about so long ago and drew the picture of. I thought it was my mother.

I'm a bit confused as to why and how I managed to dream about this girl before the Calling, before I knew she existed. Even when I'd seen her in passing, I hadn't realised until now how similar she is to my drawing.

"I'm Joseph, this is Marina and that's Ella" I hear Joseph making introductions as I try to calm myself down about the drawing. It doesn't mean anything.

Somehow I don't quite believe myself.

"Maren Elizabeth" she replies.

"I saw your interview" Joseph grins at her as though they've been best friends for ages and I feel an unwelcome feeling of jealousy trickle through me. I'm a little shocked since I barely know Joseph and him being friendly should not make me jealous. But I am and maybe that's because I counted him as being my friend and mine alone.

Stupid. I berate myself. Really stupid.

"And?" the girl arches her eyebrow gracefully and I feel horribly plain next to her. Ella finishes her breakfast and leans back, looking almost exhausted. I can't help but grin, amused at her.

"You have guts to try and piss them off" Joseph shrugs. The girl smirks and again, I feel that pang of jealousy. I try and ignore it, instead focusing on my breakfast.

"So, do you all have legacies?" the girl looks around the table, her eyes piercing and bright. She smiles a little, as though to try and be friendly but I just don't buy it.

"Yeah" I shrug as though it's no big deal although I kind of want to show off. "Night vision, underwater breathing, telekinesis and healing" the girl nods, not looking that impressed and I think my heart falls a little. I wanted to impress her.

"Healing's really cool" Joseph begins enthusiastically when the doors to the dining room opens and some mogs march in. I know at once that breakfast is over and now it's training time. Fear blooms in my stomach and spreads through me, making me feel like ice.

"Let the Games begin" Maren smirks.

Xxx

Lined up in matching black uniform, I feel like us Loric are waiting for the firing squad. My hand is gripped in Ella's, both our palms clammy. My heart is beating a little faster than normal and I'm shaking just a little bit. I'm about to meet my future killers and I'm terrified.

The double doors opposite open up and the mogs begin to march in, dressed in the red uniforms that determine the two races. They all look the same to me: cold faces and evil eyes. I shiver nervously, shifting on my feet as they march in, cruel grins on their faces.

Once we're all lined up opposite another, a head instructor walks in the middle of us all. He separates both sides into two groups, so that 15 mogs and 15 Loric children go into another hall to train. Ella is taken with the second group and once she's gone, I feel alone and terrified.

I hope someone looks after her in there.

We don't have to do anything with the mogs or other Loric in this training session, we simply go from station to station of our choice and see what we can and can't do. I think this session is for the mogs to decide which Loric they'd like to pick off first.

I head to a station that doesn't seem as popular and when I get there, I see why. It's a station that tells you what food you should and shouldn't eat. I want to move on in five minutes but actually I realise that although this stall isn't action-packed, it's vital for my survival.

I end up spending a good hour there, finding out what plants are safe and which ones aren't. It may be boring for some but it'll probably save my life as well as Ella's. I also think that the guy in charge is pretty glad that someone actually bothered to go to his station.

I move on to the next station for throwing knives. I've tried these a few times but am not very good at it. I decide though that the best way to get good is to practice so I have a go. I'm not very good at first and am about to give up, embarrassed, when Maren Elizabeth comes up to me.

"Use your telekinesis to improve your aim" she says after watching me for a few minutes. "And hold the knives like this for a stronger force" she says, demonstrating.

I take in her advice and have a go, thrilled when I see it hit the target. I turn to thank her but she's gone, as though she never existed. I look around in confusion and then finally see her a few stations away, acting as though she wasn't here in the first place.

Maybe she's intimidating and trying to act tough, but I watch as she points something out to another Loric kid who's doing something wrong. And I think that deep down she cares deeply about us all and I know for sure that I have another friend in this place after all.

Xxx

Stanley

Training is everything I thought it would be and more. I know some of the other Loric kids were terrified of coming into this training hall with the mogs and seeing how deadly they were, but I was excited. Eager to see which ones I could kill.

I've spent the past few hours in here throwing spears, fighting in hand to hand combat and lifting weights. I went to a few sensible stations like Sandor suggested, like the survival skills one as well as lighting fires. They were boring but necessary.

I'm sitting down on one of the benches along the wall, having a water break as I watch some other kids fighting. There's a Loric kid, Joseph, I think who's teleporting around and shape shifting. I've seen this big tough-looking mog eyeing him up as if Joseph will be first on his list to kill, but something tells me that won't be as easy as he thinks.

I've seen other Loric that have caught my eye too. A brunette girl who seems nice enough but the minute she gets her hands on the throwing knives, she turns lethal. I don't know her name but she's certainly got game.

There's a Loric boy, John, who also seems kind of weak but I saw him in the hand-to-hand combat station and the strength one. He may look soft but I think he could be tougher than he looks. Maybe that's his plan: act weak and then kill when no one expects it.

And finally there's a boy who's kind of soft looking. He's not fat, just…round, kind of like a barrel. But again, in the strength station he was lifting stuff that even I find hard to lift. Looking over this year's lot, it seems like the mogs have got a real fight on their hands.

There's one mog I really don't like the look of. He's the toughest looking one and his nametag says Ivannick. He's tall and muscular, like me, and his face has the normal cruel look all mogs have. He's been watching me train like I've been watching him. We've both ready for the arena.

I hear a light pattering and I watch out of the corner of my eye as a tiny, red-haired girl sits on the bench nearby. She wraps her arms around her knees, her eyes watching the mogs in the room. She looks scared and I feel strangely protective over her. She's too young and innocent for the Games.

"Want some water?" I offer her. She jumps when I talk to her and her eyes snap over to me, shocked. She looks like she's ready to flee so I smile, offering the bottle to her. She reaches out hesitantly and then takes it, drinking from it quickly. Her eyes never leave mine.

"Thank you" she whispers softly, handing it back to me. I smile, feeling a bit like an old brother, as I move closer to her.

"You don't have to be scared of me" I reassure her. She smiles, a soft little smile that makes her look so much younger than she has to be. I mean, she can't be younger than 10.

"How old are you?" I ask curiously. She peeks around the room, as though worried this bit of information could make her a target.

"11" she finally answers. I nod sadly, my suspicions fulfilled. I feel sorry for her and even though I don't want this to happen, she'll probably be one of the first to die.

"You got any future allies lined up?" I ask. I don't want to ally with her because I'm planning to hunt down the mogs and that'll get her killed. But I do want her to be with someone decent so she gets a shot at surviving Round 1 at least.

"Uh huh" she nods. "Marina, but she's not in here" she replies. I have no idea who this Marina girl is but I hope she's good enough to look after this little girl.

"Good" I grin down at her. "Someone needs to look after you" I say gently. She blushes and smiles sweetly, showing a slight gap between her two front teeth. I get a strange lump in my throat and I get up, needing to leave before I get too attached to this little girl.

"See you later kid" I nod at her. She smiles back before lightly hopping up and flitting to the next station. I watch her go with a sad smile and then notice Ivannick, the huge mog, watching the girl with a sadistic smile.

I'm alert at once, not liking that smile at all. It's the smile of a killer. I watch him follow the little girl onto the station she's at. It's a climbing one, pretty simple really. It's kind of like monkey bars, except quite high up.

I take a few steps away from the bench as Ivannick approaches the station where the little girl is about to get started. She climbs up one rung of the ladder to the bars and a bad feeling creeps into me. I take a few more steps forward but am not fast enough to stop what happens next.

The mog, Ivannick, grabs her easily and throws her off the rung of the ladder, tossing her onto the floor. It's not a long fall and I'm sure she hasn't hurt herself too badly, but you just don't that to an 11 year old. Fury clouds my vision and blind anger takes over, adrenalin and fury pumping through my veins.

I'm next to the mog in seconds and then I grab his neck, pinning him to the ladder. I hear shouting from the mog attendants for us to stop but I swing a punch at the guy, making him stumble back. He snarls and lunges for me but I hold him back with telekinesis. He struggles against it, man he's strong, and he's about to break my grip when I feel someone touch my arm.

It's the blond guy, John. He gets between both the mog and me, holding his arms out so his palms touch both our chests. He looks me right in the eyes, shaking his head calmly. Mog attendants are running up towards us but they're still too far away.

"Don't" John warns me. "It's not worth it" he adds.

I stare at Ivannick for a long time before letting go of him with my telekinesis, making him stagger back. His face is filled with fury and hate, reflecting my feelings, and we stare at each other for a long time. I can tell he wants to punch me again and the only thing holding him back are the mog attendants.

"You'll get what's coming to you" the mog snarls, before turning on his heal and marching away. I allow myself a small grin of satisfaction.

"I can't wait dude" I call after him. His back tightens but he doesn't do anything, just carries on walking.

The mog attendants start berating me for what I did but I don't give a damn. I shrug past them and go to the little girl, who's clutching onto the guy I saw teleporting. The other Loric begin to back away once they realise everything's over and soon it's just me, the kid, John and Joseph.

"You all right kid?" I ask her gently. She nods, wiping her tear-stained cheeks and Joseph gently pats her back. They must have talked before then because she looks like she knows him a little.

"Thank you" she whispers, looking a little shell-shocked. I simply shrug before looking over my shoulder at Ivannick again.

"My pleasure" I reply. My eyes lock with the mog I always beat up and I can the feeling that this fight is far from over.

I think I'm going to enjoy snapping his neck.

Xxx

Adam

With bright red cheeks I back away from the throwing spears station. A few mogs snigger at me, probably wishing I were Loric so they could kill me. Instead, they just despise me for being so weak.

I back away from the station and head to another one that's about making fires or something. I can't screw this one up and show just how weak and feeble I am. Most of the mogs and Loric will be wondering why I'm here.

I want to tell them all that I'm clever, that's why I was allowed to enter. I want to tell them that they need at least one mog who can deal with battle strategies and predicting what a Loric might do next instead of daydreaming of slicing Loric throats all the time. But in here intelligence isn't valued, being strong is.

I strike up a fire pretty quickly, much to my delight. I look around, hoping that some of the others might have seen and be impressed by my fast work. But everyone's watching a Loric girl with black hair decapitate a metal dummy. I sigh and turn away to grab a bottle of water.

I sit down on the bench and drink my water, watching some of the mogs enviously. I wish I had their strength and fighting ability, just so I could show off as well. Just so I could show that I am a contender in these Games.

"Feeling sorry for yourself?" I look up to see smirking girl in front of me. She's clearly Loric since no mog girl could look at me with so much hate. With her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and showing off her face, she's very pretty.

"Why would I feel sorry for myself?" I retort just as coldly. She might be pretty but that doesn't mean I don't hate her all the same. She's Loric and inferior to me, just begging to be killed.

"Because you're pathetic" she snorts, taking a drink from her own bottle. I clench my jaw but don't retort, instead taking a drink too. I don't really know what else to say; I never know what to say to cocky, pretty girls.

I see a few attendants nearby, watching us warily. It's not forbidden for us to interact but when things get violent that doesn't involve training, that's when they join in. They don't want anything to happen to the mog players before the Games begin.

"I mean, seriously, how did you get into this?" the girl snorts, finding this all very funny. I blush and clench my hands around my bottle, making the plastic crackle a little.

"Leave me alone" I snarl at her. She simply laughs, her eyes flickering with hatred. She tosses her hair back and puts her hands on her hips, used to showing off I think.

"Aw, am I upsetting you?" she mocks. She's enjoying teasing me and seeing me squirm uncomfortably. I'm not good at confrontation with girls. I'm always awkward around them, no matter what race they are.

"Look" I stand up abruptly and I see her smirk, glad she's got a reaction out of me. "I may not be the strongest but I have my own strengths. You've made a real enemy today" I swear at her, injecting as much venom as I can into my words.

She looks a little shocked, as though she never expected to get an outburst out of me. But then she grins and I know that it's going to take a lot more than a weak threat to make this girl back down.

"You don't scare me" she laughs, tossing her hair back. "Because at the end of the day, I can still beat you in seconds" she boasts.

I've never been so angry in my life before. I know I'm probably the weakest mog in this room but it doesn't mean I don't have my uses. And it's one thing for my race to mock me but it's another thing altogether for a Loric to mock me.

"Oh yeah?" I snarl. "Let's test your theory out then" I test her. Again she looks a bit shocked, even a little nervous but then she plasters on a confident smile and saunters towards the one-to-one combat mats.

"Come on then" she teases, raising her fists and shifting on her feet. I can see she's over-doing it, trying to make me look like an idiot and that makes me even angrier.

I lunge forwards, aiming for a single punch to the face but she blocks me at once, spinning on her heels and her leg flying out to kick me in the face. I duck and roll away from it, jumping to my feet as we circle each other.

"Not too bad" she smirks at me. "You almost look like you've been training…oh wait. That's what you're supposed to do your whole life" she mocks me. I grit my teeth and lash out with another punch.

She twirls out of the way, laughing as I stagger forwards in irritation. She's playing with me and she's enjoying this, enjoying my anger. This is exactly what she wanted and if I want to win this battle between us, I need to go now and leave her.

But I can't. I just can't let my pride be thrown away because of the bigger picture. As she lashes out with her own punch, not nearly strong enough to hurt, I realise that she's just trying to get me worked up before she really attacks.

I decide to play her game.

I slow my attacks right down and copy her soft-footed pacing around the edge of the mat. To outsiders, it looks like we're simply circling and waiting for an attack. But I'm mocking her. She narrows her eyes, realising what I'm doing and she clearly doesn't like it.

"Too scared to hit me?" she taunts, trying to get a reaction out of me but I won't budge. Be smart…that's how you've always won I coach myself. I pretend to yawn, acting as though this is all very boring.

It pays off. It turns out that she has a very short temper, even shorter than mine, and I've tested hers too much.

She lunges forward for an attack and all of my years of training kick in. She might be stronger and faster but I can use that to my advantage. I catch her fist and using her momentum, swing her around to the right. She stumbles, off balance, and after a kick in the knee she's sent to her knees.

I swing my leg around in a roundhouse kick and it knocks her in the chest, sending her sprawling back. I grab her flailing arm and spin her around, so she's kneeling by my feet with her back to me. I wrap my hand around her neck but loose enough so she can breath.

"I win" I grin, noticing people watching us. The mogs are looking at me with respect but I see hate in the Loric's faces. Oh well, what do they matter?

"Let go of me" the girl snarls, knocking my hands away. I smirk and step back, allowing her to stand up and glare at me. She's bright red and I think a lot of it is from embarrassment. I just showed her up and she knows it.

"I'll pummel you in the arena" she hisses so no one else can hear. "I swear, you'll wish you were never born" she snarls. I simply grin, trying not to show how her threat does scare me a little.

"Like you did just now?" I mock. Her jaw tightens but she doesn't do anything, just stalks off. I grin and as I turn away from the mats, I notice the looks of respect the other mogs are giving me. I'm delighted and filled with pride.

I've just proved I am a contender for these Games. Now I just have to do it in the arena.

Xxx

John

Even though Henri's not here, it doesn't mean I've forgotten the training he's given me. In fact, him not being here just makes me want to work harder to make him proud of me.

Unlike some of the other tributes that have been desperately carrying out last minute training or simply trying to show off, I've been analysing the people taking part in the Games. I've been making mental notes on the Loric, as well as the mogs, that I'll be joined with in the arena. After all, I'm allowed an ally in there and I want it to be someone good.

There's of course the big guy, Stanley, who faced off with the mean looking mog, Ivannick. There's Joseph who's been teleporting around the room and showing that although he's not as bulky as Stanley, he's still pretty impressive. There's tiny little Ella who doesn't look like she's hurt a fly. But they aren't the only Loric in here by far.

There's a boy called Cody who seems completely different from the other Loric in here. He's…odd, for lack of a better word. He seems strong and determined enough but there's a shiftiness about him that I don't trust. And I have no idea why; after all, he's Loric like me. I decide to ignore my odd feeling and move onto to the other Loric.

There are a lot of Loric girls in here and I don't know if that's because it was just the way they divided the two groups or if there are more Loric girl tributes this year. A lot of them all seem the same: shy, nervous, strong, quiet. None of them seem to have any characteristics that stand out except one, a girl named Adira. She's tall and paired with her cocky smile; she's the female equivalent of Stanley. But from what I can see she doesn't have the immense fighting ability he has to back up his ego.

There's a young boy in here named Mikhail who seems like the boy version of Ella. He's tiny and as his eyes dart around the room I know even after a year's training he's not at all ready for this. I want to comfort him and tell him not to worry about it all, but then I'd be lying. There's another tall, slightly bulky boy, and then a pretty average looking one, who's been sticking to the disguise station.

All in all none of us really look prepared for what's coming in the next few weeks.

I sigh and move onto another station, a knot tying one. After a year of mastering my legacies and guns and knives, I kind of want to do something less violent but just as important as physical ability. I get to work on the knots, finding it strangely relaxing.

I first notice someone watching me once I'm on my third knot. I look at whoever it is from the corner of my eye and I'm surprised to see Cody there, watching me intently. When he sees me looking, he blushes and shifts awkwardly on his feet.

"You can join" I offer politely. "There's plenty of rope to get through" I add warmly. He smiles a little self-consciously but then nods and shuffles over. He takes a piece of short rope with his hands but doesn't make a start on it.

"I'm John" I introduce myself, even though I have a nametag on. The boy nods and attempts a small smile that quickly falls away.

"Cody" he replies in a quiet voice. He looks around the room at all the mogs and Loric and a quizzical look crosses his face. We both work on in silence for a few minutes.

"It's all just a façade you know" he suddenly says without warning, startling me. My hands jerk on the knot I was making as I look up at him. He doesn't seem like the kind to just start rambling on but apparently he is.

"What is?" I ask confused. He looks back at me, a strange light in his eyes.

"The year's training. It's just there to hide the cracks of how we all really suck and how we're all going to die" he says. Despite the morbid topic there's a weird smile on his face and I feel a little uneasy.

"Well, um" I laugh nervously. "That's an interesting perspective" I manage to say. His eyes flicker over to mine and he grins sheepishly.

"Sorry, I have weird moments, you know?" he looks down shyly and I feel sorry for him. I feel like he's trying to hide away from us all, acting like he doesn't belong.

"Who wouldn't?" I force myself to chuckle. "These aren't easy times" Cody nods along in agreement, his face clouded over again. I can't help but feel sorry for him. He's clearly quite a sensitive, shy person who has built their walls up way too high to ever let them down again. I can't help but feel sorry for him.

"Well, see you" he shrugs, letting his piece of rope drop to the table and then he shuffles off, his shoulders hunched. I watch him go for a moment and then turn back to my activity when I see the knot he did. I pick it up with a gasp.

It's shaped like a noose. One you use to hang people with.

Xxx

I sit in the dinning room, finishing off my dinner that I ate too quickly. Even after a year of good food, I still think it's going to be taken away from me if I'm not careful.

I reach for another bread roll that's on the table, when there's the sound of a chair scraping back and then Stanley drops himself into it, putting his plate of food on the table. He's sitting opposite me and I shift a little his dark eyes watch me closely, a smirk playing on his lips.

I ignore him and reach for my bread roll, still hungry. The guy isn't even paying attention to his food and soon his piercing stare gets too much. I sigh and look up, trying not to be intimidated.

"What?" I ask. He grins and then shovels some food into his mouth, not saying anything after that. It's frustrating and I can feel my already bad mood starting to get worse.

"You shouldn't have stopped me earlier" he finally says, his voice a low grumble. I roll my eyes when I realise he's talking about earlier when I stopped him from pummelling the mog into dust.

"Why not?" I challenge back. Most people would back down but this guy is so full of bullshit that I just can't help myself. He has a right to be confident but not an arrogant asshole.

"Because it's bullshit" he looks like he's trying to think of another excuse. "Because he deserved what he got coming" Stanley looks pleased that he's got a valid reason but his eyes are watching me closely. He's not just dangerous in the field but he seems kind of unstable too.

"Leave it to the arena" I retort. "When you can't hurt the other Loric" he snorts at what I say as he props his feet up on the table. For the first time I notice he has no shoes on for whatever reason and the soles of his feet are black. I try not to wrinkle my nose because that just makes me look soft.

"So you're just going to go and hide in the bushes, trying to outlast the next two weeks" he snorts and I feel uncomfortable, like he's belittling my plan. Truth is, I thought it was quite a good one.

"At least I'll have a better chance of surviving" I reply back, my temper rising. Our voices are low but the way we're glaring at each other must be tipping some of the other Loric that we're arguing because I feel a lot of eyes on us.

"I have a good chance of survival if I rip every mog into oblivion" he snarls back. I roll my eyes, leaning back in my chair. I take a deep breath, knowing I can't get wound up, no matter what. I'm not going to punch this guy.

"Well good luck with that" I stand up to go. "I hope your genius plan goes well" my voice is dripping with sarcasm as I walk past him.

I expect him to just let me go but he lashes out, gripping my arm. I stare at him in shock and anger but when I look into his face, I see genuine admiration. In a weird way, me standing up to him has made him respect me.

"Come on dude" he grins. "Let's be allies. Let's go and kill the whole lot of them. Then there'll be no Round 2 and all these kids can live. We can kill the whole fucking lot of them" his face is excited at the prospect of killing, of defeating the mogs.

I can see him burning desire to kill every mog and save these kids and I find myself respecting him too. He might be annoying and arrogant but at the end of the day, his heart is in the right place. Too bad that it won't help him out in this world.

"I can't" I reply regretfully. I tug my arm free and I see annoyance light up in his eyes. But he shrugs and leans back, slouching into his chair like I don't matter anymore. He turns away from me and I can feel the respect he felt for me disappear in seconds.

No matter how much I try to convince my self otherwise, at the end of the day I really am a coward.

So, if you're wondering about Marina and the picture of Maren, then that's what happened in the actual series when she dreamed about Maren and I wanted to incorporate as much as possible from LL into this story. But there will be a reason of why she dreamed about Maren later :D

Hope you enjoyed and please review!