Hi! As promised, I've updated as soon as I could. I'd like to say thank you to all my readers for being so patient.

Also, thank you for all the lovely reviews I've received so far, mostly from wii98 :D. They've really made my day! :)

This is one of the last chapters of relationship building / character buildings. The action will begin in the next chapter, so if you're finding this a bit wishy-washy, don't worry, things will liven up!

Marina POV:

I'm holding a slim glass of champagne while sitting at the edge of the roof of the John Hancock building. It's already dark, with a brilliant full moon hanging just above us.

My legs dangle off the edge precariously, and strong gusts of wind whip through my hair, sending my loose night gown billowing.

Behind me, Eight and Nine are chatting and laughing together over what I'm sure are stupid jokes – the ones Eight and Nine just love to crack.

I look down, gazing at all the miniature cars whizzing by. They look like toys from this height, and it's dizzying seeing everything so tiny. Somehow, I feel isolated up here, safe. Nine's cêpan, Sandor, really found the best safe house, hiding in plain sight.

The door to the roof opens, and out steps Sarah, Ella and Six. "Hei Marina!" yells Six over the buffet of wind.

"Hi guys!" I yell back, as they make their way toward me, "Where's John and Sam?"

Suddenly, Sarah stops smiling, and there's a slight tension around her mouth. "You okay, Sarah?"

Six also looks a little uncomfortable. Only Ella seems unaffected. Sarah says stiffly, "We had a small… disagreement. But it's okay, we'll let him brood in his room. Sam's there with him."

I nod. No wonder John and Sarah barely spoke to each other during our celebratory dinner! I thought that was weird, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. But John and Sarah, the inseparable couple, quarrel? That's unheard of. However, I choose not to say anything.

"It's a great view from here," I gush, trying to change this awkward subject.

Ella peers over the edge. "Marina! That's so scary, how do you even sit at the edge like that?"

Sarah hoists herself onto the ledge, and sits there, her legs dangling, like mine. She grins at Six, "Come on, Six. You know you want to!"

Six seems to have been jarred out of some deep thoughts. "Huh?"

I pet the spot on the ledge next to me, "Come join us!"

She grins, and nimbly leaps onto the ledge, then sits like me. Ella rests her chin on the ledge, gazing at the dizzying streets of New York spread out before us.

I can tell she's concentrating. "I can hear what those people down there are thinking," she smiles, gesturing toward the tiny cars and dot-like pedestrians.

"That's so cool," I say, "Your telepathy legacy seriously had a major upgrade."

Nine and Eight are jogging over. "Heyy girls! You having fun?" says Eight.

"Yeah!" we yell back.

"Well," says Nine, "It's time for some REAL fun."

Six POV:

Before I know it, Nine's grabbed my hand, and I feel a small zap of electricity shoot up my arm, sending my spine tingling. "What are you doing?" I ask, as he lifts me to my feet.

He's grinning. "We're going for a little run."

And he pulls me over the ledge. I nearly scream as I try desperately to regain my footing on the ledge, but to no avail. I'm falling.

Wait… I'm not. I'm standing on the wall, Nine next to me. His anti-gravity legacy! "You shared your legacy with me?" I ask.

"Yep," he says, as we start walking along the wall. It's a little dizzying at first, and it feels WEIRD to be standing on a wall. Also, looking down, it feels as though I'm about to fall and I feel a bit nauseous. But I soon get used to it, and I start to enjoy myself.

We're enjoying a stroll along the walls of one of the tallest buildings in the world. How romantic. After a while, we stop, and we sit at the ledge. The others had already gone.

I'm sitting at the ledge, enjoying the warmth of Nine's body next to mine, as the endless buffets of wind whip around us.

Suddenly, I notice that Nine looks a little sad.

"Hey," I say gently, "are you okay?"

He smiles a little, but I can see the sadness in his dark eyes. "I used to sit up here everyday, before I was caught."

I feel a pang of sorrow for him. I know what it's like to be caught, to live in captivity in a Mogadorian cell.

He continues, "I was really stupid. I fell for this girl who was actually working for the Mogs, and I… I should have listened to what my Cêpan always told me – Not to be stupid."

I rub his shoulder soothingly. "Hey, what's in the past, stays in the past, ok? I did a pretty dumb thing too that got me landed in there."

We sit in silence for a while, thinking back to our days in captivity, and our life before it.

"I'm wondering," he says, "what was it like for you?"

I think back to those dark days in a pitch-black cell, all the ways the Mogadorians tried to kill me, the horrible food, the struggle to remain sane.

I say softly, "It was a living nightmare. First, they… they killed Katrina in front of me." My voice breaks when I say Katrina's name, but I'm determined to move on, not to cry.

I tell him about the cell I was stuck in, my struggle to remain sane, the endless games of shadow and physical exercise I did. I tell him about how the Mogs kept trying to kill me, and how I escaped in the end.

He's staring at me, wide-eyed. Then he tells me his story. Nine was betrayed by a human girl, and was put into a cell with a force-field around it, preventing his escape. He, too, struggled to remain sane. His voice breaks as he tells me about how they tortured his Cêpan, and what he had to do to end his suffering.

I feel tears prick my eyes. "I'm sorry about Sandor," I whisper.

He nods, and I see that his eyes are moist. "You and I are special," he says softly, "We're different from the other Garde. We've been through an experience that has made us who we are today. It's something we'll carry in our hearts for the rest of our lives."

I feel a tear sliding down my cheek, and I make no effort to fight them down. "Hold me," I whisper.

And he does. We're hugging each other, two warm bodies that will never part in the freezing wind. "We'll always be together," I whisper, "Promise me you won't go, Nine."

He whispers back, his face in my hair, "I'll never leave you. I promise. We'll go back to Lorien together, and we'll start a life together."

I half sob, half laugh. "Yes, we will."

And the steel returns to my eyes. "And this is why we will kill Sétrakus Ra. We will kill him for everything he's done to us, to our people."

"Yes. We will kill him," says Nine.

But in my head, I correct him. It's not us who will kill Setrákus Ra. It will be me. There's no other way I will be satisfied if I am not the one to do it. In my heart, I know that I WILL be the one who kills him.

Little do I know that Nine is thinking the exact same thing.

Please review! And thank you for the continuous support. :)