Chapter 12

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! They were really helpful! I'm still not sure about Jix/ Nix, so you guys can continue 'voting' for your favorite ships. Meanwhile, it is going to be a beautiful 3D polygon- by which I mean complicated.

A huge thanks to Lord Pujan who PMed me on feedback. If you guys have a lot of feedback to offer do feel free to PM me, I will get back to you soon enough.

I am NOT done with this chapter, but I want to update more regularly, so il show you this part first, since some of you want to know about Five's past. My version shows that there is actually still hope for him. If you want to ship Five with a Loric, please review haha, I'll be interested to know.

Another random question I wanna ask is: who's your favourite character? Because I noticed, it totally varies. I think you can guess who mine is right?;)

Okay thank you so much! I'll try to complete this chapter asap! Please review, thanks and love you all!xx

Five POV

I find myself on a familiar island in Puerto Rico. Everything is silent, with not a soul in sight. That isn't unusual. The government probably doesn't know that this island even exists anyway. I smell a wisp of shell fish stew. I turn around and see an old man, maybe about seventy years old, bending as he stirs the stew. His face is kind and gentle, but also weak and tired. He is the only person that I actually talk to, and he is my best friend. He is my Cepan Albert.

"Dinner's ready, Five." Albert, whom i call grandpapa, says. I smile at him as I sit down. We've been on Earth for nearly six months, yet we've only moved once, because Albert is constantly feeling ill. It doesn't matter anyway, because there's hardly anyone here.

Albert is a philosopher, a thinker. He always has all sorts of quotes that are positive, deep and meaningful. "People say that what's the point of living since there's no happiness in this world. Let me tell you this: you have happiness simply when you look around and see all the little things that you love, the autumn leaves, the colours in the sky when the sun sets, the smiles of laughing children. Small things, yet they matter and make up the greatest things in life." He'll say as we lie on the beach and look up at the sky. He often tells me stories of his wife, his three children and his seven grandchildren, all but two of them 'll tell me traditional folk takes about Lorien history, and this made me love Lorien more. One of his favourite quotes was "There's always hope in this world."

I drink the stew. Delicious, as usual. "Yummy! Thanks, grandpapa!" He smiles, showing his missing tooth. "I love you, Five." "I love you too, grandpapa," I reply, as I reach forward to hug his tiny frame. He laughs softly and hugs me back. We may be on an unknown island, but so long as grandpapa is around, there's no place I rather be than here.

The scene shifts. I am sitting down in the hut we built, worried. Albert is lying on the dirty sandy rug we call a bed. He has caught pneumonia, which wouldn't have mattered; but he's seventy, Lorien has never had any diseases, and he wouldn't let me get a doctor. He has been ill for two weeks, with no sign of healing.I'm feeding him the stew I made; not tasty at all; since I'm only five, but Albert fakes a pleased smile. "Thank you, that tasted so good. I feel much better."

"Grandpapa, you aren't well at all. You're- you're dying. Let me fetch a doctor, please!" I beg pleadingly. Albert grabs my wrist. "No. If they see us here they'll question us, and we'll be caught. It's okay. I'll heal very soon, ok?" Sobbing, I nod my head. Albert can't go. He can't leave me alone here in this strange world. He can't. He can't.

Albert gasps for breath. Sweat trickles down his forehead. I can see that he is trying to keep himself alive, fighting for survival. I don't know why he's so weak, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters as long as he survives this.

"Five," he wheezes. I run to his bed and holds his hand. "I'm- I'm sorry. Promise me this. Promise that even when the going gets tough and the odds are stacked against you, you'll keep yourself alive and never give up, and when you develop your legacies, you'll try to find the others." He starts to cough blood and I hand him a tissue. "Yes, but I'll do all of that with you, won't I?" I ask. He coughs. "Won't I?!" I ask again, feeling desperate.

He shakes his head and wheezes again. "The fight isn't over, Five. You guys still have a chance. You'll get to go back to Lorien someday. There'll always be hope, remember that." He heaves and spits out some more blood. Although it is hot, he shivers, an I know the end is near. "I- I love you." He says before he closes his eyes. He never opens them again.

I stare at Albert's limp body in disbelief. "Please..you can't be dead. No you can't leave me. Please! Wake up! WAKE UP!" I start to turn hysterical. tears slide down my cheeks and i shake incessantly. I grab my chest and hug Albert, refusing to let go. The scene shifts.

It's been three weeks. I've matured and stayed alive, in a small Puerto Rican town. It hasn't been easy though. A five-year-old wandering around by himself is naturally suspicious and not normal at all. People often stare at me or stop to ask me questions. Once, a policeman questioned me. i managed to slip away through the crowds, but I was scared. Will I have to do this for the rest of my life?

I sit down by a bridge and sigh, missing Albert more than ever. Just then,a jeep comes. I look around, but people don't seem to think that it's out of place. Scared, I get up and start to run away.

"Hey, little boy! Don't be frightened!" I hear a kind voice call out. I turn around cautiously to see a kind- looking young man, who's holding out sweets on his hand. His skin is as white as snow...

A Mogadorian. I panic and run away. The Mog grabs my arm and says,"Wait." "Please don't take me," I beg, trying not to cry.

"It's okay. No ones gonna hurt you. I'm General Inswiz. We're the good guys, okay? Don't you worry, we'll find you a place to rest." He assures me. I stare at him in disbelief. Are Mogs really that nice? I numbly follow him into the jeep. I'm only five, its not like I can outrun him anyway.

"What number are you?" He asks.

"I'm Five." I say timidly.

"Well, Five, you're on safe ground. No one can hurt you here. You'll always be protected and cared for. Welcome home."

Welcome home.

"Five! Wake up! How long are you gonna sleep for!" I suddenly hear someone say. Boris. i sit up in a hurry. Have I been dreaming again? How embarrassing.

No matter how much I try to be as Mogadorian as possible, I end up dreaming about Albert, Lorien or my past almost every night. Even during the day, Albert's stupid quotes will remain stuck in my head. Ever since i met my fellow Garde, the dreams have been even more vivid and realistic. I can't get rid of it, it's so annoying.

I grunt and roll off the bed sleepily. I walk out of the room and see Boris holding a tray of food, grinning at me.

"Breakfast is long over, so you're having breakfast in bed again. The General isn't too pleased."

"Man." I make a face and take the food. "I'm so sorry. It's one of those dreams."

"Again?" Boris questions. I've told him about these dreams before. I nod. He frowns but waves a hand. "Ignore them. They're just dreams."

I shrug, closing him off. Topic over. I don't wanna talk about it. Boris takes the hint and changes the subject. "Anyway, today you skip training with the rest again. Setrakus wants you to train with Ella in the training room."

I slap my palm against my forehead. "Damn! Why does he always link me back to the Loric?" I do NOT want to meet Ella again.

"Because you ARE Loric, man. You can't change your identity no matter how much you want to," Boris says. I roll my eyes and drink up my milk. "Whatever. Wish me luck."

Scene 2

I enter the training room cautiously. After letting out that Eight was dead, Ella kind of, you know, overreacted and tore everything apart. She nearly killed me. I don't want to admit it, but well- I'm a bit scared of her. What if she does the same thing when she meets me?

I spot Ella and walk towards her. Ella sees me but doesn't acknowledge, but at least she doesn't attack me either. Her eyes are puffy and swollen, as if she had just been crying.

"Um, hi." I eye her warily. She puts her hands in her head and doesn't say anything. "What just happened?" No answer. "Why are you crying?" No answer. "Um,uh,ah..okay then." I sit beside her awkwardly, letting her mourn over whatever shes crying about.

"What are you guys doing? Get to business!" I turn around. Setrakus.

"Yes sir!" I shout back. I look at Ella. "Uh, are you feeling up to it?"

"Do I look as if I have a choice?" Ella replies scornfully. She looks up at me in disgust. "You. Traitor. I hate you."

"Great!" I fake a smile. "Let's begin!"

Setrakus presses a few buttons on his remote. Instantly, the gym disappears. In its place is a Forest.

Setrakus laughs at my shocked face. "It's a new invention to improve training and battle coordination. We've only installed it in three training rooms so far, and you're the first one to test it." Cool.

Ella scowls. I can tell that she isn't impressed. "So what do we do?"

Setrakus snaps his fingers, and suddenly I find myself in the middle of the forest. Ella is nowhere to be seen. the forest is beautifully breathtaking. Around me, there's a clear blue pond, a stone statue sculpted as Cupid, cuddly looking squirrels, and of course, the green forest. The forest had a numerous amour of trees of all shapes and sizes, each of them containing different kinds of fruits. The thing was, I had no idea what the fruits were. Which meant that they were fake. Instantly, I'm on my guard. The forest clearly was not what it appeared to be.

Setrakus' voice boomed through the PA system. "This prototype is quite small, so you and Ella should be able to find each other quite easily. Your aim is to knock the other unconscious. Do whatever you can to win and stay alive, or I will force you to do so. Your time starts now." (Yes, this is the mini two-player version of the Hunger Games. Setrakus is a sadist.) his voice diminishes just as I see a cornucopia a hundred metres in front of me, blocked by many trees. Well, no time like the present. I duck in between the trees, trying not to touch any of them. I touch one of them by accident. Immediately, I get poison ivy on my skin. (The tree is actually full of poison ivy!) My skin starts to pucker and swell. My arm feels itchy and full of blisters. I try not to scream or faint on the spot. My vision goes blurry and i start to see stars, I feel so tired- No. I cant give up. The show must go on.

Ella POV

I am fuming. Who does Setrakus think I am, some sort of circus performer? I am not going to play a fool's game to entertain him! Immediately after Setrakus shuts his big mouth, I yell, "F**k you!" At the PA system, unfortunately, there's no reply. I spot a cornucopia a hundred feet ahead of me, blocked by the trees. Five must be there as well. I don't want to fight, hell, I'll rather let Five beat me to the pulp than let Setrakus continue enjoying himself. I turn away from the cornucopia, walking towards the woods. Let me commit suicide or something. It's not like anyone will notice anyway.

Just then, the tree right in front of me starts to shoot fireballs. What the hell? I try to duck, but the fireballs shoot me straight in the face. My face is officially burnt to the crisp.

It hurts so bad. In this unfortunate moment, I remember that the cornucopia contained a first aid kit, as well as some ointments that could heal my skin. I can't- I can't- I must. Fireballs continue firing my way as I run towards the cornucopia. Setrakus got what he wanted after all- a battle.