Author's Note: Hi guys thank you sooo much for the reviews! Thanks to Annabelledash, Cas, The Robot Reader, I Am Number Eight, MichaelTheBoss and ChildOfChaos!
Here it is – the flash-forward chapter – ACTION!
Adam POV
"Malcolm, stop up there. We have to continue the rest of the way on foot" I say, he nods in approval and pulls off to the side of the road.
"Hey Mog boy, why we stopping?" Nine shouts from the back. I roll my eyes; to myself that is, if Nine saw me... he would probably kill me.
"The base perimeter is just up there, if we cross it in any type of vehicle, alarms will go off" I finish, his grin in the rear view mirror drops and he opens the door and gets out. The others follow him, I call Dust and he lands on my shoulder in a half-lizard, half-dragonfly form. OK Adam, it's all you, you can do this. It's your time to prove yourself to the others... I imagine One saying to me.
"OK Adam what next" John asks while he helps Sarah down from the SUV. Wow, the leader of the Garde is asking me what to do next.
"Um, uhh, the base is about 2 miles that way, we have to be cautious and quiet" I say looking at Nine mostly, Sam smirks.
We trek through the West Virginian bushland for about 2 hours or so taking a break every so often. I feel very insecure about leading them; I wish One was here to help me. Eight! What are you doing?! Wait what? Eight? I swear I heard One's voice in my head just then. Damn it, I'm hallucinating AGAIN.
We're on a small break right now, it's not hot, it's pretty cold; but we're all sweating like there's no tomorrow. I look around at the trees around us; they're tall – very tall. I hear a slight shuffle from the tree to my left. I think I see a silhouetted figure in the trees... I look closer... it's gone. OK I know I'm hallucinating.
We eventually reach the clearing, where a large hanger sits, the cave is on the other side, and before us is a very large work ground. But it's completely cleared, all that remains are a few Mog guards, and technicians.
"OK guys, you know what to do, take out the guards, Six, create a storm and strike the oil tanks over there-" John says pointing to the large canisters. He looks to me
"-Adam can you cause a massive earthquake? Like I mean frickin huge!" he says a large grin forming on his face. I nod, also smirking at him.
"OK Marina, Nine; you guys take out the remaining guards and techie dudes, I'll set fire to the remainder of the machines." He says, the others are grinning. I feel like I am a Loric... but then again, I'm not.
Before I can get up, Marina and Nine zoom off in a blur of speed, Marina's trial leaving behind a small slipstream of frost. Ash piles are left wherever the Mog guards were. I smile.
"OK that's our cue, GO!" John says, Six sprints off to the canister, Marina follows her for cover, John and I sprint to Nine's side, where the cave mouth opening is. Sam, Sarah and Malcolm cover us, shooting any Mog stupid enough to come close. I must say, they have really good aim.
"ADAM NOW!" John shouts, I look over to him, Mogs are coming from every angle at him, but he's... on fire, I mean literally, the soldiers emerging burn and turn to ash before they can get within 2 feet of him.
I look at the cave... I think of all the hardships and disownments I endured. I think of One. A small tear forms and slowly slides down my face, I'm sorry One, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. At that exact moment the ground underneath me shakes; this time more powerful and dark. I lift my foot up, and stomp it down, the deafening, ear-splitting sound that comes after is amazing, large cracks snake towards the opening, they knock the oncoming soldiers to the ground, some turning to ash as they fall on their necks. This tremor breaks the cave opening, small ships spill out and machinery of different kinds explode. John joins me, he sends thick column of fire towards the earthquake, it blows up machinery, Mogs and the one or two vehicles that haven't been destroyed.
I look to my destruction, Mog soldiers are trying to get away, running deeper into the cave complex. They're not getting away this time! I punch the ground, as John said some girl did in his dream. A shockwave of pure power rushes out from underneath me; it bursts around John and me, creating earthquakes in every direction. For a second I think that the Garde will be caught in the earthquake, but then I look to Marina and Six. Amazing. The cracks and tremors avoid the Garde, snaking towards every Mog in sight!
"Holy sh*t!" I hear a voice say, I spin around in fighting stance, and there he is. Nine. A look of astonishment covers his face. he grins and speeds off, his trial leaving dust in the air.
"Nice!" John says clapping my back, his flames are extinguished, he looks to the others, and they're just about done. I smile widely – I haven't in a long time, since One to be exact.
I'm about to go and congratulate everyone, then something feels off. John starts to go I grab his shoulder and pull him back.
"Adam? What's wrong?" he says, his smile receding back. I look to him.
"Something's not right" I say. The Mogs wouldn't just leave one of their largest bases... defenceless; they didn't even try to fight back. Then I hear it.
"Adamus Sutekh, my own son. It's nice to see you again... traitor" I spin around, but not fast enough, my father punches me in the gut. I've surely broken something.
"Adam!" John shouts, he lights up the soldiers surrounding me, he can't get close enough to my father. Nine and him are soon surrounded by Mogs, the same for Marina and Six. The Chimæra are now attacking every Mog they see, ash follows their flight trial. My father pulls back for another shot; in amazement I block the fist. My hand, is pushing against the weight of his fist, I feel myself losing strength. My father looks amazed for a second then goes back to his snarl. At least he was amazed for a second.
I one fluent movement, he punches my gut quickly, making me grunt and lose my grip on his fist. Then he judo flips me – but this judo flip isn't like any other judo flip, this one, pretty much breaks me. While I'm still on the floor, broken and half-dead, he pulls out a small knife. Oh great.
The stab from the knife hurts, but I'm too tired to cry out in pain, my father throws the knife aside and looks at me. I hear a shout, and look up with all the energy I have left.
"Hey ugly, how 'bout you try me on for size?!" Nine says, as he speeds towards the General at full throttle. My father doesn't have enough time to react, I watch as Nine's blur, runs past the General, a loud grunt from him follows, I look closely at my father... blood pours out of a deep wound in his thigh, Nine, blurs past again, this time moving so fast, I barely have the eyes to see him! The General's blood spew's up, getting caught in Nine's slipstream.
Nine turns around for the third time, but my father's ready. He grins.
"Nine! " I shout, but it's muted by the sound of our ongoing battle. Nine charges, John tries to tackle him out of the way, but is pulled back, by what seems like 30 Mogs. Time seems to slow down as Nine charges towards my father; Nine's face isn't grinning, but worried... my father on the other hand is snarling and grinning, he revealing a sharpened row of teeth. Wow, mother definitely did not approve of that.
My father grabs Nine, the sonic boom that follows, blocks my ears, only my sight remains. The General punches Nine repeatedly in the stomach, Nine coughs up blood, each time, I get up and lunge at my father, he simply slaps me away, and I fly into the wall opposite him. I watch again from my blurred vision as my father breaks Nine's legs. A scream follows, then nothing. My father throws Nine to the side, and stalks after me. I get up and face him. I circle him until I am facing the wall. The Garde stand behind me, well, most of them at least. John is at Nine's side trying to heal him, but there are too many Mogs. Six and Marina are attempting to get over here, but they're trapped.
John/Four POV
I have to heal Nine. Adam's father is a real piece of work. I know my arm is broken I can feel it, but if I stop to heal it or Nine, the Mog soldiers surrounding could kill both of us in a matter of seconds.
I look to Adam; he's gotten up and is facing off with his father. This might be the end... and not only for me. I look to Sarah; she's so beautiful, firing at Mogs and reloading. Wow John, you're in a life-threatening situation and you're checking at your super hot girlfriend? Well at least my conscious agrees that she looks good.
Adam POV
"Well boy, you have disowned me and your entire race!" my father yells at me, I'm bleeding heavily now, Six is still fighting fiercely, Marina freezing Mogs, Sarah, Sam and Malcolm are being protected by the Chimæra while they shoot Mogs, John is standing over a broken Nine...
And me, well I'm getting a little trip down memory lane.
"No! You disowned me! Why did you hate me?! I was your son!" I shout back at my father, wincing slightly at the gash in my side. The General walks closer to me; I'm the only thing standing between John and my father – I won't fail the Garde.
I send a shockwave of seismic power through the ground, it knocks the Mogs surrounding us down, but my father soon regains his balance and lunges for me. His fist misses me by 2 inches as I dodge a deathly blow. John is continuing to throw fireballs at the Mogs surrounding him, if he stops to heal Nine, he could be dead within seconds...
I send a knee to my father's stomach, he bends over allowing me to punch his face; he stumbles, a grin of pure hatred written all over his face. He lunges for me this time and grabs my throat; he lifts me high off the ground – like he did with Three. He repeatedly punches my wound and gut, the pain is unbearable, I'm coughing blood; blood is everywhere now, I'm pretty sure he broke my ribcage.
"hey ugly!" shouts John, he's cleared the Mogs around him, but he's exhausted, limping on one leg and his arm looks broken in two places. How does he do it?my father looks at me one more time; he punches me hard in the face and then throws me aside.
"I have no time for your traitor, I'm here for Garde blood" he snarls as he stalks his way towards John.
John/Four POV
Nine is still unconscious, I've heal his collapsed lung and broken leg, but he is still out cold. The General walks towards me, his eyes blazing with anger; not only did his son join us but we destroyed another base.
"Four... Number Four, you are a tough one to kill" he says in a deep, mocking tone. My Lumen blazes at his teasing, all that have died, died to this General and that stupid son of a b*tch Ra!
"I killed the Number Three with this sword, and I plan to use it to kill you!" he says as he brings out a silver sword, the light reflecting off its shiny yet dark surface.
"Argh!" I charge at him; I'm a human fire ball, but that doesn't seem to bother the General. He swipes his sword, I duck, the air through which the sword was swiped through leaves a thin streak of white light and it disappears a second later. I shoot a column of flames towards the General, his sword blocks the fire, wait? Blocks the fire? That's so cheating!
We're in an intense battle, Six is striking lightning down, Marina has frozen and broken nearly 100 Mogs, Adam is lying unconscious on the ground and Nine is still KO.
I back flip over the General's head and stab him in the shoulder with my diamond dagger, he howls in pain and grabs my leg on descent; he throws me into the ground, now I'm sure I'm broken.
"Quite a fight Number Four, but it ends here" he says, bringing his sword up for the last blow. I hear Sarah scream my name, Six and Marina are trying to get to me as fast as possible; Marina is a blur, but she won't be fast enough - I failed. The General's foot stomps on my chest, surely breaking everything inside it.
The sword falls down towards my chest...
Five (clone) POV
I've been spying on the Garde ever since they started hiking through the perimeter and now... well now they're in a frickin battle. A few minutes ago they were owning the Mogs, but now...
Now they're getting their asses handed to them. Marina, Six and the humans are excluded but John, Nine and that Adam kid are getting slapped around by the General. A part of me wants to help the Garde, I'm about to fly away then I hear a scream...
I look to the battle, and hover towards it a bit more, still in the cover of the trees. Nine screamed. It looks like the General broke his legs, he's now KO. I hover just above the clearing, not giving myself away. Adam is fighting the General, but is soon subdued. I should probably be liking this but I don't.
I hover closer, Six and Marina are fighting fiercely and humans and Chimæra are fighting off the advancing Mogs, Adam is now KO and so is Nine.
John shouts something then charges, they're an intense fight, John back flips and stabs the General, but John's leg is grabbed and pulled down to the ground. The General stands over him, before I know it I'm zoomed towards them; Marina and Six are trying to get to him, Marina is a blur. The humans are screaming John's name. God damn it! I fly at super speed towards the General, I can't let another die!
The last thing I remember is me being almost on top of John and a bright light emerging from the sword, and then I'm in darkness.
Nine POV
Owwww, f*ck me! That's what you get when you charge at a Mog General. F*cker broke my legs!
I'm right now slipping in and out of consciousness, I'm getting snippets of scenes, Adam is chucked to the side, John stabs the General, and John is on the floor about to die.
"N-no-o" I try but all that comes out is a grunt, I can't get up, my legs are healed, but my quadriceps and hamstring on both legs are shreded, so I'm crawling towards the General, I see a dark figure fly towards the General and John and incredible speed... wait, what, that son of a b*tch is here?!
The General's sword falls down towards John, everyone is screaming, Marina is blurring to get to them, but she's too late. There's a scream, someone is stabbed, I look to the General, there's a sword piercing through in chest, he gurgles blood, attempting to speak. Adam surprisingly stands behind him, he's broken but holding the frickin sword!
"The Legacies live. They have found each other, and when we're ready, they're going to destroy you" Adam says, the General smiles, as if he's heard that before and kicks back Adam. Adam falls over; he's surely broken fully now...
A bright light explodes from the area that John, the General and the dark figure are. Then the General, John, who I think is Five and all the Mogs, disappear; It's similar to when Ra escaped Dulce...leaving a familiar burn, scorching its way into my ankle
Marina/Seven POV
Six screams, we all run to where John was, the scar burns its way into our skin.
"NO!" Nine shouts as he tries to claw his way to the spot. Malcolm, Sam, Sarah and the Chimæra run over to us.
"WHERE IS HE? JOHN! JOHN!" she says, now crying, she falls to her knees and cries on the spot where John was a few seconds ago. Nine is crying, Six is crying, Sam is crying – sh*t everyone is crying...
"Adam?" Malcolm says picking up the broken Mog, he moans in pain. He's alive. The scar is still burning, the Garde all are in extreme pain. My vision blurs... another, another is dead. This is by far the most painful scar.
"Johnny, I'm sorry..." Nine whispers to himself, as he pulls his ankle up to his chest and hugs it.
Six hugs Sarah, and they rock back and forth, they both loved John, they both watched him die. They're both crying hysterically.
I cry and go over to Nine to heal him; he flinches at my touch, and continues crying. But he cries silently, Malcolm's face darkens, his tears slide underneath his glasses, Sam goes to comfort Sarah and Six. I help Nine up, he's limping; I help him walk over to the others; John was close to us all...
There's silence, a long silence – just filled with sobbing and crying.
"No..." Six manages before crying.
"John, please don't leave me..." Sarah says between cries, the Chimæra whimper. BK trots over to Sarah and whimpers, he gives a long howl.
We are the Garde, united we stand, united we fall,
We are a team, a team who has just lost our leader...
The Fourth.
Author's Note: Hi guys, I was about to cry writing the last part. Sorry about this guys, please keep reading! I have something special in store for this "tragedy". -) The next chapter will be on Eight, One and Emily – and how the scar gets to them.
Thoughts on this chapter – tell me in the reviews!
How do you think the others are going to cope with the death?
How are Eight, One and Emily going to cope?
What happened to Five?
Where did the General, Five and John go?
Did John actually die?
Did anyone pick up on the Easter Egg I dropped? (Hint: When Adam stabbed the General, what did he say?)
Stay Tuned!
Paragon 8