I'm back!

Thank you all for the reviews !

A big shout out to lemon-moon for reviewing this story and for all the support! I'm still trying to think of a name for our condition... :)

As per lemon-moon's suggestion, I've broken up the paragraphs in this chapter so it's easier to read... at least I hope it is!

And one more thing, I now have the POVs of each chapter as part of the title, because people keep telling me they don't get who's speaking so yeah... sorry I haven't done it till now :)

Here's chapter 25... it's long :P

CHAPTER 25

ELLA

ETHAN GRINS SO SMUGLY I HAVE TO RESIST THE URGE TO GET UP AND PUNCH HIM, AND I'M NOT ALONE. I CAN make out Five's jaw clenching as Ra begins to congratulate him.

"This is good news", he says and nods his head at Ethan, "When do you expect to move in?".

"We are already on site at the hangar, and will soon have teams all around the city, narrowing down our search. We believe the Garde have managed to establish a safe house with sufficient technological support, judging by the level of encryption on the message", Ethan replies and I look at Five, alarmed.

We practically assured Ra that they would be in Brazil.

"A safe house", Ra muses and then turns to us, an unreadable glint in his eyes, "What do you think?", he asks and I answer calmly.

"Impossible. The Garde may have the resources to do so, but they don't have the time. It's been barely a month since we took down Chicago", I say and Five nods.

"Are there any buildings in the area with systems that they could use?", he asks and Ethan looks confused.

"You're suggesting they broke in just to use a computer? They're not that-", he starts to say but Five cuts him off.

"Desperate? They lost their safe house, and two people who they believe to be allies. Not to mention the fact that Number Eight was killed-".

"Number Eight is alive, Five", Ra says maliciously, probably remembering how he was just about to blast his head off and Five turns to him.

"My lord, with all due respect, I have Number Eight's scar on my ankle. I assure you, he's dead", Five says and I nod.

"But how do you explain what was reported from Dulce?", Ra challenges but Five doesn't look the least bit intimidated as he answers.

"They were fighting in the middle of a desert, in sweltering heat and in the middle of a sandstorm, that is, if we assume Number Six to be using her storm legacy, which she never fights without.

"In such situations it is easy to confuse one thing for another. Super speed could be easily confused to be teleportation in such a small space, and the heat would create a mirage effect, making it harder to see exactly what is going on.

"Number Four has a Chimaera, a shape shifting beast, and in the haze how are you sure that what your soldiers saw was a Garde and not a Chimaera? It's not like they are wired for higher cognitive capacities", he explains.

"That does not mean anything, Number Five, because it doesn't explain the existence of the other Garde", Ra says, ignoring the comment about the soldiers and before he closes the topic, Five continues.

"I'm not denying the existence of another Garde, my lord. It was reported that she and the supposed "Number Eight" were similar in appearance. She could have the ability to duplicate herself or create illusions. But I'm sure that Eight is dead, I killed him myself", Five finishes and I'm struck by how perfect the lie is.

Again, it's almost like he's rehearsed it.

"How did you think of that?", I ask him in his head and he replies, almost smugly, "When you're with the Mogs you have to learn to think fast, especially when you're lying", he replies but I'm not convinced.

There's something there he's not telling me.

"Well?", Five asks after a minute and Ra replies, "Your theory is strange, Number Five, but the Loric are a strange species. We will look into it", Ra says and Five nods.

"Very well, I wish you all the best with your ambush, and I hope I will be able to watch it as it unfolds. For now, I believe it is time for Ella's training", he says and I nod enthusiastically.

Ra looks at us, and I see a flash of suspicion in his eyes which disappears as he says, "Agreed. General Saturnus will oversee your work", he says and the General steps forward from the corner he was standing in.

I had almost forgotten he was here.

We excuse ourselves and follow the General to the training center. "What are we going to do? I can't reach the Garde with my telepathy!", I say in my head and Five thinks for a second before replying.

"We need to get to my chest…. remember Four was talking about those stones that transfer messages between the Garde? To the…. Macrocosm, I think he called it. Well I have one, we can use that", he says and I'm suddenly optimistic.

"We'll have to get rid of him first", I say, indicating the General as we step into the training center and Five smirks.

"Leave that to me", he says and pulling out the silver ball bearing from his pocket, he transforms his hand to metal. One deft punch to the side of the head and the General drops to the ground.

"Nice punch", I say out loud and he smiles before replying, "Thank you, now help me tie him up". We find some resistance tubing in the supply closet and use it to secure the General the best we can before heading out.

"Where are we going", I whisper as we hide in an empty corridor to avoid the patrols. "Vault room", he replies.

"The Mogs keep my chest there, along with a few other Loric stuff….. I really don't have full access. I can get to my chest though, it was one of the conditions on which I agreed to show it to them… I guess I wasn't such an idiot when I joined them".

Maybe, maybe not, I think to myself as we run down the twisting corridors until we are standing in front of a large door, not unlike that of Ra's throne room.

Five places his face near a scanner and types in a ten digit code, and the door slides open to reveal a corridor of white doors. "Here, this way", Five says and pulls me to a door on the left. He stands at the keypad and pauses for a second. "What?", I ask him and he grins sheepishly.

"I'm trying to remember the code…. it's been a long time since I last used it", he explains and I resist the urge to punch him. "Well hurry up! It won't be long before they find us or before we're too late to warn the Garde!", I say and Five nods.

He's about to turn back to the keypad when we hear a voice say, "Well I guess your time has run out".

We turn around to find an extremely furious Setrakus Ra.

xXoOoXx

KIARA

I sit on my bed and try to concentrate on the book in my hands, but I can't.

I'm a mess -not literally, I've just come out of a shower- and I'm worried, confused and anxious all at the same time.

First, there's Nine. He insisted on carrying me back to the bunker, even though I was pretty sure I could walk. Was he just offering because he believed I was weak and going to pass out any second? Or was he worried about me, like genuinely?

As if teenage relationship problems weren't enough, Eight's severely pissed off at me for taking the risk and using the subway. Not that he's blown up about it yet, he's probably waiting for the right moment so it has the best effect.

And then there's the dooming someone to death thing that hasn't allowed me to get a good night's sleep since I met up with the Garde. Now it's worse, since I know them all and won't be able to forgive myself if anything was to happen to any one of them.

"You create your own problems, so you should be able to solve them", Conrad used to say to me and he was right. But this time, it's a matter of life and death, literally, and I'm losing faith in my ability to fix it.

I'm considering going to look for Eight when he teleports into the room, his face serious as he surveys the room. "She's taking a shower", I say looking up to meet his eyes and he nods stiffly.

I take in the dark circles under his eyes and the frown lines on his forehead. They weren't there when I first met him. "It's taking a toll on both of us, you're starting to look old", I tease him but he doesn't go for it, and that's when I know I'm not going to be forgiven easily.

"What were you thinking?", he asks and I'm about to answer when he continues, "Pulling the others into the subway? When you knew that we've practically sealed one of their fates?".

"Eight, there were so many of them… it would have been more dangerous to be fighting in the open! It was the only way-", I start to reply but he cuts me off, looking furious, "Only way? Did you even bother to let us know what you were doing before you decided to put your lives in the balance?".

"We were in the middle of a battle, you can't possibly expect me to ask the Mogs to wait while I make a phone call!", I reply, my voice rising steadily. "I had called for backup! If you had stayed there for five more minutes-", he insists and I get even more pissed off, "We didn't HAVE five more minutes Eight!".

"So you put everyone's lives in danger. You, Marina-", he starts but I don't let him finish, "Eight! I understand you don't want anything to happen to her but it's not like we have much of a choice!".

"Well maybe we don't but that doesn't mean you can go around taking risks-", he replies and I'm really frustrated. "A calculated risk! And plus this whole damn thing was your idea anyway!", I cry and he winces. I've struck a nerve, it was his idea to go ahead with it and decide how to evade the price later.

"My idea? So now you blame me?", he yells and drops his voice as he continues.

"So you had absolutely no part in this, you didn't support me. Right. It's all my fault, and so now I have to fix it on my own. So next time something happens, I'll make sure I'm the one who gets hurt, and who makes the sacrifice. I hope you're satisfied now", he says and I open my mouth to yell back but I stop when hear the shower turn off.

Eight glares at me one last time before teleporting out and I return to my place and pick up my book as Marina walks out.

She sees me with my book and gives me a small smile before asking, "Any progress?", to which I reply, "Slightly, I mean, it's coming to me, but I'm not quite fluent yet", and she nods, not pursuing the topic further.

I'm about to ask her how much she heard when Eight teleports back in and I take it as my cue to leave, but not before glaring at his turned back.

I end up on the couch in the living room clutching the book so tightly I'm afraid I could tear out the pages.

To say I'm angry would be an understatement, Eight doesn't even make the effort to understand.

I take a few deep breaths and manage to calm myself down before I turn back to my book.

Anger isn't the way to solve this, I'm going to have to speak to Eight again soon, but until then I might as well do something I enjoy.

I start on my book again, struggling as I re adjust to reading Loric. It's not really that hard, because our brains are hardwired to recognize it, but you still need practice before you're fluent.

I'm about halfway through the first page when I hear someone drop down beside me and I look up.

It's Nine.

"Hey", he says with a smirk and I find myself smiling back. "How are Sam and Adam?", I ask him and his face turns somber.

"Six is with Sam and John said he was going to speak to Adam once he's done healing the Chimaera. Even though they didn't join you in the subway they got pretty beat up taking down the reinforcements above ground", he replies and I nod, feeling more guilty by the second.

Malcolm's gone, and it's not like his death is the one Eight and I have "arranged".

It must show on my face because all of a sudden, Nine's looking worried. "What's bothering you?", he asks and before I can stop myself it all comes pouring out.

"It's all my fault, if only I could figure out how I'm getting these dreams then maybe I could force them to come sooner! If you guys had had a bit more warning maybe-", I start but Nine cuts me off, "Malcolm would have made it? Kiara, we would have never made it out without some loss, they were too well set up. They were prepared, so don't go blaming yourself. You did nothing wrong".

"But-", I start to protest but he shushes me looking annoyed, "As much as I like speaking to you, all this noble selfless stuff has got to stop. You're turning into Johnny and it's disturbing", he says, putting an arm around me, pulling me to him and I can't help but smile.

He turns his attention to the book on my lap and then back at me, "How's the reading thing going?".

"OK, but the more I read the more convinced I get that something's off..", I say and he raises his eyebrows, a cue for me to explain.

"This book talks about the last time Lorien was in hibernation, that's before the secret wars with the Mogadorians. From what I have read, I gather that the Elders used nine "Phoenix stones", to revive the planet, and they basically brought it back to life. And then I realised that since Lorien's in hibernation again, and we're supposed to revive it, then we must have the Phoenix stones, right?", I ask him and he nods before asking, "You mean the mud in my chest, the antler in Eight's?".

'No!", I say and he looks confused as I hurry to explain, "I mean, I considered it, but that would be too risky, don't you think?", I ask and it only seems to confuse him more.

"When they sent us here, they must have known that we all wouldn't make it, right? I mean, that's the whole reason for the number system..",I say and he nods, following and I continue.

"So why would they put something so important in our chests? Once a Garde dies their chest contents disintegrate, and so it's pointless to put it there. And since you need all nine to bring back Lorien, it can't be in the chests!", I say and he nods.

"But what are the antler and stuff doing there then? And where and what are the real Phoenix stones?", he asks and I reply, "I think it's more for memories sake, to remind us of what we're fighting for. As for the real Phoenix stones, I don't have a clue…". "Well it's an interesting theory, have you told the others yet?", he asks and I shake my head, "I wanted to run it by you first", I tell him and he grins.

"Well you should tell them, once this all dies down..", he says and I open my mouth to reply and end up yawning.

"Tired?", he asks and I shake my head, making him smirk. "Come here", he says and I curl up against his side, letting out another yawn.

"You know, you're actually kinda smart", he says and I look up at him.

"Actually? What, did you think I was an idiot?", I ask but he smirks in reply.

"Sleep", he commands and for once I obey, closing my eyes and finally relaxing as I feel Nine's arms wrap around me.

xXoOoXx

ELLA

We've been caught red handed, there's no way we can talk our way out of this one, especially since Ra found the General tied up in the training center.

I consider fighting off the guards, but there are way too many, so Five and I are hauled down to the prison block and thrown into a cell while Ra figures out what to do with us.

"You OK?", he asks me as the door shuts with a loud bang and I nod, remembering the last time I was here.

"Why did you tell me the cells were legacy proof last time?", I ask him and he smiles grimly as he answers, "If I told you could use your powers, you would have tried to escape and then your punishment would have been worse".

I nod but don't thank him, I'm still a bit pissed off that he hid it from me.

"And how did you send the note?", I ask him and he looks confused.

"What note?", he asks, "I never sent you any notes. What are you talking about?".

Now it's my turn to be confused.

"I got a note the day of my second audience with Ra, it told me not to eat the soup, and then I figured they were drugging me. Up until now I thought you had sent it", I tell him and he shakes his head.

"Nope, that wasn't me. But now it appears we, or at least you have a friend in here, maybe they can bust us out". I nod, but it's unlikely that the person would be able to get us out on their own, especially without legacies.

"Since the cell isn't legacy proof, can't you break us out?", I ask him but he shakes his head.

"It may not be legacy proof, but it's state of the art. Trying to break out activates a force field which can knock you out for four or five hours, easy. The only chance we have is overpowering the guards when they open the door from outside, that shuts off the security", he says and I feel a sinking in my stomach.

"We're not going to get out of here anytime soon, are we?", I ask him and he just stares back. I think of the others, the shock when they realize it's a trap, and pray that no one gets hurt in the battle that will follow the rendezvous.

"At least we'll know if something happens", Five says rolling up his pant leg to display the four scars on his ankle.

"Who do you think she is?", Five asks and I raise my eyebrows, "The other Garde, I mean".

"Oh her, I don't know. We never saw her on the tablet before, so maybe she's not a Garde, maybe she's human or something", I say, not really able to theorize when I'm so worried.

Five looks like he's about to say something more when the door flies open and Ra walks in, followed by the Mog who tortured me when I first got here and a group of Mog soldiers.

They grab us and start pulling us out of the room, towards the torture chamber and we try our best to fight back, but they're too strong. We try to use our telekinesis to throw them off but someone injects us with a sedative of some sort, and suddenly we find it really difficult to use our powers, faced with a dizzying feeling every time we try.

We're led to the tables and just before we're strapped down Five manages to yell, "Don't tell them anything!", and I'm about to shout back when I feel a sharp pain in my arm and scream in agony.

And the torture begins again.

xXoOoXx

KIARA

I really need to figure out what's causing these dreams.

The second I manage to drift off I'm greeted with another vision.

I watch as Ella and Five excuse themselves to train, and then watch them being caught while trying to warn us, probably against the trap. And then I see them strapped to metal tables, screaming in agony as Mogs cut open their flesh, occasionally dropping in what looks to be acid. And the worst part is, I feel it all. I feel the burning in my skin, the slice of the blade and….. someone calling out to me.

I start to drift away, still panicking, wanting to help them even though I'm somehow aware I'm not actually there and the voice gets louder. "Kiara!", it shouts and suddenly I realize Nine's trying to wake me up.

My eyes fly open and I sit up, tears running down my cheeks as I try to calm my breathing.

Nine sits next to me, looking a bit worried and I know he can tell I've had another vision.

Thankfully, he waits for me to calm down a bit before asking what's happened and when I finally manage to slow my heart rate, I tell him what I saw. His face goes from worried, to confused when I tell him about Five supposedly helping Ella and to pure rage when he hears about the torture.

"We need to tell the others", I say, still slightly unnerved and rubbing my arms to rid them of the lingering burning sensation.

He nods before standing up and heading to the dorms, returning a few minutes later with the rest of the Garde, Sarah, Adam and Sam.

The Chimaera follow behind, looking confused by the sudden meeting and Myrah comes to sit on my lap. I stroke her fur, trying to get my thoughts straight as the Garde take their seats and I start to explain what I saw.

"Wait, so Five's working for us?", Six asks as I finish and I nod, "That's what it looked like. I know it seems to be a bit strange…. but that's not what I'm worried about the most", I say and everyone looks at me again, confused.

"Well I'm having this dream now, hours after the attack but Ella and Five seemed to have just found that it's going to take place. That means-", I start to say but Adam cuts me off, "There's a time lag, you see things after they happen".

"Exactly, so Ella and Five are probably being tortured while we speak", I finish and Marina lets out a choked sob.

"We need to, we have to..", she starts but stops herself before she breaks down completely and composes herself.

"We need to go get them", she says, her voice level and I smile at her, proud that she's learning to be calm in these type of situations.

"Marina's right, while it may be Ra messing with your head", John starts to say, pausing to look pointedly at Nine before continuing, "it could almost equally be true, and in that case we're not going to sit here and do nothing".

"Hear hear", Eight says and grins, "So what's the plan of attack?".

"We need the blueprints", Nine says looking oddly detached and Adam walks to the control room to retrieve them. "From Kiara's description in her dreams, I'm pretty convinced they're being held at Ashwood", he says and I notice the redness of his eyes.

Maybe I should have been the one to speak to him.

"But there's one problem, he says spreading them out on the table and we look at him, "I kinda destroyed half the base last time, and these plans are from before reconstruction", he says, scrutinizing them carefully and I'm surprised.

"You took down a Mog base?", Nine asks, not really great with subtlety and he nods.

"Yeah, but it was more One really, her legacy can be pretty awesome, though I really can't show you here unless you want a cave in", he says and I smile up at him.

"That is so cool! Wow…", I tell him and when he smiles back, I'm happy that I've taken his mind off Malcolm for a bit.

"We enter from the Southeast compound. More tree cover", Nine says while staring at the map and John nods.

"Should we take the chests? Or just the stuff we might need? They're hard to carry around and now we have a safe place to keep them…", Marina asks and I reply, "We'll take just what we need, a few healing stones maybe, in case you or John can't get to one of us, our weapons….", I trail off as Nine starts to speak.

"This isn't going to be like Dulce. No one's going to go and start a hug-a-thon with our enemies..", he starts to say but Eight protests, "I thought it was Six!".

"But you like Marina", Nine says and I raise my eyebrows as Marina turns on him, "Yeah… you did like me then, didn't you?", she asks but apart from the glint in her eyes we can't tell she's joking.

"Umm.." Eight says, suddenly stuck and I burst out laughing at his expression.

"Guys! Focus!", Six chides but she's smiling too.

"We need a distraction", John says, "A team of two will go in and get Ella, and maybe Five too if he is indeed working for us, while the rest of us keep the soldiers occupied outside".

"I'll go in", Eight and I say at the same time, glancing at each other and the others look at us strangely.

"Actually, I thought it was best if Nine and Six were to do this", John says cautiously, and Eight and I burst into objections.

"We can teleport them out!", Eight complains and I nod, "And with my clones we'll have more than two people, we won't need backup!", I add but he shakes his head.

"Sorry guys, but Ella thinks Eight's dead and she doesn't know you, so probably won't trust you. Plus, I can reach Nine through BK, so I have a way to communicate with them and in the event that they get separated in the base, they both can potentially rescue them, so maybe next time", he says and as I'm about to protest more, Nine puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a look, telling me to calm down.

But I'm not going to take this lying down.

Before I get down to complaining though, Adam starts to speak, "But there's just one problem, there are bio metric facial recognition and retina scanners on most of the doors, and we really don't have anyone who can get us in…", he says and Nine face palms.

"I knew we should have captured Purdy and Walker!", he says and John frowns.

"Hey guys, forgetting something?", I ask and change to look like Marina and back to myself in seconds, "Appearance changing legacy here!".

"Kiara you're a genius!", Six says and I smile, "So I'm going in right?", I ask and Six shakes her head, still looking excited.

"You can charge the Xitharis! Nine and I can impersonate Purdy and Walker!", she says and Nine nods, looking thrilled at the prospect and I feel a sinking feeling.

I look at Eight and see my emotions perfectly reflected in his eyes.

In his eyes, I see dread.

It's the revival of the trivia! This weeks question, what was the name of Ella's mother, and what were her legacies?

So thanks for reading...

Until next time

thesecondgarde