Hey guys, look I know it's been a long time. I feel terrible, honestly. But exam duty does call. I've also ben working on an original story not related to Lorien Legacies at all. A few writing courses from my school and imaginative characters later and I'm, about 1/3 of the way through it! This chapter I wrote just before I stopped updating, I honestly forgot that I had it.

As for The Destiny of Ten and The Stand of Eight - I'm not sure when I'll be updating them. After The Fate of Ten, I kinda lost hope in the series; it was a good book, but I felt as if James Frey messed up the series after The Fall of Five or The Rise of Nine. Anyway that's my opinion, it's still a great series, just thought I might add that in.

So please read, enjoy, review and live! (You might have to read the previous chapters to understand where I'm at here)

Marina/Seven POV

I sit back into my seat. My heart pulsing and rapidly beating with every tension filled second that goes past. My knee bobs at an increasing rate as more people file in and walk past me. I've never been so nervous in my life. A hand settles itself onto my bouncing knee, as the last of the passengers make their way past us. I look to Six, I'm startled for a second, her new dyed blond hair catches me off guard. She has a sympathetic smile, I smile back, unsure and still slightly freaked out.

"Your first time on a plane?" she asks, I nod, still feeling the nerves. She chuckles slightly,

"Don't worry, it's not that bad. Just relax and you'll kinda enjoy it" she says, grinning. I smile,

"Kinda enjoy it?" I ask, she laughs, I end up joining her; Ella peeps out from the other side of me and shoots us a questioning look, she then rolls her eyes, but I see her grinning from the corner of my vision. I've grown much closer to Six over the past few days; I know it's not a long time, but I feel a strong bond with her. Being Number's Six and Seven, she says that we have a special connection. She's like a sister to me, even though I'm a few months older, I feel like she's watching over me. It's a nice feeling – it's probably what Ella feels all the time now.

"Hello girls" I hear Crayton's voice from next to me. He's standing up in the isle, he's newly shaved moustache is growing on me and his new glasses just creep me out a bit.

"Hi Sir" Ella beams, I smile and Six waves, we're disguised as an astronomy class, with Crayton and Adelina being the teachers. He's the last on the plane, he stayed back making sure no unwanted passengers boarded. Ella opens the astronomy textbook and starts reading it. I'm about to tell her that we're not suppose to read the textbooks but only have them as 'props' for our disguise; I look closely and see her face strained with concentration – she's trying to use Telekinesis to lift the page.

She gives up with a frown, I'm about to tell her that it'll come but I'm interrupted by the flight attendant. She gives a warm smile, but it's fake – probably plastered on there for show, I smile back, out of respect.

"Can all passengers please take their seats, the seatbelt sign will turn on shortly. Please turn to your flight attendants for safety and security instructions' the pilot's voice rings out through the overhead speakers. I obey and sit back, grabbing the two sides of the seatbelt and following Six's example. I copy her by clicking in the two sides and tightening the slack. I take another deep breath and straighten up and grip the armrests, I can already feel the blood and adrenaline pumping wildly through my veins; my knuckles turning white.

"It's OK. Just relax, it's pretty fun" Six says with a hint of glee in her voice. I roll my eyes in response and try to suppress the tension building up.

Four POV

I carefully roll over in my bed. The cold air and atmosphere of the night consumes my weak and tired figure. I slowly swing my legs over the side of the bed, the slim figure behind me rustles gently and goes back to sleep, her breathing soft and slow. Sarah. I lean forward, placing my elbows on my knees and head in my hands – chills zip up and down my back; I prefer being shirtless at night.

But I feel vulnerable.

I glance back to Sarah, she's sleeping peacefully now, I don't want to disturb her. Sleeping with her a month ago would've seemed weird and embarrassing, but now it feels right. Sam is in the other room on the lounge, he said he preferred it. After we dropped Six off at the airport I felt scared and raw. I've only known Six for a short time but now I feel like I've known her my entire life.

Saying goodbye was hard, but I know I'll see her again.

I stand up quietly, not wanting to make a sound, Sarah's soft breathing and quiet sounds make me smile; she's beautiful. The tiles are cold as I step into the lounge room, I can tell Sam's fast asleep, he's light snoring echoes ever so lightly through the cheap motel rooms. I head to the balcony; even though it's a cheap motel, the view is impeccable. I can see the city lights from here, the distant noises of cars and people. But are ultimately drowned out by the rustling of the leaves.

The sky is lit up with stars, I pick out Lorien instantly; the dimly lit planet pulsing slightly, my pendant seems to respond by pulsing as well. A spark of hope ignites in my chest; this war, these people, these planets – all of them are going to face fate. The night breeze greets me and the coldness of the night compliments it.

It's a raw and free feeling; it just reminds me how valuable and precious life is.

Distant sirens ring out, the sounds drown out each other like a fire snuffing itself out; flickering until it's all gone. The Detroit night atmosphere is still calming, regardless of my life and the situation I'm in. I just hope I can be the Garde I'm meant to be.

I look into the distance and see a few mountain ranges far beyond the mist and clouds. Wherever you are Six. Stay safe.

Six POV

The New Delhi air is hot and very humid.

The sun's heat intensifies as Adelina and Crayton usher us to follow them through the busy airport crowds. Marina holds Ella's hand beside me, quickly picking up the pace as we near the end of the customs and to the baggage claim. My ears are drowned in noise, I can barely hear Crayton's commands as he suddenly stops in front of me.

"Where do we go now?" Ella inquires, letting go of Marina's hand and looking to the map that Adelina has pulled out. I keep an eye on Crayton as he makes his way to collect our luggage; being on the run has heightened my senses and put me on the alert 24/7.

"Crayton says the boy is in the mountains" Adelina says, pointing to the range on the Himalayas, she sighs in frustration, Marina walks towards Crayton who has collected our two bag luggage.

"OK, if we take a taxi it'll be about half a day's drive, if we walk we can make a short cut through this route here, but still about half a day's walk" Crayton calculates.

"I'm for the taxi" Marina immediately says, grabbing a bag and walking to the exit, I laugh and Ella giggles at her urgent response,

"Yeah, a taxi would be good" Adelina agrees, following Marina to the taxi line up. I grin and follow, while Crayton just shrugs. As we make our way to the line up I see an elderly man in the corner of my eye approaching our group. I tense and hear the clouds above me respond by swirling, they darken at my sudden alert; Marina notices this and walks over to me,

"Six what's wrong?" she whispers, before I can answer, the old man approaches Crayton and Adelina. Marina instinctively grabs Ella's hand who's surprisingly not looking terrified.

"Who are you?" Crayton protectively asks, stepping forward, his voice is firm and the surrounding sound seems to drown out, my ears are only concentrating on his conversation.

"Beware of the beast! The gods have damned us!" he strangely blurts, Adelina raises an eyebrow, and I think Ella smirks a bit.

"What beast?" I forcefully ask, I realise the clouds are now cracking with lightning, I slowly release my grip on the weather and face the freaky old man.

"The one in the mountains. He's the end of us all!" I look to Adelina and Crayton, they nod,

"Where can we find this… beast?" I ask, slinging my backpack over my shoulder, the man's eyes widen in response,

"Why? The beast-"

"Just tell us where" Marina interrupts him, the air around us seeming slightly colder, he nods – I notice his worn body has put a lot of strain on him, his left eye is a milky shade and the other takes a dull grey colour at his pupils. His thin grey hairs flow slightly in the hot breeze,

"If you follow that path ahead, it'll lead you straight to the mountains, it's the only way there" he sighs in defeat. I nod a thank you, as does Marina and Crayton, before we head off in that general direction.

"May the gods be merciful" I hear the man mutter silently. I can't help but worry now, this boy – if he even is a boy must have some very powerful raw strength, unless we're walking straight into a trap. But that man seemed very sure and Crayton says there are too many sources describing this boy as Loric.

"Well, I guess we're walking then" Crayton happily says. I hear Marina groan in response, I can't help but laugh.

Five POV

I'm not sure what clicked in Rey, but 4 hours later we're standing outside the airport. I have to admit, I was expected him to say 'no' when I ask if we could leave, but he just simply asked 'Why?'. My mind drifts back to the conversation…

"Why?" Rey asks. Why? Are you kidding me? All my anger and the speech I prepared to counter his 'no' answer just pops.

"W-what do you mean?" I ask him, not sure if it's another test or just his curiosity. He raises an eyebrow and looks up from his study,

"Why? Why do you want to leave here?" I'm stunned again, I honestly never thought through why I wanted to leave, besides the general things like being isolated from the world, endless and brutal training, that's about it, and the weather is one thing – but if I did say that, Rey wouldn't approve and he'll probably just double my training hours and move to a more isolated place of the continent.

"Um, doesn't matter, I-I was-"

"You can tell me Five" Rey surprisingly says, I look to his face, his eyes genuinely show concern and it looks like he's trying to reach out to me. Normally I would be furious and very frustrated right now, but all I can do is sigh heavily and take a seat on the flimsy looking chair opposite Rey's study. It creaks at my weight; a constant reminder that I have to stay in shape or get into better shape.

"I want to leave because, we've been shut off from the world, Rey! I appreciate everything you've done, but… look around us! We're living like savages! We should, if anything, be living like kings or warriors! All you do is tell me to run… look I'm sorry for skipping out training those months ago, but don't you think I've redeemed myself? I've been training non stop, to the point where I can't even eat! I'm tired of running Rey… I want to fight-"

"Five, fighting comes later, not until your Lega-" I interrupted him by lifting the two chairs seating around us, they float in a mystical fashion, and for the first time in a very long time, a see Rey's eyes widen with awe and amazement.

"This is what I can do. I'm strong now Rey. The whole world could see that… why can't you?" I say softly, slowly placing the chairs down. I look to the ground, dreading that I've probably made things worse, I hear his footsteps nearer me and feel a hand rest on my shoulder. I look up, my face burning with shame and embarrassment, but what I'm met with is more surprising.

A warm smile from Rey.

"Well then, we should probably get packing" his voice still hoarse and deep, but filled with a sense of affection. The cold low voice of Rey is now replaced with the warm voice of my Cepan. I can't help but smile some what stupidly.

Standing outside the airport gives me the chills – I can't even remember the last time I was here. I hold two thin paper tickets in my right hand, they flip in the strong wind that has picked up, small writing covers one side reading:

Miami.

That's where we're going.

Marina/Seven POV

The trail is hot, muddy and rocky.

It's been 3 hours since we started hiking, the trail gets narrower and narrower as we walk; it's obvious not many people come up here, in fear or something else… I can feel the small blisters forming on my feet, my choice of footwear wasn't the greatest and patches of sweat have started to form on my back.

A cooler breeze has started to pick up as the afternoon hits. Crayton walks ahead using a map and compass to navigate us through the wilderness, Ella is close behind him, kicking every small stone she sees into the surrounding vegetation. Adelina walks a few steps next to Ella, reading a couple of news articles about this mysterious boy. I hear Six come up beside me,

"We had to listen to the old crazy man, didn't we?" Six mutters to me, I laugh quietly, not wanting to distract Crayton from tracking this boy.

"Well at least it's better than improvising?" I say, but it comes out as a question – Six grins, mirroring my expression.

"You excited to see the other Garde?" she asks, Six has tried to keep a happy mood, but ever since this hot, humid weather struck us, it's been too hard.

"I guess, I'm a bit nervous to be honest-"

"We're here" Crayton's voice interrupts me, I instantly look ahead, a small opening near a lake clears out. Trees tower over the vegetation and rustle in the breeze; it's very peaceful looking, another faintly rocky trail continues about 100 meters from where we are; the ground look perfect for a hide out or camp site. I stare into the blueish green lake, the murky water in the depths move slightly, making me flinch; the sudden drop in the happy vibe turns to one of fear.

"Be on your guard" Six says, drawing her short sword and knife, Adelina and Crayton click their respective guns they smuggled and take a defensive stance, I draw out my smaller handgun and look around for any signs of danger. A low growl comes from the clump of ferns opposite us, the leaves shake,

"There, ahead" Ella says, pointing and standing behind Crayton who has gone into protective Cepan mode, as has Adelina. What merges from the clump of vegetation has a scream caught in my throat and my body stricken with fear.

I very faintly hear the softest of gasps from Six as I stare straight ahead.

It's huge.

3 pairs of glowing yellow eyes emerge from the patch of vegetation. The cloud swirl and crack, I look to Six, the grip on her hilt is white-knuckled. Adelina and Crayton are aiming their guns directly at the creature who's stalked out of the bush. I instinctively grab Ella's hand as the creature comes into view.

Before us is a monstrous three headed lion.

A deep growl echoes from one of it's three throats as it advances. The golden fur coat glistens in the sun and the deep bronze mane whips slightly in the wind.

"What is that?" a gasp from Ella, she looks very brave for a girl her age. The clouds crack with lightning but is interrupted when Crayton speaks,

"Don't, not yet" holding up a hand to Six. She obeys. He steps forward placing his gun on the ground,

"Who are you?"

A growl is his response.

Then suddenly a man walks out from behind the three-headed lion. He looks familiar, lightly tanned skin, grey stringy hair and different shades of eyes.

"You!" I exclaim ready to walk forward. He holds his hand up and smiles politely.

"Wha-"

"You've been chosen to challenge the Great Skinwalker, descendant of Proteus himself!" he shouts, I shudder – what's a Proteus?

"Who's Proteus?" I whisper,

"He was an old sea god in Greek mythology, he could take the shape of any creature he imagined" Ella says. I look to her with a questioning look, Six looks equally surprised.

"What? The orphanage got boring sometimes"

I laugh quietly.

"Skinwalkers are what the Native Americans used to describe people who could shapeshift" Crayton notes, advancing towards the pair.

"What is this challenge you speak of?" Adelina asks, keeping her grip on the handgun tight, firmly staring into the face of death – literally.

"You three will fight three of his creatures in turn for your freedom" the old man says, pointing to Six, Ella and I.

"No way-"

"Ah, but if you want to seek out what you want, you must abide" he slyly cuts her off. He knows we're here for the Loric boy. Another jolt of fear courses through me before Six steps forward.

"Okay, let's do this" before anyone can protest the monster disappears and the man walks away. I'm slightly relieved until the trees crunch next to us, and another monster appears.

"What is that?" I breathe,

"Minotaur" Crayton mutters back in disbelief, stepping back, Adelina follows but keep her grip tight on her gun,

"We have to help her!"

"We can't, it'll break the rules, who knows what happens if we'll do that" Crayton explains, I nod, still not happy in Six fighting a bull-headed man.

The Mino-something charges forward, Six rolls out of the way and tries to slash it, it simple flicks her body to the side.

"Six!" I hear Ella scream, she hastily gets up, rolling out of the way from another charge. My heart is thudding against my chest, my pulse sending shockwaves through me. I'm terrified. Six speedily turns around and kicks the bull man in the knee, it bellows in pain and charges towards her as she runs away. I'm afraid for a second, but then I see what she trying to do. She runs upwards the tree before backflipping off it, in mid-air dodging a rather sharp pair of horns from the beast. As she lands the beast wedges itself into the thick tree from the charging speed and is stuck. Six walks over to it, breathing heavily and raises her sword, but as it comes down, the Minotaur disappears. I'm shocked,

"What?" she mutters, I'm just as confused. Slow clapping from the old man nearer the bank of rocks beside us. This guy is really getting on my nerves.

Before I can say anything a shimmer in the water grabs my attention. The dark shape bellow it circles around before plummeting lower into the lake.

"The lake, the next creature is in the lake" I state, walking towards the shimmering water. But someone grabs my hand. I look up to see Adelina, a cautious expression on her face.

"Mari-"

"Adelina, I have to do this" I say, making no room her protests. Six looks at me and smiles, as does Ella. Adelina nods, still carrying a worried expression. As I make my way towards the lake edge, I take a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing"

Then the cool blue water engulfs me.

I breathe in deeply, still slightly hesitantly that I might drown, but my Legacy does prevail, and soon the cool water washes into my lungs as I open my tightly shut eyes. The lake is crystal blue, the water around is an amazing shade of light navy, the murky green shades towards the bottom. I'm suddenly on edge as I feel a change in the water flow, looking around frantically, I catch a glimpse of a small movement coming towards me. I'm mesmerised as it gets closer, it looks beautiful.

I think it's a mermaid-no, a merman.

His eyes are the amazing shade of emerald green – they're beautiful. His tail, a deep shade of sea green matching his eyes, kicks gracefully through the water, speeding towards me. But as he gets closer I'm shocked.

This guy has four arms.

Before I can register the left pair strongly push me, sending me barrelling deeper into the water. I regain composure, on high alert, looking around as I see his body zip around speedily. And before I know it, my face has been connected to one of his many fists. I grip my cheek in pain, quickly healing it. The icy sensation flows through me reminding me of another approach…

I see the merman from the corners of my eyes, zooming towards me. When he's about 3 metres away, I let out a small spark of ice, it catches him by surprise as the right pair of his arms are cover in a thick layer of ice. He slowly sinks, struggling to move, trying to get out of the trap I've captured him in. I hear him grunt mutely as he hits the bottom of the lake, he looks up at me and to my surprise sends a goofy grin my way. Before I can react he disappears, leaving the chunk of ice he was previously contained in.

I swim to the surface, trying to suppress the blush that has formed on my cheeks.

Six POV

Marina emerges from the water, she was down there for a long time – Adelina was starting to get worried.

Relief showers her's and Ella's face as they see Marina walks towards them. I catch a glimpse of a slight flush in her cheeks. Sending a questioning look her way, all she can do is mouth, I'll tell you later.

"Well that was two creatures, where's the third?" Crayton questions, looking around. I do the same, but unfortunately something finds us first. A loud screech is heard from the tall trees ahead, the old man just sits contently, as if this is a usual thing he sees everyday.

He might be Loric... Na, he's too crazy.

Emerging from the top of the trees is a very large, scary looking bird creature. It lands on o small rock bank-like perch, fifty yards away from us. This is when I get a real good look at it. The front half of the creature resembles a giant eagle, the back half… a lion. It's wings a spread wide, the brown feathers melt in with the black ones.

The creature screeches again, shaking the ground ever so softly. It does it again.

It wants a challenge.

"Gryphon" Adelina breathes.

Ella steps up and my stomach drops.

"No" Crayton protectively says, standing in front of her, Adelina nods along with her. Marina agrees.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk – you cannot interfere mortal, only they can" the old man says, gesturing to Marina, Ella and myself. I grip my sword that I've subconsciously drawn. And breathe out,

"I'll do it-"

"They won't let you… I'll go, it's fine" Ella reassures. I can practically hear her heart pounding through her chest – or maybe that's Crayton's. He tries to protest, but Ella gives a look of determination,

"It's alright Papa" she hugs him and Marina before facing the gawking gryphon. I'm scared, not for my life, but for Ella's. She doesn't have any Legacies, and she hasn't trained as much as Marina. Ella takes out a small dagger, no bigger than the length of an A4 page. She breathes out and runs towards the gryphon.

The gryphon sees its challenge and takes off, soaring into the sky and dive bombing back, headed straight for little Ella. From the corner of my eye I see Marina attempt to run forward, her arm caught by Adelina,

"We can't, we'll break the rules"

"But she's-"

"I know, but who knows what'll happen if we break the rules… who knows the consequences" Adelina reasons. She's right, Marina seems to understand, much to her fear of Ella getting hurt and stops in her tracks.

Looking back to Ella I see her duck and roll out of the swooping beasts talons. I smile, her agility has improved, even from her lack of training. she swipes out the giant beast but misses, as the wings of the gryphon flap violently, sending strong gushes of wind towards the little Number Ten. I'm terrified for her, and I don't get terrified that often.

Ella throws the dagger, in an attempt to dodge it the gryphon moves in it's path and a screech is heard as the dagger lodges itself into the wing of the beast. I could almost cheer for Ella but things turn for the worse. The winged beast flies up and dives bombs directly headed for Ella, she in shock – frozen.

"Ella!" Marina screams, I have to hold her back from interrupting – like Adelina said, who knows what the consequences are. Crayton is shouting to Ella, yelling at her to move. But she's frozen.

Frozen with fear.

But a second later, surprise flashes across her face, mirroring the same as the gryphon's. The beast tries to manoeuvre itself from Ella but it's going too fast. Ella jumps out of the way as the great beast flies past her, sliding into the ground and into the trees. Disappearing from sight.

"What just happened?" I mutter, Marina, Crayton and Adelina run to Ella, who's picking herself up, they help her as I walk over, picking up the stray dagger she threw at the beast.

"Nice shot" I say handing it back to her. She gleams, seemingly getting crushed by Crayton's hug as Marina pulls away.

"Well now that's over-"

"What the hell?!" Crayton shouts, I flinch, as does Marina and Ella.

"Congratulations you've passed the challenges, now wait because he'll be coming soon" the old man says. I completely forgot he was here. Crayton glares at him,

"We're done waiting-"

"Ok, ok, ok, chill" a male voice coming from the opening that gryphon slid into says. All our heads turn to see a man emerge, he's about the same height as Crayton, but very muscular looking, a thick beard on his face and his dark hair platted, similar to the Native American hair style. A prehensile tail flicks behind him, grabbing at a nearby stick.

"I've been waiting a long time as well" he says gleefully – his voice welcoming, I can't help but form a small grin as he walks towards us. Crayton steps forward, clearly not in the mood,

"We've played your little games now Skinwalker, ok? So no more tests, are you or are you not Loric?" Adelina demands, Crayton shares the same expression. Marina looks curiously into the man's eyes, and Ella glances back and forth between the man and Crayton.

The man sighs, and before I know it he starts to change.

The prehensile tail disappears, the facial hair recedes back, until there's nothing there. The man starts to shorten in height until he's around the same as Marina and I, his platted hair shortens and curls into a thick long mop of curls. And his light skin tone darkens, to a brownish caramel one, seeming copper toned.

And before any of us know it, a young shirtless boy around the age of 17 stands before us. His green emerald eyes glinting with glee.

I would be lying if I didn't say he was attractive. He's muscular body is very toned, he's thin, but not skinny, the muscles in his stomach are extremely well defined, and veins pop from his strong arms. I can't help but smile when I see the familiar Loric pendant around his neck, against his bare chest. A few silent sighs of relief follow. We're stronger.

I glance to Marina who's wide-eyed and blushing. I smirk.

"He's… wow" I hear her mutter, apparently everyone did, because we all turn to her. Her face flushed with embarrassment. Adelina raises an eyebrow in a motherly tone, and Crayton sighs in relief.

"Hi" the Loric boy says, giving a lop-sided smile. I grin, I think Ella giggles and Crayton surprisingly chuckles at the casual attitude of the boy. I can already tell he's going to be a joker.

"Sorry 'bout the tests, I just had to make sure you really were who Devdan said you were" he says.

"Who's Devdan?"

"Oh, the crazy old man? Over th- he's gone, oh well" the boy sits on the bank of rocks in front of us, grinning at our dumbfounded expressions. Nobody moves, and it's starting to become slightly awkward,

"What Number are you?" I question, staring to him, he grins. I try to keep my aggressive expression, but his grin is just so contagious.

"Eight"

Marina/Seven POV

"Eight, and you?" Eight asks. I must say, Eight is gorgeous. I can feel the heat in my cheeks constantly rise, but I can't suppress it.

"Six" Six says with a smile, Eight grins back. I suddenly feel a pang of jealousy – I don't know why, I've only just met him! And Six has done a lot for me – saving my life being one of them.

"Nice to meet you Number Eight, I'm Crayton, Cepan of Ella here, Number Ten"

"What?!" he exclaims, standing up and looking at Ella, who has a smirk on her lips.

"Number Ten. There was a second ship that left Lorien, Loridas blessed Ella before he died" Crayton explains. Eight seems to understand and lets the subject drop. He thinks for a bit before smiling again,

"I'm Adelina, Seven's Cepan"

"And you must be Seven?"Eight asks, looking at me, an amused smile playing on his lips.

"Um, uh, yeah, I-I p-prefer M-marina" I stutter, Six grins and Ella smirks. I feel the same blush on my cheeks. Eight chuckles, bowing in front of me. I giggle. Wait I giggled? Six wiggles her eyebrows at me.

"Marina, I like that" he says, almost as if he's savouring the word.

"Um, so Eight, is Devdan your Cepan?" Crayton asks. At the mention of Cepan, Eight's beautiful emerald eyes darken. And we all know what that means.

"Um, no, he was just a man I met who helped me train my Legacies" Eight responds, his smile dropping and voice sounding partially broken. I resist the urge to hug him,

"Well speaking of you're Legacies, what are they?" Adelina asks, not really seeing that the guy is reliving a sad memory. He looks up and smiles.

"Well I'm guessing you already know I can change shape" he muses, expanding and growing until standing before us is a six-legged elephant with two trunks. I hear a gasp, but I'm too glued to the amazing sight before me. One of his trunks reaches over the the lake and takes a long sip.

"Where to your clothes go?" I blurt out, he's caught off guard and Six laughs along with Ella and a chuckling Crayton. Eight grins widely as the heat in my cheeks intensifies.

"I guess they stay on" he muses.

Morphing back to his normal form, he quickly disappears, a puff of displaced air from where he was before. I'm gapping with awe. He reappears next to me, resting his arm around my shoulder, I suddenly feel self-conscience, and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You can teleport?" Ella asks credulously, he nods, the same playful smile on his lips. I instinctively lean into him, and I'm tempted to rest my head but then he disappears. I'm slightly caught off guard. He teleports but an inch from Six's face, the close proximity causes Six to punch his side. He grunts,

"Six!" I exclaim,

"Sorry, it was a reflex!" she says back, helping a winded Eight. He stifles a laugh,

"It's okay, I do choose weird places to teleport, but it was a good punch" he says, Six smiles, and I feel the same pang of jealousy I did before. Six playfully shoves him and he laughs,

"In terms of teleporting, how far can you go?" Adelina queries, Eight looks to her,

"Um, the best I can do is around a mile, but the further it is, the less accurate" he says, she nods, as if taking notes on him. I look to Eight, his black curls fall messily around him, his emerald eyes glint in the afternoon light – he's playful. I can tell, everyone could, as soon as he introduced himself.

I'm not playful, I'm serious Marina. A small balloon bursts inside of me.

Maybe opposites really do attract.

"Anything else bird boy?" Six playfully mocks, he grins, and rolls his eyes, pointing behind her. Standing there is Eight, Six rolls her eyes but stops short when she looks back at him. Standing back she takes in the view.

There are two Eights.

My breath has literally been taken away.

I feel someone tap my shoulder, turning around I see… Eight. He smiles, and gives a small wave.

"You can duplicate yourself?" Crayton asks with awe, looking at the 3 Eights smiling at our collective looks of pure amazement.

"Yep, I also have the Telekinesis mojo" he says, popping the 'p'. The original Eight claps his hands and the two other duplicates disappear in a puff of displaced air.

"You're amazing" I whisper. Everyone seems to hear me for the second time today and I furiously blush. Six winks at me and Eight smirks. Ella tries to contain her laughter as Crayton breaks the silence.

"That is truly amazing Eight, how many duplicates can you make?"

"Um, I've never tried my limit, but seven seems to be a good number, where I'm comfortable at" he muses, duplicating two times and having them play scissors, paper, rock. I grin.

"Do your injuries carry over?" Adelina asks, analysing him,

"Not really, it's just a small wave of exhaustion, but if they're… killed, it's like a very strong punch to the gut" he motions doing a handstand. Six smiles at him, and Ella gleams. I can't imagine the looks on the Mogs' faces when they see him.

"Where's your chest?" Ella asks, his shoulders slump and he sits down,

"I don't know, a year ago when my Cepan, Reynolds… um, died, I had to leave it behind. The Mogadorians already got it. They still return here, coming in little silver ships – I just turn into a fly or something to avoid being seen" he explains. I feel pity for him, living alone in the wilderness for a year? That would've been terrifyingly hard, Six has been alone since she was 13 years old, so I guess she understands.

"Well you have us now Eight" Six says, he smiles and pulls down his pants.

Wow.

"Almost forgot, got to have my afternoon swim!" he says, teleporting to the top of the rock bank and dive off towards the water, in mid-dive shifting into a dolphin. I grin and follow, running up the rock bank and stripping down to my bra and underwear, diving in afterwards.

The cool water washes off the sweat from the Indian humidity, resurfacing I look around for Eight, he swims towards me, smiling gleefully. I tuck the wet strands of hair behind my ear and address a subject,

"When Ella was facing one of your tests with the gryphon thing, what happened before you crashed?" I ask, seeming curious. It was weird, Ella and the Eight-gryphon had looks of surprise on their faces before the gryphon try to move from crashing into her. Eight thinks for a second,

"I dunno, I guess I heard a voice in my head"

"So Marina, what Legacies do you have?" he asks changing the subject, treading water next to me. I only realise then how close we are, a foot separating us. But for some reason I want to be closer.

"Um, they're not as great as yours-"

"C'mon Marina, I can already tell you're awesome, you've probably got Legacies I wish I had" he gleams, I blush,

"Um, I can see in the dark, breathe underwater, heal people and I've got this ice Legacy" I finish, he smiles,

"That's amazing, you-" before he can finish someone else jumps in with us, the splash is like a wave hitting me, separating me and Eight. Looking to see who it is; it's Six. Eight's laughing along with Six as she tackles him under the water, I look down. The sight of them tangled up with each other sends waves of jealousy coursing through me. Eight playfully begging for mercy while Six just grins swimming to the surface. Eight follows,

"Can we get out now?" she asks, Eight nods, looking back to me as they start swimming towards the shore,

"C'mon Marina, I'm not going anywhere without you' he smiles. What does that mean? It's good right? I hope it means something good.

"Yeah, you go ahead, I'll be a minute" I reply sinking to the bottom. I want to cry, I feel pathetic.

So what if Eight prefers Six's perfect blond hair to my mop? The truth is, I do care. I do care what Eight thinks of me, is that weird? I've only just met him, but I feel like I've known him my entire life. Like he's a long lost crush you've had.

Touching the bottom of the lake didn't take long, the muddy bottom sends shivers up my legs as I walk around, trying to sort out my petty issues. As I'm about to resurface a gleam in the water catches my eyes, without thinking I swim towards it, pushing with my legs and arms, the free flowing water lapping against me.

The silver gleam turns out to be very large, like the outer wall of something. I see a small indent, using Telekinesis I grip the indent, pulling outwards. The metal creaks in protest and flings off as my telekinetic force rips it open. A strong gush of cold water escapes, and I look into the dark area inside. Swimming in I take in my surroundings, it looks like a cockpit of a plane. Scanning the pit something else catches my eye, it's covered in algae and moss, but I lift it up regardless. A chest.

A Loric chest.

I almost scream with joy, it's Eight's!

I race to the shore, the chest in my arms, refusing to wipe the stupid grin on my face. Eight will be so happy!

Emerging from the shoreline I the the group gathered, Ella is playing tag with a small dog, presumably a duplicate of Eight, while Six talks to Eight, Adelina and Crayton. Eight looks to me,

"Marina, there you are we were getting wo-" he pauses as I lift his Loric chest above me. I don't care that I'm in my underwear and murky water and moss is falling off the chest and onto me, I'm smile hysterically. Eight teleports to me and quickly leans in.

His lips crash into mine, I'm too stunned to think, his lips taste perfect. Salty and sweet; when he pulls back, my lips are tingling, and I knew once I saw his face staring at his chest that this romantic moment for me was a simple friendly gesture from him.

"Thank you! Thank you so much Marina!"

"It was in a silver ship at the bottom of the lake" I say, my heart still thudding in my chest.

"I don't know why, but I never use to swim that deep on that end" he exclaims happily, walking over to the small campsite they've set up. Six comes over to me, grinning madly,

"Did he-"

"Yeah, weird right?"

"No, I think it's great, way to Marina!" she says, walking over and handing my clothes to me. I smile and feel the small pang of guilt again. Six was happy for me, I feel ashamed that I was jealous.

Eight holds his hand on the lock and it opens with a muted click, he opens the lid and dives in trying to touch everything inside, like a little kid at Christmas.

"Well show us what's inside"

Six POV

"Well show us what's inside" I say, Eight grins happily, pulling out a glass ring. He puts it on his finger and shows it off like a girl would, but very dramatically. He is quite the comedic guy. He batts his eye lashes as Marina giggles; Giggles? Really?

"What does it do?" Ella asks, leaning closer,

"I call it the Copycat!" he waves it around,

"Why?" Crayton questions, looking interested,

"Because-" he he speaks the glass ring morphs around Eight's hand and turns into a double-edged sword.

"-it can copy any weapon I think of… which is only a sword, hammer and fork"

"Like a pitchfork?"

"No the eating type of fork" he say, Ella laughs, Marina joins in, I just raise an eyebrow, a smirk form on the edges of my lips,

"What? I didn't have a fork to eat my food out here!" he complains, trying to not grin.

"Well it's pretty cool" I muse, Eight takes a bow, returning the Copycat to it's ring form. Next he pulls out a curved antler.

"This helps me with my shapeshifting, but I think it also has another purpose" he notes,

"Well I'm happy that you've found your chest Eight, but I think we should get going, we've got a long flight ahead of us-"

"Will you come?" Marina suddenly says, I smirk at her expression. Eight puts a thinking pose on for a second,

"Well I see no reason to not go" he smiles, Ella cheers and I think I hear Marina slightly squeal.

"Great, we'll leave the campsite in ten" Adelina says, walking over to our abandoned luggage and chests. We're stronger, we've added another.

I only hope John as had any luck, even staying alive – I hope he's alright.

Thanks again for reading.

Please review.

Paragon Eight. :D