Sorry for the delay for this chapter. This is the last chapter of Stolen: The Rise of Chaos! It's so beautiful too. Most of it was written in two days at my school, some of it was written by TeamPiper today, and the last bit of writing was done just a few minutes ago. This is the end of my best story (so far), and I really wanted to make it good. With TeamPiper adding in things I would've never thought of, it wouldn't be as long as it is (1,856 words without ANs), and this chapter probably wouldn't even have been up right now. And if she hadn't reread this chapter, I would've accidentally still had a change in types of points of view on it, so thank you. :3 But with this lengthy authors note coming to an end, I present to you, the end of Stolen: The Rise of Chaos.

AJ's POV—

Eme, Bay, Will, Ray, and I walk down the cobblestone streets of Rome, all drawing out weapons as a precaution. Eme readies her bow, pulling the string halfway back and leaving it at her side. Ray draws out his long sword that he forged himself. Bay summons a ball of white-hot fire in her hands, getting in a typical pitchers pose on a baseball field, preparing to lob it. I draw out my dagger, pressing the wooden hilt to my hand. Will pulls out a short, heavy spear out of thin air, preparing to throw it.

I've never seen the streets of Rome so deserted before. An hour ago, the streets were bustling with Romans and tourists alike; now, it's just us and the closed up shops on the streets next to us. The air is smothered with black mist, and just inhaling it makes my knees wobble and want to take off running in the opposite direction.

"AJ," Bay says in a sturdy tone. "It's the Chaos magic affection you."

"How do you know that?" Eme asks without looking at her, pulling her bronze-painted bow back, a Celestial bronze arrow fitted into the black string.

"I read about it in one of my moms sacred spell-book of my mothers," Bay says matter-of-factly. "It has the most powerful spells, curses, ancient remedies, and more in it."

"But what is Chaos magic—exactly?" I ask.

"It's a curse developed by the primordial deity Chaos," she says. "It messes with people's minds, spreading fear throughout their bodies. It's even affecting me, but I've managed to learn to control my fears."

"Seems you know a lot about this type of magic, Bay." Eme says, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Bay rolls her eyes. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end and my ears pop as the air pressure drops rapidly.

"Hit the deck!" I yell, pushing myself face first onto my stomach, covering my face with my arms. A huge spark flies through the air, and the wind picks up rapidly, and a second blast of lighting follows, throwing shrapnel and stones all over me, scraping my arms and ankles. After the wind drops and the pressure rises back up, I prop myself onto one elbow.

Bay lays dazed on the remains of the cobblestones, her hand shooting off tiny flames on her fingers. Ray got thrown against one of the shop walls, which caused the bricks to collapse on top of him. He sits up, spitting dust and pebbles out of his mouth. Will was the first one to rise completely; his hair is a mass of black on his head, tiny sparks flickering through his hair. Eme... oh gods.

"Eme!" I yell, frantically digging through the remaining bricks on the ground and find—nothing.

:.:.:.:.:.:

Eme's POV—

As soon as the lightning had stopped, of freaking course, a funnel of wind had dropped on top of me, disarming me of my bow and quiver—which floated in a similar cyclone next to me—and begins floating towards a huge hill in the distance—Capitoline Hill.

The acropolis of it is decorated in huge sections of temples, statues, and modern buildings. The storm spirits close in distance, and I see the Colossus of Constantine, and next to the base of the statue, a young woman adorned in black robes and gold stands.

The storm spirits drop me off about a few yards away from her.

"Come close, Eme," the woman says, and my legs—even though my mind is screaming Don't!—begin to move forward in robotic motions.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, spirits," she says cooly, then waves her hand; the spirits disappear in a flash of black smoke. "Now that those beasts are gone, do you know who I am, Emerald?" she asks.
"C—Chaos..." I say, and take my first real chance to take in her features. She has solid black hair done in gold ringlets, which falls over her shoulders in up-and-down patterns. She has a tattoo of black arrows spreading in all directions set right above her wrist; her eyes are sunken and hollow, dark green like the ocean. She has high cheekbones, and a pale skin tone, but somehow manages to make it look pretty for an older woman

Written by TeamPiper:

"Come on, Emerald," she says, her voice echoing through my mind. I step forward, and then think about what I'm doing.

"No." I declare, my voice sounding more serious than it normally does.

"Why would you stay with them? Alexander, Raymond, Gavin, and Bailie?"

"He likes to be called AJ," I told her, in my quiet voice.

"Do you think AJ really cares about you?"

"Of course he does!" I yelled, trying to convince myself as well.

"Emerald Jo, if you join me, you'll have

One more day of on your own
One more day with him not caring
One more life you might have known
But he never saw you there."

"Stop!" I scream, with all my force. She was quoting Les Mis.

"Seems like he only likes Bailie. Or should I say, Cosette?"

"AJ isn't in love with Bay!" I yell, again trying to convince myself.

"Oh really?" She asked me, her green eyes flashing. "Then look at this."

She waves her hand, and I vision came up. It was AJ and Bay, only about eight years older.

AJ was wearing a suit, with Will and Ray on his left.

I saw Mac walk in, in a simple, dark purple dress. She smiled like this was what she'd been waiting for, for several years.

Then, my heart broke into a billion pieces. I saw Bay, looking beautiful in a long, white dress.

"Stop!" I yell. "That's enough! I know AJ cares about me! He would never hate me!"

Chaos got an evil look on her face. "Then why haven't you been eating, Eme?"

Crap.

"Trying to impress? Seems to be so. If you come with me, you'll never feel this pain again."

She started to sing a song I recognized instantly. It was Come to Me from Les Mis.

"Hurry near,
Another day is dying,
Don't you hear?
The winter wind is crying,
There's a darkness which comes with out a warning."

All I wanted to do was walk towards that voice. I didn't care about anything else in the world.

I reached my hand out, and touched hers, electricity springing from our fingers.

My world went black.

End of TeamPiper's writing.

:.:.:.:.:.:

AJ's POV—

After I almost have a mental breakdown, I spot Eme being carried by a whirlwind up to the huge Capitoline Hill. Not thinking, I shove my dagger into my belt, and—despite the pain from where the shrapnel dug into my skin—I begin to sprint up to the hill. I climb up a bit of grass and hard-packed dirt, then it turns into gray, man-made steps.

Just as I rise up to where there's three steps left, I see one of the worst images in my life—Eme touches Chaos's hand. After this sudden movement, her hand jerks over her chest—right over her heart—clutching it in pain. She lets out a blood-chilling, agonized scream. She falls to the ground, and I begin to run.

"Eme!" I yell, crouching next to her on the balls of my feet. As she stands, I back up in horror, thinking of how different she looks from now. The images come rushing at me, almost taunting me: the way her beach-blonde hair never seemed to stay back, no matter how many clips and rubber bands she used; how she always had the biggest, most blindingly white smile; how she always counts down from her birthday on her hand, writing in her neat print how many days she has left. How at Science 101 back at school, when I first noticed her heart-shaped necklace that said On My Own with a little star next to it, even though I always tried to convince her she never was.

Now, with all this happening, I notice how much she's changed. Her eyes, formerly so breath-takingly light blue, are now a dark, hollow green. Her hair is pulled back, and I notice how there's black and blue streaks in it. I think about how when Eme had seen the streak in my hair, and she'd promised me she'd never, ever get her hair dyed at all. Her features have curled into a tight sneer.

A roar of thunder crashes the sky, lightning strikes the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus nearby, charring the columns that have stood there for years and years on end. Rain begins to pour, chilling me to the bone. "Eme!" I yell again, my voice cracking.

A low hum begins in her throat, which I realize is growling. She stands up, and opens her mouth. "Eme's not here anymore." Her voice, once so nice it made me get goosebumps, is now a dark, evil sound, that makes me want to run off screaming like a kindergartner.

"Stop the rain!" I scream, scrambling away from her.

Chaos chuckles, a sound weird coming from Eme's small, frail body. "As my host's body would say, the rain will make the flowers grow!"

My eyes widen in horror, realizing what Eme had done when she'd touched with Chaos. Chaos, more-unlikely reading my thoughts, grins.

"Eme was an easy target," she says, a staff of solid obsidian forming out of mist in her hand. "If she didn't have all the insecurities she did, it would have been harder for me to take her over. Mainly her insecurities about boys like you. Of course, she was insecure about everything else, but in the end, it all zeroed down to one thing: you."

Thunder booms in the sky again, and Chaos turns to me, grinning bigger. "I must leave. Doomsday does not plan it's self, now, does it?" She laughs as if the thought amuses her, and then disappears in a nuclear explosion that cracks my lips and dries all the water off of my body.

I curl up on the ground in a ball, tucking my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around my legs and refusing to ever come out of this position.

No, a part inside of my said. You will not go mental. You will avenge Eme.

I stand up, and see the rest of the guys coming over the hill. I want to believe this was all a bad dream, and I'm about to wake up, in my cabin, in a world where Eme is still good. But of course, this doesn't happen.

"AJ!" Mac yells, rushing over. "Are you okay?! Where's Eme?!"

I stand up straighter, and say in a shaky voice: "Eme's gone. Forever."