Hey guys! I'm finally back! Math exam is over and now I have Tuesday off!
Wow! That was a lot of reviews! Thanks so much for all of them! I love you guys! I wish I could answer each and every one of them individually, but there's too many.
In response to the review from Guest, Loridas is not Ella's father. Read Crayton's letter in The Fall of Five.
Sorry, it's been ten days since my previous update! I should have updated sooner. The problem is that even when I take breaks from studying, I feel too exhausted to make the effort of writing. I just sit and catch up on the fanfics I'm following instead. But that's no excuse. I promise next update will be on Wednesday to make up for it!
Okay, I'm surprised that no one commented earlier on the fact that the General just let John go. I mean, he's a Loric murdering maniac. This chapter is dedicated to Zack619, who was the only one who got suspicious, and in this chapter, you'll find out exactly why that happened (finally! I've been promising to tell you for the last three chapters now :D)
Okay, here goes! Chapter 16!

Adam

The others listen silently as I narrate everything to them, right from the beginning- the experiment, being hooked up to One's mind, Two and Three's deaths, One's disappearance, my new Legacy, meeting Malcolm, our rescue of Sam, and finally, how I met Rex and Dust, and my rescue of the Chimaera.

Throughout the story, I keep my eyes trained on the ground, glancing only momentarily around me to assess their reaction. Marina, Nine and Six's faces are inscrutable, and John and Sam are staring at me, an unreadable expression on their faces. Worst of all is Malcolm. He's looking at me like he doesn't know me, like he's never met me before.

'I didn't know what to do with them.' I conclude. 'They seemed so…. unstable after the experiments, changing shape constantly. I didn't want to drag them straight into a battle after what they had been through.'

There's complete silence in the forest for a moment, and I suddenly realize that we have already been standing here too long. We need to get moving before the Mogodorians come back.

Finally, Nine breaks the spell. 'What did you do with them?' he asks, his voice emotionless.

I look him in the eye. 'I took them to Paradise.'

Sam splutters. 'You did what?' he chokes out with surprise.

I turn to Malcolm. 'I hid them in the sundial you showed me, remember? The one where we stayed the night before going to rescue Sam?' I start ranting now. 'Don't worry, I took precautions. No one saw me, and Dust is with them. He's taking care of them until I get there, and he's going to get them food and water while they're there, and….'

John cuts me off. 'Dude, you're awesome.' he says.

I blink. 'I'm what now?' I ask, startled. I look around, and I realize that the Garde aren't staring at me with distrust or loathing. Their eyes are shining, even Nine's. I feel my stomach settle a bit. Maybe they will accept me, after all.

'We aren't angry, you idiot.' Sam says. 'You probably just turned the tide of the war!'

'Just one thing, though.' Malcolm adds. 'Why didn't you tell us earlier?'

I cross my arms. 'You had just found out that one of the Garde was a traitor, another one was dead, and the others may have been captured.' I point out. 'Apart from the fact that you did not need another thing to worry about, you would probably have thought it was a trap.'

'I still haven't ruled that out.' Nine says blandly. He catches everyone staring at him. 'What?' he asks defensively. 'I've been betrayed twice already by someone I thought I could trust. I'm not making the same mistake again.'

This sobers everyone up. Six eyes me suspiciously.

'How did you know Marina was captured, anyway?' she asks.

I glance at John and Sam. 'How did you find us up in that helicopter, anyway?' I shoot back.

'I got a new Legacy.' Nine begins boasting. 'It's called Awareness, and it tells me everything that's going on within a five-mile radius. It's really cool, see. It….'

'Later.' John cuts in, though he looks intrigued. 'We'll finish exchanging stories in the car. If we all fit inside it.' He pauses. 'You do have a car, right?'

Marina manages a weary smile. 'Yeah, we have a van….. thing.'

'We weren't anticipating an extra passenger.' Six points out, gesturing at me. 'Not that I'm complaining, of course.' she adds hastily.

'Let's hope that by the end of this trip, we have five more.' John says.

'Six more.' Marina corrects. 'Don't forget Ella.'

'We'll get her out once we've got the Chimaera.' John says grimly. 'We have to.'

Sam

I should be feeling jealous.

I mean, I just saw Nine kiss Six. And I saw her kiss him back. I should have been jealous, or angry, or annoyed. But all I felt was vaguely upset, like I'd expected it all along.

My father sidles into the driver's seat, and Adam calls shotgun, so the rest of us pile into the back. I'm about to step in when I see Six walking stiffly towards me, with Nine and Marina behind her, ready to support her in case she stumbles.

I narrow my eyes. She's still in pain. I know her well enough to be certain of that. But I also know that she won't accept any help.

She stops in front of me and mutters something to Nine. He nods, and climbs into the van with Marina.

I expect her to apologize, or explain, or something, but instead she just hugs me. I'm taken aback for a moment, but then I hug her back.

'That was for almost dying.' she tells me, as she steps back. I grin.

'So I've been upgraded?' I tease her. She shakes her head exasperatedly, but I see a grin flicker on to her face before disappearing.

'Look, Sam….' she begins awkwardly, but I cut in.

'I get it.' I tell her. 'And it's fine.'

I didn't realize it until I said it, but I am fine with it. And I'm pretty sure that she's almost as surprised as I am when she deduces that I mean it.

'It is?' she asks hesitantly. 'Listen, Sam, you're a great guy, but Nine-'

'Gets you.' I complete. 'And you understand him.'

She blinks. 'What do you mean?' she asks, confused.

'I mean, you're both badass, and you've both had your Cepans killed in front of your eyes, and you've both spent a year in West Virginia, and…. What?'

Six gives me a weird look. 'Sam, when did you make the transition from science nerd to professional psychologist?' she asks.

My cheeks burn with embarrassment. 'No! I mean…. Not…. Argh! Forget it.' Six smirks. I desperately try to change the topic. 'Anyway, as I was saying, I guess I expected it. I mean, you're Loric and I'm just a human with….'

Six's smirk disappears. She stares at me. 'Are you kidding?' she demands. 'You mean to say that you haven't figured out yet exactly how many times you've saved our lives?'

I stare at her. Of all the things I was expecting, a compliment wasn't one of them. 'You're a great guy, Sam.' she says. 'Don't put yourself down.'

I grin at her, and she smiles back. It's a genuine smile, like she's glad that after everything that's happened, she's glad she hasn't lost her friend.

I sure am glad I haven't lost mine.

'You know, I'm glad.' I say. She looks at me quizzically. 'That you still trust me enough to be yourself, I mean.' I clarify hastily. 'Not the tough, badass…..'

'Sweetheart, you coming or what?' Nine calls out from the van. Six scowls.

'Don't call me that again.' she says, hauling herself in. 'Ever. Unless you want your face crushed like a pancake.'

'And… She's back.' I mutter, grinning, as I follow her in and slam the door shut.

John

I enter first, and find myself squashed against the driver's seat, with Sarah pressed against me.

'Hey!' I complain. 'Give me some space.'

'Are you complaining?' Nine smirks, raising his eyebrow. 'With her falling all over you?'

Blood rushes to my cheeks. 'Shut up, Nine.' I mumble. Everyone laughs.

'You're not really complaining, are you?' Sarah whispers in my ear.

I don't reply, but instead I just turn around and kiss her. It begins to intensify when Nine yells. 'Cool it, lovebirds!'

I pull away and look around me. Everyone stares back at me. I didn't realize we'd already started moving. I blush, and beside me, I'm sure Sarah's doing the same.

'As I was saying,' Marina continues, 'we probably need to exchange stories while we have the chance.' She looks darkly at Six.

'We found something.' Six supplies.

'Something bad.' Nine adds. 'Trust me, you're going to want to hear it.'

'I'm guessing that if you tell us this now, then we'll be discussing it until we reach?' I ask. They nod. 'In that case, we should probably go first.'

I start to speak first, and I explain my vision to them, the dream I shared with Ella, how I found out that Five was a traitor and how I woke up with a scar on my leg. Then Sam picks up and launches into the story of getting the warning call from Adam, defending the penthouse, finally finding me awake, and Ella's capture.

I continue the story with how I met Adam, found BK, our rendezvous with Sam, Malcolm and Sarah, the battle at the airport, and stealing the helicopter. I pause after telling them how I fell, how the General yanked me out of the chopper. I suddenly feel uneasy. I never had the time to think about it, but he let me live, when he could have crushed my throat and killed me instantly. I doubt it was out of the kindness of his heart.

Fortunately, Sam takes this as his cue, and narrates how BK dived out after me, how they were left undefended, shot out of the sky, and how Six arrived just in time to save them.

Finally, I tell them about my battle with the General. When I get to the part about their arrival, Six frowns and leans forward.

'Wait, he just let you go?' she asks. 'The General let you live because we arrived and scared him off?'

Adam cranes his neck around to face me. 'He didn't.' he says simply. 'My father would die for another chance to kill a Loric. He wouldn't let you go just because we arrived.' He glances at her anxiously. 'Something's wrong.'

'Maybe he thought the scar would be a warning.' Marina suggests tentatively. 'It would be better to have all of us in one place. If we got a scar, we would know enough to be careful.'

'Too obvious.' Nine says. 'You saw the army back in the woods, it was tiny compared to what we've faced.' He glances at Six. 'Maybe they wanted to take out Six specifically.' he says. 'I mean, they did have devices that would detect someone invisible.'

'I doubt it.' I say. A cold chill is creeping through me, and I pull Sarah closer almost absently. She snuggles against me. 'He sounded almost like…' I recall the final moments of our battle. His words before he escaped, and the brushing sensation in my pocket… My blood runs cold. 'Like he needed me alive.'

I push Sarah off and rummage desperately through my pockets. For a moment I think I got lucky, that I was wrong, but then my finger brushes against something hard, and I yank it out, holding it up and squinting to see what it is. It's a small metallic sphere, with a blinking red light and a microphone. I have no doubt as to what it is.

'He bugged me.' I say in horror. 'He knows where they are. He knows where we're going.'

Everyone looks back at me in dismay and shock. I yell in frustration and squeeze it hard, expecting it to shatter, but to my surprise, it's not even dented.

'Let me see.' Marina says. I hand it to her.

'It's made of the same metal they used to chain my hands and feet when I was captured.' she says, examining it. 'It's unbreakable, and using your Legacies in its proximity causes intense pain.' She turns to Nine. 'Which is probably why you didn't sense it.'

He blinks as she rolls down the window on her side and chucks it out.

'We need a change of plan.' Adam says. 'They'd probably already have found the Chimaera already by now. We need to find a safe house and plan our next move.'

'No. We can't…' Six begins, but Marina cuts in.

'First things first.' she says, turning to Nine. 'Are there any more?'

'No.' he says, hesitating for a moment. He closes his eyes and concentrates. 'No.' he says again, this time more confidently.

'Are you sure?' Six asks. 'Not just on John, on any of us too?' He shakes his head. 'How are you so sure?' she asks. 'You can't even sense it.'

'Trust me, if you're looking for it, it's obvious.' Nine says. Out of all of us, he's by far the most calm. 'It's like searching for a patch of darkness in a brightly lit room- you can't see what's in it, but you can see it itself quite clearly.'

'Why are you taking this so lightly?' I snap. His relaxed attitude is getting on my nerves. He just doesn't know when to be serious. 'Dude, they just found out the location of some of our greatest allies, and heard all our plans. Not to mention Adam's entire adventure with One, and all our new Legacies.'

'Think about it for a moment, Johnny.' Nine replies peaceably. 'If you were him, what would you do now?'

I glare at him before his words register. Suddenly, it's obvious. 'He knows about your Legacy.' I say, and Nine nods appreciatively. 'So there's no point in taking on the Chimaera, because if he does, then we'll just avoid going there at all. Besides, he'll lose soldiers fighting against Dust. So he waits for us to get there, and then he attacks.' I pause. 'He's setting a trap.'

'And we'll be ready.' Nine completes, satisfied. He winks at me.

'Ready to make the plan?'

Five

I stand outside the interrogation room with Raylan, staring balefully at Devdan. I feel certain he knows I'm there, but all he does is stare peaceably back.

'He won't tell me anything.' I say finally. I'm a lot more relaxed about what I think now, because I know Devdan has hidden my thoughts from Raylan. I'm in no mood to be grateful, however. The Garde will never trust me, unless he gives me the information they need so I have something to barter with.

'I know.' Raylan replies. 'I didn't expect him to. He was quite adamant about who he reveals this information to. I was just exhausting all my options.'

'What will you do then, my Lord?' I ask. 'You can't use shapeshifting, disguises, tricks- he'll just sense them instantly through his telepathy. There's no way to get him to divulge it, willingly or not.'

'That's where you're wrong.' he replies smoothly. My curiosity is instantly aroused, but he says it in such a sinister way that I don't ask. I know he'll tell me anyway.

'He wants to speak to Number Eight?' Raylan finally continues. He pauses for the effect, and I shudder. I feel certain I know what he's about to say next, but I don't want to believe that he's powerful enough to do that.

No such luck. After only a moment, he says the very words I was dreading.

'Then we'll let him speak to Number Eight.'

Okay, that's a long chapter. And a long A/N at the top. Although this was just a filler, so I'm sorry if it was awful, I've said before that I'm really bad at small talk and low action. I feel for you guys, waiting so long to read such a bad chapter. Sorry. On the bright side, when they get to Paradise, everything is going to go crazy, so… Yeah.
Thanks for reading! Please review!