Hey guys! I'm so sorry! I promised an update by Wednesday and now it's one week late! I got stuck in this chapter, it was a bit dull to write, except the ending, because I was itching to skip to the scene in Paradise. I sort of accidently wrote a chapter which comes up later, and… Wow, I feel stupid.
Okay, I crossed 150 reviews! By a mile, actually, and a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love you guys. A special shout out to EpicLoric24 (What can I say? You just rock), thesecondgarde (the awesome writer who got me addicted to The Call), scone104 (who specializes in one-shots that would leave professional writers in tears– check out Every Hello Ends With a Goodbye), and Prajnaa (Wow, you have a lot of questions. Yes, I'm excited for the Divergent movie, yes, I have seen the I Am Number Four movie. The other answers you can read and find out :P), who are my regular and reliable reviewers. Thanks guys!
Okay, sorry for not making Sam more jealous, I know he's OOC, but it's not working with my storyline, and since Nix ended up being the most voted for, it's just going to have to do. Sorry!
Wow, that is a lot of reviews begging me to bring Eight back. Sorry, but I've got something….. special planned for Eight, and he's an important part of the story, but he's not coming back in any form whatsoever… Yet!
Okay, that's a huge A/N. Sorry. I'll stop now. Read, and enjoy!

Six

'I obviously need to be there!' Nine storms. 'I'm the one with the damn Legacy! I can warn you if there's a trap!'

'They know you have the Legacy, you idiot!' John counters. 'They'll be prepared for it!'

Nine rolls his eyes. 'Yeah, because their scientists are gonna work at the speed of light to build something to avoid it!' he snaps sarcastically.

I feel Marina stir beside me. 'Guys….' she says, trying to stop the argument. 'I…..'

'No!' John yells back. 'I-'

'Just shut up!' I suddenly yell. There's suddenly complete silence in the van, and I can feel everyone's eyes burning into me. Thankfully, for now, however, they're willing to stay quiet.

My back spasms with the effort, and I stop myself from grimacing. I'll have enough time to deal with pain later.

'Good.' I say. 'Now, maybe we can work out something peacefully, after listening to Marina, who unlike you, has something useful to say.'

Everyone looks at Marina, who squirms uncomfortably at the attention, but I can tell she's just weary, and wants to get this over with. 'Maybe we should figure it out step by step.' she suggests. 'List out our advantages and disadvantages so we have an idea of what to work with.'

John nods, and I can tell he approves. 'That's a good idea.' he concedes. He glances at Nine. 'What do you think?' he asks.

'Alright.' Nine says grudgingly, although I can sense he's still frustrated. 'An obvious advantage is my Legacy.' he says automatically. 'I can sense a trap a mile away.'

'And a disadvantage is that they know about it.' John says instantly. I stifle a groan. Not again.

Thankfully, Sam speaks up before they can start arguing again. 'They know exactly where the Chimaera are, in the sundial.' he says thoughtfully. 'That's a problem.'

'But we also know that they're going to be there.' I point out. 'An advantage. They've lost the element of surprise, and we've gained it instead.'

'I think our biggest advantage is the time period.' Marina says slowly. 'They don't have a lot of time to set a trap, and even better, they don't have enough time to inform Raylan. Five told me he was handling Ella, which means he's still in DC, according to the tablet.'

I let out a sigh of relief. 'Thank god.' I say. 'We aren't ready to face him yet.'

'I'm not sure we can take him right now.' Nine agrees.

'Um….' John says, leaning forward. 'I'm sorry I don't know what you're talking about, but who the hell is Raylan?'

Nine and I exchange glances, and I look away quickly again before I'm distracted. I don't have time to moon over him right now.

'I forgot we still haven't told you our side of the story.' Marina says.

'You need to tell us everything.' Sarah agrees, and I glance quickly at her. This is the first time she's spoken in a while, and I'm almost surprised to hear her voice. Her eyes travel across the three of us, coming to rest on Marina. She looks sympathetic, and I know why. I know what she's about to say.

'Starting from Eight's death.' she adds.

Marina

I feel miserable.

One minute I feel completely fine, just a little weary and upset, and the next, something will trigger a memory, and I find myself remembering his laugh, his grin, his jokes, his eyes, and it feels like losing him all over again.

What makes it even worse is that I'm determined not to resist. My memories are all I have left of him, and I don't care how hard it is, or how much it hurts, but I will not give them up. He deserves that much.

I'll see you soon. You won't have to leave.

His words keep haunting me, and I let them. And that is what really scares me.

'It's okay.' I say neutrally, as Six looks at me with concern. 'I was the only one who saw what happened. Everything that happened.'

I don't mean it as a jibe, but I see Nine visibly wince, and I know he's blaming himself once again.

Before I feel bad, I quickly start the story.

I start with the journey, the alligators, Five's betrayal, Six getting knocked out, the battle….. It feels good to let it out. I try to gloss over Nine's role in riling Five up, though. Nothing good can come from blaming him for it.

My voice is tired, slow, not betraying the emotion I feel. We're walking into a potential trap, and I don't want to give my friends another thing to worry about.

I pause after I get to Eight's death, and for a moment, there's complete silence in the van. I bow my head and stare at the floor, replaying that scene in my mind again. It isn't hard. It's been haunting me almost as much as our most recent conversation.

I feel a hand grab hold of my own, and I look up in surprise, to see Six cradling it gently, her lips pursed together. I feel gratitude well up in me. She knows that there's nothing anyone could say to make this feel any better, so instead she's giving me comfort from her presence, reminding me that she's still there. And she's taking comfort from mine, because there is nothing anyone could say to make this any better for her either.

She knows me too well.

Finally, John breaks the silence. 'I didn't know.' he says, knitting his eyebrows together. 'I didn't know that he died…. that he sacrificed himself like that.' He looks awkwardly at Nine, and I know they're no longer mad at each other. They can't be, not when they have lost so much already. He bows his head again. 'Five is going to pay.' he says, his voice harsher now, more determined. 'We'll make him suffer for this.'

I glance despairingly at Six, and her eyes reflect the worry that is there in mine. 'You might want to reserve judgement until you've heard everything.' she says, troubled.

John looks startled. 'What?' he asks, confused. 'Why? How-'

Nine cuts him off. 'Just listen, man.' he says, looking at me expectantly. I take a breath and start narrating again.

I talk for a long time, telling them everything, my capture, my vision of Eight, my conversation with Five, meeting up with Nine and Six, our escape….. Six and Nine chime in from time to time whenever I've forgotten something, but I don't leave out anything except the fact that Eight predicted my death, which earns me a jab in the ribs from Six, even though she doesn't say anything either. She knows too that they don't need another thing to worry about, and she respects my wishes.

There's a long silence after I finish talking, and finally, John exhales. 'That was…. intense.' he says.

Sam and Sarah murmur in agreement, and I release a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding.

'There's another problem we may have to face now.' Malcolm says from the driver's seat. 'Remember how in Crayton's letter, he wrote that the Chimaera that were there on Earth had been brought by him on the second ship?'

'How is that a problem?' I ask.

'It's a problem, because if they belong to Raylan,' Malcolm points out, 'wouldn't they fight by his side?'

Despair settles over us like a blanket. We exchange glances, and I know we're all thinking the same thing- if the Chimaera fight for the Mogs, then it's all over.

Surprisingly, it's Adam who breaks the silence. 'I don't think so.' he says, craning his neck to look at us from the front seat. 'When I found them in the Plum Island base, they were in horrible condition. A couple of them had gone completely insane, and the others were terrified of anything remotely Mogodorian. If you tell them Raylan was the one responsible….'

He doesn't need to finish the sentence. If the Chimaera know that the Mogodorians were responsible for their torture, they will not hesitate to fight against them.

John suddenly looks more hopeful. 'Wait, you said that they had been given some drug or something, right?' he asks Adam. 'To increase their rate of shape-shifting?'

'Yeah.' Adam says, mystified. 'What does that have to do with anything?'

John presses on. 'Would it have worn off by now?'

'I think so, yeah.' Adam says impatiently. 'Why?'

John turns to me now. 'You still have the Xitharis?'

'Of course.' I say, startled. I dig around in my pockets before withdrawing it and handing it to John. He takes it instantly, his attention off me now that he's got what he wants. I begin to feel annoyed. 'I know you're probably tired of hearing this,' I say, 'but what's that got to do with anything?'

John's eyes begin to gleam, and I can tell he's got an idea. I open my mouth to ask him, but Nine beats me to it.

'Hold on.' he says, waving his hand to stop me from speaking. He peers suspiciously at John, and his eyes widen. 'No. You are not planning what I think you're planning.'

John breaks into a grin. 'What do you think?' he asks casually, gesturing at our impatient glares. 'Should we tell them?'

Nine's eyes take on a manic gleam, and I get the feeling that I will not like this. 'Why not?' he says, grinning. He turns to face us. 'Ladies and gentleman,' he says, flourishing his hands. 'John and I,' he pauses for effect, his voice dramatic, 'have agreed on a plan.'

'That's what's really amazing.' Six mutters, and I stifle a laugh. Nine glares at her, but the grin soon reappears on his face.

'Oh, trust me.' he promises. 'You're gonna love it.'

Xxx

I crouch behind the brush near the edge of the garden, glancing cautiously at the house in front of me. It's very dark around us, with a bewildering crisscross of overlapping shadows, and silvery patches of moonlight, that break through the clouds. The street lights are all off, as are the lights in all the houses lining the streets, and it's eerily silent, even though it's not yet eleven, giving the entire place an abandoned feel. Even with my night vision, I have to squint to make out the sundial just a few metres in front of me.

Nine crouches next to me, his eyes closed as he assesses the surroundings for traps with his new Legacy.

'Sense anything?' I whisper softly to him.

He shakes his head. 'Nothing.' he says, but there's a dark look in his eyes. 'But that's what bothers me.'

I nod. It is surprising that so far, we haven't encountered anything yet, but it also makes sense that the Mogs would hide out of the range of Nine's internal radar.

I glance around, appraising my surroundings once again with my night vision. The silence has swallowed us again, like an oppressive blanket, and I shiver. 'Why is it so empty?' I ask Nine.

'Some event going on in town.' he replies. 'Probably organized by the Mogs. They wouldn't have wanted puny humans getting in their way.'

I nod. We don't have any more time left for distractions. 'Are the others in position?' I ask.

Nine closes his eyes and focuses briefly, his eyebrows creasing as he concentrates. 'Yeah.' he says finally. 'We're good to go.'

He twitches impatiently, and I can tell he just wants to be off, in the action. It's a wonder he's stayed still this long, anyway. I let out a sigh.

'Okay.' I say. 'Let's go.'

He crawls out of his bush immediately, groaning as he stretches his legs. With his height, he was probably cramped after hiding for so long. I follow a little more warily, trying my best to be unobtrusive.

We reach the sundial, and Nine raises his eyebrows as he examines it, assessing it one last time before going in. 'That's it?' he asks. 'They're going to do nothing? No trap, no bugs, no soldiers, nothing?'

He spoke too soon.

Something seizes me by the neck and lifts me up from the ground, crushing my windpipe in a vice-like grip. I thrash weakly, and struggle to breathe, gasping to get the air in through my throat.

My captor adjusts his grip, and I find myself face to face with someone who could only be the General.

'Let her down!' Nine yells, advancing threateningly towards him. The General doesn't say anything, he just looks amused and laughs.

'A single step closer and I'll crush her throat.' he warns. Nine stops dead in his tracks, glaring murderously at him. I begin to thrash around again, but it's getting hard to breathe. I feel my vision going black.

Through the haze, I squint and see vague figures approaching, marching towards me like an endless army. I try to use my night vision to get a better look, but bile rises up in my throat, and a sharp pain pierces through my head.

I recognize the symptoms instantly, and I suddenly realize how the soldiers got here without being detected by Nine's Awareness. Each and every one of them is wearing the same armour made of the metal that is used to block our Legacies. The kind of metal that blocks Nine's Legacy.

'Loric filth!' the General booms. 'I know you're listening to me, and I know you're there, somewhere, hiding in the dark instead of coming out to fight, like the cowards you are.' He glances at me with satisfaction. 'I'm going to give you five seconds to change that, or I snap this girl's neck into two!'

There's a silence, and then John turns visible along with Adam, and finally, Six. She glares at the General, her eyes filled with hatred, as the soldiers crowd around them, securing them in chains. 'Put her down, you coward!' she snarls, as the soldiers struggle to secure her in her place. 'Fight me!'

The General laughs. 'Oh, I will.' he says, grinning savagely. 'But only after driving you to the brink of despair.'

The implication of the statement is clear. He plans to kill all of us first.

'You!' the General calls out, waving at a soldier with his free hand. 'Take four others with you and get those filthy Chimaera out of there.'

The soldier salutes. 'Yes, sir.'

The General turns to face me again, and his face is smug. I try to hold his gaze, but my consciousness is slipping, and I can barely keep my eyes open. The General sees this, and he chuckles at my pathetic display.

'Here's what's going to happen, Number Seven.' he says, leaning towards me so I can smell his putrid breath. I stop myself from gagging, however, and look him resolutely in the eye.

The General grins viciously. 'My soldiers have just gone in there to find the Chimaera.' he says. 'They'll be back in five, ten minutes, tops.' He lowers his voice to a whisper. 'Enjoy those ten minutes, Number Seven.' he growls. 'They're going to be your last.'

Okay, I hope you enjoyed that, because it took me ages to put it up. It was amazingly difficult to write this chapter, because every time I tried to come up with something, my mind would skip forward to the battle in Paradise, so…. Whew. Now my job's gotten a little easier.
Okay, anyway, thanks a lot for reading, guys! Please also check out my one-shot story, "What Wouldn't I Give?" I've put up three chapters on it so far, but I plan to update soon.
I'm not sure when I'll update next, but I'll definitely put up something by next Wednesday, because my exams get over on that day, so please just wait until then! This is the last time I make you wait for a long period for updates, after my exams get over, I'll begin updating frequently again.
Thank for reading! Please review!