**Hey, guys. This chapter continues my co-write with IwishIcouldbeNumberFive! The areas she helped write are marked with '#####'. Please also check out my actual collab story with IwishIcouldbeNumberFive called Loss, Love, Laughter, Life by the pen name TheSecretsofFiveandNine! Hope you enjoy chapter 15!
The Time for Ten - Chapter 15
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I don't know why I stabbed Five just then. It felt like the right thing to do. As we walk away from the scene, I link my hand into Eight's.
"I still don't know who you are or why I trust you, but please promise you won't hurt me." I ask him.
"I would never hurt you, Marina. Which way do we go?" He says in response.
"This way." I know my way around the base because of spending some time here. It's not time I'd like to think about, but it's all I have memory wise. That and the one vision I have of Eight and I.
"Do you think I'll get my memory back?" I ask him sincerely.
"As long as you keep trying to remember, I bet it will. Maybe there's something that'll trigger your memory?" Eight asks.
We take a right and practically slam into a little girl.
"Marina!" She screams and hugs me.
I hold my hands up and look at Eight in confusion.
"Ella, Marina lost her memory." He tells her flatly.
Ella looks to me in disbelief, and I nod solemnly.
I stare at these two people in front of me, both of them looking at me as though I'm special to them, and I can't remember a thing. I want to, I really want to. I lower my eyes to the ground, deeply confused by everything.
"Let's go." I say, walking on ahead.
I can hear Ella, I think her name was, talking to Eight about recovering my memory. But I'm starting to wonder if that's true. If Eight was so important to me before, wouldn't I remember something worthwhile, like our first kiss or something like that?
What if they're tricking me? What if they're actually planning on killing me?
I question whether to turn around and knock both of them out, but I choose not to. The two of them probably have instincts just as good as mine and would take me out in an instant. I begin to listen to their not totally quiet conversation.
"Did you find the vial?" Eight asks. "I think it could possibly jog her memory."
"No, that's what I was looking for after I was talking to you!" She whispers in response. "Six and John are looking for it now."
"Do you or Hayley have any idea where it could be?" Eight questions her.
"The last time we saw Marina, she was separated from us by Mogs and knocked over the head by Five." Ella answers.
Suddenly their conversation becomes so quiet that even I can't hear it. I blink back tears desperately as I try to figure out what to do. It's obvious that they're plotting to kill or capture me now. Maybe Five was right...
But then I think of that kiss I had and everything changes. Eight seemed to care about me so much and I was sure that he was worried about me.
I pause when I come to two tunnels. One leads to the way out, whilst the other leads to the centre of the base.
If I let them go, will they kill me afterwards? I can hear them still whispering as they catch up to me and I feel horrible; scared and alone. I decide to go the centre of the base.
Out of nowhere, Five busts around the corner behind us and tackles Eight to the ground. Tons of Mogs pour in from straight ahead and put Ella and me in armlocks. Eight is tussling on the ground with Five.
"Did you think you got away, pretty boy?" Five hisses in his ear.
Then I start to hear Mogs disintegrating and I hear cannons go off.
A knife is pressed to my neck. I try to struggle away but I can't move, and the knife is pressed too tight to my neck.
"Let them go!" Eight yells as Five drags him up, punching him in the face. I wince at the crack and the blood on Eight's face. Ella is sobbing next to me, trying to fight back, but she's too small and too weak.
"You're pathetic! Useless!" Five taunts as he turns to metal and kicks Eight in the chest. I cry out in horror when I hear the ribs snap and Eight groans in pain.
Eight falls to the ground, his breathing becoming jagged. Five definitely broke multiple ribs there, and he's just laughing.
In the distance, slowly getting closer, are the sounds of cannon shots and ash.
Eight looks at me straight in the eyes. I know he can see what I'm feeling, and I feel horrible for my decision. I led Eight and Ella down the wrong corridor, and now they're getting hurt because of it. The feeling Eight sees in my eyes is regret.
I'm sorry Eight. I can't say it out loud because I'm so weak and pathetic, but I do feel it. Five looms over Eight, a wicked looking baton in his arms. With a sudden sharp movement, the baton is smashing into Eight's face and I scream as Eight collapses back, his face covered in blood.
I start forward at once, but I'm grabbed around the waist, dragged back. Five laughs as I struggle desperately. He grins wickedly at me and then saunters forward after kicking Eight once.
"Not so strong now, are you?" He taunts Eight.
Ella is screaming things that I don't understand. Five comes in front of me and slaps me, grabbing my jaw afterwards and bringing our faces close together. He spits on my face.
Suddenly, Five crumbles to the floor in pain. A dagger is spreading Mogadorian poison throughout his body. I watch him convulse on the ground as it travels through him. A cannon shot is fired at Eight, but he manages to roll away.
"Eight?" Ella asks to make sure he's alive.
"I'm fine." He responds abruptly, still laying on the floor.
He keeps on saving me. He continues to try to save me and all I do is watch. How pathetic am I that I simply stand here and watch him be beaten?
I throw off the mogs and then race forwards, falling to my knees beside Eight. I press my hands to his face, body to heal him. He's not looking at me and I can feel tears build up in my eyes. I hear Ella fighting behind me.
"The exit's that way." I nod down the right corridor. "Keep running and take the first right turn. Carry on going down that corridor, go through the door and you're out. Just keep running." I say quickly under my breath.
"Im not leaving without you." Eight says firmly.
"I heard you talking about a vial with Ella, I know where it is." I respond.
"I'll help you get it." He tells me.
"No. You, Ella, and the others need to escape while you can. I'll catch up later."
I felt good to tell him that. I turn back one last time after taking out a couple Mogs for Ella. "And thank you, Eight, for what you've done today. I appreciate it. But seriously, don't come looking for me again. I have some work to do."
I then race off down the hall, towards the room that I remembered has the vial.
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I walk down the hallway, looking for a sign of Marina. I use my lumen to easily light the way. The corridor is identical to all the other Mog bases, silver and never ending. I really hate this place.
Suddenly the door to my left breaks down and in comes a horde of Mogs. I instantly draw out a ball of fire and reduce the group to ash. I allow my heart to settle a bit, and then I press on.
I hear a scream from my right, it sounds like a little girl. I run toward it, thinking it could be Ella. I was wrong.
I turn the corner ahead to see a glass wall leading into a pit. The pit has a wide platform in the middle, and two thin walkways jutting out from either side to lead to a door. Standing in the middle of the platform is a little girl, she looks about ten, and an angry piken. The girl screams again, and the piken pounces. I turn away to avoid the inevitable. Poor girl.
As I regain my inner confidence, I continue down the hallway. This time I hear grunting and slashing. I turn toward the sound and run to it. The sight is another thing I wasn't expecting.
There is a giant room, about thirty feet tall and forty feet wide, with one ledge. On that ledge is Setråkus Ra holding Ella by the back of her shirt. Six is on the ground level in the middle of the room. I run up and join her.
"Ah, here is the special one. Number Four. I've tried to kill you many times, my friend, but this time shall be the last." Setråkus growls.
A tiny voice sounds in my head, "Help...", and then Setråkus plunges his sword through Ella's waist.
"No!" Six screams and catches Ella, who had been dropped off the balcony.
I look up at Setråkus Ra.
"You cowardice little traitor! You're even worse than Five! I bet you thought I'd never find out, but you are one of the Elders. That's right, I know your little secret. All you've ever wanted is revenge, and now you've taken it out on your own daughter! You're a madman, I'm telling you. Now get down here and fight me like a man!" I scream at Setråkus like I've never screamed before.
Six is staring at me, her eyes wide. Ella is mumbling. I run over and heal her enough to survive, and when I turn around, Setråkus Ra is standing in the center of the room.
"Fair enough. If you want to fight, we shall." He says and draws his sword.
Six drags Ella back and then starts out to join me.
"No, only Number Four. This has to end now." Setråkus says in a low tone. "En garde."
I tuck and roll to his left and dodge a deadly blow from his whip. I expected it to happen. I whip out a fireball for each hand, and tell them to form curved arches to attack, and they do so. Ra manages to hit the first one away, but the second hits him square in the shoulder, and he holds a hand there. Then the horrible feeling happens again. It feels like I've been drained of something, like I'm slowly turning to nothingness in the world. I try my lumen, but it doesn't work. Setråkus Ra has done it again, he has cancelled our legacies. I run toward Ra, but instead of dodging to the right like I'd planned, I am suddenly flying towards the roof. I prepare for a huge crash, but am let down lightly. He really doesn't want Six to influence this fight. As soon as feet hit stone, we begin to attack. I dodge his vicious sword swings and whip lashes, and soon grab a stalactite to use for a temporary weapon. I continue to dodge and parry his attacks. Clearly, I am much stronger than last week in Dulce. I begin to get very angry with Setråkus. He's done so much to ruin my life, and now he is here and trying to kill me. He is very close to breaking the final straw.
At this moment, many crazy things happen. A sharp stone that is glowing red whizzes by my shoulder. It hits Setråkus in the arm, and he screams in agony. A familiar feeling returns to me, and I realize what happened. Ella woke up and brought back the legacies again. She's learning to control her assegai manipulation! Ra and I begin to fall to the ground, where Six catches me. Setråkus hits the ground with a loud thud. He groans.
My pent up anger is beginning to spread throughout my body. I feel it run from my heart, through my legs, arms, chest, and head. Finally, I feel fully powered with hatred. I look at Setråkus, scream, and suddenly all of the darkness in the room compacts into a small ball in front of me. I roar even louder, and the ball of darkness goes slamming into Setråkus Ra's body. He flies backward into the wall, and a terrible cracking sound follows. When he falls onto his back again, he slowly looks at me.
"Number Four, I give you my respect. But this is not over. I know what you know, and I know that I need to rid of one of the three. That talisman... I need it back." And with that, Setråkus passes out, and the room begins to rumble.
"I think the roof is caving in!" Six yells.
I run back over to Ella and sling her onto my shoulders. The two of us run out of the room just as it collapses, hopefully trapping Setråkus Ra for a while. I place Ella on the ground and finish healing her.
"Thank you." She grunts.
We stand up and continue down the hallway. When we come to a fork, Six and I go left while Ella goes straight. Instantly we regret this.
I hear hissing and metal creaking to see Ella's path being blocked by a door. Someone must be controlling this and can see us. I hear Ella yell no and run toward the door, but she's too late. I run to the other side of the door.
"Meet us near the exit!" I yell to her.
"Where's the exit?" I hear her ask faintly through the doorway.
"You'll have to find it!" Six yells to her.
Suddenly, Hayley comes running down the hallway from the direction we didn't go.
"Thank the elders you guys are okay. Where're the others?" She asks.
"I'm in here!" Ella yells from behind the door.
I explain what happens, and then we all take off. We need to find Marina and Eight, and then we all need to meet up with Ella.
We need to get out of this Mog base, fast.
**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review, and check out my collab story with IwishIcouldbeNumberFive! It is called Loss, Love, Laughter, Life and our pen name is TheSecretsofFiveandNine. Goodbye for now!