I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of the characters.
Battle
When I come to, we're still in the truck, speeding along the road and taking dangerously fast turns for as sharp as they seem to be. I groan, trying to sit up but Hawkeye holds me down, at least, the arm feels like Hawkeye's.
"Not done yet," Hawkeye says. "She only healed your windpipe so far."
A moment later, the pain returns a hundred fold. I scream but it's cut silent as the pain takes my voice. I start hyperventilating, unable to even stop myself rom breathing. Then, it's over, and the cool feeling I get when she heals me returns. Finally, I open my eyes. I can't see.
"Oh shit!" Rookie gasps. "His eyes!"
I hear Hawkeye curse.
"Hold your breath, Bro," is all the warning I get.
My eyes erupt in pain this time. It takes less time than my face, thankfully, and a moment later I can see again. I sit up, rubbing my eyes and look around.
"That was not pleasant in any way," I grumble.
"What was that stuff?" Marina asks through a small opening in the middle of the back window.
"Pepper Spray," Hawkeye states. "Just, a much, much stronger version than what is legally...recommended."
"That's probably why there's no one following us," I state.
"Right," Hawkeye nods.
As if on cue, a glowing white energy blast hits the tailgate of the truck and we all duck down, Craytan cursing loudly behind the wheel. I pull out my AA-12 and sit up, seeing several vehicles, pickups, cars, even a couple of humvees, following us. Mogadorians lean out the window, pointing strange weapons at us and firing bolts of bright white energy at us, most missing.
"Lousy shots," I snort, raising my AA-12 just as we skid around a corner.
I wait until the first vehicle starts to come around, then shoot the second in the rear several times. It explodes, the car lurching forward and catching the back of the first, dragging it off the road too, both vehicles rolling and crashing down the hill. The third's windshield is covered in flame and he doesn't see the turn, driving right off the edge then beginning to flip end over end down the mountain side. The road wraps back around and Marina has to clear debris for our truck quickly. the rest of the vehicles make it around the corners, chasing us, a well armored humvee in front. Just as we start around the next corner, I shoot at it, my shot goes wild, though, and hits the road in front of it. It swerves, the front left tire going into the crater I made and suddenly the vehicle is flipping and rolling along the road. We try to take another corner but we're going to fast. The three of us in the bed of the truck lay down, holding onto something just as we drive over the edge, beginning to drive down the side of the mountain, sticks and leaves hitting us. Finally we make it back onto the road and continue driving. Finally, we slam through a chainlink fence and then skid to a stop and the three of us hop out, landing on a beach as everyone climbs out of the cab. The vehicles are still a ways off but they're on their way.
"Now what?" I ask, glancing at Craytan.
Just then, a heavily armored humvee with a mounted gun hits the beach and we dive away from the truck as the humvee slams into it, Hawkeye and Rookie, who had already gotten away from it, open fire, killing the Mogadorians in the humvee before they can act.
"Now we fight!" Craytan stated, hurling an object into the lake, muttering in a different language, probably Loric.
Just then, several more vehicles arrive, all the Mogadorians in them opening fire before they're even at the beach. Shots begin to rain down everywhere, everyone hitting the ground. Hawkeye and Rookie start picking off Mogadorians in the further back vehicles as I start unloading on the closest ones. After a moment, another humvee with a mounted gun manages to make it to the beach and the gun starts firing at Hawkeye and Rookie. I draw my pistol, dropping the Mogadorian before sprinting to the vehicle and jumping on the back, swinging the gun around at the approaching Mogadorians. Craytan yells something at Marina and Ella who take off begin to head that way but I use my AA-12 to put that idea out of their heads. After several minutes, a bellowing roar rings out behind me. I spin, aiming at a massively elongated neck with a lizard head on top but Craytan forces my gun down.
"It's Olivia!" Craytan yells over the gunfire. "She's with us!"
"It's the fuckin' Lock Ness Monster!"
Craytan looks confused so I shake my head and roll back over, returning to firing at the Mogadorians again. Craytan puts some distance between us for safety and also continues firing. Then, Olivia roars again just as something in the distance, lots of somethings, start yipping. I look up from my sights and see that there are at least a hundred creatures like hairless reptile-lion hybrids sprinting down the mountain. I start firing at them, killing them even faster than the Mogadorians because the FRAG-12s can kill a handful at a time, but they ignore me, rushing into the water and speeding toward Olivia. I roll over, switching to my Tavor and start trying to pick them off of her, Hawkeye helping. However, after a couple of minutes, the damage is done. Olivia roars in pain, head whipping to the side to try and shake off several of the creatures, then begins to sink, a dark cloud spreading outward from her.
"Olivia!" Craytan shouts trying to run to the lake but Héctor catches him, forcing him to start shooting Mogadorians again.
The creatures that were alive start swimming back toward us, and while they're fast, they're all dead before they reach shore. Then, I look to the side and my rifle falls out of my hands. Craytan looks over at me then in the direction I'm looking just as the massive creature with hooved feet, a head the size of Héctor's truck, and massive bulging fists roars. Ella and Marina, who are at its feet, turn and sprint into the trees, the creature following. I grab my rifle and the sword that's still in the bed of the truck and sprint after them, though I don't really know why I grabbed the sword. Just as I reach the trees, the creature seems to notice me and turns around, roaring at me. I stab my sword into the ground and raise my AA-12, firing at it, the rounds exploding against its head, making it stagger backward as thick black blood splatters on the ground. I can hear Marina scream as it staggers backward and catch a glimpse of of her a short distance behind it as she falls backward, either off a cliff or down a hill, though I can't tell what.
"Marina!" I shout sprinting forward again.
The creature roars again, blood splattering around me again and again I fire at it, this time managing to hit a FRAG-12 against its tooth. The explosion snaps its head backward hard enough that it's thrown off balance and it staggers backward, arms pinwheeling, but it steadies itself. It turns, roaring downward and I can hear Marina scream. Then, Adelina sprints past me, firing a Mogadorian blaster as she charges the thing. It turns toward her, roaring just in time for her to literally leapt into it, tackling it over the edge. There's a deafening collision followed by the sound of something plowing up ground before a pause and a second collision, coming from far below and muted by the ground in the way. I sprit forward, finding myself at the top of a steep slope ending in a cliff. Marina clings to a boulder part way down, looking terrified but she smiles in relief when she sees me.
I lay down, holding my AA-12 by the barrel and reach down with it. She grabs it, letting go of the boulder and I grunt in effort as I pull her up. Once she's at the top she stands, looking around.
"WHere's Adelina?" She asks.
I remain silent, looking toward the edge and she gasps, choking back a sob.
"Marina!" Ella's voice shouts.
She spins around, sprinting back away from the slope. I lie on my back for a moment, catching my breath. After a moment, I hear the sound of a Mogadorian gun and the sizzle of it hitting something, followed by a strangled cry of pain from Marina, and somewhere Ella calls out to her. I roll over, seeing a Mogadorian in gold and black armor standing over her with his gun to her head. I push myself up, sprinting forward and tackle him off of her. About the same time we hit the ground, it starts to rain, making the ground slick with mud quickly. The Mogadorian picks me up by the throat but I manage to kick his gun away then plant my foot in his face. He staggers backward, back ramming into the hilt of my stolen sword. He grins and pulls it out of the ground, the previously white blade turning blue as he starts forward. I draw my knife and the two of us slowly close in on each other. After a moment, he darts forward, slashing at me and I duck under it, slashing at his armor experimentally but my knife sparks off of it harmlessly before the buttcap of the sword slams into the back of my head. I collapse in the mud and the Mogadorian laughs, standing over me with the sword raised. I see a gap in his armor and flip around,driving my knife into the back of his leg. He roars in pain, dropping to that knee and my fist crashes into his face. He staggers backward, ripping the knife out and then plants his foot in my chest, flipping me onto my back and knocking the wind out of me.
"Weak human," the Mogadorian growls, stepping up and raising the sword again.
I plant both feet into his uninjured knee, breaking it into a right angle the wrong way and the Mogadorian shrieks in pain, collapsing. I pick up the sword, too tired to lift it properly. I drive it into the Mogadorian's face then fall onto my back, groaning. I probably have a few broken ribs. After a minute, Marina is beside me, healing me. Guess I was right. When she's done, I push myself up as Ella runs over, holding out my rifle.
"The other one fell over the cliff," she says, almost apologetically.
"Don't worry," I smile, taking the rifle and pulling myself up with the sword but leaving it where it is.
We hurry back toward the others as Craytan runs up the hill, turning and firing back the other way, Hawkeye running past with Héctor over his shoulder and Rookie just behind them. Hawkeye sets Héctor down in front of Marina and Marina starts to heal him as the rest of us, minus Ella, start firing at the Mogadorians, holding them back while she works. Finally, she's finished and Héctor joins the fight. Just as he does, Craytan runs dry.
"Head to the dam!" Craytan shouts over the wind.
Just as he does, the wind stops. We all look up, the Mogadorians doing the same. Above us, the clouds begin to spiral together, then, a massive eye forms. We stare at it, thoroughly confused, until the storm picks back up, quickly getting worse than ever. I was the first to start moving again. I ran the short distance to the blaster the Mogadorian I brawled with dropped and then toss it to Craytan who nods as we sprint away. As we crest a small hill, we all spot the dam. It's way too far to believe we could ever make it there.
"We'll never get there alive!" I shout.
"Head for the lake!" Marina shouts.
We spin back toward the lake and I turn, shooting into the trees, seeing several Mogadorians take cover. Then, we burst out of the trees and the rain stops. I glance back, seeing that the rain continues to hammer the Mogadorians, the wind picking up until the rain storm around them is too heavy to even see them. We keep running, making it to the water where most of us take off into the water but Héctor stops.
"Can you swim?" I ask.
"No," Héctor says shaking his head.
I hand him my rifle then grab him from behind, dragging him backward into the water, swimming for both of us. During my time in the military, I survived and passed every water survival training they had to offer. Swimming with Héctor was easy compared to a few of them. The rain finally stopped, the clouds clearing and the Mogadorians began to charge again, Héctor opening fire and dropping a lot of them, more of the four-legged creatures that had killed Olivia charging out of their ranks, only for Héctor to kill them. Then, suddenly, he stopped firing as a speck falling from the sky landed, rippling the sand. It was a girl with raven hair and a large blue pendant around her neck.
"She's one of us!" Marina shouts.
Just as the girl looks toward us, she vanishes.
"What the..." I breath just before a pair of the creatures reach the water and are yanked into the air, slammed together, then swung around into more. "She's invisible!"
After a moment, more reach the water with a similar result. After a moment, a blaster rises from the ground, firing and slaughtering Mogadorians. Then, blaster fire comes at us from the side. I spin and Héctor begins shooting the Mogadorians wading into the water.
"I'm going to help!" Marina shouts."
"Hawkeye!" I shout, swimming toward him.
Like me, Hawkeye had gone through every swimming qualification they offered. He takes Héctor and I take my rifle, swimming toward shore with Marina. After a moment, she glances back at me and lifts me enough with Telekinesis that I can shoot while diving under water. I waste no time opening fire, killing Mogadorians right and left as Marina toes me toward shore, somehow able to stay under water long past when she should have to come up to breathe. I ignore it for the moment, since the blasts don't seem to be able to reach her through the water. I continue to drop Mogadorians and after a moment, my gun clicks. I drop the magazine and put a fresh one in, continuing to fire just as a blast hits the spent magazine, sending it spinning away. I grit my teeth, steeling myself in case they shoot any closer than a few centimeters to the side as that one was. I continue to fire and Mogadorians continue to drop. Then, as we reach them, Marina jumps out, hurling one and grabbing his blaster then shooting him. Together we finish off the ones on this stretch of beach then spin toward the vehicles and the hundreds of Mogadorians near them. We open fire and Mogadorians begin to disintegrate.
Something moves in the water and I shove Marina, a creature's jaws clamping down on my arm. I shout in pain, slamming my gun's barrel into its eye, making it release my arm before firing and killing it. Just as I do, the invisible girl appears in front of us.
"Are you okay?" she asks as Marina hurries over.
"About to be," I state, slinging my rifle and drawing my pistol, shooting several Mogadorians as they run at us.
"What number are you?" she asks Marina.
"Seven," Marina says.
"I'm Six," she introduces herself before vanishing again.
I don't fire again, worried I'll hit our invisible friend. But then she reappears on a humvee, a cannon floating over her, blasting Mogadorians and a glowing sword in her hand which she begins to slaughter Mogadorians with. Marina finishes with my arm and I put my pistol away, grabbing my rifle and open fire at the Mogadorians again. After a moment, Six hurls the sword into the army around her, which we've already killed a lot of, and impales three with it. Then, she grabs the gun mounted on the humvee and begins to mow down the Mogadorians. by the dozens. At that range, they never even have a chance. She swings the gun around with one hand, destroying the other vehicles while raising her other hand, clouds forming overhead. Lightning hits the ground, blasting a group of Mogadorians. Marina shouts for the others to get out of the water and we run toward the battle to help. As we do, a Mogadorian hurls a grenade at Six but Marina somehow manages to shoot the thing, detonating it and making Six spin, killing the Mogadorian that threw it. She continues to slaughter the Mogadorians with the gun and her lightning. The others reach us, helping and it's clear that within a couple of seconds or less we'll be finished. But then, Ella makes an announcement no one likes.
"Pikens!" Ella shrieks pointing.
I look up the mountain past a distracted Six to see four of the massive creatures I had dropped off a cliff charging at her from above. I sling my rifle, grabbing a blaster, shooting at them, careful to get close enough to Six to get her attention but not close enough to risk harming her. She snaps her head around and we all point. She spins, just as Marina hurls four silver furs into the first Piken, knocking it over where it's crushed to death by the other three. Six drops the next with her mounted gun but it falls and rolls down the hill and she has to leap off the humvee just before it's crushed by the dead Piken. The last two reach us and separate, but as they do, Six stands and lightning hits one of them, sheering off its arm. It roars, falling to its knees but quickly pushes itself back up and sprints at us again as the other charges from the other side. I turn, firing at it and hitting it in the eyes, making it veer off course and fall, blind. The other grabs Héctor as the others run from it and lifts him into the air.
"No!" Marina shrieks. "Héctor!"
It's quick, if nothing else. As the Piken lifts Héctor, it completely crushes his torso then hurls him into the lake. Just as it does, lightning blasts the blinded Piken, killing it. Then, Six turns, blasting the other Piken with lightning, taking its head off its shoulders. Suddenly, there's silence. No one does anything. Then, Marina turns, hugging Six.
"Thank you Number Six," Marina says.
"Just call me Six," Six says. "And I'm sure we'll get the chance to do it again."
"I'm Marina," she says. "This is Craytan, James, Hawkeye, Rookie, and Ella. She's number Ten."
Six stares at Ella in shock as Ella shrinks down to seven and holds her hand out. Craytan begins to explain about Ella and Marina goes to retrieve Héctor, bringing him back to shore and trying to heal him. I can tell from her expression it doesn't work. I kneel beside her and pull her against me gently.
"He's gone," I whisper. "He's gone Marina. It's too late."
She begins to cry, turning her head into my shoulder. After a while, she stops and pushes herself up, staring at his body. After a moment, I carefully pick it up and turn to her.
"We'll bury him at the dam," I suggest. "That sound good?"
She nods and we head back to the others, all turning and heading to the dam. Once there, Six and Marina use their Telekinesis to quickly clear the ground before lowering Hector in and filling in the hole.
"He once told me that the key to change is letting go of fear," Marina says, looking around at us all. "I don't know if I've let go of fear just yet, but the change is happening. It's definitely happening. And I can only hope that you all can help me through it."
"Of course, we're a team," Ella says.
We climb to the top of the dam, making our way across it. We stop on the other side while Craytan opens the gate.
"Do you know a John Smith?" Marina asks.
"I do know John," Six smiles. "He's number Four. We're supposed to meet up in two weeks."
"I don't think that's wise just yet," Craytan says. "We should gather the others. You've grown too strong. The Mogadorian leader will be coming here soon."
"Their leader?" I ask.
"Yes," Craytan nods. "Setrákus Ra. We're not ready for him. Not even close."
"Well do you know where the others are?" Six asked. "I sure don't."
"I do, actually," Craytan nods. "I also know where our Chimaera are."
"Chimaera?" I blink. "What the heck's a Chimaera?"
"It's a Loric animal that can shapeshift into other animals," Six says.
"Olivia was one," Ella says.
"Oh. Well, where are we off to first?" I ask.
"India," Craytan said. "I believe one of the Garde is in India."
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