I do not own Lorien Legacies or any of the characters.
Future Plans
I stare at the televisions. The warships have begun bombarding the cities they're over. The destruction is unimaginable. And it's not likely to stop any time soon.
Standing in front of Lawson's desk, which is in front of the wall of televisions that we're watching the destruction on, stands Five, who Sam and John says saved John from Phiri Dun-Ra, which is why they're not locking him up again. I turn, unable to watch the scenes of destruction any longer, and immediately wrap my arms around Marina, stopping her from seeing Five.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, understanding what's going on, probably having seen it on Lexa's ship.
"It's not your fault," I say. "But I'm going to make him pay."
"Be careful," Marina warns. "That's how I was about Five, and you've kept me from becoming consumed by revenge."
I nod as Marina moves to pass me, but I catch her again.
"He's in there isn't he?" she asks.
"Yeah," I nod. "He saved John's life from Phiri Dun-Ra so they're going to let him stay out of a cell until after we deal with Setrákus Ra."
Marina nods, tense, then leans against me, sighing.
"I can't wait until this is over," Marina sighs. "What will happen then?"
"I honestly don't know," I admit. "I've never been good at planning ahead. And after fighting the Mogadorians for so long, and the Marine Corps before that, I honestly don't know what I'll do when this is over."
"You could always reenlist," Marina says.
"No way," I snort. "I hated it. I'm never going back."
Marina nods and I turn, heading for the elevator.
"Come on," I say. "We should have Lexa get the ship ready. I'd rather not be here when Phiri Dun-Ra returns."
"I'd like to be," Marina says. "I'd love to pay her back."
"I don't want to know what she'll bring with her this time," I say. "We'll kill her some other time. Probably in West Virginia."
Marina nods and we step out of the elevator, nodding to Lexa to get the ship started. The other human Garde, minus Sam, have already gathered, along with Hawkeye and Rookie, and are waiting for the rest of us, or for us to tell them what's going on."
"What's up?" Daniela asks. "Is something wrong?"
I silently walk onto the ship with Marina, sitting at the back, Marina sitting beside me, leaning on my shoulder, arms around me. The human Garde all board the ship, no one saying anything, all sensing what's wrong. After a few minutes, the Loric along with Sam, Lawson, and Walker all step onto the ship and Lexa takes off, leaving the secret base behind. As we fly, John and Lawson discuss the final details of the plan. Then, we land in an open field, Walker and Lawson leaving to join the military convoy waiting for them after he tells John that there's a team waiting at each Loralite growth. Hawkeye and Rookie go with them, deciding that they'd be more useful with him than watching us fight Mogadorians. That leaves the human Garde and the Loric.
"When our planet was attacked, our Elders sent us away so that we'd live to fight another day," John begins. "So, that's what we're doing for all of you. Win or lose, after tomorrow, your world will be a changed place. It will need someone to defend it. But for today, the future defenders need defending."
The human Garde all remain silent, allowing him to speak. In truth, everyone knew they were never going to fight Setrákus Ra with us. And they're relieved about it. Even Daniela, though she won't show it.
"We had a charm burned into us, one that would keep us safe, for a time," John says. "We can't do that for you. But we can give you...something else."
Suddenly, Regal, the chimæra that prefers the form of a hawk, flies out of the ship, landing on Caleb's shoulder, ruffling his hair with its wings. Christian, having turned out to have been a doppelganger instead of a twin, no longer accompanies him, and he actually seems a little happier without him around. Bandit, the raccoon chimæra, scratches at Nigel's leg until he picks him up. Gamera, the turtle chimæra, walks over to Ran, who bends down, scratching his head and smiling. Bertrand and Fleur look a little unhappy that they don't get one, especially when Biscuit, the golden retriever chimæra that Sarah is fond of, walks over to Daniela. After a moment, Stanley, the fat cat that was so fond of Sam, brushes against Sam's leg for a moment before making his way over to Bertrand and Fleur, rubbing against both of their legs.
"Dust and BK are both coming with us," John says, so two of you will need to share. These chimæra will be your protectors until your Legacies come in and you've trained them. And then, they will be your greatest allies. One day, hopefully, we'll be able to help you more, train you properly. But, until that day comes..."
John trails off. He doesn't know what to say. So I speak up.
"Stay alive," I say. "Stay safe and stay alive until this is over. And if we fail, and you'll know if we fail, you'll be the ones who have to lead the resistance against the Mogadorians, the ones to eventually kill Setrákus Ra. So, until this is over and we've taken Setrákus Ra's head off his shoulders, stay safe."
They all nod, Stanley jumping up into Fleur's arms.
The human Garde, except Daniela, all turn, walking away and Daniela walks over.
"I'm totally badass enough to help you fight," Daniela says. "But someone has to look after these kids."
"Good luck training Ran," I grin.
Daniela sticks her tongue out at me before smiling around at everyone.
"Don't die," she says.
"Take care Daniela," John says.
She turns, walking away and we begin to board the ship again, Sam and John staying behind.
"I know you don't expect me to leave with them," Sam says.
"Nope," John smiles. "You're stuck with us."
Sam smiles and nods, and a few minutes later, we're flying toward Niagara Falls. The trip is quiet, except for Malcolm and Sam calling Sam's mother to say their goodbyes and explain what they've been doing. I sit in the copilot seat, away from the others, even Marina. Even I would have thought I'd have been spending as much time with her as I could, but I was too afraid. Every time I look at her since Patience Creek was attacked, I can only see her crashing into the ground under the power of Setrákus Ra's Telekinesis. I know that I can protect her now, but it doesn't stop the images.
Finally we land and walk over to the Loralite growth. There, there's a Mogadorian, one that Adam claims turned against his commander to help John and the others, therefor was a temporary ally.
"All you have to do is picture the location and the stone will take you there," Ella explains. "If you have trouble, I can help...put an image in your head. When I was linked with Legacy, I saw all the stones simultaneously, so I know what their surroundings look like."
"Lion's Head is a place and not, uh, an actual lion's head, right?" Sam asks, looking at the list of places.
"I'll help you Sam," Ella says.
Nine raises his hand. "If we do picture an actual lion's head..."
"No, you won't teleport onto a lion," Ella says, finishing his thought.
"Let's get this done," John says.
We pair off to make the deliveries, John going with Five since no one else wanted to. I go with Marina, Nine with Ella, and Sam with Six. Everyone else stays behind. Each pair grabs a backpack filled with cloaking devices and walks over to the stone, marking off a location on the paper and having Ella show it to them then leaving, her and Nine planning to go last. Ella gives me the image of our destination and I take Marina's hand, resting my other hand on the rock. My stomach jerks instantly and a moment later, I'm somewhere else entirely. I take my hand off the rock and groan just as soldiers hurry over to get the backpack. They take it and I sigh, leaning against a large rock beside the Loralite growth.
"What's wrong?" Marina asks once the special forces troops are gone, just like I knew she would. "Why are you avoiding me again?"
"I'm sorry," I say. "I don't want to. But...I'm afraid. Every time I look at you I see Setrákus Ra..."
I trail off and she understands, walking forward and taking my hands.
"You saved me," Marina says. "You stopped him from killing me, you kept Sarah alive when she should have died, and you healed my arm when even I couldn't. You don't have to be afraid anymore. You can keep me safe. You've beaten your curse. You're not going to lose me, James. I promise you. I'm not leaving you, no matter what happens."
I smile at her but it fades after a minute.
"James," she sighs, hugging me. "It's almost over. Once we're done with Setrákus Ra, we'll be able to do whatever we want. What are we going to do first?"
"Sleep," I laugh. "I'm going to sleep. Probably for a few years."
Marina laughs as well, nodding and pulling back.
"Alright," she smiles. "We'll sleep. And then let's take a vacation. See the world without fighting Mogadorians everywhere we go."
I smile and nod looking past her, at the world around us. It's a field of grass, hundreds of flowers around us. Thanks to our night vision, we can see it perfectly. My smile fades again and Marina looks worried.
"Actually, there is one thing I want if we survive this," I say.
"What?" Marina asks.
I kneel, reaching into my pocket as Marina's eyes widen. Hawkeye's good at a lot of things. Shooting, hand-to-hand combat, picking up chicks. But maybe his best quality, is his ability to do small favors for people that they don't even realize they need yet. Case and point is the object he had gotten for me back in New York during the invasion that I hadn't told anyone about since he gave it to me "for later use." I hold the small black box out and Marina's eyes water as she covers her mouth.
"Will you marry me?" I ask opening the box.
She cries out happily, nodding before grabbing the ring and throwing her arms around me, kissing me. I smile, kissing her back and after a moment she pulls back, admiring the diamond ring on her finger. I kiss her again then pull back, taking her hand and resting my other one on the stone, teleporting us back to Niagara Falls. We appear at the same time as Sam and Six and Sam and I both go to grab another back pack. Just as I pick mine up, I hear Six squeal and almost drop the pack, covering my mouth as I laugh and Sam stares back at them in confusion. I turn to look and see every male watching me as all of the girls are around Marina, admiring the ring. Nine grins at me and raises an eyebrow and I roll my eyes, walking back over.
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to borrow my fiancée for a bit," I say. "We've got more cloaking devices to deliver."
Marina slips her hand into mine instantly and the others step back before Ella gives us an image of the next area and we're gone again.
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