I Am Number Ten///Nine X FEM!Reader

S E V E N T E E N

"You what?" Marina says. Five sends Six's body up into the air with an uppercut. I quickly ran forward through the water, I still had Nine's staff, not that it would do much good. He seemed to have forgotten me for just a single moment. Once I was within punching range he tried to punch me too, but I slid between his legs, and tried to knock him off his feet, but once I got to my feet, he kicked me in the stomach. Sending me flying back off my feet.

I notice Marina struggling to move to Six, lying right in front of her. I coughed, and a spurt of blood came out of my mouth, turning the water crimson around me. Nine screamed,and ran forward to try and do heaven knows what. Five's Externa turned his skin rubbed, and he wrapped his arm around Nine's throat twice, and plunges Nine into the water, keeping him there.

I can feel a scream building up in my chest. Five turns to Eight, Marina, and I, and he sits on his chest. "The three of us should probably talk."

I move back into the water a few step, I'm up to my waist, and five feet away from Nine. I don't think Five would let me go though. "Where's the real Number Five? What did you do with him?" Eight yells.

"Eight." I say slowly. "That's not Setrakús Ra. It's not the same energy."

"Exactly. I'm the real deal. No shape-shifting tricks." Five nodded, a small smile on his face. Nine's been under for an entire minute now, but bubbles are still appearing on the surface. Five proved he could open and close the lock. "See?"

"Let Nine out of the water, Five." Marina says, struggling to keep her voice level.

"In a second. I want to talk to you three without Six and Nine around to interrupt." Five says.

"Why- why would you attack us? We're your friends!" Eight exclaims.

"You're my species. That doesn't make us friends."

"Let Nine out of the water, and we'll talk." I said sternly. Five rolled his eyes and let Nine up, but never let go. Nine gasped for air, and struggled to get out of Five's grip.

"Not so strong now, huh? Okay, deep breath, bro." Five taunted, and pushed Nine back under.

"Five, why are you doing this?" I yell, taking a step forward.

"You know I should be getting rid of you too." He cocks his head to me, and I simply stand my ground. "You're just as bad and Six and Nine." He goes to wrap his other arm around my throat, but I knock his hand away with Nine's staff.

"You can try me." I huffed.

"Why are you doing this?" Marina cried.

"Because you three were nice to me. Because unlike Nine and Six, I don't think you've been brainwashed by your Cêpans into thinking resistance is the only way forward. Eight, you proved that in India, when you let those soldiers die for you."

"Don't talk to me about that. I never meant for anyone to get hurt!" Eight hissed.

"Brainwashed? Did you say we're brainwashed?" Marina exclaimed.

"It's okay. The Beloved Leader is forgiving. He'll welcome you. There's still time to join the winning team."

"You're working with them?" Marina said.

"I'm sorry I lied to you about that, but it was necessary. I'd be on this planet for six months when they found me. My Cêpan was already dead of some vile human disease-that part was true, it just didn't happen when I said. The Mogadorians took me in. They helped me. Once you read the Good Book you'll understand that we shouldn't be fighting them. This whole planet- the whole universe can be ours. Tell them, Ten."

"I told your filthy commander I want nothing to do with your plan to take Earth, and then he goes, and kills Bion, and I swear on my life I'm going to kill those Mogs."

"They did something to you, Five. It's okay. We can help you." Marina tried. Five tried to drown me again, but I deflected him again.

"Just let Nine go. We don't want to hurt you." Eight added.

"Hurt me. That's a good one." He laughs. He yanks Nine from the water, and hurls him towards the tree. Marina and I try to slow him down with telekinesis, but it happened to fast. He smacks the tree spine first. I let out a small scream, not one loud enough to even hurt a fly.

I tried to run to Nine, but Five held me back. "Do you have any idea how dull it was pretending to be weak? You were trained by pitiful Cêpans, if you were lucky. Mucking about with your chests and Legacies, always in the dark. I was trained by the most powerful fighting force in the universe, and you're threatening to hurt me?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Eight replied, and turned into a ten armed lion. Five had to let go of his telekinetic hold on me to use his flute on his beast. I sprinted to Nine's side, and fell to my knees, and I was about to move him, when the telekinetic hold was back.

"Don't hurt each other. We can still be friends." I hear him call to Eight and his beast.

"Stop! Just let me heal her!" I hear Marina yell. I watch Nine as he opens his eyes, and give me a weak smile. I smile back, holding back tears, and he forces himself into a sitting position and flings a branch at Five.

"Cute." I hear Five say.

"Come on." Nine growls. "I don't need my legs to kick your fat ass."

"Talking shit until the very end. You know what's happening in Chicago right now? Your fancy suite is getting raided by Mogadorians. I want you to die knowing your bullshit place is burning to the ground, Nine." That's when I snap. I knew something was going to happen. Nine notices me huffing, and he looks up.

"Code Banshee!" He screams. As soon as the message gets out another scream forces it's way from my throat, and it make Five lose his telekinetic grip on me, and I turn to see Marina falling I catch her, and I'm still screaming. I try to aim a blow at Five before my scream runs out, but he regained his senses. He took back his grip on Marina, and wrapped one of his arms around my throat, cutting of my air, and holding me against the tree.

My entire body felt limp, but I was still moving, still trying to pry Five's hand away from my neck. I clawed at his hand vigorously, scratching his hand until it bled. He didn't even budge. "You told them about Chicago?" I hear Marina shout. Five glanced at her, and she seemed to notice something. "How could you do that? What about Ella and the others?"

"Ella will be fine. The Beloved Leader want her alive." Five says calmly. I began to cough, and I could feel the blood, and saliva mixing in my mouth.

"He wants her alive? For what? I thought he wants us all dead." Marina shouts. Five just smiled, and turned back to me and Nine. "What's he want with her, Five!?" Marina screams. I heard a feral shriek, and turned my now blurry vision to Eight. He pinned down the monster, and I just had enough time to look away before he snapped the third head, killing it quickly.

"We'll do everything! But believe me, there's more where that came from." Five seemed to say in a way so sinister it made me cough up the blood. I felt Five's hand release me, and I fall to the ground next to Nine, coughing and hacking up more blood. A shadow passes over us, and I look up to see, Five. His steel skin glinting in the little sunlight there was left.