****PARADISE SAGAS: BOOK 1: WARRIORS OF PARADISE****

They were enveloped in pure, raw energy. Almost like a nuclear bomb. Kevin let the power hit him. He couldn’t see anything. It was too bright. He was running out of power.

As if on a TV with bad reception, his outfit phased for an instant, and he was wearing only pants, then they phased back on.

Finally, the uniform disappeared and he lost all trains of thought as he was over taken.

~*~*~*~

There was a new strength coming from each of her warriors. Lexa could feel it enter her as the light continued to come. She smiled as she poured her soul into the light.

~*~*~*~

There was a sudden burst of darkness that erupted from beneath her. Lexa was flung to the ground, as all her warriors were pushed towards her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the cool ground against her cheek.

Lilith had fought back. Someone had taken hold of Lexa’s shoulder. She raised herself.

And she glared at Lilith.

~*~*~*~

The energy from Lexa seemed to have taken a lot out of Lilith. She now looked like a mixture of Lilith and Pure. But she was still there.

"You can’t defeat me that easily!" Lilith laughed, "You can’t defeat me!"

~*~*~*~

They had almost no energy left. She could see that just by looking at them. Even Virtue looked drained.

Lexa staggered to her feet. Her sword rose from the floor to her hand. She cast a glance at her friends.

"No, Lexa." Virtue moved forward.

"I have to." Lexa replied and motioned for him to stop.

"Why?"

Lexa smiled at him, "Thrill of the game."

Even in the desperate moment, Virtue smiled too.

~*~*~*~

Kendra forced herself to her feet. She suddenly knew what Lexa was going to do.

Kendra bowed her head and removed her stone and held it in her palm.

~*~*~*~

Kevin watched Kendra remove her stone, then he looked at the others. They all nodded in silent agreement. They all reached up for their crystals.

~*~*~*~

Lexa was suddenly of energy behind her. Strong energy. She didn’t turn around.

Lilith sent another blow. More powerful than Lexa had expected. She slammed her sword into it as the dark energy reached her. It split the energy in two, which went up like tidal waves around her.

She needed more power. Four lights shot out from behind her and twirled around the sword.

It was finally going to end.

~*~*~*~

"She would end her world, so it would begin again." Kendra’s voice.

"The warriors can only be awakened by the leader of a group of 5. The leader must be a she." Kevin.

"Let’s spend our last night with our friends." David’s voiced echoed through her mind.

"She would end her world, so it would begin again." Kendra’s words repeated in her mind again.

~*~*~*~

Kendra watched as he stone rose off her hand and joined the others in forming balls of light. They shot to Lexa.

~*~*~*~

The four balls of light spun around the sword once more, before all seemed to be absorbed by her crystal.

Lilith’s attack faulted for an instant, giving Lexa an opening.

"WARRIORS OF PARADISE!" She screamed, slamming the sword down again.

The new energy rushed forward.