Fitz

"Fitz," a voice said, and slowly, Fitz pulled back from his connection to Sophie's mind. "Fitz." 

Fitz turned to meet his friend's eyes, wiping the few tears that had slipped past him. Sophie had warned them. She'd said it in the very beginning. She'd been forgetting things. It should've occurred to Fitz that they might've been trying to erase him. Well, not him specifically. But surely the Neverseen knew he'd take it the worst, being her boyfriend and all. Or, former- boyfriend. Or whatever they were, now. 

"Fitz," Keefe repeated, and Fitz blinked away from his thoughts.

"Huh?" 

"Did you find her?" Keefe's eyes seemed to sparkle with hope, but only for a moment before they took a noticeable dimming when Fitz shook his head. 

"She..." the tears welled up again, and Keefe sunk to his knees in understanding. "She's not dead," Fitz assured him. "But she... She warned us. And we didn't see it. We should've seen it." 

"Seen what?" Keefe asked, tensing. Fitz's fists squeezed into balls until his knuckles were white.

"She doesn't remember. Not me, not you, not anyone." Keefe flinched as Fitz slammed a fist into the ground, biting his lip when the pain shot through his arm, leaving a tingly sensation behind. But, Keefe's expression turned neutral. As if, his entire soul had left his body. His eyes turned dark and empty, the tension on his face disappeared, and the frown on his lips straightened into a perfect line. 

"Keefe?" He didn't move. "Keefe, I know. We'll get her back. But right now, we need to get out of here." Finally, Keefe responded. It was only a small nod, but it was something. And Fitz would take it, as long as he knew his friend's mind wasn't shattering. Fitz had hated Keefe when he'd first come back, but now, the thought of losing his friend-- especially after they'd already lost nearly everyone else-- it terrified him. 

Shaking, Keefe climbed to his feet, and Fitz did the same, before leading them both out of the room and back down the dark, cold stone halls. The silence was haunting, their footsteps doing close to nothing to fill it. 

"She..." Keefe mumbled after thirty minutes of endless walking. Fitz straightened. "What did she say exactly? Nothing useful, I'm guessing. I mean, we'd be rushing towards her if she'd said where she was, right?" 

Fitz nodded. "No. Nothing useful. Not her location, situation, what the Neverseen's planning."

"What did she say?" Keefe asked. Fitz's brow crunched as he did his best to recall the conversation. 

"She... told me 'thank you'," Fitz recapped. "She wanted to know how I knew her name, because... y'know." A dreadful silence passed, but not nearly as long as before. And Fitz continued, "I asked and she told me the Neverseen aren't doing anything to her. And..." 

"And what?" Keefe urged when Fitz stopped. Tears were falling again, but he did his best to mask them so Keefe wouldn't worry. Not for his sake. Keefe wouldn't worry about Fitz. Not after the way he'd treated Keefe. No. It was for Sophie's sake. He knew Sophie wouldn't want Keefe worrying over her when she hadn't given them any reason to worry. And yet, Fitz couldn't stop himself from worrying. "Fitz?" 

Fitz cleared his throat. "She told me to stay."

"What?" Keefe asked--not jealous, but confused. 

"I tried to sever our connection, and she... told me to stay. I think she was scared. Scared of being alone." 

Keefe was silent the rest of the walk, until finally, they came across their first intersection. Four different paths. One hall was light, and Fitz knew an exit was right there. The second was blocked off by large boulders, and Fitz could hear commotion inside. Then there was the third. It went on for what seemed like forever and it was pitch dark. No glowing rocks to guide the way, from what Fitz could see. Finally, the fourth. Dark, narrow, and Fitz doubted anyone would be able to fit through it. Well, maybe Marella. Sadly, Marella was imprisoned with the rest of their friends-- having been captured by Illusion. 

Fitz glanced at Keefe, hoping he'd decide. On one hand, they could escape and regroup. Build a better plan with the information they now had. And the flowers. Or, they could travel deeper, risk facing the Neverseen, but could also find Sophie. The second and third were definite "no's", two being blocked off with a Neverseen member obviously inside, and four being too small. 

"So," he asked his friend, "what now?"