Keefe

"Biana? Fitz?" Keefe asked, rushing to greet his friends, "What's going on? Where's everyone else?" He bent down to Biana's level, lifting her to her feet. However, instead of standing up, she collapsed into his arms with tear-stained cheeks.

"Biana?" he asked, "What's going on?" he repeated, a wave of shock and guilt washing over him. Biana's shock and guilt. And as he looked to Fitz's scowling face, he saw the fear behind his eyes.

"Fitz? Can someone tell me what the heck is going on!?" But as he situated Biana on one of the few couches in the base, the two Vackers remained silent. It didn't help that he could feel their emotions- which consisted mainly of fear, shock, confusion, guilt, and anger- each emotion left with no explanation.

What were they afraid of? Guilty of? Why were they confused? What had left them so shaken that they could barely utter a single word?

Somehow, despite the hours that passed, Keefe had managed to keep the questions to a minimum. He needed to let them settle before he could bombard them with more questions. Make them relive whatever it was they had gone through.

As the day turned to night, Keefe was starting to feel he'd never get any answers. At least until, Biana came up to his room.

"Keefe?" her soft voice asked, peering into the room.

"Biana!" Keefe said, a little too eagerly, "Biana?" he corrected, feeling his face grow warm.

"Something happened at the meeting," she whispered, and it took all of Keefe's strength not to say, "Obviously." Instead, he said, "Really? Are you ready to talk about it?"

Biana answered with a small nod, taking a small step into his bedroom before seating herself on his bed. Her face was a pinkish hue, and he could practically hear her heart pounding against her chest.

"What happened?" he asked, hoping he wouldn't have to sit through an entire sob story to get to the good part. He'd been forced to wait an entire day, while dealing with negative emotions in which only added to his worry. Luckily, Biana kept things short and simple.

"The Neverseen found out it was all a diversion. They took everyone. Even Mr. Forkle and the Collective. Wraith got away, I think. But everyone else..." Keefe squeezed her shoulder and when she met his eyes, he gave her a small smile.

"You did your best. There's no reason to feel guilty for anything."

"But I didn't. They were right there. But I was too slow and... they took everyone." she repeated, a series of tears slipping down her face.

"It's not your fault," he reassured her, "We'll get them all back. We'll come up with a plan. We've still got you. And you saved Fitz. Wraith's still out there. He'll be back soon. And we'll all save them."

"How?" her voice cracked as she spoke, "Mr. Forkle is gone. We don't know where Wraith is and the rest of the Collective is gone. Sophie's being drugged as we speak and... and I can't do anything about it. Why can't I have a useful ability? Like Inflicting? Or Mesmer? Shade? Or Pyrokinetic? Pysionpath? Or-"

"Biana," Keefe stepped in, "We both know you can name a ton of abilities, alright? But- and no offense to Dex or anything but- at least you're not a Technopath. Sure, he's got his gadgets but, those things take time. Your ability is just as useful as the rest." Biana nodded, wiping her running nose.

"Thanks. But how will we come up with a plan without Mr. Forkle?" Keefe opened his mouth but quickly closed it when he realized he didn't know.

"We'll find a way. I promise."