Keefe// Sophie

< A/N- I wrote this chapter when I was tired, so,  im sorry if it's slow and boring >

Keefe was breathless as he made his way to his friends' side. Each were covered in blood and wounds, wearing similar horrified expressions on their face. They'd all experienced some sort of death before, but this, Keefe thought, must've been on a whole other level. He headed for Dex, who looked the most battered. A large gnash cut into his left arm, right under his shoulder. Dex squeezed it with his good hand. 

"What's going on?" Keefe asked, eyes watching the council. No longer, he noted, were they wearing their cloaks, but the clothes beneath. Singed and torn, and covered in blood. 

"I don't know," Dex answered. "We all saw the flash of light and I guess we all raced towards it. The dome's trapped us in." Keefe followed Dex's gaze to the large, golden dome that pulsed with energy high above them. He hadn't seen it appear, but as he thought about it, for such a large battle, it was awfully quiet. 

"And trapped everyone else out," Marella added, glaring at Gisela, who stood a great distance away, accompanied by about twenty more masked villains. That included Alvar, Fintan, and Keeper-- Alvar and Fintan wore their hoods down. "Obviously, they meant to draw us here on purpose." 

Keefe nodded, and turned back to face his mother. Normally, he'd make a snarky comment, maybe about how bad they must smell thanks to the lack of showers in their cave. However, he didn't. Because this wasn't the time to joke. Sophie's life was on the line, and the Neverseen were obviously up to something. They were largely outnumbered, and yet they hadn't backed down. 

"Keefe," Gisela cooed, mouth twisted into a grin."Come back home." Her arms extended towards him, welcoming a hug. Rage burned within him, but he remained silent, spatting in her direction to relay his hatred towards her. Gisela's arms lowered as she growled. "Alright, we'll do this the hard way. Come with me, and I won't kill your friends." 

"Kill my friends and any chance you have of winning me over disappears." That wasn't true. Any chance of winning him over had disappeared long ago, stronger than ever since Sophie's kidnapping. 

"Must everything be so difficult with you?" Silence. "Fine," Gisela grumbled, nodding in the direction of a hooded man. A snap sounded, echoing throughout the silent city ruins, and crackling golden shields split Keefe from his friends, separating them. That could've been Ruy, Keefe thought, but Tam had ruined Ruy's abilities. Had they found a new Psionipath?

"You've complicated things," his mother told the council. "So, we've decided to skip to the fun part." Her grin turned wide, eyes sparkling with excitement, and shivers ran down Keefe's spine. He'd seen her cold, prickly stare. He'd heard her yell. He'd even watched as she killed. But this... This was a new expression. Something a crazed madman would wear as he told the failed hero about his genius plan to take over the world. She was excited. Purely thrilled. Something big was about to unfold. 

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"Keeper," Gisela beckoned, and without question, Keeper was by Gisela's side. Gisela nodded to another man, who, with a snap summoned five more hooded figures. Though, they were different. Instead of the Neverseen's usual black cloak labeled with the white eye, it was a simple grey hood to hide their identities.

Gisela bent to whisper something to Keeper, and Keefe wished he were closer. Not that it would help. Most sounds were muffled thanks to the force field that may or may not have been Ruy's doing. Keeper gave another nod, and Keefe's brows furrowed in confusion. He'd battled her, and before, she'd seemed so powerful. Determined. And cocky, with all her agitating comments and taunting. Now, she seemed to cower under Gisela, afraid to even speak. 

Keeper made her way, slower than she needed, and stopped before the centered masked man. Lips curling, Gisela used telekinesis and ripped the hood away, revealing a tired, and beaten Forkle. Keefe stopped breathing. That's where he'd been, and whatever Keeper was about to do, they'd been working towards it for some time now. 

Mr. Forkle's head barely lifted to acknowledge the girl before him, his eyes dull and hopeless. He'd given up, Keefe realized, his stomach churning. If Mr. Forkle had given up, what chance did they have? His mother ripped away the rest of the hoods, revealing Blur, Wraith, Squall, and Granite. Only, Granite and Squall's disguises had fallen away, leaving only a worn Tiergan and tired Juline. 

"MOM!" Dex called, his voice scraping his throat, and Juline's weary expression changed to fear, her head snapping up to meet her son's gaze. She uttered his name in return, but under the glares of the Neverseen, looked back to the ground. Their feet were shackled and their wrists were chained, each of them propped against the rubble of a fallen building that continued to burn from the inside. 

"Keeper," Gisela sneered, and with a shaking hand, Keeper's abilities resurfaced, spiking around her hands as she reached toward Forkle's face. 

"Don't do it," he heard Linh mutter from her shield beside his. He looked over, and tears were spilling from her eyes. She was trembling from head to toe, terrified. Keefe's eyes skipped further down the row of shields, until he found Tam. Tam was watching his sister with a similar hopeless expression as Mr. Forkle. He was too far from Linh to comfort her, but why they'd been so far apart confused Keefe. 

Still, it was up to him to console her. Not for Bangs Boy's sake, but for Linh's sanity. Guilt was a dangerous thing, he fully understood that now. Even after having scolded Biana a few weeks ago, she'd still managed to shatter her mind. He wasn't going to let it happen again. Not when he could so easily prevent it.  

"Linh," he said. She turned to meet his eyes, blinking through tears. "It'll all work out. It's an act, see? The Forklenator has a plan. He always does, right?" Her lips quivered, eyes trying to believe him. She couldn't.

"But they don't always work," she mumbled, turning back to the Neverseen. Keefe did the same, eyes watching Keeper with curiosity, and hatred. 

"They don't," he agreed. "But it doesn't it always work out in the end?" 

"Not for Calla," Linh reminded, slumping against the shield, before jerking away as it zapped her. Biting through the embarrassment, she continued, "She was Sophie's friend, right?" 

"That was one time. Think of our successes?" 

"You mean our 'not dying'?" Keefe nodded, and Linh let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Yeah. Biana's totally fine, Sophie's waiting for us back home, and Mr. Forkle isn't about to die." Keefe sucked in a breath. She was making a very good point, and was also making it very hard to help her. 

"It'll work out this time. It will." He placed his hand right above the shield's golden surface, not wanting to get zapped. The words seemed to work this time, and maybe that was because they had come from the heart. Not that sappy stuff, but because Keefe was worried too, and the words seemed to have calmed him so far. Calm enough, at least, that he could still think clearly. 

Keefe looked back to Tam, who shot him a grateful smile. Tam Song-- smiling? Keefe Sencen had made the emo, Bangs Boy smile. Keefe returned it with a cocky smirk. The smile faded, and Tam rolled his eyes as he turned back to Keeper. Keefe did the same, watching her trembling hand as she threatened some threat-- an empty one, probably. Keeper seemed too young to have actually killed, no matter what she had said during their battle. She hadn't claimed to have killed, but definitely made it sound that way.

Studying Forkle's face, he paled. Forkle's grey expression had changed into a horrified look. His lips quivered as he stuttered some useless plea. Maybe Keefe had been wrong. She was a good liar, so the fear had to have been an act. And now, she was really going to kill Forkle. Though, something still nagged at Keefe's consciousness. Forkle's twin had died without fear, so why was he so terrified? 

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Sophie's hand trembled as she brought it to the old man's face. Gisela had promised he wasn't human, despite his strange appearance, but something about this still felt wrong. Killing him still felt wrong. Why? He was the leader of the Black Swan. The one who'd led the attack on her family. The one who'd started the fire that had killed them. Yet, the thought of killing still made her queasy. 

She glanced back to Lady Gisela, who scowled back. Under the glare, Sophie let her powers spike. She had to do this. For her family. For herself. For Fintan. For Alvar. For the future of the world. This man was evil, she reminded herself. He's killed many people, no matter what The Traitor claimed. It was a lie. It was all lies. Everything. And Sophie hated being lied to. First, she'd kill this old man, then she'd kill Keefe Sencen. 

She was right there, her hand right next to his terrified face. But something still held her back.

"Sophie," the man uttered, staring right into her eyes. Sophie stopped, pulled her hand away and studied his face. Hadn't she... seen him somewhere before? Not killing her family... but something else. Her mind pulled up image after image of his wicked grin as he murdered her family in cold blood, but seeing him now, she couldn't find that look of evil anywhere. If anything, he looked genuinely scared and... maybe under different circumstances, he'd look kind. 

Sophie turned back to Gisela, transmitting the question for what might've been the billionth time.

You're sure he's not human? Gisela scoffed aloud, eyes glaring daggers. 

Yes, she thought, irritated. He's a Telepath, and your creator. Now, destroy the puppet master and take back your strings.

Uncertainty ate at Sophie's heart, and as she looked back to the man, she had to really think. It felt wrong. So, so wrong. For years, she'd trusted everything the Neverseen had taught her, told her, and given her. They'd been her family when hers had gone. They'd been her home, when she didn't belong in neither human nor elven world. They were her everything, and she'd trusted them. Always. Especially Alvar. Around him, she had a gut feeling she could trust him. Her heart as well as her mind believed it. Yet here, her heart was tearing her apart, screaming at her to not trust her mind. 

Another sense of Deja Vu hit her, and she knew she'd fought this internal battle before. In that instant, she decided to trust her gut. She was scared-- terrified, actually. But... even Alvar seemed on edge, and that made her decision final. 

"Keeper?" Gisela asked when Sophie's hand pulled away, switching off her abilities. The fear took hold of her, and she trembled. But she couldn't back down. The guilt might destroy her, otherwise. 

"No," she spat, forcing herself to stare Gisela down. Neither blinked for the longest time, and Gisela turned away first. 

"Keeper," Fintan called. "What's the matter?" Sophie straightened. How do you tell your mentor that you're betraying him, but in a nice way?

"Um... no," she said, her voice cracking. "I... I can't do it."

"We've trained for this, Keeper," Fintan said, straightening from where he stood beside Alvar. 

"Yes," Sophie agreed, tears threatening to spill over. She blinked them back. "But... I can't-- won't do it." 

"You're really doing this?" Gisela sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Betraying us? You know what that did to Fintan the first time." 

Sophie shook her head, sending the old man-- her creator-- a chilling glare, making sure he knew she wasn't on his side. Because she wasn't. She was loyal to the Neverseen, as she'd always been. This was simply her decision.

"I'm loyal to you, as always, but I won't be the one to kill him." 

"Alvar?" Gisela said through gritted teeth. "Some help?" Sophie looked past them to Alvar, wondering if he was against this just as much as her. 

"Keeper," his thick voice cut through the air. "What do you think?" Surprised by his question, she hesitated. And when she answered, her voice was shaking with confusion. 

"I-- I don't want to do it. I don't want to kill anyone." 

"You have your answer, Gisela," Alvar said, making his way to Sophie and placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"I trust Keeper with my life." Sophie whipped her head to meet his eyes, but he didn't look her way. He felt the same? He trusted her? A single happy tear slipped past Sophie, falling onto her smile. 

Thank you, she transmitted, and he gave a slight nod in return. With Alvar now standing beside her, she no longer felt the need to cower beneath Gisela's orders. Her back straightened and eyes narrowed, a new sense of confidence pulsing through her veins, right beside her new powers. Her powers. She was stronger than Gisela, leaving no reason to fear. Especially with Alvar by her side.

"I'm not killing anyone under your orders, Gisela," Sophie snarled. "I fully support your goals. The council is falling apart. Maybe they were helpful once, but like you said, things have changed now. And... I am willing to work with you. But I'm done working for you." Her voice was now strong, slicing through the tension like a sword to raw flesh-- she shuddered as she pictured it.

Gisela's cold eyes narrowed on Sophie, and she turned back to Puppeteer, who lingered in back with her hood. Puppeteer nodded, raising her arms towards Sophie. The fear returned in a strong wave, but Alvar's grip on her shoulder held her steady. She was ready. She was strong. She could do this. Bracing for impact, she wondered what would Puppeteer would try.

Seconds passed, then miuntes. After three minutes had gone by, Gisela voiced her anger. Nothing had happened.

Glaring at Puppeteer, Gisela snapped. "What're you doing?!" A confused reply followed.

"I- I don't know. Her blood should be overflowing with shadowflux."

"Shadowflux?" Alvar asked, sounding just as panicked as Sophie. He stepped in before her. "What 'shadowflux'?" 

Gisela scoffed. "You too? You of all people should've known that it was only a matter of time before she turned on us. We needed a backup plan, and look. We were right." She gestured to Sophie with a disgusted sneer. "Though, Puppeteer seemed to have made some mistake. The shadowflux should've kept her under full control. Something must have interfered with the process." 

"When did all of this happen?" Alvar demanded, his tone rising in anger. Sophie placed a hand on his arm, pulling him back. He didn't need to risk himself for information that she could simply pluck from Gisela's mind. She transmitted her concerns, and for once, Alvar listened. He pulled back, but remained hostile towards Lady Gisela. 

Sophie glanced back to their prisoners, who were watching them with curiosity. The Traitor, especially. His eyes were on her and her alone, as if straining to figure her out. She pulled her hood tighter, hiding her eyes as she turned back to Gisela. 

She had to do this. If there was something wrong with her, something that was meant to control her... Sophie growled. It went against everything Gisela had taught her. She was meant to hate her creator for expecting Sophie to be a puppet, and what was Gisela trying to do then? Using someone with the name Puppeteer to mess with her thoughts! 

Eyes glowering, she stretched her mind out and seeped past Gisela's blocking with ease. Swimming through layers of thick darkness, she broke through and wormed her way into Gisela's thoughts.

"I feel you," Gisela warned, but Sophie didn't respond. She heard Gisela smirk as her consciousness hit a road block, but Sophie was stronger. Not only did she have new powers, but her other abilities had gotten an upgrade, too. 

Gathering her built up strength, she gave a small push and her consciousness forced its way into Gisela's mind entirely and sucked Sophie into a void that was Gisela's mind. 

Everywhere was thick, like swimming through pitch dark jello. Her other senses were blocked out by the strength in Gisela's mind, but Sophie didn't worry about that. Alvar had her back.  Memories were blurred and fuzzy. Obviously, Gisela had something to hide. She pushed further, searching deeper. As Sophie continued to head deeper into Gisela's head, she figured with her advanced telepathy, she might be able to summon a thought. 

Shadowflux, Sophie tried, saying the word mentally. The word was quickly muffled by the thick darkness-- a similar darkness to the one Sophie had experienced while sedated. Multiple memories surfaced at the mention of the dark ability, but two were different; smothered by the darkness, if acting as a shield. 

Shadowflux, she tried again, but to no avail. That wasn't going to work with the darkness in the way. She needed to get rid of it on her own. Her fingertips tingled, her new ability eager to get to work. No, Sophie told them. Not everything could be solved with force. This time, she'd have to rely on an old ability: Inflicting. 

Searching inside herself for the needed emotions, she found love, trust, and happiness-- each coming from a memory she shared with Alvar. The urge to make Gisela hurt was so strong, tickling every inch of her thoughts with bitterness as she summoned the positive emotions. However, as much as she wanted Gisela to hurt, to writhe in pain and to shrivel in misery, that wasn't going to get her the needed result. She'd need the darkness to fall back, and what better way to do that than to trick the victim into a false sense of security? 

Releasing the emotions, she let  them smother the darkness. A laugh sounded from somewhere outside, and Sophie guessed it was Gisela. It wasn't a wicked laugh, but a laugh of joy. Sophie grinned. It was working. More seconds passed, and the darkness faded into nothing, and while the memories remained fuzzy, Sophie managed to see the first memory of shadowflux. 

Chills rippled throughout her body as the image replayed the memory. It wasn't more than a week ago, Sophie realized. 

It was her, strapped to the chair like another science experiment. Alvar had left with the hooded imposter she'd met only briefly, while she caught Puppeteer lingering in back, a dark essence flowing from her fingers and seeping into Sophie. No one seemed to notice, or no one cared. 

"I don't understand why we're going through all this trouble," She heard Fintan said. 

"Sophie can't be trusted. She's already had to be reset once, it's best to be prepared. Especially for something as important as this." Gisela answered, her eyes watching Sophie like a hungry dog eyeing a treat. 

"And this is supposed to do what?" someone else asked. Sophie recognized the voice as Trix's. 

"This will keep her thoughts clouded so she doesn't discover anything she isn't supposed to. And if she strays anyway, the Shadowflux will ensure she doesn't betray us, forcing her under our command despite whatever tricks she tries." 

The fear in Sophie spiked. Forcing her under their command? She ripped herself out of the memory, information and questions jumbled up in her mind. Reset? What did that mean? And, were her thoughts clouded? They felt normal to her. No. Like Lady Gisela had said earlier, something must have interfered with the process. Maybe if Sophie could think back to that, she could figure out what had saved her. 

What could have happened during her sedation that would have interfered with the shadowflux's process? Lots had happened while she'd slept; it could've been anything. She'd worry about later. Who knew what was going on outside. Was Alvar faithfully protecting her, or had Gisela beaten him and was doing something to Sophie. 

Sophie moved towards the other memory, clearing that one as well. It was foggier, maybe older? She played the memory, watching in awe as multiple unfamiliar faces appeared, as well as several familiar ones. They were in a dark, cave-like area, but not cave-like at the same time. Some sort of dome. 

Sophie watches as multiple figures scramble in the dark, seeming to be fighting... little monstrous beings. Some of the voices, she recognized, such as Alvar's, Gisela's, and Ruy's. She also heard The Traitor. Her brows crunched. Was this when The Traitor hadn't been the traitor? When he'd worked with them? No, it couldn't be. The timeline was off. 

Sophie watched herself throw a throwing star-- and a sense of familiarity tingled in the back of her mind. Her eyes narrowed as she watched. As if the memory were clicking into place inside her own mind, recognizing itself as a memory she shared with Gisela, Sophie knew and understood her circumstances and some of her thoughts.

She was out of weapons, all except for a dagger. She threw that at one of the crazed creatures, but it dodged. Sophie knew she shouldn't be scared. Because, well, she was standing right there, totally fine. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder if this Sophie was going to survive. She felt as though this memory was of a different Sophie, despite sharing the same eyes. It was all so strange to her, but also, familiar. Like, the memory had happened, but not to her. 

The being lunged for her, and Sophie flinched as her mind imagined her twin getting mauled to death. However, just before the troll reached her, another voice cut through the air and, for just a moment, the beast hesitated, giving that Sophie the time she needed to escape. The beast saw, and sped after her. Sophie pulled out of the memory, tears threatening her eyes. Because... what? Who's voice had that been? She replayed the memory in her own mind.

"HEY, NEWBIE, OVER HERE! I'LL BE WAY MORE FUN TO EAT!!!"

The tears stung her eyes as her brain clicked to pieces of information together. She pulled away from the memories that surrounded her, desperate for air. She needed to breathe, to relax. To think her own thoughts. However, as she tried to escape Gisela's mind, she was pulled back in.  Gisela was angry, not willing to let Sophie go. Letting out an internal growl, she fought through the thick darkness that was once again swallowing her, trying to drag her down. 

If Gisela succeeded, she'd be lost forever. Her consciousness flailed, fighting for freedom. When she sliced through the coat of black, however, she was swarmed by an entirely new army of thoughts, emotions, and memories-- though each were slamming into each other harder than waves on a stormy day. Nothing made sense, and with every second, the chaos further enveloped Sophie, grip tightening around her. She coughed, barely breathing through the thickness. 

Her eyelids turned heavy, begging for rest from the exhaustion. For a moment, Sophie's mind fought once more for freedom, begging to breath fresh air once again, but the fighting spirit died down with the last of her hopes at escaping, letting the jumbled emotions, thoughts and memories drag her down. 

Eyes closed, and for the briefest moment, an image flashed in Sophie's mind. a memory no doubt: a young girl, messy blonde hair cut to the shoulders, crying in an alley of what looked like a Forbidden City. In the busy streets of this city, a woman in long red clothing with jet black hair that fell past her waist, stopped before the girl. The two made eye contact, and before the memory was shut down, Sophie caught the quickest glimpse of a warm smile from the black-haired woman. 

A voice cut through Sophie's mind, once again drawing her back to the presence, and the memories that consumed her fell away, not willing to share the rest of the memory. And Sophie awoke.

Her eyes snapped open to find Alvar standing over her, ready to protect if needed. But there was no need, as Gisela stood a good distance away, eyes straining to hold back tears as she glared at Sophie. Obviously, that was a tender memory-- one that Sophie intended to learn more of. It could be the leverage she needed to escape this situation. 

"Are you okay?" Alvar asked, and Sophie looked away from Gisela to him. She nodded, and both turned back to Gisela. 

Fists clenched, teeth gritting, and eyes shadowed with rage, Gisela stood, taking a small step forward. Then another. And another, until she was full on sprinting at Sophie with rage radiating off her and making itself known to all those around. Sophie was sure even those trapped in Ruy's shields and the Collective beside her could feel this anger. 

Alvar moved to protect Sophie, but before he could take the blow off her, Sophie forced him away. He flew back to one of the shields, and Sophie realized she'd used too much power. She couldn't worry about him, though. Gisela was right there and-- Panic consumed Sophie as Gisela lunged, hovering just a nose away from Sophie before the panic took over and sent her flying backward, knocking into Fintan and taking them both out. 

Not for long, though. Both Fintan and Gisela scrambled to their feet, fighting their way back over, until Fintan eventually sparked a flame on Gisela's cape to slow her, and with a punch to the chin, knocked her out cold. 

Sophie watched her mentor, confused. Why had they fought? It had taken up time, time they could've used for things much more important. 

"Why did Fintan just knock Lady Gisela out cold?" she asked Alvar.

He sighed. "Survival of the fittest." She met his worried gaze, hoping her comforting smile helped, if even a little. Alvar continued, "Maybe one day, that could be you." 

Sophie's smile fell.

"Me?" she laughed at that. Sophie was just a girl. While, the rest of the Neverseen were actual adults, with much more experience. 

"You," Alvar said. "You're much stronger than you think. Maybe someday, you can take over and lead the world into a brighter future." Sophie stared at him, pondering his words. Did he really think she could do it? He did. She beamed. 

"No," she told him, still. Though she was grateful for his absolute trust in her, she doubted that would ever happen. She could barely even kill a man-- one who had killed many, included her own family!  "I don't think I'll ever be ready for that."

"You're a leader, Sophie," he said her name in a soft whisper, so only she could hear. "A natural born leader, and I don't doubt you'll be the one to fix this world, whether you believe in yourself or not." 

Her lips curled into a smile, true and genuine. But something still haunted her thoughts... Alvar had been in Gisela's memories. Why? And, what about The Traitor?