Fitz

This had to work. He'd taken a long detour back to Rimeshire, and thankfully, Dex's room had  been packed with gadgets-- most being balding solution or pranking supply, but he'd found a couple things that might prove useful. Now, he was back at the dome, glaring at its crackling gold surface. 

Gripping the Insulator Spring in his hand, Fitz shoved the invention at the glittering shield. The two sparked as they collided, but a force drove both him the invention flying backward.  He cursed, pulling out another invention, labeled in Dex's messy handwriting: Deflecter. He'd spelled "deflector" wrong but it was the invention that counted. 

Fitz squeezed the Deflecter. He needed to find a better way to do this. Shoving inventions into the dome wasn't going to bring it down. He needed a plan. 

A familiar sensation washed down Fitz's spine, a presence tickling his mind. Sophie, he knew. She was close. Maybe close enough for him to contact. It was a good thing, as much as it was a bad thing. If Sophie were nearby, it meant she were with the Neverseen. Anger blinded him, knowing Sophie was right there, and once again, the Neverseen were keeping her from him. They were keeping him from seeing his girlfriend-- or, soon-to-be-girlfriend. Because, the second this was over and done with, Fitz would apologize for being such a bad boyfriend, and then they'd kiss, and then everything would go back to normal. 

Sophie, Fitz tried, hoping their cognate connection would be strong enough to get through the barrier. Sophie, where are you?

Silence. 

I know you hear me. He waited some more, but no response came. I'm just going to keep transmitting, you kno-- he stopped. The barrier had collapsed. Without bothering to check for danger, he rushed past where the barrier had once stood, and made it inside. The barrier flickered back up.

Sophie, did the bar-- her presence was gone. She had blocked him. Why? No matter. He was through now, and he was going to find Sophie. There was a wide range between the barrier and the city rubble, but despite being breathless and sore, Fitz continued to run in the direction of the city. Sophie was there. She was waiting. She was close. So, so close. 

://

"Get out of my head!" Sophie growled, pressing her hands to her ears, though it didn't help. The voice kept repeating. Over and over, it came back. A hand pressed against her back, a comforting voice adding to the accented mix. 

"Keeper," Alvar said, not risking to use her name again. "Are you okay?" 

"The voices," Sophie said through gritted teeth. They still pained her. "Headache." 

"Block it. Just will yourself not to hear it, and it will go away." Sophie glanced at Alvar. She'd wanted the headaches to go away so badly, ever since she'd first started getting them. But never before had they left, simply because she wished it. Why would this time be any different?

"You're stronger now," Alvar reminded. "So. Much. Stronger." Sophie met his eyes, finding truth  in them. That was all she needed. The truth. Nodding, she dropped her hands from her head and left them to hang by her side as she focused-- focused on the voice. She didn't reply to them, but she did speak to them, commanding them to stop. Her powers flickered off, but only for a moment, letting her focus. She was sure the voice couldn't hear her, and then, to Sophie's relief, they silenced. Her eyes watered, and her powers flickered back on. 

"Thanks," she told Alvar. Taking in her surroundings, she saw that their prisoners were still watching. She frowned. "We have to do something about them." 

"No killing?" Alvar asked. Sophie shook her head. 

"No. I don't want to be a murderer. I know they killed my family, but... it scares me." she said, telling Alvar the complete, and total truth. He nodded. 

"Well, heads up, Your Highness," Fintan spat as he made his way towards them. "Killing isn't an option. We can't simply let them go now." Sophie glanced from him, to the council, then to the Traitor. 

"What if we... We can..." Sophie cursed, and Alvar raised an eyebrow towards her language. "Sorry," she mumbled. Fintan was right. Death was the only option. The council would surely attack the second they were released, and Sophie knew the Black Swan wouldn't hesitate to kill her, either. She'd nearly killed their leader, after all. And to them, that was reason enough. 

"I'm sure there's another way," Alvar said, eyes glaring. "If Keeper believes there's one, even if it's unclear right now, I'm sure we can find one. We don't have to be like her, anymore." He nodded to Gisela, who remained still on the ground. Fintan hissed curses as both of them. 

"You've gone soft," he added. "For the Moonlark." He spat the word as if it were an unspoken topic. As if he'd said Voldemort in the wizarding world. Sophie hoped the prisoners hadn't heard them. She didn't care about the Collective, though. They were her creators, and the old guy had already seen her face so that wasn't a problem.

"I know I'm the 'moonlark'," Sophie said, keeping her voice low. "But I'm still one of you." Fintan met her eyes, seeming to truly mean it when he said, "No. You're not." 

"Fintan--" Alvar said. 

"Don't defend her!" Fintan snapped, turning to Alvar. "She's not one of us and you know it. It's a lie. It's all a lie." 

Sophie's eyes narrowed. Lies. The council told lies... The Traitor told lies... Gisela had lied, her creators, even that girl-- Biana had lied. They had all lied. Had Alvar, the person she trusted most, really lied to her, too? Fear passed through her. 

"Alvar," her voice trembled. "What's he talking about?"

"Nothing," he insisted, his gaze not leaving Fintan. Alvar, Sophie's best friend and savior. He'd guided her, protected her, loved her. Was this a lie, too? Could everything be a lie? As she continued to watch them stared into the other's eyes, Sophie could've sworn she'd seen Alvar mouth the word "don't". 

"Alvar, I don't understand. What's going on? What's he talking about?" Panic was threatening control now, and for once, she found little to no comfort in his words. 

"Nothing." Alvar didn't look her way. Balling her fists, Sophie pulled him away from Fintan. 

"Stop lying!" She cried, thoughts spiraling.

Lies.

"I trusted you! I thought you trusted me!" 

Lies.

Tears were stinging now, but she refused to cry. At one point, she thought, it wouldn't have mattered. Not in front of Alvar. He'd been her big brother. If she were to cry, he'd comfort her, care for her, talk to her. But now, nothing made sense. What had that memory been? What was a 'reset'? What did Alvar have to do with any of that? Was he a liar, just as everyone else who had failed her? 

Lies.

"I'm not lying!" he snapped, causing Sophie to flinch away in fear. Fintan laughed.

"You're lying through your teeth."

"I'm not!"

"Alvar," Sophie tried. He pushed her away, landing her on the dirt far from them and only feet from the Traitor's shield.

"This is between Fintan and I, Keeper. Stay out of it!" 

Sophie watched the two argue, curses and threats going back and forth between them, all while Sophie stared, crying silently, and careful not to let anyone see. Especially not the Traitor, another liar. 

Lies, lies, lies. She cried out, her voice scratching her vocal chords with pain as the fighting turned physical. 

"STOP!" she shouted, voice echoing throughout the empty city that had once been Atlantis, shining and beautiful. "SHUT UP!"  Her thoughts raced. Alvar was a liar, but what was he lying about? Did Sophie really want to know? Yes. Alvar, the person she trusted most, had lied to her. Lied about something that, from his refusal to confess, must have been really big. 

Her insides screamed, demanding answers. Questions, thoughts, panic, fear, confusion. All of it was a mess in her brain, scrambling to find order, though there was none. 

Lies, lies, lies. Her brain continued to chant, and the pain inside her swelled. Alvar, liar. Alvar, liar. Alvar, liar. Tears now poured freely from her face, staining her cheeks. But she didn't care. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Just like, she told herself, her identity didn't matter. 

Forcing herself to her feet, she stomped back towards her so-called brother, and ripped back her hood.