The Burning Light with Shadows (A SOTAM Fan Fiction)

Perseverance (Tam's PoV)

"WHAT?!" everyone, including myself, exploded. "How?" Sophie asked. "Why?" Linh, Fitz, and Biana asked. And lastly, me, Marella, and Keefe were just frozen into shock. I zoned out as I listened to everyone panic and try to make rescue plans.

"QUIET!" Mr. Forkle yelled. I rolled my eyes. "I already am," I said snarkily, instantly regretting the comment when everyone shot me angry glances. I gave an apologetic look to Mr. Forkle. "As we said earlier, he went to go protect his dad. But later, when we came back, Prentice was knocked out on the ground and Wylie was gone," he explained. "The only clue we have is a short clip of a video where a cloaked figure knocked Wylie out and leaped away to the Forbidden Cities."

Linh looked the most worried. I quickly made my way to her and patted her back reassuringly. She looked close to tears. "We have to go after him," Sophie said, looking very determined. Mr. Forkle shuffled his feet nervously. "They left a note," he said simply. "It said to meet them somewhere in Los Angeles. They said that Sophie could go with two other friends."

"I'm going!" Fitz and Keefe both volunteered at the same time. Mr. Forkle shook his head. "Mr. Sencen, I don't believe that would be wise, as there is a good chance Lady Gisela will be there. Mr. Vacker as well, after the recent... incident with Alvar." Keefe opened his mouth to argue, but Biana elbowed him, whispering something into his ear. He nodded glumly. Fitz curled his hands into fists, so tight that his knuckles were a lighter green than the rest of his body. "I'll be fine," he retorted. Mr. Forkle shook his head again. "No, you will not be going. Period. Also, I will admit, you look ridiculous as a bright green elf. They will not take you seriously."

"I'll go with her," I said softly. No one seemed to hear me, and Biana and Linh started asking to join. "I'll go with her!" I yelled. Everybody spun around to look at me. "If Ruy does anything with his forcefields, I should be able to take them down. And if Umber's there... maybe I can do something about the shadowflux." Sophie nodded. "I think Linh should go with us too," she added. "It doesn't matter that Tam has ice blue hair. He looks intimidating as he is." She blushed after saying that.

"Then it's settled," Mr. Forkle concluded. "Sophie, you will go with the Song twins to downtown Los Angeles to meet with the Neverseen in two hours. Do your best not to reveal anything, and try to see what they want with Wylie."

Dex piped up. "I can make you some gadgets to see if they could help." He handed a few from his pockets to Sophie. "I'm not sure I have enough time to make anything major though." He took a couple random pieces of metal and started fiddling with them.

Fitz was sulking. I could tell he wanted to use the "We're cognates!" card, but he looked... defeated. I nudged Linh on the shoulder. "Uh, Linh? You might want to comfort your- uh- boyfriend." She clapped a hand over her mouth, as if forgetting something, and immediately ran to Fitz.

On the other hand, Biana and Keefe were already in a deep conversation that seemed on the verge of serious but also amusing. I turned to Sophie. Her cheeks were pink, and eyes slightly dull. "I'm worried for Wylie," she said quietly. "He's been taken by the Neverseen before, and he got injured last time."

I wrapped my arm around her, resting my hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly, but made no move to resist me. We sat on the sofa, thinking about any plans to make before departing to confront the Neverseen.

"It's my fault," Sophie said softly, voice breaking. "Gethen wanted him at the big shadowflux encounter. I should have fought harder." I patted her shoulder awkwardly, yet assuringly. "It's not your fault," I replied silently. "Wylie would agree. I know it. You couldn't have done anything else; you were stuck in a forcefield."

I ran my fingers through my shimmering ice blue hair. "I wish I'd been there. I could have done more for you and Fitz and Wylie and-" Sophie cut me off. "Or you could have been injured too."

We both sat in silence for a few minutes. "I mean, I'm the moonlark. I have FIVE different abilities. I feel like I should be able to make a bigger difference than what I'm doing right now." Sophie rubbed her eyes. I shook my head in disagreement. "You are making a big difference. You're the glue that holds our whole group, our whole world together."

She laughed sarcastically. "You think? Because right now, it feels like we're about to lose." She rubbed her temples. I looked her straight in the eyes, admiring her golden flecked brown eyes. "Don't lose hope," I told her, recalling when I calmed her echoes. "It's not over yet. This time... we will win."

A/N Finally getting into the plot! Also, I'm sorry for my late uploads, I've been getting a bit busy recently. Also, I'm thinking about doing a KotLC and PJO / HoO crossover, what do you guys think? After I finish this though, of course.

Thank you guys sooo much, we reached 262 views / reads!!!