KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Alternate Ending: Stellarlune 37

Keefe jerked forward and let out a startled grunt as a tiny whiff of darkness blasted out of his chest and hovered a few feet in front of him.

"It's kinda sad that this isn't even in my top five weirdest experiences," he mumbled, squinting at the shadowy cloud.

"Does it hurt?" Sophie asked when he reached up to rub his chest.

Keefe shook his head. "Not anymore. But that tug was like getting kicked in the ribs."

"Sorry," Tam told him. "I was worried if I went slow, it'd drag out the pain."

"It probably would have," Keefe admitted. "It's all good--thank you for, uh...Huh. I can't think of a non-weird way of saying, 'Thanks for dragging the freaky ripple-tracker thing out of my heart."

Tam grinned. "You're welcome."

"You're sure you got it all?" Sophie had to ask as she mentally switched off her enhancing.

Tam nodded and called the shadowflux closer, letting it hover over his palms.

"What are you going to do with that?" Dex asked.

"No idea," Tam admitted. "It'll probably evaporate if I release my hold, but there's a chance that Umber did something to it that'll make it unwieldy."

Dex stole a glance at Sophie while Tam and Keefe discussed the best way to dispose of the shadowflux. He gave her a very pointed look, as though he wanted her to speak with him telepathically—which was weird, they didn't normally do that.

Everything okay? She asked him, opening her mind to his thoughts.

You tell me, Dex answered. We haven't talked about it because it's none of my business, but I know there's been something going on between you and Keefe, and now that we've found him, you keep getting distracted and looking confused.

She was starting to feel kind of panicky and sad.

And she didn't understand how it was possible to miss Keefe so much even though he was sitting right in front of her.

Perceptive of you, Sophie noted. And for the record, you're my best friend--so at least to a certain extent, it is your business. You can talk to me about stuff like this. And...I don't know. There's so much I need to say to him but I'm afraid we're about to say goodbye and have to leave him here.

I got this, Dex said simply before saying aloud, "personally I think we need to get that shadowflux far from here. If the tracker still works and Gisela comes looking for Keefe here, even if it's just in a dumpster outside, she will find him. And if she doesn't...I don't want to know what she'll do to the people here."

"That's a good point," Tam said. "Maybe the three of us should find somewhere more remote to dump it on our way out."

Panic rose up in Sophie's heart. She wasn't ready to say goodbye! Her eyes flicked to Dex, then she looked at Keefe, who looked conflicted. And when he met her eyes, he also looked confused.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked softly, not taking his eyes off her.

"Well actually...why don't you and I go, Tam? I know the Obscurer will hide all three of us but it's not strictly necessary. And Sophie can fill Keefe in on everything else that's been going on. Maybe even convince him to come back with us," he added with a grin, flashing his dimples.

"Why would we want that?" Tam asked.

Keefe rolled his eyes but didn't answer. "What do you say, Foster? Want to hang out here with me and wait for them? I can offer you a bottle of nasty human water or we could order what they call 'room service', though last time I did that I was too scared to actually eat it."