KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Kidnapped: part 4 (Keefe POV)

But his manner and appearance implied that he was in full command of the situation, and the fondness emanating from Sophie bolstered him to continue, to hold himself together.

Keefe suspected Fitz was continuing to communicate silently with Sophie, and hopefully with the others. And sure enough, as his mother stood there, shamkniv still at Sophie's throat, surveying Keefe with a shrewd look, Fitz's voice filled his mind again.

Keep her talking. I think we've got some things figured out.

Keefe looked at Sophie, his gaze softening. "I'm so sorry, Sophie."

Sophie smiled at him, though she looked like she was in pain. "You warned me it could get messy," she said softly. "And I still have absolutely no regrets." The memory of that conversation in the clearing--and the world's most perfect kiss that had accompanied it--was just what Keefe's fraying nerves needed.

He winked at her--acting far more lighthearted than he felt--before looking at his mother.

Gisela's cold smile made Keefe's blood boil--all the more when she said "it looks like I was right about the nature of your relationship with the Black Swan's little experiment. Your love for her is exactly why I'll be able to convince you to come with me." Her shamkniv moved from Sophie's throat to her shoulder, and in a flash there was a deep cut, blood pouring from the wound. Sophie cried out in pain.

"No!" Keefe shouted, his composure slipping, Fitz and Tam--who had somehow moved next to him--physically restraining him from rushing forward.

"Like I said," Gisela told him. "You'd have been far more able to resist me if you didn't allow yourself to care for others."

"My love for her is what gives me the strength to resist you, and the resolve not to do something she wouldn't want me to do," Keefe countered, barely registering the fact that he'd just admitted to a room full of people--including Sophie and her dad--that he loved her. "And the fact that I care for others--others who, by the way, care for me too, which you never did--means I don't have to do any of this alone."

He looked at Sophie. The wound was still bleeding, but didn't appear to be dangerously deep.

Yet.

And if there was poison on that blade...

"Please don't hurt her anymore," Keefe begged. He raised his hands to show he had no weapons in them. "Please just let me come look at her wound."

Gisela sighed. "I didn't cut her deeply—this time."

Keefe already knew that, but he wasn't telling her that. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"You can look--and then stay by her side if you wish. In fact, that may be better: you'll be able to clearly see that I will cut deeper each time you resist."

Keefe made no attempt to disguise the hatred in his gaze as he glared at her for a moment before turning his focus to Sophie. He stepped toward her and knelt beside her, looking at her shoulder and stroking her cheek. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. Then--partly because he was desperate to do so and partly for the shock value--he kissed her.

And he knew his mom hadn't expected that as she started to let out an impatient and exasperated sigh, but it was just the opening they needed.

Her distraction caused her to loosen her grip on the shamkniv and it went soaring out of her hand, straight into Tam's.

Tam and Linh's time at Exillium had made them hone skills like telekinesis better than the rest of them.

Things started to move quickly then.

Gisela lunged for the shamkniv but a wall of flames held her back, courtesy of Marella.

Gisela stopped, barely managing to tuck and roll to avoid falling into the flames.

As she stood back up, a force field built up around Sophie and Keefe--which he hadn't expected. He needed to get at his mom! He looked at Maruca, who shook her head at him before looking back at Gisela.

Linh put out the flames.

Keefe placed one hand on Sophie's knee, needing that point of contact for her sake as well as his own, but angled his body away from her and towards the scene unfolding before them.

His mom was now glaring in frustration towards a door--behind which stood who knew how many trolls.

Grady was bearing a look of deep concentration.

"Waiting for your troll puppets to come take us out?" Fitz taunted her. "I'm afraid they're not able to come to your side at the moment."

Keefe realized that Grady must be controlling the trolls, keeping them from following Gisela's command.

But those were large, strong, bloodthirsty creatures--controlling them must have left no concentration for attempting to also control Gisela.

But, Keefe realized Grady wouldn't have dared to control her for long anyway--they needed information from her on who her technopath was. Mesmering that information out of her would have been too dangerous--the moment they all leapt away, she'd have gone to her technopath and hidden them, made it much harder to find them.

And Keefe's commanding ability was still untested, particularly after Elysian. They wouldn't want to trust it, not with that ability restrictor on Sophie's head.

There were no easy answers here.

And as Keefe thought that, he realized he didn't know where Dex had gone.

Or Biana.

Things were not going according to plan. At least, not the plan they had concocted before learning about the ability restrictor.

"I'm afraid we're still at an impasse," Gisela said, smoothing her dress. "We all know you can't do anything without my help, because that device around Sophie's head can only be safely removed by my technopath, and I'll only give you that information when Keefe leaves with me."

"Think again!" a voice right behind Keefe shouted.

Biana and Dex were both suddenly visible, and the ability restrictor was in Dex's hands--Sophie safe and of sound mind.

Somehow, Dex had removed it without hurting Sophie--and without being seen.

Gisela wheeled around at the sound of Dex's voice and couldn't hide her shock at seeing the device in his hands.

And Fitz didn't miss a beat.

A goblin throwing star took her out in an instant--followed, as she fell to the ground, by the dagger that Fitz had somehow, at some point, stolen from Keefe.

The throwing star had gotten her across the throat, and the dagger right through her heart. Both flung with incredible precision.

Fitz looked pale and was leaning on Linh, who was nearest, and was breathing hard--but it was done.

Gisela was dead.