Sentry of the Arcane: Engulfed

Chapter Twenty-One: Sophie

I groan softly as my eyes flutter open. I take in a deep breath by accident, my lungs hurting slightly by the sudden intake of air. I close my eyes momentarily and try to remember the important parts of whatever just happened...

But I can't. For some strange reason.

I quickly jump up when the possibility of getting hit by nebmentia enters my mind. A wave of lightheadedness washes over me, making me stumble momentarily over my own two feet. I hold onto the nearby metal table for support and shake my head to get rid of the weariness.

When my blurry vision finally disappears, I notice something teal on the ground.

Two things, to be specific.

Turning around, I narrow my eyes when I see two teal scales that look exactly like the one I already have on the ground, glimmering softly in the laboratory lights. Frowning, I bend over and pick the two scales up, wondering why they're showing up constantly now. I stick them in my pocket before noticing something else.

My eyes widen considerably when I see two pieces of nebmentia driven so deeply into the wall that it looks like it's a part of the actual wall. How did this get here..? I wonder, my fingers glazing over the dark blue crystal. Sighing, I let my fingers drop down to my side before I see something blond moving out of the corner of my eye.

"Sophie..?" Caroline asks meekly, brushing some of her hair away from her eyes. When I walk over to her, she asks, "Do you know what happened?"

Sighing, I shake my head. "No... I actually don't," I say honestly, disappointed in that fact. "I just woke up." I look around and see that we're the only ones in the room. "Weren't there more people with us?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

Caroline shrugs. "I think the real question is when you came into the room," she points out, looking down at me.

"Huh," I find myself saying, despite my thoughts racing around in a flurry. "I don't know..." I hold the sides of my head, trying to remember. Why can't I remember? I ask myself, realizing that this isn't the first time. I glance over at the nebmentia and suddenly see that Steven and Fitz standing there, bandages wrapped around two areas of his right arm.

Fitz follows my gaze, his eyes widening at his injuries. "Sophie-" he begins to say before I've made my way over to him. He takes my silence from shock to say, "It's nothing. Just a few cuts."

"How did you get this..?" I don't even know that I'm shaking slightly until Fitz gently cups my face. "I'm okay," he whispers in my ear.

My voice breaks a little as I transmit, I don't know when you came here, or how you got hurt... What's happening to me..? A tear falls down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away. I don't remember this at all... And this isn't the first time...

Wait- this has happened before? Fitz asks. When? How?

I- I stop transmitting when a sob escapes my lips. "I don't know," I manage to say before I sob again. I glance up to see Fitz's eyes full of concern, sadness, and something that I can't decipher. But as of now, I don't care.

So I continue sobbing into his shoulder, not caring about the surrounding gazes of sympathy laced with confusion.

...

Back in my room, Fitz and I are currently on my bed, trying to figure out my memories. Of course, I haven't told either the Sovereigns or Altruistics about what happened in the laboratory, nor do I plan on telling them anytime soon.

"You usually felt a sharp pain, right?" Fitz asks me, his teal eyes full of the concern that gets me every. Single. Time. "And then you pass out?"