Keefe remembered Sophie telling him her story of leaving behind her human life.
He remembered her showing the memory from that day.
He remembered watching the past Sophie's tears as she knocked out her parents with the sleeping gas, just as the Washers came in to erase their memories.
But the people who really had memories with Sophie had been her human family.
Marinette...
She was already human. With a normal life. With parents who she was actually the daughter to (Sophie often panicked about who her biological parents were). With friends. Possibly even a boyfriend. And she was just told that her real life was being taken away from her.
And then there was Adrien, who not only was a famous model in Paris, with girls fighting all the time for him, but he had just learned that he was the second moonlark and that he had to leave behind his human life as well.
And they were both clearly important heroes to Paris.
What was Paris going to do without a Ladybug and Cat Noir?
He could feel Marinette's tears staining his tunic. But he still didn't let go. It was clear that she needed someone to help comfort her, and clearly, Adrien was out of the running for that (he was still trying to process the whole "he was the second moonlark" thing).
But Keefe could see Sophie give Adrien a reassuring squeeze.
How quickly things changed.
When he'd started hiding in Paris, he'd wanted nothing to do with anyone, only forcing himself to meet Adrien because he realized complete isolation would cause suspicion. And then he met Marinette and everything changed.
They'd started hanging out more (partially because Adrien had kept staring at them and it was kinda freaking them out).
He'd had the bravery to talk more, though was still choosing his words carefully (one wrong move and she could've been a corpse).
And that ice cream they had yesterday...
Was the ice cream guy a shipper?
But Keefe couldn't help but keep staring at Sophie. He didn't know what was going on; it felt like his heart was being tugged towards two different girls who were similar in personality. But he'd known Sophie for two years. He'd barely known Marinette for a week. They were just friends. Nothing more.
And friends sometimes had to comfort each other.
"However, there's a small chance we may have to delay the move for you two," Mr. Forkle added.
Keefe saw Marinette perk up.
"After all, we will still have to talk to the Council about this," he explained.
Marinette gave Keefe a confused look.
"They rule the Lost Cities," Keefe explained, feeling Marinette nod a little before snuggling back into his arms, letting herself deadweight a little. It was clear she was getting worn out from the long day. He had to admit it. Marinette looked like a cute little toddler when she was tired and scared like this, resting her head on his chest, her hand tugging on her pigtail, her little Kwami lying on her knee. She appeared to feel safer and more comfortable in his grip, especially after trying to deal with the new information about having to leave her human life.
"And besides, how would the public react if they saw a human, and knew that they were in fact human?" Mr. Forkle pointed out, staring right at Marinette. "You see, centuries ago, elves and humans used to be allies. But then they took our gifts to them and turned them into weapons. We had no choice but to sever all ties with them. For a while, we tried to secretly help humans with the Human Assistance Program, but they still didn't use our gifts the way we wanted to, and we cut all ties forever. Since then, we've only had one human aware of the Lost Cities, and she's known as Amy Foster, Natalie Freeman, or another name that I can't reveal just yet."
Foster's human sister. Right.
Keefe had all but forgotten about her.
But he could feel Marinette grip tighter, a little more worried now that she knew the truth between humans and elves.
"So, what's the best solution?" Mr. Forkle asked.
"I... I don't know," Marinette bit her lip.
"I'll have to talk to the Council about it, but we'll just have to make the Lost Cities believe you're an elf," Mr. Forkle suggested. "You and everyone else here will still be aware that you're really a human, but we'll implant the special abilities, talents, and skills that an elf would have to make sure no one would find any difference."
"Detox alert," Keefe heard Sophie mutter under her breath.
He couldn't help but begin to remember some of the pictures she'd shown him from her old scrapbooks. Indeed, he'd heard of detoxes, but he also had noticed the major effect it had on Sophie's appearance in general.
And Marinette and Adrien were already good-looking right now (but Adrien was still just a friend; Keefe had just noticed that Adrien was a famous model and girls were fangirling over him every day).
Was it possible for someone like Marinette to go through the detox and be even more beautiful than she was?
He shook his head. He really needed to stop thinking like this. Marinette was just a friend.
He could feel Marinette trembling.
"Hey, it's gonna be alright," he said. "At least you get the honor of seeing this perfect face forever."
Hopefully forever...
Wait...
Would Marinette gain the indefinite lifespan elves had with what Mr. Forkle was suggesting?
And why was a small part of him wishing she would?
"Of course, the process to implant the elvin powers will require a ton of Telepaths and Inflictors to be able to handle it, so we can all channel the energy into Marinette," Mr. Forkle continued. "But again, it's all up to the Council to approve of the plan. And then it's Marinette's decision on whether or not she wants to go through with the plan. All I will say, of course, Marinette, is that I highly recommend this option so you don't have to constantly try and work on hiding the fact that you're human."
Marinette stared down at Tikki.
"I'll think about it," she mumbled.
"Either way, you can't be here in Paris anymore," Mr. Forkle said. "Due to the fact that the Council isn't aware of what's going on yet, you guys will have some time to collect any belongings and make sure your families don't know what you're doing. If you need help, use these."
He handed Marinette and Adrien small disks.
"They're sleeping disks. They'll let out a gas that knocks out anyone who breathes it, which actually makes the process of removing memories a lot easier on Washers," he explained.
Marinette could take it much longer and started crying into Keefe again.
All too soon, they were back at the bakery, going with the lie that Keefe and Marinette were partners on an essay in school.
Once they got into her room, it was crunch time.
It was clear Marinette still wanted to hold on to almost every piece of her life, so once Keefe locked the trap door, and they made sure to try and keep quiet, they started grabbing things around the room. He took care of the stuff she would need (extra clothes despite knowing Della would be doing a "little" shopping, small toiletries like a hairbrush and stuff, and that kind of stuff), while she grabbed things she would want to hold on to in the Lost Cities (small trinkets, the small stuffed cat she had on her bed, etc.). Luckily, she had large enough trunks to store everything.
Then it was a matter of time of saying good-bye.
But interestingly, Marinette didn't go downstairs. In fact, Keefe remembered her taking a small break to write something out on a piece of paper.
Instead, with tears welling in her eyes, she took a deep breath, opened the trapdoor, twisted open the disk holding the sleeping gas, and threw the disk downstairs, holding her breath as she watched blue smoke cause her parents to fall to the ground unconscious.
Keefe pursed his lips together as Marinette shut the door, falling to her knees and silently sobbing.
He'd never seen her this scared or lonely before.
"Look," he said. "I know this is sad--"
"Just sad?" Marinette asked before beginning another round of tears. "I'm not seeing my parents ever again. I can't get back to my old life ever again. And by the time we get to this mysterious 'Lost Cities,' only three people will remember who I am anymore!"
She held on tightly to Keefe.
"I don't wanna leave," she said, sounding like a five-year-old. "I wanna stay here."
"I know you do," Keefe said. "But it's not safe for you. You remember that shadowflux?"
She gave a small nod.
"Well, that's only the beginning," he said. "Trust me, I know how the Neverseen works. They're ruthless and cruel, not willing to spare anyone to get what they want. You're one of their new targets to try and weaken Adrien, so that when they come to finish him off, it'll be easy for them. Hiding in the Lost Cities will not only be safer, but you'll also probably protect your friends as well. It's clear that if they kept targeting you to get to Adrien, then they'll go after the people you love and care about."
Marinette seemed to get the point a little bit.
"Here," Keefe said, digging in his cape and pulling out a clear pathfinder. "I've got this set for Everglen, Fitz and Biana's place. You get your stuff together, and don't you dare think about anyone else but me."
But as Marinette got her stuff together, Keefe took one last look at the mattress stripped of its sheets and the walls bare, with only a few basic pieces of furniture left. He also couldn't help but notice the paper Marinette had been writing on:
Dear Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng,
You probably don't remember me. No, scratch that; you don't remember me. At all. Man, why was that hard to write? I don't know; just writing this entire letter is heartbreaking enough. Because I still remember you.
This may sound confusing, but wherever I am, I'm okay. You can't know who I am, what connections we had, or where I am now. All you can know is that you're safe. If I was still here, it's possible you could get hurt, or worse...
Okay, I have to get going soon. And by the time you read this letter, I won't exist in your mind anymore. I don't know if anything in here will trigger any memories and send in waves of panic, so I'm taking everything. It's not like I'm ready to let go of my past life right now.
And if we do meet again, if you remember me then, I just want to say... PLEASE forget about me.
It'll be better for everyone this way.
And remember, I love you both so much.
Keefe got a little choked up. He remembered those two sentences before the last from his own letter to Sophie about running away to the Forbidden Cities.
"I'm ready now," Marinette sniffed, wiping at her eyes, having noticed Keefe reading the letter. "Is it bad or anything?"
Keefe let out a sad smile.
"You did a good job hiding yourself," he said. "Don't worry; this will spare your parents all the panic and fear."
But he could still tell Marinette was feeling very gloomy.
"And you'll have to teach my friends how to make macarons," he said. "Mostly because I wanna eat them."
Marinette let out a weak giggle.
And as they began to ride with the light, Keefe could feel her thoughts beginning to calm as they gripped tightly to him.
He felt himself grow warm and fuzzy.
Marinette would be fine. Sure, it would take a little while to adjust, but she would be fine.