The situation was familiar.
Eerie, yes. Terrifying, completely.
But new? Not so much.
And was that supposed to make it a lot better? Or maybe a lot worse? Sophie had no idea. All she wanted to know was who had screamed behind her.
And it looked like the only way to get around Keefe's legacy was to go through it.
Keefe? she tried transmitting.
The only thing she heard back was the darkness pounding through her mind. It almost reminded her of... Everblaze, but with shadows. Just the slimy black substance coursing through her head.
Sophie racked her brain. Obviously this was all in her head- so how did she get out of her head? What were Keefe's "new and improved" Shade powers going to be, and how were they going to be any different from Tam's, who was currently the strongest Shade the Sophie knew of?
And if Project Moonlark was meant to defy evil... then did that mean she was born to defy Keefe?
With that thought- or maybe because of it? -the veils of shadows lifted and Sophie blinked her eyes open to see... wait. Was that Fitz?
And Biana. And Tam. And Linh, and Dex, and Tam and....
Glimmer too.
"Wait... guys?" Sophie asked, straightening and still trying to blink the darkness from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Um... helping you?" Biana reminded her with an eye roll. "Aren't we gonna grab Keefe and make a run for it?"
"Wait- stop, y-you don't understand! He's being controlled! He's like... the opposite of Project Moonlark," Sophie stammered, glancing at her friends expressions cautiously.
Biana's face fell as she wrung her fingers tightly and asked instead, "So... then what are we going to do?"
"As much as I enjoy your little squabbles," Lady Gisela called to them. "I must-"
"You must shut up," Fitz grumbled.
Lady Gisela sighed. "I must insist you listen to me- and if you cared so much about my son, is there any reason you haven't looked at him yet?"
"Um, maybe because he just filled my mind with shadowflux and you're trying to kill me," Sophie snapped, even though she knew it was a lie.
She was scared. Really, really scared.
Because she loved Keefe- as a person, as a friend, she didn't know yet.
But she loved him for who he was and who he'd always been and if they're favorite Lord Hunkyhair was never going to be the same...
"Come on Sophie," Biana said softly, tilting her chin up and forcing her to look in Keefe's direction.
"Sophie, I can't-" Keefe was cut off as Lady GIsela snapped her fingers boredly and he fell silent.
"I must admit though, my son is fighting this a lot more than I could've expected- or more of, what I wanted," Lady Gisela said, sounding mildly impressed. "I suppose that's not a good thing, but it's not like we have extra dosage or anything...."
"But if we rescue him," Sophie whispered to whatever of her friends could hear her. "Is he still going to be the same?"
"There might be minor side effects," Lady Gisela admitted, and Sophie cursed herself for being heard. "But all in all, I seriously doubt that you can retrieve him and have all the rest of your friends brought back alive."
Sophie just stared at her. She had no idea how someone was capable of being so...
"I know you've thought about it, Sophie. Dreamed about it. Feared it." Lady Gisela dropped her voice so low that only Sophie could hear her. "A moonlark in a cage. Forced to do whatever people told her to do."
Sophie stiffened and tried to look brave- but probably failed. Her eyes darted from Keefe, to his mom, to the rest of her friends who were waiting for her signal to attack them head-on.
Keefe jumped down from the statue.
Lady Gisela continued. "That day in the cave? That was only a warm up. A test."
Lady Gisela turned to her son...
"Fight her."