Sophie's POV
"What a waste of time," I mumbled angrily to myself as I trekked back to the treehouse, surrounded by beautiful scenery that wasn't the point of my focus.
No, I was staring vehemently at the scroll encased in my right hand. The stupid thing just rested there, doing absolutely nothing, just like when I tried to use it for answers.
As I walked back, not paying attention to my surroundings, I continued to glare at it, blaming it for all of my problems. Granted, I could have just teleported and saved myself a lot of exerted energy, but I needed some time before I interacted with other elves, demigods, and other creatures.
Of course, since I was walking through a forest, not paying attention to my surroundings, and an all around klutz, I tripped on the root of a tree.
Before I face-planted fully, I was actually smart enough to levitate myself midair.
Round of applause, ladies and gentlemen, elves and demigods! For the first time in all of history, Sophie Foster has saved herself from making a complete fool out of herself!
I mentally cheered for myself, then brought myself back to a standing position rather hastily, not wanting to look like a mentally unwell person in front of the . . . trees?
Resuming my pace, I tucked the arm with the scroll behind my back, opting to keep it out of my view for the time being. Instead, I paid close attention to the sights, sounds, and smells of the island.
Of course, there was the forest floor, covered in fallen leaves and small critters. The crunching of said leaves could be heard, both under my own two feet and any animals or creatures passing.
A few birds could be heard with their singing and calling, high up in the trees. The trees themselves were quite tall, their leaves many shades of green and, to my surprise, purple.
I suspected there was fruit growing on the peculiar trees, due to the slightly sweet smell in the air. It was a powerful aroma, like a sort of vanilla raspberry scent that overpowered all other smells in the forest. For that, I thanked the trees, for I would rather smell the pleasant scent than an odious one.
I could also just barely see the white tufts of clouds far above the trees, in the pale blue sky. They looked so soft and-.
SOPHIE! FRIEND!
What? Silveny was here?
SILVENY?!
SOPHIE! SOPHIE! KEEFE! KEEFE!
I laughed to myself, a genuine laugh, as joy filled me up to the brim.
SILVENY! COME DOWN!
I quickly broke through the line of trees, sprinting back to the open cliff side that I had only departed from minutes ago.
SOPHIE! LAND! SOPHIE! LAND!
Racing up the cliff side, my smile widened upon seeing the glowing alicorn about to land before me. Her mane was the most blinding and glittery as ever, bringing back memories of flying with her as the wind whipped through both of our hair.
She had been at the Sanctuary for the time being, kept guarded and under the watchful eye of the caretakers along with the other alicorns.
But, I had missed her a lot.
So, when she finally touched ground, I immediately barreled towards her with my arms wide open. The outfit I was wearing was clingier than what I would usually wear, so it made it a bit uncomfortable to run in. But, at the same time, it fit like a second layer of skin, so I guess I couldn't complain much.
"Silveny!" I cried out in joy, wrapping my arms around her neck, my fingers running through her soft mane. "Greyfell let you come all the way over here?!"
I was surprised that she was able to come here alone, knowing that her partner in crime was always wary of not being there with her. Though I knew that he trusted me, it still didn't excuse the worry he felt when she was out of his sight.
Absolutely adorable.
Silveny's soft whinny of a reply made me pull back to look at her stunningly beautiful features; the silver of her coat, her glowing mane, the glittery horn, and the eyes that deeply resembled mine.
Well . . . before they changed.
Almost as if realizing, Silveny's own eyes grew wide and I beamed at her.
COLOR! CHANGE! COLOR! CHANGE!
I almost groaned and clutched at my temples, an involuntary response to the loudness of Silveny's mental voice. It had been far too long since I'd heard it.
Yes, color change. I found my birth dad.
MEET? FRIEND?
Silveny's immediate response only broadened my smile. I gazed up adoringly at the majestic creature. I couldn't wait to race Percy and Blackjack, who I'd heard so much about, and introduce her to Poseidon maybe.
Yes, meet very soon. I replied, stepping back a bit as the alicorn continued to stare down at me expectantly.
FLY NOW!
Just as I thought, I thought to myself, as Silveny immediately got into a suitable position for me to mount her. I laughed softly at her excitement, knowing that my own almost paralleled - maybe even surpassed - hers for once.
And just like that, as soon as I got comfortable on her back, we were off into the sky.
The familiar sense of adrenaline and breeze was a pleasant reminder for me. I missed the thrill of Silveny's dives and spirals, though they made me slightly sick.
I cherished the moments up in the sky with Silveny, acting as if there wasn't a problem in the world, especially not in my own two hands.
But, sadly, reality always finds a way to make itself known.
Brant's POV
My right leg had been shaking for the past few minutes. Non stop.
I tried to put more and less pressure on it, hold it in place, and even slap it slightly, but none of that worked.
And, if I'm being completely honest, I might have only succeeded in making a fool out of myself.
I had never been so nervous in my LIFE.
Our Neverseen physicians were giving Jolie a dose of the antidote for her current condition, specifically through a machine of some sort that humans call an IV.
There is not much in this world that scares me . . . but those human's medical tools are something out of a nightmare.
To think they had to stab even their infants with those monstrous devices from such a young age deeply confounded me.
Is confounded even a word-?
Moving on.
Fintan was watching me out of the corner of his eye; I could tell. In one hand, he was throwing a fireball upwards and catching it. The other hand was tucked into the pocket of his black dress pants. A maroon buttoned short-sleeve adorned the top half of his body, possibly the most relaxed and laid back choice of clothing I had ever seen him wear.
He almost never left without his Neverseen cloak on, as well. It made me wonder why he hadn't chosen to bring it for this occasion.
My attention was pulled back to the front before I could even process the information my mind had just thought of. The doctors had completed their part in it all and were obviously waiting to be dismissed.
I glanced over at Fintan, who was now fully turned to face me, the fireball out of sight.
"Why don't you give the command, Brant?" he asked, using an uncharacteristically soft voice. "After all, once your task is complete, you will have to earned the respect of every Neverseen member in this building, me included."
The pride I felt bubbling in my chest felt wrong, even as I flashed him a dazzling smile. In reality, I felt nauseous from any sort of praise from this psychopath.
But, I guess I'm every bit as messed up as he is.
Which was why this was my one chance to prove myself; for either side. In the end, the outcome of this whole scenario landed on my shoulders.
I just hoped I would make the right decision.
***
We finally reached the isolated location. Our system of light leaping was far more complex than the other times we used it, seeing as we had to make sure that there was zero possibility of this tracing back to us. And, as if that wasn't enough, the two of us had to lug the container that held Jolie to this desolate place. The light trip took so much concentration that my brain felt like it had short circuited.
What they didn't know, was that Edaline was hiding somewhere behind the big sandy dunes of the terrain.
The problem about this place that hadn't crossed my mind when I asked Dex to make the invention was the conditions of this region.
Especially its sandstorms and flying sand particles.
They were blown everywhere by the wind, making Fintan and I squint our eyes a bit.
I had been worrying my bottom lip for the total of two minutes we had been here for this very few reason.
Would the sand affect the invention? Would Fintan be able to see the illusion as clearly as hoped? Would the sand mess with the structure of the invention and cause the illusion to malfunction?
All of these questions did nothing to ease my nerves. And, I almost jumped out of my skin when Fintan's large hand clasped my right shoulder.
I looked in his direction to meet his watchful gaze. Something about him was more unnerving than usual.
He was expecting a slip up, a betrayal, a failure.
But, also, if he wasn't acting like he was suspicious of my purpose in this event, then I would be even more worried. So, I decided to ignore the added uneasiness.
Instead, I went to the coffin-like enclosure of Jolie's prison and messed with a few things.
I realized that Dex had thought this out beautifully. The extra gadget that I just set up on the inside of the enclosure would let Jolie's container teleport directly to Edaline as soon as I pressed the green button on the actual invention.
Apparently, Edaline was holding something that attracted the gadget in the container. The kid had explained it as a magnet effect, but I honestly didn't care what he was going on about as long as it worked.
Taking a deep breath, I walked back to Fintan's side and purposefully tripped over my own feet. As soon as my hand made the briefest contact with the floor, the invention was successfully turned on.
I refused to look behind me to see if the invention was executed flawlessly until I was slightly behind Fintan. I held in a sigh of relief as I noticed the plan had gone perfectly so far.
"You're doing the honors, are you not?" Fintan asked, looking slightly ove his shoulder at me.
"Yes, but you told me you wanted to say a few words before I did it," I frowned at him, wondering what his angle was. He had literally just told me hours ago that these were his very directions.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me!" His features suddenly lit up like he had the brightest "aha" moment in the universe. "I wanted to give you some advice on what you're about to do."
He slightly turned me by the shoulders so I was directly facing him. His relaxed back was turned towards the illusion and he regarded me with eyes full of enlightenment.
"You are about to make," he started, grinning down at me, "the stupidest decision in your life."
I felt fear dominate all other emotions but managed to mask it so that Fintan wouldn't see my weakness. It was too early for him to do that.
Of course, Jolie and Edaline were probably already to safety by now . . .
And my life didn't matter much anyways . . .
A deep sense of peacefulness filled me at the thought. I could die and no one would even be affected. That reassured me slightly.
"You really think I'm stupid, don't you?" he sighed, looking down at me with both amusement and malice. "All of the sneaking around, getting in touch with Edaline and that kid of all people. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Surprisingly, I felt myself smiling at his words. He knew the whole time, but he didn't stop it before the others could get out safely. Whatever he told me or did to me, I would still win.
"Did you not hear me when I said that this was your last chance, Brant?" he asked, his gaze suddenly turning cold.
"I did, I just wanted to see how far you would play along until you cracked," I confidently, boldly, and stupidly answered his rhetorical question.
His wide smile turned nefariously evil, his teeth showing. The blueness of his eyes seemed to stand out more than usual, especially the right one as that eye twitched.
Fintan leaned closer to me so that his next words could be more threatening, a tactic he used too much in my opinion.
"You shouldn't have done that," he whispered coldly, the insanity of his messed-up persona coming out to play. "Now, you've run out of chances."
With that, something was run through my stomach, most definitely striking a few sensitive organs and whatnot. A gurgled groan escaped my lips, but I felt that peacefulness increase tenfold.
The peace numbed the pain, making me feel invincible and vulnerable all at the same time.
I clutched my stomach, but not as tightly as I would have if I still thought I had a chance of breathing again.
I, more so, gently brushed the wound, feeling like my burdens had been released because of it.
Sinking to my knees, I watched out of slightly blurry vision as the figure that no doubt belonged to Fintan got farther and farther away.
The flash of light cued me in on his departure as I lay back on the sandy ground, now regarding the eye-stinging particles as a nice bed to finally get some sleep.
The last thing I saw was an angel hovering over me, her golden hair getting slightly in my face. I smiled up at her, feeling the final resisting strength in my body dissipate.
I welcomed death with open arms . . . for I deserved it.
A/N: 😢 i actually felt rlly sad when i wrote this. next part will answer both cliffhangers : )