Bridging the Divide

You can't surprise Auntie Ro, darlin'

Keefe

Keefe was at the beach, looking out over the water and resolutely NOT thinking about how he was going to miss celebrating the light festival with Sophie and the rest of his friends when a telepathic message came in from Sophie, short and to the point.

We're striking the final blow today. I'll let you know when the battle's over.

Keefe's whole world cracked yet again, trembling in the wake of this new revelation. There would be so many members of the Neverseen there. 

They would use this as a way to wipe out as many of his friends as possible. He knew the Neverseen and his mom, and they would be aiming to obliterate.

He was worried about Sophie, wanted to grab her wrist and drag her to Camp Halfblood, where she could be safe and never have to worry about anyone trying to hurt her ever again. 

That part of him was overcome by the part of him that knew Foster would never stand for that, would fight to the end. He would follow his conscience. He wouldn't be a hero, because he didn't need to be. Because Foster didn't... nope. He wasn't going to finish that depressing thought.

He tried to continue to enjoy his afternoon, but the pressure of the event, the waiting for a communication, hoping he wouldn't get a call on the imparter giving him the worst possible news, wondering what was going on, if she was hurt. No matter how many times he tried to mentally change the subject, the good vibes that would have come with the sunny day were out of his reach.

Throughout the day, he felt rather than saw the odd looks his friends were giving him, but he studiously ignored them as best he could. By three or four in the afternoon, Keefe was getting pretty nervous. 

Sophie had contacted him almost two hours ago. He didn't know how far before she had decided to tell him, so it could have been that they were still waiting for the Neverseen to show up. Even just speculating about these things was driving him mad.

Sophie

Sophie looked up at the late afternoon sky, which was just beginning to turn dusky. They had opted for a later time because it was more believable, but not so late that they would have to battle in the dark. Shifting slightly, she bit back a gasp as a flash of black caught her eye.

Looks like we have company. Someone couldn't resist peeking over the edge.

The Neverseen agents must have realized she had seen them and alerted her friends, because they swarmed over the edge en masse, stopping when two of the cloaked figures were only a few feet away from Sophie. 

Instead of scrambling away, Sophie stood her ground and stared down the leaders, all the while silently counting the number of agents opposing them. When she was done, she gritted her teeth. 48 members. That was more than they had expected.

We have about 48 people out there.

Stepping forward a little, she said, "Good to see you, Gisela, Vespera."

Stepping back in shock, her cloak rustling, Keefe's mom asked, "How did you guess, Moonlark?"

Rolling her eyes at Gisela's naivete, Sophie explained, "We've been whittling down your forces for a LONG time, and here we are 'transporting' them all to a more secure location." 

Hoping that she didn't put enough sarcasm into the word transporting to tip them off, she continued, "If you showed up, you would be spearheading the mission, and bring the rest of your organization. It's a great way to show your power, and you came along because you think that's the only way you'll get results. And, added bonus, you'd get your captured members back and be able to get to whatever evil plans you have. Simple, really."