Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Second Moonlark (a KOTLC/MLB crossover)

Chapter Eleven: Sophie

Sophie slammed her locker door shut. It had been nearly a week since Keefe had left. Nearly a week since she read the letter.

And the Neverseen still hadn't made a single move.

What were they trying to do, flesh out that other moonlark?

"Hey, Sophie."

Sophie turned to see...

Keefe?

"Sorry," Dex sighed. "I knew he and I were the same height."

Sophie slumped.

"I really miss him," she mumbled.

"We all do," Biana reassured. "And we'll find him. I promise."

"And while we're at that, we should also begin to look for the other moonlark," Fitz suggested.

Sophie looked up at him.

"Fitz, Mr. Forkle said that we should wait and focus on Keefe," Sophie replied. "We're planning how to take him back from Paris as we speak."

"But shouldn't we also get the other moonlark as well?" Fitz pressed. "We could have an advantage against the Neverseen--we could finally win!"

Sophie blinked a couple of times. Was he serious?

"Besides, Keefe doesn't want to be found," Fitz added. "And what if we're wrong? What if he's hiding somewhere else?"

He flashed one of those movie star smiles to try and soften the blow. "And I have a feeling that this other moonlark would benefit from discovering the truth as early as you did."

Sophie took a step back.

"Sorry," she said. "I think I just remembered Grady and Edaline said they needed me after school..."

She turned on her heel, ran to the Leapmaster, and made it to her room in Havenfield before the angry tears began rolling down her cheeks.

Did Fitz care at all? Did he really give a cheesy smile while saying that Keefe didn't matter and they should focus on something Mr. Forkle said not to worry about?

Maybe Fitz didn't care.

After all, he did dump Sophie because she refused to tell the matchmakers that Councillor Oralie was her mother, despite the fact that Sophie knew Oralie would lose her position if the truth was found out and she was fine being unmatchable then. And Biana did say he started liking her back in Alluveterre...

Around the same time Keefe had started openly admitting his feelings to her, and she didn't even notice. She had been too busy dealing with Fitz and the whole Cognates thing.

Sophie sat up with a start.

Why had she been so oblivious?

Her mind ached as she felt the memories of her and Keefe overwhelm the ones with her and Fitz. Riding Silveny to the caves to fix her abilities. Going with her to the Sanctuary. Being able to be honest to her when they were in the medical tent at Exillium. Protecting her even while he ran away to the Neverseen. Sticking with her to figure out her biological parents.

He had left the Lost Cities...

To protect her.

Sophie felt tears come again, but they were from sadness, not rage. She really wanted to see Keefe again. She would give anything to see Keefe again. That silky blond hair, those sparkling ice-blue eyes, that trademark smirk of his, the way he wore untucked tunics and still looked good doing it. She missed his one-liners, their easy banter, his way of putting himself in danger to make sure she was okay.

So why did he want her to forget all about him?

Keefe may not have known it, but there were so many people that cared for him besides his parents! Sophie herself. Edaline. Their friends. Even Grady, who half the time just called Keefe "That Boy." Keefe was such a noble, caring boy that had a terrible home life but felt that he shouldn't drag others down into his personal problems like his "legacy," unbeknownst that he would become a major factor in the war. On both sides.

That's when she felt her Imparter buzz.

Mr. Forkle was trying to hail him.

"Miss Foster, we have everyone downstairs," Mr. Forkle said. "And given that you have ignored our calls, we figured you would listen to your Imparter because there's been a new development."

Sophie didn't know what was going on when she saw all the worried faces as she entered the living room.

"So what's the problem?" she asked.

"Well, it's been confirmed that Keefe is somewhere in Paris," Granite said.

"But how we discovered it is a long story," Squall bit his frozen lip.

Sophie wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Well, with the Neverseen having been strangely quiet ever since Keefe disappeared," Mr. Forkle explained. "We decided to see if they were creating some big scheme again. So we asked Glimmer to sneak into their current hideout, given she still has many connections to the organization, on the condition that we keep a tracker in case she switched sides again. So she did, and she just came back about fifteen minutes ago with information. They had been tracking Keefe since they heard he'd disappeared, and they were the ones to find him in Paris. Now, I've been doing my own research lately on Paris to find that the city is, in fact, protected already, but they haven't faced anything like what the Neverseen plan to do."

"I'm sorry," Dex interrupted. "But who exactly protects them?"

"I will warn everyone ahead of time that this may not come across as plausible at first," Mr. Forkle said. "But Paris currently has two minimum... superheroes."

Sophie snorted.

"Like the ones in the comics?" she snickered.

"Not exactly," Mr. Forkle said. "But a little like that. They have two constant superheroes that protect Paris from their own problems, but the origins of their powers are still unknown to me."

"I bet they were bit by radioactive spiders," Sophie shrugged.

"Or... a radioactive ladybug and and a radioactive black cat," Mr. Forkle said, pulling out a small screen and pulling up a page of information. "Because Paris's two superheroes are known as Ladybug and Cat Noir."

The teens couldn't help themselves as they began to laugh.

"Who in their right mind would name themselves Ladybug and Cat Noir?" Fitz snorted.

"Probably because they're cosplaying those animals," Linh shrugged.

"Exactly," Mr. Forkle said, putting the screen away. "And the villains they've faced, while some are terrifying and have negatively affected them, and they've had several reveals that no one really remembers in the Forbidden Cities, but I have a feeling that when the Neverseen attack Paris to get Keefe, those two will be their first target, as they'll likely jump into the battle right in the beginning."

Sophie gulped.

"Which is why I want you kids to go and help them," Mr. Forkle said. "You six have fought the Neverseen before, and i doubt the humans will care at that point if you have powers or not. Their lives are soon going to be in immediate danger, and we need you kids to help out to stop them before any irreversible damage is done."

"And what about Marella?"

All eyes turned to Sophie.

"We can't forget Marella this time," she said. "Someone hail her. Or I'll do it myself."

She didn't know why, but she felt that they would need Marella.

And she felt terrible for Keefe and those two superheroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir.

From Mr. Forkle's terrified face, those two were dead meat if the Neverseen got to them.