KOTLC After Stellarlune-A Sokeefe Story

Rescue

Sophie felt a strange sense of déjà vu as she stepped out into the moonlight with Keefe, Fitz and Dex, ready to leap on an unauthorized mission to a Forbidden City.

"This feel oddly familiar to anyone else?" she asked.

Keefe laughed. "Foster and all her men breaking a bunch of rules? I wonder why it feels familiar."

"Her men?" Dex asked.

"Yeah, I haven't been hers in a long time," Fitz jabbed.

"But maybe Linh's, now?" Sophie couldn't help but ask.

Fitz grinned, blushing slightly. "We should probably just get going."

"Okay, but dude, you are so giving me details when we have the time," Keefe told him.

Fitz nodded and pulled out a blue pathfinder, adjusting it. "Ready?"

The four of them all clasped hands as Fitz created a path. They all shared one determined look and stepped into the light.

"Okay, the Forbidden Cities always smell weird, but wow there are so many different smells in this city," Keefe said with a cough.

"Just hope we don't have to go down into any subway stations," Sophie told him.

"We don't have to, but it would be faster," Dex told her.

"I think it would be harder to stay obscured on the subway," Fitz said. "I realize it's the middle of the night and it won't be that crowded, but still too many chances in such a cramped space for things to get weird. We didn't come in human clothes or anything."

"I don't think anyone would give us a second glance, not in this city," Sophie told him. "But I still think you're right. Dex, which way do we need to go?"

Dex consulted his tablet, bringing up a map marked with Kenric's (or Peter's) apartment building. "This path will lead us straight to him."

So off they went, careful to give any passersby a wide berth.

"This place is pretty full of people for it being the middle of the night," Keefe pointed out. "Don't they ever shut down and sleep?"

"It was a lot more crowded than this when I came here in the daylight looking for Sophie," Fitz told him.

"It's literally called, by some, 'the city that never sleeps',"Sophie said. "There's such a high population and so much to do here. I always wanted to come. Keefe, a lot of the plays and musicals we've watched on our TV are also ones you could see here in Manhattan, on stage. I always thought it would be cool to see a Broadway show."

"I'll remember that," Keefe said quietly, smiling.

Before long, Dex had brought them to an apartment building not far from Central Park. It was weird, to Sophie, to think that none of them even knew what Central Park was. Sometimes, being an elf raised by humans still struck her in weird ways.

"Okay," Dex said, handing the tablet over to Sophie. "The obscurer will fool the security cameras but let me get this door open." He fiddled with the door handle, and within seconds he was opening the door for them. "Can we take the stairs? It's only a few flights up and I don't want to take an elevator. Human technology kind of freaks me out, I don't think I can trust it not to kill us."

Sophie laughed, but consented as they headed towards the staircase. "Elevators are way less scary than Vortinators."

"Slower does not mean safer," Fitz told her.

"Plus that Vortinator ride was the only enjoyable part of your first visit to Candleshade," Keefe said slyly. He looked back at Dex. "I told Foster to hold on tight and she thought I meant to me and clung to my hand super tight. I was tempted to just let her. She'd have had to really hold on once we started climbing. I might've had to hold her really close, you know, just to help her feel safe." He smirked.

"She'd have probably just thrown up on you," Fitz told him. "And that's pretty gross."

Sophie grimaced. "And here I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."

"About you having an allergic reaction and almost dying in my arms before Dex or I could get you to Elwin?"

"Okay, fair point. That would be hard to forget."

"This is Kenric's floor," Dex said. "We should be quiet from here on out." He led them into a hallway and began checking door numbers until they came to the right one. "This is the trickier part. Let's hope he's asleep."

"If he's not, what do we do?" Sophie asked.

"I think just one of us should sneak in," Fitz decided. "Then awake or asleep, drop the disc and hold their breath. Once he's out and the air has cleared, the others can come in so we can leap back to Aeternum together."

"So who goes in?" Dex asked.

"Not Foster. She'd trip over something and make a lot of noise and make things more complicated," Keefe said with a smirk.

Sophie—who knew perfectly well that he was right—glared at him anyway.

"Plus," he said more softly. "This way you don't have to be the one to release a sedative."

"Yeah, I don't want to have to do that either," Dex mumbled.

"I'll do it," Fitz said, taking the disc from Sophie. "Dex, can you let me in?"

Dex unlocked the door and Fitz slipped in quietly.

They stood silently for a moment. There was no sound coming from inside the apartment, which was a good sign. He was probably asleep.

Keefe reached for Sophie's hand. "You don't have to freak out, love," he whispered.

"I can't believe I'm about to see Kenric again," she whispered. "Even if we can restore his memories we have so much to tell him. Our world has changed so much."

"It'll be okay," Dex promised. "He's still getting his whole life back."

Just then, Fitz reappeared. "He's out," he told them. "Let's go."

They followed Fitz into the apartment. He led them into a small bedroom, where an unconscious man lay in bed. "He was asleep, so he didn't even know I did anything," Fitz told them.

Sophie just stared down at Kenric. "It's him," she whispered, tears in her eyes. "It's really him." Memories of her early days in the Lost Cities came rushing back to her as she looked at his face.

Keefe squeezed her hand. "Let's get him home." He pulled out his home crystal as Dex opened the curtains to let in some moonlight. Everyone clasped hands once more, Sophie placing a firm grip on Kenric's arm and wrapping her concentration around him.

"Let's get him home," she whispered.