Sentry of the Arcane: Engulfed

Chapter Thirteen: Sophie

As I stand myself up, I can't help but gasp when I see Fitz slowly standing up again. I see a thin trail of blood slide down the side of his face, but either Fitz doesn't notice or he doesn't care that he's bleeding. I turn to see a cloaked man glare at the male Percipient, a grey left eye the only visible thing against the darkness underneath the hooded cloak.

Before I can blink, I see the hooded man rush towards Fitz. The male Percipient lifts the man up with telekinesis, but I throw the man into the ceiling before I can think. I step back as I watch the cloaked stranger fall to the ground. Fitz looks as me as I rush over to him. What just happened? I transmit to him. I can't help but stare with concern at the blood at the side of his face.

Long story short, someone tried to shoot me with something, Fitz explains. And then I came here, not knowing that I woke you up.

I would've transmitted that I woke up to hear someone slamming the door to his room, but a nebmentia crystal cuts me off by shattering a few centimeters away from me. Fitz and I look to see the man panting heavily, an archance in his hands, I look over to see that Steven's been knocked out. When I see that a dark blue crystal is on his torso, I gasp and point it out to the male Percipient.

Glaring at the stranger, I ask, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Basically ignoring that I'm here, the stranger points at Fitz and says, "You weren't supposed to tell her that."

Is he talking about your scar? I ask Fitz. When Fitz nods slightly, I face the man and ask, "Why not?"

Ignoring me again, the man just glares at Fitz. Suddenly, I see Fitz floating slightly and use my telekinesis to make the man levitate as well. I'm about to make the man float higher, but I feel something envelope my mind and my mental abilities. Before I know it, the man is flying into the wall and Fitz is on the ground again. What just happened? I ask.

I pushed him into the wall while you were lifting him up, Fitz says. Why?

I felt something wash over me, I admit. Does that mean that your mental powers kind of took over?

Fitz shrugs. We'll have to ask Steven or Caroline later...

I'm about to agree with him when I feel myself floating in the air. I glance down to see that I'm a few inches above the ground, and I'm still rising. Fitz immediately slams the man into the wall, but I'm still floating somehow. I then see that I've stopped moving, but I'm still hovering above the ground. "Who is this person?" I ask, trying to force myself to come down as well.

"I don't know," Fitz says. Suddenly, I see that I'm slowly nearing the ground, but I don't miss how strained Fitz looks.

Once I've landed on the ground, I look at the male Percipient worriedly. "Do you need to get some rest? You look tired," I comment sincerely, looking up into his teal eyes.

He, however, shakes his head. Smiling softly, he says, "I'll manage, but thank you for asking."

Nodding, I use my sleeve to wipe the blood on the side of the male Percipient's head by standing on my toes. Not missing how he flinches slightly, I say, "He really slammed you into the wall, didn't he?"

Fitz sighs, "Apparently. But-" Furrowing his eyebrows, Fitz touches an area on my head, which is rather tender from being slammed into the wall. Hissing slightly, I close my eyes tightly momentarily at the sharp and sudden pain. When I open my eyes again, the male Percipient says, "But you also got hurt as well."

"Couldn't be helped," I say with a sigh.

Suddenly, I hear a scream, followed by something metal hitting against something. Fitz and I turn just in time to see the cloaked stranger fall to the ground, unconscious before he hits the ground. The two of us then stare at Caroline, who slowly lowers her arm with the metal rod of a stand. Sliding the rod back on the stand she took it from, Caroline asks, "Who is he? Where did he come from?"

Caroline suddenly screams again, this time when she looks at the unconscious Steven. All three of us running towards him, we sigh in relief when he begins to wake up. Flicking the nebmentia off of him, he asks, "I can't remember what happened, but is that because of the nebmentia on my chest?"

Fitz nods. "Exactly," he says. "Also, Caroline just knocked out the cloaked man with a metal rod." The male Percipient and I then clap for the chemist, who smiles and takes a bow.

"I might've screamed before attacking him," she admits sheepishly, earning some laughter and a kiss from her husband. Staring at the sleeping stranger, Caroline asks, "Should we find out who it is?" We all look at each other before nodding, so the four of us walk over to him.

Fitz slowly turns the man over, and I can't help but tense up when Fitz actually takes the hood off.

But when he does, I'm the first to yell out, "Fitton?!" In the back of my head, I remember the fact that Fitton was said to be in Washington again... Of course he'd come back to the hotel. I glance up to see that the married couple's faces have paled considerably, and I don't blame them at all.

Instead of yelling, Fitz only stares at the face of Fitton. Furrowing my eyebrows at the male Percipient's lack of reaction, I follow his gaze. Before I know it, I'm studying Fitton's facial features as well.

I don't know why, Fitz transmits to me. But he doesn't look right...

I can't help but agree with him, but I don't know why. It's on the tip of my tongue, but apparently, my mind can't make a connection yet.

He's younger. He somehow became younger. Fitz glares at the sleeping Fitton.

With this new information, I look at Fitton again. This time, I can't help but notice how his face looks younger, and he doesn't as many lines across his face like Fitton. Suddenly, my eyes widen. I don't think he became younger, I transmit. I think he's younger because this isn't him...

Oh God, Fitz finally says. You may be right. But... then who is this..?

He looks up, and I follow his gaze to only stare at the pathologist and the chemist. After taking one look at the two of us, Caroline says, "You also noticed it, didn't you?"

"Noticed what?"

"That he's younger than when he used to be when he 'died'," Steven quickly says. After his answer hangs in the air do we look at whoever said that, since we all now realize that someone other than the four of us asked that.

I stumble back when I see Mr. Wallace staring at us. The only thing that stands out from his otherwise neutral expression is the fact that his eyes hold something deeper than anger or fear.

And for some reason, I hated that more than anger or fear.