Reversed

vi. six

Three figures glittered in at the edge of sight, silhouetted against the stars. One was adult, one was feminine, and one was male.

Sophie squinted at the largest figure in the middle. Mr. Forkle. The creator of all the lies, the master of manipulation.

She was going to make him sorry he'd ever started Project Moonlark. 

She clenched and unclenched the blades in her hands. She had to be patient. This was a surprise attack, after all.

Seconds felt like an eternity, before the figures disappeared after touching the female's arm. Biana. They were far enough away from Alluveterre's base that they probably thought they couldn't be seen. There one second, gone the next. Like they never were. 

But it was too late. Sophie had been looking, ready. And she'd seen them.

They're here, she transmitted to Ruy. She felt his mind fill with a sort of grim concentration. They're also invisible.

We'll be able to find them, he thought back. Tell the others.

She tossed him a wry Already on it before cutting the connection and relaying the message to Trix and Oman. They too settled into the same readiness that made Sophie take a deep breath, triple-checking that she was undetected in the shadows.

Time stretched thin. Sophie felt a comfort in being the hunter, not the prey. To her targets, she was the worst case scenario, there only being a possibility of her presence. And they definitely didn't expect her. But her heart still sputtered an anxious beat. 

And she was there. She was there to hear Biana whisper, "Do we go up?" in a barely-there voice, and spot the tread marks appearing in the cool night grass. 

Biana's voice. Not a figment of her imagination—it was real, and it was here. Here. Why did something about it trigger an oddness that prodded the back of her mind? She pushed it away, focusing on the louder voices demanding revenge and justice.

Sophie's instinct was to shift into a different position, to make herself smaller. But she knew better. Movement would give her away. So she stayed stone still, moon daggers tilted at a ready angle. She practically felt them buzz against her, eager to carry out her wishes.

Closer. Closer. Closer. The patience was killing her. Her impatience was killing her.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

Now.

Sophire flew out of hiding, surging towards the closest set of footprints in a sharp-bladed fury.

Biana tripped and dropped the invisibility in surprise, only for a second. It was enough. Hands spread wide, Sophie threw a pair of throwing stars that pinned Biana and the other male against nearby trees.

She dug her foot into the ground, taking one last leap before ramming into the now visible Mr. Forkle. The force of the impact knocked him down. Sophie had him pinned.

The liar flailed and tried to see up into her hood, but she tilted her head down. She locked his arms and braced a knee against his chest, temporarily paralyzing him.

Revenge felt so good. But Sophie was far from done. She adjusted her grip on her moon daggers to allow a better glance. They glinted in her hands, catching the starlight. Mr. Forkle's eyes widened with recognition.

Strangled sounds came from the tree behind her and Biana and the male tried to free themselves from the bonds pinning their bodies, but their efforts were futile. The Neverseen's Technopath had rigged the stars so they were impossible to escape on one's own—and even if someone else did help, they were extremely hard to free.

Sophie ignored them and raised a blade. Mr. Forkle twisted and threw her off balance as she brought the dagger down, only nicking his side. She growled in frustration. 

Something slammed into her back, tossing her to the ground. She whipped around, spotting nothing but a pair of footprints sprinting away.

Mr. Forkle took the opportunity to scramble to his feet. Sophie regained her balance and adjusted her daggers, head reeling.

Mr. Forkle opened his mouth, but a loud bang from the catwalk above had them both swiveling their heads up. A bright flash momentarily blinded them. Ruy dropped down, a force field wrapped around his body to absorb all the impact of the landing.

"Well, well. So nice of you to join us today. I was starting to think you wouldn't show at all." He flicked his wrists, and the light around him dispersed and shot towards Mr. Forkle, who threw up his hands. The beams swerved to the side, just searing the sides of his arms. 

Sophie looked at him sideways. "For a second there, I thought you'd forgotten that he's mine."

Ruy gave a small bow. "By all means. Be my guest." He tilted his head to the right. "I'll deal with the boy who thought he would go undetected."

He snapped his fingers and a force field entrapped a figure near the entrance to the boys' tree house. A strawberry-blond boy flickered into view as whatever gadget he had been using to turn invisible was knocked from his hands. Dex.

Sophie turned back to Mr. Forkle and reached into one of her pockets for a restraining gadget. Its momentum pushed him backwards, securing him to the tree next to Biana and the male.

She saw flashes of light in her peripheral where Ruy and Dex were battling. 

Sophie strode up to Mr. Forkle. She let every ounce of the hatred she felt and evil she had become play across her face, so he wouldn't mistake whose side she was on now.

Mr. Forkle didn't even struggle against the binds. Perhaps because he knew it wouldn't work, or perhaps because he didn't want to fight his precious Moonlark. Whatever the case, Sophie was able to get close enough to his face for him to flinch.

She narrowed her eyes, trying not to breathe in his stinky feet smell.

Sophie sheathed her daggers at her side, deciding that she wanted to feel the impact of every blow as she contemplated where to hurt him first. She drew back her arm for a punch, baring her teeth.

"This is for you lies."

The next events unfurled in a blur of motion. Slow motion. That was how she was able to see when the male figure shook off his hood, revealing crystal-blue eyes wide with shock. Her hood had fallen down in the fight. She froze.

"Keefe?"