Swan Song

Chapter Thirty Nine

This chapter is... basically, utter garbage. I word vomited a filler that had nothing to do with the plot and then posted it. It ends in a cliffhanger again, and you don't get any action, so feel free to not read.

On that note, enjoy!

Sophie thought she'd been nervous before, but apparently, she was wrong. It was nothing, nothing like this. Her stomach was in knots, and instead of butterflies flying around, she had alicorns. Hands clammy, legs shaky- all she wanted to do was collapse in a heap. Except apparently, she was the moonlark or something, and that meant she had to act like she had any sort of anything resembling confidence.

Sometimes she hated being the moonlark.

Outside Eternalia, she was greeted with a death hug from one Biana Vacker. Biana looked extra gorgeous that day, in a tunic that was somehow extraordinarily fashionable and good for fighting. Although she normally had makeup on, and it was probably almost exactly the same, it looked more like war paint than beauty.

"You nervous?" Biana asked.

"What do you think?" Sophie said, with a bit of a laugh. It felt good to laugh- the motion eased the knots in her stomach, just a little. "You?"

Hugging herself, Biana flickered in and out of sight. "Mallowmelt yes. I'm terrified."

"You don't look like it," Sophie said.

Biana Vanished, and then joked "I don't look like anything. I'm invisible."

Sophie laughed again. "Anyone else here?"

"My brother, obviously, and my parents. No one else, though."

Sophie looked around for Fitz until she found him, in conversation with Della and Alden. She waved. He saw her and waved back, walking over.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi." The nerves, if possible, increased. Between multiple battles and Sandor's death, they hadn't really had much time to work past the awkwardness, and it was now hitting her full force. Sophie's eyes stayed on the ground.

"How are you?"

"Wonderful. Never been better." Sophie willed herself to look up, into his teal eyes. The teal eyes that had mesmerized her for years, that had made her heart flutter like nothing else. And then he smiled- what she used to call his "movie star smile." Looking back, her crush on him had honestly been kind of silly, and it was almost embarrassing how much she had fangirled over him. Any doubts she had about choosing Keefe vanished as her brown eyes met teal. By now, Fitz was just a person. A friend. She gave him a real smile.

"We'll be fine. We're going to win, Sophie. No reason to worry."

"You sound like your dad," Sophie laughed.

Fitz rolled his eyes, a grin on his face. "Yeah, I've had to hear him say 'no reason to worry' about five hundred times, so it's pretty much drilled into my brain by now. My apologies."

"No reason to worry," Sophie replied.

"Who wants weapons?" Dex announced, walking towards them, followed by Jensi. He handed each of them what looked like a wallet. "Basically, these things have an infinite amount of space, and they're full of cool gadgets. Pretty much all of them, you just throw at the Neverseen. If it's got a button, you press the button. Make sense?"

Sophie nodded. "You're the best."

"I know," Dex agreed, dimples showing.

"Seriously," Fitz added. "I know we don't usually make it obvious, but Technopathy is a super awesome talent and it's honestly really important. So I'm sorry if we've ever made you feel otherwise."

Dex's smile grew even wider. "Wow... thanks, Wonderboy."

Fitz blushed. "And, um, I'm sorry for calling you Deck. The first time we met."

Dex pondered this, stroking an imaginary beard. "Very well," he decided. "I forgive you. And I'm sorry I used to hate you."

The group was soon joined by Linh and Marella, hand in hand. Marella's head was resting on Linh's shoulder. "You guys ready?" Marella asked.

Together, everyone else replied "No," and then laughed.

"Tam's on his way," Linh said.

Sure enough, Tam joined soon, accompanied by Keefe. "Bangs Boy and I talked it out last night," he announced. "We're now BFF's! Right, Tammy Boy?"

Tam rolled his eyes. "I now tolerate you slightly more, but keep this up and I won't."

"Aww," Keefe replied.

A smile on her face, Sophie wondered why everyone was suddenly seeming a lot closer than before. Once she figured out that it was because they might not all survive today, it seemed obvious. She pulled an eyelash. "Who else is coming?" she asked.

"Wylie, Maruca, and Stina, I think," Jensi answered. The three of them came soon, confirming his answer.

Dex reached into his wallet of weapons (™) and brought out a gold key- the one to open the hamster ball. Paragon. Whatever it was called. Each of them entered the Paragon, and Sophie squeezed Keefe's hand, not sure if it was for him or for her.

The Paragon started spinning and the claustrophobia intensified. Sophie squeezed Keefe's hand so hard it had to hurt, and tried to take her mind away from the miserable hamster ball.

She thought about how many times she had faced the Neverseen. Once, when she had just arrived, when she and Dex were kidnapped. Again when she and Keefe rode on Silveny to get her abilities fixed, and a third time when she had to heal Fintan's mind. Then they had fought on Mount Everest and learned that Keefe's mother was part of it. They had gone to Ravagog and survived. There was the time at the Neverseen hideout, just after they figured out the Lodestar symbol, and in Lumenaria. In Nightfall too, and after Alvar's tribunal. At Everglen, in London, and in Loamnore.

So many times, and she survived each one.

This one was different, but she would survive this one too. There couldn't be any doubt in her mind of this, so Sophie was determined to be sure of it.

"We're here," Sophie heard someone say. She wasn't sure who it was. It might have been her. But no matter who declared it, they had arrived at the Point of Purity, and there could be no more stalling. The Paragon expanded and unlocked.

Sophie looked around at everyone who would be fighting by her side. All of her allies. No- friends. Keefe, Fitz, Biana, Dex, Marella, Tam, Linh, Stina, Wylie, Maruca, and Jensi stood talking and laughing, their bodyguards nearby. Her parents, as well as Alden, Della, Kesler, and the Collective, stood a few feet away. One way or another, it would all be over today, and at least if this was the end, she had her friends with her.

Sophie took a deep breath and walked out of the hamster ball, ready to face the Neverseen for the final time.

See? I told you. GARBAGE! Lol. But I'll work on the next chapter. Which will also suck.

Please comment! :D ---> 

Also check out the Princess Prettypants chapter of KOTLC Ship Oneshots because it's actually kind of good! Unlike most other things I write!