Keeper of the Lost Cities: Unlocked: A Fan-fiction

Chapter Nine - Sophie

Sophie didn't know him, and she didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved at that.

He was shorter than Magnate Leto, but taller than Mr. Forkle. About average height. His skin was dark, and he had short brown hair.

Above everything else, all Sophie could think was that he looked remarkably normal for... well, what he was. But one other thing caught her attention.

"Your ears are pointy!" she blurted out in shock.

Mr. Forkle smiled slightly. "Ta da?"

Sophie stood still, frozen. Mr. Forkle had never said he wasn't an ancient, but he'd never said he was.

"But... but how... you..." she spluttered, and Mr. Forkle frowned.

"Really, Miss Foster, I thought you knew. Remember the conversation we had about Loki? Loki was created centuries ago."

"But how were your ears not pointy before?" she objected.

"Mr. Dizznee's father can make nearly every elixir imaginable. Including one to smooth out the tips of one's ears. I hid them for the simple reason that it makes people underestimate me. And the only reason I didn't tell you kids is because I didn't think it would be such a big deal. I must say, I thought you kids would be focused on other things about my appearance than my ears."

Mr. Forkle turned to Maruca. Sophie was surprised to see that she was pale and staring at Mr. Forkle's new form in greater shock than Sophie had. After looking at her other friends, Sophie saw Maruca was the only one with that reaction. Everyone else was merely surprised.

"I take it you know what this means?" Mr. Forkle asked Maruca gently.

Maruca nodded slowly, still staring at Mr. Forkle.

"What's going on?" Marella asked, her big blue eyes darting back and forth between Mr. Forkle and Maruca.

"Yeah, what's happening? Why's Maruca staring at you like that?" Dex asked.

Mr. Forkle didn't turn away from Maruca. "And I take it you know what to do now?"

Again, Maruca nodded. Then she unfroze, pulled a pathfinder out of her pocket, and held it up to the light. Linh grabbed her arm.

"Does this have to do with... are you going to...?" she asked, looking at Maruca with a mutual understanding of something Sophie couldn't decipher.

Once more, Maruca nodded.

"I'm coming," Linh said, a determined note in her voice. "You know I can help."

And with that, they stepped into the light and were gone.

A long moment after they left was filled with silence. Then what could only be described as "organized chaos" broke out. A bit like the baby Alicorns, Sophie thought to herself with a laugh. But then she remembered what had just happened.

Mr. Forkle silenced the room with a lifted hand. "I know this is confusing, and I will explain everything later, I promise. For now, you need to prepare to help a friend in their time of need."

That spread quiet throughout the room easily enough. They just sat there, waiting. Waiting. And... more waiting.

Finally, the air shimmered in front of them, and Maruca, Linh, and, to Sophie's surprise, Wylie, appeared in front of them.

"Wait, Mr. Forkle?" Sophie heard Wylie ask in confusion as the three of them slowly solidified. "He revealed himself? And he's here? Why didn't anyone tell m-" He stopped when his gaze fell on Mr. Forkle.

And then his face bleached white, his legs wobbled, and he fainted.

***

"Why did he faint? Is he okay? What are we going to do? Should we call Elwin?" Linh asked, running her hands through the silver tips of her hair in a stressed manner as the crew leaned over Wylie's body lying limply on Mr. Forkle's desk.

"Relax, Linh, he'll be fine," Tam said, pulling his sister into a hug when he saw how distraught she was.

"How long?" was all Maruca said, asking Mr. Forkle. Her movements, like Linh's, were jerky and distressed, though for some reason she seemed less surprised than Linh.

Sophie could hardly believe what had just happened during the last fifteen minutes. And she really couldn't believe Linh's obvious crush on Wylie. At least, she thought it was a crush. She wasn't too adept at those types of things. Sophie tried to keep in her giggle, because now was so not the time.

She was worried about Wylie, she really was. After all the trauma he'd gone through, not to mention all the times he'd saved her and their other friends, she was grateful and worried about him. He had become a close friend.

"He should be back any second now," Mr. Forkle said in answer to Maruca as he tipped a vial of liquid Tiergan had given him down Wylie's throat. For a split second, Sophie's thoughts were back in Oralie's mind, watching flashbacks of Vespera doing the exact same thing. Then Mr. Forkle spoke again, and she was tugged out of the disturbing thoughts she had shoved to the back of her mind for later.

"He's with us," Mr. Forkle said calmly, stepping away from the desk where Wylie was sprawled as he sat up dizzily, rubbing his eyes. When his eyes fell on Mr. Forkle, he went paler than before, almost Sophie's skin tone. Sophie took a worried step forward. Both Linh and Maruca beat her to it, though, helping him sit up straighter and making sure he didn't pass out again.

Linh gathered a dollop of water out of the air and splashed Wylie directly in the face. He spluttered and choked for a second, but when he dried his face off with his shirt, he did look much more like himself. He scooted off the desk, landing on his feet, and turned to face Mr. Forkle.

"I know who you are," he said.

Mr. Forkle nodded. "I know you know. After all, I'm the one who showed you."

Wylie narrowed his eyes. Maruca stepped forward.

What was going on?

"Miss Endall," Mr. Forkle said, "would you like to explain to your friends why your reactions are so much more exaggerated than theirs? I don't think Mr. Endall is feeling up to it at the momen-"

"I'm fine," Wylie said sharply. "I can do it."

Mr. Forkle nodded. By this time, everyone in the room but Maruca, Wylie, Tiergan, and Mr. Forkle looked confused.

Wylie looked at Maruca, who nodded with a small, encouraging smile. He took a deep breath, then blew it out.

"I'm upset because I already know this Mr. Forkle." He gestured.

"Who is he?" Tam asked, breaking the long, suffocating silence that followed.

Wylie took another deep breath.

"My great-grandfather."