Hi guys! Here I am again! This might be the last update I'll have for weeks before my exams end and FREEDOM!
The word count for this chapter is 2,253 excluding author's note. Hope you enjoy!
And only 1 person out of 3 guessed who I am putting Sora with. Don't worry, all will be revealed this chapter!
ForeverFreeFall: Fitz, huh? ;) I guess you'll have to wait and see. Oh definitely Soritz. AND YES, I LOVE ALL MY CHAPTERS! I might be a little bit biased here, but STILL! You gotta love yourself, right? Thanks for being so sweet! Love you!
A person: Yeah, thanks to A PERSON. ;) Hahaha. *Sorry for not giving you credit! :P* And shipping with Keefe? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm we shall wait and see! AND I AM SO HAPPY TO RECEIVE 3 REVIEW THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU MADE MY DAY. But cookie with candy? That's ewww. Chocolate chip? Please? Please? Please?
daringwolf2000: It's okay if you don't know! And oops! I wen back and reread, and I burst out laughing! Thanks for correcting me and liking this chapter!
Another Person: Are you A person? Probably not, because you're ANOTHER PERSON. ;) Oh yeah, so that's who you ship her with, huh? *mysterious smile*
"I saw their symbol." He said slowly, trying to hide his shaky hands behind his back.
"That could only mean one thing, right?" Biana asked nervously, her pretty teal eyes filled with fright.
Dex nodded, his eyes filled with an emotion that Sophie couldn't distinguish. "It means Sora is in the Neverseen base."
Dex let the words hang, and sink into his mind and heart slowly. He put a shaky hand over his heart, feeling the wild palpitation jumping from his heart. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he needed to. It was true and real as the stars.
He was falling hard for Sora.
But Sophie and his friends were looking at him strangely, so he let his hand fall back to his side and shot a look at Fitz, hatred still boiling in his veins, but not as much as before already. He had hated Fitz not only because he was a Vacker, but he always seemed to be the only one who captured Sophie's romantic attention. But not now. Ever since he had met Sora and got along with her, Dex found himself warming to the hard-core, stubborn, but pretty girl.
Maybe he was getting too close to her.
When you get too close to a person, it often brings heartbreaks and disappointment, A little voice whispered softly and comfortingly in Dex's mind, sparking a fire in his gut, and he hardly heard Fitz speaking as he swallowed the humongous lump in his throat nervously.
A vivid, horrible picture of Sora falling to her death flashed in Dex's mind, and he squeezed his eyes so hard that it brought tears to his corneas, but the mental picture was stuck stubbornly there, as if it was firmly nailed to the ground.
More pictures came, flowing back like a rushing river. Memories of her. Memories of Sora. He remembered the first time they had snuck out secretly together to play an intense game of base-quest, and that was when she had accidentally fallen on him and they landed in a heap, their arms and legs tangled together. And Sora had let out a piercing yet melodious laugh, a laugh so pleasing to his ears that left him grinning like an idiot for ages.
He remembered the time Sora had pulled him into the circular dome room that was nicknamed The Training Room and she had given him his first self-defense session. When they had a combat fight, Sora won of course, and even though Dex didn't like being pummeled to the ground, he still felt happy and blissful.
He recalled the time when he had found Sora, her head buried in her knees, and sobbing softly. The corridor was deserted that time, and when Dex had found her, he was surprised.
"Why are you crying?" He asked, curious and worried. Sora gazed up at Dex, her deep dark aquamarine eyes filled with shiny tears. Then she shook her head, and stood up, wiping her tears slowly with her backs of her hands. She let the smooth fabric of her cape absorb the salty, warm liquid and ignored Dex coldly as she spun on her heel to walk away.
Dex didn't know what he was doing, but he acted on instinct and grabbed her wrist before she could leave.
Sora glared at him, making him wince. "Stop it! Go away!" But when she lifted her eyes to really look him in the eyes, she burst into tears again. Dex held her awkwardly around her waist as she cried against his chest. She was making Dex really uncomfortable. And there was this strange, but warm feeling spreading through him that he only experienced when he was around Sophie. No...This couldn't be...He liked Sophie, not this reckless Black Swan girl!
Light, soft footsteps came around the corner, but Dex couldn't see who it was as he was facing back, but Sora seemed to see, and tightened her grip on his shoulder.
"No. Don't."
She spoke with such a commanding, strong, and fierce voice so unlike the kind and warm Sora that Dex pulled away from her, alarmed.
His hands grazed her shoulders as he did so, and part of her cape slipped down from her shoulders and it could have been his imagination, but Dex thought he saw a black circle, like an eye, staring ominously at him.
It had haunted his nightmares ever since.
And now, Sora was most possibly dead. What would Dex do without her? Sure, there were his friends, but Fitz and Biana, being haughty Vackers, hardly talked to him, and Sophie and Keefe had just been undercover in the Neverseen base with Biana for quite a while. When Sora had received the call for help from Biana's side, she had gone to the Root Abyss with no hesitation to join in their fight and help defeat Jin. She had even promised Dex that she would. But she lied.
"You lied," Dex whispered, a tear running down his cheek. "You lied."
A cutting voice rang through his mind, pulling him out of his reverie. "Dex? What are you saying? Who lied?" A familiar, sweet voice. Sophie. She looked at Dex worriedly while Keefe, Fitz, and Biana also did the same.
Master Leto's blue eyes bored into him, and Dex knew he knew what he had been thinking about. His heart stalled in dread as his gaze darted around and around until Master Leto's piercing gaze left him and Dex could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Madlen and Soreas just shrugged, oblivious to just what happened. But Sophie's mental voice rung through his mind suddenly. It's super clear you've not been listening to anything we were discussing. Well, I'll fill you in okay. BUT, you have to tell me what were you so obsessed about that you were so into your mind. Deal?
Dex didn't answer. He wasn't too sure if he wanted to tell Sophie or not.
And you'll have to count the rest of us in too, Sophie told him.
Dex gave a groan inside his head.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Dex asked, squirming under the four stares that were directed to him. Sophie's personality had changed from soft, nervous, and unsure, into strong, hard, but sure. Not that he totally disliked it, of course. Over the months of enduring training, Sophie had endured and stressed over the endless problems that the Black Swan seemed to face, and came out strong underneath all the troubles they had got into.
Sophie's eyes hardened as she stared at him. "Dex, if I tell you, would you tell us what were you thinking about?"
Dex's heart began to pump faster, and his stubborn nature responded as anger and irritation rose in him. "I don't see why you could just tell me. What was the main reason we came with you to join the Black Swan? We were a team, and a team at that. We should be involved in everything that we do. But now, it doesn't seem like it! So much for teamwork!" he retorted, and Sophie's eyes blinked for a second before hardening again. Her friends watched her worriedly as she narrowed her eyes at Dex.
"Yeah, if you are so concerned about teamwork, then why didn't you pay attention at all?" Sophie demanded, then her eyes finally softened into the warm, soft brown eyes that Dex knew so well. "Come on, Dex, you know I'm right. You know you're not acting like your normal self." Then her eyes lit up. "Is it because of...her?"
Her voice hitched at the last word, and her eyes became slightly misty, though evidently, she was trying to cover her grief back. It was then when Dex realised, Sophie is sad too.
Dex took a deep breath. "Okay...Basically..." He mustered his courage shakily and told the other four of them about him falling for Sora, and when she fell to her death, he had been troubled ever since.
Keefe grunted in sympathy, and thumped him on his back so hard that Dex almost choked. "Dude, if that was all, you could have just spilled all of it out! I mean-"
"Like you do the same thing," Dex retorted. "I know you're hiding your own secrets too...Like something about a certain girl..."
Heat crept to Keefe's cheeks, but only a second. "Oh goodness, you're right! But Dex, your one is the ultimate one. Biana, oh, I can't explain it. You do it!"
Biana rolled her eyes, but said, "Basically, he thinks that you and Sora are a true pairing."
Dex, dumbfounded and shocked, jabbed his finger at himself. "Me? And...her?"
Sophie smirked. "Yeah." Then her gaze softened again. "Dex...actually...before you had even confessed to us...we already know."
"WHAT?"
She had a sad smile on her face. "Come on, Dex...It's quite obvious...isn't it? Me and Fitz saw you two hugging. You were comforting her when she was crying. The protective way you defended her. And you even went against me when you thought that it was my fault when she fell...into Root Abyss."
Dex suddenly became very interested in his elvin-style shoes. "I..."
Fitz spoke up for the first time. "Dex, even though I know that you dislike me, but...if you're feeling anything...troubling, feel free to come and see me to talk about it. I'm...not that bad as you think."
Dex blinked back tears in his eyes.
"I'll be there too. For you, Dex. You have no reason to worry," Sophie reassured him.
"Me too," chimed in Biana.
"Me three!" Keefe added cheerfully. "And dude, when you've finally recovered from your heartbreak, we can do all sorts of fun stuff again! We could drop stinky gas on the Neverseen! Hack into their secret account! Everything that involves glittery-"
Sophie placed a finger on his lips, causing Keefe to blush slightly. "Well, but Keefe, you could save your plans for later. We still have to tell Dex what we are planning for the break in to Exile."
She ripped off a piece of paper from her notepad lying on the black long table fiercely, and took out a silver pencil from her cape pocket. She drew a big semicircle in the middle, and lots of sand. Then outside the semicircle she used her pencil to draw two straight lines leading to the end of the paper and darkened one side of the semicircle.
Sophie gazed at the drawing, satisfied. "Done! Now, the semicircle is Exile itself. The two straight lines are representing the Gateway to Exile, and the shaded part is the Entrance to Exile."
The four of them stared at the hasty drawing. "It looks utterly horrible, Sophie," Biana commented. "Remind me never to ask you to draw something next time."
Sophie scowled. "Oh, shut up," she said, but she was laughing. "Okay. So the way to Gateway and Entrance has already been covered by Madlen, so we need not worry about that. Tomorrow, the bodyguard dwarf there will be one of the Black Swan's operatives, so you have no reason to worry too."
"You sound like my dad," Fitz said. "I miss him."
"Me too," Biana said wistfully. "And mom too."
Sophie nodded her head quickly. "Right. So after we get into the main building of Exile, we will unlock the door with the balefire keys that will be provided to us, and we will go down the steps. Down. Down. Down." She shuddered. "Trust me, it's not a good experience."
Keefe draped an arm over Sophie's shoulders to comfort her.
"And then," Sophie continued, "When we finally reach the bottom of the stairs, we will enter the Room Where Hope Was Lost or whatever it was called. There is Krikor, the goblin I met before when I visited Exile." Her eyes told Dex that she was trying not to let all the painful memories flood into her mind. "Krikor is fine. We will put a sedative in his lunch break. Biana is in charge of that. You already know what to do for that, right, Biana?"
Biana nodded, her fists clenched in determination.
"After we put Krikor to sleep, Biana will steal his prison keys from his pocket and we're all ready and set to go to Prentice's cell and heal him." Sophie paused to take a deep breath. "And my guide will be Fitz. We're both trained Keepers now. I believe I am ready. Are you?"
The five of them nodded.
Fitz added quietly, "We are a team now. We have to stick to each other. Until the end." He placed his right hand on the smooth wood of the table. The other four joined in too.
"Until the end," Sophie said, her eyes glinting.
"Until the end," The five of them echoed, feeling the trust and promise circulate around them. And Dex couldn't help but smile.
"Well," Keefe said, "I'm too tired to make any jokes. I believe it is time for bed time. Right? Okay, me, Fitz, and Dex will go back to our dormitory and sleep. You girls have a good night's rest, so we'll be all set for tomorrow."
"You too, boys," Sophie returned politely, and she stretched her arms, yawning.
Biana glanced at her tiredly. "It has been a long day, after all, right?"
"Yeah," Sophie agreed drowsily, drifting off to sleep. On this day, many things had happened to make Sophie a stronger character.
And she hoped that a stronger character would help her in healing Prentice and winning the war.
Question: Do you like Sophie's new personality? Why/Why not?
I am so going to post a question every chapter :P
And for you guys who are wondering when they would rescue Sora, it'll be after the healing :) Bye for now! See ya after my exams!
