Familiar faces burst out of the woods, charging into battle. But Sophie didn't care, as all she could do was stare at the place where Keefe had been standing, as his muffled screams broke through the water.
The pond shouldn't have been so deep. This must've been the Neverseen's plan all along, but in what way did this benefit them?
Sophie pushed those thoughts aside and took action. She stood, punching Gisela upside the head and knocking the evil grin off of her face.
She then lifted the vile Echo had given her to her lips. It was overwhelming at first, nearly knocking her back to her knees, but she quickly recovered, feeling powerful. The contents of the vile should allow her to surpass the ability restrictor, at least for now.
Sophie made a break for the pond, going as fast as her legs would carry her, and jumped in.
There was an odd sort of tug, as if the water was attempting to fight back, but she was shielded somehow.
She started rapidly swimming to the bottom of the pond, straining to catch a glimpse of Keefe. Finally, she saw him, sprawled out, unmoving. But something was off, she couldn't see him clearly, and ripples seemed to distorting his image.
She tried to swim deeper, but as she took another stroke down, she saw what looked like a reflection of her hand. That's when she realized, there was a room below, an entrance to the hideout, somehow protected from the water above.
She let herself drop, falling on her back, and gasping for air.
She had made it.
Immediately, she got to her feet and raced toward Keefe, getting to her knees beside him. His breath was shallow and his touch was cold, but at least he was alive.
As Keefe hit the water, his life seemed to flash before his eyes. Not a pretty sight. At first he saw memories of a younger version of himself, most of them including his father. Yelling at him after getting yet another detention slip, telling to him how worthless he was after falling second to Fitz regarding his grades. (even though he himself, had skipped a grade.)
He saw the moment on Mount Everest, when he had discovered that his mother was a traitor, a murderer.
The agonizingly vivid pictures encouraged him to just let go, to avoid any further pain. But then, his mind brightened with more recent memories, as if a fire was lit, dim, but growing more powerful by the second. Memories of hope, happiness, Foster.
He saw the moment he had met her, the first words he had said to her: You must be lost. He had been so naive then, completely oblivious to the evils of the world.
He saw the moment they had flown across the sea with Silveny.
He saw all of the times she had comforted him when he believed that his mother was dead.
He saw Sophie's tackle-hug after he had gifted her two paintings.
But last of all, he saw moment he had developed these abilities to begin with. Sophie was with him, begging him not to let go, as he was surrounded by pure darkness.
He owed it to her not to give up now, after everything they'd been through, he couldn't leave her.
She had been the only thing keeping him alive then, and the thought of her was the the only thing would keep him from letting go now. He clung to those memories, embracing the pain that came with coming back to reality.
He slowly became more aware of what was happening, the agony being a good indicator. He was drowning, slowly falling into the clutches of whatever lied below. His lungs were screaming for air, and he could barely keep his consciousness from slipping, but that wasn't the only pain flowing through him. It was as if the water was draining him of all power, his essence seeming to fade as he sunk deeper and deeper.
He was losing himself, and it hurt, as if a part of him was turning to ash, scattering in the icy water, leaving only the worst parts of himself.
He was just the scared, hopeless boy who knew that he would never be anything more than a burden.
He finally seemed to hit the bottom, able to breathe again, but the life couldn't fill the emptiness inside of him. But at least he was alive.
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