Chapter 5

"John Visly is dead." Those were the words that greeted Sophie when she walked into the meeting room.

"Who killed him?" Sophie asked quietly. The Collective was all looking at her with concerned looks.

"The Neverknown killed him," Mr. Forkle said with a heavy sigh. "They killed him the day before Visly was going to strike. Our attack was called off."

Sophie had to stop herself from bursting into tears. John Visly had been her only friend for the past year and a half, and now he was gone. She would never see him again. Sophie fought to keep her voice steady. "When will the attack happen?"

Squall answered. "In two days. Their headquarters are located in Germany, and when we strike, their forces will fall apart. The Neverknown's headquarters is vital, and to deal with them, we need to take it out."

"I will go with them," said Sophie. She needed to stop the murderers who killed Visly. She needed to help the elves and humans find peace, and to do that the Neverknown had to be destroyed.

"Sophie, we do not think-"

"This isn't up for debate!" Sophie shouted. She gripped the table to calm herself. "To protect the Lost Cities, I need to do this. I need to do this for John."

Mt. Forkle looked into her eyes and knew there would be no stopping her. "Fine," he relented. "But this operation must be handled with care. There can be no mistakes. You cannot let your anger get the best of you during our attack."

Sophie nodded. "I'll be there in two days."

Sophie started walking towards the Foxfire grounds. Even though Tam and Linh didn't attend Foxfire, they sometimes waited for Foster at the end of school. Sophie had to figure out why Linh had that Neverseen note. Linh couldn't be working with the Neverseen… right?

She spotted Linh in the shade of a tree, Tam right beside her. He had shadows surrounding him, and the only noticeable part of him was his silver tipped hair.

Sophie slowly edged toward them. She had to pretend to be Foster, but it was risky. Foster might come out of Foxfire any minute now.

Tam noticed her going toward them. He waved her over. "Are you searching for Nightfall with us today?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Sophie mumbled. "Linh, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," said Linh, wondering what Sophie wanted to talk to her about. Sophie grabbed her hand and dragged her away out of earshot. "What is this?" she hissed, showing the note to Linh.

Linh widened her eyes in surprise. "How did you find that?" she asked, looking around to make sure no one else saw.

"I found it in Solreef, in your room," Sophie said. "Why do you have it?"

Linh looked down. "One day when I was in Atlantis, I found it in my pocket. I didn't want to throw it away because it might give us an idea of the Neverseen's plans, but I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to worry you- you already have your parents missing."

Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. Linh wasn't a traitor. "Thanks," she said. "I'll see you later. Bye!"

Sophie held up her crystal to the light and leaped away. Since she wasn't an elf, she had to wear a nexus whenever she light-leaped. It was annoying to have to use it all the time, but at least she didn't disappear into nothing.

"Where is the Neverknown headquarters?" she asked when she arrived at the tunnels that served as the Black Swan's base. It was called the Passageway of the Fallen. An interesting name.

"The Neverknown's headquarters is located in a mountain range in Germany," Blur said. "We have a uniform for you to help you survive the cold conditions."

"Where is the rest of the Collective?"

"They have gone to help Sophie attack Nightfall," Blur said. "Lord Cassius told them where it was earlier today."

Sophie laughed. "That piece of [REDACTED] found Nightfall? He doesn't even know how to be a good parent. How could he find the lair of Vespera?"

"Sophie, although you might not like him, he has given us valuable information. And he is now a member of the Black Swan."

"You let him become a Black Swan member?" said Sophie. "That is a terrible idea. He is one of the worst elves in the Lost Cities. He can't work in a team- he always wants to be the center of attention."

Blur smiled knowingly. (At least Sophie thought he was smiling, it was hard to tell when his face was blurred.) "Does that remind you of anyone?"

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Just because I want to be the center of attention does not mean I'm like him. I am nothing like him."

"Right," said Blur. "Totally. Do you want to see your combat uniform now?"

"Sure."

The uniform turned out to be a white, sleek snowsuit. "It keeps warmth in and cold out," said Blur. "It's not a human snowsuit- it's much thinner and warmer. It will also help you to camouflage in the snow."

"Thanks, Blur. I'll see you tomorrow."

She was wrong.

The mountain was covered in snow, and Sophie would have frozen without her combat uniform. The others in her group slowly advanced up the incline. There were five groups charged with taking down this base. They were all approaching the complex from different angles.

The building was near the top of the mountain. Sophie's group was coming in from the south of it. Every human member of the Black Swan had decided to join in this attack. This was the biggest attack the Black Swan had ever initiated, and they couldn't afford to lose this.

One of the soldiers next to Sophie collapsed, red staining the snow. Sophie ducked down as machine gun fire filled the air. She saw other soldiers also falling down, trying to make themselves smaller targets. They were all wearing the snow uniforms, but they were in plain sight while they were standing.

Sophie started crawling on her stomach, moving slowly toward the structure. The Black Swan members started firing back at a machine gun nest hidden by snow. The onslaught lessened, but did not end.

A man in front of Sophie threw a metal object into the machine gun nest. There was a loud explosion, and the firing stopped. There was nothing left.

They trudged forward, needing to succeed in their mission. Sophie heard the sound of fighting from a different side of the mountain. It seemed the Neverknown had placed precautions everywhere.

A sudden pain jolted through Sophie's leg. She looked down to see that her leg was bleeding. A bullet must have grazed her leg. It barely hit her, but it hurt. Sophie looked around to see who had shot her, but she saw no one. It was a snowy night, and it was hard to see anything.

She finally spotted a figure in dark clothing near the Neverknown building. It was only about thirty yards away, and Sophie could make it. But first she had to take out the guard.

She stood up, in plain view of the guard. He pointed his gun at her, but before he pulled the trigger, she threw a Taser Rod at his neck. It instantly incapcitated him, sending him to the ground. Sophie broke into a run, reaching the fort. The others followed.

"How do we get in?" she asked them. One of them pulled out a bundle of explosives and motioned for them to stay back. He put it near the side of the fort and then moved away until he was safe. He pulled a reflective object from his pocket and pressed down.

The wall caved in, leaving an opening for them. Everyone in Sophie's group rushed in, weapons at the ready. They found themselves in a hallway, leading to a staircase. Sophie led the way up it, and when she reached the top she saw a metal door.

She kicked it open. But it didn't open. She had to turn the doorknob first. That didn't look cool at all.

The doorway led to a circular room. There were six men in it. Michael Ryler was among them. "Hello, Reverse Moonlark," he said calmly. "Have you come to kill me?"

"I am not the Reverse Moonlark," said Sophie. "I am either Firelark or Shadowlark. Not Reverse Moonlark, not Reverse anything. And if you haven't noticed, you are surrounded and outnumbered. We caught you."

"I guess you caught me then," Michael Ryler said. "Now what are you going to do?"

"Maybe lock you up for eternity," Sophie answered. The soldiers all restrained the six men and moved them out the door. Sophie followed, her gaze on Michael Ryler. There was something about his calmness that unnerved her.

From the floors below, Sophie could hear the sounds of dying gunfire. The other four groups must have gotten in two. They had taken over the Neverknown would be extremely weakened by this.

But something didn't seem right. It had been a little too easy. Michael Ryler wasn't even worried. Why?

That was her last thought before she felt a pain in her neck, and darkness took over.