Hello! Sorry for the wait.
Crowd- They're used to it by now.
Me- Probably, but I apologize every time.
Crowd- You apologize a lot.
Me- Sorry.
*Crickets*
KOTLCLover: I did not (though good idea...) But seriously, that's an amazing compliment. Thank you so much!
HernameisBurrito: It shall! Fitzelier is pretty awesome. Thanks! But I'll have to ask you not to curse in my reviews.
Siren: Woah! Signed in! Lol. I'll put it on my ever growing to-be-read list. I honestly don't hate Stina... I don't like her yet, but I love her character's potential for development and did my best to include that development. Thanks!
Lilac: Haha- *laughter turns to tears*
SokeefeWillAlwyasBeBetter: Oops, sorry! Lol.
Elizabethornton: Thanks! You'll find out!
MarellaIsTheBest: I did! Ahh, it terrifies me too! Thank you! Um... yes... um... sorry... SHADY BLACK BELT PROTECTION SQUAD, ASSEMBLE!
Mallowmelt: Thanks! I really hope to see that in the real thing. EEEEEE!
Sky: Huzzah! Me too- I hope Shannon does something like that too! I do the door thing all the time too, you're not alone- *Dear Evan Hansen starts playing* *Family groans* Ahh! Yeah! I make no promises... excellent use of the word! I like the logic. It's almost novel length, albeit a short novel. Thanks! -A. Fan.
Swiftie: Um... indeed I did? Sorry? I'll try but not really? But thanks!
Princess Books Rule: I AM PRETTY EVIL, MUAHAHA! You'll find out. Thanks! I don't think it's too weird- I loved writing it, but I'm hardly a standard of normalcy (unless the standard for normalcy is "don't be like her."). It's crazy to me too, but we still have a bit left! Sorry about the wait, in advance.
KotLCfan: I guess, yeah.
Quarantinesux: Good response. She does, kind of.
hxneydew: I cannot even begin to fathom the craziness of the GGI, hopefully Shannon has a better answer than me.
Okay, enjoy!
"What's the password?" Sophie asked, out of breath from running to Dex's room after leaping to Rimshire.
"Genocide," he told her. The cache in his hand glowed.
Sophie hesitated. "Um... should we get the rest of the Black Swan here when we open it? Not just Team Valiant?" she suggested.
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Dex agreed. "Should we meet at the stairs hideout?"
"No!" Sophie exclaimed, nearly shouting. Those stairs... she couldn't bear the thought. Especially after being electrocuted... see! She had a valid excuse to not climb the stairs- she had recently had a health problem! That was much more reasonable than claiming that she had chronic laziness, even though she totally did.
"Okay... um... probably not here. We don't want the triplets coming in and pelting Mr. Forkle with snowballs or something."
Sophie laughed at the thought. It would be pretty funny to see, but Dex was right, probably not the best idea. "What about that other hideout, the one we saw a while ago? Where we found out that Jensi joined? It was called... um... Kyknos! Yeah. It was called Kyknos, because that's the Greek word for Swan."
"Wait, wasn't that the haunted house one?" Biana asked.
"What haunted house one?" said Stina.
"Yes, and it's a Black Swan hideout that's really creepy," Sophie explained. "I'll hail Mr. Forkle and tell him to organize a meeting?" she suggested.
The others nodded, and Sophie gave them a thumbs up. "Okay, I'll see you all then. Dex, can you hold on to the cache?"
"Biana, can you take it? I don't want something that valuable in the same house as the triplets."
Biana grinned. "Yeah, that's a good point." Dex handed the cache to her and she squeezed it tightly.
"Am I coming to the haunted hideout?" Stina asked. "Since I'm not part of the Black Swan?"
Sophie thought about it. A while ago, she would have been thrilled about an opportunity to be Stina-free, but now that they were almost sort of friends... "Sure. Since you're part of Team Valiant, it's probably okay."
Stina smiled. "Awesome. Thanks."
"Any other questions?" Sophie said. Everyone shook their head. "Great! I'll see you guys later."
A few hours, too many hails, and not nearly enough (though according to Edaline, too many) pieces of mallowmelt later, the collective, Sophie's parents, bodyguards that definitely didn't make her think of Sandor, Team Valiant, her boyfriend, Fitz, Linh, Tam, Marella, Glimmer, and Jensi were all gathered in the haunted house- um, Kyknos. Sophie's increasingly sweaty hand was clutching the cache. Mr. Forkle was the first person to speak.
"So, Miss Foster, you said it was important that I gather the Black Swan."
Sophie's mouth felt suddenly dry. "Yeah. Um. Yes."
Thankfully, Mr. Forkle ignored her depressing display of awkwardness. "What do you need?"
"Um," Sophie said eloquently. Words, Sophie. "Dex, Biana, and Stina figured out the password to Fintan's cache. I'm going to try mimicking to open it."
Mr. Forkle nodded. "All right. Go ahead."
"Genocide," said Sophie, in her best Fintan voice. Everyone held their breath as they waited. The cache glowed, and then... nothing.
"That didn't really sound like his voice," Marella said finally.
Sophie tugged at an eyelash and nodded. "Okay. I'll try again." She cleared her throat. "Genocide."
It glowed a little brighter, but still, nothing.
"Do you want me to-" Keefe started.
"No!" Sophie exclaimed. "Um. No. I got it." She didn't want to start remembering his voice, but it didn't seem like she had a choice- she wouldn't be able to mimic his voice without hearing his voice in her head. Our world is broken, and all the Council does about it is condemn anyone brave enough to acknowledge that we have a problem, his stupid voice whispered. She wanted to scream, hearing that voice. The memory of flames tickled her skin.
"Sophie, you okay?" Biana asked, nudging her.
Sophie swallowed. "Yeah. Fine."
The next time she said genocide, she got his voice perfect. The cache glowed brighter and brighter, before Fintan was projected on the wall. Sophie ripped out another eyelash, and saw Marella squeezing Linh's hand.
In the same voice that had tormented Sophie just moments ago, Fintan started "Your name is Fintan Pyren. You have the ability to control fire, which the Council condemns you for, but they are fools." Everyone in the group exchanged confused looks. "In fact, those fools are probably the ones who erased your memory."
The confused looks went away as everyone came to the realization that he recorded this so that he would know his plans, even if his memories were taken away.
"There are many intelligent species in the world. You are an elf, the most intelligent of all. Humans used to be an intelligent species, but they were kicked out after a violation of a treaty. However, elves still helped these humans with our knowledge, resulting in great inventions like chocolate cake. And electricity. But mostly chocolate cake. This was known as the Human Assistance Program.
"The Human Assistance Program ended after the second world war between humans. Those monsters had abused their knowledge that the elves had given them, and created atomic bombs that caused destruction and devastation like the world had never seen before. Even after the program ended, humans continued to destroy the world. Their factories and cars released gasses that are thickening the atmosphere, trapping heat, and warming the planet- the details are unimportant. The point is, our world would be far better off if humans were unable to interfere, and many elves agreed with me.
"A movement began. Humans, the most destructive to our world, had been allowed to take nearly all of it while elves went into hiding, and it isn't right. The movement was to trap humans in a sanctuary, similar to what our endangered species have. The council, who refuses to believe that any problems could arise in our world, disagreed with this movement, and ended it. Or so they thought. Those who supported the movement went underground, and became known as the Neverseen. You are the leader of the Neverseen. And as the leader, you came up with an alternative solution to the Human Sanctuary. It would be easier, and more effective."
Sophie knew what the word was going to be, even before he said it.
"Genocide."
"Are the memories coming back yet? I'll keep explaining your plan for genocide."
"This feels like a trap," Fitz noted.
Keefe shrugged. "So? We can fight them anyway."
Resting her hand on his, Sophie said "Keefe. We're not walking into a trap." Transmitting, she added Don't let the grief make you reckless again. I can't lose you another time.
Keefe smiled a little bit as Sophie added "Anyway, I don't think it's a trap. He wouldn't have expected us to find the cache, after all."
"True..." Dex pointed out.
"You kids should be quiet and listen."
Everyone obeyed Mr. Forkle, for the first and last time in history.
"If all goes as planned, it will take place on-" Cache-Fintan rattled off a list of weird sounds, that everyone except Sophie seemed to understand perfectly.
"Elvin calendar," Linh whispered, seeing Sophie's confusion. She nodded her thanks.
"-At the Point of Purity. The place where sunlight, starlight, and moonlight meet. And that's where the plan will go into effect. The most efficient way to wipe out the human race is with a virus. (A/N: I'm sorry. I had this planned before the coronavirus, so...) Elves are immune, as are most other species, but it's deadly to humans within a day of when symptoms begin to show. The thing is, symptoms don't show for up to three weeks, so it will spread astonishingly quickly. Within a few months, almost all humans will be gone- and the rest can be taken care of easily."
The projection shut off, and the room went silent.
They had all of the information they needed to stop the Neverseen, once and for all.
Now they just needed to see how it would go down.
Heyyyyyyyyy, look at that, not a cliffhanger! Don't get used to it, though.
Part of me wants to work on all of the chapters now, so you guys don't have to wait, but the other part wants to put off the last chapters as long as possible to make the story last. AHH! HELP ME!
Ahem. Okay. Anyway...
Um...
What'd you guys think of Fintan's eViL pLaN!? I liked how his villain monologue wasn't the cliche I-am-going-to-reveal-my-entire-plan-because-I-am-an-arrogant-moron speech, but rather something he recorded for himself in case he lost his memory, which the Black Swan then hacked into. Look at me, complimenting myself. And we probably can blame Fintan for coronavirus, except his is more deadly and spreads even more effectively.
It's called... the fintonavirus. FIVID-19. No toilet paper. Online school. Lots of parodies (check out Hamilton Randomness!)
Okay, that's all. Please review!