Vanished | KotLC AU

Chapter 1 - Sophie

Sophie tried transmitting to Keefe once again. Keefe, Keefe can you hear me?

No response.

Sophie sighed. She had been trying to reach him for the last week. Everytime it was the same, he never responded.

Sophie found the letter from Keefe a week ago. She had shown the letter to the rest of the Black Swan and Team Valiant, which meant the Councillors found out about it too. The Councillors had sent people to the Forbidden Cities to look for him, they thought that the Neverseen would search for Keefe because of his new ability and they wanted to keep him safe. But the Forbidden Cities were huge, it had been a week and there was still no trace of Keefe anywhere, he wasn't even responding to Sophie's transmissions.

Sophie's Imparter – which had been sitting on her bed beside her – rang, bringing her out of her thoughts. It was Fitz. She picked it up.

"Sophie, are you okay? You seem worried." Fitz's teal eyes showed his concern.

She resisted the urge to tug out an eyelash.

"Yeah, it's just...Keefe." She had been trying to be more honest with Fitz – and all her friends – because she was starting to realize she couldn't keep them in the dark just because she wanted them to be safe.

"Oh." He looked like he was at a loss of what to say. "The Black Swan is holding a meeting in an hour, they told me to inform you. Do you think you can come?"

Sophie frowned. "A meeting for what?"

"I don't know. It looks like it's something important though."

"Okay, I'll be there. See you soon."

"See you." He disconnected the line.

The Black Swan hadn't held a meeting since last week, after Sophie had burned down the Neverseen storehouse.

Could it be about Keefe? Maybe they had found something about him. No, Sophie stamped out the thought before it was fully formed. She couldn't get her hopes up, she had a responsibility as the Moonlark and if she wanted to fulfill it she couldn't be distracted by Keefe. He had made his choice and that was that.

An hour later Sophie was in a large barren field with the Collectives and all her friends from the Black Swan.

"What are we doing here?" Sophie asked Mr. Forkle. It didn't look much like an ideal place for a meeting.

Surprisingly Linh was the one to answer. "We have to show you guys something."

She looked at Marella – who nodded. The two of them went to stand in front of everyone else.

Linh was wearing a light blue dress with white leggings and a silver cloak. She had her silver tipped hair twisted into a messy bun.

Marella, on the other hand, was wearing a dark red cloak over a pale orange dress and white leggings. She had her blonde hair in many small braids as usual.

Watching the two of them standing together made Sophie realize just how much they were opposites. Maybe that was why they complemented each other so well. This thought was intensified by what they did next.

They glanced at each other briefly. Then Marella and Linh used their powers to conjure up a ball of fire and water in the palm of their hands, respectively. Marella extended her hand and placed it over Linh's open palm. The two elemental balls...merged together. Twisting into each other and mixing. It wasn't like what Wylie and Tam did to create illusions. It looked much brighter, much stronger.

Linh and Marella closed their hands into fists in sync and...BAM. The ball of energy exploded. Water and embers rained down around the two of them.

Sophie's eyes widened with shock, she was stunned speechless. She looked around and noticed everyone had similar expressions other than the Collectives.

That explosion looked dangerous, like it could have been lethal if it had been allowed to fester.

"I...how–how did you do that?" Fitz asked in an awestruck voice.

"That's what we have been training together for. To combine our abilities." Marella responded.

"And we think it could help us win against the Neverseen." Mr. Forkle added.

Sophie frowned. "Won't using this much power in a violent way break their minds from the guilt?"

"Yes Sophie, it will. That is why we need you to merge your powers," he explained. As you were raised with humans and are genetically different from the other elves it will not break you."

"With whom do I merge my abilities?" She asked hesitantly.

He gave her an almost pitiful look. "Amy."