The Neverseen's Last Resort

55

Fitz

This had to work. He'd taken a long detour back to Rimeshire, and thankfully, Dex's room had  been packed with gadgets-- most being balding solution or pranking supply, but he'd found a couple things that might prove useful. Now, he was back at the dome, glaring at its crackling gold surface. 

Gripping the Insulator Spring in his hand, Fitz shoved the invention at the glittering shield. The two sparked as they collided, but a force drove both him the invention flying backward.  He cursed, pulling out another invention, labeled in Dex's messy handwriting: Deflecter. He'd spelled "deflector" wrong but it was the invention that counted. 

Fitz squeezed the Deflecter. He needed to find a better way to do this. Shoving inventions into the dome wasn't going to bring it down. He needed a plan. 

A familiar sensation washed down Fitz's spine, a presence tickling his mind. Sophie, he knew. She was close. Maybe close enough for him to contact. It was a good thing, as much as it was a bad thing. If Sophie were nearby, it meant she were with the Neverseen. Anger blinded him, knowing Sophie was right there, and once again, the Neverseen were keeping her from him. They were keeping him from seeing his girlfriend-- or, soon-to-be-girlfriend. Because, the second this was over and done with, Fitz would apologize for being such a bad boyfriend, and then they'd kiss, and then everything would go back to normal. 

Sophie, Fitz tried, hoping their cognate connection would be strong enough to get through the barrier. Sophie, where are you?

Silence. 

I know you hear me. He waited some more, but no response came. I'm just going to keep transmitting, you kno-- he stopped. The barrier had collapsed. Without bothering to check for danger, he rushed past where the barrier had once stood, and made it inside. The barrier flickered back up.

Sophie, did the bar-- her presence was gone. She had blocked him. Why? No matter. He was through now, and he was going to find Sophie. There was a wide range between the barrier and the city rubble, but despite being breathless and sore, Fitz continued to run in the direction of the city. Sophie was there. She was waiting. She was close. So, so close. 

://

"Get out of my head!" Sophie growled, pressing her hands to her ears, though it didn't help. The voice kept repeating. Over and over, it came back. A hand pressed against her back, a comforting voice adding to the accented mix. 

"Keeper," Alvar said, not risking to use her name again. "Are you okay?" 

"The voices," Sophie said through gritted teeth. They still pained her. "Headache." 

"Block it. Just will yourself not to hear it, and it will go away." Sophie glanced at Alvar. She'd wanted the headaches to go away so badly, ever since she'd first started getting them. But never before had they left, simply because she wished it. Why would this time be any different?

"You're stronger now," Alvar reminded. "So. Much. Stronger." Sophie met his eyes, finding truth  in them. That was all she needed. The truth. Nodding, she dropped her hands from her head and left them to hang by her side as she focused-- focused on the voice. She didn't reply to them, but she did speak to them, commanding them to stop. Her powers flickered off, but only for a moment, letting her focus. She was sure the voice couldn't hear her, and then, to Sophie's relief, they silenced. Her eyes watered, and her powers flickered back on. 

"Thanks," she told Alvar. Taking in her surroundings, she saw that their prisoners were still watching. She frowned. "We have to do something about them." 

"No killing?" Alvar asked. Sophie shook her head. 

"No. I don't want to be a murderer. I know they killed my family, but... it scares me." she said, telling Alvar the complete, and total truth. He nodded.