"Need a break? We can stop for a minute if you want," Lita said. She'd been helping Sage along for a while now. She didn't mind the work. She was rather enjoying herself, being with a cute guy and all. He didn't talk for the most part, and she was dying to ask him about himself. But she kept quiet and waited for him to say something.
Sage, on the other hand, was extremely embarrassed at himself. He was still weak, and frankly he felt like a fool. He wished his strength would come back, because right now he was pretty much useless. When Lita asked if he wanted to stop and rest, he shook his head. "We shouldn't hang around here. I've got to find some people I was with."
"Look, try not to think about that. We need to get you back on your feet as soon as possible. Then we can get out of here." The two found an opening in the tunnel and came to a spacious area in the cave. "Let's stay here awhile and then we can get going again." Lita carefully set Sage down against a wall. He leaned with his back to it and closed his eyes wearily. She sat down a few feet away from him and sighed, rubbing her sore feet. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "So," Lita asked, fumbling for way to start a conversation, "how did you learn how to heal people like that?"
Sage was quiet for a moment. Her question brought back many memories. He often wondered that if he hadn't been selected to bear his armor, would he have been a normal guy and been able to do stuff normal teens did? It was often a lot of responsibility for him to maintain. "I've been able to do that for a few years now. Only a few other people know I can do that." He spoke simply, having no problem with telling Lita, but not giving away all the details. He suddenly heard her snicker, and looked up in surprise to see Lita chuckling. "What's so funny?" he asked, bewildered.
She smiled at the thought. "I'm always meeting the most amazing people." She thought back to all the adventures she had been a part of as if they had happened only yesterday. First meeting Serena and finding out she was Sailor Moon, learning that she was Sailor Jupiter, discovering that Sailor V was really Sailor Venus, the moon kingdom, Princess Serena, the Negaverse, and the Nega-moon family. As she mused about it, she knew that if she had the choice of going back and doing it all over again, she would choose to be a Sailor Scout without hesitation. She remembered what it was like for her before she met the others, how lonely she had been. By taking up the fight, she had gotten the best gift anyone could have asked for-5 of the most wonderful friends she had ever had, and would ever have in her life. Becoming Sailor Jupiter was the best thing that could have happened to her. "You know," she said, focusing back on Sage, "I once had a crush on a guy who could levitate objects."
Sage looked at Lita incredulously. Then he burst out laughing. She was so straightforward about it, it was like this kind of thing happened to her every day. Sage liked her easy-going attitude toward him and this situation. "You're different from anyone I've ever met," he commented, giving a playful wink.
Lita turned her eyes away shyly. When she looked back at him, she was blushing. "Well," she said quickly, "how about we get going?"
"Yeah, sure." Sage was feeling a whole lot better. He slowly stood up and this time his legs supported him. "All right! Looks like I can walk again."
"Great. We'll be out of here in no time." Lita got up and stretched her legs out. She then looked around, becoming concerned. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to know which way is out, would you?"
Sage sighed grimly. "Not a clue."
An animal growl caught Lita and Sage's ears. They turned to see four more mutant werewolves enter the room they were in. They spread out and surrounded the two. Lita and Sage edged away until they were back to back. The wolves circled around them threateningly. Lita glanced over her shoulder at Sage. "You got any other tricks besides healing that could help us out of this?"
"I might," he said calmly, though he was worried. He was at a real disadvantage here. He wasn't sure he had totally recovered, and these things wouldn't mess around.
Lita was also concerned about that. "You sure you're ready to fight?"
Sage nodded. "Anytime time you are."
"All right, then get ready to jump." Lita tensed her leg muscles.
"Ready?"
"Steady!"
Suddenly all four wolves lunged at once. "Go!" Both Lita and Sage shouted as they leapt up over the creatures' heads. The three wolves charged for them and ending up clunking heads. Lita and Sage both landed on either side of the group of wolves. "I guess they are as stupid as they are ugly." Lita said, laughing.
Two wolves turned toward Lita, snarling, while the other two went for Sage. Four sets of claws slashed at Sage's head. Sage skillfully dodged blows, knowing what to expect this time around. He jumped up and swiftly kicked both of the hairy heads, sending them crashing to the ground. Lita jerked her head to the right to avoid a blow to her head, then grabbed the outstretched paw and threw the wolf over her shoulder into the other. She leapt out of the way of a kick and landed next to Sage. "Are you all right?"
Sage nodded. "I'm fine." He had almost been pummeled by just one of these, and he was enjoying the payback. "Lita, I think...." Then his words were cut short as the wolves began to howl. He watched in shock as the four wolves merged again as they had the first time he fought them. When they had finished, they had become two meaner, tougher-looking opponents. Man, what cheaters, he thought. "This could be bad."
Lita smiled craftily. She held out her hand and her transformation pen appeared in it. She smiled at Sage confidently. "Don't worry. I've got some tricks of my own." She walked toward the wolves who looked at her like she was a main course. "Looks like its time to get serious." Lita raised her pen into the air. "Jupiter Star Power!" The change was immediate. Lita's body turned a dazzling green as her clothes disappeared, the sign of her planet on her pen twirling. Crackling electricity surged out of the pen and became a literal web of lightning about her. A blaze of light and a crash of thunder, and Sailor Jupiter faced the wolves, prepared to fight.
Sage, after his initial shock, took her example. "Armor of Halo, Tao Chi!" His green armor formed as the points of light swirled around him. Feeling renewed strength, he stood ready with his sword.
Jupiter was also a little startled at Sage's transformation, but she recovered quickly. "Pretty cool, Sage. Now we'll show them!" She decided to skip the standard introduction and just kick some butt. An antenna extended out of her tiara and electricity gathered around her. "Jupiter Thunder, Crash!" She raised her crossed arms and flung the lightning at the wolf. The electricity raced along the ground, scorching the dirt, and slammed into her target. Its fur singed, it staggered to it's feet and attempted to swipe at her. She barely was able to dive out of the way before its claws reached her. "That's it! No more messing around!" Jupiter brought her palms together and then pulled them apart, electricity dancing between her hands. The energy formed into a sphere as she cried out, "Jupiter Thunderclap, Zap!" She pitched her lightning ball at the wolf. It blasted into it and rammed it backwards into the cave wall, frying it into oblivion.
Sage delivered several slashes to the other, trying to wound it. But he wasn't making much headway; the wounds he was giving it were like paper cuts to it. He decided he needed to use his special powers. He began to focus his energy, when suddenly the wolf surprised him by whipping it's tail at him. He crashed into the wall, feeling like he had been hit with a crowbar. Damn, he thought. I need more time to concentrate. "Jupiter! I need some cover!"
"You got it!" She leapt in front of him, shooting lightning bolts at the beast. It snarled in rage, trying to swat at her like a bug.
While she fought, Sage centered all his energy into his sword, pushing its limit to the max. His weapon shined with hot light and the cave was illuminated by its glow. The wolf noticed this and turned toward Sage a little too late. He swung his blazing sword in a wide arc, slicing the wolf in half. The thing's body dissolved as the sword made contact. Nothing was left except a few ashes.
Jupiter sighed in relief, looking at their handy work with satisfaction. "We really cleaned up here."
Sage lowered his sword and it disappeared from his hand as he detransformed out of his armor. "Yeah, and using my armor gave me back my energy again." He glanced over to the wall and was startled to see a huge hole in it. Sage saw that it led to the outside and into some woods. "Wow, Jupiter. Looks like you found us an exit."
Jupiter began to reply when suddenly a voice came from the hole opening. "Jupiter?" She whirled around and saw a familiar blue-haired girl in a blue sailor fuku stepping through.
"Mercury!" Jupiter joyfully ran to her friend and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
Mercury smiled. "Likewise, but I wouldn't have made it if weren't for Cye," she said.
"Huh? Who's that?" Then she got her answer as Cye walked in. He had blue eyes and light reddish-brown hair. Also, he had a nice build. Wow, he looks like my old boyfriend, Jupiter thought. Mercury turned to him and smiled as he came in. Then Jupiter noticed that he looked at Mercury in a way she had seen Serena and Darien look at each other.
Cye stood next to Mercury and spoke in a good-natured tone to Jupiter, "So you're Amy's friend. Did you make that hole in the wall?"
"Yeah, that would be me," Jupiter said proudly. Then she registered what Cye had just asked. "Wait a minute! Mercury, he knows about you?"
"Yes, but it's all right. Cye can be trusted with our secret, and besides, he saved my life!"
"Wow, you did?" Jupiter asked Cye.
Cye looked down self-consciously. "Well, yeah, but we sort of saved each other."
Mercury then gave Jupiter a quick summary of the events that had occurred, talking enthusiastically. "Isn't it amazing?" Mercury asked when she had finished. "His powers are almost like mine, and he told the people he was with have similar abilities."
Jupiter grinned and pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Really? Then that must be a friend of his."
Sage had been standing off to the side listening to the conversation. He came forward, nodding to Cye. "Hey, Cye."
"Sage!" Cye regarded his friend with gladness. "So you did make it through this place okay!"
"Yeah, barely. Lita, I mean Jupiter, and I had a few problems with some wolves, but we took care of it."
Jupiter gave a thumbs up sign. "We fried those suckers!"
"Well, Amy used her computer to locate her friend there, but we when heard that huge explosion, it was easy to find you guys." Cye got an amused expression on his face. "Just a few problems, huh?"
Sage shook his head. "Like you wouldn't believe." Then he pulled Cye off to the side as Mercury and Jupiter chatted. "So Cye," he asked, with a huge smirk on his face, "what's the story on that cute blue-haired girl? You've never been this comfortable around a girl before."
Cye looked over at Mercury with fondness. "She's the most amazing person I've ever met," he said sincerely.
Sage lost his smirk, realizing that Cye was totally gone on this girl. "Wow, Cye," he said in amazement, "you really like her, don't you?"
Cye nodded. "Yeah..."
"All right!" Sage patted his friend on the back. "I never thought it would happen, but you finally got a girlfriend!"
At this, Cye's face suddenly turned red. "Well, um, actually....."
"What!" Sage exclaimed, aghast. "You mean you haven't even told her?!"
"Sage!" Cye quickly glanced at Mercury and Jupiter to see if they had been overheard. "Keep it down, will you?"
Sage was apologetic and lowered his voice. "Sorry. But seriously, she doesn't know at all?"
"No, I just haven't been able to tell her yet," Cye responded sheepishly.
Sage smacked his forehead in a disappointed manner. "Aw, come on, Cye! You can't be shy at a time like this!"
As Sage coached his friend, Jupiter was also giving Mercury the third degree. "Come on, Amy, tell me the truth. What's going on with you and that guy?"
Mercury blushed in embarrassment. "N..Nothing really, we're just, uh, really good friends."
"Mercury, I'm your friend! You can tell me!" Jupiter implored her friend. "You can't leave me in the dark about this!"
Mercury felt awkward about this, which she didn't understand. Why was it so uncomfortable for her to explain about her and Cye? We're just friends after all, she thought. But a feeling in her heart was telling a different story. It doesn't matter, she told herself. He doesn't see me that way. It's not like there's anything special about me. I'm just a dull book worm. She tried to convince herself of this, despite the obvious bond she and Cye had developed. After all, why should she be so lucky as to have a wonderful person like that in her life? "Well, um....." Mercury began when suddenly Sage called over to them.
"Hey, are you guys ready to go?"
"Yes, I think so. Just let me check my computer," Mercury said quickly, changing the subject as subtly as possible. She tapped her earring and her visor flashed over her eyes. A map appeared on the screen and she pinpointed a flashing orange dot closest to their location. "I'm picking up Mina on my computer. She's about a mile or so away to the east in what appears to be a large, rocky valley."
"She's probably paired up with one of the guys like we were," Cye said.
Sage thought about this. "A rocky valley, huh? That sounds like the perfect place for Kento to be."
"We'd better hurry and find him. No telling what Kento will do unsupervised," Cye said jokingly. Heading out of the opening, he held his hand out to Mercury. "Here, I'll help you through."
Mercury smiled shyly and placed her hand in his. She was almost through when her foot got caught on the bottom edge. She cried out in surprise as she tripped forward, shutting her eyes tight as she braced for impact. She brought her hands up to stop herself, then suddenly her fall was halted as two arms caught her around the waist. When she realized she hadn't hit the ground, she opened her eyes. Mercury carefully turned around to see Cye with an anxious expression on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Uh, yeah. Thanks for catching me," she said, staring into his eyes. Her heart began pounding. She didn't attempt to move out of his arms and he made no attempt to let go. They both looked at each other for what seemed an eternity. Jupiter finally cleared her throat loudly, causing Mercury and Cye to quickly separate.
Cye rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, um, let's get going." He and Mercury hurried out before Jupiter and Sage could comment.
Jupiter watched them go, delighted for her friend. "They're pretty cute together, aren't they?"
"Yeah," Sage walked over to the hole and looked out into the dark woods. Cye and Mercury were waiting for them down the path. "I'm glad Cye finally found someone." He stepped out, looking back at Jupiter. "Coming?"
Jupiter smiled playfully. "You kidding? I wouldn't miss this!" She quickly followed Sage outside. As they walked over to Cye and Mercury, Sage stopped Jupiter for a moment.
"By the way, you were awesome against those wolves. I think we make a great team."
Startled, but also flattered by his words, Jupiter gave him a wink. "Thanks! You weren't so bad yourself." The group headed through the woods, Cye and Mercury in the front and Jupiter and Sage taking up the rear. Jupiter didn't know what was in store for them, but she was certain that together, nothing would stop them.
Okay, okay, I know. I promised a chapter for each pair, and then I throw in Cye and Mercury into this one. I didn't mean to. It just came out. As I write this story, my ideas just seem to come as I go. So don't judge me too harshly. I want to write this to the best of my ability, which isn't much, but I'll do my best. Hope you'll read my next chapter. Bye!
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