Chapter Text
One can be strong only for so long before they begin to crumble. It never happens all at once, but rather, chip by chip, the impenetrable stronghold walls begin to present openings - weak points. Sage could not allow that; she was weak once and paid the price. This is why she spends every free second of her day meticulously rebuilding her walls, shielding herself from unnecessary emotions and spreading herself thin to help the others on the protocol. And yet, she couldn’t help but feel like her power was fading.
” I’ve got sunburnt again, pleaseeee just get rid of it.”
” The new robot design backfired a little. Please, could you set my fighter?”
” My arms feel stiff, can’t you just make it stop?”
” I cut my finger while cutting veggies, would you mind?”
They came to her with every little thing, and it began to tire her. If she wasn’t practising drills, she was healing insignificant wounds that a plaster or a massage could fix. Slowly, she became frustrated with her teammates. All but her. Reyna was self-sufficient. She never needed help and could do it all herself. Sage felt shunned by the other radiant in the past, but with how things have been lately, she appreciated that at least someone could lick their own wounds.
. . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆
“We’re leaving at dawn”, Brimstone's distorted voice boomed through Sage’s earpiece. She gave an affirmative and then sat on the hard bench, waiting for the aircraft to be ready. The others hadn’t arrived yet; she was always first, ensuring they had all the equipment packed. She decided to rest her eyes for a second and tilted her head back, resting it on the sturdy back of the bench.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Everything will go fine. It’s true that Sage has not been in the field for a long time, but she practised daily and stayed sharp, dare say, improved. And yet her heart couldn’t stop pacing at the thought of facing an enemy again, being in a life or death situation. Her mind was racing when suddenly it came to a halt. The little hairs on her skin prickled up, goosebumps spotted her skin, and she found herself alert; like a doe sensing a predator in the bushes, she became very still. It was silly. She heard no footsteps; no one was in the room with her. Her eyelids rose, revealing a blurry waiting area. Black leather benches and white walls, nothing else. Suddenly, she noticed something moving in the corner of her eye, launching towards her, and she jumped to her feet, startled.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, cariño” a voice came from the other side of the room. A soothing, smooth voice of a confident woman who smiled mockingly at Sage now.
Reyna sat in the corner opposite her in the room, long legs wrapped in tight uniform crossed. The space between her breasts that Sage found hard to look away from pulsated with purple light with every slow breath the duelist took. Definitely not launging towards her.
“You didn’t”, Sage replied, her tone stoic, then sat back down, taking one more calming breath.
“Of course not.” the sympathetic words did not match the pitying way Reyna’s lips curled up. The duelists’ eyes lit with pleasure at Sage's slight discomfort in her presence.
“Everything packed?” Brimstone entered the room, ignorant of the uncomfortable tension between the two women. Sage took him through all their supplies once more while the other agents going with them piled in.
. . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆
The mission was much easier than Sage anticipated. She shouldn’t have worried. Thanks to Killjoy laying the groundwork months in advance, their infiltration was smooth; they went completely unnoticed. Although she practised for combat, she was happy there was no need for violence this time. She could sense that Reyna felt the opposite; the duelist appeared restless and thought she shouldn’t have been chosen for such a ‘peaceful’ mission.
“I’ve got everything we need. Let’s move out”, Cypher’s voice rang in Sage’s ear, and she signalled that they could leave to her companions.
“Wait-” his voice came again but instantly cut out. Something was interrupting his connection.
“Hos- ie” came through, and unsure of its meaning, Sage signalled for everyone to stay alert. She could see Reyna impatiently shifting her weight from one hip to another but ignored her.
“-tiles. Hostiles. Hostiles. Hostiles. Hostiles”, the words started coming through uninterrupted; she could hear that Cypher was out of breath wherever he was, running away from hostiles. Blood drained from her face.
“The enemy is nearby”, Sage said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked to Reyna, but the duelist wasn’t there anymore. Reyna was already gone, seeking out combat. Fade was still with her, although she appeared uninterested in the rescue mission.
“I can see his movement on the map; regroup near the west entrance.” Brimstone’s voice came through comms clear as day.
“West entrance”, Sage repeated, holding Fade’s gaze. They stuck closely together, guns ready as they progressed through the mazelike enemy compound. It wasn’t long before they encountered kingdom soldiers, faceless men covered head to toe in uniform, clutching their guns, unafraid to use them. Shooting their shoulders and thighs did enough damage to stop their pursuit, so Sage urged Fade to move on and leave them there to be found by their comrades. Although it was easy to take the lives of masked men without seeing fear contorting their faces and last wishes flashing in their eyes, Sage couldn’t stand spilling blood when it could be avoided.
“We’re here”, Fade announced suddenly, pointing at the bright sign screaming “WEST ENTRANCE” at them. Cypher was nowhere to be seen.
“Brimstone, do you copy?” Sage asked breathlessly into the void.
Silence.
“Brimstone, do you-”
“Watch out!” Fade’s growl cut her short as the initiator pushed her out of the line of fire. She didn’t even notice the man peeking around the corner until it was too late. She wasn’t careful enough. There was no time to think about that. Sage stumbled onto one knee from the force of Fade’s shove but raised her gun instantly, taking aim at the masked figure. Fade beat her to it, shooting straight at the man's head.
“Are you alright?” Fade turned to her, holding her arm tightly. Sage noticed the injury and instantly began healing it.
“I’m okay. Let’s seek cover. Brimstone is not responding.”
They rounded the corner to find a closed-off, tight hallway they could wait in for a regroup. But the next hallway was broad, with no doors connecting it to other smaller passages. Sage decided they should press forward. She vaguely remembered the layout of the building; it was filled with smaller corridors and compartments, and they were bound to stumble upon one soon. Fade opened the next door for her, and Sage entered, gun first, ready to shoot whoever hid inside the next room. What she saw, however, was not a room.
They were outside the compound now, in the courtyard. Sage knew it was early afternoon, but it was dark. It was always dark in the underwater domes the Omega Earth residents occupied. The space around them was illuminated by lanterns, resembling an Alpha Earyh park. Four large trees with thick trunks towered over them, aligned to conceal the yard from outsiders. The grassy area they stepped on stretched around the building, coiling it in a snake-like manner. In front of them, there was a large marble fountain. Its modern, square design repelled Sage, but she found the sound of water running pleasant. Leaves fell around them, some swept by the wind before reaching the ground.
“Brimstone, do you copy?” Sage tried again.
The silence laughed at her in response. Not even an irritating crinkling noise made it through. Their comms were down.
“Well, this is nice, at least”, Fade mused, squatting down to beacon an approaching stray towards herself. At last, peace and quiet.
“I don’t think the enemy expects us outside”, Sage said, carefully examining her surroundings.
“-iles. -tiles, HOSTILE. s Hos”, the comms boomed with Cypher’s voice again. He couldn’t hear them, but his message was getting across. He was still fighting somewhere, unsure whether they knew he needed help.
“Brimstone, do you copy?” Sage felt like a broken record, but she had to try.
“Should we head back to the aircraft and see if the others tried to ditch us?” Fade tried, but Sage shook her head. They wouldn’t leave them, just like Sage is not about to leave anyone behind now.
“Sage, where are you? We are waiting by the West Entrance,” Brimstone’s voice came through clear as day. It was so sudden she jumped to attention, startled.
“West Entrance, again”, she repeated to Fade. Fade shook her head. Sage knew it too. It wasn’t their Brimstone instructing her where to go. It was the Omega’s mirror image of Brimstone that was setting a trap for them by the west entrance. A chill ran down her spine. The soldier decked out in Kingdom uniform was probably only one of the first to be sent there to meet them. Cypher was trying to warn them that the enemy had infiltrated their communication. He kept repeating one word, knowing they would cut off his sentences. Hoping that they will be able to piece one word together.
A sudden movement rustled the leaves of a nearby bush. Sage tensed and dropped to one knee, then took aim. In the corner of her eye, she saw Fade do the same. A small object shot up from the bush, resembling a metal can.
“Cover your eyes”, Sage instructed Fade firmly, but the can exploded faster than expected, shining blinding light straight into her own eyes before she could shield them. Tears flooded her in an instant, and despite trying to focus her vision, her surroundings tripled and quadrupled around her. She heard gunshots from multiple directions and turned to where she expected Fade to be, but Fade was gone. Blindly, she shot at the bush a few times, but quickly she realised no one was there anymore, and her aim was off anyhow, her bullets buried in the ground.
“Fade?!” a panicked, urgent scream ripped from her throat.
“On your right”, Fade replied instantly, and Sage turned towards her but struggled to make anything more of her than a black blob. She needed to get it together.
“They are hiding, cowards”, the initiator spat on the ground in disgust.
“I still can’t see anything”, Sage said, holding tightly onto her gun.
“It’s okay, they aren’t moving- SHIT”, Fade’s words were interrupted by an ear-splitting gunshot. What happened? Sage felt herself holding a breath, but as she heard a pained groan from her right, she realised her partner had been shot, and she had to help. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, and her vision focused at once, in time to see that multiple Kingdom soldiers surrounded them. Fade was sprawled motionless on the ground, breathing heavily, unable to move, just a few paces away. She couldn’t heal her yet; Fade’s previous wound drained her power.
There was no time. Sage had to act.
She knew she should raise a wall to shield them, but there was not enough time. Sage saw hostiles applying pressure to their triggers as if in slow motion. The only way she could cover Fade was with her own body. There was no other faster way. She would heal afterwards. It would only hurt for a second. She told herself that as she scurried across the field to shield her partner. If she wanted to avoid resurrecting Fade, there was no time to attempt shooting at the enemy. Sage had to tank their shots and pray they would barely penetrate past her armour. Her jaws audibly tightened with a loud clicking chatter of her teeth as she braced herself for the bullets. She closed her eyes.
But no bullets came. Gunshots rang in Sage’s ears, but nothing struck her.
Her nostrils filled with the stench of gunpowder and blood, mixed with an eerily pleasant scent of sweat, floral perfume and fresh grass. She opened her eyes but couldn’t see the field anymore. Instead, Reyna’s half-exposed back was almost pressing against her nose. The duelist stepped forward before turning around to look back at Sage. A cunning smile twisted Reyna’s alluring face. The natural colour of her eyes was drowned by the same lilac shade that pulsated from her chest; her irises turned to mere slits. Tiny blood splatters peppered her face, Sage noticed, but she knew it wasn’t Reyna’s own blood. The duelist was consuming multiple souls simultaneously, not breaking eye contact with Sage. Terrifying. And yet, breathtakingly beautiful.
“You have to be more careful, mi amor. We can’t afford to lose you”, Reyna said, her voice low but filled with the charming melody her accent gave her. Sage lowered her gaze, and a mix of embarrassment and irritation seized her. That’s when she noticed that maybe the blood was Reyna’s. Multiple wounds were healing in front of her eyes on Reyna’s body. Bullet wounds engulfed in the mystique, radiant, purple light that bound the penetrated flesh back together. Reyna must have taken the bullets for her, knowing she could heal from the enemies' souls. Sage should have been mortified at the thought, the brutality of that plan, but her heart fluttered in her chest. They never protected her. She was their protector. Sage needed to be strong and sacrifice herself to ensure they all went home together. Her chest tightened at the thought that Reyna deemed her worth shielding.
We can’t afford to lose you.
“Thank you, " Sage choked out, turning to Fade. She tried to heal, but the tingling sensation she felt when a slight touch from her could mend broken bones and patch bullet wounds didn’t come. She wasn’t ready yet.
“Don’t force yourself, cariño” she heard Reyna say, “Let’s move out of here first. Cypher is at the aircraft with Brimstone already”.
With that said, Reyna’s appearance slowly returned to normal; her eyes lost the lilac sparkle, and her irises were no longer slits but round orbs, human. The only remains of her wounds were the holes torn in her uniform. The duelist picked up Fade’s limp body with ease.
“I can carry her.” Sage extended her arms to grab the initiator. She knew Reyna well enough that she didn’t care for her companions; this was an obligation to her.
“It’s not a problem”, Reyna insisted and pulled Fade’s body closer to hers. Although the duelist appeared indifferent, Sage felt a slight pang of jealousy that she shouldn’t have. She couldn’t help but wonder if Fade and Reyna were secretly friends or lovers.
Their walk to the aircraft was silent and strangely peaceful; the remaining Kingdom soldiers were nowhere to be seen.
. . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆
“I told you not to force yourself”, a soft, freshly creamed hand squeezed Sage’s own. She felt her heart jump to her throat at the gentle touch, but she swallowed hard and pushed the sensation away. Reyna stood beside her, looking at Fade through a mask of disappointed calm.
“The sooner I do it, the less pain she will feel”, Sage argued, slowly taking her hand back from the warm embrace of Reyna’s perfectly manicured fingers.
“Yes, but what about you, cariño? What about the pain you feel?” Reyna’s eyebrows knitted tightly as she spoke, her expression betraying that she felt genuinely worried.
Sage held the duelist’s gaze, confusion marring her face. Her pain didn’t matter; she had to do her duty. She breathed in through her nose, then out through her mouth, and the tingling sensation tickled her fingers. A miracle was ready.