Chapter Seven

Other World

Part One

Sage sat with his head held back, leaning against the back seat of Kento's jeep, and eyes closed. As soon as the last bell rang the group ran out of school. They about knocked down everyone in the hall doing so. It was important that they got to Mia's. And fast. Kento, of course was driving, Cye was in the passenger seat while Sage, Rena, Rowen and Ryo sat in the back seat. The four in the back were a bit cramped but once out of city limits Rena moved onto Rowen's lap.

Rena looked over at Sage, who had a tense look on his face. She reached over and placed a hand on his forehead. This made him open his eyes and look at her. He looked completely drained of energy. - You ok? -

"I'm fine. Just tired," Sage gave her a tired smile. Rena gave him a look that said she wasn't buying it. Rowen looked at them from the corner of his eyes. Ryo had told Rowen about Sage's headache the other night at Rowen's apartment. They decided not to tell Rena. She was worried enough about stuff. They didn't need to add to it. Sage took her hand and kissed it. "I'm fine. Really. I just haven't gotten much sleep these past few days."

Sage started to release her hand but she tightened her grip. He stared at her for a bit before giving her a reassuring smile and a light squeeze to the hand before leaning his head back and closing his eyes, still holding her hand. Rena relaxed a bit. Maybe he was fine. The ride was unusually quiet for the boys. But who could blame them?

Mia was waiting for them as soon as Kento pulled the jeep up to her house. Just as they were climbing out White Blaze came running out of the woods. He immediately went to Ryo. "Hey, boy. How ya doing?"

White Blaze purred before slipping out of his master's grip and walking over to Rena. He rubbed his head on her leg. She smiled and bent down to pet him. Ryo turned his attention to Mia as she walked up to them. "Did you find anything?"

"No," Mia shook her head. "I've search through all of my files and found nothing. I even talked about it to my co-works of mine. None of them heard of any kind of story that closely resembles this. Sorry."

"It's not your fault, Mia," Cye said. "I guess, we're just going to have to fly blind on this one."

"I don't like that," Rowen frowned. He looked over at Rena. She was still petting White Blaze and Sage was leaning against Kento's jeep looking like he was about to pass out. Rowen bit his bottom lip. He wanted to tell her that Sage wasn't getting any sleep due to the headaches. But he, nor Sage, wanted her to worry or blame herself. It wasn't her fault. They didn't think. But still, the fact that Sage got a headache because Rena was in trouble didn't settle well with any of them. They needed answers.

"Let's go inside," Mia said. "I've got cookies in the oven."

"Alright!" Kento cheer as they all headed for the house. Sage pushed away from the jeep just as Rena stood up. The two walked together. Rena had to slow her pace to match Sage's sluggish stride.

Sage placed his hand on the house when another headache hit him. He grabbed his head and dropped to his knees. - Sage? Sage? -

Rena whistle sharply, a warning to the others that something was wrong. Rowen and Kento came running back outside. "Sage?"

"Sage, you alright, buddy?" Kento asked as they helped him stand up.

"Yeah," Sage nodded. "Just another headache."

- You've been getting them a lot lately. - Rowen flinched. Did she know? - Are you sure you're ok? -

"I'm fine," Sage replied with a nod and smile.

"Come on, pal," Kento said as he helped Sage into the house. "Let's get you inside."

Rena followed them into the living room. Sage sat down on the couch and she sat beside her. Mia came in a few seconds later with some advil, cold compress and a glass of water for Sage. Sage gratefully took the advil and water. "Thanks, Mia."

"Sure," Mia replied while handing Rena the compress. Rena watched over Sage with a worried eye. Once he downed the pills he leaned his head back on the couch and sighed. Rena tucked his hair behind his ear then placed the compress to his forehead.

"Thanks, Rena," Sage whispered. Rena smiled and patted his arm.

"What now?" Cye asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking that question?" Kento asked.

"Because we don't have a clue to what we can do," Mia answered.

"Ok, let's go over what we know," Ryo said. They were sitting down at the table in the dinning hall. "First, we know that Rena has been kissed by magic."

"Kissed by someone we don't know," Rowen grumbled. "I wonder who this guy is anyway."

"Rena is suppose to save this magic world. But doesn't know how or when to get there," Cye added.

"She has magic powers but doesn't know what to do with or how to use them," Mia laced her fingers together. Kento reached and grabbed him another cookie. "I wonder if we should..."

"What, Mia? Wonder if we should, what?" Ryo asked.

Sage seemed to be relaxing, so Rena began to relax herself. She leaned her head back on the couch, slightly turned so she was watching him. She was drifting off to sleep when another strong headache hit Sage. "Ah!"

- Sage? - Rena reached out and grabbed his hand. He squeezed it tight. He could feel her trembling and looked at her. He tried to give him an 'I'm ok' smiled, but it wasn't working. She wasn't going to buy that anymore. Something was wrong.

"Ah!" Sage screamed again forced Rena to get up on her knees and wrap her arms around him. She began to glow a light green. It engulfed both of them. It's ok, Sage. I won't let you hurt anymore.

"I was wondering if we could get her to use her powers. Just to see if we can figure out what her powers are," Mia explained. "To see how strong she might be?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Ryo nodded.

"In theory, yes," Cye said. "But in reality? What if she can't control it? Or what if using her powers brings that shadow creep to us?"

"I wouldn't mind if it did!" Kento growled. "I'd like another go at him! It! Or whatever gender that thing is!"

"Calm down, Kento," Ryo ordered. "We'll face that thing soon enough."

"So? Should we ask her too?" Mia asked. Rowen stared into his coffee mug.

"Hm," Ryo pondered on that thought. "It's up to Kento and Rowen. If they think it's alright, then it's alright. We should do it."

Mia, Ryo and Cye looked at Kento and Rowen. Kento nodded. "Sounds like the only option. Rowen?"

"Hm," Rowen closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't know. It could hurt her."

"Well, she did say that this guy who gave her the powers wouldn't let anything happen to her, right?" Mia asked.

"But we don't know anything about this guy," Rowen looked up at her. "I'm not sure if I really trust him."

"I see where you're coming from, Rowen," Ryo said. "But Rena trusts him. You trust Rena, right?"

"Yes," Rowen nodded. "Alright. I guess it's alright."

Just as he agreed to let her do it, a soft glow came entered into the room.

"What is that?" Mia asked. The group got up and rushed into the living room. There they found White Blaze calmly watching Rena hugging Sage and engulfed in a light green glow. White Blaze was the only one who noticed the onlookers. Sage was completely relaxed in Rena's arms. Both had light smiles on their faces and eyes closed.

Rena's glow began to fade and she released him. They looked at each other. - You alright now? -

"I'm fine, love," Sage reached out and cupped her face in his hand. Rena smiled and leaned into his touch.

"Love?" Kento's voice prompted them to pull away from each other and blush bright red. Kento stomped up to them and put a rough arm around Sage's neck. "What do you mean, LOVE?"

"N-Nothing! I mean...It's was just..." Sage stuttered.

"It better have been nothing! Or you're gonna end up with another kind of headache," Kento threatened. Rena sat still, face flushed, staring at the floor and clenching her fists in her lap.

"Sage? You're headache is gone?" Mia asked.

"Huh?" Sage and Kento looked up at the woman. "I guess it is."

"I guess that partly answers our question," Cye stated.

"Yeah. Rena has some kind of healing powers," Ryo added.

"Kinda like the way Sage's armor power healed the land after Kale destroyed it when we were trying to find Kento," Mia pointed out.

"Now that you mentioned it," Sage said thoughtfully, with Kento's arm still around him but not in a threatening way. "It did kinda feel similar to my armor's power."

Sage looked at Rena. She could feel him looking at her and blushed harder. "Rena?"

Rena couldn't hold her ground anymore. She bolted up from the couch and ran upstairs to her room. They could hear the door slam. Sage's chest tightened. "Rena."

"Should we go after her?" Mia asked.

"No. Let's give her some space. She's just a little embarrassed," Rowen replied.

"Alright. Cye, will you help me get supper ready?" Mia asked. Cye nodded and followed her into the kitchen, who was followed by Kento. The remaining boys could hear Cye threatening Kento that they didn't need his kind of help.

"That's one thing that will never change," Ryo chuckled. He looked at Rowen, who was looking at Sage. Ryo looked at the blonde haired boy. Sage had a guilty and hurt look on his face. "Sage?"

"I'm sorry!" Sage snapped. "I didn't mean to call her love!"

"It's ok, Sage," Rowen replied. Sage looked up at Rowen, shocked. "I mean, you care for her, right?"

"Yeah. It's just that I..." Sage ran his fingers through his hair. Time to face up to something. "I...don't know how much I care about her."

"Aw, our little Seiji has a crush," Ryo giggled. "That's so cute."

"Knock it off, Ryo," Sage snapped. "I don't want to lead Rena on. I want to be sure of my feelings for her before I tell her."

"It's ok, Sage," Rowen said again. "She'll be fine. Just make sure you figure it out and let her know."

Sage looked up at Rowen. Rowen had an unreadable expression on his face. The two friends stared at each other before Rowen broke eye contact and walked away. Ryo and Sage just watched him go.

Rena sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror. She never went down to supper. Instead she hid in her room for a while before taking a shower. She was now lightly dabbing her damp hair with a towel. Her eyes wandered down to the scar on her neck. Her heart thumped against her chest as her mind recalled what happened downstairs. Tear stung her eyes. There was no way she and Sage would ever be. Who would want a girl like her? The way she is now? Rena forced the tears away and put on a light green choker that matched her light green spaghetti strap pj shirt and pants. She proceeded to brush out her hair. As she was starting to braid her hair there was a knock on the door. "Rena, we're coming in."

Rowen's voice reached her ears before he and Kento entered the room. Kento shut the door behind them then sat on the bed. Rowen stepped behind Rena and placed a sandwich on the desk. He looked at her in the mirror. "We need to talk about...what Sage said."

Rena flenched. She shook her head. - It's ok. I'm fine. Nothing to talk about. -

"We know better than that, Rena," Kento said in a serious tone that he rarely uses. "You know we can't keep anything from each other. We know how you're really feeling right now."

Rena grabbed her hair again and tried for a second time to braid it. It wasn't working. Rowen placed his hand on hers to make her stop. She dropped her hands to her lap. Rowen grabbed her brush. He stroked her hair with it before returning it to the desk and splitting her hair into three sections. "You don't have to feel that way, Re Re. There's nothing wrong with you. Sage knows that. If he didn't care then he wouldn't be your friend."

"Believe us, Rena," Kento smiled. "Sage would do anything for you. He just slipped down there. He's a guy for crying out loud. It's in his blood to be stupid."

Both Rena and Rowen laughed at that. It sound so weird hearing a guy say that about guys. Kento gave them a big goofy grin. Rowen finished with her hair then wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Everything will be just fine. You are a beautiful young woman. Alright?"

Rena smiled and nodded. - Love you guys. -

"Love you, too," Rowen kissed her temple then released her.

"And me! Don't forget about me!" Kento jumped off the bed and put his arms around her. He rubbed his cheek on hers like a kitten. "You are. And believe me if any guy wants to date you he's gonna have to get through me first! Even if it is that blonde haired teen heartthrob downstairs! Love you much!"

Kento kissed her cheek then bounced for the door. "OH! Movie in ten!"

Rowen shook his head. "Eat that sandwich, young lady."

Rena picked up the sandwich and took a bite. She winked and stuck her tongue out at them. Rowen shook his head again. He felt like a single father of two with these two around. The boys left and Rena turned back to her mirror. She munched on her sandwich as she pondered on what the boys had said. She honestly never saw herself with anyone. Even before she met the others. It just didn't seem worth the trouble with all the lying, backstabbing, divorcing because of stupid reasons going on in relationships. It just didn't seem worth it. She'd rather spend her energy on other more important stuff.

But then, it would be nice to have someone. Rena shook her head and shrugged. Right now that was out of the question. She had a mission to do. And who knew what would happen to her on this mission. She might not even survive. She popped the last bite in her mouth before leaving her room. She found the group sitting around the TV and two big bowls of popcorn on the coffee table. Mia was sitting with her feet in the love seat, Rowen and Kento were on opposite sides of the couch(obviously leaving the middle for Rena), Sage was sitting in the arm chair while Cye, White and Ryo, who was popping in the movie, were laying on the floor.

"Feel better?" Mia asked. Rena nodded then climbed over the back of the couch to join her two best friends. Kento immediately grabbed her in a playful headlock and tickled her. She gave him a light punch in the stomach and he released her, for the most part. He kept his arm around her shoulders and she leaned against his side.

"Alright, ready to go," Ryo announced as the movie started rolling. He joined Cye and White Blaze as everyone settled in for the movie.

Sage glanced over at Rena. She sensed him looking at her and returned his gaze. Both blushed but she managed a small smile. He smiled back then turned his attention to the movie. Rena practically fell asleep at the end of the movie. Kento nudged her. "It's over."

She shook her head and snuggled closer to his side. Kento chuckled. "Come on. Get up and I'll piggyback you upstairs."

Rena groggily stood up with a smile. Kento bent down a bit and she hopped on. Mia turned off the TV then followed the boys up to bed. Kento dropped Rena off at her room. A few minutes later the house was settled down and everyone was asleep, but Rowen of course. None of them were aware that the shadows were moving around outside. One slipped up to the house and inside. It went in under the door and moved around the ground floor before heading upstairs.

The shadow checked the doors to all the rooms before finding the one it was looking for. Rena's. It crept under the door and formed into a more solid body figure. Rena rolled over in her sleep to now be facing the shadow creature. It walked up to her bed and reached for her mouth.

Rowen was quietly reading his book and Sage was sleeping peacefully.

Kento and Cye were also sleeping.

Ryo was too with White Blaze on the floor.

Mia was asleep too.

"Rena!" At the same time, Sage shot up in bed screaming, Rowen screamed, Kento also screamed her name and White Blaze let out a loud roar. Poor Cye, Mia and Ryo were so startled that they fell out of bed. Once they recovered from the shock they followed their screaming friends out into the hall.

Ryo, being the closest to her room, threw the door open. All of the filed in and froze. The shadow creature had Rena wrapped up in it's shadows and had several arm like things whipping around the room, one was covering Rena's mouth.

"Rena!" They all screamed before the shadow snapped some of its arms at them. Ryo grabbed Mia as they jumped out of the way and summoned their sub armors.

"Let her go!" Kento, Sage and Rowen yelled.

"Not a chance!" It hissed. White Blaze roared at it.

"It spoke?" Cye asked. "I thought it couldn't speak."

"It is amazing how much dark energy this world has. I'm getting stronger and stronger the longer I spend here,"

"Well, good for you. You gonna need that strength to handle the beating I'm about to give you!" Kento yelled and leaped at the creature with White Blaze following. The shadow was too fast and easily grabbed them.

"Uh, that's not good," Ryo says.

"Rena," Rowen narrowed his eyebrows at the creature.

"We got to do something!" Mia screamed.

"But what?" Ryo asked.

"We can't call out our armors in here. There's not enough room," Cye says.

"Then let's get him outside!" Sage said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah. But how?" Ryo asked.

"Guys! A little help here!" Kento grumbled. White Blaze growled in agreement.

"Hold on, Kento! We're trying to think of something!" Cye replied.

"We can't," Mia whispered. "He's got us trapped."

Ryo over heard her. She was right they had no where to go. They were at the mercy of this creature. Ryo looked over at his teammates. Cye was doing fine, Rowen was royally ticked off but holding his ground and Sage, well if looks could kill this thing would be dead in a hundred thousand different ways. Ryo narrows his eyebrows. "We got to do something!"

"Rena!"

"AH!" Sage screamed and grabbed his head.

"Sage?" Rowen looked at him.

"Did anyone else hear that voice?" Cye asked.

"Yeah." Mia and Ryo nodded.

"But who is it?" Ryo asked.

"It's hurts," Sage said as he dropped to his knees.

"Rena! Now is the time! Reach you're powers to me!"

Rena nodded through the shadow's hold and closed her eyes. She started to glow. The creature roar as her power began to sting its hold on her. "No! You will not win! Ah!"

Rena's power free them and they dropped to the ground. Rena ran right over to Sage and put her arms around him. "He'll be fine. Rena, you need to come to me now!"

Rena shook her head. -I'm not leaving him! -

"They can come too! Just take hands and come to me!"

"What's going on?" Kento asked.

"I don't know," Ryo replied.

"Should we trust this voice?" Mia asked. They all looked to Rena. She didn't noticed as she was too concerned about Sage.

"Rena, is this the guy?" Rowen asked. "Rena?"

Rena looked at him. "Is this the guy you know?"

Rena nodded.

"Rena!"

"You will not get away!" The shadow began to charge at them. An unseen power force stopped it from attacking. "No!"

"Ah!" Sage screamed again.

"Rena!"

"Let's go!" Ryo ordered. "We can't stay here!"

"R-Rena," Sage looked up at her. "We...have to go. Now."

Rena nodded. The two stood up and they all took hands. Rena's glow spread to the rest of them, even White Blaze, who was standing in the middle of the circle. With a bright flash of light, they were teleported into Rena's fantasy world. "That's it. Rena!"

The shadow followed their magic trail into her fantasy world and continued to try and attack them. They all could feel another power linking with Rena's and pulling them somewhere. Sage's headache continued to grow. Sage screamed again and pulled his hands away from the others to grab his head. "No! Don't let go!"

"Sage!" Rena screamed and released Rowen's hand and went to Sage's side.

Rowen reached for her. "Rena! Sage!"

"Did Rena just speak?" They all asked but Rowen who was reaching for her and Sage.

There was a sudden pull and the group spilled out of the fantasy world. They hit the ground hard. They all laid there but for Rena and Sage. None of them could move or open their eyes. They could only hear the sound of voices rushing around.

"She's not here!"

"Neither is he!"

"They got separated. Lucio went after them."

"He went alone?"

"Yup. That's Lucio for ya."

"Someone should go after him!"

"Don't worry about him! We have to attend to these first!"

"But..."

"Lucio won't let anything happened to them. You all know he will die to protect her. Let's get these guys into the healer."

"Right." All the voices said.

Rena was holding Sage, who was in serious pain, as she was holding up a shield to keep the shadow from hurting them. "R-Rena...Get...away."

Rena shook her head. "Leave. D-Don't worry about me."

Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head. There was no way in this world or theirs was she every going to leave him. That would never ben an option. For her. Her magic, however, began to falter. No. I've got to hold on. I can't let him die. Lucio, where are you? I need you.

"Hold on, Rena!" Lucio said as he raced faster than the wind. The world around him a blur as he went. "I won't let that thing kill you. I WON'!"

Notes: Well, that's it for chapter seven! Hope you like it! Find out in the next chapter why Sage is having these headaches. But you mind have figured it out already from this chapter. If not...well ;) you have to wait and see. Thanks for reading! Enjoy and let me know what you think! Again, sorry for any mistakes. I stink at proofreading. ^.^'