Chapter 12: Testing the Light
They walked through downtown. Yulie suddenly took off running. "Yulie! Don't run off!" she called out when they saw him run over to a store that had skateboards in the window. Rei looked around, letting Ryo's hand go.
"What is it?" Ryo asked.
"This is where it all started," she replied.
Ryo looked around, it was the exact area where the first fight with the Dynasty occurred. Rei walked over, her arms moving around her boyfriend's waist, her head resting on his shoulder.
Lita looked over in the direction of the streets she and Sage were walking on with Ami and Cye before all hell broke loose. Sage kept his arm around her waist as she twisted her engagement ring around on her finger. "It's weird to think that once this is all over, we go back to Tokyo," Lita commented. They were silent for a little while.
"What happens when we go back then?" Ami asked.
"We try to live normally," Rowen replied.
Sage let out a deep breath. "You okay?" Lita asked.
"Yeah," he replied.
Mia walked over to the distraught boy. "I'm going to help my mom and dad," Yulie told her before he took off on his skateboard, making the others chuckle as Mia chased him.
"Looking after Yulie's become more of a full time job for Mia," Ryo commented.
"Think of the babysitting bill his parents will get," Rowen quipped.
"Okay guys enough of the kids' games," Sage answered.
Suddenly, White Blaze started roaring and growling. "What's up, boy?" Ryo asked, walking over to his tiger. They could feel it, the energy changed. Dynasty Soldiers attacked left and right, attacking the Ronin Warriors and the Sailor Scouts. Sage dodged an attack aimed for his side as Lita threw another one over her shoulder.
Dynasty Soldiers surrounded them. "We have to get to Mia and Yulie," Rowen insisted. The Dynasty soldiers attacked, making it impossible for any of them to escape to get to their friends.
"MIA! YULIE! RUN FOR IT!" Ryo shouted in hopes they could hear him.
Sage kicked a Dynasty Soldier away. "Lita, head for the subway," he told her.
"Not without you," she answered.
"Dammit why can't you listen for once?!" he demanded.
Lita kicked a Dynasty soldier in the chest. "Why don't you get it through that thick skull of yours that I'm never leaving your side again!" she spat. They ran down into the subway together, bringing a group of Dynasty Soldiers with them.
Rowen and Serena were down on the others side of town. "Where do we go?" Serena asked.
"We have to find the others," Rowen replied.
Serena nodded as they ran through the dark halls, trying not to trip over anything. "Wait," Serena called out, forcing Rowen to stop, "Do you hear that?" Rowen listened, but then he heard it. A loud roar.
"It's White Blaze let's go," he answered as they went towards the direction of the roars.
They found Mia and Yulie surrounded by Dynasty Soldiers. One went to throw his spear at Mia's head when Rowen ran over kicking him. Serena grabbed another soldier, throwing it against the wall. She ducked one one tried to sneak up on her, rolling behind him she kicked him in the back. "Mia, Yulie, get out of here, we can handle it from here," Rowen told them.
"Come on, Yulie," Mia answered.
Rowen looked at the tiger beside him. "We're going to make paperweights out of them aren't we boy?" he asked the tiger as he and Serena got in a fighting stance.
Ryo, Cye, and Kento were in the parking garage with Rei, Ami, and Mina. "Where the hell are we?" Cye asked. Suddenly, lightning bolts climbed all over the ceilings and the walls, going into the vehciles.
"What now?!" Ryo exclaimed.
They could hear the vehicles starting up, the once quiet garage now alive with noise and movement as cars started speeding around on their own. They could hear shouting. "That's them!" Ami called out as she and Mina ran in the direction of the shouts.
They saw a car heading straight for Mia and Yulie. Ami ran over, picking Yulie up and dodging one car as Mina grabbed Mia's arm, pulling her out of the way as they jumped over the roof of another car. Ryo and Cye ran over, throwing one car over onto its hood when it was about to strike all four of them. "DEMONS DISPERSE!" Rei shouted as she threw several charms at some of the cars, forcing them to stop.
"Ryo, you and Rei get them out of here, we can handle this," Cye insisted.
"Be careful," Mia told them.
"Don't worry about us," Cye assured her as he and Ami swung around to face the approaching cars.
Ryo and Rei rushed down the hall with Mia and Yulie beside them, entering one of the many abandoned stores. Rei suddenly stopped. A Dynasty soldier jumped out from behind the counter, attempting to attack her when she grabbed its arm, throwing it over her shoulder and onto the ground. She slammed her foot down on its throat and smoke dispersed from inside the armor when another soldier grabbed her from behind, trapping her arms.
Rei let out a shout as she dug her feet into the floor when it tried to pull her backwards. Then she pulled herself up, using her momentum she gripped the soldier's arms and swung her body back down on the floor and threw the soldier over her head at the same time. Rolling back to her feet, she did a back flip away from a sword aimed at her head. "Rei!" Ryo called out, grabbing a hold of her arm. They used their momentum where he tossed her in the air, taking out two other soldiers running right at them. "Yulie, Mia, make a run for it! Head for the streets!" Ryo called out.
Ryo leaned forward and Rei rolled over his back, kicking another soldier in the head. "We can't leave you here!" Mia insisted. Ryo pulled Rei behind him, before he ran up to one soldier, grabbing it around the neck and waist, swinging it over and onto the ground.
"Don't worry about us, just go!" Rei ordered.
Reluctantly, they left their friends behind as Ryo and Rei stopped soldiers from chasing them. "Rei!" Ryo called out, tossing a scythe over to her. Rei caught it, swinging it around her head taking out for Dynasty Soldiers before they could surround her. Rei tossed the scythe back to him where he used it to block a sword aimed for his head. He jumped up, kicking it in the chest before swinging it over his back and onto one of the counters.
Sage and Lita found themselves on the subway tracks. "Where do we go now?" she asked.
"We can't go back that way, we're outnumbered on top," he replied.
"Then we head further underground, I think if we keep going this way it heads towards where the mall is and I think that's where the others went," Lita stated.
Sage nodded in agreement as they went through the dark tunnels together. They could hear Mia and Yulie shouting in fear. "This way!" Sage told her as they ran down the tracks. They saw a subway heading right towards them. Lita grabbed Yulie as Sage grabbed Mia, both of them jumping up and grabbing the pipes above their heads, swinging their legs up as the subway sped right underneath them.
"That was way too close," Lita stated.
"This is why I didn't want them here in the first place," Sage answered.
"What does that mean?" Mia demanded.
"Talpa used you two as bait to separate us and it worked," Sage replied as he let go and dropped down to the ground and Mia let him go.
"Wait a minute, we saved your lives," Mia said angrily.
"By pure dumb luck," Sage replied.
"Excuse me?" Mia demanded, "I'm the one who got you out of your prisons in the first place."
"I'm grateful for that, but you two should've stayed behind after that," Sage answered, walking away.
Lita set Yulie down and saw Mia fuming. "Arrogant ass," Mia seethed. Lita shook her head slowly.
"Just worried, that's what makes him an ass," Lita replied.
"And you're marrying him?" Mia asked.
Lita just smirked. "He's a good man," she replied, "Let's go before we lose him." They went after Sage, with the fact that Dynasty Soldiers were everywhere, Sage jumped up towards the vents.
"What are you doing?" Mia asked.
"With you two here we can't just stay and fight, we're going to need to go through the vents," he replied.
Sage held his arm out and Mia just stared at him. "Just grab my hand," he told her.
"Why?" she demanded.
"Mia, come on," he answered.
Mia let out a sigh before gripping his arms and he pulled her up. Once she was in, Lita lifted Yulie up. "Hey," Lita said suddenly, making him look at her, "Cut her some slack, she saved your life."
"I know," he replied, pulling Lita up when she reached up grabbing a hold of his arms.
"Then act a little more grateful to what she's been doing, without her we would've been in even more trouble because the Dynasty was defeated before we were even born during the Moon Kingdom days," she pointed out.
"I'm irritated," he answered.
"As are we," she told him.
Lita rested her forehead against his, her hand on the side of his neck. "Now go apologize," she told him.
"Fine," he answered.
Lita smiled as he started leading them through the vents. Before he could even bring up the subject to apologize to Mia, they suddenly heard Dynasty Soldiers right underneath them. "Great," he muttered. He kicked the vent down and jumped out, kicking two Dynasty Soldiers away in the process. There were Dynasty Soldiers everywhere. Sage reached up towards Lita. "May I have this dance, Princess?" he quipped.
"Charmer," Lita quipped before she gripped his arm.
She jumped down onto his shoulders before flipping over his head and wrapped her legs around one Dynasty Soldier's neck, acting as though to do a back flip, swinging it down onto the floor. Sage helped her up and their arms linked together before they struck out in sidekicks to the soldiers trying to run up beside them. Lita ducked out of the way when a sword was aimed at her head. She kicked the leg out from underneath it, rolling across the tracks before it could fall on her. Jumping back to her feet, she ran over to Sage. Sage immediately got down on one knee, she jumped off his knee and kicked a soldier right in the face before Sage caught her. "Let's make this a little more interesting," She suggested. Sage smirked as he stood beside her.
"Best idea I've heard all day," he replied.
Lita pulled out her wand. "JUPITER STAR POWER!" she shouted.
"ARMOR OF HALO TAO CHI!" Sage shouted.
Sage immediately grabbed Jupiter's hand, swinging her around. Jupiter held one leg out, tucking the other in as she gripped his forearm as they swung in circles, but then he dipped her lower and her extended leg sent several Dynasty Soldiers to the ground. Sage let her go, she used the momentum to roll across the ground and then back up on her feet. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" she shouted. Sage held out his sword, blocking several attacks aimed at him. He kicked another way, grabbing one Dynasty soldier by the arm, throwing it over his head sending it right into the wall.
Ducking down as a nunchuck was aimed at his head, he slid on the ground on his knees before holding his sword up blocking another attack aimed for the back of his head.
They fought their way to the streets, defeating the soldiers. "Wow that was awesome!" Yulie exclaimed.
"We need to find the others," Sage answered.
Before they could leave, lightning struck. "What now?!" he exclaimed. Lightning hit one of the buildings repeatedly and it started to fall. "GET OUT OF HERE!" Sage shouted as they ran towards one of the parking garages.
Sage grabbed Mia, covering her as the debris and dust from the building filled the garage. Jupiter was covering Yulie, Sage and Jupiter looked at each other as the dust settled. It was pitch black inside now. "I can't see a thing," Mia stated as they sat up. Sage looked around, frowning.
"They want to keep us underground," he answered.
"How perceptive," a familiar voice stated.
Jupiter felt a chill go down her back. She heard the slight bang of a staff hitting the floor. Her eyes narrowed as she kept Yulie behind her. "Have no fear, we're not here for the boy, or the woman," Sailor Pluto stated.
"Where's your Warlord boyfriend, Pluto?" Jupiter demanded.
"Not too far, Sailor Jupiter," Kale answered.
Jupiter looked over at Mia and Yulie. "You two go find a place to hide and stay there," she ordered. They nodded as they ran off to hide. Sailor Pluto laughed as she circled Jupiter. It was then the Guardian of Lightning realized Sage was nowhere near her. They had them separated.
"I've kicked your ass once, Kale, I'll do it again," Sage answered.
"Strong words coming from a boy who never truly defeated me in battle," Kale stated, "If it weren't for your friend breaking from his rock prison, I would have killed you and your friends."
"Doubt it," Sage replied.
Jupiter sensed something coming towards her head, rolling across the floor when Pluto's staff nearly connected to her head. "Impressive," Pluto commented, swinging it again but Jupiter back flipped out of the way, "Even more impressive." Kale smirked as he watched Sailor Pluto circle the girl. "You could be a powerful ally, Sailor Jupiter, all you have to do is bow," Sailor Pluto stated. Jupiter scoffed, trying to prepare for another attack.
"I'd rather die," Jupiter answered.
"That can be arranged," Pluto commented before she swung out, her staff hitting Jupiter in the stomach.
"No!" Sage called out.
Jupiter fell to the floor gasping for air as she held her stomach. "You were here once before weren't you, Sage of Halo? When you failed to protect Sailor Jupiter?" Kale asked.
"I never failed her," Sage answered.
"No? What about the Moon Kingdom? When you killed her?" Kale asked.
Jupiter held her stomach. "That's not true," Jupiter answered. She got up on her knees. "That's not what happened," she insisted.
"She couldn't bear to live without you so when you died, she died right after you because you were too weak to protect her," Kale said tauntingly.
"Enough of this," Sage snapped as he swung his sword out and it collided with Kale's.
Jupiter swung out at Pluto but she backed away easily, laughing evilly. "What's the matter, Sailor Jupiter? Afraid to watch your lover learn the truth about you? You're weak," Pluto told her.
"I am not weak!" Jupiter answered.
"You couldn't save him, when he was laying there bleeding in your arms," Pluto told her.
Jupiter swallowed as the memories rushed back to her. "You can't leave me like this!" Jupiter felt tears press against her eyes. She looked at her hands and she thought she could see the blood covering her arms and her gloves.
"What's happening?" Yulie asked.
"Pluto is making sure Jupiter can't feel any sort of light, nothing Sage can draw from," Mia replied.
Sage swung his sword again, but it hit nothing but darkness. He can't even use his attack because Mia and Yulie were there. "Jupiter!" he called out.
"She's a little busy," Kale sneered.
Kale swung his sword, but Sage dodged the attack. "You avoided that well, Halo," Kale commented, appearing behind Sage, "How about now?" Kale slashed at his back, sending him to the ground.
"Jupiter! Wake up!" Yulie called out.
Kale just laughed as Jupiter sunk to her knees as Pluto used her staff to send powerful images of the past into her mind. "You have done well, my dear," Kale told her. He looked over at Sage who was trying to find him in the dark. "BLACK LIGHTNING SLASH!" he shouted. The attack hit Sage head on. Pluto swung her staff again and Jupiter got up, grabbing it before it could connect to her head.
"Pluto deadly scream," Pluto said in nearly a whisper.
The attack sent Jupiter backwards with a scream of pain. "NO!" Yulie shouted.
"JUPITER!" Sage shouted.
Yulie grabbed the staff. "We have to do something!" he insisted. Mia grabbed a hold of him.
"Yulie, no!" she answered.
"You said if one of them is killed, I will never see my mom or dad so I have to help him!" Yulie told her.
Yulie pulled out of her grasp. "HANG ON, SAGE! JUPITER!" he called out.
"No, Yulie…" Sage groaned out.
Yulie threw the staff at Kale, but Kale hit it back and it struck the boy. Jupiter and Sage gasped when they saw the boy lying unconscious on the ground. The staff began to glow, lighting the room up. Jupiter's dark memories faded to something else she had never seen before.
She saw the Moon Kingdom, but yet she and Sage looked older. Her dress flowing, he stood in another form of armor with his his arms around her as their fingers were entwined, two gold bands wrapped around their ring fingers.
Jupiter stood up from the ground. She looked over at Pluto with a glare. Sage stood up, raising his arms. "ARMOR OF HALO TAO CHI!" he shouted. Jupiter swung her arms around, ducking out of the way when Pluto aimed her staff at her again. She slid across the floor, kicking Pluto in the back.
Jupiter was next to Sage, holding onto his hand as they held out their hands. "THUNDERBOLT LIGHTNING CRASH!" they shouted. Their combined powers erupted through Sage's sword, heading right for Pluto and Kale. It struck them, putting a hole right through the streets and sent their enemies back to the Dynasty. They both felt weak, Sage pulling Jupiter into his arms as she leaned into him.
"Yulie!" she gasped as they ran over to the boy, "Yulie, are you okay?"
"I'll be okay," Yulie replied as Mia helped him sit up.
Sage crouched in front of him. "You saved our lives, Yulie, I don't know how I can ever repay that debt," Sage told him.
"You can repay me by saving my mom and dad," Yulie answered.
"You got it," Sage said smiling.
Yulie hugged Sage around the shoulders. He hugged the boy back, smiling at Jupiter, who smiled back at him.
