Hello, and welcome to the collaborative fanfiction of Sailor Myth, an online role-playing game based on Sailormoon, but with different senshi and a different location. Our game takes place in the city of Roanoke, Virginia, and our senshi are named after everything from Greek and Roman deities to stars, constellations, and angels!
Our purpose in posting our chapters up here on ff.net is
twofold. First, we'd like to get some
For more information, please check out our main page, or send an e-mail to Emiko, our GM. She'll be glad to answer any questions you may have! Thanks for your attention. We hope you enjoy the show!
Chapter Four:
"Jamie," said the doctor in a soft, soothing voice as he produced a small flashlight. "Follow the light if you can."
Jamie remained unresponsive.
"Can you tell us what happened?"
"Um, well, I went into the bathroom at school," she mumbled listlessly. "I was in there for a while. Then I fainted, I guess; I don't really remember."
"So, doctor, what do you think is wrong with her?" asked Jamie's brother Marcus. Their parents were on vacation.
"I'd say she has a severe concussion, very nasty." The doctor ran a hand through his reddish-blonde hair, then scribbled something on the clipboard he was carrying. "A concussion, sprained wrist. She's also in shock. Are your parents in town?"
"On vacation. In Paris."
"Well, I'd recommend contacting some relatives close by. I'd like to keep her overnight-" The doctor checked his pager, then made a quick phone call. Making a face, he said, "Damn. I have a patient in the ER with severe burns and lacerations. Mr. Banning, the best thing you can do for her is go home and try to get some rest; I'll have an aide get her to a room, and she'll be released in morning."
Wade had only gotten half an hour of sleep the previous night, slipping in and out of half-forgotten nightmares until the pain got the better of him. It had been fine coming home; he was drunk on fright and adrenaline and had been in too much shock to feel the pain.
He'd forgotten that burns kept on burning unless you stopped the heat. Most of them hurt like hell, but some he couldn't feel any more, and that scared him... and whenever he closed his eyes Hyperion's burns just kept on burning him, killing him, making him writhe in agony; every time he closed his eyes all he could see were the soulless burning white eyes, and the grin as he was pushed off the building, down into darkness -
Pulled out of another feverish dream, Wade screamed his pain.
Pauline Salter flicked on his light, and for the second time that night, almost burst into tears.
To the harsh unnatural light, every aspect of his beating could be seen; he'd thrown off the covers and there were enormous purpling shadows of bruises everywhere on his body. Dried blood dribbled in places and his hair was stiff with what seemed like saltwater; but what she had not seen before were the burns, weeping and ugly.
"That's it," she murmured, more to herself than her half-awake son. "I'm getting an ambulance, Wade!"
As she sped out the room, the blue-haired boy groaned and made a supreme effort at stumbling over to the fishtank. It worked, barely, and he squinted through two black eyes to snag a small toy bucket, a relic from Danny and Simon's younger days. With great effort, he scooped her up in it, taking weed and water.
"Livvy," he murmured through swollen lips. "Livvy, y'gotta come with me. There could be Romanus at the hospital, or, or, or he could follow my mom, and you said you could identify 'em, please, Liv - "
"A'im heah, Wade," she announced grandly. "Ai will protect yoo! Fear not!"
That was as much as he could do before everything started to go really rather blurry - the ambulance, the white walls, and then the doctor. Wade didn't mind.
Staring down at the sheet of paper in his hands, Asa Jason let out a sigh and shook his head. It was another boring and pointless day, when he was forced to run over to the nearby hospital by his parent's will right after school and work there as a volunteer aide. Even a few dollars would have made the job all the more interesting, but he didn't earn so much as one cent. The job was a complete waste of time, in his opinion...especially when patients came stumbling in, seeking out medical attention after being involved in some fight they were most likely responsible for.
After having read the medical conditions scrawled down onto the sheet, the dark haired aide lifted his narrowed eyes up towards the blonde girl in front of him. She was currently resting in a wheelchair, as standing up at the moment would not have been healthy. Suddenly diverting his attention towards the other man—the girl's brother, he assumed—nearby, Asa questioned,
"Fainted in the bathroom, huh?" Grabbing hold of the bar attached to the wheelchair, he paused for a moment, before continuing, "what did she do, hit her head against the toilet seat a couple hundred times as she fell? Not bothering to listen to the reply, had there even been one, he then promptly departed from the office, directing the girl towards her assigned room. Fainted in the bathroom? What a likely story! It looked more like a fight, in his personal opinion.
What greeted Asa as he stood face to face with the white polished door of Jamie's room for the night was a sign, indicating whom the current residents within were. There were two names typed neatly onto the hanging piece of cardboard, one belonging to that blonde girl in the wheelchair. The other read "Wade Salter," a name which he heard mentioned quite a bit around members of Patrick Henry's swim team, but couldn't quite recall the face it was associated with.
"Mr. Jason?" a woman's voice suddenly spoke up from behind, "since you're going to be in there, would you mind checking on the other patient? He's suffering from horrible burns, and his mother is quite worried about the whole thing. Just make sure that he's comfortable." A grunt was the only response the doctor received, before Asa pushed open the door in front of him and wheeled Jamie in. He took his dear time doing so though. At least the working hours *seemed* to pass quicker that way.
As everything started to get fuzzy, Jamie thought she saw Venustus flying around out of the corner of her eye. But she wasn't quite sure, as she was far too busy staring at the aide; to say he was attractive wouldn't do him justice. Forcing her eyes open, Jamie thought, "God, he's hot." For a moment, she wondered if the effects of that one Graikos' spell had gone away completely; then she thought, "Well, maybe I'm getting better." Jamie was still staring when Asa left the room.
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" said Venustus, perched on the window sill. Jamie ignored him. "We need to discuss something-"
"This is all your fault, Venustus! If you hadn't made me fight all those Graikos senshi, maybe I wouldn't be in this situation! Where are all the other Romaus senshi you claim exist-"
"Watch out! Someone comes!"
Dark-haired and harried, Pauline Salter entered the room and gently deposited a toy bucket by the bedside next to Jamie's. Only now she noticed the occupant next to her; all she could see were the legs where they made the bump in the blanket. The feet almost poked out the end of the long hospital bed.
The woman sighed and petted her son's forehead gently, murmuring more to herself than her unconscious son. "I've brought your turtle, though the Lord knows why you need it so much; I've got to go home now so that Daniel and Simon don't worry, but I'll be back later in the day. Doesn't seem like you're going anywhere, Wade," she added wryly, then exited the room again.
The innocent-looking toy bucket began to wobble slightly as watery noises emanated from within; it seemed that the occupant was anxious to get out.
As the door shut behind the distressed woman, the entire room grew quiet. Not a sound could be heard except for the steady breathing of the two occupants within, their rhythmic gasps ringing through the air. Somewhere nearby, sounds of water splashing mingled in with silence, but it was merely disregarded by Asa as the noise of a patient in another room using the sink. Satisfied, he turned and reached out for the doorknob with a slender hand, only to be stopped; by what, he couldn't be sure. Suddenly, all throughout the vicinity, there was a ringing in his mind...a feeling which seized hold of his entire body and refused to let go...or that he didn't want to let go of. What was worse though, was the presence which seemed all too familiar. There was no way to describe it...déjà vu was perhaps the closest, and yet, it just wasn't that. No...it was something more.
Placing a single finger against his temple, Asa willed whatever he was feeling to disappear, all the while repeating over and over, *Nothing's wrong...I'm just working too hard. This is what happens to people who work...just working too damn hard.* Finally, it seemed to work, and what was bothering him died away somewhat.
Meanwhile, the sounds of splashing water had ascended.
"What now?" the dark haired student questioned, receiving no answer in return. It was just as well, as he definitely wasn't expecting one. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he made his way over towards the source of the noise, paying little attention to the bird resting on Jamie's windowsill. What greeted him was a plastic toy bucket, the sides of it rocking, along with...
"A turtle?" Asa exclaimed, loud enough to awaken the two patients, had they even been sleeping. Grabbing hold of the bucket forcefully, he raised it up towards his eyes, jolting it in the process. "What the hell is he doing with a turtle?"
"Jamie!" Venustus said in a low voice, "It's him."
"Who?" she said in a loud voice. She remembered other people were in the room and lowered her voice; she didn't want anyone (especially the aide) to think she was crazy. "Who?"
"Aesculapius Knight! Or, Aesculapius, whatever he wants to call himself now. I'd bet my life on it!"
"I'm willing to make a deal on that one." Jamie whispered dryly.
Asa's train of thought was broken by what he thought at first was a squawk: "The same reason a bird is perched in the window sill!" The ill-tempered dove fluttered through the air to land on the dark-haired boy's shoulder. When the aide shrugged the bird off with force, Venustus said "Ow. You must be nicer. Malice will get you nowhere at this point."
Jamie assumed since the aide had heard Venustus talk, she had nothing to lose. "Venustus, get over here *now*, before he thinks he's having a hallucination from inhaling too many hospital fumes. Tact isn't in your vocabulary is it, feather-brain?"
A squawk rivaling even that of the dove's had emanated from the little turtle, who had crawled up out of the bucket and was clinging for dear life onto Asa's hand. "Whai, really! I do agree with the young lady, deah! Ai had this situation perfectly under contro-al, and now the poor young man must be scared half to death..." Turning to the 'poor young man', Livia gave her brightest turtle-smile. "Whai, hello dahling; isn't it a nice day out? Dreahdfully sorry about that bird, he mustn't have any manners to speak of. Now, AI know the importance of good manners, especially when talhking to nice young Romanus such as your-self - "
Watching a bird fly up to him and speak human words was one thing, but the turtle currently hanging off of his hand was too much. For a second Asa froze, the only movement throughout his entire body being his dark orbs, which were flying back and forth between Venustus and Livia. He soon broke into frantic motion a few moments afterwards though, shaking his hand repeatedly while backing up against Wade's bed, until he nearly fell upon the blue haired patient. In an attempt to make sense of the situation, he exclaimed,
"Let me guess...you're both ventriloquists, right? That must be it. And you were bored so you decided to fake your injuries and both managed to snag the same room together...however you did that, I don't know and I couldn't give a damn about anyways." Completely ignoring the turtle which was still attached to him, Asa then proceeded towards the door as fast as his feet could take him. Not bothering to turn back, he continued,
"Now you two can just stay there and practice with your little animal dummies yourself. I'm finished here and you won't be seeing me anytime soon, so help me God. I'll even send another aide down who you can play your little "Let's Have Our Pets Talk" game on her and we'll all be just positively happy."
"This is ahll -yo'r- fault," bawled Livia to Venustus, then took a closer grip on Asa's arm. "Whai, really, deah, do calm down, and please sit down som'where, you're mahking me sea-sick! When ai get nauseous I simply go jaundiced, deah, so please let me talk to yoo and don't wave me a-round any more." The little turtle beamed her most kindest, nicest, smiliest smile on him, which didn't work too well even if she had practiced it in front of the mirror. Frequently.
"It wasn't all my fault," Venustus retorted, "You didn't-" Jamie roughly clamped a hand over the dove's beak.
She waited for her irritation at Venustus to subside before she said anything. when she felt a bit better, she said, "Uh... I hate to interrupt you," she said, staring half staring at the turtle and half staring at the turtle's owner (He's so...tall, she thought), "But who are you?"
"That sounds like a perfect idea for us all," Asa growled, his hand gripped firmly around the doorknob, "why don't you *both* tell *me* who you are so that I can report you and then leave ASAP without thinking that I'm Dr. Doolittle." Hesitantly, he backed away from the exit and roughly plucked Livia off his hand, dumping her onto the nearest object, which just so happened to be Jamie's bed. Then, slumping lazily against the front wall, he shot that particular glare which he had practiced all too often on most of the people in his school and prodded, "Go on, just don't take too long. I'm not in the right mood for a long drawn out explanation. Oh, and just because you're lying dead to the world," Asa pointed a finger sharply towards Wade's bed, "doesn't mean that you can't answer. Why don't you just let your little pet turtle talk?" It was clear that the dark haired aide refused to believe animals were talking to him, and it would take more than just the odd familiar feeling he was currently experiencing, to convince him. Much more.
"Whai!" Livia exclaimed indignantly, but crawled up onto Jamie's knee so that she didn't have to crane her neck. "Ai," she started, with perfect pomp and dignity, "ahm Livia, the Guardian of the Romanus Neptune Knight, which just so hahppens is mai boy Wade down theah sleeping. You're Sailor Cupid, aren't you, dahling?" Livia gave a gracious nod of her head towards Jamie. "Ai'd imagine that's her guardian over theah." Livia stressed the word -imagine- as if she hoped it wasn't true.
"And yoo." Livia turned back towards the dark-haired Asa, turning on her full turtle charm, voice rising like an opera singer. "Yoo! Yoo are Aesculapius, the senshi of healing! Yoo are a grand Romanus soldier, who will overthrow the Grrraikos, and raihse triumphant with us over those who oppose us!" What with that grand speech, Livia decided to swoon a bit.
Never let it be said that Wade Salter had no timing, for he chose at that moment to respond to Livia's shrill declaration and roll over to face the others, blearily half-opening his eyes. "Huh?" he stated intelligently.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Asa muttered under his breath.
"Well...Wade..." said Jamie hesitantly. "Meet the very...grumpy...Aesculapius."
"Grumpy? Me?" Asa retorted sarcastically, "I couldn't be happier in my life! After all these years...the animals are finally responding to me! Excuse me while I go throw a party."
While Jamie was trying to think of something else to say, Venustus decided to intervene. "Well, nice to meet you too, Livia. Now we stand three-Romanus strong..." As Venustus continued to babble on, the dark-haired aide made an attempt to slide out of the room unnoticed; Venustus did notice (unfortunately), and screeched, "And *where* do you think *you're* going?"
Turning around with his hand once again wrapped firmly around the doorknob, Asa wondered why no matter how many times he tried, he could never manage to actually turn it and slip outside. It was, after all, his third attempt at the current moment, and he was almost inclined to believe that there was a curse on the darn thing...not that it would be any stranger than talking turtles and doves. Eyebrows furrowed and fists clenched, the incredibly annoyed aide sputtered,
"Where am I going? As long as it's away from the Doolittle room, I'm happy anywhere! I sure hope you don't expect me to stay though, especially not after having that turtle shoot some sort of bull about me being a Roman guy who I had to study about in fifth grade." Pausing, Asa drew away from the door yet *again* and returned to leaning against the wall, which he had personally proclaimed as the only place of sanctuary in this godforsaken room. Head leaned back and dark brown orbs gazing up at the ceiling, he announced,
"Now this can go two ways. You can say something that makes sense and doesn't include anything about knights or sailors at sea, or you can keep blabbing on about what you mentioned before. Either way I'll leave, but I might stay a little longer if you can convince me that I didn't accidentally volunteer to work at the local asylum. What's your choice?"
It had taken a while for Wade to gel, but once he took in the talking birds and the swooning Livia, he looked like a little boy at Christmas. He sat up, albeit afterwards a bit shy when he realized all he was wearing on his top half were bandages and there was a -girl- in the room, but he soon recovered. "Livvy! Are these guys Romanus, too, y'know?"
"Yes, deah, they are," she affirmed grandly, and looked at Asa beadily once again. "Unfortuntely, this nice young man heah seems to be having a bit of trouble coming to terhms with everything - "
"You better believe it," Wade interrupted immediately, all eyes on Asa, tone serious. "'Cause it's real. I was beaten up last night, y'know, by one of the enemy people, see - " the blue-haired boy immediately went for his bandages for Show And Tell.
"Wade!" shrieked Livia. "Stop! You'll hurt yoh-self!"
He obeyed, but he still excitedly fidgeted in bed as if he wanted to get up and prove the damn thing to somebody who wasn't a talking animal. "Well, you gotta say these words to become who you are, I'm Neptune - what does he say, Liv?"
"He will say, 'Aesculapius Deus Power, Make-Up!'" Livia prompted.
"Yeah, that." Wade looked at Asa with puppydog eyes. "Try it? Please?"
Flashing his deadliest glare at Livia and Wade, Asa felt as if his nerves were about to split right there and then. What little patience he had started out with had been used up on accepting the fact that some animals--particularly doves and turtles--could speak, and all that was left of it was a thin strand that had been stretched too many times for comfort. Gritting his teeth and resisting the urge to strangle one of those animals with his bare hands, Asa stated, "First of all, I personally think that all of you have been watching the Sci-Fi channel just a *bit* too much. I hate to rain on your parade, but one, people can't turn into something else like they do in the movies, and two, I wouldn't say 'Aesculapius Deus Power, Make-whatever' even if people *could* turn into superheroes." Having hopefully gotten his point across as blunt as he could, Asa considered his next move. Leaving the room had always been the most appealing choice for him since the very beginning, but he had resisted mostly out of curiosity about just how delirious these two hospital residents could be. It wasn't curiosity which was holding him back this time though. Instead, it was the thought of what would happen the next time he re-entered the room. The chances of him not having to visit this same room again for a variety of different reasons ranging from "making sure the patients are comfortable" to bringing in their food was slim, and God knows what new stories the two of them would bombard him with the next time he entered. There had to be a way to convince both person and talking animal that what they were saying was complete nonsense.
That's when Asa had an idea.
Smirking with the knowledge that he had finally won this battle, he announced, "Since I wouldn't believe you if you each paid me a million dollars and you're both—no, all *four* of you—still think that you're in fantasy land, why don't you say your phrases and *show* me? If anything interesting happens, I'll say the stupid phrase, 'Make-up' and all. If not...well, then you leave me alone and I can go back to hanging around with the sane people of this world."
"Well," Venustus said brusquely, "It *seems* like a fair deal." Turning to Jamie, he said "Being as though Neptune is severely injured, you do it."
"Why is it always me?" Sensing Venustus would go into a long lecture concerning the honor it was to be reawakened as a Romanus and one's responsibility in regards it to that honor, she decided it was best to just go along with it and spare everyone's sanity. "*Fine*....". Jamie grabbed the chain on which her bow-crossed-with-an-arrow pendant hung and yelled: "Cupid...Deus...Power...Make Up!" Jamie tossed the pendant as far in the air as the low ceiling would allow; then, looking up, she waited for the pendant to dissolve into golden light. On cue, the arrow fired itself from the bow, causing a brilliant beam of golden light to engulf the small room. The light eventually faded and Jamie was left in her fuku, bow in hand. "There...happy? Anything else, oh Grumpy One?" she said with enough sarcasm so there was doubt as to whether or not she was referring to Asa or Venustus.
"Sailoh Cupid!" Livia announced grandly.
The blue-haired boy grinned weakly at the newly-kitted Cupid and then lay back again, feeling his bones pop and gritting his teeth. "I don' think I can transform, Livvy," he apologized.
"A'hm sure Cupid's enough," the turtle reassured him and turned back to Asa sternly. "Now do yoo believe, young man? Whai, first you make poor Cupid transform and she's MOST injured and mai poor Wade is practically dy-ing in his own bed - " her voice reached a particularly screechy level.
Eyes focused blankly somewhere in Cupid's general direction, Asa ignored the obviously upset turtle and forced his jaw to move in time with what was currently running through his mind. It took a few moments, but finally a single response was uttered, "Impossible." Jamie agreeing and then transforming before his eyes had been the last thing that he had expected. Had she spoken her phrase and then realized that nothing was happening, he would have laughed. Had she suddenly made up an excuse and pushed him out of the room, he would have been more than obliged to agree. Had it been *anything* else, he would have known how to deal with it. It hadn't though, and here he was, standing before a girl who had instantly changed her clothes in a flash, accompanied by what he hoped was just a an assortment of special effects.
The truth was staring him right in the face, but how he hated to be proved wrong, especially by something that belonged in the sci-fi channel. With a roll of his eyes, he proclaimed, "I don't remember the last time they announced that there was going to be a movie filmed at this hospital, but you can leave me out of it. I'll say your dumb phrase, nothing will happen, and then you'll all leave me alone and get back to your twilight zone show. Agreed?" He hated to do this, hated to give in to those crazy nutcases, but if it was the only way—and he had run out of other ideas, mind you—to get them to stop bugging him, then so bet it. Furrowing his eyebrows and gritting his teeth, Asa spoke in his most bland tone, "Aesculapius Deus Power, Make-up." One second. Two seconds. Nothing was happening, much to his relief. "I'm *so* sorry, Ms. Turtle and Mr. Dove," he responded sarcastically, "but it looks like I'll be going now. If you need anything else, feel free to give us a buzz and we'll be sure to ignore you." With the feeling of victory rushing through his veins, Asa turned away from the patients...only to be stopped by a blinding flash of light.
The light was everywhere, occupying every single space and practically grabbing at the very clothes of his body. He wanted to fight it...wanted to shove it away, but it seemed as though it was controlling his body itself. His arms refused to move, and his legs were no help either. Instead, they reacted themselves, reaching up forwards towards the heavens and closing around a metallic object. What happened next passed in a blur, being a series of blinding light, flashing light, and more light. He lost track of the path his arms took on their own will, and it was only until the brightness had faded away that he realized what had happened. He had changed. "Welcome back," his body seemed to remark. As if not feeling that this greeting was enough, a giant amount of weight fell directly into his open palms, which unfortunately had not been prepared for the moment. Giving way to the metallic object, his hands tilted forwards and what apparently was a staff suddenly jammed against his right foot. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he instinctively crouched forward towards the ground, face red with the mixed feelings of anger, embarrassment, and satisfaction. Thus was the ever so graceful entrance of the Romanus soldier of healing. Aesculapius.
Venustus fluttered across the room to land on Aesculapius' shoulder. "Well, well. Do you believe us now?!? Why must you be so stubborn and skeptical-"
"Venustus," interrupted Cupid looking up from her current activity, spinning her bow in circles from one end of the weapon (which was ruining the linoleum and creating a rather annoying scratching-squeak noise), "Didn't you say that he'd not-"
"Silence! As I was saying, you must believe us now. You cannot deny your destiny!" The dove looked around the room for support.
Livia rose to the challenge. "Whai, yes! Your destiny as the healer of the wounded soldiers of the Romanus, the curer of the ill that is the Graikos! Bandage to the Graikos wound! Salve to the Graikos ache! Medicine for the Graikos sickness!"
"Band-Aid for th' Graikos zit," Wade offered with a grin.
Livia gave him a glare that would have melted rock.
The blue-haired boy ignored his turtle and with an immense effort, rolled out of bed, first gently shaking Cupid's hand gingerly, then giving Aesculapius a more hefty pat on the shoulder. "Welcome to the team," he said softly. "It's hell, but I'm glad t'be workin' with you, ya know? It's a death-wish workin' alone. We have to be together. A team." Pain burnt in his dark eyes briefly, but then he relaxed back and sat on the bed, bones popping. "I'm livin' proof of it."
"Yes!" Livia shrilled. "Look at what happens without assistance! Look at mai po'r, po'r Wade!"
Though both Venustus and Livia had spoken ecstatically enough for every one of their words to be heard from the next room and beyond, Aesculapius's mind had been blank most of the time. He did hear the occasional "something-or-other to the Graikos-pain" screeched out by Livia, but other than that, he was completely oblivious to the world revolving around him. Instead, all he could think about was the shock. It was the shock of realization...the shock that perhaps what this room full of loonies had told him was true after all.
Releasing his grip around the staff and letting it crash down towards the ground, Aesculapius half ran and half stumbled over towards the mirror hanging in the bathroom. Positioning himself in front of it, he blinked at what he saw. It was him...yes, it was Asa...and yet, there was something different. The hair wasn't quite the same, and the clothing had changed completely. Aesculapius blinked at his reflection for a few seconds, before what he was seeing finally reached the thinking portion of his brain.
"What the hell happened?" he exclaimed, turning away from the mirror and glaring directly at the other with him. Running his fingers through his now grey hair, he continued, "What happened to me...and just what are you blabbering about? Graikos this, Roman that! Healer to the Graikos wound and such. It's bad enough that I have to work in this dumb hospital, but when my hair starts turning grey and my clothing starts turning metallic..." Pausing for a quick breath, Aesculapius leaned back against the wall and practically slid down to the floor. It was humiliating to act this way, but with what he had just experienced...
"Just someone tell me what's going on," he moaned.
Before Venustus or Livia could start up again, Wade squatted down besides Asa, mind racing at a million miles a minute to explain the entire thing. "We're Romanus," he began slowly. "We're Roman gods, or somethin', an' we fight against the Graikos, who're Greek gods. We're also 'gainst the Astronomia an' the Angelus, who are stars an' angels or somethin'. We fight them 'cause..." Wade bit his swollen lip, then shrugged. "'Cause it's them or us, an' they're not afraid to hurt us, see? There're a lotta long complicated reasons why we fight but I don' understand most of 'em 'cause I'm kinda dumb. But if you're one of 'em, you just gotta fight the others, and that's that. That's right, ain't it, Liv?"
Livia, looking most perturbed that she couldn't give a long involved speech, sniffed. "Ai suppose."
"Why *are* we all fighting?" asked Cupid the room at large, staring off into space, seeing everything and focusing on nothing. "You know, us, the Graikos, Angelus, and Astronomius-"
"Astronomia." Venustus corrected.
"Whatever. Why are we all fighting, besides the fact it's survival of the fittest? You've never really told us anything beyond 'attack them before they attack you.'" And what's to be gained for the last team standing?"
"Well, you see, it all started long ago when-" Venustus started.
"And what can he do?" Cupid asked as she gave a nod in Aesculapius' direction.
Quite pleased to interrupt Venustus, Livia preened herself and nodded her head to the blonde. "Aesculapius is a -heahlah-!" she declared. Staring around at a host of expectant faces, she realized the mere fact that she had announced something was not enlightening them enough. Sigh. Since when had the Romanus been so... dim? "Ahs well ahs the innate power of heahaling by touch, Aesculapius has so'more offensive powers against others, but he mah-jors in support techniques. Laike 'Healer's Touch', if ai recall." Livia looked smugly at Asa. "Yoo maight want to try that one, deah. It shall heal one of yoour comrades!"
"A heal-ah?" Aesculapius repeated shortly in a poor attempt at Livia's accent, his right eyebrow raised. The disbelief of what was happening had long faded away after he himself had transformed, but that didn't mean that he had to be pleased. Perhaps possessing the powers of some dead Roman person wasn't so bad, but...a healer? Possessing the powers of Jupiter or Pluto wouldn't have been so bad, but of all things good and holy, he had to be a healer? A healer was the sort of person who spent all of their weekends tending to those who had injured themselves. A healer was weak and timid, who liked to stay in the background of everything. That surely wasn't him!
Rolling his eyes, Aesculapius questioned in a clear tone of sarcasm, "And just how am I supposed to do this? Repeat 'Healer's Touch' and wave my arms around to send the magical faery dust floating about?" At the same moment these words were doubtfully spoken, he felt a warm rush of energy suddenly engulf the palms of his hands. With surprise in his eyes and a quick glance down, he took in the full sight of...water? No, not water. Water could never have that shade of gray, and he was almost sure that it didn't sparkle. Well, at least 50% sure.
Holding his hands up in front of Livia, he shot a puzzled glance at her as if asking just what he was supposed to do with this liquid which had mysteriously appeared. Oh...he would have liked to ask out loud as well, but there was just something about talking to turtles with accents that he just wasn't comfortable with yet. He suspected he would never be either.
Livia beamed so hard, you would have sworn it was -her- who cast the spell. With a gracious nod of her head, she gestured towards Wade, who was beaming expectantly at both of them. "Undoo your bandages, deah," she cooed at him.
The boy nodded, gritting his teeth and unhooking the toothed catch at the side. With great delicacy and many winces, he slowly revealed the rest of his toned, tan chest - but the rest of it wasn't pretty.
Angry, streaky red burns covered his chest, the skin moist with the cream applied by the doctors. If one could train their eyes upon the ugliness of the wounds long enough, a pattern would appear - the burn was in the shape of someone's hand. Smaller blisters were peppered over his ribs and upper torso, marring the skin.
The little turtle looked at them reverentially - the marks of a warrior! - before turning back to the grey-haired healer. "Place yo'r hands up-on Wade's chest," she commanded. "Po'r the liquid ovah his wounds."
"Eww," Wade said cheerily. "Poor Asa. They're gross."
With great trepidation - the marks were indeed unappetizing - Aesculapius opened his fingers to let the ever-shifting liquid trickle onto the angry burns. Although there didn't appear to be much in his palms, the liquid kept flowing until the burned areas were covered, then abruptly petered out when he consciously felt the job was done. Wade stopped gritting his teeth when the liquid began to sink in, cool and soothing, abruptly cutting off the tight ache.
"Wow," the blue-haired boy beamed, fascinated. "Neat."
Asa was quite interested too, but as he took his hands away, he closed his eyes out of fatigue. Who would've known that one bit of grey liquid would have taken so much out of him?
As Wade bandaged back up his wounds, Livia nodded proudly at the healer. "Very naice," she congratulated him. "A troo thing o'beauty, ai must say."
"Whatever," Asa grumbled, but his heart wasn't in it. "How do I get out of this stupid uniform now?"
"Just thaink of yo'self before you changed into Aescuulapius, deah. Concentrate."
"And click my heels three times?"
"S'real easy," Wade encouraged.
Finally - after three moments of concentrating - it was gone, and he was back in his nurse uniform, which for once in his life was a great improvement of what he had been wearing five minutes ago.
Thank God!
"Now, yoo too, Jamie - Jamie?"
Everyone looked over. The concussed girl had curled up asleep on her hospital bed, her Cupid fuku having dissolved away in her unconscious state, back to her plain plastic gown. Wade got up and gently pulled a blanket over her.
"Smart girl," he murmured softly, then looked at Asa. "Y'shoul' go home an' get some rest, too. I remember how beat I was after my first go at transformin'. Hokay?"
"Fine, yes, fantastic. I'll just say I'm sick or something." Asa had never been sick in his life, but for the first time, he gloomily felt he might finally know what it was like.
"Wait. What's yoo're full name, deah?" Livia interrupted.
Asa adjusted his glasses, privately thankful to also be able to see again. Aesculapius had been blessed/cursed with the same eyesight he had. "Jason. Asa Jason. Why?" he added suspiciously.
"So thaht we can contact yoo," the turtle added firmly. "Yoo're a part of the team now, deah."
How absolutely charming. "Great," he said wearily, too tired and too confused to argue.
"See y'later, Asa," Wade beamed, clambering back into bed. "T'anks."
Asa mechanically moved out of the room and closed the door behind him. He'd just been ordered about by a talking turtle, saw a girl transform into an indecent skirt and a lot of pink, and poured magical grey goop over somebody's burns.
Maybe he should take up drinking.