The Outcasts

Chapter 3

"Sage, it's not that bad!" Ryo exclaimed, trying to calm down the leader of their group.

"But I am a vegetarian! Vegetarians do not suck blood! I haven't touched meat in so long, and now I'm supposed to suck the blood of animals? Eww!" Ryo sighed.

"Well, remember, you were the one that taught me." Ryo pointed out as Sage sighed.

"That's not the point. It's not the same."

"And why not? I have to do the same thing."

"Yes, but you are not a vegetarian, I am! I do not want that gross, tainted meat touching my tongue!"

"Hey!" Ryo exclaimed in offense that Sage would insult what he had to do.

"That was uncalled for!" Sage rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I am not in a very good place right now! At night I am stuck as a rampant wolf, during the days I have to bite people to live, I have to take care of all four of you, god forbid I've never once not taken care of you! Plus, I keep accidentally doing things with my new found magic!" Sage fell to the floor, near tears. Ryo sighed, and sat next to the other boy.

"Come on Sage, its not too bad. See, we all have mastered our own powers, because of your help. And I think it's in our line of duty to help you through this. So why don't I take you hunting later, before you turn wolf, and you can hang with Kento while you do. You actually might be quite a nice thing to have while hunting. With your ability to go cheetah on us. I don't think that anything could get away from you." Ryo licked his lips.

"No Ryo. Anyways, you are in Kento's body. You don't need blood, and you don't have your super-human speed and senses." Ryo hung his head.

"Oh yeah." He stood unhappily for a moment, until his eyes lit up and a smile gleamed on his features. It was almost haunting to see Kento's body smiling. And Ryo's body not talking for that matter.

"So, Blondie, these powers, they make you witch, right?" Sage nodded slightly, an odd, almost scared expression on his face.

"Yes, your point?"

"Now, witchcraft was what switched Kento and I, right?" Again, the blonde nodded. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"No Ryo! Rowen did it, let him figure it out. I'm a wussy witch! I'm not the one to ask!"

"Come on Sage! If you can get Rowen to be better then he was, god forbid the time he tried to stake me, you're going to be even better then he is! And if he can't un-do it, then we're depending on you!" Sage brought his hands to his temple, gently trying to rub the pounding headache away.

"OK Ryo, I'll think about it. But I'm not promising anything. I have a lot on my mind right now." Ryo grinned, which made Sage shudder slightly, due to the fact that Kento never grinned and here Ryo was, in the body of the other man, grinning like a hyena.

"Ryo, I'm going to get some rest." Ryo nodded. Sage headed towards the door at the moment Rowen came running in, and they slammed headlong into each other. Sage coughed, the wind knocked from him.

"Rowen, you must stop always running." Rowen shrugged as he leapt to his feet and handed Sage a small, golden necklace with the witches crest on a small charm that dangled limply on the chain.

"What's that?" Sage asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, I know that you have werewolf blood in you now. And in case it acts up and you become a wolf, this will make it so that instincts don't kick in and you keep your mind." Sage smiled, giving the other boy a slight hug.

"Thanks Ro." He murmured. Slowly he pulled his relatively long hair to the side, beckoning Rowen to put it on him. He felt the cold metal against his skin and sighed, his mind wondering. Why couldn't he just have a normal life like most people? Even the others of his rag-tag group of friends had better lives then him in their pasts. They were all abandoned, with the lack of Cye in that category, but so was he. And he was tortured and beaten and tested on regularly, everyday. Slowly, he trudged back to his room, leaving Rowen alone.

~~~~~

"Sage, you make such a nice pillow!" Cye exclaimed, laughing as he hugged the very unhappy, golden wolf. With a wolf sigh of unhappiness, Sage allowed the boy to use him as a headrest. And when Rowen came in, he knew that the azure boy would do the same thing, if only to tease him.

"Oh, Sage, I want you to know that I am not upset in the least that you bit me." He grinned.

"Actually makes me feel kinda special! You bit me, not the others." The wolf tossed its head in laughter, as if to say "Only you Cye, only you." Cye smiled once more and curled up against the soft fur of the wolf. He knew that normal wolves weren't as soft, but Sage was extremely so.

"Hey guys!" Cye looked up, along with Cye, as Rowen paraded into the room.

"Oh look! Pillow! I say we skin him for the fur." Cye's eyes went wide as the wolf glared.

"Rowen! That is not a good thought!" The witch laughed as he made his way to Cye.

"Hey, Cye, mind sharing the pillow?" Cye shrugged.

"Not at all. He's really soft." He rubbed Sage affectionately as the wolf pressed against him. Cye giggled.

"I thought the wolf wasn't supposed to take over." Again, the creature glared, causing Cye to laugh even harder as Rowen crawled on the bed and lie on Sage too.

"See, isn't he soft?" Rowen grinned.

"He really is! You are just so soft, aren't you Sagey?" He barely managed, to pull away and keep the sharp teeth from digging into him with their pressure of twelve hundred pounds (That's true. Wolves can put 1200 pounds of pressure on things with just their teeth. Per square inch that is. I researched wolf characteristics and behavior for "The Others".)

"Rowen, I wouldn't mess with him. Like Kento, wolves have attitudes, and I doubt Sage is an exception." This time, it was Cye who barely missed being bite.

"Cye, are you sure it's safe to sleep on him?" Cye shrugged.

"Only one way to find out." And promptly, they all went to sleep.

~~~~~

Sage grumbled to himself in the morning, as he realized that he was not always going to be a wolf, and he was also the first one up. He sighed, he was immobile till at least one got up. For some reason, he felt so very weak, and then finally it dawned on him why. He, as Ryo liked to put it, was in dire need of some blood. But he would not touch another living creature! He would not bite them! Cye was an exception. He hadn't known what he was doing at the time, and he was not being held accountable. He looked down at the two boys below him and his hunger grew. Was this what Ryo faced everyday, and now Kento? Trying to hold back the urge to take just a tiny bite out of the flesh of the others? He took a deep gulp. He wouldn't let himself succumb to this yearning. Ryo got up early enough, he'd ask him if there was anyway he could go without blood. He watched as the small brunette on his chest opened his eyes and yawned, turning to look at Sage, then blushing.

"I'm sorry! I forgot that you turn back human when it turns daylight." Sage shrugged.

"I don't mind, really. I just need to get up. I have to talk to Ryo." Cye nodded as he got off of Sage, who simply slid out from under Rowen.

"Unngh…" Rowen muttered, reaching out for his pillow. Sage grinned and swatted away the hand.

"Rowen's still asleep if you're wondering Cye." Cye smiled, and nodded. He watched as Sage rose to his feet, and stumbled slightly.

"Sage, are you OK?" Cye asked in concern. Sage nodded slightly.

"It's just…" He paused. "Never mind." Trying to regain his strong stride once more, he left the room in search of Ryo.

"Kento, have you seen Ryo?" The now black haired youth turned to Sage.

"He went out." Sage sighed and fell wearily to the couch.

"Pale. Are you ok?" Sage sighed. He was used to Kento's one-word sentences or very short ones as he turned his head slightly, to make eye contact with the other boy.

"My body needs blood…. But I refuse to suck another creatures…" Kento rolled his eyes.

"It's not that bad." Sage shrugged.

"To me it is. I want to ask Ryo if there is anyway that I can not have to eat someone."

"Newsflash. Vampires eat things. You are now one. You eat things or die." Sage shook his head.

" I am not going to eat things." Sage watched as Ryo walked into the door, and immediately rose to meet the other boy.

"Ryo, help me." Ryo looked slightly confused, but nodded anyways.

"Ok, what do you need? By the way, you are looking really pale, even for you. You need to eat." Sage rolled his eyes.

"That's the thing. I refuse to drink blood, but now I am getting very weak. Is there anyway that I can not drink blood?" Ryo laughed.

"Ahh, the wish of all we vampires. The answer? No. Sorry, but Kento can take you out and show you how to hunt." Sage sighed.

"Never mind, I'll just starve." Ryo shook his head.

"Don't do that. If you starve yourself, eventually you're not going to be able to control it and you'll be jumping Cye, or Rowen, or Kento. Someone that's more human then yourself. And it won't be your fault, you can control it, but you could end up really hurting someone." Sage sighed.

"Well, I am witch now, right? Maybe there's a spell or something that can reverse what happened in my body." Ryo shrugged.

"You can try. But even if there is, you need to be strong enough to cast it. And face it, you aren't strong without a lot of nice, coppery blood." Sage gulped. Ryo was taunting him.

"I'll try without eating, ok? When Rowen gets up, I'll ask him to help me with spells. He has a book that's full of them, and really old, maybe there will be something in there. But I have no idea where he put it, so I'll wait." Ryo and Kento nodded in agreement as Sage once again fell gracelessly to the couch. Ryo and Kento gave each other odd glances, but said nothing.

"How is everyone doing?" Cye asked as he bounced into the room with his normal amount of energy. Sage sighed at the boy's exuberance.

"Now Sage, are you ok? Because you looked very pale and quite sick when you left." Ryo shrugged.

"He needs blood." Cye glanced over at Sage and shrugged, sitting next to the boy and exposing his neck. Sage immediately shoved Cye away and turned. Cye looked on in confusion, till finally Ryo answered his question.

"He refused to drink blood. Don't tempt him." Cye nodded and pulled away.

"Why wont he eat? If he needs it, he should have it." Ryo shrugged.

"Don't ask me, ask him." Cye then turned his attention to Sage.

"Why wont you suck my blood?" Sage sighed.

"Because I don't like the idea of having to take the blood of living creatures."

"Well, it's not like you' be killing them, like a non-vegetarian does. You'd be using them, then returning them to the wild." Kento nodded.

"It's not that bad."

"Yeah, it really isn't. You get used to it after awhile." Ryo added. Finally, after ten minutes of silence, Rowen yawned and walked out of the door.

"What, no food?" he asked as he looked around at the four in the living room.

"Sage is too weak to get up and cook." Ryo stated as Rowen grumbled. Sage sighed. He'd tried to get Rowen to learn this one spell, but it had never turned out right. So now it was his turn. He pointed his finger to the table and focused his will and magic. The others watched in awe as by far the most delicious meal any of them had ever seen, with the exception of Cye who had been very rich before.

"Woah! Sage! This looks SO good!" Rowen stated as he ran over to the table, along with the others. Sage staid on the couch though, to tired to get up to eat.

"Sage, come on, you are still partly human. You need normal food too." Sage shrugged, making no movement to get up. Cye put his hands on his hips and glared at the other boy, who thoroughly ignored him. Grabbing two plates, Cye filled both up with food, and then went over to Sage.

"Eat." He stated as he handed Sage the food. Sage sighed and nibbled on French stick.

"I wonder why they call it "French toast"." Rowen stated as he walked over to the other two with a plate covered in food. "I mean, did the French really make it?" Cye laughed.

"You know, French fries aren't French either." Rowen grinned.

"I think that's our next mission, to find out where the French got the rights to name all these foods they didn't make after them." Cye grinned and nodded, taking a bite of eggs into his mouth. He turned to glance at Sage, who was merely playing with his food. Cye glared at Sage, then finally grabbed the fork from him, grabbed some of the eggs, and shoved them into Sage's mouth. The blonde gave Cye a hate-filled look, but Cye simply laughed. Finally, Sage swallowed, and rose unsteadily to his feet.

"I'm going to Mia. I'm going to get our next mission from her." Ryo glanced at Sage untrustingly.

"I'll come too. I don't want you to lose control and bite someone." Sage sighed, but agreed to let Ryo come along. Cye, Rowen, and Kento watched as the two left.

"Think they'll be ok?" Cye nodded.

"Sage will get over it and eat eventually. He can't starve himself forever." Rowen said nothing in reply.

~~~~~

"Mia?" Sage asked as he walked into the room. The auburn woman ran in from the backroom, slipping on the carpet and sliding into Sage, who barely managed to catch her and keep balance himself.

"Sorry." She stated breathlessly as she balanced herself.

"So, Whatcha here for?" Sage sighed.

"Next mission." She nodded as she scampered over to her desk, tripping and landing with her rear hard on the seat. She grinned in embarrassment as she shuffled through the papers on her desk.

"So, how you guys doing? Sage, you don't look to hot."

"I know." He said flatly. He didn't need everyone telling him that he looked like crap.

"Hey Mia, don't mind him. He's in a bad mood because he found out that he is now…" Ryo paused. "Vampire, werewolf, and witch, as well as the shape shifter." Mia froze as she looked as Sage.

"What happened?" Sage sighed.

"When I was little, I was injected with a bunch of different bloods from different breeds. They were dormant, but when Cye and I were captured…"

"You and Cye were captured?"

"Yes, well, when we were captured, they set off the bloods in me so that they are no longer dormant."

"And he refuses to drink blood!" Ryo exclaimed as Sage glared at him. Mia shuffled through the papers again.

"Hey, Mia, whatever happened to all the money we got last mission?" Ryo asked, as Sage hung his head.

"I gave it away."

"Huh? You gave a million dollars away?" Sage shrugged.

"I split it among a bunch of places like the orphanage you ran away from, and the animal shelter that tried to take in Kento." Ryo grinned in memory of that incident.

"And things like that so that people that are worse of then us can have a chance."

"So, where did this streak of goodness come from?" Ryo asked as Sage shrugged.

"Someone told me that if they had all the money in the world, they'd give it away to make people happier then they are. So I fulfilled his wish. It was a long time ago, but I still remember." Ryo nodded. Sage raised them, it was his choice what they did with what they earned. Finally, Mia removed a file from under the mass of papers, handing it to Sage.

"Thank you Mia." He stated as he carefully opened it. He scanned over the papers.

"Ryo, our next mission involves infiltrating a building." Ryo smiled as he took away the papers from Sage.

"You mean, our next mission without you. You, my friend, are too weak. If you don't drink the blood, you don't go on the mission." Sage gaped.

"What? That's not fair!" Ryo shrugged.

"Sage, you're way too weak. Take it from a vampire that knows, your body can't take all this exertion. Before you found me and I…. uh, used you for food, I kept doing things that take a strain on you. Running, jogging, all those things. And you saw the state I was in when you found me. You can let that happen to yourself. So if you aren't going to eat, then you aren't going to go on missions. It's for your health and safety." Sage groaned.

"But…"

"No. You are not going and that's final." Sage hung his head as Ryo took his arm and dragged him to the door.

"Bye Mia!" Ryo called out as Mia grinned.

"Bye guys!" Sage merely waved as he was dragged away by Ryo.

~~~~~

Sage was alone. The other had left about an hour ago, leaving him bored and alone, as well as worried. He was always the man person in their missions, setting the bomb, cracking the codes, anything like that was up to him. So how they fared without him he did not know. Sighing, he plopped down on the couch, taking the remote and turning on the TV. He flipped through the channels, pausing on an infomercial about tarot cards. Suddenly, a light flickered in his head as he smiled. The others weren't due back for another 4 or 5 hours, so he decided to take advantage of that. He knew that if anyone could reverse what had happened, it would be the people that had captured him and done this to him. And, if that didn't work, he knew that they had a large book of spells for witches that was old and full of thousands upon thousands of spells. Maybe it would have something to help him. He knew he was playing with fire, going back to the people that had tortured him since childhood, but he had to stop this hunger in him. The vampire part of him that was aroused by the simple nearing of mortals. He couldn't help what he was going to do. He figured that it would be Ok. He was a lot of things and had more power then the scientists did. And there was something else that was luring him to their hideout. When he and Cye had been imprisoned, they had not been the only people there. Over the years since he had escaped, they had collected more children. He had to get them out of there too. He rose to his feet, holding onto the couch for support, as he pulled on his shoes and made for the door. On a second thought, he grabbed the pad of paper for notes by the door and scribbled a short note on it.

Got bored of being alone. Decided to go out and do something about what happened to me myself. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.

Sage

And then, he was gone from the premise of the house.

To be continued….

A/N: Yeah! Finally, the next chapter. This took me awhile…. And I used to be so good at getting them out. Don't blame my, my brother's evil game is the evil mastermind behind my lack of writing! Well, I hope you liked it! Well, bye!