Walls Coming Down

Rabat

"Sage? Help please?"

Jett had been to the streets of Rabat so many times that she'd lost count. Now she was stuck by the A site once again, with a rapidly-charging spike ready to go off at any moment. That damn fake Cypher had set up well — predicting her flying in with a preset tripwire. Shots had been fired, and now she was bleeding out. Again.

Where was Sage? Last she checked in, the healer was on the opposite side of the facility, dealing with a rogue Phoenix. The telltale shimmering sound of a ball of crystal spreading onto the ground had been heard just a few seconds ago. She was still far away — Jett was on her own. If only the teleporter a few feet away worked on both sides...

"Not here," Jett sighed. "Perfect."

Jett got up from her crouched position, and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. Sage would arrive to back her up, but there was no time to waste waiting for her. That spike needed defusing. With one last check of the scanner at her hip, she racked her shotgun and summoned a gust around her.

Another tripwire, placed at just the right angle. If she'd gone straight for a defuse, Jett would've been trapped again. She grinned as she whipped out her knife, and destroyed it with a single slash. Wisps of cloud danced around her fingers as she threw a smoke to cover her position. As she started the scan, an extremely loud beeping filled the air. Cypher would know exactly where she was now.

Suddenly she was surrounded by a circular, constantly-glitching wall. Jett swore under her breath — she'd missed the tiny projector on the ground by her feet. But time was running out anyway, so she'd have to press on. Halfway there...

A searing pain ripped through her shin, and she instinctively dashed backwards. Her covering cloud had disappeared, but Cypher was nowhere to be seen. He was here somewhere, but where?! Where'd he shot her from? It didn't matter; she had to get back to defusing, quick.

Or not. A turquoise, crystalline wall rose out of the ground, blocking her from the spike. A firm hand grabbed her by the shoulder, and then Jett was being dragged away. She entered the teleporter backwards, just as she heard the detonation. She'd failed miserably.

Jett looked up and over her shoulder to see the signature white robes of the culprit. She sighed as a cooling, menthol-like feeling suffused her body.

"It's already over," Jett said, getting up off the ground, dusting the sand off her hands. Ugh, it was trapped inside her gloves now.

"I don't want to leave you to bleed out," Sage replied, no change in her tone. Always the same, careful intonation. Jett wondered what she did in her time off. Tea, maybe. A good book? She seemed like the type... though that second thing was more Killjoy's vibe.

"I could've done it."

"You should have waited for me."

"There was no time. Somehow he got me..."

"Cypher will have perished in the blast. No huge loss."

"Yeah, except for Brimstone. I'm gonna get such a chewing out..."

"There would have been more to chew you out for, if you had bled all over his helicopter."

"Funny."

"Come. Our ride is en route."

Jett found herself trudging after Sage, quite irritated. There'd definitely been time... but then, she hadn't known where Cypher was. There wasn't a line of sight, unless he'd tagged her with a camera, but he hadn't. Wait—

"Oh, he was at the Lamps!" she groaned, burying her face in her hands. Oop, another mistake. Now she had to brush sand out of her face as well.

"Jett, it's over," Sage told her, not even looking back.

"Yeah, you're right," Jett sighed. "As always."

This time Sage turned, and she had an odd, almost coy smile on her face. That gave Jett pause for thought; it was an expression she'd never seen before. Sage was always composed, and entirely focused on her duty. Honestly, she threw that word around so much that it'd lost all meaning.

"What's with that?" Jett asked.

"Nothing," Sage replied, almost too quickly. "The important thing is... you are safe."

A short walk later, and they were at the landing zone. Jett could see the tiny speck in the sky that would be their ticket out of the scorching heat. Sage stood by the wall, completely still, her back straight as a rod. She seemed so uptight at times, yet calm. Her expression was unreadable, but then, that was always the case. Jett sighed.

"Thanks," she said. "For saving my ass."

"It is my duty."

"That's all?"

A raised eyebrow, but that coy smile again. What was she... Jett didn't understand. She was as much of an enigma as Reyna, or Sova, though in a different way. A more controlled way. One that, as much as Jett wouldn't admit it, reassured her.

"Don't sulk," Sage continued. "It's landing. Let's go... I will buy you lunch."

"Really?"

"As I understand it, you lost all your money to Yoru."

"Oh, don't bring that up again! Honestly, if he'd gone in there, he'd be owing me!"

"Maxbot has been decommissioned, much to Killjoy's chagrin. Your money is safe, from now on."

"Good. Thanks... again."

"You're welcome."