VI: Solar Storm:

Their guide held out her bow.

“You hear something?” Spike asked. The woman didn’t answer. Sakura looked up at her husband.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. The cowboy shushed her. Meanwhile, their guide’s eyes shifted left and right. Her ears trained into the silence.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She held up her right hand.

“What?” Spike mouthed at her. The woman’s eyes kept moving back and forth. She rose her bow higher.

There’s something here.

“What?” the cowboy asked. The woman pulled out an arrow from her hair and set it up in the bow. He looked around for himself. There was nothing in sight. At least nothing as far as he could see.

“Where is it?” he mouthed with his gun pointed out. The guide drew her bow.

Eleven minutes away.

“What?” Spike asked. He pulled the trigger just as fast as she released her arrow. It felt like something ripped through time and space. The air stopped for a second, but that was all it took. The guide reached out and grabbed Spike by the shoulder.

Hold on!

Sakura grabbed onto him by the waist. Everything happened in two beats. One minute, the trio were all standing close to each other as they hung.

The next, they were gone. No one else even noticed a thing.

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Miguel sat back with a gasp.

“What just happened?” He looked around when he didn’t hear an answer.

“Hello? Are you still there?” He clenched his teeth as the pain surged through his body. No! No! It’s too early! How did he cover this much ground so quickly?

The pain started to spread through his body. Miguel took in deep breaths as he tried to keep it together. Suddenly, someone whispered in his right ear. The words came through so softly. He could barely make out the words.

What? What are you saying?

He fought to listen through the pain. Why did she have to leave? Did he do something to her? No, that wasn’t possible. She wouldn’t be taken down by him so easily. Miguel drew open his eyes. Soft, featherlike fingertips brushed against his cheek. His body went stiff.

You are…

He drew his mouth closed. However, Miguel didn’t close his eyes. It felt like something warm was running down his tear duct. He couldn’t reach up to touch it. He didn’t need to.

But still, why was he still here? Wasn’t he supposed to be destroyed into tiny pieces of dust by now? That’s what she was sent to do, right? Miguel stared deep into those empty red pits for eyes. She didn’t make a sound. She didn’t even move. She didn’t let up on him either. Why was she just holding him in place?

You don’t want to kill me, do you?

Miguel could’ve sworn he saw a ripple across her face. She may have been holding him in place, but he could still see what was going on. That was all he could do while he tried to figure out how to get out of this trap.

----------

Spike drew open his eyes.

“We’re still alive?” he asked. “But what happened?” The cowboy looked around. He found himself sitting somewhere but he couldn’t move. There was no one else around. He didn’t have his gun either. Spike looked down at his hand. The skin was bright red but he couldn’t feel a thing. However, Spike didn’t have time to ponder that. He lifted his head. That sounded like footsteps, didn’t it?

Spike braced himself for a fight as he stayed quiet. Where exactly were they coming from? Could he get up to attack or would he have to fight sitting down? He didn’t have a choice but to stay calm and try to get up.

The guide was at the same disadvantage as Spike. She too was alone without her bow. However, she still had her arrows in her hair. Her eyes searched the hazy empty around her. One… Two… Three…

There were eight of them in this place. Spike could take care of himself. Sakura was the real concern here. Kaze-san did give her a charm to give to the tenshi-chi for this problem. However, it could only do so much. The guide and Spike were going to have to get to her before he did.

The guide tried to stand up again. Still no luck. How well did they make this trap? She cursed herself under her breath but took in another breath. It would do her no good to get worked up right now. The guide needed to keep a level head and be on her guard. At the moment she was to be attacked, she could just reach up, pull out an arrow, and throw it at her target.

She might have to put that plan to the test right now.

“Now how long have you been watching me?” she asked the potential predator in front of her. The guide couldn’t see it but she knew it was there. The question was who was going to make the first move.

Sakura woke up alone. Right away, she had a feeling that something wasn’t right. Spike and the guide were nowhere in sight. She put her hand on her chest. When did it feel so cold inside? Sakura shivered the second she noticed.

She turned her head. Faint footsteps started walking toward her. The tenshi-chi held her breath. Sakura wished that she wasn’t alone right now. It didn’t help that her powers were locked inside of her body. She didn’t know what caused it or how to fix it. However, the tenshi-chi still had the charm placed on her forehead. It wasn’t like anyone could really hurt her, right?

“There you are.”

Against her better judgment, Sakura slowly turned her head to her left. She couldn’t make out anything specific. All the tenshi-chi could see were deep purple robes in front of her face.

“I have been looking for you, dear. Welcome home.”