"Are you accepting new members?" Gargoyle asked.

"You're thinking of Rangers," Gamer Man said, "After they get the five base members, they get the white and black members."

"That's not what I'm thinking of, and it never will be," Gargoyle said.

"But magical girls don't recruit extra members," Gamer Man continued, "They just have the five base members. Also, we're dudes, we can't join a magical girl team."

“Are we not rangers?” Green asked, “Sailor Celestial, are we Rangers?”

“The Pretty Rose Prism Ranger costume as an additional suit you can transform into,” Sailor Celestial explained, “But fret not, you are still my darling Sailors.”

“That saves us some rebranding,” Blue said.

“Marketing would wring our necks,” Red agreed.

“But we don’t get a new member?” Pink asked.\

“Excuse me, I need to check on something,” Gamer Man said.

A short walk down to the kitchen, and Gamer Man found Faery Fire eating. It was a good thing, Gamer Man knew, she hadn’t had a proper meal in far too long.

Watching Faery Fire eat now was strange. Gamer Man had noticed that even when the superheroine was slowly dying and in immense pain, she still took the time to take light, dainty bites of whatever she was eating. At first, Gamer Man had chalked that up to Faery Fire’s dwindling appetite and didn’t think much of it. The more he had been with her though, Gamer Man realized that Faery Fire had always eaten like that, he had remembered seeing that when sharing a few meals at Viper Base.

This was not that. Faery Fire was shoveling food down her throat with reckless abandon. Gamer Man’s first instinct was to quietly back out of the kitchen, thinking he had stumbled upon a private moment. Did Faery Fire only take small bites in public, Gamer Man wondered.

“You should slow down, or food will get caught in your throat,” Gamer Man said, “Sometimes that happens to me.”

Faery Fire took a moment to push her plate back, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

“I am so hungry,” Faery Fire said.

“Well, you didn’t eat anything for a couple weeks,” Gamer Man said, “And you recently had a lot of organs and body mass restored.”

“I wonder if I lost weight,” Faery Fire mused.

“In a good way?” Gamer Man asked, “Or in a bad way?”

“Gamer Man, my weight was perfect,” Faery Fire seethed.

“Well,” Gamer Man said, trying to get the subject off losing weight. Or gaining weight, Gamer Man wasn’t sure.

“It sounds like the Sailors are talking about getting new members,” Gamer Man said.

“Like that girl, the one in the prison jumpsuit?” Faery Fire asked.

“I don’t think so,” Gamer Man said.

“Good,” Faery Fire said, “There’s something, I don’t know, wrong with that woman. I don’t want her around the Sailors.”

Gamer Man didn’t say that there wasn’t much Faery Fire could do about that. Instead, Gamer Man said “I think you’d make a good Sailor.”

“I think I’m a bit old to fit with the rest of the team,” Faery Fire said, “By the way, the prison woman-”

“The cleric,” Gamer Man said.

“That’s her name?” Faery Fire asked.

“It’s what she calls herself,” Gamer Man said with a shrug.

“Well, in the interest of good things happening,” Faery Fire said, “I’m going to ask this “cleric” woman to stick around, and see if the Sailors can set up an impromptu concert at the local hospital.”

Faery Fire walked out of the kitchen, Gamer Man following after her, and was stopped by the Sensational Sword Saint Sailors, and Sailor Celestial, waiting for her in the hall.

“Are you going to be okay?” Blue asked.

“Really okay?” Green asked.

“Who,” Faerie Fire said, her eyes flitting towards Gamer Man, “Said I wasn’t okay?”

“We’re not stupid,” Red said.

“I was just,” Faery Fire said, reaching for words, “Feeling bad?”

“She was vomiting up black gunk every other morning,” Gamer Man said.

“Yeah,” Faery Fire said, “And that felt pretty bad. You told them?”

“They asked me what was wrong with you,” Gamer Man explained, “You told me to keep it a secret so the Sailors wouldn’t cry, the Sailors said they’d act like they didn’t know so you wouldn’t cry.”

“Girls,” Faery Fire said.

“The Sailors wish for you to join their ranks,” Sailor Celestial said, “As an auxiliary member.”

“Sailor White?” Faery Fire asked.

“That was the plan,” Blue said.

“What would your managers think about it?” Faery Fire asked.

“If you’re part of the Sailors, you’re part of the Sailors,” Pink said, “They didn’t like it that I was so young when we first started, but we were all Sailors.”

“Would a charity concert at a hospital be in bad taste?” Faery Fire asked.

“I don’t think so,” Blue said.

“Why a hospital?” Yellow asked.

“I was hoping that the woman who healed me could spread that around,” Faery Fire said.

“I can get in contact with our managers,” Red said, “Let them know about the new member.”

The Sailors, aside from Blue, Gamer Man, and Sailor Celestial all strode away, leaving Faery Fire and Blue alone in the hall.

“You’re really okay?” Blue asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

“Honestly, never better,” Faery Fire said.

Blue took a few nervous steps towards Faery Fire before launching forward and wrapping the superheroine in a tight hug. Blue squeezed Faery Fire tightly, seemingly worried that the older woman would vanish into thin air.

“Hey, I’m okay,” Faery Fire assured, gently wrapping her arms around Blue, “You don’t have to worry.”

Faery Fire felt hot tears spreading across her heroine costume and the quiet, hitching sobs of Sailor Blue.

“Please,” Blue choked out, “Please don’t ever worry me like that again.”

“I can’t promise that,” Faery Fire admitted, “But I can promise that I’ll do my best. Being a Sailor is dangerous work after all.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“That’s not funny,” Blue said.

“Blue,” Faery Fire said, her voice sharp with stern authority, “We’re superheroines, that means risking ourselves, or lives and livelihoods, for the goods of other people. People who need our help.”

“I know,” Blue said, “But I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to watch you wither like that, it was awful.”

“And I don’t want to lose you,” Faery Fire said, “I worry about you and the other Sailors almost all the time.”

“Can’t we just-” Blue said, “Can’t we just stay like this? For a little bit.”

Faery Fire fully returned Blue’s tight hug, doing her best to assure Blue that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“For as long as you need,” Faery Fire said.

To Faery Fire, her new magical, floating sword was a longsword. Maybe a shortsword when Faery Fire compared it to Red’s longsword. To Gamer Man, Faery Fire’s sword was a viking ulfberht, as noted by the short crossguard, one handed grip, the groove that ran down the middle of the blade, and the broad pommel.

Gargoyle told her that Faery Fire needed to know how to use a sword before swinging it around like a madwoman, and Faery Fire had agreed. A brief issue came up when the Sailors explained that none of them knew how to use a shortsword, or whatever Gamer Man had called it. Gamer Man admitted he knew a bit of sword fighting, just stuff he picked up in his LARPing days, and agreed to teach Faery Fire the ways of the blade. Faery Fire agreed, so long as Gamer Man just called it sword fighting.

It was only two days of practice, and by the end some of the Sailors were worried that Gamer Man was better at sword fighting than they were, and Faery Fire was confident that she wouldn’t hurt herself with her own sword.

The next morning, the Sensational Sword Saint Sailors, Faery Fire, Gamer Man, Gargoyle, and the cleric were setting up a stage outside a hospital. The concert had been advertised as a charity event, with funds going to the hospital, and the managers of the Sensational Sword Saint Sailor brand were betting on the reveal of Sailor White to drive up donations. Gargoyle, still worried about Rider attacks, was patrolling the surrounding area. That left Gamer Man to wrangle the cleric by himself.

“But why not just take them to a temple?” the cleric demanded, wandering the halls with Gamer Man, “A few healing spells and these people will be back on their feet.”

“For the last time,” Gamer Man said, “Nobody, other than you, can cast healing spells.”

“Zealot can,” the cleric huffed, “I made sure of it.”

“Just, listen to me,” Gamer Man said, “We brought you here to heal the people staying at the hospital, and you saw how big this place was from outside, right?”

“What about it?” the cleric asked.

“This place is full of the sick, injured, and dying, and a lot of them,” Gamer Man explained, “Can you heal all of them?”

“Of course,” the cleric said.

“Okay, I believe you,” Gamer Man said.

“Do you want me to start now?” the cleric asked.

“In a moment,” Gamer Man said, “I was hoping to make an announcement. Some of the surgeons are still going to be working on patients, and I don’t think it would be good if they were magically healed with scalpels still inside them.”

“The doctors have knives?” the cleric asked.

“To cut people open-” Gamer Man said.

“That sounds evil,” the cleric said.

“-And fix their insides,” Gamer Man finished, pushing a door open, “Anyway, just listen for a moment.”

“You can’t be in here,” a surgeon said, “Is this an attack?”

“Quite the opposite,” Gamer Man said, “I just need you to, briefly, remove your tools from that patient.” The surgeon did so, partly out of fear and partly out of confusion. “Thank you,” Gamer Man said, “Cleric, heal him.”

Golden light shot from the cleric’s outstretched hand towards the unconscious patient. The man’s wounds close immediately.

“Finished already?” the man asked, “You know, usually I wake up feeling sleepy. Is the pacemaker in? Sir? Who is that?”

“Now, this is just a guess,” Gamer Man said, “But I think there are hundreds, maybe thousands of people here who need your help. Are you sure you can reach all of them?”

“I already said yes,” the cleric grumbled.

“Alright,” Gamer Man said, turning to the surgeon, “Contact whoever’s in charge here. Get a message out that every surgeon needs to get their tools out of their patients immediately.”

“Yes sir,” the surgeon said.

The cleric wandered back to the ground floor of the hospital, checking every hall, every room, every office for the sick, injured, or dying. After that, the cleric took the stairs up one floor, and continued her search.

The cleric’s mind began to wander as she passed by room after room. She had seen how the Sailors, Faery Fire, Gamer Man and Gargoyle had acted together. They were familiar with each other, a practiced and tested friendship. It was good, the cleric concluded.

The cleric picked up the pace, speeding up from a walk to a jog. This was taking too long.

Even as the cleric pushed herself harder, she couldn’t help but reflect on what she had seen in the short time she had spent living at the Sailor’s studio. The cot they had set out for her was nice. And they let her help herself to food.

The cleric started moving even faster, sprinting down the halls as she fired off bolts of healing magic.

The cleric liked having a place to rest, and food to eat that wasn’t some roasted monster part. But the cleric had encountered an unavoidable fact while she had been staying with the Sailors. They were-

The cleric shook her head and charged up the stairs, shouldering past people and taking the steps three at a time.

They were-

The cleric snarled, switching from healing spells to a continuous aura, feeling the strain as she had to keep pushing magic into the aura. This would be much faster. Now, she would only need to pass by a room, instead of having to check every door.

They were avoiding her. The cleric was welcome there, but she did not belong. The Sailors, Faery Fire, Gamer Man, Gargoyle, they were a team. The cleric had her own team, and she didn’t dislike being with her adventuring party. When she was with her adventuring party, she was doing good. She liked doing good.

The cleric went stomping through the Infant Ward, shining like a star.

But now, her adventuring party seemed like they were a world away. Claire-

“The cleric,” the cleric growled, pushing back the realization.

She was alone, stranded among people who knew how to get along with each other. When was the last time the cleric had just got along with other people? People who hired the cleric, explained quests to her adventuring party, they didn’t like her and they didn’t want to be around her.

A hospice nurse began to scream as eyes shot open all around her and people began to get out of bed.

Claire-

“The cleric,” the cleric snarled.

The cleric didn’t belong here, didn’t belong among these people, didn’t belong in this city. She was alone. Even when she was with her adventuring party, could you really call that being together? The adventurers argued and bickered all the time. This place was good, the cleric knew, but it was not her place. She belonged on the forefront of disaster, she belonged in Hell, giving devils and demons and fiends what for.

This was not her place.

Claire stood on the roof of the hospital, panting in exhaustion and her face bent and twisted in turmoil. She just wanted to hit something. She could see the Sailors’ concert, could hear the crowd roar and cheer as Sailor White floated down, descending on shimmering light and her wings.

Gargoyle had gotten some police to help with security, setting up communications in case something went wrong. Claire had no way of contacting Gargoyle. He didn’t trust her. Nobody trusted her. She was being corralled like a child.

The cleric- Claire caught movement at the edge of the crowd. A horned demon was making for the Sailors. Claire knew she shouldn’t be happy about that, but was glad for the fight all the same.

An elderly man joined Claire on the roof, a cane held in one hand and a smile on his face.

“I cannot remember the last time I took stairs that quickly,” the man said, “I gotta say- this is a miracle. Just who are-”

“Can I have that?” Claire asked, pointing to the cane.

“I’m not using it anymore,” the man said, tossing the cane to Claire.

“Thanks,” Claire said, climbing the fence around the roof.

“Um,” the man said, “That’s dangerous.”

“I know,” Claire said, “I do dangerous things all the time.”

Claire dove off the fence, cane held high and a battle cry on her lips.

“Oh, Gargoyle! It’s red oni, the brother of the blue oni!” Faery Fire said, not quite cheering, “I think he’s back for revenge! Girls, do you throw beans at them? Or is it rice?”

“It’s beans, but that doesn’t work,” Yellow said.

“Aw, really?” Faery Fire asked.

“It just wastes food,” Blue said, “Now stop breaking character.”

“AAAAAA-” Claire screamed.

“What’s that noise?” Pink asked.

“No time, battle poses!” Blue ordered.

“AAAAAAAA-” Claire continued.

“Moving to intercept,” Gargoyle said.

“I’ll try to get civilians out of-” Gamer Man said, “Is that-”

Claire landed, slamming her cane onto the red oni’s head, oak wood splintering against heavy horns. A wave of healing magic washed over Claire as her ankles slammed into the hard cement, but the mighty warrior stayed on her feet.

“Give me your mace!” Claire demanded, grabbing the red oni by the throat.

“You dare-” the red oni protested, its eyes going wide as Claire conjured burning, white light in her hand.

“Back to the pits!” Claire screamed, blasting the oni with divine light. Smoke billowed from the stump between the oni’s shoulders, and before the beast collapsed to the ground, Claire was already grabbing the creature’s greatclub and checking its pockets.