by Saless
Chapter 74

"I'm glad to hear that," Mike said, "I was really starting to worry about you."

"I'm sorry." Sarah said, her eyes lowered.

"Hey, no need to be sorry! You've been through a lot, and not just recently. You're feeling better now, though, and that's what matters." Mike replied.

"Well, she may be feeling better, but I'm starving!" Jill complained. Mike and Erica laughed and Sarah volunteered to make lunch. While she worked on that Erica told the whole story that Sarah told her to Mike and Jill while Vash laid on her lap.

"So, what are we going to do about her parents?" Mike asked angrily after she'd finished.

"I'd love to put a few bullets into them, but I don't think Sarah would go for that." Erica replied.

"No, she wouldn't. They are her parents, after all. I wonder if there's a chance of reconciliation." Jill said thoughtfully.

I believe that is what Sarah wants. Vash said.

"I think so, too." Jill agreed, and then had to tell Erica what Vash had said.

"I don't see how she can reconcile with them after what they did!" Mike replied.

Jill shrugged, "They're her parents, and she's Sarah. It's what I'd expect from her. I'm not sure if there's anything good that can come of this or not, though."

"As much as I'd rather leave them to rot, I think Sarah needs to resolve this. But there's no way she's going without me!" Erica said.

"Or me." Mike added.

It would be best for all five of us to be present. Jill and I can help keep things from getting out of hand, and Mike and Erica can protect Sarah if they do. Vash suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Erica agreed after Jill relayed Vash's words. "The hard part will be getting Sarah to go. She's been afraid of them for so long; she's not likely to get over it overnight."

I'll go. Sarah thought quietly to all four of them. They were all stunned to realize she'd been listening in on their conversation, and that she wanted to face her parents. There were several moments of silence interrupted only by the sounds Sarah made in the kitchen before anyone responded.

Are you sure you're ready? I know I was just advocating it, but I didn't intend to push you. Erica thought worriedly.

I know. I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I think. And you're right; I need to get this out of the way. I don't want to live in fear anymore. Sarah replied.

This doesn't have to happen right away, but we should begin planning it. How soon do you think we should arrange for this to happen? Jill sent.

The sooner the better. I can email them and see if it's okay to go tomorrow. Sarah replied.

Tomorrow?! Are you sure you want to go so soon? Mike asked.

If I wait too long I'll loose my nerve. I need to get it out of the way quickly. Is tomorrow okay for all of you? Sarah said.

Fine with me, I'd rather not go right before I have to leave, anyway. I want to be here for you after in case things go badly. Erica said.

I don't have any classes tomorrow, so it's fine with me. Mike said.

Let's plan for tomorrow then. Jill said. With that settled they relaxed in front of the TV while Sarah continued to work in the kitchen. A few minutes later they were all getting thirsty and Sarah showed up with glasses of ice water for all of them.

You're becoming very good at picking up other's thoughts and feelings, aren't you? Vash observed as she returned a moment later with a bowl of water for him.

I guess so. It's all kind of new to me. Sarah replied.

I can help you with it as I did Jill, if you want. Vash said.

That's okay, I don't seem to need it. It's easy to block things out when I don't want to hear it. I can even block out everything from the other apartments and still hear you guys. Sarah sent.

I'm not surprised. You were using these abilities to shield your thoughts long before you started using them in more active ways. Shielding should come very easily for you. Vash replied.

I guess. Sarah said. She hadn't realized she was shielding her thoughts before, but it was coming easily for her. She mentally shrugged and went back to work. A little while later she called them in for lunch.

After lunch Sarah agonized over what to say in her email to her parents and finally just let Erica write it for her. She was surprised to get a response back fairly quickly from her mother saying that they'd be looking forward to her coming with her friends. "How much are we going to tell them?" she asked after staring at the response for a while.

"How much do you want to tell them?" Erica replied.

Sarah shrugged, "I don't know. I think they might have some trouble with all the magic, though."

"We could just tell them you transitioned. It wouldn't be all that far from the truth, really." Jill suggested.

"I guess that would work. They'll probably disown me just for that, anyway." Sarah replied.

Erica shook her head in wonder, "I'm amazed you're even worried about that! I know they're your parents and everything, but after what they did…" Sarah just shrugged in reply.

"Did you guys have any plans for today?" Jill asked.

Erica glanced at Sarah who shook her head. "No." Erica said.

"I was thinking that martial arts aren't the only kind of training we can be doing. We might want to wait until our training is a little farther along before going to any dangerous worlds, but we could at least start selecting places we want to go that have something to offer us." Jill said.

"What do you mean, something to offer us?" Mike asked.

Jill shrugged, "Magic, technology, other kinds of training, whatever."

"Training like what Melanie tried to give me?" Sarah asked.

"Exactly. I know that didn't work for you, but other kinds of training might." Jill replied.

"I guess that could be useful. Did you have anything specific in mind?" Sarah said.

"I have a few ideas, but I wanted to look into them some more. I thought we could all come up with a world or two to visit and then discuss them and pick where we want to go from there." Jill said.

"That sounds like a good idea to me." Erica said.

"Why don't you guys look through Sarah's collection and we'll look through ours?" Mike suggested. They agreed and Sarah opened a portal and she and Erica stepped through. They both sat on the floor in front of Sarah's bookcase and started looking through the titles for something of interest. Before long they each had a small stack of books to look through and they moved to the couch to do so.

A few hours later they had only gotten through half of the books they'd selected. I don't know about you, but I could use a break. Erica thought.

Sarah stretched and thought, That sounds like a good idea, I am getting stiff. They put the books they'd ruled out back on the shelf and put the other stack aside to go through later.

Did you notice what time it is? Erica thought.

Wow, we were reading that long?! Sarah replied, looking at the clock. It was already almost six o'clock.

Apparently. What do you want to do for dinner? Erica said.

I'm not really hungry. How about we just make some sandwiches? Sarah sent.

Okay with me. Erica replied. They made their sandwiches and sat at the kitchen table to eat.

It really is handy to be able to talk and eat at the same time. Sarah noted.

Yeah, I could get used to this. Erica agreed.

Have you found anything promising? Sarah asked.

Not really. The ones I checked all had problems that I didn't think would be worth dealing with. How about you? Erica asked.

Maybe one, I'm not sure. Want to see how Mike and Jill are doing when we're done eating? Sarah replied.

Sure. Erica said. They finished eating and walked over to Mike and Jill's. Jill opened the door almost immediately after they knocked.

"Hi! Taking a break?" she asked as she stood aside to let them in.

"Yeah, we thought we'd see if you're getting anywhere." Erica replied.

"I take it that you aren't?" Jill asked. Mike was sitting on the couch reading a book, a small pile of books next to him.

"Not really." Sarah said.

"We've found one book that looks good, but most are just too dangerous or have some other drawback that makes them impractical." Mike said.

"I was thinking, though, that we should expand our search to movies." Jill said.