"Jett! They're here" Sage yelled excitedly, throwing the rest of the mail away onto the bunk bed that they shared.

Within a blink, Jett was dashed into their shared room, "Is it really?"

Sage instantly nodded and flipped the two envelopes on the side with writing that said, 'Valorant Protocol Admission'. In an instant, Jett's eyes widened and she grabbed the letter out of Sage's hand with the one that had her name on it.

"Woah, try not to rip the paper. Let us hope that we can get in" Sage smiled, grabbing Jett's arm and pulling her down to sit down onto the bed next to her. Although, Jett seemed to be focused on only the letter, her eyes sparkling at the unopened envelope.

Whatever was written in this letter was going to define the fate that the two have been working towards for years. Endless training, blood, sweat, and tears went towards the position of possibly getting into Valorant Protocol.

Jett eventually looked up to see Sage smiling at her and wiggling her letter, "Ready?"

"Ready when you are" Jett smirked.

At once, the two opened the letters at the same time.

Sage skimmed over the letter and the more her eyes continued to read, the more her eyes brightened as she read the words, "We'd like to welcome you to Valorant Protocol as our newest Sentinel"

Her heart almost skipped a beat reading her acceptance letter, "Jett! I- I got in.."

However, nothing but a peep came from Jett's side. The silence made Sage turn her head and her eyes widened. Her eyes first dropped down to the letter that was clutched tightly in Jett's hand, then...Jett. She looked distraught and the aura that Sage was feeling was negative and unwelcoming.

"Jett.." Sage started, about to bring a hand to Jett's shoulder before it was brushed off.

"No...please" Jett began before her eyes blazed, "H-How could they not accept me! I was one of the highest-ranked in the academy!"

Sage bit her tongue, thinking about any possibility that Jett could've been declined. She did recall getting in a lot of trouble with the headmaster and having a lot of attitudes. Other than that, Jett excelled in both battle and strategy. Could Jett's personality truly be the reason why she didn't get accepted in?

Again, Sage's hand tried to touch Jett, "Jett...It's okay to be upset. But, look on the bright side, you can try again...in two years"

Clearly, that was not the correct words Sage should've used since Jett instantly stood up and stared at Jett angrily, "Do you really think that is what I want to hear?!"

"N-No, but.. I- I'm sorry. I really am.."

"Are you going to Protocol without me?"

Sage looked down at her lap. How could she ever go to Protocol without her best friend..but this position is something she's been working for all her life. She can't just let it go...

Giving a stiff nod, Sage muttered, "I have to..isn't that what you would do?"

"Well it's not like I'm going in the first place"

Sage couldn't help but stand up now and stare at her, "Can't you be happy for me? I- I know you didn't get in, but I was really hoping that you'd be happy for me, just as I would be for you"

"I- This conversation is useless. Of course, I'm happy for you! It's just...I really wanted- I wanted to go with you" Jett mumbled.

Sage's eye's instantly softened as she gently cupped Jett's cheek to bring their eyes together, "I wanted it just as much as you, Jett"

Jett simply shuffled away from Sage's warm hand and sat down onto the bed to shove her face into her palms.

And for some reason. Sage felt a pang in her chest

~~~~

A day later in the halls of the academy, Jett felt the pain of yesterday begin to grow. She looked back to all the times that she and Sage would dream about getting into Valorant one day..together. Except, now. Her worst nightmare came true. The nightmare of one of them having to leave each other.

Sage continued to console her the next day, but she knew that she had to let go of Sage eventually. If Sage was going to leave soon, she would have to learn to be more independent. Yet..the idea of not being able to be near Sage made her scared.

"Yo, Jett!" The sound of a British accent boomed throughout the halls.

Without even needing to look back, Jett had muttered, "Go away Phoenix"

"Wha- C'mon Jett, why the long face? Listen, I got great news" Phoenix grinned, wrapping an arm around Jett's neck.

Jett wanted to shove the arm off and get to her next class but was shoved in the face with a paper. She didn't even have to read the paper to know what exactly was written, "Wow, you got into Valorant. Crazy"

"Okay, man. What's up? Are you and Sage fighting again?"

"We don't fight that often! And- Listen, It's nothing"

Phoenix didn't look convinced, "Wait..didn't you try and apply for Valorant? Did you not get your letter yet?"

The silence seemed to answer Phoenix's question, as he carefully removed his arm to get Jett to stop.

"You didn't get in.."

Jett was tired of hearing that line. The stupid line of failure. She kept herself from pouncing Phoenix by barging out of his way and stomping down the hall.

Phoenix decided it was best to leave her be.

~~~

"Jett, come on. It's finals week and you're not even studying" Sage mumbled, dragging off the covers to see a stoic Jett tap away on her Nintendo.

Jett scoffed and ignored Sage's unimpressed look, "What's the point. If I didn't get into Protocol, why should I try? I spent four years at this academy just to fail"

"You didn't 'fail', you still have a chance. And besides, you only have to go two years instead of four"

"Oh great! two more years of this bullshit and what? Just to fail again and again?"

Sage knew Jett was hurting and that she was covering up by insulting herself. Sage had to get Jett to get a grip or else her chances of even getting into Valorant were going to blow. Jett seemed to notice the silence but whined when she felt the Nintendo in her hand be taken away.

"Jett, you can't just stop trying because you didn't make the cut the first time. Many people wish to be in this academy right now, but they didn't get accepted. Yet some people are still trying. You're given another opportunity to get in since you were ranked so high. Please don't stop...I know how dedicated you are..and I would really love to see you get into Protocol. And especially be in Protocol..with me"

Jett took in her words for a good minute then looked at Sage, "What if- I never get in?"

"I hardly doubt that you will 'never get in"

"But what if-"

Sage smiled and dragged Jett up into a sitting position, "You need to have more faith in yourself. Try not to think of not getting in or getting in, just try your hardest. And I'm sure, if you set your mind to it, you will succeed"

Jett eventually nodded at her words and relaxed into the warm hug that Sage was offering.

~~

w

"Take care of yourself, and don't forget to-" Sage began, her palms sweaty as she was about to board the plane to Protocol.

Jett cut her off with a palm to her mouth, "Yes, I got it, mom. You're worrying more about me than yourself. You be careful as well"

Sage still felt nervous about leaving Jett. But especially going to a whole new place without her best friend. Home was never really home unless Jett was there. Even though Jett seemed to have gotten better this past month she still worried that Jett would fall into a dark hole.

A dark hole that Jett couldn't get out of without her help...

"Stop thinking so hard, I promise I'll be okay. And besides, your flight is here. Don't be late like me" Jett joked, quickly pulling Sage into a hug.

Sage wrapped her arms tightly around Jett, already feeling herself wanting to cry. Her shoulders began to shake in the slightest, but she was shocked when Jett pushed her away playfully, "Come on, you big baby. We can call all the time, and I'm sure protocol has all that cool tech for us to face..uh whatever it's called..face call? Yeah, that. I'm sure we can do that too!"

Sage smiled at Jett's enthusiasm but she couldn't help but notice that Jett's eyes held worry. Jett was able to put on a brave face in situations like this, which sometimes Sage worried about.

"Okay..okay, just..please be careful. Don't do anything stupid"

Jett gave her a thumbs up, "You got it"

With that, they parted ways, but not without one last embrace

~~

Protocol training was hard. For a sentinel, the training back in the academy was nothing compared to the training here. Every day made her want to reconsider her choice of ever wanting to come here. But every day, a call with Jett made her whole day better. Some days would be so rough that she would barely be able to form a sentence to Jett. Not that Jett minded. She would tell her all about her day and what newbies came to the academy. Jett was offered a position as a leader in one of the team divisions for the academy.

It made Sage happy that Jett was finding ways to enjoy herself at the academy without her.

Sage had made some close friends, especially with a science genius named Viper. Phoenix occasionally made small talk with Sage since they were both close friends of Jett. Sage noted that Phoenix was just as reckless as Jett, and came to the conclusion as to why the two are so close. Sova was especially a close friend to Sage since they had very similar thoughts on things and was extremely good at supporting Sage when she was feeling down.

~~

"I don't think I can get into Protocol" Was the first thing Jett muttered when the voice call started.

A bit alarmed, Sage sat up and stared at Jett through the screen, "What do you mean?"

"I got caught sneaking out for those really good cookies downtown...past curfew"

"Jett!" Sage mumbled exasperated.

"I'm sorry! They're just really good cookies!"

"Well, you were really willing to risk your chance at Protocol for a bag of vanilla cookies?!"

Jett chuckled and leaned back in her chair, "How are you doing?

"Don't change the subject"

"Listen, I'm just trying to make the conversation better"

Sage sighed and rubbed a hand over her face, "Training is still hard but I've grown more accustomed to it"

"Hmpf, well. I'm sure I'll be joining you in two years"

Sage smiled. As the months went by, Sage had noticed that Jett was starting to have more confidence in herself when it came to getting into Protocol.

It made Sage hopeful.

~~

Sage felt like she was going insane. She couldn't focus on her paperwork as she stared at her 5 unanswered calls from Jett. She hadn't received a call from her in a week and it was starting to aggravate her. Did she do something wrong? Her leg bunched nervously as she went to call Jett again but it began to ring.

In an instant, she swiped the phone into her hands but was disappointed to see that the call was coming from Brimstone. With a sigh, she put the phone to her ear to see what her captain had to say.

The call eventually ended, but not all of her mind was with Brimstone during that call. She always felt okay when Jett called her every night, but this past week was a challenge to stay focused. Her heart almost skipped a beat when Jett's name popped up on her text messages.

'I'm sorry, I can't call right now. Call back later

Sage couldn't help but feel uneasy about the lack of 'jett' in that text message. Usually, she sent a happy face or something that would ease Sage's nerves, but there was nothing. The text was dry.

In the end, Sage decided to sleep her worries away.

~~

Jett waited nervously at the docks, her foot tapping against the wood. One of the boats that would arrive holds her best friend that she hadn't seen in almost a year. She was stuck in her head for a while, thinking about what she planned to say until a huge boat with the 'Valorant' logo came to a stop.

One by one, a few of the members of Valorant began to walk exit. She felt a bit giddy, but her eyes lit up when she saw the tall sentinel look around. She waited for Sage to spot her, and when she did, she swiftly walked over to Jett. Sage's hands made their way into Jett's hair and pulled her head into her chest.

"I missed you.." Sage mumbled.

Jett couldn't help the small blush and didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her best friend, "I missed you too"

~~

"So what have you been up to? We haven't talked much lately..in fact, you haven't even called me in a month" Sage started.

Jett knew Sage would bring her lack of communication with her, "I- uh-, I've been busy"

Sage sent down the book she was reading and stared at Jett with an unconvincing look, "Doing what?"

"Stuff"

"Answer my question, you know I don't like when you don't call me"

"You're not my mom"

"Gosh, Jett. Can't you see that I care about you? You do irrational things and I worry for you. I just wish you'd contact me more, especially now that I only have limited time with you"

Jett groaned, "Well, I'm sure you have better things to be doing than talking to your old friend. I'm sure you've got a whole bunch of them at Protocol"

"Is this what this is about? Distancing yourself because I have made new friends?"

"No! I just- Ugh, I am going somewhere else"

Sage went to stop her, but Jett slammed the door right in her face. Even though the door was closed, she heard Jett curse down the hallway.

~~

"I'm sorry" Jett mumbled.

It was a couple of hours into the night when Jett asked to be let back into their old dorm.

Sage wanted to stay mad at Jett for just lashing out then leaving, but her heart ached. So she slowly got up from the bed and looked at Jett with a sad look.

Jett's heart almost cracked at the sight and she looked down at Sage's feet with guilt, "I- I'm sorry for acting that way. I guess...I am a little jealous that you've made more friends. And I don't want to hog up all your time when you could be spending it with others"

"You could never take up my time. And I hope you know that I love to spend my time with you over anyone else"

The two looked at each other after that and smiled silently at each other.

~~

"I hate goodbyes" Sage whined.

Jett giggled, "Come on, we've done this before. And besides, the second time is always easier than the first"

"I suppose that's true, but every goodbye to you is hard. I really enjoyed spending time this week with you, and now it has come to an end.."

Jett patted Sage's shoulder, "Listen, I promise I will keep in touch with you now. You don't need to worry, you'll get to see my pretty face every day now"

"Shut up!" Sage chuckled.

Jett didn't say anything after that, instead of pulling Sage into a warm embrace.

"I'll see you soon"

~~

Jett kept her promise. But only for a little. Sage hadn't received a call for two months from Jett and she just about had it with her. What could Jett possibly be doing to the point where hadn't made any effort to even text her?

Each day Jett wouldn't call Sage made her more anxious and nervous. Her teammates even noticed the slight change in her aura and the way she acted. During rounds, she seemed more aggressive and relied more on herself to enter a site rather than waiting for the duelists to do so.

This eventually caught Brimstone's eye and called Sage in to talk to her. Not much went down in his office, mostly Sage expressing her feelings vaguely. They eventually got nowhere and Brimstone sent her back to her room.

How long would this go on for?

~~

*2 years later*

"Kingdom tasks you with a very important mission, Jett" A deep voice spoke.

Jett tilted her hand and adjusted her shirt, "And..what is that?"

"We need you and your team to subdue the members of Valorant"