Gallows examined his new tool while the team ate lunch in the Laxisland hotel.

"Is something wrong, Gallows?" Virginia asked. "Usually you're the first to finish eating. You've hardly touched your food."

"Wha-? Oh, it's nothing, I'm just thinking."

"That's supposed to be what Clive does." Jet said, not looking up from his plate.

Virginia shot Jet a short, irritated look.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked Gallows.

"Just these dolls." He responded, holding up the set. They didn't really look like much. "The ARMsmith said some weird stuff about them."

"Yeah, he did." Virginia agreed. "Do you think they're dangerous?"

"Well, if you think about what he says, it's not the dolls as much as it's the dragon they're supposed to call forward." Clive added. "But one must admit, his story about the dolls is slightly unnerving."

"Yeah, especially how he said they come back even if the person who used them gets killed by the dragon." Virginia said, shivering a little as if they were exchanging a ghost story.

"Probably just a creepy tale to weed out the cowards." Jet said, picking at his food.

"Well, as badly as he didn't want us to go, I think this dragon's lair is worth a shot." Clive said.

"Well, leader, what do you say?" Gallows asked.

"Sure! I mean, after all we've faced, a dragon can't be too hard, can it?" Virginia pointed out.

Jet rolled his eyes as he kept to his food. One of these days, Virginia's naive optimism was going to get them all killed.

"Hey, what's the look for?" Gallows asked.

"Nothing." Jet muttered between bites as he didn't even bother to lift his gaze from his plate.

Gallows slid the plate out from under Jet's fork.

"Hey." Jet grunted, frowning.

Virginia and Clive grinned slightly as the two stared each other down.

Without warning, Gallows snapped up the plate and swallowed the food pretty much all at once.

"Hey!" Jet objected again. He growled. "Gallows, you lunkhead, eat your own food!"

The big man wasn't fazed. "But I did. And you don't look all that interested in yours."

If Virginia didn't know him better, she would have guessed Jet would whip out his ARM right here and now. He looked mad enough. But after a few prolonged moments of fuming, he leaned his seat back and sulked.

"Fine, whatever, I wasn't really hungry anyway." He claimed, shooting Gallows with a death glare.

"If you say so." Gallows replied airily, and set the dolls on the table. With a prod, they launched into a little song, then went still again. Virginia jumped in surprise, then giggled.

"Well then," Clive began, pushing his own empty plate aside. "Shall we prepare for the trip? We don't know what to expect on the climb before we reach the top of the mountain."

"Right." Virginia agreed. Receiving a supportive look from Gallows, she launched into leader mode. "Clive, can you get more information on the mountain?"

Clive nodded.

"Gallows, can you make sure the horses are ready?"

"Sure thing, leader." He agreed with a grin.

"I'll go shopping for supplies, so Jet, can you go to the ARMsmith for us?"

In sync with each other, Virginia, Clive, and Gallows laid their ARMs down on the table in front of Jet.

"What?" he burst, frowning.

"We're all doing something, buddy, it's time you did your part." Gallows teased, not losing a beat.

Muttering irritably to himself, he scooped up the ARMs and strode out the door.

Deciding now was a good time, Gallows prodded the Kramar dolls, prompting them to play their little ditty just as Jet left.

A growl of irritation was audible from the moody Drifter.