Blue Gem Filgaia
By: El Dorado
Standard Disclaimer: Same old drill… I don't own anything….
Four pairs of worn out shoes pounded into the ground, sinking into the soft dirt slightly. The final pair of shoes, a pair of tan suede boots, lagged behind by more than a couple of steps. Clive Winslet watched the others march ahead of him with something akin to nostalgia. Not too long ago he would have been up ahead; second only to Virginia Maxwell. Sadly though, it seemed that old age had gotten to him… Even his vision seemed blurred… funny what five years could to a person…
"Yo, Clive…" murmured Jet, slowing his pace to match Clive's. "Your glasses are all fogged up…" And with that alone Jet speeded up ever so slightly pulling just ahead of Clive who now sported an amused grin.
Clive shook his head slightly and reached for the offending pair of glasses. He wiped them on one of his sleeves and inspected them closely. It had been the humidity… it was going to rain soon. He chuckled to himself, a gesture which went ignored by his teammates. He had imagined the whole vision thing… and quite frankly it was a ridiculous conclusion. Five years was not that much… he was only thirty five after all.
With a renewed confidence, Clive quickened his gait. He soon pulled ahead of Jet, whose lack of enthusiasm manifested itself in his walking. A few moments later he was in front of Gallows who was still a bit on the lazy side. Soon enough he was side by side with Virginia Maxwell.
For a moment Virginia completely halted. Turning to face Clive, she nodded, as if acknowledging his presence. After receiving one of the man's small smiles she continued her march. It had been a long time since they had walked like this: She leading the way, Clive behind her as support, Gallows third with good-natured obedience, and Jet lagging behind in silent protest. It was a pretty standard formation that had been abandoned somewhere along the journey… twenty three year old Virginia Maxwell welcomed it back with open arms.
"So leader..." began Clive, in the almost too confidential tone he used when discussing anything of even remote importance, "Where are we headed to, again?"
Virginia smiled. "Nowhere as usual… just walking away from danger, that's all," she replied rather pleasantly.
Clive adjusted his glasses absentmindedly. "We can't flee forever…" he reminded her gently.
"Yup, I know…" Clive stared at her in confusion and Virginia grinned. "We've just got to be patient… lay low for a while... What was it you used to say?" Virginia put a hand to her chin in thought before smiling even wider. "Looking for a shortcut can lead you astray."
Clive nodded slowly as if a bit unsure. "Yes… I suppose we should wait a bit longer, to be safe… but then again it has been five whole years…"
Virginia's blue eyes widened in disbelief, had it really been that long? She paused thoughtfully… yes it had. Virginia considered this new bit of information with a frown. "Yeah... it has been five years. Hmm… what do you guys think?" she asked, turning to face the remainder of the Maxwell gang. "Hmm?"
Gallows looked to either side of himself before pointing an uncertain finger to his chest. "Who me?" he questioned. Virginia nodded. A comically smug expression crossed his already goofy face, and he cleared his throat loudly. "Well, it's my expert opinion that…" his voice trailed off and he laughed nervously. "I have absolutely no idea."
Virginia shook her head in disapproval. "Okay… well… Jet how about you?"
Jet Enduro was completely silent as he examined a wall. He looked up for a brief moment then continued to stare at the wall. Virginia frowned slightly.
"Okay then…" she mumbled with just a hint of anger. "Since Jet won't even answer me. I'll just ask Clive…"
Clive smiled wryly. "Better safe then sorry…" he replied after a moment.
Virginia nodded. "Okay, so it's settled then… we'll lay low for a little while longer…"
A brief murmur of agreement crossed the audience of four and three of those present resumed their journey. However, no sooner had Virginia taken two steps than she had noticed something was missing. She couldn't hear any of those weird scratching sounds that always accompanied their travels. No one was dragging their feet along halfheartedly… Jet wasn't following. Virginia stopped again, trembling in anger…
"Jet," she began through clenched teeth, "Do you want to tell us what's distracting you?"
"Yeah, whatever…" mumbled Jet, motioning for the rest of the group to join him. His companions walked towards the oh-so-interesting wall and examined it just as Jet had done. On the wall there was a poster decorated in red and blue.
Clive's lips twitched slightly as he mouthed out the words he was reading. Jet scowled and prevented the man from reading further with a gloved hand. "Don't look at what's there…" commanded Jet, "Look at what's not."
For a minute or two even Clive Winslet was stumped. Then he understood. Smiling, Clive announced, "The wanted poster is not there…"
Jet nodded in approval. He was almost starting to believe he would have to explain… with words. He breathed a sigh of relief. For the countless time, Jet was grateful for Clive's intelligence.
"What do you mean?" questioned Gallows looking dumbfounded as usual. Jet sighed and looked to Clive. The older man nodded and smiled, instantly reading Jet's expression.
"I mean that our wanted poster is gone… I distinctly remember one of the posters being on this specific wall, the day we encountered Dario and Romero." explained Clive.
A collective 'oh' was heard from both Virginia and Gallows. Virginia nodded eagerly. "So either our poster was ripped down or…"
Jet reached up to the poster, and much to Clive's dismay, tore it down. Beneath it was another poster which soon found a home on the floor. A couple tears and discarded sheets later a familiar wanted poster appeared. The paper was browning and the barely visible figures printed on it were no longer as accurate as they had been five years ago, but still, it was unmistakable. This was indeed their wanted poster… There was a brief moment of silence…
Suddenly, Gallows flashed an all too familiar grin. "We're old news!" he announced gleefully.
"We can stop hiding!" cheered Virginia soon after. Smiling happily, she whirled around, dancing with herself before reaching for Jet's hands. However, Jet did not comply with her offer. Instead, he shot her curious glance, scowled and blushed simultaneously, then cast his eyes to the floor.
Gallows laughed. "Aww… the punk is embarrassed…" he crooned.
Jet frowned. "No… I'm not… I'm just… umm… I'm just wondering what he's doing." Jet pointed a finger at Clive who was crouched down near the floor. Clive was examining the ground, intensely; much like Jet had the wall.
Gallows seriously suspected that Jet's reply was just a well thought out excuse but he shrugged his shoulders and nodded. After all, Clive's behavior was a bit strange. "Hey buddy, what are you doing?" he questioned.
Clive did not reply, instead he stood up, chuckling like a man possessed. His chuckles escalated, growing louder and louder by the second and he was forced to remove his glasses for fear of breaking them.
Jet sighed. His normally impassive expression was replaced by one portraying a slight sadness. "Darn," he announced forlornly, "Clive's gone senile." He paused, glancing at Clive in pity. "I kinda liked the old man too…"
Gallows nodded in solemn agreement. Virginia however, was not as easily convinced. Leaning closer to the now breathless man, she placed a hand on his forehead. "Clive, you want tell us what's wrong?" she questioned gently.
Clive let out a couple spare giggles then replaced his glasses. Clearing his throat, he said, "It's nothing… It's just that this poster is quite amusing…" He held up the poster decorated in red and blue. It was most recent poster of the bunch, the one he had been reading before Jet interfered. It was a campaign poster and it read something like this:
Don't be a wussy! Vote Maya Schrodinger. She's not a hopeless wannabe like some of those other candidates. And she'll lead you into hell and high water. She's been a tyrant for years and therefore has more experience than most people. So make the right choice… choose to live. Vote Maya!
Beneath this declaration was a picture of Maya Schrodinger herself. She was smiling; a smile which was supposed to be friendly but instead looked feral. From her stance any drifter with even a shred of sense could tell that she was holding an ARM but the weapon in question was conveniently excluded from the photo. Overall, it was as Clive had said, ridiculous.
"On no," mumbled Virginia after she finished reading. "I always thought that Maya was kidding about the president thing…"
"As did I…" agreed Clive.
"Yeah… I know…" murmured Gallows.
Jet shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't hold it against the crazy witch…"
Virginia glared at him. "Jet that's mean!" she shouted.
"Whatever…"
Following that comment a bitter argument broke out. Gallows sided with Virginia and Jet attempted to ward both of them off with insults… a bitter argument indeed. Clive looked at his comrades. For some reason all their bickering gave him a strange warm feeling inside. Smiling he asked, "What do we do now?" Virginia paused mid sentence and held her hand up in a wait-while-I-finish gesture. Clive was not in the least bit upset. He knew exactly what they would do; they'd stop Maya. It was their duty. After all, they may be the faces from the faded posters but they were still the illustrious Maxwell gang.