A/N: Okay, I know it's been like, forever since I've last updated. How long was it? Anyways, I'm sorry for those who were actually interested in this story to have been waiting for so long on the next chapter for ages. But truth be told, I was just so busy with school starting last fall that I lost interest when writing. I felt so bad just leaving this uncompleted that I had to write again, so I'm willing to write every weekend or every other one. I had fun writing this and it wouldn't be fair to just leave it unfinished, so here you are:


Chapter 8: The Avoider

Virginia

Several weeks have passed by since the Unclean Mark incident. Boy, we sure learned a lot. We managed to travel southeast, following the lights created by the Mediums. There we found some ruins called the Lunatic Garden. We met another weirdo named Malik Bendict. He must have been in league with that insane Melody Vilente because he was dressed just like her; wearing white robes and he was hostile to us too. I don't know who these people are, but I really don't like them. Luckily, we manage to grab us another Medium just in time. It was the Guardian Celesdue. It was then that we finally started to realize that the Guardians were in real danger with these robbed people hangin' around. After passin' through that terrible Sand Canal, we managed to reach Little Rock in one piece after the bruisin' we got from the now self-claimed Demon, Janus.

***In the saloon one evening***

"Man, what the hell are we goin' to do about this? We can't just keep runnin' into Janus and retreat from him all the time! But if we stick around and fight him, we'd be knocked out before the first round even finishes! He's just too strong to fight, and what's worse is that we keep bumbin' into him too!" Gallows explained in exaggeration.

We all sat in the saloon of Little Rock, trying to regain our strength from the tough battle we had with Janus. Desperately, we needed to come up with a new plan to prepare ourselves; in case we have another run in with Janus.

But I knew it was impossible; he's too strong. We were no match against him. We're too weak-- No, I'm too weak. I knew that I was the only vulnerable thing of the team.

I'm just not strong enough. No matter what I do.

No matter what people say to encourage me. . .

No matter how hard I try to. . . . .

I think. . . I think I need daddy's encouragement. When I was a little girl, he always inspired me to go that extra mile whenever I was down or whenever I wanted to give up. I always counted on him to come to my rescue when I needed it the most. . .

But I'm not a little girl any more, and he's not here. . .

No, I don't need his encouragement now.

I can tough this out! I'm a Drifter now and I better start actin' like it! I have my friends to help me out here. I have Gallows; who always keeps me smilin' with his good-natured attitude. I have Jet; who always. . . . . . . . . . Okay, screw Jet. But I have Clive! Yes! Especially Clive; who always keeps me going further, even when times are tough. . . .

Oh, I forgot. . . .

This whole marriage thing never settled out of my mind. It still bothered me a lot. What's worse is that he made no effort to talk to me since that night we spoke after rescuing Claudia. Can you imagine he hasn't spoken to me after all these weeks? What did I do? Not only that, but he kept his distance from me as well. . . Whenever I try to walk beside him or even try to talk to him, he just makes some kind of excuse to get away from me. When I fell into that sand river back in the Sand Canal, he came to my rescue as usual. But afterwards, he didn't respond to me even when I said "thank you". He only responded by sayin' "Let's continue on, shall we?" or "We should get going". And he didn't even look at me, so I don't even know if he was talking to me or to the whole group. I wonder if I did something wrong. . . Just having this thought is depressing me all the more. . .

Unless. . . . . .

No frickin' way, he couldn't have know! Could he?!? Gaaah!! I refuse to believe!!! He doesn't know! He can't know!

HE MUST NOT KNOW!!!

It'll be embarrasing, what with him being married and havin' a kid and all! Okay Virginia, calm yourself down! He doesn't know, he may be very intelligent, but surely he can't figure these kind of things out just like that!

I could feel myself havin' a panic attack and it probably was obvious because just as I looked beside me, I saw a pair of mean purple eyes glarin' at me.

I froze. With both of my hands clinched over my chest and with all my heavin' and puffin', I started to sweat; as if I was havin' trouble breathing. Yeah, I was definitely sure that my paranoia was showin'.

". . . . . . . . . What?! What are you starin' at me for?!" I snapped at him.

"Pshh. Just starin' because it look like you were gonna have a heart attack or somethin'. It was pathetic and hilarious to look at." Jet responded with that stupid grin that I hated so much.

"Leave me alone! And buzz off!!" I yelled.

"I am leavin' you alone, aren't I? I'm just starin' is all! Nothin' wrong with that, is there? Not like I'm pesterin' you or somethin'." He grunted.

"You are pestering me! Just having you near my presence bothers me! Just the fact that having you in my sight pesters me!!" I argued.

"Well tough shit, yer gonna have to look at my pretty face everyday as long as you tag along! So get used to it, chatterbox! Unless. . . ya wanna bail out now? Y'know, call it quits and get packin' for home? Smart choice I'd say, I'm surprised that you made it this far without getting' hurt! And just for that, I'm givin' you a round of applause!" He clapped his hands sarcastically, still having that cocky grin on his face.

Ugh! I wanted to kick his leg right then and there! But unfortunately for me, his leg made a full recovery, so there was no point of doin' it if it didn't cause that extra pain. As much as I wanted to punch him again, I restrained myself because Clive was here (and I didn't want to appear unlady-like in front of him). Much to my disappointment though, he wasn't payin' attention! My hopes of him scoldin' Jet for backtalkin' me were dashed. So I decided to settle this myself the adult way; arguing back and makin' fun of him.

"Ha, ha! Very funny of you Jet! At least I was careful enough to not let any booby traps get the best of me along the way! I'd say that I'm surprised how often you got hurt, after all that braggin' you did when we all first met, you know? Braggin' how you were a professional Drifter and all. But I suppose being a big-headed jerk is just the way you are. Too bad it keeps gettin' you in a real fix most of the time."

It was certainly true; of all the booby traps we've encountered, Jet got a hundred percent of them because of his recklessness. Humph! Some professional Drifter if you asked me. . .

For a minute there, I thought I got the best of him because his cocky grin disappeared. "W-w-well-- I'm still smarter than you! I least I know where I'm goin' half the time and I don't need to ask everyone's opinion every damn time I have ta make a decision!! Lastly, I least I know what being a Drifter is all about! Unlike you, who apparently doesn't have a goddanm clue. and needs to switch leaders along the way!!!

That made my blood boil.

"Well, at least I'm not an arrogant jerk who gets on peoples' nerves all the time with his swearin' everyday!" I nearly screamed.

"What?! What the hell you talkin' about?! You get on everyone's nerves all the time! Especially me!" Jet spat out at me.

". . . Actually, you guys are startin' to get on my nerves right now with all yer arguin' and whatnot." Gallows quietly said.

"SHUT UP!!!" Me and Jet yelled at him. He fell silent.

Back to our fighting; "At least I'm smart enough to think things through before getting caught in some booby trap! I don't let my obsession of treasure-hutin' get the best of me either! I actually think what I'm about to do next, instead of rushin' through some ruins just to get my grubby hands on some worthless treasure!" I shouted.

"You? SMARTER THAN ME?!? Now that is flippin' hilarious!!! Don't try to kid me here, Virginia. It was your stupidity that got us all into an ambush and lead us to pick a new leader in the first place! And plus, you made many more stupid mistakes before that as well. Remember that?! So I wouldn' even go there, moron!" Jet said confidently, crossing his arms in triumph, as if he won the fight already.

"Well, at least I'm not pathetic as to brag about all the great accomplishments being a Drifter. . . and doesn't even show for it!"

"Well, at least I'm not an obnoxious little brat who needs special treatment from the rest of the team, just because she doesn't know how to be a Drifter!"

"Well, excuse me for not being a professional Drifter; but at least I'm not pathetic as to think that I need to make up stories and lies pretending to be a skilled Drifter, just to impress everyone he meets!" I scoffed.

"Well, at least I don't need protectin' from Clive all the damn time whenever I'm in a real fix! I'm a real man who handles things himself; as should all real Drifters do!"

I nearly chocked after hearing this statement. "Oh jeeze, do you seriously think that you're a man?!? Well, at least I'm honest."

"At least I'm not a little bitch who cries all the time just because she hears the truth; not being fit to be a Drifter every goddamn time someone admits it!"

"YOU SHUT UP!!!"

"YOU GO TO HELL!!!"

"Enough now. Don't you see that you two have caused enough attention on us already? Honestly, the whole saloon has their eyes on us." Clive said exhaustingly, sippin' his tea with his head down.

Me and Jet slowly peered around us. All the cowboys and ruffians were staring at us in amazement and confusion. I gave a nervous laugh and waved awkwardly at them until they returned to their personal matters.

"Have you two ever considered consoling? Really, man! You two are always at it every frickin' day! It seriously is starting to get annoying! Come on guys, we're a team! We should have been actin' like it already after all that we've been through thus far!" Gallows pleaded.

"It is not my fault. Somebody here refuses to lay off me whenever I'm down in the dumps." I said, defending myself.

"Sorry man, but it's just so damn funny sein' Virginia here distressed. And it wouldn't be right if I didn't cause it everyday. I'd go crazy if I didn't see her annoyed." Jet scoffed.

I gave him a cold look; so cold I was hoping that it would freeze him solid so he would shut up already.

"Aaawwww, ain't that sweet? The little squirt here needs Virginia everyday so he won't go crazy. Now that's what I call love right there! Oooohhhh!!!" Gallows mocked.

"What the flippin' crap?! I course I don't love her! I sure the hell don't need her either! I don't need any of you idiots! I'd be a lot happier if she would just get the hell outta here alrea---"

"Sure, sure. Whaaateerverr you say, buddy." Gallows chuckled with disbelief.

"What are you guys talking about now?" I questioned.

"We should rest here for awhile. Long enough to regain our health. . ." Clive said wearily.

"Hey, man. . . you okay buddy?" Gallows said with concern.

"Oh, I'm quite fine." He responded with fatigue in his tone, not even giving the effort trying to fool us that he was okay. He got up from his seat and limped his way upstairs. "I'm going to bed now; I'm exhausted. You all have some free time. Do whatever you want. I don't care what you do; just please try to stay out of trouble and try not to cause such a commotion. The last thing we need is another fight." He had his head hung down as if he was defeated from a battle.

"Woohoo!! You know what that means, you guys?! Party! I am so getting wasted tonight!" Gallows cried out in joy.

"I suggest that you would refrain from doing that. We've been through a perilous trek thus far, and it would be unwise to raise a ruckus with the locals because of your reckless drinking." Clive replied bluntly. "The primary thing is to recover from that ordeal we had with Janus."

His expression was so strained that I was starting to worry. Was he disappointed because we didn't fight well against Janus? Maybe he was disappointed with the team's fightin' skills or something. . .

"Whoa. . . He must be pretty tired, or pretty stressed. . . or both. I think you guys worsened it with all o' yer arguin' and whatnot." Gallows responded.

Feeling my stomach about to fall out of me, I followed Clive upstairs and shyly tapped on his door. No response. I dared to open the door, making a loud creakin' noise and carefully peered my head in for sight of him. He was standing by the window in darkness. The only light that entered the room was the light from the opened door and the bright moonlight from the window. I would have mistaken it being empty if it weren't for the moonlight shinning down on his figure.

I cleared my throat and tried to speak confidently, "E-er-- Um, Clive? A-are you alright?" I croaked. Gosh, I sounded so stupid right now. Luckily he couldn't see me blushing crimson.

". . . . . ." No response.

"I-- uh, I just wanted to check up on you. You seemed kinda down at supper." I said.

"What to do. . . What to do, indeed. . ." He muttered, what seemed like to himself.

"Are. . . . Are you okay? Y-you don't seem like yourself lately and--"

"Surely there is a way to avoid this trouble. . . But the question is how." He said to himself again.

I know he could hear me, I'm sure my stupid, croakin' voice spoiled all the silence in the room for anyone to hear me.

I dared myself to speak to him again. This time mustering all the courage to sound confident. "D-d-do you need anything?" Gah! Curse my bashfulness in front of him!

"That seems a bit risky, but I don't see any option at this point. . . Maybe it's for the best, I suppose. . ." Still talking to himself, as if he was totally unaware that I was right there.

I didn't dare walk into the room, so I stayed at my spot at the door. My fingers cringing on the door, sweating with nervous heat inside my white gloves. I used the door as some sort of shield for protection and to shy behind it. Gripping hard on the door, I started to get frustrated with myself, thinking what to say next so that I won't sound stupid again.

I took in a deep breath and gulped. This time speaking louder than before, I was sure that it could have made anyone jump, "Please, is there something wrong--"

"No, I must think this over!" He made a frustrated sigh, "Perhaps I shall think more on this tomorrow. Errh! All that horrible noise downstairs is giving me a headache-- Gallows!! I thought I told him not to be drinking!"

It was true. There was a bunch of chattering and clanging noise downstairs. Gallows could obviously be heard because he was the noisiest one. "WOOHOO!! Now this is what I call entertainment!!! Come on everyone!!! Drinks on me!! Bring on the dancers!" A crowd of cheering and applause broke out.

Clive gave another sigh, but it was exhausted rather than frustrated. "I was so foolish to let her. . . . In the first place I should have just said to her that she had let things get too far between. . . If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be in this predicament. . ." He wasn't making any sense, he was talking in sentences that faded out before they finished, then started on another. . . It finally hit me to realize that--

I felt my heart give a tightening jolt. I knew he was ignoring me on purpose.

All this time he was talking about me!

Quickly I closed the door, too scared and too hurt to hear more. I leaned my back against the door and put both hands over my beating heart. My whole body was hot, my hands were shaking as they clumsily tried to control the wild beast inside my chest; as if it might accidentally rip outside of my body if I didn't hold it. I could feel my whole body tense up.

I felt bad, sick, embarrassed and ashamed at the same time. As if this was all my fault.

I sunk down to my ankles and felt that I needed to cry.

Gallows

Some night. . . It was pretty lame once we had to stop enjoyin' ourselves. Virginia came sulking down here and said that we were botherin' Clive. Everyone was upset then, especially me! But boy, that look on Virginia said that she was just as disappointed as the rest of us. All thanks to Clive, who spoiled everyone's mood last night! I mean, come on! We all made it here to Little Rock after the beatin' we got from Janus. So we all deserved a little fun. Right?! I'd say that we should be celebratin' instead of mopin' around just 'cause we didn't win this round. We've done pretty good so far, and we should be congratulatin' ourselves for it.

But no. Clive's just all work and no play. "We must stay on task and prepare for the future." Or it's "This is no time for celebrating, we must focus on our objectives."

And these two kittens here just bicker and fight along the way. I mean, I 'd understand if it happened once and awhile, but every five minutes?! We're supposed to be a team for cryin' out loud! (Sigh. . .) Can't everyone just get along and be happy for once? We should be enjoyin' our little adventure here! Right?! Isn't that what being a Drifter is all about? Or am I the only one who feels that way? Man, it would pretty sad if I was the only one. . .

Well, I guess we're stickin' around here until Clive figures out what we're all gonna do next. . . He highly suggests that he figures that out himself, instead of our usual little group involvement. Or so he says.

That's totally unlike him. He always involves the whole team whenever we discuss what we're gonna do or where we're gonna go next. . . Which means he must really value each one of our opinions. But this time he's not actin' like himself. Huh, I wonder what's up?

The next day; Me, Virginia, and Jet were just tryin' to find somethin' to occupy ourselves with while Clive thinks about where we're headin' next.

I wandered off by myself to check out the town and I tell ya. . .there is absolutely nothin' to do around here! So in my disappointment, I decided to go to the ARMS smith to have my Modified Coyote M17F tuned up and ready to go. Boy, you wouldn' believe what I saw. . . The ARMs smith was totally hot! She checked my ARM and gladly gave it a tune up. Yeah, I tried to get her on a date with me, but she turned me down. . . Her lost. Just as I left the shop though, I saw a number of cuties around here. Each time I passed a girl, she was good-lookin'! Heh, and I thought there wounldna be so many cute girls here in this dead beat town. Guess I'm not bored anymore!!

***Later that afternoon***

After having a good time tryin' to win me a date with all the beauties around here (and practically getting turned down by everyone o' them), I decided to catch up with Clive, who was on the outskirts of town; practicin' his shootin', I guess.

Now, I've known Clive for awhile now. And after pickin' up how his moods and attitudes work over the passed months, I came to learn that the only time he'd be practicin' his sniper skills is when he's stressed out about something.

"Hey man, what's up?" I greeted him. I put my lovable grin on just in case; to lighten his spirits if he was still in the mood he was in from last night.

He was concentratin' so hard on one of the distant bottles lazin' out on the far rocks of the mesa that it took him some time to notice me. He took his time, lookin' through his scope, and after what seemed like a minute, he fired.

BANG!

I heard a faint shatter in the distance. As always, he never missed his target. "Bulls' eye!" I chanted. "Man, you've never failed to amaze me yet. You really are that professional bounty hunter that I've heard so much about!"

"Gallows?"

"Whoa, sorry man. But all that tension you carried seemed to rub off on me!" I joked.

"My apologies." He said, smiling.

Great timing! He's in a good mood!

"Hey! Good to see ya back to yer ol' self, buddy!"

"Yes, well, I've been very stressed these passed several weeks." He finally admitted.

"Hey man, you've gotta relax once in a while. I mean, I know you're the leader and everythin', but you seriously need to lighten up every now and then. You need to be hip and cool and to not give a damn about everything else. . .you know?! Like me!" I said, posing triumphantly.

He chuckled. "Yes, but I think that's your biggest problem right now. You're so laid back that you don't take important matters into consideration, such as your priesthood lineage to your Baskar tribe, for instance."

"Aww. Hey now, come on. Don't start that with me again!" For as long as I've known Clive, he's been tryin' to convince me into seriously takin' the role as the Head Priest of the Baskar Colony. Well, sorry buddy! That ain't happenin'! Not now, Not ever!

He gave another chuckle. "So what brings you out here?"

"Well, I was bored so I just came by to see if you came up with anything yet."

"Oh, well, you see I happened to be thinking on that right now. . ." He said, unsure of himself.

"Uh-huh. . . So, do you have any ideas?" I tried to trick him into giving me just a hint of what was goin' on. As usual, he came on to me and shook his head with a smile.

"Now Gallows, I told all of you that I once I've decided, I'll let you all know. Now if you kindly don't mind, I would appreciate some time to myself." He notice my upset look, "Gallows, you know I wouldn't keep anything from everyone, but please try to be patient with me." He said calmly.

Drats.

"Oh, um, okay then. Guess I'll let you get back to huntin' the bad guys then."

He smiled and returned on his crouching position to take down another poor, defenseless bottle. As I walked away disappointedly, I could hear three more gun shots, and then three more shattering bottles echoing on the mesa rocks soon after.

Oh well, that failed. Guess it's time to bug Jet!

Jet

Well here I am. . . Not a damn thing to do and no Virginia around in sight to annoy. I threw my boomerang around for somethin' to ease my sufferin' of complete boredom. I was keepin' up a good chain of my reflexes by catchin', until some annoying voice came ringin' into my ears.

"S'up, squirt?" Gallows greeted, with that stupid grin that made my skin crawl.

"Don't call me that." I grunted, a little frustrated now that he messed up my winnin' streak. I went to retrieve my fallen boomerang when he continued to chatter on.

"But you are a squirt, did ya know that?"

"Well sorry for not being so freakishly tall like you, you big oaf." I replied shortly, repeatedly catchin' and throwin' my tool again.

"Ha! Well, can't argue with ya there! Y'know, it's not often that I come across a bloke who's as big as I am! Guess I gotta appreciate myself for that--"

"Look, what the hell do you want?!" I said, my patience quickly losing me.

"Came back from visitin' Clive, tried to get him to tell me what's on his mind. . . . ."

"And?!"

". . . . .And what?"

"What did he say, you moron?!"

"Uhhh. . . Didn' say much. Guess he's still thinkin' about it or maybe he already has but just doesn't want me to know yet. . ."

"Grrrrr. . . That's pissin' me off! If he knows about it, then why doesn't he tell us already? Instead of us just hangin' around this boring town with nothin' to do!"

"Well, maybe he wants us to relax for a bit, but didn't want to tell us directly." Gallows said, scratchin' his temple, unsure of himself.

"That's stupid! I don't need any restin'! I'm ready for action, bring it!"

"Yeah, but I think he mainly did it for Virginia's case."

"Arrgh! That Virginia! What good is she if she only slows us down all the time?!"

"What's your problem with her anyways? Every time we mention her name, you get all fumed and bothered about it-- Unless you--"

"No! Don't say it! Don 't even say it, Gallows! She just bugs the hell outta me, okay?! So drop it already, you idiot!" I nearly yelled.

"Ha, ha, okay then. . ." He said mockingly, "But anyway, check out my improved ARM!" He lifted up his mediocre ARM and shoved it in my face. "Pretty sweet, huh? The beauty at the ARMs smith shop fixed it up real nice. I offered her my appreciation by askin' her out. Unfortunately for her she skipped out on a good man."

"Pretty smart of her if you asked me. And it looks like crap, it always has! Since the first time I laid eyes on it! It looks like a sawed off shotgun for cryin' out loud!"

"Hey, shut up! And it happens to be a sawed off shotgun by the way; it's been in my family for ages, so don't joke about this. But anyways, check it out!" He tried to act all cool, waving' his ARM in the air and started firing randomly. He hit several gigantic barrels, apparently filled with gallons of water that came gushin' out. The water made a massive tidal wave and soaked the dirt, barren ground. It created one massive puddle.

"H-HEY!!! Y-Y-YOU! DID YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE, YOU BASTARD?! THAT WAS OUR YEAR'S WATER SUPPLY!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EXTREMELY HARD WATER IS TO COME BY?!" One of the townspeople screamed.

"Uh, hehe. . . Well, gotta work on my aimin' here. . . I didn' say I was a decent gunsman. . ." Gallows scratched his head in embarrassment and gave a goofy laugh.

"Stick to Arcana, ya moron."

* * *

I walked along the mesas on the outskirts of the town until I heard a banging noise; the unmistakable sound of a fire ARM. I could smell the instant gunpowder and rust. Heh, I had a natural gift of identifying which gun it was too; Clive's. I didn't need to see if it was him or not either, I just know. His had a unique smell to it.

Just as I peered below the mesa, I could see him at his target practicin'. Of course, he was actin' all badass with his shootin', he is the Great Sniper after all! Damn, he pisses me off. . . Actin' so damn badass in front of everyone to preserve his reputation. Pathetic.

I gave a snort of disgust and was just about to go down to bitch at him for takin' his sweet time with his decisions, makin' all of us wait. Until I saw a purple figure a short distance away from me, lookin' down at the bounty hunter. I knew who it was; it was Virginia. She was hidin' behind one of the rocks. A smirk quickly came to my face now that I have somethin' new to do; sneak up on her for a surprise attack.

Just as I walked up to her, I could see that look on her face. . . The way that she looked at him. . . Infuriated me! I grinded my teeth together until they sore out of anguish. I was so pissed off that I pulled out my boomerang, carefully aimed. . . .and watched it flung.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

"OWWW!!! H-Hey!"

Perfect shot!

I gladly walked up to her and prepared for her wrath, which I enjoyed seein' so much. Right when I was close enough to her, she threw my boomerang right in my face. The slap of it stung, but it was so worth it seein' Virginia's pissed-off look.

"Why'd you scare me like that? And why did you throw this at me?!" She demanded.

"'Cause you were just sittin' there with a dumb look on yer face!" I growled.

She gave me a cold look, but it didn' have any effect on me.

"So what the hell you doin' up here by yerself anyways?" I questioned.

"None of your business!" She snapped. Then she had a worried look on her face all of a sudden when she looked back to Clive's direction.

"He made up his mind yet?" I asked.

"No, and he hasn't let anyone near him. Gallows went to see him, but I guess Clive told him to go away. . ." She said depressingly. "He won't let anyone see him. . .including me."

"Gallows said the exact same thing, he wouldn't even tell Gallows his plans. Damn, the nerve of that guy." I grumbled.

"What do we do now? How long do you think he's going to make us stay here? Well, it looks like for a long time judging on his attitude lately." She said quietly.

Hmm. . . That was true, Clive was being very heavyhearted during these passed weeks. . . Wouldna let anyone bother him too. Every time we rested somewhere, he would just lock himself up in his room or go off in the distant wasteland, with that stupid old notebook under his nose.

That was it. I couldn't take it any longer. I needed to settle this, I didn't like this new attitude of his.

"W-Where are you going?!" Virginia stammered as she saw me quickly making my way down the mesa in Clive's direction.

"What does it look like I'm doin'?! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind! I am really startin' to get fed up with this crap!"

"N-no! Wait! You can't--!" Virginia called out, but she was just too slow to keep up with my pace.

I slipped and slide all the way down those rocks and after what seemed like a couple of minutes, I was already down on the ground floor. I stomped my way towards him.

"Yo!" I called out.

When he didn't respond, I walked up to him and thumped him on his back. Heh, I didn't care if I threw off his concentration. I was actually hopin' he'd get pissed off at me just for the fun of it. But to my displeasure, he just looked surprised.

"Jet? You gave me a fright." Was all he responded when he stood up to me. "Is there something on your mind?"

"You bet somethin's on my damn mind! Just who the hell do you think you are?! Avoidin' everyone when they need to hear what you've got to say! In case you didn' realize, you're the goddamn leader here, remember?!" I growled.

I was still preparin' for his outburst, but he just sighed instead. He smiled at me and said calmly "Jet, I realize that. . .and I think I finally came to a decision." He turned his back to me and stared out in the wasteland with his hands behind his back. I had to admit, I was curious on what he was thinkin' about. . . I've always thought of him as some kind of mystery.

"There have been several matters that have been vexing me for some time now. . ."

"So?!"

"So, I've been noticing that our team has been having a difficult time. . .engaging in combat, to be precise."

"Sure as hell see that myself!" I said, agreeing with him on that point.

"You've noticed too?" He chuckled, "I'll be modest, our team is somewhat frail; Gallows isn't very accurate with his ARM, meaning he has very little might. A brilliant Arcana user, yes magic especially, I'd say that he could be an actual threat should he have proper training. That's why I strongly suggested that he should prepare for his priesthood. Just imagine how our team would be with a powerful Arcanist! But unfortunately, his listening skills and responsibility seem to fail him. He absolutely refuses to do just that. And as for Virginia. . . Well, I'm afraid she has a lot to learn. As you obviously can see, she is the weakest on our team. A quick sharpshooter yes, but has very little effect. The only real experience she has with ARMs were the teachings of her father. . .but I'm afraid that will only get her so far out here in the wasteland. . . Hardly a skilled Drifter can survive out here in these vicious lands. Just imagine how its like for a greenhorn."

"Yeah, yeah! I know where yer comin' from!" I said, agreein' that are team was cheap as hell.

"But you and I, we are the power house of the team. Gallows and Virginia depend on us to get the team out of risky predicaments, particularly in combat."

"Yeah we are!" I said gladly. "I see what yer thinking' on Clive, but what's this all about? Is this what's been on yer mind lately?" I asked.

"Yes and no. You see, I'm an expert on planning out strategies and preparation. . .but I failed to get our team stronger. I try to get everyone to train everyday, but Gallows refuses to get serious and Virginia has no experience. I'm afraid she might hurt herself if we were to train constantly."

"Hmm, yeah she's pretty green compared to us ruffians, huh?" I responded.

He chuckled, "Now you finally know how nervous I get when we engage into conflicts; I constantly worry about her--"

"Get to the point, sniper. What are you thinkin' about?"

"Well, I know that the team's growth level is somewhat constant. No matter how far we progress in the wilderness, we stay at the same level. That could be very dangerous. And matters will only get more difficult as we continue on in the wasteland. We need to be stronger in order to prepare for that. You've witnessed that during the fight we had with Janus."

"Yeah? And what's your decision now, boss?"

"I was actually thinking about this decision last night before I went to sleep. . .but I decided to overlook it. . . Yet after speaking with you now, you just brought it up again and I don't see any other option. . ."

"What is it?"

"Our team needs to train hard to get stronger."

"Hell yeah we need to!"

"And I haven't been very beneficial in that category."

"You sure the hell haven't!"

"So we need an expert who's prepared and who's been training nearly all his life for the dangers of the wasteland. . ."

"You bet we do!"

"So that is why I have decided for you to take over as leader of this team from now on."

"You know it--- Wha. . . . Hold on! Now just wait a goddamn minute! What?! WHAT?!?"


A/N: Well, this chapter took longer than it was necessary, but I think it was enough to keep you guys entertained. Next week: Chapter 9.