Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms. This is the first in my series that will tie all of the games together. If you want to contact me you can email me at ericpaladin@hotmail.com

Full Circle
By David Knight

Chapter 4: Dreams of Things to Come

What can one learn in the time of when one does not act but merely sleep? What could one person possibly have in their mind that could be seen from their dreams?

The answer to that... all depends on whom you are talking about.

* * *

Dianna looked on at Rudy sleeping on one of the beds in the room they had been given to sleep in this night. She would be glad to get out of the town tomorrow. Tomorrow she would start her days as a free spirit again. Tomorrow she would learn to be what Rudy was; A Dream Chaser.

_Speaking of Dreams... I need to sleep._ She mused as she laid down on the soft, comfortable bed, a comfort she had not had in so very long. Wrapping the covers around herself, she soon passed into sleep.

* * *

As she dreamt she found herself in a mountainous area looking over a town.

"Hiayah!"

_What?_ Dianna flinched when she heard the voice. She walked calmly out to where she heard the sound. What she saw made her gasp.

It was man in his early forties with blonde hair, wearing a white shirt under a gray jacket and blue pants. He had the Black Feral in his hands. Beside him was a young 13-year-old blonde haired girl holding a practice sword in her hands, trying to stay steady.

"Come on Dianna. You're trying a little too hard and don't you think this technique is a little too advanced for you right now," the man said kindly to her.

"No way! I want to best Fast Draw User in Filgaia just like you Daddy!" she chirped.

"... daddy..." Dianna cried as she watched this scene. This was on her thirteenth birthday. She had begged him to take her up into the mountains and to learn some Fast Draw techniques as her birthday present.

The image of Alex Stampede chucked at the younger Dianna, "I hope you will, sweetheart. But you have to know something, you can't just try to learn the most dangerous moves before you know the basics."

"But I want to know the best!" little Dianna said.

The next thing she knew as that her father was staring her down very sternly. "You must learn the basics first Dianna! If you do not you could get yourself killed! Do you understand me?"

"... yes daddy." little Dianna said.

"Daddy..." Dianna muttered softly as she watched her father helping the younger version of herself with swordsmanship. She wanted to go out and touch him, but soon the images of her father and her younger self vanished. She fell to her knees and cried, missing her father ever so much.

Suddenly, she felt warmth all over her, as well as arms around her; "I thought I told you not to cry so much." a male voice spoke from behind her.

Dianna whirled around and saw the scenery had changed from that day in the past to what the mountains looked like now in the present, colder and more dangerous.

And there holding her was the man that she missed so much, "How have you been sweetheart?"

"Daddy!" Dianna sobbed as she hugged him for all he was worth, she just felt him holding her tightly and she just stayed that way for a while before looking up, "Daddy... I miss you... I just wish you weren't just a dream. That you really were here."

"We are here together Dianna. Here on this place of existence, we are able to talk together." Alex Stampede said softly, his voice and tone snapping Dianna out of her stupor, her eyes wide.

"D...daddy?" she asked looking at him, "This... this isn't... you aren't a dream? You aren't dead?"

Alex shook his head as he got up and helped Dianna up as well. "This is a dream but I am not a dream. And yes... I am dead."

"But then... how... how can we even be talking?" Dianna asked.

"Filgaia works in mysterious ways sweetheart," Alex replied as he picked up a rock from the ground with his right hand. Suddenly Dianna saw the scenery change once more, but it was nothing like she had seen before.

The entire ground had some thing green coming out of it and it was covering everything. There was a lake right in front of them and there were a few large trees also in the area. "What... what is this place?"

"Jericho Valley, its where I grew up when I was a sprout like you," Alex said as he threw the stone over the lake.

"It's beautiful..." Dianna gasped in awe, "I've never seen anything like it."

"It doesn't exist any more." Alex sighed.

"What?" Dianna asked.

"It was destroyed, everything wiped out and made into this," Alex waved his hand and everything turned into a brown desert. It made Dianna sick to her stomach to know this.

"Why... why would anyone want to turn that... that beautiful place into this?!" Dianna wanted to know.

"Those that want to bring back the dark times," Alex answered, "The times of the Demons and of the Blaze of Destruction."

"Demons? Blaze of Destruction?" Dianna blinked, "Daddy what do you mean?"

"Listen to me. I don't know if I'll ever be able to talk to you through the Dreamscape again and if I can it won't be for a long time," Alex started to say and when he saw his daughter about to speak he held his hand up. "No questions. Just listen. Okay?" when she nodded he spoke again, "Humans that become drunk with the thought of obtaining power that they have no right too can do terrible things. It has happened in the past, it's helped cause the decay of Filgaia. Now its happening again, a group of people are trying to bring back the dark times to obtain power that should remain sealed away for all of time."

"What do you want me to do?" Dianna asked. "Daddy what do you want me to do?"

"As a father, I might say run, hide and find a place to stay safe, especially after what I have been forced to see you go through for the last two years from where I am.," Alex stated, "And don't get me wrong, its a wonderful place, but its not your time yet and I don't want to see you here until you've managed to have a couple of sprouts of your own."

"Me?" Dianna snorted. "Married and made into an old maid. That'll be the day."

"Your grandma said that's what she used to say before she met your grandpa." Alex chuckled. "If you ever make it to Boot Hill, you might be able to find them."

"My grandparents?" Dianna whispered in disbelief, "They... they are alive?"

"Ma will be able to tell you and your friend more about what she knows about what is heading for the planet," Alex replied, "I do envy you Dianna."

"Why is that Daddy?" Dianna asked.

"Why?" Alex shook his head in disbelief, "... nah. That will be Rudy's story to tell you when he's ready. He's been through a bit of his own hell Dianna. Watch each other's backs if you want to stay safe."

"I think we have that covered daddy," Dianna smiled but it dropped when she saw her father take out his sword and suddenly there was a monster coming at them both. He rushed it and then attacked it with an overhead strike in which there was an explosion of fire when the blade connected and the monster died.

"You did see that didn't you sweetheart?" Alex asked her. Dianna nodded. "Good, now show me."

"Grrraaahhh--!"

Dianna turned around to see another monster coming right at her. This time, she felt the Black Feral in her hands. She executed the attack exactly the same way her father had, killing the monster with one blow. She was surprised, to say the least. "I... I did it... on the first try!"

"You have gotten a lot better sweetheart," Alex said proudly. "Its called Meteor Dive. It should come in handy. Remember, the art of the Fast Draw is to learn from everything around you. You can always learn a new trick and in this world, you will need every trick you can get."

"Yes daddy," Dianna nodded but then asked, "... how much longer until..."

"Until you wake up. Then who knows." Alex said as he put his arms around her.

"Daddy... can we just be together then... even if it's for a little while." Dianna asked.

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Alex replied softly.

"But in that valley, please, instead of this terrible place." Dianna looked at him.

Alex chuckled at that, "Of course." He said as the scenery now changed into Jericho Valley once again. Alex held his daughter tight once again, "I love you Dianna."

"I love you daddy," Dianna smiled, knowing that even though it was just for one night, it would be worth it just to be with her father this one night in her dreams.

* * *

Meanwhile, someone else was having dreams of his own.

"Okay... this weird..." Rudy muttered as he took into his surroundings, he was on the outskirts of a city, just not sure where exactly because of all of this darkness that was around him. "I don't get this. One minute I'm sleeping in bed and now I'm some else in the middle of the night lost in the dark. Just what is going on." Rudy muttered.

"Geez, you really can't take dramatics at all?"

Rudy froze when he heard that voice. The tones and pitches of it were unmistakable to him. In front of him the darkness was now fading gradually and he could see a building that he recognized very well.

"The Maxwell Orphanage at Court Seim," Rudy breathed. He turned around to face a woman in white clothes with two pistols at her side. Long, full blonde hair that cascaded to the small of her back with two blue eyes staring right at him. "... Jane?"

"Its Calamity Jane," she stressed, "Geez, Rudy. Being out of the living and the dead for over 2000 years really screw up with your memories."

"No, I remember you just fine," Rudy sighed, though a smirk formed his face, "Jane Marie Maxwell."

"Rudy!" Jane screamed as she pulled out her two ARMs and fired at them at Rudy, who had to dodge before getting hit by them, "I told you NEVER to call me by that name ever!"

"Well it's definitely you Jane," Rudy smiled as he was hiding behind a building, "Only the real Calamity Jane would have reacted like that to being called her real name."

Jane growled, but relented as she put her ARMs away. When Rudy heard that, he walked out of his hiding place. "I guess I was wrong. You actually developed some sort of sense of humor while you were out. Twisted though."

"So what is this?" Rudy asked. "I mean... I know you are..."

"Dead?" Jane supplied, "Yeah. Been dead for nearly 2000 years now Rudy."

"So unless this is all one really bad illusion, can you tell me just where we are?" Rudy asked.

"Dreamscape." At Rudy's stare, she said, "Place of dreams." Still no response from him, "Place were people dream and all of their images come into place. Kind of like the astral plane!"

"... I don't remember much of anything that I ever dream." Rudy lowered his head, "Only 'dreams' I remember are nightmares and when I have those, I wake up screaming in the night."

"...oh," Jane sighed.

"I thought I would have one tonight," Rudy said softly, "About Lord Blazer. Of him killing Jack and Cecilia, just like Luceid told me he did."

"I didn't like the monster much either," Jane muttered as she took a seat on a bench that just appeared out of nowhere. "You want to know what the Stampede line still exists." Rudy nodded, "It was because Jack asked me to take his kids and go into hiding. He went after Lord Blazer after he killed his wife." Jane lowered her head, "He didn't make it Rudy."

Rudy slammed his fist against the wall of a building, even hearing it 2000 years after it happened was still enough to make him angry... and ashamed that he couldn't have done something then to help save anyone.

"We lost a lot of good people back during the Days of Disaster. It kept going until the Sword Magess killed him." Jane said.

"Sword Magess?"

"A young girl with the Guardian Blade and Luceid, though she was called Lucied then and get this Rudy," Jane smirked, "She turned to a he."

It took Rudy about five minutes to comprehend that but when he did he broke out in laughter, "Luceid... making herself into a guy?! Oh that is too much!"

"Yeah I know," Jane agreed. She watched Rudy calm down and his face was calm, though there was a half smile on his face. "What?"

"Thank you... for doing what I couldn't."

"And what might that be?" Jane asked.

"Save lives." Rudy replied sadly as he leaned up against the wall of a building.

"Rudy," Jane sighed as she got up, "There was nothing you could have done at all. Blazer beat the snot out of you in your first confrontation. It just...wasn't your destiny to win that battle."

"And just because of that, people had to die?" Rudy challenged, "How fair is that!"

"Life is never fair. People would have died regardless of your being there at that fight. You can't change the past no matter much you might want to Rudy," Jane replied, "But then again that's why I am here. To remind you of that and to remind you that there was a reason why you survived and why you are here now in this time. You are here to save Filgaia."

"How can I save it if the threat is worse than Lord Blazer ever was?" Rudy asked when not facing her.

"Alone you can't. But you are going to have the same thing that happened to you before happen again." Jane said with a knowing smirk.

"And what is that?" Rudy asked.

"Run into people that you will find have a similar path to you.," Jane said.

"Like who?" Rudy turned around to face Jane but to his surprise she was gone. "Jane? Jane! Calamity!" Not getting any response at all, Rudy decided to call her by one of her hated names, "Ms Maxwell!"

"Who are you?"

Rudy froze when hearing a different voice, a female one but it was of a lighter and gentler voice. "Who is that?"

"You call out my name and you don't even know," the voice replied, "And I have to say this is the weirdest dream I have ever had." Rudy could hear her sigh, "Geez, Janus must have gotten to me harder than I thought."

"Janus?" Rudy blinked, "Janus Cascade?"

"You know him?" the female asked.

"Unfortunately," Rudy growled, " The bastard nearly tried to kill all of the people at Baskar Village looking for the Guardians."

"He what?!" the woman exclaimed. "That... that's... that's inhuman! I already know he's one of the bad guys... but I didn't think he was that low!"

"Hold on. You've been to Baskar?" Rudy asked.

"Yes and one of the three men in my group was born in Baskar."

_No... way..._ Rudy turned around to face the woman who was speaking, and found himself staring at girl who looked only a few years than he did. He couldn't make out the clothes, but he saw chestnut brown hair tied up into a braid and two sapphire eyes staring right back at him.

And that's when the light came.

* * *

"Ngh!" Rudy gasped as he woke up, sitting up straight on his bed. He turned around to look at Dianna, who was still sleeping soundly in her bed. He didn't want to wake her up, so he got out of the room quietly and went out to look at the stars.

He always enjoyed looking out underneath them. When he sat under them, he would think of pleasant thoughts and ideas. That was his idea of dreaming.

But tonight was different. He hadn't had a nightmare. If he had, he would have been screaming until someone woke him up. More than once had he had a nightmare attack, and either Jack, Cecilia or even Hanpan had to forcibly wake Rudy up from his nightmare.

_But tonight... why did I dream of Jane... and that girl?_ Rudy shook his head as he thought about the chestnut-haired girl with sapphire eyes. He didn't want to think about her that much, but he couldn't help himself. There was something about her, something that he couldn't explain.

The fact that she had a run in with Janus and that she had come out of Baskar with three other men, one of which happened to have been born there told Rudy that she couldn't be a bad person. At least according to what this dream of his had shown. _A dream... you think it would be less confusing than a nightmare?_ Rudy mused as his face had a slight smile on it.

Either way, he was glad to have heard from Jane, even if it was from beyond the grave. And who knew, maybe he'd see others that he knew from the past in his dreams. Who knew what a Holmcross could do with their dreams.

Rudy decided he would stay out under the stars though for a while. Just to enjoy them and just to think. Think about the future, about what to do to save Filgaia.

About the chestnut-haired girl with sapphire eyes.

* * *

She couldn't stop thinking about him.

_That boy... dark blue eyes and hair to match..._ the woman from the dream mused as she sat on her bed in the inn. Her companions were sleeping in other rooms and she felt it unnecessary to wake them. She looked out her window and into the night sky. She loved the stars. She had seen them with her mother and father many times when they were alive.

Yet tonight when she looked at them, all she could see was the young man in red, with dark blue hair and eyes.

_I thought he was Janus when I saw him through the mist. I felt like pulling out my ARMs until I heard him call out my name... how did he know my name?_ the young girl asked herself. She tried not to think about him, but she couldn't. It just came back to him. _And those eyes. When I saw those eyes, it looked like... I don't know... it just felt... very strange to me._

Looking up over the stars, she asked the heavens to help her, give her guidance as she thought about the young man. _I don't think he's a bad person. I mean anyone who hates Janus that much must definitely be a good guy,_ she giggled a little bit at her own personal joke and shrugged. _Why am I worrying so much over a dream anyway. I mean he isn't real at all._

Taking another look at the stars, she shook her head as if to correct herself. _Yes he is... you just don't know who he is or why you've seen him. You always get like this some times. Seeing things you shouldn't see. Kind of like how you felt meeting Clive, Gallows and Jet was all some sort of predestined deal._

When she saw the position of the moon in the sky, she realized dawn would only be a few hours away and it would be better to get some sleep. "Come on Virginia Maxwell, you better go back to sleep so you can be ready to get moving tomorrow. You are going to need the rest if you want to get a move on to stop Janus from getting another shield."

Doing that just that, Virginia went back into bed and pulled the covers on over her body.

But even as she went back to sleep, she could not stop thinking about the blue-haired boy with dark blue eyes.

Wondering who he was.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: I bet everyone is glad that I decided to update after nearly two months. Well I have to say that personal problems got into the way and they had to come first. I won't bore you with the details and just say my life is a lot less hectic now than it was when I last updated this story. I also know that I said I would have a battle in the fourth chapter but after going back over the rest of the story, I realized I needed something in between to tie some things up and develop some character into Dianna as well as give Rudy some growth other than just fighting the bad guys. Anyway, Chapter Five will have the battle between Rudy & Dianna versus Leehalt's lackey. Also, Rudy's last member will be introduced and we will be nearing the final stretches of the First Arc of Full Circle, which would be about two to three more chapters depending on what gets written in those chapters. I will say it will climax with, as some of the reviews have thought, Rudy's team and Virginia's team meeting face to face, though you have seen Rudy and Virginia meet in this chapter... sorta. Well anyway hope this ties everyone over for a while. I make no promises on the time of when Chapter Five will get posted, just all depends on the time that I have. Until next time, take care and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.