Authors Note/Disclaimer: Don't own Wild ARMs 3, it belongs to Media Vision/Sony.

Well, here's the second chapter, finally. Frankly, I think it's a bit cheesy and rushed at the end, but go ahead and read it anyway. I ain't stopping ya. ^_^

Chapter 2:  Shadow of the Dragon

                It was still dark when Virginia woke, and it took her a few moments before she could clearly remember where she was and why.  She also noticed she was alone.

                "Jet?"

                She received no response.

                Getting dressed, she left the area under the bridge and returned to the town.  Looking around, she could see nothing but trees and houses, and the lamppost in the middle of town where the local Memory Figure stood.  Jet was nowhere to be seen.

                "…Why, Jet?" she whispered to the night sky, and made her way back to Clive's house.

*        *        *

                Gallows was snoring away when Virginia awakened him as she tried to enter quietly through the front door.

                "Hey," he said drowsily, picking himself up from the couch, "where have you been?"

                "…Around," mumbled Virginia.  She noticed Jet standing in the corner of the room and gave him a glance, but he avoided her gaze.  Before Gallows could say anything else, Catherine entered the room.  The look on her face was enough to silence everyone.

                Her eyes were red and her face pale, but she hadn't cried.  She was still too shocked to cry.

                "Catherine…" whispered Virginia.

                Catherine swallowed and brought her hand up to her face to hide her trembling chin.  She just stared at the three Drifters for several moments before she spoke, but they knew what was coming.  Her face said it all.

                Gallows stepped forward, offering his shoulder for Catherine to cry on.  She didn't accept it right away.

                "Cl-Clive … he … he died.  Last night."

                There was a stunned silence.  Even thought they had known it was coming, it still didn't prepare them to actually hear it.  Catherine accepted Gallows' earlier offer, finally breaking down into tears on his shoulder.  Virginia leaned against a wall, supporting herself as her knees threatened to fold beneath her.

                "No… it wasn't supposed to be like this…" Virginia allowed herself to sink to the floor.  She kept her head tilted downwards, eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she continued, voice choked.  "I knew from the beginning that being a Drifter would be dangerous … but … I guess I never really thought any of us would actually get hurt… or … not even when … we faced certain doom…  I … I think … I'm beginning to understand what Maya was trying to tell me all along… 

                "Where's the justice… in all of this…?"  Hurting and angry, Virginia hit the floor and swore quietly.  Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she began to cry anew.

*        *        *

                The funeral was held the next day.  Everyone in town attended.  Humphrey's Peak was a small community and everyone had known Clive in some way.

                Afterwards, the remaining members of the group joined Catherine at her home.

                "Are you sure you don't want us to stay for a while?" asked Virginia.  Catherine had just finished telling her she and the others could leave whenever they wished.

                Catherine shook her head.  "No, it's okay.  The other townspeople will be keeping me enough company."

                "If you're sure…"

                "I'll be all right."

                Virginia still looked unconvinced.  "Well… okay.  We need to get moving.  We'll … stop by if we're in the area."

                After exchanging fair wells, Virginia, Jet and Gallows headed over to where Lombardia was waiting for them.  Boarding the dragon, they set course to the Baskar Colony.

                "So…" started Virginia, unsure of what to say.  "Does anyone … have any idea where to go from here?"

                The only sound to greet her for several moments was that of the dragon.  Gallows was the first to reply.

                "…I think the Guardians know what's going on, Virginia."

                "But how do we speak to them?  They have no voices that we can hear, do they?"

                "I don't know.  But Granny might."

*        *        *

                They arrived at Baskar later that day, and were greeted upon arrival by Shane.  He came running towards the group, a mixture of relief and happiness visible on his face.

                "Brother!  You're safe!  I've been so worried!"  The teen practically tackled his older brother as he threw his arms around him, almost knocking him to the ground.  Gallows returned Shane's greeting with a bear hug of his own.  When he put him back down, Shane had to catch his breath.

                "It that my idiot grandson I hear?"

                Halle came out of the nearby hut to greet them and stopped short.  "Where is the other young man you travel with?  Clive, wasn't it?  Why is he not with you?"

                Virginia and the others exchanged looks as Shane noticed the missing party member for the first time.  He gave Gallows a questioning look, but his older brother wouldn't meet his gaze.

                "I-I'm afraid… he… he was killed… not too long ago…" Virginia trailed off.

                "…Oh… I-I'm sorry.  I didn't know…" stammered Shane.  He fell silent as Gallows wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

                "It's okay, bro."

                Halle dropped her gaze.  "That is too bad.  How are his wife and daughter taking it?"

                "They're doing okay under the circumstances," replied Gallows.  There was silence for several seconds.  "Granny, there's something evil going down.  Clive's death was a direct result of whatever it is…"

                "So you're asking for what, exactly?"

                "We need a way to talk to the Guardians.  Is it possible?"

                Halle just stared at Gallows as Shane shook his head.  Virginia glanced back and forth between the two, confused.

                Whack!

                "Ow!  Granny, what was that for!?"

                "Blithering idiot.  Shane, tell this big dolt what he would already know if he kept up with his studies."

                Shane nodded and turned to face Gallows and the others.  "I've already spoken to the Guardians once, brother, as you should know."

                Gallows was surprised.  "You have?  When?"

                Shane rolled his eyes and sighed.  "To call forth the Surge of Gaia at the Sacrificial Alter, a Pillar must first speak with Gaia."

                "What's Gaia?" asked Virginia.

                "Gaia is the collective spirits of all the Guardians.  When you speak to Gaia, you speak to all Guardians."

                "Is there a way to call this Gaia forth without having to sacrifice the Pillar?" asked Jet.

                Halle nodded.  "There is, but it can only be done at certain times."

                "When would be the next?"

                "In about two weeks time.  Will you be able to wait that long?"

                "We'll have to," replied Gallows, "it's our best, if not only, chance at finding out what's going on."

                "Shane and I'll start getting things prepared, then.  You three can relax in the hut if you'd like."

                Halle and Shane shuffled off, heading for the cave shrine.  Jet, Gallows and Virginia moved into the cool comfort of the hut.  Virginia walked over to the stairs and sat down on the bottom step before propping her head in her hands.  She sighed, and the room fell silent for several moments.

                "Well, what now?" asked Gallows.

                "I don't know.  I just… don't know.  There's a force at work here, and we can't even begin to grasp what it is.  And now, with… what happened to Clive… guys, I-I don't know if I can keep going like this…"

                "You can't just quit now, Virginia!  Clive's death… it was no accident that those men found us.  You know as well as the rest of us that they should never have made it past Lombardia.

                "I don't know about you, but I wanna track down whoever's responsible and make 'em pay!"

                Gallows slapped Jet on the shoulder, startling the silver haired boy and nearly knocking him over.  "I'm sure even the punk here wants to get even, right?"

                Jet brushed Gallows' hand off his shoulder and turned away without a word.  Gallows harrumphed.

                "Fine.  I'll be with Granny and Shane."  With that, the young Baskar left the hut.

                The room was silent save for the snapping and crackling of the fire.

                "Why?"

                Jet turned to look at Virginia, the tiniest hint of confusion and surprise on his face.  "Why what?"

                "Why did you leave me?  …You know, back at Humphrey's Peak."

                Jet took a quick glance at Virginia before turning away again.  He couldn't tell if she was angry or upset or even both.  Her expression was neutral.  But he already knew she wouldn't like his answer.

                "I don't know."

                Virginia said nothing, her expression not changing.  Jet hated that look, and he didn't know why.  He didn't feel nearly this bad when she was angry with him, and at least then he knew how to deal with it.  Her lack of emotion scared him.

                "There had to be a reason.  I would just like to know what it was."  Virginia's voice was as void of emotion as her expressions.

                Jet shook his head, feeling his chest constrict.  He hated feeling this way.  He was tough, nothing got to him.  This shouldn't faze him.

                But it did.  And he hated the fact that he had no control over it.

                "I really don't know.  I …guess I was scared."

                "Of what?"

                "I don't know!"

                Virginia slapped him hard on the cheek, starting to sob.  Jet found it better than her lack of emotions, but not by much.

                "Don't you use that tone with me, Jet Enduro!" Virginia hiccupped through her tears.

                "Virginia, I –"

                "No!  Forget I even asked!"  With that, the young woman fled from the hut, leaving a thoroughly confused and bewildered Jet behind.

                 Virginia ran from the hut, her vision blurred by her tears and stumbled to the center of town.  Sliding down into the shadow of the big rock, she gave in and broke down into tears.

*        *        *

                Her footsteps were quick, paced.  She knew where she was going, but she was having a hard time finding it.  Cursing, she continued to walk.  Andie hadn't figured on the Baskar Colony being so difficult to find, but she had to get there.  If anyone knew a way to exorcise the demon in her head, they would.

                She hadn't traveled much further before she picked up on the sound of arguing voices, growing closer.  Curiosity overcoming her, she turned in the direction of the sounds.

                "But sis, we don't even know if that guy was telling the truth or not!"

                "We also don't know he was lying.  So until you can give me one good reason why we shouldn't look into it, we'll be on our way."

                Andie could see the group heading her way now, and heard the young blonde boy sigh.

                "There's no arguing with madam once she's made up her mind," said the strange cat like creature with a smile.

                Andie couldn't help chuckling as she approached the Schroedingers.  She was taken slightly off guard when Todd stepped out in front of her, his hand on the hilt of his sword threateningly.

                "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

                Maya stepped forward and pushed Todd's hand down, rolling her eyes.  "Is that any way to greet someone?"  She turned to Andie, her smile somewhat condescending.  "Can we help you?"

                Andie scowled.  "I need to find Baskar.  Can you give me directions?"

                "We were heading there ourselves, miss.  Would you like to join us?" asked Alfred.  Maya gave him a dirty look, but turned her patronizing smile back to Andie. 

                "Yes, join us?"

                Andie's smile was sickeningly sweet.  "Thank you.  Shall we be off?"

                Alfred and Shady exchanged looks as the group started off again, Alfred sweatdropping slightly.  Shady merely shrugged and they fell into step behind the others. 

                Andie glanced up as they walked, watching the sky in time to see the dragon, Lombardia, soar overhead.  She felt a slight twinge.  She'd always believed the dragon legends passed down in her hometown of Laxisland.  She'd actually hoped to be the one to tame the beast, but another Drifter team had beaten her to it.

                She felt another twinge, this one signifying something else completely, and collapsed.

*        *        *

                Humming a sprightly tune, Roykman climbed over a rather large boulder in his path.  He'd woken up in such a good mood that morning; he felt nothing could spoil it.

                He laughed, smiling up at the sun as he continued on his way to the Baskar colony.  It was then that he saw the dragon.

                The smile faded from his face to be replaced with a look of puzzlement.  Lombardia was coming at him fast, and she didn't look happy.  He'd met her a few times before, when he'd had dealings with Virginia and the others.  He'd never seen the dragon like this before.

                He wasn't expecting the attack.  One of Lombardia's huge talons knocked him flat on his stomach; the other snagged his pack and flung it off into the distance.

                Gasping, trying desperately to regain his breath, Roykman scrambled across the dusty ground in an attempt to escape, but the dragon was too fast.  He screamed in pain as her mammoth jaws clamped around his midsection.  Lifting him, Lombardia tossed him a distance away.  He landed roughly, but still fought to stand, and began to drag himself to his destination.

                He didn't expect to get far with the dragon attacking, but to his surprise, she didn't press her attack.  He didn't look back, staggering off towards the colony.

                Lombardia watched him go, her teeth bared in a vicious, bloody grin.

*        *        *

                The Schroedingers delivered Andie to the colony quickly.  After leaving her in the care of one of the elder healers, Maya found herself confronted by Virginia.  She wanted to talk.

                "What are you doing here, Maya?" Virginia led her outside and in front of the big rock and sat down on it.

                The young blonde woman brushed her hair back haughtily.  "I was just helping out a fellow Drifter in trouble.  What are YOU doing here?"

                Virginia laughed, smirking.  "Sure, Maya.  Why are you really here?"

                Maya cracked a slight smile.  "Okay, I'll level.  We're here to follow up on rumors of a gem mine in the Zenom mountain range.  We just ran into the girl on the way.  When she collapsed, it seemed like a good idea to bring her here.

                "But you never answered my question, why are you here?"

                Virginia sighed, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap.  "We're looking for a way to talk to the Guardians.  Something's not right, something that got Clive killed.  We suspect that the Guardian's may know the answer."

                Maya fell silent, unsure of how to reply.  She was a tough woman, but she had truly grown fond of Virginia and her friends, although she'd never admit it aloud.

                The silence allowed Virginia to hear the weak cry for help.  Exchanging looks with Maya, she scanned the plains that surrounded the colony, spotting Roykman.  She grabbed Maya by the arm.  "Come on!"

                The two young women ran over to the fallen merchant.  Virginia reached out a hand and touched his shoulder.  It felt cold.  "Roykman?"

                His eyes moved to meet hers and he coughed weakly, splattering blood.  "Your dragon…  sh-she's …something isn't  …right wi-with her…"

                "Lombardia?" asked Virginia, trying to make sense of what he was saying.  But he didn't answer, his eyes dull, expression slack.  Maya shook her head and closed his eyes for the last time.  Neither of the girls had time for questions when Lombardia soared overhead, a draconic roar echoing through the air.

                Virginia couldn't believe her eyes as she watched her land in the middle of town and rip into Halle's hut.  She though she saw Gallows pushing Shane out of the way of some debris, but she couldn't be certain due to the distance.

                Maya was already running for the village, her ARM drawn.  "We'll try to stop her, you get the people out of the way!"

                Virginia knew it was no time to argue.  Nodding, she ran after Maya, her dual pistols drawn as well, and spotted Jet.  She yelled to him over the sounds of screaming.  "Jet!  Help clear the people out of town!"

                He nodded and started to herd the residents out as the Schroedingers engaged the maddened dragon in combat.  Lombardia turned, smashing another hut to rubble with her tail, and snarled down at Maya and the others as they ringed her.

                "Why do you fight?" she rumbled, lashing out at Todd.  The swordsman leapt clear of the attack and slashed at the dragon, doing her no harm.

                "You could not possibly hope to defeat me," Lombardia continued, raking out with her talons as Maya opened fire.  The young blonde dodged at the last second, rolling to the ground, and fired again.

                The dragon rumbled angrily; the bullets hurt, but they didn't do much damage.  She lashed out at Maya again, the Schroedinger girl only just standing up and unable to react in time.

                "Milady!"  Todd jumped forward, body-checking Maya out of the way as Lombardia's claws struck.  He fell to the ground noiselessly and lay still.

                The others had no time to do anything about it, though, as the dragon continued on her rampage.  Alfred snagged Shady as the cat creature flew past.  "Try to blind her," he instructed, "or at least, keep her occupied so I can finish up here."

                Shady didn't need to see what Alfred was working on to know it was some sort of explosive device.  Nodding, he flew towards the dragon.  Lombardia saw him coming.  She swatted the cat creature down, and then with a snap of her jaws, swallowed him in one bite.

                Alfred was shocked and horrified, but it had given him an idea.  "Sis, get back!"  Maya shot him an annoyed, questioning look as she continued to pepper the dragon with bullets.  He rolled his eyes.  "Just do it!  I think I know a way to stop her!"

                Maya did as asked and Alfred activated the device he'd been working on.  "Catch this, dragon!"  With that, he threw it at Lombardia's head. 

                She caught it in her mouth.

                Alfred could have sworn he'd seen her eyes flash with confusion seconds before the bomb took off the top of her head.  The earth shook as her remains fell to the ground.  The young boy sighed and stumbled over to where his sister was kneeling beside Todd.  He put a hand on her shoulder as he surveyed the wreckage.  All he could think of was how big a mess they'd made.

*        *        *

                Andie groaned and sat up, waking for the first time since she'd collapsed.  She walked out of the hut she'd been left in, one of the few that had survived the destruction, and glanced around.  She barely noticed as the demon took control.

                Walking with purpose through the carnage, she spotted her target.  Jet was off in a corner, digging through rubble, searching for survivors that may be caught beneath.  She glanced around, noting that no one seemed to be paying her or Jet any attention.

                Stepping up silently behind him, she drew her pistol and clubbed him over the head with it.  She caught him as he dropped noiselessly, hefted him onto her shoulder and carried him from the destroyed village.