Another Lucky Shot

Train was the way to go to get to Fortune Gear. But once they got to the Dune Canyon station near the shrine, they were warned not to go on horseback. For a monster named Diaborg was out there, and it was only attacking fast things. Of course, the team didn't listen to these warnings, they weren't afraid of a creature like that. After all, how tough could it be for a team of seasoned Drifters? Not too tough, they bet.

And they were right. For after calling the horses, they were assaulted on the way to the Guardian Shrine. Jet and Clive were shooting like mad, while Virginia and Gallows used attack magic. Each of their attacks hit home, and soon the monster was dead. He spit out fifteen Dragon Fossils after his defeat, so the group had some sort of reward. Everyone knew that Dragon Fossils were valued by ARMs dealers to repair the guns. As well as Sandcrafts, they used the same materials. The team could sell these for a good deal of money. So this wasn't a wasted effort at all, as they first had thought about killing the beast.

* * *

Soon, they arrived at the shrine. Inside, Virginia suddenly felt a jolt go through her. It was almost as if there was an evil entity trying to eat the Guardian alive. Beads of sweat covered her face, she fell to the ground and began to convulse from a shortness of breath. Jet and the others noticed this, and tried to revive her. Clive took notice of her situation. "It looks like she's having trouble breathing. We should give her artificial resuscitation in a situation like this one. Do either of you know how to?" He looked to Jet.

"Well, I think I can help," the boy stated, "But if this is just a sick joke so Gallows can start to make fun of me, then the both of you are going to get it." He did, however, notice that Virginia would need some sort of assistance. She was breathing pretty quickly, gasping for each breath she took. And there was no reason for it to be so. Jet sighed, and placed his lips to hers. He breathed, and began to fill her lungs with air again. Soon, she regained her composure. The girl sat up, and began to look around in a nervous way.

"I saw a vision of sorts. The Guardian, in pain. Someone else is here, and is trying to attack him in his own chamber. We've got to hurry, or else the Guardian won't have any energy left," lamented Virginia. Her eyes turned towards Jet, thankful for him saving her from the pain. What no one had known, was that by touching one another with any part of their bodies, the two were able to instantly heal one another. But the mouth to mouth still had to be done, it was just her inner pain he took care of with his touch. She then blushed, totally embarrassed about being seen like this. But what the girl didn't want to admit was how she had been delighted by it, the appeal of his kiss had been enough to make her feel like she was light as air.

Gallows said, "If that's the case, then maybe we should get going. If we have to fight against these men, we probably will find them at the top. I don't know about you, but these visions she gets are almost as foreboding as my brother's. Filgaia sending out dreams to the girl as she wakes, now the situation looks a little bit hairy." He shivered a little, for he could sense things only a little bit worse than Virginia was able to.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the top, they saw Janus standing before the alter, talking to himself with a smug smile on his face. "Just think of it, soon I will have more power than I ever dreamed of. Here, in my hands, is the Guardian's own energy. Once I finish draining as many as I can, I will be able to beat back those blokes if I wanted to. But not yet, not until I can fully exploit them for all they have. Once I have the ability to rule the world, then those three no longer matter, they'll be disposable. Then, I will reign supreme over all of Filgaia, for all eternity. I'd like to see those four fools stop me now, I'm too all powerful for them."

"Guess again, Janus," yelled Virginia, "We're here to stop you from completing your horrid scheme. The Guardians chose us to battle you, and that's what we're going to do. Now you put the energy of the Luck Guardian back inside his shrine now. Or else I'm going to have to turn violent and kill you right now."

"You, kill me? That's a rich one, Princess. You could never hope to defeat me. Now I am the only one who can unite Filgaia, and bring on a new era. We had the supposed Era of Greenery, this desolate Wasteland, and now there will be the Era of Janus that will make this world better than it ever has been in the past. Now, be a good little girl and die for me. Negative Rainbow!" he called, sending energy to attack the team. Virginia fell backwards, she was in more pain then she ever had been. The girl reached out for her companion, to heal one another's wounds, but Janus got to her first. He picked up the Dark Spear, and took a position to impale the girl with it, right through her heart. Virginia closed her eyes, awaiting her end.

But it didn't happen. The next thing she knew, Janus was sheathing the weapon, slinging it over his back, and laughing. He told her, "I was only bluffing you know. I need you alive for a little bit longer, girl."

He teleported out. Virginia was now able to successfully reach Jet with her hand, and use their healing technique, Airget-Healing. With it, their Filgaian powers worked together to regenerate their bodies and make every wound vanish as if it never had been. The girl then got up to take care of the other two.

Gallows walked over to the shrine. "Well Chapananga, I guess we couldn't save you as well. Can you come with us? We need all the help we can get in order to stop these people from completing their mad scheme to rule all of Filgaia. If we don't all work together, our planet will be doomed to destruction by those creeps." He banged his hands on the shrine, and the Medium fell out. Virginia could pick up on the Luck Guardian chiding his new charge for being so rough. She giggled as Gallows invoked the Medium.

"Well, let's get back to Humphrey's Peak," she told the others, "We should really have a nice lunch before we go onwards. And then, I think we should look for a job or two, we are running short on Gella. As well as find a place that could use these fossils, ARMs Dealers will give you a good price. Come to think of it, I think Emilia from Jolly Roger was selling Sandcrafts for fifteen fossiles, that would prove most useful."

They decided to head to Humphrey's Peak first, to get situated, and then to Jolly Roger to get the Sandcraft. With that, they could travel much faster than by horseback, or even train. They could even get to places that trains didn't travel. It would make life a whole lot easier for the four chosen Guardian avatars.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

I've gone insane now, the Slayers refs. Clarification, in Episode 7 of NEXT, Zel is used as the anchor for their fishing boat, as his body is made of stone due to a curse. When they bring him up (after a lot of trauma), he doesn't look good. Amelia decides they should use mouth to mouth (saying several other terms incorrectly first), and Zel blushes terribly, his heart beating like a drum. Turns out, the chef they're traveling with does it instead, and he begins to freak. He was really looking for a kiss there. Virginia at least got Jet to give her the artificial respiration, she didn't have Gallows do it. Which wouldn't be a good idea, he'd probably choke her since he's got so much air inside of him. Mainly cuz he's bigger, but there's also the "full of hot air" line you could be thinking of.