Running

Virginia began to wake up slowly, taking in her surroundings. They were back in the Ark of Destiny, near the chair Lamium always sat in. The girl could see her three companions all up, kneeling in front of her in order to care for her injuries. Happy to be back, she jumped into Jet's arms, and just held onto him for a moment. Jet liked her attention, and pulled her closer to his body. He then gave her a kiss on the lips, and surprised Gallows and Clive a great deal. For neither of them thought Jet would be so open about his love.

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. The two broke apart reluctantly, and Virginia looked over the side of the dais. There, stood Albert with a pistol and a look of fear. He'd seen what had happened to Lamium, and as they were the only people in the room, he believed them to be the killers. Others in the Ark had come as well, hearing the commotion and wondering what was up. Virginia got back down, and Jet held her close to his side. "So now, Ginny, what are we going to do? These guys don't seem too hard to take out."

"But we can't kill other people for no reason," Virginia reminded him, "Even if they are shooting at us. Look, they've already seen my wings, I didn't think to retract them after we returned. So they have an excuse to think of me as a Demon. Here's the plan, we'll use the Airget-Barrier to block any attacks that come to us, and then we run like mad. We can hide out somewhere for awhile, I'm positive it'll work. At least let's try not to hurt anybody." She had that puppy dog face that Jet couldn't refuse, and he agreed.

They began to run, all while protected by the barrier. Anyone who tried to hurt them with their own fists, since the gunshots were ineffective, was bashed in the chest by one of the Drifters' punches. Then, after they escaped, they got back on Lombardia and flew away. It was time to make themselves scarce.

. . .

The wanted posters were put up right away: Four Drifters had murdered the founder of the Ark of Destiny. One was a tall man in his late twenties or early thirties with green hair done up in a ponytail, blue eyes, and glasses, last seen wearing a yellow vest, black pants, yellow boots, and an orange cat. Another was an even taller man in his early to mid twenties with brown hair done in several ties, blue eyes, wearing a yellow headband, coat, pants, brown shoes, and what appeared to be a shawl around his waist. Third was a boy in his late teens to early twenties with silver hair all spiked and messy, purple eyes, wearing a black shirt, jeans, a black belt with a gold clip, brown jacket, green arm guards, leather boots, and carrying a whole mess of ammo for a machine gun. Finally, a girl in the same age group as the third man with brown hair done up in a braid, blue eyes, wearing a red headband, white shirt, brown skirt, brown jacket, blue arm guards, leather boots, and either green wings on her back, else they were covered up by a brown shawl. They were last seen escaping the Ark of Destiny on a large Dragon, and known to be armed and dangerous. A huge bounty was promised for even information regarding their whereabouts, so the Ark could arrest them.

But all that was unnoticed to young Martina as she ran through Little Twister. Her mother had sent her hear to find her aunt Myra, so the two women could work out their differences. But a pair of thugs were chasing her, and she was running for her life. Never before had the girl been so terrified, the men didn't seem friendly. Suddenly, she ran right into an even bigger man, along with his companions on the road.

"Woah, I love it when women make the first move," he stated, giving the girl a smile. He had brown hair tied in several sections, and blue eyes. That earned him a hit over the head from both the woman in the group, and the lad with the silver hair. He rubbed his head, and gave the two of them a really sour glare.

The man with silver hair and purple eyes stated, "You are such a pervert, this is a child. Are there so few women drunk enough to sleep with you that you have to hit on little kids now?" He glared back at the larger man, looking like he'd take him on any day of the week. It appeared to be getting ugly about now.

The first man began to seethe. "At least you have a girlfriend, I never get a girl. And besides, I was just kidding with her, you know I'm a joker. Why don't the two of you find anything I say funny? I guess you've been together so long, you no longer pay much attention to those of us who aren't in love right now."

"Help me," begged Martina, "Bad men are chasing me all over the town." She gave them the same eyes that Kaitlyn always did, those eyes that made everything the kid said, true. It was a talent that one tended to lose as they grew up. But the eleven year old seemed to still have quite a knack for those eyes.

"It's a shame really, we're criminals ourselves," the man with the green hair, and blue eyes informed her. He played with his glasses a bit, pushing them up the bridge of his nose a few times to think clearly.

The woman, who had brown hair done in a braid and blue eyes stated, "But we don't put up with thugs like that. Thanks for the happy memories, boys. We'll never forget the times we battled each other."

Ahead of them stood Dario and Romero, luckily surviving the Ka Dingel incident. They went pale at the sight of the four who protected the girl. Romero backed off, Dario began stuttering nervously. "It can't be. The four who defeated Janus. We'd better run before they do the same to us." Then, they ran strait for the edge of town. Martina thanked her rescuers, and continued her search around town for her Aunt Myra.

"We better take off now," Virginia told the others, "There's bound to be people here who'll go after us for that bounty. And I don't think I can hide my wings forever, they've been trembling and fighting my mental command to stay under the cloak ever since we defeated Beatrice. I guess since the regeneration of Filgaia is starting, they're reacting to the new greenery." She motioned to some flowers growing outside the city gate, ones they had never seen before. Usually, the only flowers were near Baskar, Claiborne, or Boot Hill.

"I would suggest we head for Humphrey's Peak. Catherine will be able to protect us, and besides, the villagers all trust me. I will be able to explain the situation to them, and there's a good chance they'll believe us," Clive deduced. Everyone nodded, they needed a rest. After all, Virginia and Jet didn't have a home to go back to now. And Gallows had no desire of getting yelled at by his grandmother now, for she would upon hearing there was a bounty on his head, even if he was innocent of the crime they claimed.

The four left Little Twister. Then, they took out the Teleport Orb they'd earned in a recent trip to the Millennium Puzzles, which Virginia did to keep her mind off of the dilemma they'd gotten themselves into. As they walked past the gate, Jet picked a flower from the still growing bed. He placed it in Virginia's hair, and whispered, "I love you, Ginny. If something happens, and we're caught, I'll give my life for you to escape."

She smiled at him, and gave him a kiss. "And I would for you, Jet, and I would for you."

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

At long last, we are done with this epic. I was in overtime today, trying to fit the last three in this writing session. Ah, gratuitous romance, gotta love it. Well, we have something special in relation coming soon. Not a sequel. You'll see when it comes out.