Virginia took in a deep breath. Her throat dry. Her hands trembling. Lingering over the holsters that hold her ARMs. Her body slowly becoming cold. Then a hand came to her shoulder from behind in the darkness. She tensed, and then relaxed her muscles. "Are you okay?" Jet asked.
She nodded. "Just, a little cold." She commented.
"Well, I'm sure that once we find that ruin we'll be fine." Jet reassured and continued walking behind the woman as they made their way up a mountain path with only the light from Jet's medium to guide them. Virginia was worried.
She had fired a round into Emma's face. Her face! And, Emma stood back up. That was...to say the least it should be impossible to stand back up after such a shot. Now, there was a chance that someone could survive such an attack, but still, to get up like nothing happened? "What's in this for you, Jet?"
"Huh?"
"Well, why did you want-"
"The same reason I followed you for five years."
"And, that is?"
"I don't know." He simply said and left it at that. "Does it matter? I don't think we have the time to think about such things...and...I don't think we should be thinking in the first place."
She nodded. "Right. I'll ask you later."
They continued an upward walk on a mountain path. The temperature becoming cooler and the ambush of cold wind came faster and stronger. Jet moved to Virginia's left side where the wind was coming from. "Can you go faster?"
"Are you saying I'm slow?"
"No, I was asking if you could go faster. Don't try to find hidden meanings in words because I would never use hidden meanings."
"What about, 'Whatever'? I'm sure you always mean something different than that." She mused.
"No, it means 'Whatever'." He scoffed. A burst of visible breath came with it. "We shouldn't be talking so much."
"If we don't talk we'll end up thinking, and isn't that worse?" She questioned.
He sighed. "I suppose you're right."
"Okay, so what do we talk about?"
"Whisper. We are trying to get at least some sort of ambush." Jet reprimanded.
"Oh, sorry." She said in lower voice. "What do we talk about?"
"I don't know."
"Um, how about a game then?"
"No, that would involve thinking."
"Uh, then how about we just make up some random song."
"I'm not singing." He said with acid. Jet Enduro would never sing!
"Uh, then,"
"Stop. Just stop. You're thinking." He finally said with the voice of a foot hitting the ground that put the end to things. "It's cold."
"I know."
"Really cold."
"Yeah."
"Okay, that was my shot...but we can't talk about cold for long."
She giggles. "How about I just read from my mother's journal?"
"No, you need to be able to see, and I'll probably end up thinking that way."
"Y'know, I think she probably knows we're already coming." Virginia stated.
"Yeah, probably." He shrugged. "That's it, just use quicken on yourself and then we'll just run head on into that-"He stopped when he saw where they were headed next. "Uh, why's this here?"
A footstep ahead of them was the beginning of an old Viaduct made of stone that connected with one made of wooden planks and rope. Jet could not see how far the second one went. And, he certainly did not see how far from the ground it was or want to know. "We...h-have to cross this?"
"Look...we have to." Jet said with a determined voice. "So, can you do it or will I either have to go on alone, or carry you, which, I'd rather not carry you because of the weight." At that she slapped the back of his head. "Ah! Haven't you hit me enough for one day?"
"Were you sating I'm fat?"
"Well, no, but you must weigh something, and whatever it is will slow me down."
"Oh?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm not scared. C'mon, let's go." With that she arrogantly took his hand in hers and began her way across the stone bridge before coming to the wooden one. Upon getting closer to it now she found that it was looking rather unreliable. A few planks were missing, and the rope looked old. Who knows if it could be used? Emma would not have used it. No, she would have teleported. But, still, Shadow of the Sun was on the other side of this bridge. They had to cross it. "Uh,"
"Having second thoughts?" Jet mused.
"Stow it." She calmly said.
A cackle rang out from behind them and Jet turned, but he disallowed Virginia from the same movement. "Look at the two lovebirds." The voice, male it would seem with a hint of arrogance and suaveness to it said.
"Who are you?" Virginia muttered even though she could not see. She was tempted to look.
"No!" Jet shouted. "Don't look at him."
"Why not?"
"If you do, he will own you."
"What do you mean?"
"Just...trust me Virginia. He can control any of the opposite sex with a glare."
"How do you know?"
"I know legends too." Jet smirked. "Now, get the Hell out of here you annoying girl." He pushed Virginia onto the bridge handing her the Light medium. "GO!"
She nodded her head. "Good-"
"Don't say it. That's bad luck." Jet simply said. "Uh, but thanks anyway." At that Virginia began her way across the swinging wooden bridge that gapped the two distances. Here and Shadow of the Sun.
Jet turned his attention to the man that was only a shadow in the dark. "So, you think you know who I am?"
"I don't think. I just know." Jet smugly said readying his hand to swing his ARM down to fire. "So, c'mon then."
At Jet's words a ball of fire came out for the Drifter who nimbly jumped aside. Jet did not know about that! He could not get close to the bridge. If he did that, the bridge would catch on fire. "Man of big words but small actions." The man in the dark replied.
"Shut up!" Jet stood and charged for the man, and missed. He could not see just great in the dark. He thought he could, but he was also unaware that in the dark he tends to be off by the slight degree of an angle. What he saw as ninety degrees straight in front of him was in all actuality at the seventy-five mark. "So, what are you, a demon?"
"I lived on the other Filgaia. I will have my revenge on you."
"So you work for Emma?"
"No."
"No?"
"No, and if you can get by me and into Shadow of the Sun you will see everything you'd ever want to know."
"What?"
"No time for Q and A's though." With that Jet was hit by three punches. One to his face, another to his upper chest, and the last in his gut. Finally there came an extended leg that kicked Jet aside and into a roll. Jet drew in a breath and at that moment stopped one half roll away from falling from the stone bridge. Too bad his enemy gave him a light kick knocking him off fully.
"Bastard!" Was all that escaped Jet's lips as he fell from the stone bridge.
Then, there was nothing. Just Jet's enemy left standing on the stone bridge. "Heh. He was a fool to think he could defeat the great Xavier."
"I don't think retard!" With that the stone bridge ripped apart and swallowed Xavier up. The bridge collapsed in the middle and left only a slight sliver as the stone fell thousands of feet to the bottom. Hanging loosely in the cold wind by a scarf and a boomerang was the gray haired Drifter. "Pheh. Now if only I could actually pull myself up." Jet said as he attempted the climb back up.
A booming cackle went out and a ball of fire just missed Jet's body, but got his scarf. With alert eyes Jet scrambled up his slowly burning scarf. Climbing through the actual fire. Just as he reached the top he was pulled up and thrown aside onto the front of the stone bridge. "You really thought you could kill me?"
Jet spit some blood aside as he stood. "Heh. No, but I was really just stalling."
"You act far too cocky."
"I was waiting for you to notice that." Jet scoffed. "So, what now?"
"Obviously your death. Do you like wooden coffins?"
"No, I'm a tomb sort of guy. Y'know, I think I'm so great and all." Jet pulled out what in the dark looked like a slip of paper. "Before you kill me, I have one request."
"Oh?"
"A game."
"Interesting. Go on."
"Well, it's a card game, but only with one card." Jet announced.
"How do you play?"
"Oh, you don't play." With that Jet tossed the Tindercrest at his boomerang. A fuse was lit. He was thankful he had put that dynamite right there. Before either of the two could say one more thing the dynamite went off right under Xavier. It was safe to say he was dead. But, Jet ran the wrong way, He should have went for the second bridge. "I'd give my life before my boomerang." Was all he said as he jumped between scattering rocks that were left of the stone bridge. Snatching his boomerang from the air he had only one jump left in him, and it was for the slowly falling away wooden rope bridge.
With one final reach of his hand his fingers lingered just next to the piece of rope that was now detached and floating in the air. Without the stone bridge there was nothing at this end for the ropes to connect to. Jet was still riled up and waiting to kill Emma.
So, that's why he grabbed the rope and swung with it. He was sure that when he reach the other side it would hurt seeing that he would not see the mountain side he would hit. He just hoped two things. One, that he could pull himself up after hitting the side and not fall. Two, that Virginia had gotten her lazy butt to the other side while he fought Xavier.
00000000000
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I think it's safe to assume I'm making this up as I go.
