Guardian Scheme

It was just a typical day in the Wasteland. Especially for the four Drifters who saved the world. As they did every other day, Virginia and her allies packed hastily, and got moving. The friends knew that the best way to avoid the Ark of Destiny was to not keep still. If they traveled every moment they could, then the Arkists and Bounty Hunters would have more trouble locating them. This tactic saved both Gella and bullets; it isn't as easy to shoot to disarm as it is to shoot to kill. Often when trying to aim at a non-vital part of the attackers' bodies, or the ARMs themselves, someone would miss, as they were smaller targets.

The other typical part of the day was Jet and Virginia. They'd gotten into another argument when the team stopped for noon lunch. It wasn't over the current situation, but something stupid as always. Jet had informed her that it would be best to hide out in the mountains, where nobody could find them. But Virginia didn't want to travel in such a limited area, she'd rather continue traveling constantly through the lowlands. The boy reasoned that few people could make it up there, since they would use Lombardia to fly in next to one of the taller areas and climb down to the middle part. Virginia, however, reminded him that it only took one person coming up out of curiosity to bring the whole Drifter community in for the reward too.

"I'm not talking to you," Virginia yelled, "You can't see reason at all!" She crossed her arms and turned her back as if she was five years old. Then, she made a big show of taking out the photo of the Council of Seven and simply staring at her father's image for a long time. It was her calming down tactic.

"Same goes for me!" Jet retorted. He too turned his back on her, and blushed furiously. But he had no notice of this, nor did Clive and Gallows. The two of them were used to the arguments by now, although they were less frequent, and knew that the best thing to do was simply ignore the two of them. In a few hours their tempers would cool down. Then, they would act like the whole fight never happened, and not apologize either. Such a technique was mutually shared between the two, so neither minded it one little bit.

Gallows whispered to Clive, "I don't know about you, but I wish those two wouldn't fight about such things. Jet's the only one with the courage to talk back to the leader. But if that punk would only ask her in a civilized manner, and Ginny wouldn't get so offended, then maybe we could have some peace and quiet."

He took out a porno magazine he'd found that time they were at Leyline Observatory. It was a ten year old issue of Sexy Drifters, an out of print magazine, that belonged to a Dr. Duran Bryant. When the other two would fight, Gallows immersed himself in what he called "refined reading material". Of course, when he tried to get Jet acquainted with the stuff, he nearly found himself filled with countless bullet holes.

Not too long after, the team got back on their horses and continued to ride through the desert. If they could outrun any Drifters on foot, it was a plus. So their horses were used even more than they had been during the quest to save the world. Now, all they had to deal with was those who actually had horses. The team continued to ride until the sun began to sink in the horizon. As luck would have it, they found an abandoned shack lying in the middle of the Wasteland. Clive looked to the others. "I would suggest we use this place for shelter, being that we are ready to stop for the night. We can have a comfortable stay, without the problem of someone recognizing us should we use the saloon." Everyone agreed, and they went inside.

There was a small kitchen with a stove, table, and four chairs. Cabinets filled with old dishes rested around the room. Two bedrooms with two beds in each were connected to the kitchen as well. The place was perfect, almost too perfect. Still, you can't look a gift horse in the mouth, or a free room for that matter.

"Ok, let's work out the sleeping arrangements," Virginia began, "No offense Gallows, but I'd rather not share a room with you. It's just that you snore so loudly that I have trouble getting to sleep." She didn't know which one of them could share a room with the big Baskar without problems. Unfortunately, saloons tend to have four beds in a room. Thus, they always were all crammed into one area when they slept there.

"Neither can I. The big lug is always keeping me up when I'm finally ready. And you all know I'm the last one to get to sleep most nights," Jet informed them. It was true, Jet stayed up late trying to think about his memories. Sometimes, he could see the face of an older man with a white beard who looked at him with a smile. He figured it was Elliot, the man who wanted Jet to be his son. Such thoughts made him feel warm inside. Of course, he'd never admit that to be the case, being Jet and all. Hopefully, he could get to sleep for once with the new arrangements they found. Maybe they'd make Gallows sleep in the kitchen.

Clive stated, "Then I will share a room with Gallows. After all, I have no problems falling asleep if placed under these conditions, my professor happened to snore loudly as well and we always had to share a room while traveling. That leaves Jet and Virginia to sleep in the second room. Behave yourselves."

Jet blushed; he didn't really feel comfortable sharing such close quarters with the chatterbox. But at least she respected him, unless they were arguing, and let him be when he was thinking. Virginia knew there were problems only Jet could solve. However, she wasn't below letting him lean on her for support.

So they ate a dinner made with some bison meat they'd hunted earlier that day and herbs that Florina had grown for them. Then, Gallows took out a deck of cards, hoping to get them in a game of poker. Strip poker, if he could. But Virginia drew the line; she didn't want to end up naked in front of three men. Jet agreed, there was no way he was going to stoop so low. Instead, the team played games like go fish, war, and blackjack. Even Jet agreed to get involved once the young woman begged and pleaded with him. It was late before they went to bed. Gallows was the first asleep, and the others went a little after, even Jet.

. . .

The Guardian of Desire was minding her own business when she began hearing the voice of her sister, Raftina. Although not particularly in the mood for games, she listened to it. -Luceid, Luceid! Would you get over here? There is something we need to discuss, a matter that relates to both of our virtues.-

-And what could that be? Matchmaker?- inquired Luceid, -You're in charge of that, not me. I must feed the desires in the hearts of man, not play games. Now let's see, we can get Gallows to hit on some girl at the next saloon, and see her reaction.- Luceid's favorite activity was playing games with the youth.

-I have tried everything, but I cannot seem to open the hearts of my young caller and the treasure hunter. They love each other, but are too stubborn to admit it openly. But desire is part of love, and if you fuel their desires for one another, perhaps it might just do the trick. So, will you help me?- asked Raftina.

Luceid replied, -After putting it that way, then I can't resist. We won't be at a saloon for awhile, so I was beginning to get bored with this whole thing. Now, I can finally have some fun. Don't worry about a thing Raftina, I'll begin tonight. With any luck, then when the morning comes those two will admit it.-

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

I am plain evil, aren't I? You can just ask Sky. I'd like to thank my buddy Burianne for this idea. She was bored, and wanted something juicy. Of course, I had to edit most of her original ideas down to be at an appropriate level for my readers. Girl's a real pervert and I don't write things any higher rated than PG-13 (I've written only one R rated story and I think I really overrated it).