I Didn't Know It Could Freeze

"Oh no," muttered Clive, "Not again! Every time I have to run around to solve a puzzle, something goes wrong." The sniper was staring at the switch suspended in midair at Fila del Fia. He had turned the wheel in order to make it face downwards, but all too soon it had sprung right back up to its original point. The others were of no help; they'd settled down by the door with a deck of cards and a picnic lunch. Even Jet was playing a game of Go Fish with the other two. Mainly because Virginia would haunt him if he didn't.

So Clive walked back up to the top of the structure, turned the wheel, and went off like a rocket to hit the switch before time ran out. Of course, his trajectory was just a little off, and he ended up smashing into the wall instead of making it to the bottom. This lost him precious minutes, thus the puzzle wasn't completed. He began walking up the stairs to try again. This was going to be another real long day for him.

"Hey punk! Got any threes?" inquired Gallows. Jet shook his head and Gallows picked up another card from the deck. The older man was thinking a lot lately. Of course, it was not about tactics or other things that could help the team on their missions. It was about Jet and Virginia. He noticed ever since the nanomachine incident that Jet had become even more protective of her. In battle, the youth stuck as close to the maiden as he could possibly get without looking like a pair of Siamese twins. No matter what Jet said or how badly he felt about memories, he seemed to really want to be close to her. In the mind of the former priest, the boy was in love. But since this is Jet we're talking about, he wasn't able to tell her at all.

Jet yelled, "Stupid! I asked you about three times if you had any kings. Where in Filgaia did your little brain get to? You and Virginia were the ones who dragged me into this, so you two better actually do something. If it were up to me, I'd simply watch Clive as he tries to solve this puzzle so we can go on." The boy gave a glare at Gallows, who handed him a king of diamonds. Jet picked up the cards and put them down in front of him. Then he turned back to his hand in order to hide his face; only Raftina knows why.

Virginia looked towards Jet. "Jet…do you have any eights?" Blushing, the young Treasure Hunter picked up an eight of hearts and handed it to the girl. Her other eight was an eight of diamonds. She put the two down together. Jet then realized that his pair of kings was also like that. Diamonds were his favorite suit when he got stuck playing card games with the team. Ginny's was hearts. It was almost as if the Guardians were playing a game of matchmaker with the two Drifters. Jet quickly dismissed the thought.

At that moment, they heard a loud scream. Clive had fallen down the hole in the back of the room, and was at the moment re-entering; looking frazzled. It was strange how all holes either connected to a lower room or simply transported Drifters back to the top. Jet reasoned that one of the Guardians had to be dedicated to the protection of travelers, and took care to plug up all the dangerous pitfalls in the old ruins.

"I do wish there was an easier way to go about solving this one," stated Clive, "After all, I know what I need to do and only need to do it. However, it is much too far to run on my own. Can one of you three turn the wheel so that when I get to the bottom I will be able to find the switch easily? I would most appreciate it." He sat down on the floor and began to drink from his canteen. The poor scholar was quite hot after this.

"C'mon Clive! You can do it. Me, Ginny, and the punk are in the middle of a game right now. I've seen you run faster than that. Show us all what you're made of," Gallows replied. He gave Clive a friendly slap on the back. This knocked the glasses clear off his face, nearly breaking them. Lucky for Clive, he got away with only one lens cracked. At least he could see; he could get the lens replaced after they finished.

Jet was muttering something to the extent of, "Irresponsible Baskar." But he did know that Clive had to solve this one on his own. Jet had encountered some timed switches before in his travels, and he always was able to get through them. Even when things had been timed on this journey, the team only relied on a single person to get them through. The person was the one who had the correct Tools. It was a weird and twisted variation on a Drifter's honor code. Even team players had to go solo when the chips were down and times were tough. After all, some of these traps would harm a person's pride if they got help.

Clive finished his water and returned to the salt mines. After he tripped over his feet from running too fast, his three allies returned to the game. Gallows looked towards Virginia and smiled sweetly. "Hey Ginny…got any sixes." At that moment, Jet glared at Gallows. It had been part of the big Baskar's plan. He would try to look suave in front of Virginia, hoping that Jet would try to out due him. Not that either of his comrades knew that. Jet was currently feeling a strange emotion that he'd never had before. It was the emotion of jealousy. Meanwhile, Virginia was simply handing the six of spades to Gallows. She thought he was just being himself. Never in a million years did she think Gallows would be trying to play matchmaker.

"Gallows, concentrate on the game," ordered Jet, "I don't think we have time for your Lover Boy routine right now. Especially if we want to finish before Clive gets done. Once the door opens, we're going to move on right away. So get your head out of the gutter for once." The boy wished he could take those words right back. After all, since when does he talk like that? He's the antisocial punk, how can he be feeling jealous when Gallows was acting nice to Virginia. What was it about that one girl Drifter anyway?

"Shut up punk! I treat a lady with respect, unlike you. Or are you acting like this because you think I'm going to steal your girl away? Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I don't want to get shot," Gallows said.

Jet screamed, "She's not my girl! She's our leader. We shouldn't be wasting time with things such as love and romance with all the problems going on around here. That's my only problem with all this." But as he said that, Jet began blushing deep crimson. He didn't want to admit that Gallows spoke the truth.

Gallows picked up his Freezer Doll and aimed it at Jet. "You need to cool down a bit. How about some of this!" With that, the Baskar shot off a stream of ice. Only problem was that Jet dodged and it hit the wheel instead. It froze the gears and the switch stayed where it was as Clive ran down to the bottom. After the man had hit the switch, he came back up to the top looking like he was going to go insane.

"It was a two Tool puzzle," he muttered, "Why didn't I see it before. I should have gotten this done long ago." Clive collapsed onto the ground in a daze. Virginia gave a glare to Gallows as if to tell him to go help out Clive. The older man wanted to tell her that she just wanted to hang all over Jet, but thought better of it in the end. Jet was annoyed as it was with him; and the last time he angered Virginia he got thrown.


Teefa's Last Words...

The idea that started it all. We actually ran the entire length of the puzzle for three files. Then while we were discussing the puzzles that annoyed us on a Message Board, someone told me that I could do it this way. So I was inspired to write this fanfic through that one puzzle. We did all this hard work only to find the shortcut. I can see where Clive would faint of his annoyance.