A/N: Aww, thank you everyone for your amazing reviews. I love all of you guys so much. As promised, here's your next chapter. Keep nagging me, and I'll keep working on it! (Whaaaat? I'm a procrastinator!) Thank you again and I love you guys!

And I'd like to note that I HATE fan fiction for their ridiculous formatting issues. --'

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"Well then, Garren, it was a pleasure to do business with you!"

The man called Garren lifted his black cowboy hat up slightly before replacing it on his head as he walked out the door of the ARMs Smith of Little Rock. He stood with a black bag thrown over his shoulder. Inside were the remains of the one known as Jet Enduro.

The whole thing sort of struck Jet on an odd chord. He had always wanted to ditch the group just to head out on his own. It mattered not what he was doing, as long as he was away from the chatterbox, the pervert, and the nerd. All that mattered was the satisfaction of the clinking gella in his pocket. Of course, he had been doubting that slightly. Even with their ARMs and the Sandcraft to upgrade as well as purchasing medicinal supplies with the added Gunner's Heaven, they still had more then enough gella floating around. Even with it split four ways, Jet found himself with more gella then he had ever had found while traveling alone.

He still sort of didn't really understand what was going on. He had wanted to go his separate way, and yet, the being with the group sort of became normal in his way of life. He was used to Virginia waking him up at the crack of dawn, informing him it was his turn to prepare breakfast, or Gallows staggering around after drinking too much in a saloon, and even Clive's ridiculous vocabulary. It seemed sort of odd to have a witty drifter who was a father on the side. But back on topic, Jet had no idea why he had to pose as someone else. He could stay alive and avoid the Ark of Destiny without having to act as Garren. He had been an outlaw prior to being roped into the team. And heck, he hadn't even come up with a good story for his character. He had never imagined himself as having to be someone or something else. He would have liked to sometimes…no, that was not a place to be traveled to now.

It sort of frustrated him. He barely knew who he was, and yet now he had to hide himself in someone else. How the heck was he supposed to know how to act? All he had was a pair of black pants, a short-sleeved grey shirt with a worn-in denim jacket over it, his own boots since he seriously doubted that anyone would recognize him as Jet Enduro by his boots. That thought entertained him for a moment, but only for a moment. He seriously hated that cowboy hat. It fit him a little funny, and made his forehead sweat a lot, which just made him more irritable. But what the hell was he supposed to do? Even if he dyed his hair, who else had light purple eyes? Silently in his mind he cursed Virginia for her sudden over-cautiousness. If only he had been allowed to simply be himself.

So the question remained in his mind. Why didn't he just go on as himself? Not this question again… Jet thought to himself, finding a seat on a boulder.

He was not alone in his thoughts for long when he heard a voice "Hey there stranger, ylook like you need something to do."

Even being alive for only ten years, he knew that if someone walked up to you with that propsal, it was most likely some pushy salesman, or a swindler. Both were pretty common on the wasteland.

"Aww cmon kiddo, I ain't trying to swindle you, honestly." Garren suddenly found the stranger sitting next to him on the rock. "Well, at least greet me. Awfully rude even for Drifters not to say hello."

He immediately found himself confused. How the heck was he supposed to act as Garren anyway? "Uh, hey," he blurted out.

The stranger let out a gentle laugh. "Not the social person, are you?" Garren just shook his head. Suddenly the stranger lifted the cowboy hat off of his head and placed it behind him. Garren looked up, glaring at the blue haired stranger in front of him. "Well now, at least I got your attention," the boy grinned.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Actually, I sort of want to teach you something."

Garren looked around hesitantly. Sure, old people had silver hair, but he was far from old... "What?" He asked, somewhat irritated.

"See, I have this guitar here that I used to play. But I've sort of lost interest in it. It helped me when I was going through a period in my life, and since you seem to be in some sort of situation, I figured I can pass on the favor."

Garren simply looked at the stranger. He looked about his height, and most likely about Virginia's age. He had blue hair, brown eyes, and a red bandanna. His clothes were simple and proved his position as a Drifter, ripped jeans, worn in trench coat, beat up gloves, and several ARMs holsters on his belt. The guitar in question was in its case, resting over his shoulder.

His eyes shifted around slightly. "Can I at least have my hat back?"

The stranger laughed out loud, throwing the black cowboy hat back to him before walking towards the wasteland. Somewhat confused, Garren followed. Once a bit out of Little Rock, the stranger sat down on a large boulder, his hand waving for Garren to join him. As Garren sat down on the boulder near him, the stranger took the guitar out of the case, handing it to Garren. Having seen them before, he knew how to put the strap around his shoulder, and how to rest the guitar on his knee, but aside from that, he was clueless. With a slight chuckle he began to teach Garren positions of the fret board and how to strike chords. The two Drifters, still not knowing each others' names continued to work towards Garren learning the guitar.

"There, see? You got it!" The stranger finally exclaimed. "Just takes practice and experimentation, and you already have those songs under your belt!"

"Hah…" Garren scratched the back of his head. "Guess I have!" Jet almost couldn't hear himself speak. At least, he wished he wasn't listening to himself. He was starting to sounds like…probably Gallows… "Thanks…err…"

The stranger shook his head. "We all have our own secrets to keep, I'll keep mine, you keep yours. Good luck dream chaser-I mean Drifter, sorry, been reading too much folklore lately…I'm sure I'll see you around." The stranger smiled before he got up and walked away, leaving the guitar case where he sat.

Even more confused then he had been before, Garren simply sat there, finding himself idly playing with notes on the guitar. Playing it seemed to give him a sudden sense of comfort, but even so, he had no idea how this would ever come in handy for him. He was a Drifter, not a minstrel.

But maybe Garren is a minstrel…Heh, that'd throw them off, wouldn't it? Aside from the fact that I have enough gella to survive for a few months. With no more thoughts in his head, he put the guitar back in its case, and walked back to Little Rock's saloon for the night.

"Come to Leyline Observatory…What you are looking for will be waiting there…"

"What the hell?" He exclaimed, sitting straight up in his bed. He ran his fingers through his pale hair before resting his forehead against the palm of his hand. "I'm not looking for anything!" With a sigh, he threw himself back into the bed, staring the ceiling, deciding that it was too early to be out of bed yet.

After lying in bed for an hour thinking about the voice from his dreamless sleep, he finally rolled out of bed and got dressed. He put his modified ARM in its holster and his large yet light guitar over his shoulder, and topped the ensemble with his black cowboy hat. After a quick bite to eat for breakfast, he climbed atop of his new horse, Small Devil, and headed north.

As the Drifter and horse headed north, Jet couldn't figure out for the life of him why the white horse was named Small Devil. Especially since he was mild-mannered. With his classic frown, he noted how there were more and more things that he didn't understand. Geez, and he thought things would get simpler once he was away from the world's police.

As Garren jumped off of Small Devil and tied him to a broken pillar outside, he felt a shiver running up and down his back. I really don't want to be here again… He looked at Small Devil, who nuzzled his arm slightly, and looked at the heavy double doors leading inside the laboratory that helped create him. Another shiver. Just that thought made him disgusted to be Jet Enduro. Maybe this whole Garren thing could be interesting. As he pulled one of the doors open, he wondered what the hell could be waiting for him.

Once inside, Jet looked around. His arms found them wrapping his body up, as more shivers crawled slowly up his spine. Did he already think that he did not want to be here? Just double-checking. Following the hallway, he remembered the way Clive was fascinated by every terminal interface and how Virginia had to pull Gallows away from the porn magazine sitting on one of the shelves.

And up in the elevator.

Jet walked out into the next hallway. "Well hello there!"

"What the hell!" Jet exclaimed, looking around the narrow hallway. Suddenly a small child floated in front of him. She had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a childish smile. The child held her hands in front of her mouth and giggled, her white dress floating about her. Recognizing the giggle, he quickly drew his ARM. "Beatrice!"

"Hey now!" The little girl huffed, resting her foot on the top of his ARM. "It's not nice of you to point your ARM at a new friend!"

"First off, that's what you normally do in the wasteland," Jet said dryly. "And second off, who said I was nice!"

"Florina," the girl replied with a grin, which caused Jet to shake his head slightly. "She said you were nice to Filgaia even if you didn't show it."

"Who the hell are you?" Jet asked, placing his ARM back in its holster, figuring if the girl wanted to kill him, she'd be attempting to do it now.

"My name's Alicia," the child replied with a smile. "Not Beatrice. See, she's my sister."

Jet folded his arms. "So if she's your sister, and she could only exist in the dimension of human's dreams…"

"I didn't say twin sisters silly!" Alicia cried before tapping the front brim of Jet's cowboy hat hard enough to knock it onto the ground.

I swear to the Guardians, if one more person touches my hat… Jet picked it up and dusted it off. Wait a second, since when did he like the hat? Last he checked just yesterday afternoon he hated it. He sure was confusing himself lately. His thoughts were interrupted by another giggle.

"Hey now! Don't be so grumpy! You should be happy meeting a new friend!"

Jet looked up, scratching his head slightly. "You haven't even explained to me what the hell is going on…"

"Aww, did I confuse you Jet?"

"Uhm…Yes." There came that obnoxious giggle again. Jet was really beginning to lose his patience.

Alicia spun around and perched herself on his right shoulder. "My name's Alicia, and like Beatrice, I existed in the 32nd dimension, also known as human's dreams."

Right, because that's how Beatrice got ahold of Shane and Lamium…

"I tried to take Filgaia over long before my sister even thought of it. But instead of going in a more subtle way to get humans to do my biding, I went straight for the Guardians themselves…and that umm…" There was a little giggle.

"Didn't work so kindly in your favor?" Jet asked, finding himself slightly amused by the child's story.

Alicia giggled again. "Something like that." She heard Jet laugh. "Hey now! If Justine lifted you up by your hair and held that massive sword to you, you'd have no other choice but submit!"

This outburst only allowed Jet to laugh even more.

Alicia giggled too, showing her good sense of humor. "So as pennance, I had to side with the Guardians or else Justine would kill me right there on the spot. So at first I figured that I'd just pay the pennance and go from there, but yknow, the Guardians are pretty fun to be around, and Filgaia isn't all that bad! Besides, the Guardians granted me the power to exist in more then just the 32nd and 24th dimensions."

"24th?" Jet asked, looking over to the child.

"Do I have to explain everything to you! You should know this!"

"How the heck should I know all of this?" Jet countered.

"Because YOU are the Child of Filgaia. YOU have the power to exist in more then one form!"

Jet clutched his head slightly before shaving it feverously. "No, no way." He began to walk out, but Alicia hovered in front of the elevator door.

"Nevermind that right now!" Alicia cried out, seeing the apparent shock on Jet's face. "The 24th dimension is the dimension of the Guardians, which is only accessible to humans through the Ark Sceptors. By following the dreams of an old dream chaser, I managed to find my way to strike at the Guardians. But things are so much better now! I get to have more fun, not to mention now I'm the Protector of Dreams!"

"Wait…Dream Chaser?" That's what the stranger said to me…

"That's just what you humans call them now. Long ago, they used to be called Dream Chasers! Jet, don't you know anything about history?" She giggled again.

Jet sighed. This was beginning to be more like a nightmare. "Look, I'm sure you know, but-"

Alicia smiled and then perched herself on Jet's shoulder again. "Of course I know! That's why I brought you here!"

"But you said I was looking for something. I'm not looking for anything!"

Alicia looked at Jet, somewhat curiously, her head cocking to the side much like an animal's. She blinked a few times, which made Jet oddly uncomfortable. "Ahh, I see. When you're in human form, you have every trait of a human…" She mumbled to herself, loud enough that Jet could make it out. "So you even forget your dreams until a strange moment…" Suddenly she smiled and looked over to him. "Okay! Well, let's go!"

"Wait…let's…go?" Jet asked slowly, repeating Alicia.

She only smiled, which caused Jet to roll his eyes. He felt like he was dealing with Virginia all over again…

o-o-o-o

"Can ah 'elp you ma'am?" Angela looked up, running her hand through her curly blonde hair.

There was a shy smile from the dual haired girl standing in front of the bar. "I heard you were hiring, and I'm look'in for a job now…" She spoke slowly.

Angela looked at the girl with light brown hair and heavy dark brown highlights to contrast. Her eyes were a gentle brown, much like her other bar maid Claudia's. She had an average build and was dressed in a delicate blue dress that fit her a little tight with a short-sleeved white jacket that tied with a small bow above her chest. Her hair was down and loose, about shoulder length. "Y'got experience?"

"A bit," the girl said.

"Hmm, what's your name sweetheart?"

The girl smiled softly. "Holly."

Virginia looked up at Jet upon hearing the first 20 minute warning for South Station. He was still sound asleep. She wanted to wake him up, to let him know that she had to leave now, that she appreciated the way he watched over her, and that…Oh Guardians, way too many thoughts running through her head. And yet, when she looked at him, and the way he seemed to be so peacefully at sleep…it comforted her and made her miserable. She did not want to leave his side, especially since she had promised to help make new memories for him.

Oh, she wanted to wake him so badly. She wanted to hug him, cling to him one last time and make him promise that he would return when this was all said and done. But she knew that if she woke up, she might not have the final resolve to walk away from him. Sure, he had his moments of absolute frustration, and his infamous 'Jet lash-outs', but he was still the same Drifter who saved her life countless times when he barely valued his own.

No, she had to stop thinking this way. Only ten more minutes until the arrival at South Station…So she thought quickly. She glanced at the purple bow tied around Jet's elbow, and looked at his scarves, tearing off a small piece of each before holding them tightly in her hands. At the five minute call, she wrote down a small note for Jet to read when he awoke, and threw her arms around him one more time. As she got up and left the cabin, she swore she heard Jet mumble her name, but wouldn't let herself drone on about it. She had to get off the train quickly.

Instead of going to Boot Hill as she had told Jet, she opted to travel instead to the old mansion. She was more then strong enough to handle the gobs, even if she could only fire one ARM with her left hand, she still had her Arcana. Gobs weren't about to rat her out to the Ark of Destiny, and she was pretty sure that few Drifters ventured in there anymore. Even so, she felt confident in her abilities to fight, even with a limp arm. The Drifter ventured a short ways inside, only to find a change of clothes, pieces of glass called contacts inside a box, and a bit of hair dye…

"Well…" Angela rested her elbow on the bar and rested her cheek on her hand. "Ah've been need'in some 'elp 'round here…" There was a pause as Holly clutched her bag in her left hand. "Al'ight. You're hired darling."

"Really!" Holly asked excitedly, rushing toward the bar with a smile on her face. "Thank you!"

With a slight chuckle at her enthusiasm, Angela began to explain her responsibilities, where she'd sleep, in a little room above the saloon, and how much she'd make a week, not including tips from rowdy patrons. Holly was all smiles.

As she stood there listening, Virginia found her heart fluttering as it did several times over her journey as a Drifter. There was excitement in suddenly becoming a bar maid for the saloon in the seedy outlaw town, especially as another persona. It was like an undercover mission. Since she was so excited, it lifted her spirits slightly, making her feel as if these years away from her dear friends might not be so bad.

"C'mon. Ah'll show you where't'put you're bag," Angela told her, somewhat motherly, as she walked out from behind the bar and up the stairs. Walking to the room on the far left of the corridor, she unlocked it, and opened the door, allowing Holly to enter.

Holly walked inside, resting her bag against the wall near the door. She looked about the room, seeing a bed, a desk, a nightstand with a small lamp ontop of it, a window to the right of the bed, and a dresser with a large mirror. She looked back at Angela, smiling approvingly.

"All'ight then," Angela smiled. "Ah'll give y'an hour t'get settled, then come back downstairs."

"Thank you," Holly replied, bowing slightly as she did. Angela left the room, shutting the door as she did, leaving Holly to put her belongings away.

She watched the door shut, and soon after, she opened her bag. Small things such as pen and paper, as well as a couple small notebooks, went into the desk. The brunette carefully pulled out and folded the few clothes she had with her, a white cotton nightdress, a formal red dress that she wasn't quite sure why she took with her, and a green dress exactly like the blue one she had. Her ARMs went in the sole drawer of the nightstand.

Virginia looked at her purple skirt as she pulled it out, her fingers gently running over all the small rips and snags she had sewn up over her adventure. A small smile caught her face as Gallows would always give her a hard time for making sure her skirt was still in one piece. Normally Jet would pipe in with something that she should make sure her clothes were still together around a pervert like him. Gallows would jump up, offended, and Clive would let out his small chuckle. At first she found herself blushing over it, but the closer she got to everyone, soon she simply shook her head and continued what she was working on. Remembering the memory, a large smile crossed Virginia's face. I still don't understand why you don't value a memory Enduro…

After placing the clothes that could possibly incriminate her under her low bed, she reached back into the bag and pulled out two small pieces of torn cloth, one white, one red. Her fingers brushed over it gently, her mind only thinking of the silver-haired Drifter. Suddenly, she became filled with worry. What if he didn't bother to change anything, thinking that he was so damn invincible? What if he gets caught by the Ark of Destiny? Well…I suppose that won't be a mystery, that'd be all over the papers. What if he doesn't remember to come back when all of our names are cleared…?

Suddenly, the thoughts became only worse, plaguing her. Jet, what if you laughed at my note this morning? Telling me that I was too clingy, that I place too much into memories and friendship…What about the bow I tied on your arm? You've probably ripped it off and left it somewhere…thinking something along the lines of 'Who needs memories?' Damn you Jet!

Wiping the single tear that had formed in her eye, she placed the two pieces of cloth ontop of her dresser. She looked at herself in the mirror, playing with her hair a little bit, before leaving her room and walking back downstairs.

"Janus Cascade!" Angela suddenly cried out. "There's a face ah 'aven't seen in a long time!" Just as she was yelling out to the blue haired man that entered the saloon, Holly reached the bottom of the stairs. "'Olly! C'mere. Ah'd like you tah meet this boy 'ere. This is Janus Cascade. Janus, mah new bar maid 'Olly."

Holly looked at the blue haired man, who stood a good few inches taller then her. She looked into his amber eyes, which seemed calm and relaxed, something Virginia had never seen before. Silently she panicked, praying that Janus wouldn't recognize her. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Cascade," Holly said. She made it a point to be gentle and more feminine then Janus had ever known Virginia to be. She couldn't risk him making a connection between the two.

"Pleasure's all mine," Janus replied, taking her hand and kissing the back of it, causing Holly to blush and Angela to roll her eyes.

"Janus! Quit flirtin'!" Angela scolded.

"Aww, cmon Angela, you're no fun," Janus protested before sitting at the far right stool of the bar. "How about a beer to go with lunch?" He asked with a smile.

"Already drinkin' at two in the aft'noon Cascade?" Angela teased, causing another smile to come from the Drifter. "Cmere 'Olly. Time tah train you," she said, waving Holly to behind the bar.

With a smile and Janus' eyes watching her, Holly walked around and beneath the stairs to behind the bar. There Angela began to teach her the drinks and how to fire up the tempermental oven. All the while Janus flirted with both of them, mainly with Holly, Holly simply blushed while Angela would scold him for making her new help mess up already. In about a half hour when all of their lunches were finally done, Holly and Angela walked from behind the bar with their food. Holly sat on the far left stool, eating her lunch somewhat lady like. Angela sat at the table closest to them, and Janus ate, but turned himself to talk to the two girls.

"Why so shy Holly?" Janus asked, grinning slightly.

"I…I'm sorry," Holly apologized. "I just never thought I'd be meetin' the legendary Janus Cascade," she blushed slightly, and silently patted herself on the back. Virginia Maxwell would have never looked up to Janus.

This caused a larger smile to form over Janus's face, and Angela jumped in, "Don't say tha' darling. The boy's got an ego 'nuff a'ready."

"Oh come on Angela, that's not fair!" Janus countered, scratching the back of his head while he laughed. "Well, I'm flattered," he said, replying to Holly's comment.

"Especially since rumors went around that you died," Holly replied sweetly. Since you did die Cascade…

"Ha, all fake of course," he replied confidently. "Only one close enough was that ridiculous Maxwell girl." Holly kept herself under control while Janus laughed. "That girl was too much."

"Too much?" Angela asked.

Still humored, Janus nodded, going on. "That girl was so green. And they were such a rag-tag group of Drifters. This huge Baskar gone wrong, a nerdy father, a depressed kleptomaniac with the justice police girl as the leader." This caused both Holly and Angela to laugh.

"Ah know the group. They brought Claudia back for me," Angela replied. "Speakin' o'which, Ah should go find her." Angela sighed softly. She turned to Holly. "Clean up and watch 'til ah git back."

Holly nodded as Angela walked out of the saloon. She turned back to Janus. "I know who you're talkin' about too actually," she said timidly.

"Seems most people do," Janus replied, still humored by the thought of the team.

"The white-haired one saved my life actually," she said, going back to her food, as if embarrassed.

Instead of ridiculing them more, Janus simply went back to his food. "Yeah, sounds like the Princess' team…" he said softly. "Never saw her as being wanted with such a damn huge bounty on her head. People'll remember her for that, I'm sure."

Holly simply listened to him drone on, and watched him drink a hearty sip of his beer from the corner of her eye. She was a little surprised of the things Janus was capable of saying.

"Wonder if I'll run into Princess again…" Janus mused. "Although, knowing her, she's probably stupid enough to run straight to the Ark of Destiny and go 'You don't understand! You have the wrong person!' or something crazy like that."

As Janus laughed, Holly stood up and began to collect the three plates to wash them. Thanks for the vote of confidence Cascade…When her back was turned from Janus, she rolled her eyes slightly.

As Holly was washing their dishes from lunch, Janus slapped a few pieces of gella on the bar counter. "Let Angela know I'll be back later, and it was nice to meet you Holly." Holly turned around and nodded as Janus waved his good-bye before picking up his bayonet in the corner and leaving.

Shortly after Janus left, Angela walked back in, dragging Claudia behind her. She looked about. "Janus leave?"

Holly, finished with the dishes, walked out from behind the bar and nodded. "He said he'd be back."

"Ah see…so what'd you think of him?" Angela asked as she shooed Claudia upstairs to clean.

Holly thought for a moment as she placed her hands behind her back. "Not…quite what I expected…from a well-known Drifter and all."

Angela let out a soft laugh. "That's 'cause Janus grew up 'ere, and ah use'tah babysit him." Holly giggled softly, simply imagining Janus as a child. "Janus don't need to act 'round 'ere. We all know 'is power," Angela explained. "Now cmon. Gots to getcha ready for t'night."

Holly nodded. This is already proving to be yet another adventure…Holy shit Janus! She then followed the saloon mistress and attempted to keep up with all the small things that had to be done.