A/N: Wow guys, my apologies for the long wait. At lot of shit's hit the fan in my life, and I've been over stressed constantly. But, anyway, enough of that since you don't need the story of my life, you just want the one of Jet and Virginia! Haha! Anyway, this chapter is more setting up for the next few, which I promise will be more eventful then these. Enjoy :-D And thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them!

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Garren sighed softly, lying on his back, staring at the pins of light in the dark sky. His cowboy hat rested to the right of him, and Alicia sat down near him while Small Devil slept soundly. Since their encounter three months ago, Alicia had followed him, and provided good company. In that three month time span, Alicia noticed how Jet had changed to Garren. The Jet she had been watching and met was very uptight and unfriendly. Yet now she was beginning to see a change. Garren smiled often and laughed more. And when he did, his pale eyes would light up. Maybe it was simply her own constant laughter and jokes, or simply he was changing his personality to blend it better, but either way, at least she was traveling with good company. But still, he was dense. That simply didn't seem to change.

"Garren!" She suddenly exclaimed, causing the Drifter to look over to her. "Will you play your guitar? Please?"

"Alicia…I'm tired…" Garren complained. "Tomorrow?"

"Please now?" Alicia begged.

Garren let out a sigh, but smiled. "All right…all right…" he conceded, using his arms to help him sit up. Alicia let out a cry of joy as Garren pulled his guitar onto his lap and began playing with a few chords.

"What about the song I heard you writing earlier?" Alicia asked, sitting attentively.

"Eh…" Garren scratched his head slightly. "I'm still working on some of it…some of the chords just…have an awful progression. And the lyrics suck." Garren laughed slightly at himself. Jet was just damn confused as to how he changed and managed to find a 'character' for Garren so damn easily. Because he wasn't himself. Right. Simple answer to a complex question. It was enough to satisfy Jet. Okay, no, not really, but still, he wasn't about to break himself down and confuse the two. When this was all said and done, he was going right back to his old self. Not even Virginia's convincing could change that. That much, Jet was sure.

"That's okay! Maybe I can help!" Alicia smiled slightly.

Garren narrowed his eyes slightly, but there was no malice within them. With a soft sigh, he conceded. With a few moments to semi-tune the strings, he soon played out the chords. As soon as his voice sounded and matched pitch with the guitar, a large grin came across Alicia's face. She squealed with joy and sang along with the few words she knew. As soon as she started singing, Garren rested the guitar down and let himself laugh. Not a short chuckle that Virginia had pulled out of Jet in the past, this was a whole-hearted joyful laugh. Garren put his guitar away, rested his back on the thin blue blanket Werner had given him years before, and drifted to sleep.

As the sun rose, Garren awoke. He sat up, his arms behind him, holding him up. The sunrise reminded him of the group of Drifters he used to be around. It hit pretty weirdly, as it felt like it had been only a day or two since he last saw the people he had come to call his friends. And yet…it had already been months since he saw any of them. Asgard had been right when he lectured him. He had only been using the fact he had no memories as an excuse. But he had memories, plenty of them. There was the months he spent with Werner, the day he met Pike, the night he was roped into the team by Virginia, the day he met Florina, the day he found out about himself…

His head shook slightly as his eyes shifted to the wasteland. No, he didn't want to think about this. Not right now. Probably not ever. Guess Virginia was right…nobody wants a sad memory engraved… He threw himself down and stared at the sky. He repeated one of the first thoughts his mind told him shortly after meeting her. She's going to be the death of me.

Garren and Alicia headed to the south towards Boot Hill. At this point, Garren had been doing nothing more then drifting about aimlessly. That and playing his guitar for locals as he passed through. It was amusing Alicia greatly, watching the once introvert Jet suddenly become a "chick-magnet" thanks to the acoustic guitar from the blue "stranger". Nearly every time it would play out the same way: some girl, usually teenage/young adult would point out that Garren had a guitar. Her and her friends would run over, begging Garren to play. The first few times, Garren refused, and it took even a bit of begging from Alicia, who called him her big brother, for him to sigh and begin playing. As the time went by, Alicia noted how Garren seemed to enjoy the company. He would let out a laugh when a girl insisted on planting a kiss on his cheek, or he'd teach the lone kid standing, interested, but pretending not to be, how to play a couple chords. He'd grow a big smile on his face, and she'd suddenly look at the boy in a different light. The boy would turn his attention to Garren, and all they could see was the cheerful smile he showed, and assumed that his eyes were bright with the same cheer, which, for once, they were. After a few minutes passed, Garren would take his guitar back, play a few more songs. Often times, the kids would simply sit there and vent about their teacher or parents as Garren played around with notes and chords. They'd help him write a new song, find inspiration, or even make him understand something Virginia, Gallows, or Clive had once said to him. When that happened, usually he'd stare off for a moment. Once or twice Alicia thought she saw a tear roll down his face. But then again, it was very hot in the wasteland's sun, so it could simply be sweat. Sometimes the saloon mistress would wander out and ask if he'd be willing to entertain that night. Garren accepted, at first, much like his Jet-counterpart, only because of the gella and free room and board. But soon he found the truth the stranger had told him in the guitar. It really was giving him a sense of peace. Alicia only smiled the one time he heard him talking to himself about it.

"Hey!" Alicia cried out, catching Garren's attention. "I see the sign for Boot Hill!"

Garren looked over, stopping in his tracks. "I saw it already…"

"But I said it first! I win!" Alicia giggled.

Garren shook his head. "You still haven't told me why you've been following me for the last two and a half months."

"You don't want my company?" Alicia asked.

"Well…" Garren trailed softly.

"I can disappear, I mean, this isn't my normal dimension anyway." Garren just scratched his head.

There was a long pause. "You didn't answer my question Alicia," he said, looking down at the little girl who posed herself as his "little sister" out in the wasteland.

Alicia shook her head. "You have to find that answer yourself." She nodded her head and began walking to Boot Hill.

"H-Hey!" Garren exclaimed, holding his hand out as if she'd stop. "That answer doesn't even make any sense! You can't leave me hanging like that!"

Alicia looked over her shoulder, her smiled plastered on her face as always. "C'mon big bro! I want lunch!"

"All right…all right…" Garren said walking towards her. Last time she had pulled something like that and he had given her a hard time, some old woman scolded him for being so rude to her little sister since she was so strong and brave to be traversing the wasteland, and that if he dare let anything happen to his little sister, the old lady herself would make sure to kill him.

Garren stood beneath the Boot Hill sign. He looked around, half wondering if Virginia might simply be hiding there. Maybe she was visiting Tesla and Shalte. Surely they would let her spend the night if she were wounded. In fact, he was pretty sure that's what she did the night he last saw her…

No, not traversing down that path again. Not thinking about that.

Tesla and Shalte never really cared for him. If he was caught acting as Jet instead of Garren, they might turn him in. His mind justified ignoring his previous thoughts with that excuse. And that satisfied him.

"Where are we gonna eat? Where are we gonna eat?" Alicia whined, acting perfectly like the seven year old she appeared to be. She even tugged on Garren's arm for the full effect.

Garren looked around, remembering that there wasn't a saloon here, which might prove difficult in spending the night. But, there was a café that had been opened up in one of the boarded up buildings. He'd never eaten there, but, he too was hungry. And it wasn't like he had Virginia with him so he could have some of Shalte's amazing cooking.

So Garren took Alicia's hand and walked into the café. A dark haired waiter walked up. "Y'two sit wherever you want. Menu's on the board. What wouldja like to drink?" The big waiter asked, looking at the two Drifters who had just walked in.

"Can I have chocolate milk? Please? Please?" Alicia begged, looking up at the waiter.

The waiter looked over to Garren. "Izzat cool?"

"Yeah, she can have a chocolate milk."

As Alicia rejoiced, the waiter asked him, "And for you?"

"Just some water."

"No problem," the waiter grinned. Alicia ran over to a small table near the window, dragging Garren as she did. Garren stumbled over his own feet before sitting across from her.

"You look spooked," Alicia whispered to Garren as he stared out the window.

"I'm fine," Garren insisted, shaking his head.

The waiter brought their drinks over. "So what can I get you two?"

"I'll have chicken!" Alicia cried out. The waiter scribbled it down.

"I'll just have the grilled cheese," Garren said.

"All right, thank you." The waiter grinned again before walking away.

Garren shook his head, which made Alicia stare at him for a moment, mouthing her same question again.

"I think that's…"

"So y'two? Drifters are ya?" The waiter asked, walking back over to them.

"Yes sir," Garren replied, the waiter only being able to see his smile.

"So what's out in the wasteland for ya?" The waiter grabbed a chair from another table, since the rest were all empty, and sat at the table near them.

Garren shrugged. "I'm just traveling playing the guitar. I write songs, play at saloons here and there. Do odds and ends for jobs, delivery stuff mostly."

"Oh, that's cool. And how 'bout you lil' kid?" The waiter asked

Alicia grinned. "I sing and travel!" She giggled.

Garren looked over. "She's my little sister. Our parents got killed recently in one of those flash floods that keep happening."

The waiter looked at Garren sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. Must be tough for you guys."

"Yeah," Garren replied, looking at his 'sister', "I think this is a good way for her to heal. Nothing left in our hometown anyway aside from bad memories. And at least she'd having fun."

"And you know she's safe."

"Right," Garren said with a smile. Doing something that proved he was even more unlike himself, "So you live here?"

The waiter shook his head. "Eh, not really. Wound up here somehow. They took me in and nursed me, and my wife in there decided to help open up the café. We're headin' off sometime soon though."

"Somehow? You don't just wind up here in Boot Hill," Garren said, sipping at his water.

"My wife says that when we were traveling we got attacked by this giant monster, but I don't remember anything before waking up here where they were takin' care of us in the big mansion."

"Don't remember anything? Amnesia?" Garren asked, finding himself sounding like Clive when Jet told Virginia about his lack of memories.

"Must be. I remember faint things, like traveling with a couple other Drifters, and firing my ARM. I have these," the waiter held out three gold slabs. "But I don't know what they are or what they do. My wife's convinced they saved my life. Oh, sorry, let me go get your food." The waiter scratched his head, grinning slightly, and run to the kitchen to get their food.

Garren just shook his head and drank his water. Shortly after, the waiter returned with their plates, and sat back down.

In between bites, Garren talked to him. "I once had a problem too, where I had a case of amnesia. But since, I've regained my memories," Garren said. Alicia just watched, but pretended to be immersed in her food to let the "grown ups have their big people talk".

"Really? How'd you do it?" The waiter asked, intrigued now.

"Well, I was with a couple other Drifters, and as we traveled, things just sorta came back to me. When we all went our separate ways, I went home for a bit, and now I'm just sorta traveling. Kinda hoping I can run into one of 'em again soon."

"Yeah, that's what I was kinda hoping. Maybe if I travel around in the wasteland I'll figure things out. But, do you know what these things are?" The waiter asked, showing the gold plates again.

Garren looked over, instantly recognizing them as Aqua Wisp, Flash Hit, and Hope Shard. But instead of telling him, he simply said. "I'm not sure. Heard a rumor that they're Guardians, but I think that's pretty ridiculous. I mean, aren't Guardians watching the world? If they're watching the world, then how the heck are they in that little slab?"

The waiter nodded and Alicia tried her hardest not to laugh. He sure had gotten good at his fibbing and story-telling. She hadn't had to bail him out of a situation in a month or so. Through their short meal, there was a little more small talk and the sort, but mostly about the changing weather as of late. The waiter had been afraid of it at first, but Alicia seemed to be unphased by the fact that her parents had died in a flood, so he wasn't so timid about the subject after that.

Garren paid for their meals, and gave the waiter a good tip. "You gonna be in town tonight Garren?"

"Yeah, if we can find someplace to stay."

"No problem. They have a bunch'a extra rooms at the mansion my wife and I have been at. All you'd have to do is do something for the town and they'll let you stay there for free. I bet Shalte would even cook you breakfast in the morning."

"Something for the town?" Garren asked, seemingly excited for Shalte's cooking. "Like what?"

The waiter looked about. "Tell ya what, wait around a few more hours and when I get a short break I'll run up and ask. Over near the graveyard there's a small hill, and there's trees for shade, so you two can rest there."

Garren looked down to Alicia. "What do you think? Do you want to stay here tonight?"

Alicia looked up at Garren with a big smile and nodded. "Plleeeeaasse?" With that, Garren looked back up to the waiter and nodded. The siblings left the café.

"Nice story you had going on there," Alicia whispered quietly. Garren let out a soft chuckle as they began walking north to the graveyard. "No really, you've come a far way from 'Uhh, she…uhh…wanted to come…with me…yeah…' Nobody will guess who you are now."

He noted a strange change in the tone of her voice, but instead walked into the graveyard. Right in front of him stood a tall grave marker. He knelt down, resting his hand on the large stone. Alicia stood near the fence, waiting for Garren to pay his respects to Werner. She knew their story. And she was glad to see that he was thanking the one who gave him the ability to be a human. It sure was changing Filgaia better then any of the Councils or Demons could. Maybe that was why the Guardians trusted humans and were passive instead of aggressive. She folded her arms and heard Justine tell her Told you to trust the humans. Silly little girl. Upon hearing the lion laughed, she too giggled.

"Hey…" Alicia said, getting him to turn his attention to him. "You looked spooked in there."

Garren just stood up shaking his head slightly before looking up towards the bright sky. "That was Gallows…"

"You sure?" She asked.

"Had to be. At least he won't blow is cover…unless his cover is amnesia."

Alicia shook his head. "No, that was true amnesia…"

"Well, that's one less thing to worry about." A chuckle followed that sentence.

o-o-o-o

Holly leaned her elbows on the bar, and leaned her head on it. It was a Thursday afternoon, and it was quiet. Angela had traveled out once more to fetch Claudia, and there wasn't a customer in the bar. She was beginning to get used to the place and even enjoy it. Janus came in often, and through Angela, Holly learned so much about the Janus she once despised. He was a thug, but still, there were some things about him that surprised him. Things like how Janus was the reason the town didn't become a ghost town. And how Janus was the one who got the well to function so Little Twister had fresh water. He also managed to get some crops planted because of the increasing rain fall.

It's so weird…She thought, resting on the bartop. I know he died. I watched him-we all watched him disappear in front of him. His demon body couldn't take it anymore, and it fell apart. But even if he managed to just disappear like the prophets did, it still doesn't change the fact that he'd be a demon right now and not himself. Unless…Janus did show up in front of us not in his demon form.

Her thoughts continued. She wondered if Janus knew who she was, or if he even remembered any of it. And yet, she couldn't press him for specific details. She couldn't let on that she was Virginia Maxwell, or else…Well, she could leave. But still, her arm never fully healed, and she wasn't confident in the accuracy of her right ARM. Although, her body seemed to compensate for itself by making her left arm stronger. But in the end that would probably mean firing her ARMs differently, and after doing it this way for twelve years, well, old habits die hard.

But hopefully, there would be no need to fire an ARM for a while. She had grown somewhat used to the town. Even though bandits were aplenty, she saw a different side to some people. Not to mention the bar fights were sometimes hilarious when both parties were completely trashed. For the most part, she was pretty safe at the bar. There had been one time in the last few months where an intoxicated patron threw his glass at her. She managed to duck down to avoid it. Before she could even stand up and reply, Janus had already bolted from his stool and caught the drunk in a headlock. She simply watched as Janus took immediate control of the situation, knocking the drunk around a bit before kicking him out of the bar. The part that sort of seemed the most ironic was that Janus wasn't paid, he simply acted like a bouncer.

She was doing a pretty good job in her mind, keeping in character of Holly. It was difficult, and her transition wasn't so smooth. As time went on, Holly turned out to be more of a shy, modest, and even weak girl who was prone to random fever flashes. She didn't know anything of the outside world, and proved to be pretty stupid at times. Like the time she poured water on the fire on the stove… But regardless, she found to fully stay in her character, she was keeping a journal. She wrote simple things and rambled about the people she met and how she missed her family, but she saw it as such a big step to move to Little Twister instead of living in Claiborne with everyone else. Upon reading it over, she'd smile, finding it pretty damn convincing.

"Afternoon Holly!" Holly looked up with a smile across her face upon seeing the blue haired Drifter enter the saloon. He smiled back and sat across the bar from her.

"Hey Janus," Holly smiled gently.

"Just a hey huh?" He teased, cracking his neck slightly as he rested his bayonet against the bar counter. "That's all your self-declared knight gets?"

Holly blushed before curtseying. "My apologies Sir Janus." A large grin spread across her face as she kept her position. "It's such a joy t'see you." Holly, unable to finish, allowed herself to burst into a giggle. Janus joined in with his laugh. Holly's eyes didn't move off of him once, even after Angela dragged Claudia back inside.

"Ah swear…first Claudia…now 'Olly with 'er flashes!" Angela vented, pounding her fist on the bar top. "Claudia wastin' damn time an' 'Olly getting' outta work playin' sick!"

Janus cracked his neck and gave a strange look to Angela. "But, she was burning up. She passed out and I had to carry her inside."

Angela's face twisted slightly in frustration. She slammed a bowl of soup mixed with medicinal herbs on the counter. "Then you go take it up't'er Mr. Knight!"

Janus simply laughed at his former baby-sitter's outburst as he picked the hot bowl of soup up and brought it upstairs. He knocked on Holly's door before opening it slightly. "Yes…?" A weak voice answered.

Janus walked in armed with a bowl of soup and a smile. He kicked the door shut behind him and looked at the weak girl resting in an arm chair he had brought up for her. "Angela told me since I took the role of being your knight I might as well bring you up your dinner and medicine," Janus chuckled. Holly simply smiled, accepting the soup with the metal spoon resting in its contents.

There was a bit of silence as Janus walked over to her desk chair, sitting down the opposite way, arms resting on the back of the chair. He simply watched as Holly gingerly ate her soup. He felt protective of her, felt something rise inside of him that he hadn't felt in a long time. He almost told himself he couldn't remember the last time he felt it, but that would have been a blatant lie. It was 10 months and fourteen days before that he had felt it. The night he had been assigned to break into the train and steal the Ark Scepter for the Prophets. It really wasn't his sort of job, but the pay was good enough. Besides, it wasn't his first run-in with ancient artifacts, so he knew how to handle it.

But boy, he had had no idea how to handle what else was awaiting for him on the train. He could recall that moment clear as day, right to his dying moment. The way the girl stuck to her guns, her strength, there weren't many people like her in Filgaia. He couldn't help but be instantly infatuated with her. But he made a bad first impression, and that was a lesson he learned the hard way. And it drove him to madness.

But now as she sat across, watching Holly delicately eat. He suddenly felt the need to be with her as much as possible. She was like his princess, and he'd been protecting her since the day she arrived in town. When she broke down from homesickness, he sat up with her, listening to her recount her tales. To make her smile, he would be a jackass in return.

"Hey…uhh…Holly…Can I tell you something?" Janus asked, his hand scratching the back of his head as if trying to hide his nervousness. Holly quietly nodded. "Something strange happened to me…I became a demon, and died." He looked into Holly's eyes to see nothing but puzzlement. "It's a long story, but that's to some psycho crack heads bent on taking over the world. Sounded like a fun diversion from the monotony of the wasteland and they paid well enough…but, thanks to justice police girl, well, she was my downfall. Didn't admit it, but since the day I met her I hit nothing but dead ends." He stood up, walking over to the clear door leading to the creaky balcony. As he looked outside he continued. "And I hated her so…because she reminded me of the way I had set out on the wasteland. I asked for her companionship, and when she shot me down, it only infuriated me. I figured she'd die out in the wasteland, being that green and all." Janus paused for a second, a strange smile crossing his face. "But when I saw that she was living that dream, instead of getting swallowed by the darkness, I…I couldn't help but respect her…" Janus sighed before turning around. "Eh, shit, looks like I rambled on…"

Holly simply looked up with a gentle, soothing smile on her face. Deep down, Virginia couldn't believe what she was hearing from Janus. Or maybe it was just a sack of bullshit to get sympathy from the bar maid - that she could see Janus doing. "Don't worry about it." She simply smiled.

Janus walked over, his ungloved fingers gently touching Holly's warm cheek. "I'm not sure how I survived, but Holly…I…" He leaned in and kissed her burning forehead softly. "I'll be back to check on you," he whispered softly.

Janus pretended to be oblivious to the half door swinging open. Of course he knew Angela and Claudia had just walked in, but he instead leaned in over the bar to kiss Holly gently on the lips. "'Ey now! Janus, y'better not be the one gett'n mah help sick!" Claudia cried out, causing Janus to simply smile at Holly. "C'mon now! I ain't payin' 'er to be slackin' off!"

"All right…all right…" Janus said, finding it easier to avoid a smack from Angela.

Too late.

Angela walked over, and bitch-slapped him across the face. With a chuckle he rubbed his sore cheek. Angela turned to Holly. "You go clean upstairs, Claudia'll clean down 'ere," she said somewhat motherly. Holly nodded to Angela and smiled gently at Janus before walking up the stairs to her complete her duties.

As she straightened the bed covers and dusted the dozen room, her mind traveled several different courses. Of course she wondered how her team mates were all doing, as she did every single day. At moments she'd slightly regret her decision, but then caught herself, knowing it was for the best and it hadn't been good-bye. Somehow no matter what thought she followed, it wound up returning to Janus and the event that had happened just a few weeks before. Her mind slaved over the not-so-simple question of how the heck he had survived in the first place.

And then, as she was cleaning, she had an epiphany.

As Janus told her, he had died in the Yggsdrasil. And he remained that way, until her and her father changed the world. Or more of recreated the world. But when her and Werner restored the world, they did so using everyone's memories. The deceased that had received burial and were acknowledged as dead remained so, but Drifters such as Janus who more of disappeared then died, in the minds of most people, had a second chance. Dairus and Romero seemed oblivious to it, but Janus fully acknowledged the fact he had died and somehow got a second chance.

She giggled to herself. She had always thought Janus was good-looking, but there was no way Virginia Maxwell would back down from her pride to date him. All the more reason for Holly to date him. She smiled and resumed cleaning.