A/N: Oops, sorry for the long update period. I wrote this chapter, scrapped it, rewrote it, scrapped it again, and finally came up with a version I'm kinda sorta okay with. Anyway, it seems like this chapter decided to just be yet another build up to the next few chapters, but I promise they next two will be good (or at least better). Oh, and on a side note, you know you're really devoted to your fanfiction when you steal your copy of WA3 back from your friend just so you can find out the name of an ARMsmith. Anyway, enjoy!
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His hearty laugh echoed through the saloon. Her soft giggle following afterwards, brushing her long hair with a blush. "Oh c'mon Garren, it wasn't that funny!"
Garren chuckled, adjusting his cowboy hat, his smile still strung across his face. "Sure it was Emilia!"
Alicia just smiled softly to herself as she played Go Fish with with one of the other patron's son. They played back and forth, but Alicia was far from concentrating on their card game. Her thoughts were plaguing her, and even though the Guardians seemed relaxed, Alicia was beginning to grow worried that the task the Guardians had given her was becoming more and more difficult to achieve. She expected them to be angered as her and her sister used to become at each other, but instead they simply showed their infinite patience. "Hey! Hey! Your turn!" The brunette across the table yelled to her. She giggled and finished the game. The blonde girl walked over to her preoccupied brother, tugging at his worn denim jacket to get his attenion.
Garren looked down, a smile across his face, his hand resting on Alicia's back. Looking up, her eyes shooting unsaid words to him, she simply told him, "I'm tired!"
Garren squeezed her shoulder slightly, communicating back to him, understanding that she had something else to take care of and that she'd catch up with him later. With that said and done, the small blonde ran down to the end of the hall into their room. Once behind the closed door, she vanished.
"Luceid! Raftina! Zephyr! Justine!" The dream child sang out.
"My, child, what is with your noise?" snorted Luceid, rather irritated, causing Alicia to shoot a puzzled look at the purple wolf.
"Mind him note," Raftina reply, her blonde locks falling over her shoulders as she glanced to the aggravated guardian. "He has been this way since his return."
"That's not it!" Luceid hissed back, causing Alicia to hold her hands to her chest in a bit of surprise and Raftina to simply shake her head and smile.
Raftina's bright eyes focused on Alicia. "Pray child, what is it that has brought you here when your task has mainly been keeping you in the third dimension?"
"W-well…" Alicia stammered.
This simply amused Raftina. "Come now, there is something in your eyes you wish to express."
Suddenly, though the Guardians were quite used to it, Alicia lashed out, her cry echoing through the Guardians. "How can this plan possibly work now! Can't you see everything that's going wrong with it! Jet denies completely who he truly is. He barely even acknowledges that he isn't the Garren he's pretending to be! And now instead of focusing on all of that, all he's doing is playing his guitar and flirting!" Alicia's arms flailed around her, her anxiety apparent through every word and motion. "Florina's still awaiting Jet's arrival, and Jet has no intenion of visiting her! Everytime I hint at it he draws away and changes the subject with some ridiculous reason! And what about Virginia! What the hell is she doing to help the situation? Dating Janus, who surely will take advantage and possibly strike his revenge upon her if given the chance. I mean! What if Virginia slips up? She's becoming dangerously close every day! And on top of that-"
"Alicia," Justine's gentle voice boomed throughout their minds. "Calm yourself."
"But-!"
"You heard him," Luceid interrupted, obviously annoyed. Alicia simply folded her arms and looked between the Guardians.
"Did I not tell you to trust the humans?"Justine asked.
There was a short pause. "Yes, you did."
"Then trust us, and trust the humans, dream child."
"But-"
"Quiet!" Luceid snapped.
"Luceid, calm your temper," Raftina interjected, her hand resting gently on the neck of the purple wolf. "Be at peace."
Taking the silence as another chance to project her concerns, Alicia shouted out "But it's been a year now! Our plan should be well on its way now, and it has yet to begun!"
"Time is but a passing dream," the previously silent Zephyr interjected. "Humans have a different view and perspective of time. While logically our plan will take nearly two years, yet would have begun months ago, it is quite possible the humans may wait six more months to initiate our plan, yet finish it within three."
Alicia simply looked at the serpant, then turned her attention over to Justine as he repeated what he had said before, "Trust the humans." Alicia looked down to her white shoes, staring at them thoughtfully.
Garren smiled as he felt the girl rest in his arms. The noise in the saloon was rampant, but he felt at peace. This feeling…is…I can't describe it. And yet it's calm and relaxing. He looked at the red-haired ARMsmith and gently rubbed her shoulders. Their moment continued for a little longer, Garren's thoughts carrying him away. His heart pounds faster, his palms growing a little more sweaty as if his nerves were picking up right before an intense battle. But holding someone protectively in his arms, a memory popped back into his head.
"Hey Virginia, remember when you…"
Garren froze. He bit his lip as hard as he could, feeling a bit of blood leak onto his tongue. His eyes widened in fear as he inadvertently held his breath.
After a few long moments, it appeared that she hadn't heard him. But that still didn't change the fact that he had muttered her name. His breath was still panicked and short, though the girl he was holding didn't seem to notice.
No, that didn't work.
No matter how he tried to justify it in his mind, he couldn't come up with any reason as to why he just muttered her name. Sure, he had been remembering the time outside of Yggsdrasil when Virginia first got out of bed and he caught her moments before scolding her. But that still didn't explain exactly why he thought he was suddenly talking to her again.
"-and aside from the fact that-"
"Alicia," Raftina said, attempting to interrupt her latest rant.
"-I am going absolutely out of my mind from not only-"
"Alicia!" Luceid snapped.
"-his constant dreams but hers-"
"ALICIA!" Justine exclaimed, scooping Alicia up with one arm, setting her on his shoulder.
The frazzled dream child shook her head frantically, before exclaiming, "What!"
Alicia watched as a small smile slipped across the Guardian's face. "Dream child, Filgaia's child is initiating our plan as we speak." Alicia simply looked at him with a puzzled expression upon her face.
"He spoke her name aloud," Raftina said, a smile across her face as well. "The surpressed feelings that he knew only in his dreams are beginning to surface themselves." Alicia's eyes widened with excitement and relief.
"Have faith Alicia," Zephyr said. "They need you now that they are beginning to understand. Watch him and guide him."
Garren's heart was still pounding nearly out of chest. He couldn't figure out why he was so frazzled about the whole thing. His cover wasn't blown since no one had heard him, and even so, he could've finagled his way out of it. And yet, the fact that he had addressed her aloud still caused his heart to pound and his cheeks to flush.
He had to go talk to Alicia. She might be able to provide an answer. After all, she was the one who was following him because of something he was looking for. So, if he was looking for an answer, she should be able to provide it. But now, he had to get away from the girl he had been courting. He had to clear his head and start from scratch. He couldn't blow anything now.
So, to get out of his situation, he half forced a large yawn and stretch, causing the ARMsmith to turn around. "Tired?"
"Yeah…" Garren trailed off. "Plus my sister's been having trouble sleeping through the whole night."
"Oh, really?" She replied, trying to look at Garren's eyes. "That's too bad." Garren could see the look of sympathy on her face. "Well, after all you two have been through…"
Garren nodded. "She's so weary from the travel over our last year, we'll probably stay here for a while…"
"Well," she began, a soft smile across her face. "I have an extra room at my place…"
"Thanks," Garren nodded. "But I think we'll stay at the saloon for a little while she gets over a few bumps."
"Of course," Emilia smiled, her hand resting on his arm. She watched as Garren smiled softly then leaned and kissed her cheek softly. "Good night Garren."
"G'night," he replied, waving his hand to her as he headed to his room for the night. As he walked he noticed from the corner of his eye a man dressed in a black outfit sitting in the shadows of the far side of the room staring at him. As Garren looked over to him, he simply rose from his seat and walked out of the saloon. Shaking his head slightly, he continued down to the hallway.
He walked into the empty room, locking the door behind him. In a swift motion, he removed the cowboy hat off of his head and threw it across the room as he walked to his bed. He looked about the room, his palms hot and sweaty, his heart beating out of his chest. Finally, he settled down on the bed, feet firmly planted on the floor, elbows resting on his knees, head buried in his hands.
Moments later he felt a small frame planted between his legs, arms resting on his legs, peering at him through his own hands. "What's wrong?" She asked, careful not to include any names in her question.
"Oh…uhh…" He looked up, looking around the room upon realizing that hat was on the other side of the room. "Nothing," he replied.
Alicia bit her lip, trying her hardest to keep from laughing. "Nothing?" The blonde child asked, her blue eyes staring at her. "Okay Jet, let's try again."
He suddenly looked up, returning her stare. She could plainly see the confusion and chaos that was planted in his eyes. She felt sorry for him, but knew that if he continued to run from it like he had during the last year, oh no, she didn't want to think about how much longer the plan might take them. At this rate, who knew that havoc that could be wrecked upon Filgaia due to him? "I…" But there was nothing following the one word aside from the bland silence that laid between them.
Alicia sighed softly, not sure of what to do next. "What happened when I was visiting with the Guardians?"
He drew a deep breath, and as she did, she was grateful that he had no idea she knew what had happened. But still, he would have to admit it all himself. Afterall, the majority of this plan rested on him, and he had to initiate all of this on his own, much to her dismay. If it were solely her plan, things would be different. But alas, she had no control over the Guardians will, and if they willed something, it always happened. "I was sitting there at the bar, holding Emilia." He spoke slowly as if the words he was speaking didn't belong to him. "And I remembered…I remembered a moment from the past. It was about her."
"Virginia?" Alicia asked, now sitting on the floor, looking up at the rather confused boy.
She noticed something changed in his eyes when she mentioned his name. "Yeah, Virginia. I remembered the time after Leehalt infected her with those nanomachines, and she was passed out at the lodge her father brought us to. When she woke up-Damn it!" He suddenly interrupted himself. "Why the hell did I have to remember something so dumb?" And moreover, why the hell did it have that affect on me!
Alicia said something to him, but another memory flashed through his head. He couldn't pinpoint the exact quotes, but it was something along the lines of Virginia lecturing him that no memory was unimportant and that they should all be cherished.
Does that mean that this small insignificant memory should be cherished too?
…Well, afterall, it did make him smile for a moment.
No, that's just Garren talking. There's a difference between Garren and Jet. I am Jet. I am a loner. The gella is what matters. That's all the matters. Not some dumb memories, not some ridiculous idealistic girl, and not some estranged dream child. I can't lose sight of who I am…
Who the hell am I kidding? I don't even know who I am since I've never known who I am. All I know is this lie I've managed to fabricate, because Virginia made me promise her that I'd go undercover.
"Jet…Garren…just…listen to me okay?" Alicia said, interrupting his thoughts as she hopped up onto the bed next to him. "Whatever you did, whatever you said, if you keep pushing things down, they're only going to snap back up." She kept it short and sweet, silently hoping that her words had some affect on him.
For a moment, he didn't say anything. And then, as if the last few moments hadn't even happened, he continued his story. "When she woke up, she jumped back onto her feet, as if she hadn't been in a coma for the last few days. Stupid girl nearly passed out, but, I caught her before she fell and hit her head on the table." A small smile tugged at his lips, one that Alicia decided it was safer not to point out. "I scolded her, and she only smiled and laughed." His eyes moved to the ceiling, staring at it. "And for some reason while I was holding Emilia, I thought about her, and suddenly started talking to Virginia…as if it were her I was holding." He didn't say anything else. She only rested her head on his upper arm, her attempt to comfort him. She knew his dreams, she knew his repressed emotions, and all she could do was be there as he struggled to face, understand, and accept them. "I hope she's all right…" he whispered hoarsely. She glanced up, but decided to pretend she didn't hear him when he saw the desperation in his eyes. He was fighting a battle. He was fighting his battle.
o-o-o-o
Holly sat up in her room. It was early, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. She was feeling all right, only early morning grogginess affecting her. A few thoughts went through her mind, but nothing out of the ordinary. The same thoughts of wondering how her comrades were doing, and how long it would be until their names were cleared.
Silently, she pulled the bottom drawer of her nightstand, removing a white piece and a scarlet piece of torn fabric. Her hands gently caressed the coarse fabric as her eyes closed.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Virginia heard him exclaim, the confusion in his voice evident and amusing at the same time. If she had looked up from her current task, she would have seen the blood rushing to his face.
"Tying a bow," she replied with a smile.
She looked up and peered at his face through the dark, trying to find any sort of reaction out of him, but assumed that he was annoyed with her, as always.
"Umm…why?" Even through his slight irritation with her, she still smiled. After all, it was Jet she was talking to, what else could she possibly expect from him?
But still, he was playing along, and that was enough for her while she was dealing with all the turmoil of the previous twenty-four hours. "Whenever you don't want to forget something, you tie a bow, so that when you untie the bow, you remember what you didn't want to forget." She couldn't help but smile as she explained it, sounding exactly like her mother did the first time she tied a bow around Virginia's finger.
Holly just sort of chuckled to herself, because when she came out of her little trance, she found that she had tied the scarlet piece of cloth into a perfect small bow, which now rested on her lap. As she looked at it, she couldn't help but smile helplessly. It had been a year, and truly, she missed having him around. They were polar opposites sometimes, but other times they had so much in common. She always insisted on helping other people, while he tried to avoid human contact as much as possible. And yet, when it came down to the wire, they still risked their lives for another person. She knew her family, and had fond, and not-so-fond memories of them, while he didn't have a family and had no memories to speak of. And yet, even before they knew of his origins, they knew the same recipes and cooked the same way.
She bit her lip and held back a tear or two. She really missed him.There was no denying that. Admist all this life as a barmaid and dating Janus, she simply missed waking up in the morning before her comrades and being chipper while they awoke groggy from their dreamland. She missed Gallows' and Jet's bickering, while her and Clive plotted something pointless.
Everything. All of it. She had dreams of it every night. It was like sensory overload simply remembering the moments. Or dreaming of the moments. Poor decisions she made came to haunt her, and it wasn't like she could make a vow to change things now.
She was trapped, she was sure of it.
Sighing, she tied the shredded cloth around her hair as a makeshift ribbon, patting it softly when she was done. She had to be strong, she had to hold out. She couldn't blow it, couldn't lose her cool.
With a glance out the window at the rising sun, she smiled, finding a bit of courage in the glow of the morning light. Yeah, she would be all right. Today would be another day of cleaning, tending, and spending time with Janus. She would giggle softly as Angela scolded Janus, but would inwardly laugh herself to death from the humor of the situation. She was sure seeing a side of Janus Cascade she thought she never would.
A smile crossed her face as she placed her hand on the back of her head, playing with the tattered cloth. She would keep going today, tomorrow, and every day ahead. Nothing was too difficult for her, and she would overcome all of this.
And now, time to head downstairs and see which menial task Angela had prepared for them while Janus wandered in half asleep!
Holly brushed her hands down her dress, smoothing the front of it. As she walked down the stairs, she silently hoped that something interesting would happen during the day. Maybe there'd be a bar fight, or maybe Janus would propose to her. She bit her lip to prevent herself from bursting into laughter as she made to the bottom of the stairs. She was pretty sure that it wouldn't go over too well if Angela caught her walking down the stairs laughing first thing in the morning.
"'Olly! Y'need an'thin'?" Angela called out as she rushed inside the saloon, the door swinging wildly behind her.
"Why? What's goin' on?" Holly asked, her voice slowly picking up Angela and Claudia's accent.
"Roykman and Co.'s in town darlin', so ah'd suggest y'git out there," Angela replied, dropping the box of supplies she had brought inside before rushing back out. Holly nodded, going upstairs to get her gella before going outside to Roykman's caravan.
In the last year, his caravan certainly grew in size. He had always been a successful traveling salesman, and he aided their group of Drifters many times in many ways. Between his medicinal supplies and food to his advice to his willingness to share the information he learned, he always managed to help them in their desperate times. "Ah, it's Holly!" Roykman shouted out, waving his gloved hand to the barmaid walking towards his caravan.
"Gmorning Roykman!" Holly exclaimed back, waving her hand back to his.
"And how are you faring?" He asked with a smile.
Holly bowed slightly before standing straight. "Good, an' you?" She asked.
"Great now that I've seen your smile!" Roykman replied, which caused Holly to giggle and Angela to chuckle. "Hey, I got someone I wantcha to meet Holly." Holly nodded, her eyes widening a bit with excitement. "Hey! Derek! Over here!" Roykman waved to get the attention of a tall man dressed in khakis and a green button down shirt. As Holly watched Derek walk over to them, she saw brown hair with…green highlights? That seemed sort of odd.
"Yes?" Derek asked, pushing the sunglasses that hovered at the end of his nose towards his eyes.
"Derek, this is Holly. She's the lass I was tellin' you about yesterday."
As Holly looked at Roykman with a sudden intense bit of curiosity, Derek nodded, extended his fingerless-gloved hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Holly." Holly looked back at Derek, nodding slightly as she shook his hand. Their gaze set upon each other. There was something about Derek that…struck an odd chord with her. "If I can be of any assistance to you, please, do not hesitate to ask."
"Actually, could y'show me your fabric. Ah've been lookin' to make a new dress."
"Why, of course. Follow me," Derek said, motioning for Holly to follow him to the third wagon down.
There was small talk between them about the changing weather and Derek's theories that perhaps the old oceans of water will return due to all the rain and flooding. While Derek rambled on, Holly looked through bolts of fabric, hoping to find one to her liking.
Suddenly, she rested the bolt back on the wagon after looking around. "…Clive?" She whispered to him.
Derek stopped in the middle of his nearly incoherant sentence and looked at the girl standing in front of him. His brow frowed for a moment, obviously in thought or worry that perhaps he had been caught. That was when he was near positive of what he had noticed in her eyes. "Virginia?" He whispered back. "Is that really you?"
Holly's eyes immediately lit up. She resisted rushing in to hug him, as that might look weird, but still, she could barely contain her excitement. "You're okay!"
"Well yes," he whispered back, picking up a bolt of fabric to put on a show for anyone who might have been curiously watching. "I nearly got caught back in Humphrey's Peak last year. Roykman bailed me out, and since then I have been assisting his business. As you can see, it's grown in size."
Holly shook her head no before pointing to another bolt of fabric, picking up on the show Derek wished to present. "Yes, ah can see that." Derek began to chuckle. "What? What's so funny?"
An eye brow perked up as Derek chided in. "Picked up the accent, have you?"
"Hush now! Ah've been here for a year now, bartendin' at Angela's saloon."
Derek smiled, the memory apparent on his face. "How's that going?" He asked, showing a different bolt of fabric.
"Interestin' enough," Holly replied with a sigh as she motioned for several yards to be cut for her. "Ah'm datin' Janus."
Derek looked over, his tight ponytail falling over his shoulder as he looked at Holly increduously. "Cascade?" He whispered. A few snickers emitted from his mouth as Holly nodded slowly. "Well…that certainly is unexpected. Is it safe?"
Holly folded her arms. "It's been a year since ah came 'ere and met him…" She replied thoughtfully. "Ah'm seein' a side ah didn't know existed…"
Derek nodded. "As long as we are safe," he whispered, folding up the cut piece of fabric as Holly began looking at bolts of lace to compliment it.
"Have y'heard or seen from the others?" Holly held her breath, awaiting the answer.
Derek shook his head after a moment. "There…was one boy who reminded me of Jet, his name was Garren and he was built his size and their voices sounded somewhat alike, but their personalities are completely different."
"Maybe he took my suggestion of actin'?" Holly asked, unrolling some lace.
"It is highly doubtful. He was traveling with a small child that he called his little sister."
As Holly handed the bolt of lace to Derek to be cut, Derek noticed that her eyes lose some of their excitement. "Have faith," he whispered even lower to her. "We'll come together in the end."
"O-of course!" Holly exclaimed, pulling the gella from her skirt pocket, handing it to Derek.
Later, that afternoon, Holly and Angela were sitting at one of the tables with Roykman and Derek while Claudia was preparing lunch for all of them.
"So whatcha'll been up ta?" Angela asked after glancing over to Claudia to make sure she wasn't being so careless as to burn down the saloon.
"Just traveling," Roykman replied, folding his arms. "Same old business."
"Anythin' new goin' 'round?" Angela asked, eager to hear stories of other saloons and how to attract more to her own.
"Musical entertainment has become quite popular over the last few months," Derek explained, fidgiting with the sunglasses in his hand. "Just about everywhere we go has either a singer with a band or offers a kareoke night with a guitarist and drummer."
Angela rested her hand against her face in thought. "That sounds like a fine idea…" she said. "Jus' who now am ah gunna find to perform?" She trailed off.
"Well, Derek here's an excellent guitarist," Roykman explained. Holly thought for a moment, then did indeed remember the nights they spent at Humphrey's Peak when Clive would play his guitar for everyone.
"Holly likes'ta sing all the time," Claudia pointed out.
All eyes turned to Holly, who immediately blushed. "Wouldja be willin' ta try darlin'?" Angela asked. "Ah've heard'ja singin' 'round 'ere before."
Holly thought for a moment. Music by no means had ever been her forte, though she used to have fun singing with Kaitlyn when Clive used to play. "Sure, ah'll do it."
"I'll assist her then, learning how to write and perform," Derek offered.
Roykman grinned. "Just find yourself a drummer and you got yourself a band Angela."
Shortly after lunch, Derek and Holly went to the storage room of the saloon where Derek gave her her first lesson. Holly took notes while Derek strummed out chords and helped her with lyrics.
Maybe, just maybe this Garren will be attracted to a place where there's music. And then…I can see for myself whether or not this Garren is Jet!
"Hey! I can play guitar too!" Derek and Holly looked up and at each other upon hearing Romero exclaim. "The hell y'got some salesman playing for?"
"We aren't staying here for long Romero," Roykman replied calmly. "Derek's simply helping Holly with a few lessons, then we'll be on our way." Derek and Holly looked at each and stiffled a laugh.