A/N: Well, here it is, Chapter 5 when the true plot finally shows, and all the characters are finally revealed (I think :-)! ). The song within is "Let me go" by 3 Doors Down, and it really helped me to finish this chapter. Enjoy :-D
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He was sprawled out on the bed in the extra room Emilia had to spare for him and Alicia. His eyes were plastered to the ceiling, his hands pressed tightly to his forehead. The black cowboy hat sat next to his head, as if mocking him. His breath was short, palms sweaty, heart pounding out of his chest.
Just two days before, he had left Florina's Secret Garden after an abrupt decision to visit her a week before, which was only a couple days after he spurted her name aloud.
"No wonder Alicia was so intent on visiting Florina…" He mused to himself aloud before going over everything in his mind one last time before making a decision.
Though she didn't object, Alicia was quite surprised to find her and Garren sitting upon Small Devil as they leaped over the crevasse. He hadn't said much of anything, nor had done much of anything. He kissed Emilia good bye and told Alicia to hurry along. Perhaps the Guardians were right, and they would handle everything all on their own. But still, Alicia was anxious for things to be set into motion. If the Ark of Destiny captured one of them, there could be some serious repercussions.
Shortly after high noon, Garren found himself tying Small Devil to a large post right at the entrance of the Secret Garden. He drew a deep breath, refusing to look Alicia in the eye. One foot in front of the other, each boot stomped against the green ground. Underneath the hat, he watched Florina approach him, her hand gently placed in front of her mouth, her eyes widened at the seemingly-stranger. As if on cue, after Alicia walked next to him, he brought his hand to his hat and removed it, white knuckles clutching the black cowboy hat which had previously been his protection. Soon Florina dropped her hand, rushing to Jet to hug him. Swallowing hard, his heart pounding out of his chest, Jet returned the hug.
"You've finally arrived!" Florina shouted, quite excited before skipping back to one of her gardens.
Jet simply stood there, having no idea what to do next. No words came to his head, no actions came to his body. Alicia took a step forward, looked over her shoulder at him, and continued to walk to a log around the small fire pit. His eyes followed her at first, before looking at the campfire site itself, seeing a man dressed in torn denim pants and a faded trench coat. His brow furrowed slightly for a moment before the blue-haired man rose. "Long time no see," he said with a smile, a breeze catching his red bandana slightly. "How's the guitar treating you?"
Jet blinked for a few minutes, his stomach clenched in knots. He knew something was up, and he did not like the feel of any of it. "Just fine," he managed to reply after swallowing the lump in his throat. He watched as Alicia sat down on the log to the right of the blue-haired stranger he had met a year ago. His thoughts were driving him nuts, and his heart pounded faster.
"Jet," a gentle voice interrupted his thoughts. "Why don't you sit down with us?" Florina sat down next to Alicia, motioning to the small log across from the stranger.
"That may be a good idea," the stranger added in. "We have a lot to discuss."
Jet looked up, his amethyst eyes filled with fear as he glanced between the three. Alicia simply smiled at him, in an attempt that he knew was to comfort him.
Maybe she was right. Maybe things had changed in a year. Normally, Jet would have simply looked or walked away. And yet, he just knew he couldn't. Maybe it was the experience of learning about his lack of memories that forced him to realize it would catch up to him in the end, but either way, he knew what he had to do.
One foot in front of the other. He sat down on the log. His motions more fluid then he anticipated. "C'mon now Jet, quit the long face!" The stranger sitting across from him said, causing his head to snap and stare at the stranger's face. "My apologies. I believe you've gone an entire year without knowing my name. I'm Rudy. Rudy Roughnight." Jet simply nodded.
"Jet," Alicia said, looking over to him. "There's a lot that we have to tell you. Just…hear us out."
Again, he simply nodded, clutching his hat in his hands.
"I'll start," Rudy offered, drawing attention back to himself. His arms folded across his chest as he started to explain. "Like you and your comrades, my allies and I once had the blessings of the Guardians to battle the Demons. There were the four Quarter Knights, Ziekfried included, their Mother, a little annoying Demon called Zed, and another Demon known as Boomerang. Though their intentions were different, their goal was to exterminate the Guardians and those living on Filgaia." Jet listened, his eyes roaming from Rudy to the fire to the two who looked like little girls sitting on the other log. "Ziekfried went to great ends to destroy the information to restore Mother, since she desired to destroy Filgaia, while he wished to adapt Filgaia to his needs."
"That's where all the terra-forming came in, right?" Jet asked, his eyes focusing back to Rudy.
"Right. When the prophets came along, he managed to restore himself."
Yeah, yeah, Jet thought. I know all this stuff. I wasn't ignoring all the conversations that were going on. But someone had to shut up and listen and keep track of all of it, although Clive had that covered…
"But…didn't that all happen hundreds of years ago?"
"Well," Rudy replied with a smile. "Yes, in fact it did." Rudy chuckled, seeing the puzzled look on Jet's face. "Like you, I'm not a normal human." He saw the frown on Jet's face. "I'm…a Holmcross."
"A what?" He asked, the puzzled look on his face plastered there.
"Essentially…half machine, half human. That's the easiest way to narrow it down…" Jet just nodded slowly.
"He was created by my uncle," Florina added in. Jet looked over to the flower girl, swearing that his head was going to explode. "Long ago, Elws coexisted on Filgaia with humans. Using the Guardians powers, they could manipulate nearly every force. With that, my uncle created Rudy as a prototype. The others made after him were destroyed, but my uncle made it a point to hide him."
"So you're an Elw?" Jet asked. Florina nodded with a smile. "I…thought they all died out…"
Her head shook negatively. "The Elws created their own dimension and moved there. However, as atonement for my uncle, my mother was forced to stay on Filgaia. She grew flowers and herbs too. I decided to do the same for Filgaia." A gentle smile crossed her face, recounting her mother the way she did. "And my father is Rudy," she giggled slightly, causing Rudy to simply smile.
This was really getting strange for Jet. Demons, and Holmcrosses…Elws…what the hell did they all matter? Sure, he was created from Filgaia's memories so to speak, but, that didn't mean he wanted to get involved in all this saving-the-world-from-Demons crap again. Hadn't one time already been enough?
"Here's the deal Jet," Alicia interjected, knowing Jet's thoughts without actually reading his mind. "Boomerang's returned. He's not a threat to Filgaia itself, at least directly." Jet folded his arms, his temper building inside of him. "When he was here on Filgaia, Luceid threw his support to Boomerang then to the Elws and Humans. Since then, the Guardian of Desire has recovered himself. But now that Boomerang's returned, he's beginning to waiver. Filgaia's in a state of recovery, losing Luceid's strength can cause serious problems."
He was about to lose it. "And why the hell do I need to know all this?" Jet asked, his death grip tightening on his cowboy hat. Oh, how he wanted to put it back on and leave on Small Devil and just go on ignoring it.
"Because…" Alicia sighed softly, not sure where to begin explaining.
Rudy jumped in for her. "Boomerang is a formidable opponent, and he picks his battles wisely. It's difficult to go after him because of that. If I could, I would fight him, but he won't fight me, since my friends and I already killed him. But…" He trailed for a moment. "I believe that you and your friend Virginia stand a chance in defeating him."
Suddenly his eyes widened in anger. Jet leapt to his feet, his voice echoing through the gardens. "Why the hell are you dragging her into this! She's already going through hell enough, just leave her alone!"
Just as sudden as his spurt of anger, so was the realization of the words that poured from his mouth. He hadn't mentioned her name in a year, yet in the same week he talked about her twice. His eyes roamed around from her cabin, to the field of wildflowers, to the nearby forest. Without making eye contact with anyone, he sat back down, the fire catching his attention.
The worst part about his outburst, he noted, was the fact that the three other…well, oddballs that he was with didn't even seem to notice. They just went on as if it wasn't even important. "Virginia is the descendant of my two companions, Cecilia, the Princess of Adelhyde and Jack, a knight of the Kingdom of Arctica. You hold Luceid's Medium. Surely he'll be interested in fighting the two of you to see your skills."
Jet just sat there, hands clutched to his head.
That had been such an odd twenty-four hours for him. Hearing about the past that somehow had to do with the present. Jet versus Garren…Luceid not giving into Boomerang's lure…Virginia. Oh yeah, that was sort of amusing. Virginia, a princess. Sure, maybe if the damn girl would shut up and chill out for a few minutes… Jet heard the door crack open and then shut a moment after. He didn't move as he felt Alicia sit on the edge of the bed and watched Jet.
Now the choice was his. Rudy and Alicia informed him that if something went haywire with Luceid, it could very easily affect his strength and abilities. Although he lied to himself about it, he was unable to help but be concerned that maybe Boomerang would try to hunt down Virginia. That thought alone made his stomach tie in knots.
But, even if he did decide to head out, where the hell would he start? He had no idea what type of person Virginia was posing as or what she looked like. He had no idea where she was residing. For all he knew the reaper could have already claimed her from Filgaia.
Okay, now that thought was just plain uncool.
Jet's eyes closed for a moment, and Alicia simply watched. He took a deep breath. Maybe, deep down, he sort of missed some of her crazy childish antics. Maybe, just maybe. He sat up suddenly, his eyes meeting Alicia's bright blue ones. "Have you decided?" She asked quietly.
In one swift motion, Jet placed his hat on his head and rose out of the bed. Moving quickly, though not hurriedly, he began gathering his belongings to put into his back. His ARM returned to its holster, attached firmly to his belt. The bag was flung over his shoulder, his guitar following it shortly after. He looked over to Alicia, simply nodding, unable to find words at the moment.
One more kiss could be the best thing,
And one more lie could be the worst.
All these thoughts are never resting.
You're not something I deserve.
Garren walked down the stairs to the small living room where Emilia was sitting, flipping through an ARM magazine. She stood up, slightly puzzled. "Are you all right Garren?" She asked, walking towards him.
Garren sighed softly. "I'm sorry Emilia, but Alicia and I need to leave." He could barely look at her face as soon as he saw the sad expression she wore. "I think it's time that we head back home to face our demons," he explained.
"Well, that is far more important, isn't it?" Emilia smiled softly. "Just promise me you'll take care of yourself Garren."
She could see only his faint smile and his response. "I will, I promise." With that, she leaned up to kiss his lips softly. He returned the kiss, his hand resting gently on her shoulder.
Emilia then turned to Alicia, kneeling down to the small child. The ARMsmith pulled her in for a tight hug. "Y'be a good girl now, all right?"
Alicia put a big childish grin on her face. "Okay!"
Emilia smiled. "Good." She rose back to her feet. She looked at Garren one more time. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Garren replied, walking out with Alicia, leaving Emilia with a tear in her eye.
In my head there's only you now
As this world falls on me.
And in this world there's real and make believe.
This seems real to me.
Once inside the locked cabin of the train, Jet threw the hat down on the other bench. Alicia sat next to him, letting him be alone with his thoughts, which Jet was grateful for.
How the hell did I get into this shit? And how the hell does she have that power on me. She's always been like that. She throws herself into danger, and I'd always run in after her. When she dashed towards Maya in Serpent Coils, I just didn't want to see her get crushed under the boulders. Heh, I don't know why I did that. Clive and Gallows didn't even move as she ran out there.
Jet sighed again. I can't believe I'm doing this. We agreed that we were going to steer clear of each other until our names are cleared. Why the hell did she suggest that anyway? She probably didn't even bother to change her bandages after she left me on the train. He reached for the inside pocket of his denim jacket. Gingerly he removed a beat up piece of paper and a small strip of purple cloth. He read the note over, finding his heart pounding. Had it really been an entire year since he had last seen her? His fingers ran over the purple cloth idly.
You love me, but you don't know who I am.
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand.
And you love me, but you don't know who I am.
So let me go, just let me go.
Thoughts ran through his head at a mile a minute. The train would be arriving in an hour or so, since it was only a short ride to Westwood station from Midland. Once there, he wasn't sure if he would head to Claiborne or to Little Twister, since he really didn't have a lead to either. In fact, he didn't have any sort of leads. If Alicia, Florina, or Rudy had any idea where he should be going, where Virginia was hiding, or where this Boomerang guy was, none of them were spilling the beans, which was frustrating him. At least he knew that she wasn't at Baskar Colony, as he had been there several times in the last year, and for sure she wasn't in Jolly Roger. If he recalled correctly, she did seem to enjoy Claiborne more, but Little Twister may be a safer place to hide. Shaking his head slightly, as if that would shake off the many thoughts in his head, he looked down to his hands, only to find that his fingers had tied the purple cloth into a bow. He snorted slightly, just staring at it.
I dreamed ahead to what I hoped for,
And I turned my back on loving you.
How can this love be a good thing?
I now know what I'm goin' through.
"On the day…Ahahaha!" Holly suddenly burst out laughing, setting the microphone down. Derek stopped in the middle of his chord, his fingers releasing the chord but his right hand still following through, leaving a very odd sound. Echoing through the saloon along with Holly's the laughter caused Angela to raise an eyebrow slightly.
"Are y'sure y'can git this for tonight?" Angela asked, blinking slightly.
Holly stopped laughing before looking up at Derek, then to Angela. "Ah think we can."
"Yes, I do believe if we can make it through the entire song we will be fine. We have the other two down already," Derek said.
"Can't I play tonight?" Romero frowned, sitting at one of the tables.
"Oh, give it up Romero," Janus said, lifting his hand up as if to shrug off his lackey's complaint. "They're leaving in a couple days anyway." Romero just grumbled as Holly and Derek went through the song they co-wrote.
At the end of the song, Holly and Derek bowed while the others in the saloon clapped. Janus stood up and cleared his throat, looking around at the other people in the room before looking at Holly. "And I got an announcement for everyone." A grin came across his face as Holly looked at him slightly puzzled. "Holly and I are getting married."
Cheers echoed throughout the saloon as the couple looked at each other. Though completely shocked, Holly rose, walking to Janus. The couple embraced, and smiles could be found throughout the room.
After a few moments, Holly excused herself to rest for her performance that night. As she bolted up the stairs, her mind screamed out so many things, none of which she could keep track of.
In my head there's only you now
As this world falls on me.
And in this world there's real and make believe.
This seems real to me.
Once she was inside her room, she stood in the middle of the room. Her heart pounded, her eyes darted about nervously. In one sudden motion she fell to her knees, silently sobbing into her hands. Janus had just what? And since when had she agreed to marry him?
True, it was a common tradition for the man involved in a relationship to simply announce to his friends and family, but she had sworn up and down that when she was going to go into a relationship with the possibility of long-term commitment that he would ask her first before simply announcing it. And Janus had the damn audacity to just go and announce it to everyone!
…Well…
That's because Virginia, you are not you…You're Holly.
Her sobs increased in intensity after that one coherent thought. It broke her heart to know that now she was trapped in her situation. There was no backing out of the marriage now, even though he had just announced it. Who knew what possible repercussions could be thrown at her? Especially if the word traveled. Where would she possible go? Her arm never fully healed, and she hadn't fired her ARMs in a year. With her wavering faith and aching heart, she couldn't find a way out. Her eyes snapped open at the realization at how much this whole acting as another character was putting a strain on her.
Wiping her eyes, she crawled across the room to her nightstand. With shaking hands, she slowly pulled the bottom drawer open. Moments later, the red and white clothes were clutched to her chest, her sobbing calming, her heart relaxing.
You love me, but you don't know who I am.
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand.
You love me, but you don't know who I am.
So let me go, just let me go.
Somehow, simply holding pieces of Jet's scarves eased her. It even drew a small smile across her face. It made her remember things, like the night they first met. She remembered looking into his eyes and being intrigued by them. She was reminded of the times he saved her life, and standing there, looking at him sympathetically when he discovered his origins. Yes, she remembered clearly how his the fear in his eyes was replaced by something else. It was a mix of being thankful for her comfort, and finding strength to move on.
The way they used to playfully argue back and forth. Oh, he used to burn her up and get her going to the point where Gallows would have to forcefully drag her away while Clive simply shook his head, obviously amused by the situation. They were at odds about everything.
And yet, down to the nitty gritty, they always knew the exact argument the other was going to use. That always used to confuse Clive and Gallows with the erratic-ness of their shouts. He knew that she would be dreadfully idealistic. She knew that he challenge her every word, even if his argument didn't make any sense. He knew she'd always win every argument, and deep down, she knew that he'd always back her up, no matter what the line came down to.
And that, right then, was when she made the decision she would not abide by the unwanted marriage, and she would spread her wings and traverse across the wasteland again.
No matter how hard I try,
I can't escape these things inside I know, I know.
He was unable to remove his eyes from the purple bow that was sitting in his lap. Not like tying a bow or not made any difference. It wasn't like he could forget her anyway. He hadn't had any dynamic memories aside from her father teaching him how to survive on the wasteland. But still, he was just another reminder that he could never forget her and the affect that she had on him. After all, he never made it a point to rush in if Maya was in danger, and damn if he didn't wait until the last second to save Gallows and Clive from something. It was always her.
He leaned his head back, eyes glancing outside. Most things seemed to lead back to her. Like their debate over who's version of Werner's Camp Stew was better, yeah, she'd always win that. Or how she always found a way to sit next to him at dinner, or on a train. Or how she managed to get hurt at the worst moments so he would wind up carrying her, no matter how much she fussed. And then there was the last time he saw her, when she fell asleep, her head gently resting in the nook of his arm.
His eyes widened for a moment upon the realization that deep down, he did indeed miss being near her. Even though he had become a far more social and mature person in the last year, he felt chunks of him missing. Staring at the ceiling, now he knew why.
When all the pieces fall apart,
You will be the only one who knows, who knows.
Shesaw down in the middle of the room, the skirt of her dress puffed around her. In her hands she still held onto the small pieces of cloth. She still had the looks of a frail barmaid who only knew from Claiborne to Little Twister and nothing else of Filgaia. But awoken in her heart was the will of an idealistic Drifter, who was now plotting a way to get out of a situation she had absent-mindedly gotten herself into.
No, she wasn't going to do anything insane or stupid like rush into the Ark of Destiny and inform the angered believers that she and her teammates were innocent as Janus had predicted she would. But she was going to get out and find Garren. If it really was Jet, chances were that he wouldn't stay in the same place for a long time. Sure, the music here might attract him, but if what Clive and Roykman said were true, then surely she'd be able to find him at any of the saloons in Filgaia. But with her arm in the condition it was, and she was more then likely a bit rusty after not fighting for a year, it wouldn't be a good idea to go out by herself. However, Roykman was leaving early next week. Maybe, just maybe she could ask Clive if they'd wait until early morning so she could go with them. Yes, she could undoubtedly keep the façade on for the weekend and then she would spread her wings again.
You love me but you don't know who I am.
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand.
You love me but you don't know who I am.
So let me go, just let me go.
While Garren and Alicia were setting up camp for the night, Holly was putting on a flawless first performance with Derek as her guitarist and Ian as her drummer. The next day Holly slept in late, much to the disliking of Angela, while Garren and Alicia set off for the day's journey to Little Twister.
You love me but you don't,
You love me but you don't,
You love me but you don't know who I am.
Dusk was beginning to settle over the town of outlaws. Crowds were gathering to the saloon after catching wind of the fantastic performance by the doubling as Janus' new fiancé. Holly stood backstage with Derek, having pre-performance jitters, after agreeing upon their departure date, while Garren and Alicia stepped beneath the sign for Little Twister, tying Small Devil up at the gate. Alicia danced around acting like his little sister while Garren simply tugged at his hat, walking towards the saloon.
You love me but you don't,
You love me but you don't,
You love me but you don't know me…