A/N: Things coming around slowly. I've been busy with exams and all, so :( . I'll try to update whenever I can! Hopefully I'll have more time in the near future. This chapter won't be as comical as usual, but I'm trying to play the story out a bit here.
12:30 P.M – Birthright
"W-w-w-w-w-w-well. I-It sure is c-c-c-cold out here." Clive said through shivers. Nobody had expected Birthright to be as cold as they found it. And nobody had bothered to pack extra clothing. And so, everyone was stuck wearing clothes designed for the heat of Filgaia, while standing in the middle of the snow. "V-Virginia, h-how are you d-doing?"
"I'm fine!" Virginia was still her cheery self, unbelievably unaffected by the cold. If anything, she was so fired up, the snow at her feet looked like it was melting. "What about you Gallows?"
Everyone turned to Gallows, to find a large, man-sized popsicle in his place. Everyone merely sighed. They didn't have their Guardians to help them, they were left with Jet. So, they decided that Gallows was a fairly strong guy, the kind of person who could take a little damage. Everyone raised their ARMs and shot the ice off of Gallows. Finally, after a couple of rounds of ammo, Gallows was released from his icy prison, along with some bullet bruises for souvenirs.
"V-Very funny, g-guys." Gallows said sarcastically.
Iris had instructed them to be dropped off a fair distance away from Eroz's base to avoid being seen. After getting dropped off, Iris left them to be taken to a nearby cottage, where she would prepare their escape. They had about a half hour walk before reaching the place, and then it would be the matter of getting in. They began walking towards the base.
"S-So c-c-c-cold!" Gallows whined.
"Not really." Todd said. Everyone looked over to notice that Todd was perfectly fine. "Well, I AM a well-trained swordsman. Part of the image is to withstand extreme climate, is it not?"
Everyone just rolled their eyes and concentrated on walking.
"Maya, why d-don't you just cast us a spell for some kind of b-barrier?" Alfred suggested.
"W-Worth a shot, I g-guess." Maya pulled out her spell book and her mage outfit. After an awkward moment of turning away as she changed, she was finally ready to try casting something.
"Aleeeetoooorrr…" Maya waved her arms dramatically, deep in concentration. After five minutes of chanting, a large puff of smoke appeared beside her. As it cleared away, they found a double decker tour bus had replaced the empty space. Of course, in Filgaia, it had never been seen before.
"That's… New." Clive commented.
"T-That's also an ugly ride." Gallows stuttered. Maya gave Gallows an offended look, then got on the bus, followed by the rest of the gang.
"You could always walk if you don't like it." Maya growled.
"I-I'll get in, don't have a cow…" Gallows muttered, reluctantly stepping into the bus.
"Well, let's go!" Maya yelled, and sped off towards the castle. Their half hour walk would be cut down to around ten minutes with the new, yet strange vehicle.
12: 33 P.M – Jet's Cell
"Unngh… Really, hitting me on the head and knocking me out is getting old." Jet woke once more in his cell, a new bruise on his forehead. Lying on the floor, he gently caressed his wound.He had a splitting headache. "Man, if Virginia was here, I bet she'd have some aspirin or something for me… Hmm, I wonder how Virginia is doing… I mean Virginia and the others, not like I have some kind of special affection toward Virginia or something…" Jet began to blush. "Dammit! Even when she's not around, she still bothers me! ARGH!"
Jet's tantrum was halted when he heard the door of his cell open.
"You. Up. Now." It was Two, the tall, American-sounding man. He stood above Jet and pulled him up with ease. "Eroz would like you to eat with him." Jet looked at him with surprise.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Here, put this on, it's going to be a formal party." Two handed Jet a neat suit, the kind worn to fancy parties. Jet looked at it uncertainly.
"You're… Kidding, right?" the look on Two's face clearly showed he was not kidding. Jet sighed, and grabbed the suit. This would be a good opportunity to find a way out, so he decided to play along. Jet dressed himself, while Two flicked through a small novel about the Elws. Jet came out looking snazzy in the well-fitting suit. Jet felt like an idiot however. "Never thought I'd wear one of these. This sucks." Jet groaned. He always saw guys in suits who thought so highly of themselves, so Jet hated suits.
When Jet was ready, Two led Jet outside and they entered the main castle building. The cell had been a separate building altogether from the actual castle. Jet and Two went inside, and after going through a few doors and corridors, came to the main hall. Jet was surprised to see there was something of a party going on. The hall was littered with many people enjoying the food and dancing.
"You are free to roam around and socialize until the meal begins. Don't even think of escaping though, I'll be watching you." Two bowed and took his leave, leaving Jet to wander alone.
"Wow, didn't think so many people would come to a place in the middle of nowhere." Jet felt his stomach rumble, and remembered he hadn't had a good meal for some time. He made a beeline for the buffet, and proceeded to pig out. "Mm, not bad," Jet thought to himself.
After filling himself up, he got down to business. He looked around, trying to find an exit of some sort. The exits were guarded, obviously, and he wasn't exactly equipped to deal with them. If he wanted out, he would need his stuff. Which he happened to see sitting in a small tray, on a large table. Knowing that it wouldn't be that easy, he saw who was sitting at the table and groaned. It was Eroz, Two, and Three.
"Damn." Jet cursed silently. The music stopped, and everyone began taking their seats. A nearby guard ushered Jet towards Eroz's table, and pulled a seat out for him. Jet sat down cautiously, expecting a trap of some sort. The guard left him without another word, however. Eroz smiled at Jet.
"Good evening, Zero! I hope you're enjoying yourself!" he held out a goblet in front of Jet. "Some wine?"
"No." Jet said plainly. Eroz shrugged and took a sip.
"Your loss. It truly is good wine." He set the cup down as food was placed onto the table.
"Ah, here are our dinners! I hope you like it!" Eroz cut a piece of steak and ate it.
"Look, I know you didn't drag me up here just to give me some of your damn food. What do you want?" Jet folded his arms and kicked the chair onto two legs. Eroz looked at him seriously.
"Very well. Let's cut to the chase." He picked up Jet's glove from the tray, the Lance. "Where did you get this?"
"What's it to ya?" Jet scowled.
"This is ancient technology, Guardian craftsmanship. The Lance of Animation." Eroz slipped the glove onto his hand. "The ultimate weapon for fighting androids because it doesn't concentrate on killing an opponent, it drains the life out of them, until they're nothing more than old men. Or," he tensed his fist. "Until an android runs out of power." He unclenched his fist and took the glove off, throwing it to Jet. "Tell me, Zero. Why would an android hold the one thing that can kill him? The one thing that can kill other androids?"
Jet stood silent, staring at the glove. The way Eroz explained it made him think about why he was doing this. After all, Jet was an android himself. He understood Eroz and the others in a way no one else would, and they him.
"You don't know, do you?" Eroz picked up the tray of Jet's belongings next to him and put it in front of Jet. "Honestly, androids always do what they're told. It was such a pain. Life sucked for us, Zero. The Guardians made us to fight. We were never meant for fun, peace, love. We were never meant to be happy. Then you stood against them, led us to battle against them. You cut off our chains, freed us from taking orders. You were the only one who could do that. Do you want to know why?"
Jet knew he shouldn't listen to him, but something kept him hanging on. Something told him that he knew this was true. He found himself subconsciously nodding. Eroz smiled, happy that Jet was listening.
"When they were designing us, they needed a prototype. And so, 'project Zero' began. They threw in every idea they had – strong, fast, quick thinking - the works. After planning the greatest super-soldier, they made the first one. That was you. They studied you, your abilities and loyalty. They find the results to be amazing. You were stronger than the Guardians themselves. And so, they decided that they would lessen the power dramatically, to ensure there would be no dangers. I was made next, you know? I'm One, but I prefer Eroz. Then they made Two, Three, and so on up to thirteen. However, after that, they locked you away. They tried to bind you until they could finish designing a weapon to destroy us in things went out of hand."
"And they made the Lance…" Jet said.
"Yes, but they didn't finish it in time. You managed to escape the prison, and gathered the Fallen, but back then, we were called the Bullets of the Guardians. And so, we fought the Guardians. Partly for freedom, partly because we enjoy the fight. But there was another reason. The reason that even YOU, the android born with free will, chose to fight them."
"And what would that be?" Jet asked. Eroz looked into Jet's eyes.
"They made us to fight for them against humans and Elws. In the past, there was a conflict, and a war began. The Guardians themselves could only fight for so long on the physical plane, so they made us to fight in their place. This was when you started to show signs of revolting. The rest of us were still bound under the laws of obeying, but you never were. You told the Guardians that we should find a better way to solve this, and they disagreed, and confined you for going against them. That's why you fought them, you wanted to save the humans and Elws." Eroz took a sip of wine. Jet took a moment to take everything in. His views on the Fallen and everything were warped into confusion.
"That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain why you're doing what you're doing now. Aren't you trying to kill everything alive? Not only the Guardians, but even Filgaia and everyone!?" Eroz looked at him contemplatively.
"Am I?" He said mysteriously. "If that was all, I would've done it by now."
Jet was about to ask another question, when suddenly a loud crash was heard outside. The guards began running outside, the guests squabbling like children. Eroz, Two, and Three were surprisingly calm about the matter.
"It seems your friends have arrived. You shouldn't keep them waiting." Eroz looked at Two. "Open the portal."
Two nodded, and clicked his fingers. A small, area behind them lit up, a green glow emanating from the floor. Three stepped in first, turning into a beam of energy and flying into the sky, breaking a hole into the roof. Rocks came crashing everywhere. Two went in next. Then, as Eroz was stepping in, he turned back to Jet.
"If you want to find out the truth about the Bullets of the Guardians and yourself, find the Guard of Guardians. It's a book that has the entire history of our creation. I heard humans found it and put it in a museum or something." Before Jet could ask for more information, Eroz jumped into the portal, flying off. The portal disappeared, leaving Jet in the crumbling castle. The place was falling apart, and the guests had all up and left.
"Dammit, this always happens to me! The only difference is I only have to worry about my own ass!" the bus zoomed in through one of the doorways, screeching to a halt in front of Jet. Gallows was seen on top, randomly shooting with a macho pose. However, he seemed to be shooting nothing in particular. "What in Filgaia's name is this thing?"
"Just shut up and get on!" Maya yelled at him. After watching a piece of the ceiling fall next to him, he didn't have to be told twice. He jumped on, and they sped out.
Just as they made it past the last gate, the castle was in pieces. The zoomed off into the distance, heading for the hut. Jet stared at the castle. Now, he was more confused than ever.
4:00 P.M – The Hut
Jet and company had reached a small hut covered in snow. Jet had gotten changed into his usual gear (but not before everyone had a good laugh at Jet in a suit) and felt a lot more complete with his ARM back. The bus stopped nearby, and after everyone piled out, the bus disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Good to have you back, Jet." Clive patted Jet on the back.
"Here, here, punk! Still, you look like shit!" Gallows laughed, also throwing his arm around Jet. Clive whispered into Jet's ear.
"You better talk to Virginia and tell her you're okay, she was really worried about you." Clive winked at him, and Jet broke into a blush.
"W-Whatever!" Jet scowled, and looked away from him. Everyone laughed.
"That's our Jet!"
They stepped into the hut, where they found Iris having some tea. When she saw Jet, her eyes lit up.
"Jet! It's been so long!" she made to jump and hug him, but Virginia had swiftly pulled Jet out of the way, causing Iris to hit the floor.
"Don't even think about it!" Virginia scolded. Jet gave her a funny look, then Virginia added "I mean, he's had a rough time. At least check him over first."
"Meh, don't worry about it, I'm fine." Jet shrugged the idea away. "Actually, I've got something I gotta do right now." Jet was making for the door. Maya nudged Virginia, and Virginia jumped and ran to the door.
"W-Wait a minute! Where are you going? We just got you back!" Virginia didn't want him to leave again.
"I wasn't the only prisoner there. A girl was there. I've gotta find her." Iris suddenly lit up.
"Is she about this tall, long red hair?" Jet looked at her in surprise.
"Yeah… But how…?"
"I found her wandering outside. She fainted, and I took her inside. Besides," Iris began hugging herself. "She was so cute, and I couldn't bear to leave such an adorable girl on her own!" Everyone looked at her nervously.
"This woman… Is strange." Todd whispered to Maya.
"Tell me about it…" Maya rolled her eyes. Jet walked up to Iris and asked her about Karen.
"Where is she? Is she okay?" Iris nodded.
"She's in the bedroom resting. She should be fine after having some rest, and I suggest you all do the same. It's been a long day. Tomorrow morning, we'll leave. There are enough beds for everyone in the bedroom, but we'll all have to share. Except for Jet, he can sleep with me!" Everyone chose to ignore the last part, and they all went in to go to bed. But everyone went to see their new roommate first.
The gang stood above the sleeping Karen, who was innocently dozing away. She was around the same age as Virginia, but looked much younger. Everyone found her to be very cute."What's her name?" Alfred asked.
"Karen." Jet replied. "I'm going to bed. I'm tired." Jet made his way for one of the beds, he chose the one in the corner.
"Jet!" Virginia tried to make her way to him, but Clive stopped her.
"Let him rest. Who knows what he went through in there." Virginia reluctantly agreed, and everyone got into their beds.
11:54 P.M – The Hut
Jet couldn't sleep. He only got a few hours in, but in the end, he was thinking too hard.
"Dammit." He mumbled. He got out of bed and went into the living room, taking a seat at the table. "Who the hell are Eroz and the Fallen? Who the hell am I? Dammit!" Jet grabbed his head. "Why me?"
"Jet…" Virginia's head poked out of the bedroom door.
"Virginia?" Jet said in surprise. "It's late, shouldn't you sleep?" Virginia giggled slightly.
"I didn't know you cared so much, Jet!" she teased. Jet went red.
"I-I'm just saying! Jeez, whatever." Jet pouted. Virginia took a seat next to Jet.
"I… I was really worried about you, Jet."
"Why would you worry about me?"
"Because! Because… You're part of the team. You're my friend Jet. Of course I'm going to worry."
"Dammit…" Jet banged his head on the table. "Why… I don't deserve to be cared for, besides, I'm an android! I'm not even friggin' human!"
"Don't talk like that Jet! Sure, you're not human, but I still care about you, just like everyone else! You're not just an android. You are Jet! And Jet is an amazing person that we all care for!"
Jet sighed. He looked at Virginia with weary eyes. "You know, you really can be silly sometimes." Virginia wasn't certain because of the darkness, but she could barely make out Jet smiling. Little did she know that Jet also had tears forming in his eyes. They stayed at the table all night, eventually falling asleep on it.
"It's nice to have you back, Jet." Clive was peeking in at the doorway. "She's had to be really strong without you. And I'm sure you had to be strong too. Even if you're too stubborn to say it!" he took out some blankets and put it over them before heading back to bed.
MIDNIGHT
END CHAPTER 8
NEXT CHAPTER!
Jet and company head back to Oasis Inn, where they regroup at Iris' place. They try to find out more about the mysterious Guard of Guardians. Their info leads them to a national museum that guards the greatest treasures of Filgaia! Only problem is, it's been taken over by a group of magicians! What will Jet do???