12:00 P.M – Underneath the Virgo
"Do you think you can handle our minb-numbing calculations?" one of the robed 'mathemagicians' called out.
"My God, this has to be the stupidest thing I've ever seen." Jet moaned. Gallows rammed Jet's leg in his mini-seizure, causing Jet to stumble a bit. "Correction, second stupidest. Gallows will always be the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Hey, do we really have to fight these clowns?" he asked Virginia.
"I guess so. But they don't look battle material, maybe we shouldn't…" Virginia didn't want to fight if there was no need to.
"Will you feeble-minded buffoons stop squabbling like a bunch of miscreants and leave while you still can?" the mathemagicians called out.
"Oh that's fresh. A bunch of nerdy scientist-wannabes telling us to leave while we still can. In case you didn't know, we've fought much scarier things than a bunch of guys that can count." Jet said, pointing his ARM at them. "Now beat it."
"Tsk tsk. That's more or less what we have to expect from simpletons such as yourselves. Always resorting to violence. How about playing this by our rules?"
"How about I blow a hole through your heads? How about I let you calculate the number of holes I can make in three seconds?"
"Wait Jet." Clive pulled Jet's ARM down. "Let's hear them out. I think I speak for us all when I say that fighting them our way would just be… an embarrassing title to put on ourselves, if you know what I mean."
"I agree with Clive, Jet. I don't want to fight if they won't fight back. Let's just see what they want."
"Grr…" Jet always had trouble refusing Virginia. In fact, he was about to let loose before Virginia said anything. "Fine, whatever. We'll win no matter what they try."
"We'll see about that! This battle will be all about maths!" they started chattering like a large fangroup in a sci-fi convention (A/N: Not that there's anything wrong with liking sci-fi, it's just an example).
The drifters stared at them blankly. Gallows had returned to normal at this point, and after looking at the others, started staring with them.
"What, is something there? What? What did I miss?"
"You don't want to know." Clive whispered to him. "Shall we accept their challenge, Virginia?"
"Well, I guess we should. You think you could take this one, Clive?"
Clive's faced lit up with a smirk. "Of course I can! I'll make short work of them."
"Okay, we accept your challenge!" Virginia announced. "So how will this battle work?"
"It's very simple." One of them said, removing a small computer from under his robe and setting it up in the middle of the room. "This computer will call out a mathematical problem for each of us in turn, which ranges from simple multiplications to more advanced surd problems and such. No one is to help the selected candidate for the battle, however you may substitute them during the round as you see fit. The first to get one wrong loses. Do you understand?"
"Well, not really."
"Sigh, you'll understand when we start. Activate the math computer!"
The computer buzzed to life, the screen flashing 'Math-puter'. Suddenly a voice came out of it.
"Would the contestants please step up and announce their team name."
One of the robed men stepped forward. "Team Trigonometry!"
"Team locked in. Next contestant, please announce team name."
Clive followed suit. "Team ARMs."
"Team locked in. Battle commencing. Team Trigonometry. What is the sum of the angles of a triangle?"
"180 degrees!" he called triumphantly.
"Correct. Team ARMS. What is the conversion of grams into kilograms?"
"1 gram equals 100 kilograms." Clive called out.
"Correct."
"Man, this could take awhile." Jet thought out aloud.
2:40 P.M – Same Place
"Any threes?" Jet asked.
"Go fish." Gallows replied.
"Guys, can't you be a little more supportive for Clive right now?" Virginia said. Jet and Gallows were sitting on the stone floor playing go fish, while Virginia stood over them menacingly.
"Not everyone has limitless amounts of energy like you. Besides, they've been going for ages now." Jet said as he took some aces off Gallows.
Clive and the mathemagicians looked as though they had been running a marathon. Beads of sweat trickled down their face, taking deep breaths. Clive had been at a disadvantage, the rest of them could switch places every once in awhile, while Clive had to go through it all on his own. Finally a final question came up for the mathemagicians.
"What is the sum of infinity plus one?"
"That is… Infinity… Plus… One…" he panted without thinking.
"Incorrect. Team ARMs wins." The robed men gasped in horror.
"How? How could we lose? No!" They whined.
"Now that we have won… Step aside." Clive panted.
"No! Never! We'll go down fighting!" he yelled. They all started doing their hand gestures again, this time aimed at Clive.
"Uh oh." Clive jumped out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, Jet was sitting right behind him.
"What the-" Jet started moving uncontrollably. "My body!" Jet's body was standing and moving on its own.
"Amazing, we can control this one with only maths!" they murmured in delight. Virginia went into a fit of rage.
"We won fair and square! Now let Jet go, and go away, you geeks!" The robed men gasped.
"G-Geeks?!? You insolent-! We'll show you!" they started to manipulate Jet, who started walking towards Virginia.
"Virginia, get away!" Jet yelled, trying to hold himself back, but it was no use. His body was moving faster. Virginia backed away slowly, but Jet was catching up fast.
"Jet!" she yelled, as Jet's body tackled her down to the ground.
"A-Are you okay?" Jet said.
"She won't be soon!" the geeks spoke up, giggling. "We'll make you do all kinds of things to her!"
"T-Things?" Jet said. "What kind of things are you freaks planning?!"
"Oh, just a little this and that! Maybe a touch here, a rub over there!" they grinned evilly while Virginia and Jet blush madly.
"A-Are you kidding? I would never do that to Virginia!" Jet yelled, trying to regain control.
"You don't have much choice!"
"Don't worry, I'll get 'em!" Gallows yelled, but he was easily stopped, falling to the floor in a fit again. Clive tried to help, but found the previous 'battle' had left him exhausted.
"Oh well," Clive panted to himself. "I'm sure those two will enjoy it somewhat anyway." He chuckled quietly before falling asleep on the floor.
"J-Jet…" Virginia whispered.
"Ugh!" Jet grunted. His hand was heading for Virginia's wrist, and Jet was trying his best to stop it. However, it slowly found its way onto her. His right hand gave a sharp tug, ripping off her sleeve before it began caressing her skin lightly. Jet couldn't help but go red at the feel of Virginia's soft arm. "S-Sorry! I'm trying to stop!"
"J-Jet…" Virginia whispered, her eyes shut, and her face beet red. "Ah…" Virginia didn't want to admit, but part of her was enjoying it.
Jet's hand started climbing up her arm, onto her shoulder, then to her face. He ran his fingers across her cheek, causing her to shiver.
"Ginny…" Jet whispered, completely forgetting the situation. Inside, something was telling him to stop fighting it, and just enjoy the ride. "I…"
"Mm…" Virginia lips trembled at Jet's touch, sparks tingling down her body. She found that one of her hands had worked itself up to Jet's back, wrapping around him.
"W…Wow…" One of the mathemagicians said. "This… sure is some show…" Blood had begun to slowly trickle down his nose.
Virginia saw this and had an idea. She lifted her head to Jet's ear. "Let's play along with this, I think it can distract them, then we'll be free." Jet went even redder, then nodded his head.
Jet felt his other hand sliding down along Virginia's waist, taking hold of her hip. His face went down right in front of hers, and he looked deep into her eyes.
"Well… This is different." He mumbled. His nose started playing with Virginia's nose, poking it here and there. His left hand started to rub her thigh, causing Virginia to blush even harder.
"J-Jet… Ah…" Virginia's other hand ran through Jet's hair, before holding the side of his neck.
"Heh…." The mathemagicians were all having nosebleeds by now. Little did they know that they had already lost their hold on Jet. Little did Jet and Virginia know, too.
"My hand… It's moving onto your…" Jet blushed even harder, if that's possible. Virginia looked to see his left hand heading down her face, then her neck…
"Oh, Jet… You're so naughty." She said with a playful smile. That drove the mathemagicians crazy. The heat was so much, they passed out. Jet's hand was still moving though. "J-Jet…?"
Jet didn't say anything, still staring into her eyes, still moving his hand down, still-
"Really, you guys pick the sexiest times for this, don'tcha? I bet Jet's really a hardcore player, always going for the hardest times! HAHAHA!" Gallows had recovered, and stood watching Jet on top of Virginia.
"W-What the hell? No, it was the math guys! They were controlling me!" Jet yelled as he got up in a hurry.
"Heh, unless I was mistaken, you were still going even after they passed out." Gallows smiled evilly. "Oh Jet!" he imitated.
"Wha-…I-...You-…Shut up!" Jet said in a fit. "Let's just get the book and go."
Jet stepped up to the pedestal and removed the book. Underneath it, he found that there was a switch, which the book was holding down. Suddenly, the room began to shake, then everything started falling apart.
"WHAT THE HELL, AGAIN WITH THE ROOM BREAKING?!?" Jet yelled, barely dodging a falling part of the ceiling.
"Aw crap!" Gallows yelled.
"Get up, Virginia!" Jet yelled at her. Virginia was still on the ground in something of a daze. "Aw you're kidding me! You! Grab Clive and let's go!"
Gallows scooped the sleeping Clive onto his shoulder, and Jet carried Virginia the way he always did. They made a mad dash for the ladder, and started climbing as fast as they could, which was difficult carrying their two comrades.
After an awkward climb up, they managed to reach the surface of the Virgo, but the building was still collapsing. They got up and ran for the exit. As usual with out team of drifters, they made it out just in time. The Virgo collapsed into a hundred pieces, along with the many artifacts of Filgaia. Gallows and Jet stood watching the new mess they made.
"Dammit, everywhere we go, we just have to break something." Jet sighed.
3:32 – Oasis Inn, Iris' Clinic
"Ah, you're all back." Iris greeted the drifters. They were exhausted, and it was evident in their appearance.
"Yes. Back. Rest. Now." Gallows murmured, dumping Clive's body onto a couch before heading for bed with a yawn.
"Jet!" Karen came running out of the bedroom. She saw Virginia, who was still in Jet's arms (Jet didn't put her down in all the excitement). "Is Virginia okay? She looks a little red."
"Huh?" Jet looked down and saw that not only was he still holding Virginia, but she was staring at him with a blush-filled face. "Why are you still in my arms???"
"Well, you didn't put me down, so…. Yeah." Virginia said, playing with her fingers.
"Umm, okay. I guess I'll put you down now." Jet said in embarrassment. He set her down on her feet, and they took a seat at the table. Karen and Iris joined them.
"Any word from Maya and her group?" Virginia asked.
"Well actually, they did contact us, but it was to tell us that something came up for them, and they'll be back in a few days. Apparently, when they arrived, her parents insisted they stay for Christmas."
"WHAT?" Virginia screamed in shock. "Christmas? Is it time already?"
"Silly girl, it's Christmas tomorrow. Today's Christmas Eve." Iris said matter-of-factly. She then eyed Jet with a lustful expression. "And I've prepared a very, very special present for you, Jet." She purred, causing Jet to go red.
'Ack, I didn't know Christmas was coming!' Virginia thought to herself. 'I guess with all that's been happening I just wasn't paying attention.'
"Mm…" Clive awoke with a start. "Where am I?"
"We're back at Iris' place, sleepy head." Gallows informed him. "And guess what? It's Christmas Eve." A look or horror came on Clive's face.
"Oh no! Catherine's going to kill me if I don't get back!" Clive broke into a massive panic attack, something that wasn't seen often from the cool sniper. Then again, when his wife got mad, things got ugly.
"Yeah, and Granny's gonna be expecting me to show up at home." Gallows said. "What about you Ginny? You going home?"
"Normally I would, but awhile ago they told me they were on a trip for their anniversary, and that they wouldn't be home for Christmas." Virginia said. "What about you, Jet?"
Jet looked at Virginia with a frown. "You forget already? I don't exactly have anywhere to go, and Christmas isn't something I get into." Virginia stood up and scolded Jet.
"Stop being so negative! Christmas is about fun, and I don't know how you spent Christmas before us, but this time you're celebrating with me!" Virginia didn't know what it was like to spend Christmas alone, but she knew it was a painful experience. She didn't want Jet to go through that kind of pain again.
"I dunno, I've never done that kind of thing…" Jet squirmed uncomfortably.
"Just go with it, punk." Gallows slapped him on the back, causing Jet to collapse onto the table in surprise. Gallows leant down and whispered in his ear. "If you do, your little girlfriend might give you a nice present, if ya know what I mean!" he winked. Jet's head filled up with dirty thoughts, causing him to burn up.
"Well, I guess we should get home, Gallows. Let's get on Lombardia." Clive was heading for the door, but turned around. "Will any of you be heading off too?" he asked.
"I don't care where Jet's going, I'm going with him!" Iris squealed, caressing Jet's cheek with her finger, but Virginia pulled a newspaper out of nowhere and struck Iris' hand away with a huff.
"W-What the?" Jet said embarrassed.
"Umm… I'd like to go with Jet too… If that's okay…" Karen said nervously.
"Eh?"
"I guess Jet's really popular this time of year." Clive said. "I guess you'll be following Jet too, Virginia?"
"Of course! I'm going to show him how great Christmas is!" Virginia said, determination burning in her eyes. All three girls were practically latching onto Jet at this point. Iris lying over Jet's back, Karen holding onto one of his sleeves, and Virginia holding Jet's hand while trying to push Iris off him.
Jet was going pink from all the attention. "…W-Whatever." He tried to act like his normal, emotionless self.
"So Jet, where you gonna spend Christmas then?" Gallows asked. Jet looked at him and thought for a moment.
"Don't take this the wrong way but…" Jet started. "I want… to go…." Jet's words became softer.
"What was that?" Gallows asked.
"I wanna go with you!" Jet growled. "I've gotta go there. Crap to do. So don't get the wrong idea." Gallows stared at him for a moment, then burst out in laughter.
"Oh man, I never thought I'd live to see the day that Jet would get a little more loving! So you do care about me! HAHAHA!!!" Gallows ran over and gave Jet a big hug, choking the life out of him.
"Yes, well, not to rush things, but I need to get home as soon as I can. Catherine can be a real handful when she's upset." Clive said, shivering slightly.
"Okay, okay, let's go punk! And you can bring all your girlfriends too!" Gallows yelled with a cheer. "To Lombardia!"
4:54 P.M – Baskar Colony
Lombardia had dropped Clive at Claiborne, and had just arrived at Baskar Colony with Virginia, Jet, Gallows, Iris, and Karen. Lombardia let everyone out, and flew off into the distance.
"Well, let's head on in!" Gallows said. "I've got a hunch that this Christmas Granny might only hit me three times!" he crossed his fingers with a huge grin.
"Three times?" Karen said in confusion.
"It's a long story." Jet sighed.
They arrived in front of Gallows' house, where his little brother Shane was sweeping outside.
"Brother! You made it!" Shane said with glee. Gallows gave him a big bear hug.
"Wassup bro? Merry Christmas!"
"Hmm…" Jet watched on in thought. "Family seems nice," he whispered to himself. He didn't realize, but Virginia had overheard him.
"So where's Granny? In the house?" Gallows asked.
"She's at the temple right now."
"Okay! I'm gonna go see her!" Gallows turned to Jet and the girls, who were all still hanging onto the flustered Jet. "You guys and gals can make yourselves at home inside! I'm just gonna tell Granny what's going on!" and he disappeared down the hall to the temple.
"Well then, let's head on in then!" Virginia exclaimed, leading everyone inside.
The girls and Jet sat at the table waiting for Gallows to return.
"So Jet honey, would you like your present tonight or tomorrow night?" Iris purred at him.
"Stop thinking of such things!" Virginia yelled at her, hitting her with a cushion.
"Oh come now, Ginny dear, it would be a lie to say I'm the only girl in here thinking about Jet like that!" she nudged Virginia playfully. "And what about you Karen? You seem to have taken a liking to Jet too, the way you innocently latch onto him!" Karen looked down at her knees with a pink face.
"Eh?" Jet said in confusion. "What things is she talking about?" Jet asked. The girls stared at him in awe.
"My, isn't that cute? Little Jetty doesn't know about the birds and the bees!" Iris giggled.
"Birds and bees? What the heck are you going on about?"
"It's like… umm…" Virginia tried to explain, but couldn't find the words.
"I could teach you all about it…" Iris smiled passionately.
"I said stop saying that kind of thing!" Virginia screamed.
"Well, it takes a dirty person to know what I'm thinking! Deep down, I bet you're having the exact same thoughts about Jet that I am!" Iris laughed and Virginia started going red.
"I-I would never…"
"Stop lying! You have and you know it! But I don't mind sharing him…" she looked at Karen. "And you could join us if you want." She playfully twisted some of Karen's long hair.
"Ah… I mean… Uh…" Karen said in a daze. Lots of strange thoughts were coming to her after Iris' invitation.
"What are you all talking about?" Jet asked again.
"Hehe, you'll see tomorrow night!" she winked. Gallows came bursting through the door in a hurry, followed by Halle, who was hitting him repeatedly on the head.
"What kind of a moron waits until the middle of Christmas Eve to come home from Christmas? Is there something wrong with that pea-brain of yours?" Halle yelled. She stopped for a moment and turned to Jet and the girls. "Hello dears, it's nice to have you all over for Christmas."
"Hello Granny!" Virginia said happily. "This is Iris and Karen, by the way."
"Nice to meet both of you! Please excuse my idiot grandson, he's slow." She said before whacking Gallows with her stick again.
"Ow! Come on, Granny, where's your Christmas spirit?"
"My Christmas spirit is taking a break after all the stress you put on it!"
"OW!"
"Oh brother…" Jet sulked.
9:30 P.M – The Temple
The whole day was spent with the girls running around to buy presents for tomorrow. Except for Iris, who spent her time working on something in private, no doubt something for Jet. Jet however wasn't sure of how Christmas worked, and Clive had told him before to ensure that he got all the girls presents, so he had asked Halle about what to do. They walked around the temple, which was empty at this time of day.
"Hmm, so you want to know what kind of present to get the girls?" Halle asked.
"I've never worried about stuff like this before, so I don't know what to do. I would've asked Gallows, but something tells me that I shouldn't." Jet answered.
"Well, you did right to ask me instead, I may love Gallows, but honestly, he's a bit loose in the boat." Halle laughed. "Well, let's see. What kind of feeling do you want your present to give?"
"Feeling?"
"Presents have to be chosen depending on the feeling you want it to give."
"I see…"
"So what kind of feeling are you giving? Friendship? Love, perhaps?"
"Uh… I dunno." Jet shrugged in thought. "Argh, this is harder than I thought."
"Do you even know how you feel?"
Jet thought for a moment before answering. "I dunno, I just met Iris and Karen a few days ago, but Virginia is… different. I get these weird fevers and stuff like that when she's around. I think something might be wrong with my body or something. But whenever I feel it, it's kinda… I dunno…"
"Good?" Halle sighed. "It isn't something wrong with your body Jet. You're going through normal things that people always go through."
"Well, whatever. That isn't helping my problem right now."
"Calm down, I have an idea. Follow me."
Halle led Jet outside, and they walked outside town for some distance. They stopped in front of a cave opening.
"Where are we?" Jet asked.
"This is an ancient Guardian temple, but not the kind you've seen so far. This is where the Guardians would pray to the Keeper of Gifts for the perfect present."
"So you're saying you want me to loot this place?"
"Not quite. You see, the keeper still lives there. You have to ask him for a gift, and to get it, you have to pass his test." Halle began walking back to the Colony. "His tests are never easy, and the more feeling a present has to have, the harder the test will be." She then disappeared in the horizon.
"Well, whatever." Jet shrugged, and headed inside.
9:34 P.M – Gallows' House
Virginia had finally finished getting presents, which she got with Lombardia's assistance. Carrying a bag full of wrapped gifts, she took them inside and placed them under a tree Shane had set up earlier. However, she kept one gift with her. The gift had a card that read:
'To Jet, Love Virginia'
"I'll make sure he'll enjoy this Christmas!" Virginia smiled to herself, then got changed and went to bed.
9:35 P.M – Keeper of Gifts
Jet had walked into the small cave to find that it ended rather abruptly at a dead end. The only thing worth noticing in the place was a statue of a man.
"So much for getting a gift outta this craphole." Jet sighed, and began to make his way back out.
"Oi." A voice called out, startling Jet.
"What was that?" Jet looked around for someone, but nobody else was there.
"I'm speaking from the statue. I have lived many years in this statue form ever since I died." Jet walked up to the statue, and felt a strange life coming from it. The voice was surprisingly casual.
"So, are you this keeper?" Jet asked.
"That's me."
"And you can get me a gift?"
"Yep. Just tell me who it's for, Jet, and I will tell you what to do."
Jet was taken aback. "How do you know my name?"
"I know everyone, Jet. It's part of my job."
"Uh right. Anyway I want to get presents for three people."
"And they are?"
"Virginia, Iris, and Karen."
"Hmm… Okay, I got it." The room started to dissolve, shifting away. The dark cave had changed into a dark eternal space, with the only light coming from an unseen source that was pointed at Jet. "To get your gifts, you're going to have to go through a certain trial. It will be extremely painful, and will be very uncomfortable. I assure you, you will not enjoy this."
"Okay…"
"Anyway, depending on how much you are willing to take, the feelings your presents will represent shall be shown. All you have to do is fight the urge to give up as long as you can."
"Whatever."
"Well then, let's begin."
And so, Jet spent the rest of the night facing the psychological and physical endurance tests. (use your imagination for what he'd be going through)
11:45 P.M – The Cave
Jet awoke on the cold, hard floor of the cave with aches and pains along with a headache.
"Urgh…" Jet's head pulsed with pain as he clambered over to the cave wall and rested his back on it.
"The test is over Jet. I must say, not even the Guardians could withstand my test as long as you have. You have earnt these gifts. And since I'm such a nice guy, I even wrapped and labeled them." Jet saw the three gifts sitting in front of the statue. Painstricken, he limped over to the gifts, scooped them up, and headed for the exit.
"Are you okay, dude?' The statue asked.
"I'm always okay." Jet waved without turning around, and disappeared into the night, heading for the Colony. When he got there, it was almost midnight.
MIDNIGHT
END CHAPTER 10
A/N: It's that time of year again, so I thought why not make it that time of year in the fic too? So to everyone who reads my work, thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas! (or for non-Christians, happy… er… whatever it is you celebrate!)
NEXT CHAPTER!
It's Christmas! A time for presents, sharing, and family! But for Jet, it's a day of girl problems, alcohol, snow games(damn straight there's gonna be snow), alcohol, learning how to get into 'Christmas spirit', and alcohol! But one question – when will they remember they should be saving the world?