Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to AnimeGoddessS, thanks again! Well, this chapter probably would've taken a lot longer, but I decided to put some effort into getting this one done. I hope I can get another one done soon, but as usual, no promises.
7:30 A.M – Gallows' House
Jet slurred to reality in a daze, his head spinning out of control. His body ached all over, and he smelt like rotten fish.
"Oh God…" he moaned, trying to open his eyes and shielding them from the light pouring in from the windows. He gave up and closed them again, letting his arm flop over to his side. "Huh… Jiggly…" Jet mumbled as his hand landed on a soft mound. He poked it in wonder, trying to work out what it was.
"Nnngh… Ah…" a girl's voice squeaked. Jet glanced in pain at what made the sound, and jumped in shock so fast that all the blood in his head went down, momentarily dazing him. It turned out that the soft mound had belonged to Virginia, who had been passed out next to him.
"I'm sorry!" he almost yelled, cringing in fear of what she might've done if she were awake. He remembered she was asleep and calmed down. "Gosh, I need some air…"
7:59 A.M – Baskar Colony
Jet lay just outside the entrance to the Colony, breathing in fresh air and enjoying the breeze of the wind. He felt a little out of it due to the alcohol, but was coping fairly well.
"I never want to drink again," he said to himself, clutching his grumbling stomach. "I do however, want to eat…"
"Heh, androids like us can live without food for months on end, did you know that?" a familiar, steely voice called from behind him. Jet spun around, reaching for his ARM, only to find that he had forgot to bring it with him. He stepped back into a defensive position, guarding himself with his arms in caution.
"What the hell are you doing here, Eroz?" he said, watching him carefully.
"Tut tut, Zero! I hoped we could've talked with a more... casual outlook," he smiled icily.
"Why don't you have a casual outlook on this!" Jet yelled, charging at him. He jumped up and tried to land a kick on him, but Eroz simply sighed, grabbing Jet's leg, thumping him to the ground, and placing his foot over his face. Eroz bent down to look at Jet's face.
"What a pitiful thing to see… Look at you! Writhing about like a worm. I'll bet it was the influence of those weirdos you're always around. Maybe I should do you a favor and 'take care' of them…" he whispered to Jet evilly.
"You leave them out of this, you sick bastard!" Jet struggled to free himself, but Eroz would just push down harder on his head, to the point that it felt like he was going to burst. Eroz tossed down a small envelope by Jet's face.
"I may leave them alone, but you have to do something for me. You scratch my back, and… I don't completely obliterate yours, as the saying goes!"
Jet felt the pressure on his head disappear. He jumped up, eyes darting around, but Eroz had disappeared. Jet rubbed the side of his head, swollen from Eroz's weight.
"Damn that guy…" Jet cursed, picking up the envelope. Ripping it open, he found a small folded letter. Jet's eyes narrowed. "He has got to be kidding."
9:00 A.M – Gallows' House
Virginia was finally slurring to consciousness. Her head was spinning, her back hurt, and her eyes burned from last night's party. Half-heartedly trying to get up, she eventually gave up and fell back down.
"Uhh, Jet, you awake?" she said with her eyes closed. A minute of silence passed. "Hm, guess not."
Suddenly a lot of thrashing about was heard, and Clive rushed in, shouting frantically.
"Ahh, what's all this noise about?" Maya said groggily.
"It's Jet! He's left again!"
Everyone suddenly shot up.
"WHAAAAAT?"
9:04 A.M – Gallows' House
'I've had some business to take care of. Don't try to find me. –Jet.'
That was all his letter had said. The only thing Jet had left behind before once again disappearing without a trace. Gallows, Clive, Virginia, Maya, Karen, and Iris all sat together. Clive had just finished reading the letter out for the third time by Virginia's request.
"I'm sure he must've left some kind of hidden message in it somewhere!" Virginia stuttered. "He must have!"
Clive sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Virginia, but no matter how you look at this letter, it only says that Jet has once again left."
Everyone on the table went quiet. Suddenly, Halle had entered the room.
"Ahh, I always enjoy my morning stroll…" she stopped dead when she noticed everyone looking serious. "Hmm, let me have a guess now… Jet's run off again, hasn't he?"
Everyone looked up at her in surprise.
"H-How did you do that?" Clive asked, bewildered.
"Well, let's say having a son run out on you gives you a kind of sense for it," she stated before smacking Gallows in the back of the head.
"OW! What?"
"Anyway, don't fret, kids. I have a feeling that something like this might happen. Don't worry, Jet hasn't run away from you all. In fact, I'd guess this is his way of protecting us," Halle sighed and took a seat.
"Protecting us?" Gallows asked. "How the hell does running away protect us?"
"I found this note on my walk. It wasn't directly addressed to Jet, but I doubt it was for anyone else."
Halle took out a scrunched piece of paper and tossed it onto the table. Everyone reached out to grab it at the same time, and after a fleet of embarrassment, Clive picked up the paper and read it out aloud.
'In the outskirts of Gunner's Heaven is a secret fighting arena underground. Find the hatch, and use the password 'Broken Dreams' to unlock the door. Come alone, or we'll kill all your friends.'
"That's all it says," Clive said, lowering the paper and looking up at everyone.
"What the heck does this mean…" Maya said to herself. Virginia jumped up to take initiative.
"Let's go to Gunner's Heaven and find this place!" she yelled.
"We shouldn't be so hasty Virgi-"
"I SAID LET'S GO TO GUNNER'S HEAVEN!"
"O-Okay!" everyone yelled in fear.
9:30 A.M – Warrior's Heaven
"What the hell is this place…" Jet said in awe.
After spending almost an hour looking for the hatch, he finally arrived at the secret fighting arena, Warrior's Heaven. While similar to Gunner's Heaven, Jet had seen that everyone in the ring fought with a variety of weapons – swords, lances, knives, poles – but not one fought with an ARM. Jet had assumed that it was an arena that banned the use of ARMs.
"Good thing I brought that sword Clive got me, just in case," Jet said, patting the sword strapped to his back. After mentioning Clive's name, he thought about how his former comrades were doing. Realizing what he was thinking about, he shook it off and headed for a counter labeled 'Information'.
"What can I do you for, sugar?" asked a cabaret-esque woman wearing heavy makeup.
"Uhh, Eroz sent me an invitation for this place," Jet said.
"Oh, you must be that Zero boy. He left this for you," she procured a note and slipped it to him. Jet picked it up and unfolded it.
'I've entered you in the tournament. You're alias will be 'Wolf'. Head for the waiting room, where I've left a disguise for you. Nobody can find out who you are. If you survive and win the finals, I'll disappear and leave you to your new life as Jet. However, if you lose or are discovered, your friends will die. Your goal is to win the grand prize, which you shall hand over to me. Good luck, Commander Zero, or should I say, Wolf?'
"Well, what a warm welcome," Jet murmured, slipping the piece of paper in his pocket. "Hey, tell me where the waiting room is."
11:00 A.M – Warrior's Heaven
"This must be it," Clive called out. He keyed in the password on the lock, and the door opened with a hiss.
"Good work, Clive!" Virginia called. Everyone filed in, the hatch closing behind them.
The group was made up of Virginia, Gallows, Clive, and Maya. Iris and Karen were told to wait with Lombardia, as it would be dangerous.
"This sure is some place," Gallows said with a whistle.
"It appears to be some kind of arena," Clive pondered. "It's very old-fashioned, though."
"What makes you say that?" Gallows asked.
"As you'd have noticed in Gunner's Heaven, essentially we fight monsters in a fairly open environment with our ARMs. With all the staff to keep watch, the death rate isn't very high. However, out here, the rules are different. You fight with other human beings, without the use of ARMs from the look of it, and it takes place in a cage. Nobody can go in to help you if you're seriously injured, and I assume the match doesn't end until somebody dies."
Everyone looked grimly at Clive. Maya broke the silence. "We better hurry and find Jet then, before he does something stupid like enter this contest."
Before any of them could move, a horde of people came bustling in from the hatch, chatting loudly.
"I heard there's a new contestant coming!"
"No way, where'd you hear that?"
"It's the only thing the Fallen are talking about! This new guy must be strong!"
"Maybe he'll be a real looker!"
"Let's go, I think his match is on soon!"
The crowd bustled right into Virginia and the gang, who were inadvertently dragged with them.
11:20 A.M – Warrior's Heaven
"Urghh, I fell sick…" Gallows moped. "That was like getting on a boat ride or something."
The group had found themselves sitting in the stands along with the group that had shoved them in.
"What do we do now?" Maya whispered to Virginia. "We've gotta find Jet!"
"I know, I know…" Virginia muttered back. The two girls closed their eyes and thought.
"Hey, hey, the fight's starting, it's that new guy!"
Cheers filled the room as the next contestants entered the cage. One was a extremely large man wearing a hockey mask and wrestling tights. The other wore a completely black outfit, with a balaclava covering most of his features. The only things you could make out with effort were his eyes and a glint of grayish hair slipping out of the balaclava. Strapped to his back was a sword that seemed strangely familiar to Clive.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" announced the host. "Entering from the left, the one and only Cannonball! In the last competition he came in second place, and this time, he plans to head to the top!"
The audience cheered and echoed his name. Virginia and the gang weren't very impressed, in fact, Gallows could be seen trying not to laugh.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Maya asked in annoyance.
"Oh come on!" he sniggered. "Look at him! He looks like a loser!" Gallows said before finally breaking out into a laugh. The crowd looked at him with irritation in their eyes.
"Um, girls, I think it's best we step back a bit," Clive said, ushering them away from Gallows as the crowds leapt onto him, beating him with chairs, baseball bats, sausages, whatever they could get their hands on. Gallows' pleas for help were ignored by the gang, as they pretended not to know him.
"And entering from the right is a newcomer to Warrior's Heaven! The man in black, Wolf! I feel sorry for him, since his first opponent happens to be a pro! What will come of this match? Watch and find out!"
Jeers and boos were heard in the crowd.
"You're going to get pounded by the Cannonball!"
"Whatcha got, little boy?"
"Why don't you run home to mommy, kid!"
Virginia looked at the masked stranger, who stood silent. 'That guy… what is this feeling?"
"Get ready to feel pain, kid!" Cannonball taunted his opponent.
Wolf merely looked at him with evil eyes, giving Cannonball a moment of nervousness.
"Seal the cage!" the host yelled. The cage doors on either side slid to a shut, locking in the two warriors.
"Let the match begin!"
END CHAPTER 14
NEXT TIME
Virginia
and the gang are on the lookout for Jet, who they think might have
entered the tournament. Their suspicions are cleared when they see him
on the battlefield! But why does Virginia feel that someting about him
isn't quite right? And why is she finding her eyes locking onto this
Wolf character? And what about Gallows, is he even still alive after
that?