10 - Enter Jack

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: this first post is written from the perspective of Jack's sister, Celica)

Another note. He’s always pulling this kind of crap on me…

I hastily folded the note in halves. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

I wanted him home.

---

I crept up the stairs of this rotting wood box that barely qualifies as a house. The floorboards had been warped and cracked. Every where were rusted nails and splinters to snag your elbow on. Nothing worked… turning off one light meant another light went out. Certainly not my idea of a dream home, but oddly enough… it grows on you after a wile.

I had been living here for about a year now. After the first week, I didn’t miss TV.

But why should I care about TV? I mean, according to Jack, TV is nothing more than a social control mechanism, ingeniously designed to hypnotize the conscious minds of the people with emotionally captivating stories, then send hundreds of messages to their open subliminal minds…

*Sigh* I wish I didn’t know these things sometimes…

He always tried to make a difference in our lives, going out and fighting these causes, but he doesn’t need to… We could have everything we wanted, but he refuses to let go… of that day…

---

I felt the rain pick up as I got further up the stairs. This house had holes everywhere…

I sat down in a room we appropriately nicknamed the “observatory”, due to the gaping hole in the wall. The full moon shone freely from the hole, illuminating hole shaped shadows on the walls opposite. From here I could look out onto the entire city. I almost felt as if I could see him from anywhere… Occasionally, I hear loud engines running off in the distance, and somehow, I just know that he’s still out there, alive…

I didn’t want to read that note, but I had to know what was going on. A part of me keeps hoping that this will be the “last one” he keeps mentioning.


Its hard to deal with, I know. But you can’t let it anger you anymore. Whats done has been done. Move on… for both of us…


I unfolded the note and began to skim it under the light of the moon. It was beginning to get soaked, but for the most part, was still intelligible. I took a deep breath and read on…

Celica…

[SqiKy kLeen]

Celica,

Sorry I rushed out on you like that again, but it was extremely important. I’ve heard there’s going to be a big shipment tonight, the kind, which, if we intercept, will finally allow us to strike back! We aren’t sure what this thing is yet, but it’s rumored it could be some sort of weapon. My guy didn’t have many details, but I can trust his info. Its important that we make our strike tonight, otherwise we may not get another chance!

Think about it, this could finally be it! We could finally be free from living in a world of oppression, where the people are farmed for cash like sheep. We could live in a world not obsessed with materialism and power. We could go back to a simpler time, a beautiful time… both of us.

Promise me you’ll stay safe. The last thing I want is you getting involved in this thing. If I make it back, we ca finally be free. This will be the last one, I promise…


Jack

-I will alway……….




The rest of the note was too soaked to read from there.

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: Just for visual reference, I've enclosed a pic of the members of Jack's rebel group. img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/sqiky_kleen/gang.jpg)



Jack looked out on the endlessly sprawling cityscape of Midgar from behind the Midtown Convenience Store. It was a predictably dreary night, typical of a huge city like this. The stars were blocked out by hundreds of light sources scattered throughout the city. A thin smog hung in the air, as did that all-too familiar smell of smoke stacks, exhaust, and hard liquor. At every street corner, Jack could see evidence of corruption. Just down the street, a homeless man was being beaten by a group of thugs. Even further down, a scantily clad lady bent over into an open car window, discussing her terms of business with her next client.

The things people do to get ahead in this world…

Jack continued to look out to into the city, taking in every detail as he awaited the arrival of his crew.

Is it any wonder why our society is so corrupt?, Jack thought to himself. Everywhere are advertisements for products and services that continually promise a better life. Yet our society is structured to reinforce the very problems we are constantly complaining about! It’s a social control mechanism. The money and resources that are currently being used to suppress the people and further the development of the police state could easily be diverted to solve all our problems. But there’s simply no money to be made in that equation.

It’s the classic double-standard. Say one thing, do something different.

As Jack continued to look upon the city, he found himself lost in his own ranting thought again. He interrupted his train of thought with something a bit more positive.

But it won’t stay like this. I REFUSE to let this kind of oppression continue. Celica doesn’t deserve a life like this. Nobody does…

His thoughts were interrupted as eyes stopped on a particular billboard advertising the new Hobbes Klein perfume line. He cracked a small smile as he took note of the graffiti adorning the ad. He was quite proud of his handy work in this particular case.



He then shifted his attention from the city to the sound of a roaring engine off in the distance. As it got closer, his hopes were confirmed. That sound was unmistakable. It was the sound of a Boltec R-53 motorbike. Nix’s personal motorcycle.

Nix roared into the parking lot, aggressively slamming on his brakes and throwing down his kickstand in his own typically dramatic style. Jack and Nix hopped of their motorcycles and greeted each other.

Jack: “Nix, you made it.”

Nix: “What goin’ on, buddy?”

Jack and Nix did a ritual handshake then patted each other on the back.

Nix: “No seriously man, why the late call? Is everything alright?”

Jack: “I’ll explain when everybody gets here. You know how I hate repeating myself. Did you bring your gear?”

Nix: “Yeah, it’s all here. I’m set. Just gotta check over my bike real quick. Say, where’s everybody else? I’ve got the right time don’t I?”

Jack: “They’re probably just being fashionably late as usual.”

Nix: “Yeah, you’ve gotta keep your date waiting at least a little bit, am I right?”

Jack: “Oh, shut up.”

Just then the rest of the crew pulled in. The sound of the engines drowned everything in the surrounding area. Shiki, Yuz, and Shem killed their engines one by one and hopped off their motorcycles to greet the other guys.

Jack: “So you’re all here, FINALLY.”

Yuz: “What kind of greeting is that? I was enjoying a nice nap until you called!”

Shem: “Yeah, what gives man?”

Jack: “Would you guys just relax already? You know I wouldn’t have called you up this late if it wasn’t important.”

Jack shuffled through the side pack on his motorcycle and pulled out the day’s newspaper.

Jack: “I don’t suppose any of you read today’s paper.”

Shem: “Come on, you know I don’t read that Senate propaganda horse crap.”

Jack: “Normally, neither do I. But I found this one lying open on the side of the road. Normally, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance, but there was a particular article that caught my eye this time. You guys aren’t going to like it, but I think it’s something you all need to see…”

Jack paged through the paper until he landed on the obituaries. He folded it over and skimmed the text until he found the right article. One of his best friends, a former member of his crew, and the crew’s internal intelligence guy, Ereki, was killed yesterday, cause of death unknown.

Jack knew what this meant. When the cause of death is unknown, it most likely means that he or she had been killed by the Senate. He held his finger on the article and displayed it to the rest of the guys.

Shiki looked down at the ground and clenched his fist in anger.

Nix: “…..no..”

Yuz: “This can’t be real…”

Shem: “THOSE RAT BASTARDS!”

Shem grabbed the nearest rock and angrily threw it at a window, shattering it upon impact. He was in an absolute frenzy, screaming angrily at the sky.

Shem: “THOSE MOTHER #@*$ERS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO YOURE MESSING WITH! I’LL KILL EACH AND EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU SENATE SCUMBAGS!”

Nix: “Shut the hell up! You’re going to give us away!”

Shem: “You shut up! He was practically a brother to me! How would you react if you found your best friend had just been killed!”

Jack: “The same way you just did…”


Shem gasped for breath and started to calm down as tears began streaming down his face.

Jack: “I know how you must all feel right now. But his death will not be in vein! There’s something else I want you to hear…”

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He set it to speaker phone and paged through his saved messages until he found a message Ereki had left him. His last message…

Jack: “The day before this happened, Ereki left me one final message. I tried calling him back, but as you know, it was already too late. I see this not only as a personal request, but as his dying wish…”

He pushed play as the rest of the crew gathered around phone, listening intently to Ereki’s last words.

*Jack, I just got the latest intel from deep inside Senate HQ. In a couple days, they’re going to begin transporting some kind of “super weapon” to a research facility on the outer reaches of Midgar. I haven’t been able to determine what this thing is yet, but all I can say is that the files were encrypted pretty tightly, so it must be of great importance. Even I’ll admit that this one of my finer pieces of electronic sabotage. *laughter* Anyways, it looks like they’ll be transporting this thing in a heavily armored van with two armed escorts. Their route runs through Highway 82, and they will be passing by the industrial area at around 11:50 pm. I’m gonna keep trying to hack more of these files and see if I can’t get some kind of info on what this thing is, but until then, you should definitely plan on intercepting this thing, as this is looking to be one of our best leads yet. Jack, whatever you do, don’t let this one fall through the cracks. I could only imagine what would happen if the Senate…*



Jack folded up his phone and let out a long sigh.

Jack: “And that’s where it ends.”

Shem: “Well, I think it’s pretty obvious what needs to be done here.”

Shiki, who had been oddly quiet up until now, chimed in with his nasally, scratchy voice.

Shiki: “So you plan on attacking an armored Senate caravan? You must have some kind of death wish.”

Jack: “Maybe. But I can’t stand idly by and let the Senate get away with this! Not this time!”


A silence fell among the group.


Jack: “Listen! The Senate has been keeping the people oppressed for far too long! The people of this city have been living in fear for decades! This may be the only chance we have at striking back! We CANNOT afford to let this opportunity slip by us! And I absolutely will NOT let Ereki’s death be in vein! Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done NOW! So, are you in?”


The group stopped for a few moments, pondering Jack’s words.


Shem: “I’m in.”

Shem stepped in towards the center of the group and held his fist out in front of him. Slowly, the other members of the crew stepped in and one by one, they joined their fists, making a pact to carry out the mission.

Yuz: “Count me in.”

Niz: “Let’s do this.”

All eyes were now on Shiki, who was the only one not in the circle. Shiki, although somewhat reluctantly, stepped in and joined in the pact.

Shiki: “You do realize that there is a great possibility that we could all die this very night. Nothing like this has ever been attempted before.”

Jack closed his eyes and cracked a small smile.

Jack: “The Senate will pay for their deeds. I’m prepared to fight them, even to the death.”

Nix: “Then let’s get this show on the road!”

The group broke up their fists with an enthusiastic shout. Every one of them had become extremely focused on the mission, as they prepared their weaponry, checked over their motorcycles, and made final revisions to their equipment. Jack loaded his each of his Gun-Shot barrels with small explosive devices and cocked them into the chambers. One by one they hopped on their motorcycles and fired them up, the powerful engines roaring angrily into the night.

All members of the group now sat ready upon their highly modified motorcycles, patiently waiting for the caravan to arrive. All eyes were now focused intently on the road, watching for any sign of the caravan. As they waited Jack looked back at his crew and gave a small nod. The rest of the group did the same, except for Shiki. He shot back a cold, blank stare, although this was standard practice for him.

Off in the distance, a set of headlights could be seen coming towards them on the freeway. As they approached, Jack realized that this was the caravan they had been waiting for. He looked back and addressed his crew, yelling over the deafening engines.

Jack: “THIS IS IT! LET’S GET THOSE ASSHOLES!”


Jack’s words received enthusiastic cheers as the Senate caravan cruised by the hideout at breakneck speeds. One by one, the crew took off onto the freeway, embarking on what would be the most dangerous and deadly mission of their lives.

[SqiKy kLeen]

Jack and his crew sped down Highway 82 at blistering speeds, the tiny beacons of light along the roadside streaming by as endless lines of light. As they approached the Senate caravan, Jacks mind wandered to thoughts of Ereki. It was almost impossible for him to accept his death. He had been with the group for countless years, never really engaging in any of the dirty work, but contributing the groups cause in immeasurable ways. In fact, if it wasn’t for his ingenious knowledge of Senate network security holes, it’s doubtful that their little group would be so famous…


==============


A vivid image of one of the group’s most successful acts of rebellion came rushing into Jacks mind. Most of the general public had heard of Midgar’s Sector 7 District Manager Kent Oswell, and his “supposed” contributions to that Sector. But what most of the public was kept ignorant about was how corrupt this man truly was. He had been involved in many shady and downright illegal activities, such as money laundering, insider trading, accepting unlawful bribes from large investors, and even the transportation and consumption of Midgar’s new super drug, Star Ash. For years, he had been drifting along by the funding of his employers, siphoning money from once trusted charity organizations, most of which he had setup himself. He even went so far as to cut funding for basic safety repairs for the citizens of Sector 7.

We wanted to nail this guy so badly. Yet, we had nothing on him. At least nothing solid enough to convince a jury of his wealthiest peers.

That is, until our insider man, Ereki, stumbled upon something so horrifying, that even his own mother would have disowned him.

By tracing his IP address through several layers of Senate firewalls, Ereki found that for weeks, Kent had been posing as a 10 year old boy in an attempt to seduce an 8 year old girl via MyPlace. Knowing the sickness and depravity of this man, we could only assume the worst. And we also knew what had to be done about it.

One night, the little girl was convinced by the District Manager to give out her address in a chat session they had been in. Kent was also a foolish one, giving out the exact time and place where they planned to meet. Fortunately for her, Ereki had tapped the encryptions long before the chat session began. Having advance knowledge of the encounter, we prepared for one of the most defining moments of heroism in our lives.

I set up cameras all around the neighborhood that night, while the others readied themselves on their motorcycles, waiting to intercept this sicko. Kent showed up exactly when he said he would, with the little girl waiting outside to meet her newfound “friend”. What happened next was horrifying, like something out of a slasher movie. Kent drove up in his executive drone car and approached the girl, asking for her mother. As she explained how her mother was out of town for the weekend, the District Manager grabbed her by the hands and dragged her into the back of his car. She put up as hard of a fight as she could, kicking and screaming the whole way, but was no match for Kent’s adult strength. After locking her into his car, he sped off down the alley. Fortunately, I was there to capture this horror on film.

But it wasn’t over for the unknowing corporate smile ball. As he sped off, the rest of the group followed closely on his tail, chasing his car around the block. Using their usual degree of skill, they slashed his tires in mid-drive, forced the car onto the curb, and pulled the District Manager out his car and beat him within an inch of his life.

As he lay there on the sidewalk, he struggled to make a move on us, but he had been too weakened by that point. We stood over Kent’s bloodied body and smiled confidently.

Kent: “You’ll… regret… this… Mark my words…”

Shiki: “I think not, Mr. Oswell. But you know, I was thinking… and I’ve decided that you really have no use for those anymore.

Kent: “What… are you… talking about?”

Shiki: “In fact, we’ve determined that it could be very dangerous for you to carry those things with you. Somebody could get hurt. Guys…”

Shiki snapped his fingers, and the rest of the group proceeded as planned. Nix and Yuz bound Kent’s feet and hands, while Shem removed his trousers.

Shem: “Good God man, this is disgusting! I hope you brought gloves, Shiki…”

Shiki took a large hunting knife and placed it directly between the District Manager’s legs, partially cutting into the skin.

Kent: “No! No no no no no! Please! Anything but that!”

Shiki: “Think of it as dues paid, Mr. Oswell. Your days of exploiting children are over as of right now. Better kiss ‘em goodbye, you sick f@#*.”

Kent let out a scream that could be heard from miles in every direction. He cried out in pain for nearly three minutes before finally passing out. When it was over, Shiki took Kent’s freshly removed manhood and threw it to a nearby homeless dog as a snack. But the dog took one sniff of it and wandered off whimpering.

Shiki: “Alright, get this man to a hospital. And don’t bother checking him in. Just leave him on the doorstep.”

Shem sped off with the District Manager in tow to a nearby hospital. Meanwhile the other three had some other business to attend to. Nix cautiously opened the car door, as not to frighten the little girl any further. He slowly leaned into view, doing his best to sound non-threatening.

Nix: “Are you okay?”

The girl looked up and stared at him for a second before nodding. She was hunched over in the back seat, her arms clinging tightly to her legs. Her shirt had been soaked in the front by her tears. As Nix leaned in further, she scooted back in the seat as far as she could, although her back was already against the side of the car.

Nix: “We mean you no harm. We’ll get you back home as fast as possible. You can trust us.”

Nix held out his hand and smiled a little. He didn’t grab for her, as he wanted her to take his hand as her own decision. She buried her face into her knees.

Little Girl: “GO AWAY!!!”

Nix: “It isin’t safe out here. You need to get home. And believe us, that man won’t ever be bothering you ever again. I promise.”

The girl looked up again, and this time looked directly into his eyes. She saw the sincerity behind them and slowly began to trust him. Not like the cold, blank eyes of the man who had attempted to abduct her. More and more she began to think of Nix as her knight in shining armor. Slowly, but cautiously, she grabbed his hand and came out of the car.

Nix: “Now let’s get out of here.”

Living up to his promise, Nix immediately escorted her back to her house. She rode on the back seat, squeezing at his waist harder than he had ever felt someone squeeze before.

As he dropped her off, she bolted for the front door as fast as she could, but before she entered her home, she stopped and took one last look at Nix.

Little Girl: “Thank you… so much… Mister. You saved my life.”

Nix smiled a little. “Just do me a favor next time, kid. Don’t give out any personal information over the internet.”

The girl nodded in agreement before bolting inside of the house. As he heard the click of the deadbolt, he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he and the rest of the crew had made a difference in someone’s life.

===========

Meanwhile, back at the District Manager’s car, Shiki and Yuz carried out the next phase of their plan.

Yuz: “So what are we going to do with this hunk o’ junk?”

Shiki: “Heh, this is our trophy. We’re keeping it in case we ever need something like this.”

Yuz: “Yeah right! Like I’m going to be seen driving around in a Senate drone-mobile.”

Shiki: “Don’t be so shortsighted. When you think about it, there are literally endless applications for having something like this at our disposal. It’s not everyday you come into possession of one of these things, you know.”

Yuz: “True… I do need some new upgrades for my bike.”

Shiki: “Then we can’t waste any more time. We need to remove the tracking devices, and cut off the satellite feed before they find out what happened to our “friend” out here.”

Yuz: “Right.”

With expert precision, they quickly removed the tracking devices from the car, and towed it to their nearest hiding place. We figured it would come in handy, but we never could have realized how soon we were going to be needing it…


=========


The next morning, I went down to the local news station in disguise and turned in the spy shots of the District Manager and his little abduction escapade. Needless to say he was absolutely stunned by the footage and nearly had to scrape his jaw off the floor with a spatula. He promised me that this story would be hitting the airwaves later that night, so needless to say, we were all more than a little excited to see our work making the headlines.

Later that night, the group gathered around the television set (something they rarely do) to witness first hand the downfall of one of the most corrupt state officials in history. Excitement filled the air as Yuz cranked the volume, waiting for our handy work to finally be recognized, and the District Manager to finally get his just deserts.

Tom: And now we go live to Linda Jennings with tonight main headlines. Linda?

Shem: “Here it is! Here it is!”

Yuz: “Shhhh! Shut up!”

Linda: Thanks, Tom. Late last night, Sector 7 District Manager Kent Oswell and his 8 year old daughter, Marlene Oswell, were brutally attacked just outside of their home on their way to dinner at Luigi’s Five Star Bistro. Kent was apparently taken from his vehicle and brutally beaten as was 8 year old Marlene Oswell…

Shiki: “WHAT?!?”

Nix: “You’ve got to be joking…”

Yuz: “Those LIARS! He doesn’t even have a daughter!”

The TV showed pictures of the girl we had rescued from the night before, her entire body covered with tons of scrapes, scars, and cut wounds. At that point it hit me. The Senate had found this little girl and tortured her for information about us. They proudly displayed their handy work to the Midgar audience, passing it off as our doing. At that point I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands. I couldn’t believe what was happening…

Jack: “*sniff* …we tried so hard to save her… Good God what have we done?!?”

Nix: “Don’t beat yourself up, we did all that we could for her…”

Yuz: “Hold on, there’s more…”

Linda: District Manager Kent Oswell addressed the city council earlier today, and had this to say:

Kent: We intend to pursue and eliminate these dangerous criminals, for the safety of the people… and for the sake of my daughter… *Kent buried his head into his sleeve, pretending to cry.* No further questions…

Jack: “IF YOU’RE SO SAD, THEN LET ME SEE SOME GODDAMN TEARS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

I took the nearest thing I could find and threw it full force at the television, shattering the tube on impact. I breathed in and out heavily, clenching my fists harder than I ever have in my life.

Shem: “It’s all right, man. Either way she would have been in trouble. We did the best we could…”

I didn’t even hear him speaking. I was so pissed off! How could they do that to a little girl? Those Senate scoundrels, I always knew they had no soul, but this time, they had gone too far…

Shem: “Hey man, you gonna be alright?”

I paused for a second and slowly looked up at the rest of them. I wasn’t going to take it anymore.

They thought this little incident was bad? Just wait ‘till they see what I’m capable of…

Jack: “… you guys still got that car?”


==============


Later that night, we took Kent’s personal vehicle, and drove it out to the middle of an abandoned highway overpass. We stuffed the vehicle with explosives, got the car up on jack-stands and weighed the gas pedal down with a large brick. We kicked the stands out from under the back and watched as it careened through the barrier and off the overpass directly into the Sena-corp Pharmaceutical Research building. I took such joy in pushing that detonation button, watching as billions of dollars in Senate research went up in a giant fiery plume.

And our work was actually recognized this time, although not in a way any of us cared for. Apparently they had recovered parts of the car and identified it as Kent’s vehicle which had been stolen two days before. They eagerly shared the story with the terrified public, stating this was the work of the anti-Senate group, Whiplash. They had dubbed us with a name we never asked for, to give the public something new to fear. A new faceless enemy which would further help to turn the public against one another in favor of the Senate. Just the way they liked it. We should be thankful, though, that they haven’t been able to obtain our true identity’s up to this point though.

But I can’t help but think about that little girl… Looking back on it now, it seemed like there was so much more we could have done for her. My hands are dirty… and I can never forgive myself… I can almost hear her screaming out my name…

Jack…

Jack!…

Jack!!!...


=========


Nix: “JACK!!!!”

My mind snapped back to reality. I was back here, on Highway 82 chasing the Senate caravan. There wasn’t any time to be thinking about that event now. All that mattered was the recovery of this “super-weapon”, and the vengeance of Ereki’s death.

Nix: “WE’RE CLOSING IN ON THEM!!!”

I had to scream to speak above our engines.

Jack: “YOU GUYS FALL BACK. I’LL TAKE THE FIRST SHOT. BE PREPARED TO DODGE!”

Nix: “RIGHT!”

Jack carefully reached for his Gun-Shot, maintaining about an 80 foot distance from the last van in the row. Nix and the rest of them grabbed for their weapons and prepared for the assault. Yuz carried with him a lightweight titanium baseball bat and a bag full of sticky grenades, while Nix carried a small automatic firearm. Shiki sported a high-powered electric cattle prod, a necessity for shorting out electrical systems found in most of today’s vehicles, and definitely all of the Senate’s. And Shem equipped himself with a small wrist mounted spray device, which shot out clouds of high-potency sleeping gas, as well as another bag of sticky explosives.

Jack carefully hunched over the handlebars on his motorbike, lining up the sights on the Gun-Shot carefully for the most accurate possible shot. He poured all his concentration into riding the bike, while trying to steady the weapon, a feat not easily performed by even the most experienced bikers. They had finally reached a straight set of road, as he saw the perfect opportunity. Bingo.


*click*


BOOM!!!!


Direct hit! The small explosive charge flew speedily through the air, landing squarely beside the armored van’s left-rear tire. Shards of white hot metal and tire rubber shot out in every direction, as the top-heavy van tipped onto it’s now exposed left-rear brake rotor. The bikes were immediately showered with sparks, as the van quickly flipped onto it’s side, sending it into an uncontrollable roll.

Jack: “LOOK OUT!!!!!!”

Reacting to the explosion, the gang quickly veered off to the right side of the road, as the disabled van somersaulted through the air, landing far behind them in the ditch below.

Shem: “SON OF A BITCH!”

Jack pointed at Nix and Shiki directing them to their next plan of attack.

Jack: “NIX, YOU AND ME WILL GO ON AHEAD AND DISABLE THE FRONT VAN. YUZ, SHIKI, COVER THE TRANSPORTER AND TAKE IT OUT! SHEM GET READY IN BACK!”

Nix: “RIGHT!”

Yuz: “LET’S DO THIS!”

Jack and Yuz veered off to the left side of the caravan, slowly climbing their way up to the sides of the front van, while Nix and Shiki took up the right side. Nix and Jack were now in position just behind, and to the left and right sides the front van, while Yuz and Shiki pulled into position beside the armored carrier. Yuz readied his bat, and was about ready to smash through the driver’s side window when he noticed something odd.

Yuz: “JACK!!”

Jack: “WHAT!!”

Yuz: “THERES NO WINDOWS! THIS THING’S AN AUTOPILOT MODEL!”


As Yuz and Jack struggled to communicate over the sound of the engines, two trap doors opened up on top of the front van, and out of them rose two large gatling guns. They carefully locked into position, as each activated a type of red laser sight, emitting from the center of the barrels. Jack looked up in horror as the gatling guns carefully honed in on Nix’s position.

Jack: “OH S#!*! NIX… LOOK OUT!

Nix looked up too late, as the right-side gun’s laser sight swept across Nix’s motorcycle in a stream of gunfire. Nix grasped at his chest, falling off of his motorcycle and colliding with the ground at nearly 90 miles per hour.

Jack: “NIIIIIIIIIIIIXX!!!”

Jack felt like busting out in anger, but there wasn’t any time. The entire group was in danger. He quickly gave an adrenaline fueled order.

Jack: “SHIKI! FALL BACK AND CHECK ON NIX!”

Shiki: “RIGHT!”


Jack didn’t even care about group tactics anymore. Now not one, but potentially two of his best friends had been killed by the Senate. As he gritted his teeth in anger, Jack’s rage got the best of him.

I’m going to take these guys out, RIGHT NOW!


Jack gunned the throttle. His bike’s immense torque lifted the front wheel off the ground, even as he flew at nearly 90 miles per hour. Jack quickly sped up to nearly 145 MPH, shooting him past the armored carrier, and well beyond the range of the gatling guns, until he was riding right alongside the front van.

Jack: “EAT THIS!”

Jack quickly un-holstered the Gun-Shot and took direct aim at the vans side-view mirror, striking it with deadly accuracy, and emitting a generous explosion, causing the van so veer left and right momentarily, leaving the drivers somewhat disoriented.

Jack cracked a devilish smile.

In a furious frenzy, Jack then detached his ball-and-chain from is wrist guard, grabbed it by the chain, and began to swing it around violently. Jack got it spinning in full momentum, and let out a primal scream, hurling the ball at the left-side gatling gun. The ball collided directly with the gatling gun, severely warping the barrels and damaging it’s movement motor. The gun was now rotating wildly in completely random directions.

Jack: “YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

Jack hurled the ball at the turret one more time, this time wrapping itself around the base of the gun. Jack grabbed a hold of the chain and leapt off his motorcycle, slamming into the side of the van, his bike wobbling out of control and landing in the ditch. Jack summoned all his strength and pulled himself up by the chain to the top of roof of the van, as he continued to wrestle with the broken turret.

Yuz and Shem looked on in amazement at what Jack was doing. They had seen Jack pull some insane stunts before, but never anything like this.

Shem: “WE GOTTA GO HELP HIM!”

Yuz: “I’M ONE STEP AHEAD OF YOU!”

Shem and Yuz gunned the throttles, pulling closer to the front van.




Jack pulled as hard as he could on the turret, as he was literally standing on top of the moving van at this point. Using the ball-and-chain, he yanked the turret out of its socket, and in one smooth motion, swung the dismembered turret over his head and crashing in through the front windshield. The van’s drivers quickly slammed on the brakes, hurling Jack hundreds of feet in front of the truck, and sending him into a roll. The back of the front fan collided with the armored carrier, sending both vehicles tipping over and sliding several hundreds of feet on their sides and into the surrounding ditches. The screeching of sheet metal on the road nearly deafened Jack as he lay in the ditch, his body horribly bruised and scraped.






…

Then… silence……

…

Jack slowly and painfully brought himself to his feet, trying his hardest to ignore the pain. As he concentrated on his wounds and regaining his balance, he noticed a deafening silence in the air. The sounds of engines, people yelling, and gunfire blazing could no longer be heard. The only sound left was that of flickering flames of burning piles of debris.

Slowly regaining his composure, he looked out onto the highway behind him. It looked like a war zone had torn through here. The Senate caravan had been reduced to a mere two vehicles, both tipped on their sides, spewing thick black smoke into the night sky. Then he saw… motorcycles… and bodies…


No… oh please, no…


Jack had completely forgotten about his pain, running full tilt towards the downed motorcycles. As he approached… no… it can’t be…

Jack: “SHEEEEEEMM!”


Jack ran up to Shem’s body and kneeled down beside it. His chest was covered in bullet holes, several of which centered around his rib cage. Jack picked up Shem’s head and yelled out to him, shaking him in an attempt to revive him.


Jack: “Shem, come on! Get up! GET UP! Snap out of it! Come on, we gotta get you to a hospital! You can make it! Just GET UP!....”


No response…


Jack: “……………….Shem…………..”

“Shem…..”


“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”


“HOW MANY HAVE TO DIE FOR YOU? WHEN WILL YOU EVER BE SATISFIED? I HATE YOU ALL!!!!!!!.....”



Senate Troop: “One more should be just fine with me! Drop your weapon!”

Jack continued to kneel by Shem’s side, intentionally ignoring the troops command.


Senate Troop: “I said drop your weapon!”


Jack slowly slid his hand around his belt pack, un-holstering his gun, while carefully climbing to his feet.

Senate Troop: “Now put your hands in the air! Do it, punk!”


Jack slowly obliged the troops order.

Jack: “And what are you going to, shoot me?”

Senate Troop: “Oh, I’d live to shoot you right now, but then there wouldn’t be any body left to torture! We get bonus money for fetching playthings for our superiors.”

Jack: “I don’t think you have the guts to shoot me…”

Senate Troop: “WELL SEE ABOUT THAT! I could plug you right now if I wanted to!”

Jack: “Then do it! Right now! Go on! DO IT!”

Senate Troop: “rrrrrrrr, you’ll pay for that! Mark my words!”


Just then the troop noticed that one of Jack’s fists was still clenched, despite being raised.

Senate Troop: “What’s in your hand? DROP IT. NOW.”


Jack cracked another twisted smile as he let go of the tiny object in his hand. As it hit the ground it exploded into an intense flash of bright white light. As the troop watched it explode, it almost instantly burned out his optic nerves, the light amplified hundreds of times by the troop’s night vision goggles.

The Senate troop dropped his weapon and grasped at his eyes, unable to see, and unable to comfort them, due to his bulky headgear.


Senate Troop: “My eyes! What have you done you worthless punk?”

Jack silently snuck around to the troops backside, smiling a twisted smile, and enjoying every minute of the troops suffering. He almost couldn’t stop himself from laughing as the troop wildly flailed his arms around, desperately grasping for anything he could find.

Senate Troop: “Where are you? Come fight me right now you little dweeb!”


The next thing the troop felt was the harsh grasp of Jack’s hands around his neck. He bent over and quietly whispered into the troops ear…

Jack: “I just want to tell you one thing before I kill you. No matter where you end up, we will find you. And we will see to it that your afterlife is an eternal hell!”


And with one swift motion, Jack twisted the troop’s neck at almost a 180 degree angle, killing him instantly.






Standing over the troop’s dead body, a strange thought entered Jack’s his mind…


Shouldn’t I be somewhat upset about this? After all, I just killed a man…

Maybe he was right. He told me ‘killing is one of those things that gets easier every time you do it…’…

Does that make me… soul-less? ... Heartless? An empty shell of a human?


…NO! I can’t think like that. For Gods sake, they killed my friends! I had to avenge them somehow... I couldn’t let their deeds go unpunished…


…but maybe, this isin’t the answer, this endless cycle…

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: continued from previous post, due to character limit)




Yuz: “ jack……jaaaaack…..”


Jack: “Yuz, are you there? Are you still alive?”

Yuz: “ooooffff… course! …get over here you…. crazy bastard!”


It was definetly him! Yuz was still alive! Jack quickly ran around the wreckage of the various vehicles, following the sound of Yuz’s voice. At last he finally found him behind the wreckage of one of the burning vans. Someone’s still alive anyway. Maybe there was still time…


Jack: “Yuz! Are you alright? Can you make it out of here?”

Yuz: “Actually…. Dude…. I don’t think I’m in the best shape right now man…”

Jack: “Don’t you dare say that! You’re coming back with me alive, I don’t care what it takes!”

Yuz: “I don’t think… so man… They got me pretty deep… I think I’m bleeding internally…”

Jack: “Get up right now! Since when have you ever talked like that?

Yuz: “I’m… not… stupid… a-hole…”

Jack: “Well at least you’re still yourself.”
Yuz: “Listen to me man… You gotta get that weapon… and get the hell out of… here…”

Jack: “Absolutely not! I’m not leaving without you!”

Yuz: “Don’t be stupid… pretty soon… this place is gonna be swarming… with Senate drones… You’ll never get me to the…h—h—hospital in time…”

Jack: “…Yuz…”

Yuz: “Listen Jack… you’ve shown me a great life… a life I could only… have dreamed of… You’ve given me so much hope…and helped me to… find a purpose… A reason to live… We’ve accomplished so much… and I have no regrets… Thank you… for everything…”

Jack: “I said don’t die on me! Not now!”

Yuz: “Just get the… weapon… and get the hell… out of here… This is my dying request… just like Ereki’s… Get that weapon… and really… stick it… to those mother… f—f—f-------…..





A little part of me died inside right then and there.

It was too much to handle.

I’ve lost everything.

I had nobody.

I couldn’t even cry.

I had no idea what to do.


I only knew… what I had to do…

Things could only get better from here, after all. Right? I must be crazy…



Then, as if driven by some unknown force, I ran, as hard and as fast as I could, for the tipped Senate carrier van. Its doors were busted open, almost as if by some guidance from Heaven. I rummaged frantically through the debris in the back only to find one particular item that looked like it could be anything close to a super-weapon. A large silver briefcase, about a half a foot deep, two feet wide, and 1 and a half feet tall, labeled “PROTOTYPE: EARTH BREAKER”

I went to crack it open to examine the contents, but was interrupted by the sound of Senate squad car sirens off in the distance. I had to leave now. I picked up the briefcase and carried it with me, as I took off full tilt for my motorcycle, which was still quite a ways down the road yet. As I ran, I knew that somehow, some way, that this was the object we had been fighting for. That we have died for…


Maybe they were up there after all… looking down on me…

Just then Yuz’s last words echoed into my mind:


Listen Jack… you’ve shown me a great life… a life I could only… have dreamed of… You’ve given me so much hope…and helped me to… find a purpose… A reason to live… We’ve accomplished so much… and I have no regrets… Thank you… for everything…


Until now, I never though that I had made such a difference in anyone’s life. I realized then, that I owed it to them to fulfill Ereki’s last request. Yuz’s last request…


I will change the world… no matter how long it may take…


At last, I came across my downed motorcycle. Thankfully, it hadn’t been damaged too badly. It was a little scuffed up, but overall, still in great shape. And it should be, as this bike’s seen much worse days than this. I hopped on just in time, as the sirens were getting louder with every passing second, and with a quick kick-start the engine came back to life with its usual reliability.


As I sped off into the distance, I found it oddly easy to break my old speed records. As the sirens faded into the distance, easily being outrun by my modified bike, I climbed to 160, 170, 180, even 190, a new personal record. I had no fear.

Perhaps it was because I was no longer afraid of death.

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: This intro thread has really been an exercise for me in terms finding my writing style. More notably, trying to figure out which perspective is best to write from. I have decided for the rest of my posts, that anything written from the 3rd person will be regular typeface, while 1st person perspectives will be in Italics.)


---------


Jack had been navigating the streets of Midgar at blinding speed for nearly 2 hours now. The route back to his house was a long and convoluted one, as it was nearly impossible to find a quick route between Sector 5 and Sector 1 without passing through Senate security checkpoints. And he wasn’t foolish enough to maneuver through any of those with a stolen piece of proprietary Senate technology in hand. Thankfully, in huge cities like this, there were always shortcuts and hidden passages if you knew where to look.

He was almost home now, and for that he couldn’t have been more thankful. All he wanted to do was see his sister’s bright and happy face again. Although he knew she wasn’t going to be very happy once he arrived. He remembered that he had left one of those “sorry I had to run out on you so fast” notes again, something that always earned him a bitter argument from her afterward. But then again, he didn’t care what he had to put up with at that point. Just coming back home to see one of his friends, his loved ones, still alive, would give him all the happiness in the world.

------

Jack pulled his bike around to the back of his house and into a small shed where they stored a large amount of their gear. After locking up, he began to run for the front door in all out sprint, until he was stopped dead in his tracks by a sight that sent a chill down his spine. His front door had been busted off of its hinges, laying in the entryway in a pile of splinters.

…Oh no…

Fearing the worst, Jack dashed into the house yelling out Celica’s name, hoping his fears were only imagined.

Jack: “CELICA! CELIIIIIIICA!”

No response. He quickly scanned over everything in the house, looking for any signs of struggle, anything that was even slightly out of place. But then, he heard a voice call out to him from the shadows…

“Jack, you’re alive…”

He recognized that voice anywhere. That raspy, nasally voice… Could it be? He turned around and confirmed what he was hoping wasn’t merely a hallucination.

Jack: “Shiki! You’re alive!”

The two walked up to one another, and gave each other a quick pat on the back.

Jack: “What happened here? Where’s Celica? Have you seen her?”

Shiki: “… When I realized that you might not make it back, I came here as fast as I could. My plan was to get her out of this place and into good company, but it was already too late. Looks like the Senate got here before I did.”

Jack: “The Senate? How do you know?”

Shiki began to pace around the room. “Take a look for yourself. Nothing’s out of place. No blood, no bullet holes, not even a shell casing. This was a clean job. A little too clean for any old street gang.”

Jack took another look around the room. What a fool he had been.

Shiki: “I did all I could, Jack.”

Jack: “Shiki… thank you.”

Shiki: “Don’t mention it.”

Jack: “But seriously, man. I thought you were dead…”

Shiki: “Likewise. It’s good to see that someone else made it out of there unscathed.”

Jack: “Well, I wouldn’t say that…”

Jack took a moment to present his ‘battle scars’. Up until now, he really hadn’t paid any attention to them, but upon further inspection, he noticed that his clothing had been completely thrashed, revealing huge scrape marks from the friction burns given by his brutal collision with the road. They began to burn immensely as he tended to them.

Shiki: “…So what about the others?”

Jack let out a slow sigh and wandered into a corner to sit down. The memories of the nights events fueled the pain of his wounds and the intense pain of his fragile emotional state.

Jack: “…Dead. They’re all dead…”

Jack let out a tear as he cradled his forehead with his palm.

Jack: “Good God, man… Shem, Yuz, Nix… they all gave their lives for me…”

Shiki paused for a moment, then interrupted Jacks sulking. “I wouldn’t count out Nix just yet…”

Jack looked up at Shiki, eyes glazed over. “You mean… he’s…?”

Shiki nodded in confirmation.

Jack: “What happened? Is he alright? Where is he now?”

Shiki: “He took a bad blow to the head when he fell. When I got to him he was unconscious, but still alive. I knew there was a chance he could be saved, so I got him back to my place as fast as possible and hooked him up to all that medical equipment we stole from the First Senate Hospital infirmary.”

Jack managed to bring himself to a small chuckle.

Shiki: “But there’s something you should know. It’s unlikely Nix will ever be able to ride with us again.” Jack turned his attention fully to Shiki. “By some miracle, most of the bullets managed to miss Nix’s vital organs. However, one particular shot blew out several of the discs in his lower spinal column. He’s still alive, but I’m afraid he will never be able to walk again.”

Jack: “…dammit. Damn them all to hell!”

Shiki: “Calm down, Jack. He’s going to be alright. It’s over now, there’s nothing else that can be done…”

Jack: “What are you talking about? Nothings going to be alright! Yuz and Shem are dead! Celica’s gone… and Nix… he loved riding his bike more than anything…”

Shiki let Jack vent out some rage in quiet observation.

Jack: “This has gone on long enough. I’m tired of this endless cycle of violence and struggle. And I’m going to end it. Even if it kills me too…”

Jack looked down for a moment at the briefcase he had stolen from the armored Senate vehicle, then took it over to the table and quickly began to undo the latches.

Shiki: “What are you doing? What is that thing?”

Jack: “The key to our salvation.”

Shiki: “Don’t tell me that’s the weapon you stole…”

Jack: “Yup.”

Shiki: “Jack, you have no idea what that thing is or even how it works. For all you know, it could kill us all the moment you open it!”

Jack: “Well, we’re never going to know unless we open it! And too many people died for this to be just tossed aside!”

After a bit of fumbling, the heavy duty latches clicked out of place and top swung open, revealing the case’s contents. What appeared before him was unlike anything Jack had ever seen in Senate technology. He could only describe it as a “large metallic brick”, comprised of a series of small yellow and silver metallic plates, varying in shape and size, stacked on top of one another in an intricate, interlocking fashion. Many of the plates had holes, carvings, digital LED displays, or bolts of varying sizes. But it’s most unique feature, found on the bottom-center of this device, was make-shift “face”, consisting of two large glassy eyes, a squared-off nose between them, and an oddly misshapen row of “teeth”. Beneath that was a square, yellow plate with a red insignia of some sort, and the words “EARTH BREAKER” written across it.

Shiki: “Well, we’re not dead yet…”

Jack: “But what the hell IS this thing?”

Jack removed the “brick” from its casing to examine it further. He poked and prodded at the various metal shapes, hoping that one of them would give, or was perhaps a button, but nothing budged. From what he could tell, it was rock solid. Jack then lifted it off the table, to further examine it from every angle. It wasn’t until then that he noticed how heavy this thing was for such a small object.

Shiki: “Wait, what’s this thing on the back?”

Jack flipped the piece over to find a few more interesting features. The back of this device was almost completely flat, with the exception of two fabric straps, placed parallel to each other about a foot and a half apart. Between the straps was a small diagram, which appeared to be crudely drawn on by hand with a permanent marker. It depicted a stick-man with his arms held out to his side with two arrows drawn above them. The text below him read “Place arms thru here.”

Jack: “So you’re telling me I have to wear this thing?”

Shiki: “I don’t know if this is such a good idea, Jack.”

Jack: “Too late. It’s going on.”

Jack hoisted the heavy chunk of metal onto his back and slipped his arms through the straps. It wore much like a backpack loaded with 60 pounds of lead pellets.

Shiki: “Now what?”

Jack: “How should I know?”

After a few moments, the object began to come to life, whirring with electrical impulses and various beeps, and the LED display began to shuffle through a series of numbers. A robotic, feminine sounding voice chimed out from within the large metallic object.

*NEW USER CONFIRMED> WELCOME TO THE SENATE APERATURE SCIENCE CENTER EARTH BREAKER EXO-SUIT VERSION 0.831> PLEASE REMAIN STILL WHILE THE INITIALIZATION PROCEDURE IS PERFORMED> THANK YOU>*

The suit then began to take action, transforming and unfolding itself all on its own, revealing dozens of intricate metallic plates and sections. It quickly began wrapping itself around the contours of Jack’s body, first around his arms, then wrapping itself underneath his armpits and around Jack’s chest. It continued to unfold down his front and back side encasing his legs, then his feet with large steel boots. After most of the segments had conformed to Jack’s body, the suit then tightened up against him, ensuring a close fit. Finally, the segment which had appeared to be a face rose up from behind Jack’s neck and cupped itself securely to his head.

When the procedure was complete, Jack had become almost entirely encased in a large type of exo-skeleton. He was also nearly a half a foot taller, thanks to the bulky soles of the boots.

*INITIALIZATION PROCEDURE COMPLETE> HAVE A NICE DAY : ) >*

Shiki: “Incredible…”

Jack: “Uhhh… Shiki? A little help here…”

Shiki: “What’s the matter?”

Jack: “I… can’t… move…”

[SqiKy kLeen]

The Senator sat diligently in his massive executive’s chair, looking in silence at the city below him in the darkness of his office. What exciting times these are… he thought to himself. So many new faces, so many new powers, all emerging from the cesspool of our beautifully constructed society… I like a challenge. Especially that damn fool Sephiroth X… That infidel is going to lead me straight to the Element. And here I thought this was going to be a lot of work…

The Senator cracked a small smile as a tall, skinny man with black hair and a white lab coat entered his office. He carried with him a briefcase containing a series of documents.

Senator: “Ahhh, Professor Williamson Gast. Just on time as usual. Have a seat, my friend.”

Gast: “Thank you, my lord.”

The professor sat down, opened his briefcase and began to shuffle through the various documents.

Senator: “First off, I would like to thank you for your timely acquisition of Jack’s sister and also for your quick reporting on the situation involving the Earth Breaker prototype. It can be rather difficult to find good help these days.”

Gast: “My pleasure, my lord.”

Senator: “So tell me, what was the status of the suit before its transportation?”

Gast: “The suit was running and functioning optimally at last examination, my lord. However, we have not yet had the opportunity to install the health monitoring system, nor the tracking devices. Also, we have not been able to do any extensive testing of the suits neural-biological link yet.”

Senator: “So tell me then, would it not have made sense to install these things as first priority?”

Professor Gast felt a lump quickly grow in the back his throat, for he knew the consequences of displeasing the Senator.

Gast: “My lord, all versions of the build schematics did not include instructions for any such devices.”

The Senator sat quietly for a moment contemplating Professor Gast’s answer. The tension in the office was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

Senator: “…You follow directions well, Mr. Gast. Keep up the good work, my friend.”

Gast let out a small sigh of relief. “Thank you, my lord.”

The Senator rotated his chair to once again face in the direction of the window. “Everything is going exactly according to plan…”

Gast: “My lord?”

Senator: “Did you ever stop to ponder why I would let a device of such power be escorted by a mere three car caravan?”

Gast: “Of course not, my lord. I would never question your infinite wisdom.”

Senator: “As expected of you. You see, I’ve come to realize that I am not one for looking over sheets and tables of scientific data. I like to see real field test results. That is why I let the suit fall into the hands of this… peasant.”

Gast: “But my lord, we still have no idea what this thing is truly capable of. It could very easily destroy this ‘Jack’ character you speak of.”

Senator: “Then so be it.“

Gast: “But my lord, how will we find the suit again if no tracking devices are installed in it?”

Senator: “This Jack guy seems to have an affinity for causing chaos and destruction. He will make himself apparent to us in due time.”

Gast: “Yes, my lord.”

Senator: “In the meantime, I have authorized you to proceed with your latest experiment.”

Gast: “Would you mean the deep-theta brainwave reprogramming project, my lord?”

Senator: “Yes, yes, that one. I have also authorized you a test subject as well. You may use… the girl… Celica…”

Gast: “Thank you greatly, my lord.”

Senator: “Proceed with phase 1, and if things turn out optimally, then report back to me for further instructions.”

Gast: “As you wish, my lord.”

Senator: “Dismissed.”

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: Here’s a close-up pic of the Earth Breaker for reference:
img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/sqiky_kleen/earth-breaker.jpg
I have also updated Jack’s character profile with up to date information, storyline-wise)



Shiki: “What do you mean, you can’t move?”

Jack: “Do you want an essay? I can’t move an inch here! I’m stuck in this thing!”

Shiki: “Alright, hold on. I’m getting the crowbar.”

Jack: “Wait! Come back here!”

But Shiki had already run out to the shed. As he fetched the crowbar, Jack struggled against the binding grip of the power suit. Nothing gave an inch, his arms legs, and even his head were entirely bound in his new metal prison. After a few seconds, Shiki came back in, stepping around the splinters in the doorway.

Shiki: “OK, here I go!”

Jack: “Hey, you’re not gonna…”

Shiki took a step towards Jack and swung the crowbar with all his might directly towards the chest area, striking it with a loud CLANG.

Jack: “What’s wrong with you? Are you just lookin’ for excuses to go swingin’ things at me now?”

Shiki: “Sorry man, I figured you’d put up an argument if you knew it was coming. Are you hurt?”

Jack: “…Actually…no. In fact I didn’t even feel it. Come on, Shiki, let’s see what you got.”

Shiki: “You’re kidding…”

Jack: “Go on, get it all out if you’re gonna go swingin’ at me like some kinda psycho.”

Shiki: “All right, you asked for it…”

Shiki took another swing at Jack, hitting him square on the shoulder.

Jack: “Oooohhh, what WAS that? Did I just feel a breeze come through here?”

Frustrated by Jack’s cocky comment, Shiki threw a flurry of blows at various parts of the power suit, first at his forearms, then at his legs, than another at his stomach area, each time swinging with more force than the last. He then stopped after a few more hits, realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere, as more damage had been done to the crowbar than to the suit itself. In fact, his barrage hadn’t even dulled the suits shiny finish.

Jack: “If I wanted a kiss I woulda called you mother…”

Shiki: “All right, that does it. I’m getting you out of this thing right now.”

Shiki searched for any openings on the power suit he could find, the only ones being between the various segments on its legs. He then jammed the crowbar between the lower segment on the suits left leg and Jack’s leg, and began to pry at the suit, in an attempt to somehow loosen its stranglehold.

Jack: ”Ow ow ow OW OW OW OW! That’s my shin bone, man!”

Shiki: “Well you’re gonna have to grin and bear it, unless you want me to pry at your face instead.”

Jack: “Dammit all, just get that thing OUT OF THERE!”

As Jack screamed out his discontent, the suit sprung to life, swinging its robotic arm furiously at the crowbar lodged in the suit. It shot across the room so fast, that it couldn’t even be seen, impaling itself into the wall like an arrow from a highly taught bow. After the outburst, Jack was once again frozen in position by the suit.

Jack and Shiki, in unison: “Hoooooolllyyyyyy crrrrrap…”

Shiki: “How did you DO that?

Jack: “I don’t know, I just wanted you to stop prying at my freaking leg. …Wait, check the briefcase. See if there’s anything else in there.”

Shiki shuffled through the briefcase, finding one other item. It was a series of hand written notes, scribbled unintelligibly on a piece of notebook paper.

Shiki: “Actually, there is something else… it’s a bunch of papers with chicken scratches all over them. Apparently the Senate brainwashing center doesn’t have courses in handwriting.”

Jack: “There’s gotta be something on there. Take another look.”

Shiki scanned over the pages again, looking for anything of interest.

Shiki: “Hmmmm…. gibberish, squiggly lines, random punctuation… wait, here we go. It mentions something about a “neurological link” between the suit and the user.”

Jack: “That’s it! I merely thought about swatting that thing out of your hand and the suit responded.”

Jack concentrated intensely, not on moving, but thinking about moving, and the suit slowly began to conform to his thoughts. Slowly but steadily, he was able to stand up, as he rotated his hands, examining the details of the suit from every angle.

Jack: “Ha HA! I’ve got it! I know how to use the suit!”

Shiki: “Amazing… It actually responds to thought! Now I know why they wanted this thing out of civilian hands…”

Jack stepped towards Shiki, although rather clumsily. He hadn’t had to actually think about walking since he was a toddler.

Jack: “Let’s see those notes. Maybe there’s something else here that could be of use.”

He grabbed at the notes, partially tearing at the pages, as he couldn’t completely control the strength of the suit yet.

Jack: “Damn, you were right. These WERE poorly written!”

Looking over the notes himself, Jack could barely make out anything, until his eyes crossed a particular sentence involving a visor, and something about being able to… see souls?

Now I know what this handwriting was all about… this guy was on Ash!

Being curious as usual, Jack slowly grabbed at the “face” covering the top of his skull, taking special care not to crush his own head in the process. He found that the mask slid down easily over his eyes, revealing one of the most beautiful sights Jack had ever seen.

As he looked out into the distance, hundreds, no, thousands of lights decorated the cityscape. They were brilliant, all shining various colors at various intensities. This mask, whatever it did, lit up the city with like a neon sign.

Jack: “Wooooaahhhh…”

Shiki: “What do you see?”

Jack: “It’s amazing… I wish you could see this. Here, take a look at this sentence at the top of the third page.”

As Jack handed the papers back to Shiki, he wondered… Could these actually be souls of people?

They had to be! Most of them were centered in office buildings, retail establishments, and residential areas. Some of them could be seen moving in opposite directions along the streets. These were definitely people, but how could this be possible?

Then Jack remembered some new breakthrough in Senate technology he had heard about. It was called Kirlian photography, which apparently allowed the photographing of people’s auras. He had never heard of any technology like this with this kind of immense power on such a small scale though.

His eyes continued to scan the horizon, amazed that the sights that he continued to see, even through solid objects. Then he noticed something strange. There were a number of auras off in the distance that were immensely brighter and larger than any of the others. These auras also had distinct, defining colors, much more vivid than those of the rest of the citizens.

The first one he noticed was an intense, light blue aura, extremely close to him. In fact, he could tell by its position that this person was just off the corner of 2nd and 53rd street. Further observation revealed even more auras of this nature, like a bright and powerful green aura, not far off from the blue one. Another aura, not far from the previous one, was almost pure black. So black in fact, that it nearly drowned out all colors in the surrounding area. A particularly evil person perhaps?...

More colored auras revealed themselves as Jack looked out into the distance; a fiery orange aura, a dark purple aura, and a deep blood-red aura.

An odd thought crossed his mind at that moment. I’ve been hearing all these stories of super-powered humans and extraterrestrial beings causing all kinds of destruction throughout the city, but I always regarded them as folk tales… more propaganda created by the Senate to scare people. Could there be some truth to these tales…?

Jack removed the headgear as it was beginning to give him a headache.

Shiki: “You done staring off into the distance like an Ashed-out zombie yet?

Jack: “Very funny.”

It then occurred to Jack that he had no idea how to remove the suit. Perhaps I could just “think it off”.

The suit responded, detaching itself from Jack’s body and refolding back into its original compact shape.

*DEACTIVATION AND RECONSTRUCTION COMPLETE>*

Shiki: “I see you’ve really gotten the hang of that thing. You’re practically one of them now.”

Jack: “Oh hell no, don’t you even start…”

Shiki’s mention of the Senate brought back the memories. The deaths of Yuz and Shem. The apparent capture of Celica. The oppression still controlling the masses. But now, he had the suit, and he knew how to use it.

Jack: “Shiki, I’m leaving.”

Shiki: “And where would you possibly go?”

Jack: “Anywhere but here. If I ever want to get Celica back, I can’t just stand around here playing with toys. Besides, they already came for her, so who knows when they’re gonna be back for me.”

Shiki: “You’re talking about taking on the entire Senate armada?”

Jack: “Oh don’t be stupid.” Jack took a small pause to contemplate his plan of action. “…When I was looking out at the city, I noticed several sources of extremely intense light. I don’t know why, but something intrigued me about these… “souls”.”

Shiki: “And now you want to go soul chasing, is that it?”

Jack: “It’s the best lead I have right now... Shiki, as a friend, I’m asking you to join me on this search.”

Shiki: “Oh no. Not happening. As a friend of yours, I’m going to tell you straight up that you’re a fool. On top of the Senate being on the lookout for that device you have, how do you even know that those people are going to help you? Much less let you live, should you come in contact with them?

Jack: “I’m not scared of any of that anymore, Shiki. Celica’s running out of time. I’ve already been foolish enough to let the Senate get their filthy hands on her once. I have to undo what I’ve done…”

Shiki: “I understand. But I can’t join you. Nix is still in critical condition, and I’ve already left him alone long enough.

Jack: “I know…”

Jack took the suit and stuffed it in a cloth bag he had lying around. As he walked out the door, he took one last look at Shiki.

Jack: “Oh, and Shiki… thank you.”

Shiki nodded in acknowledgement. “We’ll keep in touch.”

-------

Jack was once again out on the streets with his motorbike, heading hastily for the corner of 2nd and 53rd street. Looking out at the various sights of the city once again reminded him of the struggles, the oppression, and the foreboding sense of hopelessness forced upon the city.

As he approached the street corner, he noticed a particularly energetic young lad running at full tilt through the streets. Wait…

He had to slow down for a second do a double-take. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Oh my god… It cant be…

He recognized that guy almost immediately. That bright, spiky blonde hair, those intense blue eyes, and… the Buster Sword?

But how? How is he still alive? And why on Earth is he carrying the Buster Sword? I thought he was goner for sure after they captured Zack and the others. If only Celica was here to see this…

But there was no time for thinking about the past now. He was clearly in trouble, and Jack had to help him. It was the least he could do for all the great things he had done for him in the past.

Jack hammered the throttle, spinning in a quick U-turn and rocketing around the corner, cutting off the spiky-haired young man in mid-run. He looked as if he was going to continue running right past him, but Jack yelled out to him as he approached, making his intentions to help him clear.

Jack: “Claude! Get on the bike, quick!”

*END OF CHAPTER*