08 - Escape from Hell

[SqiKy kLeen]

Jacks eyes slowly cracked open under the fog covered streets of Midgar. He felt like he had been hit by truck, and thinking back to what happened, he knew he’d actually been hit by something. He didn’t remember much about the crash other than it was almost instantaneous, just a sharp, instantaneous colliding force, with no other memories after that.

He got up on one knee and rubbed his head with his hand. His vision was blurred, and his balance was incredibly off. Yet he could still make out some things in his surroundings. Everything was gray, like the there was an immense fog. Here could barely see the outlines some of the buildings. Looking into the blankness, a silhouette slowly came into view

Jack! You found me!

He took a small gasping breath, snapping out of his daze for a moment. He really wanted to believe that what he was seeing was real.

“… Celica..?”

Come get me Jack!

Jack could only make out the outline of her pink hair and white clothes through his blurred vision, as he saw the silhouette of who he thought was Celica dart off down an alleyway set between between two large stone partitions, giggling and flailing her hands as if having a great time.

“Hey, wait… stop!“ Jack spoke out in a raspy, muffled tone. He strained to bring his muscles to life, yet somehow he found himself walking forward ever so slowly, trying not to lose his balance. His vision was running at two frames-per-second, each still image of his foggy surroundings blurring and fading into the next. The Earth Breaker hung on his back like a cargo ships anchor, through his strength was pulling him to walk somehow.

It was only then that he had begun to notice his surroundings in any detail. The streets seemed incredibly quiet, as if the town had been completely vacated, the fog adding an extra sound barrier to the area he occupied, no matter where he moved to. The structures appeared to be aged by at least a few years, but things remained untouched. Nothing was knocked over, nothing any more oddly out of place than normal. Jack’s bike had skid on its side quite a few feet as a result of the accident, its tires now resting near up against a nearby tree. This is strange… it’s so quiet... it’s like a ghost town…

Jack stumbled into the alley way at last, propping himself up on the corner of a stone pillar with his hand. He found he could breathe a bit better now, and tried to clear his head with a few deep breaths. He got a bit of a head rush that washed over his forehead and face, and after blinking a few times, found he could see a bit better than normal. He looked up to peer down the alleyway. Mustering some more energy, Jack started off down the alleyway as fast as his balance would allow. This alley was about a couple yards wide, with lots of garage doors and some trash cans strewn about, everything locked up tight and all cans closed properly. It must have been the back of some apartment complexes. Jacks footsteps echoed louder as he continued down the path, finally coming some much taller brick buildings.

He kept his pace as he strode down the alleys, the fog becoming oddly becoming thicker and thicker as he weaved through the ever increasing height of the structures. Somehow a squeaking sound echoed off the walls though the fog, and Jack needed to follow it for some time before he came to the source; a tipped over wheelchair, its large handrail wheel still spinning. What… is this wheelchair doing here… Chills ran down Jacks spine as the ambience of the alleyway crept in. That’s strange… Its getting darker…The light continued to fade and even more sounds came from the distance. Barely audible sirens and clanging metal could barely be heard in the distance if no footsteps were made. He continued on, hunched over and guarding his hands and midsection.

It began to grow dark incredibly rapidly. Seemingly within moments, it was so dark that Jack couldn’t see two inches in front of his face. He scrambled for his pockets, his quickening breath echoing like his footsteps. He found a book of matches, one of which he promptly lit. The yellowish glow lit up the few feet around him revealing the buildings. These matches are better than nothing I guess… They were showing more of their eroded, rusty colors. Jack crept along the alley way, and with each passing step the sounds in the distance got louder and louder. He could swear there was blood on parts of the walls. The alleyway seemed to spin and tumble in the tiny illuminated bubble of the match, the sounds of clashing metal on metal increasing in sustain.

Then the alley ended, a large gap in the buildings opened up to a darkened abyss. Jack took a few steps forward and …CLANK… he collided with a metal fence, its distinct rattle echoing off of nothing, as if to dissipate into empty space. Where he bumped into the fence he felt a cool, wet sensation on his forehead. He wiped head with his fingertip …oh my God… what in the hell is going on here… A drop of blood ran down his finger as Jack caught another chill. He continued on down the restricted path of fencing, as he wished the walls would have continued. Everything else resembling buildings was too far away to be seen through the fence. He was being herded, the fence serving only as a reminder of the bleak darkness that existed outside its confines. The clanging became deafening.

The fence then opened up into a wide area of concrete, completely soaked with blood in all the cracks. A medical stretcher off to Jacks right side appeared to be tightly strapping what appeared to be a corpse under a blanket. Piles of other blankets lay off to the left. The clanging increased in speed. He pushed on, taking another few steps forward, glancing up…
…a fragile looking rotted corpse towered over Jack, strung up with barbed wire and fencing. He stepped back in shock, nearly falling over. What… is this?... Whats going on here?

Suddenly an angry dog could be heard barking in the distance, its muffled yelping falling slowly on Jacks deafened ears. But almost instantly, the barking increased in volume and suddenly, the hellish dog was on him, his teeth sinking a few centimeters into the flesh on Jacks forearm.

AAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGG!!!!! The pain swept over him sharply, and in the same instant, he found his daze instantly cleared up. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but whatever it was, Jack sprung back to life, his nerve returning, and his restored vision revealing his hellish surroundings. The demonic dog still hung on his arm, thrashing about with its other heads, and Jack trying to keep it at bay. With each motion of his arm, an enormous amount of pain was added to the already mounting pain from the bite wound. The match had fallen out of his hand a moment ago, and was now setting fire to the odd blankets and bandages on the ground.

“GGGGGRRRRRrrrrrrrrrreeaHHHGGImmmee a hand here!” Jack yelled as he gritted his teeth in agony. The suit began to kick in, wrapping his other arm in the metal confines of the armor. He wound up with a right hook and smashed the dog directly in the snout, its teeth taking a small amount of flesh on Jacks arm with it as the dog flew above the ground, slamming into the chain link fence.

Jack hissed in agony as he got back up. “…aaaggghhhh. Dammit..” he winced. He allowed the suit to attach fully, and let himself breathe a bit before moving again. He could tell the suit was already administering treatment to his wounds. A few feet away the dog of the damned lay twitching restlessly on its last limbs. Nearby a radio set on top of a stretcher was crackling and hissing with static. Huh? Radio? Whats going on with that radio? The hound was too creepy to look at anymore, just the sight of watching it quiver made him ill. He quickly ran up and stomped on it, causing it to finally stop. Oddly enough the radio died at the same time as well.

He took a moment to catch his breath. He noticed he could hear it much louder than normal, perhaps his hearing was coming back; the area around him had been lit up by the flames. But it seemed as though the breathing was echoing. Jack slowly turned around and let out an enormous scream as he lay his eyes on the gigantic, freakishly mutated head of his sister Celica! The massive freak head pulsated, inflated with blood like a giant infected water balloon, veins bulging on the surface of its skin. Its one eye twitched at a rapid, epileptic rate, the other eye following his every motion. “……ooohhhhoohhoooosshitshitshitsh..” Jack scrambled to get is footing on the concrete to run like hell out of there. Eventually he got to his feet, scrambling backwards as fast as he could. The gate ahead had been sealed, but Jack gave it a quick kick with his foot, busting it down with force, and ran in a mad panic through the alleys, through the sounds of crashing metal, and through the fenced off darkness. He jumped off of walls, speeding around the corners of the alleyways of the brick buildings, making his way to the garage area. The concrete dividers that ended the complex were in sight, but something looked different

Everything resembling civilization had been wiped out of existence, only the thing Jack could even see was blinding darkness prevailing in all directions. No land or sky, and where one would expect the ground, a never ending abyss of chain link fence, its millimeter thick wire the only thing separating Jack from what appeared to be a never ending fall into nothing for eternity. It was dizzying, and Jack stepped back, clinging to the concrete divider as a last hope of anything. He squinted his eyes, straining to try and see anything since there were no sources of light, only some unknown light source that made the fence visible.

Wait a second… Jack thought as he spotted something in the distance. He flipped his visor down to see if he could notice anything, but he was completely blinded by darkness. The aura of his surroundings was so black that everything else completely was drowned out. This must be one intense evil… Flipping the visor back up, his vision was a bit better after being totally darkened, and he could barely make out… yes! It was his bike, about 20 yards out in the fence, but it was far. But could he possibly….

Its testing me… he thought. Whatever It is, It wants me to head out there…

Jack swallowed hard and took a deep breath. The Earth Breaker couldn’t help him here. Ever so slowly he took the first steps out towards his bike, the ever present sounds of clanging metal ringing loudly. His heart rate quickened, and his thin fencing gave way under the heavy load of the Earth Breaker suit. Just then the fencing shook…

CLLLLLAAANNGGG! Jack shook wildly up and down, trying not to fall too hard on the fence. He lost his balance, falling forward landing on his hands. Jacks fingers wrapped around the grating as he stared into the abyss. CLLLLAAANNNNGGGG Another one rang out. Jack heart was exploding now, and in an intense adrenaline rush looked up and forward toward his bike, which was still a ways away. I have to do this… right now!

Jack sprung up putting aside worries about the fence and bounded carefully forward but very quickly towards the bike. CLLLLLAAANNNNGGG The sounds were getting more intense now and more frequent, It knew Jack was on the move. In moments he had made it to the bike, grabbing it with one hand, and without thinking dug into the fence with his foot as if to turn around sharply. Just then a sound like firecrackers went off, as Jacks weight fell out from under him.

Time slowed to a near crawl as his fear consumed him. He was literally falling to an unknown death, a massive square area of fencing having fallen out from in between the metal poles holding the grid work “ground” together. He acted on pure instinct, and in nearly the same second as losing ground, Jack swung his free arm up and around him, barely managing to grab onto a nearby metal pole. His grip wasn’t tight though and his pinky and ring fingers quickly slipped out of grip. His winced in agony, trying with all his might to hang on, and with one last ounce of strength, he swung the hand with his bike up and around onto the next large square area of fencing closes to him. He had an extra hand up now, and continued to climb back to freedom.

CCCLLLLLLLAAAAANNNNGGGG. Jacks legs were still dangling as the flooring shook violently, as if the machinery was right below him. He regained his grip, and in the same moment, hoisted himself up, grabbing his bike in the process. Jack was still lost in the abyss of steel mesh though, and even though he was back up, he still had no idea where to head in next. He darted off in the direction of the apartment complexes when he notices something else; a different alleyway. He didn’t know where it had come from, but it was his only choice.

CCCLLLAANNNGG CCLLAANNNGGG The clashing was getting more intense as Jack ran off towards the alleyway, the twisted machinery that lurked below chasing him every step of the way. Eventually he entered the alleyway, though he only saw blurs of his surroundings as the darkness was still ever present. He slowed his pace a bit as some weird creatures came into view. Tiny, misshapen, baby-like with knives were everywhere, their attention turning to Jack as he approached.

But he didn’t want to stay around here any longer. He continued to run past these little things, avoiding most but kicking some that got brave and desperately tried to attack. As he ran, even more came into view. He could see light, more buildings, and even some people still fighting off the demons on their own. One particular woman was cornered against the outside of a shop, attempting to fend off the hellspawn with an empty trash can. Jack dove in, grabbing his bike by the front end, and with a swing, knocked the little things away with the bottom of the bikes rear tire, smashing them against the wall. “Thank you!”, the woman yelled as Jack bounded off.

After a few more minutes of running the city limits came into view. By this point the fog was entirely lifted, and the sun was beating down onto the building furthest to the outside of Midgar. Eventually, he came to six lane highway leading out of town and off into the East. Jack stopped and caught his breath. He had somehow managed escape from that twisted version of hell. He had to stand there for a least a few minutes to let his heart rate come down.

Curiously, he flipped his visor down and took a look at the city. Much to his expectation, Midgar was completely enveloped in a dome of darkness, reaching all the way to the city limits. Whatever this is, its one extremely evil force.

But Jack couldn’t stay around and ponder the situation too long. Seeing the image of Celica back in the foggy streets reminded him of his journey. He began to fear for her immediately once again, as he had no idea how long he had been out for. Knowing the Senate, Jack could feel that wherever she was, she was in need of help.

Jack planted his wheels firmly to the ground and folded the Earth Breaker back to compact size. He gave a kick of the starter and the beast of a bike roared to life. The compass read East, perfect, he thought as he reviewed his goal; reach Beta continent. And in the fastest way he knew how, was by going in a straight line.

He hopped on the bike and hit the open road. There were absolutely no cars to be seen anywhere, meaning the road belonged entirely to him. As a bike rider, this zen state Jack lived to experience. The wind whipped on his face as he dug harshly into the throttle, the immense torque wanting to lift the front tire off the ground. Normally, this would frighten most people including himself, but perhaps it was Celica, perhaps it was the escape from hell, but whatever it was, each for tick he climbed in speed he became more relaxed. The sun was just now setting as well, leaving an incredible reddish hue on the horizon. Climbing to steady cruising speed of 150, Jacks worries temporarily melted away. For him, this was life. This was true freedom.

[SqiKy kLeen]

The sun had risen partially over the horizon, casting a bright red hue over the morning sky. The highway was coming to an end, the tiny dots in the distance evidence that some sort of structure was in sight. Which was good, as Jack had been riding for quite a long time now; and what had began as a relaxing escape had slowly come to wear on his nerves. Traveling at night brought an intense cool wind which chilled him to the bone. The remainder of his water was ice cold, and he was running incredibly low on gas. His back was beginning to ache from being hunched over, and many times he wanted to stop for a stretch, but he kept on the throttle in hopes that there might be signs of life in those buildings he saw in the distance.

His faithful bike hadn’t let him down his entire journey, despite being in a blackened abyss, despite being used as a weapon, plus a continuous road drip for nearly 12 hours, hadn’t slowed it down any. He thought briefly back to when he learned the craft and built his first of many different vehicles, the differences between solid construction and just putting together some cheap piece of…
Suddenly the engine began to stall, missing on cylinders and dropping in speed. Jack quickly looked around his bike and immediately noticed his gas gauge, which was buried way past the ‘E’ tick mark. Aaaawwww nooooo, not here… this isin’t good for the engine… He quickly killed the bike and allowed the momentum to roll him as far as it would allow. I was so close too…

He got up and took a well needed stretch. He reached for his water container hoping maybe there would be a little left, but it was already bone dry. Dying of thirst at this point, he decided to press on in the only direction he could at this point. He grabbed his bikes handlebars and lumbered off toward the structures in the distance.

=======

It turned out to be about a half hour hike, but the buildings were now just a few yards away. His stomach had been growing constantly for about the last ten minutes and it was getting harder for him to walk, and eventually he had to lean on his bike just to make it any farther.

The structures had now come into full view. It was a series of old concrete towers, each about the size of a small store and about three stories high. Wire mesh fencing connected all the towers to one another, but all had a layer of sheet metal behind them, making it impossible to see inside what appeared to be a very specifically fenced off area. There was one door on the front of each of the structures, and one window higher above the door. He was now also in view of the ocean, which brought Jack back a little, confirming that one step of his journey was complete. Jack looked silently around and noticed he could hear movement and some muffled conversation in the distance. There was actually quite a lot of it.

He was so tired that at this point, he just wanted to see if anyone could hear him out here. “hhhheeelllloooooo?” he yelled out in a harsh, raspy voice. He waited for a few moments and eventually heard some footsteps on metal. A man dressed in a hat and coat peered his head over the side of the mesh and sheet metal fence. “Do you have water?” Jack immediately asked him.

The man quickly reached down by his side, and swiftly shouldered and sighted a large rifle! “DON’T MOVE!” He yelled out angrily.

You’ve got to be kidding me… Jack thought as he decided if he should fight back at this point. The man had already scoped him in, and if he began to transform he might not be fast enough to avoid being shot, that is if the Earth Breaker could even deflect bullets.

Soon afterward several more people began to show up, many with what appeared to be automatic weapons, and others with blunt weapons. The windows on the towers opened, more people appear above the fence, and the doors to the towers opened up, people flooding out one after another, most heavily armed.

“Put your hands up!” The original person yelled, issuing another command to Jack, as the one of the sections of fencing slid open, revealing many more people and the insides of a large compound. Many of the people behind the fencing appeared to be more common people, not many of them armed. At this point Jack had been surrounded by people with firearms and he wasn’t in any position to move an inch. All I wanted was a sandwich and a nap…

The crowd of people remained still and silent as a solitary set of footprints could be heard coming through the masses towards Jack. Eventually he emerged from the crowd, an incredibly tall and weathered old man loaded with scars, his skin baked to a crisp and his hair bleached from what looked like constant sun exposure. He wore a leather brimmed hat, and had no facial hair aside from a long moustache that had grown down to his chest. He had slowly approached Jack and was now towering over him in his personal space.

The old man tilted his head back, keeping an eye on Jack the entire time. He began to sniff for some reason, as if to smell Jack. An odd puzzled look struck Jack face. “…why’d you come here boy…” the old man grunted, his voice as rough as appearance, as if deteriorated from years of smoking.

Jack gulped as he carefully considered his words. “I need water… Ive been traveling for…” but the old man cut him off before he could finish, and quickly unsheathed a hunting knife, pressing it against Jacks throat.

“…jus’ answer the question…” he scowled as he glared into Jacks face. “…that is if a creature like you cen’ even be honest…”

“Hey I know that guy, it’s really him! That’s Jack!” A young voice enthusiastically yelled from near the gates of the compound. The young man, no older than twelve, had managed to catch the attention of nearly everyone in the crowd, especially Jack, whose eyes widened and shook him from a malnourished daze. An older lady standing next to the kid nudged him with her elbow. “Just let them handle this…” she whispered to him.
But the stage was his, and even the guys who had sighted their weapons had given attention to the young lad. “Seriously, I’ve done the research on the interweb, he was part of that band of revolutionaries called Whiplash who brought justice to those kids being molested by that congressman.”

The crowd let out a small gasp and the old man taunting Jack now shifted more of his attention towards the boy. “He also shut down the Sena-corp factory where they were planning to produce and pass those untested drugs that caused all that controversy…”

“ENOUGH!” The old man yelled. “Get your nose out of where it doesn’t belong!” the man screamed at the poor kid.

“…but… Dad…” the kid tried to interject.

“Enough, I said” the old man ordered once more. “Now go!” The young man moped off, kicking at the ground and appearing to mumble something under his breath. The old man snapped his senses back to Jack, once again turning to press his knife against his throat. “…that true? You sum’ kinda street punk?”

Jack looked around nervously, thinking constantly about wether to activate the suit. He wasn’t quite sure what to say, as it appear he was going to have his way as long as Jack didn’t say anything too stupid. He glanced briefly into the old mans face. “…I get that all the time…”, his voice raspy and worn as the old mans. “…seriously, all I want is a nap and a sandwich, then Ill be gone forever.”

The old man looked on for a second before his face began to erupt with rage. “Don’t be a smartass with me! Grab him!” Suddenly, the people behind Jack had him in a hold, and he wasn’t going anywhere. The old man whipped out a syringe from his coat pocket and grabbed Jacks arm by the wrist. Taking the other hand he slid the Jacks shirt sleeve up, tore the cap off the end, and jammed the needle into Jacks arm. He winced in pain and cringed at the thought of what might be in that needle, he didn’t want to wake up some drug addict. But he looked down to notice the needle was empty, and the old man was actually drawing blood. After about seven seconds he yanked the needle out and Jack dangled from the arms of his captors, the sudden shock of the needle, his weakened state, and his loss of blood, rapidly bring him to a state of unconsciousness.

[SqiKy kLeen]

Jack slowly awoke, finding himself laying comfortably on an old bunk bed. His surroundings came into focus; he was in an average sized room made entirely of concrete walls. The room was dimly lit by the sunset which was coming in from a large window, and also partially from the window opposite of that. In the corner furthest from Jack sat the old man with the long moustache who had held him at knife point earlier. He sat quietly at a desk surrounded by tools and various other supplies. It appeared that he was cleaning pieces of a gun which he had completely disassembled and separated across his desk.

Jack: “You… what are you doing here?”

The old man ceased his activity for a second and looked at Jack over his shoulder. “yer’ finally awake…” He paused momentarily to pick up a part. “I actually came here ta’ apologize. The tests all came back negative, yer’ not one o’ them.”

Jack winced in confusion as he wasn’t quite sure what he was apologizing for. “…one of… what?” Jack responded, only to have an enormous growl emanate from the pit of his stomach, this being one of the worst hunger pangs Jack had experienced in a while. He doubled over briefly and clutched his stomach.

“Oh yeah, here.” The old man said as he reached around to the side of his desk, as if to grab something. “ya’ said ya’ wanted a sandwich.” He tossed the layered lunch over to Jack. “we kin’ only get chicken though… beefs a bit hard ta’ come by these days.”

Jack gazed down at the sandwich as if he had been given the Element of Prosperity, then immediately tore the cellophane wrapping off and ravenously began devouring it. He wanted to thank the old man, but he couldn’t stop eating.

“we check everyone out like that…we have to…” he drifted off into another line of thought. “actually our first clue you were human was when ya’ passed out. A demon wouldn’t be sa’ scared of such a thing…” Jack interrupted briefly his interest piqued by the demon comment. “…demmmooommm?” he said, his words muffled by a half-chewed mouthful of food.

The old man looked off at the wall. “there’s a reason we check everyone that comes through…” He went back to cleaning a part of his gun, grabbing for his army knife and appearing to scrape a part of it repeatedly. “I’ve seen things… things that aren’t right…so have many o’ the other people here… friends and family… turned into something…” He stopped for a second and shook his head while closing his eyes.

Jack could tell something was consuming him. What had happened in Midgar was something hellish and unworldly, something of a magnitude almost nobody could have prepared for. He remembered the corpses in the back alleyways, the twisted demonic creatures of all kinds, and the atmosphere of abyss present all around you. He could only imagine the worst if a man of his nature could be nearly brought to tears by a memory.

“…enough ‘bout that, kid like you shouldn’t be askin’ sa’ many questions…” Jack hadn’t brought it up, but he let that part of it go. “…anyways, we know all about yer’ doin’s in that gang Whiplash…”

Jack quickly interrupted; since the Earth Breaker was nowhere in sight, he’d have to play the fool for now. “Oh no no it’s not like that…”

The old man interrupted him back. “don’t worry bout’ it, it’s alright with us…” He began to reassemble his firearm as he spoke. “sometimes ya’ gotta listen to the kids… ma’ boy knew all about ya’ thanks to those internets…yer’ practically an urban legend it seems, he’s a big fan…” He cracked a small smile. ”damn kid spends too much time on that damn computer, he’s pale…aint’ right.”

Jack: “So does this mean were cool then?”

The old man smiled as he locked a clip into his rifle. “if ya’ mean respect, you’ve earned some from me… I never liked the Senate, ‘specially now with the port lockdown. But what you did back at Senacorp was a revolutionary act. Gotta wean the public off their drugs at some point…”

Jack was beginning to like the way this man was thinking, despite the stab in the artery. He couldn’t perceive any threat from him besides maybe a general uneasiness that could have come with the duty of defending the fort, if that was the intention. Jack, having just finished the sandwich put in his two cents. “That’s true, although those were only drugs in development…”

“I consider it a preventative measure…” the old man interrupted again. “end it before it kills again…you coulda’ possibly saved some lives Jack…” He began to fidget with his rifle, sighting the scope out the window and at various places on the wall.

“…wow…thank you.” He was a little stunned, as he’d never been given a compliment on this kind of thing before. “But I was wondering…I had brought something else in with me…”

“Oh yeah there was that too…” the old man interrupted again, as he walked over to an end table next to his desk that had a blanket covering it. He pulled back the blanket revealing the Earth Breaker, and on top of it, his multi-barreled handgun. As the old man picked up the gun and fidgeted with it, Jack had sort of guiltily noticed that it had been on him this entire time, securely holstered away in his pockets through all his rough travels. He had owned it for a very long time, and it served almost as a Swiss army knife combined with a gun, with its capacity to hold all sorts of different types of ammo. He turned his attention back to the Earth Breaker and as he did, the old man. “An jus’ what is this suppos’ to be?” he commented. “We tried everythin’ ta get it to do sumthin’ with its fancy screens and what-not, but it’s lookin’ more like dead weight ta’ me.”

He had been caught a bit off guard, he hadn’t thought if something to say in response to an inquery about the Earth Breaker. “Yeah, it actually is a weight, its for a dune buggy I was planning on building..”

The old man interrupted, “Now I know yer’ lyin’.” he said with a glare. “Ya’ came from the depths of hell, hungry and weak, and yer draggin’ a damn counterweight around. That ain’t gonna fly.” He walked up to Jack and stared directly into his eyes. “I better start gettin’ the truth, or we kin’ do this same song an’ dance all over again.”

He knew this old man had armed guards at his disposal, and his suit was not at his stand-by. He had been called out. Jack let his guard down, and quickly thought of a compromise. “Alright… Ill show you what this thing does, you have my word. But first, I want to know everything you know about the port lockdown.”

[SqiKy kLeen]

Jack had been walking around the survivor outpost for about a few hours now with the old man, who he had now come to know as Biff Webster, a 'retired' drifter who had moved into Midgar for what he had hoped would be a much more stable life. He was actually quite willing to explain the entire situation, including details about their gathering of survivors and the now ongoing fight between them, and the remaining Senate forces on the Alpha continent.

The survivors here were admittedly the luckiest and most fortunate of the other now doomed Midgar citizens. Just about 99% of them had residences placed on the very outskirts of the city, with easy access to the highways. Even then, there were many losses even at the city limits, and judging from the crowd, it looked like there were no babies or small children to be found. Those who escaped undoubtedly had to put up a fight, and many were seriously injured in the process, some even missing limbs, and many still in mourning from having to abandon members of their family.

The Senate's military presence on the Alpha continent, Jack had been informed, was practically reduced to nothing. At the first sight of trouble, troops were ordered to abandon post and escape to the Beta continent. The survival rate amongst them was much higher, given the fact that they had weapons, riot gear, and combat vehicles. The only caveat was that planes and choppers could only carry so many personnel, leaving the boats on the coast as the last remaining escape option. Nearly all boats were evacuated, however before every troop could be moved off the island, the Senate issued an order across all global channels, effectively saying that 'anyone left over there now is a lost cause'.

The end result is that around the coast of the continent there are now a small handful of Senate Naval outposts being used as the last shelter and refuge of the troops that were abandoned. Biff informed Jack that by intercepting Senate transmissions, he found out that these people were now simply fighting for their lives like any other human being, as the Senate would simply destroy them if they escaped on boat to Beta, as they themselves are now considered a threat by the Senate.

This has lead to an intense conflict between the survivors here, and the remaining Senate forces, as they hold the only means for the citizens to truly escape the continent. Diplomatic means failed to be effective and ultimately lead to bloody and brutal conflict between the two factions, with the troops now being in aggressive defense mode, defending their last refuge from citizen survivors as well as other troops, without discretion.

It had been a few days since the last scuffle, and the survivors had no intention of beginning another battle soon. They still had plenty of people capable of fighting, but were waiting for the right opportunity, as they realized from the small number of encounters they've had already, that they were vastly out-gunned. Jack had thought that they were more heavily armed, given their violent reaction to his arrival, however, that was just a projection created by his intense hunger at the time. They only had four rifles in total, and sparingly small amounts of ammunition.

And speaking of their supplies, the outpost had been raided of anything valuable or useful before the troops fled in the last remaining boats. For the survivors, there was little food, and no weapons or armaments of any sort. There was however, a large amount of building supplies in the stock yard as well as some barrels of gasoline, some sheets of metal, replacement panes of glass, and some other random items. Nothing great for survival aside from building a shelter. And speaking of shelter, what a hole. There were no furnishings of any sort save the most basic of items, and large chunks of concrete had fallen away from the structure due to exposure to the humid ocean winds, leaving exposed segments of rebar sticking out like a steel skeleton.

Jack noticed on his final rounds through the camp site with Biff that the damage was here worse than expected. There were holes everywhere and the lower basement levels had been infested with crabs and beached jellyfish. This place wasn't really livable for anybody, and would get especially cold during cooler nights.

Jack had walked up a few more flight of stairs and into a separate room with Biff, who proceeded to close the door behind him. "..so ya' know the whole story.." He knew where he was going with this. "I think its time ya' show'd me what that thing kin' do."

He was a bit hesitant at first, but then Jack slowly nodded and took a step back. Giving the mental command, he allowed to Earth Breaker to begin folding around him. Biff lept back. "WHAT THE HELL?", he yelled out, as the suit finished its procedure by securing the helmet to Jacks head.

Biff: "..What in God's name is that thing..."

"I stole it." Jack said in quieter tone. "From what I know its an experimental weapon of Senate origin of some sort."

Biff: "You hafta' be insane to be carrin' that thing 'round here, or anywhere for that matter. Fer' all I know you could be puttin' us all in danger!"

He was right. Jack still had no idea if the suit even had any sort of tracking device in it, or for that matter, what destructive power it was further capable of. "...Maybe. But my intention was not to stay long." Biff stood in silence momentarily as he could see Jack collecting his thoughts. "Somebody is waiting for my help on Beta...it's my sister. She's the only family I have left..." He began to pace around the room. "We think shes been captured by the Senate."

Biff looked at Jack in bewilderment. "An' jus' how do you think yer gonna get over to Beta continent anyway? Ain't nobody flyin' outta here anymore, and the Senate troops got the rest of the boats locked down."

Jack: "...I'm going to take one of the boats by force."

Biff: "Heh.. not that I don't commend you fer' tryin', but you must have a death wish. That suit o' armor ain't gonna protect ya' from all the their bullets."

" I don't need it too..." Jack said looking serious. Biff appeared confused by this. "...because they aren't going to land a single shot." Biff still could'nt being himself to find a response. He saw that Jack was too determined and maybe had his head too high in the clouds to reason with right now. He could tell his sisters situation was weighing heavily on Jack's mind.

Then Jack made a motion towards the bed in the corner of the room. He figured that Biff wouldn't be able to understand the powers of the suit without a proper demonstration. He flipped the mattress off the bed and lifted the frame up from off the floor effortlessly with one hand. Biff was already stunned by this feat alone, as the bed frame was several years old, and made of heavy lead pipes. Jack then began to compress and bend the segments of the bed frame, collapsing the hollow space inside the lead pipes and folding the segments around each other like big strips of clay. After about twenty seconds of diligent work, Jack had made a lead sphere out of the frame the size of a beach ball. He held it out in front of Biff with one hand to demonstrate the massive power of the suit. Then, he tossed it up a couple feet into the air, and as it came down, he grabbed onto one of the loose pipe segments like a handle, and with all his strength, tossed the giant ball out into the ocean, major league fastball style.

As it shot out the window of the old building, it let out a high pitched whistle which could be heard several hundred feet out from shore. Biff, being captivated by the performance, ran to the window and grabbed for his binoculars. Even with them it was hard to see where the ball was going to land, as it seemed to go on forever. Eventually, Biff only saw a tiny black speck, which landed in the ocean so far out from shore, that even through his binoculars, no splash could be seen. He glared back towards Jack, lowering his binoculars, his jaw having hit the pavement. He eventually realized his mouth was hanging open and brought himself to say something. "...you owe me a new bed, asshole."

Jack smiled a bit by the comment, knowing his demonstration had gotten through. "This suit somehow grants me super human strength and even agility. If I wanted to I could storm on into that complex and take all them out right now... It's still somewhat risky though, considering I'd be incredibly outnumbered plus they have guns."

Biff: "So what then, you wanna rally n' army? You think I'm gonna be helpin' out jus' anyone comes thru' here lookin' ta' start a fight?"

Jack: "What's the alternative? Stay here and wait for the demons from Midgar to come for us?"

Biff had to think about that last one. "Think about it, I've seen everything you've got around the base, we can put up a good offensive! Besides, how long do you think it'll be before those Senate troops run out of food and come scrounging around the countryside looking something else to eat? Remember who has the most guns..."

Biff knew that Jack was right deep down, and that his little makeshift stronghold couldn't last forever. "If we took them out now, we could claim them boats ourselves..." he grunted. "We could escape 'ta freedom..."

"Exactly." Jack proclaimed. "But we have to act now, before it's too late. What do you say, do you want your freedom back, or not?"

[SqiKy kLeen]

Jack wiped the sweat from the exposed portion of his forehead. He hadn't realized it until just now, but the suit was actually quite hot when worn. Perhaps he hadn't noticed before because in every other instance where he used the suit, he was either in the shade, or the weather was cool, or he was fighting just to stay alive. But right now the suit was serving a much different purpose. It had become a great tool, one that was far more powerful than any power tool you'd buy at a hardware store.

For the past several hours, he had been making modifications to the various vehicles that the survivors brought to the camp with them. He was quite surprised and relieved to see that they had brought along more vehicles than he originally saw in his first trip around the camp. Overall they had two pick-up trucks, one large flat-bed wrecker, and one small hatchback that had been imported from the Beta continent several years earlier. These vehicles were going to be a crucial factor in their raid on the sea-port, as it was going to be the only way they would be able to counter-act the large number of guns the Senate troops wielded, without having many guns of their own.

"....there." Jack stated to himself as he made the finishing touches to the last bit of vehicular armor, which he had been making out of the large sheets of corrugated steel that were laying around the camp site. No bolts were used to attach the sheets to the vehicles, instead, Jack merely cut out large "tabs" in the sheet metal, and also in the roofs of the vehicles, and folded the tabs over and under each other. It was sturdy, but it was still somewhat loose, and it creaked loudly whenever Jack shook it. It was gonna be a noisy ride, but it was a small price to pay to keep his new found acquaintances alive. Jack had no intentions of allowing any more of his fellow attackers to die for his cause... not another one, not ever again...

In addition to the armor, Jack had also made several other modifications and undertaken a lot of other prep work, in an almost neurotic fashion. He had punctured the armor in several places with varying size holes, allowing for things like driver visibility, peep-holes so people could see their targets, and even holes for the gun barrels to slip through. Jack wanted as little visibility inside the cabins as possible, so every opening was quite small, including the drivers window. Any glass was also removed in case any shots somehow made it past the armor. He had also loaded one of the pick-up trucks with a giant, miraculously unbroken mirror he had found, as well as loading the flatbed truck with four barrels of gasoline. He also utilized a large spool of wire rope with a crank on it. He had attached the spool to the inside of one of the pick-up trucks, and the end of the rope to the other pick-up truck, effectively creating a wire-rope "clothsline" between the two vehicles.

But even though his suit had been doing most of the heavy lifting, cutting and bending, he still felt exhausted and needed to step back for a breather. Jacks mind had been focusing so intently on this project that at times he had forgotten to breathe. The mental strain from being tense and calculating, combined with the whirlwind of events that had happened over the past... how many days has it been again? Just how long was I out for? Oye, another mystery... Jack really needed that breather now.

He stopped and stared at his completed creations, the massive armored beasts once known as civilian vehicles. This is one of the first times in a while he had been able to just slow down and think, without being on a search, or in danger, or on the run. And with no other distractions of the sort. He realized that he was actually quite lucky to be alive... when he had been knocked off his bike in Midgar, the city had become a fleshy monstrosity, populated with blade-wielding deformities devouring their former human kin. If he was unconscious for any longer than a minute or two, which he suspected had to have been the case, surely he would have been lunch for some zombie, or turned into one himself. Instead, he awoke to a different world, one that was more like a ghost town, with cages and huge spaces of blackness stretching into infinity.

Jack reasoned that perhaps Valtiel had gotten bored with the world he created, and wanted to savor someones fear for a while, you know, just to change it up a bit. Given what he knew of Valtiels twisted sense of humor and one-of-a-kind creativity, he probably wouldn't be surprised if that was true. But if that was true, then why me? He had toyed with him it seemed, transported him though a specially made tunnel from the Super City, then exposed him to his own little custom horror show. Just what did he want with me anyway? Did he want revenge on him for the punch in the face, one that didn't even leave a fist indentation?

Jack pondered the idea that maybe he was meant to witness everything that took place... or perhaps he had been shown these events for a reason, but by whom?... and if that was the case, would that mean his "supposed" destiny was connected to Valtiel in some way?

No, I don't believe in any of that pre-determined destiny crap, Jack noted as he shrugged off the idea. Even if he did manage to get back there and fight with Valtiel, the Earth Breaker was already proven not to be effective enough to even make a dent in him. When I hit him back at the gym, it was like his whole body turned into immovable titanium or something... he's just too strong for me to handle, even with this suit... Jack clenched a fist, feeling somewhat defeated by the notion that there wasn't really much he could do about Valtiel, even if he wanted to.

*sigh* I guess I can only do what I can right now. ..Celica needs my help... saving her is my greatest priority now, so it seems I'll be making my own destiny... Jack began to wonder if Celica was alright, who knows what kind of things could have bee going on at that lab..

...no. No, I'm not gonna let my mind go there... You will be free again Celica, just hang on!!

Jack changed his focus to the people he had met. Claude, Bax, Sephiroth, Edos Lee, and many others... each one silent warriors, and all part of a world of shit most people didn't even know existed. He had lost track of all of them in Midgar, and with that he had a grim realization. He may never see any of them again. For all he knew, they could have been killed in Midgar, or perhaps felled by their dark opponents. However, Jack had a feeling that they all did escape, but are now just out somewhere in the world, fighting for what's right. Because all those people he had run into had one thing in common; they were just too stubborn when it came to dying. At least, he really hoped so...

Thats when he had an idea. He remembered that he could use his visor to view auras, so Jack quickly flipped it down and took a look out onto the horizon. The city of Midgar was once again the standout feature in his field of view, its black aura like a blind spot burned into a camera photo. He made several sweeps, even checking over in the Beta continent, but he barely found any auras that he recognized. Bax's aura was nowhere to be found, and although he could sense Sephiroth, he couldn't quite pinpoint him, as his aura had become more like large area of fog. He could tell which direction he was in, but the trouble was pinpointing his exact location. He must have gained some incredible power. Even Claudes aura had seemingly... wait.. it was still there. But it was near another aura, one that he didn't recognize from before. It was another black aura, but it was a different kind of blackness, which was more like an absence of light. It was having a profound effect covering up and weakening nearby auras. Jack was stumped as to who or what this could be.

He flipped the visor back up and let out a deep sigh. Didn't turn up much for good news. Jack held his head in silence for a moment, sending out a quiet prayer for everyone he had met.

....
May you live on, all of you! I sorry for running off to the Beta continent like this, but I needed to be there ages ago. I will return though... and we will kick ass once again!

As Jack thought about getting to the Beta continent, he was reminded of his current predicament, and everything that had happened so far. His mind flashed to one particular memory from a couple hours ago, notable for how funny one part of it was, and also notable for the fact that if it hadn't taken place, he might have not been able to talk the people here into making another run on the Senate controlled sea port so soon. It had happened right after he had demonstrated the suit to Biff. It didn't take long for someone to notice the giant lead ball Jack had launched over the ocean, so naturally, it didn't take long before someone came around asking about it. As Biff started to leave the room, he was greeted at the door by two of the survivors at the camp.

Tibian: "Biff, did you see that... flying thing just now? What the hell was that?"

Biff shook his head a little, knowing that he wasn't going to believe it. "..it was ma' bed."

Tibian: "...what?"

Biff: "Well, our new friend here..."

He tried to explain, but he was cut off by an extremely startled sounding "OH GOD!" coming from Tibian. Jack had just come through the doorway, forgetting to remove the Earth Breaker, and when Tibian saw it, his eyes turned wide as dinner plates, his face went slack, and he hopped about a foot in place, in one of the most priceless expressions Jack had ever hoped to capture on film but didn't.

That was the funny part.

It wasn't funny for much longer though, as the two survivors happened to be carrying rifles with them at the time, and quickly sighted Jack in after the initial shock faded away.

Zahra: "..ww.wwhat is that thing?"

Biff: "Yeah, Jack, what is that thing?"

Jack was a little frustrated knowing that Biff was playing dumb to get an explanation out of him, but also understood that if he didn't give an explanation that the trust factor would be lost fast, and he needed it now more than ever if he wanted to get his these new acquaintances, and himself, off of this continent alive. OK, this is gonna sound weird, but here goes nothing... "It's a prototype weapon," Jack explained. "It used to belong to the Senate... and I stole it."

Zahra: "What a load. You expect us to believe that? And even if it's true, then why shouldn't I just shoot you right now? For all I know you are Senate!"

And with that statement, Jack began seeing red. His blood boiled and his heart raced. He wanted so badly to explode on that little snot. If it was one thing he couldn't tolerate, especially after everything that had happened, it was being associated with Senate slime. He clenched his fist, gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at Zahra. "...don't..you..EVER associate me with those pieces of shit!"

"Woah, woah, all o' you jus' calm down already..." Biff interjected, keeping the tensions from rising any higher. "I kin' tell he ain't Senate... an' he aint one o' the freaks from hell... and if he tries anything funny I kin' still put one between his eyes..." Zahra and Tibian lowered their firearms as they listened to Biff. "But he still shouldn't be here with that thing, and that's why were puttin' him ta' work for us."

Tibian: "Excuse me? We're gonna recruit him?"

Biff: "He's shown me what this thing's capable of in terms of a weapon, that's fer sure. That thing ya' saw flyin' out over the ocean was ma' bed. Mr Machine here jus' crumpled it up inta a ball with his bare hands'n chucked it out ta' sea."

"Impressive," Zahra said as she glanced over the Earth Breaker. "But whats your point?"

"Ma' point..." Biff walked towards Jack and put his arm around his gigantic metal shoulders "..is that if we kin' use this suit to our advantage, I think we could take out those Senate fools, and finally git' to real freedom."

---

To make a long story short, Jack and Biff laid out their plans, and eventually convinced Zahra and Tibian to join on board in their attack on the naval base. The four then went on to have a talk with every one of the other survivors about everything detailing the upcoming attack, from the timing, to battle plans, to a demonstration of Jack's suit for all to finally see. Arguments were raised, things were yelled, and agreements were arrived at, but eventually the entire group got on board for the attack. They were a little more inclined to go along with it once Jack mentioned that he had found parts in their encampment that could help make their vehicles more bulletproof. As part of their agreement, Jack would have to prove his statements, which meant working on the vehicular armor until it met their approval.

But now that was finally done, and Jack was merely waiting for the survivors to return while he allowed himself to think...

Biff: "Hey, you fall asleep standin' up over there?"

Jack was startled as he noticed Biff had been in the room for at least a few moments now, and he hadn't seen him because he was lost in his own thoughts.

"Well well..." Biff exclaimed, as he walked around the garage, eying up the freshly installed armor. "Very interesting, we might even make it out alive jus' yet..." Zahra, Tibian, and some of the other villagers then entered the room. Many of them just looked on in silence at the vehicles in examination, while others were more vocal about their thoughts.

Tibian: "Hey, this ain't half bad... nice work."

Zahra: "If you ask me, they look like upside-down soup bowls."

"All that matters is that they keep the bullets at bay..." Jack interjected. "Which I think these will do. Just promise me that in exchange for me keeping you alive, that you make every shot count."

Zahra laughed as she took a look over her rifle. "I don't miss."

The vehicle inspection was still continuing, but Biff had noticed a raising confidence level in his comrades and figured that now was the time for a leadership speech. "Alright people, we got one more shot at our freedom, and I think this time tha' odds are stacked in our favor." Nods of agreement and even a couple whistles came from the small crowd. "Eat well tonight..." Biff was now speaking in a bit slower, more serious tone. "Sleep well... and have sweet dreams 'bout the good life... cuz' tomorrow night, we dine on Beta!"

Cheers erupted as the small crowd threw their fists into the air. Jack's mind was eased to see so many people so amped about the attack and about the capabilities of the Earth Breaker; They were going to need every ounce of positivity they could get. It had been a while since Jack had been out the proverbial frying pan, so he savored the moment, for he knew that it wouldn't be long until he would be throwing himself back into the fire.




(OOC: In real life, I don't think corrugated sheet metal would actually be enough to repel bullets, but this is a story and also science fiction, so you'll have to suspend your disbelief in favor of greater entertainment value, while you prepare for the next post in Jacks storyline!)

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: The sea port compound is composed of two main concrete buildings, a five story building in the North, and a ten-story building in the South, as well as various other smaller structures and shacks. The compound is surrounded in the North and West sides by a 15 foot concrete wall. The South border is blocked off by a gigantic hill, and the East border faces the ocean. There isint as much sand here as there is dirt, since this is located near the shoreline. == Lines represent long gaps in time, -- lines represent very short or instant gaps in time.)




The sun had only risen halfway above the horizon, and was glowing with a deep red hue, casting long black shadows on the numerous survivors at the encampment. Many had awoke particularly early, unable to sleep, and were making the most of their insomnia by loading the vehicles ahead of time with whatever food, tools, and other things they could find. Jack had awoken along with them, also being a victim of thoughts too heavy to sleep on, and was assisting wherever necessary.

Since this was the last day the survivors would likely be at the sea port, they brought their biggest guns out of hiding. They had been stashing away three extra shotguns the entire time Jack had been at the camp, because up to that very morning, the survivors still wanted the upper hand just in case Jack didn't turn out the be the man he made them believe he was. Biff's son had also found a two pairs of walkie-talkies in a last effort to search the grounds for usable items, which was a huge relief to many of the survivors, as it would be extremely handy for keeping contact and coordination between the four vehicles.

(OOC: Switch to high aerial view of camp-site.)

The last thing that could be seen amongst the dark shadows of the survivors against the backdrop of the morning sun, was the silhouette of an elongated, two wheeled vehicle backing up onto the flatbed wrecker. The large truck retracted its ramp, and the engine was turned over, joining the other three vehicles that were already running. Eventually, the caravan began to move, and the survivors slowly accelerated into the horizon... towards their final confrontation.


=========


Five armed men stood in a circle in a cold, smoky supply room in a quiet, abandoned warehouse. They gazed coldly into each others eyes, scanning their opponents for any sign of weakness. Silence filled the room as every one of them quietly tested the others, creating a tension in the air that could be cut with a knife. Their faces were deadpan, some were sweating bullets, any movement could potentially leave them open to attack.

Then one of them lifted his fist high into the air in a sudden burst of movement, stretching his arm behind the back of his head. With a powerful swing, he slammed his fist down onto the table in between where all the men were standing. "Read em' and weep ladies; Jacks fulla' Aces!"

"AAAAWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!" The rest of the guys vocalized their disappointment, some shaking their heads, others throwing their cards down as if to 'slam' them into the table. "And I caught the damn flush too...", one of them said frustratedly, having previously thought he was going to win the hand.

The winner chuckled as he listened to the whining of his fellow card players, reaching his arms out to rake a large pile of betting fodder in his direction that included some Gil, a canned ration, a pack of cigarettes, two rifle magazines, a pair of boots, and the keys to a humvee. "Don't you know the first thing about poker?" he grunted. "Yer' not sayin' anything, but yer' tellin' me everything." The rest of the five man squad stood confused for a moment, his subtlety phrased hint failing to sink in.

~All squads return to your posts... before I put a boot up your asses.~, a sarcastic voice growled over a nearby radio. ~We got movement out on the horizon.~

"Great... last time we saw any movement out there, we ended up taking potshots and a flock of gulls.", the soldiers continued to banter while heading out of the supply room.
"Well, at least those tasted alright..."
"Yeah, whatever was left of 'em!"

-----

Meanwhile, in a watch tower just inside the walls of the sea port compound, the sergeant switched off his radio inter-com and raised a pair of binoculars towards the horizon. This time he was certian that whatever he saw wasn't just a group of animals or a mirage spot. For about the past forty minutes, the distant spot he noticed had been growing closer to their location. What that spot could be though, he was still uncertain of. Although one thing about it caught his attention; it was kicking up a huge cloud of dust several feet high and wide. Whatever it was, it was either huge, or there was a lot of them. "Hmmm, we might just see some real action yet..."

-----

The sun had risen high above the horizon, radiating its light and heat onto the convoy of armored vehicles. The two pickup trucks ran side by side, allowing the steel cable strung between them to drag on the ground, kicking up a giant cloud of sand and dust as they drove. The flat bed wrecker followed along-side the two pickup trucks, while the hatchback ran out in front of the pack a few car lengths.

Inside the vehicles, little was said, as the crew was completely focused on the mission at hand. Some stood silently in guard mode, peeking out the holes in the armor, while others hunched over with their backs against the side of the interior, their knees against their chests, gripping their rifles with white knuckles. The additional armor had made the insides of these vehicles into pressure cookers, so many were perhaps saving their energy for the fight ahead, due to the overwhelming heat.

~Red, you're gonna have to move over to your left, your kicking dust in my face... we don't have windshields, you know...~ The crackled voices coming through the radios had been the only thing breaking the silence the whole trip, with people shouting status updates and coordinating driving plans every few minutes or so. ~We don't wanna crash up right before we get there.~

~Yeah, yeah, man. I know, I KNOW, I'm moving already!~, another voice chimed out, as the hatchback up front drifted a few feet to the left, dragging the dust trail it was making out of immediate view of one of the trucks.

After hearing what the first radio voice had said, Jack got up and went to take a peek out one of the custom made portholes in the armor. The compound was coming clearly into sight now, and it would'nt be too long before they would be within knocking distance of the front gate. He grabbed a radio out of the hands of the person in the passenger seat. ~Remember, Ill run in first and find the keys, you just try to stay alive out here! I get one boat to myself; I can make due on my own, and I'd rather you guys not accompany me where I'm headed...~

Biffs voice yelled back through the radio speaker. ~Suits me 'en everyone else here... with a thing like that, yer' gonna be a magnet fer' trouble... I got respect for ya' kid, but yer a liability.~

Jack wasn't planning on including anyone else in his mission thankfully, and it put him at ease to hear that. It meant he could split with a boat to himself and have it work out for everyone involved. ~...thanks,~ Jack said a bit sarcastically, while looking out the small square window in the armor. They were incredibly close now. ~This is it everyone! Stay sharp!~

-----

The sergeant lowered his binoculars. The now visible caravan of vehicles he had been watching was coming to a stop. "What the hell..." he muttered under his breath. "Steve, what's going on out there?", he asked the sniper who was now perched next to him, eying the caravan through the lens of his scope.

"No movement yet...", he addressed the sergeant, without breaking concentration. "I can't get a good visual, too much glare off of the... armor?....wait, someone's on the move out there!"

-----

Jack quickly darted from behind the back of the wrecker with the Earth Breaker equipped, and took cover behind the truck housing the large mirror. ~Yup, were being watched...~, Biffs voice grunted over the radios. ~we got 'rselves a sharp shooter, stay in cover!~

As his warning rang out amongst the crew, the people in the truck (the one Jack had hidden behind) carefully but quickly filed out the back, taking care to keep the vehicle between them and the watch tower. Two of them carefully hoisted out the large mirror and handed it to Jack. "Get behind me, help prop this up!", he ordered, as he flipped it vertically and propped it up on the back edge of the trucks topper, making sure the reflective surface was facing the base. Jack peeked out from behind the truck just enough so that he could see some of the outer wall of the compound, and eyed it intently as he adjusted the mirror in various ways, watching a gigantic bright spot nearly twenty feet wide, created from the reflection of the sun off the mirror, dart around to different spots on the wall as he moved it. Taking his best guess as to where the tower was located, he moved the mirror into the 'correct' position, and quickly shouted "That's it... keep is steady!" to the helpers that he had summoned, before darting swiftly back behind the wrecker he rode in on.

-----

"AAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHH!", the sniper yelled out as a sudden bright flash consumed his scope, leaving him seeing colored spots in his eyes momentarily.

"Whats going on out there?!, the sergeant forcefully asked, before taking a look in the direction of the 'visitors' himself. "Aaaahhh! son of a..." he exclaimed as he caught sight of the light of the blaring sun, forcing him to flinch and cover his eyes. As he winced, he came to a sudden realization; this glare was no accident, and an attack might be imminent. "Steve... get out of the crows nest, now!", he warned, as he grabbed for his radio and clicked the button in. "Stay sharp ladies, we got hostiles on the way!"

-----

Back in the wrecker, one of the passengers kneeled beside one of four barrels of gasoline, furiously flicking his butane lighter; his nervous and jerky movements creating too much air flow to light properly. "Calm down, man! Just breathe and light..", Jack ordered, attempting to help put him at ease, although unintentionally sounding cocky and rude. Jack, without a doubt, was a little stressed as well.

But the crewman was too nervous to use his ego at this point and took Jacks advice without even saying anything. It worked, and the man calmed down enough to get his lighter going, then proceeded to hold it up to a gas-soaked rag that had been stuffed into the small, threaded hole in the top of one of the barrels. The rag caught flame and began to smolder, effectively creating a gigantic Molotov cocktail. Knowing the volatility of what he had, Jack quickly grabbed the barrel and darted out the back of the wrecker. He turned around and estimated where the tower was before planting his feet firmly into the ground and getting a more secure hold on the barrel. "Lets see what your guns do against THIS SHIT!", Jack yelled angrily, as he hurled the barrel into through the air, sending it on a crash course to the encampment.

The sergeant was still scrambling down the ladder of the crows nest when the tower was struck with the barrel, it's thin metal walls shattering open on impact and instantly atomizing the gasoline with the surrounding oxygen. All it took was one lick of flame from the rag, and a thunderous explosion was created that instantly tore the watch tower to splinters, shaking everything in the vicinity and causing flames to rain down on unsuspecting ex-Senate troops below.

Jack watched off in the distance as a large plume of black smoke made its way into the sky. Momentary cheers and random "holy shits" and "hell yeahs" rang out from the various vehicles as Jack motioned his arm at his dedicated lighter man. "Quick! Gimme another one... I ain't givin' these bastards any chance to attack!"

"Already done." the lighter man exclaimed more calmly this time, as another rag in the top of another barrel caught fire. In the same fashion as before, Jack quickly ran into the wrecker and out with the barrel, planting himself and heaving the massive steel container through the air. Although not as calculated as his previous throw, he still managed to send it in the general direction he wanted. This time, the flaming projectile collided with the Eastern corner of the North wall of the northern building at around the 4th floor. The immense blast not only punched a hole clean through the wall, but also sent large cracks rippling down the sides of the building, spraying dust and pebbles violently in every direction, and eventually collapsing large parts of the wall, sending broken concrete slabs crashing down to the ground below.

Jack silently observed his handy-work for a moment, watching as the black smoke plumes became thicker as they smoldered in the sand from behind the concrete outer wall. The smoke was dense and plentiful enough to cover the windows of the building and prevent the Senate drones from getting clear sniper shots on their location. ...but then something sank in for him. All his life, Jack feared, hated, and lashed out against the Senate; struggling to live normally, yet not allow these scumbags to continue to take advantage of people. He'd been injured and nearly killed thousands of times, along with several of his closes friends and loved ones, many of which who had unfortunately suffered the latter fate. Yet... here he was, raining destruction on the source of his pain and sorrow like the fist of an angry god. He felt a twinge of regret momentarily at the thought that he was hurting, and possibly killing people, but these... people, these animals.. Who knows how many innocent people they've killed, or worse? And for what, to lick the boots of their superiors? Now Jack understood how he had been able to hit his targets so well... because it felt so damn good.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sound of a ricocheting bullet. Everybody in the vehicles hit the deck and did their best to cover their heads, just as two more shots rang out in quick succession, followed by a final fourth shot after a brief pause. ~We got gunfire on the North wall, East side~, Biffs voice rang out, as the gunman in the front passenger seat of the wrecker readied his automatic rifle and carefully peeked out the hole in the custom armor, quickly spotting the soldier peeking out over the top of the wall, rifle secured into his shoulder and ready to fire another barrage. The passenger then unleashed a short bursts of shots, which struck the wall just near the enemy sniper, but not close enough to actually hit, should they have gone through. Startled, the enemy quickly darted behind the wall again and out of sight.

"Jack, hit 'em with another one, NOW!" the passenger screamed out, realizing this troop was the only one they had noticed so far, and they may be able to permanently cripple their defenses if they can strike early and swiftly enough. Jack nodded in agreement; the lighter guy, however, was already on the case, having lit the rag on the second-to-last barrel at the first mention of another strike. Jack picked up the barrel and once again took stance to throw, making sure he was in a bit better cover this time.

Focusing some of that feeling he had channeled before, Jack took the barrel in one hand, and darted out in between two of his vehicles, throwing the barrel between them with one arm, yet managing to send it careening through the air at even faster speeds than he had thrown before. The barrel arced very little in its path, and after a couple seconds of flight smashed directly in the center into the Northern wall of the North building at around the 4th floor, just to the right of there his previous barrel hit. BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM The explosion once again rang out, shaking loose several fractured, but still barely attached sections of wall. The clouds of concrete particles thickened in the air as the supports that ran through that wall of the building began to creak and crumble. The roof, and the floor directly below the roof began to wrinkle and sag like a wet pancake, and it wasn't long until the structural integrity gave out in that area, causing a chunk of the top two layers of the building to slide off the side and come crashing down in front of the building, making large pile of rubble that sprawled over a large area outside the Northeast corner of the building. The dust that rose in its wake suggested an even larger area had been covered by the debris than could be seen behind the wall.

~DAMMIT Jack, watch yer' aim! The keys could be in any one of them buildings!~ Biffs voice warned over the radio. Jack stopped for a second as the weight of that Biff had said sank in. He could've been right; he had gotten careless and allowed himself to be swept up in a feeling of revenge that might have cost them their ride out of here. But they had come this far, and odds were good that those keys were still intact between those buildings. He quickly shook off the grim idea, and looked at his barrel supply; one left. "Well?", the lighter guy asked, as if to hurry Jack along in his decision making. He wanted this next strike to be a bit more tactical, but he would almost have to know where exactly the enemy was to pull off something like that. If only...

..But then he remembered the visor. Acting quickly, he flipped it down and looked out "through" the vehicles and towards the compound. Sure enough, tiny dotted auras of the Senate soldiers could be seen moving around. Two, maybe three, looked like the were trapped under the debris pile, and were fading fast. He also noticed where the previous soldier was who had fired upon them, noting that he hadn't moved much. But in general, many of the "dots" seemed to be collaborating around the Western gate leading inside the compound That's it.

Jack motioned for the lighter guy to get the last barrel lit and quickly darted in and out with the barrel in hand. This throw would require much more effort than his previous throws; the Western gate was nearly twice as far a way as his other targets. But he knew he didn't need to be as accurate this time, because this barrel was never going to touch the ground.

With his free hand, Jack reached out for the radio that he had set down earlier and squeezed the talk button. "Biff, on my mark, I want you to shoot this one out of the sky!"

~10-4~, Biff replied, as Jack readied for his next throw. Coming up with one last idea, Jack flattened his fingers and poked them at the side of the barrel, essentially karate chopping it and leaving a gash running down the side that began leaking gas the moment it was cut into. Jack then threw it as fast and as hard as he could towards the Western gate, and picked up the radio with his non-gas soaked hand, as he observed the barrel flying through the air while slowly spilling its contents from hundreds of feet in the sky.

"NOW!" Jack shouted into the radio, as Biff caught the sight of the flying barrel through his sniper rifle. With expert precision, let loose a shot that about a half a second after it was pulled, made contact with the barrel no more than 20 feet above the heads of the Senate soldiers that were gathering around the inside of the Western wall. It ripped the already weak barrel in half, and a portion of the contents exploded in midair with a thunderous 'boom'. The rest of the remaining liquid caught fire and rained down on the troops below, spraying about the ground, and also setting fire to the long line of gas that had been strewn about by the tear in the barrel before its explosion.

Jack observed his handiwork for another second or so, then quickly realized that it was time for him to separate from the rest of the group. He had discussed this earlier with them, so they realized he wasn't just abandoning them. With a suit like his, they had the unique opportunity to attack in two very different ways; two ways that would work best independently of each other. Besides that, he would probably be a magnet for their strongest weapons with this thing, making him more of a liability and making separation seem like the wisest idea. He fired up his motorcycle, and one of the passengers lowered the ramp, just before one of the driver of the wrecker yelled out...

"GRENADE, TO THE LEFT!! DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!" He had seen the grenade in mid-flight, the source being the soldier that had shot at them before from above the outer wall. The entire caravan began to move and turn to the right, as Jack mashed the throttle on his bike. He took a rough landing as he hit the desert surface, due to the fact that the caravan was already moving forward at the time. Just as he exited the vehicle, the grenade blew up, sending a plume of dirt into the air. Jack managed to escape its blast range, but the wrecker was still too close, and was blown onto its two right wheels by the force of the blast, littering the armor with indentations from the shrapnel, and balancing it sideways momentarily in mid air before finally falling back on all four wheels and taking a hard bounce.

"SON OF A BITCH!", Jack yelled as he pulled his bike around to the right side of the pack of advancing vehicles, attempting to keep as much armor between him and the guns of the Senate troops.

~Everyone alright over there?~ Biff inquired via radio.

~Yeah, were good, JUST DRIVE!~, the wrecker driver responded.

It was now a full fledged war zone out here. Jack and the other survivors sped South along the Western side of the compound, their caravan shrouded from shots by the line of flames created by the exploding barrel, burning in the desert sands. The fire from the gas melted the sand and created thick smoke which the soldiers had a tough time shooting through. Despite that, shots were frequent, and every so often one of them could be heard pinging off the armor of one of the vehicles. Jack swerved back and forth and varied his speed, trying to make himself an even harder target to hit.

Eventually, the caravan approached the Western gate area, much of which was still littered with flames from the previous explosion. Jack knew that most of the soldiers wouldn't have been downed by the barrel attack alone, and almost as if to be expected, the caravan was pelted with dozens more bullets from Senate rifles as they drove South past the gate. He quickly observed the other vehicles to see if they were slowing for any reason and found that there were sill OK for the most part... or at least the drivers inside were still alive...

That's it, I'm getting in there and finding those keys... I cant waste any more time!

The caravan had veered away from the outer wall, heading West out into the desert again to regroup for another drive by. Jack took this time to swing around the front of the caravan in a sudden burst of speed, breaking off from the rest of the group and rocketing back towards the wall. Jack looked ahead at his incoming target through the lens of his visor, and noticed two gunman perched on the top floor of the South building, one floor below the roof. He glared his targets down and gunned the throttle of the bike, its signature bark amping the power to the wheels, sending him careening towards the brick wall of the compound.

He weaved in an out of gunfire, the bullet holes producing lines of squibs around Jacks location on the ground. A couple bullets glanced off the fender on Jacks bike, and yet another grazed an armor segment on his bicep, leaving an indentation. "Shit!", Jack exclaimed as he pushed his bike faster and faster, getting closer and closer to the wall every second while weaving in and out of gunfire. Then he lifted his legs as high into the air as he could, and while still sitting on the bike, leveled his feet with the ground and stomped both feet simultaneously into the Earths surface with full force. The combined speed and force of the bike and the jump sent Jack careening through the air as he held onto his bike, tucking it under his arm and staring down at the Senate soldiers in the windows as he flew over them and landed in a three point stance on the roof of the South building.

As he stood back up with motorcycle in hand, he noticed something he had not yet paid conscious attention to previously; two helicopters were perched on the roof right along side of him. Interesting..., Jack pondered. It crossed his mind momentarily to take the keys for these instead of the boats, but they couldn't seat as many people, and Jack didn't know how to fly one. He let the thought go and began to hear people talking. He had landed relatively close to the edge, and was overhearing the soldiers below barking orders out the window, and also into their radios. "One of those people just... landed on our roof! Were sending a squad up right now!"

Heh, suckers., Jack thought to himself as he walked over to the South edge of the roof and leapt down the side of the building, the intent being to land in the South alleyway behind the building where it appeared no Senate soldiers were currently going. As he leapt though, he began to realize just how long of a fall 10 stories was, and he felt a twinge of fear in his gut as he looked down at his inevitable plunge. The only thing he could do is try land as best he could and hope that the Earth Breaker would let him land safely.

*THWACK* Jack hit the ground in a two point stance. The shock rippled through his body inside the suit, but overall he was fine. And he really didn't make that much noise upon landing. But it was one of the first things he had done with the Earth Breaker that scared the crap out of him. He had gotten so used to the suit making things easier for him, that he just assumed that it would be as easy, but he didn't expect a rush like that. He'd have to mind his step more carefully from here on out.

The jump worked though, and he could hear footsteps of soldiers ascending the stairwells in the building, going after their 'target'. Jack took his bike and parked it behind a wooden crate tucked in the back alley and made sure it was out of sight. He then carefully peeked around the side of the building to check if the coast was clear, and noticed a door only about a couple feet away from him. The West gate was clearly visible down the alley beyond the door as well, and soldiers were firing their guns and being fired at continuously. But, they seemed to be far away enough and pre-occupied enough to where Jack might be able to slip into the building unnoticed through that door. Moving quickly, and trying with all his muscle groups to avoid making sound while turning the door handle, Jack opened the door of the building and slipped inside, shutting the door as carefully as if it was made of ashes.

He took a quick note of his surroundings once inside. Off to his left was a sturdy concrete staircase that was probably the one the soldiers had been running up. Straight ahead though, was a long narrow hallway, with Senate soldiers gathering and grouping up ahead, thankfully engaged in conversation and reloading their weapons. They were just distracted enough not to notice Jack slip in, so he figured if...


*What does it take... to fall in love... I need you, baby... like the air that I breathe...*

Jack looked down in horror as his cell phone went off, and as the troops immediately looked over, they almost instantaneously shouldered their rifles and unleashed a hailstorm of bullets in Jack's direction. Jack had already motioned to make a dive up the stairs and just narrowly missed several possibly lethal shots. Two particular bullets cut the air only inches beneath his feet, eventually finding their way to the door Jack had came through, and blowing it off its hinges. Jack ran with everything he had, finding now for some reason climbing stairs wasn't as easy as he thought it should have been.

Man, why now? Jack looked down at the phone in his pocket as it rang, wondering if he could even get it out with the Earth Breaker equipped. Thankfully, there was an exposed section in the armor that allowed him to reach his pocket there, and Jack pulled out the phone and flipped it open. Just then another volley of bullets shot up the stairwell at him, and he was forced to take cover behind a vertical section of concrete momentarily. "Come down so we can kill you, you little shit!", soldiers below yelled out up the stairs, as Jack heard an unusual lull in their firing. He knew something; he had to move now.

Jack then bolted up another flight of stairs as fast as he could, running out of breath even though he could probably easily make it up the stairs without being winded; he hated the Senate, but was also terrified of them.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

A small explosion tore apart the area next to the staircase that Jack had been hiding behind, leaving a hole that the floor below could see through. They tried the grenade launcher on me... in their own base... they aren't fucking around today...

Just then he realized that he was still on the line, and he didn't even know who had called him yet. He glanced at his phone as he ran up the stairs. Claude? Jack thought before he finally answered. "Claude? Zack? You there? Hello?"

He could hear a small gasp on the other line, followed by the voice of Claude. “Oh jeez, Jack, thank God you're ok! Oh jeez... I thought you could be dead! I mean, I... I know you're a badass but--”

Jack knew that this might take awhile. It seemed Claude had become quite eccentric as he had aged; sorta like his brother. But Jack wanted to get the point, and Claude had no idea what kind of pressure he was under, so he opted to interrupt. "Holy... SHIT MAN you're still alive, oh my God I was thinkin' I wasn't ever gonna hear from any of you guys again!" More gunfire rang out as Jack talked to Claude, and it broke his concentration as he once again had to sprint upwards and stop talking to escape from the incoming fire of the advancing Senate soldiers. After climbing to a safer height, Jack gave a direct order to Claude; he wanted to keep him on the phone, despite what was going on in battle. "Listen, I'm really, kinda really busy here man, I gotta keep moving, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T HANG UP, STAY WITH ME; SHIT!"

Jack saw soldiers coming down from the top of the stairs now as well as the bottom, ready and waiting to take potshots at the relatively easy, lower level target. Thinking fast, Jack dove off the stairway, just missing another volley of bullets, and launched himself into the nearby hallway of the third floor, deciding to make a run for the stairs at the opposite end of the building. As he ran down the hall, a Senate trooper popped out the side of one of the room, not expecting to see the gigantic armored Jack lumbering toward him. "Hey, you!" was all he could yell out before Jack grabbed his face with his robotic-seeming hand, covering the mouth of the doomed trooper. With a quick flick of his arm, he slammed the troopers head into the side of the door frame, unintentionally making a sickening cracking sound upon impact. The trooper fell at least unconscious to the floor... but could have been even worse than that... given the sound Jack had just made with his head. He took off running again and made his way towards the stairs as he answered the phone again. "How did everyone do in Midgar, is everyone alright?!?"

"Uhh... It's complicated. Really complicated. We're all alive last I heard, but everyone else is off doing something. I'm worried, but we all got out at least at first." Jack kicked off the wall as he turned the corner on the stairs, still listening to Claude. "Jack... What's going on over there?"

"We're at a dock on the East coast of the continent...", Jack said, knowing he couldn't explain everything this fast in this type of situation. "..me 'n the survivors I found here are gettin' the hell off this rock... sorry I couldn't come back, but there's something I need to do..."

As he spoke out, even more gunfire rang out from below Jack as he climbed the stairs. "SON OF A BITCH!", Jack yelled out, forgetting momentarily about the phone conversation again. Damn, they got troops on this stairwell too??? "...alright, let's see how you like this! Come and get me you Senate pricks!"

Jack knelt down at the top of the section of staircase he was on, and curled his right hand into a fist. He took a few practice punches, then with a loud scream, hammered his fist into a section of concrete that one could clearly tell was a connector piece to attach the stairway to the rest of the floor. A wide crack spread out in the concrete from where Jack has plunged his Earth Breaker-powered fist through, and he felt the staircase 'shift' ever so slightly as it lost its structural integrity. Jack then pulled his fist back out of he floor and sliced into it once again, this time in a karate chop motion. The extra force of the second blow shook loose large pieces of concrete which fell crashing down into the stairwell below. This made just enough of a gap between the floor and the top step to effectively dislodge the top portion of this section of stairs, leaving the ten-step section of staircase to eventually lean over and come crashing down below onto an identical set of stairs. The acoustics of the stair case combined with the sound of concrete smashing on concrete filled the air with excessive noise, so much so that the soldiers screaming below couldn't even hear their own voices. It crushed the two Senate troops that were coming up that section, filled the staircase with rubble, and left an unreachable gap between the floor Jack was on and the floor below him.

The dust began to settle and Jack could hear the soldiers re-routing themselves in the floors below. As they made their move, Jack decided it was time to make his as well, and began to run up the staircase once again, figuring that the now blocked off staircase below would allow him a chance to get ahead of the soldiers and talk with Claude a bit more. Little had he realized though, that on the other end of the phone, Claude had called out Jacks name, worried sick about what was happening to him; although it had been drowned out by the sounds of the shattering concrete, so Jack had never even heard it. He hopped back on the phone as he ran and continued to finish what he had been saying earlier. "...I saw Celica...in one of my dreams... I need to find her Claude, shes been gone for too long and DAMMIT I'm not gonna allow one more innocent life to be lost on my watch!"

"M-my name is Zack," Claude said mechanically. "Don't call me Claude anymore..." There was a brief pause before Jack heard Claudes voice shift in tone as he made his next statement. "Yes, Celica needs rescued, it's been way too long, I'm worried about her too. Really worried..."

There's that name thing again...*sigh* just go with it for now, I don't have time to argue... "I have no idea what could be happening to her.. I gotta get there, and I cant fail. Success is my only option now...", Jack said reached the top of the section of staircase he had been climbing and noticed that he was at the 7th floor. The layout appeared to be a bit different, with additional hallways heading off in directions that they didn't go on the previous floors. Jack decided to change route there to see if he could further evade the Senate troops, and began talking again as he darted down the hallway off to his right. "...but that thing... Volatile, or whatever his name is... that scares me on a whole other level... I feel like I'm obligated to help now that I got this suit. Zack, if I ever get back I'm gonna do whatever I can to fight that thing... Where did you end up after the shit hit the fan in Midgar?"

"I... I don't really know where I am. Distance, I mean. I'm south of Midgar, about a day's run. Found Libertas, a buncha drifters in a giant movable town... It could end up anywhere later." Jack heard Claude sigh he noticed a poster stuck on the wall of the hallway that got his attention. He stopped momentarily saw that it was a map of the building. More specifically, it was the very floor that Jack was on. He looked over the map and noticed that the names of the rooms had been crossed out in permanent marker and re-written, probably by the Senate troops after they had been ordered to be stationed here permanently. His eyes scanned the map;

"HAZING room"
"Poker Room"
"Crew's quarters (and dimes and nickles) (wow LOSER)"
"Securitty/Maintents"

Bingo. Jack thought. If the keys to the boats (or maybe even those choppers) were going to be anywhere, it was in the Security room. Claude then spoke once again. "I... wish I could help you, Jack..."

"Thanks man, I appreciate the concern. But I'm holding my own here.", Jack stated as he took off down the halls of the 7th floor to seek out the 'Securitty/Maintents' room. "Besides, I wouldn't want to be dragging someone, anyone for that matter, along with me in case I do something stupid, which is likely for me now considering what's at stake."

It wasn't long after he finished his last sentence that he came upon the room he was seeking, noticing the door was closed. Jacks voice dropped to a whisper, as he thought that there could be someone inside. "...hhhhhey, I think this is it...", he vocalized to himself, although he was certain Claude probably heard it. "...don't worry bout me, your friends need you now. But Celica needs me... hey, stay on the line, I gotta take care of something..."

Jack stepped back from the door to the security room momentarily, then kicked it off it's hinges, sending him tumbling into the room. After a couple rolls, he took a one knee stance and looked up and around the room. "...heh, nobody in here...", Jack thought out loud as he immediately began to scan the room for the items he seeked. There wasn't much to this room; a coffee maker, a blackboard, a couple lockers, a table and chairs, a cork-board with some key rings hanging off of it...there.

Jack ran up to the cork-board and ran his eyes across the various things each of them were labeled for. Nearly all the pegs for the keys were empty, except... "awww, are these?..." Jack said to himself once again, noticing that there were two separate key rings, one for each of the two boats. Hanging there as if to be found intentionally. "....yup. oh man, I can't believe they just left them out here! What a bunch of idiots! Hey Zack," Jack turned his attention back to the phone, realizing he was talking to himself a bit too much for what was an important conversation with someone he didn't even know was still alive until now. "I just got my hands on a new ride, Ill be making it to the Beta continent after all!"

Zack: "That's great, Jack. Man, you've really got the situation in hand. Just like the old days... You always knew how to handle things."

Jack: "Heh, thanks dude..."

Jack couldn't hear an soldiers coming for him just yet, so he figured now he would finally have a bit more of a chance to speak with Claude without interruption. He wanted to make small talk, but he felt the urge to once again inquire about Claudes name change, being as it was one of the more mysterious topics surrounding his old friend. "...say, hope you don't mind me mentioning it again, but I was sorta hopin' I could call you Claude; you know, cause Jack and Zack sound so similar... I figure if you got a nickname, or if Zack's your nickname or whatever, use what sounds different and stands out. There aren't many Claudes out there, its a cool name."

A moment of silence could be heard on the other line. "I... I'm Zack. Remember? We ran around when we were younger. I did ok. Claude... was weak. He's not here."

What the fuck...? Not here? A red flag went up in Jacks mind. Claude had done what some would consider some odd things before, but admitting he himself was 'not there' was some extreme, and partially disturbing behavior. Combined with the fact that Claude referred to himself continuously as Zack, and the fact that he strove act like Zack in nearly every way...did he think he really was Zack? Either way, Jack knew that something was definitely wrong with Claude. Split-personality disorder crossed his mind, although he did not not like the term 'disorder', as it was merely a word doctors used to give a reason to sell people drugs on commission. But still, the personality similarities, the mood swings... it was starting to make sense; all the symptoms seemed to be there.

So Jack decided to do something drastic. He decided to talk with Claude as if he was, in fact, two separate (or more) people. Maybe this way he could help Claude make a breakthrough, and bring an end to the suffering and despair he had sensed from him for the longest time. Knowing he couldn't just lie, he quickly dug up a memory of when they were young drifters in the desert. "Not the way I remember it...in fact, tell Claude if you see him that I remember one time when he was young in particular... he beat my sis' at arm wrestling; which was really something because Celica would always beat up on the other boys, and a lot of times, send em home cryin'. I could tell she was impressed by that..."

Zack: "... ...Really?"

Jack: "Definitely; me and my friends all saw it in you... we knew you were kinda shy back then, but we also knew that with a mentor like your brother, you were gonna grow up to be a strong individual, with a good sense about the world around you."

"...........brother..........? ......Where......", Claude stuttered as Jack heard his voice become nervous and shaky. He had struck a chord with that last statement, and he'd have to be careful about the next words he chose. Not remembering at the time if the older, real Zack was alive or not, Jack attempted to summon up his most since blanket statement, which he hoped would bring him down to Earth and give him a lesson he could learn from.

"He's always with you, no matter what happens; watching over you, and probably smiling with that big dopey grin of his. Claude, I know you're in there somewhere, I know you want to do the right thing, and I know you may be struggling a bit to find yourself right now, but I think you're making the right decisions. Someone in there is choosing which personality to be, and I think that somebody is Claude. Whatever you do, promise me you'll trust in your decisions... ...but listen, I gotta go, there's still unfinished business here, and I think they may be coming back up."

Wow... that didn't go exactly as planned... kinda took on a life of its own halfway through... I hope that didn't shatter his brain or anything.

There was a long pause on the other line, but after a moment, Jack heard a sigh coming through, as if Claude was attempting to calm himself down. "I... I'll try..............Thank you, Jack... It's...... just until things get a little better... I'll... I'll be waiting for you. I don't know if the phone will get bars later. But we'll find each other somehow. You can do it... Good luck."

"Thanks again, I'll be needing it... Take care of yourself!" Jack hung of the phone, and felt a small twinge of guilt for having let him go so quickly. He was certainly happy he was alive, along with Bax, Sephiroth, Black Spider and the rest of the people he had met along the way; he just hadn't really had a spare moment to feel happy about it until now. On the other hand though, he knew it wouldn't be long before Senate troops would converge on his position, and with every moment he stood there with the phone in his hand, he could hear gunfire off in the distance; that of the survivors from the camp, as well as the Senate troops.

He dropped the phone back in his pocket and allowed himself one last free thought before prepping himself and focusing on the fight ahead.

...And who changed my fucking ring tone?!?

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: This post takes place immediately after the caravan drives past the Western gate, gets pelted with bullets, veers off West, and drives back towards the desert momentarily to regroup. This is also right after after Jack splits off from the group. In the OOC thread, I list all the characters names which I used in this post and what vehicles they're in. I gave some of them names mostly because I wanted to make their conversations a bit more free flowing. The radio operators are also the drivers of the vehicles. ok, too much explainin'... lets cuts the BS and start the post!)




Biff: ~Everyone sound off! We got any injured?~

Clayton: ~Nobody injured, but that armor took one hell of a pounding... you should look at these indentations...~

~Not interested...~, Biff jaggedly interrupted. ~Anyone else got anything to report?~

Red: ~No injuries here...~

Wayne: ~None here either, baby... just a few bullet marks.~

The rebel caravan, composed of the wrecker, two pickups, and a small hatchback (all adorned with shoddy sheet metal armor) stayed in its tightly knitted formation, even after driving by the front gate and turning away to regroup. They didn't want to go too far out in the desert as if to completely retreat; they just needed enough space to get out of firing range and devise a new tactic. Jack however, had already split from the group, and was riding off in practically the opposite direction that the caravan was. This was leading Jack directly back towards the base at high speeds. Most of the people in the vehicles had seen him split off from the group, but almost none of them noticed his current 'kamikaze' run. The only exception was Zahra, who was looking back towards the sea port and happened to notice the dust trail Jack was leaving behind. Zahra then scrambled to the front of the truck bed in the pick-up she rode in, and began hurriedly encouraging Wayne to report her findings via radio.

Red: ~So... just how are we gonna tackle these dumbasses?~

Clayton: ~I got an idea... we can just let Jack run in and beat 'em all while the rest of us get the hell out of here!!!~

Biff: ~You ain't goin' anywhere... you wanna retreat and have 'em come for us while we're sleepin'?~

A silence fell over the radio for just a brief moment, allowing Wayne to have his turn on the radio. ~Guys, Jack is heading straight towards the base, right now! If we go now, maybe they'll be distracted and we can make our move!~

~That insane fool...~, Biff said to himself, yet also over the radio. ~Well everyone, 'less ya people got a better suggestion, we're turnin 'round right now!~

Red: ~Sounds good to me... let's put a boot up their asses!~

Clayton: ~We're headed back already? Awww dammit...~

Wayne: ~Clay, we need to catch 'em off guard, before they regroup! Biff, I'm making the u-turn now! Stay with me!~

Biff: ~Roger that, lets move!~

The caravan then split into two pairs of vehicles, each pair turning in opposite directions in a simultaneous u-turn back towards the West entrance to the base. The two trucks stayed together in their formation, keeping the steel rope between them from becoming too taught, while the hatchback hovered around the wrecker as it slowly accelerated to match the speed of the other vehicles. As they approached the base, an increasing number of bullet pangs could be heard against the exterior of the vehicles.

But then, something got the attention of the gunfire, as the small storm of bullets diverted from the caravan momentarily. The individual drivers collectively looked out through their cut out windshields and noticed Jack getting ever closer to the base and not showing any signs of slowing down. "Heh, that kids completely nuts.", Biff muttered under his breath, right before being mildly shocked at the sight of Jack launching himself into the air, motorcycle and all, sending him careening several stories up and landing him on the roof of the South building. Biffs jaw dropped as he momentarily forgot about his driving.

Clayton: ~HOLY CRAP, did anyone else just see that?!?~

Biff snapped from his light trance and paused for a moment. ~...good ...Lord.~

~Guys, this might be our chance now!~ Wayne abruptly interrupted. ~We should attack while they're confused! If that thing's as powerful as he says, he should be able to take care of himself!~

~Agreed.~, Biff confirmed as the caravan continued to close the distance on the Western gate. His voice raised with intensity as the bullet pangs rang out once again against the armor and the distance to the gate grew ever shorter. ~SPLIT UP AND HEAD TOWARDS THE GATE AT AN ANGLE!~

Clayton tried to make the gigantic wrecker respond to Biffs orders, but in his attempts to keep up with the group, he had allowed the wrecker to gain too much momentum for its size. He hit the brakes momentarily and felt the calipers grip, but felt no traction as the tires glided across the thin layer of sand as if it was a thin layer of ice. ~CCLLAAAYY! SPLIT OFF NOW!~, Biff screamed as he saw the wrecker still careening forward.

~I CAN'T, SHES GOING TOO FAST! I..... I GOTTA TAKE THE DIRECT ROUTE. HOLD ON BACK THERE!~, Clayton yelled out to his passengers as he gripped the wheel with white knuckles, gritted his teeth, and smashed the gas to the floor.

Biff: ~NOOO; DON'T!~

But Biffs last shout of advice fell un-noticed as the caravan reached the point of no return. The two trucks and the hatchback veered away from the wrecker just in time to avoid a volley of bullets, as well as avoid smashing into the wall of the base. The wrecker, however, was on a collision course, and before the rest of the group could even look back, the wrecker had smashed head-on into the forces at the western gate. The fire from the exploding barrels Jack had thrown earlier whisped behind the vehicle as a large group of soldiers felt the full brunt of a 10,000 pound object traveling 48 miles per hour in their direction. As this happened, the wrecker passengers dove for the floor of the vehicle in what to them, seemed to be slow motion. Just after they did, the troops who were on the sidelines opened fire at the passing truck, littering the sheet metal with hundreds of bullet indentations within a matter of seconds. But through all the chaos, Clayton noticed something else that was rapidly incoming; the ocean. And he was still going almost 45! Acting on pure hope alone, Clayton slammed on the breaks and felt the tires catch pavement, taking some speed out of the gigantic vehicle.

But even still, the wrecker had some remaining momentum, and they were still being shot at! In a desperate attempt to save their skins, Clayton spun the wheel counter clockwise as he reached the docks, sending the truck into a sliding left turn, hoping there was another alleyway for him to travel down off to his left. His prayers were answered as the truck screeched around the corner.

Hitting the gas once again, Clayton gunned the engine and took off north down the alley between the North building and the ocean. As he did, he noticed the gunfire let up substantially, almost completely. After a moment, he wasn't hearing any more bullet pings. He took this brief moment to check in with the rest of his passengers. "Everyone alright back there?"

Everyone tried to catch their breath from their near death experience, and eventually, the other four people confirmed they were alright. "Yeah...", Marla said humbly. "I felt one of those fly right though my hair..."

Just then Clayton looked back up to his driving to find that he had let himself get distracted for too long. The path came to an end, and before he knew it, they had already come to the Northern edge of the complex between the wall and the North building. Clayton motioned to make another left turn and continue driving, but was caught like a deer in headlights as he was greeted to a large pile of rubble that had been generated by the exploding barrels Jack had thrown into the building earlier. This time, the truck had too much momentum to stop, and it crashed into and onto the debris pile, jerking violently on impact before finally coming to a stop.

Thinking fast, Clayton tried throwing the truck into reverse and backing it out, but the tires just spun helplessly, kicking rubble about as they dug themselves deeper into a pit. "SHIT, were stuck!", Clayton cried out as he quickly stood up from his drivers seat to check in with the rest of his passengers "If nobody's hurt, we gotta get locked and loaded, NOW!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying...", Marla said nervously as she scrambled to pick up a pair of shotgun shells that had fallen to the floor during their crash entrance.

"Locked and loaded.", Scroter exclaimed as he closed his shotgun. "Clay, whaddya see out there?"

Clayton hesitantly approached one of the cut out windows in the side of the wreckers armor and began to scan the area. Off in the distance he could hear the occasional bursts of gunfire, but there was no fighting going on anywhere near them. In fact, it appeared that there was nobody in the area at all.

"Got em!", Marla exclaimed as she cracked her double barrel open and took the shells in her palm, jamming them into the weapon.

But not a moment after that, Clayton dove to the deck, signaling for the rest of his passengers to do so as well. "SHIT! Two of them... coming down the path we rode in on... I don't think they saw me.", Clayton said as loud as he could while still whispering.

The Lighter guy, Marla, and Scroter nodded and each of them slowly and quietly began to stand up inside the wrecker and shuffle about, getting into their perspective positions with their combined semi-automatic rifle and shotguns. Each of them noticed the two troops as they began to close in closer to the vehicle, guns at the shoulder and ready to take aim, yet they had not noticed the passengers inside planning for their attack.

"On three, we all fire...", the Lighter guy whispered to his point guards. "One... two... three!"

And in that same moment that the number three was muttered, Marla, Scroter and the Lighter guy opened fire, their first shots ringing out loudly and simultaneously. Subsequent shots came only fractions of a second after, at varying rhythms, and the Lighter guy squeezed off several more rounds with his rifle after his two buddies burned through their shells.

Silence fell momentarily as everyone eardrums recovered from the assault. Clayton stood up to examine the damage, and after a moment of silent on-looking, confirmed that they were once again safe by nodding to the rest of his crew.

"Man, were gonna need some more firepower if we wanna get out of here alive!!", the Lighter guy said in a panic. "I'm taking those weapons... and whatever else I can find!"

Marla: "Wait, Guy... what are you doing? COME BACK!"

But he had already taken off, making a mad dash for the downed bodies of the two Senate troopers. The rest of the passengers watched in horror as their friend ran out into the open without knowing who was gunning for them. Increasing slowly in volume, they began to yell out for him to return, but he couldn't be distracted, and hastily looted the bodies for their rifles, a couple pistols, and a radio. After he was done, the Lighter guy ran back to the cover of the wrecker as if his ass was on fire.

"What the hell were you doing...", Clayton criticized. "..You sure got some balls, I'll give you that."

"Not now...", the Lighter guy exclaimed, urging Clayton to shut up. "Here, you two take these rifles and try 'em out; everyone else listen to what's going on here!"

The Lighter guy un-holstered a radio from its leather pouch that he had taken off the Senate trooper. The entire group listened in as the radio played a conversation that was happening in real time between two of the Senate squad Captains:

---

~GOD DAMMIT! That thing took out nearly ten of our men! Johnson, whats your status?~

~Well, whatever just landed in our base... its killing our dudes! It's dodged all of our bullets, and we've even blown it up with grenade launchers! We're not even sure if it's man or machine!~

~Just calm down, soldier!~

~But sir it... oh no... AAAAAhhhHHHhh~ *crumbling and crashing sounds play out*

~Johnson! JOHNSON~ Shit, what the hell is going on? WHY CANT WE KILL THESE GUYS!?~

---

The group inside the wrecker looked up at each other, some of them cracking smiles.

Clayton: "Oooohh damn, we got them on the run! We took down ten of their dudes with that!"

Marla: "Yeah, and with the other guys still out there and Jack in the base, we got them right where we want them!"

Lighter guy: "HELL YEAH! We'll escape to freedom just yet!"

With new armaments and a new found ambition, the group quickly got their supplies together and began to venture out of the wrecker. Clayton took up the lead, peering out the back "door" of the vehicle to scout for troops. Giving a small nod to signal that it was clear, the group jogged out of the vehicle, sticking close together and heading for a door located on the northwestern corner of the North building. "If we take over the inside of this base, we can pick of any stragglers and sandwich the remaining forces."

The group nodded as they lined up against the wall near the entrance to the interior... except for the Lighter guy, who ran to the top of a nearby debris pile. "What are you doing?", Clayton yelled out.

"I gotta see whats happening with the other guys!", he responded, as he looked out over the exterior wall to see the battle raging between the two remaining trucks, the hatchback, their passengers, and the Senate troops at the West gate. The hatchback was tipped over and the three passengers, Red, Alba, and Emmitt, were crouched behind with arms at the ready. Meanwhile, the Senate sent a three man shotgun squad out into the middle of the battlefield just beyond the West gate, in an effort to deal with the hatchback warriors. However, they must not have seen the two trucks, because just as they marched out into their most vulnerable spot, the trucks roared by the gate, still in their side by side formation, and clotheslined the three troops at knee level with the steel rope strung between them, sending them slamming to the ground.

"Heh, awesome...", the Lighter guy chuckled.

"HEY, get back down here!", Clayton once again commanded. "Let's get in there and take these guys out once and for all!"

[SqiKy kLeen]

(OOC: This post takes place immediatly after "Breaking and Entering", enjoy!)



*THUD*
*ZzzZ ZzzZ*

The room Jack had taken refuge in when talking to Claude suddenly went dark. And given the sounds he had heard when if blinked off, the power was killed intentionally in order to take out any available light sources on that floor. The Senate didn't want to give Jack a single advantage.

With the room darkened though, his other senses naturally took over, and he began to hear more of what was going on in his surroundings. He could make out the sounds of approaching footsteps, people yelling orders, and gunshots from far away battles... but only very few of them. If only there was some way he could see how many people were still alive... oh, duh...

Then he remembered his suits visor, and more specifically, it's capabilities. He rapidly flipped it over his eyes and looked out towards the battlefield. Gathered outside the north wall of the building he was in were around seven auras, still moving in a group but staying relatively still. Off to the left of that was another larger group of nine auras, which Jack figured was the survivors still beyond the outer wall of the complex. But weren't there around 14 people total when we came here?

Jack blocked out the thought for now and continued looking for anyone else outside his building. Sure enough, further to the north, there were ten more auras, making two distinct groups of five in what Jack figured was where the North building was. Were some of these people the remaining survivors?, Jack wondered, unable to tell the difference between the auras of the soldiers and his friends.

Then Jack took a look towards the floor around him in all directions... sure enough, Senate troops were closing in on him fast. A group of five auras shuffled through the hallways in what Jack figured was about two stories beneath him, while another group of four were coming up the nearest set of stairs and were rapidly approaching his position. Trying not to waste any time, Jack looked around for any means to get a drop on the troops before they could get a drop on him.

But just then, Jack heard a loud series of clangs, like hollow metal striking against metal. Following the noises, Jack spotted a can of some sort of gas that had been lobbed into the room. As it began to bellow putrid smoke, Jack quickly dove across the room and got his head down while taking in a good gasp of air. He huddled himself against the wall of the room that had the door on it, and using his visor, was able to see the group of four Senate soldiers approaching the doorway. In his last attempt to find something in the room to use to his advantage, he spotted an old heater core nearby and handily ripped it out of its place in the wall with one hand as he once again got into a ready stance.

As he huddled against the wall, he noticed that the troops outside the room were doing the same thing, and were literally lining up right on the other side of the wall Jack had hid behind. He sat for a moment as he carefully eyed the troops auras through the wall, waiting silently for any sign of momevent as the gas grenade continued to take up the oxygen in the room.

"GO, GO, GO!", the soldiers screamed out as they began to make their move and run into the room. This is it... Now!

Then, using all the force he could muster, Jack swiftly lunged himself forward at the wall he was hiding behind, and with the help of the Earth Breaker suit, he plowed through it like a cannonball, spraying dust and concrete fragments all over the hallway. The two Senate soldiers that had taken up the back of the line were caught in Jack's path and were thrown to the ground and the opposite wall as if they had been hit by a truck. The first two soldiers looked back to see what all the chaos was, and as the dust slowly cleared the area, the outline of Jack could be seen, kneeling with the heater core in his hand. Before they could even lift a finger to their triggers though, Jack hurled the heater core at them like a gigantic frisbee, striking one of the soldier directly in the torso and knocking him out and over, consequently knocking the other soldier off balance momentarily. As the soldier struggled with gravity, Jack grabbed the ankles of one of the troops he had knocked out, and rushed at the staggering soldier full force, swinging the unconscious Senate drone like a baseball bat direcltly at the upper torso of the staggered trooper, sending him slamming like a ragdoll into the wall.

Jack let out a small sigh and let the ankles of the unconscious troop fall to the ground. He wanted to make sure these guys never came back again to hurt anyone else... but he couldnt waste any more time. He had the keys to the boats, and the goal was to get out of here alive, not kill everybody. Still, Jack couldn't help but feel a twinge of something... like he finally had power over this dark entity that dominated his life... like he could finally do some real damage...

Just then, out of the corner of his visor, he noticed the remaining auras of the soldiers in the floors below. They were running through the hall in the floor directly beneath him, and making their way around the corner of the building without the staircase. He could tell that the next corner staircase was where they were headed. Thinking fast, Jack bolted down the hallway and around the corner, easily passing up the much slower Senate troops below. He stopped near the staircase in the middle of the hallway and watched as the auras below him approached his trap. Waiting carefully for the timing, Jack crounched down into potion, and when the time was right...

Jack made a small leap into the air, just high enough to get his head to barely touch the ceiling. As he reached the apex of his jump, he scrunched up his legs and pushed with his hands against the ceiling, propelling him down to the floor directly beneath him. As the massive machine suit approached the concrete floor, Jack extended his legs, delivering all his kinetic energy into one massive *STOMP* which blasted him through the the layer of concrete which seperated Jack's floor and the troopers floor. One unfortunate troop was crushed beneath Jack as his feet made impact, while yet another troop was too close to the blast hole and was caught under some heavy chunks of rubble.

A nice move... Jack thought, but he didn't expect to be out of the water just yet, and just as he thought those words, the remaining three troops lifted their guns towards Jack and opened fire. Acting on reaction alone Jack dove out of the hailstorm of bullets and into a darkened conference room.

The three troops yelled some orders to one another and began to file into the darkened room. They hesitated slightly near the entrance as they scanned over the room with their rifle-mounted flashlights. Everyone made a visual pass, but Jack was not to be seen anywhere. "You two, flank out!" one of the troops yelled.

Suddenly, one of the big wooden desks near the back of the room that Jack had been hiding behind launched forward with the force of a wrecking ball and slammed harshly against the doorway to the room, and also harshly against two of the troopers that were standing there, knocking them unconscious and cracking the desk into large splinters. The last troop standing stood with his mouth agape, shocked by the display of force Jack had just demonstrated.

"YOU BASTARD!", the trooper screamed out as he shot frantically at Jack, spraying bullets everywhere as Jack managed to jump from cover to cover, avoiding the hasty and innacurate shots with relative ease.

*click* *click*

"Aauuuuughh!" the soldier cried out in horror as he pulled the trigger repeatedly, trying to squeeze another bullet out of his empty clip. His eyes went wide and he broke out in a terrified sweat. He knew Jack was getting ever closer to him, and in his frustrated fear, he threw the gun aside and pulled out his knife. He then desperately waved it in front of him and screamed, "St.. stay back, you! I... I'm not afraid of you.!"

But Jack didn't flinch, and continued to walk slowly towards him, his eyes never breaking contact with the panicked soldier. I was clear by the look on his face that something had snapped in Jack. He had this Senate drone right where he wanted him... he wanted him to feel the fear he had felt...

"Oh, you will be.", Jack 'reassured' the soldier as he invaded his personal space. In a blindingly fast swipe, Jack grabbed the hand that the trooper was using to grip his knife and began to slowly squeeze down. Jack tightened his grip slowly but consistently. The soldiers face writhed in pain as he could feel the bones in his hand being crushed. Tighter and tighter Jack gripped, until he was gritting his own teeth teeth in an effort to get more pressure out of his grip. Then, with a small grunt, Jack flooded his grip with a massive amount of energy, easily shattering the bones in the soldiers hand into hundreds of pieces.

Jack released the soldier and he stumbled backwards, clutching his hand with his other hand in extreme pain. Jack savored the pain of the soldier for a moment or two, then once again approached him, reaching his robotic hand around him and placing his hand on his lower back. "I want you to give a message to your superiors... IF you survive this ordeal. I want you to tell each and every one of them that they better be looking over their shoulder as they walk down the street... they better be sleeping with guns under their pillow... they better be PRAYING to whoever their God is that he will allow them to walk this Earth for one more day... Tell them they have unleashed a demon, and that as long as I am still alive, I will do everything in my power to make their lives a living HELL!"

And as he finished his statement, he delivered a thunderous punch to the gut of the soldier, knocking pretty much all the wind completely out of him. As his fist made contact, he could almost swear that he actually punched so deep that he touched his other hand (on the soldiers back) with his fist.

The soldier fell limply to the floor and was almost immediately rendered unconscious. And just as his body made a thud, Jack heard more gunshots off in the distance. Dammit! I gotta get outta here!

Having just taken out the last of the soldiers in the building, Jack didn't want to waste one more spare second! He rushed out of the conference room and down the hallway, eventually finding a window leading to the back alley. He leapt out the window and looked around, quickly locating his motorcycle, which was still untouched from when he had parked it. Oh thank, God.

Jack hopped on the motorcycle, fired up the engine, and took East off down the alleyway he was parked in. He rounded the corner of the building and proceeded to head North towards the northern building, eyeing up the actual docks to see if the boats were still there. Much to Jack's relief, the boats were indeed still there.

But where was everybody? As he looked around, he couldn't see anybody outside at all! Jack flipped his visor down and took a quick look inside the north building as he slowed his bike to a stop. There were plenty of auras on the inside, about 17 in total. Jacks heart skipped a beat as he thought that maybe everyone had possibly survived. He excitedly yelled out for anyone inside the building. "Hey guys, lets go! We need to get the hell outta here!"

Just as he said that, three figures approached the end of the roof and looked down on Jack from up high. "FREEZE!" They yelled as they shouldered their guns at Jack.

Oh fuck... no... Jack thought to himself as he lifted his hands into the air. I was so fucking close too...

"Drop the keys, dead man.", one of the three troops up top ordered.

Jack eyed the three troops with the most evil eye he could muster. He reluctantly and slowly reached into his pocket to grab the two sets of boat keys. But as he kept his eye trained on the soldiers, he noticed something was happening on the roof... As she shuffled for his keys, a smoke screen began growing ever larger behind the troops, who had failed to notice it yet! Jack continued to slowly shuffle with his keys as he waited...

"Hey, what the hell?" one of the soldiers yelled out as they finally noticed the smoke building up behind them. One by one, the soldiers turned their attention to the smoke screen, only to get blown away by the shotgun shells of the remaining survivors of the camp, who were still obscured by the smoke. Despite the brutal assault of lead, one troop still stood standing, and out of the fog came Biff Webster, who proceeded to deliver the finishing blow on the the last soldier standing in the camp. With the butt of his rifle, he smashed the trooper in the face, sending him falling off the top of the building, and landing with a thud on the dirt below.

"YOU OLD DIRTY BASTARD, YOU FUCKING MADE IT!", Jack screamed out in joy. Biff stood at the top of the building just smirking a little bit as Jack reached for one of the sets of boat keys. "What's the damage, got any injured?", Jack inquired as he tossed the keys up to Biff.

"Only a couple..." he grunted. "Emmitt took a hard bullet to the shins... and Scroter got a bullet right in the ass, but everyone else is no worse for the wear."

Jack felt a huge wave of relief rush over him. He was so damn happy... He remembered everyone he had fought alongside... he remembered the casualties... then he looked up to the roof to see the entire crew of his still alive... and he couldn't keep it in anymore. His chin quivered, and a tear slowly jerked it way onto his cheek. "Hey guys...", Jack said in a shaken tone of voice. 'I just wanna thank you... for not dying."

Biff looked at him in a confused expression. "Thank YOU for the help... Hell, I ain't gonna ever die if I got somethin' ta' say 'bout it. We should really get outta here though..."

Jack nodded as he took one last look at the crew he had helped lead to freedom. "Oh, by the way...", Biff said one last time. "Take this, I got one last surprise for you." He tossed a walkie talkie down to Jack. "I'll contact you when it's ready."

Jack nodded one more time, and decided that it was finally time to take his leave. The survivors were now barreling out of the doors of the building, and making their way to the boat. As they passed by Jack, they waved, smiled, and thanked him for his help. Jack said his final goodbyes Tibian, Zahra, Biffs son, and even the lighter guy, as he performed an impressive burnout right there on the docks with his motorcycle, then shot forward and launched his bike off the end of a plank and onto what would become his new boat.

Jack scrambled inside the cabin of the boat with his motorcycle in hand, finding a small storage space inside the hull to store it. He then rushed to the control room and tried to figure out the controls. He noticed though that his hands were shaking... it was just now starting to get to him... the idea of crossing an entire ocean by himself via patrol boat. As he looked out the window of the cabin, he felt a lump in his throat, and began to get jitters about the trip ahead... but he pushed the feeling aside with some more powerful thoughts... Celica could be dying over there... and fortune favors the brave!

He turned the key and felt the engine in the back purr to life. "Ooooh, not a bad sound... must be a small block V8...", Jack exclaimed to himself. He proceeded to switch things on and off, trying as best as he could to get the controls down with the labeling provided. Eventually, he found the right combination, and with the push on one of the sliders on the dash, the boat lurched forward, and crashed over its first few waves on its journey to the Beta continent.

After some more tweaking with the controls, Jack got an auto-pilot engaged and left the boat to its own devices. *wwhhhhhheeeeewwwww* He let out one incredibly long breath and took a look outside towards the ocean. It was the strangest feeling... it just kept going on forever... and as he got further out from shore, Jack could feel the tingle of nervousness once again as the boat powered on.

~Jack, come in Jack, do ya' read me?~, Biff's voice echoed over the walkie talkie. The surprised Jack quickly answered the call. "Yeah, go ahead, I'm here."

~Had to do this sooner cause the range on these aint so great... but hey, I just wanted to say that I know how much you hate the Senate and all...~ No kidding.

~...so I left those bastards a surprise... a little... going away present...why dont'cha take a look?~

At first Jack was wondering what he was talking about, but it soon made itself apparent, as the Northern complex of the sea port was torn apart in a giant fireball of an explosion! The force of the blast sent a shock wave eliminating from it that Jack could feel from the boat, along with millions of bits of debris that went flying into the surrounding air and into the ocean."HOLY SHIT!", Jack reasonably yelled out.

~Take care kid... I'll see you around...~ Biff stated as the air waves went dead. Jack wanted answers though, and hit the walkie talkie button immediately after he stopped talking. "Wait, who are you?", Jack asked, but he was met with no answer. Then he looked down at his radio... he had just went out of range.

Dammit. Jack thought as he looked back at the remains of the North complex, which was now a towering mushroom cloud of black smoke several hundred feet high. As he rode ever further away from the sea port, he wondered, Just who the hell was that guy?

[SqiKy kLeen]

As Jack drifted across the ocean through the night, he found himself stuck in an unusual state of insomnia. It had been at least 24 hours, he figured, since he had left; the sun had set, risen and then set again, so Jack was now on his second night of his journey across the ocean. His only real place to sleep was an office chair and a desk which was located directly inside the cockpit. He had tried to sleep these last two days, but at the same time he wanted to make sure the boat remained on the right course. Plus he was still tense from being shot at several times earlier the previous day AND on edge about Celica, so any sleep he got came in brief "winks" in which he barely stayed unconscious for less than five minutes on average.

Besides tending to the boats navigation system and thinking about stuff (which he could do for hours), his only entertainment was watching the reflection of the moonlight off of the waves. In his half-asleep state, he started coming up with some goofy thoughts as he stared blankly into the horizon;

Take a look out there... all you can really see is the light on the tips of those waves... you cant really SEE the water. And even if you could, what would it be? A gigantic mass of blue? That's just cause the ocean reflects the atmosphere... so does the ocean technically change color at night? And if it does, does the ocean technically become black? It looks like it... its strange to think that if you go not even three feet under the surface of that salt water, you'll be consumed by darkness... and the ocean is several hundred miles deep in spots... heh, water. The power to nourish life, the power to consume light...

*ping......... ping...........*

"Huh? Oh that...", Jack mumbled as he awoke after just finally beginning to doze off. Taking a couple deep breaths, he gatheres some energy back and slowly got up to examine the console.

*ping......... ping...........*

"Uh?", Jack grunted questioningly. "I haven't heard any noises like THAT yet..." He looked over everything; gauges, screens, meters, lights... nothing seemed to be adversely affected. Then the pinging soung rang out again, and this time Jack immediately found the source... the radar screen.

"What the...", Jack muttered as he noticed the two blips that had just appear on the screen, the rotating line of the radar already halfway through its pass. As it approached the fading blips once more, they were once again highlighted one by one... only this time they were much closer. Jack immediately felt a lump grow in his throat.

"Shit... somethings tracking me! FUCK!", Jack screamed as he began to quickly flip switches and shut the boat down. As he killed the engine and the power to the electrical systems, he began to realize the severity of his situation... the Senate had given orders that essentially confined any remaining troops to their positions on the Alpha continent. They were considered "contaminated" and would be killed if they attempted to leave... and here I am, riding off on one of their boats... why did I not expect this to happen, was I that blind?

The thought sank in a little as the new found silence hit Jack like a truck. The sound of the waves was soft, but ever present, and with the engine no longer running, an eerie silence pervaded that Jack hadn't experienced in his life anywhere else. Well... you got yourself into this mess... you have to find some way out of this... I just hope I was the first target and not the rest of the survivors... please God I hope...

Acting on impulse, Jack did the only thing he could think of in this situation, and quickly donned the Earth Breaker suit once again. Panicked, he looked around for anything on the ship that could help him in case he had to fight, but nothing in particular jumped out at him. Then he began to hear a noise, distant at first... but it quickly grew closer, and as it got louder the sound was unmistakable...

Shit! Helicopters! Jack took a quick look around and it didn't take him long to spot them... they were shining massive spotlights over the ocean as they approached the boat and seemed to not be veering one degree from what was a direct course to Jack.

He didn't have time to think... it would be merely seconds before they were onto him. In one last desperate act, Jack dove under an nearby table and slid it in such a way so that he could see the choppers as they approached. But he didn't need to move it too far and they were already right above him. The bright lights from the spotlights flooded the interior of the cabin and Jack's heart raced as he awaited their next move...

[SqiKy kLeen]

"Come on out soldier... and we'll... take care of you.", a voice boomed from the chopper above, briefly interrupting the deafening sounds of the engine.

What, do they think I'm one of them? They must... I could buy myself some time here... Thinking quickly, Jack looked up at the underside of the table he was hiding under, and flipped his visor down. With the table shielding the spotlights, he could easily make out the auras of five soldiers above, two of them piloting one chopper, and the other three consisting of one pilot and two others hanging out the each side of their chopper... probably with guns. He flipped his visor down for a look with his regular vision and found that the chopper with two pilots above had lowered an escape ladder, but it still smelled fishy to Jack.

If I go out there, they'll dust me... they're just waiting for an easy shot so they don't have to damage the boat..., Jack reasoned as he tried to figure out his situation. Aaahhh what am I gonna do?.. I have to make a move NOW or else I'll be shot out of the water!

But he couldn't reason much longer, as the soldiers above issued another warning. "Come out, or we WILL come down and find you!" Now it was obvious. They were willing to take him by force, and that wasn't going to happen. Jack gritted his teeth and clenched his fist as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do.

Using what knowledge he had about where the choppers were, Jack reached up and grabbed the table on each edge and hoisted it up with him as he swiftly jumped to his feet. Wasting no time, Jack leapt into the open doorway of the cabin, located the chopper with the three soldiers and hurled the table at it. It wasn't the most aerodynamic object however, and it went flopping oddly through the air, but still at great speed, eventually colliding with the choppers outer hull and throwing it momentarily off balance.

But Jack wasn't done, and not a moment after the table had been thrown, he began making a mad dash out of the cockpit of the boat directly at the three-manned chopper. As he reached the edge of the hull, he launched his body off the deck of the boat with one leg, sending him careening several yards through the air over the ocean surface, and eventually onto the landing gear of the chopper, where he had managed to make a desperate one-hand grab to save himself from falling past his target and into the dark waters.

As his hand made impact, the chopper was once again tilted off balance and the two soldiers inside seated on the edges of the craft were knocked over, sending one of them sliding off the tilted deck of the chopper and into the ocean. The other soldier slid past where the first one had been seated, and managed to grab onto the landing gear himself... but Jack wasn't going to let him hang on, and effortlessly pulled him down into the ocean with his other free dangling hand.

Then, a Jack heard a new noise, this one seeming to come from the direction of the other helicopter... sort of a spinning noise. He turned his head to check out the other aircraft as he dangled, and as he did he immediately noticed the source of the spinning; the other chopper was spooling up a pair of mini guns!

Oh shi.. Jack was cut off mid-thought as the miniguns suddenly barked out in rage. Reacting fast, Jack lifted his legs into the air and tried his best to tuck his body into a ball as he gripped with two hands onto the landing gear for dear life. But just as fast as the gunfire had started, it had suddenly stopped.


-------

"What the hell do you think you're doing?", the chopper pilot yelled to his co-pilot.

"Do you see that thing?!?", he snapped back at his superior officer. "We have to kill... whatever that... thing is!"

"You idiot! You're firing directly at your fellow soldier, AND at government property! You could have gotten Murphy killed!"

"Sorry, sir...", the co-pilot backed down.

"You better be... and this will be noted... now lay off the trigger until further orders!"

------


The one manned chopper shook violently back and forth as the pilot managed to level the vehicle from the battering that had thrown it off-kilter, leaving Jack swaying dangerously over the ocean below. He had to do something soon, as he wasn't sure how long he could hold on like this; he didn't doubt the grip of the Earth Breaker, he just didn't trust the landing gear itself to hold onto the hull.

The aircraft then took a hard roll to the right, and the inertia finally gave Jack an opportunity at a better foothold as he pulled himself up with his arms, effectively launching his body up towards the open passenger area of the chopper. He grabbed onto the lip of the hull and planted his feet on the floor, giving him a good hold on the cockpit.

The panicked pilot looked back and uttered something that was somewhere between a moan and a scream of gibberish. He frantically looked back and forth between Jack and the view out his front window. Eventually, he broke out into a sweat and began fumbling with the controls, afraid to release control of the aircraft to attack Jack, yet hoping that Jack didn't do something to him as he sat there.

But Jack didnt have any plans on taking out that pilot. He figured that letting him stew on the fear would keep him at bay and keep the chopper in the air. But what the hell am I gonna do now?, he wondered. They could take out me AND this guy out if they really wanted to... but how the hell am I supposed to fight that thing? If I let go for one second, this guy could buck me out of the cockpit and into the ocean...

He was quite honestly stumped, and made no effort to do anything beyond maintaining his grip on the chopper. He was at the mercy of the pilot, who was now bringing the chopper around to expose the left side of the craft, where Jack had taken a foothold, to the direct line of sight of the other chopper. As it settled into a stationary position, a lump grew in his throat once again... they wouldn't try it... would they?

But Jacks question was quickly answered as the spotlights from the other aircraft were thrown onto him. It was just then he realized... the passenger area was completely open from side to side... and Jack was standing right in the middle of it. They were going to shoot right though the open air inside the choppers cabin.

No.

Adrenaline kicked in. It would only be a matter of seconds. He had no time to think. Acting fast, Jack pulled himself up by the lip of the chopper and swung his right hand up and over his head, directly through the path of one of the rapidly approaching chopper blades. As the gauntlet-like armor plating collided with one of the rotor blades, a powerful kick could be felt all throughout the chopper, as well as the Earth Breaker suit, shaking Jack right down to the bone. As quickly as he had swung and made contact, his arm was thrown away by the intense speed of the blades, and the unfortunate propeller bent horrifically out of shape, sending the aircraft into a wild and shaky descent.

Everything blurred around Jack as he continued to grasp onto the choppers hull. The intense inertia from the spinning of the craft made it nearly impossible to get a foot hold once again, but somehow, Jack managed to catch the floor of the cockpit with his toe and pull his body down. But it was only seconds... the water was getting closer, and this thing wasn't gonna crash gracefully. Jack closed his eyes and focused... If this thing reacts to thoughts, then I'm gonna have to believe...

But time was up, and just milliseconds before the aircraft collided with the ocean surface, Jack launched himself off the side of the chopper like a bullet, flying horizontally just a couple feet above the surface of the water... and then he started to run. His mind flooded with unquestioning resolve as his body flooded with adrenaline. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, pouring every bit of effort into running as fast as he could possibly imagine.

A few short moments passed, which to Jack, seemed like eternity... but he was still running. Eventually, he brought himself to open his eyes. He was actually doing it! He was actually running on the water! It was an incredible sensation; he could feel the surface of the water collapsing under the soles of his shoes with every step, sinking in slightly, but keeping enough momentary surface tension to keep propelling Jack forward.

He shot across the surface of the water like lightning, his feet a blur, leaving a giant spray trail from the point where he had hit the water. As the chopper pilots witnessed this, their jaws dropped to the floor. But after a second of staring, the lead pilot yelled to his gunner and shook him out of his awe struck daze. "SHOOT HIM! Shoot him now! And don't hit the boat, we've lost one chopper already!"

The barrels of the dual miniguns spun up as the searchlight traced Jack across the ocean surface. After a brief second, the guns roared to life, instantly making a huge splash trail across the ocean surface as it swept across its firing path. Jack picked up his pace, running well past where his boat was parked, and began to zig-zag back and forth in an effort to dodge the cannon fire.

Three brilliant trails of high splashes trailed across the ocean in the moonlight; one from the Jack's high speed wave-running, and two from the immense cannon fire of the miniguns. But Jack was getting out pretty far from the boat, and would need to return eventually... but wait. Just as he thought that something came into view. He didn't see it before, but it was clearly in view now, perhaps because his eyes had finally adjusted to the low light... it was the outline of a beach bordering the Beta Continent! If he could just keep up the pace, he could probably make it there!

But that thing is gonna track me... and I'll attract a lot of attention if I show up over there with an exploding helicopter... plus my bike is still on that boat... Jack then made an about-face, abruptly changing direction and running back in the direction of the chopper which was still hovering over the boat they had sought out.

The gunfire trails once again splashed up around Jack, each one a reminder of what would have happened if it were to have hit. He continued to gain speed, and approached the boat in a random, wavelike path. As he did, the chopper pilot ordered out to his gunner, "Remember to hold your fire, we'll have him now..."

And just as he finished his sentence, Jack hopped up from the ocean surface and onto the deck of the boat where he had been traveling, and let out a tremendous sigh, being thankful that the running was over. His muscles burned and his body ached from being so sore and tired, but he had no intention of staying there long. After only a few seconds, Jack aggressively leapt up from his landing stance and threw himself directly at the last chopper. As the inertia rapidly carried Jack through the air, the pilots were struck dumbfounded, and the gunner simply couldn't react fast enough to shoot Jack out of the air. Before he had even had time to react, Jack had already clasped onto the right side landing gear of the chopper.

He dangled from his left hand only, swinging wildly back and forth as a result of knocking the craft off-balance. Right in his face were the mini-guns, which were too close to properly rotate in Jacks direction, so without wasting much time, Jack swing his free right hand up and clasped onto the barrels of the right mini-gun. With a forceful tug, the cannon tore right off its hinges, and without even holding onto it for a second longer, Jack let it fall helplessly into the ocean.

But something had gave... when he pulled the gun off, he needed something to push against, and as a result, he lad left a huge upward crease in the landing gear in which he was grasping onto. It's structural integrity was quickly compromised, and not a moment after Jack had noticed this, the once straight pipe bent downwards in the other direction, and once it reached it lowest point, snapped off effortlessly.

Jack suddenly found himself without a grasp on anything, and could feel gravity taking over. Reacting quickly, he swung his right arm upwards in a desperation grab for the other mini-gun, and barely managed to make a grip on it. He clung desperately to three of the six barrels of the gun, one with each finger, his pinky and thumb not gripping anything.

But Jack was heavy, and the joints of the cannon were giving out fast. Thankfully, he had looked down at just the right time, as the chopper was now floating over the boat. He did the only thing he could do at that point, and squeezed with all his grip strength, bending three of the minigun barrels horrifically out of shape. Taking his last opportunity, Jack let his grip go and allowed himself to fall to the boat below, which was about a good 30 feet. He hit the deck of the boat, and the floorboards splintered and caved in a sort of crater as he crashed into the deck.

"Ahhhhh damn...", Jack said warily, a little dizzy from the impact. He was a little bruised up, but he quickly recovered and took a look up at the copper he had just assaulted. It was clearly wobbling off balance, and the weapons systems on it appeared to be completely inoperational. That's it. You've disabled it... they won't be going after the other boat in that shape... I gotta get out of here now!

Making as much haste as possible, Jack rushed back into the cabin of the boat and scrambled to restart it. "Come on... COME ON!", he screamed aggravatingly as he fumbled with the controls.

"There!", he exclaimed, as the engine purred to life and he hit the throttle on the boat. He just wanted to get himself out of there, he didn't know if they would come after him or not, but he figured this chopper was from the senate HQ in Zion, and if damaged would likely return there...

...but his wonders were set to rest as shots once again rang out from the chopper. "Son of a bitch!", Jack exclaimed as he covered his head and sunk lower on reaction. He could hear some of the bullets tearing into the hull of the boat. The shots only lasted for a brief moment though, and then they had stopped completely. Just then though, Jack heard a loud bang emminating from the chopper.

Running back out on the deck, Jacks face went pale with horror. The engine and fuel tank had been shot, and looking up at the chopper, it appeared that it was starting to malfunction somehow. Firing those few rounds from the gun must have damaged it for good, and something had triggered a small explosion within the mechanics of it.

He could see a fire starting in the cockpit... and he could hear the engine slowing...

Jack's body shook. It was moments away from falling directly onto the boat. There was only one way out now, and there was no time. He savagely tore the door off the storage area where his bike had been kept and grabbed it as tightly as he could with the seconds he had. The chopper was descending in what seemed like slow motion to him, and as he rounded the corner of the deck, Jack took off as fast as he could in the direction of the beach he had seen earlier. Dashing faster even than he had when running across the ocean, he eventually reached the end of the boat, and with momentum on his side, he made a "Hail Mary" leap of epic proportions.

And it was just in time, as not even a split second after Jack had sent himself into the air, the helicopter crashed into the boat, tearing the two engines apart, and igniting the fuel strewn about, causing a massive explosion.


All this was an afterthought to Jack though, who was still concerned about his imminent landing on the beaches of Beta. He had gotten a lot of air, even with his motorcycle in hand, and it looked like he was going to make it... but the crash would prove to be a different story. It was hard to see in the darkness of the night, but he could tell the land was fast approaching. A lump grew in his stomach as his surroundings grew ever closer...

And then he hit the beach, crashing with a muffled 'thud' that sent sand flying everywhere, and into every crack of Jack's suit. The motorcycle hit with a metal twisting shriek, bending it horrifically out of shape and permanently damaging many important components, like the wheels and frame. The duo of man-machine and machine rolled further onto the beach after impact and eventually settled just at the peak of where the waves came washing against the sand.

The impact was clearly not friendly on Jack, who laid there bruised, beaten, sore, achy, hungry, and tired. It was a long fight... but he had done it. He had conquered the odds and made it to Beta. He wanted to go on... he wanted to stand and finish his journey... but his body wouldn't respond.

Heh, that's it old boy... for now..., he thought as he cracked a smile. Celica, I'll be coming for you... but for now... I... gotta... And the next sounds he uttered were those of 'z's, muffled by the sounds of the waves softly rolling off of and onto the crashed remnants of his motorcycle.






(OOC: This post officially concludes Chapter 8: Escape from Hell. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and the conclusion, of Jacks exciting quest! )