Chapter 5: Fires of the Past

"Thanks Jake, I appreciate you walking with me. See you tomorrow." says Mina, about to close her door.

"No problem! Good night Mina!" Jake turns around and makes his way back to the temple. On his way, he walks along a stone pathway over a large man-made lake. Several large fountains are lit up in an array of colors in the vast lake — mostly blue, red, and violet — to create a florescent display of tranquil beauty. The full moon hangs low in the sky above the dark, snowy mountains and under a sea of stars, setting any romantic's surreal dream to a wondrous reality. All Jake can hear is the steady trickling of water.

"Ahhh, so peaceful! It's such a lovely night." Jake smiles as he walks and hums a tune. "Mina, Mina, with eyes so deep and blue. I'm half crazy-crazy in love with you. It won't be a fancy marriage; I can't afford a carriage. But you'll look sweet, upon the seat of a bicycle built for two..."

Jake snickers at himself. He was actually falling for Mina.

"Heh, and to think, I fought Jay over that Ami girl! Oh well, I'm glad I lost. (Resumes singing) Mina, Mina you are so fair and true. I'm just crazy-crazy in love with you. It won't be a fancy marriage; I can't afford a carriage. But you'll look sweet, upon the seat, of a bicycle built for two-wait, what are the lyrics again?"

Jake's thoughts were interrupted by a strange feeling, one so strong it made him stop in his tracks.

"What the?! Oh no...I know that power signature..." Jake begins to unknowingly shake with fear. He knew that he was close...and the reading he was sensing was coming from the mountains.

"Jason..."

Jake decided it would be best for him to hurry back and warn the others.

-

Jake runs up the stairs, tripping on the last one. He utters a swear under his breath and goes to the back of Rei's temple. There he finds Jacob and Jack sitting around a plain wooden table under some trees.

Jacob speaks up. "So, you felt it too?"

"Yes, Jason is close, he is hunting us." says Jake grimly.

Jacob closes his eyes. "We may have to encounter him, but for now he does not know where we are. If we lay low we should be safe."

Jake nods. "Yeah, I know I know. It's just, I hate hiding! (He punches his fist into his palm) God, I wish I were stronger; we wouldn't be stuck in this mess! (sighs deeply and leans back against a tree as he scratches the back of his head) We'll just have to wait for another chance, I guess."

Jack can't take it anymore and speaks up. "But what until then? What are we gonna do?! I just don't think I can take this, all this living underground."

Jake stands up, a look of concern on his face. "Jack, come on buddy! We've gotta have patience! Nothing's gonna happen to us, for as far Jason can tell right now, we're just one of many faces in a very large crowd."

Jack shifts uncomfortably in his seat on the bench, still not comforted.

"Jack, don't worry. If we retain our low profile among the people of this city, he would dare not send his Coyotebots to search for us openly. Earth is one of the most legally protected areas in the galaxy; no major battles may occur here. Also, our wristwatches are equipped with sensor jammers, so we are virtually invisible to their scanners. As long as we don't raise our power level too high for the jammers to handle, we are safeif worse comes to worse, we'll all make sure nothing happens to you — to any of us." Assures Jacob.

"Yeahyou guys are rightI don't have to worryat least for now. But for now, I guess we can let our hair down." Jack lays his head on the table as all this excitement took a lot out of him. Jake smiles as his little cousin takes a rest, and also smiles at the words of his younger brother Jacob, who usually knew what to say and how to say it. Jake himself knew what to say, but it didn't always come out right. In any case, they didn't need to worry at the moment, and they'd need to cherish it while it lasted.

"Hey, where's Jay?" asks Jake, interrupting the peaceful scene.

Jack responds, "Oh, he went inside. Anyway, let's pray for the best."

The three nod and go inside to call it a night.

-

Jay sat in front of the sacred fire. He just stared into it like Rei would do, its fiery glow radiant in his dark brown eyes.

"What are we gonna do? Are we in danger? What of the girls? Are we putting them in jeopardy as well by staying here? I wish I didn't have to worry about this. The only chance we have is to try and hide in this city...but...(clenches his fists) hiding and living in fear this isn't living at all..." Jay talks quietly to himself. He begins to recall how this mess got started.

(Flashback with Jay narrating. It goes to a fleet of ships like the ones in Star Wars, coming out of hyperspace to a giant blue-green planet.)

"It all began on that one mission. We had been planning for months to take over the communistic Nemarian sector by force, and Jason wanted to see to it personally. We didn't need so many ships, just two or three GSF Star Destroyers would have sufficed, but Jason wanted to crush their spirits as well as their planet. Heh, he despised communism. His plan was to take over and make the laws similar to that of his home country, the United States of America. The only twist was he was to be the highest authority, having the power of total control if democracy became too radical.

We were all flying our one-man fighters. I was piloting my Veritech, which I deemed the Phoenix, in mobile suit mode (upgraded of course, with buster shield, missile barrage, and machine-gun beam rifle.) Jake flew his slightly modified Headhunter (an X-wing with only two wings and devastating blaster cannons on the tips, no other weapons.) Jack rode in the Winter Novena (a jet with a heavy missile payload and a single hyper laser,) and Jacob in the Peacekeeper (a jet fighter with heavy armor and twin lasers.) We were followed by a fleet of our GSF ships, with our unbeatable Star Destroyers, Super Star Destroyers, an armada of Raiden and Belgdor mobile suits, and modified Y-wing, B-wing, and V-wing fighters. Jason lead us in his custom X-wing. That thing was so powerful-still is. It had high speeds beating out any other ships, high-tech gundanium alloy armor with force energy shielding, the laser-proof barrel-roll shielding from Arwing technology (the wings rolled while the cockpit remained stable,) 4 powerful blaster cannons, 4 seeking nuclear sidewinders with adjustable explosive power, Smart bombs, and condensed plasma proton torpedoes. That sucker even had the ability to change modes from fighter to mobile suit like mine! In mobile suit mode, its lasers formed into a single beam cannon with power copying that of Wing Zero's. His suit looked like Wing Zero, except with Wing Gundam's wings and with a giant metal hat and no chest crystal. Heh heh, he loved his hat. Anyway, what else did it have? Oh yes. He had twin 50 caliber gattling gun vulcans on the shoulders. Next to the right gun was his proton torpedo launcher, and next to the left, his smart bomb launcher. His ship could launch the sidewinders from the left arm's high-density gundanium shield, and also fire a phalanx strike, which shot a spread of explosives in front of his craft to slow down or destroy enemies. He with his expert skills and that machine's firepower were a deadly force, earning him the title 'Terror of the Skies.' It makes me shiver just thinking about it. Back to the mission.

The sector had been governed by the planet Nemaria, hence the sector's name. We knew if we wanted the sector, all we needed was the planet. However, Jake, Jacob, Jack, and I were growing tired of the destruction and saw how imperialistic Jason had become. He claimed to be working for unity and peace, but behind it we saw his hunger for power and his ruthless dedication to let nothing stand in his way to achieve it. He wanted to control, and we wanted out. Unfortunately in this business, it doesn't work as simply as that. You can't just leave, especially with the rank I and the others held. We had to achieve liberation by force."

Jason (over communications screen): "All right, I see the planet. Remember fleet, we start with a full bombardment of 50% of their forces. That will give them a demonstration of our power. If they are smart, they'll surrender and we'll gain a bonus of the other 50% of their military bases and supplies-heh, not that we need them. Remember not to hit any civilian areas, or you'll have hell to pay! "

Jacob: "Jason, please. Let's try to win this peacefully. Offer them a chance to surrender."

Jason: "Hmmm...fine little brother. I'll send them the ultimatum first. (Clicks his communication screen, the frequency sent to the people and Czar of Nemaria) Attention citizens of the planet Nemaria. I am Supreme Galactic Commander Jason of the Galactic Special Forces. We have surrounded your planet with our fleet and demand you hand the territorial rights of your planet and sector to us immediately or prepare for it to be taken by force. Czar, your answer?"

Jason is answered by a beam being fired at his craft from the planet. He barrel rolls and flies out of the beam's path.

Jason: "(Calmly, with a low growl in his voice) Open fire."

All the GSF battle cruisers open fire on the planet's surface with their massive beam cannons, relentlessly devastating the targets designated. The fighters lay in wait for any oncoming defense. As expected, there is resistance. From the planet, waves of fighters that resemble butterflies with jagged wings fly toward the GSF fleet at high speeds through the dust rapidly clouding the atmosphere of Namaria.

Jay: "All right mates! 'Ere we go!"

Jake: "Ha ha! They won't stand a chance against us!"

Jack: "Last one to 100 kills buys dinner!"

Jacob: "More violence...(sighs) the road to peace is drenched in blood..."

Jason: "Heh heh heh. All fighters, ENGAGE!"

With that command, all the GSF starfighters begin their slaughter of the enemy with blaster fire. Jason leads the assault in his X-Wing, relentlessly using its mammoth firepower with a combination of Smart Bombs, missiles, and of course standard and charged laser shots. Most of the enemy ships fall to pieces before their lower-class weapons are in range of us.

Jason: (Laughs maniacally at the failing Nemarian fleet) "I guess they won't be able to advance much further. Move closer, choose a target, and destroy. Leave no Nemarian ship left intact!"

Jack and I boost ahead and target the larger groups of ships, taking them out with our myriad missile strikes. Jake keeps his distance from the heavy stuff and trails lone enemy fighters, torturing them and using them for target practice before shooting them down. Jacob moves about the battle field, blasting and using his shielded wings to ram his way head on into groups of the enemy, scattering and disorienting them, making them easier targets for him and the Coyotebot pilots in their Y-wing and B-Wing fighters. Jason has assembled the V-wings and mobile suits near the Stardestroyers. As the battle roars on, our battlecruisers move toward the planet.

Jason: "All right, attention all V-wing, Raiden, and Belgdor suits: Move out! Head towards the planet and take the capitals and remaining military installations according to plan e7-9 alpha. The Destroyers will follow shortly. All StarDestroyers and Super StarDestroyers: Concentrate your fire on enemies in all sectors in and near V-wing and mobile suit pathways to planet. I want NO resistance for our forces on the way to the surface! Jason out."

Jason watched as the starfighters and mobile suits followed his orders and rocketed at top speed to the planet's atmosphere, being given cover fire from the immense battlecruisers. At those speeds, they'd be in positions all across the Nemarian globe in under 15 minutes. Everything was going according to plan. Now the remaining enemy fighters were either running or being blown to pieces, and Jason's orders were to, "Leave no Nemarian ship left intact..." We wouldn't stop until the Nemarian military was ruined and it was all ours.

We hunted down every last enemy fighter in space. Jason became confident that an easy victory was in reach, and with good reason too. After chasing down and blasting several squads of Nemaria's fighters, Jason receives an incoming message on his video communications monitor.

Storm Eagle (onboard the Command Super Stardestroyer The Argo, one of several Super Stardestroyers with them): "Sir, we have landed our ground troops at the designated areas. Shall I order them to continue?"

Jason: "Roger that Storm. Proceed. (To all GSF communications links) All right, all battlecruisers numbers 1 to 25, move towards the planet! I want Y-wing and B-wing squadrons of the remaining Stardestroyers to remain in space to guard against any incoming enemy backup from neighboring planets. Cruisers and fighters heading for planet: The Raiden and Belgdor suits will take over the cities and demolish the Military outposts with the assistance of our foot soldiers. No need to rush, the V-wings will keep them covered from any enemies while they complete their mission. We'll come in to secure and clean up anything they have not handled by the time we reach them. By then, the Nemarians should be ready to surrender."

Jason hits his boost and heads down to the surface, which now has craters visible from space from the bombardment, despite the heavy smoke and dust in the planet's air. Everyone follows his orders, with the designated ships accompanying him to the planet. Jake, Jacob, Jack, and I follow him to Nemaria's surface...and more battle.

-

A squadron of V-wings fly over several Raiden suit units, who are firing at a fairly large and important military base that wasn't damaged much in the bombardment thanks to some heavy shielding. The black, heavily armored mobile suits use their devastating anti-battlecruiser class Standing Laser cannons, which are mounted on the shoulders, to deactivate the high powered shield. They also use a rocket launcher mounted on their left hand and a heavy gattling gun on the right to add to their colossal firepower. Along side them a number of Armored Personal Carriers drop off platoons of Coyotebot ground troops, ready to help demolish the base. The foot soldiers aid in the fight with rocket launchers and their standard issue laser rifles, firing their weapons at will. The V-wings fire some Cluster seeker missiles, taking out a couple of fighters sent from the base to destroy the suits.

Coyotebot commander of V-Wing squadron: "Ha ha! Got them! All right guys, keep your eyes open for any more enemy fighters. Keep your blasters on rapid fire, and don't be stingy firing. Remember, Master Jason has enhanced the cooling system so they won't over-heat like the old models. Raiden unit, how long will it be till we have that base leveled?"

Coyotebot commander of Raiden squadron: "Just keep those fighters off our backs for another 10 minutes. By that time we'll have taken down the shield and crushed most of the base. After that we'll help you with the pest control. These Raidens may not be as fast as those V-wings, but they're powerful!!"

Coyotebot commander of V-wing squadron: "Roger that. Proceed with the mission. For now, the enemy fighters are our prey."

-

Meanwhile, squadrons of Belgdor and Raiden suits surround the walls of the main Capital, firing at its shield. Most noise in the air is drowned out by the resounding blasts of energy and explosions. Legions of Coyotebot troops stand behind the suits, awaiting the opportunity to take the capital while lines of Siege Tanks take positions to assist in further bombardment. The mobile suits and legions are given protection from any enemy tanks and fighters from the quick and deadly V-wings that survey the action at a high altitude.

For reference, the Belgdor mobile suit is based on the Raiden model, except much lighter and faster. Naturally, it is less shielded and the weapons were changed to best work with the suit. The green armor colored Belgdor has two multi-rocket launchers on its shoulders, a powerful blue napalm/plasma mix cannon that shoots a traveling succession of explosions on the ground in its chest, a low-density gundanium shield on its left arm, and a giant anti-aircraft laser pistol with a quick rate of fire in its right hand. These suits are of the standard kind the Galactic Special Forces uses, along with the Y-Wing, B-Wing, and V-wing starfighters. Each of those ships has been modified to become more powerful in all areas, thanks to the brilliant --or rather, insane-- mind of Jason.

The suits blasted away at the shields, slowly diminishing its power to zero. Then the skies became dark. Day became night as the Nemarian star's light was blocked by what seemed to be a giant cloud. This thought was soon forgotten as the sound of roaring Stardestroyer engines filled the air. The people could see the sky flowing with fighters, which served as an entourage for the massive Space Battlecruisers. Jason's X-Wing flies in front of the fleet, transforms into its mobile suit form and lands. He pulls out the X-Wing's red beamsaber and opens a direct com-link to the Capital.

Jason: "Attention, Czar of Nemaria! We have invaded your planet. You're military has been crippled, your installations destroyed. All your major cities are under siege by our forces. If you continue to resist, we shall continue our rampage across your globe until we are satisfied you are utterly devastated. I give you a choice: surrender to us now, or fight and continue this senseless destruction that could have been avoided."

Czar of Nemaria: "Commander Jason. I...accept your offer and will cease fire. We shall hand over the territorial rights to you and your forces. Our planet...is in your hands."

Jason laughs his low, dark laughter. His sinister grin reflects his dark side much better than I can describe it.

Jason: "We accept. As of now you are subject to all GSF rules and rights to conquered territories. The GSF and I shall work to rebuild your planet, not only its structures but its government as well. Heh heh heh, have a nice day!"

Jason transforms his X-Wing back into its fighter mode and blasts off into space, being trailed by the Headhunter, the Peacekeeper, the Winter Novena, and my Veritech. We speed ahead of our fleet and head for home.

Jason: "Ah, victory. How often have I tasted your sweet kiss? Heh heh. All right guys, mission Accomplished. Great work! We'll go into hyperspace in a few minutes so the fleet can catch up. (Waits for response) Guys? Anything to say?"

Jay: "Things belonging to this plain must all succumb to the power of time. For what we stand for may be right today but wrong tomorrow, the victory now may be a defeat in the future. Our monuments and statues, announcing our praise to all who see them may vanish in the blink of an eye, and ideals can change with time like the banks of a river. Nothing is certain, but for certain I knownever can power be absolute, and glory is fleeting."

Jason is confused as to why Jay said this. Why did he say that? What did he mean? Little did he know this was the code to strike. Jason was wrenched from his bewilderment by the violent shaking of his craft. The sound of blaster fire was heard near his X-Wing. He was being shot at by his own family.

Jason: "What is the meaning of this?! What are you doing? That's it! All Forces, report to my location immediately!"

Jake: "Not this time, big brother! Checkmate!"

Jake presses a button on a device he had hidden in his saiyan-like armor. From where Jason is, he can see flashes of light in the distance around him. He sees his communications screen receive a brief static filled transmission from Storm Eagle, but it was too distorted for Jason to understand. All Jason could understand was that everything he knew was collapsing. For a moment, Jason brings it together and sends a transmission to his Judas.

Jason: "You traitors (static) You'll pay for this!"

Jacob: "The only way we should be called traitors is if we continued to deny our hearts and follow you!"

Jason's ship was losing shields fast. Because of the surprise attack by his own brothers and cousins, he was left defenseless. His guard was down, his trust betrayed, his humanity dead. All he could do was...wait.

Jason: (Whispers to himself) "Et tu, Brute? ...Grrrrrrrr..."

Jack: "This is fun! I didn't think it would be this easy!"

Jason: "IT WON'T BE!"

With that yell, Jason turns his battered ship into its fearsome mobile suit mode. He rockets toward the center of us, spreading us apart. I fire my missiles at him, but he blocks with his shield and fires at us with everything he has. My ship is hit in the back thrusters by a shield piercing proton torpedo, shutting down my mobility. The others' shield gauges were dropping, but they were still a formidable match against Jason's dying ship. We would not lose such a golden opportunity for our liberation. We attacked like madmen, trying to shoot down our eldest. Jason somehow managed to keep dodging our attacks. They hardly managed to hit him, even as I assisted the best I could with my beam rifle from my crippled Veritech. Jason is an expert pilot. We should've taken that brief moment of weakness and killed him quickly, but we were so amazed we could get so many shots in, we couldn't follow through.

Now Jason knew what to do. He knew his enemy, and the mist of confusion we used to aid us had been burned away by his rage and instinct. We tried all that we could, I tried to shoot at him while the others flew about trying to get a good shot in. No luck, since Jason knew every move we could make. He taught us, and he knew how each of us thought. He shot my ship a few times, but his pride and overconfidence --his only weakness-- had shown again, and he apparently decided not to kill me then. Either he wanted to do that later, or he had to since the others were on him like flies on honey. His ship then began to give off a warning signal. It had received a critical hit earlier, and it became worse as he pushed his ship to his needs during the battle against us. I then saw him move with such skill, maneuvering so that the others would all be following him, that he led them into a trap without them finding out until it was too late to escape. He quickly turned around and fired his phalanx strike, damaging Jake, Jack, and Jacob's crafts and blinding them with the flash. Jason then used the last bit of power to jet out of range toward the fleet. We had lost our chance...and we may never get another one.

Jake, Jack, and Jacob picked me up and we sped for home, Earth. We were no fools. We had planned this perfectly. However, we had one flaw in our plan, and we weren't going to wait to see another. We took flight before the fleet could come after us to try anything. Not that they could now...

-

Jason's damaged ship flew into the area where the GSF fleet which accompanied him to Namaria lay. It was as if this was all a grim dream. Many battlecruisers had huge blast marks on them. It looked as if they had gone through a ferocious battle and barely managed to stay active. Jason piloted his ship to his Super Stardestroyer, which was the commanding destroyer. It still held a rather awe-inspiring dread, regardless of the blast holes in its hull.

Jason: "This is horrible..."

Jason landed in the main docking bay. He was greeted by Storm Eagle.

"Sir, we have just received word from various bases on earth, along with a number of Stardestroyers and Super Stardestroyers, and multiple installations across the Galaxy, -they have been attacked. They apparently had bombs planted on them, including some of our projects. We have yet to bring The Argo's main Hyperdrive engines back on-line, but it should be soon." says the mighty reploid eagle.

Jason grits his teeth and whispers angrily. "They sabotaged us...they planned this out, probably months in advance. (He raises his voice) Storm, Jay and the others have betrayed us. (Storm gasps and remains in a stupefied state. Jason decides to break the silence.) How long will it be till this fleet can make it back to earth?"

A figure of a woman walks in. She is covered in black grease. The only thing visible is her green colored eyes and her bizarre hairstyle, which she kept down but in a sort of triangle sticking out the sides of her head and curving a bit. Jason immediately knows who it is, runs up, and hugs her.

"Tron Bonne! I'm so glad you're ok! You're a mess though!" says Jason.

Tron smiles and says, "I may be fine, but these engines aren't! Don't worry Jason, I'll have these things up and running in no time. I'm not your head technician for nothing!"

"I know Tron, and thanks. Get back to work, we need to make it home. Storm, spread the news to the other GSF forces of this incident. I shall tell them the details later in a private broadcast to the Forces..." says Jason. Storm salutes and marches off to the communications room. Jason turns to Tron and smiles.

Tron smiles back and says quietly, "I'm glad you aren't hurt." She hugs Jason again and hurries back to one of the gigantic engine rooms to get it fixed as soon as she can.

Jason sighs and heads for the bridge. He speaks his thoughts aloud. "Tron, you have no idea how wrong you are. Sometimes the wounds that hurt the most are those no one can see."

(end of flashback)

Rei passes by and sees Jay. She looks at him with concern.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Rei speaks in a low whisper, but loudly enough for Jay to hear.

"Hmm? Oh, no worries love. All's well. You should get to bed! Lord in 'eaven, it's gettin' late!" says Jay, trying to end the conversation there.

Rei crosses her arms. "Oh really? I know you Jay. Whenever you are stressed or worried, your accent really shows. I know something is wrong. Come on, you can tell me."

Jay shakes his head and heaves a sigh. "It's nothing. You don't have to be worried about anything. My problems-"(is cut off by Rei covering his mouth with her finger.)

"Are mine too." Rei finishes his sentence for him, showing that she wanted to help. She then sits next to him, and stares into the fire. Jay looks at her; her beautiful hair framing her even more beautiful face as the glow of the fire cast away the darkness around her. His heart beat easier, and all anxiety left him. She glances at him, catching his gaze and then rests her head on his shoulder. She closes her eyes while Jay looks on towards the sacred flame. Here, they sit for what seems like an eternity. Two warriors of fire, both not knowing who the other really is, and neither one caring.

-

"Hello?" Jacob's voice echoed off nothing. He felt as if he was wandering an endless plain, a thick fog covering it. He had no idea where he was. "Well, I'm obviously alone. What is this place?"

He is startled by the sound of footsteps. He turns in the direction of the steps, but no one is there. "Is anyone there?" asked Jacob to whatever was out there.

He is answered by laughter. It was a quiet laugh, its origin from that of a brooding insanity.

Jacob's voice became more panicked, but he stayed ready for anything. "Who are you?"

Jacob turns around and sees himself. Only this figure had a hollow, unrelenting look to it. Jacob takes a step back as the second Jacob moves toward him with a maniacal smile. "S-stay back! I'm warning you!"

Jacob keeps stepping backwards, until he trips over something. The shadow Jacob begins to walk faster when he sees Jacob fall. Jacob looks at what he tripped on and his eyes open wide with shock.

"A-a skull?" Jacob then looks up at the other Jacob, who just then leaped at him. Jacob closes his eyes and holds his hands up to defend. After a few seconds, he slowly opens his eyes and instead of a bloodthirsty version of himself, he sees a woman with a little boy and girl in her arms. They cower in fear in the corner of a darkened room while violent winds and rain hit the window.

"What's wrong? Can I help you?" asks Jacob, who instantly becomes concerned about the helpless people. He continues, wanting to help them as much as he could. "Let me help, I can protect you."

Jacob steps forward with his hand outstretched in a non-threatening manner.

The little kids only move in closer to who seemed to be their mother.

"P-please! Don't hurt us!" pleaded the woman. She began to cry and whisper to the children. Jacob stops in front of them, disbelieving that they would say that.

"I'm not going to hurt you, please..." says Jacob.

The toddlers begin to cry more. Then Jacob noticed his hand slowly going to his shock blaster (a blaster that shoots an electric spark laser instead of light radiation.) He tried to pull it back, but his hand wouldn't respond. He grabbed the handle of his blaster, drew it out, and aimed at the frightened family.

Jacob couldn't believe this. "What? No! No! What am I doing?!" All he could do was cry as his finger began to squeeze the trigger. "No!" He closes his eyes so he didn't have to see this, and when he opened them again he stood on the top of a high forest covered mountain.

"What? What's going on..." says Jacob, wondering to himself. He surveyed the area, wanting to know where he was. The skies were black with clouds and the wind howled. The air was damp. Lightning crashed in the background, with thunder following each brilliant flash of light.

Jacob then looks down on himself. In his right hand he held a fusion scythe, his close range weapon of choice. He was wearing Jason's black armor, except he still had his own weapons.

Jacob shakes his head, not knowing what to make of this. He then sees a red glow behind him. Turning around revealed a horrific sight. Behind him lay a valley completely covered in fire. The landscape burned, the structures were destroyed, and no sound could be heard save for the fire's cracking noise and the dying noise of the occasional scream of pain and terror. Bones of the fallen were scattered across the valley. Jacob kept staring, not knowing whether to cry, to yell, or anything else. It began to rain, immediately starting with a downpour, over the burning valley. The stench of death rose from the land below. Jacob only watched as the rain failed to help quench the flames. It seemed as if it were fueling the inferno instead of diminishing it.

"Why is this happening? Why is this happening?! Oh God!" screamed Jacob, who began to cry profusely. He brought his hands up to his face, only to notice something. His hands were covered in blood...

All goes black, until he hears a whispering voice. "You cannot run from me. You are a lie. Whatever you do to stop me delays the inevitable. I am the original, I am the most powerful, and I cannot be stopped, even by youSoon, you will fade and I shall return in your place once more"

Jacob woke up with a start and sat up. The events of the dream replayed in his mind. After he was done reflecting on the horrific images, he began to talk to himself in his dark, lonely room.

"That same dream again...Why do I have that dream? I vowed to protect the innocent and do what was necessary for the good of the civilians...but, what if fail? What if my nightmares come true and I...go back..."

Jacob thinks silently and closes his eyes. He calmly whispers to the darkness. "I won't let that happen. Never."