Guess who's back. Yup, ME! France was great and I see that the forum has
been busy for the three weeks I've been gone. Anyway, I got a sun-burn and
therefore spend some hours with a piece of paper and ended out with the
main plot of what will soon reveal itself to thee. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I steal with my arms and legs, and don't even give you credit. Get used to it.
-----
Chapter 6: One down, one to go
There comes a time when you get used to something, no matter what it is, you have just done it enough times. There comes a time when you are able to do something against your very nature. Be it killing one of the likes of you or committing suicide. or worse. There comes a time when you die, but live on. There comes a time when you obey. There comes a time when you are no longer you.
"Lift!" She took a better hold of the bar and moved her hands up, the bar following.
"Great, 250, you can put it down again" She gently put down the bar
He told her to come and she came, to jump and she jumped, to hold her breath and she held it until she fainted. She had noting to live or die for any more. She was just an empty shell. She had died a long time ago, but hadn't realized until she got to Atticus.
She would often look at her reflection in the shiny metal in the laboratory. Over time the difference in the colour of her hair and skin had gone from almost nothing to beech and mahogany. Her eyes looked dim, almost like she was sick, but she new why.
The lost illusions, the drowned hopes. There might as well be nothing out there, she didn't know of it any more. Training day out and day in; but she got good. She still couldn't fly. too heavy, but walk, run and fight was no longer impossible. In fact, the wings had brought her new abilities. She would use them to stay midair a little longer than usual and perform more moves while up there.
She was beginning to see things from Sidric's perspective. How far can you go, what is the furthest extent of your powers? Could she still consume eco?
And at that very instant her wings started degenerating and the claws on her fingers disappeared. She sank to her usual height as her bird-like feet turned back to normal and the thin, soft, yellow fur on her hands turned light brown as her skin. Her reflection showed herself. Her own brown eyes instead of the light absorbing white ones she had when she was 'the griffin', as she called her alter ego brought out by white eco.
Sidric stared at her for a minute before he remembered that special power of her's. Might be some good use to it, but
"Bring it back, we don't have time for games now"
"I can't"
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I tried. Hard. I can't" All she needed to concentrate hard was to close her eyes. She did. She searched through every fiber, every cell. Nothing. It was hiding and she couldn't find it. After a while she gave up. If she couldn't find it in an hour she couldn't find it at all.
-----
Out through the door and a bang and a click of a key. She got to her feet as a well-known voice started talking.
"Sad news, sister" Morion was trying to catch her attention while she examined her surroundings. A rooftop with nothing near to jump to. Damn, this was serious.
"Well, it's gonna have a hard time getting' any sadder than you" Suddenly she wanted to live just because Morion wanted her dead. She walked over to the edge and looked down. Were they people? They looked like ants.
"Sidric is dead. We don't need you any more, you're superfluous" She could hear something moving up behind her and put it's hand on her shoulder. So soon? She quickly skid to the side and with a circular kick she send him to the edge, off balance. For a few seconds the guard fought to get his balance back, but ended up falling. His scream could be heard all the way down. As he landed, he whirled up a little dust from the sandy yard.
From the yard she looked at the tall buildings and what was between them. A bridge here and a bridge there, but it still left out an enormous amount of unused space. So much nothing. A magpie flew between the buildings some stories down and landed in a nest. Would it ever be possible for her to fly like that? She knew she had lost a lot of weight, which wasn't in muscle. But was it enough to let her use her wings? Bones? Naw, what was there to lose in them? Maybe they got hollow? Hmm.
"I said jump or shot?", Morion roared. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she missed his question.
"Huh?" She turned around
"You want to jump or have me to shoot you?"
"Oh, so you're the nice guy now letting me choose?" She walked up to the middle of the roof until she stood about 3 metres from him
"."
"Of cause I'll jump. Don't you think I can do things by myself?"
"Well then. I hate to let a successful experiment go, but as is seems, you are worthless. The only was to survive the fall is to. fly away, right? And I don't see no white eco around, do you? Besides, I heard you couldn't use those wings of yours to anything else than keeping you down." She had gone back to the edge, looking out over it. On one hand she felt like jumping and feeling the air run past her body, but on the other hand she felt like staying alive. She didn't want to end her days as a red stain on a yard wall
"Who killed Sidric by the way?"
"Who cares, he's dead"
"Uh-huh. You wouldn't be afraid of him would you?" She walked up close to him. For a few seconds no one said anything
"Shut your fucking asshole and jump, bitch, or I'll make it worst for yourself"
Emaly bowed, took a deep breath and ran up to the edge and jumped. A slight hint of remorse passed her mind. She thought it would be easier to kill herself. There on the rooftop life had suddenly become dear to her. She suddenly wanted to cling to it for as long as possible. You can change things. Sidirc died and she got free.
A little tear formed in her eye, but it was quickly parted from her because of something on her back.
The pressure from beneath her wings held her up. The eco stored in her body must have reconstructed her body to be airborn. Of course, that's why she lost weight. She had gotten a bit of control over her wings while working with Sidric, and that helped her now. But this was nothing like standing in a laboratory.
She could see Atticus disappear out of the corner of her eye, the sea beneath her. The endless field of blue-green waves. She lowered her altitude, so she could touch them. The timid water running through her fingers with high speed. Before she got too far out she lifted her one wing, lifting herself and turning towards town. She could now see Atticus again, looming over the city like a vulture over a corpse. She never wanted to go there again, but she feared she had to.
-----
Same thing every time. You get pulled out of bed on the most inappropriate time of day. Testing. With eco. The smell alone was enough to send a rat to the emergency room.
Jak walked up to the eco and charged up. Even that has become rutine. Feeling your body be aided and formed by the strongest of acids. The only reason why he didn't cry when he saw his reflection was because he couldn't. Why should a killer-machine be able to cry anyway?
Just charged up, a guard was sent to check Jak's blood pressure. Jak was tactically correct placed behind a 3 metre high wall of unbreakable glass. Just to make sure the scientists were safe.
The guard slowly approached. Jak streched out his arm as usual, but as the guard put the machine around Jak's arm, he stroke. Jak grabbed the arm and slung the guard in an arch over the demonish figure, making him land directly on his back forcing all the air out of his lungs. A sound of bones cracking came from the guard as Jak curled him up to a human ball.
At first he is thrown directly at the glass, but bounces a few centimetres back instead of going through. Sidric was just starring in chock, mouth wide open. Morion on the other hand was fleeing faster than rats on a sinking ship. There was no limit to the powers the monster held when released.
Jak picked up the remains of the guard and reassembled the pieces to a new ball before throwing it over the glass wall in the direction of where Sidric and Morion stood before.
He couldn't see anything because of the bloodstain from the guard's mauled body, but to his luck, one target was frozen at the place of the impact.
The human ball dropped vertically down on Sidric, who just looked at it with wide eyes before going entirely blank.
His skull was cracked and his spine in pieces because of the angle of impact. Despite the horrible sight Jak felt nothing but the joy of revenge
"Don't ever fuck with Dark Jak", he mumbled, tasting his new name. Perfect.
He then walked up to the glass wall blocking his way. For a moment he just pointed at it before giving it his hardest direct kick. The wall went back about ten centimetres and small cracks spread in all directions. A few more kicks and punches and he was through, but the room had been emptied and locked up at his first sign of uncontrollability.
His silvery white hand ripped off the door at its hinges and revealed a blockade of tables, stones and burning torches. No match for invincibility, though. What he couldn't drag in he pushed out and soon the blockade was no more.
The corridor was going right-left, but for kicks Jak decided to go strait forwards also to test his strength.
The heavy rocks were torn out of the wall as easy as if they were drawers. Jak ended up in a room similar to the one used to test him except that there was no protective glass wall in this one. He stormed out of the door just to meet a new corridor going right-left.
Without a thought he turned right. He always came and left his testing room in the other direction. Left, cell. right, freedom. Or so he hoped.
The corridor led to another corridor, which led to another one. and another one. Jak ran as fast as he could and knocked down the guards he met on his way.
The corridors began to get wider and lighter. Just as he reached a large hall the eco's effect wore off and he collapsed on the floor. So close to freedom. And yet so far away.
Jak's heavy breathing was interrupted by boots marching over the wooden floor. A knee was placed on his back and his hands put in chains. As he was struggling to get up he could hear Morins voice hiss close to his ear.
"You bastard! You son of a bitch! I'll make you pay for killing the man who made these experiments possible. I need him. You won't get away with stopping this. [Turns to a guard] Take him away! [Turn to Jak again] I'll see to it that you'll regret your actions today. In every possible way. Welcome to Hell"
-----
It was a beautiful sunset [*1]. The sun was just over the horizon, filling the sky with a beautiful rosy colour. From his barred window Jak could see something flying away over the sea, turning towards the city. It looked too big to be a bird and had too long legs. In fact it looked like a human with wings and funny feet. He felt like growing wings and flying away, but he knew he couldn't. That would be too easy.
He would probably be stuck here forever. With a sigh he rolled over on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt like he had lost everything. He had, but he had gotten something new instead. He had made some good friends while at Atticus.
He looked to his side and saw a figure wrapped in a grimy, holed blanket. He had gotten something new. And he liked this new, but hated the surroundings. First chance he got he would get all his new friends with him out of this hellhole.
He fisted his hand and promised himself that things would get better once they got out of here. And that they would get out of here. some day. If they couldn't bust their way out they would just disappear or fly away like that. human bird he saw.
"Damn you Morion"
"What?", it with a sleepy voice from the huddled figure on the floor
"Oh, nothing. You should go back to sleep. We have to get up in two hours"
"Yeah, but you should try and get some too. How long is the shift?"
"12 hour, again?" He really hated Morion. Since he killed Sidric all he had been doing was working the long shifts. Cleaning, washing. Everywhere. Damn, the first week he had gotten one a day, missing a meal each time. He hoped for Morion to soon get a new love-to-hate. And that was only the shifts. Morion managed to hit a new highest of pain at every chance he got. More eco, double dose. 'Hey, let's try with another eco and see if it kills him'.
"Havn't they used up our quote by now?"
"Doesn't seem like it"
"Guess you're right"
"G'night Phay"
"Night Jak"
-----
Tada! Now, what do you think? I tried doing more Jak, like it?
Emaly: "Jak, how dare you try to take over my story? You're not the 'thieving hussy' you know!"
Jak: *blinks and gives cheesy smile*
Em & Kiz: Oh brother!
Before my ethanol-entoxicated brain takes over I'll do some reviewer's responses.
Shark: Angel..? No, no, no, no, nooooooo. That'd be too simple and easy and happy. I started out with angel too, but that would be too. well, she's not that good, really. It would be clichéish too. Then I thought of eagle, but a brown eagle hasn't got much to do with white eco. And besides it would be really pro-American and pro-German, and I'm neither. No offence, I'm just. not. And then I came up with griffin. Kind of in between angel and eagle. Divine, but still not The Divine.
Nobinoir: I will.
Kaza: Isn't it about time that we started talking contracts?
Em: Yeah, or we'll go on a strike!
Kiz: Uses her almighty writers powers to make them forget about what they just said. "You think I'm gonna pay you? NEVER!"
Kaza & Em: What?
Kiz: On to Rocker Baby
Kaz & Em: Who?
Suuuure I'll take you to France. Then I'll have the chance to 'seduce' another muse. (it rhymed!).
BTW is it a compliment when you call me 'depressing'? (I know what you mean, just thought it would be funny to mention. Ha ha.)
AmanDaxter: Thanks, and here is more. Hope you liked it.
Phoe-chan: Better late than never, right?
Oh yeah [*1]: Did you know that the beautiful red colour you find in a sunrise and sundown is caused by the atmosphere? Long story short: more pollution means a prettier and more intense red colour. Sad, huh?
And that's all for now. Review!
Disclaimer: I steal with my arms and legs, and don't even give you credit. Get used to it.
-----
Chapter 6: One down, one to go
There comes a time when you get used to something, no matter what it is, you have just done it enough times. There comes a time when you are able to do something against your very nature. Be it killing one of the likes of you or committing suicide. or worse. There comes a time when you die, but live on. There comes a time when you obey. There comes a time when you are no longer you.
"Lift!" She took a better hold of the bar and moved her hands up, the bar following.
"Great, 250, you can put it down again" She gently put down the bar
He told her to come and she came, to jump and she jumped, to hold her breath and she held it until she fainted. She had noting to live or die for any more. She was just an empty shell. She had died a long time ago, but hadn't realized until she got to Atticus.
She would often look at her reflection in the shiny metal in the laboratory. Over time the difference in the colour of her hair and skin had gone from almost nothing to beech and mahogany. Her eyes looked dim, almost like she was sick, but she new why.
The lost illusions, the drowned hopes. There might as well be nothing out there, she didn't know of it any more. Training day out and day in; but she got good. She still couldn't fly. too heavy, but walk, run and fight was no longer impossible. In fact, the wings had brought her new abilities. She would use them to stay midair a little longer than usual and perform more moves while up there.
She was beginning to see things from Sidric's perspective. How far can you go, what is the furthest extent of your powers? Could she still consume eco?
And at that very instant her wings started degenerating and the claws on her fingers disappeared. She sank to her usual height as her bird-like feet turned back to normal and the thin, soft, yellow fur on her hands turned light brown as her skin. Her reflection showed herself. Her own brown eyes instead of the light absorbing white ones she had when she was 'the griffin', as she called her alter ego brought out by white eco.
Sidric stared at her for a minute before he remembered that special power of her's. Might be some good use to it, but
"Bring it back, we don't have time for games now"
"I can't"
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I tried. Hard. I can't" All she needed to concentrate hard was to close her eyes. She did. She searched through every fiber, every cell. Nothing. It was hiding and she couldn't find it. After a while she gave up. If she couldn't find it in an hour she couldn't find it at all.
-----
Out through the door and a bang and a click of a key. She got to her feet as a well-known voice started talking.
"Sad news, sister" Morion was trying to catch her attention while she examined her surroundings. A rooftop with nothing near to jump to. Damn, this was serious.
"Well, it's gonna have a hard time getting' any sadder than you" Suddenly she wanted to live just because Morion wanted her dead. She walked over to the edge and looked down. Were they people? They looked like ants.
"Sidric is dead. We don't need you any more, you're superfluous" She could hear something moving up behind her and put it's hand on her shoulder. So soon? She quickly skid to the side and with a circular kick she send him to the edge, off balance. For a few seconds the guard fought to get his balance back, but ended up falling. His scream could be heard all the way down. As he landed, he whirled up a little dust from the sandy yard.
From the yard she looked at the tall buildings and what was between them. A bridge here and a bridge there, but it still left out an enormous amount of unused space. So much nothing. A magpie flew between the buildings some stories down and landed in a nest. Would it ever be possible for her to fly like that? She knew she had lost a lot of weight, which wasn't in muscle. But was it enough to let her use her wings? Bones? Naw, what was there to lose in them? Maybe they got hollow? Hmm.
"I said jump or shot?", Morion roared. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she missed his question.
"Huh?" She turned around
"You want to jump or have me to shoot you?"
"Oh, so you're the nice guy now letting me choose?" She walked up to the middle of the roof until she stood about 3 metres from him
"."
"Of cause I'll jump. Don't you think I can do things by myself?"
"Well then. I hate to let a successful experiment go, but as is seems, you are worthless. The only was to survive the fall is to. fly away, right? And I don't see no white eco around, do you? Besides, I heard you couldn't use those wings of yours to anything else than keeping you down." She had gone back to the edge, looking out over it. On one hand she felt like jumping and feeling the air run past her body, but on the other hand she felt like staying alive. She didn't want to end her days as a red stain on a yard wall
"Who killed Sidric by the way?"
"Who cares, he's dead"
"Uh-huh. You wouldn't be afraid of him would you?" She walked up close to him. For a few seconds no one said anything
"Shut your fucking asshole and jump, bitch, or I'll make it worst for yourself"
Emaly bowed, took a deep breath and ran up to the edge and jumped. A slight hint of remorse passed her mind. She thought it would be easier to kill herself. There on the rooftop life had suddenly become dear to her. She suddenly wanted to cling to it for as long as possible. You can change things. Sidirc died and she got free.
A little tear formed in her eye, but it was quickly parted from her because of something on her back.
The pressure from beneath her wings held her up. The eco stored in her body must have reconstructed her body to be airborn. Of course, that's why she lost weight. She had gotten a bit of control over her wings while working with Sidric, and that helped her now. But this was nothing like standing in a laboratory.
She could see Atticus disappear out of the corner of her eye, the sea beneath her. The endless field of blue-green waves. She lowered her altitude, so she could touch them. The timid water running through her fingers with high speed. Before she got too far out she lifted her one wing, lifting herself and turning towards town. She could now see Atticus again, looming over the city like a vulture over a corpse. She never wanted to go there again, but she feared she had to.
-----
Same thing every time. You get pulled out of bed on the most inappropriate time of day. Testing. With eco. The smell alone was enough to send a rat to the emergency room.
Jak walked up to the eco and charged up. Even that has become rutine. Feeling your body be aided and formed by the strongest of acids. The only reason why he didn't cry when he saw his reflection was because he couldn't. Why should a killer-machine be able to cry anyway?
Just charged up, a guard was sent to check Jak's blood pressure. Jak was tactically correct placed behind a 3 metre high wall of unbreakable glass. Just to make sure the scientists were safe.
The guard slowly approached. Jak streched out his arm as usual, but as the guard put the machine around Jak's arm, he stroke. Jak grabbed the arm and slung the guard in an arch over the demonish figure, making him land directly on his back forcing all the air out of his lungs. A sound of bones cracking came from the guard as Jak curled him up to a human ball.
At first he is thrown directly at the glass, but bounces a few centimetres back instead of going through. Sidric was just starring in chock, mouth wide open. Morion on the other hand was fleeing faster than rats on a sinking ship. There was no limit to the powers the monster held when released.
Jak picked up the remains of the guard and reassembled the pieces to a new ball before throwing it over the glass wall in the direction of where Sidric and Morion stood before.
He couldn't see anything because of the bloodstain from the guard's mauled body, but to his luck, one target was frozen at the place of the impact.
The human ball dropped vertically down on Sidric, who just looked at it with wide eyes before going entirely blank.
His skull was cracked and his spine in pieces because of the angle of impact. Despite the horrible sight Jak felt nothing but the joy of revenge
"Don't ever fuck with Dark Jak", he mumbled, tasting his new name. Perfect.
He then walked up to the glass wall blocking his way. For a moment he just pointed at it before giving it his hardest direct kick. The wall went back about ten centimetres and small cracks spread in all directions. A few more kicks and punches and he was through, but the room had been emptied and locked up at his first sign of uncontrollability.
His silvery white hand ripped off the door at its hinges and revealed a blockade of tables, stones and burning torches. No match for invincibility, though. What he couldn't drag in he pushed out and soon the blockade was no more.
The corridor was going right-left, but for kicks Jak decided to go strait forwards also to test his strength.
The heavy rocks were torn out of the wall as easy as if they were drawers. Jak ended up in a room similar to the one used to test him except that there was no protective glass wall in this one. He stormed out of the door just to meet a new corridor going right-left.
Without a thought he turned right. He always came and left his testing room in the other direction. Left, cell. right, freedom. Or so he hoped.
The corridor led to another corridor, which led to another one. and another one. Jak ran as fast as he could and knocked down the guards he met on his way.
The corridors began to get wider and lighter. Just as he reached a large hall the eco's effect wore off and he collapsed on the floor. So close to freedom. And yet so far away.
Jak's heavy breathing was interrupted by boots marching over the wooden floor. A knee was placed on his back and his hands put in chains. As he was struggling to get up he could hear Morins voice hiss close to his ear.
"You bastard! You son of a bitch! I'll make you pay for killing the man who made these experiments possible. I need him. You won't get away with stopping this. [Turns to a guard] Take him away! [Turn to Jak again] I'll see to it that you'll regret your actions today. In every possible way. Welcome to Hell"
-----
It was a beautiful sunset [*1]. The sun was just over the horizon, filling the sky with a beautiful rosy colour. From his barred window Jak could see something flying away over the sea, turning towards the city. It looked too big to be a bird and had too long legs. In fact it looked like a human with wings and funny feet. He felt like growing wings and flying away, but he knew he couldn't. That would be too easy.
He would probably be stuck here forever. With a sigh he rolled over on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt like he had lost everything. He had, but he had gotten something new instead. He had made some good friends while at Atticus.
He looked to his side and saw a figure wrapped in a grimy, holed blanket. He had gotten something new. And he liked this new, but hated the surroundings. First chance he got he would get all his new friends with him out of this hellhole.
He fisted his hand and promised himself that things would get better once they got out of here. And that they would get out of here. some day. If they couldn't bust their way out they would just disappear or fly away like that. human bird he saw.
"Damn you Morion"
"What?", it with a sleepy voice from the huddled figure on the floor
"Oh, nothing. You should go back to sleep. We have to get up in two hours"
"Yeah, but you should try and get some too. How long is the shift?"
"12 hour, again?" He really hated Morion. Since he killed Sidric all he had been doing was working the long shifts. Cleaning, washing. Everywhere. Damn, the first week he had gotten one a day, missing a meal each time. He hoped for Morion to soon get a new love-to-hate. And that was only the shifts. Morion managed to hit a new highest of pain at every chance he got. More eco, double dose. 'Hey, let's try with another eco and see if it kills him'.
"Havn't they used up our quote by now?"
"Doesn't seem like it"
"Guess you're right"
"G'night Phay"
"Night Jak"
-----
Tada! Now, what do you think? I tried doing more Jak, like it?
Emaly: "Jak, how dare you try to take over my story? You're not the 'thieving hussy' you know!"
Jak: *blinks and gives cheesy smile*
Em & Kiz: Oh brother!
Before my ethanol-entoxicated brain takes over I'll do some reviewer's responses.
Shark: Angel..? No, no, no, no, nooooooo. That'd be too simple and easy and happy. I started out with angel too, but that would be too. well, she's not that good, really. It would be clichéish too. Then I thought of eagle, but a brown eagle hasn't got much to do with white eco. And besides it would be really pro-American and pro-German, and I'm neither. No offence, I'm just. not. And then I came up with griffin. Kind of in between angel and eagle. Divine, but still not The Divine.
Nobinoir: I will.
Kaza: Isn't it about time that we started talking contracts?
Em: Yeah, or we'll go on a strike!
Kiz: Uses her almighty writers powers to make them forget about what they just said. "You think I'm gonna pay you? NEVER!"
Kaza & Em: What?
Kiz: On to Rocker Baby
Kaz & Em: Who?
Suuuure I'll take you to France. Then I'll have the chance to 'seduce' another muse. (it rhymed!).
BTW is it a compliment when you call me 'depressing'? (I know what you mean, just thought it would be funny to mention. Ha ha.)
AmanDaxter: Thanks, and here is more. Hope you liked it.
Phoe-chan: Better late than never, right?
Oh yeah [*1]: Did you know that the beautiful red colour you find in a sunrise and sundown is caused by the atmosphere? Long story short: more pollution means a prettier and more intense red colour. Sad, huh?
And that's all for now. Review!