Heh, small world, right? For me, the internet is like an enchanted playground. Just without the annoying brats who treat you like dirt. _ Anyway, Jet will hopefully be getting out of the damned elevator by night's end. Or else they'll have a lot of trouble fixing the Celsius in that amount of time. And Zane seems to be in temper, let's find out more! Oh yeah, my next chapter numbers will be written in roman numerals!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter # IV:Hacked
Gippal walked along the docks, supposedly waiting for something. He glanced at the hard-to-miss Celsius and took out a pair of binoculars. He scanned the Dark Knights to see if they were on to him. He still had the dark sphere, the people he stole it from were probably still ensuing him. The Al Bhed stepped to the edge of the dock and looked into the water. Another face appeared after his, an old man wearing sunglasses, "What do you want, old man? I thought I told you, I'm not joining your piece of crap organization!" he spat. The old man chuckled.
"Have it your way. The Shadow will be disappointed that you will not be joining us at the moment. He would've enjoyed your company. The way you handled yourself in the wasteland is legendary, many people look up to you and see the face of hope! You are the true hero of this world we call "home". But what pleases our emperor the most is to watch their hope....die! You're special to him, like a son. Do you really want to turn down a father?" he said softly. His voice was growing hoarse. Do to his age. Gippal remained silent. "The future of Spira rests within the tomb's body. Your machine faction would be able to dig down into the undergrounds and free it's power! You are truly the-"
"I said I'm not joining the damn thing! Get a life, if that's possible!" Gippal shot smartly. The old man gapped at his comment and turned around, back to the city. Gippal smirked and sat down with one leg swinging off of the dock's edge. "Stupid, old man. If he thinks I'd ever join.....him then that'll be the day!" he laughed. He stood up once more and turned around, hands in pockets.
"This is the last time I'll tell you, I can't let Jet stay here. He has to go to Bevelle now! There he will be prepared to be taken to Hakmura and then we can all just get some sleep!" Zane shouted. A crackling noise came from Rikku's comm.
"What does sleep have to do with capture?" Jet's voice came, "Seriously, man. You shout to much." he cracked. Zane growled.
"What're you doing, Enduro?!" he shouted.
"See? That's exactly my point. I'm fixing the ship, what're you doing?" he chuckled.
"Get to the Bridge immediately!" Zane spat.
"Ask me nicely." Jet said coolly. he doddled with some of the wires in the elevator car, some of them shot out sparks or turned the electricity off. "Sorry, I'd like to chat but I have a "ship" to fix." he hung up and jumped back out of the car and into the shaft. Zane growled again and went to the elevator. He pushed the button, nothing came but a "bzzzt" noise. Zane banged his head on the cold iron and sat down.
"He's insane." he muttered.
"Hey! He saved my life back there in Underwo-Oops." Rikku said covering her mouth. Zane stood up again and put an arm on her shoulder. "He's not insane. You just need to give him a chance."
"Rikku, he murdered twenty-seven people! How can he not be insane?!" Zane shouted in her face. Rikku backed away and put a finger in her ear to ease the pain from his loud mouth.
"Oh, hehe. Didn't know that." she said sarcastically. She climbed on to Shinra's desk and took out the vent. "I'll get him. Don't worry." she crawled through on her stomach and turned a corner. She could hear the crackling of the sparks falling down on to the metal. Jet was right under her as she spoke. "Jet! Zane's on the Bridge. He wants to take you in!"
"What? Oh yeah I know! Wait, why're you helping me?" Jet said with his arms folded.
"It's the least I could do for you saving me and all so c'mon! Go through the vent to your left! It'll take you to the cabins! Hide in the bathroom!" she whispered loudly. Jet nodded, he didn't seem to understand though. The bathroom? What a great hiding spot, he thought sarcastically. He took off the vent cover and crawled through.
Minutes later, he reached the cabins. He poked his head out of the vent cover and fell on to the floor, boxes and crates crashed down on to him. He kicked and shoved them off, gasping for breath. Barkeeper was wiping the counter as usual, (never can be to clean, can ya punk?) and the bathroom door was slightly ajar. "Listen blue boy, if anyone comes in here, say you never even saw me. Got it?" Jet said. Barkeeper nodded and kept on wiping the counter top. Jet hid in the bathroom and locked the door, his heart pounding in suspense. He turned the faucet on in the sink and started to wipe his face clean. He stared into the mirror, into his eyes. Something was coming back, back from the past.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flashback........
"I'm warning you, General! Go for the one and we loose it all! Our emperor will lead us to a safer future! We have not yet lost this war!" a man shouted. Jet hid in a vent just above a man's desk. He was dressed in a blue suit and spoke to a man in green.
"We can't back down now! The assassin is still carrying out his mission! We're not lost yet! If he pulls this off then nothing will stand in our way! The Emperor must die!" the man in green shouted.
"He can't! If he meets fate then who will lead this war against the Hellion Empire? If we loose this war, all of us will die." the blue one said softly. "No one, and I repeat no one can save us if he dies. They will take over and destroy all that is ours. Please General. This is our last chance, if we lose him:Spira will be at it's last stand. For Spira." The General's fists were clenched tightly.
"When they come, we won't fall. I promise you, but if you are going to stand in my way....I can't let you live." he said, pulling out a 9mm pistol. The blue one backed up with his hands raised a little.
"You don't want to do this. Trust me. Killing me would only make matters worse. Here you are with a gun pulled on your best friend. What the hell's the matter with you? Do you want the Hellions to take over? Do you want them to kill us all?" he tried to reason. The image was in black and white, the General's hand shook with the gun.
"The Emperor must die! I'm warning you for the last time! If he doesn't then the Hellion's will invade for sure! If this is what you want, then may God have mercy on your soul!" There was the crack of a bullet, then another. And finally a third, straight into his head. Black streams of blood flew from his skull and on to the desk.
"Sorry my friend. I tried to reason with you, but you just wouldn't listen." he said putting the gun away. He grabbed the body and stowed it in a jacket closet near the door. He closed the door and continued on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jet released his sight from the mirror and heard more voices. Zane had obviously gotten up to the Cabins somehow. Jet looked for a better position to hide but all there was to shield him was the shower curtain. Zane wouldn't be stupid enough not to look in there. The door handle jiggled and finally turned. The door flew open and Zane walked in, with a suspicious look on his face. Jet meanwhile had grabbed a pipe and clung to it like a moth on a lightbulb. Zane opened the shower curtain and stared at the dripping water from the faucet. He smirked and shut the curtain again and grasped the door again. Jet could feel the blood leaking through his chest again, the rag was becoming to full of liquid. The door shut and he counted to one hundred, just to make sure no one would come back. He dropped down and took the bandage off, grabbed a handcloth and put in in his shirt. He tossed the other in a garbage bin next to the toilet. "Great God." he thought to himself. A chug of the enormous ship threw him back into the shower. He banged his head on the tub and struggled to get up. He rubbed it cautiously and was thrown back a second time. They were lifting into the air. "What the-?" A voice came over the intercom, it had been Brother's.
"You did it, Jet! Remind us to help you out of this mess later!" he shouted, excitedly. Jet remembered the gun he had with him. It may have been out of ammunition, but it could still be used in combat. He took it out and flipped it around his finger so the butt of the gun would be sent to the target. He opened the door slowly and quietly. No one was there but Barkeeper.
"Where's Zane?" he demanded. Barkeeper pointed to the door, he had a martini in his hands. Jet nodded and walked out into the hall. The ship was silent, all except for the humming of the engines below. And what about the ship being able to fly? He sure hadn't done that. He stepped into the reactivated elevator and took it to the Bridge. The sliding doors gave an oily squeak and slid open, Zane stood with his arms crossed a pair of cuffs dangling from his hands.
"Nice work, Enduro. Ready to come back?" he said softly. Jet shook his head and stepped back toward the elevator. He gripped the handle of the gun firmly and his it behind his back. "Drop the gun, Jet. No one else needs to be killed. Let it go and come here nice and easily." Jet shook his head another time.
"No....no you drop your guns and I won't shoot." he said. His gun was out of bullets but Zane didn't know that of course. It would be funny (to him) to see a grown man wet his pants if a gun was pulled on him. Rikku was to his far left behind Paine who also had a gun aimed at him. "Last chance, huh? Tell me Gantouse`. What'll happen to me if I surrender?"
"Well, that's up to the government to decide. You just sit in your cell like a good little boy until someone pulls the trigger." he threatened.
"And what if I don't? What if I happened to, take you hostage for instance? Hypothetically speaking." Jet said. "drop the guns and then tell me." he jumped off the rail and aimed the gun arm length away from Zane's face. His finger, slightly running along the trigger.
"Go ahead, pull it. If you think you can get away with this game, pull it. It won't matter, they don't trust you. You'll be back in prison for life. I know them, they set you up Jet. You won't get away with this. Even if you gave them twice as much money as you had offered, you still wouldn't make it out alive."
"That's not true!" Rikku shouted from behind. She ran to Jet's side and lowered his gun. "That's a lie! We weren't going to set him up!" Paine lowered hers as well. "Why would we do that?"
"Well, I could point out a few obvious reasons." Jet snapped, putting the gun by his chest. Rikku punched him and muttered something about "obnoxious". "Hey, I'm only stating the truth, even though you have been kind enough to let me join you."
"Get out of the way, Rikku. Jet can't be freed. I'm taking him to Bevelle and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Spira is in danger and not just because of him. If you want to live I suggest you move and let the authorities handle him!" Zane blurted. Jet took the gun out again and raised the handle near Zane's face.
"Zane, I don't care how much you want me behind bars! It ain't gonna happen!" he swung the gun at Zane, knocking him outcold on to the cold floor. "Now what?" Buddy ran to Zane's side, he gave a huge resemblance to Auron. He checked his pulse.
"Dunno. We're in big trouble when he wakes up though. Jet, how'd you get the ship running again?" Buddy said fascinated.
"I didn't, I was hiding in the Cabins when it started up. Hehe, Zane almost caught me there." Jet said rubbing the back of his head. Rikku sighed.
"So, it just started by itself? Strange. How the heck did that happen?" she said turning to the sliding doors. The doors opened. A man with jet black hair, piercings in his ears and chains hanging from his pants walked in. Bracelets owned his arms and a bandana was wrapped around his neck. He wore goggles on his face and gloves on his hands. He had baggy pants that sagged low around his heels. He was also loaded with necklaces.
"You have me to thank, babe. If it weren't for me, you'd all be on the ground and ready to be taken in by the "Dark Nuts". And besides, Enduro here was why I was called to save you jerks. See I hacked into your ship's computer system and made it fly. It appears that you have a spare generator hidden somewhere around here with a lot of voltage. You even gave it ten years to charge!" he said simply. Rikku clenched her teeth at his "babe" comment. She was very fond of Gippal and it sounded like something he would say.
"Ten years? We haven't even owned this for five. Maybe Cid knows somethin' about it." Buddy said.
"Heh, well anyway. After I snuck aboard, I also made a few changes around here. Now you have to do the hokey-pokey for the bathroom doors to open!" he laughed. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We're going to Besaid. Gotta run an errand for the boss."
"The hokey-pokey?! Are you insane?! Who the hell are you anyway?!" Paine demanded.
"Don't got a name. I just go by "The Hacker". Now hurry up! I promised Wakka we wouldn't be late."
"You know Wakka?" Yuna asked. The Hacker nodded.
"Never really spoke to him. Over the intercom. He works for works for "The Shadow". Same guy I work for. Jet, there is a legend. A legend most people like to refer to it as "The Great Legacy" or "The Tomb of Time". What it really is, it's called "Ala-Mar's Tomb". The Shadow has hired the Machine Faction to dig it up. But we're having a bit of trouble opening the door to Ala-Mar's resting place. We believe that you, are the answer."
"Me?" Jet said without belief. "Why me? I'm not special. I'm an outcast. Why would anyone want to do anything with me? Why do I matter? You got me confused with someone else. Either that or you're crazy." he said sitting down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rikku's POV
Does he really think he's someone, no one else wants to be bothered with? He may be a jerk at times but you can't help but feel sorry for him. He was nice enough to save my life. Does that really matter to him? If I didn't know better I'd say that he hadn't murdered twenty-seven people. He may be just depressed? Who knows? Although one thing's for certain, whatever is happening to him, is happening fast. The emperor wants him dead, but I think someone else wants a lot more than just to watch him die.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well Jet, the emperor has taken that you are the only person to have last visited the tomb. And he wants the tomb found, the power within it is legendary. He would want it for himself to take control of the Hellion empire." Hacker said. Jet opened his mouth but thought of the last two words. "Hellion Empire".
"You mean, the Hellion Empire is still alive? They had the chance to take over two years ago! If they're still alive then we're in big trouble!" Jet shouted, jumping up. "B-but the Emperor, the g-general!"
"What of 'em?" Hacker said folding his arms.
"Nevermind. Let's just get to Besaid and get this over with." Jet sighed. In the corner of his eye, he spotted Buddy dragging Zane into the elevator.
"Can someone come along? I'd hate to be the first one he sees when he awakes." Buddy said. Paine went in after him with Yuna. "Be back in a few minutes!" he called waving.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jet said confused.
"What? You dunno what I'm talking about? It's easy Jet! The Emperor wants the tomb's power! If he get's hold of it then we'll be able to fight off the Hellion Empire! Our world will be alive and healthy! Whaddya say?!" Hacker put out a helping hand. Jet turned his back on him.
"How do I know you're not working for the Shadow? You're really just one of the Emperor's men to take me in? And even if I did know where the stupid crypt was, I wouldn't tell you even if you offered me complete freedom." Jet smirked.
"Enduro! Do you want this world to perish beneath your feet?! Run through your hands like a waterfall of sand?! We're offering you to help those in need! If we- if we don't find the tomb, the Hellion will take over and destroy Spira! And we'll all have to thank you for turning us into slaves!" Hacker shouted pointing a finger. "Please, Jet. For Spira's sake."
"Fine." Jet said carelessly. "I'll do what he asked. I'll find it, but if Spira crumbles then there'll be hell to pay. And you tell him that." Jet said going into the elevator.
"Is that a threat?" Hacker said, hands behind head.
"No, that's a promise."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Machine Faction leader wandered the dark streets of Luca, was the old man right? Was Gippal making the wrong decision? If he was, then it might not be too late to change it. He knew what he had to do, he had to find the old man and confront him that he would join. He started to run after the direction the old man had traveled, quickly he made a sharp turn around the corner and headed into a cafe. "Did an old man come in here earlier?" he demanded. The bartender shook his head. "Damn." he muttered. He swung back out of the cafe and started down toward the port. Several people were watching the grand finale` of the parade and were too interested to give another care. He pushed through hundreds of people, searching for the man that had gave him an offer. A beeping noise came from his pocket. Rikku was on the other end, after Vegnagun's defeat they had gotten in touch and started to build a relationship. He picked the small com-link out of his pokcet and spoke into it. "Cid's girl?"
Rikku pouted on the other end. Jet and Hacker had started up again and were shouting in the backround. She had a finger in one ear and the comm in the other. "Do you know some moron called The Hacker? He snuck aboard the ship, and since you knew about jet, you might've told him." she said seriously.
"Dunno what you're talkin' 'bout Cid's girl. Even if I did, you'd expect me to tell you?" he joked. Rikku sighed.
"It's getting annoying around here, the only men here act like children. Not saying that you don't though. Do you know anything about a guy named the Shadow? The jerk keeps saying stuff about him, he doesn't sound like the right person to hang around with."
"Yeah neither is Jet, mind you." Gippal almost shouted.
"Oooh! Sorry, I'll have to call you back!" she said, she hung up. Gippal put the com-link back in his pocket and strolled down the streets, if he could only find that old man he wouldn't be in the state he is now.
"My part in this, this world is just so....unforgiving." he thought. "It all started when I joined the Machine Faction three years ago........"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What do you mean the General betrayed the cause?! He couldn't of possibly-" Hacker started. Jet cut him off by telling him about the flashback that had occurred.
"He killed one of the Emperor's nobles! The bastard murdered his best friend! He tried to carry out with the assassination of the emperor two years ago! I swear! I was there! If we don't do something about him, then there may not be a world left to defend.'' Jet said.
"What do you suppose we do, dammit?!" Hacker screamed.
"I'm a rebel not a leader! Go ask the Shadow or whoever it is you bow to! I'm telling-I'm warning you to seize the General! If he isn't out of the picture by the time "Dante`" rightfully claims the throne, he'll die! The emperor is in danger, just like his father. I may not be his biggest fan but I don't want to see someone kill him! Hell maybe I wanna kill him myself!" Jet backsassed the conversation continuously.
"Stop!" Rikku shouted putting her arms between the two. "If he dies, no one will lead this war. If he dies, we die. We have to keep him safe until the Hellion Empire falls." Jet and Hacker turned around and walked to separate ends of the room, the elevator came back up and Buddy wiped sweat from his forehead, satisfied.
"We got his guns and any other weapon he had, sure packed quite some weight though. We tied him to the ceiling, he'll be hangin' for awhile." Buddy sighed. "Hey Brotha' are we there yet?!"
"Tu hud nicr sa!" Brother shouted back. "Fa pa eh Pacyet pavuna cih neca!" Brother had loved flying this ship, and probably missed flying it. Even for that small amount of time. Shinra had been tinkering with the ship, the whole time he was with them. This had been the second day Jet had been on board and he wasn't even tired of it. It felt fun to do something good for once, helping the government didn't seem right for some reason though. Still it might get him off the run. A clunk was heard from below, it was to large to be a human. A fiend? Or it could've been the crates. Shinra had come up breathing quickly. He panted and let himself rest.
"The crates! Full of........" he took a breather and finished his statement. "fiends!" he gasped. Paine ran into the elevator, Jet, Rikku and Paine followed. The elevator shot the cabin hall and opened. Swarming the cabin hall and the cabin itself were big and small monsters, each having it's lust of blood and fresh meat.
"This can't be good. Whaddya say we pop a few caps?" Jet said, he hadn't his pistol with him or the lamh. He was next to harmless. Maybe, he still had his boomerang. He swiped it from his belt and spread out the disk-folded blade and threw it. It cut into three monsters and came back, two fell but more remained. Paine and Rikku dived into action leaving Yuna to battle from the distance. The crates had burst open with chains and ropes. Obviously those weren't enough to keep them in. The boomerang came back to him, he folded it back into the disk and headed into battle. Still unarmed, he had an idea. A lone coyote pounced at him, toppling the two down the hall. It stood on his chest, digging it's rear legs into his stomach. Jet meanwhile had hold of it's front paws, it started to tear away and try to bite him, but it's distance wasn't close enough. He kicked it in the back and managed to get one of his legs to his chest, he kicked it in the head and sent it flying backwards. Staring down at his wound, Jet fell into horror as it started running again, he could feel the blood and pus leaking away from the already forming scar. Noticing two of his comrades were in danger, Jet dived for a rope and tied it into a loop. He swung it above his head and grabbed one around the throat, yanking it away from Rikku. He grabbed the other end and did the same. The two coyotes were barely ripping them apart. The two women were edging against the wall, centimeters away from the coyotes' claws. Paine finished hers by slicing off the head of her victim, Rikku stabbed it twice in the throat. Though, more barbarians still swarmed the cabin. Jet had fled the scene and went back for his lamh. Rikku and Paine went to protect their ship and their barkeeper!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Comments:What up wit dat? Wasn't my best chapter but it did explain more about Jet's past. It kind of also has a relation to the game "XIII" for anyone whose played it. Though can't complain, you better not anyway. So please review this damn story of mine so I can finish it!j/k
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter # IV:Hacked
Gippal walked along the docks, supposedly waiting for something. He glanced at the hard-to-miss Celsius and took out a pair of binoculars. He scanned the Dark Knights to see if they were on to him. He still had the dark sphere, the people he stole it from were probably still ensuing him. The Al Bhed stepped to the edge of the dock and looked into the water. Another face appeared after his, an old man wearing sunglasses, "What do you want, old man? I thought I told you, I'm not joining your piece of crap organization!" he spat. The old man chuckled.
"Have it your way. The Shadow will be disappointed that you will not be joining us at the moment. He would've enjoyed your company. The way you handled yourself in the wasteland is legendary, many people look up to you and see the face of hope! You are the true hero of this world we call "home". But what pleases our emperor the most is to watch their hope....die! You're special to him, like a son. Do you really want to turn down a father?" he said softly. His voice was growing hoarse. Do to his age. Gippal remained silent. "The future of Spira rests within the tomb's body. Your machine faction would be able to dig down into the undergrounds and free it's power! You are truly the-"
"I said I'm not joining the damn thing! Get a life, if that's possible!" Gippal shot smartly. The old man gapped at his comment and turned around, back to the city. Gippal smirked and sat down with one leg swinging off of the dock's edge. "Stupid, old man. If he thinks I'd ever join.....him then that'll be the day!" he laughed. He stood up once more and turned around, hands in pockets.
"This is the last time I'll tell you, I can't let Jet stay here. He has to go to Bevelle now! There he will be prepared to be taken to Hakmura and then we can all just get some sleep!" Zane shouted. A crackling noise came from Rikku's comm.
"What does sleep have to do with capture?" Jet's voice came, "Seriously, man. You shout to much." he cracked. Zane growled.
"What're you doing, Enduro?!" he shouted.
"See? That's exactly my point. I'm fixing the ship, what're you doing?" he chuckled.
"Get to the Bridge immediately!" Zane spat.
"Ask me nicely." Jet said coolly. he doddled with some of the wires in the elevator car, some of them shot out sparks or turned the electricity off. "Sorry, I'd like to chat but I have a "ship" to fix." he hung up and jumped back out of the car and into the shaft. Zane growled again and went to the elevator. He pushed the button, nothing came but a "bzzzt" noise. Zane banged his head on the cold iron and sat down.
"He's insane." he muttered.
"Hey! He saved my life back there in Underwo-Oops." Rikku said covering her mouth. Zane stood up again and put an arm on her shoulder. "He's not insane. You just need to give him a chance."
"Rikku, he murdered twenty-seven people! How can he not be insane?!" Zane shouted in her face. Rikku backed away and put a finger in her ear to ease the pain from his loud mouth.
"Oh, hehe. Didn't know that." she said sarcastically. She climbed on to Shinra's desk and took out the vent. "I'll get him. Don't worry." she crawled through on her stomach and turned a corner. She could hear the crackling of the sparks falling down on to the metal. Jet was right under her as she spoke. "Jet! Zane's on the Bridge. He wants to take you in!"
"What? Oh yeah I know! Wait, why're you helping me?" Jet said with his arms folded.
"It's the least I could do for you saving me and all so c'mon! Go through the vent to your left! It'll take you to the cabins! Hide in the bathroom!" she whispered loudly. Jet nodded, he didn't seem to understand though. The bathroom? What a great hiding spot, he thought sarcastically. He took off the vent cover and crawled through.
Minutes later, he reached the cabins. He poked his head out of the vent cover and fell on to the floor, boxes and crates crashed down on to him. He kicked and shoved them off, gasping for breath. Barkeeper was wiping the counter as usual, (never can be to clean, can ya punk?) and the bathroom door was slightly ajar. "Listen blue boy, if anyone comes in here, say you never even saw me. Got it?" Jet said. Barkeeper nodded and kept on wiping the counter top. Jet hid in the bathroom and locked the door, his heart pounding in suspense. He turned the faucet on in the sink and started to wipe his face clean. He stared into the mirror, into his eyes. Something was coming back, back from the past.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flashback........
"I'm warning you, General! Go for the one and we loose it all! Our emperor will lead us to a safer future! We have not yet lost this war!" a man shouted. Jet hid in a vent just above a man's desk. He was dressed in a blue suit and spoke to a man in green.
"We can't back down now! The assassin is still carrying out his mission! We're not lost yet! If he pulls this off then nothing will stand in our way! The Emperor must die!" the man in green shouted.
"He can't! If he meets fate then who will lead this war against the Hellion Empire? If we loose this war, all of us will die." the blue one said softly. "No one, and I repeat no one can save us if he dies. They will take over and destroy all that is ours. Please General. This is our last chance, if we lose him:Spira will be at it's last stand. For Spira." The General's fists were clenched tightly.
"When they come, we won't fall. I promise you, but if you are going to stand in my way....I can't let you live." he said, pulling out a 9mm pistol. The blue one backed up with his hands raised a little.
"You don't want to do this. Trust me. Killing me would only make matters worse. Here you are with a gun pulled on your best friend. What the hell's the matter with you? Do you want the Hellions to take over? Do you want them to kill us all?" he tried to reason. The image was in black and white, the General's hand shook with the gun.
"The Emperor must die! I'm warning you for the last time! If he doesn't then the Hellion's will invade for sure! If this is what you want, then may God have mercy on your soul!" There was the crack of a bullet, then another. And finally a third, straight into his head. Black streams of blood flew from his skull and on to the desk.
"Sorry my friend. I tried to reason with you, but you just wouldn't listen." he said putting the gun away. He grabbed the body and stowed it in a jacket closet near the door. He closed the door and continued on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jet released his sight from the mirror and heard more voices. Zane had obviously gotten up to the Cabins somehow. Jet looked for a better position to hide but all there was to shield him was the shower curtain. Zane wouldn't be stupid enough not to look in there. The door handle jiggled and finally turned. The door flew open and Zane walked in, with a suspicious look on his face. Jet meanwhile had grabbed a pipe and clung to it like a moth on a lightbulb. Zane opened the shower curtain and stared at the dripping water from the faucet. He smirked and shut the curtain again and grasped the door again. Jet could feel the blood leaking through his chest again, the rag was becoming to full of liquid. The door shut and he counted to one hundred, just to make sure no one would come back. He dropped down and took the bandage off, grabbed a handcloth and put in in his shirt. He tossed the other in a garbage bin next to the toilet. "Great God." he thought to himself. A chug of the enormous ship threw him back into the shower. He banged his head on the tub and struggled to get up. He rubbed it cautiously and was thrown back a second time. They were lifting into the air. "What the-?" A voice came over the intercom, it had been Brother's.
"You did it, Jet! Remind us to help you out of this mess later!" he shouted, excitedly. Jet remembered the gun he had with him. It may have been out of ammunition, but it could still be used in combat. He took it out and flipped it around his finger so the butt of the gun would be sent to the target. He opened the door slowly and quietly. No one was there but Barkeeper.
"Where's Zane?" he demanded. Barkeeper pointed to the door, he had a martini in his hands. Jet nodded and walked out into the hall. The ship was silent, all except for the humming of the engines below. And what about the ship being able to fly? He sure hadn't done that. He stepped into the reactivated elevator and took it to the Bridge. The sliding doors gave an oily squeak and slid open, Zane stood with his arms crossed a pair of cuffs dangling from his hands.
"Nice work, Enduro. Ready to come back?" he said softly. Jet shook his head and stepped back toward the elevator. He gripped the handle of the gun firmly and his it behind his back. "Drop the gun, Jet. No one else needs to be killed. Let it go and come here nice and easily." Jet shook his head another time.
"No....no you drop your guns and I won't shoot." he said. His gun was out of bullets but Zane didn't know that of course. It would be funny (to him) to see a grown man wet his pants if a gun was pulled on him. Rikku was to his far left behind Paine who also had a gun aimed at him. "Last chance, huh? Tell me Gantouse`. What'll happen to me if I surrender?"
"Well, that's up to the government to decide. You just sit in your cell like a good little boy until someone pulls the trigger." he threatened.
"And what if I don't? What if I happened to, take you hostage for instance? Hypothetically speaking." Jet said. "drop the guns and then tell me." he jumped off the rail and aimed the gun arm length away from Zane's face. His finger, slightly running along the trigger.
"Go ahead, pull it. If you think you can get away with this game, pull it. It won't matter, they don't trust you. You'll be back in prison for life. I know them, they set you up Jet. You won't get away with this. Even if you gave them twice as much money as you had offered, you still wouldn't make it out alive."
"That's not true!" Rikku shouted from behind. She ran to Jet's side and lowered his gun. "That's a lie! We weren't going to set him up!" Paine lowered hers as well. "Why would we do that?"
"Well, I could point out a few obvious reasons." Jet snapped, putting the gun by his chest. Rikku punched him and muttered something about "obnoxious". "Hey, I'm only stating the truth, even though you have been kind enough to let me join you."
"Get out of the way, Rikku. Jet can't be freed. I'm taking him to Bevelle and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Spira is in danger and not just because of him. If you want to live I suggest you move and let the authorities handle him!" Zane blurted. Jet took the gun out again and raised the handle near Zane's face.
"Zane, I don't care how much you want me behind bars! It ain't gonna happen!" he swung the gun at Zane, knocking him outcold on to the cold floor. "Now what?" Buddy ran to Zane's side, he gave a huge resemblance to Auron. He checked his pulse.
"Dunno. We're in big trouble when he wakes up though. Jet, how'd you get the ship running again?" Buddy said fascinated.
"I didn't, I was hiding in the Cabins when it started up. Hehe, Zane almost caught me there." Jet said rubbing the back of his head. Rikku sighed.
"So, it just started by itself? Strange. How the heck did that happen?" she said turning to the sliding doors. The doors opened. A man with jet black hair, piercings in his ears and chains hanging from his pants walked in. Bracelets owned his arms and a bandana was wrapped around his neck. He wore goggles on his face and gloves on his hands. He had baggy pants that sagged low around his heels. He was also loaded with necklaces.
"You have me to thank, babe. If it weren't for me, you'd all be on the ground and ready to be taken in by the "Dark Nuts". And besides, Enduro here was why I was called to save you jerks. See I hacked into your ship's computer system and made it fly. It appears that you have a spare generator hidden somewhere around here with a lot of voltage. You even gave it ten years to charge!" he said simply. Rikku clenched her teeth at his "babe" comment. She was very fond of Gippal and it sounded like something he would say.
"Ten years? We haven't even owned this for five. Maybe Cid knows somethin' about it." Buddy said.
"Heh, well anyway. After I snuck aboard, I also made a few changes around here. Now you have to do the hokey-pokey for the bathroom doors to open!" he laughed. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We're going to Besaid. Gotta run an errand for the boss."
"The hokey-pokey?! Are you insane?! Who the hell are you anyway?!" Paine demanded.
"Don't got a name. I just go by "The Hacker". Now hurry up! I promised Wakka we wouldn't be late."
"You know Wakka?" Yuna asked. The Hacker nodded.
"Never really spoke to him. Over the intercom. He works for works for "The Shadow". Same guy I work for. Jet, there is a legend. A legend most people like to refer to it as "The Great Legacy" or "The Tomb of Time". What it really is, it's called "Ala-Mar's Tomb". The Shadow has hired the Machine Faction to dig it up. But we're having a bit of trouble opening the door to Ala-Mar's resting place. We believe that you, are the answer."
"Me?" Jet said without belief. "Why me? I'm not special. I'm an outcast. Why would anyone want to do anything with me? Why do I matter? You got me confused with someone else. Either that or you're crazy." he said sitting down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rikku's POV
Does he really think he's someone, no one else wants to be bothered with? He may be a jerk at times but you can't help but feel sorry for him. He was nice enough to save my life. Does that really matter to him? If I didn't know better I'd say that he hadn't murdered twenty-seven people. He may be just depressed? Who knows? Although one thing's for certain, whatever is happening to him, is happening fast. The emperor wants him dead, but I think someone else wants a lot more than just to watch him die.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well Jet, the emperor has taken that you are the only person to have last visited the tomb. And he wants the tomb found, the power within it is legendary. He would want it for himself to take control of the Hellion empire." Hacker said. Jet opened his mouth but thought of the last two words. "Hellion Empire".
"You mean, the Hellion Empire is still alive? They had the chance to take over two years ago! If they're still alive then we're in big trouble!" Jet shouted, jumping up. "B-but the Emperor, the g-general!"
"What of 'em?" Hacker said folding his arms.
"Nevermind. Let's just get to Besaid and get this over with." Jet sighed. In the corner of his eye, he spotted Buddy dragging Zane into the elevator.
"Can someone come along? I'd hate to be the first one he sees when he awakes." Buddy said. Paine went in after him with Yuna. "Be back in a few minutes!" he called waving.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jet said confused.
"What? You dunno what I'm talking about? It's easy Jet! The Emperor wants the tomb's power! If he get's hold of it then we'll be able to fight off the Hellion Empire! Our world will be alive and healthy! Whaddya say?!" Hacker put out a helping hand. Jet turned his back on him.
"How do I know you're not working for the Shadow? You're really just one of the Emperor's men to take me in? And even if I did know where the stupid crypt was, I wouldn't tell you even if you offered me complete freedom." Jet smirked.
"Enduro! Do you want this world to perish beneath your feet?! Run through your hands like a waterfall of sand?! We're offering you to help those in need! If we- if we don't find the tomb, the Hellion will take over and destroy Spira! And we'll all have to thank you for turning us into slaves!" Hacker shouted pointing a finger. "Please, Jet. For Spira's sake."
"Fine." Jet said carelessly. "I'll do what he asked. I'll find it, but if Spira crumbles then there'll be hell to pay. And you tell him that." Jet said going into the elevator.
"Is that a threat?" Hacker said, hands behind head.
"No, that's a promise."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Machine Faction leader wandered the dark streets of Luca, was the old man right? Was Gippal making the wrong decision? If he was, then it might not be too late to change it. He knew what he had to do, he had to find the old man and confront him that he would join. He started to run after the direction the old man had traveled, quickly he made a sharp turn around the corner and headed into a cafe. "Did an old man come in here earlier?" he demanded. The bartender shook his head. "Damn." he muttered. He swung back out of the cafe and started down toward the port. Several people were watching the grand finale` of the parade and were too interested to give another care. He pushed through hundreds of people, searching for the man that had gave him an offer. A beeping noise came from his pocket. Rikku was on the other end, after Vegnagun's defeat they had gotten in touch and started to build a relationship. He picked the small com-link out of his pokcet and spoke into it. "Cid's girl?"
Rikku pouted on the other end. Jet and Hacker had started up again and were shouting in the backround. She had a finger in one ear and the comm in the other. "Do you know some moron called The Hacker? He snuck aboard the ship, and since you knew about jet, you might've told him." she said seriously.
"Dunno what you're talkin' 'bout Cid's girl. Even if I did, you'd expect me to tell you?" he joked. Rikku sighed.
"It's getting annoying around here, the only men here act like children. Not saying that you don't though. Do you know anything about a guy named the Shadow? The jerk keeps saying stuff about him, he doesn't sound like the right person to hang around with."
"Yeah neither is Jet, mind you." Gippal almost shouted.
"Oooh! Sorry, I'll have to call you back!" she said, she hung up. Gippal put the com-link back in his pocket and strolled down the streets, if he could only find that old man he wouldn't be in the state he is now.
"My part in this, this world is just so....unforgiving." he thought. "It all started when I joined the Machine Faction three years ago........"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What do you mean the General betrayed the cause?! He couldn't of possibly-" Hacker started. Jet cut him off by telling him about the flashback that had occurred.
"He killed one of the Emperor's nobles! The bastard murdered his best friend! He tried to carry out with the assassination of the emperor two years ago! I swear! I was there! If we don't do something about him, then there may not be a world left to defend.'' Jet said.
"What do you suppose we do, dammit?!" Hacker screamed.
"I'm a rebel not a leader! Go ask the Shadow or whoever it is you bow to! I'm telling-I'm warning you to seize the General! If he isn't out of the picture by the time "Dante`" rightfully claims the throne, he'll die! The emperor is in danger, just like his father. I may not be his biggest fan but I don't want to see someone kill him! Hell maybe I wanna kill him myself!" Jet backsassed the conversation continuously.
"Stop!" Rikku shouted putting her arms between the two. "If he dies, no one will lead this war. If he dies, we die. We have to keep him safe until the Hellion Empire falls." Jet and Hacker turned around and walked to separate ends of the room, the elevator came back up and Buddy wiped sweat from his forehead, satisfied.
"We got his guns and any other weapon he had, sure packed quite some weight though. We tied him to the ceiling, he'll be hangin' for awhile." Buddy sighed. "Hey Brotha' are we there yet?!"
"Tu hud nicr sa!" Brother shouted back. "Fa pa eh Pacyet pavuna cih neca!" Brother had loved flying this ship, and probably missed flying it. Even for that small amount of time. Shinra had been tinkering with the ship, the whole time he was with them. This had been the second day Jet had been on board and he wasn't even tired of it. It felt fun to do something good for once, helping the government didn't seem right for some reason though. Still it might get him off the run. A clunk was heard from below, it was to large to be a human. A fiend? Or it could've been the crates. Shinra had come up breathing quickly. He panted and let himself rest.
"The crates! Full of........" he took a breather and finished his statement. "fiends!" he gasped. Paine ran into the elevator, Jet, Rikku and Paine followed. The elevator shot the cabin hall and opened. Swarming the cabin hall and the cabin itself were big and small monsters, each having it's lust of blood and fresh meat.
"This can't be good. Whaddya say we pop a few caps?" Jet said, he hadn't his pistol with him or the lamh. He was next to harmless. Maybe, he still had his boomerang. He swiped it from his belt and spread out the disk-folded blade and threw it. It cut into three monsters and came back, two fell but more remained. Paine and Rikku dived into action leaving Yuna to battle from the distance. The crates had burst open with chains and ropes. Obviously those weren't enough to keep them in. The boomerang came back to him, he folded it back into the disk and headed into battle. Still unarmed, he had an idea. A lone coyote pounced at him, toppling the two down the hall. It stood on his chest, digging it's rear legs into his stomach. Jet meanwhile had hold of it's front paws, it started to tear away and try to bite him, but it's distance wasn't close enough. He kicked it in the back and managed to get one of his legs to his chest, he kicked it in the head and sent it flying backwards. Staring down at his wound, Jet fell into horror as it started running again, he could feel the blood and pus leaking away from the already forming scar. Noticing two of his comrades were in danger, Jet dived for a rope and tied it into a loop. He swung it above his head and grabbed one around the throat, yanking it away from Rikku. He grabbed the other end and did the same. The two coyotes were barely ripping them apart. The two women were edging against the wall, centimeters away from the coyotes' claws. Paine finished hers by slicing off the head of her victim, Rikku stabbed it twice in the throat. Though, more barbarians still swarmed the cabin. Jet had fled the scene and went back for his lamh. Rikku and Paine went to protect their ship and their barkeeper!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Comments:What up wit dat? Wasn't my best chapter but it did explain more about Jet's past. It kind of also has a relation to the game "XIII" for anyone whose played it. Though can't complain, you better not anyway. So please review this damn story of mine so I can finish it!j/k