Kjon/Jenny's Audio Diary Log
This was it. The end of the line. I'd done the best I could. I saved everyone I could. I'd fought the good fight... But it wasn't good enough.
Brick was too strong, the changes Weyland had given him, and those damn rage shards gave Brick all the advantage he needed, not just to beat me, but everyone else too. Rachelle, Dad, Sa-v'ar, Ch'ris, Pyode. They'd tried hard to help but even they couldn't stop him. I tried as best I could, but... but... but I couldn't save them.
All I'd done to save them, and those stupid colonists was all for nothing. I knew that couldn't be the case, not for the Merciful Master and his plan, not after all we'd endured, but still...
I gave Brick the stink eye right before he knocked me out. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of begging for my life. I'd never done so to any of my enemies before and I wasn't going to start now.
But while I did that I thought about everyone else. Those I'd failed. I'm sorry. I'm sorry guys. I wasn't strong enough. I'm so so sorry.
/
"Kjon!" Someone said calling to me passed the darkness.
"Kjon!" Their voice was but a quiet whisper, but I knew they were screaming.
"Get up Kjon!" The voice spoke. It wasn't just any voice. It was Mom's.
"Come on ,Hermano Cazador!" Michelle.
"Get up ,bro! Come on! Get up!" Rich.
"Come on man! Get up!" Taylor and Will.
"Get back up young one! Do not let that s'yuit-de u'darahje defeat you like this!" A'rgr-lo.
"Come on marine! Get off your ass and kick his!" Julia.
All of them were there. All of them Alan, John, Linn, Dutch, Julia, Stacy, My Hunter Siblings, A'rgr-lo, Mom. They were all cheering me on. The fight wasn't over yet. I wasn't dead yet. I still didn't have permission to die yet. Their words, even their insults, encouraged me. I could feel my strength begin to return.
"You are still there my son. Please. Get up." Mom begged in a soft whisper. All of this time, the soft voice that offered me hope, it'd been her voice. No, not just her voice, their voices. They'd been with me this whole time, giving me the hope I needed to continue. "Do not worry. Everything will be alright. You know what to do, just do it. Go save them kid." Their voices mingled together.
"Thank-you guys."
/
"JON!"
Bri-ci'all only savored for a few short seconds. The evil grin on his face grew wide with anticipation before he finally committed.
No! I averted my eyes from the horrible scene, as I heard a gut-wrenching slice. I didn't want to see it. I didn't want to see... but I forced myself to anyway.
It wasn't over yet.
Jon was still alive! He was awake! How he'd recovered so quickly, I don't know, but he'd managed to do so just in time. Jon had blocked Bri-ci'all's wristblade with his stumped right arm, causing more damage to the wound, but saving himself in the process. He quickly stood back up and began forcing his brother back. Bri-ci'all was perplexed by this sudden revival. He began attempting to force his smaller brother back with some affect, but it did not hold. With every forceful push Bri-ci'all made in an attempt to push Jon back, or cut deeper in with his wristblade, Jon held strong. Actually, he managed to push Bri-ci'all back. With every second passing in the struggle it looked like Jon was becoming stronger, despite the intense beating he'd just taken.
Bri-ci'all's hand was still on Jon's throat, so he attempted to choke him harder, but even that didn't stop the enraged yautja. Bri-ci'all's puzzled look suddenly turned to fear as he saw his smaller brother begin to outmatch his strength, and he was putting everything he had into each push. Realizing this was ineffective, Bri-ci'all drew his right hand ,that he was choking Jon with, back to punch him. Jon ,with lightning-speed, caught his brother's fist in his left hand and began digging his claws into the behemoth's hand. Bri-ci'all screamed in pain and terror. Jon responded by bellowing a long enraged roar. He tore his claws out of his brother's fist ,leaving a grizzly wound behind, before quickly forming a fist and punched Bri-ci'all in the face. It was actually strong enough to push Bri-ci'all back several feet. Everybody began to cheer as they saw the teenage Hunter make his miraculous comeback.
Jon went in to claw his brother, but luckily ,for Bri-ci'all, he managed to recover in time to dodge the slash. He responded fearfully by swatting Jon back. Jon quickly stood back up, as did Bri-ci'all. Bri-ci'all attacked first, stabbing forward with his wristblade. Jon side-stepped, avoiding the strike, and causing Bri-ci'all to fall stupidly to his knees. Jon spun back around, landing another powerful punch to his brother's face. Bri-ci'all responded by sweeping Jon's feet with his right arm. Jon fell on his back, but immediately after he did he sent his feet into his brother's face, knocking him back. The smaller Predator pounced back to his feet as Bri-ci'all got back to his, but this time Bri-ci'all was too slow. Jon ,roaring wildly as he did so, sent his foot into his brother's gut, causing him to crouch and cough in pain. He continued by preforming a spinning jump landing another kick to Bri-ci'all's face in the process. Jon followed with another backflip kick to Bri-ci'all's chin. Bri-ci'all tried to counter by swiping back with his wristblade, but his younger brother skillfully ducked. Jon positioned his arms under his brother's torso, and managed to lift his brother off the ground and throw him a considerable distance.
As Bri-ci'all attempted to get back up, Jon charged. There was a limp in his stride. His leg was also broken, but that clearly wasn't stopping him. Jon kicked Bri-ci'all in the face as he stood back up and followed it with a clawed swipe to his cheek. Jon then grabbed at his stumped right arm with his left hand, and forced his elbow ,hard, into Bri-ci'all's face, causing blood to spew from his spidery mandibles. Jon ruthlessly continued his assault with more skillfully brutal blows, giving Bri-ci'all absolutely no chance for a counter. Jon's flurry of attacks concluded after he expertly rolled over his kneeling brother's back, wrapped his left arm around Bri-ci'all's right limb, and spun around ,throwing Bri-ci'all forward in the process.
Jon attempted to continue his assault, but was blown back, by Bri-ci'all's plasma caster. That only succeeded in making him angrier. He got back to his feet, as Bri-ci'all charged up another blast. Thinking quickly, Jon broke off the door of a car, and blocked the shot with it. As Bri-ci'all prepared for another blast, Jon threw the car door at him. The door missed Bri-ci'all ,but hit the shoulder-cannon, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks, dazing Bri-ci'all long enough for Jon to continue his attack.
Jon had taken the engine out of the car and began swinging it at Bri-ci'all with devastating effect. Bri-ci'all attempted to break a blow with his wristblade, but that only resulted in him spraining his fist, and breaking the blade on his gauntlet. That left Jon open to swing the car engine into Bri-ci'all's other arm ,breaking it at the wrist. Jon then followed up by swinging the heavy object into Bri-ci'all's left leg ,breaking it as well. I also heard a painful popping sound coming from Jon's left arm. Dislocated. He'd put to much tension on it from swinging the engine about. Despite that, Jon paid no attention to the pain and just kept fighting. After that, Jon finished his attack, by swinging the engine upward into Bri-ci'all's chin, sending him flying several yards away.
By that point, it was over. Bri-ci'all attempted to get back up but failed. As this happened, Jon slowly limped towards his brother, with the heavy engine hanging off of his left arm. Bri-ci'all saw the rage in his younger brother's eyes and was petrified by it. Bri-ci'all was broken, and helpless now. He'd lost and he knew it, and there was he could do to stop his brother. We watched with anticipation as Jon slowly and effortfully lifted the engine over his head with both arms. Bri-ci'all hid his face with his arms, too cowardly to face Jon. The enraged marine roared wildly before slamming the engine down. Surprisingly, he didn't hit his brother. Bri-ci'all noticed this as well, evidenced by the fearful puzzled look he gave. Jon looked down at his brother before stepping off of him. Bri-ci'all wisely made no attempt to get up ,if he even could, that is.
Jon had done it! He'd beaten Bri-ci'all! Everyone stood in harmonious awe at the incredible display we'd just witnessed. Jon let his tired arms hang, and gave a few heavy breaths before stomping his foot down and exhaled a prolonged roar of victory. Those on our side cheered with him as he did so. The remaining part of those on Zell-oah and Bri-ci'all's side stood aghast. They'd just watched their strongest champion get his ass handed to him by his smaller, teenage brother. After pronouncing his victory for all to hear, Jon weakly fell to his knees and began to gasp for air.
Hadrick had regained consciousness, and came to his son's side a couple moments after. "Kjon!" He called to him. "Son! Good Lord are you alright?!" He asked. Jon made no response beyond a smart-assed look with his right eye. "Sorry ,son. Here..." He said as he helped his son to his feet. After getting back up, Jon turned his sights back to his defeated brother. The bad blood looked around at his comrades, hoping they'd come and help him, but none did. They weren't stupid.
Seeing as nobody would turn to him for help, he fearfully faced his brother. "Finish him!" "Kill the mother fucker!" "Kill him!" The marines and the yautja on our side chanted. Jon sneered at them and gave a low growl. He turned back to Bri-ci'all, stared for a few seconds, then shook his head. He'd let him live.
As Jon stared down at him he noticed something, something in his trophy pouch. He took it and drew out a yautja's skull. Bri-ci'all had shown us this skull before. Beo'n. Jon's angry gaze turned to shock. He recognized it too. He began to sob as he stared at it.
Ch'ris and Rachelle were also crying. They were mourning over Sa-v'ar's body. Jon saw them and joined to mourn with them. They weren't the only ones.
Inside of the crowd someone else was also crying. Colonists. Not just any colonists, but the parents of the little girl Zell-oah had murdered. This also caught his attention. Jon slowly rose to his feet, and limped towards the mourning couple. The two were a little nervous by him at first ,understandably so. Jon knelt down in front of the colonists, took the child's headless corpse in his arms, and began to cry.
/
Thank-you guys... Thank-you so so much... I thought, to exhausted to say it as I knelt to the ground.
"Kjon!" Dad called for me. "Son! Good Lord are you alright?!" He'd been out for most of the fight, and had just woken back up, but still, that question should have been obvious. "Sorry ,son. Here..." He said as he helped me back up. I held back a painful grunt as he lifted me. Brick had broken my femur, right above the patella bone. Standing on it hurt like a bitch but I ignored it. I had bigger things to care about at the moment. Brick was one of them.
"Kill him!" everyone around around us shouted. The idea was tempting, but it was too kind for him. What honor did he have? Why should he receive such a kind fate after everything he's done? The bastard didn't even look at me when I was about to smash his face in. What honor does he deserve? No, killing him would have been to merciful. And I was out of mercy to give.
My attention was suddenly turned to his trophy pouch. There was something in it that caught my attention, and I wanted to know what it was. As I looked at it I found a yatja's skull. But this wasn't just any yatja. Beo'n! It was his skull. I could tell by the size of it and the shape of the fangs on the mandibles. It was unmistakable. As if he hadn't done enough damage by betraying our clan, he also killed our brother too. Our own blood sibling... but he didn't even care.
I turned to Ch'ris and Rachelle as I began to hear them cry. Sa-v'ar. She'd sacrificed herself during the fight. She saved our lives. I knelt beside my brother and sister to cry with them. This poor creature didn't deserve this. None of it. At least she didn't die for nothing, and it honorable.
We weren't the only ones to mourn our dead either. Two colonists had been mourning over their dead child. It was a little girl, her spine and skull had been completely removed. I'd seen many terrible things before, but that still didn't make it any easier to see.
I knelt in front of them. They stared at me ,scared. Couldn't say I blamed them. I gently took the child's body in my hands ,carefully cradling it. I still hated the colonists, and I'm very sure I will never forgive them after everything they've done to the marines... But... but... but what child deserved this?!
/
I began to sob as I watched Jon begin to cry over the dead child. Even though he'd won, there was no cause for celebration. The rest of the crowd who'd been cheering over the monumental victory moments ago were quiet and respectful. It just serves as a painful testament to the true nature of what war is like. That even when the battle was won, it doesn't mean that everything and everyone was fine after it. People die in the fighting to win the war, and even though it's a hard truth to face, it's even harder to know that innocent people ,like that poor little girl, are also casualties of a conflict that isn't their fault. As hard of a reality as it is, there never always is a happy ending after a war is won.
A couple of marines came and wrapped the child's body in a blanket and took the mourning couple away. Jon stayed and continued to mourn.
His crying grew silent as he gently rested Beo'n's skull on the ground, and turned back to Bri-ci'all. His look of sorrow had reverted back into vengeful anger. He stood up looked at his machete and stomped towards it. Before he began stomping towards his brother, Ch'ris and Rachelle growled angrily, catching Jon's attention. They pointed angrily towards Zell-oah who, fearfully stared back at them and back in the direction of the mourning couple and their dead child. Jon saw this and quickly clued in that she'd killed the child. He could also see the scared expression in Bri-ci'all's face, which had grown even more desperate.
Outside of his hunger for power, Zell-oah was the only thing he truly cared for. Jon recognized this as he locked eyes with the terrified bad blood. Jon then began stomping towards Zell-oah.
"Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma"
He chanted angrily.
"No, Please. Mei'hswei, not he-!" Bri-ci'all grunted as he attempted to stop Jon. Jon heard none of his brother's pleading, and spun around, striking his brother in the face with his machete, leaving a grizzly wound on his right eye. After grunting in pain he looked back up at Jon, holding his eye as he did so. I found the sight a bit ironic, yet fitting ,at the same time. But that wasn't as fitting as what came next.
Zell-oah had forgotten the ultimatum Jon had left her, but upon seeing him coming after her she quickly remembered it. The bad blood army began parting as their leader tried running to them for safety. Bri-ci'all's distraction allowed her to make it a short distance away. At least until she bumped into somebody who didn't move. She looked up and found Ch'ris standing over her, clutching his combat knife tightly. "What's the matter ,Zell-oah? You look like you've seen a ghost?" He asked with an enraged look on his face. She quickly rose to her feet and took off again, but was immediately met by Rachelle.
"Surprise ,Zell-oah." My friend said with widened mandibles. The two slowly and menacingly stepped towards her, prompting Zell-oah to run away. She stupidly ended up running back into Jon.
"R-R'KA BHU'JA!" She gasped fearfully as she fell in front of him. Jon took a swipe at her, which she blocked with her arm with predictable results. Ch'ris took the next swing, lifting his combat knife high over his head with both hands before bringing the weapon down on his sister's back. Rachelle then made a diagonal swipe with her knife cutting her across her shoulder. They continued taking turns slicing at her. As I watched, I noticed their cuts were only deep enough to separate the skin and a thin layer of muscle tissue. It was then that I realized what they were going to do to her.
After they finished, Jon grabbed at the skin and tore back, skinning her alive. It was surprising though that this didn't kill her, then again, I don't think that wasn't the intention. Not yet. Jon, Ch'ris, and Rachelle stood and watched as the skinless bad blood attempted to crawl away. Ch'ris put a stop to that by stabbing her in the ankle and dragging her back. Finally after savoring the moment long enough by watching the bitch bleed, Jon grabbed Zell-oah by the throat and threw her against the wall of a building. She tried weakly to utter something, most likely a beg for mercy, but before she could get anything out, she was stabbed in the throat. Jon slowly moved the blade from her throat down to her midsection ,dissecting her like a frog. What made this even more brutal was that she was still alive as it was happening. Jon didn't let her suffer too much longer after that though. He stabbed his machete into the wall and threw his clawed hand into her separated torso before ripping out Zell-oah's skull and spine. Zell-oah's look of anguish and terror was still frozen on her skinless face. Jon roared angrily as he held the lifeless trophy above his head, gore raining down on his face as he stared up at it.
Bri-ci'all could do nothing besides watch helplessly as the yautja mercilessly gutted his mate. After satisfying his bloodlust, Jon threw Zell-oah's head towards his brother, who stared at it horrifically. Jon menacingly looked back at Bri-ci'all who began to cry ,pathetically. "What in the name of the gods are you?" He asked as he stared up at the one-eyed monster standing over him. Jon responded simply by stomping down on Bri-ci'all's chest and roaring at him.
Suddenly, lightning began to crack across the night sky. A wind came bringing a cool soothing feeling with it. Rain began to pour. Bri-ci'all ,the bad bloods, and even some of our allied yautja stared up at it in confusion and disappointment. The heat was gone, the conflict was over, there was no more sport.
Jon gave acknowledgement to the rain as well, but didn't seem to care as much. The one-eyed yautja looked back down and gave an angry smirk. "Hurt's, doesn't it?" Jon finally spoke after so so long. That caused everyone including myself to gasp. "Hunting season's over." He added.
Seconds after that, Goliath and the rest of his army arrived, thoroughly scarring the shit out of the bad bloods whom they surrounded. The bad bloods made no move to attack and wisely surrendered. As they began taking the bad blooded yautja prisoner, the colony's emergency sirens began to blare loudly. That could only mean one thing. Xenomorphs. Everyone stared in acknowledgement as they heard it.
A dropship arrived mere seconds afterward. "Hadrick! Hadrick!" One of the marines inside bellowed ,trying to make his voice audible past the noise of the dropship's engine and the sirens, as he jumped out.
"What've we got Gordo?" Hadrick asked the husky marine.
"We've got bugs coming down from the north, and a shit ton of them at that!"
"Where the hell did they come from?!" Hadrick asked.
"We don't know ,bud! First thing we know everything's clear as a whistle, one second later our motion trackers are beeping like crazy!" Gordon responded.
"The hive. I think we just found it." Hadrick deduced. "Where are they now?" Hadrick asked.
"They're about thirty miles out, they'll make it to the colony within the hour!"
The silent crowd around us erupted in gasps of nervous talking. Hadrick however, quickly shut it all down before it could get any worse. After silencing the nervous marines ,and the yautja who could understand, he began planning with Ch'ris and Gordon. "We need to set up a defensive line around the north area, and we need to get the colonists to safety, yesterday!"
"What about munitions for the line? We don't have enough time or people to cart the supplies to them before they get here." Gordon spoke.
"Well then we better find a way for that to happen now, or we're going to be up to our ass in bugs." Hadrick said.
"Or we begin now whilst we still have time." Ch'ris said after having ordered his clan and some of the other yautja to begin making preparations.
"Even better idea." Hadrick agreed. "The rest of you waiting for an invitation or what?! You heard us, get started securing those colonists and setting up that line! NOW!" Hadrick roared at the marines, who did as they were told. Not long after that happened, Ch'ris, Rachelle, and a couple marines began helping me with my leg.
It was amazing how suddenly and quickly the mood had changed. One minute we were celebrating our victory, the next we were mourning for our dead, then the next we were back to work. It was crazy, but there was no time to think about it. Despite this the marines handled themselves well. With everything they'd been through before, perhaps nobody knew crazy like they did. That wasn't really a good thing, but then again it wasn't necessarily bad either. That was just how it was. Only this time they weren't alone.
"And someone get my son a doctor! He's bleeding all over the damn place!" Hadrick ordered. I turned and looked at him and the injured, colonial marine yautja after he said that. Jon had gathered up all of his belongings and began treating his wounds.
"Ch'ris ,please, pick me up. I need to talk to Jon!" I requested urgently. I had to apologize to him, I needed to. I couldn't let things end the way I'd let them. Even if he didn't accept it, I'd understand, but I still had to tell him.
"It will be but a short moment ,Jenny." Rachelle told me.
"What do you think you're doing?!" I heard Hadrick bark at Jon as he smashed the window of a car with his fist.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Jon responded as he poured a purple liquid onto the pile of glass, before painfully shoving the handle of his machete into his stumped wrist. He isn't stopping! I thought.
"Ch'ris! Rachelle! Please!" I begged.
"We cannot rush. We're sorry." They replied.
"You're not going to be doing anything, you're going to the ER! You look like shit ,boy!" Hadrick spoke. I could tell that despite his forceful demeanor he was concerned with his son's well-being. He was just trying to be a good father.
"Weyland's still out there ,Hadrick. He let those shadows out. He needs to be shut down." Jon spoke with a grunt as he put his wrist into the mixture of glass and purple liquid, cauterizing the wound, and affixing the machete to his wrist.
"And we'll get him!" Hadrick barked again.
"You have your hands full with the defenses and the colonists, you won't be able to catch him in time, even if you do manage to hold off the swarm." Jon replied as he wrapped a bandage around his wrist.
"You're not helping us this time! You're staying behind on this one! You're bleeding" Hadrick spoke.
"I'm not letting him get away. Not after what he's done. Besides, I'll buy you guys some extra time." Jon replied carelessly.
"Ch'ris! Rachelle! Please!" I pleaded again.
"It will be but a short moment." Ch'ris assured me.
"You're staying here! That's not a request! That's an order!" Hadrick roared at his son.
"Try and stop me." Jon replied with a smirk as he applied treatment to the rest of his injuries.
"I'll have you court martialed!" Hadrick tried desperately to threaten his son.
"Last time I checked, you aren't my commanding officer anymore," Jon said calling his bluff. "And we're both retired." Jon added.
"Jon! Jon!" I began calling for him as I began trying to fight Ch'ris and Rachelle. Despite the fact I could hear him and Hadrick past the noise everyone else was making, he couldn't hear me. I'd forgotten Jon was deaf in his right ear. So it didn't matter how loud I screamed, he still couldn't hear me past that and all of the background noise.
"Finish with her ,Gkei'moun R'ka." Ch'ris told Rachelle knowing I wouldn't stop. "I'll get him for you ,Jenny."
"I'm not asking you as your commanding officer ,Jon! I'm asking you as your f-" Hadrick was about to finish before we suddenly heard screaming.
A marine was struggling with a little girl. It was the same little girl Jon and I had saved earlier. Her brother was with her. The little girl and her brother managed to fight their way out of the marine's grip and ran towards the beat up Predator. "Why did you save us?!" The girl screamed at Jon. Everyone went silent when they heard her.
"Sorry, Schaefer. I'll get the-" The marine apologized, before being stopped short by Gordon who held him back.
"Why did you save us?!" The girl asked again, her younger brother timidly tipping towards her, holding onto her for protection. There was a pause. "I was so mean to you! You didn't owe me anything!... B-b-but... y-you saved 'Benji!' A-and Y-you saved me!" Jon was taken aback by this. I was confused myself. I didn't know who this girl was, nor that they'd actually met before. Jon managed a smile, stood up, and limped towards them. "Y-you didn't owe us anything! Y-you barely even know us! Y-you could've died! B-but y-you still saved us! Why?!" The preteen girl continued. "I didn't deserve it... You didn't need to do what you did... But you did it for us anyway... Why?" The girl's voice broke as tears streamed down her face.
"There are a lot of things I don't need to do." The one-eyed marine spoke softly as he knelt down as low as he could to make himself look less intimidating.
"I-I don't understand. We were so mean to you. W-why are you doing this for us?" The girl continued asking.
"We're marines ,Stacy, It's just what we do. Most of us have no idea why we're fighting, we just do what we do." Jon answered somewhat stupidly.
"I-It doesn't make any sense. We mistreated you. Why do you keep going for us?"
Jon paused for a moment. "Because we know what it's like to be hurt. A lot of us don't want you guys to feel that way."
"But we're the reason why you're hurting. We hurt you guys." The little girl ,Stacy, wasn't just talking about herself, but was talking about the colonists and everyone else who'd hurt the marines. "You don't owe us anything, but you still keep fighting for us. It doesn't make sense."
Jon paused again. "I can't give you an accurate reason why we do it ,Stacy. It's just what we do. Some of us want to be heroes, others have no choice, others have nothing else to do, even though they don't want to do this, they just do it. We just do what we have to." Jon answered as best he could. Stacy shook her head in disbelief. "Where's Travis, and Dianne?" Jon asked. They were probably the kids' parents.
"Mommy and Daddy are gone." The boy sobbed with his sister after he asked. Jon's face also dropped in a sad frown. "C'm here." He said as he comforted the both of them.
"I'm sorry... I'm so... so sorry... about everything I said..." Stacy cried.
"It's okay kid. It's okay. I'll be okay." Jon assured them, softly purring as he said.
"How do you know?" Stacy asked tearing herself away from the yautja.
"I lost my mom when I was just 'Benji's' age. I know how it feels. I know it's hard, but... it doesn't stay that way forever. You're never alone all the time." Jon said managing a smile, before briefly looking over at Hadrick. They briefly glanced at the elderly marine before turning back to the Hunter.
"T-thank-you!" Stacy sobbed as she and her little brother ,'Benji', threw their arms around Jon.
"It's okay. You're going to be okay." Jon reassured them again as he gently held them both with his left arm. They stayed like that for a minute or so. "Better?" He asked them.
"Yes." "Yeah." They replied. "W-will you take care of us?" Stacy asked him hopefully. Jon was taken aback by that question, but his surprised look quickly dropped.
"I wish I could ,kid. But I can't. I need to go. If I don't you and a bunch of other people are going to die." Jon replied with a frown.
"N-No." 'Benji' cried.
"I'm sorry 'Benji'. I have to go away." Jon told the weeping toddler.
"It's not fair though! You're hurt! You've done enough already!" Stacy told him.
"Life isn't fair ,Stacy." Jon replied.
"You'll die!" Stacy protested.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Jon said with a smile. Stacy shook her head again. I couldn't understand why he would smile about that either. "Hey. I've got family waiting for me on the other side. I've seen them. And if that's the case, then I know you and 'Benji' have someone waiting for you too." Jon said resting his hand on her shoulder, his smile brightening as he continued. "We'll see each other again. Trust me. I know." Jon said with an adorable smile. That brought tears to my eyes.
"H-how can you be so sure." Stacy said what I thought.
"Trust me. I just know." Jon said as he breathed a small laugh. Their was a short pause.
"T-thank-you." Stacy smiled as she thanked him. "You don't need to be the hero all the time." She told him. That remark especially hit Hadrick, I could tell by the sudden look in his eye.
Jon's face dropped in a frown after she said that. "I'm no hero ,kid." Jon said.
"It doesn't matter, you're still our hero." Stacy said as she hugged him tightly. That remark had struck something. There was a pause, then Jon smiled.
"Thank-you ,Stacy. You don't know how long I've waited to here someone like you tell me that. Thank-you." The three paused and hugged each other again.
Finally ,Jon turned them over to the marines. "Get them over to the carriers, once everything's okay, find a new home for them ,a good one." He told them, before kneeling back down. "I want to give you something before I go. Here, hold out your hand." He said before pulling out a part of his broken bio-mask. He took out his iPhone and put it in Stacy's hand. "I want you to keep this."
Stacy smiled and nodded.
"Take care ,kid." He said giving them one final hug before leaving. The touching scene we'd just witnessed left us dumbstruck. I'd even forgotten about the apology I needed to give to Jon. As the marines took Stacy and her brother away, Jon retrieved the other half of his mask and Beon's skull. "What are the rest of you waiting for? We've got a job to do." Jon reminded all of us as we stared at him stupidly. Everyone began working again as they were told to.
"Take care of yourself ,Dad." Jon said as he turned to Hadrick.
"I told you not to call me 'Dad'." He replied. Even Hadrick's tough demeanor had been broken by what he'd just seen. He wasn't crying or even tearing up, but you could tell he was struggling to keep from doing so.
"You think you have a choice." Jon chuckled. The two shared a quick moment of embrace, which they both knew would be their last.
"Give that son-of-a-bitch hell." Hadrick said, finally giving Jon permission to go ,which Jon would have likely done regardless. Jon nodded to him, before walking off, not wanting to waste any more time.
As Jon left he looked down at Zell-oah's skinned corpse. He picked it up and carried it away.
Okay. I'm finally done with this chapter. Sorry this one took so long to get to. Like I said I was on vacation, and unfortunately I've been having other things that have been keeping me from posting, also I wanted to do my best to make this chapter good, since I've kind of fallen behind a little. There were some other things I wanted to include in it as well but I didn't want to put to much into this chapter to make things to forced and confusing. Also Thank-you NeverNeverGirl for the comments, as always they keep me encouraged to finish this story, and also I'm working on another story called The King and the Guardian which you can check out if you're interested.