The recoil of the launcher slammed against Jack's waist with a similar force to when any of the girls decided to jump-hug him, so the recoil wasn't an issue.
The real issue was that he wasn't very good at anticipating travel time for missiles.
For every five rockets he was firing, only about two or three would actually make contact with the Cyber-Dragon, which was unfortunate when he made note that it was about twenty-five feet tall, insanely pissed off at him, and absolutely capable of tearing him in half.
That meant doing what he did best: Making up a plan on the spot but continuing his existing plan of 'turn it into meaty paste'.
The ground shook with the force of the monster's footsteps, punctuated every moment or so by the deafening boom of a missile striking its armoured chitin-like scales. It was stomping after Jack, constantly launching small rocket-like projectiles from the launcher on its arm as it relentlessly pursued him around the large arena. The windows on the far side of the room began to shatter from the deafening noise and percussive force of the explosions, half-filling the room with the sound of sirens below.
The officers down there had no idea just what the hell was happening on floor 100. All they could hear was gunfire and occasionally see individual rockets streaming off into the darkening sky. Nobody wanted to send another helicopter up, not after what happened to the news chopper.
But fortunately for Jack, there was a helicopter up there.
Slinging the launcher to his hip and hefting it with one arm, Jack pulled his phone out and immediately dialled up Chaz. "Chaz! Floor one hundred!" he barked, keeping his eyes on the massive grey beast in front of him whilst continuing to pound it with rockets.
"Alright, I got him lined up," the pilot responded, remarkably calm behind the controls of the Apache. "Huge bastard." Jack grit his teeth as another missile slammed down next to him, spraying his leg with shrapnel.
"I DON'T NEED A FUCKIN' COMMENTARY!" he yelled angrily, dodging to the side as the Dragon roared, stomping its right leg forwards aggressively to try crushing him. "WASTE THE BASTARD!" Before he could give any more expletive-laden orders, the Cyber-Dragon recovered from its stomp, before it delivered a powerful sweeping backhand with the cannon and sent Jack flying across the room.
Normally, that would've done Jack in for the fight.
This time, with remainders of STR potions and pure adrenaline rushing through his veins, Jack landed on his back, backwards rolled, and pulled out the RPD, completely ignoring the crippling pain that tore through his nerves and questioning why he had taken out the RPD...
Wait.
He had no minigun.
He needed to get that back from the other side of the room.
Snarling, he brought the Soviet bullethose to his shoulder and opened fire towards the Dragon's head.
The beast flinched, raising its metal cannon to deflect as many shots as it could, before it lowered the cannon, roared, and slowly raised it up. But before it could begin charging up a shot, an ear-shattering drone came from the far end of the room, accompanied by a hail of 30mm shells slamming into the Dragon's chest as Chaz opened up with the Apache's gun.
It definitely felt the shots; The Cyber-Dragon moved back at least ten feet in response to the impacts, though the fact it raised its arm for protection once again meant that Jack had no clear shot at its face.
But whilst it was distracted, he realized it was the best time to make his move towards the minigun.
Jack dropped the RPD and went into a full sprint towards the weapon, which was lying in the corner of the arena amongst a few armour plates and health potions.
He broke into a slide towards the area, before crouching down and drinking two small health potions. Then, he grabbed the reassuring weight of the minigun and stood up, levelling all six barrels towards the Cyber-Dragon as it veered its cannon towards Chaz's Apache. The stream of small missiles restarted once again, blasting out back towards the helicopter whilst the Cyber-Dragon began strafing away from the incoming gunfire.
The Apache stayed at a hover outside the window, strafing from side to side to avoid the incoming projectiles. The sound of the 30mm cannon tearing away shattered through the Planeptune night sky, which gave Jack some perspective on what the Taliban's daily life would sound like.
The Cyber-Dragon was definitely feeling the heat, and that was good enough for Jack. He span the minigun up into its firing speed, and steadied himself on the floor as a stream of bullets hosed from the end of the weapon, bringing huge force and almost sending him backwards. Now that the monster was taking shots from two angles, it seemed more like it was struggling to decide who to fight.
However, its decision was finalized with a brief roar as it tanked a Hellfire missile, choosing to point its arm cannon towards Chaz's helicopter and spray missiles towards it.
"Oh, fuck, that's not good," Chaz cleverly deduced. For a brief moment, he let go of the cannon's trigger, gripping the control stick tightly and engaging evasive manoeuvres against the flurry of explosive projectiles. Try as he might, though, Chaz was unable to evade every projectile, and the punch that a single rocket was almost idiotically high-damage against his aircraft.
The first impact seemed like it had originally been aimed towards the missile pod on the wing of the Apache, but Chaz's evasive manoeuvres had instead changed its impact point to the 30mm cannon. The massive explosion beneath the cockpit threw the chopper's course way off, sending it spiralling backwards away from the building. Chaz yelled out in panic, wrestling the flight stick as audio warnings filled the cockpit. "Bugger!" he cried, forcing the aircraft against the direction that the explosive force had sent it in an attempt to level out.
Gritting his teeth, Chaz straightened out, and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing.
Fuck, the explosion must have knocked the gun systems offline!
"Jack, we got a problem," he began, pulling the controls towards the right and slipping the chopper away to a windowless side of the Planeptune market tower, out of the beast's sightlines. "I think that hit just knocked the guns offline."
A glimpse at his aircraft's reflection allowed him to see that the entire main gun was gone.
"Yeah, update on that situation," Chaz continued, "We don't have a gun, anymore." He paused. "Hello?"
Jack couldn't hear him; He'd dropped the phone when the Cyberdragon decided to slap him across the room.
Of course, even if he did have it, Chaz's voice would have been inaudible over the ear-shattering buzz of the minigun tearing away at the Cyberdragon, as well as Jack and his opponent having a 'loud noises' battle. Jack was letting out an almost constant yell of rage, whilst the Cyberdragon retaliated by roaring almost constantly as Jack's hail of small-arms fire pinged from its boney flesh and metal cannon.
The two were circling each other constantly, both keeping up an endless stream of firepower to see who dropped dead first. Jack's legs were pumping like never before, hefting a minigun and keeping him moving at almost twenty miles an hour through the power of sheer adrenaline alone. His opponent, meanwhile, was shelling him at a constant rate, small rockets detonating to his left and right as if in an endless, repetitive sequence of ordnance.
It would only be a matter of time until one of them changed the routine.
Finally, the Dragon made its move; It changed its course from the constant circling, and began advancing directly towards Jack, still blasting him with a constant stream of missiles. The floor was an absolute wreck, meaning that Jack was having to be careful not to trip whilst he was backing away.
Where the Hell was he backing away to?!
He glimpsed over his shoulder.
Not good.
The Cyberdragon was forcing him towards a smashed window.
"So that's your game, eh?!" he yelled, turning his head back to the beast, keeping his finger on the trigger and distance between him and the Cyberdragon.
A moment later, he stopped firing to grab a support rod, barely saving himself from the 100-floor drop to the concrete and crowds below. Rushing winds blasted his face as he dropped the minigun and snapped his gaze towards the Cyberdragon.
It stopped firing, lowered its arm into a charging position, then got ready to sprint.
"Fuck."
The Cyberdragon let loose a roar more deafening than any of the others it had released prior, and what was likely a pair of thrusters on its back screamed into life. Flames spewed from its shoulder blades, and the creature suddenly lurched forward with a great speed.
Jack got ready to dive out the way.
Wait.
It'd land in the crowds. They'd be slaughtered.
He grit his teeth, glared right into the eyes of his fast approaching enemy, and pulled out the chainsaw.
Then, letting out a breath, he began to run towards the Dragon, yanking the starter cord on his saw and holding it high over his head, the sound of a snarling engine and the smell of petrol fumes filling the air.
The Cyberdragon roared again, lowering its right arm further to aim for Jack.
The distance closed rapidly.
Then, as soon as he was within range, Jack leapt up as high as he could, and raised the saw.
Immediately on contact with the Cyberdragon, the forwards propulsion continued, and he found himself pinned to its arm and not even a few feet from its gaping maw of bloodied teeth.
He let out a yell of pain, and peered over his shoulder whilst the Dragon attempted to stop itself before the window came near.
Twenty feet.
Ten feet.
Five feet.
No feet.
The giant monster's huge mass and momentum had rendered it unable to skid to a halt in time, its giant feet getting caught on the edge of the window frame and sending it tumbling head over heels out into the Planeptune sky whilst it flung Jack clear.
Below, he could see hordes of police cars and civilians, rushing ever closer as the ground rapidly neared.
He narrowed his eyes, pulled the double-barrel from his disk, and aimed the weapon behind him.
Time for the climax.
"Let's do this, ya fuckin' ponce!" he shouted, firing off both triggers and forcing himself to fall even faster towards the Dragon. Thankfully, its newfound technology had rendered it unable to fly due to the added weight, which left it nearly helpless as Jack screamed towards it, chainsaw pointed forward like a lance as the shotgun was left in freefall.
The Dragon looked at him, flailing its arms to try and stop him, but in doing so put its hand in the way of the gnashing edge of the logging appliance. The churning metal teeth bit right into the creature's hand. It roared in pain as the appliance's motor pulled Jack closer to the Dragon's body, giving his feet purchase on its chest.
Giving the chainsaw a firm yank to free it from the fleshy mess that was once a hand as the two continued to near the ground, Jack shifted forwards to boot the Cyberdragon in the jaw. Its head swiped to the right, but as it opened its mouth to try and bite at him, Jack was able to deliver the finishing move.
He grabbed the monster's arm to pull his feet against its stomach, one-handedly gripping the saw and squeezing the trigger. As quickly as he could, he got himself at the correct angle, stabbed the saw down, and managed to get it straight into the Cyberdragon's heart.
Then, he did as he was destined to do, and pushed it further.
The blades tore through the flesh on the Dragon's chest like wet paper, the massive mix of arterial content and battery acid spraying all over Jack whilst the monstrous creature screeched in defiance. There was some resistance as the weapon hit metal, but after one firm yank, Jack ripped the chainsaw from the right shoulder of the now-limp monster.
Jack looked over the Dragon's shoulder.
He was nearing the bottom.
Shit. That was only about five seconds of fighting?!
Fuck, he was GOOD!
As fast as he could, he clambered onto the corpse's shredded chest and braced himself against it. The sounds of sirens became much louder, as well as the screams of people below.
Only a matter of time before he hit the ground.
The loud hum of the monster's generator was still persisting.
In fact, it seemed to be getting louder.
That became the least of Jack's worries; There came an ear-shattering explosion and cloud of dust as the massive corpse slammed straight into the concrete, smashing apart the road and forming a huge crater in the street. Whilst it wasn't as bad as just hitting the ground himself, Jack admitted: Even with the Dragon between him and the concrete, that shit SERIOUSLY fucking hurt.
For a few moments, Jack struggled to force himself back to his feet, drunkenly trying to find purchase on any part of the corpse so he could clamber onto its chest and prove he was alright. This went on for about two seconds, but he finally managed to stagger up to the top of the monster's broken chest cavity. Dust was still filling the area, but it was thinning out quick enough that he was able to make out the crowds peering out from behind cars. The police officers had guns raised at him.
He needed his double barrel.
Where was...?
Oh, right.
He could just about hear it.
Either he was gonna look like a fucking idiot here, or he was gonna look fucking awesome.
He raised his hand above his head, pointing upwards as the whooshing sound became louder, and braced himself for impact.
And, as if by some act of god, the shotgun slammed down into the dirt beside him barrels-first, digging itself into the soil.
Without a word, he jumped down from the corpse of the Cyberdragon, walked over, grabbed the shotgun's grip...
...and the stock fell off.
Shit.
Never mind. The grip was still there. He'd always wanted a sawed-off, too. Just have to roll with it.
He hefted the weapon onto his shoulder, and clambered onto the Dragon's body once more. Then, he looked over at the police as his sunglasses finally snapped in half and fell from his face.
"Af'ernoon, Officers!" he called out. "Just gettin' some unwanted guests out!"
Excited talking washed through the crowds as the police slowly, but confusedly, lowered their guns away from him.
"Excuse me! Sir!" one Officer yelled. Jack glanced at her.
"What?" he snapped. "Can't you see I'm gloatin' over here?"
"Your leg!"
Jack frowned.
Shit.
She was right.
Shit she was right shit she was right shitshewasrightGAAAHHHHTHEFUCKINGPAIN
He grit his teeth, and looked down at his leg.
His leg was facing the wrong way.
That was adrenaline: he hadn't noticed that when he jumped down grabbed the shotgun.
But now that the adrenaline surge was over, holy fuck the ungodly pain.
He winced slightly, and rested his weight on it.
His training had taught him how to identify a wound by the type of pain.
He couldn't feel any bones grinding. Not a break.
There wasn't any section with specific pain, besides the upper shin.
Good.
He's just twisted his kneecap 45°, that was all.
Grunting, and looking for a spot to fix his leg, he identified a small gap between some rocks. Carefully, he slid down as police officers began to carefully enter the crater, guns drawn. At the forefront, there was a younger woman who didn't seem too different than any other woman he'd seen walking around. "U-Uhm...s-sir," she began, approaching him carefully. "D-Don't move around too much, you'll do damage to it-"
Jack just raised a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, you don't need to lecture me, Mum," he muttered, slipping the affected leg into the gal he had identified. The Officer opened her mouth to protest, but immediately went pale as Jack suddenly lurched his body to the right, a sickening crack accompanying his loud groan of obvious pain.
For a moment, he stumbled, and grabbed hold of the dead Dragon's thigh as a means of support. After a moment of breathing, he looked to his right, threw up a small amount of bile, then shook his head, exhaling as he stood up straight once more. The woman, and women with her, stared in a mix of disgust, shock, and awe at Jack's...interesting first aid skills.
Jack grunted, and clicked his back one-handedly, the double-barrel hanging limp from his right hand as he did so. "Fuuuuuck..." he muttered, closing his eyes as a series of loud snaps rang out from his spine. "I'm gonna need a set of powered armour, soon." After a moment, he exhaled steadily whilst the police officers moved to cordone off the crater's edge, and reached for his phone.
Wait.
Crap.
That was still on floor 100. He'd dropped it when the big bastard had slapped him across the room.
He groaned, and clambered onto the top of the dead Dragon, looking up at the Market tower.
A lot of the windows were blown out. There were searchlights all over the building. Circling, he could see Chaz's helicopter. Presumably, he was going to find out where MAGES., James, Luke, and Falcom were, then give them support. A lot of smoke coming from the front of the chopper, though.
Whatever.
Considering that the others were on their way down, he figured it would probably be best if he just waited for them.
Letting out a relieved breath as he sat on the torn flesh of the deceased Cyberdragon, he could still hear the humming of its chest generator.
Perhaps it was just a very resilient generator. Props to Avenir.
As he sat down, he began to rustle through his bag, to see what there was to have a go with. Alcohol and cigarettes weren't a good idea. Jewellery wouldn't be needed. Chocolate wouldn't help his digestion...
...what about a cigar?
He paused, his mind flashing to cigar-chomping legends like Will Smith in Independence Day, Winston Churchill, his old Staff Sergeant Johnson, and Al Capone.
He then also considered mouth cancer.
Not fun.
Shrugging, he decided to opt to leave his bag alone, and recline on the giant body like it was a sunny embankment, shotgun barrels resting on his shoulder whilst he gazed around. The crowds around the edge of the crater were talking once again, and he was squinting at the mix of orange sunlight and camera flashes that assaulted his eyes.
Then, he smirked, stood back up, and raised his fingers in a 'V for Victory' towards the cameras, shotgun pointed down in his right hand. His public image had taken a nosedive, recently. Perhaps this might repair it a bit?
As the flashbulbs illuminated Jack, even if only for a moment, he smiled.
He was a hero again.
But just as soon as that moment had arisen, it was quickly dissipating: The mechanical noise from the dead body below him suddenly sped up, changing from the low hum he knew to a loud, jet-like whine. Immediately, Jack leapt off, bringing the double-barrel to his hip and stepping away from the Cyberdragon's lively corpse.
Suddenly, the air arced with electricity, and the dead monster spasmed violently, blue tendrils of energy strangling each part of its body like demented barbed wire. The crowd of civilians immediately let out screams, as the police officers opened fire with their pistols and the SWAT teams with their rifles. Jack was almost tempted to join in, but it seemed as if it wasn't worth it.
The electrical surge stopped all of a sudden, leaving the area with the loud hiss of smoldering flesh. The gunfire stopped as well, and a fresh round of steady applause broke out: The cops had done it, the beast was dead!
Jack narrowed his eyes.
Of all the shit he'd thrown at it, there was no way in Hell that a bunch of weak pistol-fire was all it took to kill it.
Slowly, he approached it, keeping his shotgun trained on its head.
The smell of sizzling scales became apparent to him. The body of the Cyberdragon no longer looked like metal parts strapped to the beast: Instead, it seemed like the flesh had melted to the metal, fusing it all together.
"That's fuckin' wrong..." Jack muttered to himself, looking at the beast.
Just as he got near, a blinding light scorched his eyes he was thrown backwards by an almost explosive force, barely keeping on his feet near the edge of the crater as he skidded to a halt. The crowd behind him, once again, began screaming their heads off, and presumably started to run.
Shaking his head clear of the ringing noise, Jack stared back at the Cyberdragon in disbelief.
The thing was being lifted into the air by some ungodly force, lightning and energy screaming through the air as it slowly levitated back onto its feet. The lightning stopped once it was upright.
Once again, the whirring of the Cyberdragon's arm cannon resounded through the Planeptune air. It glared down at its former murderer, gore and electrical components leaking from the massive holes in its right hand and chest, as it once more raised its cannon shoulder and bared teeth at him from across the craterous arena.
Jack grinned slightly.
"Back for more, eh?" he yelled over mockingly, pointing at its chest. "Kicked yer arse once, I'll do it again!"
At this point, the monster stepped back briefly, and grabbed its cannon forearm. It twisted a panel around, and suddenly the cannon extended slightly, revealing a hidden compartment.
Slowly, the Cyberdragon raised the cannon upwards, and there was a loud hiss as four canisters shot out of the cannon, landing on different sides of the arena.
Then, Jack watched as each canister was surrounded by three glowing purple data bursts, each one steadily forming into a human-like shape.
What the fuck was it...?
"Oh, you've got to be fuckin' jokin'." he said, his jaw dropping slightly.
"End of the line, London." The three Black Hearts to his right grinned at him, and held their swords in combat stances.
Well. At least they could pronounce his bloody name.
Another set of hisses prompted Jack to snap his attention back to the Cyberdragon; It was launching smaller pods around the arena area, all the while staring straight into Jack's eyes as if to mock him. The smaller pods briefly flickered, before projecting their own data clusters, each one forming a different type of monstrous opponent after an Avenir makeover.
Across the arena, the Cyberdragon was now accompanied two recently created MechaFenrirs. Surrounding him, Jack could make out Metal Dogoos, Bit drones with mounted fireball launchers, M-3 drones, and other totally deformed versions of the monsters he knew and loved to stomp on.
There was a pause, as these creatures began hissing, snarling, and spitting at him, waiting for their opportunity to attack.
The Cyberdragon lowered its arm, turning the panel, and reverting its cannon to its intended form.
Jack narrowed his eyes, and put his double-barrel into its normal grip.
"Come and get me, you iRobot rejects."
The Cyberdragon roared, prompting the monsters and CPU replicants to screech in agreement, immediately beginning to charge Jack.
It was on.