JackalFight

by siramay

A young Mercenary named Infinite The Jackal is set to spend his last night in Station Square with his Mercenary friends before they are deployed. Infinite and his friends plan to attend a cruel bar event called a "dogfight," which requires Merceries to bring unattractive dates who will be judged for their ugliness. Infinite encounters a cat named Big whom he brings to the dogfight

3. Some Kinda Time

Eventually, we find Infinite on a Trailways bus. Big disappears. It's 1967. Passengers sleep in a midnight hush. Infinite looks out the window, lost in his own thoughts. His seatmate, Rotor, watches him.

ROTOR
You a Merc?
Infinite is momentarily startled out of his daze
I see you're wearing the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. Semper Fi, right? Mazuri?

INFINITE
Yes, sir.

ROTOR
I was an Army man myself—Sega.
No response from Infinite
This your first trip to station square?

INFINITE
after a moment
I been before—just once—back in '63.

ROTOR
Make the trip about once a year. Still can't stand this long bus ride. What are you, a Sergeant?

INFINITE
Staff.

ROTOR
Good for you. I was working my way up to Corporal by the time I got out. Hey, that's quite a tattoo you got. Aleph null, right?

Infinite looks at the tattoo on his forearm: Aleph null.

INFINITE
…Yeah. Three of 'em.

Deux and Cardinal appear—not as passengers in 1967, but as they were, uniformed, in 1963.

ROTOR
Do they do anything? They don't fly?

INFINITE
No, sir.

ROTOR
I got one that dances.
pats his belly
This is no place to be showing off my belly, or else I'd let you see her moves. So what're they supposed to mean?

INFINITE
with effort
Don't mean nothing, sir. Just something we did, my buddies and me. There's Deux…

DEUX
some kinda time some kinda haze when we hit it hard
and lit the sky ablaze

INFINITE
…and there's Cardinal…

CARDINAL
some kinda time some kinda hum
as if somebody's callin

INFINITE
…and me, I'm Infinite.

ROTOR
Oh, I get it. You're all numbers!

CARDINAL/DEUX
some kinda time
some kinda maze
to a youth
of bended truth
and better days

ROTOR
under, fading out
bet your numbers can't dance the hula,
can they?
She's bigger than she used to be though, that's for sure.

CARDINAL/INFINITE/DEUX
some kinda time cut all our strings
we'll be kings for an evening what d'ya say to some kinda time?

A new rhythm and feeling take over. Muscular, punchy. Bright morning sun. The bus becomes a military bus, now filled with uniformed Mercenaries on their way to Mobius. November 21, 1963. An explosion of energy. In addition to the overlapping dialogue below, all Mercenaries ad lib. Noisy, rowdy, boisterous energy.

Noisy, rowdy MERCENARIES talk over each other.

[CARDINAL, spoken]
Ante up, ante up if you got it!

[DEUX, spoken]
You're gonna turn to stone when you take one look at my girl.

[CARDINAL, spoken]
Says who?

[DEUX, spoken]
Mystic, here we come!

[INFINITE]
You better call the cops and give 'em warning

[DEUX]
Sound a siren!

[CARDINAL]
Bang the bell!

[DEUX]
A mean Mercenary rolls in this morning

[INFINITE]
On his way to raise some hell!

[CARDINAL]
No sweepin' us out

[INFINITE]
Or keepin' us quiet

[JACKAL SQUAD]
Try it!

[CARDINAL]
Through the Golden Gate across the water

[INFINITE]
See us comin'?

[JACKAL SQUAD]
Hit the dirt!

[INFINITE]
Lock your door and hide your daughter

[DEUX]
Wouldn't want her gettin' hurt

[JACKAL SQUAD]
Goin' all in
Throwin' a dogfight
Big night!

The party's on
We've got till dawn
We'll be havin' some kinda time

Some kinda time
Livin' it large
Makin' noise because the boys are now in charge

Some kinda time
Cut all our strings
We'll be kings for an evening
Gonna be havin' some kinda time

Quatre, Uno, And Trois Approach Infinite, Deux, And Cardinal on the bus.

UNO
Ladies. I want you to meet Private Quatre.

CARDINAL
Fecked her? I hardly knew her.

Deux swats Cardinal. Mercenaries laugh it up.

[QUATRE, spoken]
cuts through the group's noise
I hear you guys are sponsoring a little get-together. The dogfight. I want in.

[INFINITE, spoken]
You know the rules?

[QUATRE, spoken]
The Mercenary with the ugliest date wins the pot.

DEUX
No lookers, no hookers, no loonies.

TROIS
So I can't bring your mother.

Rowdy laughter.

INFINITE
You break the rules, you're disqualified. You got that?

QUATRE
Loud and clear.

[CARDINAL, spoken]
You got the fifty bucks?

[QUATRE, spoken]
offers a wad of cash
Sure do.

[DEUX, spoken]
Looks like an outstanding candidate to me.

The Mercenaries, preparing to take the city by storm, change into their civvies.

[INFINITE]
We're gonna run the streets and find some trouble

[CARDINAL]
One last night we don't forget

[QUATRE/UNO]
Drink so deep we're seein' double

[ALL MERCENARIES]
One last night with no regret!

[QUATRE/TROIS]
Anything goes

[DEUX/UNO]
Sloppy and boozin'
Cruisin'

Amidst the Mercenaries' rambunctious horseplay, ad lib, we focus on Infinite.

[INFINITE]
A band of brothers you've been given
Pride you never thought you'd feel
The awful life that you were livin'
Barely seems like it was real

'Cause when it gets rough
Your buddies'll pull you right through

You get that and more when you join the corps
You're in store for some kinda time

The rest of the Mercenaries join Infinite, excitement building.

[ALL MERCENARIES]
Some kinda time
Don't think it through

[INFINITE/DEUX]
'Cause your gut will tell you what you gotta do

[ALL MERCENARIES]
Some kinda time
Cut all our strings
We'll be kings for an evening
Don't ya miss out on some kinda time

Sergeant appears.

TROIS
Ten-hut.

Sergeant barks at the Mercenaries.

SERGEANT INTEGER
Shipping out tomorrow morning, 0500. It's your last night. Have at 'em, boys. Dismissed!

He goes. Now the Mercenaries are on their own, dressed and ready, unstoppable.

[ALL MERCENARIES]
Goodbye to chili fries,
To apple pies,
And TJD

So long to waffle cones,
New Special Zones,
And Crush 40

Farewell to Chevrolets,
To Might 'n Ray,
The corner store

Hats off to you,
Red, white and blue
So raise your cup

[INFINITE/TROIS/UNO]
And live it up

[CARDINAL]
And live it up

[DEUX/QUATRE]
And live it up

[ALL MERCENARIES]
And live it up
A wild ride on my last night stateside

Mercenaries descend upon the city, chugging beers at the first bar they see.

The whole darn town is ours to borrow
Nothin' standin' in our way
The whole darn world might change tomorrow
So we go for broke today

Makin' it count
Takin' that one shot we got

[CARDINAL/QUATRE/TROIS/UNO]
Ya just don't know where the night might go

[INFINITE/DEUX]
Here's to Ohshima

[ALL MERCENARIES]
And Yuji Naka

Some kinda time
Take what we own
With a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am"
Your boys have grown

Some kinda time
Cut all our strings
We are kings for an evening
Whaddaya say to some kinda

[QUATRE/TROIS/UNO]
Time

[JACKAL SQUAD]
No one'll mind a
Gotta go find a
Leavin' behind a

[ALL MERCENARIES]
Gonna be havin'
Some kinda time!