Authors note: Whoa, I was NOT expecting all these lovely reviews on the last chapter! Special thanks to Rocketfist and Sailorkagome91 for their wonderful suggestions. I definitely plan to use a few in the upcoming chapter! Anyways, Here we go with Chapter 7.
"Jack. Jack, you awake?"
Jack wearily opened one eye to see the blood-red walls and plain glass, and the faded flickering lights around them. Sitting up, Jack looked down to see Atlas' face on the walkie, indicating it was he who had woken him.
"Yeah, Atlas, I'm 'wake." He mumbled, dragging a two fingers across his sleep riddled eyes. "Can you get some distance from the lass? we need to talk." said Atlas.
Jack looked behind him to see a white and silver ball still huddled in her self-made curtain 'blanket'. "Yeah. Tristina's still asleep. Hang on." said Jack, quietly getting to his feet and walking over to the double doors.
As the doors slid open, Jack glanced over at the sleeping quesa and noticed she had rolled over in her blankets and was now facing him. Allowing himself a slight smile, Jack walked over to the window and spoke.
"Okay, Atlas, what's up?" "Don't wake the lass. Just pack your stuff and go. You got Splicers headed your way."
"What about Tristina?" Jack asked, frowning at the walkie.
"The lass is a big girl, right? she can handle herself. Jack, you'll need all the ADAM, eve, food, and water you can get to survive. It'll be a right lot less with one extra mouth to feed. You don't need that burden on your shoulders, lad." "She doesn't need ADAM, Atlas, or eve. She doesn't use plasmids, either. she doesn't need 'em. She's got this stuff called 'Ki'. Its mighty powerful, and she can form it into anything she wants. waves, beams, bombs, you name it. Plus, she's more a companion than anything." said Jack, eyeing Tristina as she stretched and rubbed her eyes.
"If she slows you down..." "She wont." Jack interrupted, smiling as Atlas could be heard sighing through the walkie.
"Alright boyo, she can tag along. Don't say I didn't warn you, though." said Atlas, and Jack could imagine Atlas shaking his head at Jacks decision.
Walking back through the double doors, Tristina audibly sniffed then, tying her blanket to her back with extra fierceness, whirled around and faced Jack. Jack's smile fell when he looked upon the tear-stained face, the angry, red eyes, and the trembling hands.
"Your stuffs there." Tristina said in a choked voice, pointing to Jacks pistol, ammo, eve, wrench, and blankets. "At least with me gone, you wont have 'one extra mouth to feed.'" growled Tristina, pushing past Jack as she walked to the sliding double doors.
"You heard Atlas?" "Did I hear..." Tristina whispered in shock before whirling around and facing Jack.
"every damned word!" Tristina shouted, her furious and hurt silver eyes meeting Jacks baby blue ones. "Is that why you saved me? To leave me to die in this hell hole?" Tristina demanded, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "Well then, fuck you! Fuck you, fuck Atlas, fuck every god damned..."
"If you heard everything, didn't you hear the part where I said I wanted to keep you around?" Jack asked, raising his voice for the first time over hers. Tristina's rage filled face fell, and she looked away.
"I stopped listening after Atlas said I was a burden." Tristina said shamefacedly, her large white ears tucking underneath the tips of her silvery hair. Jack then filled Tristina in on everything he had argued in her defense.
When Jack finished speaking, Tristina blushed and tucked a lock of silver hair behind her rising ears. "I...You really want me around?" Tristina asked as silver eyes met baby blue.
"It's why I saved you from the crash." said Jack gently. "I figured everyone deserves a second chance."
Tristina smiled slightly as Jack knelt and began to gather his belongings. "Here" said Tristina, kneeling down with him and offering the knapsack.
"After all that, I figure the least I can do is carry your crap." said Tristina, smirking playfully at Jack. Jack handed her his load, and Tristina quietly stuffed it into her bag.
Finally tying his blankets with hers, Tristina shifted the knapsack to the middle of her back and straightened.
As they walked towards the sliding doors together, Tristina thought she heard Atlas sigh something that sounded like "Kimmers."
"Bring a picnic lunch and we'll make a day of it! I just adore the summertime." a joyful, female voice declared. Tristina's eyebrows furrowed, and she formed one ball of Ki in each hand.
Jack raised his gun as a woman with platinum blonde hair pulled up in a tight bun walked around the corner. Tristina and Jack split, diving to the ground as the woman raised a revolver of her own and fired it.
"Tacky little nothing!" the woman screeched, backing around the corner. "Your worthless! Your Nothing!"
"Fire in the hole!" Tristina shouted, hurdling a bright ball with all her might around the corner. Motioning for Jack to take cover, the two crouched against the wall and covered their heads.
Holding up her fingers above her head, Tristina struck her thumb against her index and middle fingers. The woman let out one final scream and then was silent.
When the two peered around the corner, the woman laid face down on the floor. Tristina carefully crept up to the splicer and pressed on her neck. "shes dead." said Tristina, shaking her head and motioning for Jack to proceed.
As the two ventured further, Tristina and Jack soon came upon two splicers crouched in ankle deep water. Tristina raised her palm to fire a Ki blast, but Jack gently placed his palm on her hand and pushed downwards.
raising his own arm, Jack spoke softly. "Remember what Atlas said about splicers in water?" he breathed, smiling. Tristina smiled and nodded, then watched as Jack threw out his hand towards the splicers.
a bolt of electricity shot out from Jacks hand and struck the water. As the splicers screams died, they fell similar to marionettes whose strings had been cut.
The two barely rippled the water as Jack and Tristina jogged down to them to begin scavenging themselves. "Shit!" Jack exclaimed as he sank his foot into the icy waters.
"You think it would have warmed up a bit, but it's still bleedin cold!" Jack continued, carefully making his way to the male and female splicer.
"Woah!" gasped Tristina, checking the metal slots that the Big Daddy used for pockets. "Big 'D' was loaded!" Tristina exclaimed, pulling out a wad of green and white slips of paper in a golden clip.
Jacks eyes widened as he saw the money Tristina had fished out. "Anything else?" Jack asked, abandoning the Splicers and sloshing over to the Big Daddy.
" No." said Tristina, pulling out a medical hypo and two eve hypos. " not that I can tell." "Lets move on." said Jack, straitening up and walking back towards the Splicers.
The remainder of the staircase had been blown up, leaving nothing but a 8 foot gap between the platform they were on and the floor. As Jack lowered himself to the floor, Tristina easily hovered down using her Ki.
"Hey look!" said Tristina, pointing to her right. "Theres 'Neptunes Bounty." Jack straightened up and, climbing out of the wading pool like crater below the platform, walked with Tristina over to a large sign that read 'Neptunes Bounty.'
As the two were about to pass underneath the sign, a red light began to flash from somewhere above them, and a rusted metal grate clattered down in front of the two.
Curious, the sandy blonde human and white furred quesa watched as a metal backed chair with a fire extinguisher like casing tied to its seat slowly rose from a hatch in the floor. "What the h-" Tristina began, but yelled and leapt out of the way as the device began spewing fire.
"Trish, look out!" Jack called as the home made 'turret' began to turn its nozzle towards Tristina. Tristina dove to the side of another pillar, which blocked the flames from striking her.
Looking back to the bombed out stair well, Tristina snarled as two splicers jumped down into the puddle at the base of the stairs. "Its Ryan!" Atlas shouted from Jacks walkie.
"God damned Andrew Ryan! Damn it! He's sealed off access to Neptune. Theres another way to get there. Head to Medical! What are you two waitin' for? Go!" Atlas instructed, and Tristina looked up to see Jack running towards a sign that read 'Medical Pavilion.'
As Tristina hurried to catch up, Jack threw out his left hand at the wading pool that the two splicers were standing in. Tristina passed it with little trouble, but still threw a Ki bomb over her shoulder for good measure.
"I'm right behind you, keep going!" Tristinna called as Jack paused before scrambling over a crumbled pillar. Tristina easily leapt over the pillar and kept running. "Trish, in here!" Jack called, turning towards metal door with a safe like crank in the center.
past the door was a small room with plexi glass windows on one side. Opposite the plexi glass was 3 steps, followed by a safe like door identical to the one they had just passed through. "Anyone following us?" Jack asked as they stopped to catch their breath.
"Not that I can...Hey!" Tristina began, but interrupting herself as the two safe like handles spun, and the metal doors sealed shut.
"Aw Christ! Your trapped!" Atlas cried from the walkie. "Gonna try to over ride the exit from here." As Atlas's voice went silent, Tristina and Jack whirled around to see a projector screen crackle to life beyond the plexi glass.
Soon, a man with a officers cap set low over his eyes and a short blunt mustache appeared. "So tell me friend," said a familiar voice. "Which one of the bitches sent you?"
"Is that Andrew Ryan?" Tristina asked, taking two steps closer to the screen. "KGB Wolfe, CIA Jackal, or perhaps that Mutt Tarkama?" Tristina smirked at this.
"Here's the news, Rapture isn't some sunken ship for you to plunder or scout out for some tyrants amusement, and Andrew Ryan isn't the giddy socialite who can be slapped around by government or dictator muscle." Tristina actually laughed at this, smiling.
"Man I wish Tarkama could hear this. He'd have steam coming from his ears." Tristina chuckled. Jack glanced puzzled at the quesa as Ryan continued.
"With that, farewell, or dasvadinya, whichever you prefer." Tristina looked to Jack, puzzled, as the screen returned to the words 'please stand by'.
Suddenly, a yell came out of no where and two splicers appeared on the other side of the glass. "Scream, go on, scream monster!" a womans voice cried with a thick Russian accent.
The twos insane crys were soon joined by others who were beating on the windows with pipes, shovels, or their fists. "I got it!" Atlas announced from Jacks hip as the safe like door handle spun then the door itself slid inside.
"Get out of there! get out now!" Atlas cried. "No need to tell me twice," said Tristina, diving into the room as the 1st of the splicers broke through. grunting, Tristina spun the handle again, and sealed the door just as the first few splicers began collapsing into the room.