Author's note: It took a long while, a small hiatus to boot but I'm back. I'm sorry it took so long, I'll tell you this. The training part of Alex's journey into his past was the toughest to portray due to this was being the main part of the story since Alex never had military training we were lead to believe. So please bear with me on why it took so long, plus myself and my friend who is like a brother to me; Liquid. We had to go through several movies and our own imaginations to try and come up with a actual training situation whereas Jack can create Alex to be who he is in Homecoming. It had to limit itself from being too godly to being just right since we don't exactly have a Rambo action hero on our hands. We had to understand that balance. But regardless, enjoy the chapter. I do not own Double Helix or Konami. Happy Reading.

Chapter VII: Mein kampf (My struggle)

They say war is hell, but there are worse things. War changes you and nobody back home could ever understand…they never understood me. They say you can't come back home again, they're wrong. I just never wanted to…

The sounds of an engine roared as the public bus drove through the seemingly safe streets of Shepherd's Glen. It was eight 'o clock and the only teenager on the bus; the only person on the bus excluding the driver sat all the way in the back. Huddling his knee to his chest using it as a arm holder as he watched on the passing houses and buildings of his winter-like hometown; Alexander Shepherd has been contemplating the past events that has been laid out before him throughout the past three weeks. He met Jack Jaeger, the ebony haired boy who changed his life. Before he met him, Alex was like any other teenager with a troubled family life. Now he has to balance out family life and mafia life all at the same time, was it hard? Surprisingly no, rather interesting to say the least. In fact the most interesting experience he has ever had in his sixteen years of life on this planet was training under the infamous Jack the Ripper. Though he may only be a year older then him, Jack thinks and acts like an adult who has seen many things in his life. Alex says nothing as he stares out into the foggy and snowy town of his that he now has a part in ruling in his favor.

My struggle…

Two weeks ago, Jack and Alex stood within the forest closest to Toluca lake. The forest that hid the Moretti families most deepest, darkest secret; The Foundation. Alex sat down on a nearby boulder whilst Jack stood across from him wearing something rather unusual, something that the classy Jack the Ripper wouldn't have known to been caught wearing.

Jack wore his usual black trench coat open, but underneath the cloth was something that caught Alex's eye. It was an ACU (Army Combat Uniform), a solid black uniform. Under his shirt was a tight long sleeve black underarmour shirt. Jack was strapped with holsters and pouches that were lined up on his waist and on his chest. His footwear were not the polished shoes we usually wore, but rather beat up black combat boots. On the chest where his name was listed, it read "Jaeger". It couldn't have been his, since Jack has never been in the military. Who's was it? That uniform looked like it could be useful for night operations, but it was daytime. Twelve thirty to be exact. Alex continued to stare over at his master with awe and confusion evident in his features.

"So what exactly are we doing here, Jack? And what's with the get-up?" Alex asked trying to sound as professional as possible, Jack sighed and closed his eyes allowing to also sound professional as well. Today was not a day to fool around.

"Today is your birth, the day we begin your training. If you are going to be my apprentice I can't have your ability slum down to all the other grunts in the family. We start today." Jack said, Alex was about to raise his hand as if he was going to say something but was shunned with silence as Jack raised his semi-fingerless gloved hand in the air to continue talking. "And don't worry about your parents, I have sent an informant from the family. Someone our age from our school to tell them that you'll be sleeping over his house for the weekend. I don't think they'll care will they?" Jack said as he reassured him that his crazed father won't be going nuts over his son not showing up to the house the entire weekend. With that said Alex put down his hand and nodded his head, shutting himself so he can listen up.

Jack took a deep breath and stared over at his apprentice, sizing him up. After that brief moment he reached inside of his trench coat, towards the back of his waist pulling out his prized bowie knife. Twirling it idly with his finger he began to explain what exactly will happen from here on in.

"I will teach you how to kill. Quickly, accurately, efficiently. It will become a reflex action." Jack lectured, watching Alex who was very intent and listened to every word he said. Knowing he was listening he allowed himself to continue. The Ripper started to pace back and forth, slowly as he continued without stopping twirling his knife around as he talked.

"You will learn how to enter a combat zone and evaporate into the shadows, you will learn how to survive. Or you will not." He said methodically as if he was not the same fun-loving, nonchalant Jack Jaeger he met not too long ago. As he listened to more of what Jack had to say on what he will teach him, a part of him died in the inside. Any innocence that was there was slowly dying.

My struggle…

As the bus traveled deeper into the town of Shepherd's Glen, now entering the highway upon leaving the town where it's lies state. Where family comes first. Alex continued to stare out into the window, looking at the passing trees and cars, as he continued to stare off into space deep in his sub-conscious he could still hear the orders and loud military like commands that Jack yelled at him, drilling him into submission.

"Ready! Arm, heart, leg, lung!"

"Damn it, Shepherd! Do it again, this time FASTER!!! Ready! Arm, heart, leg, lung! Again! Ready! Arm, heart, leg, lung!"

The first weekend of training when Jack gave off the first speech about learning how to kill, he had to endure a grueling induction physical training. This weekend was the actual learning how to kill, he was teaching him how to kill swiftly with a knife and knowing where to slash or stab and how to quickly to do so. He paced back and forth as Alex continued the steps on how to stab and slash each part of the body over and over again, with the pace speeding up each attempt.

"Ready! Arm, heart, leg, lung!" Jack yelled as he walked about watching Alex's progress. Alex when he was ordered to stab and slash what parts of the imaginary body he was stabbing up. When he was ordered stab the arm, he jabbed the knife forward. When he was ordered to stab the heart, he stabbed downwards knowing in his head his victim would have fallen onto the ground so Alex got on one knee with his blade in his imaginary victim's body. When he was ordered to stab his imaginary victim's leg, he made three quick downwards jabs at his victim's leg. And last but not least when he was ordered to finish him off with the lung, Alex did a final stab towards his imaginary victim's lung.

Jack was not pleased with the pace of how Alex did it though, scowling he threw his trench coat to the ground and jabbed his finger down at Alex who had just stabbed the lung of his 'victim'. "No, no no! You fucking wanker! Do it again, but faster!" He yelled out, Alex looked up at Jack with a surprised look on his face. He still wasn't used to Jack being so mad, but he did as he was told and did the same procedure over again.

"Faster! Arm, heart, leg, lung!" Jack ordered, Alex did was he was told. Faster and more better, but it wasn't enough for the SAS descendant. "FASTER! Arm, heart, leg, lung!"

Alex still thought about that and tried to shake off those memories, then remembered the stances he was taught. His training would never leave his mind, ever. Out of anything he was trained how to do, the most intense training he ever had was knife fighting.

This time they trained with actual person other then the Ripper and his apprentice. Alex stood behind the new person who was only dressed up with a hoody, a winter beanie, and military woodland slacks. He was slightly stocky but anyone would do, also he had a strapped Heckler & Kosh MP5 around his form too. That man was basically just a prop for the bigger picture, his was was Brian. Jack stood in front of Brian while Alex stood behind him, slightly crouched down in a knife fighting position. His knife however was angled forward; using the "regular" reverse grip. more specifically where hand is wrapped around the handle as if making a fist with the thumb capping the pommel, edge facing away from the forearm.

Jack saw that grip but since they were practicing one a live subject he couldn't risk one of his men dying in a practice procedure. Pointing past the stocky male, he notified Alex about his certain knife grip.

"Reverse your grip." Jack said calmly, Alex nodded and immediately switched to an ice pick grip which is the same grip Jack mostly uses. The grip whereas the user is doing the same exact thing for a reverse grip but with the edge facing the forearm, also since Alex knew what he meant when he asked him to switch up his grip he had the edge facing his forearm instead of facing outward so if he were to practice on him. The only thing hitting the male in front of him would be the dull or the saw-toothed side of the blade and not the blade itself.

With the grip reversed, Jack took a step forward with his own knife in hand to demon straight what he wanted Alex to do from here on in. "Bring your knife on the inside of his arm here," Jack mentioned as he demonstrated with his knife pointing to the joint of the male's arm, Alex did the following. "Sever all the connecting tissue, pulling his finger away from the trigger and at the same time," Jack explained as Alex pulled the dude's arm back and looked over at Jack for more advice. "Grab the strap and choke him, now. Come into his heart, through the top of his sternum and bring him to the ground. Perfect, now go." Alex practiced all of that first, now it was time to test it out.

Alex snuck up on the male from behind, he grabbed the male from his shoulder and used his other hand to pull his hand that was holding onto the trigger of the MP5 away. Now that arm was free from the male's body, Alex then brutally used the strap of the MP5 to choke him and drag him to the ground where he then committed the four fatal stabbing points but pretending to stab them. As he did so, Jack whispered to himself the arm, throat, heart, leg, lung method. Once Alex was done he looked up at Jack with big eyes wanting approval for what he did, if he did so right. As if he was child wanting to be treated right for passing a test. Jack smiled and nodded at this.

"Good!"

My struggle…

As the bus continued to move onwards out of Shepherd's Glen it entered a new town, South Ashfield. As they reached the border, Alex reached into his pockets and grabbed his cellphone. He checked the miss calls and noticed that Elle had texted him, along with Jack. He thought of which text to read first, but automatically went to Jack's text first. It read:

Are you near the hit yet? When you get there, hit me up. -Jack.

Alex shoved his cellphone into his pocket and didn't even bother to read Elle's text and continued to stare outside into the cloudy day as the bus was almost reaching the border of South Ashfield.

My struggle…

He vividly remember after taking down that fat Italian guy, Jack went on with a thorough explanation on how he can efficiently kill him once he is on the ground. He even knelt with him as he explained. "The end of the thigh here. Slice through that thigh, into the thimble artery, into this thigh and that artery, you will notice that this arm is in your way." Jack said as he pointed at the arm that was blocking his lungs, Alex held the knife up looking at the points Jack told him to cut. "It cannot hurt you. The only thing that it can do to hurt you is to block the lung puncture your about to do. Now then, mate what you can do is push that arm over his face. Now go into his lung, it's all yours for the taking m'boy." Jack smiled and got up, Alex did the same and allowed the male to stand up as if he was guard once more.

They both stood away from him and Jack watched intently at Alex's next move now that he was properly taught. "Now, go!" Alex did the same exact thing he did before when he took down the guy except he did it more faster and more brutally, including stabbing him up multiple times in the said places.

Moments later with the same practice kill, Jack had him stand completely still as he showed Alex where to slash if the person is standing right in front of you. Jack made his pretend slashes down the male's chest, then across, then the polar opposite of slashing across from that, then slashed at his neck, then his waist, stabbed his crotch which Alex found funny for a second. Trying his best to muffle his laughter, he chuckled into his sleeve.

Jack turned around and stared at Alex with a death like glare, "Is there something you find funny, Shepherd?" Alex seeing the way he talked to him and glared at him, he couldn't help but clear his throat and continue watching.

"N-nothing, sir…"

"Good." Jack said with his eyes closed and his old nonchalant smile that he was once famous for, he then continued on demonstrating the way to kill. He left off at stabbing the crotch, afterwards he grabbed the back of the male's head and pressed the knife into his throat.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!" Jack said rhythmically as he did the process over and over again, making sure that Alex remembered how. Six moves, that's all it would take. After he did it one last time, he showed him more slowly and beckoned him to try.

"Now you do it, make sure at four you slash deep and strong, you want to get to his backbone." Jack advised as he watched Alex. He nodded and attempt it, breathing each time he did a stab. But once he was about to go for number five which was the crotch stab, Alex would chuckle to himself a bit. Jack noticing this would clear his throat and tap his combat boot indicating he wasn't pleased by the immaturity.

"Right…" Alex nodded his head and gulped his saliva down, he had to make it up now. So he did it again, and again, and again. Much more faster and more precise then before.

"Perfect!"

My struggle…

The bus finally stopped, it was the slums of South Ashfield. Alex got off and held his backpack close to his form, he looked around himself. The neighborhood was so dingy and all, random hookers on the street corners. Graffiti on almost every wall, in one of the alleyways you can see a barrel with flames dancing about with hobo's warming up by the fire. It was indeed a slummy place after all, this was nothing like Shepherd's Glen. Sighing he went through his cellphone once more and looked at the text message that he had received earlier from Elle that he chose to ignore before, it read:

Hey Alex! I missed you last Saturday, we were supposed to head down to Joe's best burger remember? Oh well…we can plan something out Monday. Talk to you later. -Elle.

Just reading that message made the Shepherd boy smile a bit and also made his job more easier, stuffing his cell back into his pockets he took a deep breath and walked down the sidewalk for his destination. To find the customer who called about the cocaine in his bag that needed a good owner to take care of it.

My struggle…

Alex watched as Jack pulled a hot rod out of the camp fire, and slammed it repeatedly with a hammer. Tenderizing the hot piece of metal almost as if it was a steak, Alex watched him intently. The next lesson for the weekend was how to make your own survival knife using either metal or rock. Now that it was hardened enough, Jack took the hot iron and dumped it into the bucket of water. Next, Jack sharpened it against the surface of a rock. He instructed Alex to do the same, which he did so.

"Go on, keep doing that." Jack said as he paced back and forth, spinning his blade around as usual as he watched Alex sit in a circle Indian style cracking a rock, sculpting it to take the form of a blade. It took hours but Alex finally did it, taking a deep breath he wiped his brow and gave Jack his make-shift savage like knife.

"Nice work, mate. Nice work." Jack said with a smile before it faded away for him without even looking to fling it at a tree, not only hitting it's mark but digging into it as if it was a real knife. It was a success.

My struggle…

As Alex stood in front of the door to the customer he traveled all the way to South Ashfield for, he rang the doorbell and waited there. Listening to a faint sound of music coming from the other side, a gruff voice answered his call. "Just hold on, I'm comin'!" Said the voice. As he waited he started to remember Jack's last words throughout his training.

"Once you are able to kill mentally, killing physically should be as easy as breathing. The difficult part however…is learning how to turn it off." Said Jack as he stopped twirling his blade and looked over at his new apprentice, with a deadly grin he pointed his knife at him and stared into his hazel optics. "Are you ready to learn, Alex?" With one nod, that was all he needed.

Mein kampf…

x--Devil May Cry.

Author's note: Sorry if this chapter was boring or whatever, this was the hardest part to describe. But don't worry it's only the beginning the next chapter will be the final chapter concerning training at all. It will be Alex's last test, as for the drug dealing it was just a small time job that Alex did under orders from Jack and the Moretti family since he's starting small time to rise up big later on. Also there was some meaning behind it, and I needed to separate Alex's struggle with training and adapting to his new life as a "family member". I don't know, I don't like how this came out. But I did like the training oddly, what are your views? Tell me. But be happy though, the next chapter WILL have heavy amounts of action with a stronger Alex. Trust me about that.