Jumper: Cent's Story

And the final showdown between John and Travis begins. I really hope you guys like what I have in store for the next two to three chapter ahead. Despite that the rivalry between these two will finally end, I will continue on for a few more chapters to conclude everything else. I already have a conclusion in mind for our two lovers. As much as I really don't want to end this story, I will say that we have finally reached the beginning of the end. I will try to tie up all loose ends from here on out, starting with Travis Shaw and Syndicate. I want to make sure that Cent and John both get the happy-ever-after ending they deserve.

For those who loved the character, Zoe (who is based off of a dear friend of mine, GeekyZoee), I promise that she will return for another chapter before I finally end the story. ;)

Anyway, Cent is being held captive by Shaw. Meanwhile, John arrives at Cent's home to find the note that was left behind and makes the ultimate decision.

Please read and enjoy!

This is a special treat to Marie King and Rose, who have been great reviewers for my story! Thank you guys so much! ;)

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

"Worth Dying For"

Cent:

Everything felt weird to Cent as she began to regain consciousness. Her vision was blurry and her head felt dizzy. She couldn't think straight or even feel the rest of herself. It was almost like she was in a dream. Or at least a nightmare.

She couldn't quite remember what happened from before. Everything felt so weird and out of order. It felt like waking up in the middle of the day, unable to take in your surroundings.

Little by little, Cent began to regain her vision and even started to take in her surroundings. She began to realize that she was in a chair, in a large room. There was light and a window right in front of her.

Lifting her head, she came to realize that her hands were tied behind the back of the chair, her waist was tied as well, and so well her legs.

Fully awake and fully aware of everything, she looked around herself, studying her surroundings with all she could see.

Her father, David, taught her a thing or two about studying the building you are being held in when kidnapped.

David was once held captive against his will by a crime organization who wished to use him for their benefits. They discovered a way to hold him by drugging him, making his ability to jump useless. If he tried to think too hard, he would become sick from the drug and be unable to jump from place to place. It thanks to her mom who got him free from their gasp. It had turned out that she had the ability to jump too. Something that just seemed to run in the family now.

Cent didn't know who was holding her captive, but she didn't want to find out either.

She tried to jump to her room.

To her surprise, nothing happened.

Frowning, she tried again and nothing happened again.

She knew it wasn't because of a drag. She would have felt the affects holding her at bay from even thinking too hard.

What is stopping me from jumping? Cent wondered. Who is holding me?

Her eyes widened as she realized the answer.

"I do apologize for the sudden kidnapping," came a evil voice from behind her. "And don't even try jumping on my watch. The chemical that I cut into your arm will do its work for a couple more hours."

Cent's heart raced as she knew who was behind her.

Travis Shaw!

She heard him as he walked up from behind her. Her skin crawled at the noise of his approach. Everything that he was just made her hate him even more. He killed the parents of the boy she loves. Tried to kill him over the years, forcing him to hide and be alone. Shaw was the most evilest man that Cent had ever encountered.

Cent watched as Travis revealed himself and walked in front of her. She didn't bother to hide the anger.

Travis raised an eyebrow and said, "Quite the charmer, aren't you?"

"Why are you doing?!" Cent demanded to know. "Why can't you just leave John alone?! You already cost him his parents?! Just leave him alone!"

"I can't," he said. "Because John is my most greatest threat. He was the only one to escape me and now I will end what we started so many years ago. Now that I have the one thing he loves most, he will come to me. And I just cannot wait to drive my knife into his heart."

Tears appeared from Cent's eyes.

"Please!" she begged, sobbing even harder. "Don't kill him. I can't live without him. Take me instead. Have your vengeance be taken out on me. Just let him live. Please!"

Travis smiled and said, "Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure you two are reunited in the afterlife. I'm sure that death will grant you and lover-boy all the time to get smooching and grumping." He turned his attention to her arm. "At least thank me for patching up your arm."

Cent turned to what he was talking about and saw that her left arm was patched up from the cut that he had given her.

"I'm sorry for the little extreme cut from earlier, but I had to make sure the chemical had gotten far enough into your veins."

Cent looked back at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Answer me one thing," she said. "Why do you guys do the knives? Aren't guns any good? Or tranquilizers?"

"Guns burn up the chemical inside the bullet," he explained. "And tranquilizers don't go in far enough. Knives on the other hand, they provide the edge we need to have a Jumper out for hours. The cut allows the chemical to go deeper into the wound. It lets it get into the blood and into the system, allowing it to last longer. The chemical stops all activity for the Jumper to do his or her thing. It just makes you normal for the time being. And besides, I love using a knife. Its just so much more fun." He took out the knife from his pocket and played with it in his hand. "One thing I don't understand about you. Why is your first name Cent?"

Cent smiled and said, "My original name was supposed to be Mary Cent Rice. My parents wanted me to be named after my grandma, Mary Rice. But my father accidently wrote Cent first instead of Mary when he sighed my name on the papers at the hospital. Every since then, I've always been Cent Mary Rice instead. It's been a family joke since then."

"Well, we don't get to choose our names after all. But then again, I actually love being Travis Shaw. I'm already a legend in the agency I work for. But I cannot wait to be known for killing John freaking Bale. I am a genius!"

"You're a freaking psycho!" Cent yelled at him. "Leave my John alone!"

Travis danced with excitement at her anger and ran up towards her, moving the knife around her cheek, barely touching the skin.

Cent tried to move back against the chair, scared of how he might do.

"I just love it when I kill young couples in love," Travis said. "I remember the moment when I killed John's parents. I couldn't stand the moment when I saw the love inside their eyes. Even their house had love written all over it. I just cannot stand the idea of love. It makes me sick."

"I guess that explains every single sick thing about you then," Cent joked.

Travis's face frowned at her as he pressed the knife into her cheek, but not enough to cut the skin.

"Joke all you want little girl, but I promise you that John will die when he comes up against me. I'm better than him. I've been trained to handle Jumpers. Where did he train? The only two things he knows how to do is hide and run."

"He knows how to be a gentlemen and live his life to the fullest in however way he can. He's ten times the man you are, Travis!"

With that, Travis brought his other hand around and punched Cent in the face, knocking her out cold.

"Come to me John," he whispered as he walked away from Cent and into the darkness ahead of the large room. "I'm waiting."

John:

John appeared in Cent's room, he rushed to the bed and found the note that Travis had left for him.

The note read: Abandoned Warehouse 11 in Prier 6. Seven o'clock sharp! Better hurry!

Fear rush through him as he allowed the note to fall from his hands.

He knew where the warehouse was, but he wasn't entirely familiar with it. He couldn't jump inside the warehouse itself, he would have to approach it from the outside.

Before he could jump away, he heard laughing coming from down stairs.

"Cent?" came Millie's voice. "Cent, is that you?"

John sighed as he walked out of the room and down the stairs.

David and Millie were in the living room, laughing and talking after a trip from somewhere romantic.

John felt bad for them as they approached the living room. He couldn't believe that he had gotten their only daughter in danger and was being held captive by a madman. He knew the whole story about Cent's family and he hated himself for bringing a whole new situation on their heads, especially since they had just moved here. They had their own problems to worry about and he shouldn't have to bring the wrath of Syndicate or Shaw on their heads.

John appeared in the entrance of the living room and looked straight at Millie and David, who were too busy kissing and laughing at the same time.

Suddenly, Millie noticed his presence and became embarrassed.

"John!" she said out loud and fast.

Both her and David parted from each other.

"So sorry you had to see that," she said nervously.

John walked forward.

"Where is Cent?" David asked.

John looked at them again and allowed them to see the worry on his face.

Millie and David's faces dropped at the sight of his expression.

"John, what's the matter?" Millie asked.

John swallowed, allowing the tears to fall from his eyes, and said, "I'm so sorry that this had to happen to your family. Especially to daughter." He took in a breath. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"What's going on?" David asked, getting very worried now.

"Travis Shaw has kidnapped Cent," John admitted.

Millie and David sat frozen from what they had just heard.

"He came for her and took her," John explained some more. "He left a note telling me to come to him or she will be killed. He said that if he will let her live if I give myself up to him."

David shot up from the couch and demanded, "Where is he holding her?!"

"Mr. Rice, please listen to what I have to say..."

"I'm not going to sit here and let some madman kidnap my daughter!" David raised his voice. "We find him and take her back! And we end him!"

Millie grabbed David's hand, worried.

"Mr. Rice," John repeated. "I cannot allow you to die for my mistake. I promise that I will get your daughter back, but I need you to hear me out. Consider it my last request."

Calming himself down, David sat back down with Millie, still holding her hand and nodded towards John to continue.

John swallowed and said, "I'm so sorry for bringing all of this to your family. My first instincts when I met your daughter was to ignore her and not get involved. But I fell in love with her. All it took was one look into her eyes and my heart was captured by her. I knew that Shaw would find out somehow and would use her against me. I should have ran when I stayed. I should have turned my back on my feelings when I actually gave into them. Everything changed for me when I met Cent. She was the one and will always will be. I became normal again. I could enjoy life again. I was learning to live again. And most of all, I was able to love again. I owe everything to her and to you two for raising her into the woman she is now. I never met a girl who could actually be so amazing as her." His cheeks were wet from the tears.

Millie and David were touched by his words and were having tears of their own as well.

John continued.

"I'm so sorry for taking the most precious thing that Cent had. I've always believed in saving your virginity for your true love. And I'm happy that I was able to give mine to Cent. I know she is my one true love. But it isn't just me I worry about, it's her as well. I wanted her to have one true romantic experience with the man she will love for the rest of her life and I'm sorry that I cannot be that man now."

Millie's eyes widened with shock and asked, "What do you mean?"

John closed his eyes and tried to push the tears back.

"In order to ensure Cent lives, I must surrender to Travis himself and let him kill me."

Both David and Millie shook their heads in disagreement and stood up from the couch.

"We cannot let you do that!" David said, tears coming down his cheek. "You have been through enough pain and suffering to die now. Besides, Cent won't be able to live with you. I see the love inside her eyes when she looks at you."

"She loves you, John!" Millie ran up to him and took his hand. "I never seen my daughter have these feelings before. I know that you are her true love. The one and only. There cannot be anyone else for her. If you die, she dies. She cannot live without you."

"But I cannot allow you all to suffer because of my past," John looked her in the eyes. "At least I can do something right for once and allow myself to die for someone I love. She can live her life and move on. She can find someone better than me. Someone she can love again."

"But she cannot do that," David walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Because she is in love with you. You are her life and she is yours. You two are each other's true love. No one else can change that. No one."

Tears ran down John's face as he looked back and forth between them.

"Thank you for allowing me to be part of this family," he said. "I'm happy that I got the chance to know what it feels like to love and care about people again. But I do need you to do something for me."

"Anything," Millie smiled.

Smiling back at her, John said, "I need you to make sure that Cent moves on with her life. I know it will be hard without me for now on. But I need you guys to help her find the will to live again and find love. Guide her to make a better life and move on. Tell her I will always be with her and that I will never leave her side. Tell her I love her and that I wish that the future could have been different for us. Tell her that I'm sorry for everything that has happened and that I was unable to be the man she could spend the rest of her life with. Tell her I love her so much. That she made everything worth living for. And that she worth dying for. Please do all of this for her."

Millie nodded and moved her hand up to touch his face.

"We will," Millie said as she cried. "Just make sure you come back to her. Do whatever it takes to win against Shaw and come back to Cent. She needs you."

John nodded and said, "I promise that I will try."

"At least let me come with you," David tightened his grip on John's shoulder. "We can take him on together."

"I mean no disrespect, Mr. Rice, but Travis Shaw is unlike any man or assassin you have ever seen. There is a reason he is known in the Syndicate organization. I cannot allow you to die because of me. This has to be between me and him. I will do whatever it takes make sure that Cent lives. I promise."

David nodded and said, "Just remember this, I've always considered you a son. I would have been damn proud to have you marry my daughter and be the man you are with her. Always remember that."

John nodded back and looked at the time, seeing that it was nearing seven now.

"I promise I will ensure her safety," he looked back at them and walked forward.

He turned back around and smiled at them.

"It was an honor to know you both."

Before they could respond, John jumped.

Shaw:

Travis Shaw waited at the window, concealed by the darkness of the room he was in.

Checking his watch, he saw the time had reached seven o'clock and smiled to himself.

Looking back over the pier, he suddenly saw John appear in the middle of the road, right under the light post.

Smiling to himself again, Shaw pulled out his knife and made way back to where Cent was.

Let the games begin!

Whoa! Now this is getting exciting! Who is excited to see John and Shaw finally go head to head in the next installment? I do apologize with all of these cliff-hangers, but I promise to we will get straight to the fighting sequence in the next one. I promise. ;)

I special thanks to Marie Kind and Rose again. I really wouldn't have been able to do this without their amazing reviews and support. Thank you guys so much! :)

Please review! I really need to know how you guys feel about this chapter.