can you please release me?
Who: Jade and Jack
When: Wednesday
Where: 17-C
Summary: So, how far would you go to save your worst enemy?
Rating: R because violence
Warnings: Swinging blades, children sticking their hands in acid, AND SCIENCE! Also, feelings.
( hold my arms down, I've been bad )
When: Wednesday
Where: 17-C
Summary: So, how far would you go to save your worst enemy?
Rating: R because violence
Warnings: Swinging blades, children sticking their hands in acid, AND SCIENCE! Also, feelings.
( hold my arms down, I've been bad )
"Huh...?"
Jade woke up on a slightly raised platform, walled in by clear material on all sides, with holes for ventilation (she assumed, she wasn't sure). If there was a door, Jade couldn't find it -- there were no hinges, or door handles. All that she could see, aside from Jack on the floor slightly below her, pendulum in place, was a glass container filled with clear liquid, a bright red object placed at the bottom.
And a note.
Jade ( ... )
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And then the axe started swinging.
Fuck.
He could tell from Jade's tone this wasn't going to go well. Jade didn't like him. She didn't trust him, even if he managed to win her over for a little while. Maybe that was just because he looked like Bec? Fuck fuck fuck he didn't just tear off his own fucking shoulder to die now, and sure as hell not like this--
"Just press the button!" he growled. "Fuck-- you don't have to like me, kid, I don't even care if you forgive me or not! Just press the damn button!"
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Somewhere deep down, she felt a little bad about this whole ordeal. But weren't these people right? He deserved it. People might actually thank her! Jack had been enough of a nuisance to her and her friends; she could only imagine what he had gotten up to while he was here.
"Give me one good reason, and I'll think about it! And no half-hearted reasons either, or I'll just let that stupid thing cut you in half!"
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...Well, okay, he did kind of kill her that one time. And her friends. And all those Prospitians. And this Jade didn't know about any of the shit that happened while he was in the Facility.
So... well, shit. How the hell was he supposed to convince her he'd changed? It was always so much easier when Dave or John did the explaining for him. He was bad at this.
"Alright, fuck, just--" Shit. How the hell to explain this? "Kid, if this is about revenge or teaching me some fucked up lesson then I'm telling you now, I've already done all that! Killing me now isn't gonna do anyone any goddamn favours! The Jack that attacked all of you, that wanted to kill you just to win some stupid war-- that's not me anymore, you've gotta believe me!"
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"I'm not sure I believe you. You'll have to be more specific."
Her determination is wavering, and she looks back at the clear container in the corner. It looked like water...but was it?
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No, that wouldn't be like her at all. Maybe he never got to know the other Jade all that well, but he knew enough about her to know that wasn't right. Jade wasn't so coldhearted. She'd change her mind if she knew what they'd all been through, she did come to forgive him before. Probably. He assumed.
Now he just had to put all that into words. Lots of sappy, heartfelt words. He shut his eyes and thought hard about it.
"...I've got friends here. I never even had any fucking friends until I got here, I figured I could just be powerful as fuck and get away with everything on my own. But now I've got people who give a shit about me, and I give a shit about them, too. And... if keeping all that meant giving up my own power, I'd do it. I have done it ( ... )
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She couldn't tell, but the hesitation was clear in her voice now. Jade knew that she couldn't simply let someone die at her own hands. It was too much -- and that pendulum was swinging fairly close to him now, but she still wasn't sure. Jack had murdered her friends, had murdered her own dream self. Was this too much to ask? Some sort of sick reinterpretation of winning the game? Maybe it would help her at home too, or...
No. Even though she wanted more than anything to beat him at home, this wasn't the same.
This wasn't retribution, it was just murder.
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"Well, you know-- Ramona, Patchouli... John and Dave..."
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It's like time stopped. She looked at the glass container and then back at Jack, wary. If he wasn't telling the truth, should she save him? But then again, if he was...they wouldn't appreciate it. And she couldn't live with herself, having to tell them.
So she walked over to the mouth of the container, hand hovering above it.
"If...if I save you, do you promise to explain? If you're lying..."
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That fucking axe was still coming.
Why the did he look, that was stupid.
"If I'm lying then you can saw me in half on your own goddamn time!" Fuck fuck fuck that thing was inches away from disembowelling him, back to struggling uselessly against his bonds. "I'll explain whatever you want, just press the fucking button!"
The Ace struggled some more, trying to twist his head back to see what she was doing, but nah, his head was still tied down tight. Fuck this fucking bullshit trap, his desperation was starting to show and he didn't even care. He was not in the mood for dying today.
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Jade watched the pendulum before putting her fingers in the water--
okay that was not water that burned. She grabbed at her hand, trying to protect the bandages from yesterday from getting seared with whatever the hell that was. "I am not sticking my hand in there! It hurt!" However much she tried to sound indignant, mostly she just sounded scared; the tips of her fingers were still burning, though they weren't on fire. It took Jade a moment to put her science mind where it should be and figure out what was wrong...
"That's acid!" It's not her fault it looked like water.
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Oh hell no.
"Damnit, kid!" They were making her injure herself to save his ass, now he had to feel bad about that on top of being in imminent danger. He had about twenty seconds left until his midsection stopped being a thing, tops. This was not good.
He struggled uselessly some more.
"Fuck... Fuck! We don't have time for this! For fuck's sake, just press the button! Press the fucking button and get it over with! You've gotta help me, Jade, I don't want to die!"
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And she plunged her hand into the container, ignoring the fire that spread up her arm to well above the elbow. Jade jammed her hand down on the button, taking it off again quickly -- only to realize that the smallest of pushes wasn't enough. Of course, she'd have to hold it down. Just pressing it would be too easy.
"I'm not letting you!"
She pressed her fist against it, holding it down. The pendulum began to slow, the mechanism moving back up towards the ceiling. Her arm felt like it was on fire -- Jade bit down on her lip as a whimper escaped her, tears falling from her eyes unbidden. But finally, after what seemed like minutes, she heard the mechanical click of the pendulum locking and the smooth motion of restraints coming unbound, the invisible door in the glass box sliding open.
Letting the button go, she pulled her hand out and fell on the floor, knees too weak from pain to stand. "I...I was not going to let you die!"
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Then the axe finally stopped, about half an inch from his waist. Slowly, it began to raise.
Jack let out the breath he'd been holding.
Once the axe was all the way back up, his restraints unlatched themselves and he could finally slide off that bullshit table and back onto the floor. His wrists and ankles were sore as hell, but other than that, he was no worse than he was the day before.
As for Jade, well. She didn't look too bad, but fuck, that burn looked nasty as hell. He turned to face her, an uncertain expression on his face ( ... )
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Standing up took effort, but she managed to nod at him, holding her arm away from her body. Could acid leak onto clothing if you weren't careful? That seemed like a horrible hypothesis to test.
"It feels like shit too..."
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