One Last Try (Finale)
0
Jericho Antares
FAKKU Writer
Part of 'Of Those Who Claim Humanity'. As such, story won't make sense unless you've read some of it. At this point the main character and love interest are attempting to cross a heavily defended border, thus escaping from the country hunting them down and getting a chance at freedom. For more info, read the synopsis I posted somewhere in the FAKKU! School of Lit.
"What is this?"
"It's my dream, if you'll allow the term."
"Your dream?"
Jericho smiled and clasped Olivia's hand tightly. They looked so odd together, yet at the same time the strange feeling was how it was supposed to be. Jericho smiled, unable to think of anything else. His lips curled upward and his knowing green eyes had a tinge of joy in them. Joy. Something he hadn't known for too long. Olivia returned the gesture as a calm breeze shifted her white hair slightly, pushing her bangs in front of her amethyst eyes. Jericho carefully fixed her hair and then nodded, finally answering her.
"Yeah, my dream. It's what I've wanted through all these years. Thanks to this system, though, metaphor, I can realize it. I can share it."
Olivia looked down from the hill they stood on and saw, among the rolling green hills and calm mountains in the distance, there was a small country road, which another 'Olivia' walked on alone. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked over to him. He was still smiling, but it was bittersweet.
"Jerry, what are you talking about? What is this?"
"I told you, it's my dream. A calm, peaceful world where you're still alive and happy. A world without Olympus...A world without me."
Olivia's expression instantly softened and her confusion shifted into apprehension. She felt her chest tighten as the metaphor flickered. In the background, she saw the mountains become fortresses, streams of tracers flowing from their gun batteries. The rolling hills became a plain pockmarked with rocks and divots that barely served as cover. She remembered where they were as the metaphor flickered one last time and shimmered out of existence. Jericho chuckled to himself, still bearing his sad smile, then put on his helmet and sealed his suit with a light hiss.
"I thought I'd show you this before I made it happen. I know I loved you in what may as well be a past life. Now I can show it in this life, in my own fashion."
Olivia grabbed his arm, her eyes staring at his mask accusingly. She could still see his face beneath it, through the metal rebreather and glowing blue eyes.
"Don't you care about how I feel? Do you really think I'd be happy with that?" She asked, her voice steadily rising. Nausicaa and Ackerson looked their way, unaware of the metaphor she just saw.
"Shit, what the fuck is he doing now?" Ackerson asked Nausicaa, who shrugged before leaning around cover to fire another burst into the night.
Meanwhile, Jericho put a hand on each of Olivia's shoulders, and his voice grew tender. "The pain will pass. The loss will fade. You'll find someone else who makes you happy, but first, you need to make it into Tanseele, and if I can do that...if I can secure that goal, then I will do it. Because eventually," His hands shook while he fought back tears, "eventually my name will mean nothing to you. My body will be eaten by the earth, and the man that was 'Jericho Anarei' couldn't be happier, because he will fade knowing that you're living on the same earth that he has become part of. I don't want to do this either, Olivia, but I will, because I need to."
Olivia couldn't think of anything to say to stop him in the short time it took him to regain his composure and patch himself through to the bomber wing that was inbound. Her mouth opened and closed and tears ran from her eyes, but no words...no words.
"Nyx, this is Erebos. Interrogative: I have one IR beacon, where do you want it?"
"Erebos, this is Nyx. We'll need it at the base of the wall's weakest point. Even with all the firepower we've got, we can barely punch a hole for you."
"Ackerson, mark the weakest spot in the wall. I'll plant the beacon."
"Can't you just throw it?"
"It would break from the impact, or any number of things can happen to it. I have to place it myself."
"Oh, no. Oh, no no no no no. So that's what Olivia was talking about. I'm sorry, Jerry, but I won't do it, can't. I won't let you do this to yourself. No, I won't let you do this to Olivia."
"Then, I'm sorry, Zac." Jericho said regretfully as he spun up the metaphor program and Rei battered his nerual implant with wave after wave of forced entry codes.
"Fuck, Rei too?"
"I won't let him die, Zac...I believe in him." Rei's voice echoed in his mind, her tone completely calm. Her confidence caught Zac off guard, and his head exploded in pain as she wrenched the beacon coordinates from his databanks.
On Jericho's HUD, a small waypoint appeared four hundred yards away. He inhaled deeply and rose into a crouch while he turned to face Olivia.
"Goodbye. I won't make this more painful for you and see you off with a smile, so here." He embraced her and she finally felt words come from her mouth as her chin rested on his shoulder.
"Don't, Jerry. Just don't"
"I'm sorry that the one time I don't listen is the one time it matters most." He whispered as he released her and stood, then took one more breath and sprinted into the night, the guns of every tower following his shadow into oblivion.
"Rei..."
"Yeah?"
"I think I know who you are."
"And who is that?"
"You're her--Olivia--before this all happened. Callistan supported me in the best way possible and I didn't even know it. He gave me the woman I loved, and she was literally a part of me. I figured I'd let you know, just like I love Olivia, I love you."
"Jerry-"
"I know you're code, but you're also feelings, memories, and dreams given shape. It's not a physical love, Rei. I don't know how to describe it."
"Can we talk about this later, Jerry? I'm running too many algorithms for your shield's deflection systems to talk right now."
Jericho chuckled and continued sprinting from cover to cover. His body ached from the kinetic energy of hundreds of bullets that hit his shield and glanced off thanks to Rei. His NAV point ticked to two-hundred as he slid behind a large rock and his shield showed an empty power supply with 'FAILURE' inscribed in the diagram.
"Shields are done, Jerry. They won't recover fast enough for you to still place the IR beacon." She sighed and a tinge of dread crept into her voice.
"Anything you'd have me do now?"
"Can you bring me there?"
"Where?"
"The meadow." He asked softly. Reu inhaled slowly and her hologram on Jericho's HUD nodded as the metaphor system initiated itself.
Jericho looked at his feet. Fresh flowers sprouted from the ground. Animals he had never seen before bounded through the calm morning dew. Jericho looked at it all in shock and felt tears come to his eyes. "Yes, this will do. If I have to die. I will die here, in this place which was once dead."
He stepped out and ran through the meadow--his meadow.
The meadow is Jericho's 'default' metaphor, a direct metaphorical scan of his subconscious. This will be my last work for some time.
"What is this?"
"It's my dream, if you'll allow the term."
"Your dream?"
Jericho smiled and clasped Olivia's hand tightly. They looked so odd together, yet at the same time the strange feeling was how it was supposed to be. Jericho smiled, unable to think of anything else. His lips curled upward and his knowing green eyes had a tinge of joy in them. Joy. Something he hadn't known for too long. Olivia returned the gesture as a calm breeze shifted her white hair slightly, pushing her bangs in front of her amethyst eyes. Jericho carefully fixed her hair and then nodded, finally answering her.
"Yeah, my dream. It's what I've wanted through all these years. Thanks to this system, though, metaphor, I can realize it. I can share it."
Olivia looked down from the hill they stood on and saw, among the rolling green hills and calm mountains in the distance, there was a small country road, which another 'Olivia' walked on alone. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked over to him. He was still smiling, but it was bittersweet.
"Jerry, what are you talking about? What is this?"
"I told you, it's my dream. A calm, peaceful world where you're still alive and happy. A world without Olympus...A world without me."
Olivia's expression instantly softened and her confusion shifted into apprehension. She felt her chest tighten as the metaphor flickered. In the background, she saw the mountains become fortresses, streams of tracers flowing from their gun batteries. The rolling hills became a plain pockmarked with rocks and divots that barely served as cover. She remembered where they were as the metaphor flickered one last time and shimmered out of existence. Jericho chuckled to himself, still bearing his sad smile, then put on his helmet and sealed his suit with a light hiss.
"I thought I'd show you this before I made it happen. I know I loved you in what may as well be a past life. Now I can show it in this life, in my own fashion."
Olivia grabbed his arm, her eyes staring at his mask accusingly. She could still see his face beneath it, through the metal rebreather and glowing blue eyes.
"Don't you care about how I feel? Do you really think I'd be happy with that?" She asked, her voice steadily rising. Nausicaa and Ackerson looked their way, unaware of the metaphor she just saw.
"Shit, what the fuck is he doing now?" Ackerson asked Nausicaa, who shrugged before leaning around cover to fire another burst into the night.
Meanwhile, Jericho put a hand on each of Olivia's shoulders, and his voice grew tender. "The pain will pass. The loss will fade. You'll find someone else who makes you happy, but first, you need to make it into Tanseele, and if I can do that...if I can secure that goal, then I will do it. Because eventually," His hands shook while he fought back tears, "eventually my name will mean nothing to you. My body will be eaten by the earth, and the man that was 'Jericho Anarei' couldn't be happier, because he will fade knowing that you're living on the same earth that he has become part of. I don't want to do this either, Olivia, but I will, because I need to."
Olivia couldn't think of anything to say to stop him in the short time it took him to regain his composure and patch himself through to the bomber wing that was inbound. Her mouth opened and closed and tears ran from her eyes, but no words...no words.
"Nyx, this is Erebos. Interrogative: I have one IR beacon, where do you want it?"
"Erebos, this is Nyx. We'll need it at the base of the wall's weakest point. Even with all the firepower we've got, we can barely punch a hole for you."
"Ackerson, mark the weakest spot in the wall. I'll plant the beacon."
"Can't you just throw it?"
"It would break from the impact, or any number of things can happen to it. I have to place it myself."
"Oh, no. Oh, no no no no no. So that's what Olivia was talking about. I'm sorry, Jerry, but I won't do it, can't. I won't let you do this to yourself. No, I won't let you do this to Olivia."
"Then, I'm sorry, Zac." Jericho said regretfully as he spun up the metaphor program and Rei battered his nerual implant with wave after wave of forced entry codes.
"Fuck, Rei too?"
"I won't let him die, Zac...I believe in him." Rei's voice echoed in his mind, her tone completely calm. Her confidence caught Zac off guard, and his head exploded in pain as she wrenched the beacon coordinates from his databanks.
On Jericho's HUD, a small waypoint appeared four hundred yards away. He inhaled deeply and rose into a crouch while he turned to face Olivia.
"Goodbye. I won't make this more painful for you and see you off with a smile, so here." He embraced her and she finally felt words come from her mouth as her chin rested on his shoulder.
"Don't, Jerry. Just don't"
"I'm sorry that the one time I don't listen is the one time it matters most." He whispered as he released her and stood, then took one more breath and sprinted into the night, the guns of every tower following his shadow into oblivion.
"Rei..."
"Yeah?"
"I think I know who you are."
"And who is that?"
"You're her--Olivia--before this all happened. Callistan supported me in the best way possible and I didn't even know it. He gave me the woman I loved, and she was literally a part of me. I figured I'd let you know, just like I love Olivia, I love you."
"Jerry-"
"I know you're code, but you're also feelings, memories, and dreams given shape. It's not a physical love, Rei. I don't know how to describe it."
"Can we talk about this later, Jerry? I'm running too many algorithms for your shield's deflection systems to talk right now."
Jericho chuckled and continued sprinting from cover to cover. His body ached from the kinetic energy of hundreds of bullets that hit his shield and glanced off thanks to Rei. His NAV point ticked to two-hundred as he slid behind a large rock and his shield showed an empty power supply with 'FAILURE' inscribed in the diagram.
"Shields are done, Jerry. They won't recover fast enough for you to still place the IR beacon." She sighed and a tinge of dread crept into her voice.
"Anything you'd have me do now?"
"Can you bring me there?"
"Where?"
"The meadow." He asked softly. Reu inhaled slowly and her hologram on Jericho's HUD nodded as the metaphor system initiated itself.
Jericho looked at his feet. Fresh flowers sprouted from the ground. Animals he had never seen before bounded through the calm morning dew. Jericho looked at it all in shock and felt tears come to his eyes. "Yes, this will do. If I have to die. I will die here, in this place which was once dead."
He stepped out and ran through the meadow--his meadow.
The meadow is Jericho's 'default' metaphor, a direct metaphorical scan of his subconscious. This will be my last work for some time.