originaljackass | Ch. 10 - In the end, it always ends with just Jack of Fables

[Last night, Jack stayed over at Rose's place, just like he had been for a few nights now. He'd finally worked his way into her good graces and he couldn't be happier. But when he woke up this morning, it was in an empty bed. And then he realized it was an empty room inside an empty apartment. It was like no one had ever lived there. Frustratingly, whoever did the cleaning up in this place, apparently considered the clothes he left by the bed to be part of her belongings to be 'cleaned away'. About nine in the morning, Jack spent the morning hoofing it from Building 7 over to 4, wearing nothing but a blanket around his bottom half. Damn Malnosso. Up until now he'd thought they were just dickwads. Now he knew they truly were utter assholes.

Later, once he has clothing on again, Jack finds himself in a rather poor mood. He'd almost had it all. He'd been happy in Luceti, for once. He hadn't been this happy since he was with Holly. Now he was back to having nothing and it pissed him off to no end. After realizing that booze wasn't helping, he spends most of the day doing hard labor at the farm. At least his efforts were paying off. Wouldn't be long until it would be time to harvest.

When evening comes, he intends to hit up Cloud Nine... only to find it's not in use. Sitting on the stairs to the night club, he opens up his journal, still late in the evening, to ask what happened.]

Anyone know what happened to Cloud Nine? I was hoping for somewhere to relax, maybe enjoy some music and drink, the company of some beautiful women. I'm not going to have to settle for the bar again, am I?

[Later in the evening, in the plaza, Jack will have fished out a harmonica among his belongings. He's playing a slow tune to improve his mood. He's a little rusty, but he improves as he carries on.]

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[Mac snatches at a piece of paper, scribbling "The Dome" down.] Superhuman powers...? [He has to wonder what some of these people in Luceti are like.] Gee, I only wanna fight boxers, y'know? Is there anyone here who's good at figurin' this kinda thing out? Like, settin' up the rules an' stuff? I'd wanna talk to 'em to make sure it works out.

Edited 2011-09-09 20:14 (UTC)

Well here's the deal, kid. A whole lot of people here are pretty powerful. If I set my mind to it, I'm pretty sure I could throw a car. And then you got all kinds of magical people on top of that. Put you put 'em in the Dome, you can level the playing field by turning all those powers 'off'.

Whoa - you can throw a car?? [He is impressed and stunned all at once, although he hasn't even seen proof of it.]

I haven't tried it or anything, but I think I could swing it.

Wow... that' amazin'! You're like some superhero from a comic book!

Yeah, that's a pretty accurate description.

Wow... that's really cool! Gee, you sound even stronger than this boxer guy I know. They said he punched a real bull into the air with a mean uppercut. ...I feel kinda bad for the bull, y'know?

Punching bulls is kind of kid's stuff once you've had a career as a giant killer.

Giant killer...? [Killin' things ain't cool, man - but Mac's hopelessly curious to understand what Jack means.]

Back in the homelands, giants used to take up shop anywhere they could. They'd terrorize the locals, steal gold and livestock, and sometimes even eat people. Killing those bastards became my specialty. I've lost count of how many a damsel in distress I rescued.

Giants? [Clearly, Mac has yet to grow accustomed to how drastically different other people's realities can be. It's hard to know what to think; while it sounds like these giants were the source of many troubles, he can only wonder if a more peaceful solution could have been achieved.]

Man. That ain't right... musta been real scary. Guess you couldn't try t'talk to 'em, huh.

Talking is half the job of killing 'em. The lot of 'em tend to be too stupid to realize they're being duped. Unfortunately talking them into a more peaceful lifestyle isn't practical.

...Oh. [He falls silent, contemplative.]

You know what? I like you, kid. [Anyone who is impressed by Jack tends to be liked by him.]

For this boxing gig, you got any challengers yet?

[He perks up at the unexpected remark, feeling hopeful and, well... happy.]

Naw. I haven't really told nobody 'bout this. It's jus' Cap'n Jack an' me who know about it. Oh, an', uh, you too, sir.

Tell you what. You give me a good showing sometime in the future, let me see what you can do, and maybe we'll work something out. But people are going to want to see you fight more than Dome drones, so keep that in mind.

Yeah? [This news has definitely buoyed his spirits. His eyes brighten with a keen hunger to prove himself.] I ain't gonna disappoint you, sir.

[After a beat, he just has to ask- -] ...What's a dome drone, by the way?

Edited 2011-09-11 02:50 (UTC)

Holograms in the Battle Dome. But I figure "Dome drones" is catchier.

Holograms? Man, this place is soundin' more an' more like some kinda sci-fi flick! [He pens down a few more things onto the piece of paper, musing aloud.] So that dome you were talkin' about... that's the Battle Dome then. 'kay. I really gotta go check this place out! [He smiles mildly at the journal's camera after a moment.]

So when should we meet up?

Edited 2011-09-11 03:27 (UTC)

Well. Today's not a good day for me, kid. Actually, if you want the whole of it, today's a pretty damn shitty day for me.

Oh. ...'m sorry. Hope y'feel better an' all.

Not looking for any sympathy, kid. You find me sometime next week, we'll set something up.

[He purses his lips, nodding after a beat.] ...Thanks. I'll talk t'you then.

Seeya around, Mac.

Ch. 10 - In the end, it always ends with just Jack of Fables

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