Chapter Text
After finding a bar and having a drink with the Scotsman, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways with Jack and I continuing to travel through the dystopian hellhole we were trapped in as several weeks had gone by, then we eventually arrived in a city and waited near a nightclub as a group of four robots were let in by the bouncer until we slipped in after them to take a break and get some refreshments.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the city we're in was mimicking something from a noir film with people dressed like they were still trapped in the 1930s as the cars were similar to ones from that era, though I tried not to think about it as Jack and I had taken a seat at a table near the exit and waited for the waiter to arrive before I kept my eyes open just in case for any potential ambush since it wasn't the first time bounty hunters tried to kill us in a bar.
I heard jazz music playing and was lightly bobbing my head to the tune as I looked around, seeing people either chatting, dancing, or simply sitting by themselves so I had to admit that Jack and I were a little out of place since our clothes and weapons resulted in a few looks from the other patrons, but they left us alone and continued with their business until I spotted the robots taking a seat at the bar.
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion when I caught a glimpse of the bartender subtly glancing his eyes at a table to his left more than once to signal the robots, then one of the robots reached into his suit jacket to take out a small brown envelope before handing it to the bartender, who examined it until he smiled and sent the robots a short nod before slowly ducking down in a manner that people wouldn't notice.
I knew that something about this was familiar, but I couldn't quite recall where I'd seen it when the robots stood up with their left arms covered by newspapers and that's when I remembered the noir movies I had watched when I was younger, shortly before the music stopped and a woman began singing on-stage as the music changed into a more slow-paced song until my eyes widened in alarm when the robots removed the newspapers to reveal futuristic versions of Tommy guns before aiming at the table the bartender pointed out.
Jack seemed to have noticed it as well and pulled out his sword, getting out of his seat and rushing to slice down part of a large stage curtain that fell onto the robots while I stood up and took out my bow, just as the robots opened fire.
Panic erupted as the patrons screamed in terror and started fleeing the nightclub, which was fine with me since I'd rather innocent people didn't get killed during the fighting as the large sheet fell off the robots and Jack went to slice off their arms.
I saw a few more robots aim at him and reacted quickly by shooting several arrows, which pierced the robots and caused them to short out before collapsing and more robots burst in through the kitchen until they fired at us.
We ran to avoid the gunfire and I noticed that the woman was still singing, making me wonder what the hell she was still doing up there when she should've run with the other patrons, and the people the robots were targeting had appeared to duck under the table for cover, which wasn't exactly ideal but at least they weren't targets anymore.
Jack and I ducked into cover before waiting for an opportunity to ambush the robots, who were looking around and trying to find us when they looked at a broken table and fired at something that I couldn't quite make out until most of the table was ripped apart by bullets and I could see they had shot at a soup bowl with a large spoon in it.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Jack moved out of cover and decapitated two robots while I shot two more with arrows before one showed up and my eyes widened when I saw that its hands had become flamethrowers while a tank was attached to its back.
The robot started shooting flames at us and we quickly moved so that we wouldn't be roasted alive, leaping up onto a balcony and vaulting over it before running to avoid getting set on fire and we moved down the second level until we looked out of another balcony to see that we were right behind the robot.
Jack and I nodded to each other before I fired an arrow at the robot's leg, sending it down to one knee and Jack jumped out while diving down to tackle it to the ground when he sliced the hoses connected to the tank, then the robot looked alarmed before he flew into a wall from the gas shooting out of the tank and exploded when the tank impacted against the wall as a few people surrounded Jack and aimed guns at him.
"Okay, that's enough so nice and slow, mac," one of the men warned, causing Jack to slowly lower his sword and I scowled since this wasn't what I was expecting as another man looked up at where I was.
"Okay fella, we have your buddy surrounded so get down here right now or we whack him, dig?" the man told me, and I had no choice but to comply so I vaulted over the railing and landed down onto the ground floor, causing two men to aim at me while the rest focused on Jack.
"That's right, now both of you put the weapons away," a dark-skinned man said, prompting Jack to holster his sword and I slung my bow before the two men approached me and went around before they pressed their guns into my back.
"Come on, move it before we throw you two out," one man threatened as he pushed Jack forward and I was poked in the back by the guns aimed at me as Jack and I had raised our hands to show that we're not a threat anymore.
"Wait, let them stay," a man called out calmly, causing everyone and me to look before I saw a short man dressed as a stereotypical gangster while he had a cigar in his mouth, the man looking unphased by all the guns being out as he removed his cigar to exhale a puff of smoke.
"It's okay, let them go, see?" the man reassured in a thick Chicago-like accent, then the men lowered their guns and backed up while we lowered our hands and I stared at the short man with a look of distrust and suspicion.
"You know, we could use a couple of fellas like you two," the man said with a smirk as he puffed on his cigar, causing Jack to look puzzled.
"We?" Jack questioned, just before the people who were targeted came out from under the table and brushed themselves off until the man gestured at them.
"Me and the boys, see? Stitches, Mr. Shine, Mr. Pebbles, and Knuckles," the man introduced as he pointed out each man who was as short as him, then Mr. Pebbles raised a finger before clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Well, actually, my real name is Joe-" Mr. Pebbles tried to say, only he was cut off when Knuckles smacked him in the back of the head and causing him to glare at the man while rubbing the back of his head.
"Mr. Pebbles," Knuckles warned with a deep raspy voice while Jack and I shared a look before returning our attention to the man in front of us.
"Okay, so what exactly does your organization do?" I asked suspiciously since these people reminded me of gangsters from old movies I used to watch before winding up in this hell.
"Why, me and the boys, we sort of run things around this town, know what I mean? Say, how'd you fellas like to be members of the most feared gang in this city, see?" the man offered, and I started scowling at that since he was basically telling us that he and his friends were criminals as Jack frowned slightly.
"What activities does your 'gang' participate in?" Jack questioned curiously and I cleared my throat to get his attention.
"When he says gang, it probably means that he and his friends are in charge of a criminal organization that's involved in things like protection rackets, gambling, smuggling, and more," I explained as I glared at the criminals, then Jack's eyes widened before he started scowling at the men.
"If what he says is true, then you are involved in crime," Jack said sternly, causing the man and Mr. Stitches to laugh.
"Now, did any of us say that? Your friend did and it was his words, not ours," Mr. Stiches pointed out and I sent him a hard look.
"The second your boss said gang, I knew exactly what you people are so you didn't need to say anything, and we have no damn reason to trust any of you since the last people who supposedly helped us had stabbed us in the back.
Now, they may have regretted what they did, but it doesn't change the fact that we had been betrayed so that's the last time we're ever going to be taken off guard again," I stated darkly as Jack nodded in agreement.
"He is correct, your activities are of no interest to us so we wish to be no part of your group," Jack said firmly before the man scowled at us.
"So, a couple of prima donnas, eh? Okay, then beat it, altar boys," the man snapped irritably, then Jack and I started to leave without a word as the other men started to whisper to each other before I heard their boss turning to look at them.
"Well, what are you all standing around for? We got a delivery to make for Aku," the man told them, then that caught my attention as my ears perked up before Jack widened his eyes as we shared a surprised look and quickly turned around.
"Wait, are you talking about the great and powerful Aku?" I asked, a plan forming in my mind and Jack appeared to have caught on to what I was doing as the man turned around with an annoyed look.
"Of course, the Master of Darkness, the Shogun of Sorrow, and the big boss himself...Aku," the man confirmed, then Jack clasped his hands together and pretended to look humble.
"And you have dealings with Aku in person?" Jack asked with a knowing smile, and then the man shrugged.
"Sure, all the time so what's it to you anyway?" the man questioned skeptically, and I realized that this gang was the perfect way to get close to Aku so that Jack and I could kill him to end that monster but that would mean that we would have to join this gang and I wasn't all that keen to do it, though we had to if we wanted to stop Aku.
"We're sorry about before, it's just that we haven't had the greatest experiences with other people and it's made us more than a little cautious around strangers, but hearing about Aku has us interested so go on," I said with a false smile, then the man scoffed.
"Ah, so now the two Mr. Goody Two-shoes and sandals feel like talking, eh?" the man huffed before Jack and I smiled at each other until we looked at the man again.
"Please understand, I have spent my life preparing to come face-to-face with Aku while my friend here wanted to meet him for the first time since he heard tales about his glorious achievements, so fulfilling this goal would forever change our lives," Jack reasoned before kneeling in front of the man and bowing his head humbly.
The man frowned and started stroking his chin thoughtfully, the other gangsters looking at each other skeptically while Jack and I waited for an answer when I started feeling a little tense as a few moments went by until the man nodded.
"Okay, boys, we'll give you two a shot but you gotta pass a little test first, see? You know, to prove you got the stomach for it," the man told us and we smiled at him.
"Don't worry, tell us what we need to do and we'll go from there," I reassured and the man looked interested.
"No hesitation, huh? I like that so here's the skinny, it's not a hard job but your heart's gotta be in the right place, see? One of our clients, see, hasn't been paying his protection money so he needs to be rubbed out.
Now, you tell him that the Society for the Preservation of Animal Love has sent a surprise gift as a token of appreciation for his ongoing love of animals, see? Then you got about twenty seconds to get your asses outta there and it's bang, the gift that keeps on giving," the man told us, and I was disgusted that he was willing to kill an innocent person trying to make ends meet just to send a message.
"Very well, where is this client of yours?" Jack asked and the man gestured for us to follow him.
"This way, boys," the man said and we went to leave the nightclub before arriving at a car that was parked in front of the nightclub, then Knuckles checked under the car before nodding and we got in until Mr. Shine started driving us away from the nightclub.
Later on, we soon arrived near a store that was located on the docks and was given a present that I had a faint ticking sound inside before Jack and I exited the car until we approached the store, rain pouring down as we went up to the door and I knocked on it.
We had to wait for the owner to open the door, then it soon opened and I saw that it was an old man on the other side but what caught my attention was the cats and dogs in cages as they barked or meowed.
"Yes, can I help you?" the old man asked with a warm expression while he was using a cane to support himself, and I was horrified that we were supposed to kill him and all these innocent animals so I couldn't let that happen and Jack seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
"Listen carefully, you need to remain calm because there's a bomb in this package so you need to get those animals and get away from here as fast as you can," I warned urgently, causing the old man to widened his eyes in alarm.
"Oh dear, what am I going to do?" the old man wondered nervously.
"Do you have transportation?" Jack inquired seriously.
"Yes, I have a boat just below the store," the old man answered before I nodded.
"Okay, we'll help you bring the animals down to the boat but we should hurry since we don't have a lot of time," I stated tensely.
After that, Jack put the present down while the old man opened a trap door in the floor and we worked together to get the cages down onto the motorboat, then the old man started the engine and sped away on the water before Jack and I had to run from the store to prevent ourselves from getting blown up.
"Oh crap!" I gasped as we ran until the store blew up behind us, reducing it into a flaming heap of rubble as Jack and I hurried back to the car and got into the backseat until Mr. Shine drove us away from the scene.
"Well kids, how did it go?" the man asked before Jack and I put up false smiles.
"It went just how you planned it, the old man took the package and we said our lines exactly how we were supposed to so he never suspected a thing as we got the hell out of there, now you shouldn't have any further problems with your clients," I lied and the man hummed at that while sounding impressed, judging by the tone in his voice.
"Pretty cold-blooded of you, kid, I like that so you two impress me, see?" the man complimented as he puffed on his cigar.
"A price must be paid for disobedience," Jack added to convince the gangsters even further that we were now trustworthy before Mr. Shine chuckled.
"I like these fellas," Mr. Shine commented as the car kept going through the city until we eventually arrived at a hotel and went inside.
Pretty soon, we were in a room before the samurai and I were given a change of clothes until I waited for Jack to be done and was surprised to see him in a blue suit with a fedora as he stepped out of the changing room.
I was next in the changing room and removed my clothes before putting on the gangster outfit, looking in the mirror and admiring the black suit with a red shirt and black tie as the colors complimented my fur well and the dark red bowler hat was a nice touch as well when I stepped out until the man gestured at me and Jack.
"Boys, meet Jackie the Blade and the Sable Hound with all the accouterments, see?" the man introduced, then the other gangsters whistled and complimented our new outfits as Jack opened the suit jacket to reveal his holstered sword resting inside while I was adjusting the quiver on my back and making sure the bow and sword were secured as well.
"Yeah, great, though how come they get the cool names?" Mr. Pebbles wondered before Knuckles smacked him in the back of the head, then the boss went and showed us a chalkboard with a building drawn on it and plans on how to get in.
"Alright, you knuckleheads, listen up because we're here to talk about a very big job that's one of very special interest to the big boss himself," the boss told us while Jack perked up.
"Aku?" Jack asked eagerly.
"That's right, Jackie, though nobody's ever pulled this one off, see? But with you and Sable Hound on our side, we'll smoke it," the boss said with a look of confidence.
"And we'll meet with Aku once the job's done?" I asked before the boss nodded.
"Correct, not only will we get to meet him but if we pull this off successfully, the big boss will make us richer beyond our wildest dreams, see?" the boss said with a grin, and I almost pitied them since Aku was anything but a man of his word and I wouldn't be surprised if he betrayed them since a monster like him doesn't care about anyone but himself.
"If you say so, now what's this job we're doing?" I inquired, and then the boss went over to a table that was covered by a sheet before he yanked it off to reveal a model of the same building that was on the chalkboard.
"Boys, say hello to the Public Works and Utilities building," the boss said proudly, then Mr. Pebbles waved at the model.
"Hello," Mr. Pebbles greeted the model, causing me to send him a weird look and I had an idea as to why he is called Mr. Pebbles since he didn't seem to be all that bright but the boss didn't appear to be all that bothered about it, telling me that he was used to it as he looked at the model.
"It's a well-kept secret that deep inside this building lies the legendary Neptune jewel, see? And it's our job to get it out," the boss told us before Mr. Pebbles looked puzzled.
"You mean, uh, we gotta fit inside that little thing?" Mr. Pebbles asked in confusion, prompting Mr. Stitches to facepalm in exasperation and I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"Um, I don't think that's what he meant, Mr. Pebbles," I commented and Jack frowned thoughtfully.
"What is the importance of this jewel?" Jack inquired to change the subject, and the others looked a little relieved while Mr. Pebbles still appeared confused.
"Here's the short version, Jackie...long before you was born, Sable Hound was born, I was born, or anybody else was born, the Neptune jewel was kept inside this mountain, see? Now, legend has it that it was placed there by an ancient spirit who gave the jewel special powers that would give it control over all the waters of the world, see?
Naturally, Aku wanted the jewel's power so evil could control the world, which it should but then this no-good goody-two-shoes good-for-nothing got in the way, see? I don't know how she did it, but she beat our boss and summoned the forces of nature to guard it, earth, wind, and fire.
And so earth, wind, and fire have guarded the jewel for centuries, see? Making it impossible for Aku to get his hands on it, and since the big boss himself couldn't close the deal, it's been centuries since anybody's even thought about it.
So, you see, you'd have to be pretty fucking nuts to try to swipe the Neptune jewel, see? At least, that's what I thought...until I saw Jackie and Sable Hound here in action since the way you boys cleaned up them robot thugs back at the Blue Monkey made me think we're just nuts enough to pull this off.
So Jackie, Sable Hound, are you game?" the boss asked us, then Jack and I shared a smile before returning our attention to the boss.
"To stand in Aku's presence, we would consider no feat too great," Jack answered, and I nodded to agree before the gangsters cheered in response until they soon stopped and I cleared my throat.
"Okay, what's the plan to get in there, boss?" I asked and the boss went over to the chalkboard.
"Alright, here's the plan, boys...we strike this Sunday at midnight, see?" the boss started to explain and we all listened after that until he was done later on and we all went to bed.
A couple of days later, it was time for the heist so we waited until it was dark and used a rowboat to head toward the target building as I kept my eyes open while Jack was busy meditating, just as we soon arrived at the side of the building with massive amounts of water coming out of large pipes until we soon came to a stop at a ladder on the side of the building and Jack came out of his meditation to smile at me.
I nodded in response before Jack went up the ladder first and I followed after him, the two of us approaching a large pipe and climbing over to the top as we soon peered in with our hats almost falling off our heads.
Jack caught his hat and I did with mine when Jack flipped inside and used smaller pipes to reach a tube that led somewhere, followed by me and we crawled through the pipe that was a bit enclosed when I noticed the water level was rising the deeper we went until we were forced to place our hats inside our jackets and swam the rest of the way.
Pretty soon, we entered a large area and swam up to the surface before taking in oxygen, putting our hats back on as I looked around and saw an altar with a large blue gem resting on the top as it glowed and I gasped in astonishment as I looked at Jack.
"Holy shit...it's incredible," I breathed out in awe, though Jack looked a bit more serious.
"Do not forget why we are here, Jeremy," Jack reminded me, and I nodded before looking just as serious while we headed over to the altar and walked onto the bottom step.
'Huh, too bad I don't have my sketchbook with me right now because I would love to draw this,' I thought as I marveled at the jewel when something occurred to me, just as I realized that the guardians of the jewel were nowhere to be seen and that made me tense since this was way too easy as Jack started to go up the stairs.
When his foot touched the next step, it lit up and the other stairs became white while three pedestals surrounding the altar glowed until fire, wind, and earth appeared on them until they shaped into humanoid female figures and I gulped since this was certainly not good.
"Oh crap, I think we just alerted the guardians," I told Jack uneasily while the guardians glared down at us, then I noticed the area around us being sealed off by stone and trapping us with the guardians while the water drew away until the ground was damp and Jack pulled out his sword as I took out my bow.
Earth shaped her hand into a hammer and tried to smash us, but we jumped out of the way and I noticed Fire forming a sword when she slashed at us, prompting me and Jack to roll out of the way to avoid getting roasted and sliced in half at the same time but Wind took advantage of that by swinging her arm until Jack and I were sent into the stone wall and I let out a pained yelp.
Earth shot stone spears at us and we were forced to run, avoiding the deadly objects to prevent getting impaled when Fire unleashed fireballs at us and Jack knocked most of them away until I formed a shield around us so that we wouldn't get killed and I soon shaped the shield back into my hand once she stopped shooting at us.
We kept running and took cover behind each large spear, then the ceiling rumbled and I looked up to see the stalactites on the ceiling cracking and my eyes widened in alarm when they broke from the ceiling and started falling to our location.
"Oh shit!" I yelped before Jack and I were forced to dart out of cover and run as the stalactites crashed into the ground where we used to be, only we had the misfortune to run right at the guardians and came to a stop in front of them.
"You will never possess the Neptune jewel! You won't escape," Fire told us sternly, then Jack and I nodded to each other before the samurai smirked at the guardians.
"Come and get us," Jack taunted and that pissed off the guardians, judging by the looks on their faces.
"Insolent fool!" Fire shouted in outrage before Jack and I bolted from the guardians, prompting Fire to chase after us before she landed before us and we spun around and ran in the opposite direction.
Fire shot fireballs at us and I smiled since everything was going to plan while we dodged the flaming balls of fire, then I melted into black goo to avoid getting roasted as Jack used one of the stone spears as cover and a fireball ricocheted off it before the ball of fire shot at Wind, who widened her eyes in alarm.
It was too late for her to react properly and the fireball was absorbed into her body, causing the elemental being to uncontrollably form into a tornado that sucked the other two guardians in and made it even more powerful as I shifted back to normal and formed my arms into hooks to dig into the ground so that I wouldn't be sucked in as my hat flew off my head and went into the tornado.
I saw Jack hanging onto the spear with his hat flying away and his hair becoming undone as the stone walls broke with water rushing back in and getting sucked into the tornado, then it started dying down and I let go of the ground before standing up and turning around until I was shocked to see the guardians mixed into a disturbing amalgamation of their former selves, and the screams of agony coming from them caused a chill to go down my spine as the area started getting flooded.
Jack seemed to have noticed as well and ran to the altar, jumping up and snatching the jewel while also getting his hat as I followed him and took my hat as well before we dove into the water, swimming back the way we came until we eventually made it to the end of the large pipe with Jack holding up the jewel to show the gangsters that our job was finished and they perked up before cheering and complimenting us for doing a fantastic job.
Eventually, the boss drove us to Aku's lair and he had Jack and I wait outside as I gazed at all the menacing red fire made of stone, which fit a monster like Aku so I peered in to watch the exchange as the boss called out for Aku and the demon himself rose from what seemed to be a bottomless pit as he looked annoyed.
"Who dares to summon..." Aku started to question until he saw the gangsters and looked unamused before adding, "Oh, it is you."
"Uh, yes, you see, uh-" the boss tried to say nervously, only he was cut off.
"Do you forget that you are forbidden to come here?" Aku growled, his threatening tone making the boss and the other gangsters flinch before the boss regained his composure.
"Uh, yeah boss, I know but this time, w-we really got something big, see?" the boss placated before Aku started looking uninterested.
"What can you possibly have that the all-mighty Aku cannot attain?" Aku questioned sarcastically with a bored expression, then the boss held up the box containing the jewel inside.
"The jewel of Neptune," the boss declared as he opened the box, and that caught Aku's attention as his eyes widened in shock and pleasant surprise.
"What?! It cannot be! The power to control all the water in the world..." Aku trailed off in astonishment, and I think this was the first time I've ever seen the demon look so off guard while the boss grinned.
"Only for you, my lord," the boss stated as Aku gently picked up the jewel with two fingers and examined it with a greedy look in his eyes.
"Yes, it truly is a magical jewel but how did such an elusive treasure come into your possession?" Aku inquired curiously.
"Well, it wasn't easy, master, but we got a little help from our two newest members," the boss explained before looking back and saying, "Jackie, Sable Hound, come on out."
"Jackie? Sable Hound?" Aku questioned in complete confusion before Jack and I stepped into view.
"Actually, it's Jack and Jeremy," Jack corrected as we looked up at Aku with hard expressions, just as the demon widened his eyes in shock.
"It's you two!" Aku gasped before Jack pulled out his sword and I formed wings on my back before we charged at Aku with war cries.
I took off into the air and shot arrows at Aku while Jack tried slashing at the demon, only Aku dodged the attacks and started glaring at us while I flew around him and Jack jumped to different cliffs in the shape of flames so that he can get to Aku.
"I see that you have become even stronger since we last met, boy, but it will not be enough because you and the samurai will not defeat me so easily," Aku told me and I sent him a dark glare.
"Shut up, this is for all the people you have slaughtered over the centuries!" I shouted as I swooped in and slung my bow before forming my arms into blades and swiped at Aku while the demon managed to slash Jack's back, tearing the back of his suit and causing the samurai to yell in pain as he glared at the monster.
"Yes, it won't be easy but as Jeremy said, it will be worth the effort," Jack stated with a look of determination and jumped up while I came at him from behind, Aku widening his eyes at being attacked from both sides before Jack and I sliced into his sides and he screamed in pain.
"The sword!" Aku yelled in agony and rose up to escape, only we chased after him while slicing through his body from time to time until he snarled and shaped into a large cobra as Jack's eyes widened and I tensed up.
I reacted by enlarging and shifting into a dragon before spewing out flames at Aku, who slithered out of the way and lunged to bite down on my side, causing me to roar in pain before I let out a ferocious growl and went to rip him off my side with my maw and threw him into a wall, stunning the demon for a moment before he targeted Jack next and ate him while I snarled at that.
Suddenly, Jack sliced his way out and Aku was weakened so much that he fell and splattered onto a cliff, forming into a human-sized version of himself as I shifted back into my jackal form and met up with Jack while Aku was groaning in pain and laying on the cliff until I took out my sword and we stood before the disgusting monster that was responsible for the deaths of so many people.
"No tricks will save you this time, Aku" Jack declared as we held our swords in reverse grips and were about to stab the demon while he truly looked terrified, then something hit me hard in the back of my head and everything went black after that.
After an unknown amount of time, I gasped awake and sat up to look around until I noticed that I was in a familiar office while Jack jerked awake as he shouted Aku's name, and then I saw the gangsters as they smiled at us and I had an idea as to what happened.
"Easy, fellas," the boss placated as Jack quickly looked around and I started glaring at the bastards who were responsible for robbing our chance to take down Aku by knocking us out.
"What? Where are we and what happened?" Jack questioned urgently before Mr. Stitches chuckled.
"Can you believe these two?" Mr. Stitches commented, only I was far from pleased by what happened and scowled.
"What happened is that they knocked us the fuck out during the fight," I snapped irritably, and the boss nodded while Jack looked stunned and more than outraged.
"Correct, we saved your lives because you lost your minds back there and started to duke it out with the big boss himself and as you said before, Sable Hound, we nailed you both over the head to get you out of there," the boss told us, and I was more than pissed while Jack looked just as unhappy as I was.
"Yeah, we saved you fellas before Aku had a chance to put you both out of commission permanently," Mr. Stitches added, causing Jack to clap his hand against his head while he looked frustrated.
"I cannot believe this!" Jack shouted and I gritted my teeth.
"Yeah, this is complete bullshit," I agreed with an angry scowl before the gangsters started looking confused.
"What's not to believe? We saved you as you saved us," the boss pointed out with a puzzled look.
"You don't get it, we were doing just fine against Aku until you fucking cold-cocked us so take us back, right now!" I retorted hotly.
"Aren't you fellas listening? We can't take you two back because Aku would whack you both, see? Besides, we couldn't even if we wanted to because when we dragged you boys out, Aku's castle disappeared so who knows where it'll pop up next," the boss explained and I threw my hands up at that.
"Well, that's just fucking perfect," I mumbled in frustration before Jack got off the couch and went over to the window before looking out at the city and I sighed while getting off the futon and rubbed the back of my neck tiredly.
"Hey, what's all this about anyway? You fellas got some kind of death wish or something?" the boss asked me and Jack before the samurai quickly looked back with a scowl.
"No, you don't understand, we have deceived you," Jack confessed, then the gangsters looked taken aback by that.
"Hey, uh, you mean you fellas ain't one of us, man?" Mr. Pebbles inquired while sounding hurt and confused.
"No, you people are criminals and the only reason we joined was so we could get close to Aku to take him down...you see, this world was once filled with life and decent people, but Aku showed up and took all of that away.
How many men, women, and children are dead because of that monster? How many lush forests and mountains are stripped bare because of that greedy bastard? How many people are still suffering because of that twisted son of a bitch?
That's why we attacked him because he needed to be stopped and we were so close to ending that monster for good, only you assholes robbed us of that and now that bastard will keep his guard up from now on," I ranted in frustration, tears starting to well up but I forced them down as Jack sent me a sympathetic look before he turned his attention to the gangsters.
"Either way, it does not matter now because our quest continues and we are sorry about the deception, but it had to be done so if you please, the jewel," Jack said as he held his hand out until the boss looked sheepish.
"Uh, we don't have it, see? We kinda gave it to Aku," the boss explained before I looked at Mr. Pebbles.
"Mr. Pebbles, would you mind?" I suggested and the man appeared embarrassed.
"Uh...yeah, during all the commotion, I kept it for safekeeping," Mr. Pebbles said as he reached into his jacket and took out the jewel, then he gave it to me and I nodded in response.
"Thanks, now Jack and I need to get the thing back to its rightful place," I stated before Jack and I were about to leave when the boss stopped us.
"Wait fellas, uh, let us do it," the boss called out and we looked back at him.
"Why?" Jack asked and I noticed that the boss was a tiny bit nervous and it made me suspicious.
"Well, uh, all this crime business has suddenly put a bad taste in my mouth so we're going legit, see? And for our first gig, we're going to return the jewel since it's the right thing to do," the boss said, then I realized what he was trying to do and I was far from amused by it but I decided not to let him know I was aware of what he was doing and put up a false smile.
"You don't need to do that, we caused you guys enough trouble by lying to you so we'll make up for it by taking the jewel back, and don't try to convince us because our minds are made up," I said pleasantly, causing the boss to look slightly frantic but he quickly put up a cool front before Jack noticed as the samurai was giving me a questioning glance.
"I see, then we won't stop you boys if that's what you want, see?" the boss said reluctantly before I nodded and walked out of the office with Jack right behind me as he looked puzzled by what just happened.
"Jeremy, he said that he was going to do the right thing by returning the jewel, so why didn't you give it to him?" Jack asked in confusion before I stared at him with a hard expression.
"Because we can't trust him and I understand that you believe everyone deserves a second chance but I can't take that risk, not after what happened last time so if there's one thing this alternate reality has taught me, it's that someone saying they've changed is usually too good to be true and I can't afford to lower my guard in this place where everyone wants us dead," I explained darkly.
After that, I kept walking and ignored Jack's concerned gaze on me but I didn't blame him for being worried since this reality was changing me the longer I remained trapped here and even if I somehow found a way home, I would never be the same again after what I've witnessed during my time here.