Chapter 41 - Part Man. Part Machine. All Killer

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"Julian...?" Those are words Jason utters as he looks at the young man, none other than his own son.

"There is no way... He can't be...." Julian matters, eyes wide open.

Jason then looks around with wide, uncomprehending eyes, as he observes the surroundings that allow him to revive. The air smelled faintly of iron, and the walls were lit from behind by flickering red and yellow lights.

"What is this place...?" he asks as he slowly breathes in and out

"We're in a top-secret lab, filled with the very best of your technology, far away from any human contact, or at least until now," Yamja says, with a wide grin on her face

"So I'm dead...? Answer me right now, Yamja..."

"Yes. You were dead, but now, you are reborn into a new body. A new you." Jason then looks around his body, no longer with the clothes and bright skin he had, but now nothing more than a metallic texture. The boards are slick and smooth, like the inside of a computer. He touches his skin, which is just as hard and smooth as the metal that surrounds him. The inside of his body is cold and icy to the touch. From this, the only flesh remaining is his own face, devoid of any hair. 

"Where...are they...?" Jason says, his voice echoing against the long halls.

"You mean the ones responsible for this sorry state of yours?" She lets out a chuckle.

"Who else would have done this, Yamja?" Jason replies, looking straight up at her. "Mr Seung...Seiner...Where are they?!"

"Your anger is pointless and hopeless," she insists. "You had the mission to contain him for your own purposes, but you let your own guard down, and they took the strike. That was a mistake on your part."

"I don't believe you!"

"You should be thankful for what we did for you. We saved your life, after all. You're alive again, aren't you? Why wouldn't you thank us?"

"Because...because it wasn't enough. This isn't enough! If I had just...had a gun...or something, anything to stop these bastards...why didn't I do it?! Why am I here?"

"Look around you, you have the guests in front of you. We brought them here to see you nice and new." Jason looks back at the group, both his former teammates from the train and Julian as well. All with wide-eyed looks on their faces for a transformed man like him. 

Then, the straps on the bed Then, the straps on the bed loosen and Jason stands up, still looking at his own body as he has the sensation of moving his left leg. It doesn't feel right at first as if he can't walk or stand properly, but he takes a step forward and another, and another, until he's walking around the room and stretching his body, bending his legs and arms to get used to a new way of moving.

"I feel...alive..."

"That's because you are. You're an evolved man now, and you're going to live a long time,"

"I can't...believe it..."

"It is true. You are alive again, and you are going to be stronger than ever," Raven replies, standing between Yamja and Boris. "If you prove yourself to be worth it,  that is."

Jason then moves toward Julian, who is still paralyzed from the sight of his own father.

"...Julian..." he whispers.

"Dad...?" Julian says, slowly looking up at him.

"I'm so sorry, Julian. For seeing me like this...I tried my best."

"No..." he mumbles, as he slowly tries to walk towards him. "Why did you come back?" 

"To protect you. And I guess that means protecting you too, doesn't it? And that's why you need to trust me. Trust that I can handle myself, no matter what." Then, a bearded man next to Julian laughs as he grabs his should and shakes it for a bit.

"Haha, oh yes indeed! He'll teach you to stop being the useless crybaby that you are!" he laughs once more as he continues to shake the young man.

"Oh yeah old friend, you're gonna teach him real good. Because he can't bother to point a gun without bitching about it. Maybe you can teach him by shooting from your awesome gun unlike his pea shooter!" another man says, Julian only lets out a long sight while clenching his teeth.

Jason, already with barely a smile, frowns down and approaches the beared man, his neck looking corded.

"What...did you....just call my son...? he growls his fists tightening. The man chuckles, as if amused at his reaction and turns around slowly.

"Yeah? What do you think we called him? The little pea shooter? Or better yet, we can call him 'little prince'? Maybe even bigger! Like one of those 'princesses'!"

"I think...all of you are the real useless worms here." The man stares at Jason in silence, before laughing loudly, his hand falling onto Julian's shoulder as he clutches it.

"Oh, this is funny! Is it supposed to be scary or hilarious? Tell me, because I don't know," he says as the laughter subsides.

"You think I forgot? Have you told him what you did on that train? You...and your own buddies?" he says, his tone reaching a venom like no other. The man stops laughing and looks at the man with wide eyes, as if terrified.

"'Forget'? What are you saying? We didn't do anything," the man replies, his voice turning a bit shaky.

"Exactly. You did nothing. You didn't save me."

"But we could have! It was our duty-"

"Duty of running away? When one of your own even shot a girl when I had him. But then after that...you just stood there. Just watched me die."

The man remains silent, and then says, "Listen, man. What's the deal? Why should we care? It was our choice. We did what we thought was necessary to protect our own. Don't blame us," he says, looking at the others to look in agreement. The other men just look at the two, completely silent. Jason then turns to the man, with some sweat drops forming around his forehead with a slight trembling.

"Yeah, but don't worry, at least you're still part of our brethren for the whites!" another one says, trying to keep a smile on his face while giving a thumbs up. Jason, however, remains the same.

"White...Chinese...Black...Christian...Buddhist...I found out that there are all worthless and meaningless concepts used by weak humans." With these words, the smiles of all men except Julian vanish. For one who used to be part of their group, such words none expected to be heard by the likes of them.

"You...you're one of them now, right?" the man starts, pointing at Jason as he takes a step back. "You're one of them...you're...you're...brainwashed!"

"No. I was shown the truth. And you still hide behind that weak veil of protecting the whites. You, solely, are responsible for what you're looking at right now." The man clenches his teeth barely, all while trying to grab his gun.

"I'm..I'm not scared! I'm a brave man! Y-you don't scare me, you mechanical freak! You...you..." As he tries to say more, he looks around beings like Yamja, Raven, and a handful of other Zlocan Knights scouting their room, all with their weapons near their hands as they all glance at the group, especially at the man, as a result, is now highly trembling and pulling his hand away from the gun.

"What are you gonna say now?" Jason mutters, leaning closer to the trembling man, with a tear falling down to his left eye. The other men are also paralyzed from this.

"They...there a-are bigger fools out the-there..."

"No doubt."

"We never knew you-you...will become a dog for them, used...to find their own fi-filth-" Jason then grabs the man's throat and lifts him up into the air.

"Oh yeah. Oh, you're right. You are so RIGHT. They're good at smelling filth, huh?! So filth has got to be CUT OFF!"

With that roar, Jason uses his other arm to ram directly into the man's chest. The sheer speed from it, combined with the impact, is enough for the arm to create a hole directly where it hit, covering it in blood and body tissue. The man squeals loudly and tries to break free, only for Jason to tighten his chock around his neck, enough for him to spit blood right in front of his own face. As he tries to say something, his body gives off one final spasm before his head falls limp, his body falling on the floor. 

Julian whimpers at this as he stumbles to the ground, while the other men mumble to each other over this sight. Yamja merely grins at this sight.

"You...you traitor! I'm gonna kill you NOW!!!" a man shouts while taking out his machete from his holster, charging at Jason's direction. Jason sets his sight on the man, his visor displaying the following words: "CHANGE, BLADES". His right leg then deploys a metal scabbard, holding a Claymore-like sword as he grabs it and unsheathes it. Just as he is in his range, he makes a quick rightward slash on the man's arm holding the machete, cutting it away from his body as it falls to the ground in a spray of blood. The man crumples down, screaming and clutching his arm as Jason then continues to unleash multiple slashes and cuts on the man's body, with each cut making a spray of blood.

Just as one of the men tries to leave the room, a barrier emerges in front of them, sealing them off from exiting, now trapped with the blood-soaked Jason approaching the rest of the remaining five.

"Get away from us! Don't...don't come any closer!" another man pleads, his gun firmly gripped in his hand as he shoots a few shots at Jason. All of them, however, is deflected by the sword Jason holds. He then takes the other sword from his left leg and charges toward him. The man tries to run, but Jason quickly catches hold of his shirt with his right hand. With one slash to his throat, the man falls down, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

"Let us out! LET US OUT PLEASE!!!" The man's words fall on deaf ears as Jason grabs him and throws him to a wall. The force of the throw has the man impact the wall face-on, with the force enough to get his face cracked and the wall bloodied, then he falls down to the floor and rolls down to the end. His visor then displays the words: "CHANGE, GAUNTLETS". With that, a pair of guns emerge from the gauntlets of his hands and he starts firing at all the two other men, one after another, the bullets piercing through their bodies, creating holes and leaving bloodied corpses all over the place.

"Your friends, the Zlocu, gonna come and RESCUE YOU?! You repulsive little MAGGOTS?!" Jason says this to the corpses, including one last man who only manages to whimper in response while tears fall down his face.

Jason then re-attaches the guns back to the body once more, while his hands ignite to emit a heating sensation around them. He steps, the steel of his burning saw glinting in the poor light, his eyes dark pools of nothing.

"You don't want to do this," the man whispers. Sweat is starting to trickle down the back of his neck. "Please?"

Jason gives him a thin, knowing, almost satisfied smile, and raises the burning blade.

"CALL THEM NOW! YOU CALL THEM!"

"Help me!" the man starts screaming as he bangs the cell's window.

Yamja approaches the cell and looks in. Her eyes travel over Jason, then lands on the tearful man.  After some silence, there is the only thing that Yamja can utter in response.

"You're weak," she says and chuckles as well, and turns her back towards both Jason and the victim. Jason grabs the man by the neck in his left hand, and with his right hand, he presses it toward the face while his heating palm is covered by the other's skin, forcing the flesh to burn.

A scream follows shortly after, but Jason pays no attention to it. Instead, he keeps pressing down, making the man cry louder as the skin burns and melts. As he screams, Jason lets go of the man and walks further, the latter falling to the ground, now barely able to move.

"Why...why..." the man tries to speak, but his voice is too weak.

"You heard her..." Jason says as he grabs him by the neck, releasing his sword once more while holding it to his neck.

With one quick slash, his gargling ends in abrupt silence, followed by a wet 'thump' on the floor, whilst the Zlocan walks away from the barrier as it opens up once more. Only Jason and Julian remain from the carnage inside. Silence remains.

"See?" Jason says, his bloodied hands gripping his blades to clean them from blood. "Now isn't that better? No more troubles!"

"D-d-d-d-dad....?" he asks, his voice shaky and weak, his quivering breath the only thing that could be heard for a short moment. "You...really killed them all?!"

For one moment, Jason doesn't answer. However, when he does, a cold grin appears on his face.

"Yes. That's right. I just killed them all. Because they were the ones who did all this. This is why you're safe now, with me, my sweet child Julian. No one will hurt you anymore."  And, without much thought, he takes Julian under his right arm and leaves the room, leaving the bloodied mess behind them.

Seeing alongside Raven, Boris can only mutter with a cold smile on his face.

"So predictable."

"Yes, indeed. Perhaps he can learn more from him," Raven replies to Boris. Jason then approaches near the two with the still shaking Julian with him.

"So...did I do well?"

"Indeed you did. Better yet, it was recorded by all Zlocan stations. Everyone got to see the proof why Humanity should evolve at our own pace, less they become weaker. You, Jason, is proof of the success of Project Joshua. You are the first of many."

"Of what many, you say?"

"The next step of Human evolution. No longer clinging to the outdated barriers of lies and deceptions like supremacy and religion. Only by showing them the truth, they will become what they truly are. Above all these are mere concepts."

"We have been waiting for this day to come, long ago. Countless of lives have been cut short, but now, we can end the cycle of the weak. Now, this is the start of something new, our new future..." Boris says, his eyes glaring towards the ceiling. He grins, and speaks again after a short moment. "For the Zlocan Empire."

"For the Zlocan Empire..." Jason repeats, his eyes also piercing through the stars. "For the new future..."

He glances briefly at Julian, who has already closed his eyes. He smiles, feeling the little one relaxes in his arms, his breathing getting calmer and easier. Jason smiles a little bit wider and nods in satisfaction and turns back to face both Raven and Boris.

"So, what's next for me and the rest?" 

"You, Jason, will be put in a special training. For the rest...you'll see. For now, go rest and get better. We'll meet again soon enough."

"Yes. I'll work harder for that."

"You do that. And remember, with great power..."

"Comes great victory." With those words, he leaves them both as head near the exit of the room, as the Knights arrive to pick up the corpses and clean up the room.

"Are you alright?" Jason asks at Julian, still in his arm.

"Umm...yeah, I think so..." Julian answers, still shaken.

"Good. Now let's go to your room, shall we?" Jason says as he starts walking toward the door.

"Okay..." Julian says, following Jason out of the room.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Julian."

"It's okay, Dad...it's not your fault..."

"Haha, that's the spirit, my boy! Once this war ends, I'll give you all your favorite gifts in the world so you can become the happiest man on Earth! Agree?" After some moment of silence from him, Julian lifts up a slight smile on his face, yet it feels like putting too much effort in it.

"...Yeah," he replies.

"Good. So, we're going to your room, then. What do you say?"

"Sure thing..."

"Atta boy!" Jason exclaims with a big smile, then walks ahead.

Julian then follows him with a sigh, his smile dropping now that he's out of his sight as he looks down on the floor.

My father...the first...? Will I...be next...? Will Humanity...even make it...? How much of it can I even...bear...?

All these questions he asks himself. The room of the dead, the sight of what they have done, and the words they spoke to him...


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