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///

Tai

Guard Post, Settlement Defense Wall

November 10th, 1000 hours

It had been a few days, more or less a week.

Thailand was miserable for me.

I'd shot two people.

Albeit one was going to kill me and the other was going to kill another civilian but...

Damn...

I felt alone again, as I had in Gibraltar.

Sometimes I would just wander around and forget here, I had obligations to the GRA.

That this wasn't my hellhole.

Deaths of about 8 now chained to my heart, everything I saw was oddly shocking.

Nothing I hadn't seen before, but now, having seen and lived on the other side...

Was this really who I once was?

And who was I?

Tai, from Gibraltar?

Tai, the afflicted?

Ariya hadn't bothered me with any more visions, and my sleep problem was letting up.

She knew I needed space, but maybe she got that message down.

I knew Reyna was never going to apologize to me, she was too proud.

There were other places I could go.

But then, I reminded myself.

Who the hell could blame her?

Having done what she did, suffered so much, who would want to be friends with anyone for fear you'd lose them?

Especially someone who you were guaranteed to lose?

But with that logic, why be friends with anyone?

Wasn't death the only certainty in life?

I stared over the guard tower into the jungle, the short band of buildings that was the Jinn line, and the Jinn territory on the other side.

Over there, a new world.

I'd been thinking about what that kid said to me in the alley.

That I was a traitor to...

Slum-kind or whatever.

I gave thought to it.

Here, in Thailand, things were always poor.

But they worked. Under Jinn maybe even getting better...

Nowadays? Brutality, crime, a police state, oppression....

She was right. Jinn would've worked wonders for Gibraltar.

And the GRA?

They gave up on us. Didn't even try.

And all I got from it was a reputation that didn't last when you met me.

But honestly, who gave a damn where you were from?

Kill a Moroccan just as easy as an Alaskan.

Lost in my thoughts, someone hissed next to me and I looked down to see...

A horde of black clothed people moving through the treeline, into the main road.

"Everyone hold your fire or we're going to get fucking disintegrated..."

I watched in awe... I hadn't seen such a big group of people in my entire life.

A practical flood, I could see why they'd called in so many GRA personnel to ramp up security.

All regulars, a few flags. I walked over to the other side of the wall to watch the BMFs tensely and emotionlessly usher the mass in, our soldiers lining the streets.

No civs in sight.

I picked out a few vehicles for the higher ups.

It seemed everyone was... Different.

The structure of Jinn was a bunch of loose political parties that formed some sort of democracy (apart from their respective countries).

Some were in hoods.

Some were in rags.

Some were in armor not unlike ours.

But they all were black, and by clothing they all grouped, the one thing they shared.

A few were in red, but those were spread wide.

I'd never had fear strike such a low chord in my heart before.

///

Hotel Room

November 17th, 2200 hours

"Tai, can you tell me what he did wrong there?"

My eyes fluttered open and I looked back at the projector, Isaac standing beside it.

Everyone was looking at me now, I looked to Jake sitting beside me for the answer.

He didn't notice me looking, instead staring solemnly at the fox's feet.

We were in Jake and Isaac's room, a retrograde projector showing someone's headcam on the wall.

All the lights were out, my teammates faces were illuminated by the screen.

"Um..."

I looked at the image in brief.

A hallway. Or rather, going through a doorway into one.

To the immediate left was another room, and a shape standing in it with a sort of plus shaped yellow light-

Oh, he'd fired his gun at our POV.

I looked to the other side of the screen where a bit of blood had already spattered the hallway, exposed pipe getting wet.

"...His teammates positions show he'd gone far ahead of them. And this isn't pointman either. And in addition, he, uh, went in a lot too quick."

"Right. Try not to doze off next time."

Well, at least I'd salvaged it.

"Now, this is the problem with Brasilia Esquadrao. They're overrated, dumbed down, expendable. They just rush in guns blazing, no tactics. So I don't want any of you throwing as meatbags, aye?"

Everyone gave varying degrees of that same 'yes' you'd hear in the classroom during a lecture.

We'd done similar things with Jake but he preferred a more hands-on simulation approach to tactics training.

Isaac's was watching replays.

I felt like maybe I did learn a bit more application in the second one, but I'd discovered my abilities in the first.

I gave some thought to it- when was the last time I'd... Well, gone back in time?

That sounded crazy...

I mean, it was. The whole thing was turned on its head.

Would've been convenient to fix mistakes at will, whenever I wanted to.

I cast a look at the jackal, caught her eyes, and sheepishly looked away.

Was I going to apologize later?

Would we be back at square one if I did?

And where the hell were we now?

Who would go off next time, me or her?

...

Sometimes friendships need a push.

...

And sometimes they need a shove.

"Alright, before you all go"-

Isaac flipped the lightswitch and amidst the hissing and protest he flicked it back.

"Before you all go to bed- and I want everyone in bed. DeSanta's going to be here tomorrow, we're tasked with guarding. We need to pick a designate for G201."

Everyone started buzzing about names, and as per usual I had no clue what they were on about.

"Can I get suggestions?"

Everyone gave them at once.

"I meant separately."

Everyone gave them at once.

I was in danger of falling asleep again, so I didn't get anywhere near to Jake's shoulder. Nevermind the fact I was sitting on a bed already.

A few were standing or leaning against the wall.

"Sharks!"

"It's a squadron designate, not a football team."

"Shut up, Alvin."

"Tombstone."

"I'm sure that's taken. And I know where you stole that from"-

"Alcatraz."

Everyone went silent.

And they were looking at me.

It registered my muzzle had just opened and closed.

Oh.

...

Alcatraz? Where did that come from?

The next time I blinked strange lights appeared in my head, and quickly closing my eyes again I'd just missed them.

"That... Actually sounds pretty badass."

"All in favor?"

Another uproar.

Isaac picked up a clipboard that had been lying around.

"Everyone pass this around, designates are on here. Remember them."

He passed it to Jake first, and I eyed his designate.

He had a number 2 beside his name, meaning he was Alcatraz-2, if I was correct.

I saw the look of disappointment on his face.

Jake had a rocky start but he was a damn good soldier.

And he had morals.

And he actually cared about his squad...

The wolf passed the clipboard to me.

Scanning for a little while, I was at the bottom, of course-

Alcatraz-J?

I was the only one without a number beside my name.

It took me a moment to realize what the 'J' might have meant and as the clipboard went to Reyna, her eyes burned into me.

///

Ajax

GRA Heavy Security Zone

November 20th, 1900 hours

"It's my bedroom, Caine, I don't need an escort in there."

"I was simply hoping to talk with you about my reassignment"-

"It can wait."

Caine's voice was like a translator program's now, assisted by a computer until Trojan fixed his damage.

If DeSanta allowed him that luxury.

Ajax sat in wait, out of his armor.

She could have his face.

But at the cost of her life. And he needed an excuse at this point, the shitshow he'd seen thus far and all that time spent with Jinn...

Really that was the only thing keeping him from doing it.

He wasn't just some mercenary, he actually cared about the war.

He wasn't in in to make money off it.

He wasn't in it for the rush of killing.

He was in it because of those Jinn bastards.

And because of them, he could never escape it.

The reptilian walked in her room with a bathrobe on, making her way to the bathroom.

As the lights came on upon her motion sensors, the door closed behind her.

She reached for the knob-

"Opera."

It was near instant and for a moment Ajax was caught off guard as blue energy arced the wall where he'd been standing less than a second before.

Snapping the gun from her hand, a pulse emitted from his belt and the energy pistol practically disintegrated.

One snowy-furred hand over her mouth, there was nothing she could do.

"If you make any cry for help, I'm going to have to kill you. Comprende?"

She gave a nod against his hand.

As he withdrew: "And it's Ajax, since you were going to scream anyways."

"...What?"

"It's me. No armor this time. I gotta talk with you."

"I-I..." She eyed her bathrobe and tightened the sash, the snow tiger watching red blotches appear on her scales.

The leader of the 'free' world in a bathrobe.

What a fucking joke...

"Make it brief."

"Did you in any way alert your security?"

"Y-Yes, I have a chip embedded in my hand that"-

"How much time?"

"One minute at the least, Caine was the only one on this floor and he doesn't get signaled anymore"-

"Your Janus?"

"...I don't have"-

"Avital?! Her status?!"

"She wants me dead as much as anyone, she likely won't show!"

Ajax stared into her cowering eyes.

He'd done his research, if anything could be said.

"You fought to free Jinn-controlled Spain in your youth."

She gave a nod, unsure of where he was going.

Hell, he didn't know either.

"Look at the mess you've become."

Opera opened and closed her mouth, no biting remark to save her.

Or at the least, put herself on a pedestal.

"I want you to either quadruple my pay or give me a strike team of 10."

"Wha- why? It's already 5 bil"-

"Lynx has a sister."

"There's two of"-

"Yes. And Katia's overprotective as all hell... I think... It's complicated, I"-

He cut himself off.

"She's not even going to be in your records and she's the most high profile assassin in the freaking world, alright? I want something at the very"-

Once more he was cut off, this time by the sound of footsteps.

Giving a glance back to the queen of the world he had backed into the corner, he contemplated.

Right now... In this instant...

He was the most powerful man in the world.

At this instant he could do any number of things.

But would DeSanta's death bring down the GRA?

Or would it be a benefit to them?

With a growl not dissimilar to his feral counterparts, Ajax darted back through the missing section of ceiling he'd came.

///

Tai

Ruined Hotel

November 22nd, 1200 hours

Today.

It was happening today.

That morning was a bunch of good lucks and stay safes and Alcatrazes.

Alvin made a point to call everyone by their designates, always a strange look crossed his face whenever he said 'Alcatraz-J'.

When I died, would they find out?

More than likely just sick I'd picked up, poor health from my time in Gibraltar.

They'd buy it.

It might not even take Janus to kill me.

I could just as easily get shot, plain as that.

Not dwelling on my thoughts, I trudged through breakfast, idly eating a portion of my tray.

The morning wasn't eventful. What came later...

I'll just get to that.

///

GRA Heavy Security Zone

1300 hours

"Alright, show me your badges."

Kyle and I held up our chromes again, the blue light running up and down them.

Badges got you pretty much anywhere in Settlement 14.

They could get you killed too if you flashed them in the wrong place.

I never realized why I was hated so much until I saw my own do horrible things to the people.

A common thief, just as the one I'd chased down to that alleyway... Shot on sight.

Perhaps with a family to provide for...

I wasn't on patrol or anything, if I was I'd have been torn apart by protestors.

It was about a week in so by then I realized civilian clothes were better armor than bulletproof vests here.

They'd just dragged the body off and if it wasn't just another scene from Gibraltar, replaying in my head until I finally desensitized it and locked it away...

Where was I?

Right...

The chainlink gate opened for not a moment longer than we needed to get in and almost snagged my vest closing.

Oh, I didn't get to why we were here...

I... Sorry, I'm in Antartica right now, I had a... Dream, I guess but with Janus it's all sorts of strange things and a... Thing spoke to me.

It's not real but I think I'm as insane as Garcia.

Kaige... If you're getting this...

I-I'm sorry. About everything.

But one day you'll realize I was right.

And I'm not saying you have to do as I did.

But just... Don't be surprised when they start sending you on suicide missions.

And the new guys, whoever they are, just start dropping like mad.

You're going to do the same as me, and as everyone else did.

Or you're...

...

I'm sorry.

...

We should really just... Focus on that later.

Anyway, I...

...

A moment.

///

Tai

Antartica, Alcatraz Compound

February 19th, 2263

He sets down the device, then thinks better of it and stows it in his pocket.

However much Garcia seems to know he isn't letting on.

He just wants the truth.

He's still not sure why DeSanta wants him dead so badly, what harm someone like him could cause.

After all, even after all that's happened...

Even after he lost count of all those he'd killed...

He's still just Tai from Gibraltar.

///

Tai

Alright, I'm back.

I want you to take this in progression, you'll understand better that way. Like I said, you gotta hear the whole thing.

And then I'll be less of the villain in your eyes.

I-I mean, I'm not doing this just for looks or anything, I...

Anyways...

Why we were there. Right.

Kyle and I were asked to guard DeSanta a little closer than anyone else.

It was abrupt- we'd already made arrangements and received orders to escort as a full squadron.

Something had made her paranoid the night before, I guessed.

I mean, I couldn't blame her. I was feeling pretty bad myself based on just the sight of all those Jinn soldiers walking in...

And just how many more of them were waiting just beyond that treeline?

Countries worth.

I took note of just who she'd called. Not Reyna, but Kyle.

It said a bit about Opera's allies.

In what time I'd had recently I spent most of it with Kyle, doing menial training or just talking.

He wasn't abrasive at all. He was just incredibly distant.

Unlike Reyna I couldn't tell what made him so.

Maybe looking at that stopwatch, I had a glimpse now.

"Tai, Frost? Over here, please."

A man in full armor, even with his tail, motioned us through another gateway behind which an armored van and escort lay dormant.

I shot a look up at Kyle; we were going to see DeSanta here.

He didn't look back, calmly staring ahead.

After a moment the reptilian walked into view, a black fur coat down to her knees.

BMF's...

And as my eyes met Ariya once more the shock almost made me fall into Kyle.

I stumbled and he looked down at me, but I shrugged it off.

As we were ushered in, DeSanta made a slight hand motion I barely caught and one of the soldiers walked up to Kyle, speaking Russian.

Whatever he said was lost through the barrier, but Kyle gave me a nod and followed him to the front of the escort.

Turning back to DeSanta and Ariya, the President gave me a smile and beckoned with her hand.

Sheepishly walking over, my eyes tracked the dust on the concrete the whole time.

"Tai. Good to see you again, a pleasure. You've been informed of why you're here?"

I gave a nod, unsure of what to address her as or how to act.

"Excellent. Ariya, make sure this is Tai we're speaking to?"

With a brisk jerk of the head like a bird more than a nod, Ariya's eyes narrowed.

I tensed up but immediately faltered, that feeling of water running in my head overtaking me.

I felt weighted, and almost collapsed.

So... Icy...

It seemed forever before I was released, about to cry out in pain if I wasn't.

Opera raised her eyebrows, that smile still on her face.

She was confident.

When other people watched her, she felt confident.

"...This is Tai."

Ariya said it resentfully, and I realized her accent had been brought out to the extreme.

Giving a quick glance at her, I again realized just how much was different.

I was used to my version of Ariya, the one we'd collectively created in my head.

But I could see where all those tough bits came from, the girl who could pass as a young boy for her vulpine height, muscular build, lack of extra hair.

And those eyes that would put the fear of god in you...

To see her angry...

After a brief talk we got into the armored van, and looking around it might as well have been a limousine but smaller.

And actually more luxurious...

The driver was completely cut out, what could be said could be said in secrecy.

I sat on the far end, having gotten in last, Ariya across from me and Opera facing the back of the vehicle.

Windows were so tinted it was hard to see...

But we were moving.

Tai. You need to listen. Now.

W-Who... Ariya?

Yes, it's me.

The gray fox stared almost viciously at me across the seat.

Opera has initiated what she calls the Berzerker p... Highly dange...

She was only getting chops of her sentences through and it took her a moment to realize it.

Look it... Coming for you... Squad's going to get kil...

"Ariya, whatever you two are saying, I'm sure it can be said in front of me... Right?"

Snapping out of the trancelike state, we looked back to Opera.

"Apologies. I was simply establishing a mental link should things go wrong... We were running into some trouble."

A raised eyebrow, lax.

"Maybe it's the humidity," Opera said with a grin.

"Are Tomas or Cecelia here as well?"

The spined lizard shook her head.

"They're investigating something in Antartica. But, of course, we can't account for Jinn."

Another brisk nod.

A sigh from the lizard.

"You know, Tai, when I was a child, I was picked on viciously by my peers... My father was a crocodile, my mother a lizard. And hybrids, in those days were unacceptable. Sure, be with another species and we'll keep our sentiments in our homes but children? Scandalous..."

Ariya rolled her eyes as if she'd heard this many times before.

"I could pass for a smaller alligator with a snout defect maybe... But they'd always find out. Even my teachers were cruel to me. Back in that day, my country and yours were controlled by Jinn, as all of Africa was as well."

I'd heard very briefly about that time period, they didn't like to talk about it much.

It was a shame, my teacher said, living under Jinn rule.

It wasn't bad at all, it was just normal but with fewer things in some places and more in others.

But what was a shame was the people had to liberate themselves.

We had no help. And the GRA was all too quick to sweep us back under their control.

Even before DeSanta they were snakes...

"I fought in the Spanish revolution when I was about your age. At first, I was indifferent to the cause, I just kept my head down... But my father was killed when he was ambushed."

We met eyes, and I once more stared into that unbridled, unnatural force of electric blue, arcing all around the slit pupils of a reptilian, capable and terrifying, and-

"My father, Tai, was a Jinn soldier."

It got my attention, to say the least.

It wasn't discrediting or anything but...

The sheer irony.

"What would your father say of your position now?" The soft Israeli accent turned into a growling one through Ariya's muzzle.

"He would be proud... And disappointed. I am glad of his passing, his gift to me... Otherwise I would surely not be where I am now."

"So why join the revolution?" I asked, cautious.

She went back to smiling once more.

"They began to kidnap my people, the infants, and take them to Asia. And train them to be assassins."

Lynx.

That girl in the alleyway, perhaps...

Opera was looking dead into my eyes.

"These assassins are tortured until they begin to laugh at pain. They fear no death. If they fail to perfectly execute their exercises, they will be tortured again. If they cannot under any circumstances complete the exercises... They will be sent to carry out attacks on the civilians."

Opera's smile faded again.

"They tried to take my little sister, and my mother refused. So they killed my mother, and took my sister. I came home to a torched house, save my mother's smoldering corpse... And in my height I had over 100 confirmed kills to my name."

The air chilled and I couldn't tear myself away from her.

"So I'm going to ask you, Tai..."

Mid-sentence I felt my head fill with Ariya's probe, my teeth bared as I tried to resist but it was like trying to close a sponge to fluid...

"Did you, by any means, encounter the Jinn operative hovering around Norway?"

I gave a choking noise.

"He's resisting."

Ariya wouldn't be on my side here, she didn't trust me and even if I did keep my secret it would just go to make me more suspicious...

Oh god, I was actually betraying the GRA, wasn't I...?

All I did was take Jinn's pills, I didn't mean to-

Suddenly the water clenched in my head and I wrenched my head back, hands balling into fists.

"Tai, stop it!"

No, I couldn't... I couldn't be branded a traitor...

Would she see the rebellious thoughts in my head too?

Ariya lanced through me and I cried out, I could feel her sharply withdrawing, like poking your hand into a fire...

"F-fuck..."

"What did you see?"

Their voices were muffled, my ears suddenly clogged.

I lay unmoving, chest rising and falling at a slow rate, slumped in my seat.

Ariya's teeth bared.

"A kabuki mask, a smiling cat..."

"The one from Norway!" Opera exclaimed.

"I-I saw her at the airport, nowhere else!"

I managed to sit back up in my seat, chest still rising and falling slowly.

Opera brought her wrist close to her mouth, some bracer I hadn't seen glowing under her sleeve.

"Intelligence. I want the identity of the Tier-1 Jinn operative present at the September 13th airport attack."

A click.

"One moment ma'am... That would be... 'Lynx'. Anything else?"

"Thank you, I'm fine for now."

Putting down her bracer, Opera looked into my eyes again.

Whatever Ariya had done felt like a gentle breeze compared to the look I just received...

"Everyone around you could end your life right now, Tai. I'm trusting you with mine."

I gave no response, the sudden attack taking its toll on me.

"...I won't let you down."

"I should hope not."

Silence passed until we finally got to our destination, a large building near the back of the settlement.

"What do you expect from this meeting?" Ariya asked.

"We'll surely use Settlement 14 and a few others as bargaining chips. Perhaps all of Thailand. I'm going to see what they propose first, however."

I thought I saw a glimpse of Kyle nearby, and I saw Rochelle walking just out of sight behind a tall fox I assumed was Isaac.

Opera stopped abruptly a few feet away from the car.

She said nothing, just stared ahead.

I looked to Ariya for guidance, she didn't notice me. Apparently this was expected...

None nearby took note either.

"Tai, rejoin your squadron."

...She didn't trust me after all.

"Mrs. DeSanta, I"-

"Get over there before I blow your head off myself."

With no moment more of hesitation, I gave an enthusiastic 'roger' and walked towards Rochelle briskly.

Passing by Kyle, a bit of Russian passed and then what was clearly a protest, but he was shut down as I was. With a confused look he rejoined me.

"Strange people, these ones. They didn't even speak back when I spoke to them."

I gave no response, but my teeth were close to chattering.

As we walked up behind Rochelle, I saw the officials go in with their escorts. We were stationed outside and to the west of the facility, itself a giant circular area.

Kyle and I sunk in barely noticed, sticking close together.

I realized everyone else had on jackets. It had been overcast every day past the first day for hurricanes and whatnot.

I shivered, and I felt the wolf next to me nonchalantly grab me and pull me into his coat.

I didn't say anything either, my feline fur winning me nothing.

Between picking me up and doing this, I felt I was practically a child...

The strangest thing was I'd heard from Jake that Kyle had a history of being remorseless.

I'd seen it for myself in the simulations, he'd bash skulls against the wall and wasn't afraid of anything, not even death.

Well, those were simulations I supposed...

But I'd heard he killed surrendered people, and last time he sparred with Alvin he put him out cold.

But he was... At the end of the day, my bratja.

...

One day I'd be as cold as him.

Once you sink to the depths under the ice, no one can bring you back.

///

Opera

Ceasefire Meeting

1800 hours

She was viciously clicking her pen, a personal one with a silenced click simply because she got so many complaints.

Six hours.

And nothing. Absolutely nothing but bickering.

16 people, 8 of each faction.

On her side Harper, Ariya (posing as an official) and about one person she could trust.

On theirs?

An absolute mockery.

They couldn't get along with each other, so much for their faction...

The problem with their government.

Well, one of many.

The whole meeting however, there was one particularly young panther amongst the table who hadn't spoken.

Opera was sure she had seen him before but he was highly unnerving.

No, she'd seen someone like him in her early days as a politician. This one must be... Choi's son. Yes, Choi was his name.

But he just sat there, grinning as his party fought.

"Sir, I would like to hear from you."

One of the GRA officials spoke amidst the Jinn arguments, directly to Choi.

A smirk.

"What is your name, might I ask?"

No nameplate for Choi, if it was him.

"I go by Gynezis. Call me Gyn if you want."

Genisis? Choi turned around his nametag.

Oh, he was just trying to be special, wasn't he?

Those type didn't last long.

"You have proposals?"

A wider smirk. Opera saw that his face was... Metallic.

Something clicked and she narrowed her eyes.

He saw this and winked at her.

"I'm just here to watch the fun... I'm sorry about my peers, they can never get anything finished."

His fellow representatives said nothing, staring at him.

GRA watched in shock as he leaned back in his chair and put his shoes up on the table.

"But I tell you what, we'll call off the whole war if you publicly admit Glasglow and Anchorage were GRA's doing."

"That is a blatant lie and we would never"-

"This room isn't bugged unless you bugged it, there's full transparency here."

"...We aren't that stupid... Choi," she tried.

A flinch in his face, only for a split second.

But he just started grinning.

"I remember you, DeSanta. Feisty little one, I could tell you were going to be good for something. But now?" He tilted his head, going back to a slight smirk.

"I'm disappointed. I wanted your competition. I wanted someone new to shatter. But you?" Gynezis gave a shrug. "It's been a landslide for us in the middle east. And you've accomplished nothing here, either."

"Are we not in GRA territory as we speak?"

It took him a moment, but in that moment the world began to fragment.

The cracks spread to all corners of the earth, Thailand in the center of it.

"Not anymore."

There was an explosion.

///

Tai

I saw a little red dot on her back.

Curious.

I didn't know what that entailed. Yet.

A loud bang.

Everything began to slow down, until nothing moved at all.

It was like moving through water but on land, if the water was 10 times thicker.

And I was strangely calm.

The bullet was moving incredibly slow as well, I turned to look at the shooter.

He wasn't a Jinn regular but I was sure he'd picked his targets with bias.

Either that or he was just looking for us all to rip our guns and start killing each other.

Dressed in rags, a light brown, hooded with only his canine muzzle coming from the shadow of his face.

I was surprised, for a moment the bullet almost bridged the gap halfway.

Time was speeding up.

My calm went away.

I had to act, and now.

A sudden blip of speed again, I began moving... I didn't know where I was going.

As the bullet came within a yard of contact I was able to see every bit of it.

Black, and blunt tipped for the low-power rifle that shot it. Jinn's making.

The red ring on it meaning it was...

Incendiary.

I didn't know how I came by this knowledge.

I just knew I couldn't let this bullet come by Reyna.

As the strange calm entered me again, I nonchalantly stepped in between the two deadly weapons.

Time slowly ramped up again.

The calm wore off almost instantly and I realized...

I was going to die.

///

Kyle

Designated Meeting Zone

As the bullet pierced Tai's body Reyna whipped around, everything seemed to happen so slowly.

Kyle's sidearm was out of his holster and he fired the first bullet.

It hit the sniper square between the legs.

Not a second later at least 50 guns all discharged at once and he got low to the ground, gritting his teeth and looking over at Tai.

Miraculously, the cat was still standing.

He'd staggered backwards to a wall and was leaning against it, convulsing.

Kyle watched in horror as the cat's eyes met his and he jerked violently.

A short gout of flame emitted from Tai's mouth, the wolf watching in confusion and shock.

It made the firefight stop for a moment, sudden illumination and burst making everyone jump.

Instincts over judgement, Kyle sprinted across the mass of soldiers dropping and getting dropped, weaving through their ranks until he got halfway to Tai.

A fennec caught the cat as he fell and ripped off his jacket, pressing it to Tai's wound.

"MEDIC! I NEED A FUCKING MEDIC!"

He began to drag the cat to safety but Kyle saw another red dot square between his ears.

A sickening crack and a wet snap.

Before Kyle could cry out a bullet capped him on the top of the head, traveling through his body.

Kyle didn't look at the fennec as he grabbed Tai and began to exfil.

Looking back, all hell had broken loose.

GRA on Jinn.

Rebels on GRA.

Jinn on Jinn.

Looking down at the limp form in his hands, Tai's eyes and mouth were wide open in shock, his head hanging off Kyle's powerful arms.

Dead or not, Kyle had to get him out...

///

Heheheheheheh

This is Tai's actual death.

...

In the Alcatraz 'pilot'

You guys know I wouldn't actually do it here

And when I say here I mean no promises

Strange to see how much has differed from what I had originally, where death was commonplace as I said it was and my characters dropped left and right.

Originally Tai was just one in a plethora of main characters as well, so killing him off surprise right here wasn't worth much.

It sounds so good when you make characters a big threat and actually capitalize on it by having them kill other characters rather than saying they will but in the end...

I decided to present a pantheon of characters and make them actually worth something instead going omaha beach

Nyways sorry for the wait. Big chapter, big stuff, and it's been a long week.

It was actually very hard for me to write this chapter. Going into it I had only Tai meeting the girl in the alley and the ending of it.

I had to shift a few events on the timeline to this chapter as well.

A little hard for me to write but this stands as Alcatraz's longest chapter thus far

Which of course made it doubly as hard

In addition to all of this life dealt me a shit hand.

For the past 3 weeks, actually. Probably the worst so far.

I'm not going to make a journal on it bitching on the internet is just a cry for attention and I think in the end talking helps but that's just too human and I need to pull myself away from that

Stay frosty

djynn