Chapter 11: The StarRock Project

            Antarctica... now there's one place I thought I'd never go, Jack thought to himself. Well, I might as well get used to the cold.

            He breathed on his hands to warm them. Liberty City was freezing in the winter, but he was going to leave for Antarctica soon anyway. A lady to his right rang a bell, asking for donations to the Red Cross. Jack took out 5 dollars and put it into the jar.

            "Thank you, young man." the elderly lady said. She shivered in the freezing cold, continuing to ring the bell.

            "You should go inside the church," Jack said when he saw her predicament, "It's too cold out here."

            "Bless you," she said, "But I'll be just fine. You should go in now. Confessions are almost over."

            Jack hadn't intended to go to the church. Actually, he hadn't been to a church in years. "Oh, no, no, he said, I was just passing by."

            "Not Catholic?" she asked.

            "I..."Jack paused. He actually was a Catholic once a long time ago. "Yes, I am, but..."

            "Then why not go to Confessions?" she stopped ringing the bell.

            "I'm not much of a practicing Catholic." Jack responded.

            "Oh, that doesnt matter," she smiled, "God forgives anyone. And he forgives anything."

            How about mass murder? Jack thought. "Actually, I dont have the time right now."

            "When was the last time you went to Confessions?" she persisted.

            "Well..." Jack thought, "When I was a boy, I think."

            "And you dont think you've done anything sinful between then and now?" she asked.

            "Yes..." Images of guns blazing and the men he killed flashed through his mind. "...of course."

            "The door is wide open," she said, "All you need to do is step in." She smiled, turned away, and began to ring the bell, asking for donations again.

            Jack really wasn't doing anything at the moment anyway. He had just finished a meeting with Tommy, discussing their upcoming trip to Antarctica for the Christmas holiday. It was anything but a holiday vacation, however. The Alliance owned a research facility in a remote area in the Antarctic, developing weapons and technology, hand-in-hand with the black ops divisions of the US government.

            Among other projects, they were researching regeneration sciences, in which people who were injured or handicapped would be regenerated to full health within weeks.

            Vince was shipped to the facility shortly after Maria and him escaped from the Cochrane Dam months before. Without incident, Maria managed to get Vince to a nearby hospital, where he remained in critical condition. In the middle of that night, Alliance operatives smuggled Vince out of the hospital, and onto a plane going to Antarctica.

            Tommy told Jack that Vince was doing very well, and would be fully recovered by next week. It had only been three months, and the nearly dead Vince Fiorentino was now healthier than he had ever been.

            Tommy considered Jack a prime member of the Alliance, as did the other members, especially Cortez. They all praised Jack for single-handedly taking down the core of the Columbian Cartel in Liberty City. At first, Tommy was furious, because the police became even nosier after Jack's messy operation at the Dam. But Ray Machowski worked extra hard to keep the police away from uncovering the Alliance. In the end, the Columbian Cartel was blamed for everything. It even reached national news.

             The Alliance no longer met together as a whole in Liberty, but they would all meet in Antarctica, where they could both discuss their agendas and overlook the facility projects. Tommy placed Jack as a bodyguard for Donald Love on the trip. Love and the Kasen family would travel in the same jumbo jet.

            That meeting with Tommy ended a half-hour ago. Now Jack was just roaming the streets of Liberty, about to shop for some things he would need for the trip. Now he found himself walking into St. Michael the Archangel's Roman Catholic Church.

            What am I doing... Jack thought to himself, as he walked along, looking at all the religious statues and pictures.

            "Father Patrick is ready." An usher said to Jack.

            Jack nodded, and walked over to the Confessional box the man pointed to. Some kind of reverent music played quietly in the background. He hesitantly opened the door and sat down. He remembered he still had his gun under his left armpit strap. Great, I brought a gun to church.

            Good afternoon, a voice came from the other side of the screen. It was very dark inside, and Jack could only faintly see the priest's face. The priest wasnt even looking at his direction. He felt more comfortable.

            "Uh... hi..." Jack said.

            The priest went on to recite lines that began the Confession. They triggered long lost memories from his childhood.

            "Now, what is it you want to tell me?" Fr. Patrick said.

            "Well I..." Jack stumbled with words, "I wasnt really intending on coming here... The lady in the front... I didn't have anytime to prepare anything, but..."

            "Thats fine," Fr. Patrick said. "We can just talk then."

            "Um... alright." Jack said, still unsure of what exactly he was doing.

            "You sound like you havent been to a Confession in a while." Fr. Patrick said, in the same conversation voice he was using.

            Jack was feeling a little more comfortable, with the priest's welcoming tone, "Well, actually, I havent been to one of these Confessions since I was about 12."

            "What happened when you were 12?" the priest asked.

            "It was for Confirmation. They required that we would go to Confessions right before the Confirmation Mass." Jack answered.

            "Ah, so you came from a religious family?" the priest asked.

            Jack paused, as memories of his family came to him, "My mother..." Jack said, "... she raised me and my brother to be good Catholics... my dad died in the service when I was 8 and my brother was 14... He was a hero... My mom remarried a few months before my Confirmation... then..." the empty darkness of the Confessional box was racing with images of the past. Jack began to feel tears welling up and his voice quivered. "My mom and my step-dad were killed in a store robbery in Carser City. Jack stopped, and silently let the tears come. He hadn't cried about this in many years. Then again, he hadnt told too many people about his past.

            "I'm so sorry to hear that, son." Fr. Patrick compassionately said. "It's okay to revisit this. It's just you, me, and God right now."

            So Jack sniffed and continued on. He didnt really know why he was telling all this to the priest, but it felt relieving, in a way. The past he kept bottled up inside for so long was finally coming out. The past had a newness to it, being said aloud. "They were in Carser for some kind of business meeting and they stopped by a supermarket on the way home.

           "A local gang decided to rob that store while they were inside. My step-dad he tried to stop them... but..." Jack sniffed and took a deep breath, "they ended up shooting him and... my mom" Jack leaned over and put his head in his hands. "Me and my brother went to live with our grandmother.

            "But, my brother wanted revenge. He ran away to Carser City and joined a gang called the Skulls. Many of his friends in high school who dropped out had joined. They promised my brother Gary that they would personally deal with our mom's murderers.

            "Surely enough they did. Gary remained with the gang for years. My grandmother felt he had wasted his life. She died of a heart attack when I was about 16. Gary offered me haven in Carser.

            "In Carser City, I left my entire past behind. It was all erased. I was a Skull for a year, until the police found Gary and me. They put him in jail for grand theft auto and assault... He'll be out in a few years, I think...

            "For me, they sent me to a juvenile detention center for 3 months, until I was 18. When I left, I had nothing so, I decided to join the US Army like my dad... I immediately excelled as a recruit, and even signed up for the Ranger tests somehow I passed.

            "It was the most brutal few years of my life, but it taught me some discipline I had lost after joining the Skulls. I stayed in the service for years, and I even had real combat time but I don't think I can get into that..." Memories of a desert battle raged through his mind. The image of Sergeant Slate dying in his arms flashed before his eyes.

            "Anyway, things were looking up, and they were about to recruit me to Sergeant. I was about to make a living as a soldier but I dont know... something happened. I looked at the monotony of the military, and I realized I had lost my identity as a person. I wanted to find out who I was. So I left the service and moved here to Liberty. I dont know what made me do it, but I felt so restless in the Army

            "Actually, I felt restless since my mom had died. There was something about my life that I was missing. It must have been at that exact moment, that God took away my normal life and wanted me to make my own but nothing works I try to be normal all I want, but I find that I'm addicted to a daring lifestyle and then I find, that nothing satisfies me I kindve feel like Im running in place."

            "Well," the priest finally responded, "Perhaps you might want to slow down your life. Pursue a normal lifestyle. What do you do now?"

            "Well..." Jack said hesitantly, "Since this is Confession... I'm... well, I've... killed people..."

            The priest didn't respond this time, but he seemed to be thinking about the right thing to say, "Your mom passed away shortly after your Confirmation, right?"

            "Yes." Jack answered.

            "And you lost contact with God since?" Fr. Patrick asked.

            "Well..." Jack thought, "I think that was the reason I stopped going to church. For a while I was mad with God. But, even though I didnt hold it against him anymore, I just didnt care for religion anymore. It doesnt make sense for me... Oh, I'm sorry,... I didnt mean... I just meant..."

            "No, no," Fr. Patrick said, "You dont have to apologize about that. Are you familiar with the Bible?"

             "Yes," Jack said, "Actually, I went to a Catholic grade school."

            "So you know about all the stories about God talking to Abraham and Moses and the others?"

            "Yes, I do." Jack answered.

            "Well," Fr. Patrick continued, "If you look at the whole picture of the Bible, its God trying to communicate with man. Even in the story of Adam and Eve, God's the one looking for them while they're hiding. God kept trying to talk to the human race through the Jewish people, but we kept running from him.

            "So," Jack asked, "'You're saying he let my mom be killed because he's trying to talk to me?"

            "No," Fr. Patrick said, "He let that happen, but the trick to life is that God let us loose on this planet to live by ourselves. God didn't kill your mother, the gang members did."

            Jack asked, "So God can't do anything about things?"

            "He can," Fr. Patrick responded, "but only if were open and have faith. Most of the time, he doesn't do what we ask, but if were open to his Will, it always turns out for the better. When you close yourself or run from his Will, then we are on our own."

            "So what are you saying?" Jack was now confused, but very interested.

            Fr. Patrick explained, "I'm saying that you need to stop running. There is nothing on this planet that can cure a man's restlessness in life. God is the light, and running in the dark by yourself will get you nowhere. St. Paul said, 'My heart is restless until it rests in you, Lord.' Try and return to God. Then see what happens. If you find that its hard to find him, then simply stop looking and be open.

            "No man can find God. It's just impossible. God finds mankind. And if youre wondering why God only calls a certain group of people, then my answer is that he calls everyone. Even those who fell from their faith. He keeps calling all of us, especially the ones who are astray. Redemption is a free and everlasting well.

            "Just be open to God. Dont shut him out, and he'll find you. Liberty City is an ocean of crime. If you feel like youre drowning in it, then God will pull you out. Salvation. The act of salvaging lost souls."

            It all made sense to Jack, and he smiled when he figured it all out. "So what do I have to do now?"

            "Well, anything else you want to confess?" the priest asked.

            "Maybe next time," Jack said. "When I'm more prepared."

            "Well," Fr. Patrick said, "All you have to do now is go out into the world with open eyes and open ears. Trust me, if you stop running and look around, youll see the light."

            "I'll see the light..." Jack repeated softly.

            The priest concluded the Confession with some prayers, and Jack walked out of the Confessional feeling refreshed. He walked out to the cold streets, and found the lady still ringing her bell. He thought about being open to God. What if he hadnt taken her advice to go into the church? He never would have learned about this. All because he donated money. I guess God thought those 5 dollars were a sign I'm still worth saving.

            Jack went to a sporting store, where he bought clothes and gear specifically designed for freezing weather. On the way back to Avery Towers, Jack stopped at a clothing store, and bought a nice, thick lady's coat. The woman waving the bell was still there. He put the coat around her, and said it was an early Christmas gift.

            Silver bells, its Christmas time in the city... Soon it will be Christmas day. The song played in the streets as Jack walked back to Avery Towers.

            The plane left for Antarctica the next day. By then, Jack forgot about his conversation with the priest and being open to God. His main priority now was security for Donald Love. The jumbo jet was amazing. The crew aboard compared it to Air Force One. Donald Love and the Kasen family were among the richest business owners in the world. They could afford a top-notch flight like this.

            Jack spent most of the time sitting in his seat reviewing his briefing papers. He tried to absorb as much information as possible about the facility, in case any incident would occur there. Across from his seat and facing him was Reiko Kojima, who was a bodyguard for Asuka Kasen. Both barely talked during the trip, but exchanged awkward glances with each other when looking up from their papers.

            She was beautiful, but Jack had the willpower not to stare. They were both professionals, and she seemed like the type that liked to keep to herself. In fact Jack, Vince, and Reiko were all very similar. Aside from the fact that he would have nothing worth saying to her, he didn't say anything during the whole trip.

            They landed on an icy airstrip in a clear morning sky. The landscape was beautiful, but the group of about 30 shivered as they boarded snowmobiles that would bring them to the facility. It took long, tedious hours to arrive at the facility, and luckily, it never snowed. By the time they reached there, however, the clouds began to accumulate.

            Jack wore a thick fur coat and had computerized goggles on. He carried a heavy M5 carbine the whole way to the facility, while looking for potential danger. He sat close to Donald Love, who was enjoying the Antarctic experience.

            "Don't you love this view?" he yelled over the snowmobiles motor.

The facility looked like a very small Eskimo village. There were 7 or 8 small igloos, and a lot of satellites. Jack knew the real facility was hidden underneath the snow, and the igloos were only the entranceway in. The group cautiously entered the facility, and was greeted with armed Alliance guards.

"What took you guys?" Tommy came laughing from behind a glass door. "Geez, we were gonna start without you. Oh, and remember to shake the snow of your boots when you get in."

Behind the glass door was a massive lab, where dozens of scientists were running around working. They all looked up and stopped when they saw the group walk in.

"Get yourselves cleaned up," Tommy said, "we'll start in an hour. Don't touch anything!"

            Jack was escorted to a room beside Love's room. Jack changed his clothes, and put on military pants and a shirt. It was very temperate in the facility. He put on a light bulletproof vest under his shirt, and armed himself with a pistol, and loaded three clips into his belt. He hoped he wouldn't have to use them while he was here.

            The whole group came back together in the main lab, and Tommy checked to see if everyone was there, "Alright, the whole gang's here. Take it away, Doc."

            The director of the facility, Dr. Doak, greeted them, "Good morning, or whatever it is now, the doctor chuckled geekily, We dont really have a concept of time down here. So Tommy wants me to show you how some of our major projects are coming along. If you'll all just follow me, Ill give you a tour of the facility."

            They followed him through a door that led them into a narrow hallway, with windows along each side.

            "Let's start the conveyor belt here," the doctor pressed a button on a device he was holding, and the floor started to move slowly. Our first area is the mechanics labs. On your left and your right, you'll see our state-of-the-art robotic machines being developed.

            "To your left, you can see the production of our combat androids. These human-like robots are controlled remotely, and can offer infantry battle without the cost of human life."

            Jack viewed the robots with awe. They came in all shapes and sizes, and one particular android looked like the robot from The Terminator movies.

            "To your right, were working on making the fastest and most powerful computers ever known to man. The large one all those guys are working on right now is M.A.G.U.S., the most powerful computer of all time. And its sitting right there! Isn't this great?"

            "Okay, okay, doc," Tommy said, "Keep your pants on."

            "Hehe," the doctor pushed his glasses up, "Sorry. Anyway, to your left were working on new weapons models. That one right there is the laser musket. First of its kind. Kinda like something out of Star Wars. Hey, uh, Jim? the doctor said through his handheld device, Can you show us a demonstration?"

            At that, a scientist behind the glass picked up the large gun, and fired at a dummy that was set there. A short humming sound came with a bright white stream of light that came from the gun. It lasted for only a moment, but the dummy now had a hole in its chest.

            "Thanks, Jim," the doctor said, "Oh, and if you were wondering, the dummy was made of pure titanium. The next weapon is the battle sword. Well, its not really a sword, its really just a stick, but just watch."

            A scientist turned on the stick, and brought it to a dummy. The stick emitted electric volts that made the dummy shake.

            "We filled the dummy with organic material for that effect. But wait! There's more! Get out the androids!"

            At that, two androids came out, carrying pistols aimed at the scientist.

            "Don't worry, they're not loaded." The doctor assured the group. "Okay, do it!"

            The scientist pointed in the stick in the android's direction, then pulled it away. The guns flew out of the androids hands.

            "Magnetic technology. And the guns don't even have to be metal. You can adjust the stick to magnetically pull any object from an enemy, or even the enemy himself. Do it!"

            The scientist pointed the stick at one android and the robot flew back into the padded wall.

            "And the other thing!"

            The standing android suddenly started walking toward the scientist, moving its arms. The scientist pointed the stick at it, and suddenly, the android collapsed.

            Electromagnetic waves. Trust me, it'll come in handy when the robots take over the earth and you know they will! And..."

            "Shut up." Tommy said, "Just show us the rest."

            The scientist went on about the other projects in the mechanics labs. He showed them a new magnetic battle suit that was light, completely resistant to bullets, and could fly in a metal environment. Another one looked like a glass box that went around the body that could totally camouflage a soldier, no matter what his surroundings were. The scientist showed them new weapons, new gadgets, and new gear. All of it was interesting to the Alliance members.

            They reached the bioengineering labs, where the scientists were usually sitting at their computers.

            These are the bioengineering laboratories. Here we research and develop genetic enhancements to create the perfect people. The people in those tanks are the recipients of the experiment.

            About 20 men were floating in vertical tanks filled with water. They had a tube and many wires connected to them. To Jack's amazement, he saw Vince in one. Vince, like the others, seemed to be sleeping, but his body was in perfect shape. It seemed as if nothing had happened to him. No scars on his face or body. There was another person Jack thought he recognized, but the conveyorbelt kept moving.

            "You probably recognize most of them," the doctor said, but most of them were close to dying when you sent them to us. And here they are now! Brand-spanking good as new! Theyve been enhanced with the finest of genetic therapy, so basically they're the most able human beings on the planet." The doctor proudly smiled at his achievements. "You dont wanna mess with these guys when they're out.

            "And in other projects, we have the capability to infuse humans with animal-like instincts. For example," a TV monitor came on, "That person you see there in the tape is jumping around like a monkey. The next guy has gills. And yes, the next guy has wings. Kinda've disgusting, if you ask me, though.

            "The next you'll really like. Do it, Gil!"

            An experiment subject stood there with his shirt off. Gil brought a blade to his chest and cut it. Immediately, the wound healed itself.

            "Cool, huh?" the doctor was almost jumping with joy.

            Donald Love, the Kasens, and Cortez seemed to be expressing complete satisfaction with the success of their investments. Tommy instead yearned to play with the weapons and technology they created.

            Doctor Doak went through more bioengineering projects, showing his scientific mastery over the design of creatures. With this flexibility of the genetic makeup of humans and the latest technology, the Alliance would be unstoppable. They could probably even wage war on other countries if they wanted, Jack thought.

            "And now we come to the end of that little tour." Doak said. "But I think you'll all appreciate this demonstration we have prepared."

            He led the group into a small, dark control room. It had a large window that overlooked a gigantic white dome room that was empty and bright.

            "This is the Danger Room," Doak chuckled, "Any of you familiar with the X-Men because, y'know... Danger Room?..."

            All looked impatiently at him.

            "Uh... well anyway," he nervously continued and pressed button on the control panel. "You're about to see a demonstration by our finest subject here in the facility. You're probably all familiar with him... Ladies and gentlemen... Hyaku Kasen."

            Jack knew who Hyaku Kasen was. He was Asuka and Kenji's brother and Hideo's son. He was reportedly killed in a gunfight in Japan, but secretly regenerated to life here in the facility. He was the main focus of the StarRock Project. His family made sure of that. As a door slid open in the Danger Room, Jack saw a look on Reiko's face that made him curious. She had a look of unusual joy.

            Jack brought his attention back to the Danger Room. He came closer to the glass and beheld Hyaku. Hyaku stood there emotionless and walked into the center of the room with a black bodysuit on. He looked normal enough.

            "Okay, start the program," Dr. Doak excitedly said.

            At that, dozens of doors opened up all around the large room. Jack estimated about 50 androids marched in with guns pointed at Hyaku. Hyaku stood there emotionless.

            "The guns... are they loaded?" Hideo asked Doak with concern.

            "They sure are..." Doak said.

            The androids circled around Hyaku and came to a stop, with their guns fixed on him.

            "Fire." Doak said.

            Immediately, the androids did just that. The Alliance members were confused as to what kind of demonstration it would be to see Hyaku filled with thousands of bullets. Jack thought it was some kind of regeneration demonstration. He expected to see Hyaku there dead, then bringing himself back together. Something like that, he thought.

            Then he saw it. Hyaku wasn't in the middle of the androids anymore. The bullets from the androids guns were ripping up each other. Hyaku was in the air, finishing a ridiculously high back flip. He landed on the machine gun of one android and disarmed the other ones around him light the speed of light. In one second, the blur that was Hyaku destroyed every android near him with his bare hands.

            "Oh my God..." Tommy said in disbelief.

            Jack had never seen Tommy surprised by anything. It felt like watching a movie. By the time the androids retargeted Hyaku, he kicked several androids in all directions, knocking down many other androids. He was stronger than any human should be. It was unreal. Those androids were made of heavy metal. Hyaku kicked them around like plastic.

            Some androids remained, and began to shoot at Hyaku. In a blur, he ran at a nearby android, and jumped over him with incredible twists and flips. He tackled the android from behind and held the androids shooting arm. He fell down with the robot while using its arm to shoot the others. The force of the tackle was so strong the android slid along the ground with Hyaku on top of it.

            Immediately after, he jumped up in the air, half a second before bullets hit the android he was on. When he hit the ground, Jack couldnt tell what he did next, but somehow he end up in the middle of the last group of androids.

            There were about 12 of them in a small circle, and Hyaku was in the middle. He had taken out the two pistols he had in his belt. He opened his arms out and began to shoot the two pistols crazily. It looked like he had 10 arms the way he moved them so quickly. He shot the two pistols as if it were a martial arts form.

            The androids were shooting at him, but he moved so quickly it seemed like bullets were passing through him. The shooting stopped, and Hyaku stood there with his arms crossed, pistols in hand. He dropped the guns, and almost simultaneously, the androids around him fell to pieces. He stood there alone, not even breathing hard, in a heap of smoking metal.

            Doak sighed. "It cost a lot of money to put that together. I hope you enjoyed it." He smiled, "I sure did."

            "What is he?" Donald Love asked.

            "A combination of all our technologies," Doak said. "We've implanted a tiny biological computer chip in his mind. He's easily the smartest human alive, a human M.A.G.U.S. We also planted a biological engine in his chest, surpassing any kind of human endurance. We've genetically altered him to be 100 times stronger, faster, and more agile than any normal human. We've trained him in the art of new age fighting. You could put him on a battlefield and he'd probably wipe out half a nation's army himself."

            "Jesus..." Tommy said.

            "The demonstration's not over yet," Doak went back to the computer, We need to show you my favorite part.

            He pressed some buttons and every piece of metal on the ground stuck to the wall. Hyaku dodged any parts that flew at him so fast that it didn't even seem like he moved. It was as if the metal passed through him. It reminded Jack of some kind of Japanese fighting cartoon. Hyaku was unbelievable.

            The metal fell to the ground when Doak pressed another button.  A door opened and a thinner robot came out.

            "Meet Fighter Bot Alpha, model 77." There was a sparkle in Doak's eye when he said that, "He's the baby of the guys in the robotics department. The most advanced fighting robot ever. We use the FBAs to train the StarRock soldiers in fighting. We just finished model 77, and you're about to see the first fight between Hyaku and it."

            77 had two swords in its hand, and suddenly threw one at Hyaku. Hyaku casually raised his arm and perfectly caught it by the handle. He brought it back in a type of samurai stance, as 77 started walking toward him from across the large room.

            Hyaku and 77 suddenly ran at each other. When they hit, it was a blur of swords clashing. In about two seconds, Hyaku ended up behind 77. He wasn't even looking at him. 77 sparked and fell to the ground. Hyaku had destroyed it in that little time.

            "Wait... that wasn't supposed to happen..." Doak said, "He never beat any of them that quickly... 77 was supposed to be the best... um..." He fumbled nervously for the microphone, "Bill! Release every 77 we have!"

            "What?" Jack heard a voice answer.

            "Just do it!" Doak yelled.

            Immediately a door opened and more 77s began to come through with swords. After about a minute, about 20 77s stood there, facing Hyaku. They readied themselves to fight him, and Hyaku gave a sudden haunting look to the window where everyone was watching.

            He turned back to the 77s and charged. He yelled this time, and the sound of metal hitting metal was heard abruptly. The blur of Hyaku had passed through all of the 77s and they all fell apart in a couple seconds. Again, he stood there, not facing them, as they all collapsed to the ground, on top of each other.

            Dr. Doak was angry now, "Why is he so strong now?" he said to himself, "This never happened before..." He pressed a few buttons on a computer, and looked at Hyaku with fear in his eyes.

            "Doc, whats going on?" Tommy said.

            "Nothing, nothing, everything is fine." Doak said.

            After that, another door opened, and a man came out, wearing the same thing as Hyaku.

            "This is Damien, the another StarRock soldier. They should just be about the same level of fighting. So youll have a show here, I promise." He laughed nervously.

            Damien had his own sword, and Hyaku had to pick one up from a destroyed 77. They circled each other for a few seconds, and then Hyaku yelled as he lunged at Damien. Damien jumped up in the air in a forward flip over Hyaku. While in mid-air, their swords clashed numerous times. He landed behind Hyaku, and Hyaku continued to fight him behind his back.

            Hyaku turned around and they fought at a faster pace. The sound of the swords hitting sounded like a helicopter minigun going off. Hyaku was pushing Damien into the wall. When Damien was up against the wall he kicked off it, high into the air.

            "Incredible..." Donald Love said.

            Damien was ridiculously high in the air, when Hyaku kicked off the wall too. For a few seconds, they fought airborne. Hyaku had more momentum, and was upside down as he continued to fight.

            Damien landed, and did a ground sweep with his sword as Hyaku landed on one hand. He pushed himself back up a millisecond before the sword would have chopped his hand off. He brought the sword down hard on Damien, who blocked it.

            The force of that shattered their swords, and they threw them away. Hyaku ran at him with a hurricane kick. Damien blocked it with his hands, and the two of them became locked in a lightning fast punching and blocking battle. Hyaku continued to push Damien back with repeated punches that Damien blocked. Jack couldn't even see their arms anymore. They were just a blur of color.

            Finally, Hyaku landed a blow to Damiens head that wasnt noticeable until the Alliance members realized the explosion of blood everywhere. Hyaku had knocked Damiens head off so powerfully that there wasnt a head to be found. It was blood everywhere, and it shot up like a fountain from the neck as the body fell to its knees and collapsed.

            Hyaku stood there, with his hand in the same punch position. He retook his formal stance and awaited further orders. Blood was all over his face and body, but he totally disregarded it. He still wasn't breathing heavily.

            Every member of the Alliance stood there speechless. Even Dr. Doak couldnt believe what he just saw.

            "I dont know about you guys, but I dont like the idea of having glass being the only thing keeping us safe from Mr. Invincible." Tommy said.

            "He's... not invincible," Dr. Doak said passively.

            "Not invincible" Tommy sarcastically said, "You're right, I'm pretty sure he's prone to getting a nuclear bomb dropped on him. But since I don't have one on me right now, so whats keeping this guy from killing us all right now?"

            "He's my son," Hideo said defensively. "And he is alive... that's all that matters." Hideo walked away from the control room with his bodyguards.

            Dr. Doak spoke up, You can all go to your rooms now. Well show you the rest of the progress tomorrow. Besides, its Christmas tomorrow. I hope you like your Christmas gifts. He just kept staring at Hyaku with disbelief.

            "Something doesnt smell right," Tommy quietly said to Jack as he left.

            Jack brought up his M5 and escorted Donald Love to his room. He turned around quickly to catch a glimpse of Hyaku still standing there. Reiko had a look on her face that concerned Jack. He would talk to her later.

            Later came, and Jack was walking around the facility. He asked Dr. Doak where he could find Vince, and he was brought to a room where many StarRock soldiers were within a liquid tank, hanging from life support tubes. Reiko stood with her hand against the tank the Hyaku was in.

            "Reiko," Jack said.

            "Yeah," she quietly replied.

            "Whats wrong?" Jack asked.

            "Nothing," she said.

            "What is it about Hyaku?" Jack asked, "Was there something between you two before?"

            "He..." she said, "He is my fiancée. He was killed before we were able to marry. I havent seen him since... Please, I just need to be alone with him."

            "I understand." Jack said. He left with Dr. Doak and proceeded to the area where Vince was held.

            Jack put his hand to the glass casing of Vince's tank. "Can he hear me?" He asked Dr. Doak.

            "Yes, I think he's awake, but he can't respond during regeneration." Dr. Doak responded. "But he did tell me to tell you in particular something before you arrived. I almost forgot... He said 'thank you for saving my life.'"

            Jack looked up at Vince and said 'your welcome.' It seemed everything was okay now. The Alliance had the technology to maintain dominance, and Jack was a central member to it already. Vince was fine, and Maria was safe in Liberty under the protection of Toni Cipriani, the new Italian mob boss. Jack could finally enjoy some peace and closure.

            "Jack?" Doak said, looking at his watch.

            "Yeah?"

            "It's 12:00 AM." Doak said with a smile. "Merry Christmas."

            "Merry Christmas"

            Weeks after the Alliance had left, Jack was called into Donald Love's office in Liberty.

            "Donald, you called?" Jack asked.

            "Jack, Tommy told all of the Alliance members to look at this satellite feed that came in a couple hours ago from Antractica." Donald said.

            "What is it?"

            "I dont know," Donald said, "I havent seen it myself either. Here we go."

            He pointed to a large screen on his wall. It showed the overhead picture of the facility from Antarctica. It was destroyed.

            The two of them watched in disbelief.

Tommy came in on a speaker. "You guys watching? That's what happened to the facility last night. We still dont know what happened. All we have are these."

They showed pictures of about 12 StarRock supersoldiers leaving the facility as it burned.

"Check this out." Tommy said.

The pictures zoomed in on two particular StarRock soldiers. One was Hyaku. The other was James Vercetti, Tommy's cousin, the bodyguard who died in Jack's arms more than a year ago during the Triad attack on Maria.

"James?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Tommy said, "You didn't see him when we went down there? We put him into the experiment when our guys picked him up when you left the warehouse that night. I thought I told you this before."

"No, I never knew about that."

"Doesn't matter anymore," Tommy said, "We've got issues here. Big ones."

"The entire project was destroyed?" Donald asked.

"Not everything was destroyed." Tommy continued. "Some people are still alive, including Vince. We hear he tried stopping them, but right now the rogues are in the air, headed toward South America The bottom line is Hyaku and his boys are out loose somewhere in this world. God knows what they plan to do

"God help us..." Donald said.