Chapter 16: Showdown

            Jack put the jetpack into full thrust, setting him shooting down the streets of Liberty City. He carried the battle sword with him, to deflect any incoming bullets or shrapnel. The wind pounded at his face and the battle visor on his helmet began to read the several aerial units he was approaching.

            "Jack, Tanner," Doak said through the intercom from back at the Kasen Corp. building, "You're catching up to a group of 7 Army helicopters chasing Hyaku. Careful, try not to get in their way."

            "Right," Tanner said, speeding up to fly beside Jack.

            Jack and Tanner flew closer and closer to the helicopter formation, but struggled to keep up with their sharp turns around buildings. Then, Jack noticed on his visor that aerial units were behind him.

            "This is the U.S. Army," Jack and Tanner heard on their radio frequency, "Surrender now."

            "This is Detective Richard Tanner," Tanner said, as he and Jack ignored the helicopters behind them and continued to pursue Hyaku, "The two of us are in pursuit of the enemy. Do not fire. Repeat, do not fire on us. We're here to help."

            Seconds later, the helicopters did fire, but Jack was ready with him battle sword. He pointed it behind them and he watched as the large caliber bullets from the helicopter went around them. Several missiles were even fired, but none could come close.

            "Jack!" Look out! Tanner yelled.

            Jack looked forward to see Hyaku simply floating in mid-air a few blocks down. Jack and Tanner gave each other a look and split up. They each turned different corners, but the helicopters pursuing them just went past and went towards Hyaku. Jack and Tanner came back to the same spot and watched as all the helicopters that closed in on Hyaku were decimated.

            Hyaku used his battle sword to magnetically throw helicopters into the buildings and the city streets. The Army had set up an ambush there. Tanks and infantry transports began to roll in. Army troops appeared on the building rooftops and all fired on Hyaku. It was quite a spectacle. The spot where Hyaku had been floating soon became a giant cloud of explosions.

            The Army kept firing into the cloud, but suddenly the buildings started to collapse, and Hyaku was seen flying through each of the buildings windows, destroying each building from within, causing the entire city block to crumble. The falling buildings crushed everything on the street. Jack and Tanner flew up quickly, but watched as the entire Army battalion was destroyed in an instant.

"He's getting away," Doak said through Jack's earpiece.

            Jack and Tanner immediately followed Hyaku high above Liberty City through the clear night sky. Tanner began to fire an Uzi at Hyaku, but Hyaku used his battle sword to deflect the gunfire. Hyaku turned to aim his battle sword at Tanner, but Jack used his battle sword on Hyaku first.

            Hyaku spun out of control until he aimed his battle sword at Jack. Jack immediately lost all computer data on his battle visor and lost control of his jetpack. The two of them began a series of exchanging magnetic pulses to pointlessly throw each other around the empty twilight over Liberty City.

            Tanner saw this as an advantage. As long as both Jack and Hyaku had battle swords and were too high in the sky, Hyaku's superhuman abilities meant nothing. Tanner flew around and began to fire at Hyaku again. This time Hyaku struggled to deflect Tanner's bullets and fight against Jack's magnetic waves simultaneously.

            At first he managed to pull off the feat, but soon Jack gained the upper hand and was directly over Hyaku. He flew downward while aiming the sword at a disoriented Hyaku, pushing him toward the ground. The freefall was intense, and Jack nearly passed out, but he kept Hyaku below him, pushing him toward the Staunton River, where hopefully Jack could probably drown him.

            Tanner stayed perpendicular to Jack and Hyaku, continuing to fire at Hyaku to distract him. They neared the boardwalk, where Jack purposefully threw Hyaku directly into the center of a rollercoaster, before trying to land him in the water. Jack brought the entire roller coaster down with Hyaku, trapping him in its twisted metallic beams.

            Hyaku struggled to push the pieces off with his battle sword and his own superhuman strength, but he was approaching the beach too quickly. Tanner ran out of bullets, and Hyaku directly fired an electromagnetic wave at Jack, which pushed Jack back a little.

            It was too late for Hyaku, however, as the jetpack malfunctioned, and he hit the sand at a deadly speed, bringing the weight of an entire roller coaster with him. The impact caused the entire beach to blow up in an explosion of sand.

            Jack watched as the sand shot up in the air higher than the theme park's Ferris wheel. The sand descended slowly and engulfed much of the boardwalk and theme park. All that was left was a giant crater on the beach, with the heap of metal that was the roller coaster lying at the very bottom.

            Jack and Tanner floated around the outside of the crater. They were afraid that Hyaku might have somehow survived. It was quiet. All that could be heard was the sound of sand floating down, and the sounds of a distant helicopter approaching.

            It was Donald Love's personal chopper. Love himself was at the controls of the helicopter and gave Jack and Tanner a nod. They landed near Jack and Tanner, near the outside of the crater, far from the deep center, where Hyaku lay under thousands of pounds of metal. Jack and Tanner descended to the ground and took off their malfunctioning jetpacks. They ran over to the helicopter, where the Alliance members piled out

            Reiko was the first to step out, with a giant laser musket, she instinctively looked around for any danger to her clients. Next were Dr. Doak, Ray Machowski, Hideo, Kenji, and Asuka Kasen. The helicopter was turned off and Donald Love met them at the edge of the sand crater and joined in the viewing of what seemed to be Hyaku's grave. The Alliance members looked to Jack for answers.

            "What happened to Tommy?" Hideo asked.

            "He's dead," Jack said, "So is Maria, Vince, and Salvatore."

            "Wh...," Love narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Wait... Tommys dead? What happened? And did you say..."

            "Salvatore Leone," Jack said nonchalantly, "Turns out he wasn't dead and it was him behind this whole mess... but it doesnt matter. He's dead. Tommy's dead... Maria's dead. We just need to concentrate on him..." Jack nudged his head in the direction of the giant jungle of twisted shrapnel at the bottom of the sand pit.

            "Hyaku..." Hideo acknowledged his evil son, "Is he..."

            "Dead?" Jack cut him off, "I don't know... but he took a pretty big fall and took that entire ride down with him."

            "I checked the systems back at the building," Doak said, "It turns out Hyaku wasn't able to fully recharge himself in time. He was downloading information on how to regenerate himself, but he didn't actually finish the process there himself. None of this was meant for his total recharge. They just needed to know how to do it."

            "So if he is alive," Asuka, Hyakus sister, asked.

            "If he walks out of that," Doak said, "I'd say anything less than a gunshot would do the trick. I'm thinking that he only came here to get the data on the biological engine tune-up procedures. We just need to wait for the Army to arrive and we've got him."

            "No Army." Hideo said.

            Everyone turned to Hyaku's father.

            "We do this now," Hideo said, "Kill him. Take that big gun and make sure none of him is left."

            But Reiko spoke up, "We can help him. He's not himself."

            "Fire down there now!" Hideo forcefully said.

            "He's your son!" Reiko argued.

            "Reiko," Hideo walked toward her in anger, "My son... your fiancé died years ago. It was a mistake to think I could bring him back. Just kill whatever it is!"

            "He's right," Donald Love said, "We have to end this now."

But Reiko just shook her head.

            Fine, Hideo grabbed it away and awkwardly aimed at the metallic graveyard. He muttered something in Japanese and blasted away with the laser musket.

            The sound of the laser musket forced everyone to cringe and hold their ears.

            "Hey!" Doak yelled, "Take it easy! You're gonna overheat it! Stop!"

            And so, the laser musket did overheat, and Hideo was forced to stop firing. Suddenly, something moved from the bottom of the crater. It was Hyaku, running at them, carrying a large, flat piece of metal. Hideo looked at him fearfully and fired at him in panic with the malfunctioning laser musket.

            "NO!" Doak yelled too late.

            The weak laser bounced off the surface of the metal, and Hyaku aimed the laser stream at the grounded helicopter. It seemed to happen in slow motion to Jack, as they all looked to their left when the helicopter burst into flames. The heat scorched Jack's face and threw him into the crater with everyone else.

            Everyone had been thrown into the sand crater and they were uncontrollably rolling down. A beam of metal at the bottom of the crater stopped Jack's fall. He looked up and watched as Hyaku straggled over to Hideo, who was trying to climb back up to get the laser musket, which was left at the edge of the crater.

            It was impossible to climb up the crater because it was so deep, so Hideo just turned around and faced his son. They started talking, but Jack and the others were too far to hear what was going on. It would have been in Japanese anyway.

            Hyaku looked like he had been badly hurt in the fall. He went to attack his father, but only managed to pull off a weak jab to his face. His superhuman abilities had diminished in his injuries. Hideo and Hyaku wrestled around in the sand for a while, but it seemed like Hyaku started to get stronger. The biological engine was still working, and his injuries must have healing rapidly.

            Kenji and Asuka went to the aid of their father, and each of them unsheathed a katana sword that they brought because they wanted to finish off their brother with honor. Again, more talking went back and forth, until Kenji charged at Hyaku. Hyaku calmly went into a martial arts stance and tried his best to dodge Kenji's slashes. After several swings, Hyaku managed to grab Kenjis arm and trip him, while stealing the sword at the same time.

            Hyaku ruthlessly stabbed Kenji in the back and blood spurted out when Hyaku pulled the katana out. Hideo ran to the dying Kenji, holding him in his arms. He looked up at Hyaku with eyes that seemed to ask how he could do such a thing. Then, with a look of surrender, Hideo's head was sliced off at the neck.

            Jack saw Doak look away, and Tanner get up to help. Jack held him back and shook his head. They had no weapons. Hyaku had a katana and he was gaining his strength quickly.

            Asuka was in shock, witnessing the death of her brother and father at the hands of the superhuman that used to be her brother. She yelled out something in Japanese and charged at him, swinging the sword wildly. The two collide in a fury of clashes, but Hyaku managed to cut her arm off, and stab her in the stomach. She collapsed down to her knees, and then fell dead next to Kenji.

            Reiko walked up slowly to the bodies of the Kasen family. She had tears in her eyes and seemed to plead to Hyaku in Japanese. Hyaku responded with callousness and kicked Asuka's sword toward her. Reiko refused to pick it up, and continued with more dialogue. Jack, Tanner, Doak, Machowski, and Love had no idea what they were saying.

            Finally, Hyaku said something that caused Reiko to reluctantly pick up the katana and welcome a duel with Hyaku. She struck first, coming down on his head, where he blocked two inches away from his body. Suddenly they began a fantastic series of swordplay that lasted for almost 10 minutes. By the end, they both seemed to be exhausted.

            "I checked to see exactly how much he recharged," Doak said, fascinated by the fight, "At this rate, Hyaku could burn out the engine if he continues to exert himself. I just hope Reiko can hang in there."

            Reiko seemed to be winning, as Hyaku got weaker and weaker and was being pushed back. She hacked at him relentlessly, despite her fatigue. She yelled out some kind of battle cry and successfully slashed Hyaku down the torso. He froze and held his chest. She froze at the realization that she slashed her former fiancé. Hyaku took her hesitation as an advantage and stabbed her in the stomach.

            "NO!" Jack yelled.

            Hyaku whispered something in her ear, and then kicked her away. She rolled down the steep hill of sand and landed near Donald Love. He panicked and began to run away. He had always been the pompous, collected one of the Alliance, but Jack saw, for the first time, that he was completely terrified. Hyaku limped toward him as Love tried climbing out of the crater and calling for help. He started to run away from Hyaku as he got closer, but Hyaku simply lifted his katana and threw it at Love's back. Love immediately went down.

            As Hyaku pulled the katana out of Loves back, Ray Machowski ran toward where Reiko dropped her sword. He picked up the katana for defense reasons, and then tried to run back toward Jack and Tanner. Again, Hyaku threw the sword, this time hitting one of Machowski's legs. As he fell, he threw the sword to Tanner.

            Hyaku limped over to Machowski, who was crawling back to Jack, Tanner, and Doak. Machowski flipped over and put his arms up in defense, as Hyaku brought the sword down on him. Machowski yelped in pain, then the gurgle of blood was heard. A fountain of blood gushed from Machowski's body as Hyaku pulled the katana out.

            Tanner had the sword, but he hesitated to help Machowski, for there was nothing he could do. Jack, Doak, and Tanner looked at each other with hopelessness, even though it was what they had been dealing with for the past 24 hours.

            "A fitting end to a cowardly alliance." Hyaku said in perfect English.

            "You don't have to do this anymore," Jack said, "Salvatore's dead. You don't have to take orders from him anymore. You're not a robot. Youre still human."

            Hyaku laughed evilly, "Jack Anderson... Salvatore told me all about you. Its nice to finally meet you here; too bad I didn't have the pleasure of killing Tommy Vercetti myself. But you are mistaken, my good warrior, I am not programmed to do this. Honestly Jack, don't you know who I am? Do you really think I take orders from anyone except myself? I do what I want. My will be done."

            "And what is that?" Jack asked.

            "All the knowledge and strength in the world cannot undermine the honor of this vengeance."

            After he said that, he ran toward Doak and grabbed him.

            "NO!" Doak pleaded, "HELP ME! PLEASE!"

            Tanner tried to save him, but Hyaku took Doak to the top of the heap of metal beams.

            "My creator..." Hyaku held him over the edge by his neck, "I owe greatness to you..."

            "Don't..." Doak choked out, as his legs were dangling.

            "Again..." Hyaku said, "Do not tell me what to do... I do as I will..."

            Hyaku threw Doak into the jungle of twisted metal, and Doak landed on a sharp piece of metal that went threw his torso. Jack looked away in pain. Everyone he knew was dead...

            "Here to try your luck, Detective?" Hyaku grinned at Tanner, who ran up on a metal beam.

            "Yea... what the hell." Tanner said with an insane sense of hopelessness.

            "NO!" Jack finally ran toward them. He couldn't lose Tanner. He couldn't face Hyaku himself. If Tanner died, it would just be Jack and Hyaku.

            Surprisingly, Tanner managed to keep Hyaku on the defensive. Hyaku was so tired from the duel with Reiko that he could barely keep up with Tanner. They danced on the tops of the ruined metal beams and clashed swords like an old samurai movie. Jack was surprised at Tanner's abilities with a katana, considering all the data on swordplay that was uploaded into Hyaku's brain. Tanner was aware of Hyaku's superhuman skill, so he used the terrain to his advantage.

            Meanwhile, Jack discovered Hyaku's battle sword. He picked it up and tried to turn it on, but it was inoperable due to the damage from Hyaku's fall. Jack looked up and Tanner and Hyaku fighting high above him and decided he would use the battle sword even though it wouldn't turn on.

            Jack climbed up the metal beams listening to the clash of katanas and the tired grunting of both Hyaku and Tanner. After a few minutes, Jack finally climbed to a beam that was behind Hyaku. Hyaku realized this and stopped where he was. Tanner and Jack were on opposite sides of Hyaku.

            "What a beautiful place for a showdown." Hyaku said, ignoring Tanner and Jack approaching him. Hyaku looked up at the gorgeous full moon and the night sky that was beginning to turn red. The sun was going to rise soon. "By sunrise, you both will be dead."

            "You must've been a lousy gambler," Tanner heaved, as he ran in to swing at Hyaku.

            Jack followed suit, coming up from behind Hyaku and swinging his battle sword. The battle sword had no edge, but it was sturdy enough to block Hyaku's katana. The three of them fought on thin metal beams and continually needed to jump onto different beams to chase or get away from one another.

            In one spectacular instance, Hyaku dueled with Tanner one on one, while Jack was stuck on a metal beam below them. Hyaku dodged a wide horizontal slice by jumping off his beam and somersaulting onto Jack's beam while bringing his sword down on Jack's battle sword. Jack ducked a swing to his head and counter-attacked with a spinning swing to Hyaku's legs. Hyaku back flipped and caught onto Tanner's beam with one hand.

            Hyaku swung himself onto the beam by kicking Tanner off. Tanner flew back and landed on a metal platform nearby. Jack was within jumping distance of the platform, so he went to Tanner to check if he was okay.

            "Tanner," Jack went to him, looking at Hyaku standing a distance from them. "You alright?"

            "Yeah," Tanner got up with Jack's help. "Jack! He's getting away!"

            Jack saw Hyaku jump from a high metal beam onto the sand outside the crater. Jack and Tanner tiredly made their way to that beam and jumped onto the sand. They rolled as they hit the sand and Jack wiped the sand from his face.

            He looked to the burning wreckage of the helicopter, where Hyaku was looking for the battle sword that Jack dropped and the jet packs they put down. Tanner quickly ran to Hyaku and began to fight again. Jack followed suit and the three of them continued their battle on the beach next to the helicopters flaming wreckage.

            Hyaku managed to fend off both Tanner and Jack, but he was visibly getting weaker. The fight had shifted to the waterline, and Jack felt his shoes partially sink into the wet sand.

            Hyaku magnificently and quickly dug his katana into the sand and flung it into Jack's eyes, while kicking more wet sand into Tanners eyes with his foot. Jack didnt panic, and calmly drew back while defending with his battle sword. Jack remembered his martial arts training and remained composed. Tanner, however, yelled in pain and struggled to get the sand out of his eyes. Hyaku took that opportunity to stab him in the torso.

            "No!" Jack yelled, quickly wiping the sand from his eyes.

            Tanner fell to the ground and threw his katana to Jack. Hyaku was about to bring his katana down on Tanners head, but Jack had thrown his battle sword directly at the back of Hyaku's head. Jack quickly picked up Tanner's katana and furiously began to duel with Hyaku.

            The two of them fought at a faster rate than before, and the duel shifted deeper into the shore. They continued to fight, and the water was up to Jack's knees. The cold water splashed everywhere as they continued to battle.

            Jack noticed that the sun was beginning to rise. They went into another break from fighting, which usually lasted for only a few seconds.

            "What is your purpose as a warrior, Jack Anderson?" Hyaku gasped, out of breath.

            "I look into a mirror," Jack likewise said in fatigue, "I see..."

            "And what is it that you see," Hyaku asked mockingly.

            "See for yourself," Jack said.

            At that moment, the sun peeked out from the horizon. Hyaku took a brief glance at the suns rays that hit them. Jack skillfully moved his katana at an angle so that the light reflected off the katana and into Hyaku's eyes.

            Hyaku winced for a moment, but that was all Jack needed. Jack knocked Hyaku's katana out of the way and sliced all the way down Hyaku's arm. Hyaku dropped his katana. He did not seem to be in pain, so he went to pick the sword up with his other hand. Jack cut his other arm off. Hyaku looked up at Jack, and Jack rammed the sword into Hyaku's chest, where the biological engine was supposed to be.

            "The story ends here," Hyaku said in a dying breath, "...It is my honor you end it."

            Jack pulled the sword out of Hyaku's chest and blood spurted from it. Hyaku began to fall toward Jack, and Jack spun around and cut Hyaku's head off. Jack looked down at Hyaku's dead body and the water that began to turn dark red all around him.

            Jack brought the sword down on Hyaku's body and into the sand under the water. Jack walked back to the beach with the sun behind him. He was exhausted. He was so overwhelmed by the fact he survived that entire ordeal that he couldn't even think normally.

            The only things that ran through his mind were images. The blood pounded through his body and resounded in his head. He remembered all the people he had known here in Liberty City. All the friends he made. The enemies he killed. The love he lost. It struck him that Maria was dead. All his friends were dead. There was no turning back now. He looked behind him at the blinding sun. He had no choice but to return to this hellhole of a world. He looked up at the city consumed by smoke, fire, and war.

            To be the winner, to be the champion, to be the survivor... it's a blessing and a curse

            Jack walked along the beach for hours that morning, oblivious to anything going on in the world. All he was left with were his memories. The sounds of battle were no longer heard in the city, only the sounds of emergency vehicles. He periodically looked up to the helicopters that flew by and the military boats in the water. A police car drove onto the beach and stopped alongside of him.

            "Freeze," a voice came, "You're under arrest for proven involvement with the terrorist attacks."

            Jack turned around to see someone holding his side and leaning against the car.

            "Tanner," Jack smiled.

            "Jerk," Tanner laughed, "You left me there."

            "I thought you were dead," Jack said with a grin.

            "Ya, well," Tanner gave a nonchalant look to the side, "I ditched you too. Haha, I saw you two fighting out there in the water and I could've bet all the money in the world he'd come out on top."

            "We'd be lousy gamblers."

            "We all would," Tanner said, "Ask anyone yesterday if everything would be alright by sunrise, and everyone would say the glass is half-empty."

            "Well, whats the situation?" Jack asked.

            "Fine, actually," Tanner laughed, "Turns out that army of soldiers that took over the city were only here to escort Hyaku out of this place. Seeing as how we sidetracked Hyaku, and you well, killed him, they all were wiped out by our own United States Army. The city's a mess and were under martial law, but no more crazy supersoldiers."

            "Good..." Jack sighed in relief.

            "You're still under arrest though," Tanner said, "We need answers, Jack, and youre the only one alive who knows whats been going on. The LCPD, FBI, CIA, you name it, they need to know what you know. The public wants to hear what youve got to say."

            "I'm not going in." Jack said. "You'll have to kill me first."

            At that moment, FBI car sirens were heard in the distance from the other end of the beach.

            "So..." Jack said, "Looks like you're gonna have to kill me."

            "Kill you?" Tanner laughed, "After all we've been through, Jack. Haha. Here," He tossed Jack the keys to the police car, "Take the car. Its got a revolver in there and a lot of money. Get out of this city."

            "Don't you 'need to know what I know'" Jack asked.

            "I need to know you'll take a well-earned vacation from... well, all this." Tanner said.

            "Where will I go?" Jack asked.

            "Wherever you want." Tanner said, "Take a road trip. This city has some rebuilding and recovery it needs to do. Might I suggest a long road trip to San Andreas..."

            "San Andreas?"

            "I hear its beautiful there this time of year." Tanner said, "Now, go." Tanner stepped back from the car and gave Jack a friendly salute.

            Jack didn't object, as the FBI cars were getting closer. He started the police car and drove toward the city. Jack opened the glove compartment to see a revolver. There was a bag filled with money. Jack would lose this car and find another one as soon as he could. He looked at his rearview mirror, which was tilted the wrong way. He looked at his own reflection. He fixed the mirror and saw the beautiful ocean beach behind him.

            Maybe I will take a road trip to San Andreas... I need a vacation.