11 Perceptions

With the Roving Thunder now in the air, the three Jacks in the drone control center were able to clearly see the Nest-Ship's new form. It now resembled a perfect sphere, save for the countless tentacles which extended out from its body.

"Attack it" Burns said "Let's see how strong that thing is."

Donovan, who was controlling the helicopter complied even as he remarked "The Roving Thunder might be able to scratch something like that but even that much would be impressive. I can feel its presence all the way down here and I know you can too. With that much raw power, do you really think a great plan is enough to achieve victory?"

The Roving Thunder launched all its missiles and drones as the Steam Jack spoke. By the time he was finished the helicopter had switched to magical bombardment with its last weapons. Even as Burns began to reply, a number of tentacles extended outwards, colliding with the launched missiles in fiery explosions.

"I may have been mistaken or I might have been right. The only way to prove or disprove a theory is to test it. If we can find a clear weakness to abuse, a good plan could make all the difference. Besides, I already have an angle I want to investigate."

"Oh, did you notice something?"

Three tentacles pierced towards, then through the Roving Thunder in a counterattack, destroying it. The point of view of the holographic display the three Jacks were watching shifted to one of the Roving Thunder's drones. The drone was still intact, using its own magical weaponry to assault the enemy, although it seemed futile.

"Maybe. These are aliens we're dealing with so who knows how they think but, for now, let's assume they think like us. Our original plan systematically defeated their original defenses. The wards, the alien base's troops, the toxic gas, none of it stopped our offensive. That said, why did the base wait so long to transform?

It didn't transform after the inner wards collapsed. It waited till later. More importantly, there're no new forces coming out of it now. In that new form, it hasn't released any soldiers to fight, which I'm sure it would be doing right now if possible. Even if we assume the portal we need to destroy has been deactivated to enable this transformation, that's more of a trade-off than a weakness. There's probably something else for the aliens to worry about with this form.

In other words, this move seems to be a last resort. If it could use this transformation without hesitation, I suspect it would've. So there ought to be some kind of significant drawback. This drawback might not be relevant to the fight at hand but it could also be the key to winning. So let's keep watching and see if we can spot it. Besides, none of us care if the Aceron military gets wiped out anyway. They can just go die for our benefit."

The military, now reorganized, had surged out of the tunnels in order to launch their assault as Burns explained his reasoning. Although they already knew their old plan wasn't usable, that hardly stopped them. Hundreds of armored infantry carrying heavy weaponry began taking up whatever defensible positions they could before opening fire. Although they didn't have any weaponry specifically designed for this situation, the gear they had was more than enough to cut into the giant creature's tentacles and spherical body. It roared in defiance, sending those with poor footing flying as it began striking back.

Under such concentrated fire, with streams of plasma, bullets, and energy attacks striking it, the massive creature could only accept the damage and retaliate. Even as tentacles were ripped into fleshy chunks of burned meat, whole squads were slaughtered with individual swipes from the remaining tentacles. Even as those Jacks greedy or brave enough began fighting with the soldiers, the fight seemed to be tipping towards the alien's side.

Donovan shook his head and said "That's too callous for me. I'm going to head up there and fight it head on. You can stay here and watch what happens through the Stalwart's feed if you want; I'm going."

Hayashi nodded and said "I'm going too. With so many soldiers dying, collecting souls should be easy. Besides, we're not the only Jacks who are fighting. Some are already above. As long as we preserve our lives first and foremost, is this not an opportunity? Let's see . . . how we've grown."

Burns sighed as the other two Jacks headed out. "Jimmy, how is it? What have you found so far?"

"I've got good news and bad news boss. Which would you like first?"

"Bad news."

"Well, that thing's main body is hopelessly durable. We could attack it all day without causing any major damage. As for the tentacles, even though they're fragile in comparison they keep being regrown by the main body. For every one tentacle lost, two more are there to replace it. The longer this battle lasts, the more dangerous it'll be."

"Mhm. The good news then?"

"Actually, if you weren't so focused you'd have noticed by now too. You can feel it right, the energy? You have it, I have it, we've all had it for a long time but it's only now that the Third Shift's changed us that we can sense that energy. Whatever it is, that thing has it too. A tremendous supply of energy supporting its current form. Its supply of energy, despite being so large, is being depleted insanely quickly. In less than five minutes it'll be outta gas."

Burns focused his senses and confirmed it for himself. He could feel that powerful presence weakening, growing less energetic. Even though it was becoming stronger as the fight went on, that in turn was only increasing how quickly its energy was drained away.

"I see. It can't maintain that form for long, so it has to settle the battle as soon as possible. It gambled everything and went all in. I'm impressed, that was a bold move. Let's keep watching through the suit feeds. I want to see just how this goes."

"Um, boss? You aren't going up to fight it? At this rate, won't we lose if you don't lend a hand?"

"No. This fight's already been decided. What I'm doing is eking out as much value as possible from it before it ends. Donovan alone will be enough to ensure we win at this point. What I'm more interested in is: how has Hayashi changed? His Internal Magic was already well known for its unique properties. Although I doubt he'd admit it, I'm sure he's itching to test how strong he is now. In fact, I think Donovan's intentions are the same. He knows Hayashi better than me, and under that veneer of simplicity lurks an intelligence I refuse to underestimate. Watch with me and see if Donovan actually attacks seriously before Hayashi."

"I will but are you sure you aren't being a bit too paranoid? Not everyone's like you."

"I know that; how couldn't I know how different I am from most people. Donovan though, he's like me or rather, I'm like him. He's got more experience, wealth, and maybe power. What really frightens me is his smile. If my smile's a thorn that draws blood, his is a snake's pleasant whispers. I actually like and respect him; I fear him all the more though. Never forget this Jimmy, he's a Jack. To a Jack, charisma can be wielded to cause just as much damage as a blade, if not more."

As Hayashi put his feet on solid ground, he felt the forceful gales of wind created by the tentacles' vicious attacks. The situation was already so dire the Jacks were fleeing, leaving the last of the military behind.

The Japanese man breathed in and out deeply. He could feel them, the souls hidden in sacks of meat and bone. With each breath he called out, demanded them. The corpses clung but eventually the souls were attracted to him, called into his stomach.

He could feel them join the others, at the center of his power. Before they'd have filled his body, leaving him feeling bloated with the sorrowful cries of his morsels. Now though, he could sense it, the Hell that had formed within him. Great, roaring tongues of dark, almost black, flames cooked the souls, transforming them into raw energy.

He'd never felt so powerful before. Just where were they . . . his new limits? He'd have to see if he could find them. Hayashi drew the Hellfire from within him, brought it out into the world. The green flames seemed almost infantile in his palms, untarnished by this world.

Hayashi flicked his hands and two fireballs shot away, blasting a pair of nearby tentacles into ash and smoke. The alien thing reacted, directing five tentacles to slam towards him from above at different angles.

They crashed into the stationary Jack with an incredible force, leaving a crater where'd stood, a crater he still stood in. In each hand was a tentacle larger than his torso. His hands dug into the tentacles' flesh, piercing inches deep. His muscles flexed and spasmed, then the Cruel Jack released his grip. His arms turned back to normal even as the tentacles he'd held began to convulse before exploding where he'd held them. The explosions raced forwards up the tentacles before reaching the main body, which shuddered as it too suffered Hayashi's attack.

The alien beast howled in pain before focusing on Hayashi. All its tentacles whipped towards the Jack unleashing a nonstop barrage of blows. In response the Jack roared back, immolating himself in vicious flames.

Although the surviving military members kept attacking, the other Jacks who'd been fleeing stopped, watching Hayashi in astonishment. The Jack was trading the creature blow for blow with taking a step back, without being harmed, without seemingly any issue at all!

Still, not everything was as it seemed. As much as this battle thrilled him, Hayashi forced himself to withdraw, jumping out of the alien creature's attack range. Donovan, who'd silently watched Hayashi, said "I'm impressed. Not only can you now collect souls remotely, you can also conjure those green flames. You were already my equal when fully-stocked. Now, it's hard to say."

Hayashi glanced coolly at the Steam Jack and said quietly, almost whispering. "If you weren't always like this, I'd find you impressive. Still, you'll never be my equal. For all your cleverness, you can't control your own desires. You work so hard to make others underestimate you but now you're going to go out-perform me. You won't do it for some tangible benefit but simply because you can't resist the desire to unleash yourself. You'll end that thing solely because it amuses you, like a cat playing with a mouse that's already left without hope of survival."

Donovan laughed jovially as he responded "So what? People always love to claim I'm a schemer, as if all Jacks must surely be schemers. I'm not so complicated." The Steam Jack's eyes fairly shined as he continued, "I just love fighting. I love training, developing my skills, testing those skills in combat, and best of all, I love winning. So yes, I'll win this battle in spectacular fashion. Maybe one day acting like this will get me killed. Let me ask you this though: which of the two of us will die smiling?"

Finished talking, the Steam Jack walked forward. It was his turn now.