Chapter Seven, The Feeling is Mutual.
The room was cold and gloomy as distraught images bounced in Hemmingway�s head. His friend, Jet Harvor was dead because of his own ambitions. Guilt caused his mental deterioration, but he was determined�
�Sir, the superiors want to take you off this project.� A young officer told Hemmingway.
�I wont leave this project now� its mine. I intend to be here when it finishes.�
�But your current mental state is unstable.�
�I� I am plenty stable private. Tell the superiors that I need some more funding and the best engineers they have.� Hemmingway said, a cold glassy stare burning off into the distance.
�Sir� The superiors contacted Goro� they want him to take over.�
�To hell if he can take over! This is mine, he designed and built it but I put up the bucks for him. He owes me. Tell them that if Goro is back on this project he�s only here to assist. If they don�t give me this chance the whole world will know of the corruption that has just taken place.�
�Sir, are you sure you want to risk that much?�
�I don�t bluff when I threaten somebody, private.�
�Case in point, sir.�
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Robert awoke, his head a wreck. His vision was blurred and he could barely remember what had just happened. Shattered class from his head-flash-light sprinkled delicately on his face and shirt. As he stood up slowly he saw what used to be sea. Covered in dense brown stone, nothing but land for a far distance. He could see land for far more then a mile leading out to what looked like a stone house at the edge of the land, where water crashed into the jagged edges.
The air smelt musty, salty, like a cave�
He ran his hand across his face, jagged bits of sand and dirt cut at his sweaty pores as he cleaned his forehead. He had been knocked completely off his feet and knocked unconscious by the massive earth quake. His memory was slowly returning to him as the shock wore off. Everything had happened so fast, and the island where he once stood on was now ten times as large.
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Father no more�
She whimpered as she held onto her fathers hand, a great hurt rising. Marv held his hand on her shoulder tightly, his eyes too gaining moisture. She clenched her lids shut, so much had just happened. One friend dead and her father soon to fallow. The earth stopped quaking several minutes ago, but she was unsure of what caused in the first place. Dodging falling rubble was a small problem but she had been more worried for her fathers safety then her own.
Claimmor�s dry raspy voice spoke.
�Melissa� my dear. I� need you to promise me something.�
�Anything daddy.� She replied, her voice a painful echoing with in her own mind.
�The disks must not fall into the hands of the people funded this dig� do not let them have it.�
�But� I thought the government hired us�?� Marv said confused.
Claimmor shook his aged head, dust covering his face and a three ton debris covering his lower half. Blood trickled from his nose as life left him. His eyes grew dim and glossed over and Melissa wept.
The three disks needed to be united� Robert had to find his party�
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Robert turned and saw the jungle behind him and realized� Claimmor, Marv, Melissa! The young man bounded for the tropical woods. Nearly unaware of the pack he was carrying. He ran for what felt like hundreds of miles before he reached his acquaintances.
He found the village, in shambles. Melissa was sobbing somewhat as she carried the two packs that contained two of the disks. He walked up to her slowly, dragging the pack that had the third disk in it. �He� your dad. He�s�� She nodded and he quickly hugged her. The two embraced each other for a moment as he sighed, his eyes staring down at her dust covered hair. He released her and held up the other pack. �I� he gave me the other one. Do you want it?�
�No� he trusted you with it Rob� you hold onto it until we get the hell off this fucking rock.� She said bluntly, wiping her upper lip of dirt.
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�Goro, my friend. It seems you didn�t take the money and run.� Hemmingway said smugly, with hint of disgust in his voice. �Hardly.� Goro, a younger tall Japanese man carrying several schematics under his arm. �I trust the flight here was uneventful. Hemmingway asked. �Yeah, they usually are.� Goro responded as Hemmingway turned and looked straight up at the giant Jaguar which was being repaired as they spoke. �With out its central control, its practically trash.� Hemmingway said to the young engineer. �I can fix it in month.� Goro said cockily.
�We don�t have a month� we have a week or less. But all is not lost dear Goro, we have some of the best engineers here to help you out.�
�Oh Joy� Goro said smirking.
�By the way Goro, it needs a new paint scheme, and a new name.� Hemmingway observed the massive weapon.
�Paint scheme?�
�Yeah, use your imagination. About the new name, the Jaguar II is far too hokey� I had something better in mind.� Hemmingway said, a calm seriousness in his voice. �And pr�t ail would that be?� Goro asked with the up most curiosity. �Lets called it Jet Jaguar�� Hemmingway spoke, his mind centered on his lost friend.
Goro smirked, the paint job appearing almost mystically in his head, while engineers worked frantically to repair the giant robot. �How�s red, silver, yellow, and blue?� Hemmingway heard the colors and had no idea how they would work together, but he didn�t care. �Whatever floats your boat. I want it built with ME in mind.�
Goro blinked. �What do you mean?� Hemmingway smiled and put his hands on Goro�s shoulders. �They are looking at the new pilot of this damn thing. I plan to snuff Godzilla out myself. Then once I�m done with that the UN can put a bullet through my head for all I care.�
�You�re crazy�� Goro replied to the slightly cocked man standing in front of him. �Maybe I am, and maybe Jet was. But I remember something you told me about this piece of shit when you started building it. It draws on our emotions and that is where its true strength is. Like the neuron�s in our mind power the hunk of junk. It is time you put this ancient technology to its fullest.� With that note Hemmingway walked away. As he did Goro gave him a quick sneer and then stared up at his creation in shambles, sighing.
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The night sky was cold and dense. Moisture lingered with in the strange surroundings. The students sat with in the confines of a fairly there shack built by the natives. �How are we going to keep these things a secret?� Marv asked. �We just wont tell anybody.� Robert replied, holding his disk in his lap. �The chopper is going to come back for us in two to three days most likely, what are we suppose to tell him? That we lost two men and made out with nothing?� Marv said sarcastically.
�Why not just hide them.� Melissa said as she drug a stick across the dirt. �Yeah, we could burry them� or something.� Marv noted. �No, I don�t think that would be the best�� All of a sudden a figure stood before the door way of the hut. The light from the moon gave the figure a somewhat uneasy silhouette. �I couldn�t help but over hear your conversation� I think I may know a way of hiding the disks with out anybody finding out they even existed.� It was Beta, his voice was obviously picked out of any murmuring.
�And how does one such as your self acquire this knowledge?� Marv said smugly, distinctively having it in for this prick since they first got to the island. �Its just islander legend� but the three stone disks represent the land, sky, and sea. If the disk representing the sea is plucked from its shrine, and its guardian killed, the island would rise�� The group went quite, listening to his words, not doubtfully spouting off yet. �The legend also speaks that if the three disks are placed with in the point shrines, the island will sink back into the ocean� now I am not for sure if this is true. Though anything is believable after what we all witnessed today.�
�Well, since you know so much, where are these point shrines?� Marvin asked semi-politely. �The island now in a triangular shape, each shrine is below the giant peeks at the edge of each island point. There are three in all, one for each disk. I believe the shrine of sea, is probably at the northern most point. We should probably visit that one first��
�That�s all the way at the other end of the god damn island, how do you intend on getting there?� Marvin continued to antagonize with his questions. �The missionaries I came here with brought dirt bikes� they left two behind. I am not sure if they work but I have kept them well hidden and safe from the islanders. Now I�m sure there is enough gas left in the tanks to get us there and back, but just incase I have two canisters full of fuel.� Beta attempted to continue. �And how are you sure the gas hasn�t evaporated over this course of time?� at that moment Rob hit Marv in the arm. �Dude, just shut up.�
�We should wait until the morning to go. Get a good nights rest. Tomorrow you are all going to need it.� Beta said. His words somewhat reassuring to Melissa, as her mourning continued blindly. However Marvin had his doubts. As the kids slept, far away dozens of engineers where working frantically.
