Chapter IX: Endgame

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5 minutes until Fully Active

The Satellites were rising higher off the ground, until it reached one thousand feet. Inside the third bubble, Bluestone was fighting desperately to get past his friend turned foe, and insert the drive. He was hiding between two of the terminals. Before going down, Amber had managed to open the weapons drive. Sapphire was the only thing standing between Bluestone and the terminal. The drive was still on the floor next to the console. In an instant, Bluestone stepped out of the slim opening and made a run for the drive. The second Bluestone stepped out of his cover, Sapphire turned and fired a barrage of bullets and ice. Bluestone quickly slid on his back and ducked below the bullets. He quickly grabbed the drive and made a run for cover again.

Meanwhile outside the IATO Tower, Robert had put his mask on and walked back towards the massive building. As he pressed his hand against the concrete, he could feel the vibrations throughout the entire building. He saw Director Pirce and the president, as they were evacuating the building. In fact, everybody was leaving the building. He then focused on the one end of the building that wasn't evacuating. Inside one room on the 15th floor, there were multiple computers, and men at each. None of them were armed with guns except for one, who was carrying an automatic weapon. Stone ran around to the center of the building, and shot a grappling hook and pulled into the floor below it. After a few moments, he was directly underneath the room. When he checked again, he saw that there were more guards than before. They knew he was coming. So he positioned himself in the spot with the most guards, and pulled a large portion of the floor out from beneath them. He then used part of the floor he was on to launch himself upward and into the room after sealing the floor. Stone quickly overpowered the weaker guards. He When the other guards opened fire, the people at the computers quickly switched their programs over to automated control. Just as they did, Stone slid behind a glass desk and threw a knife directly into the fuse box on the wall. In an instant, the power cut off in the room. When Stone got out from behind the desk, he was blindsided by a tall man with black hair. Stone said "Colonel Barnes I had no idea you were still here." Jordan Barnes replied "You damn well knew I was. Your time is running out now." Barnes then slammed his right fist into Stone's face. Half of his mask was shattered on the outside, revealing the Robert's face behind it. He then fought back, getting some powerful blows. When Rob lunged for a kick, Barnes grabbed his leg, and tossed him into a desk. He then grabbed his assault rifle and began shooting at Stone as he scrambed for safety. Stone then jumped out of the window onto another roof. Barnes then followed, shooting at him as he fell.

As the satellite was slowly gaining altitude, inside Sapphire was beginning to slow down. The people inside the building were controlling him, but now he was on his own. He still continued to shoot with fury never seen before. Bluestone only had two minutes to get the drive in to the terminal. Bluestone slid his knife out from his holster and into his sleeve, and made a run for it. When Sapphire saw and began shooting, Bluestone slid between bullets, raised his hand and slashed Sapphire down the center of his face. Wincing in pain, Sapphire retaliated and Shot Bluestone directly in his right leg. He collapsed onto the floor and clutched his thigh. ZC then grabbed Jay and began to beat him, as the cut flesh on his face slowly peeled off. "You've got no time. You've got nowhere to run. This is it isn't it Jayson. The day you've feared for so long. The day that your luck finally runs out and your chances are all spent. You've failed." Sapphire said as he punched Jay in the face until the mask broke, and his face underneath was beaten and bloody. The skin had completely peeled off of Sapphire's eye and mouth, revealing a robotic endoskeleton with a glowing red eye underneath. Jay grabbed onto the terminal, and tried to stand up "I'm not done yet. But you are." As he finished that statement, the knife inside his sleeve was pulled out, and forced directly into Sapphire's chest. Jay proceeded to force his friend onto the ground, directly in front of the terminal. As Sapphire struggled to free his arm, he reached for Jayson's throat, only for the knife in his chest to get pulled out. His right hand was then stabbed through at the wrist. The countdown now only had 20 seconds. Jay had the drive in his left hand, and was going for the port. "Don't do it Bluestone. You do this, and terror will spread worldwide. This is the solution! You'll be just as dangerous as the people you kill!" Jay was relieved to hear his friend's voice again, and to know he was still in there. However, he was not pleased to hear Zach pleading against stopping IATO. "You're the one who kills those people. I'm already a terrorist Zach. The Elites were made to strike terror in those who opposed us. Our country saw us as a saving grace, but there's no denying it anymore. We're terrorists to the rest of the world. We sabotage, we hurt people, we've conspired against every other country. You've even assassinated politicians and government figures. This is the only way to make things right by them, and right by us." When Jay finished his monologue, the countdown had reached 5 seconds. He quickly slid the drive in as Zach' tackled him and tried breaking the drive out, but it was too late. The consoles had all sealed themselves and sprang to life.

Director Pirce and the diplomats watched from his office in horror as the virus took over the systems. "Get them all out of here now. We've been hacked." Soldiers then came into the room to escort everybody out. Stone and Barnes saw as the systems quickly shut down, cutting all the technology off. In an instant, all IATO's secret files on their computers were being uploaded to the internet, and all safeguards failed.

In the satellite, all guns were aimed at one another. Zach continued to beat Jay, who readied himself for the final blow. He took the knife, and forced the thin blade directly into his red mechanical eye, shutting him down instantly. The satellites then began to tear themselves apart, riddling each other with massive bullets. Jayson grabbed Zach and tried to pull him out to safety, but before he could make an escape, the satellite's systems failed, and quickly descended. The entire catwalk broke free, and Jay fell down into the bubble. Zach was now pinned under a steel beam, and couldn't be freed. Jay lied down in the bubble, thinking back on memorable adventures he had with the Elites, the few people that he considered like family. He remembered Robert, his humor lightened up any room. Then he remembered Nicole, who's determined personality made her so much like him, although not related, she was like a sister to him. He remembered Natalie, who started out just tagging along, but became a dedicated young woman. He was most concerned for her, fearing he would see her too on the other side. He remembered all the good times they had, the fond memories, and humiliating ones. Seeing no escape, and hardly able to move, Jayson accepted his fate. While falling, the satellite crashed through IATO tower, and a huge chunk of the bubble gave out, taking Zach with it. Seeing the new window that had been made, Jayson limped over, and saw how far above the ground he was as the building was crashed through. He also saw Stone fighting Barnes on the roof, they were directly in the way of the satellite.

On the metal roof, Stone was taking hit after hit. He fought valiantly, but was only hit harder by Colonel Barnes. "Did you really think you could beat me? I have over 15 years of military training. You've got seven years of some spiritual mumbo-jumbo." Stone was on the ground, many feet away from Barnes. He saw the satellite as it grew nearer and nearer. "I'll have you know that all the spiritual mumbo-jumbo taught me a lot of things." He replied. "But the best lesson was knowing when to fight and when to flee." Stone then turned around and ran. Barnes then saw the satellite directly behind him and ran too. But he was not fast enough. The floor gave out and Barnes into the room below as the satellite caused the roof to collapse. Stone continued to run out of room as the satellite caught up quickly. He made it to the end of the roof and jumped off before the satellite destroyed the entire end of the building. Stone used the rocks below to cushion himself from the five-story fall.

Seconds before the satellite crashed into the basin behind IATO, Jay jumped out of the broken glass and hit the ground hard. The satellite collapsed upon impact and Jay picked himself up and limped away to escape the falling debris and rubble. After a loud thud and splash, it was over. The satellite crashed did, countless police cars, and firetrucks came into the area. The police recognized the injured boy instantly, and aimed their guns at Jayson. He then turned around with his hands in the air. Once they saw he was bleeding from his thigh because of a bullet, they handcuffed him and took him to the hospital in an ambulance. The rest of the Elites were already there. Jay leaned back in relief, and dozed off.

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