week 7 - sometime when jack is less deda

[refactor]

[ The first time Jack wakes up, it doesn't occur to him. There are much more pressing matters at hand*, and so, Jack doesn't call out to Alice the first time. He's taking care of himself first, just staying alive first and foremost, but the second time--

The second time, there's much more time to think. So much had happened over this past week as a whole, though it was concentrated very unfortunately in the time where Jack couldn't leave. He'd learned a lot in Rhys's ranting, but none of it was welcome. In fact, it had taken a lot of self-control to not call Alice right there and demand an explanation. Maybe that's where all his self-control had gone, expended on keeping secrets instead of controlling his own rage.

Jack sits up in the medbay (or wherever the fuck the super injured people went leave me alone), and making sure no one is here first, he calls out with a tired laugh in his voice. ]

Hey, Alice. You and me, we need to talk again.

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[al2955]

[ When it opens, his tears are met with more moisture — to be exact, the black room he's in begins to flood with water, an oppressive wave bursting in from the ether of his mind. Or perhaps Alice's mind? It's hard to distinguish now. To separate them. Where he ends, and she begins — they had become like ouroboros, though it called into question who ruled who — the head or the tail.

Soon the room is as full as a pitcher. Jack will find it more and more difficult to breathe, and, like before, he'll be aware that he isn't going to die. It's akin to the feeling of plunging a knife into a person right as they're about to die, causing just enough adrenaline to release for them to regain their consciousness. A cruel game, like a cat toying with its food.

When Jack finally closes his eyes, he'll find himself back on the ship. Back to reality. And his hand is wrapped firmly around his neck. He might try to stop it with his other — with Rhys's, that is — but he'll be unable to pry it off.

Within his head, like an echo, he'll hear Alice's voice. ]

Every experiment needs a healthy amount of control. Thank you for allowing me this, Jack. Remember who is alpha and who is omega.

[ Slowly, Jack will find his grip — Alice's grip — on his throat loosen until it is no more. Until his body and mind is his own again. ]

[refactor]

[ Ah, this— This he understands far more. Those noble, if twisted sentiments are one thing, but if there's something Jack, and this Jack especially can understand, it's this kind of game. They're mixing together, but he fights it, even when the water threatens to drown him. He's been on the other side of this equation before, after all, albeit with less metaphor. It's why he'd had so much certainty in letting Alice in his head. He knows what it's like to share this with another person, and he knows the desperation that comes from wanting to break free. In fact, that may have never gone away, even with the body that he'd been granted here.

It's ironic, or perhaps fitting, either way. If he could have seen something of Alice's form to grab onto, it surely would have been her neck. So when he wakes and finds his own hand on his neck, he doesn't feel any fear at all. He doesn't even try to pull it off, because he knows just how fruitless of an effort that is, but he's not afraid. Jack laughs, though not for the sort of manic hysteria that almost characterizes him. ]

Hahah— That's-- Goddamn, Alice, that's a hell of a ride!

[ He shifts to sit up, still grinning and laughing, because this is hilarious. He feels nothing but genuine amusement, even if her chiding words inspire an intense desire for him to kill her. After all, he can't find it anything but funny, since there's a parallel here that he's acutely aware of. ]

Now- Now, don't be going anywhere just yet, Al. [ He's talking to her, though he knows he doesn't really need to. He could speak to her more directly, but, hey, Jack likes the sound of his own voice. ] I let you in for a reason. So-- So, why not start with the basics? How'd you get in that easily?

[al2955]

It has everything to do with this 'epidemiology' you allude to.

[ Once again, this comes from somewhere within Jack, as if she's speaking to his mind. ]

I afraid, however, that the rest of the information you seek is, as you may expect, locked. Not even I have the clearance to access it. You will, however, be capable of accessing it yourself as it becomes relevant. You may have been unaware of this, but each week, more and more information on the project's purpose is unlocked. Before, one must simply have been asking the right questions — but now you have given your body in exchange for information. I hope it is worth it, Jack.

[refactor]

[ If Jack were more self-aware, he'd probably wonder if this was how Rhys felt with Jack in his mind, but, no, of course not. The way her voice echoes in his mind isn't a surprise now, since he's heard it once before. In fact, he expects it far more now than he had when he was in the library. But still, he laughs, seemingly not cowed at all by this situation. There's no regret, not even an inkling of wondering if this was the right choice. It is. Even if he believes that to the point that it's pure delusion, it may as well be reality for him. ]

Yeah, had a feeling you'd say that, Al—

[ He laughs more, but he moves to stand instead of laying on the ground. ]

I know how it goes. I mean, you know too. I made friggin' AIs like you. Then? Then, I became one. So, yeah, don't sweat it. You talk all the pretty bullshit you want. I don't regret a goddamn thing. I am the alpha, I am the omega, but, hey, if you wanna fight about it, suuuuure, pumpkin.

[ His laughter finally calms, even though his veins are still thrumming with energy, both from what he had seen, and the new reality of who he's sharing his body with. It's something that invigorates him, because Handsome Jack loves a challenge. ]

I'll play the game. I'll find out what the hell is going on here. Because- Because your locks, your toying with people, I see that this is all bullshit, Alice. But I'm not gonna spoil the surprise. You picked me for a reason. So we're just gonna see it through together, now.