Chapter 9:

GOVERNMENT HUNT ARC (CHAPTER 3)

World Break: Shattered Reality


YeaR 204 Month 7

Zack- 13

OG-?

Captain J- 29

X series characters

Drew- 20

Dravity-?

Narrator- 1 month has passed since the incident. Information about the mass murder was covered and never brought to light. Zack never said a word and continued to follow OG. This past month Zack has been training with Captain J, in the art of knighthood. At the end of the month, Zack Is going to be tested to see If he's ready to become a leader of a secret group put together by OG. This group Is the collection of the strongest warriors in the country, and they only answer to OG. If Zack doesn't pass this test he'll have to try again next month, and the month after that If he fails again. Well, let's see If Zack can pass and lead this team. Huh, where's Drew? I think we all know the answer to that! HAHAHA!

YeaR 204 Month 8


The 4 Captains stand in front of Zack while OG stands off to the side. They slowly start to circle Zack, silently judging him. Zack shows no emotions, after a few minutes Captain N speaks up “So this Is the kid that gained the power of a Demon?” Captain K “Yeah yeah, that’s him.” Captain N steps a bit closer to Zack’s face and says “Aye, just cause you got some cool Demon powers doesn’t mean you better than me! I’m still the Captain here, remember your place kid!” Zack nods in agreement but just before he could talk Captain J interrupts “Enough N. Get ready for your mission!” Captain N smacks his lips and walks out the room and Is followed by OG. Captain J says “Alright Zack It’s time for your first test. You’ve had 1 month of strict training by yours truly.” He then gives a thumbs up and a massive smile appears on his face, he continues “Today Is the day we find out If you are ready to take the next step. The test Is simple, all you have to do Is take this letter.” Captain J then raises a small envelope and continues to speak “It may sound easy but I’ll be guarding this letter with my life. You're free to use any Skills and Materia, but your Demon powers are off-limits. We must see where you stand without Frost.” Zack nods, and speaks “So that’s why you trained me In sword Skills this whole month.” Captain J smiles and answers “Correct! Now use what you learned with the knowledge that you already possess. That’s how you will pass this test!” Captain K nods in agreement, while Captain H approaches Zack he speaks “Remember, Skills are just as important. If you only focus on Materia you’ll lose.” Captain K continues to nod, Zack speaks up “Yes Captain H!” Captain J claps his hands and yells “GOOD! Now the time has come to start the test. Go ahead and step to the other room Captains and set up the field.” Both Captain K and H exit the room. Zack has seen this countless times but It still amazes him. After a few seconds, the room goes dark. The room begins to move, almost shifting like sand. As the lights turn back on, the room changed not only in size and shape but the environment changed as well.

Zack looks around, the floor has become sand, and boulders are spread around the room. As he stands there checking his surroundings, sweat drips from his forehead. Amazed by how really this room has become, not only does the landscape match that of a desert but they copied the heat one for one. Captain J laughs and speaks “That never gets old! You’ve only seen the bare bones of what this facility has to offer. But we can talk about that another day, you have a test to take. There Is no time limit, the test Is finished when either one of us can’t continue or you snatch the letter from my hands!” Zack “Yes Captain! But I do have one question, sir?” Captain J “Proceed.” He continues “You said Skills and Materia can be used, but to what extent? We’ve never gone all out In the training room.” Captain J laughs hysterically before he answers Zack’s question “Zack my boy, just let loose. Don’t worry about the damages, the only thing you need to worry about Is how you finna get this letter and not dying In the process!”

As Zack and Captain J stand, the heat intensifies. Zack starts to sweat profusely, he starts to think to himself “This heat Is unlike anything I’ve trained in. If I'm not careful I could run out of stamina very quickly…” As he continues to think, Captain J lets out a long sigh. He then unsheathes his sword and says “Zack, you don't have time to stand and think. If this was a real mission you either would have been dead or lost track of the letter.” Zack snaps back to reality and nods, Captain J keeps speaking “Since you don't want to go first, then I’ll go. My sword was forged to replace Excalibur. But the power was scattered long ago in a great war between the races.” He takes his blade and points It at Zack and continues “I have found 3 of the 8 fragments, once I collect them all… Well, let’s just say my duty will be fulfilled.” He then puts the letter in his pocket and goes into a square stance bringing his sword closer to his body. Zack takes a deep breath and pulls his sword out and matches the Captain's stance. Captain J speaks loudly “Well, let’s get to It!” He then slowly walks toward Zack. As he approached, Zack tried to think of a strategy “Rushing him won’t work… Nah, I can’t think of anything!” Zack starts to get frustrated, Captain J notices and speaks “Zack! There’s no need to overcomplicate this. Either you get the letter and pass or you don’t and fail! Which one will you manifest?” Zack shakes his head and smiles before saying “Yes Captain! Drew wouldn't hesitate here, Let’s see what I can do!”

Captain J still advances, just a few feet away from Zack. Zack takes this time to start collecting Materia. The sand around him begins to fly around the room making It hard to see. Zack could sense the Captain's Materia, he only has a few shots at the letter he’s got to make them count. As Captain J enters striking distance he speaks “Grace period over! Now let’s see If OG picked right! EXCALIBUR SKILL-DESTRUCTION!” In an instant, J’s arm rises and slams into the ground just as the sword impacted the sand an explosion goes off and sends Zack flying back all the way to the edge of the room. Captain J yells again “The next one will kill!” Zack shakes off the attack and begins to run at J. As Zack approaches he speaks to himself “I need to collect as much Materia as I can and quickly!” As Zack comes within striking distance he yells aloud “SWORD SKILL-SLICE!” His blade quickly rises diagonally from the left, the Captain dodges with grace and goes on the offensive “EXCALIBUR SKILL-DESTRUCTION!” But this time Zack was ready, he swiftly pivots on his left foot and spins to the Captain's backside “Sword Skill-Spin!” The move stops before making contact, the Captain stopped the attack with his bare hand. He then flexes and picks up Zack by his blade and throws him into the air. As he is being tossed he tries to rethink his strategy “What the fuck? He threw me by my sword!! If he lands even one more hit I’m done for. I was hoping to collect a Lil bit more, but I guess I’m out of time.” Captain J brings his feet together, and yells “EXCALIBUR SKILL-RAPID!” Just as fast as he said those words he appeared right In front of Zack. The Captain then prepares his next attack “Sword Skill-Pierce” Zack barely blocks the attack and Is sent flying back into the ground, the impact broke his right arm. Captain J lands and lets out a sigh “So this Is the best you can do? This ain’t shit. You make me look like a shitty Master and Captain.” Zack tries to stand but struggles “I have to keep fighting. I still got my left arm, I can still win!” He takes a deep breath and stands, just as Captain J was about to speak Zack starts to release all the Materia he’s been collecting since the beginning of the fight, Captain “Well, holding back I see. I shall honor you with 7 percent of my power!” Zack smiles “I’m honored.” At that very moment, Zack spread his feet shoulder-width apart and brought his left arm up. The Materia began collecting around his hand. Captain J looks surprised but most of all amazed, he starts to cry and says “Maybe my teachings weren’t wasted! Hit me with everything you got ZACK!” After a couple more seconds It was complete. He condensed and gave shape to his Materia to create a sword, The Captain applauds while Zack barely stands, fatigued and injured he speaks “Materia Skill-Create… Sword Skill-Slash” With the leftover Materia Zack had collected he used It to boost his physical attributes, and then rushed after the Captain. Captain J smiles and yells at the top of his lungs “EXCALIBUR SKILL-DESTRUCTION! SWORD SKILL-SLASH!” Still boosted by his Sword Skill-Rapid J quickly closes the gap. Just as there about to clash Zack has a moment of realization “If any part of his sword touches mine, I might as well be dead.” mere inches away from clashing Zack pivots on his right foot and spins to J’s backside. But the Captain already knew and jumped into the air and flipped forwards with his blade following him, Zack on reaction jumped back to avoid the strike but as soon as the Captain landed he continued his barrage of explosive slashes. The best Zack could do was dodge a wait for a counter, but with his injuries and the heat, he’s not sure how much longer he can last. As he continues to evade, Captain J quickly delivers 3 upper body slashes. The first 2 Zack was able to avoid but the 3rd slash came in a mere instant, almost like the Captain reacted to his movements. Without thinking, Zack goes to deflect the Captain’s blade with his own. He prepares for impact… But to his surprise, nothing was set off, even the Captain was surprised. Zack found his opening and took advantage, “Sword Skill-Slice!” Zack quickly fell to the ground and took his sword from the right to the left in one clean motion, J smiled and jumps saying “Hope I see!” Zack doesn’t stop, he uses the momentum of his previous slice and spins upward on his right foot, “Sword Skill-Spin!” He rises with lightning speed, but J simply smiles and deflects the attack. Zack was ready for this and lets the follow-through of his deflected attack continue. Captain J “Apparently 7 percent Isn’t enough how about 10! SWORD SKILL-PIERCE!” With zero hesitation Captain J readied his stance and released his attack with knightly speed. Zack couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke “Materia Skill-Create Spin” Even though his back was facing the Captain he managed to not only block but stop the Captain's attack altogether. J can’t help but be a little annoyed and says “Alright, not sure how you did that but It’s time to receive your test score! Sword Skill-Slash.” The Captain quickly brushed off Zack’s attack and went on the offensive. 1 slash after another each increasing In speed and power, Zack avoided each one looking for his opening. As he continues to dodge Captain J’s slashes he thinks to himself “I've made so many opportunities, but he just shrugs them off and retaliates like It’s nothing. I have enough stamina and Materia for 1 more attack.” As the barrage of slashes continually gets faster, Zack takes one final breath and speaks loud and clear “Materia Skill-Create Slash.” Without moving his left arm he begins to clash with J’s slashes, he then takes this opportunity to attack on his own “Sword Skill-Pierce” While Captain J was focused on the Materia slashes, Zack went for the pocket with the letter with his Sword Skill. Captain J’s smile slowly fades and he says “For a moment I thought you could do It, but I was angry for nothing. Now I’m just disappointed.” He then releases his Materia outwards not only stopping the Materia slashes but also sending Zack flying, but the Captain appeared right behind him and grabbed him by his head. Captain J “You have a lot to learn. You showed great progress, but you're still weak.” He drops Zack but just before he touched the ground, J kneed him with such grace, not a sound was made.

Zack lays on the ground unconscious, barely breathing. Captain J can’t help but feel sad for him, Captain K and H enter the test room. Captain K says “HAHAHA! He almost had you J.” J doesn’t even acknowledge him and turns to Captain H and speaks “In 1 month he found a way to not only create physical objects with Materia but mid-fight learned he could channel his Skills with Materia.” Captain K “So you're just going to ignore me?” Captain H turns towards J and says “The progress Zack has shown Is incredible, a true prodigy! It’s only a matter of time…” As Captain J and H continue to talk about Zack’s progression, Captain K starts to get annoyed at them for ignoring him, so he thinks of a way to get Captain J to answer him. Captain H “With some more training in Sword Skills he could even rival the Sword Master!” Captain J can’t help but laugh as he responds to H “That’s a good one! Even though his talent Is great, It takes more than that to become a Master, even you know that.” H nods, but just before they could continue Captain K interrupts them to say “Well then, give him 1 month with me, and not only will he be able to beat J but he’ll be one step closer to being a better Swordsman than both of you! Hehehe!” Both Captain J and H stop and turn to look at K standing there oozing with confidence. Captain H can’t help but laugh a Lil bit knowing J will take the bait. Captain J on the other hand quickly replies to K’s challenge “Alright then. Do you think you can do a better job not only training but teaching this kid?” K responds “On my momma, I can!” J looks K in his eyes and says “Okay then, you have 1 month to train Zack to pass this test. But If you fail you’ll have to take a week’s worth of my missions no matter what! Deal?” Captain K thinks for a bit before answering “Man, your missions are ass but whatever. O, and If I win I’ll take the usually like always.” As Captain J and K argue, Captain H becomes lost In though “Everything this kid has been through and seen, he still chooses to gain strength no matter the obstacle. I should keep my eye on him.”

Narrator- 3 days have passed since the test and Zack has made a full recovery. He’s been briefed on changes in his training and will now be taught by none other than the infamous killer Captain K. At the same time Captain H Is sent on a solo mission to investigate an influx of Materia between the Xifier Clan and the Johnson Family.