Chapter 100 - Intentions

“This is a complete waste of time.” Gideon said to the group in the tent.

Jack looked around at the people that filled the tent. It wasn’t any of the U.F.E. elites. It was mostly people who were lawyers, philosophers, politicians, and more of that sort from back on Earth. They were currently debating the language of the best soul oaths to swear that would allow them to weasel their way out of it with minimal repercussions.

Normally, a meeting like this would make Jack want to put a bullet in his brain, and he did to some extent, but he had a personal interest in learning how to properly swear a soul oath that he had every intention of breaking.

“What do you mean?” Francis, one of the lawyers, asked.

“Is this a human trait? Thinking you can finesse your way out of soul oaths like this?” Gideon asked, eyes going stern. “Here is what you need to understand about soul oaths, and the Tower, for that matter, because obviously you still don’t understand it. What do you think the Tower is doing right now?” he asked.

The room was quiet, everyone staring at Gideon with confused looks.

“Watching people have sex?” Jack offered.

“Oh, it’s definitely doing that,” Gideon agreed. “It’s also watching people play, watching people fight, watching people gossip, talk, argue, make food, sew clothes, go to the bathroom, count their treasure…”

“What’s your point?” Francis asked.

“My point is this – the Tower is watching everything, it knows everything, it facilitates everything. So tell me what the Tower is doing right now, inside of this room full of people debating on the best way to break a soul oath.”

“Watching us?” Francis said, sitting down with a dejected look on his face.

“Exactly,” Gideon grinned. “Soul oaths by their very nature aren’t things that you can trick your way out of. The Tower recognizes and enforces the intent of the soul oath, not the obscure and confusing wording you might use. I can assure you the more you sit here and debate ways to break the soul oath without facing repercussions, the worse said repercussions will be.”

“In fact,” Gideon continued, rubbing at his chin in thought, “I’m starting to think that might be Rodeo’s plan. Get the U.F.E. to break the soul oath and turn him into a god. It’s not exactly original. Loads of people try that very thing on the upper floors, but most people usually aren’t dumb enough to take the bait…”

“How do you know he’ll turn into a god?” someone else asked.

“I don’t.” Gideon shrugged, “The Tower could create a mana tornado and send it straight through camp, wiping us all out. Or it could unleash a horde of monsters on us all. It could shut off gravity and let us all float away into the sky. Or it could turn Rodeo into some sort of unbeatable super monster.”

“So you don’t know.”

“What I do know is this,” Gideon said matter of fact, “If you break an oath you don’t intend on holding up, the repercussions will be far worse than you can imagine. Isn’t that right, Jack?” Gideon asked, turning to him with a wink.

Jack squinted at the dragon. Sam has been talking to him again. He groaned. Jack pushed up out of his seat and left the tent. If it wasn’t possible for him to trick his way out of a soul oath, then he wasn’t interested in the ongoing conversation anymore.

Jack immediately ran into Sam and Hannah as he walked outside. Hannah looked furious.

“I was just about to go looking for you.” Jack grinned, staring at Sam, who met his gaze.

“Sam!” Gideon said, plopping his arm around Jack as he followed him out of the tent. Jack shrugged him off. “Thank you for warning me of this. I’m afraid had I not set them straight, we would be dealing with a super Rodeo at some point.”

“You’re welcome,” Sam nodded, still not taking his eyes off Jack.

“You and Hannah especially shouldn’t break the oath,” Gideon added.

“And why is that?” Hannah asked, turning furious eyes towards Gideon.

“Because the more you do it, the worse it gets.” Gideon shrugged.

“Bullshit.” Both Jack and Hannah said.

“Listen,” Gideon said after inspecting them both for a long moment, “I’m not telling you what to do. I’ve broken my fair share of oaths and paid the price each time. Sometimes it’s been worth it, other times it hasn’t. What I am telling you is that it isn’t something you should be messing around with. It’s truly outside of your control what the Tower will do, but if you break the oath,” Gideon said, eyes turning hard as he looked at Jack, “how do you think the Tower will hurt you? How do you think it will choose to punish you? How many people are you willing to throw into harm’s way for your revenge?”

Jack grit his teeth. He was talking about Sarah.

“Now you get it,” Gideon nodded. “I can assure you; I won’t let you bring any harm to anyone I care about.” He finished, his eyes flaring with gold as he fixed Jack with a warning gaze. It lasted only a moment before he replaced it with another goofy grin. “Well, I’m off to go find a drink.” He said, walking off towards the cantina.

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Jack looked at Hannah, who stared at Gideon’s back, then she turned back to Jack, her eyes turning dark.

“We can’t let him live, Jack.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

“Did you two not listen at all?” Sam exploded. “I know you have a history with Rodeo, but so do I. I’ve seen the things he can do, but I’m not willing to let you two sacrifice everything we’ve worked for-“

“Enough Sam.” Hannah said, her eyes turning back to fury in a second as she rounded on him. “You really think you know Rodeo? You really think you understand what he is capable of? You’ve been off playing soldier for a few months and finally have a few notches in your belt, so you think you can sit here and lecture us about making sacrifices for the greater good? If you think letting Rodeo live is a good idea, Sam, you’re a bigger idiot than us all.”

Sam stood there dumbstruck, and Hannah stormed off, leaving nothing but a string of curses in her wake.

Even Jack was a little surprised. He couldn’t remember a single time since being together that Hannah had gotten mad at Sam.

“I didn’t mean to… I just…” Sam said, failing to find the words he was looking for.

“Follow me,” Jack said, pulling on Sam’s arm. The two made their way out of camp, and to Jack’s surprise, Sarah found them and tagged along.

“Might as well kill two birds with one stone,” Jack mumbled to himself as Sarah approached.

“Where are you two going?” she asked, a curious smile on her face.

“Nature walk. Gotta clear our heads.”

“Need some company?”

“Yep.” Jack grinned back. Sam just nodded, still a little shell-shocked from Hannah’s outburst. Jack lead them out of camp and towards the woods, where they wandered around silently. Jack was starting to rethink the whole thing entirely. He had something he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure what. It wasn’t like Sam was being the bad guy here or betraying them necessarily, but there were things he didn’t understand, and Jack wasn’t sure how to convey those things. Sarah seemed to pick up on the awkward tension that filled the air, but she also seemed perfectly pleased to walk in silence with everyone.

They came across a small pond in the woods, and that’s where Jack finally stopped, staring out across the waters.

“If Rodeo leaves the first floor,” Jack started, breaking the silence, “Then it’s all over for us, Sam.”

“What?” He said, turning to Jack, eyes wide.

“Just that,” Jack shrugged. “I don’t even know if I can beat him a second time. Rodeo is extremely good, and he’s seen a lot of what I’ve got to offer. He’s no doubt run a million different scenarios through his head and figured out the exact right one to counter my every move.”

“Then why do you plan on breaking the soul oath? It’s only going to blow up in your face? I feel like we keep having this same conversation, Jack.” Sam protested.

“Because if we don’t kill him now, we never will. If he gets to go into that dungeon, and makes it to the second floor and gets an epic class, then what? I don’t know how to stop him, Sam. If he lives, he wins, and it’s only a matter of time before he takes control of me again…” Jack trailed off, going quiet. He felt Sarah grab his hand and give it a small squeeze.

“What did he do to you?” Sarah asked after a long moment. Sam sat on a nearby rock, looking intently at Jack.

Jack let out a small sigh. He was dreading this question. He didn’t even know where to begin. He still wasn’t certain he understood everything Rodeo had put him through. How the man had warped him, changed him, ruined him. Jack felt his eyes burn hot and he bit down hard. Sarah squeezed his hand even tighter.

“Sam, here’s what you need to understand,” Jack finally said. “Hannah and I… We try to do good things, but we will never be good people. Rodeo robbed us of that option a long time ago. We’re cursed, damned, however the fuck you want to look at it.” Jack bit off. “Hannah was the one who realized it first. She at least had time to form her own thoughts and opinions before Rodeo sunk his claws into her. She tried to get away so many times…”

“Why’d she come back?” Sam asked.

“Because Rodeo sent me after her… I was the one responsible for dragging her back at least a dozen times over. When that stopped working, Rodeo moved to blackmailing, blacklisting, and torture.” Jack let out another big sigh. “I know you think you know what he’s capable of, Sam, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. If he’s allowed to get any stronger inside this Tower. We’re all fucked.”

“But you’ll get stronger too, you just have to keep climbing-“

“I don’t want to keep climbing.” Jack said, his own frustrations slipping out. “I know this is your fantasy dream come true, but it isn’t mine. Once we conquer the floor, I’m done. They say this place is supposed to turn into some sort of Xanadu once we complete the secret quest, right? Well, that sounds like a pretty good retirement to me.”

“But you’re so talented Jack, humanity needs people like you to climb the Tower. The only one who doesn’t get how awesome you are on the battlefield is you. It’s like you exist to be the perfect killing mach-

“That’s exactly the point I’m trying to make, Sam.” Jack said, his eyes turning angry as he stared at Sam. “I love killing, it’s all I think about. It’s all I know. When I’m fighting for my life, that’s when I feel truly alive, Sam. But people aren’t supposed to love killing. I love killing because Rodeo taught me to love it, and it’s a part of me that I can never get rid of. I’ve learned to accept that fact, but my acceptance doesn’t change how fucked up it is Sam. You want to know what Rodeo did to me? He broke me.” Jack finished, practically choking the words out. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. None of this was supposed to happen. I was supposed to retire and marry Sarah. She’s what I want, not this fucking Tower.”

Jack looked over at Sam, who had a wide-eyed look on his face. That’s when Jack remembered that Sarah was still here. He slowly turned around. Sarah was blushing furiously and pointedly not looking at him.

Well, that’s not the worst reaction, Jack mused to himself.

“Okay,” Sam slowly said, “I still don’t think this is a good idea, but I think I get it. If you say we need to do it, then I’ll do it. We’re a team after all, right?” he said, looking back up at Jack with a smile.

“I dunno” Jack grinned, clasping Sam on the shoulder. “You snitch constantly and pissed off Hannah pretty bad.”

“Think she’ll forgive me?”

“You might have to grovel a bit.” Jack shrugged. Sam just nodded with perfect sincerity and took off back towards camp.

“Ready to head back?” Jack asked Sarah, who still wasn’t making eye contact with him.

“Sure.” was all she said.

Jack started walking back, and then Sarah grabbed his hand.

“Even if you don’t think it, I know you’re a good person, Jack. I’ve seen it.” She whispered.

“I thought you were done with men on the first floor?” Jack grinned, looking down at her hand still holding his.

“Shut up.” She said, smiling and rolling her eyes.

She didn’t let go of his hand.