Part Three

The hammer slowly fell on the weapon that Michael held in his hand. Once it fell, it would hit a small plate which would, in turn, hit the very back of a bullet and hit something called the “primer”. The primer was a tiny cylinder of explosive that would boom just big enough to light the gunpowder. The round inside the chamber of the handgun was simply filled with gunpowder, and would therefore explode and propel the bullet, like a rocket, forward.

After the bullet left the chamber of the pistol, it would flesh, and quickly rip it in two, where it would continue into muscle. The muscles would be ripped, torn, and shredded before the heat and speed of the bullet. After that, it would hit bone. If the bullet was fired at the right angle and hit the right area, it would bust through this hard barrier that protected human weak points. But if it was fired wrong or the wrong place, it would hit and ricochet, this could cause it to fly off in a different direction, or in some cases, simply become trapped in the flesh. If it gets shot into a leg and ricochets, for instance, it can bounce up the leg, smashing the bone with each landing, and turn the entire bone to mush, breaking every inch of it.

But when fired into the temple, it will usually pierce, then hit a serious human weak point: the brain. When it hits the brain, several things can happen. It can paralyze your entire body instantly, it can cause your entire head to explode, or you can just die. Sometimes, however, you don’t die and just live out a life of mental disorder, not remembering what happened the day before and living life as if you are on dope. Of course, none of the above described will happen if the weapon is unloaded.

There was a horrendous click, and nothing more.

Michael looked down the barrel of the gun and saw nothing. Smith laughed at this time and reached into his holster, drawing out a pistol clip. Michael was stunned, so Smith took the pistol away from him and holstered it. Jaw-Zak-Haru made a squealing sound, his version of a laugh, and Michael pointed a finger at him.

“Shut up,” He screamed, “I’m not going to help your ‘Other Earth’ friends.”

Jaw-Zak-Haru stopped laughing, then said, “Why not?”

Michael wasn’t sure how, but it seemed it was mostly because it didn’t affect him, and because he had been kidnapped.

“I was kidnapped! Do you know what that means? It means that they took me away from my home for three days without giving me a choice! Why should I help you?”

Jaw-Zak-Haru seemed to think about that for a time, then said, “I not have done these things unto you. It is your people who have struck against you. I only ask for your help as a friend, if that is what can I be.”

Michael was suddenly humbled. At first, he had seen Jaw-Zak-Haru as a menace, but now he realized how wrong he was. When he thought about it, it was Smith who was the menace here. It was Smith who had the gun, and it was Smith who had knocked him out. Now he suddenly realized that Jaw-Zak-Haru was nothing more than an innocent being.

It was at this time that Michael realized that he would be going with Smith to this iteration. It was at this time that Michael understood that he was going with his real enemy to destroy someone that he had made into his enemy. It was at this time that Michael realized that before too long, someone was going to die.

Jaw-Zak-Haru faced Michael, who turned towards Smith.

“I’ll do it,” He muttered.

And then the preparations began. Michael and Smith were suited up with machines that, using Andromedan technology, could monitor them in another universe over. The machines looked like regular vests, but had some amazing abilities. The Fourth explained it:

“This vest right here will be used to monitor you in the next iteration – hereby known as Iteration 1, this one is called Home. While in Iteration 1, we can measure every part of your body, we can even tell how happy you are based on the amounts of certain chemicals in your brain.”

“That’s… odd,” Smith muttered under his breath.

“And if anything goes wrong,” Fourth continued, “It can do some first aid. It has been trained to suture wounds, administer painkillers, and perform CPR. Each of them contains one adrenaline syringe, that way if anything goes wrong – I mean dying here, you two – then it can revive you. If one of you gets offed twice, then that’s too bad, because we can’t be using more than one of these a week, as it will kill you even further.”

Smith raised his hand, like the smartass he was.

“Yes, Smith,” Fourth said, despairing.

“I have a question: How can you be more killed than dead?”

“I don’t know…”

“Then why did you-”

“Forget I said it,” fourth cried.

After this, the two were separated for different trainings. Smith was being taught about the Regulators – Michael didn’t need to learn that, he had built the original – and Michael was off to shooting practice.

If was the most traumatizing evening of his life. Michael was relatively good at firing a rifle, but missing terribly when it came to handguns. The Twelve had to convene for about five minutes to decide if they could give him a rifle, but decided against it because it would have far more mass than a pistol. Both of them were given three full-charge tasers as well.

“For using on Regulators,” Ninth explained, “Not for each other.”

Michael leaned over to Smith and shocked him on the arm. Smith turned and shocked him on the throat. Needless to say, Michael didn’t try it again.

Eleventh sighed.

“These can take out a Regulator soldier for a few minutes with one shock,” Ninth said, “As we saw from that toaster that Michael used against Robert. But on the higher ones – like his generals: Bob, Robby, and Rob – it won’t do much of anything. Robert himself has been upgraded to be protected against it.”

The two nodded.

The next morning, the fourteen people – the Twelve, Smith, and Michael – gathered in the gathering area. Four of the Twelve gathered around the supercomputer and activated it. It lit up with a bright white light, and it was ready. Tenth nodded, and Smith walked through.

“Michael,” Fourth said, “When you are finished – and we’ll know, the vests will tell us – the gate will appear behind you. Go through it as fast as possible, before and Regulators follow you.”

Michael nodded as he put on his pistol and his Supervest – as Smith had started calling it – and headed to the arch. He was about to take his first step through, and Twelfth clapped his clear hand onto Michael’s shoulder.

He said one word: “Friend.”

Michael smiled, and nodded to Twelfth. He took a step through, then another, and waved goodbye.

When he turned around, the arch was gone, as well as he Twelve, and he stepped onto Blue Sand.