Hi there! Thanks so much in advance for reading! CB
Well, to start off I suppose I should say quickly that this is a SEQUEL to the story "Broken Wings" which I just finished. X3 You can find it in my stories. (Most of the chapters in BW are very short. XD I sware it can't be more than a couple hours of reading. and that's if you're a slow reader. Oo) You don't HAVE to read it, but it will DEFINATELY help you to understand what's going on. XD
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Ch. 1
"Ow! Ow, ow OW!"
"Stop fidgeting! You're only hurting yourself."
"Of course, since you sure don't seem to care!"
"..." Jak remained quiet as he dabbed the cotton ball on the wound. Daxter closed his eyes as the stinging medicine began taking effect.
"Ow, ow, ow..." he mewed. Jak only shook his head and smirked. The cut itself was nothing amazing. But it lay right next to the red-head's eye and was right in the middle of an incredible shiner. The bruise had started off as only a mild discoloration, but by they time they'd gotten from the hideout to the Underground HQ (to get Daxter some clothes) and then across Haven to Krew's place (for the medical supplies), it had developed quite nicely.
Jak snickered as he remembered Torn's initial reaction to seeing Daxter.
Underground HQFlashback
The door whirred open and Jak rushed the sheet-covered red-head inside, looking around behind him. In his rush, he'd accidentally run into a KG zoomer and was making sure they hadn't been followed.
Then he heard Torn.
"Jak what the hell--"
But the blonde ignored him and drug Daxter to the side of the room, kicking open a dusty chest. He knelt down and dug through the moldy cloth for something wearable.
"Jak, just WHAT the HELL do you think you're doing bringing an OUTSIDER into the FUCKING HEADQU--"
"It's Daxter," was all he said.
Torn was quiet. He looked at the other red-head for a moment, a look of pure disbelief on his face. But Daxter smiled.
"Heyyyy Sparky! D'j'a miss me?" he cooed. Torn's mouth fell open. Even he could tell it was the Ottsel.
Jak suddenly threw a wrinkled pair of faded blue pants at Daxter (whose head caught them quite nicely) and the red-head grumbled, holding them out.
"Uh, Jak? Slight problem."
"What?"
"You remember that little... 'Add-on' I've got now? There is no way I'm getting into pants with it."
"So you want to walk around stark naked?"
"No. But I do want pants that fit!"
Torn looked from one speaker to the other and finally he couldn't hold out any longer. "... What kind of 'Add-on' are we talking about?"
Daxter looked at him quizzically, looking for the right answer when Jak said, without looking back, "Show 'im, Dax."
"What! Right here? Are you nuts!"
Jak rolled his eyes. "I didn't say give him a lap dance, just show him the damn thing."
"Bu--"
"Don't argue with me."
Daxter stared, flabbergasted, at the back of the blonde's head. Had he just been ordered around? Nobody ordered him around.
Except Jak.
So, he decided to take his anger out on Torn.
"OW--!" Jak suddenly looked back. He saw Daxter studying the ceiling and Torn jumping up and down, holding his leg. Jak raised an eyebrow.
"What the Hell?"
Torn pointed angrily at the red-head opposite him. "He hit me!" he shouted, purely shocked. Suddenly he put his hand on the butt of his gun, obviously ready (and wanting) to use it.
Jak put up his hand to halt Torn. He sighed and gave Daxter a mildly disappointed look. Daxter shrugged. "Nicely, Dax," Jak instructed.
Daxter grumbled but complied. Just as Jak turned back around he heard another yelp and spun around again to see Torn retreating against his table.
"What the HELL is THAT!" he hissed. Jak looked over and saw Daxter wringing the long, orange, furry appendage he'd grown so accustomed to.
His tail.
Daxter glared at Torn. "Yeah, well, I happen to think it's a nice 'Woman Magnet'!"
Torn scoffed. "Yeah, a magnet for freaks who like monste--."
Jak suddenly stood up. "Ok, that's enough." He turned to Daxter. "Here. Gimme the pants, I'll make room for your tail." He took the trousers as he handed the boy a shirt. It was obviously one too big, but it would have to do for now.
Daxter looked gloomily at the old, moth-eaten clothes he'd been given, then sadly up at the blonde. "Isn't there anything... cleaner?"
Jak smirked and shook his head. "We'll get you something new later. For now this will have to do."
Daxter sighed but finally gave in, moving behind a bunk and hanging his sheet like a shield to keep the other men from peeking. Jak smirked and shook his head.
Torn cocked his head to the side. "... So, just how did all this... happen?"
Jak began tearing a tail-sized hole in the trunks he held. "Evil genius."
"What?"
"Mad scientist?"
"...?"
Jak sighed and rolled his eyes. Torn was still eying the sheet.
"... So... That's really... your pet rat?"
Jak rolled his eyes again. "Torn, he was never a pet."
"And never a RODENT either!" Daxter called from behind the curtain. Jak chuckled and threw the pants over the white barricade. A grunt later Daxter walked out from behind the sheet and Jak had to work to keep himself from laughing.
Daxter had to hold up the baggy faded blue knickers and the extremely over sized white shirt seemed to drown the small man in stained fabric. The red-head pouted and glared at the blonde as he began snickering. It really did look like a tent on him.
"Not a word, Jak!" Daxter warned, seeing the look on his friend's face. Jak just shook his head and turned to Torn.
"Are there any medical supplies here?" he asked. Jak had never really needed any before, since he often found more than plenty hidden in the nooks and crannies of the places he ventured. But he realized Daxter needed some tending and he wasn't really sure if Torn kept any in the HQ, so he figured asking was the best way to find out.
Torn shook his head. "All the reserves are out, thanks to the Baron's last attack. But I've got a few teams out collecting more. They should be back the day after tomorrow."
Jak shook his head. "That's too long." He turned back to Daxter. "Tess probably has some stashed somewhere for an emergency. Let's go."
"Uh, Jak?" Daxter inquired as the blonde walked past him. Jak looked back. "You forgetin' somethin'?" Daxter waved the tip of his tail in a greeting fashion. "You just expect me to walk around with this think attractin' all sorts o' unwanted attention?"
Jak thought for a moment before noticing the sheet Daxter had used before, still hanging from one of the bunks. He threw out a hand and snatched the cloth, holding it out to the red-head. Daxter frowned, but threw the tattered make-shift poncho over himself.
Torn, still stuck in disbelief, watched the two leave the hideout. He just shook his head at the last remark he heard Daxter make as they left.
"Three years. Three years and all I wanted was a pair of shorts. Now all I want is a clean pair of shorts!"
Hip HogEnd Flashback
The red-head sighed heavily with relief as Jak finally put down the cotton swab. The blonde quickly took out a small band-aid and pulled Daxter's face back into place. He gently laid the strip over the cut and leaned back to survey his work. After all, he wasn't exactly an artist when it came to mending broken things.
But the newly humanified ottsel noticed the stare. "Uh, Jak?" he murmured. Suddenly he smirked, lowered his eyelids and leaned back on his palms, sitting sideways on the bench. "I know you're envious of all my good looks and all," he teased, "but you you got'a leave enough eye-candy for the ladies!"
Jak rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right, Dax." He stood up and moved out of the booth, walking to the counter where Tess stood, leaning against said table-top, still staring at the red-head across the room. She herself hadn't believed it was the same small animal always spitting hero stories and crude one-liners who'd been laid-up and in her care just earlier that very week.
Hip HogFlashback
Tess' mouth had hung open in a large O-shape when she heard the news. On the way there Daxter had inquired how the girl might act and Jak had simply shrugged. Once they'd arrived they had their answer.
Jak walked through the door first, closely followed by his friend. Tess immediately jerked her head toward the door.
"Jak!" She raced around the counter and jumped around anxiously. "D-did you find Daxter! I-is he ok!" The worry on her face was more than evident.
Jak smirked. "Sure did."
"A-and! Wh-where is he?" she pleaded, wringing her hands.
Jak jerked his thumb behind him. Pointing to the red-head. "He's right there."
Tess immediately looked around the large blonde man, but only came to see the scrawny boy who smiled at her nervously. Her brow furrowed.
"What?" She looked back at Jak. "Jak, I--"
Jak put up his hand to silence her, than turned and motioned the boy forward. "Tess, this is Daxter."
Tess' mouth dropped into the afore mentioned O-shape. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two men for a short while before she squinted at the red-head.
Finally, he spoke. "Yeah, yeah. We get the picture, Toots. So I'm not an Atlas or anything, but you got'a admit I'm still sexy!" He put his hands on his hips.
Tess' eyes then got wide and she took a step back. "That voice!" she whispered, as if she were afraid to say it herself. After a second of staring she leaned closer to him. Then a little closer. And finally she stopped only a step away. She looked hard into his eyes and whispered, "... Dax?"
Daxter smirked innocently. "In the flesh," he replied. "For real this time."
Tess' face softened as her eyes glazed over. She suddenly threw her arms around the boy and pulled him into a graciously received tight hug. "Oh Daxter! I was so worried!" Just as suddenly as she'd grabbed him she let go and held him out at arms length, looking him up and down. "But-- How—?"
Jak interrupted her. "It's a long story. But right now we need that First Aid kit you keep in case of emergencies."
Tess nodded and quickly retrieved the box from under the counter. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Hip HogEnd Flashback
Jak placed the box in front of her and sighed, leaning on the counter like she was. Tess quickly put away the box and smiled sheepishly.
"He looks so... different. And yet... you can just tell it's him! It's so weird..." She sighed again and folded her arms across her chest.
Jak chuckled. "That's Daxter for ya. No matter how he looks you can always tell it's him."
Tess shook her head, still getting over the shock from earlier. "Does Torn know?"
"Yes."
"Ha, how did he react?"
Jak shook his head. "He took it surprisingly well, actually." Tess nodded and the two watched the red-head across the room pick at a band aid on his knee. It was obviously bothering him for some reason. That or he was obsessively bored out of his mind. That was possible too.
"So... the guy who kidnapped him... He did this?" Tess questioned cautiously.
Jak nodded, without a word.
Tess shook her head, sorrow coming to take place on her face again. "What a monster! Who would do something like that?"
Jak was quiet for a minute or two before he finally replied.
"A monster."