A/N: This was just going to be a one-shot and not related to Catalyst at all. I'm glad I changed it, since it gave me the chance to write more Taryn/Jak romance, although this particular fic will feature her one-sided admiration.
I had a lot of fun writing Krew and angsty Jak in this chapter – as well as Daxter's extravagant story. XD
~ One ~
The muted lighting, wall-to-wall trophies and hanging paintings gave The Hip Hog Heaven Saloon an appealing décor that should have had a relaxing effect on Taryn, as she entered, but it was knowing what awaited her within that made her uneasy. Being gawked at by the regulars was only second to speaking with the proprietor.
Circumstance brought her here; if she hadn't needed money so desperately, it was unlikely she would have bothered in the first place.
The crime boss himself floated around on his strange contraption, fanning himself – his hand and mouth were likely the only muscles he ever exercised. When his one working eye set upon the sixteen year old girl, a leer crossed his features.
"Well, well! If it isn't my favourite femme fatale!"
"Hey, Krew. What's new?" she enquired, forcing herself to ignore any irritation he caused. The best way to deal with man such as he was through humour and nonchalance. He didn't give a rat's ass, and others who didn't held appeal for him.
"Let me see what I can get you," he chuckled, understanding her request and flying away. It mercifully allowed her to saunter towards the back of the room. Only her close friend and sister-in-spirit Tess stood at the bar, cleaning glasses with a small cloth.
"Hiya, Bloo!" the blonde beamed. Taryn gave a wave in return, settling onto one of the stools. "I haven't seen you around for some time. Why don't you visit me more often?"
"Gee, I wonder," came the blue-haired teen's sarcastic reply. "If it really bothers you that much, I suppose I could spare some more time to see how you are."
"How sweet of you." Tess cheekily poked a tongue out of her closed mouth. "By the way, Jinx was in here earlier, looking for you."
Taryn raised an eyebrow. "Is he still trying to fix me up with Mog?"
"Oh, my gosh! No! He's looking for a partner, actually."
"Either to help him blow stuff up or sleep with. Maybe both."
"He knows you're off-limits."
"Only because it'd be like kissing a cousin if he tried."
"He swears it's for a mission. Anyway, it's too late now. He's already got someone."
"I'm sure they're very happy together."
The blonde giggled, in spite of herself. "You're on form today. Who's the lucky guy?"
Taryn grinned at her friend's buoyant disposition. "I'll never tell."
Their laughter was interrupted by an exuberant and loud, masculine voice filling the air. The sixteen year old cringed and spun on her seat to face the noise. Her mouth dropped open at the owner – Fuzzball, Cowboy, Rodent; there were a number of names she called him.
But that was not the lone reason she looked surprised.
The man on whose shoulder the Ottsel rose appeared in his late teens, fairly tall and lean, with golden blonde hair swept back from his face and hanging past his shoulders. Distinct racing goggles kept loose strands from his face. A blue, long-sleeved tunic covered his torso, armour on his left shoulder and tucked into his left glove, and a strange metal ring sat in the centre of his chest, held with three brown, leather straps. Beige trousers covered his legs, tied off at the knee with more leather, and were tucked into knee-high boots.
Yet what struck her the most were those large, cerulean optics frequently glancing between the orange rodent and the blue-haired adolescent.
This was the one Torn mentioned, she realised. Being well-acquainted with the Underground and knew all its members, past and present, was partly why she became involved with eradicating the Metal Bug threat, as well as working for Krew. But what's the newbie's name? She simply couldn't remember. Frustrating.
The demolition duo approached the bar, and the blonde male settled on a stool, whilst Daxter hopped onto the bar to get a better seat.
"Been a long time, Dollface," Orange Lightning winked. His friend rolled their eyes at the cheesy chat-up lines and over-the-top flirtatious behaviour. Taryn flashed a smirk at the latter and managed to get a sliver of a smile in response.
"What brings you to this fine establishment?" she smoothly asked and leant back, arms resting on the bar. She had directed the question at nobody in particular, although it was Daxter who answered. Damn. I want to hear Blondie speak.
"Lookin' for something to pass the time."
"Same here. Nice to see you've upgraded from bug squashing."
"Says the gal who hired me on a number of occasions. Just couldn't get enough of this perfect body, huh?"
Taryn raised an eyebrow. "Careful there, super stud; Tess might get jealous."
"Oh, Bloo, I would never," the bubbly barmaid giggled.
The Ottsel's mouth broke into a wide beam of gleaming, white teeth. The blue-haired teen narrowed her eyes in his direction; having experienced her gun aimed at her face during their first meeting and well aware that she possessed no qualms about using said weapon on him, he knew her glare was not an idle threat, so decided against thinking aloud.
Rather inclined to talk about another topic, she tilted her head at the silent male sat two stools down from her, and hoped her voice didn't sound too eager. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"
Before the furball could respond, the blonde spoke. "It's Jak."
Jak. It sounded fitting to her ears. Right. That was the name.
"And you are?" There was a misplaced bitterness to his tone, yet she had seen and heard enough of that in Haven City to be unfazed.
"Taryn," came her soft-spoken reply, green optics meeting his gaze. If he wanted to play tough and moody, fine, but she wasn't going to let him affect her – well, at least not allow him to see it, anyway. His strange aura already told her he was different, although she had no idea how or why. Torn and the Shadow had hardly been informative about the blonde.
To his credit, Jak met her challenging stare, although his eyes actually softened a tad. A number of questions riddled his mind, the main one being "how do you know Daxter?", although it seemed the kind of query that could get him into trouble with the girl; after all, he didn't know her very well, and the women of Haven seemed to be tough-as-nails. I'll ask Dax later, he decided.
At that moment, almost as if feeling left out of the conversation, Krew floated above the quartet and greeted the two new arrivals with a hearty chuckle. "If it isn't my favourite errand boys, mm?"
"Hey, there, big boy! How's life treatin' you?" Daxter enquired, to the usual chagrin of the crime boss. And, as usual, the question was ignored. Jak said nothing, simply looking upwards.
"So, what do you have for me?" Taryn chimed in, smirking at the gangster. I've been here long enough for you to assign me some crap work by now.
Krew glanced in her direction and flashed a sickly-sweet smile, apparently unperturbed by her interruption. She forced herself to supress a shudder. He tossed the object in his hands – a gun upgrade – in her direction, which she caught with ease.
"Ooh, a shiny new toy," she cooed. "What's the catch?"
"Your favourite hang-out, my dear," he responded.
That meant only one place – the Sewers.
Oh, yay! she sarcastically thought. No wonder he gave me the gun mod.
He continued with the mission briefing. "There are some Krimzon patrols down there getting far to near to a little black box stashed away. Move the box to the Bazaar, and one of my men will collect it."
Probably Grim. She knew better than to ask about the contents of her delivery, instead nodding. "Can do."
"Make sure the guards don't see you with it, eh?" Then he added, "And no peeking! I know what you're like."
"I promise not to look this time." She winked at him, then leisurely rose from her stool, flashing a mischievous smirk at the demolition duo. "Nice meeting you, Jak. See you around."
From the bar, Tess chuckled to herself, shaking her head. She knew how Taryn could be. Careful with that one, 'though, Bloo. You might get burned.
Krew fanned himself, admiring the retreating figure. Jak, too, stared after the blue-haired teen, fascinated. The women of Haven City were so different to the Old World – it fit with everything else here that felt weird and new. His mind briefly flitted to Keira, but he quickly tossed the thought aside. She's gone; no point lingering on old memories.
Noticing his companion's lingering gaze, Daxter grinned, sitting on the bar. "So, whaddya think?"
Caught off-guard, the blonde's reply emerged a tad too defensive. "What do I think about what?"
"Taryn, stupid. She's a nice girl, huh?"
Yeah, but I'm not about to admit it – especially to you. "How do you know her, Dax?" You too, Tess.
"It was a couple months ago, back when I was head exterminator – there was a golden glow to the sky, the area littered with those nasty Metal Bugs-"
"Can you tell this story without the drama?" Jak snapped.
"Without the…?" Daxter looked appalled. "How can you say that?"
"Easy – the way I just did."
"Gah! Everyone's a critic."
"Oh, please go on! He may not want to know what happened, but I do!" Tess called, leaning over the bar in eagerness, arms resting under her chest. It was enough excuse for Orange Lightning, and his story continued.
"The blue-haired beauty fought as hard as she could, but she was being surrounded. She needed my help. So, I charged in, left and right, firing away at the biggest, nastiest bugs you ever saw! Boom! Bang! Splat!" He performed the necessary motions along the bar, somehow making his story even more colourful. "I was just on the tail of the boss, when my gun gets knocked from my hands. Backed into a corner, I raised my fists, ready to slap 'em around!" He leant closer to the barmaid. "I happen to be an expert in martial arts."
"Oh, wow!" she cried, clapping her hands together. Jak offered her a bemused glance from the corner of his eye, unsure of her sincerity.
"I battered them all within an inch of their lives! They took one look at my skills. One left over actually fled, but I wasn't letting it get away that easy! I raised my gun, took aim…and BLAM! Metal Bug everywhere! Of course, Taryn ran to my side and congratulated me for my bravery."
"You're so amazing, Daxter!" Tess cooed. "How do you do it?"
"Ah, some secrets I'll never tell," Daxter smirked at her.
The blonde male resisted head-butting the bar top. Brave was the last word to enter his mind. One particular day in Sandover, back when they were both eight years old, Daxter somehow managed to trap his head between railings, and began screaming that the bars were constricting around his neck, that he would be strangled to death – although, to be fair, that was long before their battle against Gol and Maia Acheron. The Ottsel had matured somewhat in the following years.
Not by enough, Jak chuckled to himself. Deciding everyone in The Hip Hog had heard enough amazing escapades, he opted to change the subject. "Tess?"
"Yes, hun?" she beamed. It amazed him how she managed to remain a sunbeam, even in the drab saloon and surrounding city.
"How do you know Taryn?"
"We grew up together. She's like a younger sister to me."
His optics widened. "Younger?"
"Only a year younger, but a year, all the same. So, I get to tell her what to do and offer advice." She stuck out her tongue and snickered. "She absolutely hates it when I go all big sister on her, 'though."
He was too polite to enquire about her age, but his friend, sadly, was not.
"How old are ya?"
"Seventeen. That's the same age as you boys, isn't it?"
Daxter nodded, yet Jak was distracted by thoughts of Taryn's age. She was sixteen, then. The same age Keira would be now. The blue hair and green eyes were also similar between the two girls – unnerving to the point that he no longer wished to ask any more questions about their red-clad acquaintance.
Instead, he rose from his stool and approached the gang lord. "Got any work for us?"
"I'm glad you asked!" Krew replied. "I have just the thing!"