This is my first Jak and Daxter fanfiction! I do hope you will enjoy this. Truth be told I only have three chapters done as we speak and a fourth one still in the works. Unfortunately I'm unsure exactly when I'll be done with said fourth chapter so… I guess don't expect anything for a long time? I'll try to like, post the other two chapters after long intervals so then there could be more time to write said fourth chapter and so on and so forth until I actually finish this fic. However with my track record with previous fics this might not be… achieved. But, I wanted this out there for anyone to read so here it is! Enjoy!
Chapter one
He's falling. Why is he falling? How could he be falling? He wasn't anywhere near a place to fall from and a normal trip down to the ground definitely doesn't take as long as this. Oh and Jack hasn't caught him yet. (Which was unusual in of itself since he would always be there to catch him whenever he fell.)
He then noticed that his eyes were shut. So he opened them. Only to see nothing but a dark abyss. In that moment when it clicked, he inhaled a lung full of air to scream. Which was good for him since the next moment he felt the pain of water (or he hopes it was water) smacking his skin worse than a belly flop. The frigid liquid engulfed him. Unfortunately the shock of the cold made him open his mouth, releasing some of that precious air.
His whole body was shooting through the water, slowing down the further he went. Eventually he stopped and for a moment, he had no idea which was up nor down.
His body began to rise. Or was it sink? He had no clue. The teen ended up flailing his limbs around in some sort of attempt at swimming. He was panicking so of course he couldn't properly swim. Even if he wasn't panicking and was properly swimming, he wouldn't be sure if he was going in the right direction. At that point he still had no idea if he was going to live or die.
(He would find it rather pathetic if he ended up dying in water after so many years living practically right next to the ocean. Not to mention his friend would resurrect him only to make sure he'll never be near deep enough water for him to drown in. Man could that guy get protective.)
It had felt like ages, or it could've been seconds, he didn't know, before he broke the surface. He gasped desperately for fresh air, lungs demanding to let go of the stale air that it held. The boy opened his eyes only to see the dark abyss once more. His heart began to race even faster than it already had as he tried to look around and keep his head above the water.
The biggest question that came to mind in that moment wasn't if he was going to stay alive or not. No, the biggest question in that moment was: where was his best friend?
"Jack?" He called out. "Jack where are you?"
He tried to search around but it was useless. He couldn't see a thing in that darkness.
"Come on man!" A wave made it so his head went down under. Immediately did he fight to go back up. "Jack!" He sputtered out.
"You!" A deep, masculine voice suddenly cut through to him. "What in the world do you think you're doing?" The person demanded.
Not Jack.
He whipped his head around, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. "Trying to stay alive!" He snapped in his nasally voice that sounded like he was swallowing sandpaper. Which was unusual since the sounding like swallowing sandpaper normally didn't happen. Although he didn't really dwell on that. He dwelled on where the heck the voice was coming from. And if the person was even talking to him.
"If you're trying to stay alive then you gotta stop flailing around like that! You'll drown!" The person pointed out with what could be irritation and disbelief. Yep. They were talking to him.
"Don't think I don't know that?!" He cried out, still trying to find where the voice is. "You try being in my position!"
Had the person spoke again, he wasn't sure. What he was sure was that he heard a rather large splash to the left of him and not long after a small wave compared to the one earlier made him bob up and down. Finally did he hear what he assumed to be the person swim to him. To his surprise, a large hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt and began to practically drag him away. Or at least the swimming equivalent of being dragged away.
He felt his lower body be dragged up something hard. Something cold.
'Metal?' Was the thought that went through his mind as he gasped and coughed whilst being put down to lay on the ground. At the time he was beginning to calm down, he finally noticed how cold it was outside. Didn't help that it was windy, so over all, he felt like he was freezing.
He just laid there for who knows how long, catching his breath, letting the adrenaline rush fade. And his companion didn't say a word the whole time.
"What's up with your ears?" His savior suddenly asked.
He scrunched up his face. "My ears are just fine." He breathed out. Self consciously he then touched his ears. Perhaps there was some nasty pimples on there. Nope. Felt the same as always. "What's up with your ears?"
'Man what a lame comeback,' he thought to himself with a wince. How old was he? Five? No, a fourteen year old should've made a better, wittier, remark. In his defense, however, he had just gone through a rather terrible experience. (It was practically a life and death situation. No, it was a life and death situation. To make matters worse, a horrible, sinking, feeling of dread was growing in the depths of his stomach telling him that there was more of that to come. Just great.) He expected to hear his best friend to groan at his comment for how terrible it was.
There was nothing.
However, to his surprise the stranger laughed. "Fair enough Chili Pepper."
After that they were both silent. He needed to collect his thoughts.
'Okay,' he began to think, 'I fell into water and it hurt worse than a belly flop. Or what I hope is water.' His whole body shuddered at the mere thought of it not being water. He didn't want to know what it was if it wasn't water.
The teen rubbed a hand against his face. He did it to take the liquid off, to get some feeling back into his mug, and just out of exhaustion. He huffed in frustration.
'And it's too dark to find Jack and I can't hear him.'
.
.
"JACK!" He bolted right up, not caring how his whole body was shaking or how his legs were trembling like a newborn fawns. "Jack where are ya buddy?"
Two warm hands took a soft yet firm hold on his shoulders, both steadying him and keeping him from doing something drastic. He didn't hear anything coming towards him.
"Whoa there, calm down." The stranger said. "Take deep breaths."
It never occurred to him that he started hyperventilating.
"Good. Keep on doing that."
In. Out. In. Out.
A moment later, he heard the voice again. "Feeling better?" The person's voice was gentle and held concern.
"Uh." Oh well would you look at that? He was probably blushing. Mainly due to the fact that he felt like his face was melting from lava. "Yeah. Thanks."
"Good. Now, I know this might sound strange, but why don't you come on over to a place I know to get you dried up? Some new clothes are in order so you wouldn't catch a cold." They offered.
He blinked. Rather rapidly at that.
"Excuse me," he quick cleaned his left ear with his pinky as he thought it might've been full of (hopefully) water, "did I hear you right? You're offering me, a complete and utter stranger a warm place to rest and basically tend to my injuries? With no catches? No deals?"
Surely the stranger managed to look sheepish if there were any lights on. Since there wasn't, unfortunately, he didn't know if said stranger did managed to look at the very least sheepish of this kind, yet suspicious, offer.
Of course he was always somewhat suspicious of things, but for all he knew this person could've been the one to drop him into the water and 'saved' him in order to get something out of him.
Or maybe it was paranoia due to the fact that Jack couldn't be found.
"That's a good point, but I have to admit, Cherry, you remind me of someone I know; and I know for a fact that he would appreciate the help if he were in trouble. Such as almost drowning in the harbor. And I think that friend of yours you were shouting for would want you to get dry too."
He heard a shift of what could be fabric and metal (metal? Really? Sounds way too much for everyday jewelry. Speaking of metal, why is he standing on some? No one uses metal for things like sidewalks. They might use it for a pier though or things of that sort) so the person was probably shifting their body. Maybe in a 'hands on hips' type of deal. "So what do you say?"
He huffed and managed to run his hand through his wet, red hair. A passing thought ran through his head that he ought to cut it for it was growing rather long. Although with that going through, his main ordeal was if he was actually going to go with the stranger or not.
'I swear if Jack is going to give me grief over this I'm going to shave his head. Eyebrows and all.' He thought to himself as he came to a conclusion.
"Okay okay." He spoke aloud with exhaustion in his tone. "Ya worn me down. But I expect you to give me a flashlight or something because I swear it is pitch black here. Like seriously, are we in a cave or somethin'?"
Silence was his answer and a frightening cold wind passed by, chilling him to the bone; making him rattle not unlike the last leaf hanging on a tree during the brutalist snowstorm of midwinter. He fear he would soon become numb and frostbite would come along not long after. He was a child of the summer, of beaches where snow grace the sand once in a blue moon with a quick kiss of a childhood lover that one might meet for what could perhaps be the last time. It also didn't help that he was quite gangly, hardly any fat on him whatsoever if it wasn't baby fat. Puberty was like an absent parent. Has not shown up yet until the last minute if at all. To make matters worse, it wasn't the last minute for him yet. (He should be glad that his voice wasn't cracking yet, unlike the other boys. Some of them already had their voices deepened and a few of them already sound like full grown men while Jack…)
So all the while, he had a horrible, terrible, bad feeling that something awful was going on.
Ever so slowly, his companion began to speak, almost like to an animal that they didn't want to spook away. "I think... I'll get a doctor to take a look at you... make sure nothing's wrong and all that."
He shifted, moving his arms so that he could rub them and try to get back some lost heat. "That doesn't sound ominous at all." He couldn't help but snark with an eye roll. Internally he winced.
Stupid defense mechanism. Or whatever it is that made him snarky, sassy, and all things witty whenever he didn't want anyone to truly see what he was thinking. (Except Jack could read him like an open book with large print intended for the visually impaired. And he him.)
"Right. I'm going to give you my arm so I can guide you alright?"
"Okay yeah sure. Just don't get any ideas." He tried to give a stink eye in what he hoped to be where the face was. The teen then reached out a hand and he swore he jumped a mile high when he felt even more metal. "Are ya wearing armor?!" He exclaimed with a gaping mouth.
His companion had the audacity to chuckle good heartedly. "Got to protect myself somehow." Was the reply.
"Yeesh. Never thought a brave and noble knight in shining armor would ever save me from drowning of all things." He shook his head at the notion of it all. He then wagged his finger as he was tugged to begin walking. "Now don't think for a minute that you'll tell stories 'bout this and paint me as a damsel in distress. I ain't no princess and I heck as don't look any good in a dress."
"I wouldn't dream of it Chili Pepper." There was definitely mirth in there and a smirk, he could tell.
As they walked, he began to absorb anything about his whereabouts that he could gain without the usage of his sight. It smelled just awful. Not like rotten flesh or food or anything like that. Perhaps of garbage, but that was like an under layer. It was as if something was smothering the scent of the ocean for he lived so near it for so long to never forget the sweet salty smells of the grand body of water. That something was worse than gasoline or propane. It was... darker if he could describe it like that. As if it had a sinister undertone perhaps. If a smell could ever smell sinister. It was like acid and burned the nose but not enough that one would have to sneeze constantly. In fact, he wasn't sure if the wind helped or hindered the scents. Smoke was in the air as well. Cigarette smoke to be precise. (He never did like the smell of cigarettes. Couldn't ever wrap his mind around the idea that there were people who liked it.) There was also some smells of food in the air, but it wasn't that much. However it did seemed to get closer to them. Or they to the cause of it.
The sounds were louder the more he payed attention to them. Hardly any conversations about, only what sounded like officers (a lot of them from how many they passed) reporting in, that told him that there were other living beings around him and his savior. There was also the fact that what sounded like vehicles moving about. Boats were probably out and about which clued him in that he probably landed in the ocean or in a sea. Or a huge lake even. Although because of that sweet salty underlining scent of salt water, it was most likely an ocean or sea. (Which made him as happy as he could in his situation to know that he was actually in water and nothing undesirable. But it also sucked because if no one was careful he would've been ran over by one of the boats. That wave that made him go under was probably the result of one of said boats wake and he was too panicky to have noticed the noise of the floating device.) However the oddest thing was he heard the sounds of motors above him that were too close for comfort.
These sounds above him really drew his attention and he tried to figure out what they were. They were too low to be planes and helicopters as he would feel the great wind they would cause. Too loud to be drones. In fact they sounded an awful lot like motorcycles, but that couldn't be right. Unless of course someone finally managed to create a hovercraft of some sort. And if they did then they have got to bring them over to his area because they have nothing like it. And surely him riding a hovercraft will bring all the babes to him. First he needs to learn how to drive though.
It was the wave of warm air that really indicated him the change of environment.
"Watch your step now." Said his metal wearing companion.
Carefully, almost shyly, he felt his foot around and found that there was a slight step up. With more confidence did he enter the threshold.
"Just to let you know, there's tables around here. I'm going to take you to a friend of mine. She can help you with some clothes while I get you your doctor." They told him.
"Okay, cool." He said. A moment later, almost like an afterthought he said, "thanks."
"It's no problem. Like I said, you remind me of a friend of mine." They said with a slight chuckle in their voice… and what had sounded like bittersweetness.
"Sig?" A voice that sounded like it belonged to the female verity spoke in a questioning tone.
"Tess, could you get this young man a towel and some dry clothes? He decided to take a dip in the harbor." His savior, Sig (short for Sigmund?) perhaps, slipped their arm from his hand to gently push him towards Tess who he only knows as another voice.
He felt himself flush at this. "It ain't my fault I was hurled inta the water!" He protested. "If I had my way I woulda never had that happen!"
Once he said that, he heard Tess gasped.
"How did that happen?" Tess asked in a way that he couldn't really describe other than it was hard, dare he say struggle, to say it for a moment.
He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it with a click. Blood was draining from his face as his memory came up with a blank. "I don' remember." He ended up whispering.
Instead of actually paying attention to what was going on around him, he went inwards to try to recall what had exactly happened.
It was the last day of school and he and his friend were walking home. After that it started to get fuzzy. Maybe they went to his house? Or was it Jack's? He wasn't sure. They probably had dinner since he wasn't hungry at all. Actually he was kind of thirsty for some water. Almost drowning probably did that to people. He wasn't sure since he never almost drowned before.
Did they go to bed? Did he end up painting or drawing something? He couldn't have been sculpting since he just can't create anything with clay. Or any 3D art in general. Sewing doesn't count, but all of their clothes were perfectly fine. And he doesn't know how to actually make clothes. That was Jack's specialty. That and writing. In fact if Jack wanted too, he could probably write a ballad or a novel that would be praised and read for future generations to come.
But that wasn't the point. The point was, he couldn't remember what they did after that. It hadn't anything to do with Jack's uncle or else he would remember that. He tends to remember a lot of things that happen when Jack's uncle was around. Annalise and Jacob had nothing to do it either because he couldn't remember them either. And he makes sure he remembers everything when those two were home.
So it had to have been just him and Jack. Because if it was… well…
How did this happened?
"…et's see if these fit you." These words gently led him back to the world.
The teen shook his head, as if to bring himself back together. "I'm sorry what?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Just saying how if these clothes fit you." It was Tess.
"Ah." It finally occurred to him that he had a towel wrapped around him.
'Oh geez. How long was I out of it?' He thought worriedly. Who knows what could've happened to him.
It's not like he doesn't trust these guys or anything… okay so he still doesn't exactly trust them a whole lot. Sure they're helping him out, apparently out of goodwill, and that's great. However can he be blamed for being cautious around strangers that he just plain doesn't know? 'Stranger danger' and all that.
"I'm going to hand you your clothes and step out of the room so you can change okay? There's a table to your immediate left to put your wet clothes on." Tess told him as he was given the clothes into his awaiting arms. He gave Tess a smile in reassurance before he heard them walk out of the room and the door close with a click.
... he was alone.
With a heavy sigh, he set down the dry set of clothes on the table he found quite close to him on the left. For he didn't really know how long, he used his arms to lean his body against the face of the table and just… felt the exhaustion buried deep into his bones. Slowly, he began to undress, starting with the towel.
He rubbed it, the towel, against his hair in what would be the last time if he had any say in it. Then went his shirt and worked from there. Since he couldn't see, he didn't even attempt to fold anything. He blindly went for the towel again because he was being finicky, didn't really know what he wanted to do, and ended up deciding to wipe his body with the towel so the new clothes wouldn't get wet.
'Man I hope I'm actually alone for this… and no hidden cameras or whatever.' He even tried to look over his shoulder but it was useless. It was still dark as dark could be.
He sighed once more as he fumbled with the new clothing that was given to him. He had accidentally put limbs through holes that weren't meant for those appendages, put things on backwards, and just overall didn't get things right until he did. What was given to him was a bit baggy and was meant for someone who was taller than him, but it would have to do until his clothes were dry.
There was a soft knock on the door. Softly, he heard the voice of Tess float through. "Are you done?"
He cleared his throat before answering with a "yeah" as he didn't truly trusted his voice at that moment.
A click of the door indicated that Tess was coming back in.
"Hmm…" Tess hummed. "It's a little large on you, but I think it'll have to do."
He rolled his eyes. "A little? I feel like I'm swimming in it." He exaggerated. And it was a good thing too because it made Tess giggle.
"No, it's not that bad." Tess said with a little more giggles at the end.
It was that moment that he felt a little smitten.
"Weeeeellll," he drew out, "it could use a little hemming on the legs, but I can grow into 'em." He flashed Tess, in what he hoped, a handsome smile.
The other person giggled once more before being oh so gracious to lead him back to what was most likely the front of the building by their dainty hand.
Tess was even kind enough to help him get on a stool. There was a counter and for a moment he imagined that he was at a bar.
"Water?" Tess asked. That image of a bar grew stronger as Tess became a bartender in his mind's eye.
"Unless you have something stronger." He couldn't help but joke.
"I don't think she's allowed to give alcohol to minors." The voice from before, the first voice he heard other than his own when he got to this new place, came up from behind with heavy footfalls.
"I don't think he's in any shape for anything stronger than water anyways." Tess said before turning her attention back to him. "Don't mind Sig. He's just teasing."
He didn't mind at all. So he shrugged with a grin on his face. "It's all good. Heard that there's some that'll make ya regret touching the stuff." He winked in what he thinks was Tess's direction. "Although if you're serving them I'm sure they'll be divine."
She has got to be blushing.
"Oh? You think so?" She asked with what he hopes to be a blush.
"Think so? I know so!" He exclaimed. "Why with that beautiful voice of yours, you'd get the best of the best."
"Oh stop." Tess said it in a teasing way. "You're making me blush."
Nah, he was going to continue. "I'm serious! Your voice is like a melody. And your laughter is as if I'm listening to silver bells on a clear crisp morning."
She giggled at this.
"It's a real shame that I can't see you right now. A voice that beautiful must belong to a beautiful lady. Although…" he trailed off.
"Although?" Tess prompted.
"Although I don't think it would be proper for a lowly human like me to look at a goddess like you." He finish with a frown and a look of hurt. It wasn't exactly fake because he actually really did want to see what Tess looks like. He was starting to fear for the worse.
"… Awww that's so sweet of you!" Tess cooed.
He flipped his frown upside down. "But it's true! You have got to be a goddess. Sad to say I don't know you that much what you're a goddess of but, as cliche as it sounds, you'd probably be the goddess of beauty. Maybe even the goddess of love." At the last sentence he waggled his eyebrows.
"Oh I wouldn't say that." She said with another giggle.
"You know," Sig cut in, reminding everyone that he was indeed there, "I think you're a little too young for her."
"If I said I was eighteen years old, would you believe me?" He asked, battering his eyelashes just for show.
He got laughs at this.
'This,' he thought, 'is where I reign king.'
Honestly, the young teen would rather make people laugh then have them be down. Or in this case, pity him. So he would make jokes and do his best to make others laugh. Especially Jack.
"I think that's enough. Time to get to business." Sig said to him.
He felt himself involuntary flinch. He tried to give Sig an eyeing look, but he didn't feel confident on where he was actually staring at. He was getting a bad feeling about this. (He was getting a lot of bad feelings this whole entire time.)
"What's up?" He tried to ask all nonchalant.
"Unfortunately I couldn't get a hold of the doctor I was talking about earlier, but I know a guy who can help you." The man told him.
He couldn't help but deflate. "What do you mean by 'a guy that can help me'?"
Tess must've looked like she was going to say something because Sig shifted his body, maybe to raise a hand, and said, "no he's got a point. We're strangers to him and he doesn't entirely trust us. Am I right?" Sig addressed this to him.
He shifted in his seat and a blush rose to his cheeks. Meekly he said, "yeah."
The older man must've had an 'I told you so' look to his face to Tess.
"Look, kid. Don't worry about it. He's a great guy and he'll get you to someone to check you out. He's on his way over and while we wait either Tess or I can put your stuff into a bag for you to hold them okay?" Sig had said it in such a way he couldn't help but think of a brotherly figure in the man. Like the older brother that's way older than you that he's out of college older.
He was silent for a while. Just. Thinking. Digesting the knowledge that was given to him and processing it.
"Yeah. Okay." He finally spoke.
He could practically feel the relief rolling off of the two.
"Right. Tess, why don't you get this young man his water you offered while I get his stuff together." Sig suggested as he walked away from them.
"Yes sir!" He imagined Tess doing a mock salute while saying that.
"And I don' want a single thing missing!" He called out in a way that could be seen as mocking good naturally to those close to him.
He heard the man chuckle and replied with a 'will do'.
The boy leaned his back and arms against the counter as he listened to the clicks and clacks of the glasses Tess was handling as she was getting him water. Other than that the building (now pretty much confirmed as a bar) was pretty silent with all things considering. Sounded like there was no customers around and things were getting a little bit busier outside. And he means a lot by a little bit.
As he soaked in the surroundings he did smell some food in the back, but it was faint like it was cooked some time before he came. Maybe for the last patron that had just left before he entered. The scent of booze and cigarettes were in the air as well, but both were overthrown by a stench of someone who was continually sweats and never bathes. But underneath that stench, the alcohol was stronger than cigarettes.
Didn't smell all that great but it was probably better than outside. Both inside and outside smelled absolutely horrible though. Inside was also a bit stale. Although now that he thought about it, he could smell a faint, calming, scent. It was probably Tess's perfume.
"Ever thought of using some air fresheners or scented candles in here?" He asked Tess just as she put the water down. He turned back around in order to properly get the water. Didn't want to break the glass.
"Hm?"
He carefully reached for the glass and tried to 'see' how exactly big it was so he wouldn't accidentally hit his nose or teeth with it. "Get something to freshen up the place. Don't mean to be rude, but it doesn't exactly smell like flowers in here."
Tess gave a sigh. "I wish. My boss wouldn't like it if I did though."
He wrinkled his nose. "Are you telling me he wouldn't like customers? I'll be honest, if it were me, I would probably walk out the door the minute I smelled whatever causes that funky smell."
"Between you and me I don't think he actually cares if there's any customers in here." She whispered. Unfortunately for the both of them, he's decided to take a sip of his water, only to take a spit take when he heard that; most likely sprayed her with it. Poor Tess.
He began thumping on his chest, coughing. "Are ya kidding me? If he don't want business then why does he have this place? A nice little place to look at like a ornament?" He was completely baffled at this.
"Shhh," she put a slim finger to his lips, "not so loud."
He stopped as fast as he can. "He's not here is he?" He forgot that he couldn't see as he was shifting his eyes around, trying to catch a glimpse of this mysterious boss. It was in that moment that a seed that had been planted earlier started to grow.
He wanted to ignore that little growing seed.
"No, he's actually on a business trip." She said but continue to say, "but don't sigh in relief just yet, he could be back at any moment and wouldn't hesitate to hurt you if you offend him."
He gulped. The boss wasn't in the mafia… was he?
"Okay, so no meeting the head honcho got it." He made the 'okay' sign with his right hand. "But why do ya work for him anyways? He doesn't sound like a great guy and you probably can get a much better job than this joint," he said while tilting his head in confusion.
"It pays the bills." Was her reply.
He couldn't argue with that. "Fair point, but Tess, sweetheart, you could do so much better. I ain't one to tell people how to live their lives, but I gotta admit, for knowing someone for like what? Less than a hour? I really like you, and from what I can tell you deserve a little something. Be it a better job or a better life in general."
It was quiet for a moment, yet when Tess next spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. "… that's really nice to hear. Thank you."
The teen's expression softened as he tried to give her a warm smile. "Just sayin' it hows I sees it 's all."
Not even a moment later the door opened and a new, young, rough, male voice cut through the air. "Tess, there's a ton of KG's out there, anything to do with Krew?"
He blinked at this. When the new commer said 'crew' did they mean the mafia Tess's boss might be in or…?
"Nope." Tess popped.
"Then why…" the new commer trailed off.
He took that as his cue. "Heya!" He said with a grin and a wave where he thought this new person was. Which was behind him.
Silence. A minute passed. Footsteps came closer. They weren't heavy like Sig's, but they still held a certain weight that he couldn't exactly describe. In his defense, however, he doesn't normally spend his time observing sounds and smells to such a degree. If he did he could probably have a better idea on what was exactly going on, where he was; things like that. But actually seeing would help a whole ton more in his eyes.
The person stopped. They were right in front of him. He couldn't hear them breathe so he was starting to get worried until he heard a sharp intake of breath.
"You wouldn't happen to be a doctor would ya?" He couldn't help but ask.
"…what?" They asked, sounding caught off guard.
"I asked if ya were a doctor. Sig mentioned that he wanted to have me checked out. Fell inta deep water against my will and all that. And since it's so dark in here I can't really tell if yer a doc or not." He then decided to stop ignoring that little seed and just let it bloom. He made a show of looking around, waggled his finger in a 'come closer' gesture, leaned forward a little and said in a stage whisper with a hand to the side of his mouth, "but between you an' me I'm starting to get the impression that I've gone blind."
There. He admitted it. No more elephant in the room. He has gone blind and he was going to promptly freak out when he gets a chance to be alone in a room by himself.
"But ya know what? It might not be that bad. I think my hearing and sense of smell might be getting better. Which is neat." He made a show of rubbing his nose. "Except if it ain't this place. Man it smells worse than a wet dog on a hot summer's day in here! And outside ain't all that better. Yeesh, not to be rude or anything, but it's like no one out there cares about proper hygiene." He paused for a second then tilted his head. "Wait no. That's in here actually. Tess, sweet cheeks, you're the only thing good in here. Your perfume is quite pleasing on the nose."
Ah yes. Rambling. One of the many things he does best.
Another door opened. "Jak!" He heard Sig exclaimed. It was a bit strange, how Sig said the name. The 'k' was harder upon pronunciation than it would normally be said. "Just in time. The KG are coming together and I think it was because of our little friend's arrival."
He tilted his head. "What's the KG?" He asked.
This time everyone was silent.
It was the new person, Jak, that spoke. "The KG is short for Krimzon Guard and they're a bunch of corrupted law enforcers that would put you into prison just because they didn't like the way you were breathing."
He sat up straight and froze at this. "Excuse me?" He squeaked. He then let out a tense laugh. "You've got to be kidding me." He gave them a shaky smile.
He could feel the grave atmosphere and his smile fell. "Okay, I think I can take a hint." He sighed while threading his fingers through his hair.
A large, and already familiar, hand settled down on his shoulder. "Listen, I trust Jak with my life and you can too. He's going to protect you and take you over to a doctor like we talked about okay? Everything's going to be just fine." Sig had said it in such a sure tone that he couldn't help but believe him.
"Yeah. Okay." He have the older man a genuine smile. It was small, but still, it was true.
"Glad to hear. Now I got you your bag, but I'm going to hand it over to Jak. Then the both of you are going out to the back and get out of here from there. You're going to keep your head down and do everything Jak tells you." Sig explained.
"Got it boss," he said with a mock salute and a grin. "Jak says 'jump' and I ask 'how high?'"
This got him a light smack on the back of the head and a 'smart ass'. Usually he would get that sort of thing in a malicious sort of way. Yet this was in a teasing way that friends would do to each other. He should know, he and Jack would normally do that to one another.
How strange.
Sig helped him on to his feet. He was guided over to new guy Jak where said new guy Jak took over.
The arm that he took had a rough cloth on it, so had to have been wearing a long sleeved shirt or a jacket. The owner also had killer muscles. Like wowzer. The guy must be a stud.
He stood there for a moment, an idea coming to him that made him unsure. He shifted before moving his head to where he thinks his two gracious hosts were (and he swears to God that this whole head turning made him look absolutely ridiculous as he probably was facing the wrong direction than where he wanted) and bit his lip. He hesitated then spoke.
"Ya think you could do me a favor?" He asked them.
"What is it?" It was Tess.
"See, I have this friend and we're like, inseparable. The problem is, we're separated." He started to explain.
"So you want us to look for him." Sig concluded.
"Well…" he trailed off. He didn't really wanted to be more in debt to these guys more than he already was. "At the very least I would like it if you would keep a eye out for 'em."
"His name wouldn't happen to be 'Jack' would it?" Sig questioned. The guy probably had an eyebrow raised.
He felt Jak tense.
He blushed, rubbed the back of his head, and said, "yeah. He's my best pal. I would look for him myself, except ya know. I can't exactly see anything right now."
"I understand." Sig replied. "Think you can describe him for us so we'll know what we're looking for?"
He was more than welcome to start. "He's like, yay high," he used his hand to guster above his head to where he guessed Jack would stand, "blond, short hair. Down to his ears but he tends to style it up ya know? He has blue eyes and he likes to wear blue shirts. Has a closet full of 'em back home. Let's see, he's kinda muscular fer a fifteen year old. It's 'cause he knows self defense and all that. So don't get any ideas." He wagged his finger in warning.
"Don't worry, we wouldn't do anything like that." Tess remedied.
"Anything else?" Sig asked.
"Oh yeah. He's mute so you can't exactly get him to tell you anything. You'll either need ta know sign language, read an write, or at the very least be great at playing Charades." He added. Knowing his and Jack's luck no one would understand Jack. Or have the patience for Jack to write and for them to read. He paused for a second before saying, "if ya do get to him tell him his friend is looking for him and that I'll slap him and give him a good scolding inta next week if he decides to play hero and gets hurt without me." He scowled at the last part.
"… play hero?" He heard Tess say with a cute little snort.
"Yeah yeah, he gets all sorts of trouble. Got one of thems 'hero complexes' or whatever. Sees someone in need of help and just goes on in without any thought. 'Oh I'll be fine'," he said in a mocking tone, "'don't be such a worry wart', 'it'll be like a adventure' he signs to me like constantly but do we get hurt? Almost every time!" He threw up his free hand at this. "If it weren't for me he'd be the very least be black an' blue all over all the time! Honestly if he would just listen to me we wouldn't be in half the messes we get in."
He then huffed and crossed his arms, bringing Jak's arm along with. He didn't really notice this as his thoughts were towards his Jack and his expression softened. "Although if he did he wouldn't be Jack." He murmured.
Everyone was silent as the took everything in and as the young teen's thoughts were taken over by his best friend.
'Is he going to be okay?' Was the main thought that reigned king in his mind. To him he was the main reason why Jack is still alive. Because if he didn't pull Jack back from doing something absolutely stupid then who would? It was the small victories that counted. Making sure Jack didn't go too far into the ocean, from climbing too high on a tree or at a cliff. From deciding it was a good idea to fight a bunch of thugs that was harassing an innocent person without calling the police. It was the little things that help make sure his friend didn't die an early death and him with white hair at a young age. Although with how everything's going he's probably going to end up grey before he turns eighteen.
"We'll tell him when we find him." Tess, bless her soul, told him with a soft tone that promised that she would do everything in her power to help him.
His heart swelled and soared. He got a feeling that he, somehow, managed to, and this was really stretching it in his eyes, make friends with people who are fiercely loyal.
"… thank you." He choked out through a lump in his throat.
"That we will. We just need a name to make sure that he absolutely knows it's you." Sig said. "And we never did catch it."
The man was probably smiling in good humor, trying to lighten things up. He could really get to like this guy.
"Ah, sorry 'bout that." He uncrossed his arms, freeing Jak's arm, and scratched his cheek. "Name's Dexter."
Immediately he felt Jak shift and he never knew someone could get any tenser than the guy already was. Jak sharply exhaled and shifted again.
"We need to get going before the place gets swamped with KG. We might've loss some time that we needed." Jak said briskly, voice harsh. "Come on… Dexter."
Dexter blinked. Wow someone was rude. But he'll give the guy the benefit of the doubt since the KG don't sound like people he wants to meet in a dark alleyway or at a dance.
"Sure, lead the way big guy." Dexter gave a grin to where Jak's voice was coming from. Since they were so close he was sure he got it right and was probably facing the other's face.
And with that, Jak and Dexter left the building.