A/N: Here ya go! And special thanks to EchoMizuki for their continued support!


It was a few hours later that a knock sounded at the front door. It struck me as odd, because The Naughty Ottsel was still open, and not due to close for another few hours.

Daxter, though, obviously knew exactly who it was, and acted accordingly. "Izaya, Teko, behind the bar and on the floor, now. No arguments." He stated through clenched teeth.

Knowing exactly how sharp the teeth and claws of an Ottsel where, and not being too keen on finding out again, I was over the counter half a second after he'd given the order. Teko quickly landed next to me. We only had to wait a short second before the door crashed open and gunfire ripped through the air, and some of the liquor bottles exploded, showering Teko and I with alcohol and broken glass.

Almost simultaneously, screams erupted from various places in the bar, including the area to my immediate left, where Teko quickly slapped her hand over her own mouth and whimpered.

I tried to watch the action in the reflections on the remaining bottles and the mirror, and managed to get a vague picture of what was happening. Not satisfied with what little I could see, I sat up a little to look better into the mirror.

Jak had his gun drawn and was firing rapidly at the intruder, who barely seemed fazed for what quickly became obvious reasons. The guy was half machine for Precursor's sake! The bullets just bounced right off.

I wanted so badly to jump out of my hiding place and help Jak, but I was still out of ammo. And, though I hate to admit it—I was scared.

Jak was probably the toughest person I knew, definitely tougher than I was, and yet, he was struggling to even hurt this guy.

He was rapidly approaching the bar, like he knew we were there. I could see the top of the bar in the mirror, and I knew he couldn't see me, so maybe he could sense my Dark Eco.

Suddenly, Jak managed to hit some skin, and the man stopped with an inhuman roar or pain. I didn't stick around for the rest of the fight. I had spotted a door, one that probably led to the stockroom or out into an alley. I was willing to chance it, so, staying low, I grabbed Teko and bolted through the door.

I admit it, it was the cowardly thing to do, but it's probably how Jak and the others managed to drive him out again.

I sat against the door, unmoving, with Teko in my arms for what felt like an eternity that was stretched to its very limit, neither of us daring to so much as breath, let alone speak.

It was a little while after the shots had stopped and the front door had banged closed again that they seemed to notice our absence.

"Hey, shouldn't Teko have jumped out to tell us how awesome that was by now?" Daxter asked.

"You don't think they got hit do you?" Keira immediately thought the worst.

I slowly got up and opened the door. Teko walked out before me.

"Yeah, we got hit alright, but Izaya got us out of the way before anything other than broken glass and whiskey got us. She's smart like that."

I managed to shake off my remaining fear and step out after her, rolling my eyes. If Jak could see how shaken both of us were, he didn't say anything about it. Probably a good thing, too, because I would've blatantly refused the idea of being scared at all while other people were around. I'd have punched him in the face.

"That was Errol." Jak eventually told us, "An old enemy of mine—I don't know why he suddenly chose to attack, before you ask. Usually there's more warning than a knock on the door."

I seriously considered this for a moment before moving around the bar to sit down, apparently shrugging off the incident. As the fear and adrenaline finally faded, I noticed a sharp pain coupled with an insistent burning sensation in my lower leg. Curious, I looked down, pulling my let up at the same time for a better view.

Apparently, in all my fear and adrenaline, I had failed to notice a bullet embedding itself in my calf. Wondering what had caught my attention, everyone else leaned in to see my bullet wound. They barely had time to register the wound before I reached down. I dug around for a second before pulling the bullet out, barely even flinching at it.

'One of yours.' I silently accused Jak as I examined it.

"Sorry, you know I didn't do it on purpose." Jak replied.

I 'mmhmm'd him, but decided not to pursue the matter further, dropping the bullet into one of my coat pockets.

"I said it once, and I'll say it again—you're one tough Cherry, Izaya." Sig said.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes again. I got a few raised eyebrows in response as Sig continued as if I hadn't done so.

"Gunshot wounds are enough to send even some of the toughest Wastelanders crying home to mommy, and here you are brushing them aside like an annoying bug."

I only shrugged at his compliment. Here I was, practically shaking in my boots because of this Errol guy, and Sig was telling me how awesome I was for being able to shrug off a bullet wound. Bullets were a common occurance for me-random ass attacks by a guy who was almost completely made of metal were not.

Jak obviously noticed my tenseness, because he muttered something to Daxter and then said to me, "He's gone, Izaya. You don't have to be so on edge."

Daxter handed me a drink, which I took a drink of with only a slight bit of hesitation. And damn was it strong! I blinked slowly before grinning to myself and taking another sip. I already felt a slight buzz, which was crazy, since it usually takes me at least three full bottles of Absolut to even get any semblance of a buzz.

I grinned again, taking another drink before opening my mouth and muttering a thank you to Daxter. He seemed shocked, and then I realized I wasn't supposed to be able to talk. "Alcohol plus me equals me being able to talk. If I have enough alcohol, that is."

He smiled brightly at me, and my heart, for the first of many times, fluttered uncontrollably because of it. I managed to smile back, and from there the night blurs.

I faintly remember draining the last of the contents out of my glass, hearing Teko drunkenly sing a song we'd learnt up in the Citadel, and Daxter joining in. I also remember correcting him on the lyrics hundreds of times while Teko laughed her ass off.

Jak eventually led us to a bunker of some sort and directed us toward a bunk, but, like I said, everything was kind of blurry. I only know that I was wondering why in the world I was falling for an Ottsel, and Daxter to boot.