"You know Torn?" Jak asked.
"Yes, I did. I knew his whole family before the incident. I was really good friends with them all," Azan replied.
The three could detect the sadness in the man's voice. Azan stood up and walked over to a nearby cupboard. He pulled out a book and opened it up. He ruffled through it before coming to a page. He walked back over to Ashelin and handed the book to her, showing her a picture of two elves. Daxter jumped onto the arm of the chair while Jak leaned over and all looked at the picture.
"Those two elves are Torn's parents. Their names are Alleena and Tharan and they were Haven's most prominent citizens," Azan told them.
Ashelin looked over the pictures in the album. She carefully studied the man and woman in the pictures.
"You said they - 'were' - Haven City's most prominent citizens. What happened to them?" Ashelin wondered.
Azan sighed as he turned away from the three. He walked over to a cabinet and stared at its contents for a few moments before returning his gaze back to them.
"They were murdered," Azan replied.
He sat back down in the chair and faced the two with a sad look on his face. He walked over to the fireplace and watched the dancing flames. The three patiently waited to see if Azan would tell them what happened.
"That night was one of the worst nights for Haven City. I awoke to hear sirens passing my house. When I went to the window to see where they were going, I saw they stopped right down the street at Alleena and Tharan's house and it was engulfed in flames. It was determined after extensive detective work that arson was the cause of the fire. Everyone heard about it and most of us believe that the Clan did it," Azan explained.
Ashelin remained quiet and so did Jak. Even Daxter didn't say anything. His ears were back and his mouth open in disbelief.
"So this Clan killed Torn's parents? I can't imagine how angry he must have been after that. It explains why he doesn't trust people so easily," Daxter said.
"Trust never came easy to Torn," Azan told him. "After he came back from visiting his uncle, he was devestated by the death of his parents and immediately withdrew from everyone."
Ashelin sighed as Jak motioned to hand the book to him. He skimmed through the pages before coming to a photo with four elves. Two he knew to be Alleena and Tharan from the earlier picture. One of the two boys in the picture looked like Torn but he was wondering who the older boy was.
"Who's this?" wondered Jak.
Azan walked over to Jak and looked at the picture. Daxter climbed over onto Jak's shoulder and looked as well.
"Whoever he is, he doesn't look like the friendliest person in the world. Sure wouldn't want to come across him in a dark alley," Daxter said.
"That's Tryce. I'm surprised that you don't know him. After all, he went to the Krimzon Guard the same time as Torn did. You can't know one without knowing the other. That's just not possible," Azan replied.
"We don't know him despite what you're telling us. I don't remember coming across him in the Krimzon Guard and I've known Torn the longest," Ashelin told him.
Azan looked between the three in total disbelief.
"You mean to tell me that none of you knew Torn had an older brother?" Azan asked them.
Jak, Daxter and Ashelin were all surprised with this news.
"Torn - has a brother?" Daxter repeated.
He thought about the idea for a moment before falling to the floor in a dead faint. Jak, Ashelin and Azan all looked at him.
00000
Tryce walked up to his brother as he sat on the couch. Torn looked around the room, impressed with what he saw: a bed, food, clothes and other supplies lying on the table nearby.
"You've done well these few years since you left the Guard," Torn remarked.
Tryce appeared smug with this statement as he paced back and forth in front of Torn.
"Unlike you, who has been serving the do-gooders of the city, I've been gaining new skills and gathering supplies that I might need if I did decide to return the old ways. I wasn't expecting you to join me so I have nothing prepared for you," Tryce replied.
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't expecting it either. I didn't even know that you were still alive. When I saw you back in the alley the other day, I thought about it and then I finally came to a decision to come back. I only hoped you would agree to it since I did leave you alone in the guard and all," Torn explained.
"And you should have never left me there! The day you walked out, I was left to defend for myself! We are outcasts no matter where we go! No matter who we befriend or despise. You should know that by now," Tryce replied, anger in his voice. "They forced us to serve them and so they must pay for it. The people of this city must be able to fear us again, just like what they used to feel. We won't feel fear again."
"Tryce, you're the only one who has ever been able to make me feel fear. Not even Baron Praxis had been able to faze me. You should know that by now," Torn quietly told him.
Tryce smirked before walking across the room and up to the table. He picked up a few files and walked back over to Torn. Tryce held the folders out to Torn, who took them.
"Remember the times when we actually had specific targets?" Tryce wondered.
"Of course. How could I forget? It was during one of these raids that we actually met Onin," Torn replied.
"After your injuries heal enough, I've got a few for us to do. There's some information about them," Tryce replied. "Take your time reading them. You're going to have some time on your hands. I'm going to be right back. I'm heading out to get you some clothes and more food."
Torn watched Tryce leave the room before opening the first folder. He was slightly surprised when he saw the picture.
"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. "He couldn't have known what I had planned to do. He did want to see me dead after all."
He held up the picture of Jak with Daxter sitting on his shoulder.
'Well, the rat's not going to be a problem,' he thought to himself.
00000
Daxter slowly opened his eyes to see Ashelin and Jak standing over him. He didn't quite fully open them as he glanced between the two.
"I had this strange dream Jak. I dreamt we went to this guy's house and he told us about this clan who attacked people. Then he told us about this couple who turned out to be Torn's parents. Then he went on to tell us that Torn had a brother," Daxter quietly told him.
"You're not dreaming Dax. We're still at his house," Jak replied with a small laugh.
Daxter bolted to a sitting position and stared at his surroundings. He wanted to scream but he somehow managed to hold it back. Daxter's stare turned towards Azan as he stood up.
"All right, so I'm not dreaming. But I have to know something. What was this Tryce like anyway?" Daxter asked.
"When I knew them, Tryce always took advantage of his role as the older brother. He was never the type to listen to anyone except his parents," Azan replied. "That all changed when they went off to be Krimzon Guards. It was if they totally changed their minds about going there."
"You mean to tell us that Torn originally did not want to be a Krimzon Guard?" Ashelin wanted to confirm.
"No, he didn't. For some strange reason, the two of them went to become Guards soon after their parents died, which was odd since Torn and Tryce weren't going to become Guards at all. It was as if they had no choice in the matter. I haven't seen or heard from them since," Azan told them.
"Thank you Azan. You've been a great help to us but we really must be going," Ashelin said.
"If you must, then go. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. Some people don't," Azan replied. "And thank you for telling me that at least Torn was alive. Torn and Tryce have been through a lot and I'd hate to see them go through anymore."
Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder as he stood up. The three walked out of the room and began to head towards the hospital. Azan watched them leave, a sad look creeping onto his face. He glanced towards the sky and sighed.
"Alleena, Tharan, I wish I knew what was going through the minds of your sons. I wish I knew everything was going to be all right," he quietly said.
00000
As Ashelin and Jak walked up to the hospital doors, they knew something was wrong. They glanced at each other before running up to the few guards that stood outside.
"What's wrong?" demanded Ashelin.
When they realized who it was, they immediately stood at attention.
"Ma'am, the guard who was with Torn was attacked and Torn was nowhere to be found afterwards," one told her.
Ashelin was shocked as she glanced back at Jak before they hurried up to the room to find the doctor and a few more Guards with him.
"He was gone. There were no indications of a struggle so I don't know who would have taken him or why. I can't see how he would have gotten out himself with his leg injuries," the doctor was saying.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, I can assure you," one guard told him.
Samos was standing near the room. Jak saw him and walked over to him.
"Samos, what exactly happened?" asked Jak.
The sage turned towards him and sighed as he stared into the room.
"The guard in Torn's room said he didn't hear or see anything. All he knows is getting hit in the back of the head and then waking up with the doctor hovering over him. The doctor says that he was going to talk to Torn about a few things only to find the guard on the floor and Torn missing," Samos replied.
"Whoever this guy is, he means business!" Daxter cried out.
"That's why we have to find him before he hurts someone else," Jak said.
"That's why we have to find Torn. We're going to find Torn and bring the guy who attacked him to justice. Let's go," Ashelin put in.
She headed away from the room with Jak and Daxter following close behind. Samos watched them leave and sighed.
"If they only knew," Samos quietly told himself. "I should go see Onin. Maybe she knows something."
00000
Torn glanced up from the papers as he heard Tryce walking inside. He laid the files down as Tryce headed towards the nearby table.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Torn wondered.
"Nothing's wrong. I simply had a little trouble getting here. Some of your old friends are out, probably looking for you," Tryce replied.
"They won't find me. I know they won't. We can work around them for we have before," Torn replied.
Tryce smiled as he walked over to Torn and sat next to him on the couch.
"We'll forget about them for now. Right now, we have to have a talk. If we're to work together again, we have to get a few things straight," Tryce told him. "A few things have changed since the last time we saw each other."
00000
Jak walked around the corner of the building. He, Ashelin and Daxter had searched for hours with no luck.
"We won't be able to find him without any help. You do remember how large the city is, right? He could be anywhere," Jak reminded her.
Ashelin sighed as she glanced around the area.
"I thought they might have come around here since Torn was originally found here," Ashelin said.
Jak shrugged his shoulders as he walked over towards the building that once housed the Underground's headquarters. He saw something sitting near the door and walked over to it.
"Ashelin!" he called out.
She hurried over to where Jak was kneeling over something. He turned towards her with something in his hand: a communicator. She moved closer to see two guns lying on the ground.
"Those are Torn's," she gasped.
"They are his and if they're here, where's Torn?" Jak wondered.
TBC...