Jak stood outside the hideout door hesitantly, he was still mad at Torn, he didn't want to go and talk to him. But the small ottsel that stood at his feet was urging him on. Jak opened the large door and started walking down the steps slowly, halfway down he met with Ashelin and Tess, they were walking back up. Daxter must have told them before hand they were coming back because Tess picked Daxter up and they three walked out without another word.
Jak looked down and began his decent once again. He heard heavy breathing from one of the beds furthest from him and when he got lower he saw Torn lying in it, shaking slightly and breathing heavily. Jak felt a sting of pity run through him at Torn's weakened state. He knew that the ex-KG wouldn't want that, but he couldn't help it.
"Jak." Torn rasped and moved his head around on the pillow to see him more clearly. Hs face was pale, letting his tattoos stand out more against his skin. "You came back."
"Of course," Jak said and wandered into the room shyly, he sat down on the bed next to Torn's. "You didn't think I would just leave you here did you?"
Torn raised an eyebrow and shrugged the best he could.
"Well I wouldn't." Jak insisted. "I guess... I guess I shouldn't have left in the first place. I shouldn't have left you... and, I guess I'm sorry." He said stubbornly and not looking at Torn as he said it.
There was a long awkward pause, all that could be heard was Torn's labored breathing. Jak broke the painful silence after a few minutes that seemed like hours. "So, um, are you okay? It sounds like you've gotten worse"
Torn laughed slightly but it only turned into a cough, when he was done coughing he smirked at Jak. "Yeah, Kiera says that before it may have just been an adrenaline rush or somthin' like that. But now it's over, heh, they said now I don't get to cover anything up."
"No, I think you're still covering stuff up." Jak said with a smirk in return.
"Probably am, I don't even know anymore."
"Maybe I can get Samos here, ya know, green eco, healing." Jak tried and Torn nodded.
"Yeah, that's where Kiera's going now, I think." Torn said leaving out the part that Samos had already come. "Uh, Jak, ya know, I uh, well ya know..."
"I get it." Jak said sparing Torn from actually saying the words he knew were hard for him to say. "Do you need anything?"
"No, Jak, I'm fine," Torn breathed. "Just tired is all."
"Maybe you should rest." Jak offered, knowing that was exactly what Torn needed right now.
But, being stubborn, Torn shook his head and argued with Jak, even though he was well aware that was what he needed. "I've done enough resting, I wanna be awake, I wanna go out and get revenge..."
Jak grinned and nodded, amused. "Revenge, eh? Yeah I know all about that one, but remember; sometimes revenge is best served cold." Jak felt weird saying this, there was a good six or seven year, or what he assumed, age gap between them. Torn should be the one giving advice. "My revenge must be ice by now. When you're back at full strength we can go get revenge on him, together. Make him sorry he ever gave us dark eco."
Torn laughed dryly and a shadow of a smile appeared on his face. "Together, huh? What makes you think I'm gonna go out and do my own dirty work." He asked, being commander and important usually he didn't take physical part in the field missions, not to mention if a KG was likely to get a hold of him, he didn't need the search for him to go out again. When the search for him originally went out almost three years ago he had to lie low for four months before he could walk through the city freely again. Now he still has to duck in shadows when he sees a guard.
"Because I know you, and with this one you won't mind gettin' your hands dirty."
"You're right, Jak, you do know me." Torn grinned and then his face turned grim and his eyes narrowed. "I'll kill him with my bare hands... I swear I will."
"No you won't."
Torn raised an eyebrow at him. "What makes ya say that?"
"You won't, because I want a piece of his ass too." Jak said with an evil smile across his face.
"Fair enough," The commander said with a smile. He stiffed and yawn and looked away before grimacing in pain. "Oh wow, that kinda hurt."
"I think you do need some rest." Jak tried to reason again as he stood up from the bed he sat on and walked over to the table.
Torn shook his head giving his headache more power, "Jak I told you, I'm fine, I don't need any rest. " He said shifting his position on the bed to try and get more comfortable.
Jak laughed and poured a cup of water for his friend. "You say that now," he murmured.
"What was that?" Torn asked playfully, he knew very well what Jak had said.
"Oh nothing, nothing." Jak said and walked back over to the bed. "Here, drink this."
Torn eyed it suspiciously. "What is it?" He asked.
"Just water, you sound a little hoarse, and if we wanna continue this conversation I don't want you losing your voice in the middle of a good story." Jak said jokingly.
"I promise ya, I won't." Torn said and reluctantly took the water from Jak and drank some of it.
"All of it." Jak demanded. "Don't want ya getting' dehydrated. Ashelin would slit my throat where I stand."
Torn nodded and laughed slightly. "She would too." He said before downing the rest of the water from the cup. "Jak, are ya sure the water valve to the slums is open completely? This tastes sort of weird," he said slowly.
"I dunno, when someone comes back to watch ya I'll go out and check." Jak lied, he knew exactly why the water tasted weird. "So, Torn, how long have you lived in the slums?" He asked trying to spark up conversation while the sleeping drought took its effect on Torn.
"Heh, all my life." Torn said as he placed the cup on the table. "Never was the richest elf in Haven."
"Shocker." Jak said sarcastically and Torn rolled his eyes which were getting heavy. "What made you join the guard, I mean it's not like you're the child of the Baron like Ashelin. You just don't seem like the kinda guy that would so that."
Torn looked down and sighed. "Eh, I was a kid, I went in KG training when I was seventeen. I thought it would be so cool, be a Krimzon Guard, I got to make the rules, I would have power. Not to mention the money, free housing and food, parents died a couple years earlier so I was on my own for a while. Doing small jobs here and their trying to earn a living."
"What was it like?"
"Fun, for me at least, I was top in everything I did." He smiled. "Well almost, when I was in training I had a few friends, you know one of them, Vee, you know that blond chick? Well she ran away though, about to get her tattoos and become a real guard and she ran away. But there was Marcus and Aaron too, both of them are still guards, but they leak information to me on the side. There was also... Errol... he was my friend. He was my roommate, then he became an ass. Abandoned loyalty, friendship, trust, honor, all to get to the top. I hope he's happy, because I plan on taking it all away from him." Torn said acidly.
"What made you leave?" Jak asked now interested in the 'story time' he was having with Torn.
Torn smirked and looked up at Jak from the bed. "You, actually, Baron Praxis decided it was time he let me in on a few secrets, told be about the dark eco treatments, about you. Then... I just ran. Right there, right on the spot. Got hurt, went to a bar, met Samos, he healed me, I didn't even realize it. But... then he offered me a job, I took it cause, well, I had nothin' else. Left it all behind when I left the guard." Torn yawned and blinked slowly, his eyes were beginning to get heavy.
"How old were you?" Jak asked quietly.
"Twenty two when I left." Torn began to slur. "Just a kid... hey Jak... how old are you now?"
"Eighteen." Jak replied and he saw Torn's eyes widen slightly.
"Damn, you are a kid. And here I thought I was a kid when I left at twenty two.
"That's still really young you know."
"I guess, but I had to grow up fast, ya know..."
"Yeah, I get all that." Jak said understandingly.
It looked like Torn was about to say something else but his head fell limp on the pillow and his eyelids shut one last time. The drought was taking its effect and he was now in a deep sleep. Jak hoped that he wouldn't have a nightmare and get stuck in yet another flashback, but if he did, he was there to pull him out of it.
AN: Hey guys I'm back, sorry I'm late but my dog died, I know sad, I miss my baby. But he was old and sick, I guess it was for the best.
Anyway, I know this was kinda short, but just stick with me, I'll update again soon. I promise, like I've said, I will never abandon this story. Also one last thing, I lowered Torn's age a few years, some of you may have noticed some of you maybe not. But he's around 24 or 25 here, he should be around 27 I think or maybe 28... I dunno, whatever, but I always write him younger then he really is, I guess I was just like "wait what" when his profile in Jak X showed his age.