chiv-id: Wow, been a while since I did a relatively close update!
Dani: Especially since you still have a ton of homework to do.
chiv-id: (groans) Thanks for reminding me Dani...
Dani: You're welcome!
Aggie: Still, I read this chapter, it was pretty good Samsung...
chiv-id: (rubs head, embarrassed) Really? You think so?
Dani: (grumbling) Maybe a little more about me and Wraith...
chiv-id: Hey, if you want your own spin-off romance with you and Wraith, be my guest. Go ahead and write one.
Dani: Maybe I will! But...my boyfriend wouldn't like that...
chiv-id: (grins) Yeah, I thought so, but...I guess I could include more stuff between you and Wraith. He is fine, isn't he?
Dani: (takes a look over at Wraith beyond the Editor's Room window) Pure genius, Sam, just pure genius.
chiv-id: Good thing he's imaginary, or this'd be cheating. (Dani looks oddly quiet) Anyway, who'd like to do previous?
Aggie: Ooh, Tom hasn't done anything yet! (runs to door and opens it, sticking her head out, hollering) TOM! COME IN HERE, DO THE PREVIOUS AND DISCLAIMER!
Tom: (walks in) Cool. How's it going Sam?
chiv-id: Eh, same old same old, how's the carving and metal smithing business going?
Tom: Pretty good. Just made some custom bows, authentic wood inlaid with bone and-
Aggie: OK, enough, disclaimer, now!
Disclaimer: Sam doesn't own any of the Jak and Daxter franchise, but Naughty Dog does. She does own a bunch of these awesome characters, though.
Previously: So, when Sam and Jak and them go tell Torn that both Zeke and Blaze were in trouble, Torn tries to get help from the rest of the Underground, including...hold on, sorry, need to see the story again...
chiv-id: Ruining the "previously" atmosphere...
Aggie: Aw, give him a break Sam, it's his first time doing a "previously"!
Thanks Aggs, but anyway, right, so she met Streak, the Recon Unit Leader, Wraith, representative of the Lurker nation in Haven City, and Commander Blitz, head of the Raiders. And while they were discussing whether to help or not, Sam and Jak sat down and had a...serious conversation. (shivers)
chiv-id: Ugh, get on with it, it's not like it happened to you! What's with guys and their fear of sitting down and having a talk?
Aggie: (smiles sweetly) If you keep badmouthing my boyfriend, I'm going to throw you out of here with no clothes. Won't Jak have fun seeing that funny mark on the side of your-
chiv-id: OK, I get it! Sorry, Tom, please, continue.
Um...OK...and Sam got really hurt over it because Jak had to think about it...and of course, Dani hooked up with Wraith.
Dani: Woot!
chiv-id: OK, so, that was the "previously", now, please enjoy the next installment of Chapter 10 of Reality's Game: Gift-Wrapped!
Chapter 10: Gift-Wrapped
"Sam? Samsung? Are you okay?" my head shot up at the voice of one of my best girlfriends, wiping away the tears that were there.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I managed to squeak out, but the silence on the other end of the door told me it was far from convincing.
"I'm coming in," she announced, but I just kept leaning against the door.
"You're not, and I'm fine," I reiterated, trying to wipe my face as best as I could, but was blown away from the door when she slammed into it, "What the hell Dani?" Once she had me not blocking the door, she crept in with a sheepish and shaky smile.
"Really? You just shoulder-barged the door?" I asked, and she nodded as she walked in, holding her right shoulder, "Honestly Dani…"
"Hey, if I need to shoulder-barge a few doors to talk to my best friend, why not?" she asks in a shaky, but happy-go-lucky voice, "Why weren't you opening the door?" She plopped herself down on my bed and looked at me with a concerned look.
"It's…I…" I tried to talk, but she just crept closer which made me feel like I was suffocating in her presence, "Jak told me he likes me."
"Aww! See, I knew you guys'd work out!" she had her smile up to her ears, but then it turned into a slightly confused frown, "But…you're not happy."
"Well, yeah, I was happy when he admitted we had something going out, but he told me that he couldn't act on it until…" I took a deep breath in, "Until he worked it out in his own head. You know…"
"What's there to work out?" she asked with a huff and her eyebrows knitted, "You're hot, he's hot, you like each other, and happy ever after!" Sometimes, the girl was too simple for her own good.
"Dani, we have to return home, remember?" I nudged her with my elbow which took away some steam, "Not only that, but he still has to sort out his feelings with Keira. I can't expect him to just take one look at me and completely forget everything. I mean, he went through a whole game with her and…besides, she was the first crush he ever had…I think."
"Oh, I'm sorry Sam," she wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "It's gonna be OK. I mean, I know you like him a lot and it's gonna hurt if he does happen to reject you, not that he will, but if he does-"
"Is this going anywhere Dani? 'Cuz this is getting real old real fast," I interrupted her in a dry, humorless voice.
"Sorry, I'm just making it worse," she cleared her throat and sat up straighter, "Look, we put ourselves out there, right? And I mean, we know we could get hurt and we know that it might not always work out, but we still do. Why? Because deep-down, we know there's going to be that one guy/girl that looks at us and we look at them and…poof…magic sparkles."
"Magic sparkles?" I raised an eyebrow at her choice of words.
"Yeah, you know, shoes popping off like in the Mask, lights going off, fireworks," she made jazz hands and gave me a dreamy smile, "Magic sparkles."
"You sound like my 9-year-old cousin," I mimicked her motions and replied in a falsetto voice, "'I want my happily ever after with a prince and a white pony.' No more fairy tales, Dani, because you and I both know that not everyone ends up married, happy, and with kids…even more rare, with a pony."
"And you sound like my uncle," she pouted, "My old gay uncle who keeps saying love doesn't exist and just mopes around his apartment. Do you wanna end up like my old gay uncle or the princess in the fairy tales?" I made a face and she grinned.
"Just as I thought," her grin softened a little into a warm smile, "Don't give up, Sam. It might not work out with Jak, but 'so what' if it doesn't? My advice is that there's other hot hunky fish in the sea just waiting for a girl to pick 'em out."
"Nice analogy," I wryly grinned at her, "You're like the Love Guru, you know that?"
"I hope you're not talking about Mike Meyers…ugh," she scrunched up her face and I laughed.
"No way, you're a hotter, younger Love Guru who kicks butt at giving advice about love," I put an arm around her shoulders so that we were linked, "And happens to be my best friend, for which I am very grateful for." She giggled and we shared a very girly hug that ended abruptly when another knock sounded on the door.
"Dani? It's Wraith…we're going to have to cancel the date we had planned tonight," Wraith's low voice resonated through the door, "We're going to save your friends first." We both got off the bed at the same time and looked at each other. Then I let her go so that she could go say it was OK, giving myself time to think for a short second. If the plan was being put into motion now, that means Torn had managed to get everyone to agree to it! It was better than anything I could've hoped for at this point, but hey, maybe things are finally starting to go right again…and I probably just jinxed myself.
"Sam, Wraith says they need you over there," Dani tapped my shoulder while I was still in thought and I nodded to her, coming out and following Wraith to the main area. I saw Jak there standing next to Torn, but looked a little tipsy to which I raised my eyebrow. Had he been drinking? Now, of all times? I mean, romance is heavy stuff, but seriously?
"Hey, so they've agreed to help," Torn told me, and I nodded again, "The plan's to go for your friend at the Pumping Station first. If what you said is true, then no doubt your 'friend' is gonna try and nab him before returning to the castle. Hell, we could even rescue both of them if we take the right precautions, but it needs to be done carefully." My mouth was set in a tight line and I couldn't help but knit my brows in worry.
"'Carefully' as in…" I was worried what Torn was implying.
"Carefully, as in we need you to stay out of this," he told me and I looked at him in surprise.
"What? Why?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.
"Think about it, with you there, Peyton might go all out in trying to get you," Torn turned around so his butt was against the table, "And there's the other possibility that you might not be thinking straight when we finally get there. I know how badly you want to rescue them, but it might work against us in this case."
"Really? Me, not thinking straight?" I asked, glancing at Jak who was definitely looking like he was a little out of it, "Listen, I am going with you to get them. You are not leaving me behind. And you definitely cannot stop me from coming along with you." His eyes flashed dangerously when he took out his knife.
"Oh, I can definitely see that happening," Torn replied, inspecting his knife, "We're already short-handed and yet I just persuaded all of these nice people for you to help us rescue your friends. They're making a big sacrifice on their part, so I think you can cut them a little slack and let us handle this." I opened my mouth to protest, but found that the words were caught in my throat and shut my trap soon after. I thought about it logically for a few seconds and realized one very crucial thing: what the hell do I know about stealth tactics? I never fought a single war in my whole life, unless you count Starcraft and Warcraft, but then this was a game, so…I think I just confused myself…
"I'm sorry, but I need to be there…" I told him, my eyes and my voice firm, but I was shaking a little on the inside, "I need to know they're OK…especially if Zeke's going to be there. I…" I swallowed something that tasted like sadness, a mixture of guilt and heart-squeezing that couldn't be mended unless I knew he was OK. Torn stopped inspecting his knife and while the others were musing over the plan and maps, he moved closer and turned her away from the crowd.
"I know, Jak told me," I looked at him in surprise, "Losing one of your own never sat well with me, another thing I hated when I was in the Guard. They just used us up and when one of us went…no one even batted an eyelid at it." He sighed as he scratched his head, standing up straight.
"You can come, but on one condition," he jerked a thumb over to Jak, "Blondie and his pet rat got into the liquor cabinet that Tess made by sneaking some of Krew's drinks. He needs to wake up or his ass'll be the one we have to leave behind." I nodded and went over to Jak who seemed rather engaged with the lamp light.
"Stop staring at it, you'll go blind," I growled at him impatiently, grabbing his arm and turning him around to look at me, "Jak, why the hell did you start drinking?" He sobered up a little when I called his name and he noticed who exactly was holding him.
"I drank because of you," he then drunkenly latched onto me, hugging me awkwardly, "You're such a tease, you and your two heads." I stared at him as if he had grown a third eye.
"Two heads? How much did you drink?" I asked, almost in disbelief. And here was the hero of our story, head over heels drunk. This story is just getting better and better. I glared at Daxter who seemed to always be the cause of the problem, to which he shrugged and smiled sheepishly. It seemed that he had built a tolerance to the alcohol after his last raid of the beer cabinet.
"Four hundred bottles of beer on the wall, four hundred bottles of beer," he mumbled rather badly, still holding me with one arm while Daxter was barely clinging onto him, also as drunk as an alcoholic, "Take ten down, pass it around…how many the fuck are those?" I smacked him and he went down, attracting attention to us.
"God damn it Jak, snap out of it!" I hurriedly knelt down and shook his shoulder, Torn waving people away, "Honestly, why did you drink? We're about to go and-" He suddenly twisted and brought a hand up to my face.
"Will you wait for me?" he asked and the words that came out of my mouth sputtered and stalled, making me blush at the suddenness of it. Finally, I cleared my throat as quietly as I could and bent low to his ear.
"Of course, you idiot," I gave a small smile as I whispered and he smiled, too, albeit a little inebriated, "Now c'mon, you wanna do this or not? I need you Jak…" He sobered up a little when he heard the latter part and sat up, letting me drag him to his feet.
"You good?" I asked and he gave me a thumbs-up as he held his head. Torn nodded at me in slight approval then turned towards the group.
"Listen up," everyone's attention was once again on the tattooed man, "Everyone should know their roles. Commander Blitz, you take the Raiders and be our calvary. If anything should happen to us, Streak and some of his men will be with us and they'll signal you. Wraith, your Lurkers should be waiting in the sewers for us, helping us make a quick getaway. This might just be a simple rescue mission, but we can't take any chances. Everyone understand?" To this, the entire room exploded with war cries and shouts and yells.
"Then move out!" he ordered, everyone filing out of the room quickly, then turned to me, "You two ready for this?"
"I am," I looked to Daxter who was slapping water in Jak's face at the faucet, "Daxter, how's he doing?"
"He's doing fine," Jak answered instead, Daxter jumping on his shoulder as Jak turned the valve off, "I'm good. Let's go." I looked him over once and nodded before walking off with Torn, Jak following closely behind but holding strong. I walked a little slower to let Jak catch up with me and I tapped him on the shoulder.
"Why were you drinking, seriously?" Jak looked at him somewhat vacantly before sighing. He looked at Daxter and he took the hint, the little orange fuzzball sailing from his shoulder to Torn's, who wasn't particularly pleased, but when explained the situation, agreed to the temporary weight.
"I needed time to think," he replied shortly after and I pursed my lips.
"And drinking helps you think?" I asked, Jak looking at me somewhat irked, "Right."
"If you haven't noticed, I've been going through a lot," and I softened a little when he gave a disgruntled sigh. There was an awkward pause which resulted in me locking my fingers together in behind me and him crossing his arms.
"I know…I'm causing probably half of it," I turned away somewhat, and he gave a short barking laugh.
"More like all of it," giving me a joking smile that filled me with relief and ease, "But I just needed to release all of that tension and drinking was the only way, so…" He grunted in pain when we exited the secret hideout and the light touched his eyes.
"Guessing you're getting a fast-forward hangover," I laughed, and he frowned at me, but grudgingly agreed, "That's what you get for drinking before going out. Good to know that you recover pretty quickly though." Finally, we reached the family-sized zoomer and Torn was already situated in the driver's seat, a vein throbbing in plain sight on his forehead while Daxter continued to talk to him.
"And then, that hot brunette just-" Daxter caught sight of us and Torn exhaled in relief, "Jak! There you are! Was just telling tattooed wonder here 'bout that one babe I almost got!"
"What babe?" Jak asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You know, brunette, lots of hair, yellow eyes," he gloated, Daxter looking at his nails before his ears pricked at Jak's chuckling.
"You mean the stray cat you started kissing when you took that alcohol cocktail?" he asked, Dax's face falling in recognition. Both Torn and I couldn't hold it in and we burst out laughing, Torn a little more restrained but laughing nonetheless.
"You kissed a cat?" I asked, wiping a tear from my eye.
"That'd explain why I had all those scratches," he shrugged in trying to recover his cool guy aura, "Thought they were just something kinky we did…"
"OK, bad mental image Dax," I waved it off as if it were tangible, "Anyway, we have to go, now! Everyone must be there already."
"Maybe, but that reminds me of a job I've got for you before we do this," Torn told us, and I raised an eyebrow.
"You know, this isn't some leisurely stroll," I frowned and he rolled his eyes.
"I know, but if you can get in contact with her, she might have recovered your friend already," my ears perked up in acknowledgement, "Then, all that's left is to get your other friend…Zeke, was it?" I nodded and hopped in with Jak, Torn immediately driving off towards the pumping station. As we drove there, I reminisced in the feeling. It felt just like the day I was in Aggie and Tom's car, driving off to Zeke's house to play Jak 2 and started this whole mess. I was in the backseat with Jak when I drifted back to that day, leaning forward so that I could get into a better position to ponder. Closing my eyes for a minute, I remembered how ominous that storm had been, how my heart had pounded when the lightning struck and the voice came from the screen. Everyone had been scared, Zeke, Dani, Blaze, Aggie, Tom, and even Peyton…wait, Peyton? That's right, he was there with us…I frowned as another idea crept into my mind. Was Peyton the mastermind behind our arrival here in this world and now working to pick us off one by one so he could have me to himself? Or…could Peyton have been an unfortunate victim like the rest of us, but ran around until insanity pretty much took over like Blaze, only worse? I growled as my eyes opened slowly and I looked over to Jak subtly, and then smiling softly when I saw him sleeping. Then, Torn turned a corner and he leaned towards me, falling against my back since I was still leaning on the front seat.
"Jak, you're gonna get a bad back, you idiot," I groaned at myself, "Now I sound like my mom…seriously, Jak, get up. I'm sure we're almost there." When I noticed that we had come to one of the outer walls of the city, I shook him harder. He gave me a slightly groggy look before sitting back up, stretching. Then, I put my attention forward once more, unfocusing my eyes and thinking once more. Everything was just getting more complicated every time I thought about things, but it needed to be done. Making the wrong choice based on previous misconceptions would be deadly here…
-Jak's POV-
"Jak, you're gonna get a bad back, you idiot," I heard her tell me, then a groan, "Now I sound like my mom…seriously, Jak, get up. I'm sure we're almost there." I sat up and stretched, crossing my arms after and glanced her way sleepily. She was just leaning against Daxter's seat, her eyes vacant…then a searing headache worked its way back into my brain. I groaned again and put my hands on my head. Why the hell did I start drinking? I brought my hands away and saw the sunset's reflection hitting her hair as it flew out behind her. Oh yeah…that's why.
'Focus! Now's not the time to forget what we're doing,' I thought and stretched again, but stopped when I looked at her face. Despite her distant look, she seemed contented, calm, sort of out of place when we were going in for a mission. I guess she had gotten used to the constant on-duty calls, but this look really wasn't quite right for the occasion.
'She must be thinking pretty hard about something,' then I saw her smile softly and couldn't help wondering what she was thinking, '…I hope she'll wait for me.'
"We're almost there, you three," Torn had spoken up and she awoke from her reverie, "One of my old guard comrades was sent to the pumping station. There's been no word from the patrol. And after what you guys ran into out there, I'm afraid she may need some help."
"Did you say she?" I asked, Sam turning to me with her eyebrows furrowed.
"Don't even think about it," she mumbled, Torn giving an approving look to her to which I rolled my eyes. Daxter was hanging his head out of the window for a while, then had taken to making faces at Torn in the side-view mirror. Torn noticed, now that his attention was diverted from driving since they were going through open land, and grabbed him by the neck.
"Stop that! This is serious, you moron!" Torn threw Daxter into the back with me so that he wouldn't make any more trouble. Daxter landed in my lap, but I just looked at him and held up my hand to smack him before Daxter made a karate motion. I stopped and Daxter grinned.
"That's right, don't mess with the sugar," he cockily replied, and Sam slapped him instead, earning a smirk from me when he went down.
"This friend of mine has helped the Underground many times before. When I drop you off, take a look around while I go help the scouting units. Render assistance if needed," the pumping station was in view and he slowed down, letting us off, "Now get your squirrelly ass outta here." With that, he flew away and left me, Dax, and Sam there at the pumping station. Now that we were alone, I looked at her and crossed my arms.
"Anything you want to tell us before we go?" I asked, her eyes opening in surprise before understanding what I was exactly asking.
"I'm sorry, but if I tell you guys anything specific, it might ruin the timeline of events that are supposed to occur," she rubbed the back of her head in apology, "I mean, I've already ruined it when I left my communicator back in my scarf with Zeke. The only thing I can probably tell you is that she's a bit much to handle..."
"Great, a basket case," Daxter muttered to me, making sure she didn't hear.
"Take this seriously," she came closer, then looked straight at me, "And try not to stare too much…" It was clearly a warning, but I just shrugged. What was this guard gonna do? Shoot me? Then I caught a worried glint in her eye just as she turned away, causing me to feel more than a little anxious at meeting the guard.
"What, does she have the mug of a yakkow?" Daxter tried to be funny, but Sam wasn't laughing, she wasn't even cracking a hint of a smile, "Uhh…guess she has issues with her…"
"I don't have issues," she sighed as we began walking along the perimeter of the pumping station carefully, still wary as to whether or not the psychopath had come already and was waiting for us, "I just…" She glanced in my direction subtly then kept her head turned forward for the rest of the time, holding her tongue. I couldn't help but grow even more curious as to why she was so afraid of me meeting this guard chick? Only one way to find out…
-Sam's POV-
'Damn it, I know what happens between Jak and Ashelin,' I glanced back in his direction after I finished, noticing he caught me looking, 'That's what starts the catfight between Keira and Ashelin.' You can't blame, can you? I mean…seriously, have you seen my competition? Between Keira the cute neighborhood yet spunky mechanic girl who's good with tools and Ashelin the badass bombshell hottie with a gun, I felt like I got slugged from both sides of the spectrum. They both could contribute to the team, yet…what the hell did I have? I knew about the game, but ever since I came here, all of the events had changed, and worse yet, my walkthrough guide was with Peyton. We continued to walk around for a while until Daxter began to get impatient.
"Eeehhh, what the heck are we doing risking our lives to rescue some old Krimzon Guard hag anyway?" Daxter jumped off of Jak's shoulder as we neared what looked to be a stone engraved with the symbol of the House of Mar. My eyes widened as my senses awakened. We were near…
"She's probably got more facial hair than me," Daxter sat down and started scratching himself, Jak looking around warily as soon as he saw what I was doing.
"Might not be the best thing to say right now, Da-" I heard a thump behind me and found that it was Ashelin, grabbing hold of Jak from behind and pointing a gun at his head, "Damn. Good ninja skills."
"Who the hell are you three?" she asked, ignoring me, sneering at us while keeping the barrel of his pistol planted firmly against Jak's noggin. Daxter, ignoring the danger in favor of the hot Krimzon Guard babe, immediately went on cheesy-line-mode.
"Mmm, I do love a woman in uniform," he wiggled his fingers and leered at her lecherously, "Wanna bark some orders at me, woof woof?" I sighed and smacked my hand onto my forehead.
"I'm your soldier on the front lines of love," he said, hopping up on her arm, Ashelin giving a slightly freaked out and disgusted look, "Waiter, foxhole for two!"
"Keep talking, I'll raise your voice a couple of octaves," she remarked when he jumped off, pointing the gun at his jewels. She released Jak at the same time and he held his hands up to quell her trigger-happy state.
"Easy, Torn asked us to help you," Jak informed her.
"I don't need help," she replied sharply, then looked up, "But you might, we've got company." We all looked in her direction and saw Metal Heads approaching, probably having heard the commotion that was occurring. I drew out my Magnums with the others and went to work. They came from the ledge above us, hiding in the vegetation until they struck. Jak had to go Dark Jak for a few minutes, as the wave became too intense for us, and I noticed that he had settled more comfortably into the role…it worried me more than the Metal Heads at one point of the battle when he ripped a Metal Head's skull gem out of its head while it was still kicking. When the battle subsided, I immediately walked up to her as she headed towards her vehicle.
"Hey, have you seen a guy around here? About yeas-high, with glasses, black hair, and a chain necklace?" I asked, and she stopped, looking at me closely.
"Maybe," she replied, her hands on her hips, "What's it to you?"
"He's a friend of mine," I retorted, putting my guns back in my holsters, "We're here to rescue him before Peyton shows up. Please…I…we need to find him."
"Huh, so that's why they told me keep a look out for him," she looked back towards her KG Hellcat and put two fingers in her mouth, whistling. Lo and behold, Blaze reared up from the back of the vehicle like a ghost, but I just cried out in relief.
"Blaze! Oh thank God, you're OK!" I was nearly in tears at this, thinking he had been eaten by Metal Heads or worse, picked up by Peyton. I ran over to him as he struggled to get out of the back of the vehicle. I grabbed his arm and pulled him out the rest of the way, hugging him tightly after. After giving Peyton the means to find Blaze and having him get trapped at the pumping station because of a plan that fell through, I was damn glad to see him alive and well. At least something had turned out all right! Blaze chuckled a little and wrapped one arm around me to complete the hug.
"Missed me that much, huh?" he asked, and laughed some more after I nodded hard like a child, "I could get used to this. When we get back, you owe me a massage and some sort of monetary donation." I pulled away, wiping away any beginnings of tears from my eyes before punching him lightly in the arm.
"You're ruining the moment, dumbass," I laughed, still choking on tears a little, "And don't push your luck…the massage is all I'm giving you." He laughed with me for a while and I hugged him again just for the heck of it. It really did feel good to know that something went right…
-Jak's POV-
"You're ruining the moment, dumbass," she was laughing hard, her voice breaking, "And don't push your luck…the massage is all I'm giving you." They both laughed and then hugged again. It was a touching reunion…
"Those two seem pretty close," the red-headed KG remarked, and I looked to her. Only one thing to say about her: this girl was hot. She had a great figure, and to say that she was great with a gun was an understatement. It was obvious she was older and she had a dominating presence around her that, one that would make any man weak to his knees.
"Yeah…" I replied after a pause to think, looking at them.
"Are they siblings?" she asked, seeming to get more and more curious about them. As soon as she had said the word 'siblings', I eased up a little and relaxed. I was getting even more protective over Sam, which made me think about our bond even more. I thought about Keira with another guy and I got a little angry, sure, but with Sam…it made me want to pull out my hair. So, when I realized that their relationship was platonic, I wasn't as willing to punch his lights out anymore.
"No, just friends, but they look like it, don't they?" I began to strike up a conversation, but she began to return to her vehicle as soon as it was getting too comfortable for her liking. Daxter, as soon as I got shot down, rebounded.
"Watching me take care of those Metal Heads was, ah, pretty exciting, wasn't it sugar?" he asked and I rolled my eyes. She ignored him and waited for Sam and Blaze to get away from the Hellcat before starting it up. Daxter got blown away, making me and the others smirk.
"Hey, sweet stripes, give me them digits so I can look you up some time! We'll party hard, big city style!" he yelled, Sam shaking her head.
"Tell Torn Baron Praxis is doing something big! I think it has something to do with that symbol!" she pointed to the symbol engraved in the stone.
"What is it?" I asked in a shout, inspecting it closely.
"It's the Seal of the House of Mar, the founder of Haven City!" she yelled back, "We're being sent out on suicide missions to locate artifacts from the time of his rule!" The KG babe dropped down into the driver's seat.
"If curiosity's worth dying for, you can ask the blind old soothsayer in the Bazaar named Onin. She might know something about all this," she tossed me something from her shirt, "Here's my Bazaar access security pass." I looked at the pass and her name.
"You're name's Ashelin, huh?" she frowned as if me knowing her name was a bad thing.
"We're even now," Ashelin replied, then looked to Sam and Blaze, "I suggest you two get out of here while you can. I have a feeling you aren't from around here, but it's not your place to stay. Good luck Blaze." My eyebrows raised as she left, everyone looking at Blaze.
"What can I say? I have a way with the ladies," he grinned and Sam punched him in the arm, "Ow, what the hell was that for?"
"Asses like you don't get girls like those," she remarked, frowning, "Besides, she's taken." Daxter's ears flopped down at that and I scratched my head when she pointedly looked at me as if to say 'as are you'. Daxter walked up to Blaze and compared notes on nabbing women while she came over to me and seemed nervous, yet angry.
"Told you not to look at her too much," she grumbled to me, crossing her arms, "Didn't I?" I caught the slight blush on her cheeks and realized something: she was jealous! Finally, I wasn't the one with the green monster on my back!
"What, jealous?" I asked bluntly, grinning, and she looked surprised before turning her back to me. I walked around to see her face and her blush had grown, her knuckles going white as she gripped her arms tighter.
"You wish," she replied, uncrossing her arms as soon as she saw me walk around to her, "I was merely thinking for…for Torn's sake." My eyebrows soared up again.
"Torn...? Torn?" I smirked at that and she put her hands on her mouth, as if it were a secret, "Huh, so that's who she's with." She put her hands down and looked around guiltily, as if Torn was around to glare at her. I was probably enjoying this way too much, but it was nice to see her jealous instead of me for a change.
"Well…not yet," Sam admitted, then turned to me, "But that doesn't mean you can go off and…and…flirt with her!" She bit her lip in a childish manner and closed her eyes, drawing in herself.
"I feel like a God-damn idiot," I heard her whisper under her breath, turning around to walk away when I grabbed her by the shoulders. It was fun to have her jealous, but I didn't want to make her so angry and upset that she'd give up on me. She had promised to wait for me, but I wasn't taking any chances.
"Hey…don't worry," I smiled at her, "With you and Keira, I've got enough to deal with already. Not to mention the Underground and getting back at Praxis. So, Ashelin is the least of my problems." She hadn't looked at me the entire time, but when I finished she glanced up at me and gave me a small embarrassed smile.
"All right…thanks…" she stopped pulling away from me and dashed forward for a quick hug, "Sorry I was being childish."
"'Was'?" I asked with a smirk, earning me a bump from her shoulder when she stopped hugging me. We both laughed a little and as my own laughter died down, I watched her, the corners of her mouth upturned in joy and her voice ringing out nicely. When she finally stopped, she caught me looking at her and she blushed, turning away. Then, an engine was heard and she seemed glad for the distraction, but…it didn't sound right.
"Ah, must be Torn!" she remarked then ran around the corner before I could stop her and heard her scream. Me, Dax, and Blaze looked in her direction and immediately ran after her. Once we rounded the corner, we saw her staring down the bright lights of Peyton's Hellcat, Peyton grinning at her darkly. I snarled and readied my blaster, prepared to rip his damn head off if he brought his cruiser once inch closer to her. Daxter growled next to me and narrowed his eyes while Blaze had on him a knife that he brought up to his chest, readying himself. Despite not being a fighter, his eyes were as serious and deadly as one. And I could tell this was going to get ugly as I felt the Dark Eco coursing through my veins strongly, my own hatred for anything to do with the Baron and now Peyton awakening.
-Sam' POV-
"Ah, must be Torn!" with all the good things happening and the mood lightening up considerately, I almost completely forgot the mission as I went to go greet Torn…but it wasn't him. It was Peyton in his Hellcat Cruiser, and in seeing his current state, I screamed my head off. Back at the mining area, I hadn't quite seen his face well. I could see glimpses, but his hood had been up the entire time. Now, with his face bare for all to see, made me think he was a monster. There were dark purple scars that ran from his forehead to his neck and seemed to continue down below his cloak, the scars almost ropy in appearance and some of them even pulsating. Peyton's hair had grown shaggy, once light brown now dark brown, almost black. The worse part had been his eyes, which had been hazel inlaid with green, but had turned into a frightening yellow with black pupils. His eyes went wide at first when he saw me, then regressing into slits as he smiled, his teeth suddenly seeming sharper than normal.
"Well, isn't this nice?" he noticed the others as they came around the corner, probably having heard me scream, "All of you gathered in one place! How convenient! Like a nicely gift-wrapped present waiting for me to crack open like a skull." I heard Jak audibly snarl, but my eyes were glued to the person I once called my best guy-friend. Peyton had truly become something…inhumane…and despite all the bullshit he was putting us through, including the Underground, a part of my soul died when I saw how badly he had changed. It was like he wasn't Peyton anymore…tears started welling up in my eyes.
"Peyton, what happened to you?" I asked softly, almost pleading for an answer, and to my surprise, he had heard me over the engine. There seemed to be glimmer in his strange eyes when he saw me partly crying, then they became hardened when I heard a gun click behind me, probably Jak with his blaster. However, back-up cruisers had arrived, several of them, in fact, and all were pointing their own guns at us.
"Ah-ah-ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned and grabbed something from the seat behind him, which turned about to be Zeke, "Besides, even if you blow this Hellcat up, you'd only be doing me a favor!" For a second, my breath stopped as I saw his motionless and bloodied body. Then, Peyton shook him, and I heard him groan. I gasped in relief and almost ran forward had it not been for Blaze who yanked me back by the back of my jacket. I struggled against him, desperately reaching for Zeke. It was all my fault…all my fault that they were here, and why Blaze had gotten trapped at the pumping station, and why Dani was stuck underground, and maybe even why Peyton had gone fucking insane…Hell, I was the reason Peyton had gone insane! And now, Zeke, who I thought had died when he got left at the mining area, was still alive! It became my singular purpose to get him back…I just couldn't lose him, not when it was my fault, not when I had failed him.
"Let him go!" I heard myself sob pitifully, and although a small part of me was embarrassed for letting Jak and everyone else see me like this, I continued, "Please Peyton, he's not apart of this, he never was! Just let him go!"
"You should've thought about that when you refused my offer to come with me," he sneered, and shook Zeke again, this time his limp body giving a pained cough. I felt helpless, just standing there and watching him suffer, letting Peyton haul him around like some abused toy. I crunched my eyes together in hopes that this was all a dream, but I knew that it wasn't. I opened my eyes again in time to notice Peyton looking directly at me.
"You know what I want, Sam," he proposed to me, a hand stretched out, "And this time, no tricks, no illusions. Just come with me and I'll let everyone else go. Be mine…forever, and no one will suffer ever again, I swear on it." The hand he held out to me had a similar purple scar on it, only, when I looked closer…I discovered that it was pulsating, as if alive, and reeled back. Suddenly, it came to life, the entire ropy scar lifting off his arm and rearing up like a snake. It resembled a purple tendril and whipped about crazed and violent, Peyton grabbing his arm as if it weren't his own. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes closed, hard, as if maintaining the beast was a burden. It finally settled down after a few moments, resuming its place on his arm. He glanced at me, my eyes wide open after the event, as were everyone else's.
"Nothing to fear, you'll grow to love it," he panted, then straightened, "Now come with me and I'll let Zeke go. I'll let everyone go." I narrowed my eyes, still clouded with tears, and felt Blaze tighten his grip on my arm.
"Don't do it," he told me in a controlled yet barely suppressed growl, "You don't have to do it." I saw Jak nod with him in the corner of my eye, his gun still raised. I didn't want to go with Peyton, I knew it was a lie, I knew it was a trap, but what other choice did we have? I squeezed Blaze's arm in response, Blaze's fierceness falling through when he looked at me, surprised and disbelieving.
"What other choices do we have?" I asked him quietly, eyes downcast. I felt so…tired…so tired of the game, of Peyton's crap…of people getting hurt or being in danger. Most of all, I was tired because we hadn't had a single peaceful moment in this entire event, mostly covered up by drama or…this. I was hoping for a sign or a miracle to happen, to help us win, to help us get Zeke back, maybe even knock Peyton out of his crazy loop…but it didn't seem like God or Precursors were gonna help us anytime soon. So, I pried Blaze's fingers off my arms, giving them a reassuring squeeze that everything was going to be all right, even though we both knew that it wouldn't be. Jak seemed to be the most in denial, but against all of these KGs, it'd be suicide trying to resist. Still, he seemed ready to do it, but I walked over to him and put a hand on his gun, making him lower it, causing him to look at me with hurt in his eyes.
"Don't do this," he asked me, eyes dark with pain and something else, "Don't…don't leave me." I swallowed my logic and explanations, unable to look him in the face. He may have been pain, but so was I…I never imagined that we'd part ways like this, in the worst case scenario. Jak then grabbed me and…
-Jak's POV-
When I saw her face contort with all the emotions that must have been flying through her head, I knew that Peyton had the upper hand in the situation. He was holding his own friend by his throat, threatening his life just to get Sam to his side. Then, when the asshole reached his hand out to her, he nearly attacked her with whatever that tentacle was. I almost charged forward if not for the look of excruciating pain that flashed across his face before anyone else could catch it. He seemed like he was having serious trouble with whatever that was attached to his body. Eventually, he wrangled it back under control and tried persuading her again with empty promises and lies, his voice becoming the only sound I could hear as I became more and more focused on him.
"Nothing to fear, you'll grow to love it," he stretched his hand out once more, "Now come with me and I'll let Zeke go. I'll let everyone go." I faintly heard Blaze telling her not to go, and I nodded, knowing that she was looking at me without even having to look. I was ready to fight, wondering where in the hell was Torn, but was startled when she had come over to me and lowered my gun. I realized what she was about to do and Daxter seemed to understand as well, noticing how disbelieving his face looked.
"Don't do this," I pleaded with her, hoping that she couldn't hear how close it was to begging, then in a more dire whisper, "Don't…don't leave me." I sounded just pathetic then, but it was either that, or breaking down. She couldn't leave…it couldn't have been time for her to leave. I felt as though the hole in my heart that predicted her departure grew into a rift, so much that I wanted to grab at my shirt, afraid that the hole would consume everything if not covered. She didn't look at me, didn't even try to sugar-coat it. I swallowed dryly, and in my anguish and fear, didn't think, only acted. I pulled her close and kissed her on the lips, closing my eyes, crushing us together as if it would make her stay, one of my hands resting on the back of her head to keep her there. For some reason, I felt wetness between our faces, and when I pulled back and opened my eyes, she was crying.
"Jak…" she sobbed and pulled away from me, holding herself, "I-I…" She was having a hard time speaking, practically hysterical. I hadn't realized kissing her would have this effect on her, but worse was the effect it had on Peyton.
"You fucking bastard," he spat and dropped Blaze, his tentacle writhing on his arm again, "I'll kill you!" His voice turned monstrous and his eyes suddenly became an all-encompassing black, like mine had as told by Daxter when I turned Dark. I pumped my gun and readied myself for a battle, pushing Sam behind me as he lunged for the both of us. However, just as he was mere inches away from my face and gun, a zoomer engine roared to the left of me and we both looked, Torn's family-sized zoomer blindsiding Peyton and smashing him into the jungle wall that was on our right. Torn had jumped out before it had crashed, and rolled to cushion his fall, coming up next to us with his knife out and ready in his hand.
"Finally found you guys," he grunted as he got into a battle stance, "Something was jamming the signal so I couldn't find your locations."
"Yeah, that's great and all, but where's our calvary?" asked Daxter, "I don't know about you, but I'd at least get reinforcements!"
"Already covered, you moron," he snapped back and as if on cue, several Raider cruisers appeared, backing up Torn. With their leader gone, the Krimzon Guards seemed ready to bolt, and a distant thundering and snarling made them even more anxious to run.
"Metal Heads must've heard the crash," Torn surmised, then glanced back at me, "Wraith's got a transport big enough for you and everyone else around the corner over there, I suggest you get them and go. When the Metal Heads get here, things'll get ugly and fast." I took his advice and flagged Blaze to me. The sound was getting louder, making me shout my words.
"Take Sam and go, I'll meet you at the transport! It's just over there," I motioned to the area beyond the sharp turn that we had gone around when Sam had screamed, "I'll go get Zeke!" Blaze nodded and dragged Sam by the arm. However, he had only taken a step when the Metal Heads burst through the plants on the wall, coming over the edge and over the crashed zoomer. Torn had shouted for everyone to retreat, the KGs getting the full brunt of the force because of the bright red color of their uniforms and cruisers. In all the confusion, I saw Sam escape Blaze's arm. What the hell was she doing?
-Sam's POV-
…Kissed me. He had kissed me, right then and there, full of all the pain and sadness that had caught up to him at this point, releasing his anger for a moment and expressing anguish so defined I tasted it on his lips. I had started to cry when I felt it, as if somehow his own feelings had poured into mine…or perhaps it was really just my own, realizing that Jak was someone I cared so much for…someone I loved. I had accepted it, despite all the pain that came with it, all the boundaries and restrictions and limitations that proved our love wrong and stupid and ridiculous, but didn't matter all the same. I didn't want to lose him…I didn't want to go, even though I cared about my friends and knew that sending everyone home would be my redemption.
"Jak…" I cried, the aching in my heart reaching my lungs, causing me to breath irregularly, "I-I…" I didn't say it, but I tried to. To say that I loved him and that we'd meet again. Filled with more emotion than I thought I could have ever thought to possess. If it had been the old me, I would have thought I was just being a drama queen, but to feel so keenly these thoughts and feelings, it wasn't being a drama queen, it was being human. I heard Peyton curse to him in a horrible voice that sounded like a demon, and he pushed me behind him while I was still turned within myself, searching for the voice that would say it to him. I was abruptly brought back to reality when I saw Peyton spring at us, at Jak, and saw his eyes that had become as dark as an eclipse. Then, a flash of blue and the roaring of an engine took him away, so quick that my mind didn't register any of it at first.
"Finally found you guys," Torn's voice floated to me and I noticed him suddenly appearing out of thin air besides us, "Something was jamming the signal so I couldn't find your locations." Eventually, I made the connection that he was the one who drove into Peyton, but at the moment I was just stunned that he was there. Before I could pull myself together effectively, I heard more engines behind me and saw that the Commander had brought along his troops, Streak's unit coupled with each of their brawnier counterparts and manning the guns custom-mounted on top. Everything just happened so fast, and then Blaze was trying to get me to go back for some reason…but I was too rocked by how everything had gone downhill and uphill and topsy-turvy. Then, Metal Heads somehow came into the picture and everything had gone to hell. It was then that I saw a flash of white amongst the masses of silver, red, and blue. It was the zoomer that Peyton was in, the same one that Zeke was flailing around limply in, the white scarf clutched in his hands weakly as he seemed to be coming to.
"Zeke!" I screamed, his safety suddenly becoming the number one priority as I saw Metal Heads trying to climb into the cab of the cruiser. I scrambled away from Blaze, who had lost his hold on me when the Metal Heads began attacking. It was hard, trying to push past people as they were all going in the opposite direction or fighting and crashing into me. A KG and a Metal Head once hit me so hard that I flew away, landing on the sandy ground with my head cracking against something. I couldn't open my left eye as it had sand in it and I felt something wet coming from my head, but my mind was too foggy to understand what it was. I continued to focus on Zeke, the only thing that I could hold onto in this chaos and finally reached the zoomer, its driver abandoning it in favor of fleeing.
"Zeke!" I shouted in relief, grabbing the waving hand and he turned to me in recognition.
"Hey Sam, what's up?" he asked weakly and chuckled, though it ended quickly when it apparently hurt him and he winced.
"You idiot, this is no time to laugh, we have to go!" I yelled at him, although I did crack a smile. Maybe I finally went insane, too…I pulled him with a determined effort, luckily the other parties of enemies too busy with themselves to notice us. Then, as I finally had him out of the zoomer, it began drifting towards a group of Metal Heads and KGs, bumping into them and making them look around for the perpetrators. I quickly slung Zeke's arm over my shoulders and began helping across the battlefield, shouting for Jak, but only drew more attention towards us. I didn't care particularly at this point, despite how obviously stupid the choice was, since Zeke was fading and fading fast. Then, I saw a large transport come towards us, Jak riding it and, once it lowered enough, held out a hand to us.
"C'mon, we have to get out of here before they start going after us," he yelled at me, and I nodded in agreement.
"Here, take Zeke first, I'll climb up on my own," I shouted back, and handed him Zeke, Jak lifting him up with me pushing him up, "C'mon, we're almost home-free! We can do this, just a little mo-" I felt a slimy, muscular tendril go around my waist and my eyes widened, my words dying in my throat. Jak noticed after that I wasn't pushing anymore. Still holding Zeke, he stared at me.
"Jak?" my voice had ended in a question, the feeling of dread and the cold spikes that pierced my heart and traveled up my spine making my brain freeze. Then, I felt the tentacle pull me away from Zeke, Jak, and the transport ship viciously, biting into my stomach with sharp bristles that lined it. The experience felt surreal and like a horror movie, getting dragged away by some strange monster, the words that had caught in my throat turning into a blood-curdling scream, and Jak's face turning from dumbstruck to horror then futile desperation. I heard him faintly crying out my own name, but I was being pulled back at a terrifying speed, pulled past the crowds of fighting and into the arms of the one I was afraid of the most right now.
"Close, but no cigar," Peyton grimly joked, dark purple fluid running from various places on his face and body, the skin near his right eye torn to reveal some violet fleshy pulsating muscle that resembled the same tentacle wrapped around me, "Should've just come with me Sam…now I'm angry." I fainted shortly after that because of his terrifying appearance, the only thing coming to mind when remembering that moment being his shredded face and the calling of my name that floated above the chaos and screams.
chiv-id: Damn, I'm dragging this out, aren't I?
Aggie: Yeah, but it's a good kind of dragging out, it's not a boring kind.
Dani: That was so exciting!
chiv-id: I know right? (yawns) Well, that was a whole 2 hours of my sleeping time gone. Imma wrap this up real quick, so...REVIEW! And...yeah...maybe I'll edit this and add in answer to reviews next time, but for now...I need sleeps...g'night people! And again, REVIEW! You're guys' input is really important and helpful to me, because it helps me develop the story, so don't be shy and just drop me a review when you have the time, even if they're critiques or warnings, but not uber-flaming please!