Soaring

First Arc: Act Twelve

His eyes fluttered open. The world continued to spin, even after falling unconscious. It was hazy at first, images blurry. He could only distinguish colors and simple shapes. He felt a groan leave his lips. A terrible ache throbbed in his arm. Without a second thought, her lifted his torso upward and grabbed at his wound. His fingers wrapped around gauze, this was a good indicator that he was now in a safe environment.

"So you've finally come around."

That voice, it had to be Torn. Jak shut his eyes tight before releasing hand from his wound. He then brought his healthy arm to his face and began to rub his eyes. After a moment of gathering himself, Jak reopened his eyes. He was laid out on one of the Underground's beds, blankets at hip-level. He grunted before moving his head to the right. Torn's image became clearer by the moment. What happened?

"Ugh," Jak moaned, his arm stinging with pain.

"You okay, Jak?"

Jak narrowed his vision on Torn's left shoulder. Hanging off his shoulder, Daxter had his ears laid flat on his head. He was worried, obviously.

"What happened?"

"GOOD QUESTION!" Daxter shouted.

Jak shut his eyes for a second time. What had happened? The last thing he could remember was…

"Jak! I'm going to find help!"

A sharp buzzing sound echoed through his mind. The image of Kat's fallen body flashed in his mind. Her body laying on the ground as blood began to pool around her. That's what happened. Who could have fired while they had their backs turned? To fire at an enemy while his back was turned? Only a lowlife could do something so pathetic.

But how did he get here? Now? And what about Kat?

"Someone opened fire on you." Torn gave a simple explanation.

"Luckily," Daxter's ears popped back up and a smile spread across his face. "They had crappy aim."

"How-" Jak began to speak but was paused when Torn lifted his hand into the air.

"Daxter found me and took me to you." He explained as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Where's Kat?"

Torn and Daxter fell into silence. Jak leaned in toward Torn, trying to get a better view on his expression. Torn released a sigh through his nose before glancing in a different direction. He then began to chew on his lower lip. Jak could see it on his face, something was wrong.

"Where is she?" Jak pushed.

"I don't know!" Torn broke his silence with a shout that caused Daxter to flinch.

Jak growled under his breath. That was the last thing he wanted to hear from Torn. Not only was she missing but she was wounded as well. There was no telling who or what could have taken her. The Baron, he wouldn't hold her hostage, would he?

"By the time I got to the scene she was already gone."

Jak glanced back up at Torn. The older man had a look of worry and frustration on his face. He seemed bothered by this situation but refused to panic. Jak could feel the anger beginning to build in his gut. If the Baron had taken her as a hostage, then that would mean she was locked in a cell, one of the very same cells that he once inhabited. No, he couldn't think about that. The imagery brought him too much pain. The idea of a young, defenseless girl locked in one of the Baron's prison cells? It made his blood boil.

"She was wounded." Jak narrowed his vision at Torn.

"I expected as much."

He expected it? The only thing holding him back from lunging at Torn was the aching sting in his arm. Through the pain in his arm, Jak managed to sit up right. His eyebrows hung low on his forehead, creating a fierce glare. He gripped the sheets beneath him in a sad attempt to hold back his anger. Why wasn't Torn visually shaken? Or better yet, why wasn't he taking any action?

"Then what are we doing here?" Jak hissed.

"We can't risk any other members right now," Torn began to explain himself in a low tone. "The city is still on high alert. Launching an attack on the Baron's tower now could turn hostile."

"We can't just leave her!" Jak argued.

Jak could see Torn begin to grind his teeth. It wasn't like Torn to be so reserved. One of his members had been captured and he refused to do anything about it? It seemed unlikely. It could only add fuel to Jak's fire.

"What would your Shadow have to say about this?" Jak began to shout in an effort to bring Torn to light. "One of your members is hurt and possibly taken hostage, and you refuse to save her?"

Torn inhaled through his nose, his upper lip beginning to twitch. "I don't have a choice, right now."

"You're awfully calm there, CAPTIAN." Daxter replied as he leapt from Torn's shoulder and landed on Jak's bed. "What's wrong with you? You act like she's been locked up more than once!"

"She has."

Jak and Daxter turned to one another. The two had shocked looks on their faces that could only make Torn chuckle. Jak removed his eyes from Daxter and watched Torn as he pulled himself out of his seat.

"Okay," Daxter said as he spread his two hands out in front of his body. "Just HOW did you two get together? Somethin' here just ain't fittin' right!"

Torn growled to himself. This was the part where he'd rather give the two a crafty excuse or command to pull himself out of the equation. There was no escaping Jak's questioning this time. He was trapped and with Kat out of the picture, he hadn't much of a choice. It couldn't be helped; he was going to have to give Jak an answer.

"Kat arrived in Haven City with a shipment of Green Eco the Baron couldn't ignore." Torn spoke as he began to pace back and forth. "He robbed her of all the Eco she had obtained for the past."

"Makes sense." Jak mumbled to himself.

"She was left desperate so to get back at him she decided to put on a show in the city square." Torn continued. "Vin helped her. That's when the guard was called out and she was arrested."

"You sure know a lot!" Daxter was quick to interrupt Torn.

"I was the officer who arrested her."

Jak felt his mouth drop open. Of course Jak knew that Torn was a former KG soldier but he had never put two and two together. Kat had been arrested by Torn? It was almost too strange to believe. And still, it made a lot of sense.

"She had made a massive impression on the Baron." Torn's voice broke Jak out of his state of shock. "He asked me, the commander, to arrest her." Torn then stopped mid-step and turned back to Jak and Daxter. "She was sentenced to live out the rest of her life outside the city walls in Dead Town. While the Krimzon Guard was escorting her, and everyone involved, the Metal Heads attacked."

"A sneak attack." Jak muttered.

"Instead of fighting the onslaught, the Baron and his closest soldiers retreated and left the rest of us in Dead Town." Torn's tone changed to a low snarl. "He left us there to die." He paused for a moment and lifted his chin to the ceiling. "That's when the Shadow came and saved us."

"That's very sweet and romantic but," Daxter intervened. "We have BIGGER issues here!"

Jak cleared his throat before speaking, "Daxter's right." He agreed with his best friend. "What are we going to do?"

Torn paused for a moment. "We're going to have to organize a plan to free her from the Baron's tower." He said after a moment of deep thought. "I can contact Ashelin, she's our link to the Baron. She'll find out where Kat's being held."

"Until then we're just supposed to wait?" Jak asked as his lip twitched with disgust.

Torn sent a glare in Jak's direction. "What else do you want me to do?"

"You're her knight in shining armor, right?" Daxter huffed, with one fist to the air. "Why don't you go get her?"

Torn opened his mouth to speak only to have the hissing of his radio cut him short. He broke his link to Jak and looked down to his belt. He reached down with his right hand and pulled the device off his waist. He brought the radio to chest-level and waited for a reply.

"Torn."

Jak could recognize Ashelin's deep voice in a heartbeat. He watched, as Torn became all-ears to whatever Ashelin had to say.

"Did you know Erol captured Kat?"

Torn paused for a moment before answering. "No, I didn't."

"Well," Ashelin continued to speak. "It seems he's been bragging about his recent 'catch'."

"Capture?" Torn asked feeling confused.

"Apparently, someone put a pretty bounty on Kat's head." Ashelin explained. "She's alive, don't worry, but she was wounded when he brought her in the prison. She's in a weakened state right now."

"Good." Torn nodded.

"When can we break her out of there?" Jak was quick to ask.

"I wouldn't advise it until she was healed." Ashelin said. "A sudden break out might cause her more damage then she needs right now."

"She's right." Torn looked to Jak. "We can't risk moving her right now."

Jak growled under his breath. So it was Erol. Erol had opened fire while his back was turned, typical. Just when Jak thought Erol couldn't sink any lower. She was hurt, Jak knew this, but why was it so much harder hearing it from someone else? Not only was she injured but she was also being held in a prison cell. It was almost enough to send Jak into a heated frenzy. And he was expected to leave her there? It was a tough pill to swallow.

"Ashelin," Torn spoke into his radio. "Keep an eye on her. Don't let anything happen to her." Torn shut his eyes and took in a deep breath of air to calm his nerves. "If someone put a bounty out on her then it's likely Erol will try to leave with her in custody. We can't let that happen."

"Affirmative."

"You know what we could lose."

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

Torn released the air in his lungs in the form of a sigh. "Call me back if you find out anything further. Out."

"Out."

Jak shot a glare in Torn's direction. What did that mean? You know what we could lose? There had to be something more to this. Kat wasn't just another member of the Underground. She was something else. Things began to fall together in his mind, the coincidences were adding up fast. Torn's overprotective attitude, the anonymous bounty, it was all too strange to be normal. Whatever it was, Jak was ready to know now.

"What was THAT about?" Daxter shouted at Torn.

"It's none of your concern." Torn gave the Ottsel a quick, crafty reply. "Jak," He stopped and turned to the blond. "I have another mission for you, are you up for it?"

Jak looked down to his gauze-wrapped arm. He lifted his right hand and placed it over his wound. It stung, that was for sure but he wouldn't let it hold him back. He had yet to meet the Shadow, and Jak had a good feeling he was getting close to the chance encounter.

"Why not?"

"Go back to Dead Town. I have scouts that say that they've detected movement." Torn explained, managing to crack a smile. "If you come back in one piece, the Shadow will be very grateful. He might even want to see you."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Daxter yelped with excitement. "Let's get going!"

Jak huffed to himself. "We'll be in and out before you know it."

Act End.