Author's Note: Hello all, & welcome to chapter 36 of this here story! I hope you readers enjoyed the earlier chapter (I honestly almost cryed while typing last chapter XD ), & I hope this one will answer any questions you have!
Stuff I own: My OCs, Meldalvyna's house in the woods, & plot idea... Stuff I don't own: All Jak and Daxter & Spyro characters, the places these characters originally live in, & the music used in any & all chapters they appear in.
Jak's POV
My eyes snap open to the feeling of my shoulder being shaken, whipping into a defensive position in the direction of the person who touched me, my fists up & ready to strike. Eyes focusing, I realize where I am as I look into the concerned eyes of Hunter, his hand/paw drawn back to his chest in surprise.
"Sorry, it's a habit I can't really break," I say after I relax a little, dropping my hands down to my waist, only to bring a hand up to rub the back of my neck while the other smothers a yawn.
"It is alright. I was just trying to wake you to tell you we should probably get dressed, breakfast is cooking," Hunter says, letting his paws fall to his lap, a small, understanding smile reaching his face. Nodding, I unravel myself from the covers & get out of the borrowed bed I slept in, Hunter doing the same from his own bed.
Picking up one of the sets of clothes I brought with me from where I left it, I head back to my sleeping area & sit down on the surprisingly soft & comfortable bed, changing out of my night shorts & into my tan pants first, keeping my back to Hunter for privacy. Following up with a pair of socks & my combat boots, I hear Hunter shuffle around behind me & off his own mattress, the clang of metal buckles hitting against each other ringing through the air. Pulling off my muscle-shirt & grabbing my blue sleeveless shirt, I hear the motion behind me stop a second later, feeling eyes run down my back, knowing full well that Hunter was looking at the scars there. Ignoring the burning feeling of eyes on me, I pull on my shirt & put on my goggles & red bandanna. Feeling around next to me, I realize I forgot my metal chest ring with its straps & pack on the table, feeling the urge to slap my forehead at my own forgetfulness. Standing, I turn & calmly walk back to the table, trying not to make it obvious I knew that Hunter had seen the scars. I pull on my chest-piece, never looking in Hunter's direction, knowing he would more than likely ask.
"Jak, may I ask a question?" Hunter says, a light tone of concern to his voice.
"There it is," I think to myself with a mental sigh as I turn to face him, forcing a neutral expression.
"You can't blame him for being concerned," Light says, trying to make the situation better.
"What do you mean can't blame him? He shouldn't even be asking about it," Dark says with a unidentifiable growl, his tone sleepy, my thoughts obviously having just wakened him up.
"Go ahead," I answer before my alters can argue any further, looking to Hunter as if I didn't already know what he was going to ask about, walking back closer to where I had slept. Hunter pauses, his eyes darting back & forth in obvious thought.
"I noticed the scars on your back... if you would please inform me, where did they come from?" Hunter asks, his tone calculating & soft, clearly trying not to offend me. My concerns confirmed, I take in a deep breath & sit down, trying to decide whether I should tell him if they came from battle, or tell where they actually came from.
"Tell him they came from fighting, not from that hell-hole... it'll be easier for him to accept," Dark says, the growl to his voice from earlier now identifiable as one of annoyance at my constant thoughts of concern.
"No, tell him where it actually came from. He knows about Dark, I do believe... though he hasn't seen him, he may know about him through Meldalvyna or her parents & uncle," Light contradicts, making my decision even harder.
"Guys, I'll figure this one out alone," I say, coming to a decision & forcing my alters to go silent.
"I got this when I first came to Haven City, & I'd rather not talk about them... a few I got since then, & those from fighting in the Underground, in the streets against Krimzon Guards, & in the Wastelands, among other places," I finally answer Hunter, looking him into the eyes with a serious glare, making it clear that I didn't want to talk about where majority of the scars came from. Hunter pauses for a moment, his thoughts obviously pensive, his mouth opening & closing repetitively. After a second, his eyebrows crease, as if he had just remembered something important.
"I saw on your back a dark black vein on one side of your spine, & a greyish-blue one on the opposite side... are your scars & those discolored veins from the... what was it now... ah, that's it... are your scars & those discolored veins on your back from Eco?" Hunter asks, his voice calm & collected, curious in its undertones.
"Yes, the veins you see are for Dark & Light Eco, & the circular scars are from how I got the Dark Eco," I answer after a sigh of thought. Hunter opens his mouth, a question poised in his entire posture, only to be interrupted by the door being flung open hardly. Turning my attention to the harshly opened doorway, I see Meldalvyna standing there in a cloth outfit, looking bedraggled, a look of hysteric worry in her eyes. Eyes locking onto me, I notice they are red, tears collected in the ducts. With a sudden speed I can't even come close to matching, Meldalvyna runs at me full speed, tackling me to the bed.
"OHMYANSCESTORSJAKITHOUGHTYOUWEREDEAD...themetalheadswhentheyattacked,&youwiththebloodcomingoutofyourmouth...itwasallmyfault," Meldalvyna cries out, sobbing against my chest, the entirety completely unintelligable through her choaked, muffled voice. Pushing myself into a sitting position with her leaned against my chest, I gently pull her away from me while she continues to cry & blabbering, trying to look into her eyes, holding her shoulders.
"What's wrong? Slow down, I can't understand what you're saying," I say, trying to calm her down. Sniffing, she wipes her eyes, only for the previous tears to be replaced by new ones, her breathing slowing, but still racked with sobs.
"We... we were in the forest... and we went to the Precursor Temples... then on the way back Light... and then we got trapped by Metalheads... then you died... it was all my fault," Meldalvyna stutters, her crying making some parts impossible to tell what she is saying.
"She had a nightmare in which we died, & she blames herself for it? Ask her how we died in her dream & where," Light says, his tone just as worried as I feel, with the smallest hint of curiousity.
"She's hysterical right now, we should ask that later," Dark says, not exactly agreeing with his Light brother, but not disagreeing with him either, his tone seeming to be even more worried than ours combined.
"Mel, calm down, it was just a bad dream! I'm here aren't I," I say as Meldalvyna bursts into another fit of disheartening sobbing, thrusting herself against my chest, burrying her face into the crook of my neck, trying to get her to calm down. Slowly but surely, her crying comes to a stop, her face still buried in my neck, her tail wrapped tightly around my waist & her wings drooped to the floor, and her grip tight on my shirt. Pulling away, Meldalvyna wipes her eyes, a small, sad smile on her lips when she looks at me, an apology for her actions in her face.
"Sorry, it was just such a bad dream. It started off good, really good actually, but right at the end it got sad... I had fallen asleep in the dream & woke up in bed, when at the beginning of the dream, I had fallen asleep in bed, & woken up outside next to you... you had said that we had been outside all day in the dream," Meldalvyna says, her eyes downcast to her hands, as if she is looking at something sticking to her hand that she doesn't want there, rubbing them together as if she were washing them.
"It's okay Meldalvyna. Like you just said, it was a dream," I say, noticing another stream of tears threatening to show up on her cheeks, trying to prevent them from falling.
"I know, but everything felt so real, almost like a warning... you're right, it was just a dream, I shouldn't be so worried... but if Torn says we don't have work today because it's too risky for us to go into the city, we ARE NOT going into the forest," Meldalvyna says seriously, looking me straight in the eye, the somber sincerity in her expression making my skin crawl.
"Okay, I promise that if that does happen, we won't go into the forest... how about you get dressed, & we go down stairs & eat breakfast?" I ask softly, trying to get her mind off the apparently horrible dream. With a nod, Meldalvyna stands up & walks back out the door, giving a small apology to Hunter on her way out for intruding, closing the door behind her with her tail.
"I've never seen her that upset before. She must really like you, Jak," Hunter says, turning to me with a kind smile on his face.
"More than you know, Hunter, more than you know," I say with a devilish half grin, earning a curious, smiling eyebrow raise from the anthropomorphic cheetah. Standing, I leave Hunter to his own devices, walking out of the room & to Meldalvyna's bedroom door, leaning against the wall next to the exit. A few minutes of the sound of floor boards creaking & rustling coming through the door later, she walks out of her room, catching sight of me as soon as the door opens & smiling, her hair still frazzled from her less than delightful slumber.
"So, are we going to eat first, or are we going to go take care of our hair problems?" I ask, knowing full well that it isn't only Meldalvyna who has messy hair. A laugh escapes Meldalvyna as she shakes her head with a smile on her face after taking a look at my hair.
"It depends on if breakfast is ready yet or not," she answers, grabbing my hand & leading me to the top of the stairs & down the stair well into the main portion of the house. Following Meldalvyna into the kitchen, I see Spyro standing infront of the dragon-proportioned oven cooking what appeared to be bacon & eggs in different sizes.
"Morning dad, how far along is breakfast?" Meldalvyna asks, making her stepfather jump in surprise a little, having not heard her approach him from behind. Turning, he looks between us & smiles, turning back to the stove-top.
"It'll be a few minutes... definitely enough time for the two of you to get your hair neatened," Spyro answers, a sly smile barely visible on the side of his face, his voice playful & teasing. With a nod, Meldalvyna pulls me behind her to the bathroom, bringing me into the small room with her. Together, we brush our hair, & I grab my comb for my goatee. Before I can run the thing through my goatee, Meldalvyna snatches it from my hand, a teasing look on her face.
"Sit still, I want to comb it," Meldalvyna says, stepping closer, the comb poised & ready in her hand.
"Why exactly?" I ask, giving her a curious smile, a single eyebrow raised in sarcastic inquiry.
"You brushed my hair that one morning, it's my turn," she answers, taking another step closer & holding the hairless part of my chin with her empty hand.
"Fine, just don't do anything funny with it," I say with a chuckle, earning a giddy smile from Meldalvyna. Bringing the comb to my goatee, she gently runs the comb through the hair on my chin, teasing out the knots in each soft stroke. Seconds later she pulls the comb out of my goatee, a satisfactory smile on her face as she sets the thing down on the sink counter. Turning to the mirror, I see that my goatee is almost perfectly triangulated, better than I could ever get it to be.
"Come on, let's go eat," Meldalvyna says, kissing my cheek before pulling me out of the bathroom behind her.
Meldalvyna's POV
Pulling the comb softly through Jak's goatee, I gently tease out every knot in seconds, shaping his crop of hair on his chin into as close to a perfect triangle as I can manage, a smile on my face the entire time. A few seconds later, I set the comb down on the sink's counter, a happy smile on my face at my work. Jak turns to the mirror, inspecting his goatee, a pleased grin on his face as he turns his head side to side, his grin slowly growing into a grin as he looks his goatee over.
"Come on, let's go eat," I say, kissing his cheek while grabbing his hand & pulling him out of the bathroom behind me. Walking into the kitchen, I sit down across from Hunter at the table, Jak taking the seat on my left.
"Would one of you three come grab two of these plates?" my stepfather asks over his shoulder, keeping his attention on the sizzling contents of the pans on the stove-top. Before I can stand, Hunter rushes to Spyro's side, grabbing the two plates he needs help with. Setting the two plates infront of Jak & me, he takes the third plate from Spyro's paw & sits down with it, nodding to Spyro with a grin of thanks. Jak & I starting to eat, Cynder walks in a few minutes, obviously tired by her uneven, almost limping gait. As Cynder takes a seat next to Hunter, Spyro comes around & sets a plate down infront of her, giving the top of her snout a light good morning peck, a small grin spreading across my mother's lips.
"Good morning you three... I trust that you slept well last night Jak?" Cynder asks kindly, a tired smile on her face with the question. Jak gives her a dumbfounded look for a second, surprised by Cynder's friendly nature before smiling back at her.
"Yes, I slept well, the bedding was very comfortable. I can see why you & Spyro use those pillows for your seats in the sitting area," Jak responds, earning a happy smile from Cynder before she turns to eat her breakfast. Jak turns back to his breakfast, taking a bite out of his meal, swallowing a second later.
"Though, I don't think Hunter or I can say the same for Meldalvyna," Jak says nonchalantly, taking another bite of his breakfast as if it wasn't of any particular importance.
"Why would that be?" Spyro asks as he sits down, his plate already on the table & steaming, looking at me with concern written on his face.
"She had a nightmare last night... she came rushing in this morning, after Hunter & I finished getting dressed, & tackled me back down... she was hysterical," Jak explains, his eyes shifting among Cynder, Spyro, & me, resting the longest on my own.
"What had happened in the dream?" Cynder asks, turning her attention away from Jak & to me, her eyes & scent full of concern.
"Jak died in the dream... & it was my fault," I answer, looking down to my plate, the feeling of guilt in the dream coming back at almost its full strength. Both Spyro's & Cynder's scent goes to one of surprise, while Hunter's & Jak's goes to one of concern.
"How was it your fault?" Hunter asks, his voice concerned & worried, knowing full well that a dragon's dream had the possibility of being a vision of the future, or a warning.
"I don't want to talk about that..." I answer, looking down to my plate & spinning my food around my fork, the conversation making me lose my appetite, the dream still very vivid in my mind.
"It was just a dream, Mel. It's not like I'm going to get mad or anything," Jak says gently, setting a hand over my own, watching me with a small look of concern when I look up to him. Taking a deep breath, I ponder over if I should tell him now, or wait until the next time we are alone.
"I should tell him now, to get it off my chest... but what if he takes it wrong?" I think to myself, trying to decide whether or not to wait. Taking another deep breath, I make my decision, building the courage to say it out loud.
"It was my fault because... I accidentaly stabbed you with my tailblade, & Light couldn't heal you. We were fighting Metalheads, & we were both getting tired & sloppy, their blood getting on us... I heard & smelled what I thought was a Grunt or Slinger rushing up behind me while I was fighting a Centurian, & I struck without looking... you died in my arms after asking me to kill you... you said your lungs were flooding," I say, forcing myself to speak slowly through each sentence, trying to keep my tears at bay, squeezing my fingers into my palm. The scent of surprise radiates from everyone in the room, only to be replaced by the overwhelming scent of sympathy & love from Jak, his hand tightening around mine. Looking back up to him, I see a gentle smile spread across his lips.
"No wonder you were so upset this morning... anything else you don't want to do if we end up with the day off that you saw in the dream?" Jak asks, scooting his chair a little closer to mine, not caring that my parents were just across the table from us, his main & only concern being me & how I feel.
"We're not going into the forest after 3 pm, that's for sure... & if we do, we're not staying out past 4 pm... it was near nightfall when the Metalheads attacked us," I answer, thinking back to the definite parts of the dream, leaving out the happenings with Light until Jak & I are alone again. Jak nods, giving my hand another squeeze before turning to his breakfast, finishing if off in a few quick bites, I following suit. Getting up, I grab Jak's plate before he can, dropping them into the sink before returning to his side as he stands up, leading him back into the bathroom to brush our teeth together.
"Hey Jak... there's a reason Light couldn't heal you in the dream," I say after I rinse out my mouth with a small cup of water, catching Jak's attention, looking at me in the reflection of the mirror. Stepping closer to me, Jak sets a hand on my shoulder as I sit up.
"You know you can wait if you want to, I'm not going to force you to tell me why I died or how it was your fault... but I do want to know one thing," Jak says, brushing my hair away from my cheek with his thumb before giving my cheek a gentle peck.
"What do you want to know?" I ask, turning to him with a smile on my face, having the feeling he is going to say something about the happier parts of the dream.
"How did the dream start? All I want to know is from beginning up to before the Metalheads ambushed," Jak answers, searching my face with his eyes, a grin turning a corner of his lip up.
"Well, it was confusing at first, because I woke up outside in the dream, & we were both just enjoying the sunlight, & after a second, you told me we had been out there since 3," I begin, closing my eyes so I can focus on remembering the beginning of the dream. After about five or six minutes, I finish relaying the dream up to just before the Metalhead's attack, taking a deep breath as I lean against the bathroom door.
"Huh, no wonder you were so badly effected... and I could see Light trying something like that. For a being who's supposed to represent everthing kind & pure, he has a tendancy to break that expectancy every once in a while," Jak says once I finish my retelling of the dream, standing back up to his full height from leaning on the sink's counter.
"Really... huh, & I was thinking it was just the dream. I didn't realize he actually did that," I say with a thoughtful grin, standing back up to my full heighth as well, getting out of the way so I or Jak could open the door.
"I swear sometimes he can be worse than Dark at those kind of things... especially when it comes to being a perfectionist... it's like when I or he sees something that he doesn't deem 'pure' or 'perfect' enough, he wants to destroy it," Jak says, shaking his head in scrutiny at Light, a strange grin on his face.
"He wants to destroy them... what does he think about me in those terms?" I ask, curious as to what Light thinks of me, & also slightly worried for my own future safety around Jak's Light Eco alter.
"He loves you just the way you are... which means you're 'perfect' & 'pure' enough for his liking... he didn't really like Keira or Ashelin... said they were not pure enough for him," Jak says, his hand stopping just before the door nob, a small smile on his face as he looks me up & down. Jak returns his attention to the door, placing a hand on the door nob.
"WHAT IN THE ANCESTORS' NAME ARE YOU TWO DOING IN THERE?!" an angry voice yells as the door is flung open, making us both jump back in surprise, the harshly opened passage way revealing a very pissed off Sparx.
"Sorry, Mel was just filling me in on a nightmare she had last night," Jak answers, a look of surprise on his face, though through his scent I can tell he is amused at Sparx's angry expression.
"I've been waiting here for almost ten minutes... don't apologize again, just get out, the both of you," Sparx says, flying into the bathroom behind us, trying to shove us out, though failing hilariously. With a compressed laugh, I pull Jak out of the room with me & into the hall, the door slamming behind us. Walking into the living room, we grab the remainder of our Freedom League armor & say our goodbyes before walking out the door.
"Good Ancestors it's cold out here," I say as I shiver runs down my spine & the hair on my head attempt to raise.
"I'd give my jacket to you, but your wings kinda make putting it on a bit difficult," Jak says with a grin, a visible shiver coursing through his arms.
"I should fly us there, he wasn't that heavy when I dive-bombed us into the pond, & he was pretty easy to find a good hold on... I wonder if he would agree to that," I think to myself, the idea making me grin a little.
"What are you smiling about?" Jak asks curiously, a smirk on his face as we walk side by side down the path & into the forest.
"Oh nothing, just thinking about a faster way to get to the rendezvous that would be warmer for the both of us," I reply, the idea sounding better by the second.
"What, do you want to ride the Jetboard like we did last time?" Jak asks, a smile coming to his face as he slows his pace a little, the sweet scent of hope coming from him in light waves.
"No... but something close to that idea," I answer, allowing my smile to grow into a full grown smirk. Jak stops completely, a hand going to his chin in thought, messing up my job on his goatee with his motion.
"What would your idea be then?" Jak asks, raising an eyebrow at me sarcastically, a small smirk creasing the left side of his lips.
"Get closer & hold your arms up & I'll show you," I respond, my smirk growing even larger. Following my instructions, Jak takes a few steps towards me & holds his arms out, a wary smile on his face, watching me with curiousity in his eyes as I walk behind him, allowing my tail to trail across one of his legs as I pass. Jumping onto his back, Jak laughs out in surprise as he almost falls over to the sudden addition of my weight to his shoulders.
"You should've just said that you wanted to be carried, I probably would've said yes," Jak says with a grin in his voice, attempting wrapping his arms underneath my legs, trying to hold me up as my legs wrap around his waist & my arms wrap around his chest from underneath his arms.
"Nope, you're not carrying me, I'm carrying you," I say as I pound my wings downward, lifting us both into the air quickly & towards the cliff-side, earning a surprised 'oh shit' from Jak, his arms tensing around my own. Flying towards the cliff with an idea in mind, I adjust my grip on Jak once I'm level, shifting his body forward so his head is just beneath my chin.
Just as we're passing the top of the cliff, I snap my wings closed, sending us into my favorite dive. Jak begins to laugh out of fear & pure adrenaline-rushed joy as the G-force pushes him into my chest. At the last second, I pull us up & barrel down the path as fast as I can manage, dodging trees & the cliff-side, diving through turns, Jak's excited laughing encouraging me to go faster. Sadly, we reach the pick-up faster than either of us want to, the air-tran just coming into view above us. Turning us both into a horizontal position, I fly low enough for Jak's feet to touch the ground before letting him go & landing next to him, the zoomer landing a few feet away a second or two later.
"We should do that again," Jak yells over the engines as the back hatch of the air-tran hits the ground. I nod in reply with a smile on my face, Jak's hand wrapping around mine as he pulls me into the transport zoomer.
Author's Note: Yay, happy ending unlike last chapter! So, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did typing it (though it was kinda difficult with my strange schedule now)... just so you guys remember, I will be posting every 2nd & 4th SUNDAYS of every month for now on, unless there is another unforeseeable schedule change... until next time, tigerdj98 out!