Em: I'M BAAAAAAACK!

OMG guys you have no idea how sorry I am. I went camping with a friend and she got me into Yu-Gi-Oh again, so I have to fight to stay into Jak. (My Playstation is broken so I can't play any of the games, and my other fantardish friends have been out of touch for awhile too long.) But just so you all know, even if it takes me forever to update, I am not giving up on this story!

By the way, my lovlies, I got my first flame! Yeah, so, Mary-Sue Destroyer, try not to flame stories with over 400 positive reviews. It makes you look bad.

And guys, the contest is done. I'm not even gonna try anymore. I have one entry, so Sull89 will get something special. (I love you, I really do. Your entry was awesome and competition would have been great, but it probably would have been pretty hard to top you.)

Once again, I just want to thank everyone who have supported me and begged me not to give up. You all inspire me and I promise this will get finished! Even if it kills me! (I'll probably be getting Jak X soon- I'm applying for a job, so then I'll have money to buy it and then I'll have tons of inspiration! My friend is being cool and letting me come over after school to use his PS2. X3)

Anyway… here is chapter 37...

---

Jak blinked several times, trying to get the images out of his head as he and Dark Jak walked through the hallways. Dark Jak was still licking the blood off his fingers, a malevolent smile ever-present on his face.

"I can't believe you did that- he was innocent!"

Dark Jak glared at Jak.

"How? How was he innocent? He drained you dry and left you to die!"

"He was being controlled, it wasn't his fault."

"Oh well, no big loss. He was dead to the world anyway."

Jak would have continued his argument with his darker half, but they'd reached the door. And behind the door was-

"Torn." Jak whispered, pushing open the door.

Torn was still chained up in the corner, although he wasn't breathing as heavily as before. "Jak, why have you come back? I told you I'd get out of here myself…" Torn said when he noticed Jak had walked into the room. Jak frowned.

"Let me help you." He said seriously. Torn shot him a look.

"Jak, you can't even touch the metal." He pointed out. Jak sighed exasperatedly.

"Then let Dark help you! He can melt the bars just as easily as you could!" Jak said frantically, wanting to leave the place that had held them captive for so long. Torn, however, shook his head.

"You all need to get out of here. Gol and Maia are on their way back. No doubt Tatiana's in the area as well. You need to leave-"

"Why are you being so stubborn! Let us help you and we can escape together!"

"Jak, I'm weak. I'll hold you back. If it takes my death to let you live, I don't care."

"I'm not going to let you sit here and give up!"

"I'm not giving up, who the hell do you think I am! I'll get out on my own and meet up with you, but if you don't leave now, I don't think any of us will make it!"

Daxter frowned. He didn't want Torn to die, be he saw the point the older elf was trying to make. "Jak, he's got a point. He can get himself out of the chains and meet us outside. We can trust him." Jak looked from Torn to Daxter and sighed.

"Fine. Fine! Torn, we'll meet you outside soon." Daxter jumped off Jak's shoulder and he and Dark Jak turned to leave. "We'll leave a trail for you to follow to the exit." Daxter called over his shoulder. As he walked out the door with Dark Jak.

Jak, however, found it hard to leave. "Go, Jak, I'll be fine." Torn said again, struggling against the chains. Jak took an unsure step back and shook his head.

"Don't you dare give up, Torn." Torn smirked at him.

"I'm not the giving up type, remember? Now go!" Torn said, shooing Jak out. Jak nodded, turning and running out the door to meet up with Dark and Daxter.

Torn sighed, stopping his struggle with the chains. He was still to weak to do much, even though he didn't exactly want to die there. "Mar DAMMIT." He cursed loudly, closing his hands around the chains and squeezing tightly. He felt the familiar burning sensation under his hands as he continued to curse and flail about wildly.

……

Jak stopped in the hallway when he heard Torn yelling. "What the hell-" He started, looking over his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jak, he's fine. You heard what he said! Let's go!" Daxter yelled over his shoulder. Jak frowned and turned around, running full-speed down the hallway again.

Ahead of him, Dark Jak skidded to a halt. Jak nearly crashed into him and sent Daxter flying down the hallway. "Dammit, Dark! Give some warning next time! I think I got whiplash!" Daxter said, rubbing his neck. Dark Jak started sniffing the air and turned his head sharply to the door to his right.

"There are explosives behind that door." He said, a dark smile crossing his lips. Daxter's ears pricked up.

"That means we can blow this place and everyone in it up! We'll be rid of Tatiana and the gross siblings forever!" Daxter said in triumph.

"Have you forgotten Torn's in here too?" Jak scowled. Dark and Daxter looked at him.

"C'mon, buddy, we'll set up the explosives and detonate them after Scar-Face gets out, alright?" Daxter offered lightly. Jak took a breath then nodded. Dark Jak smirked and opened up the door.

……

Torn didn't even notice when the chains fell off his lithe figure. His hands were on fire and he had his eyes squeezed shut. The clanging of the chains hitting the ground didn't seem the reach his ears. His eyes fluttered shut and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious before he hit it.

Tatiana, Gol, and Maia came into the room not long after. "Tend to Torn- see if he's still alive." Maia ordered Tatiana, who begrudgingly obliged. Tatiana knelt down next to him and felt for a pulse.

She found none.

……

Daxter, with Jak's help, found the base of the hide-out; the place that, if explosives were to go off, would cause the rest of the building to crumble. Dark Jak placed the explosives that he carried down. There were three support beams in the room, making a triangle around a small area. Daxter began dragging the explosives into the small triangular space and Dark Jak untangled the wires.

Jak stood near the doorway with his arms crossed, still not sure what he should be doing. He knew he had to destroy the hideout, but he couldn't help but worry about Torn. He knew he could handle himself in normal circumstances, but these circumstances were certainly not normal.

"Don't just stand there. Make yourself useful." Dark Jak muttered, motioning to the tangled wires. Jak looked at him blankly, then nodded. He crouched down, untangling the wires closer to the ground while his dark eco counterpart untangled the wires in his hands. They worked at a frantic pace, and once the wires were untangled Dark Jak wrapped them around his hand to keep them from getting tangled again.

"Alright, now to find the quickest way out of this dump." Daxter said, jumping on top of the blueprints.

……

"He hasn't got a pulse." She reported, turning her face to Gol. He nodded. "Good. We need to find Jak and the eco demon before they destroy us all." Gol turned to the door behind him, then glanced at the one in front of him. "Tatiana, go out that door and search for them. Maia, you'll come with me out the door behind us. We need to find them as soon as possible." The two women nodded and the three went their separate ways.

……

Tatiana walked slowly through the hallways, listening intently for any sound that might give away Jak's position. She walked until she reached the small hallway that branched off to the cells. She stopped and gagged. "What is that horrible smell?" She gasped, almost unable to go on. She walked down the small hallway and almost wished she hadn't when she reached the cells.

She saw Vin hanging from the top of the cell. His intestinal rope was giving way and he slumped even farther down. She covered her mouth and turned away when she heard the thump of his body hitting the floor. Her legs became weak and gave out. Tatiana leaned against the wall for support and crawled back down the sloping hallway, one hand on the ground to guide her, the other on the wall to steady her. Halfway down she lost her balance and tumbled into the second hallway, crashing into the wall. She winced and groaned. She was momentarily paralyzed, unable to move and hardly able to breathe.

When she regained her composure, she stood shakily. She had been overwhelmed by the gory scene she'd just witnessed. Even though she now knew it wasn't really Vin she'd been with, her stomach still clenched sickeningly at seeing his body. She knew she had feelings for him before, but she never knew they were so strong. Her eyes stung and she choked. Unable to hold it in any longer, she leaned to the side and emptied her stomach.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she took a few steps. Hoping Gol or Maia was still in the room she'd only just left, she made her way to the door. "That bastard… he killed Vin… I'll make him… pay…" She muttered. She closed her hand around the door knob and pushed it open.

The room was completely empty when she poked her head in. Gol and Maia were nowhere to be seen but something seemed out of place. "Where's Torn…?" She wondered aloud, taking a few steps into the room and looking around, thinking perhaps Gol or Maia had moved his body out of the way. But there was no trace of him to be seen.

She wiped at her eyes and took a few more steps into the room. She heard the faint sound of a chain rattling behind her. She didn't even have time to turn around when she felt chains slink around her neck. She choked audibly and brought her fingers to her neck. "Who…?" She managed to say. Torn, breathing heavily now, turned her around to face him.

Tatiana's eyes widened then narrowed. While she struggled against him she growled. "You." He grunted, tightening the chains around her neck. She choked again as the dark eco began to burn her skin. "T-Torn…" She gasped, her legs beginning to wobble again.

"Shut up, you bitch. You're going to pay for everything you've done to Jak and for everything you've done to me." Torn hissed, tightening the chains again. A muffled scream torn from Tatiana's throat and she fell to her knees. "Rot in hell." Torn growled, tightening the chains one last time. Tatiana went limp and blood gurgled in her throat. Torn threw her body away from his in disgust.

"Now to find Jak…" Torn muttered, walking slowly out the door on the opposite side of the room.

……

"Everything ready?" Dark asked, scanning the explosives set up in the middle of the room. Daxter hopped up on Jak's shoulder. "Yep. Let's go!" He said as Dark and Jak turned around and followed Daxter's instructions. "Okay, now go right down this hallway." Daxter ordered.

"You will go no further." Gol said, stepping out from behind a corner. "Auuughhh!" Daxter yelled in surprise, nearly falling backward. Gol and Maia snickered and stepped in from of Jak and Dark. "Seems we're finally going to kill you, Jak." Gol said confidently. Jak frowned. "Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" He asked. Gol reached out, closing his wrists around Jak's. Jak screamed as dark eco bit into his flesh. "Because we have control of Dark Eco. You can't touch it anymore. You are obsolete."

Gol threw Jak backwards and Jak knocked into Dark. The device to activate the explosives flew out of Dark's hands and smashed into the wall. "Oh no… the explosives have been activated, Jak!" Dark said, turning to his elfin counterpart. "We've got to get out!" Daxter cried frantically from the floor.

Gol and Maia looked at each other and smirked. "Well then, we'll just have to kill you quick and get out of here, won't we?" Maia mocked. Dark snarled and lunged at her, catching her off guard. He pinned her to the ground and slashed at her face. She screamed as his claws ripped through her cheek and left burning lacerations. "You'll pay for that you wretched little demon!" She hissed, kicking upward and flinging him off.

Gol lunged at Jak, but Jak moved to the side and elbowed him in the back, sending him crashing into the wall. Dark ran at Maia and ducked at the very last minute, head butting her in the stomach. She pulled at his hair, her own claws digging into his scalp. They both tumbled to the ground.

"Jak, take Daxter and leave, I can take care of them." Dark said, smiling malevolently.

"Are you sure?" Jak asked, turning to kick Gol swiftly and knock him down again.

"Yes! Now go!" Dark said, getting thrown to the ground by Maia. "Hurry!" Dark hissed, sinking his fangs into her shoulder. Jak nodded and picked Daxter up and ran down the hallway.

"Jak! Slow down for a sec! I gotta see where we're going!" Daxter yelped, the blueprints wrapped around him. Jak slowed down and finally stopped when he recognized the hallway he was in. "We can go get Torn before we leave!" Jak said, running to the door and pushing it open.

He gasped when he saw Tatiana laying near the door, the chains around her neck and blood puddling around her. "What the…?" Daxter dug his nails into Jak's shoulder. "Jak, we have to leave! So what if she's dead? Torn's not in here; he must have left! Let's go!" Daxter begged. Jak nodded. "You're right. You're right." He said, turning quickly and running up the hallway.

"The door's up here, Jak!" Daxter said, throwing the blueprints to the ground. Jak nodded and ran blindly, only half hearing Daxter's instructions. "That's it, Jak! That's the door! We're free!" Daxter cheered. Jak flung the door open and was nearly blinded by the sunshine. "Come on, Dax. We gotta get far away from here." Jak said, walking quickly away from the place that had held him prisoner for so long.

……

Torn walked slowly but steadily down the hallway. He heard footsteps and Jak's voice. "Jak!" He called out weakly, picking up his pace. He stopped suddenly when his legs seized up. "Ah! Dammit!" He cursed, stopping and leaning against the wall.

He stood for several minutes; just breathing seemed to drain him of any energy. He cursed his weakness. He took a few steps forward when he heard another set of footsteps, hoping that Jak heard him call his name or curse; although, who knew how long ago that was? The footsteps ran passed and Torn sighed. He took another step and noticed a piece of paper on the floor. He looked at it, then bent over and picked it up. "Blueprints…"

Torn looked over the paper and noticed he wasn't far from the entrance. He committed the path to the exit to memory and dropped the paper. He walked slowly through the small winding passages until he reached the door.

……

Dark Jak ran out of the Marauder's hiding place completely out of breath. He sported several bruises and cuts, the worst being one on his forehead, dangerously close to his eye. He limped toward where Daxter was jumping up and down and Jak stood.

"Did you see Torn?" Jak asked. Dark shook his head. "No. The explosives will go off and minute now." He said. He noticed three Leaper Lizards milling around behind Jak, their reigns tied tightly to a nearby tree. "You got the lizards. Smart." He said, smirking. Jak took a step forward. "I'm going to go look for Torn." He said. Dark held him back. "Torn was the Commander of the Krimzon Guard. He is the leader of the Underground. That merits strength. He's fine, Jak." Dark said, pulling him back.

"Hey! Is that him?" Daxter asked. Lo and behold, there was Torn, walking wearily out of the hideout. Dark smirked. "Told ya." Jak smirked as well and went to help Torn when the explosives went off.

………

I'm such a bitch. You wait like 2 and a half months for an update and I leave you with a cliff-hanger. Oh well, you'll deal. X3 I'll try not to keep ya'll waiting like this again. I am so sorry! I'll start on chapter 38 soon, the hype for Jak X is making me inspired. KEEP INSPIRING ME, GUYS! I LOVE YOU ALL! Cookies for everyone! X3

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3