[Co-Author: Butterfly123199]
Context: After the Water Slums mess, the gang is separated - in more ways than one. With that area on complete lockdown, it seems they all went into hiding...
The wretched morning sunlight was nothing new to the ravenette, unfortunately. But that wasn't necessarily the case for the dead town mornings. She snorted and sat up, groaning. She wiped the drool from her chin and looked around groggily.
"He's left." It was Beth that was speaking to her, it's been a long while since those two were gone.
"As always." Elise mumbled to herself and huffed.
"He's not stable, Elise.."
"That's not my problem. He invaded my privacy."
"He did it to protect you, you don't underst-"
"And I don't want to understand. It's done."
The place was quiet, save for the whistling wind that blew by the buildings here. It had been a while since there was a moment like this, where there wasn't any Jak and Dax making a ruckus or Torn and Trin discussing in a serious hushed tone around the corner. She felt groggy, like anyone in most mornings - save for the heavy confession last night after such an excruciating ambush. Which they had to deal with by escaping by the skin of their teeth, blasting guards left and right. The whole ordeal definitely marked as a strenuous workout (to put it lightly).
The empty home wasn't anything new for her, but it wasn't something she enjoyed. She could feel spouts of worry in her chest, but she forced them away unlike normal times. Something felt... off. She couldn't exactly tell what, but she could almost feel a bad situation heading their way.
As if being close to death wasn't already enough.
"Next is actually dying." She thought aloud.
"You'd be surprised."
"I wouldn't be. At this point, Death would be the better option."
"Elise..."
She didn't respond to that. She didn't want to. Beth hadn't been there. She felt as though the woman had no right or fairness to comment and unfortunately Beth could feel that.
"How long do you think he'll be..?"
"I don't care."
"Alright..."
Outside seemed to give another feeling of something off as she looked around, the slight wafting smell of pancakes heading her way.
There were sounds of the occasional crumbling rubble outside, creaking dilapidated buildings, and waters murmuring as usual.
...
But that was the thing.
There were absolutely no sounds of the frequent glubs croaking out there, snapping Znorkletooths, and even the Krimzon Guards from last night seemed to have left...assuming.
"It's quiet.."
"It's always quiet."
The aggression and invisible venom in the ravenette's voice was a little daunting. Beth didn't want to admit it was frightening. Though she assumed Elise knew. The empty town was truly what it was. Dead town. As much as she hated hiding there, she was more than positive Erol now knew she was 'Dahlia Thorne' from the festival. There was no living that down now and she could only imagine how pissed he was. That's if she was alive by then.
Elise noticed the note shoved under the plate of pancakes, she could even see it from here that it was a little crumpled.
Elise read over the note, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.
"It's shaky..."
"I told you something is wrong.."
"Not much I can do about fighting inner demons."
She pushed the note and food aside.
"Not when I'm losing against my own."
Elise couldn't help but at the very least check outside, exiting out of her little hideout cautiously, and the sunlight making her squint a bit despite the place being shady from all kinds of crumbled foundations.
She looked around the corners, her boots kicking up sand...
Only to find absolutely nothing.
Sure, it was an abandoned town and ruined thanks to the baron, but there was literally nothing around. There wasn't any blood, bones, or guns (except if you count what's already being eroded by the murky waters).
"This isn't right..."
She stepped more out into the open, a chill running down her spine. She felt as if she was being watched.
"Something weird is going on here..."
She examined around, her eyes watchful like a vulture. A curious glint peeking out of the sand from afar…
"The hell is that..." She muttered more of a statement than a question.
She walked over to the glint and kneeled down. She brushed her fingers over it for a short moment.
"What is it..?"
As she pulled it out, it was the Dark Dagger. Bloody, all the way up to the handle. It was already glowing purple, showing that it was 'charged up' in a way.
"It's a sign that my life is at risk..." Elise shakily breathed out, flinching at the zap the blade gave her. She picked it up and looped it through her weapon holster.
Why was there nothing outside? The question began to be more dreadful by the second.
The more she looked around with the Dark Dagger, some puzzle pieces were starting to form together, all making one big ugly picture. She warily watched her surroundings, occasionally jumping at any and every sound. Elise immediately turned her head for the rustling, only to find bits of sand or dust crumble and trickle down to where she is. Looking up from one of the many dilapidated buildings, she had a guess what may be up there...
'...S...i..nce...'
"..."
"Nyx..."
She took a step back from where the sound came from.
"Is that... you..?"
There was a heavy sense of silence hanging in the air.
Staring upwards she swore she saw something there.
Then she saw an inky shadow above.
*THUD!*
She jumped backwards to avoid it, only to see a dead carcass of a... body. It was so gruesomely ravaged it looked as if it was an animal that had clawed it up, or even bit it to death. It was completely drained of blood.
As the body rolled over, there was no mistaking the iconic metal face of a metalhead.
"Holy shit..." She breathlessly cursed and looked back up. She swore her heart sunk to her feet at the sight of the.. creature.
"Oh precursors..."
She began to mentally debate on going up.
'...l..n..ce..'
Elise made herself quiet, all kinds of red flags going off in her head. When she recalled the moment last night, how Trinny acted despite the biggest issue of his confession about the pendant, she felt a gut feeling. An ill omen about to go down. Even now she wasn't sure who Trinity is right now.
The word echoing in her mind wasn't Trinity or Nyx the more she focused on it. It sounded harsh, cold, and calculative in a way. She only made her way up centimeter by centimeter to hear or check, still reluctant if she wanted to fully go up there.
...
All she heard was shuffling upon the gravel, dust, and sand. As if they were dragging their feet. An occasional pause, and then shifting around. As if they were pacing in circles.
'We both know what's going to happen.'
Elise silently cursed the estranged voice from some time ago. She knew what it was doing, and she almost wanted to beg for it to stop.
'Well? We're here, pansy. What are you waiting for now?'
"Stop..." Elise gritted her teeth, whispering the small plea.
'Stop...'
Or else what?
There was a scratching sound, something raking across the concrete from above.
Elise stepped back, the only sounds now were her footsteps. Everything in her screamed at her to run away, but she couldn't find it in herself to.
She couldn't leave him. Like how she couldn't blame him.
Elise cautiously made her way up, closer and closer to the impending dangers that were about to be unleashed. As her footsteps were more silent than the wind itself, she creeped around the corner that leads up to the room; the roof was missing and pretty much half the building as well.
What she saw... was worrying. It was an understatement, but she couldn't help and think this was because of last night. She now knew were the rest of the missing KGs, metalheads, and all kinds of other creatures that made their home here in Dead Town. All of the corpses were ravaged completely.
In the middle of the room... was him. Standing on top of the bodies. He was squatting on them, she could only see his six.
Even more concerning was his back.
It was just like his mindscape.
Part of the left sleeve was missing to reveal his scarred arm where the dark purplish veins curled up across his blue skin. It was bloody at the back shoulder - and Elise knew what caused it, because that was in her holster. He just continued to scratch the ground, head turned sideways. It wasn't in a braid or ponytail anymore and the blood from his back shoulder was caking and staining his discolored hair. Heavy growls erupted from behind the mask and incomprehensible whispers... Should she even try to listen?
She focused in hard, seeing that Trinity hasn't noticed her yet...
"...Silence...all..need... All..fault..." He muttered raspily, head beginning to twitch. He was rambling in and on as if he truly lost his mind. Something about being at fault.
'You're just as pathetic as I remember.'
Elise felt like she couldn't even control the other anymore.
'Still desperate to hold onto your humanity... so desperate to love her, desperate to prove you aren't the real bad guy. When we all know your last sense of humanity was drained with your last Eco bath.'
He grabbed a metallic helmet of a dead Krimzon Guard, his other hand deadly still.
*TSHRK*
He crushed the helmet effortlessly, starting to breathe more hoarsely in the next moment, and even his wings were different than before now that Elise had paid more attention to his form.
They looked aggressive, angled in such a way that they looked more like claws. His claws. 'Humanity... Drained?' The voice of the thoughts that echoed was terrifying, it sounded like it was on the verge of snapping into a series of animalistic, incomprehensible growls.
...
But he sounded constrained. As if holding himself back.
Elise couldn't help but feel trapped, even with all the open space. It was frightening to see him that way, and even worse to hear her dark form taunting him. "Trin... Nyx..." She hesitantly called in a whisper tone.
He growled and whipped his head at her, his one eye was yellow, brimming with malice. As for the other one...
There wasn't any other one. It was black as the void in that mask. He didn't say anything as he bared his fangs under that mask.
The small girl felt herself step forward against her will. It was as if she wasn't in control of her own body, and she knew it wasn't Beth.
"Please.. don't..." She whispered hesitantly.
'You're so stupid. So weak, pathetic... but that's the best part.'
She winced when her hand raised and outstretched towards him.
'So vulnerable. So desperate for a chance.'
He merely growled, his one eye under that gashed part of the mask. His aggressive, twitching wings didn't make any sudden movements, they just loomed over Elise like a giant claw.
A dark chuckle tumbled in her throat, it almost echoing in his ears. She lowered her hand.
'Save her.'
She paled, her heart beginning to race. An order. She gave him an order.
"No..." Elise quickly began backing up.
As if his other eye twitched, he stood up, still hunched over but meeting her eye to eye. 'Save...' The voice echoed, it sounded pained. It sounded sorrowful.
But most importantly it sounded hollow.
Dark Trinity had his wings outstretched now, and something about Elise...or rather the others in her screamed familiar-
Elise continued stepping back, almost feeling nauseous from the fear in her heart. "Oh precursors..."
"You need to keep away!"
"As if I didn't notice that." Elise choked out. She couldn't help but stay frozen in place.
His tendrils that sprouted from his back lashed out like snakes, wrapping themselves around her wrists! '...C...n...l..'
Elise quickly tried to pull her wrists back, grunting in response. "Trinity, no!" She cried, tears unwillingly brimming in her eyes.
Immediately an icy feeling took over Elise's body like horror or fear, Trinity felt a tingly feeling along his spine as he tilted his head just barely as he watched. Forcefully and slowly dragging her towards him...
"TRINITY!" She cried, attempting to drag herself away, her heels scraping against the floor.
'Don't listen to her. Do as you're told.'
They both felt the battle for Dark Eco in their systems, his scar being even more darker violet. Then all of the sudden-
*cough-*
…
He was bending over, suddenly coughing.
The sounds he was making were extremely concerning, because it wasn't just any small cough, no, it was as if there was metal and blood in his lungs.
Even more horrifying was that he shifted his head down suddenly, and what she saw coming out from his mouth...was Dark Eco. His blood. Tainted by it so much it looked black. "HAGH-" He made a beastly growl, breathing louder and faster as if he was greedy for air.
Elise grunted and struggled, fighting against his grasp. She strained when reaching her hand down, grasping onto the dark dagger.
SLASH!-
"AGHH!"
Trinity let out a scream, the malevolent sensation Elise had felt while the wings were on her had completely vanished. The inky tendrils of Trin's wings disappeared like a shadow in the light.
He fell on his knees shaking and trembling violently as Trinny was doubled over still. It was then that he collapsed, like a corpse against the concrete. His skin was turning back pale, but there was something still wrong as he jolted violently. His hair was a little frizzy and his horns didn't disappear.
In fact, his nails weren't gone either.
Elise dropped the dagger, heavy breaths escaping her lips. She was shaking with both adrenaline and fear, her wrists a bruised purple.
'Maybe next time then.'
"Oh shut up already." Elise hissed breathlessly, staring down at the man in front of her. "What am I gonna do with you, Trinny..." She whispered.
As he scraped his claws against the floor weakly, trying to grasp for something he uttered out, "I- I'm...sorry..." Pain took over him so much so that he couldn't say anything else as his struggles on the ground slowed.
Then stopped completely.
His horns and the usual dark form that Elise and Jak would be familiar with flashed and disappeared away, Trinny lying limp.
"..."
She kneeled down and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I always forgive you..." She spoke softly and brushed back some of his hair.
He was cold to the touch, unmoving in fact as he was breathing weakly and raggedly. His chest barely rising and falling, his mask dripping with his black blood. Trinny's pale blonde hair looked more gray as she looked closer.
It was worrying now that she's gotten a proper lookover of him. He didn't look like he was lasting long, this made Elise remember the time when he went metalhead hunting and almost died. Elie and she herself had to get him patched up.
But something about this was different compared to before, compared to that moment. Elise couldn't think about it long when she suddenly heard other sounds - ones that weren't there before somewhere below the building...
With a gentle whisper and a glance of blonde hair, Elise felt her heart ache with relief. But it was strange... Why was she here? Especially at this time of day.
"Lexi!" Elise called, peering her head down.
The tall woman shot her gaze up, her blue eyes meeting Elise's brown ones. She furrowed her eyebrows.
"El, what are you—"
"I need your help, please.."
"I-"
"Please!"
The woman felt silent, seeing tears grow within her friend's eyes. She sighed and rubbed her temples lightly. She regretfully couldn't say no.
"Alright... stay quiet, I'll be up there in a bit."
To Trinny, his vision was fading in and out as he rested on the ground next to El. His hearing was as if it was underwater, unfocused, or simply far away.
He could only see the woman he cared about the most in his eyes. Despite the fuzziness of his sight and the tunnel vision, where darkness around the corners of his eyes were soon taking over. He couldn't even focus on her very well as he had his eye dart around.
Soon...
He fell in the hands of slumber. Unbeknownst to him, something was quietly waiting.
JV007 A/N: Ah, another OC being introduced, when was the last time we had done that? It feels like ages not gonna lie! Lexi is part of my partner's stuff, not mine for clarification by the way- oh well…this is getting uglier and uglier, fans of Jak and Daxter series and those that know the game's plot, it makes you really wonder - is the end that close? Or not?