AN: PLEASE, excuse the funny text in this chapter. FF.net has been
messing me around for several days now, and looking at all the funny text
in places where speech marks should be, I'd say they haven't finished
giving me hell just yet. I'll try and fix it up ASAP, but for now you'll
have to put up with this crummy looking chapter. I actually like this
chapter a lot too, and all dramatic effect is ruined!
Woah, I'm finally updating again! Hey all! I'm back from Collage now! SO hopefully it won't take me as long to update now *HOPEFULLY!* On the bright side, I've already written parts of the next two chapters to follow this one, so at least I've started. I want to thank everyone who reviewed during the time I was gone. *hugs everyone and hands them plushies* You all rock. I HAVE been reading all your reviews, as well as reading all the wonderful new fics that popped up while I was away *jaw drops at the amount of fics in the section* Holy Precursors!!! You guys really DO rock! It's good to see so many Jak and Daxter fans out there!
~ Keysha
The Kryzdal Guardian
Chapter seven: The Torture
"Are you comfy?"
Xema glared up at her captive. Bryon stood above her, glancing down at the girl tied up on the floor - wrists and ankles bonded so tightly, they were close to bleeding. He grinned.
"Go on. You can answer. You have my permission."
Xema responded by kicking him in the ankle.
"Having fun teasing my little sister?" Karma smirked as Bryon hopped about on one foot, clutching his sore ankle with both hands and yelping in pain. "Xema, surely you should know better than to miss-treat your host?" Karma tried to make eye contact with her sibling, but Xema merely turned away and looked off into space.
"Xema!!! WHY do you have to be so HOSTILE?" Bryon moaned, rubbing his slightly swollen ankle. "That is NO way to treat your future husband."
Xema growled under her breath. 'The day I marry you is the day I accept the fact that Karma is related to me!' She mumbled to herself. There was no point in saying it out loud. Arguing with Karma and Bryon was going to get her nowhere - no matter HOW many times she proved them wrong.
"Hey!" Bryon cried with a little yelp of glee. "You didn't answer back!"
Another growl came from Xema.
"Aww! Does this mean you're starting to LIKE me again Xema?" Bryon walked over to the girl and chucked her under the chin.
This time, Xema responded by biting his hand.
"KARMA!" Bryon bellowed, looking for something to mop up the blood spurting out of the bite marks in his hand, "Maybe we should have LEFT her as an ottsel! She would have done less damage as a furball then she does now!"
Karma grinned.
"If I DO remember correctly, YOU seemed to have an unfortunate incident involving an ottsel running down your pants, am I correct?"
Bryon's jaw dropped.
"HOW did you know about THAT?"
"Oh, these things often make there way to me." Karma hummed, while Bryon fumed and blushed a deep red.
Xema, however, could not help but smile.
***
"So - what do we have to do? I mean - where do we even BEGIN looking?"
Jak looked from Daxter to Kryzdal, then back to Daxter. His head was bowed, and he was looking even more mournful - if it was possible - than the day his father passed away. Kryzdal, on the other hand, was padding across the table in the middle of Jak's room, mumbling to herself. Finally, she stopped pacing and looked up at the blond.
"Jak? I need you and Keira to start scouting around. Look anywhere and EVERYWHERE! I'll take Daxter and see if I can get help back at the city."
Jak glanced up.
"Huh? You two buy yourselves? I don't like the sound of that - two defenseless animals wandering about - "
"DEFENSELESS?!?" Kryzdal stammered. "I. AM. NOT. A. HELPLESS. ANIMAL JAK!!!"
"Erm, okay, your NOT! But Daxter on the other hand." Jak thumbed towards the ottsel, who hadn't even seemed to notice that his name had been mentioned. Now that he was the subject of conversation, his mind seemed to be even further away from reality.
"I'LL take care of him!" Kryzdal insisted, smiling at the blond.
Jak didn't answer back. He knew she meant it. That was all he needed to know.
***
"I really admire you sister. you have a lot of guts to look me in the eye and not even show the slightest TWINGE of fear!" Karma knelt down beside Xema, stroking the young girl's hair gently, almost lovingly.
Xema ignored her. She was more focused on the pain in her wrists and ankles. The ropes bonding her were cutting deep into her - but as painful as it was, she blinked away any signs of tears. If Karma even caught a glimpse of her crying, she would have 'won'. Besides, Xema knew Karma only wanted to keep her alive so that she could mentally abuse her. Xema knew that as soon as she broke down - Karma would kill her, at least, that was the NICEST thing Karma could do. She could do MUCH worse.
Xema shuddered as she thought back to the time Karma cut her wing tips off. What if she did it again? What if she went a step further and cut her wings off fully?
Karma began to plait a small amount of Xema's hair, along the back of her head, keeping her attention focused on the girl's face at all times. She didn't look very scared.
"What IS with you and that Ottsel anyway?"
"What?"
Karma smirked. She had her sister's attention, which was a start. She continued to plait Xema's hair, pretending to be unfazed by her sister's startled reaction.
"Well, you seem to have so much affection for such a - bizarre creature. That's to say the least!"
Xema growled.
"He's not really an ottsel."
"Blah, blah, blah. Yes, I KNOW! I've heard this story a hundred times already (AN: and so have the readers of this fic no doubt :p). The point is: he's still an ottsel! Regardless of what he WAS, now he's nothing but a little fleabag with the uncanny ability to talk!"
Xema clenched her fists, trying to stop herself from whipping around and biting Karma.
"It doesn't matter what he LOOKS like Karma. I like him for what he is."
"Like? Or LOVE? Oh, who cares! The point is, well, for a princess, don't you find it -"
She grinned.
"DEMEANING to be in love with a furball?"
Xema whipped around faster than anyone could ever imagine possible of the young girl. Fire burned in her eyes as she looked up at her older sister.
She was going to PAY for that!
***
"Kryzdal?"
"Yes Daxter dear?" The white cat fluttered a few inches off the ground, watching the ottsel crawl his way up the cliff face, trying to look relaxed, although he was clearly exhausted from all the climbing he had endured.
"Two questions." Daxter puffed and he scrambled over another rock. "One: WHY did you tell Jak and Keira to look for Xema when you CLEARLY have an idea where Brian took her?" His hind paw caught on a loose root of an old, twisted tree, and he fell facedown in the dust. He emerged with a furry face full of dirt. "Two: WHERE, in the name of all precursors, are we GOING?"
Kryzdal smiled at the ottsel, and lowered a paw down to brush some of the dirt off of his nose. "It's simple Daxter. I'm taking you to a very special place. I discovered it not long before I had Xema. It's a sacred ground. That's why I sent Jak and Keira off elsewhere. I couldn't let them see it, and therefore, I asked them to keep away without offending them."
Daxter glanced up, his face now free of almost all the dirt.
"What? If it's so sacred, then why are you taking ME there?"
Kryzdal smiled. "Because Daxter, YOU are entitled to enter the grounds."
The ottsel couldn't make out what on earth Kryzdal was on about. He was just about to open his mouth with a protesting remark, when he suddenly realized they had made it to the top of the cliff. And as he followed Kryzdal, she lead him around an abnormally smooth boulder to a small cracked entranceway.
"This cave." She informed Daxter, smiling happily. "Is where I came when I first took this form, many years ago."
Daxter carefully stepped inside the entrance, drawing a rather large breath as he looked around. It was full of large, silvery-blue pools. Pools of pure water, many of which were connected to large waterfalls. "Wow. What a - FUNKY looking place."
Kryzdal laughed. "I thought you'd say something like that Daxter." She grinned, and then, with one quick swipe of her paw, pushed Daxter into one of the deep, clear pools.
***
The ottsel floundered about under the weight of the pure liquid. It was so heavy - and the more he struggled, the more it pulled him down.
"She's trying to KILL me!" He gasped, still trying his best to reach the surface. He just couldn't do it. Every part of his body was limp and heavy, exhausted beyond belief. He reached up one last time, trying to grab something, ANYTHING to save himself.
And then a delicate hand reached into the water and held his wrist tightly. In one fluid motion, Daxter had been pulled out of the shimmering pool and back onto the cold floor of the cave.
Gasping hard for air, Daxter lay on his back, staring up at the roof of the cave --- and one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.
"W-who are you?" He questioned. Unable to even refer to the woman as 'babe'. She was much older than him, and seemed to have a regal 'light' about her. She wore a long, silk dress, and all around her, pale, snow- white hair flowed. She smiled down at him.
"Really now Daxter. I can't believe you've forgotten about me already!"
Daxter's eyes widened. He knew that voice!
"Kryzdal?" He gaped at the woman before him. "Y - you're you!" He gasped. "You're beautiful!"
Kryzdal gave out a soft, elegant laugh. "You don't look so bad yourself Daxter. I can defiantly see a lot of your father in you!"
"What?" Daxter remarked, sitting up. He glanced over to the pool in which, just minutes before, he had almost drowned in. He gasped as he looked down at his reflection.
It was him! Not the ottsel him, but the BOY him! The Daxter that had disappeared long ago.
He had converted back to his original form.
Kryzdal knelt down beside him and placed an elegant hand on his shoulder.
"It seems the Springs have reversed the curse that the Dark Eco placed on you Daxter." She smiled. "Now, prepare yourself, because you're about to go through a bit of pain."
"P-pain?" Daxter asked, he tried to ask her what the heck she was on about, but suddenly, he felt it: the sharp pain streaming through his body. Like he was on fire.
"Oh my god! I'm dying!" He thought, as his world began to spin.
Woah, I'm finally updating again! Hey all! I'm back from Collage now! SO hopefully it won't take me as long to update now *HOPEFULLY!* On the bright side, I've already written parts of the next two chapters to follow this one, so at least I've started. I want to thank everyone who reviewed during the time I was gone. *hugs everyone and hands them plushies* You all rock. I HAVE been reading all your reviews, as well as reading all the wonderful new fics that popped up while I was away *jaw drops at the amount of fics in the section* Holy Precursors!!! You guys really DO rock! It's good to see so many Jak and Daxter fans out there!
~ Keysha
The Kryzdal Guardian
Chapter seven: The Torture
"Are you comfy?"
Xema glared up at her captive. Bryon stood above her, glancing down at the girl tied up on the floor - wrists and ankles bonded so tightly, they were close to bleeding. He grinned.
"Go on. You can answer. You have my permission."
Xema responded by kicking him in the ankle.
"Having fun teasing my little sister?" Karma smirked as Bryon hopped about on one foot, clutching his sore ankle with both hands and yelping in pain. "Xema, surely you should know better than to miss-treat your host?" Karma tried to make eye contact with her sibling, but Xema merely turned away and looked off into space.
"Xema!!! WHY do you have to be so HOSTILE?" Bryon moaned, rubbing his slightly swollen ankle. "That is NO way to treat your future husband."
Xema growled under her breath. 'The day I marry you is the day I accept the fact that Karma is related to me!' She mumbled to herself. There was no point in saying it out loud. Arguing with Karma and Bryon was going to get her nowhere - no matter HOW many times she proved them wrong.
"Hey!" Bryon cried with a little yelp of glee. "You didn't answer back!"
Another growl came from Xema.
"Aww! Does this mean you're starting to LIKE me again Xema?" Bryon walked over to the girl and chucked her under the chin.
This time, Xema responded by biting his hand.
"KARMA!" Bryon bellowed, looking for something to mop up the blood spurting out of the bite marks in his hand, "Maybe we should have LEFT her as an ottsel! She would have done less damage as a furball then she does now!"
Karma grinned.
"If I DO remember correctly, YOU seemed to have an unfortunate incident involving an ottsel running down your pants, am I correct?"
Bryon's jaw dropped.
"HOW did you know about THAT?"
"Oh, these things often make there way to me." Karma hummed, while Bryon fumed and blushed a deep red.
Xema, however, could not help but smile.
***
"So - what do we have to do? I mean - where do we even BEGIN looking?"
Jak looked from Daxter to Kryzdal, then back to Daxter. His head was bowed, and he was looking even more mournful - if it was possible - than the day his father passed away. Kryzdal, on the other hand, was padding across the table in the middle of Jak's room, mumbling to herself. Finally, she stopped pacing and looked up at the blond.
"Jak? I need you and Keira to start scouting around. Look anywhere and EVERYWHERE! I'll take Daxter and see if I can get help back at the city."
Jak glanced up.
"Huh? You two buy yourselves? I don't like the sound of that - two defenseless animals wandering about - "
"DEFENSELESS?!?" Kryzdal stammered. "I. AM. NOT. A. HELPLESS. ANIMAL JAK!!!"
"Erm, okay, your NOT! But Daxter on the other hand." Jak thumbed towards the ottsel, who hadn't even seemed to notice that his name had been mentioned. Now that he was the subject of conversation, his mind seemed to be even further away from reality.
"I'LL take care of him!" Kryzdal insisted, smiling at the blond.
Jak didn't answer back. He knew she meant it. That was all he needed to know.
***
"I really admire you sister. you have a lot of guts to look me in the eye and not even show the slightest TWINGE of fear!" Karma knelt down beside Xema, stroking the young girl's hair gently, almost lovingly.
Xema ignored her. She was more focused on the pain in her wrists and ankles. The ropes bonding her were cutting deep into her - but as painful as it was, she blinked away any signs of tears. If Karma even caught a glimpse of her crying, she would have 'won'. Besides, Xema knew Karma only wanted to keep her alive so that she could mentally abuse her. Xema knew that as soon as she broke down - Karma would kill her, at least, that was the NICEST thing Karma could do. She could do MUCH worse.
Xema shuddered as she thought back to the time Karma cut her wing tips off. What if she did it again? What if she went a step further and cut her wings off fully?
Karma began to plait a small amount of Xema's hair, along the back of her head, keeping her attention focused on the girl's face at all times. She didn't look very scared.
"What IS with you and that Ottsel anyway?"
"What?"
Karma smirked. She had her sister's attention, which was a start. She continued to plait Xema's hair, pretending to be unfazed by her sister's startled reaction.
"Well, you seem to have so much affection for such a - bizarre creature. That's to say the least!"
Xema growled.
"He's not really an ottsel."
"Blah, blah, blah. Yes, I KNOW! I've heard this story a hundred times already (AN: and so have the readers of this fic no doubt :p). The point is: he's still an ottsel! Regardless of what he WAS, now he's nothing but a little fleabag with the uncanny ability to talk!"
Xema clenched her fists, trying to stop herself from whipping around and biting Karma.
"It doesn't matter what he LOOKS like Karma. I like him for what he is."
"Like? Or LOVE? Oh, who cares! The point is, well, for a princess, don't you find it -"
She grinned.
"DEMEANING to be in love with a furball?"
Xema whipped around faster than anyone could ever imagine possible of the young girl. Fire burned in her eyes as she looked up at her older sister.
She was going to PAY for that!
***
"Kryzdal?"
"Yes Daxter dear?" The white cat fluttered a few inches off the ground, watching the ottsel crawl his way up the cliff face, trying to look relaxed, although he was clearly exhausted from all the climbing he had endured.
"Two questions." Daxter puffed and he scrambled over another rock. "One: WHY did you tell Jak and Keira to look for Xema when you CLEARLY have an idea where Brian took her?" His hind paw caught on a loose root of an old, twisted tree, and he fell facedown in the dust. He emerged with a furry face full of dirt. "Two: WHERE, in the name of all precursors, are we GOING?"
Kryzdal smiled at the ottsel, and lowered a paw down to brush some of the dirt off of his nose. "It's simple Daxter. I'm taking you to a very special place. I discovered it not long before I had Xema. It's a sacred ground. That's why I sent Jak and Keira off elsewhere. I couldn't let them see it, and therefore, I asked them to keep away without offending them."
Daxter glanced up, his face now free of almost all the dirt.
"What? If it's so sacred, then why are you taking ME there?"
Kryzdal smiled. "Because Daxter, YOU are entitled to enter the grounds."
The ottsel couldn't make out what on earth Kryzdal was on about. He was just about to open his mouth with a protesting remark, when he suddenly realized they had made it to the top of the cliff. And as he followed Kryzdal, she lead him around an abnormally smooth boulder to a small cracked entranceway.
"This cave." She informed Daxter, smiling happily. "Is where I came when I first took this form, many years ago."
Daxter carefully stepped inside the entrance, drawing a rather large breath as he looked around. It was full of large, silvery-blue pools. Pools of pure water, many of which were connected to large waterfalls. "Wow. What a - FUNKY looking place."
Kryzdal laughed. "I thought you'd say something like that Daxter." She grinned, and then, with one quick swipe of her paw, pushed Daxter into one of the deep, clear pools.
***
The ottsel floundered about under the weight of the pure liquid. It was so heavy - and the more he struggled, the more it pulled him down.
"She's trying to KILL me!" He gasped, still trying his best to reach the surface. He just couldn't do it. Every part of his body was limp and heavy, exhausted beyond belief. He reached up one last time, trying to grab something, ANYTHING to save himself.
And then a delicate hand reached into the water and held his wrist tightly. In one fluid motion, Daxter had been pulled out of the shimmering pool and back onto the cold floor of the cave.
Gasping hard for air, Daxter lay on his back, staring up at the roof of the cave --- and one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.
"W-who are you?" He questioned. Unable to even refer to the woman as 'babe'. She was much older than him, and seemed to have a regal 'light' about her. She wore a long, silk dress, and all around her, pale, snow- white hair flowed. She smiled down at him.
"Really now Daxter. I can't believe you've forgotten about me already!"
Daxter's eyes widened. He knew that voice!
"Kryzdal?" He gaped at the woman before him. "Y - you're you!" He gasped. "You're beautiful!"
Kryzdal gave out a soft, elegant laugh. "You don't look so bad yourself Daxter. I can defiantly see a lot of your father in you!"
"What?" Daxter remarked, sitting up. He glanced over to the pool in which, just minutes before, he had almost drowned in. He gasped as he looked down at his reflection.
It was him! Not the ottsel him, but the BOY him! The Daxter that had disappeared long ago.
He had converted back to his original form.
Kryzdal knelt down beside him and placed an elegant hand on his shoulder.
"It seems the Springs have reversed the curse that the Dark Eco placed on you Daxter." She smiled. "Now, prepare yourself, because you're about to go through a bit of pain."
"P-pain?" Daxter asked, he tried to ask her what the heck she was on about, but suddenly, he felt it: the sharp pain streaming through his body. Like he was on fire.
"Oh my god! I'm dying!" He thought, as his world began to spin.
