Title Unhappily Ever After
Author Kyrie
Rating R for abuse, rape, sexual situations, cursing, violence, the works.
Synopsis Somewhat asequel to 'Penitentiary.' Finally free from prison, Jak is left with a heart heavy from revenge and a mind cluttered with thoughts about his tormentor. [JakErol]
Comments Jak II, slightly AU. I don't think it's quite exactly a sequel to 'Penitentiary,' and you don't have to read it, but I implore you--Read it! I And review it. I need more reviews..
Dedications Everyone who read Penitentiary, I suppose.
Disclaimer Jak II and All of it's characters belong to Naughty Dog, and I am making absolutely no money from this excursion of fandom.
The streets of Haven City were cold, not just in temperature, but in atmosphere. They were bone-chillingly empty, and he was all alone. Usually, a bit of reassuring fuzzy warmth would be rested on his shoulder, but he'd left his best friend to sleep at the Underground headquarters. He didn't really know where he was going, most likely because he'd never been in this part of the city, but he didn't know how to get back, either. The problem was that he didn't care.
He took a seat on the edge of a water fountain, looking up at the sky, or at least, what wasn't covered by tall, towering buildings and what wasn't lost behind a blanket of smog so thick the sunlight was dimmed considerably in the daytime. Although, from outward appearances, he seemed relaxed, free, calm, peaceful, at ease--all these were complete contrasts as to how he really felt.
So much confusion for a day, so much happiness, but uneasiness, and insecurity, all at once. He was happy to see Daxter, of course, and he was happy to be out of prison, but there was something eating away at him from the pit of his stomach. It wasn't just the fact that he felt like a completely different person than his best friend used to know, but he felt a longing, a burning, a need...
Jak and Daxter walked triumphantly back through the Underground's door, and Torn only glanced off of his paper momentarily. "I see you turned the water back on," he pointed with a pencil to the dripping faucet on the opposite side of the room. "Nice work. I've been looking for a couple of people who could handle hard work like this."
"Well, we're your men, right Jak?" Daxter answered cheerfully, nudging Jak in the side of the head. He ducked his head from the jolt, but then nodded, adding a resounding, 'right.' Torn walked back behind the desk and sat down, pouring over his display of graphs. "What nothing else for us to do?"
Torn looked up at them, almost as if he were surprised to still see them still there. "No, not really." He looked back down and shrugged his shoulder in their direction, as if to say 'get out.' It wasn't very late out, so the 'demolition duo' exited through the door.
After they had turned the corner away from the Underground headquarters and jumped into the cruiser left there, Daxter finally jumped from Jak's shoulder and settled down in the seat beside him. "Hey, Jak," He said, as the cruiser took it's place in the second level of traffic, the elf keeping his eyes on the road, fore he had never driven with any other vehicles around him before. "I know this great place on the edge of town! It's called the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon, we could go there and, y'know, knock back a couple."
Jak raised his eyebrow. "Doesn't sound bad, I guess." He sped up a bit, nearly ramming into the back of a zoomer if he hadn't maneuvered around it. He heard Daxter mutter something along the lines of 'Still got the mojo!' before he took it to an even higher level of speed, making his friend's eyes bulge a little.
Even back in before they had traveled through the rift, Daxter had loved to go fast. After defeating Gol and Maia at the Citadel and dragging the rift gate back home, they still played around on Kiera's zoomer from time to time. There was always a difference, for Daxter, however, between fast and too fast. Jak just thought it was funny the way he would clutch Jak's shoulder even tighter, and his eyes would widen considerably.
Of course, that was all in the past, and now, Jak had to struggle to go fast enough to frighten Daxter, weaving in and out of traffic and dodging pedestrians. He slowed down a bit, and looked to his ottsel friend. After giving him directions, he leaned back in his seat, letting his long feet dangle over the edge.
They arrived at the saloon, and after ditching their ride and watching it collide with a zoomer parked out front, they walked in.
For a place with such a catchy name, the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon was rather empty. Only one man sat on the barstools, and a strikingly pretty blond was behind the counter, giggling at something the man in armor had said and lazily wiping down a beer glass. Her gaze adverted however when she heard Jak's footsteps headed her way. She smiled, and set the glass down, giving a happy, almost shrill screech of "Daxter!"
The ottsel jumped from his companion's shoulder and into her arms. "Hey, sweetums! Long time no see," He chimed happily, his face being rubbed into her cleavage. Daxter turned a bit to face the blond man, and held out a hand to him. "And this, is Jak, my sidekick." It took a lot of nerve for him not to roll his eyes, but he forced a smile and held out his hand to her.
"Nice to meet you," He grumbled, looking down to Daxter as the woman took his hand in hers.
"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Tess." She put Daxter down on the bar and bent down, rummaging through it's contents, glasses clinking and chinking as she did so. The fuzzy one was balancing himself on the edge of the counter, looking down her blouse most likely. "Daxter has told me all about you and how you helped him out on all of his adventures," she explained, coming back up with a two bottles and two glasses. One bottle was happily accepted by the ottsel, and she emptied the contents of the other in equal amounts into the glasses, sliding one to the man seated to her left and one to Jak. "Oh, this is Sig, a frequent customer."
The man turned, exposing his face. He was a dark man, with large lips protruding from his face in almost a pout. One of his eyes was exposed, but the other was covered with a large, red spectacle, and wasn't visible through the glass. He wore a stern expression for a moment, giving Jak a sense of uneasiness, but then turned his frown upside down, and grinned widely, holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you! Look familiar, have I seen you somewhere before? Maybe in the Wasteland?"
Jak shook his head, and took Sig's hand. "Not likely. I haven't been around much," after his hand was released he sat down and took a sip of his drink, looking over to Daxter who was sprawled out on the counter drunk, babbling something while Tess scratched his furry stomach.
"Sig and I were just talking about the races. There's a going to be a class one race tomorrow, you know? I almost can't wait. I bought tickets a while back and just today I placed my bets. Girl's gotta have money," She giggled at the reaction she got from Daxter, who kicked his legs lazily when her fingers touched a sensitive spot.
The Wastelander shook his head. "I still think it's a bunch of bullshit to hold pools anymore. After all, everyone only bets on one person. They know who's gonna win!" He took a deep gulp from his alcohol, and placed the mug back down again. "I'd like do see someone kick that sissy boy's ass all over the race track, if you ask me."
The blond elf raised an eyebrow. "Someone's that good, to win every race like that?"
Tess sniffed and slid onto the bar, putting Daxter in her lap, turned to the side to look at Jak. "Not good, Jak. Just crazy. He'd do just about anything to win. I wonder how many people he's killed or injured out there, always making his opponent's racers explode, like their lives are nothing. Makes me sick, really, but it's a surefire way of making some money and fast."
His eyebrows kneaded in correspondence to her speech and he took a sip of his alcohol, trying not to pull away from the bitter taste of his first grog. "That guy's got mental problems, I swear. Looney as the dickens... But of course, that's why Baron Praxis keeps him around. Ruthless one, that Erol."
At that, Jak's beverage was sprayed onto Tess, his eyes wide. His glass hit the table and wobbled bit, but thankfully she was able to save it with her quick reflexes, obviously learned from catching many a dropped body by a drunkard. The two elves looked at him cautiously, and Daxter had stirred from his mild slumber in the barmaid's arms. The tension in the air was thick, although Sig felt like bursting out into laughter. "Um.. Jak? What was that all about."
Wiping his arm on his sleeve, Jak shook his head. "Nothing." The three of them looked at him wearily for a moment before dismissing the matter. Getting curious, Jak inquired: "He wins a lot of races, huh? Wonder where a guy like that would live? He's got to be pretty rich, winning all of those races."
"Yeah, you're right," Sig nodded, finger rubbing the metal of his chin as if he were plotting something.
"That's easy though. Erol is a Commander in the Krimzon Guard, so he stays in the palace.. What I wouldn't give for one day in there.. I heard from the mechanic downtown that it's really, really fancy inside." Tess sighed, and picked up a rag to clean off the mess on the counter. She glanced up to Jak who blushed and kneaded his eyebrows in an apology. She just smiled and rung off the rag into a nearby trashcan.
Looking down to his partner, the blond rolled his eyes. "Well, he's drunk, and it's getting pretty late, so I guess I should..." He trailed off when he remembered that he didn't know his way around the city. Tess looked up at him questionably, but then tilted her head back, pretty eyes widening a bit in understanding.
"I can give you guys a ride," She said, putting away the glasses and the bottle. "I'm up for a break anyway. I barely ever get any as it is," She slid over the bar counter, and gave the keys to the establishment to Sig. "Lock up for me. Put them in the regular place, you know." She winked, and waited as Jak scooped up his best friend. "My cruiser is parked out back."
She led them into a hallway that was beside the large, mirrored bar, and through a corridor. There was a rather large door with the words 'Private--Do Not Enter' on one of the walls, but Jak only thought momentarily about what could be hidden behind it before they were outside. Tess sat down in the driver's seat and waited for Jak to get in before she started the ignition.
The drive home was quiet and peaceful, the wind blowing through their hair, and Jak absent mindedly scratching Daxter's back as he was curled up into a drunken slumber on his lap. While his outer shell was the picture of composure, Jak's mind was raging.
He looked around, eyeing a passing Krimzon Guard. The crowds on the streets were thinning. It must have been getting late, and everyone would have been going to bed. He yawned, but didn't move, but moved his gaze to the building in front of him, crested with the symbol he'd become very familiar with over the past two years. It was a grand, tall building, most likely fit for a king inside...
Wait.
Fit for a king?
He jumped up. It can't be... He started up the stairs, grabbing the arm of a large man who had been on his way down the stairs. "Can you tell me what that building is?" He asked harshly, his eyebrows narrowing. The man's face seemed shocked, and stuttering over his words as if he were fearing for his life, he answered dumbfounded:
"That's the Baron's Palace, sir!"
Jak released the man, whispering a thanks before continuing up the stairs. Erol's a Commander in the Krimzon Guard, he thought to himself, mentally repeating Tess's words. So, naturally, he'd stay at the...
"Palace."
A/N: Fresh off the press, folks! Get 'em while they're hot! Yes, I just finished this, and yes, I may be out of my mind putting that long a fekkin' flashback.. But it needed to be done. Who would have known that Tess could be so useful in a yaoi fanfic? You'd think I'd rid the entire thing of females.. Well, not this time! Plus, I love Tess. She's such a sweetie. Unlike Ashelin and Kiera. ... Ahem.
Sabulana: TTTT I LOVE YOU MAN!! You comment on everything. ;F Even my Deviantart page. You are like so cool.. I wanna be your friend. Anyway, thanks, I think I like this fanfic too.. Oh wait.. I'm the author aren't I? o Usually, that means I have to hate my fanfic, but, ah, whatever, caution to the wind, my friend.
Krimzon 1: "Sick." But I love it too. We'll be sick together! F
Em0: I mean.. I guess.. you can hug him. XD And, I'm sorry, but I'm not doing Torn/Jak for this one. NYAH NYAH. XP But you know I have other fanfics.. Which you've read and reviewed, thanks. ;x I'm going to eventually do Jak/Dax, but for now, I'm sticking with this one and the ones I've got going. Oh yeah.. He shouldn't like it.. But he does. And you know you do, too!!
Anyway, thanks for the comments, gimme more, because I'm a comment whore! ;D
People who are nice receive cookies. nn Flames will be used to burn Kiera! DDD
