Disclaimer: I don't own them, wish I did. I do, however, own Ezra (He's MINE all MINE!!!! ::laughs like a lunatic::)
A/N: This chapter would have been up sooner, but unfortunately I can no longer access the disk I saved it on, so I had to rewrite the whole bloody thing (that's what I get for not having a back up copy--.) Anyhoo, this chapter is a flashback, hence the italics, it takes place approximately 4 years before the end of Jak 2. It's basically the last time Erol and Ezra see each other. Ezra tells his brother that he is leaving the guard and a nosey soldier over hears him and 'tattles'. It also covers Ezra time in prison. Quick note: Ezra is more laid back around his brother; it seems that Erol is the only one that is able to get Ezra to laugh much less smile. Also Erol is not so, for lack of a better word, hostile. And incase you were wondering, Ezra's tattoos look just like Erol's except that his are smooth and taper off. So please R&R and tell me what you think.
Thanks to Reviewers: Hellmouth2, AngelGardian666, Krin, Paperxflowers, Kiea. And thank you for your patience.
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"You're coming to the races this weekend aren't you?" Erol asked as he sat down across from his brother, a bar maid setting a drink before him.
The Hip Hog was unusually busy for a week night, not that is was a bad thing. It was just that most of the visitors were off duty guards, which made the bar patrons a little uneasy.
"Of course." Ezra answered playing idly with a throwing knife. "I wouldn't miss seeing my little brother race."
Erol eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me, did you say little brother?"
Ezra just smirked.
"If I recall correctly, mother did say I was born first."
"Not that she could tell." Ezra shrugged.
"True, but that's what she said"
A shout interrupted them, and they both looked towards the front of the saloon where two guards from different squads had gotten into a fight, their peers cheering them on.
Erol shook his head as he turned back to his brother. "So, there was something you wanted to tell me?" He asked, taking a drink.
"I'm leaving the guard." Ezra murmured, glancing around the room making sure no one heard him.
Erol practically choked on his drink, he couldn't believe what his brother just said.
It took him a few moments of coughing before he could speak. "You're what!?" He whispered hoarsely.
Ezra glared across the table. "You heard me." He said, not willing to repeat himself.
"Why?"
"We keep getting sent on suicidal missions, only to be slaughtered by Metal Heads and rebels. It's just not worth it any more."
You do realize the Baron won't just let you up and leave."
"Who said I was going to tell him?"
Little did they know that a fellow guard sat 'eavesdropping' at the booth behind them. He smirked, 'You may not tell him, but I will.' He thought as sip his drink.
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Three days later, Ezra and a few members of his squad were out on another pointless mission. The Baron wanted them to check out a few sites for Metal Head activity. It hadn't been worth the effort. They hadn't seen or heard squat.
Ezra stood watch while the rest of the group took a break. He fingered the hilt of his bowie knife, scanning the area for signs of a threat. "This is fucking ridiculous." He growled to himself as he turned and joined the rest of the squad.
"Pack up. We're heading back."
Some of the guards groaned as they gathered their things and headed towards the transport, this had been the only break they had had in weeks.
Ezra glanced back over his shoulder to check for stragglers and then turned to board the air train. But before he could take one step he was hit in the face with the butt of a rifle, sending him to the ground. He caught a glimpse of his attacker before he lost consciousness.
"The Baron wants to see you." The guard snickered as he dragged Ezra onto the transport.
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Erol searched the crowd for his brother; he wasn't in his usual place by the sidelines of the racetrack.
Ezra may not have been particularly fond of crowds, but he never missed one of Erol's races. Erol knew that Ezra's squad was back from the recon mission, so Ezra should have been with them.
"All racers to the starting line." Erol's ears drooped a little when the announcer's voice echoed over the stadium.
He sighed heavily as he slid his mask down. 'Maybe he's just running late.' Erol thought, trying to be optimistic.
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Ezra groaned as he came to, his head pounding and vision blurred. He made to sit up but soon found that he was strapped down to a table. He also realized that all of his equipment was gone and that he was shirtless. He tugged at his bonds, trying to free himself.
"Ah, I see we're awake." Came the Baritone.
Ezra glared as the Baron approached him. "What do you want with me?" He hissed.
The Baron ignored the question. "I was told that you had intentions of leaving the guard." He said glancing to one of his scientist, who was preparing a syringe filled with a reddish-purple liquid. A second man stood by a control console waiting for orders.
Ezra remained silent as the Baron continued.
"You know there are consequences for attempting to leave the Krimzon Guard." He said, looking up at the large machine above their heads. He signaled to the man standing next to the control panel, who started flicking switches. The machine hummed to life, purple lighting crackling and arching from it. Ezra starred wide eyed as he realized what the Baron intended to do with him.
Ezra winced when he felt something pierce the skin on the inside of his left arm and he turned his head to see that the scientist was injecting burgundy liquid into him. At first, Ezra could only feel a dull ache where the needle had entered his arm, a cold burning sensation soon followed. It started at his arm and slowly worked its way through the rest of his body. His breathing began coming in short gasps, as the cold surged through his lungs and throat.
The Baron watched his first 'volunteer' for a few moments before nodding to the man at the console, who pressed one last button, and the machine sent a stream of Dark Eco towards its helpless victim.
Ezra's back arched off the table, his mouth gaping open, a strangled scream escaping him as the Dark Eco tore through his body, reacting with fluid that had been injected earlier and it burned as it flowed through his veins. He gritted his teeth as he turned his head to glare at the Baron.
Praxis smirked and motioned for the power to be increased. It was done and Ezra cried out for the second time, his eyes clamping shut. Ezra tugged at his bonds again, hoping that they might break and he could escape this hell, they didn't and he did little more than make his wrists bleed.
"That's enough." The Baron finally said. The machine fell silent and Ezra's body lay motionless. His breathing was shallow and uneven, and blood had seeped from his nose and mouth.
"How is he?" Praxis asked as he stood over the unconscious figure.
The scientist scanned over a computer screen as information scrolled across it. "He's stable."
"Good." The Baron smiled. "Have him ready as soon as he's awake."
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Erol made his way through the Krimzon Guard fortress; he had to see if anyone knew where his brother was.
He entered one of the locker rooms and was glad to see that the majority of guards in the room were part of Ezra's squad.
"Has anyone seen Ezra?" He asked searching the room.
A few guards shrugged but no one said anything.
A worried expression crossed Erol's face; it wasn't like Ezra to go some where without telling someone, especially Erol.
"He came back with you didn't he?" He asked when he saw Ezra's second-in-command.
"You haven't heard?" The guard said, doing his best to keep a straight face.
"Heard what?"
"We where ambushed," He said. "Ezra was over powered and they killed him."
The guard suddenly found himself pinned to the wall. "You lie!" Erol hissed, gripping the man's shirt tightly.
The soldier scowled and shoved Erol away. "You don't believe me?" He growled. "Go ask the Baron then." With that he turned and stalked towards the door, the rest of the squad following.
The second-in-command paused at the door and turned. "Oh, there's one more thing." He said digging in his hip pouch and removing something wrapped in a cloth. "You can have this." He threw it to Erol, who caught it by reflex. "Maybe if he'd use a gun he may still be alive." The guard threw over his shoulder as he left.
Erol stood alone staring at the bundle in his hands. He didn't want to open it; he had a feeling he knew what it was. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he forced himself to unwrap it. He froze when he saw Ezra's knife, the blade broken a few inches from the hilt and dry blood splattered all over it.
Erol suddenly felt weak and he slowly sank to his knees, he couldn't believe that Ezra was gone, the only person he ever considered a friend was gone. His brother was gone.
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The treatments went on for months. At first there had been no physical changes in Ezra, although he had become more aggressive, lashing out at anyone who got too close. It got to the point that the guards had to tranquilize him before every treatment, and chain him up after. Despite this, the Baron insisted that the testing continue.
The physical changes began a short time later, during this time the testing ceased, and Ezra was monitored while the changes occurred.
The first change had been subtle as Ezra's eye began to fade from brown to a bright green, and his pupils became like those of a cat, and with the change in appearance came enhanced in vision. Everything became clearer and more defined, and everyone soon found that Ezra could see very well in the dark. The next set of changes though, had been painful. His fingers where left bloody as long steel colored talons grew, each one razor sharp and more than capable of ripping flesh from bone, as one unlucky guard found out one night when he brought food to Ezra. He was constantly spitting blood and his teeth, when fangs grew to replace them. The final change had been the most surprising. Over a few weeks time Ezra had begun growing a tail. The new appendage's final length was approximately the same length as Ezra was tall, and for a while he was unable make use of it, but Ezra was a quick learner.
Once Ezra recovered from the transformations, the Baron decided to pay him a visit, much to Ezra's displeasure.
The Baron entered Ezra's cell, a guard stood outside just in case something happened. Praxis was somewhat surprised to find that cell was completely dark, the light having long since been shattered. He gazed around the small room, smiling when he saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring back at him.
"I must say that I'm pleased with your…" Praxis sentence was cut short when Ezra snarled and lunged at him, completely disregarding the fact that he was chained to the wall by his neck. Praxis only chuckled; he knew full well what the chains limit was, as well as what Ezra's reach was when he was at the end of it.
Ezra grunted when the chain pull taut, bringing his body to an abrupt halt. He growled and lashed out anyways, hoping that the Baron was within range, unfortunately he wasn't.
"Are we about finished?" Praxis mocked.
"Oh, I haven't even started." Came the snarled retort.
"Defiant till the end I see." The Baron chuckled, shaking his head. "It doesn't really mater; you will either serve me or die."
"Fuck you!" Ezra hissed, his eyes narrowing to slits.
The Baron burst out laughing, his head thrown back, and that was when Ezra made his move. A sly grin slid across his face, long fangs glistening in the dim light, Praxis may have been out of arms reach, but he wasn't out of tails reach. His tail slowly coiled around the Baron's lower leg before tugging sharply, pulling the Baron's leg out from under him.
Praxis gave a surprised yelp as he fell to the floor, Ezra moving up his body, hell bent on ripping the rest of his face off. He never got a chance to finish his attack. The guard standing watch at the door slammed the butt of his rifle in Ezra's face sending him to the floor, giving Praxis a chance to get away.
"KILL HIM!" The Baron ordered.
Ezra shook his head, the blow dazed him but it wasn't enough to stop him. He growled and leapt at the guard, who had brought his gun around and fired one shot as Ezra attacked.
Ezra's body flew back and collided with the far wall. He slid down it, the gaping wound that had been blown through his body leaving a bloody streak. He slumped forward as he came to rest on the floor, his hands out at his side and his legs spread. The guard hesitantly moved towards Ezra, cocking his gun just in case Ezra wasn't dead. He kicked at Ezra's foot, and when he got no reaction he turned and looked over at the Baron. "He's dead sir." He said as turned, still standing next to the dead body.
"Good." The Baron grumbled. "Get someone in here to clean up this mess."
"Yes Sir." The KG said as he made to carry out the Baron's order.
He never made it.
The KG cried out in pain and fell to his knees, blood gushing from the massive wound in his right leg. He looked back to see that Ezra, who was very much alive, had his talons buried in his leg.
"That hurt." Ezra said quietly as if the bloody hole was nothing.
Ezra pulled himself up into a crouching position as he dragged the shocked and wounded guard towards him, the gaping wound in his chest healing rapidly. The KG panicked and began to struggle against the creature behind him, his screams of terror falling on def ears. Ezra tore the gun from the soldier's hands and threw it across the room at the same time he removed the guard's helmet. He coiled his tail around his victim's legs and clamped down, shattering them, all the while his claws were tearing armor from the soldier's body.
The whole time this went on, Praxis just stood in the doorway watching the monster he created maul the helpless guard. Ezra took note of this and decided that this would be a good time to add some insult to injury. He grinned and leaned down to whisper into the soldier's ear.
"What kind of leader just stands around and watches his own solider die?" Ezra whispered to the guard, his eyes focused on the Baron. The KG whimpered and reached towards the man he had sworn loyalty to. "He doesn't care about you," Ezra continued. "You mean nothing to him. As far as he is concerned you're expendable. By tomorrow you'll be replaced by another pathetic, worthless, brainwashed fool."
The Baron sneered as he listened to Ezra degrade him. He soon decided that enough was enough, and he pulled a hand gun from his belt and fired one shot at the soldier's head, killing him.
Ezra smirked and sat back, flicking bits of skull and brain from his body. "I suppose you would consider that a mercy killing." It was spoken as more of a statement then a question.
"Shut up!" Praxis snarled aiming the gun at Ezra.
"He already tried that." Ezra said motioning to the deceased guard. "And look where that got him."
The gun shot had caught the attention of other KGs patrolling the prison and a group of them had come to see what the commotion was.
"Take this thing and lock it up where it'll never see light of day again." Praxis snarled when the guards got there.
"You think that locking me up and forgetting about me will make me go away." Ezra said just before he was knocked out.
"No," The Baron said as Ezra was dragged from the cell. "But by the time anyone finds you, you'll be corpse."
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Ezra's eye shot open, a low growl escaping his throat as vision accustom to darkness was suddenly over whelmed by the hospital's blaring lights.
"Well this is unexpected." A voice said. "We weren't expecting you to be awake so soon."
Ezra shifted his gaze towards the source of the voice. A man wearing a long white over coat stood at the end of the bed filling out a chart, a nurse stood next to him. The doctor smiled at Ezra before turning to the nurse. "Please inform the Commander that our patient is awake." She nodded and turned to leave the room.
Ezra's gaze followed her as she left; she passed a pair of guards that stood at the door. They looked like Krimzon Guards except that their armor was blue not red.
"So, how are we feeling?" The doctor asked, drawing Ezra's attention from the guards.
Ezra ignored the question and asked one of his own. "Where is Erol?"
The doctor hesitated for a moment as he remembered what Torn told him. "The Commander will be here soon to answer all your questions." He said as he adjusted a tube on Ezra's IV.
Ezra's eyes narrowed as he sensed the doctor's uneasiness. "So you can't even tell me where my brother is?"
The doctor remained silent as he crossed the room and began removing a few items from a drawer. He motioned to the guards who left their position at the door and approached Ezra. The doctor turned and Ezra could now see what it was that he had been doing. He held a syringe in one hand and a small bottle in the other.
Ezra growled and sat up, he had had his fill of needles while in prison.
"Please just relax." The doctor said as he filled the syringe. "This will calm you until the Commander gets here."
'Like hell!' Ezra thought as he lunged at the advancing doctor and guards.
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Author's Rant: Finally, after a minor setback, chapter 3 is done (does the happy dance.) Once again I thank you for your patience, and I'm sorry it took so long for the update. Anyway, I would have a pic of Ezra up, but unfortunately my scanner is not working (stupid piece of crap.) I'll probably revise certain parts that I'm not happy with, but I'll do that after I get chapter 4 up. So give me feed back and I'll have chapter 4 up soon.