Guardian-ad-litem

By Snare-chan

Pairings: None
Ratings: PG-13
Category(ies): General/slight AU
Warning(s): Cussing
Status: Continuation, 5/5
Summary: When we'd first joined the Underground things were simple – ask for your orders, go out and shoot things, then come back and do it all over again. But this one?

Notes: Well it's now official; this continuation is complete. The epilogue isn't really a required read, but this to me adds a bit more closure to it than if I'd just left it at chapter four, despite its small size. That and I don't like even numbers, go figure.

And thanks. Really, thank all of you. If it weren't for all the constructive criticism and wonderful reviews I doubt this story would have progressed, improved, and just felt all together whole in the end if it weren't for all the comments this puppy received. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it, and see you all on the flipside!

Disclaimer: I don't own Jak II; wish I did like everybody else. They should put Jak II in stock, then I'd buy it all!

Dedication: To my coolest, bestest guy friend ever. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as I have with my Jak II game, which means this story would suck even more than it might already because I'd know Jak shit about what's going on. ;D

"Hey, Jak?"

"…?"

Shifting on my perch, my nails clicked on his shoulder guard. By the time I'd spoken up my mind was in a big whirl, and forming all my jittered thoughts into something coherent seemed like a task not worth taking on.

Aside from sharp bribes, my mind has a terrible time wrapping around stuff that make sense. Good thing my mind works about two times faster than most people's, otherwise my friend here would be waiting quite some time before I managed to get my act together.

"Uh, sure is quiet around here, wouldn't you say?"

The other turned his head slightly, almost knocking me off as his ear made a beeline for my eye as he took it all in, "Yeah; sure is."

More peaceful walking followed. Yes, I said walking. As in casually making one's way on foot. Neither of us was even bothering to keep an eye out for potential rides, deciding to take our time going about our day. It's not like we were in a hurry, or at least not to head back to the Underground. Knowing old sourpuss, he'd send us on another mission as soon as he got wind of our return.

That guy really needs to chill out. Just because he doesn't need to sleep and can live on Espresso Granita doesn't mean everyone else can. What's a dude got to do around here to get a little shuteye? Probably kill somebody, and even then it'd have to be a big somebody to earn twenty minutes' worth of R&R.

"You miss her, huh?"

"Wha?"

I guess Jak caught on to my silence (who could really miss it?) and noticed what was wrong with me. We've been friends for so long that he can list off the last ten emotions I've felt by memory. Being as close as we are enables friends to do that sort of thing, scary as it sounds.

"Me? Miss that squealer? Hah! I'd sooner miss having an appointment for a root canal done by one of the Baron's finest dentists cancelled."

He chuckled at that, obviously not buying it. "You must miss her a lot then."

"How do you figure that out from what I just said?"

"You forget who you're talking to."

Oh, right. The buddy mind-link tells all. How could I ever forget?

"I don't think you're reading my lips here. I. Don't. Miss. Her."

"…"

"Jak!"

He only grinned as we approached the lone alleyway smack-dab in the middle of nowhere in the city, my stomach pitting into my heels. The stupid loon; why can't we ever take a nice, long detour? I'm sure we wouldn't be missed if we circled the city a couple hundred times, and it'd be great exercise! It'd sure beat eating those Slimquick bars or whatever we're forced to live off of when we can't afford a real dinner.

"Do ya think…she'll be ok?" I shifted again, asking the question I'd meant to slip in from the very beginning of the conversation.

Jak nodded once as the sliding rock door leading to the hideout popped up and out of the way, revealing another set of metal doors at the bottom that opened on their own.

"If we can disappear in this city, I'm sure Randilyn and her mom can."

That actually made a lot of sense, since Jak has a bigger price on his head than Krew has priceless artifacts. I'd say it's very possible for the kid and her family to keep out of sight and out of trouble. Feeling a bit better with that knowledge, I pushed it to the back of my head for a rainy day, hopping onto Torn's table and covering its littered expanse with my still-slightly-soggy paws. Mwahaha.

"The drop off was a success, I take it?"

How the hell does Torn do that? He didn't even look up, and he automatically knew it was the big guy and myself. I bet you he has eyes on the top of his head; that's the only possible explanation for it.

"Aren't they all?"

Torn snorted, not even bothering to comment, "I've got a new mission for you."

"Wow, what a surprise!" Mock gasp of shock here, please. Jak merely shook his head, knowing that it was better to just leave all the negotiations to me.

"Oh, this one will be a surprise, all right. Since you two did so well on the last one, I thought neither of you would mind watching over one of my subordinates' pet catigers. I hope you're not allergic."

I stared at him in disbelief, waiting for the punch line. As he only raised a brow in our direction when my slackened lips didn't even twitch to comment, it didn't appear that there was one. With a groan, I collapsed backwards in a dead faint.

God, here we go again!

Fin-

A/N: For anyone who's seen the ending of the Jak and Daxter game that last phrase has a bit more meaning, heheh. Interesting how everything came full circle, huh?