Chapter 16
By shadows/of/flame
XD 100 reviews guys! Woohoo! Hm, next chappie a bit early as a present then? And Sull... GENIUS! (gives everyone a Erol plushie)
Frozen. Not being able to move. Numb.
All these words described Ashelin as she watched Jak scramble over the rubble to where Torn was lying, cold and pale, his eyes glassy, knife still lying untouched in his outstretched palm.
"This can't be happening!" Jak yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks. He wasn't usually one to show emotion, but... Torn? The usually hard-ass commander with a stuck up attitude, ready to face anything?
Gone?
Jak hugged Torn to his chest, not believing it for a second, trying to fall under the illusion that he was still there.
"H... he can't be dead." Ashelin choked, dropping to Jaks side, checking Torn for a pulse.
Surprisingly, there was a faint pulse, but it was becoming weaker and weaker.
"Jak! Hes still alive, but he won't make it to the hospital! What are we going to do?"
Jak felt helpless - how could he save Torn?
As Ashelin became more and more frantic beside him, he knew he had to do something.
But what could he do?
It was the Palace ruins - nothing but dust and grime as far as they eye could see.
00000000000
The tossing and turning failed to cease as Keira slept restlessly in the hospital.
A while after 8, she awoke to hurried footsteps clicking and shuffling endlessly outside her desolate room.
She started to despair as the nurse that entered the room told her that nothing had been heard from Jak nor Ashelin since theyhad left, and was almost at the point where she had to be injected with calming drugs to soothe her nerves.
She could hear people rushing around outside, and began to think something bad had happened...
"Whats happening?" Keira whispered, the wind howling ferociously outside, and the rain pattering sofly on the windows.
'Torn... please be safe. Please don't be dead..." she whispered, drawing her blankets more tightly around her as she wept uncontrollably, wishing that they had never gotten into this mess.
But of course, trouble was inevidable, and she knew that by having to fend for herself in Haven City for almost 3 years.
And after Jak left her, abandoned her, sealed with a kiss with another woman, and Torn took pity on her, and invited her to the Underground, it had all began...
"You're a sharp girl. We could use one like you in the Underground. Interested in joining?"
YOU were kissing JAK. I gave Keira a helping hand because she wanted to prove herself. To prove that she didn't need to depend on anyone anymore!"
"I had a Dawn Raid when I had my first gun. In fact..."
"The mission outlines were PERFECTLY clear - you disobeyed them. It was not a difficult mission, but more an important one. You failed everyone!"
"We are doomed to the stretchy machine! Jak was OUR LAST HOPEEE!"
"I...I love Torn."
"Lets start at the start, shall we?"
"No ones found him at all, we think hes gone missing Keira... Save his red scarf..."
Keira sobbed harder, her whole body shaking with the effort.
The nurse decided not to drug her this time, and to let her grief out.
All the good times the two of them had had, and the bad ones... wasted? Gone?
Had the hardened mechanic learnt her final lesson?
Would Ashelin and Jak bring back good news, or a body?
She had to be strong, for him. She knew that he wouldn't appreciate a weakling.
And that night, Keira cried herself to sleep.
Do you still remember all the time that has gone by?
Do you still believe that love can fall out from the sky?
If from where you're standing, you can see the sky above
I'll be waiting for you, if you still believe in love
0000000000
Jak closed his eyes, fingers still just touching Torns neck.
A faint pulse still beat through, and Jak knew he had limited time.
Was he going to take the gamble?
Within a few moments, he had decided, decided to save his friends life.
With a flash of concentrated light eco, wings sprouted from Jak, and within seconds was the eco angel known as Light Jak.
He quickly did Flash Freeze so the tattooed wonder wouldn't get any sicker, and started healing Torn with light eco as best he could.
But Torn had his dark side, and Jaks only fear was that Torns body, and the dark eco already inside him, wouldn't handle the Light Eco very well.
He only wished that there would be no side effects, and that Torn would be fine.
But nothing worked that way anymore.
Horns started sprouting out of Torns head, and Jak closed his eyes, knowing the light eco was a bad idea.
It had healed Torn, but spawned something much worse.
Ashelin screamed as soon as flash freeze wore off, back-pedalling to get as far away from the dark creature before her as possible.
"W... what IS that?" she shrieked, and realised, with a shock...
"Torn!" she screamed, shaking in fear as the dark eco monster advanced on her.
Dark Jak tackled Dark Torn to the ground, growling ferociously.
Dark Torn licked his lips and swiped at Dark Jak, the two brawling in a never-ending battle for dominance.
"Stop!" Ashelin screamed, but her cries were lost in the two dark monsters brawl.
Dark Torn took a swipe, Dark Jak blocked, Dark Jak took a swipe, Dark Torn blocked...
Dark Jak knew that now he had met his match, for no other monster had been anywhere near equal to him before, let alone able to beat him.
But as Dark Torn pinned him to the ground, Jak knew he had made a mistake.
Ashelin panicked - what could she do? Torn was about to kill Jak! And all she was doing was watch!
She prayed to Mar for some miracle, and then it hit her.
"Keira!" she screamed.
That name stopped the torture-spawned monster in its tracks.
>:3