"Jakie…"
Mmm… go away…
"Jakie, wake up."
No, I don't want to… leave me alone…
"Come on. Get up already."
I don't want to.
"Jakie!" My eyes popped open. What the…? I turned over on my back and looked around. Dad. Oh yeah. That's right. I'm back at the Underground. But did he have to wake me up like that when I was so comfortable?
"What?" I asked groggily.
"Come on. We've got some things to do," dad said simply. Nice excuse… Sitting up, I stretched my arms and yawned. Dawn was still curled up next to me asleep. I nudged her a little to wake her up, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. That ottsel can sleep through a tornado. She just mumbled something like "I don't feel like buying the fish today" and started lightly snoring again. Oh brother…
After I gathered up my weapons, I nudged Dawn twice as hard. Luckily she woke up this time. We exchanged a few words, then she hopped on my shoulder and I went to meet dad outside by the zoomer.
"So what are we doing, exactly?" I questioned.
"Just a few quick errands," Dad answered. I just shrugged and climbed in the passenger side. Dad started it up and took off. My favorite thing about driving a zoomer: driving REALLY fast!
I have no idea how many KG's dad ran over, but it was fun either way. It would get us to our destination twice as fast with them chasing us down! Apparently our destination was the racing garages. I was about to start questioning why we were here, but dad was out of the zoomer before I could even open my mouth. I jumped out after him and followed quickly. I still wanted to ask a hundred questions about why we were here of all places, but I held my tongue and looked for answers in my surroundings.
Without knowing it I fell behind. Dad was way ahead of me because I'd become distracted by something else. All I know is that I snapped back to reality when Erol walked by looking a little annoyed… creep. He just glanced at me from the corner of his eye then continued on his way. When his back was turned to me, I sneered and Dawn made several faces at him. It took a lot of my willpower not to fall down laughing, but I think I did a pretty good job. Then I turned my attention back to dad and… who ever he was talking to. Wow, she's pretty.
"Erol's the best racer I've ever seen!" she said, sounding like she was about to swoon. Oh brother…
"He's not what you think," dad replied. Damn right he isn't! He's a jerk, is what he is! She stood up strait and put her hands on her hips.
"And you're a good judge of character? People say you get angry and… change. Besides, the Jak I knew wouldn't be working for a guy like Krew!" Hold it… they know each other? Then how come I don't? Unless… ok, this is getting REALLY weird. There was some more arguing, and then dad got all pissed off and left. Daxter tried to call him but he was ignored. I watched him walked away for a moment before running after him.
"Dad?" I called, "Where are you going?" No answer. I ran up beside him. "Dad, what's wrong?"
"I can't believe this. How can she like that guy!" he exclaimed. Good question, pop. Very good question.
"Who, Erol?" I asked, sort of playing dumb, "Well, yeah, that guy is a major jerk…" I could tell that dad was about to lose his temper. That was bad. I had to find a way to calm him down before…
Uh oh, too late. Right when we were at the top of the stairs, Dad fell to his knees and held either side of his head. Oh… crap… ok, Jakie… relax, you've dealt with dads dark eco before. This is no different… when dad started changing into Dark Jak, all the people in the area quickly cleared out in fear. Lucky for us there were no KG's in the area at the time. Otherwise things would've been twice as difficult for me. Once dad was fully transformed, he glared at me. Oh boy… well, here goes nothing…
I drew out my sword and glared back. The way I usually did this was total suicide, because it involved dodging an attack where you only have a VERY slim percent change of doing it correctly. But since I'd done it so many times before, I was pretty good at it.
"Hey, darkly," I taunted, "Here to have your ass whipped?" Like I said: total suicide. As I expected, dark Jak got even more pissed off, but he didn't make a move… yet. "Doing that should be exceptionally easy." That did it. He lunged forward at me with his claws outstretched, ready to tear my flesh from my bones, but before he reached me, I jumped out of the way and smacked him as hard as I could with the flat side of my sword. He obviously didn't like that too much… he quickly got up, still glaring at me. Boy, if looks could kill, I'd be dead five times over. He jumped at me again, aiming for my throat, but I rolled out of the way again, and 'accidentally on purpose' put a gash on his arm. Now he was REALLY pissed.
"Aw, did I do that?" I taunted him, "oops!" I was getting a little too cocky for my own good, and I knew it. That was probably because I'd dealt with him more than enough times I in the past to conquer my fear of him. Again, he jumped at me. But this time he was too quick for me to dodge and he kicked my sword from my hand. Oh great. Now what? I had only a few nanoseconds to think over a new strategy because he attacked again. Luckily, I put my hands up just in time to catch his hands in my own. He stood there, grappling for a while, our strengths switching back and forth, until he got smart and rammed him knee into my stomach. The half second I was vulnerable he swung his claws at me, leaving four bloody trails across my cheek. I gasped in pain, and staggered back a few steps, trying to regain my posture. But again, dark Jak was faster than I was, and swiped a second time with his other hand, leaving four more gashes in my leg. I lost my balance and fall back. I thought that I was pretty much done for, until I saw my sword within reach… Well, maybe my luck wasn't so bad after all!
I saw him running at me again, obviously going for the kill now. I snatched up my sword, and quickly rolled out of the way before he could catch me. I was a little more than pissed about getting hurt this bad when in the past I'd done it without getting a scratch. And I think that's what helped fuel that weird moment. My sword started glowing a dark purplish color, and then the weirdest thing I've ever seen happened. The entire blade turned pure black, while it still kept that same purple glow. I almost dropped it when that happened, but for some reason, the sword wouldn't leave my hand… like it was magnetized or something. I have no idea what was going on, but I felt… stronger.
Dark Jak ran at me again, but this time, I brought my blade down hard, slicing strait down his chest. And that was the end of it. The two of us stared at each other for a moment, and then my sword changed back to normal. I backed away a couple of steps and held on to the wall for support. Dad changed back to normal after my heart settled down a little. We stared at each other for a few awkward seconds since neither one of us knew what to say. Then, finally…
"Jakie… I'm sorry," he whispered.
"It's ok, dad," I answered. Both of us stood up strait, and I put my sword away.
"Come on. We better get your injuries looked at," dad said. I nodded once. Then I remembered. Dawn! Where had she been this whole time!
"Dawn!" I called in sort of a raspy voice. "Dawn!" then I felt that familiar weight on my shoulder.
"Right here, partner," she said. A sigh of relief followed. Well, she was ok, at least. I sat down against the nearest wall and rested, and then dad sat next to me. Both of us were breathing hard, exhausted from the battle we just had.
"Dad…" I started.
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you for a favor?"
"What?"
"Never do that again." He chuckled lightheartedly. I knew he couldn't keep that promise, but hey, it was worth a try. Right?
Kiri: Ok, I've gotta admit, I had FUN writting this chapter! I don't know why, but I did! I hope you guys like it as much as I had fun doing it! Next chapter will be up by tomorrow at the latest, so keep an eye out. k? until then!