Route One
By Snare-chan
Pairings: Hinted Jinx/Jak
Ratings: PG-13
Category(ies): General
Warning(s): Cussing
Status: Continuation, 4/5
Summary: They knew the mission wouldn't be easy, in fact it was set to get worse before it got better. If only they knew just how bad it would really be…
Notes: Not much to say this time around, save two things… This is my absolute favorite chapter, and yes I had too much fun writing it. You'll know why soon enough. –cackles- The other isn't nearly as important. Just reminding you all that the fifth and final chapter of this story is right around the corner! Happy happy day. :)
Disclaimer: I dun own Jak and Daxter, Jak II, Jak 3 or Jak…anything; wish I did like everyone else. They should put Jak in stock, then I'd buy it all!
Hovering over them now was a small group – but a group nonetheless – of metal head mothers and fathers. Each were exceptionally large and armed quite literally to their razor sharp teeth.
"Um…hi…nice nursery you have here. Homely and everything."
"Daxter!"
It was too late. The sound of the ottsel's voice set them off, and two long strides and a wide leap later, they were heading straight downward to attack. Just as quickly, Jak raised his weapon, firing off two rounds and managing to get rid of one before it landed on his face.
Moving towards the wall, he continued to fire, aiming straight for them in an attempt to avoid setting anything off. Too soon, he was nestled up against a wall, stuck between a hard place and some gooey eggs. His proximity to them might have set them off again, and with renewed vigor the remaining two metal heads charged. Their careless actions cost them, and were easy targets to be disposed of.
Sighing with relief, Jak rested his full weight against the wall. That had been close…and that's when he felt something shift against his back.
They were completely surrounded. No matter where they looked or ran, eggs were hatching, the tiny babies inside squirming and twisting around in attempts to break free of their old beds. Their tiny chirps and gnashing snarls followed Jak as he rushed back the way he'd come.
"Jinx!"
"What now?"
"Don't 'what now' us, buddy! The eggs; they're hatching!"
The bomb expert looked up from his work immediately, wires and other pieces caught between teeth and cigar butt as he looked at them in surprise.
"What?"
His answer came as a horde of little metal heads came falling from the rooftop and shelves, their bodies still slimy and wet from their shells. Without warning, one landed on Jak's ear to instantly starting chewing on it. It would seem they were born with their teeth already in.
"Ouch!"
"I still need more time! If I can't hook all the units up, I need to at least get the big boys to play nice."
While Daxter did all the complaining for him, he started firing off random shots, cursing every single one of them as they crawled closer. Now he understood where the entire sticking-together pact came from as he watched the ones he destroyed be replaced with two newly-hatched ones every single time. Cursed genetics… If this was going to become a typical thing, then he was going to start refusing to work with Jinx on missions.
clickclickwhiiiir
"Dammit!" Jak switched to a different mod, only to receive the same empty treatment from before. Scatter gun…Blaster…Vulcan Fury…even his Peace Maker was out of ammo. He'd used up every bit of what he'd had! The renegade had absolutely no choice but to resort to hand-to-hand, his fists knocking as many back as possible.
"Jinx!"
"Just keep covering my ass, I'm almost done!"
"We don't have that kind of time!"
That's when he remembered he was in a weapons storage compartment. Pausing long enough to snatch something off the shelf and, since he was the closest, Jinx himself ("Hey! I said cover my ass, not grope it!"), he clicked the first one on and just threw it into the middle of the masses. A large blue vortex blew from the spot, sucking in the nearest mini metal heads and sending shockwaves right through them at once. When it had cleared Jak tossed in another, not giving them the chance to recover and watching as a bright red flash appeared and started raining down on all of them with something akin to flames.
"Alright, everything's set to go!"
"Finally!" Dax cheered, tugging on Jak's ear to get him to start moving, "Ya hear that buddy? Let's blow this joint!"
Jak was more than happy to oblige, and throwing in the last of his grenades, he didn't wait around to see what it would do. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted some purple swirls covering the floor, though. On their way out, Jak activated the mesh wall from before, wanting to buy enough time to get his group out, but keep the metal heads in for this place's last stand.
The babies didn't give up and started trying to eat through the wall, the sounds of their little teeth gnawing and their claws scraping on it echoing through the sewer walls. But this was why Jinx had set up the earlier detonators, and he pulled out the switch to let them go off as they left through the many tunnels.
A large BOOM had the whole place shaking soon after, cement and other bits covering up the exit and providing a great divider to keep the little metal heads busy until the bigger bombs went off any minute. There was still the fact that they would have to get out before then, which wouldn't be easy now that their first entrance was demolished.
"Do you know how to get out of here?"
"Not a clue, pretty boy."
"Oh great! Then what was the point of escaping if we're just going to be crushed to death?"
"If ya ran as much as you talk, you wouldn't have much to worry about!"
"Let's just head as far away from here as we can. Eventually we'll get far enough, right?"
Another explosion, even larger in scale than the previous one, shook the very foundations they stood on. The grimy walls gave them no support as they collapsed against them and slid to the murky floor. More soon followed, each growing in intensity as they went off. The sound alone had Jak's teeth chattering from its power.
"D-does it-t s-soun-d lik-e it'-s get-ting c-loser?" Dax tried to ask, barely able to get a single word out that was distinguishable.
None of them could be really sure. Even with their long ears, the entire scenario sounded about as loud as it had in the first place. But Daxter was more in tune to these sorts of things, and growing a bit nervous at his declaration, Jak clutched harder to the floor. The containment room didn't reach out this far, did it?
And that's when he heard it: the sound of rushing water.
Chancing a look over his free shoulder, his eyes widened considerably as the large tidal wave of dirtied water came flooding down the tube. None of them even had the chance to get up on their feet and try to outrun it before it was upon them, rushing them like a tsunami and dragging them towards some unknown destination.
It was impossible to fight. Wherever the large source of water had come from, it was still full and intent on pushing and pulling them whichever way it wanted. Jak couldn't see or breathe either, the sewer way completely full of it.
When he thought he couldn't handle anymore without risking to take in some air, the water level started to die down, the group of three sliding on the ground. Jak wasn't quite sure where Jinx had gone off, but from the feels of things, Daxter had ducked into his shirt for cover.
"Jinx?"
"That…" the blonde expert started as he got to all fours, "was the best chain of reactions I've ever made…"
Jak snorted and only ended up coughing up some water. Somewhere beside his head, Daxter flopped around like a dying fish, sputtering and shaking out his soaking wet fur. Double-taking, the blonde looked at his friend and then down at his shirt with the moving mound in it. Scrambling to get it up, he finally just tugged the collar down, a small lizard-like head popping out and bumping noses with his.
"AH!"
As he yanked the baby metal head out of his shirt, it latched onto his hand, tiny fangs sinking into his gloved fingers and refusing to let go.
"Uh…make a new friend, blondy?"
"No! Help me get it off!"
"No can do; my expertise is in explosives, not metal heads."
"Jinx!"
The metal head finally let go as soon as anyone came near him, hissing and spitting before diving down Jak's shirt again. It snuggled around a little before stilling completely in a little ball near his stomach.
"Well would you look at that; you're a mommy!" Jinx cackled.
Cautiously, Dax moved over to his friend's sitting position and gave the lump a poke, a sort of hissing sound soon accompanying the action.
It took but a moment before Daxter ventured to say anything. "This is kind of awkward."
"Aww…don'tcha two just look so-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"
Straightening up into a sitting position, Jak wondered if he should really bother to try and forcefully remove the creature, but one glance at the bite marks on his hand had him deciding that it could be dealt with later. It wasn't really doing any harm right this minute so it could live. For now.
"Come on; we've done our job, so let's get out of here."
"Amen to that!" Daxter crowed, shifting up onto his shoulder.
To Be Continued…