Disclaimer: Don't own Jak and Daxter. Naughty Dog does. Lucky bastards.
Work
Chapter Two: Man In Uniform
He had been floating at the edge of consciousness for a few moments now. He barely registered the draping of the heavier then usual forearm over his eyes. But no matter what he did that damned light still found a way to slither through his make shift shield. Making its presence known to the weary young man. And it stung his eyes; fucking light, prompting the thick tears of all sleep addled men.
It wasn't long before he felt the metal frame of his cot rattle beneath him causing a weak groan in annoyance. His brain felt like loose jell-o in the casing of his skull and any little jolt sent it reeling unrelentingly against the electrified fence that was his dreaded hang over.
"Go. A. Way." He rasped pathetically.
"No. I don't think I will." Was the indignant reply.
The current and often Bain of his existence sighed dramatically and kicked his bunk even harder.
The world sparked and spun behind his wrinkled lids.
"Get up you ass! We're going to be late… Again!"
"So leave already." The lounging one growled as he pulled the covers over his head.
"You know I can't. We already had this discussion. We always have this discussion."
He was clenching his teeth; the splayed man could tell by the way the words seemed to mimic a steamy hiss as they crossed the other man's lips.
"I will not have my ass chewed out again because of you, Davis!" the other boy growled. "Now get your sorry hide out of this fucking bed before I smother you and tell the commander you croaked in your sleep!"
A pale hand inched the lonely blanket away from a pair of blood shot eyes. They were wide in disbelief (well, what passed for wide in the state he was in). The blanket inched down even lower to reveal the bags underneath those same tired eyes. A lawn of vaguely disturbing stubble followed only adding more detail to the man's haggard visage.
It was amazing what a weekend of binge drinking could do to a guy by Monday morning.
The man apparently named Davis licked his dry lips. Green eyes tinged in red never wavered, although the view was a bit hazy. After a staring match the poor guy was much too ill to win, the raven-haired boy reluctantly emerged from the covers. He hit the floor on his feet surprisingly, although with a pronounced wince. He then proceeded to limp toward the bathroom they shared, muttering something that sounded an awful like:
"Well, fuck you too Vergil."
oo0oo
He inhaled sharply. And immediately gagged. Jak scrunched up his nose but the pressure there remained, something rough but soft at the same time tickling him. He was till half asleep but the smell was bothering him.
"Ugh…" he moaned tiredly and swung his arms forward wildly.
The attack was brief and the man's arms fell just as quickly to his sides again.
The smell and the tickling pressure were gone momentarily but it wasn't long before it returned. There was a jagged giggle. So he cracked open a heavy eyelid. The vision before him was incredibly distorted. He was forced to open the other just to focus. There was a blob of orange and yellow standing on his chest.
"Daxter?" he groaned.
Another chuckle was the only response he got.
Okay, so Dax was standing on his chest, but that didn't explain the stinky weight on his face… or maybe it did. His eyes crossed as he tried to focus on his nose and the presence there.
"Dax!" He wailed sitting up so abruptly the ottsel was sent flying to the end of the cot.
Jak grimaced and wiped the imaginary filth from his face. He growled and jumped up on his feet, the mattress squeaking painfully. Before Daxter could even get upright, he was shoved back into the matt by his best friend's foot. Jak's big toe muffled any protest Daxter could have mustered.
"Let's see how you like it!" Jak cackled. "Oww!"
The blond shrieked and fell back on the cot. He bent his foot up to eye level and examined his injured toe. Dax had bitten him.
Unfortunately for Daxter, however, Jak was not the only one who had suffered. He spit and retched, trying desperately to get the taste of the man's foot out of his mouth.
"Geez Louise, Jak!" He said pulling a face. "When's tha last time ya washed them dogs ah yours!"
"You're one to talk!" Jak smiled before pouting pitifully as he continued to prod his toe. "You are up to date on your shots, right?"
Before Dax could edge out a reply, Jak sneezed loudly catching it with his hand. The older boy looked at said hand with a frown, before promptly wiping what ever it was that had caused such a reaction on the blanket.
Dax paled.
"Alright!" the ottsel yelled. "In ta the shower with ya Mr. Manners! And hurry it up! Tattooed Wonder will probably already be bitchin' at us for over sleepin' as it is! And as much as I'd love ta give the guy a furry foot where the sun don't shine, I will consider your feelings on the matter."
Jak raised a brow at the concluding remark. Dax didn't notice however as the boy's hand was currently distracting him. The ottsel watched with barely contained disgust as it continued to scratch in various…um… places. The glorious Precursor sighed audibly, hopped off the bed and headed out the door.
"What!" Jak's wide deep blues seemed to ask oh so innocently.
"I swear sometimes, it's like living with an animal." He muttered.
oo0oo
After a surprisingly edible meal in the mess hall, Davis was feeling slightly better. He'd even managed a modified version of his usual swagger despite the pain. He would catch the blond watching him out the corner of his eye every now and then and made a point to ignore the older boy.
They walked side by side, neither of them saying a word. Davis was in complete bliss; of course Vergil must have sensed this. He couldn't let his partner stay happy for long. Not with all the trouble he'd caused him this weekend. Besides what type of idiot thought that it was a good idea to get wasted the night before a big mission. And not only that, but to get into a bar wide brawl with a bunch of bar bullies at that.
A…
"Fucking idiot."
That's who.
The dark haired man growled low in his throat and limped just a bit faster. Trying his best to put some distance between himself and Vergil. He could hear the man's snort and quiet chuckle.
Precursors… he hated that bastard sometimes.
oo0oo
Daxter had never really gotten used to zoomers. Sure, he'd ridden on the gods forbidden things trillions of times but that didn't mean he liked it. Hell after all the screaming he'd done in Jak's ears over the years, you'd think the guy would get the hint. But no, not perpetually suicidal Jak, even when they were young the boy had seemed to have some sort of a death wish.
Dragging him to Misty Island like it was some sort of hot vacation spot or something.
Daxter could practically feel his mood darkening. The rain clouds were rolling in again. And the day had started off so promising.
What the hell was wrong with him lately! He was having moods swings like some prepubescent girl or something. He ducked down lower on Jak shoulder. His body automatically positioned it self for maximum balance on the living breathing ledge.
Maybe he should just slide on off. Jak probably wouldn't miss him until old tattoo face cracked some pissy remark asking where he was. He really didn't feel like this today. He hadn't even realized his ears were drooping.
But of course his holiness did.
"Um… you feeling okay Dax?" Jak asked.
They were walking now. He hadn't even realized they had ditched the zoomer. His ears perked as he recognized the sound of screaming pedestrians and the explosion of said zoomer as it collided with one of the industrial walls.
Jak never did bother to learn how to brake properly.
"No, Dax. We don't have to actually stop. We'll just jump off. The zoomer'll stop it self if no one's on it."
Jak's voice always sounded so annoying when he tried to duplicate it in his head. The ottsel sighed and forced a weary smile.
"My Chi disturbing ya again, big guy?"
Jak rolled his eyes.
"Look Dax… if you don't feel up to this today…"
"I'm fine." Dax reassured his friend. "There is nothing that'll make me feel better then mashing in some metal head skulls, alright. I mean… I… I been waitin' for this all weekend."
Jak took one last look at his friend out of the corner of his eyes. Nope, he was still not convinced. But he didn't have a clue what to say, if any thing at all.
He'd never had this much trouble with Dax back in Sandover. Though, Daxter had never been this moody then.
He opened his mouth a millimeter before abruptly closing it again. It was so easy to fall back on words. But they never seemed to make things better. Maybe Dax was right. Things were so much simpler when he didn't talk.
But back then he didn't have to. What had changed so much between them? Even with everything that's happened… They were still the same weren't they?
Dax stared back at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't look at me like that. I'm fine."
The green blond shook his head lightly before putting the key pass into the coded lock of Freedom HQ and typed in the password. The metal door whirled open and the two of them hoped on the steel grated elevator.
"Well what was he supposed to do?"
oo0oo
Usually Torn couldn't be bothered to keep up with people. It wasn't like it was his job or anything. Well, if you asked Ashelin she seemed to think it was.
If he sent you out on a mission and you didn't make it back when the woman thought you should've, it was always him she bitched to. And why was that? He had people especially recruited to look into the matters like that for him. He was a busy man. He didn't have time to baby sit. Besides, troops turned up missing all the time. Being in the Freedom Guard wasn't like being in some city council or something. Sometimes… shit happened.
So it was no wonder that after getting off the communicator with Haven's venerable governor, Torn was not feeling his usual upbeat self.
He didn't know where the hell Jak was. Nor was it his job to find out.
First of all, he hadn't even been the one to assign Jak a mission anyway. It had been Sig. The mission was in the Wasteland. Technically Torn wasn't even in command. It had nothing to do with Haven. That monk boy…girl…whatever… had sent for Jak. He and his boys were just tagging along.
He looked up at the bunch. They were fairly resent recruits. He frowned looking at the group of fresh-faced youngsters, faces that were pale and devoid of ink. If there was anything Torn actually missed about the Krimson Guard, it was the tattoos. This sort of work was a life long commitment. And nothing said commitment like facial tattoos if you asked Torn.
The Freedom Guard commander released a much put upon sigh. They were a bunch of idiots, this lot. Each of them had at least six reprimands apiece. These little bastards were in dire need of a reality check. And he had figured that hanging out with Jak was exactly what these boys needed.
Especially that jackass…what was his name? The dark haired one that looked like death had warmed over.
Heh…he was going to pay for that once Torn got him out of the city.
Anyway, that boy was a piece of work. He sort of reminded him of Jak when he'd first met him. Only this one had to be at least four times as stupid. Torn actually felt a bit of pity for the kid's partner. He looked a little worse for wear himself. But if there was anyone he'd pair the kid up with it was Vergil. If you had to team a psycho jackass up with anyone it was best if it was a stick in the mud.
Speaking of Jak, where the hell was that idiot!
oo0oo
Davis' knees wobbled before buckling entirely. He slumped back on the control panel behind him. Vergil's eyes were immediately on him but he didn't say anything. The teenager rolled his eyes. Torn couldn't have actually expected them to stay standing like that all this time anyway. But of course these brownnosers seemed to insist on following protocol.
They were a bunch of suck ups if you asked Davis.
While no one ever did, it didn't keep the young Freedom Guard from making his opinion known.
Vergil had told him that the only reason that the two of them had been called in on this special mission was because he was such a fuck up. Which of course was absolutely not true. Most of those failed missions had been Vergil's fault anyway. For instance, if Verg had just listened to him when he'd told him to use one of his defrag grenades on that group of metal heads. They wouldn't have ended up in the mess they had back at the eco mine. But no, the guy had insisted that it was too dangerous and the mine was full of unstable eco and a grenade would probably kill them.
Of course Davis thought his partner was wrong. At the most it would have probably blown a hole in the mine. The fucking place was full of holes. It was a goddamned strip mine!
And of course old tattoo face hadn't authorized him to carry any grenades. He'd barely trusted him with his blaster mod. And that had taken some serious hoop jumping on his part. It was just embarrassing being the only guy still running around with a scatter gun.
In all his mental ranting he hadn't noticed Torn looking at him. His commander cleared his throat still staring at him expectantly. Davis sighed and sat up straight mumbling something rude under his breath.
The brunet sprung up to his feet, blue eyes blazing.
"Why you little son of a…"
Torn was on Davis is a flash. He threw the boy up against the nearest wall.
"It's your lucky day, asshole! You won't have to wait for the metal heads to get a hold ta ya scrawny hide. I'll break your fucking neck myself, you little shit!" He growled.
Davis was wild eyed and failing, his arms and legs whipping all around. But he would not dare lay a hand on his commander. Sure he was an ass, but he wasn't a complete ass. He'd seen that knife Torn always fiddled with.
That being said, he had no intention of pissing him off any further. He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. But it was so hard! He was trying his damnedest to ignore his comrades' snickering in the background and focus on Torn's angry face.
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm sorry!" he squeaked.
"Whoa!"
Torn's head whipped around at the sound of that voice. It was about fucking time! It was Jak and his pet rat.
"Hey, Torny!" Daxter cackled, his usual obnoxious self. "We interrupting something?"
The ottsel leaned in closer to his friend's ear. "I told ya something was iffy 'bout that guy."
Torn released his hold on Davis, causing the boy to drop helplessly to the floor.
"Hey, buddy." Dax continued. "Don't mind us." He said waggling his eyebrows.
A growl is all he got for his efforts. Jak couldn't help the grin. It was kind of nice to see Dax and Torn go at it again. Just like old times.
"Where the hell have you two been!" the brunet snarled.
"Hey now, precious!" Daxter replied.
Jak noticed the widening of Torn eyes and shook his head.
"This is our show! You and your…um… boys…" He said looking down at a winded Davis who was still sprawled out on the floor, a perverted grin on his face. "Are just tagging along."
Dax then jumped off Jak's shoulder and onto the war table.
"And I hope you boys are ready." The ottsel said pointing at the lot of rookies. "Cause me and Jakky boy don't roll with scrubs. Ya gotta be made of the tough stuff if ya even think ya got a chance where we're about ta go."
Vergil raised a brow at the talking rat like creature. Dark gray eyes turned to look upon his commander in a brief show of worry. Torn just stared back, a bored expression on his face.
"Any of you light weights ever seen a Wasteland metal head?" Daxter said with a smirk.
The boys just stared back owl eyed and interested.
Daxter shivered for emphasis and then suddenly grinned. "Well you're in for a treat!" He crowed.
"Dax!" Jak laughed.
"Are you two done!" Torn interrupted. "The sooner we get this over with the better." He added before stalking out the door.
The group of FGs headed right behind him.
Dax frowned and hopped back onto Jak's shoulder. "Geez, what a kill joy!" he sneered.
Jak made to go after them, but he stopped suddenly and turned around.
"You coming?" Jak asked the boy Torn had been aiming to kill when they'd walked in.
"Come on, tender foot!" Dax added. "We ain't got all day!"
Davis got up, dusting himself off and went to retrieve his gun, but he never took his eyes off Jak. Jak cut his eyes in Daxter's direction.
"So you're the Jak, huh?" Davis finally asked his eyes narrowed as he sized the other man up.
"Uh yeah." The blond replied.
"Hey, buddy, don't forget the brains of this operation." The ottsel leaned in. "He's just the pretty face." He whispered jutting his thumb in Jak's direction.
The blond warrior groaned.
"Davis, get your sorry ass out here!"
They could hear Torn bellowing from down the hall. The boy hurried out the door saying something along the lines of…
"This is going to be so cool!"
Jak and Dax looked at each other again.
"I'm beginning to think this wasn't the best idea." The older boy mumbled.
Author's Note: Dun, dun, dun…Uh oh, the introduction of the infamous Original Character. Davis is…um… something, isn't he? Give him a chance though, he's a lot more then I'm letting on just yet.
This one turned out a lot more humorous than I had intended. You'll have to forgive me; I was feeling a bit snarky. I don't think Jak was out of character though. He is a guy so I could so see him doing those things. I love Torn in this one.
The angst will be back next chapter and some much needed action because Jak's all about that action right? Dax's POV is up as well.