Disclaimer: Don't own Jak and Daxter. Naughty Dog does. Lucky Bastards. I do however own Vergil, Davis, and Knox. No touchie… unless you ask nicely. /grins/
Author's Note: Yes, I know. Took me long enough, huh? All I can say is that I tried to get this out as speedily as possible. The regular excuses apply. I had course work, blah, blah, blah… You guys don' t care. You just want to read the chapter, right? Well go ahead. But first, thanks go out to Cskerries and Babyblues15 for their super beta skills!
Work
Chapter Six: Perfect Situation
That familiar tingle was at the back of his neck. The one that told him that Daxter was sitting there behind him with a huge grin on his face. Jak looked up into the mirror in front of him and confirmed this inkling. Sure enough he found that Dax was in fact grinning. It was one of those odd little ottsel grins. The type that you couldn't quite tell if it was teasing or appraising, Daxter often didn't seem to distinguish between the two anyway. But this didn't keep it from annoying the hell out of the blond.
Jak rolled his eyes.
"Whoa-ho-ho!" Daxter started. "Someone's lookin' migh--tee spiffy!"
Jak groaned.
"Oh, Little Miss Governess is gonna cream her pants when she sees ya in this get up, Big Guy!"
Daxter was trying his best to hold back his laughter but it didn't seem to be panning out. Jak's tolerance meter upped a notch.
"Shut up, Dax."
There was a muffled snicker, "Oh cool it. I'm giving you a compliment. And what have we discussed about my giving you compliments, buddy?"
The blue eyes reflected back at him by the mirror narrowed, the owner's lips pressing into a thin line. Dax waited.
Jak sighed, "Fine Dax, thank you."
"That's better." The ottsel grinned in triumph. "Now… you got the sash all wrong!"
"It's not a sash!"
But it was a pointless remark; Jak already knew his friend would just ignore him. Besides the ottsel was too busy balancing on his shoulder and adjusting his so-called 'sash' to pay him any attention at the moment.
"There, all dolled up for the ladies." Dax laughed.
Jak chose not to comment as usual. But he did take time to scrutinize himself in the mirror. One thing he knew for sure was that he was glad he didn't have to wear that armored monstrosity that the Freedom Leaguers used to sport during the war. There was no way he was putting on that stuff. He wouldn't be able to move, let alone protect Ashelin.
It was more of the style that all the troops were wearing now. The thick leather armor padded material was a bit restricting but not more so than his precursor armor. He would make do. It was just for today anyway. And Daxter had already adjusted to the absence of his shoulder guard/perch.
Though the gloves were going to be a pain, he could already tell. He raised his hand up and stared at his dark gray clad palm and black covered fingers. Jak made a fist and then flexed his fingers, trying to loosen the material. He wasn't used to having his fingers covered. It might pose a problem with his morph gun.
"It's just a little leather. It won't stop you from getting to the trigger in time, pal." Daxter piped up. "Stop worryin' so much. This is gonna be a cakewalk. Ain't no disgruntled Havenites can hold a candle to the baddies we've faced, buddy boy."
"I guess." Jak groaned. "It's just…" he fidgeted a bit with the collar of the uniform, "…uncomfortable." He muttered.
He felt stupid complaining about clothing. He'd dealt with considerably worse discomfort. Try itchy, filth ridden prison clothes. Or sand filled boots and leather goggle straps super heated by the desert sun.
Speaking of goggles…
Jak reached for his beloved pair but was told off before even he got them from the bed.
"Nu-huh, buddy. Not part of the dress code." Daxter chuckled. "Besides, they seriously clash. You'll lose all that sexy 'Man in Uniform' appeal."
Jak rolled his eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time today. "Fine."
"Good boy. Where would you be without me, huh?"
"Y'know," Jak grinned. "I don't think ottsels are a part of the uniform either."
And with that the older boy plucked his squirming friend off his sholder and tossed him onto the bed.
"Oh no way, pal!" The ottsel screeched. "WE… were assigned this job! I'm comin'. You'd be lost out there without me anyway."
Jak's grin grew wider.
"Fine but if we're gonna break dress codes we might as well go the whole nine yards." He said as he swiped his goggles off of the bed.
Jak's grin grew smug. He was damned smooth. And after sliding the goggles on in place, he admired the finished product in the mirror.
"I guess it's not too bad." He muttered.
Daxter sighed, "Bend, stretch… do something! It'll loosen the leather some."
Jak complied, wrenching his arm over the opposite shoulder and spreading out his legs.
"Touch your toes."
Once again, Jak complied.
"Lovely view."
"…"
Jak whipped his head around and glared at his friend, still bent over, but after seeing the look on the other's face he quickly stood upright.
"Dax…"
Before he could get another word out, the sound of an electronic beep filled the small room.
"Hold that thought buddy boy." Dax said with a wave of his finger and snicker.
The orange one scuttled off the side of the bed and began rooting through the pile of discarded clothes in the corner.
"Phew… make sure to wash these bad boys before you put them on again, huh, pal." Dax said with a grimace.
Jak just glared.
Small furry fingers flew over the keypad of the communicator with practiced ease, typing in the familiar passcode. The device left his hands and floated in front them both miraculously growing more then four times its normal size.
"What's taking you so long?" A gruff voice barked.
The static cleared a little more revealing the eternally annoyed face of Torn, who was abruptly shoved over to reveal a smirking Ashelin. There was a hoarse chuckle, Torn's, as the comm device floated around circling Jak.
"Not bad." Ashelin voice crackled over the unit.
"It'll pass. But those goggles…" Torn began.
"Can stay." The governess finished.
The brunet grunted and rolled his eyes. "Get a move on Jak, we don't have all day."
oo0oo
A sopping wet chunk of hair slid into his line of vision. Vergil sighed and pushed the strands of blond out of his way. He hated being wet just as much as he hated being cold. So as it was cold and raining out (well not exactly raining, more along the line of drizzling), one could imagine that he was not having the best of times.
Though, he might not have been as comfortable as he would have preferred, he was in a preferable position. Ever since that little excursion in the Wasteland he and his remaining teammates had been give a few C level assignments. It would seem that Commander Torn had been impressed that they had managed to live through it all and had decided that they deserved a bit more respect. Not much more respect, mind you, but it was nice that he and Davis weren't getting stuck with the Strip Mine detail anymore (a D level assignment). Especially since Davis seemed to have no respect for the laws of nature and eco potency when introduced to defrag grenades.
Vergil gripped his gun a little harder in remembrance. But he did immediately regain control of himself. It wouldn't do for him to fuck up the first semi decent assignment he'd been given in… Ever!
People always used to ask him why in the hell he'd asked to be paired up with Davis in the first place. Admittedly, at first it had been out of pity. The guy did happen to be one of the most loathed recruits in their whole squad. He had figured Davis just needed a partner that was willing to work with him and not yell at him every time he made a mistake.
If only Vergil had known what he was getting into ahead of time.
It had begun inconspicuously enough. There had been a hesitant knock on his dorm room door and he had opened it to find a shaggy haired, scrawny, excuse for a new recruit standing behind it.
Not that Vergil had been a veteran himself. He had only been in the Guard for about six months at the time. But Davis had just screamed green. He was pale and had a pair of sunken in emerald hued eyes that seemed too large for his face. Something about those damned raccoon's eyes just screamed, "Take care of me!"
And Vergil had fallen for it. It didn't help his resolve much either that the whole time the boy had been standing there, his ex-roommate/partner was pelting him with his own belongs and cursing his very existence.
He really should have known better.
From that day forth, Vergil's career had continuously gone down hill. Being that he had quickly become Davis' 'longtime' partner, he became synonymous with the other boy. When Davis did something stupid, his name went right along with it.
"Well, you should have stopped him, Vergil."
"Well, you are his partner, Vergil."
"You know better, Vergil, how could you let him do that?"
But they just didn't understand. Davis was not one to listen to reason most of the time. Especially when he was worked up, which turned out to be most of the time. It was just his nature, Vergil learned soon enough.
Davis was just a bit… over zealous. That was all. He just was a bit too focused on proving himself. Unfortunately, so was Vergil. This, as to be expected, lead to some awesome clashes between the two.
They fought physically and quite a lot.
And though, Davis had never been able to win a match, Vergil was always the one that suffered the most because of them.
Vergil sighed, his head dropping down further, his long bangs sliding back over his face. There was a groan from the side of him and then a wet glove reached over to fumble with some at the back of his neck.
"These things come with those for a reason, Verg."
The blond smirked and let the other pull the hood of his raincoat over his head. He turned to his right and all he could see of the hooded figure next to him were those damned raccoon eyes, the green irises darker than usual in the low light.
"We should be inside the mansion," Davis grumbled. "That's where all the action's gonna be."
"What makes you think there's even going to be any action?"
Though, Vergil had to admit sitting on the roof of the government building, in the cold, across from the governess' (formerly Count Veger's downtown dwelling) was not his idea of being upgraded. There had not been anything to suggest that there was something brewing in the mix. Usually there were death threats before the governess had one of her big meetings. And there had sometimes been the occasional ill-fated assassination attempt. The last guy had been caught before he even left his house. But there hadn't been anything out of the ordinary to warrant the need of all the Guardsmen placed around the perimeter.
She was just talking with the Wastelanders. What was the big deal? It was just a trade meeting right?
"Don't be stupid, Verg. Something big is about to happen." Davis muttered, eye focused on the building in front of them. "And we're gonna miss all of it sitting up here in the rain like a bunch a' idiots."
Vergil sighed. If something big was about to happen it was probably best if Davis stayed right where he was.
oo0oo
Most of the time, it was just barely noticeable. He could clamp down on the odd twinge in his gut and push it aside. Stop his face from twitching that littlest bit before he or anyone else was the wiser. It was barely a thought anymore. Torn had become a master at this little game. But the longer he played it the more difficult it became to even care about his technique anymore.
Jak's addition to it had not helped matters much either.
With a quiet sigh, Torn leaned back against the wall behind him and growled on cue when the rat said something stupid in his general direction. Fortunately for him however, Daxter was also more interested in the exchange going on between the lovely red haired governess and Jak.
Not that Jak ever said much, but it was more about what was going unsaid, the little things that to Torn's complete frustration he could not help but notice.
Like her hand on his shoulder, the way she looked at him… that stupid blush of his.
Stop. It.
And it was gone. Sighted. Targeted. Fired upon and destroyed.
So Torn just cut his eyes in their direction, forced his mouth into a smirk and said something condescending. Kept up the act seamlessly or so he had thought. That was until the rat turned to him with one of those irritating little rodent grins.
"What's with you, Tattooed Wonder? Nervous? A little bubble in yer guts?"
Torn clenched his teeth and turned his custom scowl on full force in the ottsel's direction. But Daxter's grin didn't waver. It never did.
"I don't have anything to be nervous about, rat. This place is as secure as it's gonna get," Torn sneered.
"Yeah, I saw your boys out there. Quite a few of 'em too." Dax said glancing over his shoulder. "As you well know there won't be no need for 'em, not with me and Jak here to save the day. Yep…" the ottsel went on as he smoothed down the fur on his arms.
"Am I right, buddy o' mine?" Daxter said nudging his bony elbow into the side of Jak's head before jumping onto the table in front of them. "We've taken on hordes of metal heads without the help of any Freedom Guard lackeys. Besides we dealt with crazy political types before. And y'saw what happened to the last guy."
Off to the side of Torn, Samos groaned in annoyance. As per the usual, Daxter had just said something he disagreed with.
"We don't expect Jak to do all the work, Daxter." The sage said stepping forward and taking a seat. "It is about time this city began to take matters into its own hands. But it doesn't hurt to have you here, my boy." He nodded in Jak's direction.
"Plus, the uniform suits you so well." Ashelin smirked as she turned back to Jak and ran her hands over the green haired boy's leather clad shoulder. "Maybe we can convince you to wear it more often."
Torn sighed and rolled his eyes. It fit him well he had to admit. But Jak could wear rags and still look good.
"Uh… I don't know." Jak muttered. "I kinda like my old clothes better."
Jak nonchalantly shifted his shoulder just enough to for Ashelin's hand to leave it. She didn't seem to notice.
But Torn had.
The tips of the tattooed man's ears twitched. He heard Daxter move on the table. Heard the sound of the rat's tail as it thumped once lightly against the metal. He saw the perking of the small ears.
The commander's eyes narrowed and that smirk of his turned smug when Daxter skittered across the table and hopped onto the very shoulder Ashelin had been fondling. The ottsel leaning into the green-blond spikes of hair and nonchalantly twined his fingers in it, he went on chatting like nothing odd had happened.
But Torn had seen it all.
He'd seen the way Jak had tensed when Ashelin had touched him. That little twinge in his face, just as Daxter had.
It made him feel better that he wasn't the only one that was a feeling a bit… overprotective.
Jak cleared his throat and pulled at the collar of his uniform for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "I just want to get this over with. When's Sig going to get here?"
oo0oo
The rain had stopped for the most part, but the sun still had not come out. It was still dark and gloomy out. The sparse grumbles of the other lower level soldiers were starting to grate on Davis' very fragile nerves. He sighed loudly and glanced over at his partner.
Vergil slowly turned in his direction, storm gray eyes looking just as bored as Davis felt.
"Fine," the older boy said flatly. "We'll go."
"Thank the fucking Precursors." Davis muttered.
Sadly, it wasn't difficult for the two of them to sneak away from their posts without their superior noticing. One of the main reasons for this was that they were new to this group and the commanding officer had not even bothered to learn their names let alone their faces. Also, most of all the others were too busy chatting quietly or dozing off to care what the two of them were doing anyway.
In silence they slipped over the side of building past a nodding guard and two others who sat and chatted of woman and booze. They walked past a few soldiers and barely tilted their heads in greeting and weaved between the traffic of the surprisingly many citizens that dared to venture out in such miserable weather.
"This is so fucking stupid!" Davis groaned. "Torn picked that group of rejects to watch the perimeter? They wouldn't have noticed if the fucking building caught fire!"
Vergil said nothing as usual. It was pointless to interject during one of the other boy's rants anyway.
"I told you all of the action was going to be inside. That's where the boss put all the top guys. He's expecting an inside job. I guarantee it!"
Vergil rolled his eyes but before he could open his mouth he found himself being pushed roughly to the side.
"What the hell?" The blond stumbled as he was shoved almost falling into a bunch of trashcans over by the alley.
"Hey! Watch where the hell you're going!" Davis snarled, grabbing Vergil's arm before he went down. "Fucking loon!"
Truthfully, neither of them had any idea of who to direct their rude comments to. The figure that had just shot in between them had been but a blur of dark cloth and it was gone before they had the chance to turn around.
"Forget about it," Vergil said straightening up.
They both immediately turned to the building across the street from them.
"So what's your brilliant lie this time?" he continued.
Davis laughed. "Just play along, alright."
Once again Vergil rolled his eyes. With that they both made their way across the road and true to form the Elites were on them in minutes.
"What's your clearance?" The first one said gruffly.
Even though his visor and mask Vergil could see that the man was annoyed. Davis' reputation had once again preceded him. So the blond just waited to be found out. It was inevitable. There was no way they were going to get passed these guys. He cut his eyes in the direction of his partner, awaiting the expected wrong answer like the rest of the guards here.
"Um…" Davis started.
The Elite rolled his eyes.
"Well, lean in!" the dark haired boy said, his exasperation more than apparent. "You don't expect me to yell it, do you? It's top secret!"
"Fine!" he growled.
Davis leaned in close, "Alpha 157-92 Charlie Code 194. The ottsel sleeps at midnight but not unless he's had his whiskey."
"Entry granted." The Elite begrudgingly said and stepped to the side.
Vergil gaped but was grabbed and dragged inside before any of the Elite guards could notice.
The sound of the front door closing behind them was like a death sentence.
"You're going to get us killed." Vergil muttered numbly. "How the hell did you do that!"
"Shh! You're making us look like rookies!" Davis growled. "And I'll tell you later."
"We are rookies!" Vergil whispered harshly. "And you'll fucking tell me now! How the hell did you do that?"
"Knox."
"Knox?"
"Knox." Davis nodded.
"He…"
"Yes. Now shut up, I've already told you too much as it is."
oo0oo
Sig seriously was never going to get used to these sorts of things. When he'd taken the role of acting King of Spargus he had expected to have to deal with Haven on a political level. Since during Golden Boy's campaign to save the world ended up with the former big wig of Haven City getting himself killed, now he had to put up with the new governess' newfound interest in his city.
Though, obviously he would much rather deal with Ashelin than her deranged lunatic of a father. All these truths aside it still didn't mean that Sig had to like his current lot in life. It was just another case of if he didn't do it, then who else would?
And why did that sound so familiar?
Here he was on his way to some god forsaken trade talk. And what the hell were they even supposed to be trading? He hadn't even understood that stuffy long-winded paperwork Ashelin had sent him. The woman was a piece of work that was for sure but there was just no way she'd written that bullshit herself. Unless she'd taken a crash course in bureaucrat-ese or something, though it wasn't like this was anything new. Like most Wastelanders, he still found it hard to trust anyone from Haven, friends of Jak or not.
Sig didn't see how that boy could keep going back to those folks after all the crap they'd dragged him through. And if this little sit-down didn't pan out to have anything remotely benefiting his folks he was high tailing it out this smog pit as fast as that transport would take him.
The Wastelander sighed before stepping out of the carrier, right in front of the steps of Count Veger's old residence. He smirked at the irony of it all and glanced over his shoulder as his rotund companion stepped off behind him.
"Well, i'nt this nice?" Kleiver began with a mocking grin, prompting the dark furred ottsel perched on his massive shoulder to slouch dismally. "Home sweet home, ey, my little chum?"
Sig tried his best to keep a straight face in response to Kleiver's words to his ottsel 'friend'. Though to his credit, Veger did not take the bait. It would seem months of this had actually taught the man better after all.
They met in the quite spacious study. Sig couldn't help grinning, he already knew upon taking sight of the group that this was definitely going to be anything but boring. He'd never been so happy to lay eyes on Daxter since he'd met the ottsel. And what the hell did Jak have on?
Ashelin was the first to approach him along with Jak. They both looked happy to see him, maybe Jak more so than the governess but you never could really tell with her.
"King Sig." Ashelin said as she extended her hand to him.
"Governess." Sig said taking it and giving it a firm shake.
"Well, it's about time you showed up." Jak smirked.
"And I see you brought some friends." Daxter started.
Sig didn't even have to turn his head to tell who the ottsel perched on Jak's shoulder was talking about. He just smirked and waited for the entertainment to begin.
"So Vegan, how's life treating ya? Ol' Kleiver there giving ya the sun parched life I'm sure." Daxter added with a mischievous grin.
Jak said nothing as usual, but the smirk on his face was comment enough.
"Your juvenile barbs will not provoke me, dear boy." Veger replied. "I am beyond such pettiness. I have accepted my current lot in life as retribution for past… transgressions."
Daxter crossed his arms over his scrawny chest and thumped his tail in annoyance. "Yeah whatever, Count whateveryournameis."
Well that hadn't been like Daxter at all. Jak looked over to his friend and gave him a weak smile.
"Well, I suppose we should get to the reason why we're here." The governess said as she made her way to the table.
"Ah yes," Samos said retaking his seat. "There is much to discuss."
"My dear governess might I say, before we begin, that you have been doing a wonderful job with this… grand city." Veger piped in.
This comment did not fail to get a bewildered look from the red head as well as the room's other occupants.
"Why is he even here!" Torn growled.
"He's my best chum, he is." Kleiver said with a snide grin, patting his furred pal on the very top of his head.
"Torn…" Ashelin started.
That was when the room shook violently, the lights flickering.
Torn's comm unit was out as soon as he could get steady enough to whip it out.
"What the hell is going on down there!"
"Sir! I'm not sure!" came the response from the other end of the communicator.
There was a brief pause from the other end and the sound of men yelling back and forth to one another.
"Sir. It was one of our Hellcat cruisers! It came out of nowhere. It barreled through the south wall. There must have been…" A hacking cough, "…some type of smoke bomb."
"The driver?"
"There doesn't seem to be any one on board, but…"
"Well who the hell was driving it then!" Ashelin said running to Torn's side and speaking into the comm. "Secure this house, soldier!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
There was another loud crash then as the building took another foundation-weakening shake. This time the lights did go out.
Samos was the first to comment. "By the Precursors! What in Mar's name is going on down there!"
"Col? Col!"
The generator kicked in causing the blue back up lights come on in finally.
"M-ma'am!"
"What was that?" Ashelin demanded.
"A… another cruiser… through the northern wall. There were causalities, ma'am… I… "
Col's report was interrupted by the sound of gunfire…
"Looks like we got company, cherries!" Sig said a huge grin crinkling his face.
Jak already had his morph gun in hand.
"Finally!" Kleiver grinned as well cocking his own weapon. "Ya've been hogging all the action for yerself I see, Govie?"
Ashelin's sneer was all he got in reply. He ignored it of course, only sparing Veger a glance.
"Oh bother." Veger groaned as he shifted to a more secure posture on the big man's shoulder. Kleiver pushed his way thorough the crowd of FGs huddled in front of the door.
"Outta tha way, rookies. Big Poppy's comin' through."
Sig was right behind them.
"I'm going out there." Torn said un-holstering his pistols and heading for the door.
Jak made his way after him.
"Hey. Hey! Big guy!" Daxter squeaked. "We're supposed to be Sweet Stripes' body guards right?"
Jak gave the ottsel a weary look.
"Well, don't we need to be as close to her body as possible to do a good job!"
The older boy growled in annoyance.
"Jak!" Torn said before heading out the door. "Stay here!"
"What!"
Obviously, Jak was not happy with the order but Torn and the others were already out the door.
"Jak, perhaps Torn is right, at least for now anyway. We don't know for sure what is going on down there. And until we do you must protect Ashelin." Samos said as he tried to get Jak to stay put.
Jak's ears twitched, which meant that he had heard the sage. Though by the way his fingers were restlessly gripping his gun it was clear that he didn't like what had been said. Ashelin was by his side not a moment later; her hand was on his unoccupied shoulder, her own pistol in the other.
"Just give them a few minutes, Jak." She said calmly. "I don't like being left out anymore than you do."
oo0oo
Sure enough the bottom floor of the building was full of smoke and the noxious cloud was quickly making its way upstairs. Torn had been forced to pull his scarf up over his nose and mouth to keep from suffocating from it. But he had nothing to shield his eyes, leaving them stinging and watering.
The bottom portion of the staircase had been taken out by the second Hellcat cruiser and forced him, Sig and Kleiver to hop over the railing to make it to the bottom floor. How Kleiver had managed was beyond him but Sig and the man had long since made their way down the path.
He was currently on his own, with a handful of FGs that had been standing in the hall outside the study door. Torn could barely see his hand in front of his face let alone where the elites were and who or what they were so insistently shooting at.
He spoke into his comm, "Has the enemy been sighted and confirmed?"
"Um…" It was Col on the other end once again, Torn's second in command for this mission. "Well sir, we're not sure on either count but I am sure that who… or whatever it is beating the living hell out of us!"
"Armed?"
"N…no sir… well…"
The connection fizzled loudly with static. That was when the blue lights pulsed harshly and an arc of electricity flared from the bulbs right in front of Torn's very eyes.
"I'm not sure, sir. It seems as if it's some kind of high powered electrical weapon… but we haven't gotten a visual on the suspect let alone gotten a glimpse of that they're packing."
"So that would mean you don't have a count either?"
"Sorry sir."
During this highly enlightening conversation, Torn and his troop had been clearing every room they could find and coming up with nothing more then the occasional grouping of confused and pummeled FGs.
"What's going on down there!" Ashelin's voice broke impatiently over his comm.
"We…"
But before he could get the words out there was a burst of blue in front of him and the air knocked out of his chest as he went careening back through a door.
Torn had ended up the floor; luckily for him his head had just missed the toilet as he'd apparently ended up in a bathroom. Unfortunately, however his head had not been lucky enough to miss the linoleum.
"What the fuck!" Torn growled as he leapt back to his feet, the room swayed.
By the time he'd made it back to the hall, the group of FGs that he'd kept with him had already fallen in the face of their seemingly invisible enemy.
"Torn!" Ashelin's voice once again crackled from over the comm.
Torn was too busy at the moment to say anything more than, "Tell Jak to stay put!"
Then there was a sparkle of electricity and the sound of cloth cutting through the air as what felt like a booted foot connected with the side of his head. This time the hard wood floor was his cushion. He'd amazingly been able to hold on to his gun, but this was beginning to be annoying. Though he was never one for making excuses this fucking smoke was becoming a pain to function in. He should have been able to dodge that kick however. He'd heard it a mile away.
And a booted foot landed on his left hand making the gun in it useless.
"Just stay down," a muffled voice said.
"Yeah, right," Torn growled, pulling up the other pistol and shooting blindly.
The foot was gone by then however along with sound of cloth on air.
"Torn!"
That voice he did recognize even beyond its muffled state.
"What the hell are you doing down here Jak!" Torn snarled, as he got to his feet. "We've got a situation here! You're supposed to be protecting Ashelin!"
"She's the one that sent us down here genius!" Dax was the one who answered. The bottom of his face covered with a piece of yellow cloth. This was also the first time Torn had ever seen the ottsel use his goggles.
"What! Where the hell is Sig?"
"I dunno." Jak said, looking around suspiciously. He was also donning his goggles and had a ripped piece of his uniform's sash over the bottom half of his face. "We haven't run into him yet."
"C'mon. We need to get back upstairs."
"What's going on?" Jak asked.
"There's some guy running around here kicking our asses, is what!"
"Just one guy?" But he and Dax took off down the hall before Torn got a chance to say anything else.
"Jak! Godammit!" Torn yelled.
He gave up with a snarl and bounded down the hall after them.
oo0oo
At this point only a handful of Freedom League guards stood between Ashelin and certain doom. She and Samos were currently using an over turned desk as cover.
"This is ridiculous!" The governess snarled, furious that something like this was happening.
She was also more then a little peeved that she had been forced to run and hide when all the fighting was going on outside that door. She had never been the type to let others do the fighting for her. But with her position as governess came responsibility. She could not be the reckless lieutenant commander she had once been.
She and Torn had taken every precaution to ensure that this meeting would be safe. Or so they'd thought. They had closed the hover zones for blocks around this building. Only FG vehicles were allowed through, though in the end it had not done much good. The enemy had just used their own vehicles against them.
The red head had gone over every possible mistake they could have made.
Maybe they should have closed off the streets completely. Kept the civilians off the streets altogether? But there had been something about that option that had not set well with her. It seemed too much like something that would have happened during her father's rule. She could not risk it.
Ashelin sighed in frustration. Even if that meant that she had to die then so it must be. But she was tired of waiting and not knowing what was going on. She activated her comm unit.
"Torn!"
The commander's voice crackled over the device. "Tell Jak to stay put!"
Well it was too late for that.
Jak had been harder to convince to stay out of this fight then she had. Besides, what use was it to keep him away from the fight? Jak was the best soldier they had.
The door was being covered by three FGs as well as herself. Behind her, a pair of FGs outside covered the only window in the room. She heard the shooting outside that door. She'd also noticed that it was now few and far between. Either they were winning or the battle would soon be over. Or they had lost. Either way she believed she would know soon enough.
"Who could be behind this?" Samos muttered absently.
"We had hoped that Sig had a clue, remember?" Ashelin replied, occasionally taking her eyes off the door and glancing at the window. From the sound of things we might find out soon enough."
The room shook with the force of what seemed like another explosion that not only took out the FGs stationed out in the hall but the door to the study and the FGs inside as well.
The FGs outside the window were inside in a second's notice but they were no match for the sudden blast of electricity that filled the room sending them right back out, leaving Ashelin and Samos to fend for themselves. Ashelin was up on her feet and searching for a clear shot the moment the electricity gave her the chance. But the smoke filling the room was making it difficult.
"Miss Praxis, I presume." As voice asked and Ashelin was on her back and unarmed before she could blink.
The desk they had been using for cover was ripped away suddenly smashed against the frame of the door, too wide to continue through it.
"Your Freedom Guards are quite well trained for lackeys." The owner of this voice laughed and it was quickly becoming evident that the voice was feminine.
Whoever she was, she had kicked her square in the chest and Ashelin had barely gotten a glimpse of her.
"Who the hell are you?" Ashelin said in between coughs. Samos was at her side helping her to sit up.
"Oh, I'm just a lonely little girl looking for some fun. A very nice man directed me here. He told me you'd give me a good time." This statement was followed by another overly amused chuckle.
The would-be-assassin in question was fairly tall; cloth and a pair of goggles covered her face. They only thing they could make out in the hazy room was her head full of short, prickly, blue hair.
"What d'ya say Ashey-baby?" A gloved hand fingered the hilt of what looked to be a pretty nasty looking blade sheathed at the mystery woman's side. "Ya gonna give me a show?"
And that was when Ashelin snapped. Being responsible was going to get her killed; she was not going out like some coward.
The blue haired woman blocked the first swing for her head. As well as the subsequent kicks and punches, in fact, she matched the governess move for move.
oo0oo
"Oww!" Davis sat up bolt straight. His hand instantly shot up to cradle his bruised and busted face.
Next to him Vergil grunted and rolled onto his back. "I blame you for this," the blonde groaned.
"Shut up and come on!" the younger said, hobbling to his feet and grabbing his gun. "He went this way!"
Davis was already half way down the hall.
"Oh, you've got to be kiddin' me!"
oo0oo
The issue of there no longer being any stairs to climb up to get the third floor was quickly put to rest by a little light eco and Jak's new found wings. Torn had not been pleased with the flight but it had gotten him where he needed to be. And the FG Commander was off and running seconds after his feet hit solid ground once again. As the two of them rounded the corner, the sounds of all hell breaking loose assaulted their ears.
Jak and Daxter were right behind him.
"Ashelin!" Torn called out.
"Sweet Stripes!" the ottsel yelled and then turned to his companion. "See! I told you we shouldn't have left her!"
Jak just grumbled something under his breath and continued headed for the door, which had been blocked during the apparent epic battle going on inside by a huge desk. The blonde took the route that Torn had taken before him and leapt over it landing in the heart of utter chaos. Inside Ashelin was on the floor being covered by Samos and a Freedom Guard. Torn and another guard were surrounding the person that Jak assumed was responsible for all of this.
"It was seriously just this guy!" Daxter screamed in disbelief.
Torn, Jak's and the FGs' guns were all trained on the intruder.
"Gal," was the assassin's only response to this. "It was seriously just this… gal."
"Well!" Daxter said standing up a little straighter and cocking a brow. "You new around these parts Toots cause ah…"
"Dax." Jak groaned.
"Who are you?" Torn asked his jaw set. The calm of his voice was almost convincing.
"Yeah, who sent you!" One of the FGs added.
"Yeah… who…" Torn started. "Davis!"
Davis saluted. "Hi, sir!"
Vergil groaned, "Oh for the love of… It was his idea, sir!"
Torn lost his last thread of patience, "Whatever!" He returned his attention to the intruder. "You! I asked you a question!"
The blue haired woman scoffed. "You're kiddin' me right. I've kicked your entire squadron's ass and you think you four and your little pea shooters are scaring me?"
"Five." Ashelin said standing up and aiming her gun. The governess was a bit worse for wear but she was functioning.
"Don't move." Jak said.
At that moment his eyes locking with the woman's, there was a brief flash of recognition between them.
"I'm not giving up. And I advise you not to shoot." She finally said with a smug grin.
Jak lowered his gun.
"What are you doing!" Torn growled.
Daxter was even puzzled. "W…what are ya doin' big guy? I don't think this girl's the type you let yer guard down on."
"Don't shoot." Jak said finally. "She's channeling blue eco. She's been using it somehow to create a shield."
"Yes," Samos said from his placed behind the overturned sofa. "Jak is right. I can feel the energy around her." Samos added a hint of astonishment in his voice.
"What!" This was the chorus from the rest of the room's occupants.
"That's why we haven't been able to so much as touch you!" Davis alleged angrily.
"Damn." The eco channeler chuckled. "You guys are good. Ah well, I guess that means fun time is over."
"Everybody get back!"
Just as the words left Ashelin's mouth, another flare of blue eco filled the room pushing everyone back crashing violently the surrounding walls. Unfortunately, Jak, who was the closest at the time, took the brunt of the attack, and was sent back through the desk in front of the door. Splitting it in half, he and Daxter created quite an indention in the wall out there.
Torn was the first to sit up afterwards watching as the assassin made her way toward Ashelin and Samos.
"You crazy bitch!" Davis screamed as he tried in vain to stand up, only to fall back on his ass in his rush.
Suddenly there was another charge in the air, one much darker than the one before it. The blue haired woman's head snapped up, her eyes going wide in surprise. At the moment the enraged snarled was the only warning she got before Dark Jak tore into the room.
The swathed warrior had only missed being ripped to shreds by Dark Jak's first attack by but a hair. From that point on it was an all out free for all. It was taking massive amounts of both of the fighter's eco reserves to keep up the mind-boggling match, neither of them remaining unscathed.
The bystanders had to scramble to just to stay out of their way.
In a final move of desperation as well as opportunity, the blue eco assassin unsheathed the blade from her side.
"Hey, Darky! Watch out fer that…" But Daxter didn't even get a chance to finish the warning before Dark Jak was forced to dodge the first swing.
The girl growled in growing frustration, getting off a kick but Dark's claws made her pay for it.
Her scream of pain was all the distraction that was need however because someone took the initiative, unleashing a well aimed flash grenade. The light temporally blinding the woman long enough for Davis to land a particularly vicious blow with a chair. The girl never knew what hit her flailing back through the already shattered study window. Davis and Torn ran for the window in attempt to go after her but cleared out just before being mauled by Dark Jak.
"Jak!" Samos yelled after him, but the boy was already through the window.
And in the midst of all that chaos, Daxter had amazingly lost his grip on his friend's shoulder. Collecting himself from a heap on the floor, the ottsel was the first to make it to the shattered window. Dax struggled to make sense of the crowd of panicking civilian below and scrambling FGs, but neither of the eco combatants were anywhere to be found.
Torn was on his communicator as soon as he got the chance. "I need medical assistance! And be out on the look out for Jak! He's gone Dark! He's in pursuit of the bitch who caused all this…" Most of his attention was now focused on an unconscious Ashelin. "Fuck! Just find both of them!"