A/N: I'm extremely sorry for not updating in a really long time! I got writer's block at the worst of times and it took me forever to get through it. But I'm back now, so here is your Jak chapter! I really hope you like it. It took around a month of writer's block to think it through.
Daxter: "Yeah. It took you long enough!"
Pix: "I said I was sorry! What more do you want, Dax?"
Daxter: "Ice cream."
Pix: "Um…no! What am I? Your slave?"
Daxter: "Yes."
Pix: glaring at Daxter while steaming. "Just say the stupid disclaimer."
Daxter: "Pix does not own anything from Jak2 even though she might want to. How was that, Pix?"
Pix: monotone "Beautiful, Dax."
Daxter: "And please give a review even though Pix has been a mean writer and has not updated this fic in two months."
Pix: sarcastically "I love you too, Daxter."
Daxter: "I know! Everyone loves me!"
Pix: "Speak for yourself."
Chapter 33
Quickly as they all could, the three dodged the sharp jaws of the Metal Head lunging at them. Tubal thought fast and pulled out the pistol Jak had stolen and shot the Metal Head a few times. The monster fell to the ground and Jak saw the creature's black and sticky blood soak the soft ground under it. The skull gem kept glowing and the faces of the friends were dimly lit by it.
"Is everyone okay?" Tubal asked the team after giving a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine," Nea said and they both looked to Jak and saw him nod his head stiffly. He had never seen one of these creatures before. Nothing this evil looking lived in his world. It just showed him how far away he was from getting back home.
"It looks like we are not out of here yet," Tubal muttered. "Look." He pointed to someplace deeper in the jungle. At first Jak could not see anything, but then he saw the faint yellow glow of other skull gems that looked like lanterns wondering around the dark maze of jungle plants. There were around twenty of them. This was a whole army of Metal Heads!
"Run!" Nea whispered to them while pointing to where the entrance of the Fort was. A road would be there that lead to Haven City. The group took off in a sprint toward the entrance. Suddenly a Metal Head popped up right behind them and started to run after them. Jak was in the rear of the group and freaked when he saw the monster chasing them.
"Faster!" Jak thought to himself while glancing back at the Metal Head. The creature's mouth was open and saliva dripped down to the ground as its eyes pinned on its prey. Jak pushed Tubal who was in front of him to move faster.
"AH!" Tubal screamed as he looked back to see why Jak was pushing him. "Faster, Nea! We have a problem back here!" Nea did not need to look behind her. She picked up the pace and Jak barely escaped the jaws of the Metal Head. With wide eyes of fright, Jak saw more Metal Heads climb the wall to the Fort. They had picked the night to escape on the same night the Metal Heads planned an attack on the Fort. Fate was just not one their side.
As they neared the entrance of the Fort, the three heard yells of different people. At least the Metal Head was not chasing them anymore. They rounded the corner and saw that everyone was escaping through the front double doors that lead to the road back to Haven City. Giant zoomers with large wooden wagons were lined up outside these doors, and everyone was jumping on to get away from the Fort.
"Blend in," Tubal whispered to both Elves next to him. "If not, we are never getting out of here." They all nodded in agreement, but defeat was in their eyes and hearts. They were not free yet. The thought tore down their hope.
The three walked into the crowd of Elves and got onto a wagon next to each other like they were with everyone else this whole time. Jak sat on the edge of the wagon with Tubal and Nea behind him. A Krimson Guard sat next to Jak and that was the last person to get on. The wagon hovered into the air and started to fly down the road. They were all safe from the attack of Metal Heads.
"Move faster!" yelled Devo from the zoomer he was on that was right next to wagon Jak was on. "The Metal Heads will come after us if they know there is a chance." The zoomers picked up the pace and Jak was jolted forward. He almost fell off the side, but he had almost perfect balance and stayed on.
"We can finally say goodbye to this hell," someone muttered as they all watched the Fort burst into flames. They all saw Metal Heads destroying everything in there. They were happy to see their dreams come true, but they all kept silent. Jak was deep in thought as he stared at the only home he knew of in this new world. Was this a good or bad thing? Would this world get any better? It seemed almost impossible.
"Stop!"
The yell had been faint but Jak had heard it somehow. He squinted to see the small figure running after the wagon. Metal Heads were following this person. The person got larger and Jak almost gasped in surprise. It was the little girl from when Jak had stolen the pills for Tubal. She must have been forgotten.
Jak pulled on Tubal's arm and pointed out at the little girl trying her very best to catch up with the wagon. It took a while for the Elf to see her. When he did see her and yelled, "Stop! Someone was left behind! A little girl!"
"We will not stop!" Devo yelled back at Tubal. He looked over to him and spotted Jak beside the man who had spoken up. The mean glare he gave Jak made Tubal mad.
"But she is a little girl!" he yelled. "You can't leave her behind!"
From what Jak could recall, the girl was Devo's niece. Some uncle he was! Devo then yelled with no hesitation, "I can and I will. Watch me!" And they kept moving away from the Fort and the girl.
Jak's anger was burning inside of him. He closed his eyes while trying to calm himself down. Everything was swelling up in him. They took him from his peaceful life on Sandover Village to this dreadful place. They broke him down by treating him like a slave. They tortured him relentlessly. He was bruised and scared for life with unwanted memories.
They could take away his innocence, but that did not mean he could not tell from right and wrong. And this act was totally wrong! Someone had to do something about it. Jak realized it had to be him.
"Kid, are you okay?" Nea's quiet and calm voice asked him as he felt her hand touch his bare shoulder.
Jak suddenly opened his eyes that showed a deep darkness to them. He looked ahead then grabbed the gun out of the Krimson Guard's hands that was sitting next to him. He jumped off the wagon without looking behind. Protests sounded out behind him.
Devo looked behind him to see what all the yelling was about. He spotted Jak running away from the wagon toward his niece who would only slow everyone down. "Stop him!" he yelled. "We can not lose him!"
"But he is too far away now!" someone said and Devo realized that all they could do was carry on.
Jak kept running at full speed toward the little girl. When he got close he could tell that she was crying her heart out, but was still running forward in an endless fight to get away from the Metal Heads closing the gap between them and her.
Jak was no longer angry. He had switched into hero and survival mode. He ran up to the little girl and swept her gently into his strong arms while still holding onto the gun. She gasped and said with astonishment in her voice, "Bob?"
Strange name, but right now Jak kind of liked it. He held her with one arm and balanced her small figure on his hip while running back to the wagon now. It was worth it to see the look she gave him. She was putting all her faith into him. He looked back to the wagon far away with determination in his deep blue eyes.
Jak looked down to the little girl with a small smile on his lips. She smiled back then gave him a hug to say her thanks. But they were not out of the danger yet. He put her on his back as if he was giving her a piggyback ride. He held the gun in both hands now and glanced behind him to see many Metal Heads close behind.
Jak cocked the gun then turned around and took two second aims before shooting. He had no experience with a gun. The only time he had used something similar to one had been a cannon to take metal boxes, but that was nothing compared to a gun. It seemed as if the teen was a natural, though. He managed to take the few Metal Heads in the front before he ran out of ammo.
Jak then sprinted for the wagon as if the devil himself was behind him. The girl hung on for dear life, but was silent from fear or just had nothing to say. Jak finally could make out the people on the wagon. Nea and Tubal were staring at him with wide eyes.
"Move, people!" Tubal shouted to make some room for him to stand up with Nea. "Faster, kid! You can make it!"
Jak stumbled a little on the rocky road, and the people on the wagon gave short gasps. Jak quickly picked himself up and pushed forward while gritting his teeth together. His legs felt like rubber, and he could barely breathe. But he would not give up.
"Come on, kid!" Nea yelled. "Almost there!" This got other people to cheer for Jak. Shouts of encouragement sounded from the Elves watching the teen. Jak could now see Tubal and Nea's faces clearly. They were both so worried.
Jak pulled the girl off his back and held her up for Tubal to grab. Tubal stretched his arms out for her. He finally grabbed her, but almost fell because the wagon had hit a bump. He gave a sharp yell, and Nea pulled him backward to safety.
"Thanks," he muttered while handing the girl over to Nea. "Now for the kid." Tubal then stretched his hand out for Jak to grab. Nea held onto the little girl who was now crying hard again because of relief. Nea tried to comfort her.
"Come on, kid," Tubal said quietly as their fingers almost touched. Jak tried hard to make it, but he could not make his feet move anymore. He stumbled a little and could see the pain in both his friends' faces. "Try, kid," Tubal pleaded.
This made Jak have one last burst of energy. He lunged forward and managed to grab Tubal's out stretched hand. Tubal gave him a big grin and pulled him up to the wagon. The whole wagon cheered to see the kid survive. Jak laid down on the wooden floor while gasping for air. He closed his eyes as relief swept over his body.
"That was awesome!" many people shouted along with other expressions of amazement. Tubal and Nea sat next to Jak the rest of the trip to Haven City. The little girl wanted to sit in Jak's lap the whole time and talked nonstop. This did not seem to bug Jak. She was cute once you got to know her. For some reason she seemed kind of similar. The thought was quickly thrown away when they entered Haven City.
The first thing Jak noticed was the smell. It was not like the clean fresh air of the jungle. It was musty and full of pollution. It started to make a few Elves cough. It was also cold. In the jungle it was the same all year long with hot temperatures. Haven City was just getting into the fall and it was cold at night.
"Say hi to Haven City, kid," Tubal muttered over to Jak. "You will learn to love it."
"What makes you think he did not live here before he was captured?" Nea asked Tubal.
"He was tanned before he came to the Fort," Tubal said with an easygoing shrug. "In Haven City you don't get much of a tan." Jak nodded to back up his friend. He was new to the city. To tell the truth, he had never seen a city like this. It looked to be something out of the future or something. Many high tech zoomers flew around and buildings were everywhere. It was so new to Jak.
"I have a bad feeling that we will be experimented on by the Baron," Nea said quietly so only the three of them could hear. The little girl had fallen asleep in Jak's lap, so they did not worry about her. "Remember when they first caught me? They pumped dark eco in my body for a few days then sent me off to the Fort."
"Yeah," Tubal said. "They did the same thing to me." Jak nodded and pointed to himself to say that the Baron had done the same to him. Once Tubal knew that the three of them had the same thing done to them he caught on. "You don't think…"
"They want to see what will happen if we have dark eco in us," Nea said in deep thought. "They will keep putting the stuff through our bodies till they see results! I knew we were in big trouble. We should have stayed with all those Metal Heads back at the Fort."
"It will be okay," Tubal tried to encourage his team. "I hope," he added to himself quietly but Jak still heard him and it struck some bit of fear in him. Then they stopped at the prison.
Merlander had been with the Baron for a month or two now. He spent most of his time in the prison. The Baron had been pumping every kind of eco in him besides light and dark. He hated to be a test subject for the guy. It was not that painful, but it was just the thought that he was under the man's control that killed him so much inside.
Merlander was mopping up the metal floor in the torture room when he felt someone come into his mind and look around. It was Simon. Ever since the guy took a look into his head a few months back the guy had complete control over Merlander's head. It was open all the time to him.
Sure enough, the door opened and in came the man with much confidence in each step. Merlander glared at him then looked back down to the floor without saying anything. Simon stopped in the middle of the room with confusion sweeping over his face. The only sound to be heard was the slosh of water in the bucket as Merlander kept going on with his work.
"I hate to be pulling you away from your work, Merlander," Simon finally said while walking over to him. "But I need for you to do me a favor."
Merlander looked up at the man with his face showing no expression. Lately Merlander was noticing that he was acting more emotionless everyday. If he had any emotion it would be anger or lonely. No one talked to him and he said nothing all day. He missed Roxie, Daxter, and his team. They put some color in his life. Roxie was always bubbly and Daxter was loud and out there. They always put a spark to everything. But they were dead by now.
"What do you need?" Merlander asked Simon. He started to mop again, and the dirty wet part got all over Simon's shoes. "Opps. My bad," Merlander said while giving Simon a small smile. "I should be more careful next time."
"Funny," Simon said while picking his foot up with a disgusted look on his face. "I really do enjoy seeing you clean up this dump. Now I need you to take me to a cell. The Baron has asked me to look into someone's head to see if the tests are working on him."
Merlander stood there staring at Simon for a few silent seconds. "One second," he finally said while picking up the bucket and moving it over to a corner. "What's his name?"
"Jak," Simon said. Merlander paused while setting the bucket down. Simon read his mind and smiled. "You know him, don't you?"
"I had a friend who knew him well," Merlander mumbled while walking past the man.
"That rat is still alive, you know?" Simon said while reading Merlander's head again to know whom the friend was. "He is still with that Roxie girl you love so much. But they will not be rescuing you any time soon. They are in hiding."
"Always have to hang onto a bit of hope," Merlander said while expressing a weak smile. When was the last time he smiled? It seemed like a lifetime ago. He hopped onto a small moving platform and started it up. Simon studied the boy before walking onto the platform himself.
"It looks like you lost all hope already," Simon said as the small scrap of metal started to go down like an elevator.
"You can thank the Baron for that," Merlander muttered under his breath. He pressed a button on the control panel and the platform suddenly dropped a few feet. Simon gave short scream out of surprise and the platform stopped. Merlander hid a grin behind a hand.
"Don't do that again!" Simon yelled at him. "Almost gave me a heart attack!"
"That was what I was aiming for," Merlander said. He could give small blows sometimes by doing things like this. It was the only way to express some personality. Simon gave him a dirty glare because he could hear Merlander laugh in his head.
They came up to a prison cell with someone in it. The teen was sitting on the cold floor in the cramped space with his head resting against the wall. The boy's eyes were closed and he was shaking slightly because of the cold or he had just been tested on. He opened his eyes as Simon took out his security pass to open the door to the cell.
Merlander and Jak made eye contact. It seemed as if Jak knew who Merlander was. Merlander gave him a nod and stayed silent. He leaned his back against the opposite wall Jak was leaning against. Simon looked back and forth from the two.
"Are you Jak?" Simon asked the other Elf.
"He's mute," Merlander said while crossing his arms in front of him. "I'm guessing you never read the test subject's folders." Jak stared at Merlander then nodded to agree with him.
"Okay then," Simon said while glaring at Merlander. "I'm here to look into your mind, Jak. I need to see if the testing is doing anything in there. The Baron says that he is not seeing any change in your body when he pumps dark ego in you."
"How can you tell if it is working by looking into his head?" Merlander asked Simon.
Simon looked at Merlander strangely then returned the question for one of his own. "Why do ask such a question?" Merlander shrugged. "I will see dark thoughts if it is working," Simon finally answered.
Simon put a hand on Jak's forehead and closed his eyes. Merlander bit his lower lip to try not to burst out. He remembered when Simon did this to him. Too memories had overwhelmed him. Right now he did not want Simon to do the same to Jak. Emotions were swimming all around in him.
Simon opened one eye and looked over to Merlander. "Calm yourself, Merlander," he said. "If you can't handle this then please leave." Merlander nodded and stayed. He closed his eyes and tried not to think of anything.
"Ouch!" Simon yelled while stepping away from Jak while holding his head in pain. "I can't read anything." Merlander opened his eyes. Jak smiled a little then winked at Merlander. Merlander smiled back then dropped it when Simon opened his eyes. "I have to go," he said while stepping out of the cell and onto the platform. Merlander nodded and followed.
Once Simon left and Merlander did not have the feeling that someone was in his head, he flew back down to Jak's cell and said, "What did you do to him? That was awesome! I wish I could hurt him like that."
Jak got up off the floor and shrugged to say that he did not know. He tilted his head to the side and mouthed the name Merlander.
"Yeah, that's me," Merlander said with a nod. "I'm the one who tried to get you out of the Fort. It did not work out all that great. That was before I was made into the Baron's slave." Jak gave him a confused look to ask him how. "I'm being tested with different eco. It is working, so I have a small bit of eco in my body. You must have a lot of dark eco in yours."
Jak nodded with a wince. The testing was painful and it was the only time Jak could express something. He could scream and yell all he wanted. Merlander nodded to show that he understood. His kind of testing was not as painful, but he had seen others get dark eco pumped into them. It was painful to watch.
"I have a some encouragement for you, Jak," Merlander said with a smile. "Daxter is out there looking for you. If I ever get out of here before you I'll tell him how to get you out. I have a feeling that you will get out of here someday. There is something about you that is different."
Jak's eyes brightened at the mention of Daxter. He smiled and saw that Merlander was smiling too. Merlander quickly looked up then said, "I have to get back to work! I'll check on you some time tomorrow." With that said, Merlander pressed a button on the control panel and he was gone.
A/N: Sorry if the chapter sucked. I was pushing through my writer's block. When I do it by force sometimes the chapters suck really bad. But the next chapter is with Roxie and Daxter. I'm back to working on this fic! I finally put my foot down and said that I was not going to update my Teen Titans fic till I put up this chapter. So now that this chapter is finally done I can't wait to jump back onto my Teen Titans one. But sorry for not updating in a long time! But please give a review! Thanks!