How's it going readers? Well, chappy 3 is finally up, freshly written from the track bus (which is the reason I didn't update yesterday).
Disclaimer: yeah...right...like I own Jak...ha ha ha
Mr. Brightside
Chapter 3
Home is Where the Heart Is
After leaving the Naughty Ottsel, Torn took his time walking around the wreck that was Haven City. All around him the stench and decay left from the war infiltrated his senses, making him nauseous. Occasionally he would hear a few shots, or see a few of his men taking out the remaining metal heads and KG bots.
The dread-locked warrior told a few of the FL members to go home; they deserved to celebrate too. Besides, only a handful of the KG bots were still activated and they'd shut the majority of the metal heads out of the city. This was one of the reasons the men the men would die for their commander; he thought about both them and the people they were trying to protect. And who can't love a guy that practically tells you to go get drunk?
Torn wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He never had to, his feet knew where they were headed without guidance. He stopped near the entrance to the slums. They were looking worse than ever, but to him, the sight was heartening. This was his haven. After his desertion of the KG he came here. The night he left was not unlike this one, calm and overcast, with a light chill in the air.
FLASHBACK
He'd been training in the weight room when Errol came in, swearing and yelling.
"Torn, the metal heads have breached the South Eastern part of the Slums! We need all the men we can get!"
The tall man responded immediately, grabbing his armor and guns from a near by table. He automatically strapped a deathly sharp dagger to his back and then ran out the door. He hopped on a zoomer and sped over to the slums, praying he wasn't too late.
When he arrived at the scene, he realized this wasn't just a 'breach'; all hell had broke loose. People fought to get into the main part of the city, desperate to get away from the monsters currently ravaging the area. The wounded cried out, most ripped in pieces and dying a excruciatingly painful death. They prayed for deaths sweet silencing, screaming for the pain to end. Those that got their wish littered the ground, being trampled by those trying to escape.
The monstrous metal heads ripped carelessly at civilian and soldier alike, spaying everything in a deep scarlet blood. Their glowing skull gems remained clean, however, even though their bodies were stained red.
Torn began to give out orders, yelling his already low voice hoarse. Under his command, they began to slowly gain their footing in the battle. The men's fear, although still beating al quickly as their hearts, was lessened by the presence of their commander. With him there, they were safe. He'd never let them down before. This, of course, helped with the fighting.
Unfortunately for them, however, there were still people outside the city-more than they could get in the walls quick enough- and the metal head leader was coming. Everyone knew it by the sudden stillness in the monsters they were fighting. Sure enough, Torn could see on the horizon a massive skull gam glowing in the sun.
"Retreat!" yelled a voice from behind the commander. He whirled around, wondering who gave the order. He saw Errol sprinting into the gates, obviously horrified.
"NO!" Torn roared at the men following his retreating form. "Stand your ground! We can still get those people out of there!"
But his voice was caught in the roar of the metal heads and the creaking of the closing gates. Soldiers shoved the commander forward, back into the safety of the city.
"Errol! Open these gates back up you bastard!" yelled Torn, whipping his bright red helmet from his head."There's still people out there!"
But Errol wasn't listening to his superior, nor making any attempt to help those still screaming outside the walls. Instead, he turned to one of the lower officers and told him to report to the baron.
"Tell him there was a malfunction in the gate and there was nothing we could do." The ginger-haired man smirked at Torn. "It will be our little secret." He paused before adding, "That's an order!"
The officer, fearing the higher ranking guard, scurried off to report to the baron the story he'd just been told.
Torn could barely speak from loathing of the man in front of him. Before he could strangle him, however, Errol spoke again.
"Men, escort Commander Torn to his quarters in the southern part of the KG compound. All this fighting has gotten his brain addled." And with another smirk, he turned on his heel and headed towards the Stadium for a few laps on the track.
"Errol, I'll kill you! Somehow, you'll be dead by my orders!" growled out Torn as he was dragged off by some of Errol's supporters.
As soon as he was dropped off at his room, the furious tactician left to go tell Praxis what had really transpired during the soon to be called Dead Town Massacre. He found it odd that Errol hadn't posted a few men to keep him in the compound, but was too angry to dwell on the matter.
He entered the palace and was immediately hailed by Ashelin Praxis. The red-head looked worried and confused, two emotions not usually viewed on her face.
"Torn, what happened out there!" she questioned urgently.
But he just brushed by her and continued on into the throne room, where her father sat, drinking a glass of blood red wine. Ashelin knew this had to be something big; her old KG Training Academy friend avoided her father at all costs.
"Sir!" Torn called to the bored looking baron, "Errol was lying, he shut the gates! He- "
The baron interrupted him with a raising of the hand. "I know," was all he said, in a calm, almost exasperated voice. It was true; he was well aware that Errol had made the gates close, and he honestly couldn't care. That part of the city had been suspected for rebellion, and the gates used up too much eco in his opinion. The only thing that bothered him about this whole ordeal was that it obviously angered his most promising guard. The boy was only seventeen and was already commanding his men like an old pro and his plans were flawless. The baron, under no circumstances, wanted to lose him. But the boy had to learn the ways of the real world; if you can't defend yourself, you die.
"Sir?" Asked Torn, confused by what he had just heard.
"I said I know that Errol lied. And I honestly couldn't care less." Replied the baron in a voice that sounded as if he was telling a five year old how to blink. Then his face got very serious. "And you shouldn't either. You are to forget what you saw there today, commander. Those people's lives mean nothing to anyone, so you are not to dwell on it. Guards, take him to his room."
Before he could say another word, a very stunned and angry Torn was, for the second time that day, escorted back to the compound.
That night, the commander destroyed his bright red armor that proclaimed him one of the guards. He took nothing with him except the only things that mattered to him: his father's old dagger he had inherited and a worn out photograph of his parents. He escaped from the KG compound despite the security posted around him with ease and ran out into the dark streets of Haven City.
END FLASHBACK
Torn shook his head and took a deep breath, the familiar smell oddly comforting. He walked to his home, finding the sight of the dead end alley calming to him. The Old Underground HQ hadn't been inhabited since the end of the baron's reign, and still had the maps and posters on the walls, and his desk had a fine coating of dust on it. But to him, it was better than any apartment in New Haven, mess and all.
He entered his room, giving a faint smile as he took in the semi-clean area; he'd always kept it neat, for obvious reasons. The small cot that had to have a crate at the end so his feet wouldn't hang off had never looked more inviting, and he collapsed on it, only pausing to remove his weapons and his shirt. And with that, he fell into a fitful sleep.
well, I pretty much butchered the battle scenes and they were so cliche. Ah, well. Sorry 'bout the lack of romance in this chappy, I promise there'll be some in the next one! Peace out!