**REVISED CHAPTER**
Jak and Daxter (c) Naughty Dog
Cry Of The Wolf
Chapter 8 – The Beast Within
"AH JAK, BUDDY?!" Daxter cried, watching as Jak turned his contorted face to him. Jak growled threateningly, before he grabbed at his head and screamed. He was desperately fighting to keep control of himself, but the beast within him was forcing its way out. "Jak!" was the last thing he heard as fiery pain engulfed every part of him, and his elfish body was transformed into that of a large, winged vulwolf.
Daxter gasped in fright, stumbling back after seeing grey and black fur sprout out of Jak's skin. Two large, brown horns poked through the remainder of hair on his head, and two deathly blue eyes stared hungrily at him. The Ottsel took carefully placed steps backwards, looking fearfully up at the pointed, bared fangs.
"Um, Jak. Jak, are you in there, buddy?" Daxter asked feebly, eyes darting around his surroundings for an escape route. His question was met by a fierce growl and a huge paw placed just feet away from him. Daxter held back a scream. He couldn't afford to risk it, as Jak was now over twenty times his size and could most likely tear him to shreds faster than a sheet of newspaper.
Instead he inched his way slowly towards the door, keeping eye contact with the blue orbs the entire time. Jak must have recognized what the Ottsel was up to, for he let out deafening howl. Daxter yelped and scurried as fast as he could to the door, where it opened and allowed him inside.
He sat panting and trembling, watching as Jak bounded after him. Miraculously the door closed just in the nick of time, saving the Ottsel from a certain death. "Glad to see you're still alive," the security system commented once the exit had opened up. Rushing out, Daxter spied a Freedom Fighter nearby and darted towards him, heart beating painfully fast. He knew that if this guard couldn't help him, no one could. Just as the exhausted and terrified Ottsel neared the patrolling guard, he disappeared around the corner of a building, and Daxter was left alone. Slowing his pace to a halt, he glanced nervously around the Slums' streets, hoping to get some breath back.
His mind raced, his heart raced, and he longed to be back in the comfort of his bar. The thought of Jak lingering outside the city walls, snarling and growling, shot a shiver down his spine. Jak could fly too, so there was absolutely nothing stopping him from getting over the wall. Nothing at all.
An almost silent thud behind Daxter warned him that Jak had finally decided to spread his wings and soar over the security wall. The Ottsel could now hear him growling and breathing deeply, and knew Jak was readying to chow down on him.
"Ah, Jak. Come on, Buddy. It's your pal, here!" Daxter tried to reason, frightfully turning around to see Jak's eyes locked hungrily on him.
The wolf exposed his long, gleaming fangs again and lowered his foaming snout to the pavement. By the looks of it, Jak was preparing to pounce. Daxter caught onto Jak's intent and took small, shuffling steps back. He had nowhere to run now without Jak catching him. There was no one to help him and no nearby hiding spots. As far as the Ottsel could see it, he was as good as dead.
He shielded his eyes with furry arms and cowered into a corner. Any minute now, he would feel Jak tear him limb from limb. His life would be ended by the one he came to love and trust most; his own best friend. Daxter shut his eyes tightly, trembling uncontrollably. Death was just out in front of him. He could almost taste it.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard a single gunshot ring out through the still night. It wasn't too loud, but Daxter could still make out what it was. 'If only that gunman were here,' he thought gravely. His wish was answered a moment later when another gunshot, much closer this time, sounded out. Daxter slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arms. He looked around and saw Jak's wolfish head staring straight past him. Daxter followed his gaze and almost yelled in joy at the sight of Torn holding his pistol at eye level, aiming for Jak.
"Torn! Boy, am I glad to see you!" he shouted, taking a step to run towards Torn.
Torn's hand shot up to stop him. "No sudden moves, Daxter!" Daxter stopped dead in his tracks and watched as Torn readied to pull the trigger.
"Don't do it, Torn! It's Jak!" Daxter yelled desperately, staring in horror at the pistol. Torn's eyes widened and he cast a look of disbelief Daxter's way.
"What?" he asked, hoping he'd misheard the Ottsel. Caught off guard by this absurd statement, Torn was unaware of Jak creeping slowly up to him. Daxter nodded and pointed quickly at Jak, who was now less than three yards from Torn. Torn reverted his gaze back to Jak and gave a startled yelp. "Holy Shit!" he cried, stumbling back and raising the gun again in quivering hands. Daxter helplessly watched as Jak kept advancing, indifferent to the weapon aimed at him. Unable to stand idly by and watch his friend harm Torn, he decided to take action, even if it ended up killing him.
He darted his gaze around his surroundings, searching for every possible option of escape, until his eyes rested on a parked, single-seated zoomer not too far away. He took his chances with a renewed resolve and scuttled away from the two, hoping that Jak was still occupied with Torn. He managed to reach the zoomer without Jak caring and leapt onto the seat. Switching the ignition on, he felt the seat vibrate beneath his furry behind; a good sign. He felt momentarily relieved at this change of events, but it did not last as he realized Torn was seconds away from death.
Grabbing onto the handlebars, Daxter accelerated the zoomer towards the startled elf. Torn heard the engine of the zoomer approach and quickly looked away from Jak. He spotted the zoomer heading straight for him and sprang up to grab onto the side as Daxter flew past. Daxter pushed the zoomer to full throttle as Torn clung desperately onto the side for dear life.
Once Daxter was satisfied that they were distanced enough from Jak, he dropped the zoomer's speed and allowed Torn time to hoist himself onto the back of the seat. He could hear Torn panting hard and could feel the other elf shaking against his back. "Dax, how the…hell did he… change… into that?" Torn gasped, struggling to catch his breath. Daxter shrugged his shoulders.
"We were just mucking around with the Jet-board and then it went dark. We decided to head back to the Naughty Ottsel, when he just doubled over and told me to run," Daxter replied, his furry hands gripping tightly to the handlebars.
He felt Torn lean closer as arms encompassed his waist. "And let me guess, you didn't run," he sighed loudly in Daxter's ear.
Daxter shook his head. "What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just leave him. He's my best friend," he whined. Revving the engine, he turned into the Industrial Section and sped up, not wanting to risk Jak sneaking up on them.
"When your best friend tells you to run, he means it. If you'd just done what he asked, I wouldn't have had to save your sorry ass," Torn growled in agitation. Daxter was having trouble hearing Torn's every word, but he managed to get the gist of it.
"Torn, Jak means everything to me. If you saw him like that, I'd like to see you run and leave him behind," Daxter argued back. He didn't get a reply this time and Daxter thought that perhaps Torn had finally seen the situation from his point of view. This thought was shattered, however, when Torn yelped and painfully tightened his grip on the Ottsel.
"I hate to alarm you, Daxter, but we have company!" he shouted, looking up to the darkened sky, where the silhouette of a large, winged Jak was. Daxter gulped and twisted the handle bar around, urging the zoomer into top speed. Instinctively Torn clutched Daxter so tightly that the Ottsel was beginning to experience trouble breathing.
"Torn! Lay off the waist!" Daxter choked, swerving around every corner he came across, just hoping to lose Jak. Torn ignored Daxter's wishes and continued to hold on tight. He was just a terrified as the Ottsel, and not only because they were being pursued by a large, flying wolf, but also for the fact that if he were to fall off at this speed, he'd probably be killed or hospitalized for life.
Daxter kept control of the steering best he could when Jak finally decided to soar down and ram into them. Large talons lashed out and a horrid, screeching noise filled the air when the metal on the zoomer was mercilessly shredded. It was inches from Torn's leg, but Jak continued to claw at the zoomer. Daxter knew the Naughty Ottsel was getting close, spotting the Port up ahead.
"Hold on, Torn, we're almost-" Daxter began, but was cut short by a chilling, pained scream. He could feel Torn's tense body suddenly pressing against him, the arms around his waist shaking as he breathed through what sounded like gritted teeth. Unable to look around in fear of crashing, Daxter just hoped Torn was still in one piece. Howling loudly, Jak flew high into the sky and disappeared across the Port. Daxter wiped sweat off his forehead and felt his muscles relax slightly after the onslaught had finally ended.
They were still alive and that was the main thing. Daxter wasted no time in driving them quickly to safety. He stopped outside the Naughty Ottsel and leapt from the seat. Turning to see Torn getting shakily off the back of the vehicle, Daxter's eyes roamed over the elf to make sure he was okay, but halted, eyes wide, on the grisly slash in Torn's left leg.
