Corad: Ok, sorry again for a late update. To be honest, I hate my schooling at the moment, and just wish I had holidawys again...yeah...thankyou to everyone who left a review. It makes me happy to recieve them! I hope you enjoyed last chappie, so here's da next!
Don't own these guys...but I own the plot...I think...I hope anyway...
Chapter 33 – Ashelin's theories
"Dax, are you coming with? Ashelin wants to see us, so I'm heading now before it gets too late," Jak stated, after entering the bar again. Daxter looked up at his friend and nodded, before leaving Erol's side to join Jak. From the looks of it, Daxter had been picking on Erol again. "Jak, learn to keep your rat away from me," Erol snapped, before yawning widely.
"I'll see you later Erol," Jak said blankly, heading to the door with his ottsel friend at his heels. Once the door had opened, Jak stepped outside, feeling the sudden drop in temperature. "It's colder out here Jak…wasn't it warm before?" the ottsel asked, looking around the almost deserted port again. Jak squinted into the sky, and could see some dark clouds in the distance.
"Maybe we're getting a storm tonight…might explain the temperature drop Dax," Jak muttered, waiting as his friend took his position on the shoulder pad. "Well, let's just hope we stay out of it then," Daxter replied, crossing his arms. Jak laughed quietly, before taking quick strides in the direction of the Industrial section.
"Can't you just hijack a zoomer or something Jak? I'm getting bored," Daxter said suddenly after about 10 minutes of walking. Jak sighed loudly, and looked about the industrial section, hoping there would be a parked zoomer sitting somewhere. Without any luck, Jak picked out a nearby flying zoomer, and ran after it.
"Sorry," he shouted, after leaping up onto the occupied zoomer and grabbing hold of the driver's arm. He heaved him off the zoomer, and took the seat, while the original driver yelled for help from the ground. "Way to go Jak!" Daxter piped up, slapping Jak on the shoulder. Driving their new form of transport, they managed to reach the HQ relatively quickly, and found themselves standing on the lift in no time.
"I wonder what she wants Dax. She's got plenty of freedom fighters to do stuff for her…why does she want me?" he pondered, before the lift came to a sudden halt and the doors opened up. Jak took a few steps into the freedom league Head Quarters, glancing around the room for any sign of Ashelin. "Hey Ashelin…are you here?" Jak called out, but he got no answer. Instead he sat down at the side of the room, and waited patiently; talking with his friend about the party they were still yet to have.
"I'm sorry Jak. I got caught up with something." Jak looked up and saw Ashelin come through the lift a little while later. He noticed that her clothes were a bit torn, and her hair was messy. "What happened?" he asked as she stopped next to the round table. She smiled weakly and looked down at the table top.
"Freedom League members were to have a brief meeting scheduled sometime this week, but Torn and I have been unable to arrange it yet. He called me to see him today, and well…on my way I met a few metal heads roaming around the city. Thought it would be an easy task to kill them, but nnnnooooo….someone or something chased me down. Just managed to escape. More people are disappearing Jak, that's why I have called you here. Torn reported a murder to me that happened at the stadium. You are holding the accused elf, yes?" she asked, turning her head sharply to Jak.
Jak stood on his feet and approached the table slowly. "Yes. Yes I am. What does Skytha have to do with it?" he asked curiously, stopping beside Ashelin. "She seemed perfectly fine when I took her into my own care. I can tell she's innocent," Jak finished, resting his hands on the table. Ashelin eyed him strangely.
"Well, Torn wants to question her soon. He needs to find out all details from her as to what happened. She may be our key to unlocking these disappearances," she replied, flicking through some paper work on the table. Jak sniggered quietly. "Well, right now she needs some time alone. Let me talk to her first…if she tells me anything, I'll alert you guys ok?"
"Jak, do you know what it's like having elf after elf come up to you reporting a disappearance of a loved one…so far, we've discovered a total of 9 missing…tell me Jak, where are they going?" she asked weakly, and Jak could see fear burning in her eyes. "We need all the help we can get, and if Skytha can help us…talk to her for me Jak. Torn is organizing a watch team. He plans on setting up spies around the city in the hope that we can discover who or what is doing this. If that works, maybe we can finally get the culprit. I fear for the city's safety, and I can feel he is too," she said, finally turning to look at Jak.
She handed him a piece of paper, with what looked like a list of locations on it. "This is the list so far. People who have reported a missing person have been asked to record the possible location that the missing person was in before the disappearance. I need you and Daxter to look around these areas for me…look for clues…anything that can help us Jak. Please, at least visit one area and just…look around for me," Ashelin murmured, smiling weakly at Jak as he read the list.
"Ok, I'll do this…tell me, when was the last disappearance?" he suddenly asked, and Ashelin fell silent, thinking hard. "There was a murder last night as you know at the stadium, but someone reported this morning a patch of blood was found in the Yakow paddock region. So, maybe a disappearance occurred there but no one has reported it yet," Ashelin replied. Jak pocketed the list, and beckoned his ottsel friend to come over to him.
"Dax, we're heading to the Stadium first to find any clues left behind, and then exploring the area around the Yakow paddocks. Don't worry Ash, we'll find something ok," Jak said reassuringly, as Daxter scurried up his side to return to his shoulder. Ashelin nodded thankfully, and Jak turned to leave, before her voice stopped him. "Jak, Torn told me too…about your wolf side. I'm sorry to hear about that," she said gently, but Jak began to shake slightly in rage.
"He told you…why?" he forced out calmly, and Ashelin answered him. She was unaware of the anger that was beginning to build up slowly inside Jak's veins, and continued on normally. "Well, I went to see him today like I told you…I asked about any theories as to what is doing this…explained to me a few things…and then, he just told me about you. Right out of the blue. From what he told me Jak, you were bitten by a wolf just over a week ago…and he feared that you may be kicked out of the city because of it if he ever told me. But, he told me in the fear that you were committing the murders. I don't believe for one second you're behind it, but Torn's just concerned for you. Trust him ok Jak…this changes nothing of our friendship too if you're wondering. You're still a very close friend, and I won't ever throw you out."
"Thanks," Jak said softly, his rage dying down as he heard Ashelin's story. "I'm not behind this at all. Yes, I have changed once, and yes, I couldn't control it. But that was once…the only other time it happened was in the wasteland, and I did no damage out there…I will take care of this for you Ash. Talk to you later," Jak finished, heading to the lift quickly to avoid discussing the topic any further. He gave Ashelin a small wave, before the doors of the lift closed, and the lift began to descend.
"She knows now Dax….I can't screw up…if I do, she'll kick me out. Why did Torn have to tell her about this? He told me he's keeping it between us…." Jak said quietly, crossing his arms. Daxter could tell his friend was in deep thought, and didn't interrupt him. "Dax, we need to ask Torn why…Ashelin may say he's worried for my safety, but there's gotta be more to it than that."
Daxter sighed heavily, and decided to speak up before Jak went off at Torn. "Jak, he's your friend. He's not a back stabber from what I know, and you know him. He does what he thinks is right. He may be a tough ass at times, but he wouldn't want to hurt you intentionally," Daxter mumbled, a small furry smile on his face. Jak grunted in return and stepped off the lift and into the open air. He walked over to his zoomer, and sat down on it, still in deep thought.
"Just forget it for now buddy. Let's get on with this task for Ashelin," Daxter suggested, reaching for the list inside Jak's pocket and pulling it out. "So, we're heading to the stadium and then Yakow paddocks. Anywhere else today?" the ottsel asked as Jak switched on the zoomer. Jak snatched back the list, and replaced it into his pocket. "I'd rather just do these two places then head home. I don't know how far that storm is from hitting the city, and I don't want to find out either. Let's do this quickly, and relax at home ok," Jak replied impatiently, changing heights and speeding off away from the HQ. He was desperate to find Torn and demand an explanation, but was also desperate in winning Skytha's trust, so he could find out for sure about her.
"Jak, concentrate will ya!" Daxter shouted, slapping Jak's head forcefully when the ottsel realized the zoomer was drifting further and further towards a nearby security wall. Jak shook his head to get himself back on track, but was unable to steer away from the wall in time, and collided with it, feeling his whole body get heaved into the wall.
Corad: Yeah...crazy Jak and his crazy driving skills...so, how many times has he crashed a zoomer so far? I kinda lost count...but there's another accident to add to the total. I hope that chapter was ok...wasn't much action in it, only talking...yeah...any reviews will be appreciated, and I'll see you guys later. Toodles!
