Corad: Hope everyone had a good Christmas and a good start to the New Year. We were bombarded with tourists here...how fun -.-' not...I know this is late. Sorry Salena99! I hope you haven't been waiting too long for this. If you have, I should just crawl back into the pit where I originated. Thanks for reviewing though. Thankyou too to JakLover for the nice review. Yeah, Sharok should treat me better...I have the power to mess with him lol. Maybe I should change his hair to bright pink and shove him in a dress...
Sharok: You wouldn't dare!
Corad: Heh, watch me! (Sharok appears to now be wearing a pink frilly dress)
Sharok: O.O'
Corad: Watch me Sharok! Say anything else and you'll lose your pretty black hair...I think a pink afro would look good on you (evil smile as Sharok backs away) Now that he's sorted out...thanks too to Some Dude for reviewing three chapters at one sitting. Very much appreciated for your time :) And to Windshadows, I'm glad you found my pics. I saw your dragon, and it looks awesome!

Ok...on with this. Don't own anything, and I never will...so we can all be relieved now. However, I do own Sharok, who is...what are you doing?
Sharok: Errr...I...(bright flash and he's now wearing pink high heels)
Corad: The wonders of idiocy...how I love it. Please enjoy the next chapter. Jak's kinda OOCish in this too...coz well...I dunno. But he is...


Chapter 48 – A Lost Friend

"What…what is it?" Erol managed to speak out, watching in alarm as Jak approached the crashed hellcat. Jak felt his hopes die at the sight. This was Jinx's hellcat, and not only was it laying here, without any sign of Jinx, the metal work was ruined. What looked like scratches and dints were strewn across the body of the vehicle, and Jak noticed oil leaking out into the sand from the engine.

"Jak…Jak!" Jak heard Erol cry out, and he looked away from the wreckage to follow Erol's outstretched hand, pointing to something on the other side. Jak carefully wandered around the hellcat, hoping that Erol hadn't spotted Jinx lying in the sand. But no, this was worse.

"Blood?" Jak choked in fear and confusion, standing almost on top on the blood stained sand. Erol made his way beside Jak, kneeling down to get a closer look. It was what Jak feared. Nothing could have done this other than a wolf. Metal heads weren't capable of such fine but heavy dints to metal, and judging by the blood, weren't capable of devouring a whole elf within that time frame.

Blanching at the realization, Jak stood back, his anger level returning to a dangerous level, almost forcing Dark out. He felt a strong grip on his shoulder however, and Jak turned to see Erol, as if in an attempt to comfort him.

"I'm sorry Jak. He's gone…there's nothing we can do…" Erol muttered gently, tightening his grip on Jak's shoulder. Jak felt the strain of anger drift away, feeling helpless at Erol's statement. He was right, there was nothing he could do. Jinx had been attacked on a mission, crashed his hellcat and had been robbed of his life no doubt. Turning to Erol, Jak nodded, feeling his heart fall.

"He would have liked it this way…was always saying there's no other way to die than to go down in mission. Let's…let's head back to the city. Torn should know," Jak mumbled, walking slowly back to their own hellcat. Erol took one last glance at the wreckage, before returning to Jak's side inside their vehicle.

The trip back was a silent and grieving one. Jak had tried to accept his friend's death, but the more he thought about it, the more it hurt. Erol on the other hand kept trying to make conversation, as if in an attempt to get Jak's mind off the agonizing situation. He failed however, when Jak wouldn't respond to anything he had said. After giving up, the heavy silence filled the atmosphere once more, before the walls to Haven appeared before them. Jak flew to the Underground, and landed the hellcat outside, hoping Torn was here and not at the HQ.

"Torn? Torn?" Jak called out softly, his voice barely carrying down the stairs as the stepped through the metal door. Torn looked up from his work behind the desk, and knew by the sight of Jak's grave face that something had happened. "Torn…we…"

"Jak, what's happened? Where's Jinx? Well!" Torn shouted, noticing that they were still Jinx-less (if that's even a word O.o)Jak avoided eye contact, and sat down on one of the beds, burying his face in his hands. Torn targeted Erol instead, and rounded on him. "Where is he? Did you find him? Has he checked in at Spargus?"

"There's something you should know," Erol said calmly, as he moved towards Jak sitting on the bed. He sat beside the younger elf, and sighed heavily, thinking of the best way to say "Jinx is dead."

"Torn…Jinx…is…dead…" he said slowly, failing miserably on a better way to state the almost obvious thanks to Jak's behavior. Torn gasped out, his eyes wide in fury and alarm. "We found his hellcat…crashed in the sand dunes. Not only that, but the metal body was damaged to some extent, and we found blood staining the sand beside it. To come to a horrible, but truthful conclusion…you're fighter is dead. He's gone…" Erol stated darkly, glancing down at Jak who looked too tense for his own good. Torn swore loudly, his face screwed up while he paced the room.

"Are you sure he is dead? What about Sig, did you even speak to him!" the leader snapped, his eyes turned to slits as he glared at both the elves on the bed. Erol nodded, while Jak sat just as silent as before, but now he was glaring back at Torn.

"Sig said he didn't arrive…but he offered to help search for him. No need now I guess…seeing he's no longer alive," Erol said casually, feeling the angered heat radiating off Jak's body. Torn growled in defeat, staggering back to the desk and collapsing in the chair.

"Jinx, he was one of the best fighters we had. Great at explosives, the man to trust to watch your back. He'll be a loss like no other that our team has suffered before. The least we can do if give him a minute's silence," Torn murmured, resting his chin on his interlocked hands. He closed his eyes in deep thought, and Jak did the same, closing his eyes and clenching his fists on his lap.

Although Erol didn't know the guy personally, he felt it best to at least give a minute's silence to honor his sacrifice. Closing his eyes too, the room fell silent; the only sound was heavy breathing from Jak beside him. The boy was struggling to accept it, Erol thought. Sure, he may have been a friend, but death is inevitable. Why grieve over something you knew would happen since birth?

"Now that that's over, Jak…I've been speaking with a few of my old recruits. They've seen your old man," Torn said, resting his hands on the table and gazing up at Jak. Jak's eyes shot opened, and Torn was met with not a happy or grateful look. It was more of a "How dare you say something like that! Even suggest it!" look.

"My recruits that ventured into the wasteland to dispose of a new nest of metal heads returned after claiming they saw Damas. Whether it's true or not, you may want to check it out. If he is out there Jak, we need to find him," Torn stated briefly, rising from his seat and wandering back over to Jak and Erol. He lowered to his knees in a crouching position, and handed Jak a map.

"What's this?" Jak hissed out, taking hold of the map and ripping if from Torn's grip. He surveyed the roughly drawn map quickly, noticing it to be a map of the wasteland. On it were some red circles and a messy scrawl with arrows.

"That is the map I've done for you. My men told me the exact locations, so if you…"

"I don't need it! My father is dead Torn! He died! I saw him die, and he never knew I was his son! I was his son Torn, and he never knew!" Jak shouted out, leaping from the bed and panting hard for air. Erol sat back and watched Jak take it all out on Torn. All the frustration, anger, fear and grief that the boy had held back till now, came flooding out into Torn's face. "Don't throw this down at me, and say everything's going to be ok by saying "your dad's alive"…because he's not!"

"From the descriptions my men gave me, it sounds like your father! Who else would look like him! White dreadlocks? A sturdy build? A brown sarong draped around his waist? Who else Jak? It's him, and regardless of whether you believe it or not, your father was gone when we went to retrieve his body. He may have "died" but where was his dead body Jak! Not there at the ruins!" Torn yelled back, hating the sudden rush of anger thrown at him. Erol figured that the loss of Jinx had had a bigger impact than he thought it would. Good friends arguing over something as simple as this?

"I don't need…"

"Jak, just take the freakin' map and look for him, or I will! He's out there, so take your grieving ass and find him! Enough said!" Torn snapped, crossing his arms and leering down at Jak. Jak growled, knowing his defeat. It wouldn't be wise to start a life long argument with Torn not. Not while everything was happening in the city. And besides, it wasn't entirely Torn's fault that Jinx was lost.

'Fine. I'll look in these…areas…" Jak sneered, looking down at the numerous circles on the map, "but I'm not promising a single thing. Erol, we're leaving," he finished, scrunching up the map and tossing it at Erol. Erol fumbled with it, and stood from the bed, taken aback.

"What! I'm not going out there again! That wreckage could have been us Jak!" he cried, looking wildly to Torn for support. Torn however grimaced at something, and Erol knew what when he felt Jak's strong, deathly grip on his collar. Jak grunted in aggravation and began to drag Erol up the stairs, the older elf struggling to breathe the whole way up.

"Good luck Jak!" Torn shouted out before the door slid shut. The boy would need it.


Jimx: You...killed...me...
Corad: Yes...why?
Jinx: Wait...I'm not quite understanding the situation here...you killed me...
Corad: Yes.
Jinx: Wait, wait...wait...you...yes you...killed me?
Sharok: (appears out of nowhere wearing the same dress and heels as before, but now he has birght pink hair and makeup on. Sounds like Femaxis from Palace Stories) Just accept it Ash Tray!
Jinx: Wanna come over here and say that! Fatty!
Sharok: Oh, you've done it now! (both begin to kill each other)
Corad: I'm surrounded by idiots...but that's ok, coz I'm an idiot too! Yes, it's a sad life when Ash Tray...(receives death glare from Jinx) Err...I mean...Jinx...carks it. How will we ever survive?
Jinx: Bring me back to life, Moron!
Corad: Um...no. I don't really feel like it.
Jinx: Do it, or I will blow your head off.
Corad: Grrrr...fine...maybe someday. If you guys wanna see Jinx come back from the dead, maybe I review will open up his coffin. Or at least...drag his coffin out the grave. It's up to you. But you know...it would be good if I had more feedback. Even if you hate this fic and tell me it's crap...at least you reviewed. Yeah...we'll see ya later, right Sharok?
Sharok: (Being stabbed repeatedely in the gut by Jinx's boot) Urrrrggghhhhh...
Corad: I take that as a yes -.-'