Corad: Sorry it's taken a while guys. I tried uploading during the week, but my net was running way too slow and wouldn't do anything. But luckily my stories list and stats page loads up properly now, so I can update here again! Thanks guys for the lovely reviews. I'm sorry to hear your laptop kinda died Jaklover...hope you get it up and running again soon so you can work on your fic. Hehehe, thanks Happy Yaoi Lover too for your support and Salena99. Sometimes I feel my writing sucks and I'm just so happy that ppl actually read and enjoy this fic. Taking forever to end I know. I had too much stuff I wanted to add into this fic I guess...ah well...thanks too for Gaurdian Angel. It's cool you've started reading this! My sister says she knows you lol. But thanks so much for reading. Guess it's onto the next chapter. Please enjoy guys!

Don't own Jak and Daxter, never will, and even if I tried I'd be crushed a bazillion times by Naughty Dog. Probably processed in a form of giant blender too...hmmmmmm...giant blender...(drools)


Chapter 52 – A Friendship Unites

The underground would be completely silent if it not been for the occasional ruffling of paper. Torn sat hunched over the desk, his eyes struggling to keep open, small dark bags under them. His life had been a disaster since the wolves had appeared, tearing the city bit by bit into a murderous hellhole, but since the fatal attack on Jinx, just sent him into an endless pit of fury.

He'd hoped that his friends in particular would stay safe, but when he heard the news of his lost comrade… his lost friend, he had pledged to sort this problem out immediately. He didn't want to lose another soul to this wolf menace, let alone someone close to him.

Gathering up his loose sheets of paper and tossing them into a leather shoulder bag, he made a move towards the door, intending to see Ashelin at the HQ about their current worsening situation. However, he leapt back in alarm when the door burst open and Jak ran down the stairs, shoving past Torn and heading over to one of the beds.

Torn watched him throw junk off the bed, before looking back up at the door. He saw Erol appear and inch his way slowly sideways through the doorframe carrying something bridal style.

"Torn! Torn!" Jak shouted out, and the older elf turned his exhausted face to him. "We need first aid. A broken arm," Jak muttered, motioning to Erol to bring Jinx to the bed. Erol arrived at his side, and lowered the passed out elf to the mattress, before retreating to another spare bed to sit down.

"He's alive!" Torn cried out in bewilderment, dropping his bag and dropping to his knees at Jinx's side.

"Yeah, we found him with Damas. Seems you were right Torn…he needs treatment to his right arm. It was broken in a fight," Jak said, heading over to the back of the basement to find first aid. Torn sighed in relief and reached out to Jinx's broken arm, and began examining it.

"It's not too bad. It's only broken in one place by the looks of things…at least his whole arm wasn't fractured or anything," Torn informed while taking the first aid from Jak. "Give me a while and we'll have it put in a cast."

Jak felt relieved after Torn had taken over, and went to sit down beside Erol. "Thanks for your help," he muttered, keeping his face turned to Torn working away with a form of paste and a heap of bandages.

Erol shifted uncomfortably beside him, obviously struggling to accept his praise of assistance. "Nothing to it. It was in my contract after all. To err…help out the cause," he replied blankly. Jak nodded his head and lifted his gaze to Erol who seemed preoccupied with something.

"Well, whatever your intention was to get outta it, I'd probably have died back there when those wolves attacked. Your dark side is a real threat to existence. Although I didn't see you first handedly destroy them, I could hear them howl and yelp out. I saw the mangled bodies and the blood drenching everything. A price to pay for being resurrected, huh?"

"Jak, I had to alright. Enough said," Erol replied, and Jak hinted a tinge of impatience in his voice. Jak left the subject when he heard a shocked scream come from the bed, and Jinx sat up quickly. He then let out another scream, this time a pained one, before being forced back down onto the bed by an agitated Torn.

"It's great to have ya back and all, but damn keep still!" Torn shouted, keeping Jinx's chest pinned down with his elbow while he bandaged and pasted a cast onto the remainder of his forearm.

"It hurts! Just quit touching it and maybe I will stay still!"

"I gotta fix it moron! You can't walk around with an arm like that! You'll make it worse and it'll fix itself in an odd shape!" Torn hissed back, and Jak laughed silently to himself, noting that everything was back to normal between them.

"Besides, you'll be outta the job for a few months while this heals too. I'll have to find a replacement for your missions!" Jinx let out a low growl, and shifted his eyes away from Torn's fuming face to Jak, who sat smiling back at him.

"What are you laughing at, Goldilocks!" Jinx snarled out, making Jak laugh out. "Hey, quit it!"

"I'm sorry Jinx…it's good to have you back…I…I think we better go now. Thanks to taking care of him Torn. Make sure he doesn't get himself eaten again," Jak muttered, standing to his feet and walking towards the door. Erol had also risen to his feet, and followed him.

"Don't worry Jak! He ain't going nowhere!" Torn shouted back in reply, and Jak walked out the door, the late afternoon sun warming his face.

Jak looked around for a zoomer, and spotted a two seater car which he dashed over too, before getting in and starting it up. Erol got in after him, his face grave and unmoving. Jak didn't want to ask into Erol's personal emotions, and took the long drive back to the Naughty Ottsel in silence. Once the two were inside the bar, Jak headed upstairs to see Daxter and Simron, before having a short nap.

Erol however wandered over to his booth, and sat down heavily, letting out a deep sigh. "Escaped death today…how much longer do I have to keep doing this?" he muttered to himself, unaware of another presence in the bar. He could hear the slight shifting of feet against the wooden floor, and shot a glance instantly upwards.

Skytha was slowly approaching him, her eyes turned to the ground in deep thought. "What do you want?" he hissed out, after she had sat down on the leather seat beside him, laying her head in her hands.

"Nothing of any importance. I just heard your last comment and figured I could at least be of any assistance to you, if you need any," Skytha replied quietly, her green eyes searching through Erol's. Erol darted his head away, and growled in irritation.

"I just feel so…pathetic…I unleashed my dark side today…I had to. No other choice if I wanted to live. And…I…had to protect Jak. If he died out there today and I survived, I'm sure the citizens of this blood hole of a city would lay the blame entirely on me. Torn would shoot me a thousands times before I hit the floor, Ashelin would banish me to the wasteland no doubt. I'm sure some other moron would hang me or drown me…death hurts you know," Erol murmured, closing his eyes to hide his fear and pain from Skytha.

She could sense it though, and laid a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "I know what it's like to be hated by an entire city. You try to be yourself, but they threaten to kill you if you don't leave…I know how you feel," she said gently, forcing out a smile. He glared back, and gritted his teeth.

"I don't need pity or comfort. I hate my darker half. Sure I keep him hidden, but when others see the monster I become…although I have been acting like a monster before all this ever happened, threatening people to follow my orders. I killed innocent people following the Baron's orders. It was them or me, and being the coward I've realized I am, I chose their death over mine," Erol snarled, smashing his fist into the table.

"I haven't seen your dark side, and I doubt I ever will, but you're not the only one in pain you know. I've feared for my life on numerous occasions. I was a young girl when my older brother went missing. Heh, I found him, but…he had changed. He attacked me," Skytha said sadly, resting her head on Erol's shoulder. Erol just glanced down, unsure of what to do exactly. Here he was feeling sorry for himself, regretting unleashing his darker side, but here Skytha was, pouring out her own hidden misery.

"You know, I'll happily listen if you like. Any time you feel like talking, I'm open ears," Erol said, forcing out a smile while stroking her hair in a form of comfort. She smiled back at him, thanking him for the reassurance, before giving him a hug.

Over at the stairs, Daxter and Simron sat, both opened jawed and shocked. "Ok…Ok…I'm not quite understanding the situation here…she likes him? And he obviously likes her? Is that even possible?" Daxter whispered in a hurry, hyperventilating by the looks of things. Simron patted him on the shoulder, his eyes tearing up.

"You're not happy for them, are you?" Orange lightening barked, realizing his friend's over "joy" reaction. Simron turned his black head to Daxter, and shook it.

"You're standing on my tail," he whispered back, and Daxter leap off, Simron massaging his sleek black tail with his paws while kissing it better.

"For a minute there I thought you were actually agreeing with what's happening over there!" Daxter hissed, motioning to the booth where Erol and Skytha sat talking. The orange ottsel watched his friend as Simron looked over to the booth, before somehow paling and fleeing upstairs, the sound of hurling up coming from above. Daxter dared a glance over to the side of the room and shouted out some abuse like "That's disgusting!" before running back upstairs also.

"What's so disgusting!" Skytha shouted out, after hearing Daxter's voice trail back up the stairs cursing loudly.

"Maybe he saw us hug or something like that…that orange rat is fine with it if it's Tess, but other than that…" Erol growled, sitting back in the booth, resting his head warily on the wall. Skytha laughed softly, glancing occasionally back at Erol, who was sitting with his eyes tightly shut.

"Well, I've gotta prepare myself for tonight…um, thanks for talking with me. You're easy to talk to, find that hard to believe," Skytha murmured, sliding out the seat and standing out the booth, brushing herself clean from dust and grime.

"Hmm…anytime," Erol replied, before yawning widely. He stretched himself out on the seat, and rested his head on the small pillow given to him by Jak, his face relaxing and his breathing steadying. In no time at all, he had fallen asleep, feeling better about today's events after the aid of Skytha. Upstairs however, Jak was having a hard time waking up from his own sleep.


Corad: Ye...ah...I think Erol chan and Skytha are friends now. Maybe there's something more...kinda crazy, considering they tried to do each other in when they first met (flashbacks to Bar when Sky and Erol were shooting at each other) Yes, the wonders of friendship...And Jinxie boy is alright too! He's alive and "well". Only suffering a broken arm which will probably kill him and become so itchy he'll scratch it with a fork that has food still on it, so the food will get caught in his cast. Ya can see it happening now can't ya. Anywho, hope yas all liked that. Please review if you've got the time/inspiration/energy...any of factor that depends on a review or not. And yeah, see yas all in the next update which will be sometime this week. Toodles guys! -