Corad: Hello my fellow readers and/or reviewers! I return for yet another chapter for you all to read. I want to first thank my reviewers though :D Thankyou Silver Horror for your encouragement, and to Rebel Shadowknight for you nice review for chapter 51! I have decided to take you up on that, and will attempt to draw Dark Erol when I get the chance. I'm still working on a few requests from fanart at the present time, but I'll see when I'm free again...ah freedom...I miss thou! (collapses on floor screaming again)
Sharok: This is like a daily thing for you, isn't it? Collapsing and screaming...
Corad: Yes my little bishie...yes it is...thank you too Millenium Ring for your kind comments. All your questions shall be answered in the upcoming chapters, particularly in this one :) Now, on with the fic!

Sharok: Corad doesn't, hasn't, and will never own Jak and Daxter. Looks like mercy was thrown upon us all then...


Chapter 71 – In Safe Hands

"Come on Erol…stay with me…stay with me…" Jak kept repeating with every aching step he took. His own injured leg from the night before was agonising to him, but he couldn't risk laying his comrade down, not even for a second. Besides, Erol had suffered trying to save him. The man had been to death and back, and may see it again if he gave up.Jak wouldn't let himself though. Getting his friend help was number one on his priority's list.

It took longer than the blonde had expected to reach the Underground. The city was significantly quieter than it had ever been. There was no one around to help him, so he tackled the back breaking mission alone and soon arrived at the base door, face flushed and arms straining to keep the heavy weight from slipping out his embrace. The underground door opened up slowly, grinding along the hinges before Jak stepped in, panting deeply.

His eyes cast a glance around the underground, and spotted Torn sitting at the desk, head resting in an open palm. He hadn't heard them come in, and when Jak shouted for him he startled. "Jak, what the hell are you doing here! Shouldn't you…OH (beep)!" Torn cried, his eyes resting on Jak's straining figure to a passed out Erol in his arms. The oldest elf leapt up from the desk, dashing forward to help Jak.

"Torn…we…we were," Jak began, but Torn cut him off, directing him over to his bed.

"Save your breath Jak. Lay him down here." The leader pulled off a few articles of clothing from the bed and tossed them to the ground, creating free space to lay Erol down. When Jak was free from the weight, he glanced down at his arms and chest. "You'd better get washed and changed Jak," Torn muttered, looking at the wet blood soaking Jak's shirt and forearms. However, Jak shook his head, more interested in seeing Erol dealt with first than caring for a few blood stains.

"We were attacked by a gunman. He was hidden in the scrub out in the fields…Erol took the bullets," Jak said faintly, as Torn leaned over the ex commander's body.

"You're saying somebody shot at you? Who the heck would do that?" Torn growled, kneeling beside the bed. Jak shrugged his shoulders weakly, and demanded that he start helping Erol out before he died again. When he said "again" this arose a new suspicion to Torn. "What? If he already died, then why the hell is he still alive now? What did you do!"

"Light overtook my body and used his regeneration powers on him. I couldn't let him die after knowing why he saved me," Jak fought back, but Torn seemed unconvinced.

"So, you're saying your Light ego revived him? Why Jak? I thought you hated the guy," Torn hissed, completely ignoring Jak's wishes for him to start healing his friend. Jak shook his head angrily, and pointed at the limp form covered in blood.

"I'm not waiting all night till he dies Torn! Fix him! He told me the truth about his second chance. It wasn't to help the war…the precursors must have known that I'd be in danger and gave him another chance in exchange for his protection. He accepted to have his old life back, knowing all too well he had to watch out for me! He shoved me out the way of the firing range tonight, and took death upon himself. That is why I revived him. Now do something," Jak finished in a quiet, dangerous growl.

He watched Torn's puzzled face looking down at the wounded man, before sighing deeply and instructing Jak to find the first aid kit. While Jak brought him the case full of ointments and bandages, he slid his dagger out and held it to the light, inspecting it for dirt.

"Jak, get me some water too. This may take a while," Torn said in a rough tone, becoming satisfied with his blade and lowering it to Erol's waistline. He began to cut away the material, finding it a lot easier to cut that remove the normal way. His hands were soon stained crimson, but he kept slicing away at the shirt carefree, freeing the wound in no time. He then growled at the mess he had to work with.

When Jak returned with a basin of water, Torn was already looking through the first aid for some anaesthetic to use. "Any changes?" Jak muttered, kneeling down beside his leader. Torn gave him a brief glance, before shaking his head and uncapping the bottle in his hands.

"If he wakes up, we'll use it. Trust me; having bullet shards dug out of ya gut is no walk in the park. It's bloody painful," Torn growled, laying the small bottle to the side and picking up come cleaning fluid. He poured some into a scrap of cloth, and carefully began removing the blood from around the wound. It took a little while to get it cleaned up, but after he tossed the cloth into the basin he examined just how bad the situation it was.

"What the hell is that!" he cried, spotting the light eco bounding the wound together inside, protecting it from harm. Jak leant in to look, and heaved a sigh of relief, thinking Torn had discovered something terribly wrong.

"Light injected some of his eco to stop the wound bleeding internally and damaging his organs. I don't think it will last much longer though," Jak replied quietly, seating himself at Erol's feet for the time being. Torn furrowed his brow in concentration, the dagger blade glinting as it caught the dim lights. As he lowered the sharp tip down, Jak turned away after hisstomach clenched up. He didn't have the heart to watch. Not after all he saw tonight. Trusting Torn with the red head's life, Jak preoccupied himself, hoping Skytha would be ok after he told her. He'd no doubt be the one to have to break the news to her.

"Well, there's part of it," Torn muttered, holding out his open palm. Jak looked down, and saw a small shard of bullet covered in blood. The sight was disgusting. "Judging by the size, there'll either be one larger piece, or a lot more smaller pieces." After that comment, he placed the tip back down. Blood started seeping out the sides of the wound now, trickling down the sides of Erol's waist and into the bed sheets,but Jak felt he should at least give some aid. However, when the ex commander began to stir, faintly groaning, Jak knew that wasn't exactly a good sign.

"Damn piece of crap…it's not coming out…Jak, get me a cloth will ya," Torn muttered, unaware that the body he was currently treating was now beginning to feel every bit of pain. It wasn't long until Erol screamed loudly, instantly trying to get away from the source of the pain, did Torn notice he was now conscious. "Don't move you moron! I have a dagger in your wound!" Torn shouted, trying to pin Erol's chestdown with his free hand. Jak rushed forward, taking hold of Erol's thrashing shoulders and held themfirmly to the mattress.

Pained eyes locked onto blue for a moment, until Jak muttered calming words to him. "Torn's taking the bullets out. If you stay still, we can be done faster. Now, we have some anaesthetic if you want it," Jak suggested, still applying pressure to Erol's upper half. The ex commander shut his eyes tightly, holding back screams as more searing hot pain shot up his side. The pain alone was enough to kill.

"Well?" Jak asked again, straining to keep him down and calmed. Erol didn't answer, and Torn suggested that maybe he couldn't focus right. Soon after Torn had suggested that, Erol's head fell back down and he stopped struggling; his mind had blacked out yet again. "Well that was easy…"

"You stay there and if he wakes up again…I don't know, just hold him or something! I almost had that bit out too until he awoke. But good thing is, we're almost done with this one," Torn muttered, mind focused entirely on the work at hand. Eventually he had removed every bullet shard he could find, and applied some cleaning fluid and a dressing to it. Although his waist wound was fixed for now, he still had one to go.

"You're lucky these didn't get him in the chest or the head," Torn began, cutting away a large square of material on Erol's track pants. He located the other wound and got to work, finding it considerably easier this time round. Maybe it was the fact that Erol didn't awake at all, or that the bullet had only shattered twice as it had narrowly missed his thigh bone (Femur being the correct name -.-'). Either way it was cleaned and dressed in a short matter of time.

"Now that that's over at last, I suggest you head back to the bar to clean up and rest. I'm sure Daxter will be worried if you're not back by morning. I'll keep Erol here and watch over him," Torn offered, dipping his blade into the basin of water and watching as the crimson fluid dissolved. Jak groaned a thanks and stood up, ready to leave. However, when Torn began speaking aloud, eyes transfixed on the two halves of a bullet, Jak decided to stay a little longer.

"What is it? Something wrong?"

"These bullets…they are the same bullets the Krimzon Guard were forced to use years ago. These were used in handguns," Torn said, cleaning the small pellet pieces free from blood and resting them on the bed beside Erol's feet. Jak peered down at them, wondering how he could have worked that one out, when he remembered.

"A racer dressed as a Krimzon Guard tried to kill me in the second class race. What's the chance it's the same bloke?" Jak suggested, fists curling up and shaking at the possible likeliness. Torn sat and pondered it over, eyes still transfixed on the two shards.

"Could be Jak. Any clue as to who it may be?"

Jak stopped to think. It could be anybody with a grudge against him. This city was populated with hundreds upon hundreds of people. But who would seriously want him dead? "I'm not sure Torn. I just hope whoever it is, will be dealt with shortly. I vow to find out the guy responsible," Jak replied angrily, casting a quick glance down at his friend lying on the bed. Torn nodded and stood to his feet, motioning to Erol.

"Anybody you know of who would hate him?" It was a stupid question really. Most people in Haven hated Erol now, seeing he almost destroyed them and everyone else on the planet. But Jak was sure the Krimzon Guard was after him, not their old commander.

"No, I think I'm the one they're after. Listen, I'd better go back to the bar. I just want to get back and not meet another gunman on my way," Jak informed wearily, before leaning over Erol. "Thanks Erol," he murmured, knowing that the unconscious man wouldn't hear him, but he still wanted to get it off his chest. Turning to Torn, he nodded and left up the stairs, away from the heat and light, back into the chilly night air.

The trip back to the bar was a lonely one. Jak tried to comfort himself by thinking it could be worse, even when he looked down at his front to see the blood drying. It disgusted him to know that the blood spilled should have been his own. 'But would Erol have saved your life and revived you, if the bullets got their right target?' Light tried to reassure Jak he had done the right thing. 'I'm not sure. Probably if that was part of the deal. If he failed then maybe his body would be torn away from him again,' Jak answered back. He didn't realise just how fast he was moving, and when he entered the port region he glanced up and down the street noticing it still to be quiet.

The Naughty Ottsel had a relaxed atmosphere when Jak finally stepped through the door. The lights were still on, and he saw Sky sitting at the back writing a letter. The sight of her just gave his heart a huge, painful tug. How could he break the news to her?

"Um…Sky…" Jak murmured, wandering across the room and stopping at her side. She glanced up, the smile she had vanishing as her eyes trailed down his blood stained shirt. Wondering what happened, she glanced behind him, hoping to see Erol too. When she didn't, she knew something had happened.

"Whe…where is he Jak? What's happened?" Jak couldn't look her in the eyes. It would be too hard to explain the situation otherwise.

"We went on patrol duty in the fields…somebody shot at us from the trees, and Erol took the plunge for me. We almost lost him…" He struggled to keep his voice steady, and struggled even more when Sky stood up, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to look at her.

"Tell me where he is! Is he alive!"

"Sky, please. I managed to revive him…I carried him to the underground, and Torn cleaned his wounds up. I left him there under Torn's care. He needs rest…" Jak finished, and he could see tears forming in Skytha's eyes. This must have been one ofthe first times he'd seen her cry.

"Damn him…damn him Jak! I'll kill him!" Sky screamed, shoving Jak away and running to the door, exiting into the dark. He heard her shout out, knowing she'd be morphing by now, before there was nothing but silence. Cold, lonely silence.


Corad: Heheh, crazy Erolmon. See, he survived...everything's fine again...kinda anyway. We still gotta catch that lunatic though.
Sharok: Who, the gunman?
Corad: Prrp, no! Envy! He ran off two days ago and I haven't seen him since. Stupid, good for nothing Homunculus...(crosses arms in frustration) Good thing I'm listening to Enya or I'd be having a raging rampage of rage right about now. Man, I love that Orinoco Flow song...I LOVE IT! (collapses on floor screaming yet again) Now, Torn did a bad thing in this...he handled blood without gloves. And you could blame Jak for that too, considering he got it all down his front and possibly in his old bite wound. Let's just pray that Erol has no blood related diseases or now Torn and Jakwill be in his fanclub O.o Hehehe, Torn...well, guys, if you'd like to review, them please do. I'm getting closer and closer to 300 reviews, and I am eager to reach it by the end of the fic. It's kinda like when you see the prize money at the end of Big Brother, and you want David to win...yeah, it's like that.
Sharok: See ya guys -.-' She's just rambling pointlessly again...
Corad: But then Camilla is a back stabber and backstabs Dav for some crazy reason, so she befriends Chris...man she gets annoying sometimes...I miss Rob...;.;