Corad: Hey guys! Chapter 72 coming at yas now :D I've had quite a few reviews this week, which in my opinion is a miracle. I have a feeling I either scare ppl away from the lil review button, or my writing's not good enough for comments (shrugs) The choice to review is up to you, my fellow readers. I'm ecstatic that I recieved so many though. Thanks to Silver Horror, Windshadows, JakLover, Millenium Ring, Rebel ShadowKnight and Salena99 for your kind reviews! I'm so happy your back Salena! (tackles into bear hug) I've missed ya! I also would like to thank a new reader, Phoenix! I know it may take you a while to reach this point, but I would like to make my gratitude known for when you do get up to this chappie (if you're not already that is :D) I appreciate everyone's reviews, so thanks for your time guys! Ok, last chapter we saw Torn do some crazy treatment on Erol. I'm surprised Torn didn't "accidentally" drive his dagger into Erol's heart to be honest...O.o
Sharok: Uh, Corad doesn't own Jak and Daxter. She owns me though...Corad...can't you put me up for adoption?
Corad: Why?
Sharok: Coz...I um...don't like...you...(shifty eye thing)
Chapter 72 – Once Rivals, Now Comrades
Numbing pain… numbing pain throbbing up his side and tearing at his mind. What was it? Why did he feel this way? And why couldn't he move? Those questions he wished would be answered.
"You're in a right state Erol. I'm surprised you're still fighting to live." That voice. Torn's voice. He wondered why Torn was speaking to him, mulling over thoughts he began to feel his senses sharpening. When a cold, wet weight was laid onto his forehead, his eyes began to open. The dim light flooded around his sight, and he squinted to adjust to how intense it was.
He heard movement beside him, and turned his head, the damp cloth falling onto the bed he was currently situated on. Torn looked up, and growled impatiently. "It's great you're awake and all, but keep your damn head upright," he hissed, forcing Erol's head to look up gently while placing the cloth back down onto his heated forehead. Erol let a groan escape his lips when he felt a jolt of pain reside in his waist. He reached down to feel where the pain was, but Torn grabbed his wrist stiffly. "Touch it, and I'll kill you."
Yeah, it was a nice thing to have to hear first thing you wake up, but Torn did have a point. And Erol, being in the current, mindless state he was in, didn't argue but lay quietly, soaking in the life he'd almost lost. He failed to recall what had exactly happened. He could only remember soft footsteps in the dense scrub, before he heard a gunshot. Everything after that seemed like a blur.
"You gave Jak quite a scare I believe. The guy even went out his way to bring you back," Torn muttered, bringing a glass of water over to Erol. The younger man looked up, trying to focus on the fuzzy image of Torn. "You have him to thank you know."
The glass of water was held out to him, but he groaned in response and looked away, the cloth once again sliding off to reside on the mattress. "You know Erol, you can deny it all you want, but Jak and I both know your real reason for returning. Jak said it had something to do with protection," Torn murmured, placing the glass loudly on the nearby wooden box after Erol refused to drink it.
After hearing that comment, the ex commander shifted his gaze, and glared at Torn. His mind was running, heart beating painfully fast inside his chest. What had Torn just said? How did he find out his true intention?
"You…you lie…" Erol whispered, straining to use his voice. Torn sneered down at him before kneeling on the ground. He leaned towards Erol's ear, and muttered something.
"Do I? Apparently you had agreed to protect Jak with your life, in exchange for your old body. Tell me Erol, what happens if you were to…kill him by accident?" Torn asked teasingly, picking up the cloth from the bed. He stood up and disappeared towards the desk, only to return a moment later with it drenched in water again.
"I don't…have to tell you that," Erol forced out, squinting his eyes and holding his breath as a shot of pain flew up his side again. Torn let out a low laugh, laying the cloth againstthehisburning forehead. "Why do this…Torn? I thought you…hated me…"
"Hmm, I do Erol, but I promised Jak I'd care for you. He considers you a friend. Although, I can't see why." Erol growled angrily, his temper flaring up at Torn. The older man was clearly trying to make the situation difficult, and he most welcomed another succumb of unconsciousness if it were given. However, it seemed he would stay awake longer this time, which he felt unfortunate.
"Listen to me, Jak has…uh…a right to decide who he…ouch! Calls a friend…don't blame me if he…decides to call me…Argh, one…" Erol gasped, wincing as pain prodded into his side repetitively. Tears formed in his eyes, trickling gently down his face. He could feel Torn's glare on him, and shifted his head away to hide the embarrassment of his current weakness. The annoyed grunt coming from Torn a moment later told anyone the cloth had slipped again.
"Keep your damn head still! You have a fever, so I suggest you keep this cloth on!" Torn snarled, gently tilting Erol's head and laying the cool sponge back down again. Erol shuddered at the chilly touch and closed his eyes, trying to stop the pained tears streaking down his cheeks. "Now, you have a choice to take some painkillers, or suffer."
The two options were simple, but Erol hissed out in pain in a feeble attempt to reply. Gathering the drift, Torn rummaged around his desk, and returned holding a small box of pills. Bringing up what little strength he had, and with the help of Torn, Erol sat up. Immediately his head began spinning, and he started choking for air.
"Easy Erol," Torn snapped, picking up the glass and holding it under the younger elf's face. After a few mishaps, Erol had taken the painkillers and was once again lying down, glaring up at the top bunk's underside. He couldn't help but wonder why Torn would even bother keeping his word, and became even more shocked and uncomfortable when the man actually decided to sit on the ground beside his bed.
"Need something?" Erol whispered in the most intimidating voice he could muster. Torn however kept silent, eyes locked onto him in a curious trance. What was the man thinking about exactly?
"No. But why?"
"Why what?" He wasn't in the mood for mind games. His head wouldn't be able to cope for one, and he'd rather focus on keeping himself alive than battling it out on mental wits.
"Why did you change yourself, just to regain what's lost? Were you that desperate to get your old body back, to trail Jak around and watch his back?" What was Torn rambling on about now? Couldn't he see his head hurt too much? Didn't the leader realise he could barely speak, let alone fight back in this little argument he was obviously setting up. "Whatever your reason, I'm glad."
WHAT? Had he just said that? "You're glad...for what?"
Torn smirked up at him, before answering his question. "For one, it takes discipline to change one's self completely. Two, if you have really been saving Jak's ass this whole time, I'll have to be grateful for that. The wolf incident when you ran into 6 wolves or so. He told me you took care of the lot. Maybe you do speak the truth." He sat back, smirking even more than before. Erol felt confused, and let out a deep growl to tell Torn to back off now. Maybe the older man got the hint, for he dropped the topic and moved on.
"You said…Jak brought me back? Was that true?" he moaned, letting the cool sponge on his forehead soak in. He felt his temperature ease up slightly and for once was thankful for Torn's help.
"From what he said. His Light side must have felt some pity towards you," Torn replied in a gruff voice. "Or maybe Jak didn't want to let go so soon. His egos are fuelled by emotions. Maybe it was grief or pain that brought you back." Erol laid speechless, head pounding just as much as his heart. So, Jak really did consider him a friend. He must have finally broken that barrier dividing their trust for one another.
"He should have…let me…die…" Erol whispered, shuddering as a wave of heat caressed down his skin. He knew he'd cheated death yet again. In fact, he was beginning to grow weary of seeing life. He knew he should have died when he collided with those barrels of dark eco. He should have died out in the wasteland, until those precursors rocked up and granted him yet another chance. When was death finally going to come and take him for good?
"You can't tell Jak what to do. Besides, knowing him he'd be blaming himself for your death. He blamed himself for Damas' for quite while."
"Damas was his father…it would only…prove right…"
"Regardless. He may have been thinking of others though last night," Torn murmured quietly, getting up to his feet and brushing down his clothes. Erol perked at the last comment, and turned his head to him.
"Last night? You mean it's morning?" Torn nodded his head, taking the sponge off Erol's head and rinsing it down again. "I've been out all night…Dammit…and who…who else would be concerned for me?" he asked curiously, regaining some of his strength in his voice. Torn gave him a worried smile, as if hiding something as he lowered the sponge to his heated head.
The coolness soaked in, and he felt himself ease up again. "Skytha… she came around last night…as a wolf. I had to let her inside for all the noise she was making. She was worried about you man. She told me to pass on a message."
"What message was…that?" Erol asked, trying to sit up. Torn gritted his teeth impatiently and forced the younger elf to lie back down.
"She said she was sorry for keeping so much hidden. She claimed she didn't come here to make friends, but she found something more. She also told me to look after you or she'll hunt down my sorry ass. And, before she left, she said goodbye. A goodbye for good." Erol's eyes widened as he gasped loudly. Skytha was leaving for good? But why would she? She had a new life here, surrounded by friends.
"Did she say why?" Torn shook his head, pacing the room silently. "Well, she'd have to have…a reason…" Erol muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He just couldn't understand? Did Skytha hate him? Did she blame herself for this attack? Or maybe she felt betrayed after finally getting close to someone, and that person was almost ripped away. He just didn't know.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll see her again. Now, I've been thinking, we need more men in the Freedom League, and I could do with an experienced commander too," Torn began, giving Erol a sly grin. "So, what do you say? Think you'll be up to it, when your wounds heal?" Erol looked at him speechless, shock swelling up inside his mind. Was Torn actually offering Erol a full time place in the Freedom League?
"What's the catch?" he muttered back, propping himself up against his pillow. His side gave him an awful jolt of pain, making an angry hiss escape his lips. "Well?" he pressed on, his voice weakened again. Torn stood silently, surveying the red head before him carefully.
"There's no catch. But you've proved yourself by protecting hero boy all this time, so what else can I do? Besides, when you're up and running again, what supposedly will you do? Where will you go?" Ok, so Erol hadn't thought about all that. It never occurred to him that he'd live this long, and there was that slight chance Jak may kick him out the bar.
"You've stated your point."
"Exactly. And when I say an experienced commander, we need someone who's willing to lead their own rank and train them. I've heard you're quite good with rookies, am I correct?" Erol moaned in return, feeling his head spinning again. Why couldn't he just keep his strength up? It was driving him nuts.
"Fine…I'll take that opportunity and…uh…" Erol's head slipped back down onto the pillow, his eyes closed and face no longer twisted in pain, but relaxed. Torn furrowed his brow and stepped closer, leaning down to make sure Erol hadn't in fact, just died. By the looks of things, the younger man had only passed out again. Probably sitting up and straining himself was the cause of it. At least he agreed to that commander position going up for grabs soon. Figuring it was the best he could do, Torn began swabbing Erol's forehead with the cloth, trying to cool his heated skin down a little more.
As the minutes passed by in Silence, the underground door slid open, and Jinx wandered down the stairs, face blank and emotionless. His arm sling was dirty, and he smelled strongly of smoke and sweat. A nice combination -.-' He stumbled up to Torn's side, eyebrow raised and face alarmed at the sight of a dead looking Erol. "What happened?"
"He was shot down last night. Listen Jinx, I'm gonna go head up to the Palace. I need to inform Ashelin about this, so you take care of him till I return," Torn muttered, handing over the damp cloth and standing up. Before Jinx could argue back, Torn had already gathered his dagger and retreated out the door. Turning to the ex commander's peaceful face, Jinx just shrugged, seating himself down and following on swabbing the hot forehead of the man beside him.
Lying on his back, staring blankly to the ceiling, Jak groaned loudly. Why couldn't these thoughts stop swimming in his head? He hated it! He hated their mere existence, and their complete persistency to bug him and send guilt traipsing into his mind. It had been his fault for last night. His fault that Erol almost died. If Light hadn't have been courageous enough to actually try bringing him back, taking a massive risk which could lead to his own death, he would have lost his new friend. Light had given everything from his strength to all his eco energy to bring him back.
Jak had felt how his lighter half was during the remainder of the night. His angelic form sat slouching in his mind's depth, silent and unmoving. He was weak from giving up so much eco in such a short time. 'I'm sorry,' Jak had muttered beside his glowing form, but Light had shaken his head gently, giving him a weak smile. 'Do not be sorry my friend. It was I who took the risk. It was I who drained my strength. I shall be fine if you let me be.' So that was it then? Jak just didn't know. Could his light side even die? Was it possible to drain all white eco from within, and remove his lighter ego completely?
"Jak, are you ok in here? Simron and I were downstairs playing cards, and I figured you might need some company." The blonde elf sat up, connecting eyes with Daxter who stood at the top of the stairs. His face was worried, and the sound of his voice even proved the ottsel was scared for Jak's lonely state.
"I'm fine Daxter. Any news from Sky yet?" He knew she hadn't come back yet. The door downstairs hadn't opened all morning, and no female voice had been heard. "She's been gone all night. I hope she hasn't done anything to put herself in danger," he finished, lying back down and sighing heavily. Daxter wandered up to his bed, scrambling up onto his covers and resting on his chest.
"Jak, snap outta it buddy! Skytha can fend for herself! You however, always need a bit of Ottsel loving to pull through!" he said cheerfully, gripping Jak's scarf and shaking his elf friend in a feeble attempt. Jak groaned loudly, trying to swat Daxter away, but the little furry ottsel continued. "Jak, you can blame yaself all ya like for Erol's death, but…"
"He's not dead Dax…not yet anyway. The state he was in…I've just never seen him so weak and vulnerable," Jak mumbled, shifting his gaze away from Daxter's face. The ottsel rolled his eyes, finding everything useless against cheering his friend up. When a devious thought struck him, he beamed a large grin.
"Come. On. Jak! Cheer up buddy!" Daxter shouted, jumping up and down on Jak's chest heavily. The blonde elf spluttered under him, trying to whack his furry mass away but Daxter continued bouncing on him. "Jak, we're all worried for ya! Just be glad it wasn't you, and move on! Besides, I need a new challenger for cards!" Daxter taunted in the hopes of getting Jak to finally snap out of it.
"Daxter!" the blonde cried, sitting up quickly to avoid his friend jumping any further. The ottsel rolled onto the mattress, dazed for a second before getting up and looking at Jak straight in the eye.
"I see you're up now! That's a start!" he muttered, crossing his arms impatiently. Jak sighed heavily, turning to look down at his furry friend.
"I'm sorry Dax," he murmured softly, pulling his friend into a hug. The ottsel struggled to break free, but Jak only held him tighter, pushing him further against his chest. After a few drastic moments of trying to break free, the orange ottsel gave up and let Jak use him for comfort. What else could he hug in the room? His options were limited.
"Uh, Jak…no touchy the doo," Daxter said casually, ruffling his fur back in place after Jak had released him. He could tell Jak was struggling inwardly right now, and figured the best thing to do was provide a littlesupport for him. "Jak, we're all here for ya buddy! And so is Sky and Lenna, even if they aren't in Haven anymore. Besides, Erol's a tough ass. He won't give up easily," the ottsel reassured, patting Jak's arm with a soft paw. Jak gave his friend a small smile, before lifting himself off the bed.
He turned to Daxter, motioning for him to follow, "let's go play that game of cards Dax." Both Jak and Daxter ventured back downstairs and over to a spare booth where Simron sat shuffling cards. He raised his furry face at the sound of shuffling feet, and quirked up an eyebrow at Jak.
"I see Dax sorted you out then. About time too! We need more competition!" the enthusiastic ottsel shouted, laying out three equal piles of cards. "Hurry! I don't want to lose my winning streak!" So Jak slid into the booth, taking hold of his own cards.
"What are we playing?" Jak asked curiously, noticing the cards not to be the average, 4 suit cards. No, they had little animals on them.
"Go fish," Simron replied, pulling out two cards from his hand and laying them on the table. Jak gave an uncomfortable laugh, watching further as the two ottsels got stuck into pulling pairs of cards out. "Well, get moving Jak! We don't have all day!"
Jak leaned back in the booth seat, glancing down at his cards. He saw two lion cards and tossed them onto the table, satisfied. And so the battle began. The three spent a while gathering their own pairs, until at last all the cards had been used up. After counting the score, Simron had won yet again.
"See, I told you my winning streak wasn't over!" he said happily, shuffling the cards up and handing them out again.
"Yeah, yeah…I bet I can win this time!" Jak replied, taking hold of his pile. But the three never had a chance to battle it out again. The back door of the bar slid open silently, heavy steps stumbling in soon followed by a dull thud. Curiosity arose in Jak's mind, and he peered out the booth, only to drop his hand of cards and gasp in shock and horror.
"TORN!"
Torn: What the hell did you do to me?
Corad: Er, you see Torn...the thing about that is...um...(does shifty nervous eye thing while trailing off) So, how was that? I know, it's a terrible place to leave it...but guess what guys...this is it! Three chapters to go! No more sitting around confabbing...now the action starts O.o Jak shall battle it out, and we'll see who wins the war. Also the numerous mysterious throughout this fic shall be answered :D It looks like lil Erol will be a commander again. Man, I'd hate to be a rookie now...
Erol: What's that supposed to mean?
Corad: Uh, nothing...if you guys have the time and/or enthusiasm, please consider reviewing! I reached the 300 review goal, and I felt overjoyed by that. Any more reviews from now on is a bonus! Well, I'll see everyone in the next chapter...toodles!
Sharok: Bye guys...-.-'
