A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took forever to post. If you're wondering, I just got done with school in June and returned home (4.0, yay!). Even though school is over, I still have my duties as a mother to a preschooler and a wife, so life can get a little hectic from time to time, lol. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'm no longer doing the ratings near the title, for it likes to screw up the title. It's most likely M, due to language.
She's Worth Defending
Chapter Nine: Sit Down, Shut Up
"Man, I dun think I'll eva get used to his place!" Daxter said as he jumped down to the ground and dusted himself off. He began to walk on his own and glanced in every direction; hoping to catch a glimpse of something exciting or interesting. He frowned a bit when he remembered how boring Haven was.
Jak paid no attention to the fact that his friend had retired from his usual spot; comfortably situated on his shoulder. Jak just continued to walk, not even sharing a glance towards the ottsel, which caused Daxter to look at him and sigh.
"Ya know, if ya feel that bad, you could always apologize," Daxter said as he crossed his arms and tapped one foot. Daxter knew something was up. Sure, he just watched a verbal, and somewhat physical, altercation between his friend and their new partner, but he wasn't really moved by it. What really had him wondering was: did Jak feel bad? Was there a small portion of the old Jak still in there? He couldn't help but smirk. He really didn't even need to ask; he knew Jak felt bad.
Jak stopped and turned to face him, "What do you mean?" His voice sounded angry. His eyebrows were narrowed. It was almost as if he wasn't even addressing Daxter, but a stranger that happened to piss him off.
Daxter huffed and rolled his eyes, "Don't play dumb, ya know exactly what I'm talkin' about." This wasn't the first time Daxter had seen Jak angry. Jak turned into a demon during their reunion; this was nothing.
Jak didn't say a word. He just looked towards the ground and stiffened his jaw.
"Ya don't feel bad?" Daxter asked as he walked closer to his friend.
Jak turned around and began to walk, "No."
Daxter began to walk as well, scampering quickly to keep up with a very agitated Jak. After he closed the gap between them, he hopped back up on his friend's shoulder, "You dun feel bad, at all?" Daxter asked, but it sounded more playful than curious.
Jak didn't even dare to look at him, "No."
Daxter leaned over, forcing his head to be the only thing in Jak's line of vision, "Then what's eatin' ya, buddy?"
Jak stopped walking, once again, and rolled his eyes, "Nothing."
The fight between him and Cara replayed in his head for, what seemed like, the tenth time. He remembered every word and verbal attack perfectly, which wasn't hard, considering it happened just a few minutes earlier. Jak didn't understand why a small portion of him did feel bad: he loathed her, but the exchange of words from earlier, mostly on his part, made him sick to his stomach. Maybe he did go too far, but he'd never admit that to anyone, even Daxter.
As the duo turned the corner towards the Underground, their former member: the slap-happy Cara, happened to be turning the corner opposite of them.
This made Jak stop dead in his tracks, causing Daxter to almost propel off of his shoulder. Daxter went to shoot some remark to Jak, but noticed that Cara was obviously the reason why Jak had screeched to a halt.
Cara made sure to acknowledge their presence by pretending not to acknowledge their presence. She accidentally made eye contact, but quickly looked away and continued to walk. She didn't want to talk to either of them, honestly, specifically Jak, but even if she did, what could she say?
Both Jak and Daxter eyed Cara as she passed by and didn't say a word.
When there was a safe distance, Daxter turned to look at Jak, "Oooh, cold."
Jak brushed it off and walked down into the Underground with Cara a long way ahead of them.
Cara, who wore a stern look on her face, walked towards Torn's backside, but stopped suddenly when she heard scampering feet whiz past her.
Daxter hopped up onto the table, "The demolition trio has returned!"
This didn't excite Torn, for he wasn't quick to turn around, but Daxter didn't stop.
"One barbecued ammo dump served up hot!" Daxter bragged.
Jak began, "We saw-…"
Cara pushed past Jak roughly, "We found something interesting while we were at the dump."
Jak, who had stumbled back due to Cara, just stared at her backside. He tried to calm himself, but he couldn't help but clench his fists. Needless to say, he no longer felt sorry for what he said earlier. He crossed his arms as his eyes wandered over to a stack of books.
Cara placed her hands on her hips heroically, "The guards were giving away eco to Metal Heads," she said as she rose an eyebrow, "Do you know anything about that?"
Torn quickly turned to face the three, "No." At first Torn seemed shocked, but his lips curled up into a smug grin almost immediately, "The Shadow will be very interested to hear that."
"Y'now, so far, your gigs have been easier than stealin' grass from a sleeping yakow!" Daxter exclaimed before wearing a large grin.
Torn chuckled, "You and the rodent want to start provin' yourselves? One of our suppliers needs his payment delivered: a bag of eco ore," he said as he glared at the trio. An explosion from an eco ore isn't a force to be reckoned with; it could take out a quarter of the town. "Take the zoomer parked out back and drive it to the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon in Southtown. Ask for Krew, he'll be there and don't let the Baron's patrols stop you." Torn held the end of dagger towards the crew, "By the way, when you get there, pump Krew for information. He's wired into the city and may know what the Baron's up to." He then turned his back, as usual, practically telling everyone to leave.
"You. Can. Count. On us." Daxter chimed with annoyance. Man, was this guy lazy.
Torn folded his arms across his chest, "Are you still here?"
Daxter blinked a few times before his eyes crossed and his ears turned downwards. The ottsel turned to face the other two, "Well, I can see how this relationship will be.." Daxter then hopped down from the table and started to make his way towards the stairs, all while mocking Torn, "You guys need ta do this, oh, well what do we get in return? Oh, nothing, ya say? Well, that sounds great…" Daxter stopped upon realizing he wasn't being followed and turned around, "Well, ya guys comin' or not? I'd like ta make it back in time to shower, ya know. I've still got gunk stuck in my fur, and all that running around made me sweat 'n now I'm itchy in places I'd rather not mention!"
Jak and Cara just continued to stand there and watch while Daxter threw a tantrum. Their eyes shifted a bit, but didn't look at each other.
Torn was quick to notice the warlephant in the room.
Torn asked with an eyebrow risen, "Is there a problem?"
"No," Both Cara and Jak said in unison, but is was more than obvious that there was, in fact, a problem. Cara had her arms crossed and was nervously rubbing her elbow, while Jak was looking straight at the ground.
Torn slowly walked over to the two with a smirk on his face. Every step he took echoed throughout the Underground, which caused Cara's breathing to become unsteady. Torn stopped directly in front of them and leaned in, "I call bullshit."
Jak and Cara both looked up at Torn and remained quiet. They were both so stubborn: who was going to complain first?
"No?" Torn asked, "No one is going to tell me what's going on?"
It was quiet for some time.
Torn sighed and just as he was about to turn around, he heard a mumble.
"Hm?" He asked.
It was Cara.
"…I can't work with him." She said, still continuing to look away.
Torn didn't seem like he wanted to settle anything; his tone conveyed that he simply wanted answers. He was no one's therapist. "Really? And why is that?"
Cara thought long and hard. She tried to compile as many reasons as she could as to why she couldn't work alongside Jak, but she couldn't find anything other than him being a prick. Why was this so hard to do? She didn't want to sound like she was whining; like she was a diva that had her feelings hurt due to Jak's lack of manners.
"Uh, he, um…" Cara's eyes moved around the room and saw Jak with her peripherals. He was just standing there, looking at her, just as curious for an answer. "He's just…"
With every stutter Cara made, the grin on Jak's face got bigger.
"He's just what?" Torn asked.
"He's just…incredibly difficult to work with." Cara breathed out.
Torn looked to Jak, his eyes asking for an explanation.
"I didn't say thank you." Jak translated.
Torn looked back to Cara with an displeased look on his face, but before he could say anything, Cara felt as if some explaining was in order. Some very, very loud explaining…
"No! No, no…that's not what happened!" Cara exclaimed, making sure to make direct eye contact with Jak.
Jak immediately turned to face her, "Enlighten me, then."
"You really think this is all because you didn't say thank you?"
"That's what it sounded like earlier."
"You know that's not what I said!"
"That's exactly what you said!"
"No, it's because you're not appreciative or respectful!"
"Do you even know what appreciative means? Thankful. You're mad that I'm not thankful; you're mad because I didn't say thank you."
Cara shared an exaggerated groan, "You're such an idiot!"
"I'm obviously not the idiot."
"What are you trying to say? That I'm the idiot?" Cara moved in closer to Jak.
"During your finest moments," Jak closed the gap between them.
"I fucking hate you."
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
Torn, who had been taking deep breaths as he watched the two bicker, finally spoke up, "Shut the fuck up!" Torn pointed a finger towards Jak, "You, sit down!" He then pointed to Cara, "You, sit down!"
Cara resisted, "Why?"
"Shut up, sit down!" Torn practically yelled as he followed Jak, who had obliged and sat down on a chest against the wall.
Cara sat on the ground and leaned her back up against the wall. Great, what was happening now?
Once again, it was a quiet.
Torn stood in front of the two, who didn't dare make eye contact with him, and took a few deep breaths. He took a minute to regain composure and rested his hand over his eyes as he rubbed his temples. He then dropped his hand, "Do you two realize how stupid this is? I shouldn't have to deal with this, I won't deal with this; this is fuckin' childish."
Daxter, who watched in awe over everything, snuck a peek from around a bunk.
"I don't have time for this. Haven City doesn't have time for this. Shit, The Shadow doesn't have time for this." Torn continued.
Torn mentioning The Shadow caused Jak's ears to perk up. He had lost sight of what was important and he might not even get the chance to get the answers he needed now. For all he knew, both him and Cara were about to get fired; nothing was off the table.
Torn just watched the two bathe in regret. Cara just sat there, her arms hugging her knees. Jak sat with his elbow on his knees and was running a thumb across his goatee. Jak and Cara were both embarrassed and uncomfortable; exactly how Torn wanted them to be.
"Now, I think it's time for an exercise…" Torn said with a devilish grin, "I think you're familiar with the 'Battle Buddies' exercise from the KG retreats, right, Cara?"
Cara slunk her head to her knees, "Oh my god, no."
Before Cara could say anything else, both her and Jak had a sheet of paper and a pen thrown at them.
"Cara, you've done this before. Why don't you practice communication and explain to Jak how this works." Torn said, fairly amused. If this doesn't make them shape up, nothing will. Regardless, the outcome will be entertaining.
Cara just stared at Torn.
"We don't have all day." Torn responded to Cara's glare roughly.
Cara sighed in defeat, "This is an exercise that emphasizes on teamwork, skill building, yada, yada, yada…Basically, you write one thing that you dislike about the person and one thing you do like about the person. Your answers are free from judgement and won't be seen by the other person, just the team leader, which, in this case, is Torn."
Jak, who was ready to write seriously an hour ago, looked confused, and obviously thought it was stupid, "How would it help if the other person doesn't get to know?" He looked to Torn, hoping he'd be willing to answer his question.
"It's like writing an angry letter and never sending it. It helps you figure out the underlying issues within' yourself; what makes you bothered by the other person so you can fix it on your own time," Torn explained gruffly.
Jak shook his slightly and rolled his eyes as he looked down at his empty sheet of paper.
"Don't think too hard about it. Besides, we all know you're perfect, Jak…" Torn added, narrowing an eyebrow at the mentioned man.
Cara let out an unintentional snort and glanced over at Jak.
Jak looked forward blankly, his jaw stiffening before looking back down at his paper.
Torn looked back and forth between the two, "What the hell are you two waiting for?"
Five minutes later…
"Alright, you guys done yet?" Torn asked as he looked at the two. He had been pacing, pretending not to be pissed off. This was wasting valuable time.
"Yep!" Cara said as she reached her arm out to hand Torn her paper.
"Great," Torn said as he rejected Cara's paper, "Read it." He said nonchalantly.
"What?" Cara asked with wide eyes.
"Read it." Torn repeated just as calmly as before.
"Uh," Cara looked to Jak and then back to Torn. Her face turned bright red and she could feel her body becoming incredibly hot. All of a sudden, her body forgot how to swallow; she felt like she was gulping down rocks. "Uh, okay," she took a deep breath as she began to read from her paper, "I don't like-…"
"No. Look at him." Torn interrupted as he motioned towards Jak with a head nudge.
Oh, another giant rock down the hatch. Cara looked to Jak and took another heavy breath, "I, uh, I don't like who you are as a person," Cara looked down at her paper momentarily to remember what she wrote, "I think you're a giant asshole."
Jak nodded slowly, as if he was waiting for a comment like to begin with.
"And, what I like…" Cara looked at Jak only momentarily before looking back down. Why did she feel like she was going to pass out? Can you literally die from embarrassment? Like, literally? Cara looked up to Jak, who was staring at her in wonder, confusion, and embarrassment,
"I think…you're…hot?"
Torn's eyebrows lifted practically off his forehead. He had to turn away to chuckle, but it was still heard.
Cara cleared her throat and crumpled up her paper. Her head could be mistaken for a tomato right now, and now she wanted to be reassigned more so than before.
Jak almost had to shake himself from what he just heard. That didn't just happen, she didn't just say that. This exercise is bullshit. Life is bullshit. He had never been more uncomfortable in his life. Until…
"Jak, it's your turn." Torn said with his usual smirk. He was actually curious about what Jak had to say about Cara. "I'm sure I can count on you to have something a bit more mature."
Jak looked at his paper and huffed upon realizing if it wasn't just as bad, it was worse.
Jak glanced up at Torn, "I thought you said these were never read out loud."
"Just fuckin' read it," Torn demanded.
Jak ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He felt the heat now. He appeared to be calm, but really, he wanted to scream. He'd be fine with dying just about now. Actually, that would be too perfect.
"She's-…"
"You are.." Torn said, reminded Jak that he needed to look at Cara and speak directly to her.
Jak shared a prolonged blink and looked to Cara, who was, of course, looking straight at him. Deep into his soul. Ready for the hate and, maybe, a compliment.
"You're a bitch."
"And?" Cara shot a snarky smile Jak's way.
Meanwhile, Torn wanted to flip any object in arm's reach.
Cara awaited a 'nice' comment with a double meaning. What was he going to say? Was he going to tell her that she's 'great at fighting' and then proceed to roll his eyes at her?
Blue eyes continued to stare into brown eyes. Jak was a lot more confident than Cara, at least he seemed like it. He didn't even use his paper for a distraction.
"You're hot," Jak said with a straight face.
Cara's cynical smile almost immediately faded.
Torn chuckled, "Well, well, well…isn't that something."
Jak leaned back against the wall and, without dismissing eye contact with Cara, ripped his paper into strips. He even managed to give her a dirty look before looking away.
"Now, all of your bullshit aside, the bigger issue," Torn said as he pulled a round object out an insulated box on the table, "The ore. Are you good or do I need to relay the instructions to you love birds again?" Torn asked in annoyance.
"Oh my god," Cara looked away and rested her head on her knees.
Jak rolled his eyes and then stood up, "Hip Hog Heaven, Southtown, Krew. I got it."
"Right on," Torn said as he handed the covered ore to Jak, "Make it quick. The ride there will cause the ore to overheat if you don't move your ass."
Cara, who had managed to stand and walk over, asked nervously, "What happens if it overheats?"
The sides of Torn's mouth curled upwards, "You have tons of experience with eco. You know what will happen."
Cara and Jak looked at each other and then back at Torn. Cara's look of uncertainty answered any question Jak might have.
"Get moving," Torn ordered.
Jak turned around and headed for the stairs, Cara in tow.
"Hey," Torn said, causing the two to turn around cautiously, "Pull this shit again and you're done."
Once again, Jak and Cara exchanged glances before heading upstairs.
A/N: I know it's not much and probably filled with errors, but I've been on a break for so long that I kind of just went with the flow. If you think that this chapter: makes no sense, doesn't tie into the story, or was pointless, this isn't the story for you. This story is the Jak II storyline with fillers and added content to my liking. Realistically, things aren't always action; shit happens. There will be a lot of this. Oh, and I know Daxter wasn't really present in the last half of the chapter. I plan on rewriting this chapter and putting more Daxter in it; I really just wanted to get a chapter up. Also - if you're curious as why 'elephant' was spelled 'warlephant' it is because that's what an elephant is there. Dogs aren't dogs, they are crocadogs. Cows aren't cows, they are yakows. So, an elephant is a warlephant (a walrus/elephant hybrid). Just like everything else, lol. Let's try and be fluffy in the comments, m'kay? Like I said, I took a break. Hopefully, you all understand. 3 Spank you.