AN: Happy Holidays! I'm sorry I've been gone so long. I haven't forgotten about this story. I hope that you'll continue to read despite my long hiatus. As usual, feedback is very much appreciated. I know this fandom is very small now, so reading your comments reminds me that there's still some of us left. It also helps me stay motivated to know that this story is still in demand. Please read the author's note at the bottom of this chapter and feel free to weigh in, if you'd like.
CHAPTER 22: PRAXIS
An adolescent Jak stood weakly in a line of others. They were all disrobed. While the others seemed to have adjusted, Jak clearly hadn't. Shorter and much younger than the others, all eyes were on him. He felt the vibration of steps and the muffled anger of someone he could barely hear but easily recognized. The voice got closer and closer until Jak could only hear himself struggling to keep composure.
But the man, still high on power and his tirade, waltzed past.
The others watched the man with false confidence, like they were trying to prove themselves; that they were men who didn't fear the unknown or the crazed redhead that paced before them.
Jak didn't have it in him to pretend.
Just as he had found a memory to focus in on, the man stood smugly in front of him. He studied Jak from head to toe, acknowledging his busted lip and split brow with a look as if Jak deserved it.
"Tomorrow."
Jak's eyes glanced down at the man's lips and watched as they curved with every syllable, which immediately made the man before him suspicious.
"...Can you not hear me?"
Once again, almost reflexively, Jak's eyes looked to the man's lips in desperation.
The man's brows softened upon realization, but moments later, the corners of his lips curled up into a villainous smile.
Jak woke up. He didn't know where he was at first, but it all came back rather quickly. As he tried to steady his breathing, an unbearable ringing in his ears caused him to hiss and grab at them. He was sweating, and his vision became sharp as the ringing only intensified the longer he sat there.
It was more aggressive than the other times he soon realized.
Still holding one ear, he got out of bed and quickly walked to the bathroom.
He closed the door, flipped on the light, and turned the sink on. The cold water was exactly what he needed. Jak leaned over the sink and doused himself before running his palms over his face. After taking a deep breath and turning the sink off, he looked in the mirror.
He stared a little longer than usual, as if he looked particularly different tonight.
The ringing had stopped. As he turned away to return to bed, he saw something in the mirror that caused him to do a double-take. A trail of blood, no bigger than a string of yarn, ran down the side of his neck. More curious than concerned, he turned his head to confirm that the bleeding was coming from his ear. Two squares of toilet paper did just fine, and they were promptly discarded in the nearest trash bin.
Eyes peered over the rim of a paper cup. They'd dart around, surveying every person that walked by. They took note of those that hunched, scurried, and shuffled. Some were kind enough to offer a smile or nod as they passed. Cara offered warmth in return, letting herself forget the weight of the past month by smiling back. Though, when they were out of sight, her mouth fell back into a frown as she sighed.
It was cold today.
As Cara looked down into the fog of her warm tea, Jak came up behind her, making himself known by clearing his throat.
"I wish we hadn't gotten Vin involved with all of this," Cara eased into conversation.
"Torn had him pinned down at the Mine. He's been involved."
Jak was right, and Cara honored this with a sigh. "Well, how was the site?" She watched his features. "Bad?"
"Not good." Jak sipped on his drink and looked out at the port, now joining Cara at her side.
Another sigh from Cara ensued.
"How about you?" And for the first time, Jak seemed willing to chat. "Were you able to take out the cannons?"
"It wasn't too bad. You'd think they change the code more often for such heavy artillery. They must really trust me."
A crash happened behind them. Both Jak and Cara stood still. They could only imagine, considering their furry friend hadn't joined them yet.
"—Yah, whateva! I didn't want yur stinkin' overpriced pastry anyways! Your shop is overrated. Zero stars." Daxter sighed. "You'd think these guys would be a little more appreciative, right? AND—" Daxter turned back around. "Ya didn't even give me my—!" The ottsel blinked as a paper packaged straw was thrown in his face. The offender, a disgruntled woman that had visibly when agitated over the course of the last few minutes, crossed her arms before marching back into the cafe. "Fine," the ottsel said, "One star."
Cara smiled down at the irritated animal. "I'm glad you're minglin' with the townsfolk—really making us look good."
Daxter stood occupied, stabbing the lid of his drink with the straw. "Yur welcome."
"So, what were you saying about the cannons? You were able to disarm them?" Jak fidgeted with his drink, unbothered.
"Shocking, really. I wasn't exactly countin' on that to work. But I guess this'll be the first time something actually worked in our favor, right?"
"Did each one have its own control panel or..."
"Yeah, but all can be put on standby from any of them. So can the tanks."
"You can stop the tanks from the cannons?"
The tip of Cara's ears perked up. "Ooh, you're right."
"—SHE DIDN'T EVEN PUT THE CARAMEL IN HERE!" Jak and Cara looked down at Daxter, who was peering down into his drink through the top of his straw. He groaned dramatically. "I hate this place, Jak."
Jak humored his friend with a grin, since Daxter was obviously tired and worked up. Poor guy. They had been out since before sun rise, just now stopping for a drink to freshen up despite it being morning for everyone else in the city. They had been tasked with a few things: finding a way to power Praxis' emergency elevator and finding the artifacts in Haven Forest that the soothsayer (more so Pecker) had told them to collect.
Haven Forest, as ethereal as it is, homed quite a few Metal Head species, and some that they had never seen before. The three wandered around the forest, picking those creatures off one by one, and were nearly trampled by three in particular. The process took five hours, where it felt like they were searching aimlessly for two. Finding the artifacts seemed to be the easy part. But getting to them? That was a differently mission entirely.
The first artifact that they came across seemed to be the heart of a machine, or a system that replicated the planets. No one really knew or would know, considering that Daxter dismantled it in less than two seconds. It all crashed to the ground in about the same time. The second was a translucent gem that seemed to fall from the sky and the third was a vibrating, blue crystal that Daxter kindly recommended Cara sit on.
Those artifacts were promptly dropped off. Onin had begun her sixth nap of the day, and Pecker could barely be bothered to retrieve the artifacts before ushering them out of the tent. He claimed that they would be in touch.
On the way back, they stopped by the mechanic's shop near the stadium. Jak claimed that he needed to try out this course, since the mechanic had been more than happy to accommodate him with a hoverboard. That lasted almost two hours long; much longer than Jak had anticipated. Though this would never be confirmed, Cara believed that Jak spent an hour just talking to the girl behind the curtain, who actually sounded decent when Daxter and Cara weren't nearby.
Jak didn't know why, but her voice soothed him. He genuinely enjoyed talking to her, although she did seem preoccupied. Cara wanted to tease him for it, but he was in a good mood when he left the shop; his cheeks were rosy and he had a pep in his step. It made the day more bearable, so she was glad she bit her tongue.
Jak made sure to tell Cara that the girl had offered some valuable info. The Baron had an elevator to his palace nearby that could take them to the roof. This, obviously, was information that Cara, a former Guard, would not have known anything about. But she just smiled, told him how cool it was of her to play along, and suggested talking to Vin about powering the old thing up.
Vin did, after a minor panic attack. Jak had eased his mind by taking a gate to the Dig to exterminate Metal Head eggs that had clustered atop multiple buildings. While the duo did that, Cara waltzed around the Industrial Sector. She was in charge of powering down the Baron's motion-censor cannons, which was very easy given that Torn used to check maintenance on those pieces of crap twice a month.
Holy Precursors, how long ago that was...
"Remember the homemade, yakow ice cream from the good ol' days? On those hot, summer days...Chu 'n his limpy leg and cane would walk all the up to Samos' and give us three of those tasty, cold, mango pieces of heaven...man.." While Daxter reminisced, Jak looked to Cara and could tell she was looking for context. Not only had Cara zoned out, but she also had absolutely no idea what or who Daxter was talking about.
"Uh. We had a farmer back home that would make ice cream for us every summer. Farmer Chu."
"A farmer?" Cara seemed equally shocked and intrigued. "You lived on a farm? Sandover was a farm?"
Daxter, who hadn't been present when Jak had very vaguely mentioned their island home to Cara a few mornings before, looked at his friend from over his shoulder in confusion.
Jak scratched under his chin. "Not really."
"—Oh yeah! We had tons of stuff to do there! We had a farm, lots of fish...lots of fuckin' birds," and he feigned annoyance for that last bit, "—blue water as far as your lil dolls eyes could see, with warm, white sand that would curl 'round yur toes 'n keep 'em nice 'n toasty! A luscious forest to our left 'n a poppin' party joint of a lighthouse to our right—where Jak 'n Keira would often sneak off to to make out."
"What?"
Jak was quick to play dumb, but that didn't stop Daxter! And it certainly did not dim the glow in Cara's beaming eyes. Daxter had her sold, and he wasn't going to stop until she agreed to check the place out, seemingly.
"You should come back with us! You'd love it there! It's the best place in tha entire..." he sighed, "...world."
Daxter's excitement started to lull. His ability to sell dissipated. He remembered where they were and that there was a very big chance that they'd never be able to return from where they came. Daxter sighed, and Cara shared a look of concern.
"I sure miss that place," he said sadly.
After a few seconds of silence, Cara hummed and pretended to think. "Well, I guess the best thing to do would be to make sure you get home." She looked to Daxter, who looked at her with hope. She could see Jak with a hint of it as well from the corner of her eye. "Right?"
"Dun make promises ya can't keep, buttercup."
"Yeah," Jak began, "What makes you so sure that you could pull off something like that?"
"I mean, you guys did get here, right? How hard could it be to get back? A few nights on a boat, a day on the Air Train?" Cara practically scoffed.
Daxter comedically tilted his head in Jak's direction. Obviously, his friend had forgotten a very crucial variable in all of this.
"You help me get my revenge on the Baron, and I'll help you guys get home. Deal?"
Before Jak could even think about how he was going to answer, Daxter exclaimed "DEAL" very happily and with no hesitation.
Cara nodded, "Right on."
"Well, 'n that case, we better get a move on then." The ottsel said, now motivated more than ever. He started walking, but quickly noticed that he had no followers. "C'mon! Yah got me all pumped up. You got promises to keep! And I've neva wanted a yakow pop more in my entire life."
Cara smiled as she watched Daxter, but that ceased when she turned to Jak. He didn't look as convinced and it showed.
"What are you trying to do exactly?"
"Sandover," Cara said with a shrug. "Sounds like a nice place."
On cue, Jak shared his usual glare but with a hint of suspicion.
"I wasn't lying, you know."
"And I'm just supposed to trust you?"
Cara was high on Daxter's confidence in her, and it was obvious that Jak was intimidated by it.
"Daxter trusts me."
"Daxter trusts everyone."
"I promise," Cara insisted sternly, a crinkle visible between her brows. They stood silently, like two muses ready to start batting at each other.
The snarky comments never came. It was obvious that the two were too tired to come up with anything. Knowing the effect her own smile had on him, and how easy it was to do, she showed him her best one. She would not let herself be bothered by him.
"Oh, and by the way, you're bleeding," she pointed out. Cara eyed Jak as he quickly brought up a hand and smoothed a thumbed over his lobe. Suspicious but not nearly as invested, she turned away, leaving her renegade partner to flick the crumbling blood off his thumb casually.
For the first time, he was the one to follow behind.
The wind howled as a streak of lightning danced across the sky.
A hand slapped down onto a slab of concrete and, with a grunt, Cara lifted herself up. The ball of orange hopped up after and shook his drenched fur, causing it stick up straight before he flattened it with frustration. Cara turned and extended a hand for Jak, but he was quick to dismiss it. She wiped her sweaty palms off on her pants as she rolled her eyes.
"Welp, we made it," Daxter said as began to wring out his tail. He was really good at containing his enthusiasm.
Cara looked back at what they had endured. Spikes, shock pads, trap floors, turrets...
"Barely."
"Yeah well, I'm sure it wasn't the kind of leg shaking experience you'd ah probably preferred, but we're here now and I've still got all my body parts! Heh heh.."
Cara scrunched up her nose and looked away as Daxter quickly took inventory between his legs.
"Oh no! I..I've..oh wait, there they are." He was only background noise, unfortunately. Thankfully.
Further up on the roof, light from inside the palace illuminated through a skylight. Jak had noticed this almost immediately.
"Up there." Jak gestured with a nod. "Getting in might be a lot easier than I thought."
"And when we do?"
Jak put on the most charming smile before he cooed, "Bye bye, Baron."
Cara turned as he stalked past. She grew slightly concerned. Orange ears waddled past in her peripherals, and with very little hesitation, she scooped up a damp Daxter and followed, despite his short-lived protests.
Daxter eyed Cara as she gently let him down next to Jak and the skylight. Of course, he had to pretend that he didn't care for being carried akin to how a toddler would carry a cat. As long as he didn't have to walk.
Cara knelt down next to Jak and cautiously peered into the palace from above.
They were above the Baron's throne room, and it was very much occupied. Baron Praxis stood before a hologram of...a Metal Head? Erol paced nearby, visibly agitated.
...
"I've told you. I will have more eco by week's end. We'll transport it directly to your nest, as promised," the Baron said in a very professional tone.
"A deal is of no value if you can't deliver, my dear Baron. I grow impatient with your puny gestures! Give me the agreed upon eco soon or the deal is off, and your precious city will pay the price!" The Metal Head yelled before the transmission ended abruptly.
Cara hadn't realized, but as she watched the Metal Head speak, she hunched forward in disbelief. Metal Heads didn't speak. This had to be the leader.
Erol turned to the Baron in anger. "He's toying with us! Let me lead an assault on the Nest before it's too late! I can take him!"
The Baron gazed at his scummy, dark metropolis from a nearby window. "Patience, commander. No one has ever penetrated the Metal Head Nest. You know that. I've seen what comes of such foolish plans." The Baron ran his hand over the metal patch over his eye. "No. Strength is their weakness. We play helpless. We train them to eat from our hands, and then...move forward with the plan! Tell Ashelin to up her patrols. I want that Tomb found!"
"But your daughter has not been...agreeable."
"I'll see to that problem, one way or another."
"Ashelin is the Baron's daughter?" Jak asked, although it was more accusatory, and it was directed right at Cara.
"—And find that child!" Praxis continued. "If you'd spend half as much time looking for the little brat as you spend flirting with that mechanic girl, we would have pinned his royal ass to a wall long ago!"
Jak and Cara looked at each other in realization, while Daxter forced himself to pay attention. The ottsel wrinkled his nose.
Erol rolled his eyes. "As you wish. With enough persuasion, I'm sure our spy will—"
Achoo!
Erol pointed his pistol at the rooftop. "—What was that?"
Jak had his hand grasped firmly over his furry friend's mug. Cara had completely abandoned ship.
After glaring down at Daxter, Jak let him go.
"Bleck. I'm gettin' sick. No thanks to you two."
"Oh, and where do you think you're going?" Jak quickly got to his feet and pursued Cara, who was very content with ignoring him and what he had just discovered. "I'm talking to you!"
"I hear you," Cara said as she waved him off.
"—No no no.." Jak quickened his steps and grabbed Cara by her upper arm. This shocked both of them. Cara looked down at her arm, crinkled her nose, and looked back to him. Jak took the hint.
"What?"
"Ashelin. You knew."
"Yeah," as if it couldn't have been more obvious.
"Yeah? She's supposedly on our side. You don't think that's odd or, I don't know, a huge red flag?"
She laughed rather dramatically. "Are you kidding me? Ashelin is a red flag. As a person. She's awful and self-absorbed, just like dear 'ol Dad."
Jak couldn't fathom this. "And you thought this wasn't something to tell me because?"
"Because every time I try to tell you anything, you don't care!"
"Oh god..."
"You don't listen to me or think whatever I'm saying is important!"
"I don't have fucking time for this."
"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about!"
"What?"
"Whenever I try to tell you anything, you just shut me and whatever I have to say down. Literally every time."
"I.."
"—No. No talking, just listen." Cara didn't appreciate Jak rolling his eyes, but he seemed to give her the floor to proceed. "I noticed that something was off with Ashelin before I left the Guard. Now it's starting to make sense. Torn had already planned on getting out, back when Damas ruled the city, but Praxis made him stay. They had planned something together. I wanted to help, but Torn wouldn't tell me anything—said it was just between him and Ashelin. She was too messy, and Torn took the blame. He was scheduled for exile but disappeared days before."
Jak's questioned remained unanswered. He spoke slowly, like Cara was too stupid to understand the first time. "Okay. And that makes Ashelin bad, how?"
"Because it's her fault that Torn was sentenced to die. A-and Torn didn't agree to take the blame for her, she just made up a story in her head and Torn, for some fucking reason, just went along with it. Like he was blackmailed or pressured. He wouldn't have agreed to that. Ashelin made Torn leave me there! I had no one!"
As Cara's chest heaved, Jak realized that Cara's outlook on Ashelin was heavily personal. Thus, it was bullshit.
Jak looked past Cara as he walked by, "Okay."
"Don't you get it? She's playing both sides. And we don't know which side she's more loyal to."
"Yep."
"She could turn on us, Jak."
"Right."
Cara, who had begun pursuing her half-ass listener, stopped dead in her tracks. "Ugh!" Cara stomped her foot, but the building seemed to budge back. As the fortress shook, the three atop the roof braced themselves.
"So, we got a rat in the walls, do we?"
Piloting his Flight Tank, Baron Praxis descended into the trio's view. "A rat and his boy, it seems! Back for a few more eco treatments?" The Baron reclined back in his Flight Tank smugly, but he fell quiet when he noticed Cara. He spoke low, "Oh, and look who we have here. Don't you boys know that snakes eat rats? Allow me to do you a favor!" Praxis watched Cara's eyes widen on his reticle, her head centered between the crosshairs.
The tank chirped as it locked on to Cara, but before it could release any ammunition, Praxis was caught off guard by three warning shots to his window. It wasn't enough to get the bastard, but it did leave some solid dents.
"I'm flattered that you trust me enough to take your eyes off me!" Jak loudly teased.
Praxis sneered and repositioned his tank to target Jak. This time, Praxis took the shot, but Jak was quick to get out of harm's way. Unable to access the battleground, Praxis needed to back away until Cara ceased fire, her sub-pistols creating a glare as bullets hit the tank.
He was on the right, absorbing power from a nearby electrical tower. Inconvenient, yes. But had he decided to shoot, Cara would have been shit out of luck.
The storm had picked up, leaving Jak, Daxter, and Cara to fight in a downpour, multiple stories above the city. Not a lot of room for any error.
"The tower!" Cara shouted, even though Jak caught on at about the same time. Both Cara and Jak dumped bullets into the tower until it went down. Praxis fled, but they knew that he would be back. He just needed another tower to suck off.
In an attempt to follow the corrupt leader, the three approached an electric fence. Cara could have probably shut it down if given the opportunity, but Jak, being hopped up on rage and adrenaline, butted the control panel with the rear of his gun twice, and that seemed to be sufficient enough.
"Do you have ammo?" Jak yelled through the rain, a bullet whizzing past his head immediately after. Both cowering from fire, Jak and Cara separated, taking cover behind adjacent walls.
"Cara, ammo!" Jak practically screamed. And then it dawned on her: Jak wasn't asking if Cara had enough ammo, he needed ammo. As bullets chipped away at the cement of her cover, Cara panicked as she searched her belt for the ammo Jak needed.
"Cara!"
"—I got it!" While the tank was reloading, Cara used those three seconds to lean over and slide the magazine over to Jak. Except, it didn't quite make it over.
Jak resisted the urge to bash his own head into the wall behind him.
"—On it!" Daxter declared despite Jak's protests and the audible cycling of the tank's turret system booting up. Daxter bolted for the magazine, the heat from the trail of bullets on his ass. He reached out, grabbed the magazine heroically, and slid to safety. Daxter opened his eyes, grinned, and kissed the magazine. "Ah ha! Jak, I've got your...oh." It was Cara who sat before him. "Well now we're just back where we started!"
Only having a few bullets left, Jak made a run for it, shooting whatever he had left on the way over. Right as he joined Cara's side, Daxter was practically shoving the magazine in for him. "Here here, take it! Takeittakeittakeit!"
Cara pushed herself up, quickly lowering her arms onto the wall to put the Baron in her sight. But, she was met with a dark sky and the sound of rain. No Praxis.
"I guess this is where it ends."
Cara, Jak, and Daxter all slowly turned to see the Baron and his Flight Tank descending right behind them. A bright, fiery light started up within the tank's cannon. There was no escaping this. The Baron's thumb hovered over the fire button. "A pity! I thought you'd be a lot harder to kill." With a smirk, Praxis pressed the button.
The sound was almost deafening, but when they were struck, it became quiet and bright. They do say that a quick death is a painless death. Cara didn't feel any pain at all. She opened her eyes. To her left, Daxter was bent over in terror, covering his head in sad acceptance. To her right, Jak stood with an arm protectively in front of her and Daxter, completely frozen in time. Cara had barely realized that she, too, had her arm extended before her—her palm out and flat, as if commanding the Baron to stop. And stop, he did. Praxis and the missile were both completely still.
Cara looked around in pure confusion and wonder. There was round ball of light around them, and they were engulfed in it. If she listened carefully enough, she could hear its quiet and unwavering hum. Flickers of purple light, as light as lavender, swam around them, with flecks of darker purples and varying hues of pink. It was majestic, beautiful even. Cara was on her feet now, not knowing how she felt about seeing her partner and Daxter in their final moments. Especially, Jak. She could see it in his eyes—the terror battling with obligation.
As she approached the missile, there was a new, deeper hum. Slowly, she reached out and pressed against the front of it. To her surprise, it floated weightlessly. She put it all together. After a final glance at the two behind her, she spun the missile around, pointing it in the direction of the Baron. But now what? She hadn't the slightest clue how she was able to do this—to stop and manipulate time—so how could she speed everything up? Cara remembered her gesture and looked down at her hand. With some hesitation, she extended her arm out like she had done before...but this time, she spread her fingers wide. She felt a shift, like things were preparing to return to normal. She quickly formed her hand into a fist.
Reality broke through, the moments prior shattering like fragile glass around her. The explosion from the missile striking the tank knocked her back into Jak's arm. He reflexively caught her, not knowing what the fuck was even going on.
The Baron's emergency tank, a much smaller tank within the Flight Tank, struggled to remain in flight.
"Don't think this is over! We'll meet again!" And with that, Praxis was gone. For good, this time.
The trio had watched Praxis flee from the roof banister, and Daxter waved him off.
As Cara walked away, she considered bringing up what happened to Jak. But, something told her that it wasn't the time.
"Hey."
Or maybe she'd have no choice. Cara stopped and turned to face Jak. No words were exchanged, just empty stares that somehow still said a lot.
An alarm sounded all over Haven. The two didn't even flinch.
Jak never did say anything.
The guards seemed to favor capturing (or killing) Jak over Cara. He figured it would be one or the other. Or both. Whatever came first. He flew down alleyways, only a passing shadow to the Hellcats that were being used to barricade him in. He took a left turn, another left turn, and then went right. He acknowledged the barking crocadogs in the distance. He needed to be faster. Cara needed to be faster.
Cara hadn't been. Jak didn't notice. Daxter did, however.
"Jak! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we lost one!"
"She'll be fine!" He reassured as he surveyed the alley for a getaway route. Daxter's incessant objections quickly became background noise. If he could get up to the ledge, he could swing over to the iron balcony. And if he decided to break a couple windows, that would give him even more options.
In the meantime, Daxter hadn't let up. "And we'll find her cold, lifeless body on the street! Is that what ya want, Jak? 'Cuz I dun know about you, but I am not about to live with that weighin' me down!"
Cara noticed that the commotion seemed to falter. Panting, she slowed down to a jog and then stopped under a single, flickering streetlamp. This didn't feel right. She looked around, confirming that she was alone. This was not bad nor good. A group of guards rushed a nearby street, and Cara quickly ducked behind a wall until they passed.
She needed to find Jak and Daxter. Not because she felt vulnerable, necessarily, but because she was out of the loop. What was the plan? They were in such a rush to escape the fortress that they hadn't decided on one. Was she supposed to know? Was she supposed to stay put? Look for them? Cara could imagine Jak getting on her case about doing either. Frustrated, she looked up at the lamp in and dropped her arms to the sides in defeat.
A nearby trash bin rattled, startling her.
"Daxter?" It wasn't Daxter. She knew it wasn't Daxter.
A snarling crocadog emerged from behind the bins, eyes bent with the intent to kill on sight. It approached her slowly, taking its sweet time.
Cara unsheathed a single pistol and held it at her side. With every step it took toward her, she took a step back. "Easy." The crocadog wasn't fazed. "Easy now." Her soothing was only met with the snapping of teeth and a quick lunge at her ankle, which she managed to evade at the last second. Cara composed herself and aimed directly at the crocadog's head. "Stay back!"
That only seemed to be an invitation. The crocadog became more erratic and unpredictable. It snarled. Barked. Growled. Mercilessly, violently. Cara couldn't help but quickly look over her shoulder a few times, worried that if the crocadog didn't tear her apart, it would alert the guards of her whereabouts. She remained on her toes, rocking back and forth to prepare for a quick dodge, should she need to. Taken by surprise, although it was to be expected, Cara looked over her should another time as she heard the sound of guards and boots echoing close by—very close by. A very mindless mistake.
Fire scorched every tendon as the dog bit down into her arm and began to thrash her around, causing her to drop her weapon. Cara grimaced and tugged, but it only made the attack more brutal. The crocadog's jaw had locked. Even if it wanted to release her, it probably couldn't. Cara could feel herself going into shock. By keeping her free hand on the scruff of the animal's neck, it made the pain bearable enough to think. As it yanked her around, successfully bringing her to her knees a couple of times, she knew she had to remain on her feet. With her less dominant arm, she laid a couple of anguished punches to the crocadog's head. This did close to nothing. As she wrestled for her life, nearly slipping on the blood covered cement under her, she attempted to pry its locked jaws off of her. Wet snarls echoed in the alley.
The dog yelped as a cloud of red mist hung in the air. Cara assumed it was Jak, and she'd be right this time. Now free, she held her arm to her chest and let herself phase through the pain.
"Let me see it," her savior insisted.
"Don't touch it."
Daxter eyed the dead crocadog, only standing as close as he was because of its new life status. It only took one spasm for Daxter's fur to raise. He hopped on Jak's shoulder with absolute no trust in the animal being down for good.
The voices and clicking of boots drew nearer. From the sound of it, they were only one street over. The beams of flashlights only reaffirmed the three that they needed to get out there fast.
"Come on." Jak pushed Cara along as he undid the maroon scarf that he often donned as a headpiece. "Here. Slow the bleeding down. When we get to the hideout, we'll patch you up. Just stay with me." As they jogged side by side, Jak helped Cara wrap her bite.
They turned a corner but immediately backtracked, having seen guards at the end of the street. They tried another street but saw more guards appear around the bend. They were closing in on them, and after repeatedly colliding into each other as they tried to reroute themselves, the trio realized that a stealthy exit wasn't plausible. Jak blindly backed Cara into another alleyway, steps well paced in preparation to sprint, but only ended up taking a squad of three by surprise.
"They're here!"
But Jak, Cara, and Daxter were already peeling around the nearest building, bullets ricocheting and chipping away at the edge of its exterior. They would need to take a more "head-on" approach.
They passed an open alley, and Cara called out to the others, already turning down the path. "This way!"
As they all ran down the alley together, a guard leapt out in front of them.
Before the guard could fire with any precision, he was face-to-face with a shrieking ottsel, who put every claw to work when scratching up his visor. Jak and Cara passed the guard as he desperately tried to peel the animal off of him. Behind them, they heard, "I'll catch up with ya guys later!"
As they neared the port, two guards became visible at the alleyway's exit. The assholes had their backs turned as they guarded the alley from the street. For a split second, Jak glanced at Cara, and he hoped that she understood. Cara frowned, but that was acknowledgment enough.
They picked up the pace, now within fifty feet from the guards. The guard on the right casually turned, having heard what sounded like footsteps, but was quickly flung onto his back with a grunt. He looked to his comrade for backup, but he was also on the ground, dazed. Their attackers continued on foot down the port, completely out of sight by the time the guards were back on their feet.
On the other side of the port, guards poured out of every alley.
"We've got to get off the street, Jak."
"We need to get back to the Hog."
"That's back the other way."
The gears spun in Jak's brain. So much so that he had stopped running, which caught Cara off guard. Before she could protest, he pointed to the top of a nearby building.
"The roof. We need to get up there. A few jumps and we'll be at the saloon." Jak's eyes flickered from rooftop to rooftop, and Cara looked behind them. The port had evenly spaced towers near the water's edge. It had ladders for maintenance. That was their ticket up.
"There." Cara pointed. Jak whipped around. "That will get us up on the roof."
The two ran to the tower and started their climb. The rain made the rails and surface slick. Cara's knuckles grew white as she grasped the ladder tightly. It didn't help that her bite had made her entire forearm numb—she could barely hold on. The wind had also picked up, which only added another variable to the chaos. The guards had also begun shooting at them again.
"Don't stop! Keep going!"
Cara acknowledged her comrade from below. Shakily, she continued to climb. This was her idea, after all.
Blindly, Cara reached for the edge of the platform. There was small alcove with barely enough room for two.
The sound of copper colliding and ricocheting off the steel platform almost made Cara lose her footing. She forced her back against their cover.
Jak stayed at her side, still hunched over from ducking out of firing range.
"This was your idea of a good plan?" Jak yelled over the downpour and howling wind. "We're stuck up here!"
Too exhausted to panic, Cara squinted up at another ladder. "Up there!" And after a bullet pierced the tower a couple inches away from their heads, they were even more committed to continuing their climb.
At this height, traversing the platform became increasingly more difficult and dangerous.
As the two cautiously made their way to the end of the platform, a Hellcat ascended directly in front of them and their escape route, nearly blinding them with its high beams.
Over the intercom, there was a familiar voice. "What a pleasant surprise! We've got to stop meeting like this."
"Erol," Jak complained, more annoyed than fearful by having been inconvenienced.
Inside the cruiser, Erol had both elbows rested on the front seats as he sat in the back. "You've caused enough trouble, don't you think? The city doesn't take too kindly to pests, and you two have only proven to be just that. Pests."
Cara practically spoke into Jak's shoulder, "What do we do?"
"I'm thinking, hold on," he whispered.
Erol continued, "I refuse to let my city be tainted by the likes of you." He motioned to the guard that was piloting the Hellcat. "Kill them."
"Run."
In shock, the pilot stumbled over himself. "W-what? Sir."
"I said kill them."
The pilot finger's remained above the trigger, his entire hand shaking. He recognized Cara. No, he knew her well. He had talked to her many times. They weren't friends, but the relationship was cordial enough. He had given her a Christmas card of him and his family, which Cara had gushed about and pinned to the board in her office.
"Are you deaf? Shoot, I said!" Erol shouted.
The pilot looked at the two on the tower before him. Erol firmly grabbed his hand and pressed his thumb down for him.
Jak and Cara ran. The bridge of the tower's rooftop seemed so much longer than it was.
Once they reached the edge, they threw themselves over the side, the muzzle flash casting their shadows over the black water below them. They were high up, but they hadn't realized how high exactly until they were both freefalling from nearly six stories high. Cara felt her stomach turn. The gap between them and the water's surface closed at such a rapid pace that she questioned surviving. Cara closed her eyes and braced herself a mere two seconds before impact.
Both crashed into the water.
...
The frigid water startled every nerve. Cara let herself sink as her body struggled to adjust to the temperature. The moonlight casted its single ray over her, and she looked up into it with grace. She hadn't even noticed that Jak had descended and was reaching out to her. A single touch brought her back, and just in time to see a red beacon start to glow in the dark depths of the port's floor.
Cara's eyes widened as she grabbed a hold of Jak's arm and desperately tugged, a flurry of bubbles escaping her mouth as she attempted to shout under water.
Jak didn't fight her on this. He pushed himself through the water, which was harder than anticipated. His arms had grown numb, yet they felt heavy. Jak looked over his shoulder, and right as he did, a scanner engaged. Across the entire length of the port, a laser monitored any activity in the water.
The two put a safe amount of space between themselves and the laser. Jak looked up in somewhat awe, and Cara wafted closer. Above them, the laser created a barrier; it loomed over them in a checkered fashion with squares not nearly as big enough as they had hoped.
Cara began to slowly ascend, leaving Jak to wonder in his own space. As she neared the laser, taking in the vibrating hum, it disengaged and faded away.
In that moment, nothing seemed more appealing than the surface. The closer she got, the harder it became to breathe. Her struggle was audible as her own air bubbles blinded her.
She took a deep breath as she broke through. Jak was only a few seconds behind her. Exhausted, she could barely keep herself afloat.
They took shelter under a steel deck, and Cara used its beams to steady herself.
Jak brushed his wet locks back, green roots more prominent than ever.
Cara offered a triumphant, but very tired, smile. That's all she could muster.
Jak wanted to laugh. Not because this situation was at-all funny, but because he just couldn't believe where the night had taken them. Traversing the Baron's rooftop, fighting the Baron—he felt like it had happened a day or two before, even though it had all happened an hour ago. And now, here they were, submerged in water that was very capable of putting them in hospital beds, with one of them babysitting a rather critical bite. So much had happened.
Based on Cara's demeanor, what she was thinking wasn't too far off.
...
On the port, heavy boots carried about, and the duos' eyes were suddenly glued to the deck above them. They treaded water as quietly as they could.
The platform creaked as someone slowly walked down it. Cara held her breath, but her involuntary gasp would surely blow their cover. Jak clasped a hand over her mouth, very slowly pushing them both in the corner and away from the edge.
Above, Erol peered out into the port.
"Any sign of them?" asked a single guard, his comrades close by.
Erol glared furiously into the dark water and mist in the distance.
"No. But best believe me when I say...that the next time that I see those fucking freaks, it'll be the last." Erol turned to his soldiers, uptight and wafting in his own anger. He stalked past before commanding, "Move out!"
...
The port was a ghost town. When the wind hit the walls of the city, it created a howl that could only be described as sinister. It had to be around three o'clock in the morning. A hand grasped the edge of the port's walkway. Another one followed. Drenched and exhausted, Jak and Cara barely managed to pull themselves out of the freezing water.
"Jak?" Little, orange ears perked up. "Cara!" Daxter emerged from the shadows of an alleyway, having previously been on all fours, and dashed to his friends. "I'm been lookin' all over for you two!"
"I'm freezing," Cara whispered as she shook furiously, her blonde locks plastered to her chin and back of her neck.
"Dax!" Jak seemed to command, and without any questions, the ottsel was at his side. In a swift motion, Jak picked Daxter up and draped him around Cara's neck. Daxter didn't need any instruction. He fluffed himself up and curled his tail around her, offering further care by breathing on his paws and frantically rubbing her face. If Cara didn't appreciate it, he couldn't tell.
Cara hissed as she pulled the nylon through the flesh of her arm. Every time she pulled the needle through her skin, she took a thirty second mental break. Before she could continue, her eyes peered up at Jak, who casually sat in front of her. He didn't explain himself.
"Here," Jak said as he handed her a bottle of whiskey.
"Thanks," Cara said breathlessly as she unscrewed the lid and pounded some down.
Jak seemed conflicted. "Uh. For your—"
"—Oh! Yeah." Cara tilted the bottle toward her wound. She couldn't bring herself to do it, so she quickly extended it Jak's way. "Can you do it?" Nervous, she chuckled. "I...I can't do it to myself. Please."
"Take another swig," Jak instructed, and Cara did so.
...
Forty-five minutes later, and Cara had managed to lose her title as sober. The pain had subsided for the most part, unless Jak tugged too hard. Like now.
"Owuuuh!" Cara whined. She reflexively swatted Jak's working hands away, but he was already two swats ahead of her. "You're being too rough."
"I am not," he argued in almost disbelief as he continued anyway. "I'm making sure it won't come undone."
Cara sloshed the whiskey around before her words became an echo inside the bottle, "I think you're enjoying it."
"Hmph."
After a few minutes, Jak couldn't help but eye his patient as she let out a giant sigh.
"I want to go to Sandover," Cara confided in a slur, cheeks red and glossy-eyed. Jak froze. "Seems like a decent place. You know...ever since you told me where you guys are from—this Sandover—I've been having dreams about being there, even though I have no idea what it looks like." She chuckled and had yet to notice Jak's hands idling over her. "I see water, but not like the water here. It's bright and blue...and I can see my feet at the bottom. There's always a warm breeze that tastes like salt and clean air, like I can actually breathe for once. But, I'm always alone—don't know why."
Neither Jak nor Cara realized, but Jak's normally stern brows let up as he actually listened to her. He felt bad for dream Cara.
Real Cara laughed off the emptiness and groaned, wiping a single tear away with the back of her sleeve. She smiled playfully, embarrassed even with the warmth of whiskey in her belly. Jak tried to return something similar, but it came off apologetic.
"Fuck, I am a cry baby."
Jak mentally went over possible responses during the pause in dialogue, but settled on, "Done." He spoke quietly and offered a conflicted smile. He seemed unsure. Thankfully, Cara was too toasted to notice.
Cara obliviously expressed her gratitude during a long yawn. Barely making it into bed, Cara plopped down onto the nearest one, and before promptly passing out, had some parting words. "We're not that different. You and me. Good people, shitty deck." Yawn. "That's all."
Jak humored the drunk wisdom and left Cara too sleep. This left Jak responsible for cleaning up, which had he planned to do anyway, despite being as exhausted as he was. However, he found himself oddly awake after putting away all of the medical supplies. He had tried to lay down and count yakows, but sleep just wasn't coming easy for him tonight. As the Underground slept, Jak watched the small television in the corner of the room. It was just the Baron's piss poor speeches on repeat, full of empty promises and utter bullshit. Jak would notice something new every time he watched it; Erol and Ashelin in the background, the lack of sincerity in the Baron's eye, the fact that Praxis couldn't recite the fucking alphabet without a teleprompter. He was just pissing himself off at this point.
For no reason at all, Jak found himself peering over at a sleeping Cara, who elegantly had her arm draped over the side of the bed. He sat up and squinted into the dark when he realized that Cara seemed to have a rather deep cut on her finger. How did he miss that? Mentally cursing himself for not being more thorough, (and also for having put everything away already) he rolled his eyes before getting up to, once again, retrieve the supplies.
Jak kneeled before Cara and carelessly dropped the supply box next to him. Not really worried if she woke up or not, he grabbed her wrist with one hand and extended her finger with the other. He looked to the box, but something caught his eye, suddenly. A flurry of purple danced around Cara's fingertip, at the site of her wound. Jak's curiosity brought him to handle her finger a bit more aggressively, and he brought her finger up to eye level.
There was no mistaking what pooled within her. Jak, especially, knew. The pad of his finger hovered over Cara's.
"We're not so different. You and me."
Slowly, he moved his finger closer. The flurry from before emerged and, this time, spun around both of their fingers, the eco reaction reflecting in Jak's eyes. There was a quiet, electric hum as Jak felt a slight vibration in his hand. It was beautiful, kinda. Jak's finger released a flurry of its own that intertwined with the other. In awe, Jak slowly leaned in get a better look, but a loud zap startled him when the flurries collided, a purple-red spark before he was left in darkness.
Jak shook his hand to relieve himself of the sting as he looked at Cara, who simply groaned and turned over.
Jak just sat there for a moment, second-guessing everything he had come to think and know about the sleeping goof in front of him. In that moment, Jak realized that he may not really know her at all.
AN: I apologize for the brevity of the fight with Praxis. I really wasn't looking forward to writing that scene at all. This chapter was sitting in my Doc Manager unfinished for probably a year now. Much of it was already written but needed to be beefed up, which I did do before publishing (albeit not as much as I could have). I'm trying to reacquaint myself with the story and what I had planned for it, but I honestly can't remember. I'm going to re-plan, I think. I plan on having this be part of a series, like many others have done with the games, so I'll most likely omit missions and stuff that aren't super important. I'd much rather dedicate the chapters to original content that I've introduced. We'll see how it goes. Let me know what you think and/or if there's anything you'd like me to focus on or include. Thanks!