Author's note: Hello everybody who actually still read this story! I am sorry for not updating since November 15th, I had a week long vacation for Thanksgiving, but I had no inspiration to write this story. Plus, I had an idea for an extra credit story for a class the night before Thanksgiving (it was a horror story based off Dark Jak!), but it got too gory when I finished it to turn in. If you guys want, I could have crai22 PM it to you, just say so in da reviews. " As usual, on with the story, but before that, the rights ...Stuff I own: Plot & OCs; Stuff I DON'T own: Any characters that aren't OCs & the places these characters live in. Now, for real this time... ON WITH THE STORY! P.S: I AM TRYING DIALECT WITH DAXTER IN THIS CHAPTER, SO PLEASE, BEAR WITH ME!
"Jak's POV"
s I walk through the inside door that leads into the city, I chance to look up a Daxter only to see him giving me an evocative smile. "What are you smiling about?" I ask him rudely, only to make his smile grow even more. "I see wha yer tryin' ta do, yer puttin' the moves on Meldalvyna!" Daxter laughs with his revelation as I walk down to the zoomer. I could literally feel the blood rushing to face with embarassment. "I am not!" I yell back at him defiantly as I jump on the vehicle. "Well, I wasn't thinking of it like that..." I add in my head, Dark sniggering at the thought while Light just gives a single chuckle.
"Well then, wha was that hug back there fer?" Daxter asks, the suggestive smile still on his face before I could start the zoomer. "I don't know, it was just a 'see-you-later' kind of hug," I say glaring, still trying to defend from myself Daxter's constant badgering. "Sure it was, sure it was," Daxter says with a light chuckle, finally letting it drop when I start the vehicle. Thankfully, the ride is silent as I make my way too the Freedom League HQ. As I get off the cobalt-blue zoomer, I notice Daxter starts to smile mischievously like earlier. "I swear Dax, if you bring up the hug, I'll shave your entire upper half bald," I threaten when I realize what the smile is about directly outside the HQ's door.
Successfully entering in the code to the door, I walk down the familiar hallway and into the main room of the Freedom League Head Quarters. Standing over his desk as usual, I see Torn looking down at multiple maps & other nonspecific papers strewn about the desktop. Upon clearing my throat, Torn looks up from his work & gives a small smile. "Hello Jak, Daxter, how'd talking with Meldalvyna go?" he asks once he sees us. "Perfect, actually. She's coming tomorrow, and wants to be picked up at one pm by air-tran," I say with a triumphant smile while sitting down in one of the chairs across from Torn. He looks up at me with a shocked look, staring me straight in the eyes before responding.
"How? I gave you at least a week to gain her trust," Torn replies, still not believing how fast I did my job. "Well, we were talking while walking down a path, & her double-step uncle shows up, ends up offering to go meet the rest of the family, which I do, & I meet & talk with her step-father & her mother," I say quickly by steadily. Torn takes a minute to let what I said sink in, only to get an extremely confused expression a second later. "Wait, did you say her double-step uncle?" he asks, looking back up at me from his thoughts. "Yeah, his name is Sparx, & he is her step-father Spyro's step-brother," I explain in the easiest way I can without trying to make him think I was talking to him as if he's stupid. "Oh, so the only person she is actually related to is her mother?" Torn asks while nodding his head, understanding what I had told him.
"Yes, Meldalvyna's only blood relative in their house is her mother, Cynder, or as she told me to call her in her presence, Mrs. Jonathan-Elindrea," I respond with a small smile on my face at the amount of information I could provide. Torn's confused expression turns to one of pride as he smiles at me. "Okay, so you said at one pm by air-tran?" he asks, the smile never leaving his face. I nod in response while standing up after having noticed what time it is. "See you tomorrow, Torn," I say with a sideways smile & while suppressing a yawn. "Alright, see you tomorrow," Torn replies, looking back to his papers.
On the way home, I drop off Daxter at the Naughty Ottsel's, arriving at my apartment only five minutes later. Sleepily, I trudge into my home & toss my keys onto a small table near the door. I slowly walk into my room to get out some clean clothes to wear to bed & some for the next day to wear. Leaving the clothing for the next day at the foot of my bed, I take the other set of clothes into the bathroom. Peeling off my clothing drowsily, I step in the shower & turn on the hot water. Twenty minutes later I step out, the steam billowing out the door as I open the bathroom door. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep in a dreamless, yet not restless, slumber.
I hear my alarm going off and slap at the annoying device. "Ugh, who invented the alarm clock? Sleep good, alarms bad," I think groggily while looking at the little device. "Yes, while sleep may be good & all, must I remind you that you're forgetting something, or, in better terms, someone?" Light asks, prodding me mentally. Realizing what he meant when I read the time, which was eleven fifty-nine am, I leap out of bed & start putting on my clothes & gear hurriedly. "Yeah, now you remember. You know, I think its the fact that Meldalvyna being involved is making Jak go fast, do you agree Light?" Dark teases, actually trying to gain support from his Light Eco twin. "Yes, I do agree," Light concurs, taking me by surprise.
I ignore the two as they continue tease as I get ready. Once dressed, I rush into the kitchen to eat a bowl of cereal. Throwing the plastic bowl and metal spoon when I finish into the sink, I rush into the bathroom. I quickly brush my teeth, scrubbing the surfaces until my arms hurt. Spitting out the last of the toothpaste, I grab my comb & neaten up my hair, as it was still messy from the shower the night before. I throw my comb back into its place, run out into the living room, & pick up my cellphone to call Daxter.
"Hey Jak, wha's shakin'?" Daxter asks when he picks up. Before I answer, I take in a huge calming breath. "Are you coming with me to pick up Meldalvyna from the forest?" I ask him, half hoping he will say no so I don't keep Meldalvyna waiting for me. "Na Jak, I can't, Tess wants me ta 'elp 'er with runnin' the bar t'day, sorry," Daxter says, a sad tone to his normally cheery voice. "No, that's alright, I just woke up fifteen minutes ago anyways," I say with a nervous laugh. "Dude, it's goin' ta take ya forever just to get one 'a dem air-trans!" Daxter laughs, I could almost hear his smile over the phone.
"I know, I know! Well, see you later, Dax. Tell Tess I said hi," I say with a smile, trying to wrap up the conversation. "Alright, see you later too, bye," Daxter says, finally hanging up. I shove my phone into my pocket, grab my zoomer & apartment keys, & rush out & lock the door, run down the stairs two at a time, & sprint outside to my medium-blue zoomer. I jump on, start the vehicle, & speed all the way to the Freedom League's Special Transportation building. Once there, I nearly shout with joy when I see that there is nobody in line, actually, nobody but the person at the desk is in the room besides me. "I need a air-tran to land just outside the Haven Forest Lock with me in it at one pm today," I say with a stern tone once I calm down, trying to get the clerk to move as fast as possible.
The man looks up at me with a bored expression & hands me a form to fill out. "Thank you," I say over my shoulder as I walk over to the fill-out area. While filling out the paper, I can't help but look up at the clock on the wall. To my horror, the time reads twelve twenty-nine. I scribble down the rest of the form in two minutes & stand up so fast that the chair falls over. Not even bothering with setting the chair upright, I run back up to the clerk & hand him the paper to scan, earning an exasperated look from the man.
Taking the paper from me, he seems to be moving in slow motion as he puts the the form through the scanner. Four minutes later, the clerk finishes processing the paper to my relief. "The air-tran & the two drivers will be waiting for you outside the Freedom League HQ, have a nice day," the man says with an almost robotic voice as I throw a thanks over my shoulder while running through the doors to my zoomer. I start my cobalt-blue zoomer as soon as I get on, racing off to the Freedom League HQ. Sure enough, I see the air-tran with its two drivers waiting for me as I pull up next to the large, gravity-defying vehicle. The two men salute me, which I return before jumping into the back of the vehicle, it taking off before I could sit down.
Walking up to the front of the air-tran, I stretch my neck to try to see the time display, but can't see it. "Hey you two, what time is it?" I ask the drivers, who both glimpse back at me. "Don't worry Commander Jak, we'll be landing at exactly one pm," the driver to the left says, a smile evident in his voice. "Yeah, we can open the back as we land if you want, too," the driver on the right laughs, going as far as tipping his head back slightly while he laughed. "Thanks, I might be up for that too," I reply with a light chuckle of my own, heading back to sit down. Nineteen minutes later, I feel the air-tran begin to land. I shout over to the drivers to open the back hatch as I stand & grab the support strap hanging from the ceiling as the door opens, & sure enough, I see Meldalvyna watching the air-tran landing, a black hood the same color as her skin with silver accents covering her head, a pair of silver combat boots, and silver gloves, & a large bag in her right hand made out of metalhide.
Meldalvyna's POV
While I fly, I think about the ways I could convince my mother into letting me join the Freedom League. I run through each scenario, only to find that, more likely than not, each one ending with Cynder getting angry. To my dismay, I realize I must have been flying faster than I thought as I see my house come into view. Dismissing any thoughts of possibilities, I decide to wing it & pray to the Ancestors & the Precursors that my convincing will work on my mom. Slowly, I come to a landing outside the house's huge front door & take a deep breath. I push open the door & walk in with a calm expression to see Cynder & Spyro laying on their piles of pillows & Sparx reclined on his little cushioned bench lightly munching on their respective dinners.
"So Mel, I see you've finally decided to join us for dinner," Sparx says exaggeratedly once he notices my presence, drawing all remaining eyes to me. "Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to get back," I apologize, realizing that dinner was already over. "Where have you been?" my mother asks me, a cold glare in her eyes matching her suspicious tone, more than likely smelling Jak's scent mixed with mine. "I walked with Jak to the Haven Mountain Pass & Forest Lock," I respond, trying to keep myself calm while grabbing some food to eat from the kitchen. The expression in Cynder's eyes lighten to something that wasn't in any way harsh as I walk over & sit on my couch. "Yeah, after you went to rest, they left together... arm in arm," Sparx teases while looking at me, a huge cocky smile spread across his tiny head.
My mother looks between Sparx, Spyro, & me, a small knowing grin spreading across her face. "Actually, I need to talk to you, mom, & you too, dad," I say slowly, slightly surprised by Cynder's smile, though I know it was a teasing one. "What is it, Meldalvyna?" my step-father asks, concern branching across his usually cheery face. "Um, well, I'll start at the beginning, when Jak & I walked out together..." I start, taking a deep breath, watching my mother nervously for a negative change of expression. I spill out the entire night before I had returned home, not even sparing a single detail to keep to myself. "And, so, he told me that he was sent on a mission to get me to join the Freedom League. And, well, I accepted the offer, & he's picking me up at one tomorrow to meet Torn," I finally finish after half an hour, Cynder's face becoming more & more unreadable as I went, I couldn't tell what she was feeling, even her scent was confusing me.
"So, Spyro, what do you think?" I ask my step-father, too nervous to ask my mother what she thought of my decision. "I think you should do what you think is right, but, don't let a boy decide that for you," he answers with an unsure smile, both supporting & advising me at the same time. I nod, taking his advice to heart, knowing that the 'boy' was Jak. "Sparx, what about you?" I ask my double-step uncle next, trying to avoid making eye-contact with Cynder. "It's alright with me, just be safe," he replies, the same look on his face as his step-brother. With a nod to Sparx, I finally look to my mother.
To my surprise, her expression isn't angry, neither is her scent. Her expression & scent was a mixture of sadness, confusion, pride, & something else I couldn't identify. "Mom, what do you think?" I ask Cynder, confused & worried by the way she was acting. "What time did Jak say he'd pick you up tomorrow?" she asks me instead, surprising me with her question. "One pm, why?" I both answer & ask at the same time, wondering if she was giving me complete permission. With a nod, I could tell she was thinking about what to say next.
"Will there be more humans there besides Jak?" Cynder asks after a few seconds, looking me dead in the eye. "Well, he said he'd pick me up in an air-tran, & there are usually two drivers, so I guess so," I reply, sitting back into my couch in thought. After a few seconds of silence, my mother breaks the quiet. "Sparx, I want you to go with Meldalvyna tomorrow, but stay in the bushes, & you, young lady, I want you to wear you're disguise in case there are more than just Jak there," Cynder says to my double-step uncle & me, surprising me even more. For a few seconds, I simply stare at her in utter disbelief, unsure whether or not to believe her. "Wait, so, if the interview with Torn goes well, I can join the Freedom League?" I ask excitedly, still not believing what I had heard.
"Yes, on two conditions," my mother says, a cold negotiative air about her tone. "Of course, I should've seen this coming," I think to myself, feeling stupid for not suspecting as much. "What conditions," I ask, my thoughts racing at what her conditions could be. "One, you put half of your pay towards fixing the house until it is fully repaired. Two, you raise through the ranks as fast as you possibly can," Cynder answers, her face & scent completely serious until the second condition, the last ending with an encouraging smile. With an absolutely elated squeal, I leap up & hug my mother tightly around the neck, bouncing up & down in the proccess. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I won't disappoint you, I promise," I yell happily, a smile on everyone's face in the room, including my mother's.
I finish eating then rush up the stairs to my room. As I rush in, I slam the door shut, strip off my dragon-steel clothes, set my alarm for ten-thirty, & get into my cloth pajamas. I gather up the pieces to my disguise & set them on my bedside table in a flash. Unable to wait for tomorrow, I dive into bed, blowing out my candles with a single use of Wind. Excitement plagues my mind for several long minutes, slowly exhausting myself with my own elated thoughts. Finally, after an hour of tossing & turning, I fall asleep into a dreamless slumber with a smile planted on my face.
A loud, obnoxious beeping fills my room, causing me to fling myself into a sitting up position, the beeping having scared me out of my sleep. I stand up quickly & turn off the annoying device. I out of my room & groggily walk down the stairs & into the kitchen, following the scent of cooking metalhead meat, stumbling all the way. "Morning, Mel," Spyro says with a grin while setting a plate of metalhead ham infront of me as I sit down. I give off a tired, happy moan in thanks before digging into my breakfast. "Meldalvyna, the Freedom League requires armor, does it not?" Cynder asks after swallowing a bite of her own breakfast.
"Yeah," I answer, after taking a bite of my food. "I think you should bring your fighting armor, they'll probably not have any armor that you could use there," she says, looking at me dead on again. "Oh yeah, I didn't even think of that," I say, realizing I had completely overlooked that fact. I eat the last of my ham, wash my plate, rush upstairs to grab my day clothes, & run back down stairs. I quickly get Spyro to prepare me a bath, shoo him out once it was warm enough, & get in to quickly scrub myself clean, then get out to get dressed, & brush my hair & teeth. Once done & dressed, I run back up the stairs to grab my metalhide bag & fill it with my fighting armor, putting on my disguise in the process.
I look at the clock to see that it was exactly twelve o'clock, meaning I still have forty minutes before I have to leave. I walk down stairs with my armor-filled bag in hand & into the living room, only to sit down on my couch a second later, unable to think of something to do. Ten minutes later, I decide to eat the left-overs from the breakfast for lunch, then go back upstairs to brush my teeth again. Once done, I return down stairs & take to shining my armor & making sure it all fit. I try on each piece of armor, satisfied it all still fit. This process takes twenty-five minutes, & I put it all back in the bag & decide to make my leave.
"See you guys later, come on Sparx!" I shout inside as I exit the door, getting a mixture of wishes of good luck & pieces of advice in response. As soon as Sparx lets go of the door, I take off into the air with my bag in hand & all of my disguise still on. I fly as fast as I can, not at all wanting to be late. Ten minutes later I land at the agreed rendezvous with Sparx dropped behind me ten feet, a record time for me, & put up my hood. Right on time, I hear the sound of a large zoomer over head & look up to see a blue Freedom League slowly coming down, the back opening to reveal Jak standing there waiting with a smile on his face as the vehicle came to land. "Hey Meldalvyna, you ready?" Jak asks happily once the engines cut.
"Yeah, I'm ready," I say excitedly while walking towards the open hatch in the back of the air-tran, Jak following me closely. When the hatch closes, the engines start back up as I sit down on one of the steel benches, the sound barely audible inside the air-tran. Jak signals to the two drivers, & the foreign feeling of raising upwards inside a stationary object scares me. "First time on an air-tran?" Jak asks with a smile once he sees my expression while walking over to sit on the opposite side of the vehicle, & all I could do in response is quickly nod. Besides a laugh from Jak, the remainder of the ride goes in silence until the air-tran lands & the door opens. I follow Jak out of the back while pulling back up my hood & to a small building not even twenty feet away, wait for him to type in a code, & down a hall of stairs, & into a small room. "Chief of Arms Torn, I'd like you to meet Meldalvyna," Jak says while in a salute to a lean man that was obviously taller than Jak with his back to us, long brown dreads hanging to his shoulders. "Hello Meldalvyna, please, have a seat," the man says while he turns around, the first things striking me were his gruff & scratchy voice, blue eyes, & worst of all, the Krimzon Guard tattoos on his face & I can't help but feel the distrust welling up inside.
Author's note: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know! I had you thinking that Mel was going to talk to Torn, but nope! That, I will admit, was my original plan, but I couldn't fit all that & my original plan at, under, or not too much more than 20 KB of information. At least I left you off in a suspenseful cliff-hanger (sort of). And yes... the suggestive chapter is coming soon, in two, three, maybe four (depends on what I do in the next chapter & the one that follows that one) chapters. Anyways, the part that went "foreign feeling of raising upwards inside a stationary object" was me relating the feeling to being in an elevator. Well, that said & done, Tigre out!