Jak and Daxter and all affiliated characters and places are property of Naughty Dog. No infringement of copyright is implied or intended in this fictional work.
This is a dirty, dirty chapter. I seriously hope I don't violate any rules. Most of this chapter is worksafe, but there's this one part—yeah, no little ones reading this chapter. Or at least that one section. You'll totally know it when you see it.
Edit: I got some good constructive crit so I edited this chapter. I hope it makes for a better overall read. No plot elements have been changed.
Chapter 15: Ambush
It should have been an easy mission. Go in, grab the informant, get out, go home and then deny, deny, deny. But no, first there had to be a kid and kids never made the situation easier. They just always made it messier. And then there was the informant herself, not a bad person but she was employed in the one place that could and did present a humiliating experience for Daxter. And she really wasn't looking forward to explaining that one to Jak.
But these things could be overcome, Daxter just had to tell herself that over and over until they reached the rendezvous point.
"Okay, Daxter I'm going to find a bigger zoomer, you watch Arda," Jak ordered.
"Right," Daxter said as he walked away.
"Is he fast?" Arda asked, a hint of worry in her voice. She set her little girl on the ground and stroked her hair.
Daxter snorted. "Don't worry about Jak, he's a pro at this."
Arda straightened her daughter's collar. "I want to thank you for helping me and my daughter. She means a lot to me."
The redhead flushed, remembering how her mother would fuss like that. "That's what the Underground is for. We're keepers of the peace, defenders of the helpless and pretty damn good-looking to boot," Daxter said with a wink.
"Well your group seems to be the only ones doing any good. I don't want Keira growing up the way I did." Arda reached forward and "caught" her daughter's nose. The green-haired child squealed and reached up toward her mother with pudgy hands. Arda hold the nose "captive" above the child's reach.
"Keira? I have a friend named Keira, she works at the Stadium," Daxter said. Daxter wasn't too surprised; Keira was a relatively common name so she was bound to run into someone with the same name sooner or later.
"Really?" the woman asked. "What's she like?" Arda had let her guard down and little Keira pounced on the offending arm and "retrieved" her nose. Keira cooed and covered her nose in case her mother attempted to capture it again.
"She's real smart and into all that Precursor crap. I don't get it myself but she's a mean grease monkey." Daxter showed Arda the Hoverboard. "She made this too."
Little Keira looked up at the device with total adoration. Arda smiled. "She sounds wonderful."
"Don't know the half of it." Daxter tapped her foot. Jak had been gone exactly three minutes longer than she thought he'd be. "Where's Jak, it doesn't take that long to swipe a zoomer."
A loud humming sound interrupted further musing as Jak whipped around the corner on a two-person zoomer. Daxter raised an eyebrow. "What's the deal big guy? I thought we were going foursies."
Jak jerked the vehicle to a stop and leapt off. He grabbed Arda's arm. "Get on."
"But—" the green-haired woman protested.
"There's no time," Jak pushed Arda toward the bike and picked up little Keira. "Both of you, go to the Hip Hog," Jak ordered.
He handed the child to her mother with gentle hands. Arda wrapped a protective arm around Keira and looked at the redhead in confusion. "Daxter, what—"
THUMP. THUMP. The ground trembled and buildings shook. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound. The screech of metal on metal announced the arrival of the next to last thing Daxter had wanted to see that day. An awkward robot stumbled around the corner on its spindly legs, its turret seeking out a target. People ran; panicked shrieks rent the air. Concrete and wood spewed into the air as blaster beams shattered buildings. Warm bodies pushed passed the small group, a terrified crowd fleeing a mechanical monster.
"Daxter and I have other things to take care of," Jak said. He unsheathed his gun and switched it to the Vulcan mod.
Daxter swallowed and copied the maneuver. "Go the Waterfront, the Hip Hog's the ugliest bar out there. You can't miss it!"
Arda shook her head. "I can't just leave—"
"You have more important things to take care of," Jak said, nodding at the small figure huddled against her mother.
Determination and love steeled Arda's features. She nodded and rushed the zoomer forward, disappearing into the crowd. As soon as they were gone, the Demolition Duo rushed toward the Blaster Bot.
"I'll take right, you take left," Jak ordered.
Daxter nodded and dashed to the robot's left.
Jak fired at the gleaming creature's legs, sparks flying. The great turret shifted, seeking the minor nuisance. Before it could focus on the blond hero, Daxter took a shot, hitting the back of the gun. The top wobbled for a moment before swiveling to track Daxter. The redhead ran drawing the robot's fire while Jak attacked it from behind. The blue bullets shredded the metal casing and hit the delicate electronics underneath.
BOOM! Scraps of metal rained down on the Demolition Duo. Daxter lifted her head, blinking away the spots that danced in her eyes. "We showed him, huh Jak?"
A clicking sound and the thud of heavy machinery slamming into concrete was her answer. A second Blaster Bot stumbled out into the street.
Daxter felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. "Shit, how many of those things are there?"
"I don't know, but we have to take 'em all," Jak answered.
The redhead groaned. "I knew you were gonna say that."
Jak shoved Daxter in one direction and he went in the other. The blond hero leapt for cover behind some crates, the Blaster Bot followed him.
Daxter ducked under some barrels and set up a makeshift sniper's nest. She knew she needed to wait for the right moment to strike so she took the opportunity to flip open her communicator. "Tess baby, things have gotten a little hot and sticky down here so I need you to go to the Hip Hog to pick up our pigeon."
"What? What happened?" Tess's lovely voice filtered through the electronics, which Daxter ignored. She snapped it shut and slipped it into her pocket.
Jak had crippled one of the robot's legs and it struggled to remain upright. Daxter decided to put it out of its misery. Caught in the heroes' crossfire, the Blaster Bot never stood a chance.
They didn't waste time celebrating as the last Blaster Bot made its presence known. The sidekick had to flee her hiding spot before the robot blasted it to smithereens. She ran, shooting as she went, bullets flying in all directions. Jak followed them, unwilling to let Daxter go into danger alone.
The redhead bobbed and weaved in and out from between buildings, leading the Bot on a not-so-merry chase. The robot lumbered through ever-narrowing streets, knocking brick and wood from the aging slum walls.
As she ran, Daxter looked for anything that could help her escape. She turned a corner and came upon a makeshift market filled with works of art and food. The inhabitants had fled when the robots had appeared and left everything out, including a sack of flour. Seeing an opportunity, Daxter's hand shot out and grabbed a flour sack. She hurled it into the air and the Blaster Bot fired. A white cloud of flour obscured the robot's vision. Wasting no time, Daxter raced for cover in one of the artist's booths. She knelt down, certain the Blaster Bot couldn't see her.
Daxter reloaded, her fingers flying over the gun. Her eyes locked on the Blaster Bot tottering around on the other side of the street. She aimed. It would never see the shot coming.
Suddenly Daxter was jerked back into an alley and a something sharp stabbed into her neck. She gurgled in unexpected pain and flailed against her unseen attacker. The source of her pain flew off and struck the asphalt. A quick turn of her neck revealed it to be a bloody syringe. "What the—" All the energy in her limbs failed her. Daxter felt too heavy, too sluggish to move. Her feet would not even support her; she was totally at the mercy of her assailant. A pair of strong arms adjusted themselves around her waist.
"Did you miss me?" an all too familiar voice murmured in her ear.
Daxter's eyes widened. Erol. There was no way this situation could get any worse. Even if it had been a Metalhead instead of Erol at least it all would have been over in one or two bites. But Erol was a different kind of animal; wild and unpredictable even to his own Krimzon Guards. Daxter wanted to run, run as far away as possible but her feet wouldn't even stay flat on the ground. Maybe, she thought, this is just a mental thing and I really can run. The problem was there was no sensation in her legs or arms. No amount of silent cheerleading would change that. She had to distract him from whatever it was he planned to do. If she could get him talking long enough Jak would come and she'd be okay.
So she did the one thing she was best at, opened her mouth. "Why don't you go fuck a Metalhead? I bet they'd love a pretty boy like you." Daxter smirked. That would show him. Erol would get mad, maybe beat up on her a little and then Jak could come in and kick his ass. Although Daxter wasn't looking forward to getting punched in the face it was better than anything else Erol would be capable of.
A hand snaked up to cup her chin, forcing her to look Erol in the eye. "I see the toxin didn't effect your tongue," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "All the better for me."
Panic crept in the corners of Daxter's brain. That look couldn't possibly mean what she thought it meant. Sure, Erol had screwed around with her before but she couldn't believe that he would actually want that. She willed herself to calm down. Yes this was bad, but there was no way that he would try anything with Jak being so close by, right? She had to believe that or she would start screaming and that would just make everything worse, it would make everything real.
Erol shifted the position of his hands, one rested on the young woman's hip and the other curved around her chest. The hand on her hip started a kneading motion. The bone felt prominent against her thin skin. "I wasn't expecting both of you so soon. I thought Torn would have sent someone else to pick up the tart but it all works out better this way." His lips caressed the side of her neck, leaving hot moist trails on her skin.
Daxter choked back a scream of rage. She couldn't be at this man's mercy, not again.
Erol's palm wandered from her hip to the front of her stomach. "I was disappointed how easy it was to get the robot to drive you here, but I really shouldn't complain." His pinkie rested at her beltline, his digits tickling the warm flesh of her belly. The hand on her chest curved to cup the underside of her breast.
Shocks of unwanted pleasure rolled up the sidekick's spine. She wanted to tell him to stop, to leave her alone but she knew the bastard would mock her because she was so helpless. Daxter's teeth chattered as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drive out the sensation. She couldn't let him win, she couldn't let him win--
Erol grinned against her neck and slipped his hand beneath the waist of her pants. Daxter wanted to squirm away but the offending fingers quested lower and lower. She whimpered, frustrated at her inability to move. "You're the perfect means to control Jak, both punishment and reward."
A single digit dipped underneath the thin material covering her most private places. She gasped as the finger caressed the entrance to her body. Fear coiled in her belly, driving out all other emotions. This was not happening, there is no way he could—
"As reward, he gets to touch you."
Daxter shook her head. "No."
His voice dropped to a silky purr. "And as punishment—" He stabbed upward with his fingers, impaling her. "He gets to watch," Erol hissed.
Daxter shrieked, her eyes widening in shock. Erol spread his two fingers oh so slightly, just enough for her to feel exactly where he was and what he was doing. Moisture built in the corner of her eyes as the pain spiked inside her. She would not cry, she would not cry, she would not—
A couple of tears escaped, racing down her face. Shame flushed her cheeks; she wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere and die.
The Captain made a noise in critique. "A bit dry but nothing a little foreplay can't fix." Suddenly, the buildings around them shook from some great impact. Erol frowned. If that was the Blaster Bot then he had just run out of time. "We'll have to take this elsewhere," he muttered.
The Captain shifted his hands so they cradled Daxter just underneath her armpits. He dragged the immobile girl further down the alley. "We're going to have so much fun together, aren't we?" Erol said with a leer.
Daxter's breath hitched in her chest. She couldn't believe this, it was happening all over again. Even though she couldn't remember the first time, Erol did and Erol would use that knowledge to torture her. Her sole solace about the previous time was that she had no memory of it. Without memory she could use denial to keep her sane. This time was different, she was conscious and nothing could ever erase it. With every step, Daxter was getting closer to never escaping this nightmare. She had to get away from Erol. She tried to struggle but her muscles were still not cooperating, so she did the next best thing: she screamed.
Erol cursed and smothered her mouth but the damage was done.
"Let her go."
There stood Jak, sweaty and dirty from fighting the Blaster Bots. He brandished his gun, purple lightening licking his fingers and the corners of his eyes. The thin trail of blood gracing Daxter's neck infuriated him. Jak's features rippled as the power of the Other threatened to burst from his skin.
Relief flooded Daxter's system. Jak was here, he'd make everything okay.
The Krimzon Guard Captain began to sweat. He knew very well what Dark Jak was capable of and that he would never beat the creature in a fair fight. But Erol never liked to play fair, he would just have to figure out how to take the advantage and keep it. He hardened his glare, determined not to show weakness in the face of the monster he helped create. Erol snorted. "Really? Do you think you're a good enough shot not to hit her?" He pulled Daxter tight against his body. He cupped her chin, pressing his face against hers. "Hmm?"
Daxter grimaced but couldn't move away.
Dark Jak howled in the back of Jak's mind, but the blond hero ignored it, certain that releasing the creature would mean Daxter's death. But maybe Erol didn't know that. He dropped his weapon, his voice low and dangerous. "Maybe I don't need a gun." He moved deeper into the alley, his steps slow and deliberate.
A brief look of shock crossed Erol's face before he concealed it with his standard look of arrogant superiority. "I wouldn't recommend it. You see, I've poisoned your friend here and she doesn't have long to live."
Jak paused. He allowed the glow of Dark Jak to fade from his face.
"That's bullshit, he's lying Jak!" Daxter called out. She sounded unconvinced, even to her own ears. If the man was capable of molesting her in some side alley during a battle then what was to keep him from trying to kill her as well?
"You can't move, you're hardly in a place to judge," Erol said. He turned his gaze to Jak. "It starts in the major muscle groups and works its way into the autonomic nervous system which will shut down her organs one by one until either her lungs or her heart stop."
Jak swallowed his fear. "You're lying."
"Do you want to take that chance?" Erol asked. "Here." He shoved Daxter toward Jak.
Daxter hurtled toward the ground, unable to protect herself from injury. Jak lunged forward and cushioned her fall. By the time he recovered his feet and had Daxter upright, Erol was gone. Jak scowled at the lost opportunity but turned his attention to the sidekick in his arms. "Are you okay?"
Daxter's voice wavered. "I can't move Jak, I don't know."
Jak scooped his arm under her knees and picked her up. "Don't worry, I'll get help."
"Thanks, big guy," Daxter whispered. Although she wouldn't admit it out loud, Erol's words had terrified her. To die now after everything she had been through was unfair. She refrained from tears, knowing that it would just worry the hero more than he already was. So she would just have to hide her fear, bury it, and hope that Jak would be in time.
The frantic pounding at the door drew Torn from his thoughts. He was alone and no one ever knocked when entering the Underground. He got up from behind his desk, gun drawn. He approached the door, feet silent against the ground. Torn held himself flush with the wall and pressed the button. The door whooshed open and a blond man stumbled in, carrying a familiar looking burden. Daxter was breathing but it was shallow and she blinked as if she couldn't focus. Her eyes were dilated and her skin pale. "What the hell?" Torn asked. He closed the door. "Did anyone see you?"
Jak shook his head, face twisted in panic. "Torn, you've got to help her. Erol said she'll die--"
Torn glanced over the woman cradled in Jak's arms. She had no visible injuries except for the small wound on her neck. Painful yes, but it hardly looked fatal. "What happened?" Torn asked, he led the Demolition Duo to an empty bunk in the next room.
The blond hero laid Daxter among the thin sheets. "Erol said it was poison," Jak said.
Torn knelt down beside Daxter. He examined her face and placed a hand on her forehead, feeling her temperature. A thoughtful frown crossed his face. "How long ago was it?"
Daxter answered through gasped breaths, "Half an hour maybe."
The Underground Leader nodded. He rose to his feet. "Give her ten minutes, she'll be fine."
Jak stared at Torn in shock. "Ten minutes? But Erol said—"
"Erol was trying to save his own skin," Torn replied. "Dax is okay, she's just panicking a little. That's a pretty normal reaction to his stuff." He brushed an errant hair from Daxter's eyes.
The redhead blinked at him in surprise. Her breaths slowed down and became deeper. "What do you mean panic?" she wheezed out. "I'm not panicking!"
"Don't talk Rat," Torn said. He turned to Jak. "Back when I was in the Guard some eggheads developed a neurotoxin that temporarily paralyzed the major muscle groups. We used it to detain violent criminals with non-lethal force. It was effective and there were no side effects once it wore off. The problem was there were some Krimzon Guards who used it for their own purposes and the press found out. So the Baron made the neurotoxin illegal in an attempt to regain the public trust. I'm not surprised Erol would have some of it hanging around."
Jak was quiet for a moment. "So Daxter's going to be okay?" he asked.
Daxter snorted, her bravado returning a little. "Didn't you hear Tattooed Wonder, big guy? No side effects." Although Daxter would never admit it, Torn was one of the few people that she trusted. Sure, Torn constantly through them into danger for the sake of the Underground, but he had never underplayed the seriousness of a mission. It was one of the reasons she felt like she could believe anything he said.
Torn leaned over the bed and scowled. "I told you to keep quiet, Rat." Daxter hushed and cowered the best she could with non-functioning muscles. The leader of the Underground sighed and straightened up. "I'll be at the drafting table." He headed out the doorway when Jak clutched his arm.
"So Daxter was never in any danger?" Jak asked.
Torn shook his head. "Not from the toxin," he answered. Jak didn't need clarification. The older man leaned against the wall. "Why, do you regret saving her and letting your chance at Erol go?"
Jak looked over his shoulder at the small figure in the bunk. She was staring at the ceiling, mentally counting the seconds until she could move and talk again. "No," Jak answered.
"Then you don't have a problem," Torn said. He walked out the door, leaving the twosome alone.
Jak sat down on the bed next to Daxter. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Daxter snorted. "I will be once I can feel my feet again," she said. She wrinkled her nose in concentration, looking as if she thought she could will her toes to wiggle. Her mind was blank, Daxter had blocked out all other thoughts save for getting her body back in line.
That's when Jak asked the question she had been dreading, "Did he hurt you?"
Her focus shattered. The sidekick was quiet for a moment. She contemplated lying but figured it would make the situation worse. "Yeah."
Jak drew in a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. He did not want to ask but he had to. "What did he—"
"I'm not playing 'where did the bad man touch you,' Jak," Daxter said. "I'm pissed and there's nothing I can do about it. All I want is to get this shit out of my body and get some decent food. I haven't eaten anything all day and that damn hangover's gonna come back if I don't."
Jak's stomach growled. Unlike Daxter, he had managed to get some breakfast that morning but that had been a while ago. "Yeah, food sounds good."
Daxter's lips curved into a smile. "Don't it though?"
"Dax?" He laid a comforting hand on the redhead's brow. The temperature felt normal, which was probably why Torn hadn't worried. But then Torn didn't see Erol carrying a half-conscious Daxter down the alleyway. Torn hadn't seen the covetous look in the other man's eyes as he gripped the sidekick's face. Most importantly, Torn didn't love Daxter.
Jak's eyes met Daxter's. "You do know that I'm here to talk right, if you need it?"
"Yeah, I know," Daxter replied, her voice sad. "I just don't want to."
Inside the Power Station, a lonely technician typed in codes at a frantic pace, attempting to keep the Eco levels stable. "Where's this coming from? This sort of massive drainage shouldn't be possible. As if I don't have enough problems," he muttered to himself. Although Vin was grateful to the Underground he also knew that if Erol ever found out there was a connection he was Metalhead food. Vin snorted and slapped his hands on the console. "Nothing's adding up!"
"Then take a break."
Vin turned and the object of his earlier worry was standing in the doorway. This was not good. "Listen Erol I—"
The Captain ignored him. "Analyze this," Erol demanded. He tossed a needle less syringe filled with blood at Vin.
The thin man almost dropped it out of sheer horror. "Ew, oh yuck what is this? Do you know how busy I am? Who knows what kinds of germs lurk in this thing?"
"That's why I want you to analyze it. I expect a report in three hours," Erol said.
"I don't have that kind of time, the shield walls—"
Erol raised an eyebrow. "This is a top priority security matter, the shields can take care of themselves."
Vin knew better than to argue with a madman. "I don't know what you expect to find," he said.
"I'm not sure myself. I'll be back." As Erol strolled out the Power Station all the air seemed to rush out of the room with him.
Vin leaned against the console. This was not going to be a good day.
True to his word, three hours later Erol darkened Vin's door once again. But what neither man had expected was for Vin to find anything, let alone have questions. The small scientist frowned. "Where did you get this?" he asked.
The question took Erol aback. He danced around the subject. "What does it matter? Did you find something wrong?"
"You betcha," Vin said. He pivoted in his chair and pulled an image of a DNA strand onto the screen. "There," he said. He leaned back in his seat in triumph.
The Krimzon Guard Captain had no idea what the other was talking about. "This is gibberish, it means nothing to me."
Vin sighed as only one who must suffer fools can. "The Eco saturation of this specimen is completely unprecedented in our time."
Erol raised an eyebrow. "What kind of Eco?"
"All kinds. Several hundred years ago before the Metalheads invaded, Eco was everywhere, just all over the place. Even when it was underground it was just below the surface so it didn't take much to get to it. As a result, everyone had high levels of Eco exposure in their blood. But when the Metalheads came all the Eco retreated deep underground. Hell, that's where I'd go if I saw a Metalhead, nasty creatures with the big teeth and the bulging eyes—" Vin started to get off-track.
"What do this have to do with anything?" Erol asked.
Vin flailed his arms around. "I'm getting to that. When the Eco retreated, we stopped getting the constant exposure. All we get is tiny bits and that's all been refined, we don't get the hardcore stuff. Even Eco miners today don't have these kinds of levels."
The red-haired Guard growled. "And?"
Sensing Erol's impatience, Vin continued. "We are talking about a person that had to have been born over 500 years ago for this to add up. This blood should not exist."
Erol pondered this for a moment. When he had first met Jak and Daxter they had been young, too young really for what the Baron had wanted. They had been dressed in clothing that had been out of place in the city. Barefoot and with slack-jawed expressions of terror and awe they had tried to escape but were outclassed by the armed Krimzon Guards. Could it be? No, the notion was absurd.
Erol voiced this last thought, "That's absurd; you've been staring at screens for too long."
The scientist's mouth twisted in annoyance. "Well if you knew anything about Eco Theoretical Physics then you'd know I was right. All of this information is in The Archives, a child could access it." Although Vin was nervous by nature, when he was in full lecture mode he gained a confidence many didn't think possible. It was why he had been considered brilliant in college, but also why he didn't have many friends.
Erol considered what Vin had said. He hadn't thought about The Archives since childhood. The Archives were an electronic collection of data complied by a pair of researchers 500 years before. Most of the current knowledge of Eco and Precursor Technology had stemmed from The Archives. The Archives also contained folklore, diaries, sketches of current technology and an extensive collection of personal photographs which sociologists had deemed invaluable and others found rather obnoxious.
The Captain wondered if there was anything else useful in The Archives. "Good work, I'll expect a full report later," Erol said. He spun on his heel and headed toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Vin asked, miffed that Erol wasn't interested in the full intricacies of Eco saturation and blood levels.
The red-haired Guard glanced over his shoulder. "I'm going to educate myself."
I want to apologize if the action segments seem sparse but the way I write action has been greatly influenced by writing screenplays. Basically, unless specific actions in those sequences have later bearing don't bother over-describing it, the director will probably change it anyway. :P