Hello again! I decided to post another chapter of this friendship fic, this time with Torn and Jak for friends. Please leave a review! I do not own Jak and Daxter.
"Dammit!" Torn cursed as he stared at the tabletop.
"What's your problem now?" Jak asked when he entered HQ. Daxter hopped off his shoulder and landed on the table, knocking over a small display.
"I am beat!" Daxter groaned. "We had to drive around your members and they would not shut-up! They just kept grumbling about this and that, going on and on…"
"Shut-up, rodent." Snarled Torn.
"Jeez, what's got you so strung up?" Daxter eyed the commander.
"I'm trying to think and you are annoying me." Torn frowned and fixed the display on the table, managing to shove Daxter off in the process. He rearranged a few things and stared at a spot populated with purple and red.
"You haven't got any blue there," commented Jak as he sipped a glass of murky water. He wrinkled his nose at the taste, but continued drinking.
"I know that. That is why we need to go and shoot up a shit load of metalheads and Krimson Guards." Torn dropped two small blue beads amongst the red and purple blocks and squares.
"We?" Jak raised an eyebrow. "I can handle it on my own." He set the glass down on the table and turned to go.
"Jak. Do you know how many one block is?" Torn asked, he voice hard. "One hundred, Jak. There are 3 KG blocks and 5 metalhead blocks. You are not going into that alone, not after what happened last time."
"What happened last time was suckish timing and no ammo." Jak snapped, his blue eyes flashing. "That won't happen this time."
Daxter watched his friend anxiously. It hadn't been too long since the metalhead ambush and he didn't think Jak was up to fighting off 800 enemies with just himself and Daxter. It couldn't hurt to help Torn-just this once, and it was only for Jak.
"C'mon, buddy," Dax began, swaggering up to Jak. "If Torn helps, maybe we could stop by on the way back and see Kiera. Ya know you wanna see her." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. There; he headed right for Jak's weak spot.
Jak struggled with his decision. He weighed the pros and cons: Cons-He'd need to work with Torn and that made him feel weak. Pros-He'd get to see Kiera afterwards. Possibly. Jak opened his mouth to tell Torn he was going in alone when he saw Daxter watching him with a worried expression. If what happened did happen again, he would die and so would Daxter. Jak frowned. He couldn't lead his best friend to a death trap.
"Fine. You can tag along." Jak admitted defeat.
"I was coming whether you liked it or not. We should head out now." Torn shouldered a large gun and threw another mode at Jak. He hooked it up to the Morph Gun and grinned as the new weapon formed.
"It shoots bombs." Torn informed him. They headed out of HQ. He peered around as Jak fired up the cruzer. Daxter settled into the vehicle as Torn leapt in beside them.
"Where are we going" Jak asked as he pulled out into the traffic.
"The mountain pass." Jak sped off, dodging civilians and KG.
"The Bomb Firer holds 20 bombs and this-" Torn held up a large bag. "This has ammo for every gun we have. We are very screwed if anything happens to it. The rat can watch it while we do the fighting."
"If you had been educated like us, you would know that I am an ottsel." Daxter said primly. Torn muttered something. "What'd you say?!"
"I said-" snarled Torn.
"We're there." Jak interrupted their arguing. He jumped out of the cruzer and slung the bag full of ammo over his shoulder. As he waited for the door to the mountain to open, Torn came up behind him and Daxter hopped onto his shoulder. The door opened and they strode inside.
*******
"That's a lot of bad guys." Daxter said in awe. He, Jak, and Torn were lying on their stomachs peering over a ridge. It was a sea of red, waving as the KG milled about.
"So we get rid of these guys and hit the metalheads after?" Jak asked his commander.
"Yeah," confirmed Torn. "Aim for-"
Torn was interrupted as one of the KG cargo-cruzers exploded. Jak aimed his gun at the next ship as fragments of the first landed everywhere, crushing KG soldiers. Jak fired and the bomb soared through the air, crashing into a second ship. The moment there was contact, the small bomb explode, killing all in the ship and several surrounding it.
"It's coming from over here!" Torn heard a KG say. He got on his knees, making himself a clear target, and rapidly fired. The KG searching for them fell to the ground as the bullets flew through them. Torn picked specific targets, often killing two or three people with one bullet. He aimed so they were lined up in the path of the bullet, which propelled through each of them.
Jak paused in his firing to reload. Daxter handed him the proper ammo from the bag and glanced around. "Jak! We've got company!!" he yelped.
Daxter's best friend whipped around and changed the Morph Gun to the Blaster Weapon. Jak brought the gun up and fired at the metalheads who were attempting to sneak up on them. Once the few directly behind them cleared, Jak swore.
"What?" Torn reached back for some ammo.
"That."
Torn, Jak, and Daxter stared at the massive amount of metalheads flooding into the valley. They swarmed everywhere, moving with a purpose.
"Daxter, get out of here." Jak said harshly.
"Why-"
"They're blocking the exits!" Jak snapped. "Get out and get Jinx. Tell him to bring a hell of a lot of bombs." Daxter hesitated. "Now!" Daxter fled.
"What side do you want?" Jak asked with a sarcastic smile. Torn changed his gun's mode to the Bomb Firer.
"I'll finish up the KG." he turned his back to Jak and calmly fired the gun into the crowd of KG, ignoring the screams of pain as lives flickered out of existence. Jak held his gun up and shot at his side, putting holes in the metalhead army. A few second later, Torn broke the silence.
"We'll get back alive." He tried to reassure Jak.
Jak snorted, "I know that."
Torn said nothing for a moment. The he asked quietly, "Then why did you send Daxter away?"
Jak pressed his lips tightly together and shot off more bombs. Torn did the same. When he spoke, he did so calmly, saying, "I figured we could handle them one at a time, but all of them at once…" he let the sentence trail. "I just wanted to be sure Daxter would get out."
"It's hard when you know your friends are in danger and risking their lives for you." Torn said softly. Jak looked over his shoulder at his commander, surprised. Torn wasn't one to talk much about anything but the mission, but here he was, chatting about friends. Jak shook his head and continued to fire at the army in front of him. He decided to put this aside for now.
Jak reached back for more ammo for the Bomb Firer and felt none. He turned and shifted the other ammunition aside. It was all gone. He swore and informed Torn of the lack of ammo. Jak switched the mode on the Morph Gun and shot of all of the Pacemaker ammo they had and switched modes again.
After a while of nothing but shooting, Torn turned around and faced the metalhead army.
"KG all dead?"
"Yeah."
By this time it was fairly dark out. The two Rebel Army members were grateful for the Skull Gems on the metalheads. It made them easy targets to shoot in the dark.
"You're worried." Torn commented. He brought his gun up to fire off a few more rounds before reaching back for more ammo.
"Why would I be worried?"
"Daxter's not back yet." Torn said simply.
"Why would I be worried about that? He probably met up with Tess by now and is having a beer over at the Hog's Head." Jak lied.
"Uh-huh," Torn muttered. Jak reached back into the bag and felt around. He turned and peered into the bag, cursing the scant light.
"We're out of ammo. How many do you think are left?" Jak asked bleakly.
"About 200, maybe less."
"All right." Jak straightened. "Stay here."
"Where are you going?"
Black lights sparked over Jak's fingertips and he grinned broadly. "I'm gonna go kill some metalheads." Jak's body changed as he half ran, half tumbled down the ridge. Jak's darker side screamed a war cry as he sprinted into the battlefield, quickly killing the few guarding the frontlines with swipes from his claws. He forged a way to the middle of the army where he leapt into the air and landed forcefully. Metalheads were tossed up to the sky, the dark eco killing them instantly. Jak ran around quickly, hurriedly killing as many metalheads as he could. He knew it was only a matter of time before his body ran out of dark eco to use. Already he could feel the eco fleeing his body. Jak smashed the ground in one last burst of energy, effectively killing the rest of the army.
The bodies vanished as Jak stared. Torn picked his way down the ridge, carrying the two Morph Guns and the empty ammunition bag. Once at the foot of the ridge, he threw one of the guns at Jak, who caught it deftly.
"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Torn questioned curiously. His expression was guarded.
"I don't want to be dependent on something like that." Jak spat. "Let's get out of here."
They traveled up to the portal that transported them to the door back to Haven and paused. The teleportation device wasn't up. Jak stuck his hand through it and nothing happened. He walked to the edge of the cliff and peered down. Daxter sat on a ridge below, staring at the portal.
"Dax?" Jak called.
"Buddy? Jak, that you?" Daxter looked up and saw his best friend waving down at him. "It's not working. I couldn't find Jinx, but it looks like you guys survived."
"Yeah," Jak called back. To Torn he asked, "Can you get Vin on your transmitter?" Torn nodded and took it off his belt, then activated it. He pressed in a short code in the back before speaking to it.
"Vin. I need you to get the portals in the mountains working." Torn said. Vin's voice came back over the transmitter, asking a question. "Yeah, now would be nice."
"Sorry. It won't be working for a few more hours."
"How many is a few, Vin?"
"You can eat breakfast at HQ tomorrow. Besides that, I'm not sure." Vin said apologetically. "I'll get started." The transmitter went back into Torn's belt as he sighed.
"Daxter, we won't get out of here for a while. Go talk to Tess or somebody." Jak called.
"Ya sure?"
"Yeah," Jak reassured him.
"Okay," Daxter left the mountain pass and entered Haven.
"Why'd you send him back?" Torn wanted to know.
Jak shrugged and said, "He doesn't need to stay here. We're just waiting for the gate to open, nothing dangerous. Dax can have fun." Jak settled down and leaned against the rock cliff. Torn sat on the other side of the opening to the mountains. An awkward silence settled in the air. Jak was the one to break it this time.
"So why did you join the KG?" he asked curiously. "And why did you run off?"
Torn looked over at Jak in surprise. His youngest subordinate had never shown any interest in others, especially him. Why not answer-this could be the only chance he had to get to know this strange boy who appeared up randomly.
"I joined the Krimson Guard when I was 15 because they were recruiting. I had no family, so it was joining the army or being a civilian. The way I saw it, being in the army was a way to get more control over others. I like to being in command." Torn explained when Jak rose and inquisitive eyebrow. Torn went on, "It was alright at first in the KG, and I gained rank quickly. Then, about two years ago, I found out that the Baron was doing some horrible things in the dungeons of the palace." Torn shuddered.
"What'd you find out?" Jak wondered, a peculiar look on his face. Torn grimaced and gave Jak-was that a look of pity?
"I found out the Baron was performing experiments on people using eco. I decided to join the Underground-the very people I was trying to get rid of-to get rid of the Baron. Ashlin found out what I was doing and tried to stop me. When I told her why, she agreed with me and helped me get out. She's been helping the Underground ever since."
Jak was quiet, thinking over what Torn had said. Torn watched his companion's face, wondering if he would be upset by what he heard. Jak spoke.
"Why didn't you try to help out the people being experimented on?"
Torn gave Jak a look. "I had barely mentioned it to the Baron, he warned me right then: He'd use me as a test subject if I did anything out of order. Then when Erol-"
"You knew Erol?!" Jak was on his feet in an instant.
"We went on rounds and ate together." Torn explained before continuing. "When Erol found out that I knew about the experiments, he asked me if I wanted to help." Torn spat his disgust. "I knew asking him to leave the KG with me would be a bad idea, so it was just Ashlin and me. I left and quickly found the Underground. A bit later, I was in command."
The silence fell over the two men again. Jak stared off into the distance, as did Torn.
"Who were you before you came here?" Jak threw Torn a confused look. "Before you showed up and wanted to kill the Baron."
"I was one of your Baron's precious 'test subjects'." Jak spat. "For two damn years I was stuck in that prison."
"How'd you get out?" Torn kept his face passive.
"Daxter," Torn could not keep the surprise out of his face when he heard who Jak's savior was.
"Who were you before you were in the prisons?"
"I…I wasn't so angry." Jak said softly. "I never spoke either." A small, shaky smile formed on his face. "And now I'm mad all the time."
"You don't look like you came from here." Torn steered away from the touchy subject.
"I'm not. I lived in Sandover." Jak's face brightened as he reminisced.
"What was it like there?"
"Green. There was a beach that Dax, Keira and I played on and the Forbidden Jungle," Jak shuddered. Torn noticed and grinned widely.
"What happened there?" He wanted to know.
"Heh. On my ninth birthday, Dax and I were messing with a wumpbee nest and found out the hard way why you stay away from them." Jak laughed-not the angry, evil laugh that normally emerged from his throat. It was bright and happy at the memory of doing something stupid a long time ago.
Silence fell once more. Now it was so dark that you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. Jak heaved a sigh of boredom and Torn smiled at his impatience.
"Hey,"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for telling me. You know, about the KG. You didn't have to." Jak delayed in telling Torn his thanks.
"Yeah. Thanks for telling me about yourself. It was…interesting." There was another pause before Jak spoke.
"What were you saying earlier? About friends being in danger..." Although Torn couldn't see it, Jak was looking at him curiously.
"Ah, that," Torn sighed. He didn't know why he had said that; the words just came out of his mouth. Now he had to explain why being him sucked.
"When you're in command, sometimes you have to make decisions that you don't want to have to make." Torn started. "Decisions like sending your friends into places that you know they could get killed in. I've been pretty lucky so far, but…" Torn trailed off.
"But what?" Jak urged.
"Sometimes it just comes to close for comfort." Torn said bluntly. When Jak had staggered into HQ after that metalhead ambush…That hadn't been good. What was supposed to be a simple mission had turned into a disaster.
"Are we…friends?" Jak asked cautiously. He was revealing too much, becoming too vulnerable to someone besides Daxter or Kiera. He was worried Torn would say something or do something…
"…Yeah…" Torn replied, surprised that Jak was acting this way, like a child. But he was trusting Torn not to laugh, or be cruel and Torn was trusting him with his personal information, about the KG. He had even told Jak that he had no family, whether intentional or not.
"Alright," Jak's fist appeared in front of Torn's face. He stared at it in surprise before his mind connected what Jak wanted. Torn pressed his knuckles to Jak's.
"Friends," Torn confirmed. There was a zap to their left. Both their heads whipped that way, staring at the portal that had just opened. The communicator popped out of Torn's pocket.
"Is it working now?" Vin's shaky voice asked.
"Yeah," Torn replied.
"Sorry it took so long, eh, I was working on something of vital importance."
"Oh, yeah?" Jak queried. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing. Good-bye." Vin hung up on them.
"Well," Torn said. He got up and walked over to the portal and leapt through. Jak followed after. They entered the gates of Haven and made their way back to HQ.
*******
*One week later*
Torn sat at the table located in the center of HQ, staring at the tabletop clearly pleased. He leaned back and allowed his mind to wander from the war against the KG and metalheads. His thoughts wandered to Jak and their conversation in the mountains. The only time he had seen him since was giving him a mission to go to the dark eco mines through Vin's portal. Torn wondered if that chat between the two of them changed anything. Now that it was out in the open about their friendship, would everything be different?
The doors to HQ burst open and Jak thundered down the stairs yelling, "TORN!!!"
Torn stood up and glared at the younger man. In his mind he thought, nothing has changed at all.
Whoot! Chappie finished. Please leave a review!