Chapter 3: Morning Gone Wrong
There on the floor Daxter held his best friend in his arms.
"Jak! Jak! Jak, wake up buddy!" no response. Daxter held his fingers up to the green-blonde's neck to check his pulse. Daxter could barely feel anything. One of Daxter's hands came up to cup Jak's cheek. It was ice cold. "Jak? Jak?" Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes. "Jak…" he whimpered. He had so many questions going through his head. Where had he been? Why did he finally show himself after so long? Was this how his best friend was going to die?
A light was showing through Jak's clothes where he had been shot. Jak's breathing started to grow heavier with each breath. He leaned into Daxter's touch as the light eco healed his body. Jak's eyes started to flutter open. He turned his head so he was facing Daxter.
"Daxter?" he whispered.
"Ya, it's me." Daxter smiled, "I finally got my body back."
"Did they hurt you?"
"Nah. I took care of them." Jak smirked and gripped at Daxter's jacket. Daxter noticed that Jak's iris' were no longer blue, but black.
"I need to hide from them. No one can no I was here."
"It's a little too late for that, babe."
"Ya, I figured." Jak's face turned to one of panic as he quickly pulled his hood back over his head and sat up, wincing at the pain coming from his wound.
"Jak, what's wro-"
"Can I stay here for awhile, Dax?" Jak interrupted, obviously wanting to change the subject. Daxter tipped his head back in laughter.
"Of course, buddy! We both do own the place!" Jak chuckled.
"Ya. I suppose we do." Daxter stood up of the floor.
"Well, I've had a long day, so I should probably get going to bed. Care to join?" Daxter looked back down at his hooded friend. He noticed Jak's nails were still black, but short. "Jak, are you sure your okay?" Jak stood up and walked past Daxter.
"Tell you the truth, I'm not sure." Jak continued to walk up the stairs and into his room. Daxter sighed.
'Always pushing people away.' Daxter thought as he walked up the stairs to his room. Maybe he could sleep peacefully tonight.
Jak looked in the mirror in the bathroom at himself. He stared at his hideous black horns that sat on his head and the huge scares and dark eco crystals that mutilated his chest. He looked down at his hands and feet to see black nails. He sighed and slid his boxers and sweet shirt on. He lifted the hood over his head and headed to his room.
Jak walked out of the bathroom to see Daxter sitting on the bed in his night shorts. Daxter stood up.
"Finally got out of the shower? I almost thought you feel asleep in there." Daxter noticed the hood. "Jak, really. Take the hood off, buddy." Daxter reached his hand out to take Jak's hood off only to have the blonde back away from his hand.
"Jak, what's wrong?" no reply. Daxter stepped forward as Jak backed up. The cycle kept going until Jak's back hit the wall of the room. Daxter reached out again and took Jak's hood off. Jak looked away as Daxter stared at Jak's horns. "Jak-"
"I'm stuck like this okay!" Jak yelled in a harsh tone. "I keep a hood on to hide the horns and I cut my claws to look like nails, okay! I'm stuck looking like the monster I am!" Jak kept his gaze away from Daxter.
Daxter examined Jak, he could tell he wanted to leave. Even though he had the claws and horns of one of his others, he still had the skin color of his true self. Daxter face turned into a glare as he grabbed Jak's ear and dragged him to the bed.
"Ow ow ow!" Jak exclaimed as he was dragged over to the bed and roughly shoved onto the soft material. He looked over to see Daxter scolding him.
"Do you think I care what you look like? Your you, and not dead, and that's all that matters! Precursors, you can be such an idiot sometimes!" Daxter took a deep breath and sighed getting into the small bed next to Jak. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight."
Jak just stared at the back of his friend's head. What was he supposed to think? He hadn't expected Daxter to find out about his hideous form so soon.
'Please, please mean that.' Jak thought as he sniffed his friend's hair. Pine. Just like back in Sandover. Now he remembered why he loved his best friend. Because back then in Sandover, Daxter was the only person willing to hang out with the mute. At first it was hard to communicate, but they worked it all out after a month or two. From that time to the jail break, Daxter had been Jak's voice.
Jak reached down and pulled the cover over him and Daxter. Already, Jak could hear light snoring coming from his friend. Jak smiled. He really did love the redhead. More than a friend, too. 'Ugh, Daxter. Why did we never get another bed?' the question was ment for Daxter, but he didn't want to wake his friend. The bed was crowded, but it beat sleeping in the streets like he had been the last three years. Plus, where would they put another bed? The living quarters in the back of the Naughty Ottsel was more like a hotel room. The bedroom, and kitchen all being one room and then the bathroom.
Not really enough room for two full grown elves to be living in.
When Daxter was an ottsel it wasn't so crowded. He was only two feet tall after all, but he still ate like any normal elf despite his size. 'Wait, getting off topic now.' Jak went back to his previous problem at hand as he drifted off to sleep.
Daxter awoke to something warm around him. Didn't know what it was, but it was nice. He leaned into the warmth only to have it's grip tighten around him. Why couldn't he wake up like this every morning? Whatever this warmth was he just wanted to snuggle up with it. That's when he felt something breathing down his neck. Then he remembered Jak.
Daxter's eyes shot open. He looked down to see Jak's arm around his chest protectively.
When he tried to move his legs he only found them tangled with the blonde's. Daxter never felt his face get so hot in his life. He tried to get out of Jak's grip only to have it tighten around him. He tried again. Didn't move an inch. Precursors, how strong could Jak be in his sleep?
"Jak. Jaaak." No reply. "JAK!"
"Woah!" Jak yelled as his arm flung to grab a gun that wasn't at his side, releasing his grip on Daxter. "What! Where is it!" Jak looked around the room to see that Daxter had fallen off the bed in all the commotion. "Oh, it's just you." Jak said with relief.
"Well, that was a fine hello." Jak chuckled. The last time Daxter had said that is when he broke him out of prison.
"And you've been crawling around this place for two years risking your tail, literally, to save me, right?" Daxter caught on to the joke.
"Damn straight." Both men burst out into laughter. Wow, Jak never thought there would be a day where he would be laughing about a jail break. Their laughter slowly calmed leaving Jak and Daxter to grab at their ribcages.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, oh boy!" Daxter gave the last laughs.
"My ribs and cheeks hurt from laughing so much!" Jak exclaimed as he wiped away a tear on the edge of his eye. Daxter stared wide eyed at Jak. He had never seen Jak laugh so much that tears were forming in his eyes!
Then Jak froze. His face painted with horror as he clawed at his chest. It was the eco crystals in his chest again. The hand that was clawing at his chest went to his throat. Jak started gasping. Daxter stood in worry.
"Jak! Jak, what's wrong?" Jak got out of bed grabbing onto random items in the room for support as he made his way over to his jacket on the rack. Jak grabbed onto the counter for more support. '
Only a couple more feet!' That's when Jak tripped over his own feet in all the panic. The green-blonde landed on the floor with a thud still gasping for air. Jak looked up. His jacket was right above him!
Jak grabbed the jacket and pulled it down. The jacket along with the rack came tumbling down beside him. Things started to go blurry and the elf's lungs felt like they were on fire. He searched his jacket's pockets.
With a shaky hand, Jak pulled out a big needle with light eco in it. He didn't care if he was being careful with it or not. He just needed the damn eco! The blur was starting to turn to patches of black. Jak forced the needle into the skin of his stomach and slowly injected the eco. Daxter didn't know what to think or do. It was all too sudden, all happening too fast. The redhead ran over to the oxygen deprived body to find it unconscious.
"Jak? Jak!" Daxter held his wrist to check for a pulse. Yep, he's got a pulse. Still alive.
Daxter grabbed the needle from Jak's hand and examined it. Eco Injection Needle: Inject when needed. It read. He looked back at Jak. How long had he been doing this? Didn't Jak know what injecting eco into a person can do to them? Why was he even doing this in the first place?
Jak bolt upright with a loud gasp, color returning to his skin. He was in bed again. He looked over to Daxter to see him glaring at him. "Care to tell me what this is?" Daxter asked holding up the needle. Jak looked away.
"It's none of your business." Jak said as he looked away.
Daxter was fuming. If it was possibly, steam would be coming out of his ears right now. Nothing could possibly make the situation better.
"None of my- Jak! Your injecting eco into yourself! For once, would you not push people away when they're trying to help you?" Jak got up not looking at Daxter and proceeded to the bathroom.
Daxter huffed in annoyance and got back in bed, he normally slept his anger off anyways.
to be continued...