Chapter 7: Effects

Jak walked along the ground floor of the palace to the graveyard. The graveyard where his father was buried. Damas probably wouldn't have wanted the desert or ruins to be his grave. He walked up to the graveyard gate to see Sig standing there.

"What are you doing are, chilipepper?" Sig asked.

"Just coming for a visit. Daxter is probably wondering around the palace looking for Keira and Samous." Sig nodded.

"Don't get loud. We have other visitors here now."

" 'Kay." Jak said as he waved to Sig and entered the grave yard. Jak walked around the graveyard for a while looking at the different warrior's names on the stones. Each having a precusor orb in it. He made it to Damas' grave to find Mary standing there. She wasn't wearing her armor any more. She now wore a white shirt with the sleeve ripped off the left side of the shirt. She had orange shoulder and arm guard going down her arm, fingerless gloves, a tan split skirt and dark brown boots with orange rags tied around them. What made Jak's stomach boil was that she was holding his gun staff. How dare she hold his staff. What gave her the right? If anybody deserved to hold it, it was him or Sig.

He calmed himself and walked up to the grave beside her. He would find out why she was holding his father's staff one way or another. Mary turned to Jak.

"Hi." she greeted. Jak only forced a smile and looked back at the grave. "Sig told me you knew Damas very well." she said.

"We were very uh-" Jak paused, "close you could say." Mary looked over Jak. He was wearing Mar's armor.

"You must have been. You're wearing Mar's armor." Jak looked back to Mary with surprise.

"You knew his son?" he asked.

"Ya. We were close. We were both kidnapped when we were young and taken to Haven. After we were separated we never saw each other again. Damas said I would one day rule beside Mar and protect him. I know that day will never come now, but Damas said it's not healthy to cling to what could have been. I think that's why he gave you Mar's armor." Jak looked away trying to hide the surprise on his face.

"Hey, cherrys!" Sig called from the gate. "We're going to be late for dinner if you don't hurry up!"

"Ya, ya. We're coming, ya old coot!" yelled Mary. Jak stared at Mary. No one talked like that to Sig. No one sober at least. Mary ran off toward Sig while Jak just stood there by Damas' grave stone.

"Chilipepper! Hurry yo ass up, we're tired of waiting." Jak shook himself out of his daze. There was an odd feeling in his chest, that made him loose his appetite.

"I think I'll join you later. I've got some stuff to do."

Torn and Ashelin stood outside the dining hall in silence waiting for the others to show up. Finally, Ashelin spoke up.

"What so special about that girl?" Ashelin said as she turned to Torn. Torn was surprised at the sudden question and looked away.

"Ya know the king who use to rule this place? Damas?"

"Ya."

"Well, I may be only a couple years older than you, but before you were in the guard and he was still the ruler of Haven, as commander of the guard I had to take an oath. And even though he's dead, I still feel like I need to honor that oath till she's on a throne."

"One a throne?"

"Ya. That girl I call Mary is Damas' niece, and Jak's older cousin. Well, I guess she would be his younger cousin now."

"Have you told Jak?" Ashelin asked.

"No. I don't-"

"There you guys are! We've been looking all over for you!" Daxter interrupted as he ran up to them in ottsel form with Kiera and Samous following behind. "You guys seen Sig or that other chick? What was her name?"

"Mary." Ashelin answered.

"Ya, her."

"As for Sig, I haven't seen him since he left for the throne room."

"Has anyone seen Jak?" asked Kiera.

"Ya know, the door is unlocked, right?" Sig said, walking down the hallway. "Ol' chilipepper said he wasn't hungry and had something to do. I could tell he was lying, though. You know how Jak is." Daxter's face turned pale.

'The needles!' he screamed inside his head.

"Daxter? Where are you going?" Kiera asked as he zoomed past her.

"I have to go check on something!" he yelled as he turned the corner to the next hallway. Everyone just stared.

"Shit!" Sig hissed. Everyone turned to Sig.

"What?" Mary asked.

"I left some econ in Jak's room."

"Ya. So?"

" Well, I really didn't want anybody to take it. Let's just say they have effects."

"Like?" Sig looked around the room, trying to think of a way to explain this.

"Well, let's just say your not yourself. Kinda like when your drunk."

Jak walked into his room and collapsed on the bed. He was really hungry but he couldn't find the will to eat at the moment, and it was giving him a headache.

'Wonder if Sig has any medicine around here?' Jak asked himself. He got up and went to the cabinet in the bathroom. All he saw was a single pill bottle. The green-blonde picked it up reading the label.

"Econ, for aches and stress relief." he read aloud. "Seems legit." Jak swallowed the pills with ease and went to go stand out on the balcony over looking Spargus. The sun was setting over the ocean as it cast a reflection. It reminded him of back in Sandover when he would climb to the top of Samous' hut and watch the sunset. Sometimes he would fall asleep and roll off the roof, but that was kinda his own falt. He looked over the other way. You could see desert for miles and not too far off you could see the precursor temple. It looked kinda fuzy to him though. Now that he was looking back to the city everything looked fuzzy. He looked down about ten stories over the balcony and almost fell over because of his lose of balance.

"Whoa." he whispered. His head was spinning and his body felt light. He stumbled backwards into his room tripping over his own feet and falling back, hitting his head. He tried to think straight but couldn't manage a sentence. Almost as if he were drunk. He was kinda feeling horny too now. What was he doing again? Jak didn't bother with the thought, it was too hard to think.

Just then, Daxter burst into the room still in ottsel form.

"JAK!" he yelled and ran up beside him. "Jak? You okay? C'mon, Jak! Get up!" Daxter pulled at his ears, hair, arms. Nothing would work. Daxter sighed. He was going to have to do this the hard way. He turned back into an elf and grabbed his pants and put them on. "C'mon, Jak. Gotta get ya in bed." Daxter said as he leaned over and helped Jak up.

"Daxter?" Jak asked, his voice groggy. "Da- Daxter?" It was hard to speak, "Daxter, what are-" he felt Daxter lifting him up, grabbing his hips and putting his arm around his shoulder. They made their way to the bed.

"Okay, Jak. Nice and- whoa!" Daxter fell back onto the bed with Jak on top of him. "Uh, Jak. Would you mind-" Daxter froze when he felt something damp and soft below his ear on his jawline. "Jak?"

"Hmm." was all he got in reply. Daxter blushed. Why was Jak kissing his neck? He didn't know to enjoy it or not. Would it be wrong? He was his best friend? Jak stopped kissing Daxter's jawline and brought himself to eye level with Daxter. "Ya, know. Ever since Sandover-" Jak paused. It was getting harder and harder to form a sentence, " I've loved you." he slurred as he kissed Daxter on the lips.

to be continued...