Jak 2: Bath Time part 5

Jak 2: Bath Time!! part 5


The sun was setting fast, and the street lights began to flicker to life. Smirking, fags bared, the figure moved silently through the streets, a wraith among the darkness. Maybe if he was lucky enough, he’d catch him in his garage…or maybe just walking through the streets. The mere thought of digging his claws into the flesh of that arrogant fool made him shiver with delight. Creeping through the streets, long, wild hair blowing gently in the wind, he looked around for any sign of his target. Hmm….maybe in his garage perhaps? He wondered to himself as his eyes darted around a final time, and then began to head to the destination, flexing his claws in anticipation.

Back at the underground’s HQ…

“Ok…here is how we’re going to do this.” Torn had a map of the city splayed in front of everyone. “We’ll lure him over to this area of the city. If we can cut off his escape routes here, he’s as good as caught.” he said, pointing to the circled area on the map. “Ashelin and Tess will take some of our men and block off one  route out, while I and the other half of our soldiers will block off the other. He won’t have anywhere to go then. We’ll equip ourselves with energy nets and stun darts…in case things get nasty.” Torn’s eyes narrowed slightly. Ashelin nodded in approval. Tess smiled, nodding. “What about me?” Daxter piped up. “…you can stay with Tess.” He stated bluntly. Nodding, Daxter saluted and climbed onto Tess’ shoulder. “My question is…how are we going to get him there?” Ashelin crossed her arms. Closing his eyes, Torn thought for a second. How was he going to do that…ah. He had an idea. “With any luck, he won’t try and attack us so much as run. He didn’t take the chance to hurt you guys when he did, so I assume he may just run…” his eyes were still closed. Then, they slowly opened. “Me and I my half of the soldiers we dispatch will chase him on zoomers. You guys will wait to block off the opposite entrance when we get there.”

“But what if your assumption is wrong? What if he won’t just run? What if he will try and go after you?” Ashelin shrugged questioningly. In response, Torn looked down to the knife on his belt that he favored so much. “…I’m well aware this might happen. I’m prepared to ready myself in case that does become an issue.” Torn seemed cool and calm about this, but internally, he really wasn’t hoping it would come down to Jak hurting him…or vice versa.

Meanwhile…

Dark could hardly contain his excitement. What luck!! He had been lucky enough to catch Erol just as he was coming out of his garage. Oh, yeah…this was going to be good. He took care to stay hidden as the commander’s footsteps echoed in the streets, seeming like they were the only two in the entire city. His smirking face became an all out grin when Erol noticed he wasn’t the only one here. To Jak, this was like a game of cat and mouse, and he was ready to play. Keeping a hand on his pistol, he slowly turned around in a complete circle. Looking to his left, then right, he began to walk again, his hand resting on his weapon. He relished the fact that Erol was on edge now that he knew someone else was here. He allowed a low, dark laugh to escape his lips, causing Erol to turn and fire in his direction. Nimbly, he dodged the shot like it was nothing and crouched in the shadows. “Dammit show yourself coward!” Erol shouted, pistol pointing in every direction. He wasn’t used to being scared, but a shudder of fear couldn’t help but work its way down his spine when he heard the chilling voice’s response.

“If you insist…”

Erol’s eyes sped, looking everywhere, knowing an attack was imminent. Before he could even train his pistol on the target, something came barreling into him with immense force, knocking him to the ground. Instinct took over, and he fired off his pistol in all directions, hoping to hit whatever it was. He was rewarded by a surprised yelp of pain. He smirked upon hearing that, but it didn’t last as he felt claws rake into his body, followed by some sort of energy pulsing through its body, rattling every fiber of his being. Yelling out in pain, he struggled to roll away and get a fix on whoever was stupid enough to attack him. He could hear his heartbeat in his chest, and it only grew faster. Seeing the pale…thing…before him made him turn his face in a sneer. “Hello Erol…” Jak’s face had a twisted grin on it, blood dripping off of his claws.

“So…it’s you, eco freak!” Erol spat. “What makes you think that you can attack the commander of the Krimzon Guard and expect to get away with it?” his sneer became a smirk, met by Dark’s own plastered on his face. “Because, my dear Erol…” he stated, darting straight towards him, claws extended. Erol aimed his pistol, but his hand was grabbed by a set of claws and forced upwards, redirecting his fire. The hand then gripped down hard, and the other was clenched around Erol’s neck. Forcing him against the wall, Dark’s black eyes shimmered eerily in the moonlight. “I can kill you right now if I wish to.” His voice was sickeningly calm. Erol had honestly never been more scared than now. He didn’t doubt that this….thing would do away with him if he wanted to…and it really looked like he wanted to. Erol began to flail with his legs and hands, trying to get Dark to let go, but his grip only tightened, teeth bared as he grinned wildly. His fun was cut short when he heard a voice not too far away.

“This was where the shots fired and the distress beacon leads here!” he perked his ears up, hearing the muffled voice of a Krimzon Guard speaking through his headgear. Narrowing his eyes, he let out a loud snarl and jerked his head towards Erol, who was smiling slightly. By the sound of their footsteps, there were a lot of them, and he wasn’t in the best shape. “You’re lucky your little pets were hear to save your sorry hide today.” He whispered threateningly. Letting go, Erol fell to his knees, gasping for air, but was interrupted by a harsh kick to the torso, hearing a crack as his ribcage made contact with Jak’s foot. Letting out a cry of pain, he flew backwards, landing on his back as Dark Jak jumped onto the rooftop of a building, wincing slightly. “Good thing that was a laser pistol and not a bullet shooter…” he thought as he put a hand to one of the wounds on his shoulder. Wincing, he was finally beginning to feel the toll his body had taken. To make matters worse, he began hearing a…peculiar humming noise. It was getting closer, too. He climbed down from the roof and away from the voices of the guards, slipping away into the night.

He tried to recognize what that sound was…it was familiar for sure, but what? The answer then became vividly clear as about nine zoomers came into view, their lights all trained on him. The sudden light caused him to narrow his eyes to shield them from the brightness.

A familiar voice shouted to him. He was on the zoomer closest to him, and had a gun pointed right at him. “C’mon Jak. Fun’s over. Let’s get you back to HQ.” He recognized that voice anywhere. Who else but king laryngitis himself would try doing this? Gritting his teeth, Jak cursed his luck. Normally, he could’ve charged right through that barricade, but he had sustained some slightly more serious wounds from his encounter with Erol. Trying that now would probably result in him getting pretty banged up. Eyeing a way out, he took off at a run to escape the group of underground fighters.

Taking out his communicator, Torn gave it a few minutes to buzz to life before contacting the others. “Ashelin. This is Torn. Jak is heading right toward you. Get ready.” He ordered as he slipped the communicator onto his belt. “Here we go…” he sighed, clutching the zoomer’s handlebars and accelerating, his men right behind him. He had seen what this other entity could do to his enemies before. He hoped that to him, the meaning of friend didn’t have the same meaning as foe…