(no subject)

[ddddropthebass]

Who: Jak and Bass
What: One year after the defeat of the Dark Makers, Jak is a brick with a gun doing what a brick with a gun does: clean-up. He comes across an unfinished project in an old Krimzon Guard facility and his work ends up following him home.
Universe/CR: Jak-Universe AU



Clean-up, they'd called it. Really, it was more to give Jak something to do, although it was necessary to maintain the peace they'd so carefully constructed. Old enemy storehouses needed to be examined, categorized and, in most cases, blown up. Jak was the most qualified warrior to deal with any potential resistance so for the more remote posts to where it would be difficult to transport troops, Jak was dispatched. It wasn't entirely to get him out of their political hair-

Well, it was kind of for that too. But Jak was never meant to sit behind a desk. Ashelin knew it, Torn knew it, Sig knew it. Even Daxter knew it, to a degree, which is why he stayed behind as Jak went out, and hadn't that been a tough decision. Jak had taken it in as much stride as could be assumed, being separated from someone with whom he'd spent almost every making moment, and Daxter was about as happy about it but there were responsibilities to which he had to attend now, least of all the management of the Hip Hog. Things with Tess were getting serious, and for some reason Dax was actually sort of good at helping write up diplomatic legislature, in some hilarious twist of fate. So that meant a lot of staying put, something that Jak was unarguably bad at doing.

Just a few runs, Samos had asked. To tie up loose ends. If left alone, loose ends always tie themselves, and never in a way you want them to. ...he could've gone longer with that string metaphor (included something about the knots and snares of life maybe) but Jak had already since lost interest and was ready to leave.

Krimzon Guard Depot Alpha-581 was on the outskirts of the Wasteland, on one of the southern islands and only barely accessible by land. The outer walls of the depot were rusted by water and bleached pale pink by the sun, salt crusting along the seams of the plates from where the waves slapped against the foundation. Inside wasn't much better; the depot was still, sand piled up in corners and the ocean breeze whistling through holes in the roofing, manufacturing equipment in varying states of disrepair, only a handful of Deathbots wandering about the facility in confusion. Another depot set for decommission.

Only...the power grid showed one room at the center of the compound with power consumption. Blowing the building sky high would undoubtedly take that room with it, except that the Krimzon Guard were infamous for using Dark Eco in the construction of their later models thanks to Errol. An explosion with Dark Eco involved could drastically affect the surrounding ecosystem, even all the way up to Spargus. That room would have to be investigated first.

In the center of a room, near a flashing panel indication a critical power failure, is a capsule. Inside that capsule is the body of what can only be a strange-looking young boy...either asleep or dead. The panel reads CATASTROPHIC POWER FAILURE: ACTIVATE UNIT? YES/NO in blaring, blinking red. A remnant of the KG to be sure, but...definitely nothing that they'd made before. Especially with the room stinking like it'd had been painted with Dark Eco.

Comments

[ddddropthebass]

"Why the fuck are you smiling?" Bass, meanwhile, is completely miserable. His insides are all weird (he needs to run maintenance after jerry-rigging an oxygen maker) and he's covered in filth and it's sticking in creases and crevices in his synthetic skin and it's horrible and he hates the world and everybody in it. "I don't know if you noticed, but we're even further underground than before. And your fucking beacon is now way, way out of reach. Your buddies even go digging for you, they're gonna think your ass is fucking dead, which it might as well be if we can't find clean water and food, you stupid prick."

[shadesofeco]

If Bass had been through even half the things Jak had, he wouldn't be complaining right now. This is nothing compared to falling out of an exploding palace onto a moving Hellcat, shooting a giant terraforming alien vehicle and going up against an ancient robot unarmed.

"We're alive and now there's a way out." They're both covered in thick, sticky sludge, Jak's back is soaked in blood and he's lost his gun. And yet, things have been worse. "Trust me, I know these catacombs."

As for his buddies... well, either they'll have to wait for Jak and Bass to get back and explain, or the beacon won't even kick in and no one knows anything differently.

Now he just needs to get his bearings. Healing is another possibility, but they're nowhere near another source of Light Eco right now and he'd rather save it just in case. Biting off a grunt, Jak slowly pushes himself to his feet and reaches out for the wall to brace himself while he gets his bearings.

If they're under Dead Town...

"This way." He gestures down one hall. "That'll get us to the sewers in a couple of miles. We can use those to get back to the surface."

[ddddropthebass]

"The sewers. Great." Bass looks down the path they have to take. Doesn't look stable; lots of bits of old metal cobbled together, sitting on rails or crumbling stone.

"I'll go first," he announces, shoving past Jak and scrambling up onto the first sloping rails. He finds his footing, then turns and sticks out a hand for Jak to take to help him up. He doesn't meet his eyes. Don't make this a big deal, you prick.

[shadesofeco]

That's not really--

Jak almost -- almost -- rolls his eyes. He's navigated dozens of these tunnels, he can manage this without help. But he is hurt, and he sees the offer for what it is.

Grabbing Bass' hand, he accepts the help up without a word, hopping over to the next rail and picking his way across. They have to be careful with their footing, and trade off silently when it seems one is better suited than the other to go first. It's actually kinda nice having someone his size -- well, closer to his size -- to do this with.

[ddddropthebass]

Whatever, this bitch has broken ribs. Bass can hear them creaking as they climb.

And while Bass is only a bit smaller than Jak, he's at least three times as heavy. The rails groan under his weight in weaker spots, shuddering then he has to leap off of a falling tile. "What the fuck," Bass grumbles, arms out as he balances across a naked rail to the next tunnel section. "What the fuck. This is such bullshit." He ignores the way Jak keeps his balance easily, even with an arm wrapped around his torso. "Did these assholes really hate visitors or something?"

[shadesofeco]

"Something like that."

The adrenaline's worn off from the fall now, and Jak's damp with sweat, moving a little slower. One arm stays firmly wrapped around his ribs to try and keep movement to a minimum, but he's not sure if it's actually working.

Every time there's a groan or creak behind him, he stops and turns to make sure the ground won't open up under Bass. It's a genuine possibility, he knows how heavy KG bots are.

"They were made for Precursors, I guess they didn't think about anyone else coming down here."

Continuing on in silence for a few more minutes, he bites back a sigh of relief as he spots an elevator up ahead. "There. That'll take us up to sewer level." And he can have a few seconds to stop moving.

[ddddropthebass]

Even as cranky as he is, Bass can't deny himself the hop in his step as the elevator came into view. The sewers won't be much cleaner but they'll at least be stable footing, and it'll be a quick walk back to the surface from there. Bass has decided that he fucking hates caves and basements and anything where he can't see the sky. Fuck the ground. The ground is stupid.

Bass turns around to mime shooting the precursor railings to bits and notices Jak lagging as he crosses the atrium between the rails and the elevator. "Hey," he calls, irritated. "Today would be nice. What's wrong, bones a little more broken than you thought?" Yeah, he didn't miss that exasperation when he reached to help you up onto the rails. Dumb organics never know their limits.

[shadesofeco]

Damn it. Jak gets cranky and even quieter than usual when he's hurt, and he scowls.

"I'm fine."

Jak's not fine and they both know it, but he will be once they get back. He wants to heal himself so badly, but there's just not enough Light Eco around to justify wasting it like that. Spargus is a long way away and that's the closest source of Light Eco they've found yet. He's gotta store it, keep a hold of it in case they need it for an emergency in the city.

Using the wall for support, Jak climbs into the elevator with Bass and waits for the telltale hum before it begins to propel them upwards. Frankly it's amazing that this place still runs considering it's been abandoned for thousands of years. It must be wired into the planet's Eco wells deep, deep underground.

"Should be about four miles back to HQ from here."

Four miles sounds like a fucking marathon right now, but at least the end's in sight.

[ddddropthebass]

"Yeah?" The look Bass is giving Jak is distinctly amused instead of concerned, which is the look most people would give someone with broken ribs. "You look kind of pale there, buddy. Am I going to have to haul your ass topside?"

[shadesofeco]

The elevator grinds to a halt and Jak shoots Bass a look.

"We're here."

And he's just gonna take the lead outta there, mostly so he doesn't have to see Bass looking so goddamn smug.

The water's only ankle-deep around here, but further down there's a drop and they're gonna have to navigate from platform to slippery, slimy platform. Fucking wonderful.

[ddddropthebass]

Bass is thinking about the same thing, but Jak's made it pretty clear he doesn't want to do any more hand-holding and Bass isn't about to delve into the exotic realm of altruism anyway. So he just backs up a couple steps and starts jumping the platforms, wheeling his arms when he almost skids off the edge of one and looking back to Jak when he gets to the other side. "You coming? It's a looonnng fall. Want me to go get like a wheelchair or something for you, or...?"

[shadesofeco]

Oh shut the fuck up, Jak can totally do it.

Backing up a few steps, he makes the first jump and uses the momentum to get to the second platform, but then he slips and barely makes it to the last, skidding a few inches and hopping to make sure he doesn't fling into the lake of sewer water.

He'd give himself a moment to be smug but instead hugs his ribs. Not far to go. Just another few hours of this.

"You could make yourself useful and scout up ahead," Jak grits out from between his teeth.

[ddddropthebass]

"What for?" Bass is still grinning, hands on his knees as he leans over to look Jak in the face. "I thought you knew these sewers like the back of your hand. You must know where everything is already, unless you're implying you need the help...?"

[shadesofeco]

"For Metal Heads."

Seriously. Not in the fucking mood.

Running the back of his sleeve over his forehead, Jak really, really wants to lean against the wall. But now? Now he's not gonna do it on principle. Bass is pissing him off so much his ego's starting to puff up and he flat out refuses to give him any more ammo.

"Just keep moving."

[ddddropthebass]

"Pfft, sure. Sure, I'll go take out those big bad Metal Heads. You don't even have your gun anymore, do you?" Bass turns his back on Jak and laughs, bouncing ahead and peering theatrically around the corners. "Guess the best offense is a good defense. Good thing you've got all that armor that was made a trillion years ago."

[shadesofeco]

Ugh, his gun. Jak grimaces to himself as Bass reminds him he lost all his supplies back at the cave-in. He's had that morph gun for years; sure it's not exactly irreplaceable, but it's his. He remembers where it got each scuff and dent, knows its quirks and how to adjust for any shot.

His hover board and morph gun are special. Those he wants back. And now, they're lost in the mud, probably unsalvageable.

Growling in frustration, he slams the side of his fist against the wall-- and immediately regrets it, cursing breathlessly and curling in over himself.

That was really stupid.

[ddddropthebass]

Yeah, that was really stupid. Bass snorts and raises a brow at him. "Wow. Nevermind, I'll go scout ahead. I'm starting to get some second-hand embarrassment over here." So Bass backs up around the corner, hands up, smirking at Jak and his pain and stupidity- and immediately screeches.

Okay, so maybe he should've scouted ahead a little sooner.

[shadesofeco]

Yeah, maybe should have checked ahead, Bass. Because right there in the middle of the pipe is a frog corpse surrounded by three large cat-like Metal Heads with their faces jammed into its entrails.

Their heads snap up at the shout, one of them rearing back on its hind legs, its throat pulsing as it growls. Tossing its head back it lets out a guttural shriek, then all three lunge for him, claws skittering on the slick pipe.

Jak freezes, fingers twitching against the wall. He really, really wants to run after Bass, every instinct he has screaming at him to fight. But he's unarmed, injured and more of a liability than anything right now. As long as they don't attract any more attention, Bass should be able to handle this by himself.

Then again, absolutely no part of this mission has gone according to plan so there's absolutely no fucking indication that this will either.

[ddddropthebass]

"Motherfucker!" Bass yowls as he's fell upon by the Metal Heads. He's not in any serious danger -not from these- but he doesn't get a chance to prepare his buster cannon and has to fight them off with his fists. By the time Jak rounds the corner he's beating the last one's skull in, but he's definitely scratched up and pulling angrily at the synthetic skin flapping away from titanium A bonework and inorganic muscle fibers underneath, more than a touch annoyed. "Fucking-! Where the fuck am I gonna find the materials to repair this?! Goddamn it!" He kicks a wall and the bricks shatter under the force.

[shadesofeco]

Wow that's... that's some intricate work there. Jak's pulled apart a few KG bots over the years but none of them had that much work put into them. Hell, not even Errol was so complex.

Clearing his throat, he waits for Bass to look up and smirks.

"So you're a screamer, huh?"

You'd better hope he doesn't tell Daxter about that shriek, buddy. You will never live it down.

[ddddropthebass]

"You got somethin' to say to me, brittle bones?" Bass glares daggers. He can't do anything, but he can snarl and seethe like an enraged demonic toddler.

[shadesofeco]

"Let's just get outta here in one piece."

Because seriously, that is funny but Jak is still two minutes away from falling flat on his face and he can't enjoy it too much right now. The idea of finding a safe place to rest for a bit is immensely tempting, but way too dangerous. It might give him a little energy boost to keep going, but more likely it'll make it harder to get moving again later.

You got lucky this time.

Stepping carefully around the crushed corpses -- damn, dude -- Jak's face suddenly lights up as he sees the path ahead. "Bass... There's an elevator."

[ddddropthebass]

Getting topside is a relief. A literal breath of fresh air, but also just seeing sunlight and other people instead of rock and sludge and Metal Head corpses is such a change that even Bass relaxes a little. He commandeers a two-seater and shoves Jak into the passenger side, hard enough to make it hurt because he knows otherwise Jak will just be a bitch and try to get his own zoomer and then Bass will have to slow down again.

"I'm dropping your ass off at that shit bar," Bass tells him snidely, navigating the streets perfectly after only doing it once. Synthetic brain for life, yo. "I'm going to find some shit to repair myself with and you'll just slow me down." Maybe if he says it like those are his concrete plans, Jak won't get the bright idea of ordering him to stay or demanding Bass do whatever Jak tells him. It never worked with Errol or the Dark Makers, but Jak is a lot dumber than they are. It might work here.

[shadesofeco]

Well it would be a breath of fresh air if Bass hadn't just knocked all the air out of Jak's lungs with that shove. He at least tries to be stoic, pretending there aren't tears in the corners of his eyes.

Nobody gives a shit at the filthy, stinking guy being driven around by a battered robot, like it's something they see every day. Which to be fair, isn't that far from the truth.

Jak watches the scenery pass with hooded eyes, suddenly aware of how tired he is. "Yeah okay. Just check in, lemme know you're still in one piece." Shifting a little in his seat as the harbor comes into view, he grunts. "Tess might have some spare parts if you need 'em."

[ddddropthebass]

There it is again, just the way he phrases shit. Checking in to make sure he's okay. Saying or doing things to appease him, like he actually gives a fuck. Does he have any idea how phony it sounds? Does he really think he's fooling Bass with any of this fake worrying bullshit? He must, because he keeps doing it.

"I don't want your junkyard scrap," Bass snorts, leaning into a turn as they peel out into the harbor. "I've seen the shit you call good tech. I'll go scrounge around myself, thanks." He pulls in front of the Naughty Ottsel and lowers just long enough for Jak to drag himself out of the vehicle before flicking it back up to the second level and roaring off, not giving Jak a chance to repeal his orders.

Good. All he has to do is call or something. He's got free reign and he's going to use it as long as he can.