(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]

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.

[shadesofeco]

Peeling himself out of the zoomer, Jak tries to leave a parting comment but nope, Bass is already gone. He just hopes he's got enough sense to stay out of trouble.

Okay. Alright. Just a few feet to the entrance.

Things happen in something of a blur after that. There was some shouting and people grabbing him, then he was laying down and he thinks he heard Torn, then the last thing he remembers is Daxter worriedly saying something to him.

When he opens his eyes again, the lights are dimmed. Looks like someone cleared out the bar while he was out. His chest is tightly wrapped in bandages and it feels like his back's been sutured. Everything still hurts, but being still and not moving is pretty much the best thing ever right now.

[doeseverything]

There's a few clinks in the background, and then a glass tumbler full of the purple stuff slides over next to Jak's face.

Dax had shut down the bar and they'd converted it into an emergency triage; of course, it had been shut down for the last day and a half anyway when Jak's tracking signal suddenly cut out and the scouting team returned with the news that the caves Jak had been sent to investigate had collapsed and flooded. Dax had been furious with Torn and they'd almost gotten into it (which wouldn't have turned out well for Daxter but he's spry, god damn it, he could totally take that prick) until Ashelin butted in and told Dax she would have guard rotations working on digging him out around the clock.

And then Jak just stumbles in a day later, bloody and stinking like sewage but alive and well enough to walk before passing out right into Torn's arms.

Some first aid and a bath later and Dax just throws down blankets and pillows right on the table, unwilling to have Torn try and drag Jak upstairs. No sign of his shitty little Krimzon Bot either, which definitely sends Dax's hackles right up. Fucker. He knew that rotten little twerp was bad news. Hell, for all Daxter knew, the little shithead was the one responsible.

So that leaves Daxter sitting on his haunches nearby, staring at Jak and nursing his own drink, waiting for his friend to wake up enough to down his own special painkiller cocktail.

Stupid...fucking...

He'd been worried. If he'd been with Jak, at least he'd have known.

[shadesofeco]

Jak blinks slowly at the glass then reaches out with a wince, grabbing it and downing half in one go. Gasping and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, he squints at Daxter.

"Hey."

That's a wholly inadequate thing to say after everything that happened but hey, no one ever accused Jak of being overly verbose.

[doeseverything]

That's the problem here, too. All that crap happened- so much happened, and Dax doesn't know any of it. He's seen Jak worse than this, the injuries aren't the frightening part. It was the not knowing. He's always known before, when Jak's gotten hurt or almost died or when something crazy happened to him. Dax has always, always known, because he was with Jak.

Not this time.

"The hell happened to you in there?" Dax asks, skipping the sass and one-liners for once. Maybe it's a sign of how old they're getting. Or a sign of how they're changing. He hopes it's neither. Hopefully it's just a sign of binge drinking and being too hungover for bullshit, that's way better.

[shadesofeco]

And honestly, Jak is glad his best friend wasn't there this time. This time he cut it too close, this time Daxter would have been dead long before they could have gotten to safety.

"I lost my beacon in the cave-in, Bass saved my life." Jak pauses only to take another drink, then rests his head back against the pillow. He closes his eyes, partly from exhaustion and partly because he can't stand seeing that look in Daxter's eyes right now. "If he hadn't dug down into the catacombs I'd have died in there."

[doeseverything]

Well there goes his 'blame the fuckin' KG bot' strategy. Ugh. "So it was, what. Just an accident? The cave just so happened to collapse on your hardass head?" Daxter doesn't believe in accidents with them anymore. There's some cosmic fate out there trying to kill them both. Just because it took a vacation doesn't mean it's gone entirely.

[shadesofeco]

To be fair, that's not even paranoia anymore.

"I doubt it. That place was crawling with Metal Heads, like they were waiting for us." His brow furrows and he huffs slightly. "We gotta keep an eye on Dead Town, they might be setting up a new nest."

And naturally, Jak's planning on being the first one out there on patrol.

[doeseverything]

"Okay, well I got a great plan for that: level it. Screw trying to clean it out and rebuild like a hundred years from now, who cares? It's not historic, it's a freakin' dump." Dax hates going there, Jak hates going there, everybody hates going there. Just drop a bomb on it or something. Fill it with cement, whatever.

[shadesofeco]

"That used to be our home," Jak says quietly.

[doeseverything]

"Well, it ain't anymore. Out with the old, in with the new!" Dax flips a hand, gesturing up at the ceiling of the bar. "This is home. Way better than the sand and the beaches and the gulls and whatever! Booze. And babes. And an adoring public, if you know where to look." Dax folds his arms, thumping his tail down hard on the counter. "Nothin' there worth saving."

[shadesofeco]

That's bullshit and they both know it.

Jak turns his head back to look up at the ceiling. "I guess at some point it was." Maybe that whole 'Mar saves the world and builds a giant wall' thing happens later. Or something. Time travel's confusing as fuck.

Ugh, lying here like an invalid sucks. Bracing himself on one elbow, Jak slowly heaves himself up to a sitting position. It's painful, but if he managed to drag himself four miles through the sewers with broken ribs he can sure as hell manage to get around in the bar. For now.

"So what did I miss?" One arm instinctively curls around his ribs as he reaches for his glass with the other to drain his "painkillers".

[doeseverything]

"Besides us scramblin' around, trying to find you? Nothing. It's only been a couple days." A couple sleepless days.

Daxter rests back on his haunches and watches Jak drag himself around the bar like an invalid. "Where the hell's your robot if he's not on the run from us?"

[shadesofeco]

"Uh..."

That is an excellent question, one Jak doesn't entirely remember the answer to. He was barely conscious when Bass dropped him off after all--

Ah, here's the bottle. He pours another glass.

"I think he said something about repairs. He got pretty messed up on the way back." To put it lightly.

[doeseverything]

Torn won't be happy about the KG bot running around unsupervised, but Dax couldn't give a fuck. If it kills somebody, they'll put it down. Which would probably be better in the long run anyway. "Yeah, well. Whatever." Sullen. He had kind of wanted it to be that fucker's fault. "You showed up without any of your crap. Ol' Morphy bit the dust, huh? I can get Tess started on a new one."

[shadesofeco]

If Bass kills someone, Jak'll shut him down himself. He'll feel like shit for it, but it's his responsibility.

"Yeah." Jak sounds way more broken up about it than he should. "Morph gun's gone, so's the hoverboard. Probably buried under a ton of rocks and sludge by now."

Stupid Metal Heads. Stupid Kor. Stupid Dark Makers.

[doeseverything]

"Pretty sure Keira could make a hoverboard in her sleep by now, big guy." Daxter would complain more, but Jak already looks pretty broken up about it. All he can really think about is how close they were to unearthing Jak's dead body with that damn beacon. The destruction of a gun and a board seem pretty insignificant in comparison to that.

Still, finding out that the KG bot didn't have anything to do with it leaves Dax without something solid to blame, and that unsettles him. He can go back to blaming Torn for giving Jak the job in the first place, he supposes. "Man Jak, this is seriously the last time you take bitchwork from Torn. That jackass doesn't know what to do anymore- where the hell are all the huge grand causes?! What the hell was supposed to be in that nest that a little flooding couldn't fix? He's trying to get you killed. Or collared, at least. And I thought I was the one who everyone thought was a pet-" Dax stops his mouth too late, wincing and looking away. He's angry because he was worried and he can't just turn it off. But that was too far.