Seventy-Seventh Mission [OPEN COMMENTLOG]

[shadesofeco]

[After all the "revelations" from Praxis and Erol about his supposedly deteriorating sanity, and learning about the gaps in his memory, Jak is decidedly confused, angry, and not particularly stable

Comments

[oblique_wisdom]

Jak.

[The boy is punching trees. Zelda's never gotten to see him train, but then he's also never seen her when she's at her fighting ability. A part of her has never wanted him to, however. Stumbling across him while lost in the midst of her thoughts is both a blessing and a curse. She's not entirely naive. Zelda knows when people are attempting to evade her presence or dodge her inquisitive nature

[shadesofeco]

[Jak is punching trees. In fact, he's been punching trees for several hours now, some of them are cracked, though the fact that his knuckles are stripped raw and covered in blood suggests that he is worse off.

The voice makes him falter, and he turns his head a little to look at her. He's been studiously avoiding Zelda for a while now, and has no idea what to say, so he simply turns back to the tree and resumes punishing it himself.]

[oblique_wisdom]

[She's scrutinizing him again. Zelda always does this, though. He doesn't like being mothered and so she often holds back her words. He won't get off so fortunate this time. To some degree, Jak needs to be told what is what and that's where it leaves off. Sometimes he needs someone to just give him a nice smack and tell him to chill.

She'd never do it like that.]

That looks like it hurts. Do you want me to join you?

[Yes. That's her attempt to make light of the situation.]

[shadesofeco]

[He stops for a moment, leaning his weight back and glancing down at his bleeding knuckles. He actually looks slightly surprised at how carried away he'd gotten, and shakes his hands.]

Training's supposed to hurt.

[Yep, that's how he's going to justify it. Just training.]

[oblique_wisdom]

I think you should take a break.

[She means the best by that, really. Her head tilts to the side and she offers him a very brief look of concern before straightening her posture.]

Come for a little stroll with me. Just for a little bit.

[shadesofeco]

[He doesn't move for a moment, just cradling the knuckles of one hand in the other. He's been putting off talking to Zelda for a long time now, she's a little too good at knowing when something's up. But he's also not quite himself enough to think up a good lie, so he shrugs his shoulders.]

Alright.

[oblique_wisdom]

[She rewards him with a smile. Yes, she knows very well something is going on. She's known for quite some time. She simply has never pried him for the information. Zelda, like Jak does in these situations, expects him to be open with her and to tell her when he's ready. She simply assumes that he hasn't been ready.

She feels foolish, however, even as she extends her right hand in his direction, palm up.]

Thank you. I appreciate it to the very fullest.

[shadesofeco]

[Jak's not really full of smiles right now, and there's no return gesture. He stares at her hand for a moment. Does she want him to take it?

He looks down at his own hands, palms up. He can't help thinking that there should be claws there.]

[oblique_wisdom]

[Jak doesn't need to smile for her. She likes his smiles, but she likes them even more when they're sincere. Her smile is only meant to lighten some of the burden upon him. She doesn't think she'll be successful at all, but it's better to try and fail than not to try at all.

On second thought, his hands probably hurt after all of that punching and the trees. So she laces her hands together and her ears lower a little.]

We don't really need to do anything. I'd only said I wanted to see you. You're always telling me not to worry, but if I didn't, I wouldn't be me, right? I'm working on it, though. It's just...

[Maybe she shouldn't press it.]

I had a question for you. I wanted to hear your thoughts on it.

[And no, she's not going to. Still.]

[shadesofeco]

[Shaking his head once to clear it, Jak folds his arms, tucking his hands away. Too many thoughts rolling around in his head, too much distraction.]

There's nothing to worry about.

[He is such a lousy liar.]

What's the question?

[oblique_wisdom]

[Zelda arches an eyebrow.]

No matter how many times you say it, it doesn't make it true. Now you're just trying to convince yourself.

[Because he's certainly not convincing her.

Anyway!]

As of late, there's been a rather popular topic of what happened to our original homes. I've had a few people come to me and ask me my opinion. I wanted to know what yours was. Do you think Haven was destroyed, and with it Spargus and the other places there? Or do you think this is some very well-thought out ruse by the Captain and the crew?

[shadesofeco]

[Jak grunts and focuses his gaze on a very interesting piece of bark. Yeah, he's still working on convincing himself.

But talking about something that isn't his sanity -- or lack thereof -- is more his speed, and he mulls it over, toeing his boot in the grass as he thinks.]

They could be lying. Trying to make us give up so we won't keep trying to escape.

[Then again ...]

But if it is true, who did it? And why? There's a lot of worlds out there.

[oblique_wisdom]

That was what I was thinking.

[Bringing a hand to the base of her chin, Zelda taps it thoughtfully. She seems much calmer than what she actually is and if Jak can't point it out, it means she's doing it well.]

I don't believe it's true. I can't. None of us have been shown any concrete evidence and so many people aboard heard it and just assume the word of the crew is that of the goddesses.

[She shakes her head, irritated at the very least.]

Let's play with your what-if scenario, however. It would be far too coincidental for so many worlds to be destroyed along the same time, so it would have been deliberate and likely done by one mass force, be it an entity of superior ability, or a gaggle of a militia. As to why... Who else would have an interest in those who are "pure"?

The Captain, surely. If anyone was responsible for it, if it were to happen, it would have to be under the jurisdiction of Captain Redd. There's no other way.

[shadesofeco]

[He raises an eyebrow.]

You think Redd is responsible?

[That ... makes an awful lot of sense, and Jak frowns.]

But why would he destroy our worlds and save us afterwards?

[oblique_wisdom]

You mean to tell me the thought never crossed your mind?

[She refrains from scoffing.]

Kage told me that the passengers are different from the crew. He didn't go into great detail with me, but he said that we're "pure". You know that, because it means Baron Praxis, Commander Erol, and Ganondorf are all pure as well. You and I have talked about it before.

On the other hand, Kage told me he's human, in spite of this overwhelming difference. He seemed fairly adamant about it too, so I imagine he was being pretty truthful with me.

[Zelda thinks about the other information she's managed to acquire, which apparently she hasn't shared until now.]

The crew can never leave this ship. The crew can never step foot onto the Golden Shore. They have too many limitations, perhaps because of their impurities. Perhaps because of something else we simply don't know yet.

Why would Captain Redd destroy our homes, though...?

[Her eyebrows furrow and she considers her conversation regarding the passage in Kage's book. She seems to be talking to

[shadesofeco]

[He glares at her angrily, fingers digging into his arms.]

I've had more important things to think about.

[Jak grunts at her last question, giving her a flat look. He's not a child, Zelda, it makes sense. He's just incredibly distracted with his own head shit right now.]