The Hip Hog, Haven City, Thursday Afternoon
It'd been so long since Jak got called in for a mission that when he finally did, it actually managed to throw him.
Krew's bar, the Hip Hog, smelled like something you'd find at the bottom of a toilet. At least that much hadn't changed. Neither had the presence of Krew himself, although he currently seemed to be peacefully asleep on his cushioned mobile chair.
"Jak, c'mere," Sig implored, waving him over into one of the booths. His voice was hushed for all that he was calling out. "I need to talk to you."
Jak bit down on his lip, but made a quick decision. He slipped into the booth and leaned over. "Yeah?"
"You boys are all right," Sig said, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. "And since the boss is out of it right now, I'm going to give it to you straight. I've been Krew's heavy for years, and I've done some things I'm not proud of. But this time, I think Krew's gotten us and him into something really nasty. I'm thinkin' of getting out."
Daxter grinned. "Awww, Sig's beginning to like us, Jak!" the Ottsel enthused, extending his hands. "Come here, ya big lug! Hugs for everyone!"
Or facepalms. At least if you were Jak and Sig.
"Knock it off!" Sig snapped, hammering his hand down on the table. "Look, I think Krew's trying to--"
They were interrupted by a loud snotter. "...shit, he's waking up," Sig gritted out, and leaned back in his seat.
At which point Daxter produced the least reassuring words anyone had ever spoken: "Relax. Let me butter up bun boy!"
---
'Buttering up bun boy' amounted to 'making sure Jak got stuck running around a sewer with three mercs who wouldn't stop calling him pretty boy'. Jak was, sufficient to say, not really impressed with Daxter's diplomatic abilities.
Not that he had a lot of time to complain: the sewers were still infested with Metal Heads, including a few flat headed ones he'd never seen before that had a bad sting on them. He fought his way back down through the sewers towards the Statue of Mar - no help from his companions - shifting into his dark form at least once simply to cope with the onwash of enemies.
He didn't have a clue what Krew wanted with the statue-- or at least he didn't for most of the ride.
Once they got to it, the mercs finally sprang into action. Buckets of explosive material were dragged out and deposited on and around the statue, and wired up to the center.
"You may wanna back up, pretty boy," their leader, Jinx, said as he chewed on his cigar. "This thing is going sky-high."
Why would they blow up the statue...?
"What?" Jak asked, "No, wait--"
The statue burst apart into a flurry of rocks and dust and fire, and his back hit the wall before he could scramble on to safety. Half his ribs felt like they'd been knocked out of his body, and he was pretty sure his back was full of bruises.
Fuck.
Still dazed, he clambered up onto his feet - just in time to watch the mercs swiping up a jewel in the center of the room.
"Don't worry," Jinx called, as they fled from the room, "We'll make sure the Heart of Mar gets back to Krew!"
Right. Okay.
Job done. He should be feeling pretty satisfied with himself.
So why did he feel so concerned?
[[ I've been slacking with these. Time to get back on track! NFB, NFI! ]]
Krew's bar, the Hip Hog, smelled like something you'd find at the bottom of a toilet. At least that much hadn't changed. Neither had the presence of Krew himself, although he currently seemed to be peacefully asleep on his cushioned mobile chair.
"Jak, c'mere," Sig implored, waving him over into one of the booths. His voice was hushed for all that he was calling out. "I need to talk to you."
Jak bit down on his lip, but made a quick decision. He slipped into the booth and leaned over. "Yeah?"
"You boys are all right," Sig said, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. "And since the boss is out of it right now, I'm going to give it to you straight. I've been Krew's heavy for years, and I've done some things I'm not proud of. But this time, I think Krew's gotten us and him into something really nasty. I'm thinkin' of getting out."
Daxter grinned. "Awww, Sig's beginning to like us, Jak!" the Ottsel enthused, extending his hands. "Come here, ya big lug! Hugs for everyone!"
Or facepalms. At least if you were Jak and Sig.
"Knock it off!" Sig snapped, hammering his hand down on the table. "Look, I think Krew's trying to--"
They were interrupted by a loud snotter. "...shit, he's waking up," Sig gritted out, and leaned back in his seat.
At which point Daxter produced the least reassuring words anyone had ever spoken: "Relax. Let me butter up bun boy!"
---
'Buttering up bun boy' amounted to 'making sure Jak got stuck running around a sewer with three mercs who wouldn't stop calling him pretty boy'. Jak was, sufficient to say, not really impressed with Daxter's diplomatic abilities.
Not that he had a lot of time to complain: the sewers were still infested with Metal Heads, including a few flat headed ones he'd never seen before that had a bad sting on them. He fought his way back down through the sewers towards the Statue of Mar - no help from his companions - shifting into his dark form at least once simply to cope with the onwash of enemies.
He didn't have a clue what Krew wanted with the statue-- or at least he didn't for most of the ride.
Once they got to it, the mercs finally sprang into action. Buckets of explosive material were dragged out and deposited on and around the statue, and wired up to the center.
"You may wanna back up, pretty boy," their leader, Jinx, said as he chewed on his cigar. "This thing is going sky-high."
Why would they blow up the statue...?
"What?" Jak asked, "No, wait--"
The statue burst apart into a flurry of rocks and dust and fire, and his back hit the wall before he could scramble on to safety. Half his ribs felt like they'd been knocked out of his body, and he was pretty sure his back was full of bruises.
Fuck.
Still dazed, he clambered up onto his feet - just in time to watch the mercs swiping up a jewel in the center of the room.
"Don't worry," Jinx called, as they fled from the room, "We'll make sure the Heart of Mar gets back to Krew!"
Right. Okay.
Job done. He should be feeling pretty satisfied with himself.
So why did he feel so concerned?
[[ I've been slacking with these. Time to get back on track! NFB, NFI! ]]