Anima 3

*Fandom: Jak and Daxter
*Pairing: Jak/Torn, Jak/Daxter (friendship)
*WARNING: PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS, AND/OR IF YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO THE FEATURED COUPLE. THANK YOU.

*This adventure follows Jak III. This is my VERY first time working with these characters/this fandom, so please be nice in offering feedback. Thank you.

*The featured image does not belong to me. I do not claim ownership of it. It is only featured to enhance the presented text.*

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Past Stages:

The night was anything but quiet.

Chaos had clocked out, which was a relief-but in its wake were a thousand and one things to think about. The night had transformed Haven City into an empire of silent reflection, which provided its people much-needed air. Unfortunately, the same 'relief' gave them ample room to dissect the near, vague future. Proper sleep wasn't anywhere on the menu-certainly not for a select few.

The Absinthe had gone under their covers for the night, sparing the world from additional devastation. Their specialty was mass destruction, and they served it well, battering cities into submission. Haven wasn't exempt from the Absinthe's brand of destruction, but a rebellious wave battled the Absinthe with increasing ferocity. The war against a revived ancient race had elevating difficulty, but Haven City's tidal wave confronted all challenges with a lion's courage.

The Absinthe had them in the center of raging volcanoes, so courage was an invaluable asset.

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"Was he at the head of the invasions?"

Ashelin buried her forehead into the palm of her hand. Jak's mention of Torn plunged a dagger into her heart-her reaction to his inquiry made that obvious."No, thank goodness. Either he's not up to snuff yet, or they're having more fun with him. In any case, their precious 'Emperor' wasn't anywhere near last night's parade."

A particular Ottsel peered into Jak's face, then directed his wide eyes at Ashelin. He knew the topic he wanted to stab at disturbed both Ashelin and his counterpart, so he presented his question delicately.

"Speaking of our darling Damsel in Distress, what exactly are we supposed t' do about him again?"

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While Daxter continued to hack his lungs out, the female redhead spoke to the blonde elf in a comforting, tender manner. "There's got to be something that binds you two together," she pressed. "Isn't there anything? Anything at all?"

Silence followed. Jak, with a face as blank as paper, looked to Daxter. Notorious for his fiery facial expressions, the blank look was not only rare but disorienting. And the Ottsel didn't help matters, offering a shrug in response.

"Sorry, Princess, but I don't think Jak can connect the power of love to...well, lots of name-calling, ass whoopin's, gettin' th' short end o' th' stick-"

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"What 'darkness' are you thriving off of? Th' last time I checked, our friend was anything but a moronic, heartless bastard with a thirst for blood!"

Peerla, pawing at Torn's dreadlocks, smiled with a victorious cat's glee. "You are never wrong, are you?" the Absinthe Spirit purred, arms outstretched in a shrug.

"Well, I'm more than happy to confirm your suspicions. Your dearly departed friend is anything but 'evil'. He's lonely, beaten in a thousand different ways-the perfect plaything. And all of his delicious, yummy darkness? It all comes from his broken heart. His emotions. The trinkets you mortals treasure so fiercely."

Reveling in the duo's increasing displeasure, the faux Torn went on-still airborne, hovering above devastation with pride. "It was soooo easy to slither into this perfect body," the Spirit purred, running a hand through his host's hair.

"All I had to do was slip into a crack, and voila. Instant success."

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"You don't care about this creature's fate. It is of no concern to you. You're only trying to save him because you've been ordered to!"

Having gotten back on his feet, a clearly bewildered Jak turned to an equally stunned, horrified Daxter. "Disgusting," Peerla sneered, while Torn's eyes glistened with ecstasty.

"And I thought my last host had it bad. It'll be a piece of cake, bringing about the ultimate Purge!"

Piercing the black sky with shrill, unwavering laughter, the embodiment of malice dove at his one and only combatant. Daxter covered his eyes with his hands, Jak placed himself in a defensive position, and then-

"Brother!"

Everything went white.

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Stage Three

In the face of paralyzing peril and back-breaking enigmas, Jak found himself with a pretty big problem.

His head hurt.

Comparing the Absinthes to their precursors wasn't any different from comparing ants to dinosaurs. The Dynamic Demolition Duo found themselves on the other end of many turbulent adventures, complete with morbidly obese lords and Metal Heads. Jak was idiotic enough to believe his time in exile was a trip to Hell. Wasn't too bad of a thought, considering the Wasteland was as close to Paradise as a trash dump. But the arrival of the strangest creatures known to Mar topped every trial.

Dealing with them would've been a walk in the park if it hadn't been for Torn.

Just thinking of his name made Jak wince. Torn. The feared Freedom League General in the war against Erol and Metal Heads. Recently, he added the title 'Absinthe Emperor Vessel' to his incredible list of accomplishments. Able to feed off the darkness in his soul, the soul of Absinthe malice captured Torn's very being, thus transforming him into something unrecognizable. Jak was able to unearth suitable weapons in the hope of recovering Torn's soul, but according to Pecker and the esteemed Onin, the weapons he initially deponded on weren't going to work.

During the last confrontation with Peerla, the Absinthe Emperor, that delicious piece of reality slapped him in the face.

"You don't care about this creature's fate. It is of no concern to you. You're only trying to save him because you've been ordered to!"

A few seconds later, Ashelin intervened, shutting Peerla down not with her firearm, but with words.

Unfortunately for Jak's sanity, the relief was much too weak. Stunned by the sudden appearance of his host's friend, Peerla made off before any more damage could be done.

Ash had every right to reprimand Jak for attacking Torn, but didn't. After all, when it came to figuring out the situation, Jak's guesses were just as solid as hers.

Night fell in Jak and Daxter's latest stop: Pendragon. Stardust blanketed the City of Dreams the way a mother's lullaby blanketed a weeping child. The treasures driven on by Sky Eco had ducked under the covers for the night. Ashelin and Tess were busy with the Pendragon governor, who wouldn't stop weeping over another Absinthe attack on his fair city. Chaos had clocked out, but only for a simple lunch break. Not even sitting at a  at water fountain brought the blonde Mar any relief. "If I had it in me, I'd scream until I couldn't scream any more," the blue-eyed Mar groaned to Daxter, who was perched on his right shoulder.

"Ashelin managed to knock Peerla back a few steps, but everything I'm doing just makes things worse."

Daxter naturally followed a certain agenda. The first bullet point on that agenda was 'breathe'. Second came 'sympathize with Jak in all areas of his life'. More than anything, the Ottsel hated seeing the other half of his soul in any discomfort, even if Jak was just annoyed. The nightmare with Torn was quickly snowballing into one Hell of an avalanche, and it didn't please Daxter to see Jak so upset. "Maybe it's time to take a closer look at this Soul Bond crap," the half otter/half weasel creature said, scurrying off his friend's shoulder.

"Let's review what we know. Our ol' pal Pecker told us that using the power of Anima as a weapon is a no-no. One-hundred percent, straight jackin' no-no."

The helpless expression on Jak's face broke Daxter's heart. "Yeah, but that leads me right to the math equation I obviously can't solve. How else am I supposed to use Anima? And when Peerla said 'you're only trying to save him because you've been ordered to'..."

Seeing a happy Jak was like seeing a singing Metal Head fly through the air. So whenever Jak was anything less than content, Daxter exchanged his jokes for helpful sentiment and facts. "What is this to you?" the Ottsel asked. "This gig, I mean. Is it just a 'gig', or do ya actually care about the babe-a-licious Princess in the highest, darkest tower?"

Jak's ears sank. "Can't say I don't care about 'im," the Mar replied, looking as if someone had just asked him to figure out Krew's charms. "He's done a lot for us. Pulled us out of a few tight spots, gave us a helping hand whenever we needed it. And he's an important part of Ash's life. You see where I'm going with this, don't you?"

"Eeeeeyeeeeeah," was Daxter's response, which instantly earned him a playful glare.

"What in the Hell was that supposed t' mean?"

"Nothin', nothin'," the Mar's partner answered, waving his hands in surrender. Leaving out the end of his initial response: but apparently you don't. "I ain't got nothin' t' prove, homeboy. If I could figure this out fer ya, I'd put this puzzle together in a heartbeat!"

"So would I."

Both turned to acknowledge an old friend approaching. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say we were in a pretty pickle," the familiar face said, forever warm but discouraged. Daxter silently leapt on Jak's shoulder, and Jak rose to his feet in order to greet one of their closest friends. True to form, they bumped fists then drew each other into a hug. "How's it goin', Siggy?" the Ottsel sang, waving at the unexpected guest.  "Or should I say 'Your Highness'?"

"What're you doing here?" the blue-eyed Mar asked, exchanging a curious look with Daxter. "With all of our friends running around, shouldn't you be watching over Spargus?"

Sig served them one of his warmest grins, and a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about it. I've that covered. What I'm worried about is where th' two of you are going with all of this. Princess Ashelin called me up to see if I could lend a helping hand, because of the network I've got down in my neck o' th' woods. I've got some information you boys might be interested in."

"Well, spill the beans, Siggy my man! We ain't got all night!"

"Who knows how much longer we have," the older Mar said in response to Daxter. He sighed, then continued. "Word has it that Peerla's targeting cities with large populations."

"Makes sense," Jak put in instantly, rubbing his chin. "The more damage Peerla can inflict, the better." A painful reference to Torn's imprisoned soul. Sig landed a hand on the younger Mar's shoulder, bearing a compassionate look about his eyes.

"Not only that, but cities that have somethin' t' hide are of great interest too. The two of you managed to steer Peerla away from Pendragon's Sky Eco, which would've been a huge boost to the Absinthe Empire. But my sources tell me that Peerla's next stop is Aqua City, another city that packs a pretty big punch."

Daxter's partner folded his arms. "Right. The city that carries Aquamarine Eco."

"Say, where did all of this new Eco come from any way? From th' looks o' things, Eco's springin' outta th' ground like daisies!"

Sig's chuckle was Daxter's first response. "That, fortunately, has nothing to do with our friends the Absinthe. It just has everything to do with magic. Even as we speak, discoveries are blowing the lid off of everything we previously knew. All of this Eco that's been popping up...it's all from ancient history. Aquamarine Eco was blessed by the Angels of the Water, long ago, and whoever gets their hands on it now-"

"Will be able to control water," Jak cut in. "Peerla's trying to control as many elements as possible. We prevented him from grabbing Sky Eco, but now we've got to prevent him from grabbing water, fire, lightning and time."

"Once ol' pretty Peerla gets his hands on as many elements as possible, all Hell's supposed ta break loose-"

Jak finished his partner's thought. "-and Torn's lost to us, forever."

"Right," Sig nodded. "You boys still have some time in getting ol' Torn back on our team."

"Spectacular," the blonde Mar sighed, far from thrilled. "If only I knew how."