[center][h3][color=sandybrown]Jak &[/color] [color=darkorange]Daxter[/color] with Special Guest V[/h3]
[b]Level 4[/b] - (28/40) (+3)
[b]Location:[/b] Lumbridge
[b]Word Count:[/b]1528[/center]


Jak strolled out of the guild hall, Daxter on his usual spot right on his best friend’s shoulder. They hadn’t gotten to take a real good look at alum ridge before going to the hall to find Peach, so Jak took his time wandering around. The sights, the sounds, the smells, they really did remind him of Sandover Village, back when everything was… Happier. Sure, he wasn’t a time traveling hero of the last bastion of human civilization back then, and he wasn’t the champion of the Precursors, but… things were peaceful. And as much as he’d hate to admit it, he missed that. 

[color=darkorange]”So where do you think the nearest tavern is, Jaky boy?”[/color] Daxter asked, downing the bottle of booze he swiped from the Devil’s Casino. 

[color=sandybrown]”I’m not sure you need more of that stuff.”[/color]

[color=darkorange]”Oh learn to have a little fun once in a while!”[/color] Daxter would’ve kept talking, but the neck of an alcohol bottle was more appealing to his lips at the moment. 

“Hehey, watch it, longears!”

A raucous voice sounded out from behind the two. Toward Jak and Daxter rushed a large bird of prey with lustrous azure feathers and a triple-hinged beak, flying low. The [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/f/f7/V_Familiar_Griffon_DMC5_Artbook_Render.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190515151634]demonic hawk[/url] carried a parcel swaddled in brown paper, and seemed to have no intent of giving bystanders a wide berth. Instead they were obliged to dodge out of his way as he flapped down the street. He made a turn that sent him in the direction of the town’s namesake bridge, narrowly missing Jak’s head in the process.

[color=darkorange]”WOAH!”[/color] Daxter dropped his booze, juggling it back up in the air several times as he tried to get a grip on it only for it to slip out his fingers again and again. Ultimately it dropped to the ground and shattered. Daxter looked down at the water drink as though he had just witnessed a murder, then back up to Griffon. 

[color=darkorange]”Get back here you menace! I’ll fry you in a pan!”[/color] he shouted, shaking his fist. 

Jak thought for a moment, then adjusted his path to follow the bird. [color=sandybrown]”Wasn’t that one of V’s demons?”[/color]

Daxter shrugged. [color=darkorange]”Yeah, so? Doesn’t mean I won’t cook’em up with some salt and Cajun spice! Damn birds, always thinking they own the air around your head. Why are birds such assholes?”[/color] It was clear that Daxter was projecting some of his relationship with Pecker onto the situation. 

[color=sandybrown]”Where we find that demon, we find V,”[/color] Jak said simply. 

[color=darkorange]”And where you find we’ll endowed women in skimpy bikinis, you find Daxter. I’m not following you, Jak.”[/color]

Jak rolled his eyes and kept the course for the bridge. [color=sandybrown]”I wanna have a talk with our poetry reading friend.”[/color]

[color=darkorange]”Aaaaaaah I get ya. Wait, is this an actual talk talk, or the pew pewpew pew talk?”[/color] Daxter enhanced his question with finger gun gestures. 

[color=sandybrown]”Depends on how cooperative he wants to be.”[/color]

Following Griffon led Jak to and then just after the bridge, where a few wrought-iron tables and accompanying chairs sat on a small terrace. By the time he arrived, the demon had already dropped off the parcel at the table where V sat and alighted on the chairback opposite him. In his typical solemn manner the Mysterious One had unwrapped his prize, a hamburger from the Clik Clak Diner, and was just about to take a bite.

Jak stepped in and took a seat opposite V. Griffon squawked in protest, unhappy that his spot was being usurped, but he cleared the way for Jak nonetheless. He sling his shoulder over the backrest and put one foot up on the table, making eye contact. Daxter jumped from Jak’s shoulder onto the table. 

[color=darkorange]”Ooh, nice burger. You gonna finish that?”[/color] he asked in earnest, despite V having not even taken his first bite. 

Jak ignored the antics of his friend in favor of a more serious approach. [color=sandybrown]”I’m not a big talker, so I’m gonna get right to the point. I want to know what your personal stake is in the Dead Zone. I’ve loved enough revenge and delving into darkness to recognize it when I see it. Something about that Qliphoth tree is personal to you.”[/color]

After giving a dubious [i]’are you serious?’[/i] sort of look at Daxter, V gripped the burger to get a mouthful while Jak started to talk. He chewed at a measured, deliberate pace, clearly in no hurry to answer. Once he finally swallowed, V opened his mouth to begin speaking but ended up fsighing instead. Only after he dabbed at his mouth with a napkin did he say anything. “‘A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees’,” he quoted. A moment passed before he gave a slight smile. “Inside that tree is a powerful demon who has resurrected. He defeated Dante, the legendary devil hunter who I hired, as well as Trish and Lady, two of the strongest women in the world. And with every slaughter he grows stronger. You can see why he must be stopped.”

[color=violet]”Don’t dance around the point!”[/color] Jak suddenly shouted, his eyes turning pitch black and his skin becoming black purple, rippling with dark eco. The transformation ended as soon as it began. [color=sandybrown]”I understand we’ve got to kill a demon. Like I said, I’ve seen people like you. I’ve [i]lived[/i] it. I want to know what your stake is in this. Does it have to do with your failing health?”[/color]

[color=darkorange]”Or MAYBE he’s just upset the guy is better at controlling demons than him!“[/color] Daxter was still a liiiittle sore with Griffon. 

"Ohoho, you just gonna take that, V?" Griffon cackled.

The tattooed man gazed out across the river, breathing deeply. "Your concern for me is...touching. But you needn't worry about me." He closed his eyes, shrugging. "You needn't continue on this path at all, in fact. It's not your fight, or even your business. Other regions need saving too. Leave the Qliphoth to Nero, my familiars, and me." Once again he raised his burger for another bite. Griffon landed on his shoulder, watching Jak and Daxter with triplicate eyes.

[color=darkorange]”Nobody asked you, bird brain!”[/color] Daxter said, flipping the bird the, well, the bird.

[color=sandybrown]”Dax, knock it off!”[/color] Jak shouted, grabbing his friend and holding him in place. He then turned back to V. [color=sandybrown]”Nero made it sound personal too. That he knows this Dante guy… And his arm.”[/color] Jak trailed off for a moment, letting it sink in. [color=sandybrown]”But you don’t come across as the selfless type to me. And you’re right, there’s a lot of saving that needs done in this messed up world. But Dax and I? We’re heroes. Saving is what we do.”[/color]

[color=darkorange]”Lives, days, damsels in distress,”[/color] Daxter counted each off on his fingers.

[color=sandybrown]”Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, I get it. I’ve already talked more than I usually do in a day. I’m just… Trying to reach out. Let you know that I’ve been there. I understand.”[/color]

V set the diminished burger down. For a moment he seemed to be on edge, but that tension had faded away. "I appreciate your earnestness. This world is fortunate to be so replete with heroes. You will not lack for work, wherever you might go." He picked up his black book, its only identifying feature the single letter on its cover. "'Dip him in the river who loves water'...I wish you luck on your travels."

[color=darkorange]”And what the heck is THAT supposed to mean, huh? Speak-a da normal language, o-k?”[/color] Daxter exclaimed, talking as though V were a dumb foreign tourist.

[color=sandybrown]”You too,”[/color] Jak said, getting up from the seat. [color=sandybrown]”... As long as your personal stake doesn’t conflict with the safety of the people. Let’s go, Dax.”[/color] What little Jak had learned from this conversation, one thing was clear. While he considered V a powerful ally, he was less sure than ever of the magician’s goals and true allegiance.

V and Griffon watched the pair go. When Jak and Daxter disappeared around a corner, V let out his breath. The packed earth around his table swam, bubbling black, rising up to become Shadow. Rumbling, the demon panther looked up at V inquisitively. "Curious," the Mysterious One murmured. "Why would you be interested in my personal stake, 'heroes'?"

Shadow growled, which prompted Griffon to nod. "Yeah, we'll keep an eye on 'em. Ain't nice to try mindin' other people's business."

V looked down at the place where the other half of his burger had been, and frowned. "...Indeed."