The Dark King

[Jak Mar]

Like his relationship with his father that he used the phone to talk to, his communicator was in pieces after Jak snapped. He angrily wiped away the tears from his face and began to pick up the fractions before getting frustrated again and tossing them off the balcony. He then stumbled towards the kitchen. With all the strength he had, he ripped open the fridge and reached in. He sought comfort, something to cling to or clear his mind once more. It was a mystery as to what he'd pull out, but when his hand touched the cold bottle of a good brew he collected it without hesitation.

He began to sip it after pushing the sealed cap off with just his thumb, but after a couple of sips while gathering an arm full of them he he began dumping them down his throat. Forcing himself to gulp it down.

One in particular he threw back and downed it as fast as he could, ready to embrace the quiet and the stillness of a drunk mind. As he leaned back to allow it to empty it into his gut he fell flat on his ass. He didn't seem to care as he threw the bottle against the now open fridge. It shattered and the brown piece of glass rained down on the floor. He couldn't muster any effort to care... Jak just popped open another one and leaned against the cabinets behind him as he drank another one.

At some point the girl who'd been scared shitless by his anger slipped into an elevator and desperately hit the button for the bottom floor, the floor she observed as the one the other's got off on. He couldn't be bothered to even think about Ashelin at the moment. Too absorbed by his own pain and anger.

"Daxter... Come back." Jak whispered to himself before throwing the bottle across the room again. This one turned into a spray of brown glass just the same, but the fraction of the beer left inside was left behind as well. It trickled down the wall and formed a puddle around the fractured bottles.

"What did I do to deserve this shit?" Jak asked the silence in the room, his mentality spun while his head swayed one side to the next. "I'm a fucking hero.. I've saved the world!!" He screamed, letting the tears run down his violet colored skin. "TWICE!!" He roared as he threw a full beer at the wall. The sound of glass plinking against the tile drowned out the sloppy wet sound of a full bottle of beer worth of liquid splashing on the floor.

Jak grabbed another and poured it into himself, pulling the lip of the bottle away from his mouth and not caring that some of the drink is spilled onto his chest. "Twice! I think even a third time. I can't fucking remember anymore." And that was just his world. He saves a city of strangers, and he in return he loses everything dear to him!! "BULLSHIT!!" Jak screamed, drinking the rest of the beer before spiking it on the floor beside him.

The weight of the drink was heavy, and it made Jak finally lay down. His back slid across the cabinet doors before his body impacted the shardless floor like a sack of potatoes. He felt his touch the cold ground as his head slammed into it next. As his lids became impossibly heavy a sick greenish yellow light swirls around in his black eyes.

-

In the chaotic darkness of his mind, Jak's image appeared the same as it did in reality. A broken man laying on his side, surrounded by shards of the only comfort he could grasp at that moment. In the dark pieces of glass Desman's and Ash's image appear as Dark Jak approached the untransformed image of his host.

Pathetic. He gave the beaten man a harsh nudge with his boot. "Get up, asshole."  Jak just layed there, crumpled and unresponsive. "Damn you. I SAID GET UP!!" He growled, his image already much more bulky than usual, his horns bolder, darker, thicker and harder. His pure white hair almost mane-like.

"Hey.." Light weakly defended their host. "Back off."

Dark's newly poison-yellow colored eyes come over his shoulder to look at Light, to glare at him. He's had about enough of this pansy too. With heavy foot falls that break the glass under him even more, the beast turns to face his counterpart. "What are you going to do about it?" He challenged.

Light could feel his grip on the situation slipping. He had to do something to keep the balance at the very least. His pur blue form moved to accept the challenge, ready to fight if he must. He was confused, however, by how big Dark was suddenly.

Anger flashed through the demonic figure, and with a flash of speed he seizes Light be the shirt and picked him up off his feet, bringing the weakling nose to nose with him. Light could see his own fear reflecting back in the sick eyes. "You are just as pathetic as our host." Dark sneered before shoving the light half into the glas coated tiles. "It's time I took the lead." He growled, lifting his boot and stomping on the back of the weakened figure.

Light grunted under the new weight of Darkness and felt his the glass pierce his face but not his armored body. He looked to their host with some hope. Jak just laid there in a drunken daze, drool spilling out the corner of his mouth. He cringed at the smile that crawled across his sleeping face, he looked more and more like the insane demon on top of him. Briefly, Light wondered if there was any way out. "Leave him alone, Jak's been through a lot already."

"Not enough." Came the demon's voice above him, before Light felt the pressure of his boot let up. A moment later the Dark King grinned as he kicked the boy across the mind space. It felt good to be his old violent self. "You have some nerve standing between me and my rightful place."

Light was a blur of blue as he is tossed across the mind space, there was a loud crunch upon impact of his body and the walls of Jak's mind. He grunted as he hit the floor, his face landing in the piss water that was the beer. He laid there a moment, before mustering up the will to slowly pick himself up. He stared at the puddle as he stayed on his hands and knees. Contemplating what to do. He saw Daxter's bloody image again, lifeless on the street. Light clenched his eyes as even he felt the pain resonate in all of their hearts. "Maybe Jak doesn't' want this! Did you ever think about that?" He argued, then forced himself to get back to his feet, only to fall on his back against the wall for support. "Huh? Maybe he wants to be happy."

The beastly man scoffed at him. "Who's going to stop me? The kid?" His clawed hand motioned to the still comatosed host. "He doesn't have any fight left in him. So then, who?" His sickly yellow eyes search the ghostly figure against the wall. "You?" Then a hardy laugh exploded from his thicker chest. "YOU THINK YOU CAN FUCKING DO ANYTHING!?!" His voice shook the room in Jak's head. "Daxter's dead, buttercup! Thorn's gone!! And this little shithead just chased off the only other two people he cares about!!"

"D-Des..." The crumpled man behind the Dark King muttered in his sleep when the thought of reliable friends came to mind. "Ashhhh..." He whispered. Their names echo off the walls, and they both saw the robot sitting on the beach towel with ice cream waiting for them in the reflective surfaces throughout the room. In the next flash, Ash; as she was when they woke up from their dirt nap. She was mysterious and interesting.

Dark glared at Light who was chuckling through the pain of a crushed rib or four. "I guess you forgot about his new friends, eh Dark?"
"What? The obnoxious robot and the slut?" The Dark King grinned menacingly. "Desman's so weak it's laughable." He was drunk on power, like their host was drunk on liquor, pain, and frustration. "Can't say I hate having the bitch around. She puts out, and she's pretty good at it. I get the feeling she likes it rough, too. Point for me White Knight." The sound of glass crunching under his boots paved the path he took towards his opponent. Light looked like he wasn't yet ready to give up. "The harder you resist me, Light, Jakky here is going to suffer." But the source of hope and light just remained defiant.

Anger flashed over the already snarling face of the Dark King, before he balls his fist tight and sucker punches the smaller figure. Light coughed up all his fight in the form of spit and air before hitting his knees and bowing to the Dark King.

"See? That was easy." Dark said before summoning featureless shadows to Light's side, they grabbed him and bound his hands behind his back, one grabbed him by the neck to keep his head down. Meanwhile, the beastly man waved his hand and the room turned black with a single feature. A throne of cold steel and dark gems. His majesty approached it, but did not sit in it yet. His deadly claws come together behind his back before he issued another order. "If I recall though.. Ashelin should be around. Let's take care of her first." Then he turned to sit on his throne, an evil grin splitting his face in half.

The idea of finding Ashelin dead in the penthouse must have been just disturbing enough to shake Jak from his stupor. He grabbed his head and groaned. "N-No.." He whimpered.

Hearing his host reject that empowered Light enough to try to rise, only for the shadows to force him back to his knees, and then lower. Again, he found his face smashed into the ground. Dark Jak snarled. "Give up already." He then grinned evilly as he stroked his own purplish goatee. "Be a good bitch and get me-"

"Fuck you!" Light spat.

He looked annoyed at best as he placed his hand back on the arm of the throne. "That's a bit too dark for you, isn't it Light?"

Light smirked. "Bite me, Beast." Then he felt the cuffs being latched onto him.

"N-no... No! NOOOOOO!!" Their host rolled over in a nightmarish fit, gripping his head. Jak envisioned Ashelin's lifeless body on the floor of the hotel floor. Her blood seeping out of a slash in her throat. His claws covered in it as well. It was all terrible to see, but what was worse was the dark feeling of nothing about it. He didn't feel remorse, that felt horrific.

The Dark King smiled, relishing in the idea. "Let the dark consume you, Jak. I promise you will feel so much better." He taunted, "You won't feel much of anything." He grinned. "Give into your hate. Let me win, I will give you power. Power to do anything you want, the one thing you crave the most. With me, the only people who will hurt the ones you care about will be you.." When he smiled, his teeth were razor sharp.

Hope pierced through the shadows that pinned him down, free from their grips, Light stood up again facing their host. "Don't do it, Jak. Don't give into his demands! Think of everything you've done for the Omniverse, why ruin it now? Think of your past, don't let your friend's deaths be in vain!" He would have said more, but he was yanked off the ground once more by the cuffs. Gravity shoved his weight into his shoulders, he gritted his teeth.

"You think your feeble attempts can unravel my grip on him!" Dark Jak mocked.

"He's a hero!"

"He's a failure! You've made him weak!"

Jak muttered in his sleep, slowly letting the Darkness of his life consume him. "Pa-thet...ic. W-Weak.."

This submission bothered Light. To the point of being desperate. He wanted to throw something at the Dark King, instead his only option was to spit in his face.

There was a long pause of nothing happening as his Majesty dealt with the insulting blow. He ran his hand across his face and scooped the lugi out of the corner of his nose. He shook his hand free of it, and then summoned a dark looking scepter. It looked more like a war hammer. "Time to teach you a lesson. Finally." He dropped Light to the ground, then used his boot again to flip him over with a kick. Dark straddled the Light side of Jak, grabbed him by the shirt, and lifted the iron maul high above them.

The sound of bone cracking under the weight of his weaponized Kingly item resounded through the space. Followed by a sickening wet sound of blood splattering the floor. Dark Jak continued to beat the cuffed man until he was a mess.

Dark paused, breathing heavily and enjoying this all a bit too much. "How's it feel, slave!"

Light coughed up some blood, then weakly spat in Dark's face again. "Remember... Dark... We.. Are.. One.." He smirked weakly, before Dark slammed him in the face again with his scepter

[Jak Mar]

"Not if you are dead!!"

Light weakly chuckled... "M-My pain is.. Yours, too"

The Dark King slammed the scepter into The Hopeful One again and again until he was tired of beating his face in. The iron maul vanished from his hand, then he clenched the fist tight and socked Light in the face for good measure. The beast was frustrated, even more so because somewhere deep inside of him, he could feel the pain as well.

The divine like being didn't look like he was giving up despite the damage done to his face. This brought fury out of the madman, and Dark Jak stood up to kick the glowing man. He kicked and kicked, and kicked again until he couldn't feel his toes they were so numb from being squished into the boot.

But Light's grunts of pain as he broke ribs and bruised flesh did very little to ease his rage. He hated this part of them, but beating the shit out of a weakened man gave him no satisfaction. Or else maybe he'd turn to the long-eared worrier that still suffered from the nightmares of Ashelin's prophesied death.

"You are one stubborn son of a bitch, you know that?" He spat bitterly.

"B-b-bite me..." Light managed through a broken jaw and crushed nose. Not without mouths full of blood pouring from the corner of his busted lip. The light infuzed half looked like he could kick the bucket at any moment, but still he defies the Dark King.

Dark spits in his face and then stumbles away, tired from the ass beating he just put the other man through. He was not done, however, far from it. He picked the real Jak up by the messy hair and smashed him into the limits of his own brain. It was for intimidation purposes, not satisfaction for his rage. "If you won't get your drunk ass up, then step aside. I want a turn."

Without any fight left in him, Jak didn't resist.

Dark smirked. "If you agree, say nothing." He used the childish tactic without hesitation. And when there was nothing but silence that answered him, he began to laugh a wicked cackle while his host's body submitted to his will.

Light managed to roll over weakly, spitting up blood and a few teeth. Internally he was thankful that the damage was not permanent and knew unless Jak willed it his light could not be snuffed out. But damn if the pain wasn't real... He glanced up to watch Dark start on their host, and dragged himself up to his knees, the cuffs still on his wrist kept them behind his back. Just as the controls switched, Jak realized this was bad.

"What are you doing..." His voice was but a whisper, a ghoulish gurgle, but Dark could hear him.

The Dark King smiled over at his counter-part. "If a phone call was enough to give me this much power.. I wonder how much stronger I will be if I get rid of those pesky friends of his."

Light's eyes went from pained frustration, to shock. "No." He choked out.

"Yes!" Dark's voice wiped the hope off of Light's face.

Light tried to stand up, but each attempt left him belly down on the floor with the rest of the broken things. He struggled until his head was spinning, then he growled to himself. He couldn't give up, he couldn't. If he did, everything Jak ever loved would be gone. He pushed for one last attempt but ended back on the floor, tears starting to well up in his eyes. He couldn't stop him with actions, but maybe his words.

Except the words that came to him weren't of anger. Like him, they were full of hope. Light said them without even knowing what he was saying, or talking about. "I don't think you are going to get very far at all." He spoke through the pain.

Dark Jak just laughed. "We'll see!"