My thoughts on a certain character's death scene near the end of Jak II. I felt that, like many important deaths in the series, it was overlooked. I hope I made it obvious enough so that you figure out whom it is I am talking about before the end, at the very least.

Just a reminder, this is a drabblet, so it is exactly 500 words long – no more, no less. You can count if you like, or you can take my word for it. Your choice, but I suggest the latter.

Please enjoy!

Jak looked at the man lying there on the sheet of metal. Still. Lifeless. The man he had sought to destroy for so long was dead. But not by his hand.

Someone other than Jak had killed him. And the renegade hero did not know what to make of it.

His head was filled with mixed emotions. Anger at the Metal Head leader, for he had killed the while it should have been in Jak's place to do so. That had always been the main goal of all of his work. Not to save the city, not to defeat the evil that lurked it, but to get revenge on those who had hurt him. The first had been destroyed by a bad move on his part, which led to a freak accident that not even Jak could have survived. But now, the reason for all his suffering, the motivation for all his fighting, had been killed by another. Jak began to believe he would never get his well-earned revenge.

Relief presented itself next, because he finally grasped that his enemy was gone. Jak did not have to worry that he would be put through that horrible torture again. That torture that had turned him to something that could never be considered even close to a person, not in anyone's book. Even Jak had doubts about how much of his humanity had been conserved through the two long years he had spent in prison. Not much, he decided, judging by the fact that he felt no remorse towards the murder of the man in front of him.

Victory was also among the sentiments swirling in his head, though Jak found it somewhat irrational. Karma had finally caught up to the man, and now he was dead. He had gotten what he deserved.

Right?

A rush of anger suddenly pulsed through the blond warrior standing witness to the scene. It was directed mostly at himself, for not caring enough. For not being strong enough to overcome the after-effects of the Dark Eco. Had he not told himself to fight the Darkness, and the iniquity it brought on? The satisfaction he felt was just an example of how weak he was, how powerless he was.

Of course, all these thought passed by in less than a few seconds. He knew he was out of time to think. Daxter was already beginning some rant about how Jak never paid attention, about how blond he could be sometimes, about how he was missing the big picture. Jak was not sure what the big picture was, but he had a growing suspicion that it was nothing relevant to Jak's current thoughts.

Shaking his head, reassuring Daxter that he was fine, the teenage rebel took off towards the Port, where there was a transport that would take him to the destination that would likely be his final.

But that was the way with heroes. Always fighting to help others, never themselves. Jak never got what he wanted.

Anything you would like to say, please do. There is a review button created just for such purpose, although many times it is overlooked. But if you liked it (or hated it), please let me know.

~Fishyicon