Author's Notes: First off, I'd like to thank you, yes you, the reader for choosing to read this story. This is my first story on FF.net so be prepared for mistakes, but please bear with me. This is what happens when I'm bored and can't wait for the third installment of the Jak trilogy. Ah, the insanity! ahem Now for the 'legal' mumbo-jumbo. All characters belong to Naughty Dog Inc, not me. I'd love to think what it'd be like if they did...but that's off topic. Some characters added later on might be original, but not too many. The story concept, on the other hand, is my idea. It starts off similar to the beginning of Jak 3 but that's about it. Please don't sue, I have no money. Only my soul, but that is under consideration at the moment.....ahem I apologize for the weirdness. Back to the subject at hand! All comments are welcome and any tips/hints are appreciated greatly, as I said before, this is my first story. Most of it is in third person, but be warned that it does take Daxter's point of view most of the time. What can I say; I'm a fan of the guy. I would also like to thank Demyrie, Keysha-chan, and all the others at deviant art for reading and commenting on my other chapters. Much luv their way and I highly recommend their stories, which also happen to reside in this site! Yay! Sorry for my rambling on and on. I hope you enjoy this, and without further ado, on with the story!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------
Chapter One: The Banished
One could call the wasteland beyond Haven city empty. That would be the understatement of the century. It is scorching, vast, deserted, and silent. Only two things can be found within its endless boundaries: sand and death. No one in their right mind would even consider venturing it, especially not on foot.
Thus, this is where our story continues, as a small Krimzon Guard prison transport approaches, screaming through the humid air. It isn't long before it touches down on the sandy earth; in the middle of nowhere, with no view of civilization on the horizon. With a metallic hum, the back hatch opens as the stairs descend to make way for the desert's 'newest occupants'. Two Krimzon guards, clad in blue armor and each carrying Blaster guns, push the prisoners out of the shuttle and on to the dry earth. The guards stand there briefly, their eyes showing no sympathy, before they make their way back into the aircraft. The prisoners watch as the shuttle disappears from view, the heat from the sand obscuring their sight, their freedom sailing off along with it.
"Well, that's just great," shouted one of the prisoners as he brushed sand off of his knees. "Eh, Jak! We save the city and for what?! Ta be shipped off ta this...barren wasteland! Remind me never ta do them any favors!"
"Shut your trap, rat boy!" squawked another as he turned his attention to the last member of the group, "And I am personally blaming you on this one, Jak!" Pointing a feathered finger at the tallest of the three. "Right now I could have been eating my choice of mixed bird seed, but noooo. I had to come with you to make sure you didn't cause any trouble!"
Jak stared down at his two 'cellmates', if you want to call them that. One was his best friend, Daxter. Standing bout two feet tall, covered in orange and yellow fur, and loud mouthed...yep, that was his friend alright. Daxter hadn't always been so...fuzzy when they first met. He had been the same as Jak, until an accident at Misty Island and a pool of Dark Eco changed that. You could even go as so far as to say it was Jak's fault for Daxter's transformation, but they prefer not to mention it. It has been a couple of years since his change to an Ottsel, but he's gotten the hang of it.
The other was a Monkaw, named Pecker...yes, yes, we know. He had a very vindictive mother. He happened to be an interpreter to one of their assistants, a blind prophet by the name of Onin. She provided valuable information to the Underground, an organization rebelling against the tyranny of their government. Seeing as how about a year ago their "late" ruler, Baron Praxis, was killed during a fight with the Metal head leader, the Underground has moved its focus to a crisis dealing with the imbalance of the planet's energy forces along with the rise of renegade metal heads looking for revenge. Their efforts had been slowed as of late due to the increasing civilian disturbance and the separation of the city's troops. Jak's recent development had hindered him from finding out the full account of the crisis, but he had a good guess. He was still unsure as to why Pecker had tag along with them, especially when he knew what the outcome would be: death.
There was no other way to see it. They were banished for the rest of their days, which now seemed much too short, to wander the wasteland for crimes neither one had committed.
"Well, Jak," Daxter asked, turning to look up at his friend, "Where to now?"
"Uh, I guess the best thing to do is to just start walking." Jak replied, having no real plan on how they were going to get out of this mess.
"Great," moaned Dax, "We're going ta be cooked alive! Dat is if we don't die of hunger first!"
"Actually, we would be more likely to die of thirst before we would starve," Pecker stated, looking thoughtfully.
"..........That's not makin anythin easier ya know!" Dax yelled, arms raised.
"Well, I'm merely stating fact!" Pecker retorted, ruffling his feathers.
"I'll give ya fact, ya little—"
"Look!" Jak interrupted, lifting his hand to motion for silence. He was in no mood for an argument, especially with this heat. "Let's just start walking. It's doing us no good just standing here." With that said, he turned to his right and then proceeded to walk off towards what looked like a large boulder in the distance.
Daxter shot Pecker a look of contempt, then ran after his friend. Pecker stood in his spot for a moment, wondering why he had agreed to come. 'Onin, what have you gotten me into?' he thought, cursing himself. Not wanting to be left behind, he took flight after them.
----------------------
He could see the heat rising from the sand. He had chosen to walk, despite the protest of his feet. He felt too weak, his fur causing him to be warmer than normal. The shoulder plate Jak wore was too hot for him to grip, the metal having been overheated by the sun. 'I've already smelt burnt Ottsel once and don't wish ta repeat it' he thought turning his attention towards their feathered companion.
'Lucky' he grumbled, slightly wishing the dark eco had changed him into something with wings. Maybe a Flut-Flut would have been nice. 'But then again', he mused, 'I wouldn't be travel-size. And I don't think a giant, bug-eyed bird would go over well wit the ladies. I'm tryin to pick up chicks, not be one!' These past few years have not been kind to him; being two feet tall and covered in thick fur did not work well with ego. He was tired of people seeing him as nothing but a 'pet'. He would give anything to be back to the way he was, buck teeth and all. 'Well', he chuckled to himself, 'at least I don't have ta go through da awkward stages of puberty anymore, wit all dat acne and crap.' As of late, he had been having trouble remembering what he looked like. Sure, he could still remember his hair and....okay, his teeth, 'but look at Jak', he thought. 'Look at how much he had changed, and that was only two years! Well...let's not forget all dat dark eco they pumped in ta him.'
True, da past couple years had been hard on Jak as well. Being taken from your home and tortured for two years, yeah, dat's a real picnic. But he got his revenge, didn't he. The Baron is dead, along with Erol, so things looked on the up and up, right? Wrong. His previous connections with Krew had labeled him 'untrustworthy'. And let's not forget all the hype from the Baron about the 'dark eco freak'. That caused a lot of mistrust between the people. So when Metal heads came and destroyed the palace in one fell swoop, who d'ya think got the blame? If you guessed Jak, you've won the grand prize! Johnny, tell em what they've won! All contestants have won an all exclusive paid trip to the barren wasteland; home to murderers, bandits, thieves, and lots of nasty critters, just waitin to make you feel at home. Don't bother packing, you probably won't even last the night! All kidding aside, Daxter returned his attention to the matter at hand and continued his trudge along Jak's side.
With the unbearable heat breathing down his neck, his thoughts wandered to how it came to be that he was stuck out here, after the council had taken Jak in for 'questioning' and the so-called trial that followed. It was only a few days ago, that he was found in the Naughty Ottsel, waiting anxiously for Jak's fate.
---------------------------------------
End chapter 1
Yay! Next chapter will be up soon and thanks again for reading. Hoped you enjoyed it!
