Kat: (gasp) Me, writing a Jak and Daxter fanfic that isn't Next Generation? After all this time? Shocking, isn't it? But anyway, let's get this story rolling!
"Why do we have to do this?" Daxter whined. He and Jak had been called over to Spargus to find a few artifacts. But they weren't going it alone. Sig had ordered Veger and Kleiver to help them out. Apparently, Marauders had been getting more violent and more desperate for Precursor artifacts lately. They weren't sure why, but Sig wasn't going to risk sending anyone into the desert alone. "There are plenty of other people in Spargus!"
"Aw, come on, Dax. It's like old times again!" Jak said.
"I don't recall riding on the hood of the car in 'old times'," Daxter replied bitterly. In order to make sure they got to the artifacts before the Marauders, Daxter and Veger had to jump from the car and latch onto the artifacts. In theory, it would make them easier to pick up.
Suddenly Daxter spotted an artifact half-buried in the sand ahead of them. "There's one!" he yelled before jumping. He hit the ground rolling, quickly got to his feet, and hurried over to the ancient relic. As he worked to dig it out of the sand, he heard a vehicle approaching from behind. Just as he got it free, he felt a hand grab him and lift him up into the car.
"Kleiver just saw Marauders coming," Jak told his furry friend. "We're going to be making a little detour."
Jak floored it and the Sand Shark tore through the desert. Suddenly the car was caught in a hail of bullets. The Marauders were here. And it wasn't just one or two; it looked like a whole fleet of them had been sent out! Apparently, they really wanted those artifacts.
Daxter glanced over to the side. Kleiver wasn't faring much better. And as if the Marauders were bad enough, the storm seemed to be getting worse. Suddenly the cars hit a bump and both ottsels were sent flying. They hit the ground hard, rolling down the dune.
"Dax!" Jak yelled.
Daxter groaned as he got to his feet. He stumbled back and forth a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked over at Veger, who also seemed to be discombobulated. All of a sudden they were surrounded by Marauder vehicles. One of the Marauders got out and approached the ottsels. Daxter backed up, inadvertently walking into Veger.
"Watch it!" he hissed. Suddenly the Marauder grabbed the ottsels around the neck and lifted them up. Veger clawed at the Marauder's hand, franticly trying to loosen the grip on his throat. Daxter looked around desperately, trying to find his friend. He saw Jak in the distance, driving full speed towards them
Hurry, Jak… Daxter thought as the lack of oxygen started making him dizzy.
The Marauder dropped them into a cage in the passenger seat of his car. Both ottsels coughed and gasped, desperate for air. Before they could recover, the Marauders hit the gas and headed back to their hideout. Their captor grabbed the cage handle and held it up, showing Jak that his best friend was their prisoner.
"Wh-where's Kleiver…?" Veger asked weakly. Daxter stood and looked in Spargus' direction. He could see Jak in hot pursuit, but Kleiver was nowhere to be seen.
"He's not out there," Daxter replied.
"Bastard…" Veger growled. He got to his feet, using the bars of the cage as support, and saw for himself; Jak was coming to Daxter's rescue, and it was only by his mercy that Veger would be saved too. "Son of a…" Veger sat down as the Marauder dropped the cage back into the passenger seat.
Jak never took his eyes off the Marauders. Soon, however, the sand obscured most of his vision, and he made the toughest decision of his life: he was going to return to Spargus. Hopefully, by the time the storm ended, he would be able to rescue Daxter from the Marauder stronghold.
"I'll be back, Dax," he whispered. "I promise."