I don't own Jak 3 or any of it's characters. I only own Avelli.
Anyways, here's the thing that I think Naughty Dog should have explained after all, they left too many gaps in the Jak storyline. Some of the characters in this story will be from Sleepingelf's stories so you might have to go there and read some of her things. Hopefully this will turn out alright so enjoy!
Two simple months had passed since the end of Jak's third adventure. Two months since Errol had been destroyed and the world was sent back to the way it was before. Since then, everything had been happy, people were rebuilding things and praising Jak whenever they could but something was still missing. Something Jak couldn't understand nor figure out and it was bothering him. Whenever Jak thought of this, he just figured that it was all of the pressure from Spargus because the people there were pushing for a new king and Jak, being Damas' son, was up for the throne. Thinking of this only brought up another feeling Jak wasn't used to and that was the feeling of being alone. He had friends, a place to stay and the world seemed save enough but he still felt so alone.
His family.
His father had just passed away, the only thing he had of a family he had ever had. A part of him when he discovered Damas was his father was excited but the feeling was soon killed as Damas died in his arms. But for a second, just a second, he had been with his father, known his father, and was there for him when he needed him most. He felt happy knowing all of this but still the feeling of being alone wouldn't leave him. All of this lead him to talk to Samos, hoping to find something to make him feel better when Samos brought up the fact that Jak was missing something.
His mother.
That was the only explanation for how he was feeling, so in order to try and get over his feeling he began to go through the things and papers his father had left behind, hoping to find an answer to where his mother might be or who she might have been. Everyone he had talked to knew nothing about Jak's mother and if she were even alive, leaving Jak to have to search on his own. It wasn't until Jak found one set if small letters did he find out the answer to the major question floating around in his mind.
Was his mother even alive?
Jak sighed and flopped down onto his father's bed. It was no use, he had been looking through his father's things all day and he couldn't find anything even mentioning his mother or even someone Damas had relations with. He didn't even know if Damas had married anyone, after all, there weren't any signs of a woman being with Damas such as a wedding ring or anything like that.
I didn't think this was going to be this hard. Jak thought as he looked up at the ceiling that was looking back down at him. He rubbed his eyes quickly and sat up, taking another look around his father's old room.
It was fairly large; Jak thought that a king's room would be bigger though, and only had the basic things, a bed, a light, a door leading to a balcony, and a small nightstand near the bed. Jak sighed once more and let his eyes wander around a bit until they landed on the nightstand. It was then Jak noticed a small drawer he had overlooked before.
Maybe there's something in there. He thought as he moved off of the bed and bent over towards the drawer. He grabbed the small handle and pulled only to discover that it seemed stuck.
What now?
Jak took a closer look and saw a small golden keyhole. Jak's hands left the door handle and began feeling around the nightstand, looking to see if Damas had left the key taped to it. Nothing.
Crap.
Jak stood up, and began looking around for somewhere a person would normally hide a key to something private. Looking at the bed, moved closer to it and lifted the mattress, hoping to see a key looking back up at from the box spring but he saw nothing. Just as he was setting the mattress back down onto it's spot, he heard the bedroom door open.
"Hey Jak how goes the search?"
Jak dropped the mattress as he saw Daxter stroll into the room with his trademark smile on his face.
"Not so good," Jak answered as he placed his hands on his hips and looked around the room once more for a place where someone might hide a key. The entertaining idea of his father acting like a little girl and hiding the key to his diary filled his mind but quickly drifted away as the seriousness of the issue came back into his mind.
"Yick! Who the hell designed this place?" Daxter asked as he looked around at the simple looking bedroom.
Jak shook his head at Daxter's comment and kept looking around when he thought of an idea to open up the drawer.
"Hey Dax," Jak began, "come here for a second."
Daxter took the invite and walked over towards his buddy. "What?" He asked as he looked around him and cricked up his nose. "This place needs a theme!"
"Do you think you could open this?" Jak asked, ignoring Daxter's pervious comment.
Daxter looked at the keyhole and raised his right paw to it, extending a nail out. "Let's see what I can do." Daxter stuck his nail into the keyhole and moved it around until he heard a clicking noise. "Ha! All in a days work baby!"
"Thanks Dax." Jak leaned forward and opened the dresser only to see a messy pile of papers. He picked up as much as he could and moved them into a pile were he could look at them.
"Damn!" Daxter exclaimed, getting Jak's attention. Daxter was looking at what remained in the dresser, mostly papers and small knickknacks people buy and never use. "Look at all this crap! Looking through it is going to take forever!"
Jak ignored Daxter's calamity and looked at the first paper he had picked up. The paper was white, and looked as if it had been written recently for the paper wasn't yellow as the rest of the papers, and didn't feel as fragile.
"What's it say, what's it say?" Daxter asked as he popped up next to Jak on his shoulder as usual.
"Give me a chance to read it," Jak said as he looked back over the paper. Taking a deep breath and hoping for the best, he let his eyes read over the paper:
Damas,
Many things have been bothering me lately, mostly how everything went the last time I saw you. I'm sorry for the way things went and I would have written earlier if it weren't for this damn busy schedule I've been trying (forced) to keep. But what am I complaining about? You've got to be so much busier, especially with this damn war going on. Speaking of which, Haven is in horrible condition, but then again why should you care?
I've been between Spargus and Haven looking for Mar without any luck. Strangely enough I've run into Sig once or twice and his acting is beyond amazing, it almost makes me forget who he really is sometimes but Kleiver, who've I've often run into in the desert, on the other hand, is the same guy I've always known. He never really talks about you, but rather he asks me when or if I've ever coming back. I'm sure he's told you my answers so far.
There are times when I'm in the desert and I think of coming to Spargus and seeing you…but I would never know what to say if I met you face to face once more. There's just too much there. So much that I don't think I would be able to form the right words. Every time I think of you, Mar comes to mind and how he disappeared like that and all of those feelings I hate so much come back. I'm sorry for all of this, if anything I should be there with you, making sure that you're okay but…I can't. I hate who I was before when I met you, and I'm sorry that's the person you fell in love with. I just hope that you can find her in the new me if we ever meet up again.
I'm never going to stop looking for our son. I will find him and bring him back to you no matter what. Mar was the best thing that ever happened to me, to us, and I'm going to find him. I promise.
-Avelli
"Avelli…," Jak repeated in a melancholy tone. "That's my mother's name."
"Avelli?" Daxter repeated, trying to pronounce the name like Jak had. "What kind of name is that?"
Jak looked over towards Daxter, telling him that he was beginning to cross the line. Daxter just sighed in response and hopped off of Jak's shoulder and back onto the floor.
"Now what are you gonna do?" Daxter asked as he looked back up at this long time friend.
"I don't know." Jak looked over the paper once more. "This letter doesn't have a date on it or anything so I don't know how old it is."
"See if you can find a newer letter."
Jak took his orange friend's advice and looked through the drawer once more. He moved papers of different colors and strange writings around until he found a letter with writing similar to the one he had been reading not seconds before. He took it out of the drawer and took a closer look at it to see that the same woman signed it.
"Dax I found another one." Jak didn't bother to look as Daxter jumped back onto his shoulder to read with him.
Damas,
Here's what I found the most interesting about your last letter, and I'm quoting now: "A young man by the name of Jak has arrived in our city and for some reason, in his actions, he reminds me of you. He's rash, rebellious, and is excellent with a firearm. But the thing that stands out the most is the color of his eyes that color of blue, it's almost like yours." Rash? Rebellious? Doesn't that sound a bit more like you back in your younger days? Ah memories. Anyway, I would love to meet this "Jak" character but with the way the war is going, I won't be by anytime soon.
The way things are going now, here in Haven City, I'm beginning to get a little…considered. Not worried, considered. Sig has informed me that he's going back to the wasteland and won't be a spy anymore which takes a big portion out of my Mar searching party but I respect his wishes. The Underground has moved, and there's no way I can reach the lamely named "Freedom HQ" to talk to them to see if they have seen Mar anywhere. To put it lightly, this blows.
Damn this letter has come up short. Anyway, that's my latest report from Haven City. I'd better get back out to the fighting field, so I'll write you back later.
-Avelli
"Haven City." Jak moved his eyes away from the letter. "My mother is in Haven City."
"Lemme guess," Daxter began as he once again hopped off of Jak's shoulder, "you wanna go to Haven City so you can find her."
"Great idea," Jak teased as he stood up with the letter in his hand. "I guess I could talk to Kleiver to see if he has any idea where to find my mother, I have to see him on the way out of the city anyway."
Jak and Daxter walked their way through Spargus, passing by people who looked at him still in disbelief that him, Jak, could be the long lost son of the great king Damas. This was one of the many reasons Jak wanted to find his mother so that she could confirm him being Damas' son so that he could claim the throne and begin to fix things and set up a government that would work out. How she would prove that Jak was her son, though, was something he hadn't thought out yet, but he figured that he had to find the woman before he made any big plans.
Jak stopped thinking about everything he had to do when he reached Spargus' gate and stepped into the car lot. He looked around, wondering where Kleiver would be.
"Where is he?" Jak asked. "He's normally down here."
"Who are you young pups lookin' for?" Kleiver asked as he walked into the lot with a smile on his face.
"There you are tubby!" Daxter exclaimed with his usual tone. "We wanna know if you know anything about Jak's mom and where we could find her."
"Your Mum 'eh?" Kleiver brought his right hand to his face and began to scratch his chin. "The lasts time I saw Avelli was back in the Desert right before you came around. She was tellin' me how she had to move closer to the port over in Haven because of damages done to her home by some metalheads. So I think you should be startin' there, Sig's in town and he knows where she's livin'."
"Thanks." Jak let go of a sigh. He had been there over and over again doing things for Krew and Torn and could have been walking passed her over and over again. Everything seemed almost too easy as if there should be something more to finding his mother.
"But now that I've done you blokes a favor, I want you to do me one."
"Oh great!" Daxter sighed only thinking the worst. "Now what?"
"My communicator is picking up two people out in the wasteland right around the Oasis. I need you two to save me a trip and go pick them up." Kleiver grinned as he turned away from the two boys.
"They can live, they're near the Oasis," Daxter answered as he crossed his arms across his small chest.
"Tell'em to meet me near the Stadium," Kleiver continued as he walked out of the lot and back into the city.
"Come on Dax, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can go back to Haven," Jak said with another sigh as he walked over to 'The Sand Shark' and hopped into the driver's seat.
"I still can't believe this," Daxter began, "you king of Spargus and you're still doing errands for tubby!"
"For now." Jak started the engine. Hearing how loud it started caused Jak to smile, driving around and racing just made Jak forget everything that was happening to him just disappear and right now, more then ever, he needed just that.
The two boys, or rather just one, had been driving around, avoiding marauders as best they could until they reached the Oasis. There two figures were standing, one taller then the other, and both covered head to toe in a brown cape that came across the bottom of their faces, hiding their mouths and noses. Along with everything else came a pair of orange goggles, which hid their eyes as well.
"Hurry up and get in!" Jak yelled as he pulled up to the two.
The two figures compiled and ran over to the car where they hopped in the back and held on. Not bothering to make sure they were in safely, Jak drove off back towards Spargus. They didn't utter a word as they were driving back to Spargus, allowing Jak time to become nervous about finding his mother. He all of a sudden became anxious to see her, wondering how he was going to explain everything to her but then a thought crossed his mind he hadn't thought about before: would she even know that Damas was dead?
Everything inside Jak's mind went white. He would have to tell her, break the news to her that Damas had died and would never be able to respond to the letter she had written him. What if she, hearing the news, got upset and slammed the door in his face, wishing never to see him again? What if she didn't believe Jak at all and just left him out in the cold? What if? Those two words kept playing over and over in Jak's head and they didn't stop until he heard Daxter calling his name.
"Jak! JAK!"
"Oh what?" The blond shook his head and looked towards the small rat.
"God what were you thinkin' about? Anyways, the two are ready to get out." Daxter moved his hand backwards with his thumb pointing towards the two who were stepping out of the car.
Now wondering where they were, Jak looked around only to see the gate leading into Spargus next to him. He must have driven back by instinct while he was out thinking about his mother.
Damn I drove back without even thinking about it. Jak thought as he looked down to the steering wheel.
"Thanks," The taller figure said, reveling that the person was male. "Do you know where we can find Kleiver?"
"He said to meet you two in the stadium," Daxter answered.
"Thanks." The male answered once more as he turned away with the other.
"Come on Jak; let's get over to Haven already," Daxter said, moving back towards his friend's face.
"Right."
Jak revved the car once more and began to drive towards the transporter. Once there he stopped the car, got out, and jumped into the back of the transporter. As it began to take off, he felt his stomach turn upside down. Forgetting everything he was going to say or do left him, and felt his hands shaking. Feeling his stomach moving and the food he had eaten earlier coming towards his mouth, he placed his hands on his stomach, hoping to take the pain away but it didn't.
I'll be fine. Jak thought. Everything will be okay.
The transporter came to a stop, and the back door opened, allowing Jak and Daxter to step out onto the ground. They looked around to see that the traffic wasn't as bad as it usually was for whatever reason.
Jak grabbed his hover bored from his back and let it open up. He hopped on it once it was done, pushed it forward, and began heading towards the Naughty Ottsel where he knew he would be able to find Torn, Sig, and the others.
He and Daxter floated down the streets in silence. Jak was looking around, looking at all of the people walking by and all of the small doors he was passing, wondering which one could possibly belong to his mother. He was looking around, hoping to see her but he didn't know what she looked like. Jak didn't know anything about his mother except for the fact that she had blue eyes but other then that, he didn't know anything. He just figured that she would be standing out from the rest of the people, from the crowds and that she would recognize him.
Before he knew it, he was standing outside the Naughty Ottsel. He put his hover bored away and walked up to the front door. It opened, and he walked in only to have Daxter jump off of his shoulder and walk over to the bar.
"Ah! It feels good to be back home!" the orange rat said happily as he hopped onto the bar where Tess, Torn, and Sig sat, drinking.
"Daxie baby!" Tess squeaked as she ran across the bar and hugged Daxter tightly. "Oh I've missed you so much!"
"Hey Sig," Jak said, walking up to the bar himself.
"Hello Cherry!" Sig said happily, as Jak sat down beside him on a barstool.
"Do you know anything about a woman named Avelli?" Jak asked.
"Cherry…" Sig looked away, sighing and shaking his head back and forth as he looked down at the bar. "I don't wanna touch that issue with a ten foot pole."
"So you know her?" Jak leaned forward. "Sig do you know where I can find her?"
"Cher—"
"I do," a voice Jak instantly recognized said, interrupting Sig. Jak looked around; looking for the person the voice had come from to see Jinx sitting down at a table with his feet on the table, and a cigar in his mouth.
"Hey!" Daxter protested once he saw Jinx and his position. "Feet off the merchandise!"
"What do you know about Avelli?" Jak asked. He got up from where he had been sitting and walked over to Jinx.
"Well," Jinx let go of a puff of smoke, "she comes by my place to buy cigars once a week or I go to drop off at her place." Jinx brought his cigar back up to his mouth and took another drag off of it as his eyes ran up and down Jak's body. "Come to think of it blondie," He let go of the smoke, "you look a lot like her only she's better lookin'. I've never noticed."
"Tell me where I can find her," Jak insisted.
Jinx opened his mouth to answer but Sig answered for him.
"She's not here anymore Cherry."
"What?" Jak asked breathlessly as he turned around.
"She left earlier this morin' to go back to Spargus," Sig continued his answer, "She was talking to me this morin', she told me that she had to go back…to see Damas."
"Doesn't she know?"
"She knows." Sig hung his head and sighed. "She wants to say goodbye."
"Hold on just a sec," Torn interrupted after hearing everything being said, he had gotten lost in the mix. "Why do you need to see Avelli?"
"She's my mother," Jak answered. He turned away from everyone and looked back towards the front door, missing the shocked looks on Torn and Jinx's faces. "Dax I think you should stay here for tonight."
"Sure buddy," Daxter said sadly, mostly because he was upset on how hard Jak was taking everything.
Jak walked forward, and stepped out of the bar, leaving the group behind to wonder. He quickly hovered over to the transporter, got back inside, and took off once more for the wastelands, hoping to find his mother back there when a thought crossed his mind.
"She left earlier this morin' to go back to Spargus."
Left this morning… Jak thought. Then….
Those two people he had picked up, could one of them be his mother? Jak's heartbeat picked up as the thought ran through him. It made sense, and it was a possibility that looked greater then anything else he could think of. He now knew where to go, he had to go to the stadium to see if it truly was his mother or not. This was his only lead.
"How can Avelli be Jak's mother?" Torn asked as he looked towards Sig who seemed to know more then anyone else.
Sig sighed. "Ya'll know that Damas fathered that small boy who turned out to be Jak and kids don't pop out of nowhere. Damas was married to Avelli and they had Jak together."
"What happened?" Tess asked as he looked towards Sig also.
Sig shook his right hand back and forth. "Like I said that's an issue I don't wanna touch with a ten foot pole."
"Avelli a mom huh?" Jinx said, getting everyone's attention. "Never would have guessed."
"Why do you say that?" Torn asked while he took a sip out of his beer mug.
"Let's just say she doesn't act like a mother." Jinx grinned as he took another puff off of his cigar.
R&R please!