Disclaimer: I do not own the Jak games.

---Chapter 1---

Screams of agony filled the air as seventeen year-old Jak jerked his head and body around, trying desperately to escape. Above him he could hear the commander's occasional snickering and the Baron's heavy pacing.

"Dark eco injection cycle complete. Bio readings nominal and unchanged."

"Nothing," the Baron addressed commander Errol. He pointed at Jak. "I was informed that this one might be different! Not a failure like the last one!"

The commander spoke up. "He is surprisingly resistant to your 'experiments' Baron Praxis. I fear the Dark Warrior program has failed."

Baron Praxis grabbed Jak's hair. "You should at least be dead with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!"

"What now? Metal Head armies are pressing their attacks. Without a new weapon my men cannot hold them off forever!"

"I will not be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures!" Baron Praxis advanced on commander Errol. "Move forward with the final plan!" The Baron pointed to Jak. "And finish off this 'thing' tonight."

"As you wish." Errol leaned toward Jak and grabbed the front of his green jumpsuit. "I'll be back later." Errol got really close to Jak's lips then suddenly pulled back. Jak let out a sigh of relief. It would finally be over. He would rather be dead than go through more torture.

Errol and the Baron left the room, possibly leaving Jak to rot there until Errol came to finish him off or worse rape him.

Out of the corner of his eye Jak saw a small platform rise from the lower levels.

"Ding ding, third floor. Body chains, roach food, torture devices." Daxter looked about the room then jumped down from the platform and landed on the man he saw chained up.

"Hey buddy you seen any heroes around here?" Daxter looked harder at the man. It clicked in his mind that this man was Jak. "Whoa! What'd they do to you?"

Daxter looked sorrowfully at his friend. "Jak? It's me, Daxter!"

Jak looked up for a second then flinched. Daxter frowned. "That's a fine hello! I've been crawling around in this place risking my tail!" Daxter grabbed his tail and turned to Jak. "Literally. To save you." Daxter grabbed the front of Jak's jumpsuit and shook him. "I've been looking for you for two years! Say something! Just this once!!"

Jak quickly opened his eyes. "I'm gonna kill Praxis!"

Daxter covered Jak's mouth. "Shhhhhh! Right now, we gotta get you outta here."

He jumped towards Jak's left hand, looking down at his bound up friend.

"Just let me figure out how to open the security locks for your chair so you can-"

Daxter skid across the platform as Jak let out a half war cry and changed into a demonic looking form. The shackles holding him down broke clean off and clanked across the metal floor. "Or uh...you could do it," Daxter said, staring at Jak like a frightened rabbit.

Jak stood. His skin and hair had changed a pale grey colour and Dax could clearly see jet black horns, not to mention the long claws that were coming at him.

"Jak? Easy now. Easy buddy. It's, it's your old pal Daxter remember?"

Daxter shivered as Jak went in for the kill. "Daxter?"

Daxter looked up in time to see Jak revert back to normal. "What the heck was that?! Sheesh! Remind me not to tick you off."

Daxter jumped up on his friend's shoulder. "Come on, tall dark and gruesome. We're outta here."

Jak eyed a pack of clothing that Daxter had brought. "I, uh, brought you some new threads. Put 'em on."

Jak slipped the clothes on then made his exit through a hidden storage room. He found his way into the flood retention level of the prison fortress, after a few guard run-ins, and managed to escape through a fire exit.

A krimzon guard had watched the entire event play out on the security cameras. Strange, he thought. The last one had escaped as well. He chuckled at the thought when he remembered back eight years ago. The Baron had literally only left for three seconds and when he came back the 'volunteer' was gone.

The krimzon guard picked up his communicator to notify the commander of the prisoner's escape. He flinched as the commander's voice cracked through the speaker: "WHAAT!!"