Chapter 1:
Premonition
His footsteps echoed off the stone walls as he ran down the long alleyway. The yells from the Krimzon Guards could be heard over his heavy breathing as they followed closely behind him. They were everywhere; flashes of red closing in as he darted from building to building.
Day after day, Jak found himself fleeing from Haven City's law enforcement. Luckily for him, it was night out, allowing him to slip away into the shadows and out of sight. He peered around the corner and waited until another wave of KG ran by, guns in hand before retreating in the opposite direction.
"There he is!" one of the Guards yelled. "After him!"
Jak bolted down the street, bullets flying past him. The Guards pursued, firing at will. A few stray shells nicked Jak's arms as he ran down another alleyway. This one was a dead end.
Jak turned around to see the Guards blocking off his only exit, rifles aiming towards him.
"Surrender now or suffer the consequences."
Jak smirked at them.
"I'll take my chances." He said smartly. His hair and skin turned pale as his eyes turned a jet black and horns formed atop his head. Long black claws appeared and he charged at the men in red.
"Open fire!!!"
The Dark Eco enhanced Jak dodged the bullets and began slaughtering the Krimzon Guards. Once the group had thinned, Jak made his escape. The bullets rained down on him again.
There was a sting in his side as a bullet pierced him. The wound began to bleed and Jak stumbled. He covered it with his hand as he continued to run, blood flowing down the side of his body. The city began to swirl around him as he dropped to his knees, holding on tighter to his gunshot wound as the Guards encircled him. He looked up to see one of the Guards raising his rifle and bringing it down heavily against the side of Jak's head.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Lani was jolted awake by the sound of her alarm. The image of the injured Jak faded away in her mind as she opened her eyes and took in the sunlight filling her room. She yawned and rolled over, feeling her way towards the off button on her clock. She sat up; her medium length brown hair a mess and rubbed her eyes as she climbed out of bed to get ready for another day of patrolling the filthy streets of Haven City.
Now that Baron Praxis and his ruthless Krimzon Guards had been defeated, the Underground took control of Haven City. Torn, the head of this Baron-resistant organization became commander of the law enforcement team and began the Freedom League; a group of blue clad soldiers much less brutal than their Krimzon counterparts. Jak and his time traveling friends, having helped the Underground out a great deal in the previous metal head war and the situation with the Baron gained top ranking positions in the League. Though these days, things had quieted down a bit.
Lani rode her Freedom League zoomer around town. Nothing appeared to have changed. Rusty and leaky water pipes attached to cracked concrete buildings, random grasses and weeds emerging from the rocky pavement, smog filled air; good old Haven City. She flew around until she reached a blocked off section of the city.
After the war, the city council had decided to remodel the city. New Haven they called it. It was quite nice compared to the rest of Haven's slums. Fountains, trees, and the buildings were all uniform and well built. The Freedom League headquarters was to be located in this section of the city.
Lani continued her usual rounds about the city.
By the end of the day, she was exhausted. As the sun sunk into the reddening sky, she parked her zoomer outside of the old Hip Hog saloon, now remodeled to the Naughty Ottsel and went inside. She saw Tess, the bubbly blonde cleaning the counters with her orange rodent assistant, Daxter. Lani took a seat at the counter and sighed heavily.
"Long day huh?" Tess asked, sliding her a drink.
"Not so much." Lani replied. "Crime rates still really low…not much metal head movement on the outside…I just haven't been getting much sleep this last week or so is all."
Daxter sat down on the counter next to her.
"Well, what's up?" he asked. "It's not like you to lose sleep. I mean, that's all you do."
"It's nothing…"
"Oh, come on." Daxter said. "You can talk to us. That's what friends are for! We won't judge you."
Lani stared into her drink cup.
"I've been having these dreams…about Jak…" she admitted after a moment. She saw the confused look on their faces and hesitated, unsure of what they were thinking. "They've all been different, but always end the same…with him getting seriously hurt or even killed…I don't know, I just feel like something bad is going to happen to him."
Tess gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry about Jak." She said. "He seems to be able to handle anything quite well. Whatever you feel is coming, I'm sure he'll be just fine. It's just a dream."
"Yeah, you're right." Lani said feeling a tiny bit of uplift in her worried heart. Though having heard her words, she just couldn't help but think something serious lied ahead.
"If you think it is something bad, maybe you should talk to him." Tess suggested.
"Maybe…" Lani said. "But, I don't want to make a big fuss out of this you know? I don't want to trouble anyone but I don't want this to make me look crazy and paranoid either."
Tess and Daxter nodded in understanding. Lani sighed again.
"I'm going to head home now I guess."
"Try and get some sleep ok?" Daxter said. "You worry too much. It's Jak. You know he can get himself out of all sorts of trouble."
"Yeah, I guess you're right…and I will. But can you do me a favor and not mention this to anyone? Especially Jak..."
"Our lips are sealed." Daxter said, making a motion as if pulling a zipper across his mouth.
"Thanks. See you guys later."
Lani walked out the saloon and into the cool night air. She looked up at the stars barely twinkling behind a shroud of exhaust clouds emerging from the industrial section.
"Just dreams…" she muttered to herself walking back to her little corner of the city.
