I don't own Jak and Daxter or any of it's characters. I only own Zender.

Yay another Jak fic. I'll be posting this here, and over on Jakfics sooner or later. Anyways, 00000-shows a flashback and until you see it again, the flashback it not over. This story will get dark, after all, this OC is going to be a villain. Don't worry if this confuses you, everything will be explained.

Enjoy!

Who would ever want to become such a horrible, disgusting man?

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Sandover Island's weather was, on a normal day, a mixture of heat and a cooling wind but today the weather was slightly off. The sun above the island was pounding its rays down onto the small island and heat waves rose up to prove it to anyone looking out of their window. The cooling breeze seemed to have died off in the heat as well, leaving the island in a heat wave that made its residents head down to the beach to cool off.

"Daddy!" Keira called out. "Daddy come in the water with me! Please?"

Samos was sitting on the sand, taking an unusual break from studying Green Eco to watch his adopted daughter play in the water. It was too hot to be in his hut today, and he had been promising to take Keira down to the beach so she could show off her new bathing suit to Jak. Her bathing suit was a cute blue color, a much improved color over her old dark brown one her father had bought her for her seventh birthday.

Most of the other villagers had joined Samos and Keira on the beach, save for the muse and the sculptor who was still working in his hut. The sculptor thought that the muse looked especially cute when it panted, and he wanted to capture the look in a large gray stone he had chipped out of the hill near the waterfall.

"I will soon Keira," Samos said with a nod. "Why don't you go and look for Jak? I haven't seen him today."

Keira blinked. "Okay Daddy."

She stepped out of the water and ran up the beach, gathering sand on the bottom of her feet as she did so. When the sand changed to dirt, Keira paused for a moment and began to wipe the sand off of her feet.

"I wonder where Jak is?" she asked herself. "I should have grabbed my shoes."

As Keira cleaned off her feet so it would be easier to run, the sound of laughter filled the air. Keira stopped cleaning her feet and looked around to see if she could find where the voice was coming from but there was no one in sight.

"Jak?" Keira asked out loud. "Is that you Jak?"

The laughter sounded like a child's laughter but then it was overridden by a deeper, stranger laugh that sent shivers down Keira's spine. The laughter echoed through the empty village but Keira was able to pinpoint where the laughter was coming from. It was coming from the boat launch near her father's hut.

"Jak!" Keira said as she walked over to her father's hut. "Jak!!"

Keira began to cross the wooden bridge when she saw Jak on the beach below. Her heart began to slam away in her chest when she saw the young boy she had developed a crush on but it faded when the deep laugh began echoing through the village once more.

"Jak?" Keira tried to yell his name out but the overbearing laugh turned it into a shy whisper. "Jak?" she tired again but the result was the same.

The laughing suddenly became louder and then died down to a simple child's laugh. Keira back away from the rope that held the wooden bridge she was on, and ran down the way she had come. She wanted to go see Jak, and she wanted to see him now. She knew that he was the only one who would be able to protect her from the laughing that only she seemed to hear.

"Jak!" Keira screamed as she ran. "JAK!"

She ran down through the village and down the wooden boat launch as fast as her bare feet could carry her. Her feet hit the sand once more and her running became hard as the sand sunk in underneath her. After fighting with the sand, Keira came to the spot where she had been watching Jak but instead of seeing Jak alone, his back was turned to her and he was facing what looked like black mist.

Keira froze with fear. "Jak?" she managed to whisper.

Jak turned around towards Keira with his normal, happy smile on his face. The smile gave Keira more confidence that everything was okay so she began walking towards Jak once more.

"I've been looking for you Jak!" Keira said as a smile crossed her face as well. "I wanted to know if—"

Her words seemed to stop themselves while fear ran through her entire body, a fear that she had never experienced before. Her small legs wanted to run as fast as she could to get away and her hands wanted to cling to her father for protection. Tears began to fall from her eyes as her legs became weak and she fell onto her knees.

The black mist that Jak had been facing was now moving over Jak, starting at his shoulders and working its way down until he was completely masked within it. Waves moved skyward from Jak's body while Keira began to shiver in fear from something she didn't understand. Jak gave her a confused look and then began to move towards her with his right hand out to her.

"J-Jak," she whispered.

Keira looked towards Jak's hand and began to take it. Just as her hand started to touch Jak's, the black mist moved swiftly down from Jak's shoulders and wrapped itself around his fingers. The mist jumped out towards Keira's arm and began to engulf her arm as well.

"JAK!" she screamed. "Jak stop it! What are you doing Jak? STOP!"

She looked on in fear as the mist moved towards her shoulder and began to swallow the rest of her body. Keira tried pulling away as hard as she could but the mist seemed to be pulling her in towards Jak with incredible strength. She began screaming out at the top of her lungs but no one was coming. The darkness that surrounded Jak was starting to take in Keira's head and silenced her screams.

"Pleas—"

The mist cut off the young girl from finishing her sentence off as it engulfed her entirely. The bright blue sea Keira was the last thing Keira could see before the darkness covered her eyes, and before she fell into unconsciousness.

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"Hey buddy! BUDDDDYY!"

Jak opened his eyes to see Daxter hanging above him with a glare in his eyes. Jak blinked and yawned.

"About time!" Daxter complained. "Come on, you know we gotta get up to the Precursor Monk Temple!"

"For what?" Jak asked with another long yawn.

"A check up remember? One of Monk boy's disciples told us to check it out today," Daxter said as he rolled his eyes. "It's some kind of Precursor holiday or something." Daxter moved his hand carelessly as he spoke.

Jak thought about it for a moment, and then remembered. It was a day the Precursors had set apart to pay tribute to everyone who had died for them or who had died believing in them. The only person Jak had to morn for was his father, Damas and that was a mourning he went through everyday. The people of Spargus were going to hold a tribute in their King's honor and Jak was to be the main speaker, a task he had signed up to do.

"That's right," Jak said with a sigh. "Come on, we gotta go to Keira's place before we head up there."

Daxter hopped off of Jak's chest. "Right away! Lemme check out with Tess before we head out!"

"Meet me by the front door alright?" Jak called out to the small Ottsel.

Daxter left the room and Jak stood as he stretched his arms over his head. He heard a few cracks, telling him that he had done his job and dropped his arms back down to his side. He walked over to the sink in his bedroom and looked into the mirror there.

It had been six months since the race in Kras City, but he could still feel the after effects of the poison he had been given in that race. Even though he and his crew had been given the antidote there were still heavy after effects. Jak's effect had been that his stomach could no longer tolerate any kind of spices, much to his dislike, and his vision wasn't as good as it used to be in the dark. Once in awhile his reflexes would slow for a few days, but then return as if nothing were wrong.

Daxter didn't seem to suffer any after effects from the poisoning at all. Jak figured that it was because he was in the image of a Holy being and that somehow protected him. Whatever it was, Jak considered Daxter lucky.

There hadn't been a word from Rayn but Torn and Ashelin had sent out a warrant in case she decided to come out of hiding.

"Pain in the ass," Jak whispered to himself.

He took a long look at himself in the mirror. His hair had grown back since the Kras City races to the same length it had been when he first became a Wastelander. He liked his hair this way; it wasn't too long or too short. There was now a small scar underneath his right eye from a knife encounter he had gotten into with Razer one night at a bar but Jak considered it a trophy more then a disfigurement.

"Stupid." He shook his head.

After washing and cleaning himself up, Jak walked over to his pile of clothes and began to dress himself in his Wastelander outfit. As he strapped his boots on, Torn came walking into the small room.

"I've been lookin' for you," Torn said with a smile. "I had no idea that you were still livin' in a place like this."

Jak laughed. "I don't have any place else to go."

The room Torn was talking about was the storage room behind the Naughty Ottsel. It was a small room with a bathroom in the corner and a bunk bed Jak used like it was his own night after night. It was simple and Jak couldn't ask for anymore then that.

"You headin' up to the Temple?" Torn asked, still looking around the room as he counted the cracks in the wall.

"Yeah," Jak answered.

Torn coughed. "Could you take something up there for me?"

Jak looked up towards Torn with a cocked eyebrow. "What?"

"I've got a package I want you to drop off in front of the Temple…for someone I lost a while back ago."

"Oh." Jak lowered his head a bit. "I'll make sure to drop it off."

"Thanks."

Jak brought his head back up to watch Torn walk out of the room. The poison had weakened Torn's body and made it hard for Torn to do some of the things he used to do on his own. Torn found that he ran out of breath quicker then he used to, and he often limped with his right leg because of the muscle had been weakened by the poison. It was hard for Jak to watch a man who was used to doing everything for himself have to ask for help sometimes, and it was even harder on Torn.

"Come on Jak!" Daxter yelled from the other room. "Let's get movin'!"

"Coming!" Jak yelled back.

The Wasteland. Jak and Daxter arrived in the sand barren land with a small box with them from Torn. They walked into Spargus' parking lot and saw Keira wheeled underneath the engine of one of the large vehicles. Jak walked over to her, bent down, and pulled her out from underneath the car entirely. She looked back up at him through a pair of green goggles. Her face was covered with grease, oil, and small particles of sand from the engine.

"Jak," she said as she blinked. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Are we too soon?" Jak cocked an eyebrow.

Keira stood. "I've got your vehicle up and ready to go." She pointed to the Dune Hopper that Jak had crashed a few weeks ago. "I've fixed everything so don't worry about anything alright?"

Jak smiled. "You are a genius."

Keira blushed. "Thanks Jak."

"Hey!" Daxter popped up. "What about me!"

"What about you?" Keira asked as she tilted her head. "Take care of Jak for me okay Dax?"

Daxter grinned. "You can count on me sista!"

All three of them began to laugh at the crack Daxter had made while they walked over to the Dune Hopper. Jak hopped into the front seat and began strapping himself in while Keira explained the changes she had made.

While she talked, Jak let his mind wander a bit. He remembered how he had Keira had kissed at the end of the racing in Kras City, but since then they had broken up. The poison that had taken something from everyone had taken something from Keira that she could never get back. Her body was now incapable of conceiving children, no matter how much Green Eco Samos applied to her. Keira had broken up with Jak because of all of the stress and had only recently begun to be herself again.

The more Jak thought about Keira, the more he looked off into the distances and passed the open parking lot gates. There he spotted a dark figure clouded by the rising sand. The image was blurred but it looked like someone just standing out in the middle of the desert with a large cloak over them to protect against the sand. Jak narrowed his eyes but his vision blurred for a moment.

"Jak?" Keira asked. "Jak, are you listening to me?"

He snapped back into reality. "Yeah I am. Sorry, I spaced out for a minute. I think we can handle everything Keira, don't worry."

"Yeah I'm with him!" Daxter exclaimed.

Keira giggled. "Be careful you two. Jak, remember you have to be back by nightfall to give your speech."

Jak sighed. "How could I forget?"

Keira stepped away from the vehicle as Jak turned on the engine. Jak moved his goggles over his eyes and his bandana over his mouth. He pressed down on the gas and sped out of the parking lot while Keira waved. Jak looked out towards the desert as he drove out of Spargus and looked for the figure he had seen before but it was gone.

The Precursor Temple was surprisingly empty. Jak had expected it to be crowed with people who had traveled to pay their respects but it was the exact opposite. He parked the Dune Hopper, grabbed Torn's package, and walked in.

"This place still gives me the creeps!" Daxter said as a shiver ran down his spine.

"I don't blame you." Jak looked around. "Come on, we've got to get to the Oracle."

The two walked through the Temple they had been to thousands of times before only this time there weren't any Metal Heads or Dark Markers to deal with. The place was quiet and boring with nothing to shoot or kill. There weren't any tasks to finish, or missions to complete; this was just a simple field trip.

The hallway that led to the Oracle's room was crowed with letters and flowers left by the people who were mourning. Jak was careful not to step on any of them as he walked down the hallway.

"I didn't think there would be this much here," Jak said as he looked at the flowers.

"Damn." Daxter jumped down onto the floor. "Neither did I." He looked around and spotted a small empty spot at the end of the hallway. "Hey look! A place for Tattoo Wonder's box! Let's put it down and get outta here."

"Right."

Jak walked over to the spot Daxter had picked out and set the box down with care. Daxter walked behind his best friend and began to walk over towards the door where the Oracle stood when he noticed a black mist covering the floor.

"What the?" Daxter walked forward and into the room.

The black mist on the floor swirled and collected around Daxter's paws. A chill came up from the mist that made all of the hairs on Daxter stand up. His tail rose from the cold floor and when he turned around to call Jak into the room, he saw that the black mist was rising behind him.

"Jak!!" Daxter yelled.

Jak snapped his head in Daxter's direction. He began to run towards the door but just as he arrived in front of the door the door slammed shut, leaving Jak on the other side. He slammed his fists against the door.

"Dammit! Dax! Dax! Can you hear me?"

The cold chill Daxter had felt was now seeping underneath the door along with strands of the black mist. Jak backed away from the door and watched the mist rise upwards.

"What…is this?" he asked.

He bent down and allowed his fingers to become wrapped up in the black mist. The mist stung his fingers at first because of the chilliness but he grew used to it. The mist moved up his hand to his shoulder where it stopped.

For some reason Jak wasn't afraid if what was happening. His mind was still on Daxter and making sure that he was alright but the touch of the mist sent an overwhelming feeling of being content and then warmth. It was…amazing.

"Jak."

"Jak!" Daxter yelled from behind the door. "Jak hurry up!!"

Jak shook his head. "I'll be there in a minute Dax! Just hold on!"

The feeling of warmth the mist gave off disappeared and was replaced by a deep chilling feeling once more. Jak ripped his hand away and began running up the hallway towards another entrance he knew of.

After jumping, running, and dodging traps that had reset themselves, Jak had finally made it into the Oracle's room. He skidded to a stop once he entered the room and looked around for the Oracle Daxter was in front of.

"Come on, come on," Jak said. "Dax!! Where are you?"

"Jak," Daxter said loud enough to pick up on Jak's ears. "Hurry…up."

Jak turned his head to the right and spotted Daxter lying down on the floor with a small pool of blood underneath him. Jak's heart dropped into his stomach at the sight and in that one moment, Jak felt all of his courage leave him. Everything seemed to be gone, and for once, Jak had no idea what to do.

"Jak."

"Daxter!" Jak yelled.

Without another second passing Jak summoned his Light powers and formed his wings. He jumped off of the platform and flew over to the one with Daxter. He landed, reverted back to his normal form, and ran over towards Daxter.

"Dax," Jak whispered as he fell to his side. "Dax, can you hear me?"

Daxter's eyes fluttered open. "Jak?" he asked. "'bout time you showed up. I can't fight…without ya you know?"

"Don't worry," Jak said with a small, nervous laugh. "What did this to you?"

"This guy," Daxter strained to say. "Tall…guy…I ain't never seen him before."

"Did he look like a Dark Marker?"

Daxter shook his head. "Jak…you gotta watch out for him. I didn't even…"

Before Daxter could finish his sentence, his head moved backwards and his eyes closed. Jak shook the small animal, trying to get a response out of him but Daxter wasn't giving anything back.

He's losing too much blood. Jak thought as he looked towards a wound on Daxter's side. I gotta get him back to Spargus…it's closer.

Jak moved his right hand away from Daxter's body and tore his bandana off of his neck and wrapped it around Daxter's body. More then ever Jak wished that his Light powers could heal others. He was careful not to tie it too tightly but tight enough to stop the bleeding for a while. Once he was finished, Jak began to get up when the mist started to gather at the bottom of his feet once more.

"You'll be fine Daxter," Jak whispered. "Just don't…"

He stopped. He couldn't get those words to pass through his lips even though his mind was thinking it. Daxter and die just didn't go into the same sentence. Jak shook his head. Talking wasn't something Jak was going to bother himself with at the moment, he had more important things to take care of. He would have to come back later to find the person who did this to Daxter.

Jak walked over to the side of the platform, ready to summon his Light powers once more when the chillness of the mist surrounding his feet caught his attention.

"Jak, are you just going to leave me?" a male voice asked.

That voice. Jak knew it well, in fact it triggered memories of his childhood but he couldn't place a face to it. He turned around to see where the voice had come from to see a man standing there with the black mist surrounding him.

The man was tall, just a few inches over Jak's height. His black hair fell beside his head in thin layers and his pale green eyes looked straight back at Jak. He was wearing a black covering over his mouth and bottom half of his face, and a black cloak that hid everything else about the strange man. On his feet with thick black boots Jak recognized as being Wastelander boots.

"Are you?" he asked. "You can't leave me here; I've been waiting for you here."

"Did you do this to Daxter!?" Jak hissed as he forced his darker half away for the time being.

The man leaned forward and brought his hands out from his cloak. He moved his gloved hands towards Jak and moved them up and down, almost in a playful fashion.

"Come on Jak! It's me! You can't leave me here!" the man pleaded. "We made a promise that night remember?"

Jak rolled his eyes. "Whether you are the guy who hurt Dax or not, I've got better things to worry about. I'll come back for you."

Jak's feet moved closer towards the end of the platform, still keeping his eyes on the strange man.

"Jak?" Daxter whispered weakly.

"Dax!" Jak looked down towards Daxter but saw that his eyes were still closed tightly. Was he conscious or unconscious?

"Why…why are you talkin' to…yourself?" Daxter finished.

"Myself?" Jak blinked.

"Jak," the man said once more.

There was nothing more to say. The moment Daxter's words came to Jak's mind Jak understood everything. He remembered who this man was that stood before him, and he knew why Daxter thought he was talking to himself. This man…was someone Jak knew. Someone Jak used to play with as a child.

"Zender," Jak whispered.

This man used to be his imagery friend.

R&R please!