Hello everybody. This is a new story that I came up with after I got myself immersed into the Jak and Daxter universe. The debut of this story also serves as my own way of celebrating my graduation from high school! I'm finally out in the real world and getting ready for college. Anyway, I hope you like this first chapter.
Summary: We all know of the regular Jak and Daxter story. Jak gets sent back into the time of Haven City with his friends, the time frame where he was born in, and is made into this dark eco creature by the hands of Errol and Baron Praxis. He then goes to take revenge on them and ends up moving on to the events of Jak 3 where he fights to save not only his hometown this time around, but also the Desert City of Spargus, a city that his long-lost father rules over, and the entire planet. This all happened as a result of one event that occurred at the time before this whole mess started.
However, what if that one event were to be changed? What if it were changed around to the point where it came close to but never ended up taking place? What will happen to the events that would have succeeded it? Will they either continue on as normal, have some things dropped and replaced with new events, or turn into something new altogether? There is only one way to figure out this answer, and that is to go with the flow and see where this branched off part of history will lead them. Will it lead them to a better future than the main timeline, or will it lead them to something even worse?
Once you read this chapter, you'll know where my story starts out from. Hope you like the summary and the chapter that comes right after this. Please leave a review after you are done!
Chapter 1: Jak and Daxter
"Hey Jak!" a loud and very energetic sounding voice called out from just outside of a wooden house that was situated near the edge of a rather large cliff that overlooked a large body of open water and expanded towards the horizon as far as the eye could see. "You in here buddy?"
Not a second later after the question was voiced, a pair of padded feet were heard softly walking along the wooden floorboards. A boy inside the house, whose name was Jak and who seemed to be no older than fifteen, turned from his spot on a chair next to a table nestled in one of the corners to see who had called out to him. Actually, he had already knew who it was that was calling him before he even turned to fix his gaze at the open doorway. After all, there was only one person who would call for him in such a loud and energetic fashion.
Jak, like all of the other inhabitants of the small but peaceful village of Sandover that were in or around his age, led a simple life of freedom and fun balanced with a few touches of work from the adults every now and then to keep him busy and productive. He had pointy elf-like ears that stuck out towards the side, like everybody else, and had short greenish blond hair that seemed to have a slight wild side to it. On his head were a pair of goggles that were designed by another childhood friend of his, Keira. They were made with very durable brown leather straps and had a strong comfortable rubber barrier on the spot where the protective glass came in contact with the skin around his eyes, thus preventing it from painfully digging into the skin.
Both goggle lens were made to protect his eyes from the wind and whatever else was in the air, but one was more sophisticated and doubled up as a piece of machinery that detected any potential hazards along the road and any hidden paths along the way. Of course, it could only detect the hidden paths if Jak ever chose to slow down when riding on the Zoomer, a mobile machine that went in conjunction with his high tech goggles and something that the girl had created in the workshop underneath the house some time ago. He has kept the eyewear strapped tightly and comfortably on his forehead ever since he got them.
He had soon grown real attached to them and was rarely ever seen without them being on his head. It was so much so that he never bothered to take them off when prompted to. He always kept them on at all times of the day, including the times when he went to sleep or decided to go for a swim in the river or the beach. Thank goodness Keira thought ahead when she first created them and had managed to make the mechanical portion of it waterproof, thus allowing for it to double up as goggles meant to be used for swimming. It was truly a fantastic piece of equipment made by the skilled hands of a great inventor.
Anyway, Jak lived in the wooden house that he was currently in with an old man by the name of Samos, whom had raised him ever since he could remember which would be for most, if not all, of his life as if he were his own son. He was what the residents of Sandover called a sage, a person who had great skill and wisdom concerning the properties of Eco, the lifeblood of the planet. His specialty as a sage resided with anything that had to deal with plant life, which was made quite evident due to the many potted plants that had made their home here, so the people of the village and the neighboring areas have called him the Green Eco Sage, for anything that had to do with plant life or anything organic was associated with green Eco. He also happened to be Keira's father, so in a sense, Keira was not only a very close friend, second only to Daxter of course, but also his surrogate sister.
From the doorway of the simple wooden house came the owner of the voice who had called out to him a second ago. He looked down and saw his best friend, Daxter, walking towards him with a smile that was all too common with him on his face. The two have been best friends ever since they were little and were often seen playing around with each other at almost every hour of every day. The only thing that was considered odd about this pairing of friends was that Daxter was…not exactly human like Jak. He was, in fact, a small furry animal; an Ottsel to be more precise.
He was a small little creature who was able to walk upright on his two back legs in perfect balance and posture like a human. He had bright orange fur surrounding his body with some yellow at the jaw of his mouth and on his stomach area. His ears were either droopy or stood up straight; it all depended on the mood he was currently in. His ears were right now halfway between perked up and flabby in a downward position, showing that he was right now in just a neutral mood. His dark blue eyes, which also held a pair of goggles similar to Jak's and were specially made for his smaller head, immediately met with the blonde's lighter blue ones, and they exchanged greetings with each other through that one small meeting of the eyes, an action that both understood quite well.
They were the best of friends, more compatible than any other pairs of friends could be in Sandover; anybody in the village would have said exactly that. It was because they were such great friends that the two were able to read each other like a book and easily tell what the other was going to say before anything was said just by looking at the ever so subtle movements of the other's body. Even just looking in each others eyes was more than enough to tell the other what they wanted to say. That was how they tend to prefer their conversations to be. It was like their way of sending secret messages to each other without letting anyone know what was being relayed.
Under normal circumstances, the people would have thought it weird that a person and an animal would be friends; it would have been even weirder that there even was a talking animal. However, these circumstances were far from normal, although the two friends saw it like it was the normal everyday thing. To them, there was no barrier that stood between their friendship, including the fact that one was human and the other was a small animal. That, however, was not always the case between them.
You see, Daxter was not always a small, simple, and skinny Ottsel for the whole of his fifteen years of life. He used to be a human, just like Jak, with the pointy ears and flaming red hair that could have easily been mistaken for flames when given only a quick glance from a far distance against the horizon sun. However, there was this one incident that occurred a few months ago that caused him to transform into the small creature he is today. Needless to say, he has been stuck in this form ever since and has accepted his new form, albeit reluctantly from both friends. They made the best of the situation, though, and found ways to work around it.
"I figured you'd be in here with your butt on one of these chairs for no good reason," the small animal said with a large grin as he stopped just a foot shy from where Jak's feet were and crossed his arms. "You've been hanging around in this rickety old house for a good chink of a day ever since we took care of Gol and Maia, aka., The Creepy Siblings, a month or so ago. It's really not like you to be staying around in the house big guy. What gives Jak?"
Instead of saying anything, the teen just simply looked at the small Ottsel directly in the eyes with a small smile and a shrug of his shoulders. He kept his gaze fixed on the dark blue eyes and conveyed his thoughts that way to the inquisitive creature. His body language in combination with his eyes gave the whole side of his conversation, although his eyes did most of the talking.
Even though they were the best of friends and knew how to easily communicate with each other just through body language, there was still a good reason as to why they preferred this over conventional speech. Jak was a dumb guy; a mute would also be another way to put it, and probably nicer in the process. He could not vocally convey what was on his mind to others. As such, this usually posed a big problem when people not too familiar with his personality tried to start up a conversation with him. Note that he is not deaf, just plain mute.
Daxter, however, was an exception to this usual confusion; even though Samos and Keira understood him well enough to engage in a full conversation from beginning to end, they still did not quite understand every thing he tried to convey. Only the little guy understood every single word that was being visualized to him. He knew every word that was being said with the body language, and sometimes even before his body gave it away, just as well as the blond knew what he was going to say before he even opens his mouth to speak. That was how close as friends the two were, and it seemed that they would only grow closer as time goes on.
"Hey Daxter," Jak greeted the Ottsel with a warm smile as the creature read the movements the boy made as if he were reading a painfully easy book. "I'm just feeling a bit bored, I guess. I mean, things are kind of boring now that our little adventure's over. Don't you think so buddy?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Daxter agreed with a shrug of his small shoulders before he made a leap towards the table that must have been at least a good couple of feet above him. He made it to the surface with great ease and took a seat on it while turning to face his best friend. "I am a little bored, now that you mention it. I wouldn't have called our adventure little though."
If there was one thing he was happy about being turned into a small orange furry creature, it would have to be that his jumping ability has been heightened. He could now jump almost as high as Jak could. That is putting into consideration if he were still a human now. He normally would not be able to jump even half as high as his best friend, and now he could with little trouble.
"Are you sure about that buddy?" the blond asked with a questioning eyebrow raised at his best friend's relaxed position and unusually bright smile being directed at him. "You certainly don't look like someone who's feeling a little bored right now. If I didn't know any better, I think that you have something exciting planned inside that mind of yours, if that smile of yours doesn't already give it away. Come on, out with it you little runt. What's on your mind right now?"
"Hey, I resent that!" the Ottsel argued rather heatedly, although he did know that it was all only in good nature and fun. "I'm not a little runt! I'm a 2'10" tall Ottsel, thank you very much. I come up just a bit short of your waist if you actually measured with me against a wall or something. You can't consider that as someone being a runt when they're almost half as tall as you."
"Yeah, whatever," he signaled with a roll of his eyes and a small smirk. He then brushed a loose strand of hair from his eyes while keeping his eyes on his friend. "Just skip to it and tell me what's on your mind already. We don't really have all night to be talking to each other, you know?"
"Yeah, I know that. You're the one who started the whole runt business, though. It's kind of your fault then that we got sidetracked a bit. Anyway, I was just thinking about what we're going to be doing with Keira and old Loghead tomorrow morning. They said that they were almost done fixing up whatever that stupid piece of Precursor crap is and that it should be ready then."
"Well, Keira said that it looked like a bigger version of the warp panels that each of the sages have in their houses. She said that it might be something similar to that, although a lot more powerful due to its larger size. That and we have no idea as to where it's connected to. She's planning on having us try and go through it once she puts the finishing touches on it."
"Wait a minute! Are you saying that she's planning on having us go jumping into the stupid ring as if it were just a regular warp panel and have it dump us in the middle of a place that only the Precursors know about?" Daxter asked with a somewhat fearful look on his face. "A place that we don't know about and where we could potentially…die? I don't think I really like that idea."
"Oh, it's not going to be all that bad," Jak assured his best buddy with a smile as he shook his head at his usual antics. "Besides, it's not just going to be the two of us going through it. Samos and Keira are coming with us, too. Don't forget that they made a vehicle that can seat the four of us. Once they're done with it, then we'll be good to go. After all, that big warp thing was pretty much in good shape when we found it in Gol and Maia's Citadel."
"That doesn't really make me feel any better buddy," the Ottsel stated in a worried tone, another antic of his whenever he tried to get out of anything that was potentially dangerous. "I don't like the idea of going through some suspicious Precursor techno-crap and hoping that we all survive the trip. That and we don't know if we're going to be able to get back here."
"You know, you've got to learn how to loosen up a bit, little guy," the blond sighed out as his shoulders slumped slightly and he gave a serious stare at his small friend. "You never know when the time will come that you'll have to fend for yourself against danger. I'm not always going to be around to help you and give you a safe shoulder to climb up on. And who knows? You might actually end up saving me one of these days."
"Heh, that'll be the day, Jak. With this body of mine, I don't think I'll be doing any rescuing of anybody for a very long while. Besides, you know me better than anyone else in this village. I don't like to get my hands, or paws in this case, in any dangerous things that could potentially kill me. Call me chicken, but I just like to be on the cautious side of things."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "A bit too cautious if you ask me." He then gave off a happy smile. "Then again, that's what I like about you. You always keep me on my toes, and you always come through for me in the worst of times, despite your many complaints on not wanting to go with me every now and then."
"Yeah, well, somebody's got to look after you every time you try to do something crazy and go somewhere dangerous. I'm probably the only guy around here qualified to do that job. That and…" he paused a bit before he rushed the last words out of his mouth. "I worry about you every time you're on your own."
For a moment, both teens stayed relatively quiet. Only the sounds of the waves hitting the cliff face and the small sounds from the heart of Sandover Village reached their ears. They were both reflecting on what was last said just a few seconds ago by the little Ottsel.
"…You worry about me, huh?" Jak asked as he propped an elbow onto the table and rested his head on the palm of his hand. "How can you worry about me being on my own when you're always by my side on every adventure I get myself into? It doesn't really make a lot of sense buddy."
"Well, that's my way of avoiding that worry," Daxter stated as he pointed a finger at his friend in a matter-of-fact way. "Haven't you noticed that I always end up tagging along with you on every adventure you get yourself into, despite how greatly I sometimes argue against going? That's my way of worrying about you, even though it doesn't really seem that way at times."
"Try all the time," the blond added with a smirk of his lips. "You always whine about every little thing during the adventures we get ourselves into. It's not only during the time before we go on the fun, it's also during the time we're on it that you complain about me doing dangerous things."
"And with good reason, too. We always end up nearly getting our butts burned on all the little things that are associated with any kind of adventure we go on together. Of course I'd be complaining about everything.
"Anyway, we're starting to get way off track here, big guy," the Ottsel said as he waved his arms in front of him in an overdramatic way. "I only came in here to look for you so I could ask if you were free tonight to have a little fun. So what's the answer? Are you free for some fun tonight?"
"And what exactly is it that you have in mind Daxter?" the blond asked as his eyes reflected the intrigue he was feeling right now at what his friend had in mind. "You're not planning on doing some exploring outside of the village when it's close to sundown or something crazy like that, are you?"
"Are you kidding me, Jak? I swear, that's the last thing on my list of things to do right now. I was actually thinking more along the lines of heading down to Sentinel Beach and go swimming for a bit there under the setting horizon sun. It's been a while since we've been able to do that. So what do you say buddy? Are you up for a little dip in the ocean right now?"
Jak seemed to contemplate the suggestion silently in his head for a while as he strummed his fingers of his free hand on the wooden tabletop. He stole a quick glance outside of the window which showed a great view of Sandover Village before shrugging his shoulders in agreement.
"Sure, I've got nothing better to do right now," he stated with a smile. He then indicated with a small lazy stretch of his arms, "And you're right about that. We haven't really had a chance to go swimming in the beach for a while. A quick swim in the ocean would be nice now."
"Then what are we waiting for big guy?" Daxter asked in a real excited tone as a huge grin started to appear on his face. "Let's hurry up and get to the beach before what's left of the sun sets. Last one to get down there is a nasty Lurker!"
In a quick flash, Daxter quickly jumped off from the table and began running out the door with great speed for such a little creature. Jak soon followed suit once he got up from his chair and followed closely behind his best bud. They continued on with this small race of sorts until it ended in a tie with both boys making a splash in the ocean where the cool water met the soft sand at the same time.
Once they both took a moment to catch their breaths, they immediately went for a swim under the light of the setting sun. They splashed each other and had swim races to see who was the fastest. Overall, they were just having some nice fun as they would normally have when Daxter was still a human.
Little did they know that this innocent fun between them was probably going to be the last one that they would have in a long while. In fact, it could quite possibly be the very last time that they could have fun like this without a care or worry in the world. It would be the events that would happen in the next day that will dictate this and forever change their lives, whether for the better or worse.