Disclaimer: I don't own Jak and Daxter or Jak 2. I just own my originals.

Daydreams and Iniquity

Prologue: Jeweled Eyes

A/N: This is mostly the same text, but I decided to rewrite it to give the story a bit more depth. I hope that this is a bit better than the original.

Earlier, it had seemed like a good idea to go out for a walk by himself. It wasn't often that he did something like that. Normally, he would be found in the company of his best friend, Jak, and getting into all sorts of trouble while at his side.

That was the routine of his life and one that, even though it was often dangerous and life threatening at times, he enjoyed to some extent. It gave him the chance to travel and meet new people, something he hadn't gotten to do during the earlier days of his life. True there were those that he could do without, but being with his friend and meeting the ladies certainly made up for the bad experiences that had come with this new life.

But there were those days, like today, when he felt the urge to get out on his own for awhile. To have a chance to clear his head and just think about what he wanted to do instead of following after Jak on one of the missions Torn sent them on so often now. Just something that would both mentally and emotionally prepare him for the trials that he knew they would end up facing.

So that was what he had done. After making sure that he left a note telling a napping Jak that he had gone out for awhile, he had left the inn where they had been staying at via the window. From there, he slid down a drainpipe into the alley below and had gone off for a walk in the city.

The place where he was walking about, known as Haven City, was not the safest place to go for a stroll and he knew it. It was a very dangerous place where the supposed protectors were terrorizing the people and where the people themselves had to fight for their very survival everyday. A place where someone his size could easily become an ingredient in someone else's stew or be used by target practice by citizens and Krimzon guards alike.

He knew all that all too well. He had spent two years wandering these very streets trying to survive like everyone else while trying to figure out a way to help the friend that he had lost. That had not been an easy time in his life and he didn't look back on it that often. But it was enough to make him wary even when he was going for a simple walk.

So he was on full alert the further he went from the inn and deeper into the City. Which was what first alerted him to the sounds of a scuffle coming from an alleyway that he passed about two miles from the inn. At first, he was tempted to take it as a warning and get out of the area as quickly as possible.

But for reasons he wasn't sure of, he didn't run away. Instead, he stopped and listened to those sounds. They were a mixture of hasty movements and loud thumping that come from flesh being struck by something heavy. These were normal sounds and were to be expected.

The longer he stood there however, those were not to be the only sounds that his sensitive ears would end up hearing. Other sounds came, the sounds of voiced threats and taunts that came from a voice that sent chills down his spine. Followed by another voice that spoke with defiance and pain rolled into one.

It was the second voice that held his attention more than the first. This one was nothing like the first voice. Where that one was deep and threatening, this one was gentle and calming despite the fierceness that it presented to the first voice. It caused him to relax and forget the fear that was building in him as the shivers spread over his body.

Regardless of the effects that these two voices were having over him, it was almost impossible for him to make out what was being said. The tones were too low and confusing for anything to be understood. All that could be made out clearly were the emotions of fear, anger, and triumph that lay behind them.

More emotion became evident when he heard the scream. A long, screeching shriek that hurt his ears right down to the drums. And it was hearing this that finally convinced him that he couldn't just stand there doing nothing but listening. He had to act now, while there was still a chance to something before things became worse than probably already were.

So before he realized what he was doing, he did a double take and turned back towards the alley. It was an action that took less than a few seconds but one, as he would find out soon enough, that would cause a lifetime of change. Change that would either be for good or ill, depending on how this turned out.

He was unaware of all this though, his mind only focused on helping whoever had screamed as he raced into the alley. Before he had taken more than a few steps into the dividing corridor however, he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes wide in shock and surprise, he was not prepared for the sight that now greeted him.

When he first heard the fighting, he had believed that it was a pair of elves who were duking it out. Instead of elves, what he found were creatures that unlike anything that he had ever seen in his life. There were two of them, one chasing and one evading.

The one that gave chase was the larger of the two and it was this one that the terrifying voice emanated from. Very fitting in his eyes once he got a better look at the creature or at least tried to. It was hard to make out just what the larger creature looked like since it was blacker than the shadows the lined the alley walls and moved faster than he was capable of keeping up with.

A speed that was not matched by the second creature, as it was having a hard time keeping ahead of the swipes that were constantly aimed towards it. Its difficulty came from both its small size, which made it even shorter than he was and that was saying something, and the injury that had been done to the back leg that was handing almost uselessly to its body.

But it was size and injury that drew his attention to the smaller creature. That honor fell to the color of the creature, which was the most vibrant silver that he had ever seen in his life. It covered every inch of its body except for the front paws. Those were a duller gray that were stark contrast to both the silver and the dots of deep blue-green that were obviously its eyes.

Neither one of the creatures noticed him. They were too intent on fighting and evading one another to care about the presence of another. They also continued to throw insults and threats at one another, which, now that he was closer, he could understand.

"I tire of this, dreamer," the shadow snarled," You're wasting time for the both of us by resisting like this. So quit your stalling and submit to your fate. You can't run any longer, not with that leg."

Obviously in pain, the silver one managed to hiss back," Not on your life. I know the second I trust anything that you say and I'm as good as dead. Better to keep fighting until I can't move than give into your threats."

"Bold words but ones I advise you to choose more carefully, dreamer. You may end up regretting what could be your last words," the shadow warned.

"You won't kill me. You try and you lose any chance you have of getting help from the Baron," the silver one sneered weakly.

His ears perked immediately after hearing that. There was only one Baron around Haven City and that was Praxis. And when he was involved, there was bound to be trouble somewhere around the corner. Usually along the lines of harmful and life threatening for anyone who crossed the path of him or his Krimzon Guard.

One of those who had been greatly affected was his best friend, Jak. The two years that he had spent out on the streets had been the same two years that Jak had spent as the Baron's prisoner and lab rat. Those years had been pure torture for the elf who upon gaining his freedom, had sworn revenge against his former captor.

That much he knew and understood, seeing as how he was taken along on Jak's quest for revenge. What he didn't understand was how this shadow monster was connected to Baron Praxis. The last that he had heard, the Baron only made deals with the Metal Heads so that he could be kept in power.

Whatever the connection might be, the words said did not please the shadow creature. It only snarled and tried to take another swipe at its prey. More by chance than by skill, the silver creature just managed to dodge the blow. It ducked down and slid off to the right of where it had been.

From where he was, he could see that the movement brought great pain to the silver one because after that, it was unable to stand any longer. It collapsed where it had landed and this time, thought it tried to rise, stayed down. But even this could not stop the angry defiance that was shining in its as eyes as it stared up at the approaching shadow creature.

"You are mine now, dreamer," the shadow beast sneered," You can't run anymore."

As a final act of desperate retaliation, the silver creature spoke again. This time, however, its words were not in any language that he could understand. Instead, it was a few words that came out as a cross between a growl and a sharp click. But whatever was said, it certainly angered the shadow creature more than anything else before had.

Raising its paw for what could easily become a death blow, the shadow beast snarled," Worthless dreamer. Don't say that I didn't warn you."

There was no mistaking the rising anger in that voice now. It resonated within every word that the shadow beast spoke. It was that anger that made him realize what might happen if the shadow let it get the better of him when he struck the silver creature. And that was what scared him the most for some reason since the very thought of it happening made his blood run cold.

Time was lost for him after that. One instant, he was standing at the end of an alley staring at two alien creatures fighting one another. The next, he was on the shadow's back, tearing and clawing at it as if his life depended upon it. And, sadly, in the end, that was how fate would have it.

As soon as he launched his attack, the shadow beast forgot all about killing its original prey and turned its attention to him instead. Just as he was biting and clawing at its back, it started trying to knock him away with its dagger-like claws. Because of his agility and small size, most of the blows aimed for him missed entirely.

That didn't mean that he could dodge forever. There was still the slim chance that the larger could knock him away if the timing was just right. A fact which eventually came to pass as he tried to move to one side and instead connected with the very claws that he had been seeking to avoid.

When the blow connected, he was sent flying into one of the stone walls of the buildings that lined the alleyway. This caused a wave of dizziness to spread over him as the two met. But that was nothing compared to what he was feeling in his back where the shadow creature's claws had connected with his back.

He had never experienced pain like this before. Not even falling into the Dark Eco had been this bad. Then, it had only felt like he was being stretched and stung all over his body. That had been uncomfortable but it had only lasted a few seconds before he was thrown back out again.

This time though, the pain was beyond mere discomfort. It was downright unbearable and getting worse by the second. Every part of his body felt like it was on fire while being ripped from the inside out and back again. It was all enough that before long, he gave up fighting against the pain and just gave into it.

But giving into the pain also meant that he fell into a deep darkness that felt so threatening that he nearly started fighting to remain awake again. By then however, it was too late. Now that he had already given up once, the darkness had a firm claim on him and was moving in even more quickly.

Before the darkness took him however, two things happened. One was that there was never a second blow to follow the first. Instead, there were cries of outrage and what could only be another fight had followed after that. Then, after a long, screeching snarl came and a large pulse of light, there was silence.

The second thing happened just as he fell unconscious. The last thing that he saw before the darkness claimed him was a pair of blue-green jewels staring down at him. At least, he thought that they were jewels. With the distinct facets that were cut so sharply into the frame that was all that they could be.

But jewels didn't blink at someone or looked at them with a sense of calm and worry that shined deep from within the core. Jewels didn't shed tears for the pain of another. That was something that only eyes could do.

These weren't just eyes though, even if they did shine with worry and had tears in them. Nor were they just jewels, no matter how much they might look like them. These were both, these were jewel eyes. Jewel eyes that somehow promised him that everything would be all right and that he would be taken care of.