Jak and Crash
ACT 1: Beginning
Chapter 1: The Beginning or….When Jak met Coco
A young man on the beach, waiting.
How can you forget? I waited…I waited for you! I've spent so long, wondering about you. I didn't care what others thought, how hopeless it was, I just waited…
I spent five years waiting for you. I stood at the exact same spot at that beach where we first met…because I knew you'd be there. You promised to remember…
Can you remember?
Images blur pass. Like moving screenshots taken from your very memory and placed in empty black backgrounds, surrounding you. It's like your life is on TV. Pictures of things to come and things to accomplish. Lives changed that day on Purity Day when he turned 19. When the star turned violet and grew closer. This is a story where it all began with origin…A shadowy figure, furry, a smile in his face, hard to see…
A story of fourteen people. What they've been through, luck was on their side…A story of them…
What do give a man who has lost everything but hope?
How can you grow up from a boy to man when you don't have, but need confidence?
Do you truly need attention that the only way is through pride?
Fighting is one thing, but revealing your true strength, isn't that truly what it means to be hold courage?
Why do you deny, why do you lie to yourself, why can't you be sincere?
Through the best and worst time, might I offer you my friendship?
You took her in; there is nothing more she can do, except perhaps remain loyal?
No matter what or who you work for, in the end, do you not fight for your honor?
Can you truly be too realistic to claim resentment?
Why must you always hide secrets?
Despite all you've been through, can you always stay optimistic?
When you hear and see things you feel connected to, does that mean it's your fate?
When you've lost all you hold dear, when you sealed off your heart, can you still love?
There will always be dark underneath the light, shouldn't you try and keep balance?
…In ends with origin…
"Images blur pass. Too many to make out, so much one can see. What does this mean? Why do I feel like I'm floating in water?"
An airship, painted black with the words, "Nicodemus II" written on. It flies pass space, coming near to a planet where the green sun shined.
"So much that'll happen; I forgot how much we'll grow up…"
As the airship gets closer to the planet, a lone creature, seemingly looking a mixture of both machine and flesh started to attack the ship. It had tentacles on for limbs and a round-ish body, giving it a slight octopus feel. The small creature alone was much too tiny for the giant airship, but led an assault anyways. The airship retaliated back with a few blasts, and the dark creature flew pass before more damage could be done.
"…And it all started…"
With Origin…
………………
With a startled gasp, a young man woke up. Immediately he lifted up his upper body and took in large gulps of air. He sat in that position on his elegant draped bed, calming his heart down, and then proceeded to remove the sheets covering his legs. Out of bed, the young man, dressed in light blue pajamas headed for the double glass door that led way to the balcony. It was a chilly wintry night, but that was of little concern for the young man at the moment. Instead, the man with the long, flowing hair stared at the night sky where millions of stars graced it, the endless sky; currently a mix of indigo and green from the green star, but that wasn't what the young man was eyeing. Instead, he eyed a tiny twinkling violet star.
Haven Forest
Month 15: Precurso, Day 13 (Winter Time)
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Late Night/Early Morning
The black airship landed deep in the heart of Haven Forest where snow had taken over the greenery. Once settled in, the airship's door opened to reveal a short man. With strange yellow skin, a massive "N" tattooed on his equally massive head, black goatee and pointy side hair with his top being bald except for a small tuft, the man had a unique appearance. He wore a tan shirt that seemed too big for him as the end of it reached all the way to his knees. His legs were covered in tight black leather and he worn green boots that also seemed a bit large for him, yet fit him snuggly. He wore matching black leather gloves with bits of green on it and to top it all off, he had on a labcoat which wasn't enough to shelter him from the cold.
"Oh, goodness, it's cold!" He cried out. Two more people came out.
"Oh, geez! It's freakin' winter down here!" The one who said it was another short man, this time about a foot smaller then the yellow skinned man. The shorter one had normal human skin, but that covered only half his face. The other half was covered in metal and lodged halfway on the top of his head was a smoking missile. He was some sort of pseudo cyborg man. He, too had on a lab coat, but zippered and oversize black and red gloves sticking out. He too had tight black leather with boots, red for him. To top it all off, his front teeth stuck out.
"Uhhh, Cortex, maybe we should come back in about—I don't know—3-4 months when the weather is a lot warmer!" The shorter man spoke, his voice raising.
"Why are you speaking in that accused tone, N. Gin!" The man named Cortex cried out, "I didn't know it was gonna be winter time when we arrived! I don't know anything about this planet, none of us do! Hell, in their world, this might not even be snow!"
The two went back inside where three others were waiting for them.
"Well? N-n-n-n-n-n-n-now what?" came yet another short man. This one was taller then N. Gin or Cortex, yet still short for an average human. He was completely bald with an unshaven chin and one lower tooth sticking out of his mouth. He donned a lab coat like the other two and had on blue boots. As you can see, he had a stuttering problem, something he didn't mind as the years passed, but preferred not to be talked about often. Next to him were two anthro bandicoots, both female. One donned a blue and green tight leather tank top that covered her entire torso sans her arms. She had on tough leather brown gloves made for protection when punching, and knee length green cargo pants with matching brown boots. She had brunette hair (which was actually due to dying, prior to that, she was a blonde), and beautiful blue eyes. Her face always wore a grin. She looked exactly like a tomboy with stunning beauty rowed into one.
"We explore, what do ya expect, mate?" came the tough looking girl, who spoke with a heavy Australian accent.
"It's not that simple, Tawna, we know nothing of this world." Cortex retaliated, "We need to proceed with caution, not to mention its night time, and I think it's safe to say we should sleep first."
"What about the ship?" came the second bandicoot girl. She had on a red bandana that covered the top of her blonde hair, envious green eyes, and a frown on her face, something she always seems to have on. She had on a green Chinese spaghetti strap top, a light blue short sleeved jean jacket, blue pants with light blue covering the upper area as well as two belts that criss-crossed each other, one holding a small leather bag of whatever she kept inside. To top if off, she had on pink shoes. Her colorful outfit was ironic to her disdain personality.
"Well, Coco, when that weird creature attacked, it only got the side of the ship, so it looks like this baby can still fly. Besides, it was just a little one. Practically harmless." N.Gin smiled, "But what the hell was that weird tentacle…octopus…thingie?"
"Maybe it was the planet's defense system." Cortex theorized, "Perhaps this planet is high on technological advances."
"Will that be a problem?" The one named Coco asked.
"If we're on the wrong side." Cortex answered, "That said, I saw a city nearby this forest as we were landing. I'll have Tropy check it out tomorrow before we leave. For now, we sleep. We got a long day tomorrow."
………………
"Okay, Coco and I will have a look." Cortex smiled, as morning came, "Tawna, I want you to keep a close eye on those two."
"Oh, Cortex, don't treat them like babies." Tawna rolled her eyes, then all three eyed N. Gin who was busy clipping his toenails. Brio was spinning in his chair.
"…I'll keep an eye on them." Tawna said lamely.
"Where's Tropy, shouldn't he be back by now?" Coco crossed her arms, "I hate waiting." Right on cue, from out of nowhere came a tall blue skinned man. With black hair and two strands of goatee coming from his chin, deep green eyes, and an armor that covered his entire body, he was a walking danger. He had the look of a Chinese man, but with a British accent. No one knows where he came from and who he truly is. As the years passed, nobody questioned him anymore, mostly assuming he'll reveal himself to the others in time. He usually carried a black time staff, but for a while, he hasn't had it with him. He had on a round Chinese hat and a talisman paper with ancient Chinese writing attached to the front, covering half his face. He looked like a futuristic Jiang-si, the hopping corspe, the so-called Chinese vampire. His face was always serious.
"You're late." Coco said, placing her hands on her waists.
"I don't remember sticking to a certain time limit." Tropy spoke, his face calm, yet piercing, "Either way, you could learn to deal with your patience." Coco turned away from him and eyed Cortex who Tropy did as well.
"The people look friendly enough." Tropy calmly spoke, "I don't think you'll have too much problems."
"Thank you, Tropy." Cortex smiled, "Well then, we best be off."
"Good luck, mates!" Tawna shouted, waving as the two left.
Both wore winter wears to warm them up from the snow and made their way towards the city where they reached the gateway in.
"Oh, before we go in, here." Cortex whipped out a small computerized piece.
"What is it?" Coco asked, taking it.
"Place it inside your ear." Cortex ordered, "It's so we can understand any alien language. I got this technology that time we were force to race Emperor Velo."
"I see." Coco nodded, her eyes half closed as if this wasn't news for her, "…But what if they coincidently speak English?"
"Please, those are just science fiction nonsense." Cortex rolled his eyes, chuckling a little, "Now march."
The two entered and immediately slid down. The entrance to the city from the forest had a slope platform and during the snow, it was a hazard course. Cortex slipped first with Coco landing on top of him when the two slid down.
"Sorry, mates." Came a young, lazy cowboy in a Scottish accent, "Them slop-y rail aim to be hard to climb during the wintry seasons. You best get them hiking boots or something, old mate and lass."
"Thank you for that wonderful piece of advice that so could have worked about a minute ago." Coco said, sarcastically of course. The two got up and brushed off the snow, about to head their way.
"What's wrong with your ear? Got some kind of small ear disorder?" The young cowboy asked. Cortex started to turn to face the cowboy.
"My ears are perfectly nor-" Cortex stopped and gasped. The cowboy looked exactly like a human, but his ears were…well, HUGE. Looking very much like an elf, except seemingly three times that size. Both Coco and Cortex turned around and saw more human-like beings with ears that size.
"Tropy never mentioned this part." Coco said.
"Wow, and an Anthro, we don't git many of yer kind over in the West part of Precursia." The cowboy laughed, "Yous be a ready purdy one."
"Anthro?" Coco repeated the word.
"Do you mind if I ask what yer name is?" The young cowboy asked, getting up to touch Coco. Cortex immediately stepped in and dragged her away.
"She's unavailable!" He cried, then dragged her away, "Come on, Coco, we got my son to find…" Then he whipped out a red collar where, attached to it was a glowing violet crystal.
"Lead the way…"
"Do you honestly think that thing will help?" Coco sighed, "I mean, even if it does, this city looks like it could hold thousands!"
"If things go our way, fate will show us the door…"
…………………
Haven City, New Haven District
Month 15: Precurso, Day 14
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Morning
In another part of the city, a young man dressed in light blue overcoat, wearing a red scarf that trailed off, goggles on his head, dark indigo boots, gray gloves, and matching light blue snow hat, was running. He had on a bright smile as he ran…ran to wherever the world would take him next…
He walks pass New Haven, where water flows next to solid ground.
He walks pass two people, one a thief, the other a man after his wallet. The young man drags a trash can, dumps it in front of the oncoming thief and runs past, the thief slipping on the metal waste disposal…
A kid's kitty is stuck up a tree. The young man climbs fast, grabs the furry creature, and returns it to the child.
Two men struggle to lift up a piano via rope. The young man dives in and pulls the rope with such adrenaline and continues his run…
He helps an old lady cross the street, he jump ropes over two girl's jump roping games.
He takes a bucket of water and puts out a small fire, then he runs some more…
He greets the morning sun, warming his back beneath the cold weather.
He stops a kid from getting run over by a car and returns him to his mother…
He whips out his hover board and skims across the water, each drop tainting his face.
He catches a falling object before it could crash.
The young man hitches a ride on a taxi zoomer. There, he relaxes, reading a book, stopping only to wander about the possibility of the future…
What will the future lead, he wonders…
He leaps out of the car, pays the driver, and runs some more. Always running…
A short man and a furry anthro girl walks. The young man runs past them and just as he was, everything seemed like it was in slow motion as the anthro girl with a surprised look and the young man, with a sly look, saw eye to eye for just a brief second…
He's always running…wherever he's visions take him…
Haven City, New Haven
Month 15: Precurso, Day 14
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon
"I swear the next person who thinks I have some sort of short eye syndrome is getting their ass kicked!" Cortex screamed.
"Oh, relax; at least they don't think you're an alien." Coco spoke; arms crossed, half way uncaring, "From the way the people react, they don't seem to realize aliens even exist."
"And yet their technology is so much better then the ones in our planet." Cortex smiled, amazed at Haven City, "This "Haven City" is truly a piece of work. Japan would be green with envy once they see this!"
"Haven City, that's all we know, we need more info on this place, or this planet for that matter." Coco crossed her arms, "And we need to know where to go to look for big bro."
"Maybe there's some sort of tourist booth nearby." Cortex suggested, "Like how do we get to where we need to in order to find my son. How about a sign!" He raised his arms up like he was praising his religious leader. Next to Cortex was a pointy cone shaped machine with a hologram surrounding its tips, forever circling it.
"Welcome to Haven City." The holographic cone shaped machine spoke, "If you wish to learn more about the culture of Haven City, please speak up. If you wish to learn more about the royal family, please speak up, if you wish to learn more about--"
"Uhh…we wish to learn more about Haven City, please." Cortex stuttered.
"Haven City was built over 300 years ago during the start of the Metal Head wars." The machine started, "It first served to protect the Precursor Stone—"
"Wait, what the heck are Metal Heads?" Coco asked. Immediately the machine replied.
"Metal Heads, invasive creatures from an unknown time. They get their names from the golden gems on their foreheads. There are unknown records of their first birth, but sources stated they've been around since the time of the Precursors. They—"
"What the—Precursors? What are they?" Cortex scratched the back of his head.
"Precursors, legendary beings who we regard as our creators. Many eons ago, the Precursors created our world of Precursia and—"
"Holy Crap!" Coco groaned, "We're gonna be here for a LONG time!"
"Well then, start listening, we need to absorb as much information as we possibly ca—" Cortex stopped talking as his eyes gazed upon the crowded people and noticed a glimmer of orange fur. Not Coco's, but someone walking past the crowd with apparently large, pointy ears. His back was turned and he quickly disappeared in the crowd, but it was enough to snap Cortex out of his current position and run towards the crowd.
"Cortex!" Coco gasped.
"It's him! IT'S HIM! IT HAS TO BE!" Cortex shouted, ignoring Coco's cry.
"Oh, for the love of Jason and Andy!" Coco mumbled. She got up and ran after Cortex, pushing pass the crowd as she ran and ran, shouting for Cortex's name. It's as if she ran forever and felt different as she passed each person she shoved. Minutes seemed like hours and she felt her voice drown out. She had absolutely no sense where she was going, she lost Cortex a long time ago, but she just kept on running, like something was pushing her. Before long, Coco gave a final push and stumbled down a steep rocky hill. She landed harshly onto the sand.
"UGH!" Coco cried out, spitting some of the sand out of her mouth before she wiped the rest of her face and eyes, "…What th-sand!" Coco observed her surroundings and was shocked to find herself at a beach. She turned around and notices the steep rocks that stood between the city and the beach, and also noticed the wooden staircase that led down to the beach.
Standing up, Coco dusted herself and observed her surroundings. The beach felt like any other beach she's been to (and considering she lived in a tropical place, she was used to it) except it was winter, so the weather wasn't warm. Ancient white pillars and ruins graced the area, each housing seagulls or birds that looked similar to it. There were animals Coco had never seen before.
"Of course, it's another planet, duh." Coco said to herself. As she walked around for a short bit, she stopped when she noticed someone sitting on one of the ruins. The man was young and wore a load of blue. He seemed to be thinking as he eyed the ocean waves.
"Maybe he knows the way out of here or something." Coco said to herself, "It's worth a shot." She made her way over to the young man and cleared her throat.
"Ummm…excuse me. Sir? Hello?" Coco waved her hand a bit and the young man slowly turned to face her. He had on a nice smile.
"You don't have to call me "sir." The young man still smiled, "I don't look that old, do I? Especially when compared to you."
"Yea, whatever." Coco shook her head, "Look, I just want to ask where I am and if you've seen a short man with yellow skin."
"You're in Sentinel Beach and I haven't seen a little man with yellow skin." The young man answered. He spoke with a clear, British accent. Of course, in this planet, it wouldn't be called "British", now would it?
"Oh." Coco drooped her head and sat on a small ruin stump.
"What's wrong?" The young man asked, "You look upset."
"Nothing you need to know." Coco muttered, "I'm just stressed out."
"Well, stressed out or not, it certainly doesn't hide your beauty." The young man said, smiling through his teeth. Coco was thrown back a bit, getting flirty comments from a boy she only met some 30 seconds ago.
"Are you flirting with me?" She gasped slightly.
"No, I was commenting on your beauty." The young man corrected, closing his eyes and raising one of his arm with a closed fist except for the index finger like a teacher, "If I was flirting, I think I'd be more romantic."
"Whatever." Coco moaned.
"Don't you ever smile…errr…"
"I'm not telling you who I am, I don't even know you!"
"Yes, but I DO know this city and it does look like you're lost." Upon hearing this, Coco perked her head up a bit.
"And I can help, more then likely." The young man slyly smiled. Coco couldn't believer her eyes. It's as if this man could read her mind as well as think of new ways to irritate her. The young man turned and faced Coco, still keeping that sly smile.
"Okay, you got my attention." Coco said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Good, now then, what do you need to know?" He asked.
"Well, aside from Cortex, we're looking for his son…my older brother." Coco started, "We managed to trace him here and Cortex (the short guy, by the way) apparently found him. I ran after him and ended up here with neither Cortex nor my brother."
"I see."
"Problem with our search is that my big bro is…well, suppose to be dead." Coco's voice grew faint, "Yet his collar glowed…well, the crystal on the collar. I'm not so sure what's really going on." The young man nodded and took all this in, pondering for a while before speaking.
"I got it!" He gasped, "Wait, that is a toughie. I don't know if I can help." He seemed to speak in a teasing manner, but it was enough for Coco to groan in frustration.
"OH, FANTASTIC!" She screamed, "Raise my hope up and say you got nothing to help me with! Listen, mister, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I swear I'm gonna kick your as-"
"Are you always this angry?" The young man stilled smile, raising one eyebrow, "You need to smile more."
"HEY! Screw you! I don't have time for this garbage! I gotta find Cortex (she walked passed the young man), find my apparently undead brother, then go home, and while on the way, why I don't get ambushed by MORE hostile tentacle alien thingies or something and--"
The young man just laughed heartily and grabbed Coco by the hand.
Coco stopped talking, silent and stunned. He came closer, his heart open and his mind free. He instantly started to twirl her around while singing a random song.
"What th—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She cried.
"Trying to make you smile, stupid." Jak laughed, "Now dance with me!"
Coco couldn't believe her eyes. What was this man doing? Flirting with her? Trying to win her heart? Did his parents drop him as a baby! Trying to be friend and make her smile? Either way, she got caught up on the twirls. Next thing she knew, the two were in a fantasy world of blue from the sky, which turned night. The moon sparkled and the stars shone as silver confetti rained down their hair. The two wore lovely garments suitably for a ball. A chorus sings as the young man twirled Coco and danced, his other hand holding onto a black umbrella to block the confettis. Was this real? A dream? A mere hallucination? It didn't matter at this point as she felt like she was in some sort of fantastic dream world where her pain eased and there were no sadness and tears. It's like she entered paradise, heaven, a utopia.
The young man held Coco firm on the waist as he finished dancing before the two apparently hit reality. There, Coco was filled with a sense of mixture of shock and pleasure. Here she was, a man she only met for a few lingering minutes and somehow, her waist was wrapped around by his arms as he gazed upon her almost in a loving manner. The brief moment of happiness wasn't meant to last, however.
"COCO! COCO!"
"What th-" Coco woke up from her trance to find Cortex yelling for her at the far end of the beach, "Cortex!" She immediately pushed herself away from the boy, fell down onto the beach, and quickly got up.
"Uhh…Did I miss something?" Cortex asked.
"NO! No, of course not!" Coco answered, giving a nervous laughter afterwards, "This guy was just…trying to help me with our current predicament."
"Hello." The young boy gave a short wave.
"Nice to meet you." Cortex quickly said before eyeing Coco, "I lost him…or at least I thought it was him. I'm sorry for wasting time chasing after my own possible hallucinations. It's sunset, we should be heading back home." The young man eyed the bright autumn colored sky and drooped his head a little.
"Yea…we should head home…" He mumbled to himself. He quickly then managed to snap out and eyed Coco, "So, Coco, is it? What a smashing cute name. And Cortex, interesting."
"It's actually Neo Cortex." Cortex said, "So, Coco said you can help us."
"I said he was trying because this guy is about as useless as a broken toaster that can only cook one side of the bread." Coco sighed.
"I never said I didn't know." The boy spoke, "You just naturally assumed." He gave off that charismatic grin that irritated Coco further.
"So you CAN help?" Cortex asked.
"Well, your problems are rather unique, I'd say." The boy started.
"Yes, I know, but I have it in my good mind that this isn't blasphemy." Cortex quickly came, "I feel strongly about this."
"Well, since you feel so strongly, I'd recommend asking the prince of Haven Kingdom." The young man then pointed to the highest point of the city, a tall structure that looked down upon the entire city in superiority, looking like a giant space needle, "The royal family lives in there and only the prince, a direct descendent of Haven's founder, Mar, can speak with the precursors. He might know something."
"You could have told me that like five minutes ago instead of trying to flirt with me!" Coco cried out.
"He was trying to flirt with you?" Cortex gasped, widening his eyes.
"I was not trying to flirt, I was trying to make her smile." The young man crossed his arms as he spoke, "She's a rather bloody gloomer, isn't she? Either way, it worked, I got her to smile."
"Really?" Cortex's eyes widened some more, "That IS a breakthrough. I must say, I am impressed with—"
"Can we cut the crap? The main question is how the hell we enter the palace." Coco interrupted, "We can't exactly march in on royal figures and demand an audience with the prince. It's liable to get our butts kicked."
"Just show up." The young man confidently said, "Just show up. The prince speaks with the Precursors. He could be expecting you for all I know. I recommend tomorrow night during the ball to celebrate the prince's 19th birthday."
"Well, a formal occasion." Cortex smiled, "This is most useful. Just show up, ey?"
"It sounds too easy." Coco pessimistically said, "WAY too easy. There's gotta be a catch. You're pulling our legs, aren't you, little boy blue!"
"Coco." Cortex said sternly, like a father ready to lecture her daughter. Then he pondered, "Hmmm…we're going to need formal wears."
"I didn't bring any, Cortex." Coco harshly spoke sarcastically, "Going on a quest usually involves hiking boots and fedoras, NOT ball gowns and tuxedos!"
"Young lady, cease that tone immediately!" Cortex shouted like a father. The young man just chuckled a little, and then pulled out a small handbag that was wrapped around his belt.
"Here." He handed the bag to Cortex, "Its currency. You can have it, I don't need it." Cortex gave a face of gratitude while Coco merely starred at the young man before exploding.
"Just who are you anyways?" Coco continued, ignoring him. The young man left a short sigh.
"My name is-"
BOOM!
The young man, Coco, and Cortex were thrown off the ground and hurtled towards another part of the beach as an impact so great crash landed. The three quickly dusted themselves off in time to eye a dark figure coming out of the sand. With a hard exterior body and tentacles, the creature made alien noises and finally managed to hover just a bit above the sand, tentacles extended.
"HOLY CRAP! IT'S THAT…THING!" Cortex pointed.
"It must've followed us!" Coco gasped.
"It's a lot bigger when you're not in the Nicodemus." Cortex squeaked.
"What on Precursia?" The young man gasped.
"What do you mean "What on Precursia?" Coco shouted, "You don't know what that thing is?"
"Of course not!" The young man shouted. Then the creature blasted a wave of dark beams. The three dodged in different directions.
"We were kinda hoping you did know." Cortex nervously smiled to the young man, "We'd figure it was your planetary defense system." Another wave and their moved again.
"Our planetary defense system!" The man almost laughed, "We don't have that kind of technology! This is far too advanced!"
"Are you NUTS?" Coco screamed, "Have you seen your city?"
"Forget it, we got no choice now!" Cortex then stood up and seemingly coming out of nowhere, managed to whip out a black gun that looked normal for an average sized man, but big for a man only 3 feet in height, "We fight!" And with that, he started the attack. Coco, taking Cortex's advice took her two twin daggers, a common item thieves would have, and quick as lightning, delivered her attacks. The young man came last where out of nowhere like Cortex, he managed to pull out a sword. The handle was wrapped in suave for unknown reasons. The young man struck as well. He managed to hit the creature, but his sword then flew of his hand and struck a nearby rock.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Coco shouted as she dodged the dark creature and struck back with such agility. The young man hastily tried to pull the sword out.
"HEY! I'M STILL LEARNING HOW TO USE THIS BLOODY THING!" The young man cried. He pulled his sword out from the rock with such force; it left his hand again and struck the creature, then landed on Coco's head.
"AHH!" She screamed. The young man took the sword again, made a quick apologize, and continued whacking it. By this time, Cortex's gun managed to pierce through the hard shell to open up a softer interior. It glowed magenta and looked squishy.
"Looks like the brain! AIM FOR IT!" Cortex screamed. The creature, getting note of this, started to frantically destroy the three, aimlessly trying to wrap them up and squeeze them. It's gotten to the point where Coco wasn't fast enough and Cortex's bullets were being ricocheted. The creature then whipped a tentacle out and sent Cortex's guns flying. It then grabbed Cortex by the leg, turning him upside down as the creature tried to hold it for ransom and fly off.
"CORTEX!" Coco screamed.
"SAVE YOURSELVES!" Cortex struggled, "Blood…rushing through my head…feels…drunk…dizzy…puke."
"CORTEX, HOLD ON!" Coco sprinted, but was knocked by the tentacles. The young man eyed all this. He was already struggling with his sword and was growing exceedingly more frustrated.
"Oh, forget it!" The young man dropped his sword, and then made a dash for the creature. It whipped out its tentacles again, but the boy was agile and in doing so, managed to bypass them and aimed for Cortex. He grabbed onto the short man as long as possible. The combine weight of both the young man and Cortex was too much for one tentacle hand, so the others came to wrap them up. The young man dodged it and started to run and jump in impossible angles, each tentacle following him. Coco watched all this in amazement. The boy was clumsy with his own weapon, but he certainly made up for it in terms of cleverness. She immediately saw what he was going to do and had done; wrap the tentacles into a giant knot of confusion.
"Alright!" She couldn't help but shouting. The young man immediately pulled Cortex out.
"Coco, my gun!" Cortex ordered. Automatically, she ran and gave him his pistol. With a well true aim, Cortex repeatedly shot the interior of the creature. It started to scream in mortal pain and tried it's might to fly. It couldn't fly in a fashioned order without its tentacle, so it desperately struggled to untie them. Coco and the young man came at this point where they used their respective weapon to slice through them. It was enough to damage it and free it at the same time. The creature brimmed in madness and with its remaining tentacles, wrapped up both the young man and Coco.
"COCO…err…OTHER GUY!" Cortex ran towards them, shooting, but he, too was wrapped. The creature spoke in its language, and then it eyed the young man. The creature gave an expression of shock. It spoke again and started to squeeze Coco and Cortex.
"CAN'T…BREATHE!" Coco gasped. The young man immediately noticed he was the only one not being choked to death, but why?
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" The young man cried, "WHATEVER YOU WANT, JUST PUT THEM DOWN!" The creature spoke again and squeezed the two further. Both faces were turning an embarrassing shade of red. The young man struggled in vain to escape or at least reach out and grab for his sword.
It seemed like there would be no hope at this point, but seemingly, out of the blue came a quick shadow that struck the creature. The impact was so devastating that it split the creature in half! The tentacles loosen and the three made their way out. Coco and Cortex on one side of the creature, the young man on another. The dark creature itself exploded. People nearby immediately stared down. A batch of soldiers dressed in red armor marched down. Krimzon Guards. They basically pushed back the people from entering the beach. Cortex immediately tried to help Coco up. As for the young man, he opened his eyes and saw the quick shadow starring at him. Upon closer inspection, the shadowy man was a familiar figure in his life.
"Your majesty, it is late. Your grandmother and cousin have been worried about you." He was an old man; whit hair tied back by a ponytail, looked at least in his 60's and wore a long black coat. He's name was Walter, a butler for the royal family. The young man sighed, a mixture of relief and disappointment.
"Yes, it is time to go home…isn't it?" The young man smiled, nodded, and got up, dusting sand of his behind. Walter immediately started to walk the boy home, but not before the young one quickly looked back and saw both Cortex and Coco alright. The young man smiled sincerely and happily followed Walter home.
"Well, that was quite something." Cortex smiled, while people gawked at him, commenting on his "short ears".
"Only been on this planet for a day and I already hate it." Coco mumbled, "I'm putting this on my list of "Vacations Don'ts." As Coco complained, Cortex observed his surroundings.
"Hey, that young man is gone." He gasped.
"Good riddance, the guy was an annoying twit." She dusted off her arms.
"Such a shame, he was a nice man. Anyone who made you smile is definitely worth it." Cortex smiled positively.
"Oh, shut up!" She cried, "Let's get out of here before the paparazzi gets to us." She started to walk away.
"We never even got to know his name." Cortex said.
To Be Continued…
...
Author's Note:
FINALLY! It's happened! IT'S HAPPENED! Jak and Crash is officially online in my DA (and The third and last in my Blue Curtain Trilogy (name inspired by Baz's Red Curtain Trilogy) has finally happened in the form of this fanfic. This is the sequel to both my Jak II Chronicles and Experiment Bandicoot, both of which you can find the in my profile and somewhere in this website. This is the endless blood, sweat, and tears of nearly 2-3 years of planning this damn story and FINALLY, it is up for viewing. Now, just a few things to note:
1.) As this IS a sequel to both "Jak II Chronicles" and "Experiment Bandicoot", this IS a crossover. A Jak/Crash based world. Normally, I don't do crossovers and generally, I never liked them since they're so poorly executed, but there are times when a story works regardless of how silly it sounds. I'm not so sure if I can accomplish it, but I hope to do my best. This story concludes the Blue Curtain Trilogy and answers the questions both set forth by Jak II Chronicles and Experiment Bandicoot. Also, in a way, this is also an adaptation of Jak 3. Might add some bit of Jak X somewhere down the road.
2.) Originally, version was to be a musical as well, but I've been getting a lot of feedback that doesn't allow music songfics, so for case, it would have to be regular ol' fanfic, so if there are people who doesn't like musicals, at least you can read it over there. Frankly, I think the musical version is the far superior one, but I gave great care on this one as well.
3.) In truth, it's not really necessary to read both Jak II Chronicles and Experiment Bandicoot as I'm gonna try my best to explain those past events through flashbacks (although in the case of Jak II Chronicles, most of the plot is familiar because it's an adaptation to Jak II...the video game, that is), but I think you'll have a MUCH greater understanding if you did read the previous ones, but again, it's up to you.
With that said, I'll also be adding notes of the fanfic in a behind-the-scene sorta way. Well, happy reading.
...
NOTES:
1.) Those words in bold describling the 14 (15 counting "Origin") are VERY important themes explored throughout the fanfic.
2.) Interesting to note is that Tawna was originally suppose to be a main character and while it does look that way in here, she isn't anymore and serves as a secondary character now. It was a hard decision, but I couldn't keep her when I had nothing going for her, even if she was Crash's former gal pal. The way I portrayed her, she has moved on with her life, so there really wasn't a problem or anything for her to deal with, she felt useless as a main character. Another thing to know was that I had debates on whether putting Nina Cortex along for the ride as well...
3.) The part where Jak dances with Coco is a blatant parody of Moulin Rouge! where Christian does the same to Satine. Yes, I aboslutely LOVE that movie. Oh, and incase you wanted to know, Jak ISN'T flirting with Coco in here, he is really trying to make her smile. Too early for flirts.
4.) The tentacled creature was in the video game, Jak 3.
5.) Anyone who has read Jak II Chronicles and have a good memory might remember Walter. I believe he only appeared in one chapter though, so heh. Also, the Nicodemus appeared in Experiment Bandicoot first. The Nicodemus IIhere is an upgraded airship.
6.) Anyone findthe small Naughty Dog reference?
