This is the first chapter of my first story. I hope you enjoy it. Chapter two is coming soon, even though I just posted this one.
I do not own Jak and Daxter, they belong to Naughty Dog. I do however own Karn.(Though I'm not sure that's something to be proud of.)
It was bright out, just like every day in the wasteland; Jak shielded his eyes as he looked skyward. It was a habit he was trying to get rid of, every day he'd scan the skies for any sign of the Daystar. After he'd worked so hard to rid the sky of it he wasn't about to let it reappear. Jak heard footsteps behind him; he lowered his hand and looked over his shoulder, expecting to see Karn, the wasteland boy who always hung around him. It wasn't Karn. Sig, successor to Damas, was there. He flashed Jak a quick smile, which Jak didn't return. Jak sighed and gazed skyward once more, his blue eyes longing.
Sig laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Don't worry chili pepper," he said. "That bad boy's never coming back."
"Not while I'm alive, anyway." Jak replied as he turned to face the wasteland king. "It was bad enough before he died, constantly feeling like I'd tear in two at any minute. Now, I don't know, I feel lost." Jak paused. "Did you want to talk to me about something?"
"Well cherry, it seems the people out here don't like the way I'm ruling. They know that I know who the son of Damas is,"
"No." Jak interrupted. "I told you before Sig, I'm not taking the throne. I've finally got Ashelin to accept my decision, why won't you?"
"Oh, Jak, speaking of Ashelin, she contacted me." Sig said evading Jak's question.
"Ashelin contacted you? Why?" Jak asked, but before Sig could reply, Karn showed up.
"Hey Jak," the boy said excitedly before turning to address Sig. "Your Highness."
"Can the formalities kid. Jak, why don't you go down to Haven and talk to Ashelin yourself. It's not urgent, but you haven't seen her for a while." Then Sig turned and left.
Karn stood gazing hopefully at Jak; he was nine years younger than Jak at the age of ten. "Karn, forget it, you're not coming. I'm going to Haven; you're staying here in Spargus. Get it?"
"Aw, c'mon Jak please? I want to come." The boy begged. "I won't get in your way, I promise. I just want to see Haven City, just once, I won't ask again."
Jak grinned inwardly, knowing that Karn would never keep that promise, but there was something preventing him from saying no. Jak suddenly worried he was getting soft, but how could you say no that boy? Jak began to reason with himself, Karn was just ten, there was the aftermath of the war to deal with, and wastlelanders were not treated with the best manners. This helped Jak say what he needed to. "No." and with that he turned away, so he wouldn't have to see the tears filling the boy's eyes, wouldn't have to watch as that one word tore Karn's heart in half. "Maybe another time." Jak was unaware that he'd spoken that sentence aloud, until he felt the boy's arms wrap around his waist. Unused to the contact Jak tensed, unconsciously shying from the boy's touch.
Karn followed Jak all the way to the transport, spouting how great Jak was for promising to take him to Haven City. As Jak stepped into the vehicle, Karn asked one final time. "Are you sure I can't come?"
Only Jak's sigh revealed the turmoil within him. "If it really means that much to you, fine, come." He felt anger well up inside him, but at what he didn't know. At allowing the boy to come? At himself, for caving? At the boy? Or was it because he was allowing himself to get close to the brat? Suddenly Jak heard in his mind all the terms he'd heard describing him, to be more specific, his dark alter form. Erol taunting him that day in Keira's garage: 'Well if it isn't the eco freak.' Veger, during Jak's banishment: 'This dark eco freak is dangerous.' Even the once used label Damas had said, that day in the arena: 'Something you're not telling us, animal man?' Jak realized why he was angry, he'd had his defenses down for a moment and Karn had slipped in, too many people had died because of him, because of what he was. He wasn't protecting himself from Karn; he was protecting Karn from himself!
It was too late to tell Karn otherwise, the transport had taken off. Jak put his head in his hands and sighed, his mind kept replaying Damas' death.
Jak slowly rose to his feet; the rubble was all around him. He walked slowly to the other side of the Slam Dozer, one hand resting on the upturned vehicle for support; Daxter followed, and Jak spied Damas lying with his legs trapped beneath it. "Damas!" Jak cried, running to the man's side, he knelt next to him, supporting the king's back.
"Not bad driving…kid. It was a good fight… and a good day to die. I'm very proud to have been by your side in the end… This world is not yet out of heroes…" Damas had spoken weakly, worrying Jak.
"We did well together." Jak had agreed. "Don't move I'll…" he had begun, pulling away from Damas, but the king grabbed Jak's hand. Jak stopped, there hadn't been anything he could do anyway, he moved back to his original position.
"Please promise me one thing. Promise me you'll find my son, Mar. You'll know him when you see this…" Damas had a small red item in his hand, he showed it to Jak. "He's wearing an amulet just like it. A symbol of our lineage with the great house of Mar… Save the people, Jak. They need you…" those were the last words of Damas, King of Spargus.
Jak still knelt supporting Damas, he looked down at the amulet, thinking of the kid he'd saved from Kor, how that had been himself, and that the boy had given him the amulet he'd been wearing. He shifted his gaze to the face of the now dead king, and uttered a single word. "Father…"
"Yes, you were that child." Jak looked up to see Veger standing there, he hadn't heard the other man approach. How could Veger speak in such a maddeningly clam tone at a time like this? "I took you from Damas, hoping to harness your eco powers for my experiments. Then I lost you to the Underground. You seem upset. Did I tell you too late? You were the son of the great warrior Damas. Oh… and he never knew… how delightful."
"Aaaagghh! VEGER!" Jak cried, changing to his dark form for a moment.
Veger looked calmly at Jak, "Thank you for opening the door to the Precursors. Don't worry I'll be back to put you out of your misery." He hissed.
Jak shot to his feet, unsure what else to do, Daxter leapt to Jak's left shoulder shouting. "After him, Jak!"
Jak glanced at his friend, surprised etched into his face. "You're willing to go down there? Without a fuss this time?" Jak asked, his mind now focusing on the task at hand.
Daxter sighed. "Yeah, well don't get used to it. It's just that nobody hurts my best friend and lives to brag about it. Let's get him!"
Jak nodded and ran to the other vehicle, jumping in, no time to grieve for his fallen father, the world needed him.
Jak felt old emotions well up inside him, he nearly began to cry, he hadn't slept well for over a year, that one memory haunted his mind, causing him nightmares. Karn was constantly following him around, and he couldn't let go of Damas.
"Jak?" Karn asked tentatively. "Are you alright? The colour's left your skin."
Jak jolted out of his reverie, and raised his head. "What?" he asked.
"Your skin, it has no more colour to it." Karn repeated. "You just went really pale."
Jak looked at his hands, as though checking his colourless skin, when in reality he was looking for the long black claws which were a part of his transformation to Dark Jak. Strange that he was showing no sign of them, and yet his skin had drained of any tone. A belated thought entered his mind, if he was changing, then there should've been the barest undertone of light purple, but there wasn't. This was indeed strange. A sudden wave of dizziness hit him, and the inside of the transport spun. 'What's happening to me?' Jak wondered.
"Jak? You haven't answered, are you okay?" Karn asked again, his voice now with a hint of urgency to it.
If only he could focus, why wouldn't his mind stop spinning? At least he could see normally again, Jak could easily make out the anxious look on Karn's face. "I don't know." he replied truthfully. Jak leaned back against the transport's wall and shut his eyes, if only he could channel some light eco, he might be al to keep alert, but then Karn would know about his powers, Jak couldn't have that. He opened one eye. "Pardon? I wasn't paying attention Karn you'll have to repeat that." Jak told the boy.
Karn looked up in surprise. "I didn't say anything." He replied. "I thought you had a headache and didn't want me to talk. My mom always tells me NEVER to make you mad."
"No, Karn I don't have I headache, I'm just tired, I guess." Jak said, opening his other eye. "Your mother's right, you don't want to anger those who could easily beat you."
"No, she always singles you out." Karn told Jak. There was an awkward silence, only the gentle rumble of the airship's engine was heard. "Why do people warn against making you mad?"
"Karn that's a good question and it deserves a good non-evasive answer, but few things in life get what they deserve." Jak replied, throwing Karn off.
Karn looked at Jak quizzically. "Jak that didn't answer my question,"
The man smiled. "That's the point." He said as the transport began to slow. "We're there." The back door of the airship opened out forming a ramp, and Jak quickly strode down. Karn followed more tentatively, and inhaled sharply when he hit the air, he shivered a few times, and Jak looked at him with a knowing expression. 'It's cold for someone raised in the wasteland to come here.' Jak thought.
Karn looked around in wonder, they were at the port in Haven, and the boy couldn't believe how much water there was, it scared. He ran to catch up to Jak, this place was strange, the people didn't carry guns, excepting the uniformed men in blue, and instead of soft sand, hard concrete was underfoot. He grabbed Jak's arm, and the man jumped and pulled his arm away, before seeing what had seized him.
"Sorry, I'm not used to getting grabbed, haven always has me tense, the war didn't help." Jak told Karn. "You don't like it here, do you?"
Karn shook his head and edged even closer to Jak, pressing up against the warrior's side. His eyes never stopped scanning the have people. Jak lead him to a place not too far from the airship transport, the fluorescent sign was written in precurian script, The Naughty Ottsel.
'Daxter's bar,' Jak thought to himself as they entered. 'Boy it's dead in here.' Now that there weren't people around Karn left his spot against Jak. He jumped when Jak called. "Dax?" Jak was starting to worry something had happened to his friend. "Daxter?" In response to this last call something orange shot from behind the bar counter, drawing a cry of surprise from Karn. It jumped to Jak's left shoulder.
"Jak! Hey buddy! How's it going? What's new? "The thing asked. Jak was grinning at the creature, an expression not often used on his face anymore; it made him look his age, instead of a few years older.
"Dax! Not much is new, it's going good." Jak's smile had begun to fade, hinting to Daxter that Jak was hiding something. "Where's Ashelin?"
Daxter was about to respond when he spied Karn. "Whoa! Jak who's the kid?" he paused. "Oh Mar! You're replacing me aren't you? What did I do Jak? I can change! Give me another chance!" he wailed.
"Dax, calm down for a freakin' second!" Jak said. "That's Karn. Karn this is my best friend Daxter." As Jak made the quick introduction, Karn waved at Daxter shyly. "Now, where is Ashelin? And Dax, don't worry, you'll never get replaced, it's you or no sidekick at all."
"Oh right, Ashelin, she's at HQ, with Torn." The last two words Daxter spoke in a teasing voice and Jak flicked Daxter on the nose. "Ow, Hey! Jak, I hate to break it to you but I think that your little friend there is a few vocal chords short of a voice box, he's not mute, is he?"
"No I'm not." Karn said, glaring at Daxter, he looked pleadingly at Jak. "I don't like it here; I want to go back to the wasteland."
"Karn, we need to go to another place, I'll find out what Ashelin wants and we'll go." Jak paused. "You coming Dax?"
"Does Sig have a Peacemaker? You bet I'm coming!" then the ottsel added as an afterthought, "We're not walking are we?"
Jak pulled a face, "Nah, we'll just borrow some good civilian's zoomer. Come on Karn."
As they left the bar Daxter shouted back "Tess, mind the bar!"
An answering call came back to the three who were leaving. "I know, it's just swamped in here." A high feminine voice replied, and Jak repressed the urge to laugh as they passed the empty tables.
Karn remained uncharacteristically silent, the whole trip to Freedom Headquarters, but Jak managed not to notice. Between listening to Daxter, and focusing on where they were going, Karn's silence went without comment.
What did you think? Was it terrible? Good? Unworthy of the trash can? Go on tell me what you thought, I can take it. All reviews are welcomed.