NOTE: We do not own any of Naughty Dog's characters, places, names, or anything else I fail to mention. Just the plot and its many holes. R&R!

Chapter 1:1

Compared to outside the corridor was dark, dank, and cold. The only warmth he was getting was from the two hands that were resting on his shoulders directing where he was supposed to go, and the two guns at his side to make sure he didn't try anything stupid. When he was first captured, it took his eyes nearly a minute to adjust to the dimness of the Fortress. Jak couldn't figure out what Marcus was trying to portray with his sparse way of living; everything was lit by torchlight, and as far as Jak knew, the only modern technology was far out of sight on one of the higher floors. Even the weapons that he was being held with were outdated. They still used metal bullets.

As Jak was being led down an ominous looking corridor by two huge, burly looking guards he thought about the last time he tried to do a stealth mission. If he remembered correctly, he didn't think it went this badly. Of course, the last time he had done a stealth mission his enemies didn't have seventy pounds and at least three inches on him, military training and the same scopes that help them track combat metal heads. He had no idea that he was only camouflaged when he used his light eco to become 'invisible'. The two guys on either side of him proved that he only blended into the background and did not completely disappear.

The Fortress was enormous. He once looked at a map that was stuffed in with the other blueprints and layouts of Haven City, and he counted eight floors excluding any floors below ground. There were some thousand-plus rooms and he remembered the square footage being a very large number. Therefore, as much as he tried to remember any grooves in the wall or a misplaced torch, it wouldn't help him much because the place was just so damn huge.

They turned a corner and Jak was pushed in front of two huge metal doors, standing close to five meters tall. Both guards let go their grip on his shoulders and went to open the door. This would be a great chance to escape, but where would go? He would either be caught or starve to death trying to find an exit.

A wave of heat washed over him from a huge grate fireplace on the other side of the relatively small room. Marcus was standing with his back facing Jak, dark red hair in a pony tail and almost invisible against the – was that a cape? – 'robe' he was wearing. Jak was shoved in and then brought forcefully to his knees. He gave one of the guards a dirty look and glanced around the room. There were honest-to-god tapestries hanging at close intervals on the walls, a guard below each, a tall throne and a table full of food but no chairs. It was a mingling room.

"Ah, Jak my friend. It's good to see you." He said without turning around, staring into the embers of the fire.

"We need to stop meeting like this." He said off hand, looking at the seemingly endless ceiling.

"Yes, every time I see you, you either seem to be in chains or with a gun to your head." Marcus turned around giving a million dollar smile that he probably practiced, and Jak realized he wasn't wearing a cape. Just an overcoat. Shucks. "How's life in the city?"

"Boring. Thought I'd wreak some havoc over here to stir things up a bit."

"Torn is not going to be pleased with you. And quite frankly, I am not pleased with you either."

"I'm just on everybody's happy list." He said dryly, wanting to get the false pretence of friendliness over with so he could get out of here. Marcus started to glide his way over to the table of fruit as he spoke.

"Sources tell me you are spending resources and income otherwise saved in the war reserve. I put good money in that reserve for my own protection but it is getting used behind my back for reasons unknown. Why?" Marcus was leaning on the table with his hands on either side of him, a very feminine pose.

"You might not realize it, but racing is a very expensive sport." The hard butt of a gun hit Jak in the back of the head after the sarcastic remark. Dots danced in front of his eyes and making it difficult to focus on something. Annoyed, he tried to redeem himself to keep his head attached to his shoulders. "How the hell should I know? Contact Torn and ask him. When something needs to be fixed, killed or blown up I'm your man. Numbers and I don't agree with each other." Marcus shook his head and gave a disappointed sigh.

"Lying is always followed by dire consequences, Jak."

"Is that a threat?"

"It certainly is. You threaten my way of life so I am simply defending it. Take him down to the third floor. I may be able to get something out of him by more persuasive means." Jak was lifted off the ground and was actually raised a few feet before they were off to floors below. They headed directly to their left and into an elevator. Only one guard came down with him. Jak's pulse sped up and his mind raced, thoughts wheeling past him before he could fully process them. The man was huge and had a distinct advantage over him in hand-to-hand combat, but with only one of the brutes with him, this was as good as it was going to get. If he was going to do anything, he needed to do it now, and quickly.

The door to the run down elevator closed and it was silent except for the low hum of the ancient, slow moving elevator. There was still a beefy hand on his shoulder. Jak looked at his feet and took a steadying breath. In one smooth movement, he feinted low and managed to place his hands on either side of the arm, wrapped the short chain around it and spun underneath it effectively breaking his arm and dislocating his shoulder at the same time. A scream erupted and Jak quickly silenced it with a swift kick to the stomach, knocking all air out, and then brought his fisted hands above the guards now lowered head and whammed them down with enough force to knock him unconscious. If there were any hidden camera's in there, they must have seen one hell of a show.

Quickly he bent down and patted him down looking for any weapon that might be present on his body. He found a small handgun, a couple of boomstick's that were probably made by one of Jynx's handy boys, and a deadly looking knife that was almost big enough to be a sword, and, most importantly, keys to the cuffs he was wearing. After some finesse, he managed to get them off before the elevator came to a jerking halt. He kept low to the ground and took as much cover as he could to the left until the elevator stopped and the real fun began.

There was a ping. The doors opened, there were two guards who didn't completely register that their comrade was unconscious on the ground and the captive was armed, so there was a moment of hesitation that Jak had before they drew their weapons and started shooting. He got one square in the chest so he was out, but only caught the other one in the arm. On the good, it forced him to drop his weapon but he still had enough gusto in him to come at Jak to rip him apart with his hands.

Without thinking of using his gun at point blank range, he went for the large knife that he stuck in his belt. He unsheathed it from his belt, and thrust the large blade through his stomach. Jak got a glimpse of his eyes before he fell to the ground. When Jak killed, he usually made a special effort to avoid dead eyes, but every now and then he would catch one and he started feel the remorse. Taking away life is not as easy as it sounds, and the key to not loosing sleep over it was to never look the enemy in the eye because then they become a human being with a soul…if you believe in that sort of thing.

To pull him out of his morbid thoughts were echoing footsteps in the distance. They were not running, however they were walking like whoever it was had a purpose. Whoever was coming must have heard the brief gunfire. He assumed the worst and thought guards were coming so he kicked the two large bodies into the cage that was the elevator, slammed the grate close and made his way in the opposite direction. Jak didn't get far however when shadows were being cast on the wall of more than a few guards making it towards him. Exit. Escape. I need a door.

Frantically and for reasons unknown he searched the ceiling and floor before he checked to the right and left. There were two doors to his left; he had to try both before he found one that was unlocked. He closed it quietly paused beside the door to hear anybody who might be passing, gun and knife at the ready in case anyone decided to burst through. He didn't hear anyone pass, but he didn't hear anything else either.

Jak looked around the room that he wound himself up in and saw he had landed in some sort of experimental room/prison hold that looked uncannily like what Praxis had set up for him years back. He blinked a couple times to get the burning image of the chair and the deadly machine that was used on him and started to look for an alternate route out. He jumped the flight of stairs, all three of them. Whee. The room was dimmer than the hallways through which he had been led. There was still a single torch on the far wall giving enough light in the small room to see some vague details. Cells were on either side of him, strapping chair dead center, silver tables with medical instruments that were the stuff of nightmares sitting on them. On the opposite wall, there were torture devices, some of which he wouldn't even guess at how to use. Unless he wanted to start feeling up the walls for a secret concrete block, there was no other way out.

Jak headed back to the door he came out of and heard movement to his right. Instantly he was in a defensive stance, handgun in his left, machete-like blade in his right. He was facing a cell, and he felt like there was something there just beyond his vision. Jak couldn't quite see the wall ahead of him. It could just be a rat or some other pest that you would find in an unkempt torture room, but maybe not. Slowly he sidestepped towards the cell ready for any supernatural creature to leap through the bars at him. Instead, he found to be what looked like a teenager cowering in a corner, her long, dirtied hair draping over panicky silver eyes.

At first, he was stunned. Finding a teenage girl in a cell was not what he was expecting. A Dark Maker, Krew coming back to life, or Praxis were all possibilities, but this obviously malnourished girl was not. He also debated what to do with her. Should he just walk away, claiming to see nothing? In the end, it would probably be the healthier choice. He shook his head at the thought knowing that his conscious would drive him mad if he left her in this hellish place. Quickly he took a few steps back so he could shoot the huge padlock that was holding her prisoner. She scooted back at the sound of the echoing gunshot and seemed to be trying to melt through the wall. He had no time for being a gentleman, someone was have bound to hear the shot.

Jak spotted her legs and hands being bound, so he holstered the gun in the small of his back and shifted grips on the blade he was carrying. Judging from her tattered and torn clothing, she had been here for no less than a couple of months, so the binds must have been there just as long. Circulation would have been cut off for a long period. Walking would be difficult, let alone running.

"Hold still!" He half yelled at her as she squirmed away from his touch. He put a hand on her flailing legs to steady them and shifted his grip on the knife to cut the binds. The blade was too large and the plastic ties were far too tight, but after a moment of tight manoeuvring, he managed to do it. The girl seemed to have realized that he wasn't there to cut her up into pieces, so she was still as he released her hands.

Swiftly he picked her up and threw her across his shoulder, surprised by how little weight she had. He only had one hand free now, so which weapon to choose? Jak made a hole in one of his pockets with the blade so he could use it as a temporary sheath. Guns had range. Range was good. He drew the gun and listened for any foreign noises outside the door. He heard nothing, but opened the door slowly as a precaution.

Jak doubled back the way he came and headed towards the elevator. If logic served him correctly he had been brought to one of the basement floors, and any exit he would hope to find would be on the ground floor. The bodies he had kicked in the elevator were still there, but there was room to stand and find the ground floor. He put the girl down, and put her in a corner where there was some minimal cover when he was sure she could stand by herself. Slowly the elevator moved upwards giving Jak a little bit of time to think about what to do. There was no doubt the main entrance would be heavily guarded, and there was no doubt that the ground floor was huge. He thought back to the blueprints that he had seen in the library, but couldn't remember anything of use.

Jak decided to stick with the first floor. At worst he would come upon a legion of Azure Guards, at best he would find a way out, main doors or otherwise. He would need to go slow now that he was in unfamiliar territory, with unknown terrors just beyond the bend. Jak took the girls hand and led her out of the elevator, keeping her directly behind him. Her slow pace would pace him and help him pay more attention to his surroundings.

Jak checked every door that they passed, the girl caught on quickly. She released herself from his grip unexpectedly and went to the opposite side to wiggle the door handles. The girl mimicked his smooth movements and when they came to an open space was careful to stay behind him at all times. Jak was extremely impressed. Not only could she walk, she could think at the same time. If he had an extra weapon, he almost would have trusted her not to shoot him in the back with it.

Jak did a low whistle to call the girl over to him. He had found an unlocked door. The girl got directly behind him, hugging the wall and keeping an eye behind them for any guards coming their way. Slowly he opened the door, and peered inside. The room was dark, but his sixth sense wasn't telling him there was some unknown horror in the darkness. Without taking his eyes off the room, he tapped the girl on the shoulder in signal for her to follow. They left the door open to let the minimal light in the corridor spill in so they wouldn't be tripping on their own feet.

The room was small, smaller than the room he taken the girl from. Storage was all it was, boxes were mounted up to the ceiling on both walls with a couple modified, but what appeared to be broken Blasters. Jak was tempted to see what was in the boxes but there wasn't enough light or enough time.

He walked in and as soon as the girl was beyond the dim beam of light from the corridor, she clutched onto Jak's tunic. At first it startled him because it was such a sudden movement, but then he realized she was either afraid of the dark, claustrophobic, or both. It was understandable, but could become a big problem. She managed not to freeze up or go into hysterics however, so the girl was redeemed for the flaw.

As he approached a door on the far wall, he heard voices on the other end. They were muffled and the only thing he could understand was the emotion coming through one of them. Pissed off, was what it was. The other was unbearably calm about the situation, which did not improve the other's temper. Without thinking of the possible consequences, he took cover just behind the door with the girl so he wouldn't be seen and slowly cracked open the door. The two voices, one whom he identified as Marcus', didn't hear the slight creak the door gave off and continued the argument, Jak now in a perfect position to hear.

"We don't know what he's doing here, how long he's been here and how much he knows. Kill him now before—"

"He knows nothing, you incompetent fool." Marcus was the calm on in the conversation, not surprisingly. Nothing seemed to bother the man. "If he knew something our hero would have made a remark about it; he's arrogant, as any star is. He would be trusting on Torn rescuing him, but he won't. Jak was sent here and Torn would destroy his cover by letting any hint of knowing of Jak's presence here. I just need to know why."

"It's because Torn knows that there's a spy in the system, he sent his one and only to sniff him out." Damn, his voice sounds so familiar…As Jak was processing the information he was hearing, he was trying to place Disembodied Voice Number 2.

"The Baroness and her pet have no idea, unless you let something slip?" There was a pause in the conversation.

"What the hell—" A guard appeared in the doorway blocking their light. Marcus' conversation cut off abruptly at the echo of a gunshot from Jak's weapon, and a body hitting the ground. Jak was up and out the door and halfway down the corridor with the girl over his shoulder in less than five seconds.

Jak ran blindly, not knowing where he was going and where he'd already been, but he was moving, and moving gave you the impression that you were doing something productive. "There he is! Sector three, ground floor all units—" Shit, shit, shit. Jak turned another corner and there was a small fleet of men coming down the hallway. Shot's were fired at him. Jak fired two of his own until the gun clicked empty, the most despairing sound he'd heard all day. On a whim, he threw the empty handgun over his shoulder and heard a satisfying thunk as it hit a human skull. He turned left and almost ran right into one of the bigger AG, but was stopped at the barrel of a gun. Both were stunned for a moment, and it gave Jak a chance to do something heroic. His knee came up high hitting the poor shmuck right in the groin. He doubled over, and dropped his weapon, but there was no time to pick it up.

Jak looked at his surroundings and had a vague feeling he had been here before. He had. The elevator he seemed to keep coming back to was directly ahead of him, a small legion of guard's right behind. He started to zigzag his running pattern to make him a harder target to hit as shots were fired directly by his head, one snagging his side. The girl was yelling some incomprehensible words at him and pounding on his back; the message was clear. Go faster, dammit!

Without any time to slow down Jak hit the opposite wall of the elevator, hard. He brought his foot up to the console of the many buttons and the doors started to close. He shoved the girl on the left wall until they closed so she didn't take one. Bullets were coming through the small opening and making a long rectangle of holes in the metal cage, and dents in the finally closed door, but the elevator wasn't moving. Frantically, he pressed a couple buttons. Nothing happened.

One of the shots must have hit the panel on the outside, effectively jamming the controls. Outside they were using someone as a battering ram, and they were going to get through. Jak looked for an escape and found one: the hatch at the roof of the elevator. The girl saw where he was looking and didn't need telling twice on what to do when Jak hoisted her up to get it open. There were two more bangs on the door as the girl climbed up with her minimal upper body strength, and there was now a visible gap in the thin sheet of metal between him and certain cruel and unusual punishment.

Jak was tall enough and the elevator short enough that he could jump up and grab the edges of the escape hatch. Thank god for all those push-ups. He was sure he tore some muscles in the process of getting there, but he was up and he had a plan. Jak grabbed the girl and pulled her close, telling her to hang on to him. He grabbed on of the boomstick's that he had been hanging on too. They were like a cross between a flare and a grenade; as soon as you whacked it against your leg, it was active and you had six seconds to get your ass a safe distance away. As soon as the door opened and two of the men's heads were visible, he dropped the grenade in, grabbed onto the tension wires that were holding the elevator up, and closed the hatch. Quickly he grabbed the large blade and wedged it in the little hole that the wires were looped through, and hoped to hell that this was going to work or they were both dead. "Hang on," He told the girl as he gave the hilt a good kick with his foot. It worked but not how he expected – instead of cutting the wire, it took away the whole fixture that was holding it on. He silently praised Marcus' lazy workers for never bothering to maintenance this particular elevator.

His already sore arms were really feeling it now as he hung on for dear life to the wire that was lifting him away to safety at a velocity that made his eyes water. He had no idea what would happen when he hit the top, now he was making it up as he went along. Below him, there was a loud explosion, and because of the narrow shaft, the flame from the explosion was rising faster than he anticipated. He would make it. He should make it.

As he approached the end of his rope, no pun intended, he made a hard fist to try to lessen the impact of the pulley that was waiting to slice up his hand. He hit and it Jak screamed in pain as nearly all his fingers broke and his wrist popped, forcing him to slide down a couple feet. Maybe it was adrenaline, or maybe it was because of the eco in his blood, but he hung on despite the pain and despite the fact that it probably destroyed a number of nerves in his hand. There was a door behind him, but the angry flame was rising fast. Jak started to kick the door, and it gave. He could do this. Jak took a swing backwards to give himself a little bit of momentum, and the door gave to almost being open after a couple more frantic kicks – but he wasn't going to make it.

Suddenly time seemed to slow down, and he had all the time in the world to make those final kicks and get them to safety. If he didn't know better, he would have said it was his light eco powers, but he knew that he had wasted all of his eco onto not being caught by Marcus in the first place. Maybe adrenaline acted as a stimulant, whatever it was it was working. One hard kick and one door came flying off. Jak swung into the opening and landed face first on the linoleum floor. All at once, time seemed to speed up again and the large explosion he had caused gulfed up the wire and the last remaining bit of oxygen before going back down into the pits from where it started. For a moment, Jak just lay there and listened to his speeding heart pound in his ears. For the first time in a long time, Jak realized how lucky he was, and how great it was to be the designated hero for this century.

A hand touched his back to jerk him out of his musings, the girl was probably wondering if he was still alive. "I'm okay." He said to the floor, which he now fully registered was not concrete. He sat up, and after getting used to the fact that he had probably bruised a rib or two on that magnificent dive, figured out that this was where Marcus probably housed his scientists, and kept all his high tech gadgets. With his uninjured hand and a slight groan, he got up and felt suddenly naked. He was now out of weapons and in his physical condition unable to defend himself. Now was the time to be extremely sneaky.

There was a different feel to this penthouse like floor. Jak suspected that there was actual heat running up here, or maybe it was just from the huge computer that Marcus had to defend his grand fortress. For now, it was empty and he wondered why. His body tensed as his senses went on high alert looking for any potential trap.

Jak entered an oval room with rows and rows of desks and what seemed to be the mother of all computers stationed in the middle for all to see. It was a giant black cylinder that reached to the tall roof with little white dots blinking at him all over, he assumed that meant it was working. Jak decided that there was no one here because of Jak's grand escape; they must have been evacuated as a precautionary. Jak took a couple cautious steps forward, his gut telling him there was something here he wasn't seeing. Doors were good, so he looked for one, and located what his heart desired. Above two large doors was a sign that said 'Experimental Flight'. He let out a breath of relief. Experimental flight, huh? Well, if he picked a flight vehicle that exploded halfway to home, at least he would have died outside of Marcus' walls.

Confident of his escape, he strutted forward with the girl trotting along behind him. Suddenly a holographic image of a small lynx-like creature appeared on a table near him. Its head twitched and it spoke a very human, mechanical voice. "Intruder. All units report to Sky Lab. Intruder." Lights and alarms started going off around him, the cat disappeared and he ran for the door, opening it with a hard hit of his shoulder. The girl was close behind and she closed the door behind him as he looked for an escape vehicle, throwing a large piece of metal in between the door handles to give them a little warning of when their time was up. In an enclosed space, the alarm was screeching and the urge to cover his ears with his hands was incredible. The girl didn't resist and had both hands tightly covering her long ears.

There were large JET-Boards, there were hovercrafts, there were modified Zoomer's that could probably drive underwater, but what really caught his interest was what looked to be a modified Hellcat, but sleeker and sexier. The frame was smaller which would provide more manoeuvrability and he had no doubt that the alloy was thicker, the speed and engine improved. Jak could have spent hours in here just examining the different mechanics of each vehicle, but restrained. He looked at the tag number that they were all labelled with, and found the corresponding ignition that was hanging on a nearby corkboard. He jumped in and motioned for the girl to follow. She hopped in the passenger seat and waited patiently while he tried to figure out how to start the damn thing.

There were several shots to the slightly more reinforced door, and the girl seemed to think that there were out of time. She snatched the ignition from Jak, and put it in a small hole on the side of his seat. She typed three symbols on the steering wheel that Jak had not noticed before, and they had lift juice. Of course, it was of standard transmission so driving was going to be difficult with his left hand out of commission, but not impossible. The vehicle hovered above ground and Jak used his one hand on the steering wheel, placing his thumb on the shiny red button that was conveniently placed for the automatic weapon on the original Hellcats. He pressed it once, and they both had to duck to dodge flying debris.

He had no idea what was packed into this baby, probably some mod of a Peacemaker nuke, but the wall was gone and so was half of the lab. "Whoa." He said, before coming to his senses and remembering that his executioner was just on the other side of the wall. Jak hit the gas and launched out of the newly created exit like a leaper lizard on speed. He let go of the wheel, changed gears, and the fortress was quickly becoming a toy house in the distance, the shots that were being fired in his general direction not even coming close to scathing the vehicle.

Despite the aching in his side from the graze of a bullet and his soreness of his ribs from the hard landing, not to mention the searing pain in his hand, Jak was all smiles. He made it out alive and he had a kick-ass vehicle that was faster than anything he had seen in air. He was over the ocean in half the time it takes on the local transports. Jak glanced at the refugee, who had either fallen asleep or passed out in the seat beside him. Jak was not looking forward to Torn's reaction when he found out the political mess this could cause. Instead of stressing over it he instead thought of the vehicle that he had just unwittingly stolen, and if the engine and the rest of its innards were compatible with his own Havoc.