CHAPTER 1

As Jak looked around, he found his fuzzy little pal gapping for air as he caught sight of the onslaught of lurkers heading their way. "J-J-JAK!" Jak's fuzzy ball yelled in his ear as it clung to his shoulder.

"Daxter," Jak answered inclining his head to the fuzzy ottsel so to see him completely, "It's going to be okay, Dax, I mean we beat the snot out of these when I was younger, now that I'm older lurkers are a piece of cake." Jak insured Daxter as he ran toward the lurkers.

"JAK! Your guns! You don't have them!!!" Daxter cried out shoving his fluffy head into his best friend's hair not to see what would happen.

Jak smirked, yea his hand-to-hand combat was a little rusty, but he was ready for a trip down memory lane. Fist flying, the lurkers weren't even close to the things that Jak had killed, fiscally and mentally. Jak easily enough evaded the attacks as lurkers' swang wildly. "Come on guys, give me a little more of a challenge." Jak chucked as he weaved through the front of the lurkers. Suddenly they stopped in their tracks. Fear was on their face and it immediately throws Jak through a loop.

A lurker came up to Jak with its hands up in an illustration of surrender. "We no fight." It answered in its best English.

Daxter looked at Jak with astonishment, "Jak…" Daxter's jaw went slack and flopped open.

"Yea, Dax…he talked…" Jak was surprised with this. "Lurker!" he addressed the purple monster, "How did you learn to talk?"

Looking among each other and talking in the grunts and snarl language the purple one came to speak again, "How you learn?" it's eyes bugged even bigger.

The panic in Daxter's eyes turned to awe, as the lurkers didn't continue on their onslaught, not that they could ever beat the orange lightening. "We learn—"

Daxter was cut off as the head lurker spoke again, "No not we, he, how he learn?"

Jak was speechless as he tried to think of what was going on…okay…we went back to the past, which is now the present, after the younger me has already gone to the future for a few years…things do seem different, but TALKING lurkers...? Well…Brutter did somehow get back in this time, I read about that in the news about the scalpers and muse issues…

By now, Daxter realized that Jak was kinda off in his own world so the 'amazing' orange lightening took command, "Some stuff happened to him, bluh-bluh-bluh, and now he can talk…some." Daxter made sure to emphasize the some, letting his jaw hang as the word slowly came out in a, 'he'll still kick your butt first, though' attitude.

"So…" Jak said trying to break the queerness. "Can all lurkers talk?" he asked rubbing his neck.

"No. Only me. And maybe others. No red, blue, they attack and fight, this lurkers don't attack less must."

"'Kay…well then…we will just be on our way…" Daxter said pulling on one of Jak's long pointy ears.

"Yeah…" Jak said his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Spinning on his heel, he walked out with Daxter perched on his left shoulder. After they got out of the hearing range of the talking lurkers, Daxter let out a sigh. "I can't believe they learned to talk…" Jak said scratching the back of his neck as he always did when he got nerves or uneasy, "I mean…Brutter could talk but he's in the future—"

"The far far far future." Daxter answered cutting Jak off. Jumping off Jak's shoulder and strutting beside him Daxter continued, "So what we going to do now big boy?"

"How about we go see if the others got here yet or if there just pussy footing about." Jak chuckled. He was looking forward to showing his friends around his home…well there home to but past home, before whatever had happened too it. I wonder if Torn and Ashelin are really thinking of being hitched…Jak thought to himself, letting his mind wonder for the first time in the last five years.

Looking at Jak, Daxter could tell his friend was thinking about something he wasn't completely sure about. "Thinking about those two?" Daxter asked pulling his pants up slightly.

"Yeah…" Jak answered half out of it.

"You know me and Tess are thinking about it too, getting married that is." Daxter said trying not to show how awkward he felt about saying anything like that.

"Really?" Jak answered looking over to his fuzzy friend with a small smirk.

His eyes are blue, light blue. It's a real smile! Daxter was happy his friend was cool with it, I mean since Keira left for that, in Daxter's term, 'Gay guy', Jak just hasn't been the same. "Yeah, thinking of having a little one here. Going to propose at Sandover beach when the sun is rising." Daxter said strutting even more, "Mean it ain't every day you meet an ottsel, right?" His smile reached from one furry cheek to the other.

Jak looked at his best friend, his eyes swelling with tears that he would never dare let out. Keira…I thought you loved me…his pain of her leaving came back to him and was replaced with anger. I gave you everything I fucking could! What the hell? You meet this guy for like two weeks and you go and fuck him? You knew me for, what, sixteen, eighteen years?! Doesn't fucking matter! Purple sparks came from his body as his dark side started taking over.

Daxter quickly noticed his friend's distress signal and rushed to his shoulder, "Jak?" Daxter looked at his friend with consuren, "You know, buddy, I'm here for you. You don't have to keep everything inside, the fights over you kicked ass. Well…" Daxter grinned trying to cheer Jak up, "I kicked ass."

Jak looked at him and couldn't help but laugh.

"That's better. Though I don't know why you're laughing, the orange lightening did save your hide."

"Than I guess you can take on that snake?" Jak chuckled pointing to a huge red snake slivering to attack. Daxter jolted into a frozen stance as he played died on his buddy's shoulder. Snuffling a laugh, Jak quickly tide the snake into a bow.

Daxter opened one eye, pulled back in his tongue, and hoped back up. "See told you, that snake was terrified of me." Daxter grin pulling on Jak's ear and swinging like a monkey.

Jak shuck his head at his friend's typical behavior. I wonder what will happen when Daxter gets married…I wouldn't want to take his time from Tess. "Daxter…" Jak asked caustionly, "What's going to happen when you and Tess get married."

"Well when a man and a woman love each other—"

"Not like that! Daxter, I'm here…what will happen to me when your all off having children?" Jak asked cutting Daxter off. "I mean, Keira and me…I always thought…" Jak wondered off in thought drifting through happy memories that only made him depressed.

"JAK!" Daxter yelled in his annoying little pitch pulling on Jak's ear. "Jak! Look over there!" Daxter continued, grabbing his friends ear and pulling his head in the direction of the "there."

Jak's eyes got bigger then Krew's stomach at a, all you can eat restaurant! "Wow…" Jak said his mouth hanging slightly agape as he stared at a girl he hadn't ever seen before.

Daxter, quickly realizing the girl had not seen them yet, pulled Jak to the side; aka behind a rock, and jumped off his shoulder. "This is not going to work." Daxter said rubbing his chin.

Jak's eyes refocused as he heard those word, "What?"

"You look like you just got done mud wrestling. Not a big babe turn on there, Jak." Daxter looked around and found what he needed for his crazy idea. "Okay, here goes nothing." Daxter ripped a piece of clothing from Jak's outfit that wouldn't be missed and drenched it in a small puddle a couple feet away. Jumping back on Jak's shoulder Daxter quickly washed up his friends face. Course Jak wasn't being mister sunshine with it.

"Daxter!" Jak growled from under the wet cloth the ottsel was pushing over his face.

Taking a small peek around the rock Daxter checked to see if the mysteries girl was still there. And thank the fuzzy precursors she was. "Okay, Jak…" Daxter said raking a paw through Jak's long tousled hair, "You look descent, and you even smell good, go say hi to that girl." Daxter's chest immediately went from the puffed up prod to the 'that sounded so much cooler in my head'.

However, Jak had already started to approach her. She had purple hair with white tips to them and her skin looked like snow. As he got closer, he worried less of impressing her and more of her being okay. Such a pale white…he thought to himself. Maybe there's a village in the snowy peaks now? "H-Hello?" Jak fumbled out the word, which was very unlike him. He took another step and the girl turned to see him.