I haven't written for Jak&Dax for a while. In fact I haven't written anything in a while. So I'm sorry if this is a little rough around the edges.

This is my latest set of oneshots (as they seem to be all I can write these days). Decided to base them on a random music album. I chose 'Rebel, Sweetheart' by the Wallflowers, so each of the titles of these drabbles will be song titles from that album. There'll be 7 in all, so I hope you enjoy them..



Days of Wonder

Jak slammed his empty mug back down onto the grimy table and stood up. Daxter looked up from where he'd been picking at a mysterious stain on his trousers.

"We're off?" he asked before glancing folornly at his own half-finished drink. "But what about.."

"It's getting light, Dax. I need sleep if we're gonna take up that challenge later." Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder and pulled a face.

"Well I guess I don't wanna become an Ottsel pancake. Kleiver'll prob'ly feel like Ottsel sandwiches again." Jak grinned sardonically. Outside, the dawn light filtered through the grey clouds and onto the grey streets. Kras City only came alive at night, with the neon signs and shouting of fights and growling of cars with glaring headlights. Jak paused on the street. There was only an empty space where his car had been. Ah well. It had been stolen in the first place.

"What comes around goes around," he muttered.

"Argh, now we gotta walk. I hate this city," Dax smacked a paw on Jak's shoulder pad. It wasn't like he would walk anywhere anyway, riding on his friend's shoulder, but there was still the principle of it all. Jak rolled his eyes. His patience was wearing thin and it wasn't even mid-morning.

"Fine then. You stay here. Finish your drink. I'll come back for you when I find another vehicle," he said. The ottsel grinned and hopped back into the bar as Jak trudged off down the street irritably.

Jak didn't hurry in his search. He didn't even try very hard. Decent race cars were almost impossible to come by around the city until evening. So the man sat perched on a traffic sign that spanned across above the road, staring at nothing in particular. How long had it been since he came to Kras? Not long. How long since he had beocme a wastelander? A bit longer. How long since he had come to Haven City? A long time. Everything seemed to meld together into one big metal, sandy, harsh mass of time.

But when had it been? When? A few years. Maybe today was the anniversery of his rebirth. Even if it wasn't, when was his birthday? Jak couldn't remember and it probably didn't matter now. Might as well pick one. Might as well pick today. Today was the anniversery of the start of Jak's battle against himself and that was that. Time was bendable anyway; his presence in the future evidence of that. So today was the anniversery of his was against himself.

Happy Birthday then

The darkness laughed. It wasn't as loud as before.

Why are you being so defensive? I'm only wishing...us..a happy birthday.

Keep quiet. You're a bother.

"You're both a bother."

A few years of being dark before the light began to pierce that darkness. And yet even with light, there would always been shadows. Always. Perhaps one day it would be the death of him. Flying so high on spidery white wings, only to be torn down by sharp purple claws that screeched a demand for violence. All very metaphorical and not something Jak wanted to bother with, destiny or not.

That's right. Ignore us and we'll go away.

The darkness continued to laugh quietly to itself and the light said nothing. At least that was one thing to be thankful for. Conscience be damned. Jak leapt down from the sign and off again along the streets. A car needed to be found and a race needed to be won and an ottsel would need to be saved from whatever mess he had no doubt got himself into again. This was no time to be worrying about gods and spirits.