"WAHHHHHHHOOOOOOOO" I screamed to the top of my lungs as I jumped the Dust Demon over a dune. I reveled the feeling of the sand ridden wind rushing through my hair. I landed with a jerk and spun out throwing sand up in every direction.
"Ev-elin" I barely heard the voice crack through the com on my wrist. "Evelyn answ…th..damn.."
I placed on hand on the wheel and placed the com up to my lips, "uh yea Ev here what's up Sig".
"Ev…where have you been…you better not be joyriding again"
I bulldozed a cactus and nearly flipped the car. "Uh no no what makes you think that I'm just running some errands for Damas".
"Jesus cherry Damas left for the monk temple three days ago and you're already wreaking havoc".
"Calm down big daddy I'm just taking a test drive".
"yeah you better watch out for them marauders they've been attacking us without warning now. Get back to the city".
I sighed heavily through the wind. "Gotcha Sig Ev out". I punched a button on my wrist and grumbled to myself. "Damn…always..ruins my fun".
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOOX
I skidded to a stop inside the main gate expected to see an angry Sig standing in front of his Gila Stomper with his signature 'you're in deep shit' look. He wasn't there though. Good for me.
I pulled the keys out of the ignition and hooked it onto a chain that dangled around my waist. Basically I owned most of the cars in this garage since I was the one who picked apart the desert looking for their parts. The Dust Demon was my favorite invention. It had both speed and durability with reinforced spiked wheels perfect for sand ripping! I took a long satisfied look at my baby and walked toward the inner gate that opened into the city.
Since it was midday the place was bursting with life. It was what you would see in Haven city except we were all armed to the teeth. Who wouldn't be in a hostile environment like this? The sun beat down overhead but I didn't mind I was used to it. A few kids dressed in armored leather ran by chasing a kangarat. I smiled. This place had been my home every since Damas found me in the desert. This place had a sense of freedom you couldn't find in Haven city even though the baron had been overthrown their government was still no better.
A leaper tied to a post awaited me , it's lizard snout turned in my direction in greeting.
"Zhaukul, have you been a good boy today?" I spoke as if I was talking to a baby, and as if to prove my point Zhaukuls tail started thumping on the sand behind him like a puppy.
I scratched his head affectionately, "oh yes you have, oh yes you have". Before I could jump on and head to the palace my com crackled on my wrist.
"Eve…lyn you th..ere?" It was Damas, odd I didn't expect to hear from him.
"Here Damas is everything alright", I never stopped worrying about that old man.
"Me and the boys are on our way back to the city ,but we've picked up a faint distress signal out by razorback peaks. We need you to meet us there on the double in case it's trouble".
"Random signal out on the border of marauder territory. Sounds like trouble", I added with sarcasm, "got it I'll be there in ten". I clicked the com off and sighed. I was just about to turn in for the day and something else happens.
I turned to my eager leaper, "sorry Zhaukul another time". I patted his neck and headed toward the front gates.
XOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXO
It took me a little longer than ten since the winds were picked up. My mini scanner I always carried in my waist satchel bleeped a warning of an oncoming storm but it also said I have a good thirty minutes before it hits us full blast. One thing was for sure from the stories I heard I did not want to be caught out in these things.
I finally got there and saw Damas and his escorts pull up just in time. I scanned the area for any unaccounted for vehicles before I lowered my purple tinted goggles and hopped out. There laying on the ground , not ten feet from the bumper of my car, was the oddest looking group I had ever seen.
A monkaw, an orange rat, and a blonde haired, blue suited man laid flat on the sandy ground.
"More rejects", I muttered. Damn Haven is getting more strict these days with all these criminals they've been casting out. I walked closer to where Damas and his escorts stopped in front of him.
They chuckled. "Looks live we found some live ones", the spargan king tapped the man with his gun staff , "hehe barely". The blonde rolled over on his stomach obviously in lala land.
I knelt down brushing my white hair behind my goggles to get a better look, "what kind of outcasts are these, circus performers?" Despite the odd company the guy looked kinda cute for a common criminal. I wondered what these guys did to get thrown out like this.
Jin, one of the escorts shuffled nervously behind Damas. "Sir I should remind you the winds are picking up".
Damas dismissed the man and picked up a bleeping orange thing that fell out of the unconscious ones palm, "here's the beacon we were picking up", he grabbed him by the shirt. "Who gave you this?" the only answer he got was a grunt and some unreadable grumbling from him.
He dropped him, "Evelyn put them in your buggy and get them to the city fast. We'll take them with us", he looked back at the setting sun.
"I smell a storm coming".
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(Jaks POV)
There were times during my adventure in the desert I couldn't tell whether I was dead or not. My memories kept flashing back to the part where the palace had been attacked and collapsed with us still inside. If it wasn't for Torn we would have been dead.
All I could really remember is that there was a constant voice in my head telling me to keep walking, keep walking as my thoughts shifted. My thoughts trailed to just about everything and everyone in order to keep me alive. I thought about Keira, Samos and the rest of the gang, about how I would get out of this mess and more importantly how I would get back at the bastards who banished me and make them wish they could take it all back.
Just watch everything will go down and they'll want me back. Only this time I won't answer their call for help. I'm done helping people and wasting my life on an endless adventure that awards no gratitude. I killed the tyrant and that wasn't good enough. I destroyed the metal head leader and that wouldn't suffice no they just had to throw me out because they thought I was a 'danger' to the city. Bastards.
The last thing I remembered was it being so hot my strong will let me fall to the ground. I heard the voice of Daxter and Pecker as they slumped down next to me. I felt the heat beating down on me. It was so hot I just wanted to die right there so I could be rid of it.
I was on the verge of death and life when I heard voices. An elder voice and the voice of a woman. It was a soft but stern voice followed by sarcasm. There was an exchange of words about our predicament and I was questioned but when I failed to answer thrown back onto the ground. Some rescue. Then I heard more of the womans voice and not too soon after that the feeling of an engine beneath me. I was being driven somewhere, and somewhere with water I hoped. I heard the girl mumble irritably to herself , but soon the purr of the engine and the hot sting of the desert wind whipping by eventually lulled me into a light sleep.
I awoke what felt like days later to the sound of splashing. I jerked upright when water was thrown on my face.
"It's about time you woke up geeeez I've been waiting for hours!" Daxter piped. He was waist deep in a shallow pond of water that seemed to take up most of this strange looking room. My head spun as I caught it in my hands. I soon found my feet was submerged in the cool liquid.
"Here bud", Daxter tossed me a makeshift cup and I spent almost a whole ten minutes gobbling up the water. I had never been so thirsty in my life.
"Daxter", I said while looking around, "where are we?". My throat still felt scratchy.
Daxter scanned the area once and shrugged, "beats me, but where do I get some grub in this joint an ottsels gotta eat!" he screamed to seemingly no one.
I looked around and all I saw was an elevator at the entrance that led down, a few doors off to the side that might have led down a hall and a throne in the front. Other than that no one was in sight. I noticed the entire front of the large room had a big view of the desert overhead through a glass window.
I noticed my hair had been cut as well as my sleeves. Odd.
"Finally!" a voice cracked out of nowhere, "I hope you guys are as talented as you look because I don't like wasting precious time on useless cargo".
A woman around my age or maybe slightly younger was sitting in lazy position on the throne. I'd sworn to myself that I had looked there before and saw nothing. She must have been hiding to see how we'd react.
She wore some leather stitched leggings that revealed tan skin through two holes on her thighs, black and brown makeshift halter top that stopped just above her naval, and a par of black combat boots that reached midway up to her knees. I also noticed she was armed to the teeth with weapons. Her face was small and almost childlike and her hair was a ghostly white color that I thought odd. Brown eyes scanned me skeptically from a careless position.
(Evelyn's POV)
Yes I guess I'm a total creeper because I've been watching these guys for the past five minutes without actually revealing myself. A way to test them I suppose. The ottsel was the first to wake up and without caring where he was or who he was company of the orange rat dove for the water and spent a good ten minutes splashing around in it before finally waking up his counterpart.
I eventually got bored and decided to reveal myself so I shimmied down from my hiding spot on the ceiling and landed on Damas's throne chair in a lazy position to show I wasn't scared. Hey, I had to give a good first impression.
"Finally!" I shouted audibly enough so it echoed off the walls, "I hope you guys are as talented as you look because I don't like wasting precious time on useless cargo".
They both jerked in surprise. The blonde threw up a hostile expression that showed he didn't like being surprised, but he didn't say anything just yet instead he was quite silent. His orange friend on the other hand wasn't so conserved.
It whistled my way, "hey baby", he leaped up beside his friend dripping wet from the waist down, "the names Daxter but you can call me orange lightening hero of Haven city!" he stood in a Hercules sort of pose then thumbed to his blonde friend. "And this is Jak the sidekick". I almost laughed, the thing was kind of cute.
I smirked swinging my legs around the chair and finally standing, "so what's the story huh? Theft, murder or all of the above?"
"Actually toots we were kicked out because we're heroes!"
I cocked an eyebrow and shifted my stance, "uh huh well whatever your story is or whatever heroic tales you make up it won't be enough to spare your lives out here". I walked closer making sure I had their attention. I had seen Damas do this several times to the newbies.
"First of all this is Spargus a place where all the outcast and sentenced are taken in and put to the test. Damas will put you through a series of these to test your strength and usefulness. If he deems you worthy he'll allow you to live here but if not you're dead weight". I waved my palm through the air in emphasis, "no exceptions, no excuses pass all the challenges you become a citizen or die trying".
The blonde stood looking one too happy as he stood, "you need to work on making a better first impression".
I chuckled. I liked this noob already. "And I thought I was doing so well".
I cocked my hips and placed a hand on the holster at my waist, "I'm simply telling you Damas takes no freeloaders and neither do I, you should be grateful you're even alive". I smiled, "trust me it's not as bad as it seems I went though the same thing when Damas found me".
"You're from Haven?" the blonde asked.
"Long story", I waved the question away. "Well Jak, Daxter it's nice to meet you I'm Evelyn but everyone around here calls me Ev", I gestured toward the elevator. "Let's go noobs time to meet the big guy, he should be at the arena preparing some nice little surprises for you guys".
"Wonderful", I heard the ottsel mumble.