Pairings: Jak/Daxter, Jak/Keira
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. No profit is being made out of this piece of work, and no copyright infringement is intended.
1. Jak, the Hero
Jak was a hero. Supposedly. Supposedly he was a hero and a great man.
But he enjoyed killing. He enjoyed the cold feel of the gun in his hands, the power that rushed through his body once he pulled the trigger. He loved to see his victims groan in fear as they fell to the ground, blood coming out of the holes he had given them with his Morph Gun.
Supposedly he was a hero.
But he was angry, and heros weren't supposed to be angry. Jak wasn't supposed to have rage blind him, rid him of rational thought. He wasn't supposed to take all the dangerous missions and do whatever he could to destroy the Baron. He wasn't supposed to risk the lives of innocents, wasn't supposed to kill the people who were only doing their jobs.
Supposedly he was a hero... and supposedly he was also a monster. But he wasn't. He had gotten good enough that he could control himself, but it wouldn't have happened, wouldn't, if it weren't for...
2. Daxter, the Sidekick
Daxter was a sidekick, was a furry orange thing. Supposedly. That was what everyone thought.
He had been human once. He had once had bright red hair and baby blue eyes... and once he was able to walk and hug and laugh at Jak while meeting his eyes.
Once--once upon a time, where the sand was a golden bronze and the sky was beautiful. Where the nighttime lights shone in Jak's eyes, where he would smile. Where the words didn't need to be spoken, because Jak spoke so much easier without them.
And now Daxter is just someone who stands on Jak's shoulder, comforting him in his nightmares and making sure Jak's emotions were in check... making sure Jak was able to control the dark eco that coursed through his veins.
Because Jak only returned from Dark Jak for him, only smiled for him, and the laughter and grins and winks were for him and him only. No one else could make Jak happy but him.
Daxter loved Jak, but Jak... Daxter wasn't sure, wasn't sure who Jak loved, him or...
3. Keira, the Female Love Interest
Keira loved Jak, because Jak was a hero. Jak had saved the world two times, and he continued to save the lives of people.
She was scared of Jak, too. She was scared that Jak would kill her, and she was more afraid of dying than of Jak not returning her feelings. She still had so much to do, to discover... she wouldn't let Jak get in the way.
But she still loved Jak. She wanted to help Jak, to help him get better. To help him stop killing--
Killing. Jak... Jak killing. The thought... it was hard to grasp. She could imagine Jak killing Metal Heads and Lurkers... but when he killed Krimson Guards? That was worse--so much worse, because Jak wasn't supposed to be like that. There wasn't supposed to be a deep, ugly grin on his face when the trigger was pulled, when the bodies started to pile around him.
There wasn't supposed to be.
But there was--and there were always two people left standing, in that ring, that group of people, and they were...
4. Jak and Daxter, the Demolition Duo
It was always him and Daxter. Always Jak and Daxter. Never Jak and Keira, or Jak and Sig, or Jak and Torn... always Jak and Daxter... because they were best friends. Best buds. Friends to the end.
Jak wouldn't hurt Daxter. Daxter wouldn't hurt him.
So Daxter didn't tell him--didn't tell him he loved Jak, because that would hurt Jak, would confuse him and make him angry. It was so easy to make Jak angry... love was one of them.
Jak didn't need Daxter's love. He only needed Daxter's company, only need Daxter's friendship and jokes and grins. And Jak needed him, needed that, because Daxter understood him. Daxter knew what he was thinking, knew what went on behind his hollow eyes even when the flickers of emotion weren't there...
Jak knew Daxter, too. Jak knew...
He was blond. Jak knew that he was a blond and therefore considered stupid, but he wasn't. He was observant enough to see the looks Daxter sent him, and sometimes he tried not to notice.
Because Daxter... he no longer had a human form. And it wouldn't work. It wouldn't.
He loved Daxter anyway, even though he always thought of...
5. Jak and Keira, the 'Perfect' Couple
Jak loved Keira. He wasn't sure in which way, in what way... but he just new, deep down in his heart, that he loved Keira. He loved her so much. He would have died for her.
Keira loved him back, but it was stronger than his own love for her. She would have sacrificed all of her knowledge, her dreams, everything, for him. She would undergo things more horrrible than death for him... because she loved him. Keira loved Jak...
Yet, she couldn't shake off the feeling of him, of that orange fuzzball watching with hollow, sad eyes. She couldn't help feeling so guilty for liking Jak and having Jak return the looks, vague as they were.
Because it was--
6. Daxter Being Alone
Daxter hated to be alone. He always tagged along with Jak, because Jak made him feel strong. Jak made him feel good about himself, that he wasn't a worthless piece of meat that could have been so easily torn apart. With Jak, he felt as if life was so good, that it had given him everything he could ever want...
Except home. Except a real body. Except someone he could wrap his hands completely around, instead of only being able to reach around someone's neck.
He only had the ability to look down upon the ground and floor and bugs. He always had to look up at everyone...
Unless he was with Jak, because with Jak, he was on Jak's shoulder, face in the air, polluted or fresh, and he could look down. When Daxter was with Jak...
Everything was perfect.
But he wasn't, anymore. Now he was alone, because Jak spent time with Keira... and he was left alone in the small room that was now their home.
So he was alone. But that was all right with him, even if it did make him hate Keira more. Even if he could no longer feel the fresh air, even if he could no longer feel Jak's presence at night.
Because... because...
7. Jak, and Only Jak
He was confused. Torn. He didn't know who to choose--Dax or Keira. With Dax, he was so much more comfortable, but Keira... he could hold Keira, and Keira could comfort him.
He had that with Dax, but it was different. It seemed... less significant.
But he had and Daxter--they'd been through everything. He couldn't just--... could he? Could he brush Daxter off like that? Maybe an explanation. A short one, but enough to get his point across... because he needed Keira.
...his mind told him he needed Daxter more.
He ignored it.
Heros weren't supposed to be in love with furry orange fluffballs, even though they had been human once. Heros were supposed to have a beautiful girl.
And Jak...
Jak was the hero.
8. Cheated
Daxter had been brushed off. Left. Abandoned. he preferred the simple word of 'alone'. He didn't like the other words--they were too harsh and cruel to him, too... too something. They weren't nice enough for him.
And Jak and Keira... they were happy now. Without him, they were the happiest couple in the world.
He was okay with that. He was fine that Jak and Keira were okay, that Keira had taken Jak away from him. That Keira had taken his happiness.
It was okay, because Jak was happy, and Daxter was only okay because Jak was really happy. Was laughing happy, was laughing harder than ever happy.
It was a happiness that Daxter could never give.
So he was fine with it... so he watched them. He watched them, and he was happy that Jak was happy.
He couldn't help but feel cheated.
9. Left in the Dust
Jak left Keira.
He couldn't handle the feeling in the back of his mind, the horrible feeling he had made a mistake. He couldn't help feeling as if Daxter was so much more important, because...
Because he was, damnit. Daxter was infinitely more important. Daxter had been there forever. Daxter had saved him, albeit it took a while... he had saved him, and he was able to calm him down...
Daxter understood him.
But when Jak went to find Daxter, he was gone.
He felt as if he had been left in the dust. As if everyone had forgotten about him...
So, had he made two mistakes? One, right after the other? Had... had Daxter really left? Was it all a mistake?
10. Forever
In a dreamland, Daxter and Jak are together. Daxter is human, and it was Jak's fault that it had happened. Jak had returned him to his human form, and they were both happy.
Keira had found someone else. So, she too was happy and blissful.
But this wasn't dreamland. This was a polluted world with broken dreams and broken hearts. It was called Haven City, but it was a Hell and it was horrible. The smoke was choking and harsh, evil and it made everyone scared. Those who wandered off were lost.
Daxter was lost, and Jak found him and promised he wouldn't leave--ever, because he loved Daxter and didn't Daxter love him back?
And Daxter said 'yes.' And he said 'yes, let's be together forever.'
But it wasn't so. Because Daxter didn't have a real body and Jak and he--they weren't of the same species anymore, weren't, weren't. And Jak, he needed a real girl, someone he could hold and feel the right to protect. And it wasn't so with Daxter, when it was so easy to protect him, when Jak couldn't touch him like that because he wasn't human.
Because they couldn't find a cure. So it wasn't so, so it wasn't forever. So Jak returned to Keira.
Because he was Jak, the hero.