Author Notes: Hey, my first fic! I'm testing the waters here, so please leave a review - I will be basing the continuation of this story on your feedback! I'm not criticism-shy so say what you need to say. Not much else to say apart from there is more waiting to be posted, review-dependent. Enjoy!

1 - Anticipation

Jak crouched warily, hidden in one of the Slum's many alcoves. Towering above, the Baron's fortress cast a formidable shadow over the dusty streets. He surveyed the surrounding area – this was the place, definitely, that they'd arranged. A stone's throw away, a small explosive had been wired to an unmarked building's supporting beam, identified as a security weak point. His mind clear, his body tensed and ready, Jak went over the explosive expert's instructions in his mind.

"Now see pretty boy, I've rigged this thing to be undetectable. Ain't nobody gonna see this 'till it's too late, eh! Now this little red light 'ere, it's gonna flash once. Then you got 5 seconds."

A tiny red speck appeared in the distance, disappearing just as quickly. Jak could hear nothing except the sound of his own breathing.

Four.

Three.

Two.

-BANG-

In the aftermath of the blast, Jak leapt up, quickly and carefully clambering over the displaced chunks of concrete and bent steel toward the goal – a small ventilation shaft that lay broken open in the rubble. It would lead into the centre of Haven's max-security prison. Around him, suddenly alerted KG sprung into action, swearing and yelling into their radios for backup.

"They're shooting at us, Jak!" Daxter screamed, desperately clinging onto Jak's shoulder as bolt gun fire from KG rifles ricocheted off the rubble. "Hurry!"

In seconds, Jak skidded and jumped into the open shaft, disappearing into the unknown darkness of the prison's ventilation system. He would have to move fast now that the guards knew what was going on. Months of planning were being enacted, and he couldn't screw it up now. The Underground was counting on him.

He still couldn't believe it had been months since Torn had been captured.

But, as Daxter had countlessly never failed to mention, breaking anyone out of Haven's high-security prison system was not a simple task. You couldn't just run in there guns blazing, as Jak usually did. In the build up to the break in, there had to be meticulous planning. Guard schedules, security weak points, escape plans. Since Jak had escaped they had beefed up their security even further. As the weeks wore on, the atmosphere in the Underground had continued to darken – what if, in the time it had taken, their commander had cracked under the pressure? Told Erol and the Baron the location of their hideout? Their identities? Who knows what they were doing to him in there.

Jak grimaced as he kicked out a vent grating, gracefully dropping from the ceiling into an empty hallway. He knew all too well what happened to people in here.

Daxter had gone unusually quiet on Jak's shoulder. It was tense, now – the crucial moment before the security had enough time to mobilise and find them. The halls were eerily silent and empty. Before a patrolling guard rounded the corner, Jak jumped up into another vent, disappearing from view. The hairs on Jak's arms prickled as they crawled through the shaft, approaching the next exit point. He dreaded to see that room again.

The pipe opened out to a spot high up on the far left wall of the main cell unit, the place where Jak had spent those two horrible years. In its centre, the ever-formidable dark eco injection platform, its huge needle quietly dripping. It was characteristically dark – they kept the lights dim here, perhaps to further enhance the torture of their prisoners. Glancing at the metal bench, Jak briefly saw a glimpse of himself from all that time ago, struggling and screaming under the needle's intensely crackling beam. He blinked – there was no-one there. Nobody was strapped down, the needle sat dormant. As planned, there were no guards, no security at this crucial moment. Jak dropped silently to the ground, stalking carefully across the room, ever cautious.

Of the holding cells opposite the injection platform, one had a light on above the door that glowed in a dim pale green. That was the cell. He made his way over, pulled the hacked key card from his bag, and took a deep breath. He swiped it.

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