Chapter 1: Long time, not seen

"Ding, ding... third floor... Body chains, roach food, torture devices..." Daxter had finally appeared. After two years of... searching for his friend, yeah that was what he was doing... he finally found his mute and blond sidekick. And it wasn't easy. There were dumb insects and they weren't small. They were giant! Jak probably wouldn't believe that he actually did some of the things he did. But he'll say he did, just to humor him. Because that was the guy he was.

"Hey buddy, seen any heroes..." Daxter's question faded away as he saw that not a soul was around. The ottsel was confused, but like that ever would have stopped him. It happened far too many times for that to be a dilemma.

"Must have been the fourth floor with the other torture devices and roach crap. Might as well talk about the decorator while I'm here. I'm thinking pink for the this room. It'll really compliment the screams and horror of this place," after two years, Daxter had gotten used to talking to himself. Despite the weird looks, it was a habit he had developed in Sandover and was stubborn not to break it.

"And here I brought old Jakkie-boy some new threads. Two years in this dump and I bet ya that he hasn't bathed during those two years either. Aw well, I'll buy more when I find him," Daxter sighed and tossed the newly woven clothes down the bottomless pit. 'They were his favorite colors too,' the ottsel silently added and try to spy a way out of this dungeon.

The orange haired rat crawled up the nearby boxes, hoping that by some stroke of luck, that his long lost friend was somewhere around here. After all, he had used two years of his life finding his sidekick. And he'll bet every hair on his ottsel body to make sure he does just that by this day.

After their history together, he'll be a horrible friend not to. It was a promise they made a long time ago with the sacred five year old pinky swear oath. And he was sure that Jak would have done the same thing if he was in his position, if not sooner. So today Daxter will be the hero. And then his conscious will be clear and he'll be on Jak's shoulder in no time. Being so short wasn't one of the advantages of being an ottsel.

"Intruder!"

"Get him!"

… Maybe after he escapes from the Krimzon Guard.

"Ahhh!" Daxter scurried below the guard's legs and escape with only the tip of his tail missing a few of its hairs. He waited a few minuets to make let those city ruling officers relax and and believe that he was dead. It was a good thing that Praxis didn't make the guards take an IQ test, or else this whole entire plan would be screwed.

"Is it gone?"

"Dead, probably. Shot him right in the tail. Best shot of the week for me. As if anything happens in this city,"

"Back to your post you two!"

Two minuets of waiting and Daxter finally chose to escape from his hiding place. It had taken him a week to learn that the guards here had the attention spans of lurker fish and didn't need to hide forever in the shadows.

"Come on Jak. Where are ya pal? Let's get out of here as soon as possible," the lonely friend pleaded for a sign to show him the way to his friend and continued on looking for the blond elf somewhere around this castle.

"Intruder in sector seven. Intruder in sector seven. Do not attempt to escape and prepare to die," the feminine voice warned. The Barron and Erol looked up from their conversation to listen more carefully to the announced news. Jak remained stoic, but still was curious who was crazy enough to infiltrate a palace as deadly as this.

"Jak, you heard what has happen. Find out who it is, and make sure he leaves as soon as possible. Make sure he gets out alive. We don't need this news to get out to the Underground and encourage more people to join their forces. And once you're done with that, find Erol. He will have details for your training." Praxis ordered. Jak nodded and walked out from the throne room.

Erol, who was still skeptical of the Eco Freak's actual abilities, asked, "Are you sure that this is a wise decision? I thought that we had agreed on that we wouldn't revel our secret weapon until further in the war. What happens if the intruder is a Underground member?"

The Barron smirked at his Commander's suspicions. "You worry too much Erol. I order him not to kill the intruder. This way, if it is an member of the Underground then we'll give those fiends something to worry about. If not, then we'll give those peasants something else to worry about a little more and that'll keep them from having those rebellious thoughts of replacing me with that 'lost heir to the city', It's a win-win situation. Now go and introduce Jak to the city. That man will need to know all areas and access passes to all of New Haven's walls."

"As you wish," Erol muttered and walked away. As he exited the throne room, he could barely hear the gun blasts in the far distance and the soft screams of his fellow guards as they were probably unlucky enough to get into the shooting zones.

'Eco Freak isn't that bad. Perhaps I'll keep him after all,' he smiled and ordered two zoomers to be prepared for him. If he was going to have to babysit the brat, then he's at least going to make worth while.

Jak couldn't remember much. The medics, at least Jak thought they were medics, said that he had just recovered from a dangerous concussion from a dangerous Metal Head ambush. He was told he was a part of the Krimzon Guards after metal heads killed his family. He was seventeen and didn't talk as much. All of his relatives had died and his friends abandoned him after hearing his amazing ability to channel eco like a sage from the old stories. No one took him in and his only option was the join the guard.

He didn't have a good life back then.

But that didn't stop him. He moved up the ranks and became Lieutenant General of the Guard. He didn't have many friends in the guard due to his quiet nature and he rarely got out into the city because of the many mission he was assigned to protect the Barron at all hours. When he had the time, he took it to either eat or rest for he next mission he knew he would receive.

Anything before that was a blur and it had seemed too much of an effort to try and squint to see what those images were. What was happening now was important to him. He could wonder about his past when all of this had settle down.

Or at least that was what he hopped he would do.

He brought out his gun, hopping to scare the intruder as soon as he saw him. He didn't like to keep people waiting, and Erol doesn't seem like the patient type.

A few soldiers had given him strange looks. Some had even pointed their guns out. But even before they had the time to pull the trigger, Jak had shot them and gave all the surrounding guards a look that said "Think-about-it-and-you'll-be-like-them,". He guessed that he wasn't really a popular guy at all while he still had all of his memory.

He made his way all the way to the room whose only purpose seemed to be was to drown giant crates. Leaks sprouted everywhere and stung his wounds he wasn't aware he had. The Lieutenant sighed and lowered his gun, trying to think of somewhere the intruder might be. He probably checked everywhere from sector seven to sector ten. That only left about a thousand more sectors to check.

"Aaahhhhh!"

Jak turned around and was met with a orange ball of fur. His instincts ordered him to kill it, but the orders of The Barron stuck in his mind as he pulled the orange rat from his face.

"Whoa! Remind me never to do that again! Thanks a lot there buddy. I think you just saved me from a whole lot of trouble," As the rodent dropped down from the elf's shoulder, Jak couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia come over him, but he was quickly brought back from it.

"What are you doing here?" Jak asked. On closer inspection, the Lieutenant saw that the rodent was indeed an ottsel. They weren't very common around Haven City, but he never heard of one that could talk as well.

"I'm, my good man, trying to look for my... friend..." the stunned look on the rat's face was enough for Jak to raise an eyebrow.

"JAK!" The ottsel quickly clamped its paws around the Krimzon Guard's neck, only to receive a muffled sound of surprised.

"Oh buddy! Where have you been? What did the Barron to you? Why do you smell like a Krimzon Guard?" The ottsel quickly released its grasp and finally landed near the Guard's feet. Somewhere deep in his subconscious, Jak felt bad for not knowing what the creature's relation was to him. It was almost as if they were friends for years. But instinct overcame that small idea of happiness and Jak rose his gun to meet with the animal's eyes.

"J-Jak?"

"You have three seconds to get out of here before I kill you, rat"

"Jak? Come on pal. It's me, Daxter! Your old pal?"

"Three."

"In Sandover. Remember? We used to go to the beach and explore that stupid Jungle all the time. 'member Misty Island and those other fun times?"

"Two." Jak made a mental note to research Sandover later. The name did sound familiar to him, but he decided it was just a way for an Underground member to get to his head.

"Okay, maybe the Barron did something to your brain. But you got to remember your pal Daxter right? We've been friends since the beginning of time for Precursor's sake!"

"One."

At that point the rodent screech after seeing the blond elf would give no mercy and escaped by climbing nearby boxes. He gave a final look before diving down from the window with a face of regret. Jak followed, only slightly curious whether the ottsel survived the fall or not. He saw a flash of orange running around the corner and then disappeared into the slums of Haven City.

Static sounds came from his communicator and a rough voice sounding like his new captain came on.

"Where are you Jak? I thought that this would be an easy mission for you. Come to the bottom floor and dress casually. There's no need for you to attract attention to yourself this early of the game. Clothes are left for you in your room," The blond could almost see the smile on Erol's face as he talked.

He looked down at him and wondered why he was wearing this in the first place. He doesn't look that good in red, much less this bulky Krimzon Guard armor. He prefers to wear blue and something that fits him loosely. Flashes of a younger him dressed in light blue clothes came to his mind, but he shook the thought away and did what his commander told him.

"Oh Jak! Why! I need to get drunk. Two years after looking for you and you repay me with a blaster to the face," Daxter muttered. Of course he didn't fully believed that his buddy for at least ten years had forgotten him. Something was done to him. He could tell by the look in his eyes. Once expressive, youthful eyes were now cloudy with something Daxter couldn't describe. But he couldn't do this operation alone, he was going to need help.

"Maybe Old Green and Keira could help me. They were hear too, right? Yeah! I can totally-" The ottsel would have completed the sentence if a kid about his size wasn't standing in front of him.

"Woah! Watch it Scruffy," the orange rat scolded. He found himself being stared at with two big eyes that were strangely familiar. A hat covered most of his head except for a green scruff of hair that popped out from the front. He wore a nostalgic blue tunic and an amulet that hung around his neck.

The child didn't say much, strangely enough, but was awfully curious. He poked the poor ottsel in every spot possible. And though he enjoyed being petted behind the ears, it wasn't something Daxter would wished for.

"'Kay kid. Go to your parents now. Daxter doesn't feel like pretending to be a crocadog right now," the rat sighed as the kid didn't get the message.

Just when Daxter thought he wasn't ever going to be alone, he was suddenly grabbed by the hand and then dragged through the crowds. Apparently he was running away because he could faintly hear with his animal senses someone calling for the kid.

Well, I got nothing better to do, Daxter thought to himself and ran with the kid, pretending that he was still nine and he and Jak were adventuring around the villiage.

And we have scenes! And dialouge! And other stuff stories have! Please review and tell me what you think of my Daxter and Jak. Were they a little OOC? Or a lot? This is my first time writting them. Thanks for reading!