A/N: Ok so it may start taking me a little longer to update because of school & stuff but I still will. This is also the last chapter I had already written out so I'll be taking time to brainstorm new ideas too.

Ch. 4

The second they came down the stairs, Torn was already in their faces. "What did you two do?! I ask you to spy on a few Krimzon Guards, and you put the entire city on high alert. They're lookin' for you, Jak! Every last Guard out there is after you."

"Tell me something I don't know." Jak said as he walked past him. Daxter, having enough near-death experiences for one day, exploded.

"Listen Tattooed-Wonder. We almost got killed by a bunch of Krimzon Guards! We barely escaped, and thanks to you my fur's so knotted and wet, that I think I might go wring myself out. We risked our necks, to go do your dirty work! So back off! Okay?!" Torn had such an angry look on his face that Jak thought if he had been alone with Daxter, he would've been wearing a new pair of gloves and eating a bowl of ottsel soup.

"You listen, RAT. All I asked, was for you two to go find out Krag's plan. Not get the attention of every Guard in the city. Now, who wants to tell me how this happened?" He folded his arms across his chest. Daxter sheepishly looked at Jak but didn't dare say a word.

Sighing, Jak admitted to his mistake. "I did it. We were following a patrol, and I lost my cool and attacked. And before you remind me that every Guard in the city is out to get me, let me correct you on that. Grim is on our side...I think."

"Grim huh? I thought he was one of Krew's bomber boys."

"He was. But apparently he's in the Guard too."

"Yeah! And it's a good thing too! If it wasn't for ol' doom and gloom, we wouldn't have found out where this one patrol was, 'cuz you didn't have 'em on yer map."

"Did you get anything useful?"

"Well, uh...That might have been the patrol Jak attacked. Heh Heh. It's a real funny story though. Tell him Jak." Daxter moved to a safer position from Torn: behind Jak's head.

"They weren't in radio contact anyway. But we did catch something about a way to annihilate me."

"I'm not sure if I could consider that a problem right now. Seeing as how you two probably have the city covered in wanted posters, I can't send you on any more stealth missions."

"That's too bad." Jak smirked.

"But, I'm sure that the Metal Heads currently occupying most of Haven Forest won't mind your company."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there checkered flag. You're seriously gonna send us out to Haven Forest after we just got back from a KG convention? Where's my coffee break? Or my paycheck?"

"Look, I can't send you out on any more city business until Krag cools his jets. So the only thing you can do is keep an eye on the Metal Heads. Just don't blow that one too. Understand?"

"Fine. But we can't leave now. We'll have to wait until the alarms stop."

"Even after they shut off the alarms they'll still be looking. Maybe you should wait until nightfall. Shouldn't be too much longer now."

"If you say so." Jak pulled up a chair and sat at the far end of the room, with Daxter on a table next to him. For a while they just sat there in silence. The alarms had died down, Torn was going through some papers, Jak was sitting there quietly, and Daxter was clicking his nails against the wood table. Finally the curiosity gnawing at his insides and the awkward silence got the better of him and he couldn't take anymore.

"Gah! Jak just tell me what's wrong. Why have you been so aggressive lately?" The moment the words left his mouth he knew he had made a mistake.

"I don't know okay Dax! Something's wrong and I have no idea what it is!" He got up and stormed out, most likely heading to Haven Forest, leaving Dax behind.

"What was that about?"

"Something's been bothering him lately. He's gettin' to be more violent than ever and I've got the feeling that it's got something to do with all the Dark Eco the Baron pumped into him."

"Maybe you shouldn't leave him alone then. If he's so dangerous, then you should watch him."

"Right." He went for the door but stopped. "Uh...Can I get a ride?"

"No." Torn went back to his work and Daxter left wondering how he could possibly catch up to Jak.

"C'mon Dax, think. Ya know where he's going, and ya probably know how to stop him from hurting anyone. The only thing you don't know is how to beat him there." A passing Krimzon Guard cruiser caught his attention.

"Yes sir. I'm heading over to the forest entrance now." Just as he pulled off Daxter grabbed hold of the bottom.

"And now, you do." He said as the Guard unknowingly carried him to his friend.

As Jak was heading in the direction of Haven Forest he felt the Dark Eco rise again. He had never told anyone this, not even Daxter, but it had always felt like the Dark Eco had a mind of its own. Not enough of one to actually control him, but enough to try to 'convince' him to transform without having a reason. At first, it just felt like a distant ache that only escalated with his anger. But lately it's been a voice in the back of his mind. Constantly telling him to lose all control and let it take over. Jak felt like he was always at war with himself. As if Krag and the Metal Heads weren't enough. The reason he was so quick to transform was because he could feel the anger building up inside him. Over what, he wasn't sure but for him raw anger meant raw power. He wasn't really afraid of the voice itself, but the fact that it kept taunting him. The threats really only occurred in his sleep. He had guessed it was because he only had his subconscious to counter it, and that's not as strong as his conscious. He didn't want to tell Daxter because he felt he wouldn't understand. Even he himself didn't understand. Some of it could be contributed to his pride, because he didn't want to admit he was afraid. That night he had woken up screaming was because he had witnessed his darker half's joy as he killed Jak's three closest friends: Samos, Daxter and Keira. And all Jak could do was watch.

A sudden, sharp pain in his head almost made him hit a wall. And that's when he heard the voice. "Why do you keep fighting it?"

"What's happening to me?" He said aloud.

"It wouldn't be so bad if you just stopped resisting."

"And let you take over and kill all my friends? Not happening." Jak was really trying to push back the voice but he just couldn't do it. "Get out of my head."

"How could I? We share the same one."

"Leave me alone! And leave my friends alone." The response he got was an evil laugh. "Why won't you quit?"

"Because I enjoy making you miserable. And watching you stand there helpless as I kill your so-called friends."

"Those are only dreams. Nightmares caused by you."

"Or are they?" With that, the voice vanished, and Jak couldn't help but shiver at the thought.

"What if they aren't just dreams?" He thought. "What if...they're more? No. I can't let him get to me. If I do he'll win. But still, why is this happening?" He pictured Gol and Maia, and suddenly realization hit him. Maybe they hadn't willingly tried to flood the world with Dark Eco. Maybe it was just the overwhelming power of it. Perhaps Gol was driven insane by the very same voice that was now tormenting Jak, and then convinced his sister to join him. Maia could have just as easily suffered the same fate. Then the two Eco-driven beings, controlled by the very substance they were supposed to have control over, hatched a plan to take over the world and reshape it in their own twisted image. At least Jak had been there to stop them.

"Wait a minute." Jak's train of thought hit a wall, and the impact of the crash shook him. "If they were being controlled, then...that means I killed two innocent people." He felt sick, and wanted to crash into a wall himself. While it wouldn't be the only time that he's been the death of someone, the thought of them being innocent bothered him greatly. If he was right about all this, then that made him a monster long before he truly became one. Long before the Baron's sick experiments, before voices (either from the Eco or mounting insanity) told him it was okay to kill those against you, and before he was separated from his friends for two long years. He realized that before any of that happened, he had already caused three deaths: Gol, Maia, and his innocence.

"What have I done?" Jak whispered softly to himself. "All this time I was supposed to be the hero, but I was really the villain." He mentally kicked himself for thinking like that. "What am I saying? Gol and Maia were already dead from their obsession with Dark Eco, not me." This thought helped calm him but he still felt like it was his fault. "I need to stop blaming myself. They were just Eco-driven sociopaths with no regard towards life." Eco-driven. Somehow he felt like that word described him perfectly. Or Eco-hungry. He wasn't sure which. He always felt fueled by the Dark Eco he absorbed, but at the same time he always wanted more of the poisonous substance. He constantly absorbed as much as he could get even if he didn't need it. It was as if he was addicted to it.

He sighed. "Maybe I should've brought Dax with me. At least I'd have someone to talk to." He actually took the time to park the zoomer and was walking up the ramp when he was stopped by a loud voice.

"Hey! Where do you think you're goin'? Looks like you forgot who the real hero was."

"Dax!" Jak was too happy at the sight of his friend to roll his eyes at his comment.

"I can't believe ya just left me. Do you have any idea how much work I had to do to get here?"

"Dax..." Jak couldn't believe he missed hearing Daxter's obnoxious rambling.

"Lemme finish! First, I had to hitch a ride on a KG cruiser. Then I had to do a little 'rewiring' so he wouldn't get here and spot you 'cuz that's what he was aiming to do. And then I had to run the rest of the way on foot. Yup, where would ya be without me partner?" He noticed the bitter look on Jak's face. "Hey, what's wrong? You've been actin' weird all day."

"It's just...too much Dark Eco in my system."

"I knew it." Daxter seemed satisfied by this, but Jak knew he wasn't. They stepped into the forest and the door closed behind them. They leapt through the warp gate and appeared on the higher ledge, then rode the platform to the forest itself. The second they came to the ledge they saw tons of Metal Heads.

"Whoa! Look at 'em all. Does Torn really expect us to spy on them?" Suddenly Torn's voice came on the communicator and filled the surrounding area.

"Jak, forget about stealth. Take out every last Metal Head in sight. They're planning an attack. Kill them all." Daxter smirked and saw the same grin on Jak's face.

"This is gonna be fun! Light 'em up Jak!"

"Yeah let's do it!" With Daxter clinging to his shoulder he ran down the hill and whipped out the Morph Gun. He set it on the Scatter Gun so he could take out large amounts of Metal Heads at once. With so many he ran out of ammo quickly and ended up switching to the Vulcan Fury and the Blaster.

"Why don't you use the Peace Maker on these chumps?"

"Haven't you ever heard of saving the best for last?" After he said that he switched modes and finished them off.

"Well that was exciting. Eh, Jak?"

"Yup. Now let's head back." As he was going back up the hill something caught his eye. "What's this?" Picking it up he examined it. "It looks like a Light Eco crystal."

"Really? Let me have a look at it." Before Jak could argue, Daxter snatched the crystal out of his hands and pretended to lamely examine it. "Yup. It looks real to me."

"Um...thanks Daxter." He took the crystal back as they reached the door.

"So what do you think a bunch of dumb apes want with a Light Eco crystal anyway? Metal Heads hate Light Eco."

"Which is exactly why they may have had it."

"What?"

"Well, remember how Grim said Krag's plan involved the Metal Heads?"

"Yeah. And some kind of weapon too."

"The only things I can think of are either the weapon runs off of Light Eco, or Krag just wants it destroyed so it doesn't interfere with his plans."

"Good theory. We should pass that onto Torn once we get back to the hideout. Uhhh...if we can get back to the hideout. Hey Jak, where'd you park the zoomer?"

"I left it right here."

"Someone must've taken it back seeing as how you never ask before borrowing."

"I guess so. Anyways I can always just...take...another..." Looking around, the duo saw that there were absolutely no signs of life other than themselves.

"What? Did the whole city just go on vacation or something?"

"Daxter now isn't the time for jokes. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, me too. My fur's standin' up." They were walking away from the forest entrance when a spotlight suddenly shone on them. Temporarily blinded, Jak reached for the Morph Gun only to have it shot out of his hands. He could hear Daxter screaming, and when his eyes adjusted to the bright light he saw that they were surrounded by a group of KG's and cruisers. With their guns all aimed at him, he had no choice but to surrender. But not without giving one last command to Dax.

"Daxter! Get outta here now!" The Guards started to close in.

"But I can't just leave you to get caught again!"

"Go Dax! That's an order! If we both get caught who's gonna help us?" One of them threw a bomb that sprayed knockout gas, and Jak told Daxter to book it. "Go tell the others!" Daxter sucked in the last breath of oxygen before jumping off Jak's shoulder and running on all fours. He darted right under a Guard.

"Hey!" He turned to shoot at him, but was stopped by another.

"Worry about the rodent later. Our orders were to capture this one." He gestured to Jak who had begun to sway. He tried fighting it, but had breathed in too much of the gas. Covering his mouth and nose with his jacket didn't help either. His vision began to darken, and before he knew it he was out cold. He didn't even remember falling over.

A/N: Let me know if some parts were confusing or anything and I'll try to fix them. Also, for anyone who asks something stupid like 'why aren't the guards affected by the gas?' They're always wearing some mask or something over their mouth and nose, so I assumed it was a type of gasmask or something.