Anybody notice my assumption? It will be very obvious by the end, so don't worry if you missed it. I'm having a lot of fun with this. I'm thinking of doing some fanart for it too, Anybody want to look at it?

Would love some more reviews, but I'm not holding my breath for it. Hope people like it either way.

Jak and co. (c) Naughty Dog.


The Arena gave him that feeling again. He'd been too small to remember it properly, though. Pecker's new appointment gave him a little relief from memories. He glanced around looking for someone, he didn't know who, just that he'd know when he saw her. Damas caught him doing it. "...Yes, Pecker is my new advisor." Damas cut into the debate that seemed to be coming solely from Pecker and Daxter.

The duo was quickly sent into the arena to see if they were worth the effort Kleiver had put into lugging them back here.

Damas noticed the boy's physical abilities were grossly mismatched to his appearance, his strength was belied by the minor muscles toning his skin and his jumps were not a skill one learned in Haven, which was the only place this boy could be from.

When the boy quickly cleared the course, Damas felt proud for some reason that he couldn't pin down. He quickly organised for the practical part of the test. He was annoyed when the bird repeated him, trying for a dramatic effect. The arena was dramatic enough without the two animals making it worse. The rat sulked.


Damas watched Jak fight. The fighting wasn't taught to the boy in any way. Even his weapon skills seemed self-taught, steadying the gun's recoil against his ribs was a habit he would have to break the boy out of.

Then, as the dark eco that powered the matter-makers started breaking up, something strange happened. The eco dragged itself to the boy, like a magnet. It touched his skin and he could hear the skin burn, and the boy hiss, but the boy continued fighting, favouring more physical attacks than before.

When the boy jumped, Damas realised the boy was channelling, subconsciously, but the shock wave that came was definitely much more efffective than a few well placed kicks. The boy swaggered awkwardly, like he was having trouble staying concious, to the elevator.

As it rose, he seemed to relax slightly. He held his face, like dispelling a migraine. Seem, the priestess, simply glared at the boy before leaving. Was she jealous of the boy? Or fearful?

"Something you're not telling us, animal man?" Damas asked Jak so that only those on the platforms could hear. Pecker quickly answered, with dramatic movements.

"He has been touched with Dark eco, my liege." Damas glared at the bird. He knew well that title meant little here. He was going to ask about that comment later, however.

Daxter ignored that. "Our boy here gets all mean and nasty when you piss him off." Jak glared at him, in a similar way Damas knew he had just glared at the bird. Daxter grinned impishly. "So, don't piss him off, word to the wise!" he said loudly with a laugh.

Damas stared at Jak a moment longer before hearing the rat. "Ah..." he began, not knowing what to truly say about the boy that seemed to be so familiar to him. "Then he is dangerous..."

He tried not to think of Mar becoming like this boy, or being found like him, dying in the desert.

"And that could be useful." he added. Jak stared at him confused, much as Damas felt himself. "Your bravery has earned you your first battle Amulet. If you are victorious in two more arena fights, you will earn your citizenship to Spargus." He soldiered on. He tossed Jak a small card. "Here is a gate pass to allow free passage in and out of the city."

He paused, why had he given a newcomer free passage in and out of the city, that was a right reserved for full citizens. Newcomers were only allowed to leave when a mission dictated it. What was it about this boy that he trusted so much?

No, not trust. He wouldn't trust him yet as far as he could throw him. Which wasn't exceddingly much. So what was it?

"But, beware. There is no true refuge outside our walls." Especially not in Haven. "The desert is less kind than I." he tried to growl. It came out less guttural than he intended, more fatherly than he ever intended. Jak shifted awkwardly as well.


Jak skidded the Tough Puppy into the garden. He narrowly avoided Damas and Kleiver. He hadn't even looked worried in the slightest, despite the lack of trained driving skills he possessed.

Damas stood still, as calm as Jak. Kleiver had backed away slightly, noticeable by his girth. Daxter had looked terrified and clung the cage for his life, as Damas and Jak both silently snickered. They stopped as they saw the other laughing.

"Nice wheel work." Damas commented proudly. He didn't even glance at Pecker. "My advisor here says you have vehicle skills." He lied, knowing this boy was naturally skilled. Jak smirked back at him.

"I can hold my own." He stared at Damas, like he wanted the praise, but wasn't consciously looking for it. Damas thought about that gaze, as Pecker commented enthusiastically about usefulness. The bird was the last one to ever say something's worth, he literally sat on his ass all day. Daxter did more, and that was saying something.

Damas was growing to like the rat, even enough to stop the endless streaming of fights between the bird and rat. He was the kind of character he imagined his son would befriend, even if it grated on his nerves horribly. He wasn't, however, above torturing the rat.

He told the pair to go look for artifacts, but couldn't help himself, with a bit of fatherly brutality.

"One more thing, if you get caught in the storms, they will tear the flesh from your very bones." he drawled the last word, exactly like he'd practised those years ago. He looked quickly to Jak, with a worried glance, to be met with Jak's confused stare. Daxter, however, ignored the silent conversation.

"Oh, great. Thanks for the pep talk." Jak glared at the rat, before heading out, skidding across the sand and almost knocking Daxter off, as much for his own enjoyment as his punishment.