All right! I've finally got the next chapter of "The Last Charge" up! Sorry for the long wait in updating. There's been so much going on lately, including starting school again, Hurricane Irene, and the earthquake in Virginia, but I'm here now! Thanks for the reviews and being patient with me during all this! :D

DISCLAIMER: Only my OCs and side plots are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.


"Hello?" Eileen whispered as she led the two of us into the box where Blitz and Pecker were situated. I had knocked, but since nobody answered, we just decided to enter ourselves.

"Breaking and entering, huh?" I joked.

"It's the only way we'll even remotely get answers," Eileen reasoned, shrugging.

A rustling noise broke the silence, and Eileen and I stopped for a minute as our hearts began to pound. "Did you hear that?" I whispered.

"Yeah," Eileen whispered in response. We huddled closer together and continued to creep forward as a flash of colors caught our attention.

"Pecker!" I gasped, yelping a little bit as the moncaw flew into view.

"Oh, it's you two!" Pecker replied, flapping his wings and landing on the desk in front of us, "I was wondering when I'd see some familiar faces."

"Kras City, huh?" Eileen retorted, "How'd you end up here? Who called you?"

Pecker frowned and smacked my friend over the head. "AHH!" she cried in surprise, ducking out of the way.

"Weren't you paying attention to my broadcast this morning?" the moncaw growled.

"I was too shocked by the fact that you were even here," Eileen grumbled.

"Easy, Pecker," I said in a soothing voice, "We're just here to try and help you investigate the underworld crime connection."

Pecker looked me up and down, his gaze lingering on all my bandages and boots. "What happened to you, Guardian of Mar?" he asked, invoking my title.

"Razer happened, that's what," I answered, "My car crashed while I was racing."

"But you are all right?" Pecker asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine, thanks," I said, "I should be back to racing in no time."

"What about David?" the moncaw inquired, "How is he?"

Eileen and I shared a glance. "Not so good," Eileen admitted, "He's been…acting strange since we got here. Like running off with Razer and being very secretive."

Pecker just shook his head. "Onin will not be happy to hear this," he lamented, "You two are supposed to be sticking together." He pointed at me as he said this.

"Well, he hasn't exactly been speaking to me," I responded, "We got into a fight and he brought up my past actions."

"You're going to have to find a way to repair that bond. Or else it could destroy you both." Eileen just stared back and forth, and I reminded myself to explain Onin's message to her later.

"In the meantime," Eileen quipped, "Can we help you investigate this crime connection? Maybe we could pump David and Razer for information."

"You think David knows anything about this?" I asked.

"He might. I mean, he's been acting suspicious since we got here."

Suddenly, the door opened, and GT Blitz waltzed inside, smiling as soon as he set his sights on us. "Well, well," he began, "I see you ladies have been getting acquainted with Pecker."

"We knew him from way back home," I explained.

"Wonderful!" Blitz cried, "Then you can give him some pointers on how to co-host a show!" He laughed and then slapped his knee, causing me, Eileen, and Pecker to just glance at each other.

"He was doing just fine from where we stood," Eileen retorted, earning a victorious smirk from Pecker.

Blitz's eyes flashed in annoyance, but that annoying grin never left his face. "Of course he was," he conceded, "Anyway, I'm sure Pecker will be able to lead his investigation as planned. You two weren't thinking of joining him now, were you?"

"No, GT," Pecker lied, "They weren't."

"Good," Blitz said, "Because one birdbrain is enough!" He laughed for a second time.

"Maybe you should stick to hosting the racing show," I suggested, "You're better at that."

Again, Blitz's eyes flashed, but he approached me and wrapped his arm around me all the same. "You know something, Paige?" he asked as he pulled me to the side, "I like you. You have vision. Maybe we should go into showbiz together." Eww, I thought, thinking about how GT Blitz gave me the creeps.

Smiling, I wiggled out from underneath his arm. "No, thanks," I declined, "Pecker is more than capable of helping your show." Eileen just nodded in agreement.

Blitz chuckled heartily. "Damn," he joked, "Turned down by a crippled girl. It's not like you can do much else right now, anyway."

"I am not crippled…"

But GT Blitz just ignored me as his communicator went off. "Sorry, you three," he announced, "But I have to go. There's something I want to tell your newbie friends. Blitz out!" With another eye-aching grin, he turned and left as the three of us scowled at each other.

"How the hell do you stand working with him, Pecker?" Eileen asked in astonishment.

"I'd rather be having a conversation with the rat boy," Pecker admitted, referring to Daxter.

"That bad, huh?" I piped up.

"You can't imagine." He spat on the ground.

"Anyway," he continued, "If you two can help me find out about this crime connection, that would help boost this show's ratings. Believe me, it needs it."


The Bloody Hook was slightly more crowded than it was this morning, and Daxter and I just relaxed after that harrowing race from earlier. The others had gone back to the hotel, and who knew where Paige and Eileen were?

"I'm sure they're fine," Dax assured me, "They're Paige and Eileen!"

"I know," I said, "But with these apparent rumors about an underworld crime connection, you never know."

We continued to drink our glasses of water when Daxter suddenly looked up. "Jak, look," he whispered, and I glanced up in time to see David emerging from a side staircase. He looked up and noticed we were here as well.

"Looks like he's coming over here now," I muttered, frowning as David ordered a beer and sat down next to us. He waited for a few minutes before the bartender finally poured his drink and slid it across the table. David grabbed it and began taking large gulps of the alcoholic beverage. I wasn't sure what it was, but I suddenly had the urge to ask him what the hell was going on with him.

"You sure you want to do that?" I asked harshly, "Did you even check to see if that's laced with anything?"

David looked up, clearly surprised that I was addressing him. However, he narrowed his eyes soon after. "Why do you care?" he snapped, "There's so much shit in my body now, so what's a little more alcohol going to do?"

"Oh, I don't know," Dax piped up in a sarcastic tone, "Kill ya, maybe?" David drank his beer in even larger gulps now.

"What does it matter if I die?" he mumbled in a slightly slurred voice, "I'm going to be alone. Nobody cares about me. Nobody ever cared about me."

"That's not true," I replied.

"The minute I seemed suspicious, you all dropped me like a hot potato, so don't lie." He raised the pitcher to his mouth again.

I sighed. This conversation wasn't going anywhere, and I needed to do something about it. "Why don't you just tell us what's going on?" I asked quietly. Maybe if we didn't ask him so harshly, he might be more willing to give us information.

"Ugh," the ex-Krimzon Guard groaned, running his fingers through his hair, "I'm so ashamed about everything that's happened. If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell the others, especially Eileen."

I raised an eyebrow and waited with bated breath.

"The truth is…" David started, leaning forward so that other people wouldn't overhear him.

"There you are, Jak!" Blitz suddenly shouted from the entrance to the Bloody Hook.

"Damn it," Dax hissed under his breath as GT Blitz made his way over to us.

"Getting some local color?" he joked, laughing a little bit, "You certainly need it, you're positively pale on screen. Listen, I just wanted to tell your group that you can earn cool gadgets by performing odd jobs for the Commission and others."

I glanced from Daxter to David. "What kind of jobs?" I asked.

"What kind of gadgets?" Daxter added.

"Good stuff!" Blitz exclaimed, "For instance, there are some dirt forming robots that went berserk in the Kras Dirt Stadium. They need to be destroyed before someone gets hurt. Hunt them all down and you'll be rewarded."

David perked up, blinking his eyes a few times. "That sounds like a Sport Hunt," he drawled.

"Sounds good," I said.

"Sounds dangerous!" Dax spat.

"It is," Blitz confirmed, "But the prizes are good, and you'll need them. That is, if you want to continue upgrading your car to keep up with the Joneses. The job's waiting if you want it. But be careful, we wouldn't want to hurt one of our star up and coming racers."

"A little job like that won't hurt us," I assured him, and Blitz seemed to be satisfied with my answer.

"What a tough cookie you are," he said, "All of you. Your friend, Paige, is one hell of a mountain. How you persuade her to do anything, I'll never know."

"What do you mean?" David asked a little too loudly.

"I asked her to help me and Pecker out with my show," Blitz explained, shaking his head, "Turned me down flat. She's got a will of iron, that one. Not even a horrendous car accident can stop her."

"That's Paige Smith for you," I told him, smirking. Of course, Paige hadn't always been like that, but she had grown some thick skin between all these adventures.

"Well, give me a call if she changes her mind," Blitz said, and winking, he walked away.

"Somehow, I doubt she will," David commented to us.

"Definitely not," I agreed, "So what were you about to tell us before Blitz interrupted us?"

David sighed, rubbing his eyelids as he shook his head. "I guess I couldn't avoid it forever, huh?" he teased, "Let's get out of here, and I'll tell you." He left a tip for the bartender and stumbled a little bit as he stood up, and I took one of his arms to help him.

"Why are you helping me all of a sudden, by the way?" he croaked as soon as we were outside.

Truth be told, I wasn't sure. Just the other night, I had thrown it in his face that he used to work for Erol and Praxis. Because of my uncertainty, I didn't answer.

"Okay, okay," David said, "The truth is…Kras City is my hometown."

"What?" Dax and I gasped at the same time, our mouths hanging open in shock.

"It's true," David confirmed, "I was born and raised here since I was yea big." He lowered one of his hands to the ground.

"You never told us you were born here," I said, "That's how you knew how to get around!"

"That's right," David agreed, "I never thought it was necessary to bring it up, but there it is."

"So how the heck did you end up in Haven City?" Daxter asked, "Why would you leave Kras?"

"Long story," David replied, "But here's the gist of it: I moved there a couple of years before the first war. I never thought I'd return to Kras until now. I wish I had never come back." He just shook his head.

"How does Razer factor into that?" I questioned, "And whoever Mizo is?"

Before David could open his mouth to answer, we suddenly heard a chorus of voices. "Jak! Daxter!" Paige shouted as she, Eileen, and Pecker approached us.

"David!" Eileen gasped in shock, "What are you doing here?"

"Pecker!" Dax cried, "How'd you end up as tin grin's co-host?"

"Like I'd tell you!" Pecker huffed, dry spitting on the ground by Daxter.

"Hey!" my best friend cried, "No disrespecting the pants!"

"All right, break it up, you two!" I growled, clapping my hands.

"Anyway," Eileen cut in, "What's going on with you guys?"

I stole a glance at David and thought about the information he had just told us. I shook my head and retorted, "Blitz came by to talk to us. He told us about a job in the Kras Dirt Stadium. David called it a Sport Hunt."

"David told you?" Paige echoed in disbelief, glaring at the Freedom League guard.

"Sure did," David replied in an equally cool voice, "I'm capable of more than just being a traitor." Paige didn't say a word in response.

"Anyway," I interjected before another fight could ensue, "We're going to check out this job now so we can get the prizes."

"I'll go with you guys," Eileen volunteered, "I think I want to try an event now, since I haven't yet."

"Are you sure?" Paige asked, glancing at Eileen with a surprised expression on her face.

"Yeah," Eileen replied, nodding insistently, though why, I didn't know.

"Okay," I decided, "Let's go."

"You guys go on," Paige encouraged us, "I want to speak to David alone." Eileen nodded once again, and as Pecker flew away to look for GT Blitz, I followed the ex-KG spy over to the Stadium, where the Sport Hunt event would take place. The whole time we walked there, I couldn't stop thinking about David's revelation from before. If Kras was his hometown, then surely he must have had family here. Why would he want to voluntarily leave all that behind?


Awkward silences were never a favorite of mine, so in order to break it, I placed my hands on my hips and tapped my foot impatiently on the ground. David glanced around nervously before clearing his throat.

"So," he began cautiously, "How are you, Paige?"

"Better," I answered, "I hear there's a Freeze Rally coming up soon, so I might be able to race in that. What about you?"

"I've been better," David said in response, "Look, about our fight a few days ago…I'm really sorry for what I said to you. I didn't mean to throw everything back in your face."

"It's done now," I told him in a neutral tone of voice, "There's nothing to be sorry for anymore. I know we've been badgering you over the whole Razer thing, but we're just worried about you. Your behavior's been very…erratic, and it's starting to scare us." David looked away.

"I know," he whispered, "And I'm sorry. But believe me when I say this: I don't want you or Jak getting dragged into my business with Razer. This is something I need to take care of alone." I just sighed, turned on my heel, and began heading over to the Stadium to watch the Sport Hunt.

"Wait up!" David cried, "I'll tell you a little bit about what's going on if you promise not to tell anyone else."

I turned around at that. "You mean that?" I asked, "Is it about the rumors surrounding the underworld crime connection?"

David widened his eyes for a second, but then shook his head as he realized I had seen Pecker's broadcast earlier that day. "No, it's not that," he denied, "It's about Razer."

"I promise not to tell anyone," I promised, and with that, the two of us began to march over to the Coliseum once again. The breeze felt nice after running around for the last couple of days.

"Razer and I go way back," he explained, "When I was five, my parents and I got into a car accident. I made it out alive, but my parents…" He didn't finish, and I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach.

"I'm so sorry, David," I whispered sympathetically, patting his shoulder. He just sighed and refused to look at me as small tears formed at the corner of his eyes.

"Thanks," he choked, "After that, Razer…well, his family, took me in and adopted me."

"What?" I spluttered, my gasp echoing off the buildings around us.

"It's true," David continued, "I didn't have any other family members to go to, so Razer's parents volunteered, since they were good friends with my parents. For my whole life, Razer's been a brother to me."

I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around all this. He was Razer's adoptive brother? I would have never guessed that. "So what happened?" I asked quietly.

David shook his head. "That's another story for another day," he replied, "Right now, we have a Sport Hunt to get to, and then a Freeze Rally right after that."

"So there is going to be a Freeze Rally?" I asked suspiciously, "You know that for a fact?"

"Yes," David affirmed, "Now, let's go." He walked a little bit faster until he was ahead of me, clearly not in the mood to talk about Razer. He couldn't just drop a bomb like that and then not talk about it!

Still, it left me in a state of shock. Just as we arrived at the Stadium, I stole a glance off to my right, where I spotted Razer staring angrily at us, but especially David. So what the hell happened between them to lead up to the events of this racing season? I asked myself.


The Sport Hunt was definitely not what I was expecting it to be!

"This was always Father's favorite event," Rayn whispered to me, Keira, and Torn as we watched the event get underway. Down below, Jak, Ashelin, and Eileen were competing against each other, as well as Razer's boys, in order to see who could destroy the most robots in the allotted time. Meanwhile, Pecker and Blitz dutifully commented on everything they witnessed down in the arena.

At the last minute, David had disappeared just as we arrived in the stands, claiming that he wasn't ready to face the others yet after his revelation. I wondered what Razer thought about all this; so far, he hadn't mentioned anything about David being his brother, and I was dying to know. So that must've meant that David Lloyd was originally from Kras City! Hmm, I thought as the wheels turned in my head.

Down in the pit, Shiv screamed as Eileen hurled a Yellow Eco missile at him, and I smiled to myself as Jak and Ashelin sped around her in order to shoot down more robots. However, from the scoreboard, Jak was clearly in the lead. Go, Jak! I thought to myself.

"Looks like it's almost finished," Torn announced, leaning forward in anticipation as the clock counted down the last five seconds. Jak and Eileen vied to shoot down one last robot when suddenly…

"And the winner is Jak!" Pecker announced, and we all stood up as the news sank in.

"Wow!" Keira cried excitedly, "Jak won again!"

"Thank the Precursors," Rayn sighed, "Our numbers are looking better and better every day."

"And you're sure your father has the antidote for us, right?" the mechanic asked in response.

"As sure as anything," Rayn assured us, "My father would never leave us in this state."

I had to hold back the loud HA that was trying to escape from my mouth. She must not have known her father very well, then. "Rayn…" I started, but trailed off. How could we even begin to explain Krew's actions in Haven?

"Oh!" Keira gasped, "The Freeze Rally is starting now!"

Torn glanced over at me. "Are you sure you'll be okay, Paige?" he asked, "Samos said for you to wait a few weeks."

"I feel fine," I reported, "Just a minor discomfort, that's all. Besides, if I don't get back in my car now, I'll never be able to."

"We just don't want anything else to happen to you."

"It won't," I said, "You've got nothing to worry about." And before they could say anything else, I was already hurrying out of the bleachers so that I could get to the garages.

Ten minutes later, I drove my car up to the starting line as I saw my friends stare at me in shock. I'd have to explain my condition to them later, but for now, I just wanted to race again. I hadn't mentioned it to Pecker or Eileen, but Blitz's comment about me being crippled bothered me to no end. I wanted to prove that I was quite the opposite. After this race, I'd get back to investigating the underworld crime connection.

I looked to my left and found David standing some distance away from the others, and I thought about his connection with Razer again. His familial connection. As soon as he realized I was staring at him, he looked away, almost in shame.

Before I could think about it anymore, I already heard the bells ringing, signaling the beginning of the Freeze Rally.

"Ready?" Pecker shouted, "GO!"

Kicking up a cloud of dust, I took off down the track, praying to the Precursors that everything would work out for the best.