Jak and Daxter and all affiliated characters and places are property of Naughty Dog. No infringement of copyright is implied or intended in this fictional work.

And I fixed a bit of the punctuation on the previous chapter. Thanks, Demyrie.

Never read William Gibson and then attempt to write fanfic, for some reason he just makes me lethargic. Bah. Also, for some reason, is having issues with my break lines. Grrr.


Chapter 7: Krew

The next morning after a quick and easy breakfast the duo set out for the Underground Headquarters. Tess had disclosed the location to Daxter just prior to the rescue mission so that Daxter could officially declare her allegiance to the Underground. Under normal circumstances, Daxter would have traveled light, but today she took her scattergun. She didn't want to be caught unawares and have Jak freak out again.

Jak had once again insisted on driving and they made it in record time, minus ten minutes of running away from an irate Krimzon Guard. It took them a few moments to determine exactly which filth-encrusted door was the right one but once inside Daxter was ready to make her grand entrance. Unfortunately, there was only one person present. The dread locked Commander was leaning over his desk looking at machine parts.

Daxter walked right up to the table and planted her hands on the edge. The force sent several smaller pieces into the air. "You must be Torn," Daxter said.

Torn scowled, rearranging his work. "Who are you?"

"I am Daxter," the redhead said, a huge grin on her face.

Torn gave her a blank stare.

Daxter decided to try something else. "Also known as Ottsel."

She received another blank stare. Daxter could hear a snort from Jak who was standing behind her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You guys call me Rat."

"Oh Rat, how'd your mission go?" Torn asked.

"Piece of cake," Daxter bragged. She jerked a thumb back to Jak. "This is my buddy, Jak." The blond stepped forward. He did not offer his hand.

Torn and Jak sized each other up. "Congratulations, Rat. You want a medal?"

Daxter shook her head, perching on the table. She crossed her legs and grabbed one of the machine pieces, examining it. "No, Jakkie boy wants to join the Underground. He was real hero back where we come from."

Torn frowned and snagged the part from Daxter's grip. He shot Jak a bored look. "You must have had something going for you for the Baron to keep you around this long, but that's no guarantee. The Rat's already proven herself but I don't know about you yet," Torn said.

Jak smirked, eager to answer the challenge. "What do I need to do?"

"Take the Baron's banner from the top of the Ruined Tower. Bring it back to me and maybe we'll talk," Torn said.

Daxter pushed herself off the table, scattering more delicate parts. "That'll be easier than herding Yakcows. Let's go, Jak."

Torn interrupted. "No Rat, he's got to do it alone."

The redhead deflated. "But—"

"He's right, Dax. This is my gig," Jak said. He turned and walked out the door.

Daxter watched him go, biting her lower lip. This was the first time that they had been separated since finding each other again. What if he got caught going alone? She started twitching her foot. She heard Torn cough and turned around. "What?"

"How long was he in the program?" Torn asked.

"Two years," Daxter said.

Torn nodded. He looked impressed. "Most prisoners don't last one. He's lucky,"

Daxter snapped, "Yeah 'cause being tortured is my favorite Saturday night thing."

There was an awkward silence. Daxter continued to twitch and finally took to outright pacing.

Torn broke the quiet. "You worried?"

Daxter paused, bouncing on her feet. "He's been out of it for two years, you know? I mean, maybe he needs a little help getting back into the groove of the whole adventuring thing."

"If he's half the hero you think he is, he'll be fine."

Daxter nodded and started to pace again.

"Rat?" Torn said. "Sit down, you're wearing a hole in my floor."

Daxter obediently sat in a chair, her foot ticking back and forth.

Ten minutes passed but it felt more like an hour. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from outside.

"What the—" Torn started. He bolted up the stairs with Daxter trailing after him. As they reached street level the source of the commotion became clear. The Ruined Tower was collapsing in on itself, dust and mortar clouding the sky. Daxter turned her head and noticed a figure jumping down from the building next to it. She pointed it out to Torn.

"It's Jak!" she said.

The blond warrior dove off an awning and rushed to their side. In his left hand was the Baron's banner.

Torn scowled. "That was reckless," he said, snatching the banner.

Jak grinned. "You never said the tower had to stay up."

"You could have brought the entire Krimzon Guard on our heads!" Torn snapped.

Jak's eyes narrowed, his voice took on a sharp edge. "You told me to get the stupid banner and I did!"

"Maybe you should—"

Daxter stepped in between the two men, arms out. "Hey, why wasn't I invited to this testosterone party?" She smiled and patted Jak's chest. "You know, old sourpuss is right. You could learn something about stealth." Daxter coughed into her hand and whispered to Torn. "Don't piss him off, tough guy. Jakkie boy's got some serious problems, like scary problems."

Torn shot Jak a challenging look. "I guess we can keep Jak on a probationary basis. If he makes just one wrong move, he's out of here." Daxter gave Torn a thumbs-up and Jak just smirked. "One of our 'suppliers' needs his payment delivered, a bag of Eco ore. Take it to the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon in South Town. Ask for Krew-he'll be there," Torn said, leading the twosome back into the Underground Headquarters. He fetched a sack and tossed it to Jak. "Get it there at any cost. Don't let the Guard stop you."

Daxter said, "You got it. Let's get going, Jak."

They turned to leave when Torn called after them. "Rat, I know that Tess is your friend but Krew doesn't know she works for the Underground. Understand?"

"I'll find a way to keep her quiet," Jak said with a suggestive smile.

Daxter scowled and punched the older boy in the arm. She muttered something rude under her breath as the two of them ascended the stairs. Torn rolled his eyes. "Tess has got to stop bringing in strays."

-

The Hip Hog Heaven was just as appealing as its name implied. The interior of the bar was dark and dingy. The faint sour smell of alcohol and too many long nights tainted the air. Jak and Daxter entered with their precious cargo in tow. Daxter did not hide her disgust as they entered.

The saloon was empty except for a lone dark-skinned figure at the bar. Daxter, remembering Jak's underwhelming conversation with Torn, said, "I'll take care of this, big guy. Watch me work my charm."

She sidled up to the bar. "Hey, mister."

Suddenly an obese man on a small flying contraption floated up to her. Not letting herself get ruffled, she turned to the newcomer. "Are you Krew? We got your shipment here in primo condition."

The large man, Krew as it turned out, smiled. "Yes, that's good, eh; that Eco's worth more than ten of your lives. Of course I would be forced to collect it slowly." Krew cooled himself with a small paper fan. He sized up the blond and the redhead. "Hmm, seems the Underground will take anyone with a pulse these days."

Daxter huffed in offense. "I'll have you know that we are the world famous Jak and Daxter."

Krew stroked his chin. "Daxter. I do believe I have heard that name before." He looked to the dark-skinned man at the bar. "Have you, Sig?" The dark-skinned man shrugged.

The redhead nodded, "Yeah, I've done some work for you."

Krew waved a dismissive hand. Many people have worked for him. "Refresh my memory."

Daxter opened her mouth to speak when Jak piped in. "They call her Rat."

She glared at her blond partner. Jak just responded with a playful grin. She was definitely going to have to get him back for that.

"Oh yes, of course." Krew floated down to the other end of the bar. He picked up a glass of some pinkish substance and took a sip. "Dreadful that whole Pariah business; I was very sorry to hear about their passing."

Tess had told Daxter about Krew's connections but she was still surprised. The Pariah had been an insular group. They tended not to associate with other syndicates, large or small. Daxter sighed. "Me too."

"The Pariah?" Jak asked.

"A group of minor thieves. They were getting quite the reputation with Miss Daxter on their team but sadly the Baron eliminated them. That's what happens when you ask the wrong questions," Krew said.

Jak shot Daxter a questioning look. For months Daxter had been anxious trying to figure out how to tell Jak that she had been a thief. She hadn't been sure how the innocent boy from Sandover would have reacted. After yesterday's display of violence, however, Daxter figured that was now a moot point. "I'll explain later," she muttered.

Krew took another delicate sip. "And what about you, Jak? Do you have any references?"

Jak gave Daxter a silent plea. She took pity on him. "Well, Jak's kinda new in town. He's trying to get himself started, know what I mean?" she said. "But you and me Krew are heavies in this burg, right?" She reached up and snagged Krew's drink. She took a sip and handed it back to him. She nodded in approval. "This place has some potential. If we teamed up we could make this joint top-class. Just add some nice looking girls, some new types of liquor, fumigate, steam-clean it a little, and change the name. I mean, Hip Hog Heaven? The hell kind of name is that?"

Krew downed the rest of his drink and set the empty glass on a high shelf. "You see, the Hip Hog reminds me of myself," Krew said.

Daxter barely managed to hold back a snicker.

The saloon owner chose to ignore her. "The Hip Hog is intelligent, cunning and quite gentle until provoked. Once angered it is capable of very swift and very messy retribution." Krew grinned, an unpleasant sight. It reminded Daxter of Jak standing over the fallen Krimzon Guards. She silently swore that she would make sure Jak never smiled like that. "And of course, the irony of its corpulence does not escape me."

Daxter and Jak managed a weak chuckle. She very much wanted to leave the bar. "Jak and I—"

Before Daxter could get any further, Krew interrupted. "Sig, give them their bonus."

Sig tossed Jak a scattergun.

The blond inspected it, hefting its weight. A slow smile spread across his face.

"You ever use one of those before?" Sig asked.

"No," Jak said.

"Try it out on the shooting range. If you do well we might consider the both of you for other jobs," Krew said.

Daxter groaned under her breath and followed Jak and Sig. Once on the shooting range, they were on Daxter's turf. She showed Jak how to shoot and how to reload efficiently. She helped him with his stance and with firing while moving. Thrilled at being able to teach Jak something for once, Daxter chattered and smiled during the entire lesson. She was surprised to see how quickly Jak took to using a weapon. Back in Sandover he had fought with his feet and his fists. Daxter felt a twinge of sadness that this world could not use or appreciate Jak's natural grace.

Then it was Daxter's turn and she went through the paces as she always did on the course. When she heard Jak clap in approval she felt a flush of pride.

Pleased with their performance on the gun course, Sig reported to Krew. The larger man waved his fan in pleasure. "Excellent shooting. Have you thought about being wastelanders?"

"Can't say that I have," Jak said.

"What's a wastelander?" Daxter asked.

"Wastelanders find artifacts outside of the city walls, 'ey. Of course anything of real value passes through my hands," Krew chuckled to himself. "You may have to take care of the occasional Metalhead but I'm certain that won't be a problem for one with your skills. If you work for me I'll send some of the sweeter items your way."

"Kill Metalheads. Get toys? Sounds good to me," Jak said.

"Whoa, Jak and the fat man, you guy's gotta run that by me again. There is no way I am going back outside the city to deal with Metalheads!" Daxter said.

"What's the big deal?" Jak asked.

"Have you ever seen a Metalhead? Oh wait, um . . . no you haven't," Daxter snapped. She scowled and crossed her arms.

Sig chuckled. "Seems the Chili Pepper here's too scared to be a Wastelander."

"No way, grumpy man, I'm done with Metalheads," Daxter said. She gave them a brief version of her encounter with Hal.

The dark-skinned man shook his head. "We won't be finding any of those kinds of Metalheads so the scattergun'll be fine. Besides, me and Golden Boy will watch your butt."

"Right. So what do we do?" Jak asked.

"You doughboys are going to watch my back while I bag five Metalheads for trophies for the Hip Hog. Should get more butts in the seats here. We'll meet down at the Pumping Station. Don't leave me dangling in the wind, Cherries," Sig said.

"We got it." Daxter grabbed Jak's sleeve. "I swear, if you get us killed I'll kill you," she said.

She headed toward the door when she heard Sig speaking softly to Jak. "You know Cherry, put the Chili Pepper in one of those little schoolgirl skirts there and you'll have a good old time."

Daxter's face flamed as red as her hair. She went out the door without saying another word. When Jak caught up to her she glared at his smug expression. "Do you believe that guy?" she hissed.

"Yeah, I thought it was a good suggestion," Jak teased.

Daxter's scowled. "Ha ha, laugh it up hero boy. Once I get back to normal, you'll be the one in the skirt."

Jak just shook his head. As the headed for their zoomer, Daxter glanced over to the back of the saloon. There was a two-person zoomer with a man in the driver's seat. He was covered in armor and clothes and a scarf obscured his face. The only identifiable feature was the short black hair on his head. Daxter's eyes narrowed. He seemed awfully familiar.

"You coming or what?" Jak asked.

"Yeah," Daxter called back, and climbed onto the zoomer.

-

Sig was waiting for them at the Pumping Station. It was pretty much as Daxter remembered. She figured that utility stations didn't change much from year to year.

"Okay Cherries, it takes a few for my Peacemaker to warm up so you're going to have to keep those Metalheads off my back. Here?" Sig said. In his hand was a large staff-like weapon, the Peacemaker.

Jak and Daxter were in love. "Ooooh, I want one of those. Where'd you get it?" Daxter asked.

"Don't ask. Cherry will take the front and Chili Pepper will cover my six. Got it?" Sig ordered.

The twosome nodded.

Sig smirked, hefting his weapon. "Good. Now let's get some Metalheads."

The three of them climbed up onto a series of platforms, looking for Metalheads. Sig held out a hand for them to stop. He pointed. Up high on another platform was a good-sized Metalhead, big enough to make Daxter's skin crawl. She gave Jak an apprehensive look. Jak just shrugged, he was unafraid. Daxter felt a little better.

Sig made himself comfortable and started firing up the Peacemaker.

Suddenly, a huge band of small Metalheads swarmed around them, attracted by the noise. Jak and Daxter took their positions and fired. The Metalheads were propelled backwards and disintegrated into Dark Eco blobs. The redhead was gratified to see that the scattergun was actually working. She felt her confidence soar. "Want a piece of me? Want a piece? Oh, too bad tall, dark and ugly!"

She looked back at Jak and gaped in shock. When Jak killed a Metahead, the Dark Eco would not just sit there. It would fly through the air to Jak and his body would then absorb the Dark Eco.

"What the hell?" Daxter muttered.

"Chili Pepper!"

Daxter turned to the sound. A Metalhead was almost on top of Sig! She fired and sent it flying.

"Stop daydreaming, we got work to do!" Sig shouted.

A moment later, the Peacemaker was ready. The Metalhead never had a chance. A bolt of purple energy caught it right in the middle and the creature tumbled off the platform to the ground. Sig held up a single finger. "One down."

Four to go.

The rest of the Metalheads fell pretty easily. By the third one, Jak and Daxter had a routine down pat. They even took to playing chicken with Sig about how close they would let the monsters get before blasting them away. This infuriated Sig and he took to yelling obscenities and threats at the twosome. One of their favorites was, "If you don't quit that I'll swat your butt 'til it's as red as your head, Chili Pepper!" The other was, "Do you want me to shove that gun where the sun don't shine, Golden Boy?"

When they were done, Sig turned to them. "You Cherries did good for being a bunch of smartasses. I'll take these trophies back to the Hip Hog. Tell Krew we've got 'em cooked and canned," he said.

The twosome smirked and went to leave when Sig grasped their shoulders. "And if you ever pull that crap again I'll beat you blue 'til Sunday," he said.

They nodded, getting the message. Jak and Daxter left the Pumping Station and once again mounted their zoomer. If the morning had been any indication, this was going to be a very busy day. The good thing was that a busy day didn't afford any time to think.

Back at the Hip Hog, Daxter ran into a familiar face. "Tess, baby!" she said, arms open wide. "You miss me?"

Tess smiled and gave her friend a hug. "I'm glad you're okay."

Daxter backed away and looked over the counter. "What have you got back there?" She hopped over and started routing through the bottles behind the bar. "Oh, this was a good year."

Meanwhile, Krew had pulled Jak aside. "I have a proposition for you. Racing is the biggest sport in the city. The grand champion is a man named Erol. He's very fast, very dangerous. A madman on the track. I figured what better competition than another madman?" he said.

Jak grinned. "Right."

"A client of mine is looking for a fast racer and I thought that you and the Rat might fit the bill nicely. Here's a security pass to the stadium area." Krew handed Jak a plastic card pass. "There is a contract, but I already signed your names just to save time. Hmmm."

Jak didn't care about the contract. He cared that he would have a shot at Erol much sooner than he thought. Daxter needed to hear this.

"Dax!" he shouted. He looked over at the bar and saw a pretty blonde woman and some flashes of red hair bobbing up and down. Daxter had to be back there. He scowled. Jak knew that Daxter got distracted by a pretty face much too easily. And this woman had pretty everything. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tess, Daxter's friend. You must be Jak," she said.

Jak was surprised at the familiarity. If she was Daxter's friend, what did that mean? Was she competition? "How—"

"Tall, blond, handsome. You're pretty much all that Dax talks about," Tess said with a grin. She whispered. "I think I can see why."

Jak was thrilled at that information, particularly the glowing terms, but kept a stoic composure. "Tess, she shouldn't be drinking. We've got work to do."

Tess winked. She leaned forward and looked at Jak's behind. She then turned her gaze down to Daxter. "You're right, you can bounce a quarter off it," she said.

Daxter jumped up, an open bottle in her hand. She was mortified. "Tess," she hissed under her breath. "You're not supposed to say that."

For the redhead's sake, Jak pretended not to have heard it. But he did file it away for later. "We've got to go," Jak said.

Daxter whined. "Damn it, I didn't even get to try anything."

"You can try everything later," Tess offered.

Daxter leaned against the bar and smirked. "You promise?"

Tess giggled and took the open bottle. "Promise."

"You're the best, sugerbuns," Daxter said, kissing her cheek. She vaulted over the bar and slung an arm around Jak's neck. "All right, what've we got, big guy?"

"Racing contract," Jak replied, leading them out of the bar.

"Sounds like fun," Daxter said.

Jak leered, thinking about all the painful things he could do to Erol. "Yeah, it should be."


Yeah, apparently my Daxter has some sticky fingers because she keeps messing with other people's stuff. I managed to find a copy of the Jak II game script online which has been a real help with figuring out missions. Obviously, I'm playing with the order of them for narrative purposes and since this is an AU, who cares?