DJG: "I haven't heard from Light in a while, I wonder where he went?" *peeks around corner*

Light *smoking dope*

DJG: "Uhhh, you do realized this is completely out of character, right?"

Light: *Breathes smoke in her face* "Yer insane, remember?"

DJG: "I hate you." *Flushes dope down a convenient toilet*

DJG: "Btw, since no one told me what song was the most Jak-ish, I picked my fav and kinda mixed it into the story. I really don't like song-fics, but I thought I might try one, just for shits and giggles. Bold and italic is lyrics, and I ended up picking "Time of Dying" by Three Days Grace, so I don't own that, or any of the characters, except for Claww, Axel, Casey, Jamie, Michael, and this waffle I'm about to inhale. Btw, Jak's kinda insane in his POV."

"Now what?" Torn asked, staring at the small scratch on Jak's arm. His skin was turning a pale shad of grey, and the horns were already coming out of his head. It was almost as if he was shifting to Dark, except for a huge Metal Head skull gem that was growing out of his forehead. Samos gently touched the scratch, and it glowed green. "I might be able to reverse it temporarily." Slowly, Jak changed back to normal, but the thin line was still visible on his forearm. He turned to Torn. " This is YOUR fault! You are going to have to take Jamie and her friend Michael to Haven Forest, or what's left of it. Talk to Onin, she's hiding out there with Pecker. We were working on the cure together before the Metal Heads chased her to Haven Forest. Ask her for her piece."

"Wait a minute! You said everyone from the Underground was changed!" Torn snapped. He was sick and tired of this stupid future. "Well, Onin technically wasn't from the Underground…" Torn groaned and flopped down on a chair. " And what's with the Michael kid? Why's he going?" Samos sighed. "He's Onin's nephew. He can track people amazingly well. He'll help you find her."

Jamie handed a weapon to Torn. "You're gonna need this, trust me." It was similar to Jak's Morph-Gun, only it had just two mods, Blaster and Vulcan Fury. "Daxter will take you to Haven Forest. Try to hurry, I can't hold the venom back forever, you know."

"I'm gonna do WHAT now?!!" Daxter shrieked. Samos fixed him with a death glare. "Alright, sheesh!"

8 years in the future…(Kinda Jak's POV)

Pain…everywhere…Jak tried to focus on what had happened, but gave up from the pain. He only remembered Axel, and something to do with Dark Eco…and Torn was there, too. "What happened?" he thought. "Damn it, why can't I remember?" On the ground I lay, motionless, in pain. " Jak, Jak, you okay? Say something!" It was Sig's voice, he was sure of it. The scene shifted. He looked around. He was in a hospital, next to Keira. She was staring just below him with sad eyes. I can see my life flashing before my eyes. Just then, he realized how high in the air he was. It was like he was hovering over…he looked down. "Oh, shit!" It was himself. "How…when did-" Jak couldn't even say it. (I'm kinda using the idea from the movie Just Like Heaven, if anyone's catching on yet.) "Keira? What's going on?" She ignored him. "How come I can hear me?" he muttered. I was just so damn frustrating! Did I fall asleep, is this all a dream?

The scene shifted again, time speeding up, as Ashlyn rushed in. Instead of staring at him like she usually did, she pushed Torn's unmoving body into a closet. "They're COMING!" she yelled, and Keira rushed in behind her. "But, Jak-" "There's no time! Get ready!" The two female elves were easily overcome by the Metal Heads. None of them seemed to notice him out in the open. He was hit by a wave of sadness as he saw Ashlyn as a Metal Head. He didn't see Keira at all. Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare.

Time seemed to go so slowly. There was no activity in the hospital, it was deserted. Day after day he sat there, waiting for something to happen. A few Metal Heads occasionally crawled in the broken window, but none ever touched him. " I can't stand it! What's going on!?! Fuck!" Sometimes it felt like he was back in prison, only without the experiments. He would have traded for it in a heartbeat, though, because this was worse than torture. At least in the prison his existence was acknowledged. Here, it was like he was being denied the right to exist.

He missed Keira the most, having her talk to him, even though she thought he couldn't hear her. He kept hoping against hope that somehow, she was alive and safe somewhere. He just wished he could see Jamie again…And then, she was there. His daughter. Right there. He wanted so much to let her know he was there, he could hear her. It hurt him to see her there with tears in her eyes. She looked just like him, yet just like Keira at the same time. "How are the machines still working?" she whispered. Jak glanced at them. They had fallen into disrepair long ago, and some had rusted away altogether. Yet, his monitor was still burning brightly, his body was still breathing, he was still there. I will not die, I will survive. "How are they still working?" he thought. And then she left. "Wait, no, come back!" he cried, but she still disappeared.

I will not die, I'll wait here for you. I feel alive, when you're beside me. I will not die, I'll wait here for you, in my time of dying. Time became a blur. He could no longer keep track of days, weeks, hours, minutes. They all flowed together. The only thing he could use to keep track of time were Jamie's visits. And they became less and less frequent. He felt terrible that he couldn't be there for her as she was growing up. As time went by, he forgot names, the faces they belonged to, everything. His precious daughter was the only thing that mattered right now. On this bed I lay, losing everything. I can see my life passing me by. Then, during Jamie's next visit, Jak noticed a medallion dangling from her neck. "What is that symbol? I've seen it before, I know it!" he thought frantically. A yin yang-looking charm, but what did it mean? He knew it was important to him, somehow.

And then he remembered. "The Seal of Mar." Everything came rushing back to him, in an instant. Was it all too much, or just not enough? Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare. "Torn." he thought. He was in the closet. Was there any chance that he wasn't decaying in there? "Jamie! Open the closet!" he thought. Could Torn somehow still be alive? "Jamie! I told you to never come here!" the Green Eco Sage's voice rang out. Oh, God. It was Samos. Samos was here. "Thank God, Samos, you're alive! I thought when Keira-" The name hurt to think. "You know I don't want you to come here!" Samos ranted, moving to stand in front of the closet. Jak was pissed that Samos, of all people, couldn't hear him. The only time Samos had noticed him before, back in Sandover, was when he annoyed him. "How original, tell me more!" he said, in the same tone Daxter used to get under his skin.

"I didn't know…and what's in that closet that you won't let me see? What if there's something in there that could help Dad?" Jamie whispered through her tears. "There isn't and you know damn well what's in that closet!" Jak was astounded. Not only was that the first time Samos had sworn aloud, but he felt betrayed that Jamie hadn't let Torn out. What if he was awake, and couldn't get out? What did it all mean?

Jamie never came back. He felt like he was going insane. In the back of his head, he worried about everybody. Daxter…Sig…Ashlyn…Onin…Keira…Jamie…Samos. Where was everybody? What was going on? I will not die, I will survive. He stared constantly at the monitor, half hoping it would burn out and it would be over. One day he noticed the date and time in the corner. He nearly screamed when he saw the date. It had been almost eight years. He hadn't looked at his body for at least two. Glancing down, he wasn't exactly excited by what he saw. His hair had grown out to look like it did when he was seventeen, and his body was covered in a thin layer of dust.

"Somebody get me out of here!!!" He yelled. I will not die, I'll wait here for you, I feel alive when you're beside me. Time seemed to slow, as suddenly the door opened. He was startled by the sudden noise, having been used to silence for so long. It was Jamie. "Hi Dad." she whispered quietly. She came over to him. "I'm sorry. I wanna get you out of here really bad, and so does Daxter, but Grandpa Green won't let us." Jak froze. "T-They're alive? They're not…" He hardly dared to hope.

And then the closet door creaked open. "Torn!?" Torn stared at Jamie. "Who the hell?" Then he saw her face. "Holy fuck." She was afraid, Jak could tell. "You..you're awake!" she whispered. Jak saw him glance in a mirror. Time was speeding up for him again. The next thing he knew was he was outside, surrounded by Metal Heads. He felt something heavy on his chest. "Daxter?" he thought. "Maybe that's…" But it wasn't. It was a Metal Head. And not just any Metal Head. "No…no no nonononono!" he thought frantically. Not Keira, no, this couldn't be happening!

He saw Jamie get tackled. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. "Jamie!" he yelled. I will not die, I'll wait here for you, in my time of dying. He wanted so badly to be able to move, just for a moment. He'd take on the whole Metal Head army bare-handed if it meant being able to move again, to talk and have people hear him, to live. Torn left the gurney to help her, and Jak suddenly felt like his forearm had been torn off. "Fuck!" he swore, as the pain seemed to spread. "How can I even feel that, dammit?!? But then the weight was gone, and he saw Jamie. He was glad she was alive, but the pain hurt so bad it was hard to think of anything else. It was worse than prison. Once again, time was leaving him behind. I will not die, I'll wait here for you. He was in the Hideout. Jamie was no longer in sight, and the pain came back with reinforcements. Samos was screaming at Torn, yelling about who knows what. Didn't anyone care that he was burning, and unable to even writhe in pain? And then he felt the change, the Dark Eco he hadn't felt since the accident rising to the surface. "NO!" he thought. "Not around Jamie!"

And then it was gone. He saw a flash of green, and the pain was still there, just faint, similar to when an "experiment" was done in the prison. I feel alive, when you're beside me. I will not die, I'll wait here for you, in my time of dying. When he opened his eyes, Torn, Daxter, Jamie, and the other boy were gone. Samos was staring at him sadly. "What am I supposed to do if this ends badly?" The pain hit him again, stronger than ever, and to his immense surprise his body actually moved. "Jak? Can you hear me? They're bringing the cure. Just hold on…please." Samos tried using more green eco, but it had done all it could. Now all they could do was wait.

"Fuck. I hate this! Damn you, Axel. Damn you to hell." he thought angrily. "Actually, Sig was the one who shot you." "Yes, but you were the one who was showing off with that Dark Eco!" "Both of you shut up!"I will not die, I'll wait here for you. I will not die, when you're beside me. I will not die, I'll wait here for you, in my time of dying.

In Haven Forest…

"What has that stupid kid been smoking!?!" Torn yelled angrily. They had successfully made it to Have Forest alive, and shockingly, there were no Metal Heads there. But when Michael had led them to the clearing where his aunt was supposedly staying, they found nothing but bushes and trees. He had proceeded to lead then in pointless circles throughout Haven Forest, hoping to stumble across the campsite. Daxter was leaping through the trees, looking for Pecker. "If we can find Birdbrain, maybe he can show us where that old fossil is staying." he muttered.

Three hours later, Jamie tripped and fell. "What the heck was that?" she snapped. "You fell over your own feet!" Daxter retorted. The heat was making all of them testy. "Piss off, rodent, I tripped over a frickin post, or something!" "Whoa, now, Jamie, watch your mouth. Samos'll bite your ass if you swear around him." Torn had taken the time to cut his hair back with his knife, so it wasn't so long. They were in some sort of clearing, with a large cliff overlooking the portal back to Haven City. It was a long drop.

Michael was bending down next to where Jamie had fallen. "I think we're here!" he said excitedly. He felt around, and touched leather, the same kind used on Onin's tent. Somehow, Onin's whole tent was invisible. They found the "entrance" and walked in.

Onin's back was to them. Inside the tent, they could see her, and it almost felt like they were back in the Bazaar. "Greetings, hero. It's been awhile." Pecker said in his thick accent, turning around. "Holy Precursors! Who are you quacks? Where's Jak?" Daxter rolled his eyes. "Can it, featherbrain, we came for the stupid poison cure." Onin began making symbols in the air with her hands. Pecker quickly translated. "Onin says that she will give you her part of the cure if you get rid of the Metal Weed that's been harassing us." "Are you SERIOUS, lady?!?!! LIVES hang in the balance here, and you want us to weed yer stupid GARDEN!?!?" Daxter shrieked.

Jamie stepped forward. "Can we do it another time? This is really important." She batted her eyelashes and stuck out her lip pathetically. Onin and Pecker looked at each other. Jamie had always been able to influence people, especially these two. "Weeellllll, I guess. For you." Pecker said, flying over to them. "But I swear to Mar, if you people forget to come back and get rid of it, I'll come back from the grave and haunt you!" He jabbed his feathery finger into Daxter's face. Daxter smacked it away. "Oh, come on! It's just a little freakin plant!" he yelled, hopping up and down on Jamie's shoulder for emphasis. Suddenly, a large ripping sound was heard, and a green root poked in through the door. Then, the tent was ripped away, leaving them all unprotected.

Torn grabbed Jamie and Michael and pulled them away from the huge plant trying to crush them. Pecker flew away, and Onin teleported into a nearby tree. Daxter just stood there, gaping at it. "No way…" he muttered. "No freaking way! WE FUCKING KILLED THE DAMN THING ALREADY!!!" He climbed into the tree with Onin. "Jak and me killed this stupid oversized carrot back in Sandover! How can it be here alive?!? How can it even be here AT ALL!?!?!!!"

Suddenly, a vine twisted itself around Jamie's leg and pulled her up to its ugly face. She dangled there for a moment in shock, then pulled out her father's Morph Gun. The blasts from the Peacemaker didn't even phase it. Torn grimaced. "How do I kill the stupid thing?! Rodent, tell me what to do!!" Daxter shook his head. "I dunno, Jak did it, not me!!!" Torn sighed in exasperation and lunged at it with his knife. Daxter remained in the tree, trying to remember its weakness. "Wait, Tattoo Head, watch out for the spiky bugs!" Torn sliced a hole in the huge plant's "stem", but it just healed instantly. "What spiky-" Torn was thrown backward by two of the said bugs as they popped into existence. Large, sharp, gleaming points burst from their backs and they charged.

Back in the Hideout…

Samos was trying to help a young girl fix her broken war staff. "I can't fix this thing!" he grumbled in exasperation. "Yes you can! All you have to do is connect that to that, and then those to this part! Let me do it, then!" she said angrily. Samos shook his head. "Sorry, Jesslyn, if the master of Green Eco can't fix it, then neither can you. I'll just throw out this one, and get you another tomorrow." Jesslyn glared at him. Her mother had made that for her before she got bit. Just then, Samos heard a noise. It was very faint, almost nonexistent, but he could hear it. A quiet squeak of springs, like the ones in a bed, and a light padding sound. Samos glanced up, and his jaw dropped. Jak was standing there, looking as alive and determined as if the past eight years had never happened. Jesslyn had a similar look of awe on her face. They had all heard stories about Jak, the great warrior who could handle anything, and kick some serious butt on the way. "Where's Jamie?" he said in a slightly raspy voice. Samos stared at him in shock. "You're..h-how did you---I thought you were going to die. I'm glad you're okay." he admitted sheepishly. Jak gave him a faint smile. "What can I say? I like to stay alive."

After he caught Jak up to date, he (Jak)wanted to leave right away to find them, but Samos stopped him. "Just a minute! You may feel fine, but you still have that scratch to worry about!" Jak glanced at it. It burned painfully in response. "The poison will spread faster if you're moving around, so you're staying right here so I can watch it!" Jak frowned. "What if something happens and I'm not there? What if Jamie-" "Hold on a minute. How did you even know about Jamie? You were asleep her entire life!" Samos had struck a nerve. Jak focused on staying calm, so not to let Dark out and terrify all the kids. He purposely avoided the question. There was no way Samos would believe him. "Where are they?" Samos glared at Jak. "They're in Haven Forest, but that doesn't matter, because you are staying right here!" He pushed Jak towards the gurney. "Now lie down, and don't move so much!"

Samos left Jesslyn guarding him, and left to go study his part of the cure. Within a few minutes, though, her head slumped downward, and Jak could hear tiny snores. He used an old Sandover trick, and slid his pillow under the blankets to look like him. He silently slipped out the window. Jesslyn's head rose again. "Eat it, Loghead! I guess if the Master of Green Eco can't make Jak stay, than neither can I." She carefully pulled her staff out of the trash and, chuckling quietly, began to fix it.

Back in Haven Forest…

Torn quickly discovered the bugs were pretty weak, when their spikes retracted. He began to kill then almost as fast as the plant popped them out. Soon, the plant stopped spitting out bugs, and looked upward, toward the sky. Its leaves seemed to harden, making some sort of bridge up to its ugly neck. "Tattoo Head! Nail 'im right in the kisser!" Daxter yelled from his tree. Torn tried to climb the leaves, but they were too slippery, and he was out of practice. Jamie, who was still dangling from a vine, began to swing herself around in a circle, slowly gaining momentum. Finally, as she swung close to the plant, she stuck out her leg, and gave it a swift kick right in the throat. It screeched, and crumpled to the ground, dead. However, Jamie was still in the air, falling towards the void that was the cliff. "Jamie!!!" Daxter yelled, jumping out of his tree. Pecker tried to fly her back over the edge, but she was too heavy. She was falling…

DJG: "Jamie better learn how to fly quickly, or she's pretty much screwed."

Muse: "And you are SOOOO blunt about it…."

DJG: "What? It's true!"

DJG: "Btw, sorry for not posting a new chap for like, a billion years. But this one's longer, and it should make up for it. Unless you're all mad at me for the cliffhanger now…"

*Angry people throw sharp things at DJG*

DJG: *dodges* "OK, OK! I'm sorry! I'll make it better!" *starts typing*