A/N:

The story is now entering Act 2 of the Jak 2 game! I hope you're all ready for more action, adventure, and a chapter of ENDLESS surprises!

Here is Chapter 21.

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We didn't get back until four in the morning, and of course Torn woke us up two hours later for some important mission. Happy fucking birthday to me...

Daxter scrambled onto the table as Torn began the briefing. "Some of our scouts reported movement in Dead Town. Creatures moving towards the Sacred Site." He traced the map thoughtlessly. "Just as before."

"What happened...uh...before?" Daxter asked, lifting an eyebrow skeptically.

Torn's face grew weary and he sighed. "Metalheads broke through the old city wall. We fought them, but then the Baron pulled back, leaving everyone outside the 'new barrier' to die." His nostrils flared angrily. "Only the Shadow stayed and somehow stopped the attack."

I shook my head and let out a sharp breath. "And now you expect us to go out there again?" I glared at our comrade. Clearly he gave no fucks about our lives...

Torn looked smug and leaned forward. "You catch on fast!" He said sarcastically. "If you prevent the metalheads from reaching the Sacred Site, the Shadow will be...most grateful." He glanced down at the map, "He might even ask to see you."

I was about to walk away when he stopped me. "Hey, I'm probably wasting this, but here's a Vulcan barrel for that pea shooter of yours." He tossed a blue colored gun mod across the table to me. "Believe me, you're gonna need it..."

I hooked the mod up to my gun and suddenly felt in a much better mood. Torn saw my childish expression and rolled his eyes.

"Now that's a nice birthday present!" Daxter snickered, rubbing his paws together.

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This mission had probably been one of the most suicidal missions Daxter and I had ever had to do. Why wouldn't it be?

The Vulcan Fury proved to be a fast and lethal weapon, two qualities that were more than crucial for this mission. There were metalheads everywhere and I had to shoot from far ranges to avoid being struck by whatever weapons they carried. The Vulcan also had a red laser that helped my aim accuracy, which was extremely useful considering the fact that it was very cloudy out. A storm was definitely brewing.

There was a huge decaying building up ahead that Daxter had pointed out once I'd finished off the metalheads. He clung to my shoulder as the wind howled fiercely around us and we cautiously approached the crumbling structure. Its roof was pointed and its body was rounded, unlike the tall, rectangular buildings around it. I stared hard at it, trying to figure out why it looked so different than all the others surrounding it.

Daxter then abruptly gasped and his eyes widened. "Is that...Is that...," He stammered, "No, it couldn't be...that's not..."

I frowned and stepped towards the building, "It's Samos's Hut." I muttered, tilting my head in bewilderment.

I imagined Samos's hut, a place I'd practically grown up in, and pictured how I remembered it had looked before we'd arrived in Haven City. Its stones that looked glossy in the sunshine, its straw roof tightly weaved...Though the hut standing before us was worn down and practically destroyed now, I knew exactly where we were.

I saw Daxter's eyes water with astonishment as he gaped incredulously at the hut. "But...What? How? When? Where?...WHY?!"

I was hesitant to answer him, even though I knew it to be true.

"We're in the future, Dax..." I managed to croak. "This...horrible place...is our world."

We both just stared at the hut. I had so many questions running through my mind...some that I believed we would never get the answer to. Suddenly, I just wanted to go home. I wanted to be sixteen and carefree again. I was twenty years old now, a dark, numb adult with a dangerous job. Was it always meant to be like this for us? Did the Precursors send us to the future because if we'd stayed in the past, we would have been destroyed just as Sandover Village had been?

Chills ran up and down my spine, both from the wind and the waves of shock taking over my body. I was then immediately overcome with exhaustion. My knees buckled and wobbled and I tried to compose myself.

"Daxter we need to get out of here right now." My voice cracked as I spoke. Daxter, still gawking at Samos's hut, nodded slowly. I spun around, and bolted towards the city wall as fast as I could against the wind.

This storm was going to be a big one.

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We took a long walk around the Slums, trying to shake the shock off. It began to rain, and we eventually decided it was time to focus on other things and return to the Hideout to finally meet the Shadow. I called Torn on the communicator to let him know we were still alive and heading back. He sounded pleased and told us that the Shadow was with him, awaiting our return.

When we arrived, Torn was standing in front of us the moment the door opened, with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed. "The Shadow has decided it's time to meet you." His face was full of what looked like pride.

I know it should have surprised me, but my mind was still stuck in Dead Town. "Why is that place in the old ruins so important to you?"

A short figure was standing at the table behind Torn, his back facing us, and I felt Daxter shift on my shoulder as he tried to get a good look at him.

Torn's smile faded away. "There's a powerful energy force at the old house. The metalheads are drawn to it."

"No kidding? We used to know the guy that lived there." I responded, glancing over Torn's shoulder at the mysterious person behind him.

Torn stepped out of my view and revealed an extremely short man with a log tied to his head in a fashion I'd only ever seen one other man wear before...

He turned around and spoke. "So, you're the new recruits who keep getting into trouble!"

I slightly took a step back, startled by the man standing before me. Daxter, on the other hand, seemed more annoyed than baffled.

"Oh no," He groaned miserably, "Not you!"

It was Samos the Green Sage.

Well, he looked a lot like Samos...except he had a goatee rather than a full beard, and he was shorter than the Samos we knew, if that were even possible. He also had an unfortunate afro, and surprisingly looked way younger than he should've, since the last time we saw him he was as old as the rocks he used to speak of...

Samos grinned and gestured toward us. "Welcome to our humble Underground movement! I am known as the Shadow, but you may call me Samos." He reached out his hand. "And you are?"

I walked up to the little man, and Daxter just had to complain about this shocking turn of events.

"Sheesh Jak," He whined, hopping off of my shoulder, "We went through all that to meet his holiness, ol' Log-On-The-Head, Grandpa Green?!" He pointed accusingly at the man, who looked quite annoyed at Daxter's insult. Daxter palmed his face. "You've got to be shitting me!"

I was astounded by the whole situation. "Don't you know who we are?" I asked the sage who claimed to be Samos.

"Sorry kid...Never seen you before." He shrugged, "And I never forget a face! Especially one that ugly..." He pointed directly at Daxter.

Daxter grimaced and crossed his arms, "So it begins..."

I, of course, was totally confused at this point and I needed to try to get this straight before it drove me any crazier than I already was.

"How is this possible?" I asked, holding my head in frustration, "We came through the Rift with you...in-into the future...right?"

Samos was about to answer my questions, but Dax had to open his mouth yet again. "Yeah! You used to look older than dirt and uglier than a knotted stump. What gives? Did you get a little 'nip and tuck' while we were gone?"

Torn shot me a dirty look, as if I could control Daxter's mouth. Dax had no fucking filter with Samos ever, young or old.

Samos looked as though he'd had about enough of Daxter's bullshit. "Listen boys, I don't know what kind of twigs you've been chewing on, but I don't have time for this." He turned and walked around the table, "We've got a Baron to overthrow, a child heir to protect, an invasion of Metal Heads to stop, and a city to save." He walked over to a weapon chest and climbed on top of it, "I'd say the schedule's pretty full! Besides, I haven't gone through any Rifts. I hate teleporting!"

Daxter rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering, "Sure sounds like the ol' Samos..."

"Right now I need you to go to Haven Forest and root out a few metalheads," Young Samos continued, "That forest is my source of power, but I can't protect it much longer. Chase down and destroy all the metalhead scouts you find there." He hopped off the chest and looked me square in the eyes. "Good luck...and welcome to the fight!"

I didn't know how to react, other than to just give Samos a respectful nod and leave with none of our questions answered.

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Darla.

I jolted awake.

I blinked quickly to clear up my sight and peeled a piece paper off of my cheek that had unfortunately stuck itself there with my drool. It was one of the air lift logs I was filling out from today's rescue mission. Fuck...I'll have to write up a new one.

I sighed and stretched my arms. What time is it? I looked around my office for a clock. All of my things had been moved around after the room had to be fixed up because of my...explosiveness. What a pain in the ass...luckily I opened a drawer in my desk and a pocket watch that had been given to me by a family who'd lost their loved one in battle was still in the same drawer I always kept it in. I ran my thumb over its gold surface gently before I clicked it open.

It was eight in the morning. I'd slept through the entire night! This couldn't be healthy for someone my age. I was twenty years old, you'd think staying up late would be one of the perks...Nope. Not for someone working with the Underground.

There was a knock on my door. I cleared my throat. "Who is it?"

"It's Maichael, I'm back! Can I come in?"

Crap! Yes, Maichael had seen me at my worst, but I still tried my best to look presentable in front of people...I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth, rubbed the sleep from my eyes and ran my fingers through my curls. "Yeah, come in!"

Maichael cracked the door open and peeked around it, his brown eyes wide and innocent. A smile crossed his face when he saw me and he came into the room.

"Good morning, Goldilocks. Late night?" He raised his eyebrows at me as he shut the door.

I rolled my eyes, "How can you tell?"

He laughed and opened his arms wide so I could hug him. I grinned and threw my arms around him. He breathed deeply and nuzzled my head. "I missed you, D."

"Same here," I murmured into his chest. He was wearing his emerald green sweatshirt, the one that he'd worn the day he rescued me. I felt a ping in my tummy as I flashbacked for a second back to that day. He pulled away from our embrace and I gestured for him to have a seat in one of the new swivel chairs. I had been blessed with two of them now.

Maichael plopped casually into the chair and I sat in mine and rolled over to him. "So..." I started, eager to hear about his mission, "How was Haven Forest? You were gone for four days!"

Maichael spun around in the chair, "I got back at...like...two a.m. this morning, but I didn't want to bother you since you were working so hard." He stopped spinning, "The mission went great, honestly. It wasn't as dangerous as it could've been, considering our kick-ass 'Wild Card' soldier captured all the metalhead scouts using only a jet board and his bare hands. We just had to do a bit of recon and make sure the area was secure. Scouts keep reappearing there out of nowhere every day, it seems."

I fiddled with the pocket watch, which was still clutched in my hand, "I keep hearing about that mysterious Wild Card. Everyone talks about this guy like he's some super human."

Maichael smirked and his eyes lit up as he leaned close to me, "I finally fucking met the guy...he's the one who drove me to the safe house!"

"No way!" I sat up, eager to hear more. I'd heard so much about this rogue soldier who'd been unstoppable ever since he had joined the Underground. "What was he like? Was he intimidating?"

Maichael tapped his chin, "Intimidating? Yes. But he was very...laid back. Well, he's our age so that's probably why he isn't as uptight as our higher ranked and senior officers." He leaned on the arm of the chair and stared past my head at the wall behind me. "He was different...not...angry, exactly...but you could tell he wasn't someone who'd had an easy life." He furred his brows then, and I could tell I was losing him to his thoughts.

"Well, that's awesome that you got to meet him!" I said encouragingly, "You're probably one of the only members of the Underground who've been in his presence."

Maichael nodded and smiled, "It was an honor, but I kept my cool. Jinx was the first of the four of us to get transported and he contacted me literally ten minutes before the guy picked me up. He told me Wild Card was the one transporting...I didn't want the guy to know I knew about his reputation, though, so I just made small talk and didn't ask prying questions."

"Kept your 'cool', huh?" I lifted my eyebrow skeptically. "What cool?"

"Ha-ha, very funny Darla Acheron." Maichael stuck his tongue out at me and I giggled. He spun around in the chair once more before halting abruptly. "Apparently it was his fault that we all needed to be moved to safe houses. He got into some brawl with Praxis himself!" He chuckled at the thought, "Oh! And guess what else?"

I smiled. "What?"

"He told me his name!" Maichael's enthusiastic smirk suddenly faltered a bit. He blinked once and his eyes shifted to the floor.

I felt confused at his sudden change in emotion. "...Oh yeah?"

"He told me...his name." I could tell Maichael was mentally struggling with whatever he was thinking about.

All of a sudden, he bolted upright in the chair and his hand flew to his mouth. His skin turned pale and he shook his head frantically. I stood up, completely disturbed and disconcerted by his actions. I looked at him worriedly, my eyes feeling dry from staring so hard. His eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. He looked utterly perplexed and frankly quite ill as he sat there.

"What is it?" I whispered. I don't know why I whispered it...I guess I was just afraid of what he was going to tell me.

"H-His..." Maichael managed to stammer, "His name." He swallowed hard, and his hand slid to his forehead. "Darla...it was him." He whispered, "The rebel Wild Card soldier."

I shook my head, puzzled. Then, Maichael said it. A sentence that I'd never forget, a phrase that would ring through my head forever.

"It was Jak."

My breath hitched, and my gold pocket watch clattered to the floor.

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A/N:

Secrets are beginning to reveal themselves, unanswered questions are still going unanswered, and Darla has heard Jak's name for the first time in over two and a half years. That's how long they've been separated and it's been long enough! Things have changed though and so have they...

Are you ready for their reunion?

Read and Review!