Beware of mild swearing and spoilers for the games.
And I don't own Jak or Daxter or any other of Naughty Dog's characters.
NOTICE:- I've rewritten chapter one after reading Squabbit's review, and added a bit to this chapter that I wasn't going to do originally so thank you...
Shark 1
Squabbit
nobinoir
and Cherie
...for the reviews and see I do listen to them and take what you say to heart. ^_^ After all, how else I'm I going to improve?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Two
The Meeting and Trick
When Jak returned to the place all three desks were occupied. The third one apparently belonged to Samos.
"Aww man." Daxter complained. "I though since you've fulfilled you destiny and all that crap Jak we could start avoiding Short squat and green."
"I heard that." Samos shouted.
Jak fought the urge to smile at the old Samos/Daxter banter, Torn was leaning against his desk looking smug, he never did like Daxter and plainly thought the ottsel getting chewed out by Samos was funny.
"Did you find them?" Ashlin asked.
"Weeeelllll, yes and no." Daxter said.
Samos opened his mouth to start shouting again.
"We spoke to one of them." Jak explained forestalling another argument.
"What did he say?" Torn demanded.
"He's worried that you'll lock up the red one." Jak said glaring at Torn. "I don't blame him."
"I hope your not feeling sorry for them..." Torn said walking up to Jak and stabbing him in the chest with a finger. "...Just because they were experimented on like you. You never attacked innocents."
Jak slapped Torn's hand away.
"They are JUST like me." Jak snarled. "We watched them for a while before talking to them what happened in the city was an accident. They were sacred and angry."
"Specially the red one man did she have a temper!"
Jak threatened to hit Daxter to shut him up.
"The one we spoke to said the red one was called Ruth, he's said they'd meet you but he won't let you lock her up."
"He said she wouldn't survive it." Daxter added.
"I know I wouldn't."
Jak was looking past the three before him and out the large window's behind them as he spoke, he shook his head and locked his angry eyes on the other's before he continued .
"And they were doing just what I would do when I thought the Guards were going to take me back to the fortress. Kill them all."
Ashlin, Torn and Samos looked at each other, since Praxis was killed and Jak had defeated the Metal Head leader he had mellowed a bit. Dark Jak hadn't reared his gruesome head for two months now, and after what happened with the Precursor Stone said no one knew if Jak could turn into Dark Jak anymore. But Jak's temper was still something to be wary of.
"I had help." Jak continued looking at Daxter. "They didn't, and they didn't know Praxis is dead."
"That doesn't make any difference." Torn said. "Their still mon..."
Jak glared at Torn.
"Go one finish that sentence ."
Jak and Torn was at a stalemate. Torn wouldn't back down, but he also knew he couldn't push Jak any further.
" Torn That's enough." Ashlin ordered defusing the situation. "What was the Experiment's terms for meeting?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day at noon Jak, Daxter, Ashlin, and Torn waited in Dead Town.
Ashlin and Torn were standing by the pier Daxter had found. Jak was leaning against a part of a broken wall, Daxter was at us usual place of Jak's shoulder.
"Only four of you?"
The others looked around for the voice but found no one.
"We didn't want to...worry your group." Ashlin said.
"You are the Governess?" The voice asked.
"Yes My name is Ashlin."
Some of the rubble near the water moved as Strife crawled out from under it.
"My name is Strife, I am the interpreter for Jane, our leader. "
"Where is Jane?" Ashlin asked.
"Or anyone else for that matter." Daxter added.
Torn and Jak were silent, Torn was looking at Strife with suspicion. Jak was just waiting patently he wouldn't admit it out loud but he was looking forward to meeting more experiments.
"I wanted to make sure it was safe before they came, can one of you shoot three blasts into the air for me? They will come then."
Jak shrugged and shot three blaster blots into the air.
A few seconds later a small boat came into view. It was really more like a slab of wood with a salvaged zoomer engine added on but it worked the same way.
On it was the green girl the blue and white man and a third one who wore a hooded robe.
"Gee...I wonder which one is the leader." Daxter said.
"I wonder what the girl has with her." Jak added.
The green haired girl was carrying a bag on her back, as was the man.
They reached the shore and the three stepped off together. Strife climbed up the robe onto Jane's shoulder.
"This is Jane as you've probably already guessed. The white haired man's name is Kick and the child we call Hope."
"As I have already told your interpreter I am Ashlin the new Governess of Haven City, this is the head of my Krimson Guard Torn and these are Jak and Daxter, they killed the leader of the Metal heads."
Daxter was going to say something when Jak glared at him.
Jane bowed and started moving her hands like Onin did, only her hands glowed with a yellow light.
"Jane says that everyone owes a great deal to the one who killed the Metal Heads, but with that good doesn't necessarily come all good." Strife translated
Daxter rolled his eyes plainly thinking. 'Great, ANOTHER Pecker and Onin, cue the creepy mythic talk.'
" How do we know that you Ashlin Governess of Haven City are no different from your father Praxis the Barron of Haven City?" Strife finished.
Torn looked like he was about to snarl an answer when Ashlin held up her hand, warning him to stay quiet.
"It's a valid question, and nothing I can say can prove to you that I am not my father, but I can do this. If you all return to the city, you will be given a home and jobs, I can not give back to you what my father has taken but I can try to make amends."
The experiments grouped together and started muttering. After a few moments Jane and Strife turned back to the others.
"What of Ruth? She attacked your guards, she killed them. Under your law that means a prison term, she would not survive it."
Jak watched Ashlin he wanted to know how she would handle that problem. He was interested in the answer himself.
"It was an accident wasn't it? She was afraid for her life since you didn't know my father was no longer ruler right?"
"Right."
"That is what is called extenuating circumstances. Ruth will be charged with Manslaughter, her finger prints will be taken, she will have a criminal record and a suspended sentence, with Community Service. Which means she won't have to serve a prison sentence unless she dose something, anything, else against the law." Ashlin said. "Is that acceptable?"
There was more hand waving from Jane.
"What would the Community Service be, How long would it last?" Strife asked.
"What is she good at?" Torn asked.
"Oh the usual." Kick said smirking. "Screaming, trying to kill me, punching, trying to kill me, shooting, trying to kill me, killing Metal Heads, trying to...
"I wish she would kill him." Daxter muttered.
Jak snickered, Kick actually reminded Jak of Daxter.
"How good is she at killing Metal Heads?" Torn asked glaring at Kick.
"Looks like Torn has added someone else to his 'I don't like you' list." Jak said to Daxter.
"We have an excavation site that's been over run with the Metal Heads that have survived the death of their leader." As Torn spoke he glanced at Ashlin who nodded. "If she helps my Guards clear out the caves she'll be free."
"Why would you do this for us? " Strife asked after Jane waved her hands more.
"As I said, I'm trying to make amends."
Again the others huddled together.
Jak frowned, there was something different between how Jane and Strife communicated when compared to Onin and Pecker.
"Some of us, counting Ruth shall come to the city, some of us will not." Strife said. "If those inside the city are happy those out side may join us. If those inside the city are harmed in any way..."
"I think we get the point." Daxter said.
"Give us three hours and the party who will enter the city will be waiting."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ones who were entering the city were Hope, Ruth, Strife and a new Experiment called Trick. She had short gold hair which framed her face yellow eyes and wore what looked like a mechanics overall and gloves. The oddest thing about her was that her skin was yellow. Ruth didn't have her glasses on and now they could see that her eyes weren't normal, they were a solid red field.
"Kind of reminds me of Dark Jak's eyes." Daxter whispered to Jak.
"Where's Jane?" Torn asked.
"Er..." Trick looked at Strife.
"She's looking after those who are staying outside for now."
"Enough with the questions already." Ruth said. "I want to go to the Hip Hog Saloon"
Jak and Daxter looked at each other.
"It's...er called the Naughty Osstel now." Daxter told her.
"So Krew changed the name." Kick shrugged.
"Krew's dead." Jak said.
Kick, Trick, and Ruth looked at him.
"How?"
"Er..." Daxter said.
"That's not important. "Torn said. "I want to get Ruth processed like Ashlin wanted before nightfall, and set up the date for her to go to the dig. You can all catch up on current events after that."
No one noticed that a second Ottsel had entered the city with the Experiments, nor did they notice him as he ran off onto the shadows of the city.
"Can we go and see the stadium?" Kick asked.
"Please!" Trick added.
The four looked at each other.
"Okay then. Torn and I will take care of Ruth, Jak, you and Daxter can take the others to the second class race that's starting in about an hour." Ashlin suggested. "Is that okay with everyone?"
Ruth looked worried, Hope walked over to her and took her hand.
"No Hope, go with Kick and Trick, I'll go with Ruth." Strife said jumping onto Ruth's shoulder.
"Go on Hope. They're just going take my fingerprints and stuff. You'll just be bored." Hope just kept looking at Ruth with doe eyes. "I'll be fine with Strife with me."
Hope looked down and walked up to Trick taking her hand.
"Cheer up Hope your going to love the race. See you later Ruth, Strife."
At the stadium Trick and Kick looked over all the details of the racers. They muttered to themselves Kick produced a small amount money. They bet it on racer three. A few other
people had bet on the guy but he was still a long shot.
"Are you sure you should be betting your money like that?" Jak asked.
"Yeah..." Trick smiled.
"...We used to race here." Kick boasted. "I was the best next to Erol..."
"...We were up against Erol in our next race..." Trick sighed. "But we owed Krew money..."
"...We had a lone with him to start the race team in the first place..." Kick explained as they started walking to their seats in the stadium.
"...He wanted to us to pay him back by throwing the race..."Trick spat.
"...We told him to get stuffed..."Kick added as they found their seat's and sat down.
"...As if he wasn't stuffed enough as he was..." Trick crossed her arms.
"...Next thing we knew we were being pumped full of Eco." Kick finished.
Jak and Daxter stared at the two.
"What?" The two asked simultaneously
"Do you always talk like that?" Jak asked.
"Like what?" Kick asked.
"Oh you mean the twin thing?"
"Your twins?" Daxter asked.
The racing pair nodded.
"Hey what ever happened Erol anyway? He wasn't even on the listings." Trick asked.
"Jak here beat him in a race and he turned Kamikaze on us." Daxter told them. "Tried to run us over and ploughed right into a years supply of Eco."
"Owch." Trick flinched. "I bet that stung."
"YOU beat Erol?" Kick's blue eyes narrowed.
Jak nodded wondering if he should start worrying about Kick. Suddenly Kick reached towards him and started shaking his hand.
"MAN you must be good. Do you still race? I have to race you!"
Trick was giggling as Jak struggled to pull his hand free before Kick shook it off.
Then the race started, and no one took notice of anything but the noise of the crowed and the roar of the engines.
Trick screamed when the one Kick and she had bet on one. She turned to talk to Kick but he was vanished in a blue streak.
"He's a bit eager to pick up his winnings isn't he?"
"He always was..." Trick started.
Just as Suddenly as he was gone Kick was back with a bag full of money.
"Excitable." She finished.
"We're rich!" Kick was crowing when he suddenly stopped and looked beyond Trick, beyond Trick was an empty seat.
"Guy's...where's Hope?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Better than Chapter one? Worse? Let me know....please.....?
Also I'm thinking of Changing title to ether
The Others
Or
The Unlucky
What do you think?