Jak III: Secret Origins

By: Lizzy Rebel (with help from the Muse)

            Lizzy: hello all you Jak and Daxter fans, you! I would like to introduce you to my new slave-monkey who I shall call the Muse. Because I shall base all the comedy on what she inspires me to write. So if it sucks blame HER!

the Muse: ***rolls eyes*** how is it I let you talk me into this?

Lizzy: ***grins evilly*** remember that little incident where you forgot your lunch money? Or how about when you needed help with Math? Or the time when—

the Muse: right, I get it. Can we get on with the introduction now? I've got some… ah… things to do now.

Lizzy: right-o, buddy. Basically we don't own Jak II's characters in anyway, got it? However I, not the Muse, own all new characters and plot line. Thankie to my Latin teacher Mr. O'Neil for helping me with some of my words. Yes folks that means there will be LATIN terms in this story which are very great hints for the story. Don't you wish you'd taken Latin? Also, thanks to Mr. O'Neil for helping me get my mythology straight. DAMN YOU GREEK NAMES! Not that I don't love them ***hugs Athena doll***

the Muse: be thankful you don't see her in Latin Class. Now there is a scary thing.

Lizzy: ***glares*** hey, I happen to ENJOY Latin! At least I don't fall asleep in the back of the room, MUSE!

the Muse: That's because you're in the front row.

Lizzy: oh, right…

the Muse: I guess since Lizzy is now gonna trail off at every sentence I'd better give you guys a few tips. 1) this is YET another sequel to Jak II which both Lizzy and I are obsessed with though Lizzy is more so then myself 2) there is more adult content— violence folks! get yo dirty mind from the gutter— and the rating will probably be moved up to R in later chapters and 3) if the story sucks it's Lizzy's fault, got it? I just supply SOME of the humor. Good luck and if you were smart you'd be clicking the back button now! RUN RUN RUN ***waves fist in the air***!

Lizzy: ***outraged*** that's it Muse I'm gonna open a can of Dark Jak whoop-ass on yo behind, biotch! ***Muse runs away with Lizzy chasing her with large pan in hand*** RUN SLAP-MONKEY RUN!

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Act One: Angel in Our Haven

"And the Angel rose as a Holy Protector to all who were created from the Goddess's bosom. But the war could not be won by bravery alone and the angel's wings were snapped in half."

                        "Marisa is missing." The words were spoken calmly from firm red lips. The voice was purely masculine but held a hint of tenderness in its words. The lexis bounced off the stone pillar and echoed through the marble halls.

            "I know." Came the firm yet feminine answer from fuller lips. Eerie blue light from the Main Tower came into the half-opened roof of the throne room. The hue of blue illuminated brown hair so dark it looked black, "I saw her take off."

            The young man in the room, handsome with jet locks highlighted with red, stared at the young woman in confusion, "Then why did you allow her to leave?" Absently he ran his hand over his scimitar, an elegant saber-like weapon, which he had hooked to the waist of his armor.

            Men and their weapons, the young woman thought with distaste and then almost laughed bitterly. She supposed she couldn't blame him for wanting to carry around his weapon at all times, especially one as fine as that. If she had her choice she'd be carrying around her deadly double-headed ax, the labrys. But she was a woman after all, and thus was expected to walk with a certain grace. Something that she could not achieve with a heavy metal weapon strapped her back.

            "My lady—" For a minute the young warrior faltered before saying, "Sala, you know how unstable Marisa is. Letting her go off to… to that place could destroy what little mental stability she has. Especially if she—"

            Sala shook her hair, sending her dark rope of hair swinging at her back in its ponytail, "We cannot protect her forever. She has to go exploring at one point and she is of age now. We cannot hold her here. You do not cage this creature."

            At her young warrior's sigh, Sala turned from him and looked out the window. Light rain sloshed against the translucent windows. Farther of, but within walking distance, there was a tower that rose above the highest window of her palace. It was called the Main Tower. On top glowed the eerie blue light like fire. But she wasn't concerned with the tower, it was working properly. She was more concerned with the young girl staring at her through the crystal window.

            Her first thought was that the girl-child was much to pale and looked to old for her age. Waist long tresses that she should've been proud to show formed a dark rope of hair behind her back. Her eyes were a dark blue, rounded and once filled with innocence now forever lost, and sometimes they gave off the look of black. She was tall, a bit above average, with long limbs and a slim body. Her face held more feminine qualities such as full lips and high cheekbones. She wore a tight belly-shirt in dark purple along with equally purple knee-high pants. Black and silver boots made their have up to the bottom of her knees which due to her long legs seemed a lot higher then it truly was. Slanted on her hips was a green holder belt with a brown rucksack connected to it. To accommodate its weight the holder belt went high on her left hip and low on her right. To finish her appearance, she added shoulder high gloves that covered only her knuckles before her four fingers and then completely covered her thumb.

            She almost wanted to run her hand over her face and try to regain the look of purity she had once held, but it would be pointless. That look had been lost to her years ago when she had been but a child thrown into war.

            "Your mother—" The warrior behind her began again.

            Sighing with annoyance, Sala turned and looked at her commander. He had thankfully averted his eyes. The jet locks with red highlights were cut short, like most military personal of the city. His eyes were light blue, complete opposites of hers. He was taller, much more then average, with a lean body and a slightly muscular build. He wore the outfit of an officer on leave. Black pants that traveled to his ankles and were loose around his legs for better movement, but there were leather ropes tied just above his ankles so the pants were not to loose. The shirt he wore was green, short-sleeved and taunt over his chest. Across his chest a circular piece was metal was strapped with black leather. On the circle was the symbol of the highest rank, a phoenix, and the symbol for his family surname, a wolf.  It was not necessary for him to where his rankings whilst off duty but he had always felt the need to do so.

            Arrogant male pride…

            "My mother must learn must not to smother the child." Sala said and then looked into his narrowed eyes and sighed, "If you feel you must, Gareth, then we shall go after her. Does that make you feel better?"

            "You're coming?" Gareth of Luxhine said with surprise marring his voice.

            The young warrior woman shrugged, "I am not needed here and it will take more then your power to convince Marisa to return to the city."

            Gareth turned his eyes back to the glowing tower and frowned, "Why she insists on leaving the city, I will never understand. There is nothing out there worth leaving for. The only protection is here. Why does she constantly try to leave?"

            "You are the one that takes care of her the most and yet you do not understand her at all." Sala muttered, "There is many things, many answers that Marisa needs to find. How can she do that if she if forced to stay grounded?"

            Gareth looked away, slightly annoyed that he had been bested, "Very well. Shall we take our leave?"

            "Let me retrieve my labrys." Sala said walking down the gray stone floor of the thrown room, "Then we can go after Marisa. I would rather we let her find her own way back but seeing as how you'll fume—"

            "I do not fume."

            "Of course you don't." Sala agreed, rolling her eyes, "Captain Luxhine, prepare our transports. I want the fastest rides so we can get to the city a quickly as we can. Since we are going after our problem-child we want to get there as soon as we can. There is no telling what trouble she will cause. If she is not careful we could have another war to deal with. As if one was not enough already."

            Gareth nodded, remembering as they stepping into the dimly lit halls of the palace what her statues was compared to his.

            "As you wish, malady." He said and gave a stiff bow before turning and striding in the opposite direction. The clank clank of his scimitar slapping against his hip echoed through the hall.

            Sala watched him walk away with a wistful expression.

~~**~~

                        Haven City, a few months ago, had been a dirty, gritty city with sewer problems, rebellions and an overbearing ruler called Baron Praxis.

            Not much had changed.

            Expect now this dirty and gritty city was controlled by Baron Praxis's wise and kind daughter, Ashlin. And something was finally being down to fix the problems in the city. But it wasn't it easy. Change was never easy. It took manpower, money, resources. Things the city hadn't had to start with.

            But things were getting done.

            The people of Haven City, though they had once been willing to go along with Baron Praxis, were pitching in what little money and effort they had to rebuild their city. They all wanted the perfection they had so briefly held during the rule of Mar.

            And so consumed were they in the act of restoring the city to its glory, of recuperating from the attacks of the Metal Heads and their leader Kor, as well as the death of their previous Baron, that the people never had time to look to the sky. To see what flew above there heads.

            Not that she was complaining.

            Marisa Skylark was happy that no one of Haven City cast their eyes to the sky. They would've seen her flying then, would've panicked probably. The angel wings on her back often had the effect on people.

            One of the pure white feathers on her wings shivered from the frigid coldness of the sky and she wished briefly she had worn warmer cloths. She wore a black bodysuit with a see-through, silver dress over top. A black leather belt buckled across her waist. She wore silver sneakers with red X's on their sides. Her hair was honey blonde with a single strand slicing her cheek and the rest was placed up in spiky pigtails low on her head. Her eyes were big, round and blue and held a certain anger in them. Her wings were shaped like that of the archangels, large, long and pure white.

            She wrapped her arms around her chest and shivered. She'd have to land as soon as she could find a good hiding place. She couldn't take much more of this coldness. Her fingers were numb and she was starting to lose the feeling in her legs. She gave them a powerful shake to wake them up.

            Not for the first time she cursed herself for coming to this ugly city. She had been warned never to come here because of the evil that lurked its streets. Baron Praxis would have her killed. Would use her in one of his diabolical experiments. All those tales had been told to her over and over and over again. They had tried to pound fear into her head.

            It hadn't worked.

            She knew, deep inside herself she knew, that she needed to come here. That her justice, the thing she had searched for, was here locked deep within the city's walls. All she had to do was find them.

            And when the royal family's agents in the city— the royal family paid well to be informed of what went on in Haven City— had explained of Baron Praxis's death and the destruction of the Metal Head leader Kor, she couldn't stay away. The immediate danger was gone, destroyed by a mysterious boy the agents couldn't describe. He was well hidden, they had explained. So she had left in the late night to try to find her answers. Oh, Sala and certainly Gareth weren't going to be happy with her little escapade but they'd deal.

            She grinned and wondered how longer before Gareth convinced Sala to come after her.

            She flew over the place known to her as the Port. The water was pulled in from outside Haven City's gigantic walls. It formed an oval shape the outlined the gray walkway leading deeper into the city.

            But there was something knew to this place, which she had visited three times before. The lights where the first thing that had caught her attention. Then the large manikin of an oddly shaped animal with a trident in one hand.

            What in the world?

            She flew in closer for a better look and saw a sign under it that called the new place in the Port the 'Naughty Ottsel'. It had taken the place of the bar formally known as the HepHog. From what Sala's informants had said the former owner of the bar would not be missed. She wondered vaguely who now owned it.

            The manikin looked like a good place to touch down. Its large legs would offer her some cover from the cold wind and it would also keep her safe from peeping eyes. She didn't need to be caught at a time like this. Baron Praxis may not have been the head honcho anymore, but there was no telling what the new ruler of the city was like. For all she knew, they could be worse.

            Her sneakers touched the hard metal floor of area beneath the manikin. She crouched behind its legs and sat down. Her fingers instantly searched for her spiked-nunchucks and throwing stars. As her fingers touched their jagged spikes she was a little more relaxed. She wished she had taken a broadsword from the armory but it would've been too risky. It would have alerted someone to her escape earlier then wanted. She owned the spiked-nunchucks and the throwing star so the guards wouldn't bat an eye if they were to go missing.

            She curled herself against the legs of the weasel/otter manikin and shivered. Her wings instantly circled her to warm her numb body. She lowered her head into the protective warmth of her feathers. The wind picked up and beat against her back, causing her to hunch her shoulders.

            Of all the days to run away, she thought grimly. It was almost the time of Mid-Winter, the coldest time of the year. The city in which she lived in would turn on their red magick from the Main Tower to offer warmth to its in habitants. And no one left the city after the annual Festival of the Turning of the Leafs. It was crazy since the closest city to their own was Haven City and they and the baron had not been on friendly terms.

            Why did I not wait until the Warming of the Skies to come here? She thought. The Warming of the Skies meant that the air was growing warmer and that travel could start up again, not that anyone in her city traveled often.

            She bit her lip until it started to bleed slightly and tried to concentrate only on the pain, not the numbness in her fingers and toes and limbs. She ran her hands down her arms, creating friction in a vain attempt for warmth.

            But then a noise, a voice, brought her attention away from her numbness. It was a deep voice, male without a doubt, and it held a hint of anger. And there was power, deadly power, it that voice. It had her crawling over to the edge of the platform on which the manikin stood to peer at the speaker.

            "Come on, Dax." The voice said as she peeked her head over the side of platform. She pushed her loose blonde locks behind her eyes and narrowed her eyes.

            The speaker, she guessed, was a young man around nineteen years give or take. He had blonde hair, longer then average, pushed back on his head. From what she could tell from this far away, he wore goggles on top of his fair head. He wore off-white trousers and a blue tunic with shoulder armor and a metal circle strapped to his chest with black leather. He remaindered her of Gareth of Luxhine, her caretaker. He stood with a certain strength, though this boy didn't give off the military aura Gareth did. Instead, he seemed to her like a dangerous lion. Power, cunning and deadly.

            The other person the blonde boy had been talking to had Marisa blinking. It was the exact copy of the large manikin which she hid behind, only much smaller. It could only be about two feet tall with orange fur and goggles on top its head as well. It was perched upon the blonde boy's shoulder and saying something like 'you have serious thrill issues' and was throwing its small hands into the air in an exasperated expression. From what she could tell, the creature wore no cloths due to the fact that it was covered in far, though she thought she glimpsed brown fingerless gloves.

            She leaned further down and strained her ears to hear what they were talking about, but their conversation had grown quiet. She almost growled in frustration. She had never seen these two citizens before. They were new and it didn't seem like Haven City got new occupants.

            And they seemed so different from the regular residents of Haven City. The boy wore regular city attire, but it was the way they stood and acted that seemed to different. There was no tiredness there, as she had seen in every occupant in Haven City.

            Odd indeed.

            Then something happened, something that had Marisa's eyes widening, had her heart beating faster then a humming bird and had her breath ragged. A new girl had joined the two friends. This girl was the reason Marisa was suddenly panicking.

            She wore a white belly-shirt and light purple khaki pants with a dark purple strap around its bottom that reminded her of Sala. She wore a black belt that traveled her hips and its black straps that traveled her curvy body to her go over her shoulders and crisscross her back. But that wasn't what made the girl so important to Marisa. It was her hair. A cross between green and blue. The green was the dominate colour with the blue covering the top of her head. She wore goggles around her neck and had gloves the covered only her wrist and lower arm. Marisa knew that the girl's eyes were green.

            She leaned her waist over the side of the platform and peered harder at the girl. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before widening even more. It wasn't possible… but somehow, someway it was. It didn't make any sense that that girl was standing there, but she was Marisa knew exactly who she was.

            "Can it be?"

~~**~~

                        "SIR!" Came the screech. It made him wince and cause the already aching headache to worsen. The screech was a horrible cross between a hawk's cry and a human scream. And the woman who had screamed it was no different.

            Her gigantic raven's wings stretched out to guide her softly to the ground. Her midnight hair was wild and natty and her fingers were long with talon-like nails. Her feet as well were shaped like that of a hawk, deadly and sharp. The rest of her body however was slim and slender, built like a runner. Her face was a powder white with a small noise and sharp beady eyes that slanted.

            They were not called harpies for nothing, he supposed.

            "Yes?" He said calmly, leaning back in his heavy draped throne and twirling a long finger in his blood-red wine, "What is it?"

            The harpy-woman, he didn't bother to try to remember her name, screeched once more before saying, "It's her. We've found her."

            He leaned forward now, completely interested for there could only be one her, and said in a thick-voice, "Are you sure? Are you positive?"

            "Yes. I," The harpy cut off to screech once more, "was scouting the skies above Haven City and I saw her there. She's with others. A boy, but I don't think he's anything to worry about. I know it's her. I cannot," she screeched, "mistake her."

            A smug grin tried to work its way to his lips, but he kept his strong face neutral, "Then you know what to do. Assemble your best soldiers and fly out. Bring her here by any means necessary. Don't screw this up."

            "Sir." She screeched once more before flapping her dark raven's wings and taking to the air. He tilted his head and watched her flight.

            He leaned back into his tall throne and twirled the blood wine. In it he saw her. His answers, his destiny, his power. Once he had her everything will be as it should be.

            He cupped the slim stem of the crystal glass with both hands and twirled a slim finger through it once more. This time, the rich red turned into a picture. Through it he saw his harpies moving over the skies of Haven City.

            "Get her." He whispered into the wine.

~~**~~

                        Oh no! Had Marisa spoken those words out loud? She had been in so much shook at seeing the young girl that she hadn't thought to keep her words silent. Her mouth had spoken them without hesitation.

            But she knew the blonde man had seen her. She had been trained to know the signs of being found out. A muscle in his jaw twitched slightly and his hands clenched into fists. He raised a hand to silence the young woman talking to him and jerked his head towards where she crouched.

            She bit her lip and pulled her head back quickly, praying to the Goddess he hadn't seen her. There was a bang and she watched as a bullet crashed into the hard plastic area a few inches from where she resided. She almost screamed out but she bit her lip just in time, reminding herself of Sala's training.

            But nothing could prepare her for the onslaught of bullets. Had this been arrows or throwing stars like her own she'd have handled this well but she was unused to the guns of Haven City. They were not used her in her own city therefore she had not had on-field training with them. She wished she had.

            She hunched over and bent her head between her legs. She didn't move as the bullets whizzed by. One hit a few inches from her foot and she did give a small scream and she knew the blonde boy had heard her by the increase of bullets raging at her.

            "Make it stop!" She whispered. Any minute now one of those bullets would hit home and then… she shuddered, she didn't want to think about 'and then'. She knew she'd have to fly away very soon. If she didn't she was as good as dead. All she had to do was wait for a break in the hail of bullets and she was as good as gone.

            And she did get her break. The bullets ceased as Marisa heard the angry voice of the orange creature shouting, "JAK! Do you know how much that cost to put that up there!? Don't you dare hit it!"

            NOW! NOW! NOW! A voice in her head shouted and she jumped to her feet. Her breath burst forth from her lungs as she began to run. She hoped that this blonde man, like most inhabitants of Haven City, would do double take when he saw her wings. That would give her a few more seconds to soar higher into the air, out of the reach of the fatal metal objects.

            But no, she would not be that lucky. She heard the girl who had caused the problem shout, "Oh my! Jak, look!" Then there pain in her left arm.

            Marisa howled and gripped her arm. More bullets followed her and she had to concentrate on dodging the bullets and not soaring higher. She turned her head and looked down at the blonde man to bare her teeth at him when she felt the bullets glaze her right wing. The pain startled her so much the she forgot to fly. Before she could spread her wings and flap her back crashed into the ground. And wasn't it her luck? She landed only a few feet away from the trigger-happy young man.

            She heard his boots thud over to her and a risky plan formed in her mind. She hunched into a tight boil and whimper slightly. She knew by the noise of his feet that he was getting closer by the second. Almost time to make her move.

            The nose of the blonde's gun touched her back and whimpered again, letting him believe she was afraid. She heard the unhooking of the safety-lock and the loading of a cartridge. Her eyes, hidden beneath her wings, widened.

            By then she heard the somewhat scratchy voice of the young girl, "Oh, Jak! Don't! It's… it's just a girl!"

            "I don't know Keira." Marisa was surprised to find the young man's voice was much deeper then it had originally appeared. It sounded powerful, dangerous, and very male. She knew instantly that this man was a fighter.

            Time…

            With a warrior's cry bursting from her lips she leapt to her feet. The blonde man turned from his companion and looked at her in surprise. She growled at him and slammed one of her throwing stars into his arm. An eye for an eye, as it went. As he dropped to his knees to remove the small weapon, she took to the skies.

            "HEY!" The scream belonged to the orange creature. He glared at her as she rose higher and higher, "Look what you did to my buddy!"

            "An arm for an arm!" Marisa shouted and moved away, flapping her white wings greatly to test their strength. The one that had been hit was in good shape, much to her relief.

            Then she felt the bullet whoosh by her head. She felt her teeth clench as she turned to see the blonde man moving after her on a jet-board, pain in his arm forgotten. Did he never give up? She'd be sure to teach him a thing or two about pain later.

            She weaved in and out of the towers of the port, narrowly missing the bullets as they zoomed by. Her wings spanned in anger as she failed to lose the young man. She had to admit, he was very persistent. Had this been warmer weather however, the young man would have found her flying over the city but it was much too frigid to try to fly all the way back to her own city. She needed to be rested first.

            Of all the luck…

            She dived behind a tower standing in the port opposite of the man. It would take him some time to get close enough to fire at her, giving her time to rejuvenate. She pressed a hand to her bosom as she used her wings to float her above the water. Her chest heaved with a labored breath as she tried to breathe properly.

            For the first time she had visited the city, she felt raw fear. The man was too strong, too fast, for her to escape him. And she had not doubt he'd kill her once he managed to get her to the floor again.

            She'd have to try to fly back to her city, cold or not. She'd rather duke it out with the weather then with the man. Groaning at her predicament, she turned to ready herself to fly…

            When a hand clamped over her mouth and hauled her upward.

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            Lizzy: Whew! Long chapter! All done. Wasn't that just awesome? I know. I know. No Jak II character POV, but we'll get to that. My OCs will have a major importance in fic and thus we must be able to understand them completely to get it!

the Muse: ***waves hands*** Don't look at me, folks. I know all about her characters and I STILL don't get it. Don't feel bad if you're lost and confused. In Lizzy's world, everyone is.

Lizzy: ***slaps mallet against hand threateningly*** What did you just say?

the Muse: ***sheepishly*** He he, I mean this is the best fic ever?

Lizzy: ***places mallet away*** That's what I thought. ***turns to audience*** Okay, folk review! Please, please, please review! I gotta know if you're enjoying my fic or if you hate it! So review and wait until next chapter where we learn more my OCs and the original cast will get their own POV! REVIEW!
the Muse: Can I leave now?