Chapter II: Sunrise and Disobedience

LES: Extra special long Chapter.

Many years later, we open up not too long before sunrise in Haven City. A small figure looks to the East out of a Palace window. It was a young boy of ten years.

(A/N: I know 'Little Jak' is only about 6 years old, but I'm the narrator, so I can do whatever I want.)

The boy's green hair and ocean-blue eyes gave away the fact that it was, in fact, young Prince Jak. Jak wheeled around in excitement and ran though the Palace corridors yelling, "Dad! Dad!" No doubt his yelling waked up some people, but they tended to turn the other cheek when it came to the Prince. Jak ran into the Royal Bed Chamber where his mother and father slept. "Dad! Dad!" Jak called, but Damas wouldn't wake up. Finally, Jak jumped up on the bed, waking both his parents up. "You promised!" Jak said, glaring at his father.

"Okay, okay…" Damas yawned. "I'm up."

"Yeah!" Jak yelled in pure little kid excitement.

Damas dressed, and he began to lead Jak to the elevator that led to the Palace rooftop. Ashelin watched as they left, she smiled to herself. When they reached the roof, the sun had fully risen and the whole world was bathed in its magnificence.

"Wow!" Jak said, looking down at the glowing City and the world beyond the protective walls.

"Look, Jak!" Damas began, gesturing at the world before them. "Everything the light touches is our Kingdom!"

"Wow!" Jak gasped once again.

"A King's time as ruler…" Damas continued. "Rises and falls like the sun. One day, Jak, the sun will set on my time here; and will rise with you as the new King!"

"And this will all be mine?" Jak asked.

"Everything!" Damas answered.

"Everything the light touches…" Jak repeated, then he looked over in the direction of the Metal-Head Nest. "What about that shadowy place?"

"That's beyond our borders." Damas said, following Jak's gaze. "You must never go there."

"But, I thought the King could do whatever he wants." Jak said.

"Oh, there's more to being King than getting your way all the time." Damas said.

"There's more?" Jak asked amazed.

"Jak!" Damas laughed. "Look!" Damas commanded again, Jak looked. "Everything you see exists in a delicate balance. As King, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures; from the loyal Croca-dogs to the Metal-Heads…"

"But, Dad, aren't we at war with the Metal-Heads?" Jak asked.'

"Yes, Jak, but let me explain." Damas said, "When we die, our bodies become Eco, and the Metal-Heads use the Eco. And so, we are all connected in the Great Circle of Life!"

Suddenly, Erol ran up. "Sire! Metal-Heads have broken though the security lock in the farming district! Our forces can't hold them off forever!" Damas jumped to action, Jak tried to follow, but Damas stopped him.

"Awww, can't I come?" Jak asked.

"No, son!" Damas said as he ran away towards the elevator. Jak looked very upset.

"I never get to go anywhere!" Jak pouted.

"Don't worry, young Master," Erol said. "One day, you'll be King. Then you can fight those slobbery, mangy, stupid idiots from dawn until dusk!" Together they headed back into the Palace.

(Praxis' Study)

Praxis was in his study, sulking, which was basically all he did now a days. Suddenly Jak walked in. "Hey, Uncle Praxis, guess what?"

"I hate 'Guessing Games." Praxis said.

"I'm gonna be King of Haven Kingdom!" Jak said excitedly.

"Oh, goodie." Jak completely missed the sarcasm in Praxis' voice.

"My father just showed me the whole Kingdom!" Jak said, "And I'm gonna rule it all! HA HA!"

"Well, forgive me for not leaping for joy." Praxis said sourly as he sat in his chair.

Jak walked up to him "Hey, Uncle Praxis, when I'm King, what does that make you?"

"A Metal-Head's Uncle." Praxis answered.

Jak laughed, "You're so weird!"

"You have no idea." Praxis said. "So, you're father showed you the whole Kingdom, did he?" Praxis got up and walked over to the only window in the room.

"Everything!" Jak said, joining Praxis at the window.

"Did he show what's in that rise past the southern border?" Praxis asked, looking out the window, which happened to be facing toward the Metal-Head Nest.

"Well, no." Jak said. "He said I can't go there."

"And he's absolutely right!" Praxis said. "Far too dangerous, only the bravest elves go there!"

"Well I'm brave!" Jak said. "What's out…"

" I'm sorry, Jak, I just can't tell you." Praxis said.

"Why not?" Jak asked.

"Jak, Jak, I'm only looking out for the well-being of my favorite nephew!" Praxis said.

Jak scoffed. "Yeah, right, I'm your only nephew."

"All the more reason for me to protect you!" Praxis said. "The Metal-Head Nest is no place for a young Prince… Opps!"

"The Metal-Head Nest?" Jak asked. "Whoa!"

"Oh dear, I've said too much!" Praxis said, "Well, I suppose you would've found out sooner or later, you being so clever and all. Oh, but promise me one thing." Praxis pulled Jak in close, every bit the 'caring Uncle.' "Promise me you'll never visit that dreadful place!"

Jak though about this before replying, "No problem!"

"That's a good lad." Praxis said, "You run along now and have fun." Jak started to run out of the room when Praxis called after him, "And remember, it's our little secret." Jak ran out of the room and Praxis smiled to himself.

(Elsewhere in the Palace)

Jak was looking everywhere for Keira, his best friend in the whole world. He finally found her playing in the ballroom.

"Keira come on!" Jak said, "I just heard about this cool place!"

"Jak, I'm kind of busy!" Keira said.

"With what?" Jak asked, "Oh, please, its an awesome place!"

"And where is this 'awesome place'?" said a voice behind Jak. He turned around and found his mother standing behind him.

"Oh," He said, quickly trying to think up a lie, "Around the Pumping Station…"

"The Pumping Station?" Keira demanded, "What's so great about the Pumping Station?"

"I'll show you when we get there…" Jak said though gritted teeth.

"Oh…" Keira said, getting the hint.

"The Pumping Station? I don't know… there have been Metal-Head sightings…" Queen Ashelin said, "But I guess you can go"

"Yes!" Jak and Keira celebrated far too soon, for Queen Ashelin added:

"As long as Erol goes with you…"

"Oh no, not Erol!" Jak complained.

(A/N: I bet you're wondering why I made Erol be 'Zazu' and not, say… Torn… Simple answer, Torn threatened to rip me to shreds if I tried to make him be Zazu. I may be narrator, but I'm not much of a fighter either. I'm only a fighter in my fic: "Light in the Darkness" And I love torturing Erol, so he got stuck with 'Zazu.')

(Near the Pumping Station)

"Step lightly." Erol said as he walked ahead, "The sooner we get to the Pumping Station, the sooner we can leave." However, he didn't hear Jak and Keira's conversation.

"So where are we really going?" Keira asked.

"The Metal-Head Nest." Jak whispered back.

"Wow!" Keira gasped out loud, almost too loud.

"Shhh!" Jak whispered. "Erol!"

"Right," Keira whispered. "So how do we ditch the dummy?"

"Oh, I know…" But Erol hung back and interrupted them.

"Oh, look at you two, little seeds of romance blossoming in the sunshine!" Jak and Keira exchanged a 'look.' "You're parents are going to be thrilled! What, with your being betrothed and all…"

"Be-what?" Jak asked. "What does that mean?"

"Betrothed means that one day you two are going to get married!" Erol said excitedly.

"Eww!" Jak and Keira shared identical looks of disgust.

"I can't marry her!" Jak said, "She's my friend!"

"Yeah, it'll be so weird!" Keira added.

"Well, sorry to bust your bubble, but you two have no choice!" Erol said. "It's a tradition going back to the days of Mar himself!"

"Well, when I'm King, that'll be the first thing to go!" Jak grinned at Keira.

"Not so long as I'm around!" Erol said.

"In that case, you're fired!" Jak said.

"Hmmm…" Erol said, "Nice try, but only the King can do that!"

"Well, he's the future King…" Keira said.

"Yeah," Jak ginned. "So you've gotta do what I tell you!"

"Not yet I don't!" Erol said. "And with an attitude like that, you're shaping up to be a pretty pathetic King indeed!"

"Not the way I see it!" Jak said.

(A/N: First song. You should know that I have changed and omitted some things. Others, I've left in. In short: I've completely butchered the song.)

Jak sang:

"I'm gonna be a mighty King,

So enemies beware!"

Erol sang:

"Well, I've never seen a King or ruler

Quite as short as you!"

Jak ignored him and sang,

"I'm gonna be the main event,

Like no King was before!

I'm brushin' up,

I'm lookin' down,

I'm workin' on my roar!

Oh, I just can't wait to be King!"

"You've got a long way to go, young Master, if you think!" Erol said.

Jak sang:

"No one sayin' 'Do this!'"

Keira sang:

"No one sayin' 'Be there!'"

Jak sang:

"No one sayin' 'Stop that!'"

They both sang:

"No one sayin' 'See here!'"

Jak sang:

"Free to run around all day!

Free to do it all my way!"

Erol sang:

"I think it's time that you and I

Arrange a Heart-to-Heart!"

Jak sang:

"Kings don't need advice from other people

For a start!"

Erol sang:

"If this is where the monarchy is headed

Count me out!

Out of service,

Out of Haven!

I wouldn't hang about!

This child is getting wildly out of wing!"

Jak sang:

"Oh, I just can't wait to be King!

Everybody look left!

Everybody look right!

Everywhere you look I'm

Standin' in the spotlight!"

"Not yet!" Erol yelled.

Some animals joined in the singing. (WTF?) :

"Let all the creatures rise up and sing!

Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing!

It's gonna be King Jak's finest fling!"

Everyone but Erol sang:

"Oh, I just can't wait to be King!

Oh, I just can't wait to be King!"

Jak and Keira snuck away as the animals sang the last line:

"Oh, I just can't wait to be King!"

All the animals stopped and went back to their daily animal business as though nothing had happened, leaving Erol standing, stunned. He looked around for Jak and Keira, they were nowhere in sight. "Jak?" He called out, "Keira? Where are you?"

(Near Metal-Head Nest)

Jak and Keira laughed as they ran away, "Alright, it worked!" Jak said.

"We lost him!" Keira said.

"I am a genius!" Jak said.

"Hey, genius, it was my idea!" Keira said.

"Yeah, but I pulled it off!" Jak said.

"With me!"

"Oh, yeah!" Jak leapt towards Keira with the intent on pinning her to the ground. However, Keira merely flipped Jak over herself, her ending up on top, and him pinned to the ground.

"Pinned ya!" Keira said.

"Hey, let me up!" Jak said, he was about to jump at her again when something caught his eye. He looked up, they were in the shadow of the Metal-Head Nest. "This is it! We've made it!"

They looked over a ridge. "Wow!" They said. Smoke rose from the barren wasteland, everything was gray and dead.

"It's so creepy!" Keira said.

"Yeah," Jak agreed, "Isn't it great?"

"We can get in big trouble!" Keira said, turning towards the Nest. "I wonder if there are still Metal-Heads in there!"

"There's only one way to know." Jak said, walking towards the Nest, "Come on, let's go check it out!"

Suddenly, Erol popped out of nowhere. "The only checking out you will be doing is to check out of here!"

"Oh man!" Jak complained.

"We're WAY beyond the boundaries of Haven Kingdom!

"Looks like the scaredy cat is scared!" Jak mocked.

"That's Mister Scaredy Cat to you, shorty." Erol shot back at Jak. "And right now, we are all in very real danger!"

"Danger? HA!" Jak laughed, "I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger! HA HA HA HA!"

(A/N: Due to the fact I'm bad with names, I'm going to recycle Metal-Head names from my other fics.)

Suddenly the sound of diabolical laughter filled the air. Several Metal-Heads appeared out of nowhere. Jak gasped and hid behind Erol, Erol (surprisingly) stood his ground as the Metal-Heads advanced.

"Well, well, well, Phoenix, now what do we have here?" One Metal-Head asked the other.

"I don't know, Firenza, what do you guys think?" Phoenix asked the other Metal-Heads, they growled. "Yeah, just what I was thinkin', I trio of trespassers!"

"And completely by accident, let me assure you. A simple navigational error!" Erol tried to get away, but Firenza stopped him.

"Wait, wait, wait, I know you!" Firenza said, "You're Damas' stooge!"

"I, madam, am the King's Right Hand Man!" Erol said.

"And that will make you…" Firenza asked in Jak's direction.

"Future King!" Jak answered.

"Do you know what we do to Kings who step out of their Kingdoms?" Firenza asked.

"You can't do anything to me!" Jak shot back.

"Uh… technically they can…" Erol said, "We are on their land."

"But, Erol, you told me they are nothing but slobbery, mangy, stupid idiots!

"Shut up!" Erol said.

"Who are you telling to shut up?" Phoenix growled.

"My, look at the time!" Erol was beginning to panic, they started to lead the kids to run away. "It's time to go!"

Firenza blocked him. "Hey, what's the big hurry, we'd love you to stick around for dinner!"

"Yes, a meal made from a King, is a meal fit for a King!" Phoenix said, the other Metal-Heads laughed.

"Wait, I've got one!" Firenza said, "Make mine 'King-sized!" The other Metal-Heads didn't laugh, they just growled indistinctly. "What?"

"Hey," Phoenix said, "Did we order this dinner to go?"

"No, why?" Firenza asked.

"Cause there it goes!" Phoenix yelled.

Indeed, Jak, Keira, and Erol were running away.

"AUGH!" Erol fell into a plot-hole and won't be seen again for awhile. (A/N: I know, I suck. It's kind of funny though…) So Jak and Keira were alone and being chased by Metal-Heads. After a chase with several close calls, Jak and Keira came to a dead end. Jak gasped as the Metal-Heads approached.

"You can run, but you can't hide." Phoenix said. Jak, trying to show his bravery, got into an amateur fighting stance. "Oh, lookie, the little King is going to fight us!"

"How cute!" Firenza said, "Come on, hit me! I dare you!"

Jak was about to hit the Metal-Head when Damas and Erol ran in. Damas took out a huge gun and shot all the Metal-Heads until most were dead, and only Firenza and Phoenix was left alive. "If you EVER come near my son again…" Damas let the threat hang.

The Metal-Heads tried to play dumb. "This is your son? I didn't know that? And of coarse, if we had known, of coarse we would never…" Damas got sick of their ramblings, he pushed the business end of the gun in their faces. The Metal-Heads panicked, "Bye!" They ran out, tripping over themselves. Damas watched them go.

"Great work, your maj…" Erol started, but stopped when Damas gave him a death glare.

"Dad, I…" Jak tried to explain himself, but Damas stopped him.

"You deliberately disobeyed me!" Damas said angrily.

"Dad, I… I'm sorry…" Jak said quietly.

"Let's go home…" Damas turned and walked out. Jak, Keira, and Erol followed slowly behind.

"I thought you were very brave." Keira told Jak as they walked out. No one noticed Praxis, watching them leave the Nest, with an angry look in his eyes…