Chapter IIX: The Reunion, Part 2
Jak sat, crying under the stars for some time. Suddenly, Samos popped out of nowhere. Jak didn't recognize Samos since Jak was only a baby when he saw him. Jak gave the old man a look that said quite clearly 'Go-away-I-want-to-be-alone.' But Samos didn't leave, so Jak got up to move. Samos followed him and Jak lost his temper.
"Will you stop following me?" Jak demanded. Samos didn't say anything. "Who are you anyway?"
"The better question is: 'Who are you?'" Samos said.
Jak opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped. "I thought I knew… now I'm not so sure."
"Well, I know who you are! Come here, it's a secret!" Samos said, Jak leaned in to here the man's words of wisdom. However, they weren't what he expected. "Asandi san a squash banana!"
Jak pulled away, "What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means you are an old man, and I'm not!" Samos laughed to himself.
Jak started to walk away. "I think you're a little confused…" But Samos stopped him.
"Wrong, I'm not the one who's confused!" Samos said, "You don't even know who you are!"
"Oh, and I suppose you know!" Jak said, starting to walk away.
"Sure do!" Samos said, "You're Damas' boy!" Jak spun around at the mention of his father's name. "Bye." Samos said as he floated away on his magic log shoes.
"Wait!" Jak called after him and gave chase. Jak caught up to Samos on a hilltop. "You knew my father?" Jak asked.
"Correction: I know your father." Samos said.
Jak looked uncomfortable. "I'd hate to tell you this, but he… died… a long time ago."
"Nope! Wrong again!" Samos shouted. "He's alive! I'll show him to you! Follow me, I know the way!" Samos said as he took off on his log shoes again and Jak followed on foot.
"Wait!" Jak called as he tripped. "Could you slow down?"
"Hurry up!" Samos yelled after him.
Jak followed him, stumbling sometimes. Suddenly, out of nowhere Samos appeared right in front of him, holding a hand out in the universal sign of 'stop!' "Stop!" Samos yelled. Jak skidded to a halt not two inches from Samos' hand. "Shhh!" Samos said. He pointed down a small hill with a pond at the bottom. "Look down there."
Jak tried to smarten himself up to meet his long-lost father. He walked down the small hill and came to the pond. Jak looked into the water, a young man of 20 with greenish/blonde hair and blue eyes looked back at him. It was not his father. Jak sighed. "That's not my father." He said the Samos who had joined him at his side. "That's just my reflection."
"No!" Samos said, "Look harder." Samos bent down and disturbed the water slightly. Jak looked again, and this time he did look harder. Slowly, his own reflection changed and disappeared and was replaced by an image of his father. "You see? He lives in you!" Samos said.
"Jak…" a voice called over the wind.
Jak looked up into the sky, "Father?" he asked.
Indeed, the clouds were spreading, forming an image of his father. The image spoke again. "Jak, you have forgotten me."
"No!" Jak said, "How could I?"
"You have forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me." Damas' image said. "Look inside yourself, Jak. You are more than what you have become! You must take your place in the Circle of Life!"
"How can I go back?" Jak asked. "I'm not who I used to be…"
"Remember who you are!" Damas said, looking down lovingly on his son, "You are my son, and the one true King! Remember who you are…" Damas began to fade away.
"No! Father! Don't leave me!" Jak yelled at his disappearing father.
"Remember…" The figure echoed.
"Father!" Jak yelled.
"Remember… Remember…" Then the figure disappeared.
"Father…" Jak said quietly, looking at the spot where his father had been.
"What was that?" Samos asked, "The weather! Very peculiar, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Jak looked around. "It feels like the winds are changing…"
"Ahh… change is good." Samos said.
"Yeah, but it's not easy." Jak said. "Going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long." Suddenly, Samos took his staff and whacked Jak right on top of the head. "OW! Geez! What was that for?" Jak asked, holding his sore head.
"It doesn't matter, it's in the past!" Samos said.
"Yeah, but it still hurts!" Jak said, binging his hand away from his head to see if he was bleeding.
"Ah, yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it, or learn from it!" Samos swung the staff at Jak's head again, but this time Jak ducked to avoid getting a concussion. "Ah! You see? Now what are you going to do?"
"First," Jak grinned, "I'm gonna take your stick!" Jak ripped the staff from Samos' hands and threw it into the grass.
"No, no!" Samos yelled as he got his staff from the grass. "Not my staff!" He turned around to see Jak running off, "Hey! Where are you going?"
"I'm going back!" Jak called over his shoulder.
"Go on! Get out of here!" Samos yelled after Jak. When he was out of sight, Samos celebrated a job well done.
(Back in Paradise)
Daxter and Brutter were asleep, Keira walked up to them and poked Daxter. "Hey, hey, wake up." She said. Daxter looked up groggily at her.
"AUGHHHH!!!" he screamed, Brutter woke up at the noise and began screaming too.
"Whoa! Calm down!" Keira said, "It's just me!"
"Don't ever do that again!" Daxter demanded. "Elves!" Daxter sighed.
"Have either of you seen Jak?" Keira asked.
"We thought he was with you!" Daxter said.
"He was, but now I can't find him anywhere." Keira said.
Suddenly, there was the sound of laughter coming from behind them, they turned around. "You won't find him here!" It was Samos, "The King has returned."
"I don't believe it!" Keira said, "He's gone back!"
"Wait? Who's goin' back?" Daxter looked at where Samos had been, but he was gone. "Wait, what's goin' on here? Who's old 'Log-in-the-Head'?"
"Jak's gone back to challenge Praxis!" Keira tried to explain hurriedly.
"Who's Praxis?" Brutter asked.
"He's his uncle." Keira answered.
"Old Log-in-the-Head is Jak's Uncle?" said Daxter, still thinking about Samos.
"NO!" Keira shouted. "Jak's gone back to challenge his Uncle, Praxis, to take his place as King!"
"Oh…" Daxter and Brutter said together.