Ratchet lay across the floor of the prison cell, unmoving. Two younger guards peered in at him through the barred walls that imprisoned him, talking in quiet voices. The first guard, Karr, turned to his friend and asked with a hauty grin, "So how much you betting on this one, Kiz?" Kiz laughed and turned away, falling lazily back against the bars. "Eh, I'll give him a week before he kicks-the-bucket. First treatment and he's been out for the past day. Hasn't even moved from the spot where they threw him back in." Karr laughed with his friend and leaned against the butt of his gun. "Really? I heard Erol talking with Praxis. They think he'll be 'the one'. You know?" Kiz's face took on a serious tone. "That's what they said about the young buy. That little blonde dude. Nothing's going on with him at all. No changes or anything. What makes them think he'll be different?"

Karr sighed and shook his head. "Well for one, they've got a different species to work with AND they're using a different type of eco. The red stuff. That can be pretty powerful too." There was a long pause in which neither of the guards spoke a word, the subject already becoming old. Karr cleared his throat and checked the time. "We've already wasted enough time here." he said slowly. "You know the commander will have a fit if we don't finish our posts." Kiz nodded in solemn agreement and they both picked up their guns and trudged back to their posts.

Ratchet opened his eyes groggily and gazed around. His head pounded with a migraine and his muscles were stiff from not moving for so long. With a slight groan, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He tried to recall the last thing he could remember, but everything came up blank. Ratchet looked over to the corner of the cell and his eyes rested on a small pitcher of water. His mouth was dry and even the stale water looked slightly appealing. He crawled over to the pitcher and took a small drink.

The water was old, but his throat didn't complain. He took another drink and moved away. He felt more awake now that the water had refreshed him. With a quiet sigh he leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes. Unfortunatly, the drink hadn't helped the pain in his head.

As Ratchet looked around the cell, he felt a guilty pain in his heart. For the first time since he'd been in the prison his thoughts wondered to Clank. He looked up at the ceiling, feeling his throat tighten up. If only he had taken Clanks advice. Even better, maybe he shouldn't have taken off with the hoverboard. At least he wouldn't be where he was now. Ratchet tucked up his legs and placed his chin on top of his knees, swallowing back unshed tears. Clank was alive. He had to be. As if reasuring himself, Ratchet said the words quietly outloud enjoying the way they sounded in the growing darkness. "He made it through, he made it out alive..."

Two years later

Daxter watched in disgust as Jak and Keira reunited in Keira's garage. While the two talked, he snuck off to explore. As he wondered around, bored, something caught his eye on a higher shelf. He climbed up to retrieve a small robot. "Oi! Keira! What's this hunk a junk?" he called over his shoulder.

Keira looked up at the robot Daxter was holding and shrugged. "Bought it cheap at an auction. I thought it looked kinda cute." She turned back towards Jak, ignoring Daxter. Daxter jumped off the shelf, taking the robot with him. He sat in a corner studying it for the lack of anything better to do.

He turned it over and opened a small compartment in the back. "Hmmmm.... Odd. This wire's undone..." Daxter casually put the wire back in place and closed the compartment. He turned it back over and was startled to see it's eyes begin to light up.

"Keira! I fixed it! I... am a genius..." Keira rolled her eyes at him. "That's nice, Dax." she said carelessly. Daxter grumpily placed the robot on the floor and walked back to Jak and Keira. "Well that's a fine Thank you. I fix your little..." he motioned to the robot and stopped. "Hey! Where'd it go?" he said with a startled tone.

"Hello. Would you mind telling me what planet I am on?"

Keira shrieked and stepped away away from the chair she had been sitting in. Jak jumped up and pointed his blaster at the small robot that had somehow gotten up on the table. The robot looked between the two, slightly baffled. "There is no need to become hostile. I just asked a question."

Keira looked back at Jak and he shrugged, lowering his weapon a bit. Keira kept her distance. "I don't really think we have a name for this planet. We just call it home, I guess." The robot nodded a little bit. "Ah, a very strange name for a planet, but a name nonetheless." Daxter leaped up on the table eyeing the robot wearily. "Wait one minute, metalmouth. How can you understand us?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to understand you?", the robot replied cooly. Keira and Jak exchanged glances with Daxter. "Do you have names Home- lings?" the robot asked. Daxter intoduced himself and the others.

"Since my name is much to long, you may just call me Clank. That's always what my friend called me." Clank then looked around worried. "Speaking of which, does anyone of you know where my friend is?" Jak rose an eyebrow and said in a slightly concerned voice, "There are a lot of people around here. Your chance of finding him is not very good."

Clank scratched his chin, producing a small squeaking noise. "I don't see why he wouldn't be able to stick out. According to my records, a Lombax is a pretty rare creature." Jak took a sharp intake of breath. Lombax... It sounded so familiar... "What does a Lombax look like?", Jak pushed. Clank thought a moment, then pointed to Daxter. "A little like the furry one here. But taller."

Jak closed his eyes for a moment, straining to pick out why this sounded so familiar. Then it hit him. Ratchet! He remembered seeing him for the first time. He could remember his cocky attitude, his stories about all his 'adventures.' Quite frankly, he had thought that the hairball was nuts, just telling stories to pass time. After the baron had taken him away, he had never seen Ratchet again.

Jak took a deep breath and eyed Clank with slight pity. "I think I know where your friend is, but the chances of him still alive aren't very good." he said sadly.

Everyone looked at Jak with questioning eyes and he continued. "When I was locked up in the barons fortress, I met this guy...well, he wasn't exactly a human. He does fit your description, though. Claimed his name was Ratchet. Is this the right guy?" Clank's robotic eyes seemed to light up. "Yes, Yes! That's got to be him! Is he in need of aid?" he said with excitement.

Jak nodded. "Don't get your hopes up. If he's still in the fortress, you'll never be able to break through. I could take on the Guards, but all the technical stuff would be outta me and Daxter's way. And to make matters worse, they's upped security since I escaped."

Clank looked at Jak hopefully. "Yes, but you know your way around the prison well. If you could retrieve my friend, I could take care of security. From the looks of things, your planet Home seems to be behind in technology." Jak sighed and ran his hands through his hair. What had he gotten himself into? He never should have said anything. Breaking back into the prison could be suicide. But still.... he couldn't bear the thought of the happy-go-lucky feline look-a-like going through the same things he had been forced to endure.

"We'll start at night..." he replied wearily.

Keira had thrown a fit when Jak and Daxter had decided to break back into the prison, claiming that it was impossible and that they were being silly. Jak, however, shrugged her off and left soon after.

He made his way carefully back to area he had escaped from. He looked up at an old vent at the side of one of Haven Cities larger buildings. The vent was up a good twenty feet. He sighed and tried to find a solution. After a few moments of silence, Clank piped up."Perhaps I could use my Heli- Pack to glide you to up to the area of entrance." Jak looked at him as though he was crazy, but having no better ideas, submitted to being hauled up. Clank grinned and latched himself to Jak's shoulder armor. Jak sighed, not knowing how this was supposed to work. He heard a slight whirring noise and stiffled a shout of shock as he was suddenly lifted forcefully off the ground. In a few seconds, he was up in front of the entrance. They flew through and Clank let go.

Jak and Daxter hit the bottom of the floor with a small loud thud while Clank glided gracefully down. Jak gave Clank a surprised look and got up, dusting himself off. He looked around, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Well, I think the security panel is around there. That much I remember." He pointed down a short narrow hallway and Clank nodded. "Just give me a few minutes. When the power shuts off, it will be safe for you to continue. I'll come back and await your return." Clank said all this quite casually, much to Jak's surprise. He and Daxter exchanged glances and both shrugged as Clank tottered down the hall.

Clank kept to his word. Daxter looked around in slight shock from his perch on Jak's shoulders when the lights flickered then faded out. Jak took a deep breath and began walking forward. "Well, here we go, Dax." he said with a sigh.

Ratchet could hear himself screaming. He couldn't hold it in anymore. The first treatment had been rough, but the amount of eco pumped into him increased with every treatment. It was becoming unbearable. Agony ripped through him as he felt the power increase. He stayed like this for nearly ten minutes.

The lights flickered suddenly and the lazer stopped. Ratchet slumped back into the chair he was chained to, gasping for air, while Erol cursed loudly. "What is it this time?" the baron yelled out angrily. "We've lost power!" Erol snapped back. "Though I don't see why. We'll have to wait until the generators start up before we can continue with him." He cast a disgusted look in Ratchet's direction. The baron and Erol left to check on the problem, leaving Ratchet alone.

Ratchet stayed slumped, all his strength gone from his body. He trembled furiously, pain still racking his body. After the two years he had been here, he still didn't understand why they were doing this to him. Each day, the amount of eco used increased dramatically and so did the time he was tested on.

He had given up fighting the treatments. His actions only led him to be beaten into submission everytime. His sleek fur had grown rough and dull, losing it's sheen. Ratchet assumed it was to the lack of food. The room spun around him as everything began fading. He gave a small sigh of relief, happy to fall into the darkness. The darkness was a way to escape the pain, if only for an hour.

Jak entered the dark room, memories of sorrow and pain washing over him. If it weren't for Daxter, he'd still probably be here today. Maybe even dead. He shuddered at the thought and swept the room quickly with his eyes. His gaze fell on the shabby form lying limp in the chair. Daxter bounded off Jak's shoulder eyeing Ratchet's still body.

"Guess Clank was right. This dude could stick out anywhere. So, we breaking him out or what?" Daxter asked obnoxiously. Jak motioned for Daxter to do his stuff. Picking locks wasn't his thing. Daxter, however, picked the locks with ease. Having no more support, Ratchet fell forward and Jak caught him before he hit the ground, slinging him over his shoulder. Without looking back, Jak and Daxter made their leave. They were almost to the exit when the lights suddenly flicked back on. "Damnit!" Jak yelled out angrily. This was just their luck. They had to hurry before they tripped an alarm.

Jak made his way back to the exitway and found Clank still waiting. Daxter jumped down and grabbed Clank roughly as Jak studied their situation. They would have to jump... Jak sighed and without another moments hesitation leaped from the window with Daxter in hot pursuit.

Jak winced as he hit the ground, his feet stinging from the hard landing. He set Ratchet down in the back of the hovercraft and tossed Daxter and Clank in carelessly. As Jak started up the vehicle, Clank jumped over the seat and ran next to Ratchet. "You're alive!" he shouted with glee. Daxter rolled his eyes and turned back to Clank. "Sorry little dude, but the happy reunion's gonna have to wait." he said quickly. "We don't have much time before those red goons come after us!" He grasped the seat firmly as the engine sputtered to life. "Go Jak! Make like a tree and leave! NOW!!!"

Jak hit the gas and the hovercraft shot forward. As he drove off, a light grin formed on his face. He gave a quick glance to Daxter and smirked. "A tree, Daxter? That's got to be the corniest thing I've heard out of your mouth yet."