I want to thank everyone again for his or her reviews! And DEFINATE thanks to ShiroNekoNyao for the advice on Clank. And even more to Sandy87. You are totally right. I was having a blonde moment. I went through and changed the whole height thing. And I want everyone to be patient on the weapons thing. That will happen. I promise! -hides-- In the meantime, please don't hurt me! --squeals-- Anyhow, I'll go through and finish the parts with Clank and the conversions or whatever they are. LOL. I've already gotten to work on the next chapter and promise to include an argument between Jak and Ratchet regarding Keira. Sorry for reposting this chapter. There were other mistakes I noticed when going through it! And the part where Jak and Ratchet are having the contest was influenced by that scene in LOTR. It really made me chuckle and I couldn't resist putting it in. Anyways, I apoligize again for the repost, but there were some mistakes that couldn't go ignored. -Toodles!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything Insomniac or Naughtydog related. Happy? :P
Jak and Daxter hopped onto the their most recently 'borrowed' zoomer. The sun was already setting into the skies of Haven City and made the crowded streets look even more depressing. Daxter sighed dramatically and threw his hands up in the air. "Do we really have to go and kill off those metal- heads in that dumb forest?" he whined loudly. Jak resisted the urge to smack him off his shoulder and replied, "No, but unless you've got something better to do..."
Daxter opened his mouth, but Jak interrupted him quickly. "Something that doesn't have anything to do with women, alcohol and anything else obscene." Daxter closed his mouth and pouted on Jak's shoulder. His next comment was drowned out by the sound of the Zoomer's engine roaring to life. They shot forward and disappeared into the traffic.
Nearly a half-hour later, they pulled up in front of the race stadium. Jak slammed on the brakes and hopped off the zoomer, not bothering to turn it off. It smashed into the side of the stadium, exploding. Jak landed on his feet roughly and the sleeping Daxter was thrown off his shoulder. He landed a few feet away with a loud groan. Jak smirked and stepped lightly past him.
Daxter snarled and pushed himself up. He looked around in slight surprise and ran ahead of Jak to stop him. "Whoa! Jak-man! I thought we where going after metal-heads?" he asked curiously. Jak ignored him and continued up to Keira's door, knocking on the door. Daxter got a cocky grin on his face when he saw where they were. "Oh.... I see. You've come to get a little loving before you-"
Daxter was cut off as Keira opened the door, narrowly missing him. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jak. "Hey! Come on in!" She stepped out of the way to let him through, but he didn't enter. His hard gaze caused her to falter slightly and she wrung her hands nervously. "I was just wondering if Ratchet was around here." he said.
Keira looked stung but nodded her head. She turned around and walked numbly away from the door, closing it behind her. A few minutes later, the door swung open. This time Daxter wasn't so lucky. He let out a muffled squeak as he was knocked over roughly and pinned up against the wall.
Ratchet's silhouette appeared in the doorway. He grinned when he saw Jak. "What's up, Hero-boy?" he questioned. Jak didn't return the grin. "Nothing much. Wanna break from this household prison?" he asked. Ratchet quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "It depends on what you have in mind." he said suspiciously. Jak shrugged and stepped away from the doorway. "I'm going to hunt after some metal-heads for a friend. It's night and there's not a lot of people around. You could tag along. Get some fresh air."
Ratchet considered the offer. The baron would probably be offering a huge bounty for him. With his appearance, he would be easy prey. He did have a cloak though, AND as Jak said, there wouldn't be a lot of traffic or people walking around. It would be dangerous, but he would be willing to risk it. Ratchet shrugged and grabbed his cloak off the hook by the door, and swung it around himself.
"Excuse me just one second." Ratchet said quickly to Jak. He stepped briskly into Keira's living room. Clank was channel surfing and had a bored expression on his face. Clank turned and gave Ratchet a rather dirty look for a robot. "Where do you think you are going, Ratchet?" he demanded. Ratchet chuckled in reply. "hunting." he said avidly. Clank dropped from the sofa and walked up to Ratchet, looking up at him accusingly. "You know you are not supposed to leave. You could get caught! And what do you mean by hunting?"
Ratchet nearly laughed and plucked Clank up from the floor. "We're hunting metal-heads. AND you're coming along!"
Jak observed what little Zoomer options he had. His was obviously NOT in flying condition so he'd have to make a grab at another one. A large two-seater trugged along, the driver oblivious to his under-surroundings. With a half-grin, Jak braced himself and as soon as the Zoomer passed from above, he leapt up, pushing himself off the ground in an explosive reflex. In one clean motion, he grabbed the side of the Zoomer and swung into the driver's seat, tossing the owner to the ground. The owner of the vehicle fell to the side and hit the ground with a sickening crunch.
Ratchet watched on, horrified at the sight of the man's twisted body. No wonder why this guy was wanted by the Krimzon Guard so badly. He jumped slightly when Jak lowered the Zoomer and pulled up besides Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet opened the door and sat down without a word. Clank followed his motions, sitting on the dash. He glared at Jak until Jak looked at him. "You have a problem, tin-man?" Jak asked. Clank squeaked indignantly in return, but still didn't reply.
The trip continued in silence with Ratchet in deep thought. There were two things that bugged him about this man. First of all, he seemed so familiar. Jak reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place his face. As soon as he first saw Jak, the feeling of familiarity hit him, and hit him hard. Every since he'd last seen him, he couldn't shake it off.
The other thing that bothered Ratchet was still a mystery to him. There was something about Jak he didn't like. Something about him was off. There was a deep evil and darkness in the man. And it didn't help that Jak was nearly a head taller than Ratchet was. Needless to say, Jak was quite the intimidating person.
The hunters made it to Haven Forest within a half-hour and Ratchet was more than happy to step out of the vehicle. He stared up at the large steps in near awe. Without a look back, Jak and Daxter had begun walking up to them. Clank started off, but turned to eye Ratchet. "Is something wrong?" he asked in a sincere tone. Ratchet shook his head and followed Jak's lead.
They made it too a large door at the top of the stairs. The door made a few loud clicking noises then opened wide, leading into a round room. Jak lead them into the beginning's of a forest and walked up to a warp gate. "Ever used a portal?" he asked Ratchet.
Ratchet nodded and looked where Jak was pointing. "This gate brings you up there. Just jump through." Jak leapt through the portal and only a few seconds later popped out the other one. He waved down to say it was safe. Ratchet and Clank eyed the gate and shrugged. With a whoop, Ratchet jumped into the gate.
The air turned icy cold and Ratchet stared in surprise as his surroundings lost their shape and melted into another scene. There was a flash of light and Ratchet rolled out of the portal, hitting the ground hard. "Ow..." he said slowly. He heard Daxter snigger and flipped him off. "Oh screw off..."
Ratchet pushed himself up and dusted off his pant legs. "That was er... different..." he muttered. Clank stared at him, a small smile lighting up his face. "I thought the experience was fun." he said happily. Ratchet glared at the robot and stood up, feeling sick to his stomach. "Whatever." he growled under his breath.
They followed Jak to the precursor platform and Ratchet stared at it in disgust. "Your kidding, right?" he asked hopefully. Jak smirked and shook his head. "No... Is the little kitty afraid of heights?" he pressed on. Ratchet's ears fell back against his head as he peeked over the edge. "Of course I'm not scared." he said shakily. I'm terrified!
He said the last past in his head. The trio standing away from the edge seemed to see right through him. Daxter got a cocky grin on his face. "Aww... If you want, we can hold your hand while we cross!" His fit of laughter was quickly halted by Ratchet grabbing him roughly. Ratchet held him upside down and said through gritted teeth, "I'm not scared of heights!" He dropped him and glared murderously at Jak. "Heights don't bother me at all. In fact, I'll go first."
This seemed to catch Jak and Daxter by surprise. Jak motioned towards the platform. "Uh okay. Just jump on and it takes you to another part of the forest. The moment Ratchet stepped onto the platform with Clank, he regretted it. The platform began moving and Ratchet's stomach lurched dangerously. As long as he didn't look down... don't look down... don't look down...
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes and took a quick glance down. The pit seemed to go on forever. He felt his stomach flip over again and he swallowed back his anxiety. From around the corner he could see the edge coming up. The platform stopped in front of it and Ratchet wasted no time getting off. He staggered back away from the edge, bumping into a wall behind him. He sighed in relief and leaned back against the wall, sinking to his knees.
Clank watched from a few feet away as the Platform made it's way back to the others. He eyed Ratchet with concern. Ratchet had never shown any fears of heights or nearly anything for that matter. It was odd to see him so jumpy. "Are you all right?" Clank asked. Ratchet looked up and stared at Clank. "Not a word to the others about this, all right? Not even a chuckle." Seeing that Ratchet's pride was at stake, Clank nodded. "Of course not. It's just that... well... When did you ever develop a fear of heights, Ratchet?" Clank asked curiously. Ratchet snarled under his breath and got up, trying to regain his composure. "Of course I'm not frightened of heights." he spat back. "I just haven't been outside in a while." Clank gave Ratchet a startled look. "There's no need to become angry with me!" he said.
Ratchet turned away, clenching his fists. He ignored Clank and glared out into the forests angrily. He could hear the platform returning and the anger slowly drained from his system and was replaced with guilt. He unclasped his fists and avoided Clank's curious gaze, wondering what had set him off so easily.
The platform stopped and Jak and Daxter hopped off. "You didn't' get sick, did ya?" mused Daxter. Ratchet grinned. The brief anger in his system had been replaced with his usual happy-go-lucky attitude. "Nope." he lied. Daxter quirked an eyebrow. "Not a single bit? Didn't get fwightened by the ickle heights?" he pressed on. Much to everyone's surprise, Ratchet chuckled. "Nup." he said. Daxter looked slightly peeved at Ratchet's lack of argument. "I can see the fear in you eyes!" he accused. Ratchet rolled his eyes and turned away, studying the forest. "Can you now?" he said casually.
Daxter opened up his mouth and started to reply, but Ratchet interrupted. "Listen. We could sit here and do this all day, but I've got other things to do." He turned back to Jak. "No offense buddy, but you don't exactly expect me to help you take one metal-heads with my bare hands, do you?" Jak paused and nodded. He took off the pack on his back and rummaged through it for a few moments and pulled out a Scatter gun. "I keep extras." he muttered. Jak threw the weapon carelessly to Ratchet.
Ratchet caught the upgradeable weapon expertly, much to the other's surprise. He held it up and studied it closely. It was extremely primitive compared to what he was used to, but that would make it easier to use. Ratchet aimed it forward and a loud shot rang throughout the room. Where Daxter had been standing a few seconds ago, there was a dark scorched mark on the ground. Daxter was clinging like a child onto Jak's leg and pointing dramatically to the burned ground. "That bastard tried killing me! That crazy bastard tried to kill me!"
Ratchet chuckled and lowered the weapon. "Nah. If I had wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be talking right now." The shocked expression on Daxter's face was priceless. Even Clank was smiling. Jak rolled his eyes and tossed Ratchet the blaster upgrade. "Here take this. It's a long distance upgrade. You'll need it." He smirked and gave it to Ratchet.
"The metal-heads we're hunting are wearing a special type of camouflage that makes them near impossible to hunt down. We'll be fine if we stick together." Ratchet nodded curtly. It had been so long since he had been outdoors... tasted freedom. There would be little time to enjoy it however.
Ratchet attached to blaster upgrade to the weapon and followed Jak to the doorway. "It seems pretty quiet." Ratchet murmured to Jak. Jak smirked in reply and motioned to part of the stream. Ratchet's eyes widened in surprise. Someone, or something was walking through the water. As he stared harder, he noticed the way the air seemed to warp around the creature, making it completely noticeable to him.
Using this newly found knowledge, he combed the area with his eyes and was surprised at how many of the metal-heads he could pick out. This wouldn't be an easy task. He exchanged glances with Jak. "How many are there... exactly?" he said in a small voice. Jak stepped back from the doorway. "Between thirty and forty. Why? You scared?" he pressed on. Ratchet pinned his ears back against his head in defense. "Of course not!" he replied back. "I could take out twice as many metal-heads as you and not break a sweat." he bragged. Jak sneered and stepped back. "Oh really?" he said sarcastically.
Meanwhile, Clank and Daxter looked on with annoyance while the two began arguing. Clank shook his head. "I do not know why he even tries." he said. Daxter nodded in complete agreement. "Yeah! He doesn't stand a chance against Jak!" Clank looked surprised and turned to Daxter. "You honestly believe that Jak could hunt better than Ratchet?" he said incredulously. Clank resisted the urge to laugh out loud.
Daxter glared at Clank. "Of course he could. How much do you wanna bet?!" he growled. There was no way this giant furball could outhunt Jak. Before they too could start arguing, they were interrupted by Jak and Ratchet. The two of them had came to some sort of agreement. Ratchet shook Jak's hand and grinned. "Fine then. May the best Lombax win." This was followed by a laugh from Jak. "You mean Elf."
Clank walked up and tugged on Ratchet's pant leg. "What exactly are you doing?" he asked curiously. Ratchet grinned and loaded the blaster. "Putting Jak to shame." he replied coolly. Jak smirked and ignored him. "Think you're good? We start on the count of three." He glared over at Ratchet and braced himself. "One...-"
"THREE!!" Ratchet shouted. He leapt from the doorway and out into the open, dragging Clank with him. The metal-heads were instantly alerted and began firing at Ratchet. Ratchet rolled to the side, avoiding the first rounds. "EAT LEAD, METAL-ASSES!" he shouted. He fired into the forest and three Cloakers fell to the ground. He turned back to the stunned Jak and winked. "Toodles!"
With that said, he jumped back to his feet and slid down the rocky sides of the drop-off, disappearing into the woods. Three more shots were fired, followed by another Cloakers death cry. Jak snarled and exited the golden room, splitting off in another direction.
Ratchet yelped and ducked behind a large stone as a bullet whizzed past his head. He had definitely underestimated these metal-heads. Clank was standing with his back against the stone and was panting. "RATCHET! You are going to get us both killed!" Ratchet smirked and ignored him. He twisted around and used the butt of his gun to knock out a Cloaker who had gotten to close. He fired two shots into it's head and yelled out triumphantly, "NINE!!!" From somewhere else in the woods came a reply from Jak. "TEN!" was Jak's reply. Ratchet cursed under his breath and check the surroundings.
Clank glared at Ratchet from his hiding spot. "You are too careless, Ratchet!" Ratchet rolled his eyes and shot down two more metal- heads. "ELEVEN!" He shouted. The firing in the area had ceased. He peeked over and glanced around quickly. He leapt from the hiding spot and ducked under a tree. There were no shots. His ears flattened back against his head as he stood up and stepped from his hiding spot. This area was clear.
He searched the area as he made his way to another part of the forest. He heard more gunshots and followed them. He heard a metal-head screech and then Daxter's voice rang out. "HA! WE'VE GOT THIRTEEN!" Ratchet snarled under his breath. He was not willing to lose to Jak and Daxter.
Ratchet perked up his ears and listened into the woods, trying to track their voices. He heard multiple shots fired and ran in the direction. He heard more shots fired then a whoop of triumph. Another metal-head had fallen. Two more shots rang out then a low clicking sound. Jak swore and he heard Daxter give a pathetic whimper. They were out of ammo.
Ratchet rounded the edge came up to frightening sight. Jak was surrounded by six metal-head Cloakers. All had their guns pointed at him. No ammo? He didn't have a chance. Ratchet picked up his weapon and nearly panicked. He had seven bullets left. That would be enough to kill two and wound one. He leapt from the ledge and prepared to attack, but was stopped by a brilliant flash of dark purple electricity.
He staggered back and his eyes widened in fear at what stood before him. Still surrounded by metal-heads, a dark beast had taken Jak's place. It was Jak... just evil... The pale face turned and stared at all the Cloakers fearlessly. His skin had changed to a near white along with his hair. Large horns stood from his head and the clawed hands flexed dangerously. Dark Jak's black eyes glared at the Lombax standing shocked a few feet away from him with disinterest. Those cold eyes sent chills down Ratchet's spine.
Dark Jak reared up and raised his deadly hands into the air as he leapt up. By the time Daxter had noticed Ratchet, it was too late to stop Jak from applying an attack. As Jak erupted from the ground, Daxter opened his mouth and screamed for Ratchet to run.
Ratchet took a step back, but it was too late. Jak landed the Dark Bomb perfectly and the power exploded around him and branched out. Ratchet cried out in agony as the blast shattered past him. The last thing he was aware of as he fell back to the ground was a blinding flash of red... then darkness enveloped him.
Well, there it is folks! Here's chapter five! Please excuse the cliffy. I promise to update soon! As always, R/R!