After Jak regained his vision, he looked up to see a rather sorry-looking Daxter and a Krimzon Guard who holding a large gun with small electric prongs on the end of it. Jak sat up with Daxter's support and scowled at the guard above him. The guard took this as an offence and jabbed the electric prongs in Jak's shoulder. The boy let out a yelp of pain and lay down. He looked at his shoulder to see blood oozing its way down his tanned arm.

The Krimzon Guard raised his weapon once again to deliver another strike to Jak's head.

The guard sneered, "This ought to fini-"

"STOP!" Interrupted a female voice.

A: N Hiya everyone! I thought I'd write/type (whatever) another chappie for y'all!

Thanks go to YunieYuna and anonymous for reviewing! You both get hugs!

I think I'll shut up now and let you get on!

Chapter 2: Meeting The Shadow

The Krimzon Guard lowered his weapon to reveal Jak, lying on the ground with his arms covering his head.

"Sorry officer" she said casually, flicking her shoulder-length blonde hair over her ear. "He's just my younger brother being a complete git!" she said through gritted teeth. She hauled Jak to his feet. She noticed Jak's alarmed expression so she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Play along!" she whispered. Jak put on a fake smile and shrugged, rubbing his chest where she had hit him. She walked over to the stall, picked up a couple of apples and dumped the money on the counter.

"Keep the change" she muttered as she waked off, dragging Jak by his left arm. Daxter trailed behind.

The girl set them down in a dark alleyway behind a group of shabby houses and threw them an apple each.

"You owe me big style!" she said, grinning. She sat down next to Daxter. "How cute! Is he a pet? Does he belong to anyone?" she asked Jak, but Daxter replied himself.

"Darling", he said, taking a bite out of his apple. "I'm all yours!"

The girl giggled and stroked the ottsel's tummy.

"By the way" she said. "My name's Tess. What you did back there was very brave. I watched the whole thing, until it got a bit out of hand." She eyed Jak's shoulder, which was still bleeding and pulled out a rag from inside her pocket. She spotted a bucket of rainwater at the other end of the alley and soaked the rag in it. She carefully pressed it against Jak's wound. He flinched.

"Sorry!" she cried, leaning away from him. "Does it hurt too much?"

Jak shook his head and gestured for her to continue.

He gritted his teeth and drew in a sharp breath as the cool water met his damaged skin. It felt soothing and looked a lot better.

"Who are you guys?" she asked. "I mean, I've never seen you around town before. Actually, I haven't seen you anywhere before. Are you new?"

Daxter looked at Jak, wondering what to say.

"Well, I'm Daxter" he said. "And this is Jak. He's a mute so he won't say anythi-"

"Thanks for, um, saving our lives today." Jak said quietly. Daxter's jaw had dropped and his eyes looked like they had popped right out of their sockets, as Jak had never said a word before. His voice had broken but wasn't very deep as he was only fourteen and hadn't used it much.

"I mean, you didn't have-"his words were cut short when she pushed a finger to his lips.

"Look, I can't stand there and watch people suffer like that, ok? I had to do something!" she said sternly. Daxter looked as though he'd recovered from that little outburst.

"That's fine, baby cakes!" he said grinning. Tess picked him up and hugged him tightly.

"Can't...breathe!" Daxter wheezed.

"Sorry!" she said. "Um, If you don't mind, I'd like you to meet someone."

Jak and Daxter nodded and stood up.

She walked them through the streets. A lot of the people were still looking at Jak's clothes, disapprovingly.

Tess stopped when they came to a large green door with an odd symbol on it. She put her face to a small spy hole, which blinked and flashed green when it saw her.

Seconds later, the giant green door shifted and two doors behind it slid open. Tess beckoned Jak and Daxter as she walked down a flight of stairs and through another pair of sliding doors. She entered a huge room, which seemed to have a deep orange gentle radiance. Jak and Daxter looked around.

In front of them were four sets of bunk beds and chests of draws next to them. The covers over the beds were a dark green but the pillows were white. Past the bunk beds, to the right was a fire (in a dustbin to control the hungry flames). To the left was a red-hot furnace giving the room heat as well as the fire, making the room unbearably sticky. On the back wall were several shelves with mugs, bowls and plates on them. A dark green curtain hung over a doorway, leading to some sort of backroom. Towards the right, on the ceiling was a complete Zoomer with several parts beneath it. Finally, in the centre of the stone floor stood a large table, covered in papers. Some of which were maps and others were just documents. The place did appear quite secretive.

Tess picked up a little bell on the table and shook it gently. As she did, Jak and Daxter heard footsteps coming from the back room. The curtain moved gently and was then swept aside by a familiar person.

Jak and Daxter jumped backwards at the sight of him. He looked like Samos, but didn't. Samos had long white hair, secured round a log at the back of his head, while this "Samos" had much bushier and fuller with a log running through it. His hair was moss green and greying slightly. Unlike the normal Samos, he had a short moustache and a little beard, also greying like his hair. The Samos that Jak and Daxter were familiar with had a long white moustache and beard, almost to his feet. Samos or not Samos, he still had those beady dark eyes, enlarged by a huge pair of spectacles. His outfit was completely different, apart from the log sandals on his feet. He wore an orange shirt and green shorts. On the top of his shirt was a leather waistcoat. He also wore several rings and leather wristbands.

He smiled at Jak and Daxter when he came fully in to the room.

"I have just heard about the commotion you two caused at the market stand earlier", The man started, before Jak or Daxter could say anything.

"I have seen this as an act against the Baron..."

"Who?" Daxter muttered.

"Why, Baron Praxis, our leader of course! Don't you two tell me that you don't know who he is!"

"Look, sir, we're sorry. We've never heard of him." Jak said apologetically.

"Uh...Shadow? These two have been outside for a little too long, um, I don't think they are feeling too well at the moment. It must be all those traffic fumes!" Tess interrupted, laughing nervously.

"Look. It doesn't matter", Samos continued. "What I am implying is that we, the Underground, a secret organisation against Baron Praxis, are constantly looking for strong young men, uh, in your case, boys, to help fight against him."

"What do you mean by boys, huh?" Daxter said, rudely.

"Well, you two don't exactly look old enough..."

"Look, old man!" Daxter started again. "Our Jak, here, has been through more than you could ever imagine! Anyway, you should know, Samos!"

"How did you kno..."

"It's a long story, ok?" Jak said, grinning.

Tess looked gobsmacked.

"I guess I'll be going outside then." She muttered as she turned towards the door.

"Hold on, Tess. I want you to show...show?"

"Jak and Daxter" Daxter said.

"Show Jak and Daxter the ropes. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" she said, standing up straight.

A: N Wahoo! I finished the chappie! Sorry it was so short. I'll try to write a longer one next time! R&R if you can.

See y'all next time.

Ja ne!