Thank you everybody for your comments – they really do help. I'll try to make Dax more in-character, but to tell the truth it's harder than I thought. --b So those guys are called the Freedom League Guard, eh? That's a mouthful; what genius came up with that? But thanks for letting me know!

----------------------------------------------

"There you go," the doctor said as he put the finishing touches on Jak's bandage. "Just lay off of your arm for a week or so and you should be okay."

"Thanks," Jak replied, standing and flexing his arm experimentally. His mouth twitched from the stabs of pain coming from the wound.

"I'm sorry I can't give you painkillers," the doctor continued as he washed his hands off in a stainless steel sink, "but if I do that, then you're liable to overuse your arm and cause even more damage. You'll just have to bear with it."

"It's okay." Jak was used to pain by now.

"Now, don't you have somewhere to be?"

Jak cursed silently. He knew very well that the ambassadors were waiting for him, but frankly he hated politics of any sort. As the heir to the throne, Jak technically was the ruler of Haven City, but Ashelin, the democratically elected Governess, did virtually all of the decision-making and was the one really in power. Jak preferred it that way, but in some cases he had to do more than just act as a figurehead.

Glancing down at his clothes, Jak cursed once again and headed out to the hallway. He had been wearing one of his best outfits, but now it was covered in dust and blood – not to mention all the tears in the expensive fabric. He'd have to go back to his room and change. Ashelin would be angry with him for being even later than usual, but it was that or showing up looking like a refugee. She'd probably be even angrier if Jak did that, so he decided to go with the lesser of two evils.

As he neared his quarters, Jak heard a familiar voice inside. "Hey there, sugar. You handle that broomstick pretty well, if ya know what I mean."

Jak shook his head and rolled his eyes. Daxter... He entered his room to find the cute redheaded maid who usually cleaned his rooms trying to ignore Daxter, who was lying on Jak's bed with his head resting in his hands. "What would Tess think if she heard you talking like that to another woman?" Jak asked with mock severity, his hands on his hips.

"Uaaagh! Jak!" Daxter jumped to his feet. "I was… uh… just waiting for ya!"

"Come back later," Jak told the maid, who curtsied slightly before gathering up her supplies and silently exiting.

Daxter watched her leave and took a deep breath. "Ah," he sighed contentedly. "The wind that blows through this place is blessed with the sweet scent of spring. What a wonderful place to live!" He threw his arms in the air and fell backwards on the soft bed.

Jak rolled his eyes again at his friend's antics and started changing. He didn't have much in the way of fancy clothes – he much preferred his old tunic – but after a bit of searching he found what seemed to be an old military uniform. It was blue, much like Jak's usual outfit, with gold buttons and yellow epaulets. Jak scrounged up a pair of tailored white pants with blue stripes running down the sides and put those on as well. Looking in the mirror, Jak's new outfit was similar enough to his normal threads that he was satisfied. He turned to Daxter and bent over so the ottsel could climb onto his shoulder. "Let's go, Dax."

Daxter hesitated for a second. "It is okay if I, y'know, ride along?"

"Of course it is! Why?"

Tapping his two index fingers together, Daxter said, "Wellll, I dunno if you're gonna bite my freakin' head off – again." He gave Jak a reproachful look.

Jak sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. That's right – he'd snapped at Daxter earlier, hadn't he? Damn, he really was an idiot. "Look, Dax, I… I'm sorry. It's just… it gets hard sometimes. You wouldn't understand."

"Apology accepted!" Daxter chirped, immediately forgetting any ill will and leaping onto Jak's shoulder. He felt the epaulet admiringly. "Ooooooh, velvet. I'm riding in style today! And check it out!" He tugged at the corners of a tiny bow tie fastened around his neck. "Tess made it for me – it's a snap-on. Ain't it classy?" Wiggling his eyebrows devilishly, Daxter added, "And you know what they say about guys who wear bow ties."

"Who?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

The duo headed to the reception hall where they would meet the ambassadors. When they arrived, Ashelin was waiting outside the door for them, dressed in a much more conservative uniform than usual. "You're late!" she whispered angrily. "Torn and the Council are already in there!"

"Sorry 'bout that, toots," Daxter said. "Jak here was dawdling – busy flirting with the maid and all that." He ignored Jak's dirty look and flashed an innocent smile.

"Well, come on! They're waiting for you!" Ashelin opened the door and literally shoved Jak inside.

Fortunately, Jak caught his balance before falling on his face. He stood and looked around the room, assessing the situation. Everybody was standing, holding drinks and chatting like it was some sort of cocktail party. Torn stood to one side, looking as uncomfortable in his dress uniform as Jak felt. The members of the City Council, whom Jak knew but wasn't exactly friendly with, conversed with each other easily; they were in their element. There were two faces that Jak recognized only from photographs: Ambassadors Riddik and Jin. Jak already knew a little about them – like the fact that they were both around four times his age, though the woman, Jin, had aged much better than her male counterpart. In all, Jak and Daxter were easily the youngest in the room. Well, Jak thought, won't this be exciting.

"Oooh! Hors d'oeuvres!" Daxter leapt offJak's shoulder and made a beeline for a long table laden with all sorts of food. Jak had half a mind to follow him and make sure he didn't stuff his face too much, but just then Ashelin caught his wrist and led him over to where Riddik chatted with a Councilmember.

"Ambassador," she announced, "this is Jak, heir to the throne of Haven City."

"Absolutely delightful," the bent old man replied in a creaky voice, shaking Jak's hand with surprising vigor. It was obvious Riddik had once been a big man, but time had withered his frame until he was just a ghost of what he used to be. "It's simply wonderful to meet you." He raised a bushy eyebrow with curiosity. "You're looking a little worse for wear, my boy. A result of today's 'incident,' I presume?"

Jak gingerly felt his cut lip with his tongue. "Uh… yeah." His skin was tingling again, though not nearly as much as earlier today. In fact, Jak had noticed it as soon as he'd walked into the room. What the hell was going on? Did this Riddik guy have some dark Eco with him, or was there something wrong with Jak? Maybe he was sick or something, making the Eco inside him go haywire…

"Oh my!" Riddik said suddenly, flinching. He fished through his clothes and pulled out a small amulet hanging from a thin gold chain. "This thing hasn't gone off in ages. Scared me half to death, it did." He held it up for Jak to see. The amulet was little more than a glass vial shaped like an octagonal prism with carved metal caps on both ends. Inside the vial, a dark purple liquid seethed and churned, giving off an eerie phosphorescent glow.

"That's dark Eco!" Jak blurted out, surprised.

"Quite right, young Jak," Riddik replied with a smile. "Back when I was a boy, this nifty device warned me when Metal Heads were about. They have dark Eco in their veins, you see, and when they come close the Eco in this vial reacts." He paused, watching Daxter climb onto Jak's shoulder with a half-eaten miniature quiche in hand. When Daxter was settled and started munching contentedly on the quiche again, Riddik continued. "These caps are made of a particular metal that conducts the energy from the Eco's reaction as heat, and when you wear this against your skin you feel it instantly. The closer the Metal Heads are, the hotter it gets." He touched the amulet and immediately jerked his hand away. "My goodness! It's reacting as though a Metal Head was right in this room!"

"That's probably just Dark Boy here," Daxter remarked, patting Jak on the head. "He's full of that dark Eco crap."

"Is that so?" Riddik asked slowly, looking Jak up and down as if he were an unfamiliar – and potentially dangerous – animal.

Great, Jak thought. Now he thinks I'm some sort of crazed circus freak.

"Sure is," Daxter answered between mouthfuls of egg and cheese. "Courtesy of the wonderfully deceased Baron, of course. He –"

"That's enough, Dax," Jak reprimanded quietly. For once, Daxter obeyed and fell silent, save for the chewing noises as he finished off the quiche.

Riddik's expression changed from wary curiosity to amazement. "By the Precursors," he breathed. "Are you telling me that there really was a Dark Soldier program? We'd heard rumors that the Baron was attempting such a thing, but we never confirmed that he actually…"

"It was real." Jak clenched and unclenched his fists unconsciously. "Believe me."

"By the Precursors," Riddik repeated, still in minor shock. He turned and motioned to Jin, who was deep in an intense discussion with Ashelin. "Jin! Jin, my dear, come quickly! You must learn something!"

Jin covered up her annoyance almost instantly. She excused herself from Ashelin and walked over, her measured stride showing none of her age. "Yes, Ambassador Riddik? What is it that's so important?"

"This boy, Jak – I mean, His Majesty, the heir to the throne – was a subject in Baron Praxis's Dark Soldier program!" Riddik patted Jak's arm with excitement as he spoke and his eyes shone.

"Is that right?" Jin leveled a stern gaze on Jak; she had steely gray eyes and a look to match them. "How come we've never learned of this before? This visit certainly isn't the first time our cities have communicated since the Baron's fall."

"It's not exactly a part of our history that we're proud of," Jak replied steadily, careful to keep his temper in check.

"No doubt. Human experimentation with any sort of Eco is extremely painful and highly illegal under international law. Though I will have to investigate the matter further, make no mistake that the Dark Soldier program will factor into our trade negotiations, regardless."

"Duly noted," Daxter quipped. Jak inwardly cringed, waiting for the inevitable insult, but Daxter was just barely able to hold it back; even he recognized the folly in offending a visiting dignitary.

Jin cocked an eyebrow at the talking ottsel, then turned on her heel and returned to where Ashelin waited.

"Brrrrr!" Daxter shivered once Jin was safely out of earshot. "Is it cold in here, or is it just her?"

"Please, don't be put off by Jin's… formality," Riddik said. "She highly values etiquette and ceremony in this line of work, which is entirely understandable, really. There are many governments who appreciate such decorum."

"Hey, whatever floats their boat," Daxter shrugged. He pulled out another miniature quiche – where he'd been keeping it, Jak didn't want to know – and immediately set to work devouring it. "Frankly, the whole 'Ice Queen' act turns me off. Might as well sit on a block of ice. Have you tried these things, Jak?" He waved the remains of the egg-and-cheese creation in Jak's face. "They're great!"

Jak pushed Daxter's hand away. "Ambassador –"

"Please, just 'Riddik' will suffice."

"Riddik… can I see that amulet again?"

The old ambassador held the vial out. As Jak reached for it, the Eco inside churned and frothed while a low hum started emitting from it. Suddenly, a bolt of purple energy flew from the amulet to Jak's hand, startling him. Riddik frowned and peered at the vial. "Hmm… I suppose the Eco in your system is too much for it to handle direct contact. So terribly sorry."

"Wait…" Jak looked up at Daxter as an idea dawned upon him.

Daxter noticed his friend's expression right away. "No, no, no!" he protested, holding up his hands. "I'm never, ever touching any dark Eco again! Bad things always manage to happen!"

"Dax, you're not even actually touching the Eco. It's perfectly safe… right?" Jak glanced at Riddik for reassurance.

"Quite safe," Riddik replied. "I've carried it nearly all my life."

"Just for a little bit, Dax. C'mon, please?"

Contorting with displeasure, Daxter nonetheless reached out and grabbed the gold chain between two fingers, as if it were a soiled diaper or something equally foul. "You do realize that this thing is going to be really, really hot whenever you're around?" he asked. "I might singe my carefully styled 'do!"

"Can we borrow it for a few days?" Jak asked Riddik, ignoring Daxter's complaints. "There's something in the city I need to find, and I think that thing will help."

Riddik thought for a moment and then smiled. "Keep it, my boy – as a gift. A gesture of goodwill, if you wish." He leaned in and whispered mock-conspiratorially, "I really don't need it anymore, anyway. Sentimental value and whatnot."

"Thanks. Whoa!" He flinched as the red-hot metal on the amulet nearly grazed his face. "Careful, Dax! Go put that away somewhere!"

"With pleasure," Daxter muttered, hopping off Jak's shoulder and jogging away, still holding the trinket as far away from his body as possible.

--------------------------------------------------

A crappy place to end a chapter, but I'm getting desperate here. Umm… yeah, this chapter isn't nearly as exciting as the first, I'll admit, but I think it's more important in terms of characters and plot development. Did Daxter sound more… Daxter-ish? You know the drill – review review review. Thanks!

Oh yeah, and a side note: from what I can tell, the countries in Jak's world are more city-states where a "country" consists of a single city and the surrounding area. Why else was the Baron able to get away with all that crap? He was in control of just one city. I'm pretty sure that's a reasonable conclusion, but if anyone can difinitively give me evidence to the contrary - valid evidence - I welcome it.