Disclaimer: Jak, Daxter, Kleiver, Damas…and pretty much everyone and everything in the Jak & Daxter universe belongs to Naughty Dog. The only things I own are this concept, my character, and all of the ideas I come up with throughout the course of this story. You take it without my permission, and "I'll hunt you down and hurt you REAL bad!" P

A/N: From this chapter (well, if one wants to get technical, from the end of the last chapter) on, I'll refer to my character as "Stryke". If you don't want that…suck it up, walk it off, and get over it. j/k ; Also, I am VERY sorry about the delay on this story…a small bit of writer's block and some Final Fantasy XI can change much.


Chapter 3: Damas' Gift

As Stryke left the arena, he couldn't help but feel both proud and a tad bit confused.

On one hand, he wondered how he became skilled with bladed weaponry. On the other, he was proud at how much he shocked the audience…including Damas


"You did well," Damas said to Stryke. "Thus, awards are appropriate."

He pointed to the same pedestal that Stryke got his Morph Gun from, and Stryke noticed two objects laying there: one circular, and one shaped somewhat like a pen.

"The round object is your first battle amulet," Damas described, looking directly at Stryke. "With it, you will be allowed to stay in Spargus, but if you get two more, you will be a true Wastelander, and may call this place your official home."

He then pointed to the pen-shaped object. "That is a gate pass to allow free access in and out of Spargus. But out in the Wasteland, there is no true refuge. The desert is less kind than I."

Stryke then looked up at Damas as he continued. "As for your victory, you would be given a gun mod as a prize. But seeing as you are not in possession of a Morph Gun anymore, you will not receive the mod."

"However," he said, a little excitedly, "seeing as you are one of the very few skilled sword fighters in Spargus, I have a special gift for you. Head to my throne room and I will give that gift to you."


When he reached the actual city part of Spargus, Stryke could only wander and look in awe.

So this is what Spargus actually looks like… he thought as he took in the sights and sounds.

He noted every solitary part of this section of the city, from the sounds of the desert raging outside, to the look of the Wastelanders roaming the worn paths.

Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, as he tripped over a rock jutting out of the path.

After landing face-first in the dirt, and groaning in slight pain, he opened his eyes to find a rat with long legs staring him in the face.

It took Stryke a second or two to recognize what he was looking at. "Kanga rat…" he muttered to himself as he prepared to get up.

Then the rat looked up and turned its back to Stryke, paying attention to something else. It then turned back to Stryke and took off right over his body.

It took a moment to realize what was happening. "Oh sh-," Stryke muttered again as he raised his head off of the ground.

A leaper was headed right for him, with a familiar face on its back.

Quickly, without much hesitation, Stryke rolled to his side as the leaper barely nicked his arm while passing by. For a moment, he thought he heard, "Sorry about that, pal!" coming from one of the passengers on the lizard as it sped off after the kanga rat.

Stryke looked off in the direction that the leaper was headed. Then he just shook his head and thought, Already hunting kanga rats, eh Jak? He then hurriedly jumped onto a nearby leaper and went to Damas' throne.

Slowly, but surely, he made his way to the door in one piece. "After all of that, I THINK I should be good on learning how to ride those things…" he said as the door opened.


"So you finally came," Damas said as Stryke came up from the ground floor to the throne room. "What do you think of the city?"

Stryke walked up to the throne. "Well," he answered, "it's more of like a town, very interesting, and highly dangerous." He pointed out the cut he got from earlier.

"Hahaha!" Damas exclaimed. "Yes, we are a dangerous bunch, but the Marauders out in the Wasteland are even worse."

"I see…how did you get some into the city, though?"

"Detailed process…" Damas said as he turned back to his throne. He then produced a narrow, copper object and held it in his right hand. "Now, as to why I called you here."

Stryke couldn't help but look at the strange thing in Damas' grasp. "Yes…I was wondering that myself…"

"You see," Damas began, "sword-wielders are far and few in between in this world. The history books only account for one of your skill to appear every 400 years or so."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Stryke interrupted. "Are you…saying that I'm some sort of…special warrior or something?"

Damas looked straight into Stryke's eyes and spoke again. "Not since the past 400 years, though you will be surprised to know that there was more of your…kind…back in the Precursor Ages. They were a warrior race called 'Swordians', and they each used bladed weapons to the best of their ability."

"A few of the Wastelanders manage to find this out in the desert," he said as he held the object in his grasp. "We believe that it is one of the blades that the Swordians used back in their time, and it shall be your prize for winning in the arena."

With that, Damas thrust the object into Stryke's chest. Stryke took the thing and grabbed part of it, pulling away from both sides. He was surprised to find that it was, indeed, a bladed weapon, only as long as a short sword. He grasped the hilt in his left hand and twirled it around, slightly surprised at the fluidity and speed of the twirling. He then examined the blade itself; it was consisted of a light, yet strong metal, and had a few gems and inscriptions imbedded into the blade.

Stryke then placed the blade back in its sheath and placed it on his left side for easy access as an off-hand weapon. He then bowed respectfully to Damas. "Thank you, your lordship," he said. "I'll make sure this isn't wasted."

"You had better not, Stryke," Damas said as Stryke left through the elevator shaft.


A/N: That's all I have for right now. Again, I'm sorry for the delay, and the next chapter shouldn't take as long…hopefully. Read and review, peeps…I wanna know how I'm doing with this story!