Two Sides to Everything

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Jak trilogy of games, they belong to Naughty Dog. The only things I own are my original characters like Colle and Zack.

Sushi: Koni! Here is the second chapter as promised! Hope you like it.Thank you once again for reviewing.On with the show!

Chapter 7: Internal Wars

Torn was waiting for Jak when he arrived at the Naughty Ottsel. And of corse, so was Daxter.

"It's about time you got here, Jak. I need you to go out to the old meatal head city area. I've recieved word of something being sighted. I want you to find out what it is." Torn saw the girl hiding behind Jak. "Who are you?" He asked none to friendly.

"Colle." She stepped sideways and out from behind Jak. She had always like Torn when she played the game but hearing him in real life he was a little intimidating.

"She's with me, Torn. You don't have to worry about it." Jak could tell Torn didn't approve of her, she was weak. Torn saw her as one more obsticale to get in the way.

"You don't need any distractions, you've been slacking off as it were lately. Maybe this is the reason why. But do what ever. I want you to go out to the metal head city. After that go to Haven Forest, Onin's looking for you." Torn turned around and looked at Daxter holding a bottle from behind the counter. It was one of the good ones. "You can take the rodent with you too." He tossed Daxter over to Jak.

Leaving the bar, Daxter spoke. "He only got rid of me so he could drink."

"I kind of got the feeling he didn't like me very much." Colle pointed to a parked zoomer they could use.

"He just got into a fight with Ashelin. It wasn't pretty." Daxter jumped from Jak's sholder and onto Colle's when she got onto the zoomer.

"I don't think so. You're not diriving." Jak put his hand on the stearing bar.

"I can drive this."

"Remember the leaper and the Screamer? I'm dirving."

Colle argued but Jak wasn't going to budge. She moved over and Jak started the zoomer. Over the green acid that covered the ground of the creatures' city, they looked for any sign of...well, anything.

After a long and fruitless search, Jak came to a stop. "I didn't see anything unusual." Jak then flew toward the Haven Forest entrance.

"Yeah, just the same green gunk that was there the last time we were here." Daxter looked over the edge of the zoomer. It sure was a long drop to the bottom.

Haven forest had grown greener over the last two years. Jak hadn't see it since it was overrun by darkmakers. He hadn't had a reason to come back.

"It's beautiful." Colle gasped. Flowers were in bloom all over the place. The grass was covered in blues, pinks, purples, and yellows. The water was sparkeling with reflections from the sun. The trees had regained their green leaves. The entire forest looked alive.

"Come on." Jak left the two of them and walked to the golden platform where he would meet the old soothsayer, Onin.

"Hey, cutie. Aren't you gonna follow him?" Daxter waved his hand infront of Colle's face.

"Sorry, Daxter. I thought I saw something over there." She had been looking around and saw something move from the corner of her eye, but when she turmed to see what it was, she didn't see anything.

Walking after Jak, Colle continued to look for it. She ran after him.

Arriving at the precursor platform, Onin with her talking moncaw, Peaker, sat waiting.

"Greetings, Jak. Onin has something to tell you." Peaker translated for Onin. "You have learned that we have a new threat to our planet. The Orical hasspoken to me and informed me that this girl is a key to what lies ahead."

"How can that be?" She had never been here before. She had only played the games.

"I'm afraid that even the Oracle doesn't know that. All it could say is that you must be strong and not give up. Jak has the strength to protect you but he will not always be able to do so."

"How do you-?" Jak started.

"Sorry, that is all Onin has said. I think you should look for the answers out there." Peaker motioned to the forest.

"That was a waste of time." Colle walked back to the exit with Daxter on her shoulder and her hands clasped behind her back.

"Isn't that all you have?" Jak said jokingly.

"Which reminds me. Are you going to train me or not?" Colle walked backwards so see could see Jak better.

"Sure. We can start later this afternoon, first we have to report back to Torn."

Colle thought of doing the same moves as she had seen Jak use when she played the game back home. Unfortunatly thinking of training also brought back why she had asked and what had happened the day before. Colle had completely forgotten about her brother Zack. "I'm horrible." She stopped walking and began to cry.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She was crying again. Jak hated it. It made him feel like he had done something wrong.

"I forgot him." She whispered.

"Forgot who?" He was totaly confused. One minute she was as happy as he had ever seen her then next she was in tears.

"Zack. I've been having fun while he's been captured and alone. How could I do something like that?" She sat on a nearby rock.

"You mean that little kid? How did he get caught?" Daxter walked beside his friend as he knelt next to Colle.

"We'll talk about it later, Dax." Jak placed his hand on Colle's shoulder. "It's okay. You need time to relax. If you worry about everything all the time, you'll never have a chance to do the things you want. Besides, when I train you, you'll be able to help save him. You'll be stronger."

Clouds moved to cover the sky when the others returned to the Naughty Ottsel. Daxter had a fit when he found Torn had drank himself to sleep at the bar. An hour later, rain began to pour outside.

Colle had said that she was tired and Jak told her there was an extra room up the stairs. Leaving Jak and Daxter to themselves, she went to the bedroom. The idea of training that afternoon was completely out of her mind.

"So, what exactly happened yesterday?"

"After I left here, Samos called. He said that Colle's brother had been kidnapped and that Colle had gone out into the desert after them."

"That is one crazy chick."

"Something she said makes me think she knows who it was that took Zack, the thing is though, she hasn't been here that long. Only a week."

"What did she say?"

"She called them 'furballs'."

Daxter and Jak seemed to be on the same thinking path.

"Dax, you don't think-"

"The Precursors?"

"Yeah, the question is: Why?"

The two of them sat talking for the next couple of hours or so until Daxter got so drunk that he couldn't put two words together. Jak told him to go to bed and that he would be leaving. Walking out in the rain was another thing Jak hated. Before he walked out the door, he heard something crash from up stairs. Thinking Colle was going to do something stupid again, he climbed the stairs to the extra bedroom. He knocked on the door and when he didn't recieve an answer cracked it open. "Colle? You okay?" She was sitting on the edge of the bed staring out the window.

"You can come in."

Jak did and found what had made the noise. A waterglass had been knocked to the floor.

"I knocked it over on accident. I couldn't see, it was too dark." She moved over to let Jak sit down.

"I see you're not beating yourself up anymore."

"You were right. If I worry about everything all the time, I'll go crazy." She smiled at him.

"I didn't say it like that." It was nice to see her smile instead of cry. It meant she was feeling better.

"You didn't have to. I realized that sometimes it's okay to forget your troubles. Zack had always tried to teach me that, I guess. WheneverJeremyand Iwould fight, Zack would always make me play one of his games. He wanted me to be happy. He was so young, but he still understood more than I gave him credit. He knew what Jeremy did, he tried to get me to leave him. But I couldn't." She sighed and went on. "I never told Zack, but it was because of him that I stayed with Jeremy. Jeremy had threatened to kill Zack if I tried to leave, so I stayed."

Colle had never had anyone to sit and listen to her. She had always kept everything inside. Maybe that was part of the reason she was he way she was. It felt good to let it out finaly. It felt good talking to Jak about the things that had happened even if he couldn't change them.

"You know we'll get him back, Zack I mean."

"I know. I have complete faith in you and Daxter." She looked at him mischivous. "And if you don't you won't want to stay in one place too long."

Jak didn't like that. He edged away from her smiling nervously.

"I'm only joking." She said laughing.

Knowing it was getting late and that Jak would want to get some sleep, Colle said her good night and got ready for bed once again.

By the time Jak made it outside, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. "Much better." Jak jumped onto the zoomer he had used earlier that day. About half way to his place in New Haven the rain begain to pick up once again.

Upon entering the Slums, Jak became aware that something was different about tonight. There was a feeling inside him that made him nervous. Something was happening. Jak had to stop his zoomer when a searing pain rushed through his body. Before the zoomer could reach the ground, Jak fell. He hit the ground hard knocking the breath out of his lungs. Star bursts flashed across his vision as he waited for the pain to subside.

The dark and light side were fighting for real inside Jak, it was no longer a dream. The pain was real. Each side trying to gain an upper hand while causing excrusiating pain to their master.

On the other side of the city, Colle had woken up. Something was bothering her. She could tell there was something wrong, she just couldn't tell what. An image of Jak passed across her mind. Colle knew he was in trouble. She ran downstairs and found Torn still snoring on the bar. She tried to wake him but it was no use. She was beginning to panic. If Jak was in trouble then who would save him. He was always the one to save everyone else.

Colle spotted a small door on the other side of the room. She could hear someone snoring. 'It must be Daxter!' She began to knock on the door until the little ottsel answered.

"I'm up! What do you want?" Seeing it was Colle.

"Something's happened to Jak." She said figuring he would jump up and run after his friend.

"He can take care of himself, he's a big boy." Clearly he was still drunk, he was having trouble staying on his feet and talking to where he was understood. He slamed the door harder than he meant to and went back to bed.

"Why that stupid little rat!" Colle ran out of the Naughty Ottsel hoping to find a zoomer. Luckly there was one nearby. It was painted a dark blue. It was probably a Freedom Leage zoomer. Colle guessed it belong to Torn. "I don't think he's going to be driving, not with him wasted like that." Now it was time to find out if Jak was right. Could she fly this thing or not?

Colle started the engine. She jumped and grabed the handel bars when the zoomer lurched forward. "I'm gonna die." She moaned as she eased the vehichel into the sky. Figuring it was an all or nothing deal, Colle pushed the gas as hard as she could, so she could find Jak.

Many times Colle barely missed hitting a sign or the corner of a building making sharp turns. Having been through the streets of Haven in the game helped her to tell when most turns were coming up, but a few she didn't know.

Turning one more corner, Colle found Jak on the ground. He was doubled in on himself holding his head.

The zoomer stopped and sunk to the ground quickly. Colle ran to Jak but stopped when he spoke to her.

"Don't...Something...isn't right. Something...inside me." He spoke between his teeth and gasps of air. "The light and dark-" Jak was transforming. Into which though was imposible to distinguish. One second he would grow horns and the next his wings would begin to apear.

Colle didn't know what to do. She was helpless to do anything to help him. "Jak!" She tried to get closer. He held out a clawed hand to stop her. "You have to let me help you! I won't let you suffer like this." Tears of fear and frustrastion.

Jak heard her talking but couldn't make any of the words out. Turning into his darker self he looked into the girl's face. He could smell the saltiness of her tears. He remembered it was one of the things he hated the most: to see this girl cry. His mind began to return to normal. "Colle?"

"Jak! Are you okay? Say something!" Colle grabbed a hold of his arm to help him sit up when he had finaly returned to normal.

"I'm fine." The pain was ebing away slowly.

"No you're not. Come on, I'll take you to HQ." The zoomer was still running when Colle walked Jak to it.

"I said, I'm fine." He jerked away. Jak sat in the street regaining his composure. 'Need to see Onin, Samos, or someone.' Thinking to himself Jak shakily got up. Colle reached for him but he pulled away. "I'm okay, don't worry." He placed his hand on her shoulder to stand straight up. He made his way to the awaiting zoomer.

"I think you might want me to drive."

"Can you drive this thing?" He looked doubtitly.

"Sort of." She smiled sheepishly. "But you might want to let me drive all the same." Colle sat in front while waiting for Jak to get behind her. Once he got on, she asked, "Where do you want me to go?"

"You can take me to Onin. She might know something." As Colle drove as best she could, Jak layed his head against her back. He felt awful. His head was still pounding but it was nothing like before.

Colle flew as fast as she could with the rain hitting her face and trying not to run into anything. She spent too much time worrying in this world. It was more than her home, but she had to admit, there was never a dull moment.

Onin's hut was full of smoke and burning candles. A strange scent rose into the air as well as the smoke when Jak and Colle entered bringing in a gust of wind and rain.

"What is the big idea! I have you know I was in the middle of a very important dream! Not that you need to know." Pecker flew into Colle's face. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Jak needs to see Onin." She spoke hastily."Something's wrong."

"Sorry, but no one is to see Onin until further notice." The half-bird, half-monkey moved to reveal the old woman. "She has entered a trance and there is no way to know when it will be over."

"But-"

"That's okay." Jak interupted. "I just need to lie down for some rest." There was a mat next to one of the tent's walls that was free from rain and near the fire that burned in the center of Onin's hut. He had the feeling Onin could still help him. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was out.

Minutes later after Jak had fallen asleep, Pecker and Colle went as well. Pecker on Onin's large hat and Colle next to the doorway. Rain continued to thunder down on the city of Haven.

Sushi: This thing got deleted so I had to go back and fix everything. I even found more errors. I know I didn't get all of them. There was one I know I missed I just couldn't find it.

Jak: Noone's perfect.

Sushi: Thanks Jak. That was nice.

Jak: Especailly you.

Sushi: Hey!

Jak: Review and maybe she'll stop looking at me like I'm gonna have nightmares for the next week and a half. (runs out of the room being chased.)

Sushi: (returns out of breath) That was fun. Please don't froget to review!