Chapter 3

"WHAT!" Dawn exclaimed.

"I think we went too far back… stupid warp gate must've malfunctioned or something…" I answered. We had gone back, but not to the right time. The Krimzon Guards still wore red armor, there was no sign of any metal heads of death bots, and, well, you get my point. But maybe it wasn't before dad's time… I hoped it wasn't. I wandered around the city streets, hoping for some sign that I could use to figure things out. And oddly enough, my plea was answered. I heard the mention of my father's name: Jak. A couple of KG's that were standing around talking to each other were talking about my father! He was here! But where was the question.

My first order of business was locating the Underground Hideout. Dad never really bothered to tell me where it was, but he said it was on the more… dirty side of the city. And it looked like I wasn't far, either. I followed the docks for a while, just to explore, but my 'fun' ended when I left the docks. The first thing I heard was gunshots, and the KG's yelling at someone. I didn't know whom, but I had a hunch. I quickly scaled one of the buildings and ran along the rooftops towards the noises.

There are times when I hate being right. There was my father, racing along the streets in a zoomer, with several KG's on his tail. The first thing that crossed my mind was to pull of my blast and start shooting like mad, but Dawn had a better idea.

"Jakie, there's a parked zoomer! Let's grab it!" she exclaimed. I quickly nodded, jumped down and ran for the vehicle. As soon as I got there, I shoved on the helmet I found on the seat (it was best if I hid my face for now so dad wouldn't freak out or something), started up the zoomer and followed as fast as I could.

"Dawn, get on the blaster and shoot the bastards down!" I ordered. I quickly got up close to one of them and Dawn started laying down fire on him until his zoomer caught fire and crashed. It was the same with the others, except the last one. We hit a sharp turn, and then I kicked the zoomer up to full speed and back flipped off just before the two zoomers collided and cause an explosion. When the smoke died down, Dawn and I both smirked.

"That was cool! Do it again!" Dawn said. I rolled my eyes and took off my helmet, just in time to see my father advancing towards the wreckage that I'd caused. I couldn't tell if it was disbelief on his face or not, but I turned my attention toward the other KG's (not on zoomers) advancing. I grabbed my gun and prepared for combat. I was so busy anticipating the upcoming battle that I didn't notice my father approaching me, obviously wanting to know who the hell I was, but he also caught sight of the Krimzon Guards and also prepared his gun.

The second they got too close I started shooting like crazy, as did my dad. Since it was long range combat, we dodged any and all bullets fired at us, and open fired until there was nothing left moving, since all the civilians had run off. I lowered my gun looking proudly at my work, but that was interrupted by dad's voice.

"And just who the hell are you?" he asked in a gruff tone. Jeeze, I didn't know he was this demanding. I turned, and accidentally ended up staring at his eyes. Exactly like mine, just like I remember. But I didn't let myself get distracted from answering.

"The one who just saved your ass, if I'm not mistaken," I answered in the same tone. Again, he was interrupted, but this time by another zoomer that seated a much younger looking Torn and Ashelin. The two instantly jumped out and approached Jak.

"Jak, what the hell happened?" he demanded. Jeeze, he's even grumpier than he was when I was little.

"I don't know," Jak answered, forgetting all about me. I took it to my advantage and backed away.

"The guards just got pissed at us for no reason!" Daxter finished.

"And then whoever she is appeared out of nowhere," Jak said, pointing at me. I just pretended not to listen. There was a very brief moment of silence.

"Is it just me or does she almost look exactly like you, Jak?" Ashelin pointed out. Oh, NOW they notice! About fucking time!

"I didn't really notice that…" Jak answered, glancing at me again.

"Well, aside from that," Torn interrupted, "we still have to investigate that crash sight out my the pumping station." My face must've turned seventeen different shades of red, because they were talking about that piece of crap machine of mine that malfunctioned on the way here.

"Jakie… think we should say something?" Dawn whispered. I shook my head.

"Not at the moment," I answered. I'm not normally thing grumpy, but hey, after what I'd been through, I was tired. And I wasn't really in the mood for questioning. Again, I was rudely interrupted by the KG's. DAMN THEM!

"Halt! You are all under arrest!" one yelled and the group surrounded us and pointed their weapons menacingly. I growled.

"I am so sick of you people!" I exclaimed. "How many times do I have to kick your sorry asses before you bastards just fuck off already!" Obviously I was very mad at this point. I reached for my blaster again, but I was cut off again. ARGH! I'm getting tired of being interrupted!

"Let's get back to the hideout!" Torn yelled. I didn't expect them to include me, but to my surprise, Ashelin grabbed my arm and dragged me into the zoomer and all of us raced off to the hideout.

Of course, the die hard ones in their own vehicles followed, trying to shoot us down. That didn't work out too well for them, considering dad and I were on the defensive side, shooting them all down as they came. Easy stuff. Especially with all the upgrades I'd added to my blaster over the years. And I loved watching the stupid guards try frantically to get out of the zoomer before it crashed.

Soon enough we were all back at the Underground hideout. I wish I knew why they'd bothered to drag me along, but I had a hunch. And there are times when I'm sick of being right all the time. I didn't even have to look up to notice their eyes boring holes in my skull. Especially Jak. But he didn't know who I was. And just knowing that little fact kind of made me feel a little cocky.

"Alright, kid," I heard Torn start to say in his usual gruff tone, "Just who the hell are you?" Oh boy… how to answer this… I'll just give him my name first.

"Jakie," I answered briefly, still trying to figure out how I was going to break things to them without getting killed. I was so busy thinking about that, that I didn't even notice Dawn taking my place in the conversation. And it stayed like that until I heard another mention of the wreckage by the pumping station. My face turned red again, but this time they noticed. But before anyone could ask, I spoke up.

"Oh, about that… my fault…" I said with a small, nervous laugh. "The damn thing malfunctioned and crash landed."

"That explains it," Ashelin declared.

"Congrats, Jakie. That was probably the crappiest machine you've ever built," Dawn commented. I scoffed.

"Thanks for the encouragement," I answered sarcastically. Things were starting to get complex. The longer things went on, the more they wanted to know who I was and where I came from, and the more I wanted to just blurt out the truth right then and there. But I couldn't do that, considering that I'd probably get my head knocked off.

While I was busy contemplating all of this, something must've come up, because uncle Torn started giving dad orders to go rescue Vin. I remember dad telling me about him several years back. From what I hear, he's a computer geek.

"And what about us?" Dawn demanded once Torn finished explaining.

"You two can come with me," Jak invited. Perfect! Thank you, dad! Now I can break the news! I love you! I hid my excitement and stood.

"You're serious?" I asked in a plain tone.

"We need someone to cover our ass," Daxter explained. But I could tell that wasn't the case. Just by the look in dad's eyes, I could tell it was because he wanted to speak with me and get some answers.