Marauder Child

Chapter One: Neglected

Hey! Another self entry into the famous world of Jak and Daxter. This story is about me and my best friend living in a Marauder camp hundreds of miles from Haven City. You'll laugh, you'll cry…But mostly you'll laugh. Enjoy!

"Put your back into it!" Three Marauders gathered around a frail young girl as they watched her struggle to try and push the huge crate along the camp. "I can't!" she pleaded, hoping that they would give her a break. She'd been working for days while the rest of her friends played among the herds of leaper lizards outside the camp. Occasionally her best friend, Tiffany, would come and visit. But today, she was nowhere to be found. One of the muscular guards lashed her on the back with his whip as she once again heaved at the heavy box. Soon, the others joined in.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the most hated of all her people to hate. Christina. Being the most preppy of all the preps, it was known as her job to make the more pitiful Marauder children's lives a living hell. Christina waved at her and motioned for her group. In only a matter of seconds, a whole clan of popular girls surrounded her, making a taunting and laughing wall blocking her from killing their queen. How she hated her. From the very day they met she was nothing but trouble to her. Calling her names. Hitting her. Shunning her from her group, not that she ever wanted to be a part of it.

"I said move it!" Again they began to beat upon her back with the long rubber coils. When they were feeling generous, they would ditch the whips and pound her with their bare hands. But on their bad days, they would, for their own pleasure, add blades to the end of them, creating a pain so intense that she didn't mind if it killed her right then and there. Come save me, Tiffany, she thought. Come save me from this awful torture… As if answering her prayers, her best friend stepped out of a nearby tent with a handful of fruit. She casually reached into her pocket and removed several gold coins and tipped the guards. As they walked away, she helped the beaten teenager to her feet.

"Tiff, I'm so glad you're here! Boy, if they just gave me one day of rest, their asses would already be kicked by now!" The blonde-headed she-elf shook her head and rolled her eyes as she tossed her a bite to eat. "Jordan, you're so tied up in plotting revenge, but you never take enough time off of your strategizing to do your attacking!" she laughed. Jordan bit into the juicy and ripe fruit, the first bite she had taken in a day or so. "Do you expect me to go in without a plan? Trust me, this'll all be worth it…"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little slave girl!" The snotty and squeaky voice made them both sick. They turned around to find Miss Queen Prep herself smirking at them both. Her long brown hair was pulled back with a headband with the Marauder camp symbol that resembled a sword. She wore a blue shirt cut in half to show her stomach along with the sleeves chopped off to reveal her twigs-for-arms. Black boots clad her feet, matching her gloves which had been relieved of a couple of fingers. Finally, the look was put together with a pair of blue shorts, covered up with a short white skirt, giving her the perfect preppy yet tough Marauder look.

"Shove off, Chrissy! Leave her alone!" defended Tiffany, stepping in front of Jordan. Christina crossed her arms and huffed. "Why should I?" The group behind her repeated tauntingly. "Yeah, why should she?" After a five minute staring contest, Tiffany and Jordan finally gave up. "So long, Losers!" called the group, waving in their usual snobby way.

All was unusually quiet in the chaotic Haven City. So far there had been no reports of any robberies or even Metal Head sightings. One word defined this day for Jak: boring. He lay under the Tree of Life, trying his best to relax on probably his only day off ever. Daxter sat beside him, of course with Tess right in front, cooing and giving him pet names every ten seconds. They had been dating for quite some time now, and Jak was expecting for Daxter to pop the question any time now. But today, he didn't care what he did. It was just him and a little vacation.

As soon as Tess walked away on her own, Daxter leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Check this out," he said, pulling a small ring from his pocket and showing it to Jak. "Wow, Dax! So, when're you gonna' ask her?"

"Dunno' yet. Maybe sometime this evening…" Right as he finished his sentence, Jak's communicator sprang to life. "Jak! We've spotted a Marauder camp just outside Spargus City! Get your ass down there now!" He didn't even have time to argue as the little machine switched off and fell into his pack. Jak sighed heavily and stood up. "Come on, Dax. We've got work to do…"

"Hmmm, now where are they?" Jak and Daxter had been waiting in the hot desert sun for hours, but there was still no sign of the bloodthirsty barbarians. "Maybe they've gotten smarter and ran off," commented Daxter, holding Tess by his side, never wanting to leave her. Tagging along were Torn, Ashlynn, and Keira. Still upset about Jak and Ashlynn's kiss earlier in the year, she refused to talk to him, even though he was regretful of the kiss himself.

"Wait, I think I see something!" Out in the distance, a small figure climbed over a large sand dune. As the tiny dot grew closer, Jak was able to tell that the figure was actually a person. A small person. In a minute or two, the little elf came nearer and nearer, unaware of the fact that she was being watched. "Is that a Marauder?" asked Torn, obviously surprised to see such a small girl out in the Wasteland. "I think so," answered Keira, stepping forward to get a better look.

The young girl wore a grey bandana on her head with the symbol of the Marauders on the front, pulling back her short brown hair with just a few bangs hanging down on the right side. Her shirt was off-white and came halfway down her body, letting bandages cover up the space below so that not a piece of flesh was showing on her torso. Yellow and black knee and elbow pads gripped tightly on her, adorned with spikes in the middle, making them lethal weapons if stabbed with them. Shorts of the same bright color of grey on her bandana came a small length below her hips, showing extra portions of leg that could've been inappropriate for her age, but they were covered up by a brown skirt that wrapped halfway around and was cut off on her left side. Finally, she had on grey boots to match the grey bandana and shorts. She was definitely a Marauder.

"When I give the signal, grab her, but don't shoot. Got it?" Everyone nodded at Jak's command except Keira. "Why don't we just leave her alone? She doesn't look dangerous…" Indeed she didn't, but what they couldn't see was the oddly shaped dagger tied to her right boot. At last she was only ten feet away from their hiding space where they had parked the Freedom Fighter train that they had arrived on. "Ready…NOW!" All at once the group leaped out on top of the fragile girl. Surprised by their sudden attack, she went down unusually fast. She struggled to get the crowd off of her but failed repetitively. Finally, the weight was too intense. The young girl gave way to her attackers. "We've got her!" Daxter shouted, jumping off of the dog pile. The others began to loosen up, relieving their grip on her. This was their biggest mistake. She flung her arms, hitting everyone in her way.

"Fools! Don't ever let your guard down! Not even for me!" She drew the dagger from her boot, causing Keira to gasp. The dagger wasn't just any weapon, it was the most dangerous of all. It curved upward, giving it the shape of a pirate's sword. A few inches from the grip was a half circle cut out on the right side of it. Another half circle was cut a couple of inches above the other on the left side. If anyone was stabbed with the weapon, it would be lodged by the gaps in the dagger, usually killing the enemy. She lifted it up high as the others backed away. Slowly but surely, Jak reached behind his back carefully as not to draw her attention. When she finally put the dagger back in its place, she began to run in the opposite direction. Now it was her turn to make the mistake. Jak quickly whipped out the Morph Gun. "Jak, don't shoot her!" screamed Keira, grabbing a hold of his arm. Ignoring Keira's pleas, he took aim at the girl's feet.

Barely nipping her heel with Blaster Shot, she went down, not in pain, but in fear. She scrambled to find balance as she got up again, never losing her pace. Torn, Jak, and Daxter took after her, Ashlynn, Keira, and Tess close behind. Catching up quickly, Torn tackled her and this time he never let go. Flinging her arms and legs madly, she screamed and yelled curses as the others stood beside her until she calmed down. "What did I ever do to you? You sick bastards! I have to go home!"

"Just answer a few questions and we'll let you go."

"Shoot."

"What's your name?" For some strange reason or another, Tess gained an uneasy feeling in her stomach. "Daxxie?" she asked frighteningly, grabbing hold of his arm. "Not now, baby. She's bein' a little feisty…" She shook him lightly, staring at the young girl's eyes. They were bright green, so there was nothing abnormal about them. But Tess could sense that something bad was about to happen.

Without warning, she sprung from Torn's strong grip and grabbed Tess, taking off in a sprint that not even Jak could match. "TESS!" yelled Daxter, chasing after them. It was no use. And to make things worse, she stopped and whistled sharply. A ghostly white leaper lizard came out from behind the rocks next to them. Climbing on top, she shoved Tess into the pack on the lizard's side. Before dashing off out of sight, she turned around and called back. "OH, AND MY NAME'S JORDAN!"

Daxter looked on as the thief ran off with his girlfriend. Jak picked him up and placed him on his usual spot on his shoulder. "It's okay, Dax. We'll get her. Don't worry." The Ottsel slowly nodded his head, never breaking his onward stare at the same direction in which they took off. As they loaded into the Freedom Fighter train, all he could think about was Tess…

Squealing in anger and fear, Tess fought to escape the hot and cramped bag. Feeling around for the opening, the pushed and the flap gave way. Jumping out as quickly as she could, Tess tried to avoid being seen. As she fell to the ground, she felt a boney hand grab her waist. "Shit!" she screamed, letting herself go with the hand. Instead of shoving her back into the bag, Jordan sat her on the head of the now halted lizard. When Tess looked closer, she could tell that she was crying.

" Jordan? Jordan, what's wrong?" Of all the years of being a bar maid, she had some experience with emotional problems. "They hate me. Everyone does." The she-Ottsel slid down onto the leaper's neck. "Who?"

"Everyone in general. The Marauders. Your friends. Everybody."

"That's not true! You have to have some sort of friend!"

"I do. And I thank God for it. But I was just recently kicked out of my camp because they thought of my as nothing but a worthless and frail wretch. If only they could've seen me fight your people…" Tess thought for a moment. It was true. She fought like a real warrior. And if the Marauder's saw that, they would've taken her back. "What happened to your friend?"

"She had to stay behind and train other more experienced fighters. I wasn't good enough, so they threw me out. Tiffany couldn't do anything to stop them, she just wasn't strong enough. They killed her." A fresh wave of tears was brought forth with these words. "She tried to fight them. For ME! She was the only one that cared and now she's gone!"

Tess wrapped her arms around Jordan's neck. "It's going to be okay!" she said in a squeaky yet comforting voice. "I'll be your friend…for as long as you need me." Jordan leaned back and wiped the dry tear lines from her face. "Really?" The Ottsel nodded and hugged her again. When they pulled apart, everything was silent. "Now, where are we headed?" The girl shrugged and pulled out a map. "Let's see. We're hundreds of miles from Haven, so it might take us a while to get there. But I can take you back to that other rat that was chasing after you."

"What?"

"Yeah, this little orange rat was running after us yelling your name. I can take you back-"

"No, you need me. I'll stay with you for a while. Just to make sure you're alright." Jordan smiled a warm and childish smile. She looked back down at her map. "Well, if we're not going back to Haven, we can go to Spargus," said Tess, smiling as she looked back up at her new friend. For some strange reason, she wasn't smiling back. "What now?"

"I can't go to Spargus."

"Why not?"

"I'm a Marauder. They know me. I've been marked down for quite a lot of crimes there…" Her voice trailed off at "crimes". "Well, maybe we can find another place!" she said optimistically. "How 'bout here?" She pointed at a small dot on the map a little further away from Spargus. "There? Are you sure?"

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"That right there is the Lost City of Amorad, the very first Marauder ever to walk the face of this desert. I've heard some pretty mean rumors about that place, but it doesn't look like we have much choice here. I guess we'd better rest up. We've got a long day ahead of us!"