Chapter Two: Amorad

"Jak! We have to go after her!" yelled Daxter, unhappy that they were leaving his sweetheart behind with the bandit. "What if she hurts her?"

"Don't worry, Dax. She'll be fine. We have to figuire out where she's going first." The Ottsel sat down, giving up on the argument. As the train landed, everyone got out in a single file line. Keira was in the back. Unfortunately for her Jak noticed. "Keira, what's wrong?"

"You! I can't believe you kissed Ashlynn!"

"She was the first one there! What would you have done if you had just saved the world?"

"Waited for you!"

"Yeah, right…"

While everyone else entered the Naughty Ottsel, Jak and Keira stood outside taking their "conversation" further than it needed to go. "Listen, Keir. I'm sorry! I couldn't help it. I'm a guy, and that's what you need to understand!"

"Understand? I think you're the one who needs to understand! How do you think I felt when the people of Haven said that you two would make a wonderful couple?"

"No matter what you say, Ashlynn and I have nothing! She loves Torn, and that's easy to see."

He pointed behind him to where they were sitting. Torn and Ashlynn were hand in hand, talking about the same thing Jak and Keira were. He only wished that they could work things out as easily as they could. Keira's face loosened up. Damn! This was your number one chance with him and you blew it, she thought. "Uh, Jak? I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions…"

"No, you obviously think Ashlynn and I are the 'perfect couple,' so maybe we should be…"

"Jak! Please!"

"No, Keira! If you would have believed me the first time this wouldn't have happened!" Instead of going into the Naughty Ottsel, Jak headed for Keira's garage. As she watched him go, she let a small tear drop to the ground. "Way to go, Keira…"

"So this Amorad, what did he do?" asked Tess, sitting in front of Jordan on the leaper lizard. Jordan shook her head and answered. "Amorad wasn't a guy. She was the best of all the Marauders, and I hope to be like her one day."

"Amorad was a girl? I never would have guessed the first Marauder would have been female!"

"Nobody did. Except Mar."

"Mar? What did he have to do with Amorad?"

"She was his wife."

"WHAT! How did that happen?"

"You see, it's kind of complicated, so it might take a while to explain. I hope you have some spare time…" Tess giggled. "Out here, I have all the free time in the world!"

"Okay, here goes. Mar and Amorad met during the Great War of the Wasteland. Amorad injured herself and was stranded in a crevice near the battle field. Later on, Mar went back to look for survivors and found her. Soon, they fell in love and were married. It wasn't long before her tribe found out that she was mixing with the outsiders, so they raged an attack on Haven. Mar loved Amorad too much to let her die in that war, so they ran away far out into the Wasteland. Unfortunately, they were captured by the tribe. They threatened to kill them both, but Mar had a plan. One night he managed to escape and free her. Amorad rallied up enough troops to fight against the army. Once they were defeated, they made her the queen of the Wasteland. Amorad was devastated when she learned that Mar was to go back to his people, who clearly wanted the outlaws gone. So she named her tribe the 'Mar'auders."

Tess was interested in the story of Mar and Amorad. "Wow, I never would have thought that Mar would marry a Marauder!" Jordan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, pretty weird, huh?"

All of a sudden, the leaper lizard reared up and knocked both Jordan and Tess off. They sat up rubbing their heads and watched the animal run away. "What's his problem?" asked Tess, dusting off her backside. "He's scared. Something's terribly wrong…" She could hear footsteps in the distance. "Tess," she said coldly, drawing out her dagger. "Run."

"Wha-?"

"JUST DO IT!" Tess gulped and began to back away from her. "Jordan, you're scaring me, what's going-AGH!" Jordan spun around to find Tess being bound and gagged by a group of Marauders from her tribe. "Ha! If it isn't the little slave girl! What are you doing so close to our tribe?" Behind the leader were the three slave drivers with their whips, snapping them mockingly. "Run along now, Jordan. You have no use for this rat…"

"You sons of bitches! Let her go!" Jordan twirled her dagger around, issuing her challenge. "So you want to battle me? Very well. I should have rid of you back at the camp!" The three Marauders stepped back, taking Tess away so that their leader would have room to fight. "Say your prayers!" He leapt at her, drawing his sword from behind his back. Tess squeaked at the size of it. There was no way that she could take on such a fantastic weapon. But Jordan didn't look the least bit worried. She dodged each and every one of his attacks gracefully. Aggravated that he was unable to hit her, he formed another plan. He motioned for the rest of his crew to make a circle around her. Soon, Jordan was trapped in between all of the Marauders. Tess was set aside.

"Foolish little girl. This is exactly why we threw you out of our tribe! Now, this won't hurt much." He slowly positioned his sword against the column of her throat. The she-Ottsel screamed and growled at the top of her lungs, but the binds and gag held her back. The young girl was helpless. Or so they thought…

"Where's Jak?" Keira entered the bar looking depressed and miserable. "Huh, Keir?"

"Gone. He's so mad, Daxter. What do I do?" The orange Ottsel scratched his head. "Well, I don't know really. How mad?"

"Very, very mad. And I'm the cause!" She buried her head in her hands. "He said that he and Ashlynn had nothing going on between them. And I didn't listen, so he walked away…" The few sat in silence until Torn's communicator came to life. It was Jak. "Torn! I think I may have found Tess!" Daxter sat up straight and grabbed the commi. "WHERE IS SHE!"

"I attached a beacon to that girl's foot before she got away. They've stopped next to some sort of Marauder camp."

"So she is a Marauder. We have to save her from that tribe!"

"I still don't think she's dangerous, you guys. What if she's going around it?"

"Nobody would get that close to a Marauder camp, Keira. Trust me." The communicator shut off and fell onto the bar.

"Well," said Torn as he stood up from his stool. "I suggest we get going."

The Marauders closed in on their prey as she slowly back up against a rock wall. "Come now, Jordan. No one can save you now!"

"Who said I need anyone to save me?" She held out her dagger and pointed it at him. "Hmph, pathetic," he sneered. "I would give up if I were you!"

"If you were me, you'd be better looking." He growled in anger and lashed out, ripping the bandages to shreds. Jordan fell to her knees, clutching her stomach all the way down. Tess gasped as she saw Jordan turn her back towards her, never taking her eyes off the attackers. Scars completely covered the lower part of her torso, and she assumed that there were more under her shirt.

"You bastards!" she screamed through her gag. But they couldn't hear her from so far away. As Jordan stood again, she looked up above their heads. Her eyes widened with fear. The same Freedom Fighter train that almost captured her was back.

"Damn!" shouted one of the slave drivers, unbinding Tess. "Let's get out of here. It's Jak!" All the Marauders, even the leader, ran away, leaving Tess to help Jordan pick up the bandages. "Jordan, you're hurt. You have to go see a doctor…"

"No! They're coming! I must run!" Leaving the rest of the dirty cloth on the ground, she sprinted in the direction of the city of Amorad. "JORDAN!" she called after her. "YOU'RE TOO WEAK! COME BACK!" It was no use. Jordan was already out of sight. Daxter grabbed Tess and pulled her into a hug.

"Tess! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Daxxie! We have to go after her!"

"We will, and once we catch her, she'll be arrested!" Tess shook her head. "No! She's hurt! You can't! I promised that I would be there for her!"

"Tess, you've gone out of your mind! She's a Marauder, and no Marauder deserves to live…"

"DAXTER, SHE WAS ABUSED!" she screamed, pulling away from him. The others caught up with Daxter.

"You haven't been with us for five minutes and you're already yelling at us?"

"Jak! You have to believe me! She was only trying to help."

"How? By kidnapping you?"

"Oh please, Tess," said Keira. "She's a Marauder. You can't trust them." The she-Ottsel shook her head in disbelief. "Why do you have to be stereo typists? Not all Marauders are alike!" Daxter grabbed her again by the shoulders and stared her straight in the eyes. "She took you away from me! Do you know how worried I was?"

"Jordan needs help. You don't know what she's been through. I thought you would see that. But I guess you don't." She roughly jerked away from him and got into the train. The rest followed behind with Jak and Daxter staying outside. "So I guess you're not proposing to her tonight are you?"

"Shut up, Jak."

The young girl ran fiercely through the desert, kicking up dust as she went. Tess, you said you were my friend, not my enemy! Another wave of pain wracked her body. Jordan fell to the ground, dropping her dagger that she had forgotten to put away. Why, Tess? Why? She coughed a few times and closed her eyes. No! Don't pass out! You'll die! Not even her thoughts could tell her what to do. Slowly, she drifted off into a long, long sleep.

It was that dream again. That horrible, horrible dream. She was running in darkness, nothing but pitch black darkness. All she could see was herself and the bright light ahead of her. What is that? All of a sudden, a circle of yellow light appeared under her. It grew bigger and bigger until it became at least thirty feet wide. She slowly approached the mysterious light, making her shadow larger. Finally, she was standing right under it. She could feel something, like a cold snake, coiling around her body. There it is again! Jordan turned away from the light and screamed in horror. Her shadow had left the ground and was making its way around her leg. As hard as she tried, there was no escape. Soon, she was under the darkness again.

"No!" Jordan sat up, checking her surroundings. It was dark. And cold. No one was around for miles, and she was beginning to feel lonely. "Tess," she whined, curling back up into a little ball on the ground. "I need you," she said in a quiet whisper. "I NEED YOU!"