A/N: Here is the Jak chapter you all have been waiting for. I finally had an idea come to me in my boring science class with Mr. Bond. That teacher is insane. This is what he said to my friend and I right before we left class, "Don't get lost in the snow." Who says that? Only him! I don't own anything from Jak2. Please give a review!

Chapter 24

"I'm calling up the Baron," Devo said sternly to Amelia. She gave him a stiff nod, and they both let go of Jak. Devo walked up to his globe in the middle of his study and pressed a place on it. The whole globe glowed blue and then a holographic face of the Baron came up.

"What is it, General Devo?" the Baron asked with a hint of confusion to his voice. "I thought you said everything was going fine in the fort." Anger started to swell up in Jak. This was the guy that was making him suffer.

"Yes," Devo answered while glancing over to Amelia and Jak. "But something popped up on us. It seems that you have not made any rules for your project. I have someone here that says one of the test subjects here is too young."

"Let me speak to him," the Baron said with a sigh.

"It is a lady, sir," Devo said while Amelia shove him away from the holograph.

"Jak is too young to be in this or any fort you have set up, Baron Praxis," Amelia said while folding her hands together behind her back.

"Jak?" the Baron said and his eyes went wide. "He is perfectly fine. Plus, I don't have an age limit for my project."

Amelia frowned and said, "You have no rules at all, sir. You need to set some standards! I can take over and clear this whole place out and shut down this project if I want to right now. I advise that you set some rules, or all these men are packing up and going back to your city."

The Baron thought over this. He did not want all the people from his project coming back to Haven City. "I'll make them," he finally said with a nod. "But until then, I advise that you don't stick your nose into my project anymore. Do I make myself clear, Amelia?"

The two went way back. They were enemies when they were kids too. They both glared at each other till Amelia finally said, "Perfectly. But you're in dangerous territory right now. I'd watch yourself if I was you."

"Well, you're not me, so I dismiss you," the Baron said in an icy tone. They both gave each other nods, and the holograph went off, and the face of the Baron was gone. Devo smiled at Amelia, and she returned it with a glare.

"I'll be back in a few months," Amelia said at the door. Jak shook his head and was about to run after her, but Devo grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back. "This isn't finished, Mr. Devo," she said with a nod then left.

No! Jak thought in defeat. This can't be happening! That was my only chance to get out of here, and it just flew away so quickly. If I would have said something I would be gone by now. I'm so stupid! I'm just back where I started again.

A week after Amelia left, the whole fort was making changes for some reason. Jak was noticing that more people were vanishing. The food was getting a bit better. They made him exercise more. The Baron had made rules over night, and everything was different. But that did not change the new friendship of three random Elves.

"Here is my plan to freedom," Tubal said to Nea and Jak in their tent. He shoved his hand into his shirt and took out a thing of parchment paper. He threw it to Nea so she could take a look at it. Jak tilted his head to the side to show that he was confused. Over the past few weeks Nea and Tubal learned what expressions on Jak's face meant what he was thinking. It was like he wasn't even mute now.

"You can take a look at it after her," Tubal said to Jak while leaning back with a smug smile. Nea was looking at the paper with wide eyes. Whatever it was, it had shrunken her interest.

"It is the whole map of this fort!" Nea finally said in a whisper.

"Shh!" Tubal said while coming to sit next to her. "Don't jinx it!"

"Cut it out!" Nea whispered back, and she elbowed him in the stomach. "This is big. How did you get your hands on this?"

"Easy," Tubal said like it was so simple. Jak and Nea rolled their eyes at the same time. Jak grabbed the map out of Nea's hands to take a look. She frowned at him because of his rudeness, and Jak returned her frown with a big smile just to shove it into her face.

Nea watched Jak closely to try and tell what he was thinking. His eyes flew over the map to only skim it. He was excited enough to scream, but of course the mute couldn't. She then saw that he was looking at details, and his eyebrows knitted together as he looked at one spot that he liked.

"All I did was pit pocket it from a new Krimson Guard that just arrived here yesterday," Tubal said while lying on his back, and he put his hands behind his head. "With that we should get out of here in seconds."

Jak looked up and smiled at Tubal then gave the map to his friend. Nea stayed quiet and thought about everything. They would have to have a big plan. And what would they do after they got out?

"How do you like it, kid?" Tubal asked Jak while taking his map back. Jak nodded to show that he liked it very much. Tubal gave a laugh while messing with Jak's hair. Jak gave a silent laugh while Tubal grabbed his shoulder. "Just think, kid!" Tubal said a light twinkled in his eyes. "We will be out of here in just a few days! We can go back to the city and take down the Baron. We three will be unstoppable!" Jak gave another silent laugh at his friend's actions and nodded.

"Whoa! Hang on there you two," Nea said while taking the map from Tubal. "We have to plan out everything in detail! It might take awhile. We need something that will work out perfectly. To do that, it might take us weeks! Don't think we are leaving tomorrow night."

"Yeah, I know," Tubal admitted while letting go of Jak's shoulder. "I've been here for three whole years! Getting a team together to plan an escape is big for me. I've wanted freedom in such a long time. I'm so close to it right now!"

Wow. Three years living in this kind of place might drive me insane! Jak thought while sitting crossed legged on the floor. But I'm not going to be here for three years. I'm getting myself out of here even if I have to kill myself doing it. I'm not making this place my home.

"So what's the plan?" Tubal asked Nea with a smile. Nea frowned at him. She had nothing in mind. They had a map. They knew two areas of the fort from top to bottom. They had so many options. It was time to brainstorm.

In low whispers the small team started to plot out their escape. First they had to plan the escape route. Then they needed stuff for after they were out.

"We should set a date for our escape," Tubal said. "We need a dead line. Without one we will just keep wishing and not do anything."

Jak held up two fingers then mouthed out the word months. "Yeah," Nea said with a nod. "Two or three months will do it. We can only meet on Sundays and when eating. But that is too dangerous if we discuss this while eating."

A bell rung off in the distance, and all three looked up with frowns. They only had free time in the fort for only an hour. They could not believe that a whole hour had gone by. Planning an escape from an evil fort sure does make time go by fast!

"I got to go, guys!" Tubal said while picking up his map. "That was the bell."

"Wait!" Nea said at the last minute. "Give the map to the kid. No one will think that he would have it. It will be perfect! And start collecting anything that could work as a weapon. We will have another meeting like this next Sunday. Don't ever talk or ask about it all this week. We will see you tomorrow morning for breakfast."

"Good," Tubal said with a nod. He gave the map to Jak and gave him a wink. "See you guys at breakfast." With that said, he left their tent to his own for some sleep. Jak looked at the map in his hands then put it under his shirt and gave a yawn.

"Lights out!" a Krimson Guard patrol yelled as he past Jak and Nea's tent. He walked around the tents all the time to make sure that no one could escape. They heard his feet crunch the rocks outside their tent, and Nea quickly blew out their lantern. How could Jak sleep when he had so much on his mind?

Around a week latter the three were eating dinner on a Friday night. It was some chicken soup with water. It was better than what they used to get, but it was not the best. Tubal was going on about how he won first in some running race with his team. Nea just nodded while her head was somewhere else. Jak's head was not even facing the two. His eyes were set on a pistol sitting next to the place they put dirty dishes.

It was a good weapon. Jak knew that his little team could not escape with only tiny sharp rocks, rope, and sticks. Jak looked back to Nea and Tubal. He finally noticed that they kept steeling glances at the weapon too. They all wanted and needed it.

Jak took a sip from his soup to finish eating then looked up to Nea and Tubal. He gave them a wink then got up to put his dirty dishes away. His heart started to race for every step he got closer to the weapon. He then sucked it up and put his dishes away then grabbed the pistol in one quick move.

Jak turned around and bumped into a Krimson Guard. He gave a silent gasp of surprise. Jak put his hands behind his back and shoved the weapon under his shirt and tucked his shirt into his pants so it could not fall out. He gave a smile to the Krimson Guard and stepped to the left to get past him. The Krimson Guard blocked him.

"What do you have behind your back, boy?" the Krimson Guard asked with a gruff voice.

Jak shrugged to show that he did not know. He lifted his hands up to show nothing was in them. The KG did not like his answer and narrowed his eyes at him. The Krimson Guard was about to grab Jak's shoulder to report him to Mr. Devo, but Tubal was already there to save the teen.

"Hey!" Tubal said while patting the Krimson Guard on the shoulder in a kind of friendly manner. "The kid is mute. He can't answer even if he wanted to. You must be a new Krimson Guard."

"Yeah. I got here just a week ago," the Krimson Guard said while looking at Tubal. "So this kid could not do anything?"

"The kid?" Tubal asked like he did not even know Jak. "He's like all innocent kids." Tubal then took the Krimson Guard aside and whispered just enough for Jak to hear. "He is a bit crazy too. That is only why he is in the fort. Don't pay any attention to him."

"Okay," the Krimson Guard said slowly. He looked at Jak who pretended to be insane. He was looking at his spoon and making faces into it. Jak was playing a pretty good part, and Tubal was having trouble keeping down a laugh. "Thanks for telling me that. I've been so lost here. I lost my map on my second day here. The prisoners here are more nice to me than the other Krimson Guards." He then walked off.

"Sucker," Tubal whispered to Jak with a sly smile. "Krimson Guards were never that bright. They most likely became Krimson Guards because a fortune cookie told them to."

Jak gave a silent laugh again, and they both sat down with Nea. She gave them a smile because she saw everything. "You play a good crazy person, kid," she said to Jak. His eyes went wide when she said this then he rolled them as Tubal and Nea laughed at him.

They did not talk about the pistol at all or how great a job Jak did of taking it and hiding it. All that talk would be only at a meeting on a Sunday. Jak kept his weapon under his shirt with the map till they got to his tent. He then dug a hole in the ground and put it there and covered it. It was a good hiding place.

Nea gave him a smile before blowing out the lantern that night. She was a good friend. Jak did not think of their relationship as a romantic one, though. She was way too old for him. She could be around 7 years older than him at the least. She was just a very good friend. Plus, Jak knew that he and Kiera were meant for each other. He wondered if he would ever see her again. After going through that rift gate everything fell apart. Jak just hoped that his life was the worst of the people that went through the rift gate.

A/N: Sorry for short chapter and not responding to reviews. I had to type this thing up really quick because this weekend I'm going from PA to NC for some wedding thing. No computer. No Internet. No updating my fan fictions. It sucks. But I have to go. Next chapter you get to find out what Roxie and Daxter are up to and where Merlander is. I'm going to try and write it on my 9 hour trip down to NC. Please give a review, and please pray for my family to have a safe trip down and back up. Thanks!