BY: gOsHaHa
Ahhh, another chapter ready to go. I think this one's probably pretty long… but I guess it's better that way. It gives a little more information and stuff. Anyway, I'm just going to say that Chapter 1 was the whole intro of the story (because it didn't really have to do with the main characters). So, without further ado… Chapter 2!
CHAPTER 2: A WISH… OR TWOThe stars twinkled in the evening sky overhead as the sun set in the distance and Jet sat on the pier watching his friends play a fun game of 'chase the muse'. Actually they found it amusing, but Jet's pet muse Spot (which had the misfortune of being the muse that they chased after) did not like it at all. The children laughed and giggled as Spot pounced around franticly trying to avoid their grasping hands. Even the oldest, Aly, joined in on the fun by making sure that the little ones didn't accidentally fall in the water.
Jet sighed as the evening breeze rustled through his light hair. He kicked his bare feet back and forth as they hung off the side of the pier. As he did, he happened to look at his reflection in the murky waters below. Then, he looked back at his friends. Then, back at his reflection. He was so much different from them, it seemed. He had pale gray skin and light hair, where as no one else looked like that. His eyes were a golden color, and he even thought they were scary. He wanted to be normal. He felt alone. If he wanted to be normal so much, why was he not playing with them? Then, he thought he heard a voice.
"Why are you sitting alone?" the voice asked. It sounded oddly familiar.
Jet looked down at his reflection and it seemed as if he was the one that had said it.
"Because… I just want to…" Jet responded.
"No you don't…" His reflection said back. "You're just afraid, aren't you? Poor sad little boy… what is there to be scared of really?"
Jet gazed at his reflection a bit harder and began to lean. It seemed as if it was another being peering up from the depths. It was a being with dark eyes and sharp teeth, not to mention the voice (although it did almost sound as his own) was sly and sinister. This creature is me, Jet thought. A darker me…
"I can't swim…" Jet replied to Dark Jet.
"Oh yes… that's right, I forget." Dark Jet smiled up at Jet with malice. "You really are a baby…"
Jet's pride was sparked instantly. He frowned at his Dark self.
"I am not a baby," he whispered meekly to the other one.
"What's that?" Dark Jet jibed. "Are you whining or something?"
"No! I said I am not a baby!" Jet cried.
"YEAH, RIGHT, SURE YOU'RE NOT… BABY…" Dark Jet laughed.
"Shut up! I am not!" Jet leaned closer and smacked at the water, trying to make the sickening voice stop. But even as he smacked at the Dark reflection, he could still hear the scary voice ringing in his ears. It wouldn't leave him alone! Tears began to well up in his eyes as he franticly splashed the water, leaning in closer and closer to make it stop when… 'Kersplash!' He fell in.
Jet felt the water surrounding him and suffocating him. He flailed at it madly. He was stuck! He couldn't swim! He cried out for help, but the water drowned out his screams. All he could taste was the nasty salt in his mouth. Then, he heard the voice again. It laughed at him. "Can't do anything now can you? So predictable." Jet caught a glimpse of something as he sunk lower into the water. The frightening face of his dark self stared at him from his side. With that, he screamed out one last cry of terror as he took a large gulp of water and passed out.
When Jet came to, he heard a bunch of voices around him. He felt cold and weak, and he realized he could feel the hard wood of the pier against his back. What had happened? Had he been hallucinating?
"Lil' cherry popper!" Aly's voice rang in his ears. "Are you okay?"
"Oh gravy!" Dorik cried out in a spasm. "Please say my best bud's okay!"
"Dorik, relax…" Tax, his twin sister, responded cynically, "He's fine. Good thing Aly knew CPR!"
"Eeeew…" TJ gasped. "You mean Aly… and Jet… touched lips?"
At this, Jet was wide-awake and sputtered all over the pier.
"Ew, Aly!" He cried. " Why you gotta make out with me already? I'm only five!"
"In your dreams twerp!" Aly responded. "I'm four years older than you!" Aly held up four fingers for emphasis. "Count 'em… four!"
"Whatever…" TJ laughed. "You know you like the younger guys…" The others laughed to.
Jet looked at his friends in admiration and momentarily forgot about his Dark self. There was the unofficial leader, Aly. She was the oldest and most determined out of all of them. She had dark skin and pretty brown eyes; and although none of them wanted to admit it… they all looked up to her as a 'big sister'. Even though, Jet didn't exactly like the idea of her calling him a "lil' cherry popper" in mimicry of her dad.
Then, there were the ottsel twins, Dorik and Tax. They were one year older than him. Dorik was Jet's best friend and they always hung out together. Jet explored and hung out with him, sharing him secrets and listening to his absurd stories of ghosts that lived under his bed. When Jet had told him that it was monsters that were supposed to live under their beds, not ghosts, Dorik became even more worried. Even though, he sometimes talked tough… Dorik really was a 'scaredy ottsel'. Tax, on the other hand could not be anymore different. She had a sharp mind and even sharper tongue compared to her dimwit brother. She was always on the lookout for a good moneymaking scheme, and would do anything to her benefit. She also did not worry that much about other people's well fare. To her, it was all about her.
TJ, who was exactly two years older than Jet, was a scrawny redhead that liked to think of himself as top dog and was sort of a clown. He was really good with information and gossip though, since he lived in the palace, and was constantly telling the group stories that happened inside the imperial walls. He loved weapons too. Because of this, he and Aly spent a lot of time with each other. When he grew up he wanted to be a soldier like his mom and dad.
After everyone had all their laughs out, a serious note came up.
"Um… hey, Jet…" Dorik muttered. "Before you fell in the water… who were you talking to?"
Jet looked around at his solemn-looking friends, then back at the water. His reflection was back to normal. "Uh… no one… just myself…"
"Heh, come off it!" TJ cried. "We all heard you screaming!"
"I said no one, okay!" Jet screamed. He realized that he must've cried a little too loud, for TJ averted his gaze in haste. His friends did that sometimes. They were afraid to look at him when he was mad, as if he would go into a frenzy and attack them or something. The sad thing was… sometimes Jet actually wanted to do just that. He had no idea why… but something told him that his friends did. That's why they were afraid… because they knew.
Jet turned to Aly. "Tell your daddy I wanna go home."
"Hey!" TJ cried. "Don't try to ignore the question!"
"Leave me alone!" Jet wailed as he followed Aly into the small house that the pier jutted out from. As it turned out, Aly lived in the water slums. Actually, they weren't really the slums anymore, they looked a lot better since the time their parents were younger (at least that's what they said), but Jet thought it still could use some work.
Inside, Sig snored loudly on the broken-down couch while heavy metal thumped at full volume from a couple of rented speakers. Aly strided toward them and turned the music off. She ran over to Sig and shook the big guy with her small hands.
"Yo, Pops! Wake up!"
Sig startled and looked at her in confusion. "What? What's wrong?"
"Well, besides the fact that Jet almost drown, nothing. He just wants to go home."
"Oh," Sig sighed. "Is that all?" Then, a moment of silence. "Wait… WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE ALMOST DROWN? Oh! I'm the worst baby-sitter ever!" He turned back to the kids. "What have I told y'all about running around on the damn pier? Now, if you do that next time, some one could really get hurt. It's dangerous over here!"
Sig grabbed up Jet and sat him on his lap. "Now what's this about you wanting to go home?"
"I… I just do…" Jet responded with his head down. Sig asked nothing more. Something was bothering the kid.
"Alright, lil' chile pepper…" Sig took them both out to the big zoomer docked out at the pier, and Jet looked back at his friends as one of the neighbors came out to look after them while Sig was gone. Then, with a rev of the engine, they lifted up into the sky and headed toward the city-district.
When he got home, Jet waved back at Sig and Aly as they zoomed back toward the slums. Jet looked ahead of him. There was his house. It was a nicer apartment complex shared by both his family and the ottsel family. Even though the place was much more comfortable than Sig's, Jet was always feeling squashed because Brutter liked to visit a lot with his family (not to mention that Daxter had a habit of throwing wild parties). Despite all this, Jet smiled as he looked at it. Inside his mom would be cooking dinner, his grandpa would be ranting about something and his dad would be sitting at the table talking to Uncle Dax and Aunt Tess. He could picture it clearly.
He headed up to the door when he saw something gold out of the corner of his eye. In the alleyway, his pet muse sulked.
"Spot!" Jet cried out enthusiastically. "Did you follow me all the way home?" The muse leapt into his arms. "Come on, I'll get Mom to make you something yummy."
As soon as Jet opened the door, a giant green crocadog jumped out and growled at the muse. Spot hissed back and leapt out of Jet's arms in hysterics, as Kroc raced after the frightened thing.
"Jet?" his mother's voice came from inside the doorway. "Home already?"
"Yeah…" he answered.
"Well, don't just stand out there! I've got supper ready!"
"Uh right!"
Jet ran inside and greeted his father and Uncle Dax who were, like he thought, sitting at the table talking (actually, Jak was sitting… Daxter was prancing around on top of the table). He found himself a spot at the table by Grandpa Samos and looked down at the plate of steaming food that Keira had prepared. She placed another plate down for everyone else (including Daxter, who was salivating like crazy at the sight of it). With that, they all dug in.
After dinner, Sig brought the ottsel twins by (and by that time it had gotten late) and Daxter reluctantly decided to leave. He whimpered all the way to the back of the house, where their two apartments were divided, saying that he would have to listen to Tess' pings of pain as she felt the baby moving.
Jak, knowing that Jet had come home earlier than usual, decided to tuck him in.
"So," he asked his son by his bedside. "Um… what happened today?"
"Nothing," Jet answered curtly, pulling the covers over his shoulder.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep…"
"Jet, I'm your father. You know, if there's anything you want to talk about…"
Jet looked up at him hopefully for a second. But, no. He couldn't tell. His dad would think he was crazy.
"No, dad," Jet lied, "Nothing happened… I just wanted to come home. That's all."
Jak could tell he wasn't going to get anymore out of him, so he said good night and shut off the eco light. As he shut his door, he could hear Jet's quiet whimpering. Jet, my son, Jak thought. Why are you in so much pain? I wish, I wish you were not… like me… and he went into his own room thinking this, and seeing Keira already asleep in the bed, he wondered if he and his son would ever be "normal". Keira, she was perfect. Nothing was wrong with her. She had no afflictions, no physical distortions, no multiple personalities… but the burden of her husband and her son was her burden. Jak felt grieved, and lay in the bed staring out the window. A shooting star shot across the sky. Jak lifted his head a little and began to wish. If not a wish, then a prayer… please, I wish my son and I could over come this… this darkness that I know he has too. I wish that we could do it together, father and son. And as drowsiness overtook him, he fell asleep.
In the next room, Jet, still whimpering, saw the same star. I wish I wasn't here! Jet cried out to himself. I must really BE a baby. I can't even talk to my daddy! I just wish my parents didn't have me to fool with anymore! They'd be happier anyway!
That night, he cried himself to sleep. It was then that a stranger crept through the darkness and stole him from his bed. Jet's wish had been granted.