Me: Searching for the things to say... to keep you right here waiting…

Abbie: OMGWTFBBQ?

Eevee: Too much Staind does that to you.

Me: I hope you're not intending… to be so condescending… it's as much as I can take…

Eevee: One moment. –Picks Seraph up by the collar and slaps her silly-

Me: Oooooww!

Abbie: At least you've stopped singing.

Me: Come on, it's a good song!

Eevee: Does this even have anything to do with the fic?

Me: No.

Abbie: No.

Eevee: In that case, get on with it.

Me: -Grumbles- All right, all right… On with the chapter!

Abbie: What about the disclaimer?

Me: Wha - ? Disclaimer? Oh right, disclaimer!

Abbie: -Shifty eyes- … WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH OUR MEG?

Me: Calm down. My brain melted. Anyhoo, I don't own J&D, so hopefully the nice people at Naughty Dog won't sue my pants off. Have a nice day!

Eevee: Yeah, that's her. Nobody else would say 'sue my pants off'.

Abbie: …Right…

Me: On with the fic!

Written To: Right Here – Staind (What else?)

Jak's commentary

"Speech"

"YELLING!"

'Thoughts'

((Me popping into the story to explain something or other.))

Song lyrics

Bio-speak (It shall be explained!)

Those guys' experience in that cave has to rank as one of the weirdest they've had. And when you remember that an average day contains a large amount of guns, violence, alcohol and paperwork then you realise that it is pretty damn weird.

Now, Dax and I were horribly lost. We only realised we weren't with the rest of the group when the winds died down, so we set off in the direction we thought they'd be. Turns out we should have stayed where we were. But where's the fun in that?

"Are we there yet?" Daxter was fed up. He hated exercise in any shape or form, and today was no exception.

"For the thousandth time, no."

"Well, where the hell are we?"

"The middle of nowhere."

"Can you be any less vague?"

"Look Dax, if I knew where we were, we wouldn't be lost."

"Point."

Jak collapsed under a spindly acacia tree, making the best of what little shade it offered. He took several deep breaths, as though trying to calm himself down.

"You okay, buddy?" Daxter being concerned was a rare sight, but today Jak saw it. The ottsel sat down beside his companion, looking up at him through blue eyes.

"I'm fine." Jak was, in fact, lying. He wasn't okay.

"C'mon, I know when something ain't right. And something ain't right. So, what the hell ain't right?"

Jak looked down at Daxter, speaking with his eyes. He didn't want to talk about it.

"… Oh. Right. Yeah, um… Well…" The ottsel knitted his brow for a while. "Why don't you try and let him out for a while? It's not like anything would live here."

"You're joking, right?" Jak looked down at the two-foot rodent like he was mad.

"Hey, do you have any better ideas?"

"No, but-"

"Exactly."

Jak reluctantly nodded slightly, getting to his feet. Daxter scuttled up the tree, digging his sharp claws into the frail bark. He'd had nasty experiences when this happened. Jak took yet another deep breath, before he let go.

Daxter watched through fearful blue eyes as his companion's skin went from a tan to deathly pale gray. Horns sprouted from his forehead, and his cold blue eyes grew even colder as they turned black, whites and all. If you only shot him a brief glance then you could think that all that was left was his sockets. His nails extended into dangerous-looking claws, and his once blond hair was now dark gray. Jak was no more. Dark Jak had taken over.

The ottsel shut his eyes tight about halfway through his friend's transformation. Even now it frightened the living daylights out of him. The eco-being looked upwards slightly, as though registering something. Without warning, he shot off, on the hunt.

Less than half a mile from the duo, a young woman had found something that could save her life; a gazelle carcass. With powerful teeth she ripped it open, kicking away one or two of the vultures that were in her way. She was about to take a bite when she heard something;

Anger. Bloodlust. Want to kill.

The small woman got to her feet, tensing her scrawny muscles. The vultures had heard it too, and took flight immediately. She looked about through useless eyes; only the vaguest outlines of the endless dunes were seen. It was her nose that told her the exact location of the approaching creature; it was behind her. She whirled around, only to be knocked down by a powerful force that she couldn't identify. She rolled over onto her belly, keeping her gaze low.

"Look, i-if this is your kill, I'll go. I don't want any trouble here."

She was answered by a swipe at her face, drawing blood.

"MERCY!"

Her assailant said nothing, sending a rain of blows at the woman. With all her strength, she got to her feet again and fled, and the beast made hot pursuit. The nomad woman knew her stamina wouldn't hold out, and her pursuer's bio was thundering in her ears, telling her he was still following. Blood gushed from the wounds on her face, though they weren't deep enough to scar.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing roar came from behind them. Both parties halted immediately, and although the nomad couldn't see what had made it, she could smell him. She vaguely recognised the scent, but she couldn't put a name to it. The dark beast switched his target, charging at the newcomer. The two blokes locked head on, fighting like a pair of wildcats. The fighting stopped as suddenly as it started, with an equally loud, equally guttural noise; the newcomer screamed. His left eyeball was hanging from one of Dark Jak's claws. He gave an angry growl and skulked off.

"You're gonna regret this…"

He left quickly, leaving a trail of blood that dripped from his empty socket where a piercing, acid green eye had once been. Dark Jak shook the eyeball from his claw and turned back to the nomad, who was rooted to the spot from fear. Her pale, golden eyes locked onto his bottomless, jet black ones. He began advancing on her, and she ran again, her feet striking the ground with insane force.

After less than a mile of running, the woman screeched to a halt. She was standing on the edge of the canyon carved out by the Great River. She looked back, seeing only her attacker's outline advancing quickly. The river coursed through the walls of stone, and she looked down again. She was trapped between two evils. She locked the muscles in her legs, then with a massive surge of energy, she leaped downwards.

"Makire, receive me!"

Me: So there you have it. Two OCs introduced in one chapter!

Abbie: W00T!

Torn: Well, at least there were no cross-dressing freaks this time…

Eevee: I second that.

Me: Please R&R! PLEEEEEAAAAAASSSSEEE!