Disclaimer: I don't own any of Jak2 or 3, and I don't own any of the characters other than Trista. Naughty dog owns everything else.

Chapter Seven

I woke up to a completely dark room. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and glanced around myself, Torn and Jinx must be out on another mission because the hideout was empty. Stretching, I shrugged it off, I might as well head to the bar to talk to Tess. She was assigned there not to long ago to keep and eye on Krew and the under cover schemes he was running.

I glanced at my watch, which wasn't much help because I couldn't see the hour hand without light. I growled in frustration, and rolled off the bunk. After all, I was wide awake anyway, might as well wander over to the slums port and take a swim. I grabbed my pack and headed outside and stopped for a moment, something about this didn't feel right. I dropped my bag and flattened myself against a wall and listened, not daring to make a sound or movement, until I was sure there wasn't anyone hiding nearby.

I remained there for a half hour, almost jumping at every sound but once I trusted myself enough too, I took a step away from the wall. Looking around, I slowly leaned down and picked up my pack. Once I had that, I quickly, but slowly, edged my way around a corner and scanned the open area, nothing but the down trodden people and a few guards, and I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

What was I doing anyway? Of course I'm in danger, but that's only because I have a tendency of pissing people off half the time. I smiled and opened my eyes. Besides, no one who really had a reason to hurt me was willing to come this close to the hideout, not that anyone really knew where it was if they weren't in the underground and able to be trusted. I sighed and continued walking to the port. I really needed something to help me relax. And if Torn got back and needed me for a mission or something, I had my transmitter on me.

Walking, it took me an hour to reach the port, but only because the guards think you did something wrong if you are moving too quickly for their liking, and as much as I would love to get into another fight with the guards, I didn't feel like it tonight. I walked along the run down bridge walkways until I found a secluded spot where even the guards didn't go because no one lived nearby. A couple of the bridges had rotted away and sunk three houses before the guards put out notices saying the people in the remaining houses had to move. I slipped out of my armor and changed into my suit.

One of the rare things I had was a suit, and I only managed to get this one because I had grabbed it the night I escaped from the old city before I left the house. I loved to swim, but doing it during the daytime wasn't that brilliant of an idea because even the dense guards would notice. I slipped into the water and sighed contently. I hadn't been able to get out here that often, and I was really starting to miss the opportunities to swim at night. I dove under the water and swam down to the wreckage of an old house.

Something shined when a ray of moonlight hit it, and I swam over to where I thought it had shined from. It looked like a small chain of some sort but it was stuck under a broken bit of wall. I grabbed the rubble and lifted with all the strength, and balance, I could and managed to get the chain free. Examining it, I noticed a small blue gem at the base of the necklace, but a moment later I felt the sudden need to breath. I swam back up to the top and burst into the cool night air, gasping slightly.

"What was that!" Crap, that sounded like a guard had heard my surface. I swam under one of the bridges and grabbed a board to keep myself from moving and making noise.

"You were just hearing things."

"You know if Errol finds out someone was in this section, we'll get our asses chewed. We just need to check it out." Double crap, their footsteps stopped right above my head and I held my breath. I prayed silently that they didn't see my bag laying on the lower planks, but they just remained motionless.

"Come on man. We need to keep patrolling. Errol is staring at us and, oh crap, here he comes."

Errol? Oh great. That's exactly what I need. I shuddered slightly as he marched over, of course he would have to stomp the whole way.

"Quit loitering around! Get back on patrol." Errol snapped, and I almost laughed. Looks like I was in the clear. Until my nose itched. Oh come on, I can't sneeze, not right now.

"Ah…Ah-choo!" Crap.

"Wait, get back here! There's someone in the water, get her out!" Errol commanded. Before I could think to dive under the water, a guard had grabbed my arms and yanked me out from under the bridge. I grimaced as the guards leered at me, but Errol only smirked.

"Well Trista. Still sticking to the night life I see."

"Only way to live Errol, you should try it sometime."

"You're not allowed to be here. I need to take you in to see the baron." I looked at him like he had grown an extra head. Suddenly, a rag was placed over my mouth and nose and a wave of chemicals invaded my senses. Feeling dizzy, I slumped into the guards arms, and felt the world spin. Errol smiled, and I pitched into darkness.

Oh, my head, where am I? I sat up and looked around, trying to recognize the room I was in. Well I could at least see, because the sun was rising and was sending several rays of light over the room. Seeing didn't help much, because I still didn't have a clue where I was. Well, I did if you counted me knowing I was in a bed in a room I had never seen before. I shrugged and stepped onto the floor, which was really cold.

Wait a minute, what exactly am I wearing? I looked at myself in a mirror on the far wall. I was dressed in a silver floor length gown. That was odd, I didn't recall changing. Which probably meant someone had changed me into this. I shuddered to think of one of the guards doing it, and tried to force the images away. All I knew was that I needed to get out of here and fast.

I ran over to the window and pulled open the curtain, and cried out. About a hundred miles below me was the city. Which meant that going out the window was a bad idea for one and for two, I was in the palace. The door creaked open and I spun to see Errol smiling at me from the doorway. I tried to steady my voice before I turned to him and asked.

"What's going on?"

Me: Ooh cliffhanger. Read and review please. I'll try to keep updating a lot. Let's see what happens next.