Chapter XIII: The Demon Within
LES: Huge, giant chapter ahead! Jak's last twenty-four hours in prison. It's been two years since he was capture, and now it's time to move on into Jak II.
Jak: Yeah!
LES: Don't celebrate yet, there's still a whole lot of junk planned for you. Anyway, Twelve chapters and Naughty Dog summed it up with: 'Two Years Later.'
Only one Guard was left on 'Freak Duty.' There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Dark Eco had affected Number Eleven both physically and mentally. It's strength and agility constantly amazed the Guards. On good days it could lift four times it's body weight!
Strangely, the Baron and Erol were not happy. They wanted more than unnatural strength and agility; they wanted a super weapon that could bend Dark Eco to its will, a Dark Eco creature that would be invincible.
The Guard had been on duty for almost twelve hours, and he was getting bored. Suddenly, one of the screens came on and attracted the Guard's attention. It was Commander Erol. "Soldier? How is our weapon doing?" Erol asked.
The Guard turned back to the screen that constantly monitored Jak's cell. The Guard sighed. "He's doing one-arm pull-ups."
"Really?"
"Yes, and he's been doing the same thing for an hour and a half."
"Non-stop?"
"Yessir." The Guard said.
"That's very interesting." Erol mused. "Perhaps we are getting closer. Tell the scientists that I want them to increase the Dark Eco level."
"More, sir?" The Guard asked. He knew that the subject was already subjected to enormous amounts of Dark Eco.
"Yes, more." Erol paused. "In fact, I want the scientist to calculate how much Dark Eco it would take to kill him, and then shave it off just a little bit." With that, Erol hung up.
"Yessir." The Guard said to the empty screen. He picked up the intercom and contacted the head scientist.
(Containment Cell)
Jak gritted his teeth in exertion as he rounded the three hundreds. He readjusted his single-handed grip on the pipe. He felt himself slipping slightly and he tightened his grip. He could feel his fingernail digging into the palm of his hand, but he ignored the pain. Jak took a deep breath before going for another one.
His arm shook slightly as the exhausted muscles worked to pull himself up again. Quite suddenly, he reached the point of muscle-failure and he couldn't hold on any longer.
Jak lost his grip and fell down to the ground, landing painfully on his backside. Jak growled, cradling his arm. "Fuck!" Jak swore, angry at his own weakness.
Jak glared at his offending hand and discovered that his fingernails had actually cut into his palm. Crimson blood ran down his wrist, while Dark Eco pooled at the wounds, healing them painfully. Jak tried to move his arm, but the muscles were so tired that nothing happened. "Damn!" Jak swore… again. "Gonna feel that one in the morning." Jak's thoughts then turned to the next day. He glanced at the marks on the prison wall. According to them, he had been in prison for almost two years. It was impossible to be sure exactly how much time had past.
"Two hellish years." Jak thought out loud. "What would they say if they saw me now? What would Daxter and Samos think? Will Keira still…" Jak couldn't finish the thought because he knew the answer. "No. No one loves a monster." Jak had once heard someone say that 'Love conquers all.' Jak snorted. It was a lie. How could love overcome this? Jak was no longer the Jak that Keira had liked… maybe even loved. He was a cold, calculating, thoughtless murderer.
Jak gazed up at the pipe that had been his best friend for half a year, then at his other arm… the one that worked. "No." Jak said to himself. "I might need this arm." Jak looked at the pitiful corner where he slept. "Might as well sleep." Jak said. "Tomorrow's going to be a 'new day.'" Jak meant that last comment to be sarcastic, for the past two years had been monotonous. But, tomorrow would be a new day… for everyone, especially Jak.
The morning began like any other. Jak was given his breakfast (if you cared to call the cold gruel that he was given 'breakfast') and then he spent the rest of the afternoon waiting until two o'clock when the Guards came to drag him to his torture session.
Around two o'clock, Jak heard the familiar sound of Krimzon Guard boots coming down the hall, about a dozen in all. Right on time. Jak thought grimly to himself.
The Guards stopped in front of his cell, but didn't come in. They had long since given up on trying to over-power him physically. There had been a glorious week when Jak hadn't gotten any treatments about a month ago because they couldn't get him out of the cell. Unfortunately, that hadn't lasted long, because the scientist invented a new method of control. It involved a weapon that looked a lot like the Shock-Rod Rifles, but instead of shooting out bullets, it shot out a net that would shock the person in it if they moved too much. Excellent for riot control… or controlling raging experiments.
The Captain aimed the Shock-Net Gun at Jak though the bars. Jak tried to jump out of the way, but the net wrapped around him, the net instantly sent hundreds of volts of energy coursing though his body. Jak hit the floor and went still because, wither he liked to admit it or not, those shocks hurt.
The Guards opened the door, the Captain stood above him and laughed. "Not so tough, now, are you… you little freak?" The Guard kicked Jak across the face with his booted foot. His head whip-lashed back to the Guard, his eyes burning with unspeakable rage. "Take him away." The Captain ordered.
Several of the Guards grabbed onto the net. Jak grinned as he shifted, causing the net to shock him again. However, this time the Guards also got shocked. "Fuck!" The Guards swore as they let go of the net. Jak didn't really care about his pain, as long as those bastards felt it too. He paid for this little stunt with a rather nasty punch to the face. The Guards grabbed the net and began to unceremoniously began to drag Jak away like an animal.
After an age, they dragged Jak to the torture room. (It took a while because Jak kept moving at opportune moments.)
Jak was dragged to the chair and strapped down to the table before the net was even removed. Only after they were sure that he wasn't getting away did they cut off the net. Erol and Baron Praxis were standing off to one side. Jak was mildly surprised. Praxis almost never came to the treatments, leaving them to Erol. Something must be happening. Jak listened in on their conversation with his unnatural sense of hearing.
"I don't want your excuses!" Praxis spat at Erol. "I want results!"
"Don't worry, sire." Erol said. "I've had the scientist triple the Dark Eco input. If it isn't today, then he'll never be the Dark Warrior we want."
Jak's eyes widened. Triple? He had never had an increase by that much! This was going to be painful… very painful…
"Triple?" The Baron mused. "Are you sure it won't kill it?"
"Reasonably." Erol said.
Praxis paused, thinking. "Very well. But, this is the last time! It's now or never."
Before Jak could even begin to ponder what that meant for him, the treatment started and all thought were wiped from his mind. The only thing that remained was a deep pain.
Jak was screaming, louder than he had ever screamed before. It felt like the very universe was crying out in pain. Once again, he felt as if his body was being torn into a billion pieces. His blood was on fire, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it, so he just screamed. The torture continued non-stop for several minutes before it finally stopped and Jak slumped in the chair, working hard to remain conscious.
A computer voice sounded from the console. "Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Bio readings nominal and unchanged."
"Hmph! Nothing!" The Baron spat. "I was informed that this one might be different!" The Baron yelled, pointing accusingly at Jak who was balancing on the line between conscious and unconscious.
"He is surprisingly resistant to your 'experiments', Baron Praxis." Erol admitted. "I fear the Dark Warrior program has failed…"
"AUGH!" Praxis roared, grabbing Jak roughly by his hair, cruelly bringing him closer to consciousness. "You should at least be DEAD with all the Dark Eco we've pumped into you!" The Baron let Jak go, and his head fell back to the metal chair, eyes closed.
"What now?" Erol asked. "Metal-Head armies are pressing their attacks. Without a new weapon, my men cannot hold them off forever."
"I will not be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures!" Praxis spat. "Move forward with the plan…" Praxis glanced over at where Jak lay. "And finish off this… thing… tonight." Praxis ordered.
"As you wish." Erol said. He turned on Jak and grabbed him by the collar of his prison outfit. Erol yanked on the collar, pulling Jak's face closer to his. "I'll be back later, freak." Erol spat, roughly pushing Jak's head back down to the cold metal chair. Erol turned around and stalked off.
Jak closed his eyes. This was it. Two years of hell, and now he was going to die. Samos, Daxter… Keira… I'm sorry. I have failed you. I… wasn't strong enough… Jak's thought then moved to Sorus. He had promised Sorus that he'd escape, that he wouldn't die in this place. I'm sorry. It looks like I'm going to die in here after all. Jak paused. At least I won't have to deal with this anymore. The torture… the nightmares… the darkness… all with soon be lost in the eternal embrace of death. Jak sat silently on the cold metal chair, quietly accepting his fate.
Suddenly, a voice split Jak's peaceful silence. "Ding, ding! Third floor! Body chains, roach food, torture devices!" The voice sounded familiar, but Jak figured it must be his imagination playing tricks on him. "Hey, buddy…" Jak felt a light weight drop on his chest, but he didn't open his eyes. "You see any heroes around here?" A pause. "Whoa! What'd they do to you?" Another pause. "Jak! It's me! Daxter!"
Daxter? Jak thought weakly as he opened his eyes. But all he saw was an orange blob, clouding his vision. Jak closed his eyes. Leave me alone to die. Jak pleaded with his thoughts.
"That's a fine 'hello'!" The creature said. "I've been crawling around in this place, risking my TAIL…" The thing stepped on Jak right where it counts and Jak gasped in pain. It didn't help that he was still sore from the treatments. "LITERALLY… to save you! I've been looking for you for two years!" Jak was now starting to get annoyed by this creature's ramblings! Even before death, he couldn't have peace! "Say something! Just this once!"
Jak's eyes opened again, this time he was blind with anger and rage. "I'm gonna KILL Praxis!" Jak roared.
Suddenly, Jak felt a hand cover his mouth, silencing him. "Shhh!" The creature warned. "Do you want someone to hear? We gotta get you out of those restraints! Just let me…" But Jak wasn't listening anymore, he was beyond rational thought. His breathing slowed and grew more and more ragged until they were low growls. The creature, who actually was Daxter, didn't notice; instead, he kept on rambling. "Figure out how to open the security locks so I…"
Daxter's rant was cut short by a roar from his best friend. "RAHHH!" Jak roared as he ripped himself out of the restraints… the metal restraints. But, as he did so, he changed. His skin paled until his skin was a deathly white and his hair changed into a whitish-gray color. The pupils of his eyes expanded until they ate up the blue and white, leaving only a deep, pitch-black color. This left him with a huge field of view, many times larger than a regular elf could even hope for. For a second, Jak felt as though his head were being split in two, which it was… for two long horns had sprout from his forehead. The last change was the fingernails. His fingernails grew rapidly, a thousand times faster than normal, until they were five-inch long claws, perfect for slicing though flesh and armor alike. He smiled.
"Or, uh… you can do it…" A voice caught Jak's attention. And, at the same time, it didn't. For this creature wasn't Jak anymore. The real Jak was trapped in a corner of his own mind, blind, helpless, and not aware of what was going on. The creature got off the table and growled as Dark Eco poured from his body, forming a sort of Dark Eco shield around his body. "Jak?" Daxter questioned at the murderous look on the creature's face. "Easy now… easy, buddy… It's your old pal, Daxter, remember?" The creature approached Daxter, lazily flexing its claws in anticipation. Daxter was now cornered.
"AUGH!" The creature roared as it prepared to stab the animal with its horrifying claws. Suddenly, a single word reached the real Jak inside the monster and Jak was aware that Daxter was cowering from him for an unknown reason. "Daxter?" Jak asked. Suddenly, a wave of light-headedness washed over Jak and he almost fell over as he became dizzy. The demon faded away, and Jak was back to normal. Jak was suddenly very confused. One second, he had been strapped to the table, waiting for death, and then the next he was standing on the small platform, by the table, looking at Daxter who seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"What the heck was that?" Daxter roared to Jak's confusion. "Remind me not to piss you off! Come on, Tall, Dark, and Gruesome, we're out of here."
Jak was even more confused now. Not just because of what Daxter called him, but because this was the first time, since that day long ago, that he hadn't either been in his cell, or accompanied Guards. "Free?" Jak wondered.
"Yes, 'free'." Daxter said slowly, like he thought that Jak had lost his mind in prison. "That's what it's called when you can do things on your own free-will."
"Daxter?" Things were beginning to sink in now. Daxter actually was there, and he could escape. "Daxter? I've… missed you."
Daxter looked up at Jak. "Yes, I've missed you too, buddy. It seems like I'm still stuck missing your silence, however. You learned to talk, huh?"
"Yes." Jak said.
Daxter's eyes fell down to a small pile of clothes that he had forgotten about in the excitement. "Oh, by the way, I've brought you some new threads. Put 'em on."
Jak looked down at the prison outfit that he had worn for two years; it was torn, dirty, bloody, and smelly. "I could use some new clothes." Jak mused.
"That's the spirit." Daxter said.
So Jak quickly put on the new clothes. There was a slight bit of confusion for some articles… shoes for example. "Dax, what are these?" Jak asked, holding up the boots.
"They're shoes, Jak." Daxter said, rolling his eyes.
"I know they are shoes!" Jak defended himself. "But I've never needed shoes before."
"Poor, naïve, Jak." Daxter said, sadly. "Trust me, you DO NOT want to go wandering around this city with bare feet!" So Jak put the shoes on.
The rest of the clothes were made out of a strange material. In the end, he was wearing a long-sleeve, blue tunic, beige pants, gloves, combat boots, and a red scarf that had come from his prison outfit. It was still in good shape, so he kept it. There were also goggles that were pushed up on his forehead and a metal ring on his chest, supported by Yakkow leather, this included a holster that looked like it was made to carry a gun. However, since Jak didn't have a gun, he left it empty. And he had a sort of pouch thing that hung on his hip. The clothes might've felt strange, but Jak was just happy to be in newish, clean clothes.
"Very sharp." Daxter commented. "Now can we GO? Once we get out into the City, I sort of know my way around, but I'm lost in here."
"Don't worry." Jak said, grinning. "I'll get us out." Jak turned back towards the machine. "For two years, you've kept me captive, Praxis. But now I'm out, and I won't stop until you've paid, I swear it." Jak turned and ran down the narrow bridge. He glanced around for the vent that he had noted months ago.
There, in the same place, and still open, was the vent. Jak grinned and headed for it. There were several boxes stacked under it. "Easy." Jak said as he jumped up the vent.
"Don't jinx us." Daxter warned.
Jak ignored him and came to a round room. He looked to the right and found another vent. Jak headed for it. Unfortunately, he happened to trip an invisible security laser.
Red lights began to flash. "Warning!" The computer voice warned. "Prisoner escape in progress!" This message sounded though the whole prison.
"Damn." Jak swore. Now escaping would be harder than just walking out the front door… not that he expected to walk out the front door anyway. Now every single Krimzon Guard in the prison was alerted to his presence.
"See, what did I tell you about jinxes?" Daxter asked.
Jak continued into the next room, which appeared to be some sort of storage room, filled with huge boxes. Jak's sharp eyes scanned the room and spotted another open vent behind some boxes. Jak stood at the base of one of the larger boxes, which appeared to be the only way up. A younger Jak wouldn't have had a hope of leaping such a great obstacle, and Daxter seemed to be thinking along those lines. "Well, it's been a nice run, but…" Daxter's words were suddenly cut short.
"AUGH!" A shout escaped Jak's lips as he leapt into the air and cleared the ten-foot high boxes in a single bound, landing safely on the top.
Daxter stared at his best friend. "How in the world did you do that?" Daxter demanded.
"I've been in prison for two years, Dax." Jak said guardedly. "I got bored."
"So you've worked out?" Daxter asked. "Damn, how strong have you gotten?" Daxter's question was answered as easily pushed a box away from the vent… a box that must've been twice his weight. Daxter's mouth hung open. "Pretty damn strong, I guess."
Jak grinned slightly. He stepped thought the vent into another large room. There were a bunch of moving platforms in there that could be used to cross the large expanse. He jumped across them. On the last one, the Computer voice spoke. "You are in a restricted area. This sector is on High Alert."
Jak ignored the computer and jumped off the platform to solid ground. There was another large ledge, which Jak used another 'high jump' to reach the top.
"Jak! Hide!" Daxter whispered suddenly. Jak, thinking that it must be something dangerous, threw himself into the shadows. Jak strained his ears and heard the familiar sound of Krimzon Guard boots. Daxter had made him hide for a single KG? Jak rolled his eyes. "Okay, Jak, if we hide here long enough, he'll eventually give up and go away…"
But Jak wasn't listening. The KG rounded the corner and came into view. Jak leapt out of the shadows, grabbed the Krimzon Guard's head and twisted it violently. There was a horrible cracking sound as the Guard's head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees so it was now pointing backwards. Without a sound, the body sank to the ground. The Guard was dead.
As usual, Jak didn't feel a single ounce of remorse. But he suddenly realized the full extent of the situation. Daxter had never seen him kill another elf before. Daxter was staring at Jak, and then turned his open-mouthed gaze to the body. "You… he… you…" Daxter's gaze turned back to Jak. "You… just murdered him!"
What Jak was feeling at that moment wasn't remorse or guilt or any of those types of emotions, what he was feeling was… embarrassment.
Daxter studied Jak's pitiless eyes. "Something terrible has happened to you." Daxter observed.
Jak broke the eye contact, looking down at the body. "Yes… something has happened."
"Will you tell me?" Daxter asked.
Jak gestured around at their surroundings. "Is this really the time or the place?"
"I guess not." Daxter said as Jak continued on his way.
Jak met several more Guards on his journey to freedom, and all of them met the same, pitiless end. Some were killed so fast, they didn't even know what hit them, and others were killed considerably slower.
After killing dozens of Guards and overcoming several obstacles. Jak found himself in some sort of drainage system. Jak was standing waist deep in water and looking for a way out. However, it was not he, but Daxter who discovered the way.
"Jak, over there!" Daxter pointed and Jak followed his finger. Daxter was pointing to a door in the wall, about ten feet off the ground. There were boxes stacked at its base, so Jak didn't even have to use one of his 'high jumps'. It was child's play.
"Good job, Dax." Jak said, wading though the water towards the boxes. He climbed them and made it up to the door. The door opened as he approached it and Jak was ecstatic to see, not more metal passageways, but sky and dusty buildings. Jak jumped though the door, fell twenty feet, and landed in a crouched position on the street below.
"We're free, Jak! Thanks to me!" Daxter said. "Nice to breathe some fresh air, huh? Don't worry, we'll get that Baron Praxis guy, all right!"
" Damn right, I will." Jak said. "He should've killed me when he had the chance." With that, Jak began to walk down the dusty streets. He went only ten feet before he realized that he didn't have a clue where he was. Jak turned circles as he walked, trying to get a sense of direction. However, he couldn't see the sun, so that was useless.
Suddenly, a sort of six sense told Jak that he was being approached. It didn't sound like a Krimzon Guard, but whatever it was stood out in Jak's mind like a sore thumb. Jak turned around and saw that this interesting figure was an old man in robes, followed closely by a young boy in a white shirt, blue overalls, and a pilot's cap. The boy had a strange looking medallion around his neck. The boy looked no older than five or six. The old man approached Jak.
"Hello, strangers." The old man greeted. "My name is Kor. May I help…"
Jak suddenly grabbed the man by the collar. "You look like a reasonably smart man." Jak growled. "I want information." Jak released the Kor. "Where the hell am I?"
Daxter jumped off Jak's shoulder. "Sorry." He apologized to the boy. "He's new to the whole… 'conversation' thing." The boy stared at Daxter curiously. He reached out, like he wanted to pet Daxter, but then he thought better of it. The boy hid behind the Kor.
"Well, my angry young friend…" Kor said, brushing off his robes. "You are a guest of his Majesty, Baron Praxis, the ruler of 'glorious' Haven City." Kor gestured at the 'glory' of the City around them.
"I see…" Jak said sarcastically. "So I was just a guest in the good Baron's prison!"
Kor shook his head, like Jak was stupid. "Inside a cell, or inside the city, walls surround us both. We are all his prisoners."
The familiar sound of Krimzon Guard boots caught Jak's attention and he looked down the street. A full legion of Krimzon Guards were marching down the street towards them. The Baron can't know of my escape yet. Jak reasoned. It's too soon. They must be after something else.
Kor followed Jak's gaze and gasped. "Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'd move on if I were you." Kor gestured to the boy and they started to walk away. They didn't make it far; Krimzon Guards stopped them in their tracks.
The leader, a Captain, stopped. "By order of the Grand Protector of Haven City, Baron Praxis, everyone in this section is hereby under arrest for suspicion of harboring Underground fugitives. Surrender and die!" The Captain ordered.
Daxter carefully approached the Guard. "Ahh… excuse me, good sir?" The Guard looked down at Daxter. "But don't you mean surrender OR die?"
"Not in this City." Kor said, then he turned to Jak, pleadingly. "Protect us from these Guards, and I'll introduce you to someone who can help you." Jak didn't bother to wonder how Kor knew that he needed help. He faced the Guards, a grim determination on his face.
The Captain noticed the look on his face. "Stand down!" The Captain ordered.
"No." Jak said, frowning. "I just escaped that hell-hole you call a prison, and I'm not quite ready to go back."
The Captain paused. "Number Eleven?" He asked.
Jak growled. "My name is Jak!" He launched himself at the Captain and broke his neck in the same manner of the first Guard he had encountered on his escape.
The Guards realized that Jak was attacking them. "Get him!" Another Guard yelled. Weapons were aimed at Jak and he grinned. One of the Guards fired, and signed his death warrant. The bullet caught Jak in the arm, but he hardly noticed it beyond the fact that he had been shot. The Guards froze. They had never seen someone take a bullet like that without going down. Jak ran at the Guard, leapt into the air, and preformed a spinning-kick, and sent the Guard into the nearest wall. Too bad for the unlucky Guard, there happened to be a sharp, broken pipe sticking out of the wall right where he hit. The pipe pieced his chest, giving him a not-so-quick, painful death.
Another Guard bravely rushed him; Jak could feel the blood lust rising and he wanted to kill, kill, kill. Bu he didn't think much of it, he had reason enough to want all of the Guards dead, two years worth of reasons. Jak spun again and, strangely, seemed to slap the Guard's head. However, Jak watched in amazement as the Guard's helmet and head shredded. Jak looked at his hands and had a split second view of long, black claws growing from his fingernails before the changes began.
"AUGH!" Jak gripped his head as a monster headache consumed him. It almost felt as if his head were being split in two places. Suddenly, Jak's mind was pushed back into a Dark corner of his mind and he now only felt the strange changes from afar, like he was feeling someone else's pain.
On the outside, the changes continued. Horns and claws finished growing even before the skin and hair had changed color. The creature opened his eyes; Jak's blue eyes were swallowed up by the pupils and turned black. The creature grinned at the sight that met him… prey. And this time, the other creature wouldn't interfere because his own hatred for these beings ran almost as deep as his own hatred.
The Guards stopped, uncertain of what they were facing. "What is it?" One Guard asked.
"Don't know." Another Guards said. "Get it!" The Guards raised their weapons and the demon grinned.
"Jak? What's happening?" The orange creature on his shoulder asked. The demon dismissed these sounds, he didn't understand them.
The creature roared as it threw itself into the middle of the Krimzon Guards, slashing and biting anything that got in its way. A field of Dark Eco surrounded the demon, protecting it from most physical attacks, but not all, and its healing ability took care of the bullet wounds. After a few seconds of just melee fighting, the Demon began to use the Dark Eco in its veins as a weapon, shooting bursts at Guards. Most of the men died instantly. Some, who must've had a slightly higher tolerance for Eco, died a slower death of Eco Poisoning. None of the Guards seemed to be able to survive the Dark Eco assaults.
The Guards that remained, about five in all, realized that there was no hope of winning against such a powerful creature. "Retreat!" One of the Guards ordered. The Guards turned and began to run away like cowards. The Demon gave chase and brought down four more. However, one single Guard managed to escape by jumping in a zoomer and taking off.
The Demon watched as the zoomer flew away at full speed. It roared a threat after it in its own animalistic language.
Suddenly, a wave of light-headedness washed over the Demon. The skin turned back to normal, same with the hair. The horns shrank back into his skull, and the claws turned back into regular fingernails. The black pupils shrank until, first the white, and then the blue reappeared. Then, last but not least, Jak's mind resurfaced from the dark place as the Demon took over the place Jak had just occupied.
Jak found that he was suddenly aware of what was going on. Jak stared at his bloody hands and then at the gory scene around him. He half expected to see the strange claws again.
Daxter leapt down to the bloodstained ground, staring up at Jak admirably. "Wow! That was cool! Do it again!"
Jak got more than slightly angry at Daxter's laid-back attitude when something was obviously very wrong. "Something's happening to me…" Jak gasped angrily, his hands clinching into fists. "Something he did… I… can't control it…"
Kor appeared out of nowhere. "Most impressive and… most interesting…"
Jak seemed to be glaring into space, at something no one else could see. "Uh… you okay, Jak?" Daxter asked. Jak didn't answer.
"What you just did was very brave." Kor complimented, and then he pointed at the child behind him. Jak noticed that the child had a look of pure terror in his eyes as he looked back at him. "This child is important."
"This kid?" Daxter asked, pointing at the boy, who hid his face behind his hands, like Daxter was going to hurt him. "He looks kind of scruffy."
"Thank you for your help." Kor said. "But I must get this boy to safety."
"Hey! What about us?" Daxter demanded, referring to Kor's earlier promise of help.
"Oh, yes." Kor turned to Jak. "There is an Underground group here in Haven City that wages a constant war against Baron Praxis. Anyone with half a brain could tell that you hate the Baron…" More than you know… Jak thought. "So you might be interested in joining. It's leader, the Shadow, could use fighters like you."
"How can I find this Underground group?" Jak asked.
"By yourself… it could take years. However, I know where their local base is. It's…" Kor paused, looking around for potential eavesdroppers. He motioned for Jak to lean closer, which he did. "It's right here in the Slums." He whispered into Jak's ear so that no one else would hear. "There's a dead end alley near the City wall. Ask for Torn, he can help you. Good luck." Kor said, before walking away.
"So…" Daxter began. "How are we going to get to this 'Torn' guy? I think I know the alley he's talking about, but it's quite a ways from here."
Jak looked up. "We're taking a zoomer."
"What?" Daxter had time to ask before Jak launched himself into the air. He grabbed onto a passing zoomer.
"What the…" The owner gasped as Jak pulled himself up onto the one-seater zoomer. Jak grabbed the surprised owner, tossed him out of the zoomer, and settled on the seat.
"Jak, these zoomers are not like the ones we knew." Daxter pointed out.
"I know." Jak said. "But as long as I ignore everything but the acceleration and the brakes, I'll be all right."
Daxter gulped. "We're dead." He squeaked as they took off at full speed.
"Fuck! I'm dead!" Erol cursed to himself as he walked into the Palace Throne Room. "There's no way in hell he'll let me live…"
Baron Praxis sat on the Throne, staring at a hologram of a huge maw, a head that belonged to the Metal-Head Leader. "It's a deal then, Baron." The great Metal-Head said. "But, remember, if your shipments are short by even ONE Unit… you'll live long enough to regret it." With that last threat, the hologram disappeared.
The Baron sighed. "How many more problems must I deal with?" He wondered out loud.
Yes, I am dead. Erol thought. Okay, just get up your nerve and say it!
"Ahh, Erol." Praxis said. "So, is Number Eleven dead?"
"Ahh… define 'dead'." Erol said, losing his nerve.
Praxis' eyes narrowed. "Dead. When someone's heart has stopped beating and they've stopped breathing… or causing trouble. Is Number Eleven dead or not?"
"Dead men don't tend to escape from prison and take out a whole legion of Krimzon Guards." Erol said.
"What?" Praxis demanded.
"Well, as far as we can tell, he ripped out of his restraints… an impossible feat, carved a path of destruction though the prison, escaped, and then butchered a whole legion of Krimzon Guards."
"How?" Praxis demanded. "It's impossible to escape from our fortress, and it's even more impossible for a single man to take on a full legion of Krimzon Guards!"
"Uh… we've had reports of what happened…" Erol took out his Comm. "Bring him in." He ordered. Several Guards escorted a single Krimzon Guard into the Throne Room. The man looked scared out of his pants. "This is the only man who made it back from the initial attack by Number Eleven…"
"JAK!" The man screamed, eyes popping out of their sockets. "HIS NAME IS JAK!" The man fell to his knees, in tears.
"As you can see, he's lost his mind." Erol said. "But the reference to 'Jak' is correct. That was the real name of Number Eleven."
"That doesn't explain how he took out a whole legion of Krimzon Guards by himself." Praxis pointed out.
"There was a study of the scene. It's quite a bloody battlefield, sign that a massacre took place. But a closer examination showed that a large amount of this was left behind." Erol held up a jar of a purplish-black substance that was, beyond a doubt, Dark Eco. "Dark Eco, sir." Erol paused. "What if our experiments did work, just not in the way we intended them?"
"If that is true… then there is a very valuable and dangerous weapon lose in Haven City." Praxis said. "I don't want him LOSE! I want him either dead or working for me! Congratulations, Number Eleven, you have just become Haven's Most Wanted." Praxis picked up the intercom that fed into the propaganda boards that were spread around the City. "Brave citizens. There is a monster among you! Masquerading as a man, he is dangerous and must be destroyed! I offer a reward of Eco for his capture… or if you have a loved one in prison, I will exchange them for this renegade. I promise…" The Baron hung up the intercom and laughed.
LES: (Sounds a hunting bugle) The hunt for Jak begins! Cool!