Sushi-chan1363- Thanks for the compliment, it's nice to feel like I have a fan. And, to be honest, I think you are the only one who has actually read more than the first chapter. Or at least you're the only one who reviewed. Thank you for continuing to comment on my work and I can only hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it. And I just put in what I thought Jak might be thinking; I never liked the fact that Jak never talked in the first game, so I decided that we would be able to hear his thoughts. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it as much as the first two. And as much as I like praise, if you find anything that you think is off, let me know and I will rectify it in future chapters.
The Journey Begins
It was morning by the time Jak and Daxter arrived at the village. They parked the boat and made their way up the dock. They then made their way through the village, trying to get to Samos' hut without being noticed. Their efforts were foiled however, as many of the villagers, while used to seeing Jak, were not used to seeing him with what appeared to be an orange rat sitting on his shoulder, sulking. Jak was quickly surrounded by a large crowd, all prodding and poking Daxter, wondering why it sounded like the village idiot. Daxter tried to explain, but people kept stopping him by picking him up and examining him. Finally, he managed to wriggle loose of whoever was holding him, and crawled back to Jak's shoulder. "Jak, get out of here, if this keeps up, I'll look like crap when Samos turns me back."
Jak nodded and jumped on top of the fisherman's nearby hut. He then started jumping from house to house, until he was on the outskirts of the village. He then snuck around the side of the mountain next to the village, and when no one was looking, he darted out of the shadows he was hiding in and ran across the bridge separating Samos from the rest of the village. He took the sling he had around his back off and saw Daxter was sleeping. Putting Daxter down on the ground, Jak thanked the Precursors that Daxter was still the same inside, even of he had changed into this... thing. Jak had heard awful stories about those that were unfortunate enough to come into contact with Dark Eco. From what he had heard, if you were killed instantly, you were lucky enough to suffer what was thought a virtually painless death. Sighing, he didn't want to go to see Samos without Daxter, but he didn't want to wake his friend up either; he had been through a lot in the past day. Jak wandered into the garage under Samos' hut, and looked around to see if Keira was up. After gazing longingly at the A-Grav Zoomer Keira was improving, he looked around to see if he could find her. He turned around just before going deeper into the house to take a last look at the Zoomer. Although he didn't know why, Jak had always loved riding it, there was something about it that seemed familiar. He was also quite a good pilot; not even Keira herself could beat Jak when it came to flying.
Jak went into the living room and looked around. He saw the couch and a couple of books not concerning machines on the bookshelves. He went over to Keira's desk, looking at the sheets of blueprints for the Zoomer that he so loved riding. From the very small parts that he could understand, it appeared that Keira was not only giving the Zoomer a heat shield, but she saw installing new stabilizers that would allow him to pilot the Zoomer even when upside down. Grinning at the thought of the new tricks he would be able to do, Jak noticed an open door and went into Keira's bedroom. With the light seeping through the open window, Jak could see Keira's face as she slept. Jak glanced at her and turned away. Just as he was heading out the door, he stopped and turned around. Jak looked at Keira again, and this time he didn't look away. He had always liked looking at her; but he had never known why. As he stared at Keira, he couldn't help but feel happy, even with the knowledge of the verbal abuse he was sure to get from Samos. Quietly, so as not to wake her, Jak exited the garage and made his way to Daxter to see if he was awake yet.
"Ah-ha! I know you Jak, I knew you would spy on Keira while she was sleeping. So, what did you see? C'mon Jak, tell me everything, and don't skip on the details." Jak rolled his eyes and picked Daxter up off the ground. They made their way up the ramp, and peered into Samos' hut. Samos appeared to be meditating, with his arms folded and levitating two feet off the ground. Daxter tried to sneak in; now that the time had come, he didn't really want to disturb Samos because he knew this time he was in real trouble. As Daxter stepped inside, one of his paws landed on a squeaky board. Instantly, Samos' eyes flew open, he turned around, looked upon the scene, and instantly knew what had happened. "What in green tarnation do you two want?" He asked, looking angry.
"We- we- we was...! I-I was...!" Daxter stammered, but before he could continue, Samos cut him off.
"Don't tell me! Instead of heeding my wisdom, the two of you went mucking around in the only place that I told you not to go: Misty Island!" Samos exclaimed, pointing out his window at the foreboding and formerly forbidden island.
"That's right! And then we..." Daxter tried to continue, but was once again cut off by Samos.
"And, Daxter, you finally took a much-needed bath. But in a bathtub filled... with Dark Eco!" Samos said, not wanting to miss an opportunity to insult the former elf.
Daxter glared at Samos, and shouted, "Look, old man! Are you gonna keep yappin', or are you gonna help me outta this mess!"
"I'm gonna keep yappin'! Because, in my professional opinion, the change is an improvement. And besides... I couldn't help you if I wanted to." Samos replied.
"What!" Daxter disbelievingly said. No matter how much he made fun of the old fart, Daxter never had a doubt that Samos would be able to revert him back to what he used to be. Jak too was in awe. He had seen Samos to incredible things, such as restore life to a dead child, levitate, and even suck the Green Eco out of Lurkers. Admittedly, restoring the life of the baby, had drained Samos for an entire day, but he had thought that if anyone had even a chance at changing his best friend back, it was Samos the Sage. Shaking his head, Jak paid attention to what Samos was saying.
"There is only one person who has studied Dark Eco long enough to have a chance at returning you to your previous form. Gol Akaron, the sage. But he lives far to the north. Far, far to the north! Nobody has spoken to him for ages. I would teleport you there, but I can't do that either. None of the sages that maintain the other teleporter gates have seen fit to turn their ends on for quite awhile." Samos explained, gesturing to a mountain far in the distance.
"Most likely because of your infectious personality, Samos." Jak couldn't help but think; for all his wisdom, Jak did think Samos was a bit hard on himself and Daxter from time to time.
"The only other way north is by foot on the Fire Canyon. But, its volcanic soil is hot enough to melt Precursor metal. You can't just walk through it!" Samos continued.
"But you could fly over it! If you had a Zoomer equipped with a heat shield... I just happen to be working on that very thing this moment. All I would need was 20 Power Cells to give it enough energy to withstand the canyon's heat. Isn't that right, Daddy?" Keira had heard enough of this conversation to know what had happened, her father had woken her up by shouting at the two when they first entered the hut. Keira walked into the house, noticing that what Kristin had said was true: Daxter was staring right at her chest, while Jak was looking hr straight in the ace. Resisting the urge to blush; Jak's stare made her feel light-headed, Keira continued walking, ignoring Daxter's pitiful attempt to impress her with his now totally nonexistent muscles.
"Yes, Keira, that might work. But where are a boy" he pointed his staff at Jak "and a half" pointing to Daxter in the same way, except this time he took his time to rap Daxter on the head "going to get 20 Power Cells?"
"From the villagers! Most of them have a Power Cell or two stashed away somewhere. And even if they aren't willing to just give them away, greasing their palms with a few Precursor Orbs should do the trick. And I bet there are even more of them out in the wilds, just waiting for some brave adventurer to find." Keira replied, leaning against Jak and batting her eyelashes at him. Jak blushed and smiled back at her. Daxter, however, did not like the fact that Keira was flirting with Jak. He tried to distract her from Jak the only way he knew how: talking.
"Well, we've got the brave adventurer, at least." Daxter said proudly, pointing at his chest.
"Brave adventurer? You two couldn't find your way out of the village without training! Before you do anything else, you better go through the warp gate and get some practice on Geyser Rock. I'll give you four Power Cells if you can manage to find all fifty of my Precursor Orbs that I have hidden there." Samos replied, sarcasm practically dripping out of his mouth.
Daxter had had enough of Samos' abuse, and had decided to respond with an insult of his own; it had been a good five minutes since he had pissed Samos off anyway, he couldn't go much longer. "Uh, we won't find anymore of that dark, gooey Eco stuff, will we? 'Cause I'd hate to fall in again and turn into you!"
"Get in there before I turn you both into ferns!" Samos bellowed, pointing at his portal. Jak and Daxter jumped in, only to emerge five minutes later with all the Orbs that Samos had mentioned. "Good training, boys. Here are the Power Cells that I promised you. But that's nothing compared to the challenges that lie ahead!"
"Aaaah, they're noooo problem! We got the moves, eh Jak? We'd love to stay and chat, Big Green, but we're uh, itching to get on with our adventures." Daxter said, gesturing to Jak that they should start moving.
"Fine, fine. "Adventure" away then. And while you're out "adventuring", why don't you make yourself useful? My darn Green Eco collectors are clogged up again. Head out to the far side of the beach and clear them out, why don't you? Follow the lamps. They'll take you right there. Now... all of you... GET OUT OF HERE!" Samos said, seeming to shake his entire house with that last statement.
Jak, Keira and Daxter made their way to her garage, and sat down. Keira really wanted to be with Jak, but Daxter was there and she knew he would ruin everything. Suddenly having an idea, she told Daxter to go to the village to look for Power Cells and Orbs lying around. Daxter, though suspicious, did as Keira asked him. As soon as he was gone, Keira stood up. "Well Jak, I'm getting a drink, would you like one?" Jak nodded and couldn't help but smile and look at her back as she got a drink. As she made her way back, Keira decided to swing her hips a little more than she usually did, just to see if she got a reaction from Jak. To her delight, he did glance down at her hips before his eyes went back to hers. Keira gave him his drink and then sat down right next to him and leaned on his shoulder, sighing as she thought how nice it felt to lean on him. Even through their clothes, she could feel Jak's muscles, and she was happy that he was so strong.
Jak was confused, but pleased at the same time. When Keira leaned on him and let out a sigh of what seemed to be content, he couldn't help but feel a rush of pride when he heard it. It made him happy to know he made Keira feel happy. Looking down at her, he stared into her beautiful eyes and smiled. She smiled back, before closing her eyes and falling asleep. She was exhausted, and with good reason; she had been up until three in the mourning drawing the blueprints for the Zoomer. Jak picked her up and laid her down in her bed. Keira stirred when he picked her up, but kept silent. She noticed how strong he was, he could lift her up with seemingly no effort whatsoever. Jak went back outside and saw Daxter waiting for him. Daxter quickly started boasting about how he had fought off a giant raccoon for the three Power Cells he had found under a house. While he had seen Jak coming out of the house, he decided for once not to comment.
"C'mon Jak lets go see those Eco Collectors old log-in-the-head was yapping about" Daxter exclaimed. Jak nodded and bent down so Daxter could scramble up onto his shoulder. They made their way to Sentinel Beach, keeping a lookout for Lurkers, especially now that they knew the Lurkers were planning on attacking the village. As they made their way towards the Eco Collectors, Jak took care of seventeen Lurker Scouts, a new record in one day. He made a mental note to inform Samos later, they had both forgotten completely to tell him about the impending Lurker assault. From the looks of things, it would happen within days; there had never been such a high concentration of Lurkers on the beach before.
Jak finally stopped walking about a half-hour later and stared up at the Eco Collectors. Samos was right, there was something clogging up the vents. Jak looked at the Collectors, remembering how much time he had spent here, training with Eco. Jak walked up to the holes where the Eco flowed from and noticed a boulder covering each hole. Jak sighed, he hadn't been expecting to have to move a boulder. He pushed with all his strength against one and after twenty minutes finally budged one. He stepped into the vent and felt the restorative powers of Green Eco wash over his body. He grinned, now that he was full with Eco, it wouldn't take him long to move the other boulders. With his restored strength, Jak cleared the other vents within ten minutes and started heading back to Sandover.
Jak entered Samos' hut about four o' clock. Samos heard him and turned away from the telescope he had been looking through. "Oh, it's the conquering heroes. Good! I wanted to talk with you two about something serious! There appears to be quite a lot of Lurker activity on Misty Island. I can see them bombarding the Precursor Silo from my lookout tower! If the Lurkers open it up and release the Dark Eco, we could all end up running around looking as ridiculous as this annoying little specimen! Jak, it's time for you to prove your worth. Get the Fisherman to let you take his boat back to Misty Island, get to the top of the Precursor Silo, and take out that cannon! This is no longer about a single boy gone fuzzy. This is about life as we know it. Now get out there and fulfill your destiny!"
Jak and Daxter exchanged a confused look. Jak was baffled, he had known never heard Samos tell him anything about a destiny. Jak shrugged and started to go out when he noticed Daxter was staring at Samos. "Yes, Daxter what do you want, I already told Jak what to do."
"And... what about me?"
"You? Why don't you mop my floors? They seem to have lost their shine lately!" Jak smirked at Samos insulting Daxter yet again. He walked over and picked Daxter up before he could retort and be changed into something much worse. They went to the fisherman's house and saw him crying.
"Hey tubby, what's shaking. Other than your stomach, that is. Can we borrow your boat? We need to go back to Misty Island so we can stop Lurkers from turning everyone into me."
"I would, except some little rat before took the Power Cell that powers it. If you can power it up again, you're more than welcome to use it." Jak nodded his thanks and went outside. Once at the boat, he gave Daxter a look that plainly said "did you steal the Power Cell from the boat?"
"What. No, no, no. What? Ok, I found it lying on the dock and so I took it." With that, Jak jumped into the boat and set course for Misty Island. As his hair was blown about by the wind, Jak took a deep sniff of the salt air, and looked ahead to Misty Island, and his new adventure.
Well, chapter three is finally up. I hope it was worth the time you took to read it. Please review, as I will be pleased with any help you can provide me with, and will be flattered with any compliments I receive. Flames will be used to, actually, I'm just going to ignore any flames I receive from now on.