**REVISED CHAPTER**

Jak and Daxter (c) Naughty Dog


Cry Of The Wolf

Chapter 13 – Exploring the Factory


"What a mess!" Daxter exclaimed, wincing at the sight of shattered glass containers, warped KG drums, and cracked concrete walls and floors. Strewn about the place were a variety of plaster chunks, bricks, and steel grating that had been twisted out of shape. Overhead a single emergency light still flickered, and it cast enough brightness for them to make out the destruction, but looking farther into the darkening rubble, Jak became doubtful. He just prayed that there would be more functioning lights deeper into the factory.

Daxter seemed less than thrilled to traipse through the place now, and wafting the air away from his nose, he muttered, "And it stinks too!"

Jak couldn't agree more, but the stench in the air failed in comparison to the sewer. He just had to remind himself of that. Daxter, however, kept his tirade of disgust for the place rolling, and Jak could only try to hush his loud voice.

Taking a step forward, he heard movement in the shadows and halted, squinting into the darkness. He held his breath, listening hard, and cautioned Daxter into silence. The Ottsel complied, gulping loudly in Jak's ear. Waiting a moment, Jak heard nothing more emitting from the shadows, and deciding that perhaps it had been only a rat, he gripped his morph gun and continued on.

He'd only taken another few steps, before the soft noise caught his attention again. This time Daxter was quick to silence. Staring into the debris, Jak definitely felt something nearby, and sensing its position, crept over. By the time he'd reached it, it was gone. Raising his guard, he slowly rotated in a complete circle, eyeing his surroundings while poised for a fight. Thankfully, nothing came at him.

"Maybe it was just rats, Jak," Daxter offered, and again Jak decided that that must be the case. Assuring himself that the place was secure, he headed down a nearby hall, avoiding the rubble with the dimming light behind him.

"Jak, I hate to be complaining and all at a time like this, but how exactly do you plan to find a canister, no bigger than me, in here?" Daxter asked a short while later, head swiveling to look at the mess on all sides.

Jak squinted at a dark corner, half preoccupied. "We'll have to split up. It's better if we're both looking, so we cover more ground. Meet me back here in thirty minutes." Before the Ottsel had time to protest, he was lifted from Jak's shoulder and placed on the floor.

"Okay, Dax, knife or gun?" Jak asked, holding the morph gun in his right hand and unsheathing the dagger at his waist with the left. Daxter stared at the two offered weapons speechlessly, and looked up to Jak's determined face.

"Is this really necessary to split up?" Daxter asked feebly.

"We need to, Dax. Just take one of these, be sure you're armed at all times, and you'll be fine," Jak reassured, kneeling down to his friend's level.

"Okay, fine. But when I get eaten alive, I want to have a hero's burial," the Ottsel said, crossing his arms.

"Dax, if you're eaten alive, you won't have a burial," Jak sighed, holding back a chuckle. His friend growled, not amused, and pointed to the morph gun.

"Just give me the gun, Jak." Jak nodded and handed Daxter the gun, along with some blaster and scatter ammunition.

"Take these two. I doubt there's anything out here that'll withstand the blaster. Remember to meet back here in thirty minutes. And Dax, watch your ass. I don't want to lose you to some rogue metal head or something," Jak sniggered, straightening.

Daxter trembled slightly in fear, and gulping, straightened his shoulders and held his head high. "I won't let ya down, Buddy," he said, saluting Jak and turning to walk into the darkness. Jak smiled nervously, promising himself that Daxter would be fine. It was just a recon mission after all, really. What menacing entity would they surely stumble upon out here?

He watched as Daxter waddled off out of sight down the darkened hall, and turned to follow another hall. He'd gone a few yards when rustling behind caught his attention. Stopping mid-step, he gripped the dagger's hilt, ears trained. The sound reoccurred, and he spun around, ready for an attack.

Nothing was there.

Expecting that perhaps Daxter had returned, he softly called out his name, but received no answer. He was alone. Lingering in the hopes of catching the noise again, he sensed emptiness surrounding him. Deeming it safe, he carried on into the gloom.

Working his way through the ruined Weapon Factory, Jak found what appeared to be power controls at the side of a small room. He managed to inspect the control panel with the aid of a nearby emergency light. After examining the dials and buttons, Jak located the main Power lever, and with a silent thanks to the Precursors, pulled it downwards. A soft buzzing shot through the halls, and within seconds, the main light flickered on. Shielding his eyes from the beaming intensity, he watched as the lights beyond his little room sparked to life.


Daxter startled at the sudden light engulfing him from above, and accidentally fired a blaster shot at a nearby wall. He watched helplessly as the wall crumbled, sending dust and plaster cascading down upon him. As he narrowly dodged the falling debris, the air became thick with dust, and realizing he could very well suffocate, he ran for his life.

Scurrying down the narrow hallway, he stumbled upon a small room and gratefully took refuge within it. As the sounds of the crumbling wall faded, he chanced a look around his haven. It was a Krimzon Guard men's room. Not liking his predicament one bit, Daxter slowly backed out into the hall again.


Once his eyes had adjusted to the lights, Jak resumed his task, and crept stealthily from the room and down the hall. Now and again he felt something trailing behind him, rustling unnervingly, but each time he spun around, there was only emptiness. Becoming frustrated, he challenged the phantom being to show itself, but as predicted, nothing happened. I don't have time for this! he thought bitterly, trying to refocus his energy on the mission.

Pressing onward, he happened across another room, with what looked like ammunition crates stacked high against the walls. He did a quick search of the room, yielding no green eco canisters, and set his attention on a crate instead. Using his dagger to pry open the box, his suspicions had been correct. It was ammunition. Checking another couple of crates for certainty, he had no luck and left the room, becoming increasingly more impatient. He wondered how much of his thirty minutes had elapsed, and whether Daxter had had any luck yet. Flipping his communicator open and checking the time, he confirmed twelve minutes had passed; eighteen to go.

Striding down the hall for the next room, Jak was trying to keep up with his wandering mind. The last time he'd been here was the day the Factory had been detonated; the same day he'd killed Krew. Racking his brain for locations from his prior visit, he struggled to grasp anything helpful.

His thoughts were interrupted by scraping feet behind him, and he paused, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Heart hammering, he turned around, holding the dagger up. His eyes darted around, moving from one rubble pile to another.

"Show yourself," he barked, but nothing stirred. He paused longer this time, hoping to outwait his pursuer, but still nothing appeared. It's just my imagination. Lowering the blade, he sighed heavily. He could feel himself beginning to go crazy, and hated it.

He turned slowly around, ears searching out any sounds of movement; nothing. Taking a shaky breath, Jak rolled his shoulders and walked on. He concentrated hard on any noises, but everywhere remained quiet and still.

Continuing down his chosen path, he soon reached a dead end, and growled in heightened frustration. The door ahead was completely blocked off by the caved-in roof. A quick investigation told Jak there was no way of getting past the wreckage. He weighed up his chances of blasting through the blockage with Dark Jak, but he knew it would be risky. More of the roof could cave in.

Deciding to backtrack, Jak took one last look at the blocked door before heading down the hall. Caught up in his thoughts, he was unprepared for the swift attack from behind. Thrust forward at break-neck speed, he smacked against the hard concrete with a surprised grunt, his dagger sliding from beyond reach. His head was spinning dangerously fast, and he could do nothing as something weighty landed on his back. Effectively pinned, he tried in vain to struggle free, but whatever had landed on him refused to budge. His efforts were halted, when a cruel, sneering voice filled his ears.

"Hello, Freak. It's so nice to see you again."

The blood in Jak's veins went stone cold.