Chapter XIV: "I Never Knew My Father"

LES: I tell you what, the first time I heard that line, I went "Aww how sad!" And that look he had? It was sad, but like he was holding back his emotions. A hug to anyone who can tell me what other famous character from a movie said this same exact line!


A few days later, Jak was called to the garage, presumably because there was a task that needed doing.

So he suited up his armor and hurried out the door, Daxter in his arms because it was still early in the morning and he was still asleep.

He woke up about halfway to the garage. "Whoa! What's going on?" How else should he react when the last thing you remember is going to sleep in your friend's house and waking up outside?

"We've got a job to do." Jak said simply.

"Great…" Then the orange rat added in an undertone. "Where have I heard that before?"

"I heard that." Jak said as he walked into the garage. And, to his annoyance, Kleiver was standing there waiting for them. "Oh no, am I working with you?" Jak demanded.

"Yes you are, mate." Kleiver said. "Damas has a job for us, but I'm no babysitter, so stay outta my way!"

"Jak's not afraid of you!" Daxter said, then he looked worriedly at Jak. "Are ya, Jak?"

Before Jak could answer, Kleiver said. "If you two knew what was happenin' out here, you'd be afraid all right."

Suddenly, a new party joined the group. It was Damas, he walked up to the group, a look of annoyance plain on his face. "What's going on here, Kleiver?" He demanded.

"Nothin', your Lordship." Kleiver said. "Just offerin' Jak and the little one here…" He scratched under Daxter's chin. "Some healthy advice."

Damas glared down at Jak. He put a hand on the shoulder that wasn't occupied by Daxter, and led the young elf a slight distance from Kleiver. "You've got quite a reputation." He said. "You are probably the single most famous elf since the Great Mar himself. However, you don't just have good rumors following you. You have a reputation for being rash and hotheaded. Didn't your father ever tell you to pick your battles wisely?"

Daxter's eyes widened as Damas touched a sore subject. Jak's face was unreadable as he turned away. "I never knew my father." He said simply.

Damas blinked, Kleiver snorted. "Bastard child."

Jak's emotionless face turned into one of anger. "I'm not a bastard child! For your information, both my parents are gone."

"Orphan, huh?" Kleiver asked.

"You could say that."

"My point is…" Damas interrupted as if he hadn't heard Jak's comment. "Sometimes you face your enemy head on, but sometimes you must wait until his weakness is revealed. Patience is a warrior's greatest weapon. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Jak said, nodding.

"Jak," Damas said, suddenly totally business. "I need you and Kleiver to go to the old ruins in the Wasteland and herd a group of wild Leaper Lizards into a waiting transport. There are difficult times ahead, and I'll need all the resources that we can gather."

"What sort of difficult times?" Jak asked, out of curiosity.

"Interesting question." Damas said. "One that I wish I knew the answer to. You'll have to go as ask an Oracle or Onin. Though I'd recommend neither, as both have an annoying tendency to speak in riddles."

Jak stared at Damas. "You know Onin?"

"The old soothsayer in Haven? Doesn't everybody?" Damas asked. "I once lived in Haven too, remember?"

"Oh… sorry." Jak said, thinking he may have touched a painful memory.

"Don't be. I love Spargus more than I ever did Haven. Now, hurry up. Those Leaper Lizards are not going to wait for you. Oh, and these are not domesticated, these are wild Lizards. Don't expect them to walk right up to you."

"No problem. I'm good with animals." Jak said with a significant look at Daxter, who was sitting on the ground nearby.

He was busy scratching behind his ear with his back leg twisted up in a very cat-like manner. Daxter stopped and growled at Jak. "I'm not an animal!"

"Sure, whatever you say." Jak said, rolling his eyes. "You were born an elf, but now you are more an animal than anything."

Jak moved towards the Sand Shark, but a large staff/weapon suddenly blocked his way. It was Kleiver. "See ya out there… chum." Kleiver walked away, laughing to himself.

"He wants to eat me! He wants to eat me!" Daxter pointed at Kleiver's retreating back. "Just my luck, almost eaten twice in only a few days!"

"Speak for yourself." Jak said, jumping into the Sand Shark. "I almost got eaten too, and I even got chewed on a little! Remind me never to almost let me get eaten again!" He took off into the Wasteland after Kleiver, pulling down his goggles and pulling up his scarf.

"Amen to dat, brother!" Daxter said, closing his eyes against the first blast of sand, and then lowering his own goggles over his eyes.

They drove past the vast plane that stretched past the gates of Spargus. Once they were out of the planes, they were attacked by Marauders.

Jak found it strange that he never saw the Marauders enter the plane of Spargus. He had never seen them go into the Ancient ruins, either. It seemed they were a suspicious group of people. He could believe that. The Marauders seemed extremely primitive. They only had their vehicles, which were held together with spit and prayers, and their fort. As far as technology goes for the Marauders, that was about it. Also, they couldn't shoot fish in a barrel. If Jak ever cared, he would've stood in the middle of the open desert and let them shoot at him, with only a little fear of getting hit.

He floored the accelerator and fired the chain-gun. The bullets tore through the vehicles armor and the car practically fell apart at the seams. The Marauder got out of the wreak, yelling swears and curses in his own language as Jak flew past. "Sorry about that!" Jak yelled back at the Marauder, but he didn't mean it. He continued on his way.


About a half an hour and several Leaper Lizards later, Jak jumped out of the Sand Shark. Kleiver walked over to the duo. He had never seen anything like what the two could do together. Jak would drive up behind a Leaper, and then Daxter would jump on its back and ride it bucking bronco-style into the pen. They repeated this until they passed Kleiver's number of caught Leapers by quite an amount. Maybe… Kleiver thought to himself. There are some advantages to having a sidekick.

"I've got to admit, you've got some talent, kid." He said to Jak. "Have another one of me vehicles, ya earned it." He pointed at a strange vehicle parked just to the side. It was covered in a medium amount of armor and sported a grenade launcher as a weapon. It was the one that Jak noticed earlier, the one that seemed built for jumping. "The Dune Hopper, if you will."

"Sweet." Jak said, jogging over and jumping into the seat. The restraint, instead of being a normal one, came down from over is head, holding him firmly in place. "What's with the weird restraints?" Jak asked.

"So you don't go flying out of the buggy when it jumps." Kleiver said.

Curious, Jak pressed the button that triggered the jump mechanism. To his surprise, the car shot up into the air about ten feet before coming back down to the ground. Daxter screamed, but he stopped when he realized that nothing was happening. "Wow." Jak said, it was all he could say. When he recovered proper use of his voice, he asked. "But… what is this thing really for?"

"Well, going full speed and with a twenty foot jump, you could visit the monk's Precursor Temple on Temple Island. They say that deep in that old ruin is the greatest Oracle ever built." Kleiver laughed. "Yeah right, Oracles are just rumors."

"The Greatest Oracle ever made?" Jak demanded quickly, ignoring Kleiver's comment.

"So I've heard." Kleiver said. "There are pretty weird stuff on that Island, even without the Oracle… monk stuff, ya know."

"Hey! I've got a idea!" Daxter said.

"You want to go there, right?" Jak asked. "Sure, why not? Maybe we can ask this Oracle just what the hell is going on."

"The perfect question to ask the all mighty Oracle!" Daxter said.

"You can bet that it will be well protected." Jak said.

"You bet." Kleiver joined in the conversation. "You know how the monks are with those Ancient secrets. They guard them with their life. No one except the Priestess can visit all the parts of the temple."

"Seem…" Jak sighed. "She'll never let me get within a mile of that Oracle."

"Maybe we should just go in, talk with it, and then slip out before anyone notices." Daxter suggested.

Now, Kleiver really had to join in. He might not care for the Precursor monks that much, but he knew an awful lot about them. "Doubt it." He said. "No one can sneak in. They've got security around that thing day and night. It's impossible."

"Kleiver…" Jak sighed once again. "I've put up with you, but I have my limit, and its considerably shorter than most."

Now… now Jak was determined to find a way to the Oracle. Kleiver had said it was impossible to break into the Temple, and Jak's inner criminal could not resist a break-in challenge.


LES: (hides in a bomb shelter) I thought I was done with short chapters! I apologize profusely for the shortness of this chapter. There is no excuse except my own laziness and unwillingness to chronicle the actual Leaper Lizard stuff. Now, please stop sending nukes! My dog has mutated! See!

LES' Dog: (has two heads)

LES: Oh, and the other character who has said that same line is Bruce the Shark from Finding Nemo. "I never knew my father!" (Cries)