Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait! I got caught up in working on a story that I've been having trouble with, but I'm better now! Honest! It's kinda funny, but this story has already exceeded the original in terms of follows and favorites, as well as reviews. Who would've thought?
We're also going to see a little bit of Jamie's perspective, since Jessie's gotten plenty of spotlight. But it won't last for long. She and Jak have a mission to do.
Disclaimer: Jak and Daxter aren't mine. If they were, I'd be two-timing them (get it? 'cause they'd be "mine?" Yeah, I know it's terrible).
"Water is the primary element associated with Blue Eco (lightning being the secondary), one of the most vital substances to life, and one of the things Haven City is best known for. The Pumping Station just outside its walls supply the battered city with fresh water, unlike that of the Water Slums and Port, and is one of the more vital locations. Without the Pumping Station, this once-noble city would soon crumble." -Frederick Jackson, brother to Quentin Jackson and supervisor of the Haven City Water Committee
Jamie came home late that night, and for once, the door didn't try to kill him as he passed underneath. Maybe RASS had finally accepted that Jamie hadn't really been trying to delete her from the apartment's mainframe, but had actually been trying to give her an update to the list of people automatically allowed inside. Or maybe it was the fact that Jessie seemed to be whimpering behind her door.
He opened the door to her room hastily and rushed in, grabbing her shoulders gently. His sister had tear tracks running down her face, which still glistened in the light streaming in from her open door, and when he gently shook her, Jessie whimpered again and tried getting free of his gentle, yet firm, grasp.
"Jessie! It's me! Wake up!" he implored worriedly, shaking her a bit more. Her eyes flashed open, wet with tears not yet shed, and when she realized her brother was there, she sat up and collapsed against his shirt, quietly sobbing. Jamie held her close, silently begging the Precursors, the Ecolians, and whoever else might be listening out there to help his sister.
After she managed to recover from whatever nightmare she had been having, Jamie left and got her a short glass of water. When he came back, his sister had wiped her eyes dry on the corner of the blanket and was absently stroking Sparkle's fur, the muse chittering quietly in comfort. She had turned on her bedside lamp, as well, so the room was filled with a warm, comforting glow. Jessie took the water gratefully and drank about half in one swallow, then sighed.
"Thanks, Jamie. Sorry I broke down like that," she murmured, the ghost of her dream still lurking behind her eyes. He sat down on the bed beside her and took her hand.
"Hey, it's okay, Jessie. I don't blame you. It's been rough lately," he replied soothingly, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles gently. She nodded.
"Did you take your medicine?" At her sheepish half-smile, he groaned exasperatedly.
"Jessie! The doctor told you to take it before you went to sleep! It's no wonder you had a bad dream!" he scolded, but his heart wasn't in it. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, okay? I was reading a book, and I forgot to take the pills. I won't forget next time, I swear," Jessie promised, her sharp tongue coming back as the light banished whatever demons had been tormenting her. He shook his head.
"Okay... Was it the usual stuff?" Jamie asked, his tone turning gentle. She nodded, then, after a bit of thought, shrugged.
"Mostly. There were a few new faces, though."
At this, he sighed and hugged her again.
"Just remember, Jessie, the past can't hurt you. What happened that year is over and done with. It can't do anything more to you than what already happened," he told her firmly. She nodded, then pushed him away slightly.
"Got it. I'm going back to sleep. Can you tell Keira I probably won't be able to come in tomorrow? Torn's given me the job of being Jak's partner," Jessie said with a wry smile. Her brother grinned.
"Oh, so you're the one he forced that handful on. He and Daxter aren't giving you any trouble, are they?" She smirked.
"Nothing I can't handle. What about you and Vin? Anything up with the Eco Grid?" his sister countered. Jamie shook his head.
"Everything seems fine. Kor came by and chatted with us, and he brought the kid with him. He seems to be eating a lot better now," he supplied, knowing that would make her smile. It did, though it soon changed to a thoughtful glance.
"You know, Kor warned me about Jak the other day. Said I needed to be careful of the newest recruit. I mean, I can understand why, since he's a pretty good fighter, but he hasn't been all that bad. Just kinda aggressive and angsty, but that's normal for a teenage boy. I mean, look at you!" Jessie joked, earning a light punch in the arm from him.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a real mess of hormones and emotions right now. Now take your medicine and go to sleep. You're gonna need your rest tomorrow," he replied dryly. She laughed as he stood and walked out, and he stopped in the doorway long enough to watch her down the small white pills the doctor said would help her sleep without nightmares, then turned and went to his own room, shutting the door behind him.
Jessie woke up on a much better note, this time in the morning, and did her usual morning things (using the bathroom, taking a shower, brushing her teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc.) just before heading out. She wanted to stop by the Hideout and get more on Jak and Daxter from Torn before going out with them again. Something about Kor's warning seemed a bit weird to her.
That was when large, calloused hands covered her eyes and plunged her into darkness. She tensed up, but soon relaxed when it became clear who it was.
"How's my favorite niece doing?" a man's voice said from behind her. Jessie smirked and lifted his hands away, spinning slowly to look at her uncle, Jinx. He grinned at her and shifted the cigar in his mouth to the other side.
"'Morning, Uncle Jinx," she replied easily. "I'm doing okay, I guess."
He nodded sympathetically. "I heard you had another nightmare. Jamie told me when I woke up. He also told me to tell you that he'll take care of Keira for you."
The young woman nodded slowly.
"Well, if I don't see him today, can you tell him I said thanks?" The man's smirk returned swiftly and he briefly saluted her. "Can do, O niece of mine. Speaking of which, have you met Krew's newest boy? Can you tell me what he's like?"
Jessie blinked. "You haven't met him yet? That's weird. I guess Krew hasn't sent Jak out on a mission with you and the others yet. Well, Jak's kinda difficult, but he's a decent fighter and he'll cover your back for sure. He's my partner," she informed him casually. Jinx absorbed this information readily and nodded.
"Thanks, Jessie. I'm off to work. Don't stay up too late; it's a school night," he said playfully, rubbing her head gently and mussing her hair. She rolled her eyes, ignoring the faint twinge that shot through her, and waved him off. "Bye, Uncle Jinx!"
When he had left and the door had hissed shut behind him, Jessie leaned back against the wall and sighed. She had never told what remained of her family, but she missed going to school. Sure, it was very rigid and confining, but it taught her so much about her people that her parents couldn't. Not anymore. When the Baron had shut down the school after the Dead Town Tragedy, claiming it was a waste of time that could be spent on fighting the Metal Heads, she and Jamie had been heartbroken, like so many other Unfilled children left in the city. Now she could never find out more about her people, not unless someone was willing to risk the Baron's wrath and teach her in secret. Yeah, like that was likely to happen.
Jessie gritted her teeth and grabbed her bag, with its weapon and some vital supplies. Time for her to go to work, as well.
As she was driving the Black Orchid towards the Hideout, the words of a nearby propaganda post caught her attention, and she slowed down and stopped so she could listen better.
"...will eventually kill you, Jak. Its destructive effects cannot be stopped. Once you are in its chaotic grip, it will not let you go until you slide into insanity. Turn yourself in. And I will kill you mercifully and painlessly. It is your only way out."
Normally, she ignored Praxis' usual drivel, but this was different. Instinct told her he was addressing her partner, not just the Underground. Somehow, Jak and Praxis were connected, if he was going out of his way to record an entire message devoted to telling Jak to give in and die, and something told her it started in the prison.
"Who are you, Jak?" she murmured to herself, gunning the motor as Praxis' recorded voice began nattering about how he was wounded during the last spectacular failure of an assault on the Metal Head Nest. Questions like this and more kept bothering her and nearly got her into a wreck with a blocky purple two-seater while driving, and it was with some measure of relief that she finally pulled up outside the Underground and went inside.
There, she found Jak and Daxter sleeping in the lower half of one of the bunks lining the entrance hall. Torn didn't seem to have left his own personal room (being the second-in-command gave him a few perks), so she sat on the empty bunk across from them and contemplated them curiously.
So far, all she knew about them was that Jak had been in prison for two years, that he used to be a channeler, that he and Praxis had a score to settle, and that he and Daxter were the best of friends. But what else was there to these two? What piece was she missing that would connect all of this together?
"Well, look what the muse dragged in. You're here early, Jessie," Torn's cynical voice echoed over the mostly empty room towards her, and she twisted in her seat to look at him.
"I wanted to get a head start on the day. Besides, I just learned I needed to ask you a few things, Torn."
She stood up and walked over to him, leaning closer to make their conversation a bit more private.
"Is there something you're not telling me about Jak? And what did you mean when you brought up Max last time?" she hissed quietly, trying to avoid the topic of their discussion overhearing. The former KG commander sighed and set a hand on her shoulder.
"Jessie, don't say I didn't warn you. This story ain't pretty."
"Neither is the war, but I can still handle it. Spill."
He rubbed the back of his head and let out one long, heavy breath.
"During his little... 'stay' in the Fortress, the Baron used Jak as a lab rat. Pumped a lot of Dark Eco into him. At least, that's what our spies in the Fortress say, and Kor agrees. He's a bit like Max, in that way. Be careful with him, Jessie. Don't get him too angry. I'd rather not have your brother and uncle after my head because of a mistake I made that cost you your life," Torn said wryly. Jessie was still. That was what had happened to him in the prison? Dark Eco had been forced into his system? Even her mother had never put up with that, and she had been the Dark Vessel! Besides, this was raw Eco, not the treated stuff the Ecolians used whenever they went inside their Vessels. The raw, unfinished material was ten times as dangerous, and Jak had had it pumped into him?
"Damn him..." she muttered furiously. The young woman had known Praxis was awful, but this crossed the line into monstrous.
"Easy, tigorilla. Don't get too outraged here. I still need you to keep an eye on them and keep them out of too much trouble, and that's difficult when you're joining in on the rage fest," he cautioned her, and Jessie reluctantly calmed down, letting her anger simmer on the back burner—for now.
They parted, Jessie returning to her spot near Jak and Daxter and Torn settling near his table. It was only a few minutes later that the young man stirred and sat up. He seemed mildly surprised to see Jessie, but didn't say anything beyond a simply lifting of his eyebrows. Daxter, on the other hand, made a big fuss over it and complained about how he had enough people watching him sleep here and didn't need another face in the lineup. That seemed to be the cue for them both to get up, and as Jak and Daxter went towards the showers, Jessie joined Torn at the table.
About half an hour later, the door to the showers slammed open and caused the lamp above the war table to rock back and forth. Jak seemed somewhat apologetic when it happened and soon joined them, Daxter hopping onto the table.
"So, what do you have for us this time, Torn?" Jessie began the meeting, trying to ignore Daxter making faces at the man whenever the lamp swung away from him and cast him in shade.
"Cutting to the chase, huh? Typical. One of my old guard comrades was sent to the Pumping Station. There's been no word from the patrol, and after what you guys ran into out there, I'm afraid she may need some help," Torn informed them. Jessie nodded in comprehension. He must have been talking about Ashelin, the daughter of the current usurping ruler of Haven City. They weren't exactly friends, but the two women considered each other a good ally and trusted one another. It was the best they could hope for at the moment, since Jessie had yet to ascend to her position as the Lodestar Vessel her people needed and Ashelin was in no hurry to take over from her father.
Jessie had known she was the Lodestar Vessel ever since the day she had accidentally brushed her hand against the throne of Azura and hadn't been fried on the spot – in front of many, many witnesses, to boot. It had seemed like such a big deal at the time, though she hadn't understood why until she was older. Now, she just needed to mature to the right age so she could finally help her people in the best way she could: as a leader and one of the most powerful Unfilled seen in centuries, on par with Gemini.
"Did you say 'she'?" Jak interjected curiously. Torn glared at the three of them.
"Don't even think about it. STOP THAT!" he shouted at Daxter, grabbing the lamp suddenly and shooting daggers at the ottsel. "This is serious, you moron!"
Jak raised a hand to smack Daxter and the ottsel let out a battle cry, settling into a horrible mockery of a martial arts position that would have made Jessie's instructor wail in agony if he saw it.
"That's right. Don't mess with the sugar," he quipped, and Jessie reached over from behind him and flicked his head roughly. He whirled to glare at her, but at the first sight of her narrowed eyes, cut off whatever he had been about to say.
"This 'friend' of mine has helped the Underground many times before. Go back to the Pumping Station and take a look around. Render assistance if needed. Now get your squirrelly ass outta here," he snarled, sending a pointed look directly at Daxter before withdrawing. When the man had withdrawn to a safe distance, the ottsel blew a raspberry at him, just before Jessie snatched him by the scruff of his neck and schlepped him outside.
Once they had left the building, Jessie plopped him unceremoniously on the rough ground and glared at him.
"Daxter, I know you're technically a teenage boy, but can you tone it down a notch? This isn't just a game. This is war, and people get hurt. The ones like you, the ones that treat it like a joke, they're the ones that die first. You got me?" she growled softly, looking down at him in disappointment. He sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Now let's get cracking. I want some breakfast before we go anywhere," he replied, climbing up onto Jak's shoulder. The two elfin humans shared an exasperated look and walked over to the Black Orchid, waiting patiently for the second seat to come out.
The drive through the city to the Water Slums and the gate to the Pumping Station was surprisingly quiet. Perhaps Jessie's talk with Daxter had driven home that this wasn't just a lark. This was serious business they were involved in.
Even the journey through the Pumping Station was silent, though Jessie did keep staring at the water near them while they jumped across the rotating machinery and muttering under her breath about "damn security devices" or something like that. It wasn't until they got to the top of the Station that she spoke.
"I wonder what happened to the rest of the patrol. We've seen no sign of anyone along the way," Jessie murmured thoughtfully, taking a brief break before they advanced to load her weapon with strange bullets that matched her Eco-less gun.
"Maybe Metal Heads got 'em?" Daxter suggested helpfully. She shook her head.
"If they had, we still would have found something. Signs of a struggle, or blood, or dropped pieces of equipment. There's been nothing. Something's going on, and I don't like it," she replied, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder. The young woman stood up and motioned for them to follow her.
As they entered a clearing at the top with a strange rock sticking out of the middle, Daxter hopped off of Jak's shoulder. Jessie quietly noted the Hellcat cruiser parked near the rock, and the Precursor bronze seal jutting from said rock. That was the seal for the House of Mar, the founder of Haven City and close friend of Gemini. What was it doing way out here?
"Ehhh, what the heck are we doing risking our lives to rescue some old Krimzon Guard hag anyway?! She's probably got more facial hair than me!" he exclaimed, using one of his feet to scratch at his chin, as if proving his point. Jessie rolled her eyes and scanned the perimeter. Her Unfilled senses were still wary, so when the red-haired woman dropped down and held an Eco pistol to Jak's head, she had her rifle pointed at her straight away.
"Who the hell are you two?" she demanded. Jessie slowly lowered her gun, narrowing her eyes. It appeared Ashelin hadn't seen her when she came down, since her clothing sort of blended into the stone around them.
"Mmm. I do love a woman in uniform," Daxter hummed, and it took all of Jessie's self-control not to throw a rock at his head. "Wanna bark some orders at me? Woof-woof!"
The situation got even worse when he jumped onto Jak's incapacitated chest and leaned towards the woman. "I'm your soldier on the front lines of love!" He jumped back down to the ground and, as if addressing an invisible person, said, "Waiter, foxhole for two!"
Ashelin let go of Jak to point her pistol at the more irritating threat... or rather, a certain part of his anatomy. Clearly, Jessie wasn't the only one annoyed by the truly awful attempts at flirtation.
"Keep talking, and I'll raise your voice a couple of octaves," she threatened with a growl.
"Easy... Torn asked us to help you," Jak supplied. She scoffed. "I don't need help... but YOU might. We've got company."
Jessie turned to see the Metal Heads dropping down from the short, rocky walls around them. Juice Goons and Spyder Gunners. Her favorite type.
'Well, I can always get Jamie that juice rod he wants to experiment on,' she thought wryly, cocking her rifle and aiming carefully.
The battle went surprisingly well, all things considering. Jak easily took out quite a few with kicks and shots from his Morph Gun, Ashelin used her pistol with the expertise all KG members attained, and Jessie willingly used her rifle to the max. Despite what seemed to be a setback, the gun packed a powerful punch that easily pierced the armor of the Metal Heads, and soon Jessie had a couple of the juice rods she wanted strapped to her back. Jak and Jessie had, somewhere along the line, silently agreed to split the Skull Gems, and each had roughly half of the haul in their packs. They were left with only a few scratches, some minor burns from the Juice Goons' rods and blasts from the Spyder Gunners, and several bruises that would hurt like hell later.
The Metal Heads had been reduced to nothing but blobs of Dark Eco that Jak silently absorbed, confirming Torn's statement that he had been experimented on with the lethal stuff. Jessie didn't say anything, even when her eye caught his as one blob went into his skin with a tiny bolt of purple lightning and a lightening of the skin it contacted. Jak had his secrets, and she had hers. She would keep this one for him.
"So, Jessie, nice to see you back in the field," Ashelin commented after the battle. The young woman shrugged.
"Special assignment from Torn and the Shadow. I keep an eye on them and make them into proper Underground agents. It's not as bad as you'd think," she explained nonchalantly. The older woman nodded and began walking towards the Hellcat, which was probably how her team got out to this area in the first place. This must have been where they had been lost, going by the signs of a fight Jessie could glimpse in the foliage behind the large hover. No wonder they hadn't seen anything further along the path.
"Watching me take care of those Metal Heads was, ahh... pretty... exciting... wasn't it, sugar?" Daxter tried flirting with her again. Ashelin wisely ignored him and continued on. She climbed into the pilot's seat of the Hellcat and turned it on, blasting air across the ground and forcing Daxter back a few steps. Jessie stepped closer to them, standing next to Jak in case anything too overtly "Daxter" happened.
"Hey, sweet stripes, gimme them digits so I can look you up some time. We'll party hard, big city style!"
The KG woman looked at the two humans, but mostly at Jak.
"Tell Torn Baron Praxis is planning something big. I think it has to do with that symbol," she shouted over the engines of the huge vehicle. Jak seemed confused at this, so he shouted back, "What is it?"
"It's the Seal of the House of Mar. The founder of Haven City. We're being sent out on 'suicide missions' to locate artifacts from the time of his rule. If curiosity's worth dying for, you can ask the blind old soothsayer in the bazaar named Onin. She might know something about all this. Here's my bazaar access security pass," Ashelin explained, tossing the pass towards Jak. She already knew Jessie didn't need one, since, as an Unfilled, her pass got her everywhere but KG operations, the Palace, and a few of the more sensitive areas, like the Fortress. The Baron knew the Unfilled would never betray this trust, since it was basically all they had left in the city, so he allowed it for all Unfilled, even those suspected of being in the Underground. Of course, those people were few and far between, even among the Unfilled, so it was really a very small minority he was concerned about. The Unfilled were generally not big on combat.
"Your name's Ashelin, huh?" Jak asked, glancing at the image of the woman in the pass's screen and the name below it. She turned away and shifted gear.
"We're even now."
With that, she flew off, leaving the three of them in the dust that blew up in her wake.
"Wow! What a woman!" Daxter exclaimed, just before letting out a very weird growl that made Jessie silently swear never to let him get a hold of pictures of her. That would simply end badly for the poor rodent.
"Come on, you two. If Ashelin's right, then this probably has more than just Mar involved. This might involve Gemini as well. We need to tell Torn about this," she said gruffly, just before shouldering her rifle again and walking away. This little scene worried her. She didn't know much about Mar and his family, only that they had once ruled the city, the most recent ruler's queen had been a Light Unfilled and a good friend of her father, and that Mar had been on very good terms with the first Unfilled: Gemini and their followers. Supposedly, there was some sort of special rock that his tomb protected, but she hadn't paid much attention to those legends. Jessie had been more interested in the Unfilled stories, not the other legends of Haven City. Was she biased? Probably. Did she care? Not a whit.
"We're coming, we're coming. Just one question. Who's Gemini?" Jak asked in his usual brusque manner. As they walked back to the city gate, she filled him in on the twins known collectively as Gemini.
They had been the first Unfilled, showing up at around the same time as Mar, and had helped with the construction of Haven City and the main temple of the Unfilled nearby. The female half had been the first Lodestar Vessel and had trained all the next Vessels in the art of communicating and linking with an Ecolian, while the male half had been one of the first seers and had given the Unfilled a prophecy shortly before their and Mar's disappearances. While she didn't tell them much about the prophecy, she did explain that, despite their wishes, it included her and her brother.
"Wait, so you and Jamie have some sort of prophecy about you two? That's not fair! I want a prophecy about me!" Daxter whined, but it was mostly in jest. Jessie rolled her eyes and stopped a few yards away from the gate.
"It's not fun, okay? We've basically had our destinies planned out for us years before we were even born! Besides, it's not just us. There's one other person involved, but we have no idea who he, or she, is. One more poor fool chosen by the Precursors and Ecolians to have some crazy fate," she replied bitterly. That shut him up for a bit, and they walked into the airlock of the gate in silence. The door behind them hissed shut with the clanking of the gear, and the door ahead had its lock slide down slowly and turn to let them in.
"Welcome back," the city said coolly.
'I wish,' Jessie thought ruefully, walking back into the city with them and getting back on the Black Orchid. They had a long day ahead of them, if this morning were any indication.
Author's Notes: Yay! Review!
rosewhip889 (chapter 8, May 2) – Yeah, that one is definitely hard, especially when you have to fight off a whole bunch of them while the Kid keeps wandering off. I've actually beaten the game a few times, which was about as fun as you can imagine, and I'm only fifteen Precursor Orbs away from unlocking Hero Mode! I just have to beat a few of the gun courses and the races (in both directions, forward and reverse).
As usual, feedback is both welcome and appreciated! If you think something is wrong with my story, go ahead and tell me! It's good to have an outsider's opinion, instead of just my own.
Wild Cat 214, out!