The following morning, I was awoken with a start from a sudden, noisy commotion that I assumed was coming from the edge of the village by the sound of it. I pushed myself up on the bed and stuck my groggy head out the window to see if I could figure out what was going on. A moment later, and what I recognized to be a yakow appeared around the edge of the hut and trotted along in front of me, making its way in between the scattered dwellings.

"What the heck?" I said aloud.

Was this the start to the 'herd all the yakows back into the pen' mission?

I decided it wouldn't hurt to find out. So, hopping out of bed, I quickly dressed and ran a brush through my hair before going out to snoop around. Except, I did get stopped for a moment by a morning greeting from Samos.

I greeted him back enthusiastically, which he surprisingly seemed to enjoy, maybe because he actually liked his own daughter? So, I shouldn't be that surprised. Outside, I ran into Jak, who appeared to be equally curious as to what exactly was going on.

"Did you see a yakow too?" I asked him, pointing in the direction that the one I had seen went.

He nodded that he had.

"I think we should go talk to the farmer and find out what's going on," I suggested, and he agreed.

We both hurried out to the edge of town where the farmer, Zeb, lived, and found him attempting to pull one of the stubborn animals back into the open and empty pen. I was a little surprised to find that he wasn't sleeping. Jak immediately leapt into action, helping him corral the beast.

"Woo! Thank ya, son," Zeb sighed out as he wiped a hand across his brow. "I've been tryin' ta get those ornery yakows back into the pen all morning! Some strange creatures tried ta steal 'em last night. Say, you think you youngsters could help an old man try and get the rest of 'em back into the corral?" he asked.

Jak flashed him a skeptical look, and I decided to take it from there.

"Perhaps, if there was a way we could work out some kind of form of, compensation?" I suggested, he cocked his head at me in question. "You wouldn't happen to have any extra power cells lying around, would you?" I elaborated, and he brightened.

"Oh, sure! I'd be willin' to part with a power cell fer yur help. I'd do it me-self, but these old bones just ain't what they used ta be, ya know?" he said.

I nodded that I understood.

"We'll have those yakows rounded up before you know it," I assured him, and Jak flashed him a confirmatory thumbs up.

Farmer Zeb gave me a bit of a dubious look that I wasn't sure how to interpret, but he seemed satisfied enough with the answer that he went back inside his hut.

"Alright, where should we start?" I asked, turning to the blonde boy beside me.

He gestured back towards the main village where we'd seen the other yakows wander off to, and we began heading in that direction.

"Where's Daxter?" I found myself wondering. It was rare to ever see the two of them apart.

Jak placed both of his hands to one side of his head and tilted it down, closing his eyes and exaggerating his breathing. Made sense.

"Should we go wake him up?" I wondered.

Jak smiled, but shook his head in response. I guess there wasn't really any point. It's not like he was going to be able to do much to help with this.

Finding a couple of the animals meandering in between the huts, Jak slung a belt around the neck of one of them and began hauling it back towards the farm with what seemed like relative ease. Well, I didn't have a belt, but in the game Jak would just kick them towards the pen and they would head that way. So, with that reasoning I positioned myself behind the other one and began pushing, thinking that if I could get it walking, I could just guide it where I wanted it to go.

Only, it didn't move, like – at all!

Okay, no big deal, I'll just try harder. I backed up a bit before shoving my body weight into it, my feet scraping along the ground as I pushed for all I was worth! But the stupid cow-thing refused to budge! It just turned back to stare at me with mild interest at what was touching it.

What followed was a montage of fail of me trying multiple different tactics to get this thing to start walking: smacking it on the rear, shoving at its side, pulling on its horns, yanking on the ears. No matter what I did, the stupid beast remained infuriatingly placid and firmly planted!

After several minutes of struggling, I eventually began to attract attention, the most frustrating of which was Mr. Lazy Ottsel, who'd finally decided to grace us with his presence, (sarcasm intended)!

"Hey there, Keira. Uh, whacha doin'?" he questioned casually as he strolled over.

"What does it – look – like I'm doing!" I grunted, as I continued to struggle with the stubborn animal.

A moment later, and it finally started to move, except – it was in the wrong direction! Since I wasn't expecting it to start walking that way, I hadn't properly braced myself, and so instantly lost my footing and tumbled to the ground in spectacular fashion. To make matters worse, Jak had apparently picked that exact moment to come around the corner and bare witness to the whole humiliating spectacle.

Fantastic!

I pushed myself up to a sitting position, red in the face, only to watch as the beast lumbered even further away.

"Stupid yakow!" I growled, tossing a handful of dirt in its direction.

I felt like an idiot as I pouted at my lap! I didn't understand, why was this so hard? Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jak squat next to me. He gave me a pat on the arm and a sympathetic smile that I had no interest in or any intention of returning!

He tilted his head further to try and get me to look at him, then motioned back towards Samos' hut once I reluctantly did. I couldn't help the hard look I fixed him with at what I somehow knew he was suggesting.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Why don't you just focus on getting that zoomer ready and leave the yakow herding to us?" Daxter suggested, in a tone that I'm guessing was him attempting to be smooth.

However, all I heard was – You're pathetic! Go away! – I rose to my feet in a huff and aggressively brushed myself off.

"Fine!" I barked, angerly storming off.

"What's her problem?" I heard Daxter ask behind me, which seemed to only increase my aggravation.

Once I made it back to the workshop, I plopped down and scowled at the zoomer sitting in front of me. I hadn't meant to take it out on the guys. Since it was myself I was mad at, not them! I just felt so – frustrated! This wasn't the way this was supposed to be going at all!

The whole point of me being here was to not be like game Keira! I didn't want to just stay stuck in this workshop with the zoomer. I really wanted to do more to help, but so far, I'd proven next to useless!

Maybe there was a deeper reason behind why Keira didn't help more in the game, not just because they wanted the player to do everything, but because she fricken sucked at it! Or maybe I just sucked? It was hard to be sure. I kicked at the desk, causing one of the cells to tumble to the floor with a loud thud.

I stared at it for a long moment, until finally coming to the conclusion that the least I could do was work on the few small tasks that Keira did manage to accomplish. Heaven forbid that I end up being even more worthless than she was!

Snatching up the plans, I took a second to scan back over them, looking for wherever it was that she left off so I could just pick it up from there.

After a few hours of putting pieces together with relative ease, I began to feel a bit better that at least this was going smoothly. I realized once again how much of this Keira had going for her. When it came to machines, she really knew what she was doing. Not to mention, this seemed to be way more involved than the games had implied, and this was just for the zoomer!

Power cell in hand, I was just about to figure out how to install it into the holding apparatus, when there was a sudden strange, sparking noise – and everything went dark. Well, at least, the lights went out in the workshop anyway.

I poked my head out of the shop to peer around, trying to ascertain what had happened. It was quickly made obvious that no one else seemed to have power either. That's when it hit me.

Oh, yeah! Turning the power back on was the mission from the mayor, I remembered. Whelp, since it was going to be pretty hard to work with no power, I decided now was as good a time as any to visit him. I wondered if Jak and Daxter had finished with the yakows yet.

I should probably track them down first, I realized.

Weaving my way through the village in my search, I was suddenly halted by a loud, frustrated groan. I turned toward the direction of the sound, peering through a window to find a tall, purple haired guy dressed in a visor and leather apron.

The Sculptor!

Who if I remembered correctly, wasn't ever given an official name, at least, not that I was able to find, anyway. He noticed me staring in at him and glanced back and forth between me and the giant rock in the middle of his house before blowing out a long sigh.

"Oh, hey Keira. It's fine. Go ahead and laugh," he mumbled moodily in that surfer accent of his.

"I wasn't going to laugh," I assured him, moving around the corner, and stepping through his open door. "Is something the matter?" I asked to be polite.

"It's my Muse. She's been missing for days now. You know how she's always been my inspiration, but without her, I just can't sculpt. I'm thinking she might'a gotten scared away, ran off to that Misty Island," he explained, waving off in the island's direction. "Heard you kids took a little trip over there recently," he mentioned.

"Yeah. It was an, interesting experience. Probably not the best idea," I confessed.

"I know we're not actually allowed on the island, but if you do go again, would you look for her?" he clasped my hands in his before I had a chance to answer. "Please, Keira? She's always really liked you. I'm bettin' you could get 'er to come to ya," he practically begged.

"She – has?" I felt myself question.

That was certainly new. In fact, it was already strange enough talking to this guy without having the boys here with me.

"Listen, I heard you kids are tryin' ta collect power cells. I've got one I could give ya if you find my Muse for me," he offered.

Guess he must have misinterpreted my question as reluctance.

"Oh, I have a feeling we'll probably end up heading back over there one way or another," I chuckled awkwardly, but gave him a reassuring smile, nonetheless.

"Really? Thank you! It'd mean so much ta me if you're able ta bring her back," he gushed, looking happier already.

"Well, I should probably go find Jak," I told him, pulling my hands out of his.

He nodded before going back to glaring at his boulder.

On the way out, I spotted Jak coming back into the village. He looked a bit worn out, but otherwise was no worse for wear from his yakow wrangling. He grinned when he saw me and ran over to set another power cell in my hands.

"Everything go okay?" I asked, pocketing the cell.

He nodded.

"Yep. Got all them kows back in thar pen," Daxter joked with an exaggerated southern accent.

Meanwhile, Jak cocked his head at me, a frown of concern etching his brow.

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just frustrated that I was so useless and couldn't do more to help you. I'm sorry for getting snappy," I assured him, but then suddenly realized what I'd just done. "I – I mean, if that's what you're asking about," I quickly added before I could think better of it.

He gave me a bit of a playfully, skeptical look before nodding. So, I had guessed right after all. He then patted my arm and gave an exaggerated wave toward the garage. Daxter looked like he was about to comment as well, but I beat him to it.

"I know I'm helping with the zoomer, but I just wanted to be able to do more. I told you guys that I'd help you get power cells too," I reminded him.

Wait a minute, there it was again. Despite Jak only using facial expressions and rudimentary gestures to communicate, it was like I could understand exactly what he was trying to say.

I stared at him for a brief moment. Was this just how it was supposed to be? Was everyone able to understand him this easily? Or could it be because I was inside Keira? After all, Daxter seemed to understand him perfectly fine as well.

"Well, there may be some that'll be harder to earn than others. You just leave the tough jobs to us, babe," Daxter boasted, polishing his nails on his furry chest.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to let you handle all the heavy lifting, Dax," I told him, causing his expression to sour and Jak to chuckle. "Anyway, I managed to get us another job. It seems the Sculptor's Muse has run off to Misty Island. He's willing to give us a power cell if we bring her back for him," I told them.

"What?!" Daxter exclaimed, suddenly springing to attention. "There is no way – we're going back – to Misty Island!" he declared, crossing his arms with determination.

Jak and I both just stared at him.

"Are we?" he questioned when he didn't get anyone immediately backing him up.

"I don't see how we have much choice. But maybe, this time, let's ask the fisherman for permission to use his boat, and not just take it?" I suggested, feigning delicacy.

The boys flashed each other sheepish glances.

"So, where're you headed?" Daxter asked me, effectively changing the subject.

"To visit the mayor, actually. I was in the middle of working on the zoomer when the power suddenly died. I thought he might know what was going on," I explained.

"Great, as if there weren't already enough problems," Daxter muttered. I just shrugged like I didn't know any better as we made our way into the mayor's residence.

The portly, mustachioed man was busy muttering to himself as he paced around his hut in a nervous manner. Something I hadn't really noticed before while actually playing the game was how much more lavish the mayor's hut was compared to the other homes in the village. That was what you got for being in a public office, I supposed. Even in this world, it still paid to be in government.

"Hello, Mr. Mayor," I greeted warmly, getting his attention.

He rounded on us with surprise, but then glared at the realization of who we were. He must have automatically assumed we wanted something.

"Now, now – don't tell me you lot are having problems as well," he stammered in frustration. "First I hear of 'Monster Sightings' near the village, and now this!" he lamented with a deep sigh. He seemed to consider us for a moment before continuing.

"See those gears up there, children?" he gestured at the large, wooden spokes that decorated his ceiling, and our eyes followed his hand. "See them? See how they're not moving? That means, our village has no power," he explained, as if that wasn't already obvious.

"The eco beam coming from the Jungle Temple has been interrupted." He beckoned us closer and lowered his voice, as if wary that someone else might overhear him. "Listen, kids. Everyone's too frightened to go out and find out what's happened," he confessed.

"Didja pay the bill?" Daxter wondered sarcastically.

I face palmed.

"Ye-ja, hmm?" The mayor made a rather confused noise at the comment, until it fully sank in what Daxter had said. "Oh ho-ho-ho-ho! You're funny," he mock-praised.

"Now look, if you three managed to, fix, the eco beam – I'll give you a power cell," he offered encouragingly. However, he didn't stop there. "Oh! Oh! A-and another thing! If, by any chance, you're interested in making a contribution to my, reelection campaign, I-I might be willing to part with yet another power cell! The minimum contribution is a, oh a very modest, ninety precursor orbs," he told us, greedily rubbing his hands together.

"What?! Ninety orbs?! Where are we supposed to get that kinda cash?" Daxter snapped at the idea.

"What do you mean?" I wondered out loud before I could think better of it. "Can't we just go collect orbs in the area? Like, around the forest and temple?" I suggested.

Everyone in the room stared at me as though I had gone insane. Until Daxter finally broke the silence by doubling over with laughter! Meanwhile, I didn't understand what I'd said that was so funny, or apparently crazy.

"Yeah, that's a good one, Keira. Like people will just leave money lying around for us to go collect!" Daxter chortled, swiping at his eyes.

I felt my face flush red with embarrassment! How could I be so royally stupid? Of course you couldn't just go find precursor orbs lying around in this version of the world! That didn't make any sense! If there ever had been any, someone would have gathered them up way before now.

It's not like you could just find wads of money lying around on the sidewalks of my world either. Again, because the world was filled with real people. Not just NPCs that waited around all day for the player character to do something. I really needed to be more careful from now on to stop relying on 'gamer logic' and start using actual logic.

"Oh, right, of course we can't do that, because that would be, ridiculous," I admitted, emphasizing it more for myself than anyone else. Just goes to show how silly video games can really be.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor, but I don't know if we're gonna be able to contribute to your reelection fund, but I'm sure you don't have anything to worry about. It's not like anyone would want to run against you. You're the best mayor Sandover Village has ever had," I praised.

I was pretty sure he was the only mayor the village has ever had, but I figured a little shameless flattery wouldn't do any harm.

The mayor blushed slightly and waved a hand at me, as if dismissing the idea.

"Oh, Keira. You're too kind, girl," he seemed to ponder something for a moment before continuing. "But I suppose you're right. Alright, fair enough. If you kids at least manage to get the power back on, I'll give you both of my cells. After all, it'll look good on my record if I'm able to find a way to solve this crisis," he decided.

I admit I felt a bit surprised at this turn of events. It wasn't exactly what I'd been intending, but I wasn't about to turn down his generosity.

"Really? T-thank you very much, Mayor," I managed to tell him.

"Think nothing of it, my dear. But the sooner we get this figured out, the better. So, go on! Shoo! Shoo!" he urged, motioning for us to get underway.

"Great, so not only are we going back to Misty Island, but we gotta go poking around in the Forbidden Jungle too?" Daxter lamented, as we made our way to the outskirts of the village.

"We need to find fisherman Ollie and explore around the old temple anyway," I reminded the Ottsel boy.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving me off. "Nice work with the ol' windbag, by the way. At this rate, we're gonna have those twenty power cells before we know it!" Daxter commended, which I happily accepted.

"Thanks. Maybe if we're lucky, I'll be able to sweet talk Ollie into letting us use his boat too," I added.

Jak simply grinned at me.

We hiked our way up the ledges that led to the bridge to get us into the jungle, when a glint off in the distance caught my eye. I turned and squinted to find what appeared to be a large, stone head with an elongated proboscis leading out of it's face. Immediately recognizing what it was, I couldn't help but glare at it.

You rat-bastard!

I had half a mind to march myself over there right that very instant and give the thing a piece of my mind. However, before I could actually commit, the boys noticed my staring.

"Hey, uh, whatcha looking at Keira?" Daxter wondered.

I jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned to find them watching me. I considered my options for a moment before responding. Should I feign more ignorance, or simply point it out? I decided on the ladder. One, because I had a suspicion that the Oracle could still possibly contain power cells, but also because I figured it was probably important for Jak to hear what it had to say.

"Do you guys see that?" I inquired. They both moved over next to me to get a closer look. "I think that statue has power cells in it. We should go check it out," I encouraged.

"You mean that funky precursor statue? Why would it have power cells in it?" Daxter wondered.

I realized it was Daxter who told you about it in the game. However, it seemed clear that they'd never actually taken the time to really investigate it closely, if he didn't already know that. There was also the possibility that it had been dormant or something – until now.

"Uh, well, my dad has told me before that it's actually a precursor Oracle, and that they're supposed to have some kind of mystical power to them. I just thought it wouldn't hurt for us to take a closer look," I tried to reason.

However, Daxter didn't seem convinced.

"Maybe you don't recall, but we've poked around that thing before and nothing's ever happened. What makes you think it'll be any different now?" he wondered at me.

I glanced back at the statue and studied it for a moment before returning my gaze to the skeptical party.

"Because now it's glowing," I pointed out wearily, as I gestured in it's direction.

Daxter whipped his head back towards it and narrowed his eyes.

"Huh. Guess I missed that," he acknowledged, looking back to find Jak giving him a sly grin.

"Alright fine! Let's go see," he yielded, as if we needed his permission.

Jak just shook his head before hopping along the rocks towards the Oracle.

"Man, this thing is weird. I hope the precursors weren't as ugly in person!" Daxter complained, making a face as we stepped up to the mystical statue.

"Who awakens the Oracle?" It suddenly asked in it's usual booming tone – just like clockwork.

Daxter immediately jumped out of his fur with a yelp of surprise. Guess the Oracle hadn't ever come to life like this before. Jak flashed me a look of concern, but I just shrugged in response. I was considering answering it, but it decided to continue before I could.

"Wait! One of you has the light within. From before time, I have watched and waited, for the true hero to return. Now, what is it that you seek of me?" It asked, then seemed to pause and wait.

I couldn't help but notice that it didn't immediately demand an excessive amount of precursor orbs that we would never be able to attain in this version of the world. I turned to find Jak shifting his gaze back and forth between me and the Oracle with an expression of utter confusion. Perhaps he didn't realize that it was talking about him.

"S-since when can these things talk?!" Daxter exclaimed fearfully, peaking up over Jak's shoulder now that everything had gone quiet.

"Well, maybe it didn't like you insulting it?" I offered teasingly, to which the Ottsel boy gulped and re-hid himself behind Jak.

I chuckled at his reaction before turning back to the task at hand. If it wasn't going to demand orbs for it's power cells, then what did it want us to do instead?

Personally, I wanted to yell at the thing for not giving me more of a warning about what it was getting me into. However, I didn't think that would go over very well with the others. Not to mention, I had my doubts that it would break character in front of the guys, anyway. I ultimately decided that it wouldn't hurt to simply ask.

"Greetings, great Oracle. We're sorry to disturb your slumber," I couldn't stop myself from quoting. It sounded almost identical to the giant, talking tiger head, after all. "But we couldn't help but notice the power cells you seem to contain. . ." I hinted.

"Despite the altering of these events, what you ask still comes with a price. Bring me an alternative energy source, and I will grant you these power cells as your reward," it told me.

"Huh, I guess that's fair," I decided with a shrug.

Where I was going to find an alternative energy source, I wasn't sure. I could only assume that the stone statue wouldn't have made this impossible for us, so it'd be something I'd need to puzzle out later.

"What's it talkin' about, 'altering events'?" Daxter wondered, repeating all mystically.

"Heck if I know. All we really need to worry about is fulfilling it's request so it'll give us the cells," I pointed out, happy to find that the others accepted this without any further argument.

With that out of the way for the moment, we were now finally able to enter the forbidden jungle – which wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. I supposed it wouldn't really make sense for there to be a bunch of random traps and other obstacles, like in the game. However, I thought we'd at least have seen a monster or two.

Almost as if on cue, a giant, spiked green tentacle suddenly burst out of the ground, surprising all three of us! I realized that I should have seen it coming, but I found myself firmly planted on my backside nonetheless.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Daxter demanded, Jak giving it a wide berth.

Watching it wriggle around was giving me some uncanny Maniac Mansion vibes. . .

After helping me to my feet, Jak began to survey the path ahead of us, noticing the same thing that I already knew – there was more than one tentacle. And they were all leading towards one place – the Forest Temple. He turned to me, gesturing as such.

"I was thinking the same thing," I agreed with a solemn gaze. "We'll get there, but first we should check on Ollie and make sure he's alright," I insisted, pointing in the direction of the river where he was supposed to be.

Jak rolled his eyes at me playfully with a small smile, before changing course and marching off in the new direction. I was finding that message to be a little less clear than the others. My best guess was that he was, amused by my concern. Either way, I was still happy to find that he was listening and taking my opinions into consideration.

We discovered Ollie right where I remembered, luckily with no creepy tentacles anywhere in the area. He was grumbling and glaring down at the river, in what I could only guess as frustration at his severely diminished catch rate. He was so focused that we were practically on top of him before he noticed us.

"What do you kids be doing out here?" he questioned us with a hard look, crossing his arms over his burly chest. "The forest be more dangerous than evar since them monsters showed up. Not to mention the spiked vines," he scolded in his pirate-like accent.

"We're here on official business for the mayor," I offered, deciding that could help to get him to take us more seriously. "We saw the spiked vines and wanted to make sure that you were okay," I added as an aside.

"Aw! Well, that be sweet of ya, lass, but takes more than some crazy plant to get ta ol' Ollie," he boasted, jabbing a thumb at himself.

Clearly not bothering to pay attention to what was happening around him, Daxter busied himself with poking around, finding Ollie's fish basket. Strangely enough, Ollie watched this without the least bit of concern about Daxter's form. Guess word traveled fast around here.

"What do ya have in the basket?" he wondered, leaning over it to get a better look.

"Nothing to talk about," Ollie replied with a sad sigh. "Them monsters have been patrolling the ocean and gobbling up me catch!" he exclaimed with frustration, right into the Ottsel boy's face. "No matter what I try, I can't seem to catch a single fish in this river," he lamented, Daxter waving the unpleasant smell out of his face.

"Woo! Maybe, it's your breath?" he suggested unhelpfully, to which Ollie took offense, naturally.

"Ya think ya can do better?" he snapped back angerly.

"Uh, well. I don't know about better, but we can certainly try and help. Except, we are a little busy with other pressing matters, but if you had something to exchange for our work. Like, say, maybe, a power cell that you're not using?" I suggested. "Not only that, but um, would it be too much to ask for us to borrow your speed boat? We're also looking for a way over to Misty Island," I slipped in before he could respond, might as well just get it all out there.

He gave a hearty laugh before slapping a beefy hand across my back, nearly knocking the wind out of me! I hoped that was a good sign.

"Appreciate ya taking the time to ask for once," he told me, flashing the blonde boy behind me a knowing look, who suddenly found the tree tops to be incredibly interesting. "Tell ya what, if you kids manage to fill me basket with, let's say, about two hundred pounds of fish, I'll be more than happy ta part with a power cell. Also, you'll be free to use me boat whenever ye like," he complied with a grin.

"Deal," I managed to wheeze out.

Too bad this deal was shaping up to be much more trouble than it was worth! Net fishing isn't as easy as you'd think, even with Ollie furnishing both Jak and I with one each. It definitely wasn't like in the game where they'd literally just swim into the net! Thinking about it made me realize that if that were indeed the case, then he wouldn't have needed the help in the first place! On the bright side, however, we didn't seem to be running into any poisonous eel problems as we worked our way up and down the stream.

Even working together, it took literal hours before we finally managed to snag enough for Ollie to be satisfied. By then, my back ached and my feet were killing me! Not to mention, I felt like I was gonna pass out from hunger. After all, I hadn't had the chance to eat anything since that morning.

"You kids did a fine job. A fine job, indeed! Not bad for a couple of land lubbers," Ollie praised us as we returned his nets, stretching my back until I heard it pop. "Here's the power cell I promised," he told us, passing the orb to Jak, who accepted it graciously.

I was about to make a comment about him letting us borrow the speed boat, when a low rumble suddenly emanated from my gut. It was so loud that everyone was able to hear it loud and clear, all eyes moving to give me questioning stares.

"Whoa, Keira! Did you swallow a bear, or what?" Daxter teased with a grin.

I glared at the little runt.

"I'm so sorry that my bodily functions are so offensive, but unfortunately, I do get hungry every now and then," I huffed in reply.

Ollie put a hand up to his chin, as though he were pondering the implications.

"How 'bout, since you kids worked so hard for all this, it seems only right that you get to reap some of the booty. I'll whip us up a good ol' fashion fish fry! How's that sound?" he offered our group.

I felt like he'd already kept up his end of the bargain, giving us the cell and letting us use the boat. This felt like overkill. And I was about to tell him as much, but Daxter cut me off before I could.

"That sounds great! Been a long time since I had a good fried fish!" Daxter cheered, scrambling up to perch himself back on Jak's shoulder.

"Then what'er we waitin' for? Let's get these guppies back to me home!" Ollie encouraged us, taking one handle of the basket while Jak gripped onto the other.

Honestly, taking a dinner break and calling it a day actually sounded like a good idea the more I thought about it. The sun had started to set at this point, so it probably wasn't going to be possible to explore the Forest Temple right now, anyway. Better to get a good night sleep and tackle it in the morning, I decided as I followed after the guys.

I was happy to find that in this version of the world, Ollie indeed had his own little shanty in the village, next to where the beach began. It was furnished about how you'd expect for the pirate fisherman, like the inside of a seafood restaurant. He happily regaled us with tales from his sea fairing days as he cooked up a whole bucket of fish with a side of greens.

It tasted fabulous when he was done! Who knew he was such as skilled chef as well? While the boys didn't seem much interested in his stories, I on the other hand, was thrilled to be able to experience some character development first hand like this! After all, it was a much more fitting end to his quest than him being submitted to an eternity of maniacal laughter in the middle of the forest!