Jak and Crash
ACT 1: Beginning
Chapter 2: The Plan or…Strictly Ballroom

Nicodemus II
Month 15: Precurso, Day 14
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Night

"Okay, during our travels around Haven City, we managed to gather a wealth of information." Cortex started, "Firstly, this planet is known as Precursia, living inside the Precursor Galaxy. There are about maybe 7 or 8 other planets (I wasn't too sure on that info). One moon revolves around Precursia as well as two suns, a yellow one, and an eerie green one that comes mostly in the night or early morning."
"That explains the creepy green glow." N. Gin stated, "I'm never gonna be able to sleep properly with that thing beaming down my face. It's the next creepiest thing since that phrase, "Can't sleep, clowns will eat me."
"Hush, N. Gin." Cortex said, "Now, Precursors are apparently the Gods of their world. From what I've seen, the people of this planet are far less secular then we are in Earth. These elf-like people call themselves Precursians after the Precursors. Precursors are worshipped everywhere (some in different ways) and the prince of Haven is one of the few who can listen and hear them. I'll get to him in a minute. Now, we get to the actual city itself. Haven City was built some 300 plus years ago due to the invasion of these creatures called Metal Heads (he takes out some pictures he managed to find out for viewing)."
"Eww, how the hell did they come from? They mated with an elephant or rhino?" Tawna guffed.
"Laugh all you want, these creatures were once powerful forces that invaded the entire planet, searching for power and some other stuff of that sort, not too sure. They're leader was defeated about a year back, thus wiping out the other Metal Heads by one boy named Jak Bannon. Cortex took out a news clipping with a blurry, hard to see picture of the so-called "Jak Bannon."
"Haven City was built to protect the people as well an important item, among others." Coco then came, "It was the first city built since the days of the Precursors. Haven is built on the Western Continent AKA Haven Kingdom, a kingdom mostly surrounded in water, more so then the other continents, thusly Haven City adapted and gained its nickname as the "Water City."
"So I g-g-g-g-g-g-guess if we ever w-w-w-w-w-w-wanted to go swimming, we'd have n-n-n-n-n-n-no problems." Brio perked up.
"Yea, we'd have no problems when we're stuck here with the place most likely to be frequented by a hurricane." Gin sarcastically added. Cortex, ignoring them both, continued.
"Haven City is a monarchy based system. There are also other cities built over time; Lucius the Fire Empire located in the East ruled by an Empress, Filia the Northern Air Nation, ruled by a Queen, and Riveta, a small metal-based city about southeast from Haven on a large chain of islands, based on a presidental system. And its plain obvious their alphabet is completely different from ours. I'm in the process of trying to translate it."
"Well, now that we got the basics out of the way, here's the deal." Coco came in, "Apparently, because the prince of Haven is the only one in this city who can talk to Precursors for all we know, he's our only goal. He's having a birthday party tomorrow night, so that's when we strike and have an audience with him."
"Wait. The prince expects us nobodies to show up on his birthday?" Gin asked.
"The man we talked to hours ago just told us to show up." Cortex came, sounding a bit innocent, "He seemed confidence and sincere in his voice. It's the only lead we have and I'm desperate. So, tomorrow morning, we're going shopping for some ball room clothes. I managed to find a place."
"What about money?" Gin popped in, "Unless they coincidently have the same brand of money we do."
"Please, if their culture and language isn't the same, what makes you think their currency will be, too?" Coco rolled her eyes.
"HEY! LOTS of aliens speak normal English language no matter HOW different their culture is compare to our planet, so therefore—"
"That's enough!" Cortex sternly spoke, then took out the little bag the young man from earlier had given him, "First of all, that's science fiction crap, second of all, we got currency."
"But how the devil do ya count 'em?" Tawna asked.
"AGH! SO MANY QUESTIONS!" Cortex screamed, "I GOT EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL! JUST SHUT UP AND FOLLOW MY LEAD!" And with that, everyone remained silent. Cortex finalized the meeting and they all went to their respective room.

…………………

Haven Palace
Month 15: Precurso, Day 14
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Evening

Several Hours Earlier

The palace has considerably changed since the Baron's time as ruler. While looking still gray and drab on the outside, the entire palace was given an overhaul and looked livelier then before. Half of the reasons stem from the young prince living in there who demanded more greenery as well as a swimming pool ("I can't believe we rule over an entire kingdom and live in a water city, yet there's no bloody swimming pool!") which connected with an indoor one as well. Gardens of rich and exotic flowers from across the world were aplenty as well as homes and stables for animals the prince seemingly found and nursed. They used to stay inside the palace, but it got a messy, REAL fast. The red banners that symbolized the Baron's rule were replaced by the city's color, blue. Instead of angry voices and menacing laughter, there were smiling faces and warmth. In short, Haven Palace felt more alive then it did those past 3 or so years of his rule.
Of course, he was still greatly missed by his family, especially by his daughter Ashelin. She has since moved on, part of the reason being that her new job for a year as Haven's governor took a lot out of her, as well her blissful marriage to Torn whom she wed some 6 months back. Right now, her duties and marriage meant squat as she tried to calm her grandmother down before she could sprout a blood vessel.

"INSENSITIVE! RUDE! UNSPEAKABLE!" She cried, "LEAVING THE PALACE…AGAIN!"
"Grandma, please!" Ashelin gestured for her grandmother to stop stomping the ground with her cane while her other hand waved in a displeasing manner, "Stress isn't good for someone your age."
"How DARE he? Why does he always DO this to me?" She continued screeching, "We HAD an agreement! He vowed to uphold his role as prince and give his full as member of the royal family!"
"Well, in all truth, he never said he'd stop being "Jak Bannon." Ashelin nervously put in.
"UNTHINKABLE! INCONCEIVABLE! OUTRAGEOUS!"
At this point, Ashelin was about to give up, exhausted, and having to deal with her screaming for the next few hours, but was miraculously saved when an elder man and a young boy entered the palace.
"Oh, you're FINALLY home!" Ashelin cried out in relief.
"Yes." The young boy smiled. The Queen immediately stopped her temper tantrum, hastily walked over to the boy, and smacked the top of his head with her cane. Jak made a resounding "OW!" as he robbed his noggin.
"Alright, I deserve that." The boy smiled in a cheeky manner, "I left the palace…again."
"WHAT were you thinking, LEAVING THE PALACE…AGAIN?" The Queen shouted, "HONESTLY! A prince does NOT runaway from his own duties and responsibilities! I had to call the ambassador of Lucius to put our meeting on hold BECAUSE YOU RAN OFF!"
"I was trying to find something!" The boy cried, "A VERY important something!"
"You are the next ruler of Haven!" The queen retorted, "Leaving the palace under the guise of a man you are not and seeking for this so-called "very important" thing doesn't justify your role as Prince Christof Aradi Del' Alazender Romanir the 3rd!"
"Grandmother, I'm NOT just a prince, you know! That's only half of me! Believe it or not, I AM Jak as well."
"Being two people in one isn't exactly good. In the end, it'll leave nothing but confusion." Jak's grandmother crossed her arms, "Now go to your room!" Jak made a deep sigh, slouched his shoulder, and made his way up. The rest of the family only watched as the young man pessimistically headed up the stairs, refusing to say a word until they were certain he was out of listening distance, despite the sheer size of the palace.
"For what it's worth, your majesty, Master Christof usually has good reasons for leaving the palace." Walter spoke, raking off his black coat to reveal a typical butler suit underneath.
"His duty far outweighs whatever he has in his head. He agreed to uphold his job." The Queen spoke calmly.
"But he never agreed to stop being Jak." Walter continued, repeating Ashelin's words, "No, you made him a separate person. Jak just took it one step further, is all."
"That boy has no sense of responsibilities." The Queen shook her head.
"I agree wholeheartedly, my dear Queen Alexandros." A different voice came, one who stepped out of seemingly nowhere. He was a tall man wearing a stunning blue overcoat. He had red silk scarf stuffed beneath his tan vest as well as dark pants and elegant shoes. Holding a cane with a lovely encrusted jewel on top, the man, with his bald head (the remaining hair were on his sides and brown in color) and deep violet eyes walked over to the Queen with a sly grin on his face.
"Count Veger." Ashelin spat with disgust.
"A pleasure." Veger said, keeping his sly grin. He had a small boy behind him who too had brown hair (except he wasn't bald), glasses, the same violet eyes, and also donning a blue overcoat with matching pants. He held in his hand a large assortment of books and looked incredibly nervous.
"I certainly think Miss Ashelin would do a fairer job on being the next ruler then the young boy." Veger spoke with such discipline and hatred, "Heck, even I would do better, after all, I AM the Head Councilman. Besides, what kind of an example are we setting, letting someone whose blood flows with dark eco, dictate this beautiful kingdom?"
"The people don't need to know that." Queen Alexandros spoke, "The lone explorer Jak has dark eco, Prince Christof's blood flows pure."
"Hmm…people aren't that gullible, my queen." Veger continued, "With his wandering about, sooner or later, they'll start making connections between him and our dear Prince." A silence filled, "I still think the choice of him being our future ruler will put this kingdom in jeopardy."
"Oh, shut up!" Ashelin harshly step forward, "Jak may not always agree on the rules of the royal family, but he respect them. He's views and closeness to every status of Haven will ultimately succeed him as future King. And most of all, he has a good heart with good intentions. I choose him over someone who's mind is filled with corruption and one-sidedness." The last part Ashelin spoke directly to Veger who gave off a venomous look.
"Alright, that's enough." Alexandros stood up, "We discuss this some other time and considering the boy's reputation for leaving the palace, that time will, unfortunately come again. For now, we got a birthday to worry about." And with that, the queen ordered them away. Ashelin gave one hard look at Veger with all the hate she could muster before leaving him alone with the boy with the glasses.

………………

He stayed in his room after dinner and until the early afternoon where he constantly felt uneasy and impatient. With his current situation, he desperately wanted to get out of the palace and find the meaning of his visions and dreams. The girl he met, the one named Coco, and the man, Cortex, they were both in his dreams. It was a sign. He saw visions of something terrible and a voice he didn't recognize trying to lead him in that direction. He's been having these so-called premonitions for months now and every single one lead to nothing. It was basically the same thing over and over again. Now that he met both Coco and Cortex, he felt a sense of connection this time around and was determined to find out what the deal is.
The dark creature they also encountered yesterday was fresh in his mind as well. The creature was not of this planet and with its hostile attack; it could pose a threat to his people. Did the creature have some bizarre connection with Coco and Cortex or was it simply coincidence?
He laid on his bed sideways, his legs sticking out of bed. There, he tightly closed his eyes, lost in thought until his face felt warm and wet. Opening his eyes, he saw Ani, his pet crocadog hovering over him, happy to see her master.
"Hello, Ani." Jak smiled weakly. He got up and petted the little pup, "Well, it's nice to see one smiling face around here."

Haven City, Mall District
Month 15: Precurso, Day 15
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon

Five figures left a store, each carrying a shopping bag.

"I can't believe that jerk from yesterday cheated us out." Coco mumbled, "We hardly had enough for more then two!" True, only Coco and Tawna managed to buy their dresses while the men decided to find their own formal wear (luckily for them, Gin and Brio had suits inside the Nicodemus while Cortex had a kimono).
"Well, he only just met the two of us, Coco." Cortex answered, "How was he supposed to know three more were going to be involved?" Coco merely grumbled and Cortex changed to another subject.
"But I am worried, leaving the airship all alone." Cortex muttered, "If I knew we'd be short on money, at least one or two of us would have stayed."
"Relax, Corky." Tawna grinned, "We all needed to pick our own outfits."
"I noticed most of the citizens here cater towards Victorian fashion." N. Gin observed, "Especially the nobles."
"Yes, apparently, it is Haven's main choice of fashion." Cortex said, "From observations and the dialogues spoken here, the entire place is a futuristic Europe with pointy eared people…these Precursians."
"Apparently, they enjoy usin' the word "Precur" and addin' something at the end to it, ey?" Tawna chuckled. Everyone chuckled a bit except for Coco who merely rolled her eyes and eyed her shopping bag periodically. Inside it was a white dress that she considered out of all the others and ultimately bought due to Tawna's urgings.
"The ballroom party starts sometime at 8PM-ish." Cortex said, "I vaguely translated it. So, we go in, find the prince, get him to talk with us, and see if he can help us."
"And if he refuses?" Gin added a counterpoint.
"Plan B, kidnap him." Cortex ordered.
"KIDNAP?" Gin shouted.
"SHUT UP!" Cortex cupped Gin's mouth, "There are people here!"
"So, guess you still haven't lost some of that evil." Coco calmly said. Cortex in return gave her a dangerous look.
"I feel greatly offended by that, Coco." Cortex harshly said, "Whatever menacing antagonistic views I have in my head has all been gone since that…faithful day, that…incident." It was an event nobody really spoke of, giving him his respect. Whenever he mentioned "that incident" in that sad tone, they automatically know what it was. The day he lost his son… A silence came about. Coco didn't apologize, but kept a lingering face of guilt.
"Any who, we just kidnap him until he gives us the information." Cortex shrugged, "I guess we do it quick and possible, what with a lot of people in the ball."
"Wait, quick and possible? With that many people, won't we get caught or something?" Gin asked, half shrugging.
"I'm…still working out Plan B, so I kind of have hopes that that young man was right and the prince IS expecting us, thus leading me to pray that Plan A will work." Cortex admitted. The other four gave off their own looks: Coco seemingly uncaring, N. Gin sighing, thinking of how ridiculous this all is, N. Brio giving off a worried look, and Tawna with a face of excitement, as if she was ready for danger. Cortex only gave a face that looked worrying, but in the inside, he smiled. Perhaps…there is…hope…there is always…hope…

………………………

Haven City, Mall District
Month 15: Precurso, Day 15
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon/Evening

Dozens of workers piled around the entire palace, placing banners and balloons (which the Queen later told them to take down, "Balloons are for children and commoners!"). A massive white cake was the center piece among the other edibles. The palace's last busy day such as this was back when it was under massive construction some year ago, during the rebuilding of Haven City due to the malicious Metal Heads. The entire operation certainly caught the attention of Daxter and Tess.

"This place is really coming together." Tess said, excited and bubbly as usual. She was carrying a basket of flowers, placing them in individual banners. Daxter however was less then enthusiastic.
"We're friends of Jak; we're not suppose to do the work. He's got people hiring them to do it for him!" Daxter complained, "Dozens of workers and we're still stuck DOING things? I came here to relax on a giant seat cushion, have a drink of wine, and eat lots and lots of chocolate with lots and lots of babes!" Tess eyed Daxter in a surprised manner.
"I mean, with just you, of course." Daxter grinned, then his face turned sour again, "But no, we're stuck doing work."
"It's for Jak, you insensitive clod." Came another female voice. Daxter turned around to see Ani carrying a basket of flowers as well. She, too had the power of speech for reasons unknown (as most animals with speech are fairly uncommon), but kept it a secret except for her fellow animals. Of course, whenever she spoke in a crowded place full of Precursians, she had to be careful and quiet such as the case was now
"A pleasure to meet you, too, Ani." Daxter said lamely.
"Could have been worse, Pecker might have insulted you and if that was the case, the two of you would never stopped." Ani shook her head, took out a flower and gave it to Tess to put up.
"So, who else came besides you two to help?" Ani asked.
"Kiera and ol' stumpy." Daxter pointed to Samos over there, using his magic to lift up a giant banner that read, "Happy 19th Birthday, Prince Christof."
"Samos is the same as ever, but Kiera's been feeling dumpy for some weeks now." Daxter said, "No clue why, she won't tell me."
"You know this is all just a ploy the Queen made so that he can pick a future wife." Ani said, speaking through half closed eyes.
"What does this have to do with Kiera?" Daxter popped in, "Besides, I'm pretty sure the Queen left those two alone and seem to approve of them, her being the daughter of Samos, a person who works in the palace."
"Jak never told you?" Ani gasped. The two were now walking together, passing the rapid pair of legs running to and fro.
"Told me what?"
"Well, as you've known longer then I have, Jak and Kiera's relationship have been on and off for some time now. After dating a few times between the Metal Head's defeat and about a couple of weeks ago, Jak talked with Kiera on their current relationship."
"Yessssss?"
"He said the relationship wasn't going anywhere and for that, he more or less broke up with her." Ani finished, "He said they'd be better as friends."
"OUCH!" Daxter cried loudly, "No wonder she's been dumpy. Two weeks and still moping." Ani merely nodded.
"How did you get all this information?"
"Oh, Jak usually tends to confine in Puar often. I was just in the same room listening, is all."
"I see, I see."
"I wonder if she'll get pass all that?" Ani asked.
"Well…if worse comes to worse…there's always Erol."

……………

The clinic in another part of the palace held the usual areas that an average hospital would. One room, however, was clearly different. A room where temperature degree were near below zero, where there stood a single frozen tube where a body was placed in hopes he'll wake up someday, in hopes that there might be a cure to whatever illness he might have or gain. There, a single short green haired girl watches, in hopes he'd wake up someday. Wearing a blue jacket provided by the palace doctors, Kiera lifted up her arm and wrote something on the icy tube: "Hello, Erol."
She often visited Erol before and after the accident. After all, when she came to Haven three years ago, she was lost and alone in a foreign world. Erol managed to find her and familiarize her to her new home. He was a friend and constant companion during her first two year stay in Haven. He was a fairly good looking man, but refused to get serious with him for the sake of Jak whom she cared for more romantically. Despite his dark intentions then, Kiera still stayed by Erol's side after his accident where he ran into an entire month's supply of dark eco. Placed in that frozen tube, the doctors kept his life slow and near unmoving. They weren't able to detect any movement of dark eco, but kept him frozen lest he would die if removed from his injuries. Little by little, the doctors did what could to remove his damage, but even after a little over a year, he was still silent with no sign of improvement.
Kiera being near Erol was helpful today and for the past two weeks since that little incident.

"I just don't think we're not getting anywhere. We hug, we kiss, and we go on dates, but what then? Nothing. I don't feel anything. I've come a long way since that little boy who's had a crush on you. I think it's best if we just stayed as…friends."

The words pierced through her heart like thousands of arrows, each breaking of a piece. It was hurtful. When she returned home upon him confessing how he felt, she mostly stayed in her room. For some reason, she didn't feel like crying. Instead, she just rested on her bed in a fetal position, not thinking, not blinking, but just staring. It was as if she was in denial over those words he spoke. Little by little, she realized what he said wasn't a nightmare, but even then, she still felt a tinge of denial. Perhaps Jak was too busy, pressured to be a prince that he decided to pursue a relationship later, maybe he doesn't truly know his feelings for her, maybe someone brainwashed him. Whatever excuses she could come up, however implausible it was, she still kept that denial.

Haven Palace
Month 15: Precurso, Day 15
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Night

"Welcome to Prince Christof's 19th birthday live! I'm Manny Cacher of HCTV news." An announcer came, "And the entire event is filled with nobles and celebrities. One of them is the ever popular Michel who's been working for the palace as the prince's personal dresser and tailor for over a year now!"

The palace gates, usually an empty place was now filled with elegant zoomers as precursians dressed in elegant ball gowns and tuxedos left the vehicle and walked down a red carpet. Papperiazzis and news reporters to their respective channel or newspaper hounded the rich and famous. Anybody who was anybody made their way inside the palace to witness the prince's 19th birthday.

"Say, Michel! How DOES it feel working for such a royal figure?" Manny asked.
"Ahh, it iz zee perfect life and perfect wish for moi!" Michel smoothly said, "I could not have asked for zee better!" His two assistant, a girl in woman named Ginger and a man in blue named Mimo agreed in unison like a couple of yes men.
"Fantastic!" Manny squealed, "Oh, look! It's the head of the Farm District of Haven, Mr. Avery Gosling and his lovely wife, Mimi. How do you do? How do you do?" Avery, an old man with an excitable personality and potbelly quickly took the microphone.
"I say, I say, I'm very happy ta' be here, lad!" He spoke through a thick Scottish accent, "Both me an' the missus! Th' prince must've loved our number one mustallion, BellFlower. She be a purdy piece. Nobody can breed 'em like me wife, Mimi! Ain't that right?" He gave the microphone to a chubby woman with short dirty blonde hair. She, too had a jovial expression, who spoke with a German-ish accent.
"Oh, this is a very happy and proud day. One full year and then some since the Metal heads rule and now, we celebrate even further with the 19th birthday of Prince Christof."
"Ya tell 'em!" Avery bellowed. They then left with their comrade, Stinky Pete (whom dressed as best as he could, but refuse to remove the patches covering nearly his entire clothing).

Afterwards, near the end of the line came Cortex and his cohorts, all looking rather unsure of themselves.

"I hope ya all know what ya are doin'." Tawna forcibly smiled through gritted teeth. She donned a lovely short dress draped in indigo with a matching scarf. N.Gin and N.Brio came in wearing normal blue suits and ties. Coco shown wearing a white strapless dress with golden designs with a matching silver tiara and hair tied back with two long chopsticks-sized pins. It almost had a wedding dress feel. As for Cortex, he took out an old indigo Japanese kimono he had for years. All of them were wearing matching winter coats, but their sense of fashion garnered much attention, including Manny.
"AHHH! Anthros! It's SO nice to see Lucians here!" Manny stopped the five in their track and shook hands with the nearest (which was Cortex), "I see judging by your clothes that you are a Lucian. Not many Precursians in Lucian. How wonderful to see different cultures clashing!"
"Errr…yes." Cortex nervously nodded.
"Coming out in public like that, despite you and the other precursians having some sort of short ear syndrome!" Manny gasped.
"Err…yes." Cortex repeated, keeping a forced smile. Manny happily walked over to Gin and Brio, "AHH! Rivetian! Our relationship with Riveta is still up in the air, but it's so SMASHING to see Rivetians!"
"Err…yes." Both Gin and Brio muttered.
"And these two lovely Anthros! Are you both from Lucius as well?" Manny asked.
"Err…yes." Both Coco and Tawna said.
"WONDERFUL!"
"Let's get the hell inside; he's scaring the living daylights out of me." Coco urged. They reached the front gate where one of the royal servants asked for her name. Coco hesitated a little.
"Well, what's your name?" The servant asked.
"Coco…" She started.
"Ahhh, a Miss Coco, no last name and guest." The servant gestured. The five started to head in before the servant stopped them again, "It said Miss Coco and guest, ONE guest."
"Must be a typo." Cortex nervously laughed.
"Err…yea, these four are all with me." Coco forced a painful smile. Before the servant could say or do anything, the five immediately went in.

Inside the palace lit like a golden stadium. Everything was so clean and calm as classical music and soft piano played. Everybody was busy chatting softly and laughing in a gentle, pompous manner. The prince's birthday, one of the greatest events in Haven's history.
"Alright, spread out and search." Cortex gestured, "Don't act suspicious. Blend in." The four split while Cortex watched each of them go their own separate paths. Cortex sighed and observed his surroundings.
"I must say, for mortals, they have excellent culinary skills." A familiar voice rang in Cortex's ears. He turned right and saw a normal looking man wearing a black Victorian suit.
"Tropy!" Cortex gasped, tightening his throat. He looked exactly like the blue skinned time traveler with mere exceptions being that he had average human (or in this case) Precursian skin color and Precursian's giant elf-like ears.
"Shapeshifiting…hologram?" Cortex guessed.
"More or less." Tropy shrugged, "Just one of my powers."
"What are you doing here?"
"What? Immortal beings of time not allowed in birthday parties?" Tropy shrugged again, "For goodness sake, Cortex, I'd thought you'd be more prepared and created a hologram to make yourself some Precursian ears."
"It's a little late for that." Cortex spoke through gritted teeth. Tropy merely smiled slyly, shrugged, and then proceeded to get himself a bottle of wine. Cortex merely watched and smiled a little. There was so much to him that no one knew of…

Daxter, dressed in a top hat, black waistcoat with black necktie, and white cuffs for both his wrists and feet, made it his business to flirt with every single lovely ladies he could get his paws on, and there were an unusual number of young ladies around. Tess, dressed in spaghetti strapped low cut lavender dress hardly noticed this as she took her time talking with as much people as possible, although most nobles refused to be near a commoner. Daxter and Tess probably wouldn't have been invited if they weren't Jak's friends. The Queen, while fair, was quite strict on social status when it came to matters such as this. Ashelin (in a stunning red Victorian dress) was busy leading Alexandros to her throne. The queen had on a light blue dress with jewels gracing her body as well as a tiara. Side to side to her, standing in a proper guarding manners were General Torn (dressed in complete red and silver Krimzon Guard armor) and Captain Brutter, also dressed in red armor. The two gave it their all to watch over the royal family, although it was mostly Torn putting on a serious face. Brutter seemed more interested talking with Rena, a lovely female Lurker from a Lurker tribe in the north inside the Volcanic Crater.

Samos, too was near the Queen, chatting with her as he donned a mostly green and brown Victorian suit as did Veger, dressed in dark indigo. The boy who he was always with stayed close to Veger in a shy manner. He was the only one dressed in a black suit and tie with top hat (excluding in a way, Daxter) then a Victorian wear, indicating he was foreign to Haven City. The boy with the glasses merely only looked over to Michel who was busy chatting with other well known, flamboyant celebrities. Others Jak knew were also invited, Onin, Jinx and his squad (who were told VERY sharply to not get rowdy), Sig (who couldn't come, saying he was busy, but wishing a Happy Birthday), Carmen (Michel's older archeologist sister), the late Vin's wife and his 13 year old son, Van (whom seem rather reclusive throughout the entire ball, like he was hiding something), and many more. Pecker himself, dressed in a gray waistcoat made it his personal business to speak (and flirt) with Ani whenever he had the chance. Ani herself had on a lovely tiara, a sparkling collar, and groomed hair. She was busy chatting with the only known COMP (Computer Organizers and Memo Pocket Station) with emotions named Puar, a rather bubbly soul. Kiera herself, dressed in a lovely green sleeveless Victorian dress spent most of the time staring at Jak's throne or outside, watching the moonlight. The only one who seemed to be missing was the birthday boy himself.

Indeed, he'd rather stay outside where snow started to fall then join the crowd. Wearing a near complete white armor princely wear, his face and hair were dyed and powdered to match the current colors of white, to add a sense of purity, apparently. There were bits of blue and yellow here and there. He had a matching white shawl of some sort covering most of his head and reaching down to half his neck, and to top it all of, he had on a flowing blue cape. He was the very symbol of purity and royalty, although from far back, he was a shoo-in for looking feminine which often annoyed Jak. It didn't help that his tailor, Michel, was a flamboyant individual, but otherwise, had no problems with his outfit.
Those nobles! After tirelessly avoiding their questions, their gestures and kissing up, their saying how their daughter was the cream of the crop as oppose to all the others as if this was some sort of contest with Jak himself as the prize sickened him. Some birthday! Even if he was one of the most important Precursians of Precursia, why couldn't he have a private party between him and his family and friend? Not filled with nobles he didn't either care for or knew. Most of them nothing but walking snobs, acting as if money grew on trees. He instead just stood outside, watching the city from high atop his home, lost in thought, disappointed in his current confinement.
He then walked, passing each of the snowflakes, each adding more white to his outfit. The snow started to fall heavier. Unknown to him, Coco managed to make her way outside. There, she noticed the pure prince; his head hung a bit low. A rarity where he feels so depressed. Coco came closer, following him from a safe distant, careful not to make even the slightest of noises. To her, he's appearance were unique, surreal, and a bit scary, really. He walked up a few steps and managed to sit himself down on the edge of a water fountain where he eyed the water, then sky, where more snow gently fell. Then he placed his head down. Coco slowly watched while holding her arms, chilly from the cold as she walked closer to Prince Jak.

The snow proved too slippery for high heels and as she was walking up the steps, Coco started to trip.
"WHOA!"
Jak quickly turned around after hearing her shout, immediately ran to her, and grabbed her arm.
"Th-thanks." Coco nervously asked. She eyed Jak, gasped a bit, and then bowed, "Thank you, your majesty."
"You better be careful there, Miss. The snows are tricky." Jak smiled sincerely, and then turned concerned, "Aren't you cold?"
"Errr…no." Coco shook her head, shivering, "I have fur!"
"Apparently not enough." Jak put in, then he took off his silk laden shawl and wrapped it around her, "Don't want you to catch a cold, now would we, Miss?"
"Umm…my name is Coco. Coco Bandicoot." Coco introduced.
"A pleasure. You already figured me out. What gave it away, the crown?" Jak chuckled a little and Coco followed suit, despite the corny joke. She was more nervous then anything else. After all, he's the freakin' prince, one wrong move and she's asking for an execution.
"So, what on Precursia were you doing spying on me?" Jak asked.
"I…I wasn't spying, that is, I was stalking—NOT stalking—errr…I mean, I followed you…need to talk to you!"
"O….kay? I think I got the main gist of what you're trying to tell me, so tell me, what do you wish to talk about?"
"Well…I don't wanna burden or anything. I'm mostly in the not caring boat, but I have a friend, he needs help and I've heard you can speak with the Precursors."
"That I can."
"Well, my friend recently lost someone close to him…and he's been getting, well, epiphanies or something from his recently deceased loved one. He thinks he's around here somewhere based on a crystal that acts…more or less as a homing device…at least, that's what he thinks. And the thing is…we were told by this…guy that you can help us find him." Jak nodded, pretending this was all new information. Then he pondered for a while.
"I see."
"Can you help?"
"Perhaps. After all, I've been having visions and dreams for some months now. It came off slow, and then got more rapid. Images of the possible future as the Precursors kept trying to tell me something. I saw…images of you." That took Coco by surprise.
"Wait—me?" She gasped. Jak nodded.
"Very brief ones, but you nonetheless. I also saw a short yellow skinned man with a giant marking on his forehead and rather short ears."
"That's Cortex! Wait, the marking is the letter "N", is it?"
"I don't know, the marking looked rather alien to me."
"Of course." Coco slapped her face.
"You are not from this world." It wasn't a question, it wasn't a guess, it was fact, "You came from another part of the universe." Coco hesitated, wondering whether she should respond or not. How does this planet take to aliens? Would they be hostile, friendly? Coco merely made a small nod. Jak, in return smiled.
"Welcome to Precursia." He said, "It seems we are both having problems that seem to connect us in the end. Perhaps we should help each other out."
"How?" Coco asked.
"There were reports of a large dark creature yesterday, a creature of unknown origins. Many theories lie of this being, whether it is the creation of a mad man, a mystical creature, an alien, among others." Jak started, "I've seen these creatures so rapidly in my visions, appearing out of nowhere for brief seconds. They are filled with darkness that I feel…eerily connected to. So, I ask of you, Miss Coco Bandicoot, would you please take me away from this bloody palace so that I can find the source of these problems? In return, I will try and help you locate your friend's deceased one."

It was too perfect. The young prince himself wanted to come with them. In return for finding Cortex's son, they in return would have to accompany him on a quest. It was simple, a done deal, a trade.
"I'm sure Cortex will be thrilled." Coco spoke calmly, "I'll have to chat with him as he's the leader, but I'm sure he'll be ecstatic. I guess you should tell your family and friends you're leaving as well."
"I must leave in secret." Jak urged, "My grandmother, the Queen will be most furious if I left the palace. It is not wise for any royal figure to leave in such a rash manner, so I must put on a disguise. Meet me here in half an hour and we can—"
His voice was cut short as a massive explosion took place near Jak and Coco. Both turned around to see a giant round (with complicated designs and machinery), black/violet-ish object of some sort. The top opened up and suddenly, large creatures about as tall as Lurkers popped out. While their chests were buff, their limbs and stomach were skinny, but it was hardly noticeable as every single part of its body were covered in crystal like spikes, sticking out in every possible angle. Its face had glowing violet eyes and a needle-like mouth. It was mostly black with some mixed violet, and there were at least a couple of dozens of these massive, alien creatures. They immediately spotted Jak and Coco and gave chase.
The two ran inside where the people stood in stunned silence, wondering what the huge bang was. They wondered very little when the dark creatures made their way inside, terrorizing everything in their paths.

"KRIMZON GUARDS! ATTACK!" bellowed Torn. Immediately, KGs popped seemingly out of nowhere and started shooting. The entire crowd started to run in blind panic, trying desperately to find the exit.
"Brutter, get the royal family out of here!" Torn ordered. Brutter made a quick salute and started to drag the nearest one away, Alexandros. Not fit to stay back, Ashelin joined in the fight, whipping a gun she hid in her dress. Torn merely eyed her with a grin and some slight concern.
"Oh, come on! I'm not officially a KG anymore, but I can still fight!" Ashelin noticed his looks, "Don't let our marriage handicap my abilities."
Coco managed to run into Cortex and the others with Jak closely following them.
"COCO! Ahh, the prince!" Cortex gasped.
"We gotta get out of here!" Coco cried out, "The prince wants to come, voluntarily. Made a deal or something, let's just GO!" So, all five started to leave, stopping almost immediately when they saw Jak running the other way, trying to stop the dark creatures.
"I cannot leave my friends and family in this situation!" He cried out, and proceeded to kick a dark creature back, and draped another one blind with his cape.
"Ooh, not too shabby for a prince." Gin commented, 'So, are we gonna fight?"
"Well, I left my weapon at home…oh, well." Cortex shrugged, grinned, then ran to the nearest dark creature where he literally went gung ho on it's ass and started to show off his generally hidden martial arts. The rest joined, each with their own method of fighting. Gin and Brio usually worked together, Tawna displayed her punching skills, while Coco used her own method of marital arts with her quick agility. The entire ballroom was trashed in but a few minutes as either people ran or fought. It was quite a devastating wreck.
"WHERE THE HELL IS TROPY?" Cortex shouted.
"Disappeared, as he usually does, mate!" Tawna answered.
"WHY DOES TROPY HATE US?" Gin cried, dodging a dark creature's blow, "HE ALWAYS LEAVES IN THE MOST INAPPRIORATE TIMES!"

In time, all of the dark creatures were destroyed, no corpses left behind as they seemingly disappeared upon their death.

"Is everyone alright?" Jak asked. Several mumbles set forth.
"Where did they come from?" Kiera asked.
"Some sort of spaceship." Coco answered, "Located outside." She pointed.
"What the HELL is a spaceship!" Torn asked, sounding like he was just offended.
"It's a vehicle that flies in space." Cortex answered, "So you can meet the vast beauty of the final frontier and explore uncharted territories. Reaching for the stars."
"What kind of blasphemy is this? Veger came along with the boy with the glasses and Alexandros, "Spaceships! Reaching for the stars? The Precursors would not have it!"
"Is it illegal to fly in space?" Cortex asked.

During this time, several Krimzon Guards led by Brutter (with Rena following suit) took this approach to go outside where the snow still kept falling. The ship was starting to turn white. The KGs observed it in hopes of finding something. He then saw something shining. He reached in and fished it out. It was some sort of round dark eco crystal. The ship, which glowed a gentle violet from beneath the black turned completely dark.
"It looks like dark eco crystal, only it round shaped." Brutter scratched his head.
"And from the looks of it, it looks like it powered that ship." Rena gasped. They went inside where Torn and the others were busy harassing Cortex.

"It is impossible to leave this planet! There is a barrier surrounding the highest part of the sky, made by the Precursors. Nobody gets out or in!" Veger shouted.
"That's impossible! There weren't no barriers when we entered this planet, cue ball!" Tawna shouted back.
"Are you saying you don't believe in beings from another planet, another dimension!" Cortex shouted, angry and annoyed.
"OF COURSE NOT! UTTER BLASPHEMY!" Veger shouted, and then he pointed to him, "YOU are obviously speaking the tongue of the dark eco!"
"Speaking of dark eco, might want to check that out!" Daxter said, pointing to the crystal Brutter held.
"It talks!" Coco gasped.
"Yea, it's getting him to shut up that's the trick." Torn lamented.
"That settles it! With recent waves of these dark creatures since yesterday and now, with this short, strange man with short ears and his equally short, strange friends with short eyes (Cortex, Gin, and Brio all glared)…and two Anthros and the way they speak of such blasphemy, it is obvious THEY are the ones behind the dark creatures!"
"Wait—NO!" Jak started to step in, but Veger continued, trying to convince the Queen.
"I recommend HIGH TREASON for their despicable acts of trying to off the royal family!" Veger suggested, "EXECUTE THEM! EXECUTE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THEY SUMMON MORE OF THOSE DARK ECO FREAKS!"
"We did NO such things!" Cortex shouted, "We're not connected to those dark creatures! We don't even know what the hell they are!"
"LIES!"
"It's true, Count Veger!" Jak stepped in, "I saw them in my visions the Precursors gave me!" Alexandros took this time to raise an eyebrow.
"What were they doing?" She asked, "Were they committing acts of evil and blasphemy or are they our allies?"
"I…I don't know. The images went by too fast to pass a judgment, but one of them, the girl (he pointed to Coco) named Coco, she and I talked before the attack. She didn't attack me or otherwise, I'd probably be hurt or even worse." Jak pleaded, "Please, can we not hear what they have to say?"
"Oh, I like that idea." Gin popped in. The Queen merely pondered while everyone watched with mixed feelings.
"It's obviously a TRICK! These unusual beings obviously put the young prince in some sort of spell, causing him to be on their side!"
"I am NOT under a spell, Count Veger!"
"Hold your tongue, your highness! We cannot know whether you speak the truth or not!"
"COUNT VEGER! IT IS NOT WISE TO ASSUME SO AUTOMATICALLY!"
"I AM the HEAD Councilman of the Haven Councils as well as a talented sorcerer! Not only do I possess good enough judgment to reach the status of head councilman, but the magic that flows within me and YEARS of practice currently makes me a FAR superior wielder of magic then you, my young prince!" Veger sidestepped, "You still have years to go!"
"That is ENOUGH." Alexandros stepped in, "Until we DO find out whether they caused the destruction or not, there will be no killing (Jak breathed a sigh of relief), but we cannot release them (Veger made a grin), so for now, we'll place them in the palace dungeons until we have figure this all out. Take them away."
"Yes, your majesty." Torn bowed and led the way as several KGs grabbed all five of Cortex's crew and led them away. Everyone but Cortex struggled to get loose until he told them to stop.
"The more we struggle, the worst it'll get." Cortex said.
"What can get worse then being tossed into a dungeon for possibly all of eternity?" Gin exhaustingly asked.

"Well then, I guess you servants have some cleaning up to do." Alexandros gestured.
"So, what do we do with this Dark Eco crystal?" Kiera asked.
"Why! Dispose of it, of course!" Veger ordered, "Dark Ecos have NO place in this palace." He eyed Jak with a sense of hatred. Naturally, the feeling was mutual.
"I'll have a look at it, observe it." Samos popped in and took the crystal from Brutter, "I'm sure I can get Vin's son, Van to help as well. He's a young boy, but gifted in the studies of the Precursors and Eco."
"Some birthday party this was." Daxter rolled his eyes, "Happy Birthday anyways, Jak." Jak sighed and nodded.
"…Yea."
To Be Continued…

...
NOTES:

1.) I guess Cortex and Coco explaining Haven and it's culture is a mere excuse to show off my possible Hitchhiker's Guide to Precursia fanfic.Since that fanfic isn't happening anytime soon, the info on how I portray Precursia is here (among others as the story progresses).

2.) Yes, I AM aware Cortex DID NOT mention Spargus, but that is because it an unknown country. It IS in the story, but not for a while, so I didn't forget. Oh, and yea, you'll be seeing those other kingdoms he mentioned soon in the fanfic.

3.) Those who read Jak II Chronicles will remember Queen Alexandros. She is a fanfic creation, NOT in the video game Jak II.

4.) The boy with the glasses next to Veger is an important character.

5.) I don't have anything against Jak/Kiera for those wanting to know. It's just a fanfic, don't like it? Don't read.

6.) Manny Cacher, Michel Pe'tri, Mimo, Ginger, Avery and Mimi Gosling, Stinky Pete, Carmen, Rena, and BellFlower, ALL these guys have appeared as small secondary characters in Jak II Chronicles, so I AM NOT throwing around fancharacters I just made up on the spot. Give me more credit then that. Heh.

7.) Vin's wife and son was mentioned in my Jak II Chronicles, but never seen. Vin's son plays a rather important role in the story.

8.) Them dark creatures I describled are official baddies in Jak 3.