Jak and Crash
ACT 2: The Journey
Chapter 11: The Confliction or…Two Teams are Better then One
Lucian Palace
Month 2: Feburia, Day 2
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon
"WHAT? You're gonna go?" A startled Daxter cried out as he watched Jak pack his supplies (first aid, clothes, etc) in his knapsack after the taller Precursian announced the news.
"Yep." Jak spoke ever so casually.
"But you're told to stay here."
"True, but I'm not going to stick around and do nothing while a war is supposedly going on over in Filia by my own soldiers!"
"But—"
"Not to mention I HATE staying in one place for so long, I get so bored and restless." Jak continued.
"So, you're going to join the others in Filia?"
"What, no. I'm going back to Haven and confronting grandmother and Veger." Jak answered with a grin on his face which then turned sour and angry, "Especially Veger!"
"Umm…no offense, but HOW do you propose we get there?"
"I…I'll think of something." Jak stuttered, placing a hand behind the back of his neck. Daxter had a point, how was he going to get to Haven? The royals of Lucius wouldn't be able to help him this time around, so Jak dropped his knapsack till it plopped like a dead snake while he pondered over this little blockage.
Ani perked her ears up and headed for Jak, sniffing with her nose.
"What's the matter, you forgot to pack a bone?" Daxter asked. Ani gave him a small glare before resuming sniffing the left pocket of Jak's jacket.
"Ani, what is it?" Jak lowered down to meet the pup's face. Ani barked and nudged Jak's jacket. Confused, Jak reached inside the pocket and fished out—
"—A key!" Puar hovered up and down, "It has a note wrapped around it as well…Puar doesn't remember you with a key and note."
"I don't either, this isn't mines." Jak said, eyeing the small silver colored object.
"Perhaps someone slip it in you when you not looking, Prince Jak." Brutter suggested. Jak eyed Brutter with wide eyes. The Lurker might be onto something. His index finger tapped his forehead as he pondered over any past events where someone could have slipped up. Fortunately, it was the most recent event before he decided to leave for Haven that caused him to conclude the key was placed by—
"—Shuin." Jak gasped, half smiling, "He slipped the key to me before they left! I knew there was something suspicious about the way he spoke!" And with that, Jak hastily opened the note:
"Go to my house; address 1140 Taki Rd, West Lucius. There, check the garage and you'll find where the key belongs to. Hope you can fly."
"What did he mean by that?" Daxter asked.
"Who cares? If it means getting out of here, I'm all for it, so let's skedaddle!" Jak pointed towards the front door. A precursian, an ottsel, a crocadog, a lurker, and one floating robotic unit headed out the doorway, occasionally sneaking around so as not to be spotted by guards. Unfortunately, such events often proved difficult, especially for Brutter and his massive girth. In time, the front gates to freedom stood before them. The five made silent cheers and ran towards the doorway, almost tasting the fresh air that awaited them. That is until…
"HI THERE!"
Jak who was on front screeched immediately. The other four from behind bumped into him, the impact ultimately sending all five landing harshly on the red carpeted floor. After a series of groans from the pain, five pairs of eyes stared at a small raccoon/fox hybrid anthro girl dressed in a Chinese red dress of sorts. Donned with fiery eyes and cool blue hair, she looked to be no more then ten years old.
"What th-who the heck is THAT person?" Daxter cried.
"Ooh, a talking ottsel!" The little girl squealed as she picked up Daxter and squeezed him, "HOW CUTE!"
"No air…need breath!" Daxter suffered.
"Aki, put Daxter down." Jak ordered as soon as he got up, "He only likes to be hugged by slutty women."
"HEY, fully clothes babes are acceptable as long as they're hot!" Daxter leaped from the girl named Aki, "So, you know this kid?"
"Yes, she is Empress Aron's little sister, Aki Takoshi." Jak smiled.
"The one and only, baby!" Aki spread her arms wide and made a spin, "I heard you were in town, Jak. Why didn't you come and visit me?"
"Sorry, Aki, I was occupied with a lot of royal related work." Jak said with a sheepish look on his face, "And unfortunately I can't stay and play with you, I have to return to Haven."
"But I heard from my big sis that you're not allowed to leave the palace." Aki said, placing her hands on her hips to look like a small lectured-inducing mother.
"I know, but this is an emergency." Jak kneeled down to Aki's level, "We're talking about the possible fate of the world, so please, you have to let me pass Aki."
"Oh, and what's in it for me?" She asked in a playful manner, her arms now crossed. Jak let out a sigh as he lowered his head.
"I'll play with you the next time I visit, okay?" Jak said, "For as long as you want."
"It's a deal, Jakkie my boy!" Aki slapped Jak on the shoulder, "Now get outta here!" She pointed towards the door where the five walk out. Jak eyed Aki who gave off a tooth filled smile before he leaves.
"What the heck was THAT?" Daxter retorted as he climbed atop Jak's shoulder.
"I think she just has a crush on me, is all." Jak said with a casual smile, "Kind of adorable."
"Kind of annoying in my opinion." Daxter sighed, "But let's hurry to Haven. I want to see how Tess is doing because I OBVIOUSLY can't contact her via Puar because it'll be "risky!"
"If all else fails, I'm sure Chiso can try and contact me via his magic…if he works it out right." Jak expressed concern.
The five eventually made their way to the address Shuin left behind. It was a nice Asian house, with a wide and average sized front yard, the ground covered in tan-colored dirt and surrounded by dark wooden fences holding hays or animals, the non anthro kinds. The heroes didn't see a garage anywhere, so they headed to the back yard which was just one wide open field. Clearly this house was on the edge of Lucuis city. The garage turned out to be a red farm house. Jak opened its double doors and gasped at the sight he saw before him: An airplane.
"Bingo." Jak smiled. The airplane was a rather small one compare to a public transportation, seemingly enough to fit maybe about a dozen people and nothing more. Bright red in color, tedious to look at when compared to the farm house where the plane lived in. Jak graced along the side to read its name. "Flying Dragon".
"Alright, looks like this is our ride." Jak said as he opened the doorway and headed inside. Immediately he went to the pilot's seat and started the ignition button.
"Umm…Jak, do you know how to fly?" Daxter asked as he took one of the backseats along with the others. Jak placed on pilot headphones as he eyed Daxter and grinned.
"Fly, yes, Land, no."
"WHAT?"
Too late, the plane took off while Daxter's scream could be heard. The roar of the engines shook Tret who was inside the main house, one hand holding a cup of tea, the other a newspaper. When he felt the rumblings as well as heard that familiar sound of an airplane taking off, the elder Anthro quickly dropped his tea (which crashed all over the tea table) and ran outside to see a red object flying amongst the blue sky.
……………………
Air Razor
Month 2: Feburia, Day 2
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon
Originally it was two. Kiera and Chiso. Chiso and Kiera. And it seemed that way, then two days ago in Rock Town, they met Pecker.
"I was sent by Onin to help you in your quest to find Jak. Onin has grave news that she must give to him and I am to deliver it. Since you two are the closest ones I could find, I hope you two find Jak eventually!"
"What, how did you find us though?" Kiera gasped.
"Oh, Onin managed to trace you during one of Chiso's Aura search."
"Well, at least it's helping." Chiso nervously shrugged.
With that said, the duo became a trio.
"Air Razor, we finally made it." Kiera sighed.
"Do you honestly think Jak would be here?" Pecker cried, "Keep in mind he left MONTHS ago on his quest."
"Well, I know he's heading to Lucius…I wouldn't put it past him if he already reached there at that point, but we need an airplane ourselves to get to Lucius and reunite with him." Kiera pointed out, "Unfortunately, I'm not too sure if I have the necessary change to rent a plane, so that's where Chiso comes in handy."
"M-Me?" Chiso pointed to himself. Kiera nodded which only further Chiso's panic-induced state.
"Yeah, you're loaded Chiso, what with your uncle working for the royal family and considering how you're following under his footsteps to be the next council guy, you must have your own bank account or something."
"B-But what about you? Your father works for the royal family, too!"
"Yeah, but I have a separate job as a mechanic and we don't get paid as well as those who work in the officials." Kiera said, "Not to mention I can't ask dad for currency, I'm trying to avoid him, remember?"
"So do you have this bank account or what?" Pecker asked, his voice squawked as he sounded annoyed in near all occasions when he speaks.
"Y-Yeah, I do, but—"
"Great, then buy us a plane!" Kiera slapped Chiso on the back. Chiso let off nonsensical mumbles while Kiera dragged him to the nearest plane rental. There, he literally stumbled through his words as he asked for a plane. Unable to understand, the store owner had him repeat it numerous times before Kiera stepped in and asked for one.
"Sorry, missus, but for the current moment, all our planes are reserved for the Krimzon armed forces."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Haven't you heard?" The store owner gently gave Kiera the most recent newspaper where it's front page headline read in bold letters, "HAVEN VS. FILIA." Kiera, wide eyed, read the piece line for line and left with a pale face.
"Haven's at war with Filia?" Kiera gasped, barely edging the words out. The store owner casually nodded.
"Yep, apparently according to Veger on an announcement he made not so long ago, Filia has plans to try and overtake us because of the recent events of them dark invading creatures we experienced months ago." He continued, "Apparently, it's every kingdom for itself."
"…Uncle Veger." Chiso softly muttered to himself.
"So I'm afraid I can't give you a ride."
"But I need to go to Lucius!" Kiera screamed, "This is important!"
"I'm sorry; miss, but I can't help you there."
At this point, Kiera let out a fit while Chiso merely looked at the ground. Veger, his corrupt uncle. Oh he knew, how his own nephew knew how the mind of Veger worked, but too much self doubt, too much of being a weakling left the boy to do virtually nothing but watch. Why couldn't have he been born with some sense of confidence? If he did, the current state of Precursia wouldn't be in the fine mess it's currently in now. Kiera's shouts and Pecker's utter disdain caused the young noble boy to cover his ears, trying to drown out the sounds.
"How about the Lurkers?" Pecker suggested.
"What about them?" Kiera said with a vindictive voice.
"They have Lurker balloons; surely we can hitch a ride." Pecker continued as he continuously flapped his wings, hovering just a foot above Kiera, "I mean, they are allies with Jak, they know us, and they can help us."
"I don't think so." Kiera shook her head, "I'm going to get an airplane here and that's final."
"What is wrong with riding Lurker balloons?" Pecker cried out.
"It's dangerous!"
"You rode one before, just about a year ago!"
"I had to, I had to bomb the Metal Head nest, you know." Kiera cried out.
"This is getting us nowhere!" Pecker screamed, "We have to get to Jak so I can deliver the message Onin told me to deliver. Any further delays and my feathers will fall from stress!"
"Well, TOO BAD!" Kiera screamed, her face getting close to Pecker and her teeth gritted. Any further and she would have grabbed the talking Monkaw and cooked him for dinner. Instead, Pecker didn't pursue any further and watched the green haired girl argue some more with the store owner. He flew towards Chiso who managed to find a large crate to sit on.
"What is WITH her?" Pecker spat.
"She doesn't like Lurkers." Chiso quickly answered, "Afraid and angry of them, although she tries so hard to hide it, especially whenever Brutter is around."
"Why is that?"
"…Lurkers killed her parents."
…………………
The skies
Month 2: Feburia, Day 3
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Noon
The plane wasn't nowhere near as fast as the Nicodemus or any of the modern aircrafts of Haven's city, but Lucius remained firmly of an empire where traditional and magic ruled over technology and new. It didn't bother Jak that greatly as he enjoyed sightseeing, even if most of them composed of clouds and blue skies, but like Coco said, the young man had limitless patience. That said this still didn't ease Jak completely as he grew more anxious the closer he got to Haven.
Jak turned around and found Brutter, Ani, and Daxter all sleeping. Brutter held onto the two smaller beings like stuffed animals. Puar rested inside Jak's pocket. All in all, it was a silent, calm day…which meant something bad will happen…
The clouds gathered until it turned from white to a very dark gray. Thunder could be heard from a distance. "That's funny, storm clouds can't gather this fast." Jak muttered to himself, "…Just like that time I was in Precursor Basin! Oh-No."
The storm clouds then produced lightning. Huge gusts of winds crashed towards the plane, waking the others up.
"PA, THE CHICKENS ARE DROWNING!" Daxter screamed. Ani smacked him.
"Prince Jak, what is going on?" Brutter struggled his way to the front seat.
"Huge thunderstorm and I have reasons to believe it's made by whoever did that first one we encountered in Precursor Basin." Jak cried out. Another sound of thunder and lightning as well as another gust of wind. Again, the three tumbled around like pin balls.
"PUT ON YOUR SEAT BELTS!" Jak ordered.
"WE'RE TRYING!" Daxter shouted back.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the lightning struck one of its wings harshly. Immediately it split off, causing the plane to spin out of control.
"WE'RE GONNA DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" came Daxter.
"WE ARE NOT GOING TO DIE! GET. A. BLOODY. GRIP!" Jak retaliated as he commandeered the plane, trying to get it on course. They were already halfway towards land which looked dusty and yellow from atop. Another thunderstorm, another lightning, this time hitting the other wing.
"We are officially screwed." Ani said with an eerie sense of sarcasm and calmness. Daxter in the meantime was gripping onto Brutter's face as if he was his life support. Jak pulled back the handles as hard as he could so the plane wouldn't nosedive, killing them all. In just barely a second, the plane managed to pull up in a relative balanced position where it harshly landed and screeched through the desert sands. It ultimately stopped when the nose of the plane hit a large boulder, silencing everything around it. In a matter of seconds, the storm clouds disappeared, replaced with the familiar essence of blue.
"Is-is everyone alright?" Jak cried out. He heard wearily mumbles and extended arms, "Okay, let's try this another way, is anyone NOT dead?"
"No one is, but I think my soul just died." Daxter poked his head out, "Or maybe I just barfed, I don't know."
"Is anyone hurt?"
"Minor bruises, but we all is okay." Brutter answered, examining Ani, Daxter, and Puar. Jak nodded, indicating he was satisfied, so he made his way to the front door and tried to open it. Jammed, Jak had to eventually kick it open. Poking his head out, Jak found himself in a sandy desert. The weather was obviously hot, the flowers and plants were few and far between, and it seemed the sand stretched for miles.
"Something tells me we're not in Hav—"
"DON'T say it!" Jak grumbled to Daxter. He leaped out of the ruined plane and eyed it's colossal damage, "I hope Shuin has insurance for this."
"We in desert, but what desert?" Brutter asked. Jak pondered as he observed the small plants and large rocks, making occasionally "hmmm" sounds as he did so.
"Well, this is a while guess, but I have reasons to believe we're in Spargus." Jak slightly smiled.
"Spargus." Brutter repeated, his eyes widen and his mouth slightly ajar. Ani followed suit and more then likely if Puar had such a face, she would have too; instead her lens cap changed colors to reflect her mood. Only Daxter gave off a confused appearance.
"What? What's Spargus? What the heck is going on? Hello! Is anyone gonna tell me? HELLLOOOO!"
"DAXTER!" Jak raised an arm before lowering it down and giving off a small sigh, "Spargus, a small continent located just some lower west of Lucius. A desert continent."
"Oh, that's perfect, a DESERT continent. Forget giant storm monsters and dark creatures, we're gonna DIE from heat stroke!" Daxter's sarcastic quips came again.
"Not if we keep walking and find Spargus City, we won't." Jak said, pointing north, "I think it's that way, so let's go."
"Spargus…City?" Daxter scratched his head.
"Spargus City is city only very few people know, such as the royals of Haven and people who work close with them." Brutter added, "It is city created many years ago."
"To many of the public eyes, Spargus Continent is usually nothing but an empty desert continent, blissfully unaware of the city that lies within." Ani continued, "I've never been to Spargus City, but they apparently have their own King and culture and everything."
"Jak, you've been here before?" Daxter asked.
Jak placed a hand on his chin and made a sly smile.
"I remember being here a few times as a child, before the Metal Head invasion." Jak answered, "My parents were close to the King of Spargus. I remember I called him "Uncle" often. He was a courageous man and warrior, but kind and fair. I haven't seen him since then. I wonder if he's still governing Spargus."
"So how much further till we get to Spargus?" Daxter asked.
"…I don't know."
"Terrific."
"Perhaps I can get help." Jak dug into his knapsack and pulled out a small orange beacon, "A beacon given to us royals incase we ever end up in Spargus. I can contact the King with it and hope that he'll be able to locate me incase we can't." So with that he pushed the button located in the middle and the heroes made their long trek.
"This would be a good time for me to hope, but considering we've got our butt kicked and nearly died so many times, I've lost all sense of hope."
"Hey, we survived, that's all that matters right now, so…umm…have HOPE!"
………………
"This is…all your fault." A wearily Daxter muttered to Jak. The heat had officially gotten to them after an hour long trek of walking. With little water to begin with, the team was beginning to slow signs of collapse, especially Ani who, being a creature of water needed her daily source of liquid. It's gotten so bad Jak had to carry her before she could dehydrate any further.
"Hold on, Ani…just a little…further." Jak urged.
Only Brutter seemed to be immune to such heat, having lived in a volcanic crater for the majority of his life as well as Puar who spent most of her time in Jak's pocket. As such, the Lurker made it his duty to make sure the others kept moving.
Another hour passed before Jak ultimately collapsed, alongside with Ani.
"Right…good plan Jak…a nap would be nice…just a teensy little…rest…" Daxter followed.
"PRINCE JAK! DAXTER! You NO NAP IN DESERT!" Brutter cried out, shaking them.
"What on Precursia is going—never mind." Puar muttered as she flew out of Jak's pocket, "Oh, dear, this is no good! The sun won't be coming down for another couple of hours and…" She stopped when the sky started to darken. The dust started to pick up and the winds could be heard and felt as it whooshed past the heroes in one swift direction.
"Oh, criminy." Puar grumbled.
"AHH! IT GET WORSE!" Brutter pointed. Puar turned to where he was eyeing and saw about three precursians heading their way. The precursians had a scruffy feel to them, possessing long hair, facial hair composing of something small as a goatee to larger mustaches that looked like caterpillars took permanent residences between their nose and lips, and armored clothes mixed with tattered fabrics. Guns and various types of weapons graced their body. They were able warriors.
The leader came towards Jak and poked him lightly with his staff.
"Looks like we've found some live ones…heh, barely." The leader said, "A Lurker? Such creatures are rare in these parts of the world, are you with them?"
"Y-Yes." Brutter whimpered, "Please do not be killing him, if you do, I will kill you."
The leader kneeled down and saw the beacon in Jak's hand. He fished it out and observed it.
"Here's the beacon we were picking up. Who gave him this?" He asked Brutter. Brutter merely made a stuttered look. Should he tell this random stranger that Jak is the prince of Haven or lie?
"We'll take him with us; we'll take all of you with us and get some answers there." The leader ordered, "Now move! I smell a storm coming."
To Be Continued…
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Author's Note: Man, I am SOOOO late on uploading this fanfic. I apologize, I really do. One of the reasons is due to another fanfic I have under my belt, a fancomic, as well as having spent one and a half week making a music video. That said, we DO get to see Spargus FINALLY. And for anyone who's played Jak 3, I'm sure you know who the hell "the leader" is supposed to be.
As for the character of Aki, her role may seem pretty pointless now, but her role will be expanded in future chapters.
