Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm just playing in Naughty Dog's sand box.

Warnings: Spoilers for Jak 1-3.

-Chapter Three-

Whoa whoa whoa whoa turn turn TURN! Somebody screamed as Jak's zoomer nearly plowed through a kiosk, and for once he wasn't certain that it wasn't him.

"High speed chase in sector six!"

"Suspect is in vehicle-"

"PULL OVER!"

I would if you'd stop shooting at me! Jak frantically twisted the zoomer's handlebars, leaning his weight all the way to the left. The zoomer, far more responsive than the one Keira put together, swerved in the same direction - and then some. Instead of crashing into a fruit stand, he fishtailed and clipped one of the red guards that was trying to bring him down.

"Oof!"

Jak winced. Sorry!

"Man down! Man down!"

"Arrest him!"

Something sizzled past his ear, killing any thoughts he might have had about stopping to check on the man he'd run into. With another jerk on the handlebars, he righted the zoomer and hit the accelerator hard. This time he went exactly where he intended to go, squeezing between a startled pedestrian and another Krimzon Guard. The guards behind him scrambled to give chase, but on foot they didn't stand a chance. Jak breathed a shaky sigh of relief as their voices finally faded behind him.

Man, no wonder Krew warned me to stay away from the guards. They completely overreact to everything!

It had been a complete accident. He'd been trying to get used to the zoomer, testing out its controls, and then he'd found the button that allowed him to change how high or low he was flying. Click. Whoa! A moment of startled wonder as he'd realized that he was now on the same level as all the other flying traffic. Click. Whoosh! So that's what that button does.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Jak had grinned at the novelty. Up. Down.

"Hey! Watch it!"

The next thing he knew, someone was shooting strange bolts of what looked like red eco - only it acted more like yellow eco, the way it made things explode - and Jak was forced to run for his life. He huffed at the memory. Didn't even let me apologize.

Seeing that there was nobody immediately in front of him, Jak risked a quick look at the round screen centered between the handlebars. That was another novelty. Not only was there a faintly glowing map on the screen, but there was also a blinking dot indicating the place he was heading for and a triangle that told him his own position. Apparently Krew had made an extra effort to make sure he didn't get lost. Which, he realized as he looked at the screen, was exactly what he would be after that chase through the city.

No problem, he reassured himself. I'm here. The Water Slums are there. I just need to-

"There he is!"

"After him!"

The blond jumped like a scalded jungle toad, head whipping around as he tried to spot his pursuers. What the-? How'd they-? He didn't have time to finish the thought as two Krimzon Guards mounted on zoomers dove through the traffic and began firing at him. Jak's eyes widened. Oh shoot!

Without thinking, he hit the accelerator again, practically jamming the thing in his haste to reach top speed. The zoomer shot forward, and it was all Jak could do to keep from crashing into anything as he careened down Haven City's streets.

"Stop the vehicle!"

No way! He shifted the zoomer up into the air traffic, having no desire to run into any hapless civilians. Of course, the air wasn't all that much better, as clogged as it was with vehicles, but at least they all seemed to move in patterns. If he was careful, he could weave between the "lanes."

Then, just as he felt he was beginning to get a feel for how the zoomer handled, something in the ground rose up and swiveled to point right at him. Jak only had one panicked moment to register the two giant guns on its roof before instincts kicked in and he dove back down into the pedestrian traffic. Not a moment too soon, as twin jets of red-yellow eco blazed right through the place that he'd been. People screamed and scattered, but Jak barely paid them any attention, too busy trying to save his own skin. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

Darn it, what is wrong with these people? In some twisted, bizarre fashion, he could understand why the Krimzon Guard was shooting at him. He'd done something wrong, even if it had been an accident, and he most definitely wasn't cooperating. Their response, while completely over the top, was at least somewhat warranted. But this? They could hurt innocent people, shooting into crowds like this! Don't they care?

Apparently not, because both the turret and the guards on zoomers continued to fire at him regardless of what they might hit when he inevitably dodged. Jak's ears laid back against his head as he scowled. I need to lose them.

Spotting a side street coming up, Jak abruptly swerved into it. The turret was stationary, which meant that all he had to do to get it to stop shooting was get out of its line of sight. Unfortunately, the guards were not so easily taken care of.

"Get out of the vehicle!" one of them shouted at him. Jak rolled his eyes. They should have long since realized that he had no intention of doing anything they said.

"Just shoot him!" the other guard snapped. Well, one of them seemed to have caught on at least. He'd also given Jak plenty of warning to dodge his next burst of fire, which he did by shifting back up into the higher lane of traffic.

The chase continued for several minutes, with Jak weaving up and down and in and out, narrowly avoiding so many collisions that he lost count, but it was only a matter of time before one of the guards managed to land a lucky hit. The zoomer shook under the blast and every one of the lights on its control board flickered out, leaving the thing unresponsive under Jak's hands. A second blast to the tail fin sent the thing spinning out of control. Jak's eyes widened and he tried to jump out of the seat before the zoomer crashed, but someone else, another hapless flier, crashed into him first. Jak cried out as pain ripped down his back, and then he was falling...

Falling...

Splash!

The world turned cold and black.

-o-

Sand. Lots and lots of sand. It was everywhere. Someone was holding his hand, but it was too bright to see who. All he could see was sand.

He shivered, though something told him that he should have been hot. The hand holding his tightened its grip. It should have been warm, too, but it wasn't.

So cold.

Cold and... wet? That wasn't right. The desert was never-

Jak opened his eyes. Water swirled around him, soaking his clothes as it leeched the warmth from his skin. He must have inhaled some of it, too, leaving his body racking with a fit of coughs. Somehow, he found himself clinging to a wooden pole, one of many that rose from the water and supported a wooden roof.

No, not a roof, he realized. Footsteps thudded overhead and voices drifted down to him.

"...lost sight of him." That was one of the guards that had been pursuing him, or someone who sounded a lot like him. It was hard for Jak to tell, what with the way their helmets distorted their voices.

"Continuing sweep..."

Jak held his breath and waited for what seemed like an eternity before swimming out from under the walkway. Despite the cold water, his back felt like it was on fire. His groan as he hauled himself up onto the platform drew a few looks from the people that trudged by, but again, no one stopped to help him.

But they didn't call the guards back, either. That, Jak decided, was enough to leave him grateful. He sat there for a moment, just dripping and catching his breath, before finally standing up and taking a look at his surroundings. He was in a part of the city that had no streets, only stagnant water and the rickety walkways that ran from house to house. The houses themselves were ramshackle and rundown, looking ready to fall apart at the slightest provocation. A tall, imposing wall ran along two sides in the distance. With a start, Jak realized exactly where he was. The Water Slums! In spite of everything that had just happened, a grin spread across his face. I made it.

Of course, making it back might not be so easy, especially now that he'd lost his zoomer. Whatever was left of it after the crash had probably sunk below the water. Still, so long as he secured the package he'd been sent after, he figured Krew wouldn't mind if he took a little longer finding his way back.

His back still stung, but he had no idea how bad the injury really was. Unable to get a proper look at it, he reached back with his hand and gingerly explored the area, wincing when his fingers encountered torn fabric and flesh. He quickly rethought that idea.

But he was still standing, there wasn't a pool of blood at his feet, and the pain was at least bearable. I've had worse, he finally decided. I just need some clean water and a bit of green eco. Neither prospect seemed too likely in this place, though, so he shrugged and started making his way down the walkway. He'd have to deal with his injuries later. Let's see... If I remember the map correctly, that one's the northern wall.

None of the walkways made a straight line toward his intended destination - or anywhere really, for that matter. Many doubled back on themselves or dead ended, and the ones that seemed to go where he wanted usually branched off in some other direction. It was hard to tell which path he wanted to be on. He ended up having to backtrack several times before he finally found himself on a walkway that took him to the wall.

It was just as Krew had described it, a giant pipe with a metal door that opened when he approached it. There was a room beyond it and another door, one that waited until the first door had fully closed before it opened for him, too. I guess that helps make sure Lurkers don't get in the city, he theorized. Pretty good idea.

The moment he stepped outside, he was instantly hit by a wave of familiarity. The sandy beach, the tall palm trees, the sparse grass and the ferns - if it weren't for the large metal structure that loomed up before him, he would almost have sworn he was back on Sentinel Beach. He half expected to see blue eco sparkling above the sand.

With a sigh, he shook his head. This must be the Pumping Station. Which meant that his search could now begin. In his head, he reviewed what Krew had told him. He had a basic description of what to look for, and he knew that the person who had been carrying the package had been flying when he'd been shot down. It could be anywhere, he realized. But... if I'd been the one flying, and if someone had been shooting at me, I think I'd most likely head... over there. With his newly gained knowledge of evading pursuit on a zoomer, that narrow passage between cliffs and pipes looked like a good place to lose someone trying to tail you.

The youth started forward slowly, scanning the ground along the way and lifting the leaves of every fern he passed. He even looked up in the trees to make sure it hadn't fallen and gotten stuck in one of the branches. Every once in a while, he found a trail of strange footprints in the sand, but no sign of whatever creature had made them. Probably just as well. He didn't really want to tangle with any Lurkers or hostile wildlife.

The first clue he found was a scrap of metal glinting in the afternoon sun. He picked it up and brushed off the sand, turning it over to get a good look at it. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions, but he thought it looked like a scorched and torn zoomer fin. A quick search of the ground soon revealed other, similar pieces, and a section of the cliff next to him was deeply scored and scraped. He ran into the wall here and lost a few pieces of his zoomer, but this isn't where he went down.

There wasn't much of a trail to follow - the guy had been flying, after all - but what there was was enough to give Jak a general direction, which he gladly followed. He pushed his way through a stand of ferns, their leaves torn by the uncontrolled passage of something large.

And then he spotted it. There in the dark gap between a metal wall and some sturdy trees, something golden gleamed. Lips curving upward in triumph, Jak headed straight for his target.

It wasn't until the darkness growled that he realized how very wrong he was. Jak yelped and jerked back as something full of claws and teeth lunged at him from the shadows. Through sheer luck he managed to avoid the full force of its attack, but its claws still grazed his arm, easily shredding the skin. Only the months of experience he had with fighting Lurkers kept him from doubling over and clutching his arm to his chest as pain blossomed in the limb. Instead, he lashed out with his foot while the creature's back was turned. The creature stumbled and whirled around to face him, snarling with pain and anger. Again it threw itself at him.

But this time Jak was ready. While the thing was still in midair and unable to dodge, he launched his own attack, a powerful punch straight to its face. The creature howled and staggered back, but Jak just hit it again, his fist crunching into its forehead right below the strange yellow gem that had first caught his attention.

Then something odd happened. The gem popped right out of the creature's head, and as soon as it did, the creature flopped to the ground, lifeless. Thick globs of dark purple blood leaked out of its body, crackling with electricity. With a chill of shock, Jak realized what that electricity was. Dark eco! No wonder it had attacked him. The dark eco must have driven it mad.

Feeling somewhat shaky from blood loss and adrenaline, he sat down in the sand and took a look at his arm. Blood poured freely from the long, though thankfully shallow gashes, and pain throbbed in time with his pulse. This at least he could tend to, though. With strips of fabric torn from the hem of his shirt, he awkwardly started to bind the wound. It really would have been good to at least rinse it off, but he didn't trust the slightly murky water. Oh well. This would have to do for now. He grimaced and stood up, determined to continue his search.

But all thoughts of Krew's package flew from his head as two more of the red-tan creatures loped into view. The things never stopped to consider their fallen companion. As soon as their eyes landed on Jak, they snarled and barreled across the sand, faster than the teen could ever hope to outrun. Jak's blood ran cold. Oh crap.

The first one lunged at him, but instead of meeting its attack with one of his own, Jak jumped into the air and let it sail under him. With a spin as he came down, he knocked the second one back, not hard enough to really injure it, but at least it gave him some breathing room. The reprieve was short lived, though, with the first creature wheeling around as soon as it realized that it had missed. As it snapped at his legs, Jak drove his knee up into its chin. The creature grunted and pulled back.

Their gems! He grasped at the memory of the first creature's death. Their gems are their weakness. That's where I've got to hit them! Unfortunately, he didn't get to act on this plan because the second monster had already recovered from his weak kick. It swiped at him with those long, vicious claws, forcing him back to the water's edge. His foot splashed on his last step backwards.

He was trapped.

And now both monsters were lunging at him at the same time. Jak desperately tried to jump out of their way, but his foot came down on something flat and hard with sharp edges that shifted awkwardly beneath him. With a cry, Jak went down.

In the end, that was probably what saved him. One creature's claws raked across his ribs as he fell, and the other's teeth managed to snag a mouthful of his tunic, but the instant he hit deep water, they snarled in frustration and retreated back to the water's edge. There they waited as Jak righted himself and forced his legs and arms to tread. The saltwater burned, bringing tears to his eyes, but he knew he had to focus on the threat at hand if he wanted to survive.

Maybe if I wait here long enough, they'll get bored and go away. The thought had barely crossed his mind before he dismissed it with a rough shake of his head. Who was he kidding? Both he and the monsters knew he had to come out of the water eventually, and he would be the one exhausted from treading water, not them. Experimentally, he tried swimming farther up the shore. That plan died, too, when they just followed him. Darn it, what do I do?

Again, his thoughts drifted to those strange yellow gems. They were a weakness, if only... With a flash of inspiration, he dove under the water, a plan forming in his head. He groped blindly at the ocean floor, unable to see with the saltwater stinging his eyes, but there were plenty of rocks for his fingers to grab onto. It was only a matter of time before he found one that was the right size.

Surfacing with a gasp, he quickly reoriented himself, then swam as close to the shore as he dared. As his feet brushed against rocks and sand, the monsters tensed and leaned forward in anticipation. But he had no intention of getting that close to them. Once his feet found purchase, he hauled back and let the rock fly.

Crack! The creature Jak had aimed at didn't even have time to bark in pain as its gem was knocked clean out of its head. Just like the first one, it was dead before it hit the ground. Jak let out a shaky breath of relief. It had worked. This plan could work. He only had one monster left to deal with. I can handle that.

Taking a deep breath, he ducked back under the water in search of another rock. When he came back up, he blinked the water out of his eyes and took careful aim.

A blast of electric light slammed into the monster's side before the rock even left his hand.

"Damn, cherry. And here I was actually worried."

Jak's head snapped to the right, eyes widening in surprise. There was Sig, grinning at him from the shore and holding his gun in both hands. The brown-skinned warrior shouldered his weapon, then started wading into the water. "Two out of three Metal Heads all on your own? Not bad, rookie. Not bad."

And despite the cold water and the sting of his injuries, despite the shock that he knew would be settling in, Jak found himself grinning back.

Yeah, he thought as he reached out to take Sig's hand. Not bad at all.

-End Chapter Three-