Disclaimer: Jak and Daxter and all related characters and environments belong to Naughty Dog. This story is for fun, not profit.
"Dammit, Daxter!" Jak yelled as he landed hard on his back. The ottsel in question was shaking his head back and forth and brushing the dirt from his fur. "I told you to leave it alone."
"We're still alive, right?" Daxter grunted.
Jak huffed in frustration. He took a look around. Towering trees littered the area around them. They were lucky to have not broken their necks!
"So, where are we?" Daxter scrambled over to Jak's side. "It looks like that thing just spit us outside. That's one door that won't win any medals." The ottsel hopped onto Jak's shoulder when the warrior stood up.
"You're wrong." Vin blipped into the air. His voice sounded static-y. "You guys aren't anywhere near the warehouse. I tried sending out a message to the eco plant, but it won't reach. I can't feel any connection."
"Great." Jak set out in a random direction.
"Where are you going?" The scientist asked. Daxter grabbed the device and followed after.
"To look around."
-----
The forest was quiet for the early evening. The small group ventured out, marking whatever trail they made. They spent a few hours trying to find any familiar space; anything that would show where they were. When the group came across a small river, Jak decided it was time to take a break. He couldn't take much more of Daxter and Vin going at each other like they had for the last hour.
"Stay here and try not to get into trouble." Jak took off his Jet Board and gun holster. As the other two looked on, Jak was instantly covered in a faint, blue glow. Slender wings had sprouted from his back. Light Jak leapt to the skies and cleared the treetops in seconds.
The view from above the trees was peaceful. Jak gazed out along the horizon. There was a feeling within him that he had not felt in almost ten years. It was hard to believe that it had truly been so long since they had left Sandover. Jak missed it, but he couldn't leave Haven now. He had put too much of himself into it already.
To the north, Jak could point out the mountain chain leading to the Icelands. That would mean Haven would be south . . . .
. . . There was nothing there. No walls. No towering scrapers--the forest only seemed to continue endlessly.
"Where are we?"
From out of nowhere, a sharp cry was heard just moments before Jak found himself crashing through the trees. A heated pulse of energy struck him in the side again when the warrior realized his enemy was airborne.
Quickly, Jak landed as gracefully as possible onto a thick branch. He cursed himself for leaving his weapon behind regardless of the circumstances. Jak hid behind the tree to scout out his attacker. It turned out to be a group of Metal Jackets.
They wove in and out of the branches, zipping from one spot to another. Jak could tell that they were searching for him, though he wasn't sure why--Metal Heads only attacked what they saw, when they saw it. They didn't go looking for trouble.
There was the sound of a twig snapping and Jak found another group of Metal Heads right on top of him. He struck out when they came in too close. Either I'm getting old, or these things are faster than normal, he thought to himself when each hit missed its mark.
Jumping to the ground below, Jak's body returned to normal as he wove through the trees back to Daxter and Vin. Hopefully, they hadn't run into trouble as well. Perhaps these beasts wouldn't be too quick for a Vulcan Fury.
Jak ran through the trees. There was something different about those Metal Heads. He looked back when he though he was almost back at camp. What he saw caused Jak to halt. Or rather, what he didn't see. The beasts were gone. There wasn't any sign of them. It was almost as if they weren't there at all. Still, he kept his guard up.
Arriving back at camp, Jak looked upon an amusing sight. Daxter had thrown himself over a rock and lay groaning to an oblivious Vin. The ottsel acted as though he was dying. Of course, Jak wasn't sure he'd be able to handle much of Vin's ramblings either. The hero stepped closer to them and Daxter jumped up with a scowl on his face.
"And just were have you been?" Jak went to explain his findings and the bazaar Metal Heads, but Daxter cut him off. "While you were gone, ol' Circuit Breaker here felt the need to go in depth about that stupid body of his. I don't what to know what he can do with it!"
Dax went on a little while longer, but eventually, the ottsel took a deep breath and looked back to Jak. "So, what'd you find while you were soaring with the birds?"
Jak sighed and recounted for the ottsel. Before he was finished, Vin had realized he had lost his audience and joined his companions.
"That does sound strange," said the engineer's tiny head.
"Have you been able to reach anyone yet, Vin?" Jak sat on the rock Daxter had occupied minutes ago.
"No, I stopped trying a few hours ago. The extended search drains my batteries."
"I think we should keep trying--if you can. Will anything happen to you if your battery dies?" The warrior strapped the morph gun to his back followed by the Jet board.
"Negative. My mainframe is safe and sound back in Haven City. I might not remember later, though." Vin flashed out of sight and Jak heard soft beeping coming from the device on the ground.
The rest of the day went by without further incident. The group remained by the river; its water a steady supply.
As night fell, Jak and Daxter gathered wood for a fire. Jak had a successful kill with a couple of rabbits, though he had also found berries and other vegetation for Dax. Rabbits were too close in relation, the ottsel argued. The warrior skinned and cooked the meat over the flames.
"This sure reminds me of old times." Daxter was laying on his back looking up at the stars through the branches above. Occasionally, he would grab a blue berry or two.
Jak only 'hmm'ed at him as he stroked the fire. It was nice to sit in silence sometimes. The chirping of the insects did indeed remind him of their old camping days. You couldn't hear the insects in Haven city too often. He found himself wandering Haven Forest every once in a while, even the shores of Spargus; they weren't fake.
"Remember when we heard about that ghost in the Forbidden Jungle?" The ottsel waved his feet from side to side. "You, me, and Keira all snuck out and tried to find it."
Jak could picture that night like it was yesterday. There had been sounds echoing through the trees that night. The villagers had a rumor going around that it was the ghost of a woman getting her revenge. Her lover had betrayed her, thus murdering her for another.
By the time they had reached the forest's edge, Daxter's tales of ghosts and monsters had them all scared. Of course, at the time, Jak didn't mind. Keira had taken to clinging to the back of his tunic. She was so close, she could have been a second skin. Jak thought that her fears and faith in him were endearing.
It turned out that the shrill cries of anguish and agony weren't from a ghost at all. To this day, Jak still isn't sure there ever was one. The noises themselves had been made by the Bird Lady. She ventured out every other night in hopes of finding the rare Night's Fleece. She had only been imitating its mating call.
"Of course, like always, leave it to me to save the day." Jak laughed to himself at his friend's statement. It was true, even if it was a fluke.
"You know, we should do this more often." Daxter's voice grew somber. "It's been, what, two months since we did anything? And missions don't count."
He was right. Jak couldn't remember the last time where everyone was able to get together outside of work. Daxter ran his bar and was in the process of making a partnership with a small saloon in Spargus. The little ottsel was constantly going back and forth between the two cities. Jak worked training the new recruits of the Freedom League. There were missions that the duo shared, but Jak went solo or with a few newbies; Dax was busy with the bar even with Tess helping out. When the missions ended, Jak could barely find the energy to make it back to his and Keira's apartment--she was usually waiting for him anyway.
"But, ya know, you keep up the silent act, it'll be too much like the old days." Daxter looked over to his friend. Jak sat looking into the fire, his poking stick slack. "Buddy?"
"Do you remember when I went to HQ to meet up with Torn a few days ago?" The mention of missions brought back the memories of his most recent dilemma. "He wants me to take over training the new recruits completely--even some of the older soldiers. He's hoping that I'll take over for him, as Commander, when he retires."
The furry ottsel sat in silence for a moment and then, "Wow, movin' on up in the world, eh Jak?"
"Yeah."
"Sound a little more excited why don'cha."
"I don't think I can live up to whatever it is Torn wants, Dax."
"Stop with the crazy talk. Who's the hero that's always come through no matter how slim the odds--and they were slim, trust me." Daxter sat up.
"That doesn't count. I was only a hero because I was forced to be. It could've happened to anyone else."
"Yeah, well, it didn't."
"I was reckless and careless--not much has changed. I can't lead others when I don't even know what I'm doing half of the time." Jak finally tossed his stick into the fire.
"Well, from where I'm sittin', Torn was dead on to pick you." He knew he had Jak's attention. "Look at all of the things you've done. You said you were forced, but if you can train those lapdogs, then maybe they'll know a thing of two about how to do it right. They won't be forced because it's what they've been trained to do.
"Maybe by the time we get home, you'll understand--we don't even know where we are, who know's how long it'll take for Chips 'n Wires to find something. If not, then maybe the great Mar wasn't as smart as legend said. After all, he set this whole thing up. It's like he knew what was going to happen. He built cities, walls, cannons. There has to be some slave driver gene in that house of yours."
Jak's mood lifted slightly as did the corner of his lips in a smile.
"Get some sleep, Dax. I'll wake you up in a few hours for your watch." The hero stood up with a grunt. His knees popped and then he moved around camp looking for more sticks.
"Yeah, sure." Dax curled up closer to the shrinking fire.
Jak claimed his sticks and sat back down next to his best friend.
"Thanks, Dax." He whispered when he was sure the ottsel was sleeping.
You're welcome, buddy.
-----
Birds were chirping and the sun peeked through the tree branches. Jak opened his eyes and winced at the ache between his shoulders. Maybe sleeping against that tree hadn't been such a great idea.
"Mornin', Sunshine." Jak looked over to Daxter. The ottsel was looking at the trees with a strange look on his face.
"What's up?" Jak's voice was gruff from sleep.
"I think we're a lot farther from home than we thought."
The hero looked around for anything out of the ordinary. He couldn't find anything.
"It was a lot hotter back home. And the trees weren't changing colors."
Jak noticed what the ottsel was saying. The leaves were different shades of oranges, reds, and yellows. In Haven, the temperature had been at its highest. It was summer. Here, it was much cooler.
"Where are we?"
"More like, 'when' are we." Vin's communicator activated from Daxter's side.
"Wha--" Jak stopped when two Metal Heads crashed through the forest. Grabbing his gun, he switched it to red when one swiped at him. The hero fired, causing his enemy to fly back and into the river. Jak quickly turned his attention to the other creature. It was looking for lunch.
Daxter jumped behind a rock as the other beast went after him. The Grunt struck out, hard. Claw marks dug into the rock.
The Grunts were fast. Jak switched back to the Vulcan to catch the one that was closing in on Daxter. Taking aim, he pulled the trigger only to be disappointed when the Metal Head remained alive. The beast merely shook its hide as if riding itself of an annoying itch; not one scratch was visible. Jak cursed under his breath. He dove in and knocked the beast's feet from underneath. With the Metal Head down and on its back, Jak took the opportunity to fire.
A few bullets flew from the barrel of the gun, but nothing more. Jak took his eyes from the Grunt to look at his ammo. It was empty. He had a few casings of red and dark, but they were low.
Shit.
Looking back to his target, Jak saw the bullets had done some damage. The Metal Head was struggling to get up. The warrior went in to finish the job by hand when, "Jak, look out!"
Daxter's yell caused Jak to freeze and turn. Time seemed to stop as the other Grunt from the river leapt into the air. It was only inches from its strike before Jak could react. Just as he raised his arms to block whatever damage he could, the creature went down. Jak could see wooden shafts sticking out from its back. More arrows came out of nowhere striking both beats. Neither got back to their feet.
"It's not very smart to travel on your own out here."
Jak grabbed Daxter and swung around to face the newcomer. There were three. Two held ancient looking bows, each with a thick quiver of arrows to their back. The third caused some relief for Jak.
"Torn, finally." Jak lowered his morph gun. "Where are we? I couldn't see the city--"
"Hold." An arrow from the soldiers on either side of Torn was raised and aimed at Jak. The hero froze, highly confused. There was a stare down between the party members.
"What's that?" One of the strangers came forth poking at Jak's weapon.
"Ya know, there's something strange goin' on here." Daxter spoke up. "What happened, you finally get tired of the stripped look?" He was looking at the Commander. His tattoos were gone.
"What are you talking about, rodent?" His voice was different too, but he acted the same.
"Torn?" Jak moved Daxter out of the way. Something was indeed going on. It didn't sit well with him.
"I'm not Torn. You can call me Captain Luz."
A/N: Here's the edited version of chapter one. I didn't make any major changes, but some were just to make the story flow better. Other changes were just the usual grammar and spelling mistakes that I didn't catch on my last read through. Anyway, the next chapter should be up pretty soon. It's typed and ready for the presses.
Don't forget to check my profile on any updates.