I don't own Jak and Daxter or any of it's characters, I only own Krane, Overture, Marlin, Schorn, and the mentioned Grani in this chapter.
I know I said that I was going to thank everyone one by one but I got my wisdom teeth yanked out so I'm kind of tired. I promise I'll do it next update. But anyways, thanks for the reviews! I never thought this would come this far!
Enjoy!
Jak and Marlin walked outside of the Hip Hog Heaven and into the cold wind that blew outside. Marlin walked over to the edge of the Port and sat down; letting his legs dangle over the side of the Port. Not knowing what he was doing or if he was planning anything, Jak stood behind him with his arms crossed.
"What is it?" Jak finally asked.
"I just wanted to talk to you about something," Marlin answered, moving his head backwards to look at Jak. "Come over here and sit down for a few minutes."
Jak walked to Marlin's side and sat down the same way Marlin was, with his legs over the side. Marlin sighed heavily and began moving his legs back and forth while Jak looked down into the murky water.
"Jak," Marlin began, "there's something about this place…that scares me."
"Scares you?" Jak looked over towards him, blinking.
"Yeah." Marlin looked up towards the night sky. "There's an evil here I can't think of words to describe. I assume to beat Erol in that race yeah?"
Jak nodded. "Thanks to you."
"Not a big deal." Marlin moved forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "So what do you have to do tomorrow before the race?"
"Go see Brutter," Jak answered.
Marlin became quiet. Jak looked back over to him to see if he was doing anything but he was just looking up towards the sky in such wonder. The wind blew once more, gently moving Marlin's red hair and in that instant, he looked…familiar. There was something about Marlin's hair and facial structure that looked so familiar, as if Jak had been with Marlin before, but he couldn't remember where.
"Jak…" Marlin brought up his right knee and placed his right elbow against his knee. "What do you know about the Transiters?"
"Transiters?" Jak repeated. "I don't know anything."
"There are five legendary Transiters who fought the Hora-quan along side of the Precursors. They were powerful warriors who were respected and given great powers by the Precursors. After the fight was over, the Transiters betrayed the Precursors because they wanted more power and they were sealed away inside vats of Eco to slowly rip them of their powers."
"That's horrible," Jak said in a low tone.
"But now," Marlin fell back onto his hands, "the Baron has allowed them out by opening the vats of Eco. They're out there in the world now, Jak and…I'm scared."
"Scared? I'm sure if we can track them down one by one then we can take them down," Jak said, moving closer towards Marlin.
Marlin laughed a bit and shook his head. "If they come together and form a bond with one another they will be able to destroy the world."
"The…world?" Jak repeated, his eyes growing wide.
"The powers they have are powers the Precursors don't understand. If their powers come together, there won't be a world to fight for anymore." Marlin sighed. "So I'm looking for those five people, and I want you to help me as soon as Kor is defeated."
"Why then?"
"There's a legend that goes with the story of the Transiters told by Precursor Monks." Marlin closed his eyes. "Once the hero who will lead the world into the light emerges from the sands with darkness staining his soul, the willingness and passion of the device will open the gate to darkness. The five doomed souls will then appear, and the world of innocence will fall into a fatal sleep until the fifth doomed soul comes into the light."
"And?"
Marlin fell silent. "I don't know the rest," he finally confessed.
Jak twitched. "Well what are we supposed to do now?"
Marlin moved his legs into a crouching position. "We race and see what happens until then. But for now I'm looking for the five Transiters. You can join me when you've got a bit more underneath your belt."
"Fine." Jak stood. "Call me when you think I'm ready."
Marlin smiled and nodded. "Don't stress over it. It ain't gonna be for a while."
Overture had returned to the Palace and walked into his room when he felt the barrel of a gun suddenly become pointed at his temple. With a heavy sigh, he moved his eyes to the side to see Ashelin standing there.
"Where the hell where you? My Father has been calling for you," Ashelin hissed, shoving the gun a bit.
"Sorry." Overture turned to face Ashelin. As he turned around, Ashelin pressed a gun against his forehead. "I was having a terrible vision and had to look at the man it was about."
"What?"
"Jak," Overture said in a deep and serious tone. "He is undermining your Father's war with the Metal Heads. I recommend a high distrust of him Ashelin; he plans to kill your Father. I know your Father's plan to break the Precursor Stone will work, and Jak wants to ruin that plan."
"No." Ashelin shook her head and took her gun away from Overture's head. "How could Jak do something like that?"
"Do you trust me or Jak?" Overture asked. "Your Father trusts me with everything, and I have proven myself over and over again. I would say it would be in your best interest to trust me over that weird man."
Ashelin couldn't believe it. Overture was right of course, her father trusted him so much and he always seemed to be right so he had to be right about Jak. He could see the future, Overture had to be right.
"I'm sorry," Ashelin said, bringing her right hand to her forehead.
"Now if you will excuse me, I have a meeting with your Father."
Overture bowed, and then walked out of the room, leaving Ashelin in shock. As Overture walked by, he heard the echoes of whispers Ashelin was saying to herself as she stood there.
The next morning, Jinx woke up to the sound of his alarm ringing over and over again. He reached over and smacked it off and once it stopped ringing, he blinked, opening his eyes after a few moments. He sat up, feeling a small pain in his stomach as if he had pulled the muscles there.
"Finally!" Krane said as she walked by the door with a basket of laundry in her arms. "I've been waiting for you to wake up."
"So you're finally back?" Jinx laughed as he got up out of bed.
"I've been back, I didn't want to miss the races," Krane said before she walked away from the door.
Jinx moved towards the door and leaned against it as he watched Krane bend over in the hallway to pick up a small pile of laundry. A grin crossed his face as he took in the shape of her body, and took off his green tank top.
"You wanna wash this for me?" Jinx asked, tossing it on Krane.
Krane turned around and placed the tank top in the basket. "All you have to do is ask. Breakfast is downstairs waiting for you."
Jinx blinked. "You made breakfast?"
"Always do."
Krane walked down the nearby stairs, and Jinx followed after her. They both walked through the messy living room and into the small kitchen where a large amount of food was sitting on the table. Jinx blinked as he looked at all of the food on the table.
"Damn! You did a lot dis mornin'," Jinx said, taking a seat at the table.
He looked towards a small room in the back of the kitchen where Krane was placing laundry into a machine. She walked out a few moments later and sat down across the table from Jinx.
"Well I couldn't let you do it," she teased. "You always burn something."
"It's my way of cookin'!"
"I took out the garbage by the way," Krane said, grabbing a napkin off of the table. "It was really pilin' up so I made sure to get rid of it today."
Jinx shook his head. "What would I be doin' without ya?"
The two began eating and the clanking of their forks and knifes hit their plates, creating conversation. Jinx looked up once in a while towards Krane to see her more focused on eating then anything else, and that was when an idea hit him.
"You wanna go out before the races start?" he asked.
"Go out where?"
"Around." Jinx shrugged.
"Sure." Krane returned the shrug.
Torn was sitting up in his bed, holding his shoulder. He couldn't stand the pain coming from it, and because of the lack of Eco, he had to leave it to heal on it's own. Ashelin was standing next to his bed with her arms crossed and a look of concern on her face.
"Let me take you to the hospital," Ashelin said, moving in towards Torn only to have him pull away.
"No, it's fine," he hissed. "Don't touch it."
Ashelin pulled back. "What's wrong? You've been acting strange for a while now."
"Nothing." Torn lowered his head.
The truth was that he couldn't get over the fact that he had lost the child so easily. Memories of something that had happened in his past were now plaguing him, not only in the daytime but also in his sleep. Not to mention that the stress he was going through made things so much worse.
"Torn."
Ashelin and Torn looked up to see Overture walking into the Underground. He walked beside Torn's bedside and bowed down.
"What are you doing here?" Ashelin growled.
"I am here for a simple reason." Overture lowered his head. "Something is going to happen, and I just want to see Krane happy once last time."
"What do you mean something is going to happen?" Ashelin asked, stepping towards him.
"How can you know something like that?" Torn asked, not understanding what was going on.
"I can see the future," Overture said, looking back towards Torn, "as well as the past. Something is going to happen soon, something where I will not be able to see Krane anymore. All I want is to see her one last time."
Jinx and Krane had been walking around for a few hours and now found themselves standing in front of the Racing Stadium. They sat down on the steps while Krane began to munch on a small piece of bread that Jinx had bought her. After a few minutes of silence, Jinx sighed.
"We've been through a lot together'a haven't we?" Jinx finally asked.
Krane thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess we have."
"We've known each other for two years now haven't we?"
"Yeah."
Jinx grinned. "'emember when Torn sent us on that one mission where we had to save that kid's croca-dog and it bit you? You were bleedin' for a while!"
Krane giggled. "Yeah. That seems like so long ago though."
"And that one time the heater blew and we had to stay underneath the covers all day…together?"
Krane sighed. "Has it really been that long that I've been here? Two long years?"
Jinx reached down into his pocket and pulled out a small flower he had picked up earlier only now it was flat. With a disappointed sigh, he moved it out towards Krane, surprising her.
"It's for you," he admitted.
She blushed. "Thank you."
Krane took the flower and looked over the faded red color, as her face became the same shade of red. She began touching the flower, feeling how soft it was while Jinx moved closer to her.
"There's somethin' I've been wantin' to tell you," Jinx said, moving his arm against Krane's.
"What?"
Jinx took a deep breath in, really to finally tell her how he felt when a loud alarm canceled out his voice. The alarm caused the two to turn around towards the Racing Stadium where people began running towards the front door.
"Shit, we'd better get going and get our seats," Krane said, standing up.
Jinx sighed. "Alright then."
Jak was sitting in his zoomer on the racing track, waiting for the race to start. Daxter was sitting on his shoulder, saying something he couldn't understand. Jak looked around at the people waiting for the race to start when he spotted Marlin up ahead of him. He felt like talking to him, but suddenly Erol pulled up next to him.
"I want more than just to win, Eco freak... I want you!" Erol hissed, moving his mask over his face.
The Baron appeared on a platform with Krimzon Guards and barrels of Eco behind him. Erol stopped talking to Jak, and moved to face the Baron.
"Greetings, racers! Today your nerve and skill will be tested for our amusement. If any of you by some small chance beat our grand champion Erol, then you will be rewarded a month's supply of Eco! And a short tour of my palace to see how the other half live. Good luck, and die bravely! Get ready! Set! GO!"
Jak, Erol, and Marlin pushed their zoomer forward, passing by the starting line. Daxter clung on to Jak's shoulder while Jak listened to the engine and watched out for road hazards.
Up in the stands, Krane was standing next to Jinx. Krane was trying her best to concentrate on the race but her stomach had suddenly begun to knot. She felt as if she was going to throw up and she tired relaxing enough so that her stomach would calm down but it wasn't working.
What the hell is wrong? Krane thought as her stomach bubbled. First that damn headache and now my stomach. Do I have a virus or something?
"Hey," Jinx said, hitting her arm in a playful manner. "Are you alright? You're spacin' out!"
"I-I'm fine." Krane shook her head, coming out of her thoughts.
"Ya sure?"
She nodded. "I think so."
Worrying about her, Jinx moved his hand next to hers, and wrapped his fingers around her hand. She looked down at their combined hands, then back up at Jinx who was looking out towards the racing track.
"Don't worry about anything," Jinx whispered.
"Jinx…"
Krane grabbed his hand and remembered how she always held his hand whenever something was wrong. Through the two years they had been together, she had held his hand when she was in pain ten times, and those ten times Krane had almost lost her life. Jinx had always been right there with her and as she thought about it, a heavy blush crossed her face.
What's this feeling? Krane asked as a strange feeling came over her.
Jak was on his final lap and was so close to the finish line. Erol was behind him, but he had no idea where Marlin was. The finish line drew closer and closer, and wanting an advantage over everyone else, he used a speed boost, forcing him over the finish line first.
The crowd erupted.
The race ended and Jak was allowed to get off of his zoomer. He began waving to the crowd as the Baron drew closer but as he waved he looked for Marlin. He was gone. It almost like he had disappeared.
"Thank you. Thank you very much," Daxter said as he blew kisses to the crowd. "I love my public!"
"Ah, a brave man of the people. And who is this worthy opponent? In my world, good men are either bought or broken. So which is it going to be?" The Baron said, floating down next to Jak.
Jak turned around and showed his face to the Baron. "Surprise."
The Baron took a step backwards. "WHAT?"
"Just a little closer. We need to talk," Jak said as he stepped closer towards the Baron.
"What the hell is he doin'?!" Jinx yelled over the screaming crowd. "He's gonna blow everythin'!"
Pain came over Krane, bringing her to her knees once more. Her head felt as if it were splitting wide open. Her hand left Jinx's as she held her head and gripped her hair, trying to make the pain stop.
"Fool! Don't you get it?! It's over, Jak! All the heroes died long ago! Only survival remains... by whatever means! This city is mine! These lives are mine! This war is mine! And in war... PEOPLE DIE! Kill him!" the Baron yelled, pointing his index finger outwards.
The sound of a zoomer caught everyone's attention. Everyone looked behind them to see Erol racing towards Jak with his mask down over his face.
"I win, Jak!" Erol said to himself as he drew closer to Jak.
"Ah!" Krane held her head tightly. The feeling that she had experienced when she was with Overture came over her once more, and all of a sudden everything stopped hurting.
Back on the track, Jak jumped out of the way, leaving Erol to crash into the Eco that stood behind him. The Eco exploded, throwing Erol's mask off of his face and allowing it to slide against the floor. Taking advantage of the smoke, Jak turned around and took off out of the Stadium.
"After them!" the Baron yelled.
"Krane! Krane!" Jinx called as he shook the young woman. "You alright!? Come on answer me already!"
Krane blinked. "What?" she asked. "What happened?"
The pain was gone. Krane couldn't feel anything anymore but a slight bit of tiredness. She stood back up as people in the stands ran by, scared by the explosion of Eco. She looked back over towards Jinx who grabbed her shoulders.
"Are you alright?" he asked once more.
"…Yeah." She blinked and looked back at the blown barrels of Eco. "I'm fine."
"What happened to you?"
"I don't know." She looked downwards.
"Jinx! I need you to get over here! There's some guy here who wants to see Krane! We've got to figure out what the hell is going on here, get over here now! Over," Torn said over the radio.
Jinx picked up his radio. "Fine. We'll be there in a few minutes. Out."
Jinx and Krane ran from the Racing Stadium, heading towards the Underground when they bumped into Sig. Sig grabbed Krane's arm, causing them to stop and turn around to them.
"Krew's sent me on some kind of mission," Sig said, holding up the ruby key. "I want you two to come with me."
"We have to go see Torn," Krane said through her panting.
"Come down to the Port afterwards," Sig said, releasing Krane's arm. "If anythin' I think this is some kind of suicide mission. I'm gonna need your help."
"Fine." Jinx panted. "Let's go!"
Jinx grabbed Krane's arm and pulled her away from Sig. The tall Wastelander watched as the two ran away, not knowing the drama that would be taking place in the Underground's HQ.
R&R please!