"Why?" She began impatiently, hands on both hips as she stared down the large statue before her. The voice coming from it stammered momentarily.

"We felt as if it was the best thing to do-" It stopped as Sake erupted into a violent explosion of words, some not appropriate for this fan fiction.

"Thanks to you, I'm now a freak who just slaughtered 50 people! Possibly more!" She yelled, Eco arching around her. Jak wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her. She growled in retaliation. "Get this thing OUT OF ME!" She hissed, becoming completely irrational. Jak frowned, trying his best to hold onto her so she didn't blow the statue to pieces.

"Silence. Not another word. I will not have this incompetence in my domain." The voice roared, causing Sake to go dead silent. She stared, half surprised and half annoyed. "I would gladly remove her to make up for the mistake we made, but we cannot, and will not at this time. Whether you like it or not, that demon is vital to this planet's existence."

"WHAT!" Sake screamed at the top of her lungs, instantly changing into a form she hadn't used in months. She didn't morph to Catalyst, but instead her simple Dark form. Jak could no longer hold her; She was simply too enraged to be held. She leaped into the air, ready to use every bit if Dark Eco in her body to blow the entire building up. She was immediately halted in mid air as an unfamiliar being trapped her.

A creature made from pure light which was shaped much like the humanoid beings already inhabiting the planet had it's arms locked around her shoulders with its leg's around her ankles. She writhed angrily, flailing what she could. "Calm yourself. Violence will get you nowhere. I will remove the demon known as Catalyst in due time. Until then, learn to control her. That's all you can do." She was set down on the ground where she collapsed, tears of anger and rage flowing uncontrollably. Daxter simply stared at her, words tied up in his throat. He honestly had no idea how much a dark form hurt his friends.

"Why in the hell did I have to be the one? Why did I have to be Sakana? Why the #$ did you chose me?" She said, barely above a whisper as she curled up. It was uncomfortably silent for several minutes longer. "I need some time alone..." She stood, running towards the door. Jak grabbed her arm in the attempts to stop her, but she lashed out at him, knocking him back. She ran as fast as she could into the thick of the desert. She didn't know how, but she was easily jumping the gaps between the islands that led away from the temple. Jak sighed heavily, looked at the glowing figure, then proceeded to leave the temple. Sake was nowhere in sight, and her footprints had already been swept away by the approaching sandstorm. As he climbed into his vehicle, he got a call from Damas; one call he never wanted to hear.

"Jak, I've got bad news. Perhaps the worst sandstorm I've ever seen is on the radar. It's 200 miles wide with winds approaching 150 miles an hour. Get to Spargus now. I can't afford losin-" before he could finish, the connection was terminated.

"Damas!" he yelled. No response. All he got was static. He cursed heavily under his breath the charged headlong into the desert. Daxter clung to his shoulder, worried dearly for Sake.

"Jak..." The ottsel began quietly. "What does it... feel like… to transform like that?" Jak was slightly shocked at the suddenness of the question. He was also surprised that his friend would even ask something like that.

"Well... it stings... a lot. Like 10,000 volts of electricity are being passed through your body." he began, trying to think of a decent way of describing it. "You can taste your own blood, and some bones shift around. Its a rather gross way to put it, but its true." Daxter curled his lips; eyebrows moving every which way. "You can also feel the eco flowing through your veins, and that's like no other sensation in the world." The ottsel nodded slowly.

"I guess I never really realized how hard you two have it..." He whispered to himself more than Jak, who was looking about the desert like a hawk for any signs of Sake.

"I bet its worse for Sake though."

"Why?" Daxter asked.

"Well... Did I ever tell you about what happened to her in prison? I can't recall if I did." He felt his friend shake his head. "Well, during those two years... She was-" The words literally stopped in his throat. He couldn't seem to get it out. After several long seconds of uncomfortable silence, he finally spit it out like it was acid. "Errol raped her." Daxter's heart raced as he held onto Jak's shoulder armor like it was the end of the world. "Because she was Errol's little toy, she was also experimented on more than me. Almost every day, I watched from my cell as she was removed from hers, tied down to that chair, and tortured for what felt like a decade." The words were coming easy now, and he was more determined than ever to find Sake.

"I... didn't know..." Daxter felt a wave of dizziness rush over him. He began to think about all of the jokes he had cracked about her. It all explained why he found her in her room crying many nights.

"Now she has this thing living in her, and its taking its toll on her. I fear it's winning." Jak turned the wheel to avoid a Marauder as he continued to scream through the desert. Daxter was very silent. He had been jeering at her for 3 years, and never knew her past. Hell, he didn't even know Jak's past. He rarely talked about it, and always seemed to get very depressed when he did.

The sandstorm was moving in with such a fury now, winds already exceeding 70 miles per hour. Jak could no longer see, nor could he drive straight. His knowledge of the desert though led him to a cave imbedded in the face of a mountain. Because of the angle of the opening, no sand or wind could get in. Relieved, he parked his vehicle and got out, brushing himself off. Despite the noise he heard from outside, he heard another noise... very light sobbing.

"S-" Before he could even finish the name, he saw someone stand and take off running towards the back of the cave. "SAKE!" he called, running after her. He ran hard, heart racing as his blood pumped. Right as she tried to a turn a corner, he grabbed her wrist tightly and spun her around so that he could face her. The two collapsed to the ground, Sake limp in her lover's arms.

"Let me go..." She insisted. He refused. Her voice her no fight left in it so he knew she wouldn't resist much. Jak ran his fingers through her silver hair, clutching onto her tightly as she cried into his shirt.

"Shhh... Its okay, please... calm down." He whispered in the hopes of getting her to become rational. She didn't even move. Daxter stood next to his friend, throat tied in a knot to keep him from speaking. His stomach did four 360's all at once, making the animal quite uncomfortable.

"I just want it all to go away..." She sobbed still, digging her claws into Jak's shirt which she held onto tightly. He still refused to remove his arms from her. "I'm tired of being used for someone else's gain... I'm tired of living, I'm tired of it all." Jak frowned at her depressing comments.

"But..." he swallowed hard, unable to get the words out. "What... about me?" He whispered past the lump caught in his throat. She looked up at him; obsidian eyes reflecting his saddened gaze.

"Jak, I love you with all of my heart, and I'd gladly die for you. You know this. But you can't change the past. What's done is done, and there's nothing we can do." She wiped her eyes with the back of her gloved hand, shivering in his arms. He again felt choked.

"I may not be able to change the past... but at least I can make the future better. What about all of our plans? I mean, I don't want to die a virgin." He managed a chuckle, which hade her giggle somewhat.

"You won't I promise." She glanced down at Daxter, who was still deep in thought. She figured he'd crack a joke about Jak's virgin comment. However, he didn't. He was just.. staring off into space. She waved a weak hand in front of his face, but he didn't even blink. Jak shook his shoulder and brought the ottsel crashing down.

"Huh? What?" He stammered, looking around. He saw his friends' concern and frowned. "I'm sorry, I just got a lot on my mind right now." Jak nodded, scratching him behind the ears before standing. Much like a gentleman, he helped his fiancée to her feet while looking at the cave entrance behind them. It was completely barricaded with sand.

"Well, looks like we'll be here for a while. Let's wait for the wind to die down before we dig ourselves out." She gave a small nod, wiping her nose and eyes with her glove. There wasn't anything to do in the cave, except talk. The older elf watched as Sake shuffled over to a wall and sat, transforming back as she did so. Jak picked Daxter up then sat down next to Sake and set Daxter in his lap, scratching him behind the ears. The ottsel didn't really seem to notice. This rather upset Jak.

"I'm gonna go sit in the car." Daxter stood and leapt from Jak's lap, padding over to the dune buggy which was parked a little ways from the entrance. He sat in the passenger seat, still thinking. Soon, he curled up and fell asleep.

"What's wrong with him...?" Sake scooted closer to Jak and rested her arms around his waist. He had one arm over her shoulder, the other resting on his lap.

"Sake... I'm sure you think I've figured it out by now, I know what happened to you in prison..." He looked down at her, staring directly into her now crystal blue eyes. She looked away, feeling violated. "I kinda... read one of your diary entries..." Jak soon felt like he guilty party for reading Sake's book. He had no right, or place to. He simply watched Sake, who was acting bewildered.

"Yeah... what about it?"

"Well, Daxter got curious about some of the stuff we've been through, so I told him." She nodded very slowly, so slow one could hardly notice it.

"Now he knows why I don't like it when people flirt or crack jokes about me. Errol would make jokes about me, but in a sadistic way. Every time he did that to me... he would call me his little slave, and that the only thing girls my age were good for was a good night. If I tried to fight back, it had a bunch of Krimzon Guards come in and beat me with their guns." She practically shriveled up in Jak's arms, clinging to his shirt once more. "He would never let the guards actually touch me though... he was possessive of me. And I'm sure the Baron knew what was going on, but Errol was keeping him quiet somehow." Jak held her close, just letting her ramble on. After all, he figured it was something she needed. He was once told that keeping something bottled up will only make it worse. To him, that was so true in more than one way.

"Well, I'll find Errol, and I'll kill that bastard, for what he did to you. I promise, I'll make him pay." His voice was stern and steady, filled with determination. She simply clung to him like a child lost at sea. Something caught Jak's attention.

"Shh... listen." Sake listened to nothing but silence. "The storm is over. Let's hurry up and get back to Spargas." Rather than have Sake walk, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the dune buggy. The ottsel awoke and moved aside for her to sit, then climbed into her lap. Jak barely had enough room in the cave to turn his vehicle around. Once he did so, he backed up and fired two grenades towards the entrance, blowing the sand out of the way. Indeed the storm was over, and it was giving way to a beautiful sunrise. There were no marauders out at the time, so the two could enjoy a calming ride through the desert.

"Jak," Sake began about halfway home.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." He smiled then looked her way before riding over a lather large dune. The vehicle launched into the air, making Sake grab the edge of her seat to keep from falling out. Jak whooped with excitement, hitting the boost as they reached the ground. Sake regained her composure quickly.

"Next time, I'm driving!" She ordered. Jak laughed and sped towards Spargas.