Sons of Damas

by Tatsurou

Spargus: Plans Unfolding

It had been a year since the death of Kor, and events had gone worse than Jak and his friends could have imagined. Despite the death of their leader, the Metalheads continued to rampage, and about half a year later they became organized again, indicating that someone or something had reactivated the signal network that controlled them. While Baron Praxus had been completely cleansed of Dark Eco contamination and was no longer under the influence of those signals, this was the merest spark of good news in what quickly became the worst year of Haven's history.

Not long after the Metalheads became organized again, the Crimson Guard's special defense "K.G. Robots" went rogue, attacking civilians and Metalheads alike, targeting anything that wasn't their own numbers. This divided Haven City into three sectors: the area over the underground gates, where the Metalheads rampaged, the military districts the KG controlled, and the area around the palace where the civilians huddled and struggled to survive.

And then one last conflict destroyed the palace, even as Jak, Shining, and Daxter struggled to hold and protect it.

That was the tipping point. While the timing could not have been worse as far as Jak was concerned, Count Veger made the move they'd been planning for, and made Jak the scapegoat for everything that had gone wrong in the past year. Despite wanting to stay and try to hold the city together, Jak knew this was his only chance to make it out to the city of exiles as an exile, to find his father. And so he remained silent as the charges were leveled, the mockery of a trial occurred, and Jak was sentenced to be exiled into the Wasteland.

Ashelin and a hand picked crew were flying the transport out into the arid land, to deliver Jak, Shining, Daxter, and Pecker - who had insisted on coming along for some reason - to the heart of the land, where their only escape from death would be rescue by the Wastelander Exiles.

Count Veger - a steely eyed elderly man without even a hint of nobility to his actions or appearance - had gone along with as well, whether to gloat or ensure that no one snuck them anything Jak was uncertain. He did seem a trifle smug, however, as he read from his ledger. "By order of the Grand Council of Haven City, for heinous acts and crimes against the people, you are hereby banished to the Wasteland for life."

Jak merely stared expressionlessly at Veger as the elderly statesman closed his ledger, not even bothering to struggle against the brace binding his wrists together.

Veger seemed somewhat unnerved at the calm way Jak was glaring at him, and quickly returned to the dropship. Shining, Daxter, and Pecker moved to join Jak in the desert sands, Shining and Daxter in silence, Pecker squawking his outrage, although no one paid much attention to him. Once Veger was back onboard the dropship, Ashelin walked up to Jak. Disengaging the cuffs, she slipped a bundle into his hand. "Stay alive, Jak," she ordered.

Jak smirked. "Will do," he replied calmly.

Once the dropship was out of sight, Daxter looked up at Jak. "So...there is a plan here, right? With the way you were going along so calmly, I kinda figured there was one, but I probably should have asked sooner."

"Survive," Jak replied, opening up the bundle.

"...great plan there, Jak," Daxter replied sarcastically as Shining chuckled. "Great plan."

"Here," Jak stated, holding out several bracers sized to Daxter with glowing crystals on them. "Put these on your wrists, ankles, around your neck, and on your tail."

Confused, Daxter did as instructed. "What are they?"

"Bracers based on the training equipment used for Sages," Jak explained. "Samos taught Keira how to make them, and she broke open a Power Cell for the crystals. These should help you control the Light Eco abilities you've been demonstrating, until you actually know what you're doing."

"Huh," Daxter muttered, admiring his new 'bling'. "Fashionable and functional. Don't suppose she included any pants?"

"No," Jak replied quickly as he passed Shining his new temperature regulating choker and dropped the cloth, holding only the active beacon.

"Anything for me?" Pecker asked. "Since you have something for everyone else..."

"Honestly, I have no idea why you're here," Jak replied. "It wasn't part of the plan."

"So...that's a no," Shining offered apologetically.

Pecker stared at them. "...that's a wonderful AWWWK omen for the rest of the journey."

---

The group marched out into the desert, travelling in as straight a line as they could manage if only for the hope it was the right direction. "Are you sure you know...where you're going Jak?" Pecker gasped out.

"No," Jak replied shortly. "Keep your mouth shut. It conserves moisture."

Glaring daggers, Pecker did as instructed, although it was plain that none of them would last much longer in the heat of the waste. Glancing around, Jak managed to spot an overhang under a massive rocky outcrop. Staggering into the offered shade, he pushed Shining as far under as he could go before collapsing, letting Daxter and Pecker arrange themselves in the shade while making sure the beacon he held was visible in the sunlight. He kept as much of himself as he could in the shade, ready to sleep out the sun and walk anew with the moon if no one came. Night travel was better in the desert...that's what Samos said...

Struggling to keep his focus on this, Jak slipped into slumber. He hoped that they would be found. He hoped he hadn't just gotten them all killed...

Comments

[Grahf]

and onto my favorite of the three games

[Voltrasin]

I love how even Tatsurou can't come up with a reason for Pecker being there.

[Starcat5]

7009597
Five. Sadly, Jack X counts. You also forgot The Lost Frontier. Probably because it was lost. *Rimshot*

[Blaze rod]

7009712 There was nothing wrong with Jak X. It was a solid racing game.

Frontier however...

[Warrior Kitten]

Aah, this game. This is one of only two games I know well in the Jak and Daxter franchise and it is also my favourite.

[Starcat5]

7009963
I think you just hit on why Jak X is on the bottom of my list: It is a racing game.

[Garreon]

Just something to say about Jak 3.....SO.MANY.WEAPONS~Ahhhhh.....*creaming my pants right now*.....I'm kidding but yes, best game without a doubt and the extra 8 weapon forms were a very, veeeeryyyyy~, nice bonus indeed

[RanmaChaos]

Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.

[ArchAngelGundam]

Here's where things start to get interesting. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.

[Kenshinryuu]

Up tight and arrogant aristocat... I'm hoping he gets some major humiliation coming his way. Can Keira rewire some stuff so music plays loudly in just his quarters in the middle of the night, food doesn't get cooked right, and his plumbing backfires when he's on the toilet???

[Zane Wolfe]

7011619 Actually Veger gets EXACTLY WHAT HE WISHED FOR. Since you clearly haven't played Jak 3 I wont spoil much more here, but I will say that it's one of those wishes that goes HORRIBLY WRONG for the one who made it.

[Tatsurou]

7012155
Considering how I've tweaked what that means in this continuity, that's not the outcome we'll be getting.

[Zane Wolfe]

7012169 I figured... But damn if it wasn't one of my favorite parts. He gets his wish, EXACTLY HOW HE WISHED IT, and then finds out what that really means, and the look on his face is pure "OH SHIT!" as he realizes what he has done.

7011619 Since Tats has made his point clear that it will NOT be happening, I will share what it was. At the end of Jak3 the "Precursor" who has been helping Jak in the temple shows up, and Veger butts in and demands "to become a Precursor". Only for the hologram to short out, and the big reveal to be that the actual Precursors are Ottsels. Which is what Daxter is changed into way back in the first game. It gives some technobable to explain why it changed Daxter into a Precursor/Ottsel, and just after they give that explanation, Veger has his "OH FUCK WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" moment, giving him just enough time to realize that he was a complete jackass this entire time just to get turned into what he thought was a god... And as soon as he regrets it he gets turned into a tiny furry rat too. The karma of it all is just pure awesome. In fact, BOOM!. Watch at your own risk. It's both the best, and the worst, cutscene of the entire game IMO.

[Just Defender]

7012274 I thought the finale was the best cutscene.

[Lord Legion]

I am actually hoping the trio goes for a ride in the awesome Sandshark Buggy!

[Jake Witt]

7018378 Dude, your avatar pic is creeping me out.

...also the Sand-shark-thingy you mentioned sounds awesome.

[Naturefang]

7475426 I think it's cute in the way that it's trying to be creepy, than again I'm slightly insane, so... yeah.