Dismissal From Prison

Haven City. Heh. They call it a haven, but it's no longer a haven. Not with the war and this prison.

These are Jak Mar's thoughts as he paces around in his cell. His clothes are dirty and torn and his body throbs from the beatings he had received earlier in the day. Suddenly, the back of his neck prickles, and he whirls around to see several Krimzon Guards standing in front of his barred doorway, with them Errol. It opens, and two guards rush in towards him, their weapons pulsing with electricity. They try to grab him, but Jak quickly lashes out with his leg, catching one of them in the side of the face. His head jerks, and he stumbles sideways. Jak spits in the latter's face, momentarily blinding him, and then swings his arm around. His fist crashes into his skull, and he falls, defeated. Two more guards charge in, and after another violent struggle, succeed in capturing him. They haul Jak out of his cell, and down the hallway, with other prisoners watching. They stop at a large room at the end of the hallway. The room was rather dim, and several scientists wearing white coats occupied it, along with Baron Praxis. In the center of the room was a broad table, with restraints on each corner. A computer sat on the left, and over the table hung a large machine with a long needle at the end. The guards march over to the table, dragging Jak with them and slam him onto it. The clasps close around his wrists and ankles, trapping the young boy. The guards disappear back into the shadows, and a scientist steps in front of the computer, operating it.

"Subject: Jak (ID: XjnP7OHj4). Eco used: Dark." beeps a feminine voice from the computer.

Jak stares at the needle pointed menacingly at him. As he watches, purple-and-black lightning crackles and sparks around the tip, filled with energy: Dark Eco. He closes his eyes and waits, for those final words that would begin his torture.

"Begin Experiment." The computer voice beeps.

Now...

The needle tip stabbed straight into his chest, still filled with Dark Eco. The black substance flowed down the needle, into his body, spreading throughout him. The pain was unbearable; he was drowning in it. Jak opens his mouth and screams, screams with every ounce of energy, every ounce of air, in his lungs. He twists his body from side to side. Yet, he is still trapped, crying out in agony.

Hours pass, and the needle does not waver, nor does it run out of Dark Eco. It stops every while, only to start again. Finally, it halts, this time for good. Jak lays against the test table, exhausted from consuming so much of the needle's substance.

"Experiment over. All stats: Normal." The computer beeps.

"Hmph. I was told this one might be different." Baron Praxis snaps. He has been watching the experiment.

"He is surprisingly resistant to your… 'experiments' Baron Praxis. I fear that the Dark Warriors program has failed." Errol states in a matter-of-fact tone.

The former ruler of Haven City snarls in rage. "Arrgghh! You should be dead with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!" He yells at Jak.

"What now? Metal Head armies are pressing their attacks. Without a new weapon, my men cannot hold them off forever!" Errol persisted.

Baron Praxis responds to him in a quiet, deadly tone, voice filled with venom. "Commander Errol," he begins, "I will not be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures! Move forward with the final plan! And finish off this…thing… tonight." And with that, he walks out.

"As you wish." Errol replies. He waits until the Baron and scientists have disappeared, and then grabs Jak roughly by the front of the shirt, and hisses into his face, "I'll take care of that later…" With that, he walks out of the room.

A few minutes pass, and then a small squeaky voice says, "Ding! Second floor. Body chains, roach food, torture devices…" The owner of the voice, a small 2 1/2 orange ottsel, runs over to the test table and jumps onto the unconscious Jak's body. "Whoa. What did they do to you? Jak…It's me, Daxter! The young channeler's eyes open slightly. Light seared across his vision and he immediately snapped them shut. "Well, that's a fine hello!" the ottsel replied. "I've been crawling around in this place, risking my tail, literally to save you!" "I've been looking for you for two years! Say something! Just this once!" It exclaimed.

Say something? Jak wonders. His eyes flutter open, and he sees Errol. Okay, I'll say something. He thinks.

Jak snaps his eyes open and howls into his face, "I'm going to kill Praxis!" His mouth is quickly covered by a hand.

"Sshh!" The ottsel whispers. "Okay, first we got to get you out of here." Anger builds up in Jak's body. He wants me to lie here and just let him dispose me peacefully? He thinks. Hell no. HELL NO!

With a roar, Jak thrusts his body forward, straining against the binds. They break easily. He looks down at his hands. Their skin is a pale blue, and long, black claws are tipped at the ends of each finger. Good. Jak thinks, grinning insanely. Something to kill Errol with.

Jak slides off the table, stumbling a little from being bound there for so long. Slowly, he advances on Errol. Suddenly, he looks like a rat. A very small, frightened rat.

Even better. Jak thinks, his grin growing wider. He has Errol trapped, and closes in, raising his claws, poised for the kill-

"Easy now…Easy buddy…It-It's your old pal, Daxter!"

Daxter? Jak thinks. He stops as pictures, memories flood his mind: of a tall, thin, red-haired elf wearing a red shirt and white pants; of the elf falling into a large pool filled with Dark Eco, emerging as a small orange rat, and it riding on his shoulder; of himself standing in front of a large portal; himself in a large city; and finally, himself being hit by a staff held by a Krimzon Guard, as words echoed in his mind, spoken by a squeaky voice: Don't worry, Jak! I'll get you out of there before you know it!

And standing there, right in front of his face, was the very same rat.

Jak stares at him, completely stunned. Daxter stares back at him in shock and horror. "What the heck was that? Sheesh. Remind me not to get you angry." He says. "Come on, tall, dark and gruesome, we are out of here." He pauses and adds "I, uh, got you some new threads. Put them on." He points to a pile of old-fashioned Haven clothes. Jak nods, strips off his prison garb, and dons the new shirt and pants. He straps on the gun holster and combat boots, and then nods at Daxter to show the way out of the building. Thus, begins the escape from darkness and the journey from a peaceful civilian to a trained renegade.

Author's Note: It took me a long while to complete this one, since I wanted the original script from the game. I finally managed to find it though, thanks to the Internet. Jeez… Guess that's what I get from being so picky!