Haven City, A Month Jak's Time, Monday Fandom Time
Their first mission took them outside. It was green, and there were palm trees, and for a moment or two Jak might've even felt a tug of homesickness underneath all the anger. They fought their way up and got the slums' water system back on running. They came out fine, barring the lump on Daxter's head and the grass stuck in Jak's boots.
Jak decided not to think about Sandover much.
Anyway, it was there where he saw them again: monsters with metal heads, thrumming with dark eco. Just like the ones in Sandover, a lifetime ago.
--
The first time Jak got back into any place related to the Baron's stronghold, they barged into the Krimzon Guard ammo dump and nearly got killed by a security tank that tore its way through the building and almost splattered them all over the floor.
In the end, they had to use themselves as bait in order to blow up the central reactor. It exploded behind them, forcing Jak down twenty feet to the ground. He stayed there for a minute, staring up at the sky. The fog was too dense for him to see the stars.
"This place has too much excitement," Daxter groaned, barely getting his breath back. "We need to move back to the country."
But Jak was thinking about something else; about something he thought he'd caught from the corner of his eyes. Something big.
--
On his third mission, Jak still hadn't met the Shadow. He met Krew instead. And for a good reason.
"We saw something odd while torching that ammo," Jak said. He watched Torn's back as the guy moved. This could be big. "The Baron's guards were giving barrels filled with eco to a group of Metal Heads." Which meant... something. He wasn't sure what, but it wasn't good.
"Really? The Shadow will be very interested to know that." For once, Torn actually bothered to give them an appreciative look, his low voice betraying some intrigue. Not that Jak gave a damn about what Torn thought.
"You know, so far, your gigs have been easier than stealing grass from a sleeping yakow!" Enter Daxter, stage left, interrupting Jak before he could ask any more questions.
Jak shook his head. Seriously, Dax? It came as no surprise that Torn started chuckling his ass off again, and for once, even Jak couldn't find it in him to be pissed off about it. Still, it left him with more niggling questions, and it didn't look like he was going to get any answers.
As it turned out, Torn had a contact that was wired into the city, and he had a job as a messenger boy for the both of them to meet the guy. Krew. It wasn't too tough of a job, racing his way through the city on a stolen zoomer, avoiding the KG and blowing the shit out of their turrets when the need struck.
Okay, so maybe Jak was leaving behind a trail of ruined property and a couple of bruises on a few citizens who didn't get out of the way in time. It wasn't like he gave a shit about who got hurt.
He shoved open the doors to Krew's pub - Precursors only knew what it was called, exactly - and found a mostly empty bar waiting for him.
"Let me handle this," Daxter said, perking up. Yeah. Jak wasn't too sure about that, there. "I have finesse! And style!"
Which was all well and good, but that wasn't going to get them what they needed. "Don't forget to ask--"
"Everything's cool," Dax interrupted, hopping down to the floor, "Nobody panic." He slipped easily between the legs of the big, armored black guy standing at one end of the bar. "Hey big guy-- WOAH!"
Jak looked up. Privately, he had to agree with that assessment. The guy floating down in a chair towards them was... well. No other way about it. He was fat, his ears hung like a pig's, his eyes... yeah, okay, Jak would rather stare at the blubber than the eyes. Ew.
"...You Krew?" Dax asked, always first to open his yap. "We're here, and your shipment is in primo condition."
"That's good, eh," Krew returned, spittle flying everywhere. Ew. Ew. "That eco ore is worth more than ten of your lives." He had tiny teeth, too, and gold rings on his fingers that just emphasised how small and stubbly they were. Something Jak was able to observe mainly because Krew was getting right in his face. "And I'd be forced to collect... slowly."
He circled Jak. "The Underground will take anyone with a pulse these days," he said, and swung towards Daxter. "And what do we have here? The Shadow's mascot of the month?" Krew's big, fat, ringed finger reached out and slid under Daxter's jaw. Ew ew ew ew fdkfjkflj. "Soft, thick, the fur would go well with my suits, eh?"
"Hey, listen... tons of fun," Daxter said, hopping back onto Jak's shoulder for... no reason at all. "You and I know we got the juice in this burg, we're both players, right, we're both looking for a piece of the pie, right, we can do business..." His head slipped behind Jak's shoulder, "...right?"
Jak facepalmed. He facepalmed hard. "Listen," he snapped, the growl back in his throat, his second pulse beating faster, "We did you a favour. Now it's your turn. Why is the Baron giving eco to Metal Heads?!"
"Questions like that could get a person killed, eh!" Krew shot back, looming straight back in his face. "Sig! Get el Capitan here and his friend a... bonus."
...You know, Jak had to admit that besides the frustration of not getting a straight answer, he was kind of pleased with the way this encounter was going, considering that Sig's response was to shove a gun in his face. Or rather his hands. Dude. Really?
"If you want to take that for a test drive," Krew said, all business, "Take it down to the gun range at the back, and we'll see what that baby can do. Finish the course, and I might hire you for a job or two, eh?"
For a moment, Jak forgot all about the Baron and the damn eco ore, and simply grinned, testing the weight of the gun in his hands.
---
The job did have some benefits. Jak and Dax moved out of smelly Freedom HQ and into a tiny hole somewhere near the harbour. At least the view was nice, and it didn't smell as much of urine.
And because between the Underground and Krew, Jak kept busy during the day, the amount of times Dax had to get up in the night to talk him down lessened. He got used to that second beat next to his heartbeat, the pulse of dark eco.
The anger, though, wasn't going anywhere. No amount of Metal Heads he took down while out on the town with Sig managed to touch that.
---
So working for Krew was something you got used to pretty damn fast. For the third time that week, Jak found himself standing in the Hip Hog, watching lardass float around spouting something about heading down into the sewers.
"I bet you've hatched another brilliant plan in that hungry little brain of yours," Jak said, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms. Anyone on the outside might have commented that learning to speak had made him downright snarky. "Let's skip ahead. Who do I have to shake down, knock out, or blow up?"
"Well, I need someone to go down and shoot every sentry gun in the sewers," Krew drawled, his rings catching the light with every sweeping movement of his arms. Of course he did. Jak shouldn't have expected anything else. "And I'll get you a sweet weapon upgrade if you succeed." He rubbed at his lip, smiling like a shark.
Daxter hopped forward. "Let me guess," he said, "Dank murky water?"
Krew nodded.
"Reeks worse than your breath at an oyster fest?"
Krew scowled.
"Fuller of Metal Heads than your plate at a one-pass buffet?"
Krew growled.
"And weapons more lethal than your ever-so-tighty whities," Daxter screeched, grabbing Krew by the undercarriage and shaking it, "On a hot summer's day?! Listen, how about WE hang out here looking hot and heavy, and YOU go roto-root the pipes?!"
Yeah. And nevermind that... Jak leaned forward. "We're not doing anything until you tell us why Metal Heads are trading with the Baron's forces!"
A moment later, he was feeling Krew's dirty breath on his face. "Why you-- All I know is that the Baron cut a desperate deal with the Metal Head leader. Metal Heads need eco, so the Baron supplies them with shipments. In return, the Metal Heads attack the city just enough to satisfy the Baron's continued rule."
Jak frowned. That... didn't sound right. "Yeah, but how long can that deal last?"
"Well, the Baron is running short on eco, eh," Krew said, rubbing some filth into his already sauce-dirtied shirt. "The Metal Heads are short on patience. Praxis needs this war to keep in power. Otherwise, the city will put the true ruler on the throne. Wherever that little boy is..."
Krew had kept his end of the deal. That meant Jak was on his way down to the sewers. Great.
[[ NFB, NFI, ooc-okay, and so on, taken from 'Jak 2: Renegade'. Whee. Yes, this is the abbreviated version of the game's storyline. It'll be ten times worse if I ever get to Jak 3. That's what you get for getting into Amy Hennig games ]]