chiv-id: Jumping Jehosavats, I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS SINCE LAST YEAR! *slaps self for doing that*

Dani: You should! I was like killing myself for waiting for you to do something with me and Wraith!

Aggie: Wrong reason for you to have been waiting, Dani...Sam got kidnapped.

Dani: Oh, and it should always be about her?

Aggie: ...It is her story. If you want one about Wraith and you, why don't you go ahead and write one?

Dani: UGH, NOT THE SAME! Besides, I obviously don't have the same writing skills. *sulks in a corner*

chiv-id: ...Ooooookay then. Well, who's doing the previously, peoples?

Aggie: Cans I do it, please? With sprinkles on top?

Dani: Sprinkles? *eyes gleam*

chiv-id: You definitely don't need the sprinkles on top, go right ahead! *sweatdrops*

Previously: So, it seems like Jak and Sam finally made up, and Sam's really thinking about giving it a shot!

chiv-id: You don't have to sound so surprised about it...*grumble grumble*

Riiiiigghhhttt...anyway, Jak had to go and ruin it when he says he has to 'think about it'...

Jak: Hey, it's a serious decision. Don't go guilt-tripping me about this.

Uh huh...so, this is all right before they decide to go rescue Blaze and Zeke! But then, Sam met another rival, Ashelin, and got jealous!

chiv-id: That's not an important part! Get to it already!

Oh, don't be so embarrassed, it happens to the best of us! Anyway, after they rescue Blaze who was hitching a ride with Ashelin, Peyton found them and Jak finally kissed her when he said he didn't want to say good-bye! Awwwwwwwwww~~~

chiv-id: *holds up a cast-iron skillet menacingly*

Ahem...so, afterwards, Torn and the rest of the Underground arrive as back-up, along with a bunch of Metal Heads that made it turn into a Battle Royale! Sam managed to grab Zeke after Peyton got all smashed up by Torn's zoomer and saved him, but she got captured instead! Oh noes, what will happen next?

chiv-id: Finally! All right, here's the much anticipated continuation of Reality's Game, Chapter 11: "Naps and Zaps"!

Chapter 11: Naps and Zaps

-Jak's POV-

"SAM, NO!" I shouted, my hands too full with Zeke to try and grab her, "SAM!" I saw her screaming for help, screaming for me and…suddenly, I felt cold water splash my face. My eyes, which I had thought were open, opened groggily and realized that it had been a dream. No…not a dream, a nightmare. I had been replaying that moment over and over in my head since two days ago, our entire band of Underground rebels having to move out and abandon her because of the Metal Head onslaught that was soon to turn against us had it not been for the KGs distracting them. I was sitting at the bar, Tess and Daxter's face looming over me with worried expressions.

"Jak…Jak, you up, buddy?" Daxter asked, putting down the glass of water he had thrown at me. I wiped away the moisture on my face, some of it my own sweat as I soon found out. I hadn't been able to sleep well since then, my own memories haunting me. I tried not to rest, for as long as I could, but eventually I would pass out and relive the moment Sam had slipped away…

"Don't worry, we'll get her back," Daxter put a hand on my shoulder, "Torn's already working on a plan to infiltrate the Baron's HQ!"

"That's right, he says that due to all the KGs that got caught by the Metal Heads, the Baron's defenses should be at its weakest!" Tess agreed, trying to enforce the positive. I looked up to them, somewhat grateful, but didn't register with me as I thought back to the moment…

-Flashback-

"SAM, NO!" I shouted desperately, seeing her form being pulled away, "SAM!" I heard her screams, echoing in my ear, and attracted the attention of a few people, including Blaze who had joined me on the transport. When Sam had run off, I tried to run after her, but Blaze grabbed me and told me that getting the transport over here would be a better idea. She wouldn't have left Zeke, he said, she wasn't that kind of person. So I agreed and when we came back, we noticed she had gotten him off the cruiser, but was just screaming her head off for help.

"Put it down, we have to get them on board!" I yelled at Blaze, and he nodded, rushing forward to the cockpit, "C'mon, we have to get out of here before they start coming after us!" She agreed with me with a big nod and handed me Zeke first.

"Here, take Zeke first, I can climb up on my own," she shouted, trying to push his body up, his hands weakly grabbing me, "C'mon, we're almost home-free! We can do this, just a little mo-" She had cut off, suddenly, I knew that something was wrong, instantly. Zeke looked back with me and we saw her frozen expression, her eyes wide open, staring at nothing. Then, she looked up at me.

"Jak…?" her voice was quiet, yet I could hear it, as if I had blocked out everything else. Sam was then pulled away, her middle-section going first, then the rest of her, her head snapping forward violently and her body folding. Zeke's body felt heavier without her there, and in an adrenaline-filled moment of desperation, he pulled himself up with me as an anchor. I stood there, screaming her name across the fighting, and she screamed back my own name. Then, I saw where she had been pulled: Peyton. The son of a bitch was still alive and he had grown even more hideous, noticeable even from 50 yards away, like some strange purple monstrosity.

"GIVE HER BACK!" I roared, several groups seemingly halting when they heard me as I felt myself turn, "SAM!" Then, just as I was about to jump off, Daxter grabbed my hair and yanked.

"Jak, get a hold of yourself!" he yelled at me, Blaze coming over as soon as he heard and holding me as well, "We can't do anything for her, it'll be suicide!" I snarled and almost jumped off had it not been Zeke holding my legs. I fell forward, Blaze falling on me and holding me there along with Zeke.

"We have to get out of here Jak!" Blaze screamed in my ear, and just as I was about to rip his face off, I saw tears coming from his eyes, "I don't wanna leave her, either, but it'll all be for nothing if we all get captured! We'll get her back, we'll make plans, but she wouldn't want us together in the Baron's prison with Peyton! We'll get her back…we'll get her back…" He seemed to be chanting it as if it would make everything all right, but I understood what he was saying. I felt the anger go away, replaced by resignation and sadness. Wraith seemed to understand that I wasn't going to jump anymore and pulled away from the chaos of the battlefield, Peyton's black eyes following us. I stared right back at him with my teeth bared.

"We're not through, you bastard," I ground out, and got up with Blaze, helping Zeke over to a Green Eco health kit. After everything that had happened, I sat down with Daxter in the back part of the transport, away from everyone else who also seemed to be isolating themselves.

"Don't worry, Jak, Sam ain't gonna hand herself over to Peyton any time soon," Daxter tried to talk to me, but I just sank down into the seat, exhausted. Closing my eyes, I experienced the first of my nightmares: Sam's face wet with tears, Peyton's eyes hungrily examining her, and worse of all, her scream as she was pulled away by the tentacle.

"JJJAAAAAKKKKKK!" I awoke shortly after that, and haven't been resting since…

-End Flashback-

Zeke and Blaze weren't getting much sleep either, considering they knew a lot about certain strategic points and escape routes. Consultations and vigorous trips to the sewers and areas around the city kept someone pretty busy 24/7. However, I had a feeling they weren't sleeping all that well because of the same reason I didn't want to fall asleep: Sam's abduction. They were there with me, and Sam had sacrificed herself to save Zeke. Blaze tried to reason it out, saying that it was Sam's fault for not listening, but Zeke would just get mad at Blaze and then…well, they were in rooms on the opposite sides of the base now.

"Hey buddy, are ya listening to me?" I opened my eyes as he woke me up once again, "I said we'll definitely find her again."

"Yeah…" I mumbled, slumping back down to the bar and laying my head on it. Daxter seemed upset when I heard his paws stomping over to my head, then used his front paws to grab my head and yank it to his face.

"Hey! This is me we're talking about here!" he shouted at me, "You trust me don't you?" I nodded slightly before he shook me again.

"Then if I say we're gonna get her back, we're gonna get her back!" his paws squeezed my face, "Get it?" I nodded again before he let go and I brought a hand up to massage my sore face.

"That reminds me, Torn wanted me to let you know that he's already transmitting the location of Onin, the blind woman in the slums who works at the Bazaar, into your communicator," Tess mentioned, smiling when I took it out and saw the grey blip on the screen, "He said it should take your mind off…well, things, and maybe even learn a thing or two about the House of Mar."

"Thanks, toots," Daxter clicked his tongue and made gun motions, making Tess giggle, "C'mon Jak, time to go adventurin'!" He jumped on me and yanked at my hair, making me rear up. Once I was almost standing, I sighed and got off the seat. Daxter grinned widely at me and pointed a finger out.

"Blind bag of bones here we come!" he shouted, and I looked at the communicator again. As I thought of her, sitting at the bar wasn't going to bring her back any faster. In fact, it'd probably better I didn't hang around, seeing as how Krew got steamed when I decided to hide here from the KGs when we all scattered at the pumping station. I hopped on the zoomer parked outside and headed over to the Water Slums, where most of the houses were built right over swamps. I noticed the miserable conditions the people here were living in and even a few bodies that floated under the houses. I shook my head and pushed on. It wasn't any of my business and things would be better as soon as we took down the Baron. It would have to get better or there wouldn't be any people left to save. A younger me would have probably cared, would have helped these people no matter the cost…but those were better times, times when I hadn't had my own life turned upside down. Now, all that mattered was to take down the Baron. It wouldn't restore the innocence that I had lost, nor the naivety and the good feelings, but it'd be a start.

"Hey Jak, this it?" Daxter pointed out and I stared at the tent that seemed to have jumped out of nowhere, "Jeez, not much of a looker, is it?" He was right: it was just a dingy tent with strange symbols on it, the entrance held up by two sticks. It sorta reminded me of home.

"Hmm…those look like the symbols we saw on that machine that brought us here in the first place!" Daxter's ears flattened against his head as he remembered the event. I didn't particularly care for it either, so I just walked in, hoping that whatever we needed to do would get my mind off of both of those memories. My attention at first was on the old woman who was sitting in the middle of the floor, but then I got distracted by all of the weird voodoo stuff that was hanging around.

"Cool, check out all the dead stuff!" Daxter poked a hanging bird thing and it bit him, "Ow!"

"Touch the goods again, rat boy, and you'll be-aaawwwrrrkkkk-counting with your toes!" the strange creature, now recognizing it as a monkaw, flew from his hanging spot and landed on the woman's head, on a sort of plate, "I am Pecker!" I couldn't help but laugh and shared a glance with Daxter who was thinking the exact same thing, although I did try to cover it.

"Yes, yes, my mother, she was very…vindictive…" Pecker was touching his feather-fingers together in slight annoyance, "I am Onin's interpreter." As soon as the monkaw spoke her name, the old woman's eyes opened and she clapped her hands together, channeling eco to her fingers draw lines and shapes. The monkaw stared at her hands intensely, most likely translating in his head.

"Onin welcomes you, bla-bla-bla-bla-blah, the usual boring salutations," he put his wing under his chin as she made a motion over her eyes, "She says, 'It is good to see you again, Jak'." I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

"But we've never met before," I glanced at Daxter again who shrugged.

"Before, after, it is all the same," Pecker was about to continue to translate, but Daxter shouted.

"Oh, oh! Let me try! Aaahhh…she wants a…a yakkow bone, a yakkow bladder! No, no, I got it!" he waved a hand in front of me and I went cross-eyed for a second, "For many moons, she has waited for…a juice pop, a jewel shop? Oh, oh, I know, she's got a hair ball, a hairy lip, a hairy chest!" Pecker flew over to us and I looked at him expectantly to actually make sense of this.

"Close…but NO!" I looked back to Onin who made eco-lines in the shape of the symbol back at the pumping station, "Onin says, 'You seek answers-aaawwwrrrkkkk-about the tomb of Mar.'"

"So what do we need to know?" I asked, tired of all this already, expecting that she needed me to do something for her to learn about it.

"She's going on and on about mystical energy channels, evil curses, stupid wwwooooo crap!" he shook his feathers violently, "Forget all that! I'm going to sum this up quickly because now you're cutting into my siesta time!" I looked at Daxter and he made a 'he's crazy' look. I nodded, smirking.

"Onin wants you to recover three artifacts from the Precursor Mountain Temple," I glanced back at Onin and watched her fingers, "Not two, not four, three. Use the warp gate at the northwest side of the city and bring back the three items you find." Pecker flew back to his resting place on Onin's head, crossing his arms over himself just as she went back to meditating. Daxter and I looked back at each other before seeing Pecker waving us off. Daxter blew a raspberry at him as I was about to exit the tent, but Pecker screeched at us once more.

"And…Jak…" I turned my head to glance at him, both Onin and the monkaw looking at us with serious, yet understanding expressions, "…Onin says be still. She is unharmed." My eyes widened and I moved so that I was facing her fully, walking towards her.

"Can she see her?" I asked, and the blind woman held up her hands again.

"She says yes," Pecker translated, holding up a hand, "But do not delay Jak. Onin sees the…thing that took her. However, there is something surrounding him that is blocking her vision of both it and her. If you can get those three artifacts, it may help to give better clarity to your friend's situation."

"Oooh, like reception for a TV!" Daxter grinned and nudged my face, "Great, now we really got something to do! Let's go get those artifacts, Jak!" I nodded, eager to know more. Was she really okay? The way he's been desperately pleading with her to be at his side, it seemed like he wouldn't hurt her, but…

"We'll be back," I told them and the monkaw nodded to me, going back to meditating with Onin. I strode out, strong with purpose, and climbed on my 'borrowed' zoomer. Daxter was continuously grinning at me, probably happy that I wasn't drowning myself in alcohol and sleep. I revved up the zoomer and quickly drove to the Precursor Mountain Temple, determined. Whatever was happening in that palace between Peyton and Sam…I needed to know.

-Sam's POV-

There's…nothing…and I mean nothing…more humiliating…then being tied up and hung on a hook like a fish by your hands, while some KG blockheads poked you in the butt with their tazer-spears. After getting captured by Peyton, he let me hang here in some weird dungeon, unconscious until these boneheads started zapping me. I mean, they put it on low voltage then literally shocked my ass. For two freaking hours! You'd think they'd get tired of prodding a girl with electricity, but no! Obviously, their small size-of-a-cherry pit brains were getting a kick out of this. I swear to you, this means war.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Tweedle-Dum, Tweedle-Dee," I muttered at the red-armored idiots, "When I get out of here, I'll ram those rods right up your-"

"Language, Sam, language!" Peyton walked into the dungeon calmly, although there was an evil smirk that showed he was getting some sort of pleasure out of this. Still clothed in a large brown cloak, the only thing that showed was that off-white smirk.

"Language? You want language, I'll give you language, you evil sick twisted motherf-AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!" this time, those twits turned up the voltage and for a while, my ass was freaking numb.

"Hey, easy," Peyton raised a hand and the robe slipped up to his wrist, the ropy purple pulsating scar visible in the light, "I want her alive. Now get out of here, I need to talk with her alone." The guards were visibly repulsed by his appearance, so they bolted as soon as he spoke about getting out. Peyton slid the sleeve over his hand again, contemplating quietly as he walked to me. I watched him while I tried to twist out of my predicament, the nerves in my ass starting to return back to normal.

"That hurt me more than you, you know?" he spoke quietly, the maniacal side of him almost nonexistent. For a moment, I thought he had returned to normal, personality-wise at least.

"Uh-huh…I'll believe that when I see scorch marks on your ass," I bit back sourly, still pissed off at Peyton for having let those KG zap me for two hours.

"If you had just come quietly, I would have whisked you off to my nice, luxurious room instead of bringing you here to the dungeon," Peyton circled me slowly, making me shudder as his eyes seemed to explore everywhere on my body, "Since you didn't, I had to punish you. And trust me, that wasn't the worst of what I could have the KG do to you." My skin started getting goosebumps when I saw a purple tendril slither from under his cloak and rise up towards me.

"Fortunately, you are my jewel," he stood directly in front of me, eyes gleaming, "My one true love. Of course I wouldn't let anything serious happen to you. I love you too much, Sam." The tentacle was as thick as my arm and had the look of the underbelly of a caterpillar, inching its way along in the air toward the restraints on my wrist, but not before some of it touched my belly. I swear to God, had it not been for my pride, I would have barfed then and there. It felt like Slimer from Ghostbusters just humped my stomach, the tentacle leaving a trail of clear slime there.

"Don't worry, you'll learn to enjoy it," I turned to look Peyton in the eyes again, and he seemed to be smirking yet again, "Come, let's retire somewhere more private and less…freedom-deprived." The tentacle had enough strength to lift the restraints with my hands still bound off of the iron hook I had been suspended from. And while it was good to finally be off of it, I was still pretty sure wherever he was taking me was just as bad, if not worse.

"Peyton, just let me go," I spoke in a calm and restrained tone, the tentacle setting me down on the ground so that my hands fell forward, "None of this…none of this is worth it…"

"You are worth everything," he darkly muttered back, coming closer to me. He grabbed the restraints on my wrists and tugged me forward, his other hand going around my waist to hold me to him. I gave a small hiccupping gasp, the bruises from when his tentacle had grabbed me from before stinging from the contact.

"As long as I have you…the rest can go to hell," he replied, obsessed eyes boring into me. And for the first time, I was terrified of him. They say that a man with no inhibitions was the scariest person of all. Like a suicide bomber, they had nothing to lose or were insane. Right now, I was looking at Peyton: Suicide Bomber of Haven City.

"You don't mean that…you don't mean that!" I stubbornly tried to pull away, my hands digging into the cloak around his chest, the hood falling down from his face. Once it did, I gasped as I stared up at that a somehow normal-looking visage. Peyton's face was showing small tears that were a deep-set purple, but beyond that, it looked like he was healing. The ropy ugly scars that had once marred his face had shrunk and all but disappeared, giving him more of an incomplete look rather than a monstrous one. His eyes had also changed, now a deep set jade with a shadow of honey. Overall, even with the patches of purple, he was starting to look…hot?

"Hmm…what're you staring at, Sam?" he smirked and I blushed, feeling my face heat up as I struggled even more. Admittedly, for some reason, he had this…thing that he didn't have before. As moronic as it sounds…there was this thing. What the hell was wrong with me? Was I somehow drained of brain cells when I was being unmercifully electrocuted by the morons with tazers? If I had to compare his old self to his new self…wait…did evil make people look sexier? No…probably not, considering what Dark Eco did to Jak. I definitely liked Jak the way he was minus the Dark Eco. Maybe bad-asses? Was I attracted to bad-asses? I compared the repertoire of men I've met who've caused me to feel…something. Jak was most certainly a bad-ass…Sig was one hell of a bad-ass…Blitz was bad-ass matured…yep, I had a thing for bad-asses. Which sucked. Why couldn't I go for more normal people like Zeke? Wait, not going there, having enough boy issues as it is…

"Nothing!" I looked him in his eyes and bared my teeth angrily, "I'm staring at some villain asshole who decided to conveniently borrow my best friend's face! I don't know who the fuck you are, but I want Peyton back!" It was true. I wanted the same dorky, knew-too-much-about-Starcraft, reliable, and just all around good-guy Peyton back. This new Peyton, no matter how bad-ass or hot he was, would never replace the old Peyton. I missed his slightly pock-marked face and that big shit-eating grin he gave whenever he managed to outtalk me or just screwed around with the others. He was my best friend…and right now, I so needed a best friend…

"Spit and curse all you want, Sam," he grinned, then moved closer and I bent away from him, trying to keep him away, "You're all mine, now…"

"As if," I scoffed, jamming my bound hands directly into his chin and shoved upwards, "Keep the possessiveness to video games and food, cave man!"

"Oh, I'm a cave man? What about that ass hole who just kissed you?" he took my hands away from his chin and brought his eyes to look at me angrily, the jade-and-honey combo going much darker and much more sinister, "Who the hell kisses someone like that in front of someone else? Like they're his property! And you say I'm the cave man?" Then, Peyton seemed to have an idea and his eyes softened, as did his hold on me. A tentacle wrapped around my back and waist, holding me in place, firm enough to render me helpless. Oh…I SOdid not like where this was going.

"You let some monster pumped with Dark Eco kiss you…" he traced a finger along my lips, the small ropy pulsating scar on it making me repulsed, "I think it's fair that I purify his taste from you, don't you agree? After all, if you're going to be mine, I can't let another man's touch linger…"

"Oh God, please tell me you're not going to…ughhh…" I groaned, twisting my head away from his touch, gritting my teeth, "Knock it off, ain't gonna happen!"

"You're really in no position to be talking, Sam," he smiled with an evil undertone, then softened as he brought my face closer to his, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this…" Just as his lips were near mine, I reared my head back and slammed my forehead against his, making him recoil slightly and his tentacle to release me.

"Ahh shit…headbutts are stupid!" I groaned, blinking my eyes and scrunching my eyebrows several times to relieve the sudden pain, "And so are you, Peyton! This isn't like you! Stop pretending to be something you're not!" While I was stumbling away from him, my tied hands clutching my face as I attempted to put some space between us, Peyton was just standing there, his now dark brown hair covering his face. Then, something strange and unsettling happened…

-Jak's POV-

"I brought back all of the artifacts you asked for," I spoke, displaying each of them, "Now find out if she's all right." It wasn't too hard gathering all three, considering my past adventures, but the Metal Heads Rhinos were a real pain in my ass. The longer it took me to fight each and every one of them, the longer it would keep me from seeing what that bastard Peyton was doing to Sam. And I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut that had me on edge…

"Awwwwrrrrkkk! I can't believe you actually did this thing!" Pecker squawked, gripping the edge of Onin's platter-like hat and leaning towards the artifacts, then watched Onin's hand motions, "Onin says she will show you the vision to you. One moment!" Pecker gave another screech and became Onin's hands and eyes as he began to assemble the three artifacts carefully. When he was done, the lens was directly in front of me with the gear placed under the blue shard, Onin's hands seemingly channeling energy into it. The gear began to spin and the shard began to slowly stop vibrating, instead projecting an image onto the lens like some crystal ball.

"…Oh my…aawwwwrrrrkkkk!" Pecker was staring at the lens in fascination and even Onin seemed to have a look of surprise on her face. I couldn't believe what I was seeing either.

"…It's…you, Jak!" Daxter pointed at the image, gaping. What the hell? Why was there an exact look-a-like of me with Sam? Then, some sounds began to echo from the blue shard.

"…No…no, you stay away from me…you stay AWAY!" I could hear Sam's voice coming through and I came closer to the lens, seeing Sam backing away from my double, "You can't fool me! Just shut up!"

"You're acting crazy, it's me! Come here, it's going to be all right! Don't you trust me?" the other me started spouting and I clenched my fists, baring my teeth.

"No...you're not real…YOU'RE NOT REAL!" she screamed back, trying to keep her distance from the imposter.

"How do you know I'm not real? How do you know you're not just hallucinating?" the other Jak smirked and taunted, coming closer, "I'm what you want, right? This body…this voice…these eyes…I'm giving you what you want…and better yet, you don't have to lose to Keira." My eyes widened then narrowed. That's it. I'm going to kill this bastard.

"I want Jak, not you!" Sam yelled and tried to dart around him, but the fake wrapped an arm around her and held her to him.

"I am Jak…this is what you want…" I growled as I felt the rage within me start to boil, "I can feel all that doubt starting to chip away, Sam…just give in. You can have everything you want, even this man's face, body, and voice. All you have to do…is be mine…" He was trying to use me to get to her! Son of a bitch!

"I want Jak…not someone who's pretending to be him!" she pushed him away, but she ended up falling to the floor, "…I just want Jak…" Her voice softened and so did my eyes, the vision now focusing on Sam's face, on the verge of tears and obviously distressed.

"Well, you can't have him," my twin's face turned darker and became distorted before it turned into Peyton's face, causing me to grimace, "And until you finally listen to reason, this will be your accommodations for the night." A slimy purple tentacle rose from the bottom of his cloak and grabbed her, causing her to yelp as it squeezed her tight. I slammed fist against the lens, which made it shake, but was otherwise sturdy and unharmed.

"LET HER GO!" I yelled, although I knew it wouldn't reach. However, the lens shook and somehow, both Sam and Peyton looked up to where the vision was pointed at them.

"…Jak?" Sam whispered and the image zoomed up on her face, "Jak! Is that you? I'm okay! I'm at the Baron's Palace and-"

"Enough!" Peyton snarled and suddenly, the entire lens went black before clearing. The three objects that were floating now dropped to the floor with a clattering jarring noise. I blinked before backing away, staring at my hands that had somehow passed a message to her.

"…What just happened?" I asked, Daxter also looking surprised and amazed.

"You green-haired idiot!" Pecker retrieved the fallen artifacts, "Onin's present-day visions are more like portals than just on-looking! You could have done something to disturb the timeline and then what? You'd be stuck there! Awwwwrrrkkk!" I stared then stood in front of Onin.

"Are you saying you can actually transport someone?" I asked, Onin looking up for a moment before signing with her hands.

"She says no, but under circumstances such as with these artifacts, you can pass a message of sorts," Pecker re-assembled the artifacts the way they were, "And you…you just alerted our presence to him!" Onin nodded with a grim expression, making me take a step back.

"It'll be harder to spy on them since he'll probably have that aura cover them up harder," Pecker flew back to the top of her hat, "There's nothing we can do for the moment now." Onin began moving her hands solemnly, the blue that sparked between them arcing in definitive patterns.

"Onin says she will search the timelines for answers about these sacred relics in the mean time. Perhaps they will strengthen her vision enough to help you when she figures them out. I will find you then," Pecker gave a solid nod and I nodded back, watching as Onin began to meditate and harmonize with the artifacts once again. With grim determination, I walked out of the tent, eyes hardened and gritting my teeth.

"Now…I know what you're thinking…" Daxter started, but I grabbed his face and he made a couple of muffled screeches in protest.

"We're going to that palace Dax," I told him quietly, "Sam showed me that his room was right at the top with the Baron's. If Peyton's going to be putting her anywhere…it's there." I gave a low growl and raised my shoulders a little, a jolt of Dark Eco sparked around me.

"And he will pay for taking her from me," I promised, rage almost near a boiling point as I set my mind to getting to that tower.

"Wait, wait, the Baron's Palace ain't just gonna be open-doors and givin' ya a party hat!" Daxter pulled on an ear which made me glare at him after reeling, "We gotta get a little help on this one, Jak…now who to go to…?" He was right, as much as I hated to admit it, but I thought along with him before we both had the same idea and grinned at each other.

"Vin," we both said and started off towards the power plant district, the zoomer humming along as we powered our way through traffic and bystanders. Just hold on for a little while longer, Sam…I'm coming…

-Zeke's POV-

"…Jak? What're you doing here?" I was sort of surprised to see Jak when he came to the power plant. Last I saw of him was drowning himself in alcohol at Krew's bar…but I didn't really blame him. He was probably hurt the most. I saw him kiss Sam, so…they must've had something going on. Which I fully support, but…how was that going to end, I wondered…

"I gotta talk to Vin," he replied briefly, pushing past me and making me stare after him in confusion. What happened? And why was he so fired up? Then, I caught up to him in a light jog and grabbed him by the shoulder, shaking my head.

"Sorry, man, Vin's busy," I told him, pointing at a few lit screens, "He's trying to hack into some of the systems for some viral information on the eco trades you discovered last week. He says there's some green eco in one of the trade-offs, so he's trying to see if the Underground can intercept it at a secure point. Just…give him a few minutes." When he tried to move, I tightened my grip to make him look at me. He gave me some scary looks, but eventually backed off and let me pull him off to the side.

"…So, you Vin's bodyguard now?" he asked me in a low tone, crossing his arms while he leaned against a railing.

"Hah, no. Just trying to help Vin the best way I can," I grinned at the crazy white-haired dude for a moment before growing serious and closing my eyes, "You know…after what happened to Sam…"

"…Hey buddy, it's okay," Daxter jumped onto my shoulder and nudged my face to make my eyes open, "It ain't anyone's fault for Sam's situation."

"Yeah…but if she hadn't helped me get into that transport…" I ran a hand through my hair and left it on the back of my head before Jak spoke up.

"Then both of you would've been gone," he replied matter-of-factly, "And we'd be even more in trouble. But…I get what you're saying…"

"Yeah…" we both went silent for a moment as we watched Vin work. The two days since Sam was taken I…I couldn't sleep. I just kept seeing her in my dreams, being dragged away like that, that crazy look in Peyton's eyes. I'm…I'm just some normal guy from a middle-class family and good friends who were more or less sane and normal. Now, we got thrown into this alternate universe of gaming characters and what not and Peyton had gone insane, Sam and Dani are part of a resistance group, Blaze had lost part of his sanity and now is working for Krew, and Tom and Aggie were nowhere to be found. We needed to go home…I needed to go home. I need normalcy and some steady ground to stand on. What had happened to Sam was the last straw.

"Yeah…" I repeated before I took a deep breath in and looked at him, "So, whaddya need Vin for?" Jak seemed to be in a silent debate with Daxter on my shoulder for a moment before nodding.

"We just wanted to know if there's a way into the palace besides just the front door or scaling the walls," Jak explained, Daxter nodding and smiling.

"Well…Blaze managed to get the complete set of blueprints to the Baron's Palace a few days ago from some special inside sources he had," I pinched my chin between my thumb and forefinger, thinking hard, "There are some old elevators in the support towers that surround the palace and…waaaiiittt a minute, what're you guys planning?" I narrowed my eyes at them, sensing something strange about this. Then, Jak and Daxter went into another secret silent conversation before smirking at each other, then me.

"We're going to get Sam back," Jak told me, cracking his knuckles. My eyes widened, which made him frown as he started to see where this was going, trying to get by me to Vin.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, are you nuts?" I whispered to him harshly, pushing him away, "Sam was captured because she wanted all of us safe! I'm not going to let you go in there to let everything she did be worth nothing!"

"She never meant to get captured," Jak firmly argued back, nearly butting heads with me, "And I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her out of there."

"If I could do it, Jak, I would be there with you every step of the way," I told him with my hands up defensively, then I lifted up my shirt slightly with a wince, "But look at what Peyton did to me, man…he's not just some guy anymore." There were large bruises all over me that hadn't healed when he found me, some of them results from broken bones. He glanced down then back at me, as if not fazed by what had happened to me.

"I'm not just 'some guy' either, Zeke…" he replied back, eyes turning into a dark abyss of black and growling in a deep dangerous tone, "I'm not asking you to come along. I'm not even bothering. I just need to ask Vin for the favor. So either you get out of my way or just give us some peanut-gallery-sized support." He pushed me back and not gently either. I gritted my teeth when my back hit the railing, glaring at him as he started stalking towards Vin with grim determination. Angry, I grabbed his shoulder to turn him around.

"She's my friend, too! You don't think I wanna come with you?" I yelled, causing Vin to look up from his work at us, "Ah…my bad, Vin…just…talking over here…"

"Doesn't sound like talking," Vin waddled over to us, looking between us, "What's going on?"

"Vin, buddy, we need a favor," Jak put his hands wide out before touching the fingertips together.

"I can't help you with your Eco bill!" Vin rubbed his neck nervously and was about to walk away, sensing something bad.

"We need you to switch on the access elevator in one of the palace's support towers," Jak asked, me groaning as I realized I shouldn't have told him about the God-damn elevators.

"Sheesh!" Vin had one hand on his face, the other supporting an elbow, "That's part of the old B-zone power grid! It hasn't worked for years!" Oh, finally! Some good luck!

"Well, if it's too hard for you, I understand," Jak started to say in a somewhat nonchalant tone, turning his back on Vin, "Power stuff can be tricky…" He winked at Daxter and my gut dropped. Vin was way too easy to manipulate sometimes as I watched his eyebrows draw low and mouth frown in indignation.

"Tricky? Humph!" I groaned as he took the bait and dashed back to his console starting to ramble off some series of technical know-how. I looked back at Jak who was smirking at me and I slapped a hand over my eyes, sighing.

"If…you're not going to quit, then I'm going with you," I told him, Jak and Daxter looking at each other before looking at me with surprised expressions, "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. And besides…I need to see she's okay, too. I can't eat or sleep knowing she's stuck in there with that maniac wearing Peyton's face." They grinned at me and Jak held out his hand.

"Good to have you on the team," he accepted as I took his hand firmly, the both of us giving a solid shake before Vin landed in front of his in his hovering console.

"…And presto! You've got instant lift juice!" Vin proudly boasted, all three of us smirking back at him.

"Vin…you're a genius!" Jak replied, complimenting him to make up for the manipulation.

"Eh…actually, Mar was the genius," Vin scratched the back of his neck again with embarrassment and humility before throwing his arms out wide, "People say he made most of this stuff long ago! The shield wall system, the eco grid…" Our eyebrows went up at the information before he shook his hands in front of him to redirect the talk.

"Anyway! To get that elevator moving, you gotta find and turn on all the old B-zone power boxes located in the city! There are five of 'em!" he remarked, taking out a mobile data pad device and downloading the coordinates into our communicators.

"That doesn't sound so tough!" Daxter smiled happily, probably from thinking it was an easy mission. However, as I looked at the coordinates, I frowned. It was never easy…

"No," Vin agreed for a moment before holding up his hands as if they were guns, "Except those power boxes are guarded by motion-sensing turbo cannons!" Daxter's face went into shock and Jak nodded with eyes narrowed, accepting the conditions without a moment's hesitation.

"But if you can destroy the cannons and switch the boxes on, I can do the rest!" Vin explained, Daxter shaking his head at Jak's agreement. He looked at me and I sighed, using my pointer finger to scratch the tip of my nose.

"Got no choice, I guess," I started walking towards the exit with Jak and Daxter, Vin skidding to wave us off.

"J-j-just don't tell the Baron I ever saw ya!" Vin asked us, and I nodded to him with a easy grin.

"No worries, Vin!" I turned back and mumbled under my breath, "Something tells me we're going to die before we have to meet him anyway…"

-Sam's POV-

"I don't know how he did it…" Peyton was flipping through my walkthrough guide, looking for answers while he had me tied up on one of the chairs in his room, "But when I find out, your little annoyance and his little rat aren't going to be a problem for much longer…" I tried to struggle out of the rope, but it just bit into my skin, as tight as a two-sizes too small straight-jacket. After I heard Jak's roar in the dungeon, it echoed for a while before I started to call out to him, but Peyton had nearly exploded and two giant tentacles I hadn't seen before whiplashed the ceiling, causing bricks and green-with-age mortar fall. Then, he fled to his room with me, locking both of us in. Despite how evil and bad-ass he was when he was in the large jail cell, Peyton was more or less stressed and frantically turning pages with eyes darting here and there. In a nutshell, he became nut-less.

"Told you," I remarked, his attention going from the pages to me, "You can't hide what you are. You can't keep pretending something you're not." He growled and slammed my book on the bed, gripping my face in one pulsating-with-purple hand, making me wretch a little on the inside.

"I'm not pretending," he jerked my face to the right before letting go, losing his cool, "I'm in charge! With this, I control everything!" Peyton held up the book and I gritted my teeth. As long as he was more or less concentrated on finding out how Jak had done that little out-of-game trick, he would be distracted from trying to figure out what Jak was going to do next. And if my memory was still intact from all the tazer-fun those guards had with my ass, then Jak was going to be coming here…very soon. I grinned and turned my face back to him.

"Yeah," I spoke again and he glared at me, trying to silence me with his thoughts, "That's why you want to stay here. Here, you can control things. In the real world, you're just a scared boy who cries in his emo corner, hugging his Master Chief doll in a missionary position while sucking on your thumb. Thing is…you're still that scared boy, Peyton." In that moment, he snapped and two ropy, thick, dark purple feelers out from under his cloak and ripped the rope bindings from me, dragging me from the chair. Oh shit, the things my mouth gets me into…

"I'm scared? I was never scared," Peyton growled as he advanced towards me, the tentacles throwing me and pinning me to the bed, "And I'm not a boy. At least…in a short while, I won't be…" He slid onto the bed and started crawling towards me, my eyes wide with horror as I realized what he was about to do.

"You sick fuck, get away from me!" I threatened harshly, my legs lashing as they were still free, "Only cowards do this! Only degenerate ass-holes do this! You're being an ass-hole!" After cussing and swearing him out all day, I was running out of gas for my smart-aleck remarks.

"Fine," Peyton grabbed my legs and forced them to either side, "I'm an ass-hole. If it means I get you, then I'll deal with being an ass-hole. And you are going to be mine, Sam." As he settled between my legs, a cold chill settled in my stomach. My eyes widened and everything seemed to pull up to a halting stop. This wasn't happening…he wasn't going to…oh God, please don't let him do this!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

chiv-id: Ughh...I felt slightly sick writing that part.

Dani and Aggie: I know, why? *in unison*

chiv-id: It had to be done...it had to be done...and I sacrificed bravely! *gets all drama-queen as she grasps their hands* Remember what I did...to make this story...good...blarrrrgg... *fake-dies*

Dani: *fake-cries* Oh no!

Aggie: *fake-cries with her* Not you, Sam, you're our writer!

chiv-id: *cracks an eye open* That the best you can do for a death scene? *sighs and gets up* Well, no big emotional catharsis scenes for you two.

Dani and Aggie: Boooooo!

Jak: You do realize I'm going to have to kill Peyton when I find him, right?

chiv-id: Awwww...and no, it's just a story! *kisses on cheek* Thanks for the thought though, Jak.

Jak: ... *blush*

chiv-id: Anyway, so, to make up for not doing review-commentating last time...

Angel Of Darkness808: Peyton's always has people wanting to slap him or burn him or tie him up and dunk him in a pool of acid...no wait, that's just me! 8D *slapped* Anyway, glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope you read this one! Cookies for you! 333

Reader123456789: Awww, that's so nice of you! And don't worry, there will be epic actions to come in the next one! I promise! *dumps a load of cookies on your doorstep* Have fun, and don't give these to Dani!

Thiwzil: Thanks, and glad you got a good visual! I try to focus on conveying certain images when I type and I absolutely love it when people understand what I'm trying to convey! Sprinkled chocolate donuts for you! With a small bag of assorted cookies. 8D

Raevn-Stark (Raven-Stark?): LOL, thank you, I didn't realize my fic deserved applause! I applaud you back for reviewing because I love reviews and it keeps me going when I'm writing! I send box-fuls of love and cookies to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Deanne: D'awww, you're just sweeter than a barrel full of sugar! Well, I haven't eaten a barrel full of sugar, but I'm pretty durn sure you're even sweeter than that! I give you barrel full of sugar with one cookie on top! And don't say one fic is better than another! The amount of creativity put into one story is equal to all the others, they just come in different shape and forms!

Heartlessbyforce: Thank youuuuuu, I'm glad you enjoyed it! And Sasuke on curse-steroids? Yikes and ewww. And it was cheating. LULZ! Anyway, I get what you mean and Peyton's...sort of more like Orochimaru and his snakes if you get my drift...no? Neither do I! 8D *hit* Hope you like my gift of cookies and this new chapter!

Yay! Reviews done! Please put more and you'll see your review getting answered on the next chapter, which will hopefully be soon! Peace my peoples, and I will see you on the next update! Remember: YOU CAN SHINE NO MATTER WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF. EVEN IF IT'S SHIT. Wait, no. Wrong movie, wrong game, and wrong quote. REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWW!