For those of you who haven't played and finished Jak II and 3 (and the Precursor Lagacy), I recommend you not read this story because, for one, it will contain spoilers, and two, it won't make sense really unless you have.

The Winner's Circle

Chapter One

The Big Race

Jak mounted his Air Racer and pulled up in line with the other contestants. On his shoulder Daxter gave him a motivating nod. The buzz of idle engines around him and enthusiastic cheers from the crowd helped psyche him up for the big race to come. He watched as other racers taunted each other from their zoomers before suddenly falling silent. The crowd's cheers intensified and it didn't take Jak long to realise why. He turned his head at the sound of an approaching vehicle. A sneer tugged at his lip as the final contestant pulled up next to him. Erol sat up to confront Jak his hands curling into fists as he spoke. "I want more than just to win, eco freak. I want you!" He mounted his air racer and revved the engine in readiness not even passing Jak a second glance.

Above the racers Baron Praxis' round platform hovered as he gave his routinely 'motivating' speech to the competitors. Two Krimzon Guards stood watch beside him ready to silence, with their guns, anyone who caused a disturbance. "Greetings racers," the Baron bellowed and the crowds roared in reply. "Today your nerve and skill will be tested for our amusement. If any of you should by some small chance beat our grand champion, Erol-" Jak glanced at the named in distaste, "then you will be awarded a months supply of eco." He then muttered something else so quickly the racers barely heard him as the prize was set down in front of the crowd stands. "Good luck and die bravely." His platform rose a few feet and he addressed the contestants more directly to begin the race. "Ready?" Erol smirked arrogantly across at Jak. "Get set." He dropped his mask disguising the snide grin and Jak faced forward with a snarl of malice. "Go!"

All feet slammed down on accelerators and the zoomers launched forward into a mass of metal around the first turn. The heat of the vehicles reached an uncomfortable peak only dissipating when they began to spread out as the more skilful drivers pulled ahead of the group, Jak being one of them and Erol not far behind. Erol ghosted him around the first turn and they dragged it out side by side. On the wider fourth corner, however, he wasn't so lenient of Jak's company. The two zoomers collided violently and Jak could imagine the triumphant sneer on Erol's face as Jak slammed into the wall and was forced into a less preferable route through one of the channels in the track. He rose onto the main track once more spotting Erol's back metres ahead of him. He drafted the reigning champion past the perilous hole in the centre of the track and picked up a turbo. As he hit the acceleration Erol's Air Racer drifted ahead of his blocking his way. He swore he heard conceited laughter over the roars of the zoomers. "What's the matter, boy? The heat getting to your head?"

Jak smirked and launched forward with his turbo ramming into the back of Erol's vehicle knocking him off course. He was quick to recover but not before he'd passed the shortcut in the track. Jak glided down it and reconnected with the main track before roaring past the start line in first place. He laughed confidently. "One lap down-"

"-and four to go!" Daxter finished for him. "He's sure keeping quiet now!" Jak steered down the second shortcut and into the third corner once more. Erol wasn't foolish enough the miss it either and had soon regained a lot of the lost ground between them. He wasn't laughing anymore. Both of their vehicles were smoking at this point from each others assaults, but not enough to worry over. Erol rammed into another racer, to snatch their turbo, who veered of course and collided headfirst with the wall exploding on impact. That was enough to lighten Erol's mood a bit as he set on catching up to the people's hero.

They surged through another lap, too far apart to cause any conflicts, but approaching the sharp turn halfway through the lap their zoomers collided once more. Jak knew that if he let Erol gain too much ground it was unlikely he would catch up with him again. Erol used the momentum of the crash to pass the corner easily while Jak struggled for control, his elbow scraping the floor dangerously as he veered his zoomer through the turn. He used his last turbo to gain the speed he'd lost back quickly. His flesh tightened from the heat that radiated from his vehicle.

It took little effort to pass the minor ranks into second place once more, however, first place was a little more difficult to achieve. He knew Erol wasn't the sort to become careless over a false sense of security, but neither was he. Metal collided as he slammed into the back of Erol's zoomer. The man growled in annoyance. "You just don't know when to give up do you? You lost this race before it even started!" He swerved the back of his vehicle into the nose of Jak's in an attempt to throw him.

"Blow it out your cake hole, motor mouth!" Daxter yelled in reply and the two vehicles grappled with each other for control, front to back. Erol steered through a turbo, grabbing it before Jak and zooming ahead once more. Jak was getting increasingly pissed off having to watch his back all the time. He steered closely into the corners, his Air Racer so close to the wall it ignited sparks and manoeuvred smoothly around the sharp turn pulling up beside Erol. They were already on the third lap and neither of them had pulled too far ahead of the other, but Jak had a feeling that he would be the one to leave triumphant. Erol showed his impatience through his actions. No longer ramming into Jak he used a turbo to surge ahead and over the start line into the second to last lap. Jak felt the unpredicted heat from Erol's engine claw at the skin on his face and dropped his goggles to protect his eyes. He then matched Erol with a turbo and pulled up along side him shying down the shortcut following the start line. The two only succeeded in slowing each other down as they skidded back onto the main track and rejoined the throng of racers.

Bumping through the crowd and managing to dodge all of Erol's efforts at nudging him off course Jak drew ahead of the group in first place and sped around the corners easily with free roam on the track. For once his time on top wasn't ephemeral because, although he had pulled up close behind him, Erol hadn't succeeded in outmanoeuvring him on the corners. Nor had he managed to get close enough to thwart Jak's expert driving and this annoyed him greatly. He narrowed his eyes in concentration. He could not lose this! He would not lose!

It was the last stretch of the track. The two leading racers eased off the acceleration to round the sharp turn neither of them could afford to make a mistake on. Erol inched closer and closer, slowly closing the gap between him and Jak. The final shortcut was coming up and he knew that if Jak took it, it would all be over. It was too narrow for even someone with Erol's skill to perform a successful overtake in. He had no turbo to use, he couldn't afford to save them when both he and Jak had lead on the track and therefore free choice of them. He knew he was close enough to try something else though.

Jak knew how close he was and felt the adrenaline begin to peak at the prospect of winning. At the thought of rubbing it in Praxis' pompous metal face. He could see the final shortcut in view. Once he'd taken it he knew he'd secured the winning spot if he managed not to make a stupid mistake, which he trusted himself not to. Daxter seemed to feel it too. "We've won, baby. Floor it Jak-"

The zoomer shuddered suddenly. Jak was briefly disorientated not sure if it were him or the ground that was moving until he felt his vehicle swerve away from the gap in the wall. He quickly steered into the turn to gain control but by the time he had he knew he'd missed it. He passed a fleeting glance backwards and sure enough Erol's Air Racer was wrestling with his once more. His vehicle shuddered again, lurching his stomach awkwardly, though this time he knew it wasn't Erol. Something was wrong, he could feel it in the air.

Then everything slowed down around him. Something struck the front of Jak's zoomer. He barely had time to glance aside before more of it was falling. It looked like rubble; chunks of metal and glass. Light poured down above him. A crescent shaped gouge opened violently above his head where the track ceiling had previously been. In the sky overhead was a large cloud of dust rising slowly and towering above him twisting in on itself like some obscene creature.

An explosion to his right jolted his zoomer diagonally into the wall with an ear splitting clash of metal. He turned its nose forward to prevent a head on collision. Then he looked ahead. His brain stumbled in confusion when he didn't see the track. Instead he saw a black void and a wall of purple mist. Black patterns danced around before his eyes. His vehicle raced towards it as time sped up again.

Another racer shot past Jak's head and hit something ahead of him. A burst of orange and yellow flames lit up the void beneath him and he realised it wasn't a void at all. Something had blown a hole in the track! He hadn't time to react. He hadn't time to think through what to do next. He just had to do. But one thing was certain, he was going down that hole whether he liked it or not. At its jagged edge his zoomer made it's final jump before dropping, nose first, and plummeting into the black, sightless abyss below.