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World of Light

Courier 6 and Ratchet and Jak and Daxter

Level 5 - (34/50) EXP (+3), Level 5 - (1/50) (+3), Level 1 - (9/10) (+3)
Location: Land of Adventure, Redgraccoon City
Word Count: 2257

Ratchet Level up! New Ability - Clank Zoni Biology: A robot that is also part of the Zoni people, Clank technically exists outside of time. This grants him immunity to time based shenanigans (such as being able to notice/detect changes to the timeline and still being able to act and move if time is frozen). He can confer this benefit to others as long as he maintains physical contact with them.

Courier 6 settled himself back into the Bowsermobile for the rest of the ride toward the Land of Adventure, even taking the liberty of connecting his Pip-Boy’s radio to the car’s speakers again, without asking for any sort of permission. He thought it was peculiar that the only radio station coming in was Radio New Vegas, the same one he was used to back home. Was Mr. House’s AI disc jockey really situated somewhere in this strange new world? If that smooth talking, charismatic as all hell AI was operational and putting on the music, 6 hadn’t heard him coming on air for any news segment since he woke up. Not that he had had the radio on the whole time, it was only in spurts, so maybe he just missed it? Well now would be the time to find out for certain, he guessed.

6 leaned back and settled in for the drive, enjoying his tunes up until they took off. Ah, so the king was driving again. Perfect opportunity to address his continued pay, since the dragon turtle couldn’t get away or change the subject. ”Howdy pardner. We got some business to discuss.” The Courier sat forward to attention with a big ol’ smile. ”As you know, my services, well they tain’t free. That forward payment you gave me was mighty fine an’ all, but the job was to deliver you and Kirby to Peach’s castle an’, well, we’ve since moseyed on from there, ain’t we?”

The Courier paused a moment to let the facts sink in so Bowser could draw his own conclusion. ”If’n I’m gonna be doin’ more job for ya, I’ll be needin’ some compensation. If you ain’t got anything, then some favors should do nicely. First pick on equipment and such, yeah?”

Before the (most likely very angry) koopa king could respond, the music cut away to a familiar voice introducing himself over the airwaves. A smooth, strong man’s voice with the charisma to drop panties and melt hearts. His speech was both professional yet endearingly casual. Recognizing this as exactly what he was waiting for, the Courier shushed Bowser to listen intently.

“That was Kay Kaiser with ‘I Got Spurs (That Jingle Jangle),’ one of our bigger hits here on Radio New Vegas, and now you’re listening to me, Mr. New Vegas. You know, despite all the changes that have been going on lately I’ve got to say that I’m excited to have so many new listeners. But to my old friends out there, don’t worry, you’re not being replaced. I still love you.” The Courier couldn’t help but smile even as he rolled his eyes. He knew Mr. New Vegas was one of Mr. House’s AIs but that didn’t stop him from being damn endearing. “And now the news. Reports are coming in from down South that the Mushroom Kingdom Castle has been liberated from the evil clutches of the tyrannical King Bowser. Now details are a bit sketchy, but it seems a large group of assorted heroes were seen entering the castle where they deposed the Koopa King and restored the rightful ruler to the throne. But that’s not all my beautiful listeners, get this. Some say that one of these heroes was, in fact, Bowser himself! Ho boy, what a time we live in, eh?

“Our second story comes from Redgraccoon City. Eyewitnesses report seeing a giant wearing a black trenchcoat and hat roaming around the area. According to reports from these eyewitnesses, he doesn’t look like the zombies infesting the area, but he will still ruin your day. One individual spoke on the record, ‘X gonna give it to ya.’ Let me tell you my beautiful listeners, I wouldn’t want to be caught in a dark alley with someone like that.

“Our final story comes from a paid advertiser. ‘The Void Trader has returned. This weekend only, if you've got the money, you can find wonders both dashing and deadly for sale at a Tenno Relay.‘

“Well, that’s all I’ve got for you today. Before I start up the music again let me just take a moment to say that you’re all looking especially wonderful this morning. Yes, even you. Now here’s ‘I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire’ by The Ink Spots.”

Right on cue the disc jockey faded out and in his place a classic song from way way back began to emanate through the speakers. Not one of the Courier’s favorites, he found it too ironic given the world they lived in, but he largely ignored it anyway, too deep in thought. Mr. New Vegas was, in fact, still operational in this new world, and still providing news segments. That meant that he was somehow gathering information. Back in the Mojave he largely got his knowledge from the armies of Mr. House’s robots feeding data through the network they were both connected to. Would that be the same case here? Was that robot army not too far off from the castle connected to House’s (and thus Mr. New Vegas’s) network? If so, did that mean Mr. House was here and alive, the fascist dickhead? There was a lot to ponder. So much so that 6 remained quiet the rest of the drive to the Land of Adventure…

---

Once the group arrived at the LAnd of Adventure, they gave pause to view the expansive horizon and the Courier could not help but be awestruck. He had never seen so much beautiful green in his entire life! Sure, in his trips to Montana the scenery was far more friendly than his home in the Mojave, but this was something else entirely. So many plants and creatures running around, so lush and full of life. Wow. Life. So different from his world, where mankind caused the death of the planet.

The break did not last long however and soon they were off again, heading down to a town. Good, civilization. That meant quests. Quests meant rewards. Rewards meant happiness. Plus someone here might be able to point them in the direction of Galeem’s next guardian. The Courier hopped out of the Bowsermobile and, tipping his hat to the three young guards watching the door, headed on through. One of the guards suggested they check in with the Guild, which certainly sounded promising to 6. He joined alongside Princess Peach rather than break from the group, as the Hat Kid did.

As they approached, a sheriff and deputy came by to eye the group, something the Courier was familiar with. When human civilization was decimated, small settlements and rebuilding survivors tended to hand the law to a single individual to watch over everything. He was no stranger to a sheriff/deputy dynamic. The lawman’s large dog also eyed everyone as if just waiting for an order to attack. 6 walked in closely and smiled at the great hound, which relaxed instantly in his presence. He gave it a friendly scratch behind the ear and then left the sheriff behind with a simple, ”Howdy.”

Once inside the Guild a large number of adventurous looking types from old comic books and video games joined in the staring contest. By this point the Courier was starting to feel a bit annoyed. ”Ain’t no zoo animal, y’all should mind yer manners.” Well, admittedly most of the people looking him over were pretty damn attractive. Only one seemed to be strange and WHY WAS HE A BLOCK?! Instantly falling to hypocrisy the Courier could not help but stare slack jawed at the cuboid wonder that was Steve. What? How? HUH?! In a mishmash world of mutants, demons, magicians, plumbers, and aliens the one thing that gave the Courier pause… Was a man whose body resembled blocks.

---

---

After some brief deliberation it was decided that Ratchet would follow behind Nero and Nico’s van in the Blue Falcon kart, same as he had been driving, while Jak and Daxter would ride in the back of the van. Jak wanted to ride alongside them on his jetboard in turbo mode, but Daxter thought that left them way too exposed and he wasn’t in any mood to get chomped on by some zombie. Thus a ride in the back of the van it was.

Daxter of course made himself no end of nuisance for the owners of the vehicle, commenting on the plethora of trophies and gadgets inside, darting around to touch things he had no business touching, and speaking rudely about Nico’s crazy driving all the way up. Thankfully the much more level-headed Jak kept Daxter from doing anything too dangerous, but even he had to admit that while Nico was a badass driver, she was a rather reckless one. He couldn’t wait to get back behind the wheel and show them how a real driver handles a vehicle.

As the sky grew darker, all parties took notice. Ratchet couldn’t help but feel how appropriately named the Dead Zone was, given the ambiance. ”Jeez, who turned down the dimmer on the sun? This place is more sour than Jak’s face whenever he gets pissed off.” Daxter commented, perching himself up on the armrest of Nero’s seat.

The group passed by a large sign indicating the name of the city: Redgraccoon City. Weird name, didn’t seem to mean anything to any of them. Red made sense, but what was a “graccoon?” Well it didn’t matter, because soon enough the zombies Nero promised were in sight. And Nico made an effort to crush as many as she could as they made their way up.

Following a decent distance behind, Ratchet suddenly had an idea. ”Hey Clank?”

“Yes?” answered his little robot buddy, appearing in striker form.

”Ever since we got here, my arsenal has been really lacking. Let’s take advantage of the zombies getting run over to restock!”

“Hohohohoho, most definitely!” Ratchet and Clank immediately got to work, slowing down a bit to give them a better reaction time. Ratchet steered the kart to close in on crushed zombies while Clank extended his arms out, stretching them with his robotic abilities, to snatch up the spirits as they went by. Some were still too dangerous to go after, and some were missed, but the duo worked hard at keeping pace with the van and collecting as many spirits as they could. Then Nero shot a couple of demons out the window, opening up a new opportunity.

”Hold on, Clank!” Ratchet jerked the wheel hard to the side, drifting toward a ramp made of wreckage. The Blue Falcon kart jumped through toward the demon Nero had crushed with a street sign, injured but still alive. Ratchet pulled out his Omniwrench and, with both arms and added momentum from the kart’s jump, crushed its head. As they passed by, Clank stretched out his arms, barely grabbing onto the still-forming spirit orb. ”WOOHOO-aw crud!”

A zombie torso, severed at the waist but still alive, fell from up high and landed right on the hood of the kart! ”Get off! I can’t see!” Ratchet yelped, smacking at the undead abomination with his wrench. It ignored the first few whacks, reaching forward with clammy, bony hands, but another good hit to the temple sent the torso off the side. Ratchet was once again back in control, and now in possession of a few spirits he could turn into equipment!

After a few more twists and turns the van, and thus Ratchet behind, came to a halt at a ruined intersection. Nero came out of the van giving orders and brandishing a greatsword, which was gorgeous but honestly didn’t impress Jak or Daxter too much. Ratchet on the other hand was more willing to play along with Nero’s orders.

”You know what’s going on better than we do. I’ll just have to trust your advice on this on-”

”Listen here snowflake-head! We didn’t come here to help you clean up the trash! Jak and I have taken on every scare thing the world can throw at us, including mutated dark alien gods, for more adventures than I can count!” Jak leapt out from the van, Daxter in tow and morph gun in hand, grim determination on his face.

”You asked us to come kick some ass, so don’t complain when we do it. You in, Ratchet?”

The previously cautious Ratchet threw all hesitation out the window with his rivalry with Jak reignited. He crushed each of the spirits in his hands, one in turn, then fired two explosive proximity charges into the swarm of empusas using his bombbuilder. Jak answered the call to action by switching the morph gun to Vulcan Fury mode and began firing into the crowds of zombies and demons alike with rapid fire high-penetration rounds of blue eco. The kill contest had officially begun!

World of Light

Courier 6 and Ratchet and Jak and Daxter

Level 5 - (31/50) EXP (+3), Level 4 - (38/40) (+3), Level 1 - (6/10) (+3)
Location: Hammerhead
Word Count: 1765

Ratchet, Jak, and Daxter arrived at the Hammerhead only a little ahead of the others who stayed behind to fix up the monster truck. They hadn’t taken off that much sooner after all, and drove at a fairly leisurely pace so that Ratchet could explain the rest of their situation to the Dark and Light Brigade. He had covered everything they learned so far, from Galeem to the spirits that remained after killing someone, to their various uses. This veered into the rather uncomfortable topic of Clank’s current situation, having been relegated to a striker, a mere shadow of his former self. Upon seeing the situation Daxter gulped, having no desire for the same fate to befall him. Jak was less concerned and reassured his little buddy that no matter what, they always got through thick and thin together. This did little to ease Daxter’s concerns, though.

Once they arrived, Ratchet parked the Blue Falcon kart and hopped out, while Jak dismounted his jet board and reattached it to his back. ”Sheesh! This place looks more run down than a discount brothel in Kras City! I wanna complain to the manager!” Daxter said to nobody in particular, never one to exercise discretion or use an indoor voice.

”Hey, it’s a workshop! Nice! I wonder what kinds of machines and vehicles they work on here?” Ratchet was clearly interested in the Hammerhead, paying little attention to the nearby diner establishment.

”Hey, you said that everybody is under Galeem’s influence, right? All these people have got that red eye thing going on,” Jak said to Ratchet, keeping on track. He eyed everyone around warily, arms crossed.

”Yeah, what about it?” Ratchet retorted, his jaunt toward the garage interrupted to answer his fellow hero.

”So then why isn’t this place a war zone? Seems pretty peaceful.” Peace, that was something Jak wasn’t used to ever since getting flung into the future. Into Haven City. He instinctively distrusted it, especially this kind of peace. It just didn’t sit well with him.

”Like I said, it’s subtle. Unless Galeem or a giant hand comes around to take direct control, people seem to mostly act as usual.” Ratchet shrugged, but Clank manifested to offer more insight.

“Through my own observations and personal experience I have determined that unless acted upon by an outside force, most individuals behave under normal conditions with a 97.8% reliability, give or take a 2% margin of error.” Ratchet thanked Clank, who immediately dissipated back into spirit form until next he would be needed.

”Really…” Jak muttered wistfully.

”Whatcha thinking about Jak? Eh? Old buddy? Hey! Earth to Jak, anybody in there?” Daxter knocked on the side of Jak’s head like a door, rousing his friend from his own thoughts.

”It’s just that if everyone acts like they normally would… Then why would we have joined those bandits? That psycho Needles, and the reaper guy? And why would I have prioritized that alliance over our old friend?” Jak gestured to Ratchet, who had taken to leaning up against his omniwrench.

”Oh yeah, that is a good point…” Daxter mused, tapping his little furry chin.

”Well anything could have happened while you were under, I guess. If you can’t remember then you can’t remember. The important thing is that now your will is free again and you know how to fix it for everyone else.”

”I guess, but I can’t help but think that if Galeem didn’t directly affect my actions, what could those psychos have said or done to convince me to side with them over you? Assuming I was still working in my normal mindset.”

Daxter quickly interjected. ”Sheesh! Way to bring down the mood! Come on Jak, all this heavy introspection ain’t like you! Let’s just get a move on already!”

Clank was next to interject, manifesting for only a brief moment. “If I may, one of the core alterations I have observed seems to be levels of aggression. I have noted that anyone under Galeem’s influence that has engaged in battle seems incapable of surrender or withdraw. As you were already engaged with Gene prior to the arrival of Ratchet and myself, I hypothesize that any feelings of loyalty you had toward us were overridden at the time by the necessity to continue combat at all cost.”

”Or it could just be your anger problems! Haha!” Ratchet gave Jak a quick finger gun gesture, but before Jak or Daxter could rebut, something else caught their attention.

A scuffle seemed to be going on near the garage of the Hammerhead! A number of their allies were embroiled in a battle against some sort of robotic bird. They all rushed in to help, but before they could lift a finger the fight was already over: the eagle was scrapped and Din took the spirit into her body. Jak got to watch a spirit absorption firsthand for the first time. The results left him visibly impressed, though he said nothing. Daxter was, in a rare occurrence, at a complete loss for words, simply gesticulating wildly .

It was around this time that Gene announced to everyone that there was a second possible destination they could all head for, one with deadly demons to battle and something bizarre sounding called the Qliphoth. Jak looked over to Daxter with a wide grin. Daxter shook his head no wildly, but it was no use. When Jak made up his mind, it was already a done deal.

”Count us in! Sounds like a hell of a good time.” Jak eagerly agreed.

”You mean count you in while I’m forced to tag along! Ugh, I just hope none of them have a taste for ottsel…”

”Then that means I’m going too,” Ratchet put forward, showcasing his omniwrench. ”Both times we met up before our contest was interrupted. This time I’ll prove to you who the better hero is!”

”A demon killing contest, eh? I like the sound of that!”

---

Inside Grillby’s Courier 6 was having a hell of a good time playing poker. He appreciated the flaming cocktail the waiter provided, it gave the drink extra burn as it went down his throat, and the dogs were easy pickings for the well practiced gambler. After all, they barely seemed to have an understanding of the game at all! He hardly needed to be the man banned from every casino in New Vegas to take on these mongrels. Still, for some reason his exceptional luck wasn’t working so he had to rely entirely on skill and guile. That just made it more fun, honestly.

The dogs were extra trusting of his calls too, which made it far easier to bluff them. It seemed his natural animal magnetism affected these humanoid puppers to some extent since they trusted him so easily. He started the first round testing the waters with a small bet: 10 caps in the pot. That the bottle caps did not match the dog treats the rest were betting with didn’t seem to be an issue. The round took some time as the dog wearing a black mask didn’t understand what cards he had. He just barked anytime someone else moved and treated his own hand like it was invisible. Eventually he laid down his cards, a pair of sixes. The Courier had nothing, a total pig hand, and so lost his ten caps. Winner that round was the large buff dog with a small head.

That got their confidence up. Good, he could strike while the iron was hot. The next hand was dealt and the Courier had a pair of queens, but nothing else. He made another small bet of ten caps, then waited for the exchanges. Some of the dogs exchanged cards, some didn’t. The Courier chose nothing. New round of betting. ”All in,” he said, emptying his entire savings of caps onto the table. The masked dog immediately went crazy, barking left and right. The long necked dog looked at his pair of queens and, failing to understand it wasn’t as strong as the bet, folded. One by one the dogs all folded, implicitly trusting that there was no way the Courier would make such an extravagant bet if his hand didn’t match. He took the round based on his bluff alone.

The next round was a little trickier and would require more skill than a blatant bluff, as some of the smarter dogs caught on. Now that he had some dog treats, the Courier could bet with those instead of his bottle caps. 2 treats to start, and his hand was strong: three 9s. Then came the exchanges. The Courier tossed two cards, but neither of them helped his hand in any way. Three 9s was all he would have. ”I raise 5 treats,” he bet, keeping his face stone cold. Most of them matched his bet, but the amalgamate opted to fold. Then came the reveal: the Courier won the round with his three of a kind. Ironically, the only one that could have beaten him was the amalgamate, who chose to fold while it had a full house: two kings and three 4s.

So the rounds continued like this, with the Courier losing a couple here and there but winning the majority, all the way up until he had, as declared when he sat down, taken the whole pot. The dogs looked disappointed, whimpering even, as he shoveled the dog treats into his travel bag. ”Pleasure playin’ with ya, hombres. Here’s a little somethin’ fer yer troubles.” He tossed a single treat in the middle of the table for them all to share, or fight over, however they chose to solve the dispute wasn’t really his business.

No sooner had he finished the game than it was time to head out. The Land of Adventure awaited them all and, actually thinking back on it he wasn’t getting paid for this work, was he? No, he only charged Bowser to escort him and Kirby to the castle. Everything since then had been pro bono! Oh, well in all the excitement of everything it seemed he forgot to make a new deal. That would have to be rectified soon…

Worlds of Disney

Cassim and Iago

Cassim briefly looked to Mulan as she addressed him, but he was quick to reattach his sight to the true prize he was after: Mushu. Though he was not a thief without proper manners, he still spoke back to the Chinese warrior. "Perhaps you can help, but not with a hiding place. I am more than capable of holding my own, or finding somewhere to hide if the chips are down. No, I'm rather enamored with your dragon." Cassim pointed to Mushu rather dramatically, closing the distance on the red scaled monster, getting all up in his face. "Tell me, are you the treasure hording kind, or the weather controlling kind? Or perchance you're the wish granting variety of dragon? Hm, doubtful your powers would be on par with a genie, but an amazing ability still. Speak your wisdom, mighty beast of flame!"

"YEOUCH!" bellowed a familiar cry of pain from up above. Iago had just been nailed in the tailfeathers and was now in freefall straight down. Cassim rolled his eyes and, with a bit of flair, whipped out his cloak in such a way that it caught Iago safely and softly.

"You should be more careful, friend. And remember that you have wings." Cassim clasped his cloak back into place as Iago perched on his shoulder once more. Still trying to hold onto the illusion that he was a normal bird, Iago said nothing yet his displeasure at such a taunt could plainly be seen to anybody who paid even the slightest bit of attention.

Not that Cassim could enjoy teasing his companion any longer, for the boorish hunter was still trying to pick a fight. Of course he was not the most important figure in the conflict anymore. Not once the owner of the establishment made her displeasure exceedingly clear. Cassim put up his hands in a show of good faith. "As you wish, madame. Far be it from me to disrespect the wishes of such a fine lady." As ordered, Cassim strode toward the door, pausing only to drape Gaston's belt over the man's shoulder in a bit of a taunt... And for another purpose.

Once outside, Cassim darted quickly around the corner. Immediately both began to laugh in absolute joy. For several seconds they shared a guffaw, before Iago unfurled his wings to reveal in his right talon he clutched a sizable handful of gold and silver coins. "The idiots were so busy throwing coins around, and they never think to look up! Hahahaha! What's your take?" Cassim held up a brown change bag, pilfered from Gaston in all the confusion.

"Why don't we find out together?" he asked, drawing open the string.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Gray Horizon

That’s odd, since you haven’t approved anybody. Oh well. Have fun!

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Gray Horizon

How do you feel about a character’s name shortening to JoJo (in the case of what I have in mind GeoJo for George Jones)? Also your initial post says that we’re about half through the school year at March 19th but... that’s only 2 1/2 months left in the school year (as American high schools end the year at either late May or early June). Just thought that I’d point that out.

World of Light

Courier 6

Level 5 - (28/50) EXP (+1)
Location: Grillby's
Word Count: Not enough to bother with counting

The Courier stopped in the entryway of Grillby's to take in the small eatery around him and took a deep breath, almost snorting the air. The atmosphere reminded him of some of the smaller bars and diners back in the Mojave, even if the aesthetics weren't exactly spot on. First his eyes laid upon the bartender, another robot but of different design to the bird one outside, as it seemed to be exuding flames from all around it. An interesting design, he wondered how it generated this fire? Surely it had to have a very efficient fuel source. Next his eyes fell upon the armadillo man standing upon two legs. Now this was an hombre he could get on with, another man of the road with Western sensibilities. A cowboy, er, cowarmadillo? Weird, but hardly the strangest thing he'd seen in this new world.

The Courier was about to approach the armadillo when the largest sight in the whole place practically smacked him in the face: a large number of dog-like creatures sitting at a table, playing poker. Slowly his eyes opened wide, his grin spread across his entire face. Oh yes. Oh yes.

"Deal me in, hombres," he said, taking a seat between masked dog and the abomination looking dog. He placed his hat on the table, minding his manners, and looked at the pot. It didn't matter what was being bet honestly, he'd look to match it if he could. "Bartender! Whiskey me. I'm aiming to take the whole pot."

World of Light

Courier 6 and Ratchet and Jak and Daxter

Level 5 - (27/50) EXP (+3), Level 4 - (35/40) (+3), Level 1 - (3/10) (+3)
Location: Paved Wilderness -> Pit Stop
Word Count: 1521

While others went on ahead to the couple of buildings in the distance, Ratchet was staying behind in order to help fix up some of the damage to the vehicles. An explosion caught his attention, which he just shrugged off once he saw the cause. It wasn’t any kind of surprise that Daxter had done something to blow up the group’s biggest vehicular advantage. Besides, that ice cream truck turned robot was an eyesore anyway, absolutely no class to it. His attention was better put elsewhere, like Bowser’s kid’s hovercraft dohicky.

Ratchet pulled up next to the clown car and surveyed the damaged. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it definitely took a beating from that shot Mr. Grimm put into it. The lombax prepared his omniwrench and gave the vehicle a good whack, not to fix anything but to listen reeeeeal closely. The sounds of the vibrations made his large cat-like ears twitch and told him where some of the internal damage was.

”I can fix this,” he boasted, then dove into it over the top. Ratchet went to work grabbing some loose wires, untangling them then reconnecting where they needed to go.

”Hey. Now that we dealt with those enemies, you want to fill us in on what’s going on?” asked a familiar voice from outside the clown car.

”Yeah! Because last time we saw you everything got all freaky-deaky mish-mashed and I almost lost my tail!” spoke another all too familiar voice.

Ratchet peaked up over the rim of the car to confirm that Jak and Daxter were indeed just a few feet away, then dipped back down to continue his work. ”Well we’ve definitely got the mish-mash thing going on again, that’s for sure. But instead of some dopey aliens wanting to copy our moves or a polygon face pitting us in a tournament, we’ve got to deal with that.” Ratchet’s omniwrench pointed up from down in the car, signalling the two heroes to gaze into the sky. As they did, the ever present ball of light, Galeem, caught their attention.

”Don’t see that every day,” Jak mused, crossing his arms.

”Woah! Dang, that thing’s brighter than you are anytime you use your light eco powers, Jak!” Daxter said, shielding his eyes. ”EXCUSE ME! GIANT BALL OF LIGHT IN THE SKY? WHERE’S THE DIMMER SWITCH? HEEEEY! I don’t think it can hear me, Jak. Man! And just when I was getting excited about going to the beach and sitting in the shade! Watching all the girls run by in their frilly little things. Aaah, that’s the life.”

”What about Tess?” Jak asked, a bit confused considering Daxter’s girlfriend.

”Hey, just because Keira’s a stick in the mud for you doesn’t mean some of us don’t have ladies that understand we can still lookie and no touchie, capiche?” Daxter waved his right hand in a finger gun motion.

Jak shook his head, then refocused on what was important. ”I remember that light. We were driving and it just sort of… Appeared over the horizon.”

”Yeah, that’s Galeem, our new bad guy,” Ratchet continued, still deep in the inner workings of the clown car. ”From what we can tell, he, or it I guess, poured its light all over the multiverse and made this new world that’s an amalgamation of a bunch of different worlds. Everyone in it has some kind of influence from it. Sort of like brainwashing, but I don’t know. More subtle, I guess? But Galeem can take direct control if it wants. We were all under its influence at first, just like the two of you. Ah, so that’s where that wire goes!”

”So how’d we get free? How did you free us?” Jak leaned up against the clown car and peaked inside. He didn’t like how any of this was going.

”Well, there was one person that escaped the light. A little pink guy named Kirby. He had the power to free people, and even gave it to us too. Once you’ve got enough of your strength back you should be able to do it yourself. Ack! Ok, note to self, don’t cross the red and green wires, shocks are bad.” The car jostled a bit under Ratchet’s movements. ”Anyway, we’ve determined that Galeem has a few elite enforcers around this world that need to be beaten before we can go take him on. We already beat one before finding you guys.”

”Pfft. Just one? Sounds like you guys will need our help.”

”Yeah! The dynamic duo, back at it again on a new adventure! Hero and sidekick, Daxter and Jak! I wonder if they’ll make a game out of it? Or even a book. I call 50% of all proceeds!”

”Well, I certainly won’t turn down your help,” Ratchet admitted, ignoring Daxter’s antics. ”If the rest of them are as tough and powerful as the last one, we’ll need all the help we can get. Aha! There we go!” Ratchet popped out of the clown car, wiping his hands together. ”All fixed up, Junior! Your car is ready to go!” he called out.

”Alright, well is there anything else that we need to know before we kick some serious butt?” Jak punched into his open palm for emphasis.

”Oh yeah, there’s plenty. Let’s talk about spirits.”

Ratchet hopped back into the Blue Falcon kart while Jak pulled out his jet board. The three of them took off side by side, keeping up the conversation as they headed for the rest stop the others were already en route to.

---

The ever impatient monarch that he was, Bowser made sure his car went on ahead of the repair crew, which meant that Courier 6, still sleeping in the Bowsermobile with his Pip-Boy radio hooked into the car’s speakers, went along. The ride wasn’t too long, so his nap didn’t last long either. The Courier awakened with a start as the Bowsermobile came to a stop at a mechanic shop which seemed to house a good number of people all around, each one under the influence of Galeem. Alarmed, the Courier pulled out his shotgun, but thankfully saw that nobody was getting into any fights quickly enough that he didn’t accidentally make one himself.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Courier put his shotgun away and pulled his hat back on. It looked like some of the others were missing, while others were already striking up conversations with the locals. Tora and Poppi were having some sort of conversation with what appeared to be the head mechanic around these parts, while the new guy (Donnie, was it?) was embroiled in talk with a muscular man in a helmet and spandex, oozing with confidence (and wasn’t all that quiet either). His car looked exactly like that kart that Ratchet had picked out, too! Well, except it was an actual large machine instead of a kart. The real McCoy compared to a child’s plaything as it were. Machine looked fancy enough, the Courier was impressed by it. Not as impressed as he was by its driver, however.

Figuring he hadn’t had a good bang in some time and having nothing to lose by asking, 6 dragged himself out of the Bowsermobile to go schmooze up to the racer, only for him to leave Donnie behind with a rather sour tone. Miffed, the Courier walked right on by Donnie and mumbled, ”Had to fuck it up fer all of us, didn’t ya?” just low enough that he’d only have been heard if the monk was specifically listening to him.

Seeing plenty of other molerats in the junkyard, the Courier went on to grading each of these new faces on a scale of one to ten. Mechanic woman - 8. Old guy in red hat - 4. Drunk with neck tattoo - 3. Buffout frog - 7. Robot bird - 7.5. White haired cyborg - 9. Tattooed van chick - 8.5. Ah, then there was the leather-clad boy band. From left to right their numbers were 9, 6, 6.5, and 7. Damn, there were some pretty attractive people (and a robot) here! And some not very attractive ones, but hey, he couldn’t blame the old guy for being old. Accounting for the extra decades and he’d probably be a very solid 8. Didn’t change his rating now, though.

Before the Courier could act on his impulse to approach any of them however, he noticed the log cabin style diner named “Grillby’s” and his stomach growled. Well, food was a more important necessity than banging one out. Hopefully they took his bottlecaps as currency. The Courier shrugged and went inside the diner, ready to sit down and order some grub.

World of Light

Courier 6 and Ratchet and Jak and Daxter

Level 5 - (24/50) EXP (+3 +12 encounter), Level 4 - (32/40) (+3 +12 encounter), Level 1 - (3/10) (+3)
Location: Paved Wilderness
Word Count: 1370

”Let’s go, partner!” Ratchet affirmed with Clank, who vanished into thin air after nodding. The lombax hopped into his nearby kart, the Blue Falcon, and took off toward the danger. There was so much going on to attack the monster truck that he felt joining in on that fight would’ve been superfluous. Just as many were attacking the transforming mecha, but it seemed more of a threat. For one it could fly, and it also wasn’t stalled out like the monster truck. So Ratchet gave that one a wide berth in order to swing around toward the Sweet Bot.

”Looks like all the action is that way. Let’s go, Dax!” Jak holstered his morph gun and smiled at his best friend, riding atop his shoulder.

”Sure, but how exactly are we supposed to get there Jak? By my last count the Sand Shark was in about a bazillion little pieces, and there ain’t NO WAY I’m letting you take me over there all exposed and in the open like this!” Daxter wildly gesticulated with his arms, ending with them crossed in defiance. Jak merely grinned in eager anticipation.

The eco warrior popped off his jet board and hopped on it like a seasoned pro, without any wasted movement. There was still one car around he could use and he fully intended to do so. Switching the speed setting on his jet board to turbo mode, it truly lived up to the name by jetting him quickly across the sandy road and up alongside the third and final of the ramshackle cars.”You’re up, Dax!”

Looking worried, Daxter jumped from Jak’s shoulder in through the window of the car, landing right on the driver’s face! “What the hell?! Get off me!” the driver cried out. He tried to grab Daxter, but the small rodent person was too quick and slippery. ”Gah!” In a panic, he kicked the steering wheel to the side, forcing the car into a powerful jerking turn which sent the passenger tumbling out the door.

“Get out of my car you piece of-” Before he could finish that sentence Jak dove in through the open passenger door feet first and kicked him right out, taking his place behind the wheel. ”I knew you’d have my back, Dax!” Jak assured as he switched the car into gear. Daxter made a mocking face, but otherwise said nothing and sat down on the dashboard. He was taking this piece of junk straight for that monster truck.

Meanwhile the Courier sat patiently, watching the events unfold before his eyes. He wasn’t the only one who had the bright idea to attack the truck’s wheels, and the thing was left grounded on only one tire, not to mention some other damage it took. The driver opted to get out and expose himself. A fucking stupid decision, the Courier thought. He switched out the Revolution for the Ratslayer and prepared to take aim for that ghoul-wannabe’s head… Which is when Mr. Grimm shot out what looked like a bunch of ghosts clustered together, all homing in on different targets. And two of those were heading straight for the Bowsermobile! 6 prepared to roll out and away from the attack, only for it to be proven to be totally unnecessary: they weren’t homing in on the car, nor himself. They were going specifically after Kamek! Then there was nothing to worry about. The Courier didn’t even bother to watch as the magikoopa teleported away, figuring his survival to be a forgone conclusion.

Instead he brought up his rifle again, and took aim at Mr. Grimm’s head… Only for his allies to get in the way of the shot! First it was the bear and the bird, then it was the little green girl! The Courier sighed. ”~As I go ridin’ merrily away.~” It was over, there was no point anymore. More of his allies were jumping into melee and ruined any chance of a shot he could take. Instead the mailman opted to put away his gun completely and just watch what was going on.

Meanwhile Ratchet raced around the battle to get in and help against the Sweet Bot. He still didn’t have many useful weapons yet, but enough time had passed that the bombbuilder had recharged another trigger mine. One of those places well with the perfect timing and everything would be all over! One hand on the wheel, he pulled the gun out of hammerspace and! … Needles Kane was dragged out of the mecha. Well he couldn’t just shoot the blasted thing into a group melee! Annoyed, Ratchet swapped out for his omniwrench. If he couldn’t shoot into the crowd then he’d jump in and… Needles was dead.

Ratchet peeled into a stop a few meters away from the action, disappointment clear on his face. ”Man!” He turned around to check on what was going on with the monster truck.

As a few of their number jumped into battle against Mr. Grimm, Jak and Daxter sped along toward the Sweet Bot. They plowed right on past Ratchet, Din, Donnie, and all the others. As they approached, Jak pulled a wheelie in the car, grabbed Daxter, and jumped out the windshield to ride the hood like he was surfing a wave! At the perfect moment he leapt from the car, using the stunt to get a ton of extra height, then double jumped while still airborne, grabbing the very cockpit Needles had been yanked out of only moments before.

Jak settled into the Sweet Bot quickly, identifying what controls what and taking the (metaphorical) reins of the mechanized beast. ”Alright, time for some payback!”

”Yeah! Nobody makes Daxter do their dirty work for them! That’s why I have Jak!”

Jak shook his head and rolled his eyes, then took aim with the mecha’s gatling arm, only to be blindsided by the sight of dozens of spirits suddenly bursting out of Mr. Grimm! Both heroes stared on, utterly dumbfounded. Jak kept eye contact with the spirits scattering skyward, while Daxter alternated his gaze between them and the broken heap that used to be Mr. Grimm’s body.

”Oh my god.”

”Can you believe it, Jak? That guy just stole our kill!” Jak frowned at Daxter. ”What? We totally had dibs on that black metal freakazoid!”

With the defeat of Mr. Grimm, the threat had passed on by. As everyone gathered back together from their scattered positions, Courier 6 held his spot inside the Bowsermobile. He had hooked the radio of his pip-boy to the car’s speakers and was now lying back, eyes closed with his hat over his face. If anybody paid attention they would hear a light snoring coming from inside the hat.

Ratchet regrouped with the others and looked over some of the damage that had been caused by the attack. Jak, while still brainwashed, had destroyed Michael’s scooter. A few of the vehicles were damaged but still fixable. ”I don’t mind doing some repair work,” he offered. ”I missed out on fixing the karts last night, and working on some vehicles again could be kind of fun. Maybe I’ll add some supercharge turbo to Bowser Jr.’s hovercraft!”

Donnie offered the spirit of Needles Kane to some of the more mundane of their group, then turned back to admire the Sweet Bot. No sooner had the monk offered to lay claim to it did it suddenly roar to life, speakers calling out, ”Self destruct initiated! 5-4-3-2-1!” Jak and Daxter dove out the cockpit, rolling along the ground as a large explosion spelled the end of the Sweet Bot.

”I swear, that is the LAST TIME I touch anything made by a freaky-deaky murderhobo clown!” Daxter declared as he dusted himself off. Jak, angry, was about to slap his friend when suddenly a large metal rod fell from the sky and beaned Daxter right in the back of the head.

Worlds of Disney

Cassim and Iago

As Gaston moved in on Cassim, the Frenchman's taller and burlier stature practically eclipsing the muscled but lithe thief, Iago took off to the rafters. He felt it would be safer to watch from up above than be perched on the object of the huntsman's anger, misplaced though it was. Score for Iago, out of trouble again!

Cassim raised an eyebrow as Gaston raised him right off the ground, allowing himself to be dangled without much of a fight. It brought back memories of some of the attempted hangings he escaped back in his... Less skilled days. Still, more interesting things were abound than this muscle-brained brute. For one, Iago was not the only one to express his disdain for the man's boorish song. In the crowd he spotted something truly fantastic! A dragon! A very small dragon, unimpressive by the standards of the literature of the far East he had read, but a dragon all the same! He had to get closer. From his understanding, where there were dragons there was a treasure hoard!

Cassim found himself drug through the air by Gaston (if nothing else this man certainly was as strong as he boasted) and the Gypsy woman came to his defense. He smiled at her noble attempts, but really the efforts were not necessary. "Apologies my fine host," he said to Gaston. "But it is time I found myself elsewhere." The desert man slipped out of his dark blue cloak, and thus out of Gaston's iron grip, landing back on sweet terra firma. In the same motion he undid Gaston's trouser belt then snatched his cloak back up. Belt and cloak in hand, he bounded for Mushu, a golden gleam in his eye.

World of Light

Courier 6 and Ratchet

Level 5 - (9/50) EXP (+3), Level 4 - (17/40) (+3-2 friend heart=1)

Michael

Level 4- (3/40)
And

Level 2- (2/20 EXP)
Difficulty Level 1
Location: Paved Wilderness
Word Count: 3717
A collab between @ProPro@thedman@Simple Unicycle

Insanity spread all across the battlefield as the Courier made his way back to cover with the Bowsermobile. After hurling himself up and over the side he took a moment to get a brief idea of his surroundings. The second buggy had evaded the attack from his heracross, but honestly it was a total chump compared to the rest of the enemies. The reinforcement buggy seemed to have been totally destroyed by one of the newbies and Ratchet and Michael joined in to team up against the guy with the giant ears and his rat, so that wasn’t very concerning. The monster truck had been stalled but still presented the biggest, most clear threat to his immediate position. Meanwhile the ice cream truck had turned into a flying mecha robot, but that was getting swarmed by a bunch of his allies. Ok, this was weird, but as always the Courier was quick to adapt to the situation and do whatever would be the best for himself at the time.

”Howdy,” he said to the resident koopa mage, Kamek, the next seat over as he fiddled with his pip-boy. A second later a song came blaring from the radio function. He tapped his shoe to the beat for a second, humming the tune. ”That jingle, jangle, jingle-” Then he pulled out the weapon he had received from Gaige’s spirit, the Revolution, and took aim on the monster truck’s closest wheel. The machine gun fired volley after volley of acidic rounds directly into the tire’s hub cap, which would eat rapidly through the metal and into the axel. After a good solid few seconds of concentrated fire the driver of the truck would be without a front left wheel, throwing the whole thing off balance and leave it grounded.

”As she goes riding merrily along.” The Courier blew the smoke out from the hot muzzle, a self-satisfied shit eating grin plastered across his face.

---

As Gene smashed the Sand Shark into unusable scrap metal, its two occupants went flying right passed the God Hand, one with a little more dignity than the other. ”WAAAAAAH!” cried the little orange rat, but the long eared human tucked and rolled with the force, using the momentum to jump back into action. He twisted around, pulling out some sort of firearm, right next to where his little friend had been buried in the sand.

Ratchet also landed nearby, wrench out and ready to fight. ”Jak, Daxter! I don’t want to have to do this.”

Daxter comically pulled himself from the ground, rolling back a moment then jumping to his feet. He patted away the dirt from his fur then jumped up on Jak’s shoulder. ”Ratchet? Is that you? Woah, you got tall! What’s the matter, you got jealous of my boy Jak here the last two times we beat your butt?”

Jak scoffed, cocking his gun and clearly ready for a fight. ”It’s too bad for you that I do want to do this, Ratchet. Bring in all the reinforcements you want.”

”Yeah! Because we’ll pound’em into the pavement! Well, mostly Jak will. Won’t ya Jak?”

With an annoyed grunt, Gene picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He succeeded in disabling the Sand Shark, and while he wasn't hurt, it was still a little embarrassing to get knocked on his ass! Still, he approached the drivers of the buggy, who were facing off against that... Cat thing. Ratchet was his name? Yeah, Ratchet, that sounded right.

The duo consisted of a man of about average height, with long ears and a killer goatee, while the other person ('Is that the right word?') was a small orange creature perched on the man's shoulder. Judging by what Ratchet said, their names were Jak and Daxter. The orange otter-weasel creature thing was smack talking Ratchet, and Gene figured that now was about time to make his entrance.

Walking forward slowly, confidently, Gene cracked his knuckles and shot the pair a grin. "Newsflash, little guy! You can talk shit all you want, we're still gonna wipe the floor with you and your buddy!" He still had a bit of juice left in the God Hand, and was ready to kick ass and take names!

Meanwhile, Michael stopped his scooter behind the now disabled buggy, flicking out the kickstand and setting the vehicle down. Getting up, he took a moment to adjust his aviators before walking over to join Ratchet and Gene. Lifting up his Uzi, he held it in both hands and aimed it at Jak and Daxter. "I'll give you one chance. Drop the gun, and give up. It doesn't have to end like this."

”Don’t underestimate Jak. He’s got great moves,” Ratchet warned, swinging his omniwrench around a bit to showcase his new reach with his longer limbs.

”Hey! And what am I, chopped liver? Kick their asses, Jak!”

”This is gonna be fun!” Jak immediately dashed toward Ratchet, gun forward like a makeshift club, with a sudden rocket-like speed. Ratchet, familiar with Jak’s fighting style, was prepared and backflipped just out of reach, but Jak wasn’t done. He spun upward into a high jump uppercut, clear above everyone’s heads, then spun again with his legs extended out. Ratchet blocked the spinning kick with his wrench but was pushed back. Meanwhile Jak fired several volleys of some sort of yellow energy bullets from his gun, each one deadly accurate and aimed at a different target: one for Gene, Michael, Ratchet, and Michael’s scooter.

Michael, seeing Jak jump up into the air, lifted his Uzi up in an attempt to land a shot on him. As Jak began to fire, Michael was able to activate his Bullet Time, moving to the side to narrowly dodge the yellow projectile fired his way. His scooter, on the other hand, fared much worse as the bullet struck, tearing it apart and rendering it unusable without heavy repairs. With the Bullet Time still active, Michael steadied his aim and fired several shots at Jak, aiming for center mass.

Gene watched in amazement as Jak dashed toward Ratchet, the lombax dodging out of the way with surprising speed. Had they fought before? Well, Ratchet did say that he knew Jak, maybe they had sparred or something in the past. Anyway that wasn't important right now, what was important was that Jak suddenly rocketed up in the air! He was still attacking Ratchet, who blocked, while simultaneously shooting at them!

Feeling his instincts kick in, Gene sidestepped out of the way of the blast, an impressed whistle escaping his lips at his smooth dodge. Still, reflex wouldn't pull him through this entire fight! He noticed Michael, the guy who pulled up next to them, managing to move out of the way of the shots and firing some of his own at Jak. Gene decided that rushing in while Michael was shooting at Jak would be too risky, so he waited for a lull in the gunfire, ready to pounce as soon as he saw an opening.

Ratchet held up his omniwrench in the path of the yellow eco shot, dispersing the energy with a good heavy swing. Good thing the tool was made to last! But Jak was still right in front of him, as crazy mobile as ever, while Ratchet lacked Clank who was the main source of his own quick mobility. Luckily that wasn’t a major issue, as Michael’s uzi shots drew in Jak’s attention.

Because he aimed for center of mass, the bullets all struck the center chest piece of Jak’s shiny armor, bouncing off relatively harmlessly. The force still put Jak a bit off balance though, interrupting his chain of attack and getting his attention.

”Ooh, that’s gonna leave a nasty bruise! Like that overripe banana nobody wants at the market!” Daxter commented at rapid pace. His capacity for talking, even in the middle of danger, was impressive.

In an instant the gun in Jak’s hands changed, the muzzle shrank by more than half and instead of a yellow magazine it was equipped with a red one. As the gun morphed, Jak rolled into a very long jump away from Ratchet, toward both Gene and Michael. No sooner had his toes touched the ground did he pull the trigger. The gun fired off an impressively large red cone of energy, short range but wide enough to hit both Michael and Gene. Ratchet took advantage of the opening to throw his omniwrench like a spinning boomerang, nailing Jak in the back only to return to the magnetized glove, back home to its owner.

As Gene watched the proceedings, he could feel the God Hand's power draining, slowly, until finally, he cursed and slapped the Deistic Brace back onto his arm. Looks like he was knocked back down to normal for the rest of this fight.

He watched as Jak rolled toward him and Michael, the gun in his hand transforming in an instant, and the moment he stopped he fired the gun in their direction. Oh crap, this thing was like a shotgun! Gene tried to backflip out of the way, but it was too little too late; he felt a burning sensation as he made contact with the cone, and let out a grunt of pain.

He wasn't sure if Michael was alright, but he knew that he needed to get Jak's attention on him. So, with the man now within range, Gene decided to bust out his Roulette Wheel to lay the smackdown on Jak! He could feel the wheels of fate spinning, deciding just what he'd do...

WOOHOO! BALLBUSTER!

Gene found himself running up to Jak and, in the blink of an eye, delivering a kick to the man's poor gonads. Gene let out a laugh as he watched Jak cradle his damaged manhood. "Come on guys, let's beat the crap out of him while he's still reeling!"

Gene himself began to punch the stunned man to keep him in that state while Michael and Ratchet made it over.

Michael, due to his Bullet Time, was able to see Jak transform his weapon and aim it at him, allowing him enough time to leap out of the way, hitting the ground. Unfortunately for him, he didn't anticipate the weapon's large cone of fire, and he soon felt pain shoot up on the right side of his body as he was hit by the far edge of the cone. "Ow, goddamnit!" He shouted out, gritting his teeth through the pain as he lifted himself up. Looking around, he began to walk over to Jak, seeing that Gene had him incapacitated. "Say goodnight, asshole." Lifting up his Uzi, he began to pistol-whip Jak in an attempt to take him down for good.

Ratchet chose to stay back rather than move in on the attack. He had a bad feeling about what was about to happen, a feeling that was soon proven to be correct. He switched out his omniwrench for the bombuilder and laid down two remote mines near the group, just in case.

”Woah! Ah! I’ll protect you, Jak! Ouch! Gah! Stop it!” Daxter scurried about, trying to take as many hits for Jak as his little ottsel body could, sparing his friend from at least some of the punishment. After one too many smacks to the head, Daxter stumbled around like a drunk, little stars flying around his head. ”Bartender, you should’ve cut me off,” he mumbled through a clear concussion, falling over.

”I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” Bellowed Jak, his voice much deeper and booming with power. In an instant the man’s skin changed to a purple-gray color, his eyes became as black as the void, his muscles bulked, long claws and horns sprouted, and a black-purple energy began crackling in the air around him, surging through his body.

Jak jumped up in a sudden explosion of power, energy surging all around him. Only one word came to mind to describe this transformation: monster. With one swipe of his claws Jak showed off a new impressive power and speed, aiming to gut both Gene and Michael together. Of course even if he missed, the crackling dark eco energy would still leave a nasty mark and cause incredible pain.

”Don’t let him touch you!” Ratchet called out. ”That energy he makes when he’s like this is basically anti-life!” He kept one finger on the detonator trigger. Hopefully the other two noticed the bombs and would lure Dark Jak back a few more feet, or at least get out of the blast zone themselves.

Michael took a step back as the transformation began, looking on in horror. He took a few more steps back, but before he could get away Jak's claw swiped in front of him. He managed to dodge the claw itself, but the energy radiating off it struck his left arm, causing intense pain to shoot through it. Michael cried out in agony, falling to his knees from the pain. Looking around and noticing the bombs laid by Ratchet, he dragged himself back onto his feet, and began to limp away from the blast zone. When he got a decent distance away from the bombs, he turned back towards Jak and lifted his Uzi. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, and his injury forcing him to shoot one-handed, his shots weren't as accurate as they could have been. He pulled down on the trigger and didn't let go, firing around twenty rounds in Jak's direction.

"OH CRAP!" Gene stumbled back away from Jak as the man transformed into some sort of... Demon! He felt panic bubble up within him that he hadn't felt since Azel activated his own God Hand during their fight. Gene knew that he didn't have time to worry about fighting, because if Jak's transformation was anything like the God Hand, it made him nigh-invincible.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a claw swinging his way, and Gene backflipped away, the energy arching from Jak's claw glancing his side. At first, Gene didn't feel anything... But that was only for a moment, as soon his entire body was screaming out in pain! He gave a short yell of agony, but gritted his teeth. He needed to take down Jak, and, spotting Ratchet's mines, found the perfect opportunity.

"I got one last trick up my sleeve, demon boy!" Gene pointed dramatically at Jak, grinning, before turning around quickly. "AND THAT'S HIGH-TAILING IT OUT OF HEEEEEEEEEERE!" Gene began to sprint away, hoping to lure Jak to the mines so Ratchet could detonate them.

Dark Jak wasted absolutely no time in leaping after his prey. The feral beast-like mind of this form prioritized Gene over Michael as the bigger threat. He leaped high I to the air, nearly twelve feet, diving right for the God Hand user claws first. Bullets whizzed by, most missing or striking his armor but a couple outliers hitting some arm flesh.

”Kaboom!” Ratchet triggered the detonator, setting off both bombs in a large explosion. The shockwave sent Dark Jak, already high in the air, flying even further with greater force than he expected. He overshot everyone by a good several meters, flying overhead, until he crashed into the ground near his wrecked Sand Shark.

”Gragh!” Dark Jak jumped back up to his feet to stare down his three foes. He was covered in a lot of bruises and cuts, the kind of injuries that would have knocked out a lesser man. But Dark Jak was running on more than just adrenaline. He was fueled by the energy of dark eco. It gave him the strength to keep going, and they were about to see that strength first hand. The eco mutant howled in unbridled rage and grabbed the wreckage of his Sand Shark. In one heaving motion Dark Jak hurled the wreckage of the vehicle at all three. Once the car had left terra firma, Jak’s color came back. Claws receded and his eyes turned green. Exhausted from the wounds, Jak collapsed in a miracle of good timing. Of course a scrapped car was still flying at Ratchet, Gene, and Michael.

Gene quickly stopped and pivoted as soon as he heard Ratchet detonate the mines, a goofy grin making its way on his face. With a shouted "YEAH!" and a fist pump, Gene watched as Jak soared through the air from the power of the blast! "That should take him down!" Gene said to his team mates, still grinning as he watched Jak land by his wrecked Sand Shark...

And then get back up. Looking pissed.

Gene's grin fell as he watched Jak grab the wrecked buggy and start sprinting at them. "... If we live through this, remind me to never open my big dumb mouth again," he said to no one in particular, as he watched Jak chuck the buggy at them. He had a little time to notice Jak falling to the ground, back in his human form, before the buggy arrived.

Acting quickly, Gene did a little juke before quickly dropping down further for a sweep kick. It lowered him just barely enough for the Sand Shark to go flying past him overhead, and he released a relieved sigh as he stood back up... Only to wince as he realized that maybe his teammates weren't so lucky.

"Oh, shi-" Michael could barely dodge in time as the wrecked buggy was suddenly thrown at him. He hit the deck, feeling the vehicle pass over him and land in the distance. Getting up and dusting himself off, he took a moment to catch his breath. "Holy fuck...that was insane." After a few deep breaths, he walked over to Jak, making sure he was down. "Alright, someone...someone convert him, and let's get out of here."

Ratchet flipped to the side in an effort to avoid the flying dune buggy, but he was too slow to react. Fast as he was, he just wasn’t expecting it. The lombax squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the impact… only to suddenly feel himself jerking to the side much faster. Ratchet opened his eyes to see the Sand Shark narrowly avoiding him. As he landed on his feet, he saw what had given him the sudden speed he needed.

”Clank! You really saved my bacon just now, partner!”

“Indeed. I believe the expression is ‘no man gets left behind?’”

Ratchet and Clank both looked over to Jak, collapsed in a heap not too far off. Michael urged someone to convert him, but before Ratchet could respond, Daxter came scurrying in. The itself positioned himself on Jak’s chest and grabbed him by the collar. ”Get up Jak! I’ve got your back, but you can’t expect me to take them all on by myself! You’ve gotta get some of the glory! WAKE UP JAK! Maybe chubby’s breath here can wake you up? Hey, want to try it out for me, round and proud?” he gestured to Michael.

Ratchet strut forward shaking his head to Clank. ”Looks like even Galeem can’t change Daxter.”

“Indubitably!”

”I’ve got this, guys.” Ratchet drew a friend Heart from his chest and cast it down at the duo. Daxter freaked out at first, but the energy soon enveloped both him and Jak. Color returned to the duo, their eyes cleared, and a moment later Jak was regaining consciousness.

”Ugh. Why do I feel like I got run over by a yakcow?” He rubbed his head then looked around, seeing four figures standing over him. Two looked like really weird humans with incredismall ears, but the other two… ”Ratchet? Clank?”

”Oh great!” Daxter cut in. ”Every time we see you yahoos we get roped into some kind of multiple world inter dimensional crisis! If you wanna talk, ever heard of a phone?”

Jak and Ratchet both shook their heads together, each cracking a smile at Daxter’s antics. ”Well I’m game. Who or what do we get to shoot, punch, or blow up?”

Michael grunted at Daxter's remarks, but he was unable to bring himself to do anything other than frown. Right now, they had more important things to worry about. Turning around, he gestured towards the monster truck and Sweet Bot in the distance. "Those guys. We'll explain everything later, all you need to know for now is that they're trying to kill us. And now, that includes you as well."

Gene gave a sigh of relief as he saw that Jak and Daxter had been turned to their side. Jak asked just who they were after, and Michael pointed out the other cars attacking the rest of the group. Gene gave a nod in confirmation. ”Glad to have you two on board! You sure as hell can pack a punch big guy. Your, uh, pet, on the other hand..." Gene trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

”Hey! I’m no pet, biceps-for-brains! You just pissed off the god Orange Lightning! Let’s get outta here Jak.” Jak and Ratchet could only chuckle at Daxter’s antics, but at the end of the day the group had two new powerful heroes.

Jak and Daxter are ready to fight!