Chapter 6;

"But . . . how? You're dead! Wha . . .?" Jak stuttered as he pointed in disbelief.

Erol nodded sympathetically, "I know. I know. It's very confusing." He uncrossed his arms and stood up from the chair, "But this isn't the first weird thing you've encountered."

Jak blinked in disbelief before glaring, "I wouldn't have met all those weird things if you didn't inject me with Dark Eco!"

Erol sighed in agitation and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Have you ever heard of the saying, 'Put the past behind you'?"

"No," came the stubborn reply, "Why are you here anyway?"

Erol released his nose and hopped up onto the table, crossing his legs under him, "I have been told from a . . . a higher being, that I am now your Guardian Angel. I am to guard everything you do, or some other junk like that." He waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not even sure what the hell I should do myself."

Jak blinked a few times, then rubbed his face and plopped down onto a chair, "A Guardian Angel? Why you? Why me?"

"I have no freaking idea! One moment I'm getting ready to take over the world, the next, I'm stuck in some little white room, filling out some sort of form that tells me I'm dead! Which, of course, was your fault!"

"You were trying to destroy the entire planet! What else was I supposed to do?!"

"Ignore it! Hide in a bomb shelter! Something other than blowing my ass sky high! But, noooo. You had to pull the stupid, 'I'm a hero. I have to make the world a better place so we can all live happily ever after,' act."

"I didn't even want to save the world in the first place! I was literally forced to save mankind!"

"Oh right, Jak. They twisted your arm. Almost broke it in the process."

"All I wanted was to live in Spargus with my friend. That's it! I didn't want any of this prophecy, 'You are the Chosen One,' bullshit. Never did."

"Well, that's life. I think it specifically said somewhere that no one is allowed to have what they want in life."

Jak nodded in agreement, then was confused, "Wait. What were talking about?"

Erol narrowed his eyes in concentration, "Ah . . . why I'm here, and why you."

"Oh, yeah. So, you seriously don't know?"

"Nope. From what I've seen, the only reason you've gotten picked was by a mere luck of the draw."

"Of course. By the way. What the hell is on your back?"

Erol half smirked. He flexed his grey bat wings, "Every Guardian needs a pair."

"Why?"

"Hell if I know."

A male voice sounded from outside the meeting room, "Yo, Jak. You alright, buddy?"

Jak jumped up from his seat, "Shit! It's Daxter! You need to hide."

Erol stood still, a smirk on his face, "Why?"

Jak gave him a frazzled look, "Because he'll see you! Hide!" He calmly (as calmly as he could) walked over to the doors and opened them wide.

"Hey, Daxter." Jak gave a nervous smile.

"Hey, Jak. I forgot to tell you. The guys are gonna have a group 'talk' about who will race. . . . you okay?"

Jak was staring wide-eyed at his guardian, who was currently observing his nails, smirk still in place.

"Jak?"

Jak snapped out of it, "Sorry, Dax. Still kinda messed up from the 'being poisoned' thing."

Daxter nodded, "Tell me about it. If this is the kind that makes your hair fall out, I'm callin' my lawyer!" He turned to go out, "See ya in a few, buddy."

"Yeah, see you." The door closed behind the ottsel. Jak turned to Erol, "What the hell?! How did he not see you?"

Erol shrugged, "No idea. My 'boss' said that only you can see me. No one else." He grinned, "Didn't I tell you?"

Jak glared, "Thanks a lot. I just about had a heart attack."

"We can only hope. Aren't you supposed to meet the rest for another 'meeting', or something?"

"Oh. Right," he turned toward the door, but looked over his shoulder, "Aren't you coming?"

Erol looked around the meeting room, then shrugged, "Might as well."

"Welcome race fans to another turbo charged season of high stakes, high speed racing!" A man with a huge smile and yellow hair said on the flat screen T.V. In the headquarters living room. "As usual, yours truly, G.T. Blitz, will give you a quick review of all the action! As the best racers of the world swap paint in their quest to claim the Kras City Grand Championship Trophy! In the end, only one wheel jockey will gain the prize as the greatest racer of the land! And we'll be here to cover all the thrills, chills, and spills. The season's first race kicks off in a few minutes. Stay tuned, and keep those engines humming," G.T. Blitz winked at his audience before the T.V. shut off.

"The first race," Jak said, leaning against the second floor railing. Erol was sitting on the railing beside him, kicking his legs back and forth.

"I fear this affair will end badly," Samos, The Green Eco Sage, announced, "A wise man once said, 'Be watchful of those in front of you, but be wary of those behind.'"

"What wise man said that?" asked Daxter.

"I did!" cried Samos.

"Look," Torn cut in, "None of us is happy about this, but we might as well make the best of it."

"Ah, Torn," Erol shook his head, "Always looking on the bright side." Jak gave him a side glance.

"My father provided everything we need to win," Razer said confidently, "One of us can do it if we all -" Ashelin cut her off, "Your father got us into this mess. So, zip it, before I come over there and play daddy."

"Reowr," called Erol, "Cat fight."

Jak tried to hide a smirk.

"Well, well. I was told we have some fresh waxed rookies this year, but I had to eye-ball it for myself," the man with the huge smile waltzed into the room, a floating camera following him, "G.T. Blitz is the name. I'm the Kras City racing commissioner and star of the highest syndicated sports event on the planet." The camera zoomed in on the group before settling on Jak's glare, "I just came by to wish you luck. And to skid down a few rules."

"No side bets, no cheating, no rule breaks or we'll break you!"

"Oop! That was a threat!" Erol exclaimed, pointing.

"You in gear?" said G.T. Blitz, "This is show business, boys. And girls." He winked at Rayn. She rolled her eyes. "Only the best racers move up to the bigger events. So, make me happy. And make the crowd scream!"

Jak smirked, "Let's race."

AN;

Finally! After so many years of boredom and woe, I have finally updated! :D (gets hit by rotten tomato) But seriously, again, I am terribly sorry for being so late. I had to write up a couple chapters for 'A Crazy in Spargus.' I'll be updating that one, too, for anyone who wants to know. See ya soon!