In the Beginning
Jak kept the kid right next to him as he crouched down into the shadows of the Industrial District. Daxter had raced off to scout ahead since the alert, which originally went off a half an hour ago, made traveling difficult. KG patrols stepped through the city streets in droves and forced Jak to bring the kid down dead end alleys and into gutters and ditches just to get past them. Jak couldn't be sure what set the red armored soldiers off this time, but he knew it couldn't have been him. At any rate it looked like they weren't going to reach the Underground any time soon.
"Hey," Jak murmured. He rubbed circles on the kid's back. "It's gonna be okay. Dax'll be back soon, you'll see."
Bright blue eyes looked up at him from underneath a fluff of green hear, and Jak's chest twisted painfully. The blatant trust always seemed to churn something deep within him, something that Jak couldn't quite name, but it always left him a little bit sick. Not because the look itself was unnerving, but because Jak couldn't understand how anyone except Daxter could trust him so implicitly. No one ever did, and now? Now it seemed unfathomable.
Seconds later Daxter pattered up the road, wet and shivering. Jak quickly scooped him up and tugged off his scarf to wrap tightly around the small ottsel.
"Path's clear up ahead," Daxter said through chattering teeth, "but there's a blockade just past the power station. We ain't gettin' back tonight."
Jak nodded. He expected as much. A glance back to the kid forced Jak to sigh. Normally he'd either just waste the KG, or hide out in a ditch for the rest of the night. With the kid he couldn't do that—the chill to the air, the rain, and who knows what else could easily lead to the boy getting sick. Jak refused to get the kid sick.
"Is Vin in?" Jak asked Daxter softly. The kid liked Vin; he liked visiting the power station. Jak liked Vin, too.
"Dunno, but we could check," Daxter said through chattering teeth. He glanced over at the kid too. "If not at least we'll have a place to stay that's warm?"
"Yeah," Jak agreed softly. He crouched back down to the kid and smiled. "We're gonna go see Vin, ok?"
Blue eyes widened, and a small smile crossed the silent child's features. He clapped his hands, and wrapped his arms around Jak's waist. Carefully Jak hoisted the small child up into his arms, and then shifted him onto his hip. They found that carrying the kid around looked less suspicious than just letting him run places—for some reason people often thought they were related. Jak couldn't understand it.
Cautiously Jak stepped out of the small shelter and into the rain. It wouldn't take long in this deluge before they were all soaked, and Vin probably would blow a gasket over water being near his computers, but the power station really was the best option they had. Thankfully the walk there wouldn't be too long—they were pretty close to the ramp up at the least—and if Daxter was right the path should be clear.
Jak kept his head ducked down to avoid getting water in his eyes as he moved. The kid pressed his face into Jak's shoulder, and Daxter shivered next to the kid. They passed by hurrying civilians with children as they moved, and slower civilians with proper gear for the weather, but no KG patrols. When they reached the power station the door slid open automatically—Vin explained that the door had some sort of software to recognize who stood before it and let in only certain people without requiring additional authentication. Jak wasted no time in getting out of the rain.
Once inside the kid wiggled in Jak's arms, and then slipped down the side of Jak's pants. He pushed past Jak and raced around the room, eyes searching everywhere for Vin. Vin, Jak noted, was not actually in the power station right now. Jak sighed and glanced over to Daxter, who shrugged, and then reached for the communicator Torn gave him months ago. He'd just started picking out Vin's contact when the teleporter burst to life and Vin raced through with towels.
"Don't move!" the technician shrieked, dropped a towel on the kid who grinned up at him from beneath it, and then shoved two towels at Jak and Daxter. "You'll damage the electronics!"
Daxter let out an explosive sigh of relief, jumped down, and began to towel himself off. Jak worked on his hair and gave Vin an apologetic smile.
"How d'ya know we were here?" Daxter demanded.
"I have cameras installed back at home," Vin said sharply. "Now come on, all of you, quickly! You'll just get all of my computers wet if you stay here. Through, in, go!" He shoved Jak forward, and then the kid, and pushed them through the teleporter.
In short order Jak found himself manhandled into a bathroom, told to strip, and clean himself off. By the time he emerged no longer cold and wet he found drinks laid out and the kid curled up on a cluttered couch drinking hot chocolate. Vin sat in an armchair, clacking away on a computer with a cup of what looked like coffee beside him. In a rocking chair next to Vin sat an older woman, hair tied up in a bun with several wild strands that poked out in a manner reminiscent of Vin himself.
"Zoe," Jak murmured.
"Drink your tea, child," Zoe said with a smile, "and settle down." Jak gave a nod and settled on the couch next to the kid, grabbed his drink, and smiled. "You're welcome," Zoe added when she saw the slight slant to Jak's ears, and then the faint blush to his cheeks.
"She can read ya almost as good as me, Jak," Daxter murmured.
"Shut up, Dax," Jak shot back, embarrassed. "Thank you though. I don't know what we would've done."
"You would've destroyed my computers! Ruined everything, all of the work on the power station—everything Jak you would have destroyed everything just to wait out that storm!" Vin ended in a practical shriek that cut off abruptly from the pillow that Zoe tossed into his face. For a moment Vin froze, and then he coughed and let the pillow fall into his lap. "I—I mean you're welcome." Jak hid his smile into the cup Zoe gave him. "A-Anyway that's not important."
"Is something wrong?" Jak asked, sitting up straighter.
"W-What!?" Vin jerked, then shook his head. "No, no! Unless metal heads got into my power station and broke through the shield wall then everything is just fine. Oh now metal heads didn't break through the shield wall did they!?"
"No, Vin, the city is still safe," Zoe said. "We've still got time before anything like that can happen, even with the eco shortage to the shield wall itself. The wall should hold for another few years before it hits critical and fails according to the calculations."
"Oh. Right." Vin laughed at himself and then shook his head. "No, Jak. This is what I meant." Vin turned his computer around and shoved it into Jak's face. "See? This is an injustice! It's terrible! Look at these lies! How can anyone be so misinformed?!"
Jak went cross-eyed as he tried to read the screen. The most he could get out about it was some sort of commentary about ancient artifacts from Mar's era—some sort of mural or something. Jak couldn't decipher most of the words before Vin pulled it away.
"They-They completely disregard recorded history and completely brush past how the government actually functions! The sage lines are relegated to-to-to-to after thoughts! As if we aren't integral into Haven's running, as if we didn't work hard to keep things put together. The shield wall and the KG and-and-and everything as if it wasn't our accomplishments! As if it weren't for Mar dragging us together and creating this-this-this-gaaaah!" Vin twitched violently and began to pace. "Can you believe this drivel, Jak?!"
"Vin I don't even know how Haven was founded," Jak said slowly, and Vin came to an abrupt halt.
"What?" he asked weakly. "How can you—I-I mean you found the Ruby Key and—Zoe?" Vin looked to Zoe as he floundered.
"Vin is trying to say that he hadn't realized your knowledge of Mar was limited," Zoe said, "so maybe he could explain the source of his outrage?"
Vin jerked, then nodded. The kid, at comments about Mar, perked up like always and looked completely interested in what Vin had to say. As calm as he could Vin settled down into a chair, took a deep breath, and started to explain.
"Okay so Mar sort of came out of nowhere," Vin started, "but he gathered up the Sages of the time. Eichel the Blue, Kara the Yellow, Prochazka the Red, and Hugo the Green." Jak started at a few of the names, opened his mouth, and then thought better of mentioning it for the moment as Vin shot him a dark look. "Together they built Haven from the ground up with Mar's companions, and together they formed the original founding council of the city. I mean there is a lot of mysticism and mystery surrounding Mar, but that was mostly because someone who could channel like Mar could hadn't ever been seen before."
Vin took in a deep breath, "But still, to belittle Eichel's accomplishments, not to mention the other Sages, and then Mar's own two companions who far all we know were probably the Sages for Dark and Light Eco considering Mar seemed to be gathering sages for all types of eco that exists, is completely insult—"
"Sages of Dark and Light Eco?" Daxter piped up. "What like the Acheron's?! You have got to be kidding me!"
There was silence for a moment. Next to Jak the kid looked disappointed in the lack of a real story, and Jak looked a bit constipated as he tried to process a Sage of Light Eco.
"It's not known who they were," Zoe hummed thoughtfully. "Any records of them weren't kept, only that they appeared with Mar, and vanished with him, but yes. Common theory among the sage lines is that they themselves must have been sages—like the famed Acheron's. In fact it was proposed that one of them actually descended from—"
"Okay I'm gonna stop you right there because I don't wanna have the image of Gol and Maia having a kid together in my head like that," Daxter held up a hand, and like Jak he looked more than weirded out. "They were creepy enough as it was when they were tryin' to destroy the world."
There was a pause, a moment where the room went completely silent and stared at Jak and Daxter in surprise. Then, Zoe, almost in a whisper asked, "You knew them?"
"Knew them!? We had to stop them!" Daxter puffed up indignantly. "They were completely insane! That's what it does to you, tryin' to control it like that! Studyin' and workin' on dark eco in the way they were. Completely insane!"
Zoe shook her head. "Yes. We know." Daxter stopped short.
"The Acheron's were brilliant," Vin agreed. "Their innovations and work in dark eco was amazing, but the lengths they went to for their studies were dangerous and bordered on insane."
"How do you know what they did?" Jak questioned warily.
"The Sages kept their notes," Vin spoke up. "It was deemed too dangerous to leave around for just anyone, but too useful to destroy. We've got a complete record of everything the Acheron's did, as well as their journals and—well let's just say it's a very interesting read. Especially the way their studies changed over the years and the reasons for it." Jak's face twisted at the thought, and then he shook his head with a sigh.
At his side, the kid tugged on his sleeve. Jak glanced down. They stared at each other, small movements.
Who are the Acheron's?
Sages of Dark Eco who nearly destroyed the world.
Really?! How! Who stopped them!?
I did?
How! Tell me!
Jak sighed, closed his eyes, and then smiled. "Will you do the honors, Dax?" he asked, lips curled up. It might've been one of the most terrifying months of their life, but still. The child's enthusiasm was rather contagious and, well, both boys hadn't had a chance to tell the story since Haven, and especially not since they discovered that this place was the future. With a pleased grin Daxter launched into story mode.
"It all started one day when Jak decided we should go an' visit ol' Misty Island…."