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Part 10: Acquiescence

Two days had passed since Torn took his first intense infusion and had his upgrade surgeries completed. Five weeks exactly had gone since Jak had gone through his. It was now that the last droplets of sedative in his body finally wore off.

Jak's eyes opened to the same underground room he had had his infusion in. He started as the unnoticed Payne raised his head and walked towards him.

"Ah, I see you are awake at last. Don't exert yourself by speaking; I have a lot to tell you about.

"Welcome to our city, our Nest, as you may call it. A good fraction of us Hora-quan are not fighters; we are not all the bloodthirsty beasts you see in war. We have a city here.

"Us Metal Heads are just like you Havenians, Jak. We are just like you. We have a civilized society, with an economy and shops and a Stadium like Haven used to have. We thrive here.

"So why do we want to take Haven for ourselves? I don't want to capture it; I don't want to raze it to the ground. How would I benefit from destroying Haven? Oh, no. If I were to capture Haven, I could make it impenetrable. I could make an indestructible realm of darkness out of that city.

"Our current location is deep underground, under the archipelago of islands off the coast of Spargus. That's another city I could help on its way to greatness, but it is less defended than Haven; it will not last as long. But if I could capture it, I could use it as a strong foothold to get another Nest started.

"That's why I need you, Jak. You have a Gate Pass. You're a Wastelander. Espionage is the best and easiest way to bring a city's inner structures down before pulling out the heavy artillery.

"Care to join?"

Jak looked in surprise at the Metal Head-human hybrid. He looked so powerful and capable, with all his upgrades and the darkness Jak knew was hidden beneath his skin.

Maybe it was the increased Dark Eco, lingering in his brain. Or it could have been the sedatives, making Jak's head fuzzy. Whatever the reason, Jak then made a historical decision that would be discussed by psychologists and Ecologists for years to come.

Ignoring Payne's instructions, he opened his dry, cracked lips and took a deep breath. "Yes," he whispered. The sound of his voice seemed to rebound around inside his head before finally leaving his mouth, and lingering for many minutes after it was done.

What? Did I just say I'd join the Metal Heads? Am I going insane? What kind of a person am I becoming? To his surprise, another voice in his head answered his thought question.

You are choosing your path,it said. Excellent choice; you will grow strong from this. Dark's voice suddenly seemed to be echoing Jak's thoughts; the balanced self found himself believing the dark individual. Yes, Jak convinced himself. I made the right choice.

"Excellent." Payne stood and beckoned. "I expect your strength is returning, now. Let's see if you can pry those bands open."

Four metal bands crisscrossed Jak's chest, holding him down. He obligingly set his fingers in the cracks and, with all his strength, heaved outwards. Jak, surprised, found that he could bend the steel as easily as bending cardboard – not too hard, but with a little pressure.

Payne smiled. "Your upgrades have been accepted," he said, satisfied. "Upgrades?" Asked the mystified Jak. Payne directed the newest Dark One to his patrol leader.

Payne ignored the question to help Jak rise from the table. Odd sensations lingered in his knees – like they were stronger than ever, but at the moment, were weak as a baby's. The Metal Head helped the newest Dark One to his patrol leader, who was waiting outside the room.

She growled something to Payne in the Metal Head tongue, but Jak found himself understanding the harsh – sounding language. This is him? You've got to be kidding me. She said, disgruntled. What on earth is he going to do? He's weak!

Payne replied angrily, He's experimental. Now follow your orders. The patrol leader snapped to attention and saluted, and then beckoned to Jak. "Come," she said shortly. "First training session."

Jak looked curiously at his new patrol leader. She was just about his height, with pale, almost translucent skin and jet-black, long hair. A web of tattoos edged about half of her black-irised right eye. A tattooed snake coiled around her left bicep. Jak thought he saw the snake move, but he dismissed it as a trick of the low underground light.

The muscular, fit leader led the increasingly stronger Jak into a steel cube not unlike his infusion room in Haven, minus the chair. The six-inch door swung shut behind Jak, and found himself facing his patrol leader.

She moved with the speed of a striking cobra and the strength of a tiger. The patrol leader that Jak hadn't known for any more than a minute sunk her fist into his stomach, winding him and doubling him over. It was now a simple matter for the cunning leader to execute a quick judo throw and slam him facedown into the solid floor. Before he could make another move, she had planted a knee firmly on his back, preventing him from rising, or even breathing too deeply.

"Listen carefully," she said loudly. Her clear voice was aggressive and cold as steel as it rebounded off the walls.

"I'm Shay, your new patrol leader. I know who you are. Everybody does, and no one wants you here. Not right before we have to actually be used. You are weak and slow. You obviously will not be of any use to anyone if you join in the attack now. You can't even fend off a surprise attack – and even when I'm not dark!

"That's why it's my job to teach you how to do…everything…before we get to do anything of importance. So, I'm Shay, and nobody wants you here except Payne."

This being said, Shay withdrew her knee from Jak's back, and he carefully rose, keeping his back to his new patrol leader. God, what did I just get myself into? What are we attacking? Is this going to happen every day?

Something suddenly occurred to him. Jak let me out! I can help…I can dispose of her! I can make you the best, make you wanted! Yes, he thought. That is the way. I need my revenge. What did I ever do to her?

He rose to his full height and, while quickly whirling, let his rage out. The darkness burst from him like a wave as he swung a paw at her, so fast he could only see a blur. What…what happened to my body? I have…Metal Head armor!

Jak did not have time to dwell on this thought, as Shay had simply sidestepped his blow and grasped his forearm in an unyielding grip, using his own momentum to pull him off balance and swing him around to smash the dark form into a wall. Before he could even think, Shay had pinned him against the wall.

Jak's attempted vengeance brought a smile to her lips, the last thing he would have expected. "Good," she said, in a lighter tone than before. "You're learning. This is good; you're not stupid as a chunk of cheese. From now, I'll be attacking you at any given time. It is up to you to defend yourself; it isn't my fault if I accidentally injure you too badly to participate…."

With one hand, she abruptly spun Jak around and pinned him to the wall again. This time, one of her hands held a double-bladed broadsword.

"This is Dethfang, my blade. Payne lets me keep it because I can use it for deflection or attack, rudimentary as it seems. Here; let me show you something."

The deathblade whistled down a fraction of a centimeter from Jak's left arm. He flinched at the speed and precision of the stroke, before noticing a burning pain that sprung up in his elbow. Dark looked down to see a perfect sliver of his forearm plate sliced off, lying on the ground. Glancing up at her again, he noticed a snake identical to the one on her bicep wound around the handle of the sword.

"It's Dark Eco – imbued," Shay answered to Jak's unsaid question: How on earth…? "And those plates? It's Payne's way of making us better, faster, stronger. He upgrades us with Metal Head plates, sewing them into our skin…" Jak noticed the bitter tone creeping into her voice once more.

Shay paused, and murmured something to her. "Alright, soldier; you just had upgrades, so I'll let you off easy today. Be ready for tomorrow! Since you are still not of use to us, you are not an official Dark One. Therefore, you are still our prisoner, and you're in cell 15, I hope you like your cellmate.

Cellmate? Uh-oh...I hope it's not like last time they put me in a cell...Jak felt the scars on his back throb to the time of his heartbeat.

"Here's the key," Shay continued. "Training starts at 0600 hours tomorrow; be ready by then," She tossed Jak a small chip and left through the same door she came through.

Jak took a few minutes to suppress the stronger – than – ever dark force before heading down the hall to the dungeons. He easily located #15, slightly disappointed at the fact that they had crammed two people in a cell for one. He slid the chip into the slot and cautiously opened the door, unsure of what he would find.

He closed the door and found himself looking at a green - haired girl sitting on the bed with goggles around her neck and the welding gloves still on her hands. "Keira?" he whispered incredulously.

She looked up and stared deep into Jak's eyes. After a moment, she stood and walked to him, keeping her head down and speaking softly.

"You're just another hallucination, aren't you?" she said after a moment. She pulled off the gloves that hid the latticework of fresh scars on her hands and wrists, carefully extending a hand to gently brush his chest. "Just another figure that appears after I bleed too much when they cut me again."

"Keira!" cried Jak happily. "What did they do to you?"

"They ask me the same thing, over and over," she replied, in the same soft tone she had started in. "They ask me to join them, and I say no again, and then they cut me. Or beat me. Or burn me. Whatever it is, it hurts. But I still say no." Keira had obviously either lost a lot of blood, hadn't eaten in the last two weeks, or was high. Jak suspected the two former.

"Keira, it's me," murmured Jak desperately. "It really is. They took me, too." He enclosed his small lacerated hand in his large, whole one.

"We can do this together," he said to her in a stronger voice. "We can defeat the Metal Heads. We can live through this together."Even as he said it, Jak felt the sick sensation of guilt clench his body in its cold hands.

I lied to her! I told her we'd defeat them together...I joined them! Dark Jak quickly interrupted. Hmph, you made the right deciscion, it said loudly. You are becoming stronger every day, and you can always betray once you are fully strengthened.

Fine. But for now, let's focus on Keira.

Then he put his arms around her, as he had not in more than a month. He looked down at her, and remembered once more everything they had been through. "We'll be okay," he said encouragingly. He watched as Keira finally faced him.

"It really is you," she said simply. Jak was relieved as an elated expression spread across her face and Keira took his face in her hands. He put his arms around her body again and brought his face closer to hers.

"Yes," she whispered. And then they kissed, putting their troubles aside for another time.

Shay was right; Jak needed the sleep.