SC: Grr… I hate school… so much freaking work… combined with marching band, I have no free time. Seriously, I've been going to marching contest for three weeks straight. And I had one this Saturday. NO MORE CONTESTS! WOOT!

Disclaimer: Feh, I only wish…

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Chapter 11

Jak grinned as he climbed out of the Dune Puppy. "Loads." His eyes traveled to Damas, who was standing behind her.

"Good work. That was… close." The Desert King said awkwardly.

Pecker looked over at Damas, a smirk on his face. "Oh, are you beginning to care? Damas says... urrgh... urgg... uhhg." His last words were cut off as Damas held the monkaw's lips together.

"My concern was for the artifacts, and we will use them well." He snapped at the now silent Pecker. "That armor you found, it is very rare indeed. Pecker here," Insert a sharp jerk of the King's head toward said Monkaw, "Says it's the very armor Mar once wore in his battles for this planet, long ago. Keep it for yourself. Trust me, you'll need it." With a smirk, Damas turned and left the Garage.

Jak and Raye looked at each other, then down at the armor. He pulled off the communicator/map Kleiver had given him before slipping the armor on and tightening the straps. He then stepped back. "How do I look?"

Raye laughed. "Wow, look at Mr. Big Hero."

Jak's grin faltered. "Nuh-uh. No more world saving, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. No worries out here." Raye sighed.

Daxter, who had been oddly quiet, suddenly piped up. "Yeah, like an extended vacation."

"One that just HAPPENS to be in the desert where we're going to have to spend the rest of our lives. Joy." Raye rolled her eyes, turning and throwing her hands in the air.

Jak, being Jak and very sharp, looked at her hands carefully. "You moved the bandages."

Raye looked over her shoulder at him, her hands still in the air. "Huh?"

Jak grabbed her wrist and pulled it down to see the mark sitting in plain view. "You switched the hand you had the bandages on."

The raven-haired elf smacked her forehead. "Right! I needed to talk to you." She recounted the incident at the beach.

Daxter leaned up against Jak's head. "You sure you weren't just seeing things?"

Raye glared at him and pulled the bandages off, showing the still open cut. "Does this look like I was seeing things?"

Jak examined it. "Try healing it again."

A sigh escaped from her lips. "Fine. But I'm telling you, it won't work." Raye closed her eyes and focused on sending the painful but healing eco needed to seal the cut on her palm. The eco actually went into the veins in her palm this time, but stopped at the edges of the cut, giving it an odd, dark violet look. Raye released her hold on the eco and it dispersed back through her veins. "See?"

"And Ambika had no idea what happened?"

"None. Does Lykaios?" Jak paused for a moment before shaking his head. "It won't kill me to let it heal naturally." She wrapped her hand up again. "Let's go; I'm getting sick from the smell of gas." Jak chuckled and followed her out. Before they even left the large alley-like street that led to the Garage, they both saw Seem standing there with her Leaper Lizard.

Both stopped as the monk turned toward them and frowned. Jak grimaced but kept walking, making Raye run to catch up to him. "You two are still here?" She hissed.

Jak smirked. "Yeah, we thought we'd hang out... catch some rays..."

Seem glared at him. "This isn't a game! I am Seem. We monks are sworn to discover and protect the secrets of the Precursors."

Raye looked over at the Leaper beside her. "What's with the lizard?"

Her question was greeted with a look that clearly meant that Seem thought her question was stupid. "These Leaper mounts allow us to travel where you cannot."

Daxter walked over to it and watched the Leaper nibble on a patch of dry, desert grass. "Man those babies sure stuff their faces. We saw one gulp a load of kanga-rats not too long ago. Stupid rats, they just sat..." Daxter was cut off as the Leaper Lizard snapped him up in its mouth, but with the Ottsel's struggling, it only managed to get up to Daxter's waist in its mouth.

Raye shook her head and sighed as the reptile mount ran around, trying to get the stubborn 'meal' down its throat.

Seem watched the display with disgust. "You will never last out here. That Dark Eco crystal from the satellite..." Jak's hand immediately traveled to his pouch. "I want it before it falls into the wrong hands. I'll wager a Light Crystal against it, if you race my monks on their Leapers." She turned to her own Leaper, which had stopped next to her, Daxter's tail still hanging out of its mouth, and made a few odd hand signs. "Sien-com-tava!" The Lizard spat Daxter out. "Baroosh, baroosh..."

Daxter, who was on the ground, and covered in Leaper spit, (a/n: Eeeeeew!) glared up at her. "Just show us where the starting line is!" Seem nodded, not appearing to realize that he was trying to be rude, and mounted her Leaper Lizard.

"Follow me." Jak and Raye had to follow on foot; considering they didn't have any Lizards to ride. They turned the corner to see three white-painted monks sitting on their dark grey Leaper Lizards. They turned and bowed their heads when they saw Seem. "Jgl xzo Qwotpwhfwh cgxtz fiow lfp."(1) They all chanted in unison.

Seem nodded slightly. "Gdy lfp gh covv." (2)

One noticed Jak and Raye standing behind her. His eyes narrowed. "Czgx gwo xzo gmfxsdgxsfdh yfsdr zowo?!"(3)

"Hsvodto!" Seem barked. "Lfp xzwoo gwo rfodr xf wgto xzoj kfw xzo ygwe otf twlhxgv!"

The three monks didn't look happy with what Seem said but they nodded and turned and put their feet into the stirrups, ready to race. Seem turned back to Jak and Raye. "One of you can race on my Leaper mount."

Raye turned to Jak. "Well?"

"What?"

She shoved him toward the animal. "You're the racing expert."

The monk who had snapped at Seem smirked over his shoulder. "Scared to race us, little girl?"

Raye's eyes flared black. "What did you say?"

"Are you deaf as well as an abomination?"

Raye shoved Jak out of the way. "Move." She jumped into the saddle and swung her leg over.

Seem sent a glare at the monk who had spoken before stepping out from behind the Lizards. "Ready…" Fists clenched around the reins. "Set…" Raye leaned forward in her seat a little.

"Ride!" Daxter yelled. Four pairs of reins snapped and heels dug into the Leaper's sides.

"Come. We shall await them at the finish line." Seem said, starting to walk off.

Raye's POV

I was pushing my Leaper, well, Seem's Leaper, to its limits as I raced ahead of the monk who had insulted me. He glared at me as I caught up to him, and I smirked back.

"I will not lose to an abomination of dark eco!" He growled.

'Raye, look out!' Ambika yelled. I looked down to see the monk slide his foot out of the stirrup and raise it to kick me. I stopped it a few inches away from my side and twisted it, shoving him back, away from me and off his mount. I turned back to the next ring and passed through it, feeling a slight tingle from the blue eco pulsing through the tangible screen. I barely paused to find the next ring (it's not hard to miss) and turned the Lizard around to hit it.

As I did, something slammed into me, hard enough to send me VERY close to falling into a cactus patch. Luckily, my momentum carried me past it and saved me from a very unwanted dosage of acupuncture. I looked up to see the monk smirk down at me before charging forward.

I growled and shoved myself up, ignoring the burning pain shooting through my arm and side. Leaping back onto the saddle, I shot off after him, the other two sitting in a stunned stupor behind us.

3rd Person

Jak and Seem waited beside the glowing-red ring that sat in the middle of the market. The female monk smirked as she saw a monk astride the back of the Leaper rounding the corner. The smirk disappeared as a familiar Leaper, her's to be precise, shot off the rocky hill and landed just ahead of the monk, the animal carried through the rind by its own momentum before Raye pulled the reigns to stop it.

Jak grinned at her. "Great job Raye."

Daxter grinned and turned to the monks who had stopped behind her. "Ha! We kicked your scaly tails!" One of the Lizards bit at him, barely missing his ear. "Back off, ya filthy animal!"

Seem glared at Jak. "Fine, hero... the Crystal is yours." She handed him the crystal, which was shaped like its dark counterpart, only with a differently shaped metal holding it. "The two types, light and dark, when combined form great energies. Be careful with them." She warned as Jak shook it, sending the glow inside all around it. "And when you die... do be kind enough to give them back."

He glared at her. "I don't plan on it. Why are you so obsessed with death?"

Seem pointed at the sky. "Because of that!" Jak and Raye followed her finger to a pulsing purple star-like object. "The Day Star approaches, and every day it grows brighter! This planet's final trial is coming!" Seen turned to her monks. "Tfjo."

There was a 'thump', and everyone turned to see Raye fall out of her saddle and onto the ground. "Raye!" Jak knelt down next to her and lifted her up. Daxter let out a curse. The bone of Raye's left forearm was poking through her skin, and there was a gouge out of her right side, staining her lavender shirt almost black.

Jak turned and looked at the monk who had pulled up behind Raye, and turned his eyes to his boot. Blood covered it. "Bastard!"

As he jumped up to probably throttle the monk, Seem stepped in front of him. "Tak, did you do this?" Seem gestured behind her.

Tak didn't answer. Seem looked to the two behind him, who nodded. "We shall discuss this when we return to the Temple." She grabbed her Leaper's reigns. Then, over her shoulder, she looked at Jak. "Will she be alright?"

"Yeah." Jak answered curtly. Seem simply nodded before mounting her Leaper and riding off, the other three following her. Once they'd disappeared, Jak laid a hand over Raye's heart and sent a pulse of eco through her body. The protruding bone twisted like melting plastic and shoved back down where it belonged, and the skin pulled back together over it and the blood flow from her side stopped.

Raye's eyes opened halfway and she looked at him. "There must've been a less painful way of waking me up." She sat up, shoving his arms away.

"You alright?"

She rubbed her arm. "Fine, I think." She stood up as a beeping noise came from Jak's pouch. He pulled out the communicator and hit the 'talk' button. "What is it Kleiver?"

"I've got a job for you rookies. Get to the Garage." It shut off with an almost rude sounding click. The siblings looked at each other and shrugged.

"You up for it?" Jak asked.

Raye put her hands on her hips. "Jak, I landed on my arm, not my head. I can still reason perfectly well." She told him. "Let's go do this insane mission, whatever it is."

"Almost makes me miss the days when Torn was ordering us around." Daxter muttered as they walked toward the Garage.

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Kleiver turned as Jak and Raye walked through the Garage doors. "You two looking for a bit of action? The scope shows a group of Metal Heads moving through the desert not too far from here. I don't like Metal Heads almost as much as I don't like you!" He held a meaty fist up to their faces. "And you've got some proving to do! Intercept those bad boys and give 'em hell. Who knows, you may even get a few toys for your effort." At the word toys, Daxter inwardly groaned. Jak and Raye were hooked now.

But still, he couldn't let them go on some dangerous mission (with him in tow, as usual) without complaining first. "Why does it sound like you're leaving out the dangerous parts?" He leaned toward Jak a bit more. "Jak, I'm getting some nasty JuJu vibes here. I don't have these whiskers for nothing, ya know..." He made some exaggerated whisker motions with his fingers. Raye laughed and tugged on one of the fine, almost invisible whiskers that sprouted from Daxter's cheek. "Ow!"

"You get bad vibes about everything we do." She chastised.

"I'm serious!" He protested, rubbing the spot Raye tugged.

Jak shrugged a little, just enough to throw Dax off balance. "Relax... we can handle a few Metal Heads."

Kleiver smirked as the words left the blonde ex-hero's mouth. "Have you ever seen a Wasteland Metal Head?" He questioned.

Daxter glared at him suspiciously. "No... why?"

Kleiver turned around with a shrug and started to walk back into the city. "Nothing. Just wondering. Use that one over there." He nodded toward a two-seated vehicle with a pair of guns mounted on the front bumper. Then, as the door to the city opened, Kleiver stopped and said, "Go get 'em, heroes."

Jak and Raye looked at each other warily as the large elf left, chuckling.

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SC: Okay, I've finally got my, for lack of inspiring words, 'groove' back for writing, sort of, so I've recently updated everything now. (sighs) I just hope I get some reviews…

Ja ne

SC

PS: Cookies for anyone who can guess what the Seem and her monks were saying to her! Number your answers please! (that's what the numbers are for v)