I don't own Jak and Daxter. I just write a metric fuck-ton of fanfiction.

Vacation or War-Endgame
Chapter Forty Four-Rescue Gone Wrong

"Wait, the dude with the mask is supposed to be dead?!"

Jak nodded as Daxter crowed his surprise over the whipping wind, the trio on their way back to Spargus. The Dune Hopper had been exactly where they left it, and Loor had given up her turn at driving to bring Daxter up to speed on the condition of her brain, as well as her list of people she wanted to find and talk to when they got back. It felt good for her to articulate her plans and mental discoveries; she remembered things better after she had spoken them aloud. She could just as easily forget something she'd read or heard, but speaking words cemented them in her mind. "Yeah." She said. "Guy by the name of Artimus. One of the KG involved in the Baron's science project back in Haven... though I'm beginning to think he might have been involved with Veger too. He mentioned that Veger had another project going on; one Chelsea had been slated for before I went in and... reacted the way I did."

"I don't like that." Daxter frowned, clinging to Jak's headrest. "Praxis had all the wrong kinds of crazy running his science department! Errol was looney enough, but Veger heading up a project too? Yikes."

"What's our beat on Artimus?" Jak asked. "Should we trust him?"

"By all accounts, he died trying to save Fury." Loor sighed, shaking her head and thinking. "... he's hiding out here. And, by his own account, we sorta owe him our lives. He was banished because his orders from Veger were to kill all subjects in the Dark Warrior Program, and instead he tried to save one of us and run. I just wanna know the the fuck he survived an encounter with Serenity."

"Serenity?" Daxter asked. Jak looked lost too.

"What Fury called... her dark side. The monster." Loor bit her lip on the memory; it was one of the many she'd gotten back. It had been right before Chelsea had died again; she'd woken up from a coma-like state, babbling about what she'd done to Artimus and crying about the monster in her head. It was the only time Loor had heard the name, but like any other name she wanted to remember she had repeated it right after to keep it in her mind. "I only saw it once; when we escaped."

"You gotta tell us both that story sometime, toots." Daxter snickered. "Now that you remember it again and you're not drooling into the sand."

"I don't drool!" She snapped at the ottsel; Daxter had been overjoyed that she was okay, but he kept making jokes about the time she'd spent as a vegetable. "And we're getting off-point. How does someone get ripped limb from limb and live?"

"Maybe they stitched 'em back together?" Daxter suggested. "Seems to work for those nasties in the arena."

"I somehow doubt that would work. Or, if it did, he'd be just like those guys." She shook her head, frowning. "There's more to this; there has to be. I also need to talk to Ryan. The fact that he's here means-"

"He's already talked with me." Jak hopped in. "I told him about what happened back in Haven. He told me about him being from your time, though he's still under the impression that it's another world. Dax eavesdropped." Jak then gave Loor a look as they made their approach on the city. "That's all I need to know right now. You guys need to talk alone, just say the word and me an' Dax'll go somewhere else."

"Hey!" Daxter was indignant. "I didn't even know you guys were sick until I listened in on that little conversation. You two keep leavin' me outta the loop."

"Sorry neither of us wanted to tell you we were dying?" Loor rolled her eyes. "With everything else going on, it just seemed like needless worry-fodder."

"Loor, babe, look who you're talking to. Worrying ain't my gig. I poke and prod until I get a smile, and we all keep going down our merry little way." He grinned. "Of course, you two haven't exactly needed my help lately. I suppose when you're dyin' it's easier to express yourself without fearin' the consequences... even when you don't have the room to yourself."

"Dax!" Both teenagers protested the ottsel's teasing, Loor turning quite red. Jak knew that the ottsel had been awake during their last... 'moment' at Ryan's place, but Loor had not been aware.

"You little lech!" The girl looked embarrassed, but she was giggling at the same time, reaching out to give Daxter a playful whack. "You were awake? Why didn't you say something? Jeez!"

"It looked like you guys were enjoying yourselves. It's rude to deprive a lady." He winked at her, dodging her strike by scrambling over to Jak's far shoulder. "Not to mention, free entertainment is the last thing I'm gonna say no to."

She hefted a sigh with a roll of her eyes, deciding to let it go as the gates to Spargus opened for them, the Dune Hopper bouncing over the stone threshold of the massive doors. "So... we spent the night out there. What are we supposed to do now? Report in?" She asked as Jak parked the vehicle in one of the open spots. At a glance Loor noticed that a few of the other vehicles were currently missing. "Looks like we're not the only ones gambling with that wind. I wouldn't be surprised if it developed into a full sand storm; people must be sweeping for artifacts." She'd unhooked her seat belt, standing up in the vehicle and stretching before climbing down. So far, she liked the Dune Hopper best... if only because it had secure restraints.

"Wouldn't be surprised..." Daxter muttered as Jak followed suit, the two of them pushing their goggles up and tugging their scarves down away from their faces. "Buncha crazy blowhards is what these people are..."

"And we're trying to join the clan." Loor pointed out shortly before yelping in surprise as she felt something in the pouch on her belt vibrate. It took her a moment to remember that she did have a communicator; someone was contacting her. Pulling it out, she was actually surprised when she didn't hear Daxter laughing at her... until she noticed that Jak was getting hit too; someone was trying to get a hold of both of them. Saving the confusion for later, they both answered their devices.

"Attention all people of Spargus! A large storm is heading our way, prepare the city!" The same message came through both their devices; the voice that spoke was none other than Damas himself. "All able drivers are to report to me immediately! Repeat, all able drivers not involved in securing the city are to report directly to me!"

"Great timing." Loor muttered as Damas began repeating himself; it took a small community when the king himself did the emergence broadcasts. "Looks like it's gonna get a lot uglier out there. Are we feeling able?"

"You bet we are." Jak nodded, moving for the door to head back into the city.

The trek from the front gate to the lift was a short one; Damas's throne room was at the top. Loor hadn't seen this place since she and Jak had originally been taken into the city, and it was exactly the same as it had been then. Fountains, pools of water, sandstone, and a grand window behind Damas's simple stone throne. Upon arrival the sand king was still repeating his message into his own personal communicator, ending his announcement as the lift hit the top of its path with a bump.

Loor had thought someone else might have been around, but she very quickly realized two things; veteran wastelanders probably all had jobs within the city in the event of a major storm threatening their home, and there had been multiple vehicles missing from the garage... other people with vehicle skills were out there, without protection, in the path of an incoming sand storm. She and Jak were newbies; greenhorns who didn't even have full citizenship yet... and the only ones who weren't otherwise obligated in this crisis.

Son of a... Her mind told her to bail out; to tuck herself behind Jak as he approached Damas, but she knew she couldn't. Her previous behavior had been... uncensored. She'd been herself, trying to prove herself worth her salt out here, trying to gain respect, and trying to learn how to survive. All great things... for someone who actually fit into the time line. If she suddenly changed aspects, Damas would notice and assume she'd lost her grit... which had potentially dangerous consequences. The last thing she wanted was for the sand king to take her aside and give her a stern talking-to and possibly a solo-mission to prove she was still worthy. Against her own better judgment she stepped out at Jak's side.

"Jak, Loor," The king actually looked somewhat relieved that someone had showed up. "There are four wastelanders out there who still have not reported in. I want you two to go out and find them; there are armored transports out there that will protect them from the storm until it is over. Do whatever it takes to bring them back!"

"How are we going to find them?" Jak was the first to question this time, and rightfully so. It was an important question to ask.

"Any vehicle with a map has been keyed to pick up the locational signals of our communicators." Damas answered simply.

"How long till the worst hits?" Loor saw fit to ask; Damas's orders had been quick and to the point, but she had already decided being herself was actually safer for once. And, to that end, she wanted to know how much time they had.

"The storm will be deadly within the hour." He responded as if he'd expected the question. "It will take less time for it to be just as deadly to the engine of a vehicle."

"Let's move." Jak added, as if the point hadn't already been made without Damas saying it himself. Loor nodded, the two of them heading back to the lift and tracing the same path they'd just walked back to the garage. Loor noted the city along the way; people were scrambling through the streets in preparation for the storm. Apparently everyone had something to do before it hit... She and Jak were just doing their part. As long as she didn't fuck anything up, there was no harm in her participating.

I haven't done any harm, as far as I've felt... She mused to herself as she and Jak passed into the garage and split up. Of the vehicles left in the garage, both the Dune Hopper and the Sand Shark were present. Jak went for the Hopper; she was yet to drive it. The Shark, on the other hand, she had handled before. Getting in and adjusting her goggles and scarf to once again protect her face, it was time for another romp in the sandbox.

She'd ponder things later. There was just too much on her mind to think about it all right now; she'd wait until she finally got ten seconds to herself before beginning to sort everything out. Right now, as Jak backed up his vehicle to line up with the monster doors to the outside, there were more important things to consider. Right now there were four people, four lives, waiting for some kind of rescue. A little coordination between her and Jak and everyone would get to go home tonight in one piece. That was what mattered right now. Everything else was just goop.

The doors were open. Jak blasted out, and she was right behind him, diving into the storm.


Three of the four wastelanders had been pretty close to the armored vehicle that made its way through the desert, conducting its own search on treads that moved at a speed that even a sloth would consider slow. Jak had gone for two signals that had been coming from high places; places the Dune Hopper didn't have issues going. Loor, following her own map, went first for the odd-signal-out that was easier for her to get to.

The visibility was getting worse all the time; like yellow pea soup. Her face was protected, but the ever-accelerating grains of sand were wearing at every inch of exposed skin on her arms and hands, as well as her ears. Trying to ignore the sting of the sandblasting treatment, she drove as fast as she dared while fearing every shadow that didn't reveal itself to be a cactus within the first few seconds of her being able to see it. All it would take would be a head-on collision with a big rock and she'd be done, as would be the wastelander she was searching for.

Thankfully, the only big rock she found was the one her target was hiding behind to get out of the wind, and she slowed down long before she got to it. She'd gotten within a few feet of him, shouting to get his attention and waving on top of that. He was a big guy, all straps and scraps of armor, clutching a gun to match in heft and size. In a second he was out from his cover, leaning against the wind while diving for the passenger seat, dragging himself in. "Go, go, go!" He shouted, indicating another blip on her radar as he got on board. "We need to get to the bunker!"

Cranking the wheel in response and taking off again, Loor didn't see this as a time for conversation. She stayed focused on the path in front of her, glancing down at the map now and again to adjust for the ups and downs in the terrain while trying to get to the bunker as fast as she could. Again; fast was dangerous because of the visibility, but going slow wasted valuable time. That last thing she needed now was an accident after finally getting everything back together again.

She needed to thank Jak. He did all the work, and she hadn't even thought to show gratitude. Later. She resolved. Whole lotta shit I gotta do later.

"Hey, you're a newbie, aren't you?" Asked the wastelander in the passenger seat. "Tense as hell behind the wheel, you're makin' me nervous!"

She grunted slightly, not daring to look at him. This was not the time to have a stupid driving blunder. The bunker wasn't far now; just one more rise according to her map. "Am I supposed to be having fun?" Her tone was blunt. She couldn't believe this guy was trying to talk to her right now.

"Don't have to be." He admitted as they hit the top of the rise. Through the storm she could see the square shadow of a vehicle; the bunker. She gunned it. "But your heart is gonna fail you long before anything actually gets you out here if you don't relax."

"This coming from a veteran, I assume?" She let the clutch go back into neutral, putting her hand on the E-brake while carefully figuring speed and distance.

"Been here longer than Damas." The guy actually laughed while she pulled the lever, the vehicle sliding sideways in the sand just behind the tank-like vehicle. "Not bad; good luck on the others!" He shouted while getting out quickly; waving her to get moving while he muscled his way against the wind to get on board.

She didn't need that much encouragement, looking at her map again. Looked like Jak had beaten her to the bunker with his first rescue, well on his way to his second target. That left her with the forth and final marker on the map; the one that was furthest away. She didn't think twice about it, though part of her wanted to pull out her comm. unit and let him know she was heading for the last one. She didn't trust herself to multitask though, and he had to keep his focus too.

With her foot to the floor, she aimed to wrap this up quickly. Get the last wastelander, get him to the bunker, and get back to Spargus. Simple as that. Her vehicle didn't seem to be having any problem with the whether yet, and while her skin felt raw she wasn't actually getting ripped up. By all markers, they were making good time.

As she made the journey to the last blip on her map, she actually felt some mild positivity. Maybe that other guy had been right; she was too tense. Sure, lives were depending on her and Jak doing well, but that didn't mean she had to be freaking out.

For a moment she felt a smile crawling onto her face.

A moment later it was gone. Something had just crossed her senses that made her tense up again; eco. She felt as if an aggressive burst had just hit her, and a glance at her map told her the direction in which she felt it was the same way she was going to try and make her second rescue. Ugly coincidences usually led to ugly situations, as far as her experience could tell her. Not far from her destination, she finally gave in and yanked her comm. unit out of her belt pouch, opening contact with Jak.

"What's up?" His voice came loud and clear, as did the concern in it. Did he just instantly assume she was in trouble?

Granted, with her track record...

"I'm almost on the last one, but... you should make your way over here too. Something doesn't feel right."

"Right behind you; watch yourself." His response was quick and without question. At least her gut-feelings had a good track record.

On the other hand, she was a couple minutes ahead of him. Whatever she was having a gut-feeling about, she was going to get to it first. Dark eco never meant anything good, though. It was very possible that her final rescue was about to be complicated, or already had been.

Coming down the side of a dune and getting close enough to see through the sand, she squinted. There was no cover in the area she was approaching; nothing to hide behind and get out of the wind. No rocks, no cacti, nothing. Just a wide expanse of desert sand. Why would someone await rescue here? Getting closer, she had to slow down. She saw a figure, but it didn't strike her as a wastelander's form. No; someone was standing out there but they were far too small. He... no, she wore no armor against the ripping wind. It didn't seem to bother her. She stood tall, straight, little more than a solitary shadow in this storm.

Below her, laying on the ground, was another shape. Bulky; the wastelander?

Loor stopped her vehicle a few yards away, she was almost afraid to get too close as her sense for eco intensified. It took her a moment, but she did recognize the level of concentration; there was a dark eco crystal nearby. Instinct made her leave the vehicle behind; the last time she'd seen a dark eco crystal it had been delivered by a mechanical monstrosity that could do a number on car if it were even half-functional, and this was the wrong time to get stranded. Leaning against the wind and digging her feet in to run, she shouted out to the solitary figure standing out there. Whoever she was, she might've been in danger.

Running full-tilt, she hadn't been expecting to be bowled over. Loor yelped as the woman suddenly moved. She had seen no more than a flicker, a sudden jerk into action, but it was a second later that Loor was flat on her back with this person on top of her.

The feeling of the eco crystal had covered up another source of eco. The realization hit Loor when she finally got a clear look at the girl she and spied through the sand; this woman was not human.

At least, not anymore.

A cloth covered her face, keeping the sand out of her mouth and nose, but all Loor had to see were the creature's eyes to know exactly what it was. Black eyes surrounded by white skin; she never thought she'd see another besides Jak with such eyes, but she knew better than to doubt her senses. She could see the eyes, the skin, the long banner of silver hair that the wind blew ruthlessly around a set of black horns. She could feel a jolt of dark eco passing through her when this creature pounced her, driving her into the sand with the force of a truck.

Another feeling drove it all home.

Pain.

Her breath had caught in her throat, looking down and finding five black talons pushed into the soft of her stomach. As she stared the animal on top of her growled softly, pushing even harder until the first digit of each finger also vanished, blood welling up and staining Loor's sand-colored shirt.

"W-wha..." She looked up again, not quite getting what just happened. Where had this creature come from? Why was it here?

The animal's other hand clutched a rounded piece of precursor bronze; the dark eco crystal shined from its setting.

With a snarl the animal ripped its talons free of Loor's body, turning to vanish into the storm.


The Author's Corner

Jeez, Loor just can't get a break, huh?

ONWARD!

-Loor