Disclaimer: I only own my OCs, I do not own the characters of Crash Bandicoot or Jak and Daxter.

(A/N: No Crash Bandicoot Music, since this is a hub area.)

The group soon went to a powerful hut over the Volcanic Crater, but on the way, Jak freed a Scout Fly. As they enter the hut, they see someone tied up. A muscular body, which shows it was female, who was a teenager, but a bit older than Jak, red skin, with light metal plates for armor, but like Telsa, had a bag over her head. Jak removed the bag, and saw the female had sienna hair, and a gag over her mouth, Jak removes it, and unties her as well, she soon said, "Thank you so much for freeing me. I am Mildred, apprentice to Brutus, the Red Sage."

Aku Aku soon said, "I am Aku Aku, and with me is Jak, Daxter, and Crash Bandicoot."

Daxter soon said, "I am guessing you don't even know what happened, right?"

Mildred soon said, "Yeah, that's right, but I think there are some people waiting for you guys, I will now activate the teleport gate." Mildred soon turns on the teleport gate, causing Tesla, Leaf, Keira, and Samos to come out, but Samos was soon upside down, and said, "Are you okay, sir?"

Samos soon said, "I always wonder if I'm losing body parts in those things!" Samos gets right side up, looks around, and said, "Holy yakow! Brutus' lab looks worse than Thomas'!"

"Yes, it looked like my master had thrown a tantrum, despite he is usually calm," Mildred said.

Keira looks around, and said, "Well, to me, it definitely looks as though there's been a struggle here."

They soon heard a laugh at the door, and notice two short men there, the one with the N on his forehead soon said, "A struggle? Don't make me laugh!" Crash then hid behind Jak, as the man soon said, "Oh, it seems my failed general still is scared of me do to him being used for my experiments."

Samos soon said, "General? Experiments? So, you were the ones who created Crash, along with the other mutants! Who in the Precursors are you two?!"

The man who spoke soon replied, "I am Dr. Neo Cortex," he soon waved his hand at the other man, and said, "And this is my colleague, Dr. Nitrus Brio."

The other man, Nitrus Brio soon said, "We are here to," he interrupts himself to chuckle then continued, "meet up with our financiers, who gave us the ways for our experiments," he then maniacally chuckles.

Telsa soon said, "Then we must defeat you before they arrive."

Neo Cortex soon said, "Too late, they are already here," he looks up and asked, "My dear financiers, how did Brutus struggle?"

The group looked up, as the dark man that Jak and Daxter saw on Misty Island soon laughs, and replies, "I'd hardly call it 'struggle', would you, dear sister?"

The dark woman from Misty Island floats down next to the man, and replied in reluctance, "Certainly not. Brutus gave up with so little effort. No fun at all."

Samos adjusted his glasses, and asked in shock to the male financier, "Gol? Is that you? You've finally gone off the deep end, eh?" he then looks at the female financier and said, "And Maia, despite there might be a bit of reason and sanity within you, I told you the Dark Eco would affect you both!" He grunts, wipes his face, and said in disappointment, "Nobody ever listens to old Samos." He looks at the people, and asked in demand, "What have you four done with Thomas and Brutus?!"

Cortex replied, "Oh, don't worry of your colorful friends, you old fool! They're perfectly safe in Gol and Maia's Citadel."

"Yes, as their special guests," Brio said with a chuckle at the end.

Maia soon said, "They have graciously agreed to help us all on a little 'project.'

Gol soon said, "You were wrong, Samos. Dark Eco can be controlled! My sister and I have learned its secrets. And now we can re-shape the world to our liking!"

Samos soon said, "You can't control Dark Eco by itself! Even the Precursors couldn't do-"

"Until now we've had to scrape by with what little Dark Eco we could find near the surface, which even powered up some of our machines for our experiments," Brio interrupts Samos, then chuckles.

Cortex then said in a more devious tone, "But soon, we will have access to the vast stores of Dark Eco hidden deep underground."

"Not the silos!" Samos said in fear.

Gol replied, "Yes, the silos! They will be opened, and all the Dark Eco of the world will be ours!"

Samos soon said, "But that's impossible! Only a Precursor robot-"

"Oh, don't be upset, Samos," Maia said, interrupting him, but is still feeling reluctant, but then said with a fake devious smile, "We've all got big plans for you." She, along with laughed, and she and Gol disappeared through smoke.

Cortex soon laughed, and said, "We're off to the Citadel, ta-ta!" He and Brio took there leave.

Daxter thought, and then said, "Wait a minute!" he jumped in-front of Samos and asked, "That was Gol?! The same Gol who's supposed to change me back?!" he then grabs Jak, and asked, "Gol is the guy trying to kill us?!" he drops to his feet, lowers his arms and head, and said in defeat, "I'm doomed."

"We may all be doomed!" Samos said, he wipes his face again, and said, "If they open the silos, the Dark Eco will twist and destroy everything it touches! We simply must get to Gol and Maia's Citadel to stop them!"

Mildred soon said, "The fastest way there is through the Lava Tube at the bottom of my crater home."

"That is a bit helpful," Leaf said.

"Most definitely!" Tesla said.

Keira soon said to Jak, Daxter, Crash and Aku Aku, "A few more Power Cells and Power Gems, and the A-Grav. Zoomer's heat shield should get you guys across the lava safely."

Samos looks at Jak, and said, "All right my boy! You know what to do! Take Crash, Aku Aku and the fleabag and go round up more Power Cells and Power Gems," he soon floats, and looks around Brutus' notes. He soon said, "Great balls of Eco!"

Aku Aku soon asked, "What is the problem Samos?"

Samos replied, "There seems to be a large lurker presence in the Spider Caves!"

Daxter said sarcastically, "Great. Sounds like a really cherry place. Let me guess," he soon asked in annoyance, "there are spiders in the Spider Caves, right?!"

Samos soon replied, "Of course there are spiders in Spider Caves! But that's the least of your problems!" He looked in Brutus' notes, and said, "The lurkers are after crystals of concentrated Dark Eco. You've all got to destroy the crystals before those monsters get their hands on them! Hop to it!" He then looks back at the bookshelf.

The group soon sees Tesla, and said, "I am very glad that Klaww has been dealt with, Rock Village will be much safer, and maybe the Warrior will get his confidence again," Tesla soon takes out something, and said, "Here is a Power Gem I forgot I still have as a thank you for liberating my village."

Crash collects the gem, spins, posed, and said, "Ba da daa!" The group then went to talk to the others.

They soon see Leaf, who soon said, "Hey guys! Keep collecting Power Cells and Power Gems. They're the key to continuing our journey north!"

Keira was looking at a big book, but soon looks at the group, and said, "Listen guys, I found out a Power Cell in the Spider Caves!"

Aku Aku asked, "Where is the Power Cell?"

Keira replied, "It is in the darkest part of the Spider Caves."

Daxter then asked in fear, "Um, how are we going to get to the Power Cell?"

Keira replied, "According to Brutus', and from what Mildred said, there are green crystals that if you hit them, you will light the way to through the caves," Keira then went back to look at the book.

The groups soon went to Mildred, and said, "I know you guys are looking for Power Gems, and I have a few gems, but only when you help other people around the Crater."

Daxter soon asked, "And who are the people we need to help?"

Mildred replied, "There are the miners, Gordy and Willard, who not only have Power Cells, but also have things in the areas around the Crater, along with an entomologist, who is in the Spider Caves, and a tribe that came down from the Snowy Mountains," she paused, and said, "Help them all, along with the miners demands, and you will earn a Power Gem for each people you help, and the miners tasks, while I will even give you another one if you can give me eight Wumpa Fruit, along with a special Power Gem once all the tasks I give you are complete." Crash soon gave Mildred the Wumpa Fruit, causing her to say, "I see you have the Wumpa Fruit," she takes out a gem, said, "Here's the Power Gem, as promised."

Crash collects the Power Gem, spins, posed, and said, "Ba da daa!"

The group soon began to explore the crater. On a differnt path past the cave, Jak collected some orbs, and freed another Scout Fly, while Crash broke some crates, but then, at the end of the path, they ran into another Precursor Oracle. He soon said, "Seek the pure light, for within its flame, the answers reside," he paused, then said, "You can gain my Power Cells by bringing one hundred and twenty Precursor Orbs for each." Jak gave one hundred and twenty orbs, causing the Oracle to say while giving the group a Power Cell, "You have obtained another Power Cell." Jak collects the Power Cell, then gave the Oracle another one hundred and twenty orbs, causing the Oracle to say while give the group a Power Cell, "For your effort, a Power Cell is your reward," Jak collects the Power Cell, and the group head off somewhere else.

The group went into the cave, while also freeing another Scout Fly, where two miners were digging up some gems. They approach the miners, then the tall one soon said, "Hey, Gordy! Duh, I think we got visitors!"

"Ya think, Willard?" the short miner, Gordy, asked sarcastically, then looked at the group, and said, "Howdy, strangers uh, passin' through?" he then was trying to hide something, and said, "U-us too! Well, we gotta be movin' on, nothin' to see here!"

The other miner, Willard, soon objects, "Duh, I thought you said this was a 'priceless gem' worth-"

"WILLARD!" Gordy yelled, interrupting his fellow miner. Crash then went to the giant gem, touched it, then shook his head, Gordy soon asked, "What is that mutated bandicoot doing?"

Aku Aku soon replied, "Crash was checking on the gem, but it seems it is not a Power Gem, so he is not interested."

"Power Gems? As in the ones that Mildred, the apprentice of our kidnapped Sage, Brutus, told us about?" Gordy asked, Crash replied with a nod, Gordy then said, "Well, that is a relief, seems Mildred was right that those Power Gems were useful."

Daxter soon said, "Actually, not only we are after Power Gems, but we also want Power Cells, not gems that you're mining."

Willard soon said while holding his fingers, "We got four of 'em! Duh, you want 'em?"

Gordy clears his throat, and said, "What bird-brain here is trying to say is: We 'may' have a few Power Cells laying around, and we might be willing to part with them for," he paused, then said, "ninety orbs each!"

Daxter looks at him with a scowl, and asked, "Where have I heard that before?" Daxter soon thought, then asked, "Hey, how do you two geniuses expect to get that big gem out of here anyway?"

Gordy replied, "Well, smarty-pants, we got twelve more years of diggin' to figure that out!"

Willard counted some fingers, and asked, "Uh, Gordy? Wouldn't it take less time if you dug too?" Gordy looks at Willard with a glare, then looked away, while Willard went back to work, but not after waving good-bye.

Aku Aku soon asked, "Mildred also said that you both have tasks for us in the surrounding areas, is that true?"

Gordy soon replied, "Well, Mildred is right. So, why don't you four make yourselves useful? Lurkers have been excavatin' the dark Spider Caves over by the other side of the Crater. Seems they're looking for Precursor artifacts. They can have the artifacts for all I care!"

"For all we care!" Willard said, trying to correct Gordy.

Gordy soon said, "Willard, feed your bird," he looks at the group, and said, "All I care about are gems! Although not Power Gems. But I ain't gonna be able to get the cave's gems!"

"Why is that?" Aku Aku asked.

Gordy replied, "'Cause when they're through, they're gonna collapse the place!" he paused, then said, "If you guys take out the gnawing lurkers chewin' at the support beams, you could save the cave for me! Now beat it!"

The group soon see a gondola, and near it were some people. The people had some light long sleeve shirts and pants, but they had piled up some heavy fur coats, making them the tribe from the mountains. They went to them, and one sees them, and said, "You might be people who can help us with our dilemma."

Aku Aku soon asked, "What is your dilemma?"

The man replied, "I am Boris, chief of tribe from Snowy Mountains, we lived peacefully in mountains, even if lurkers attacked our fort, which they never succeed, but then mutated creatures known as potoroos appeared, with them is leader that call himself by suit he wears called Pinstripe, using powerful weapon he call his Tomy, despite only shoot what he call non-lethal rounds, we were forced out of fort, but he took my daughter, Natasha, even telling me she will be his wife."

"Well, uh, you might have a surprising son-in-law," Daxter said, trying to lighten the mood.

Boris was mad, then said, "Not funny, but I think you can help, if you defeat Pinstripe, and save Natasha, I will give you Power Gem," Daxter soon gave him a look, then Boris said, "If you wonder, I have another Power Gem if you give my tribe food, which is one hundred Wumpa Fruit." Crash soon gave Boris one hundred Wumpa Fruit, who soon said, "So, you brought Wumpa Fruit," he takes something out of his pants pocket, and said, "Here is Power Gem as agreed."

Crash collects the Power Gem, spins, posed, and said, "Ba da daa!"

The group soon see the gondola that was at first not working, but then it activated, then the communicator came out, and Kiera's voice soon said, "I've reactivated the gondola, it can take you to Snowy Mountains! Use it whenever you want." The group then went off to the minecarts, the communicator came out again, and Keira's voice soon said, while Jak freed another Scout Fly, "Hey guys, by my calculations, it's going to take seventy-two Power Cells and forty-one Power Gems to fuel the heat shield against the lava on the way to Gol and Maia's Citadel."

The group road the minecarts through the crater, collect orbs, freeing Scout Flies, and breaking crates. Once Jak freed all the Scout Flies, he got a Power Cell, and collected it, Jak soon noticed a box, but decided to get it later.

Jak then collected all the orbs, while Crash broke the last crate, causing a Power Gem to appear. Crash collects it, spins, posed, then said, "Ba da daa!"

The group then went into the Spider Caves, where Jak found inside it a Yellow Eco vent, and went back to the entrance to break the box, revealing a Power Cell. Jak collects the Power Cell, then the group jumped on the mine carts to head for the gondola.

Sorry for the delay, and if I changed it, sorry, found out next location was not the Spider Caves. Secrets have been revealed, and now our heroes must stop the ones that they needed help on Daxter. By the way, since I forgot to add it, Leaf's hair is Lime Green, while Tesla is Sky Blue. Anyway, if you're reading this, thanks for reading and thank Katana whose YouTube video I am using for this story. If you want to know when the next chapter is, follow me or the story, write a review, but please no flames, add it to your favorites, and as usual, and if I get to it the story will continue in the next chapter. SEE YA!