A.N. Okay, I can't really give any excuse for this chapter being so late other than the following which occurred a few weeks ago: Inspiration this is Wall, you two are going to be running into each other a lot. Don't worry though, I've already got the next chapter mostly written after a few one shot pieces that I posted in the Firefly category got me going again and I'll update within a week, that's a promise. Anyway, please try and bear with me, I'm not too pleased with how this chapter came out but I promise the next one will be better, enjoy

The Visionary

Chapter Six- Wounds

It took almost a full day for both sides to regroup, the Krimson Regulars fortifying themselves in the slums. The knowledge granted to them by Torn's experience and the aid of dozens of former Underground Agents giving them a crucial advantage that allowed them to turn the ramshackle buildings into a death trap for any enemy foolish enough to wander into them. In the same way the Elite turned the Palace once more into a fortress. Their officers cursed Torn's foresight when they found the controls for the automated defence smashed beyond repair but nonetheless it was easy enough to regain the virtual impregnability that only Jak had ever been known to defeat so totally.

At midnight on the first day Ashelin's technicians hacked the city broadcast feed and let her talk to the people, telling them a brief version of the events that had transpired in the palace and ending with a plea for them to simply stay out of the way. For their part the citizenry were only too glad to oblige. They were used to living in a city at war and every building had a bomb shelter of some sort, the populous retreating into these bunkers to hide from what they knew was coming, those who could fleeing the sectors they knew would see the worst of the fighting.

Then in the morning, war came once more to Haven City. The Bazaar district was silent, virtually deserted, the streets empty of all but the scuttling rats and fluttering birds, even the normally undauntable lurker traders had retreated to their secret lairs, leaving an almost magical stillness over the entire place. Then an explosion tore through one of the marketplaces as a missile streaked through the air before tearing apart the lead Hellcat of the first Elite patrol. Krimson regulars suddenly surged from the cover of the buildings, darting out from the dark recesses of empty shops to begin a devastating barrage, their comrades appearing in every window and opening to lay down a sheet of cover fire.

The Elite responded with common savagery and even as shrapnel hissed, red hot and glowing through the air from that first blood they countered, orders rising as lances were brought to bear. As the infantry began to blast at each other two more hellcats smashed through the wreckage of the first, their twin gatling cannons tearing paths of destruction across the facades of buildings, the aged stonework splintering and crumbling as the din of battle rose. Dozens died on each side as beams of eco wove eerily beautiful webs of light in the air, the smell of ozone rising in a horrible, burnt stench that drifted from the battlefield along with the screams of the wounded and cries of the dying. Battle was joined.

For a full half day that courtyard had seen bitter contest as each side poured their troops into it, determined to win the crucial first blood through that engagement. In the end it was a stalemate, the Krimson Elite pushing back the Regulars with their unbridled aggression and superior skill before the next wave of Regular reinforcements arrived and drove them back through sheer weight of numbers. Two days later the bloodiest of the fighting had moved into other courtyards and even the shops and arcades of the aqueduct and those troops that were left settled into a gruelling war of attrition, sniping at each other from the cover of the ruined buildings.

But for all the death that had been seen already both sides knew, or at least the commanders knew, that these engagements were only skirmishes in the larger battle. The true war, the truly deciding battle between the forces would only happen when the two ultimate weapons, the two dark eco warriors clashed once more. For as yet, neither had been seen on the battlefield, no omnipotent presence appearing in either ranks to sow death and destruction among the enemy. And both sides waited with baited breath, for the other to be the first to play their trump card and leave him exposed to the other once he had been worn down. However, what neither side knew was whether or not the enemy's card was in any position to be dealt. For Torn, it was a desperate bluff, for he knew full well that right now, Jak was a helpless victim of coma, lying unconscious upon a bed in a small back room of the Underground Base.

~

Daxter sighed as Jak shifted in his sleep, a low moan escaping his lips as his muscles tightened and his hands gripped the blankets that covered him in fitful spasms. He hadn't changed in the two days since the battle at the palace, lying on a narrow bunk in an Underground infirmary ward, whatever price the use of dark eco took from him keeping him in this mysterious coma. Medics and Samos both had tried to revive him but neither had been successful, the sage's only words that he needed rest.

He tightened his small paws into fists, screwing his eyes shut as he thought of all that he and Jak had been through. Every time something had happened to them in the past, no matter what it had been, Jak had found a way through. He'd always been there, someone he could rely on, a friend, a fighter. Only Keira knew better than him how wonderful it was to be able to rely on Jak, in this place, Jak had become more than ever before, the one they had looked to for help. This was the first time he'd failed, the first time he'd been beaten, Daxter had never felt so helpless in all his life. A soft hand stroked his head softly, his ears run between delicate fingers. His eyes rose and he smiled as he saw Tess looking down on him, raising a hand to stroke her arm slowly.

'Hey babe…' She smiled sadly at him, lifting his small body to cradle it against her chest.

'Hi honey, is he doing any better?'

Daxter shrugged, 'I don't know. He looks just the same, I don't know if that's good or bad.' She pressed a sympathetic kiss between his tufted ears, she knew how much the two had been through together and how much they meant to each other. For all that the two acted with total autonomy, they had always been a pair, always been best friends.

'He'll be okay Darling. If anyone can pull through whatever this is it's him. You remember what he was like during the war don't you?' She reassured him with total confidence in her voice, the same trust she placed in her emotions that had made them a couple now allowing her to reassure her partner.

He grinned up at her, about to speak when the door opened to admit the other regular visitor to the room, the only other one that Sig let pass without question. Keira gave him a subdued smile, so different from her usual bubbling personality. He shook his head in answer to her unspoken question and she nodded sadly as though expecting no change.

Daxter slumped back onto his perch on the table, toying with a glass that had been left unattended. 'Did ya talk to Samos?'

She nodded, 'Yeah, Dad said that he can't help. This… this is an eco sickness Daxter, like what happened after he fought Gol and Maia and it's worse because it's the dark eco that's got thrown out of balance. If it was one of the other types, well, my dad's learned a few things since then and he'd be able to help a little But as it is he can't do anything. All we can really hope is that Jak manages to wake up on his own… and soon.'

Daxter's eyes widened, 'Is Erol back then?'

Keira allowed herself to shiver at the prospect and shook her head, using the action to banish the images of the fight he and her lover had fought. 'No, we still haven't seen him. We think that the process they used on him means he works like a battery, fighting through the palace and then having to take on Jak completely drained him and it seems to take a while for him to fill up again. Based on how long it took the first time I guess we've got about two, maybe three days before he's fully charged again, that's if we guess the change itself took a couple of months.'

Daxter nodded slowly, eyeing Jak's recumbent form, sending up a silent prayer that he would wake up before then. He turned back to Keira, standing up to his full height which though not much nonetheless allowed him to take on a note of confidence in his voice. 'Well I'm gonna look after Jak until he's ready to take on Erol again. If there's anything you need Keira, anything at all, you come to me. My Wastelanders may not be in charge around here but I'll get you anything you need.'

Keira's eyes rose to him and she smiled, 'Thanks Daxter, there may be something you can help with actually. Torn and Ashelin want me to stay locked up tight here but I think that if I got to the power station I could cut off the power to the palace, give us an advantage. Right now it's in our territory but apparently the Elite are gonna make a push for it tonight and he wants it to be locked down by then.' She sighed a turned away from him, returning her gaze to Jak's sleeping face. 'I don't know if I'll be able to do anything though. Vin was the only one who really knew enough about the grid to do something as complex as that and until I get a look at his notes up at the station I don't know if I'll be able to do anything without shutting down the whole city. And we all know what that would mean…'

Daxter frowned and "humphed", 'Well I for one know that Jak'd have kittens if he found out I let you go out into the city with nothing. Me, Sig and six more of my boys'll go with ya. Back at the palace I promised Jak I'd look after you if anything happened to him and I sure as hell ain't gonna break that.'

Tess stroked his head fondly as a small smile played about her lips and Keira gave him a genuine smile, 'Thank you Daxter, I know that'd mean a lot to him.'

'When do you wanna leave?'

Keira glanced down and found that she was still in the worn and tattered dress in which she had fled the palace and sighed, 'As soon as I find a pair of mechanics overalls and a toolkit. I can't be sure that all of Vin's tools are at the station and I want to make sure I have everything.'

Daxter nodded and turned to Tess, 'You think you could find something for Keira babe, you're about the same size?'

Tess smiled and nodded, raising her eyes to meet Keira's, 'Sure, a lot of my gear's still stored in the base right here so I should be able to find you something that'll fit and a toolkit'll be no problem, I'll just raid the maintenance bay. In all the commotion no-one will be bothered.'

'I love that thing you do girl.' She'd always had a knack for finding ways to get things done, it was what had led to her becoming one of the Underground's best intelligence agents before she'd… taken up other duties. Daxter grinned toothily at his wife and received an affectionate pat in return as he stroked her hip with an over-large paw.

It was dark by the time their small group left. At night Haven City's skyline was lit by the fires of battles already fought and the flickering, explosive flashes of fighting that still raged, the end of each one marking a street lost or gained by Torn's troops. In the quite of the night the sound of each distant shot and scream echoed through the deserted streets and Keira shivered as the breeze brought the sounds to her as she emerged from a hidden tunnel. It brought her to within half an hour by speeder of the power station, the six bikes that waited for them meaning that they would probably reach it in half that time. By the fact that Keira was the only one surprised by their presence she assumed that Daxter's network in the city was still active, despite the battles that raged throughout.

Tess had come through and Keira was dressed in loose overalls that were made out of a tough, linen material of a dull green colour that nonetheless did little to hide her feminine curves. Her longer hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail to keep away it from her eyes as she worked and she had taken the small, jewelled studs she had worn in the palace from her ears. She had also opted for a pair of solid, black boots and they scuffed the asphalt as she straddled one of the machines, smiling in satisfaction as the engine purred easily into life at the first touch of the ignition.

She turned as five more engine tones sounded from behind her as the Wastelanders mounted up and she took in Sig as he sat astride the largest of the six, a big, mean-looking black machine that seemed designed for power rather than speed. On his shoulder Daxter perched as he so often had on Jak's lounging across one of the metalhead skulls that made the Wastelander's shoulder-pads. He tapped the side of Sig's helmet and motioned the other wastelanders forward with a wave of his hand. Sig took the lead and the others formed a protective circle around Keira, eyes, some enhanced by bionics or gene splicing, darting down every street and into every shadow, each of them driving with one hand while their other held a weapon.

They had a calm confidence about them that soothed Keira's nerves, a smile crossing her face as she wondered at the fate that had made them choose Daxter as, if not their leader, then at least their manager. Not two months ago he was a penniless fugitive, now he was wealthy and in charge of the strongest fighting force in the city behind the guard. Daxter looked back at her and grinned to see the smile on her face before turning back to the road, adding his own eyes to the watchful gazes of his men.

They rode in utter silence save the rumble of their accumulated engines, travelling slow enough that they would not run headlong into an ambush but swift enough that they were never in the open for too long. Even though the front line was several miles away through a twisting maze of buildings and industrial factories they were not about to take the chance that a party of Elite had slipped through unnoticed.

Several times they saw Regulars dashing to and fro but none of them paid the small group any mind. Some carried wounded into makeshift hospitals among the factories in hurried silence while others called orders to their comrades in loud shouts as they ran, readying themselves for the battle they went to join. They were unchallenged until they got to the bottom of the raised walkway that led to the power station a pair of Krimson Regulars stepping out from the shadows of its doorway to call out a challenge. Sig responded with a cryptic remark that was evidently some sort of pre-arranged password and the Krimson Regulars called them up before resuming their silent vigil, eyes watching the dance of lights below the skyline that marked the progress of the battle.

Keira followed Sig and the others as they dismounted and readied their weapons, those whose weapons required it chambering rounds in a quick, silent preparation that would shave a fraction of a second off the start of a fire-fight. She knew that just like with racing, that time could make all the difference. Sig led them, his Peacemaker providing a low, background hum to the heavy sound of his armoured boots on the walkway. The stillness of the city around them making it seem as though each step could surely be heard for miles, even the softer steps of the others seeming like a clattering cacophony in the background.

The power-station doors hissed shut behind them and Keira took the lead, her eyes searching for the room she wanted as she left the ring of circuitry that made the power control room and descended a narrow set of stairs into the bowels of the place. The walls were not those of rooms but instead of gigantic machines, massive generators humming stoically as pipes and oddly shaped casings marked more ambiguously purposed machines, all joined in an intricate lattice work of eco pipes, extremes of hot and cold making each corridor different from its neighbour. Overhead lights glowed brightly and lit each corridor with various shades, some sort of navigational system allowing those who knew the key to move with ease among the machinations but serving only to further confuse the Wastelander's as they followed Keira through the station.

She had some knowledge of what the lights meant and of where she could find what she needed but it still took them almost a quarter of an hour of wandering before they came upon their destination. In a corridor were the, warm, wet humidity had all but destroyed any attempts at painting the walls nestled Vin's office. It had lain abandoned since his death and Keira allowed herself a respectful moment of silence as she opened it to find it just as the technician had left it, a stale mug of coffee still sitting on the desk. She pushed the thoughts aside, after this last battle, after this she could afford to grieve and they could all see to honouring those who had given their lives.

The Wastelanders waited outside as she took in the small office, a desk in the middle littered with a chaos of loose papers and over-flowing folders, charts and graphs scattered haphazardly around a small computer. One side was lined with filing cabinets and she turned her attention to them, pulling open a draw to find a surprisingly organised filing system, tiny notes scribbled onto labels that were utterly cryptic even to one of her mechanical knowledge. She sifted through them, trying to ignore the dull echoes and metallic booms of the machinery that hummed with life around her.

She flipped through the leafs of paper, eyes darting from page to page, taking in diagrams for a moment before discarding them as unneeded. But as she began to think that she would never find the exact documents she wanted a chance phrase caught her eye, bringing an end to her frantic search. She tensed as she pulled out the page and began to frantically scan its contents, her tongue darting out to lick suddenly dry lips.

Daxter craned his neck around the door, raising an eyebrow as he saw the look on her face, watching her mouthing words as she read them,

'… Dark eco purification… elimination of elements… catalytic chamber… conversion fuel… regulation and acceleration chamber.' Suddenly a smile broke onto her face, an expression that Daxter had not seen since Jak had stolen a kiss from her in the Ottsel before all of this had begun. 'I… I can do this.'

~

Jak awoke slowly, the lingering lethargy in his body fighting to keep him under. In his mind he fought Erol still. The monstrous form smashed him aside again and again, his own dark power for naught as Erol's terrible laughter rang in his ears. They clashed once more and Jak again felt the heat and pain as their claws raked across each others hides, dark lightning crackling in the trails they scored. And all the while that emotionless and yet hate-filled mask stared down at him as he was slowly overcome.

Their hands locked and they wrestled upon his dreamscape, muscles straining as they each strove to gain some advantage. Erol's body pulsed with dark power and he found the upper hand, the muscles in his good arm knotting as the servos in his mechanical limb whined with new power. His claws crushed Jak's in their fearsome grip, drawing a stifled cry of pain from him as he felt his bones shatter. His arms heaved and Jak was flung into the air like a rag-doll, hovering at the apex of the swing for a moment before Erol brought him crashing down into the ground.

Even as he felt his bones splinter from the impact the dream lost its hold and threw him into the waking world. A cry sprang from his lips as he jerked upright in a strange bed, eyes wide as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. His mind cleared in an instant and his eyes darted about the room, snatching up his holster and rifle as he found them laying beside his bed. He rose and buckled them on, vaguely recognising the room as a hospital ward in the Underground base, he'd had cause to visit them once, although Daxter had been blind drunk at the time and probably couldn't even remember. The door opened, whomever had waited outside obviously roused by his cries and he turned to find Ashelin in the doorway.

She motioned to him to rise but he ignored her running a hand through his hair as he tried to marshal his thoughts. 'Where's Keira?'

'We don't know.'

His eyes narrowed as his eyes speared her, rising from the bed to overshadow her as his muscle tensed. 'What do you mean you don't know? She was with you at the palace!'

Ashelin nodded, 'Yes, she was with Torn. You managed to wear down Erol enough to let them get away and they all arrived here safely but almost two hours ago they all disappeared. We figure that Daxter took her somewhere safe but we haven't spared the resources to find them.' At his growl she interrupted him, poking a finger into his chest as she gestured to the Regulars that bustled around them. 'Don't you dare get sharp with me! There's a war on and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste men looking for Keira. She's with Daxter and he's with the Wastelanders. She's probably safer than we could make her.'

Jak relented with a growl, snatching up his shirt from the table and pulling it on as he slowly flexed his muscles, closing his hands into fists. A frown crossed his face, 'Has Erol re-appeared?'

Ashelin shook her head, 'No, we think that they're waiting for you to appear first so that he can be sure of beating you.'

Jak frowned, 'Then it's a stand off, neither of us can afford to be the first to attack.' He raised his eyes to her face, 'Can you win if neither of us takes part? Will the Regulars win?'

She shrugged, 'Hard to say. Torn's doing his best and so far their aggregate kills are higher than our but the relative losses are in our favour. We've killed about ten percent of their fighting force, but lost only seven. If this keeps up we should be able to pen them up inside the palace. But we won't be able to flush them out. That place is a fortress and while they still have Erol to lead them they won't give up.' She led him through the Underground base, acknowledging the salutes of soldiers whilst Jak ignored them, his face deep in dark though. 'Right now we need to talk. Torn needs to know a few things.'

Jak remained silent as he followed her into a small conference room, his eyes taking in Torn and Samos as they sat opposite the door at an old, worn table, maps strewn across it. From the looks of things Torn had been receiving little or no sleep since the battle at the palace, his eyes sunken behind dark bags but still bright and alert. Samos greeted him with a nod.

'Jak, how are you feeling?'

Jak frowned again, 'I'll live. It'll be a day or so before I'm ready to fight again though.' They all knew that he referred to his dark alter ego.

Torn grunted, a neutral sound of displeasure, 'Well Erol's not shown himself since the palace so he's unlikely to pop up before tomorrow anyway. I doubt he'll make an appearance until you do, or at least until we're knocking down the palace doors.'

Ashelin crossed to his side, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder, 'Then we're winning?'

He nodded, 'For what it's worth. The Bazaar is ours but the troops are keeping out of range of the Palace defences, most of the industrial district is under our control as well. They're giving us some trouble in the aqueduct district but we've begun to push them back.' His eyes rose to Jak. 'But it won't do any good unless you're ready to face Erol when the time comes.

Jak stared hard at him for a moment, his hands clenching in tight fists, helpless rage barely held from his tone,

'No, if we fight, he'll tear me apart…' A moment of shock ran through the group, each of them exchanging glances with the others as his words hung in the silence.

Samos was the one who broke it, 'But you were worn out last time, you'd just fought your way through half the Krimson Elite. Next time you'll be fresh, ready to fight him.'

Jak's eyes rose slowly, there was no doubt in them as they met Daxter's, merely a grave resignation, it was almost frightening to see it on his face that was usually so full of confidence. 'No. Think about it, he'd been fighting a lot longer than me and against much worse odds than me. When I fought through the palace I saw what he'd done. He'd used up twice as much energy as I had by the time we fought and he still beat me. If he fought me when we were both fresh he'd tear me apart.'

His knuckles were white as he spoke, the sound of bones grinding together as he tightened his fist audible in the silence that followed his words. 'I don't stand a chance against him, he's a bigger and much more powerful monster than me.' Silence reigned again as they all thought on his words. If he was right, if Erol truly could beat him then all was lost. They could not fight the elite and Erol at the same time. But as a pall of gloom seemed to settle over the room a soft voice called all eyes to the doorway.

'Then don't fight him as a monster.' Keira stood in the doorway, once again dressed in a pair of mechanics' overalls, her eyes bore the spark of an idea, a small smile hovering about her lips as one hand rested on the duffel bag slung over her shoulder.

Jak was at her side in an instant, his eyes taking her in at a glance as he checked for injuries. His arms surrounded her and a look passed between them, shared relief of reunion and knowledge of each other's safety all communicated without words. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment and she smiled up at him, the look lighting something within him. He recognised that look.

Torn interrupted them as he raised an eyebrow, 'And just how to we get Erol to fight as a human? Ask real nice?'

Keira shrugged as she entered the room, leaning against a table as Jak stood beside her. 'Well you could try but I doubt it'd do much good. I was thinking along the lines of a slightly more forceful approach.' Jak watched her as she covered his fist with her hand, soothing him as he felt her smile bring a one to his face. She had a plan… she always had a plan. And now she was going to tell them all how to win, God, he had missed watching her do this.

Unzipping her duffel she pulled out a small canister, a tiny screen in its side showing a list of indecipherable data. She handed it to Jak for inspection as she began talking, those that knew her recognising the tone. This was Keira the Inventor speaking, the slight mechanic warming to her favourite subject as she sat on the bed beside her lover. 'I was up at the power plant earlier tampering with the grid, trying to find some way to maybe shut the palace down. I had to look through Vin's notes while I was there though and one thing that I found out about was the eco purification process. Dark Eco on its own is almost impossible to use, it's just too unstable and volatile. To turn it into eco energy to power things it has to be purified, this completely changes the properties of the eco, and the energy it emits after the process when it's pumped into the city grid is nothing like the dark eco.'

Taking the canister from Jak's hands she began tapping buttons on its side, 'The process is really carefully controlled because if it wasn't the purification element would simply destroy the dark eco energy. Cause you see, the power plant uses white eco.' As she spoke she slid back a small panel on the side of the canister and an ethereal glow lit up her features as a gleeful grin covered her face as it always did when she unveiled a new invention. 'This is sort of an eco bomb. If we open this anywhere around Erol it'll purify him just like it would in the power plant, only because it ain't controlled it'll get rid of the dark eco all together. Don't know quite how long it'll last, it could even a permanent change. But from some of the tinkering I did at the plant I'd say we should have at least an hour before the effects wear off. For that time whoever's exposed to it will be just a normal human.' She watched with that same grin on her face as the others in the room all stared at her with wide eyes, disbelief written on their faces, all except Jak's. He smiled at her as he draped an arm across her shoulders, turning her head toward him so that he could claim a kiss from her lips.

He stared into her eyes as a girlish giggle bubbled up inside her, a smirk on his face as he squeezed her shoulders, holding her close. 'I knew there was a reason I kept you around.'

Samos grinned as he stroked his beard, eyeing the canister in his daughter's hands, 'It's the best idea I've heard yet.'

'Just a second,' Torn interrupted, 'Before we can do any of this we have to find a way to bring Erol out into the open though, and make sure we can kill him once the change occurs'

There was a strange look in Jak's eyes as he raised his stare to Torn, 'You leave that to me… I'll face him one on one, and finish it.'

'But that'll effect both of you, you'll both be human and he'll still have his bionic enhancements. He'll have the edge when you fight.'

Jak's eyes were dark as he spoke, a little of the rage that burned continuously inside him showing in his gaze, 'No he won't.' Even those who had only known him for a short time knew the truth of that look. Erol's enhancements wouldn't matter. He would not beat Jak, not now that Keira had given him a chance, given them all a chance.

A.N. Well there you have it. It's more of a filler chapter than anything else but it's one of those things that has to be done. The next chapter will be better and it will be up soon. Anyway, until then I bid you all farewell. Please review and tell me what you think, it only takes a minute and it really helps me get inspired.

Go with God

The Visionary