The steep cliff on the shores of the island looked fragile, as many small rocks fell from the top to the bottom every few seconds. Footprints were seen deep in the sand, and along one of the cliff faces was a series of scratches. As we look up the steep cliffs, we come across our heroes, scaling the cliff - well, Jak and Bubba did all the climbing, Daxter held onto Jak's shoulder and Yolanda rode Olga, who was hovering higher and higher.
Olga started panting at this stage. "Are we nearly there? Lifting Yolanda's hard work…" she struggled to catch her breath again. "She's too big for me!!!"
"Relax babe, we're almost there!" smiled Bubba.
"OK, so that's the ninety-twelfth time you said that since we started scaling this cliff", Daxter growled.
"Well if that was the case, then this rock face may have suddenly increased in height as soon as we started climbing it", replied Jak with sarcasm.
"That's one thing I have a doubt about", frowned Yolanda.
A few minutes passed, and a hand soon passed onto the top of the cliff. Jak and Daxter were first up. They took their balance on the top of the rock, and grabbed hold of Bubba's front paws, therefore pulling him up. Olga soon emerged with Yolanda, and the whole group pulled her off the flut-flut's back, giving her more strength to hover herself up to the top.
"OK, now where can we find this girl that you mentioned, ey?" Bubba asked.
A scream was heard in the distance, and was much louder.
"She is in that cave! Come on, let's go and free her! Another task done!" Olga smiled.
Within no time at all, they all dashed towards a cave on the right side of the cliff top. Upon entry, they were shrouded in darkness.
"Lights please", commanded Daxter.
No sooner than that was said, torches were turned on all around the room. Their crackling flames and scorching light soon brought most of the cave to life. A lightened shadow can be seen in one corner.
"I can see some blue-green-black hair, a slim waistline, a finely shaped face, and some tall ears", blinked Yolanda. "Can this be this Keira girl?"
"It definitely looks like it", nodded Jak. "I hope she's okay…"
Bringing one foot up, he made a light jog towards Keira. She seemed a bit strange, though. Instead of looking cheery towards him, she just stood there, like she was in a trance. He stopped with a skid, and looked directly into her eyes. They stood as still as each other.
"What are these two doing here?" Bubba asked.
"Yeah, they seem a bit odd", shrugged Yolanda.
Finally, there was a peculiar conversation within them.
"Keira, it's me… what, you're trapped? But… no, it cannot be… no, he can't have done this to you… We'll get you out! Just you wait…"
During the conversation, the others exchanged glances at each other, and raised a few eyebrows at it.
"I told you he has a strong relationship towards her", blinked Daxter.
"No Daxter, not that! How can he tell what she said? She isn't speaking!" Olga said.
"That's exactly what I was thinking", sighed Yolanda.
But it was soon stopped. After a few more seconds, Keira ran into the darkness. Jak tried to catch up, but all he could end up running into was a brick wall.
"Poor Jakkie ran into a wall!" Daxter started laughing. "Now that's what I wanted to see!!!"
"Shut up Dax", growled Bubba. "You know for sure that things like that are not funny at all, geez louise."
No sooner than the humor calmed down, Jak emerged from the darkness with a slate print on the right hand side of his cheek. He came towards the group, and stood about half a meter apart from them. It looked like he was trying to hide something from everyone else… but what it was they have no idea. That was, until his mouth opened and he spoke to them all.
"Guys, remember when Gol said that he wanted to use Dark Eco to take over the world? Jak asked.
"Yeah?" Daxter responded with twitching ears.
"Bring in the juice, blondie", Bubba followed.
"Well I hate to say this to you but…"
There was silence for a few seconds. Then…
"Gol has used the Eco in an attempt to brainwash some of the civilians, and that's including Keira!" he exclaimed to the others.
---
A swarm of clouds came circling over the island, and no sooner than they did arrive, a downpour of rain came hurling down to the surface. A cave ahead saw our group come out. Olga stretched her wings to protect Daxter, Yolanda and Bubba from the rain, while Jak immediately started running off down the path. The four of them looked on at him like he was an obese human sitting in a freak show of some sort, with widened eyes on them.
"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jak cried.
His call echoed around the rock faces surrounding him, and he soon vanished deep into the rubble. The foursome went down the path he took, and managed to keep up with his footprints, which were beginning to fill up with rain, overflow and even the level of smaller rocks on the path. After a while, they eventually managed to keep up with him, although a lot of water was starting to drip down the side of his face, but it wasn't rainwater.
"Just give up Jak", sighed Daxter. "We know what she'll be like by now - all cranky and stuff, with that Eco inside-"
"NO! I don't know how yet, but I have to reverse the effects as soon as I possibly can!"
"OK then Jakkie," Olga nodded. "Just keep your underpants on, and don't go barmy."
The rain also tried to put out some of the torches along the path, sizzling them down to nothing more than a wave of smoke coming into the air. Along the way they took one of the still burning torches, and sheltered it under one of Olga's wings, and was shone forwards, almost like a headlight. The rock pile started to clear up, and they were soon back out into the open. But onto the horizon, there was a dark figure, on the other side of a shark-infested lake.
"Are you sure you want to go onto the other side?" Bubba asked.
"I know it looks dangerous, but it's a risky choice", nodded Jak.
He took a few steps back, and made a dash towards the rushing waves of the water, leaving everyone else to stare at him wide-eyed. But as soon as he was about to reach the lake… he stopped, and made a sharp turn to his left. They faced that direction, and they saw it - the A-GraV Zoomer. Daxter and Bubba followed him, and they soon climbed onto it, and started to speed across the waters, over to the figure.
"OK, I've got one more question here", blinked Yolanda. "Do you think that flut-fluts can actually fly?"
"It seems pretty tough, but I'm sure I'll handle it", winked Olga. "No biggie at all."
No sooner than they said that, Yolanda climbed onto Olga's back, and they made a gigantic leap over one part of the lake. As soon as they reached the highest part of their jump, Olga spurted her wings, and flapped them as carefully as she could, performing what seemed more like a glide than flying. Her feet almost seemed to touch the water, and were almost taken down by one of the white sharks swimming nearby.
"Quick Olga!" Yolanda screamed. "Try and raise your feet a bit higher!"
"I'm trying my best! Still have to get used to it! Flying sure is tough!"
She flapped her wings as fast as she could, and within no time at all, she finally hovered herself above the water. And she felt her feet drop… onto stone. She looked down, and saw that she landed safely, and Jak and the others were only a few paces away from them. Yolanda immediately dismounted, and they both walked up the pathway towards the group, and it seemed like there was another surprise lurking around them, for some strange reason.
"Hoo boy, not again…" Olga blinked on ahead. "What is Keira doing here? She's still infected!"
"We know, but that isn't exactly what Jak's thinking about right now", sighed Yolanda. "You should speak to him to get any form of answers."
"Speaking of answers, I think he's got a solution!" Daxter smiled while looking down at a substance from a pocket making his way into one of his own hands. "There's something glowing in his hand, some sort of a light green color…"
"Uh, Daxter," blinked Yolanda, "that's Green Eco."
He took the pellet of Eco, and rubbed it deep into Keira's skin. No sooner than that happened, she blinked. A smile started to appear on her face. And she was starting to turn skin pink again. Jak looked on at her with a pleasing expression. And then, she spoke.
"Wow Jak, thank you for releasing me", she sighed. "Do you think you have an idea on where the other civilians are?"
"I'm a bit unsure, but we'll be ready for a good enough hunt", Jak smiled in return.
"Besides, do you think you have enough Green Eco for everyone?"
"I'm sorry, but it's almost what I had left. Maybe if you can come up with something that will transport the villagers back to Sandover. Your father survived too, so maybe he can help to revive the others."
"Well, you see the teleportation pad on top of the A-GraV zoomer when you found it?"
"A teleportation pad? Where?" Bubba asked before looking back at the shores they began on. "Oh, there, whoops."
"Maybe we can use that to bring everyone back to my hut", Keira smiled. "I think we've got a solution for us. Oh, and by the way, who are the others with you?"
"Well, they too have suffered from other problems", growled Daxter. "Yolanda wants to stay away from Volcanic Crater until it's a safe environment for her again, not infested by a mad daddy who has no love for pink lurkers. o.O Speaking of which, we have one over here. Bubba ended up with a spill of Red Eco in him, making him what he is today, and we need to figure out how to wash it off from him. And Olga, the flut-flut, was a humanoid at one time, but now she's a haiku-speaking bird."
"Hmmm…" Keira pondered to herself. "I see your problems. Maybe we should find a settlement for the night and think about it then."
"You bet!" Jak smiled over at her.
"Finally we're off, away from this thunderstorm, it's messed up my clothes!" shrieked Olga with disgust.
So Keira climbed onto the A-GraV Zoomer, with Jak, Daxter and Bubba, and Yolanda mounted onto Olga to ride across the stormy waters. It seems like they were only hours away from returning the villagers back, but little did they know, that the horrors have only just begun.
---
The only sign of light surrounding the island is that from the moon up in the midnight sky. There was a light current within the water, and the sand grains blew gently in the wind. There was a dim light from one cave nearby, but it was soon blocked, by an oncoming shadow. The pointed ears have already determined it, as well as a second figure right behind it. They came closer into the light, and eventually their torsos were in the light of the glow in the cavern. They have been easily recognised, as Gol and Maia, the latter dripping in seawater.
"So it looks like they have found out our plans, eh?" growled Gol. "Well I don't want to let them find out anything more."
"Well if that's the case, exactly how will we block them from their quest? It seems difficult…"
"Nonsense! All we do is fit a major roadblock on their path, and they'll never escape from it alive."
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear! But… how exactly are we going to do all that?"
"Leave everything to the master. This will be nothing more than a small piece of cake."
The two left the cave, and a few seconds later, they return with a few blocks of wood in possession. Carefully, they sneaked inside the cave. As soon as they stepped inside, they saw our heroes, on the floor fast asleep. So they brought their feet up so that they're only standing on their toes, and tiptoed over to a glowing fire. Gol immediately turned back to his sister.
"OK Maia, now's our chance! Get ready to lay the whole track down, one block at a time!"
She gave in the thumbs up, and they started to lay a straight line of planks from the fire and going right across the floor. Cautiously and carefully, they laid the ends on top of each other. But during the layout, Maia did something wrong. Her foot was pressed hard on top of Daxter's long tail.
"Uh-oh…" she blinked.
She looked back, and saw her foot's situation, but… there was no response. Carefully, she lifted her foot away from him, and continued with the layout. At almost no time at all, they reached the entrance of the cave.
"OK, now for the final phrase! And Maia, just make sure you get it right this time, for Eco's sake!"
"Yes bro!"
They stacked the rest of the planks in a tower blocking the cave. Cautiously, they placed them on top of one another, until the whole entrance was blocked.
"Okay, any minute now this route will go on fire", smiled Gol. "And that is one hazard already blocked from our plans!"
"Yes surree! Now, where did you put the other villagers?"
"I have a strange feeling that they're somewhere near the other side of the island, but I'm not sure about it…"
"Don't panic, we'll go find them. And then we'll use them to start a plague like no other."
They both sneaked back into the shadows, and just as they left, a small ember came through a hole in the planks. Then came two at a time, then many more kept on coming. Back inside the cave, the path in the middle of the floor was already set alight, and was heading right towards the roadblock. A few embers came onto Olga's tail, who ended up waking with a start.
"OW! It's too hot here! Where's the air conditioner? I can't take the heat!"
She started pacing up and down the room, trying to flap her wings to cool herself off, but all that ever did was increase the speed of the raging fire. She then resorted to squawking at the top of her voice, and that soon got everyone up.
"Ugh, will you just quieten down for once?" muttered Daxter. "We needed our beauty sleep over here…"
"No time for that now! This very cave is on fire here! I wanna get out!"
Kiera brought her attention to the scene around her, most especially the burning wood in the room. "OK, who set the planks at the middle of the floor?"
"It wasn't me!" the others exclaimed together.
"I know", she frowned.
"I think we should start figuring something like that out as soon as we can find a way out of this fire hazard", panicked Jak.
"That's exactly what I was thinking", Bubba growled silently.
The fire soon reached the tower, and within a few seconds, all was caught alight, blocking the whole entrance.
"Oh great, now we're trapped under the deadly pressures of heat!" exclaimed Daxter. "Can anyone be willing enough to help us get out?"
"Wish the tide would come over here and put the flames out", frowned Yolanda.
"I know, but elsewhere I don't think there are any more ideas out there", Jak sighed in return.
"Oh great, now it seems that we're gonna struggle to escape from here now!" Yolanda said while sending her fist into a nearby wall.
"Don't panic, we'll find a way out!" Jak shouted with optimism. "I guarantee it."
A cloud of smog emerged from a cave in flames, as they escaped into the sky. Speaking of escaping, that was not the case for Jak and the others. The flames continued to rise to the ceiling, and much larger rocks hurled down to the floor. A heavy amount of smoke spanned the room so much it was too difficult to see anyone in there. In no time, the six of them were soon seen coughing like there's no tomorrow, some of which suffering from great obscurity.
"This horrible smoke…" Olga spluttered among the substance. "We're all gonna die from it! Looks like it's over!"
"It's not over, you mad bird!" Yolanda smiled. "I'm sure we can all escape; you have to believe in me!"
"Why should we?" Daxter shouted. "I'm now a smoke shrouded burger on a singing barbecue cooker!"
"Hey Dax, consider yourself the fortunate one, because I'm burning right down to the ashes!" Bubba exclaimed.
"Everyone, just calm down!" Jak smiled confidently. "Take in Yolanda's words! We can make it out of here, trust us!"
In another corner, Keira covered her lipstick-ridden mouth and small nose with her hand, and her skin colour looked so pale she had to crouch down onto her weedy-looking kneecaps. Her glimmering eyes moved frantically around the room, as she continued to focus on her search for an exit. Time slowly ticked away, and her eyes started to pour with tears of pain, gradually getting larger. It wasn't until a whole minute later, when her eyes froze.
"Hey everyone! Come over here, quick! I think I found a way to get out of this mess!"
They all turned in her direction, and saw her looking at a microscopic hole in the wall. A small beam of light was shining down onto the floor beneath them. And within no time at all, they all turned back at her with a 'what is that, you stupid girl' look right across their faces.
"Keira, I don't think that would work", nodded Yolanda. "Not even Daxter can fit through there, honestly."
"No, just look at it! The wall looks so brittle that we can break it and get outta here!"
"What, with my weak limbs?" Olga said while spreading out her wings. "They can't even hurt a fly! You're one sick girl, Ki."
"No she's not! I believed in her on the long quest to Gol's citadel, and she was a guiding angel on my journey there", smiled Jak.
"Uh, Earth to Jak", growled Daxter with an angry expression, "there was more than one living creature on this quest, you know."
"Jak's right!" Bubba beamed with optimism. "We'll be able to break down the wall, if we all work together on this thing!"
"Okay, let's finish this", he commanded.
They all stood in a horizontal line facing the wall, and they looked on at its brittle structure.
"Right, when I say 'Now', we all charge into the wall at the same time. That should bring it down a bit."
A few seconds passed, and within no time at all… Jak stood bravely than he ever did before, and called out.
"NOW!"
The whole group charged up to the wall, with different poses as they made their run. Jak continuously performed his spinning kick, Daxter brought out a long paw for a flying kick, Bubba extended his fists back as he ran on three paws, Yolanda charged herself as a glow of red eco started to surround her, Olga jumped up and launched her legs forward, and Keira had her arms in shape for a simple push. As they all collided into the wall, it crumbled as their force slammed down onto it. The moonlight shone into their faces as they stepped out into the open air.
"Whew", smiled Daxter. "In the words of Martin Luther King, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty; we are free at last!'"
"That's the spirit!" smiled Yolanda with a joyful look. "I knew from the start that we would escape with ease, thank you all!"
"Sorry about all that", Olga blushed. "I thought we were all gonners! Freedom's ours again!"
"And it's gonna be that way for a while", smiled Bubba. "Anyhow, let's focus back on the main question developing in my mind as soon as the fire was set alight - who trapped us in the fire?"
Everyone started to exchange peculiar glances at each other, until there was a possible answer.
"I hate to look stupid on this one," sighed Jak, "but I have a peculiar feeling that Gol and Maia are still alive."
"How can you tell, Jak?" Keira asked. "You guys said that you saw Maia being eaten alive by the sharks on the coastline, and you buried Gol alive inside a cave on the other side of the island."
"But what if they escaped and survived? That's the only problem I have."
They both sat pondering for a while, until a light was seen ahead of them - a shining purple light.
"Is it me or has someone just invented violet eco?" Daxter asked with his eyes reflecting the light.
"No Daxter, it's not. I haven't seen it before. We should check it out", smiled Olga.
"Good idea", Yolanda nodded.
They both started climbing over cliff tops, heading in the direction of the light. But little will they know is that they will be expecting an unexpected surprise upon their arrival…
-end of part 3-