Ekobean: Well, after the last chapter you can imagine that Jak's not
feeling too good with himself. I hope you enjoy this one!
Chapter 4
Jak heard the screams in his nightmares. He wanted it to stop, wanted to cry out, wanted to run away. But he couldn't, he wasn't in control. His body was another's. He could see the men fleeing, futilely fighting back against the demon's wrath. He saw the blood dripping, the people sobbing, the tears and red droplets mixing with the rough sand of the Slums.
He wanted to cry, wanted to do...SOMETHING. But he couldn't. He heard the demon's laughter, the joy at the feeling of blood running down its claws again...he wanted it to go away. He wanted it to die. How could he have allowed it to become so strong? How did it take over? Why?
"You can't shut me out forever!" it roared in his head, "I'll get free! I'll kill them all, and I'll make you watch!" Hysterical laughter filled his brain, every crevasse of it. He couldn't shut it out, couldn't stop it!
"Stop!" he shouted. He sat up in the bed, sweat soaking his arms and face, matting his hair to the back of his neck. Where was he? He looked about his surroundings. White walls surrounded him on all sides, about 10x10 feet. He was lying on a small, firm bed with a small machine bleeping at his side. He noticed all of a sudden that a long, metal cord was carefully worked into his vein. Some sort of faint blue liquid was being pumped into his vein.
Jak roughly pulled the cord from his arm and let it fall to the floor, where the liquid began to form a small pool. The moment the cord left his arm a wave of memories flowed back to his mind. The people attacking him, beating him, and Dark Jak uprising and killing them.
A moment later an unseen door opened at his left. Ashelin walked in, accompanied by one Krimzon Guard. He had his shock rifle pointed cautiously at Jak. "You can go," Ashelin said calmly to the guard. The guard grunted and reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind him with a loud "thunk".
Ashelin walked to a chair across the room and at in it, simply staring at Jak through those coal-black eyes. "Samos told me about what you did," Ashelin stated. Her voice sounded hollow somehow, completely devoid of emotion. "It was a very foolish move on your part Jak. You could've been" –
"Save the lectures, Ashelin," Jak said angrily, "I've already heard them. Like I told them, I've been having weird feelings that something bad is going to happen. Something that has to do with those recent Metal Head attacks."
"Jak," Ashelin interrupted, "The information you discovered at the Nest is invaluable. We know now that something has happened there, obviously. I have already dispatched a team to survey it. We're expecting a response soon. But that's not why I came to you, Jak." She leaned in closer on her chair. Her eyes sparkled in the dim lighting of the room like dark rubies. "I want to talk to you about the incident yesterday."
"Dark Jak," Jak said darkly, "What is there to talk about? I let my guard down and he seized control. There's nothing more to say."
"Yes there is Jak. I'm becoming worried about Dark Jak. He's becoming extremely dangerous. Attacking citizens randomly and all" –
"Attacking THEM!!?" Jak roared, "They're the ones who attacked me! Dark Jak took control because they were attacking us!"
"Not according to their story," Ashelin replied.
Jak simply stared at her. "THEIR story?" he said blankly, "You're saying they're alive?"
"One of them is. We found him unconscious in a ditch shortly after we gathered you up. According to him you hit him with a board."
"After HE attacked ME!" Jak spat, "I was just walking when he snuck up behind me and tried to crack my head open! I seemed insane, he called me 'murderer.'"
"We got that much out of him," said Ashelin. "According to him you, or most likely Dark Jak, killed his and his gang's families."
Jak groaned and put his hands over his head. In a way they had been just like him a year ago. They had wanted revenge for what Dark Jak had done to them like he had wanted revenge for what Praxis had done to him. He thought back that year ago. Who knew how many innocent people Dark Jak had slaughtered as he fought through the Krimzon Guard? How many had been caught in his Dark Bombs or Blasts? How many had he killed?
"Jak," Ashelin began softly, but a crackling on her radio interrupted her. She reached down to her pocket and pulled out a red communicator. She flipped it open and spoke into it. "Go ahead." She said quickly.
"Governess," began a mangled voice on the other end, "This is Alpha Team reporting from Metal Head Nest. We have found reported location in Metal Head Leader Lair. We have sent several probes into the reported Dark Eco. Our findings were...disturbing."
"Disturbing...how?" persisted Ashelin.
"Well...er," stammered the voice. "It's freaking weird, man!" came another voice from the communicator, "It's like a freaking city map down there. The shit's spread all around under the city like a trail of freaking crap! It's like" – There was a loud "Ooph" and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
"Er, sorry about that, Governess," said the voice, "that was one of the new guys. Apparently he hasn't learned to treat his superiors with respect."
"Continue, Lieutenant," said Ashelin impatiently.
"Er, yes," said the lieutenant, "we found that there are hundreds of underground rivers spanning for miles under the city."
"How deep are they," asked Ashelin worriedly.
"At least six hundred meters," said the lieutenant.
Ashelin sighed. "That's not deep enough to cause any harm."
"Don't be so sure, Governess," said the lieutenant, "we also discovered signs of the rivers flowing up towards the city recently. Only one actually reached the surface at the west city wall. Exactly where the Metal Heads attacked."
"Are you suggesting that the Metal Heads are TRAVELLING through these rivers?" Ashelin asked feverishly.
"That is our only theory so far. The thing is that we have located the source. It comes from the north. Far, far to the north. I'm sending you the coordinates now." The communicator bleeped. Ashelin studied it for a moment before responding.
"Thank you lieutenant. Governess out." Ashelin dialed in another frequency then placed the communicator to her ear. "Captain Brutter? I need two of your best transport balloons. We're heading to the following coordinates."
"Ooh! Ooh! Brutter get on it right away m'lady!" said an all-too-familiar voice over the communicator. "Brutter be ready in seconds!"
"Thank you, Captain," then Ashelin turned off the communicator. "Jak, me and the Krimzon Guard are heading north."
"Then I'm coming too," said Jak, sitting up. He winced slightly from the pain in his leg.
"Jak, your staying here to heal."
"The hell I am!" Jak leapt out of the bed, only to find that he was wearing nothing but his underwear. Ashelin smiled slightly. "If you insist on coming...but get dressed first, will you?" Without a second glance she walked out the door. Jak dressed quickly, and was still pulling his pants on as he hopped out after her.
Ekobean: Well, here you go. And for all two of you who have been asking, YES GOL AND MAIA WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!! Enjoy. R&R.
Chapter 4
Jak heard the screams in his nightmares. He wanted it to stop, wanted to cry out, wanted to run away. But he couldn't, he wasn't in control. His body was another's. He could see the men fleeing, futilely fighting back against the demon's wrath. He saw the blood dripping, the people sobbing, the tears and red droplets mixing with the rough sand of the Slums.
He wanted to cry, wanted to do...SOMETHING. But he couldn't. He heard the demon's laughter, the joy at the feeling of blood running down its claws again...he wanted it to go away. He wanted it to die. How could he have allowed it to become so strong? How did it take over? Why?
"You can't shut me out forever!" it roared in his head, "I'll get free! I'll kill them all, and I'll make you watch!" Hysterical laughter filled his brain, every crevasse of it. He couldn't shut it out, couldn't stop it!
"Stop!" he shouted. He sat up in the bed, sweat soaking his arms and face, matting his hair to the back of his neck. Where was he? He looked about his surroundings. White walls surrounded him on all sides, about 10x10 feet. He was lying on a small, firm bed with a small machine bleeping at his side. He noticed all of a sudden that a long, metal cord was carefully worked into his vein. Some sort of faint blue liquid was being pumped into his vein.
Jak roughly pulled the cord from his arm and let it fall to the floor, where the liquid began to form a small pool. The moment the cord left his arm a wave of memories flowed back to his mind. The people attacking him, beating him, and Dark Jak uprising and killing them.
A moment later an unseen door opened at his left. Ashelin walked in, accompanied by one Krimzon Guard. He had his shock rifle pointed cautiously at Jak. "You can go," Ashelin said calmly to the guard. The guard grunted and reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind him with a loud "thunk".
Ashelin walked to a chair across the room and at in it, simply staring at Jak through those coal-black eyes. "Samos told me about what you did," Ashelin stated. Her voice sounded hollow somehow, completely devoid of emotion. "It was a very foolish move on your part Jak. You could've been" –
"Save the lectures, Ashelin," Jak said angrily, "I've already heard them. Like I told them, I've been having weird feelings that something bad is going to happen. Something that has to do with those recent Metal Head attacks."
"Jak," Ashelin interrupted, "The information you discovered at the Nest is invaluable. We know now that something has happened there, obviously. I have already dispatched a team to survey it. We're expecting a response soon. But that's not why I came to you, Jak." She leaned in closer on her chair. Her eyes sparkled in the dim lighting of the room like dark rubies. "I want to talk to you about the incident yesterday."
"Dark Jak," Jak said darkly, "What is there to talk about? I let my guard down and he seized control. There's nothing more to say."
"Yes there is Jak. I'm becoming worried about Dark Jak. He's becoming extremely dangerous. Attacking citizens randomly and all" –
"Attacking THEM!!?" Jak roared, "They're the ones who attacked me! Dark Jak took control because they were attacking us!"
"Not according to their story," Ashelin replied.
Jak simply stared at her. "THEIR story?" he said blankly, "You're saying they're alive?"
"One of them is. We found him unconscious in a ditch shortly after we gathered you up. According to him you hit him with a board."
"After HE attacked ME!" Jak spat, "I was just walking when he snuck up behind me and tried to crack my head open! I seemed insane, he called me 'murderer.'"
"We got that much out of him," said Ashelin. "According to him you, or most likely Dark Jak, killed his and his gang's families."
Jak groaned and put his hands over his head. In a way they had been just like him a year ago. They had wanted revenge for what Dark Jak had done to them like he had wanted revenge for what Praxis had done to him. He thought back that year ago. Who knew how many innocent people Dark Jak had slaughtered as he fought through the Krimzon Guard? How many had been caught in his Dark Bombs or Blasts? How many had he killed?
"Jak," Ashelin began softly, but a crackling on her radio interrupted her. She reached down to her pocket and pulled out a red communicator. She flipped it open and spoke into it. "Go ahead." She said quickly.
"Governess," began a mangled voice on the other end, "This is Alpha Team reporting from Metal Head Nest. We have found reported location in Metal Head Leader Lair. We have sent several probes into the reported Dark Eco. Our findings were...disturbing."
"Disturbing...how?" persisted Ashelin.
"Well...er," stammered the voice. "It's freaking weird, man!" came another voice from the communicator, "It's like a freaking city map down there. The shit's spread all around under the city like a trail of freaking crap! It's like" – There was a loud "Ooph" and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
"Er, sorry about that, Governess," said the voice, "that was one of the new guys. Apparently he hasn't learned to treat his superiors with respect."
"Continue, Lieutenant," said Ashelin impatiently.
"Er, yes," said the lieutenant, "we found that there are hundreds of underground rivers spanning for miles under the city."
"How deep are they," asked Ashelin worriedly.
"At least six hundred meters," said the lieutenant.
Ashelin sighed. "That's not deep enough to cause any harm."
"Don't be so sure, Governess," said the lieutenant, "we also discovered signs of the rivers flowing up towards the city recently. Only one actually reached the surface at the west city wall. Exactly where the Metal Heads attacked."
"Are you suggesting that the Metal Heads are TRAVELLING through these rivers?" Ashelin asked feverishly.
"That is our only theory so far. The thing is that we have located the source. It comes from the north. Far, far to the north. I'm sending you the coordinates now." The communicator bleeped. Ashelin studied it for a moment before responding.
"Thank you lieutenant. Governess out." Ashelin dialed in another frequency then placed the communicator to her ear. "Captain Brutter? I need two of your best transport balloons. We're heading to the following coordinates."
"Ooh! Ooh! Brutter get on it right away m'lady!" said an all-too-familiar voice over the communicator. "Brutter be ready in seconds!"
"Thank you, Captain," then Ashelin turned off the communicator. "Jak, me and the Krimzon Guard are heading north."
"Then I'm coming too," said Jak, sitting up. He winced slightly from the pain in his leg.
"Jak, your staying here to heal."
"The hell I am!" Jak leapt out of the bed, only to find that he was wearing nothing but his underwear. Ashelin smiled slightly. "If you insist on coming...but get dressed first, will you?" Without a second glance she walked out the door. Jak dressed quickly, and was still pulling his pants on as he hopped out after her.
Ekobean: Well, here you go. And for all two of you who have been asking, YES GOL AND MAIA WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!! Enjoy. R&R.