Chapter Ten: The Arrival
Forgetting about the scared citizens, I rushed down the streets of Haven towards the palace. I didn't care what they thought, just as long as they were out of my way. If not, well, you figuire it out. Jak was the only one who could save me. Garret was right, they would eventually kill me without the last power of the Precursors. I had to find the real Precursors, even if it meant going by myself, which would be stupid considering with such little skill and knowledge of battle.
The elevator was much faster than what it felt like watching the TV screen. I'd estimate about fifty miles per hour, much too fast for and elevator. Oops. Wrong lift. I'd apparently gotten on the wrong ride, for I had wound up on the side of the palace that was the most heavily armed. This should be fun...Not. Suddenly a turrent began to fire. Ducking and weaving, I tried my best to avoid being hit. Being the clumsy idiot that I was, I got hit anyway. Screaming in pain, I clutched my right shoulder and crouched down out of range. Blood seeped through my clean white shirt as I desperatly fought for conciousnous. Sparks of Dark Eco fled from my hand to my wound. Expecting it to sting, I tensed my muscles and waited for the worst. Why doesn't it hurt?
I opened my eyes to find the wound completely healed! Maybe these Dark Powers will help me get rid of them! Now about that turrent... It was like I jack-in-the-box, waiting to pop out as soon as I came out from hiding.
"Need help?"
"AAAGGGHHHHH!" I jumped at least three feet off the ground, surprized by the unexpected voice. While in the air, I made a quick spin to find out who it was. Jak. "Don't you EVER do that again!"
"So-rry! I saw your little incident just then." He pointed at the once injured arm with the sleeve still covered in blood. It used to say "Brunette is the new Blonde," now it looks like "Brunette is the new Murderer."
"What are you doing here?" he asked, arms crossed. What did I want to ask him? Oh yeah! "Hey, Jak, I have to ask you something."
"Okay, shoot."
"When the Precursors left on the giant ship, where did they go?"
"Hm," he mumbled. "I don't exactly know. They said something about the universe, maybe they're in the past!" This is not good! "But I need them! Without their powers I'll, I'll..."
Suddenly, a burst of light exploded in the sky. "What the hell is that!" I yelled. Jak stared at it as if it were the most amazing thing he had ever seen. "It's arift." I looked back up at the sky to see a beam of the bright light hurtling towards us. "Get down!" Jak screamed as we both fell to the ground. While laying down on my stomach I managed to catch a glimpse of the city below us. This is taller than the Empire State building! Heck, maybe two Empire State buildings!
BOOOM!
I shut my eyes as the object made impact. We lay there for several seconds before getting up. I gasped at the person that lay before us. Tiffany. "Tiff! Are you alright!"
"Ughhhhh." She wasn't severely hurt, and I was thankful for that. After all, what would a girl do without her best friend? She stood on her feet and immediatly began to panic. "OH MY GOD!" I thought she was examining her surroundings, but I was wrong. She was examining me. "Jordan," she whimpered. Tears welled up in her eyes. "What happened to you? Where are we?" Tiffany looked like she would turn and run, but she didn't. Instead, she hugged me. Then I remembered, Jak's still here... I sort of shoved her away and began to explain.
"Tiffany, I know this is scary but we have to stick together on this one. Remember that game I always use to play and talk about?" She ran her hand across her face, illiminating the small droplets. "Yeah," she said in a shaky voice. "You always talked about Jak and Daxter!"
"Well, this might sound crazy, but we're not in the game. This is real!" Her eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that we're in another world! De jah vu! How do we leave?"
"We don't. We have to stay here. By the way, how did you make it to Houston so fast?"
"Houston? I was sucked down into the floor of my bedroom!"
"What?"
"Yeah, I was getting ready to leave for Houston when all of a sudden I fell through the floor!" This is weird... Jak was watching us and decided to step in. "I think we should get back to the Naughty Ottsel, Jordan. That turrent nearly ripped you to shreds the last time!" Tiffany noticed my shirt and panicked again. "Oh my God! What happened!" I thought for a moment and concluded that if I didn't tell her now, when would I?
"Long story short, the same thing happened to me that happened to Jak. Now I have these amazing powers. I came up here to find Jak and I got shot. But a couple seconds later I was able to heal myself with my powers. I'll explain the rest on the way to the bar..." I put my clawed hand on her shoulder. Unlike Garret, she didn't flinch. I guess it's really nice to have someone who understands...
Our long walk to the saloon gave Jak and I the chance to explain everything that happened, details and all. I even told her about Michael. "Mike's here! Cool! Is Blake!" I just shook my head and told her. "No, Blake's not here. Trust me, I've seen a lot of cute boys around here. Just pretend they don't have long, pointy ears!" We laughed and talked the whole way. I even got the chance to catch up on the latest school gossip. According to her, John went into some sort of mood swings every time my name was said. That's what I was afraid of...
Tiffany wasn't amazed by the large Ottsel sign out front. She just did that normal Tiffany thing where she raises her eyebrow and says, "O-kaaaaay." Entering the bar was a whole new story. She jumped when she saw Daxter and Tess. "Is that rabbit wearing pants?"
"I am not a rabbit!" yelled Daxter. "I'm an Ottsel!"
"Whatever," she said in a bored tone. "Hi, Michael!" Mike didn't recognize her at first, so he was rather confused by her greeting. "Uh, hi?" I stiffled a giggle against my hand and motioned everyone next to me. "Tiffany, I'd like you to meet Jak and Daxter." They stepped forward and gave a half-hearted wave. "This is Keira..."The sweet and timid lady extended her hand and Tiffany shook it. I don't know who's more like a sister: Tiffany or Keira? Tiff, definately Tiff. "...And Governer Ashlynn..." She held out her hand to shake Tiff's, but she didn't notice, and made Ashlynn look like a moron. Good job, Tiffany! "And the stiff guy is Torn..." He glared at me from the back of the bar and returned to his drink. "...And Tess..." The cuter Ottsel waved at her and continued to polish the glasses. "And last but not least, Samos!" Samos stepped forward. "I was wondering when you would show up."
"What! You brought me here!"
"Yes." My face said surprized, but my heart said 'thank you'. Daxter yawned and stretched. "Well, I'm gonna' hit the hay." Everyone else nodded in agreement and headed for their sleeping quarters. When everyone but me and Tiffany had left, we sat down at the bar and talked some more, mostly about the secret stuff. "Jordan, I heard that John likes you!"
"Too late, already confirmed that. I made a prank call when I got here and made him tell me who he likes! He said Jordan, and I'm the only female Jordan I know!" Like I knew she would, she burst out laughing. "Tiff..." She stopped and wiped a tear from her eye. "Yes?"
"I have to tell you something really important. You have to promise not to tell..." Tiffany never misses a secret, so she greatfully sat next to me, ready for the big secret.
"Um, I, I... Kissed Michael!"
"OH MY GOD! On the cheek, right?"
"Uh-huh. He acted like it was on the lips though!" We spent the whole night laughing about each others secrets and news. Well, we would have if Daxter hadn't kicked out for laughing and carrying on so loud. As we tried to find a place to stay that night, all I could think about was how to keep Tiffany safe from the clutches of Vegar... I'll get you, Vegar. No matter what it takes!
Whatever you say, my dear. Whatever you say, I'll be waiting...
