Chapter VI: Spargus
LES: Jak 3 friendly… except that Damas isn't the ruler. Someone else is.
"Approaching Spargus' front gate." Torn said. "I'm setting her down."
I had long since given up and put on the stupid crown. The vehicle set down with a slight bump. Torn pushed several buttons and the door opened. "You're Highness, we need to hurry. The Spargains say that the Marauders could be attracted by the commotion."
I got out of the transport, and a couple dozen men were standing there. Most didn't seem to know what to do in the presence of Royalty. Most bowed, some just nodded their heads politely, and some just stood there. "We should get inside, Saphira Mar." One of the men said. I stared at him. It had been so long since someone called me 'Saphira Mar' that I almost didn't know what to do. No one I knew dared to call me by my name, in case I liked my title.
"Why did you call me 'Saphira Mar?" I asked.
"You're used to people saying 'Your Highness,' aren't you?" He asked. He looked at least five or six years older than me. "Well, we are equals, you see. I am Hector, Crown Prince of Spargus. Royalty need not address each other as 'Your Highness' and 'Your Majesty' all the time." Hector paused. "We really should get inside. The Marauders."
"Oh, yes." I said, following Hector and the other men into the gate, which led to another room, which seemed to be a garage. However, instead of zoomers, there were WHEELED vehicles!
"Amazing!" I said, examining one. I had never seen a wheeled vehicle, though I have heard of them. Instead of hovering in the air like our zoomers, they ran along the ground on the 'wheels.' Mother, who was a mechanic before she married Father, would probably kill to be able to see these.
"We use those to make runs into the deep desert." Hector said. "They're not as technologically advanced as your zoomers, but you'd be hard put to find tougher little vehicles on the planet." Hector led the way though the lock at the other side of the room. "This door leads to Spargus City." Hector explained as the door opened. "Welcome to Spargus." I noticed several differences between Spargus and Haven right away. First, it was a lot dustier and rural than Haven City. And everyone, even the women, carried weapons. This was defiantly a warrior's city. "We'll use some Leaper Lizards to get to the Palace."
"What are Leaper Lizards?" I asked, but my question was answered for me. Leaper Lizards were lizards with stubby little wings for arms. Each one was about as tall as a person and came in any different colors, green, blue, brown, and gray. Someone helped me onto a green Leaper Lizard and then we were off on a five-minute ride though the City to the Palace. Finally, we came to a door that had a strange symbol on it, the Seal of Spargus, I figured.
"Who is the King?" Sig asked.
"Sig?" One of the men asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you moved to Haven City!"
"Making sure the young Princess stays safe." I heard Sig answer. "Personal favor to her father."
"You have made quite a life for yourself in Haven, personal friend to the King!" The man paused. "As to the King… his name is Falkor. (A/N: Anyone who's seen 'The Neverending Story' out there?)
"Falkor?" Sig asked. "He wasn't royalty when I left."
"You're right." The man said, "But the last King died without an heir, so Falkor took over. But, royalty or not, he is a great King and an able ruler."
The doors opened and everyone walked in, and stepped onto a sort of primitive lift. As soon as we stepped on it, it started to move upwards into the Throne Room. The first thing I noticed was the wetness, there was water everywhere. Then I figured that, in the desert, water was as valuable as Eco. So to show that you had this much water, just showed how much power King Falkor possessed.
King Falkor, seated on his Throne, was an imposing figure. Like most of the men in Spargus, he was very tall and held himself with a warrior's easy grace. He wore armor and carried a huge staff, a simple, yet elegant, crown sat on his brow.
"Ah, the young Princess of Haven City." King Falkor spoke with a rusty voice that held the sort of power only a King could possess. "Descendent of City Founders and heroes." Falkor paused. "But… I've never heard of a Princess coming in a King's 'stead. Don't tell me your father is the one coward in a magnificent line of heroes!"
"My father is no coward." I said. "He was the Savior of Haven City and single-handedly destroyed the Metal-Head Leader before he was King years ago. He is not here himself because he is dying."
"Dying?" Falkor asked. "Surely he is not old enough to face death!"
"He is dying of Eco Poisoning." I said.
Falkor hung his head. "I am sorry to hear this. The royal family of Spargus has always respected Mar's line. But, why have you come to me?"
"It is no secret that you know this desert better than anyone else in the world." I said. "We are seeking the Lost City of Precursa that is said to reside in the desert. They may have the means necessary to save my father."
"You are right to say that I know this desert better than anybody else." Falkor stood up. "But, I'm sorry to say that I do not know the location of Precursa." I opened my mouth to argue, but Falkor stopped me. "However, occasionally we do get a group of traders that only speak Ancient Precursorian, one of the identifying features of a Precursian. It is possible that these people may be from Precursa."
"Couldn't you just follow them?" I asked.
"We tried." Falkor said. "But they disappear off of the radar not too far away from the City. I sent my warriors after them one day, but they never returned. You might be able to get a ride from them, but don't count on it."
"When are they next due?" I asked. "We have a month… maybe…"
"They usually come once a month." Falkor said. "They are due within the next few days… but they have skipped months before."
"Is there no other way?" I asked.
"If I knew Precursa's location, I'd tell you." Falkor said.
Falkor seemed an honorable man, so I believed him. I turned back to Uncle Daxter, Torn, and Sig. "It's not much of a plan, but it's all we've got. We'll wait for these traders and see if they will give us a ride to Precursa."
"Princess, you can stay here in Spargus' Palace until we see what we can do about these traders." King Falkor said. "You are free to move around Spargus as you please. However, I'm sure you'll understand, don't go into the Wasteland. It's too dangerous, even at the best of times that I only allow my best warriors out there. Even Mar himself couldn't last long periods of time out there… so it is recorded. If the sandstorms and the heat don't get you, the Metal-Heads and the Marauders will."
"I have no desire to kill myself before helping my father." I said. "I'll stay in Spargus."
"Good, I'll have Hector show you were you'll be staying." Falkor said. "Oh, Hector?"
"Yes, Father?" Hector asked.
"Have you seen your brother? He's up and run off again." Falkor said.
"No. But the Sand Shark is missing." Hector said. "Perhaps he's going on an extended vacation into the Wasteland?"
"Foolish boy is going to get himself killed one of these days." Falkor snorted. "It's a wonder he's not dead, seeing how much time he spends out there." Falkor sighed. "Okay, I dismiss you."
Hector, myself, and everyone bowed. "This way." He walked over to a section of wall, and opened it up to reveal a hidden door.
"You have a brother?" I asked.
"A younger one." Hector laughed. "Kiyu. He doesn't like being royal… so he escapes into the Wasteland."
"But, didn't your father just say that not even Mar could stay out there for long periods of time?" I asked. "How can your brother do it?"
"I don't know. Most people say he hides in a cave for a few days." Hector laughed. Suddenly, a woman ran down the hallway. She jumped into Hector's arms.
"You're back!" The woman cried.
"I've only been gone a few minutes!" Hector said.
"Anytime you go into the Wasteland, I worry." She said.
Hector turned back to us. "Oh, terribly sorry. This is my wife, Fara." Fara waved, very unusual behavior for a royal. "Fara, these people are from Haven City." He pointed out each person as he named them. "This is Princess Saphira Mar, Crown Princess of Haven City. This is Torn Rafael, Commander of the Freedom League Guards of Haven City. Daxter, Closest advisor and personal friend of King Jak Mar…"
"I'm more than a 'personal friend." Uncle Daxter spoke up. "I happen to be his BEST friend. We we're the best of buddies as children! And he's not so regal! I remember the time he ate a whole Yakkow pie on a bet! He was blowing chunks for an hour…"
"Okay!" I interrupted the 'He's-not-so-regal' story; I knew it only got worse from there. Beside, Hector and Fara looked surprised. "Ignore him." I said. "He's lost his mind, you know…" I twirled my finger around my temple in the universal sign of 'insane.'
"Hey!" Uncle Daxter said.
"And…" Hector tried to finish off the introductions. "This is Sig, who originally came from Spargus."
"Let us hope that these traders are willing to help us." I whispered to Uncle Daxter as everyone else talked. However, Torn overheard and he said.
"Your Highness, we'll stay until the traders come or don't come. That way, we can take you back to Haven City with us."
"I will not be going back with you if the traders don't come." I said. "If they don't come within a week, I'll go into the Wasteland myself!"
"But," Uncle Daxter began to protest. "You heard King Falkor! It's dangerous! Besides, you're a rookie with adventures!"
"But you aren't." I said. "You can teach me."
Daxter sighed, smoothing out the fur on his arm. "Well… I DID teach Jak everything he knows…" I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. "Okay, I'll do it… But I don't wanna go into the Wasteland… it's just too dangerous."
"Fair enough." I said, "The traders will be here. "I feel bad though… here we are… we're going to do nothing but sit and wait while Father's dying…"
"Don't worry." Uncle Daxter said. "I'm sure they've got EVERYTHING under control."
(Haven City, Palace)
"We don't have anything under control, Your Majesty!" One of the governors, not Ashelin, yelled at Keira outside the Palace infirmary. "First these myths come to life and threaten to destroy the City, and now this!" The governor motions to the ground behind him. A guard sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, he looked absolutely terrified.
Keira walked up to the guard and knelt down so that she was eye level with him. "Tell me, what did you see?" She asked kindly.
The Guard looked at her as though she terrified him. But then he took a deep breath and began. "I was sent to the Strip Mine to take care of a slight Metal-Head disturbance that was reported there." The Guard paused. "But… when I got there… thousands of Metal-Heads… thousands… They were gathered around two… things…"
"Were they…" Keira paused, fearing the worst, "Dark Eco creatures?"
The Guard nodded his head. "They were talking to the Metal-Heads. I think they are joining forces!" The Guard stopped, he just couldn't say anymore.
"You see the problem, don't you?" The governor asked. He was right, Keira did see the problem, but the governor explained it anyway. "Metal-Heads without a Leader are laughable. But, give them a couple powerful, determined Leaders and they will be a threat again! Our King NEEDS to organize our defenses!"
"My husband can't do that." Keira explained. "He's sick… he may be dying!"
"Dying?" The governor asked. "But, what about our defenses?" He asked like it was Jak's fault that he was dying of Eco Poisoning.
"Someone else can take care of it." Keira said.
"No you don't understand!" The governor yelled. "For more than ten years, we haven't needed someone else to know the defense system! Your husband knew EVERYTHING! And he did a damn good job, too! But, we don't have anyone with the necessary knowledge of the defense system! There aren't many people left that are familiar with war, for that matter…"
"Oh no…" Keira finally realized that Haven was screwed. Jak was the absolute ruler of Haven City! Without him, Haven was just like a chicken without a head! And Gol and Maia were ready to turn Chicken Haven into barbecue!"
"So, unless you happen to be a military genius, Your Majesty, I think the City's in serious trouble." The governor walked away. Keira sighed, but she couldn't help but agree. She turned around and walked into the hospital room where Jak lay. Jak's sickness seemed to go on and off. One moment, he'd be fine… then the next, he'd be crying out in obvious pain.
Now, he was in his 'normal' phase. "Jak, we have a problem." Keira said, sitting on the bed next to him.
"Any word from Saphira?" Jak asked, ignoring her statement.
"No, they are out of regular communication range." Keira said. "Jak, Gol and Maia seem to have formed an alliance with the Metal-Heads. They have an army, tens of thousands of Metal-Heads! Jak, with you in this condition, we haven't a hope of winning!"
"What are you talking about?" Jak asked angrily. "I can do anything I…" Jak suddenly trailed off and curled up as another wave of pain assaulted him, it felt like some beast was trying to tear its way out of his body. (A/N: 'Alien.') "AUGHH!" He cried in pain.
"Jak!" Keira cried, reaching out to him. In the middle of his pain attack, Jak put up his hand in the signal for 'stop.' Keira waited until the pain went away and Jak slipped back into his 'normal' phase.
"It won't stop!" Jak growled angrily. "This is worse than the wounds I got on my adventures! At least Green Eco could take the pain away! Now, if I tried to Channel Green Eco, I'd probably kill myself! It feels like an angry Metal-Head is rampaging on my insides!"
"Don't worry, Jak." Keira said, taking his sweaty hand in hers. "Saphira will be back with the Light Eco soon."
LES: I think you can see now that I've been taking measures to screw the City ever since the beginning of the story. Making Jak the absolute ruler, the time of peace, and everything else has been put in to make Haven City sitting ducks! I am so cruel!
Jak: I didn't think you had it in you to put me though pain like that.
LES: It gets worse… but you are a big, tough Kingie, you should be able to handle it!
Jak: By the way… just how old did you make me?
LES: Uh… let's see… (mumbles) 19 when you defeated the Metal-Head Leader… plus two years… plus 19 years… Forty years old!
Jak: WTF? I'm OLD!
LES: Ladies and Gentlemen, Jak just had his mid-life crisis. But, I just couldn't have him be 19 with a 19-year-old daughter… that's just not right!
Jak: (Sobs)
LES: Poor Jak… Please review to get Jak out of his mid-life crisis!
