Two Sides to Everything
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of places of the Jak trilogy games. They belong to Naughty Dog. I only own my original characters like Colle and Zack.
Sushi: This chapter took forever and it was so long that I had to make it a two parter. It's early in the morning so I'm not going to say much.
Chapter 10: True Feelings part 1
Jak had returned to Haven and to his own place with his head full of thoughts and his stomach empty of food. Scrounging around his pantry, Jak pulled out some preserved yakow meat and milk.
The warmth of summer was slowly slipping away to the coolness of autumn. Jak at his late dinner and got ready for bed. During this he ran some questions through his head. 'Looks like we're going to have a few new problems. If that stupid crystal disappeared thousands of years ago, then how am I supposed to find it?' Minutes later, he was fast asleep.
Dream sequence:
His powers were less aggravated since his light side had grown in power. Pain still passed through his body as the two sides faced off against each other. It was more of a twinge, really. A bright green light forced the sides into a stalemate.
When the light faded Jak found himself running through a rocky out cropping in a cave. He didn't know what it was but he could tell something was very wrong. He kept running until he saw something lying on the ground. His bad feeling intensified ten fold as he closed in on it.
Jak's breathing stopped and his heart skipped a beat when he saw what was on the ground before him. It was Colle lying in a pool of her own blood. Jak quickly gathered her into his arms. What happened?
Blood was seeping out of cuts and gashes all over Colle's body. Jak tried to find a pulse. I was very weak and getting weaker. His heart felt as if it would burst from the pain within himself. She was dying.
Jak thought of an idea. He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was all he could do. Releasing the powers inside, Jak tried to use the light ability of healing to close Colle's wounds. It had no effect. Colle's heartbeat and breathing were slowing. Then she disappeared. Jak was left alone covered in blood with tears streaming down his face.
End Dream Sequence:
Jak woke up early the next morning in a cold sweat and the pain still fresh in his heart.
"What was that?" He asked himself as he got out of bed. The dream had unnerved him so that he decided not to return to sleep. Instead, he went to his small kitchen area. The left over yakow meat was still sitting on the counter from the night before.
After eating what he could to settle his nerves, Jak headed for the gun course. Sure it was a little out of the way, but it was a good place to think. That and shoot the heck out of anything that moved. One thing stayed on his mind as he headed out the door, 'Is something going to happen to Colle?' Or was it just a dream from eating old meat?
This new apartment was huge. It contained two bedrooms, one for her and one for Zack; a kitchen area, bookshelves with numerous books and a large round table with a light over it. A couch was sitting in front of a window that faced the ocean. A few posters covered the walls. Over all, Colle liked it. The monks had even stocked the cupboards with a weeks supply of food. With food in her stomach, Colle went to bed.
Dream Sequence 2:
Growls and the sound of claws scraping against something filled Colle's ears. Opening her eyes told her what the noises were and 'what' they belonged to. Creatures twice the size of her surrounded her. They were scaled from horned head to clawed toe.
The creatures before her looked like something out of a nightmare. The blood red eyes alone looked ready to kill. Saliva dripped from their gapping mouths. Colle wondered how she was still alive when she was surrounded by so many creatures that apparently wanted to kill her. Looking closer she noticed a faint blues veil between her and the beasts. It was a shield.
Colle looked around franticly searching for some way out. The shield was weakening with every blow that was thrown at it. She noticed Zack was sitting right next to her. Horror was masked over his face as he turned to look at something. Colle turned too. Jak was lying in front of her with a gapping slash in his side.
Fear ran through her Colle's heart and mind. She was no longer concerned about the enemy surrounding her. She gently shook Jak to see if he would open his eyes. There was no reaction. Tears began to creep down the girl's cheeks. Something inside her snapped like when you do something you know has to get done without realizing it. With tears still crying, Colle used every bit of hope to try and heal Jak with his own energy.
End Dream Sequence:
Colle woke up hours later with dried tears on her face. She looked out the window of her bedroom. Seeing it was still dark, she guessed it was early morning.
Stepping onto the cold stone floor, Colle went a head and got ready for the day to come. Today was the day Jak was going to start her training. Colle gathered some of the clothing that had been left for her by the monks and headed for the bathroom to take a nice hot shower. All the while wondering if Jak was alright. The last time something like this had happened, Jak had been in trouble. The only difference was that both Zack and herself were with him. 'It must have only been a dream.'
Minutes later Colle emerged from the bathroom. She had chosen a comfortable outfit for her first day of training. The shirt was a pale green and the pants were loose fit, light brown cargos. The monks had good taste which was a little strange considering they were mostly male.
The eighteen year old girl walked into the room with the kitchen. Silence greeted her when she took a seat on the couch. She began to miss being home and all of its familiar faces and places. One thing she could do without was Jeremy, that was a given. She missed Zack and hoped he would be all right where ever he was. With the silence beginning to overpower her, Colle slipped on her sandals and walked out the door.
The early morning air was crisp and cool, but with her sleeveless shirt it felt refreshing. She walked the streets of Spargus until she came to the shoreline of rocks. The sun had begun its usual trek across the sky as it broke over the horizon. It was so peaceful.
Colle stood at the water's edge a few minutes longer. If Jak wasn't up yet he soon would be. The girl decided not to wait for him to come get her, but she went to the city instead. Colle headed for the transport.
Haven's light were just beginning to flicker off. It's citizens were just beginning to stir out of slumber. Colle walked trough the port realizing she didn't know where to go. She didn't know where Jak lived. But Daxter would.
The Naughty Ottsel was lit up with the giant statue of Daxter on it's roof. The doors were unlocked so Colle walked in. Instead of Daxter, she found Tess at the bar.
"Hey, Tess. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find Jak would you?"
"You must be Colle. I've heard a lot about you. I'm so sorry about your younger brother." Tess hadn't met with Colle before. The only other time the elf had been here was that day she had gone to Haven Forest to meet with Onin. She had gone straight to bed upon her arrival, so Tess hadn't had a chance to greet her.
Well, if you're looking for Jak he should be at the gun course with Daxter. He's been going there a lot these days."
"Thanks. I'll see you later, Tess." Colle walked through the automatic doors and made her way to the gun course. It wasn't far. As she neared her destination, she heard gun shots. 'It must be Jak.'
"It's weird, Dax. I can't get her out of my head. Especially after that dream. What if it comes true?" Jak looked as if he had gone through the course five times as Colle peered through the open door. Both Jak's and Daxter's backs were to her.
"The truth is, I don't know, Jak." Daxter knew his friend was having trouble with this and acted serious for one of his 'very' few moments. "You'll just have to protect her. You're strong, I'll admit, but you can't do everything."
"I couldn't even concentrate in there." He waved his gun towards the challenge. "What am I supposed to do when the enemies are real?"
Daxter's serious moment was over. He had on his usual furry smile as he looked at his best friend. "You've got it bad, Jak."
"What?" He knew he wasn't gonna like what Daxter was up to. Things never turned out to good when he had that glint in his eye.
"You like her."
"Who?"
"Don't play stupid. Colle. You like her." Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder.
"I don't think so." He said disbelievingly. "I've only known her for a week. Besides, I love Ashelin. I care about her. She understands what kind of things I go through..."
Colle backed away from the door and leaned against the building. She was a little hurt even though there wasn't a reason for it. She couldn't expect Jak to like her. When she realized she was feeling sorry for herself, Colle brought herself back to reality. Remembering she had training to do. She headed for the door again. It was time to get serious.
"Whatever you say, Jak. Just let me know when you've changed your mind." Daxter finished just as Colle walked through the door. "Speak of the devil. We were just talking about you." He shut his mouth when he got a look from Jak.
"Really? I hope it wasn't anything bad." She was playing stupid. It would be smart to not let them know she had been listening in on their conversation. It might not go over too well.
"Why are you here? You were supposed to wait back in Spargus until later."
"I couldn't sleep." Colle walked over to the guns on the wall. They looked similar to Jak's morph gun, but a few others looked completely different. They were sleeker and not as bulky. "I thought we could start my training early."
"I guess that's not too bad of an idea." Jak walked over to the wall where Colle was looking at the guns. "And since you're here, we can run through the gun training." He reached up with one hand to grab one of the morph gun look a-likes, and handed it to Colle. "You can start with this."
"You have got to be joking." The gun weighted at least ten pounds. Not only would she have to carry it but the ammo as well.
"This is the earlier model of the morph gun. It only has two conversions: the scatter gun and the blaster. You'll learn to use the scatter gun first." He threw some ammo at her and held back a laugh when she almost dropped the gun to catch them.
Colle had gone through the course twice while only hitting a few targets and even more citizens, before Jak voluntarily showed her how to hold the gun and shoot the scatter gun to have it be more effective.
For hours Colle continuously passed through the course until the sun finally seeped through the only window. Each time she had gotten better and a higher score. It became tiring soon enough. After another hour or so of practice and a breakfast at the Naughty Ottsel, Jak thought it a good idea for some hand-to-hand combat for a change. They headed to Haven Forest.
For three days Colle received training in guns and hand-to-hand. Each day improving in skill and strength. Torn hadn't given Jak a single mission in almost a week. Things seemed to have grown quiet.
"You're late." Colle had been waiting at the Naughty Ottsel for almost an hour. She was beginning to worry. She had heard of the recent disappearances. Two more people, who where former Krimson Guard members and current Freedom League fighters, had been reported missing as of yesterday. In the past three months twenty people had gone missing without a trace. Colle had been relieved to see Jak walk through the door.
"I had to make a quick stop at HQ and the power station." Jak sat next to Colle at the bar. He didn't look at all happy. "I was just talking to Vin. I had him scan the entire area even the wastelands." He talked lower so the citizens in the booths wouldn't over hear him. Ever since the last war the Naughty Ottsel had become more popular.
"During the last war, a large group of metal heads had built a nest outside the walls of Spargus. It seems that something ran off the remaining ones. There is something in that cavern that is giving off a high eco reading."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Speaking in equally hushed tones.
"I told Vin what happened to your brother and that we needed to find the ones took him. That's when he did the scan. I believe Zack isn't as far away as we think he is."
"Then what are we waiting for!" Colle's voice rose causing the near by customers to turn their heads. "Let's go!"
"Shhh. The people here aren't too big on having another war. We're only just recovered from the last one. If they find out we're about to start another one, there might be an uprising. And that is something I don't need right now." Jak stopped talking quietly. He needed to gain the people's trust and a war wasn't the way to go. That had been Baron Praxis's downfall.
"Sorry." She spoke softly again. "Then what are we waiting for? The sooner we leave the sooner Zack will be safe here with us."
"There is 'we' in this. You're not going. I'm leaving tomorrow to go on recon."
"You said I could go with you when we get Zack. I won't be left behind." She was getting angry. He had promised her.
"It's only recon. We don't even know if he's there or not. You can come when I find out if he's there. You still need more training. A gun can't always protect no matter how good you are." Jak knew she was stubborn. He had learned that when he had seen her in the desert.
"I beat you in our last sparring match, remember?" A smile spread across her face. She was going with him one way or another.
"It was a technicality. My comm. had gone off. I had to answer it."
"Call it what you want, but if I recall it was you that told me a few days ago not to let anything distract you when you fight. Distractions could get you killed."
"You're not going. That's the end of it." Jak crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Okay. Whatever you say." Colle had given up.
Jak sat thinking to himself. 'That was too easy. She's up to something.' He looked at her trying to figure out what she was planning.
"Sheesh. You two fight like an old married couple." Daxter walked over to them after running off another debt collector, saying how grateful the city should be to him for saving them twice.
"So, uh, when do we get back to training?" Colle's cheeks were a little pink, something the little orange rodent didn't miss.
Training had resumed later that morning. The sun was bright and hung in the cloudless sky giving perfect conditions. Colle had learned the basics of fighting and Jak was showing her some of the more complex moves when he decided to call it a day. It was getting dark.
The rest of the evening had remained uneventful. Still no missions from Torn or anyone else. Things were awfully quiet in Haven City. That never lasted for too long.
When it became dark, Colle returned to Spargus with her empty apartment and Jak to his in the New Haven area of the city. Jak would be leaving first thing in the morning and be gone a little over a day.
Early the next morning, Jak arrived at the wastelands. He entered the gates of Spargus and chose his vehicle. The Sand Shark. It wasn't as fast as the Sand Screamer, but it did have more fire power.
Jak threw his bag into the passenger seat and yawned before getting in himself. The morning air had a chill to it that woke him up as soon as the doors opened again. He turned toward the door and was about to go through when he felt a sudden jolt in the Sand Shark. Jak jerked around and saw Colle sitting in the passenger seat holding his bag.
"What do you think you're doing?" Jak knew she wouldn't let him go without her. She was so stubborn.
"I want to come too. I told you I won't get in the way. I'll stay out of sight. Isn't that what you do on recon. missions?" Colle got situated and smiled.
"Well, yeah." He wasn't going to win.
"Then what's the problem?"
"Fine. You can go, but not a word." The sand shark pulled out into the gentle breeze of the desert. Jak drove over the dunes until the old metal head nest came into sight.
Down into the cave and through the tunnel; Jak and Colle traveled into the new enemy's strong hold. Coming to an opening Jak got out and motioned for Colle to do the same.
After crossing down a bridge and through a chamber filled with training what would seem like precursors, the two stopped. They looked out from behind a tall stalagmite to watch the new enemy. Scales covered most of their short bodies. Only small patches of orange fur could distinctly give away that they had once been Precursors. That and the tail and ears was a give away too.
Anger ran through Colle as she looked below her at the scalely ottsels. They're the ones who took Zack aren't they?" She didn't have to ask, she knew they were the ones. "That means he's here. We have to find him."
The old Colle was slowly emerging. Jak had noticed when he had been teaching her to defend herself that she had gained more self confidence and she had become less afraid. There had no longer been a look of fear in her eyes.
The fear was returning, gradually fading back. She was scared for her brother. Something could have happened to him. Jak could only hope that he was alive. He didn't know how he would deal with Colle if he wasn't.
Staying seconds longer, they continued on until they reached a corridor with many sub-tunnels. Jak chose the closest one.
"I don't think we should go that way."
"Why not?" One way was as good as any other, wasn't it?
"Because, something isn't right about it. I think we should go this way." She pointed to the farthest tunnel. "It feels...familiar. I know it's weird, but could you just trust me on this one?"
"Let's go then." Jak took the lead once more ready for anything. Colle had been acting strange all morning. The young elf thought somehow it had something to do with her unknown powers. 'They're starting to awake.' That could have been good or bad.
Colle wanted to know what her feeling was. The closer she came to the source the more she knew it somehow. She kept her eyes on the way a head of her and listened for anything from behind. There was a whole army behind them. They weren't exactly in the safest place.
Turning a corner the two found themselves outside of a dimly lit room. Inside were two of the Rosrucerps they had seen earlier. They were standing guard over something shinning blue in the middle of the room. On the other side of the room was another door way.
Jak told Colle to take out the one on the right while he got the left. She raised her gun and took aim, but didn't fire. They were living creatures and she was supposed to kill them. She didn't want to become a murderer. No matter how much she hated something, she couldn't take its life.
"What's wrong?" She had just been standing there. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew. She was too soft hearted. That was unusual for the people of Haven and Spargus, though she wasn't from this world. "You shouldn't have come."
"I'm sorry." She lowered the gun and turned away as Jak took care of the two Rosrucerps. She flinched with each gun shot remembering what had happened to Zack. Her eyes began to burn. 'I won't cry. This isn't the time or place for it.' She closed her eyes until she was back in control again. Turning around, she found Jak waiting for her with a strange look on his face. I was one of pity. He felt sorry for her, but was trying to hide it. "Please don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Don't look at me like that. These are my problems not yours." When Jak said nothing, Colle spoke again. "Can we get moving?"
They walked into the room with the brightly glowing object. Colle kept her gaze on Jak not wanting to see the two bodies lying on the floor. The glowing stone soon caught her interest. When Jak stopped to look around the room she walked around him and to the pedestal. Reaching out to touch she wished she hadn't done so. The stone called for her. When her fingers touched its blue surface electricity filled the room and wrapped itself around the girl touching it.
Jak had felt something pop the moment Colle had touched the rock. The charge circled the room and zapped Jak's arm with it going numb almost instantly. He looked over to Colle and quickly ran to her. Jak tried to pull her away but was thrown back as soon as he touched her. He couldn't go near her without getting zapped himself.
She was shocked constantly as she tried her hardest to pull away and not to scream. Her fingers felt like they were glued to the stone's surface and if she screamed, every one of those creatures would be after them fangs and claws bared.
It was excruciating. She just wanted it to end. At that moment she didn't care about anything else.
An agonizing scream filled the air until it reached the ears of the training Rosrucerps. They stopped immediately and turned in the direction from which it had come. There was an intruder.
Jak could only guess at what Colle was feeling. With his mind racing to find a way to get her away fro the stone, he heard a noise from the tunnel behind him. "We have to get out of here, now!"
Colle could no longer stand the power that the stone had sent coursing through her. Her voice was cracking as she lost consciousness. Before she had faded completely, she felt a warmth surround her. The pain faded with the electricity of the stone. With nothing to support her she fell.
Jak caught the teen age girl before hitting the ground and lifted her in his arms. He made his way to the door on the other side of the room before he heard the growls drawing closer.
Creatures rushed into the room of the blue stone. One of the beasts growled out, "They're after it. Don't let them live."
Jak only took one look behind him. He had expected to find the same creatures he had glimpsed earlier but was surprised to find something else. Instead of the two foot tall scalely ottsels, he saw eight foot tall giant behemoths.