A/N: OMG! I'm SOOOOO sorry for the really long wait! I didn't know where the story was going and it took me the longest time to figure it out, but I finally did and now the story can go on!I I'll probably start updating my Inuyasha x-over with Catwoman and BtVS x-over w/AVP stories too! I think it was school that gave me writer's block...DAMN EVIL SCHOOL! But hey, now I'm a senior! WOO HOO! Ok, this chapter may be a little rushed...even if it is long, I really hope you guys like it.
Pairings: JxK, DxT, TornxAsh
Chapter Summary: Jak is exiled from Haven City, Keira goes to Spargus City to look for him
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED! I LOVE YOU GUYS! 100 Reviews! Yay!
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Darker Still
by Ashelin Rayne
Chapter Seven
Darklighter
"By order of the Grand Council of Haven City, for heinous acts and crimes against the people, you are hereby banished to the Wasteland for life," a tall, stiff looking man in blue sneered down at the dark elf in chains, his long and pointy nose scrunched up in disgust and his overly bushy eyebrows scrunched together...almost creating a sort of unibrow. Two Krimzon Gaurds held the chained elf from behind as they stood by the Air Train, around them was a vast expanse of desert exposed to the scorching heat of the sun.
"This is a death sentence, Veger," a red headed she-elf hissed angrily as she stepped next to him, "there must be another way."
"Your protest was overruled! This dark eco freak is dangerous! Now drop the cargo!" The man known as Count Veger pointed at the elf in chains.
"This is an outrage! I am outraged beyond words!" A blue monkey-bird squawked, "Although I do have something to say! Not everyone agrees with this ridiculous aaggrrkk! Decree..."
"Yeah! we want a recount!" An orange Ottsel agreed.
"Oh, I see you wish to join him," Veger raised an overly bushy eyebrow.
"Actually we are not that outraged," Pecker answered quickly, "farewell Jak! Stay out of the sun... Drink lots of water... If you can find it..."
"Jak?" Daxter looked at his best friend, now in chains.
"Get back to the city, Dax," the dark elf ordered with a sad grin.
"I'm sorry. The Council is too powerful. There was nothing I..." Ashelin said grimly as she approached Jak.
"I know," the dark elf nodded in understandment. The red headed she-elf stepped even closer to him as she held a round, metal object that was blinking a red light.
"You just stay alive, you hear me? That's an order!" She growled as she slipped the metal object into his hand, "If you upset Keira by letting your sorry ass die, I'm going to beat the shit out of you. Someone will find you, I promise." The Guards released Jak from his chains and they stepped onto the Air Train with Veger and Ashelin.
"May the Precursors have mercy on you," the tall, pointy faced man smirked as the blue vehicle lifted off into the sky, leaving a cloud of swirling dust in its wake and a sputtering elf trying to cover his face to keep the grains of sand away. Jak coughed as he expelled the last bits of sand from his lungs and looked to the sky, his only way back to civilization slowly becoming smaller as it flew farther away. He sighed as he was about to turn around, unsure if he was ready to face whatever the Wasteland would throw at him, when something caught his attention.
"Daxter!" The orange Ottsel and blue monkey-bird stood where the Air Train had once been, brushing the dust off their fur and feathers.
"Don't thank me! I'm only here because you wouldn't last a second without me!" Daxter grinned as he looked up at his best friend, "Okay tough guy, you got us into this mess, now ya gotta get us out!"
"Ahh! What a team we'll make!" Pecker commented.
"Let's just get moving. But which way?" Jak looked around.
"That way!" Daxter and Pecker exclaimed at the same time, pointing in different directions.
"Oh, and I suppose you know where you're going, eh!" The monkey-bird scoffed as he placed his wings on his hips.
"Better than you do, bent beak!" The Ottsel shot back.
"Aggh...let's just get moving," Jak growled, already tired of the two bickering back and forth.
"This was all your stupid idea!" Pecker pointed a feather at the furry rodent.
"No, it was yours! Only a birdbrain could have thought this one up..." Daxter growled. "Let's go with him... we'll help together... you mean we'll die together! I can't believe the city hates us... we saved those lowlifes!" The dark elf tried to tune the two animals out as he remembered the events that lead up to his current...situation.
-
"Jak, the city's divided," Torn turned to the dark elf, "reports say new Krimzon Death Bots are holding a vital section of the industrial area! My men are getting their asses kicked! The KG have a new leader. We're trying to find out who it is."
"I'm afraid I've got more bad news..." Samos the Green Eco Sage spoke up, "A large group of surviving Metal Heads have concentrated in another section of the city."
"But we destroyed Kor!" Jak looked at the Sage in confusion.
"It appears the strongest Metal Heads have survived," Samos replied grimly, "the battle for the city has just begun!"
"The people are blaming you, Jak," Ashelin frowned.
"Why are they doing this? Jak's done nothing but help Haven City!" The blonde renegade looked up to see the concerened face of his green-and-blue haired she elf.
-
Jak let the picture of Keira's face linger in his mind as his body began to give way from heat exhaustion, he let a small smile slip across his features as his head hit the ground.
"Right. Good plan, Jak..." Daxter muttered as he lay next to his friend, "a nap would be nice... Just a teensy little rest..."
"Aggh! This bird is overcooked!" Pecker squawked.
"The Palace..." Jak muttered as he slipped out of consciousness.
-
"Report!" Came the command from the Green Eco Sage as he, Jak, and Daxter stood near the Baron's palace overlooking the city..
"It's bad!" Torn's voice sounded through the communicator, "The city's become a battlefield! Mechanized Death Bots have taken the industrial section, and the surviving Metal Heads have expanded their hold on the Westside. We're losing ground on all fronts."
"The Council's meeting tonight in emergency session," the feminine voice of Ashelin added, "rumblings about you, Jak. It doesn't look good. They think your friendship with Krew helped the Metal Heads get into the city."
"You don't believe that do you?" Jak asked his two friends in worry.
"What's in the past is done," Samos said grimly, "right now, Metal Heads are assaulting the Palace. They're looking for something, and I have no idea..." The Sage was cut off when the Metal Heads launched an attack on the Palace's support cables, knocking it over. The giant building began to implode from the ground up.
"HELLLP!" Daxter screamed, "WE'RE FALLING!"
"Need a lift?" Keira smirked as she appeared near the balcony the three were on in a large, multi-seater zoomer.
"Over here!" Jak motioned to the other two, "Jump!" The renegade, Sage, and Ottsel quickly boarded the zoomer just as the palace began to crumble.
-
The sun beat mecilessly down on Jak's fallen form as he continued to replay the memories of his time in Haven City. He barely managed to growl as a ball of anger began to grow in his chest, they had thrown him out of the city just because they needed someone to blame for the attacks. The renegade could feel Dark Jak clawing his way to the surface and Jak was more than happy to indulge him in his fit of rage, he would've transformed but was out of Dark Eco and too exhausted.
"Damn them..." Jak ground out as he began to lose consciousness again. Before he completely blacked out, he felt a shadow move over him.
"Looks like we've found some live ones..." an old elf bent over the green-and-blonde haired elf on the ground, examining his body, "heh, barely. Here's the beacon we were picking up." The old elf grabbed the front of Jak's tunic and pulled him up, only to have the younger elf's head roll to the side, "Who gave you this?" No answer. "We'll take them with us! Let's move! I smell a storm coming!" The old elf turned to the small band of elves behind him as a wind began to pick up around them, he looked down at the young elf again as a sense of familiarity washed over him.
"Your Higness," a huge, bulky elf with blonde hair called out to his leader.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Damas grinned to his fellow elf, "Keira should be arriving soon, wouldn't want to keep her waiting...you know the temper on that little she-devil."
------
"Mama? Daddy?"
Dark.
Everything was Dark.
"Mama? Daddy?" A little girl, barely six years in age with big, bright emerald green eyes and beautiful blue-and-green hair pulled up in high pig-tails, called out. "Why are you sleeping? We have to go, the bad people are here!"
Silence.
Everything was silent.
"Mama! Please! Daddy! Why won't you wake up!"
There was suddenly a loud pounding echoing everywhere, pounding from the giant doors.
"The bad people are here!"
"Open up you little brat!'
"Mama! Daddy! Wake up! I don't like this! Please! Why won't you wake up!"
- Keira...I'm sorry, baby...- An angelic voice rang in the air just as the doors were broken open.
"Mama?"
- Please be safe, and remember...your Father and I will love you always and forever...-
"Mama?" The child was surrounded by a glorious light, blinding her before everything went dark. "Mama! MAMA!"
Warm.
Everything was warm.
There was warm sand all around and the little girl could feel warm water lapping at her feet. She blinked as her eyes quickly adjusted to the bright sun directly above her. A shadow suddenly blocked out the sun and the girl found herself staring into the biggest, bluest eyes she had ever seen.
Blue.
They were so blue.
-
"Keira," the she-elf felt something nudge her shoulder as she began to wake from her dream. Keira let her senses stretch out, the fog of her dream slowly lifting from her mind. She could hear the loud hum of the transport zoomer she was currently riding in and felt the cold steel of a certain Wastelander against her arm.
"Meh...I'm awake," she grumbled, turning away from the source of the voice with an annoyed whine. Keira looked out the open door and across the desert Wasteland and saw the familiar city skyline, one of the reasons for her visit to Spargus City was to see if Damas could help find her recently banished dark elf, Jak. She knew he was alright because she knew he could take care of himself...or at least that's what she hoped. Keira laid her head back against the wall behind her and closed her eyes, intent on going back to sleep. She nearly fell into a blissful slumber when Sig nudged her again.
"C'mon Cherry," Sig rolled his eyes at the young she-elf, "one minute until we reach the LZ."
"Eh...?" Keira opened one bleary, glazed over with sleep, eye, "Did you just say lasagna?"
"No, Kid..." the Wastelander shook his head, "I said LZ...the landing zone..."
"Right."
There was a moment of silence as both elves were left speechless from Keira's bout of stupidity.
SIg stared.
Keira stared.
Sig blinked.
Keira blinked.
The older elf once again shook his head, baffled by the antics of the younger generation. With her face red with embarassment, Keira was about to open her mouth to say something when she was cut off by a bullet whizzing by her head. Both elves looked over the side of the open cargo door and saw a little over a dozen Marauders swarning the small Oasis where the transport zoomer would've landed.
"Shit..." Sig growled in annoyance.
"Look's like we got ourselves a Hot LZ," a devillish smirk made its way across Keira's full lips as she drew out her beloved Morph Gun, giddy as a school girl at the thought of another fight.
"Of course...I always get stuck with the crazies," the Air Train driver looked back at the two elves he was transporting.
"Hey! I heard that!" Keira snarled, suddenly appearing behind the driver's seat, making him jump, "Don't bother touching down, we'll jump."
"We will?" Sig raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, besides, we're not that high up," she grinned as she pushed the armor-clad elf off before jumping after him. Keira rolled as she hit the ground, simultaneously shooting down three of the Marauders' vehicles. She and Sig stood back to back, the duo slowly worked at taking down the rest of the Marauders as they circled the two like Lurker sharks closing in on the kill. Keira did her best to dodge their gun fire but when she had limited space to move in, it was a little hard, and so when she felt the painful sting of a bullet lodging itself in her side -dangerously close to her ribs- she cursed.
"Keira!" Sig eyed her wound in the midst of trying to keep the Marauders away.
"I'm fine!" She gritted out as she grasped her side, trying to stop the bleeding and shoot at the same time, which was proving very difficult. Adrenaline pumped through her system as she fought to keep steady, fought to keep herself from giving the Marauders a chance to exploit her weakened state. But try as she might, the wound she had was making her lose a lot of blood and it was slowing down her movements. As Keira dodged another Maraurder that had managed to get close to the duo, she lost her footing and stumbled onto her knees, splatering her blood onto the sand beneath her.
"Kid!" She could faintly hear Sig yelling over the roaring of the Marauders' motor vehicles, one in particular that seemed to be getting closer. Keira looked up a split second too late before a Marauder smashed the butt of his gun on her temple.
Keira swore she saw little Flut Fluts flying around her line of sight as everything went black for a moment. The she-elf felt herself being picked up none-too-gently and heard the panicked yell of Sig, concluding very quickly that it was not her Wastelander friend that had picked her up. Keira began to struggle out of whoever's grasp she was in, being careful of her bullet wound. Her vision returned, making her squint at the sudden brightness of the desert, and she looked at her captor. She was mildly suprised when she found him to be quite attractive. His dark green hair was spiked up and he had piercing green eyes. He was attractive, but the fact that he was a Marauder, the fact that he had attacked her and the fact that he was attempting to kidnap her negated that fact.
"Hey you fucking asshole!" Keira roared and made him fall over, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She scrambled to her feet and kicked him in the face, muttering "You dumb piece of shit" before stumbling back to Sig who sighed in relief as she picked up her fallen morph gun.
"Jeez, Kid!" He growled, "Don't make me worry like that again or I'll take your gun away for a month!"
"You wouldn't!" Keira squeeked, "Who would sink to such low forms of inhumane torture?"
"I would."
"Cruel and unusual, I tell you!"
"Of course, only you two would be joking during a battle," a new vehicle pulled up to them, shooting away at the Marauders.
"Damas!" Keira grinned, "How nice of you to join us!"
"Nice weather we're havin'!" Sig chuckled, causing the King to shake his head.
"I'll never understand the two of you..."
The three elves quickly took care of the remaining Marauders surrounding them, Damas and Keira would've exchanged their usual round of playful banter but couldn't on the account of Keira passing out from blood loss so Sig and the King decided it was best if they just took her back to Spargus City. During the drive home, the King kept a close eye on the young she-elf that had nestled herself into a place in his heart. She had become like a daughter to him and had helped him deal with his grief of his own missing child. Seeing Keira gave him hope that he would one day find his son.
------
Damas made his way swiflty to his throne room and found the young elf and his furry...pet...thing...the King shook his head, he'd figure out what the rodent was later. His men had deposited them by the small man-made Oasis his wife had built so many years ago, at the thought of his long deceased wife, Damas felt a hollow pain in his heart. Shaking his head to clear away the sad memories, he splashed water upon the two unconscious forms.
"Ahhh, I love water. Oh yes, it's so good. Desert bad." To Damas' surprise, the annoying, nasaly voice had come from the orange rodent as it stirred and began to lap up the water. The young elf groaned as he came to, sitting up slowly and studying his surroundings.
"Well, you've come back from the dead have you?" Damas spoke up and caught the attention of the boy, "And my monks were ready to pray for you. I am Damas, King of Spargus." The young elf looked the King in the eye and the older of the two nearly fell over in shock. For a split second, Damas had thought he had found his son, the elf before him had the same striking blue eyes...just like his wife, but he quickly regained his posure.
"Spargus? Wait, nobody lives outside Haven's walls... not a whole city," the boy gasped in surprise. Damas had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in an un-Kingly-like manner.
"Ahh yes... we are the forgotten ones," the King spat bitterly, "Haven City's refuse, thrown out and left to die...just as you were. But now that you have been saved, your life belongs to the people of Spargus and we will use it well...if it's actually worth anything." The rodent made a sound of protest .
"Hey! That sounds like a bad deal!" It cried.
"You are in no position to 'deal,' out here everything is either useful or dead weight," Damas explained the Wastelander way of life, "prove yourselves worthy, or the desert will be your grave."
"You need to work on making a better first impression," the elf smirked, the King had to hold back his own grin but couldn't help letting out a chuckle.
"In the unforgiving Wasteland we value strength and survival above all, we will see where you stand soon enough..." Damas said mysteriously, "complete your training, then enter the arena...just the bravest crawl out and are allowed to stay in Spargus. It's quite simple really."
"Um, what happens to the ones that don't crawl out?" The rodent asked nervously.
"Then it will be as if we never found you."
"I was afraid of that..." the furry thing gulped.
"You have yet to tell me your name, young one," Damas looked at the elf standing before him.
"Jak," the elf replied, "my name is Jak." The King raised an eyebrow, could he be the young elf that Keira had always been talking about. He certainly fit the description, the green-and-yellow hair, the blue eyes, the blue tunic, and the red bandana and goggles. She had described him so thoroughly that Damas had to wonder if she was...the King stopped in mid thought as he stared in amusement at Jak.
"What?" The young elf shifted under the King's gaze.
"Nothing." Damas chuckled as he walked away. 'So, this is the elf Keira is in love with...'
-
"Hail all citizens of Spargus!" Jak could recognize that annoying, accented voice anywhere, "Welcome to the arena of death where we get to watch other people wet themselves in fear! These halls will once again test two newcomers, each fighting to prove their worth to stay among us. Let's hear it for Jak and his obnoxious talking animal!"
"Pecker! There you are, where were you?" Jak looked at the monkey-bird, who was perched comfortably on Damas' chair's armrest, in surprise as he made his way towards the platform that would take him down to the arena.
"Damas says I am to be his new counsellor, he says my wisdom will serve him well," the blue monkey-bird explained, "oh yeah and um...Damas also says that ahh...you two are likely to die in the arena today, and he hopes your death is very ahh..."
"Will you stop that! Damas can talk for himself!" Daxter motioned to the slightly annoyed King.
"He is right...you will most likely die," Damas said with a straight face, "and yes, Pecker is my new advisor."
"Unlike you, some people appreciate my talents..." Pecker bragged, "it beats working for a living...I saw a few of the fights earlier.Oooo...not a pretty sight."
"Why you little..." Daxter began but was cut off by the monkey-bird.
"Let the games begin!"
Before Jak descended into the arena, King Damas had graciously given him a Morph Gun with a Blaster Mod to use to fight. The dark elf grinned as he spun the familiar gun in his hands, trigger-finger itching to be used. Jak had taken on the Metal Head leader, Kor, for Mar's sake! To say that he was confident in winning was an understatement. He smirked as the enemy began to appear through the doors at the sides of the arena, Jak was easily outnumbered but that only caused his smirk to widen.
'Too bad for them,' he thought as he raised his gun and shot down the first enemy that came too close. Jak made his way around the raised boxes that seemed to litter the arena floor, taking down anything that he came across or had the unfortunate idea of trying to sneak up on him, keyword there: trying. Just as he shot down his seventh kill, the alarms of the arena went of, startling the dark elf. Jak raised an eyebrow and looked around, none of the others seemed to know what was going on either. He jumped onto one of the raised boxes to get a better look around the arena and not a second later was glad that he did, he watched as the arena sank further into the pit of lava which drowned everything in its liquid flames except for the raised boxes.
"Whoa!" Daxter clung to Jak's shoulder, "That was cutting it a little too close there, buddy! I don't plan on being boiled to a crisp any time soon!" The dark elf just ignored his furry friend and waited until the lava was drained, which wasn't too long of a wait. Even more enemy-elves began pouring into the arena and Jak was having the time of his life shooting them down, but it was then when his cockyness got the best of him. When there were only five enemies left, one of them managed to get a shot in, his bullet piercing through the dark elf's shoulder. Jak cursed his overconfidence and was about to turn around and shoot when, to his horror, he felt the familiar shockwave of pain that always preceeded his transformation of Dark Jak. He hadn't let his dark side vent in nearly one month so all the energy Dark had stored began to force its way out.
Jak collapsed onto his knees as he doubled over in pain, trying in vain to fight off the transfromation.
'I want out!' Dark growled and Jak could do nothing but give in to his counterpart's wishes. With a large shockwave of Dark Eco, Jak let the transformation take over and almost immediately the pain stopped. The elf felt a sense of satisfaction as he felt his claws run through the elf that had shot him then quickly moved onto the next target, disarming him...quite literally. In the time span of fifteen seconds, the last three targets had been decapitated or run through, leaving Dark panting in the middle of the arena observing the carnage left in his wake with a feral smirk upon his purple lips. With a shake of his head, Dark made his way to the platform that would take him up to the King. As he neared the top, a wave of dizziness overtook him and Dark transformed back into Jak. The dark elf swayed back and forth, watching everything spin in his line of sight. A figure somewhere off to the side caught his attention, it was an elf with a painted white face, glaring menacingly at him. Jak tried to focus on the figure but the King had stood and was glaring at him suspiciously.
"Something you're not telling us, animal man?" Jak stood under Damas' scrutinizing glare.
"He has been touched with dark eco, my liege," Pecker offered his explination.
"Our boy here gets all mean and nasty when you piss him off," Daxter offered his own explination, "so don't piss him off...word to the wise!"
"Ah... then he is dangerous, that could be useful," Damas nodded, he had forgotten that Jak was able to transform into that Dark Eco creature he saw. He now remembered Keira mentioning something about it and if she knew about this and still trusted the dark elf, then he would at least try to. "Your bravery has earned you your first Battle Amulet, if you are victorious in two more arena fights, you will earn your citizenship to Spargus.Here is a gate pass to allow free passage in and out of the city. But, beware there is no true refuge outside our walls the desert is less kind than I..and for your victory, a gun mod is your prize." Jak grinned as he recieved the gun mod for his morph gun, it was a new toy for him to shoot and kill things with. He suddenly remembered the elf with the painted face and turned to look at him again but found the platform that he occupied was now deserted.
------
"Mama!" Keira heard the voice of a little girl cry in the darkness of a huge room, everything was cloaked in black and the she-elf could barely make out a small child hunched over two elves sprawled on the ground. One was male with vibrant green hair and the other was female with long, beautiful sapphire blue hair, for some reason she couldn't make out their faces as they lay in front of what probably were two, large beautiful thrones.
'What's going on?' Keira wondered as she tried to look around but found that she could only watch the three figures on the floor.
"Hey...kid? Where am I?" She asked but was only ignored, Keira grumbled about stupid kids and stepped closer to the child, curious as to why she was ignoring her. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the sight before her made her freeze. Keira wanted to scream, to cry, to do something but all she could do was stand there and watch the scene unfold before her in horror. She felt hot tears burn a trail down her cheeks as she watched the little elf girl with high pig tails shake the body of one of the elves on the floor, taking note of the pool of blood slowly growing around the bodies.
"Mama! Daddy! Why are you sleeping?" The girl cried as she tried in vain to wake the elves, her childish ignorance brought even more tears to Keira's eyes. "We have to go...the bad people are here!" Keira collapsed onto her knees beside the girl and she reached out, trying to comfort her but found her hands passing through the girl's body.
"Mama! Please! Daddy! Why won't you wake up!" Keira's hand flew up to cover her mouth, trying to stifle a sob as her heart filled with a sense of dread. She jumped when something began to pound loudly on a large door behind her, she could hear shouts of angry men on the other side.
"The bad people are here!" The girl cried.
"Open up you little brat!" One of the men roared.
"Mama! Daddy! Wake up! I don't like this! Please! Why won't you wake up!"
"Oh Mar!" Keira's heart broke to see the little girl in such distress, the girl's cries suddenly stopped when she straightened up and began to look around, as if searching for something.
"Mama?" Keira's whipped around as the doors were suddenly burst open, she could make out the silhouettes of large, bulky elves with wicked-looking armor standing at the doorway. She gasped in horror as the lead elf raised some sort of crossbow-like weapon and aimed at the little girl.
"Mama?" The girl was oblivious to what was happening around her, "Mama? MAMA!" Everything seemed to slow down as the elf let loose an arrow from his weapon. Keira had to do something.
"NOOO!" She stood in front of the elf girl and waited until the arrow pierced her chest. A second before the arrow was about to reach her, Keira gasped as she was surrounded by a glorious light. For a moment, she felt safe, warm...felt like she was in her mother's arms...
-
Keira gasped as her eyes shot open.
The she-elf quickly sat up looked around the room she was in, she was sitting in a large bed wrapped in midnight blue sheets. There was a large window to her left, giving her a beautiful view of her favorite desert city, to her right was a door leading to her private bathroom, and straight ahead of her was the door leading out of her palace room. Keira jumped off the side of her bed and winced when she agitated the wound on her side, ignoring the pain, she changed out of the comfortable night shirt she was currently wearing and into her familiar waitressing uniform. No matter how she tried to deny it, she had grown quite fond of the outfit and couldn't bring hersefl to throw it out.
After lacing up her knee-high combat boots, Keira set off and out her door to find Damas or Sig to fill her on what was happening while she was out. As she navigated her way throught halls that one would normally get lost in, she thought back on the dream that was still vivid in her mind. If it had been a normal dream, it would've just faded from her memory a few minutes after her awakening, but something in her gut told her that this was no normal dream. 'Who was that little girl?' Keira wondered, 'I'm guessing the two people on the floor were her parents...that was horrible. And those other guys...why was he going to shoot the girl?' Her thoughts were interrupted when she walked straight into Damas as she rounded a corner, she almost lost her balance and fell over but the King caught her arm to steady her.
"Keira," he greeted, "I was just about to come and see how you were doing."
"Hey, D," she grinned, "top o' the mornin' to ya."
"Yes, if by morning you mean six o'clock in the afternoon," Damas chuckled as he released her arm and motioned her to walk with him, "so, how was the ride over?"
"Oh it was just peachy," Keira drawled on sarcastically, "I always love spending an hour in a flying tin can over a scorching desert, and getting attacked and shot by Marauders was just the highlight of my day. By the way...what happened after I passed out?"
"Well, I arrived just in time to save your sorry ass," he chuckled as the she-elf smacked his arm, then he mock-sighed, "must I always play the role of your Knight in Shining Armor?"
"Knight in Shining Armor my ass..." Keira grumbled. A mischevious smirk made its way across the King's lips.
"Unless you already have that role reserved for a certain someone..." he chuckled when the she-elf stopped in mid-stride.
"What the hell are you talking about, Old Man?" She raised an eyebrow in an annoyed and confused manner.
"...Maybe someone with yellow-and-green hair who can conveniantly turn into a Dark Eco killing machine, someone who happens to be running around Spargus City at this moment..."
"Jak?" Keira blinked in surprise as her heart fluttered at the mention of his name, "Jak's here? Where?"
"I'll take that answer as a yes," Damas grinned.
"What?" Keira looked at him in confusion then suddenly began to blush, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"I thought as much," he chuckled, "I don't know where he is right now, but he's here." Damas could see Keira visibly relax, as if a great burden was taken off her shoulders. The girl let a small smile slip across her features, for a moment regaining an innocence she had lost long ago.
'I'm glad he's safe...' Keira sighed in relief.
------
Jak grinned as he rode through the streets of Spargus City with Daxter clinging tightly to his shoulder, riding Leaper Lizards was just like riding his Flut Flut back in home in Sandover Village. The dark elf snorted.
'Home,' he thought bitterly, 'that home is long gone now...destroyed, nothing but a dump.'
"Hey! Watch it you jackass!" Jak couldn't help but laugh as he nearly ran over a Wastelander while he was distracted. He immediately stopped laughing when the Wastelander opened fire on him.
"Sorry!" He called over his shoulder. 'Man, these guys need to lighten up.' As Jak rode around the streets, he couldn't help be reminded of the Bazaar back in Haven City... 'Haven City...I don't even want to go there...'
"Hey Jak," Daxter spoke as he pointed to a large object near the Seashore, "look at that." Jak looked over to where his Ottsel friend was pointing and found a large, dark purple...thing. There was a sinister vibe coming from it that made the hairs on the back of the dark elf's neck rise, but his curiosity got the best of him and he went towards it to investigate. Around the dark object were a whole bunch of elves dressed oddly, they seemed to be praying to it. One of the elves caught Jak's eye, he had a feeling that he'd seen him before but couldn't place his finger on where.
"Check out these funny dudes, huh... hee hee hee..." Daxter sniggered as Jak leapt off the Leaper and made his way closer, "Nice threads, I didn't know rubber was back in. What are ya working on, monk boy?"
"It is none of your concern, animal," the elf ignored the rodents remarks as he tried to continue praying.
"Look, colouring book, we've had a hard week," the Ottsel growled, "don't push it!"
"The arena shows all, dark one," the elf finally turned to look at Jak. At once, the dark elf remembered seeing the painted elf from the arena. "Hate consumes your eyes."
"Great," Jak rolled his eyes in annoyance, "thanks for the tip."
"It will destroy you..." he hissed, then motioned to the dark object in front of them, "just as these Precursors destroyed themselves."
"It doesn't look like any Precursor crap we've seen," Daxter mused, taking in it's sea-anemone-like appearance.
"These artifacts are an abomination," the monk spat. Jak couldn't help knowing that the elf felt the same way about himself, but he could care less about what the stupid monk thought of him. "One fell on the great volcano, we sent an expedition to the mountain, but my monks never returned. Ill tidings sing in the wind...I fear the remaking of the world is at hand." The dark elf and the rodent looked at eachother, sharing the same thought.
"I think you've been out in the sun...a little too long," Daxter raised a furry eyebrow as he turned back to the monk, "let's go, Jak."
Jak was happy to oblige.
"You must leave this place!" The elf monk exclaimed bitterly as he pointed a accusing finger at Jak's retreating back. "Heroes think they can save the world, when they themselves are lost." At this comment, the dark elf seethed. 'What the fuck does this monk think he knows!' He thought angrily, feeling Dark's fury course through him.
"You could not possibly understand the dark forces at work here."
'That's it...' Jak snapped and turned around, angrily storming back up to the elf who took a step back in fear.
"Don't talk to me about dark powers!" He growled, the dark elf motioned a hand towards the dark Precursor artifact, "I want to know what this is." The artifact suddenly sprang to life as a control panel of sorts was brought online. Jak moved towards it.
"Stand back," he growled at the monk.
In all honesty, Jak didn't know what the hell he was doing. It was like his fingers had a mind of their own as shapes began to appear on the screen, they were pressing -to him at least- random buttons. But whatever they were doing, it seemed to be working. After several minutes of button pushing, the artifact made a noise and shot out a dark crystal.
"You cracked it, Jak!" Daxter cried.
"Don't touch it!" The monk warned, "Dark eco." Jak only ignored the monk's protests as he picked the Dark Eco Crystal, knowing that nothing would happen to him. He looked back to the monk and smirked at his astonished expression.
"Yeah, you're impressed now aren't ya?" Daxter grinned, "Come on, give him his props."
"Those are solid eco crystals, it has been passed down through time that they power the greatest of Precursor technologies," the monk ignored the Ottsel's remarks and watched the screen as stranges runes began to appear, "Strange... It speaks an ancient dialect. The earliest Precursor forms. Something about re-claiming this unfinished world..."
"Those look like coordinates. Like the ones from..." Jak started but was interrupted by the monk.
"It is picking up a very powerful signal," the elf monk said as the artifact began to react to rise up into the air.
"I don't think we're gonna like what this thing is yapping to!" Daxter cried just before it exploded in midair, showering the ground with itty bitty pieces of Dark Precursor artifact parts. The monk glared at Jak after recovering from the explosion..
"Even you cannot save us from this, hero!"
"Hey, I'm the real hero here," Daxter once again began spewing lies from his fuzzy little rodent mouth, "you can call me...Orange Lightning! Zazaziing!"
"You may carry the colour of our creators, animal, but we have plans to save ourselves," the monk spat at the duo, "Stay out of our business, you and Orange Lightning are not welcome here!" The monks glared at Jak as they left the scene, the dark elf only shook his head in annoyance at their retreating forms.
------
Damas made his way down to Kleiver's Garage, he had heard that the big Wastelander had sent Jak off to race a while ago. He was -for some odd reason- pleased to hear that the boy had finished in first place. He was especially pleased to find out that it was the boy's first time out in the desert, on Kleiver's Tough Puppy of all vehicles! Damas snorted in amusement at that last thought.
The King was suddenly aware of his new advisor's squaking. The monkey-bird was flying around his head, talking aobut one thing or another, he didn't know...Damas was trying to ignore Pecker. He had to fight the urge to grab the flying ball of feathers and tie his mouth shut. Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, Pecker began talking about Jak. Damas was always curious about the boy, to catch Keira's interest...he had to be a pretty interesting guy. The bird was talking about how Jak had won the Championship in the races in Haven City before he was kicked out. It seemed that Jak had a thing for vehicles...
The large makeshift doors opened to reveal Kleiver who was just about to step through the doorway.
"Oh, g'day your majesty," he greeted in his Aussie accent. "What brings you here to me shop on this glorious day?"
"Where's Jak?" Damas nodded his greeting as he got straight to the point.
"That bloke?" Kleiver looked towards the huge doors leading out to the Wasteland, "He should be back here any minute, you can stay and wait for him if you'd like. I got to get going, promised Keira I'd let her play with some of me old run down vehicles I've got lying around." The King just nodded his head again, a sign that the big elf could go. Just before Kleiver was out of hearing range, Damas called to him.
"Kleiver!" The large blonde elf turned to his King, "When you see Keira, be sure to tell her where Jak is!" He could see Kleiver nod his head with a confused expression before turning and going off to find the she-elf. Damas turned back to the huge doors leading to the desert just as they opened to let Jak, riding Kleiver's Tough Puppy, in to the garage. The boy and his pet...thing -which he had yet to discover what exactly it was- jumped out of the driver's seat with big grins on their faces.
"Nice wheel work," Damas nodded and Jak practically beamed at the comment, "My advisor here says you have vehicle skills."
"I can hold my own," the dark elf grinned.
"This one will be of use to us, Damas," Pecker turned to the King, "I think you should keep him for now."
"Can it, Pecker!" Daxter snarled.
"There are a number of artifacts to be found in the Wasteland, fresh storms churn the sand and reveal items that have been buried for centuries," Damas turned to Jak, "Take the Tough Puppy and find as many items as you can before the storms come again." Jak nodded and jumped back into his newly acquired vehicle.
"And one more thing," the King called out to Jak, "if you get caught in the storms, they will tear the flesh from your very bones."
"Oh great," Daxter grumbled, "thanks for the pep talk." The animal sighed as Jak took off out the large doors and into the awaiting desert. As Damas watched the dark elf drive off, he felt...well, he felt something. He couldn't explain it, Damas felt some sort of connection to the boy...the only time he felt that same feeling was when he was with his son...The King quickly shook off the feeling and tried to ignore it.
"Is there something the matter, your Majesty?" Pecker took note of his odd behavior.
"No," Damas looked away from the bird, "it's nothing."
-
There was less than one minute before the storm would hit with its full force and Jak was not back yet, Damas began to pace in worry. But it wasn't like he was worried about the renegade elf, oh no.
'I'm worried about the artifacts...' he thought to himself, 'yes, the artifacts, Spargus needs them...' Damas could smell the storm coming closer, it would be at least thirty seconds before it hit...his predictions were usually correct, it was something he was able to do from living out in the desert for so long. Jak was still not back.
Ten seconds...
Five seconds...
Four...
Three...
Two...
"WOO HOO!" Jak's Tough Puppy sailed through the air a second after the desert doors opened, they shut immediately after he passed through. He skidded to a stop in front of the King and jumped out with a whole sack of artifacts, his red bandana was still covering his face and his goggles were still on. Jak dropped the sack in front of Damas and pulled off his bandana and goggles.
"Good work," the King nodded, "that was close."
"Oh, are you beginning to care?" Pecker teased, "Damas says..." The King's hand quickly shot out to grab the bird's beak, he ignored the muffled squwaks of protest.
"My concern was for the artifacts, and we will use them well," Damas countered and changed the subject quickly, "That armour you found, it is very rare, indeed. Pecker here says it's the very armour Mar once wore in his battles for this planet, long ago. Keep it for yourself. Trust me, you'll need it."
"Cool," Jak examined the bronze arm bracers before putting them on, "thanks."
------
Keira wiped the sweat off her brow. She'd been working for six hours straight on repairs on Kleiver's Slam Dozer, Desert Screamer, Heat Seeker, and Dust Demon, all of which had exstensive sand damage to the engines. Of course, being in a desert that didn't surprise her much...but it didn't make the job any easier or any less of a pain in the ass. She looked down at her hands, which were now covered in oil and dirt...along with her coveralls and Keira didn't have to look in a mirror to know that her face was smudged with it, too. She always managed to get dirt all over herself when she went into Mechanic Mode.
"And she emerges from beneath the vehicle," Kleiver joked as the she-elf stood and stretched.
"Hardy har, Kleiver, you're a real funny one," Keira rolled her eyes at the big elf as she unzipped the top part of her dark blue coveralls, revealing her grease and oil-stained wife beater. She tied the sleeves of the coveralls around her waist and strapped her shoulder armor piece back on. "Hey Kleiv...I'm gonna go take a break out by the Oasis."
"Alright, mate," Kleiver looked up from the welding work he was doing, "oh yeah, Damas wanted me to tell you something..."
"What?" Keira jumped onto one of the blonde elf's Leaper Lizards after grabbing her new JET-Board off her work table.
"Uh..." the big elf scratched his head, "I forgot."
"You dumbass..." the she-elf smirked.
"Hey! He told me over six hours ago, you can't blame me for forgetting!"
"Whatever, Kleiv," Keira laughed as she rode off on the Lizard, listening as Kleiver's curses died down as she got farther away.
When Keira got to the garage, she dismounted the Leaper and headed towards the huge doors leading to the desert. The she-elf noticed that the Dune Hopper was gone and idly wondered who was out in the desert with it, she didn't think any of the Wastelanders needed to be at the Temple. She just shrugged and turned to hop into the Sand Shark when she stopped suddenly, cursing. Keira had left the keys to the vehicle with Kleiver and she didn't feel like riding back into the city to get them. The she-elf was about to leave when a bunch of Wastelanders entered the garage, preparing to go out and collect artifacts. Keira smiled when she recognized one of the Wastelanders.
"Taz!" She called to the old Wastelander and the elf waved back. "Hey, you heading out?"
"No," he replied sarcastically, "we're getting ready to pick flowers."
"Oh shut up, you," Keira grinned. "You mind if I bum a ride off you guys?"
"You going out to the Oasis again?" He asked knowingly.
"No," she returned the sarcasm, "I'm going to the circus."
"Huh, didn't know we had one of those out there," Taz chuckled when Keira hit his arm lightly, "I'm sure the guys won't mind if you tag along."
"Thanks, Taz," the she-elf hopped into the large transport zoomer, "you're the best."
"Yes, yes, I know," the elf grinned, "please, feel free to remind me anytime you want."
"You're such a dumbass."
-
Keira had been training near the Oasis while Taz and the others went searching for artifacts, she remembered all the moves Ashelin had taught her back at Haven City. The green-and-blue haired she-elf sighed, she missed Ashelin, Tess, and everyone else back in Haven City and made a note to go back to visit as soon as she found Jak. Where the hell was that boy anyways? Damas hadn't told her where he was or where he had sent him off to. The nerve of that man, Keira grinned.
Taking out her new JET-Board, now equipped with Turbo Boost (she also made another note to upgrade Jak's JET-Board), Keira zoomed across the desert around the Oasis, marveling at how much faster it was. She executed some jumps, flips, and tricks, using the trees and rocks as obsticles of sorts; the she-elf was in the middle of performing an aerial trick when she was shot at by a lone Marauder. Keira reached for the gun but only grabbed air, she cursed herself for the second time. How could she forget her Morph Gun? The she-elf could only dodge his fire by zooming from side to side and in between rocks and trees, as she was darting between trees, the Marauder was shot and killed. Keira looked up on the sand dune and saw Taz grinning at her. Putting away her JET-Board, she made her way towards him.
"Thanks, Taz," she grinned back at him.
"I never thought the day would come when Keira Hagai would forget her gun," he shook his head in mock-disappointment.
"Oh shush, it'll only be a one time thing," a glowing crystal in Taz's hand caught Keira's eye, "Hey, what's that?"
"This?" Taz held up the dark purple crystal, "I think it's a Dark Eco Crystal those monks are going on about..."
"What's so special about it?"
"Beats me..." As the two elves studied the crystal, something shot out of the sand, startling the duo. It was a dark purple, robot-looking thing with wicked-looking armor, Keira recognized it was one of the silhouettes in her dream. Two two scrambled to their feet and began backing away, Taz had pulled out his gun and began shooting it.
"Keira! Get out of here!" He ordered.
"No! I'm not leaving you with this...thing!" Keira shook her head as she tried to find some weakness on the Dark robot.
"Get out of here now!" The she-elf made a sound of protest, "Don't argue with-"
Time seemed to stop as Keira watched Taz freeze and look down at his chest where there was now a large, gaping hole. The Dark robot had shot him and he fell fowrad onto his face. He looked up at the horrified she-elf, blood now streaming out of his mouth.
"Go..." Keira couldn't move, she felt her hot tears burning trails down her cheeks as she stared down at her now dead friend. She felt her legs collapse under her and she leaned over Taz's lifeless body.
"Taz..." Keira took no notice of the Dark robot that was slowly advancing upon her as she tried, in vain, to shake the elf on the ground awake, "Taz...no...Don't leave..." She was in a daze, even when the robot had wrapped a sort of tentacle around her neck and lifted her up off the ground so she could face the holographic head at its center.
"Thank you ever so much for the Dark Eco Crystal," the hologram said in a strangely familiar voice. "It's you..."
"Taz...no..." Keira paid no attention to the hologram as she was currently being consumed by her grief. The she-elf couldn't feel anything, her body was numb and she hardly noticed that her air supply was being cut off. All she could feel was a burning in her chest, a burning force that was slowly pushing its way out, screaming to be released.
"I think I'll keep you alive so I can play with you later," the hologram cackled evily, but his cackling suddenly ceased, "What the..." The she-elf in its grasp was beginning to glow.
"No..." Keira's eyes were glowing a brilliant dark light that only seemed to glow brighter as her cries became louder, "No! Taz! NOOOOOOOOOO!" She let out a soul wrenching cry as the burning force exploded inside of her, creating a shockwave of the same dark light she was emitting. It blew the Dark robot away with its power and it landed several feet away, but the holographic head had fallen off and lay at Keira's feet as she seemed to be suspended in midair, face upturned towards the heaven, mouth open in a silent scream of agony. The dark light finally died away as the she-elf collapsed onto the sand next to the body of Taz, slipping into unconsciousness. The hologram was shouting but she could barely make out any words as her vision began to darken. But Keira did manage to catch one word before the machine shorted out and before she surrendered to the dark...only one word.
Darklighter...
------
A/N: Again...soooooooooooooo sorry for the long wait, I think I'll be updating a lot faster than I have been. I think someone should find this...Writer's Block...monster and kill...bring it back to life...AND KILL IT AGAIN! Grrr...a whole year of that...it's sad really...Well, next time: What will happen to Keira? And what the hell happened to Keira? And what's with those dreams? Who are all these people? What the hell's gonna happen? Where's my Big Mac! Sorry, I'm hungry...well, next chapter will be up soon!