Ekobean: Chapter 4, y'all. Nuff said.
orlandobloomfn – I think there's a patch for that...
Shadowsister – Nope, you just can't catch a break. No, she is not dead, but thanks for the concern. :-D
Hellmouth – SECOND!!? Why you...!!!
Dark Eco Freak: Poop on you, Shredder.
LunaticPandora1: Yes, I'm aware of that. I was actually thinking of having Jak make a comment, but I got lazy.
Jak had no time to react. The cyborg's cold mechanical leg caught him hard in the stomach, sending him sailing backward along the beaten path. He landed on the ground and kept moving skidding along the path until coming to a slow stop. He shut his eyes tight, holding back the tears. He could already feel that he had broken three ribs. His breath came and went in harsh, shaking gasps.
He looked up to see the robot standing over him. It reached down with its blood-stained hand and grabbed a handful of Jak's hair, raising the crumpled elf to his feet. "And here I thought this would be a challenge," it laughed, "why, this is barely even fun." He rolled his hand into a fist and pulled back, about to –
Three clear shots rang out in the background. The robot dropped Jak in surprise as the Red Eco bullets struck it in the back. The robot heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to see Keira holding a smoking Red Eco rifle. She wore a deep scowl that seemed so out of place on her normally cheery face.
The robot cocked its head and sprinted over to Keira. Keira cocked the rifle and readied it. The robot reached her in a spit second, hewing the barrel of the gun into four perfect quarters. Keira gasped and looked down at the perfectly cut barrel. She then slowly stared up at the gleaming cyborg standing over her. She made a vain attempt to bat its face with the butt. The robot casually grabbed the barrel in mid-stroke and crushed it as if it were fiberglass. He snatched the gun away and tossed it over to the side. He pulled Keira close and began to speak in a mock-hurt voice. "Oh Keira, is that any way to treat an old friend?" he cooed.
"What?"
"You know, you never did give me that kiss you promised on our first date."
Keira's eyes widened in shock. "No...you're not...you can't be..."
"Believe it, Keira. You are mine. I – AAGH!" The robot sailed forward over Keira and into the side of the cave wall. After two seconds, it peeled away from the wall and fell to the ground, leaving a partial imprint of itself in the wall.
Keira looked back over to Jak. He was kneeling with one hand clutching his ribs. He was holding his Peace Maker tucked under his arm. "Stay...away from her," he hissed.
The robot slowly rose from the ground. Sparks of Dark Eco danced about its reflective skin. "That does it. You die now." The robot began marching toward the kneeling form of Jak. His clawed hands were clenched into tight fists, glowing with Dark Econetic energy.
Meanwhile, Jak was waiting. "Come on," he muttered, "just a little closer..." He was focusing, focusing on one thing: the Light Eco within his bloodstream. The gland that had formed over the years that had once existed to release Dark Eco into his bloodstream (read "Dark Menace") now released the opposite: Light Eco. He was totally concentrating on that gland. He could feel it, he could feel it slowly releasing small quantities of the pure substance into his bloodstream. Even at that moment he could feel his cuts and fractures healing.
But he needed more. Just a little more...
A hand suddenly clenched around Jak's tunic. The robot lifted the limp elf to his face and said "Time to die." He spun Jak around, spun him until he was nothing but a blur. Then, suddenly, he threw him. He hurled him upward, up onto the top of the cave entrance. Jak landed with a thud, wincing as he hit the hard rock. Thunder cracked in the background. Rain began to fall, turning the quiet of the area into a symphony as the drops hit different objects.
Jak squeezed his eyes shut and focused. "Just a little more..."
He rose to his feet, his hair plastered to the back of his neck with the sudden downpour of rain. He heard the thud of the robot landing in front of him, he felt the rock tremble at the sudden change in weight. Let him think that he'd won. His end was near.
The robot strolled up in front of the silent elf. "Dignity in death, eh Eco freak?" laughed the robot. "Let me aid you." The robot pulled back his fist and with a scream, threw his punch straight into Jak's chest. Jak didn't grunt or even react, he simply flew backward and off the back of the cave, over the cliff behind. The cyborg laughed and walked up to the edge, and peered down at the expanse below, marred by the blanket of fog.
He peered into the depths, scanning for any movement. At first he found none...but wait...
He looked harder, focusing on a mall point of light, no larger than a star in the night sky, slowly growing within the depths of the fog. And then suddenly he was blasted back, flying backward to the opposite end of the cave top. Almost as if in slow motion, the angelic figure rose into view from the cliff. "Jak?" rasped the robot, scrambling to his feet.
"In one way or another...Erol."
The robot's mechanical face almost seemed to smile. "I see you finally recognize me," he droned, "and I can see that you are not just a Dark Eco freak anymore."
"No," said Light Jak, "it appears as though that position has fallen to you."
The Cyber-Erol's eye's flashed with a dangerous crimson. "And the reason for that falls to you!"
"No Erol," replied Light Jak calmly, "it was your drive to win, your reckless ambition that sealed your fate."
"Just because you've learned a few new tricks doesn't mean you have to talk like a Sage!" Erol seethed. Dark Eco flashed from his body, searing away the stone from beneath his feet. "You're mine!" Erol leaped forward in a movement of blind fury. He brought his claws forward, aiming straight for Jak's heart, and brought them down in one clean stroke.
Light Jak flapped his wings once, easily dodging Erol's blind leap. Erol flipped in midair and sunk his claws deep into the ancient stone of the cliff. He caught himself, sinking his other hand and both feet into the side and began scaling it in a lizard-like fashion. Screaming, he threw himself upward and again threw out both claws, this time for Jak's face.
Jak reached out and grabbed Erol's hands, flipping him over his shoulder and slamming him into the top of the cave. Not nearly finished with his attack, Jak landed on the top and landed a swift kick to Erol's stomach, sending him on a blind flight in towards the mainland. The cyborg landed about fifty feet inward on his stomach. Jak ran after him and leaped off the side of the cliff, spreading out his wings and flapping them hard. He swooped down upon Erol like an enormous, shining vulture, landing two kicks in midair to Erol's face.
"Jak wait!" Samos warned, yelling out to the viciously attacking Jak. Jak hadn't heard the Sage's yell, however. His mind, body, and soul were focused on one thing: Erol's death.
Erol rose from his defenseless position, limbs shaking and buckling. His left arm was completely useless. Hot golden sparks were flying from the spiderweb of circuitry that ran through it.
"This is an example of just how I felt those two years," Jak said. His eyes were hard and cold, staring into Cyber Erol's soulless pits. "Defenseless, helpless...I'm going to make one thing clear to you now. You are not going to live past this day, and believe me, this time no one will bring you back." Jak held out his palm, fingers spread wide. A point of light began to form, slowly growing to the size of a baseball.
Erol frantically tried to move, to do anything, but only sparks flew from his mechanical joints.
"Good bye, Erol."
The beam flew from Jak's hand in a microsecond. Yet Jak saw it happen just before the beam hit home. A flash of green light, like the flash from a camera. Erol was gone, his beam only hit the age-old rock of the island. Jak turned to find Samos with a set frown on his face, his staff pointed outward towards the spot where Erol had been just seconds before.
"Samos..." Jak hissed, slowly drawing closer to the sage, "what did you do."
The Sage looked defiantly up into Light Jak's smoldering white eyes. "I teleported him away."
Jak was on top of Samos in a heartbeat. He lifted the sage easily into the air and shook him. The bird that rested in Samos' hair took flight and flew circles around Jak's head, twittering madly. "Why!?" Jak thundered, shaking Samos again.
A spasm of fear leapt into the Sage's eyes, magnified by his spectacles. "My boy, put me down, you're hurting me!"
"Why!" Jak screamed again, drawing him into within an inch of his face.
Samos' breathing was ragged, his hands, which were clenched around Jak's arms, were shaking with fear.
"Jak! Stop, please!" Keira begged, sobbing.
"Jak," Samos whispered, "because I believe that both of you have a part to play before this is over."
GOD!! Sorry it took so freaking long. Still, this may very well be the last chapter. I'm still deciding if to continue this or not. What do you think?