(Emerges with multiple high level protection spells cast)

Hiya, everyone, don't mind the barriers, I've got some relatives down from the northern states for a week an a half, and things have been a little crazy, and my little brother going even more off the wall than what is normal is not helping things in the slightest.

On a very important note, I cannot believe I forgot to put this in with the last chapter, but Kage means "shadow," and I thought it might be an appropriate name for our little demon. Along similar fashion, the chapter title means "In Memory of," provided that I haven't totally forgotten the Latin I've been trying to learn. If I have made a screw up, please point it out to me, and I will correct it.

Also, to those of you who reviewed.

Lunatic Pandora1- Ahhh, good old Knights, never managed to play the first one, but I do own the second one, and it rocks. (though I have always wondered why one cannot make a double bladed sabre and then make it to where you can break it into two when you need to, as it would be quite useful, and not to hard to do, I think.) Also, trust me, you will be able to notice a difference when Jak really gets to using Juyo (his first victim will be Errol), and I threw down a few hints in this chapter, though one would proabably have to be versed in Ninja Gaiden to pick up the clue. At any rate, thanks for your input, and I hope that you like this chapter.

Xeno-Freak- I'm glad that you were able to understand the explanation of why Jak has changed, and thank you for pointing out that I failed to provide a translation for what Kage meant. I'm also glad that you enjoyed the little tid-bit between the Krimzon Guards, and rest assured, Benton will be making a couple more appearances in this tale. As for the restoration of Jak's powers, well, I don't think I've ever read a fic in which he actually manages to get them back. And let's face it, Dark Side-ish like powers are so much cooler than a gun. (cackles insanely)

ChibiSess- Glad you liked the old slit eye trick, I always thought it'd be kinda funny to screw around with Jak's anatomy like that, and yes, I realize I'm weird. As far as his shades are concerned, think of them as the kind Neo was wearing in the second matrix movie, whatever brand that was. Also, I worship you for decided to draw that picture, (gets down upon knees and proceeds to do so), and I hope that I provided a good idea for what Mar's armor looks like. One thing has me puzzled though, what did you mean by the DA forums? I don't really understand what it is that you were talking about, could you clarify?

Of Darkness- Glad you liked the changes to Jak, and that you have not yet attempted to destroy my newly flash cloned, and I might add, very expensive, body. As to your question regarding the transformation, I regret to say that I have no answer. When I started this story, I had planned on explaining that along the same lines that Dante is able to go to his demon form and back without any apparent fashion problems. Unfortunately, despite six months of cruising the net, attempting to locate the reason behind that, I have been unsuccessful, and it is bugging the holy (censored) outta me! Not helping is the fact that plot holes are one of my pet peeves, (one reason I was so irritated at the third game), and having one in my story is just another reminder of how much my author skills need improving. So, I extend my humblest apologies, and hopefully I will be able to track down the answer that I seek soon enough.

animedragongirl- I'm glad that you've decided to spare my life, and I am so sorry for the errors in the story, one of these days, I have got to get a beta reader. On another note, like I said, there will be someone with light sided powers, and I'm going to do my best to improve things a bit, (such as this person being able to use her wings as Tyrael did in Diablo 2, in which he grabs Satan himself around the foot with one of them, and proceeds to toss him into a wall). Also, tried my best to spot any errors that might be in this one, but if there are, feel free to blast me with an Ultima spell.

Philoworm- (trips over roadblock) ouch...oh well, at least there were no anvils involved this time. Glad you liked my attempt at explaining exactly what was happening with Jak and company. Also, Daxter's troubles are not over yet, as the chapter after this one will reveal, but he'll manage to get out of them like he always does, though I cannot guarantee that he won't wet his fur. As far as names for the dark attacks are concerned, I still need them, and some ideas for other dark powers would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks for your input, and I hope that you like this chapter as well.

Shakai- I've said it before, and I'll say it again: why, N.D., why oh why did you have our hero go from having the ability to throw out energy blasts from his hands to a mere gun? (sighs). Oh well, I suppose we'll never know. At any rate, Jak will begin using the Juyo style soon enough, once he gets comfortable with it, because as you pointed out, one mishap and...well, it won't be pretty, hehe. Hope you like this chapter, and please let me know what you thought. (bows)

just another writer- Yeah, Jak is getting stronger, for reasons that the Metal Head Leader will explain, and rest assured, he will be a worthy opponent for the dark elf, not that pushover that he was in the second game (for Pete's sake, KREW put up more of a struggle than he did! What is up with that?). Also, sorry to say this, but Sig is not the light user, though you are right, it would be funny as heck. Instead, it will be someone a little closer to Jak, if you know what I mean.

Paska- Yeah, I know how you feel, I keep getting dragged off to do things I really don't want to do, either. Also, thank, you, for giving me the idea, and all the others that you've given me, this story just wouldn't be the same without them. I hope you enjoy your break all the same, though, as it can't possibly be worse than school.

myeerah- I'm not really certain why a lot of the writers, myself included, think of D.J. as being something else, probably because he's just so different, but I'm not really sure in the end. (shrugs). As to my treatment of him, well, for some reason, when I saw the way in which he fought, there was something in it that just reminded me of a samurai, for some reason, as his style is brutal and savage, but I found something strangely noble about it at the same time. That, and it could very well have been how he would be, as the game never really went into detail about what exactly he was. At any rate, I'm glad you've liked it, and I hope to be able to continue to please.

daxter the otsel- I hope that you've been enjoying your summer, and that everything's been going your way. I'm delighted to hear that you started writing your own story, and I hope to be able to read it soon. Also, along that line, did you receive the e-mail that I tried to send you? My computer's been known to act up in that fashion, so I'm not really sure if it made it all the way. Best of luck to you in your writings, and don't forget the details.

Exardas- Hehe, thought you might like that, and I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter. As to you're request about AnimeRedneckSC, I went to ficwad and checked out his DMC/HP crossover, and I must say that I am impressed, as he's doing a great job. It's a shame that the rules on this sight are getting so strict, but I guess that's just he way the world works. Along those lines, I do not intend to do anything to try and bring administrative punishment down upon my head, (heck, if I wanted to do that, I'd just get my parents angry at me, hehe). At any rate, hope you like the installment that I've managed to cook up, and I wish you luck and good fortune in your own writings.

SRHumphrey727- Glad that you liked the modifications that I gave to both Jak's appearance and his powers, (and let it be known that one of your guesses is right). Hope you like the picture, and as to running like hell, I am doing so like Pipin in LOTR when the Balrog was chasing them!

DarkStarPhoenix- Sorry to hear about your computer, and I can sympathize with you about the school ones, (mine as a few of the old macs that still have green and black screens with no software, though thankfully most are in storage like the relics that they are). Also, thank you very much for the constructive criticism, I'll do my best to try and cut out redundancies and diversify my language a bit. Also, sorry about the elimination of Light Jak, but there will be someone filling in his role, and it will not be that Precursor OC that I created. The Praetor, a.k.a. Tarath, is anything but a Light Eco user. As to what he does use, well, ChibiSess or Farr2rich could tell you more, but I plan on going into more detail about the workings of the Precursor military than Jak 3 did, not that that is saying a whole lot. Suffice to say that the final battle of the third game fic will be a showdown between the remnants of the Precursors and their fallen brethren. Also, if you read really carefully about the mural scene in Mar's Tomb, there's something of an irony there, as the Ancients use color coded armor to tell who uses what kind of Eco. All in all, thank you once again for everything, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. (bows humbly)

To those who read but did not review, I hope that you liked what you saw, and that you are not currently planning to murder me for my lack of talent.

Lawyers: I no own, you no sue, can we come to that understanding? Good.

Another advanced warning, there is romance in this chapter, and I've never been really good at writing that sort of thing, so if it sucks, I apologize.

That said, here is the next chapter.

&

Ab Memoria

Two days had passed since their little trip into Dead Town, and Jak had become distant once again, though Keira couldn't exactly blame him. She had reacted no differently upon seeing that shrine for the first time, upon finding out exactly what had happened when they'd used the Rift Rider and crash landed in this place. Still, she was worried about him though. Afraid that despite everything, that he might slip back into his old ways.

Which was why she was currently trekking around the Underground base, looking for him, as she had been doing all day. No one knew where to find the dark elf, or they were too busy to help her look. Her father was still attempting to teach his younger self how to focus his newfound powers, and Ashelin and Torn, who was still moving about on crutches, were planning the next attempts to pry Praxis off of the throne. As for Jynx, his two friends had been contacted, and they'd wholeheartedly committed themselves to the cause. The Delta himself was currently busy teaching a class he had affectionately nicknamed 'demolitions 101,' and he had quite a following of students.

That just left Tess and Daxter, whom she had finally managed to locate. The two of them had been in an otherwise abandoned room, and were flirting, which she did not find surprising in the least bit, considering Daxter's nature. It was Tess that astonished her, as having grown up with Daxter, she didn't really understand what it was that the blond haired elf saw in the Ottsel. Then again, her heart currently belonged to an elf that had slitted eyes, bled Dark Eco, and was in possession of a demonic alter ego who seemed to be smitten with a case of chivalry, so she didn't exactly have a whole lot of room to be talking.

Nonetheless, she needed to find the Channeler, so she cleared her throat, getting the attention of the other two. They looked up to her, somewhat irritated that their little session together had just been interrupted, but relieved that it had only been her that had caught them.

"Have either of you seen Jak?" she inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Funny you should mention him." Daxter remarked, getting up off of his stomach. "He said he was heading out and told me to tell you that he was 'where he had made a 'stupid decision,' or something like that."

"Did he say why he was going out?" the mechanic asked.

"Said something about needed to get used to using that new weapon style that that googly eyed Precursor thingy-ma-bob gave to him." the Ottsel replied, shrugging his shoulders.

She said her thanks, and left the pair to resume their previous activity. As she left, she quickly made her way to her own temporary quarters/workshop area, and grabbed a hover board, her gear, and her morph-gun. However, as she dashed back out, she ran into Jynx…quite literally.

"Jeez, Keira, watch where you're going!" the Delta growled, picking himself up off of the floor.

"Sorry, Jynx." the mechanic mumbled as she got back to her feet as well.

The Delta turned around, heading off to do whatever it was he was planning on doing before bumping into her. It was then that she remembered that she had been meaning to ask him something, something that would be very critical to her next project in the weapons development area.

"Hey, Jynx," she said, causing him to turn back around, and look at her, "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"So ask." was his reply as he cocked his head to one side.

"I was wondering…if…errr…" she didn't quite know how to say this, "I could borrow your armor?"

To her surprise, the soldier merely raised an eyebrow while a look of confusion made its way over his face.

"Why would you want it?" he asked, scratching his head. "It's not like you can fit into that stuff."

"No, no, you've got it all wrong." She replied, shaking her head. "I wanted to try giving it some upgrades that I've been working on.

Instantly, Delta Sixty Seven's eyes lit up, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that she'd gotten his attention.

"What kind of upgrades are we talking about here?" Jynx inquired, his tone one of eager anticipation.

In response, she leaned in close, and whispered a few things into his ear. His eyes started to glow even brighter, if that was possible, and a grin that one normally associated with a young child getting exactly what he wanted at yuletide came over his visage.

"You could really do all of that?" he said incredulously.

"Mmm-hmmm." she responded, nodding her head.

"Alright," he said, smiling, "whenever you get back from wherever you're going, you'll find it in your workshop."

"Thanks." She said, before tearing off in the direction of the base entrance.

Once again, she weaved her way through the trees of Haven Forest, expertly swerving back and forth between the lords of the old woods. It had been a simple matter to avoid the K.G. patrols, most of whom were too scared to really do their jobs, lest they happen to run into something in a back alley that was large and in possession of a pair of bat-like wings.

She looked about as she sped through the forest. Spring was winning the war it waged upon winter, and most of the snow that had once covered the woodland was now gone, with the first sprigs of the grass coming back, while some of the trees were already beginning to bud once more. It reminded her, in a strange way, of the dark elf that she was currently heading after. Once, he had been all but dead on the inside. But now, slowly but surely, that old spark of life that he'd possessed back in Sandover was returning.

And she was determined that she'd be there to help him when he needed her.

Before long, she'd made her way to where that clearing was. Not surprisingly, there was a speeder bike parked by some trees. Upon seeing it, she hopped off of her board and placed it next to the zoomer, before carefully making her way through the trees. Once she came into sight of the clearing where she and Jak had hade their little 'argument' she peeked her head out from around a tree, and froze.

In a strange and bizarre bit of a celestial coincidence, the moon chose that exact moment to reveal itself from behind the clouds, its pale light spilling out over the grove.

Jak was there, spinning around in mid maneuver as he went through a kata. Keira couldn't help but let out an audible gasp. Watching as he leapt and whirled through the air, pulling off maneuvers that were both flashy, and at the same time, deadly. This 'Juyo' style did indeed live up to its name, though there was one thing about it that puzzled her, but she passed it off as simply being one of the abilities that had lain dormant within Kitetsu.

The Ascended Channeler was still the forefront of her thoughts, though, as she watched him move about. Strange as it was, the way in which he moved was almost like a dance, graceful, coordinated, beautiful in a way. She could also see why Mar had never taught this style to anyone else. She knew, watching this, that it must have required coordination beyond that which most elves were capable of, to weave around like that, cutting through the air, and not hack off a limb.

It was then, that she got another surprise, as she watched Jak leap straight up into the air, spinning around all the while. While in that leap, an orb of darkness enveloped him, and with a pain filled growl, Kage manifested himself.

The oni kept whirling around until he hit the ground, whereupon it promptly resumed its sparring. She noted that even now, Kitetsu's runes still bore the violet glow that they had before, though the blade itself was still as dark as moonless night.

The Dark Eco demon lunged forward, leaving that strange afterimage trail behind himself as he thrust, slashed and chopped in a relentless pattern of attacks. In a way, it was even more…exciting…to see this creature perform the Juyo maneuvers, as with three extra appendages, it complicated matters. Indeed, there were several times where she had to resist the urge to cry out, as it looked like Kage was going to slice off a wing or his tail. But every time, he would always avoid such a scenario by a split second change of direction, an alteration of the swing by a faction of a degree.

For how long she watched the demon, she did not know. In a sense, it seemed as though hours had passed, and yet, in another, merely seconds. Then came the final move in this bizarre ballet, as Kage made one final move, suddenly swinging and creating an 'X' shaped blast of Dark Eco that shot out from in front of him, rushing from one end of the glade to the other before it finally dissipated.

For several seconds, everything seemed a hush, an almost unnatural stillness in the world. Kage, his back to Keira, picked up his head slightly, and seemed to stare off into infinity. What the aqua haired elf didn't realize, though, was that demon was sniffing the air…and that she was standing upwind of him. Abruptly, he squatted down for a moment, before launching himself into the air, his wings propelling him out of sight.

Keira, not quite knowing what to make of the demon's actions, slowly walked out into the clearing, wondering what could have caused such a reaction from him. One thought did come to mind: Metal Heads. The very instant that that thought entered into her mind, her morph-gun, set to its battle rifle mode, snapped up, and she began scanning the area.

No sooner did that happen, than she heard a snap off to her right, and she whirled around, her eyes gazing back and forth among the shadows of the bushes and the trees, seeking to find the source of the noise. Slowly, she stepped towards what she had heard, putting one foot in front of the other, every muscle tensed and ready to leap aside should it indeed prove to be a Hora-quan nestled in there somewhere.

What she never noticed, in the minute that passed, was the blurry distortion that was sneaking up behind her. It moved stealthily, nary a sound or misstep betraying its position.

However, she did realize that she wasn't as alone as she thought the instant that an impossibly strong arm pinned her own limbs and her gun to her waist, while another covered her eyes, giving her a distorted view of the world. She struggled for a moment, before she felt someone's warm breath on her right ear.

"Guess who?" came a voice that brought a strange combination of relief, irritation, and confusion.

However, she decided she settle for figuring out how the heck the dark elf was cloaking himself once she'd paid him back for this little trick.

She shifted her weight, and suddenly threw herself forward, catching Jak off guard, as the Ascended Channeler suddenly found himself airborne. However, he recovered in mid-flight, quickly pivoting around and coming down in a foot first skid, his trench coat sending distortions throughout the air around him as he regained his balance.

He stood up slowly, and Keira raised an eyebrow in curiosity, not quite sure what to make of the new ability that her boyfriend was showing off. She couldn't see it, but a cocky smirk formed on the face of the dark elf, and he paced around slowly, allowing for the camouflage to fade, his body shifting back into view.

"I'm not entirely sure how it works myself." he responded with a shrug, answering the question she had not yet voiced.

"You've been distant lately." She told him, a note of undeniable concern making its way into her voice.

Upon hearing that, Jak stiffened uncomfortably, and shuffled his feet in a childishly amusing manner. He knew what she had said was true, and considering how he'd been before that little trial in the Tomb of Mar, she had every reason to be worried that he might slip back into his old ways. Still, Jak had no intention of starting back along that road, and inwardly shuddered just thinking about it, something he was certain to tell her.

A look of relief swept over her upon hearing that, still, she couldn't blame him, after all that he'd been through, seeing what they'd done…it was the last thing that he needed.

Jak's mindset was much the same, as he pondered back to what he'd seen in Dead Town, something that had ripped at his heart and soul.

There was a panicky screeching, and the Grunts and Drones made an attempt to run for it as their commander fell, its twin blasters firing harmlessly into the ground in its death throes. It would be a vain attempt to flee, as Keira's morph gun fired relentlessly into their midst, and a dark bomb followed it, ensuring that any survivors of the aqua haired elf's assault were not to be considered lucky in any way.

As the attack cleared, revealing the partially disintegrated corpses of the Hora-quan, Jak stepped forward, his blade held back in the Ataru fashion, as he did not yet feel comfortable unleashing the Juyo style upon opponents more dangerous than his own shadow.

"I think that's the last of them." the Ascended Channeler called back over his shoulder, motioning for the others to join him. "Now, what was so important about this place?"

In front of them stood a ruined, dome like building, most of it had collapsed, but the central chamber still intact, if open to the elements. The Metal Heads had been defending this place heavily, as if they were determined to stop whatever the elves could have thrown at them. Needless to say, they hadn't exactly counted on someone of Jak's abilities showing up. Keira had also added several notches to her belt, so to speak, putting her gun skills to use in a way that made her old man both proud and sad at the same time.

"There is something within here." Samos replied, making his way forward, "an item of power that my younger self needs in order to become…" he paused for a moment, scratching his chin, "more sagely."

"Wait a minute." Daxter said, waving his hands back and forth in the air. "So what you're telling us is that we're the reason that you're the all mighty Green Sage?" he glared at the old elf, crossing his arms over his tiny chest. "That we're the ones who made you what you are today?"

"Yes." Samos muttered, rolling his eyes.

"And you never thanked us?" the Ottsel practically screeched, exasperation saturating his voice.

"Daxter," Samos replied, acting as if this was going to be the hardest thing he had ever had to say in his life, "thank you."

However, before the diminutive former elf could break into celebration, Keira spoke up, something in her tone that put both the furry rodent and his slit eyed compatriot on edge.

"There's also a shrine in here." she said.

"A shrine?" Jak inquired, somewhat puzzled as to what she meant.

"A memorial." she responded, lowering her head to the ground, something that Samos did as well, and Jak noticed that he fidgeted slightly.

"A memorial to who?" he asked, pressing further.

Her response simply cast more confusion about.

"To those who lived here first."

Without another word, the aqua haired elf turned and walked inside, her adoptive father swiftly following her. Jak made a gesture for Daxter to tag along with his head, and the two of them entered as well.

What they saw was nothing particularly spectacular, just a small, nondescript shrine that had come into disrepair for rather obvious reasons. At the top of it, clasped within four metal 'claws,' was a glowing green object, that looked almost like a seed of some sort. Samos strode towards it purposefully, and held out his hand, palm facing the strange artifact.

As if reacting to the presence of the Sage, the claws opened, and he quickly grabbed the object. However, Jak's attention was more focused on Keira, as she was kneeling down in front of the monument, her hands clasped in front of her, and her eyes closed as if in prayer. Moving closer, he was able to see writing upon the front of the shrine, and as he realized what it meant, he felt his strength desert him. Kitetsu fell from his hand, hitting the floor with a loud clatter. This attracted Daxter's attention as well, and ever curious, the Ottsel walked over. He too, read the inscription, and for once, he became somber, and his ears suddenly drooped as his eyes began to glisten.

Jak looked back up, staring into the wording, damning evidence, set in stone and metal, of what had happened here.

Here we pay tribute to those who died, they who were slaughtered by the ruthless Hora-quan. The Gods have mercy upon the souls of them, the people of Sandover Village.

His mind froze, as those words echoed through his head, until it happened. A sob choked its way out of his throat, and he looked over to Keira, who had apparently finished her prayer.

"Now you know the truth, Jak." she said, her voice bitter. "That Rift Gate didn't take us to another place, it took us to another time. We're in the future of our world."

"What happened?" Daxter asked, a strange note of despair, so out of character for him, in his voice.

"When we opened the Gate, we unleashed Hell upon Sandover…" Samos replied, as downcast as the others. "The Metal Heads swarmed it, and slaughtered anyone who couldn't get away fast enough."

"Were…" Jak began, a tear making its way down his face, "were there any survivors?"

"A few." Keira said, her eyes having a faraway look to them. "The Metal Heads chased them through the hills for a few days, before as luck would have it, Mar stumbled across them." She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts before continuing. "He and his troops protected them, driving the Metal Heads back. Later, they came back to the village ruins, and they built Haven here, and this memorial to those who died."

Daxter sniffled, a whimper coming from the depths of his throat, and Samos, in an unlikely gesture, placed his hand gently upon the Ottsel's shoulder. Keira did the same for the dark elf, the two of them taking comfort amongst each other. Kage, however, was beside himself with rage.

'Bastards!' he roared, his image appearing within Jak's mind, fists clenched, face contorted with fury, and his wings spread wide. 'It was a damn fishing village! They were no threat to them at all!'

The oni's anger actually grew to the point in which it manifested itself slightly, in a crackling of dark lightning around the Ascended Channeler. Still, Kage retained enough rational thought to stop himself from going berserk, and instead settled for making certain that he would take a little more pleasure from any Hora-quan that he happened to slay.

It was much the same with Jak. Before, the Metal Heads had been an enemy, but his battles with them had always felt…detached, in a way. Now, clichéd as it may have been, things were personal.

He was suddenly aware of a pressure on his hand, and he looked back over his shoulder, saw Keira holding it, her eyes shining in the moonlight. She knew what it was that he was thinking about, the same guilt that had plagued her when she'd first found out the truth. Still, with any bit of luck, that might still be changeable.

"I just can't help it." He spoke, his voice quiet. "We did that…we destroyed our home…everyone who died…died because of our actions."

'I know you feel pain for what happened.' Kage said, his head bowed and his tone somber. 'But we must do more than merely weep for the dead.' the demon suddenly balled one of its taloned hands into a fist, a snarl echoing within the dark elf's mind. 'It is our duty to make those abominations pay for the slaughter, to avenge those that fell!'

'I have every intention of doing that, Kage.' Jak responded mentally, assuring his apparently honor bound inner demon that Sandover's destruction would be more than repaid.

He refocused his attention upon Keira, smiling slightly to reassure her. Once again, the compulsion came over them, and with no Daxter around to somehow distract them, they kissed, their eyes closed to the world around them, and they allowed themselves to forget, if only for a moment, what their universe had become.

They parted after a time, and stared at each other, the aqua haired elf becoming lost in his alien eyes. It was much the same in his case, as her emerald orbs caused a stirring within his soul that had been gone for far too long. Lovingly, he reached out, and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, while she caressed his hand with her own.

And so, their hands intertwined with one another, they left the glade, walking back to where Jak had parked his speeder bike. Upon reaching it, he mounted up, motioning for her to do the same. She paused just long enough to grab her hover board before she did so, wrapping her arms around her waist and leaning in close to him, smiling at him as he looked back over his shoulder.

The Ascended Channeler kick-started the zoomer, and in the flash of an eye, they were off, Jak revealing just how good of a pilot he was.

Meanwhile, in the Haven Palace compound, Commander Errol was getting use to his new body part. After the loss of his natural arm at the hands of Jak, Baron Praxis had arranged for a cybernetic one to be made for its replacement. Errol, however, had taken the order a step further, opting to have the neurosurgeons incorporate something from the battle droid program into the bionic limb. It had been a risky procedure, with a hundred different things that could have gone wrong. It was only natural, considering that the 'request' that the commander had asked for required them to drill into his brain, and integrate a highly complex amount of circuitry to make the thing work as he'd wanted.

Fortunately, everything went relatively smoothly, and Errol stared down, admiring the gleaming, gunmetal gray arm. Not only did the limb afford him incredible strength, but as he was soon to once again demonstrate, had a nasty little surprise set within it.

He was at one of the gun courses located within the barracks, and was well aware that his superior was monitoring his progress, which was rapid, considering just how different his new choice of weaponry was.

A whirring sound caught his attention, and he whirled around, observing three Metal Head targets come sliding out at him. He dove to one side, hitting shoulder first and rolling about, his brain sending a message to the microchip that was inside of it. Instantly, a crosshair-like targeting reticule appeared within his vision. At the same time, there was whining sound, and a very mean looking blaster popped out of his left forearm.

Still in the middle of his roll, Errol fired off a burst, reducing the first target to smoldering splinters. As he came up, he again sent the mental command to the weapon in his arm once again, and another staccato filled the air, as a quartet of Eco bolts tore through target number two. The last of the trio was soon to be dealt with as well, but through a different manner. There was a humming noise, and a blast, not too dissimilar to the charge shot that Jak's magnum had possessed, but far larger, flew from the arm cannon.

However, anyone who observed what happened to the training dummy would be able to tell you that while it may have looked the same, the charge shot from Errol's new weapon was without a doubt, the stronger of the two. After all, the magnum's charge shot, while potent, had never been able to leave a two foot wide crater where an adversary had been.

The leader of the Krimzon Guard grinned evilly at the thought of what he could do with this new technology. He would revel in the look on the dark elf's face when he blew him to pieces.

A clapping sound awoke him from his thoughts of revenge, and he looked up to see Baron Praxis and a few of his elite guards staring down at him.

"Most impressive, Errol." His superior said, admiring the handiwork that his second in command had displayed in the past ten minutes. "Just don't put too much faith in that bit of hardware."

The commander had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since Jak had busted out of the Fortress for the second time, and had managed to utterly decimate a good number of their men, the Baron had been increasingly cautious, almost to the point in which Errol was beginning to believe that his superior was starting to become afraid of the dark elf.

He didn't know how right the scarred elf was, and how stupid he was being for not carrying a good deal of fearful respect. Praxis, unlike his right hand elf, had faced off against Jak, and that had been before this new complication had been thrown into the equation. After something like that, one could hardly blame him if he were to be reluctant to re-engage the Channeler in combat.

At the moment, though, Jak was among the least of Praxis' worries. He had the Precursor stone within his grasp now, and with its power at his disposal, destroying the Metal Heads would be a synch. Oh yes, the tyrant would enjoy this triumph over their Leader, above all others he had achieved.

That abomination would pay the price for underestimating what elves were capable of, and countless thousands who'd died because of him would be avenged.

The resistance garage had been virtually deserted when they'd returned, not surprising given the hour in which that was, and after parking the bike, they'd made their way back to the barracks area, both giving off an aura of caring that could practically be felt.

All too soon it seemed, they reached a part where they would have to separate, and go their different ways. Reluctantly, they did so, sharing one last tender moment before the next day came.

However, before Jak had taken a dozen steps, he heard her call softly after him.

"Yeah?" he inquired, turning around to face her.

"You know, there's a racing tournament coming up in a few weeks, right." She said, getting an affirmative nod from the dark elf. "Well," she began, scratching the back of her head, "I still need a driver."

She let the sentence hang for a moment or two, until Jak smiled and nodded, before heading his own way. Keira did the same, after all, come tomorrow, she had a lot to do. What with finishing up on Torn's new prosthetic, beginning the modifications to the Katarn armor that Jynx had so graciously given to her, and a little something that she had decided to work on for the one that she loved.

And so, upon reaching her quarters, nestled right next to her temporary workshop, she promptly stripped out of her armor, laid down, and went to sleep.

The door to his wing of the barracks opened with a squeak, but fortunately did not awaken any of the other resistance members who happened to be inside at the moment. Silently, the Ascended Channeler praised whatever deity might have been listening with the abrupt turnabout in his life. He'd learned to control his hatred, he had his powers back, and on top of that, he and Keira had patched things up.

Of course, if one were to take a look at his life thus far, one would probably deem it about darn time that he'd finally managed to catch a break.

Still, it was with a smile, that Jak crawled into his bunk, noting that Daxter was currently AWOL, and doing the Precursors only knew what, though it probably somehow involved Tess. Snorting softly at the thought, he kicked off his boots, and laid back in the bunk, closing his eyes and basking in the darkness.

However, before he drifted off into la-la land, a familiar presence came to the forefront of his mind. The demon bowed, respectful as always, which unnerved the dark elf a bit, as he didn't like the fact that Kage seemed to think himself subservient to him.

'You really don't have to keep doing that.' Jak told him, and the creature stood hastily.

'Forgive me, but I had a question I needed to ask you.' he rumbled, his eyes aglow with curiosity over something.

'What?' the dark elf responded.

'This feeling that I get when she is near, the one that affects you as well…' Kage said, scratching his head in a most amusing fashion, 'is this what you elves call love?'

'Yes, it is.' Jak told him, another smile tugging at his lips as he did so.

The Dark Eco demon fell silent upon this, musing as to what this could mean. Jak bid him goodnight, and let sleep take him.

Kage, however, remained 'awake' for lack of a better term, still trying to figure out what to make of these strange emotions that churned within him. At last, he gave up; coming to the conclusion that love was not something that could be figured out by reason or logic.

And so, the oni decided that he would do as he always had: he would defend his host, and his host's soul mate, with every ounce of power that he had. The two of them had been through enough, and though Hell itself should throw itself against him, he would not let them suffer anymore.

On his honor, he swore that.

&

Okay, once again, I am sorry if the romance stank to high heaven here, and any advice on that subject is more than welcome. Also, I still need names/ideas for dark powers, and some light ones wouldn't be that bad either.

So if you have anything of that nature, as well as contstructive critisims or you have noticed something that makes no sense, please let me know, I beg of you.

Thank you for your time, and I hope that you have a great day.