Good day to you all, and I hope you are having a lovely time.
First off, I want to announce in advance that I am heading back to school on Monday, and thus, Saturdays will be my weekly update day for the remaining five or so chapters that will make up this story, not including this one. I hope to have two for the battle for Haven City, one for Jak heading out to the nest, and, my brain and divine inspiration willing, a fifteen (or maybe more) page showdown between Jak and the Metal Head Leader. And of course, the epilogue. After that, I'm going to be trying to place the sequel together...though I have yet to come up with a title for it.
At any rate, to those of you who were so very kind and left me a review...
EyesLikeSilk- Hehe, thanks, I hope you enjoy the rest of the deviations I took, and that the story proves worth your while. (bows)
Philoworm- Thank, you, for providing the ideas for me to use. (bows) And don't worry, I shall do my best to keep my updates to about one week, and I shall try to keep the fighting as top notch as I can. Unfortunately, I didn't get the website address that you left, automatically removes em, so you have to put spaces between the words and whatnot to fool it. If it's not too much trouble could you tell me what it was again?
Xeno-Freak- Anubis? Where? (Looks about frantically, raising multiple protection spells at the same time). Oh Dear God! I hated facing that guy (shudders), not to mention that its runner needed some serious help (Nohman practically makes Errol look like a clam and peaceful Buddhist Monk) Speaking of which, feel free to go ahead and use in a dark type form as opposed to a mechanical one, I don't think anyone would mind. I mean, look at how many fics there are in the FF7 category about Sephiroth coming back and redeeming himself? And about the Fallen Precursors...ummm...errr, well, as far as your remark about Jak and co. going up against six or seven of them, that was simply a rescue party to bail Errol out, their real numbers lie closer to six or seven thousand (and Jak is actually superior to one of them, for reasons that will be explained by Kor), and the final showdown in the Jak 3 story will be a Pelinor Fields style confrontation between these Fallen guys and their Precursor brethren, with many creators and explosions abounding. If you like, I could e-mail you a list of what each Precursor 'unit' can do and what they have at their disposal.
animedragongirl- Actually, I live in the panhandle of the state, we're bigger on peanuts up here in this region. And don't feel so bad about missing mistakes, to err is human, after all, and it makes life a little more exciting. I'm also glad to hear that you are drawing again, and I hope that you get a new scanner soon, I also just joined up with deviant art myself, So I'll know the next time that you get a drawing up .
Farr2rich- Nonsense, your writing is fine, and I am looking forward to reading about the next temple, plus its very good back-story for me, seeing as how I never managed to get a hold of the first game. Never got those websites though, the things programmed to get rid of em for some reason, so could you give it to me again, but put spaces in the address this time, it'll fool the formatter that way. And don't worry about Errol, he'll be dead once all is said and done, though I cannot decide whether it shall be Jak/Kage who kill him or Kei...(slaps hand over mouth). At any rate, expect to see more butt kicking, because form this chapter onwards, its pretty much going to be straight up fighting till the epilogue.
Dark-Eco Psycho- Thanks, I'm glad that you thought Kage's debut in his true form was bloody enough. (grins and bows)
MariaShadow- I am happy to hear that you enjoyed watching Errol get the crap shocked out of him, though once agian, the whole throwing the guy off the cliff thing turns out to be the once in a million years kind of deal as far as him acutally surviving his little swim. Ahh well, he'll get waxed in the end of the next story.
Lunatic Pandora1- Yep, Errol is an Ascended Channeler, just like Jak, of all the rotten luck. And I have you to thank for his 'demon form' for which I am grateful beyond words. But, I am afraid DMC3 is the only one that I've played, so I have no clue what the Death Scythe is, aside from the fact that it was the ultimate weapon of Magus from Chrono Trigger. Also, Jak has one more Dark Gift that he ahs yet to reveal, while Kage has about three, not to mention a few things that he can do with Kitetsu as well. Thanks again, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well.
SRHumphrey727- Got that e-mail, thanks. And yep, the Vulcan makes its début here, curtosy of a certain Wastelander, hope that you like it.
Evil Manic- Glad to see that you are still reading this story, and yes, Praxis is finally coming to his senses, though he is still going to buy the farm before all is said and done. However, this time he's going to die a much more 'noble' death. Heck, maybe if I'm lucky, I'll even get someone to feel sorry for him. I'd shoot for crying upon reading of his demise, but that would probably require nothing short of a miracle. Hope you like it, and please let me know if you get any more ideas, as I've never played any of the R&C games.
Dark priestess666- You flatter me with your praise. (blushes). As for the ending of the third game, it did upset allot of people, myself included. Even though I am a JxK fan, I might have bought into the JxA deal if they had built up to it, if you know what I mean, but it looked more like it was just something to please the fanboys that was slapped in at the last moment the way they had it. But, Keira will be playing a MUCH larger role in my sequel, (you might have picked up a few of the hints I've been dropping in the story and in my A/N). Hope you like this chapter as much as you have the others.
DarkStarPhoenix- Yep, Errol is basically what Jak is, and exactly what the Channelers are will be explained, in a manner that will probably make many people start to pity them... I know what you mean about the pairings fiasco in number three as well, and I really don't think that Ashelin would just turn her back on Torn like that. (For God's sake, he sold out the whole freaking Underground movement to save her!) Also, if you would like to know more about the Precursors/Fallen Ones (basically my term for the Ancient bad guys, since they aren't just dark users) just let me know and I'll email ya. Hope you like this part of the tale, and please let me know what you think. (bows)
StarlaFoxFire- Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately, you are right, not all of the stuff out here is great, but there are a few gems. Check out Lizzy-Rebels stuff, or Visonary's, they're really good.
k-child- Rest assured, Keira will play a major league role in the sequel, as I shall make her pivotal to the plot even though N.D suffered from a bout of insanity and threw her into the background.
To those who read, but did not review, I hope that this has proven itself to be worthy of your time, and that you continue to enjoy what my demented mind manages to conjure up.
Lawyers: you know the drill, I own nothing but my OCs
Also I would like to encourage everyone to go and read Jak and Daxter: Dark War by Cyrex. It is in a word, Awesome, and would make an excellent plot for a fourth game, if it were action rather than racing oriented.
That said, here is Chapter Twenty Nine, may you enjoy it.
Note, Chapter has been edited since posting, as my hotmail finally allowed animedragongirl's corrections to get through (sends Hotmail a death glare).
&
The Drek Hits the Fan
The dark elf extended his hand, and the ever familiar lightning surged forth once again. Its target: the repulsor lifts for Krew's little hover craft. It hit, but the crime boss seemed to have taken the liberty of making them out of sturdier materials this time around, as they held up once again.
He had driven up to the facility in broad daylight and the K.G. footmen on exterior sentry duty had taken one good look at him and then run for their lives, barricading themselves behind the door. However, a pair of simultaneous dark bombs had taken care of that little obstacle, and sent the crimson armored warriors retreating further into the recesses of the facility.
Jak paid them no mind, simply walking by them as their knees shook with fear at his proximity to them. Only the combat droids stationed there put up anything even vaguely resembling some form of defense. They had promptly been cut down or fragged with Dark Eco, and he'd walked upon their smoldering remains like a conqueror upon a field of total victory.
Eventually, he reached the top of the place, and found, hovering around a gigantic sphere, Krew. Both the Ascended Channeler and his furry companion had been surprised to learn that the crime boss had been personally overseeing the final stages of the construction of a weapon he designed. The proclaimed 'peircer bomb' which would supposedly have the power to crack open the Precursor Stone, effectively taking out the Nest along with Haven City and everyone else.
He also ranted and raved about his love of weapons to the point where both the dark elf and Daxter had wondered if the Goodyear Blimp wasn't in need of serious psychological help. On the bright side of things, him being here would save Jak the trouble of having to hunt him down to get the Heart of Mar.
Unfortunately, aside from his self indulgent monologue-like ranting, Krew seemed less than pleased to see the two of them, and had become downright infuriated when Jak had demanded that he cough up the energy gem. He had then pressed a button on one of his hover lift's arm rests, and revealed that he had a few on board weapons concealed within the thing.
However, once again, elven technology had proven itself to be inferior to innate Channeling skills, and the fight, if it could even be called that, was just about over.
Krew came zooming in one last time, every weapon he had blazing. Almost lazily, the Ascended Channeler swatted the bolts away, and sidestepped the charge, sending another burst of lighting after Jabba the Hutt's reincarnation. Most of it connected, but a small amount of it surged over the gigantic bomb instead.
However, the amount that hit Jak's foe would prove to be enough, even if the elf was scolding hisself for missing a target so large. There was a flash, and Krew once again found himself devoid of his means of transportation, and on a one-way trip to the ground. Not surprisingly, he hit the metal rather hard, and groaned in pain as Jak and Daxter slowly walked up to them, a cold expression upon the face of the dark elf, while his smaller compatriot had a triumphant smirk upon his.
The overweight crime lord, dazed he was, was powerless to stop the Ascended Channeler from relieving him of the Heart of Mar. Smiling to himself as he slid it into one of the pockets of his coat, and he stood back up, silently congratulating himself on a job well done.
Apparently realizing that his worse dreams were coming true, in that someone was actually stealing from him, Krew snapped back to reality pretty quickly. He struggled, causing his bulk to jiggle in a way that even Jak's inner demon turned a faint shade of green at the sight, and both elf and Ottsel were quick to avert their eyes from the spectacle.
"You think you've won, have you?" Krew snarled as they turned their backs to him, a rather sinister tone to his voice.
"Looks like it from where I'm standing." Jak said, looking back over his shoulder with a crooked grin, which faded slightly as the rooftop rumbled faintly, and electricity arced over the piercer bomb.
"You may win this battle, but I can guarantee that Haven City is going to lose its little war!" Krew growled defiantly, his beady little eye radiating anger, as it looked up at his beloved creation. "I sold you all out."
Jak, now very much worried about what the blob was talking about, was going to ask what he meant, and was prepared to take some rather extreme measures to loosen his tongue if need be. However, before he could inquire further, more electricity arced over the weapon above their heads, and with a curse, Jak realized that he had somehow managed to activate the thing.
Praise the heavens that the Precursor Stone wasn't in it yet.
"Um, Jak," Daxter said, pointing up at the now obviously ready to blow device, "I think we need to be anywhere but here right about now!"
His larger compatriot remained silent, but merely scooped the furry rodent up, and made a dash for the edge of the roof-top at top speed. Running full tilt like this, he reached the edge about a second and a half later, and promptly threw himself over the edge.
Another tick of the second hand passed, and, a familiar black orb surrounded the dark elf as Kage came to the forefront of things. Daxter, once more screaming, felt the fingernails holding him suddenly become talons, and the feeling of falling faded as the oni spread its wings, pumping them furiously in a bid to get away from the explosion.
Watching them escape, Krew sighed suddenly, and looked around at what was quickly going to be his crematorium.
"Oh well." he muttered aloud, surprisingly calm considering his doom was imminent.
A second later, his world went white.
"So, Sir Lard-a-Lot is no more?" Keira asked as she held the Heart of Mar as if it was the most priceless thing in existence.
"Yep," Daxter replied, looking up for a moment from his game of 'Wack a Metal-Head,' "now he's nothing more than a bad memory."
Jak, his back to them, remained silent, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as Krew's last words haunted him. Kage had pointed out that the obese crime boss might have been bluffing, but for some reason, the dark elf didn't think so, that it wouldn't have made sense for him to do such a thing.
Abruptly, something put him on edge, and he cocked his ears as he tried to figure out what it was. He could hear Daxter whooping, and a tell tale ding from the arcade game as he beat the high score, as well as Tess congratulating him.
"You know, if any real Metal Heads were to show up…" the Ottsel began cockily, before a growling noise suddenly put a halt to his boasting.
That was what Jak had heard, the clack of a talon against the floor.
Whirling around, he saw a pair of Metal Head Drones, their teeth bared in a snarl as they prepared to pounce upon the hapless rodent. As Daxter yelped and leapt backwards in an attempt to put some distance between them and himself, Jak threw out his left hand. An instant later, there was a pulsing sound and a trio of the small 'dark bolts' flew from his hand, crashing into the closer of the two, killing it before it even had a chance to cry out. Its comrade turned, only to receive a similar treatment right in the face.
"Yikes, where's Sig when you need him?" Daxter shouted, leaping up into Tess' arms.
"Sig?" the blond haired elf said as she held the rodent close. "I think Krew sent him on an assignment, something about using some key in the old Underport."
Jak blinked abruptly, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
"Fierfek!" he swore, slapping his forehead, and storming towards the door of the Hip Hog.
It hissed open and what he saw chilled him to the core.
The Hora-quan where everywhere, popping up out of sewer gratings and the like, Grunts and Drones running about while Crab Heads directed everything. Intermingled among them were the shimmering energy shields of Centurions, and Jak could have sworn that his enhanced eyesight even picked out a couple of Rams as well.
"Holy…" was all he could say as Keira joined him, her eyes practically doubling in size as she stared about.
After a single stunned second, the aqua haired elf reached down to her waist and grabbed a comm., hastily pulling it out and pressing a few buttons on it.
"What?" came the harsh voice of Torn from the other end of the line, and judging by the anger and frustration in his voice, he seemed to be preoccupied with something.
"Torn, we've got a problem!" Keira said, looking out upon the sea of Metal Heads running amok.
"If it's about the damn Metal Heads, then I already know!" the Revenant shouted back. "They're popping up all over the city, and Jynx and I are suiting up now!"
With that the line went dead, and the dark elf and mechanic exchanged a glance.
"Come on, Dax," Jak said, looking over to his compatriot, "we've got a buddy to bail out."
No sooner did the words leave his mouth, and Keira and Tess looked at each other, and the two of them dashed towards the back of the Hip Hog, Keira stopping when she reached her back pack, while her blond haired friend kept going until she was out of sight.
"Kier," Jak asked, calling her by nickname, "what are you doing?"
"Sig's my friend too, Jak," she growled, yanking out her helmet and chest protection, "and if you think for one second I'm going to leave him to become metal meat, then you've got another thing coming!" she snarled at him, a defiant glare shining in her eyes.
The dark elf opened his mouth, but then he abruptly shut it, noting that Tess came back at that time, her arms full of combat gear as well.
'You are not going to attempt to stop them from accompanying us?' Kage inquired, somewhat confused about the situation. 'This rescue attempt will be hazardous to say the least.'
'Kage,' Jak told his inner demon, 'one thing you have yet to learn about females is this: when they get that look in their eye, it becomes impossible for us men to win the argument, and trying to do so is only prolonging the inevitable.'
'I see.' the winged demon replied, before falling silent.
Once everyone was ready, they moved towards the door of the saloon. There was a hissing sound as Jak drew Kitetsu, and the dark katana shed an eerie purple light around as they dashed out into the open, and right into the gates of Hell.
Instantly, their freakish adversaries began to take notice of them, and several Grunts charged forward. However, Tess leveled her assault rifle quickly, while Keira sighted a few up as well. There was a staccato cracking as gunfire filled the evening air, and several fell from the two elves' expertly placed shots. Those that did survive were sent into oblivion courtesy of a dark bomb that exploded in their midst.
"Which way is it to the Underport?" Jak called back over his shoulder as he threw the blade of Mar end over end into a Drone, before summoning the sword back after it accomplished its task.
"This way!" Keira said, gesturing for the others to follow her.
They were quick in doing so. After all, if there were this many Metal Heads on the surface, then one could only begin to wonder how many were still trying to get up topside. And though Sig was tough, even he could only stand up to so many of these things.
Keira was just grateful that he'd been willing to take her latest toy out on a field test. That little gizmo, if anything, might just have been able to keep him alive long enough for them to get down to where he was.
About an hour, several hard contacts, approximately seven score Hora-quan, and more explicative than they'd cared to have kept track of later, they at last reached their target.
Not surprisingly, they first got the general position of the Wastelander by the loud swearing and they strange high pitched whirring noise that drifted through the various tunnels of the ancient catacombs they were in.
Peering around a corner, Jak saw him, apparently alone, with his back turned to their location and wearing an odd, grayish backpack. The burly enforcer was also daring the Metal Heads to come out and play, something that did not surprise him in the least. And so, with a sigh of relief, he stepped from around the corner, and got his attention.
"Hey, big guy." He said loud enough for the armored elf to hear him.
Unfortunately, all that did was cause Sig to whirl around and level his weapon at the dark elf, which was some sort of multi-barreled cannon that was strapped the upper portions of his right arm, and had some sort of belt like device connecting it with the backpack. Realizing the potential implications of this almost instantly, Jak took action just as the Wastelander reflexively pulled the trigger. A loud 'crack' once again filled the air as Jak teleported closer to the armored elf, and made certain that he was not anywhere near where that strange weapon of his was pointed, as the half of a second that he'd had the trigger depressed had sent a flurry of bolts into the far wall.
'Someone appears to be a little trigger happy.' Kage remarked in observing the obvious.
"Cherry, didn't I tell you to never sneak up on me when I'm jittery?" Sig growled, apparently not caring a wit that Jak had technically just violated the laws of physics.
"Well, excuse us for caring about your health, borg boy." Daxter remarked snidely as he came around with Keira and Tess.
"Good to see you're still in one piece, Sig." the mechanic said, relief visible in her voice.
"Mostly due to this little baby." the large Wastelander replied, patting the disgustingly huge gun fondly, and Jak also noticed his normal weapon, set to some kind of submachine gun mode, strapped to his left hip.
"You like it then?" the aqua haired elf inquired with a smirk.
"Well," Sig responded, taking a deep breath, "at first, I was swearing up a storm because this thing does weigh a ton. But I don't think that I'd be alive right now if it weren't for it. And let me tell you this, girl," Sig continued, staring her in the eyes, "right now I couldn't love you more if you were my own daughter."
"What happened down here?" Jak asked, not about to forget that Haven City was in the greatest danger it had ever been since its founding.
"Krew had me open some sort of door with that ruby key we found on Mar's statue," Sig said, venom in his words, "and when I did, Metal Heads started coming from everywhere, like they were waiting for me."
"Now I remember," Tess said, slapping her forehead, "some of the older history textbooks we had in school said that Mar had some sort of underground tunnel made in case the city ever needed to be evacuated, almost like an emergency exit."
"So Krew must have found it and decided to give its location away to those monsters." Keira snarled, taking the fact that Metal Heads were about to ravage her home yet again very much personally.
"Yeah," Sig muttered quietly, his one eye practically radiating anger, "and I can't wait to see him again."
"He's dead." Jak said, his voice surprisingly calm.
"Well, then he's lucky," the armored elf growled, "cause he would not want me to catch him alive!"
With that, Sig nodded to Jak, who took point alongside of him, as they knew the way back up a little better than he did at the moment.
Not surprisingly, it wasn't long before they ran into a group of Metal Heads attempting to reach the same destination. There were about twenty of the abominations all together, the majority of which were Grunts and Drones. However, there was a quartet of Centurions in the group, and of course, a Crab Head overseeing everything. The standoff was brief, decisive, and a clean victory for Jak and company, with the dark elf's Channeling powers tearing through a good number of them, while Keira and Tess sighted a couple of the shield carriers up with their assault rifles, dropping them with expertly placed shots.
However, other than Jak, Sig did most of the damage, including claiming the Crab Head to his list of kills. He leveled the weapon that Keira had given him, pulled the trigger, which was set into a handle that vaguely resembled a video game joystick, and the gun emitted a high pitched whirring sound before spitting out a stream of Blue Eco at the monsters in front of him.
The Hora-quan didn't even have time to react before the rounds, which were being emitted at such a high rate as to almost make them look like one continuous blast, literally ripped them apart. The Crab Head snarled and returned fire as its underlings were cut down. Sig's armor took the shots, however, and he shifted the gun over to where it was aiming at the Metal Head commander. The beast's eyes widened, and its armor held up for all of a microsecond, before the sheer number of Eco bolts tore through, practically disintegrating it.
The threat gone, Sig released his grip upon the trigger, and all eyes were promptly upon him.
"Whoa…" Daxter muttered, his gaze darting back and forth between the burly Wastelander and the dozen or so Metal Heads that he had quite literally mowed down.
"What is that thing?" Jak inquired abruptly, staring at the menacing looking gun.
"You remember those LAAGs that I built for the Underground assault craft?" Keira said, double checking her power pack at the same time. "Well, presenting, the vulcan, the 'mobile' infantry version of it."
"Infantry version?" the dark elf said, giving her a look.
"Yep," Keira responded, a small amount of pride in her voice, "capable of throwing out almost two thousand rounds a minute, that baby can chew through just about anything." She paused for a second, suddenly looking quite sheepish. "There is one problem though."
"What's that?" Daxter asked. "And for that matter, I want to know why we never get the cool guns!"
"Think about it, Chili Pepper," came Sig's baritone voice, cutting off the rodent's rant before it could even get started, "if this thing fires that fast, how quickly to you think it's going to run through its ammo?"
"Really, really fast?" Daxter answered, scratching his head.
"Exactly." Keira said, "and the only way I could get it to overcome that problem was to give it that enormous power pack." She gestured to the backpack that the Wastelander was wearing.
"Which I might add," Sig said, "weighs the better part of two hundred pounds!"
"Yeash," Tess responded with a shake of her head. "Your back's really going to hate you when you get old, Sig."
"And who says it ain't hating me now?" the armored elf responded with a groan.
"How much ammo do you have left, Sig?" Keira asked suddenly.
"About sixteen and a half thousand shots outta the original twenty five." the Wastelander answered, shifting about slightly as he did so.
"Good," the aqua haired elf muttered, "because these guys are running all over the city, and we're going to need the firepower."
"Then let's get moving." Jak said, Kitetsu hissing slightly and he deftly spun it. "Torn and the others sounded like they were in over their heads when we were heading down here."
No sooner did the words leave his mouth, than there came a faint rumbling that rapidly grew louder. The four elves and the Ottsel exchanged a glance, and Daxter muttered a panicky 'uh-oh,' right before a portion of the far wall was torn apart by some sort of gigantic Metal Head that Jak could never recall seeing before.
It looked as if it was nearly fifty feet long, and dozens of armored legs clattered against the stone floor. Its large eyes spotted them almost instantly, and it opened its maw, which was so large that it likely could have even swallowed Sig without much difficulty, and roared at them. The cry was great enough to cause the whole corridor to vibrate, and Daxter, whose own scream was drowned out, made a beeline for Jak's trench coat, hiding himself inside of one of the pockets.
"Holy drek," Sig said faintly, looking at the behemoth, "a Metapede."
"Sig," the dark elf hissed quietly as the thing apparently decided what to do about them, "you're the Metal Head hunter here, what do we do?"
"Three words, Cherry," the burly enforcer muttered, before turning around and sprinting off as fast as he could in the opposite direction, "run like hell!"
"No argument here!" Keira said, she and Tess quickly bolting off after the Wastelander.
Jak, not to be left out, pivoted about, and raced off as well, somewhat surprised he didn't leave a trail of flames behind him, so great was his speed.
Enraged at the thought of its prey escaping, the Metapede roared once again, and took off after them, its speed nightmarishly quick, considering its bulk.
'Why do we flee?' Kage asked suddenly, not fully understanding what was going on. 'It is within my abilities to take such a creature.'
'Yeah, I don't doubt that,' Jak responded, still running as if his life depended upon it, 'but we're going to need to be as close to full strength as we can once we get to the surface.'
'As you wish.' Kage growled in response, clearly not happy about retreating in such an ignoble manner.
They stopped at the end of the stone bridge, every one of them panting, and struggling to keep the blessed air in their lungs. Well, everyone except for Daxter, who had finally opted to stick his head out of the pocket that he'd been hiding in. They'd finally managed to lose the thing after Jak and used his powers to blast out a grating that had been in the floor, dropping them down to a lower level that the Metapede had apparently been unable to follow.
"Well," the dark elf gasped, looking over to Keira with a tired smile upon his face, "that was close."
"No, kidding," the mechanic replied, returning the grin.
"Well," Sig replied, "with that little bugger not bothering us any more, I think we need to get up topside and take the fight to the enemy." His face suddenly broke into a massive grin. "Why, who knows, maybe once we get done exterminating these scumbags, we might even be able to storm their nest." The grin widened. "And something tells me the head of their leader would make a mighty fine trophy!"
"Not a bad idea, Sig." Tess said, placing a hand upon one of his armored shoulder pauldrons, "But, I think we need to worry about getting out of here first."
"You're right," the Wastelander conceded, his smile still taking up his entire face, "but once we're outta here, they'd better watch out, 'cause there ain't a thing in this world gonna take us down!" he said, pointing the vulcan cannon skyward.
However, before anymore words could be exchanged amongst the small group, there came the sound of stone being split and torn asunder, and everyone looked up to behold the Metapede tearing its way out of the far wall to try for round two. Seeing its prey, it gave another roar and launched itself from its freshly made tunnel, once again moving far faster than one would have thought possible.
As luck would have it, it was headed right for Sig, its jaws snapping ominously as its momentum propelled it through the air.
Swearing, the Wastelander threw himself backwards in an instinctive attempt to save his life.
The monstrous Hor-quan came closer, its maw opened and its fangs extended…
…and clamped shut about six inches short from the armored elf as it hit the floor.
There was a sudden cracking noise as it quickly became evident that the stone bridge they had been on was not capable of supporting its massive bulk, and the structure collapsed as gravity claimed its next victim, the behemoth roaring as it plunged into the dark abyss below.
Sig stood at the very edge, his plated boots literally upon the edge of the threshold.
For a few moments, nobody moved, until at last, the grim humor that so often followed a close encounter with Death manifested itself.
"We-e-e-e-elll" Sig muttered, chuckling slightly, "now that was a close one."
"Yeah," Keira said, looking down into the darkness of the pit they were over, "now, what do you people say we get out of here before anything else can go wrong?"
"That gets my vote!" Daxter exclaimed, while silently praying that the Metal Heads up above didn't have any more of those things in their ranks.
Once again, Baron Praxis stared down at Haven City, looking at the battlefield that it had become, and quite possibly, a soon to be slaughterhouse.
Never in all his years would he have imagined that the gods accursed Metal Heads would attack Haven from below, effectively bypassing the Shield Wall and about ninety five percent of the exterior defenses of the city.
He'd done what he could. K.G. units had been scrambled into drop ships, with the pilots being given orders to drop their men off and then head for the slums and residential sectors in a desperate bid to get the civilians out of harms way. Others had been hurriedly dropped off in the industrial section as they attempted to get Hellcat cruisers airborne while their brethren raced against the clock to get the Scorpion assault tanks out into the city.
All the while, desperate calls for air and armor support came in, as men were overwhelmed and ripped to pieces by the invaders.
So, it appeared as if Haven City was going to die on his watch…
A sudden surge of anger came over him. Haven would not die, not while he still drew breath! He would fight, and give his blood to defend his homeland. With his single eye practically burning in determination, he glanced over to the powered armor suit that he had in his room. He swiftly walked over, and began donning the protective gear.
It took him about ten minutes to get everything on and for the connectors to begin providing him with the augmented strength and speed that made him such a threat.
He looked over to his mirror, and saw his own scarred visage staring back at him. The words of his conscience came back to him, echoing through his mind.
Monster…despot…murderer.
Unwillingly, his mind flashed back to that day, more than three years ago, when he'd crossed that threshold…
He stared around at the carnage. The Throne Room was a mess. Soldiers clad in blue and red armor lay where they had fallen, the lifeblood of comrades turned enemies pooling together until it looked as if the floor tiles where red instead of white.
Two bodies stood out among the fallen, both of them clad in gray, Katarn battle armor. Two of the remaining four Deltas lay here, another of which was pinned down in the eastern corridors. Praxis had seen the casualty estimates for the battle, and knew that they had been responsible for a decent number of them.
One, possessing green highlights upon his armor, lay upon his back, his rifle still clutched in his hands, his armor blackened and charred along the chest and helmet. This one, Ackerson if he remembered correctly, had been a heavy weapons expert, and had doubtless been responsible for the fuel rod cannon barrage that had wiped out the front lines of those to get this far. A couple of his soldiers that had managed to survive kept talking about they had shot and shot this particular soldier over again, and how the Delta had simply refused to die. Finally, he'd dropped, a round tearing through his armor and into his heart.
Even then, the gray armored warrior had refused to expire until after he'd emptied his battle rifle clip into his forces.
The other one, Hunter, had been a marksman, and he too had wreaked complete havoc among his troops. The soldier lay slumped against the far wall, the red streaks on his armor partially obscured by his many wounds. Praxis didn't say it, but he held a great deal of respect for those two, and their soon to be deceased comrade who was still putting up a stubborn fight if the radio chatter was to be any indicator.
How he hated having to destroy them all like this, to waste such proud soldiers in such a means. But, it had to be done, their loyalty to his sister was too great, and he knew he would have never been able to turn them to his side.
Speaking of which, he still had to deal with his sibling. This was the part of this operation that he'd been dreading. Why, oh why couldn't Alicia have simply stepped back and let him run things? Why did she always have to clash with him over citizen's rights when there were far more important things that needed to be done?
She stood before him, defiant and regal as ever, despite the fact that she knew what was going to happen to her. Blood dripped from her arm where she'd been shot, but not before she dropped a few of his own troops with a holdout blaster she'd hidden upon herself.
He drew his own sidearm, and aimed it at her, wishing with all of his heart that there was another way for this to end.
"Forgive me, Alicia." He said simply, his voice threatening to break at any moment.
She remained silent, her eyes strangely triumphant in a way. However, before he could contemplate what that could have meant, he heard a shout, and felt himself being knocked to the ground.
As he did so, there was a sharp crack, and something else hit the ground right next to him. It was a soldier, his visor pierced by a single well-placed shot. Looking over, Praxis saw that Hunter was not quite dead, and gripped a pistol in one had, while the other cradled his stomach. Quickly readjusting his aim, the mortally wounded Delta pulled the trigger…
And nothing happened.
Once more, the gray armored soldier tried to fire the weapon, and there was only a faint buzzing sound. The pistol's power pack was empty. His hand shaking, the marksman dropped the empty weapon, and slumped over to where he was lying prone on the ground. Even so, Errol walked over and kicked his body a few times to make certain he wasn't feigning death once again.
Praxis got back up, pausing just long enough to shut the eyes of the soldier who had just sacrificed his life, and once again pointed his gun at his sister.
An instant later it was over, the foul deed done.
He tossed his pistol aside as if it had suddenly turned into a venomous animal, and turned his back upon the scene, knowing he would break down if he saw Alicia lying like these dead soldiers.
"Well," came the voice of his captain, and out of the corner of his good eye, Praxis saw him give Hunter's corpse another kick, "seems as though these windup toys have finally lost their aura of invincibility."
"They fought well and bravely, Errol," Praxis said, his voice quiet, "do not forget that."
The captain frowned, but remained silent, and Praxis pulled another soldier aside from the cleanup duty that was taking place.
"Take my sister," he said, before swallowing and willing himself to continue, "and have her body prepared and buried within the royal family's tomb." He said, referring to the catacomb like area beneath the palace, which was not to be confused with the legendary resting place of Mar.
He'd also ordered for the Delta's to be cremated their remains placed within a special burial site on the palace grounds that had long ago been set aside for members of the elite squadrons.
But more than that, he remembered a strange sensation he'd had for along time afterward, as if there had been blood soaking his hands, yet there was none of the crimson liquid to be found.
The scarred elf growled and shook his head, snapping himself back to reality, but unable to rid himself of the memories of his actions.
Once again, the words of his conscience mockingly echoed within his head, and abruptly, something snapped.
"I will not…" he growled, suddenly gripping his titanium head plate, "die a tyrant!"
With a roar, he twisted and pulled, yanking the covering off, baring his war scars for the entire world to see. Snarling, he threw the plate away, where it clunked off in some corner of his room. He then reached down, and opened a small chest like box at the foot of the armor stand, from which he withdrew a simple, red helmet, an identical model to the one that he'd worn during the assault upon the Metal Head Nest.
No sooner had he finished strapping it on, than his door opened and Commander Toshiro stepped in.
"All units have been deployed to their stations, as per your orders, Sir." the marksman said with a sharp salute. If he was surprised at the sudden change of headgear that his superior was now sporting, he did not let it show.
"Good work, commander." Praxis said, "Now, round up my personal guard, and anyone else who you can find."
"Your pardon, Baron?" the man asked, not understanding.
"This is one fight where I need to be leading from the front lines." Praxis said, turning around to face his second in command. "Now get them mobilized and have them meet me by barrack oh five nine, there will be a couple of drop ships waiting for us there.
"By your command, Baron." the yellow armored officer said with another salute, before heading off to carry out his orders.
"And commander," Praxis said, as Toshiro was nearly to the door, causing the elf to look back over his shoulder at his superior, "call me 'general' from now on."
"Understood, General Praxis." He said, and went on his way.
Once again alone, Praxis finished arming himself, taking his BR55 and its M-404 grenade launcher attachment, and he couldn't forget his blade. Once that was done, he raced off in the direction of barrack 059.
He had a city to try and save.
&
Okay, hope all you people liked the altered version of the Vulcan, and the fact that Sig will be hanging around for the rest of the fight, rather than mysteriously reappearing with no explanation for who in the Nine Hells he managed to survive that fall, let alone pry himself out of the Metapede's jaws.
Also, I am still in need of ideas and suggestions for the sequel, particularly mission style ones, so please let me know if you have one.
And, I am in need of opinions once again. My trouble lies with the equipment for our mysterious Light Eco Channeler, and while I've managed to get an armor design down, thanks to animedragongirl, I have yet to decide upon a weapon. I am torn between giving the individual in question a long/broadsword type weapon, or something more along the lines of a naganata (a Japanese pole type weapon that basically consisted of a four and a half to five foot staff with about an eighteen inch blade upon the end, and it was used in battle in a style similar to a quarterstaff, though it could be used as a spear if need be.)
So, let me know which one you would like to see, and feel free to suggest a weapon of another type, as well.
Also, comments, criticisms, and all other ideas are welcomed with open arms, so please leave one if you so desire. (gives pleading look)
That said, I thank you all for your time, and I hope that you have a great day!